#otherwise it's all canon that se did all that

[rypnami]

Two Years Later...

Happy Anniversary Hogwarts Legacy!

it's been 2 years of this game!!! that means... it's MC's 7th year!

this started as an idea in my server for a group collab, but i don't know who's still doing it. i might as well post my own, at the least!

now that MC is a 7th year, what are they up to? how did they cope with the events of 5th year as time passed? how do they feel about graduation coming soon?

i've decided to explore this with aurelia, since she is my 'canon' MC. i do look forward to seeing others' takes!

this is mostly just me rambling and auri maybe finally learning that she doesn't have to be terrible to people ALL the time. and her meeting daphne, that's a big part of this. shhh i just wanted to finally write auri being a loser lesbian.

word count: 1561

Two years ago, if you had told Aurelia that there would be a day she was sad to leave Hogwarts, she’d have laughed in your face. How could she ever be sad about leaving behind this dingy old castle, never to return? Back then, she’d hated all the people, hated taking classes, and would rather bite her classmates than have a civil conversation. 

She isn’t sure when the shift happened. Perhaps when Garreth had miscalculated his umpteenth potion recipe. When it exploded in his face, it had turned his hair a vibrant pink. It was the first time she’d realised she could laugh at something that wasn’t someone getting hurt, and watching him desperately trying to wash the pink out for the whole week after had provided enough entertainment value that she thought she might even be a little sad if he were to die. Who would ever think she’d one day care about what happens to a man?

Or, perhaps it was when she’d at last mastered broom flight, and bested Imelda at her own broom trials for the second year in a row. There was the satisfaction of beating someone at their own game, the thrill of victory, and the fact that she simply really got on with Imelda. The same energy, the same passion, the same general dislike for slow people… how could they not become friends? To think, if she’d just thrown in the towel after the first round of trials like she’d originally planned, she may never have truly gotten to meet a dear friend. It still sounds odd, sometimes, to think of anyone as a friend.

Perhaps, still, it was when Anne had finally recovered and been able to return to school. At long last, that had made Sebastian stop acting like a bellend and he’d finally given up his stupid obsession with Dark magic- mostly. Auri would put a few Galleons on the assumption that he still sneaks into the Restricted Section to read otherwise forbidden books, but with Anne back around to keep him in line, and Ominis finally speaking to him again, it’s likely quite a bit less than what he used to do. Surprisingly enough, she finds herself enjoying all of their company these days.

Privately, however, Auri thinks what actually began to change things was the day she met Daphne Weasley at the beginning of 6th year. She was a complete accident, someone she might never have seen at all if she hadn’t literally fallen into her after tripping over her untied shoelaces. From the jump, Auri had been fascinated by her. Not only was she completely opposite to her loud, chaotic brother, Daphne was also everything Auri was not. Thoughtful, genuinely polite, didn’t go out of her way to scare small children, and overall pleasant to be around. She was captivating, and so Auri did the only thing she could think of to learn more about her. She started following her around.

It was NOT stalking, no matter what gossip Sebastian might be spreading. And who is he to attempt to have a moral high ground, anyway? He killed someone! So has Auri, but that’s neither here nor there, really. 

Auri was not nearly as sneaky as she might usually be when (not) stalking someone, and Daphne was surprisingly not too perturbed by the creepy girl who threatens at least a dozen people a day following her. In fact, she’d almost seemed just as drawn to Auri, and in no time at all they had actually become… friends? Not long after, Auri was doing the very normal and mature thing of screaming into her pillow every night and crying to anyone who would listen about how goddamn pretty she was.

She’d decided to write to Lily Prewett for advice, the only other lesbian she’d ever heard of ever, who had graduated the year before. They’d never been friendly, but who else was she to talk to? Lily had bombarded her with owls about it, and although Auri had thought most of her advice was stupid and pointless (being nice to her? Since when has that been a thing?), it had actually worked. 

Even now, almost a year later, she gets several letters a week. They aren’t so much about romantic advice anymore- just asking how her day has been, how she’s feeling nearing graduation, if classes are going well. It’s something else Auri knows would have had her absolutely raging back in 5th year, but now, she looks forward to it. Every morning in the Great Hall, she waits to see her owl swoop in, usually with more than one letter, seeing as Lily almost always realises she has more to say right after sealing the envelope.

In fact, it was one of her letters (and a few weeks of convincing from Daphne) that finally gave her the nerve to do what she’s doing today. To, for the first time, take the small footpath that diverges from the regular road to Hogsmeade, that leads up to where Professor Fig was buried at the end of 5th year. She’s never been up to see it, not even once.

It’s a tree with a twisted trunk that overlooks Hogwarts, just before you’d reach the Mooncalf den. Quite a few of its leaves are gone, having fallen off before winter, but already new ones have started to grow in, fresh and green. At the base of the tree, roots surrounding it like a frame, is a small headstone. There are fresh flowers laid upon it, and growing around it. Auri wonders for a moment who put them there, though it doesn’t truly matter. Everyone had loved Professor Fig. Even she had, much to her own surprise at the time. Death is something you’d think a vampire would be more than accustomed to, but standing here and staring it in the face is much harder than she expected.

“Erm. Hi.” She crosses her arms, slightly uncomfortable. “I… am sorry I haven’t come to see you before. It never… felt right.”

A warm wind ripples through the air, rustling the newly growing leaves as well as her hair. It almost feels like a sign. It’s okay. I understand.

“I’m sorry you died. I’m sorry I wasn’t… better back then.” That hardly covers it. She’s got a lot of blood on her hands, much of it there long before she ever knew what Hogwarts- or even the United Kingdom at all- was. “I still think of you all the time. Without you… I dunno where I’d be. But I wish you were still here. I wish you could see me now.” Auri sits down, crossing her legs and staring at the grass. “You helped me more than you ever knew. You always believed I could be a better person than I was when you were here… I suppose you were right after all.” 

“Graduation is in a few weeks, but you probably already know that.” She picks at the flowers growing around his burial place, trying to avoid looking at the headstone. “I’ve done really well, these past 2 years. I… er, I passed all my O.W.Ls, and my N.E.W.Ts went well, too. I still don’t know what I want to do, after school. Or where I’ll go. I have friends, now, though. And… Daphne. I think you would have liked her.” She shrugs. “I really like her.”

She finally looks up at the grave. It has his name carved in simple lettering, and above is what looks like the artists’ attempt at a thestral. “I… yeah. That’s about it.” She brushes a few leaves off the top of the stone, letting her hand linger on it for a moment. “I promise I’ll come by more, okay?” She gets back up, dusting off her skirt as she does. “And after graduation. I’ll tell you everything about it.”

Daphne was waiting several paces back, standing out of the shade of the tree. Sunlight bounces off her auburn hair, and by the great gods is she the prettiest person Auri has ever seen. She smiles as Auri walks back to her.

“How was that?” She asks.

“Good.” Auri takes Daphne’s hand in hers. Though her own skin is always ice-cold, Daphne’s is as warm as the summer sun, and never fails to spread from her fingertips up throughout the rest of her body. “Overdue, I think.”

“Are you alright? Sure you’re ready to join the others?” She gives Auri’s hand a gentle squeeze. 

“Of course. Sebastian says Anne was able to bribe Feenky into making us an entire basket of Treacle Tarts, and I want to get some before Leander eats them all himself in one go, the greedy bastard.”

Daphne laughs, which makes Auri feel incredibly pleased with herself. “I’ll tell him you said that.”

“Please do! Then he might learn a little thing called sharing.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“When I hog all the sweets, it’s cute. When he does it, it’s annoying!”

“Can’t argue with that, I suppose.” They both laugh as they walk hand in hand back down the path to the castle.

One might almost forget Auri is an undead being of unimaginable horror. Or, rather, used to be. She is still, certainly, undead, but perhaps not particularly horrible anymore.

And she just might like that better.

[occudo]

The head archivist's to do list

or arts and crafts with Gertrude Robinson

[hopelesslyprosaic]

I feel like The Six Napoleons is one of the best Granada episodes, and part of why is, of course, That Scene.

By which of course I mean this one:

All genius, but of course, even more specifically, the bit starting at about 5:52. You know the scene I mean, and if you don't by all means watch it!

Honestly, it's an in-a-nutshell demonstration of the greatness of both canon and the Granada adaptation.

Here's the scene from the book:

“Well,” said Lestrade, “I’ve seen you handle a good many cases, Mr. Holmes, but I don’t know that I ever knew a more workmanlike one than that. We’re not jealous of you at Scotland Yard. No, sir, we are very proud of you, and if you come down to-morrow there’s not a man, from the oldest inspector to the youngest constable, who wouldn’t be glad to shake you by the hand.” “Thank you!” said Holmes. “Thank you!” and as he turned away it seemed to me that he was more nearly moved by the softer human emotions than I had ever seen him. A moment later he was the cold and practical thinker once more. “Put the pearl in the safe, Watson,” said he, “and get out the papers of the Conk-Singleton forgery case. Goodbye, Lestrade. If any little problem comes your way I shall be happy, if I can, to give you a hint or two as to its solution.”

And here's the dialogue from the show:

Lestrade: I’ve seen you handle a good many cases in my time, but I don’t know that I ever knew a more workmanlike one than this. We’re not jealous of you, you know, at Scotland Yard. No, sir, we are proud of you, and if you come down to-morrow there’s not a man, from the oldest inspector to the youngest constable, who wouldn’t be glad to shake you by the hand. Holmes: Thank you! Thank you! Would you get down the Conk-Singleton forgery case please, Watson? Goodbye, Lestrade. If any little problem comes your way I shall be happy, if I can, to give you a hint or two as to its solution.

Not many differences! ACD knew what he was doing- he knew how to write a good yarn, he knew how to write good characters, and he knew how to write a good interaction. Granada wasn't filmed in canon order, so we don't get to see the progression of Holmes's relationship with Lestrade per se, but after a number of excellent, more "foiled again!" type Holmes-Lestrade interactions since A Study in Scarlet, ACD decided to do something cool and different here and pulled it off beautifully.

And when the director and writer of this Granada episode put this one together, they decided that the relationship between Holmes and Lestrade should be a focal point in this episode, and not only did they barely need to change a dang thing in the ending to do it, what small things they did change were all beautifully in the service of the tone of the original ending, taking advantage of the brilliant material they had to work with. I was just relistening to the excellent episode of the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes Podcast discussing The Six Napoleons, and one of them points out that one of the few text changes is removing the word "very"- going from "we are very proud of you" to "we are proud of you." And it works so well- it accentuates the contrast with the previous suggested notion that they would otherwise be jealous, between what Holmes might have expected to hear (and, indeed, perhaps expected to WANT to hear) and the actuality, and how much more meaningful it turns out that is to Holmes.

The creators here- and I of course include the actors, as both Colin Jeavons and Jeremy Brett act the fuck out of this- are so smart with how they pull this off. They know that what they have on the page is gold, but they also know how they can buff it up for a stronger shine. They know that Brett will absolutely eat up all of ACD's stage directions about his response, he knows the character inside and out at this stage, so let's keep the scene the way it is and, instead, build the rest of the episode around setting up this scene in such a way that it will have maximum impact as written.

