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compacflt · 6 months

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Hi, big fan of your fics. I've just found your Tumblr and binged everything Icemav-related. When reading about Icemav's political beliefs, I've gotten curious. Does Bradley share the same political beliefs as Ice (and Mav)? Does being raised by them or them pulling his papers influence how he votes? Or there are other factors in the play (e.g. generations, social media)? How about Jake and the other Daggers? How does this young generation of the Navy perceive politics (elections, gender, etc.)? My apologies for bombarding you with questions. But as a non-American, American politics have always been something we must pay attention to. I've seen many interesting interpretations on Tumblr but it feels more or less wistful than realistic, but I might be wrong (again not an American) so I would love to see your perspective on this. Thank you.

a good politics roundup post before i leave this blog

icemav & their conservatism: here, here, here

ice’s NECESSARY conservatism as commander of the pacific fleet (i.e. officers who are most likely to get promoted to the highest ranks do NOT break the service line when it comes to domestic politics, so by necessity ice would’ve had to keep his mouth shut, he Cannot be both a four-star and a revolutionary, like he just can’t; and being a revolutionary is otherwise antithetical to his character anyway): here, here.

and the original “ice & mav politics post” which is being updated here: here

I’ve gone back and forth on everyones politics over the last year of me being involved with these characters, but let me just tell you where I’ve ended up headcanoning them politically, if ur interested

ice: reagan democrat. “educated moderate” who was more right-leaning pre-9/11. now just a regular ol liberal (did you SEE those gay little round glasses in tgm? no way this guy isn’t a straight-up lib) with absolutely no strong feelings about most domestic politics besides “fascism bad”. Has some foreign policy opinions that areeeee questionable at best, like all members of the military elite (hangman voice: DO NOT ASK ICEMAN ABOUT CHINA. WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE). foreign policy neoliberal favoring the dovish side of the spectrum. A force conservator (“let’s save our military assets [read: my boyfriend maverick 🥺] for when we really need them, not for any old conflict. the deterring specter of the American war machine should outweigh the risk of underperforming”). He’s in favor of marriage equality of course, but treats it like a privilege and not a right. would be sad/upset if it got repealed but wouldn’t necessarily fight for it. “well at least my marriage will always be legal in california so i just won’t leave, problem solved.” Normie median Biden voter.

mav: political wildcard tbh. original 1986 mav is DEFINITELY right-leaning (i think i’ve written elsewhere, “he fully believes bill clinton is an affront to god”). i get young republican vibes from him. Full on patriotic (but dispassionate) 1980s reaganite anti-commie neoconservative. but after the 2010s i am very confused tbh. Tom cruise’s political aura is an insanely confusing one. idk. No matter what, Mav has some Hot Takes that a.) can immediately be shot down by ice using Facts and Logic at any time and b.) are not strictly partisan. He’s registered democrat just to support marriage equality (his marriage is his top priority but he doesn’t care about Other gays’ marriages, only his own), doesn’t care about any of the party’s other lines. Votes however ice tells him to. I get real “kind clueless libertarian” vibes from 2022 maverick tbh. Especially with the “isolating himself in a hangar in the middle of the mojave desert.” that has a political connotation to it for sure. bro just does whatever he wants out there

also, ice & mav live in San Diego, which… while in blue/democrat leaning California…is famously a bastion of right-wingers & has a hitler particle level off the charts… (sorry its not my favorite place in the world). That’s why they’re both continually so disgusted by San Francisco (a metonym for effete liberal homosexuality). Theyre from San Diego, hatred of SF & liberal SF politics is kinda par for the course down there.

Bradley: as u will see in the extras i definitely hc Bradley as an activist, but because he’s… in the navy and also like in his 30s… It’s not college campus activism, it’s just “things all of us in the left wing can agree upon” activism. so, like, BLM or pride, etc. He’s an “in this house we believe” yard sign liberal. He is 38 years old. hes a solid millennial so not politically hip with the kids (me)

Bradley & ice/mav disagree on the VISIBILITY of politics. Ice & mav, who did live through the vietnam era draft/near-dissolution of American society in the 60s and 70s, are not in favor of possibly losing their job/honor they have fought and killed for, for the sake of a political statement. And they believe their relationship IS a political statement, whereas Bradley would rather encourage them to treat their relationship like, I don’t know, a relationship that has a right to exist independent of politics!

Jake and the other daggers: idk. i don’t really give a shit about the daggers sorry. They r blank slates 2 me. jake especially is canonically frat-boy sexist in a way that gives me the heebs, much like original 1986 maverick and ice. But the navy tends to be the most left-wing (or thought of as left wing in common thought) service of the military, if that helps. But it is also the most traditional service of the military, and by traditional I mean BRITISH!!!! 🇬🇧💂there’s so much pomp and circumstance and hoity-toitiness that comes from the navy’s origins in the Royal Navy. A lot of sticking to outdated tradition in the very fabric of the navy itself, while the navy’s enlisted demographics shift younger and more left-wing/“revolutionary…” some interesting conflicts there. Like that one sailor who got blasted by multiple congressmen on social media for (with permission!) reading a poem about their queer identity on the USS Gerald ford’s intercom a few months back, if I remember correctly. Hoo boy the Takes that day were wild. Younger Americans tend to be more liberal but YMMV with officers, who are by nature trying to uphold outdated traditions of the navy for the sake of keeping the navy a unified service

i am of course writing carole as a christian republican who has gay friends and a gay kid not by choice but by the Grace of God

#i realize some terminology in this post is so hyperamericanspecific that you may need to Google it #like the in this house we believe yard sign #it’s… like… i can’t even describe it. it’s a kind of well meaning liberal who can sometimes be a little cringe.#and Reagan democrats (which ice is) are a whole political subgroup in and of themselves #maybe not Reagan democrat but like conservadem? but no that’s different too #blue dog democrat? but not sure he’s that conservative #THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS BECOME SUCH A BIG TENT POST TRUMP THERE ARE 50.000 TYPES OF DEMOCRAT YOU CAN BE #san francisco as a metonym for effete liberal homosexuality of course (it’s where im from 😎😎)#it’s a ten hour drive from SF to San diego like they might as well be different countries. san diego secede from the US when 🙏🏽#pete maverick mitchell #tom iceman kazansky #top gun #icemav #top gun maverick #jake hangman seresin #bradley rooster bradshaw #normie median biden voter ice #the navy is liberalizing but veeeeery slowly #most of the conservative pressure ive seen towards the navy is external! policymakers & budget drafters etc #the navy is very liberal BUT that makes it a laughingstock among conservatives!#so a desire from higher-ups to push the Navy more conservative to be taken seriously…is kinda understandable #when being taken seriously means more ships more capability more money etc #instead of GOP culture-war-pilled pennypinchers going ‘hey why are we givin the gay service so much money’#take this post with a grain of salt. i have never been old enough to vote in a federal election.

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waitmyturtles · 4 days

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GMMTV 2024 Part 2, let's go

I've had my MULTIPLE cawfees and I'm watching the GMMTV Part 2 trailers. @my-rose-tinted-glasses, this one's for you!

TL;DR what I'm excited for: Ossan's Love with trepidation; Revamp: The Undead, I'm first in line; The Ex-Morning with open arms; Us, once we have a better sense of the screenplay; Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist, drop it like it's hot, Mark; Thame-Po, boys look gewd

****

1) Ossan's Love: THE KEY WORDS BEING "INSPIRED BY"

If I take away the inclination to do any sort of comparisons to the Japanese version whatsoever ("INSPIRED BY"), I'm thrilled that EarthMix get to do romcom. Earth at this level of baka is utterly unbelievable to me, you are too smokin' hot, boy, but try to bring it, because if you do, and it's a success, then I'll be fucking really impressed.

2) Leap Day: Looks scary. Gun!

3) The Heart Killers: ...

Man. Man! First in muscle shirts and an earring, kisses pushed up against walls, etc. Where have we seen this before. Lemme guess, they all get together in the end. I would like to force myself to be excited about this somehow, Jojo on 10 Things, but. I haven't been there with JoongDunk yet, either, so actually, they seemed kinda refreshing against the FK vibes, ha. Anyway, this reignited my OF burnout, which I'm honestly trying to ignore as I get close to re-watching The Eclipse for my Old GMMTV Challenge project. @my-rose-tinted-glasses, my trust issues switch is flipped to "on."

(Get Jojo away from ships, please. He had Tay kissing Joss and Mild in the same year AFTER Dark Blue Kiss. He fucking doesn't need to use ships.)

4) Friendshit Forever: no subs, seems intense, the gals are smokin', NEW AND BOUN?! Hate to say it, but even without knowing what this is exactly about, I'm intrigued? My Boun! New and Boun!

5) Perfect 10 Liners: They're letting New Siwaj do 30 episodes, folks. I have no predictions on this one, y'all will have to tell me if it's good. Perth is back with New Siwaj directing after 2018's Love By Chance. If they give Chimon a little comedy, I'll be happy. I asked for Junior again, but maybe I wasn't expecting him to go to school, but I will admit I like JuniorMark together, and if they get to helm 10 episodes as the center stars, then good for them! Maybe that'll be the bit of this series that I watch.

6) Us: I believe in this screenplay more than how 23.5 is working out. I think Fon Kanittha needs more stuff on her plate to play around with to make a great show. This trailer was great. I'm watching My Precious the Series now (after having watched the movie this past weekend, which I was disappointed by -- the series is MUCH better, and going better than 23.5), and I'm seeing that Fon does stuff very well, background community building that gives us macro- and micro-level understandings of her characters. If those levels are Sing Harit, I'm here for it, that was an unexpected appearance, but if he's recalling the strength he brought to Todd in Not Me, then I'm a happy camper.

