#atlas the thinker

[thefleshyougoveggie]

i love bands where the singer can’t sing but can convey emotions though their singing in a way that is impossible to describe. like yes u sing like an absolute dickhead but you are also somehow expressing exactly how i feel through the cracks in your voice

[gabiioartist]

"reina realized the sound in her head, the scream, was her own. Anger or anguish, misery or mourning, all of the above. She felt the softness of earth beneath her hands and realized she was kneeling prostrate, channeling her pain into the sympathy of sodden ground. She felt something lashing gently over her forearms, slithering out from her pals. Like vines; like threads of consequence." and/or "Yes, Callum thought, I understand it now, Tristan, the meaning of life, it all makes sense. We are given exactly as much time as we need to be a human as we are, and that's it. That's the entirety of the magic. We're not gods, or maybe you are, or Reina is, but I'm not a god, Tristan, I'm just very sad and stupid! I have been looking for inspiration and it turns out I'm not inspired, I'm lazy! I only want to hold your hand! I don't wan't to rule the world, I don't want to control it, I don't even want to influrence it. I want to sit beside you in a little garden, I want to put your needs before mine, I want to laugh at your jokes, even the bad ones, and bury my head in proverbial sands." and/or “This was it, the chronic condition—the only meaning Parisa had left in life. It wasn’t a secret society, it wasn’t an ancient library, it wasn’t an experiment that had taken two decades to design, it was waking up every fucking morning and deciding to keep going. The tiny, unceremonious, incomparable miracle of making it through another goddamn day. The knowledge that life was mean and it was exacting. It was cruel and it was cursed; it was recalcitrant and precious. It was always ending. But it did not have to be earned.”

second piece from my review of @olivieblake 's the atlas series. I love these characters so deeply, and these three in particular, in their twisted discoveries of their personnal philosophies, and what ever can let them survive, was inspiring to read, and meant a lot to me. all three piece's speedpaints are up on my youtube channel!:)

[bestworstcase]

One big reason to hope Penny comes back: Headmaster Theodore believes in strength and blind nationalism above all else.

Winter sacrificing both in order to protect innocent lives (first allowing herself to be paralyzed in order to distract Cinder from Penny, giving up her nationalism to save the citizens from Ironwood's obsession, and possibly sacrificing the Maiden Powers to give her friend's life back) would end up being the PERFECT reputation of Theodore's bigoted and hateful philosophy.

i think forcibly dragging penny back from death, taking the choice of what her next life will be away from her, to serve as a ‘no victory in strength’ object lesson instead of any of the dozens of better ways to bring that theme to fruition in the vacuo arc, would be the worst possible way to bring penny back, actually, and that includes the people who think pietro’s got to kill himself to revive her

like she’s already had a whole arc about exactly this being done to her—pietro brought her back because he couldn’t bear to lose her and ironwood tripled down on using her as a tool, forcing her to play a role she didn’t want and didn’t ask for—and how it made her miserable to the point that the only time we see her unguardedly happy in volume eight is after cinder murders her. how do you think this character would feel if she got brought back to life and had the winter maiden, and the responsibility and expectation that power entails, pushed onto her AGAIN?

v7-8 bent over backwards to make it clear that reviving penny cannot be disentangled from treating penny like an object—even ruby gets in on this, oh it’s fine if penny has to be executed to appease the masses because you can just bring her back later! and pietro doesn’t refute the underlying devaluation of penny’s life, he says he doesn’t have enough aura left to revive her again without killing himself—and v9 took pains to illustrate that the way death is meant to work in this cosmos is healing and change and freedom, elucidating why v7-8 struck that tone with penny’s revival. and now the kids know, having experienced it firsthand, so why would they turn around and drag penny back to life again?

that’s not love, that’s possession.

the rule of thumb here is if salem wouldn’t do it to try to bring ozma back, the heroes probably shouldn’t either—and salem asked both gods, got told no, and then accepted that ozma was dead. further mutilation of anybody’s soul to bring penny back for the nth time is not in the narrative cards; penny being allowed to return on her own terms, via ascension once the god of light has been persuaded to ascend and his afterlife of stasis dismantled, might be.

[thatrando13]

RANDOOO how are you? The randomest of randos, the wandering rambler, seeker of the beauty in fleeting moments, and the critteriest of critters?

I AM VERY GOOD!! :D Especially now you're here, my dear Firefly, listener of nature, whimsical thinker, critter of the many beautiful thoughts!

-> Atlas

I AM GOOD, though I have an irritating cough at the minute 😔

But I feel great when I see you, Firefly, my critter of beauty and poetry, creature of friendship, wandering traveller into the gorgeous nature

-> Frieda

[the-badger-mole]

14. Unpopular opinion about the ATLA fandom?

People keep acting like shipping is the problem in this fandom. It's not. Shipping is a totally valid and stimulating way to engage in fandom. And it's also a lot of fun. When people go out of their way to announce that they think shipping is shallow or dumb, or that all shippers are a problem just to get some imaginary points for being a deeper thinker than the rest of us, I get so annoyed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about people who genuinely don't care about romance, I'm talking about the ones who jump into ship tags to be condescending about preferring the couple as friends. Or when they say that all shipping is ruining fandom for them, meanwhile, there are plenty of people who agree with them who they could choose to interact with instead.

The actual problem in the ATLA fandom is the people who disagree so violently that they take it on themselves to go into spaces that aren't for them to spread their stupid. I could not care less that Kataang shippers disagree with me. I hope they're having so much fun and making content for their friends and co-shippers. They can do or say whatever they want about my faves, because at the end of the day, they're all fictional characters who don't have feelings. But I won't tolerate some itinerant anti-Zutara nutjob or some toxic Aang stan to come into my house and try that mess here. They are the ones who make fandom feel exhausting, and they have chased off some really cool, talented people with their vitriol. The problem isn't that they are Kataang shippers, or that they like Aang. The problem is they're obnoxious, and they want to make it everyone else's problem.

