#I played the first trilogy last year and yet this is my first time drawing them :]

[sabertoothwalrus]

phoenix you gotta law something

[atomatowriter]

Hi! I'm Alex, she/her, 32 years old. I was a member of the writeblr community a few years ago, though I never made a proper writeblr introduction. I stopped being active around the time of the pandemic, unsurprisingly and for a number of reasons. Now that my life is back together and the internet is...the way it is, I decided it was a good time to come back here. I love interacting with other writers, gushing about our stories and swapping worldbuilding questions. I also have a discord for indie fantasy writers (published and unpublished) if anyone is interested in joining that.

What I Write

I am a self-published author with a debut novel that released in May, The Wounds of Wisdom. Wounds is the first in a YA romantic fantasy trilogy with court intrigue called the Time's Sacrifice Trilogy. I currently expect the second book to be out in September of 2024. You can read book one for free on Kindle Unlimited.

My stories feature messy, emotional characters coming together and learning to lean on each other while unraveling still messier truths about the world around them and the people who hold power. I also write about the queernormative worlds that I want to see, and draw much of my inspiration from years of playing tabletop RPGs.

WIPs (buckle up, folks, there's a bunch).

The Time's Sacrifice Trilogy - A would-be knight, a reluctant prince, and a prickly bodyguard from an enemy nation, each gifted with mysterious divine powers, find themselves thrown into dangerous intrigue when someone begins killing their fellow Wise Ones and they learn that the history they've been told is far from the truth. YA, Arthurian vibes, political intrigue, polyamory.

The Fox Eyes Duology - A young woman looking for the lost realm of elementals in hopes of saving save her uncle and the dying forest she calls home crosses paths with another young woman who would give anything to escape the elemental powers she considers a curse. NA, campfire talks and traveling shenanigans, dark gods and darker humans, elemental magic.

Seasons of Terrafae - a quartet of companion novels, each taking place in a different continent on the world of the Fox Eyes duology, where each continent represents each of the four seasons. Elemental magic, D&D vibes.

Siren Star: The Last Defense of a Notorious Pirate - An aging pirate captain looks back on her career, focusing on her greatest crime of all, the theft of divinity itself. Pirate fantasy, worship of the stars, flying ships, gryphons.

Wildery and Wolf - Friends-to-lovers-to-awkward-exes, Wildery and Wolf unfortunately still have a magical bond due to an experiment with a forbidden ritual a couple years ago. They embark on interdimensional shenanigans together. NA, contemporary fantasy, Bee & Puppycat vibes, not a second chance at romance but a second chance at friendship.

[Working Title] Fake Transcripts for Vampires - An upcoming webnovel about a floating music hostel for creatures of the night, that also offers fake transcripts so they can blend into the human world. Being Human meets Hotel Del Luna, episodic, vampires and werewolves and fae and demons oh my what is that.

Come Home - A boy finds out he's a changeling and plunges into the enchanted forest surrounding his hometown to trade himself for the sister he never knew. His older brother follows after him, unwilling to lose another sibling. YA, Brother centric, ace sex averse MC, scary fae woods, there's a cute puppy.

Asha Crowe Mysteries - A whodunnit murder mystery series in a high fantasy world. Asha Crowe has been chosen by the God of Death, so deaths just kinda happen around her. She gets fed up and starts investigating them. Reluctant protagonist, gods fucking with people's lives, immense fantasy world.

And some more that aren't mature enough to describe yet!

What I Love In Books

Found Family bc who doesn't

Expansive worlds with chunky lore

Friendships and family relationships that are just as intense and obsessive and messy as the romantic relationships

But also yes some good good romance

Messy politics

Full and hard-fought redemption arcs

Characters learning how to people or how to relationships

Adventure stories with lots of travel

High stakes mysteries and intrigue

Probably more idk I read a lot

What I'm Looking For Here

Honestly, I'm an extrovert and I just really love yelling about our stories with my writer friends. I'd love to find some critique partners, or just to hear about what you guys are working on! Just consider this me running up to you on the playground and shouting "HEY CAN WE BE FRIENDS."

[gracesshelves]

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

            The first time I watched anything related to The Lord of the Rings was last year when my friend made me watch the extended editions of the first three movies, so I was glad that I had some context while coming into The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012). However, I have not read any of the books, which I think made it harder to watch this movie in particular. I would rate this movie a two out of five, which is the lowest rating I’ve given in class so far. One of the most important things when consuming media is the ability to keep my focus. I’ve watched some really poorly made movies, but they kept my attention throughout the whole thing, something I cannot say for this movie. I sat and watched this whole thing and I cannot remember half of what happened because it dragged on for so long. Connecting to our discussion this week on the dangers of alienating potential fans through adaptation, I do think this movie kind of does this. If I’d read The Hobbit before, I would’ve been more invested, but since I had no context of where this was going, it was very hard to pay attention.

            This movie follows Bilbo Baggins sixty years before the events of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Despite his adventure-filled youth, Bilbo mellowed into adulthood and thought he was content to live the life of a simple hobbit. However, this illusion is shattered when Gandalf the Grey invites a bunch of dwarves to his house for dinner in an attempt to convince Bilbo to join their quest. Their goal is to reclaim the Kingdom of Erebor, which was captured by the dragon Smaug 171 years ago. Despite some pushback, Bilbo eventually agrees to join their group. In this film, we follow them on the first leg of their quest. Honestly, I think Martin Freeman was the perfect choice for this role. He’s kind of developed a type cast as the cautious, reluctant, sarcastic protagonist/sidekick, but he plays it so well. His personality got me through the lulls of action during this movie.

            I promise I have some nice things to say! I really enjoyed the whole Rivendell scene because I got to see some characters I actually knew. I also think it did a nice job of establishing Gandalf's philosophy, which makes his choices of protagonists make so much more sense. My favorite scene in the whole movie was, of course, the scene with Gollum. This section had the most tension and highest stakes of the film, in my opinion. I was folding clothes while watching the majority of the movie, but I had to stop what I was doing during this part because I was so invested. Andy Serkis does an amazing job of making Gollum creepy, yet sympathetic. His performance always draws me in, and I think the movie would have suffered without the inclusion of this scene.

This week I don’t particularly have any comments on themes, because I have a hard time recalling what the plot was in general besides getting from point A to point B, but I did appreciate Gandalf’s whole speech about why he picked Bilbo specifically. He says: “Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love” (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2012). I think that is what stuck with me the most walking away from this movie. Will I finish the franchise? Probably not. I have a lot of diehard LOTR fans as friends, and they loathe this trilogy so I don’t feel the need to watch it, but I might consider reading the source material. Unfortunately, the studios kind of shot themselves in the foot with this one. I would’ve had the patience to sit through a four-hour-long movie if it covered the whole book. Making a trilogy out of a book that is shorter than any of the The Lord of the Rings books was not the best idea.

[little-paperboat]

Get to know me (tag game)

I'm super late for this one, but I've merged two sets of questions, thank you @savriea & @dutifullylazybread for the tag! I'm very happy ���

Do you make your bed? —I do - or I try to, I feel better when it's done and it makes me feel like I can move on with my day 🫡 Exceptions are for when I'm late, but then I would do it before going to bed!

Favourite number? — 5 (but 3 or 7 also work) (I like odd numbers in general)

What's your job? — I quit my job a few weeks ago sooo at the moment unemployed fanfic writer I guess 🤠

If you could go back to school, would you? — I think so! I would love to go back to study something I really like without the pressure of earning the degree since I already have one, and then take the time to actually learn and discuss the topics rather than to focus on grades.

Can you parallel park? — In theory, yes, I can. In practice... maybe? I don't drive often, so when I have to park I try to make it as easy as I can for myself (so not parallel park)

Do you think aliens are real? — Yes, I think it'd be quite sad if we were the only form of life in the universe

Can you drive a manual car? — Yes!

What's your guilty pleasure? — Cheesy romance and romcoms, I'm down baaaad for it, especially the 90s ones

Tattoos? — Not yet, mostly because I'm too indecisive on what to get and where haha

Favourite color? — Red, then shades of purples, blues and greens :)

Favourite type of music? — Taylor Swift definitely, but otherwise I love pop-rock and instrumental/classical soundtracks from games and movies

Do you like puzzles? — Ehhh, I can do puzzles to pass the time but I'm not drawn to them otherwise. If I can't get it quickly it tends to annoy me 🥲

Any phobias? — Yeah, spiders :(

Favourite childhood sport? — I had a complex relationship with sports as a kid so I don't think I had any really? But I loved to run around and play hide and seek if that counts lol

Do you talk to yourself? — Occasionally, when I need to "hear" the steps in a process or to guide myself through something step by step. Sometimes I do it when I'm in a very good mood too!