7) Hide and Sis: I love Piploy. Wednesday Club was a total holiday trash watch for me last year, but I loved her a lot. Looks like they're promoting this as a multi-generational show with known older actors, the approach of which I like. Everyone hates each other and maybe tries to kill each other; Keeping Up With the Thai Kardashians, maybe? Surprise, Gawin's a cop. Chimon as murderer, I'll support that.

8) Thame-Po: This looks cute. I'll consider a pre-order! Separately, I happen to adore cute Lego from LYKN, so good on those dudes for getting a show, and I like that William is pushing his boundaries outside of music.

9) Break-Up Service: I am happy that Off has gotten this kind of sneaky love romcom (?) role.

10) Revamp: The Undead: I'm here for it. I'm so happy for BounPrem. I'm happy to see some strong support dudes in Kay and Mark in this project. I haven't watched My Only 12%, so I don't know from Santa, but I know a lot of friends love him. I am totally seated. GMMTV is really the BL Machine, huh, absorbing this project.

11) Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist: Do not get me wrong, I am very excited about this; I am just wondering if Baby Ohm needs a little workshopping to get more diversity in his expressions. But I am very excited, Mark looks SO DOWN and ready to lead. View! Jimmy! I'm good with this.

12) The Dark Dice: High School Squid Game, I can't

13) The Ex-Morning: I gotta admit. This kind of moment is one of the reasons why I'm so happy doing the OGMMTVC. The big-ass smile I had on my face seeing KristSingto again, even though I really wasn't the biggest fan of SOTUS -- I've done a whole accountability turn on Krist after seeing him in Be My Favorite, and I appreciate that this show will go meta on the KristSingto background. It fucking sucks that Shadow sucked, because Singto is such a good actor, just seems like his scripts are here and there lately, but anyway. Aof Noppharnach writing this? Last Twilight ended cringe, but I'm still an Aof girlie, so I am 100% excited for this.

14) Scarlet Heart Thailand: That wasn't really a trailer, but considering the reputation the base story has in Asia and globally, I like, business-wise, what this means for GMMTV, a historical that will have appeal to multiple generations. I understand the original novel for this, Bu Bu Jing Xin, isn't translated into English, and that's a bummer, because it seems like this Thai version, which has already been dramatized in China and Korea, is based squarely on the novel. Fuck Win. These were the kinds of shows I loved as a kid when I watched Asian shows with my folks, so I have to admit that I'm intrigued, but I would have liked to see a meatier trailer.

That's it!

#gmmtv part 2 #scarlet heart thailand #the ex-morning #the dark dice #sweet tooth good dentist #revamp the undead #break-up service #us the series #thame po #hide and sis #perfect 10 liners #friendshit forever #leap day the series #ossan's love japan #i am not tagging that jojo show for my damn safety #y'all will have to tell me if that show is worth watching

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morganafata · 7 days

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Thanks for the brain worms, Lovely Runner. Now I have theories

I don't watch a lot of currently airing dramas and when I do, I don't usually post anything aside from 'cuuuuute' or 'paaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnn". But because I can no longer be normal about waiting for things, I have let Lovely Runner consume my mind and now I have thoughts about it.

Because the real cool thing about this show (and about kdramas in general) is that it's not just a quirky romcom about two clowns falling in awkward love with each other- it's a murder mystery whodunnit revolving around how Sun Jae died the night he reunited with Im Sol. It's a kdrama but giving '7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hugo' vibes where the protagonist has to figure out who the murderer was in what looks like a suicide while inhabiting a body that's not their's. But in this case, Im Sol has yet to realize that it's a murder. And now I have a Theory.

And it's that Im Sol was the objective the entire time. If not the target, then the focus of the killer. The murderer, whoever it was, just wanted Sun Jae out of the way because he knew that if Sun Jae managed to re-establish a connection with Im Sol again, it would be harder to prey/stalk/possibly murder her.

Because I have watched ep 1 god only knows how many times, and it actually looks as though the phone was deliberately knocked out of her hand. I've seen some theories float around that it might have been a future version of Sun Jae but why would he do that to the woman he loved, knowing what she would endure with her cell phone out of commission (unable to call for help, stranded in the cold with a broken wheelchair). It makes more sense that it was someone with more sinister motives, someone who definitely didn't want her to be able to call for help. It would also make her more willing to get into the most convenient, immediate form of transportation that happened to be passing by. Like...a taxi.

I also think that this stalker/murderer would have been doing this since her high school days because of the fact that someone in a taxi had been following her in episode 4. And what a parallel that would be- just as Im Sol admired to Sun Jae since she was a teenager right into her thirties (and vice versa with Sun Jae having been in love with her from the beginning to the present day) we have another character who has also been obsessed with Im Sol, but not in the sweet, innocent way she was devoted to Sun Jae but in a dangerously obsessed fashion that's more "if I can't have you nobody can''. The night of her accident could have been her stalker's attempt at confessing his "love" only for it to spiral into a kidnapping attempt. Im Sol attempts to run away, Sun Jae thwarts her attacker but it all ends with Im Sol too traumatized to remember that night and resentful of Sun Jae for rescuing her. Sun Jae, full of guilt, keeps his distance and Im Sol is without her protector. And her stalker/Sun Jae's future murderer has been hovering in the margins of her life, satisfied that since she's wheelchair bound and without Sun Jae, she was helpless and 'his'.

But then Sun Jae comes back into her life, Sun Jae who is both a rival and someone who has a habit of saving Im Sol again and again. So, Sun Jae has to be gotten rid of for Im Sol to be truly vulnerable and alone again.

Do I have a theory to who this is? Not really. No one really stands out at this time. Maybe it's a random member from Sun Jae's swim team. Or Sun Jae's swim rival who hates him. But I think he and the CEO guy could just be red herrings for who the actual killer is. I don't think it's Kim Tae Sung. I do think Kim Tae Sung encountered the killer before and the reason he was "expelled" was because he found out the killer's part in Im Sol's accident and was trying to avenge her. It's a little too convenient that he disappeared from the scene after Im Sol's accident because of a 'fight'.

Anyways this could be completely wrong, but I'm having fun guessing. By guessing, I mean suffering waiting for the next ep.

PS Why are 19 year old Sol's bangs so much more cringe when she's not being possessed by her 34 year old self? Kim Tae Sung was telling the truth when he said she got cuter when she became Grandma Sol again.

#lovely runner #kdramas #kim hye yoon #byeon woo seok #it could turn out that sun jae did kill himself #and giving im sol the umbrella was his last kind act before he jumped #but he seemed too happy and hopeful to see her again #he was probably contemplating retiring and making a fresh start with her when the doorbell rang #anyways i love this show

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soundlesswind · 9 months

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Blog Post: Mononoke Movie

They dropped the trailer for the new 2024 Ayakashi Mononoke movie, and the new voice cast replacement. Instead of a reprisal, Sakurai Takahiro's role of Kusuriuri will be replaced by Kamiya Hiroshi.

The trailer can be seen [here]. Because I'm subscribed to their Kickstarter, I've been able to get sneak peeks of the visuals every now and then, so I knew early on that a cast change was coming. The new Kusuriuri design and animation has a bit more of a sensual, flirty vibe, which I think doesn't go too bad with Kamiya's voice. But from the current trailer, it seems to really lack the cadence and staccato of the original Mononoke that I fell in love with.

I do actually like Kamiya as a voice actor a lot. He has a ton of roles I really enjoy, and he's definitely in my top 10 --- but the voice of Sakurai for Kusuriuri is so overwhelmingly powerful and iconic, that even now I haven't gotten over it, and am still immensely disappointed that things ended up this way (albeit, understandably given the circumstances). It hits even harder because Kusuriuri is actually my all-time most favourite role of Sakurai.

...But I had several months to get over it, so now I'll just have to try and enjoy the new series as a new thing, and given that the visuals are really different---to treat it as a new character. Although if I'm being honest, if I had to suck it up and pick a replacement, my top choice would instead definitely be Ishida Akira who is in the same vocal generation, and fits both the old image and the new image for the Medicine Seller. He has a gritty, whispy quality to his voice that leaves a deep impression. (If you're curious, here are some voice samples). Runner up after Ishida, would've been Toriumi Kousuke. Casting aside, the new OST sounds phenomenal. I was way more excited about the music and the visuals than the vocals. The trilling chants really got my blood pumped up.

I hope the story they've come up with for the movie will be something to look forward to and excite me at least.

#mononoke #blog post

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bonesandthebees · 3 months

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If u wanna talk more about the tntduo detective au I am ALL ears 👀👀👀 but also totally understand if u wanna keep it a secret for now hehehe

honestly I have no idea where I'm going with it so I'll throw it to the wind and let you guys chew on it while I let it simmer lol

so basically I started watching true detective: night country the other night with my mom and I immediately got inspired (I have not seen the first season of true detective although I really want to watch it now and hopefully will soon). also, I've always had a fascination with the polar nights phenomena. I've gone on wikipedia binges before reading about Utquiagvik (the Alaskan town I'm fairly sure the town in true detective s4 is based off of) which experiences polar night for roughly two months or so, and I've also gotten a few videos in my Youtube recommended from a youtuber who lives in Svalbard which experiences polar night for nearly three months. so suffice to say the concept of a several month long night has intrigued me for a while, and finding a show literally set during that multi-month nighttime immediately piqued my interest.

and when I watch really fun things I usually get the urge to write something in the same genre. originally I thought about a crimeboys detective duo fic, but then I was like wait has anyone done tntduo as detective partners? because I know there's crimeboys detective fics out there but I don't know if I've seen many of them for tntduo. and I realized that would just be a very fun dynamic for the two of them.

so grizzled small town detective partners tntduo who bicker like an old married couple, seem to have a lot of shit in their past between them, work incredibly well together and bounce off of each other perfectly during investigations, and also have the kind of tension where no one else in the room with them can tell if they want to punch each other or make out just felt like the perfect vibe to dig into. all set against the backdrop of a frigid arctic circle town that's in the midst of a 2 month long night. and then someone gets murdered.

