#but he also loves the Monk who Monk is now because its Monk

[alpaca-clouds]

Let me talk about Mizrak

Yeah, this with all the entire Nocturne brainrot is going to continue for a couple more days at least. But the show has so many interesting themes and characters and I just love it so much. And after getting all my friends to watch the show, I got surprised by one of them being super angry about Mizrak.

Why? Well, because of the last scene with him and Olrox in the season and his words of: "You are just an animal that lost its soul centuries ago." And the friend considered that "being an asshole" and "cruel".

To which I say: Cruel? Yes. Asshole? No.

Let me explain.

First, let me make one thing clear: No, Mizrak is not a templar. I have seen that one too many times. He is not a templar. He is a monk knight of the order of St. John, so the Knights Hospitaller. Like the templars they were very much tied to the crusades originally, but they are not the same thing. There were a lot of orders and types of knights associated with the crusades. Templars were just one of them. (Do you guys wanna hear more about the templars? I can talk more about them.)

We know from bits and pieces of dialogue that Mizrak originates in Jerusalem (which is also where the order was founded). This is a gentle reminder: Israel as we know it today was not a thing back then. But Jerusalem was always a place of religious conflict as it holds importance in all three Abrahamic religions. Which was, what the crusades were all about after all. Before the time of the French Revolution, though, there was mostly some a conflict between the Ottomans and some Arab forces over Palestine. There were some Christian orders accepted within the city though.

Now, the Knights Hospitaller, who were accepted in Jerusalem, had a strong connection to France. Which... lead to problems, when some of the Arabs and the French got into problems. Which let to the Knights Hospitaller leaving for Malta. This too is referenced in the dialogue. (If you guys cannot tell: I am very happy with the amount of historical research put into this show!)

Mizrak looks to be in his early 30s. So I assume he entered the order in his mid-teens (which was a usual age to enter an order like that) and then probably left for Malta within a couple of years after that when the political situation got more charged. And then from Malta to France.

The Knights Hospitaller back then for all intent and purposes lived as militarized monks. That means they made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. And this very much shines through with his character in so many scenes.

Of course we see that the entire "chastity" thing does not work out that well for him. But that is also why he clearly is shown to be conflicted about that entire thing. What he tries to uphold, though, is the obedience aspect of his vows. And that is, what his entire conflict is about.

See, what I love about this character is that there is all this delicious conflict.

I will iterate again: I grew up in a very, very conservative, strict, catholic household. Other kids got read fairytales for bedtime. My mother read me the bible. Priests and monks were people we intermingled with a lot. (Heck, the last pope? I met him when he was still a bishop.) And hence I got to make one very clear experience: There are three types of Catholics: Those, who focus on all the horrible things. Those, who focus on the literal stuff written in the bible. And those, who focus on the positive stuff. You know, the stuff with helping people, and being poor, and sharing, and being in general a good person. (Though the three types are not always mutually exclusive.)

And it is pretty clear that Mizrak is of the latter kind. He believes in the good he can do through his faith in God and Christ. But he has also grown up in an Order and a Church that puts a lot of focus on the idea of sin, on the idea of obedience, and the idea of the "natural order".

But there he is, with his Abbot collaborating with demons and vampires to enforce that "natural order", which among other things goes against their own vow of poverty. This is so clearly against Mizrak's believes. Because in his very core, Mizrak is a good fucking man. He is one of the good guys. Who wants to do good through his faith in God. And this conflicts for him.

So by the end of episode 7 he reached the point to go against his vow of obedience, because his faith in doing good was stronger, than his dedication to his vows. He very actively broke his vows in the eyes of his order, standing against his order, to protect those darn kids. Because it was the right thing to do. He is absolutely willing to do the noble sacrifice if that is what it takes to save those kids. And in comes that weird dude and takes this chance from him.

And his entire thing with Olrox... It seems very much that Mizrak is indeed gay. As the series so helpfully points out: Yeah, priests, monks, other clergy, and their vows of chastity were always a thing that rarely worked out. Again, as someone who grew up with close ties to the church: The fact that everyone is secretly fucking is... well known. As well as the fact that yeah, there are a lot of gay clergy. Mostly for the reason that they are shamed for their sexuality and then take the vows to not be tempted into homosexuality. Only to find that a priest school with a lot of other queer supressed men is exactly the place you do not want to be to not be tempted. (And that is all without going into all the non-con, pedophilia and what not. Things that were also already happening back then, I guarantee you.)

So, try to imagine that entire thing from Mizrak's perspective. There he is, already ashamed and suppressed about all of that and in comes this very, very seductive vampire man, who kinda seems to align with some of his values, but not with others. And who is emotionally unavailable as fuck, outright telling him that he does not love our dear Mizrak. Someone, who clearly is not for the vampires and your abbot, but also clearly not willing to take the other side. The side that you in your heart (even though it means standing against your order) know to be right. And this man, who claims to not love you, then comes in and tries to stop you from doing what is right.

Yeah, no fuck, Mizrak is a bit pissed at him. Especially as in that moment Olrox very clearly goes against Mizrak's ideals, that are all about self-sacrificially doing the right thing.

And I do think that Mizrak is right in one regard: Olrox lost his soul. He lost a part of himself. Through the trauma of colonialism, but he lost it never the less.

So, once more: Thanks the team for giving us another interesting, well-rounded religious character! CV already did so well with Isaac and Mizrak is sofar extremely promising in that regard.

#castlevania #castlevania netflix #castlevania nocturne #castlevania nocturne spoilers #castlevania mizrak #castlevania olrox #olrox x mizrak #mizrox

[prickly-paprikash]

Since the discourse has reared its ugly head once more, the simple answer is no.

Aang was not a deadbeat, unsupportive, absentee father.

He loved all three of his children and was supportive of them. When Kya came out in the comics, she mentioned straight up that Aang was nothing but supportive of her and who she was. Aang made mistakes in parenting, but he was also stuck in one of the worst situations possible for him.

For one thing, it's been stated that Airbending culture has different views when it comes to family dynamics. Never once does Aang mention his parents, and it's clear that Air Nomads did not put emphasis on the standard nuclear family organization that other nations did. From context clues alone, and many have inferred in the past that Air Nomads were communal, so it stands to reason that their parenting was communal. Monks, Nuns, Masters—all of them were most likely parents to every single child. The responsibility of raising and educating a child was shared amongst the nomads, and that there was no real difference between biological and adoptive parents. Airbenders shared nearly everything, and that meant family as well.

Imagine you're Aang, spending twelve years of life being raised by every adult in the temple. Sure, he was exposed to nuclear family dynamics when visiting other nations and befriending Bumi and Kuzon, but his exposure to their culture was most likely limited. Now, not only is he a father to three beautiful children, but he must raise them in a way foreign to him. There are no other Monks to raise his children—it's just him and Katara. I've no doubt that Sokka and Toph chipped in whenever they could to ease the burden of parenthood, but they were leaders and figures of great importance as well. Not to mention that Toph had her own daughters to take care of.

Aang is also the Avatar, the central spiritual figure amongst the four nations. His presence would always be demanded in other nations. Peace Summits. Negotiations. Ceremony. Dealing with splintered Fire Nation cells and loyalists. Aang had to lead the people of all four nations back into balance, and he was in the unique and unenviable position to heal the scars of a 100 year war due to the absence of the Avatar.

Finally, the dude is also the Very Last Airbender. Of course he'd show favoritism to Tenzin. Bumi was a non-bender and Kya was a waterbender already taking after her mother. Aang was a war hero, a political figure, a man out of time and history, the Avatar, and the Only Living Airbender. The weight of his culture and people all rested on his shoulders, and so he passed on that responsibility and hope to the only other living Airbender at the time. Aang needed to spend time with Tenzin because only through Tenzin could the practices of the Air Nomads survive.

Aang was basically having to transition from a communal family mindset to a nuclear family's; he had to balance romance, fatherhood, and being the Avatar in a Wartorn World; and he had an obligation to every Airbender in history—millions of souls and their memories, passed on from one very flawed father to his newborn son. Every part of Aang's life as a father was met with trials and tribulations, and his family still came out loving him, albeit with some resentment underneath.

No parent is perfect, and Aang could have done so much better when it came to communicating with his children.

But none of his mistakes ever meant he was an abusive, cold, distant father.

He was overworked, acclimating to a style of family not his own, and desperately reviving a century-long dead culture all by himself. The fact that every single one of his kids still loved him and cherished him only solidified the fact that Aang was a father who did his very best.

Being the child of the Avatar would always mean living in his shadow. That resentment, of Aang being needed by the world while his children sought him out, would always be there. Doubly so for Tenzin, who grew up with the Avatar as his father and continued his life-long work of breathing life back into the Air Nomads. Say what you will, but at least Bumi and Kya had the freedom to choose who they wanted to be. Tenzin, no matter what, would always grow up to be the Airbending Master because no one else could.

Aang loved his children. Aang loved his wife. And they in turn loved him. But just like every family, complications rose up and planted the seeds of bitterness and resentment. The only thing that stopped these from blossoming into actual dislike of their family was that Aang's love and respect for his children was always genuine, and that Katara stood firm in making sure their children knew they were beloved.

Aang and Katara's family would never have been ideal in the first place, but they did their best.

And their best was certainly enough.