There is one thing that is added- and that's the handshake at the end, that Holmes offers to Lestrade. We don't know what happens after Holmes's final words in the story, but in the episode, the physical acting continues telling the story only implied in the text of the short story- Lestrade is a bit thrown by Holmes's reversion back to his old, casually cutting self, but rolls with it, only for Holmes to extend his hand to him. Lestrade seems, even, slightly surprised- this is, perhaps, Holmes's rare gesture of pride in him.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

The only way i could see Canon Katara interested on Zuko is if he somehow did his Heel Turn long before the start of the show and has become a freedom fighter akin to Jet, but without the murder.

Obviously, this is impossible, there is no way that a young Zuko could become a better person without his exile, his enviroment is just not place that encourage

Sorry for the last question i send, i made a mistake and send it sooner than i wanted.

But anyway, what i tried to say that, even if that ridiculous scenario that i propossed where to happen, Zuko would be a very different characther from his Canon self. Plus even if he has become Katara's type, there is no way to know if Katara would be Zuko's type on that scenario lol

***

Once again, guys: pre-scar and exile Zuko was already dealing with a ton of bagagge, and post-redemption Zuko was already a "freedom fighter but without the murder." Katara saw him at this worst during all of book one, at his somewhat less of dick moments (Ba Sing Se), and at his best after his redemption - and she wasn't attracted to him at any of these points.

"I don't support war, genocide and/or murder" is the bare minimum for Katara to not want somebody dead. Compassion is an obligation, not something that immediately makes a guy be a potential boyfriend in her eyes.

We have the answer of what would take for her to be into Zuko, and that answer is not "He can't be a villain anymore" but rather "He can't be Zuko." He can't be a dork that says the wrong thing in a funny way, she'd get mad. He can't want to live in the Fire Nation, there's nothing there for her. He can't be as stubborn as she is, otherwise they're gonna fight (just look at how many times she fights with Toph). He can't take himself too seriously, she'll just mock him for it (ask Sokka).

She wants the guy that literally sweeps her off her feet to charm her, or the guy that notices she's feeling left out at a party, dances with her, and smoothly tells her to ignore everyone's eyes on them because "it's just you and me." She would NOT react well to a guy that screams "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" in the middle of their date (just see how well it worked for Aang when he went "I mean, if it was between kissing you and dying")

And we do know what Zuko's type is: Mai. Gloomy yet sweet, bitchy yet unbothered, out-spoken yet doesn't feel she owes anybody any explanations ever, can handle herself but likes being pampered, apathetic yet caring, has nothing prove yet can be quite arrogant, stubborn yet understanding, aloof to the world in general yet obviously crazy about him in particular.

Zuko might catch brief feelings for someone like Jin (nice, sweet and cheery), but long-term he needs someone as messy as himself so he can relate, but with the kind of mess that balances him out instead of encouraging his worst traits - the yin to his yang. He was not kidding when he said "You're so beautiful when you hate the world"

Katara loves life in general too much for her and Zuko to relate to each other in that regard. She doesn't even know what the word "apathy" means. She doesn't have an "unbothered" bone in her body. Girl went through a ton of trauma and still wasn't anywhere near gloomy, quite the contrary. And she has a bad temper, just like Zuko, which they both know is a bad combo, hence them surrounding themselves with more chill people (Aang, Iroh, Hakoda, Mai, etc).

They're not each other's type AT ALL, hence there being no spark when they become friends. Hence them being not just embarassed, but weirded our and uncomfortable when people mistake them for a couple.

There's a reason zutara fics re-write their personalities completely: there's no other way to force them together because they're fundamentally incompatible. The real Zuko would NEVER be attracted to the real Katara, and vice versa.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

── THE GLASS PRINCESS // TEN

Series Synopsis: You wake up in a strange room with no memories, broken glass at your bedside, and a prince named Zuko as your only chance at figuring out who you really are.

Chapter Synopsis: You and Lee spend some time in Ba Sing Se, where you meet a familiar girl. Afterwards, you tell Lee the story of Quynh and how she came to be.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 7.2k

Content Warnings: complicated relationships (strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers), amnesia, alternate universe, lots of secrets and lying and mystery

A/N: PLEASE DO NOT SLANDER ME FOR THE FATHER GLOWWORM REPRESENTATION I HAVE NOT READ THE KYOSHI NOVELS ‼️ idek what he’s up to in canon but his powers fit the situation so he got to feature in the fic…pretty sure he’s way more heinous in the atla-verse but oh well!!! glass princess father glowworm is just chill like that ig 😰

“Lee,” you said from where you sat on the kitchen counter, watching him scrub dishes. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and he wore his signature scowl on his face, though every time you spoke, it abated in favor of something resembling a smile.

“Y/N,” he said. “Are we introducing one another or something?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” you said. “Now that we are friends, I want to ask you a question.”

“We’re not friends,” he said, as was customary, taking a rag and using it to dry the mug he had just washed. “But go ahead.”

In the days since you had happened upon the refugee gate, you had not seen the Blue Spirit at all. Every night, you waited for him, and every night you returned to the palace disappointed. Eventually, you understood what he was saying by not arriving, and so you turned to the only other source of companionship you had been offered: Lee and Mushi from the tea shop.

Mushi had been delighted, but Lee had been more than a little annoyed at the prospect of having to spend everyday with you. This time, though, you did not relent. You followed him around the tea shop as he worked, chattering to him incessantly, and finally he grew resigned enough to your presence that he stopped complaining about it and began speaking with you somewhat normally.

For the most part, the two of you talked about books and tea and other, safer subjects. You were still trying to understand what you had seen the other day, and you had no idea what Lee’s opinions were on the matter, so until now, you had not even considered broaching any of the more sensitive topics.

“How did you end up in Ba Sing Se? I don’t mean why you came. I mean, how did you get in here?” you said.

The question was still unclear, but Lee did not ask for further explanation. He finished drying the mug and put it with the rest before taking a plate and running it under the water.

“We took a ferry,” he said. “We had to buy tickets and show our passports, of course, but it went relatively seamlessly otherwise. By the way, if you’re just going to sit there, you might as well be useful and sweep or something.”

“What about the entrance fee?” you said, sliding off the counter and taking the broom he handed you, leaning on the handle and batting your eyelashes at him without even trying to sweep. This earned you a scoff as he once again shifted from washing to drying, though his trademark red flush crept up his neck at the same time, which meant he wasn’t really upset.

“It wasn’t a thing when we came,” he said. “Or, at least, it wasn’t that high. I’m pretty sure that it was included in the price of our tickets. They were so expensive that it would only make sense. Possibly not, though. Last I checked, they just raise the prices because they can nowadays.”

“I can’t understand it,” you said. “Why is there such a desperate need for people to come here? Surely you must know. Can you tell me?”

Belatedly, you realized this might give away your identity in some way, because who else would have such little sense for what was happening in the world but the princess who had been locked away for so long? But if Lee was suspicious, he did not show it, only exhaling heavily and shaking his head.

“There’s quite a lot, and none of it is safe to discuss here,” he said. “Sorry, but I don’t want something happening to my uncle or I.”

“It’s okay,” you said. “I don’t blame you. If I had known it was like that, I wouldn’t have asked.”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “It’s a strange place we live in.”

“That’s for certain!” you said, pointing the broom at him for emphasis. “Do you know the situation at that one gate?”

“The second southeast gate? Yeah, it’s in a bad shape, but almost all of them are like that,” he said. “It’s common knowledge, but that doesn’t mean anyone’s about to do anything about it.”

All of them were like that. That meant that every day, the entire perimeter of Ba Sing Se was flooded by people trying to get in, people like the ones the you and Blue Spirit had seen. It was human suffering on a scale you could not comprehend, and the broom clattered to the ground as you attempted to envision it. How many hundreds of them were there? What were they seeking refuge from? What reality was worse than the one they were running towards?

“Every gate,” you said. “But Ba Sing Se has so many…”

“Some of them are wealthier entrances,” Lee said, using a towel to wipe his hands off and unrolling his sleeves. Picking up the broom, he began to sweep. “It’s not that bad at those ones. Apparently, things at the second southeast gate are improving now, too.”

“Are they?” you said. It was only a modicum of reassurance, but even the knowledge that one less person might be hurt was enough to cheer you. “Why is that?”

“Apparently, some rich woman came with someone dressed as the Blue Spirit and donated half of her life savings so that no one had to pay the entrance fee there,” he said. “Things haven’t devolved into sheer chaos only because what she did is still a relatively unknown thing, so it’s mostly only had positive consequences so far.”

“Half of her life savings?” you said, thinking back to the amount you had given, which had really been nothing but pocket change. “Um, wow. That was — very generous of her to do. She must be a charitable person.”

“Must be,” Lee said flatly. “And I guess there really is a Blue Spirit in Ba Sing Se. Sorry for doubting it. Even though he’s obviously not the same person as the one from the play, namely because that Blue Spirit would’ve done something instead of just standing around when there’s people in need.”

“He was doing what he could!” you said. Lee raised his eyebrows at you, and this time, it was your turn to cough to disguise your emotions. “That is to say, I’m sure there was more going on than either of us are aware of.”

“Right,” he said. You glared at him.

“Really! The Blue Spirit is a good person!” you said, feeling honor-bound to defend him. Even if you hadn’t seen him in so long, he was still the man who had saved you. You still harbored some feelings you could not quite name for him. “Maybe it only looked like he wasn’t doing anything, but he was. I know he was.”

“Whatever you say. Super-fan,” he said, muttering the last under his breath.

“You’re the one who likes the play so much,” you reminded him. “If anyone’s a super-fan, it’s you.”

Lee was saved from responding by Mushi’s entrance. His uncle was the kind of person that was impossible to be angry around, and he had an uncanny knack for knowing exactly when you and his nephew were arguing. His presence quelled you both, and it was probably the only reason the two of you had not, in the earlier days, read one another to filth.

“Good, you got all of those cups washed!” Mushi said. “I was worried you’d be too distracted, but I’m glad to see that that didn’t happen.”

“What would I be distracted by?” Lee said, putting the broom away. You had picked up very quickly on the fact that Lee had no interest in helping out around the Pao Family Tea House, and that tea was not really something that excited him, but it was the only way that he and his uncle could make money, so he did what he could, albeit without a smile on his face or any passion to his motions.

���If I had a lovely lady to talk with all day, I’d hardly get anything done!” Mushi said.

“Uncle!” Lee hissed.

“It’s okay, Mushi. You can think of me as more of a taskmaster than anything; I make sure Lee gets everything done in a timely fashion,” you said when it became evident that Lee was far too embarrassed to say anything more.

“And she doesn’t even offer to help while she’s at it,” Lee added. “So, ha.”

“It feels like you were trying to get the last word in there, but I don’t think you were successful in that endeavor,” you said. “Just so you know.”

“Shut up,” he said.

