#i really thought the union leader would have more to do with it

[thegreatyin]

oh wow this is. simultaneously way more complicated and way more simple than i thought it'd be

[imsobadatnicknames2]

ok but i need the evrart claire essay

Okay just be warned that this is gonna be less of an "essay" and more of a loose collection of thoughts, and I don't know how fresh or novel any of these ideas are going to be when it pertains to popular Disco Elysium fan discourse because I don't really do fandom, you know?

Anyway, I think the most obvious factet of Evrart's character is how he very intentionally calls to mind a caricature of corrupt union leaders, the image of a sleazy mobster who only cares about his own personal gain but pays lip service to leftist politics and pretends to care about the interests of workers as a way to obtain and maintain his power. And I think a lot of people straightforwardly read him as such, because that's the way he carries himself and the type of character the game is riffing on. There's also the question of how much of Evrart's manipulative, duplicitous attitude is just how he normally acts and how much of it is him specifically acting that way towards Harry and Kim specifically, it's important to have in mind that your main character is a cop and that would definitely play a role in making Evrart go out of his way to be a bit more of a bastard and toy with you a bit before he decides to actually do anything helpful.

However, once you dig a little deeper into his characterization, it becomes clear that he's pulling a very interesting double bluff, because it becomes apparent that the shady mobster who only cares about his personal gain is an act he's putting on. He's very self-aware about the fact that he's playing the villain, he seems to actively revel in it, but ultimately, it seems like he does it because playing the villain is the way he gets shit done.

This is not to say he's not actually corrupt, or that he's not ALSO involved in all sorts of shady stuff and taking advantage of his position of power, but the game does make it apparent that on some level he DOES have the interests of the people of Martinaise at heart.

For example, it is textually stated that the harbor doesn't need a night watchman, and Evrart created the position specifically to provide a source of income for René. He knows the pension Rene gets is not enough for him to live on, but he's also aware that René is the sort of right-wing guy who would rather starve to death than take a handout (especially from those dirty union commies), so Evrart created a job position which pretty much involves doing nothing for a few hours every night so he could help him with his economic troubles in a way he wouldn't refuse out of principle. René hates his guts, ideologically stands against everything his organization represents, and is generally an unlikeable asshole and a fascist prick, but he's also a disadvantaged member of the community and that seems to matter more.

Even when he asks you to get the signatures to build the community center, which is definitely one of the most morally questionable things he does during the events of the game (as it will improve the community, but at the same time displace the people from the fishing village), his intentions seem to be ultimately good. Due to the very nature of his character and the act he puts on, it's purposefully hard to tell when he's being sincere and when he's being manipulative. However, if Harry's drama and empathy skills are high enough when he's confronted about it, you'll be able to tell that he's not lying about his motives for wanting to build a community center or about the fact that he intends to provide better housing for the people displaced by the project, and that he feels genuine rage about their current living conditions. It can still be said that he's ignoring their self-determination and essentially forcing these people out of their current homes, but he does seem to have good intentions and think he's doing a good thing for them in the long run, even if his methods are morally questionable at best.

In that way, the Union is an extension of him in this regard too. They're pretty unapologetic about the fact that they're openly operating as a crime syndicate, but the game doesn't give you any reasons to believe they're lying when they say they're doing it as a way to muslce out all the more dangerous gangs and crime organizations out of Martinaise, or that their involvement in the drug trade is at least partially motivated by a desire to make sure it's not controlled by more dangerous and violent crime organizations. Again, they're playing the villain as a way to fill that power vacuum and make sure more dangerous people don't fill that role (but of course, that doesn't erase the fact that, noble as their intentions may be, they're still involved in all these shady activities and turning a pretty substantial profit from them too)

Of course, on the other hand, just because the game seems to hint at the fact that Evrart and the Union are, deep down, a force for good, doesn't erase the fact that he's done plenty of bad shit to further his interests, and the game doesn't shy away from this. He's still extremely corrupt, his long-term plan to wrestle control of the harbor away from the company and turn it into a worker-owned operation (which *would* massively improve the material conditions of the dockworkers if succesful) involves endangering the lives of a lot of his own workers, he and his brother Edgar pass the position of union foreman back and forth between each other to circumvent the term limit and keep themselves in power indefinitely, and if you explore all dialogue options with the Deserter it's all but explicitly stated that they rose to power by getting him to assassinate the previous Union forewoman.

These are things that Evrart himself would probably rationalize as sacrifices that need to be made for the greater good. After all, it is implied that the previous union forewoman was also corrupt, except in favor of the company's interests, and might have even been a company plant. However, this doesn't make those things morally right. Good intentions nonwithstanding, it's clear that the Claire brothers are very "the ends justify the means" kind of people, they probably see getting the previous Union leader killed or endangering the lives of the dockworkers to overthrow the company that exploits them as "pulling the lever" in the trolley problem, which is extremely callous at best.

Here's where we get a little more into "disjointed thoughts" territory, but Evrart can also be seen as a critique of the limits of trade unionism and social democrat politics. Something that I completely missed in my first playthrough but was able to catch on during my second is that the people of the fishing village refuse to unionize, and as a result they don't get the same level of support and protection that the union provides to the people of the more urban section of Martinaise. This is apparently widely known enough for characters other than Evrart to comment on (I forget what character I learned this from, but it was definitely not Evrart). So it's clear that Evrart and the Union put their interests of the members of their own organization over those of other working class people, which is one criticism that can be leveraged against the way a lot of leftists seem to treat unions as the ultimate tool for worker class liberation.

Similarly, when Evrart tells you his long-term plans, it's clear that his ultimate goals don't involve complete worker liberation. As far as the game shows, he's a socdem who's still looking to work within the confines of capitalism. There are more radically left wing characters in Disco Elysium, but Evrart is the only one with any actual power to affect change, which kinda speaks to the lack of presence of more hardline leftist positions in mainstream politics. As someone living in Latin America, I kinda ended up seeing a bit of a lot of our currrent socdem politicians in him in that respect, I guess, but i'd need more time to articulate this thought properly, I guess.

Ultimately, I think Evrart is an amazingly crafted character. He evokes a well-known archetype of a shady, corrupt, power-hungry union leader, but he adds a lot of depth, self-awareness, and nuance to it and subverts that characterization in several ways. I think he atually serves an important role of ideologically challenging players who share the developers' and writers' political leanings. I think it would have been very self-congratulatory and autocomplacent to make the most influential leftist character in the game an unambiguously good paragon of workers' rights and working class liberation. By instead giving us someone who's an absolute callous bastard who definitely has a bit of blood on his hands, who's a socdem at best and a self-serving mob boss at worst, but can ultimately be interpreted as a force for good, and asking the players to decide what they think of him I think it brings interesting questions to the table of our commitment to material gains, what sorts of people we're willing to work with, and the sort of acts we're willing to tolerate, and makes the game a lot more thematically rich.

I also think a good analysis of Evrart is incomplete without an analysis of the ways in which he serves a a charater foil for Joyce, but I don't feel like getting into that rn.

[teojira]

[Marriage ceremony headcanons w/ Noa!] [commission!]

A/N: Thank you for commissioning me Fox ! Your support to me means everything and I hope this is good!

Summary: What marrying Noa would be like and how you both go about it.

Warnings: Noa x reader romance, very self indulgent and may be a lil ooc

Marrying an Ape is not easy, and you're sure you're the first human to have ever put those words together in a sentence and thought of them to begin with.

The ceremony is a big deal, it's you and the Eagle clan leader after all.

Human marriages have been lost to time, so there won't be any pretty dresses or suits, but you're still adorned with gifts and whatnot.

A lot of your accessories come from Noa himself, things he has crafted you in the courting process. Arm guards, necklaces, bracelets, all lovingly crafted by himself when he was ever away from you on scouting expeditions.

His mother and Soona help you too, get ready for their own customs that you may not be privy too.

