#omgtwp

[fire-lady-ilah]

“why i crank out hozier lyrics when zhao is the most horny s m h”

-@ohmygodtheywereparabatai

#crack #mutuals #zhao #ohmygodtheywereparabatai #omgtwp #mutual #Ray quote #bc she’s so sleep deprived she’ll probably vibe to it #this is from like... months ago #it’s been sitting in my drafts #waiting #waiting for the right moment #GO TO SLEEP #nerd (affectionate) #shitpost #not atla #well kinda #eh

[moonsugar-and-spice]

HEY YOU MAY BE in that first picture with the cake but WE’RE ALL in the last picture when we say ‘we understand, and we love you’ so take your time with Storms or else

and what wonders await, if I read those tags correctly? OC art on the lottery-won sister’s tablet? drabbles for other ships, in your writing style? another wip in the meantime? 😍😍 whatever you want to do, and if so, I’m ready to see you and Crooked singlehandedly make rarepairs mainstream, or OCs so lively that they trip into ATLA canon and are embraced by the fandom. bon voyage, friend, and take it easy breezy!

Me, basking in your contagious sunshine energy. ☀️💛 Your existence is simply a gift and Tumblr does not deserve you, but we sure are lucky to know you. THANK YOU for the love and kind words, I'm going to carry them with me for weeks to come like my own little cheerleading shoulder angel.

Everyone, get yourself a mutual like Ray.

#literal ray of sunshine #omgtwp #thank you for this! #likewise i eagerly await more of your amazing art and more Soleen the pirate queen in my life <3 #Lu Da 🤜🤛 Soleen #pirate solidarity

[ohmygodtheywereparabatai]

Salt Takes: The Double Standard of Child/Adult Soldiers

—

The last thing I want to do is get tangled in ATLA fandom drama, but I choose violence, so short and sweet it is.

This scene.

People race to defend Azula here, claiming she was a child who didn’t understand the full atrocity of what she was witnessing. That she was molded from the beginning to believe her cold sneer and clutched fist were her faith in justice served showing. Then all fingers point to Zhao as the grown adult who displays full-blown sadism.

Cool. So, er, half-assed interpretation and apologism at its finest.

Look, ya big brained. You want to pick apart early psychological development in the Fire Nation princess? Great. You’re onto something. But this scene, at face value, is blatant characterization. Azula has no remorse. She thinks what she’s seeing is deserved. These statements can and should co-exist before further analysis, because the first statement is visibly, directly implied for seven year olds to pick up on and file away.

Kids’ show. Aired on Nickelodeon. 6-11-year-old demographic. Gucci? Gucci.

Zhao, on the other hand, is the bass-boosted version of S1 Zuko. He’s not a child soldier, damnit, but he is a soldier.

When Zuko knocks him down in their Agni Kai, the instinct to, uh, avoid getting your face burned off is overridden because he acknowledges the hand dealt to the loser, stares right back at him, and says - “Do it.”

A bit gorey to imagine what would have happened if Zuko obliged.

When they face off in the North, Zhao makes his position clear: “You're the Blue Spirit, an enemy of the Fire Nation! You freed the Avatar.”

“You should have chosen to accept your failure, your disgrace. Then, at least, you could have lived!”

So aside from the fact that he is, by definition, doing his duty by dispatching a disgraced prince responsible for treacherous action... it’s also his character. Azula is as driven to perfection and loyalty for her nation as she is conniving and vicious. Zhao is as driven to immortalizing himself in history and bulldozing the enemies in the Fire Nation’s path as he is a smug, walking dick. They’re both every inch the product of an imperialist agenda as they are the villains of their respective seasons. They’re bad, they’re rotten, but they’re soldiers.

To drag the comics into this for a moment, the vilification of the other nations began as early as pre-genocide. Soldiers were brainwashed into associating the Avatar and his people with their own doom. It’s no mind-blowing inference that the same notions were hammered into cadet Zhao, or that little Azula was spoon-fed the same story.

Shifting the lens when they’re in the same shot - assigning sadist status to one and victim status to the other, ain’t gonna fly. Try again.