Send me more asks

[imthepunchlord]

Just a random question, but do you like adrien and marinette being the main duo, or do you think two other people would've been better?

Yes and no.

It's kinda complicated.

So, with my long break from Miraculous, clearing out my salt mines, and doing a gradual rewatch of the show with fresh eyes and enjoying the nostalgia of what used to be, I can say I am reminded on why, we as a fandom, enjoyed them as leads and as a pair.

There was some yin-yang potential in their dynamic, specifically playing off Lady Wifi introducing the Head vs Heart idea.

Marinette's an Empathetic Head. She's observant and perceptive, the planner and quick thinker, typically, she responds logically to what's presented to her. But she does feel deeply for others, and that empathy and kindness drives her to step up and help others.

Adrien in turn is a Reasonable Heart, at least, meant to be. He works off his feelings, goes with his gut, his wants; but he's also meant to be the emotional reason, knowing what to say to ground those that are getting caught up in themselves, offer support and direction, one they didn't consider or see before.

It nicely places off that theme that there's a little bit of the other in the counterparts, which is why the two halves have those dots, a little bit of yang resides in yin and vice versa.

And between the fluff and the snark and the support/loyalty they do offer each other, that potential for them as partners and users for the Cat and Ladybug is there.

Unfortunately, the writers' bias and stubbornness ruined that dynamic. What's meant to be a partnership of equals never becomes equals. Adrien never steps up as a leader and shares the weight of responsibility, and Marinette never feels like she can ease back and trust others to handle things, making her feel like she has to solve everything and be THE solution.

There's also the factor that they decided to prioritize the romance over the friendship, which did not really help Adrien as a hero as he focused more on his romantic pursuits than being a hero, flirting at the wrong time, not taking anything seriously... it was a bad look. And then Adrien and Marinette as civilians, despite being stated to be friends, I kinda question if they truly are. Adrien never actively goes to hang out with Marinette on his own, most of the time, there's a social expectation for them to hang out as civilians, or a favor is involved.

One of the aspects that has a romance work is having a good friendship to be that foundation. But the writers don't value friendship, not between actual friends and not between the love interests.

And the third issue is their means of growth.

Thomas, unfortunately, echoed the idea that girls grow through suffering. So Marinette's growth is just having the narrative against and giving her a hard time and she just can't win no matter what she does. Damned if she do, and damned if she don't. And I got to see that she developed anxiety and has an Atlas Complex and is very stress and just...

And with Adrien, he's just stagnant. He doesn't get involved in his own plot. He doesn't step up to the responsibility of being a hero, nor does he seek to share the weight of leadership. He's handed things on a silver platter, is allowed to be upset and petty and recklessly use his power.

And all of these factors just throws a big wrench into the potential of their partnership and them as leads and as the Cat and Ladybug heroes.

Better writers can make them work. And I bet there are a lot of good fanfics out there that have made them work.

I can see that potential and promise there. It's just really poor execution that ruined it.

I also will say, personally, I do think narrative wise things would flow better if they had a kwami swap at the start. Though, this is largely working the direction canon did go and I can see how a kwami swap could've combated that.

Plagg is set up to be the ideal foil to Marinette and have her grow, as she's too much of a giver, overthinks, piles too much on her plate, and struggles to put herself first. Extra bonus that they could've been a hilarious duo to see.

Tikki's big appeal with Adrien is that she would've gotten him involved in his own plot. Would've pushed for him to figure out who he is, what he wants to do, to be more involved if not be the leader, and to think more before he acts. And there could've been some good fluff as Tikki fills the void his mom left, as she can be very affectionate and supportive.

There's also the factor that Adrien needs someone to straight up tell him when he did something wrong or uncool. Anything that's a vague hint that Plagg occasionally gives just goes over Adrien's head or is ignored.

And there is that big appeal of shifting up the dynamics. Canon's issue is that Marinette and Tikki are initiators, while Adrien and Plagg are reactors. Mixing up these dynamics would've done wonders for their characters and interactions.

So, yeah over all, they can and could've worked as leads and holders of the Ladybug and Cat. The writing just really screwed them over. Though, I will say, doing different leads for Ladybug and Cat isn't an impossibility either.

[ajaxpetropolisismyhusband]

How the NYSM2 men would react to your kidnapping...

Daniel Atlas

Daniel would be the first to take action to rescue Y/n.

He would use his charm and connections to gather information on her whereabouts and devise a plan to get her back.

He would be determined and focused, putting all his energy into finding and rescuing Y/n.

Daniel would be extremely protective of Y/n, especially after her kidnapping.

He would take it upon himself to make sure that she is safe and would go to great lengths to keep her out of harm's way.

Daniel is a strategic thinker and would use his skills in planning and execution to come up with a plan to rescue Y/n.

He would carefully consider all options and weigh the risks and benefits of each one before taking action.

Daniel has a natural charisma that would make him an effective leader in a crisis situation.

He would be able to inspire and motivate his team to take action and would be able to think on his feet to adapt to changing circumstances.

As a master illusionist, Daniel has a talent for thinking outside the box and coming up with creative solutions to problems.

He would use his skills in misdirection and sleight of hand to distract the

Despite his confident exterior, Daniel can be emotionally vulnerable at times.

Y/n's kidnapping would bring out a more vulnerable side to him, and he would rely on the support of his team to get through the ordeal.

He would also be more open with Y/n about his feelings towards her, which may surprise her given his usual suave and confident demeanor.

Jack Wilder

Jack would be the most visibly upset and angry by Y/n's kidnapping.

He would be laser-focused on finding her and would stop at nothing to bring her back safely.