#avatar the last airbender #aang #katara #bumi ii #kya ii #bumi #kya #tenzin #avatar meta #paprikash ramblings #sokka #toph beifong

[lyralaneoriginal12]

Your Voice is My Reality (Platonic Older! Damian Wayne x baby boy reader)

“There there, my sweet angel... Baba isn't going anywhere...”

Aged-Up Damian Wayne as Demon's Head of League of Shadows who also the loving and protective father of you. (It gives 'I will burn the world for you' kinda vibe, but oh well)

(WARNING! OOC)

Damian felt like his heart was about to explode, he fell on the ground and was wounded. The enemy had shot him right in his chest. The pain is unbearable but worst of all, his baby witnesses all this. It was a mistake already to bring you to this type of meeting. Here you are now, witness his assassination.

The League's assassins quickly neutralize all the threats and manage to take control of the situation. You was crying in fear. The enemy also looked scared of what he just did to the Demon Head. You pry release the hold of the nannies and quickly run towards your father.

Damian tried to breathe, he was struggling to stay alive and awake. The assassins and the nannies were shocked because Damian stayed in a pool of his on blood, with a gunshot wound on his torso. The Demon Head was bleeding profusely on the ground after being shot.

“Baba, no!”

Notice his son now right beside him, Damian raises his hand and slowly caressed your head. Even in this state, Damian’s mind only filled the need to protect you and to make sure that you are okay and safe.

“There there, my sweet angel... Baba isn't going anywhere...”

Says Damian in between pain while looking at you with a sad and concerned expression. He tried to fight the pain of the gunshot wound, which was making him feel a bit weaker each moment that passed. Damian vision start to blur. You were crying while clutching on your father's chest. Your beautiful blue robe completely soaks in Damian's blood.

Damian looks at his baby, with a loving, concerned and tender look on his face. With that, Damian closes his eyes. The vision is becoming more and more blurred until... the darkness comes slowly and gradually.

Time Skip

There’s many people wearing all black cloaks, circle the Lazarus Pit. The very pit glow in green and had a very rotten aroma. The smell that was coming from the green pit was awful, it was as if a lot of dead bodies were buried there. Damian's body being carried by the monks. He's ready to be revived from death.

You currently in the arms of Marie, one of the nannies of the League. You suckles quietly on your pacifier, with tiny cloak covering your body, watching the whole ritual carefully and looking closely at the monks.

The monks, Damian's advisors and the assassins were surrounding the pit, waiting for the moment.

You saw how the monks submerge their body until they were waist-deep while gently carrying Damian's corpse. Then, they carefully placed Damian’s corpse into the waters.

You watched as your father was completely submerged in the water. You squirms a little at Marie's arms, feel a little distress when you sees your father being submerged into the toxic green water.

“Hush, Master (Y/N)”

Assure the nanny at his young master to calm you down.

There's a long pause until Damian broke through the water with a feral cry, his jade eyes were glowing an eerie green. The greenish mist coming from the water then filled his eyes, making Damian see the surroundings very weirdly. Damian snarls at the monks and feel how his body is moving and healing on its own.

Damian starts to go wild and attacking the monks and assassins. Everyone knows the effects of being dipped into the Pit, how the user is driven temporarily insane. But well... Damian had used it quite a lot, so the effect doesn’t take toll on him completely. Damian keeps attacking the monks and assassins like a wild animal. Tearing them apart with his bare hands.

The madness continues until you calls out for him.

“Baba...”

The Demon Head stopped immediately and turned his gaze to those angelic voices, looking at the baby with malicious gaze. Damian saw that you was being held by Marie. You makes a grabby hand at Damian, which scares Marie who tries to protect you from Damian rampage.

Damian stops attacking everybody once he hears his name being called by his angel. Damian closed and opened his eyes once again, as his sweet angel's voice snapped him back to reality. Slowly but surely, recognition was in his eyes. Damian’s rage and feral behavior are over.

“(Y/N)…”

Damian slowly stands up, while look at all the shocked faces of the advisors, assassins, and monks, who are watching the whole scene with a confused and scared expression on their faces.

Damian slowly walks out of the Pit and goes to you whose still in the nanny arms. The green water wetted the concrete floor, but he didn’t care, he needed to embrace his son now. The servants quickly cover Damian's body with his majestic red robe, so he won’t catch cold. Like there’s no tomorrow, Damian takes you from the protective hold of your nanny. You quickly hugs your father in a loving manner.

“Baba”

Damian gently holds the baby in his arms, with the loving and caring eyes of a father, who's glad to be back with his little boy. Damian looks at the whole room, with all the advisors, assassins and monks looking at both Damian and his son, with a confused expression on their faces. Damian couldn’t help but chuckle a little especially to the monks and assassins he accidentally hurt previously.

“Well, this is... awkward...”

The people in the room couldn’t help but giggle a little at Damian’s remark.

Damian looked at his baby with a happy smile on his face.

“Hey, beloved. I missed you so much.”

Damian kisses you on your chubby cheek, as your cute smile touches Damian’s heart. You giggles softly when his father does so while pinching his your own nose cutely.

“Baba stinky. You are stinky!”

Damian chuckles a bit when you says that he is stinky. You didn’t go wrong though.

“Yes, yes, beloved. I must admit... I need to get a bath but now that I'm back with you again, my precious angel.”

Damian smiles a little at you again, feeling his heart being touched by your adorable words and the little pinch you gives yourself after making this sweet and funny remark. Then, you happily claps your hand.

“Bubble bath, Baba! Bubble bath!”

Damian chuckles after your comment as he gently touches your small and soft chubby hands.

“Yes, bubble bath it is.”

The servants quickly scatter to prepare bubble bath at the grand bathroom of the League of Shadows base.

#damian wayne #damian al ghul #damian wayne imagine #damian al ghul x reader #batfam #damian wayne x baby reader #damian wayne x reader #damian wayne x you #damian wayne x y/n #dc comics #male reader #batman #dc headcanon #dc imagine #older damian wayne #batfam headcanons #robin headcanons #robin imagine #batbros #batboys #older!damian wayne x reader #robin x reader #dc robin #robin dc #batfamily #batman imagine #damian wayne angst #reader insert #fake scenarios #fanfic

[slocumjoe]

could you do companion react to sole just kissing them? like, we can assume they’re really close and basically a situation ship at this point. you’re writing is so unique and thought out and I would love to see your take!

Companions react to Sole Doing The Damn Thing

*ringing a giant church bell i should not have access to* GAGE STANS COME GET YALL JUICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cait; That's not going to go over well with Cait. Her first instinct—and her strongest—when someone tries to kiss her, is violence. Sole is getting a broken nose out of this. Though, as her knuckles connect, her brain will catch up and realize oh. But luckily, Cait has some time to process what just happened. Because Sole kinda...needs some medical attention...Sole can't tell what Cait's flustered about, the kiss or the punch. Cait says they're seeing shit and to shut the fuck up. But...she, red as her hair, will lean in, and quickly kiss their nose better.

Curie; Probably also not immediately happy...Curie canonically gets and is frustrated with people coming on to her, and her own instincts might not be murder...but Sole will be getting an incrediblely nasty look before she remembers who they are. Most likely to still not appreciate it fully after realizing. She'd rather properly discuss their feelings first before moving into anything physical. Curie is a very proper, by-the-books woman. And she had a courting itinerary! She'll take this as a cue to get started on that bucket list, but the first one was surprising Sole and ask them out...she was going to make dinner and everything!

Danse; Are you trying to kill him. The only companion to make a noise. Freezes up, goes ramrod stiff. Doesn't move, doesn't breath, doesn't do anything for much longer than is considered normal. The best course of action, here, for Sole, is to just keep kissing him and hope his brain auto-starts. It's like trying to jumpstart a dead car battery, y'know? If Sole kisses and backs away, there is a very real chance Danse will misinterpret it or convince himself he imagined it. But if they keep going...well. Nothing to misunderstand there, right? The Thoughts don't come until later. Head is EMPTY.

Deacon; stares at them for a few seconds, blinking. Flashes some finger guns with an "ayyyy" and runs the fuck away. The bitch flees the scene. Why would you do this to Deacon? This is almost as mean as doing it to Danse. Best bet is to let him run, grabbing is just going to postpone the running. He'll spend a few days in isolation like some kind of monk. Think about it, his feelings, Sole's, what he wants. Then he goes back and does the same shit to Sole when they aren't paying attention. No one surprises Freaky Deac and gets away with it. No one.

Gage; As Sole gets closer, he notices and intuits that they're going in for it...but, nah, no way. Why would they? But...but they are, right? What else could that be? No, surely—wait, are they? What are you doing? No? No. But maybe? Yes? YES? OH ITS YES, FUCK, WHY DIDNT YA MOVE YOU DUMB SHIT? Imagine Sole going in, Gage tensing and doing 3d calculations, and the Jaws tune playing. Like Deacon, don't try to keep going. Gage is recoiling and grabbing him as he's backing away triggers Fight instinct. He recoils, takes one hard look at them, and says, in that voice smooth as piss and vinegar, "Now, what the fuck was that?" Is that what he meant to say? Nope! And Gage will forever suffer the memory of basically going 'ew' the first time his partner kissed him.