It's apart of their culture that betrothed each give one another a feather from their eagle, to wear it almost as if it's a wedding ring, so they let you know to make sure to keep one handy for it.

Noa has a good bunch to choose from, subtly freaking out and thinking none of them are good enough for you, to which Eagle sun peeks at his master. It doesn't help, Noa just side eyes him all the more with a glare, smacking his lips.

Anaya is there to help him get ready as well, despite not ever going through the ceremony himself. Though he's mostly there just to lend an ear to whatever Noa needs to let off his chest.

I like to think Noa would ask you about your human customs, while yes, you're his mate, and this is firstly his home. He would never any to alienate you. He's more than willing to add in whatever you see fit. You're his mate, his equal. It's only right.

The ceremony takes place a little ways off from the colony, next to a waterfall. There's really no officator, nor is there a really big crowd. It consists of you both, Dar, Soona and Anaya, and a few other of the elders, who, while not fully accepting of the union at first, comes to their senses when Noa is adamant.

You've told Noa about vows about the speeches people usually make, and it scares the ape so badly to say it outloud just how much he cares for you. So you leave it for when you two are alone in the nest, it's more special that way you figure.

You and Noa exchange feathers, gently wrapping it around each other's arms. Your hands are trembling as you finally, and I mean, finally secure the knot.

Noa grabs your hands within his, intertwining your fingers together to the best of his ability due to the sheer size difference and pulls them to his chest, sighing deeply when you immediately move to brush across his scar, a smile on his lips.

He tugs you in, then pressing his forehead against yours as he cups your face, brushing the strands of hair away from it.

The leader is quiet as he soaks you in, your warmth, your scent, the feeling of you finally being officially his, in both of your worlds.

"Will you marry me?" You mumble, eyes opening ever so slightly to look up at Noa, and your heart is pounding so damn hard in your chest you fear you're gonna pass out.

"Yes." Noa answers without a moment of hesitation.

Now here comes the tricky part, kissing you in front of his family, the way humans do.

Lord help him, he's found echo fairy tales and he did enough reading to get the gist of how a marriage kiss should be.

It's a little bit awkward to situate you in his arms so suddenly, but the giggle you let out when he finally kisses you is all he needs in return.

Yes, both of you ignore the hooting in the distance.

[sunandsstars]

HIS FORTRESS

Jake x Neytiri x Na’vi!Reader

Summary: When finding out the expansion of his family Jake became ecstatic, his favourite girls were bearing his children. But Neytiri found his excitement annoying, pregnant woman right? Warnings: Pregnancy, Mentions of hunting/dead animals Word count: 2.3k

Happiness is simple.

Jake followed the same routine every day since the war, it was always wake up, give his mates kisses on the cheeks then getting ready to start the day as clan leader. He always started with learning from Mo’at about being Olo’eyktan and the spirit of Eywa, even though he has been Omaticaya for a few months there is still much to learn. Then he goes hunting with the other warriors in the forest, after catching prey it was eat then spend time with his girls.

While it wasn’t unheard of for a tri-relationship in Na’vi culture, it was extremely rare. Mo’at says they must be blessed by their great mother to continue with the ritual, and bless them Eywa did.

Neytiri was the first one to find and welcome him to the clan, she taught him the ways of the people and bonded with him under the tree of voices. Jake thought that one mate was it, they are bonded for life and needed no other. But along came ___, she was the same age as Neytiri at the time and a good friend to her.

They both went to Grace Augustine’s school when they were children, they played together and was raised together as friends. But Neytiri always stated she felt something different when around her, something she always felt around Jake. Never with Tsu’tey and never with any other men or women in the clan.

___ was sweet, she was a skilled hunter and a warrior, already passing her Uniltaron when she was of age to. Jake saw why Neytiri liked her, and decided to get to know her himself. As time did pass by over the weeks he fell more and more in love, with both woman. Neytiri, Jake and ___ bonded under the tree of souls. A union that could not be forgotten.

“Ma Jake?” a tired voice broke out from the hammock, “what are you doing up so early?” ___ sat up and rubbed her eyes, yawning and glancing at how the sun just started revealing itself over the planet they orbited.

“I was just thinking, yawnetu” he reached over and grabbed the back of her head, pulling her flush to his chest and kissing her hair. “Besides, our wife wants us up to hunt. Remember? she has been craving a lot of strange things lately…” he glanced to where Neytiri usually slept beside her and found the space already empty, assuming the woman was down in the forest already.

“You can go without me. I am too tired” ___ snuggled deeper into her mates side, breathing in his scent. Jake however, looked at her with raised brows, she never passed the opportunity to hunt with her partners. ‘Maybe she really is just tired’ he didn’t want to worry himself with anything too deep and slowly moved her arm to get out of bed. His mate scooted to where he slept and snuggled into the warm spot, tail curling around her body.

Jake chuckled and put on his cumberband, grabbing his knives and making sure they’re sharp enough he strolled out their hut, climbing down the tree branches and landing to the ground. He sniffed and looked around, saying good morning to the already awake Na’vi and humans. Walking towards a part of the forest he saw a footprint and went to track it.

Jumping above roots and ducking under others the Olo’eyktan moved around skilfully. Dreads swinging from side to side, ‘man i should have put it up’ he groaned in annoyance. Usually Neytiri had a band on her and would put it up for him and he was thinking of asking her, but he’d have to find her first.

He stopped in a clearing where the footprints disappeared and found no dented grass or snapped twigs. His trail was lost. He stomped his foot like a child, Neytiri must’ve gone up but he couldn’t track her like that. A hand slapped the back of his head and he screeched in shock. Whipping around he came face to face his his other mate.

“Like a baby” she tsked in English, having seen him throw his mini tantrum. Jake’s cheeks flushed, he was a leader, a warrior and yet sometimes he acted like a child, he was silly and his head sometimes became airy, easily forgetting customs and rules he was taught. Norm called him a himbo, whatever that meant. “Come” snapping out of his thoughts he was dragged away from their spot and towards the river that was nearby, seeing two dead yerik with an arrow lodged in each neck “I need help with bringing these back to the clan”

‘Jeez how long has she been up’ he scratched his head and tilted it to the side, staring at the hexapedes in thought. He walked up to one and his mate the other, grabbing the animal and hauling it over his shoulder. Grunting at the weight of it he watched Neytiri tie up its legs and do the same, the two slowly walking back home. Jake pouting the whole way, he didn’t even get to shoot anything…

___ was up and about, the sun high in the sky and shining down on the Na’vi that resided by Hellsgate. She was helping with simple chores, deciding to take rest and not do any extraneous activities. Mo’at has let her know of joyous news and told her to take it slow today as the elder can see the exhaustion on her daughter in laws face.

Hearing yipping she turned to the sound, seeing her mates back from their hunt with two large yeriks on their backs. She dropped her basket of fruits and rushed towards them, some hunters already grabbing the animals and prepared them to skin. “‘Tiri” she hugged her mate, excited to finally have seen her this morning. Waking up without her was upsetting, she usually liked basking in the warmth of both of her mates and not just one.

“Yawntutsyìp” Neytiri responded back, wrapping her arms around her mate and kissing her unbraided hair. She would have to redo it for her. Jake watched in great love, and a little bit of jealousy. So he intervened and grabbed ___, wrapping his own arms around her. Neytiri glared at him.

“Hey now, where’s my greeting hmm?” he nuzzled his face against her hair and breathed in, the scent of Pandoran flowers hitting his nose. ___ giggled at the look Neytiri was giving him, she always found their little rivalry funny.

“My beloved, we greeted each other this morning. ‘Tiri and I have not until now” the woman in his arms gently pushed him away and went back to their wife’s arms.

The Tsakarem smirked at their husband and he only stuck his tongue out in retaliation, “nì’eveng” she rolled her eyes.