“Lee, please be kind to your friend,” Mushi said.

“Yeah, Lee,” you crowed. “Be nice to your friend!”

“Y/N,” Lee said, pointing a threatening finger at you, though it was hard to genuinely be afraid of him when he was so relatively harmless in everything he did. “You’re not even my friend, so you don’t get to pull that card!”

“I’m the only person you talk to, besides your uncle, so doesn’t that make us friends automatically?” you said.

“No, it just means I don’t have any friends at all!” he said haughtily, leaning the broom against the wall and dusting his hands off against his apron.

“Once again, I don’t think that that’s quite the closing statement you were aiming for,” you said. “It has more of an embarrassing effect to it than a victorious one.”

“Now, now, both of you should stop quarreling,” Mushi said. “Lee, your shift is almost over. How about you and Y/N take some time to explore the city together? It’ll only improve your spirits!”

“Believe it or not, I’d actually rather work,” Lee said, though he did untie his apron and hang it up.

“Just be back in time for your evening shift!” Mushi said.

“I’ll make sure he is,” you promised, following after Lee as he all but raced out of the tea shop, waving at Mushi, who waved cheerfully back. “Hey, Lee, wait up!”

Luckily, Lee did slow down a bit, allowing you to catch up with him, the two of you walking side by side down the street in the afternoon sun. It was a different context than you were usually in; he had been forced to take the evening shift more often than not nowadays, so he was normally still working by the time you left for the fountain. Today was the first time you had come early enough to be there for his break, and without the tea shop in the background to smooth your interactions over, there was an awkwardness that filled the air.

Who were you and he outside of the Pao Family Tea House? Who was Lee when he was not working as a server? Who were you when you were not protected by the secrecy of being just another patron of the shop?

“It’s you!” a soft, feminine voice said. Suddenly, you were being accosted by a pair of arms thrown around your shoulders, holding you in the sincerest embrace you had felt in many years.

“Me?” you said, wriggling free from the hug to peer at the girl. She beamed up at you, holding onto your hands, and though you couldn’t quite place it, you knew that you did recognize her from somewhere.

“Yes, you,” she said. “Everyone’s been saying you’re a spirit, since you don’t match the description of anyone living in the Upper Ring, but I’vealways believed in you. I’ve always known that you were a real person.”

Your eyes widened as you realized where you knew her from: she was the girl who had been helping the man with the burnt leg at the second southeast gate. She must’ve seen you when you had given the captain the money, and somehow, despite the days that had elapsed since then, she had recognized you.

You glanced at Lee, but he did not seem surprised nor intrigued by the conversation. He was diligently reading a street sign, which really could not have been all too fascinating, but he was an odd boy with odd habits, and it afforded you some semblance of privacy to converse with the girl, so you did not say anything to him about it.

“You’re the reason my father is still alive, lady,” the girl said, squeezing your hands tightly. “We thought we might have to cut his — cut his leg off or something, but because of you, we were able to get to a doctor in time.”

“That kind of doctor must be expensive,” you said. She nodded.

“Oh, yes, he was one of the Upper Ring ones,” she said. “But he saved my father’s leg, so what does it matter? I’ll figure it out.”

“You will?” you said. “What about your mother? Or your elder siblings, if you have any?”

The girl glanced around nervously before beckoning you closer. You offered her your ear, wondering what kind of terrible secrecy she was sworn to that she had to be so careful.

“I know we’re not supposed to talk about it, so please don’t repeat this to anyone, but the truth is that my mother and my little brother were killed by Firebenders. They set our house on fire while they were taking over our village. It’s how my father got his leg burnt,” she said, her small voice choked. “He went back in to save them, but he couldn’t. The only reason I’m alright is that our cat had run away and I had gone to find her.”

She was barely more than a child, and yet she had had the responsibilities of a woman thrust upon her. How could a little girl be expected to take upon the sole burden of providing for herself, for paying back the doctor that her father had needed? It wasn’t fair. None of it was fair, but if not her, then who else could even do it? By that definition, she was alone now.

You thought that maybe you and she were not entirely dissimilar. In the end, you, too, were alone. Even if you could not relate to anything else, you had that much in common with her.

“Here,” you said, taking her hand, pressing a handful of coins into it. “I’m not sure if this will be enough, but it will be better than nothing. At least, it should tide you over until your father is feeling better and he, too, can find work.”

Her eyes shone, and she dipped into a bow. Cursing under your breath, you caught her by the shoulders, looking around to make sure that nobody had seen. The last thing you needed was to be caught and dragged back to the palace by the Dai Li or some other such authority.

“Lady, I only came to thank you, but you’ve done me such a favor that I don’t know how I can ever repay you for it,” she said. You smiled at her.

“You needn’t repay me. In truth, I should’ve been doing these things long ago; it’s only thanks to, ah, extenuating circumstances that I haven’t been. I hope you stay well, dear girl, and that your father may recover swiftly. I’m sorry that you have had to suffer so greatly already,” you said, ruffling her hair.

“I hope I get to see you again, lady,” she said before gasping. “Not because you’ve given me money every time! It’s because you’re really kind. I want to thank you properly one day.”

“If it is our destiny, then I’m sure we will meet once more,” you said. “And you needn’t thank me. It is only my duty.”

“Destiny?” she said. “But how can I ensure that that destiny comes about?”

“Hm,” you said, tapping your chin in thought. “When you are older, please work very hard. Work so hard that even the royal family cannot ignore your efforts, and then go to the palace and ask for Quynh. Even if I am not allowed to meet you, I will find a way. If you can do that, then I will do my part so that our fates can collide another time.”

“Quynh!” she said, sucking in a breath. “Oh, I didn’t know…! I’ve treated you so flippantly!”

“It’s not a problem,” you said. “Now run along. And — and I know it won’t do anything, but I’m very sorry about what happened to your family. I wish there was something I could’ve done to stop it.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “It was — you know. Them. You’re the one who’s helped me. I’m really grateful to you, so don’t apologize.”

“Maybe that’s how it is,” you said. “Anyways, welcome to Ba Sing Se. The city is improved by your presence.”

“Thank you!” she said, bowing again before you could stop her and then scampering away. You watched her go until she disappeared into the crowd, and then you turned to Lee, who was still steadfastly reading the same sign.

“There must be something fascinating written on that sign, for you to be so intently reading it,” you said, jabbing his arm with your pointer finger as you read over the sign yourself. “Mm, very interesting indeed. Left to the Firelight Fountain. Right to the Pao Family Tea House. Straight to the First Southeast Gate. That’s the kind of content you just can’t pull yourself away from.”

“I was trying to be respectful and not listen in on your conversation!” Lee said.

“Oh, thanks,” you said. “That was surprisingly good of you to do.”

“What was it about, anyways?” he said. “Why’d she recognize you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” you said. He pursed his lips before turning away, continuing to walk down the street, towards the Firelight Fountain where you spent your evenings waiting for the Blue Spirit.

“Who is Quynh?” he said after a second. You frowned at him.

“How do you not know who Quynh is? She’s the patron spirit of the Earth Kingdom!” you said. “Or at least of Ba Sing Se.”

“Sorry I never had much time to study theology of all things while I was out…there!” he said, vaguely gesturing around.

“Out there,” you said. “Where, like the Fire Nation or something? I thought knowledge of her must be common throughout the Earth Kingdom.”

“No!” he said quickly. “Just — we traveled a lot, you know, and mostly in rural areas, so we, um, never heard the stories.”

You supposed it made sense. What guarantee was there that the legend of Quynh had reached every single corner of the Earth Kingdom? It made sense that someone like Lee, who must’ve spent his formative years in some place closer to the border than Ba Sing Se, wasn’t quite educated on the tale of the great mother bear.

“What business did you have traveling, anyways?” you said.

“It was for, er, work,” he said. “We were in, uh, a circus! Yeah, a circus.”

“A circus,” you said. “I’m sure you attracted all sorts of patrons with your charming and outgoing personality.”

“I wasn’t a performer! My uncle was. I just maintained his equipment,” he said.

“That’s a little more believable,” you said. “What did he do in the circus?”

“He was,” Lee began, his eyebrows low over his eyes in thought, “an acrobat! Mhm. He was an acrobat.”

“It’s not as believable anymore,” you informed him. You couldn’t imagine Mushi doing flips and cartwheels anymore than you could imagine Lee juggling. When he had said that his uncle had been a performer, you had been expecting him to be the ringmaster, perhaps, or even an animal trainer, but not an acrobat.

“Why? Uncle Mushi is plenty flexible!” he said. You made a face.

“I shall take your word for it,” you said. “But I’m sure he’s pleased to be retired by now.”

“Very pleased,” Lee said. “In fact, he’s so pleased to have put that part of his life behind him that he becomes really upset when people bring it up again. So I’d recommend you don’t.”

Upsetting Mushi was the last thing you wanted to do, given how well he always treated you when you visited the Pao Family Tea House, so you nodded at Lee and mimed sealing your lips together.

“I won’t mention it,” you said.

“Thank you,” he said. “But back to the original topic. Who is Quynh?”

“Ah, right,” you said. “Although she’s known as the guardian spirit of Ba Sing Se, and of the Earth Kingdom in general, it’s a little more complex than that. You see, she’s not meant to guard the entire kingdom; her loyalty is to the royal family and them alone.”

“Then how’d it get confused?” he said.

“Once upon a time, when she was the most active, the interests of the royal family and the interests of the kingdom were not so separate,” you said. “Maybe it’s not the case in the recent era, but no one’s even seen Quynh in so long that by now, her name has been solidified in history as the great mother of the Earth Kingdom.”

“Is that all there is to the story?” he said as you reached the Firelight Fountain. Of course, in the daytime, there were no lanterns lit, but in lieu of the eponymous firelight, there was a family of turtleducks floating in the placid waters.

Digging in his pockets, Lee produced a bunch of grapes. Breaking off a few, he dropped them in your palm before taking a couple of his own and tossing them into the fountain for the turtleducks to peck at. You followed his example, secretly pleased that he had known that bread was bad for the turtleducks’ stomachs and had been appropriately prepared with a better alternative.

“No, naturally it’s a long tale,” you said. “Do you really want to hear it?”

“Sure,” he said. “It beats working the afternoon shift.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” you said. “Alright, then. It’s an old story, for Quynh is an old beast, but it’s widely considered to be timeless, so I hope that you do not find it to be at all dated, despite its age.”

Contrary to popular belief, Quynh was not born a spirit. In fact, she was a mortal animal, a bear — a true one, of the same form as King Kuei’s Bosco. Even she was a child once, a mere cub, small enough that a person could heft her in their arms.

In that time, bears were considered to be a great threat to the world. They were thought of as vicious, cruel creatures, with swords for teeth and knives for claws. Larger than any man could ever hope to be, they were frequently hunted, both for sport and for safety, and so it came to be that by the time Quynh was all of two moons old, her and her mother were the only known bears left in the world.

