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dem-obscure-imagines · 11 months

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The Way it Was Before

Bernard the Elf x Reader

Fandom: The Santa Clause

Summary: Something is VERY wrong this Christmas, and it seems you’re the only person in the world who remembers the way things were before. Well, almost the only person. It’s up to you and the Head Elf to save the day before Jack’s wish becomes irreversible.

Note: I was literally possessed by the spirit of Christmas to write this. I still don’t understand how I whipped this up so fast. Also I have a few ideas kicking around for a sequel, so let me know if that’s something you’re interested in! Additionally, I will be uploading this to Ao3, so if you see it on there too, don't worry hahaha

Warnings: Language, a lil violence as a treat (nothing major just literally a few punches lol), a lil angst but a very happy ending <3

Word Count: 14k

Reader is: Female, 23

Well, that was it, then. It was over. You couldn’t help but feel a little torn up about it. You just weren’t cut out for the job, or maybe you didn’t have the magic for it. Whatever the reason, Mother Nature had made it clear. You were not the Spring Enchantress, and this would be your last foray into the Magical Realm for a very long time, if you ever set foot in it again.

Mother Nature had to visit Santa at the North Pole. You weren’t sure why, she didn’t tell you what she was there to pick up, but she did give you some time on your own to explore the Workshop for the last time.

Wanting to get away from the wandering eyes, you found a secluded nook and sat down, resting your head in your hands. You loved the Pole. It was so intricate and beautiful and whimsical and you would never see it again. You’d never step foot in Mother Nature’s Grotto or the Summer Isles, or even Halloweentown.

It hit you all at once and the tears came flowing before you could stop them. You just hoped none of the elves were around to find you. You didn’t want to worry them when they were already so busy.

“(Y/N), right?” a voice asked, drawing your attention to the doorway where he was standing. Bernard, the Head Elf. Your eyes wandered over his shoulder to the sign on the door. Of course, your crying spot had to be directly outside his office. Figured.

“Right. Yeah. Sorry.” You wiped at the tears, trying to compose yourself. You motioned to the door. “I didn’t realize…”

He shook his head. “That’s alright. Is something wrong?”

“I didn’t mean to bother you. I’m sorry, I can—”

“No, you’re no bother at all. Come on in. My couch is a lot comfier than that bench there.” He motioned you forward and you hesitated, but got up and walked into his office, a large, cozy room with forest green walls, hardwood floors, a small fireplace, a cozy couch, and a desk facing it. There was a shelf of snow globes on one wall, a shelf of old leather books on another.

Bernard motioned to the couch and you took a seat while he perched himself on the edge of his desk. He plucked a tissue out of the box and handed it to you, empathy etched in his brown eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“It um…Mother Nature…” You spoke slowly, composing your words. “She said I’m not the Spring Enchantress like she thought. So um…I’m getting my memory wiped and heading back to the Mortal Realm. Tomorrow, I think.”

“Wiped? Like entirely?” Bernard said, horror in his voice.

“I mean, I’ll still know who I was before I started training under her, but…all of the magic stuff, all of this…” You shook your head. “I knew it was all too good to be true.”

“I am so sorry this is happening to you.” He shook his head. “It’s not fair.”

“Yeah…” You nodded, wiping your tears on the tissue he’d given you. “I’m just glad she brought me here one last time. It’s so beautiful here.”

Bernard smiled softly. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a small snow globe, waving a hand over it before handing it to you. “Even if you won’t remember this place…I’d like you to take a piece of it with you.”

You took a shaking breath, more tears flowing at his words, at the sincerity on his face, at the beautiful snow globe he’d given you. You stood to accept it and found yourself hugging him instead, seeking comfort from the most powerful elf in the Pole. His arms wrapped tight around you, comforting you at your most vulnerable.

“Thank you. So much. Even if I don’t remember it, I…I think I’ll still know. That it’s real. That all of this is.”

“Believing is Seeing.” Bernard said, meeting your eyes. “Someday, you’ll remember that.”

You hoped he was right…

THREE YEARS LATER

Leaving your Irish Folklore class, you were absolutely buzzing with ideas. It had been an amazing lesson. Your professor was very knowledgeable on all sorts of legends and fantasy creatures, where they’d come from, how stories about them had started. You, as a writer, were planning on using this knowledge to write an epic fantasy romance. You weren’t sure what exactly it would be about; you were still waiting for it to click, but you were sure it would eventually.

You walked to your favorite coffee shop, a little ways from your apartment, and grabbed a hot cocoa with extra whipped cream, your favorite around this time of year, sitting down with your work at your favorite table in the corner of the shop.

You took out your notebooks, comparing the notes you’d taken in class to the ones you had left over from…before. The inklings, few though they were, that had lingered in your mind, even after Mother Nature, yes, that Mother Nature, had supposedly wiped them all from existence. Granted, there wasn’t very much left from your time with her, just a few things: the Northern Lights dancing across the sky as you…as you…no, see, there it was. Nothing.

That was all that was left, pieces. And the snow globe on your shelf that you knew was more than just a snow globe, but you couldn’t remember why. Or who’d given it to you.

Sometimes you felt crazy, pushing against the walls of your memory, begging it for just one more detail, but that was how it had been for the last three years. You knew you weren’t making it up, that it was more than just fantasy, but you couldn’t tell anyone. Not even your therapist. The looks wouldn’t be worth it.

So you kept these things to yourself, jotting them down to get them out of your head. Or, rather, keeping them safe in case someday Mother Nature came to finish what she started, wiping it all away for good.

You worked on an outline for a short story for your creative writing class, but you didn’t feel all that confident in it. You sipped your cocoa some more, which had cooled to perfection, and opened an article you were supposed to read for your Folklore class. Something about elves. Festive, you thought with a chuckle. It was indeed the season for that, especially since that had been your last class before Christmas. A perfect send-off for the end of the semester.

Once you’d gotten a decent amount of work done, you packed up your stuff and headed back to your apartment, setting your bag in your room. You checked a few things off of your To Do List.

Gleaming on the shelf, your snow globe caught your eye. “Believing is Seeing.” You whispered to yourself, eyebrows knitting together when you did. It sounded familiar, but…you weren’t sure why. Or what it meant.

Down in the living room, your roommates were watching Christmas movies. In a few days, they’d both be headed home for the holidays and you’d be left on your own for a few weeks. You didn’t mind all that much. You did well on your own, in the quiet. You were kind of sad about spending the holidays alone, though.

Maybe you could find a community event to attend. A holiday party or something. Maybe your college would be doing something for the students who were staying. You hoped they’d let you attend even though you were a grad student.

On the TV, a cheesy Hallmark movie played out, the city girl deciding the small town she’d stumbled into was actually the perfect place for her and the handsome lumberjack that worked at the Christmas Tree Farm at the edge of town was actually her soulmate. You chuckled. You didn’t believe in soulmates. Not like that, at least.

“Hey, we’re going to a party tonight. Down at the Kappa House. You want to come?” Your roommate, Cindy, asked.

“Oh! Thank you. I’m alright, though. I’ll order some takeout or something.”

“Alright.” Megan, your other roommate, nodded. “How was your class?”

“Good! Yeah, I’ve just gotta finish this essay and then I’ll be good for the semester.”

“That’s good.” She grinned, sitting cross-legged on the couch.

You sat with the two of them until they got ready to leave, dressed in short red dresses, fishnets, and Santa hats. “Call me if you need a DD.”

“Oh we will.” They giggled, stumbling out the door, each armed with a bottle of cheap wine, leaving you on your own in the apartment. You did as you’d said and ordered some takeout, cranking out the rest of your paper and turning on some Christmas movies. Elf, Home Alone, all of the classics were on.

You felt something in the back of your mind, a little tingle. You froze, staring at the screen. You expected another little piece, a sliver, anything, but the feeling faded as quickly as it came. You sighed, setting your container of Lo Mein on the coffee table. Suddenly, you were tired. Maybe some sleep would help. So, after putting your things away and cleaning up after yourself, you changed into your pajamas and headed to bed.

You stared at the ceiling for a while, trying desperately to jog your memory for the little inkling that was about to emerge earlier, but to no avail. You shook your head and turned onto your side.

Believing is Seeing…

***

The next morning, you felt groggy and decidedly weird. You jotted down the dreams you remembered in your journal and went downstairs to get some breakfast to appease your growling stomach. You poured yourself a bowl of cereal with milk and plopped down in front of the TV, all but dropping it in your lap when you saw what was on the screen.

“Come on up to the North Pole, folks! Christmas Wonderland right at your fingertips! This year, we’re opening our Winter Wonderland Water Park, Hotel, and Resort! Pet the reindeer! Take a photo with an elf! And don’t forget to meet Santa!”

“What the Fuck.”

“Oh! See! I told you! We should go! They have a two for one on the Mistletoe Cruise!” Cindy grinned, hopping over the back of the couch. “Rewind it!”

You did as she said, pausing when the prices were on the screen. It just so happened to be when this so-called Santa was also on screen. Taking one look at him, you could tell something was wrong. His height, his voice, but most of all, his hair, which was frosted and spiked up. He may have been wearing the suit, but that was no Santa.

Chills ran up your arm at the sight of him. No, that was no Santa. That was Jack Frost.

It was coming back to you a little now.

“What…the North Pole…?” You murmured, confused.

“Obviously. What, did your parents never take you as a kid?” Megan asked. “We went all the time when I was growing up.”

“I can’t say they did, no…” You shook your head. No, this was bad. Something was very wrong here. Your stomach sank, veins on fire and chills unending.

You got changed at the speed of light and headed out to town, stopping in the book store next to your favorite coffee shop, where on the front rack was this new Santa’s memoir. It was titled, “Becoming Santa” and you doubted anything in it was anywhere near the truth.

You scooped up a copy of it as well as a book on the history of the Pole. There had to be something in there, some hint, some…someone you could contact. You checked out at the counter and headed next door to the coffee shop, spreading out your books and notes. You grabbed a cocoa with extra whipped cream and a shot of espresso. You knew you’d need the caffeine for whatever lied ahead.

You combed the books extensively, rolling your eyes every paragraph as you waded through Jack’s stuffy memoir. It was…impossible. You couldn’t believe this had all happened overnight. Unless there was magic involved. You cracked open the history of the Pole book, which had pictures, thankfully. You were able to look through and see if there was anyone you recognized. The longer you stared at the pictures, the more it confirmed your suspicions. You had been to the Pole before, but not in the capacity your roommates were discussing. It hadn’t been a theme park, a tacky tourist destination loaded to the brim with money-grabs. No, you had been there when it was a gorgeous, beautiful workshop, full of joy and love and…for lack of better word, Christmas cheer.

A single tear slipped down your cheek and you sat back in your chair, taking it all in. You remembered. Most of it, anyway. There were still bits and pieces that wouldn’t click into place just yet.

“This seat taken?” Someone asked.

You looked up, staring for a long moment as his features came into focus, his kind brown eyes, dark curls, a pointed ear sticking out from under his hat. He was the exact same as the last day you’d seen him, right down to the red tunic embroidered in golden symbols, the tassel necklace around his neck.

You gasped softly. “Bernard?”

Click.

His face split into a grin and a wave of relief swept over him as he all but collapsed into the seat across from you. “Thank the stars. I didn’t think you’d remember me.”

“How could I forget?” You asked, mostly to yourself. You had forgotten him. Well, until now. But it was all coming together. Something about seeing him made everything else, all those loose, scattered pieces, finally come together.

“So far, you’re the only one who remembers.”

“Remembers you?”

“No, remembers…the way things were yesterday.” He lowered his voice and you nodded, eyes wide.

“Okay cool, I’m not crazy. Always nice to know.” You sighed, closing the book and sliding it over to him. “I’ve been looking for…I don’t even know what, to be honest, but I knew it wasn’t right.”

“That’s…yeah.” He nodded, flipping through the book before closing it again.

“So what’s going on?”

“No idea. I was on my way out of the Pole when it hit, which is probably why I was spared. All of the elves…” He shook his head, arms crossed. “I don’t have any magic. I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Why me?” You asked softly, voice breaking at the edges. “How did you find me?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on you since everything happened. I’m really sorry. What happened to you isn’t fair and I understand if you want to stay out of it, but I need your help. You’re the only person I have left.”

“I was on your team the second you sat down.” You told him, earning a tired smile. “So I did find…something. Um…Santa. Our Santa, I mean. When did he…?”

“He put on the coat in 1994.” Bernard replied with certainty.

“Okay that’s not good.” You opened Jack’s memoir to his origin story, in which he claimed to have become aware of his Santa Powers in the same year on the same night. “That never happened. Jack…he must have gone back in time and overwritten things.”

“How would he even have done something like that?” Bernard asked, taking the book from you and reading through the section you’d underlined.

“Father Time,” you mumbled. “Maybe he did something to Father Time.”

“Maybe.” Bernard nodded. “He’s in London. Big Ben. We can head there. But first, we need to find our Santa and pray that he remembers too. If not, our goose may already be cooked.”

***

Bernard ordered a drink for himself and the two of you left the shop, sticking a nice tip in the jar on the way out. You led Bernard to your apartment. Your roommates were still there, buzzing about their impending trip to the North Pole.

“I thought you guys were going home to see your families for the holidays.” You said, prying to see just how much they had changed in this new reality.

“Oh right, right, we were, but this deal is just too good to pass up, you know? My parents will understand. We’ll just celebrate…over spring break or something.”

“Yeah, yeah same. It’ll be fine, I’ll just mail them their presents.” Megan agreed, going right back to vacation planning with Cindy.

You gave Bernard a look that he returned before the two of you went up to your room. You pulled open your laptop and sat on the floor, Bernard looking around your room, eyes careful, admiring every detail until he found it, the snow globe he’d given you still sitting on the shelf.

He smiled softly, picking it up and giving it a shake before setting it back. “You still have it.”

“Of course I do. I’ve had it in all of my apartments. I don’t move anywhere without it.” You smiled and paused, thinking. “Did you…use your magic on it when you gave it to me? Maybe that’s what’s bringing my memory back.”

“No, I only used my magic to inscribe the plaque.” He explained, pointing to where the words were inscribed in curling cursive words, Believing is Seeing. “Something else is protecting your memory, even now.”

“Mother Nature?” You wondered quietly. Then again, if she wanted to protect your memories, why would she have wiped them in the first place? It didn’t make sense, so instead, you turned your attention to Google. “Alright, what’s Santa’s government name? As long as Jack didn’t kill him, we should be able to find him.”

“Scott. Scott Calvin.” Bernard replied, sitting on the carpet beside you, leg brushing against yours. “When we found him, he was living in Illinois. He might still be close to there now.”

“Scott Calvin…” You said quietly, typing his name in the search bar along with Illinois to attempt to narrow down the search results. It was common name, but hopefully not too common. You scrolled through hits from Facebook, showing Bernard the profile pictures to see if there was one he recognized. After all, you never saw Santa when he was still human, only as the Big Man himself.

“There! There, that’s him!” Bernard pointed to one of the Scotts. You clicked on his profile and started scrolling.

Marriage Status: Divorced

Employment: Frost Toys, Illinois

“Frost Toys.” You read, sounding deflated. “Even he’s working for Frost.”

“Can you get a phone number? His business phone maybe?”

“Can do.” You hopped onto his LinkedIn and found his contact, punching in the number and handing your phone to Bernard.

He waited while it rang, shaking his head when it booted him to voicemail. There was a long beep and Bernard said, exasperated, “Hey Scott, this is Bernard. If you remember me, remember anything, please call back. We’re going to fix all of this.”

He hung up and handed the phone back to you, looking disappointed.

“It’s okay. It’s gonna be fine.”

“Having trouble believing that at the moment.” He exhaled, frustrated. “This is bad.”

“On a scale of zero to plastic Santa…?”

He chuckled, mood lightening the tiniest bit. “You heard about that?”

“It was the talk of the meeting that month.” You laughed, remembering. Your smile faded when you remembered who else had been at that meeting. Maybe that was where Jack had gotten his messed up little idea of world domination.

“I’d take three of that guy before this.” Bernard shook his head. “What now?”

You thought before shrugging. “I guess we’re going to Illinois.”

“You’re serious? You’re coming with me to get Scott?”

“Or what, let you do this on your own? No way. Help me get some stuff together. I just put gas in my car so we should be good for a while.”

He smiled, getting to his feet and pulling you up after him. “Alright, what do you need?”

As quickly as you could, you gathered up the absolute basics: a pair of pajamas, an extra set of clothes, your toothbrush and toothpaste, your hairbrush, extra fuzzy socks, and a phone charger. Once the two of you were done, you stopped in the kitchen to load up on snacks and drinks for the long car ride, garnering looks from your roommates.

“Hey, who’s the guy?” Cindy asked, having missed him on his way in, apparently.

“I’m Bernard, a friend of (Y/N)’s. We have, uh, History together. History class, that is.” He offered his hand, but neither of them shook it, still too wrapped up in their phones and the cruise tickets they were busy booking.

“Ohhhh, right, I think I remember her mentioning you.” Megan nodded, agreeing. “You two going somewhere?”

“Illinois.”

“Why?” Cindy asked. “What’s in Illinois?”

“We’re going to see The Bean. I’ve heard it’s lovely this time of year.” You shrugged. “Probably cheaper than a North Pole trip, too.”

“The Bean…” Bernard chuckled, shaking his head as he shoved a box of Rice Krispy Treats in the snack bag along with some Hershey Kisses and a bag of Twizzlers.

“Okay, Mr. Sweet Tooth, pack some salty stuff for me,” you muttered, elbowing him.

“Heh, right. Sorry.” He smiled sheepishly, packing a few saltier options that would appeal to your human taste buds.

“We probably won’t be back by the time you two leave, so…lock up good, alright?” You asked, meeting each of their eyes.

You loved your roommates. You knew they weren’t usually like this, dropping literally everything for a vacation. It was something about this timeline. Christmas wasn’t…happy like it was supposed to be. It was a bitter, greedy thing that was pushing these girls, who loved their families very much, away from their loved ones during the holidays. It made you sick.

“You alright?” Bernard asked, noticing the moment you began to space out. The last thing he needed was to lose you, too.

“I’m good, yeah. Let’s go.”