What movie(s) do you adore? — Oh! Lords of the Ring trilogy is my absolute fave of all time, then the Ghibli movies, Pride & Prejudice (2005), and I cannot think of others at the moment although I'm sure there's at least like 20 more haha

Coffee or tea? — Tea always, but in recent years I've learned to like coffee (although I love the smell more than the taste)

First thing you wanted to be growing up? — A teacher! And I'm kinda glad I didn't choose this path now 😬

Last song I listened to — guilty as sin 🤍

Current obsession— Rolan 👀 and BG3 in general ❤️

Last thing I Googled — my dentist's phone number lol

Favorite Season — Autumn, when the leaves are red and gold and the sky is still blue 🍁

Skill I'd like to learn — Drawing! I've just started to take art classes and I'm super motivated (and to finally be able to draw all my Tavs! and their partners hihi)

Best advice — trust yourself and do things for yourself first and foremost (drawing, writing, etc etc); don't try to match people's expectations and do things at your own pace, life's not a race :)

Currently watching — waiting for Bridgerton part 2, so in the meantime I'm rewatching the classic period drama movies (P&P, Emma, etc.)

Currently reading — Quoting this from @savriea because it's exactly my answer too lmao

— A stupidly long list of BG3 fanfics as my "to read" books sit gathering dust on my bookshelf.

Relationship status — taken, four years already :)

Sweet/Savory/Spicy — sweet all the way with a side of savoury, spicy food is a no-go however, I cannot handle spices 😱

no pressure tags for the lovely @sleketon666 @kimberbohwrites @poetryvampire 🌸 (feel free to ignore if you've already done it!!)

[twstbookclub]

Introduction to 🦋

So, I’m the last of the admins for the Twisted Book Club. University life has a chokehold on me recently, but here I am. I’m Cressa and I’m the oldest of the trio—I won’t specify my age. You can call me C or Cress for short! My pronouns are she/her and they/them, but I don’t really mind whatever pronouns you use to refer to me.

I’ve been playing TWST since July, which makes me the admin with the shortest time possible in the fandom. Funny enough, I started playing the game after my birthday. I missed a shot at getting a birthday greeting right off the bat (*insert the pepe crying emote*). I like all the characters in TWST—Sebek included because I just know that boy annoyed a lot of people in the fandom—because of how well-written and in-depth they are. Although, my favorites are Floyd and Malleus. This doesn’t help me at all when my gacha luck is rotten and I’m strictly free-to-play.

I’m okay with writing any genre there is: fluffy, angst, comedy, and a mix of everything else. I usually try to make something original with cliché tropes and other prompts, too. Although, I draw the line at NSFW because I can’t write it and I’m uncomfortable writing it. Like I mentioned before, I’m a university student in a pre-medical program. This means that I’m usually busy, but I try to post something on Saturdays and Sundays whenever I can. My timezone is GMT +8, but I try to follow the CMT timezone just like this page.

With that out of the way, here are some fun facts about me!

Like any other tween in the 2010s, I wrote in Wattpad first. I had a oneshots book that somehow became popular, but I’d rather not go back to it. I dropped Wattpad years ago.

I know four languages, but I could only speak two fluently. I was trying to learn Korean before, but I stopped due to procrastination. I can only read the hangeul characters at this point. The other one? I understood it, but with how off it sounds in my voice, I barely speak it.

I’ve been reading books since I was a kid, and I mostly read fantasy. The only YA novel I genuinely reread is The Hunger Games. I’ll never get tired of it (and I’m Team Peeta all the way even if I’m okay with the idea of Katniss staying single in the end, too).

I’ve played a lot of games that I can’t even list them all here, but I did play Persona 5 Royal, Sonic Mania, Tekken 7, Kingdom Hearts 3, the Ace Attorney trilogy, and more!

Look, I’ve been dipping my toes in a pool of fandoms for years, and I can’t even tell you all of them because I lost track. I’m in the TWST fandom and I’m into anime, games, and a whole lot more. At this point, I’m just a multi-fandom anon who hasn’t taken that plunge yet.

I’ve been writing since I was 10 years old, and I’d like to think that I improved a lot as the years went by.

That’s all I can tell you right now. Like all the admins here, I associate myself with the 🦋 emote so you know it’s me whenever I post a fic or answer an ask. I love talking to anyone, really, so don’t be a stranger! I hope yall enjoy your time here in TBC! 💕

[tj-dragonblade]

Rules: List 10 (non-ancient) books for people to get to know you better, or that you just really like. Tagged by @wintersmitth, @lenreli, and @valeriianz - thank you! I have pretty much read fanfiction exclusively for the past couple decades, but let's see what I can dredge up from memories of my youth I have been working on this for weeks now.

D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths - I checked this out from the library dozens of times as a kid, and it is definitely the foundation of my knowledge of Greek mythology The Tower of Geburah - I don't recall the author, my apologies, but this was my first real lasting introduction to fantasy. I had no frame of reference at the time, but in hindsight it's heavily inspired by The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe (which I have never actually read). The Shannara series by Terry Brooks - I found these as a teen and caught up at about the time the sixth book was published; I distinctly remember the anticipation of waiting for book seven (at that point I'd never been reading anything that was still actively in progress and finding out at the end of book 6 that the story wasn't over yet was a tremendous surprise). I re-read those first seven books probably a dozen times; I know Brooks has gone back to that world with a few more trilogies but I haven't followed, alas. The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith - found these post high school and this was my introduction to vampire romance. No, I haven't watched the show. The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice - read these after enjoying the movie; fell off somewhere around Blood and Gold. I remember the characters better than the stories at this point. Armand is my favorite. Saiyuki by Kazuya Minekura - okay yes it's a manga series not a book-book but I'm not gonna hit ten for this list regardless so. Based on the old Journey to the West stories; vibrant characters who gave me so many good fandom memories. Still the best fandom experience I've had. I don't know if it's still getting new chapters or when it last updated or what Minekura's present health status is; it may never be finished but I will always love what we have. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland maybe? I've definitely read it and Through the Looking Glass but I am far more attached to like. The feel of the story and all the ways it permutates through pop culture and ways it can be played with than I am in really picking it up to read again. Same with the Wizard of Oz. ?? There was this book I borrowed from my mother-in-law and I don't remember the name or author but it was both backstory for Erik and retelling of The Phantom of the Opera from his perspective with that backstory incorporated. It lined up really well with me always finding Erik the most sympathetic character in the story.

That's it, I guess that's it. I mean I did nothing but read as a kid, practically lived at the library in my teenage years, but I am absolutely drawing a blank trying to come up with two more my apologies.

Edit: whoops I forgot tagging uh. If you want to do this one please feel free to tag me when you do

[galacticlamps]

tagged by @amyp0nd (thanks!)

Tea, coffee, or soda? Definitely tea! I’ll drink coffee if I need caffeine & there’s no tea available, but soda I don’t drink at all, except as an ingredient in some cocktails (and even then, it needs to be a really worth it cocktail tbh)

Dogs or cats? Cats!

Can you play an instrument?  alas, no

What’s your sun sign? that’s the main one right? if so then capricorn

First song lyrics that came into your head?  i have trained myself, going shelf by shelf, and i know every item in the stoooore, every tube, jar, box, bottle, carton, and container, where they are, what they cost, what they’re foooooor

for first-class clerking and conscientious working, Mr Maraczek why not tryyyyyy meeee

(Don’t ask me how She Loves Me got inside my brain today lol I couldn’t tell ya)

Do you have any tattoos? nope. I’m kinda interested in the concept but idk if I’d ever go through with it - it’s hard to imagine reaching a point in my life where that doesn’t feel like more money & effort than it’s worth, but who knows

Favorite place you’ve travelled? hmm I don’t have a go-to answer for this, but I think I’m gonna say Ireland’s Ring of Kerry

What’s the last movie you watched? song of the sea! I watched that & secret of kells on back-to-back nights a couple (? what is time) weeks ago but have not yet finished the trilogy, whoops

What languages do you speak? saying anything other than English feels like exaggerating. I kind of drift in & out of being decent with Spanish (I learned it for years, and there are definitely periods when I engage with it a lot - when I’m around a lot of people speaking it, or when I’ll be working through a book of Spanish poems or short stories, or listening to a lot of music in Spanish - but that’s not a constant thing for me & I’m definitely not fluent). And the language I work on the most these days is Irish, but on top of not being fluent in that either, I also have even less occasion to speak that outside of literal lessons

Do you have any hobbies? uhh I write fanfic, I draw a little, I play D&D. There’s lots of things I try to actively learn about, but idk if consuming material on certain subjects is really a hobby of its own or not so I’ll just say I read a lot in general. I also don’t have one particular Craft hobby type thing but I do take on a lot of like, single-use projects? Like whether it’s making or altering or refurbishing something I seem to always have something like that going on, but it’s nothing as consistent as being like ‘oh I knit,’ you know?