Hancock; Off to the races. Think about it? About what, how good they are at kissing? And sneaking up on him, evidently? Nope! Hancock knows where to go from here. Hancock spends the next month worrying himself sick about jumping into a relationship with someone he loves dearly, without knowing if he himself is capable of upholding his end of the relationship. Ends up crying in Nick's lap about how he's ruined everything. Sole has to explain to him they've basically been in a relationship for a few months and he's doing fine, please be easier with yourself.

MacCready; I FORGOT DEAR RATBOY MacCready was married, and I have to imagine that two teenagers getting together would have done something similar...So, Mac will 100% be stumbling and flustered, but he's not going to brick like others. You'll get an awkward, blushy Bobby grinning at Sole, asking if they really feel that way? He wasn't just imagining it? Oh, nice. So, you wanna...talk, or...keep doing what you're doing? He's good with both. Real good.

Nick; Oh, we're done dancing around this? Great. If Sole wants to just get jiggy right away, will ask gently if they can discuss the Elephant first. But Nick isn't shocked or anything. This has been going on long enough, it was either happening or it wasn't. Well, now its happening. He'd blow a party favor if he had one. Anyway, he's all too happy to finally get this sorted out and started. Even happier he wasn't the one who had to bring it up. He could have, but God, that never fails to twist the guts up.

Piper; Very similar to Nick. Okay, so, are we a thing, or are you teasing? What's your angle, here, what are we doing? The longer the situationship has been going, the more suspicious she is. If Sole fails to sufficiently explain in the 3 seconds they have to, Piper huffs, leans in, and quickly kisses them back. There. Now we're even. If Sole goes back in for their revenge, great news, they've convinced her. Now how about they actually have a relationship now. Piper has done the half-on, half-off thing, and uh...no.

Preston; has too many issues to just throw himself into a relationship like that...especially if he can't pinpoint where it started. Similar to Curie, it doesn't matter how close he is with Sole, he would rather have talked about it first. I mean, he's happy, and flustered, but beneath the dopey grin, he's a little exasperated. C'mon, he had a whole conversation planned, and Sole pops that cherry with one kiss? Alright, works for him. Not complaining. But maybe give a guy some warning? Like, are they dating? Have they been dating? They really need to define this relationship.

X6-88; Haha, you think Sole is going to catch him off—oh shit they did. And...they survived? Wow, they are powerful. X6-88's reaction is the same as Gage's, calculations and all. Except, when he demands an explanation, it is exactly what he intended to say. Seriously, what is this gesture? You're supposed to do it with your romantic partner, but he's seen people do it with someone who decidedly wasn't. He's also seen family members kiss each other on the cheek, and friends. And he's heard of Curie's people kissing everyone regardless. So, what is this? Sole has to explain to him this one is romantic and I'm trying to pursue you romantically. At that point he panics and its a mess from there. Lots of internal crisis, lots of Nick banging pots and pans, screaming YOU HAVE FEELINGS, PANIC IS A FEELING.

#fo4 #fallout 4 #paladin danse #preston garvey #piper wright #nick valentine #x6-88 #robert joseph maccready #companions react #hancock #porter gage #why do i keep making the jaws tune Gage x Sole's theme song

[david-talks-sw]

It's a shame that the multi-media franchise of star wars have twisted the original narrative of the Jedi. I really love the sequel trilogy, I love season 7 of TCW, and Dave Filoni is amazing storyteller. But over the years, it's gotten to the point where the Jedi are being criticized to such a degree that now some people believe the Jedi should've changed their entire belief system. It's great to criticize the Jedi. They are flawed and not perfect. But now because they are now being framed negatively over the past 2-3 years and so now, some justify their genocide, disrespect their belief system, and believe Anakin was a poor victim who got caught up in everything. Lucasfilm or any writer is to blame for this, but I think people need to look a little more deeper into the media literacy behind star wars, and consider the fact that a child is going to love the Jedi despite their flaws and will be sad when they see them get killed. Because star wars is made for children who can look up to the Jedi as role models.

All of this.

I frankly don't know what else to add, @thecenturyofmusic said it all.

I also think there's an argument to be made for shifting global values.

I don't know about how it was in the U.S. specifically, but I don't remember there being as much of an emphasis on mental health back in the early 2000s as there is today.

Back then, I remember many fans sorta getting the core story but hating it, which resulted in a lot of them just bashing the Prequels.

Nowadays, a spin has been put on the Prequels wherein Anakin is the poster boy for the mental illness, he's just a victim:

he grew up a slave which gave him severe PTSD,

then was ripped away from the arms of his mother by

an elite order of emotionless monks whose emotionally-repressing teachings are the perfect representation of toxic masculinity and force you to never get emotionally attached,

who berated and rejected him at every turn,

he also doesn't have a father figure except for the Chancellor, who grooms him and isolates him,

and instead of supporting him in his hour of need, the Jedi hurt Anakin psychologically to a degree where at some point he just loses it and kills them all, because as far as he's concerned they were evil to him.

And... yeah. It can be interpreted that way. It resonates more to people when seen that way.

But it wasn't meant to be seen that way.

If it was, then we'd have seen very different Prequels.

Watto would have physically abused Anakin left and right like he's DiCaprio in Django: Unchained, instead of joking around about humans with him.

Shmi would've been on the ground crying, holding Anakin's leg and screaming "please no give me back my babyyyy!!!"

Literally every shot of the Jedi emoting, screaming, chuckling, being worried would be absent and they'd all speak with a monotonous voice, including Yoda, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

If we were supposed to feel like Anakin is in the right and the Jedi are in the wrong then we'd be shown an Anakin who isn't petulant, arrogant and overly emotional. We'd see a normal person who gets berated by a group of unfeeling old men.

Anakin wouldn't call Obi-Wan his father twice (which is admittedly a nuanced situation because while Anakin may see Obi-Wan as a father, Obi-Wan sees Anakin as a little brother so hey).

We'd see Anakin explicitly state that he's afraid of his wife dying, maybe carrying her unconscious body to the temple steps begging for help only for someone to reject him at the door because "it goes against protocol" and that's when Palpatine swoops in.

Y'know, more explicit, emotion-eliciting stuff?

But we didn't see any of that. Because it wasn't about any of that. If it was, then it goes about delivering its message in the weakest way possible.

While nowadays, the popular take is that Anakin's downfall is the fault of everyone around him, the intended take was that Anakin's fall was his own fault. Anakin is a victim of his own flaws.

The Prequels weren't meant to show you what happens when you keep pushing a mentally unstable person, they were about cautioning children about not giving in to their own fear and greed.

"How does a good kid become a bad man?" He let his inner demons - fear, anger, greed - get the better of him.

And that's not necessarily a take most people agree with these days, but that takes us back to how much importance you actually give to GL's original vision.

#jedi order #anakin skywalker

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

I’ve been curious about your input.

If Chase had gotten the chance to know First Ninja’s siblings before their deaths do you think that he would’ve obsessed over them like he does over First Ninja? Or do you think Chase only has focus on First?

Oof, okay this is a hard question to ask for a person who now ships FirstxChase somewhat hardcore, because my knee-jerk reaction is like 'First would always be his instant focus', but it prooooooobably would be more complicated.

Okay, first of all, if we are talking in 'general' terms of canon 'unknown' Norisu Clan, I think Chase's interest would not reach the obsessive levels. Sure, they would be of great interest to him, and he certainly wouldn't mind adding a whole Clan of powerful Ninjutsu Warriors to his Fallen Warriors/Jungle Cats harem.

But would he actively, obsessivily pursue them? Eh, it would depend I guess, but probably not. Too much hassle to get all 9, lol, he would fight every single one and just get the last one standing

Which sorta leads to my personal take on one of the reasons I portray Chase as obsessive about First: he is the last Norisu left. It would hold a certain appeal for Chase to have this last warrior, the survivor and thus the strongest (since everyone else had gone and got 'ultimate sacrificied' or whatever, such a waste of fighters, in Chase's opinion). You can say, having all 9 devalues them and thus it would hold less appeal to Chase (First is like a rare collectable hah).

BUT if we are talking about my own headcanons/characterizations of Norisu Clan, it would be something like this:

If Chase met Norisu Clan Siblings before they 'made the Ultimate Sacrifice', he probably would be very curious about them (perhaps not yet to obsessive level but definitily more than just 'ill keep an eye on them from afar' type of attention). As a whole, the Clan would present 1) a challenge to Chase's own ego and abilities and 2) a possible present/future threat if they ever focus on him and his evils, after the Sorcerer.

The Norisu Clan, while full of powerful warriors are not just general ninja fighters (they have the same 'basic' training so to say), but also highly specialized in their own fields/abilities/preferences/interests. So while the Siblings are all fascinating in their own right, individually would be of various interest to Chase himself, also depending on what sort of person they are. For example, Chase would be more interested to engage with a warrior than a courtier, or a weapon's master than a monk/holy person (and yes its a subtle peek at some of my hc for Norisu siblings lol). So, while his interest certainly wouldn't wane, his regards/preferences to certain siblings would be obvious.

The ones who would interest him the most would be the Oldest Sibling (arguebly the most powerful of Norisu) and the Youngest (the one with the most uncovered/hidden potential) aka First.

The Oldest is not only powerful, accomplished warrior in all of the fields the Norisu Clan is famous for, but also is The Head of the Clan, so already, Chase who respects power and leadership would be greatly tempted, but in my opinion he would also be intimidated in some sense.