“Why have you gone out so early?” ___ interrupted and moved away to glance up at the other woman, raising her eyes and giving her a knowing look. She knew the condition Neytiri was in, it was the same as her but a few days further along. But her wife did not know that she was the same, having been a recent discovery. Jake did not know at all about either of them. Men.

“I was craving yerik and decided to catch two for us and share with the clan” to be honest she just wanted the yerik for herself, selfishly. But her wife and clan came first, even if she knew the rest of the hunting party were out now gathering more meats. ___ thanked her and held her hand, turning to their husband who was still pouting at them.

“I want some too…”

“No”

___ laughed and dragged Neytiri away before she could evoke more chaos, leaving Jake who was called by his human friends. “I have some news my love” she started when they where further away, bringing Neytiri’s hand to her belly she grinned.

The Na’vi could only blink, staring at her hand in silence. Then she grinned and giggled “I cannot believe it”

“Believe it”

“We are both..at the same time..the great mother has truly blessed us” She pulled her wife closer and put their foreheads together and breathed in, closing her eyes “oel ngati kameie”

Jake could only watch from across the camp in confusion, ‘was their separation really that much of a big deal? Women’ his tail hit Norm behind him who was out of his avatar, deciding to go human for the morning. “Hey!” he complained and swatted the appendage that was still hitting him “what’s gotten you so worked up?”

“You see my mates over there? Why are they acting so lovey dovey”

Norm and Max turned to one another and deadpanned “Buddy..they’re mates. It’s normal”

“But i’m their mate and i’m not getting any attention” he pouted. Norm could only roll his eyes and slapped the aliens leg, Jake turned to look down at him in question.

“Lemme get into my avatar, then we can go have bro time. Max, link me up”

Jake and Norm strolled through the foliage, after breakfast the clan separated to do some more chores like cleaning, making clothes or patrolling the area. They’re not in hometree anymore, being out in the open could be dangerous for them.

“So, any idea of why my wives are basically disowning me?” Jake started, thinking back to breakfast when the two woman where basically all over each other, whispering loving words and piling food onto one another’s leaves.

“Women are complicated, maybe something major happened for them to act this way” Norm thought back through his Pandoran knowledge, trying to remember anything about Na’vi females and their biology.

“Maybe.. I mean Neytiri said she was craving yerik and woke up at fuck knows what time in the morning to catch them. And ___ was too tired to do anything physical at all” Jake huffed and sat down on a large rock, picking a fruit that was nearby and tearing into it, throwing one at Norm who barely caught it.

The avatar then realised the fuss, the cravings, the fatigue. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out, but then again Jake has a below average IQ…

“I think you should talk to them” Norm finally concluded, he won’t tell his companion directly, it wasn’t his place to say, he bit into the fruit and watched Jake. The Olo’eyktan nodded and stood up, patting Norm on the shoulder and leading them back.

“I just hope they’re ok”

“By the sounds of it i’m sure they’re more than ok”

The two woman devised a plan together, they would tell Jake then announce it to the rest of the clan tonight. They could not wait any longer.

They were sat waiting in their pod, chatting and updating their song beads, one more to signify their new journey into motherhood. Jake rounded the corner and barged in, his feet slapping onto the ground heavily. “So you two gonna tell me what’s going on?” ‘smooth Jake smooth’ he mentally scolded himself, coming across as too harsh.

Neytiri just threw a piece of twine at him “mawey ma Jake”. ___ stood up abruptly and padded towards her husband ears wiggling and head spinning, she was nervous. Telling Neytiri was one thing, but telling Jake was another.

“Ma Jake..we have something to share with you” the man in question raised an eyebrow, finally he was gonna get some answers to their weird behaviour. ___ grabbed his hand and rested it upon her still flat tummy, pressing it into her a little so he could feel the tiniest bump in her skin.

Jake blinked.

He blinked again.

Then he grinned “No way” he pressed again into his mates stomach and laughed out in glee when he felt it more. ___ nodded and beckoned their other mate towards them, grabbing his other hand and holding it to his other wife’s tummy. If Jake’s grin could get any wider it had “No way” he voiced again in disbelief.

“Srane skxawng” Neytiri hit his head lightly, chuckling at his expression. He felt tears well up in his eyes, he had two kids on the way. His wives were both pregnant, at the same time. It was a miracle.

“Jake?” ___ saw the tears in his eyes and cupped his cheeks, her face contorting into worry “nga tam?”

“yawne, oe nì’ul to tam” He grabbed his girls and nuzzled them, kissing both of their heads, cheeks and lips. Crying out of happiness, he gives his thanks to their deity “irayo si Eywa”

Their clan held a great feast that night, their leader was starting his own family, two children on the way was a blessing and their Tsahìk made sure to say great prayers over the fire.

Jake was in bliss, his hands never left Neytiri’s or ___’s tummies. Not even to eat, the latter having to pop food into his mouth every so often to make sure he doesn’t starve. Neytiri could only slap her tail against his back at his silliness, but she cannot deny the happiness she felt in that moment for her mates.

“Oe tsìlpey fi’u ‘evenge” the love struck man tapped Neytiri’s belly with his hand, she merely spared him a glance and waved him off, disagreeing entirely.

“It will be boy. I can feel it”

___ finished her food and rested her head against her mate, the glow of the fire making her look ethereal “yes, he will be strong warrior. Like his father” Jake just sniffed in reply, feeling more tears come up. The woman on his other side hit him on the shoulder and called him a weakling.

But he couldn’t ask for anything more, this was his family. His fortress. He wasn’t gonna let anyone else take it away from him.

Norm sat on the opposite side of the fire, giving his bro a solid nod in approval. He knew it all along, never doubt the mind of a scientist.

[rosie-kairi]

I don't think I've ever really spoken in depth about how much I love Lauriam as a character, which is honestly a crime because out of all the Union Leaders I'd probably have to crown him as my number one favorite.

I love Lauriam not only as a character (pink, sibling plotline) but also as an example of how much prequels can recontextualize an entire character. While Ventus is also an example of this, I think we all knew that he probably had some sort of messed up past that landed him in the clutches of Old Man Xehanort. Marluxia, on the other hand, had absolute zero background to infer from his screentime. He was the villain, you're not really meant to think too hard about him and how he became who he is because he sucks and you hate him.

I don't think there were many people chomping at the bit wanting to get info about his past. Like, it would've been cool to get, but I don't think a background for Marluxia was necessary for the story at that point in time. His role was to establish the organization as a threat to Sora and the other guardians, and that was pretty much the extent of it.

And then Union X happened, and Lauriam entered stage right into a tragedy where his fate was already sealed. You look at Lauriam with his polite little smiles and cute little chibi animations and immediately think "what is this man up to" because you are already primed to distrust him on principle due to COM. Did not help his case that he was introduced in the cutscene immediately following the death of Strelitzia, painting a huge target on his back. Fandom reaction was hostile towards him before he was even fully on screen. Occam's Razor, the most obvious answer is the correct one. Lauriam is the obvious suspect because of his actions in the future, so he must be the killer. Literally him just existing in a scene caused more ire to build against him.

But then the Shift Pride cutscene happened. Then it was revealed that Lauriam and Strelitzia -the girl who so many thought he killed- were siblings, and that he was quite worried for her wellbeing, actually.

Every cutscene a clearer picture of who Lauriam is a person was painted, and soon you stopped looking at him with distrust, and it's replaced with the question of "What happened to you?". What happened that caused Lauriam, someone who has been shown to care deeply and immensely about the people he loves, someone who is willing to do anything for those people, become Marluxia? It became increasingly obvious that they were incredibly different people, even though Marluxia came from Lauriam.

And this isn't to say that there was no connection between the two. Lauriam seemed to be incredibly self-confident in his abilities, enough to be pretty steadfast in his resolve to square up with goddamn Maleficent of all people (even if he did get his ass kicked). There's also his very intense anger, as seen in the cutscene where Ventus confesses to being the reason why Strelitzia "vanished", as well as a bit in the scene where he's at Ventus's bedside.