He would be willing to take extreme risks and use his skills in sleight of hand and pickpocketing to get any information that might help in the rescue.

Jack is a master thief and pickpocket, so he would blame himself for not being able to prevent Y/n's kidnapping.

He would be wracked with guilt and would feel responsible for her safety.

Jack is known for his daring and risky moves, and he would not hesitate to take dangerous actions to rescue Y/n.

He would be willing to break into high-security locations, confront dangerous criminals, and even put himself in harm's way to save her

Jack is a highly skilled and resourceful thief, and he would use all his talents to track down Y/n's kidnappers.

He would follow every lead, use his contacts in the criminal underworld, and even use his skills in illusion and misdirection to uncover information and rescue Y/n.

Underneath his tough exterior, Jack is a sensitive and emotional person.

He would be devastated by Y/n's kidnapping and would struggle to keep his emotions in check.

He would seek comfort and support from the other members of the Four Horsemen, and would be willing to let his guard down and show his vulnerability around them.

Jack has a strong sense of loyalty and would feel a deep connection to Y/n, especially since they have worked together as part of the Four Horsemen.

He would be fiercely protective of her and would stop at nothing to ensure her safety, even if it meant putting his own life on the line.

Merritt Mckinney

Merritt would be devastated by Y/n's kidnapping, but he would remain calm and level-headed in order to help with the rescue mission.

He would use his skills in hypnosis to gather information from people involved in the kidnapping and to aid in the rescue efforts.

Merritt would blame himself for Y/n's kidnapping, even if he had no direct involvement in it.

He would feel guilty that he couldn't use his hypnosis skills to prevent it from happening.

Merritt would use his powers of hypnosis to try to gain information about Y/n's kidnappers.

He would use his knowledge of psychology to get into the minds of the kidnappers and figure out their motives and weaknesses.

Merritt would be the most compassionate and empathetic of the group towards Y/n.

He would be able to connect with her on a deeper emotional level and understand what she might be going through.

Merritt would be the voice of reason in the group, encouraging the others to stay focused and calm during the rescue mission.

He would remind them that their actions could have consequences and to think before they act.

Merritt would also be the most creative in terms of coming up with ideas to rescue Y/n.

He would use his knowledge of hypnosis and psychology to devise unique plans that the others might not have thought of.

Overall, Merritt's skills in hypnosis and psychology would make him a valuable asset in the group's efforts to rescue Y/n.

He would be both compassionate and creative in his approach, and would be a calming influence on the others during a high-stress situation.

Dylan Rhodes/Shrike

Dylan would be extremely determined to rescue Y/n, but he would also be pragmatic and calculated in his approach.

He would use his position as an FBI agent to gather information and coordinate with law enforcement to ensure a safe and successful rescue operation.

Dylan would feel personally responsible for Y/n's safety, as he had recruited her to be a member of the Four Horsemen.

He would be deeply troubled by her kidnapping and would take it as a failure on his part to protect her.

Dylan would be methodical in his approach to the rescue mission, carefully analysing every detail and potential lead.

He would work closely with law enforcement to gather information and coordinate the rescue operation.

Despite his professionalism, Dylan would be emotionally invested in the mission to rescue Y/n.

He would be willing to take risks and make difficult decisions in order to bring her back safely.

Dylan's loyalty to Y/n would be unwavering, even in the face of danger.

He would be willing to put himself in harm's way to ensure her safety and would not hesitate to confront the kidnappers directly if necessary.

As the leader of the Four Horsemen, Dylan would take responsibility for the actions of his team and would work tirelessly to ensure that Y/n is rescued without any harm coming to her.

He would be determined to right the wrongs committed against her and ensure that justice is served.

Walter Mabry

Walter would initially be indifferent to Y/n's kidnapping, but he would eventually become involved when he realizes that his own interests are at stake.

He would use his wealth and connections to gather information on Y/n's whereabouts, but his actions would be motivated more by self-interest than concern for her safety.

As a wealthy businessman with a history of shady dealings, he is not unused to dangerous situations and would likely prioritize his own interests over Y/n's safety.

However, as he becomes more involved in the search for Y/n, Walter would start to become more invested in her fate.

His self-interest may evolve into a desire to protect Y/n, as he sees her as a valuable asset that he wants to keep under his control.

Walter would use his connections in the criminal underworld to gather information about Y/n's kidnappers and would likely try to negotiate with them for her release.

However, his involvement in the situation may also put Y/n in greater danger, as his actions could draw attention from other powerful and dangerous people.

Ultimately, Walter's motivations for rescuing Y/n would remain murky. It is unclear whether he genuinely cares about her or if he is simply trying to protect his own interests.

His actions would likely be complex and multi-layered, with his true intentions remaining unclear until the very end.

If Y/n were to be rescued, Walter's reaction would depend on whether he succeeded in protecting his interests.

He may be genuinely relieved and grateful, or he may view her rescue as simply a business transaction that he was able to successfully negotiate.

Regardless, he would likely remain a complicated and ambiguous figure in Y/n's life.

[artbyblastweave]

Now that I’m on the mental subject of thinking about “Uquiz bait” categorization systems, I’ve got to gush about how Worm is probably one of the best ones for two reasons-

One, the twelve power categories have no exclusivity because they’re theme-based, so any given cape can dip into multiple categories based on the specific fucked-up thing that happened to them, with no pigeonholing. Taylor’s got Master elements (betrayal and abandonment) AND shaker elements (whole school turned against her) AND thinker elements (Doesn’t know why everyone is turning against her or what they’re planning to do next) and she gets a power that falls into all three categories. Grue gets Shaker (mother’s abusive boyfriend) AND stranger (focus on concealing himself and his allies.) Lung gets Brute (head caved in with brick of cocaine) AND changer (longstanding identity issues from mixed heritage and low status) AND Trump (combat thinker caved in his head.)