Her mother, who was scarred and gray at the muzzle, knew that it was only a matter of time before she and Quynh, too, followed in the paths of their brethren. She was a canny bear, and so she took Quynh to a river and sank her teeth into the scruff of her daughter’s neck, dipping her into mud to disguise her scent and then dragging the whining cub into a cave that promised to have what she needed.

It was some time before she reached it, but eventually, she made it to the center of the cave, where its inhabitant resided. It was one of the massive, blind badgermoles, though something set this one apart from the others: she was in mourning, hunched over the frail body of her young, which had drawn only a few breaths before passing. 

Quynh’s mother nudged the badgermole before dropping Quynh at her feet. The badgermole, deprived of her sense of smell because of the mud slathered over Quynh’s body, accepted her as her own — or perhaps she did not want to question the stroke of good fortune, that she had just lost her child and then so soon had been given another to care for, even one as tiny as Quynh.

Her mother nuzzled her one last time before leaving the cave. It is unclear what happened to her after that; until recently, it was agreed that she must have been killed like the others, but since the discovery of Bosco, her fate was no longer quite as certain. Perhaps she and a few others managed to survive for all of that time, leading to the birth of the king’s companion…or perhaps Bosco was unrelated to Quynh and the descendant of another strain entirely.

The badgermoles raised Quynh as if she were one of them. She learnt to Earthbend from them, though it was not in the same way; she was not blind, and so did not have the same reliance on the element, and because of her comparatively smaller stature, she never gained the strength needed to command the earth in the way of her family. Still, she did what she could, and though she remembered her mother fondly, she thought of her only on the coldest of nights. The badgermoles were the ones who reared her, and though she could never forget that she was not one of them, that she was a bear, she was never ostracized for it. They loved her, the badgermoles, and as she had spent much of her life with them, she loved them back.

It was when she was four years of age that someone else came to the cave of the badgermoles, though this visitor was neither bear nor badgermole. He was a boy, one with a kind smile and soft hands. His name was Shan, and according to him, he had come to learn from the badgermoles. Earthbending was their art, and if he ever wanted to master it in a meaningful way, then he would have to become their disciple.

Quynh did not trust Shan for many moons after his arrival. She remembered what his kind had done to her own, and though the badgermoles harbored no such misgivings, she would always snarl at him when he visited, gnashing her teeth until he backed away with his hands in the air.

Stubbornness, though, was a family trait. Just like the rest of his line, Shan was not willing to give up. He knew not why Quynh despised him, only that she did, and it was something he could not live with. Every day he tried, and every day, in small increments, she forgave him. The sins of his forefathers were not his own, after all, yet he still endeavored to make up for them. He would bring food for Quynh, tell her stories about the sun and promise to take her there one day — after all, she was a bear, not a badgermole, and bears were not meant to live in the darkness.

That was why, when Shan could no longer learn anything from the badgermoles, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he hesitantly reached out and placed his hand in between Quynh’s eyes, splaying his fingers over her broad forehead and asking her a question: will you come with me?

She hesitated for only a moment, but when she glanced back, the badgermoles had already left, for they, too, knew the truth of her being. They had raised her, and they had loved her, and it was because of those years of affection that they were doing her this last favor and letting her go, letting her rejoin the world that she was born to live in.

It was only once they both stood in the sun that Shan revealed something new to her: the continent which they lived on was in a state of perpetual war. It was composed of many small provinces which were constantly battling one another for as many reasons as there were creatures under the sun. For food. For land. For resources. For perceived insults. For women. For riches. It went on and on, and it was to one such war that Shan had lost his parents. 

This was why he needed Quynh’s help. He wanted to unite the provinces, to turn them into one kingdom, so that the wars might cease for some time, but he could not do it alone. He needed her strength, alongside the strength he had received from the badgermoles. She thought that she might feel angry, but in truth, there was a kind of joy she felt at being needed. So she, in her own way, agreed to his request. She agreed to help him turn the disjointed provinces into one united Earth Kingdom — just as long as she could stay by his side when doing so.

Quynh had come to love Shan. It was like that. Sometimes it was as if she had been born to meet him, to be his companion; if she were a human, then she might’ve called him her greatest friend, but since she was not, since she was but an animal, the only word she had for it was brother. Shan was her brother, though much more delicate than she and without nearly as much fur, so she guarded him with all the ferocity of an elder sibling.

Their combined mastery of Earthbending was too much for the warlords and their paltry armies. It was not long before their dream was realized and they had a proper kingdom. The warlords hailed Shan as their ruler and crowned him the Earth King, but then they ran into a new problem: what was a king without a palace?

Thus began their most ambitious undertaking, even more ambitious than the unification of the Earth Kingdom. They were to build a city, one that an ordinary man could not even conceptualize, one that even the greatest army could not take. It would be named Ba Sing Se: the impenetrable capital of the greatest kingdom the world had ever seen.

Scores upon scores of men were enrolled in academies to learn Earthbending, so that the city could be built in a timely fashion. Things went excellently for a time, and Quynh thought that she might finally be happy. She had her beloved Shan at her side, and now that the wars were over, she could spend most of her days sleeping, allowing the sun to warm her dark fur as she dozed in the gardens behind Shan’s childhood home. 

But things were not meant to be like that. A kingdom in its infancy would always strain against its new rulers; that was the way of things, a way which Quynh had not yet learnt. It was because of this that, during one of his tours of the site where the palace would soon be constructed, an assassin tried to kill Shan.

Quynh was the first to sense his arrival, but he was too fast for her to do anything. She could only roar out a warning to her brother as she ran towards him, her ears flat against her head, her swords for teeth and knives for claws extended, even though it was futile. She would not reach him in time. The man rushing at her Shan would stab the dagger into his back, and she could do nothing about it but push herself faster, faster, in the hopes that she could make it, in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, she could at least take the dagger in his stead.

It was not the dagger which killed her. It was her own brother’s student who cried out in alarm and sent a stalagmite shooting up from the ground and into her heart. It was that old fear which all men possessed, the insidious one which said that bears were vicious, cruel creatures, which spelled out her end, as it had spelled out the end of every other bear before her.

Shan had heeded Quynh’s warning and made quick work of the assassin, who was nothing in the face of a master Earthbender such as himself, so he had not understood at first why his faithful companion had stopped roaring. It was only when he turned and saw her bleeding and heard his pupil rambling on about how she had almost killed him that he understood what had happened.

He cast the boy aside, banished him from the Earth Kingdom and told him to never return, and then he fell to his knees in front of Quynh’s lifeless body. For, as she had loved him, he had loved her, too. The skittish bear who had detested him thoroughly…in the process of winning her over, an indescribable fondness had blossomed in him. Quynh was the only reason he had a kingdom. Quynh was the only reason he had anything. Why, then, was Quynh gone? How was he supposed to rule without her at his side? His Quynh. His bear. His greatest friend.

For three days and three nights, he prayed. He prayed to every spirit he could think of: Tui, La, Agni, the Mother of Faces, and even the more unsavory ones, such as Koh the Face-Stealer. He prayed only for one thing: Quynh’s return. He would give up everything, he repeated, as long as she came back to him. That was his promise. That was his vow.

Only one spirit heard him. He was a being who claimed to be a father, though he held such a disdain for everything that it was uncertain whose father he was meant to be, exactly. Shan would never have dared to converse with such a spirit unless he was truly desperate, but he was truly desperate, and it was for this reason that he opened himself to conversation with one of the most malevolent beings in both the spiritual and physical planes: Father Glowworm.

Father Glowworm was the conniving sort, but he was, in his own way, fair. It was not pity that drove his actions, of course, but a hunger, a lust. He told Shan that he could not bring Quynh back, that it was against the laws of the universe to breathe life unto death, but that there was something else he could do — for a price.

Shan agreed. It didn’t matter the price. He had lost his entire family already; he could not lose Quynh, too. Father Glowworm warned him that he would not like it, but Shan swore that there was nothing more important to him than Quynh.

But the price itself was Quynh, Father Glowworm said. He would subsume her body. Shan would have to watch him tear her apart and eat her, and if he could manage that, if he could manage to watch as Father Glowworm ate the body of his greatest friend, then Father Glowworm would give her spirit some of his powers, the ones which allowed him to tunnel between the physical and spiritual worlds. 

There was still another catch. According to Father Glowworm, what he was about to do was the highest form of offense. By offering Quynh’s body to Father Glowworm, Shan was desecrating it thoroughly, and by agreeing to watch, he was essentially forsaking her, declaring that she meant nothing, was nothing to him but rot and garbage. Her spirit would not know the meaning of the ritual, only that it was being done, and so, even if he went through with it, there was a high likelihood that she would not manifest ever again. She would never dare show herself to the man who had allowed her to be devoured by such an evil being, who had stood by and taken in the gory scene without so much as flinching.

She would have to love him so much that she returned in spite of that, Father Glowworm said. Those were the conditions. That was the only way it could be.

Even though it was wrong, even though she would most likely hate him for the rest of time, even though he knew he was ruining everything for the mere chance that he might see her again, Shan agreed to it. Because there was that chance. Because if Quynh loved him as much as he loved her, then she would come back. Because if it had been the opposite way, he would’ve come back. For Quynh, no matter what she did to him, he would’ve come back.

Father Glowworm did nothing to spare Shan’s feelings. His eye remained focused on the man as he did exactly as he had promised, gorging himself on Quynh’s body piece by bloody piece, until there was nothing left of her but a pile of gleaming bones. Those bones, too, were not safe, as he absorbed them, humming as the power and life which had once been Quynh’s filled him instead.

The entire time, Shan stared straight ahead, his gaze never wavering from Father Glowworm’s singular eye. And finally, when the spirit was finished, he began to laugh.

Foolish man, he told him. Everything you have done has been for naught. Do you think that any creature is loyal enough to return after you allowed its body to be destroyed like that? I thank you for the meal, but this is where we must part.

Shan clenched his fists and kept staring into that eye, asking him only one thing. Did you give Quynh the powers you promised? Is she a spirit now?

Of course, Father Glowworm said. Consider it a gratuity for how delicious she was.

Though it seemed hopeless, Shan did not fret the way Father Glowworm was urging him to. As soon as he had the confirmation that Quynh really was a spirit, he allowed himself to relax, nodding at the pulsating mass that was Father Glowworm’s body.

Father Glowworm was naturally confused. In this kind of situation, Shan should’ve been screaming, should’ve been cursing him for the unfair deal — the deal which was by design uneven. He had made it so many times, and it had never mattered. The end result was always the same. The dead ones never came back. They wandered the spirit world in a haze of confusion and anger, hating a person whose only crime had been loving them too much — not that they knew that, of course. Watching their grief and ingesting their mourning was how he amused himself in his eternal existence, but Shan provided no such amusement. It was only a moment later, as the ground began to shake and an enormous form made of shadows emerged from a doorway in the air, that Father Glowworm understood why.

Quynh loved Shan. And so, Quynh came back.

“That’s the tale of her origin, anyways,” you said.

“I didn’t know that Father Glowworm made deals with people,” Lee said. “In all my studies — limited studies, of course, given that I was doing, uh, circus-y things most of the time — he was just a bloodthirsty killer.”