Ahh, and someone was slick enough to point this out, but Iroh’s flinch in this scene, next to Azula’s fist of satisfaction?

Oop!

Perspective is so funny, isn’t it?

Next thing - the godforsaken ‘Zhao is a creep’ angle.

I don’t even want to dig my fingers into this one. This take is so obviously for purposes of Zuko whump that I’m going to spare myself the loss of braincells. While I have nothing against exploring this in fic, don’t even try to tell me it’s rooted in canon. It’s 100% true that interpretations of source material are infinite, but that doesn’t mean all of them are right.

What happened to the creep angle during this scene? Oh, yeah, it sparked hot, steamy Zucest.

I found about two to three sources while hunting down these images alone that (aptly) explained Azula’s sexualization as a “temptress” femme fatale-esque character, and even touched on Grey DeLisle’s sultry voice acting that did nothing for the portrayal of a fourteen year old girl. I’ve got nothing against any ship as long as the shippers are respectful... but hmm, do I spy another Zhao-Azula double standard?

(You okay back there, Iroh?)

Oooohh nooo, it’s the predator eyeing his next prey!! It just can’t be Jason Isaacs’ “wonderful, cunning evil vibe” poured into another role... Do I have to pull up several Lucius Malfoy/Harry Potter oneshots based on the scene where he hooked his cane on his shoulder to show you how asinine this take is?

Azula and Zhao both target Zuko’s insecurities to get a rise out of him. Azula and Zhao are both complicit in the conquering of the Earth Kingdom. Azula and Zhao both believe (respectively) that they were given divine right, that they wield the superior element. Azula and Zhao both grin like maniacs while Zuko is getting his face torched - it’s who they are. They align so closely that exploring the weight of a poisoned upbringing, deadly ideals, and raw firebending power drawn from a different root than the first masters is impossible without owing consideration to both characters. Both their arcs end in fucking insanity. Nationalism does that to people. Talk to me about that next time.

Jesus. I need a cold shower. Thanks for reading.

#long post #the uncrispiest of double standards #an S for you an M for you and an H for you #tw cussing #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla meta #zhao #azula #admiral zhao #zuko #ok i’m going to be soft again 🥺 (but ready) #omgtwp’s salt takes

[thebluesunflower44]

~

#all of your playlist asks are so??? insanely?? cool??? how do you guys come up with this stuff omg #i'll def do all of them (dw omgtwp yours too <3) but not until late today evening because rl is really out to get me :/// #blue speaks

[zhaozaipalooza]

A Not-So-Weekly Insight

Hi all, crooked here. Just going to take a moment in between posts about our villains / their love interests / the cultural influences that we can view them through, and talk a bit about the other side of things. The side that all of us occupy, on the back-end of the screen.

Having a thing for the bad guys -- whether simply wanting to know their backstory or secretly wishing it was you (and not the hero) who gets kidnapped and tied up -- is an experience as old as fandom itself. It’s not universal, as we all know, but someone somewhere is always more interested in the antagonist than they are the character(s) they’re actually supposed to root for. And when you find someone who shares those feelings, who is just as enthusiastic about asking why a villain turned out the way they did, who writes or reads the same kind of fics you do... just, wow. What a wonderful feeling that is. 

When it comes to rarepairs, especially ones involving lesser-loved characters within the fandom, sometimes you really need that sense of community and support, because there are always going to be folks who take their disagreement or disapproval further than necessary. 

When fellow mod and literal ray of sunshine @ohmygodtheywereparabatai pitched the concept of mini-themed weeks leading up to the event, I was thrilled by the notion and also filled with dread at the fact that Zhayu had been included. Oh, I thought, we better not. We’ll turn off a lot of participants, and I don’t want that. People might think it’s me abusing my position of mod for the purpose of self-promotion. Worst of all, though, I didn’t want an increase in exposure to lead to another wave of anonymous hate for the chief producers of this content, given that they’d be so prominently featured.  

