#not a bad way to make use toa new year's day

[highwaydiamonds]

Not a resolution - just maybe a bit of hope and intention to start out the year

[nattarthetimedragon]

Toa Zamarii later know as the mad Turaga (air) (he/him) (Kanohi Makooti the Mask of Approximate Knowledge)

He was one of the first Toran to be transformed in to a Toa, but was not destine Toa. At the time only about a dozen or so Toran had ever been transformed at this time . This being a time before Toa knew what to look for in a Toran, the average Toran's mind is not capable of withstanding the strain of having their bodies flooded with elemental energy and will go insane. Luckily only one other Toa had not reacted baldy to the change and the Toa knew that they should try and help him regain his mind. Toa Orde and Nazza spent months helping Zamarii reclaim his mind, but with time he was made sane but it the cost was he could no longer use his elemental powers without strain. To make up for it, he commissioned a mask maker to forge him a mask of Psychomerty, the mask maker lied saying she knew how to forge the mask. So Zamarii was given the first Makooti, the mask of Approximate Knoledge, that gives it's user infinite wisdom, within a significant margin of error. Users of the mask confuse nouns and verbs, and are often left babbling incoherently. The mask is all ways slightly active. Most Toa wanted nothing to do with him because he will talk there ears off with nonsense and claim he is an expert of everything they know with a lot of ego in his voice. One day when hearing some Toa talking about how one of their fellow Toa had just became a Turaga buy making six new Toa by sharing his power with a six Toran. Even though Zamarii had seen that happen when he he became a Toa his mask told him that is not how it works and that had to be third week of month for a Toa become a Turaga. The other three other Toa were not wanting to even entertain even talking to Zamarii until he decided to prove it, after all it was the first week of a month. The others were waiting for some destined Toran that were coming to be trained by the toa as they waited for a Toa stones arriving that day. So the Toa provided Toa uncharged stone to Zamarii who was more then willing to prep them for the Toran.

After becoming a Turaga he mellowed out greatly and was even interested with setting up a large colony of Toran. Over time his Noble Makooti started to get louder and louder. He hardly even noticed when one of his Toran was taken to become a Toa, because whenever he looked at any of his Toran he can only see a hundred things that might be wrong with them. It got so bad that he started believing it and started sending one or two Toran a week to Karzahni. When the Toran started begging him to stop the mask just told them they were rebelling against him and sent them to be repaired at Karzahni. Then he was alone in a large empty Koro with his mask telling him all the things that might be wrong with him.

One day the Toa, Lesovikk, that came from his Koro looking for comfort form his old friend after the death of his Toa team. When he arrived he was shocked to find the Koro falling in to disrepair and empty, except the mad ramblings of a familiar voice deep with in the village.. Lesovikk walked alone through the streets haunted by echoes of memories and the ramblings of a mad man, he only paused for a moment at the hut that he and his friends called home. It was not long until he reached the largest hut in the center of the village that the mad Turaga called home.

The mad Turaga was pacing around the hut when Lesovikk entered. The Turaga was incoherent muttering and was not making any sense to Lesovikk, so he help Zamarii to a chair and made him some tea. After a bit the turaga's mind began to clear slightly realizing Lesovikk was there with him, the repairs done to his mind undone the years isolated with his mask. Lesovikk for hundreds of years stayed with Zamrri trying to help the turaga recover his mind enough to remember what happened to his friends an the rest of the Koro only to find the out the turaga and sent them away somewhere but Zamarii was not ever able to remember where. Lesovikk stormed out not being able to believe he wasted so much time trying to help the one who was responsible for his friends disappearence.

Thousands of years later Lesovikk returned once more after falling to rescue his friend and only found Zamarii's spear and the Makooti in the Turaga's hut. Lesovikk decided to put the mask and immediately ripped it off, after hearing it whispering nonsense in his mind. He smashed the cursed mask with his air blade and buried the spear on a hill over looking the island knowing that is was not fully Zamarii's fault for what happened but he will never be forgiven.

[your-local-squip-fanatic]

Factoids on Lester Leander Belenus Papadopoulos BECAUSE THEYRE NEAT AND I DONT HAVE MY RESOURCES TO WORK ON CH 3 (feral goblin noises) also wtf is with me posting so much GOD

-To recap, he's from Rhodes, later moved to Athens, then New York. He's got the Greek accent too, but he eventually was able to switch back and forth from an American accent. Just don't ask him to say "she sells seashells by the seashore." He literally can't say it and it's painful to hear him try. Oh gods, dude stop you're embarrassing yourself...

-When I was still working on the AU early on (CHRIST, I think it'll be nearly 4 or 5 years now dayumn!) I had everything down for my characters, but the only one needing finished was Lester. I simply couldn't think of how his personality should be. So I decided to use myself as a base and go from there! Trust me, the similarities will be evident once I get to his introduction in Shatterverse! And maybe this explains why his music taste is very similar to mine haha

-Speaking of his character, during the early stages I made his father a rich movie producer just to allow me room to work until I could figure out what I really wanted to do. Now, just a normal... well, mostly normal family and Lester doesn't need to worry about looking normal. (Advice: making your first draft god awful is a good way to go, trust me.)

-Lester, due to the above, was also supposed to know Piper personally and even crush on her like the hopeless romantic he is. Obviously not the case anymore, but he went from acquaintance to friend of Percy, and possibly even having met Annabeth once!

-Lester's design originally was just a copy of the cover designs, but I wanted to make him more authentic about his Greek roots, and so I gave him darker skin. And to clear confusion, I draw Canon/ToA Lester/Apollo with a green tee and paler skin. DLAU Lester!Apollo has a smidgen more roundness in his biceps (that cute lil chub) and visible acne. DLAU Lester always has his red hoodie, but his thinness and sickly pale skin should identify him quickly!

-He can do 115° heat. Cannot do anything below 60°.

-Bonus round! He will eat pretty anything but he adores seafood, favorite color is red (not the case once the series is done MWAHAHAHA) and he cares so much. Like he will play nurse if you're sick, he will comfort you after a bad day, and he will FIGHT anyone picking on you. Granted he will most likely lose, but hes defending your honor buddy. This mf is 16 and he is such a SWEETHEART. Too good, too pure for this world

Guys as soon as I get access to my books I will start work on Ch 3. It's killing me more than you guys not having it.

[theofficersacademy]

Gronder Field is as you remember it, before the illusions, the civil conflicts, and the missions that took you to the places between worlds. The expanse of gold-green grass and its shrubby trees laid out beneath an aquamarine sky awaits you and your classmates to take the field. This age-old tournament represents a return to normal: you are students and professors again who have come to enjoy the exercise. This is nothing like the real life and death battles you have experienced, and you decide that it should stay that way.

The hawks circle and whistle overhead. Flags dyed crimson, sapphire, and gold flutter in the crisp autumn wind below them. The three houses have come together again to simulate wars of old, to understand themselves and their history, and to foster camaraderie through competition.

Centuries overlap this moment; the shadows of hundreds of academy students from years past stand here, just as their founders had before. And just as new leaders do today.

A horn sounds from the hills and the field comes alive.

                   The Battle of the Eagle and Lion begins!

How to Play: Step-by-Step Guide

1. Look at the matchups here. Your combat information, including your inventories, will be found on the doc here.

2. This year, battles will not use TOA's typical combat style. Please read these instructions to get started.

3. Every battle will have at least three losers. There is no way for everyone to win in a tournament like this. If you know that losing and/or rolling poorly will impact your enjoyment, then please contact a mod to be removed from the event. This is for fun, not glory. All participants will receive a prize at the end regardless so long as they do not drop out mid-event.

4. Tag all BOEL posts with #TOABOEL2024

Penalties

The mod team will be implementing a strict 12 hour rule this year. If 12 hours elapse between a teammate's last post and your own, you will be disqualified immediately. Keep your posts short, fast, and make sure you are communicating with your teammates.

Poor sportsmanship, lack of communication, a bad attitude, or being disqualified during this tournament will affect whether or not the mods allow you to participate in future events.

FAQ

How long will rounds last?

The first round will last for 3 days and end at 11:59PM EST on March 19th. The length of subsequent rounds will be determined depending on how the previous round went. It’s possible that a round may end sooner than the designated time limit if all matches in that round are completed before then.

I have multiple characters in the tournament. Will I have to fight myself?

While the mods will be leaving matchups mostly to RNG, we will do our best to make sure that no one has their own characters paired against each other.

Can posts for this event count towards class mastery?

Battle threads for this event will not count towards mastery, even if they meet length/word requirements. This is to incentivize keeping replies short and the rounds moving smoothly. Threads that take place in the medical tent after your muse has been removed from the tournament CAN count toward class mastery, if requirements are met. There is no time limit on these, and they can be as long as you like. All BOEL posts will count for monthly activity.

If my character is not participating in the battle can I still thread with everyone?

Absolutely! Naturally, there will be spectators for the battle, as well as those volunteering to help out in the medical tents. You’re welcome to thread interactions based around either of these.

Will there be prizes at the end?

Yes.

- The House Leaders

[night-gay]

Into the Anthill pt 5 - No More Top Billing

By this point it’s been almost 4 years since Hank’s debut in Tales to Astonish #27. ToA has basically been his book since issue #35, but Marvel took a turn here where a few of their comics pivoted into having more than 1 main character. Iron Man and Captain America got Tales of Suspense together, and that meant Hank was stuck sharing Tales to Astonish with Hulk for the time being.

🐜🐜🐜

Tales to Astonish vol 1 #59

Hank went to New Mexico to ask Hulk to rejoin the Avengers, but he was just too mad to consider it and so they fought again. General Ross launched an atomic bomb at the town they were fighting near hoping to kill Hulk, but Hulk stopped it to save Hank’s life (just so that he could kill Hank by himself later).

This was the last issue of Tales to Astonish before it transitioned into the Giant-Man/Hulk comic.

Tales of Suspense vol 1 #58

The Chameleon impersonated Captain America to trick Iron Man into fighting the real Cap. They were going all-out until Hank dumped the real Chameleon in-between them to stop the brawl.

Tales to Astonish vol 1 #60

An old FBI Agent friend of Hank’s was held prisoner in East Berlin after sneaking past the wall, so he left to rescue him alone after telling Janet about his late wife Maria. Apparently the East Germans created a ray-gun that turns apes super-intelligent so that they could be trained to use firearms and fight America (see Planet of the Apes for a detailed explanation of why this idea is bad). Hank smashed a huge section of the Berlin Wall to get back to safety.

Avengers vol 1 #8-9

The Pentagon summoned The Avengers because Kang came from the future to claim the 21st century for himself. He had a clear advantage over the Avengers until Hank melted holes in his suit with a ray-gun  and ruined most of his tech, forcing him to beat a hasty retreat.

Baron Zemo used an ionic energy device to give Wonder-Man his powers and had him infiltrate the Avengers as a new recruit. He beat them all in a fight, but Zemo’s plan backfired when Simon defected, saved the Avengers, and then died.

Tales to Astonish vol 1 #61-62

Hank’s self-declared archenemy Egghead came back with another brilliant plan, much better than using fly-paper or anteaters to carry out his will. This time he covered a mannequin in clay and remote controlled it like a robot. His loss came as a surprise to no one, not even him.