This is all to say that Lauriam was not a necessary addition to the khux cast, he very well could've been swapped with a random new character and the plot probably would've worked fine, all things considered. But because it's Lauriam -the somebody of a character that has already been established to be a prick- it gives his whole plotline a hell of a lot more punch. If it was a new character, people probably wouldn't have been as distrusting of him right of the bat, the sibling plotline would be sweet, but because it's Lauriam and we know how he ends up in the future, it becomes a hell of a lot more tragic. How did the change happen? He's tragic because we know that whatever he does will lead to the outcome of him losing his heart and falling to darkness, something that is essentially the exact antithesis of the keyblade wielder mission statement.

Lauriam is someone who was made to struggle against the destiny that was written out for him with a neat pen and ink, and someone who was doomed to fail in every regard. He could not save his sister, he could not defeat Maleficent, he could not help Ventus, he could not keep his memories when thrown into the future. He couldn't do anything about it.

I realize this is all rounding back around to "the inherent tragedy of prequels" but it's true.

...and yeah that's basically it. I have a lot more thoughts about this guy but I feel like if I write anymore I'm just gonna sound completely incomprehensible bc I'm very tired. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to sparkle on

[laismoura-art]

Gays, gals and non-binary pals, the time has come, presenting:

°◇The Umgadi Girls!◇°

The Umgadi leader, Li Mei, was given the task of turning these four young women into true Umgadi warriors and, in the process, help them achieve their own personal goals!

Now let me ramble a bit (a lot) about their designs!

Li Mei wears a typical Umgadi outfit, the only thing is that I gave her her classic bandana but now adorned with silver to resemble other Umgadi hairpieces!

For the rest of the girls, I gave them the same outfit as Khameleon as I believe this outfit is for those on a lower rank.

🗡 For Suchin, I gave her bangs cause I think they give her a meaner look. The tattoos all over her are lilies, a common symbol of redemption and a nod to her family's history!

She seeks to learn more about her family's roots in Outworld (Seido) and gather more skills to become a better vigilante for Thailand!

🌺 For Harumi, I gave her a messy pixie cut cause I thought it would reflect well her "too much energy" personality! She also has a lot of flower tattoos all over her, to represent important people in her life, she has one for her parents, for her grandparents, for Cetrion and Kuai too! And of course, they are a nod to her clan!

She seeks to fulfil the Shirai tradition of becoming an Umgadi and earn her place as next Grandmistress of the Order of Cetrion!

Now, I find it interesting how much sun Tanya has on her design, from her Union of Light Skin to her powers, and even her golden colour palette adds to it!

And it had me thinking, Tanya is the best example of an Umgadi we have, so her design speaks not only about her, but also about the Umgadi as a whole.

So what if Delia is a Sun Goddess?

She's already "The Lady of Flame" it wouldn't be too wild if she became the Goddess of Flame, and what bigger flame we have than the sun?

@rasta-bot once said she could be a blacksmith Goddess that creates holy weapons, now imagine if she uses the sun as a forge!

Now you must be wondering why doesn't Li Mei have any sun motif on her? Or why Jade doesn't have a face paint?

🔆 My idea is that Tanya is not from Sun Do, but from another city in Edenia, and was raised by a different group of Umgadi with their own worshiping rituals (which include the face paint).

She was sent to Sun Do after proving herself to be the best of her group, now if she succeeds here, she gets the to perform her duties in Sun Do, closer to the Matrons Superior, serving the royal family itself and more importantly, being among the best of the best!

She seeks to become the best Umgadi warrior to ever exist and be remembered as such!

🍃Now, Jade is not from Sun Do either, she's a countess and her family is ally of the Osh-Tekk people and (thanks to her absent parents) she spent most of her life among the Osh-Tekk.

they also worship the Sun Goddess (though they call her by other name) and it was through them that Jade started to learn more about Delia and ended noticing some sort of mysterious connection with the Goddess, and thus came the wish to become an Umgadi. She decided to train in Sun Do to be closer to the Matrons Superior and find some answers.

She seeks to learn what is exactly her connection with Delia!

For her design, she has the sun tattoo (given by the Osh-Tekk) and her jewelleries are supposed to resemble Aztec (therefore Osh-Tekk) jewellery!

They are all gifts from Kotal, they are old friends and he likes to gift her stuff. Though it would be convenient for both their parents for them to marry, they never liked each other that way (plus, Jade is pretty sure he has a thing going on with that to-be Kytinn leader from the Arnyek island, she doesn't like D'Vorah one bit, but trusts her friends judgement...)

Oh yeah, and the Edenians have pointy ears too because I said so :P

Aaaaaaaaand that's it for now, folks!! :D

Questions and suggestions are very welcomed, I really want to make this AU grow!

An special thanks to all my girlies for being always so supportive to my ideas!💕 @mikka-minns @thedragonholder @madamealtruist @orbitinytheworld @rasta-bot @meme099 @moody-bloos

[elitadream]

thoughts on prince mario if him and peach get married? (way down the line of course lol)

how would he handle it all?

LOVE the thought of Prince/King Mario! 💓👑

Quick tangent regarding the title itself: I have been considering the headcanon that in order to become King or Queen, a sovereign must share the throne with a spouse; hence why Peach was always referred to as "Princess" throughout her life despite being the sole ruler of her realm, and would be designated as such until the day she would finally announce her marital union with Mario. It would be the equivalent of calling her a maiden, so to speak!

Mario's royal title would only be in actual use after the wedding ceremony, but I imagine that most toads would already whisper it excitedly among themselves as soon as he and Peach would officially start courting. The words "future king" would be on everyone's lips, and he would inevitably hear those in a few hushed conversations while taking Peach on various romantic excursions in town.

It would feel... odd, to say the least. Naturally, he would worry; fearing that he may not be remotely qualified to handle such a colossal responsibility nor have what it takes to rule a kingdom. But Peach would be quick to reassure him, reminding him of his great benevolence and noble heart. Of his undaunted courage and tremendous selflessness. Of all the things that really do make him a gifted and most wonderful leader. She would be there to assist and guide him, showing him how most administrative tasks are delegated to committees and that sharing the workload throughout the castle is very important. She would tell him this with a knowing smile, alluding to his less than healthy habit of always handling things on his own, and with her help, he would gradually become more accustomed to the idea.

To his own surprise, it would reveal to be a lot less intimidating and complicated than he had previously thought. The role itself would be fairly manageable, albeit monopolizing and mentally tiring on some days. Mario would come to miss the leisure and spare time that he once had in vast quantities, and seeing the reverence with which others would now treat him would leave him with a bittersweet and wistful sort of nostalgia everytime. But seeing the unfathomable love in Peach's eyes and the proud admiration in Luigi's would never fail to comfort him, and he would fulfill his duties with unprecedented diligence.

Throughout the years, Mario's reputation would only spread and gain in splendor, and he would later be known as the greatest king any realm has ever had. 🌄🏰

[imadhatt3r]

It's a late Friday evening in Midorijima, and that means that it's time for the weekly Benishigure meetup at the Black Needle. It's always a good opportunity to meet new members, get drunk, and have some fun with the other guys you'd usually miss due to conflicting schedules. Today's meeting is a bit more special- Aoba decided to join in, which he doesn't always do. He's the boss' boyfriend, but he's not officially a member himself- he has, however, gotten close to the gang in the time they've been together, so everyone just treats him like an honorary Benishigure, which both makes him happy, in a way, and annoys him to no end, given all the attention he recieves and the fact that he's a subject of never-ending jokes and bits (in a friendly way, of course).

