#everyone who's acknowledging this is like 'wow what if something bad happens to ME now' how fucking selfish can y'all be

[annadelveys]

i have no idea how to handle chrismas this year... i get very depressed around Christmas every single year & this year i did everything in my power to prevent it and now I'm once again a complete wreck... idk what to do, it seems like I'm surrounded by people who "don't want to think about bad things", my mum wants to discuss Christmas dinner with me like wtf!!!! a bunch of kids just died!!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 410: Kacchan Fights a Baby

Previously on BnHA: Kacchan was born and then he grew up and murdered the Demon Lord.

Today on BnHA: Kacchan fights a baby. Tomura and Deku finally remember that they were supposed to have been fighting too this entire time, and get on with that once again. Tomura is all, “[literally just reaches out and grabs Deku’s face because Deku’s main character powers suddenly abandoned him in a fit of confusion].” Deku is all, “[chops off Tomura’s fingers which is somehow not even in the top twenty of violent things that have happened in this series in just the last five chapters].” Tomura is all “joke’s on you I still got your quirk :D” and fuck me he actually stole Danger Sense, what the fuck.

logically I knew AFO still had to be alive somehow because he’s too big of a villain to go out that easily without a proper sendoff. but deep in my heart, I’m still secretly disappointed

it just isn’t fair, lol. this guy has died more times than Rasputin and he’s still out here scheming his schemey schemes. when oh when will it end

sir you did not just say you had yet ANOTHER unused trump card up your sleeve??

(ETA: the translation isn’t fully clear here, but I think the trump card he’s referring to is the whole “I’ll just go back inside him and join the part of me that was already in there and we’ll take over Tomura’s body again together” plan that he was trying to pull off. I think. if not though, that’s certainly something worth speculating about.)

well as always the psychology in this series is unironically fascinating! he just wants acknowledgement at the end of the day, huh. just wants some love and attention. too bad he was born in a rat-infested hellscape and learned all the wrong lessons and turned into a crazed omnipotent murderlad

also he really did turn back into a baby sdfsdlkjfl oh no. I need to see Katsuki’s reaction to this immediately

oh my lord

(●__●)

lmao this is so incredibly fucked up

ngl though, this is karma at its finest. he tortured and killed so many people trying to earn everyone’s fear and awe and reverence, only to literally blip out of existence at the end with absolutely nothing to show for it

everyone please enjoy this series of panels of a deeply vexed Bakugou Katsuki picking a fight with this slowly melting evil baby

“you think I care that you’re a baby now. you think I won’t fight a fuckin’ baby. let’s do this you little punk”

also I’m sorry but it’s absolutely ridiculous that the gigantic chest wound Tomura inflicted on him got sewed up so neatly lol. AFO’s not the only one who stubbornly refuses to die no matter what

...

just once, it would be nice if Horikoshi didn’t immediately shred my plot nitpicks to pieces mere seconds after I write them

LMAO

BABY AFO DON’T CARE. BABY AFO WILL THROW HANDS WITH ANYONE ＼(｀0´)／

KACCHAN MY BELOVED FAVE OF ALL TIME, ARE YOU REALLY ABOUT TO LOSE TO A LITERAL FUCKING INFANT

WHAT HAPPENED TO “PERFECT VICTORY” LMAO. MOVING THE GOALPOSTS EVEN AS HIS CONSCIOUSNESS FADES. “EH, CLOSE ENOUGH”

-- OH FOR THE LOVE OF --

me: wow it sure is uncharacteristic of Katsuki to just pass out before he properly wraps up this battle

Horikoshi: oh yeah good point, sure would be a shame if someone... IMMEDIATELY ADDRESSED THAT CONCERN ON THE VERY NEXT PAGE

me: ఠ_ఠ

ldskjflaksdjfkds

fdsfsdkf. “SORRY ABOUT THAT, FOR A MOMENT THERE I ALMOST FORGOT TO BEND THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE TO MY WILL”

holy fucking shit. his body was all “um, just a quick reminder that you’re HORRIBLY WOUNDED and have lost like ten gallons of blood and all of your cells are about to call an emergency meeting to shut this thing down before you get us all killed.” and he was all “WHAT WAS THAT?!” and his body was all “oh my GOD, FUCK, OKAY just forget we said anything”

and meanwhile Baby AFO is just lying there all “(◉⌓◉)”

this six-month-old child is truly and sincerely still trying to kill Kacchan while screeching death threats in high-pitched baby talk

this actually would have killed him too, if he’d succeeded in passing out. all that just to be punk’d by a damn baby

you are actually shitting me right now

at this point I’m genuinely not sure which of them has the more powerful angry toddler energy

oh no ffuffkdsfk

meeeeelting. meeeeeeltiiiiiing!!! oh what a world what a world

jesus Horikoshi I am genuinely speechless

... welp

WAIT NO WAY, REALLY?!?!

?!?!?! WAS IT ACTUALLY THAT SIMPLE THIS WHOLE TIME

-- lkjf

three times. three times in the same fucking chapter. I give up. apparently I’ll literally believe anything this man says. does it feel good, Horikoshi. preying on your readers’ hopeful naivete

yeefuckinghaw lmao

GOOD JOB KACCHAN YOU DEFEATED THE EVIL BABY

awwwww

I actually had a theory about this! well more of a wishlist item, really. I can’t remember if I’ve actually posted about it yet or not. but it’s like. you know how Deku and Kacchan are always being really dramatic about holding hands? wanting to hold hands; not wanting to hold hands; being afraid to hold hands; holding hands via proxy, etc. etc.?

and you know how both Endeavor and All Might have each done their own version of the victory pose that Kacchan is referring to here? with each one using a different hand?

so you see, I was thinking that it might be nice. might be a little poetic and all that. if at the end of the fight, Deku and Kacchan did, in fact, hold hands. and then did the victory pose together. and it became like their iconic hero moment. them standing there together. having accomplished their goal and defeated TomurAFO through teamwork. realizing their shared childhood dream. and sharing that moment of triumph with each other and with the world, ushering in a new era of heroes

anyway yeah. I was thinking that might be a pretty good ending. but it looks like Kacchan maybe really is about to pass out here now, lol, so maybe not? anyways time to finally scroll down

-- okay I literally said awww again out loud

what a fucking nerd. I have never felt more fondness for a character in my life

every damn person watching this on the news better have leaped to their feet and started applauding, goddammit. those motherfuckers better be CHANTING HIS FUCKING NAME. all those nagging reporters better be bombarding his phone with calls. those fuckers who deleted his footage from the Shouto interview better be shamelessly leaving him dozens of voicemails acting like none of that ever happened and presumptuously asking when he can free some time in his schedule to visit their studio again. all the heroes who haven’t hugged him yet better be lining the fuck up. that one guy from the post-kidnapping press conference in chapter 86 better be writing a fifty page letter of apology!!

oh hey it’s a random pre-battle flashback mysteriously taking place in Troy “a few days before the battle” even though I thought they only moved into that place the night before the fight

I love how Katsuki immediately narrows his eyes (I assume. we can’t see for sure but that’s the vibe I get) at Jeanist and has to resist the urge to call the police on him for that pun

so Hadou’s wondering what Jeanist is talking about because they already evacuated the civilians, so what else are they trying to protect. and Edgeshot is all, “well obviously we’ve gotta protect everyone’s future,” which is a nice... rearshadowing?? for him saving Katsuki’s life later on lol

and now Mirko is all “get to the fucking point already.” which, same

so Jeanist says that Tomura is an even bigger problem than AFO, because at least AFO doesn’t want to murder everyone on the entire planet. and he concludes with “he’ll probably try to touch the ground and use his quirk.” which is a conclusion that I have to say wasn’t really worth two pages of flashback buildup for, considering that we all figured that out years ago

I’m guessing this is all just some sort of awkward transition back to Deku’s fight now lol

and now we’re getting two pages of exposition on how long it would theoretically take Tomura’s Decay to spread throughout the city, and then the entire country, yikes

damn. talk about stakes

and now finally back to Deku!!

shoutout to everyone who correctly predicted that Deku was once again talking out of his ass when it came to being out of Gearshifts. we all knew. unlimited supply

wow Tomura way to throw AFO under the bus

the way I recall it, AFO wasn’t the one who failed to kill him back then lol. but go ahead and talk your shit king

DEKU WHAT ARE YOU DOING

holy shit?!?!

like my first thought was “well last time he did this he just tried to steal OFA rather than Decay him, so he’ll probably try that again and it’ll be fine.” only to remember that the AFO inside Tomura is currently permanently(?) out to lunch, and Tomura himself doesn’t give two figs about stealing OFA. so, uhhhh >_>

(ETA: nevermind.)

but then this happened

Deku what the actual fuck

OH MY GOD??!?!

HOLY SHIT

okay. okay, fuck. lemme gather up my thoughts, and then we’ll wrap this up

they’ll never admit it, but you know the other OFA Vestiges secretly resented Shino a tiny bit for being the only one of them to not be gruesomely murdered. bet they all feel guilty for thinking that now

Shino and Banjou also seemed to have this cute little pseudo-rivalry thing going on, so I really feel bad for Banjou now. :/ he looks so horrified in that bottom right panel

gotta admit, I did not see this coming in the slightest. OFA has been this immutable “I do what I want!” quirk for so long that I never thought Tomura or AFO would actually succeed in stealing it, even partially. that shook me to my core

BUT, it’s also really exciting to me because it’s going to make this battle much more interesting if Deku can’t use his get out of jail free card. shit just got way more real and I’m here for it

lastly, so! let me tell you guys my prediction. I still can’t see Tomura being the final villain lol. I just can’t. it feels too anticlimactic. if I’m wrong, I’m wrong, and I’ve certainly botched MANY predictions in the past, but I have not yet learned my lesson from any of it and I will not apologize lol

so here’s what I think. Deku and Tomura battle it out for the next chapter or two, and Tomura snatches up more of Deku’s quirks one by one. we see all of the Vestiges disappearing and the mood gets more and more desperate. eventually we’re down to just Kudou and Yoichi. Deku is panicking, but for some reason Kudou seems even MORE panicked

Kudou/Gearshift eventually gets stolen too, and it looks like this might finally be it for Deku (I have no idea how he’d stop Tomura from Decaying the ground once Blackwhip gets stolen, btw, but maybe Katsuki or someone else interferes in desperation towards the end). but just when it looks like Tomura is finally going to take the last piece of OFA, Deku’s vibes suddenly do a 180, stopping Tomura in his tracks

cut to the OFA Moon Gorgeous Meditation Realm, where Deku and Yoichi are staring at the door -- yes, that door -- in shock. because it’s finally been opened (now that the other Vestiges are no longer there to keep it at bay). and just like that, enter AFO, for the THIRD FUCKING TIME :D :D

tl;dr, HERE’S HOW HORCRUX!DEKU CAN STILL HAPPEN!!! wait where are you all going. wait come back

anyway so wow that was a really bizarre chapter that I truly thoroughly enjoyed, which should probably be a bit concerning. on to the next two week break! (for anyone who’s not aware, Shounen Jump will be on break next week, so yeah.) I’m on chapter 391 now. so close but still so far. the end of the year has gone by too damn fast tbh

[atopvisenyashill]

Hiiiii it’s @martelldragon I ask from my main

BUT, on the Saera/Jaehaerys thing, IM GLAD IM NOT THE ONLY ONE because whenever this conversation about there being SA or at least some weirdness from Jaehaerys towards Saera, a lot of people will brush it off as “you’re being weird, trying to find something sinister where there isn’t anything” when the subtext is there!!! And I also think HOTD sort of replaced Any potential weirdness there was between Ali/Jae when she was reading to him by having her reading to Viserys -> him marrying her -> him maritally r*ping her in the show.

