#but i gotta learn the knowledge will be my arsenal i can fight with for my dreams

[milagrosen]

i think i have forgotten to mention here but i'm actually back in school (ironic i know for someone who hates the schooling system)

But i'm here, the only reason really because it's a fashion school, which is something i love and it has good paths and opportunities to get more global/international possibilites for jobs and such

Yeah so now i have school stuff and all so art might be very few here and there

However, i will be using my intagram more and more because once i get to actually do art and design, we are allowed to post anything we want. I'm pretty sure we get to start designing stuff soon. A top, skirt and pants are at least coming at some point, maybe a shoe design too and also a ceramics project.

So support on my insta would be very much appreciated!💕 It's @ milaroseie

I post all my art, designs, fashion things, thoughts and photos i take of thing and also myself at times

Thank you as always for supporting me and liking my art, i will do art still no worries🩷

[jackdaniel69nice]

Ninjago ATLA au Book 3: Earth

Books 1, Book 2

Harumi gathers her friends, Skylor and Vania to to help her find Lloyd

While in the swamp Lloyd learns from Bolobo about the connection between all living things and sees a bright flash of light and energy and two boys. He decides to follow the connection and arrives at the Walkers.

He meets Jay, an inventor and quite frankly a genius. He invites them to stay with them for awhile which is great because they’re firenation and fugitives and should stay out of big towns

When Lloyd mentions he’s searching for an earth bending master of course he points out Karlof, a strong man who’s said to be able to bend metal but his harsh treatment and cocky attitude don’t sit with Lloyd (or Kai) and Jay says he may know someone else.

They meet Cole at night. At first he’s off putting and cold (Jay said he would be, you just gotta warm up to him) and he’s suspicious of them but by Jay’s convincing he says he’ll “think about it”. Kai isn’t impressed and Cole puts him in the ground...literally.

They go into town to get supplies. They are quick to learn that the Walkers have a...reputation...here.

“Strange things go on out there girly don’t go associating with those people..”

“What do you mean?”

“Flashes of light, loud booms, quakes that shake the very mountain. It’s witchcraft.”

Unfortunately the attention had not escaped the local army and they tried to take them for “causing a public disturbance”. But Jay’s quick on his feet and leads them to a safe place, which just so happens to be Cole’s house.

Now they know Cole’s rich and dances competitively like his father, though he doesn’t seem to be happy about it. Cole takes them back through a tunnel, apparently the same one he had used yesterday to sneak out. The mysterious glowing lights guide them along. Cave of two lovers anyone ;)

They have a bit of fun talking, Cole really can be nice once he’s not so pent up. He says he’ll come by latter tonight. Jay say he wants to show them something. It’s an invention, he shows them the water wheel, a motor that generates electricity. It’s what made the lights in the tunnel and powers an assortment of other devices he has. Nya’s stoked (haha get it like to stoke the fire)

They are finished in a few days which is good because they have stayed in one place for a little to long and things are going to go sour. It turns out one of the people in the military was able to recognize Lloyd and sent for backup. An earth bending army is coming to capture them.

They meet nightly still. It’s mostly just chatting and relaxing. Of course the army ambushes them so Jay and Cole not only find out they are from the fire nation, but that Lloyd is the prince. There’s only a few moments to talk but even without much explanation Cole and Jay give them enough time to get to Ultra (is that a dragon!) and help them get away.

They have to make a decision, if they stay they’ll be arrested for treason, if they leave and go with them they will be leaving their families behind. Ed and Edna push for Jay to leave, only wanting his safety. Really they had already made their decision. They rejoin the others before they can get out of range.

It’s still not over yet though. Cole demands answers but they are able to get a hold of Ulta and start to bring them down. Cole tries his best to defend against the assailing rocks but is quickly overwhelmed. Lloyd can only watch as they fall into the arms of the earth nation army. When Cole gets injured it’s the last straw, his avatar state awakens and he decimates the army.

So now the earth nation, Cole, and Jay know the fire lord’s son is the avatar. They explain their past and struggles and how they need to defeat Garmadon before the solstice. Cole is still wary but understands their need for lying, more then they would know. Jay never really doubted them (in fact it’s really exciting, real life fire benders!) but he can’t help but wonder what’s going to become of his parents.

Other stuff happens like Morro and Wu’s traveling and the team facing off against Harumi. They meet a bunch of Pirates and Jay steals a lightning bending scroll from Captain Nadakhan (because Lloyd needs to learn duh! And maybe it will help me with some of my inventions... just a little) /

Cole’s mother died fighting in the war. They were very close and she taught him everything she knows about bending. It’s how he learns seismic-sense. Lilly always preached about about being one with the earth and nature and how important it it to give back to it just as much as you take.

Cole’s training is basically to climb a mountain and sit in a field of flowers and “listen to the earth”. They do this for days. Cole will tell stories and they’ll have a laugh. They bond a lot get to know each each other better.

But Lloyd is impatient, he doesn’t want to just sit around, people are dieing in this war and he needs to learn earth bending fast. They get in a fight. Lloyd says he doesn’t care about the stupid plants and needs to learn real earth bending. Cole decimated the entire field in an instant and leaves.