so this post doesn't get too long I'll talk more about the specifics of the au under the cut

so tbh this idea while it is tntduo /r, it wouldn't be that focused on that and more focused on the murder investigation going on. besides our two overly tired small town detectives that definitely aren't repressing any feelings towards each other, we have several other characters going about their lives as well! of course tommy is there. he's a junior officer who only joined the police force a year before the start of the story (also, yes I'm very acab when it comes to real life but I just wanna write one of those stereotypical murder investigation stories man).

anyway, tommy is only 20 and his dad, phil, was part of the force for most of tommy's life. once he turned 18 though phil quit because he'd always hated the institution of police (and government in general) (although like wilbur he was a detective) but wanted to have a stable job to keep his kid supported. phil was... not thrilled in tommy's career choice, but who is he to protest?

phil mentored wilbur during his early years in the force, and in turn wilbur mentors tommy. he's trying to teach him how to think like an investigator, and will often ask him questions to get his brain turning pieces of evidence over and try to get him to look at situations in different ways.

since quitting and getting that sweet sweet government retirement money, phil pretty much spends all his time at his bestie techno's place. techno is the town hermit who lives on the outskirts. he also breeds sled dogs (not formally he just has a lot of dogs since people need them in that kind of weather) and usually has 10 huskies at a time running around his cabin. techno might also be a retired eco-terrorist but wilbur knows not to ask too many questions about that and quackity is scared of techno so he's definitely not gonna bring it up.

niki is a phd student from germany working at the nearby arctic research station for her dissertation. she focuses a lot of her studies on climate change and all that. she and wilbur are best friends and has heard way too many drunken ramblings about quackity.

jack manifold is one of tommy's best friends and works at the oil fields that employ most of the town. he's trying to get placed onto a proper oil rig out in the ocean at some point since those jobs pay really well. he's friends with niki too, although his job and her research certainly cause a bit of contention between them.

tubbo is another best friend of tommy's. he's born and raised in the arctic town but he went off to a prestigious uni down south to get a nuclear engineering degree so he's not really around for the most part

sam oversees and manages all the oil pumps and makes sure things are running smoothly. and in turn, schlatt owns the oil fields. he and quackity have, uh, a history.

and lastly, ranboo is an intern at the research station that niki is doing her dissertation work at. they're also close friends with tommy, although wilbur and quackity both have only met them a few times. the whole story kicks off when they go missing one day, only to be found dead outside in the frigid temperatures within a few hours. that's when the mystery kicks off against the backdrop of a nearly three month long night :)

anyway I do have the overarching mystery figured out, but it's the actual specific plotting bit i'm struggling with. I really don't want to write the entire investigation but also I don't wanna just write a single scene bc theres so much going on in this universe I wanna show arghhhh. and also I love slowburn and I think the really weird tense dynamic tntduo have in this would be so intriguing with that layered on top of it. just arghhhh motivation and time.

hope you enjoyed learning about my brainrot over the past few days lol I already made a playlist for this fic even though I don't think I'm gonna write it it's so joever for me

#ask #icyfox17 #au ramblings

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evevoli · 5 months

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original story concept: flight feathers (working title)

aka me shoving my new OCs in everyone's faces for a few minutes. low and behold, my gang of losers:

from left to right: Phoenix, Selene, Helios, and Killian

so a wayward beam of divine insanity lightning struck me about four months ago in the form of the first genuinely coherent original story idea i've had in... basically forever and i am finally crawling out of my mad ornithologist lab to talk about it, if only so i have something to point to when i start tagging random innocuous text posts with the names of characters no one's ever heard of. this project is perhaps the most self-indulgent Autism Fueled venture i have ever gone on and it is so fun actually

the basic gist of the story is that local Teenage Bird Hater Selene accidentally gets isekai'd to a Greco-Roman/baroque-inspired city on a floating archipelago hidden in the clouds, inhabited by bird-worshipping winged people. there she befriends a strange one-winged fortune teller named Phoenix, who takes her in while she looks for a way back down to earth.

as a certified Bird Disliker(tm) for reasons she will absolutely not disclose, the idea of being trapped in this city with its strange bird-entrenched culture has got to be Selene's personal hell. but she's already made a few good friends and is learning a lot, so hey... if you ignore the castle surrounded by doves looming off in the distance, and the general poor sentiment surrounding corvids, maybe it's not such a bad place to be after all.

...until it turns out the King himself might have it out for her, much to the dismay of his son and loyal knight, Prince Helios and Captain Killian.

there is. A Lot more to it than that lol—and at least like 8 more characters i haven't gotten to drawing yet—but there's your elevator pitch. to explain the world a bit more, everyone has bird wings to fly with, their own Bird Familiars(tm), and rides around on pegasi and different species of griffin. the world consists of little islands connected by bridges, with the city developed vertically, and sort of resembles a fusion between the Aether mod in Minecraft and Zephyr Heights in MLP G5.

and now the most important thing, the Closeups

some notes:

Selene is transfem :), Helios is transmasc only because i tried giving him curled ram horns and got so frustrated trying to draw them i just gave up and gave him the ewe ones instead

Selene is a Wolf Kid and really vibes with the lyrics to Angel of Darkness on a personal level

Helios's wings are weak and undersized so he can't take off or fly for very long on his own

i like to consider Helios my personal challenge to design the most unapologetically cringe and archetypal character ever. i am going to make a character that is so sad little loser prince. kicks him

Phoenix is a childhood nickname, Killian is just a shortened form of Achilles. Phoenix absolutely hates his birth name. Killian is ambivalent towards his

Phoenix lost his left wing in an accident that changed the trajectory of his life forever teehee :3c

the little blue jay is named Celeste, the crow is Peanut, and the tawny owl is Athena :)

and that is all i shall reveal in this post >:) this idea has been rotting my brain from the inside out for months now so don't hesitate to shoot me an ask if you're wondering about anything :]

#so nervous finally posting this stuff lol #flight feathers #evff #<- that is the best general tag i can think of 💀 trying hard not to spam a fandom with a certain acronym here im so sorry #selene ff #helios ff #phoenix ff #killian ff #original story #my art #ev.post #oc tag

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prof-ramses · 6 months

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Bee is really the most evil, when you think about it - written by a Mammon kinnie

Now, I know this is gonna read like me being a Mammon apologist (because I am) but this is something I've been meaning to bring to light for a while now. I believe that Beelzebub is the most evil Sin, at least of the ones we've seen so far.

Bee might seem very approachable and friendly, but this is exactly what makes that much worse than she otherwise would be.

The main thing here is the hellhound pound system, which is, at least in my eyes, the most horrific piece of worldbuilding we've gotten in the series. An entire sentient species being treated like pets and kept in squalled conditions within a framework created and overseen by their ruler and likely creator, someone who is for all intents and purposes, their god.

Thought not confirmed, it's implied hounds that age out of the system are just straight up euthanized. Again, this has yet to be confirmed, but it definitely doesn't help Beelze's case.

And what exactly becomes of Gluttony-born hellhounds who survive the pounds and get adopted? Why their love bombed with parties where their "benevolent" mistress uses their positive emotions to make a substance that can form dependency in demons the way alcohol can in humans just so she's even better off. Either that or they end up adopted by someone who just uses them as expendable muscle.

At this point I'm sure someone is saying that Mammon is still worse, and they'll likely point to the general state of Greed, being a polluted over-industrialized mess. But this just raises another point in my favor.

Unlike Mammon, who's upfront about only caring about his citizens' money, Bee puts on the persona of being a ruler of the people, not above them. She makes Gluttony seem so idyllic while also basing a contender for Hell's most deplorable enterprise out of it.

Beelzebub is such an adept manipulator that she gets Loona to come out of her shell, when Loona's closed of nature was spawned from her trauma that Bee's pounds are responsible for in the first place! For all we know, this also applies to Vortex, I mean, something had to blind him in one eye, perhaps a fight with a former cellmate?

And worst of all, she herself doesn't seem consciously aware of it, she may genuinely see nothing wrong with the conditions her subjects live in, likely because she judges their quality of life based on their "vibes" at her parties.

I just want to end this saying that I don't hate Bee, nor do I think Vivienne intended for people to infer these things, knowing her, it's likely she just didn't fully consider the implications while writing. But it is still a valid interpretation of Beelzebub's character based on what we presently know about her.

#helluva boss #hellaverse #hb Beelzebub #helluva Beelzebub #hellaverse Beelzebub #hb Mammon #helluva Mammon #hellaverse Mammon #hb Loona #helluva Loona #hellaverse Loona #hb Vortex #helluva Vortex #hellaverse Vortex #writing analysis

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chuckwon · 1 year

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Here's Why I Want A Chuck Won Plot For The Sequel

Not to go the off about this on a random Saturday night or anything, but I have not stopped internally vibrating since the SPNWIN finale because the potential for a Chuck Won sequel plot line feels so implied and therefore so close I can taste it. I know that there are several people who don't like it as an explanation for the ending of season 15, and/or several people who don't like the idea of it being used as a sequel plot in the future. So I would just like to talk about why I, personally, am passionate about wanting them to use this particular avenue to move forward.

I'll likely unavoidably repeat some of the things I've said before elsewhere but... fuck it, I'm in my feelings, I want to get this out. Rambling on or whatever.

For the sake of clarity, here's a reminder of the POV I'm writing from: A) that Chuck's victory is canonically what was deliberately written as the plot of season 15, B) that it's meant to be noticeable and pointed out as tragic, and C) that even if you argue about the semantics of the literal order of events in the plot that add up to that result, Chuck's victory in some fashion is still the byproduct of the story's final execution.

The thing that I feel can and does get lost in a lot of fandom discussions about this concept is... D) the fact that Chuck winning is an allegory for and commentary on censorship.

I will go back to that. Follow me here.

