#Heroic Team

[fogaminghub]

💥🌟 Adventure awaits! Dive into our latest blog post about the "Hurry to the Eastern Plateau" objective in Visions of Mana! Discover essential strategies for overcoming challenges and defeating Daelophos before he brings ruin to the world. Level up your gameplay with our tips, and ensure Val and friends are ready for battle! 🗡️🌍

[artbyblastweave]

One of my favorite elements in the TF2 comics are the recurring beats implying that all things being equal Heavy would much rather be a morally righteous action hero in the tradition of Dolph or Arnie- rejoining Team Fortress to crush "evil men," implicitly doing so extensively as part of his tragic backstory, going in guns blazing to rescue a buddy from the Korean Mob, rallying everyone to go fight Merasmus's monster army during the Halloween party, getting the big climactic set piece fight with the deranged supervillain on an island base. But he's held back from the role he was born to play by his association with the Mann Family clusterfuck. He wasted the prime of his Rambo years shooting people in the desert for no reason.

Which ends up being sort a recurring beat, for many of the characters who aren't life-outcome agnostic in the manner of Pyro or Medic. Scout instantly finds extensive romantic success the second he lets go of Ms. Pauling and detaches himself from the badlands. Spy coming to terms with, and making up for lost time with, the family he was out in the Badlands to avoid. Engineer trundles along in his support capacity until his contract is up, smart enough to warn Helen's potential successor away from the same path but never able to break away from it himself until her death forced his hand- never exposing himself to the true pointlessness of the practical problem he was on retainer to solve. Demo implicitly realizing that for all his vaunted family pride in mercenary work he's spent the last several years on the second-string relief team that none of his peers took seriously. Saxton realizing that the joke of an ultramasculine adventure hero with a desk job has worn kind of thin and he's removed himself from his native genre for no real reason, to no personal fulfilment. Soldier.... is actually in the exact same general life situation but with a wife and kids along for the ride, good for him.

Ultimately it turned into a story about how the characters have outgrown the excuse plot- a story about how all of these people have much more interesting stories to be involved in, more compelling things to be doing than what we've spent the last seventeen years watching them do. And now they're free and clear and on their way.

[angy-grrr]

SJ's internal changes (I recall it was the editor in chief, someone really influential) happening JUST at the same time it was announced the epilogue would be 5 chapters (same week) + the ending not bringing up huge plot points (where the other villains are, why theres no actual Himiko corpse and instead we got Ochako's grief over that assumption, what happened to Dabi, what was the All Might vestige, why the bkdk handhold was off screen when its a big deal for them, who is Deku's dad, etc), letting them linger in the air while trying to make an okay ending + that strange two week break because of "schedule conflicts" + choosing to end BNHA under even more pressure even tho its one of the most important manga in SJ + Horikoshi talking about the ending days after the official release and bringing up how grateful he is for being able to work in SJ, as in past tense (like he is grateful he worked here, but isnt happening again; I say this bc I expected him to say something around the lines of "I hope im able to create something good here again soon!", considering we already know he has another manga project, if I remember correctly)

Thinking about it.

Thinking about how he could let it as it is, or try to pick it up and confirm the things that do matter to his story.

Btw, im not talking about the handhold as a shipper -it was genuinely important for them, as it symbolizes both their new mutual understanding and an acceptance as the new All Might duo thanks to their respective heroisms. It wouldn't be weird to add it in the epilogue, especially considering so many characters hold hands in non romanitc ways, so to choose not to when its arguably the most important one... Idk, it felt really weird as it was the only thing I was sure would get sooner or later.

[ratrrriot]

Hello i have a question about your oc spark. You said in their bio that their robot body is a toy for them, but have ever thought about them secretly going off to do heroics and fight crime like perry the platypus or the monkey from dexters laboratory?

Something like that…

[poppitron360]

Just read Leo’s death scene in BOO and I’m hopping on the angst train before I keep reading and he comes back-

I wrote this short fic just now, about Frank and the Hephaestus cabin dealing with the aftermath of Leo’s sacrifice.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Frank took a deep breath, and approached the Hephaestus table, nervously. He recognised a few of his Camp Jupiter friends sitting with Leo’s siblings. Out of all the cabins, theirs seemed most affected by the battle. They ate their food with a sense of solemn melancholy, talking in low voices. Most of them, particularly the older ones, barely touched their food. Even the Romans, who had barely known Leo, seemed to share in their siblings’ grief. Frank could tell that Leo’s death had hit them all hard.