“Even spirits get bored,” you said. “He was also that, but from time to time, he would do this type of thing for no other reason than because he could. Because he wanted to. Are you following?”

“I think so,” Lee said. “Is this a true story?”

“If you believe in Quynh, it is,” you said. You had heard the tale from Quynh herself, so of course you knew that it was real, but it remained that not everyone was aware that Quynh was more than a legendary concept. And surely you could not give away that you had met Quynh personally — many times in fact — so the non-answer was the best way you could hint to Lee just how verifiable the so-called myth was.

“I see,” he said. “It’s really fantastical.”

“Perhaps,” you said.

“But maybe not entirely so,” he said. “Is it known what powers Father Glowworm gave her?”

“It is,” you said. “Though if you didn’t believe that story, you’ll scoff at what they are. They’re very power-of-love based.”

“Sappy,” he said.

“Most assuredly,” you said.

“Just tell me. You’ve gotten me interested now,” he said.

“The palace is built around Quynh’s Den,” you said. “It’s where Quynh resides, so that she may look after the royal family — the descendants of Shan, who she considers to be like her own children — and it’s a place outside of time or space, in a way. It’s said that her den is made in the same place that her body died and her spirit was reborn. In fact, all of Ba Sing Se was built around that central location, with her Den serving as a support to the entire city.

“Because of this, and because of Father Glowworm’s tunneling powers which he gifted to her, she’s also known as the Keeper of Doors. It’s said that every door in Ba Sing Se is a place sacred to Quynh, and that’s why you’ll sometimes see people praying while standing in doorways. From Quynh’s Den, she can open doors to anywhere in the city, though she has trouble with extreme precision or accuracy. Some say that her doors lead you to where you need to go, not where you want to.”

“I don’t see what’s romantic about that,” Lee said. “It’s typical spirit world stuff.”

“Let me finish!” you said, accidentally throwing a grape too hard into the water. It hit the surface with a splash, dousing the nearby turtleduck, who honked at you in irritation. You mouthed an apology at it.

“Look what you’ve done,” Lee observed. “You’ve gone and made the turtleducks upset. Great going, Y/N.”

“Hush!” you said. “Anyways, the romantic part is the best part of the story, I’d say, but it’s the least accepted. You see, Quynh obviously loved Shan.”

“Obviously,” Lee said.

“She loved him so much that it manifested in her powers, too. There’s only one door that she never closes and which always has the same destination, no matter where it’s opened from: Quynh’s Door, which leads to the inside of the palace itself,” you said.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Lee said.

“It would be,” you said. “Think of how many invasions would be successful if the aggressors could find Quynh’s Door! But it’s not one of her normal doors, which can be seen by anybody. Sometimes, it can’t be seen by anyone at all. It’s a door that only appears to those who Quynh deems worthy.”

“And how is one deemed worthy?” Lee said, clearly enthralled as he leaned in towards you slightly, all pretenses of feeding the turtleducks abandoned. You grinned at him.

“It’s the same way Quynh came back as a spirit,” you said. “You have to be loved by Shan, or, in modernity, someone of his line.”

“You don’t say…” Lee trailed off.

“Do you see what I mean? It’s almost out of the realm of probability that it’s the case, that she really loved Shan that much, but it’s the truth,” you said. “The only way that a person can find Quynh’s Door and enter the palace without restriction is if they are loved by someone in the royal family.”

taglist (comment/send an ask/dm to be added): @rinisfruity14 @c4ttheart @blacky-rose @shizko @marsbars09 @happyplaidpersonfestival @catborglar @camilleverreault @nerdybouquetofkittens-blog @lovialy @heart4hees @stefnarda

[emilsgrippers]

Alejandro angst (ish) hc but they progressively get worse

—after his stay in the drama machine, he of course didn’t get to eat…anything really, so he lost ALOT of weight. He’s too scared to try gaining it back in fear of totally ruining his ‘temple’ even more. Heather tries to help him out by (not) subtly giving him slightly larger portions of food and stuff when she can but it just hurts him—he never finishes it.

—when he went home after TDAS, he was still really distraught from everything. He kind of just rotted away in his room for a while. He didn’t eat, didn’t shower didn’t brush his hair…he just .existed. Nobody ever checked on him either

-adding onto that, when he did finally brush his hair , shower go back to taking care of himself and etc, he was immediately met with more ridicule &bullying from josé and he was shattered. He almost immediately fell back into his previous state

-despite the fact he can control his dreams with for the most part, ease, he can barely control his nightmares. He wakes up more often than not trembling from a nightmare he had.

-Why can’t he just acknowledge the fact it’s just a nightmare, unlike when he’s dreaming?(since he can canonically control his dreams). All of his nightmares are about The drama machine, so everything just feels..real. There’s no way he can convince himself it’s just a bad dream.

-ever since he got out of the drama machine, he really really hates having people look at him. He covers up every scar he got from the eruption as best as he can, but you can still see some of the really bad ones. Even someone like Heather touching or looking at him too long makes him nauseous.

-his scars are kind of like cracks per se. When you see too many cracks in an otherwise perfect temple, it ruins the view.

bye I’m gonna go write

[egg-emperor]

Ohshima has said that Eggman isnt evil in his concepts, he is meant to be humanity

I see that people are passing this around again. Why do people love holding word of god with so much higher regard than what's in the media that's actually been reviewed, finalized, firmly established and published? What someone says outside of the games doesn't change what we see in the games.

What Ohshima said was literally in a Twitter Private message. Someone saying something in private DMs can't be where people get their sources from and have it hold up.

If this was actually the case in canon, it would've been clearly established there, which it isn't. Eggman knows and embraces that he's evil all the time in the actual games.

Ohshima is right about Eggman wanting to make the world beautiful using science and nature but it's in his own selfish twisted definition, not genuinely making it beautiful and nice for anyone else.

We see this by how he purposefully makes Eggmanland and the Interstellar Amusement Park dangerous and embraces and boasts the dangers. He even closed off Planet Wisp to the public because it wasn't "dangerous enough" for visitors yet.

Now Ohsima is specifically saying that Eggman isn't evil in Adventure but if we're gonna focus on that, this also straight up isn't factual there either. Eggman is not a hero in Adventure, he specifically awakened Chaos to destroy Station Square and only tried to stop him because he betrayed him and became a threat to him and his plans.

I made a big post breaking the DM down and showing how, using the game itself which will always be the real true solid source to go by, that in both in English and Japanese Adventure, what Ohshima said just isn't what's happening in the game. Here's a quick reiteration of that post:

Eggman specifically intends for Chaos to destroy Station Square, so he can build Eggmanland on the ruins. This was his entire plan behind summoning and feeding him emeralds in the first place and it was always his method of how he was going to go about conquering the city using Chaos.

Sonic story:

Tails story:

The only problem he has is Chaos betraying him and making him his enemy, which means he's now a threat to him too and that's when it's a problem.

Last story:

He specifically states that it's because he defied him/didn't follow his orders. Instead Chaos is doing it on his own terms and making him his enemy and attacking him too, meaning he can't build Eggmanland and is now in danger himself too. Otherwise he'd love that shit because it was literally his goal to destroy it XD

JP translations are showing me the context doesn't change and Eggman's reasonings remain exactly the same.

Sonic story:

Tails story:

Last story:

Yeah, he's extremely blatant with his selfish reasoning in both versions. The Egg Carrier 2 was always created as a back up in case Chaos betrayed him and because he did, Eggman tried to attack him.

It had nothing to do with Eggman being a hero and wanting to protect the world, unless you count saving the world for him to rule, which is always his selfish motive behind wanting to save the world, besides saving his own life.

I love and respect Ohshima and appreciate his work a lot of course, he designed my favorite character of all time. But this just isn't factual and canon information and should not be used as a source.

He can have ideas and his own takes on the characters but that's very different than him having a position in writing him this way in an actual game and it becoming official and confirmed.

Because that's not what this is, this is his opinion and I have no issue with him saying it because he's very clear about it being just that:

This is far from a declaration of canon, it's happening in DMs and he's literally just sharing his own idea for something but it hasn't been reviewed, developed, finalized and put into the final official media so it doesn't just become canon.

If what he was saying here aligned with what we see in the actual games and served as an explanation backed up by the games then it could be considered evidence but it isn't because the official media shows and tells us very very different all the time.

People really need to stop holding word of god over the official finalized media. It seems to often come from a place of hating the canon, so the second that someone who has worked on it in an official capacity says the opposite of what was shown in canon, people are eager to have it replace the truth

It's like how in official media, Eggman's age is established as "Unknown" but now people want to claim he's canonically in his 40s just because Iizuka estimated Eggman's age and said he's "probably under 50", even though in the finalized official media he's implied to be at least 50+. I broke that down using actual game canon evidence in this post.

People keep taking word of god when a creator says something on the spot that hasn't been finalized and established in canon and every single time, they omit the way said creator says it's just their opinion like Ohshima, or that something is probably the case, like how Iizuka estimated Eggman's age but said it still isn't confirmed.

Creators cannot suddenly change what's long established in canon on the spot and it does not replace what we see in the actual official media that's gone through all the necessary checks, development, and approval. I figured people would've understood this by now after famous authors infamously doing it and everyone hating it.

And in this case they're actually not doing what those authors did because they're not saying that it's the final canon fact. They're saying that it's just their opinion, or just a probable estimate. But fans want them to be like those authors that just randomly declare a bunch of stuff that contradicts the original media for some reason lol

[burst-of-iridescent]

You can go back in time and add one extra Zuko and Katara interaction scene into the show (unfortunately everything else stays the same including the awful canon endgame pairs.) What kind of scene between them would you add?

a post-agni kai conversation.

it always drives me fucking mad that zuko literally throws his life away for katara and then apart from ONE THANK YOU (which is beautiful and perfect, don’t get me wrong, but certainly not enough) they just??? never speak again????? like there is no way in hell katara of all people would just fucking dip after zuko sacrificed himself for her you know she was sitting by his bed 24/7 & changing his bandages & fussing over him day and night & i refuse to hear otherwise.

ideally, i would’ve liked the conversation to be at the jasmine dragon in ba sing se (bringing it full circle from the first time they ever connected in the very same city), out in the balcony before the entire gaang comes to join them and hinting at a future relationship, but since i unfortunately have to keep to canon, i would insert it after the mai.ko “reconciliation” and before zuko’s coronation.

maybe zuko opens up to katara over how nervous he is about becoming fire lord, she reassures him, and then he tells her that he wouldn’t be there without her, and thanks her again — and that segues into them talking about what he did, and why he did it (and if we want angst, we can see the hints of feelings that neither of them yet realize or can admit they have, not till it’s too late) and then we end with another hug just to wrap it all up with a nice bow <3

[cipher00]

Major Montana Max NS/W Alphabet

Explicit smut topics under the cut! If you're a minor get out of here please.