With SPNWIN as a whole and especially the season one finale, we have already gotten step one of something incredibly subversive: it culminated very loudly in making it clearly canonical that Dean is some semblance of trapped. He is not happy, he is not at peace, he is not done. These are things that many of us in fandom who have brains all already kind of knew and took for granted, because we understand this story and this character and so we understand that 15x20 was not a good ending. But when you step back, what SPNWIN just established is actually a Big Deal in comparison to the fake veneer of happiness that 15x20 was (supposedly) trying to sell to us–and that it did indeed effectively sell to a large number of casual viewers.

Now, here we have canon openly demonstrating that Dean's ending was not okay, in general or to him. Objectively that wasn’t necessarily the case previously with 15x20 alone, but now it is the case.

That is a how-the-turntables level of redefinition of 15x20 in canon. Those crazy bastards fucking did it. They gave Dean Winchester back his agency and had him tell us for 13 episodes that the finale was inarguably Bad, and then they showed his sad grieving self still pining for his happy ending and his angel. That's fucking wild!!! Oh my God!!!

Whew. Okay, anyway:

So SPNWIN has made it clear that The Finale Was Bad, that Dean still needs and wants his happy ending, and that he knows what that happy ending should look like–as demonstrated in this whole hall of mirrors show, through the healing/romance/hope/future we witness the cast of The Winchesters getting to have.

If they stick with that vibe moving forward (which they may not. Continuity could get tossed), to me it then wouldn't make sense if they tried to move forward with any kind of sequel plot or angle that tries to say "okay, now Dean really will Find Peace And Be Done In Heaven." Because they seem to have made it clear that Dean doesn't want that. He wants out! He is fucking around and finding out!

To me, the next logical question to tackle in the plot as part of getting Dean back in the game would be this:

Why did those bad things happen to Dean in the finale?

Look, they don't have to answer that question with a plot-driven reason, obviously. They can go with the (boring) angle of nihilism that's basically like "Yeah Dean died and it sucked, but shit happens and that’s part of free will. It was an unlucky situation :/ he should get another chance at life though!" Or they can absolutely do something totally wacky and out of left field to explain lmfao. (I mean, hell, the Akrida were out of left field and that was only lessened when they tied them back to Chuck.)

Orrrrr.

They could go with a plot that's SOMETHING along the lines of explaining how Dean’s death and the fracturing of their family feels like an injustice to him because it is, and that shit did not just Happen, and that it wasn’t just arbitrary bad luck but rather he didn’t get his happy ending because Something Else was going on pulling the strings at least a little bit.

In that sense, Chuck- / Jack-related fuckery feels like the next natural through-line to me. I'm aware I'm heavily biased, but I want them to go all in on that angle so badly, and the point of this post (yes, there is a point!) is that I want to tell you why I want that.

The strength in the potential of an explicit Chuck won storyline in a continuation–other than the fact that it would be damn good television–is that, if done correctly, it would explain why the ending of season 15 sucked in the first place. And it would explain it not only in-narrative but also out-of-narrative.

Chuck exists to act as allegory, and that's what has always made this concept so significant, subversive, and compelling. Chuck's function and purpose is to be an allegory for producers and/or network executives, and thus the function and purpose behind a Chuck won storyline is to reveal the controlling forces of those figures. And because Chuck is the personification of the Original Creator's intentions that the characters are trying to supersede and defy, the fact that at the end of season 15 they do not get to grow beyond those intentions–aka the fact that Chuck wins and they don't get their full freedom–is indicative of the fact that the characters were not "free" or allowed to defy the Original Creator's real-world intentions either.

The idea that Chuck won is not simply a fun view on why the finale sucks or a fun plot idea for the future. It's because Supernatural is a censored queer text and higher forces won largely because Destiel was not allowed to be explicitly reciprocal. A pillar of the argument is that there could be no happy ending without Destiel; reciprocal Destiel was not allowed, and so the characters had to lose.

That is still the state of canon right now. Chuck's victory is amongst the many threads season 15 left dangling to potentially pick up and play with moving forward, and they don't HAVE to pick that thread up and make it into a central plot for a continuation. But if they do... Man. If they do, it would open the ending of season 15 to further examination for anyone who cares enough to pay attention to it, and that would also open up commentary on the censorship that caused it in the first place.

Here's what I mean:

SPNWIN has left us in a place consistent with 15x19, seemingly further highlighting that something is wrong with Jack. That's huge. Whether that "something" is Chuck possessing him or–potentially more likely–that the God power Jack absorbed has corrupted him, the point is that Jack needs to be freed because Chuck's influence endures.

Making the Akrida into a Chuck fail safe has already leaned into that idea, in a way. Even if Chuck is "gone," his influence wasn't gone entirely. The characters were not fully and entirely free from Chuck's lasting effects on the universe that they inhabit.

But now with the destruction of the Akrida, those effects are supposedly gone. But what if they actually aren't gone completely? What if something is wrong with Jack? What could that mean for Dean's story specifically and the happy ending he still wants and needs?

Apply that to the allegory: if Chuck's power has possessed or corrupted Jack, then Chuck's enduring influence that the characters still have to wrestle with becomes about the enduring influence of industry censorship.

It's then about the insidiousness of the forces that make it difficult for writers to let their stories and characters grow out of what was originally meant for them, especially when those stories are not meant to be queer narratives and yet are molded to have queerness centralized. It's about saying... you (the writers + characters) thought you'd be able to get free but you couldn't; you thought you could write the happy ending but you still haven't gotten to. How have higher forces twisted and shaped things into something unrecognizable? How do you make it back from that and rid the story of that negative influence once and for all?

Hypothetically, examining what Chuck's enduring influence fucked up in the story would then have to examine what censorship fucked up in real life. If they have to break out and return to reality, what does that look like? What is revealed? Dean and Cas could not reunite because their love was real and threatened Chuck's enforced unreality. Dean died and Sam got an apple pie life because that was always part of the ending Chuck wanted to see. Jack was taken over and/or corrupted by God power as part of Chuck's plan because he was powerful enough to help unite them all as a family, which threatened the classic "brothers only" focus of Chuck's story. Chuck's power was still personified in Jack and influencing the outcomes and that's why all of this tragedy occurred. They have to reunite, break the cycle, heal their family, and save Jack while getting rid of that personified God power once and for all, releasing it back into their universe so that power is now in everyone/everything rather than concentrated in overseeing forces threatening their freedom.

And when Chuck is an allegory for the censoring forces in real life... for anyone who cares to engage their brain cells, this could then make it abundantly clear(er) that the end of season 15 was not simply ~bad writing~ or ~cowardice~. It would retroactively redeem, explain, and redefine Supernatural's original "ending" as a backed-into-a-corner narrative gamble embedded with the ability to shine light on the source of its problems, the hope that in the future the story could be continued, and the keys to give the characters justice especially in regards to the queer narrative.

You can look me in the eyes and tell me you don't think that would absolutely rock, but then I will have to simply agree to disagree with you.

Because I would very much like to fucking see it.

It is literally ALL RIGHT THERE. It's THERE, it's so close, and this story could reach its highest potential and make several lasting, impressive points in the cultural realm for anyone who gets their heads out of their ass and stops ridiculing it or stops layering their interest in it under 1000 levels of irony long enough to look at how special it is!!!

[shakes the table with my hands]

AAAAAAAA

Okay, sorry, I'm devolving. But in conclusion: I want this. And though the prequel seems to be hinting towards it (QUITE LOUDLY), there is of course absolutely zero guarantee that any mysterious future sequel would go in that direction for several reasons, let alone the fact that it's objectively a ballsy as hell approach to take.

I still want to write a very long meta about The Winchesters' overall themes and its Chuck won propaganda (lol), so uhhh I reserve the right to plagiarize myself in the future from this post for that purpose. But I had to get this specific thought out sooner rather than later because, to be honest, I am simply going bananas.

JENSEN ACKLES, GIVE ME ONE PHONE CALL WITH YOU LOCKED UNDER AN NDA. PLEASE. PERCEIVE THE VISION.

#chuck won meta #the winchesters #spnwin meta #chuck won theory #the winchesters meta #I'm insane but it's fine. it's 12:46am and we lose an hour because of the time change tonight. things are fine.#my meta #I shouldn't post this tonight but fuck it I'll self-reblog tomorrow

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thatgirl4815 · 6 months

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Only Friends Character Rankings/Analysis

I did this once at the beginning of the series and once in the middle of the series, so time for final character rankings. I'd invite anyone else in the fandom to participate if you'd like! :)

1. Sand & Ray

I originally put Sand above Ray, but I've reached the point where I can no longer consider them anything but a package deal. I love them both too much. It also occurs to me that interest in a character is different than love for them, but in this case both apply.

Ray was, to me, the most evidently well-thought out, complex character in the series. He has the most baggage to go through, and all of that manifests in a lot of tense scenes and emotional outbursts. No one in the cast could've handled that better than Khaotung. As Jojo has mentioned before, Ray is someone who could easily be viewed as one dimensional, even despite his painful backstory. But the fact that Ray generated such a mixture of anger, sympathy, frustration, and love is such a testament to both the writing and the acting. His growth is also the most poignant and prominent throughout the series, so big points for that. Double points for fashion sense.

Sand is just—the ideal guy. He’s got good tastes and he’s also one of the most caring people on the planet, as he demonstrates time and time again. He’s a shoulder for people to lean on (literally, in Ray’s case). He has his own painful history to work through, and while I still struggle with some of his behavior towards the latter end of the series, on the whole Sand felt like a well-rounded character despite being outside of the core friend group. The way he views himself and Ray, and just his at-times overwhelming empathy for others makes him so memorable to me. He also gets double points for just being awesome (plus the leather jacket!! Hello?), but he’d get triple points if he picked up a bat.