Two, the system is contentious in-universe, with the twelve categories having been pared down over the years from thirty. There are characters who think the terminology in use ( =e.g. “brute,”) is demeaning and outdated, there are characters who mistakenly use “shifter” instead of the more up-to-date “changer,” or they use outdated-but-still-useful terms like “nuker” that got dropped from the official classification chart for the sake of having an even twelve categories. Only about 40 percent of the superhero population actually understands what the difference between changer and breaker is, and pinning down what makes a power a “breaker” power is something that leads to fistfights at academic conferences. At these same conferences, there have been parking-lot duels over whether Master should be two separate categories, one for Masters that control human behavior and one for Minion summoners. The fact that “Thinker” sounds indistinguishable from “Tinker” when screamed in a panic has gotten at least three PRT squads killed and you can’t change my mind. This is, in-universe, something that got kludged together because they needed something to categorize these bastards but it’s super messy!

It’s just- it is so, so good as a diagnostic system instead of a hard-and-fast ATLA-style categorization system, and it really leans into how the map isn’t and shouldn’t be the territory when it comes to these things!

[thefleshyougoveggie]

to anyone who binds/ wants to bind:

my biggest tip for you is to find a sports bra (or more than one could be good tbh) that you are fairly comfortable wearing. bc if you’re constantly using a binder, even if you take binder break days (which are CRUCIAL!!!) you can still get back pain from wearing binders often:( so having a sports bra that you like and wearing that as much as possible and saving the actual binder/s for “special occasions”/suuuper dysphoric days is something i highly recommend!!!

i used to bind most days of the week with actual binders, and even tho they were good quality (and right size!) it’s gotten to the point where i have back pain most days & i’m wearing a sports bra most days!!

also please please PLEASE do not wear your binder for longer than you should (6/8 hours, absolutely max 12, it varies from person to person-if it hurts, TAKE IT OFF) and remember to stretch!!!

big hugs,

your friendly neighborhood transmasc (who has back pain😔)

[the-power-of-stuff]

Ok my turn! I was going to ask you how got into writing Sukka but I see that you've already answered that (and we've got some crazy parallels in what drives us to write our ships, so love that for us 🤩). One thing I've been thinking about for YEARS is how there needs to be more cross-fandom Ron Weasley/Sokka solidarity and I was wondering if you had any thoughts on that.

(Well, now I know what my next question to you is gonna be. 😜)

But yesssss omg, Ron/Sokka solidarity 100%!! I've thought about this a lot, actually, although mostly in the context of "I wonder what my OTPs say about me and my taste in men"... 😆

But absolutely I think if you (the universal "you") are a Ron stan, you'd also totally be a Sokka stan, and vice versa. Cuz look...

They're both big-picture strategic thinkers with a hefty dose of self-sacrifice.

They're both so funny, but mostly when they're not trying to be and it's just their natural irreverent sass and sarcasm coming out.

They both let performance anxiety and self-doubt (which, in both their cases, has its roots in a lack of parental validation) get in the way of capabilities where they have clear skill and talent.

They're both total dorks when deliberately flirting with girls but are at maximum pull effectiveness when they're demonstrating humility/artless confidence.

They both have badass younger sisters who do not hesitate to call them out and give them shit, whether they actually deserve it or not (but let's face it, they often deserve it).

They're both BFFs with saviors of the world who get with their sisters.

They're both shown to be pivotal to the dynamic of their respective groups during scenes when they're separated (Sokka is only gone for like a day when he's training with Piandao, unlike when Ron leaves for weeks during the horcrux hunt, but even in that short amount of time, the rest of the Gaang is listless and purposeless without him).

They both have character arcs that involve them confronting and overcoming self-confidence issues and deeply-held prejudices/biases, coming out the other side well-rounded, self-actualized heroes armed with intelligence, creativity, sensitivity, and composure.

And in spite of all this, they both (maybe at varying times in each respective fandom's life) have been vastly underappreciated by the fandom and regarded as mere sidekicks who are stupid, gluttonous, and/or only there for comedic relief.

I do, however, think Sokka appreciation has grown in the ATLA fandom since the renaissance, whereas Ron appreciation seems like it still has a ways to go before he gets the full recognition he deserves. Perhaps that's where this Ron/Sokka solidarity can shine. Because it's a shame that so many of the qualities people find admirable or endearing about Sokka are either overlooked or seen as negative in Ron.

I'd love to know what you think, too!

[nottoxicfr]

Why didn’t they just have Ambrosious make a bunch of hallways instead of an area that has no safety rails and an endless abyss. Or maybe just a place with a floor and walls.

Or even just make doors that go to the vault itself, and then just one door that goes to Vacuo.

For that matter, why not just move the whole of Mantle in one big door? Then just drop it somewhere else.

Create a giant door that catches the whole of Atlas and drops it somewhere in the sea. Make a second Atlas and destroy the first Atlas by collision.

Just create a giant guy to catch the island and hold it on his shoulder. Cinder would never predict that. A giant colossus. What could they call him. It’s a real thinker.

That would be pretty funny though.

[ty-bayonet-betteridge]

thinking about it and taylor having every classification is kind of... true?

Master: obvious

Thinker: bugsense, enhanced multitasking

Mover: sort of, not really? one of the weakest ones, only really while Atlas was alive.

Shaker: power gets stronger the longer she has to muster in one place, limited range of effect, allows her to shape the battlefield

Breaker: again, not really. the only things is the way she gathers her bugs around herself in order to allow for additional tricks, like the sidestepping to disorient or the augmenting her voice, but those party tricks seem worth a Breaker 1 at most

Tinker: two things. one: she has a very good understanding of the silk she uses, how to weave it into strong cords that still maintain their small, nearly invisible, threadlike nature, or how to weave larger sections of it to create bulletproof armor, etc. two: fighting her is LIKE fighting a tinker, in that she's weakest when she has no time to prepare, and that when she learns about your powers, she starts developing ways to counter them.