The thing is, I believe that Chase while seeking and respecting powerful people, does not like it when someone is more powerful than him. They present a threat and reduces his chances of getting them under his influence/control.

Because while Chase loves being powerful, (he sold his soul for it after all), what he grew to love even more is to have those with power under his control. After all why else would he start collecting powerful warriors in his Fallen Warriors harem? He defeated those people and added their strength to his own. Same with Wuya, who was a powerful witch, and who he essentially crippled in order to keep her close, under his influence and less of threat. Same with Omi, whose potential he saw and wanted to have as his own, to nurture and direct.

So the Oldest Sibling would be a powerful temptation, but also a more obvious threat. The Youngest aka First, on the other hand? Would be an even bigger temptation with much less threat.

There is something special about First, after all he was the one who faced Sorcerer in the end. Perhaps his specialness only became obvious after a life changing tragedy of loosing his Siblings, but even under protective shadows of his Clan, he would be noticeable.

Chase would probably see that hidden potential and it will invoke this need for him to have this potential under his control and by his side. Perhaps he would try to manipulate First into joining him (like he did Omi), by using his siblings. Or even try to make him join by making them join? (Well, that's certainly some AUs to consider for later, lol.)

So, in short, would Chase obsess over the whole Clan in general? A little bit, but they would also be a greater threat to him as a whole so the obsession would be much more cautious I think. But would he obsess over them as means for him to manipulate one of them, First, into joining him? Much more likely IMO.

(it also segways into my hc about the overprotectiveness Norisu Siblings would feel when they realize Chase's attention to First and his desire to manipulate him, which would make them all go ballistic because NO CREEPY IMMORTAL PRINCE OF EVIL SHALL TRY TO MANIPULATE THEIR BABY BRO)

(of couse they do not need to worry, First's strength of character wouldn't waver under Chase's dubious attention. He is also too busy thinking about kicking Sorcerer's butt.)

#que? #ninja showdown #chase young #rc9gn first ninja #first ninja #also sorry for a little rant and i hope i explained myself ok??? lol i am not a wordsmith by any means #i have never said variations of 'power' so many times in one post hah #also ty for a ninjashowdown ask ive been drowning myself in thoughts about them. having a little outlet in this helped lol

[spacebarbarianweird]

Hi! Firstly, wanted to say that your HC are so good! I really enjoyed ones about Gnome and Half-Ork Tav, they're so bittersweet and adorable, my heart melted while reading :') Thank you for your work! (⁠〃ﾟ⁠3ﾟ⁠〃⁠)💖

And secondly, can I please request HC for Astarion and Monk!Tav? I see this as a very interesting concept, especially considering that some monasteries practice celibacy. And knowing Astarion's initial plan, thoughts about their interactions become amusing.

Also I just adore monk class and it's a little bit sad to see it being one of less popular. ಥ⁠╭⁠╮⁠ಥ

Damn, the more I read about Monks, the more I loved them!

Astarion x Monk!Tav

Masterlist

Headcanons

You didn't become a Monk by choice.

It was your attempt to run away from past mistakes, your only choice for salvation.

A criminal, a murderer no more!

You got a new name, a new role, a new home.

Your past was burnt along with your old clothes and you were reborn as someone new.

Tav the Monk, who follows the Way of the Open Hand.

You drowned your sorrows in strict discipline and training.

You can wear a thin tunic in the coldest winter and walk on burning coals.

The energy of ki flows through you, and your spirit is one with magic.

Your fists are the ultimate weapon, but you use them only to protect the weak and the poor.

You would love to spend your whole life in the monastery, but the Head Monk sent you away.

"It's not difficult to follow your principles in the monastery. You need to prove to yourself the world with its temptations won't drag you back to the darkness you originally came"

So, you left. A lonely traveler something between a Wizard and a Fighter, a dangerous enemy to meet.

And the world doesn't wait long to test your loyalty.

The moment you wake up in the pod, you crash it with your fist.

You do the same to all the pods, trying to save as many people as you can.

The tadpole in your brain tries to control but your mind is sharp and clear.

The parasite will never get you.

You are the most annoying in the camp. You force your companios to exercise and constanly control what they eat.

"Healthy mind in a healthy body!"

And you aren't the one to mess around.

You broke Astarion's hand when he tried to slice his throat and two ribs when he attempted to suck your blood.

"My hands are the ultimate weapon, don't mess with me, friend" you warn him.

But still, you give Astarion your blood. He needs it. You have it. So, you share.

But you warn him not to seduce you. Celibacy is one of the oaths you've given.

Which didn't save you from having a date night in the woods. Be it the tadpole, Astarion's charms, or your own dark desires. You don't know.

But you take a toll on yourself for breaking the rules.

In the meantime, Astarion gets closer to you - finally experiencing affection and love.

He confesses. And you forgive. You aren't angry at him.

But you almost break two more ribs of his when squeze him in your arms.

You've been to dark places. Your past was the same mess. But it doesn't matter now. He can make a choice, too.

You help Astarion kill his master.

"If your oath forbids you from having intimacy, I am okay with that."

But you shrug it away. "Celibacy" wasn't something bestowed upon you. You chose it because it was part of your own darkness.

Your body was given to so many people you lost count.

But, maybe, it isn't bad if you do it to someone you love.

You travel together post-game, searching for answers and testing your principles.

Of course, you've never insisted Astarion should become like you.

But he learned meditation techniques from you to deal with nightmares.

And some self-control tricks not to experience hunger all the time.

Upon return to the monastery, you asked the Head Monk for advice.

"Astarion will test your principles and beliefs till the end of your mortal life. Consider him your very own challenge," the old man laughs, hearing the whole story.

--

Tag list

@tugoslovenka @marcynomercy @wintersire @vixstarria @not-so-lost-after-all @ashiro20 @theearthsfinalconfession @herstxrgirl@starlight-ipomoea @micropoe10 @astarion-imagine-archive @veillsar @elora-the-slutty-songstresss @fayeriess @lumienyx @astarion-beloved @tallymonster @caitlincat-95 @tragedybunny @valeprati @lynnlovesthestars

#astarion #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 astarion #astarion romance #bg3 #astarion bg3 #astarion headcanon #baldurs gate 3 #astarion headcanons #astarion x tav #astarion x f!tav #tav x astarion #spacebarbarian headcanon #astarion x gn!tav #astarion x gn reader #astarion x reader #dnd #baldurs gate astarion #astarion ancunin #astarion baldurs gate #astarion brainrot #astarion fanfic #astarion fluff #astarion imagine #astarion x female reader #dnd monk #monk tav #tav monk

[grasshopperdoingdogpaddle]

Hypothetically speaking; if Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo or Clay drank the Lao Mang Lone Soup, what do you think their respective Heylin monster forms would be? What would their evil personalities be like?

Please note though that the personalities we saw when each one of them briefly turned to the dark side hardly count, since, A.) Heylin Raimundo was just Rai going through some emotional problems and looking for both an alternative choice and an outlet to take all of his frustration and anger out on, B.) Omi and Kimiko only turned evil because they both had their respective good sides magically removed by the Ying-Yang World, so, it’s kind of hard to count that as seeing what they would be like if they turned to the dark side, and C.) Clay was merely possessed by an evil entity, meaning that every single bad thing that we saw him do or say was all just Sibini using him for a puppet

I definitely subscribe to gravity-what's theory that "Lao Mang Lone soup transformations work by latching on to a person’s insecurities and current mental state."

Hence, Chase looking very much like a traditional, reptilian dragon/drake that even incorporates some of his spiky hair into its design, because Chase took the time to contemplate it and knew what he was getting into and ultimately decided he wanted this path to make the legendary name for himself that he envisioned, regardless of it costing him everything he believed in and everyone he loved.

And Guan having this harder exterior and a much more haphazard mix of pincers and claws and natural weapons because, when he accepted Hannibal's offer, it was some time after a strain had appeared in his and Chase's relationship with Chase having this unresolved enmity from not getting to drink the soup when he had resolved to abandon everything. So Guan wanted a means to lash out, but also a defensive outer shell to harden his heart.

So, my thoughts for how each monk's Lao Mang Long dragon form might be:

I love gravity-what's design for dragon Omi, can't improve upon perfection.

Tiny, but with this frill he can flare up to make himself look and feel bigger and scarier. Claws and fangs that are good for sharp, quick attacks. A tale that's not a good weapon but serves for good balance, so he's very agile and fast. Hyperactive and vicious, but still has this surprisingly kitten-like adorableness to him somehow. Confused and angry and tricked and lost but feisty and determined and sharp and wide-eyed and naive, this form definitely captures the moment!

He's scared and confused, and was tricked into it again, but he's always been a fighter, and he's prepared to fight now, too.

Once he acclimates, though, he'll be fueled by loyalty and devotion like he always is, so it's a matter of who he aligns himself with. There's no form of Omi that's ever going to want to go it alone, so he'd inevitably end up under someone he can cling to.

-

For Kimiko, her Heylin side is driven by ambition and passion. It was only half of her, but what we see is still genuine. She made it very clear, she wants the world, nothing more and nothing less.

Her dragon form would be the only one that incorporates her element into it, visually, and the only one that would have fur instead of scales. She'd look a lot like a Hisuian Typhlosion.