A common thief found Hank knocked out after a plant-growth experiment went wrong. He stole the Giant-Man costume and had a small burgling spree before Hank and Janet stopped him and took it back.

Tales to Astonish vol 1 #63-64

Hank bought a hardware store to set up a trap for some local thugs. He also kissed Jan on-panel for the first time. He later insisted it was just CPR, but he was talking with her before he did it so she was obviously conscious and breathing.

Jan accidentally dropped a box full of diodes Hank needed to finish his giant robotic ant. She questioned whether he actually cared, packed her things, and immediately left without telling him. The plane she left on got taken hostage by Attuma though and Hank saved the day. He begged for forgiveness on the way home and Jan admitted that she didn’t think she could go on without him.

Avengers vol 1 #10

Immortus joined the Masters of Evil and kidnapped Rick Jones to make Cap attack his teammates. Hank convinced him to stop fighting long enough to explain what happened and they all went to rescue Rick together.

Minor/Cameo appearances from this period:

Journey into Mystery vol 1 #108

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1

Amazing Spider-Man vol #18

Tales of Suspense vol 1 #59

Fantastic Four vol 1 #31

Tales of Suspense vol 1 #60

[coldgoldlazarus]

I've kinda talked about this before, but I think one of the big reasons I'm not as much a fan of the Ignition Trilogy is kinda summed up by how superfluous the Matoran characters felt after a certain point.

Ironically 2006, my least favorite year of the arc, does pretty decently on this front (Voya Nui resistance my beloved) even if that's offset by Ow the Edge™, but 2007 and especially 2008 kinda really drop the ball here.

I think part of it, in all fairness, is the fault of the book reduction from 5 per year to only 3, so the pacing had to be a bit more conceise and accelerated; there wasn't as much room for detours or sidestories such as Tales Of The Masks, The Darkness Below, Maze Of Shadows, or Legacy Of Evil. On the other hand, the Serials started happening to sort of make up for that and fill in the gaps, but without as much restriction they kinda spiraled off into a whole other thing, for better or for worse. Either way, somewhere in that shuffle, the supporting matoran fell through the cracks, leaving the bulk of the character investment to fall squarely on the Toa and that year's villains.

Why is this a bad thing? Because this is the point and the way, I feel, that Bionicle lost the trees for the forest.

The bigger scale of the Ignition trilogy isn't inherently a bad thing, not at all IMO; the story and world were expanding drastically, yet still naturally. The stakes being raised so high, even if it was initially offputting in 06, overall was the right way to go, finally giving all the payoffs to everything the first five years set up. I have my gripes with some elements of the worldbuilding tone and Greg Edge™, (said with outmost respect) but ultimately, not a bad call. All the same, I think it wasn't as effective as it could have been at delivering everything it did, because the focus shifted away from the smaller-scale happenings instead of keeping them in mind in addition to the bigger picture.

Quick detour here. Even if 01 is somewhat overplayed in the fandom now, I still think one of the reasons it was so successful wasn't just in the aesthetic or tone, but in its immersiveness. A lot of this is thanks to Templar Studios' work, of course; you got to see everything from a Matoran-eye view, get to know the island and inhabitants and culture inside and out, along with seeing the Toa's adventures. You became invested not just in the ones saving the day, but who they're saving the day for.

On the other hand 2004 didn't have a direct MNOG analogue, but here the books took up the slack; between the Toa Metru's status as only recently-transformed from Matoran and thus still in touch with the city's workings, the Disk-finder Matoran also being a pretty big feature for the first half of the year, and the time and space to fit in sidestories like The Darkness Below, you still got a fairly solid sense of the city and its people, even without as grand a cast of background extras like the Templar games and animations. Even 2005, with its radically darker feeling and post-apocalyptic version of the city, still continued to develop it and the inhabitants in a somber, post-mortem sort of way, and even in how the new threats in the Visorak and their leaders interacted with what was already there.

Now, I will admit that just on a fundamental structural level, expecting that same level of depth from the Ignition Trilogy, which was set up as more of an epic traveling adventure, hopping to a new location with each new year, would just be dumb. All the same, I still think it would have worked better if they'd maintained at least some level of detail more than was actually there.

Also, credit where it's due; again, despite all the edginess and grimness that made me so against 06 for so long, it still did a decent job in this regard. Again, the Voya Nui Resistance Team is one of that year's saving graces, giving us a group of Matoran intrinsically tied to the new island to sort of fast-track insight into how things work there, both before and after the Piraka's takeover. Similarly, even if it's honestly pretty grindy and repetitive, the Voya Nui Online Game also helps with this, giving the island a consistent map with actual landmarks and stuff, again lending depth and detail about on par with the Metru Nui saga, give or take. On a similar note, before the downsizing hit, City Of The Lost was able to set up Mahri Nui in a similar way; even if it says something that there were fewer small sets for that year, that book still managed to give us a pretty solid cast of Matoran to be invested in along with setting up the Barraki, before most of them wound up getting shunted off into one of the serials.

But yeah, after that point they kinda stopped being relevant, and 2008 whiffed it hard with their Matoran. There were good ideas there, I at least found Gavla interesting as someone who embraced the transformation into a Shadow Matoran, but outside of a certain stupid fandom meme gone out of control, I couldn't tell you a thing about the other five or how they lived in Karda-Nui; the only real landmark there was the Codrex, and everything else fell to the wayside.

Another detour. If each major arc has a central theme or focus to it, I think it would be these. The original years would probably be Unity (duh, with all the arguing and making up the Mata/Nuva did, lol) and not so much mystery as something to be solved, but Unknowns. Lots of questions were raised, but few answered. Metru-Nui was structured around mystery in a more typical sense, each book raising a question with the answers driving the plot forward, and as I said in an older post, it was also about loss and exile. In a lot of ways Metru-Nui needed to fall, but the Toa Metru still lost everything familiar in that, before moving on to build something new and better on Mata Nui.

The Ignition Trilogy, in addition to finally answering a lot of the questions set up by prior years and even questions we didn't even realize were questions until now, (see the GSR reveal) is also about the inevitability of death, and the end of the world as we know it. Sure, they averted Mata Nui dying altogether, but nonetheless it took Matoro's sacrifice, and Makuta won the day in the end, completing his grand plan.

So if anything, it's because of that that I think the travelogue structure, exploring new locations with each new year, was the right move. The full scale and impact of all of this just wouldn't be felt at all, if the action had stayed focused up in Metru Nui the whole time; this truly felt like a vast, all-encompassing thing. But that's also why the lackluster development of some of those new locations and their inhabitants somewhat bugs me too; after all, if you're facing down the end of the world, wouldn't it be better to be invested in what you're losing?

[chirp-a-chirp]

Court of Darkness: Wedding Head Cannons (Toa and Guy)

Below are short stories of what I imagine Toa and Guy’s wedding would be like with the MC—MC’s name is Carla in all the stories. All stories take place after book one on the English server. (Not sure if these would follow cannon from the Japanese server...oops if they don’t).

I will be posting future wedding head cannons for the other princes as well.

Bonus: Within Guy and Toa’s stories, Roy and Fenn make appearances!

TOA

Toa, Carla, and Knight stand inside a greenhouse. Toa holds one of Carla’s hands and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, cold fingers lingering on her cheek.

“Carla, this is not what I imagined for this day for us, but—“

“Toa.” Carla wraps her free hand around his waist. “Don’t apologize. We have each other, now and always. That’s more than enough.” His heart constricts at her trust and love for him. He cannot help but want to touch her, to make sure he is not dreaming—his fingers trace her jawline, causing her to shiver.  

“As long as I have you, I shall not want more.” He lowers his head to kiss her. Knight quickly looks away with an embarrassed squeak.

Carla had never been truly accepted by the Qelsum court. Idina certainly had not. She came up with test after test for Carla to pass to prove her worthiness to be Toa’s paramour. His father was indifferent, thinking of Carla as nothing more than a bedwarmer for his heir; he allowed Idina’s trials, assuming Carla would prove her inability to the court soon enough. Toa knew Carla’s power could not be exposed to them yet as it could shake the foundations of Saligia (and, he had not been given permission from the Headmaster to do so). But he would not yield to his family’s demands. He would sacrifice anything to keep her at his side. So he would force their hand in a secret marriage.  

“I meant to ask earlier. Why did you want to get married here Toa?”

He sighs quietly, hoping what he says would make sense. “It’s complicated. From my earliest years, I was molded by countless tutors and my family for my future role as king, learning all topics pertaining to magic, politics, and manners. Often, I was scolded for being too soft, too weak. As punishment, I was locked out of the castle overnight numerous times.”

“That’s awful.” Carla’s eyes water; she nestles her head against Toa’s chest, holding him close.

“At the time I did not question it. I simply waited until the allotted time passed. Often, I came to this greenhouse to wait.”

“So wouldn’t this place hold bad memories for you then?”

��In many ways, yes. I was a lonely boy who craved respect and affirmation. That boy grew into a lonely man who demanded respect and perfection, until you came into my life.” Toa paused, and looked deeply into Carla’s eyes. “I wanted to replace those memories with something more precious; tell my younger self, the boy who waited all those hours in this greenhouse, that one day he would stand beside a woman worthy of love and worth defying his family for.”

“Toa…” Carla squeezes her arms around Toa. She looks up at him with a smile bordering on angelic. “Let’s make some new memories then.”  

Toa nods with conviction to Knight, who brings out a priest vetted to not be under the influence of his family. The priest says hesitantly, “We need two witnesses to make this wedding official. Where is your second?”

Knight had assured Toa the previous evening someone else would arrive. Knight looks up nervously and says, “You may be surprised who’s here.”

“Toa! Treasure!” Toa’s eyes widen in shock as Fenn jaunts in, cane twirling in hand. “I wouldn’t missing this event for anything!”

“Fenn,” Toa looks at Fenn and then Knight disapprovingly. “You are not allowed outside the Island.”

“It’s been approved by the Headmaster,” Knight said quickly. “I’m to accompany Fenn back to Colde immediately after the ceremony.”

“Knight would be in the way of your wedding night anyways. Or, maybe not?” Fenn laughs cheekily. He notes the glare on Toa’s face before continuing. “I suggested to Knight I come here. It may be beneficial for you to have a prince as a second witness.”

Toa ponders Fenn’s words. For all his frivolousness and frippery, Fenn is a keen observer of human nature and politics at large. It would be hard for his family to deny the validity of this marriage if it were backed up by another prince. And to his surprise, he could not imagine asking any of the other princes to be at his wedding besides Fenn. Maybe Lynt, but the tension behind this ceremony would make the peace seeking Akedian nervous.

Toa nods, grateful for Fenn’s insight.

“May I begin?” The priest asks.

“One more thing!” Fenn pulls a blue coved book from his satchel. He hands the book to Toa and Carla.

“It looks like a book from my favorite author,” murmurs Toa. “But it’s a book I am unfamiliar with.”

“I…am acquainted with the author.” Fenn smirks slightly. Toa and Carla did not know the romance books Toa loves are actually written by Fenn under a pen name. “I had a talk with him. Look inside.”

Carla turns the front cover and shows the first page to Toa. In it are the words “And they lived happily ever after.” The pages after that are blank.

“If any people deserve a happy ending, it’s you two.” Fenn drops his usual teasing tone. “How you achieve that ending is up to you. But this ceremony is the beginning of that story.” He pauses, and quirks his mouth. “I’m sure the author would agree with me.”

