#I don’t think Mako is a guy who’s easily faded | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kaemulti · 4 years

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(this is for the like five people who liked my post about me writing this 😤✊🏾and i have an AO3 account but i don’t want my kpop fan life and my non kpop fan life to clash right now so hopefully i can post the chapters for this fic here. i hope i’m doing this right, i literally got tumblr like a month or two ago so pls be nice 💀💀)

DEADLY DANCE:

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Story Summary: Korra Kuruk is an eighteen year old agent of The Air Temple Agency that has been tasked with bringing a rival company’s top teen agent to justice for her crimes. Korra, code name Water Tribe, must figure out what the true identity of the elusive Metal Bender is and what heinous acts her villainous agency is currently planning. How will Korra handle finding out her target is the one person she least expected and what will she do when that same person needs saving?

Deadly Dance : Chapter One : Little Miss Perfect

Kuvira shut her eyes tightly, taking a deep breath through her nose until it filled every inch of her lungs. She slowly let it out once she couldn’t take in any more oxygen and opened her eyes with new determination, deep breath centering her thoughts and calming any nerves that might be lingering. She could feel the whole room’s eyes on her, whole class practically on the edge of their seats as they watched her prepare for the final part of the combination. Kuvira smirked, an evil, sly smirk that would have easily given away her true personality if any of her peers were actually that observant. Fortunately, they were all far to enthralled with her movement, eyes widening as she extended her arms and raised her head. A beat, and she was off, turning and waltzing like she was floating through the air as the music rose in volume. She could feel the sweat running down the sides if her face, causing her skin to itch, but she couldn’t care less, she was electric right now, practically on fire as she completed all the steps without a hitch. Her face never broke from the innocent and vulnerable look of the character she was playing. Her limbs were long and free, passion practically seeping from every pore as the combination came to a close. She ended the fouetté sequence flawlessly, face refusing to show how increasingly uncomfortable her pointe shoes became pain an afterthought to the captivating performance she was seconds away from nailing. With one last turn, she took her ending position, chest slowly rising and falling as the music faded away to silence.

“Absolutely fantastic as always, Kuvira! Everyone please give her a round of applause.” The teacher said enthusiastically, smile wide as she praised her best student.

Kuvira smiled softly as she bowed for the applause from the class. The praise was cut short as the third period bell had rang, meaning they had spent their five minute time period for changing back into their normal clothes watching Kuvira complete the combination.

“Oh, spirits! That’s the bell, sorry I kept you everyone! Hurry and change, those of you headed to lunch should be fine but I’ll write slips for anyone who is going to a class period! Hurry, hurry! Great work today!” The teacher said as her students scrambled around the room.

Kuvira quickly dropped to the floor, hastily taking off her pointe shoes and shoving them into her dance bag. She jogged to the dressing room and begun to change, ripping off her constricting tights and deciding to exchange her bra for her leotard to save time. She finished pulling her skirt on and adjusted her turtle neck, haphazardly slipping on her sneakers as she rushed out of the door.

Luckily for her, the lunch room was only a couple doors down, unluckily for her however, she didn’t pack a lunch and waiting in the line is known to take half of their lunch period. She pushed passed some students in the hallway, raising the tone of her voice to give half hearted apologies as she did so, not that they knew that of course. When she finally made it to the lunch room she scanned the area for the table with her friends, smiling once she caught sight of them.

Being at this school was her least favorite thing ever so the fact she had actually found a couple people that cared enough to talk to her had been a blessing.

“Nice job today, Kuvira!”

“You totally owned that combo! I wish I could dance like that!”

“You should be proud of yourself.”

The praises weren’t new to her so Kuvira simply offered a smile and a couple thank you’s as she reached the table.

“Well if it isn’t the swan princess herself.” Wing teased as she sat down.

“Haha, very funny, Wing. I told you not to call me that when we’re not in practice, especially because we aren’t even doing that ballet this year.” Kuvira said light heartedly as she pulled out her makeup compact.

“My apologies, Great Uniter.” He said with a bow and smirk. The Avatar ballet had been widely requested by everyone in the dance department and Kuvira was beyond happy when she got picked to play the avatar’s ultimate rival, The Great Uniter.

“How was class?” Baatar asked shyly, barely making eye contact with her as he did so.

“It was fine, my feet are killing me but ballet is my second favorite dance class so I don’t mind.” She replied sweetly as she put on her eyeliner.

“I’ll never understand how you can do that so flawlessly, are you just perfect or something?” Wei asked as he practically inhaled one of his spring rolls.

“I wouldn’t say “perfect”, just skilled.” She lied, adding a sharp tail to the liner. She was playing a character right now and, sadly, acting cocky wasn’t in the script.

“I just don’t get how she got here so fast!” Korra panted, placing her backpack on the floor as she slumped on the table. She had gotten lost in the sea of people all trying to get to lunch on time from dance and had to race to avoid the hall monitor.

“Maybe you’re slower than you thought.” Mako joked, offering her part of his sandwich like he always does. He loved Korra to death but that girl was so frantic she basically forgot her lunch three times a week.

“Must you bully me after I almost got trampled in the hallway, again?! I’m hurting.” She pouted, taking her half of the sandwich from him and eating most of it in one go.

“Maybe if you actually started telling Mrs. Xiao when you have five minutes left of class you’d be here on time.” Asami smirked, not even looking up from her chemistry homework to tease the panting girl.

“I would have but she was too busy watching Kuvira prance around the room.” Korra said with her mouth full, rolling her eyes as she thought of the older dancer flawlessly completing that day’s combination.

“I’ll never understand why she gets under your skin so bad, Kor, she’s literally an angel. Honestly, I don’t even think she’d hurt a fly if she had the chance. Besides, you guys are rivals in the ballet, not real life.” Bolin said, blowing on his noodles to cool them down before sucking them up violently.

“And I don’t see why you don’t, just look at her! Being the center of attention every chance she gets.” Korra pouted, gesturing to the girl doing her makeup in her small hand held mirror a couple tables down.

“Are you gonna leave your hair like that the whole day?” Huan asked Kuvira, face contouring to a grimace.

“Shoot, (spirits, she wishes she could’ve cursed) I didnt even notice, thanks, Huan.” She said, placing the compact down so she could dig through her bag for a brush. She always forgot to take her hair out of her ballet bun and Huan, being the guy who was absolutely incapable of staying out of other people’s fashion choices, never let her forget. Kuvira still remembers how she had to force a smile and act like she didn’t want to bust his jaw that one time he said she looked like a snob when her hair was up.

He was right of course, but it still annoyed her.

Kuvira pulled out the brush she was looking for and set it on the table as she started removing the bobby pins from her hair. She smiled a bit to herself as she got the last one out, her favorite part was next, letting her hair down as she felt everyone watch.

She let the bun unravel as she gracefully shook her head, long, dark waves cascading down her back, almost reaching her butt. Honestly, she needed a trim, she’d have to remind Unalaq to make time in her schedule to get one.

Kuvira picked up the brush and ran it through her hair just enough to make it look neat but not enough to brush out the waves. She could feel several eyes on her, both male and female, as she did so. Kuvira wasn’t oblivious, despite how she acted as her character, she knew she was way above average in looks and she liked the eyes on her, craved them even. She opened her eyes and smiled as she caught Baatar looking at her.

Kuvira liked catching him watching her the most because she knew he’d never have a chance with her, no matter how much he wanted one.

“Looks like the line is shorter now, I’m gonna go grab lunch.” She said sweetly, quickly whipping her head around to eye how many people were still waiting in the line. She was fast enough to identify ten sets, five more than last time, of eyes on her before they frantically looked away as she searched for eye contact. She stood up and flipped her hair, strutting to the lunch line with an innocent smile.