I feel like this sort of acknowledges that there was something not right about Jae and Saera’s relationship but the show sort of gave the Alicent angle years later when Jaehaerys was being taken care of her while dying and any potential creeping on her to her reading to and taking care of Viserys and him being the one to creep/on eventually marry her.

I also think Viserys calling her Aemma in one of the episodes was definitely at least a reference maybe to the old man she took care of in the book mistaking her for Saera.

Anyway seeing you acknowledge the Jaehaerys/Saera relationship instead of ignoring it and acting like everyone who sees something odd there is “reading too much into it” is just so refreshing and sorry if this doesn’t make sense I kind of started rambling lmao

Oh yeah I feel like I get at least one anon every few weeks since I posted it that is just like "you're reading too much into this" without any explanation and it's like...okay well I disagree lmao. I think especially the people who are like "you think Saera is a girlboss but she's actually a psycho" like...WHOMST is "you" in this situation because it's not me! I think Saera was an intelligent, bright young girl who lived a simultaneously spoiled and lonely youth. I think her worst inclinations were often "rewarded" in the very typical "child can't get attention so they settle for negative attention by acting out" type behavior, which made her behavior worse. I think she exhibits some rather disturbing sexual proclivities and children generally don't land on those types of behaviors on their own; they mimic the behavior, good or bad, that they see. Regardless of what happened, I think it's very clear that Saera is mimicking sexually abusive behavior because she has either witnessed or experienced first hand sexual abuse happening. Now who is the likeliest culprit for that hmmm...

I do think the Joffrey comparisons or even the Rhaenyra comparisons crack me up the most though. Like...oh so you think these three children who really obviously experienced/witnessed sexual abuse and proceeded to act out and enact that sexual violence on others are all very similar little psychopaths? Wow tell me more!

But re: the Alicent of it all. I would agree, i think they combine her relationships with Viserys and Jaehaerys in the show, as well as combining her character with Aemma's (and clearly taking inspiration from Dany and Sansa as characters as well). Viserys is not noted to be decaying to death in the books nor is he particularly old when he dies; in fact, it seems implied he's still fairly young looking and handsome when they marry. Which isn't to say that it's still not tacky at best for him to have an affair with a 17 year old and then marry her when she's 18; it's just like, the show takes away that very gray area that George likes to play with where a teenage girl will marry a handsome, fit 25-35 year old and is maybe not too freaked out by it only to realize there is an ocean of difference between her and that man. Which like, fine, I think they still do a good job of interogating that aspect of F&B and Westerosi culture by delving into with Daemyra ("a girl child you bounced on your knee" is CRAZYYYYY i fucking love that line so fucking much especially because we get that scene where Alys is crying over Daemon and Daemon is a bit playful with her - she for sure judges him for his relationship with Rhaenyra but she also can't help but be fond of him, and I think that really displays the sort of dynamic George is going for with this specific sort of sexual abuse. Not dissimilar imo from like, Sansa remarking on how Tyrion was kind to her and the sort of lasting fondness she has for both him and Sandor - they are doing real damage to those girls but at the same time, the love and fondness is there and it matters to that girl regardless!). I do miss the kind of loving-but-weird beginning to her relationship with Viserys though; aging her down and making Paddy look so old and fucked up makes sense when you're trying to drive home the point to a casual audience that is just. so incredibly monumentally slow on the uptake. But Also imo starting it off this way really cuts a lot of that complexity of how damaging The Institution Of Marriage Is, when Alicent becomes an unwilling victim instead of a hopeful bride.

HOWEVER. The fact that her relationship with him can be airlifted out of the late 100's/early 101 right to the late 110s and onto Viserys sure does speak to how creepy her relationship with Jaehaerys is in canon! Doesn't say anything good about the reasons why she is sent into that man's room to read to him! And if he's calling her not his wife's name, not even his sister's name, but Saera's...hmm is all I'll say!

[mal3vol3nt]

hello!! I randomly spent like 30 minutes stalking your blog and!! 2 thing!!

bro I just got into atla and WHAT IS WITH THE FANDOM DUUUDE.. what’s with all the discourse it’s literally not that serious damn and how could people misinterpret literally every character so bad 😭😭 why are people so mean to my boy aang. he’s literally just a little guy. sunshine personified literally HOW IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO HATE HIM WHAT!! and just. everyone misinterprets everyone so bad, zuko too, also it is kind of annoying how most of the fanworks are about him, I love him too, both he and aang are my favourite characters, but it would be nice to see stuff focused on other characters too.. also people in the fandom woobify him so bad and it’s just like. why. his flaws are what make him interesting!!! also I have no strong feelings on z/k, I think it’s a pretty mid ship but it can be done well (one of my favourite fics does it really well and the reason I really liked it there is bc IT WASNT EVEN THE FOCUS THE FOCUS OF THE FIC WAS AANG AND ZUKO’S FRIENDSHIP, and the author wasn’t even planning for it in the first place it sorta just happened with the way they wrote it, so it actually made sense in that context, so it can be done well but imo it doesn’t work within the context of the show and kataang is objectively so much cuter cmon y’all have bad taste smh) anyways yeah. atla fandom is wack as hell and I will not be joining it lol a lot of people here need to go rewatch the show bc they seemingly completely forgot what it’s about and also touch some grass (but tbh aaaall the sequels will never be canon. to me. lok and most of the comics butchers the gaang so bad and it makes me so upset so I refuse to acknowledge them as canon. there are no atla sequels in ba sing se :)

ok wow sorry for the random long ass rant in your inbox I hope you don’t mind!! have been thinking about that and I guess reading a lot of your posts sorta made me want to get that out somehwre

anyways what I ACTUALLY wanted to ask is if you read fanfiction, do you know of any good aang centric fics? since. it should not be that hard to find them he’s the MAIN CHARACTER why is he so unpopular in his own show he’s literally the little guy ever <//3 more aang appreciation pls

AH sorry for taking so long to answer! i haven’t peeped my inbox in quite some time lol

BUT THANK YOUU and i agree 100%!! joining the atla fandom is like being dropped in the middle of a war zone so i’d definitely recommend staying away and just sticking to the actual show and fanfics lmao

now as for aang-centric fics i’m so glad you asked. lemme put yall on (a lot of this is aangst sorry)

1. 🧡

Aang's 18th birthday stirs up a lot of unprocessed grief and with the inauguration of the United Republic just around the corner and increasing expectations the pressure of it all is becoming too much

Republic City shenanigans, drunken truth or dares, complicated visits home and a semi-arranged marriage inbound!

Complete — 24 Chapters

Part 1 of the finding our way series

⭐�� now this is by FAR my favorite aang-centric fics of all time. it goes into aang’s repressed anger and grief in a way that is so well done i can’t believe it’s free to read. if you’re someone who loves aang, you will love this fic that is a guarantee. i seriously can’t recommend it enough

⭐️ this brilliant author also has another fic uploaded to the same series titled “beautiful boy” that is bumi ii and cloud family-centric. i’m currently reading it and it is a masterpiece so i’d highly recommend that as well

2. 🧡

A sound carried on the winds lead Aang and Katara to hope for something seeming long lost.

Complete — 3 Chapters

3. 🧡

Aang meets one of the firebenders who took part in the original Air Nomad genocide, and Suki deals with the aftermath.

One Shot

4. 🧡

Hakoda and Aang have both lost too much in the war. Together, they learn what it means to live.

One Shot

5. 🧡

In which, Aang still suffers from the guilt and shame after having abandoned his duties as the Avatar resulting in the Airnomad genocide and his friends, remind him that he isn't alone, not in this fight.

Incomplete — 4/6 Chapters

6. 🧡

A collection of ficlets written for Aang Week 2021, hosted by @ aangweek on Tumblr.

Complete — 7 Chapters

7. 🧡

Being the Avatar is a burden as heavy as the weight of the world. But as long as Katara is alive, she swears that Aang will never have to carry it alone. Written for Kataang Week 2023 Day 2: Injured.

One Shot

8. 🧡

Aang goes to Kyoshi for advice, and learns that they might have more in common than he imagined.

One Shot

9. 🧡

Raava was ancient. The spirit of order and light, created to serve as a peacekeeper among the spirits. That was her purpose. When she had fused with Wan, she had fully anticipated the years of strife and war.

What she had not anticipated, however, was the feelings. The feelings of love, joy, fear. The feelings of humanity.

And no such feelings were stronger than the love she experienced the first time she looked into the eyes of her newest incarnation. The first time she met Aang.

One Shot

10. 🧡

“I want you to make me a promise, Avatar Aang,” Katara whispered. This time, when she placed her hand on top of his, he didn’t pull away. “When this is all over, when the war is won… Promise me that you’ll grieve.”

(alternatively: grieving is hard. aang’s friends work harder. a series of missing/expanded scenes from a:tla exploring aang’s grief through his friends’ eyes.)

One Shot

(continuation in reblogs)

[bustybounty]

Jake has been working for this company for almost a year now, doing a quite good job but it's still as if he's just been hired, with all his coworkers barely acknowledging his existence or knowing who he is, bringing Jake to wish to finally be noticed at work more than anything. His wish is somehow granted, although not in the way he expected, when his ass starts growing bigger, looking more and more like a woman's day by day, without signs of stopping anytime soon

Once his wish is finally granted, Jake has a new spirit knowing that his coworkers are finally going to notice him. He walks into work, greeting everyone but not really getting much of a response. So much for wishing. He got himself in uniform, and surprisingly had a bit of trouble putting his pants on, though he was too demotivated already to really point a finger on what had happened.

As he finally got in, his boss immediately spoke something about said pants - "Hey, Jake, if you need new work pants you can let me know. Those seem to be really worn out by now." She used the worn out as an excuse to not call him out on potentially having gained weight. He was confused, but nodded "Oh, yeah, okay!" before another coworker made another reply about his pants looking tight.