Lloyd is distraught, this place was where he got to know Cole and really become friends with him. He KNOWS this place deep down, right to his core. How it feels, how it moves, how it lives...but it’s all gone, buried under a mountain of rock and dirt. He cries and mourns, what has he done?

Jay talks to Cole who is just as upset and goes to talk to Lloyd, it’s almost night now and he still hasn’t come back. He tells Lloyd about Lilly. How the earth was something special he shared with her and was the only connection to her he has left. Cole wasn’t trying to teach him earth bending (I mean he was...), he was trying to connect to Lloyd, the same way he connected to his mother. Lloyd feels a lot worse after that but that wasn’t the point Jay was trying to make.

“If you felt that same connection he did, if you care about this place, then fix it”

“How?”

“Bend”

So he does

He works all night to remove the rubble. The next morning Cole comes back because Lloyd still didn’t come home. He finds the field, different but still familiar, has returned and a sleeping lloyd in a pile of crushed flowers. Lloyd immediately tries to apologize but Cole just wraps him up in a hug and they go back down the mountain.

They are traveling again and hear about the The Lost City of Ouroboros, a place filled with all knowledge guarded by a serpentine spirit. Obviously they check it out and discover the solar eclipse, they have an invasion plan. But with a cruel twist of fate Ultra is stolen right out from under Cole and they have to get to Ba Sing Sei on foot. Lloyd is torn up, he’s stressed, all he really wants to do is go home, for everything to back to how it used to. When they find the people who took Ultra...they never stood a chance.

They get to Ba Sing Sei and find it under attack. Using his technical know-how Jay is able to take out the drill from the inside. They get Ultra back and are eventually able to have a meeting with the earth king despite General Kozu and the Stone Army’s interference. Earth King Dareth agrees to help with the invasion plan after some coaxing.

The team temporarily splits up. Now that they arnt criminals anymore Cole and Jay are able to visit their parents. Kai and Nya receive word from the northern water tribe about possible information on what happened to their parents, Kai decides to go to the South Pole and look for them. Lloyd tries to master the Avatar state. Nya is excited to reunite with Pixal but Harumi worms her way in under the disguise of a Samurai-X warrior and takes over the Stone Army for herself.

Meanwhile Wu and Morro had opened up their own tea shop Steep Wisdom and are living pretty peacefully until Harumi captures Morro. They return to Wu telling them about Morro and Nya’s capture, they go to the crystal catacombs and the fight begins.

Lloyd finds that while he has an arsenal of elements to his call he can’t match up with Harumi’s abilities and the Stone Army. His avatar state becomes blocked once she tells him Garmadon sent her to kill him, and she does so.

Morro makes the wrong choice and sides with Harumi. He attackes Cole and Jay while Kai and Nya are busy fighting Skylor and Vania. Wu tries to stop him but he still ends up hurting Cole and knocking him out.

Jay’s weapons are shot and it’s easy to tell they’re losing, soon they will be captured. It’s a hard choice but with his friends in danger he would do anything to protect them. He uses lightning, not some little invention, real lightning bending. Who knew! (Probably you)

It gives them the edge they need for Kai and Nya to break free, they grab Lloyd and Cole and run. Wu gives them time and Nya has to use the spirit water to revive Lloyd. The earth kingdom falls.

Book 4

[atelier-dayz]

Mando’paru (Part Two)

[Part One]

***Disclaimer once again: I am by no means an expert in martial arts, and my knowledge on Mandalorians is a work in progress. Please only take my words as they apply to Jate’kara ‘verse and/or my fics***

My imagining of what Mando’paru looks like is, of course, inspired by Temuera Morrison and the martial arts of the Maori. 

See: 

Martial arts of the Maori

Part about their Weaponry School

About the Taiaha

Temuera Morrison with a prop lightsaber

Youtube is a friend for more videos! :D

The actual teaching part:

My headcanon is that Mandalorians begin combat training at 5 (or the equivalent in non-humans). Whether they start later than that is totally up to the purview of their buire, but the consensus is around 5. 

(Aside: let me tell you tiny five-year-olds learning martial arts is the cutest thing in the world.)

The very basics would include stretching techniques, footwork, stamina training, the basic stances, the proper ways to punch, the different types of kicks, some basic common sequences (like a punch-punch-kick or a punch-stance change-punch), and the likes. 

They then start with barehand combat forms, because you gotta walk before you can run, and barehand techniques can then be translated into forms with weapons. Just like how there are multiple barehand forms even within just the standarized form of wushu with varying levels of complexity, and just like how the Jedi have multiple forms of lightsaber combat styles (Forms I - VII), I imagine the Mandalorians have similar variations in their combat forms (at least four, but seven if I really want to push the parallels LOL). And because they start at 5, and motor skills at that point are not the best, they’d start with a form that’s more basic -- simpler, shorter, less complex -- and one that serves as a foundation for everything else. And they build on that with the subsequent forms.