Hypnotically pretty in a dragon sorta way. Sleek, shiny, fireproof fur, beautiful eyes, fluffy ears and tail, graceful but powerful movements. A collar of ghostly flames that wisp and flare in a bright magenta red color. The ever-burning flames would be more of a Heylin magic thing and less of a true-burning fire by default, but they'll still burn whoever she wants them to burn. Kimiko's always been a little scared of getting too close to others and letting any shortcomings show, so the natural way to keep other's at whatever distance she wants or to draw them in with something eye-catching would suit her.

She can emit fire or smoke with a practiced ease, and its powers can be just as mystical and disorienting as they can be destructive.

She's still clever but temperamental, and is the dragon that'd be most focused on long-term goals, since her motivations are the most goal-oriented.

-

For Clay, he's a big guy that often tries to make himself seem smaller, take up less space.

We've never seen what it would take to drive him to the Heylin side, but we still have a lot of his hang-ups and motivations that we can draw from.

His dragon form would have the thickest skin, maybe even a hard outer shell of some sort he can retreat into. All defense. And his would have a "chameleon-like" (but more cuttlefish-like in the mechanics) ability to camouflage itself to any environment, even changing his texture and patterns to blend in. I don't have an exact visual analogue for this one, but if I had to pick, maybe something like the Mystery Shell Dragon from YuGiOh?

Clay would make some place his own, cultivate it, and be highly territorial over it. He'd have little interest in dominating the world, he just wants some corner of it that is his and his alone, like how he focused on building a new home in the alternate universe rather than actively fighting. But like Chase and Guan, he'd definitely gather up an army of people-turned-animals of some sort.

-

For Raimundo, he made the decision to betray his allies fueled by spite. He was fully of sound mind and didn't really have to be prodded or magically altered. Raimundo ultimately wanted the other monks taken down a peg. He was angry and frustrated, and he wanted to hurt them and make them feel as bad or worse than he did. That was more of a motivation for him than the riches.

Though the riches he sold out for were still some factor, so it'd be interesting if gold were incorporated into his dragon form somehow.

Aside from that, I think his form would be a bit like Guan's in that it would have a lot of natural weapons incorporated into it and boast a design most suited for offense, but far less shielded. An amalgamation of vulnerable sinew and sharp edges. He'd have a stinger on his tail, tusks and horns on his head, pincers on his hands, spikes along his body, rows of shark teeth, maybe even something projectile-like incorporated into his anatomy. The soup would draw out a form built for destruction and pain in accordance with his motivations for turning.

Again, I lack a perfect analogue here, but it'd be something to the vibe of Devidramon from Digimon.

#xiaolin showdown #chase young #master monk guan #omi #kimiko tohomiko #clay bailey #raimundo pedrosa

[asocial-inkblot]

Things I Hope/d to See in the New ATLA Live Action Show

A source material-accurate Azula (duh) and Aang (the show's namesake!) with something extra added to both. See #7 and #8 for more on that.

Tweaked war-related plans that come across like they could reasonably be implemented in real life and which may be based on/allude to actual battle proposals from throughout history. I know little about these sorts of things but others have pointed out before that one of Sokka's plans, for example, may not have actually made much sense. And Ozai's plan near the end? Yeeaaahhhhh... I mean, I kinda get it in hindsight. But still. Let's have him come up with something better than that.

Appearances and clothing that call back to the ethnic groups and cultures that the show takes inspiration from (things are looking great on this front so far), but also

Eye colors like the ones from the original cartoon. This may seem petty but I find that it's actually important to use the right hues for each character and not just make everyone's eyes brown or black or gray (looks to me like that's exactly what they did). The reason being that, although I personally tend to dislike when non-white characters are given what I now call "white qualifiers" (meaning traits often used to make them still appeal to whiteness, such as light hair, light eyes, bone-straight hair, round eyes, etc.), in the context of the show, the eye colors are actually by and large ethnic characteristics and differentiators themselves. As I've noted before in a previous post from a while back: Ocean blue eyes = Water Tribes, brown and gray = usually Air Nomad or Earth Kingdom, amber or light tan = Fire Nation, with few exceptions for all of them.

Enough similarities for it to feel like ATLA but with enough differences that it's actually its own story. Again, duh, but we all know how often adaptations tend to get this part wrong.

An age rating that won't be used as just another excuse to shoehorn in as much violence, gore and sexual content as possible but instead to allow for the full illustration of the impact that war can have on a people and their society/traditions. We saw, imo, only little hints of this throughout the cartoon (when Aang found Monk Gyatso's remains is one extremely devastating example), but not near enough. I know the reason why, of course. However, things like that only helped sell the show short by not allowing it to fully flesh out into a world with true, viewable consequences.

An Azula who, from day one, is unquestionably made out to be exactly what she is: A child soldier who is also a victim of the war in a similar way to how the Gaang is. I want to see her allowed to show worry, even fear, either during or after a situation. Not because I don't love how kickass she is, but because at her age, level of trauma and amount of risk to her life everyday, she has all the reason to be more stressed from the get-go. Not to mention her family issues. I want Azula to clearly have anxiety or depression, something many of us can relate to. I also want that scene of her mental breakdown to STAY in some capacity, but be seen in-universe and hopefully—eventually—irl, too, as what it really was: A teenage girl pushed to her limits until she had no where left to step. Real, living people have had anxiety/panic attacks and meltdowns before and that didn't make them evil or any less worthy of sympathy. It only makes it that much more obvious how real Azula herself is, and how much she needed and deserved understanding.

I want an Aang who's allowed to cry, not once, not twice but over and over again as the weight of the burden of what it means to be a child avatar during a world war—and one who was out-of-commission for a century—start to take their toll on his mind, body and eventually spirit. After he reaches his breaking point, I want him to learn to forgive himself and even forgive others, and come back from it, stronger than ever.

A Toph who's tough but maybe a little less...umm... She should be/feel affected by the war too, okay? And have some level of guilt, fear or self-awareness at all times. So she should be like her original self, but deeper.

More Ursa pleeeaaaaaaassse. We know next to nothing about this woman and what we do know, still involves a lot of inferring. I need to know just what her beliefs were about the war and her family/relatives. I need to know if she...if she often feared for her or her children's lives!

A little less romance and a little more danger, planning and large platonic relationship growth as well as character growth.

Zuko actually learning something from his travels; early on, every time he meets someone/some new people, and on a regular basis. I also kinda want to see him have consequences for his actions. Not just that one time, where he was only a clueless 13 year old boy anyway. Doesn't have to be huge or bloody, but he needs to lose something every time he gains at the expense of another. The ATLA world (if not within the cartoon then definitely within the live action show) should have a real, tangible concept of Karma present, if it doesn't already. That would make so. much. sense.

If possible, a little more fleshing out of characters like Jet and the Freedom Fighters, Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors, Hama, Mai, Ty Lee, etc. And can we not demonize or shrug off victims anymore?

A still sexy Hakoda, Ozai and June. (I'm so sorry, don't hate me...)

An ending that won't make me break out in hives plez.

(That's it for now. I may come back here to add more.)

#ATLA #ATLA live action #Azula #Aang #Ozai #Ursa #Toph #Zuko #Jet #Hama #Mai #Ty Lee #Suki #Sokka #Katara #atla live action show #Avatar Netflix #Netflix Avatar #Netflix ATLA #Water Tribe #Earth Kingdom #Fire Nation #Air Nomads #Water TribeS #Avatar the Last Airbender #Avatar: The Last Airbender #Avatar the Legend of Aang #Avatar: The Legend of Aang #hopes and/or predictions #atla-recluse's tags

[hypnostouched]

i forever have dnd brainrot so,,, aftg dnd vibes

Neil is, of course, a rogue. lock picking, quick, lying sneaky lil bastard. In particular I would make him a Mastermind rogue as it comes with disguise profienecy , boosts so lying and vibes of a manipulator. I'd also build him into a wood elf - for the mechanical speed and hide buffs; but id flavour him as a half elf. The Hatford family would be elven and Mary is the one who trained Neil to hide and run. Other than some small things, he would look almost identical to his human father.

Now the Ravens in dnd, to me, are a Paladin order that is a lot more of a defined cult. They'd be a mix of Oath of Glory Paladins (one of their channel divinities is literally called Peerless Athlete) and Oath of Conquest Paladins (Kevin was Glory, Riko is Conquest) Paladins are physical builds with good Charisma and you can think whatever you like about the Ravens, they are charismatic (also to note, intimidation is a charisma skill in dnd)

now Oathbreaker has a very specific vibe but what I will focus on is the feeling of emptiness and darkness that come with it. Kevin is an oathbreaker when he leaves the Ravens, but he won't remain as one indefinitely. He would retake his Oath of Glory when it could mean something different to him (which would align with canon Kevin gtting his new tattoo). For him, being an Oathbreaker is connected to his fear and depression rather than any form of evil (High CHA Kevin is so funny to me bc its canon and i love a CHA build who generally doesnt seem charismatic until they turn it on) Kevin is a high elf seemingly in every way. He took after his mother almost entirely.

As said, Riko is a Conquest Paladin - I would also consider giving him a few levels in Shadow Sorcerer; as something he just is inherently rather than something he's trained to be like Paladin. Riko is also a half elf; most of the Moriyama family are High Elves but his mother was human. Riko can't claim that his family doesnt like him because of this, because Ichirou is also a half elf.