You can hang out with one fictional character for an hour, who do you choose? I’m sure this is majorly cliche but the Doctor! I can’t even bring myself to be picky about which one (ok I guess I’d be a little bummed if out of all of them it was Four, but hey I’m only human). I’m not angling to squeeze an adventure out of it either, but a) I’m assuming you could potentially spend that hour, even just chatting, almost anywhere/when, and b) there aren’t many characters I think you could fall into cahoots with quickly enough for an hour to actually turn out a really interesting hang out/convo. But I feel like with the Doctor there’s always a chance you can get to know them as well in an hour as you might in a lifetime (which is probably not great news for how much most of them let people in over the course of a lifetime, but hey at least it’s good for this question). Even if there’s other characters I’d rather be like, actively friends with, for this I feel like you wouldn’t wanna pick someone you couldn’t expect to be fairly at ease with within an hour, and I think the Doctor’s a good candidate for that, being able to bond with people quickly is kinda baked into their lifestyle

Compliment yourself: I’m good at fixing things (since I’m watching glue set rn & hoping it goes well this is as much an affirmation as a compliment lol)

and I’ll tag @uighean @queen-boudicca @terryfphanatics @there-are-no-gods-here //anyone else that wants to!

[amoveablejake]

Album of The Week: ‘Low’ By David Bowie

Stand out song: ‘Always Crashing in the Same Car’. 

Once upon a time the idea of multiverses in popular culture were restricted largely to comic book narratives. Ofcourse, the idea of different worlds could be found in certain films and novels however, it was in comic books where the idea of worlds within worlds and upon worlds grew and grew. It grew so much that the comic provider Marvel had to collapse certain multiverses in on themselves to streamline them and in a way, to go back to one universe, to an extent. Following comic books thriving on this idea for a long stretch, it seems to be that multiverses have taken over cinema in a way that doesn’t seem to be slowing down as different iterations on the idea come and go. But throughout all of these variations, no matter the format there always seems to be one constant idea that is present in all of them. That idea being that the different universe, whether they be parallel or multiverses are always talking to each other in some small way. Communications between the two are coming through in very small fashions as the inhabitants reach out to the other side or to another version of their self. And really, I think that this idea of communicating between universes must be true. It has to be real, that different versions of ourselves are trying to contact us as really, this is the only way to explain why ‘Low’ suddenly appeared at the forefront of my mind this evening. 

Okay, multiverse (can I squeeze it in anymore) joking aside, ‘Low’ did really appear out of nowhere for me this evening. I haven’t listened to Bowie for a little while and I hadn’t really been thinking about ‘Low’ or the other masterfully created Berlin tapes however, out of the blue there it was and once I had the thought in my mind to listen to ‘Low’ this evening, I couldn’t get it out of my head. The moment I did press play on what is the first of the Berlin trilogy, it clicked as it always does when I listen to this record. ‘Low’ is one of those albums that has a place on my roster when I’m not even listening to it or thinking about it. It is an album that has now accompanied me for many years and everytime I listen to it I draw something different from it. In early 2018 it accompanied my daydreams of an upcoming trip to Germany as I worked my way through my studies and part time job that winter. It then ofcourse featured heavily on that trip when I was in Berlin in the sun and again when I returned to Germany the summer after and once more last year as I was yet again in Berlin, in the sun. Listening to Bowie’s album here has entwined these visions of Germany with my life here and has formed something quite unique from it. Its almost like when you feel nostalgia for something you didn’t experience or a strange sense of deja-vu. Listening to ‘Low’ seems to bring Germany closer than it is as day dreams, memories and visions all wrap up into one singular thread. 

Yesterday would have been Bowie’s birthday and tomorrow is the anniversary of his passing. It is then, rather spooky that he happened to appear in my head today and I promise I wasn’t reading any retrospectives about him that do tend to appear around this time. There are a few artists in my life that opened the door to different ways of thinking for me. A Tribe Called Quest perhaps being one of the biggest ones and Bowie is certainly up there with them aswell. Bowie’s music, for the most part, is outsider music. Its music that exists unto itself and going by its own rhythm. Its at times beautiful, haunting, disruptive, romantic but most of all, always and forever mesmerising. There are certain songs of Bowie’s that always strike me to my core and one of them is indeed from ‘Low’. ‘A New Career in a New Town’ always seems to hit me, washing over me like the surf and through its duration taking me out to sea and then back to the shore again. Perhaps this is controversial and I do reserve the right to change my mind on this down the line, but for the moment I’ll stick with this idea that for me Bowie’s voice seems to be the loudest when he isn’t saying anything at all. And on ‘A New Career in a New Town’, I can hear him loud and clear. 

For the days gone by and the days ahead. Sleep easy. 

-Jake, a man standing by the wall, 09/01/2023

[tealenko]

mShenko appreciation post...

So... I usually (ejem... better said always, if I'm being honest XD) choose femShep in Mass Effect.

Long story short, I like to play characters in my own gender... Kinda helps a lot with the immersion, despite the fact that I look nothing like my main Shep. And, in the wise words of my brother: "If I'm gonna have to stare at an ass for hours of gameplay, I prefer it to be a woman's ass" (Nothing against men ass' on my part though... I mean, I'm a Kaidan stan 😳😳😳 but I'm week when it comes to females curves ehehehehehe sue me XD)

Anyways... Butt thing aside, I always play femShep. And the same femShep, Mio Shepard. Because I got the fanfic writer disease back when I was like 13 years old and I haven't found the cure yet, so... All I play, write and draw (because I didn't have enough obsessions already lol) related to the main ME trilogy is about my main shep and Kaidan.

I swear I'm about to make my point, stay with me for a little longer XD

Thing is, with the launch of MELE, I decided to see the mShenko romance for the first time (yep, first time... I imagine you can already tell, but I'm that kind of person that once she likes a game, she plays it a 1000 times but always in the exact same way and making the same choices in every single run).

So here we are, a year later, and here's the post about it 😅😅😅

As I told you before, I tend to focus on fShenko. I love the Shenko fandom as a whole, but from what I've seen and from the people I follow, fShenko is in need of more help, support and content than mShenko (I may be wrong here... but the moment your femshep likes dudes people tends to scream at you why you shouldn't be with Kaidan and my mission in life is to always be there to reply that idgaf about how many aliens they think I should bang XD)

Said all that, mShenko.

It's fucking awesome.

Period.

Like... Truly amazing.

Mesmerizing.

(sorry... I had to XD)

I may be biased here, because Kaidan's arc with his sexuality is very similar to my own, but, the whole "At the end of the day, I'd love you no matter what gender you were" is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my whole life.

I was also very surprised by the amount of differences there were between both romances... Both of them top tier. And, against all my expectations, I can comfortably say that they are equally good. So if you love Kaidan and you've only seen one side, I really recommend you to check the other (learn from my mistakes ehehehehe although I think I've enjoyed mShenko 10 times more than I would have before making a few discoveries about myself... so I'm kinda happy it took me so long. Now it feels more special to me <;3)

fShenko has all the young, pure~ish, forbidden, cute and heart-racing vibes in ME1 *chef's kiss* and then (after a bit of angst) you have the mature, long-lasting, I'd die for you romance that we all deserve.

mShenko, on the other hand, is more Kaidan focused in my opinion, which I truly like, and his realization of what is love (🎵) and what Shepard really means for him, which I find extremely cute and beautiful.

And I'll admit, I'm the first to complain about Bioware (perks of being a forever resident of the shenko vortex) but I have to congratulate them on the way they wrote mShenko in ME3.

I really thought it would be ultra cringy and forced, because that kind of evolution is not the easiest to write, but I was sooooooo wrong and I'm sooooooo glad that I was. So yay~ to Bioware on this one!