2. Nick

Second to Ray, Nick’s growth is one of the most compelling to watch throughout the series. Despite some qualms I have with the pacing of the finale, I do think Nick’s decision to part from Boston was hinted at in prior episodes. We witnessed Nick go from being a pathetic, groveling simp to a man who knew his worth. Sand helped a lot with that, but the decision to walk away was ultimately all Nick's. Nick goes from telling Sand that he can be Boston's side piece so long as Boston doesn't hate him, to telling Boston that they should break up even when Boston wants to be with him. The growth is phenomenal.

I wish we would’ve gotten to see a little more of Nick in the end. Is he doing okay? Is he with Dan? Regardless, I love that Nick is going after what he wants now. I got some creepy vibes from Dan, him being Nick's boss and all, but I think they could've had something sweet. Nick--I hope you're fulfilling your dreams.

3. Mew

Mew gives me the most mixed feelings throughout this series. I wanted to like him more than I actually did, and 99% of that was due to his moral superiority. I think his character was stronger in scenes without Top involved. Like with Ray--I think Mew and Ray's friendship, especially when they agree to just be friends, is such a good characterization moment for both of them. Instead, we witness Mew scowling at Top for the majority of the series, despite claiming he's in love with him. Which yeah, understandable that he'd be angry given what Top did. But Mew never convinced me that he was in love with Top.

With the moral superiority thing--I like that Mew has such a defined set of values. I think that's an admirable quality, unless it's used to put himself above others who do not always conform with his rigid standards--yes, I'm thinking of his condescending tone with Ray early in the series in regards to his drinking/drug use. I see myself a lot in Mew, but this is one part of him that I hope I don't share. Compared to Sand, Mew has a startling lack of empathy for Ray's situation. He must be oblivious to his tone, because what might be intended as helpful comes out judgmental.

I will give him some points though for the scene where he tells Top that he knows about the hookup with Boston. I don't think I ever liked Mew more than I did in that moment. Boss behavior.

4. Boston

As far as interest goes, I'd put Boston above Top, even though Boston frustrates me far more from a moral standpoint. Boston is such a hot topic in this series because his lifestyle is constantly on trial. Sometimes I think that discussion point overshadows other aspects of his character and even becomes equated with his bad qualities. I hate how certain readings of Boston suggest his promiscuity is the problem. I don't think the show is necessarily making the argument that the lifestyle is the issue, but they do highlight that many of the characters view it as an issue. Monogamy is right, polyamory is wrong; that's the way most people tend to view romantic relationships, even if they shouldn't judge other lifestyles so harshly. Ultimately, boundaries and allowances in a relationship are something Boston isn't good at handling. He's dishonest, and his communication skills are lacking because of it.

I could go into more details about Boston, but in general I found his assholery to be entertaining, even if it was frustrating.

5. Top

There are exactly two reasons why Top is below Mew in particular. 1) Because he cheated on him and 2) because he seems to lack any dimension whatsoever. The thing that frustrates me so much about Top is that I can see something there. He could be a very compelling character! But the most depth we get out of him is that he has trouble sleeping because of a fire when he was a kid. There's more to unpack there I'm sure, but we're left at that. Why?? I've seen the showrunners make comments before that Top was hated much more than they foresaw--I'd wager this is part of the reason. Give me something to care about! Give me context! Sand and Ray, by comparison, are given such rich backgrounds. We don't even need to know that much about Top's childhood--I just want to see some personality. He's a designer, but what does he like to do? What are his big hobbies?

There were a lot of missed opportunities to flesh out Top through his interactions with Mew. Their discussions were almost always about either Mew's hesitations about Top's intentions or Mew's inability to forgive Top for cheating on him. That does not make for a very compelling relationship.

6. Cheum

I don't think the show expected me to dislike Cheum as much as I do. And the thing is, I don't think I would've disliked her so much if we would've gotten more insight into her character. That hurt her, in the end. To put it bluntly, I disliked 1) her moral superiority (very similar to Mew's), 2) her disregard for boundaries (inviting Top to Mew's Halloween party and Boston to the New Year's party), 3) her lack of empathy (for Ray in particular, but that kind of extends to the whole friend group), and 4) her lack of accountability (she does apologize, which I commend, but Boston deserved to hear a little more of an apology than that when he was being accused of SA).

The reason Cheum is ultimately below Top is because we get even less of her in the series, and we don't get to see any growth from her. It's not her fault really given the lack of screen time, but at least with Top I can see his efforts to be better. With Cheum, it feels like I left her exactly where she was at the beginning. Not entirely a bad thing, but I wish she would've grown up in some aspects.

~ X ~

Gotta give a final shoutout to the real MVP, Freddy. I love you Fred.

#only friends #only friends the series #ofts #only friends episode 12 #only friends rankings #only friends meta #only friends sand #only friends ray #only friends mew #only friends boston #only friends nick #only friends top #only friends cheum #bostonnick #sandray #raysand #topmew

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lostfirefly · 3 months

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You’ve Got the Same Dream as Me (Ch.10, the final)

Hello, kiddos! The idea for this fanfic came to me from a dream. Тhe main characters were T. Cruise & H.Cavill (don't ask me why), but with a light hand they have been replaced. The main action of the dream took place somewhere in the sands. Аlthough this fanfic will feature Sir Crocodile and Buggy, the action shifts to the desert. No marines, ships etc. The devil fruit's abilities are preserved. Catch the Mummy and Indiana Jones vibes :) Different titles and names from the original source material will be used to emphasise the general OP's vibe.

Since English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :)

And thank you to my dear @yujo-nishimura and @laurasoretta for believing in me :)

Description: Catherine, a librarian who is searching for the trail of her sister who went missing on an expedition. Notes in books and diaries lead her to Cairo. There she finds a retailer from an artifact shop who, in exchange for selling her a map and equipment, insists that Catherine take her along. They get into a little (or maybe a big) adventure..

Warnings: Mythical creatures are mentioned in the text. Half of ch. 10 is completely from my dream. We're coming to the final. Catherine is smart (but I love smart girls). Riddles :) Fight scene. Adventures and fun are still here (I hope). Dumbest events ever. Romantic movie vibes. Buggy x OC, Sir Crocodile x OC.

Welcome to the big final! Thank you for your likes, comments and love! It was fun to create this story. Maybe not everything turned out the way I wanted but I'm happy I decided to write it.

Words: 5100

Light. Camera. Action :)

Totally reccommend to listen to Real Slow Motion - Imminence before the last chapter. I've beem listetning to that track for the last days for inspiration.

The title is taken from «You've Got the Same Dream as Me» (Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli) (One Piece, Netflix)

Taglist: @gingernut1314

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

• Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

The beam of light spread across the entire wall. At some point the wall began to dissolve like a mirage in the desert and the road appeared.

"I guess this is your Grand Line," Catherine said with a smile. "Maybe that's what was meant by the phrase 'believe your eyes'." There's the sun up ahead. So are we going? I don't know about you, but I'm confused by the word 'death' in the riddle. What if we don't make it out in time and stay here forever?"

“I guess, you’re right,” Buggy said almost silently.

They quickly gathered their belongings and crossed the passageway.

"Well, the third leg hasn't grown, that's good. If we don't get attacked by Horus's minions now, I think we're winners," Catherine laughed nervously. "Give me the map and compass!"

She spread everything out on the sand, lay on the ground with her belly and began to stare at the compass glass. The green beam pointed clearly to the right.

"Look, the map is completing the path!" exclaimed Jules.

"Buggy, you promised to take me to the party. Well then, this has to be the biggest and the funniest party ever. We're in the Sabaody Desert!"

Everyone looked first at Catherine, then at the coordinates in the diaries.

"So what I was looking at at the bar wasn't a joke or just numbers?" asked Buggy in surprise.

"Nope, those are the very real coordinates!!! We made it! See that beam pointing that way?" Catherine stood closer to him and held the compass up to his eyes.

"Cathie-pie, I'd take off my captain's hat if I had one. But I have to admit, we wouldn't have gotten this far without you!" He looked at her and smiled broadly.

"Quit with your cute dialogues. Have you forgotten why we're here?" asked Crocodile irritably. "Just because I helped you doesn't mean we're friends. I think you're misunderstanding a bit. I want the gold." He ran his hook along Catherine's neck.

"Hey, I told you already. Get your hands off her. And the hook, too," Buggy hissed through gritted teeth.

"I got it, I got it. You want the gold. It's over there." She pointed in the direction with her hand. "Judging by the map, we need to go around the wall we're at now and go up a bit. And, if Alabasta's book is to be believed, somewhere in there is the entrance to the cave with your treasure."

Crocodile lowered his hook. Catherine took a couple steps toward Buggy. "If there's anything in that cave, you owe me the most delicious ice cream in all of Egypt, got it?". He nodded and put a hand on her back.

They walked along a sandy cliff which was called Enies Lobby according to the book, periodically taking shelter from the sun in the shade.

“Besides ice cream, you owe me a whole cake. I wish there was an island like this. A Whole Cake island. Wouldn't that be cool?” Catherine asked, panting from the heat. “God, it’s too hot. I’m gonna die here.”

"I won't let you die, my pie. Listen. Can I ask? How'd you get into all this Egyptian stuff? Sister? Longtime love? Or following in your parents' footsteps?" Buggy looked at her with a corner of his eye.

"What? Oh, no. My mother worked in a bakery and my father was a journalist for a small newspaper. You know, one of those ones that travels out to cover unimportant events. But they made sure my sister and I had a normal life and an education. She went to engineering school, then fell in love with a pilot. As you can see, breaking up with him brought her and me here. As for me.. I went to the ancient literature faculty and found nothing better than being a librarian. But I'm happy with my life. At least I was. What about you? Who are your parents?"

"I don't really remember them, to be honest. Me and.. a former friend of mine.. were raised by another man. But that man died a long time ago, so-- "

"Oh, I'm sorry about the question then. I didn’t want.. you know.. So.. How did Buggy the Genius Jester end up in Cairo? Rika said you had your own circus or something."