Returning to the foxes--

Andrew is a fighter. Human fighter, a v basic build lmao. he is a champion fighter; he's just a fucking threat.

Nicky is absolutely a bard (glamour). I would love to pitch Nicky as a Satyr because of their interest in freedom, revelry and enjoyment.

(can i just say its so hard to do dnd thoughts when so many characters are related and youre autistic so you have to factor all of that in)

Renee is a Barbarian/Cleric multiclass in the way that she used to be a barbarian and now mostly ignores those abilities to focus on her cleric shit. Light domain cleric. Also she is an air genasi and the colours in her hair are natural and look like the colours of sunset or sunrise on clouds

Dan is also a human fighter but she's a banneret fighter; which has a focus on inspiring allies. Still a threat, just also an inspirational one.

Aaron is a ranger; gloomstalker as he lurks around a lot. Mechanically he wouldn't be as high a level as Andrew. Neil is his favoured enemy.

Matt is a sun soul monk, taught to him by his mother. Bright and also quite scary when he's trying to kill you.

Allison is a bard/fighter multiclass. Similar to Renee, her Bard levels come from before her life with the foxes but she doesn't ignore them like Renee does. Eloquence Bard, champion fighter

#aftg #all for the game #the foxhole court #neil josten #kevin day #riko moriyama #andrew minyard #nicky hemmick #aaron minyard #renee walker #dan wilds #matt boyd #allison reynolds #dnd #dnd au #ttrpg

[running-with-the-feels]

I don't think you saw it, but I did answer your ask and am now here to bring you Kung clan headcanons.

The great Kung Lao used a whip as a weapon. His fighting style relied heavily on quick movements. As honorable as he was, he had a bad habit of toying with whoever he was fighting. Often lassoing them and throwing them around. The whip is now hung in the main house of his clan.

Hair holds great importance to Kungs. Long hair is a sign of pride. The traditional style is a low, tight braid. If a member is dishonored, they are to shave their head.

To be initiated into the Shaolin, one must shave their head to show devotion. They only have to do it once and can grow their hair out afterward, with the more dedicated monks keeping their heads shaved. The Kungs actively fought the Shaolin for Lao to keep his hair, but he ended up bald anyway.

After the first Mortal Kombat, Lao decides to shave his head because he believed his actions during it were dishonorable and immature. Liu Kang tried to persuade him not to, but he insisted. Kang shaved it for him.

Lao is overly protective of his hair. Can, has, and will smack someone's hand away if they try to touch it without permission. He's like a cat in that way. Also takes amazing care of it. He has oils, masks, and expensive shampoo and conditioner.

After being disowned, Jin was forced to shave his head but grew it back out of spite. Him wearing a high ponytail while using the Kung name is seen as a sign of disrespect.

If Huai ever left the clan, she'd shave her and Jin's heads (because she refuses to leave him in the clan's care).

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Kungs have insane upper body strength. Even the civilian members. Takeda is convinced that his type is people who can lift him without breaking a sweat.

Most are also tall, but Jin is massive, standing at 6"4'. It's the Kyrgyz genes.

The first step in Kung courting is to ask for a blessing from a family member. Lao ended up asking Jade for her blessing to court Kitana and brought gifts to Liu Kang's parents' graves. He spent over an hour speaking to them before leaving.

nooooooo I missed it! I'll go check it out asap!

I Love these headcanons sm

Both Kung Lao's are actually very similar personality wise, but Raiden has kinda mythologized the great Kung Lao to the point that he sees him as a paragon and our Lao as a poor imitation, a sentiment a lot of the monks share

Kung Lao learned a lot about haircare and styling from his family and will do Kitana's hair for her for important events. She shows up one day when his family is visiting with a traditional Kung style braid and the family loses their shit over the implications (whether from happiness or anger is your call)

Kung Lao cried when they shaved his head and wouldn't talk to anyone for a week

Liu then cried when he had to shave Lao's head for him, and was over the moon when Lao started growing it back.

Lao and Johnny bond over their hair care routines and swap tips and products, with Johnny being the only person Lao has ever given a bottle of his family's hair oil made from a recipe they've had as long as they existed.

Kung Lao will fight anyone who says that Jin has no right to the name or his hair and when he joined the Shaolin and was asked to shave Lao raised hell until the monks gave in, not wanting Jin to go through what he did.

Huai has contemplated leaving the clan multiple times, its kind of an escapist fantasy for her at this point (pls feel free to ignore that, she's your oc not mine)

Kung Jin once lifts Takeda over his head ballet style to prove a point and Takeda loses the ability to speak for a while. Jin's form is perfect and he doesn't even tremble.

Jin is the tallest kombat kid (Cassie is 5'11, Jacqui is 5'6, Takeda is 5'10 and Frost is 5'3)(no one mention's Frost's height bc it took three people to hold her back last time)

Jade was touched by Kung Lao asking her for permission to date Kitana and when Kitana learned of the custom, she went to Lao's parents and asked them for permission as well

Kitana and Liu also both love to run their hands through his hair and are the only people he will allow to do that

#kombat kids #kung lao #kung jin #mortal kombat #mortal kombat x #mortal kombat 11

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

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?

[demigodofhoolemere]

Things I can't stop thinking about from Steven and Vicki's Tales of the TARDIS episode

- This reunion. Seeing them together again kills me anyway, but when you look at the context of the last time they saw each other, both of them could have easily thought the other might be dead. The last Vicki saw of Steven he was bleeding out and slipping away from consciousness, and to Steven he woke up to learn that they'd left Vicki in a city that was being razed to the ground and its inhabitants slaughtered. There wasn’t a proper goodbye and neither could have known for sure whether the other had survived. These are two people who must have spent decades of their lives just hoping and praying that the other was okay.

They take each other's presence in like it’s a miracle. I don’t know if they intentionally wrote/acted this with that particular context of their last time together in mind, but nevertheless it can very easily be read that way since their reactions lend themselves to it so well.

- ^ In particular, Steven’s voice breaks in a way that absolutely destroys me.

- Is this girlish giggling not the most Vicki thing you’ve ever seen?

- There are certain moments that just really hit as, ‘This is them.’ I mean, look at her. That’s Vicki. It keeps blowing my mind.

- Steven is SO happy to see her again, oh my word. “I’ve got my little sister back!” is gonna live in my mind for the rest of my life. To have that dynamic acknowledged in those words and to see how much they love each other kills me. Look at this unreserved fluff. This means the world to me.

- Hearing that they’ve had wonderfully happy lives is so nice. Vicki could have been dealing with all kinds of turmoil given the time she chose to stay in, and with Steven’s luck he could have had literally anything happen to him, like Big Finish decided to do. I’m so glad they’ve been given full and happy lives onscreen, that Vicki has done so well in such a wildly different time and that Steven’s bad luck curse is finally broken. (The trauma curse is broken at least — it’s too much of a stretch for me to believe that he wouldn’t still have mundane bad luck lol.)

- Someone needs to either sue Peter for these faces or give him an award. There is so much emotion going on here and I can barely handle it. And knowing how much Peter truly loved this show and his time on it, I get the feeling some of this is real for him.

- “Vicki, this might not be his TARDIS. I mean, can you imagine the Doctor wearing something like this?” Well I’m sure as heck imagining it now! Someone PLEASE make fan art of One in Six’s coat.

- Their reverence for the Doctor’s pocket watch. Vicki is so happy and clutches it with joy and Steven stares at it and strokes it for a good minute. 💗

- Love having some skeptical Steven wondering if it could be a trap and warning Vicki to be careful. His older brother mode got reactivated so fast. And, “Don’t be such a spoilsport!” is so delightfully Vicki.

- Space helmet for a cow!!!

- “Well, it had been a busy week.” Lol, more like a busy (or not so busy) 2 years on Mechanus! You’re more than excused!

- I know it was naturally gonna happen because they’re going over The Time Meddler but I love the references to the Monk, and I love that we also get a subtle reference to The Daleks’ Master Plan out of it.

- Another one of those moments that just strikes you. Look at him.

- “He rescued me. I was an orphan and he became my family. I became the granddaughter he’d lost.” 😭

- Vicki’s little, “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” dance is so perfectly Vicki. It warms my heart how well-characterized they both are here.

- Anyone else see this and immediately start crying thinking about her putting her hands over her eyes in The Chase? Just me?

- Steven’s face when he agrees with her about wishing more than anything to see the Doctor again. I love his relationship with the Doctor so much, it kills me to see him emotional about it, to see how much he still loves him after all this time. But on top of it, once again I feel like there’s some genuine Peter in here who misses Bill. You can see in a lot of interviews, panels, commentaries and so on that Peter really truly cared about Bill as his friend and is still protective over him as a person and his character. When Steven makes this face in agreement about wishing he could just see the Doctor again, I feel something else very real in it.

- Look at them. Just look at them. No further comment.

- Vicki’s face hearing the Doctor’s laugh is my face.

I still haven’t been able to get through this without crying at his laugh. I don’t really have the words for how magical and touching it is that they included him in that way. It tugs on my heartstrings so hard.