So, yup... I wanted to do a quick post and here we are now, an hour later ehehehehehe 😅😅

Anyways, and to wrap this up, just sharing an opinion (or ten) here... I was just thinking about it today and I felt like writing a post about it (there's always room for more Kaidan appreciation posts <3).

If you ever wanna talk with me about our beautiful canadian marshmallow pm me, tag me, etc. If you respectfully disagree, feel free to tell me how you feel about all of this in a comment. And if you disrespectfully disagree (I don't think that's a term that exists but I'm gonna use it anyways XD) feel free to ignore me and go on with your life, it's not that difficult.

That's all, I think...

Hope you have a lovely day/night.

Imma go to bed and read some fanfics before I fall asleep.

bye bye!!

~~tea

[lexintothenex]

Today - the 4th of November, 2022 - marks the 20 year anniversary of the Ratchet and Clank franchise. I wanted to draw something for the occasion, but I’ve been working on art trades and other personal stuff and unfortunately didn’t have enough time. In the absence of art, I will instead get sappy and sentimental over a videogame franchise. This is a love letter to my favourite gaming series of all time. 💌

I’m sure I’m one of the younger R&C fans - I was born nearly exactly one year after the first game had been released. As a kid in the mid-late 2000’s, I got into videogames past the PS2’s prime era, instead having one of my first proper gaming consoles be the next-gen PS3. As a little youngin’ at the age of 7 in 2010, I had my first ever adventure with Ratchet and Clank - the demo for A Crack In Time. And when I tell you I *loved* it, I absolutely mean it directly from the heart. I played that demo over and over again - fighting Agorians on Planet Lumos and spending every minute of my time finding hidden Zoni and Constructo upgrades over and over again. I never got tired of it.

In 2011, for what I believe was my birthday, my grandmother got me the full game. English is not my first language, and at 8 years old, though I did know a large deal of English (when you’ve been playing videogames for so long, you pick up on some things), a lot of the game was essentially gibberish to me. And yet that never deterred me. I loved it all the same. I’m sure I misinterpreted a large deal of the game as a kid (I distinctly remember thinking Alister was Ratchet’s dad, heh) - but nevertheless, I had so much fun, even with the language barrier.

My next game in the franchise was Quest for Booty (yes, I played Tools of Destruction last - so I essentially played the Future series backwards, haha.) This game, along with Tools, I got to play in my native language - becoming much more acquainted and familiar with the story and lore than I was beforehand. I only fell in love with the franchise even more as time went on. Heck, the first ever fanart I made of a pre-existing franchise was of Ratchet and Clank (had it not unfortunately been thrown out years ago, I would have shown it here).

And so the years went by. And I played the original trilogy. And I played the spin-offs. I played All 4 One, I played QForce, I played Nexus. I played Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale to get to play as Ratchet.

Sure, as I got older, my interest in videogames declined a slight bit - I never got a PS4 nor a PS5 because I knew I wouldn’t get much use out of them - but my love for Ratchet and Clank never faded. So I watched letsplays, I watched 100% completionist videos of the games I didn’t have the opportunity to play for myself. I watched display showcases of every type of armour and weaponry you could buy. I know the ins and outs of games I have never touched in my life.

It has been nearly 12 years since I played my first Ratchet and Clank game. And I am forever grateful I was introduced to this franchise. It was what singlehandedly got me into gaming when I was young, it was what got me into fanart, and heck, my dream job of being a concept artist stemmed from all of the amazing concept art behind the scenes of these games.

Thank you to Insomniac. For everything. Happy 20th anniversary, Ratchet and Clank. 🧡💙

[doctornolonger]

Farewell

Helen Fayle’s stand-alone sequel to Mags L. Halliday’s lost story “Even Roses Die”. It’s part of the Book of Taliesin “apocrypha”. I don’t intend to post the rest of the Book of Taliesin series on this blog, but this story thematically concludes the “Nine Queens” / “Listen, Learn, Read On” trilogy.

“The bottom line is, whatever I said about saving the world, the real reason I wanted to see the universe was because I thought it was bright and funny and exciting. I was like a six-year-old who’d been let loose on the galaxy. And so was Sarah. That was Sarah exactly.”

Her voice had caught as she’d said the last words, and she stepped down off the podium hurriedly, lest the tears show too soon. Damn it, she was supposed to be stronger than this, wasn’t she?

But you don’t say goodbye to your best friend every day.

She might have seen the couple for the first time then, as she made her way out of the hall, towards the car that would take her to the wake. They might have been standing at the doors when she left: She had a vague memory later of that: A tall slim man with a neat beard and long red hair, dressed in a long black duster, standing with a petite brunette woman with waist length hair, and a surprisingly familiar smile.

Might have. She didn’t remember.

But she saw them again whilst making the usual noises at the wake. Shaking hands, so sad, yes, I’d known her for years, nice to meet you.

They didn’t mix with the rest of the guests – didn’t even look as if they belonged, somehow.

And there really was something familiar about them both, even though they were perfect strangers to her.

Never one to just sit down and let these things pass by, Sam Jones walked over to the couple.

“Hi, were you friends of Sarah’s?” she asked. She stuck her hand out. “Sam Jones.”

“Vivienne,” the woman replied, with a smile. She shook Sam’s hand firmly. “And my friend here is Taliesin.”

Sam took his offered hand, and took a good look at him, wishing for a moment she was a good ten years younger. He had, she thought, the most drop dead gorgeous come to bed eyes… Pale green, they seemed to draw her in…

…so familiar… yet not.

“Forgive us, we didn’t want to intrude.”

Sam dragged her gaze back to the woman – Vivienne?

Familiar hazel eyes, that easy grin, set in a heart shaped face…

“Are you a relative of Sarah’s?” she asked.

Vivienne smiled. “Distantly, you could say.”

That explained it, thought Sam.

“Quite a turn out,” said the man, looking around.

“She was popular,” Sam said quietly. “Even if she did tread on a lot of toes doing her job.”

“They didn’t find a body, did they?”

His voice, Sam thought, was so pleasant. Soft, seductive, yet so intense.

“No.” Tears pricked her eyes. She’d been dying, that much had been certain. The whole thing was still a mystery.

They’d found a battered copy of the Morte d’Artur on the bedside table, next to a small bunch of roses. But no sign of Sarah…

She’d wondered, sometimes, if maybe…

Taliesin reached out a long fingered hand and cupped her chin. “Everything comes to an end sometimes. That's the nature of the tale.” Bending forward, he kissed her lightly on the cheek. “But sometimes, there is another volume. Remember that.”

She wasn’t sure why she allowed him to be so familiar. But somehow, it seemed – well, right. The woman took her hand again, in a gesture of farewell, then kissed her cheek.

“Goodbye,” she whispered.

Then they were gone, leaving only a memory, and a scent of roses.

Afterwards, when the guests had gone, she sat for a while amidst the detritus – paper plates, half empty wine glasses, the occasional vol au vont stuck to the parquet floor – and remembered.

A small flash of colour caught her eye, and she bent down for a closer look. A playing card, she thaught at first – but no, this was larger. She picked it up.

The back had a design of Celtic knotwork on it, in green and white. Turning it over, she revealed the design to be the thirteenth card from the Major Arcana of the Tarot deck. Death. Only this one was a red robed figure, holding a scythe, standing in front of a white rose, outlined very delicately.

“From the Robin Wood deck,” said a voice from behind her. Sam turned, and saw Maguire. The older woman took the card from her. “Nice deck. If a bit kinky in places. You should see ‘The Lovers’.”

“A sick joke if someone left this here,” Sam said shortly. Maguire shrugged.

“Depends. In traditional tarot circles, the card symbolises change – a drastic rebirth or cutting free from the past.” She put her arm around Sam. “Come on, let's go home.”

Sam placed her arm around Maguire, and left the hall, the card falling unfelt from her fingers, lying face up in the shadow of the open doorway.

Original notes: Apologies to Lawrence Miles for the opening paragraph, which is quoted from Interference, and a thank you to Susannah Tiller for the use of Jacqueline Maguire.

[incorrectpizza]

Why 2022 will be a make it or break it year for Star Wars

Ok, so I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially with the Kenobi trailer finally dropping. I’m convinced that 2022 will be the year that either saves Star Wars for me or which pushes me to apathy, if not distaste, of the franchise.

While this is, of course, my personal opinion, I believe that this will be the same for many other Star Wars fans. So, hear me out. I’m going to be analyzing each of the major projects in 2022 and detailing why I think their success is so vital to the franchise. 