“Fenn,” Toa pauses, too moved to say anything.

“Thank you Fenn.” Carla touches Fenn’s shoulder.

“Now may I begin?” asks the priest.

“Please,” Toa and Carla say in unison.

“Here, here!” Knight cries.

“To the beginning of your new life.” Fenn smirks, taking the book from Carla’s hand. Unbeknownst to the couple, he starts writing in it, describing the ceremony. Knight looks questioningly at Fenn.

“Don’t worry, dear Knight. I won’t write about their wedding night. Well, not too much anyways.” He winks.  

GUY

Two weeks before his wedding, Guy sits in a luxurious chair in his room. Across from him on a settee sits Roy.

“How go your preparations for the wedding Master Guy?”

Guy grumbles and stares at the ground. “I do not comprehend her at times.”

Roy looks at Guy questioningly. “I am afraid I do not understand.”

“Everything is going as expected.” Jasper stands in front of a table and pours two cups of Avarian coffee. “But there are two pressing matters that Master Guy would ask your assistance with.”

“Gladly. How might I help?”

“As you know, the ceremony will be a traditional Avarian wedding held in front of the entire Avari court,” says Jasper smoothly. “But Miss Carla asked for one element from her realm to be incorporated into the ceremony.” Jasper smiles and looks at a scowling Guy. “She has asked that Master Guy write his own vows.”

“I can provide her anything she desires,” mutters Guy. “Buy her any object she seeks. But why ask this?”

Roy and Jasper share a smile. “I believe Miss Carla wishes to hear you declare your love for her,” says Roy. “That means more than anything you can obtain for her.” Roy pauses for a moment. “But how does that relate to my assistance?”

Guy stares at Roy, inarticulate. Finally, after a moment, he says “I do not know what she wants me to say Roy. Or how to do it in front of the court. Write my vows.”

Roy gasps quietly, shocked at the request. “You’re more capable at this kind of flowery speech than me,” Guy admits.

“With all due respect Master Guy, it is not my place to do so. Miss Carla wishes to hear your feelings for her, not my interpretation of them.” Guy scowls. “But,” Roy goes on, “I can help you write what is already in your heart.”

“Can you truly help with that?” Guy’s eyes flash with a bit of hope.  

“I will endeavor to meet your expectations.” Roy nods to Guy, taking a sip of coffee. “What was the second item?”

Jasper coughs. “At the ceremony, Aquia and Zev will be standing at the alter with Master Guy.” He looks to Guy, to see if he will make the request himself. Hearing nothing, Jasper continues. “He would like a third person to be there with him. You.”

Roy is shocked again. “Of, of course. I will be there as an Invidian representative.”

“No.” Guy cuts Roy off. “Not a representative. As my…” The words trail into an embarrassed silence. Roy’s cheeks turn pink, not knowing what Guy means.

Jasper quirks his mouth at the two princes. “After all these years, you still cannot say what you mean to one another.” He takes the empty coffee cup from Guy’s hand and looks intently at Roy. “Master Guy wants you at the ceremony. As his friend.”

Roy’s eyes are wide as saucers. He looks to Guy, expecting him to contradict his valet, or smirk at some unknown joke between them. Guy looks uncomfortably back at Roy. “Well, will you?” His voice falters slightly. Not a command, a request.

Roy nods, still in partial shock. “Yes, of course. As…your friend.” He smiles upon uttering the word friend. Guy inclines his head slightly. “Let us uncover what is in your heart for Miss Carla.”    

“Hmmmm,” grumbles Guy.

“Hopefully it’s more than just that,” quips Jasper.

…

Two weeks later, Guy stands in a finely tailored red and black suit at an alter besides Carla. The entire Avari court is in attendance. The priest pauses his grandiose speech.

“And now his Highness will speak vows written by his own hand.”

The crowd whispers in surprise. Personal vows have never been a part of Avari royal weddings. Despite the trepidation Guy feels in saying his vows, he fought his father and grandfather repeatedly for the right to say them. It was the one thing Carla requested. And she would have it.

Guy turns to Carla, holding her hands. He stares wide-eyed. She is breathtaking. No one can match the power of her beauty. He gulps before continuing.

“Carla, you are unlike any woman I know. You…” he pauses, eyes flashing quickly to his right. Behind him, standing tall are his brothers Aquia and Zev, and Roy. Roy, sensing Guy’s nerves, brings a hand to his face to ostensibly scratch his cheek. He hides his lips from the audience and mouths Go on, Master Guy. Roy winks and smiles.

So Roy is as impertinent as Jasper. Guy sighs ruefully. He turns back to Carla.

“You are exactly what Avari needs. What I need. You are wise, determined, and tireless. Your loyalty is unerring; your bravery is unquestioned. Reckless you are, Carla. But even that I love about you. Anyone who questions you and your place by my side will have to answer to me.” He tears his eyes from Carla and looks to the crowd, staring daggers at several courtiers who have made Carla’s life less than pleasant. He turns back to Carla, and places a hand on her cheek.

“I could never love another as I love you. You glitter more than any Avarian jewel. You consume me and my thoughts. I will spend the rest of my life becoming worthy of you.”

Carla holds back tears. She puts a hand over the hand on her cheek. She whispers so the crowd cannot hear her.

“I love you too Guy. You consume my thoughts as well.”

Guy smiles and says quietly. “Good. I’ll ensure your thoughts are all on me tonight.”

Carla blushes but retorts, “Not if I consume yours first.”  

[drvrslcense]

devils roll the dice (angels roll their eyes)

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pairing: leo valdez x daughter of athena! reader

summary: you and leo are dared to skinny dip, what happens if your friends run away with your clothes?

warnings: skinny dipping (a bit of nudity), a few curses, mentions of sex (but not really?) - let me know if you see other ones!

notes: request; this takes place years after the events of hoo (toa never happened)

read this fic in ao3!

Leo Valdez is seriously annoying.

The way he smiles as if everything’s okay and his anger is not something you’re feeling like waves hitting you over and over - it’s just annoying. Why can’t he just get it over with and explode in front of you, use his fire powers and all?

With a scoff, you shook your head, averting your gaze from the curly-haired boy to the campfire in front of you.

Truthfully, this event was supposed to be just the seven - Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Leo. Percy invited you to enjoy this night with his friends. He found you earlier by this beach, kicking sand, and muttering how much Leo Valdez just pissed you off. And he just had the audacity to invite you to an event, saying Leo won’t be here. But here he is - grinning as he was roasting a marshmallow over the fire.

“So, Leo,” Percy turned to Leo. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” he grinned.

You saw Percy look at you, smiling, like a monkey who finally grabbed the banana from the tree. "Go skinny dipping with Y/N."

"What!?" I'm sorry, but were you just dragged into something that doesn't even include you? "No. I'm not skinny dipping, especially not with him."

"Wow," Leo said, standing up. "Way to hurt my feelings, Y/N."

"Like you have one," you rolled your eyes.

"So, are you doing this or not?" Leo questioned you, already raising an arm to remove his shirt.

"No, I'm not," you crossed your arms over your chest.

"Your loss," Leo shrugged, shirtless. Your eyes scanned over his body. Realizing what you were doing, you averted your gaze from him into the campfire. "Like what you were seeing?"

You can just feel him smirking across from you. "It's not even my dare, how do I lose?"

"It's a dare and you're involved so get on with it," Percy waved his hand dismissively, smiling mischievously as he took a sip of his blue coke.

"Do they really have to be naked?" Thank the Gods for your sister, Annabeth.

"Yeah," Jason echoed. "We're all going to be scarred forever when Leo goes buck naked."

"Fine," Percy sighed in defeat. "You can keep your underwear."

They all looked at Leo expectantly, who raised his hands up. "Oh no, I'm not doing it if Y/N won't."

"It's your dare, Valdez."

"Yeah, and?"

"It's not mine."

"But Percy said I have to do it with you."

"Ugh," you huffed, standing up to remove your clothing. "I hate you."

"Well, I don't exactly like you either," Leo quipped, unbuckling his pants.

You turned around, raising your arms over your head as you removed your shirt, revealing your balconette bikini top in Victorian blue. The matching bikini was a gift from Piper on your birthday last September. This is only the first time you wore this, but under a white cropped top and denim jeans, thinking you won't have to swim as it is mid-winter in New York.

Unfortunately, Percy is a pain in the ass and dared Leo to go skinny dipping with you.

Annabeth handed you a beach towel you wrapped yourself in. Despite the camp's borders protecting you from extreme weather, the air was still chilly, and it sent a shiver down your spine as it hit you.

You turned around and saw that Leo had the matching blue and floral printed towel wrapped around his waist. "Let's just get this over with."

You walked over towards the edge where the waves meet the sun, leaving Leo to catch up to you. "So, how are we doing this?"

"You just don't think," is what you answered as you threw your towel somewhere behind you, diving into the open beach and swimming as far as you can.

As soon as the cold catches up to you, you stand up; the water reaching your chin. You saw Leo standing still at the edge, looking stunned. "What are you waiting for, you elf?"

Leo only shook his head and followed you. You waited a few moments, looking around the vast ocean, with chattering teeth and ragged breaths. In mid-December, the water current felt like icicles hitting your body over and over in different places. You couldn’t wait to get back out on the shore and sit by the fire for warmth.

You feel something tug at your ankle, pulling you deeper. As you struggled to stay afloat, you kicked whatever it was, deciding ultimately more on your own survival than the welfare of some random sea creature. But it wasn't a random sea creature. Instead, it was Leo, holding a bloody nose as he surfaced beside.

"Fuck you, Y/N," he held his nose, ducking his head a few times to stop the bleeding.

"That's what you get," you shrugged, waving your arms to keep yourself afloat.

"Ugh," Leo groaned. "CAN WE GO BACK NOW?"

"Geez," you covered your ears. "You didn't have to yell that loud."

"YES," you heard Percy yell back, his voice like waves echoing throughout the ocean.

You looked at the campfire, only that it was like a dot of orange in the distance. Your friends were like moving shadows in the distance, dimly lit by the moonlight.

"Come on," Leo started swimming back towards the shore once his nose had slowed down its bleeding. You followed him, careful not to swim too fast and make your head squeeze tighter than it already was. As you surfaced on the edge, you saw Leo yell and tried to run after Percy, who was holding your clothes. “Hey! Get back here.”

Instead of answering, Percy just laughed and ran away towards the parking lot. Leo chased after him.

You stood up, shivering as the chilly air hit you, grabbing your towel and wrapping yourself with it. Instead of running after Leo, you took a seat in front of the fire, with your arm reached out and dangerously close to the flames. Who could blame you for wanting to feel some warmth?

“You could get burned,” Leo commented, making you look at him in surprise. You thought he was with Percy grabbing his clothes, but there he stood, wearing a towel wrapped around his waist. Your eyes dangerously drift down towards his collarbone, but you shook your head, focusing your gaze on the dancing flames in front of you.

“At least I could be warm,” is what you told him as your fingers still dance dangerously close to the flames.

“Here,” Leo offered you a hand, and you stared as if it was the most disgusting thing you ever saw. To be honest, it wasn’t disgusting. You noticed his fingers were long and slender and smooth - no calluses in sight. It must be a benefit from producing flames.

“What do I do with it?”

“Hold it.”

“No.”

