trivial question, but: do you think ty lee can see auras? i'm torn between a. yes but they're not actually "auras", she just calls it that to be more cryptic to azula. i like her having a parallel skill to toph, but i don't like theosophy being grouped with legitimate east asian cultural influences in canon lore. or b. no, she came up with that lie when azula drilled her on how she was able to know info she shouldn't, and just leaned into it. or c. she's just being a quirky teenager
lmfao I don’t think this is a “trivial question” at all! I think ty lee’s invocation of auras and the context in which she deploys it is actually very crucial to understanding her character. everyone (azula, mai, zuko) responds to her aura talk in the same immediately dismissive way. it’s a ridiculous notion on its face, even in a universe wherein spirituality is respected (it’s less respected in the fire nation of course, but they nonetheless tie a great deal of value to their overvalorization of firebending, which is fundamentally a spiritual practice). ty lee is uniquely trivialized for her discussion of auras, in a similar way to how I, for example, dismiss any conversation about astrology as simply being a load of bullshit. and similar to astrology, there’s a gendered element to that dismissal; it’s viewed as a silly and frivolous interest for girls.
ty lee is a girl who deliberately plays up her femininity to an almost parodic degree. she (ostensibly) loves the color pink, and makeup, and boys, and she squeals at pretty shells, and emphasizes the importance of having clear skin, and she talks like she’s always just sucked in helium. now, there’s nothing wrong with being a stereotypically feminine girl, but that’s not actually what ty lee is. ty lee is a carefully crafted lie. she is a performer, and a gifted acrobat at that. when she plays this role, it is with the intention of being dismissed so as to be underestimated. she deliberately plays up these feminine qualities, performs her gender in such a way that she courts misogynistic reception to her presentation. mai claims that only stupid girls would be flattered upon being given beach trash, that only stupid girls crave male attention, that only stupid girls care about auras. azula claims that ty lee’s technique for attracting guys is “shallow and stupid” (despite it working perfectly on her for however many years they’ve been….friends). ty lee does these things specifically because she wants to be seen as a stupid girl.
she is a better manipulator than azula, and in many ways, far more powerful. think of the scene where azula pushes her out of jealousy because ty lee is better at cartwheeling as a microcosm for their entire relationship. ty lee knows exactly how dangerous she is, and so she knows that to not be seen as a threat to azula’s uncontested authority, she must present herself as someone stupid and naive for her own safety. and it works perfectly, because she is a teenage girl, and no one close to her is wise enough to see past her facade. when the conversation veers into territory that is threatening to her, she can steer it back onto safer ground by bringing up auras, or something equally frivolous. she knows full well that it makes her sound dumb, and that’s why she says it; she knows exactly how she is received at all times. meanwhile everyone around her believes that she’s hopelessly naive for being such an unrepentant happy-go-lucky frivolous weirdo. and so does a not insignificant number of people in the audience, too. because she’s genuinely just that subtle, and brilliant, and terrifying.
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The Ainu have not intentionally forgotten their culture and their language. It is the modern Japanese state that, from the Meiji era on, usurped our land, destroyed our culture, and deprived us of our language under the euphemism of assimilation. In the space of a mere 100 years, they nearly decimated the Ainu culture and language that had taken tens of thousands of years to come into being on this earth. ~Kayano Shigeru (1926-2006) Our Land Was a Forest: An Ainu Memoir
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cover art for Chrysalis by @peachcitt
summary:
We’re on an American road trip,” Adrien says, looking over at Marinette to see that she’s giving him one of her soft smiles, one of the ones where she looks like she’s halfway between wanting to tease him and wanting to kiss him.
“An American road trip,” the waitress repeats with a little shake of her head and a laugh. “Well, I sure hope it’s as glamorous as you make it sound, darlin’.”
or
after the events of metamorphosis, adrien and marinette attempt to find their version of normal.
(my LATE christmas present for peach. I love you and this story forever)
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pairing: akatsuki hyoga x gn!reader (no prns)
summary: hyoga thinks very poorly of being in love, but he's in love with you
warnings: hyoga is a little sweet at the end
Hyoga did not like the idea of love— it was only natural for someone who thought like he did. It was illogical and people acted irrationally because of it. If anything, he looked down on those in love because he genuinely thought they were losing their minds to some silly feelings. To him, love was always something for the weak, not for the strong who had things to be doing. Important things.
Which is why he thought you were so horribly stupid to be confessing to him. If one thing wasn't going to work, it was that. Yet, no matter how many times he told you that you were being silly and he wouldn't return your feelings, you just wouldn't back down. Almost daily, you'd find a way to tell him your feelings again.
He hated it so much, everything about it upset him, but somehow he wasn't able to push you away. Your daily greetings and conversations made him far happier than he would like to admit, and that annoyed him greatly. He was not supposed to be feeling joy from someone else, and definitely not supposed to be looking forward to seeing you. Illogical, irrational, thoughts.
These thoughts alone already annoyed him— he hadn't even dared to think he was in love. Never would he be in love, and definitely not with you. Yet, deep inside he knew. He knew that if you were to stop one day he'd probably give in and blurt out these emotions he's been hiding from even himself. He wasn't ready for that, but more importantly, he wasn't ready to see you give up on him. He knew he was being illogical and annoying, not wanting to admit his feelings to return yours, but also not wanting you to move on to someone else. He knew he was being hopelessly selfish, but he just didn't know what to do. He had never been in love before.
The next day when you confessed your love for him all over again, like it was the first and this hadn't been going on for weeks now, the thought alone that he might harbour feelings for you flustered him to no extent. He didn't mean to act so cold and push you away, but he just didn't know how to act. He had no idea what to do, but he knew he'd rather die than show it on his face.
"Hey, Hyoga?" you asked, voice serious.
He stopped to listen and turned his head your way.
"I know you're not fond of me doing this every day, but is it really a nuisance to you? If it is, I'll stop..." you said carefully.
You were trying not to cry, he could tell. He's heard you every day so he knew you well enough to know that much. But this was exactly what he was dreading and he brought it upon himself. Why couldn't he act like he normally did? Why were you affecting the way he acted? Everything irritated him until it made so much sense.
He was in love with you, and there was no denying it anymore.
"Please be blunt about it, I'll feel better that way," you said, but then smiled immediately after. "I guess I don't have to worry about that with you, though. You don't know how to sugarcoat your words anyway."
He didn't know what to say and how to tell you how he felt, so it came out blunt and honest, just like you had asked for it to be. It wasn't the kind that he liked— it came out far too uncollected and in a fluster, but it was his genuine thoughts.
"I think I'm in love with you, and that scares me to death," he said.
"What?" you ask, not believing your ears.
"I will not be repeating that," Hyoga said and turned away. He genuinely believed you were going to run after him and squeal like you always do, but you didn't.
"You won't take it back, though?" You said quietly and he immediately turned around. He knew you were crying. He didn't mean to make you cry— that was the last thing he wanted to do.
"You just said to be blunt, so I was," he said. "Please don't cry."
"I am so in love with you," you said, looking straight into his eyes.
"Even after I made you cry?"
"These are the happiest tears I will ever cry."
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