“Ok, but it’s not her fault she’s gorgeous, Korra, that’s hardly a reason to hate her.” Bolin said, back at their table, pulling Korra out of her daze as she watched the older girl strut to the lunch line.

“I never said I hated her, she just...bugs me...” Korra replied, crossing her arms with a huff. Ever since the first day Kuvira had transferred to their school something about her seemed too good to be true, leaving a nasty taste in Korra’s mouth when interacting with the older girl.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a crush on her, Kor.” Asami said, finally looking up from her, now finished, homework to quirk her brow at the pouty girl.

“Wha-no. No! I do not have a crush on little miss perfect, sprits!” Korra said, annoyance clear in her voice as she furrowed her brow at her friend’s accusatory tone.

“Whatever you say, you should really just ask her to the formal in two months.” Mako said before he drank from his water bottle.

“I will not! I don’t even like her like that. Tui and La you guys are impossible!” Korra said, standing up from her seat and heading to the lunch line—because she was hungry! Not so she could stand next to Kuvira, she had more dignity than that thank you very much.

“Hey, Kuvira! How are you today?” Ms. Li, one of the lunch ladies said sweetly.

“I am great, Yuyan, thank you for asking. How about yourself?” Kuvira replied politely. That was one thing Unalaq could never shake from her, her manners for people less fortunate than she was. She had spent a lot of time talking to the school staff when she first got this assignment, she would tell her bosses it’s so she could find her target quicker but that was all a lie. To most, she might be considered to be on the wrong side of history, even if she thought that was nonsense, but that didn’t mean she was soulless. She only wanted the best for these people, why would she be cold if she didn’t have to be?

“Well, I could be better, these kids really don’t know how to say a simple please and thank you. It, um, it gets to you sometimes, you know? But, hey, I guess it could always be worse. Thank you so much for ask—Oh! That reminds me, me and a couple of the other lunch ladies made this for you, since you are such a big help around here.” Ms. Li said, reaching behind her to grab a small chocolate cupcake before handing it to Kuvira.

“Thank you so much, it looks delicious.” Kuvira said, accepting the sweet treat and placing it on her tray with the rest of her food.

“Of course! Anything for our favorite student. Congratulations on getting the part of The Great Uniter by the way, we look forward to seeing you shine!” Ms. Li smiled.

Kuvira smiled brightly as she punched in her lunch number, swiping her school card quickly. She appreciated the praise and she new she deserved it, but too much of it could make her uncomfortable. She said one more thank you to Ms. Li and headed back to her table.

As she was walking however, she almost ran right into someone who was clearly not watching where they were going. If she had been anyone else, her tray would’ve went flying, along with the items on it, and there’d be a huge mess, luckily she wasn’t anyone else. She was Kuvira, member of the Metal clan, the most highly trained spy organization in the world, and she’d be damned if she let her special cupcake get squashed. She easily spun around the person, gracefully hoping one of the railings to catch her airborne tray, every single item she had purchased returning to their places. Well, all except her juice box, which was still airborne, about to land on the ground behind her. She whipped her head back around and made a move to catch it but instead saw her onstage rival, The Avatar, played by Korra Kuruk, hopping the same railing to catch the juice box before it hit the ground, her own lunch items fully intact on her own tray despite the vigorous movement.

“I am so sorry about that! Here, wouldn’t want you to lose this.” Korra said apologetically as she held out the juice box to a wide eyed Kuvira.

As soon as they made eye contact Korra seemed to have picked up on what had actually happened, her own eyes going wide as Kuvira snatched the juice box from her hands.

Before either of them could say anything, the pieces finally falling into place and their initial shock quickly flipping to furry, the fire alarm went off, blaring loudly in everyone’s ears and causing several people, excluding Korra and Kuvira of course, to flinch in their seats. They had been trained better than to get startled by a sudden noise.

“Ok, ok, everyone please grab your phones, and I mean only your phones, and exit the building!” One of the lunch monitors said, ushering kids out of the back entrance so they could head to the field.

Both girls glared at each other, breath heavy in a rage as they did so, before going their separate ways to their respective tables. Kuvira grabbed her phone and followed Baatar out of the lunch room, not bothering to look back at Korra. Nobody at her table asked questions, not having been paying attention to Kuvira when she left the table.

Korra however, returned to a table full of wide eyes and slacked jaws, her friends having watched the whole ordeal after Korra bailed at the mention of a crush.

“That was some ninja shit, Korra! Wh- How- When! When did you even learn how to do that?!” Wu asked, most likely coming off of his hall monitor shift to eat lunch with them moments before the alarm sounded.

“Movies. Come on, we need to get outside.” She said, anger clouding her eyes and lowering her voice. Nobody asked any more questions and, even if they wanted to, Korra was already walking away, one foot out of the door

One thing’s for sure, Korra now had more reason than ever to hate Kuvira.

Kuvira was undoubtably the Metal Clan Protegé that Korra was tasked with arresting for crimes against the environment and the less fortunate.

#lok #tlok #the legend of korra #legend of korra #korra #korra and kuvira #tlok kuvira #kuvira #the great uniter #great uniter #korvira #korvirasami #kuvira week

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ayma-nidiot · 3 years

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“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 32

This chapter can be found here on AO3.

Chapter 32 - God-Shattering Star

“Oh, cry me a river, Rex!” Weevil glanced to the battle below; many of the Club members had already died. Joey, Mai, Yugi, Téa, Tristan, Atem, and Duke were the only fighters who hadn’t sustained any serious injuries against the massive Earthbound army. Even Phuckdis and William were riddled with gashes, yet refused to retreat with Dr. Balls. “So your allies still cling to life like a drowning man onto a rock. Cute. Not that it will do any of you any good!”

“Rex…” Mako crawled on the floor; luckily for him, Espa retreated from the battle before he got hurt at all. “Don’t listen to him! You’re… hah… You’re the only one who can… save us…”

“Mako, don’t…” It was just then that after recalling the fight with Nortius, Rex had an idea. “Wait a second, Amber.”

“Papa, what is it?”

“I want to try something out. Why don’t we try fusing, just like Mako did with Jinzo?”

“But we don’t even have Polymerization! Those who do either are incapacitated or otherwise occupied! And you can’t even fly… If you fell to your death just like Kaiba, and all because of a stupid and ill-timed experiment, I…”

“Argh, we’ll both die anyway if we do nothing!” Rex pumped his fists in the air. “Show a little bit more Raptor spirit, why don’t you?”

“Papa… Okay. I trust you.” So Amber spoke as she half-shifted, and Rex began a long freefall.

“You really are a blooming idiot, aren’t you?” Weevil would have laughed longer, but stopped when he saw Rex glow pink. “So you think you can- Huh?”

“What’s… What’s happening to my boy?” Ptera wondered as Spinos tended to her wounds.

“Don’t tell me…” Phuckdis began. “Rex is…”

Before Rex could fall very far, Amber had completely fused with him, and he grew angel’s wings that soon turned into Rabidragon’s wings. Even if only by a little bit, the gloomy weather began to dissipate, replaced by an enormous pink glow at the top of KaibaCorp Tower.

“What is the meaning of this?” The shining presence of Rex - with his bow, fluffy white shirt, golden pants, and Rabidragon’s ears and tail - intimidated Weevil. “Just who do you think you are, that you can challenge me? Well, no matter! I’ll kill you right here, as I intended to do from the beginning! Take this!”

“...” Rex didn’t say anything as he simply held his bow at his side, and grabbed the chain whip before it could hurt him.

“It’s… Impossible! Aaaah!” Weevil reeled backwards when Rex threw him. “How can a weak rabbit like you stand up to me? ”

“It’s because…” Phuckdis made his presence known. “Rex is the true God-Shattering Star.”