“Jake Mason, right?” He asked, addressing the guy sitting at the head of the table, slowly turning his spaghetti over with his fork, but not eating it.

“Yeah?”

Frank heaved the large wooden box he was carrying onto the table, trying to avoid people’s plates.

“Leo… he- he didn’t exactly leave a last will and testament…” Frank said, trying to keep his voice from choking up, “But he told me to give you guys this.”

He opened the box, and the campers peered inside.

“The lost scrolls of Archimedes,” He explained, “We found them underneath Rome. Leo’s been studying them. He wanted you to have them.”

“Woah…” One of the campers gasped. The others stared in awe at the scrolls in the box.

“There’s more,” Frank told them. With shaking hands, he reached into the box and pulled out from underneath the scrolls a collection of small, leather-bound notebooks, rectangular in shape, a different gold inscription stamped on the front in Ancient Greek.

“The Valdez Texts…” Frank announced, “Leo knew he was probably not gonna make it out of the battle. He wanted to make sure people could carry on his legacy. He copied all of his blueprints and schematics of the Argo II, all his inventions, all his findings and teachings, his notes, his unfinished projects, everything he learned and discovered- all into these notebooks for you guys to study, make improvements, learn from them, carry on his work.” He looked around at the table, “He told me it was very important that it was shared between children of both Hephaestus and Vulcan. No more fighting. No more stealing. He was a brother to you all, and…” He turned to the visitors from Camp Jupiter, “He told me to tell you he’s really sorry for launching a missile attack on your city… he hopes this helps you rebuild it.”

They all stared, speechless, at the texts.

One of the older-looking girls- Frank remembered her name was Nyssa- reached out and took one of the books in trembling fingers. She flipped through the pages, staring in awe. “Valdez made all this?”

“Well, me and Hazel helped him copy it all down,” Frank admitted, “His handwriting is atrocious.”

He suddenly felt a sharp pang of sadness. Was, he thought, his handwriting was atrocious.

Nyssa chuckled, sadly.

“And Hazel helped illustrate the drawings and diagrams. It was the least we could do to help you guys. And Leo wanted to make sure it was just as much a Roman thing as it was Greek.”

Nyssa handed her copy to one of her newfound siblings from Camp Jupiter, and picked up another, “And they’re ours? To share? The scrolls too?”

Frank nodded, “Leo thought it was only right that you all should have them. All his rough work was destroyed when the Argo II broke apart, but he made sure these made it out.”

It had been Buford’s last act of service to his master. As soon as they’d arrived at Camp Half-Blood, that wonderful little table had taken the crate of valuables and flown away to safety before the ship could explode. Once the battle was over, he had flown back to Frank, and with one last forlorn “Put some clothes on” from the Coach Hedge hologram, the table had deactivated. Frank didn’t want to just throw Buford away, so he’d kept it as a writing desk. He’d study, map, plan, and create on it, just like how Leo would’ve wanted. He planned to take him back with him to Camp Jupiter- a little piece of him to stay with Frank forever.

He looked at the pile of books. He thought it was strange- Leo’s life’s work condensed into just a few notebooks. His entire legacy on the table in front of them. But Leo was a smart guy. He knew these books would be passed down for generations, much like Archimedes’ texts. Every Greek and Roman scholar that people talk about still to this day- Hippocrates, Pythagoras, Galen- was remembered because they wrote stuff down. And Leo knew the importance of that. He wasn’t just giving his siblings some dusty notebooks, he was giving them knowledge. He was giving them power. Frank’s mouth twisted into a sad smile. It was exactly the kind of genius thing Leo would do. He just couldn’t believe he was gone.

He picked up another notebook, and turned to a random page and began to read in his head:

Valdez Philosophy No. 730- One question a good mechanic must always ask themselves is: Is it worth it? Is it a problem that’s worth solving? Is it a machine worth inventing? Don’t get me wrong, I love a Hydraulic Chicken Launcher as much as the next mad scientist- but sometimes the cost of time and materials outweigh the necessity for it.