Everyone's a bit drunk by now, laughing and toasting for anything that comes to their heads, no matter how small and insignificant. Koujaku is smoking a cigarette and sipping on his sake, taking it all in and quietly enjoying seeing the people he brought together. Aoba had a bit to drink too; He rarely does, but something tempted him to drink today- perhaps a desire to join in and fully enjoy the atmosphere was stronger than his usual convictions.

The conversation turns to relationships, as it always does at some point when a group of drunks congregates.

"Wait, how long have you two been together? Like, a year?" One of the Benishigures asks as he turns to Aoba and Koujaku. "That's pretty impressive, I gotta admit- it's probably the longest anyone stayed with Koujaku"

He barks a laugh, like he was suprised at how funny he found his own joke. Aoba looks at Koujaku with suspicion, but he only responds with a grin and a sly look in his eye- completely unmoving, cigarette still held in his teeth.

"You thought about tying the knot yet? I'm telling ya, if you managed to keep him around for a year, that means you gotta have something special going on."

"I doubt any shrine would be willing to do the ceremony for two guys." Aoba rolls his eyes. He's mostly trying to convince himself; Both he and Koujaku are respected in their local community, so he has no doubt that their potential union would be honored. He thinks that this whole "being in a relationship with a man" had sunken into his mind by now, but in moments like these, he really worries that he will never internalize it fully.

"Since when do you need a shrine?" The Benishigure snorts dismissively and waves his hand around with no grace at all; His eyes have a spark in them that already tells Aoba that he came up with something only a drunk could make up. "You're already with your friends and family, right...? And everyone's wasted on sake...? All we need now is for the lovebirds to smooch." He grins. "I can even be your official, if you want"

He raises his mug, beer and froth sloshing with his uncoordinated movements and begins to chant "KISS! KISS! KISS!", his yell echoing through the bar. All the other members at the table quickly abandon whatever they were talking about and join in, not knowing what they're cheering for, but knowing that it's paramount to see their leader and his boyfriend make out at the table this instant.

This unrest finally rouses Koujaku. He knows that Aoba doesn't enjoy being the center of attention, and especially not when he's being goaded into doing something by a bunch of rowdy, drunk dudes. He usually trusts his men to know when to cool it when it comes to teasing Aoba, but it seems like alcohol might've clouded their judgement.

He grabs his cigarette between his slender fingers and opens his mouth to speak. Before he manages to make a single sound, Aoba is pressing his lips against his, tasting the smoky flavor of the kiss. The room erupts in cheers, and the clinking of glasses and mugs raised in toast adds to his overwhelmed state.

In a way though, Koujaku is oddly gleeful about it all; He never expected to get married, or at least not like that- when he was younger, he'd probably imagine a serious, grim ceremony where he's forced to marry a girl he never saw before, one that was chosen by his father in order to strenghten their family's position in the criminal underword. Nowdays he has no family he could invite to such a ceremony, but the Benishigure are the closest thing he has, and he loves them like he would his own blood, so getting married while listening to their howls and cheers is probably how he'd like it to go anyway. As for Aoba... Being able to be around him in any capacity was a dream come true; Koujaku knew that he himself is never going anywhere anyway. But thinking about Aoba pledging his loyalty to him with such fervor, and in front of so many other people... He's just happy he's not a crying kind of drunk. Instead, he chooses to cup Aoba's head with his free hand, gently rustling the short, stiff hair right at his hairline.

On the next day, Aoba doesn't talk about the kiss, but when Koujaku tries to talk to him about it, he can see that Aoba remembers it all happening by the way he stammers, badly puts on a facade and downplays the whole event. Koujaku just laughs; He knows that Aoba needs to process it- he knows him well enough to know how he behaves after events like this, and Koujaku is, if nothing, a patient man. Besides, Aoba was always adorable when he was in that part of processing something, so he really doesn't mind.

Benishigure who are "in the know" sometimes call Aoba "bride" to mess with him, or ask Koujaku to say hi to his "wifey" from them. Mizuki finds out from them through rumors that the Black Needle hosted their very first wedding/reception when he happened to have a night off and he can't live that down. As for Aoba and Koujaku, they don't really consider themselves an officially married couple, but the bit is nicer to carry out than they thought- jokingly talking to eachother like an old married couple comes to them more naturally and is more fun than either has expected.

[corishadowfang]

GIVE BRAIN A HORSE-- (I'm joining the horseposting, haha.)

---

            “…Master Brain.  What is that?”

            Brain, for his part, didn’t seem particularly concerned with the situation.  He wasn’t even looking at Sigurd, calmly petting the—the creature he’d apparently decided to lead into Headquarters.  “A horse.”

            “…Right.  I…suppose I can see that.”  Sigurd had the vague urge to rub his temples.  Or shake Brain, maybe—but then, he supposed he probably wasn’t supposed to do that to a Union Leader, so vaguely-strained questioning would have to do.  “And…why is it here?”

            “Followed me.”

            “From where?”

            Brain finally looked at him and grinned, smile just a little too sharp for his liking.  “Don’t worry about it.”

            …He was going to have to file an incident report later, wasn’t he.

            “Master Brain,” Sigurd said, trying very, very hard to keep his voice level and failing, “you didn’t…steal this, did you?”

            “Not as far as you’re aware.  Her name’s Lux, by the way.”

            “Master Brain—”

            “She belonged to Romulus and I owed Remus a favor.”  Brain shrugged, like that was a normal thing to do, but Sigurd guessed he didn’t really know what the Union Leaders had done on their off-time.  (It was such a strange image that it threw him for a moment.  The Union Leaders, engaging in petty theft and pranks?  It didn’t fit the image that had been built up in the stories.)

            “What would Master Ephemer think,” Sigurd started, trying to get his train of thought back on track, “if he found out you’d stolen someone’s—”

            “He’d help, probably.”  Brain tilted his head, looking thoughtful.  “Maybe not successfully.”  Gently, he tugged on the horse’s halter, and it took Sigurd a moment to realize he was bringing her closer, wait no he didn’t know how to act around horses—  “She’s not going to hurt you,” Brain said, face crinkling in amusement that seemed sincere rather than the strained sort of thing Sigurd usually saw.  “Look, just pet her.  She’s pretty gentle.”

            The horse nosed his shoulder with a quiet snort, and Sigurd side-stepped a little, hands pulled in.  It made her nervous, apparently, because she pulled her head back quickly, ears flicking and hooves tapping an unsteady sort of beat.  Brain shushed her, and she calmed quickly, but Sigurd stared at her with trepidation.

            …Of all the things the Union Leader had done, this was probably one of the strangest.  He’d ditched meetings, harassed the Founders, and generally tried to stick his nose in places he probably shouldn’t, but those all felt some degree of normal.  Frustrating, but Sigurd knew how to deal with that.  He wasn’t sure he knew how to deal with a horse.

            But he looks happy, something in the back of his mind whispered, and—so he did.  Brain wasn’t watching him; his expression had gone soft, hand carefully stroking the horse’s muzzle.  He looked more relaxed than Sigurd had ever seen him.

            He could feel something in him crumbling, and he knew he was going to regret this later, but he sighed, his whole body sinking with the sound.  “Well,” he said, resigned, “do we need to find somewhere to hide her?”

            Brain glanced at him, head cocked and eyes narrowed.

            “…We’re just taking her to the meeting, aren’t we.”

            (It was almost worth the odd stares and whispers throughout the meeting to watch Brain introduce the horse to his new-found friends later.  Almost.

            The fact that Brain apparently didn’t know how to ride the horse, however, felt a little more vindicating.)

[imthepunchlord]

Which power would you give to peafowl and bee?

Peafowl I would work with something related to vision. For if there's one thing that really stands out for peacocks, it's the eye motif.

And there's a lot you can do with a power around vision.

It could be a power of foresight, see the future, the closer the closer the more likely (which peacocks are tied to foresight, looking to the future). You can just straight up call it Clairvoyance.