William bowed in reverence with his brother and the remaining members of the Club. “He is the light that will save us all.”

Espa could still see Weevil and Rex, even from his hospital room. “Is that you, Rex Raptor?”

Joey looked up at Rex’s true form with a hint of jealousy. “That’s more powerful than anything I could cook up with the Claw of Hermos. I suppose that runt isn’t as weak as I thought him to be.”

Rex finally opened his now-crimson eyes and began to speak in a distorted voice. “Weevil… No, Earthbound God Sanpedro. I will kill you, right here and now, and free my beloved Weevil Underwood from your clutches.”

“So now you want me to die? That’s rich! What a fool. Come on, boy, come try me!”

“Hey, let me help too!” When Joey rushed up to Rex, he could feel an invisible barrier push him backwards.

“Joey, this is my fight alone. Why don’t you just take out the small fry and let a pro handle this?”

“Hahaha!” Despite the fact that there were still several hundred Earthbound soldiers left, Joey couldn’t help but laugh. “Even when he’s some almighty angel… god... thing, he’s still definitely that silly Rex Raptor. Well, my dude, consider my morale boosted! You heard the man, guys!”

“H-How dare you address the God-Shattering Star that way?” Phuckdis was clearly offended.

“Aww, come on, lighten up! Or you can just, I don’t know, sit there and relax while us duelists take care of the bad guys.”

“Or I can just, you know, show you just how strong us shapeshifters are!” Upon hearing Joey’s words, Phuckdis felt his strength anew, as did his brother. “I cannot fly, but that doesn’t mean I cannot fight!”

“Headstrong and reckless like your ‘God-Shattering Star.’” Duke chuckled. “Well, then, you better do a good job proving how strong you are!”

“You’re a poet and didn’t even know it!” Tristan quipped.

“You see, Weevil?” Rex stared at the nearly-soulless shell of his boyfriend. “You picked the wrong side to fight for. You have no friends there.”

“‘Friends,’ huh…” Weevil stared absentmindedly at the fighting below, especially at Joey and Atem. The chain whip rattled in his hands as he shook in anger. “Must be sooooo nice to have them! It must feel soooooo nice to be able to get palsy-walsy with people who didn’t give a shit about you just four years ago!”

“Weeves?!”

“You… YOU FUCKERS WILL ALL PAY!” Weevil dove as fast as he could, with all the anger he could muster ready to fuel his strike upon Atem.

“You coward! Get back here!” Rex couldn’t dive anywhere near that quickly, but tried to keep up as fast as his unborn baby would allow him, holding onto her for dear life.

“Eh?” Joey noticed Weevil coming for him before anyone else did, and braced himself with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword. “Atem, look out!”

“Amulet Dragon, protect us!”

Weevil had originally planned to strike everyone in one blow with the chain whip. But being the deceptive little shit he was, he decided on a different mode of attack - bypassing all of the monsters and encasing his two most hated enemies in spider webs instead. “Ha! Syke!”

“Ggh!” Already, Joey was up to his neck in spider webs - yet for some strange reason, his sword arm remained free, as did the sword itself. The webs would not give way, no matter how hard or often he slashed at them.

“W-Weevil…” Atem could hardly talk, as the spider webs gripped his throat tightly. “I… I thought we were friends!”

“Me? Friends with you?! What a joke! Do you honestly expect me to believe a word of bullshit coming out of your mouth after the suffering you’ve caused me? Do you honestly think that after all you’ve done, I’d consider you a friend?” Weevil cackled as Atem writhed in pain. “If anything, you’re lower than the dirt underneath my feet!”

All the commotion awakened Heka. “F-Father… No! Dear gods, what’s happening to my father?”

“Boy! How does it feel to know that your father is no longer the King of Games?”

“Leave… him alone!” Heka flung a flimsy arm, releasing a ball of light that Weevil easily blocked.

“Hmm… Nah, I think I’ll pass on that. In fact, I’d rather kill him before your very eyes!” Weevil approached Atem, with the intent to decapitate him with the chain whip. That was, until Rex blocked him in the nick of time, drawing Weevil’s attention away from his two captives. “Humph. It’s you again.”

“Damn right!” Rex’s smile faded when not long after he blocked the attack, his bow began to crumble. “Uh… Uh-oh…”

“Hah! Some ‘God-Shattering Star’ you turned out to be! Looks to me like you’re the one who’s shattered!”

“Crud… I kind of need a weapon!” Rex picked up a sword from one of his fallen allies, but it was so weak that Weevil shattered it with his bare hands, grabbing Rex by the throat right after. “Ngh!”

“Before I kill you right here and now, tell me something, Rex. Why did you defend these guys?”

“B-Because… They’re… my… cough… cough…”

“They accepted you so easily, just because you play by the rules… Why is friendship such an easy thing for you, yet I could never make one friend? Why do Joey and Atem and literally everyone else in this fucking city love you and think I’M the worst duelist there ever was?”

“Don’t… Don’t I count, Weeves?” More than the iron grip of Weevil’s right hands, Weevil’s words hurt Rex. “And your own daughter? Have… cough… Have you already forgotten what we’ve all been through? We’re… willing to… forgive you… Just… Ugh!”

“Not another word out of you! The Earthbound Gods are the only friends I need now! Not you weaklings!” Ignoring the twinge of pain in his heart, Weevil lightly ran the chain whip over Rex’s left arm, barely enough to draw blood. “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

Weevil was so far gone into his own madness that Joey was certain he wouldn’t be able to hear him now. “Psst… Rex.”

“J-Joey?” Rex turned his head around, just enough to see Joey.

“You said… cough… that you needed a weapon, right?” Joey held up his sword arm. “Ya’ think this will be good enough?”

“That’s…!” Flashbacks of his Orichalcos duel flooded Rex’s mind. That’s the sword that sent my soul to the Great Leviathan! But if there’s no other choice, then…

“It’s now or never! Think fast!” Joey threw the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword at Rex, hoping to the gods he’d catch it and put it to good use.

“If that sword can’t cut the spider webs, then what makes you think that Rex will somehow magically put it to good use?”

Rex felt the sword land in his right hand, and had a clever idea. “By doing… this. ”

“G-Gaaaaah!” Weevil howled in pain when Rex did the unthinkable - completely cutting off his right arms and thereby freeing Atem and Joey from their bonds. He stared at Rex wide-eyes. “You would dare hurt me? Aren’t you scared of losing the love of your life?”

“Yes, I am.” Rex pointed the sword at Weevil’s face. “But the thing I’m even more scared of? Seeing Weevil Underwood beat himself up and become a destructive monster where a man once was.”

“Ugh, you were always so talkative!” Weevil flew higher and dove at Rex like a peregrine falcon. Rex took to the air as well and parried this attack with the sword, but not without some recoil. “Just one of the many things I hate about you!”

“Hah!” Rex repelled Weevil with the sword, enough to put a slight dent in the chain whip. “Your psychological tricks aren’t going to work on me now, Weevil!”

“But maybe a variety of attacks can!” Weevil shot spider webs from his left hands that stuck to Rex’s butt-length hair and part of his shirt.

“Tch…” Rex didn’t like the sensation of sticky things in his hair, but grinned and bore it for now. “Am I supposed to be scared by the fact that you’re still part-spider?”

Weevil smirked as he barraged Rex with the chain whip. “Oh, I still see the fear in your eyes, Rex Raptor. A fear that you will lose the father of that child you’re carrying.”

Weevil’s words reminded Rex of his more painful contractions that got ever closer - yet being the bold man and duelist he was, he paid them little heed.

“I’ll give you credit for one thing,” Weevil spoke while he beat his wings faster, deadlocked in battle, trying to crush Rex with the chain whip. “You’re quite the warrior. And you’ve changed since your Orichalcos duel with Joey. It appears that you’re not going to let something like mere words rile you up.”