Blaster: her insects can attack and they can attack at a range. moving on

Changer: not really but sort of, see also Breaker

Stranger: the swarm-clones i think fit into this category, as well as her ability to use smaller insects to infiltrate and observe, or to affect change even when it seems like she's locked down and helpless.

Trump, Striker, Brute: can't think of anything for these, if you can please let me know.

[orbitfalls]

Hi!!! I feel like it’s time I make a proper introduction post…

My name is Atlas, I use she/her pronouns, I am a writer and a Thinker and when I’m bored enough I’m also an artist😭🫶

I am a JKRowling hater, chronically Black-sister smitten and will not shut up about the rosier twins<3 Walburga apologist and probably the world’s last standing one icl…

If you’re here for my art, here’s a link to my insta where I post way more of it!!

If you’re here for the fics, here’s my ao3 <33

If you’re here to watch me be weird about a broad variety of topics then uhmm. yeah hi and welcome sjsjhdjshs<333

My (short but growing) masterlist:

Ultraviolence

Black family character study (esp black sisters)

black family centric

follows multiple generations

walburga + the gang given actual complexities and dilemmas

Mix between canon compliant and divergent

Ships: quillkiller, nobleflower, wolfstar, tedromeda(kinda?), technically lucius x narcissa but it’s probably not going to be very lovey dovey, possibly jegulus (lmk if anyone besides me thinks that would be kinda fun??)

Wip - chapters 3/50 - 20k - rated explicit

Tag on here: #ultraviolence tag

Link to Ultraviolence

East of Eden

Bartylily gang AU (hear me out okay)

Lily centric

Morally grey Lily (as a mafia boss kinda thing🫡)

Insane rosier twins + the angst that follows

How did I manage to sneak academic rivalry into a mafia AU??

Ships: bartylily, Lilyrosekiller, established rosekiller, unrequited pandalily, dormary, kinda dormaryjames but it’s complicated??, maybe Bartycissa if I feel tempted in the future

Wip - chapters 4/? - 17k - rated explicit

Tag on here: #east of eden tag

Link to east of eden

Out of order

My first ever fic, wolfstar boarding school AU

Enemies to lovers

Famous model Remus and it-boy Sirius

Lots and lots of drama

Also a bunch of Jily content if you’re into that

Ships: wolfstar, jily, dorlene

Wip that I’ve borderline abandoned but might get back around to some day - 24/? - 77k - rated mature

Tag on here: #out of order tag

Link to out of order

[emblemxeno]

Legend of Korra First Watch: Book 2 Thoughts

Decided on doing just overall thoughts instead of posting about every episode like I did with Book 1. Anyway, I... don't hate this Book (it's really hard for me to hate something), but it made lots of decisions that I really dislike.

Full list under the cut.

------Unalaq is a terrible antagonist. He has none of Tarrlok's charisma, and none of Amon's threatening presence. I understand his motivations from just a "okay I get what he's trying to do" standpoint, but, I don't quite understand why exactly this is something he himself wanted to do. The only reason I can think of is that he's more attuned to the spiritual world, and therefore he wants to reconnect it with the material world. Now, that makes sense, but IMO it's simply... not enough? The things he did to accomplish the goal seem so damn overboard when weighed against the goal itself. Why not just hammer the spiritual training into Korra? Was he just that far gone after having a hand in banishing his brother that he felt all he could do was take extremes? And why try to use Vaatu specifically to accomplish this feat when, as a spiritual man, Unalaq should know how destructive Vaatu is? Is it because Unalaq is so spiritual that he came to resent Wan's decision to close off the material world and spiritual world, and therefore resent the Avatar as a concept due to being Wan's reincarnation?

That last question is honestly the conclusion I'm sticking to, unless someone else can possibly grant other insight without spoiling Books 3 and 4. I'm a thinker, and I've thought out as many avenues as I can when trying to give this slightly above average waterbender with a white-bread personality a deeper reason as to why he's such a cunt.

------From what I've seen, the most controversial aspect of this season is the backstory of the Avatar, how bending was obtained/cultivated, and the existence of Raava and Vaatu.

I myself don't dislike the Avatar concept having a backstory-but, I'm the type of person where I don't need constant exposition, lore dumps, or over explanations of anything. If they are to be included, I really, really want them done well or else what's honestly the point?

The Wan episodes are artistically breathtaking, seriously, shoutout to the animators and whoever was the animation director or decision maker, cuz those episodes looked beautiful. Wan as a character I have no qualms with. He seemed to have started what I consider a "cardinal Avatar sin" where he jumps to conclusions and makes a decision that results in disastrous consequences. Korra does it, Aang did, and Roku did it (from what I've heard, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen did stuff like that too). No issue here, I think having consistent Avatar-ness to a person's character-no matter how otherwise different their personality is to their past lives-is neat.

The bending thing is... half-baked. Apparently a point of ire among the Avatar audience is that TLOK retcons bending's origins from being taught by natural sources (dragons/badger moles/sky bison/the moon+the spirit koi) to being something that the lion turtles grant. I see the issue, though from what I understand, it's that the tion turtles give the power of elements to people, but spirits and animals teach the form (e.g. the difference between Wan bending fire as he learned from a dragon spirit versus how his friends from the city use it). So technically at once both a retcon and not one, though retcons themselves aren't inherently bad. My issue is that this revelation is a bit half baked, same as how ATLA introduced energy bending in Book 3. It comes and goes with fanfare, but little substance given how important it is.