Putting the actual post under the cut because it got a little out of hand. 

Reblog & put your own predictions in the tags - I would love to read them!

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT

I want to touch on TBOBF briefly because it was predominantly a 2022 release. I don’t think this show helped Star Wars as much as it could’ve. It proved to be yet another divisive piece of media; I’d say it got much more love, than, say, The Last Jedi or The Rise of Skywalker, but it also didn’t get the level of praise The Mandalorian did. And it stole some key moments that could’ve made the season premiere of that show a real banger.

OBI-WAN KENOBI

This show is arguably the most anticipated piece of Star Wars content since The Force Awakens. People have been begging for Ewan McGregor’s return to Star Wars ever since Disney bought the franchise. This show is likely to draw an outsized audience of “normies” as opposed to the other Star Wars content that’s coming out this year.

This show has an outsized level of hype and is playing with a LOT of beloved legacy characters (even more than the sequel trilogy?!) Already we have confirmed Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, Owen, Beru, and a young Luke Skywalker (albeit from a distance). There are a few others who are heavily rumored but not outright confirmed which I’ll refrain from listing here.

Obi-Wan and Darth Vader having another confrontation will almost certainly be epic, but if done sloppily it could really break lore. Same with Obi-Wan possibly interacting with Luke. 

On top of this, they are also dealing with some popular characters from outside the movies. The Inquisitors’ presence - emphasized so heavily in the very first teaser - could confuse or delight fans.

If they screw this show up, it could have a profound impact on the way people view both the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy (albeit to a lesser extent). 

To put things succinctly: Obi-Wan Kenobi is an extremely anticipated show which will likely change the way all of Star Wars is seen - for the better or worse.

ANDOR

This show isn’t as big a deal as Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it holds a unique place as the series that could most surprise Star Wars fans. In my humble opinion, Andor could be a shocking success that brings together fans of the prequels, animated shows, originals, books, comics and, of course, Rogue One. 

This slice of the timeline is full of possibilities: pretty much any character from the Prequels, Originals, or the time in between could show up. 

Perhaps the biggest question is “Will we get to see Jedi?” There haven’t been many concrete rumors about Andor, which means they could totally surprise us with some mind-blowing connections. Could Ewan McGregor have filmed an extra scene or two while he was working on Kenobi? Or maybe a younger Ahsoka Tano will show up here as Fulcrum? Kanan Jarrus hasn’t revealed his identity, but it’s entirely plausible he and/or Hera Syndulla could show up in their roles as young rebellion heroes. 

It’s not just Jedi that could show up, though. The show will deal with both the Rebellion and the underworld, opening up a world of possibilities. There’s the possibility of a clone trooper or two cameoing, or even young Boba Fett; Temeura Morrison is still very well connected with Star Wars. Maybe young Fennec Shand could make an appearance as well? We know she’s already bounty hunting by this time. A persistent fan hope is Star Wars Rebels’ Alexsandr Kallus, who would still be an Imperial agent at this time. 

Add in the odd, persistent rumors of George Lucas’s involvement, and you get a recipe for something special. 

Will Andor be a magical Neapolitan pizza with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella or a sad stale piece of cardboard covered in a dry, just-barely-tomato-esque paste and cheese that looks like it was chewed by a dog?

THE BAD BATCH

So, here’s the thing about The Bad Batch Season Two:

We know absolutely nothing about it.

Aside from the fact that it’s coming, there have been zero announcements, and few leaks or rumors, since the initial announcement of the renewal last year. The latest development? Bob Chapek actually left the show out of the list of the remaining content for 2022 during Investor Day yesterday, and Star Wars Insider changed the sidebar from “Coming Spring 2022″ to “Coming Soon”. 

Are there production woes? Could it be cancelled? Or do they just not have an easy spot to slide it into their lineup of content? We know courtesy of Michelle Ang that the show was recording lines months ago. 

This show is big for a few reasons. It’s not the most beloved Star Wars animated series by far, but it had a sizeable fandom. It’s also the only animated Star Wars on the horizon in the near future. 

Some of Star Wars’ best content has been animated. The Clone Wars and Rebels are both very well-loved. Visions had a fun breakout moment, and Resistance is severely underrated.

I worry that, if The Bad Batch doesn’t get a great second season - and a renewal for a third, if it’s been sketched out - it could be very bad news for Lucasfilm Animation and its fans. I’m thoroughly convinced that Resistance got cut short. If The Bad Batch doesn’t perform up to snuff, I’m afraid they might decide that animation isn’t worth it anymore.  With the Rebels sequel storyline moving to live action, there isn’t a very clear direction for Star Wars animation to go after The Bad Batch, and I’m afraid it could become scarce. 

LEGO STAR WARS: THE SKYWALKER SAGA

This game has been coming out for so kriffing long that Lego Star Wars fans could be extremely salty if it isn’t everything they’d hoped and dreamed. (I’m not a huge Lego fan, so this is pure speculation, but I can’t say I’d blame them.)

JEDI FALLEN ORDER 2

This is a long shot but if the Jedi Fallen Order sequel gets a killer trailer and/or a release in 2022, it could provide a lifeline to some Star Wars fans who are struggling to enjoy the other content. (I know it’s one of my most anticipated Star Wars projects).

BOOKS & COMICS

I felt weird leaving these out entirely, because they do exist, but there isn’t anything huge going on. Other than The High Republic, which I’m pretty sure everyone has either gone all-in one or abandoned by this point, we have just a handful of books that look to either enhance or cast a dark shadow over a few beloved characters. But these aren’t likely to make a huge splash, so I don’t see them making a big difference to the fandom writ large.

THE MANDALORIAN SEASON 3

I tacked this on at the last moment to remind people that we should’ve gotten a third season of The Mandalorian in 2022. If it weren’t for Disney’s firing of Gina Carano and subsequent rewrites, it likely would have premiered as scheduled in 2022. It could’ve been a fantastic banger of an ending to a year of epic Star Wars (if everything above went well and on schedule). But as things stand, it’s looking like The Mandalorian will come out in 2023 at the earliest.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

✨When you get this, please respond with five things that make you happy! Then, send to the last ten people in your notifications anonymously. You never know who might benefit from spreading positivity✨

Hey Nonny!

Ooof this got lost in a bunch of stuff! Sorry about missing it! Only remembered it because I saw a similar ask on my dash hahha.

Seems like a good day to do this, since I'm so tired and exhausted and I need something to make me smile.

Dragons. Just everything and anything with dragons. I'm fascinated with them. If you buy or make me anything with dragons, I automatically love you.

I finally bought myself my iPad I've been saving up for for *literally* 3 years. Because I was saving up for a trip this year that I am no longer taking (was planning a 40th birthday trip to Disney, but now am not going to Florida at all until they get their shit together), I took some of that money also to buy it and bought a top-of-the-line one, the best I could buy at the local Apple store (1TB, 12.9inch Pro... you don't want to know how much it was :|). I love it so much, and it's nice to use it to get off my laptop. I mostly was prompted to buy it now because it was my 40th birthday gift to myself AND my Wacom driver kept crashing my laptop and I'm scared to reinstall it hahah.

Funko Pops. I LOVE them and hate them. I only collect ones from series and shows I like, but I have WAY too many of them that most are in storage right now. I want to get my own home soon so I can display them finally. I am constantly checking the app for upcoming Funkos, and then immediately check my local toy store for their preorders. My local toy store must love me, I have SO much on preorder right now.

Drawing and writing. I'm alright at both, but I've terrible imposter syndrome so I feel like I'm not good at either, mainly because I don't get much traction on either when I post. I've a few people who always help me get it out, but I these days I do it for me, because it makes me happy.

Video Games. Currently playing AC Valhalla, and I LOVE it so much that I ended up buying the Season Pass. I RARELY buy DLC. But the game was SO good and I wanted more, so I needed to play the expansions. PERSONALLY it's my fave of the new trilogy, and because it's a "current" game, it's always got new stuff. Love it. My fave game EVER is Kingdom Hearts 2. I love the story of it so much. Skyrim is a close second – I like Skyrim because I put in over 200 hours in ALL versions I've played, and still there's so much I have to do hahah. AC New Trilogy is third. I liked DA Inquisition but never finished it, and I still have a bunch of games I bought last Christmas I have yet to play, so my list may change... it's highly unlikely though.

So there you have it Nonny! I think it's good I waited until I was in a better mood to answer this... People stopped sending me these because I was always so negative in them, I guess... I hope I get more of things like this when my asks go back on.