While Mandalorians use a whole arsenal of weapons, there’s surely an emphasis on being able to fight with your bare hands if you’re unarmed or out of weapons. (See: the fiasco that was Galidraan and Jango killing SIX Jedi with his bare hands.)

After barehand, they’ll move onto weapons. I believe the basics would at the least include knives and a staff/club (I’m imagining here the taiaha but could be others). These basics would also have multiple forms that progress in complexity, building upon each other. The training might then vary based on preferences and the times, such as whether they learn to use a sword or two, an ax or two, a spear or halberd, or even the totally awesome bes’bev. Which might then also have multiple forms based on different teachings.

Other weaponry they’d be trained in that might not include any forms: wires/cables/rope, jetpacks, shields, grenades/bombs, and whatever little gadgets are stored within their vambraces, like the whistling birds. The tools of their trade.

They would of course learn how to shoot blasters and determine if they’d prefer one or two, a rifle, or a heavy artillery type of blaster weapon. They would also learn through trial and error how to incorporate their personal combat training with the use of the blasters. (I’m not saying gun-fu, but totally gun-fu, but less...agile than in the movies considering they’re in armor and Mandalorians are less acrobatic.) 

The combat forms teaches them the movements, helps them build in the muscle memory to perform the movements on instinct. They also need to practice actually fighting, to gain practical combat experience. So of course there are practice fights, either their buir fighting with them or them fighting with other children within their clan or from neighboring clans.

Related though not combat training, they would learn to care and maintain their weapons and armor. They’d likely learn rudimentary forging to fix blades or make small armor adjustments, and if any of them showed propensity, they may progress to become an Armorer through a formal apprenticeship.

At 8, the kid is apparently old enough and trained enough to be taken on missions/bounties but I imagine this is also up to the purview of their buire. I also imagine these to be milk-run types of bounties because CHILD SAFETY. 

A Mandalorian is legally by their standards an adult at 13. So they should be fully trained by then, but that would vary based on when they started their training, and I totally imagine some buire keeping them close by for a few more years because THIRTEEN.

How this all applies to Jate’kara:

Obi asks Jango a bunch of questions while he’s teaching Anakin some of the basics in Mando’paru. And Jango realizes that Obi was not trained in Mando’paru by one Mandalorian, but by multiple trainers based on the specifics of the questions he asked --  “on the positioning of a hand, on the degrees of rotation on a kick, on a variation on a sequence of movements”. These are all variations that would be seen in different styles, from multiple teachers. Obi did not learn a style standardized by ONE clan. He instead learned from multiple trainers from multiple clans (who all totally sniped at each other because the “proper” way of doing a form and tried to one-up each other), leading him knowing a mixture of forms. (Jango would very much like to know exactly what the kriff went down on Mandalore during Obi’s visit and also who those trainers were 8D)

[hyphypmic]

@significant other of babe asked: hypmic bois in the pokémon universe please :3c

Okay just saying, I don’t know as much as you do so we’re keeping it to Kanto/Jyoto/Sinnoh/Hoenn  yay but idk abt who goes where so anyway!

Ichiro

Fire type! He loves the fire type Pokémon

And he would definitely choose Charmander as his starter because he’s Ichiro like that

And later on in life he’s like Red (if you know him) or like a very strong trainer

Because he had his Delinquent days (and he highkey detached himself from his brothers so he could go around and win battles and get money for them you know kinda like TDD) so he had his edgy fire squad

And like he explored everywhere, kind of being a general badass and earning his reputation by beating the gyms and all that

but then he matured over the course of his journey (and he learned a ton of new shit) and went back to go around with his brothers and willingly goes through the journey with them so he can help them out

Plus he missed them so he needs to make up for it and they forgive him later on yay

But yes, loves fire type and is very very skilled when it comes to training, battling, motivating, LOVING, and taking care of Pokemon

And okay like I rly see him being a mentor for his brothers and just one day showing off his moves with his fucking charizard and letting saburo uwu ride on it AHHHH

I don’t think he would go for gym leader because he’s more of an adventure boy

Jiro

He tries to live up to his brother and stuff even if he’s kinda resentful he left for a bit, but he’s over it you know

Ichiro would give him the starter pokemon

Like tbh I think Ichiro would give him a Piplup (I’m basic I’m sorry) and like really give him tons of advice

And yes he does challenge saburo on a near daily basis

And ichiro allows this because training, though Jiro won’t get it through his head that a full out offensive isn’t the way to go, though Ichiro figures that he’ll get over it

Anyway, moving on, that’s basically Jiro’s arc and like the buster bros would become like a unit and it would be so cool to see them battle around

And he’s also an adventure boy and really hates it when Saburo delays for some knowledge pursuit

Like he would bring out his also eager Pokemon to drag saburo away like even the piplup gets unto it and tries to drag saburo away from the pursuit of knowledge

Saburo

Quite literally a Pokemon nerd

No really he would probably be the first of the bros to complete his Pokédex like he would finish it

And his goal isn’t like to BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE or WAR WAR WAR it’s literally to gotta catch them all because he’s in the pursuit of knowledge that way

I rly see him having like an Eevee (if any of you play let’s go Eevee) or just not a typical starter Pokemon you know

Ichiro would probably end up giving him an eevee anyway because he knows an Eevee would appeal to like Saburo because it’s an extraordinary type of pokemon

He would love his eevee to the death and would dress it up in all these cute outfits

And yeah he’s a tough guy to battle, but you’ll more likely find him just enjoying the actual pokemon instead of battling

And he’s also p good at strategising when it comes to pokemon and he helps out his brothers

Is very happy with the journey and all that  

Samatoki

Definitely a gym leader, like really because reasons I rly see him being one

And oh my god I see him with a fucking Lucario like!!!!!