#classic who #tales of the tardis #vicki pallister #steven taylor #spoilers #cannot stop thinking about them #this was such a love letter to the era and these characters #and to me who keeps crying #these two are so important to me

[padme-amitabha]

I read your opinions on Ahsoka and while I like her I agree, I think her fandom is making me dislike her, the final straw for me was reading takes that Ahsoka was Anakin's child more than Luke ever was because he spend more time with her than with Luke despite Anakin ALWAYS aknowledged Luke as his son, I mean remember the iconic "I'm your father" scene? And how after that he always called Luke in his mind as "my son"? Anakin may had not raised Luke, but he always loved his son, ever since Padmé told him that she was pregnant he considered his baby a blessing and the happiest moment of his life, so no wonder those feelings resurfaced when he found out that Luke lived between ANH and ESB, I mean, he came to the Light for him! His baby boy. I even read a Youtube comment saying that when Anakin said Luke before dying "Tell your sister...you were right..." now it refered to Ahsoka when those words were for Leia! Yes, we know Leia sees Bail as her father and has zero connection with Anakin, but even so, those final words were for her. Canonically Anakin saw Ahsoka as much a younger sister, he always refered Luke as his son and Leia as Luke's sister and thus, his daughter. I dislike reading how people are trying to server Anakin from his family (from Padmé to now Luke and Leia) to place Ahsoka in the picture, guys, you can have both! (sorry for the rant)

I totally get it. My issue with her character mainly started from the fact that she is shoehorned into anything that involves the skywalkers. Imagine if she was in the movies, I would think her arc would be very redundant in the PT because we are closely following the Jedi masters and council as well as politicians as they are central to the plot and conflict. The fact that she wasn't in it establishes she is an afterthought. And I think she wouldn't have been so bad if she was a character with a standalone arc and story but now she's just everywhere and I disliked her introduction as Anakin's padawan because the PT establishes Anakin is quite young and flawed and its his journey we are exploring from little Ani to Darth Vader throughout the six films. He is allowed to be an innocent kid, brooding emotional teenager and also a hero. He is the Chosen One but not once is he a Gary Stu, in fact he goes through phases that annoys other characters like Obi Wan. He isn't overpowered either because we see him suffer two huge defeats in the films. He makes mistakes and the wrong choices and can be selfish at times, and other times he tries to be a good padawan and follow the rules and sometimes he disregards them, he lets others boss him around too, he is scared but wants to be a good father and husband etc etc. you get the idea. He's not perfect and that's the point and I think Hayden nails the repressed monk persona. The only reason Ahsoka was introduced was part of "fixing" Anakin's character and to make him more fun but it seems so unbelievable the council would assign someone like Anakin with an impressionable youngling (who is strangely rebellious despite having the same upbringing as the rest?). I just don't see Anakin as being a big brother to anyone or bantering with kids when he seemed understandably awkward and reserved. Also, Ahsoka's thick plot armor and her continuously inflated significance just confirms how much of a creator's pet she was and her whole character (especially when she's interacting with Anakin) feels very fanficy and the fact that she has almost zero flaws and she takes over the roles of every other important person in Anakin's life in the original story. I try not to pay attention to Filoni's pet because it just feels like pure wish fulfillment for him at this point. We could just have more of other cool female jedi like Shaak Ti, Depa, Aayla, or Yaddle as they were preexisting characters and weren't dependent on the Skywalkers for their arc - because I doubt Ahsoka would have been popular at all if she wasn't Anakin's padawan or acting like an Anakin wannabe (and getting away with it almost always while Anakin the CO was given no special treatment). At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if Ahsoka is revealed to be the new chosen one or she's some insanely overpowered demigod lol. And I mean I guess her fans like her for many reasons but she just feels like a Mary Sue to me like you know a character is doomed when a creator admits he's too attached to the character for anything drastic and openly shows favoritism. Let's be honest she is kind of a nepo baby and acts like one too in the SWU. I guess some people are just seeing her as one now but I always thought she would be a Mary Sue because even the emotional moments she has and the few hardships or "deep" moments she gets is just by interacting with the Skywalkers or just dealing with things everyone else is going through. So I don't really feel the emotional value if she tells Luke he is like her father when literally anyone else who knew him could have said that. At least characters like Boba don't rely on mentioning Anakin in everything they appear in. I don't think her arc would even be well developed if she was detached from the existing prequel characters so it's like she just reinforces the same emotions we should feel except she's supposed to be fun and badass so the audience and her fans would empathize with the events more.

Like do people even really like her screentime in Rebels except from her fight with Anakin? And that scene's so memorable because it's with Anakin, a much more realistic and developed character. It's really Anakin who carries the scene and the emotional impact. Replace Ahsoka with any other padawan and it seems like she has no inherent value. She only seems to shine in moments she is interacting with PT era characters due to the backstory and flashbacks and the rest of the time she's just a token strong female jedi character. What is Ahsoka when she is not breaking Jedi rules constantly like she's special or getting in Anakin's business or running into other characters and reminiscing about the past? I could watch a standalone show on Anakin, Padme, Obi Wan, Qui Gon, Yoda or even Dooku just in their solo adventures because they bring a slightly new perspective to the SWU and there's some room for individuality. I could be wrong maybe they explored some of her personal ambitions than being a Jedi and making Anakin proud but I'm really not interested when her role is just so interchangeable. Even Padme has an entire movie around her (TPM) where we see more about her. Despite being Anakin's love interest, we can see how she is a main character and can carry a film without any romance with Anakin. Same with Obi-Wan. He had an entire movie solving mysteries and plots while Anakin and Padme were romancing. That's why they should be the main prequel trio because its always been two force sensitives and a non-force sensitive member. Just like Han, Padme brings a new perspective and skills in the team.

I wouldn't be too bothered about such claims as they always existed. Ahsoka is closer to Anakin than Obi Wan, Padme, Leia and now more than Luke. It's sad and funny how far Filoni will bend space and time to make room for the OC. As far as I'm concerned, she doesn't exist.

This channel has some good videos on her and I highly recommend these: part 1 and part 2

#ask #anti ahsoka #anti ahsoka tano

[david-talks-sw]

Why do a lot of SW fans dislike the Prequel Jedi?

This was going to be the conclusion to this answer about "why a lot of people dislike Mace"... but it's just too long, so I decided to make it a post in its own right.

So why is Mace-- scratch that, why are the Prequel Jedi considered to be "unlikable" by a big chunk of the fandom? Especially when compared to Anakin "I killed a group of children twice" Skywalker.

Overall... I'd say it's three things.

1) Some fans had different expectations.

I touched on this in a recent post: older fans, who are now at least in their 40s, grew up seeing Luke as the ultimate Jedi.

He's Campbell's Hero With A Thousand Faces, up there with King Arthur and Superman. He's, for lack of a better term, the chosen one.

So when the Prequels were announced and they knew they'd get to see the Jedi Knights in their heyday, they expected to see something like the Knights of the Round Table.

A collective of errant warriors who go on exciting adventures, providing aid from place to place. Like Luke Skywalker.

Instead, they got this:

"A bunch of monk/diplomats who sit around talking about taxations and trading routes and measure the Force based on cell organisms."

"They're nothing like Luke Skywalker! What the hell?" (I address why this is inaccurate here)

Then the second film comes out:

"Wait, Jedi can't get married now? So were all those EU books about Luke and Mara Jade bullshit?" (also addressed in above link)

Then the third film comes out:

"Palpatine is right there, why can't they sense him or read his mind? They're Jedi!" (explanation why here)

Also Luke is no longer the Chosen One apparently? Anakin is? How does that work?

Plus, the way they speak, their jargon, is waaaaay too formal, gone are the OT characters talking informal English with American accents and quips. Even the way these new characters speak - and not just the Jedi, the Queen too - seems detached from reality and makes them harder to relate to. (but we're talking about diplomats and royalty, so how else would they be talking?)

2) How adult audiences perceive "morally pure" characters.

Even if one didn't have the pre-concieved notions about the Jedi... they don't seem to impact the adult viewers the right way.

Then again... neither does Barney the Dinosaur.

Many are the conspiracy theories and negative discourse surrounding him (there's even an upcoming documentary about it). You know why? Because he's not meant to be a character for adults, who have outgrown morally black or white characters and are unable to relate to them... his target demographic is children.

They see him and go "I love you, you love me". We see him and go "What the fuck is this guy hiding? What darkness lies beneath that mask of optimism and joy?"

Same goes for the Jedi.

So I'd say what we have, here, is a similar situation as the one in the recent Rick and Morty episode, "Juricksic Mort".

In the episode, a bunch of dinosaurs return to Earth and it turns out they're incredibly selfless, diplomatic, moral and spiritually advanced (kinda like the Jedi!)

Rick's reaction is - you guessed it - "what the fuck are they hiding?"

The dinosaurs turn Earth into a utopia, ending all wars, removing all conflict, bringing about world peace and giving everyone the chance to go on vacation... and everybody hates them for it and eventually wants to see them fail and step down from their pedestal.

The writing emphasizes their superior virtue so much that they actually come across as uptight and patronizing. This is done intentionally, so that it's difficult to find them likeable out-of-universe, and we relate to the earthlings in-universe who react the same way.

Why do the audience and the characters react this way to characters who - again - are good and moral?

Because as Moriarty says in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows... hidden within the unconscious is an insatiable desire for conflict.

It's why the presence of conflict is so crucial in storytelling.