You can do an alternative take to illusions. Whoever meets a Peafowl's gaze gets trapped in a daydream of their own making, unaware of reality around them. Where Fox does illusions that they control and all can see, Peafowl has no control what people see, and no one else can see what others see. It can be called Fantasy. Additionally, peacocks are tied to maya, which is Sanskrit for illusion/magic.

Peafowl could have a power of mind reading, meet the eyes of another and get to "see" their thoughts and intentions. Could be Mind's Eye. It could also be a nice nod to the third eye chakra, which does match with Peafowl a lot in terms of symbolism and themes.

Peafowl could have something related to truth. You see what is true. You see someone's true colors. You see through illusions. You see what is hidden from you, like ghosts.

Lastly, Peafowl could have something related to hypnosis. Hypnotism through eyes is a thing that's done in media (though usually with snakes).

But given the many eyes to gaze upon you, it could be done. It could also play off a Peafowl's beauty, they're allure, how they can charm and bewitch someone.

Any of these ideas I would take for Peafowl and I think would work well. Some of these can even work off Mayura being a more out in the open.

Now for Bee, I take the stance that they should've done something related to team work, working with others, a fellowship/community, connection with other life. That to me stands out so much more than bees stinging. That's very surface level when diving into what bees are tied to, which I'll give them, there is a Hindu bee goddess (Bhrami) who stings a demon to death.

But over all, bees are more about togetherness and communication. To be kind and open minded, but take no bull.

One idea I really like that canon did bring in, was working with a magical swarm of bees.

And they could do various things for you, as you are their director. They can swarm to cause a panic (but not actually sting as that kills bees), they can gather intel and you can spy through them, they can be used for long range communication and act as little animated flying walkies, they could mass restore, they could prompt plant growth for psuedo plant manipulation.

The catch to this pretty OP power? You got to be a good director of this hive. If you are a terrible leader or a terrible person, these bees will unionize and leave. And they will not come back. No matter how many times you retransform, your hive is gone, at least until Pollen thinks you're worthy to direct them. So until you grow and change how you are, you are powerless as a Miraculous user if your bees unionize. Could call this Hive Mind to work off a community working as a big unit.

The other option would be to just straight up doing plant manipulation, though I would like to have it be that plants are resistive to you if you lack compassion for life. This could be Pollination to work off Pollen's name.

Between the two, would lean more Hive Mind, but if some think that's too OP, Pollination still works well. Both meet what I want for Bee, something related to teamwork.

[sivavakkiyar]

Sakai is coming up a lot more recently on here so I’d like to bring up a passage from his interview ‘when race burns class’:

A number of years ago, i was trying to help a group of young Chinese-American activists on an anti-racist campaign. This was an interesting case of how a pure "race" issue only fronted for class politics. Now, these folks were "paper Maoists" in every worst way you could think of – and all my friends know that i'm someone who has warm feelings for the old Chairman. Not only did they have what Mao once called "invincible ignorance", but were also arrogantly full of Han nationalism. They did have physical courage, at least. Their project was to protest the sports racism in the famous industrial town of Pekin, Illinois – which was originally named in the 19th century after Beijing, and whose high school sports teams were colorfully named "the Chinks"! (capitalism, what an ever-amazing civilization – what next? "Auschwitz! The Perfume!" ).

Every week a few carloads of young Asian protesters would arrive in Pekin to picket the high school and city hall, hold television news conferences, and keep the issue simmering in the news. You see, the small flaw in the campaign was that all the protesters had to be imported from New York and Chicago. There were only eight Chinese families in town, and all were refusing to have anything to do with the anti-"Chinks" campaign (not wanting to lose their livelihoods, homes, and be driven out of town by the controversy).

By accident, not in any political way, i had casually met two vaguely liberal young white guys there. One was a teacher in that very high school. The second was a UAW (United Auto Workers union) shop steward at the nearby giant Caterpillar tractor assembly plant, which was Pekin's main industry. So i thought maybe they could be persuaded to get some local people to take a moderate wishy-washy public stand, anything just to give the Chinese families some local community cover if they wanted to speak out (there was zero local support of any kind, including all the unions and churches of course).

When i suggested it to this Maoist group, there was a moment's startled stony silence. Then the leader barked, "We do not work with white people!" Discussion over. So, is this a good example of that error of "racial issues taking precedence over class issues"? i know some radicals might think that, but they'd just be getting faked out.

First off, to those activists running it, "race" was not what was central to their thinking. After all, if those Asian American dudes had really been into either "race" or anti-racism they might have started by organizing and working with the local Asian families. They might have tried to help find some survival strategy for these families, who couldn't just drive off into the sunset after each press conference (being an isolated Asian family in a heavy white racist scene is no joke, obviously). This is just a normal problem in anti-racist work, which folks had to deal with all the time in small towns in 1960s Mississippi, for instance.

It also wasn't true that those Chinese-American leftists "didn't work with white people". They did that all the time, when they wanted, and these Han nationalists even argued for the "revolutionary" nature of the white working class . What i came to realize was in that situation they didn't want any broad community support for the Chinese families there, or to let others into "their" issue. Because they had a really different agenda. Which was to get sole public credit for this and other anti-racist issues, so that their little Maoist "party" could vault into political dominance over the Chinese-American communities. Later, when they thought it necessary, they even used physical violence and death threats to drive other Asian groups away. They intended to be the people in ethnic power, in effect like replacing the tongs . These "paper Maoists" had a pure class agenda, all right, only it was a bourgeois agenda. Although they themselves might have honestly believed what they did was "revolutionary", they had anti -working class politics hidden by "anti racism" and left people of color talk.

And this Maoist group really did get their Andy Warhol-like "15 minutes of fame", becoming large in part because the more dishonest and destructive their "anti-racist" maneuvers became, the more support they got from white middle-class liberals and "progressives" (coincidentally?). i mean, from many white social-democrats, those white anti-repression "experts", academic leftists, etc. Those types that subject us to those endless droning lectures about "the working class" (which they aren't in and don't get, of course). As a sage comrade of mine always says, "Like is drawn to like" even if their outward appearance is very different.

This is a more difficult, easy to slip and fall on, even dangerous way of seeing things than radicals here are used to.

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

Could this be old jaune hugging yang ?

Jaune: JNPR just got a mission, we'll be out for about a month, and we won't have CCT connection during it, other than an emergency signal booster.

Yang: Oh? A month? That's ...

Jaune: We'll be fine Yang. Arc's promise. We leave in a week, and I'd like to get my cuddles in now!

Yang: Oh Fine. Since it's you Toothy.

~~~~~

The TV droned, some cheesy romance movie playing nearly muted.

The Alligator faunus ran her fingers through the hair of the shark faunus that was using her tail as a pillow, smiley softly at the unconscious Team leader.

Yang: I'm gonna miss you Jaune. I wish I could wholeheartedly believe that you'd come back but ... Someone broke that promise and it made me raise Ruby alone. I don't know if I could handle it if you didn't make it back here.

Yang: Back to me ...

~~~~~

Jaune: Well. I guess I'll see you in a month Yang.

Yang: I ... I love you. Please come home.

Jaune: I will Yang. I love you more.

Yang: Don't lie to me Jaune Arc!

Jaune: ... See later, Alligator. *He leaves*

Yang: ... After a while, Shark smile ...

Yang: Please make it home soon.

~~~~~

Yang: It's been a month.

Ruby: Yang, Jaune said About a month. He'll make it home.

Yang: But what if he doesn't!

Ruby: Yang, I'll pull some strings at the Hunter's Union of Vale to see if there's any news.

Yang: I'd .. I would appreciate it Rubes.

~~~~~

Yang: Have you checked in? How's Juniper doing!?!

Ruby: ... I won't lie to you Yang. They haven't checked in at their outpost yet, which puts them about a week and a half behind schedule.

Yang: ... He left me ...