“But I can tell my words are riling you up…” Rex whispered closed to Weevil’s ear, catching him off-guard, before stabbing him in the shoulder with the sword.

“Ngh…” Finally in pain, Weevil could feel his strength dwindling.

“Weeves…” Rex stared at his boyfriend - and stabbed him in the left thigh - in sorrow. “You can’t honestly mean that you want this… any of this! Don’t you remember seeing your daughter for the first time on the ultrasound? A-And how I told you all those years ago that I want nobody but you? How fast our hearts were beating when we confessed our love?”

“You… dino brain! Ack!” Weevil could no longer repel Rex’s attack and fell a few feet downwards. “I thought I told you that you can’t sweet talk your way into killing an Earthbound God!”

“You called me ‘dino brain’ again…” Tears of joy pooled in Rex’s eyes. “I know you still love me… Once the Rex Raptor has his sights on you, you can’t get rid of him.”

“Actually, I can ,” spoke a voice that was clearly not Weevil’s.

“Is… Is that you, Watda?” Weevil’s real voice finally came out.

“It appears to me that you’re going to be useless now, Uru… So it looks like I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.”

“No… No!” Weevil thrashed about in the air, confusing Rex. “Leave Rex and Amber alone!”

“Weeves, what’s going on?” Rex couldn’t hear Watda’s voice.

“Goodbye, you damned useless rabbit…”

Weevil couldn’t control the ball of dark energy coming out from his right hands. “Wait… Watda, stop!”

“Ah!” He wasn’t fully confident that he could block this evidently stronger attack, but Rex enveloped himself in his dragon’s wings.

And Rex wouldn’t have to block the attack. For before Watda’s attack could hit him, Weevil managed to separate from Watda, taking the full brunt of the attack last minute.

“W-Weeves!” The strength in Rex’s eyes now gone, he watched in horror as his boyfriend froze in the air before beginning a rapid descent into Domino City’s concrete. “Oh my gods… No… You’re going to come back, just like you did last time… right?”

“Even an Earthbound God and the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon can’t survive a 1000-meter fall. You saw it yourself when Cusillu, Aslla Piscu, and Kaiba all died.”

“Shut… up…”

“Now what are you going to do, since your beloved Weevil Underwood lies dead?” Watda laughed as his shadows grew fiercer. “You’re nothing without him, you weak-ass monster. Nothing!”

“That’s… That’s not… Oh!” Before Rex could aim his sword at Watda, he suddenly felt amniotic fluid trickle down his legs. He shook so badly that he lost grip of the sword as it plummeted after Weevil.

“You’re in labour, hmm? Looks to me like you have two choices: one, continue to fight me and risk losing your baby; or two, going back to ground level to give birth. But with that second option, there might be a sliiiiight chance I’ll destroy the world. Either way, you lose! Hahahahaha!”

No, he won’t, spoke Amber’s voice.

“Ngh… Amber, you’re still there?”

I’ve been with you the whole time, Papa. You’ve got to finish this fast!

“But how do you expect me to do that? Especially since… your Daddy is…”

There is one way. Now that Daddy has been separated from Watda… Papa, I’ll give you all of my strength. Use it to finally banish this mongrel to hell, where he belongs! Amber de-fused from Rex. In fully shifted form, she engulfed Watda, leaving only the Earthbound God’s chest exposed. In the process, lights sprung from the ground as the bow regenerated in Rex’s hands.

“Ggh! Let go of me, you wench!” Watda struggled to no avail.

Before Rex could process what was going on, he coruscated like the northern lights, and he stretched out his new angel’s wings. His hair grew past his legs, and brown locks encircled his arms.

“Oh my…” With the Earthbound army now vanquished, Phuckdis could truly behold his people’s chief god.

“That’s my boy!” Ptera cheered. “Give that bastard what for!”

“Hehe!” Rex gave his mom a thumbs up. “One kick-ass arrow, coming right up!”

“What are you doing?” Watda could feel his time at an end.

“Watda!” Rex continued to growl as he pulled his bowstring back, and his body and weapon grew ever brighter. “Go back to the shadows! Hyaaaaaaaah!”

“It’s…” Watda could say little more as the glowing arrow impaled a giant hole in his chest. “It’s done… I’m… done… Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgh!”

“Finally, something we can agree on.” Rex’s descent back to Earth started slowly, but upon reaching six feet above ground, he reverted forms and fell into Spinos’ arms.

“God-Shattering Star!” Phuckdis and the remaining Club members ran up to Rex.

“Is… Is that what I’m called? Heh, sounds pretty cool…” Rex would have rested if he didn’t wonder about Amber. “Wait a second, where’s Amber? Where is my daughter?”

“Rex!” Mokuba pointed to an approaching Joey, who carried a heavily mutilated Amber in his arms.

“Amber!” Rex got up from his prone position to hold Amber, whom Joey had gently lowered to the ground. “No! I… I thought we got him! I thought we defeated Watda together!”

“W-We did… But at a cost… What did you think I meant when I said ‘I’ll give you all of my strength?’”

“Amber…?” Rex couldn’t even hold Amber’s right hand anymore, as it began to fade into nothingness. “What’s happening? Please… This isn’t happening!”

“My… My granddaughter…” Ptera cried as Spinos and Tricera consoled her. Not a single eye was dry as Rex’s friends and allies watched the scene unfold. Even Espa and a newly-healed Mako could see what was going on.

“But… But we only got to duel once!” Joey got down and cried with Rex. “And you haven’t even dueled Espa yet! I thought you were going to win back his Serpent Night Dragon!”

“Joey… My friend…” Amber reached out her left hand to Joey. “I… I just wished I had… acknowledged you as such… earlier…”

“Amber! No, please don’t die!” Pretty much every body part Rex tried to grab at faded away, except for Amber’s head, shoulders, and left hand.

“Die? No, I’m just about to be born…” Amber placed what was left of her left hand on Rex’s baby bump. “I can’t wait to see you again and forge our bonds anew.”

“Amber…?” Rex cried as Amber chuckled one last time before her future self was no more. “AMBER! NO! Oh… my gods… Sniff…”

“My love!” Heka, who had just fully healed, ran to Rex. He had only seen future Amber for a brief spell before she died. “Oh, no… My heart…”

“Heka, I’m so sorry…” Rex hugged his daughter’s boyfriend. “Not only for your mother’s death, but also for Amber’s…”

“Forget about me! You just lost your daughter!” Heka cried into Rex’s shoulder as Atem consoled him too.

“Amber… I… Aaaaargh!” Rex suddenly doubled over as the remainder of his amniotic fluid gushed out all at once.

“His water has already broken… Rex is going into labour!” Mokuba announced. “Someone call an ambulance!”

“It’s for real this time, guys!” Joey got up and dialed the campus emergency number. After that, he knelt down again, trying to calm Rex down in any way he could. “Rex, hang in there. We’re going to get you help!”

#yugioh #ygo #mpreg #shrimpshipping #fanfiction #this chapter made me cryyyyyy T_T

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miss-tc-nova · 4 years

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The Cat’s Meow - Jumin Han x Fem!Reader Pt 9

Note 1: I forgot to edit my Masterlist after posting Part 8, but I fixed it now!

Note 2: This is where things start to get angsty so I apologize that the fluff and silliness is about to go out the window. It’ll come back later though! I think...

Note 3: I didn’t give Mr. XXXXX a real last name because I didn’t feel like possibly demonizing someone or someone that someone knows...

Part 9: Holiday Conflicts

I stuff another chocolate orange slice in my mouth just as the phone begins to meow. Mako swipes at the thing, almost knocking it off the table.