***

Hauling your little suitcase and your bag full of snacks, the two of you walked out of the apartment to where you’d parked your car. Thankfully, it was still there, one of the things the new timeline seemed to have no effect on. You slid your suitcase onto the back seat and Bernard set the bag of snacks on the floor in front of the passenger seat.

You settled into the driver’s seat, turning on the car and adjusting the temperature and the mirrors. Bernard fiddled with the radio, looking for Christmas tunes and finding them, catching the end of White Christmas just in time for an announcement from the radio host.

“We’re playing your favorite Christmas Hits all day, 24/7. That was White Christmas by Michael Bublé, up next, Santa’s new hit single, Come Meet Santa.”

“You’re kidding me.” You groaned as an insufferable song started blaring from the speakers, Jack singing about his fancy new resort at the Pole.

“He’s got the reindeer in a petting zoo?” Bernard asked, disheartened as he listened to the lyrics.

“Oh my god…” You shook your head. “We’ve gotta find Scott.”

You connected your own Christmas playlist to the aux cord, doing away with Jack’s twisted idea of Christmas and set up navigation to the Frost Toys office building in Chicago. You figured even if it wasn’t exact, it would get you close enough to Scott by the time he called you back. Well, you hoped he would. Hope was kind of all the two of you had.

You drove out the front gates of your college campus and started heading towards the highway. “Let me know if you need a bathroom break or anything.”

“Alright.” Bernard nodded, still looking tense.

“Did you…try to call the Pole? I don’t know if there’s a special number for that or…?”

“I did. Customer Service put me on hold.”

You blinked. “Customer Service?”

“Yeah we didn’t have that department yesterday.” Bernard crossed his arms and leaned back against the seat, eyes squeezed shut in what you were sure was the immense stress of the situation. “Sounds like Curtis is in charge up there now, though. It’s like I never existed.”

“Oh.” You said, turning on your blinker to get in the faster lane. “I’m really sorry, Bernard.”

“Yeah, it’s…we’re gonna fix it.” He insisted, repeating your sentiment from earlier. “We have to.”

“We will.” You assured him.

He chuckled darkly. “This whole time, all I’ve been able to think about is how…this…what I’m going through now is what you’ve been going through for the past three years.”

“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t really know what I was missing out on until today.”

“How do you mean?”

“Something about you showing up jogged my memory. Before that, it was just little tiny bits and pieces. If it weren’t for your snow globe, I definitely would have thought I was losing my mind. I remembered Mother Nature and the…role she played in this, I guess, but I could not have told you what she looks like. All I’ve had is the idea of her.”

“And now?”

“Now I remember. Pretty much everything, I think. Santa, the Pole, you, all of it.”

“Well that’s good for us.” Bernard chuckled.

“And when it’s over, I’m sure she’ll just…wipe me all over again.”

“I will see to it myself that that does not happen.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe she ever did that to you to begin with. Lead you on like that just to drop you like nothing happened.”

“Yeah.” You shrugged, letting out a sigh. “I don’t know, I just…like I said to you that day in your office—I think, it’s still a little fuzzy—I always knew it was a little too good to be true. I always felt like I just…I was the puzzle piece that didn’t fit. That there was this big, beautiful, magical world out there, but I wasn’t meant to…be part of it, I guess.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” Bernard shook his head. “I’m 1600 years old and I’ve never met someone who doesn’t have a place. And having met you, I can guarantee you do belong. If Mother Nature can’t see that, then that’s her loss.”

You smiled softly. “Thanks.”

“You know, we can always use a hand in the ornament department.”

“I’d work anywhere you stuck me just to be able to hang out at the Pole again.”

“See, that’s the spirit.” He laughed.

The two of you drove for a handful of hours and you did decide to stop for gas, just to be safe. That, and you were really craving a gas station slushee. So, you filled the tank while Bernard grabbed the two of you some slushees for the rest of the drive down.

While he was standing there, there was a weird, floaty feeling about him. For a moment, his hands began to fade, sparkles taking their place, but as soon as you walked through the doors, the bell jingling above your head, the feeling went away and he exhaled a sigh of relief, feeling solid again.

“You alright?” You asked, voice hushed.

He squeezed his eyes shut, nodding before daring to meet your gaze. Never in his millennia and a half had he ever felt so weak.

“Bernard?”

“I’m fine!” He insisted, raising his voice slightly, but softening when he met your eyes again. “Sorry, I’m…fine.”

“Hang in there.” You whispered, standing closer to him. “I can’t lose you, too.”

He nodded, but didn’t say anything. The two of you went back out to the car, sipping your slushees and turning the Christmas music back on when it was interrupted suddenly by an incoming call.

You looked at Bernard and he reached over, putting the call on speaker. “Hello?”

“Bernard? Is that you?” Santa’s voice came out of the speakers and you sighed in relief.

“Santa? Oh thank the stars.” Bernard closed his eyes, a long breath working out of his lungs.

“What the hell is going on? Where are you?”

“We’re about an hour from Frost Toys. We did some research and found this, uh, new job of yours.”

“Don’t get me started.” He chuckled. “I’ll send my apartment address. Does this number work? Whose phone is this, I didn’t know you had a cell phone.”

“I don’t. It’s a long story, but I’m with a friend and we’re on the way.”

“Good. Well then, I’ll see you two soon. The sooner the better.” Scott sounded very relieved. He hung up and texted over your new destination, which was just a little ways further than the building you were already heading towards.

With new fervor, you pulled out of the gas station and got back on the highway, reaching Scott’s apartment with speeds even Bernard was impressed by. You pulled into the parking garage, got your little orange slip to put on the dash, and took the elevator into the building. Scott buzzed you upstairs and you met him outside the door of the snazzy, modern downtown apartment. At the very least, this timeline had given him a cushy job. He ushered the two of you inside.

“Bernard.” Scott greeted, hugging his Head Elf briefly before the two turned back to you. “I’ve never been so relieved to see you.”

“Likewise.” Bernard sighed.

“And you are…?”

“(Y/N). (Y/N) (L/N).” You introduced, offering your hand. “I don’t expect you to—”

“Oh! You were Mother Nature’s apprentice for a bit, weren’t you?” He asked, remembering.

“Yeah. That was me.” You nodded, deciding to spare him the gritty details. “I’m here to help save Christmas.”

“That might be easier said than done…”

“(Y/N) thinks Jack might have used time travel to do this. We were planning on going to see Father Time to see if any of this is something he can fix, or…or if Jack did something to him and that’s how he accomplished all of this.”

“It wasn’t Father Time.” Scott shook his head. “Jack tricked me with a wishing snow globe. Made me wish I had never been Santa and…took the coat for himself.”

“Oh.” Bernard murmured, nodding. “The Escape Clause. Well that would do it, then.”

“There’s gotta be some way to undo this.” Scott said. “It can’t just be over. This can’t be it. Carol…she doesn’t even know who I am.”

“Mrs. Claus?” You asked softly and he nodded solemnly.

You’d met her on a few occasions and she had always been so nice to you, relieved to have another human-ish woman at the Pole, as she said, which always earned a laugh from you. And now, she was a school principal again at a public school who didn’t believe in Christmas anymore. Even Mrs. Claus wasn’t safe from Jack’s trickery.

“Okay, so…we go to the Pole, then. Get…plane tickets, I guess. My roommates were planning their vacation there when we left, so if they can do it, I’m sure we can.”

“Definitely.” Scott nodded, searching for tickets on his phone.

“We go there, find that snow globe, and undo all of this, set it right, the way it’s supposed to be.” You said, determined.

“You think it’ll work?” Scott asked Bernard and he thought over it for a long time before nodding.

“It has to.”

***

Scott booked three tickets for the earliest flight in the morning, at five. You changed into pajamas so you could attempt to get some sleep, and Bernard put something on the TV. You emerged from Scott’s guest bedroom, face wiped clean of makeup, hair freshly brushed, and cute little penguins on your pajama pants. Bernard grinned.

“What?”

“Penguins?”

“I thought they were cute.” You defended, shrugging as you plopped down on the couch next to him.

“I never said they weren’t.” He shrugged, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

“Hey, pizza sound good, you two?” Scott called from the kitchen.

“Sounds perfect.” You replied.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Bernard agreed, flipping channels until he found what he was looking for. Ah yes, the Christmas movies. Specifically, the stop-motion Rankin/Bass movies you’d watched during your childhood. Absolute classics.

You gasped, childlike wonder filling your features. “Oh, I love this one.”

“You like these movies?”

“I’ve seen just about all of them, I think. We always used to watch them when I was a kid. These were my childhood. I like them a lot more than the Hallmark movies my roommates are always watching.”

“Rightfully so.” Bernard agreed. “These guys just…got it.”

“Better than anyone else.” You sat criss-cross on the couch. “Riddle me this, Mr. Head Elf, is Rudolph real?”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, (Y/N), but no, he is not.”

“No! What? You’re lying!” You covered your face with your hands. “My life is a lie.”

“I wouldn’t lie about something like that.” He laughed. “Rudolph is not one of our reindeer. The rest all are, though. Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen.”

“Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen?” You asked.

Bernard smiled, proud. “Precisely.”

“Hey,” Scott held the phone away from his face for a second, covering the microphone with his hand, “pepperoni good? Thin crust?”

“Sounds good to me, Santa.” Bernard gave a thumbs-up. He could not, for the life of him, remember the last time he’d even had pizza.

“Yeah, I love thin crust.” You agreed.

“Great.” He nodded and walked back towards the kitchen again, finalizing the pizza order.

The commercial break hit with, of course, an ad for the North Pole Waterpark and Resort. There were clips of miserable elves playing games in the arcade, forced to work as lifeguards in the waterpark, facilitating the reindeer petting zoo.

You frowned, that familiar feeling of dread settling into your stomach again. This was awful.

“That’s Betty, there, in the green. Third in command. Second, now, I guess. She looks…”

“Miserable.” You finished.

“Yeah.” Bernard nodded. He let out a frustrated shout. “I can’t believe this is happening! Look at them! Look at what he’s done to the Pole!”

Bernard took a shaking breath and slumped back against the couch, his lack of magic hitting him once again and that floaty, sparkly feeling returning.

“Bernard?” You asked, voice rising in concern.

“It’s my magic. The magic of the Pole, of Christmas, everything. Elves are…well, we’re basically made of magic, so if we don’t fix this, and soon…” He shook his head, words trailing off into hopelessness.

“Take some of mine.” You said, quiet, but certain.

He stared at you for a long moment. “What?”

“Take some of my magic.” You told him, more confident this time.

“You still have magic?” He asked, eyebrows furrowing.

“And no idea how to use it, but you do. You need it more than I do right now.”

“O-okay.” He nodded, sitting up a little straighter.

You unfurled your legs, turning to face him. You turned his hands so they were in a receiving position and placed your palms on his, taking a deep breath and closing your eyes to focus yourself, tuning into the fragments of magic still inside of you and then pushing them towards him, through his hands, up his arms, into his chest.

He flinched a little at the feeling, the sharp, cold tingle, but his eyes widened when he saw it, your magic, flowing into him. It was iridescent, teal and purple and pink and blue, waves ebbing and flowing, its gentle glow lighting up your features in the dim room, your hair blowing around softly in the gentle breeze it created.

It looked like the Northern Lights.

He pulled away after a few long moments, stopping the flow. You opened your eyes to look at him.

“Do you feel better?” You asked, concern etched deep in your gaze, pulling at his heart strings in a way he hadn’t felt in centuries.

“A lot better. Thank you,” he said. “But save some for yourself. That might be what’s protecting your memories.”

“Right.” You nodded, thinking. “That makes sense.”

It was quiet, the murmur of the TV the only sound other than Scott in the kitchen, getting dishes out in anticipation of the pizzas arriving, their ceramic clattering against the fancy marble counters you’d spotted on your way in.

You looked at Bernard, really looked at him for the first time. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t been crushing on him a little bit, back when you were acquaintances, when he was the knowledgeable, responsible, somewhat stern Head Elf with a heart of gold and you were Mother Nature’s apprentice, vying for a destiny you would not receive.

You remembered the way your heart would lurch when he peeked into the meetings you sat in on, with the rest of the Legendary Figures, and occasionally, the Guardians of the Seasons, if their presence was necessary.

One of the other elves, you were pretty sure her name was Abby, had given you a tour the first time you were there, she’d introduced you to him, and she’d also called to attention the way your cheeks went rosy the moment you walked away from him.

You wondered if he thought of you, if he had those memories too, tucked away someplace special, or if you were just another passerby in his long, long life. Sometimes you almost forgot he was hiding a thousand years behind that youthful face.

Sitting there, you weren’t sure if it was him who started leaning in or you, but it stopped as soon as Scott called for you from the other room, like a scratched record in the middle of a sweet, slow Christmas ballad, pulling you both back down to reality.

“Pizza.” You chuckled, standing up from the couch. Maybe it was the lighting, but you swore Bernard’s cheeks were rosier than they had been before.

“Right. Pizza.”

The two of you walked out to the kitchen together and sat on the barstools pulled up to the counter, grabbing slices of the thin-crust pepperoni.

“So, I booked the North Pole tickets. I also booked us tickets from there to London…Just in case.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Bernard chuckled.

“Hey, you look better.” Scott noted.

“I’m feeling a lot better, too.” Bernard motioned to you. “(Y/N) here still has a few tricks up her sleeve.”

“Good. We’re gonna need all the magic we can get.”

***

You didn’t get very much sleep before your alarm went off. It had been about what you were expecting. You never slept well when you were stressed.

You did, however, have a dream.

You were sitting in a meeting with Mother Nature and the Guardians, the two of them that were left after the Spring Enchantress’ retirement. Of course, you were training up to fill the position, so it wouldn’t remain empty for long.

Mother Nature led the meeting, held in the giant tree at the center of her Grotto, glancing at her watch every few minutes until finally, he showed up. Jack Frost. Even then, chills ran up your spine, though, at the time, you were convinced it was a side effect of his existence in general.

“Sorry I’m late, ladies. Had quite the hold up in Toronto.” He shrugged, sliding into the fifth seat at the round table, a snowflake embedded in the crystalline mosaic on the table’s surface. “What are we talking about?”

“You, actually.” Mother Nature stated, sitting up straighter. “We were wondering how the search for the Aurora was going, since you’ve elected to take on the task yourself.”

“Ah, yes, well, it’s certainly not easy. Winter Guardians don’t just fall from the sky, you know. But I’ve searched all of the places she used to pop up. Hence my overlay in Canada.” Jack shrugged. “And besides, it’s been five centuries since we’ve had one, I think we’re doing just fine without her.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” The Autumn Witch, a gorgeous young woman named Amber Sanderson, interjected, meeting him with her sharp gaze. Her long, curly orange hair was as beautiful as the autumn leaves, brown skin smooth and ageless, even after her thirty or so years on the council. She didn’t look a day over twenty-five.

“Then what would you say, Ms. Sanderson?” Jack countered, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. “If you have a problem with the way I’m running things, I’d prefer if you were forward about it.”

“We have been.” Evangeline Cho agreed, the Summer Sorceress. As her season had just started, she was glowing even more brilliantly than she usually did. “Every year, winter creeps further and further into autumn and spring. And it seems you haven’t done anything to stop it.”

“What, I can’t control that! I’m getting more powerful! It’s merely a side effect.”

“Which is precisely why we need someone on this council who can control their abilities. Such as an Aurora, which you were tasked with finding nearly a century ago, Frost.” Mother Nature stated, her voice cool and even. “If you’d like one of us to find her instead—”

“Oh no, no, that won’t be necessary. I promise you, by next winter, we will have an Aurora again and I’ll go back to managing snow days and frosting window panes.” He drew an X over his heart. “Cross my heart.”

“Excellent.” Mother Nature nodded. “Meeting adjourned.”

You blinked awake in time with Mother Nature’s gavel, staring at the ceiling of Scott’s guest room. That wasn’t a dream. You were certain. It was a memory. You’d have to tell the others.

***

Once your alarm went off, you got dressed and met Scott and Bernard in the entryway of the apartment. Bernard, who hadn’t changed his clothes, had one pointed ear sticking out the brim of his hat, a dead giveaway if there ever was one. You rummaged through your carry on and produced a knitted hat you’d made a few years back, motioning to his ear.

“Oh. Right. Thanks.” He nodded, swapping his usual headwear for the hat you gave him, slipping it on with ease. “Where’d you get this?”

“I made it. I knit.”

He chuckled, checking his reflection to make sure he was covered well. “Well aren’t you just full of surprises?”

“As we’re both learning.”

Scott drove the three of you to the airport and you arrived early, hoping your plane would be a little ahead of schedule, but when you found it was actually delayed an hour, it gave you time to grab drinks at the coffee shop.

“Hot cocoa, shot of espresso, extra whipped cream, please.” You ordered, Bernard just behind you.

“I’ll have the same, but make it a double shot.”

“Coming right up,” the barista nodded, setting to work.

Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise, filling the sky with orange and pink, sunlight glistening on the icicles hanging from the windows. You smiled, appreciating the quiet moment despite the dread looming overhead.

Once your drinks were ready, you joined Scott on a chair near the windows.

“So um, I had a dream last night. I think it was a memory from before.” You said, not sure how else to bring it up.

“What was it about?” Scott asked, curious.

“I was at a meeting with Mother Nature and the Guardians. Jack was there, sitting in for…the Aurora, I guess.”

“The Winter Aurora.” Bernard replied, nodding.

“What is that?” Scott asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“Well, there’s a Guardian for each season, often a woman, gifted with the powers of that specific time of year. They work with their Legendary Figures to oversee the flow of time and ensure everything is on schedule. The Spring Enchantress, the Summer Sorceress, the Autumn Witch, and the Winter Aurora.” Bernard explained. “We haven’t had an Aurora at the Pole in 500 years…”

“Well that would explain why I’ve never heard of her.” Scott nodded, thinking. “So Jack took her job?”

“Yeah, they were talking about his…powers increasing, I’m assuming because he was getting buffed by her powers in addition to his. And how winter is creeping into autumn and spring because of it.”

“That’s not good.” Bernard shook his head. “The seasons have to be balanced. Jack’s hunger for power is messing up the eco system.”

“Mother Nature said he was supposed to be looking for her, and I don’t know…maybe he just…wasn’t looking.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me.” Bernard took a long sip of his cocoa. “I’ll add that to the top of my list as soon as we get everything else back to normal.”