“Your loss,” he shrugged, taking a seat across from you.

“So, where’s Percy?” You asked him.

“Gone,” he sighed, running his fingers through his curls. “They said we should work everything out and they’ll come to fetch us in the morning.”

Unbelievable. Still, what they had done didn't surprise you. It was like them to do something like this, you should have seen it coming. Instead, the temptation for a good time blinded you.

“Go on,” you told him. “Yell at me.”

“What?” Leo said in disbelief. “What do you want me to yell at you?”

“I don’t know,” you told him, shrugging. “What were you saying about me after we met?”

“I wasn’t saying anything about you,” Leo answered defensively.

“You so were,” you rolled your eyes.

“Really?” Leo scoffed, crossing his arms. “What was I saying then?”

“That I was rude,” you answered him, sitting up straight.

“That’s true,” Leo agreed. “You were rude. And you are being rude now.”

“Well, excuse me if I was being rude,” You laughed humorlessly. “I was busy and stressed that day. I was being chased by monsters all day until Grover and Percy found me, and I was tired."

“But that doesn’t excuse you from being such a jerk at camp,” Leo argued.

“Sorry I wasn’t feeling bright and cheery as you,” you retorted. “Gosh, you were annoying.”

“You think I was annoying?” Leo asked, offended.

“You were!” You stood up, clenching the towel that was wrapped around you. “You came in all Mr. Smiley Pants, greeting me with a cheer, and then you introduced yourself and told me your life story when I’m exhausted. Gods, Leo, I just wanted to rest that day.”

“But you didn’t have to be so rude about it,” Leo stood up too, walking to stand in front of you. If he thought he was towering over you, he was not. He was only a few inches above you, not even intimidating you with his height.

“What’s rude about ‘stop, I want to rest’ when you were all there smiling and I was a bleeding mess with monster cuts on my arms?” You fumed. “Not to mention, you were telling me that time you and your beloved Festus had to stop at a gas station.”

“And what’s wrong about that?” Leo raised his arms in frustration. “Festus was hungry, and I was out of Tabasco, so we had to take a quick stop at the nearest gas station for some motor oil.”

“Okay, you were out of Tabasco sauce,” You raised your free hand in surrender. “But is that necessary for a girl to hear when she’s bleeding out?”

“Oh, would you want me to tell you the story of how my parents conceived me?” Leo retorted. “Because I’ll gladly tell you! My mommy and my daddy-.”

“I want you to stop!” You yelled at him, getting so dangerously close to his face. Leo seriously frustrated you to no end. He can’t just keep his mouth shut. “I want you to stop talking for a long time. Maybe then, I could work everything out by myself and leave you here.”

“And what?” Leo taunted. “Face the woods alone? Ooh, too bad, Y/N, you could get killed.”

“I’ll gladly take that chance,” you said through gritted teeth. “Than be here with you.”

“Wow,” Leo feigned hurt, putting a hand above his heart. “Another girl who’d rather be killed than be with me. Only this time, I didn’t ask her out.”

“What, do you want me to ask you out?” The words that rolled out of your mouth surprised you more than they did to Leo, who looked at you with wide eyes. You felt your heart pounding in your chest, unable to think of anything to follow up on your previous statement.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think that you actually like me,” Leo said slowly, a lopsided grin forming on his face as he crossed his arms.

“Please,” you shivered as a strong chilly wind came, knocking you off of your stern demeanor. Leo grinned at this, knowing he had the upper hand in the situation as he didn’t once shiver from the cold. “You don’t know any better than a coked-up 2-year-old.”

“Oh, really?” Leo’s eyebrow shot up as if what you said was a challenge to him. “I know you’re cold right now.”

“Of course, it’s mid-December,” You threw your free hand in the air, turning back around to sit in front of the fire again. All this arguing with Leo has put you away from the campfire and near to the ocean, as you could feel the cold rushing winds more than the warmth of the fire. “It should be cold.”

“Way to point that out, you genius,” Leo followed you as you sat, taking a seat beside you. It was far enough so that your hands wouldn’t reach him in case you wanted to strangle him, but near enough in case you burned your hand and he had to help you.

You were still shivering even as you sat in silence in front of the fire. Leo was probably not helping the case as he kept getting awed by his own breath forming smoke in front of him.

“Could you please stop?” You said through shaky breaths.

“Here, take my hand,” Leo once again offered his hand. “Come on, I won’t bite. Can’t you feel the warmth radiating off of me?”

Out of options for warmth, you hesitantly reached out, your hand hovering above his, trying to feel any sort of warmth. Then you felt it. That rush of slight heat entered your skin and buried itself there. It felt much like holding a warm cup on a chilly day,

You took his hand, gripping it just to feel any warmth. It must have been a pretty uncomfortable position as both of your hands were stretched out, but you didn’t care as you could feel something other than the cold air around you.

You closed your eyes for a moment, trying so hard not to think about the fact that you were mad at him earlier and now you were holding his hand for warmth. You felt him scoot a little closer to you, as he pulled your hand a bit and felt him shift. You opened your eyes and narrowed it at him. “Sorry, my hand’s getting sore.” You sighed and just let him sit closer than the two of you intended.

You didn’t know how, but you didn’t fight the feeling of wanting to feel more warmth as you scooted closer to him - dangerously close, almost shoulder to shoulder. You let out a sigh as the warmth coming from him intensified a bit, as you laid your head above his shoulder. You didn't know why, but he didn’t make a move to push you away, not even a bit as he relaxed and laid his head on top of yours.

“Pipes, quick, grab a camera,” you heard Percy loudly whisper. It must have been morning as you hear birds chirping instead of crickets. The harsh sunlight met your hazel eyes as you opened them, making you immediately squint.

You heard a flash go off, and Piper’s voice rang out. “Oops. Sorry, my bad.”

“Whoever’s there should just get away,” you grumbled, snuggling against what’s beside you. Despite the harsh sunlight, your eyes flung open and quickly stood up, making your head spin, as you realized what - or who, for the matter - you’re snuggling. You stumbled as you clutched your head in dizziness.

“Careful there,” Jason gripped your arm, steadying you.

“What,” Leo groggily said, just waking up. “What happened?”

“We fell asleep, you idiot,” You threw a flip-flop at him. “It’s morning.”

“Oh,” Leo rubbed the spot where you hit him. “Oh, hey, guys.”

“Hey,” Percy greeted him with a smile. “Looks like you had quite a night, huh?”

“More like it,” Leo lazily smiled at you through squinting eyes.

Despite everything in you screaming to deny everything, you smiled at him. “Yeah. It was nice.”

[fill-me-with-your-memes-daddy]

Watching the Rise of the Titans movie and I'll be documenting all of my thoughts/reactions here. [Spoiler Warning]

So instead of reblogging every new update, I'm just going to have this post up on my phone as I watch and type my reactions in a bullet list format.

Nari's human disguise is so cute. As someone who does have a cottagecore aesthetic, I want to cosplay her so bad

Are Skrael and/or Belroc non-binary coded? Regardless, I'm also obsessed and I want to fuck Skrael and be Belroc.

STEVE CARING ABOUT JIM BEING HURT YESSSS!!! My god his redemption has probably been one of the greatest there is because he doesn't just suddenly go from being a bully to a completely good person. You can see the gradual shift in learning better throughout the shows which is awesome.

IN NEW YOOOOOOORRRRRRRK!!!!!! CONCRETE JUNGLE WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE OFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!

The mugshot montage reminded me of season 1 of trollhunters when toby and Jim were arrested at the museum.

STRICKLER PUT A RING ON IT??? HE'S THE ONLY DILF IVE EVER ACTUALLY AGREED WAS HOT WYM I CAN'T HAVE HIM??? well I'm still really happy about his arc over the series probably one of my favorite character growths.

Eli my guy got his growth spurt!!! As an 18 year old who is still 5'0", I'm happy but envious for him

So I went into this movie without watching any trailers or promo, but I doubt anything could have prepared me for the existence of mpreg. In fact, I wasn't going to document my reactions until I saw that.

NAMURA!!!!!!!!! MY BELOVED!!!!!! I CAN STILL THIRST FOR YOU WITHOUT GUILT

The coach teacher just called the kids zoomers so I have to dock one point from my final rating just because of that. Unforgivable

Those husky animation models suck lmao

Oh fuck the titans got power ranger zords!!

God why did they include the mpreg??? This movie would have been perfect without it.... After that plot point being revisited only one time I'm already beyond done with it

Like it's bringing me back to the v*ltron days where they're was a suspiciously high amount of klance omegaverse and mpreg fics and art created and it physically hurts because Steve and Keith's voice actor is the same person meaning this is especially cursed to me since I was unfortunately in the v*ltron fandom and remember all of that

But like on another note, how old are these characters again??? I haven't checked any wikis because of spoilers but is Steve an adult??? I know aja might be technically a lot older than 18 because alien but is whatever age she is equivalent to an adult as far as emotionally and physically in Akaridion development??? IS THIS A TEEN (M)PREGNANCY IN A KIDS SHOW????

Like bruh I saw a singular post on here before going into the movie that was like "rott spoilers without context" and there was a pregnant belly but I was absolutely not expecting the actual context of it. I'll find the post after I finish and edit this post to tag the creator right here: @makoden

This entire post is just gonna be me ranting about mpreg huh

Anyway I love the whole roundtable allusion to the legends of king arthur (not the toa version but the one he's based off)

THERE'S 3 TO 5 BABIES????? I need to take a break bruh this is just too much

Alright I've taken a 30 minute break got some food and did some things i love (decompressed by tactile stimming with some owl plushies and watched some videos on my favorite owl, Garu. He lives in Japan with his owner and is a domesticated eagle owl who basically just acts like a sky cat. If anyone else needs some eye bleach, here is their YouTube channel)

Blinky and ARRRGHHH!!! saying their "if one of us doesn't make it" talk my god one of them is going to die I can see it and I will be utterly crushed. Jim can't lose another father figure and Toby can't lose his wingman again I will riot if this happens

On a similar but unrelated to the movie note, can we just talk about how toa started with Jim having 0 dads and (if strickler and blinky live to the end) will end with 2 dads? Like I just really feel happy for him that he has two dads who actually figured out how to put the past behind them to not have any infighting between them so that both of them are healthy father figures. Jim has already been through literal hell and back losing his actual humanity in the process so if he loses one of them, I'm going to be really pissed because at this point, this is just Jim torture porn. Y'all know how as SpongeBob SquarePants went on, the show just became Squidward torture porn? It's starting to feel that way for toa and I really hope they cut the shit by the ending

Jlaire is such a good ship but like I feel like it's too perfect they never disagree with each other

YESSSSSSS Someone finally doesn't treat toby like a fat waste of space who messes stuff up!!! I think out of all the characters that would have been most deserving of a rewrite, it's Toby. Sometimes I just feel he's only comic relief and any heartfelt moments he's had in the series was also born of stupidity (ie his flour baby project being unharmed was seen by him as divine intervention from his parents but was actually just Eli and Steve behind the scenes).

Ohhhhh yesssssss Archie's father!!! I was hoping I'd see him again because we got so little of him last

Ooooooooooh Asian trollmarket!!!!!