Can I also give you 5 things I'm looking forward to? I feel like that will help me keep a positive attitude for a bit.

My current work contract is almost done, and I'll get some downtime before I have to start my normal day-job again. Looking forward to my weekends back.

My broken foot seems to be healing REALLY quick. Yesterday was the first day I woke up without it hurting, and today I've been able to hobble around on my heel (as per my doctor's instructions that I need to start doing once my foot stopped hurting). I'm optimistic that I'll be given the okay to drive again during my next appointment on the 30th. I am going nuts not being able to leave home on my own accord.

So in Canada, we have this thing where you can take out your RSPs tax-free for three things: Retirement, First Time Home Ownership, and Second Education. I set up my RSPs WAY back when I was making piss-poor salary about 10 years ago, and I wanted to make sure that I at LEAST could have SOMETHING when I retired. I recently discovered I maxed out the amount of money I can take out for First Time Homeownership in my RSP, so my plans to home ownership are looking more and more realistic. I just wish owning a home wasn't so expensive where I live (major city in one of the most expensive provinces in Canada). It's hard when you're single-income. Here's hoping that I can make it a reality soon. The idea is a condo, I just have very expensive tastes (safe-neighbourhoods apparently justify a 10,000$+ more in cost :/) so I keep saving into my various accounts and GICs that I set up after I finally was making a liveable salary, so as long as I keep being humble and living below my means, I can finally get what I save up for... if only the cost of housing would SLOW THE FUCK DOWN. It's gone up 100K in just a year. It's insane.

I also saved up enough for a new couch thanks to a second contract I took during my CURRENT contract, which paid me exactly enough for the couch I want to get (I may or may not have strategically negotiated that contract, LOL). I've been needing a new couch for years; the one I currently have, I have sentimental attachment to (it was my dad's and is over 20 years old) but working at home for almost 2 years, I've worn it out and it's SO VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. It's barely staying together. Looking forward to getting it :) ... Was waiting until cooler months since I have to put it together myself (IKEA) and my apt is SO hot in the summer, no way I can do it then.

Having my asks turned back on. I'm sorry, it sounds so cheesy and dumb, but I don't have many RL friends or connections, and you guys help me stay positive and help keep my negative thoughts at bay. The dark thoughts have been coming in a lot lately, to the point where I've convinced myself that no one missed me and no one cares, so it's helped having a few of my regulars and mutuals check up on me in DMs during all this. Thank you <3 I don't always reply back, but your love is appreciated <3

Thank you again Nonny for asking me this <3 And I hope you don't mind I answered more than you asked <3

[phoukanamedpookie]

On the latest round of Gal Gadiscourse

Normally, I scroll/unfollow/block and move on, but I’m so sick of this bullshit.

Since 2020 continues to be deeply committed to being the absolute worst, I now have to open my mouth about the latest round of Gal Gadiscourse. This is going to be my first and last statement about it. I’m not going to debate this. I’m not going to have a “civil discussion” about it. I’m drawing a boundary, and because of the context, I’m doing you the courtesy of explaining why. Fuck with that boundary by putting that shit in my space, and I'm just unfollowing and/or blocking without even bothering to engage.

So, about the whole “cheering for the deaths of Palestinian children” thing.

Now I’m going to commit one of Vizzini’s classic blunders and get involved in a land war in Asia in order to say...

Yes, I’d heard about that. Then I looked for myself and came to the conclusion that it's a grotesque misrepresentation of what she said. The context of her statement was very clear if you're not wearing Jews Are Bloodthirsty Demons goggles. Her disapproval was clearly directed Hamas for specific acts against Palestinian civilians with a dash of "Support the troops" thrown in. Whoop-dee-fucking doo.

(BTW, did y’all have this same energy for Adam Driver every time a new movie from the Star Wars sequel trilogy came out? Israel mandates service for able-bodied citizens when they turn 18. Driver volunteered to enlist in the Marines because of 9/11. *crickets*)

Honestly, I have a much bigger problem with the role the US military has in bankrolling big-budget films. But that’s a huge issue you just can’t yell at a celebrity on social media about in order to feel morally superior to them.

Regarding Gal Gadot herself, everything she has publicly stated about Israel and Palestine, since way back when she was mostly recognizable from playing Gisele in the Fast And The Furious franchise, has stressed coexistence. Just last year, she pretty much told Netanyahu—y'know, the Israeli Prime Minister, remember him?—to not use her name and image to make it look like she agrees with him about demonizing Palestinians. Some time before that, she posted on IG or FB about some Israelis who'd gathered and made signs saying hateful things about Palestinians, and she criticized them for saying such things about Israel's "neighbors" (her word).

But for some "mysterious" reason, y’all gentiles love to make shit up about this woman making her out to secretly monstrous in all the ways that tick all the boxes for antisemitic canards—I’ll never forget "kill notches on her rifle!"—yet y’all adamantly refuse to consider that mayyyyyyyybe antisemitism has something to do with it, and y'all might have blind spots and prejudices y'all need to work on.

What makes all this worse is that Benjamin Netanyahu (@IsraeliPM) and the IDF (@IDF), the people with actual decision-making power, are right there on Twitter. Blue checkmark and all. They're on that bird app all the time. And you can tell they’re not run by bots because they got jokes. Hating on Gal Gadot as a proxy for the individuals and organizations who are directly responsible for decisions made during the conflict is some Protocols of the Elders of Zion shit, and I’m not having it.

Don’t even get me started on that shitty Medium article that where Gal Gadot develops the superpower of being in Israel and on the other side of the world at the same time. Apparently, in addition to controlling the weather, Jews can teleport too. Not to mention, the description of events is described in a way that mirrors a scene from a movie she was in. I know because I saw the movie. And own the DVD.

This one was particularly insidious because it used “believe victims” as a way to make someone who didn’t do anything look evil. It's really aggravating because the women who came forward about men like Bill Cosby, R. Kelly, Harvey Weinstein, and Brett Kavanaugh got way more scrutiny than that Medium article did. 

It’s particularly disgusting in light of how rampant harassment, abuse, and rape are in the entertainment industry and how many women, including some very famous women, experience such things throughout their careers. In one interview following Brett Ratner getting fired, Gadot mentions that the things the #MeToo movement brings attention to is very common in the film and modeling industries, and she herself was lucky to not have experienced it. It’s really sick to start a rumor like that about someone who’s much more likely to have been a victim or survivor than a perpetrator.

Fortunately for her, she’s rich and famous, so she can fight things like this if she wants or needs to. Others who don’t have such privileges are in prison right now for who knows how long.

Granted, it’s not unusual for people involved with politics or entertainment to be full of shit. It’s not unusual for famous people to be bigots or assholes. But the things people have accused her of that have been uncritically accepted as fact go way above and beyond anything she’s publicly said or done. I can’t chalk it up to basic misogyny because TERFs and Karens have been coming out of the woodwork like termites. It’s as though her real “sin” is existing in public as an Israeli Jew who doesn’t flagellate herself over it.

So, I’m gonna be absolutely, abundantly clear. Portraying Gal Gadot as evil or monstrous is antisemitic as fuck, and motherfuckers need to knock it off. I don’t give a shit if you like her or not. I don’t give a shit if you agree with her or not. But this thing where you do where disagreeing with or disliking a Jewish person means you get to demonize or dehumanize them? Nah, not in my space.

Tip your waitress.

[avatar-news]

The Fire Nation Awaits 🌺 An in-depth look at the ever-elusive islands in the era of Korra and when we will finally pay them a visit

[Artwork by Avatar News; not official.]

Note: This article was published before the official announcement of Avatar Studios at the Paramount+ investor day.

“Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.” We’ve all heard those words a million times. The four elements, and the power to control them bestowed by four subspecies of giant lion-turtles, are at the very heart of the world of Avatar. The balance between them was once upon a time broken by one of the four, the Fire Nation, forming the main conflict of Avatar: The Last Airbender. For much of Aang and the Gaang’s quest at the close of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation was a forbidden, far-away location, until the curtain was finally drawn back in the aptly-named Book Three: Fire when our heroes entered the inferno, undercover behind enemy lines. A dramatic tropical destination! New outfits! Culture shock! Needless to say, it was a big deal.

→ 🌺 The big reveal of the Fire Nation in Book Three: Fire had its own marketing push, matching public anticipation.