Finally looking down and behind him, he noticed his ass DID look perkier than usual and more form fitting in the pants, and he connected the dots on why he had trouble getting dressed in the first place.

This shock would follow him on a day to day basis as his booty kept growing. His hips got wider, his thighs thicker, his lower body looking quite feminine in shape, and plenty of his coworkers were teasing him about his new ass size. "Don't get that stuck in any of the company's chairs, we don't want damages, hehe" , "Wow, and they said I had a big bottom. Looking good, Jake"

They didn't seem to come from a bad place, though all this attention, that he had wished for, came at the expense of...it all having to do with his ass, something he never asked for. He never asked for it to be growing this big. Though it just seemed to keep growing, more and more.

Far beyond what would look proportional on his body, his butt reminded him of one of his favorite online models, someone by the username of 'Graciebon' who also had quite the beautiful hips and ass. He couldn't believe his own booty was pretty much exactly like hers. Just as jiggly too! Even people outside of his workplace started to notice him, he suddenly started having a much larger influx of people asking him for his number, or straight up asking for a date!

When was his butt gonna stop growing? And...maybe it wasn't actually so bad after all? He DID get his wish, and then some...~ <3

[alliumdykes]

Omg hi ur so sexy and awesome hahaha talk about the game How Fish Is Made hahaha

Omg wow hi person who totally isn't me I'm going to talk about How Fish Is Made and its semi-sequel/next chapter The Last One Then Another.

Spoilers under the cut, this is very long.

Ok so I just LOVE this game sm. Like I am luring you in with haha funny joke for my long-ass essay rant explination thingy.

But I love this game. The feeling of being in the machine. It's both organic and mechanical. It makes the machine feel biological and man-made at the same time. But also neither. It feels wrong. All the fish you meet NEED to know if you choose up or down. It's the most important choice you make. You MUST choose up or down. It leads into a debate about if you should choose up or down, fishes telling you to choose up while another yells at you to choose down because their so smart they were stuck.

You find a fish whos in fear, they can't choose up or down? Do they go up with their best friend? Or down with the rest of their family? They need you to choose for them. You fall down flesh tunnels, fish seeing frozen fish and calling it art. Its so disgustingly human in some way. At one point you need to open a gate, but a fish is stuck in the gears, thinking there was a way to beat choosing up or down. And technically they did. But not through escape. but from being killed by you, you have to kill someone to progress. And you have no choice.

You enter a room full of water, but you can't swim. you can never swim. you must flop.You meet a fish whos tongue had been devoured by Cymothoa exigua, who sings you a cheerful song about how you just have to live with the bullshit that you are put through. After you are put through the song full of parasites there you must continue on your journey. You enter a room full of fish eggs everywhere and you are forced to stop. you get a dialogue text saying "Why do you deserve it? Will you be able to live with it? Try and try and try and try and try again. Ah, those double action hinges have always been there, just for you, right? You'll come back. Everyone does. Weak. Or you'll go looking. one way or another, right? Weak." Before your forced to keep walking, thinking about what you were told. I like to think its some meta-commentary thing, about how we will go look for another ending of the game, if you do something different you will get another, better ending.

This can also be interpreted as how in life if we make a choice, we could choose one. but in the end we will always want to see what happens if we choose something else. Maybe if I did this instead it'll of end out better? Maybe if I do this in this way instead of that it will be better! but it doesn't matter.

You enter a room, with lights and a fish in the middle. They say this is about conviction. But also. They're just a fish in a room with intimidating lighting, they acknowledge this. How do we know that they know it? They just look smart.

When you finally make the choice a fish whos seen the amount whos gone up and down. You ask the fish to go up or down, they say that whatever one they go through that they will tell you what they see. but you don't.

You go through. You get a message that I transcribed here. I like to think that the monologue is about the selfishness that comes with grief. That you feel that you've had it the worse, what you have gone through is worse then what everyone else has gone through. no one else has gone through the same suffering that you have gone through. but its not true. its rude and selfish.

You can get two endings, a large blob when you go up and you become apart of a sandwich if you go down. I think this is meant to be that no matter what you choose, their as bad as each other. But you have a choice, the only good thing is that you have a choice.

Ok now onto The Last One Then Another.

This takes place after the first, and your in a large blob no matter if you choose up or down. You free the blob and start to (quite literally) consume bits of dead fish around you, gaining enough to burst through a shut door. a fish asks to come with you. you can say yes and consume the fish, or you can just leave. this is the only time you can do this, the only time you don't have to consume.

You go to a boat or bathtub (I'm unsure) and you follow the light to a bloody bandaged head where you can only see an eye and the mouth of the man. You can rather leave or consume. You aren't large enough to consume though. so you must leave. You go through this fleshy tunnel where there's a fish feasting on a birthday cake. You have the option to leave or consume. Although but you have to consume to progress. You go back to the main area where a whole is opened in the middle. You go down to see just the eye of the bandaged man after consuming a small fish.

The man tells you a joke that goes like this "Three men are in the hospital. The first man cries 'I lost both my hands, they told me I'll never work again!' The second man wails 'I lost both my legs, they told me I'll never work again! The third man? He rejoices 'I lost my hearing, they'll never be able to tell me I'm fired again'" before laughing and just sitting there.

You go through a thing where it's only able to fit a specific size, you go into a room, with fish parts, a bunch of mouth wash and a fish covered in mouth wash. The fish cries for you to take them with you. Saying that choosing up or down was stupid. or was it left or right? They can't remember. So you take them with you. You go back to the main area and go up to the bandaged and what do you do? You consume him. You have no choice. You must consume.

You then change into a first person perspective cutscene, your a person on a ship giving pain killers to a bandaged man without both hands, without both feet and with no ears. A Deaf man who has no hands and feet, like each of the men in the joke. You feed the man painkillers with the first option being the same mouthwash in the room near the bathtub boat thing. You feed the man the painkillers then get an ad for mouth wash. and then the Cymothoa exigua in friend-os mouth appears asking you to wishlist the game mouthwash.

I like to think the second part/chapter is about over consumption. You must consume consume consume. And the choice you made that was extremely important doesn't matter, because all you must do is consume.

Anyways thats my thoughts :3

[50calmadeuce]

Ch. 8: The Break Up and Flight

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Top Gun: Maverick world, trademarked by Paramount Pictures Corporation. I do not claim ownership of the characters and the world that I am borrowing.

The story and situation I am creating are a work of my imagination and I do not ascribe them to official story canon. This work is for entertainment only and is not a part of the storyline.

I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story, but I do hope it gives you happy thoughts.

These stories are my own, so please do not take them and use them for yourself without my permission. If you see them somewhere else, please let me know. :)

It was late, and you and Leslie were tidying up in the living room when Sean entered.

Leslie gathered the plates you'd collected. "I'll catch up with you later," she said, heading towards the kitchen.

Turning to Sean, you said, "We need to talk."

He settled on the edge of the couch. "I agree."

You approached him slowly, removing the engagement ring as you did so. When you reached him, you extended it towards him. "I can't. I'm sorry."

He accepted it, his expression resigned. "I had a feeling." He looked up at you. "Was it something I did?"

You perched on the edge of the coffee table and reached for his hand. "No, Sean. It wasn't you. It's me. It always has been. The same thing happened with Ben." You took a deep breath. "I've been in love with someone since I was sixteen."

Sean looked at you, his expression a mix of surprise and realization. "Someone from the past?"

You nodded. "Jake Seresin. He was my first love, and I never fully moved on. I thought I did, I tried to, but it was always there, lingering. I recently found out something about him and I can't deny how I feel."

He sighed, a heavy acknowledgment of the truth. "I appreciate your honesty, Y/N. It's better to know now than later. I wish you the best, truly."

You squeezed his hand, gratitude in your eyes. "Thank you for understanding, Sean. You deserve someone who can give you their whole heart."

The both of you stood up, a touch of sadness in Sean's eyes. "I always thought it was my imagination, that something was missing in our relationship." He sighed. "I'll move my stuff to the guest room and leave tomorrow."

"You're a good man, Sean."

"Thank you."

The two of you embraced, and when you separated, Sean met your gaze, leaned over and gently kissed your cheek. "Good luck, Y/N."

"Thanks," you said, your eyes following him as he ascended the stairs.

Leslie entered the living room, her expression a mix of concern and curiosity. "Well, that didn't go as bad as I thought."

You turned to face her, a thoughtful look on your face. "I often wondered why he proposed. There was always something missing."

"So, now what?"

"So, my mother left a clause in the Will."

"What was that?"

"I have a trust of 1.5 million dollars waiting for me. James got the ranch, of course, but I was left with some money."

"Y/N. That's great!"

"The trust is for Jake and Y/N Seresin."

"Oh," Leslie remarked, processing this revelation with a thoughtful nod. "So, I guess your mom also figured it out. Everyone except for you."

You exchanged a knowing smile with Leslie. "Yeah, I guess." You settled onto the couch, and Leslie joined you. "Did I ever tell you about Mandolin Rain?"

Perplexed, Leslie looked at you. "No."

"Remember that night we went to the carnival and Jake came home soaking wet?"

"Oh my, yes! The two of you looked like drowned rats."

"I convinced Jake to come out in the rain and just enjoy it."

Leslie raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. That's when he first told me he loved me. Right there in the pouring rain."

Leslie's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, that's... actually kind of romantic."

"Yeah, it was," you admitted, a fond smile tugging at the corners of your lips. "We stood there, drenched, and he just said it. It was one of those moments you never forget. Then when we got in the truck to go home, 'Mandolin Rain' by Bruce Hornsby and the Range came on. We made it our song."

"Never thought Jake had it in him."

You met Leslie's eyes. "There's a lot more to Jake than you think."

"Well, he's my brother, so...what are you going to do?"

"I guess I'm going to go after him. The question is, where do I start?"

"I know he's talked about some bar called The Hard Deck. He hangs out there a lot."

"Of course he would."

Leslie shrugged. "It's a start at least."

You were fortunate enough to secure a flight from Austin to San Diego the very next morning.

You and Leslie shared a heartfelt embrace, promising to stay in touch more often now that you had made the decision to return home or live with Jake, depending on how things unfolded.

As you boarded the plane, your heart raced with anticipation. The thought of reuniting with Jake, of finally facing the feelings you both shared, filled you with a mix of excitement and nervousness. The journey ahead felt like a new beginning, and you couldn't wait to see where it would lead.

After a three hour flight, you landed at San Diego International Airport, rented a vehicle and started the drive to Coronado. You got a hotel room at one of the hotels outside of the base and walked up to the desk to check in.