“Hey!” I manage to catch the device before it hits the floor. “Brat. What’s up, Jumin?”

He chuckles. “Merry Christmas.”

I’m glad he’s not here to see the blush working across my face. “Merry Christmas!”

“Considering your hibernation declaration, I’m surprised you’re even awake,” he says lightly. “Though it sounds like you’ve already gotten into the chocolate.”

I swallow the sweet in my mouth. “It’s Christmas! Why wouldn’t I be in the chocolate already?”

“How have you not already eaten it all?”

I give a short laugh. “I’ve still got like five chocolate oranges and a box of candy canes.”

“Uh huh. And still avoiding going outside at all costs?”

My shoulders slump. “I tried. But someone called the emergency line and I had to go to the clinic yesterday after someone’s cat got into some raisins. Poor thing was throwing up everywhere. But I got her taken care of and they haven’t called me again so I assume she’s okay.”

“You always were weak to people and their pets.”

“A fact you seem to always take advantage of,” I huff. “Anyway, how’s your holiday been?”

“Actually, rather busy. Aside from my father and his girlfriend pestering me, I’ve been working on the RFA party.”

“Oh yeah. You guys are throwing a Christmas charity thing tonight.”

“That’s right. And I want you to come.”

I frown. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Jumin.”

“Oh? Why not?”

I try to come up with a quick response. “The paparazzi are already all over us and I’m sure the RFA will have a few camping out around them.”

“There will be security strictly to keep the paparazzi out. Besides, as long as you don’t react, you’ll be fine. Otherwise, the news that I’m gay would still be going around.”

I giggle. “You’re not?”

“Very funny, _____. For that, I’ll be paying for your entry fee.”

I exclaim indignantly. “Uh! Hey!”

“And bring me one of those chocolate oranges you’ve been hoarding while you’re at it.”

“Wait! Jumin!”

“See you tonight,” he practically sings before hanging up.

I stare down at the picture of the man on my phone. “That jerk!”

I waste away the day, groaning and grumbling about how mean Jumin is until about five when I decide to get ready. After washing up and playing with my hair, I sort out my outfit. In a red halter-top dress, I smooth out the asymmetrical hem. Deciding it’s far too cold to go without sleeves, I grab a black cardigan with three-quarter sleeves and choose a pair of black ankle boots to pull it all together.

I’d just made sure my cat is fed when my doorbell rings accompanied by a knock. Grabbing my purse and a coat, I head for the door where I find Jumin waiting on the other side.

“Dr. _____,” he says smoothly, that deep voice bringing blood to my ears.

“Mr. Han,” I return cheekily.

“Well aren’t you just the cat’s meow.”

“Excuse me, that’s my line,” I retort, playfully swatting at him.

He chuckles. “Are you ready to go?”

“I am.” Before closing the door, I call back to my cat, “You be good, floof!”

As per usual, Jumin mocks my warning to Mako and we’re on our way. When we arrive at the hall where the party is being held, Jumin leads me inside and we drop of our coats with an attendant. There are fancy Christmas decorations all over the place and people already about mingling with each other. Thankfully, the other RFA members are already here and I chat away with them while Jumin gets plucked up by some other guests. Unfortunately, they seem to get taken away from me one by one until I’m all alone.

I wander over towards the drink table, looking over the red liquid until I see some bottles. Once I notice the alcohol among the provided beverages, my insecurity spikes.

As if on cue, Jumin’s voice startles me. “Would you like a glass?” He watches me regain my composure. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. You just surprised me,” I say.

He smirks. “I apologize.” The bottle in his hand proves to be wine; wine that he’s already gotten into. “Now would you like some? Or not?”

“Not this time. I’ll stick to water. And maybe that red punch if I feel adventurous later.”

“Why do you need to be adventurous to drink punch?”

“I don’t think you understand just how many chocolate oranges I’ve had today.” I pinch my fingers close together. “I’m this close to a sugar meltdown.”

Without warning, Jumin grabs my wrist. He pulls my arm out and pushes the sleeve of my cardigan higher up my arm. Beneath the fabric is a large, purple spot stretching up to my elbow. Jumin’s eyes harden and I instantly get flashes of “Dark Jumin” that cause me to tear my arm away from him.

“What. Happened?” he demands lowly. I don’t think he realizes he’s leaning closer, looming over me. I still have an escape route, but I fear running away may make the situation worse for both of us.

“Jumin, calm down,” I say, trying to keep my nerves under control. “It was an accident.” He doesn’t relax in the slightest, still expecting a full explanation. “I slipped at the clinic yesterday. We all trailed snow in and I slipped on the wet floor.”

“This is far worse than merely slipping.” He gestures towards my arm and I curse myself for flinching.

“I bruise really easily. Sometimes even people grabbing me leaves bruises…” His eyes are scanning me and it clicks for me that he’s looking for lies. Pulling my sleeve down, I glance away for an excuse, seeing the exit across the room. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to use the bathroom.”

I heave a sigh of thankfulness under my breath as I make my way towards the ladies’ room. Inside, I take some time to calm my nerves and nitpick at my appearance. Jaehee ends up walking in on me running ice water over my wrist.

“Oh, Dr. _____.” She dips her head.

“Jaehee, what did I say about addressing me so formally,” I remind, grabbing paper towels.

She sighs, suddenly looking exhausted. “Sorry. Sometimes I get too into the formality of these things.”

“I can see why,” I giggle.

“Are you alright? What happened to your arm?”

I look down at the red mark appearing around my wrist. “Uh, heh. Jumin grabbed me a bit harder than he meant to and I bruise really easily.” Shit.

She appears immediately concerned. “What?! Why would Mr. Han grab you so forcefully?”

“He saw this and I think it worried him,” I explain, showing my elbow. “But this was just an accident. I slipped at the clinic yesterday.”

Jaehee turns my wrist over in her hands. “Do you need medical attention?”

“No. It’ll fade soon enough. It always looks worse than it is.” Pulling my hand back, I wave to the door. “Shall we rejoin the party?”

“Of course. Just give me a moment.”

Jaehee and I leave the bathroom together, ambling towards the drinks. I’m very acutely aware of his eyes watching me chat easily with his assistant. For now, he doesn’t make any move to approach and interrupt my conversation. However, that doesn’t stop another gentleman.

“Ladies, how are you this evening?” The faint trace of red across his face signals that he’s been into the alcohol.

“We’ve been just fine, Mr. XXXXX,” Jaehee replies. “How have you been?”

“This night is wonderful,” he says dreamily.

Mr. XXXXX is currently far more outgoing than the two of us would prefer. Jaehee and I humor his ridiculous babble, but I can see him eyeing Jaehee, who’s noticeably curvier than I am. Jaehee, however, is fortunate enough to be part of the group hosting the party and is called away, granting me an apologetic look as she goes. That leaves me to deal with Mr. XXXXX on my own.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been talking far too much about myself,” he exudes, reaching across us to rest a hand against my arm. “What is it that you do for a living?”

I pull my arm from his grasp. “I’m a veterinarian.”

“Oh really? Then could you do a check up on me?” He moves in, slinging an arm around my shoulders.

I cringe internally and brush his hand of my shoulder. “No sir. My specialty is animals. And please don’t touch me. I’m really not comfortable with it.”

He doesn’t acknowledge my request. “Well people and animals are the same when you really get down to it.” The arm never reaches his side and lands at my lower back, his hand gripping at my waist.

A hand snatches the man’s wrist, forcing him a step away from me. Jumin stands there with the deepest hatred in his eyes despite his entirely calm expression. My blood runs cold when I feel another hand against my lower back. He’s almost got me pressed right up against him.

“Please refrain from touching,” he says, feigning pleasantries. “She bruises easily.”