When the Hundred Year War ended, the newly-instated Fire Lord Zuko dedicated his life to righting the wrongs of his forefathers and working with Avatar Aang to bring the Fire Nation back into the fold under peace. By the time Aang’s successor debuted as the next Avatar in the titular The Legend of Korra, Zuko had abdicated the five-pointed crown and his daughter, Fire Lord Izumi, took the stage leading a reformed, rebalanced Fire Nation.

There was no more war, no more enemy lines, yet the Fire Nation became more distant and mysterious than ever before.

Korra’s close encounters with the land of fire

To this day, Korra has never visited the Fire Nation, nor has it been seen at all, nor do we know anything about it in her era. In fact, practically the only thing we do know is that its leader is a noninterventionist, which conveniently gets it out of the way of making an appearance in Korra’s journey as the Avatar so far.

The closest we have come to seeing the Fire Nation in The Legend of Korra was in Book Two: Spirits, Chapter Five: Peacekeepers. In the midst of the Water Tribe Civil War, Korra sets out across the sea to get help from the royal family, however, she is intercepted by a dark spirit and never makes it to her destination. In the next episode, she washes up on a secret island home to the Bhanti sages, which probably technically counts as Fire Nation territory, but as we know from The Shadow of Kyoshi (more on that later), this faction predates the Four Nations themselves so it doesn’t really count.

→ 🌺 Korra washes up on the beach of Bhanti Island in Book Two: Spirits, Chapter Six: The Sting.

No, as cool as that location and the events of the Beginnings two-parter that happened there were, it wasn’t the main draw of seeing the Fire Nation that we’re still waiting for: seeing how the Fire Nation, which was already industrializing in Aang’s time, changed over the decades, compared to places like Republic City and Ba Sing Se; meeting new characters; visiting new and familiar locations; worldbuilding both new and expanding on what we already learned.

After this aborted tease in Book Two, we never come close to the island country again (at least not with this Avatar and in her era; yes I’m leading up to something...). Instead, the focus turns strongly to the Earth Kingdom in the third and fourth Books, and beyond.

Keep in mind that The Legend of Korra aired for about two-and-a-half years total from 2012 to 2014. Since then, the story has continued in comics. The comics era has lasted from 2015 to present-- seven years to the animated series’ two. In that time, there have only been two comic trilogies due to various production troubles, and neither have touched the Fire Nation. Instead, they directly continue the Earth Kingdom-focused threads started in Books Three and Four of Korra, both originally airing in 2014. Or, in perspective: we had a focus on Republic City in 2012, the Water Tribes in 2013, and the Earth Kingdom from 2014-2021.

Will we finally see the Fire Nation in the next graphic novel trilogy?

This question comes to mind every time new Korra content is supposed to roll around, and the powers that be know it-- it’s a pretty obvious gap in the world of Avatar right now. This franchise is iconically built around four elements and the Four Nations based on them, so one of them being MIA is quite glaring, and for that reason everyone is understandably always asking about it.

The most concrete confirmation we’ve gotten was this AMA answer from franchise co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino in 2016, two years after the show ended and a year before the first graphic novels did come out:

“Yes, hopefully in the [Korra] comics, we’ll have a chance to go to the Fire Nation and see how it has changed since A:TLA.”

Since then, as previously discussed, two comic trilogies have come and gone, obviously not getting closer to the Fire Nation-- and I would actually argue entrenching themselves further away from it.

I want to make it clear that I’m against fan entitlement. Creatives telling the tales they want to in service of the story and the artform is how the industry should run. I’m just hoping to offer some perspective on how we got to where we are almost a decade into the era of Korra and the metatextual pacing of the franchise itself.

Either way, the next Korra comic trilogy has been official confirmed by the editor for Avatar at Dark Horse Comics in this informal statement on Twitter:

We’re not ready to announce any details yet, but we are working on the next trilogy. I really appreciate your patience and hope it’s worth the wait! ✨

There’s currently some kind of holdup for which we really have zero context or information, and we of course have no idea what this next trilogy will be about. (I do speculate a bit on what it could be a few paragraphs down.)

But, like what turned out to be Ruins of the Empire before it, I faithfully made a mockup graphic for my post announcing the confirmation of the next The Legend of Korra graphic novel trilogy. And like before, I chose to completely speculatively and blindly make it Fire Nation-y, as if the next comic could/would(/should?) feature it. This is mainly because I feel like that’s what most people’s eyes would be caught by and thus result in the most successful post (hey, at least I’m honest), but also because it’s just fun.

Here are both images, from 2018 and 2020 respectively:

→ 🌺 Speculative edits I made for my posts on the announcement of previous and upcoming Korra comics before we knew anything about them.

In both cases, the response was huge, and people were super excited about the prospect of Fire Nation content just from my quick speculative mockups. I am of course hoping that the new artwork I made of the Krew for this post will have a similar effect (it’s the first time I just straight-up drew it instead of editing existing images) but again it’s really mostly just for fun.

Anyway, until the next trilogy is properly revealed, we’ll just have to wait and see.

However, that’s not the only place this could happen.

Are they saving the Fire Nation for an animated movie?

With Avatar’s HUGE success on Netflix last year, interest in the franchise rocketed to an all-time high. The streaming wars have begun, and Avatar’s owner and its parent company, Nickelodeon and ViacomCBS, have finally started to notice.

ViacomCBS is launching Paramount+ on March 4th, a relaunch of its existing streaming service CBS All Access. Paramount+ is meant to be a big expansion and refocus to compete with the big hitters: Disney+, HBO Max, and, yes, Netflix. (There’s quite an entanglement there, with Netflix being the home of Avatar’s big year and the upcoming live-action series.)

One of the keys to a successful streamer today is high-profile originals to drive new subscribers. ViacomCBS knows this and they know Avatar has just become among the highest profiles a property can have, breaking records and going toe-to-toe with other big-hitting sci-fi/fantasy/genre franchises. This knowledge goes right to the top of the food chain: the CEO of ViacomCBS mentioned Avatar by name when discussing potential originals for Paramount+.

I have previously discussed how The Search relates to this. The Search was the second ATLA comic trilogy, focused on the search for Zuko’s mother in the thick of the Fire Nation, and if you didn’t know, it was originally pitched by Bryke as an animated movie after the original series ended.

I just want to be clear that what I’m discussing here is purely speculative, but this is the only other piece of the Avatar franchise that we know was optioned for animation besides the shows themselves. It’s possible they would be interested in going back to this idea as a Paramount+ original (and it would certainly be popular among audiences), but it is of course set during the era of Aang and thus covers both a time period we’ve already seen, and also by nature of already being released as comics, events we’ve already seen too.

However, the whole point of this article is that there is one major, huge thing we haven’t seen yet, with massive anticipation building for a decade behind it: the Fire Nation in the era of Korra. So, again, this is just speculation, but it’s also possible that they could return to the very smallest seed of the original idea for a The Search movie, and do a Fire Nation-focused Korra movie now.

→ 🌺 ATLA’s Fire Nation-focused The Search was originally pitched as an animated movie.

You can skip this next part if you don’t want to see me embarrassingly promote my fan idea 😆 but this is where the artwork I made for this article comes into play. The general idea for it, and the reason I tried to replicate the show’s style as much as possible, is that it’s what a Fire Nation-focused movie could maybe look like. Something as standalone and unrelated to Earth Kingdom drama as possible, with fresh new looks for the Krew to get people excited for something fresh and new! I really feel like the Avatar franchise has so much potential for expanded content like this, that’s why I have high hopes that Paramount+ will make the most out of it! You can see the individual characters’ artwork in larger size here. Ok I’m done back to business.

If the idea of a movie seems too impossible to you, we can also take a deeper look at Bryke’s involvement with upcoming comics instead.

After Korra ended, they officially each went their separate ways. They vaguely consulted on Avatar stuff, and Mike of course wrote the Korra comics, but Bryan was planning on writing and drawing his own original non-Avatar comic series and Mike was releasing his own non-Avatar novels. This all appears to have come to a stop when they signed on to showrun the live-action retelling of ATLA at Netflix, officially reuniting the partnership and committing to Avatar again in a big way. Of course, they ended up leaving that project over creative differences, but it did result in a big, lasting change: this time they remained official creative partners and have indicated they’re still working on Avatar now, together. This is a far cry from the official breakup after Korra, so it begs the question what exactly they’re working on. I of course have my fanciful predictions of a sprawling expansion of the Avatar franchise at Paramount+, but what if it’s actually a combination of the ingredients from before the live-action series...