Oh never mind slavery trollmarket

Bruh titanic camelot

I feel like we're not seeing enough of the villains because I completely forgot about the power ranger zord things

NAMORA NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MY LAST CRUSHHHH

STRICKLER NO NOT YOU TOO PLEASE

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE ONLY TWO CHARACTERS I SIMP FOR ON THIS SHOW DIED WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF EACH OTHER

THAT WHOLE ASS RANT I WROTE IS COMING TRUE FUCK THIS MOVIE THIS SERIES IS JUST JIM TORTURE PORN

WAIT JIM'S SPERM DONOR INFO?

Oh thank God I don't want to know anything about that person

For the record, I call that man Jim's sperm donor because he has no business being called a father to him. All he did was donate some swimmers to the creation of him and give him abandonment issues

Oh another blind troll elder???? This fucker is just if vendel was a bad guy

Bruh I was grieving

PACIFIC RIM WITH GUN ROBOT VEX AND THE BELROCZORD? I've never seen that movie but I know the reference

Bruh Blinky doesn't read horoscopes? Does he realize conspiracy theories are just the manly version of horoscopes?

NO DON'T KILL VEX STOP KO-ING FOUND FAMILY MEMBERS

Oh thank God he's okay

NO NOT ARCHIE AND CHARLEMAGNE OH MY GOD

oh never mind they're just gonna coup de tat I believe in them :))

But I want to see him again

But I'm glad to see vex

Yay they're in arcadia!

But yeah I wondered why the trolls and Merlin didn't keep the whole "daylight doesn't hurt trolls" feature from the eternal night but now Guillermo del Toro I see you were playing the long con in that just to kill my girl Namora :(((

Oooooh I love the animation of the Narizord over Chihuahua!! It looks very good and realistic (if only they could have put some of that into those huskies from before smh)

Bruh the character designs of the arcane order are so good I want to be them

Nari making sure the Skraelzord doesn't crush the bus

DAMN DOUBLE HOMICIDE

Bruh I'm just glad we finally have an answer on why arcadia had everything going on as opposed to literally anywhere else!! I always found that as a weird coincidence for plot convince.

BRUH WERE BACK TO THE MPREG IM SO JEALOUS I FORGOT ABOUT THAT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS BECAUSE I WAS GRIEVING THE LOSS OF MY LOVELIES.

Oh that's real convenient that the ninth configuration meant all of them. Way to not decide which character gets more attention. Though it probably was a smart way to not have any infighting in the fandom between each character's stan group.

Bruh I just realized where is Barbera did they just ditch her on the Camelot ship???

And where are the other trolls that migrated at the end of trollhunters s3? They said something about new jersey but obviously Jim and the other main characters got on Camelot instead.... This feels like a plot hole

And we never learned the process of how changelings are made and bonded to humans and stuff. We just know it's super painful but I'm curious ffs!!!!

THE DONT THINK BECOME HERO SPEECH ALL SAID TOGETHER!!!

BRUH THEY REALLY HAD TO SHOW HIM GIVING BIRTH??????? WAS THAT AN ABSOLUTE MUST??????

Plus the main audience for this series is little children (the rating for the movie is literally TV-Y7) so even though my adult ass is not in the target audience, I STILL DONT UNDERSTAND WHY WOULD MPREG AND ANAL BIRTH WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT THING TO 7 YEAR OLDS???? THIS IS A LITERAL FETISH HIDDEN IN KIDS CONTENT ITS ELSAGATE ALL OVER AGAIN Y'ALL 😭😭😭😭😭

Though it's probably hypocritical of me to think fetishes don't belong in kids tv when I've openly admitted to thirsting for strickler and namora

HUZZAH

NEW AMULET WAZ GOOD????

STAB THAT BITCH JIM

WAIT NO I SAID STAB NOT GET STABBED

Alright good job just missed the directions at first but you fixed it

SEVEN KIDS?????????

T O B Y ????????????

W A I T NO

N O

IS HE ACTUALLY

OH MY GOD THERE'S HOPE

NO THERE ISN'T

F U C K THIS SHIT THEY REALLY JUST HAD HIM TO BE BULLIED THEN KILLED

Y'ALL IM ACTUALLY CRYING THIS NEVER HAPPENS

I NEVER ACTUALLY GET SO EMOTIONAL OVER MEDIA THAT I CRY IT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE AT THE END OF VOLTRON BUT AHHHHHHHH

W A I T

HE'S GONNA BE BROUGHT BACK?????

HOLD UP THEY'RE JUST GONNA BRING ALL THOSE DEAD PEOPLE BACK??????

WAIT IS HE

BLINKY CALLED HIM A SON

HOLD ON IS THIS GOING TO BE A CLIFFHANGER???????????

BRUH THEY REALLY JUST CAN'T END THE SERIES WITHOUT CLIFFHANGERS like there's always an open ending

TROLLHUNTER TOBY????? You know what forget the whole rants I had on how toby was written they just redeemed it all

And that's all! I'd rate it a 6.5/10 because it's definitely the weakest of all the sequels but still had amazing animation and some good plot points. It's just really hard to look over the bad stuff enough to rate it any higher.

[tiredspacedragon]

Happy FUCKING 810NICLE Day, y'all! I've got a lot of stuff I want to post today, so I'm getting started at the end. Have some Stars revamps. Or, total redesigns, really. Built from scratch in a set-plausible design intended to stick as closely to their original looks as possible while still fitting into the scale and aesthetics of Bionicle's later years.

Tahu was designed as a hybrid between his original Toa Mata appearance and the aesthetics of the Adaptive Nuva. He's an Inika build, representing that the Adaptive Armour is (partially) active, but has the slimmer silhouette of his Mata days (Plus a back gear, if you can believe it. It's not visible in any of these pictures, but it's there. Doesn't do anything, but it's a fun little decoration). I wish I could have given him fully orange limbs to match the set better, but the red hardly looks bad. I'm particularly proud of how I managed to incorporate the Stars armour pieces on the larger build, especially since it means I can do...

...this. All six of the original Golden Armour pieces still fit perfectly onto this Tahu, though I've taken the liberty of swapping out the shield for a bigger, more practical piece. He's very shiny.

Gresh has slimmed down a lot since his days as a Glatorian. In-story, I imagine this would be a result of ditching the ornamental, overly showy armour worn by most Glatorian in favour of lighter, more effective combat gear that compliments his new Air powers. Like Tahu, I was able to carry over his Stars set armour, though not quite as elegantly. He's a bit of a stick figure, but I still love him, especially since he's the only one of the six whose colour layout is basically exactly the same as his official set, part for part, with the exception of a black neck.

2010 Takanuva is supposed to be the Toa of Light in his normal form, just with his colours altered to camouflage himself as a Toa of Ice to avoid drawing attention to himself. So, here he is scaled up into a Metru build to keep him at the proper size. I didn't feel like painting anything here, so his torso's colours are off, but I can't say I care that much. He also has a working gear function, sooo...bonus!

Also, I don't know about anyone else, but I always thought it was ridiculous that Takanuva would discard his Power Lance, an amazing tool that not only channeled his powers, but also amplified them, in favour of the Twin Light Staffs, which do nothing of note except exist as a pair. So, have this headcanon: At some point during the reign of Teridax, Takanuva's Power Lance was broken. Unwilling to surrender the advantage the tool gave him, Takanuva fashioned the broken pieces of the lance into the Twin Light Staffs, specifically opting for two as a nod to the twin Power Swords traditionally wielded by Av-Matoran. Thus is the thought process for using Air Sabers as the heads of his staffs in this revamp.

Nektann is a Piraka build. And that's about it. I kept his hands, feer, and weapon from his set form, and slapped 'em on a basic Skakdi body. Took a bit of work to get his head on, but nothing too wild. After that, it was just a matter of attaching his spines to his back and arms and he was done. Technically, Nektann is supposed to be larger than the average Skakdi, but I haven't figured out a way to make that look good as of yet, so this is all I've got for him, for now.

Also, in the realm of revamps that are just tweaks to existing sets, have Winter 2009's Skrall, now in lime green and without a shield. New feet though! Yeah, this one isn't terribly creative on my part, but it is what the figure should look like, canonically speaking, and that's what I was going for, so I'm satisfied.

At least this guy gets the satisfaction of being the only one of the bunch with a launcher.

And finally, the Rahkshi of Heat Vision, alternatively and unofficially known as Zirahk. The Rahkshi design, oddly enough, was not difficult to translate into Inika scale at all, thanks to the pieces of the Stars set. The neck plugs into the front of an Inika torso with ease and the spine attaches to the back just as easily. There's even enough room to wedge a little Kraata of Heat Vision in there. I'm still amazed I have one of those. Anyway, the big challenge here was the size. Did you know Rahkshi are supposed to be 9 FEET TALL?? Because I found that out only recently. Naturally, a stubby little Rahkshi was't gonna cut it, I had to make this lad TOL.

And as you can see, it's still too small! As is, Zirahk is taller than an average Inika build; not quite as much as it should be, but it's as good as it's gonna get, methinks.

And to close, another group shot. Once again, happy 810 everybody. More to come.

[goldensart]

One of the things I was always curious to see more after the toyline’s end was how the MU inhabitants would adapt to Spherus Magna. It was such an interesting concept to have a completely different lifestyle. The ones that would be most interesting would be the Turaga. I mean, they are leaders, but now there is a much bigger world to cover, so I had some ideas of what would each of them be doing.

Vakama: One of the easiest to make, in my opinion. He’s a leader, a guide, but he’s also a storyteller, and now he has 2 species worth of new audience memebers to tell his stories to. Not to mention that, now that they don’t live in a barren wasteland, both Glatorian and Agori have started to have more babies, which means he constantly has new generations eager to hear his stories. He also keeps active as a leader, being a calm guide others go to when needing  guidance. He’s also a reliable Turaga that makes other leaders, like Raanu, calm and hopeful about the future of their tribes. Still,  within him, the heart of a craftsman still lingers, and while some of his siblings might tell him its a waste of time, every now and then a suspiciously high quality kanohi shows up in the warehouse. 

Nokama: Calm and serene, yet strong, Nokama still guides any villagers that prefer to live near bodies of water. The most spiritual of the 6, she attracts those who seek knowledge. Being once a teacher, she takes this with stride, as with their civilization being a union of various different cultures, there is a lot to teach, both from the old worlds of Bara Magan and the MU, and from the newly reformed Spherus Magna. Few things make her happier than the expression of awe her students have when she explains a new concept. Seeing the flame of curiosity light up in their eyes makes it all worth it. Still, old habits die hard, and stubborn is as stubborn those, so new students are advised to behave, lest they get a stern lecture.

Matau: Easily the most easygoing of them all, to the point some wonder if he should be considered a leader at all. Luckily, he is more than capable. With Spherus Magana being safer than Le-wahi, his security-related responsibilities are greatly lessened, meaning he has more free time, to the detriment of others. Be it pushing for the developement of crazier and crazier vehicles, or playing pranks on other leaders, he always has the time for a laugh, which makes him quite popular with the younger Agori, Glatorian and Matoran. Some might say this makes him a bad influence on them, but his easygoing demeanor means  that whenever a villager needs advice, but considers their problems to unimportant for the other leaders, they got to Matau, knowing that, be it a scolding or reassurance, he will tell them what they need to hear, and make them laugh with every word. He walso has an amazing singing voice.