"Hi! Checking in?" the front desk clerk asked. She was a friendly young blonde with a warm smile.

"Yes, that's right," you replied. "Reservation should be under Y/N Seresin."

The clerk quickly typed on the computer. "Ah, yes, I've got you right here. Here's your key. You're in room 214. Breakfast is served from 7 to 10 in the morning. If you need anything else, feel free to let us know."

"Thank you very much," you expressed with a grateful smile as you accepted the key. Just as you were about to make your way to your room, you had a moment of pause. Turning back, you approached the desk once more. "Actually, I do have a question. Could you tell me how to get to The Hard Deck bar?"

The blonde receptionist responded with a warm smile. "Certainly!"

[assorted-nothingness]

Wow I love that s2e5 of Loki was completely pointless

For everyone except Loki

Hear me out!! Seriously, none of that happened. None of it mattered. To anyone but Loki. It was entirely for his benefit, for his character development, for his knowledge. And that was amazing! I’m just gonna try and list all of the amazing parts

1) Loki is seemingly the only one unaffected by the unraveling of time

2) Loki learns to control his time slipping, making him the only one capable of moving through space, time, and dimensions

3) Loki’s time slipping (and his eventual control of it) is entirely emotionally based!!! (I love that trope so so much, I think it should be the standard for anyone with powers tbh!)

4) Loki is finally forced to admit his motivations, the deep one, the selfish one. Because let’s be honest. Everyone has selfish motivations. No one is completely selfless, let alone Loki. But it was so so important for him to acknowledge what he Actually Wanted for once! The one thing he’s always wanted. To belong. To not be alone. To have people around him who love and care for him and for whom he can love and care for too. It does a wonderful job of calling back to his explanations of his actions in season 1: about fear as a tool of the weak to appear strong. He pretends to be evil and cruel to hide how lonely he is. It’s a well known Loki fact (to me at least) that Loki only did horrible acts because he wanted attention. Every time he did something bad, Thor chased after him. It was their dynamic. But the moment Thor said “I’m done.” (Ragnarok) Loki realized his tricks wouldn’t work. He did something good instead, because being bad no longer got him what he wanted. But he was unable to admit that to himself. But now he did!! He admitted what he wanted and it was so so important

5) Loki took charge! He gathered the crew! He was allowed to have agency!

6) Loki had a great conversation with Sylvie! Again! He didn’t cave, he didn’t flop, he didn’t grovel! He did ask for her help, but he accepted her decision with grace. They spoke as equals and I loved it

Gosh it was so Loki-centric and amazing. His time slipping back to before any of it happened means it was JUST FOR HIM! Only he experienced it, only he has the memories, only he gained the perspective, only he developed as a character, only he got to drive the plot. It’s so different from anything they did in the first season. The enTIRE EPISODE was PURELY for LOKI’S benefit, in the LOKI SHOW. Like hello!!! Finally!!

[growling]

Top 10 favourite narcissist moments

parasocial hatred. we never talked and I'm not sure you know I exist but I fucking hate you and hope the worst happens to you

getting so pissed over actual talented people that get like 50+ notes minimum for every art and endless praise from their 100+ followers every damn day whining about how much their art sucks and nobody appreciates them or whatever. like shut the fuck up do you just not know how good you have it or are you just fishing for attention. nevermind i have already decided which one and i decided i want you boiled in a pot

not being able to have a normal one without a constant string of supply aka attention and praise from everyone. every time someone talks to me or compliments my epic art skillz or acknowledges me in any way I get such a high I feel like a literal god and feeling giddy nonstop for the whole day, then it fades i start to feel a bit too ignored these past 2 days and a half and i just feel so empty and terrible and my world is destroyed and i need to hurt something now- oh someone said im cool again nevermind i have been fixed the universe is beautiful my future is bright mentally healthy people want me carnally

having a really fucked relationship with the concept of "unconditional love" everything is conditional what are you talking about. and "love" in general, when i say i'm loveless, whether romantically or platonically, i mean it. that doesn't mean i cannot get attached to people or care about them in some other way, no i am not going to explain it in detail right now

there is zero point in talking to anyone else or getting into any relationships because none of these people could ever be on my level. their thinking is so shallow and stupid and they all behave so predictably and enjoy the most nonsensical of things and it's like everyone just gets something that i don't and they're inferior in every way but it feels like they are out for me specifically because I'm not like them and as soon as they find me out I will never be safe there. It's lonely and terrifying but yeah sure I'm the asshole apparently because I secretly feel superior or whatever. contrary to popular opinion being extremely self-centered is not a positive thing for the guy that has it

not caring about anything that doesn't concern me specifically in any way. it's all "support people with low empathy" until they can't ""make up"" for it with high sympathy or just trying harder or something. Everything bad that ever happens is here just for my entertainment or an annoyance. vents and crying and whatnot make me incredibly uncomfortable or annoyed and i mean i will try to listen (because i am a wonderful kind person) but i will have zero idea on how to respond because thorought the entirety of it i didn't really pay attention and just kinda thought "oh my god stfu i don't careeee when can i leave" while envisioning rain code amvs in my mind. unless you unlock my easter egg that is

only doing nice things for praise and making people love me or just to feel good for being such a great person, and getting incredibly dissapointed and sometimes really pissed whenever they're not grateful enough

wow society is a shitshow i don't respect literally any of you people. i should run away and live away from everybody forever but i need to acquire my riches and fame first which will not be hard whatsoever. the struggle never ends

just. lying all the time. and not being able to tell whether you actually like somebody or their attention.

not seeing other people as people (i know they are, it doesn't change that i still feel they aren't), having to slowly spend enough time talking with them and find out enough information on them in order to start seeing them as an actual person. if i don't know who you are then you just aren't that important in the great scheme of things. and if i do know you and get attached (and maybe you also happen to have traits that make you special and better than others almost like me which makes me like you even more) then I decide you're my person now. not in a weird or entitled way, it's just how many of us show protectiveness and whatnot thanks radiostaticsmile for putting that into words. I do feel a bit of an ownership over people I like, kinda like a cat or dog with their people. i'm really not escaping the kittycat allegations am i. god damn it.

[doctor-badadvice]

Let's talk about Fast Forward for a bit.

Specifically I want to talk about the main theme of that season: why? Why did the art style deteriorate so much? Why did the writing get so bad? Why did this come out before season 5 but also supposedly happens after season 5 and at the same time only occasionally acknowledges its events? Why is there a kid now? Why am I watching this when I only really care about maybe three episodes at best?

Because I was bored. But let's go with order.

I'm going to say it now, I'm still going to claim there is no season 6 in Ba Sing Se. But at the same time, it isn't all that bad actually?

Here's the thing. FF was inevitable for many reasons. TMNT, with its aliens and magic, has the potential to go on forever. However, at some point "turtle fatigue" will set in. In the 80s, this happened around season 7 which yeah, it's about 150 episodes in. For the 2003 show it happens around season 5 but this doesn't mean the higher-ups will try stupid changes to bring back the old glory.

Moreover, the show brought it upon itself. The main culprits, so to speak, are the writing's insistence on portraying consequences as much as possible (see: Leo's scarred shell for instance), as well as season 4 with its funny gory shift (see: that one episode where Baxter watches his own body fall apart which wow).

So it isn't unexpected that the higher-ups and especially the toy maker went "Kids, could you lighten up a little?" and messed up everything that was good about the show.

So this is basically why I don’t like FF. Five seasons are a long commitment. You have to sit through the ninja tribunal arc which is boring as hell, then have to be really patient and accept that there are just dragons now for some reason. Then FF comes up and it has nothing of what you previously enjoyed. The style is different, too flat and kinda clunky and ugly in some spots, nothing that happened before matters and now Cody is there.

Remember networks, kids don't want to watch other kids go on adventures in their place and it doesn't get better with age. But you do you.

So I despised FF but after rewatching the season on its own, I have to make amends in some spots.

The general impression when you watch FF on its own, without the better stuff still fresh in mind and with something to do during the dull parts, is that of good background noise.

It takes many steps backwards. The turtles are suddenly less competent at fighting where it's convenient, their personalities are more one dimensional depending on the plot and they're kinda shitty to each other for no reason. They really suffer from that serial effect where the reset button is hit as soon as the credits roll. They used to go out to murder the Shredder knowing they might die and now it's "Today Mikey really wants a new video game and next episode we're going to a fancy party with the kid dressed in the dumbest suits ever and a silly happens :)"

Splinter also gets sidetracked a lot and he's more there to occasionally call the turtles whippersnappers but again, there isn't much of a reason for him to step in anymore.

And this brings me to the villains. I feel like the turtles only work as well as their villains. They work when they're getting into a fight with a local street gang, or trying to kick an alien empire out of the planet before everyone dies. They work when the Shredder actually does something meaningful and generally speaking are going against someone actually dangerous.

The first five seasons had Shredder, the Foot, Hun, the Triceratons and Bishop. FF has an annoying wrestler whose main priority is property damage, a gang of netrunners who I wish got up to more interesting things than scalping and quoting the Matrix, literal evil twins from the tv trope literal evil twins, and the idiots in charge.

The idiots in charge are of course beloved uncle Darius and Sh'Okanabo.

These two really are something. Darius is essentially that guy from the first Iron Man movie. He's the acting CEO because the owner is a literal child. He smiles and preaches big keeping up the facade of benevolent company of the shiny Earth utopia but he has a dark secret which is that he's making guns and a mecha suit for himself and Cody takes several episodes to realize this for some reason.

You'd think Darius would stop being a threat the moment his dark deeds are uncovered since his whole thing is "evil capitalist guy is evil". But no, he's gonna go higher, he's going to ally with Shittibobo because he needs new genetically modified minions he can badmouth while fucking around all day in his sewers loft and we don't even get the payoff of Darius realizing that he's being fucked over by an alien during the Day of Awakening.

Plus because of how afraid FF is to explore anything heavier than Mikey insisting they go out to achieve explosive diarrhea from questionable junk food, even the fact that Darius is an abusive father figure for Cody has no real importance because Cody is only allowed to look sad on screen for five seconds. Remove Darius and the overall season arc remains the same.

What about the other guy? Well, Sushibooboo is the supposed big bad of the season. He's an alien who wants to kill life on Earth to steal resources. He's something beloved President Bishop goes out of his way to personally murder. But the only thing he achieves is to confirm that he's just offensively stupid.

Sh'Okanabo is supposedly an alien boogeyman who's so evil he just can't be real, right? Unfortunately, he's the literal cause of his own demise.

Since the turtles are more than content with babysitting Cody and going around complaining about historical accuracies like that one Futurama episode, they don't know who Sh'Okanabo is and after talking to Bishop they don't care to find out. Great. This means he can operate in the dark, grow his eggs and prepare to kill everyone, right? No way. In pure Sasalele style, he goes out of his way to attack the turtles, tell them what he’s up to and scare them enough to start to actively prepare to fight him.