As soon as you finished your drinks, the plane started boarding, so you followed after Scott and onto the plane. Through the windows in the walkway, you could see the plane, giant, winter blue, and emblazoned with a giant picture of Jack Frost’s Santa impression, giving a thumbs-up.

“I’m gonna puke.” You rolled your eyes.

“Ditto.”

The three of you boarded and settled into your seats, all in a row. Scott had brought his laptop along to do some research on the flight. He figured it was better to go in with something of a plan than be blindsided by whatever you found on the other side. You had a feeling the Pole would look a lot different than last you’d seen it.

You settled into the window seat and got as comfortable as you could. For a supposedly luxury flight, the seats were surprisingly stiff. Knowing Jack, you should have expected him to cut corners, even in his power fantasy brought to life.

“How are you feeling about all of this?” Bernard asked, voice soft.

“As well as I can, I guess.” You shrugged. “I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.”

He nodded, eyes meeting yours, soft and serious. “I am, too.”

A lady in a flowery dress walked past, her perfume so strong, you caught a whiff of it from the window seat, its floral scent immediately tickling your nose. You tried your best to suppress the sneeze, but to no avail. You sneezed two times, waiting for a third, but it never came.

“Jeez.” You shook your head, reaching for the Benedryl in your bag.

“What’s that for?”

“My allergies. That lady’s perfume was pretty strong.” You chuckled.

“You have allergies?” Bernard asked, eyes narrowing. “Spring allergies.”

“…Yeah?”

“You have spring allergies and Mother Nature thought you were the new Spring Enchantress?” Bernard asked, looking skeptical. He knew Mother Nature. She was an intelligent, almost all-knowing being. He knew she wouldn’t make a mistake that obvious.

“That part never made sense to me either.” You shrugged.

“She thought you were a Spring, but…you’re obviously more of a Winter. I might be a bit biased, though.” He smirked.

Your heart raced when he said it, the realization hitting you that he was flirting. You were getting hit on by Santa’s Head Elf. That was something not everyone could say.

“I mean, I was born in December. The 21st.”

Suddenly, his flirting demeanor was gone, replaced instead by a look of realization, like you had just given him the last piece of the puzzle he’d been trying to solve since the day you left the Pole. “The Winter Solstice…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Let me see that, Santa.” Bernard took the laptop from Scott’s lap desk, clumsily navigating with the mousepad and punching something into the search bar. “Where was it your parents are from, (Y/N)?”

“I grew up in South Carolina. We were supposed to live in Michigan, but Dad got a job opportunity at the last minute, so we moved right after I was born.”

“Whereabouts?”

“Traverse City.”

“Hmm…” Bernard clicked through articles a bit before finding a story that made your heart race. “Is…Is this the house?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s…Oh my god.” You covered your mouth, reading through the article. Three months after your family had moved out, there had been a freak snow storm that took out half the houses in the neighborhood. And your house had been hit the worst, the roof over what would have been your nursery was caved in completely.

“Jack hasn’t been not looking for the Aurora. He’s been killing her every time she’s popped up.” Bernard concluded, a horrified look on his face.

“Wait. So you’re saying…” You swallowed the lump in your throat. “I’m…”

“Mother Nature appointed you Spring Enchantress to throw him off of your scent.” He said. “That has to be it. It’s the only explanation.”

“Are you sure?” You asked, fingers shaking as you wiped your sweaty palms on your pants. “I…I mean, wouldn’t I know? I’m not…special. Not like that…”

“Are you kidding me?” Bernard asked, incredulous. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. (Y/N), I’ve seen your magic. It’s the only think keeping me alive right now. It…” He reached for your hand, positioning your palm so it was facing upwards and as soon as he did, a wave of stunning Northern Lights glowed between your fingers. “Do you see that? I’ve seen Aurora magic. This is that. I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out sooner…”

“Woah.” Scott muttered, eyes falling on the scene unfolding between the two of you.

You curled your fingers, pulling the magic back into yourself and extinguishing the light. You sat with it for a moment and met Bernard’s gaze. “He tried to kill me.” You murmured, tears brimming in your eyes. “He tried to kill me for…for power? For a title?”

“We’re not going to let him get away with it.” Scott stated, fire in his gaze. “We’re not going to let him get away with any of it.”

You felt a tingling on your head and watched as white trickled from your scalp down to the ends of the piece of hair at the front of your face. Your heart raced and you touched the hair with shaking fingers.

It was real now. You were the Winter Aurora. And you had a feeling the closer you got to the Pole, the more evident that would become…

***

By the time the plane landed, the three of you were settled on a plan. Scott, Jack’s biggest priority, would cause a distraction, buying time for you two. Bernard would find the elves and try to snap them out of it. You, as the only one Jack wouldn’t fully recognize, would go find the snow globe and get it to Scott so he could undo his wish and fix everything.

Was it a perfect plan? No. But it was all you had, so it would have to be enough.

You walked off of the plane together, hoping the streak of white in your hair wouldn’t draw too much attention. Once you were inside the gates, the three of you huddled, finalizing your plan.

“You’re going to be fine on your own? Do you know how to get to the snow globe room?” Scott checked.

“I’m…being here…yeah, I’m definitely gonna be able to find it.” You nodded, still completely blown away by the powerful waves of magic, hitting you all at once for the first time. “It’s all coming back to me.”

Bernard grinned, hopeful. “Good. Good luck.”

“You too. Stay safe. I…I really don’t trust him. What he’s capable of…” You said warily.

The Head Elf shook his head, confident. “Is nothing compared to what you are.”

“Let’s save Christmas.” Scott announced.

The three of you split off. You watched as Bernard and Scott walked away together, Scott playfully nudging Bernard. About what, you couldn’t be certain, but you had a pretty good feeling it had something to do with you.

Cheeks flushed for more reason than one, you took off, following the swirling feeling around your heart, dodging past security elves with a stealth and speed you didn’t know you possessed. It was like muscle memory, suppressed very deep in the core of your being. A power you had never tapped into, but one that was quick to embrace you. You felt it in your soul, the Pole wanted you there, and it was very glad you’d returned.

Following the instructions Scott and Bernard had given you, you walked briskly down the corridors, slinking past bakery elves on their way to one of the many tourist eating spots. The workshop itself sat big and empty, barely an elf in sight. The few that were there looked tired, sad, working on tacky Santa Claus bobble heads and cheap gift shop pens. It broke your heart.

Distant voices echoed against the cavernous halls. In your mind, you heard echoes, too. Laughter and love and light, elves building toys, creating things together, working to make the kids of the world happy, no matter what it took. The workshop had been wrapped in pine trim and string lights, warm and bright.

Now, it sat dark and empty.

You wiped a tear from your cheek and continued down the hall, to where the entrance to the Hall of Snowglobes was. And at its entrance, was Betty, who stared at you for a long moment as though trying to place where she recognized you from, but quickly shook it off.

“You can’t be back here. No visitors allowed. I can escort you back to the main area, though.” She offered, smiling.

“Your name is Betty, right?”

She hesitated. “How did you…? Nevermind that, you’re still not allowed back here.”

“I have to be back here.” You told her. “It’s important. The fate of Christmas depends on it.”

“Well, the fate of Christmas depends on me doing my job, so if you’ll follow me this way.”

“I can’t do that, Betty.” You shook your head. “And I know you don’t want to either. Don’t you see that all of this is wrong? That what Jack’s done to the Pole, the capitalism, the resort, the gift shops, the reindeer in the petting zoo, this is not what Christmas is supposed to be. You know that. I know you know that.”

Betty’s features saddened and for a moment, you thought you’d won her over until she reached for a walkie talkie. “Security, we’ve got a tourist that needs to be removed from the Workshop.”

“Great.” You huffed, summoning your power to your hand, just as Bernard had shown you. But instead of sending a blast of energy at her, you let it slowly waft over, rainbow colors and dancing lights slowly enveloping her. As the magic hit her face, she blinked through it, eyes awash in the pinks and teals and purples. Yet another streak of white flowed through your hair.

She dropped to her knees and stared up at you, tears in her eyes as it all came flooding back. Her voice fell to a whisper. “You’re our Aurora.”

“I am.” You nodded, feeling confident in your title for the first time. “And I need your help. We don’t have much time.”

“Bernard, he’s gone! He—”

“He came here with me. We have to hurry. We need that snow globe.” You told her and she nodded.

You helped Betty to her feet and she ushered you into the Hall of Snowglobes, carefully plucking the little glass orb that had started all of this off of its pedestal and handing it to you. You held it with careful hands, admiring it. It was beautiful, if not absolutely dangerous.

“We’ve gotta get this to Santa.” You told her.

She nodded, following you out of the Workshop and into the bustling center of town, an absolute sensory overload if there ever was one. Tourists packed the streets, vendors were shouting over the noise, and above it all, speakers were blaring Jack’s Christmas Album, each new song worst than the one before it.

There was a massive stage, covered in fake ice and bright lights, and on said stage, was him, Jack Frost in all of his faux Santa glory, his red suit iced at the ends, hair spiked and ridiculous, like icicles. Behind him, was a row of toy soldiers and in their grasp was none other than Bernard, eyes wide in fear as Jack manifested a blast of snow in his hand.

“(Y/N)!” Scott shouted over the crowd, waving wildly to get your attention.

“Get this to Scott.” You handed the snow globe to Betty, urgency in your voice and your eyes. “I’ve gotta get Bernard.”

“On it.” She took the globe from you and weaved through the crowd expertly. You ran towards the stage as though everything was moving in slow motion.

“This guy isn’t Santa! He’s trying to ruin Christmas!” Bernard shouted, voice cracking as he did.

Jack laughed loudly, and the crowd assembled did the same. “Do you hear him? I am Santa! Without me, there would be no Christmas! What gives you the right to say any of this?”

“I’m the Head Elf!” Bernard insisted, struggling against the toy soldiers. “I’ve seen a thousand Christmases and dozens of Santas! You are nothing compared to any of them!”

“Alright, tough guy, you think I’m not Santa? How about I show you what a real Santa is capable of?” Jack threatened, ice in his voice. He raised his hand to freeze Bernard and you dove onto the stage, tackling Jack to the ground, earning a loud gasp and several concerned voices from the crowd.

“Don’t you dare touch him, you fucking narcissistic popsicle!” You shouted, getting a good punch in before retreating to Bernard’s side, kicking the toy soldier behind him and pulling apart the large ribbon bow binding his wrists. Parents covered their children’s ears, shielding them from the harsh language. Some of the crowd cleared out, retreating to a safer distance, while others pulled out their phones, desperate to go viral on YouTube.

“Come on.” You grabbed Bernard’s hand and he squeezed yours, following you off of the stage and through the crowd to where Scott stood with the snow globe. He shook it and made a wish, but nothing happened.

“What?” Scott asked, trying again. “It won’t work.”

“It’s the Escape Clause.” Bernard closed his eyes, remembering the rules. “Jack made this wish. He’s…he’s Santa now; he’s the only one who can undo this.”

“Oh my god.” A wave of dread flowed over you.

“And those, my dears, are the words I will never utter.” Jack said, dusting himself off and sauntering over to the four of you, his security not far behind, ready to apprehend all of you. “It was a nice try, though. Really valiant effort, all four of you. Scott, Bernard, Betty…and you. I can’t say I recognize you.”

“Maybe if you had half a braincell, you would.”

He scoffed, offended. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. They’ll figure that much out when they get you to jail, I suppose.” He shrugged and the security officers seized the four of you, taking the snow globe and giving it back to Jack. He tossed it in the air cockily a few times before chuckling. “You know, I don’t need this thing. I’m never going to wish all of this away.”

Frost tendrils crept up the glass dome and in a great burst of light, it shattered. You gasped, feeling the magic settle. This was it. This was reality now. There was no way to undo it.

“O-oh.” Bernard took a stuttered breath, faltering. He collapsed to the ground and you pushed away from security, rushing to his side and collecting him in your arms.

“Bernard?”

He shook his head. You raised a hand to give him more of your magic, but he lowered it with his own. “You have to finish this, Aurora.” He said, eyes serious, glimmering despite the pain you could tell he was in. “You’re the only one who can.”

He leaned forward, a hand brushing the hair away from your face, capturing your lips with his own, his kiss soft and tender, tasting faintly of peppermint, and then he disappeared in a burst of sparkles, his silver and gold magic drifting forward into your chest.

You gasped, tears rolling down your cheeks, arms empty and heart emptier. “No! NO! What did you do to him?” You turned, facing Jack.

“The only thing I could. Protecting Christmas from the likes of you.” He shrugged. “What was it he called you? Autumn? Is that your name? Autumn?”

“No.” You told him, rising to your feet, pure magic lifting you from the ground and setting you on your feet.

His eyes widened and he took a step back.

“I’m the Aurora.” You rose into the air, teals and purples and pinks swirling around you in a rush of power. You raised your hand, manifesting the snow globe within it, its broken shards reforming in your grasp, effortless and precise. Once it was whole again, you shook it, magic swirling within its waters, overriding the rules of the Escape Clause with rules of your own.

A voice came out of you then that you weren’t sure was your own. It came deep from your chest, echoing across the pole, accompanied by a wave of power, the same magic you’d used on Betty, but tenfold, fierce and fiery, prickling like static all down your arms as it left you.

“May Everything Return to the Way it Was Before, to the Way it was Always Meant to Be.”

And with one final rush of magic, everything went white.

***

It took a while for the picture to form in front of you, your hearing distorted, the colors slowly coming back one by one.

You were kneeling there in the center of the Workshop, which was full of elves, their work paused as they watched the scene unfolding. Scott was Santa once more, wearing his red undershirt and suspenders, looking jollier than you’d ever seen him. Carol stood beside him, looking confused.

Mother Nature was there, as was Tooth, and, of course, Jack Frost, wearing his signature blue suit as opposed to the red one he’d been wearing moments earlier.

You got to your feet, looking for Bernard in the crowd, but not finding him. Your heart lurched, your search brought to a halt by Jack’s nasally voice.

“Aw, come on now, kid, no hard feelings, right?”

Rather than replying, you wound up and punched him square in the jaw with more force than you were used to possessing.

“OOOOOOOH…” The elves murmured, wincing as Jack fell to the ground, gripping his face.

“I’m going to ask you one last time and you are going to answer me. What. Did you do to him.” You demanded, a fierce power zinging through you.

“I didn’t do anything to him! This is all a big misunderstanding! Right, Santa? Tooth? Back me up on this!” Jack groveled, shielding his face with both hands, cowering in fear.

“Can’t do that, Jack.” Scott shook his head. “You have to answer to her.”

“Where is Bernard?”

“I feel like there are more pressing issues at hand—” Jack deflected, shrinking further away from you.

“What’s that?” One of the elves asked, pointing to a column of sparkles manifesting beside you.

You turned to look, staring at it until it clicked. Reaching into yourself, you let the last pieces of Bernard’s magic flow out of your chest, where it had retreated for safekeeping. Silver and gold glitter rushed out of you, swirling from the ground up until he was standing there again, solid and real.

He all but collapsed into your arms, holding onto you tightly while he found his balance again.

“Bernard,” you sobbed, holding him close, your arms desperate to prove he was real again, that he was solid and wasn’t going anywhere.

“Hey, no need for tears, Aurora. I’m alright.” He grinned, meeting your gaze. His hand rose to your cheek and he wiped your tears away as he took you in for all that you were. “Thanks to you, I am.”

“(Y/N)?” Mother Nature asked, voice soft and warm.

“I…I can explain.” You insisted, turning to face her.

“No need, dear one. I know why you’re here. I’ve always known.” She smiled, bowing her head. “And now that you’re here, we can finish this.”

You looked to Bernard and he nodded, letting go of you to give you a gentle push forward, his eyes proud and supportive.

“Kneel.” She instructed, and you did, dropping to one knee in front of her.

The elves fell silent, desperate to witness what was unfolding for the first time in centuries.

“(Y/N) (L/N), through your bravery and selflessness, you have proven what I’ve known all along. You are the Aurora Borealis, the Winter Guardian, and Protector of the North Pole and all her Magic. For the first time in five centuries, the North Pole has an Aurora, which means…” She looked to Jack, who shook his head desperately.

“No. No way. I am not giving an ounce of my power to that…that…she punched me! Twice! Did none of you see that? She’s violent!”

“After everything you did to the Auroras before her, you’re lucky all she did was punch you!” Bernard snapped, arms crossed. “Not to mention the fact you destroyed her house in an attempt to kill her.”

Jack gasped in faux shock. “What, me? I…I would never—!”

“Jack.” Mother Nature reprimanded sharply. “You don’t have to give her the power. It was never yours to begin with.”

She outstretched a hand and, as easily as turning on a faucet, the power he’d been given, the magical, dancing light, was siphoned out of him and floated straight into you. Your feet lifted from the ground, head tilting back as your body slowly rose from the floor, power greater than you’d ever seen or felt ebbing and flowing around you, changing you into the thing you were always meant to become: the Aurora Borealis.

Your hair fully turned white, glimmering like fallen snow, a few stray streaks of pink and purple and teal scattered throughout. Your skin took on a subtle sparkle, every part of you becoming stronger, right down to your fingernails. Your clothes were replaced with a simple, glittering dress, the color of the night sky.

Gently, you touched down again, fully reborn.

The elves murmured and whispered in awe and you looked around to find a row of proud faces.

Mother Nature stepped forward and took both of your hands in hers, meeting you face to face for the first time in three years. “Dear one, I am so sorry for everything you’ve been through. I should have warned you, I should have done more to ready you, but I didn’t and…I let you feel alone.”

“I am alive because of you. Because you misled him. Everything you did was to protect me. I understand that now.” You told her, voice smooth and confident.

She touched her forehead to yours for a moment before pulling away to meet your gaze again. “Then, dear one, I have one last question for you.”

“I’m ready.”

“Hereby and Forevermore, your duty as the Winter Aurora is to the North Pole. You are tasked with its safety and secrets, to protect all of its residents and the magic they hold. Do you accept the Title of Winter Guardian and all of the responsibilities it holds?”

“I do.” You nodded, meeting Bernard’s eyes for a brief moment, only to find the warmest, proudest smile on his face.