And he would love his pokemon to the death and all

And yeah he would be in charge of a fighting type of Pokemon or like that would be his specialty because he’s Samatoki sama aka mr ha ko on the microphone

And yeah he would probably have a side job as a yakuza, but like gym is life and he’s really aggressive but also very very smart when it comes to his attacks

Like even if he’s up against a higher level or like a psychic type, he will come out on top and beat the opposition

Anyway, his origin story is like he just wants to show everyone how strong he is and how that no matter how many times you get beat down, you have to keep going back up

And when he roams around or like helps people train in his own gym, he has a strict way of teaching, but also somewhat understanding and his tips really do help those who visit his gym

Very much open to receiving challenges because he needs to fight oh yeah

He also explored a lot of places and has a shit ton of influence, but the gym and his city is really his home

Team rocket aint fucking with him

Jyuto

Electric type! Is his type!

And yeah srsly just imagine him in that blue Pokemon police uniform hmmm

Also glasses are tilted and touched a lot because that’s the Pokemon trope with the eyeglass glare and everything

Though he’s a kind of corrupt cop, but doesn’t associate with team rocket because you know, exploitation of Pokemon

Though he spies a lot so he has a lot of connections and he’s like the in10se police spy that would be able to find his way in the underground

Like a spy with a position in team rocket oh yeah

And how he meets Samatoki is that Samatoki got into a fight with a team rocket and Jyuto had to subtly subdue said team rocket member

Anyway, yes electric type Pokemon and I really see him with a Luxray because he be cool like that

But seeing him with a shinx you can RIP my soul and send me to heaven because that shit is adorable

Riou

He’s probably also a gym leader

Basically MTC consists of two gym leaders and a cop

Literally Lt. Surge and except he would most likely love grass type pokemon or bug type, or anything you can find in the woods because survival life

Because he’s a woods kind of boy and he spends most of his time with wild pokemon and befriending them before catching them

DO YOU SEE HIM WITH A FUCKING BULBASAUR???? Like???? I really do and it would be so fucking cute to see him with all the little oddish and the Butterfree and the Beautifly and the weedles

This man can have my soul because I can really see him with his flower Pokemon like Venusaur and Meganium and a Vileplume and a Tropius (I know banana but still)

He would love him the grass Pokemon and the bug type

Anyway, yeah he’s all about that survival so his gym is quite the labyrinth, complete with traps

And sometimes he just goes out to roam and spend time with the Pokemon while shirtless :>>>

Ramuda

“Anything cute!” Like he would have a cue Pokemon out and walking with him

But when he brings out his arsenal it’s like really strong Pokemon, though he would probably favor fairy type Pokemon, though there would be a mix of dark type also

I really see him with a Gengar and causing little mischiefs because why not

He also loves fashion so he would really be the champion of those beauty pageants with all his deceptively cute Pokemon like wigglytuff and everyone thinks he’s just superficial and can’t battle for shit

But then face him off and it’s just a complete disaster and you’re going to be wrecked

Like he knows how to deceive and use his Pokemon’s weaknesses to their advantages and he knows the tricks of the trade, all while looking great

i don’t think he would be in the elite four, he would just be one of those freakishly strong trainers that would just pop in every once in a while

Mostly occupies his time with designing, but yeah, pretty good in battle as well

Gentaro

Ghost type!!!! Like he would love the ghost type pokemon or the psychic type because he’s mysterious that way

Or like psychic

Because I see him with an Alakazam and in general probably live in a quiet house with all of his Pokemon

And he would have a soft spot for his mimikyu because he’s the type

Probably would stay in Lavender town because he’s lavender jk no it’s because he’s the type to chill out in the outskirts and have these mystic Pokemon

Still pretty focused on his writing and some training philosophy and what not

And he would be really just calm and cool, but very defensive of his Pokemon because he will protect them with his life

But he houses this garbage rat (dice) who is completely hopeless but yeah Pokemon

And he would be p respectful of Pokemon and be pretty spiritual about it

But in battle he’s pretty dangerous because he’s an author and knows what he’s doing

Dice

I see him having a Persian or a Meowth because he’s nyaaa that way

But in general he would favor normal type Pokemon because there quite intriguing

Also I rly see him chilling around with a rattata because he’s such a garbage rat himself

And he probably doesn’t have a lot of Pokemon because he’s broke and can’t afford poke balls

But very much like Riou, he makes friends with the stray Pokemon or those neglected by their owners