But if the machine can help out a friend, and maybe even save a life?

That’s never not worth your time.

Frank’s eyes welled with tears. Underneath the words was a sketch of something Frank recognised. It was the pouch that Leo had made for him to keep his firewood safe.

That’s never not worth your time.

After everything they’d been through together, after the way Frank had treated Leo when they’d first met, after all the death-glares and the snide remarks and the passive-aggressive comments that weren’t entirely meant in kindness- Leo still cared for Frank. He still took the time to make sure he could keep him safe. He still felt like Frank was worth it. This kid always put other people first, to the point where he had died to do so. He was brave, and heroic. He was the reason Frank no longer feared fire. He’d changed his life. Frank owed him everything. Now, he’d never get to repay that debt.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Anyway, I’m gonna go cry now. Platonic Valzhang is everything to me.

[tired-reader-writer]

Shapur's braids grew in the nourishing broth of the head jars. (I'm sorry I haven't finished reading your post yet, I just had to pause and inflict this on you.)

CURSED 🫵🫵🫵

[innerchorus]

AAAAAAAHHHHHH (spoilers and screaming about ArSen Chapter 131)

Please avoid if you don't want big spoilers for this chapter, there are some shocking moments and some major differences from the novels. I don't have time to go into great detail but I'll try to share a few panels and summarise the key events.

Team Hilmes sighting! They're hearing the commotion as the two kings fall from the tower.

@tired-reader-writer not only do we get to see Isfan but he's joined up with Kubard! I'm so happy to see it!

Jaswant is with Estelle; he's been ordered to protect her by Arslan because Ecbatana is not a safe place for a Lusitanian right now. Realising that something has happens, she rushes towards the North tower.

Me seeing the crumpled and bloody bodies of Andragoras and Innocentis: OKAY YEAH they're definitely both dead.

AND THEN ANDRAGORAS FUCKING STANDS UP.

It's okay, though. He does die. Because Tahamenay appears, and as she embraces him she slides a dagger into his heart. YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. Andragoras is killed by Tahamenay.

She tells Team Arslan that the official word is to be that the Shah died in the fall from the tower.

Estelle arrives on the scene and realises she was too late to save Innocentis. Alfarid sees her start to disintegrate and urgently reminds her of the people who need her and tells her to hurry, after which she gallops off to find them.

Tahamenay (about Estelle): "If my daughter were alive, she would be about that age too" ??? Are we going there? Or is it just an acknowledgement that her daughter really is gone for good (and perhaps it's this understanding that allowed her to kill Andragoras, knowing she would never reunite with her child?)

Recognised as a Lusitanian in the teeming streets, Estelle runs into trouble that Jaswant can't diffuse, as he too is a foreigner, but Farangis leaps in to save the day and gives Estelle Prince Arslan's standard, knowing if she has it, nobody will bar her path.

She flies to where the group of Lusitanians should be but finds an empty and bloodstained room. For a moment she is destroyed by the knowledge that she was too late again and couldn't save them, but then those three kids show up and it's revealed they've kept them (yes, all of them!) hidden and safe. I really needed this and was surprised how emotional it made me feel, actually.

Word is spreading that the two kings are dead; we get some reactions shots from Team Hilmes, Isfan and Kubard (Isfan's fang made an appearance and it's fucking cute as always!), and Kishward and Tus.

And then the end of the chapter really fucked me up and I wasn't ready. I was never going to be ready but I wasn't expecting this NOW.

FUCK NO except please know that I'm also whispering 'yes' even though it's horrible because both Isfan and Kubard are seeing this??

SHAPUR except it's not, it can't be, because he's dead and both of them know it. So what's going on here? Is this a Team Zahhak impersonation (as we saw with Ghundi taking the form of Husrab) or is this something more sinister (an undead Shapur controlled by Team Zahhak? I'm leaning this way because look at those eyes... feels different).

GUYS. THAT WAS THE FINAL PAGE. WE HAVE TO SURVIVE ANOTHER MONTH BEFORE WE SEE WHAT HAPPENS/

What do I even want to happen. Is Isfan going to be put in a position where he has to fight or kill his (not) brother? Is Kubard going to have to intervene to save him? (I want this, obviously, especially as we're not going to get the scene from the second half of the novels where he does something similar in a different situation). What's Team Zahhak's angle here?

