#aota

[ly0nstea]

Ashes of the Academy would've been far better if Azula was inexplicably working at the school in secret after the spirit temple and everyone was like "oh em jee she's got more nefarious intentions" but she was just, like being a teacher's assistant and helping the kids fingerpaint because she wanted to do something while she contemplated the events of TST and there was an opening

[ilikepjo24]

I said I do it and this is me doing it.

On Mai's half-assed redemption arc..

We all noticed it. We all (hopefully) didn't like it, let's talk about it.

Unfortunately, Mai is currently the main love interest for Zuko. And I say unfortunately not because I don't ship Maiko (I don't, but that's irrelevant) but because it's the reason why they screwed up her character. Zuko is Good™ and so his love interest needs to be Good™ too. It's why the creators are finally trying to actually redeem her instead of ignoring her bad actions during the war, like they've done up until now.

So why am I complaining? Well, in case you're new here, that's just pretty much what I do, in general. But also, it's because they aren't really fixing anything. Let me explain.

See, redeeming a character implies that we are adressing their actions, holding them accountable, expecting them to do better and them actually doing better. Mai's redemption arc is failing to follow this plan at the very first step.

Mai's role in the war was greatly affected by her friendship with Azula. Had she been a nobody noble that Azula wouldn't look twice at, she'd never be recruited and wouldn't have any impact on the battlefield. Being friends with Azula is what upgraded her from a bakcground character to a side character. Does that mean Azula forced her to do it all? No. I'm not having this conversation again. Mai asked to join Azula and both girls visibly had fun. Mai made her choice. Now what should be done is to hold her accountable expect her to do better and ultimately get redeemed. Only problem? Well...

This. Creators seem to think that since Mai had the opportunity to do bad stuff because she was Azula's friend, then by making the friendship "fake" and "forced" that makes Mai's actions be Not Her Fault™. After all, she could only do those things because of Azula, so if her frinedship with Azula isn't real then that means that she was just plaing a role and her actions aren't really her own, right?

Sorry to let you know, Mai dickriders, but that is simply not true. For multiple reasons. First being; her friendship with Azula was not fake. The narrative might be trying to push the agenda that it was forced, but you can't seriously believe that Mai didn't grow to care for Azula and vise versa, as is made obvious by the moments they share physical affections and laugh together at a joke Mai cracked.

Sure, the motivation for the relationship may have been gaining power, but the end up liking each other, and Mai joins Azula on her mission as willingly as she later does the bad things she ends up doing. And with great pleasure, may I add. That's right, Mai enjoyed doing evil things. She smiled in anticipation of beating down Earth Kingdom soldeirs and laughed at the fear Azula instilled in others.

In case you needed a reminder.

In any case, whether or not the friendship of Mai and Azula were sincere, Mai did bad things that she needs to be held accountable for if she's ever going to be truly redeemed. You could argue that she was "forced" to do it by Azula, but then anyone else could argue that Azula was forced to do it by Ozai. Truth is, both were urged, gently or not-so-gently to do bad things that they ended up enjoying doing because they got pleasure out of instilling fear on others because they are the villains of the show. One can't just brush all of Mai's actions under the rug to "purify" her of the bad things she willingly did and enjoyed doing. You wanna redeem her so bad? Do it properly.

Thus proven.

[tracksidemongoose]

AOTA: Chapter 1. Pretty Boy, Pretty Stubborn

Pairing: Carlos Sainz Jr x OC (Elena Vasilakis)

Summary: For more than a decade, Formula 1 has kept them in orbit. Carlos Sainz Jr. is chasing wins, contracts, and the weight of expectation. Elena Vasilakis is building her dream career behind the pit wall, one strategy call at a time. From DAMS to Ferrari, they grow side by side but never in step, always the right people, never the right time. Until...

Disclaimer: MDNI.

Author Note: Happy 31st Birthday Carlos!!! I feel like there isn't enough Carlos content fics wise. This is my attempt to remedy that! So this will be a SMAU x Long Form Fic mix. Likely a Smau between every chapter!

I will make a master list for this fic, eventually.

ENJOY!! Please comment and like! It makes me all excited for people to enjoy something as much as I do!

Summer 2014

For the better part of her first month on the job, Elena wasn’t allowed to touch the car. She was an intern, so it didn’t matter how long she had been working in garages or on karts, she had to earn hands-on work here in the 3.5 series before she could hope to get to F1. 

She had finally gotten the metaphorical green light, “Elena, when they pull the car in after practice you are going to handle the brake ducts, yeah?” 

It was a dirty job, the parts were awkward and fiddly and it was always a mess, but it was the first time Elena had been allowed to touch the car without being hovered over. The engine died as they rolled the car into the garage and she yanked on a pair of work gloves while the driver got out. Carlos took his helmet off and wandered towards the bench with his water bottle as he spoke with the lead strategist. The chassis was still slipping on occasion through turns, it was too twitchy. Something they had been trying to fix for nearly a week. 