Word count: 2,042

Any gender reader, canon Montana Max

There's just not enough content for this sexy charming bastard so you know I had to put yall on

A = Aftercare

I believe the Major might bring his lover some water after if they're unable to get up as a result of his handiwork. He may also clean them up, but he'd definitely tease you as he does, trailing his fingers over sensitive spots, caressing your spent body sensually as he cleans you off.

B = Body Part (Which body part is their favorite)

The Major isn't immune to the beauty of standard body parts such as tits and ass, but I personally think he'd be more attracted to more muscular or lean parts. Arms, legs, or anything that helps you in combat. He loves to watch you fight and kill. As he said before, nothing is more arousing than the sounds POW's make as they get blown apart, and if you're the cause of that, it would just take him to an even greater high.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum)

The Major loves the idea of cumming inside you, marking and claiming your body and truly ruining you inside and out, only for him to enjoy. At the same time, he would likely also enjoy painting you in white, loving the humiliation aspect. Besides, it only makes you look all the more sinful.

D = Dirty Secret (A dirty secret of his)

Though The Major would never indulge it, he secretly loves the idea of a powerful woman dominating him in the bedroom. In his eyes, it would feel like the wins and losses on the glorious battlefield; being overpowered and taken by force. Of course, he wouldn't let this happen, as he has to keep up appearances and keep a firm hold of his power.

E = Experience

In the words of another HC I love - "The Major gets hella pussy and no one can convince me otherwise." Sure he's a ruthless Nazi Major, but he does have that charm and charisma. Not to mention with the use that accent and a slight shift his tone, his voice becomes as smooth as honey. Needless to say that he knows his way around a body or ten. He'll please his partner, but he'll have his own way of doing it, meaning that you might just be on the edge of orgasm for hours.

F = Favorite Position

I would say missionary and breeding press are his favorites. Any position that lets him hold all the power and allows him to hit the right spots that makes you keen for him, really.

G = Goofy (Is he humorous in the moment? Does he make jokes?)

I don't think he would joke around per se, but if you were to accidentally do something goofy or embarrassing by accident, he may tease you about it or rib you a bit. Anything to keep you transfixed on him.

H = Hair (How is he groomed? Does the carpet match the drapes?)

I personally think the Major is shaved clean down there. He seems the type to take good care of his own personal hygiene, not liking to feel unclean. He may be fat, but he's no pig.

I = Intimacy (How is he in the moment through a romantic aspect?)

Pretty much nonexistent, as love in the world he lives in would be a weakness, something to make him vulnerable and lose some of his power. Anything he has personal ties to can be used to manipulate him by someone else. Hypothetically though, if he did feel love towards his tryst partner, he may show it in the smallest ways possible without being explicit about it. Tender kisses against your lips as opposed to rough, hungry ones, and littering kisses all over your body. Practically worshipping you.

J = Jerk Off

Being in his position, with his responsibilities and plans, he doesn't have much time to jerk off. But even when he does have the time, it isn't too often; only a few times a month. His mentality is that if he wants it, why shouldn't he have it? But even so, after all the work he's done conducting plans for the new war, doesn't he deserve his private time?

K = Kink

You name it, he probably has it. Some big favorites would be gun/knifeplay (goes without saying), bondage, lingerie, sadism/masochism, etc. He indulges in these like he would a fine wine. Without a doubt, I can also see him loving it when you call him by his title. Pleading for your Major to let you finish, please.

L = Location (Where is his favorite place to do it?)

He'll take you just about anywhere. It's not like anyone's going to stop him, and he just loves to see if he can break you down and make you scream for him when you should be quiet so as not to reveal yourselves doing something you shouldn't be. And if someone discovered you two, he would probably either shoot them (assuming he could even hit the target), or intensify his ministrations to show the poor schmuck how good he fucks his women.

M = Motivation (What turns him on and gets him going?)

To see you maim and kill an enemy is his ultimate aphrodisiac. His darling, enjoying the spoils and glory of war. If you're enjoying it, he most definitely will. If he thinks that seeing the horrors of war by itself is arousing, that's increased tenfold when he catches you being the cause of such sights. Of course if you were to find yourself wanting, he couldn't deny you. Especially not when you plead so nicely for him.

N = NO (Something he won't do, turn offs)

I would say he wouldn't limit most things, but anything scat would have to be a hard no. It's unclean, and straight up nasty. That being said, he may be into bloodplay, or physically injuring his darling if that's what they want too.

If you want it, he needs it.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Probably prefers to be on the giving end. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing like the sight of your mouth stuffed full of him, but he enjoys watching you come apart from the barest of touches, and being reduced to nothing more than a begging mess for more than what he's giving you. Me and my buddy also HC that he enjoys his partner sitting on his face (lol).

P = Pace (Is he fast, slow, stamina, etc)

His pace entirely depends on his intent. Generally, he'll be hard and fast, pumping into you mercilessly with full strokes that hits the back of your walls and leaves you crying out as you try to ground yourself by grabbing anything nearby. However, if he's feeling particularly cruel, he'll fuck you slowly and shallowly, not nearly giving you enough of what you need. He'll only let you have it once you've convinced him that you deserve this pleasure. Only then will he speed up, treading on the line of what's too much for you to handle.

Q = Quickies (His opinion on them? How often?)

The Major will 100% do quickies. It's an opportunity to satisfy his and your cravings, though it's often tangled with the risk of being discovered. While he does enjoy this though, he much prefers taking his time with you, toying with your body and leaving you on the edge of climax again and again. Teasing and denying until he finally gives in to you, and rewards you for being such a good little darling for him.

R = Risk (Will he experiment? Does he take risks?)

He'll absolutely take risks. There's almost nothing he wouldn't do, even if that involves direct threat to life. He'll fuck you in public, reminding you that you need to be quiet if you don't want to be caught by others. Even so, he'll still work your body to the point that you can't help but make noise. The thrill of being discovered only does more for him. Besides, what is the enemy going to do, kill him? Not until he's finished here, thank you. He's also not opposed to trying things that could hurt you, such as weaponplay. The element of danger just makes it so much more delicious.

I figure he would be a bit possessive, but at the same time, I can kind of see him allowing the Doc to fuck you as long as he watches, potentially even joining in to take you to new heights. When you look over to him, he'll tut and tell you to "Keep your eyes on ze man zhat's fucking you."

S = Stamina (How many rounds can he go for? How long does he last?)

Being that he essentially became a cyborg, I'd say his stamina is better than that of your average human. He can easily outpace you, and keep on going even past your point of exhaustion. And even then, he'll continue. "You can do better zhan zat," He insists. "I'll make you come for me again."

T = Toys (Does he own toys? Does he use them?)

He probably owns just a fleshlight (based off of some official-looking art I saw). As long as it gets the job done. But when it comes to you, I've no doubt he has a few things in stock. Rope, blindfold, perhaps a gag, and a vibrator. He loves nothing more than to play with your body with that until you're begging for the real thing.

U = Unfair (How much does he like to tease?)

Oh boy. He might as well be the king of teasing. On a normal day he'll wind you up with small things. The silken sound of his voice, lingering touches, or perhaps low, whispered comments in your ear about how you are looking 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 tonight. He'll whisper all sorts of filthy things in your ear, knowing perfectly well the effect that it has, and then proceed to walk away and leave you to these thoughts and desires he's invoked.

He'll spend hours teasing at you, knowing how to play your body perfectly like it's a delicate instrument, only to then deny you of what you need most, telling you that you have not yet earned the right. That you won't finish until he says so. And even then, that 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴.

Teasing him is a two way street. Either he finds it amusing, or you're being tied up and edged until your face is streaked with tears and your voice is nearly hoarse with pleas that 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.

V = Volume (How loud he is? What kind of noises does he make?)

In public settings I can see him being silent, save for a few growls or grunts. He knows that you love to hear him, so in more private settings he may make sensual, guttural noises for you, accompanied by praises or more dirty talk.

W = Wild Card

There's an AU idea I've started where he became a catholic priest. As far as that goes, he will definitely indulge in confessional sex. Having you ride him in the booth, clamping a hand over your mouth to keep you silent as he whispers more than sinful things to you.

X = X-Ray (What's under the clothes?)

There is some really convincing official-looking art that portrays him as having next to nothing. But fuck that, this is my obsession. I would say at least 5 inches hard; a nice fair average size for him. Though maybe if he's particularly riled up, an extra inch.

Y = Yearning (How high is his sex drive?)

Before you came along it wasn't that high. Maybe he satisfied himself a couple times a month. But with you there, hoo boy. Any opportunity he has to make you scream and whine for him, he's taking. You are his fetish, after all.

Z = Zzz (How quickly does he fall asleep afterwards?)

Depends on the circumstances. If he has important work to do, I believe he'll have the stamina to get up and continue on with whatever he was doing before, or whatever needs to be done. Though if he does have the luxury of time on his side, he may stay beside you and trace over your figure idly before eventually falling asleep.

[jamminlocks]

Just a Wink - pt 2 {Suna x Reader}

Tags: Flirting, flirting strangers, Fluff, Humor, Semi-Canon Compliant, not beta read, still not beta read, reader is a volleyball player, word count: 4322 Summary: You meet the middle blocker from Inarizaki again in the next national tournament and you still have the mischievous streak to have fun. A/N: the tags here and comments from ao3 were motivating and i still had some ideas in mind so i made another part. may add or change some stuff here are there [ao3] 1 ⪻ ꒰ 2 ꒱⪼ 3

•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°

Your team lost in the finals to Sakura Chuo High. It was a good game, though. The first set was a win for your team. But the next two were won by Sakura Chuo. The last being 23-25. The feeling of defeat comes slowly. You're more relieved that it's over, glad to wipe away the sweat all over your face and to stay dry at the present moment, finally getting the chance to breathe and let your heart beat steady. Competitive as you are, you don’t feel crushed per se. Sad, sure, but not as devastated as some of your teammates seem to be. If anything, what’s has you misty eyed is their sobbing rather than the actual loss. Feeling the pain of all the training, the practices, to only lead you all not crossing the final step to reach the peak. That's what happened last time. Everyone worked so hard to get here. Still you didn’t make it to the top. But that's how it is. Sometimes, you’ve got the ball rolling and it stops at the last moment. 

There’s still pride left in them, you think, that they understand second place is still really good. Some of your teammates will come to that conclusion later. Others, not really. They have their reasons and they're right to believe otherwise. To you, the team has proven that you’ve all come this far. Every other school will see you all as strong opponents for the next nationals. As for you personally, You could say getting up here is a huge confidence boost as a player and you want to play up to here again.

After the game, as you all wipe away the sweat and rehydrate, your captain and half of the team approach you while you drink from your bottle.

“Sorry we made you look bad in such a big game,” your captain starts, saying it with at most exaggerated seriousness that purposely borders on being funny. Paying no mind until one of your middle blockers said, “We promised to do our best after all."

You are confused, raising a brow. Then, they give a half bow to you and apologize in unison, confusing you even more. They were so in sync that it was suspicious, but a soft part of your heart gets the best of you. “Huh? What's this all about?” you exhaustedly cried out to them, worried you scared them at some point into playing better. You are in no position to suddenly have them be like this to you.  

