Jinu Apologist

call me auri | she/her | 27 WING OBSESSION • ig: @dragonscalelibrarian

[sweatermuppet]

this is going to be difficult -> i am capable of doing difficult things -> i have done everything prior to this moment -> this difficulty will soon be proof of capability

[studyblr]

this difficulty will soon be proof of capability.

[cherishedwifey]

an under-appreciated view.

[kocalls]

[surgepricing]

I think about Azula shooters often and their common refrain of "if Azula hadn't had a mental breakdown, she would've won" and I'm here to tell you that no, she wouldn't have.

There is no universe in which Azula was winning that fight with Zuko (or Katara, for that matter).

Azula spent so much of Book 2 being built up as this deadly terrifying force against whom the heroes are badly outmatched that it can be difficult to catch exactly how quickly Zuko is advancing.

Back up a bit to Book One. For the fearsome exiled crown prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko's not that impressive a firebender. He's not bad by any stretch, and he's able to lay the untrained Sokka and Katara flat pretty easily. Then he gets in the ring with Aang, who is an airbending master, and the difference between a regular bender and a master becomes apparent when Aang literally puts his ass to bed:

People have attributed this to the fact that no one's fought an airbender in 100 years, but I think it's also worth noting that Aang (a 12 year old from a pacifist nation) has probably never fought anyone before. Like, ever. And yet the second Aang thinks "okay, I'll attack back", the fight's over.

Zuko's got the same genetic predisposition for firebending talent that Azula does, yet it never seems to manifest because of his mental blocks. At the beginning of the series, he's already so beat down that all he really has is conviction, pride, and anger, so even with training from Iroh (the firebending master, thank you very much), he struggles. Yet throughout Book 2, when he has no time to train because he's on the run, he actually seems to advance faster. The fact that his bending is literally tied to his character arc (as his morals become tangled and he has to fight off aforementioned mental blocks) is pretty brilliant. Like, by the time of the Crossroads of Destiny, Zuko getting his ass handed to him by Aang is a pretty consistent feature of the show--he just can't match wits with him.

Hell, at the beginning of the series, he and Iroh (again: the actual firebending master) launch a combined power surface-to-air attack...which Aang casually swats away into a nearby ice wall. Come the Crossroads of Destiny, however, and Zuko by himself launches this bigass fireball that blows through Aang's defenses.

Zuko advances so quickly that it's scary. That prodigious talent is in him even if it doesn't come through as cleanly as with Azula. Who, by the way, was busy about to get flattened by Katara some few dozen feet away, until Zuko took over and then effectively stalemated her himself.

All of this in retrospect makes it abundantly clear why Zuko's firebending seemed to skyrocket so much when he learned true firebending from the Sun Warriors: it was really the only thing left. He's hard a hard road learning how to fight waterbenders, earthbenders, and airbenders, and even if unconsciously, he's applying the philosophy Iroh taught him about augmenting his bending style with aspects of other styles (see also, the waterbending-like fire whips he uses in the above gif). Once he actually understands fire and how it works, he's got it mastered. Hence why any gap between him and Azula effectively disappears as soon as their next fight--before her friends have betrayed her and her stability goes out the window. There's no real sense of urgency to their fight at the Boiling Rock prison. True, Sokka's presence with the sword helps, but Zuko doesn't look remotely worried and he counters Azula's every attack perfectly.

All her life, Azula only ever learned fire. She was taught by the best people the fire nation can employ, so she knows all the cool tricks, but she's still poisoned by the corrupted firebending practiced in the modern ATLA timeline. Unlike Zuko, who managed to get the basics if nothing else from Iroh (fire comes from the breath, and can be used to survive as much as to kill), Azula has always used fire as a weapon and a means to hurt others. She has no true knowledge of the craft, meaning she's got the same weaknesses as Zhao, she's just better disciplined to the point she can make up for it.

Zuko's victory was a given considering Azula's complete loss of control by the time of Sozin's comet, but even had she been in a perfect mental state, she'd have lost, because in many ways Zuko is simply the better firebender.

And that's the truth of it.

[2blondiegirl]

[lobtwo]

He's so

[hadesisqueer]

You may like or not like Bolin but one thing you can never say about this guy is that he was jobless because he wasn't. By the ripe age of twenty he'd been a professional athlete, a movie star, a soldier, a detective and a presidential secretary. Unemployment hates him lmao.

[hijkio]

Zuko

[urlocallizardd]

found this and IMMEDIATLY made it my banner LOL

Im posting a lot today dang!

[esnyfreakrry]

oh my god this gif. i’d launch myself across the table.

[jacqueillustrates]

"Lightning cracks, so white it's almost blue, and I throw up my hand to shield my eyes as it strikes the iron chest as though drawn to it. Sparks shower the arena..." Chapter 42, Iron Flame

[hotchnerss]

this scene exists and people still have the audacity to say they're platonic oh fuck off

[trash-shrike]

a jigsaw falling into place

For @tamlinweek Day 4 - Family (YEAH I'M LATE AGAIN, AND WHAT OF IT?)

I massively fell out of love with the original concept for this since I failed to render it how i wanted. i'm just not skilled enough yet. a shame because how these two meet has always been very vivid to me. Maybe I'll try to do a better job way down the line in procreate or smthn, I think it's a good exercise.