How did we get from the head jars which have been haunting my nightmares for literal months to this hellish scenario, which never even crossed my mind?

[formulatrash]

haven't been this fucking insanely furious at Williams since they fired Damon Hill halfway through 1996

[aingeal98]

I'm crying they resurrected Jason deliberately with lazarus fluid. How are you going to copy Steph's death in Batgirls but make it boring and pointless with zero emotional weight or acknowledgement of anything Jason has the right to be mad at Bruce about. He didn't even have a gay best friend kiss him as he died.

[katyspersonal]

Dolores 🤝 Pharis the GNC archer ladies

[lacytheespeon]

I'm normal

[thegreatyin]

lark is a henchman in the smug evil advisor way. he'd be hanging off your shoulder saying shit like "my liege we should throw this guy into the river for sport" except he wouldn't actually mean any of it and he's just a dorky theatre kid overacting for the bit. the scoundrel on the other hand is an actual evil henchman but like. in a "boss you fight at the end of the first zone that seems to be a major threat but actually serves a more dangerous way eviler antagonist" way

[dormiloncito]

last night i dreamt an entire marvel movie that doesn't exist

[importantdestinydefendor]

The Runes of Maar

Since @innerchorus had asked about more details of the rune system in Maar and I wanted to do a post about it, I have decided to, well, make a post about it lol.

Warning: long post

First, let me give you a general, alphabetic list of all the runes that are used in Maar.

Algiz - shielding

Ansuz - divinity, mental stability, communication and speech

Berkana - birch

Dagaz - new beginnings and transformation

Ehwaz - horse, transport

Eihwaz - death

Fehu - wealth, abundance, livestock and positivity

Gebo - gift, exchange and generosity

Haglaz - hailstorm, cleansing and destruction

Isa - ice, delay, self-control and frigidity

Inguz - home, news and fertility

Jera - harvest

Kenaz - torch, passion, inspiration and creativity

Lagaz - water, river, lake or renewal 

Mannaz - man

Naudit - need or distress

Othala - inheritance

Pertho - luck or fate

Raido - ride, wheel or journey

Sowilo - sun

Tiwaz - sacrifice, fairness, balance

Thurisaz - masculinity, courage and empowerment

Ur - valor, fortitude, strength and stability

Wunjo - joy, satisfaction, goodness and fellowship

All of them are used in the general day-to-day prayers and special rituals. Everyone of these runes represent a deity in the Maaren pantheon (I will probably do a seperate post about that as well). All citizens of Maar have a rune as a necklace around their neck that represents their tutelary god/goddess (for example: Azar's tutelary god is the god of war “Tiw” and her rune is tiwaz). At a certain age (probably around 11-15, sometimes earlier), children have to go through a ritual that lets them meet the gods of the pantheon and the gods decide which of them will be their protector and the one that should be represented by this child. They then get their rune-necklace and are allowed to choose if they want a permanent tattoo of their rune (or something else) or just the necklace. Some do as it is believed to amplify the effect/power of their rune. If you want to give somebody else the powers of your rune or the protection of your own tutelary god to somebody else, you hand them your necklace to wear and say a prayer to your god (no ritual needed, the prayer is enough). The necklace has to be worn at all times normally and if the original rune is not returned, a new ritual has to be made so the effect can be transferred to another rune stone. 

And these are the runes that actually have confirmed magical force (since Maar is a young country not everything is explored and/or researched to the fullest).

Ansuz - communication

Raido - teleportation

Kenaz - produces light

Haglaz - conjures up a Hailstorm

Isa - produces ice 

Ur - makes you physically or mentally stronger for a short time

Thurisaz - generates strong outbursts of power

Algiz - conjures up a shield/barrier for a short time

Ehwaz - summons a horse

Mannaz (or Eihwaz, have yet to decide) - summons the dead and gives them the ability to come back alive for a short time (only works if the dead person feels as if they still have something left unresolved in their life)

Lagaz - conjures up water/rain

healing rune pending

Everyone in the army and navy need to be able to use at least the basic runes to a certain extant aka. communication, teleportation, producing light (not complitelly sure about this one) and healing. They train from a very young age but everyone of all ages can be accepted (if your health is fine in older age you will also be accepted) into the army/navy.