“Then this belongs to you.” In her hand, Mother Nature manifested a small, elegant silver tiara, embellished with glittering snowflakes. She set it gently in your hair, completing your transformation once and for all.

Jack started sneaking towards the door, but you lifted your hand, a wave of power rushing around him, turning him back towards the rest of you and giving him a push back towards the rest of you. He stumbled forward, looking around the group nervously.

“You’re—you’re not gonna kill me, right?” He asked. “You still need me! I’m the one who oversees the snow days and-and the snowmen! Think of the snowmen!”

“We do need a Jack Frost.” Mother Nature said. “Which is why while you were here terrorizing Santa, I was locating your successor. Jack, come on in.”

The doors of the Workshop opened and in walked a much younger man with shaggy white hair. Your best guess put him in his early twenties, and his wardrobe was much more modern than the other Jack’s as well, a blue hoodie adorned with silver swirls. He carried a large stick with a curve at the end of it, somewhat resembling a scythe.

“Nice to meet you.” He waved casually, leaning against his stick.

“My successor?” Jack’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re firing me?!”

“Oh, we’re doing more than firing you.” Tooth chuckled. He looked to you. “Aurora, what do you think we should do with him?”

“He needs to be put…somewhere he can’t hurt anyone else.” You decided. You turned to the Head Elf and he perked up, interested to hear your suggestion. “Do you have a snow globe I could borrow?”

He grinned and reached into his satchel, pulling out a fresh one. “I like the way you think.”

“What? No! You can’t just—” Jack shook his head, looking to Santa, to Mother Nature, to even Mrs. Claus for some other solution.

“This is for all of the Auroras before me, for the elves you brainwashed and the reindeer you stuck in a petting zoo. You’ll have lots of time to think about what you’ve done. And maybe someday, in five hundred years or so, I’ll let you go live a boring human life.” You told him, taking the snow globe from Bernard and focusing.

There was a bright flash of sparkles and then it was done, Jack was trapped in the confines of the little snow globe in your hands and he looked very angry about it, but his complaints were too muffled to make them out clearly. Santa reached for the snow globe, so you handed it to him and he gave it an amused swirl.

“Well done, (Y/N).” He complimented, passing the snow globe to Curtis. “See to it that this gets locked away properly.”

“Will do, Santa.” Curtis nodded and headed off.

“Now, (Y/N), if you are going to be staying here, I suppose someone will have to show you around the place.” Santa smiled knowingly.

Bernard cleared his throat. “I believe that would be my responsibility as Head Elf, Santa.”

“Yes, I believe it would.”

The Head Elf offered you his arm and you gladly took it, letting him escort you up the stairs of the workshop and down the hall so the two of you could have a private moment. As soon as you were out of sight, he turned to face you, his hands cupping your cheeks, nose brushing against yours.

“See, I knew you were more of a Winter.”

“Do I look okay?”

“You’ve never looked better.” He murmured, closing the distance between you and pressing his lips to yours passionately. In your Mortal life, you’d had your fair share of kisses, but kissing Bernard was something else entirely. He was experienced, that was for sure.

After what felt like an eternity, he pulled away, resting his forehead against yours. “Now, where would you like to explore first?”

***

Bernard took you around the Workshop, showing you all of the departments, which were full of elves, all of them working hard to ensure Santa was on schedule to leave that night. Bernard checked in with each of them as he did, making sure everything was going according to plan. Tooth and Mother Nature had stuck around to help out, and some of the other Legendary Figures had arrived as well, introducing themselves to you when you came around.

Finally, as the end of your tour, Bernard led you to an ornate set of stained glass double doors. As if by magic, they swung open when you approached, giving way to a beautiful bedroom, tall, arched ceilings, dancing Northern Lights projected across them. Stained glass windows, a large, wooden desk, hardwood floors and shelves and shelves of books. There was a carved armoire in the corner of the room, and against the leftmost wall, on a platform, was a giant canopy bed.

“This is the Aurora’s suite. You can decorate however you’d like. I had some elves from the interior design department get it fixed up for you.” Bernard explained, your arm looped through his, hand resting on his bicep. “If you’ll turn your attention right over here…”

He led you to the desk, dropping your arm and plucking something off of the desk. Your snow globe! The one he had given you three years before, still inscribed with those famous words that had started your entire adventure to begin with, the last remnant you had from this life before it was ripped away from you.

“My snow globe! How did you get it here?”

He shrugged, handing it to you. “My magic came back. Which means I can give this back to you.”

Bernard lifted his hand and you pressed yours against it, palm to palm. Gently, your power flowed from him back into you, a light breeze blowing through the room. He brushed your hair away from your face and pressed a long kiss to your cheek.

“There’s still a lot to do, but…I think we’re going to be able to pull everything together by tonight.”

“Well then you better get out there, Mr. Head Elf.” You smirked, pressing a kiss to the corner of his lips.

He met your eyes, “You’ll be okay?”

“I’m going to be just fine.” You assured him, setting the snow globe back on the desk so you could rest your arms on his shoulders, his hands resting on your waist. “And after, you and I will have all the time in the world to figure this out.”

“Oh! I didn’t mean to interrupt…” Curtis muttered, standing in the doorway.

“Curtis!” Bernard exclaimed, his voice cracking.

You giggled when he abruptly pulled away to face his number two.

“The tree topper department needs an extra set of hands.” Curtis said, motioning back towards the workshop.

“Can I help?” You asked.

“Oh, Aurora, you don’t have to—” Curtis shook his head.

“Yeah, but…can I?” You asked, eyes curious.

Curtis grinned. “Yeah, of course.” He made eye contact with Bernard. “I like her already.”

Bernard gave you a nudge. “I do too.”

***

At Santa’s request, you met him and Bernard at the stable gates to see him off for your very first Christmas as the North Pole’s Guardian. Your heart was racing. You didn’t know what was expected of you or what you’d have to do, but Bernard was there, his smile ever so reassuring.

Some of the elves that worked with the reindeer helped get them all properly harnessed and ready for the flight, carefully attaching their reins to the sleigh. Bernard walked you through what you’d have to do. As one of the oldest elves in the Pole, he remembered the process well.

“It’s easy. All you’ll have to do is raise your hand.” He was standing right behind you and raised your hand with his own, positioning it just so. “And lower the barrier so Santa can leave. And if you can’t, we have controls for that now. It’s…mostly ceremonial at this point.”

“Well that does make me feel a little better.” You smiled, turning towards him.

“And, um, after, I think you should…check the armoire in your room. I left something for you.”

“Oh you did, did you?”

“Something for the party. You don’t have to wear it, though.” He shrugged awkwardly, cheeks extra rosy.

“And the party starts…?”

“The minute Santa gets back.” Bernard explained. “And then we get three months off and pick back up in March.”

“Alright.” You nodded, smiling. “Plenty of time for you to show me the ropes.”

“I was thinking exactly the same thing.” He smiled, looking both ways, but not risking a kiss, not with all of the elves assembled to send Santa off.

“Everything ready?” Scott checked, donning his famed coat and hat for the flight just as a few elves loaded the famous gift bag, filled to the brim and then some, onto the back of the sleigh.

“All set, Santa.” Bernard nodded.

Scott put a hand on your shoulder, the other on Bernard’s. “We owe this Christmas to you two. Wouldn’t be standing here without either of you.”

“All in a day’s work, Santa.” You smiled.

“I’ll see you when I get back. And then the real fun begins.”

“I’ll see to it that we have enough eggnog at the ready.” Bernard replied with a wink, which Santa laughed at.

“Excellent.” He climbed into the sleigh and gave you the signal.

Just as you’d practiced, you lifted a hand and focused on the barrier protecting the Pole, made of the same magic that flowed through your veins. Effortlessly, the veil parted, making way for Santa’s sleigh and the elves erupted into cheers as Scott flew off into the sky. Bernard cheered loudly, turning to you and scooping you up in his arms, spinning you around in his excitement. You squealed with laughter.

Once your feet were on the ground again, you met his eyes briefly before pressing the quickest of kisses to his cheek and walking over to Carol, who was smiling a proud, maternal smile.

“Let’s get you ready for that party, huh?” She asked, looping her arm around yours. “You’ll have to fill me in on everything you’ve been up to! It’s nice to have a human-ish woman around here again.”

“I missed you, Carol.”

“I missed you too, hon.”

***

The deliveries went on without a hitch and Scott was back at the Pole faster than you could sing the Twelve Days of Christmas. Carol, you, and Betty had gone into your room to prepare. Carol did your hair, perching your snowflake tiara perfectly atop your head. You felt like a princess.

Betty helped zip up the dress Bernard had left for you, an elegant silver gown with a layered skirt, a tasteful slit up the leg, and off the shoulder sleeves, a layer of tule on top that was embellished with silver stars.

“You look stunning.” Carol complimented, resting her chin on your shoulder as the two of you admired your reflection.

“Thanks to you.” You tilted your head. “I’m still getting used to the hair, but…I think it looks nice like this.”

“Makes you look like a superhero.”

“I kinda feel like one, too.”

“Well you should. Scott told me everything that happened. I’m glad you were there to help.”

“I’m glad I was, too.” You said, pausing before asking, “So…theoretically speaking of course, is there a rule prohibiting the Aurora from…dating?”

Betty gasped, smiling. “I knew it! You and Bernard—”

“You and Bernard?” Carol asked, interested. “I never would have guessed.”

“Never?”

“Well, maybe a little.” She admitted, pinching her fingers together. “Saving the world together is a very romantic first date.”

“So…I am allowed to…date him?” You asked, earning a giggle from Betty.

“There is nothing, to my knowledge, prohibiting either the Aurora or the Head Elf from falling in love,” she reported. “But I can check the handbook if you want me too.”

“That is good to know.” You tapped your temple, laughing a bit.

Downstairs, you could hear the music pick up and the three of you took that as your cue to join the festivities.

Soon, you were standing at the rail overlooking the Workshop floor, where Bernard was standing, chatting with Curtis, Santa, and some of the other elves. As soon as he caught sight of you, he froze, his glass of eggnog halfway to his mouth and eyes locked on you.

You smiled coyly and lifted the skirt of the gown, carefully navigating down the stairs. He ditched his glass on a cluttered table and met you at the foot of the stairs, taking your arm.

He swallowed thickly, admiring you for a long moment before murmuring, “You look beautiful, Aurora.”

“Thank you, Bernard.” You smiled, tucking your hair behind your ear. “You picked a great dress.”

“Would you like to dance?”

“I’d love to.” You nodded, letting him lead you over to where the rest of the elves were paired up, swaying to a slow song. Your arms settled around his neck as he tugged you closer, a hand on your waist, the other finding your free hand.

It was clear in seconds that he knew how to dance, as he expertly spun you out and then back into him with ease, his chest flush against yours, mouth right against your ear. It was one of those moments you were forced to remember he’d lived a hundred lifetimes. He carried them well; he always had.

When the music picked back up, he said, “Let’s go get some air.”

You nodded, letting him lead you back up the stairs to the railing, where a few stray elves were also hanging out, getting some space from the heat of the party. The two of you leaned against the metal, looking down over your new home.

You were quiet for a long while before finally asking the question that had been on your mind since early that morning, in an airplane in another timeline. “Did you know her? The other Aurora?”

He nodded, face serious. “I knew her, yeah. I wasn’t Head Elf at the time, only second in command. She and I were acquaintances, but she was nice.”

“Mmm.” You hummed.

Bernard reached over and touched your hand. “I much prefer what you and I have this time around.”

“And what is it you and I have?” You asked.

“I’m…not sure yet.” Bernard shook his head, tugging you ever so closer, a gentle hand on your waist. “But I do know that in all of my 1600 years, I’ve never felt like this before. Even before, when you left, when I thought I’d never see you again, I was waiting for the day our paths would cross. I wish it had been under better circumstances, but…”

“But, I’m glad you found me.” You interjected, taking another step forward and resting your head on his shoulder.

Bernard leaned in to kiss you, but stopped, noticing all the elves watching. However, when you pointed straight up at a bundle of glowing mistletoe, he knew there was only one thing he could do…

THREE MONTHS LATER

“Ladies, thank you so much for agreeing to meet here at the Pole.” Mother Nature smiled at each of you, seated at the large round table in your office, which was, coincidentally, right down the hall from Bernard’s office.

Around the table were yourself, Mother Nature, and the three other Guardian Spirits, Briar Flores, Amber Sanderson, and Evangeline Cho, each of you dressed for your respective season, but Briar was absolutely glowing, as though a halo of light was positioned just behind her head at all times.

“Thank you for having us, (Y/N).” Briar thanked, bowing her head. “My place is absolutely a mess at the moment. Bunny has paint on just about every surface in the building.”

“Any time, Briar. This place has been quiet since the elves started their break. Things should be getting started up again soon, though.”

“If you need any help saving Christmas this year, you let us know.” Amber chuckled.

“Knock on wood Christmas doesn’t need saving this year.” You laughed, knocking on the table.

“I am serious, though, as soon as Easter is over, we all need to get mimosas and brunch. There is this lovely little island that is just so flowery and perfect this time of year, you’d all love it.” Briar beamed.

The rest of you murmured and nodded in agreement, stopping only when Evangeline looked up at the doorway, biting back a grin.

You looked up to see Bernard standing there, a bouquet of snowdrops in his hand.

“Hello, Bernard. How can I help you?”

“Oh, Aurora, I didn’t mean to interrupt. The guys in foliage need a second opinion when you have a minute.”

“Right, of course.” You nodded, looking to Mother Nature.

“Meeting adjourned. I’ll see you all next month for a progress report.” She smiled, straightening up her papers. The rest of you all stood up from the table and began to exit the office.

Mother Nature rested a hand on your shoulder, glancing back at Bernard. “You look really happy here, (Y/N).”

“I am really happy here.”

“Good, I’m glad.” She gave your shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll see you next month.”

Once the others had scattered to the winds, Bernard walked into the office, closing the door behind him.

You quirked an eyebrow. “The guys in foliage, huh?”

“Partially. Partially just the Head Elf wanting to make sure his Aurora had something pretty to look at.” He whispered, an arm drawing you closer for a kiss that you gladly reciprocated.

“Your Aurora already has something pretty to look at.” You replied, a finger booping the end of his nose.

He shook his head, grinning. “Does the flirting never cease?” “Check in with me in a few hundred years.” You replied, setting the snowdrops in your vase before lacing your fingers through his, your other hand rising to rest on his arm as you walked out of the office and towards the large room you’d been using to train your powers. “Now, where were we with those lessons…?”

Tagged: @madameggroll, @capamericant, @midnightmisses, @five-hargreeves-apologist

#bernard the elf x reader #bernard imagine #bernard x reader #bernard headcanons #bernard #christmas #the santa clause

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aangarchy · 4 months

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Netflix atla live action review ep 7-8

Home stretch baby. I figured since i love the source material i should just be able to enjoy it, or at least be entertained by it somewhat. But even that was just not possible. I pirated it after the first three episodes just bc i didn't want to give netflix the satisfaction of a view.

It's not so much the acting, the costumes or even the bad/mediocre cgi, it's the writing. It's an absolute shitshow, a mess of the highest caliber. For someone who claims to love the source material, it really seems like Albert Kim didn't understand why a lot of the things in the original worked the way they did. Things that are important for character growth got removed, and lore that we normally don't see til later on in the show (or even in a completely different story within this universe!!) got crammed in. For no good reason too bc it doesn't really add anything, just gives us another obstacle or useless exposition that's supposed to explain another useless thing they added.

Both of the last episodes take place in the north pole. This makes sense somewhat because in the original all three of the last episodes took place there. The reason they did this in the original is to have room for all of the stories that still need to take place (pakku, zuko, spirit world, koh, waterbending training, sokka and yue etc.) However in this version, even though minutes wise we have more time, we have less story. Like way less. Also episode 7 proportionally is much shorter than 8 and it really gives issues with pacing.

Let's start with what annoyed me most. Where is the waterbending training? Where is it? The season's title is Water and Aang bent ZERO water this entire season unless he was in the avatar state. Katara "trains" yes, but it's mostly practicing moves she found on the scroll (which gran gran just gave to her? Why didn't this woman give it to her sooner???). She gets NO guidance from anyone, and the way she gets better at bending each time is because a BOY told her encouraging things. A BOY. In the OG we get Pakku saying "raw talent alone is not enough", which makes sense because bending in this universe is an extension of martial arts, and you have to train to become good at martial arts. This LA show however treated bending like a magic power, basically giving some mumbo jumbo about balance and a clear head and think of the people you love to become a better bender. And while yes, your mental headspace also is important (as highlighted in the original where zuko couldn't bend anymore bc he had no aggression left) it wasn't the only factor, it wasn't even the main factor.

When we arrive at the North Pole, Pakku and the chief of the North both expect Aang to help with battle strategy in order to stop the attack bc they're already aware it's coming. Aang tells them he doesn't really know how (wtf were they even expecting it mean that is a whole 12yr old) and they turn away going "guess we can't count on the avatar" like? Dude?? If they have such good intel that they already know the fire nation is preparing an attack, and that the Avatar is alive, how tf did you not hear that the Avatar is also 12 years old and far from a master of the four elements? Idk this weirded me out.

They removed the deserter episode, which means Aang doesn't renounce firebending, which means we get no storyline of Aang dealing with his conflicted feelings surrounding firebending because fire gives life, not just destruction. Katara also doesn't find out she can heal naturally. We just get told that healing is just a thing all waterbenders can do if they train for it. Katara's necklace has no significance at all in the story currently. Yugoda doesn't recognize that Katara is Kanna's granddaughter. Katara's gran gran being from the north originally doesn't play part in the story at all. Katara doesn't even once utter the words "this necklace used to be my mother's". Idk why that bothers me so much but it does. They also removed her rage at not being allowed to fight. Sure this show's Katara also goes to fight Pakku, but literally everytime she speaks she just sounds reasonable. She fights him not because she's So Enraged at not being allowed to become the master she's meant to be, but because the script demands it. She says it so matter of factly too. She's like a mellowed out shell of who Katara is supposed to be. I feel like this overall for her character in this show btw. I don't blame Kiawentiio bc i saw clips of her performance in other works (anne with an e notably) and she's good. This genuinely just seems like poor writing and directing. They removed all of Katara's passion. She's not warm, she's not feisty, she's not angry, she's not nurturing, she's also not flawed at all. I hate to say it but in this version she's giving Mary Sue, especially bc she just learns waterbending on her own, and then gets called a master out of nowhere. That's not how that's supposed to work. You're supposed to earn the term master.