Immediately, once the driver was out the machine was swarmed, mechanics all knowing exactly what their responsibility was in disassembling the car. Elena waited for a lull in the movement then stepped in, crouching down before taking a knee. Lining up the socket wrench with the first of four bolts on this side, she leaned her weight on it to loosen the bolt, she huffed something out under her breath in greek “Ελευθέρωσέ με, ηλίθιε” The bolt finally came loose, allowing her to move on to the other three, which were thankfully easier to loosen. 

Prepping her hands on either side of the carbon duct she tugged, but it was stubborn. Carlos lingered, watching the intern, who looked to be around his age struggle with the part. “Stupid thing-” She muttered, yanking harder,  her arms starting to shake. 

Feeling his eyes on her she glared over her shoulder for a moment, “I can feel your judgment you know.” She grumbled, twisting her shoulders to try to get the piece off by working one side at a time. 

“Well, if you keep pulling like that you are going to snap it in half.” 

“And if you keep talking, I’ll snap you in half. I know how to deal with these okay? This one is just stubborn.” Elena growled, giving one last pull with the force of her full weight. The duct popping off with a satisfying crack, hauling into her chest, but the momentum rolled to her onto her back. She kept the piece close to protect it, and after a brief moment she got up, placing it in the storage before moving to the other side of the car. 

Carlos followed, almost as if he was entertained by the whole situation. Drinking his branded redbull bottle from a straw that looked completely unnecessary without the helmet on. 

The second set of bolts didn’t put up as much of a fight, instead sliding off with minimal effort. As she yanked at this side duct she let out a grunt, which Carlos laughed at quietly. Well, quietly for a Spaniard, at least.

Elena whipped around to scowl again, Does this boy really have nothing else to do but judge my handiwork? “You interested in helping at all or are you just enjoying the show, pretty boy?”

Carlos’s eyebrows shot up, thick and dark, he was obviously amused. He took another sip from the long straw and wandered a step closer “My job is to drive the car, my job is finished.” A pause, then instead of walking away like he wanted to he turned back, “Was pretty boy supposed to be an insult?” He let out another scoff as she rolled her eyes, “How is pretty boy an insult? I am the prettiest damn boy on the track.”  

Elena turned back to the brake duct to hide her feathered smile, rolling her eyes as she yanked the second one off. Turning to place it in the storage container she could see Carlos lingering again, not as close, or as blatant this time. It looked like he had joined a conversation happening in the back of the garage, but she still felt his eyes linger on her.

He was watching, so what, it wasn’t for any reason in particular. He just couldn’t imagine if his life had gone different, it made him wonder if he was on a different path perhaps he’d be this young working on the car instead of driving it? He watched as the girl shifted the ducts in the boxes till they fell into place properly. He let his mind wander some, she clearly knew her way around a car, he hadn’t seen any of the other interns touch that car yet, so maybe she had a background? It didn’t matter because now he was curious, interested, he wanted to know more. 

“We are thinking if we try with intermediates during tomorrow's laps the grip may balance the chassis until we figure out how to fix it.” There was a pause in the small circle of conversation, before the eyes turned to the young driver and his strategist spoke up again, “Carlos? How does that sound?” 

Merida, you’ve been caught lingering, say something. He cleared his throat, focusing back on the group, lowering his voice subconsciously to sound more serious, “Oh, yes that sounds like it should work.” 

“Wonderful, let’s finish clean-up for today and then we can work on adjustments.” 

The group dispersed leaving Carlos back to his own devices, so he floated, if that was something Carlos could even do… more swimming, through crowds. He picked up his helmet, moving to his locker to take his suit off, the fireproofs being retired for the evening. He switched them out for some joggers and a collared team shirt under a branded jacket, tugging his hat down over his sweaty hair. Then he returned to the simmering chaos of the garage. 

The girl was no longer just packing the ducts, it seemed as if she finished that long ago, instead she was trying to haul a cover onto a stack of tires. She was too short to get it up and over the top to sit right. The tires were almost 9 feet so she had to be… well, he couldn’t tell, he was bad at those sorts of estimates, but she was shorter than him and he was 5’10 so it couldn't have been an easy job to be tasked with. 

Reaching up he grabbed the edges, he pulled them taut over the stack before he yanked the zipper down slowly. Elena peeked around the tirestack for a moment, Who the hell is messing with my tire cover? Oh it’s him… “I could have done that myself-” 

“You asked if I was going to help, or just look pretty, well now I am doing both.” Carlos shot the woman a glance and a charming smile. “You are an intern, yes?” Now he was prodding for information about her, conversational, just wanted to keep her talking. 

“I am.” Elena hummed moving onto the next tire stack, tossing the top of the cover over, Carlos once again pulled on the other side to help, “Going on two months now, it’s a five month program, but I’m sure you already knew that.” 

He shrugged, “Maybe I did, but I don’t mind you telling me again.” Carlos leaned against the stack once the zipper was pulled down, “I never have heard your name?” He asked, trying to pull more details once again. 

“Elena Vasilakis. I’ve been working garage for two weeks so they finally put me in charge of something. Part of the internship deal is that they show us every aspect of a formula team. So some days I’m in the garage, some days are logistics, but the garage is where I prefer to be.” 