It's why every scene in good movies presents some form of internal, external or philosophical conflict.

It's why protagonists need flaws to be interesting and relatable. Because we're flawed as well.

Also, the protagonist will eventually have overcome their flaws through an arc.

More importantly, the basis of all conflict, in storytelling, comes from something being out of balance.

And the Jedi are trained to not be that :D !

So on the one hand we have Anakin, a flawed, conflicted character who struggles with his inner balance, and on the other we have the Jedi, who are essentially presented as flawless and balanced.

What will a chunk of the audience do? They:

Won't like the Jedi.

Will project a flaw onto them (more on that in the next section).

Side with Anakin, the one that's as imperfect as the audience is.

Sometimes all of the above.

But the thing is, though... the Jedi we see in the Prequels are not flawless or perfect.

They are, for the most part, characters who have already completed their character arcs, characters who have already confronted their own inner flaws and overcome them.

And whenever these flaws resurface? Well, they've conquered them once, and they have the training, so they do it again.

Example, here's Yoda confronting and overcoming his hubris and inner fears:

Has he done it before, in his almost 900 years? Probably, yeah. But it's not a one-and-done sort of thing.

But the Prequels are not their movies. They're about Anakin.

He's meant to be the more interesting character. And they're meant to be the ones with less flaws, because they're mentor archetypes and the Prequels show an interesting situation wherein the protagonist fails to listen to the mentors and fails to overcome his own flaws, which leads him to - instead - be doomed by them.

3) Issues with the writing.

So, for the people who didn't like the changes but want to like the Prequels, there's a headcanon that seemingly fixes everything:

"The Prequel Jedi... are intentionally written as arrogant, hypocritical moralists. They are meant to come across as dispassionate. I mean, isn’t that what being a Jedi is, apparently? You purge yourself of attachments aka emotions, and act only logically (which was typically-encouraged behavior for a long time, in the US). They've become too systemic and lost their way." And guess what? With this interpretation, "Luke is special again! He's like Qui-Gon in that he found a middle ground between the unfeeling Jedi and the Sith, who have become slaves to their emotions. Like, sure, Anakin can be THE Chosen One, whatever, but Luke? Luke has found the balance, he succeeded where Obi-Wan, Yoda (who wanted Vader dead instead of believing he could be redeemed) and the other Jedi failed. So that's what the Prequels are about: the Jedi's failure."

The issue is, though... it doesn't align with what George intended. (as explained here and here).

But it does use most of the ingredients the films give us. Which - short of unleashing a barrage of George Lucas quotes, interviews and videos - makes it hard to disprove.

Because - seeing as the films aren't about the Jedi, they're about Anakin and his own inner demons - we don't see enough of the Jedi's culture and lifestyle and day-to-day unless it directly relates to Anakin.

So George's very clear idea of how awesome the Jedi are is never truly conveyed or fleshed out and as a result they feel like a group of people who always say "no" to the protagonist. The flawed, passionate and more relatable (by contrast) protagonist.

We get glimpses of it in The Clone Wars, but then it's tarnished by the fact that the Jedi are at war.

Then there's the reads that could easily be disproved... had George been more explicit about what he was going for.

"The Jedi Council bully a 9-year-old." This read could've been avoided had the scene ended with the Jedi telling Anakin that being afraid is normal, but his fear must be conquered otherwise it'll lead to the Dark Side. Which, they do, but in a vague way rather one with a kind empathetic smile.

"Obi-Wan is always berating Anakin, their relationship is tense." The whole movie partially features an arc where their relationship is on the rocks, so removing the tension isn't an option. However, the interpretation that it's been like this for a decade (rather than recently because Anakin reunited with Padmé) could've been avoided if, instead of just a minute-long elevator scene, we maybe saw a set-piece of them on a mission, maybe showing them working in tandem and joking as they escape that nest of gundarks.

More could've been done to frame the Jedi in the positive light thy were meant to be seen under. But again: the movies aren't meant to be about the Jedi.

Though it seems that a lot of people wanted them to be. And maybe that explains the hate re: the Jedi.

Older audiences wanted to see Campbell's Hero they grew up with again, they had a preconceived notion that the Jedi would be wandering, exciting adventurers... instead they got a bunch of "stale" diplomats whose whole job is to avoid conflict and adventure.

So instead of taking the story for what it was - a movie for kids - they projected a "morally gray" narrative that said these characters were flawed and weren't how they were supposed to be in-universe, when the truth is they weren't happy with the characters they witnessed out-of-universe.

#long post #in defense of the jedi #jedi order #meta #star wars #sw meta #prequel trilogy #star wars analysis #also holy shit this is my 300th post apparently :D

[descendant-of-truth]

I recently decided to watch the Last Airbender movie in full for the first time for analytical purposes (and as a fresh comparison for the upcoming Netflix series), and like. yeah, it's still decidedly Not Good, but everyone's already talked about that so instead I wanna write about the stuff I actually thought was interesting.

Some small things, first: despite it not really having any cultural significance, I was weirdly fond of Aang's red cloak?? Like it could've looked a little less like it belonged on a jedi, but it functions well for hiding his tattoos when necessary and makes for a cool silhouette.

Plus, it works as a good representation of the part of him that just wants to run away and hide from his responsibilities - something that the original design never really needed to account for, per se, but it still makes for a neat edition.

The movie cuts out the quirky conversation with Aang after freeing him from the iceberg in favor of him being too delirious from a 100 year coma to say anything, and on principle, this isn't. great. but the more I think about it, I think it comes down to the fact that his actual introduction to Katara and Sokka is so dry, not because they waited to have him wake up.

In fact, I think this could've worked out really well! The longer Aang takes to wake up properly, the longer everyone else has to develop an image in their head of what he's going to be like, and the bigger their surprise when this kid who was barely conscious and on the verge of hypothermia a few minutes ago starts bouncing off the walls with this big smile on his face.

The time spent at the Southern Air Temple also introduces a few things that I liked, for example: Aang actually namedropping some of his friends from there

Petition to bring back Chinto and Monae for the Netflix version

But for real, that scene just made me realize how kinda. odd, it is, that Aang never mentions any of the Air Nomads by name other than Monk Gyatso originally. We know he was friends with Bumi and Kuzon, but did he not consider any of his peers to be good friends of his?

More importantly though - just like in the original, Aang recognizes Gyatso's skeleton by his necklace. Unlike the original, however, this necklace is one that Aang made for him.

And I love this idea, but ohh boy do I not like how under-explored it is in the movie. You're telling me that they decided to have Aang make a necklace for his now-deceased parental figure, and didn't use that as an opportunity for him to connect with Katara?? The one who wears her mother's necklace as a memento???

Regardless of whether or not Aang decided to keep Gyatso's necklace, it's a conversation that absolutely deserved to happen, and despite the chances of it being extremely low, it's something I'd like to see the new version take a crack at.

Also this was just a genuinely cool action setpiece, the idea of using spinning boards as both a defensive and offensive structure for crowd control is super creative and I love it

The fight between Aang and Zuko at the north pole was also great; even though there was uncharacteristic lack of bending involved, they were able to capture a real sense of frantic energy and got some really cool moves in there that are difficult to show properly through screenshots.

Definitely one of the biggest changes to a plot beat (in my opinion) comes in the form of Aang struggling with waterbending rather than being a natural at it, and you know what? Probably my hottest take of this post is that I think this is a worthwhile angle to explore.

Water is the element of change, and in the movie, it's said to teach its benders "acceptance." On a purely tangible level, the movements for water and airbending are pretty similar, and they're both kind of "floaty" in a way. But ideologically? What part of Aang at this point in time has a grasp on how to handle change, much less reach acceptance?

He ran away from home because he was scared of all the sudden changes happening in his life. He didn't want to be the Avatar, and couldn't accept what that meant for him.

So, from that perspective, doesn't it make sense that water could be difficult for him to learn? I mean, no matter what you do with air, it's still just air, and it's everywhere. You don't really have to worry about not having enough of it in most situations.

But with water, you gotta think about what forms you can make with what you have, you need to be able to change its form from liquid to solid and back again, and it's just a lot more dynamic and weighty than what he's used to dealing with.

Combine that with just not being in the right headspace for learning after The Horrors and yeah, I'd totally believe that there's a world out there where Aang struggles to waterbend! A shame that it had to be this world, where the writers have little interest in exploring it beyond letting him make a Really Big Wave at the end in lieu of a character arc, but an idea with potential nonetheless

(Speaking of which, while not nearly as satisfying as the original finale, this shot does look extremely cool)

Overall, this was actually a pretty entertaining viewing experience! I already knew what to expect when it came to its flaws, which in turn made it easier to focus in on the parts that were interesting for me.

I went into it for a thought experiment, and it gave me a lot more thoughts to experiment with than I was expecting, so y'know what? I call that a net positive in this case.

(Also if anyone can link me to the comic adaptation of this movie, please do, I would love to know exactly what the differences are and how the art looks but I can't find it anywhere)

#avatar the last airbender #atla #aang #analysis #meta #atla movie #This was basically all about Aang whoops #He just had the most moments that made me go 'oh that's neat' #and I mean. to be fair he had very little competition XD #But still! Fun to think about #Also for some reason the subtitles on the site I was using had every single W in the script capitalized #which is really funny because this movie was not exactly what you'd call a W for the community