Can do well in battle, but is unfortunately addicted to the gaming places even if his Pokemon try to drag him away from it

It doesn’t help that meowth is dragging him inside and everyone is just trying to stop him

Though dice would have a very unorthodox fighting style and would probably nickname all his Pokemon because he’s dice that way

Jakurai

I see this fucker as an elite four member so they become elite five

And like okay basically!!! You know how you have to fight all the elite four, he would be like the surprise level at the end and he’s very much god tier, like he would specialise in psychic/dragon/dark/flying type, you know that kind of mystic vibe

And he’s just on a level of his own!!! So like he’s very cool and that, and he’s kind as well, like he doesn’t spend most of his time in his seat of power or whatever and he goes around helping people and being a doctor because he likes helping people and Pokemon

But srsly, most people are in such awe of him and he’s just slaying by walking around with a Salamence or a Dragonair or a Dragonite or a fucking Charizard but rly anyway its just me

Or also like an Absol that would be awesome too

Anyway, yeah he really looks so cool, but if you get to meet him, he’s very down to earth and will sit down with you if you want some advice

Doppo

Dark Pokemon like, probably or ghost type of pokemon

I see him with a houndoom! Or like something like that

And he’s pretty anxious and unsure of battling

But if his Pokemon are threatened you have unlocked the beast and he will go on a rampage

Mostly a stressed worker that needs some time to sleep

Usually sleeps with his snorlax or on his slowbro

Like I rly see him just collapsing with a snorlax and sleeping for the entries day

But he would also run and his ghastly would chase after him and his houndoom would prevent him from falling on the tracks and impaling himself

He also shares a room with Hifumi, with his fairy type Pokemon

Srsly, this household has the polar opposites getting along together like the houndoom would take care of the little Pokemon and its pretty wholesome

Probably not that invested in collecting Pokemon and he’s happy with the ones he has

Hifumi

“Anything cute!” No legit he would really have beautiful and cute pokemon like rly pretty but also freakishly strong Pokemon

His clefairy is a thing of legend

And he’s into all that beauty pageant stuff too

And in his club he has his cute electric type Pokemon do their thing along with fairy sparkles and what not

Hifumi with a minun and plusle that’s all that’s all you need to know

Anyway, he loves dressing up his Pokemon, but in host mode, have fun trying to best him in battle because he is really confident in his Pokemon and all that

He might wipe your ass on the floor, unless you’re a girl of course and he’s out of host mode

But in general, all he wants to do is cuddle and play with his Pokemon along with sleeping on the snorlax that doppo sleeps on after a long day at work

[arkhamarchitecture]

the ioun post you knew was coming

Let’s start with the most important point, one I do not want any of you to forget: I’m not mad at Scanlan for getting Ioun’s blessing. I’m disappointed that Percy didn’t. There is a huge difference between these two things and I will lay them out as such. If you came at me for this post arguing that I hate Scanlan or I’m insulting him, I’m just going to ignore you because you clearly didn’t read anything I’m about to write.

For starters, let’s break down the two characters here in terms of things Ioun values, which is knowledge and the spread of knowledge, and the big thing she doesn’t like, which is secret keeping.

Percy adores learning in all its forms, is happy to teach others some things, but not things he deems dangerous. He believes very strongly in keeping records of histories and people, and he absolutely endeavors to preserve knowledge where he considers the knowledge worth preserving. And also, for all that people call him an arrogant elitist (and to a certain extent, he is), Percy is shockingly willing to alter his entire worldview based on new information and explanations people give him. Percy went from thinking magic was frightening and incomprehensible garbage to incorporating more of it into his arsenal just because Taryon spent a lot of time over the year break talking it over with him.

Does he keep secrets? Yes, absolutely. Percy is an intensely private person and doesn’t like sharing details about himself. He also believes that dangerous information should be suppressed or, if possible, destroyed. Recall that until Ripley made that impossible, Percy had hoped that guns would die with him and their secrets lost. Now, because he cannot change the fact that Ripley spread knowledge of guns all over the damn place, he has been forced to surrender that goal but is still limiting their spread as much as he can. The riflemen of Whitestone are not using new guns Percy has made for them but rather the confiscated guns from Ripley and even then, they are being used primarily because Percy would be an idiot for surrendering a major advantage in the defense of his city just because he wishes the guns weren’t there.

Meanwhile, Scanlan enjoys learning new things but rarely seems to seek out new information unless it’s to his benefit. Which is to say, he’ll read a book about demons if they’re going to go fight a demon but he wouldn’t sit down and read it just for something to do on a rainy day (see for example the fact that this episode he needed to sing about the Calamity and pointed out that he didn’t know anything about it). He tells stories but most of them are fiction. And there’s nothing wrong with fiction, obviously, we all write it, but I wouldn’t call that spreading knowledge. I would call that spreading art and that is an incredibly worthwhile endeavor that I applaud Scanlan for, but it’s not Ioun’s bag.