Ray assuaged my fears when I expressed them, and so here we are, with Zhayu week coming to a close and no apparent calamity as a result. Maybe some of you are intrigued by the ship, maybe some of you are just counting down the days until we move on, but for me, this week has been a reminder not only of my love for this ship and its various possibilities, but for the incredible support that can be found within fandom communities. Ray has championed what I would otherwise have been too cowardly to, and the experience of that -- of the enthusiasm, the passionate bolstering, the  eager camaraderie -- is something I hope you all get to feel at some point, ideally as part of this event. 

There’s irony of course, that a pair of the most divisive and contentious characters in a fandom might bring folks together, but that’s part of what makes Zhaozai great. 

#zhaozai palooza 2021 #i have been in one of two states this entire week #unbridled joy at getting to revisit my favourite ship #and the horror of being perceived #ray i will never deserve you and all the work that you do for this event #you are the patron saint of rarepairs #if everyone had even just one person like you in their lives i think the world would be a better place #consider this an OMGTWP appreciation post #rarepairs

[moonsugar-and-spice]

bones and dinosaur oatmeal!! (and the beanie baby in question is a fat little rainbow toucan.. i named him lucian and now he will protect you)

how does it feel tirelessly mothering a rascal pirate and the greatest labor of love i’ve ever seen a writer i know take on? i look up to yOU MA’AM!! (literally.. 5’8 oh gosh 😨)

Ray, my sweet friend. How does it feel to be known as Tumblr's literal ray of sunshine?

#thank you #i will love and cherish lucian the fat little toucan ward #asks #omgtwp #i'm in that meme: 'so you've decided to steal my heart' #simply a certified fresh™️ human being #we need more rays in the world #hey google: what's the best way to clone a person? #on mothering that rascal pirate all i can say is i understand why some parents put their kids on a leash in public #merci beaucoup for all your love and support

[fire-lady-ilah]

ma’am you can answer all three or just one but i’m too in love with your writing to narrow it down

🖊🧠💻

🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?

💻 Do you do research for your fics? What’s the deepest dive you’ve done?

You flatter me almost as much as Long Feng flatters himself.

🖊— “Insolent child,” She murmured, her gaze flickering to him for a moment. He forced himself to nod calmly at her when their gazes met then continue to look forward. Guards were meant to hear nothing, to see what could be a threat and nothing else. Her eyes (pale, pale gold—somewhat like the royals but without the warmth) lingered on him for a few moments longer before they slipped away, seemingly content with his presence. “He thinks he can demand to learn from me.”

He watched as she ran her fingers over the petals of a rose before, seemingly careless of the thorns that ran up the stem, snapping it from the bush. He opened his mouth to speak—after all, this was the palace. Not just anyone could take a rose from the bushes as they so pleased—but something forced his mouth closed.

Something about the woman made his mouth taste of ozone and his blood still in his veins.

🧠—Hmm, probably everything about Lian. She’s my OC that I know the least about. I intend to get to her eventually, but so far all I have are the bare bones of her appearance and her “role”, so to speak. I don’t have much on her personality or how she goes about fulfilling her role— until I have that I can’t really consider her story a WIP.

💻—I do... some? research. There are definitely people that do far more research than me, that’s for sure, but also people that do less. Most of my research involves asking people to do sensitivity readings on certain passages to make sure I’m not unknowingly perpetuating stereotypes. That or researching names. I like to have the names I give characters give insight into some aspect about them—I sometimes use Japanese names for Fire Nation characters and so I spend a lot of time looking at the kanji. Mana’s name for example is written with the characters for “superiority” and “calm” when she is Fire Lady, but with “dance” and “south”before that. I also spend a lot more time on Water Tribe names if I don’t take them from canon to make sure that they are actual (mostly Inuit or Yupik) names and not just something someone made up.

The most research I did was definitely for my fic solntse moye / luna moya. It involved me naming all of Ilah’s family for one, which was a trial in and of itself. Azulon’s family was easier since he only has two siblings. It also had me researching more than I expected about yin and yang (and getting annoyed over the fact that they made the moon the white fish when it’s traditionally associated with yang). All in all it took me a while to write but I’m extremely proud of it.