------Raava and Vaatu get their own bullet point cuz maaaaaan, I don't like what these two are whatsoever.

On paper, having the Avatar be a fusion of a person and a spirit makes sense given their role as the bridge between worlds, and serves as a... fine enough explanation as to why they can bend all elements.

What I take umbrage with is that it seems their existence is inherently contradictory to what the story's trying to say. Raava kept Vaatu under wraps for 10,000 years to "maintain balance" but.... balance isn't one spirit dominating the other? One being light and the other being darkness isn't an issue (cuz light isn't always good and darkness isn't always evil), but one being chaos and the other being peace is an issue IMO. Peace is not a neat opposite of chaos, order is. Peace's opposite is war, peace can be orderly or chaotic and war can as well. Changing that one line of Raava's would've saved me a headache, though it still wouldn't change my problem with how they're fucking fighting for control of one another instead of trying to balance each other out. It's a mess, and it's one of the things of this season that should've been deconstructed and reconstructed some more before being released.

------Korra losing her connection to her past lives is certainly something. Definitely a thing that happened. Yeah.

Being serious for a second, I don't hold this against Korra whatsoever and never will. Much like Book 1 (and honestly what I expect for the next two seasons unfortunately), Book 2 is written as if the only way to beat Korra is to throw the unexpected at her. And that can work... for the first time. But subsequent times in a new season reads as cheap. IMO, it doesn't become a "oh they made Korra too strong and don't know how to actually give her a proper challenge to overcome and grow" situation, it becomes a "they don't know how to actually construct a challenge period without raising the stakes." Now those things sound like the same, but the difference is that Korra isn't strong in many defineable ways; she's impatient and hotheaded, spiritually inept, and has serious identity issues as a result of not being able to separate herself from being the Avatar. So those weaknesses are taken advantage of in both Book 1 and Book 2. But the difference is that Book 2 suddenly raises the stakes and consequences seemingly out of nowhere.

Amon taking away her bending is palpable and meaningful cuz we've seen it done many times before in Book 1 and that itself is a grand consequence. Raava getting ripped from Korra and being defeated, is also itself a grand consequence. It means Korra goes through a deeper identity crisis by not having her Avatar powers anymore, failing in her duty to maintain balance with her spiritual side, and not being able to stop the spirit and material worlds from destroying each other. That was enough.

So why now, does she also lose her connection the past lives? Raava was already established as being unable to be completely destroyed by Vaatu, so why does her defeat mean the past 10,000 years of Avatars are erased? Did I miss something? It doesn't make sense to me, and there's no reason for its inclusion other than to give more baggae onto Korra when the girl has already been through so fucking much. It feels tacked on and cheap, a shallow attempt to introduce consquences that ends up coming off as superfluous.

------Okay, even though I spent the previous paragraphs criticizing how the spiritual aspect of this season was done, I gotta say this: idk if this is an unpopular opinion, but I greatly disliked every moment in the show where it wasn't directly related to the spirit world.

Varrick's jokes fall flat for me half the time, and being a war profiteer is objectively interesting, but doesn't make me like him any more.

The relationship stuff again in this show is just so uncomfortable to watch since the dichotomy between the show attempting to tackle serious subjects and philosophy while simultaneously having the cast being terrible communicators is jarring and not a fun watch, and I'm happy that Korra and Mako broke up at the end.

Speaking of Mako, god fuuuuuuuck, I was so tempted to fast forward every time there was a police force scene. Now, I hate the police irl a lot, but this is a TV show and unless a show is attempting commentary on irl police, I don't bother to bring my own dislike into media criticism. However, this is still a TV show meant to entertain, and nothing about police is entertaining when you don't do anything with them. It's paperwork, lazy cops who are bad at their jobs, bureaucracy, taking advantage of people, refusal of other perspectives, infighting, etc. That shit's not fun to hear about or watch in real life, and it certainly isn't better in animated form either. Mako seems devoid of any character beyond the archetypal "troublemaker becomes law enforcement" and not getting believed, Lin is almost nonexistent which is a shame given how cool she was in Book 1, and every attempt at humor with the police and the gangs does not land cuz they're not likeable in any way. At least Varrick, though I didn't care for his quips half the time, had charm and was fun to watch! Nothing about the police force was fun to watch, and it was only as interesting as a "Rookie Detective B Plot" can be.

Now, Bolin's stint as an actor works in the grand scheme of what the Book's entire message/theme was, that being finding what you want to do and detaching yourself from what's expected/enforced upon you. I just found myself getting bored with watching his acting stuff. And yeah he's cute in the outfit, but honestly? I don't quite get the internet hullabaloo about him as Nuktuk. As a Gay™️ Lover of Men™️, he's certainly attractive, but he just doesn't do anything for me. Muscles are great, but idk, I'm not a fan of round faces or the Cute Excited flavor of Himbo. Maybe it's also cuz he's a teenager, and I've always found physical maturity to be extremely hot.

He also lowkey sexually assaulted his co-star, so he's not making my favorite character list anytime soon. I won't forget that he did this, though I do hope the next two Books give him something that pulls him out of the trench, cuz I'd hate to dislike him at the end of this.

------Uh, anyway. Themes! Characterization! Development! Yay! I liked it all. I think the message of finding yourself for who you are rather than what you think you're meant to be is inspiring and a good thing for younger audiences to hear. Korra obviously is the most significant example of this, but maaaaaan, I knew I was right to love Tenzin so much. He tries so hard to be Aang that he lacks identity for himself. It reminds me of when Iroh told Zuko, "Who are you? And what do you want?" And I think the emotional throughline from ATLA to this show was shining and it paid off. Tenzin didn't need to be shackled by Aang's legacy, he just needed to be himself. The mini instances of this while him and his family are vacactioning are great set ups to this; how he interacts with his siblings, trying to teach Meelo to lead through strict and isolating methods, and being almost envious or jealous that Jinora is so spiritually gifted while he's not. Ugh, he's just so great.