On how the runes work:

I will not say too much here on how they generally work since in chapter 3 the soldier with the scar (Pavle) will explain it for me (could this be considered a spoiler?). 

But what I will talk about is how to multiply the effect or the strength of the effect. (I already made a comment about it under this post but I will just copy-paste it here again.) So if you want the effect to be stronger, you need more of the same rune stone. But one person can only use two to three stones at the same time so if you want to, for example, heal more than one wound in one go or conjure up an actual storm and not a cough of wind you need at least two to three or more people to do so. It depends on skill levels though (so squires and students are not allowed to do that without strict supervision) and only the priests/druids (name pending, suggestions welcome) are actually allowed to use that many or more at the same time since it takes a huge chunk of stamina and energy. Very dangerous in the midst of war and very easy to misuse and abuse for power (only in emergencies allowed for everyone). So Maar is very strict with who and how to use the runes with magic force. That's why they are mainly used for battles and only the teleportation rune is allowed to be used by a tiny selection of merchants (for example, merchants who sell merchandise lthat needs to be kept fresh, for example). That system is the only way so far to keep the abuse of the runes under control and is obviously not really fair. It currently is being researched more by a specific team directly monitored by the King and the highest priest/druid/whatever and new laws are being created, but not passed, left and right. 

Again, Maar is a young country and has to figure shit out on the go - it is probably in its early/mid teenage years, if you will. This issue will probably be resolved in a few thousand years, so my AU doesn’t really touch that much on it (probably will integrate the problem when we are in Gilan). But I love little tid-bits from outside the story that might never come up - it just makes the world feel even more alive and a little bit more real! 

Also: every rune has a small side effect, so that they are not that op, lol. One will be explained in chapter 4 by, again, Pavle.

So, I think that is what I generally wanted to tell about the runes without being too spoilery (if there even was anything to be spoiled lol). If there are any more questions: my inbox is looking very empty so feel free to spam me!

[vierschanzentournee]

Every male Austrian ski jumper to achieve an individual podium in the 2020s

Stefan Kraft (b. 1993) - 19x1st, 13x2nd, 16x3rd since the start of 2020 Jan Hoerl (b. 1998) - 2x1st, 2x2nd, 2x3rd since the start of 2020 Daniel Tschofenig (b. 2002) - 3x3rd since the start of 2020 Manuel Fettner (b. 1985) - 1x2nd, 1x3rd since the start of 2020 Michael Hayboeck (b. 1991) - 2x3rd since the start of 2020 Daniel Huber (b. 1993) - 1x1st, 1x2nd, 1x3rd since the start of 2020

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your Secret Santa, @startgate13!

[no1ryomafan]

This is 100% fic related but fuck it gotta throw it out to the world, here’s my headcanons on what I think the getters with personalities would be like: (note I’m counting the single units I. E. Every getter 1 is similar and not the individual forms, might change that at some point but we’d be here forever)

Getter 1: Actually not a hothead like most of its pilots, instead it’s a calm voice of reason, even if sometimes that calmness can be eerie. It stays collected to help its pilots rage but sometimes is influenced, whether that be getting too excited in a fight or just flat out arguing with them. It also is overall heroic which definitely comes from its pilot lol.

Getter 2: Very blunt and to the point. Is not fond of its pilot-*cough* mainly in the HAYATO case-but still tolerates them and provides advice/a strategy if needed. It’s kinda the grump of the group even if it doesn’t have a temper, it’s just nowhere near as calm and welcoming to its pilot as its counterparts.

Getter 3: The embodiment of 😋 Probably the closest in personality to its pilot and while Getter 1 cares, Getter 3 definitely loves its pilot when it gets the chance to be used. It’s very enthusiastic but doesn’t given its pilot any good pointers in a fight, mainly just rolls with whatever they wanna do. It seems less calm then the others but it truly is chill, in a more human way.

This is the idea I’m rolling with mainly for my getter/zx aus where the getters are teeny tiny pebbles but the more I thought about: honestly yeah if the getters could talk this logic could totally apply to canon lol.