"I just wanted to make a change in my life and decided that Egypt was the best place. And I'll be sure to take you to the circus the next time you come here to look for your sister after she breaks up with another guy again,” he cleaned his throat, “Listen.. Do y–..”

"Сathie, my sister!" Jules put her arm around Catherine's shoulder. "Promise me, when we get home, you and I will definitely go to the nearest bar and celebrate our returning."

"Get where? Home? Oh, yeah... We'll definitely go and celebrate something. All right, folks, I think we're here. You see, the map doesn't show anything further”. Catherine tried pointing the compass in different directions.

They were standing by a large sandy cliff, the top of which overhung the abyss. There were statues made of sand on the walls.

Crocodile turned to Catherine, "Well, where to now?"

"Wait, let me see the diary and the book. So... So... There's a drawing of an octagon in here. I'm willing to bet my life that this is the key to your treasure. We just need to find where it fits." She approached the statues.

"You realize that he won't let you or your sister out of here alive once he has a way to the treasure," Laura's quiet voice came from behind Catherine's back.

"Why are you suddenly concerned about my life? You're the one who dragged me here in the first place."

"I don't know if this is going to sound dumb, but you're kind of a normal person. But I didn't willingly give you the tickets either. Everyone has their reasons for doing the wrong thing, right? Unfortunately, I have one. Anyway.. Sorry. I didn’t want to."

“What?” Catherine turned around, but Laura was already gone. She looked at the wall again, “One more riddle.. People! One more riddle!”

Everyone's father is the sun,

The main way will tell you his son.

Try to go through danger road,

It will lead you to the gold.

“And?” Rika asked. “Honestly, sometimes I think you're just stalling.”

“Everyone's father is the sun… The god Ra was considered the supreme ruler of the world and the father of all pharaohs. We need to find his symbol or pattern. He is usually depicted with the head of a bird.”

"They all have heads like that around here!", Jules said indignantly.

"No, there should be a sun above his head.”.

"There's a similar one to what you described," Buggy beckoned Catherine with his hand. She squatted down next to him.

She whispered, "Listen, Laura came up to me out of the blue. And..."

“News? Updates?” Crocodile hissed and approached them. He placed the hook around Catherine's neck.

"That's the way it is, the beehive. The riddle says the son of the sun will show us the way. And I don't know what the difficulty of the road it says here is, but you know, the Egyptians liked to scare for nothing."

“The son of the sun? What's the point of these words?” Crocodile groaned.

Catherine walked in circles and tapped her temples with her fingers. “The son of the sun.. The son of the sun.. It's Horus!”

“What?” Jules squealed.

“Horus. He’s the son of Ra! We need to find his drawing!” Catherine snapped her fingers.

"And what does this god of Horus of yours look like?" asked Rika

"He has a Falcon's Head... Look for the falcon head."

"Then there he is. On the next wall," Jules pointed her finger at the drawing.

“Yes! Yes! That's him! That’s Horus! See, his beak is pointing toward the cave passage. Wait! There are lines here. See, it's also repeated in the diary and the book. Which means that Alabasta got to this place. “Where the moon meets the sun”. What does that mean?” Catherine sat down on the sand and rested her hands on her knees.

"Have you noticed that all the riddles are mostly about the sun and light? Could that mean something?" Laura asked, sitting down on the sand.

"I have a hunch it has to do with the god Ra. He's the sun god and was considered the most important in Egyptian mythology," Catherine rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling of the aisle.

"And what are those drawings on the ceiling?" Jules pointed her fingers to the obscure side of the lines.

"Looks like an eye of some sort," Buggy muttered.

"An eye... An eye. Exactly!" Catherine suddenly jumped up and ran forward.

"Cath?!" Jules shouted in the direction Catherine had run off in.

"This way!!!" came from somewhere in the depths.

Without wasting a second everyone ran in the direction the voice came from.

"I told you not to do that!" Buggy walked over to Catherine, leaned over and stared intently into her eyes.

"I... well... just..." she mumbled uncertainly. She looked up at the ceiling and pointed to more drawings with her hand. "See? Barely visible lines that look like stars or eyes. They lead somewhere forward. The main way will tell you his son. As I said Horus was the son of Ra. The left eye of Horus symbolizes the Moon and the right eye symbolizes the Sun. Guess where they meet?"

"Where the treasure lies?" Crocodile and Rika asked in unison.

“Probably.. According to the book, there's a narrow road ahead, right along this sand wall. Listen, the beehive, can you turn into... well... I don't know... a sand bridge so we can all cross over?"

"You know, when we're done, the first thing I'll do is cut off your long tongue, and then I'll cut off your pretty little sister's tongue too if I have to," Crocodile hissed and ran his hook across Jules' throat.

"Alright, alright! Please don't touch her!" Catherine's face changed. "She hasn't done anything to you..."

Crocodile turned around and walked forward, pushing Rika up behind him. Catherine glanced at her. Rika laughed evilly and hugged Crocodile. For the first time in a week, Catherine felt uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?" asked Buggy, when Jules came over.

"No, Buggy, I'm not okay. We're out in the middle of nowhere, looking for some treasure for you and that freak. My sister and I will probably get killed either way. And you-- You'll be chopped up into some kind of salad like Cole Slaw, but you won't care because you'll put yourself back together again. And I'll die here. Hey, I’m warning you when I’ll turn into a mummy, I'll come for you. Do you understand?"

“At least you'll be a cute mummy.."

“Why do you always have to mock me?” She rolled her eyes.

"Come on! Let's find a gold piece for me after all.” he smiled.

They reached a narrow sandy road that ran above the abyss. With each step, the path crumbled a little at a time, making their feet slip. While Crocodile clung to the wall with his hook, the others used small axes. Catherine kept whispering to herself, "I'm not going to die in the fucking cave," and occasionally glanced around to see if Jules was still there. They reached another cave with a huge hole in the rock. The bright sun illuminated the whole space.

Catherine looked up at the ceiling. "See. The lines have converged. And see the large pattern of the eye. It's not just an eye. It's a Wadjet. The Eye of Horus. It symbolizes fire and light and protects everything and everyone. And also known as “All seeing eye". And he's not looking sideways, he's looking down. Who's got the map?”

Rika handed Catherine the map. She took out the compass and held it up to her eyes. "I don't understand a thing. It's like the green beam is going round and round. We couldn't have got the road wrong. Jules, hold the book, please. Buggy, you hold the diary."

Catherine began to compare notes. "We're definitely in the right place, but I don't understand. It says there should be some kind of ring or lever. But where is it?"

Rika came up behind her and looked at the compass as well. "You're standing on it."

"What?"

"You're standing on the lever, move aside!", she pushed Catherine out of her seat.

“Hey. You could be more gentle.”

They all began to run their hands over the sand, trying to clear the surface. Under the thick layer of sand, a large circular stone ring with an octagon in the center appeared.

"The octagon!" whispered Catherine.

"Holy mother!" echoed Buggy.

"So it's all true?" said Rika faintly.

"Have we found the treasure?" asked Crocodile.

"Not yet... Crocodile, Buggy, you need to try and pull this thing off. It's obviously got to go up. Again, according to the records...," Catherine flipped through the pages of the book and ran her fingers over the drawings.

Crocodile and Buggy walked around the ring for a long time, then made several unsuccessful attempts to pick it up.

"Are you sure it goes up this way and not the other way round?" Buggy asked panting.

"Alabasta clearly spells the word 'rise.'" Catherine continued to run her fingers over the lines.

"I may sound silly now, but have you tried putting that octagon you were talking about on top of the drawing?" came Laura's voice from the corner. Everyone turned around to look at her. Catherine shrugged her shoulders.

Rika picked up the octagon and put it on the drawing. The five of them stood near the circular stone and drilled it with their eyes. Suddenly there was a creaking sound and the stone slowly began to rise.

"Pinch me somebody!" Catherine whispered softly. "It's like a real adventure movie, isn't it?"

The stone rose all the way up and stopped, making a heavy sound. They stepped forward to get a closer look at it.

Catherine gently ran her hand over the surface. "Look. Ankh is painted here too. And more than one. And the eye of the god Ra."

"And what does that mean?" Crocodile asked with a tone like he was already losing patience.

"Well how would I know, I'd have to look at the records."

"I'll give you five minutes," Crocodile slowly approached Jules.

"Okay, okay. Why is it all here?

The last border will fall,

When you shed a few tears on the wall.

If you’re not who is pure of mind,

Then the cave will leave you behind.”

“I’m losing my patience!” Crocodile hissed.

“Honey, relax, we are so close to the treasure!” Rika suddenly hugged him. “Let that bitch do her work”.

“"We need water! Does anyone have water?" Catherine suddenly ran toward the rock. "See this ankh. This symbol is also considered the key of life. What do we have the key to life? Water! Also in Egyptian mythology, it is believed that all living things were created from the tears of Ra. Life is water. We need to pour water on this stone!"

"I have some," Jules walked over to the stone and poured some water on it.

A noise was heard in the rock wall. They all walked toward it.

"There's an octagon symbol here too. I suggest you try to take that key and put it here," Catherine pointed at the rock.

Buggy detached his hand, took the key and handed it to Catherine.

"Give it to me!", yelled Crocodile, abruptly snatching up the octagon. and placing it in a pattern in the wall.

“One more riddle. Come on! Egyptians, are you guys serious?" Catherine grabbed her head.

“I have no time for this shit and for your riddles! Open the fucking door!” Crocodile yelled pulled out a gun and pointed it at the back of Catherine's head.

"Yeah! I don't know how to open it just like that. I didn't put up those fucking ancient Egyptian locks. And you pointing that thing at me isn't going to make it go any faster!"

"Listen, clown, your girl is starting to bore me. Maybe I should shoot her in the head?"

"What?" Buggy interjected, scanning the cave space with his eyes. "Oh, what do I care about her? I'm here for the same thing you are."

Catherine turned in his direction and looked at him with round eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, Cathie-pie, I told you from the beginning I only wanted gold!"