Let's talk about Yue. Amber Midthunder is a great actress, but damn, that wig. Their budget was over 100 million dollars and yet they couldn't give my girl a lace front? Her wig was so structured and stiff, and if it were any other context like cosplay or a drag show this would have been perfect. Now it just looked really unnatural and instead of the hair being platinum it was gray. Yue's character got given more to do here. They changed the story to have her break her own engagement, but it's implied that the reason she did this is bc she met Sokka in the spirit world and... fell in love? Idk it was a bit weird. Both Suki and Yue were inexplicably entranced with Sokka. In the OG it's implied that Yue likes Sokka bc he's so different from the boys in the north, kind of like a city girl falling in love with a country boy. But here it feels different, he doesn't stand out at all compared to the other boys, and Hahn isn't a dickhead like the OG. I will say i like that Yue is a stronger character here. She takes charge of her own destiny and she is the one to realize that she can save the moon spirit, and wasn't told by someone else that she could do it. I am confused by them making her a waterbender, but i'm not mad at that change per se. I liked her sacrifice scene, her own acting was great. Sokka however... i genuinely burst out laughing, like so loud. The zoom in on his face, the expression, it was too much and too little at once. Overall, Yue's story was okay. Was it better than the original? Debatable. But it wasn't bad and that's a win.

We get Avatar Kuruk way earlier than we originally got him. I'm still kind of confused about the whole "you can talk to past Avatars but only in their shrine with their statue" thing, because if that's the case how in the hell is Aang ever gonna ask advice from Roku (or Kyoshi, since the writers clearly have a bias towards her and want to make her the main Avatar guide ig) without having to travel all the way to the shrine? Can they only talk in the one specific shrine or can we take a miniature set of Avatar action figures with us just in case we ever need advice? Also this lore abt the shrines and statues is flawed at best bc later on Kuruk shows up for Aang during the fight, while they're not present at the shrine. Either way, Kuruk was far from the go with the flow Avatar he was characterized as in the original. I know that we got some insight into Kuruk's story in the Kyoshi novels, and turns out it's a lot darker than expected, but Kuruk never let that change his character. He always remained chill, or at least kept up the facade, and i don't think OG Kuruk would be the type of man that is angry about how his life turned out. In this version, Kuruk is this scared, mean, bitter man who is really unsatisfied with his destiny, which he lashed out at Aang for. He seemed really angry at Aang to for no good reason. We're also not supposed to know this part about Kuruk's life yet. It's too much information and de waste time learning about his life story, the only reason we learn it in the first place is to explain the Special Spirit Killing Knife. Also the actor for Kuruk.... yikes bro. Idk which hallmark movie they pulled him from but he and his stupid polar bear hat looked like ass the whole time.

So there's this weird part about Kuruk having a Special Knife that is able to kill spirits. Idk if this is a thing from the Kyoshi novels that also made it into this show bc truth be told i haven't made it far into those novels yet at all, but it was strange to me. Somehow Zhao has this knife. We don't know how he ended up getting it (did the fire sage give it to him? I didn't see it but i might have missed it) and we pretend that this is the Only Thing that can kill spirits even when the spirits are mortal. Doesn't that negate the fact that the spirits are mortal, if they can only be killed by a Special Knife? Also there's this weird convoluted part about how the spirits actually live in the spirit world and only cross to the physical world once every ice moon to know what it feels like to be "mortal" and choose a different "mortal" form each time and this time they happened to be fish. But still, they can Only Be Killed By The Special Knife. Huh? What's the purpose of this added extra lore? I saw someone say the underlying point is that it shouldn't be this easy to kill spirits but.... that's the whole idea behind the Ocean and Moon spirits having permanent mortal forms? Them being mortal and choosing a form as insignificant as a fish, constantly circling each other to represent the precarious balance between Ocean and Moon, a balance that can be thrown off very easily. The whole point was that they're fragile so why add all this extra exposition for no reason? Why make the spirits harder to kill if in the end you're still just gonna have a guy stabbing a wet bag and not some rough spirit killing battle?

Zhao also just gets told by the fire sage that killing the moon is a thing he can do. I don't like what this changes about Zhao's character. Zhao is supposed to be this cunning man. He's scary, determined, strategically inclined, but alas overconfident and willing to go too far which ends up being his downfall. His ambition is what led him to do his own research by visiting a spirit library to find any weakness he could potentially exploit, and that's precisely what he found. In the original, Zhao always fought for his own career. His own accomplishments got him the tools to try and beat Zuko in the Avatar race. But in this version, Zhao just keeps getting handed things. He's a slippery snake that plays friends with Zuko and then tries to steal the glory from under his nose. He gets handed the archers, he gets handed the information on the moon spirit, he gets handed a war balloon (which completely ruins the surprise of the fire nation suddenly having air power at the invasion), and he gets helped by Azula of all people. It makes him look a bit chumpy in this story, and it really worsens his villain qualities.

On a completely other note, this LA seems to have a thing for making adults yell at a 12yr old Avatar for leaving the world behind, and it doesn't make any sense, because in this story Aang left on Appa for a joyride to clear his head. Aang didn't purposely leave. He had every intention of returning after an hour. Yet every adult in this show, even the past Avatars that know damn well Aang didn't flee from his responsibilities, yells at him bc he accidentally got encased in ice. And somehow this Aang gets made to feel worse about it than OG Aang even though he deserves it way less bc this Aang didn't actually run away! I don't like what this changes about Aang's character. In the OG, Aang has one fatal character flaw and that's avoiding responsibility. He runs away, and has problems with taking accountability for what his actions cost the world. He goofs around, plays games and likes to have fun to avoid having to face his destiny, all while carrying the guilt and blame for the century war. It's a huge part of Aang's character journey. The guilt he feels isn't misplaced bc Aang knows he ran off, and he knows that the world is in its current state because of his decision. In the end he takes responsibility by showing up to the fight with Ozai alone. In this LA, even though by all means Aang shouldn't feel responsible, he ends up taking responsibility right away. He goes to Kyoshi Island, not to goof around and ride giant koi, but because he knows he can talk to Kyoshi there. Kyoshi yells at him for leaving (again, why? She knows he didn't run away) and gives him a vision about the watertribe getting destroyed. Instead of panicking about it (like OG Aang did after finding out abt the comet) he just accepts that he needs to go and help. And while this Aang does get to have fun moments (i especially loved how in the first episode he sees playing watertribe children and immediately joins them, that was quintessential Aang), he just seems very down and serious a lot of the time. He's scared of people getting hurt and is very worried abt the safety of his friends to the point where he agrees with Pakku and tells Katara she shouldn't fight. It's not Aang at all bc OG Aang was rooting for Katara when she fought Pakku. To sum it up: i think the casting for Aang was perfect. A cute southeast asian skater kid that loves to have fun and genuinely just looked the part? Brilliant! I am genuinely not upset at Gordon's performance at all (although sometimes i wish he'd enunciate a bit better). But the writing messed up the character so much that i couldn't even feel the joy for having the perfect looking Aang. I will say Koifish Godzilla (Koizilla if you will) looked dope. What did confuse me abt the Koizilla scenes is that sometimes there was no music (which is a choice i often like bc it gives the scene extra gravitas) and then sometimes there was a majestic score playing in the back, like they couldn't choose how they were gonna execute it and just picked both. I know that's nitpicky but it bothered me nonetheless.

Speaking of Koizilla. Wtf was that thing they added about Aang "succumbing" to the ocean spirit and being "lost"? They didn't even explain it at all, but both Yue and Iroh talked about how Aang would be lost forever now. We don't get a why, we don't get a how. And "lost" is such a vague word for it too. Like would his spirit be lost and only his body remain? Would he be completely swallowed up by the ocean? Would he remain Koizilla, forever rampaging at the ice wall? They added this for extra tension i guess, but it doesn't really work when only minutes later Aang is able to return no problem bc Katara talked him out of it, so we don't even get to find out what "he'll be lost forever" means. Also: the scene with Katara talking Aang out of it was cute, but the execution was weird. Originally Katara gives this speech when Aang goes Avatar state at the southern airtemple. I like that they still kept Katara's speech to Aang bc it highlights their bond which is especially important for later on in the show, but I don't like how now Katara had to give this really heartfelt emotional speech to Aang in front of everyone else at the northern watertribe. It's supposed to be quite an intimate moment between her, Sokka and Aang as a new family, they're supposed to promise they won't let anyone harm him, which eventually calms him down. Here though Katara's just yelling these words at him in front of everyone and all the intimacy is gone. It also doesn't work as well bc we barely got any time of the gaang bonding. They spend episode 3-6 apart most of the time, so really they shouldn't feel this bond towards each other just yet. Because this LA removed a lot of the side adventures, we don't get the feeling that these kids have known each other for months.

Another thing they removed is Appa and Momo as characters. In the original they each get their own moments, we even got one whole episode with Appa as the main character (which won an award btw). Here though, Appa is solely used as a transportation animal and Momo... honestly i don't even remember what he does but i think it's mostly a small comedic bit? Also he hands the acorn to one of the characters. This is a bad change bc in these episodes Momo gets hurt so bad he nearly dies, and it has no emotional impact at all bc he's just an accessory in this story. I felt no emotional attachment to Momo and he just has no personality. I wonder how this choice is gonna play out when we get the kidnapped Appa story bc so far it's not looking good.

Anyway, for positives. I warmed up on Dallas's performance a lot, i wasn't that mad at Ian Ousley's performance and there were moments where he genuinely made me laugh. The cgi for the creatures was decent, but for the backgrounds it looked horrible. I liked that they showed how devastating the Seige of the North ended up being, with the unnamed kid and Hahn both dying. I liked the effect showing those two had on our main characters. I liked when Aang, Sokka and Katara all worked together taking out that one firenation ship. I liked the way they showed Sokka and Yue bonding. I really warmed up to the costumes as well, i still wish they dirtied it up a little to make them look less new.

There's probably some more positives but they're really minor compared to the negatives and also my brain is just done atp. I'm never gonna rewatch it for more analysis either bc i don't think i'll survive it lol. I might make another post abt my opinion on the show as a whole? Like an overall summary? Bc this shit is VERY long and i do apologize. If you made it this far, uhm. Thanks for caring abt my opinion so much that you sat down for like 10 minutes to read my angry yapping? I appreciate it.

Anyway bye

#avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar #natla #netflix live action #netflix atla #atla netflix #netflix #atla la #atla live action #natla review

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holy-puckslibrary · 7 months

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━ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐑𝐒. 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄

˗ˏˋ 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ˎˊ˗

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 — nathan mackinnon x claus!reader 𝐰𝐜 — 2k 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 — when she took the reins as the world's chief claus, her father forgot to disclose one very pressing hidden clause in the job contract...

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 — my mom and i watched this trilogy on a loop when i was growing up, so it only felt right to take some inspo!! <3

Most children would give anything to have Santa Claus as their father.

They wouldn’t if they knew what you did now.

Your father withheld a crucial detail throughout your many years of training. Perhaps the most important stipulation of them all—you cannot be Santa alone.

“Whoever wears the coat takes on the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus. In accepting the contract, the cardholder acknowledges that they must marry the partner of their choosing before their first Christmas in service to retain the titles, privileges, and residence of Santa Claus. Failure to do so will result in immediate de-Santification.”

You needed a partner. Someone to act as caretaker to the elves and the reindeer, and to watch over the Workshop and general operations on Christmas night while you fly all around the globe, the embodiment of the season's spirit.

Santa Claus wouldn’t—and couldn't—be Santa Claus, if not for their other half.

You suppose you should’ve known, should’ve worked it out sooner. So much of what made Christmas special was because of your mother, the previous Mrs. Claus. In his many years as Santa, your father made a point to remind everyone of that. She is the steward of the season.

While Santa Claus tinkers with toys and checks the lists, charts travel routes and weather patterns, and develops contingency plans to accommodate the ever-evolving technology, their spouse keeps spirits bright. Without help, the effort was pointless.

So, you should have realized. But you hadn’t, and now it might be too late.

“I have to find a husband in 28 days. If I don’t get married before Christmas Eve, I don’t get to wear the coat. I’ll lose the title, and the reins my family has held for thousands of years will pass to someone else,” you rant, tone carefully hushed to not rouse the temperamental husky one backyard over.

Your breath plumes away from you, rising before dissolving into the chilly Denver air. It reminds you of a snow globe, a bittersweet one.

“Who?” asks Nate.

Nate, like most of the world, is a Mundane, a non-magical person. He isn’t the descendant of Cupid or Mother Nature. Or a Santa Claus like yourself. He’s just Nate. Nathan MacKinnon from Halifax. Nathan MacKinnon, who now resides in Denver, Colorado, for work.

It's well past midnight, and you’re sitting on his back porch with your head hung low and one of your reindeer, Comet, is nibbling on his icy grass.

“I don’t know,” you answer with a glum shrug. “Normally, it would go to the next child in line. Since I don't have any siblings, I guess the Council of Legendary Figures will convene and select my replacement.”

Nate nods.

In his eyes, you can see him listing off the members in his head. Mother Nature, Father Time, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Cupid, Jack Frost. To him, they’re mythical beings. Bedtime stories and folktales he was told as a child by the adults in his life. For you, they’re the closest thing you have to extended relatives.

And they butt heads like ones too.

“What will happen then? I mean, where will you go? Could you stay where you are now, just not as a Claus?” he asks.

“The North Pole is the only home I’ve ever known. All my family’s ever known. When the duty passes from one generation to the next, the predecessors remain in the village, but who knows if they’d get to stay if I fail to comply? It’s all in jeopardy now because of me.”

Nate lowers himself down onto the step beside you. He does his best to disregard the unpleasant feeling of his pajamas soaking in the snow, but you hear the wince.

With the snap of your fingers, the snow is gone, and his pants are completely dry. You’ve even warmed the concrete beneath him.

“Thanks,” he murmurs softly.

He doesn’t have to thank you; you’ve told him a million times. But he wants to. He can’t let you give without acknowledgment. Nate refuses to appear ungrateful, even for the little things that seem insignificant to you. Like vanishing snow or drying his pajama pants.

Funnily, “Santa Claus” can feel like a thankless job. No one ever thanks you. They thank the persona, the relic. Nate wants you to know he’s grateful for your care and friendship, regardless of your occupation or magic.

Gently, he bumps his shoulder against yours. “You know there’s more than one person in a marriage, right?”

“Yes, but I haven’t exactly made an effort to find the other half of the equation,” you reply, deflecting.

You always overtake blame. Nate thinks it might be your singular flaw.

“I mean, it's hard because it's not like I can date like a normal person; my pool is small. And shallow. They either want me to give up the power entirely or give it to them instead. You remember what happened with Jackson Frost. All he wanted was the power his father failed to usurp. That should have been clear from the start. I guess I could see if Orpheus is still seeing the nymph Mother Nature fixed him up with. The whole narcolepsy thing, though not his fault, isn’t ideal, but the only other option is Val. And I’d rather not spend the rest of my life worried about flying arrows and jilted lovers.”

As the daughter of a Legendary Figure and soon-to-be one yourself, you haven’t had much time to date. Or even think about it, for that matter.

There was always a new wrapping paper to test for durability and shine or a machine on the assembly line that needed to be fixed before it broke any more dolls. Or a reindeer with a stomach ache refusing to fly. Or a fire in the kitchen that sets back cookie production by three weeks. Or a maniacal being with frigokinesis (the ability to manipulate snow) attempting to overthrow Santa Claus and assume control over the North Pole.

Crisis after crisis, all with very little personal time. That's why you opted for people who understood: the children of other Legendary Figures with dominion over their own holidays and cultural traditions. However, fraternizing with other magical beings comes with its own set of problems. For example, an ex-boyfriend and his father plotting to ruin your home, ancestral legacy, and a beloved holiday out of pure spite.

“You’re forgetting someone.” Nate’s quiet voice yanks you out of the downward spiral.

“Who? Easter Bunny is our eternal bachelor who would sooner give up candy than have kids of his own, and Tooth Fairy’s kids are still, well, kids. Jack Smith recently took over as Pumpkin King after his father retired, but he’s not the nicest company. Especially when he’s drunk, which is, truthfully, most days. I guess I could look outside the Council, but —”

“Me. I’m talking about me. You forgot me,” Nate interjects with an impatient huff.

“What?” you blink in disbelief, assuming you misheard him.

There was no way he was throwing his hat into the ring.

“I could be Mr. Claus. If you’d have me.”

Your face melts. If you'd have him? It wasn't even a question.

“Nate, I could never ask that of you. You would have to leave everything—everyone, behind. You would have to give up a career you love and have worked so hard for. Not to mention abandoning all the friends you’ve made along the way. You would have to lie about where you live and who you married to—and what she does for a living for the rest of your life. Nothing would ever be normal again. I’m tethered to the North Pole, but I won’t lock you up there with me.”

“I’ve been dreaming about the North Pole since I was a kid. Long before you nearly knocked over my family’s Christmas tree and had to make it up to me with a ride around the block on Comet,” he says with a chuckle.

You snort, recalling the fire you almost started the first time your father ever brought you along for deliveries. You weren’t allowed down a chimney for a few years after that, but the friend you gained was worth the punishment.

You take Comet to visit as often as you can and have been for years. He leaves out your favorite cookies on Christmas Eve, and you always save his house for last so you can spend the last hour of the season with your favorite person.

But you always imagined a day would come when he finally grew up and stopped needing Santa Claus. For as long as you’ve known him, you’ve been planning for a broken heart.

You sniffle. Nate takes your hand in his.

“Knowing you—loving you has put that dream within grasp. You wouldn’t be locking me away because I’d go willingly. Happily. All I’ve ever wanted for Christmas is to go to the North Pole with you. To see where you grew up and meet all the people who made you as wonderful as you are.”

“Why have you never said anything?”

“Because I knew you wouldn’t be able to. “Only elves, reindeer, and Clauses,” remember?” Nate smiles, mimicking your father’s response to a ten-year-old Nate’s innocent request. He even does the jolly belly laugh, which warms your heart. “Bernard wouldn’t even let me past the hanger if the sleigh didn’t toss me into the Atlantic first.