Onewa: Basically a blessing in the early days of the new village, his skill in moderating arguments made sure the union of cultures went as smooth as possible. This skill continues to this day, acting as a judge between disputes. He is so succesfull some joke he could have stopped the Core War had he just sat down with the elemental Lords to talk it out. He also keeps the culture of sports alive in the new village. Organizing leagues between Matoran, Agori, Glatorian, and even Toa (sometimes even mixed teams), and making sure the games are all fair. Be it Kolhii, Akilini, or even the gladiatorial matches the Agori and Glaotrian insisted be kept, though now way less lethal, if there is a sport to be played, Onewa will make sure it is played fairly. Also known for making amazing sculptures that go for thousands of widgets. That said, stone is not easily changed, and his anger still lingers beneath. Those unfortunate enough to have provoced it say that while his judgement skill could’ve stopped the Core War, they also say that even the Great Beings couldn’t stop his anger.

Whenua: While all the Turaga were happy to lead their people, his joy when arriving to Spherus Magna was compared to a Muaka in a Rahkshi den. Still a leader and guardian to his people, Whenua’s calling was to uncover and catalogue as many of the secrets of Spherus Magna’s spast as possible. Quickly organizing and bulding what is now called the Archives Museum, which eventually grew bigger than even Metru Nui’s Colusseum, he led similar-minded individuals in the search of memories from the distant past. From the earliest tools made of exsidian, to the first recorded conflinct, long before the Core war, he uncovered hundreds of memories the planet itself had forgotten. One of his proudest moments was the discovery of a bone that was incrdibly old, something that didin’t exists in the entirety of the MU; a fossil. With energy he hadn’t had since he first transformed into a Toa, Whenua led teams and organized dig sites, uncovering thousands of bones and stories. And as a Turaga of earth, it was easy. The earth spoke to him, telling him its memories, of when had the bones joined it. Whenua was able to date them to the dacade. He created an incredibly complete fossil record, uncovering evolutionary lineages, making discovery after discovery. Amongst his favourites were the fact that the rock steeds are distantly related to the creatures of Bota Magna, pinpointing the moment in time when the common ancestor of both the Agorit and the Glatorian first divided into groups that would become the species, the moment were the Skrall had evolved so much they could be considered a new species. From the evolution of species, to relics of civilizations older than the agori, whenua’s Museum held knowledge of everything the past could give. And the inhabitants of the mega-city knew who to go with when having questions, for Whenua was the speaker of the past, and the past is the best teacher one could have.

Nuju: Guiding those who preferred colder places, Nuju kept his mannerisms and character. Still speaking only in the language of birds, though thankfully appointing a translator, Nuju continued to look for any signs of what the future might hold. From star-gazing, to bird-watching, Nuju became an expert in predicting things like storms migrations, and even an armed conflict or two. Population movement, air pressure, for those who paid attention, the future was an open book. Still, while he kept the horizon on sight, his eyes were firmly on his people, looking for the future, but never forgetting about the present. Using his knowledge, he warned and prepared for hardships to come, saving countless lives. This skill made him popular with tribe members anxious about the future, many coming to him asking what to expect. His answer, while found unsatisfactory by some, was what many of them needed; “I can’t tell you how the future will go, all I can do is prepare myself for it as best as I can, and to take it when it comes”

Dume: The least joyful arriving on Spherus Magan, Dume had no interest in knowledge, teaching or stories, for him, only one thing mattered, the safety of his people. For thousands of years he had kept the city of Metru Nui safe, and this one would not be different. Still, he only had failed his city once, and that was a wound he would never forget. When ruling Metru Nui, he had kept his distance from his people so, when he was replaced by Makuta, nobody was close enough to him to notice. And so, the tyrant had free rign over his city, eventually leading to its doom. He wouldn’t fail his new city that way. His distance had given him the strenght to protect his city, but it had also been its downfall. And, while he now had 6 Turaga and other tribe leaders to rule beside him, one could never be too cautious. Organizing extreme security measures; passwords, secret codes, etc. Dume made sure he would never be replaced again, and if he were, it would be instantly obvious. He even kept a few bodyguards close to him and, while never becoming close enough to be called friends, it was the closest he had being to another beign since his Toa team. And this worked, as any time his people were threatened, Dume faced the threat with a will that would make a Toa of Iron blush. No matter the enemy, no matter the danger, Dume stood fast. This gained him a reputation , both with his people and his enemies. Rumors spread about him, some said he was once a Toa of iron that had willed himself tthrough a furnace and came out a Toa of fire, other said that he had stared down the Shadowed One himself. His reputation amongst his enemies was no less impressive, Skraall, Bone Hunters and Dark Hunters alike spoke in hushed tones about the “Red Judge”, who would command a legion of Toa to capture anyone who disrupted his peace,never to be seen again. Others claiming him to be a Toa, a Makuta, or even a Great Beign in disguise. Dume never cared for any of these rumors, all he cared was that his people were safe. 

[summerbummin]

Headcanons about Apollo and his former lovers from TOA

Naomi Solace 🎤

-Her and Apollo met when she was singing at a dive bar, he bought her a drink and they had a whirlwind summer fling

-They loved hitting up karaoke bars together and wowing everyone with their singing talent

-She really liked Apollo’s car and they’d did a lot of things in there (including conceiving Will lmao)

-One time when they were making out Naomi climbed into Apollo’s seat and her butt accidentally hit the steering wheel and HOOONK

-They jolted in surprise, then delved into hysterics, anything they had going on dying down as they laid their heads against each other’s shoulders and laughed so hard their ribs hurt, until Apollo suggested they used the back seat and things got going again lol

-Once Naomi said Jesus Christ in like response to smth, Apollo replied actually I’m Phoebus Apollo and Naomi was like what? And Apollo was like whaaaaat and Naomi just moved on bc she had other things to deal with lol

-Apollo ended up saying goodbye and leaving at the end of summer and a few weeks after he left Naomi realized she was pregnant and was like well shit

-She’s from the south and people there can be p judgmental about pregnancies outside of marriage, but Naomi never let them get her down, she actually met this great support group of women who helped her out and are still good friends even now

-Apollo eased her labor pains when she was giving birth to Will (and that’s why the kid has such good medical powers), but Apollo disguised himself as a nurse, not wanting to stress her out because the ex who she thought had no idea abt the baby was here, with her, holding her hand while she was gave birth

-Naomi brings Will up with love and kindness and she just wants the best for her sweet boy, but she gets concerned when Will talks about some weird things he saw at school and he gets pegged as the “weird kid” and is picked on by his classmates as a result

-Naomi would’ve fought those kids but Will told her it was fine, mama! His stuffed animals were his friends

-Will loved those stuffed animals and got really attached to them, so Naomi taught him how to sow them up when they started fraying and that’s the first thing that made Will want to be a doctor (when Will told his siblings this story they started calling him Doc McStuffins lol)

-Apollo didn’t tell Naomi he was a god and she didn’t find out until Apollo sent a satyr to bring Will to camp once he was old enough

-Realizing she had a fling with a greek god was a bit of a shock but Naomi dealt with it gracefully and gave Will the biggest hug before he left, making him promise to be safe and write to her as soon as he got to camp

-Naomi’s career as a country alt singer got a lot more successful after her whole thing with Apollo because he put a blessing on her, her voice was beautiful she just needed help getting noticed so Apollo nudged some influential people in the music industry towards her on his way out (he kinda felt bad about leaving so abruptly, even if it was just a fling, he tries to make it up to his ex-lovers with things like this)

-Naomi actually ends up writing a sad country love song about Apollo after he left, she titled it Suburn, not knowing how fitting the title is until years later, it becomes one of her most popular songs

-Naomi travels a lot for her career, touring around Texas and some nearby states, and that’s why Will stays at camp year round, but they write to each other frequently and love each other sm

-Naomi doesn’t date much since she’s always busy with her career and traveling, she’s just not ready to settle down yet, she’s happy living as a free spirit and a single mom with a wonderful son

-Naomi is 100% supportive of Will’s sexuality and loves Nico to bits (Nico is a little awkward around her at first bc he’s not used to affection lol)

-She tells Nico stories abt Will when he was a kid, whipping out photo albums and everything and Will is like mom s t a h p ur embarrassing me in front of my bf and Nico is reveling in how red his face gets

Latricia Lake 🎶

-she met Apollo when he was posing as a street performer for fun on the streets of the college town she worked in

-she put a tip in his guitar case and complimented his playing and his voice, Apollo was pleased by this and complimented her in turn, saying she must know her music which made Latricia laugh because she is a professor

-the two of them hit it off and start dating, spending hours talking about music

-being the god of music, Apollo could tell when people really loved music, feeling loved in return, and Latricia was one of those people

-being a college professor, Latricia was a bit older than Apollo’s usual lovers (she’s like in her mid to late 20s) and Apollo looks like 21, so he jokingly starts calling her a cougar just to tease her (when he’s so full of shit bc he’s over 3 thousand years older than her)

-Apollo attended some of her lectures, watching from the back of the room and her students were like ooh who’s that hot guy and she was like my bf and their jaws dropped bc daaamn ms lake way to go (Apollo found those reactions very amusing lol)

-There are many times when Latricia considers smacking that smug smirk off Apollo’s face, but she refrains and smacks his ass instead

-Apollo claims Latricia only loves him for his pancakes bc he made them for her the morning after their first time as a way to get her to keep him around lol (and it worked a little too well)

-When Latricia got pregnant Apollo told her who/what he really was and that was a bit too much for Latricia so they stopped dating but Apollo gave her the briefing about demigod children, powers, monsters, camp half blood, etc before he left

-One day when her sitter had to cancel on her she brought Austin to her class and all the college kids thought he was so cute that Latricia started bringing him around more often, Austin was just a baby but she could tell he loved the attention by the way he was gurgling lol (like father like son)

-Latricia is p busy since she’s a professor but she always makes time for her son and she has been teaching Austin about music since he was a kid, he grew up surrounded by it and that’s why he loves it sm (that and being a son of Apollo)

-On his 10th birthday there was a really nice new saxophone with a ribbon at the foot of his bed (a gift from Apollo) Austin always thought his mom bought it for him and Latricia just didn’t correct him

-Latricia sent Austin to camp half blood when he told her he saw a monster at school, he was only 11 but Latricia would rather be safe then sorry

-Latricia actually met someone while Austin was at his first year of camp, Austin was a little unsure around the guy at first but more out of awkwardness than anything the guy was lacking

-Austin and him bonded over “being boys” as Latricia put it (they blew up hot dogs in the microwave together) and the man soon had her son’s stamp of approval

-They ended up getting married the next year and Austin played the saxophone at their wedding

-Latricia was the first subscriber to his YouTube channel and showed all her coworkers and students her son’s videos, she’s a proud mama

Darren Knowles 🏹

-gay (obviously)

-he loves the outdoors and the crisp cold weather of Canada

-met Apollo when he saw him checking out the flier he had pinned up advertising his archery classes, Darren asked if he was gonna join and Apollo not so subtly checked Darren out over his sunglasses and was like well now I’m def joining

-Darren lowkey thought Apollo was a dumb American tourist at first and Apollo keeps telling him he’s not American and Darren is like uh huh

-Apollo is such a flirt during class and actually misses a few shots bc he too busy staring at Darren lol, but that does give the opportunity for Darren to come and “correct” his stance