And as for secrets? Boy howdy does Scanlan keep them. Let’s not forget that he separated from the group in the first place because he never told them anything about himself and blamed them for not prying about something he was tight lipped about. And let’s also not forget that before he left, Scanlan was starting to concern a number of people with his use of Modify Memory, a spell which actively destroys knowledge in small doses - he was using it to keep secrets for his own benefit.

My point here is not that Scanlan is a bad person, because he’s not. My point is that if the sin Ioun passed Percy over for is secret-keeping, then Scanlan is equally guilty and no more worthy than Percy is. In fact, I’m not even saying Scanlan is a bad fit for Ioun. He’s a perfectly reasonable fit for Ioun. He’s just not the best fit.

Because the thing about this entire scenario is that it feels less like Ioun would actually prefer Scanlan over Percy and more than there’s no other major god who has been important in CR that fits Scanlan, while Percy can fall back on Erathis (a deity that I will remind you all has a major temple in his hometown but which he has never demonstrated the slightest interest in, compared to Ioun whom he was fascinated by as soon as he found out about her). 

Sehanine (the trickster goddess) and Avandra (the luck goddess) soooorta fit Scanlan in a very odd and slightly forced way? It’d be weird to watch and all of us would kind of squint over having to see Scanlan champion some goddess we’ve all been barely aware of. So I can see why Matt did this. The other options are bad story beats.

Basically: Ioun was the best choice for Scanlan, but Scanlan wasn’t the best choice for Ioun.

I don’t usually talk about immersion in the context of anything but a video game but in the case, it is actually an issue of immersion. Scanlan was picked as the Champion more due to gameplay reasons than story reasons and it’s impossible for me to forget that or put it aside. And Matt’s not wrong to do it - sometimes that’s shit you gotta do as a DM. Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s wrong or bad. I’m just explaining my displeasure with the story beat.

Also, while I know Percy isn’t angry about it (and good for him because that dude does not need to be even angrier than he is) and I’m sure a lot of that rests on the fact that he probably wasn’t super comfortable being champion of a god anyway, and if/when VM eventually goes after Erathis and Melora, it’s going to be real fuckin’ weird if Percy suddenly takes up with Erathis (again, a goddess he is well aware of but has never cared about) after having now been snubbed by two separate goddesses that he was trying to put his faith in.

(another essay entirely is the tremendous hypocrisy of a goddess who despises secrets planting knowledge in someone’s head that will disappear as soon as it is no longer required because it must be kept secret, but ain’t nobody got time for that)

[a-phule]

DeEvolution of man, or Bob destroys a dog house.