But in all seriousness, I didn’t want to put you in an uncomfortable position with your father again. Or with yourself. I know how much the sanctity of Christmas means to you. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to show me something that would feel like intruding on the magic to you.”

All Nate has ever wanted for Christmas is for you to show him your home. All you’ve ever wanted is Nate. The only gift your father couldn’t make and the elves couldn’t build. In all her festive glory, even your mother couldn’t put what you truly wanted under the tree, though not for lack of trying.

Nate was the only person who could give the present of his presence, but you’d always been too fearful to ask, too worried he didn’t feel the same.

But here he is, crouched on a step in the middle of the night watching a reindeer chase a moth like a cat, telling you he’d give up everything to stand by your side.

For you to be Santa Claus.

“Are you sure?” you ask apprehensively as if he were an animal you didn’t want to spook. “Sometimes we say things in the moment that we don’t really mean. Especially when someone flew 3,000 miles on a reindeer to throw a pity party in your backyard. You can take it back, and I promise nothing will change. No hard feelings whatsoever. I’ll still come and bring Comet to visit as often as possible. And you’ll stay on the Nice List, don’t worry. I wouldn’t even dream of —”

Nate cuts you off with a kiss. Sweet and perfect, and full of promise. The kind of kiss you dream about as a little girl, wondering what your Prince Charming might be like when he finally arrives. And tonight, yours did.

Albeit, the cape was missing (you preferred flannel pajamas anyway), and he hadn’t ridden in on the back of a mighty steed (you crash-landed on a reindeer-back, if that counts), but it was magical all the same.

“Wait!” you burst, abruptly pulling away. “What are you going to tell your parents? ‘Hey, Mom and Dad. Yeah, no, everything’s great. I just quit my job, sold my house, and moved to an undisclosed location—all without warning. No reason to worry!’ Somehow, I don’t see that going over all that well.”

“We can tell them we’re in Alaska and that you’re a toy maker," Nate casually supplies. He sounds like he's talking about the weather or what he had for lunch, not a life-altering cover story. "You couldn’t leave because your workshop is there, so I decided to move to be with you. People move all the time, especially to be with their fiancés.”

Though your heart flutters at the title, worry still hangs low over your head. You know how much he loves his family; you can’t bear to be the reason they’re separated indefinitely.

“But when I find a way for them to visit, how would we swing that? The sleigh is big, but it's not airplane-big. Curtis is a master of disguise, but even he couldn’t make the sleigh look less like a sleigh.”

“Doesn’t Sandman owe your dad a favor?” Nate winks.

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erosauriarts · 7 months

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Avatar x BSD

Warning: It’s canon related violence similar to in show BSD.

Atsushi - The Avatar

I thought it would be fitting since Byakko is implied to be reincarnating????? Also the Netflix preview got me excited.

AU Premise

**None of the canon characters from ATLA or LOK are gonna be referenced UNLESS it’s to justify bending rules.**

Republic City exists, but it’s less western base, bc I didn’t like that lmfaooo (Basically Yokohama but as it was in the 1930-50s). White people???? Huh?? Ig they exist now??? 😨

Lore Plot:

Red Lotus killed the last avatar because they wanted to find the new one, for some enlightenment reasons (IDK radicals man). The hunt for the new one wanted to take and raise the new avatar to push their own agenda. The man that did it, passed down his legacy to Fyodor (water), and he was the one to find Atsushi. Atsushi was around 5-8 and was from the northern water tribe. Atsushi’s parent was the moon’s spirits guardians (funny ha ha bc his’s design in literally Yin and Yang to Aku). Fyodor takes Atsushi, and isolates him with the other spiritual believers. They raise him, misinforming him greatly over what being the avatar actually means. Though he has a pretty good connection to his bending, Fyodor being his water bending master. They located somewhere in the north-pole.

In this time, everyone is looking for the avatar, but in like that way where you are like “here kitty kitty pspspsp.” And they even have a bounty for him. Bring him back alive ofc! In this, Dazai (Air) and Yosano (Water) are adopted siblings from a young age from Mori (Fire). Dazai at 18 splits off and becomes a traveling nomad, bc he fucking felt like it. Yosano was 14 when Fukuzawa (Air) saved her. Mori would make Yosano blood-bend, and so when she got free, she swore to never blood-bend again. She now uses her bending, and became one of the best healers.

The Armed Detective Agency works similar to canon in this, but has a specialized duty to find the avatar and turn them over to the white lotus. It’s extremely hard to get into the ADA, and forces benders to really push themselves. (In a way higher than the police force) Dazai joins, and is basically the ADA’s lost cat that goes away and comes back with something either helpful or cursed.

Dazai got leads on Fyodor bc Atsushi accidently used the avatar state when he found some new (and/or) prob figured out what happened to his family. Dazai basically yoinks Atsushi from the isolated village, running back on all fours with the weretiger dangling from his mouth /j. Dazai shows up, drops the avatar off, then bounces. Even though Fyodor’s spiritual training and water-bending was severely indepth, Atsushi lacked alot of common sense. Atsushi’s abuse in this is more intense psychological punishment more then the physical one in canon. He’s.. alittle messed up, but besides the point. Regardless how much bad stuff he went through, he was genuinely sweet. The stress of the truth tho, threw him off balance, so he is hesitant to go into the avatar state.

Atsushi’s bending teachers / relationship

Water: Fyodor. Strictly mentor and caregiver. He sucked at caring for Atsushi’s needs, and only was interested in talking when Atsushi asked about spirtual connection and Philosophical debates. Spent most of his childhood till Dazai yoinks him at 18

Earth: Kunikida. He sucked at it originally, but Atsushi was so determine, he ends up asking for help to connect. Atsushi warms up to him, looking up to him for strength.

Air: Dazai. The third one, and he’s stressed. Dazai runs circles around Atsushi, causing so much mental strain. Atsushi gets frustrated, and nearly gave up, but Dazai manages to get a mutual understanding.

Fire: Kyouka. Though younger, Kyouka was the fastest firebender. She constantly beat Atsushi when the Port Mafia sent her out. (He gets saved by the ADA a lot lol)

Character Mentions

Ranpo: A none bender. Works with the Republic City police force, but spends most of his time with the ADA. He actively helps them get around the police.

Akutugawa: Earth Bender. He can bend metal, and is actually really scary (..er?)

Chuuya: I go back and forth between earth and fire. And I think earth bc of his boom boom, smash kapow moments in canon. I thought fire cause hehe red.

Nikolai: Air. He’s that one guy that does flips and is nearly impossible to get a hold off. Boys a slinky. He’s Fyodor’s right hand man… they even… KISS?

#art #bsd #fan art #bungo stray dogs #bungou gay dogs #atsushi nakajima #dazai osamu #yosano akiko #tanizaki junichirou #kunikida doppo #fukuzawa yukichi #ranpo edogawa #procreate #cross over #au idea #avatar #avatar the last airbender #ALTA

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highfantasy-soul · 3 months

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Oh wonderful, another YouTuber I usually agree with butchering their critical thinking skills while talking about NATLA.

Just like with Jessie Gender, I usually agree with Read With Cindy's takes on media, but, just like with Jessie, Cindy just....point blank lies about what happened in the live action Avatar?

Because I have that terminal condition of 'can't let inaccurate information remain un-challenged', here's my response to her points:

She claims that because Sokka isn't sexist, Katara has nothing to be angry about…..so colonization, genocide, a 100 year war, the fire nation murdering her mother, the broken state of the world aren't things to be mad about? Sexism is the only thing a WOMAN could POSSIBLY be angry about???

She claims they 'sanitized' Sokka's character 'removing his flaws so he has nowhere to grow' - same as the last point - do you think sexism is the only flaw a man can have? There are absolutely no other character traits available for men to have that they need to grow from?

She claims that it's only in the animated show that Katara frees Aang from the iceberg - in the live-action, she wasn't the catalyst for the story - that's just…demonstrably not true. In the live-action, Katara's waterbending is still what breaks Aang free. Just because she doesn't do it in an angry tirade doesn't mean it wasn't her power. Yet again, women can show power in MANY ways other than screaming at sexist people. In the live-action, she's waterbending despite Sokka's command for her not to, he's trying to find a mundane way to get the boat back and Katara decides to attempt to solve the problem with her waterbending - which works, but also breaks Aang free. Yet again, if you can only see 'agency' as 'screaming tirade' then you're missing out on a lot of other ways people can show their agency

She claims that they substitute showing Katara and Sokka's 'everyday life' intro for Aang's to push him as the main character rather than the Water Tribe siblings, but…that's just not true? The live action shows Aang's 'day-in-the-life' AND Sokka and Katara's - it actually shows more of Sokka and Katara's 'day-to-day' than the animated show does. So this point is just a flat out lie.

She continues on about the 'hero's journey' and how the hero 'always refuses the call' - yet….in the animated show, Katara NEVER 'refuses the call' to go with Aang - she almost abandons her family to 'answer the call' and only stops because Aang and her family don't want her to be separated from them. Please stop using the hero's journey as gospel and anything that breaks from that mold is 'bad' - but if you ARE going to use it….get better at viewing media because all that DID happen in the live-action.

Cindy claims that the 'call to adventure' in the live-action is still 'go to the north pole' but it's not - the call to adventure is helping Aang on his journey to be the Avatar - a journey that Katara and Sokka willingly go on to play a part in saving the world. Did you not watch the entire first episode and then the first part of the second? She claims that Katara had no reason to go on the journey in the live-action other than to help Aang when that's point-blank not true. She was excited about how much more bending she could do and how, because of Aang (like in the cartoon), she could now become a better waterbender. Part of her journey out of the southern tribe is STILL for herself and her own growth, not just Aang's.

Cindy makes the argument that Katara isn't a real main character in the live-action because she had nothing to do with the inciting incident (Aang being released from the iceberg) and she didn't have her own reason for going on the journey (get a waterbending master at the north pole). Both these assertions are, just factually wrong. Katara DOES free Aang from the iceberg and she DOES continue on with him because being in the world is helping her waterbending - she even got a waterbending scroll out of it and the mental training that helps her begin her journey. Not only that, but the inciting incident could also be seen as the decision to help Aang or not, it doesn't have to specifically be 'freeing him from the iceberg'. That's an incredibly narrow way to view inciting incidents.

But more than that, Cindy's assertion that those two things have to be present in order for someone to be a main character are just…really bad and narrow storytelling. You can still be a main character even if you don’t personally cause the inciting incident: ummmm…Aang? Hello? He didn't CHOOSE to be the Avatar, he was drug along and finally had to accept his role despite not wanting to at all! Not only that, but Sokka is a main character too, so is his reason for sticking with the group not good enough? Is he not actually part of the Gaang?

She goes on to say that Katara was the glue that created and held together the Gaang and in the live-action, she wasn't. That's…also literally not true as well. In the animated and live action, Sokka is totally on board immediately with saving Aang after Zuko takes him (after Katara changes his mind about turning Aang over in the first place), then she's the one who insists that they all need to continue on with Aang even after the immediate threat of the fire nation is done. In the animated show, Sokka is on board from the second episode on, so Katara isn't 'keeping everyone together' - yet. I think Cindy is drawing from future seasons with that analysis when it isn't accurate in the live-action at all. Many times in season one of the animated series, Aang is actually the one to get in between sibling squabbles and tries to keep them together, so placing all the weight of being the glue of the party on Katara is…well, parentifying Katara in a way that's not exactly the best.

Cindy also claims that live-action Katara never has any dialogue or action that does anything for the story. That's just….again, inaccurate? Genuinely it feels like she just stopped paying attention to Katara the moment she didn't scream at Sokka and just heard the 'wah wah wah' of Charlie Brown adults every other time Katara spoke. She didn't pay attention to Katara as a character at all and that says more about Cindy's view of female characters than it does the writer's. She even claims Katara didn't do anything to help in fights when….she definitely does? Just because she's not a super competent waterbender off the bat like animated Katara is, doesn't mean she doesn't try to help in battles, but it makes a lot of sense that she's easily beaten because….she has no combat training and is fighting against trained soldiers???? Sorry she isn't 'girl boss' enough for you.

At the same time, Cindy is claiming that Sokka is put in a more important role than Katara and he's learning all these new things while Katara isn't. Which tells me that Cindy doesn't put any importance into Katara learning about leadership and waterbending and keeping the emotional core of the party in tact (something she claims Katara needed to do but didn't) - she only views Sokka learning about different ways to interact with being a 'warrior' as important. Apparently, Katara struggling with her cultural trauma isn't 'a lot going on' with her character - I guess Cindy found that stuff boring and just wanted more 'heroic' stuff. Apparently sustaining the cultural traditions of her entire tribe wasn't enough going on with Katara - that stuff isn't important and at all, apparently.

Again with the complaint that Aang is 'just pulling Katara along with him on his own journey making Katara a passive observer' while…showing the scene where Katara is practicing waterbending herself and encouraging Aang to join her in training too? And HE'S actually the one being more passive???

I think Cindy fundamentally misunderstands ensemble cast stories. She makes the claim that because Katara and Sokka don't come into the story until 20 minutes in, that means they can't really be main characters. Tell that to EVERY ensemble cast that picks up new protagonists along the way! Is she also saying that Zuko isn't a main character because the show didn’t start with him? Because he didn't "cause" the inciting incident?

Of course, she then tries to claim that both Suki and Yue were relegated to 'love interest for Sokka' in the live-action but she somehow believes that that wasn't the case in the animated show?? Both Suki and Yue had SOO much more agency in the live-action than they did in the animated series! I already made a post about Suki, but Yue's post is coming.

Idk how you could ever call live-action Katara 'meek' or 'just a good girl with no flaws'. She stood up to Sokka when he wanted to turn Aang over to the firebenders, she pushed for them to go on the journey with Aang, she stood her ground against Zuko and his entire group of soldiers (ALONE!), she joined Jet in tracking the spy and attacking him and his men, she stood up for what Jet was doing (before she knew everything) and then stopped the arrow from blowing up everyone at the palace, she again stood her ground against Sokka and made him see her pov (and she accepted seeing his too), she was excited to join Aang in the spirit world, she fought back against Pakku's sexism, and she stood her ground against Zuko yet again to defend Aang. So, which one of those things was 'meek' or 'just being a good girl'?

Cindy also claims that everything about waterbending was just 'handed to Katara so easily' and she didn't have to work for it. Like, WHERE???? In the animated series, Katara was automatically great at waterbending and was doing super advanced stuff immediately! In the show, we see her practicing in every spare moment. To claim that her being given a scroll that had been hidden among her tribe for years in an effort to preserve their culture the fire benders were trying to destroy was 'cheap' and 'just handing the win to Katara without her having to work for it' is, quite frankly, pretty disgusting.

This poison of 'individuality is the only good trait, you have to do everything yourself or else it doesn't count and you had it easy' is so freaking toxic and we need to get rid of that thought process right freaking now! To have your own culture fight and risk their lives to preserve knowledge to pass down to you is a beautiful and powerful thing - to claim that it was 'the easy way out' discounts the sacrifice of all the water benders before Katara who sacrificed so that she could have that knowledge. She still had to study and practice from the scroll - would you say that reading the works of scholars before you meant you didn't actually learn anything? You needed to do all the experiments and research yourself or else you're 'lacking agency'?

Not only does she have to study and practice from the scroll, she learns from observing other benders and trying out new moves based on their techniques. She uses both the scroll and her observation of others to scrape her way into learning new waterbending techniques. Contrast that with the animated Katara that we never see training unless it's the point of the episode yet she's still doing amazing things without a hitch. Absolutely bizzare that Cindy (and so many others) complains that Katara didn't crack open an entire iceberg with her rage, but ALSO complains that she….lifted some water to stop a fireball claiming it was 'too advanced' of a move for her to be able to do…..choose one, PLEASE!

The more 'critiques' I see people making about the writing of female characters in NATLA, the more I'm afraid we're regressing massively in what we think are 'acceptable' ways to write women. It seems like they all want to go back to the early 2000s white pop feminism that lacks any nuance or intersectionality - the only thing women can be mad about it shallow sexism and the only way to SHOW they're mad is to get physical or scream their heads off. No other method of showing anger or complex reasons for anger are allowed, that's "watering it down" rather than adding layers and nuance, incorporating every aspect of a character rather then just their gender to their motivations.

Ironically, what they're doing is contributing to gender essentialism - women are this way, men are this way, the only way to fight against 'women are this way' is to scream at a hyper-sexist man and if you're not doing that (or don't have a hyper-sexist man to scream at) then you aren't actually a 'strong female character' because screaming at sexism is the only thing that makes a woman strong.

#natla #natla positivity #netflix avatar #seriously it's so disappointing to see all these 'analysis' of natla using factually incorrect information in their arguments #of seeing people regressing so hard on what is allowed to be considered 'feminine rage'#of thinking that there is only one way to show a trait and if they don't do it exactly like they did it in the animated show #then that means they didn't do it at all and none of the additions to the live-action actually exist #genuinely to claim that Katara 'had nothing going on' in the live-action is.... not gonna lie it feels racist #cultural trauma and fighting to preserve your culture apparently is 'nothing' to some people

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attackfish · 6 months

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5 headcanon for Azula is significantly older than Zuko. What happens when Aang is forced? Obviously Zuko would be too young to be banished. But does something happen to Azula? Does she turn to the Avatar to help protect her brother from their father?

Continued from: [Link], [Link], [Link], and [Link].

I presume you mean when Aang is found?

1. When Ursa leaves, her son is a babe in arms. When Aang is found, that same boy is a six year old, learning his first lessons in firebending, and learning to write his first characters. But something is already apparent. He isn't leaping ahead with the lightning speed of his sister at that same age. And that might not have been remarked upon, if not for something else. Little Zuko is... soft. He gets angry and upset when birds of prey kill turtle-crabs on the beach. He tries to sneek abandoned owl cat chicks under his bed, and is distraught when they don't make it, because they were too young. He puts himself on the side of the weak and vulnerable, and tries to protect them from the powerful and from the uncaring universe. And in doing so, he earns his father's scorn.