And on top of that he wastes time to build a time machine because somehow Shredder had to return for one episode which in turn almost fucks up his plan entirely since his ship almost explodes.

So I still don't like FF because of the way the writing plummeted. A lot of stuff happens because it's convenient and often falls back into exquisitely 90s/2000s tropes (see: the obviously evil guy gets away with evil deeds because the parents/cops/people with power are blind and children are stupid, that one car race episode which is a repeat of the previous car race episode from earlier in the show, a female character who's only there to be a love interest and is allowed to be smart and cute because Cody likes them smart and cute, just to name a few). The turtles get dumber depending on the episode and there are some attempts at comedy like Starlee's shitty family that give out levels of second hand embarrassment not seen since Star Trek TNG.

But I don't hate this season entirely either. FF is just very mid and it makes me think that it could have worked as a standalone show for a while because you can watch it more or less. I'm just this isn't what we got in place of the actual show because it wouldn’t have lasted.

Still I did enjoy some things:

Torbin Zixx is fun. He has some interesting tricks, even though 60% of them only work because the turtles are written especially stupid in his episodes. Plus he steals Bishop's space shuttle which is glorious

I ended up liking Sterling a little towards the end. I still feel like his humor is a sanitized version of Baxter's but I like that he collects clips of the turtles getting hurt to watch to calm down and that he's actually always ready to throw hands

President Bishop is so stupid, yet brilliant (and I'm going to talk about him in a separate post because the worldbuilding is really something and I have OPINIONS)

Raph commenting that power armors are so last season while fighting Darius made me chuckle even though I won't tolerate this supersuit slander

This moment:

[theaceofskulls]

Fixing WoW's Modern Story: BFA

Got stuck the other day thinking about World of Warcraft story fixes and I've got to get it out of my head.

It began with me thinking of how I've come around to how the faction conflict was handled in Legion, where a complete misunderstanding and actions taken led to two specific members being the ones to duke it out and it shifted into an entire rewrite of BFA and SLands with a quick detour at the start to Legion.

Anyways let's start.

There's very little I'd change about the main story of Legion to be honest (but I have opinions on zones and class halls). But I think the major thing I'd change to start out is not killing Vol'jin.

It feels like it was done for parity because that's something that the community and blizzard at the time were obsessed with. If something bad happens to one side, the other has to get an equal black eye. But it was clear that Varian was the focus with getting Sylvanas into the Warchief seat as the other driving force and I feel like it undercuts a lot of potential down the line.

So to change, he still gets stabbed, he still nominates Sylvanas to take over due to Loa whispers, but instead he's now in a coma. And to add to it, the Horde starts trying everything but his condition keeps worsening. This furthers the bad blood between the two factions as rumors about dark magics being practiced by the Orcs, Trolls, Blood Elves (letting them be edgy again), and even the undead are reaching the Alliance. This also gives the other leaders something more tangible to be working on than the assumption that they're just fighting the Legion elsewhere.

We end things mostly the same way, with Azerite being a thing from the wound but we're going to change some stuff. The big stinger though isn't the goblins mining, it's news that Vol'jin has awoken.

Now onto BFA.

First up, I'm doing this as a fix it, not a replace it, meaning I still want this to be a Faction War xpac with a void twist. But we're going to do some massive changes to get there.

Acknowledging fan discussions done to death by this point, everyone is correct and it's the most common items mentioned: Teldrissal burning is too far and the Alliance has to be the ones to strike first in order for it to play out.

However, we're going to make some changes to things.

First up, let's go to Vol'jin who has come back into things. Sylvanas will attempt to hand over the title of Warchief to him, but he declines, saying that she lead them through the Legion invasion and deserves to command the armies of the Horde. Before anyone can say anything, he then states that the Horde must change and that it will no longer be ruled by a Warchief, but by a new leader. Title pending here but let's go with True Chief.

This rankles some people but others want Vol'jin back. Sylvanas steps back, complicated expression on her face. Vol'jin sees the Azerite found and decides it's time to start mining to fix the damage done by the Legion and to empower the horde. It should be noted that there's a little bit of a mystery on whether or not Vol'jin is benevolent on his return or if there's hidden plans. We'll lean into that later.

Meanwhile the Alliance is now confronted with multiple new items. The Horde emerged from Legion strong. Tyrande fumbled the Nightborne who are looking to join the Horde along with the Highmountain, though they have been bolstered by Alleria and Turalyon, both of whom have opinions on the Blood Elves, the Undead, the Orcs (with the Lightforged also taking some particular umbrage), Theramore, and Genn's reports about the Broken Shore and the mysteries of Vol'jin's recovery.

We make a point here to start to address the concept of the Alliance and what it means and whether Anduin should even be the leader of it. The reports of Azerite being mined add to the fire, as do reports of undead activity (more on that later).

Rather than copying Makani's homework here regarding the undead-be-gone (though it's a great option to also stick here), this does eventually lead to a conflict that escalates to Lordaeron after Blight stores are detonated too close to Gilneas during one of the border conflicts.

One thing that players discover that they're unable to share in time for the battle however is that both alliance troops and forsaken involved in a couple of these conflicts seem... wrong. And some of the damage to the surrounding area doesn't seem like it was the Blight.

Before we get to that we're going to rework Before the Storm into here with some minor tweaks because I like Calia and elements of that story enough to keep and because I'm trying not to toss too much here.

However, a couple of important details here. First up, Sylvanas reveals that despite Vol'jin's proclamation, there have been troop movements in the eastern kingdoms that she hasn't been informed of, including some forsaken, so when Calia appears and the council begins forming, she begins to panic. However, before she does anything, someone else kills the Menethal princess with an arrow that disappears in a puff of black smoke. One of the undead in attendance claims Sylvanas planned this all along to complete her revenge on the family that wronged her, but in the aftermath this undead is not among the captured or dead and no one can identify them.

The Battle for Lordaeron happens. On the Alliance side, we see Anduin take to the field to try and solidify his hold on the fracturing Alliance. During the battle, he is overwhelmed by oddly powerful soldiers after being separated. With his sword knocked from his hand, he tries to reach out for the light only for a darker power to answer, obliterating his foes to his horror. The Light still answers him and he tries to push past this as he regroups with his allies.

On the horde side, we fight a losing battle as something is stopping teleportation magic from working. We suspect it to be Jaina when she's revealed, but the times don't match up. Blood Elf reinforcements along with Nightborne who traveled with them show up but it's not enough to turn the tide of the focused Alliance. As those inside prepare for a last stand, not sure that they would be able to surrender, Blight begins to erupt from the ground. Sylvanas denies this to be her fault to Saurfang (who had been sent with an advance force to hold out), but it's clear he doesn't believe her and at this point it's not clear if she's telling the truth. Eagle eyed players noticed some horde soldiers leaving the battle to retreat underground during the middle portion of the battle before a general retreat inside was sounded.

The alliance manages to teleport away to the surprise of the Horde. While they confirm it's working, they'll never be able to get everyone to the silvermoon gate in time. This is when we see the airships of the Horde arrive, allowing escape just in time.

Vol'jin takes the news poorly as Lorthemar and Thalyssra attempt to console Sylvanas who is fuming about losing her home. It's revealed at this point that a shipment of Azerite was raided, with signs pointing towards the draenei and night elves. Vol'jin declares that he won't have enemies in Kalimdor any more, but promises Baine that he will show mercy to them if they surrender after he objects. Baine is given command to ensure this, enraging Sylvanas who should as Warchief and who is still upset over Lorderaon.

We move towards Teldrassil now, though Alliance players are allowed to learn that the shipment raid is suspicious as it seems to have come from Theramore and the Azerite has vanished completely. An investigation was launched but the ships vanished along the way. Something is wrong but the World Tree is in danger and we have to move to save it.

This battle is more solidly in the side of the Horde. Most of the Alliance's attempts to fight back fail unexpectedly. Dwarven and gnomish ammo and machinery is missing or damaged. Darkshore's nature seems to be working against them for some reason. The Vindicaar is experiencing malfunctions. Something is wrong and it's quickly apparent the battle is lost.

Malfurion stays to buy time for an evacuation but is beaten and captured (I'm not killing him in this because while Night Elves won't suffer as much, I'm not doing that after Ysera went down. Nelves still have to take a black eye but don't worry we'll do better by you before the xpac is over). Unfortunately, not everyone gets out.

True to his word at least, Vol'jin spares those left behind, but Teldrassil is occupied by the Horde. We're going to have some small raiding adventures later for the alliance to rescue people, including some smaller named Nelves to give the feeling of fighting back and a little bit of underdog love to it down the line.

At this point though, it's clear, it's open war now.

We still need our navy plot line but we're heading into this with one big change: It's clear to players who have been following along that someone is pulling the strings.

(Quick aside, we're just going to have the allied races be left alone. I'm gonna be typing too much anyways here and I want them in)

So we'll start with the Horde.

We still have Talanji approach the Horde and honestly we still have Rokhan be one of the primary characters there too along with Nathanos. We're going to edit up the leveling story but this is gonna be a long post so I don't have time for that here. We do raise the question of how relationships will work out between Vol'jin and Rasatakhan all things considered but we're mostly keeping some stuff the same.

When we get to the war campaign, we still have Sylvanas raise Deryk and Baine still gets pissy and eventually sends him to Kul Tiras, but Vol'jin shuts down the plan to use him as a hostage but doesn't condemn Sylvanas for raising him. She does it as she feels she's losing control of the military and isn't actually in command in anything but name and wanted to enact a scheme. She's also concerned that several of her soldiers appear to be MIA or have disobeyed commands.

This culminates in her killing Zelling under the belief of him being a traitor when it comes out that he's the one who alerted Baine to her scheme. Baine is disgusted but it's not enough to make him quit the Horde but he demands she face justice. Vol'jin points out that as Warchief it's in her rights but chastises her as well.

Meanwhile this sets up more conflict between her and Saurfang where the players will eventually pick a side but it's less of an obvious "pick the resistance or the clearly evil tyrant".

Meanwhile on the alliance side we're making some more changes this time around. Sure the fact that Sylvanas isn't in charge changes a lot of the war campaign, but for this side we're starting with some immediate stuff.

The first thing of note is that the theme of Kul Tiras is going to be different. It needs to be about the Alliance being a force of building and healing rather than just gathering up the different nations together to fight together. It still does that part but one big thing is to work on how your actions make peoples' lives better.