“We said we’d do our best so you can score a date with that one guy from Hyogo,” the team’s second libero states in fake disappointment and the others nod. In an instant, It all clicks.

This is so stupid. “Damn you guys.” You are so done with them. Still you can’t help but laugh out loud. You’re well aware that this is a joke, but the idea that they thought winning nationals will get you a date with an attractive stranger tickles your mind in a way you didn’t think it would and it has you howling in laughter, not caring of passersby or the other team notices. It fills you with pride that, despite the loss, they found humor in it all. Your team laughs along with you and you all banter while readying to leave.

The middle blocker from Hyogo in question, Suna-san, didn't quite leave your mind. After that little chat with him, you did not expect to see him again anytime soon. Most teams don't stay to watch the following days live after they're out of the nationals brackets. Though Inarizaki stayed for another day after they lost, you already assumed they’d be gone the day of the finals. 

There was a part of you that would like to believe they did stay to watch. You already met Suna-san by chance once. Why not a second time? Or even just see other Inarizaki players walking around like before. But it seems they didn’t. You didn’t feel that strange chill when Suna-san had his eyes on you, not before, during or after the match.

However, you’re kind of glad it's likely that he didn’t watch at all. He wished you luck yet you lost. Now that is embarrassing, even when you were playing really well in the match. Therefore, you can move along in peace.

As you walk alongside your teammates, carrying their own respective gym bags, you like to think that the luck Suna-san wished for you will show up at a different time.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Spring came, all of you bid farewell to your seniors and you became a third year yourself. Without your input or by default, the team pretty much chose you as their vice-captain, which is actually much better than being the captain, in your humble opinion. The first years are a handful. They do have a great deal of potential, just guiding in the right direction, and maybe a gentle knuckle to their heads sometimes but they’re mostly fine. 

Oddly for you, some teammates like to gossip in good fun and the little story of you chatting it up with a middle blocker from a powerhouse team gets to the first year players. From what you’ve heard and what the first years were willing to say that they heard, it's not far from what happened. Nonetheless you know that your freshmen, teammates’ active imaginations might have imagined it differently.  Now, they think you're the senior who has the hidden ability to charm attractive boys when in reality it was just a sudden burst of confidence and living in the moment.

Regarding that one guy in question, Suna-san was rarely in your mind unless it was about nationals or the  boys’ side of the nationals. Though the memory of the chat you had with him has been slightly tainted by the fact that more people know about it now and you have to always point out that you really weren’t trying to get it with him– you don’t even know where that assumption came from– whenever the story gets retold, you can still look back at it and feel pleased with yourself that you did not fumble. This is even more so because you winked at him, twice. The first time is the most fun to recall. You don’t know if you could do that again if you end up seeing him in nationals, if you even get there.

And then, the first half of your third year was to your favor. The team does great enough to win your prefecture's Interhigh Preliminaries, setting you to what could probably be the last nationals you'll attend in your school sports career. Perhaps that luck was paying off and you hope it will last you until the end. 

The trip to Tokyo was much like last years, yet the new batch of freshmen brought a new kind of excitement when you got there. Much like the last inter-high tournament, your team waits by the stairs outside of the tokyo gymnasium, under sunnier weather, not to join in the clustered crowd inside. Keeping the team in a good mindset was a job you had with the captain and manager. That's what you were mostly doing. Still, the waiting has you bored and you distract yourself by looking on to the crowd of other players. The teams are a little more lively than they were back in January, it might be because of the brighter, warmer weather. New uniforms also wait alongside your team, new or returning teams from years ago. Plenty of old uniforms from last nationals make their return. They all come with matching banners of their school’s name. You find yourself looking for a particular shade of maroon banners and sports jacket, yet they weren’t there

The tournament brackets are inside the gymnasium, but you have the gut feeling that Inarizaki will be here too. You could do that right now, ask a teammate what team is here for Hyogo. After all, you could also be wrong. However, some of your more teasing members are quick to jump to the conclusion that you're hoping it’s Inarizaki because of, well, a certain someone, rather than assuming you're asking out of genuine curiosity. They’d be right too but you're not really in the mood to feed into their teasing. It's also on the bottom of your list of priorities. So, you spend the rest of the wait checking on your team’s well being while scanning the crowds of colorful volleyball jerseys every now and then to distract yourself.

The thought fades once your team enters the gymnasium and you, along with the rest of the teams present, prepare for the opening ceremony. It was only when you check out the tournament brackets after the ceremony do you see that Inarizaki is present. It’s impressive but no surprise to you or anyone. From what you've gathered, they won't be up to play until much later, same as your team. 

Teams that aren't the first four matches in the main arena of the tournament spend their time being an audience of those matches or wandering around the stadium until it is their turn. That's what your team has been up to. Everyone is in high energy and high spirits, so most of your teammates are walking around either watching the games or checking out the stalls for souvenirs. Some opted out to just sit and preserve their energy for the match, leaving them as the guard of everyone else's bags.

You are one of those that decided to walk around. The excitement was getting to you a bit and you practically could not sit still. Your manager suggests you come along with her, figuring mayhaps getting on your feet will shake it out. She was just going to the vending machines and didn't want to go alone. You join her after snagging money from a pocket of your bag, thinking you could use a box of milk, actually. If they have milk, that is. 

As you walk together, other bright uniforms pass you. You briefly watch the match from each court as you move. The squeaks of rubber shoes on concrete, shuffling feet, the impact of volleyballs on hands and arms, players shouting, audience cheering and playing their teams' cheer music, it all mixes and blends into the festive and energetic atmosphere nationals is known for. You finally reach the hall leading to the exit of the ground floor. It is where some of the vending machines are lined up. From what you can remember, most of them are on the other side, near the entrance.

“Shit”, your manager hisses as she hastily pads her pockets. Concerned but already understanding where this is going, you ask anyway. “What’s wrong?” 

“I forgot my wallet.” As you thought. She then hands you her clipboard, and jogs off to the direction where you both came from. “I’ll be right back,” She called out, leaving you standing alone. You sigh, defeated yet humored. She bought her clipboard with her but not the money to buy anything. 

After watching her disappear from the corner, you scan the options presented to you by the vending machine in front of you. Juices, soft drinks, canned coffees– maybe you’ll get one later– water, no milk. You walk to the next one and it's the same. The one after that is not even drinks. It's cup noodles and is also tempting. You keep walking and hear footsteps of other people but you pay no mind as you read. Probably other players anyway. It was on the third to the last one, a white vending machine like the beverage it is encasing. The milk is packed in small cartons that you find adorable since you were a child. There's the milk you usually drink and other varieties. It had you thinking

Should you buy the usual or be a bit adventurous and get the flavor you haven’t tried before? The pros of the latter is you enjoying milk and having another kind of milk to like. The cons being you might get an upset stomach right before a game or during the game for suddenly trying something new. However, you may regret it if you don’t give it a try.  

Before you make up your mind, you sense it again, the feeling of being watched. Turning to the corner where you last saw your manager, she is still nowhere to be seen. Has she found her wallet and is on her way or still shuffling her bag? You huff impatiently, looking back at the milk cartons behind the vending machine’s glass. Maybe you should just buy your usual plain milk.

After making up your mind, you take the money out of your pocket, slipping the clipboard under your arm. Then, you feel it again, someone's eyes on you. This time, It's different. It’s specific, familiar. It’s the same to the one back in January, that chill. Your awareness heightens. Looking back again, there are other people walking. You half-hope that you would see him. Not because you want to, wanting to be right that it is the same chill as back then. But after scanning the passersby, specifically any person in a volleyball uniform, there wasn’t a single black jersey. It’s somehow disappointing.

Sifting through the money in your hand, there's plenty of 10 yen coins, some 50 yen too. What you need is 100 yen. As you count, someone walks up and stands at a distance from you. 

Unsure if they were waiting for their turn to buy, you took a quick glance, noticing maroon cloth. From the corner of your eye, there you see him, Suna-san of Inarizaki's Volleyball team standing in front of the vending machines, staring at the rows of featured bottles, right beside you. His phone with a bright screen on one hand. The other is in the pocket of his jacket.

Your gut is telling you to say 'hi', like he’s already your friend. Winking at and talking to someone once from a few months ago does not count as friendship. Still pretending to be preoccupied, you observe him. It seems, like you, Suna-san came without a beverage in mind, scanning the selection of drinks behind each glass. He makes careful strides forward while his attention is on the side, not in a hurry. You played with the coins between your fingers. Should you talk to him? Shifting your stance to the other foot. The distance between you gets closer and he stops just far enough for him to notice. You're already here, might as well have your fun again. 

“Hey,” you greet, a little playful at the tail end.

From his focus on the vending machine, his head pirks up, turning to you. Those feline-like eyes are on you again, less unintentionally threatening this time. Just like before, they gape open in mild surprise then they droop back. He smirks at you.

"Hey," Suna-san echoes with the same voice as he did back then–  low, cool, lazy, like having recently woken up. He doesn't appear to have changed much from the last time you saw him. Still having the same haircut. You wager he grew a cm or soThere is a glint in his gaze you can't quite put your finger on. “You made it.”

You softly laugh at his comment. Was he expecting to see you at Nationals? "Yeah. I'm surprised too.”

"Your team did win second place in the last tournament," Suna-san points out. Hearing it from him sounds like a bigger deal. Well, he didn't have to tell you that, tooting your horn for you. He follows up with, "congrats, by the way."

Although smiling in thanks, you try not getting it too big. You said, "don't say that yet, that was the last time. We haven't played our first match today." Your attention is split between the vending machine and talking to him. There is a pause as you do.

“How was it,” he asked. A vague question. It pulls you out from choosing a drink. 

Turning to him, you say, “you mean the finals?” It's still clear to you the feelings during the match, the rush, the exhaustion, the thrill. “Even though we lost, it was great. Manage to score a lot too,” recalling scoring a spike in one particularly long rally. The frustration in the Sakura Chau player's faces still brings you satisfaction. “I wanna get up there again. And, well, actually win.”

He nods. Likely understanding your sentiment. Inarizaki did get to the finals last year. However, losing Itachiyama. He would definitely know what you mean. Suna-san pointing with his phone has you looking down on your torso, "you're the vice-captain now, huh?” it made sense that he is referring to your jersey number.

You shrug one shoulder nonchalantly, though there is still pride in your voice, "yup." 

He slides his phone into one of the jacket’s pockets. "How's that going for you?"

"Better than I thought. I’m not the one holding the sign, standing front all the time, nor the one doing all the talking for the team when the sports media has questions,” you said with a grin. A grin of someone who has tactically dodged a bullet. “Most of the time, all I do is keep the team in good shape and rally them up when they’re too energetic."

Suna-san’s head tilted up slightly. “You’re not overshadowed by your first years, are you?”, a subtle challenge. Not out of doubt, more like tempting a cat with a stick out of curiosity. You take it, though, just to play along. 