2. Azula couldn't tell you if it happened gradually or suddenly. She remembers both a sense of sudden dislocation, and change to a new reality, with new rules, and also a gradual creeping dread, as the world, their father's world, shifted around them. All she knows for sure is that one of her very woest fears has come to pass. Zuko is no longer a little ball of potential that she is being measured against at all times. Now he is weak, and pathetic, and she promised. She promised she would protect him, and teach him what he needed to know, and how can she, when their father is so big, and so powerful, and Zuko doesn't even understand what she's trying to teach him, and it makea her so angry, when he just doesn't get it... And she feels like he must have, the day on the beach, with the turtle-crab and the hawk, and she can't help worry that someday her dad will realize she's pathetic and weak too.

3. When the Avatar is first found, he is Zhao's problem. Azula never thought much of Zhao, but by all reports, the Avatar is a twelve year old child with training in only one element. It doesn't occur to her that Zhao will fail to capture him. But he does. Again and again. And after the debacle at the North Pole, Azula finds herself kneeling at her father's feet, telling her it is her turn. She must find and capture the Avatar.

4. And she must capture, or preferably, in her father's eyes, kill, her uncle. Because her uncle disappeared a less than a month ago, and showed right back up, at the North Pole, helping the Avatar and opposing Zhao. Her father is of course outraged at his brother's treason. Azula's thoughts are more tangled. And more wounded. He would leave to help the Avatar, a stranger and an enemy to her people, when he barely deigned to notice his own niece and nephew. And that's the thing, isn't it? Azula's whole life has been marked by the presence of so many people, so many adults, who either didn't notice what her father did to his children, or just let it happen. Her uncle is just one more. Only her mother ever tried to protect her.

5. Azula has to leave her brother behind, in her father's care. Which is why, for her, the goal isn't just to capture the Avatar and deal with her uncle, it's to do it as fast as possible. Which is why she goes to Mai and Ty Lee. And if she has qualms about threatening Mai's baby brother to remind her of what she has to lose? Well, it's her own baby brother on the line.

#avatar the last airbender #azula #ozai #uncle iroh #zuko #posts i created #do you want to ask a question it doesn't have to be a question #five headcanons #azula needs her own warning #zuko is a dweeby little turtleduck #noodle lord ozai #i ship iroh/tea #mai doesn't hate you

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iwritenarrativesandstuff · 4 months

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started watching the new live action avatar

it’s. It’s pretty ok I guess? But there’s a lot of things I’m not altogether happy about. It feels very. Generic. Which is kind of sad.

I’m only two episodes in though, so I won’t be too harsh. But there are a few things that I really don’t like, and number one was Aang going into the Avatar State in front of Sokka and Katara for the first time when seeing Monk Gyatso instead of when escaping Zuko, and that moment being isolated instead of the moment everyone in the world knew the Avatar had returned

in the original series, Aang goes into the Avatar State when confronted by irrefutable proof in the form of the skeleton of his best friend and mentor - the airbenders really were massacred and he can no longer deny it.

every statue of the Avatar around the globe lights up in a single moment. the legendary figure’s destined return is announced to the world by an overwhelming outpouring of grief and rage from a young child who just discovered that everyone he ever knew and loved is gone. it’s poignant. the Avatar’s return in that moment is not a triumph. that terrifying show of strength and power, enough to light up the world in its glow, is pure emotional anguish from a small twelve year old, who just saw the dead body of his mentor and now believes he is all alone

and Katara and Sokka having seen the Avatar State before means that there is less of the shock and “what is happening” in this pivotal scene (which was the main focus in the live action). of course Sokka is still concerned about them potentially getting flung off the mountain. but both of them know this reaction for what it is - mysterious power, sure, but primarily, they see and recognize his grief.

I just. what happened to “we’re your family now” and “neither of us are gonna let anything happen to you”??? :(

on a side note, I do feel like Katara and Sokka themselves have been heavily (heh) watered down. it’s a shame. Sokka’s my favourite, and I just think that I. Don’t trust writers with Katara now. (Why is her waterbending a secret? The whole reason she didn’t learn was because there was no one to teach her and she couldn’t leave… also where is her instant connection with Aang… where is their silliness… where did it go…)

however! I did like a couple things that were done and I want to be a bit positive so here

love Zuko and Suki’s actors. they did a great job

Sokka and Suki’s training together was cute ☺️ (though I wish he had worn the uniform of the Kyoshi Warriors…)

Aang himself is adorable :) (wish he got to be a little more silly but Netflix adaptations always are more serious for some reason)

I actually kind of enjoyed getting to see some of the scenes from the war’s outbreak. I prefer the way the original show portrays it, with a lot of info being learned reverse chronologically, but it was cool to see Sozin, and some of the airbenders, and a little more of Gyatso (who I also really enjoyed :’) )

Katara bending water at Aang and it reducing to them splashing each other without even trying to bend. Rare sillies!

I thought Kyoshi herself coming to defend her island was pretty sweet!!!

Katara getting flashbacks to her mother’s death on seeing firebending. Well I don’t like this, obviously, but it clearly shows how her mother’s death haunts her, and if they have Katara face off against Zuko again at the North Pole, it’ll be all the more triumphant.

Suki’s mom!!! Damn she was so cool!!!!!!

#also whyyy was Katara not the first person Aang saw??? this is really important!!!#and what is Katara’s role here. She didn’t even seem to break the iceberg. That’s. That’s her whole. That’s. She. She kickstarts it. Gah.#Katara my beloved my sweetie I don’t know why your writing got fucked up in the comics and now here #you deserve so much better #also why no Aang and Zuko confrontation? hello? that’s really important???#they had him meet Iroh though. so that was actually pretty interesting #no agni kai between Zhao and Zuko either? maybe it’ll happen next episode?#ugh. I actually don’t like a lot of things. But I’ve only watched two episode so I’ll be chill and wait for more #storyrambles #atla #also this is just me being nitpicky but if we were going to actually see gyatso’s death (which. Idk it was more impactful not seeing it tbh #there’s this implication that gyatso may have broken his vow of pacifism since his skeleton was surrounded by tons of fire nation soldiers #implying he may have killed them #it wouldn’t have fit or made sense at the beginning of the show #but if they were going to show his death scene. Idk. Guess I just expected something more substantial #personally from what little we knew of Gyatso it actually does seem likely he’d break his vow if he really did die protecting the children #also. he was supposed to be the strongest airbender at the time. come on now. he just gets roasted?

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theatrevelyan · 4 months

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Ok, I’ve binged the new ATLA live action and I have feelings about it so here are my incoherent thoughts! (SPOILERS btw!!)

I’m a fan of the original show and I approached this show with low expectations (namely the only expectation I had was “this can’t be worse than the movie, right??”) but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised!!

I mean sure some details have been changed to flow better in this rendition of the story but I’m fine with that so long as the heart that made the original special is still there and I know some people didn’t felt like it did but I had the feeling that it was.

Do I love absolutely everything about the show?

Nope.

I have some issues with the first episode being too stiff and some shots were outright weird?? Like the tilted camera when Grangran was speaking was a really odd choice??? Was it to signal that the world changed when the fire nation attacked? If so it missed the mark, it just felt weird… to be honest Grangran in general felt weird. Idk man, she felt like an exposition dump made flesh. Also I did like it better when it was Katara’s unchecked emotions that led them to Aang.

In general, the dialogues were… uhm, how to put it…? Too rigid? Not the acting mind you, but the actual script felt a bit stilted, I felt it more in the first few episodes but to me, the first episode is by far the weakest of the season in this regard which is odd since it’s your hook and most of the time you want to make sure the hook is if not the best at least a really solid opening.

I did not like Bumi, like at all. He was never a favorite of mine even in the original but still I found him annoying in this version and the fight in that episode was not the best to say the least but the rest of Omashu was good even if they changed it to include both Sai’s and Jet’s storylines. Too bad they didn’t include the loss of culture subplot for Aang but I get there was no time/place for it in this version of events and the rest was handled well… except for Bumi lol

On the more serious complaints… they butchered my boi HeiBai!!! That episode was all over the place in sense of scripting. I didn’t mind putting Koh and the owl there but we just forgot about the HeiBai plot along the way and we never got a resolution about it???? Like just two lines about healing the forest would have been enough, not good mind you, but enough.

Also I did not get why they changed the motivation for going to the North Pole from going there to train to go there bc of Kyoshi weird premonition thing or why Roku didn’t tell Aang about the comet????

Like ok the Kyoshi thing I can just wave it away like a minor change to flow better with the new structure of the episodes but I can’t ignore the fucking comet!!! That’s like a really important timeframe for the gaang to follow and maybe they will get to it next season since it was addressed on Ozai’s side of things but it felt still like a weird change.

Oh and why didn’t Aang learn water bending??? I mean I guess they probably wanted to elevate Katara’s skill level and have her be recognized as a master before she started teaching him besides him having still to come to terms with having to accept that he is the avatar and that he has to fight sometimes something that he doesn’t really do until the season finale and I can get behind that, I really can… but man… let him water bend just a little. Maybe in just one scene to show that he is picking up something from Katara even if she’s not his teacher yet. To show that despite all the doubts he’s actually trying to do what he’s supposed to. I guess this is a “wait and see” kind of change though so I’ll let it go… for now.

All that said, do I think the show is a good adaptation of the original?

Fucking yes.

It has its flaws for sure but there is also a lot of good things in it.

Sokka was the highlight for me. I really liked him in the original but i feel like he’s been elevated in this version of the story and the actor did a really remarkable job with him, despite my worry with the changes in his initial story arch they managed to give him another layer that I liked.

Actually all the actors did a very good job! Aang was spot on and Zuko had a lot more humanity in him from the start without losing his rough edges. And while I stand by that Sokka’s actor is the one that surprised me the most, Zuko’s was the one I had more fun watching. A really great performance in my opinion.

Iroh was a fucking delight and an emotional gut punch as always and while he was a bit more somber I really liked this version of the character.

They did Azula and Ozai justice showing how cunningly terrifying and utterly toxic they can be and I really liked that we got to see more of them in season 1.

Hell, even Zhao felt the right balance of unhinged cartoony villain and actual threat for the pov characters.

Katara was more of mixed bag for me. She’s my favorite character in the original (with Zuko being a close second) so I have higher standards for her and overall all she still feels like the Katara that I know and love but idk sometimes she felt too poised?? It’s more evident in the first few episodes to be fair and I don’t think it was the acting, the actress was great! Maybe it was the direction or the writing?? Idk man I still loved her, mind you, but in the original, Katara, while being kind and loving, was still a force of nature that you do not want to anger exactly like a raging river that can both be a source of life or a force of destruction. In this it felt like they softened her edges a bit too much. That might be a me problem though, as I said she’s my favorite so I have higher standards for her.

Ti be honest though, it seems that they softened everyone’s less palatable traits. Zuko isn’t as ruthless, Sokka isn’t sexist at the start of the season, Aang isn’t as goofy and so on. I didn’t mind it actually and most of the time it works really well in showing us new sides of these characters without losing who the are but idk man… while I still loved Katara it felt like she was missing something. And same with Suki! She looked fantastic and she was fierce as I expected her to be but she also felt more naive and love struck that she should have. Nothing terrible but enough to notice.

The bending was fantastic and it really felt… well real. Especially air bending! Appa and Momo were really well animated too! Big win for the VFX team!

The music too! It just felt right. And I’m still not over those scenes when you faintly hear leaves from the vines play in the background. Curse you and your great choices that made me actually cry my eyes out like a baby!

In the end I’d give it a solid 7/10. It was a nice watch and it brought me back to my childhood and I can see it’s potential to be something special on its own.

Mind you, this could still turn into a dumpster fire along the way. It wouldn’t be the first time it happened to a really promising Netflix show (I’m looking at you Voltron and the Witcher) but I have to say, I’m gladly surprised and mildly optimistic about this show!

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #atla netflix #I’m optimistic about this guys #never been more happy to be pleasantly surprised tbh

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theerurishipper · 2 months

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The cruelest and meanest things Zuko did

Show!Zuko

Mocking the culture of his best friend, who is genocide survivor whose culture was destroyed by Zuko’s ancestors, multiple times.

Rams his ship into the remainder of the Southern Water Tribe. Behaves threatningly toward the SWT inhabitants, even manhandling Sokka and Katara's grandmother.

Robs from a family who saved his beloved uncle's life and fed him and his uncle, all for free.

Mocks Ty Lee as a "circus freak" to her face for having the temerity to suggest she knows him and cares about him.

Tells his beloved Uncle, who has been a father to him, that he is a lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man who's always been jealous of his brother"

Attacks Roun Jian for talking to Mai.

(With Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee) Wrecks Chan's party and burns down his beach house just for the hell of it.

Punching down at Toph when she attempts to connect with him emotionally, treating her like she's unworthy of his time?

Implicitly threatening Katara with sexual assault (there's a reason why that scene practically launched the Zvtara ship) while using her mother's necklace as leverage against her (The Waterbending Scroll).

Firebending dangerously at Aang after he wanted a break from the intense training Zuko put him through

Calling Iroh "the laziest man in the Fire Nation" to his face.

Taking out his frustration and impatience by throwing a firebending attack at one of his crew ("Boy in the Iceberg"). People always forget this one.

Trying to start a fight between Mai and Ty Lee just so he can see Mai be more emotional.

Unanimously decided to burn a remnant of his family's happier past right in front of his sibling's eyes, without so much as thinking what she might feel about that.

Told on his sister to his physically abusive father (the guy who mutilated his son for speaking out of turn) that she'd lied to him about something very serious then left her with said abusive father with no warning

Violently robbed dozens of Earth Kingdom civilians for stuff he didn't need just for the hell of

Ask Sokka to tell him the story of his mother's murder because Katara was rightfully still suspicious of him and then proceeded to talk Katara into going after the man, stealing Oppa one of the only remaining things of Aangs culture, telling aang to get over it and his cultures beliefs aren't just wrong but stupid and ignorant and not once offering Sokka kind words about his mothers murder or Sokka's grief over it and using him for his own means.

Trying to get Katara to murder someone so that she would forgive him, since he felt entitled to her forgiveness.

Viciously mocking Katara as "a big girl now" when she says she's capable of protecting Aang

Hired an extremely dangerous assassin after a group of children who have repeatedly shown him kindness and saved his life.

Took the side of the oppressors solely for selfish reasons after seeing how wrong and harmful the war is, knowing that his beloved uncle could get killed by the enemy as a result.

Yelled at Iroh, after betraying him, "You're a crazy old man! You're crazy! And if you weren't in jail, you'd be sleeping in a gutter!”

Burns down the Kyoshi Village and after reuniting with the survivor that he attacked, gives a half-assed "apology".

After being ordained as the absolute ruler of the nation, was never assed to discharge his ex-partner, who commited treason to save his life, out of prison, or check if she's even alive. Mai was released thanks to her uncle, not Scar

Kidnapped the Avatar during the seige of the North Pole which indirectly entailed Princess Yue's death.

Comics!Zuko

Dangling his mentally ill sister over a cliff while telling her she ruined his life by being born.

referring to Ursa and the royal family as "my mother" and "my family" right in front of his sister's face several times.

not visiting his sister for almost two years until he wanted her help finding their estranged mother. (but he did visit their abusive father with tea for advice)

reassure his mother that their was no need to look for his sister who went missing in the forest because "she can survive on her own."

abuse his authority and order his ex-girlfriend to come back when she tried to leave him.

manhandled katara only to say he "doesn't to hurt her”

Calling Ursa 'His mother' to a bound and unwell Azula's face, while he sits on a throne he had brought into the asylum for him to sit on."

Zuko never mocked Aang's culture. But of course you would see it that way.

And you realize that him doing bad things and then making up for them is the point of his arc, right? You do realize that he worked to make up for what he did and redeemed himself to all the people he hurt and that they accepted his apology and became his friends, right? You do know what a redemption arc is, right? How are some of y'all going on about Azula redemption arcs when you prove that you don't believe people can change, considering you always lambast Zuko about the actions he worked hard to fix and make amends for? Almost like you don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

And enough with your weird abuse apologist nonsense when it comes to the comics. He dangled her above a cliff because she attacked him while he was sitting there talking with Aang, and he was trying to get her to stop attacking him. Please look up the definition of "hyperbole." It's never said that he didn't visit her, and even if he didn't, he doesn't have to, considering she's tried to murder him several times and doesn't want anything to do with him anyway. He doesn't have to visit her just to get insulted. He refers to Ursa as his mother because she is his mother, and Azula has always established a facade of not caring about her mother. He didn't go after Azula because she ran away from him, and he doesn't have to chase after someone who doesn't want his help. He "ordered Mai to come back" because he was already stressed and tired and didn't know what he was saying. He obviously said something stupid in the heat of the moment which he never had any intention whatsoever of following through on, and he immediately calls himself an idiot in the very next panel, which must have conveniently slipped by you. He "manhandled Katara" because she was attacking his soldiers. The "throne" you're talking about isn't even that luxurious, and Azula is bound because she's constantly tried to kill him and is a very dangerous person, a fact that she proves everytime Zuko gives her any leeway at all. The comics have some ridiculously OOC characterization, but it still doesn't mean you can go on this victim blaming trip and act like Azula is this poor victim of mean old everybody else. Y'all are one step away from saying Kiyi abused Azula, my god.

And of course, you're that ableist weirdo who's calling Zuko "scar." What a way to show you care about abuse victims, am I right? Do me a favor, stop entering spaces where you are not wanted or welcome, and get a life instead of sending deranged rants to people's inboxes all day long. Also, thanks for sending this to me twice, so I can both respond and also IP block you. Get off my blog.

#Azula critical #Anti Azula #Asks #Sorry to everyone else if I seem really rude lol #But this person has been getting on my nerves even before they started sending asks to me #I tagged all the anti tags specifically to avoid this

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neils-weenie-whistle · 2 years

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Do you think you can do a one shot on what you think Betty’s backstory is gonna be, if you can’t that’s ok

#tscs

Hey! So I sat here trying to figure out how to turn this into a one shot and I got nothing but I loved the idea so much I didn't want to leave it unanswered so I've turned this into headcanons instead! Thank you so much for the creative suggestion! I had a lot of fun coming up with ideas for this!

Okay, so the only canon 'backstory' facts we have on Betty are as follows;

She knows Bernard personally, at some point prior to the events of The Santa Clauses she married Noel (900 years prior to be exact!) and, this could have just been a funny throwaway line but I choose to believe it, she has no mother and no father????