-Darren is determined to be a professional with his students but he ends up caving because Apollo is just,, so cute

-Then when they start going on actual dates he finds out Apollo isn’t some dumb blond and is actually really intelligent and educated and Darren is like oh no my weakness, guys who are goofs but not dumb and also hot (Apollo be checking all of his boxes lol)

-Apollo told Darren he was a god while drunk off his ass one night and Darren didn’t believe a fucking word, Apollo just rolled with the drunken nonsense thing the next morning and didn’t tell Darren again (until Kayla)

-Darren lives alone but he’s always wanted a family, he was kicked out by his parents for being gay and he knows if he was a parent he would never treat his child like that, he’d love them unconditionally like his parents should’ve loved him

-Apollo magically created a child for Darren after the man confessed to him how much he wanted a kid of his own

-Darren was happy but like really confused because h... how? And Apollo is just like magic~ which explains fuck all

-Apollo tells him he has to leave now, he was having to leave soon anyway because of some trouble brewing back in America, but that he wanted to do this one last thing for Darren before he left

-he tells him to have take care raising the baby and to send her to cbh’s address when she starts attracting monsters, then poofs away, leaving Darren with a baby in his arms and wondering what the hell just happened

-Darren does raise Kayla with love and care just as he said he would, she grows up hiking through the woods with her dad and learning archery along with other wilderness skills (Artemis would really like her)

-Kayla has her aspirations for the Olympics pretty early on and Darren admires his daughter’s ambition, at first he thinks it’s just her being a kid but then later on as she keeps getting better and better he’s like damn she might actually be able to do it

-But then ofc monsters come and Darren drives her down to New York, lying through his teeth to the border guy who surprisingly lets him through without a problem (Apollo may have insured that but shhh)

-Darren sees her off at the barrier of Thalia’s pine tree and they say goodbye with a hug that lifts Kayla off her feet, there’s promises to write and reminders to practice her archery and take care of her bow and such before Kayla is escorted into camp by some other campers

-Darren managed to keep a hold of himself while saying goodbye but as soon as he’s back in the car he’s fucking bawling, all the way back to Canada because he’s gonna miss his little girl sm

-Darren has had some boyfriends but a lot of them end up jetting as soon as he tells them he has a kid ripp

-He does eventually land a good man and they’re going strong, even when Kayla, who was like 10 at the time, threatened to shoot him in the nads if he hurt her dad

-Darren and shows up to every archery match Kayla has in the future and promises to be there cheering for her with a big ass sign that says THATS MY DAUGHTER when she eventually reaches the Olympics

Bonus!

Georgina’s Mom 🎨

-She was an art student in community college

-She was on her own because her parents refused to support her “unrealistic” career choice

-She met Apollo at a party at some college dorm and they both got super smashed bc college parties be like that

-They had a one night stand that both of them mostly forgot about in favor of their hangovers the next morning

-until Hello!! You have a kid!

-She is most likely dead given that Georgina was led to the waystation by a ghost

-But Georgina has two new mommies now who love her very much (and an awkward dad)

[phantomsilva]

Thoughts on Rott

I’m not very active because of time, but I really need to put this out. So now that everyone has had their rants on rott… It’s my turn.

A reminder that all I’m going to talk about, is simply my opinion on the matter. Oh, and this will be a pretty long text.

ROTT SPOILERS(I guess)

I’m not even gonna talk about how OOC the characters were in the movie, I think other profiles already did a pretty good explanation of that, and I actually expect it from a movie.

I’d like to talk about resettings and about how as a writer myself (at least in my native tongue) I swear I’ll never use a timeline resetting as an ending in any canon fiction of mine.

To begin with, resetting being used as a resolution, an ending, is by concept disrespectful.

First, it disrespects all characters’ arcs.

Everything every character went through, their growth, their pain, their victories, is completely thrown at the garbage. It means nothing anymore because all of them went back to the start, none of it ever happened and there is no way in canon to know if it will happen the same way again.

I don’t know about you who is reading this but a big part of the reason I follow a series is for character development. That was the one thing in toa I was always proud to affirm it was chef’s kiss. Well, none of this exists anymore, jokes on me.

So, my second point: Ending with a resetting disrespects the viewer.

I think it is bad enough when you waste two hours of your life watching a movie, for the resetting to happen at the end. But then it was only two hours. Rott was a movie, but it was a part of a 5 years franchise. 5 years that we spent waiting for new stories to come, to see our favourite characters grow, come back or even die. All the engagement, happiness, and other emotions we felt while following these same characters were completely meaningless when the franchise ends with “And so we are back to the beginning”. I think it is even worse when they complete it with “and now everything is different and you don’t know what is going to happen… But we won’t tell you how”.

The disrespect doesn’t even end there for me lol . Besides the “So, and it was all for… nothing” feeling, I think the specific way it was done in toa affects it on another level.

Trollhunters was a comfort tv show for me, I found it in a very difficult time of my life and have been rewatching it for fun in stressful weeks.

I saw someone commenting “how can I enjoy the rewatching if I know in the end none of this ever matters?”. That is my problem with the specific way they used it. It affects my rewatches. Maybe it is still too early, but everytime I think about rewatching season 1, I realize there is no reason to do it. And not because I already watched it several times (thanks anxiety), but because all of this was undone and maybe never even happened.

I never expected an ending would ruin a whole franchise for me and I followed Steven Universe weekly. Worst case scenario, I thought we would have had a weak ending that could easily be forgotten, or continued in our fics. We would lose some characters, like we’ve lost Draal, but when we revisited them in past seasons they would still be there.

Revisiting past seasons now just tastes bitter.

I see Jim riding his bike on episode 1, I see Strickler with his character arc, Steve that has grown so much as a person.. And then I remember it was all for nothing. All of it was erased and, canonically, they will always be on square one.

I saw someone today saying “It is worse than ‘it was all a dream’ ”, and that is it. “It was all a dream” is already a disrespectful trope, this was worse.

If you are still here, I'm sorry, there is more to this rant. I won’t be repeating the disrespect thing though, I think I’ve made my point.

There is another aspect of the resetting that I really want to talk about.

Have you ever watched Dragon Ball? Yes, guys, I’m that old.

Dragon Ball was known for the trope of reviving characters. We always used it as an example to criticize this trope.

Reviving characters out of nowhere or with frequency takes the weight out of a character’s death. The spectator doesn’t care anymore when they see someone die, because they will come back in the end, and you feel that the writers take killing people very lightly because of that.

Difference between Reviving Characters and Resetting Timeline as an ending is that Reviving Characters can be good if used with caution. Resetting Timeline can’t, and that affected writing in Rott.

I found it strange how so many deaths felt light there, and to me the explanation is: they knew in the end it wouldn’t matter, so they didn’t need to put that much weight into it. “If none of this ever happened, I can kill whoever I want however I want.”

Which takes me to my last point of “Ending with Reset Timeline is bad by concept”.

When you know you will reset a whole world to the start, you can do any crazy thing to the plot or the characters because you don’t have consequences from that. Which, to me, explains the “wtf” feeling a lot of the fandom got while watching so many OOC scenes and silly situations during the movie. From a fandom who was waiting for an ending for more than a year, it is really disappointing.

Now, of course I’m not saying any of this was done on purpose, or with malicious intent. I think the writers had very good intentions, we know there were crew there who worked on other seasons of TOA. I even get the concept of “the adventure will continue forever”. I just think they forgot to read the fandom room.

Anyway, I really wanted to share my feelings about the “Resetting Timeline as an ending” trope (?) because I don’t think the issues here are limited to TOA. All points T made are pretty general and I got it from all the works I’ve seen using this “solution”. I’ll advocate any day that this is a lazy and disrespectful solution, no matter who uses it or where it is used. Unless, of course, you do give me the whole franchise rewritten after the resetting, but that ain’t ever gonna happen.

I’ll take from TOA the amazing artists and storyboarders I found out here. The stricklake discord that gave me so much joy over the last two years and let me meet great people. Even the screenshots and beautiful scenes from the movie because the art was Amazing! That part I'm taking with me. Oh, Good Aaron, of course, cause now I’ll be following his work wherever he goes because this man is amazing. Actually, only him to make a good situation out of this. As he himself said, all headcanon is now canon.

So I’ll be disregarding the existence of rott, as I disregard the existence of the last airbender, take the rest of the franchise with me and any post-Wizards/rott rewriting fics I’ll find. And if I don’t find one I’ll write one. Nothing can be worse than resetting timeline ending.

I hope someday I can revisit the old seasons without this bitter taste, though.

That being said, I’m open to fic suggestions. Rott AU's, Rott erasement, post-wizards AUs, you name it. Do you need a reader? Send it to me.

And I’ll be doing stricklake month, once I recover from this.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[the55th]

ToA: Rise of the Titans.

Spoilers alert! Do not continue reading if you haven't watched the movie!

All day I’ve been reading people’s comments and thoughts on Twitter about the Rise of the Titans movie, most of them have been negative and some of them very harsh.

Here are some of my thoughts, the way I see those points people are hating:

The most frequent thing I read is about all those years of character development thrown to the trash. In my opinion, what makes the difference is that Jim got to keep his knowledge. He knows the potential of all of his friends. He can help them become once more what they had become.

Do you really think he won’t eventually help Claire develop her powers again?

Steve went back into being a bully. Yeah, that was sad. But it’s the same thing as with Claire. Jim knows there’s good in him and he will know how to deal with Steve’s issues.

They will have to fight again the battles they had already won. Sad, yes. But it wasn’t for nothing. By having restarted everything Jim not only saved Toby. Strickler is alive again, so is Nomura. Think about all the difference Jim’s knowledge will make. Not only does he knows about how to win those battles. He knows things like Queen Usurna’s betrayal. Jim has a chance to save Vendel, Draal, maybe even prevent the fall of Trollmarket. And if Trollmarket doesn’t fall maybe Merlin could be around for the time Aja and Krel come to earth. Maybe, just maybe Merlin could help them defeat Morando without the need of Aja and Krel’s parents to sacrifice their cores. Lots of maybes here, I know. But it is not impossible in that new future.

Are you seeing how it wasn’t really such a bad thing? It could change things a lot! They could win more than what they had already won. Jim could still make the good things happen while minimizing the bad ones. Wasn’t the reset worth this?

I also read someone saying it was disappointing Toby had been chosen as trollhunter because it seemed like the amulet would choose just anyone who happened to find it. The amulet is a magical object built by Merlin, one of the most powerful wizards. Who tells us it didn’t knew about Toby’s potential from the alternative future? And isn’t it a good thing that Toby had been chosen? I mean, to me is a matter of inclusiveness. Toby doesn’t exactly follow the classical stereotype of superhero and I love that. I only wish there could had been another series where we could watch Toby as the main trollhunter.

They didn’t undid every meaningful message in the series. Those cannot be undone. That’s like saying that because the movie was made then all the rest of ToA was magically erased from Netflix.

Steve’s section. Oh, some people are taking that way too seriously. It was just meant to bring some humor. It wasn’t the cup of tea for many people. Ok, nothing wrong with that. What’s funny for some people isn’t for others. But I do think it is an exaggeration some people saying not to watch the movie just because of those few minutes here and there.

Lastly, what made me want to write all this. I think it is very disrespectful the way some people have expressed their opinions about the movie. Think about all the effort from all the people behind the creation of the movie. Try getting in their shoes. How would you feel in their place reading all of what’s been written?