Ruby: *Grabbing Yang by the shoulders* Look me in the Eyes Yang Xiao Long - Jaune gave his word. He Lives and Dies by his word. He'll make it back, or I'm not Ruby Rose.

Yang: You're right. Your Right! I just need to Buck up! He can make it back. He'll make it home ...

~~~~~

Yang: ...

Ruby: ... There's peop-

Yang: Stop.

Yang: Just ... Stop.

Yang: I ...

Yang: I just need ... I need to be alone right now. Please.

Ruby: ... Okay Yang. We're here for you if you need us.

Yang: ...

~~~~~

Ruby: YANG HOLY FUCK!

Yang: WHAT! RUBY!?!? What are-

Ruby: JNPR CALLED IN!

Yang: ... What?

Ruby: JNPR Called in, they're all alive but running low on everything they need to survive, and running out of aura - even with the fastest Bullhead it'll take a day or two for the to get home, but their alive!

Yang: ... *Begins Crying*

Ruby: *Hugging Yang* He's making it home Yang. He lives and Dies by his word, and by the Maiden's he's living.

~~~~~

Yang Bounced on her heels, waiting for the bullhead that had JNPR on it to land. It'd been more than twice what Jaune said it would take, and Yang was over waiting.

Then the Bullhead Landed.

And Jaune stepped out.

Jaune: It's a lot later than- OOF!

Yang tackled Jaune and had begun Crying in his shoulder.

Yang: TWO AND A HALF MONTHS! You were gone so long!

Yang: I Thought- I thought ...

Jaune: *Crying as well* I know, I know I missed you a lot too Yang. But I keep my word.

Yang: I know ... You've got the only shark smile I can trust.

Yang: ... Like the Stubble, Hun.

Jaune: really? It's itchy. I was gonna shave-

Yang: You're keeping the Stubble Jaune. It's recompense for making me wait so long.

[petoskeystones]

Happy (late) birthday Rickie!! Coincidentally I've been listening to your 19 and 91 playlists all day (I know nothing about hockey but they're really good) (and compelling...) (If you ever want to tell someone all about 19 and 91 I'm here 👀) <3

thank you for the birthday wishes bird!! you have no idea what you've just unleashed upon the dash, though. 19 and 91... everyone sit down for the abridged, but still way too long, version of the story of steve yzerman and sergei fedorov.

in 1983 the detroit red wings, formerly the greatest american hockey team of all time and the pride of the city, were very bad. they were called the dead wings. they had no money and no prospects and they were frightened. they had just been purchased, however, by a fellow named mike ilitch, who you may know as the founder and ceo of little caesars pizza, and he had hired a new general manager named jim devellano, and they wanted to turn things around. in that summer of 1983, with the fourth overall pick in the nhl draft, ilitch and devellano wanted to take pat lafontaine, a hometown boy and one of the best prospects of the year. but lafontaine went third, to the new york islanders, and they settled for a kid named steve yzerman instead.

in 1983, steve yzerman made the roster out of training camp. he scored 39 goals. he was the youngest nhl all-star ever. he finished second in voting for best rookie of the year. within two years, 20-year-old steve yzerman was the youngest captain in the history of the detroit red wings, with his coach stating that he practically had "the red wings crest tattooed on his chest". by the end of his career he would be one of the most beloved athletes in the history of detroit sports.

his legacy is for later though. in the 1980s we were still losing. so that wasn't great. by 1989, we hadn't seen the playoffs in over a decade, and jim devellano was in the hot seat, and so he decided to do something insane, which was use up one of his 1989 draft picks on a russian named sergei fedorov.

to try to put this into some context: in 1989 there was one single russian player in all of the nhl, alexander moligny, who had defected from the soviet union that year in order to play. soviet hockey was inextricably linked with the military during the cold war, with players for thee cska moscow team being considered army officers. they spent 11 months of the year playing hockey away from their families. they absolutely demolished the united states and canada at their own sport. jim devellano used his fourth-round draft pick on a soviet military asset that he would likely never get to see play in detroit.

why the hell did he do that? well, he had talked to steve yzerman beforehand, because steve had played against the soviet team in the hockey world championship.

and so they drafted sergei fedorov, and in the same draft, vladimir konstantinov, and everyone thought jim devellano was crazy for it. it took until june of 1990 for sergei fedorov to defect from the soviet union and fly, from the goodwill games in portland, to detroit, where they set him up in the wings' vice president jim lites' house in the suburbs and went about the business of teaching him english. why did he defect? well, other than the fact that he badly wanted to play nhl hockey, they gave him several things: a corvette, and $10,000, and an apartment on the river, and the same contract as steve yzerman. it was the last thing that eventually got sergei on the plane.

and so they had the second russian in the national hockey league, wearing number 91, chosen for being the inverse of steve's 19.

from 1990-1997 we acquired four more russian players (konstantinov, kozlov, larionov and fetisov), and the russian five unit revolutionized the hockey world. this not hyperbole, they are five of the most important players in hockey history, and sergei was arguably the most well-known of them. while steve was generally a quiet leader and not a particularly flashy player, sergei was a media darling and one of the most exciting players in the league. he's particularly well-known for his trademark white nike skates and all-star fastest skater record, but i also think about his love of sports cars, his fashion sense, the commercials, and his genuine love for being a detroit red wing, to start.

sergei became steve's alternate captain, although assistant captain might be more apt. when steve began to have knee problems, he would be put on a unit with sergei, who he would trust to carry the puck from end to end for him.

sergei, meanwhile, understood his job in detroit as making steve's job easier. “i could tell stevie was worried about a lot of things. i wasn’t sure what exactly i had to do. But i knew i had to help him as much as i can on the ice.”

the detroit red wings made the playoffs from 1990-2015, 13 of those years with steve and sergei. they won the stanley cup three times together, in 1997, 1998, and 2002. to call them the best hockey team of the 90s-00s is correct.

but good times come to an end. in 2003, sergei's contract with the red wings was up. he had previously had contract issues in 1998, forcing the ilitches to match a $38 million deal with the carolina hurricanes; in 2003, he signed a contract with the anaheim ducks that was worth $10 million less than what detroit was offering him. did he owe detroit, for everything they had done for him? the ilitches and devellano think so. detroit thought so, and booed him when he returned to play against his former team. he went back to russia in 2009, three years after steve retired as the longest-serving captain of any north american sports team in history— a very apt 19-season record that has never been broken. steve briefly worked for the tampa bay lightning; around that time, sergei's marriage ended, and he only asked for their florida beach house in the divorce.

anyways, it's 2024 now. the red wings have gone eight years without seeing the playoffs. steve yzerman's number was retired in 2007, and since 2019, he has served as the team's general manager. it has been a decade since sergei fedorov was in detroit, for his hockey hall of fame induction ceremony; the ilitch family and jim devellano will not retire sergei's jersey with steve's, but nobody has worn 91 since he left, and several players have actually changed their jersey numbers from 91 upon coming to play here. when asked his thoughts about retiring number 91, it took steve eleven seconds to come up with a response.

the red wings are the second-worst team in our conference right now. we need a new coach. there has never been a russian coach in the nhl. sergei is, as of this summer, retired from coaching in russia where he won two championships with his former team; he still spends summers in detroit.

sergei is over it. steve is over it. the only people who still think about 2003 are jim devellano and mike ilitch's widow marian. retire 91 and let him come home!

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

Uh. Hmm.

So this is a topic that's kind of hard to talk about due to the polarization of it in general but it's something I have some thoughts about. Recently Kamala Harris on the campaign trail on one of the few times she is actually spoken to the public, has gone out on a limb and said that you should be thankful to unions because you would literally have absolutely nothing if not for unions.

This type of rhetoric actually annoys the hell out of me, because while yes there are times when unions are a good thing unions are not the be all end all. Actually it's much more common that unions themselves become corrupt and make it so it is impossible for you to move up in your own workplace. Specifically, prioritizing employees that have been at a place longer even if they do not deserve to move up because they are lazy. Because what happens typically, is that the top brass of the company will pay off the leadership of the Union which means that you are effectively under two entirely separate power structures. One of which, you actually have to pay to be a part of. Except it gets worse than that. Because often you don't have a choice but to pay to be part of a union at a job site. What's even worse, is sometimes stipulations for you even being able to work at a place is that you will join their Union.