The Ask Game!

#ask game answers #ray!!!! #atla #avatar the last airbender #ohmygodtheywereparabatai #omgtwp

[ohmygodtheywereparabatai]

I'm not famous I just hoard the asks 😭

Here, have one to make you feel popular xD

Hm? Beyoncé who? I only know klm-zoflorr.

And omggg I’m feeling the love!! 💍 wife

#ask tag #don’t worry mewtuals make it all worth it <333 #and all of you who leave notes but don’t directly interact with me 🥺 you’re precious please check if you aren’t actually budding angels #omgtwp’s not-so-salt takes

[ohmygodtheywereparabatai]

1,000 posts!

#OH FUCK #j #joyous day??? #omgtwp wins at tumblr but not at life :'[

[ohmygodtheywereparabatai]

Me wondering how the “more in love than anyone in history has ever been in love” couple Clace, that could either “burn the world down or raise it up in glory” were both heavily connected to Valentine... who believed “to love is to destroy” and was this cold, heartless bastard

You can say Jace is a Herondale and they “love but once”. Clary and Jace had angel blood in them and it drew them to each other, made their attributes like compassion and resistance to the dark more heightened, and made their love more powerful than others’. You could say all those things. But what about their parents?

Jace said his father’s upbringing was a stain that could never be erased. Clary knows the lengths her mother went to protect her: sacrificing her Shadowhunter life, plotting for months even as she was depressed to overthrow the Circle and escape, erasing Clary’s memories and living a lie with her and Luke, quietly, out of fear, out of love. Even Luke, her stepfather, was patient and loyal through thick and thin until Jocelyn married him, and he went from a disgraced werewolf to becoming their representative on the Council. It’s easy to see why Clace is so powerful from Clary’s side.... but what about Jace’s childhood? What about Clary’s biological father? What about Valentine?

I’ve been 🤔🤔

There was a time when Valentine wanted to save the world more than anyone in his generation, more than anyone in the Clave, when he loved Idris, and loved his family. Whose bond with his parabatai “was even more intense than most”, a “current of power flowing between them, strength and love they passed back and forth with every glance”. A man that spent his entire life chasing a woman that would never love him back, a man who was probably smart enough to know that she loved his parabatai more — that she was in love with another, and always had been, even if she didn’t know it, even when they were married.... but he couldn’t let her go anyway. A man descended from a mother that loved her husband so much that it killed her, that she died of a heart attack soon after, descended from a father that abused and manipulated him like Jace and Sebastian were, and dedicated his entire existence to avenging him: Valentine telling his son “Only I can love a monster.”

I think.... Valentine’s love chose to burn the world down instead of raise it up in glory. The night of the Uprising, the day Alicante caught fire, and the Mortal War. When he changed for the worse after his father’s funeral. We already know how powerful Valentine’s love is, actually — it just isn’t love, because to him, love is synonymous with torture. He loved certain people and he loved his country so much that it damned him, that when they turned on him, he went insane.

🔥 Hot take, probably the hottest take that has ever been taken: I think the greatest influence on Clace being as powerful, unbreakable, and deified as they are is Valentine Morgenstern. You could consider his angel blood experiments as being the one and only reason, but I think it goes beyond that. We’ve seen a good!Jonathan, but we’ve never seen a good!Valentine, not unless you count the alternate universe where he dies saving the Mortal Cup, and Valentina Graymark is named after him. We know he was born a natural leader, and arrived at school angered by injustice, determined to save a dying world. Jocelyn told Clary that his charisma and passion made him seem like he had access to a special part of the universe filled with light, and “if you were lucky, he would share that light with you, even just a little”.

Who knows? Who knows what would have happened, who he would be, if he hadn’t learned “to love is to destroy”? If he didn’t turn out to be a piece of shit?

#.....please don’t kill me #valentine morgenstern #clace #jocelyn fairchild #luke garroway #clary fairchild #jace whatever #shadowhunters #tsc #omgtwp’s musings