“Uh, yes sir. I apologize, Dr. _____. I hope I did not harm you in any way.” Even though I had wanted this man to leave for a while now, this is not how I wanted this to end. He bows his head and practically runs away from us.

“Are you alright? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Jumin asks, none of the ice having left his voice.

“I’m fine,” I mutter, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “And that was incredibly rude.”

“He was bothering you. Everyone could tell.”

“That’s no excuse. And I can handle myself.”

“Really?” I tense up at the word. “Because it looked like you were struggling to me.”

I almost cave. Beneath that paralyzing stare, I almost give in and apologize to him; instead, I recognize that I just don’t want to be here right now.

“I need to go,” I say, stepping out of his reach. Personally, I’m surprised he let it happens but less so that he follows me.

“_____, the party’s only half over,” he says.

“That’s fine. I’ll pay you back for the entry fee.”

“That’s not my point.” I can tell he’s starting to get agitated, which further frightens me. “Why are you leaving?”

He deserves an honest answer. “Because I don’t really feel comfortable here right now,” I say loud enough for only him. I ask for my coat and purse from the gentleman manning all the stowed personal belongings.

“I already sent that man on his way. He won’t bother you again. In fact, if you want, I can have him removed.”

After pulling on my coat, I look through my purse to ensure everything is intact. “It’s not him that’s making me uncomfortable anymore,” I say, heading for the exit.

“Then wh-”

I interrupt him. “Jumin, please. I just want to go home.”

The man follows me in silence for just a moment. “I’ll call Driver Kim and we’ll head back to my place.” Stunned, I pause to look back at him. “What?”

“I want to go home; my home, not yours.”

He heaves a sigh. “Fine. We’ll-”

“No, Jumin! Alone! I’m going home alone!” I exclaim. His annoyance turns to surprise and I take the chance to start across the parking lot for the sidewalk.

My heart stops when quick footsteps are followed by being forcefully pulled around by my arm. He’s even more upset than before. “What is wrong with you? Why are you so upset?”

“L-Let go,” I stammer, unable to put anymore command behind the words.

“No. Not until you explain to me why you’re being so rude when all I’ve done is show concern for you,” he growls, grip tightening on my arm.

My unease is rushing quickly towards panic. Frantically, I try to tear my arm from his grasp; it’s in vain. “Let go!”

“_____, you’re-”

“LET GO!”

I assume that the combination of tears with my terrified demand is the reason Jumin suddenly released me. Whether it is or not, the second I’m free, I bolt. In heals, I can only make it a block from the hall the party is held at before I have to stop and assess my situation. Jumin did not follow me, so there’s that. I’m a complete mess by now, but I hail a taxi and go home.

My phone rings a few times that night, but I ignore each one, even the ones from Jaehee. Trying to erase the traces of the day, I take another shower, letting the hot water comfort me while I let out the sadness and remnant fear. Random television and my cat keep me company while I pass out on the sofa.

~~~~~

I gasp, clutching at the throw pillow. Knocking immediately follows the doorbell that startled me. Cautiously, I peak through my window to see Driver Kim. At first, I’m reluctant, but when I realize he’s not going away but also that there’s no Jumin, I open the door.

“Hello?” The single word results in a cough when my voice breaks.

“Good morning, Dr. _____. Mr. Han asked me to deliver this to you.” The man offers a wrapped box with an enveloped placed on top.

Hesitating, I take it from him. “Um, thank you.”

“Of course. Now if you’ll excuse me, ma’am. Have a good day,” he bids, on his way back to his car.

“Thank you. You too.” And I close the door.

For a while, I stare at the box that I know is from him. I don’t know if I want to open it, leave it, or send it back. In my contemplation, I catch sight of my wrists; both have the marks of handprints that remind me just how scared I was. The tears drag themselves back up.

The morning passes while I convince myself that what happened was just a big misunderstanding. Jumin doesn’t normally act that way, granted Jumin and I don’t usually attend public outings that include mingling with strangers. And once again, alcohol was involved, but then I question if he has an alcohol problem. I’m torn between the friend that I’ve grown close to, that I even love, and “Dark Jumin,” the rare occurrence that actually terrifies me.

Eventually, I relent and open the envelope. The message is very simple, written on a plain white card.

~~~

I’m sorry.

Merry Christmas.