Rika laughed loudly. "Oh, wow. I guess they lived happily ever after isn't part of the Egyptian myths. Open the fucking door!" She took Jules by the neck and pushed her toward Catherine. "Give her a hand or something!"

"Yeah, sis. You sure know how to pick your boyfriends," Jules whispered. "I knew he'd trade you for the gold the first chance he got."

She hissed through gritted teeth. "He's not my boyfriend. He's a fucking clown! Listen...

To the east you look around,

You'll see the sandy ground,

Be aware it could be a trick,

You should push a small goldbrick.."

“And? There's a small goldbrick next to the key!” Crocodile pointed at the wall.

“The translation is wrong.” Catherine whispered, checking the diary and the book. “No-no-no-no-no-no! What is the fuck?”

“What's wrong?” Rika and Crocodile asked in unison.

“The map's changing!” Catherine shook the map in her hands.

“How is it changing?” Buggy asked with surprise in his voice.

“Are you fucking kidding with me?” Crocodile put the gun harder against Catherine's temple.

“What the fuck?! Look! There was a passageway here, now it's gone, and there's a river instead of a road.” Catherine pointed at the map. “I guess someone doesn't want us to go that way.”

“We'll just stick to the plan. You're the smart one. Find me a way.” Buggy suddenly approached Catherine and looked intently into her eyes.

“I hate you. How cou..”. She didin't finish the phrase because he put his finger to her lips.

“I told you. I’m looking for this treasure and some chicken-brained girl and her sister aren't going to stop me.” He kept his eyes on her.

“I have no time for your bullshit!” Crocodile growled and and started lowering the trigger guard.

Suddenly there was the sound of a gunshot.

“Honey…” Rika's voice came through.

Catherine and Jules turned their heads and saw that there was blood dripping from Rika's side. She started to fall to the sand. Laura was holding a gun.

"I told you he wouldn't let you go. Sorry, red-haired girl, I just picked the wrong side once. I played you for time. Run."

"You cunt!" Crocodile walked sharply toward Laura and impaled her with the hook. “I knew you couldn't be trusted.”

Jules and Catherine's eyes darted around. "What the hell?"

He threw Laura's body to the ground, walked over to Rika.

"I'm okay," she wheezed, "Luckily that girl missed. I told you a long time ago she was probably messing around with the clown. Where is he, by the way?"

"Where's your boyfriend?" Crocodile ran up to Catherine, grabbed her by the neck.

"He's not my boyfriend! I have no idea where he is. Twisted off with his tail between his legs."

“I don't have time for this shit!” Crocodile went back to the wall and pressed the brick with all his might. “Read the fucking diary!”

“I can bet my life that you won’t find your gold without the fucking map! By the way. Hello. The map has changed!” Catherine shouted.

“Alright. I gave you a choice.” He stabbed Jules in the leg with the hook.

“Catherine, run!” Jules whispered.

Catherine hesitated for a few seconds and ran toward the hole in the rock.

"Well no, come here, you bitch!" Rika, slightly wobbly, darted after her.

The mountain starts to shake.

Rika grabbed Catherine’s legs and pulled her to the ground.

"Get off of me!" She tried to fight Rika off.

"Well no, you trashy bitch. I'm going to finish you myself and then your little sister." Rika pulled Catherine towards her by her legs and the belt of her pants. Catherine noticed the hatchet Rika had dangling from her belt. She tried to reach for it several times, but Rika fought back. On her next attempt Catherine managed to pull the hatchet out of Rika's pants.

"Try chop-chop ability, bitch!" She swung to hit Rika's arm with the axe, but missed. "Damn, I thought this was going to be cool like in the movies!"

She saw Crocodile trying to open the door, holding Jules up with his foot. The sand began to slump over them. Catherine tried to get up, but Rika grabbed her and pulled Catherine to her.

A chunk of the floor failed beneath them.

"No!" Crocodile shouted furiously. "My gold!!"

"Crocodile!!!" Rika shouted with all her might. She and Catherine were hanging from a small handrail that was bending more and more under their weight. The floor was collapsing downward more and more.

"Rika!!!" he turned around in the sand, picked her up and lifted her up.

"Well, of course!" Catherine muttered.

"Have a nice stay. You'll look pretty good among the mummies!". Rika laughed. Crocodile picked her up and they rushed toward the hole in the rock.

"Juules! Fuck!" Catherine yelled with all her might. The torrent of falling sand was starting to make her hands slip. She looked down. "Jesus, that's a long way to fall!".

She felt a hand on her brisket. "Jule-e-es!"

"I've got you, sister!" she clutched the syially bleeding wound with one hand, the other trying to hold on to Catherine. "Damn it, promise me you'll go on a diet when we get it back!"

The floor was crumbling more and more. Suddenly someone pulled Jules back out by the scruff of her necks into the air, tossing her closer to the hole.

“Fuck! Jules!!”

She tried to pull herself up, but it didn't work. At the same second, she felt hands on her arms.

"Jul... Buggy? You're back?"

"Of course I'm back, Cathie-pie. It's not like I went anywhere."

"I thought you said you only cared about your gold," she muttered as he pulled her out.

"I winked at you!"

"No, you didn't! You told the dumbest lines ever!!"

"Why on earth would I not wink at you and then save you? You were probably so blinded by my beauty that you didn't notice." He pulled her to him for a split second.

"You're unbelievable," she rolled her eyes.

"We'll discuss all this later. We need to get out of here, because anytime this whole cave is going to go to hell. We need to run as fast as we can forward and jump as fast as possible”

“Ok, Run. Definitely run... What? How do we jump? Where do we jump?

“Cathie-pie, down, it's our only chance to survive.”

“Great, our only chance is to fly into the abyss? Jules! Please! Buggy, take her, please! You know, you can save her using your chop-chop thing. I’ll jump. I promise.”

“But..”

“We have no time. I’ll be fine!”

He quisckly run up to Jules. “Well, hello, Catherine’s sister. Let’s fly a little”. Buggy grabbed her in his arms and they rushed toward the crevice in the rock.

Catherine just for a second saw him split apart, but then a great wave of sand caused by the collapsing cave obscured visibility.

"Oh, Catherine, amazing. Your second dumbest idea ever! Clear your mind and run. Clear your mind and run!"

The mountain is already falling apart and throwing some pieces up.

⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭

Catherine woke up lying on the ground. She looked around quickly. Neither the cave nor the rock was gone.

"Jules!!!" she shouted, wiping her eyes from the sand.

"I'm here, I'm alive!" Catherine saw Jules lying on her back waving at her. "That Crocodile hurt me of course, but I'll live. God, I hope we're not lying on top of him somewhere right now."

"You're such a fool!" Catherine crawled up to her on all fours and hugged her tightly. "Where's Buggy?"

"I don't know, he left me here, then he rushed in your direction. But then the rock collapsed and I never saw him again."

"Buggy?" they shouted together.

"I'm here!" his voice came from somewhere in the distance. Catherine squinted and saw him walking in their direction, picking himself up piece by piece.

"Thank goodness! You're alive!" She ran to him, stumbling in the sand and hugged him tightly around the neck.

"Oh, my cotton candy, you're going to suffocate me! You alright? Jules, what about you?"

“What? Yes.. I’m fine. By the way, we haven't really been introduced,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“Hah! You’re funny! Buggy the Clown.” he said and made a gesture.

“No-no, Jules. He's not just a clown. He's “The One and the Only” Buggy the Clown.” Catherine laughed and pressed her forehead to his.

"Hm.. So... What about the treasure? Lost forever? Along with the book and the compass?” Jules pointed to what was left of the cave.

“I guess..” Catherine replied and pressed her head to Buggy’s chest.

“Oh my God! I just realized what happened... We fell from there... He did it... I'm here... Oh... my goodness holy!" Jules said in a thin voice and started to pass out.

"Juuuuuules?!"

⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭

Ladies and gentelmen, welcome to Cairo Internatioanl Airport.

"Well, girls. Thank you for your time. It was really fun."

"Thank you, Buggy… but fun? No! Oh, my god, I cannot wait to get home and take a hot bath," Jules said with a sigh. "Nono, I’m definitely done with this shit. This Isn't for me. I'm gonna go home and ask Ethan out. I'll stay home and let him run around the world and solve impossible missions"

"Sounds like a good plan," Buggy said with a smile. "Cathie, my cotton candy, are you coming? Don't you want to say goodbye to me?"

He glanced at her.

"What? Yeah. Sure. I’m coming," Catherine stood next to the trunk of the car and discreetly wiped away her tears.

Ladies and gentlemen, the flight from Cairo to Loguetown will depart in a half hour. All passengers are invited to board.

"Well…," he said with a slight tremble in his voice and came closer to her, "This information is probably for you."

"I guess.. Yeah," Catherine hugged Buggy around his waist tightly, buried her temple in his chest and closed her eyes as hard as she could. "Thank you… For everything... These days were really fun."

He chuckled, hugged her, pulled her closer and started stroking his hand down her back.

"Catherine, sister. Come on! Hurry up, I don't want to be late," Jules shouted as she stood at the airport door.

"Fuck… I’m coming!!!" Catherine shouted in annoyance towards Jules. She buried her forehead in Buggy's shoulder, her eyes were closed. "Sorry. It didn't work out with those treasures. But I hope, one day you find what you are looking for."

Ladies and gentlemen, the flight from Cairo to Loguetown will depart in 15 minutes. Аll passengers are invited to board.

"Shit, I really have to go now," Catherine hugged him even tightly, rested the top of her head under his chin, her eyes were still closed and she felt the tears begin to treacherously come. "Goodbye, my silly clown."

She grabbed her bag and walked quickly to her sister.

"Goodbye, my red-haired pie," he whispered softly.

Boarding completed.

⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭

The epilogue.

—-3 months later —-

"Are you ready?" he asked her standing next to a car.