(Note: I am primarily a horde player but part of my fix-it for this xpac involves examining the alliance and its justification for continuing to exist after the faction conflict is over. This is not a "The Alliance needs to be the good guys" because trust me that's not going to happen)

Most of the zones need just slight tweaking but Drustvar is where I'm setting my sights on fixing things. Drustvar is so disconnected and while I enjoy it, it also could use some extra touch ups.

To do that, the Drust are just flat out going to be pointed out as a result of a flare up of Death magic. We're gonna do better setup for the next xpac and we're not going to have them be a weird afterthought. We could also maybe use a lore character to weave into here to explore that rather than leaving them until the end but again runtime on this post is too long here, let's keep moving. (I'd pick Vereesa to get her into a story about Theramoore here and have her do something a little more relevant for once)

We do need to weave in more Ghuun things into Kul'Tiras for the raid to make sense though. That's important. We'll eventually have Anduin learn about it and task the players with taking care of it as he's concerned about the Void stuff that keeps popping up.

Going to the war campaign, we're going to work on it in a number of ways. First up, the stuff you don't see on the Horde side is going to appear over there. Horde players will learn about the San'layn and the blood elves using Anima (pandaria era). The San'layn are going to hint that they're throwing in with the horde because events in Icecrown are unfolding.

What we're going to add here is Telaamon as a rising star in the Lightforged army and we're going to have him butting heads with Velen who is looking at finally healing in the wake of the victory over the Legion. Since a large amount of Draenei are vindictaars, more and more have been joining the ranks of the Lightforged, and Telaamon is firmly in the hawk faction of the Alliance at this point, having learned more about Draenor and is furious. Velen is worried that his time has come to an end and that he should step down and let another lead.

In both Kul'Tiras and Zandalar, we're going to have some of those Azerite zones not just have people trying to harvest it, but we'll also have some void stuff going on as an attempt to corrupt it. That's just to hammer home for people who have somehow missed it where we're heading.

We have some patch content to go through now.

Calia has her stuff alongside Deryk but Voss is less... admiring (I charitably considered it shippy but it always came off more as "the rightful heir" until they attempted to change course in SL). Xal'atath is still let go but not due to Sylvanas. In fact this is probably the time to actually have some void elf specific content come up.

We have a couple of reports on the alliance side that the Zandalari fleet is sinking ships, but Shaw and Flynn don't find anything true to that after digging but the ships are missing.

With Vol'jin not dead we instead do a little more with Talanji and him as characters as a questline. Vol'jin will by this point have been a little more aggro than players were expecting and will acknowledge that himself, wondering if the stress has gotten to him.

Quick side trip, let's address Arathi. We're still keeping that warzone but we're building it up more. We're pointing out that the hawk faction is supporting the reconstruction and emphasizing the fact that this was where Before the Storm went down. With the Wildhammer Dwarves and the Arathi Kingdom on the rise, Vol'jin authorizes fighting there, while Anduin is concerned about the human kingdoms splitting. He meanwhile tasks you with finding out who killed Calia. Players will discover an undead corpse, thoroughly corrupted by void magic.

Dazaralor still unfolds though during setup we have Telaamon fight against Saurfang and dies facing the orc but not before rattling him about his actions in the past (because I like that one bit of his story). This eventually deepens his feud with Sylvanas but it's also to allow us to air out the scars the factions have against each other.

Rastakhan is killed, Talanji declares vengeance and things seem worse than ever.

Lastly we have Darkshore with the Night Warrior as a rescue mission (and attempted retaking of the tree, and while the latter isn't successful, we do free Malfurion).

We move to the next patch and we've got to address both of the zones.

Mechagon starts up not because "Bwhaha, I will rule the surface world" but because all of the void corruption that has led to the King deciding that the curse of flesh must absolutely be undone right now.

Mostly things unfold the same way but we fix that zone to be vastly more interesting outside of the dungeon or just make it into just the dungeon.

Nazjatar is a lot different however. Well mostly it's the same. Azshara schemes to get our artifact power to fully free N'Zoth and kill him in one blow but we're doing something fun:

Inciting incident is that both sides have received reports of a giant island of azerite and both rush to get there first. We're keeping the boat the same but we're not having Nathanos leave since this isn't a trap set up by him and Sylvanas. However here's where a lot of the characters learn about the void saboteurs that have invaded their armies and been egging on this war.

While Nathanos and Genn both still want to continue the conflict, when both of them realize that the conflicts that started this fight were done by agents of their own nations with Genn realizing that Gilneas is at risk of being consumed consumed by the void and Nathanos realizing that so much of his queen's suffering has been caused by Azshara's meddling, the two are convinced by their allies to parley. For now.

Btw, the raid happens similarly, and Azshara lives in the same way. Because I love her and support women's wrongs.

Meanwhile, since Saurfang isn't in exile (I don't know what to do with Zappy Boi in this fix but I'm not too concerned with sitting down and figuring out what to do with him since his character seems to begin and end with Saurfang), we need someone else to pull Thrall out of Outlands because we might want him down the line.

And here's where I put Anduin, who has been losing control of the Alliance as the hawk side has begun to really take over as the war has gone on. I'm also using this to parallel down the line for the War Within because let's assume we planned that far ahead.

Anduin goes there in part to try and get someone who Vol'jin respects to tell him about the dangers he's discovered. As the conversation unfolds, Anduin questions if he should just give up the High King position. Thrall realizes the parallel with his own decision to give up the Warchief position to Garrosh, looking to the distance in Nagrand at where the duel in the alternate universe took place. He tells Anduin he regrets the pain he allowed to happen by letting the Horde be led by those who only want war and the atrocities committed because he felt he couldn't be the one to lead it. Both of them leave determined to put an end to the Fourth War.

The Horde players get to have a Saurfang vs Sylvanas questline here as Sylvanas begins executing various people very publicly all of a sudden and the players are asked to pick a side.

Saurfang's side uncovers that Sylvanas has been deteriorating over the course of the war, egged on by the factions own hawk faction such as Gallywix (who has decided to encourage the Warchief in order to help sell more weapons and keep the azerite profits coming), Talanji (mourning her father), Geya'rah (since we don't edit the allied quests too much she's still convinced the alliance is outright evil), and a couple of the sub leaders. Moreover, he learns the Vol'jin isn't blind to the various plots and schemes we see throughout the war campaign and that he's allowing the executions. Saurfang realizes at this point that the Horde will always be at war and feels that the very position of Warchief is to blame, with some shots of him seeing Sylvanas in the same light as the Lich King and shots of his dead son scattered throughout it.

He comes to a decision: he must eliminate the Warchief position somehow if they are to break free from this and finally find peace, with his talk about how honor is a lie being given to someone other than Anduin.

(Sorry I'm robbing anduin of a dad, but he collects those like pokemon)

Sylvanas supporters meanwhile get to see the full nature of how everything was manipulated by the void and learn her executions are targeting void agents. However we also get to learn that there's movements in Icecrown and Sylvanas has been receiving psychic messages from what she believes to be the Lich King, terrifying her. She confides in the player that she has seen the other side and can't die or be enslaved again. We see hints of the death magic radiating off her.

Both of these quests end with Saurfang publicly challenging Sylvanas to Mak'Gora for the position of Warchief with the duel taking place later.

Swapping to the Alliance side, Anduin summons his council. We frame the shot to very clearly show the hawk side is in the majority by this point. Notably, Genn is still among this side. Anduin reveals his findings that the war has been manipulated by agents of the void and Azshara. This is going to be one of those "hard to place if it comes before the raid" type cutscenes so we don't mention Nzoth being freed by this point.

Night Warrior Tyrande points out that while the war may have started under false pretenses, the Horde still hold Teldrassil and still threaten the Alliance as well as how much losses have been incurred by all up to this point. Jaina is the one to break the silence that follows, speaking of her experience back in her home and stating that the scars we gain don't define us, but how we choose to move forward. That continuing to suffer helps no one. She stands by Anduin but most of the hawk faction continues to hold their ground.

Tyrande asks if this want for peace is an order from the High King, asks directly if she and her people, and gestures towards the others, if their people should heed his commands because of his lineage. Another silence follows.

Anduin speaks up sorrowfully and asks "What is the Alliance for? Is it a weapon to strike back against those that wronged us? Is it a shield we only turn to when there are enemies before us? Are we united only by hate, strangers to each other when that is gone? Are we just soldiers who fight alongside each other? Was I a fool to think we were friends and family".

We show several members of the hawks looking to one another. Moira gazes away from the meeting, towards Magni who is waiting a bit away, watching apprehensively. We see a bandaged Mekkatorque looking towards the other members of the three hammers. We see Genn look at Anduin, squeeze his eyes shut before opening them again and striding forward to put a hand on his shoulder.

"We are here for one another when they need us."

Moira comes forth joined by the other two, "We move forward together."

Malfurion looks at his wife and daughter and moves over to Anduin, a look of small surprise on their faces before saying "Together, we protect this world and those that live in it"

Shandris looks at her mother and joins the rest of the others as the slowly drift towards the other side. Squeezing her eyes shut for a second, she opens them and moves forward herself, asking "well then, what path would you have us follow?"

Anduin shakes his head, "Not follow." He gestures to those around him and says "We shall lead our people forward. For the Alliance. For Azeroth."

A smile crosses Tyrande's face only to be interrupted by a messenger bursting into the room with a message, from Vol'jin. The gathered members turn together to hear what he has to say.

(Unfortunately I'm working still within WoW story constraints here so we can't actually sit down and plan what the new direction of the Alliance would be and we still have to have grand but vague gestures to illustrate that everyone is now on the same page but that it's from a position of strength. The forums will still hate it but I don't respect them enough to care).

The duel arrives, and we see a gathered crowd. The horde leadership is seated on a small platform, watching the empty arena apprehensively. As we cut to shots of Sylvanas and Saurfang preparing, a figure approaches the leadership from the side, making his way past the seated leaders, those noticing him showing their surprise on their face. Vol'jin fails to notice as he's observing the arena too closely until the voice shakes him from it.

"Mind if I sit here?" Thrall asks, depositing a chair next to the stunned but slightly gladdened troll.

The two exchange some words but Thrall becomes serious and says "We need to talk. About the Horde."

Their conversation is interrupted by the duel's start. During the battle, which is less one sided but not as much as you'd expect, Saurfang declares to Sylvanas that these wars must end, that the Horde must change. From Sylvanas's side we hear whispers that we can't make out. She blocks one of Saurfang's overhanded blows with her daggers easily and begins to push an advantage, stating that all she's ever done is to protect everyone and that they don't understand the true danger out there. (I'm sorry to those of you scarred by this from the actual story but we're going to have to still keep some vague gesturing right now)

Saurfang rallies, and if we somehow kept Zappy Boi, we'll have the two of them exchange looks before he manages a solid blow and gives her that stupidly small scar. She's knocked to the ground and Saurfang tells her to give up and that she can still serve the horde, but not as Warchief.