Like I said earlier, Bolin's moments in the season also fall neatly into this theme, and even Desna and Eska showed some growth from being their dad's lackeys to doing what they think they need to do rather than just what's expected from Unalaq. Bumi and Kya show promise in this regard, though there hasn't been a resolution. They've showcased baggage about being lowkey neglected by Aang in comparison to Tenzin, but beyond the siblings resolving their own differences, there wasn't anything else said about it. Maybe it's cuz they're both older, and don't feel the need to do the things Tenzin does, but eh. IMO there's always room for older characters to have well developed stories!

All of this makes it more confusing why Mako and Asami are kind of... not like this. They show shades of it (Mako being something other than Korra's boyfriend, and Asami being more than just Future Industries new owner), but nothing has come of it since there was so much focus on the police investigations rather than their characters. It's very disappointing, especially since in Book 1 Asami had a great showing in spite of the small time she had, and I felt Mako had potential.

That's about it I think. Deffo a step down from Book 1 to me, though I didn't find it absolutely terrible. Just sloppy. There's salvageable things here, but for the most part I find myself thinking "why couldn't this be done better?"

I heard that Book 3 is considered the best, or at least is a big fan favorite of the entire series. I have high expectations then. See you on the other side.

[paramouradrift]

#Avatar BioShock Crossover AU" 2023 please!!!

This one's a doozy.

I don't remember precisely what triggered this one, but there was a period of a couple weeks last year where I got really into the idea of an Avatar/BioShock crossover AU. This spawned several AUs, only one of which made it into my WIP folder, apparently, so the rest must be lurking on discord with my beta reader. This particular AU has a few scant character notes, some timelines, and a discussion of themes that paint what I would consider a compelling but overly-ambitious picture.

The themes in play: destiny, causality, consciousness, free will, and moral choice. We are pulling material from BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock 2: Minerva's Den, BioShock Infinite, Avatar: the Last Airbender, and Legend of Korra. Rapture exists in its own right, whereas Columbia is replaced with Republic City. Tears, Spirit Portals, and Spirit Wilds are all the same thing, linking Rapture and Republic City across time and space. Bending and Splicing are the same, as well, with the "Avatar" being someone who has spliced up to an incredible degree and not died of every kind of cancer. The Avatar State is thus a kind of berserk mode that uses up all the EVE in the Avatar's body, leaving them powerless and vulnerable at the end. Past Avatars exist as coherent ADAM ghosts.

Aang, in this story, is a Jack/Eleanor Lamb character originally from Rapture who escaped into Republic City through a tear, and set about trying to find a way back to Rapture's past to undo all of the damage he ended up causing. He's a man haunted by guilt whose efforts are ultimately futile, because that's not how causality works.

Korra is our Elizabeth, whose ability to open and close tears makes her valuable to Aang in his quest for redemption, but also makes her a target for everyone on both sides of the veil who wants a slice of the Rapture/Republic City pie. But opening and closing tears destroys entire sections of probability space, creating fixed points in spacetime and releasing a ton of spiritual energy that gets eaten by the bioluminescent mass that sits beneath Rapture, spitting ADAM slugs back out into the world, accelerating the chaos and decline of both cities.

I have here that Aang somehow travels back to the past and becomes the founder of Rapture, which means he later creates and then kills himself while trying to do everything he can to avoid that outcome. It probably made more sense in my head the time. The other members of the Gaang are listed as Rapture's Best & Brightest: Zuko and Sokka are divorced and miserable, with Zuko trying to be a single dad and Sokka inventing the Thinker; Katara is the city's foremost doctor and philanthropist; Suki is a detective/private security chief; and Toph runs the banks because nobody else is capable. She also laid a lot of the city's foundation.

The Mechanist is here inventing things. Wu is a popular singer with his own radio program. Suyin is a prima donna ballerina. Asami is...presumably doing something amazing, but I didn't write that bit down.

The villain rogue's gallery is all here as well, moving back and forth across the tears and causing mischief and mayhem. Zaheer's radical spirituality causes Aang (Rapture Founder) to ban religion, and Unalaq tries to get control of the Avatar Program so that he can become an Avatar himself. Ozai and Zhao extend their feelers throughout both cities, seizing power and resources for themselves. Amon slots himself nicely into the Atlas role (plot twist and all), so nothing really more to say there. Kuvira is apparently a former police officer turned mob boss capitalizing on the chaos for her own gain. Long Feng is a cold technocrat who runs a private security firm and manages assets for city big wigs. My note on him is "a less affable Sinclair."

Pro-bending/ADAM boxing is a thing, so Mako and Bolin are here trying to make it big in the big bad city/ies, which probably means I planned some background Wuko.

I have no idea what my endgame was. I don't know what the actual plot was going to be. This project wasn't one I seriously considered planning out in detail because I was in the middle of H&V/J&R work, and that takes priority over anything else with this level of ambition. Having said that, it might be interesting to take another pass at the concept and see if I can turn all of that up there into something workable.

WIP Game master post.

[imthepunchlord]

Marinette's Elemental and Miraculous Matches (Wu Xing)

Bagua, Zodiac

After much debate and going back and forth, as she's one of the harder ones to pinpoint cause I find a bit of everything to her, I'm suspecting Marinette's core elements are Wood and Metal, with Wood as her primary element and Metal as her secondary.

Wood plays off her leaping between being level headed and reasonable to her imagination just running wild. Wood works off her creativity and her means to think out of the box. It can play off her being curious and nosy, seeking to expand her knowledge of what's around her. It works off her being quick to support and help others, and her being a social butterfly. It works off her being open to learn and grow and seeks self-improvement.