"S-sorry, I‘m late again, aren't I?" She popped out of the house to him wearing one sneaker, the other she held in her hand.

"Kind of.. Yeah, but I've gotten used to it in the last three months."

"Ass.. So… our sails are set?" She closed the door, sat down on the steps and began to put on her second sneaker.

"I don't know about the sails, but the tires are definitely ready," he kicked an inflated wheel with his boot.

"You're my best! Well.. according to the map I was able to get..," she said, approaching him.

"You mean “you were able to steal." he put his hand on her back and kissed her temple.

"Shut up! I had a good teacher!" She put the map on the bonnet and ran her finger over it. "So... we're gonna have to go this way."

"God!" He started laughing.

"What?"

"What have I done in my life to deserve you?" He turned her towards him and looked intently into her eyes.

"Well, first you pissed me off, and then you saved my life. Plus, you promised me a private jet home, which I didn't get. So I had to stay here to punish you." she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe and kissing him on his big red nose and lips. "I love you, my Buggy Bear."

"I love you too, my cotton candy," he replied quietly and kissed her forehead. "But I still think the nickname you gave me is terrible."

"Just deal with it, you have no choice now," she lightly hit him on the nose with her index finger and ran her hand through his loose blue hair. "All in all, we have at least 5-6 days on the road. But, according to the map, we should come across small towns where we can spend our nights and replenish our supplies. And by the way, just for your information, you owe me a romantic dinner. Well, because of you.. we didn't get to finish the one you set up for me a couple days ago," her face turned red.

“My fault, admit it,” he said against her lips, then took her hand and kissed her wrist.

"I hate you," she gently pushed him away. “So-o-o… we can go on a new adventure!” She took a couple of steps back and began a little joyful dance. "Wait! Does this treasure have a name? Just so it's not like last time..."

"I've heard people call it the One Piece."

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snorlaxlovesme · 2 months

Text

this is called giving Live Action Avatar a fair chance

the Netflix live action Avatar has always been a strange beast. it's a thing no one wanted after the disastrous 2010 movie. public perception of it was extremely low after Bryke walked out on it because of creative differences (disheartening as well as concerning). people tore apart the teaser stills and completely thrashed the early trailers. the news that Sokka's sexism plot was being altered had fans frothing at the mouth. the show seemed to be caught in this limbo where it had an incredibly low bar to rise above, in terms of trouncing The Last Airbender Movie, and infinitely high bar it would be impossible to reach, in terms of the original A:TLA.

now. if i can't go into a live action adaptation with an open mind, i will not watch it. live action Yu Yu Hakusho came out several months ago, and the vibes I got from trailer were not what I wanted, so I shelved it. if I'm going to sit down and watch a re-telling of one of my favorite pieces of media, I'm going to do my damnedest to go in with as open of a mind as a I can bear, because I like to have a good time and I can't do that constantly dogging on something.

so. my rule of thumb is generally this: treat any live action adaptation as fanfiction. if i can recognize the characters and recognize the plot, that's fine. i'm not looking for anything crazy, just interesting fanfiction. that's the level of closeness to canon i'm expecting. bar is on the floor.

and in terms of Good Television, my expectations are also incredibly low. good TV has 1. good writing 2. good acting 3. good action/SFX. for adaptations the best i'm looking for is ONE out of three. the lower my expectations, the more fun i get to have.

i'm explaining all of this because, while I have not seen reviews of Netlix Avatar yet, I know just how brainless the masses can be and i need you to know that THESEEE are the expectations you should be having when going into these things. Avatar: The Last Airbender is hailed as an example of a nearly PERFECT show. if you are expecting that kind of excellence from an adaptation you are simply deranged and I will not be reading your bad faith interpretations of the show.

with these expectations in mind, it's easy to see why i'm loving Netflix Avatar so much. why? because it cleared one of my very low expectations. the bending in the show looks pretty good! the writing of the show is average! some of the actors are quite charming! i am pleased!

i have seen 3 episodes so far ("Aang" through "Omashu", and yes these episode titles DO suck, I'll concede to that)

so, now that i've gotten that little manifesto out of the way, let's get into some actual Thoughts So Far:

-the way the first episode was structured was very cool. i like that they didn't throw us in at the same spot we started in A:TLA. and to avoid the horrible exposition dump the movie gave us, instead they just showed us the start of the war. i like the tactical inclusion that Sozin let word get out that the Fire Nation would attack the Earth Kingdom first to throw the Air Nomads off his scent. i also thought it was cool so show us a day in the life at the Easter Air Temple. the setting was gorgeous and I loved seeing all the monks doing their own thing. it made you feel so attached to the Air Nomads and their kindness and gentleness, so when they were attacked you truly felt for them.

-Monk Giatso's actor was fantastic. i was gagged that they had my crying less than 20 min into the first episode, what the fuck

-Gran Gran reciting Katara's opening speech line by line was funny, hokey, and exactly what I wanted. loved that for her and loved that for ME

-i like the change that Katara has to waterbend in secret for her own safety, not simply because she doesn't have a master

-it felt appropriate that they made Sokka take his warrior/protector role more seriously. the "i gotta go potty" bit from that like 6 year old in the original is hilarious but I don't think that sort of humor would have translated well to live action. i like that Sokka really was a leader to the ragtag group of kiddos and like one teenage boy. and him asking Zuko to duel with him one and one!! a very sweet early act of bravery

-in general i'm just really liking how they're approaching Sokka's character. all the fuss over "they're taking out Sokka's sexism" arc felt idiotic to me for weeks because like of course they did?? let's be SO real here, if you have never seen the original and are watching Netflix Avatar blind for the first time, are you going to rock with the protagonist who makes "girls' only jobs are cooking and sewing" jokes? in 2024? in this sociopolitical climate that shit would NOT fly and people would drop the show for stuff like that. no one would wait to see his character growth, people's attention spans aren't long enough for that these days. plus, for all the naysayers boohooing because that's Sokka's whole character arc, it's literally not! that nasty personality trait sticks with Sokka for FOUR episodes. having his character arc revolve around his identity as a warrior is much more in-line with Sokka's ACTUAL arc. he can skip the "sew my pants" jokes so we can get to his real root of his conflict, being a non-bender and a novice warrior in a world of extreme violence and feeling inferior because of it

-i don't mind that they made Zuko less aggressive. again, with the bar of the original A:TLA being SO fucking high, ESPECIALLY because of Zuko, Netflix was never going to reach that level of excellence. so I'm okay with this Zuko being a little more level-headed and more of a mindless Fire Nation Greatness truther because it's a decent interpretation of his character, for fanfiction. consider everybody on planet earth know that Zuko will eventually be a Good Guy, we don't have to go out of our way to show that he's a giant asshole. we already know he's a good boy.

-on that note I love the bait and switch with the Jet introduction. seeing a cute boy flirting with Katara, I couldn't immediately tell if that merchant boy was just a one-off kind character, or maybe Haru because of his clothing and the way his hair was styled. to have him turn out to be Jet was FUN because it showed me that despite knowing the original canon forwards and backwards, this show can still find ways to surprise me. i had been talking with my sister about whether or not they were going to include Bumi (and his shenanigans) because that's a plot twist that worked when the show originally aired, but wouldn't hit at all in an adaptation where we all know who Bumi is already. where I'm currently at in the show I'm still not sure if we'll see his inclusion or not, but i still appreciated that new bait and switches are possible.

-this meant basically all the Omashu episode was very fun. they way they wove the Freedom Fighters and Mechanist's stories together was very interesting and i liked how fresh it felt

-Suki's actor is incredibly gorgeous. with and without the make-up. that needed to be it's own point because oh my god

-i love that she gave Sokka and fan and i'm DYINGGG to see him use it in a battle

-THEY INCLUDED KYOSHI NOVEL LORE AND I SCREAMED

-they included AVATAR KYOSHI FIGHT SEQUENCES AND I SCREAMED

-i probably should have mentioned this way sooner but Aang's actor is such a little cutie. he's doing such a great job capturing Aang's energy. both wise and playful and so so sweet. i love him

-i found it hilarious that they waited three episodes for Katara to bring up her dead mom. we all know that the super generic and boring critiques of Katara are 1. too much dead mom talk 2. too much hope talk 3. too motherly. i feel like the show intentionally waited two and a half episodes for Katara to bring up Kya and that's so funny to me. they also have only let her mention hope like twice lol. my girl is being STIFLED

-special effects are honestly really good? some of aang's flying is a little wonky but the firebending and waterbending so far as looked fantastic. i haven't seen much earthbending so far besides that opening sequence but i was impressed by that too. and Aang and Zuko fighting in Omashu with Zuko not using his bending? SO much fun. the choreo was awesome, i loved the set piece of fighting amongst all those scarves.

-building off that, Appa and Momo are very cute. the creatures al look pretty good too. ostrich horses look great

all in all, lots of really good stuff so far. i only have minor criticisms, and they're mostly things I can deal with. Iroh's acting is weird to me. it sounds like it's putting on a silly voice instead of speaking how he normally would, so it scans as off-putting. also in terms of costuming, Iroh's wig is WIGGING so much more than other cast members. it looks so glued on and shaped with hairspray. Mai and Ty Lee (one seen them for a moment so far) also just look like random cosplayers who wandered on set. and i guess both Monk Giatso's reveal of Aang being the avatar, as well as Gran-Gran's immediate understanding that Aang is the avatar, both happened extremely fast.

but yeah! those are my thoughts so far. again, I have no idea what public perception of this show is. i'm trying to avoid reviews and probably won't be back on tumblr until i've at least made it to episode 6. then maybe i'll come back and write more if my opinion drastically changes or I think the world will need another stern talking to about what to expect from an adaptation

#oh fuck i should probably tag this for spoilers but idk what tags ppl are using #live action avatar #netflix atla #avatar live action #ehh? i guess? don't read this if you haven watched episodes one through three yet #netflix avatar

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