I'd originally had Tam and Rhys meet immediately after the human war under the pretense that Tam was in his teens when it concluded, but learned later that Tam was born at the start of the 7-year war, when Rhys was 28, so he’d be only 7 if that were the case. So the interpretation has changed a bit...

Tam is about 17 here whilst Rhys is 35. U also must keep in mind that fae age at a different rate and have a different culture around maturity. Rhys appears 20 and is culturally considered “teenaged”. Tam appears closer to 14 and is culturally considered a little baby, arguably too young to be a part of such meetings.

This occurs at the Dawn court like a whole decade after the human war for independence is won. Tensions had mostly died down between Prythian and the Spring Court, the only court that fought staunchly in favor of slavery. They had lost plenty and faced significant indictments during the negotiations that followed, to the extreme displeasure of Tam's father. And yet, there are still negotiations to be made. Dawn Court was considered a neutral touchpoint.

Tamlin himself was silently grateful for the war’s outcome. He’d always been the softest brother, never having been able to stomach his family’s treatment of their slaves. When Tam is asked to shadow the rest of his family as a scribe, he doesn't complain.

Spring and Night’s families pass by each other in the halls in between meetings. Neither would have courteous words to say to one another, as such, everyone is silent despite the palpable tension in the air.

Rhysand, hair still cut close to his scalp from his time commanding the military, stays close to his mother, and pointedly ignores the glares of the Spring royal family. He never let the brutish appearances of the southern slave-owning court ruffle him, despite his burning contempt. Celyddon was easily the strongest high fae male he’d ever seen, and his sons had all inherited his build. Their bodies blocked the sun from his eyes as they walked past.

As the two groups had almost completely passed each other, Rhysand double takes when he spots the unfamiliarly small figure at the back of the entourage.

Since when did Cel have a third son?

The male young, likely no older than twenty; a child. He has the awkward lanky build of one experiencing their first growth spurt, and Rhysand distantly wonders if this one would grow to be as tall, broad, and violent as the others. The boy's hair is as golden as his mother’s and falls like a messy mop about his shoulders. He’s underdressed compared to the rest of the group; almost plain looking. Instead of gripping a court sword, he holds a stack of parchment in his arms.

Eyes like newleaf glance towards him warily, and Rhysand notices the purple swelling around his left eye.

One could not expect even basic courtesy from Celyddon, such as to glamour the obvious hand he or his ilk had laid on his youngest child, but nevertheless Rhys cannot keep the look of pity from his face.

[ohnienna]

If you thought I was just going to post one dad!Rowan piece you thought wrong 😏😏

[theyre-shoe-shoes-silly]

my shaylas

[theyre-shoe-shoes-silly]

not to be dramatic or anything but amy santiago and spencer reid being co stars is probably the greatest thing thats happened ever

[trickytowrite]

I saw a recent post from a Nesta Stan insisting the next book HAS to be Nesta’s because it would just be SOOOO unfair for Feyre and Elain to each get THREE books while Nesta only gets ONE😭😭

Ignoring the fact that Nesta got shoehorned into the crossover with Crescent City the smaller story for Nesta unfortunately makes a lot of sense. Prior to ACOSF, Nesta’s plot points were her personality, Cassian and a few mentions of her powers. All that to say the majority of Silver Flames was retconned and never mentioned in prior books.

- Nesta’s elite dancing skills? Never even hinted at. Apparently Elain was the only person to ever notice this insane talent and it just never came up.

- The Valkyrie? We got an entire page of dialogue about Nephelle and the Seraphim in ACOWAR but not one mention of this incredible female fighting squad? That makes absolutely no sense unless the Valkyrie was added by the author only for ACOSF.

- Making and unmaking objects? Well that would have been a very useful skill in ACOWAR, but nope not mentioned at all.

- The Dread Trove? Honestly this was probably the worst retcon in the story. This immensely important trove somehow made everyone forget it existed until it wanted to be found again? Ok …. Sure.

- Eris and Nesta? Fun fact these two met before. If a proper love triangle was to be set up, he should have shown interest in her at the High Lords meeting. Adding him to the mix seems like an attempt to give Nesta a choice in her partner, but there was not foundation for it (there easily could have been).

This lack of existing plot points is part of why Nesta’s journey is more focused on healing and self development. But there is only so much retconning that can be done. The only outstanding plot specifically for Nesta is the star sword, which if we’re being honest may not amount to much.

Elain in contrast has had multiple major plot lines since ACOWAR. Her love triangle is not only established (and questioned) it also has political ramifications. Elain’s visions have connected her to Koschei as she alone knows about the onyx box. She had multiple visions of Vassa and knows about the other girls Koschei keeps captive. Elain has wielded truth teller potentially unlocking unknown powers with it. She is also developing stealth skills in her free time and is best friends with spies. And none of that even touches on her healing arc and journey to self acceptance.

Elain has plot ties to Azriel, Vassa, Lucien, and Koschei right now, let alone what else could be added. And cherry on top - Elain is a seer, she is a walking spoiler. Getting her story will probably be information overload. Sorting through both what she is experiencing AND what she is seeing will take time. Hence the need for more page time.

All these biased fans claiming Nesta will get another book because she “deserves it” or is “SJMs favorite character” (where was that ever mentioned) are so out of touch with literature. The main plot lines have already been laid out and right now Nesta doesn’t fit in to any of them.

It’s Elain’s book, it’s been Elain’s book, stop being ridiculous.

[mortalscience]

jj: you're the best. penelope: i know. jj: no, i mean.. friend. you're the best friend.