I was particularly annoyed by people who at some level work in arts. Sugar-coating by saying things like “all the visuals where great but I still hated it because of the storyline” is not precisely being very respectful or nice.

Thank you very much if you read it all and hopefully it will make you reconsider your opinion about the end.

[theofficersacademy]

What an eventful month January was, but now the year’s shortest month is here. Also happy LNY to those who celebrate!

Housekeeping

Current Month in TOA: Horsebow Moon

The Fantom Loews event is still ongoing! It ends officially on February 3rd, so don’t forget to make sure that you have all 10 posts needed for the grand prize before then!

This month also signifies a return to normalcy for the schedule. We’re kicking off February with a mission board for the Blue Lions! Please check out the tasks here.

Your feedback after big events is highly important to shaping future events and the structure of the Officers Academy, so please take a little time to fill out our feedback poll. At the beginning of January, we suggested that you all keep a list of good and bad things throughout the month so that you could provide us with detailed feedback. While most of the questions on this form are specific, there is a free space at the end for you to type your list. We do ask that you try to be as specific as possible. But we also understand the limit of anonymity. That said, the mod team will never vilify members for critiques, even if they leave their names on their feedback.

We also have a separate form for suggestions for the combat manual. This event was the first event that saw the inclusion of personal weapons, crests, and personal skills, so we’re still working on balancing them. To note: the weapons found in Three Houses are the baseline for all stats, so if two weapons from 3H appear to have identical stats/effects, that’s because they’re identical in canon as well. Weapons from other games are converted to this system in a formulaic way, but may lose their essence as a result. Weapons from Heroes are especially difficult to convert because of their lack of hit and crit rates. We appreciate any and all suggestions.

As a reminder, we have begun noting muses who scramble for posts on the last day of the month. Please see this post for more information.

Other

February Mun Birthdays: Av (6th)

February Muse Birthdays: Titania (2nd), Hilda (3rd), Leif (3rd), Python (5th), Priam (9th), Celica (23rd)

First-year mun anniversaries this month: none

Second-year mun anniversaries this month: Ren (20th)

First-year muse anniversaries this month: Soren (2nd), Julius (18th)

Second-year muse anniversaries this month: none

Muses who have been in the group for a solid year will also be granted an Academy Brooch to put in their inventory. It doesn’t do anything. It just lets others know your character has been around the block. These characters are also granted a new opportunity to change houses if they wish to do so.

- The House Leaders

[nikibogwater]

Long-Distance: a Tales of Arcadia fic

Nari comes to an upsetting realization when Douxie makes a very important phone call.

Somehow this ask got me to write an entire oneshot after months of really struggling with writer’s block, so I can only conclude that the Non was a literal enchantress whose ask was packed with the magic of the muses. At any rate, thank you for the unexpected inspiration! 

Unfortunately I was not able to include a scene of Douxie stopping by Zoe’s place before he left Arcadia. The show heavily implied that he just grabbed Nari and booked it to New York City as fast as possible, which is a bit upsetting to the Zouxie shipper in all of us, but I did try to provide a bit of an explanation for it in this fic. This fic ended up being a two-for-one special, prominently featuring both Zouxie and the Magical Siblings (because I’m pretty sure I have a stipulation in my fandom contract somewhere that every ToA fic I produce must have Magical Siblings content in it). Also Archie being a marvelous little menace. 

Read on Ao3

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Douxie had been on the phone for almost two hours.

From what Nari had observed of him, this was highly unusual behavior. He was typically very averse to making phone calls, and even when it came to checking in on his friends in Arcadia, the conversations never lasted more than thirty minutes or so. But he had seemed downright excited when he told her and Archie that he needed to make a call that evening. Archie must have known something Nari didn’t, because he swished his tail smugly and said “I see the lovesickness has settled in again.” Douxie threw a pillow at him, which he dodged gracefully, and began dialing before Nari could ask what any of this meant. 

“CASPERAN!” Douxie did not have the speaker on, but the others could hear Zoe’s voice screeching on the other end just fine without it. The wizard hissed and jerked the phone away from his ear, though his aura seemed strangely unperturbed by the less-than-friendly greeting. “YOU TRASH MY WORK AND THEN TRY TO DIP OUT OF TOWN WITHOUT TELLING ME--AND WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS I’M HEARING ABOUT YOUR DEATH?!” 

“S-sorry, darling,” Douxie sputtered. “I--yes, I know that wasn’t...I texted you as soon as I could! There wasn’t time to stop, the Order was practically breathing down our necks, and I couldn’t risk bringing them to you...Of course I’ve been meaning to call, but getting my phone replaced was a nightmare and there’s just been so much...No, I���m fine it was just...” The conversation continued at an ordinary volume from there--clearly Zoe had just needed to get the yelling out of the way first. But there was something odd about Douxie’s aura that puzzled Nari. Granted, she had not known him for very long, but she’d never sensed his spirit giving off this particular energy before. It was a sort of warm fondness, but somehow different from what his aura projected when he was near Archie or any of his other friends (she was only just beginning to dare to hope that perhaps some of that fondness might be directed at her). It was almost a happy ache of some kind, something that felt as gentle as a budding flower, but also as ancient and deep as a canyon. It took her a moment to recognize it, but when she did, it gave her an unpleasant start. 

“Archie,” she inquired softly, giving the Familiar a gentle nudge. The two of them had settled on the broken-down sofa near the front of the studio, while Douxie was flopped on his mattress near the back. Archie’s ear twitched and he looked up at her expectantly. “Is...Are Douxie and Zoe...” She dug through her mind in search of the correct human term. “...mated?” 

“The human word for it is married,” Archie informed her gently. “And no, they are not. Though they certainly give off that air.” He looked back at the wizard sprawled on his mattress, face aglow as he listened with rapt attention to whatever Zoe was saying on the other end of the line. 

“But they love each other as mates?” Nari persisted. 

“I would say that is an accurate assessment of their relationship, yes,” Archie chuckled. “They met back in Camelot, when Douxie was still an apprentice. Boy took one look at her and was instantly smitten. It was hell on earth trying to deal with him moping and sighing around the castle, sounding out ridiculous love songs on his lute at all hours of the night. Zoe took a bit longer to come around, but she did after a while, and they have been devoted to each other ever since.” 

Nari’s heart twisted. That was what she had feared. The guilt that had been nibbling away at her now began to gnaw like a ravenous beast. Douxie had not only left his home because of her. He had left loved ones. It had barely been a week since they fled Arcadia together, and yet his heart was aching for Zoe like they had been apart for years. And it was all because of her. Nari pulled her knees up to her chest and curled into herself, feeling sick. Douxie’s voice continued to fill the tiny space.

“...Mm-hmm...Yes...Yeah, I’ll be fine, Zo. Really. And I promise I’ll call again soon, alright?” There was a long pause. “...I love you,” he said softly. His aura gave a warm, fluttering pulse, a sure sign that Zoe must have returned the sentiment. Nari’s stomach turned uncomfortably. “...Yeah. ...Yeah, okay. ...I will. ...Goodnight.” The phone beeped softly as he ended the call with a deep sigh. He lay on his back for a while longer, staring up at the ceiling, a sad, dreamy look on his face. 

“Are you ever going to eat dinner, or do you intend to sustain yourself on yearning alone?” Archie called across the room. Douxie huffed and pushed himself upright to glare at his Familiar. 

“One day, Arch, I swear, you’re going to--” He stopped suddenly as his gaze landed on Nari, still huddled against the back of the sofa. “Nari? Are you alright?”  

“I....yes,” she fumbled, surprised he had even noticed anything. “S-sorry.” Archie was looking at her now as well, and she felt herself shrinking under both his and Douxie’s scrutiny. 

“Hey,” Douxie murmured, getting up and crossing the room to kneel in front of her. “What is it?” 

“...Why did you leave Arcadia?” Nari asked in a tentative whisper. Douxie tilted his head in confusion. 

“What do you mean, why did I leave? We had to. You wouldn’t have been safe there, the Arcane Order was too close.” 

“I had to leave, Douxie,” she insisted. “But you could have stayed. I have been hiding alone for hundreds of years, there was no reason you had to be part of that.” 

Whatever she had been expecting, it was certainly not the look of hurt that flashed across Douxie’s face, accompanied by the feeling of his aura flinching away from her as though she had struck him. 

“Do you not want me here?” he asked, voice tight with whatever pain Nari could feel turning in his spirit--it was an old pain, that much she could tell. 

“I...I want you to be happy, Douxie,” she replied, willing her voice to keep steady. “But the only thing my presence has brought you is suffering.” 

“Who told you that?” Douxie barked, voice suddenly sharp. He didn’t seem to want an answer, because he continued before she could say anything. “They’re wrong. I don’t care what they told you, they’re wrong.” Images of Bellroc and Skreal flashed through her mind briefly, but Douxie wasn’t giving her any time to dwell on it. One of his hands landed on her shoulder. “Nari, leaving Arcadia to protect you was my choice. Merlin entrusted me with your safety because he knew you are worth protecting, and I--” He stopped for a moment, searching for words. “...I agree with him. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, even if that means I lose something along the way. You are a part of what makes this world good, and I decided a long time ago that I wanted to protect all the good I can. But that’s on me, and me alone. You’re not responsible for anything the Order has done since you left them. Understand?” 

There were several things Nari could have said to refute his argument. She still had doubts as to whether Merlin would have ever found her individual safety at all important if it hadn’t been for the fact that the Order needed her to open the Genesis Seals. Douxie’s desire to protect what was good in the world was admirable, but also entirely foolish. It could only end in his demise (it already had once before), and someone with a heart as pure as his deserved better than to make such a thankless sacrifice. 

“...What about Zoe?” was all she said. 

“...I do miss her,” Douxie confessed, voice soft once again. “But this isn’t the first time my wizarding responsibilities have forced us to part for a while. I know she’ll be there when all of this is over, and that’s all I need. And besides--” He gave her a lopsided grin. “This is nothing compared to what it was like before the invention of the telephone. At least I can talk to her whenever I want now. It’s really not so bad.” 

“I can attest to that,” Archie put in. “This Lovesick Period isn’t nearly as horrendous as some of the others I’ve seen.” 

“Yes, thank you for that, Arch,” Douxie replied dryly. “Point is....I wanted to look after you, Nari. I made some sacrifices to do it, but I know it’s worth it. And Zoe feels the same. Honestly if I hadn’t been the one to take you, I’m half convinced she would have. She acts tough but she’s soft on the inside.” 

“...I do remember sensing that much when we met,” Nari admitted. She uncurled and folded her legs beneath her, reaching out and cupping Douxie’s face in her palms. His aura twitched in surprise, but he did not pull away from her, even when she tentatively pressed her forehead to his for a moment. It was a very ancient gesture of trust and affection--so ancient that Nari wasn’t even sure if most humans still practiced it. But it was the only way she knew how to convey her feelings just then. “You are what makes this world good as well, Douxie,” she murmured. “I will do my best to protect you in return.” Archie cleared his throat loudly as she pulled away from the wizard. “You and Archie both,” she amended, giving the Familiar a fond pat. 

“...Right,” Douxie breathed, his aura glowing with fondness once more--the familiar kind she had felt before. And this time, Nari let herself believe that perhaps it was for her.