Jumin

~~~

I turn the card over and reread the five words multiple times, but none of it makes me feel better. At least he apologized; he acknowledges that he’s done something wrong. Perhaps our friendship can survive this.

The phone beside me meows. Flipping it over, I see his dumb face smiling with his silly cat ears. My thumb hovers over the reject button, but my stupid heart hesitates. I still want to be his friend; I still want to talk about stupid cat things with him and make stupid plans to avoid his father and be his stupid friend. Even if I can never have him, even if sometimes he frightens me, I want to be friends with Jumin Han.

Before I know it, I’ve pressed the accept button. I press the phone to my ear and pause before softly answering, “Hello?”

“Hello.” It’s faint, but it’s there; the hint of relief in his voice. Still, he speaks as if treading on broken glass. “Are you alright?”

Am I? “Yeah…I’m okay,” I mumble.

“Did…Did I hurt you?”

“No.” Not where you can see.

Jumin doesn’t immediately speak more, but I can tell there’s more and wait. “I’m sorry for what happened. I understand that I can be possessive of the things I care about and I’m sorry if I frightened you.”

If? “Jumin?”

“Yes?”

You terrified me. “Thank you…for calling to tell me that.” I want to move past this, but I don’t know how. At least Jumin seems to know.

“Did Driver Kim deliver the gift?”

“Oh, yeah. But I haven’t opened it yet. I’ve been busy cleaning up my hibernation mess,” I say with a shoddy laugh.

“I see…”

I try to return to the childish demeanor is usually have with Jumin. “So what did you get me?”

His chuckle helps break the tension. “Why don’t you open it and see?”

Pulling the box into my lap, I pull at the ribbon and remove the lid. I tug at the mint color fabric, revealing a hoodie with a pouch on the front and cat ears sewn into the hood. A grin breaks across my face.

“No way! I mentioned this to you like once! How did you even remember?!”

Some of his usual contentment has returned to his voice. “I like to write things down. I hope it fits.”

“Hold on!” I pull the jacket on hastily, finding it perfectly loose. “It’s perfect! I love it! Thank you, Jumin!”

“I’m glad you like it. Though I won’t be surprised if your cat doesn’t.”

“You underestimate his love of cuddles.”

“Perhaps. Hmm?” I hear a distraction in the background. “Oh. It looks like Assistant Kang is trying to get a hold of me. I need to go.”

“You better be giving her holiday pay.”

“Of course.” We both laugh awkwardly for a second. “Merry Christmas, _____.”

“Merry Christmas, Jumin.”

The call ends there and I stare at his picture until the screen powers off. This relationship with Jumin Han is an utter mess and I don’t know how much longer I can contain it.

#jumin han #jumin x reader #jumin han x mc #jumin han x reader #jumin x mc #mysme jumin #mysme angst #mysme #mystic messenger #fem!reader

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unwiltingblossom · 5 years

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Say what you may about the Last Airbender movie - I liked it, though - but I think from my watching of that vs the analysis I’ve seen on both sides of the show, the movie did (and would have continued to do) Kataang better than the show.

For those who don’t know me quick frame of reference: watched the movie without watching the show. I like the movie. I don’t have any interest in watching the show, but I’m very familiar with the show anyway. I thought Kataang was cute in the movie, but would also have been okay with Zutara. Sokka/Yue for lyf. i don’t strictly ‘ship’ anything in the show, cuz I don’t watch it. But I do have opinions well supported by evidence.

Now. On to why, of everything, the movie did Kataang better.

I’ll illustrate the first reason why in one image:

don’t @ me that they’re all the wrong color, I don’t care that isn’t the point

In short, Kataang actually is in the DNA of this movie.

So obviously Katara is disastrously miscast due to executive meddling, which causes everyone to be miscast just to avoid her sticking out. but that actually works, because this Katara has a baby face, while every other member of the cast looks older than they should be (don’t you dare tell me you’d discern Sokka is the younger brother from looking at it without knowing ahead of time). Except Iroh, he’s been aged down, but that’s alright because ‘old man Iroh’ would be up against Mako, and almost no one can compete with that.

Now. Instead of Katara looking 15-16 and Aang looking between 9-11 (some prepubescent child stage), they both look about 12-13. Zuko, on the other hand, looks easily 16-17, like Sokka (who is aged up to be able to kiss Yue without it looking creepy). Maybe at best you can pull him down to 15, but he’s clearly mid-to-late puberty, compared to Katara who’s pre-pubescent, maybe early puberty (and girls enter puberty earlier than guys). This might have aged through to be a non-issue by the end of the trilogy, but we only have the one now.

This changes the dynamic that affects the pseudo-triangle - in the show, Katara and Zuko are clearly age appropriate for each other, while Aang trails behind Katara so far that she has to be de-aged in their romantic scenes so it doesn’t look weird. In the movie, Katara and Aang can stand side-by-side and look fine, while Zuko macking on Katara would look...worrying.

This shows in their behavior as well, as Aang is less ridiculously childish, and Katara never really babies or mothers him. Or anyone, that I can remember. She does talk him down from his Avatar state, but the many ways she very blatantly treats him like her child are missing. I have nothing profound to say about Zuko’s behavior. He’s there. He likes honor. He wants the avatar. Moving on.

There’s more than just the age and maturity change. Because the movie covers the whole first season, it has to cover the same story span of...checks notes...20 episodes, that were all 20 minutes long in the span of 1 hour 43 minutes. Basically. 7-8 hours of content in less than 2 hours, and no I’m not doing the math, because it’s unimportant. The point is that the movie had to cut out all of the fluff and any actual plot it deemed less than absolutely necessary.

This doesn’t really do a narrative any favors (pruning shouldn’t saw your tree in half) but what it does do is allow for Kataang to be stronger in the movie than the show. For one, Katara and Zuko barely interact even compared to how they interact in the show s1. I think maybe they fight once at the north pole. He mostly does his own thing, tries to kidnap the avatar, dances with some fire, has no time for flirting about pirates with girls who look half his age. For another, it cuts out all the fluff that drags Kataang down.

Katara doesn’t spend her time friendzoning and mothering Aang, she does not have alternate love interests she spends her time on who are nothing like Aang, and there’s no fortune teller to strangle her with red string. Essentially, while she and the others lose out on a bunch of development, the stuff that causes a problem with the relationship also gets tossed out with the baby.

What’s left may not be the most exciting romance in the world, and is still between (now two) kids who aren’t old enough to be having a romance, but it gets told from Katara’s perspective, instead of being forcibly stuck in Aang’s crush-view. (that’s important, because Aang’s feelings don’t really go anywhere, so there’s no necessary journey to follow with them, while Katara’s feelings do have to go from ‘weird ice baby’ to ‘baby daddy maybe’)

Speculatively, due to the law of conservation of detail, it almost certainly means that Aang would have ended up involved in key character moments of Katara’s that he isn’t in the show, therefore building up their relationship with more substance than is in the show, minus the things that make it awkward. Because there’s no time to spend on pretending to be his mom or being exasperated by his fanbase, the time they do spend together would have to be plot-relevant things, like the loss of her parents, and her wanting to settle things with her mother’s killer. Other character arcs might end up suffering for it (I can’t see Mai not being mostly erased, because she contributes so little to the overarching story that someone else couldn’t be made to do), but I think the trilogy would have ended with the non-show watchers going “Aw, how cute” rather than “wait what happened?”

Unless the compulsory planned twist no one saw coming was Katara running off into the sunset with Zuko as the camera fades to black over older!Aang’s confused expression. (it would be a better and less predictable twist than Glass, at least)

#atla #the last airbender #kataang #zutara #katara #meta #ooc #it's neither pro nor anti either pairing #just comparing how the movie vs show handled them

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sleepymarmot · 6 years

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COUNTER/Weight liveblog, part 2

Episodes 23-40

Keith hasn't listened to the previous episode and Austin & Ali are cackling like “You got a big storm coming” lmao

…Look I understand the idea of making Tea an ally after the players and audience got to know her in the Kingdom game but the excuse is really thin

“A gift for his little brother” You guys are really bad at this gender neutrality thing huh

AuDy talking to Orth makes my head spin a bit now

Oh so Addax is the leader of the Angels? The person who has been watching the Chime from the shadows = the group that has been spying on them? Okay, I now feel dumb for not putting this together myself.

Wait I lost track again. Who were Jacq & Jill working for initially that gave them access to those immortality tanks? Iirc it was Odamas who had that technology and then gave Horizon access to it while imposing strict rules on them during the merge? So why does Jacqui get less fun assignments now if she was a part of the winning faction, not the losing one?

Oh cool, so Jamil wanted to hand over the virus to the Angels because they're both just from the Rapid Evening?

“A bard notices their enemy's heart isn't in the fight, so they stop fighting, fall in love” is such a specific thing. How the hell did it happen twice on the same show. Is this the new big gay trope now

Heeeey could you stop punching me in the stomach with intros

So, Jacqui was working for Horizon, which in turn was given this job by Petrichor? Still doesn't answer my question…

Do I have to mentally rewrite the entire holiday special so that in every scene on the Kingdom Come everyone is floating in zero gravity all the time?! I'm sorry but this makes no fucking sense!

The doppelganger thing started really creepy but now it just makes my head spin! Please stop it with the names, I'm too easily confused, especially with a show that has a record of passing characters back and forth between the GM and the players!

Re: that whole thing: aaaaAAAAA???

I don't understand what Austin and Jack are doing but it's pretty magical