More speculation, but what if the reason for all the mystery behind the next Korra comics is because they will be made by Bryke, with the two of them co-writing and Bryan doing the art for the first time? If that’s the case, they could want to make them a bigger deal than the other Avatar comics have been so far, and maybe that’s why it’s taking so long to iron everything out, have a more significant story, have more of a marketing push, etc. If they’ve been saving the Fire Nation for something big, this could be it.

I personally think this is less likely than a show or movies or something, but it is possible. Anything is possible right now since we know so little about the large-scale direction of the franchise moving forward, just that it’s gonna get big.

⛰️🌋 The Fire Nation in the era of Avatar Kyoshi

We’re not done! Despite everything I’ve written here, believe it or not, the Fire Nation was actually the star of the show in the last year.

With the debut of the Avatar franchise’s first original novels, Kyoshi made a huge splash (in a way only she can). If you haven’t read them yet, you NEED to-- they’re some of the best Avatar content EVER. The Rise of Kyoshi hit shelves in 2019 and The Shadow of Kyoshi followed in 2020. The latter is of particular interest here, because it was almost entirely set in the Fire Nation and featured practically everything and anything you could want from a visit to elusive islands. Though obviously set in a historical period some four hundred years before Aang’s time, Kyoshi’s sojourn in the Fire Nation gave us a huge amount of new information, a depth and breadth of worldbuilding, culture, and character we’ve never really seen in Avatar before. It truly makes the most of the literary medium, so hats off to author F. C. Yee for the passion and effort he put in.

In The Shadow of Kyoshi, we learn about the era of the previous fire Avatar before Roku, Avatar Szeto. Through Kyoshi and her own Team Avatar, we learn about the different clans and islands of the Fire Nation, as they experience the fraught early reign of Fire Lord Zoryu and the conflict between the Keohso and Saowon clans, culminating in the Camellia-Peony War. We get a multitude of fleshed-out perspectives from the upper crust to the flea-bitten underworld, matching the heights of the worldbuilding quality of Republic City. It’s such cool, intricate stuff, and really shows Avatar’s potential (and that’s all just the worldbuilding-- the character work is also top-notch).

That’s not the only place the Fire Nation has shone recently. One of Insight Editions’ awesome scrapbooks, Legacy of the Fire Nation, gave us a tour through the royal family’s history, including never-before-seen looks at young Iroh and Ozai and much, much more.

All this just goes to show that the Fire Nation has been a hot ticket throughout the ages and there’s one conspicuous gap in that history: the era of Avatar Korra. With so much recent expansion and development of the Fire Nation in our world, it would be perfect to see the culmination of it all in the current time period in the world of Avatar too.

If this made you excited for the potential of what the Avatar franchise could look like in the coming years, same boat!

The next concrete date where something could be announced is February 24th, when ViacomCBS will host their investor day and present their streaming strategy, including Paramount+ originals. There’s no guarantee Avatar is mentioned, but I’m keeping a hopeful eye out.

As for comics, Dark Horse’s schedule marches to its own beat, so there’s no way to know when the next drop of information is coming our way.

Could this finally be the comics that take us to the Fire Nation, or could the much-anticipated visit be in another medium like animation? Stay tuned-- as always I’ll post as soon as we learn anything new!

[carynsilver]

Favorite Fics: Lamen/Captive Prince Edition

It’s time for another fic rec post--this time fics about Damen and Laurent from the fabulous Captive Prince trilogy by C.S. Pacat. If you have not read this series, I highly recommend it. Fair warning, it does have some tough stuff in it (cw: consent issues, child abuse, and slavery), but it is so worth it in the end.

Brief synopsis: Damen, crown prince of Akielos, is betrayed by his brother and the woman he loves and given as a slave to Laurent--prickly, frigid, crown prince of Vere and brother of the man Damen killed in war years before. What ensues is rebellion, court politics, intrigue, war, betrayals, and the two most unlikely people--two people who (it seems) could never be together due to the circumstances separating them--falling in love as they try to save their countries, all wrapped up in historical settings based on ancient Greece and France.

And now that I’ve introduced you to the book series, let’s get on to the fics!

the steady running of the hour by jinlinli

This one had to be first on my list, as it picks up at the end of the last book, Kings Rising, and gives more of the details about what happened after that spectacular duel. This is my head cannon for this time period that not described in the books. In fact, the last time I read the series, I was waiting for a particular thing to happen until I realized it was something from this fic! It is a great Laurent POV and works perfectly with cannon.

One the Other by Ruby_Wednesday

This is a cannon-style AU in which Marlas goes much differently. Auguste is killed when the battle was paused under a truce, and 13YO Laurent is sent by his uncle back to Ios as the royal family’s ward and becomes Damen’s responsibility. All the broad strokes of cannon are in this fic, but they play out in new and fascinating ways. I also love how different and yet believable Laurent is growing up with someone who he can depend on, like Damen, instead of with his uncle in Vere. And the way this Laurent helps Damen mature, is good, as well. I really, really love this fic.

And if you want more recommendations by Ruby_Wednesday, you should definitely check out Hold Tight (meet cute as single riders at Disney World) and The Most Wonderful Time (Damen draws “evil” boss Laurent in the company Secret Santa).

Edgewise by asmallwave

This is my favorite fic that addresses the trope of what it would’ve been like if Auguste lived. 

“Thank you, I know exactly how it would have been. You and Auguste would have been slapping each other on the back and watching tournaments, and I would have been trailing around tugging on your sleeve, trying to get a look in edgewise.”

The Masquerade by @dont-touch-the-phlebotinum

This fic is so atmospheric. I love the way it takes cannon Akielos and Vere and makes them into a modern world. And the Damen/Laurent meet cute at a masquerade ball followed by running around through secret passages and climbing over rooftops is amazing.

Lovefool by Kittendiamore

Now we come to the modern, real-world AUs, which are my favorite Captive Prince reading material. And I had to start that portion of this list off with Lovefool. After Jokaste left Damen for his brother, Damen finds a fake date off Craigslist for his family’s annual Valentine’s Day party. Laurent is a performance actor working on his thesis. And the sparks fly--both romantic sparks and otherwise. I particularly love Laurent facing off with Jokaste in this one.

On the Cusp by Kittendiamore

I adore Kittendiamore’s work, and this is another on my must-read list for this fandom. It reminds me of the How I Met Your Mother episode, “The Window.” Damen is a serial monogamist who can find his next significant other in an instant, and Laurent has been in love with his brother’s best friend for years. When Jokaste cheats on Damen, Laurent finally has his chance!

Seriously, you can’t go wrong with any of Kittendiamore’s stories. If you’re looking for something a little more cannon, but with time travel and an Auguste lives plot, try Weighed and Measured, as well.

A Point to Happiness by idratherhaveyou

Panda slippers! This was one of the first AUs I read in this fandom. Damen texts the wrong number, and he and Laurent eventually fall in love. It is fabulous! Nothing more need be said.

Along For the Ride by idratherhaveyou

This one starts a little slow, but Laurent crashes Damen, Nikandros, and Jokaste’s road trip to the Grand Canyon in an attempt to get home to save Nicaise from their uncle. Damen is basically the perfect person in this fic--good hearted and true. Laurent is hurt and untrusting, but really, really wants to. Nicaise is written really well here, and this is one of the best Jokastes that I’ve ever read. She has the potential to be so much more than she was in the series, and this story really picks up on that. This story is good enough and explains everything well enough that it could really stand on its own without fandom to fall back on, but I also love the fandom angles of it.

Star Power by @turtletotem​

This is a celebrity fake dating AU--two of my favorite tropes. The way it addresses the evils of Uncle Reggie as Damen (a rock star) and Laurent (an actor) fall in love while they pretend to be together for fame reasons is masterful. Nicaise really steals the scene in this one, as well, and I love how Kastor meets his just desserts.

Celebrity Status by @tenspencerriedplease​

Damen and Laurent are dating, and Damen doesn’t figure out Laurent is a famous actor until Laurent takes him as a date to his latest movie premier. This is hilarious and cute, and it involves a Damen vs. Nicaise cold war that always makes me laugh.

So, that’s it for this time around. It will be interesting to see how many people actually read this post. It is the first time I’ve done fic recs for a book series. And, if you are interested in other fic recs by me, I’ve also done ones for Stucky, Drarry, Stony, Darcy Lewis, and Malex. 

Thanks again to all you fic writers out there and all the enjoyment you’ve given me, both in general and especially during this crazy time of Covid! I appreciate all of y’all and how hard y’all work to bring us these great stories!