We're gonna copy paste the "Serve" bit from the Sanctum of Domination cutscene here, with Sylvanas rising up, whisps of dark energy gathering on her arms. Saurfang closes his eyes regretfully and prepares to charge for the killing blow as the undead elf extends her hand with the expected line of "I will never serve!"

"For the Hord-" We have our blast and Saurfang is dead to the shock and horror of everyone including Sylvanas though she's the quickest to shake it off, loudly proclaiming those in attendance to be blind and that she will be the one to save them before taking off.

Thrall questions if it was void magic only for Vol'jin to say it was something else. Something familiar.

After Saurfang's funeral, Thrall approaches Vol'jin to tell him he needs to end this war, to focus on the true enemy, N'zoth. Vol'jin gets angry with Thrall and during the conversation we see evidence that Vol'jin has a little bit of that void in him, though in a moment of realization, he loudly shouts that this isn't him, and it is expelled by a wave of force. The shadowy figure that emerges from the discarded void energies remarks it's a pity but that all will serve soon enough anyways.

Thrall asks if his friend is alright, and Vol'jin states that he's got one last enemy to fight but afterwards, things need to change. The two nod and say their "For Azeroth"s together before Vol'jin summons a messenger and says he needs to tell something to the Alliance.

Anduin still punches Wrathion cause we gotta though we show the king trying to manage the void corruption with some light magic. Unfortunately 8.3 plays out mostly the same but I'll have N'zoth trapped in the dagger rather than killed outright with the dagger taken by the Light or something at the end.

God that's a massive post. We'll get a part 2 for Shadowlands.

[akiizayoi4869]

How’s it going!

I have a question regarding Azula and the Avatar comics. And as I consider you to be something of an authority on the matter so I wanted to ask you. I hope that is okay?

As far as I understand, in the comics the primary motivation of Azula and the Fire warriors was to “make Zuko a stronger and more autocratic sovereign”. Underling her more nationalist pragmatism. This motivation has always confused to me (at least in part, as I do find her more “nationalistic pragmatism” to be in character).

Wouldn’t she desire to gain vengeance on Zuko? At then end of ATLA, both Zuko and Katara took advantage of her metal breakdown and defeated her. While I do think Azula recognizes that taking advantage of her weakened state is just good tactics. Being defeated by comparatively weaker opponent (Zuko) and an equal (Katara) when her mind had betrayed her(just like everything else in her life) would have left a bad taste in her mouth.

Then we must take into account Azula’s appalling treatment after the war. During the comics it is revealed that Azula was kept in a psychologically/mentally abusive “mental asylum” . As well a physically abusive (being kept in a straight jacket for hours at a time is a form of torture). Zuko was the one who sent her to this asylum. While I believe Zuko sent her to this asylum in ignorance and not outright maliciousness, does Azula know that?

Then when Zuko deigned to acknowledge her existence and take Azula out of the asylum, he takes her to find her (at best) neglectful mother. During the journey he and his friends accost Azula at multiple times. Physically threatening her during hallucinations or at other moments. And of course Zuko and the Gaang grew angry when she defended herself.

While the comics destroyed Zuko’s and the Gaangs characterization (in part at least) they are (unfortunately) canon. While this is not to say that Azula is completely innocent in either the show or comics. She did fight for the objectively immoral side of the war. But as a child soldier ( digression; whose worse crime is killing the avatar on the field of battle, and when said avatar was planning to invade her home with an Earth kingdom army).

So why does Azula seek to make Zuko a better sovereign (in her estimation) rather than seek vengeance on Zuko and to a lesser extent on team Avatar?

Hello! Wow, you consider me to be an authority figure about this stuff? I'm flattered.

While I wouldn't say that the two of them took advantage of her mental breakdown since that implies that they both knew exactly what was wrong with Azula (which they obviously wouldn't know), I see what you're saying. She WOULD be mad at both of them for defeating her, especially Katara. Someone who was from a "lesser group of people", people who she has been taught all her life are inferior to her and everyone else in the Fire Nation. To Azula, Katara shouldn't have been able to defeat her at all. So yeah, she would be mad about that.

Getting to the comics, though....there really isn't a way to make sense of Yang's characteristic of them during The Search and Smoke and Shadow, as well as the plots, imo. Zuko not once asking Azula who or what she was seeing was just plain stupid, same for the others. Even before they left, he should have asked the doctors what her condition was and if it would be wise to take her out of the asylum. But he didn't. Why? Because it wasn't convenient for the plot that Yang had set up. And yes, Azula did request that Zuko bring her along, but still. Anyone with a brain should have been able to see that she wasn't all there, and that bringing her along to find Ursa was a bad idea, considering that Ursa was the one she kept hallucinating about. So it was an obvious trigger that Azula should'nt have been around. Now as to why she doesn't try and seek revenge against Zuko and the others after everything that happened? It's very simple. Yang just didn't think about it. I do agree that it would have made sense, though.

[nejackdaw]

Been keeping Ingjard with me while I (1) try and develop her and (2) hunt down dragon priests (bc I want to do that this time before going to Solstheim) and I have in fact been having thoughts. Some new, some just expanded upon, idk I think the whole "exploring Nordic history with the Nord" thing is working.

But anyway, the first and main thing you really notice about her is that she's, well, fucking rude. Her voice type is [FemaleCondescending] and it is exactly what it says on the tin. She's snappy, rude, derisive, combative and too competitive, etc etc. And tbh, I don't blame her. There's a ton of dialogue from Nord women about being seen as less than Nord men, reduced to being their wife/sister/whatever instead of, well, them. Olfina in Whiterun has the challenging passing dialogue line "what's the matter? Can't stand the sight of a strong nord woman?" that's stuck with me since the first time I walked past her. Ingjard takes pride in being a warrior and, well, I'm sure no one made it easy for her. "Being one of the guys" was probably a large goal just because maybe then they MIGHT see her as an equal. Might. And that in itself is one hell of a battle considering, well, what I've lined up. I'd be a raging asshole too if I had to fight just for the chance to.... Well, fight. She expects people to look down on her and expect her to "prove" herself. By being a dick right off the bat she's going ahead and skipping past the "weak/subservient woman/warrior cosplayer" expectation that she thinks she has to fight from everyone 24/7, and with a lifetime of suppressed anger, it comes easily.

Semi related, she's also WEIRDLY hostile when you heal her. Like incredibly. Ingjard if I just stood there and let a dragon keep biting me while I whacked it with a hammer and I'm clinging to life and my companion heals me, my first response would NOT be condescension. And yet. The woman that you are. (Also YES that was what happened the first time I triggered the dialogue line. Just stood there like a fucking madman.) Like I get it, she's a scrapper, she has a potentially fatal amount of pride, she's too stubborn to ask for help, but to be nearly dead and have your immediate response upon being healed be "I suppose you think you're better than me because you can do that"? Girl, what the fuck. What mage hurt you. And idk I'd been toying with the idea of her having a sibling (why are all the kids in Skyrim single children except for like. Two pairs) and considering how much she has to struggle to have anyone respect her, much less see potential in her, wouldn't it absolutely fucking suck to have a slightly younger male sibling who (1) not only doesn't have to go through that but (2) IMMEDIATELY gains EXTRA respect and favor because he can. Cast spells. You're young and growing and struggling to help around the house and the hard work is acknowledged and appreciated and then some genius, magic brat comes along and suddenly, well, you don't exist. He's faster and more efficient and more useful and you're quickly losing the one place you had for yourself that you DIDN'T have to carve out with bloody nails. And yeah. They all think he's better than her because he can do that.

Unrelated but anyway considering when you ask her why she joined the Dawnguard her response is "something bad happens, word spreads. More bad things happen, people worry. The more they worry, the more they talk about it" that's kinda WILD. She follows this up with "I've been hearing rumors for a bit now. I was glad to find out not only the bad rumors were true" and like. WOW! What a tiny little gem we've been handed for characterization. Because what Ingjard actually just said is "bad things happen, people talk. Things keep happening and they keep talking. I'm not talking, I'm doing something about it." You love to see it! Anyway this is why I feel like she could have been a mercenary for a while before joining the Dawnguard, because she doesn't sit around and WORRY, she gets shit DONE. Plus the rough and wretched vibes suit her, ya know. Can't quit won't quit, gotta carve a place out for yourself.

Anyway (x3), a couple more headcanons/ideas that are either half formed in the aether without solid backing or just. Small things:

(1) Undercut Ingjard, because again I saw undercut Lae'zel fanart and something clicked into place (Ingjard having long hair has always been odd to me for some reason. Like it didn't feel like it suited her. This spices it up at least)

(2) she has a whale tattoo, because like every other Nord warrior, she hopes to cross the whale bone bridge when she dies. Idk where it's at, don't ask me. Probably somewhere along her spine (neck/shoulder area maybe?)

(3) #1 brawler on the team and she insists that if you're reliant on your weapon, you're a loser. Refuses to go easy on anyone when sparring/teaching them to brawl because "if it doesn't hurt, what's the point? You'll learn faster not to let me punch you in the face again, won't you."

(4) Gets physical when she's feeling too much or has too much going on. The exertion is familiar and whatever task she's doing (training, gathering firewood, etc) is something she has a lot of control over and familiarity with. Productive, and this paradoxically lends itself to her having a ton of problems, but also having an incredibly level head due to all the work that needs to get done. The head just isn't always on right.

(5) Tall. She's like 6'2" because I said so. Ingjard 🤝 Gunmar "big brute of a Nord"

[feyre-darling92]

A run from the past

A/N: Soo, first fic for Ghost and probably a series. Also I deleted it by accident so there might be some errors. Anyways, enjoy!

T/W: Um, typical cod stuff, Ghost being a dick, maybe bad language and definitely bad writing.

Word Count: 1,067

“Everyone, welcome the team’s latest addition to this mission, Crow. She just came so unless you want anything more, introduce yourselves and wait for my word.” You stood next to Kate as she introduced you to the team.

The orders had arrived too late, forcing you to grab the first plane from your city to come to the base which meant that you didn’t even have time to unpack your things before meeting the team.

“So, you’ll be helping us?” The man who seemed to be the captain said and you just nodded. “ I’m captain John Price. Nice having you around” His warm smile welcomed you more than his words.

“I am soap.” One of the tall men introduced himself, the one with the mohawk. He seemed alright.

“And I’m Gaz” The other man added. Just like his teammate he seemed nice, they both gave off good vibes.

“This one” Soap gestured to the man with the ghost mask and the intimidating posture, “This is Ghost”

He didn’t need to introduce him to you. Ghost was something like a legend. You’d heard many stories and many sayings but  you had decided you wouldn’t believe them until you had met this man yourself.