Now, I don't exactly know how elf babies work. Do they have children? I have to assume that if things like marriage are still existent in their society (and they are because Betty and Noel are married!), then they do also have babies. Not to mention, it seems like elves have a similar biology to us. The only difference I guess being that they can consume way more sugary stuff than we can.

Plus, note how they were adamant in the show on telling us no human children had been raised in the Pole. That means elf babies and reindeer babies have been raised at the Pole right??? Am I jumping to conclusions????

Anyway the point is, Betty's comment about not having parents is a bit odd

This I guess leads me to the headcanons/ideas I have;

I saw someone suggest that Betty and Bernard may be related. But what if not by.. elf blood. I don't know if that's different from human blood. There's a lot of unanswered questions in this series, I digress.

What if Betty was just kind of... alone? maybe even like orphaned in a sense? and Bernard took her under his wing? Showed her the ropes and took care of her like his little sister, but they're not actually related

It would explain why Betty has a similar no nonsense attitude and even why Bernard entrusted the North Pole to her after he left; because he trained her. He knows she'll take good care of it because he made sure she would.

Not to mention, calling Bernard in seems to be a last ditch effort to save the North Pole, something Betty was almost reluctant to do. She might be feeling a little like she's let her mentor/her only 'parental' figure down.

Of course, all this would work if they were related by blood too, I don't think it's too far fetched.

In this hypothetical scenario though, I would like to toss a few headcanons your way;

There's a brief period where Scott has both Betty and Bernard following him around everywhere and he is annoyed by it thoroughly, but also thinks it's kind of adorable.

The two of them working together, Betty seeking Bernard's approval whenever she does something and he always gives her the highest praise, regardless if what she did was actually what she meant to do or not

Betty struggling with other elves teasing/making fun of her and Bernard sitting with her, telling her it doesn't matter because she is going to be a great Head Elf one day. They sit and drink cocoa and he cheers her up.

Bernard teasing Betty when she gets together with Noel. But he's also like "I will hunt you down and make you regret it if you hurt her!"

Bernard beating up Simon Choksi. Okay this one's for me, but imagine the sweet sweet revenge of Betty telling him all the crappy things he's said to her and Bernard is just like "no way am I letting this slide". I literally saw this elf run head first to fight some toy soldiers because he was thrown under house arrest once I cannot imagine what he'd do when someone he loves is under threat, not to mention Christmas.

Betty is all depressed because she's like "I ruined Christmas, you should've never made me Head Elf" and stuff and Bernard is all comforty, he's like "you're the best Head Elf, what do you mean! That's why you studied under me, none of this was your fault." THEY HUG. BETTY NEEDS AND DESERVES A HUG.

Anyway, these are becoming super self indulgent but if this isn't the canon I will cry myself to sleep at night!

#the santa clause #the santa clause headcanons #the santa clause imagine #the santa clauses #bernard the elf #betty the elf #tscs #tscs spoilers #the santa clauses imagine #if this isn't canon #fuck it i'll just make it my canon #because i love them so much

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surprisingmarch · 1 year

Text

📖A snowflake adrift an icy wind, Warmth and Safety📖 (Chapter 4)

------------------------------------------ Rating: 13+

Story Type: Fantasy / Fluff

Words: 3,272

-Y/N = Your name- -L/N = Last name-

Quietly, you sit and listen as elves walk by and chatter about various topics. Some are talking about how it was a good day at work and some are inviting others to go eat in the new cafe across from the reindeer training center. Huh, that would probably be entertaining right? Watching the reindeer fly as you eat, what a ingenious business idea. Eventually you hear some elves talking about how a human was brought back by Mrs. Claus and how she looked cold. They theorize that you got lost or that maybe you ran away from some kind of big terrible snow monster that apparently lives in the woods near the apartments. Weird, you wouldn't think the North Pole has apartments. Some chat about how they would love to meet you and how they've never seen a human other than Mr. and Mrs. Claus, they talk about how amazing it would be to meet someone new for once. They mostly say things like "I hope she's okay" and "I would love to give her some hot choco and a place to stay".

You can't help but smile to yourself, they seem so excited and caring. They're so concerned about you and your well being even though they've never met you. You feel a warmth wrap around your body, you look up to see Mrs. Claus wrapping a blanket around your torso from behind the couch. She walks over to you and hands you a big ol cup of hot choco then sits next to you. "Now then, how did you get all the way out here? If you don't mind me asking, of course." She asks as she folds her hands neatly in her lap and leans towards you to look at you, showing that you have her full attention.

"Well.." You begin "I was sleeping, then I was awaken by this.. noise. Like- like a "ZrrMm" or what I can only describe as a "worbble" so I looked up and there was this portal.. it was just in front of the end of my bed. You could see through it clearly, almost as if it was a doorway. And I just.. I just had to go through. I couldn't let up on an opportunity for something amazing and spectacular to happen, I would've never forgiven myself." Mrs. Claus nods understandingly, she probably would have done the same herself. You continue,

"It was almost like something from a fairy tale, I couldn't just miss the chance to have an epic adventure. As childish as that sounds. So I packed a few things, some clothes, some food, my cactus and my stuffy. Which yes, I still have a stuffy, it's comforting and I will argue with anyone that says it's childish. I went through the portal and it let me out by a giant mountain, but as soon as my feet were in the snow I realized that out of all the things I packed, I forgot my shoes."

You said that last part in a sour tone. "I got my coat, my hat, and even some spare socks, but forgot my shoes. By the time I turned around I had just enough time to see the portal disappear into nothing. Since I was stuck there I decided the best course of action would be to layer some more socks onto my feet to try to keep them warm. To be fair, some of those socks were really thick and it worked for a while. After a bit of walking I heard bells and well, you know the rest. I'm sure you can tell a lot about me from that story." You hear quiet chuckles coming from the right of you, you look over to see an elf with beautiful blonde hair swirled under his hat, chuckling at you. He's holding a hand over his mouth, trying to hold back his laughter. "I-I'm sorry- I didn't mean to disturb, I needed to talk to Mrs. Claus and just happened to catch wind of your story and-" He snickers a bit more. "Hermey." Mrs. Claus says in a disappointed tone. "I'm sorry- but how on earth did you remember bring a cactus but not shoes?" Hermey asks, slightly amused. "I- it was stressful, I was rushing." You reply with a huff. You cross your arms and look away from him, faking a pout. "Mmm." Hermey hummed. "Now, what is it you wanted to ask me, Heremy dear?"

Mrs. Claus asked. "Oh, I wanted to ask if Santa was keeping his appointment for tomorrow or if he was planning on bailing.. again." Hermey said with a slightly agitated expression and a flat note in his voice. "As far as I know he's coming. But knowing him, he may try to get 'busy' last second. I'm sure I can get him to go. It may take some convincing and bribing but I'm sure I can manage." Mrs. Claus replied. "Alright.. if you say so." Hermey glances at you one more time, he looks you up and down before walking away. "Oh, Hermey?" Mrs. Claus asks, Hermey stops and turns around. "Hmm?" "Would you mind showing.. erm.. I didn't quite get your name, what is it deary?" Mrs. Claus asks as she turns to look at you. "Oh! Y/N." You quickly replied. "Oh what a lovely name, would you mind showing Y/N to a spare room? Drake stopped me while I was in the kitchen, there's a.. problem I need to attend to." Mrs. Claus quarried, her voice seemed to imply she was distracted. "I don't see why not, I don't have anymore patients today." Hermey stated blatantly. "Very good!" Mrs. Claus hopped up from the couch, "Please don't be afraid to ask for me if you need anything Y/N." Mrs. Claus stated before power walking away down the long busy hallway behind the couch. You and Hermey look back at each other after watching her scurry away, Hermey walks up to the couch and leans into it, laying his arms on the back. "So.. are you hungry?" Hermey asks, "Huh..?" You snap out of the daze you were in. "Are you hungry? You were probably out there a long time, shaking. The body burns more calories when it's in colder temperatures, I assume you want to eat before I take you to your room." Hermey said blatantly, as if this was common information to know. "Oh uh, I uh-" You sputtered. "Come on." Hermey slipped his arms off the couch and began to walk into the hallway directly behind the couch. "Even if you aren't hungry it probably wouldn't hurt to eat something." You stood up and followed behind Hermey. You stop then quickly turn around and scurry back to the couch to grab the blanket you forgot. Once you tuck it under your arm you trot carefully back behind Heremy, who had stopped to look back and wait on you. Both of you began walking again, side by side. You look around the long corridors as you sip your hot choco, there's so many people. You suppose they're all busy because it's getting closer to winter. In your world it was October 16th, but you're not sure what month it is here. "Hey Hermey?" You ask loudly to try to talk over all the other conversations happening around you.

"Hmm?" Hermey hums back, awaiting a question. "What's the date?" You quarry. "Oh, It's October 16th, it's a Sunday, and the year is 2023. Is it the same in your world? Well.. if you weren't just teleported here." Hermey asks. "Yes it is! Are all the elves extra busy right now because it's getting closer to winter?" You asked curiously. "Mmm.. It's usually pretty busy year round honestly... but they are getting a bit anxious for Christmas." Hermey pauses for a moment. "I'd say it normally picks up around this time of year, yes." Hermey takes a quick turn down another hallway to your right, you hastily follow. You both finally make it to a large room which looks like a cafeteria. Long beautiful tables filled the room, spiral carvings enveloped the sides of the dark chocolate coloured wood. You follow Hermey into the room.

Mrs. Claus races down the hallways, honestly she's a bit concerned. Snow Miser isn't one to just show up willy nilly without reason, let alone ask to speak with her directly. Is this about Y/N? Something in her gut told her it was. "𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.." Mrs. Claus thought to herself as she entered her and Santa's personal living room. Snow Miser's looking down at the sparking flame in the old limestone fireplace with a rather irritated look. He hears the floorboards creek and looks over his shoulder to see who the culprit was, "Mrs. Claus.." Snow Miser thought, the annoyance that once engulfed his face fades into a smile as he turns to face her. "Why hello Mrs. C! How are you and the hubby?" He asks cheerfully. "We've been good, Pa's been a bit busy with some paperwork.." Mrs. Claus chuckles to herself. "He's not very fond of it but he gets it done. I've been bribing him to do some extra with his favourite chocolate chip cookies so he can rest for a few days, it seems to work well. How are you Snowy? Are you and your brother still into it over Florida?" Mrs. Claus asked. Last time she talked to Snow Miser he and his brother, Heat Miser, were having a huge debut over Florida and the fact Heat Miser never lets him send snow over there. He complained about him always turning his snow into rain.

"We'll always be into it over all the southern states.That stingy hot-head never lets me send an ounce of cold weather to any of them. Let alone a little snow day. He keeps trying to send Minnesota into a heat wave, and that fire pit for brains keeps wondering why I keep sending snow storms to California." Snow miser says with an aggravated sigh. Snowy looks out into space for a moment then looks back at Mrs. Claus. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm here?" Snow Miser quarried. "Why yes, I was a bit curious as to why you needed to speak with me so urgently. Is everything okay, Snowy?" Mrs. Claus asks. "Well, honestly I'm not sure." Snowy crosses his left leg over his right and leans into the cane in his right hand. He gazes into the distance as he recalls what happened. "There was a huge energy surge near my territory that lasted for about.. mmm... about 6 minutes give or take. Then it just, disappeared. I walked out to investigate, I found some footprints in the snow that seemed to appear out of no where and lead in this direction. I followed them and ended up finding sleigh landing tracks." Snow Miser glances down at Mrs. Claus.

"I was wondering if you happened to know what or who was there or if it was one of your elves' experiments." That stare of his is truly spine chilling, she doesn't think he meant for the glare to be so threatening, he tends to do it accidentally. Mrs. Claus knows she can't hide anything from Snowy, even if she tried he would find out eventually. He's been alive for many, many years, he can read people like books. "Well uhm, erm." Mrs. Claus looks down for a moment, she rubs her chin then looks back up at Snowy, "It wasn't any of the elves, it was a young girl, believe it or not. She said a portal appeared in her room and she went through it and she landed here. I'm glad I found her in time, the poor girl forgot to put on shoes before she went through. She had some time to pack a couple things and she even put on a coat and hat, but all she had on her feet were layers and layers of thick socks-" Snow Miser bursts into laughter in his iconic loud chuckles. He bent over and held an arm against his stomach, practically crying from laughter. "I-I'm sorry- I tried to hold back until the end of the story-" He chuckled more. "But, she forgot her shoes?! Of all the things to forget to bring to a place covered in snow, she forgets to bring shoes?!"

He bursts out laughing once more. "A hat would be understandable, but shoes? There's no excuse you can make for that." He stands back up and wipes tears from his cheeks. "Is the poor girl still here?" He asked still recovering from his laughing fit. "Why yes, I asked Hermey to take her to a spare room.." Mrs. Claus realizes they haven't walked through here yet. "Erm.. well they should have been here by now. I'm not sure where they've gone to." Mrs. Claus says as she ponders where they could have gone. "Hermey's the dentist right?" Snow Miser asks, Mrs. Claus nods. "He seems like the logical type, he probably took her to the cafeteria to eat first. Only god knows how long she was out there in the cold." Snow Miser started to walk in big strides out of the room, Mrs. Claus swiftly followed suit.

You and Hermey are sitting at a big long table in the middle of the room, elves have gathered around both of you to watch you eat and ask you questions, which you answer to the best of your ability. They're all wholesome ones, like "What's your name?" "Are you a human?" "Do you like the workshop?" "Have you tried (Blank) food? It's really good!" They fluster you a bit, you aren't used to all this attention. Some elves even bought you some food to eat, which you shared with Hermey who seemed mildly annoyed by all the people but he couldn't blame them for being curious. You bite into a cinnamon roll, it's so warm and gooey. You love the sweet icing on top. "TRy ThIS" You shout, your voice is muffled from the food you were eating. You shove a cinnamon bun in Hermey's face, He leans back a little then calmly takes it from you. He bites into it, "I've had these before, they're pretty good." Hermey states. You feel the room get colder all of the sudden. You feel goosebumps shoot all the way up your body, you wrap the blanket tighter around your shoulders, holding it with one hand and eating with the other. "𝘏𝘶𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 the 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 you see on tv.." You think to yourself as you finish chewing your bite of cinnamon roll and take another. You hear some elves moving around behind you, but think nothing of it. You hear some elves mumbling something about "Snow Miser visiting" and a couple panicked "Why is he here"and "Is it because of the human?".

You gulp, that doesn't sound good. The room now feels as cold as it did outside. You hear loud foot steps entering the room, you lean back and look into the hallway just in time to see a very tall lanky man walk through the doorway. Elves quickly move out of the way and leave the room behind him, only a few stubborn ones stay, they seem determined to eat their food. His skin seems to be a pale blue, he almost looks like he's a walking frozen corpse. His hair is made of ice and is styled like a pompadour. Or.. chiselled, may be the correct term to use in this circumstance considering it's ice. His suit jacket is shiny like a thousand stars and is dark blue with some silver lines around the cuffs of the sleeves. He's wearing expensive looking white gloves. His pants are silver and glittery to match the suit jacket, and his shoes are a dark blue with some silver lines on the sides, they appear to be leather dress shoes, they look as if they've been polished recently. He's wearing a nice suit, you have to admit, he looks good. This guy has style, even if he is intimidating. "𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭.. 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 8, 9 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵?"

You think to yourself.. He looks around the room then spots you, you lock eyes, he has beautiful vibrant blue eyes. He smiles and starts to approach you. "𝘖𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵." You think to yourself, he just seen you staring at him like a deer in headlights. You hope that didn't seem rude. You look at Hermey, he looks back at you and shrugs. You look back at the mysterious ice man, he twirls an icy cane in one of his gloved hands like a baton. You watch as this giant man squats down right next to you to talk with you at eye level. He's.. still alot taller than you, it hurts your pride. He sets his cane in his lap. "Why hello there sugarplum." His voice sounds so soft and velvety, you think he'd make a good narrator. "My name is Snow Miser, but you can just call me Snowy. What's your name?" "Oh uhm.. my name's Y/N..." Honestly, you're terrified. This man could throw you through a wall.

Your fear didn't slip by Snow Miser's radar, he's not surprised that you're afraid of him, but he can't say that deep down inside it didn't bother him a bit. Snow Miser offers to shake your hand, you accept and grab onto his hand, his gloves are ice cold, his hands must be freezing. Once you're done shaking his hand he reaches behind your ear and pulls out a snowcone. You look at him, absolutely amazed. Snow Miser chuckles at you, "What flavour do you want, snow angel?" He asks chipperly, "Grape please!" You reply as a giant smile stretches

across your face. He snaps his fingers and a little bottle of purple liquid appears in his hand, "How did you do that?" You ask, bewildered. "A true magician never reveals his secrets, my little icicle!" Snowy responds as he adds the flavoring onto the shaved ice, you watch as it slowly flows down deeper and deeper.

He hands it to you. "Thank you!" You say, happily. You can't say you're as scared as you were before so perhaps his peace offering worked. Snow Miser chuckles at you once more. "Don't mention it. So, you came through a portal that appeared in your bedroom, right?" Snow Miser looked at you curiously, his eyes were soft and kind. "Yes.. I still have no idea how or why it was there, I'm just going to blame it on a warlock something. Maybe it was fate, maybe I was supposed to have an epic North Pole adventure, who knows." You take the last bite of your cinnamon roll. "Maybe I was meant to have this cinnamon roll." You say, muffled from the bite you just crammed in your mouth. Snow Miser snickers at you. "You didn't make any strange deals did you? Did any strange people walk up to you and ask if you wanted something?" Snow Miser asked, half jokingly. "Nope! I don't remember anyone sketchy either." You finally finish chewing your cinnamon roll and start eating your snowcone. "Mmm.." Snow Miser glances to the side, seemingly in thought. He slowly glances back down at you, "Would you prefer to stay with Mrs. Claus or would you like to stay with me?" Snow Miser asks in a serious tone. "..Huh?" You mumble, surprised and confused.

==================================

Next Chapter: Chapter 5

Previous Chapter: Chapter 3

#a year without a santa claus #a miser brothers christmas #rankin bass #self insert #my stories #A snowflake adrift an icy wind #reader insert #reader #y/n

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