God, the Aria/Jacqui scene is so… tender? Idk. Austin's gentle “PC's love interest” voice has murdered me again. I'm not sold on Jacqui by herself as a character but on the feelings between the two? Definitely. (Though I still wonder about Aria’s heroism vs Jacqui’s disregard for life. That’s a biiig value clash)

Okay, this was all very unsettling and I still understand so little

I really love that Sokrates' refusal to make that one nameless person take the fall, which seemed (at least to me) kinda stubborn and shortsighted, turned into a key moment, both because it demonstrates integrity, and now because that person becomes an actual NPC as an important asset in their faction

I love how the idea of moving Rigour to September comes up and everyone starts screaming and I do too! They sure love leaving horrifying surprises for the ground team to stumble upon lol

Is it too callous and unwise of me to react to Ibex overthrowing the Hands of Grace as “good riddance”?

Maryland's letter has strong Alyosha/Arrell vibes

I love the “reluctant alliance with an antagonist” trope and was hoping it'd happen with Ibex so I'm happy! Also in one of the early episodes Austin mentioned the Anders-Justice storyline and I'm glad to hear him finally deliver. (There was stuff about the pilot/Candidate->Divine influence with Order, but not about the other way around or fusion, like with Vengeance)

Okay thankfully things are clearer now (I'm reeeally glad I wasn't spoiled on this) but I still have so many questions. How were LD made in the first place? Why and how did they hide in/turn themselves into a simple robot? What are they – just software, like Righteousness, or is there some Divine hardware core inside the normal Automated Dynamics unit that nobody has noticed somehow, or is the hardware in a remote location they access through the mesh? Did Ibex know AuDy was LD the whole time – he didn't act very surprised? Why didn't Ibex rescue his brother, did he die really quickly? How will Mako be able to fog without Righteousness? Shouldn't AuDy be gamebreakingly powerful now? How and why do LD count as two Divines but have a single consciousness, are they like Garnet?

Lazer Ted feels like a fucking TAZ character lmao

The comic relief was welcome but at the same time I'm continuously like “What is AuDy thinking and feeling. Why are they acting like nothing happened. Where's the existential crisis. How do you realize you're a pair of ancient gods and just proceed with your life? Are they so impenetrable on purpose because they're a robot”. Like, it was chilling when they were suddenly chatting with Ibex like old friends, and now it's chilling that they're acting just in the early episodes.

I'm glad the robot incident made everyone realize it might be unwise to put the two charming extraverts in the same half of the party lol

Looks like they decided to permanently switch back to “he” for Cass… Probably for the best.

Jack keeps excitedly jumping at every opportunity for creepiness™. God, AuDy makes so much more sense as his character now after the Reveal

Is September just fucking Solaris now?

I think this is the first time I'm not excited to hear a faction game episode because I really didn't expect it at this point in the story. My reaction was “Wait what? Are you telling me everyone gets stuck on September waiting out that storm for a whole month?! I wanted to hear what that cliffhanger led to!” Idk, the September arc was generally kind of a let down after the intensity of the episodes leading up to it, and this further deflates the tension.

Speaking of tension and letdowns, I just have to complain… It's really disappointing when the show sets up really big dramatic hooks and then does practically nothing with them! I complained about Addax and Cass in the previous post and that point still stands. Case two: Mako and Righteousness/Voice. It's set up in a faction episode, and in the immediately following arc Mako indeed is in danger from something inside his own head, but it's a completely unrelated thing! At the end of the arc he finally finds out, but the threat immediately gets nullified with no consequences – no self-doubt or identity crisis, no diminished abilities in terms of game mechanics. Case three: Ibex himself. Out of the reasons the Kingdom game is what it is, the excuse for it happening in-universe was to give more details on Ibex, and at least half of it featured a collective effort to make him as central to the story and as threatening as possible. But as soon as that flashback ends, so, counterintuitively, does the role of Ibex as an active antagonist to the Chime -- the role which was literally just supposed to begin in earnest. So by this point I can barely recall why we were all so intimidated by this guy in the first place. I'm more like “This is a useful ally to have”. This is what I don't like about the world-ending threats like Rigor: all other interesting conflicts fade in their face.

Dang, I thought Isurus was a cooler name than Enhydra!

Sokrates, forced to shake Ibex's hand: *clenched fist meme*

Wait, I missed something, why is Rigor deep underground and has to dig itself out?

Okay, after the lore episode I'm also confused how Rigor ended up underground on Ionias after it was blown up 20000 years ago in a completely different place

I'm very distressed by the idea of Hieron as a future popular franchise!! No, it's supposed to be real when these people are talking about it!! Oh wait a fucking second, does this mean Jace's Panther was a deliberate reference in-universe?? Like you're fighting in a real serious terrible war and you model a giant war machine after, like, a thestral from the fucking Harry Potter and just call it “Thestral”??!

No, no, wait, do tell me who Cass and AuDy would cosplay!

Oh no, Rigour wants to talk to Voice(?), great

Hey Cass, your Hadrian is showing??

Speaking of Hadrian, I was caught off guard by description of Tower as a “hot young Hadrian”, for some reason Hadrian never struck me as a character who's supposed to be exceptionally attractive. But then again, I imagined him as very young until that letter to Hella, and then I imagined Cass as a young adult until I did the math, so I might just be bad at visualising Art's characters lol.

Austin is so generous and unsubtle about throwing hot gay NPCs right at the players. Too bad Mako doesn't sound as interested as Aria did.

I expected they'd find a room with one copy of everyone plugged into the mesh, that'd be even creepier. What's with the false memories though? This doesn't explain them.

So, how does this whole clone system work? How does time work? Why don't the real students like Tower or Maxine notice that there's a new guy who looks just like their friend, but doesn't know them – or, for that matter, why don't the other clones notice? Oh, maybe that's the purpose of the fake memory aura? So that Maritime-4 could continue right from where Maritime-3 left off?

When Cass saw Apokine's face I thought it meant that the humans had genetically engineered the Apostolosians and that's what “we made them look like us” meant, which would be two of my long-standing questions answering each other. And then it was just another giant mech.. :/

Wait, does Orth calling Cass “Apokine” mean that he pilots the mech now or that Sokrates died and Cass inherited his position?! I'm worried now…

I'm even more worried about Mako, because at first I of course reacted to the question about being in two places at once as “hah, Larry”, but it's probably the other thing, and on one hand that must mean that the rescue of clones was successful, but also that means that our Mako might be dead and the one in the intro is one of the clones… Considering that in the Winter post-mortem I caught Keith saying how emotional the C/w finale was for him before I started fast-forwarding in fear of spoilers, do I need to start mentally preparing to bury Mako already or what?

Speaking of spoilers… The farther I go, the less I understand the advice to skip Autumn. I thought that at least for C/w it wouldn't matter, given it's a whole different universe, but they keep referencing it, and then casually dropping major spoilers, and then referencing it again in a story-relevant way. (The Ordennan ships arrive on the screen as Rigor does, and the next episode is named “The Storm over September” and quotes Lem's poem in the description. That's really cool but I somehow feel vaguely irritated on behalf of my potential alternate self who skipped season 1.) I really hope they've grown more careful about this by now, because I'll probably not even begin Twilight Mirage by the time the next season starts, and I would really like to stay in the dark about the intense events they're all vague-tweeting about at the moment!

Why was AuDy alarmed by Voice's presence as “a” Divine accompanying Maxine? Shouldn't they be familiar with it already because of Mako? (And I don't want to even ask about the ontological difference/border between Righteousness and Voice. I'm tired and feel like a nitpicker. But just for the record, this still isn't clear.)

Well that's a sadder family reunion than I hoped for!

So AuDy does have a split personality to some degree?

Oh well. AuDy's got a fate worse than death: Liberty and Discovery, imprisoned indefinitely. Or devoured I guess, I didn't really get it. Great. Thanks. Fucking RIP I guess. Out of all ways I expected them to go, this wasn't one.

(By the way I still don't understand how the portal works. Where is this portal to? Why can't L&D fly out and take the slow way home, and why can't Rigor?)

There's still about ten minutes left in the episode and I don't understand how it isn't the finale. What's there to do for three more episodes now.

“With Rigor defeated so easily, so permanently, she thought” *Rigor screech*

Yeah, fuck Grace btw

Sounds like cultivating saplings is not a priority anymore for a certain someone… (Wait, btw, what happened to that patch/seed they left? Will it ever come back into play?)

“...Why they would put themselves into a body like yours? And I think, maybe, it's that they were curious about what it would be like for four years to feel like a long time” AAAAAA

Okay, things are better on September than it sounded initially, but still… Wtf's going to happen? Rigor repairs itself, takes over the survivors, takes off again? But what's the timeline on that? I genuinely have no idea wtf the finale is going to be about after this.

Oh, what happened to the clones btw? Did Larry manage to get them off the planet in time, despite the Minerva ships in orbit and, more importantly, Rigor? Or are they stuck on September, unable to continue reenacting the plot of Orphan Black?

From how it's been described in this episode, feels as if Liberty and Discovery are a candidate of AuDy… They didn't want a candidate but were curious to learn how it feels for the other side?

Paisley's dead-eyed, Tower's gone, and even Ibex, who is barely holding on himself, loses his ex… Everyone's love life takes a nosedive: the episode. At least Jacqui's okay… (And because of Jacqui, it was doubly sad and surprising to hear Aria still has feelings for Paisley…)

#friends at the table #blah blah blah

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