He just nodded, acknowledging your presence. Nice

“And you are?”Gaz asked.

“I‘m Lieutenant  Y/N L/N, specialist to undercover missions” you tried to smile.

“Wait” Soap cut you off “you’re the Crow? Wow”

You sighed. “Yes, I am” you looked at your feet, afraid of what they might have heard. Let’s just say that the rumors about you were- well, they were plenty.

“If we’re done with the introduction” Kate who noticed your discomfort changed the subject, “Expect files with everything we know so far and a call to come by. Until then, stay safe”

She looked at everyone and then at you, “If you would follow me” she gestured to the door and after you had exchanged goodbyes you left.

“Who do you think might be?” Laswell asked after a few minutes on the way to your apartment.

“Well, judging by what you told me we are probably facing a professional terrorist. Their moves are planned too carefully and with unique ways”

“They?”

“I don’t exclude the possibility of the perpetrator being a woman. But until we find out who exactly they are, everyone can be them”

“I agree with you” You stopped at the front door, “Try to make yourself home. I have a feeling that you’re gonna need to stay for long” she handed you the keys to the apartment you were given in the base.

“Goodnight” you unlocked the door.

“Take care please”

And with that you were left alone standing in the dark, in the living room of your new home. If you would ever call this a home.

You just did what you do every time, placed the suitcase on the floor not bothering to unpack and after your night routine lay in bed.

However while you were setting the alarm for tomorrow morning a notification popped up. A message.

‘You think moving to a military base would be enough to keep me away? Think again’

You just stared at the screen unsure of what to do. Then another message appeared:

‘You can try and catch me but it will end like your previous mission’

Shit.

“Y/N, what happened?” Kate immediately answered your call, her worry clear.

“I think we might have our first clue. I got two messages”

“Come and meet me at my office. Now”  She hung on and you got ready to leave the house. This was gonna be a long night.

--------------------------------------------------

You pushed the door open and were greeted with the sight of the entire team waiting for you.

“Are you okay?” Price asked worried.

You just opened your phone and showed them the messages, handing the phone so everyone could read them.

“What’s the phone number?”

“It’s unknown. Think you can track it down?”

“We’ll try but we can’t guarantee anything-”

“Why did he communicate with you?” Ghost stepped in.

“I know as much as you know, Lieutenant” You replied rather annoyed by his assumption.

“What happened on your last mission?” Soap asked. You wish he hadn’t.

“Nothing that should concern you, Mctavish” your answer came out angrier than you’d liked.

“If anything, we should know” Ghost insisted on learning, which didn’t help the whole situation.

“The people who need to know, already know” you shot him a death glare and hoped it would stop him from saying anything more.

“We’ll look through this but until then you’re not allowed to leave the base” Kate said and took your phone.

“You’re dismissed until further notice. Until then, be careful” Price dismissed you and everyone started leaving. “Ghost, please accompany her to her apartment” Captain’s last orders had found you unprepared.

“I appreciate that but I will manage perfectly well on my own” You tried to politely change his mind but it was pointless.

“I know, Y/N. But until we find out who are they and why they contacted you this is how it’ll go”

“Yes sir” you sighed and exited the office with the ‘brooding ghost’ on your side.

“I don’t trust you” he stated a few minutes later.

“I thought so. Why?”

“I just don’t” he side-eyed you. “Why should I?” he questioned and you thought about it for a second.

“Because if we are going to do this and do it right we’ll need some trust” you said after a few seconds without looking at him.

“Look. You have a past, and I respect that, but I understood that you have secrets. If these are going to affect our mission then we should know”

“The people who need to know already know” you repeated your previous words. “And why should I trust you?”

“For the favor of the mission” he replied plainly.

“Uh huh. How about this. You don’t have to trust me and I don’t have to either. However if you stick your nose in my business I swear that there will be no good ending”

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Lieutenant” he replied coldly.

“Good” you stopped in front of your door for the second time this evening, “Night”

He just nodded and left, your eyes following him until he got out of your sight. This was going to be an interesting mission, you thought to yourself.

A very interesting mission.

[tedwardremus]

You know, I’ve noticed something interesting about those who love to give redemption arcs or make Draco and Regulus look superior compared to the female leads, they all seem to give redemption arcs to white fictional character. Now if Draco and Regulus were poc’s do you think they would as many people writing redemption arcs for them? Nope.

Then these same people turn the character gay to make them more inclusive… and then bash their female canon partners.

As someone who’s gen z and worked with different generations, I have to say my generation is the most racist, misogynistic, narcissistic, delusional, unprofessional, and the stupidest generation of all time. Their skull are so thick and you can’t get anything through to them unless you agree with them. High school and university was a nightmare with these condescending idiots.

Wow! This was quiet the ask to wake up to this morning!

The great thing about a fandom as vast as Harry Potter is that you can always find people who share your interpretations and create content that resonates with what you want to see. Focus on those spaces. Curate your fandom experience by engaging with content and people who make this journey enjoyable for you.

Redemption arcs are a compelling trope, popular for a reason, but they require effort to be done well. Exploring how characters like Draco and Regulus seek redemption isn’t a bad idea. My issue lies with the tendency to overlook the fact that these characters willingly and enthusiastically chose to be bigots in the first place, which is why they need redemption. I’m more interested in stories that acknowledge the horrible actions they took rather than those that paint them as innocent victims who were simply misled by abusive families.

That said, my taste in fanfiction isn’t everyone’s taste. If I come across something I’m not into, I just scroll past it. I prefer to focus on content that interests me or supports my friends because I find tremendous joy in uplifting their work.

Would fandom’s relationship with Draco and Regulus change if they were characters of color rather than what we typically imagine as attractive, wealthy white boys? I don’t doubt it.

Exploring characters' sexuality, gender, and ethnic backgrounds is part of the fun of fandom. If a creator wants to see themselves represented in the story and do so by reimagining characters and storylines, that’s fantastic! Can unconscious biases seep in and lead to the erasure of women or other groups? Yes, it can happen. But it doesn’t happen all the time. We must encourage each other to be aware of our biases and improve upon the world-building and character development of the series and not fall into the same racist/sexist traps that the author, who shall not be named, did. It takes a lot of effort and self-awareness to do so, but that's why being a part of a supportive community in fandom is great. We can benefit from listening to each other and helping each other on our journey to be more sensitive and inclusive writes.

Finally, here’s a little secret about Gen Z—you aren’t that special.

You’re not more racist than the generations who enacted Jim Crow laws, supported an Islamophobic-driven war on terror, or cut welfare benefits out of fear that Black women were gaming the system.

What you’re experiencing is the reality that people, regardless of age or political alignment, can be selfish, rude, and self-serving. But here’s the good news: people of all ages are also capable of being smart, selfless, caring, supportive, and wonderful. Hold on to those people and focus your energy on those who bring you joy.

If you want to see a more positive community with less selfless people, then be part of the change. Treat others with kindness and patience. Don't disparage an entire generation of being stupid and thick-skulled because that just isn't true because right now, with this message that you chose to send me, you sound like someone who could use a lesson in treating others with respect.

I am sorry to hear your educational experience wasn't enjoyable. Hopefully you will find that our teen years and twenties do not define us and that a lot of people grow out of being assholes and your workplace experience is filled with new and wonderful people.

Studies show that Gen Z is far more inclusive than previous generations so you should feel hopeful, not hateful, toward your peers. You’re the most diverse generation in American history. Only 52% of Gen Z is white, only 26% identify as exclusively straight, and only 20% identify as politically conservative.

[scorbleeo]

TV Series Discussion: Sex Education

Season 4 (2023)

Source: Google Images

Insecure Otis has all the answers when it comes to sex advice, thanks to his therapist mother. So rebel Maeve proposes a school sex-therapy clinic.

Source: Netflix (2019)

Absolutely Brilliant

I'll be honest here, I started watching this season with expectations of disappointment only because I knew the one couple I was rooting for was not endgame. That being said, I had no idea what I was going to get from Sex Education's final season.

In this last season, we got some really good stories which ultimately led to great character growth. Some were simply briefly touched on, like Jean's postnatal depression, Jackson finding out the truth behind his sperm donor, Ruby finally figuring out her true identity (kind of), and Viv's experience with an abusive man.

Whereas some took practically the entire show (not just this season) to get an ending. Like Aimee finally being able to recover from her assault, or Cal's struggle to become who they truly were. We also had Otis realising what issues he had and how deep they were rooted. This season also showed us Maeve and exactly how thick the wall she built around herself truly was.

Some of these stories, I particularly enjoyed watching the characters learn and grow from them. Some, really annoyed me. For example, I was never in love with the idea of Maeve and Otis being endgame. As time went on, I just preferred them as friends instead of a couple. As friends, they brought out the good in each other. As a couple, it always felt like Maeve's just holding onto Otis's leash. And I hated how Otis forsaked anybody and everybody once Maeve was around. If you'd watched this season, you could see how bad of a friend, a son and a campaign party he was once Maeve was back in his life. I still don't like the idea of them being a couple but seeing how deep-rooted their individual issues were, it made sense why I always thought them together romantically was problematic but I am not opposed to them coming back together in the far future. Probably why Sex Education's finale struck a chord in my heart, one I did not expect to be struck. Way to go, ambiguous endings.

Now, Adam has been one of my favourite people in this show since he showed his vulnerable side which automatically meant Michael's not exactly likeable. Michael was a toxic father and husband, nobody can object to that. And when Adam told Michael off and finally articulated his unhappiness with his father, I was so proud of my dear boy. However, it's the part where Michael said he doesn't hate Adam, he hates himself. That part made me so happy because not only was Michael fully acknowledging he was a bad parent and husband, he also finally gave Adam clarity. My boy has struggled too much and although I hate that he is no longer with Eric, I am absolutely elated Adam's in such a better place both physically and mentally.

Which brings me to my favourite character growth in this season. Eric freaking Effiong. I never thought this person needed more development, then this season came and I was utterly proven wrong. However, it's his story that warmed my heart. I don't think enough people talk about what Eric was going through in season 4. It's something everybody knows, regardless of which side we're on. Yet, we never talk about it or in some cases, act on it. The dilemma, the identity crisis, the forlornness that people like Eric suffer from... It opened my eyes bigger, I was aware before, I am just even more aware now.

Sex Education actually got better as the seasons went on. And season 4 was an excellent finale to it. I know it's not a show for everyone but I think it should be.

Before I say farewell to Sex Education once and for all, I went back to read my reviews for seasons 2 and 3. And wow, my thoughts each season really go back and forth. (Sarcastically) I love the fact that none of my wishes for season 4 happened, at all.

Rating: ★★★★☆

P.S.: I did not realise how much I liked the secondary school teachers until they had that small appearance.

More on Sex Education here: Season 2 | Season 3