Carlos hummed, his lips quirking into a slight grin, “Ah, a hands on person, I like it. It is nice to meet you Elena, I am-” 

“Carlos. I know who you are. Practically, the DAMS team’s golden boy.” Elena raised her eyebrows at him and smirked, as if to tell him she had done her research on the team before interning.

He looked a little dumbfounded at her interruption, instead he cleared his throat, determined to put the smart ass in her place. So you think you know me at all? “That wasn’t what I was going to say, a new introduction deserves my proper name, I am Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro.”

“Oh is that all?” 

“My full name is longer, but I decided I would rather not leave your head spinning. Carlos is fine.” 

Elena huffed quietly, Stuck up driver, “Well, Carlos. Should you not be more focused on your post track duties?” 

He couldn't tell if she was brushing him off or teasing, instead he offered her the next cover for the stack, helping toss it over the top. “I can handle them after we cover all the sets.” He pulled the side down, “So, you have a passion for driving precision vehicles too, yes?” He asked as they circled the stack to ensure it was properly covered. 

“Well, there's more to them than just driving. I’m interested in fixing them, making them faster, just not driving them. I’ll leave that up to you boys in the cockpit.” She hummed gently “Hopefully this internship will lead to a position, maybe a sister F1 team, even if I am just running the jackstand it is still a step in the right direction.” 

Carlos nodded as they finished the last stack, “So you have dreams of Formula 1, I do as well. What is your end goal? It is not as simple for you as it is for drivers no? Drivers all want the same thing, to be on top, to be world champion. What do you want Elena?” He stepped forward towards her to hear her answer between the stacks in the noisy garage. 

“Head of Vehicle Dynamics or Lead of Strategy. Right now I’m studying mechanical engineering at the UoB.” She paused for a moment seeing the confusion for a brief moment on his face, “University of Bath.” 

“So you are a very smart girl, I will have to learn to keep up.” Carlos’s slight quirk of the lips had turned into a toothy smile, confident and sure of himself. 

Elena rolled her eyes, a small smile present on her lips, “Well then I suppose I will see you on the F1 grid if I don’t see you tomorrow at work.” She teased, “I have other duties I have to do, not all of us can linger as much as a driver. It was nice speaking with you Carlos, Good luck with everything.” 

Carlos lingered where she left him, tucked between the tire stacks and the noise of the garage, helmet still dangling from his fingers. He told himself he was only curious, that he just wanted to see how an intern managed, that maybe he could learn something about the car by watching how she handled it. But it wasn’t just that.

He wanted to know what she was thinking when she frowned at a part, wanted to ask what she saw that he didn’t. It unnerved him, that pull. Normally he floated in garages, detached until it was time to get in the car. Now he found himself wanting to stay. Wanting to know what tasks they would throw at her next. Wanting to offer his hands again, even if she would just bite at him for getting in the way.

When she finally disappeared into the mess of overalls and toolboxes, he stayed still a moment longer, jaw set like he was memorizing her shadow in the chaos. Then, with a quiet breath, he forced himself to turn away,  reminding himself he had duties of his own. But no matter where his eyes landed, part of his attention was still caught on her, like a stubborn piece of gravel in his shoe.

[thearkavist]

Been working on a model for a new OC called Aurora.

That hair took me ages! But it's barely even 4k verts, which is awesome!

[v-67]

Completed watching Kotaro lives alone

And it just....is so, heart wrenching?

It's so full of emotions

And it makes you realise about the reality of the world in a bitter way?

How small kids perceive things, what a minute action can mean to them, how trauma affects a kid, and their innocence and trust through it all.

I know it's an anime, and the real world is different. But it's also somehow the same? The cruel parts and the nice parts?

Karino is a kind, warm human

It's difficult in reality to find people who would do what he did for Kotaro

And even if you do find them, and they want to help you, they usually can't because of their own schedule.

There were just too many parts within this anime which made me feel a little too many things. I don't know if people actually do such things to their children, but if they do, I'd just idk. I'd be really heartbroken. Kotaro eating tissues at some point. Kotaro's mom wearing gloves whenever taking care of him.

It's not clearly stated about what happened w Kotaro and his parents, why his dad was like that, what happened to his mom, his dad hiring detectives to find his location just so he could abuse him again?, Kotaro going through all of that and running away from home and living on his own

This anime is....so bittersweet.

I like how Kotaro has his own small family, I feel a little sad seeing him wish for his mom and dad and his motive to become stronger so that he could live with his dad again.

I feel sad seeing his trauma regarding the way he was treated

And I know it's something many people have gone through and still go through and sadly will continue to go through, because the world really is as cruel as it is okay.

But. Such a bittersweet anime. It's 10 episodes but I'm just happy and sad.

1st March, 2024

[gremalkinn]

Uh I didn’t rlly mark it but each one is the buff girl herself throughout the 3 arcs of the dnd campaign im in, left to right. She has recently obtained a pet cloak

[zonedoutpodcast]

Round 1: Castelia City (Pokemon) vs. Ba Sing Se (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Castelia City

Ba Sing Se

Voting ended onApr 2, 2023

Tumblr Most Place of All Time Election 2023 Master Post

[fashionlandscapeblog]

Bui Tuong Van captured by Hau Le for aota.asia