THE DE-EVOLUTION OF MAN....or...BOB TEARS DOWN AN ALL DOG KENNEL. This maybe a long and horribly misspelled, failing grammar post but its my story so fuck off... Yesterday being my day off I awoke, jump gleefully from my bed prepared for the days mission. The complete destruction of the dog kennel on the back of the property so the fenced in part could be used for a compost pen. Its spring, time to get shit done, I had been waiting patiently for a nice day to attack my enemy, yes I realize it was an inanimate object. I had however formulated a battle plan, beginning with step one. The removal of a tree that had fallen in front of it this winter. Please note this was not a optional process, it was blocking the afore mentioned kennel. I sat considering how best to accomplish this task as I sipped my morning brew and smoke a coffin nail. I knew the chain saw would be the main weapon of choice. Because in my options the chain saw is a pinnacle of mans evolution and his domination over the environment. Few tools in the arsenal of modern man can bring the kind of mayhem and destruction a chain saw can. Nothing stands in it way! If is a force of nature harnessed by man, bent to our will. Once the battle plan was fully drawn out, I jumped from my chair without a minute to spare, I sprang out the door and strode nightly to the shed, I could smell the oil and gas mix as I approached the strong odor of power, there was my power my strength with which to vanquish not only vile tree but accursed dilapidated kennel as well! My CHAINSAW! Bathed in light as I opened the door, its gnarled teeth gleaming with destruction and chaos, half threat to its foe, half to its welder. 18" inchs of raw gas and oil fueled furry, ready to be unleashed upon evil. The tool to enforce my will, this project would be fast, destructive and possibly bloody (usually mine in some way). As I stalked across the yard toward my foe, shoulders hunched forward, the gleam of determination in my eye, hand full of toothed fury ready to leap to life with just a single pull of the cord.... Maybe two Three Hmmmm did I turn that one.... Oh ya that.... Now! Hmmm not yet....okay hmmm....oh damn thats right the brake.... DIE! GRRRRRRR my saw screamed as it sprang to life!... Then faded out sputtering...hmmm Oh gas...damn should checked that... Back to the shed, use wrench to open gas tank (you learn to close them with a wrench too, few things less terrifying then a chainsaw running and one fire...just saying. Now Tree face my wrath!!!! The saw leaping to life in my hands as I approach jerking toward the deviled of my yard! Wrrrrrrrrrrnnnnngngggggg as it saws through first the top, then middle...then....screeech!!!!......oh shit chain slipped....round one to you tree!!!! But its just the begining! Retreating to the shed, taking a tactical advantage, I mangle to only burn myself three times while getting the chain back on and then its back to the FRAY!!! GRRRRRRR its half done now! Hahahaha vitroy is mine its in sight......SCREEECH......damnit fucking chasing again....what the fucking hell!!! Back to the shed, head bowed in shame, I can hear the trees mocking laugh as I slink back. My might force of destruction, snagged by a vine, a simple vine. Only two burns this time! Victory is mine! Have at thee Tree! Half again it falls as my feet, only is withering trunk stand before me now! One last cut and GRRRRRR its done! And as I raise my might saw in the air, celebrating our victory, glaring as the dog kennel! You are next sir! You will fall as surely as this corpse laying at my feet!!!! SCREECH.....oh god damn it! Fucking really?!?!?! What the fucking hell...oh shit...hmmmm I think I may have bent the blade.. The Vile tree its final act of defiance has crippled my mighty tool! The sorrow weighs heavy o the air as the kennel laughs wickedly, reveling in our pain at a fallen comrade! The evil beast! He must die! And now! I can do this I have the tools, I have the knowledge! I have a SAWSALL!!!!!!! A small one, rechargeable...but I have one....and it will bee your DOOM Mr Kennel....you DOOM YOU hear ME!!! Stalking back to the shed....I must rearm! I shall no be defeated, not by these knaves, these weak structures of wood ! I will accomplish my mission! Destruction will be wrought upon them, destruction so complete other structures will hence forth will tremble at my approach! saw blades. Saw blades, where the fuck did I put the saw blades? I know I have a few of them...what the fuck did i do with them, not that drawer, nope not that one either...ov their it is in the bottom of my socket set. Why the hell did I put it there? Fucking stupid place for it. I really need to organize my shed...... Ziiiing....zing.....yup battery life, check! We are armed, ready to face the foe! The end is nigh kennel of Satan! Hmmm maybe I should take the circular saw too...not sure this will get through the 2x4s . YES more tools that perfect! The strut of my gait is obvious as I walk back toward the kennel....its doom certain, my absolute domination inevitable! Oh damn, guess i need to move the parts of the tree back into he woods where it can rot happily and rejoin the natural order....excuse me a minute....(30 minutes later, sweating profusely and gasping for breath....that done..fucking heavy tree maybe I should have cut it smaller....fucking chain saw piece of cheap shit gotta buy a better one). Now Kennel now its the moment of your demise! Your end is nigh! The first wall falls without effort (cheap pressboard) then I attack the top main support! Its going , going. Going.....screech....damn pinched the saw blade....hmmmm wont restart....try the circular saw....nothing....damn battery must be dead...hmmmm the other one is on the drill...back to the shed... Dead battery a fallen soldier in my war on dog kennels I mumble a word of prayer as I place it on the charger, "return fast and strong my friend, afor this day is done I will have need of you again I am sure!" As I grab the other battery and return to the fray! The first cross support falls in moments! Ended by the biting teeth of the circular saw! BUZZZZZZZZ as it gnaws through weak wood with the edge or hardened steel! The roof snatched off, ripped by sheer force of muscle! My might knows no bounds! (Well okay it was more cheap partial board, but fuck off this is my story I can tell it however I want!) The middle cross brace....again death by biting teeth of steel, you weak treated 2x4! Your demise brings the gleam of victory back to my eyes! Only the back wall and one side left, so you will be no more! GRRRRR the Sawasall eats the last of the roof and the back will as if it was nothing! (Ya ya pulp wood again...so what, damn nit pickers). GRRRR it bites into he Reagan 2x4 like a beast gnawing on a bone, sheering through fast and strong SCREECH...of damn it....pinched again...try the circular saw...nope nothing...what the fuck! Is there some safety bullshit reset in here? Nope....battery is dead....hmmm....shoulders slumped I walk back to the shed. Contemplating how best to explain my defeat to my loved one, she who brings so much and only asked for a compost area....ahhh the shame of it...as I lay the failed saws up, dead soldiers in war not of their choosing, the guilt of it weighs heavy on me as I cast my eyes about in shame...finally through my shame and tears I see my last weapon...my last chance...hanging on the wall, my 5 pound sledge...its small head gleaming, beckoning...."trust me, I will not fail, I have no need of batteries or teeth, I need only your iron will and determination!" I snatch him off the wall and rush back across the yard, I will not be defeated! SMASH! SMASH the blows land fast and heavy, the screws fighting to maintain their place in the world, the 2x4 resisting every hit, tough they are! My arms burning with every swing, the hammer head glinting in the sun, swing down in its arc smashing though wood and bending metal, tearing it loose form its home, ripping its on purpose to sunder! I laugh manically as the splinter fly! Yet there is a voice of fear in my head, fear that I may not have the strength left in my limbs to finish the battle, fear of my hammer falling from fingers, lifeless from effort! I can almost hear the laughter of the last wall as my swings slow, loosing force, the arc shorter....NO! NO I will not falter! I will destroy you kennel!!!!!! DIE!!! SMASH! With one final blow the last support gives, the wall falls, as I stand amidst the destruction, splinted stuck to my sweat covered brow, like flecks of blood, slung back off a blade. My breath ragged and fast, eye blurred with sweat and tears. Three good solid stoic soldiers felled on the field this day, three who died of my bidding. The price of victory is yet unknown. My shame smolders under the whispering breeze, the heat of it on my face even as the wind cools my sweat. It is done. I have destroyed all that I needed to accomplish my mission, the clean up is fast and easy, with only one skirmish. A renegade screw, biting at my arm as its home is flung deep into the woods, RUST AND DIE vile thing. The end.... We evolved to chainsaws and power tools, only to fall back to just walking shit really hard with something when needed......yup....this that was my day off.