Metal works off her desire for perfection. That she must put forth the best that she can create (one example being in Mr Pigeon where she drew a lot of good hat designs, but they weren't up to her standards), and for things to go as smoothly as possible. Metal also works off her as a thinker, working off logic, facts, and making quick evaluations. Metal also really works off her strong sense of self-righteousness and her dislike of dishonesty (as Metal does like things to be clear cut).

Wood and Metal plays off her being ambitious and aiming high for herself, her capability as a leader, and her tendency to meddle as Wood can be nosy and Metal has a desire for things to work out a certain way. These two elements work off her being very independent and self-sufficient. Wood and Metal also works off Marinette being her own worst enemy, as these two are elemental opposites, but it can also work off her great potential with Miraculous as she is tied to a yin-yang pair.

Of the Wu Xing, that makes Butterfly and Cat as her best matches, and Nooroo and Plagg are the most ideal kwamis to work off of her.

Butterfly's powers are something Marinette will be able to use well. She has the means to connect with others and knows what to say to work with them and offer the support. She also knows to let people thrive and do what they're good at, having faith in their capability. She'd be clever with making minor changes, and astral projection could work off her nosiness and allow her to move about stealthily.

Cat's powers are also quite promising for Marinette. She has the analytical mind that's able to evaluate how to use her destructive power, and be able to expand it's use than just straight forward destruction and malfunction. She naturally goes for stealth so traveling through shadows she would thrive with, and seeing through shadows can play off her nosy nature and wanting to unravel the world before her. And summoning shades to work with her works off her being a leader but able to work with others, listen to their wisdom and ideas.

Kwami wise, Nooroo and Plagg both have the big appeal of being a rock in the storm Marinette typically whips up. If she overthinks/lets her emotions run wild, they're able to bring her back with their calmness and logic.

Nooroo would work with her without taking over and telling her what she must do, work with her to figure out the best course of action. Through his influence, Marinette will gradually be calmer and more grounded, and would work off her strengths without turning it into a full blown Atlas complex as he helps implants the fact that she can rely on others, she just needs to branch out more than try to solve everything herself.

Plagg meanwhile rolls with the chaos, with Marinette probably one of the funniest humans he's be paired with (honestly these two would be delightful to watch). Plagg would have the additional perk to act as a foil to Marinette being a lazy and selfish kwami, countering her need to prioritize selflessness and to always be productive and busy. Through his influence, Marinette would find the fine line between productivity and breaks, and prioritizing herself and her needs to the needs of others.

By elemental placement, Peafowl, Ladybug, and Fox are viable Miraculous for her to wield. She wouldn't be the best matches, but she can pull them off and utilize them well, but there would be some sort of issue be it kwami or a struggle with powers. Power wise, she can become better with them, but there would be a learning curve. Kwami wise, something would need to be addressed. As Wood and Metal are next to the other 3 elements, there are no subpar matches for Marinette.

Peafowl Marinette can utilize well. As a time manipulator, this Miraculous requires strategy, resourcefulness, and being opportunistic. All things Marinette is covered for. She'd be clever in selectively rewinding time, would best utilize pausing time, and would work off resetting time to secure the best results or work off what would be the best route. The last power though could be the one she struggles with most as she would want the most "perfect" outcome, but I do see it as a quick lesson to learn.

Duusu is a kwami I do see getting along with Marinette and would bring something to the table in terms of growth. Duusu would work off her strengths like her skill in observation and quick thinking, and she can be bubbly, energetic, and just as animated as Marinette, so they can click and work off each other right away. The only thing I see as a major issue is that Duusu and Marientte could feed into each other's overreactions and both could spiral into a panic that will only end when they fizzle out. Now if this duo can learn to take turns in their overreactions so one can be the calmer one, or both learn to tone down their overreactions, this pair will thrive. Otherwise they're a ticking time bomb of spiraling panic.

Ladybug Marinette is set with power wise. She has the resourcefulness and creativity to work off Ladybug's two creation powers, able to utilize the generated item and secure she can have a complex and efficient Worker. She also can use the light generation and all it's possibilities well.

As backed by canon, Tikki at the core is the biggest issue with Marinette having Ladybug, as Tikki is set to work off personalities that are a lot more "fiery" and at times "problematic" than Marinette is. Marinette does thrive between Tikki support and affectionate, and doesn't mind Tikki's opinions when shared with her. The issue comes from Tikki insisting on prioritizing others and dedicating her humans to their duties, which is good for Fire personalities that can be easily distracted or selfish, but for Marinette who already is very dedicated and considerate, it just leads to an Atlas complex. Unless Tikki can learn to ease and realize she's piling too much pressure on Marinette, this could wind up quite destructive for Marinette.

Fox Marinette may struggle a little with, though the potential and promise is there. Power wise, Fox does work off Marinette preferring stealth, to dance around her opponents than actually fight them, being a meddler, her creativity, observation, and quick thinking. It can also play into her tendency to disguise herself, and with a power tied to it, should be a true master of disguise. Only issue is that Marinette is not a good liar, and most of the time she gets very lucky. I also can't speak for how good of an actor she is, so may give herself away when disguising herself as another. But over all, everything should be pretty solid.

With Trixx, I do see this as another fascinating kwami-holder match up as they both work off intellect and both can be meddling and know how to work off others and their strengths, and how to sway things their way. Trixx most likely would toe the line between Nooroo and Plagg, rolling with the chaos and enjoying the shenanigans, but also keeping up with duty and opening up her mind to work off others more, to have faith, and to help teach the means to secure things can go your way. Honestly, they'd probably be the ultimate scheming buddies. Trixx is probably the only kwami of the doable trio I don't see being an issue paired with Marinette, it just comes down to powers and how good of a deceiver Marinette actually is.