And what's worse, it is often times the case that you cannot go to actual employer when something bad happens to you. Often times you have to go to the union leaders and hope they do something about it instead which can sometimes be bad, because unions often do not have the same form of HR that companies do. And companies will frequently wash their hands of employee issues once a union is formed.

Long story short, unions are not always a good thing. And a lot of people treat them like God's gift to mankind. As if no one would ever have anything ever if not for unions. But that is factually untrue. Mind you this post is not specifically denigrating all unions because it is not the case that all unions are bad. I just take issue with the new personification of unions as if they are perfect and flawless in every way and that they are the only thing that exists in the world that gives help to people as if many a job out there don't already have programs in place to give you time off and what not. Hell, Kamala Harris literally got up on stage and said 5 day work weeks are because of unions and having two days off is actually because of unions. No they are not. It's fucking wild.

Honestly I'm just tired of this deification of Unions. My friend was forced to be in one at his last job and part of his pay went to that Union. What's more he was at the job for 6 years and was WELL qualified to move up. But other more lazy workers were "in line first" and the union had to do all haggling for raises and often didn't unless they really liked you. Unions can be just as bad if not worse than some predatory work places.

[serenedash]

I love thinking about daily life in Daybreak Town and I'm gonna put a read more for my own sanity here LOL feel free to add your headcanons about Daybreak Town :]

one thing I really like thinking about is what quests/missions and raid hour was like for wielders since khux loved to make game mechanics actually Mean Something lore-wise. If you never played khux, raid hour was twice a day (11am and 11pm in my time zone) where powerful enemies would appear called raid bosses and you and your party could take them on solo or together

So like. Daily missions/quests are really only mentioned briefly in actual cut scenes (off the top of my head, Ephemera mentions it to Player that it would be suspicious if they were gone too long because it would look like they were slacking, Strelitzia also is shocked that Lauriam basically gets all of his missions done before noon) but I imagine that daily missions take up most of the day for wielders (again, another gameplay mechanic where you earned in game currency for doing things). And you know obviously we get to see lots of wielders around during the day, we get to see our character and others going to bed at the end of the day, and when Player waits for Ephemera at the fountain we see how no one is around at night,

I've seen a lot of discussions about night time in Daybreak Town, headcanons about how there are wielders that only do their missions at night, how darkness is more potent and there are more heartless (I especially love when people point out the night sky would be pitch black since the worlds are still one world so there would be no sky, only adding to the darkness at night). But back to raid hour!! I like to think about wielders getting their daily missions done and going back home to relax/nap/whatever and then when raid hour happens the clock tower rings and its like the empty streets suddenly fill with people, wielders meeting up with their parties or people going for the solo boss fights, and they all go ham until the bosses disappear and everyone goes back to bed. In the khx novel chirithy says that the clock tower only rings at "special times" but never elaborates so I like to think raid hour counts lol

for other daily life things tho, I've always had this headcanon that since the unions were formed (or maybe since the master of masters took on apprentices,) wielders just flocked to Daybreak Town and kinda. basically drove out the original people in Daybreak Town so its literally like a town run by kids (and moogles) and I like to think there's a good amount of kids/teens running little shops like there's that one part of Daybreak Town that's like a street market and I just know those were all run by like 15 year olds (also you can't convince me that 18 is like the oldest people get in Daybreak Town bc the game makes it SO SO SO CLEAR that wielders die CONSTANTLY and its VERY NORMALIZED) but anyway yeah some wielders not really doing their wielder stuff and instead just running businesses because you can't tell me there's moogles for Everything,

I've also had some very clear ideas about how parties work like since day one of unchained x, I like to think party leaders have get togethers to discuss what's happening in town or in their union and each union has their own like. Office I guess? for party leaders to gather and I always liked to imagine the leaders going there in the morning for reports of where strong heartless are or orders from their union leader yknow (idk in my head its like a post office, go to your little mailbox and get your stuff)

I don't have anything else those are my random disjointed thoughts👍

[voidnoidoid]

Thoughts on Weak Hero's Ending

Weak Hero ended a few weeks ago, and I took some time to process the ending after I read it. Overall, I think it was a great ending to such a wonderfully written series.

I like how things were mostly wrapped up, but left as an open ending. I appreciate how the Union, although mostly defunct, is being kept somewhat alive by Kingsley, who can't accept that Donald is truly gone and that the Union is over. I might write a more detailed Kingsley analysis, but it's interesting how Kingsley, as Donald's right hand man, never fully understood Donald. He placed him on a pedestal and deified him. He did care about him, the most out of everyone, but it is still sad how he got so caught up in making Donald king that he failed to recognise how Donald's rapid ascension and ceaseless violence was a cry for help.

Jake being the one to recognise Donald's true feelings is rather apt. I haven't thought much about his character (as is not fully analysed) but I think he's much more complex than he lets on. He's in a similar situation to both Ben and Donald I think, that being both Ben and Jake are the leaders of their schools, they just want to hang out with their friends and have fun, both shoulder the burden of being the strongest of their schools alone... It's just that Jake has a darkness within him that led him to join the Union. He has an inner bloodlust, one that he recognises in Gray. Jake is very perceptive of others emotional state, so it's no wonder he could correctly guess how Donald was feeling, given that he's one of Donald's most reliable officers.

I'll have to update my Donald analysis soon, because of the revelation that Donald willingly put himself in danger, running in the road screaming for Gray to fight him again. I think on one hand, Donald wanted that connection he felt with Gray again, as well as desiring gray to defeat him. But also I think he felt like death was the only escape left, hence the panel where he had a resigned and accepting expression as the truck neared him. As if he was waiting for his end.

I'm sure the Union will dissolve soon despite Kingsley's efforts. Wolf and Jake have left, and maybe Forrest and Jimmy too. I also like how Jimmy's character arc closed off, with him admitting that all he wanted was to be acknowledged by Donald.

Now then, let's go over to the Eunjang kids!

Although they lost the fight, they won the war. Losing meant they didn't have to bear the burden of being the strongest. Though they may face some fights in the future due to the resulting power gap left in Donald's wake. But that's a story for another time.

Eugene woke up and is happy and well! I really love how despite Eugene thinking he didn't contribute much to the fight, all his friends comforted him and reassured him of his major role thanks to his light controlling device! Yay Eugene appreciation!

Unfortunately Gray was deeply affected by Donald's death and entered a spiral of self guilt... the scene with his reflection mocking him hurt to read. Thankfully his friends were by his side to ground him. Gray really does have a kind heart after all.

Finally, Stephen and Gray meet again! I like the reintroduction of Jeremy, and that he remains a good friend of Gray by telling him Stephen is okay! His reactions to Gray being the White Mamba was so funny to read. I can't express how happy I was to see that not only was Stephen still alive, also that he's all better and working part time at a cafe! Gray's monologue at the end was so touching, and im glad he was able to greet his most treasured friend with a big smile.

I really wanted a Stephen and gray epilogue where they interact, but I do like the happy open ending. I think Stephen would be so happy for Gray and he'd fit right in with the eunjang kids! I guess that's what fan fiction is for lol. (sorry for the lack of weaktober writing... ill try to write something.)

I kinda wish some side characters had more cameos, like Toby, Lily and Julia, but their arcs were wrapped up relatively well too.

That sums up my overall thoughts on Weak Hero's conclusion!

Thank you to Seopass and Razen for creating a wonderful story!