[tatooine92]

Listen up, kids.

I didn’t wanna have to do this, but y’all woke up the raging Luke Skywalker fangirl, and she will not be silenced.

I keep seeing this post wandering around in which the OP saw Rogue One and is now mad at Luke for “not taking this seriously.” Yeah, that’s gotta stop. And I’ll tell you why.

1. Rogue One was written almost 40 years after A New Hope. There is no conceivable way that a character in a 40-year-old movie would know anything that wasn’t given to him in said 40-year-old movie. (I’m not including anything he may or may not have known in the earliest Star Wars scripts because I don’t know those. We’re going off the completed films alone.)

2. Luke grew up isolated on a backwater planet where his only chance of escape was joining the Imperial Flight Academy and the Rebellion was only a whispered rumor until C-3PO showed up and confirmed it. He’s definitely not gonna know about the Death Star plans or Scarif or any of that.

3. Okay, lean in real close, because this is important: NO ONE TELLS HIM A DAMN THING. Obi-Wan says “We’re gonna go to Alderaan, come with me.” No details. And Luke is not present when Han finally asks what the fuss is about with R2. He’s not there when Leia says “The technical readouts of that battle station!” as if everyone should know how crucial this is.

Of all the characters, Leia is the ONLY one with firsthand knowledge of the Scarif fiasco. So yeah, I get why she’s annoyed with everybody who doesn’t know what the big deal is, but nobody tells anybody what the big deal is. Luke walks in on “Your friend is quite a mercenary!” and he is visibly confused.

You see, Luke starts on this whole journey because “I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father.” He didn’t start out to blow up the Death Star. (”It’s not like I like the Empire--I hate it--but there’s nothing I can do about it right now.”) It’s not until after Obi-Wan’s death that he’s adrift. He’s far from home, his only family and his mentor were murdered by the Empire, he has no purpose. His Jedi dreams are, for all he knows, shattered. He finds a new purpose in becoming an X-wing pilot, because Red Squadron lost a lot of people, like, a few days ago, and here’s a bright young bush pilot.

And even then, when he’s about to go risk his life to take on the Death Star, nobody tells him details. He knows he’s gonna go fight the Empire’s battle station, but he’s never seen it in use. The briefing with Dodonna doesn’t indicate any “Oh by the way this is what it’s gonna do to our base if you don’t kill it first, kbye.” There’s no on-screen mention of “People died for this, ok” like there is in Return of the Jedi. This is probably because...

4. There’s no time to tell him. Once Leia and Co. arrive at the Yavin IV base, it’s a mad dash to war. Watch everybody. There’s lots of hurrying and running. Luke evidently spends his time getting comfortable as a fighter pilot, which would require more information than “Oh btw some cool people and a badass droid died for all this.” Even if he were told this, his head would probably be spinning way too much to absorb it and fully understand it, especially since...

5. He doesn’t know these people. The Rebellion is all new to him. He knows Han, Leia, and Biggs. Even if someone stopped to tell him about the Rogue One team, he wouldn’t have any context for it. He’d probably be sorry they died but not be able to respond to it in a meaningful way.

It’s not exactly as if Luke is incapable of understanding exactly what’s at stake. Until now, his experience with the Empire has been some Stormtroopers (including the murder of his family), a lot of running around an inert Death Star, a distantly-viewed Vader kill-spree, and like 3 TIE fighters. Once he gets out into open combat and people are dying around him, he understands real quick. Look at how fast he matures from snarking at Han (”I guess that’s what you’re best at”) to the actual trench run, especially when Biggs is killed. Suddenly, he has a much fuller context than he had before. This is really damned important. He still hasn’t seen what the Death Star can do, but the moment that Biggs dies solidifies his understanding that the Empire is really as powerful and bad enough to warrant a Rebellion and a suicide mission.

He goes from hating the Empire but lamenting his powerlessness to destroying the biggest gun in the Imperial arsenal. He turns that hate into decisive action. He grows up right before our eyes. (Compare what a mature leader he becomes in Empire. Maybe not the most mature Padawan, but a strong, confident military officer.)

It doesn’t matter that Luke doesn’t know the story of the Rogue One team when he takes on the Death Star. They got the plans to the Alliance. Their part in the story is over. What matters is that he doesn’t stay ignorant and adrift. He picks up this cause--their cause--and makes it his own.

Oh, and in case you forgot, he forms a squadron of elite pilots known as... Rogue Squadron. Where do you think he got the name?