“HAH! No.” you assert. “They work hard and play well, but I won’t let myself fall behind, even if the team’s winning a game.” A humble brag, really, one that you're willing to make. To your surprise, the expression of his eyes changes to something you can only assume being pleased at your answer. “And you, Suna-san?” Throwing the question to him, crossing your arms, expecting to be impressed. “I heard that the twins are quite a menace in court.” 

Suna-san lets out a light, humored scoff, glancing to the side. “Compared to our old captain and vice-captain, they are. But, they’re-” he trails off a little, thinking of what word to use for them. “…manageable.” You nearly burst out a laugh.

It's time for you to lightly challenge him. “That's not stopping you from playing well, does it”

Only Suna-san’s gaze of his sharp eyes returns to you. His irises are in shades of murky yellow complemented by the light of the vending machine. They stay on you as his stance shifts- straight posture yet laid back- in brief seconds of finger twitching anticipation. 

 “No”, he said, calm and cool, a simple answer delivered in unwavering, unobvious confidence. There’s nothing for you to deny and you don't try. Impressive, very impressive.

It's cut short when you realize Suna-san hasn’t been choosing anything from the vending machines. Were you making him wait? You sway a hand to the display. "Do you wanna buy something? I'll get it for you if you want."

“You first,” he insisted. Both of you choose in silence for your beverage. Returning back to your self debate, the usual or something new? Scheming uppermost row, a carton of chocolate milk you always wanted to try but always put off. Given the situation, you are feeling adventurous today.

After selecting the chocolate milk, the payment was inserted and the machine began processing it. “Chocolate, huh?” Suna-san said, somewhat impling if it's a favorite of yours. 

“Never got to try it. I heard it's good, though.”

Taking the cold carton out of the opening, you ask the other player, “So, which is it?” Wanting to follow through your offer to do it for him. A finger hovers over the buttons in preparation.

“Same as yours, actually” A stretched out arm hands you his money. You find it nice you're both drinking the same thing.

As you punch in his request, Another person approaches behind Suna-san, also a member of Inarizaki’s team. Speaking of one of the devils, a Miya, wearing number 2 as well. You were about to tell Suna-san of him. But the moment he sees you, the guy quickly makes a 180 degree turn– somehow not squeaking his shoes– and rushes back where he came from. Whether you scared him off or he had to go back for his own reasons is beyond you. You leave it be. If had something to say to his teammate, he wouldn’t have left. You insert the coins for the machine to process.

Mere second after Miya left, your manager came running from the other side. “SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! IT GOT LOST IN MY BAG!” She stops beside you, huffing and a sweaty forehead. Seeing the middle blocker, then at you, She smiles wide.

“Oh!” she said, the suggestive tune goes unhidden. It takes one particular look from you to convey that your warning her to not start anything. “This is Suna-san. He’s a player for Inarizaki. Suna-san, she’s one of our managers,” you said.

She greets him well and he politely responds, beginning with small talk. You don’t participate, letting them be and listening in. Suna-san makes your manager look lively in comparison to him. He is very nice to her and you can't really blame him. The manager has that effect on everyone. 

You don’t let yourself gleefully observe the interaction for too long, nearly forgetting his drink. No one noticed it has dropped, so you took it out of the machine. The pen attached to the clipboard you’ve been holding fell and you picked that up too. Holding the pen, an idea pops up. You wipe the moisture of the box with the hem of your jersey and write something on an area of the box where the letters can fit in.

After you are done, you pat your manager’s shoulder. “Hey, buy something already,” gladly reminded her of why she had to run back for money. She does, moving to the different vending machine, leaving you and Suna to talk again. You handed him the chocolate milk carton. He hasn’t noticed yet.

“When’s your match?” you questioned. 

“Don’t know. Haven’t asked our captain yet.” there’s a spark of interest in his eyes. “Are you gonna watch us?”

“I’d like to, honestly. I didn’t get to see much last year.” your manager is still choosing, but you know you're running out of time. So, you’ll slip in one more, little, not-so-consequential challenge to him.

As you take the provided straw and carefully tear off its plastic, you ask, “Do you think you’ll win today's game?”

Suna-san sees it too, that you're playing with fire with light touches. 

He indulges you, “Yeah. We will.” a hand slips to his pocket phone to take it out.

“You?” the same question from earlier, mixed with a serious note by an accompanied raise brow.

“I’d like to think we will, just like last tournament,” you said while you inserted the straw. “Plus, I believe I still have the luck you wished for me last time, but… “stopping to take a sip of the milk. It's sweet and creamy, the chocolate comes a little late.

You return your attention  to Suna. his eyes' impression changed in a blink to something so close to…enticing. Chillingly so, It's almost flustering. However, you’re not backing down in whatever this is happening between the two of you. 

Cocking your head to the side, you coyly say “you’ll still wish me luck, won’t you?” 

A short, quiet and breathy laugh escapes his lips. There’s a new warmth in his eyes too.

“Good luck.” such few words, given in cool, yet sincere confidence. The luck he wishes you may as well be tangible.

Just when you were about to speak, your manager held you by your elbow. Her other hand was holding her bottled drink. “C’mon let's head back.”

You turn to her, not without you grinning back at him, “See you again, Suna-san.” Taking the tip of the straw between your teeth. 

You bid him your farewell with a drown out gaze long enough to feel captivating. Then, you give him a gentle wink before you head off. 

After your manager waves him a goodbye, you and her walk off as you take sips again. No words were exchanged until turning to the corner, where boys were out of sight.

“At it again, are we? Don’t you think it’s a bit too early for you to be flirting with boys?

You don’t really like how she puts it. To you, a little bit of teasing back there doesn’t count as full blown flirting.

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Hehe, once the other’s hears about this–”

“Haha, Don’t” you cut her off with a threatening smile. She cheekily smiles back and rolls her eyes. Not pushing it. Likely understanding that you’ve grown tired of the boy charmer jokes about you.

Navigating through the busy halls of the gymnasium, you drink. It tastes a lot better now, more of the chocolate flavor dancing around. You wonder if you overdid it by the end, that you may have had too much fun. Such a shame you did not see his full reaction. The most you got was seeing Suna-san’s expression slightly falter with a smirk from your periphery. You suppose that will be enough proof you got to him somehow.

With each passing sip, the chocolate milk becomes sweeter from your own satisfaction.

•~•~•~•~•~•

As Suna inserts the straw that comes with the box, he sees something written with pen’s ink

‘Good luck in your matches,’ signed with the kanji of your name.

He lets out a gratified sigh to himself. Your wink is still replaying in his mind.

“Damn it.”

•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°

A/N: jokes on me, guess i can post another fic before the year ends lol I sorta feel bad that their interaction took 2k words to happen lucky for everyone, there is a next chapter! i can hardly wait to finish writing it hahaha happy holidays everyone!!

[royali-tea]

Cafae Latte // The Video Game #3

As I said, I'm back with an update after finishing with the Title Screen! Like I did in my last post, have a bit of a TLDR.

What I've gotten done:

Added CM to the credits screen (Of course)

Added strings to the sign easter egg

Added Background music (with a music slider)

Added button sound effects (with an sfx slider)

Made Play button interactable (with the panel that follows)

Main thing I want to be doing next:

Make the 'Choose' panel buttons interactable

^^^ Design the panels that follow this

Design some of the items/characters (for character selector)

Alright!! First thing I'll post a screenshot of is the updated credits scene. CM is of course the creator of the series, which is up there with my favourite shows of all time and I don't think I'll ever get enough of it. Thanks to CM for being such an amazing person and creator <3

Next up, the strings on the sign easter egg, it's only a small change but it was almost annoying me a little before it was fixed? Have yourself an image to see the fixed version below!

I used BeepBox to remake a song used in the end credits of some of the Cafae Latte seasons on YouTube, I'm quite proud of myself for it as I had done it by ear! I think I got quite close? I had to cut the audio a bit short since it wouldn't allow me to upload it. This will be playing throughout the game with a volume slider in the options panel.

(I dreaded doing the audio so much, mainly the controlling it in the game part but I'm very happy with myself for finishing it, especially since now I can continue working on designing more and continuing on with the game).

Now I can't upload the button SFX for whatever reason but I ended up using just a plain high pitch beep, I don't think I like it much but I'm not sure what else I could do for it at this moment, I'll most likely have a look elsewhere for some kind of inspiration, or maybe use BeepBox again so that the SFX matches the music more.

(^^ SFX slider!)

The Play button, finally, is interactable! I'm having it go to a now fully designed version of a concept I posted in #2 of a 'Choose 1 or 2' type screen, as you can see below! (Options to either create a character or play *as* a character, oc or otherwise)

Weirdly I don't particularly feel like I have much else to say on what I've done recently. It's 3:34AM. Must finish this before giving in to sleep!

I've started working more on the select character part of the next part of the game, aka, I've started designing the selector along with what the player model could look like, although I'm still unsure of that.

Here are two designs for what Bob could look like, I made the design on the right first but decided something more simple would fit the general style of the game better. I still plan to redesign her again as I'm not quite happy with what I've done, that and I need to add the marbling and perhaps some earrings. Maybe next time I'll figure out how to make some simple hands that look decent.

And a design for the selector !! I'm not sure how to categorise the characters? Species was the most obvious way I could think of, and now that I think about it, I was thinking of giving some characters like Bob for example, more than one 'form', since in the TikTok series Bob is canonically glamoured to look more 'human' per se. The character model I used in the design is definitely one that I like but I'm unsure of the hands, since they're just kind of stubs, I'll most likely play around with that and try and change it.

Farewell lovelies <3

[wateroflifefrommountains]

RANDOM THOUGHT AT 4AM: Wouldn't Damian see Steph as his sister rather than Cass?

I understand that Steph has not been adopted by Bruce; hence, they are not sisters per se. But it must be stated that during her 2009 Batgirl run, Steph was the de facto sister to the little demon we call Damian and, in my opinion, this should remain.

It was shown that Steph took the time and effort to connect to the little guy. While this was erased during the New52 and the "introduction to a childhood" role was given to Duke Thomas during the Rebirth Era [end of We Are Robin], as everything is canon now; hence, this bond is back.

They did not immediately get along, then again, this seems to be a trend with Steph's relationships. Case in point, brick to future love interest's face. not to mention, Cass giving her one of the coldest replies during training.

On the other hand, the relationship between Cass and Damian has been casual at best pre-New 52. While Damian tells Stephanie that he would prefer to have met Cass; it is shown in the 5-part story, Gates of Gotham [if it is cannon], that Damian does not like Cassandra and is willing to push her buttons. Unfortunately, unlike Steph, Cass isn't going to banter, she has a lot of heart for forgiveness and second chances but little patience for taunts. [Cass is the same person who openly admitted to getting taunted by Shiva into a deathmatch.]

At the end of the Gates of Gotham run, Cass and Damian establish some levels of respect but their interactions are sparse. While Damian is shown to trust Cass's decisions, I interpret this as professional courtesy. Steph and Damian's connection is more fleshed out and Steph's patience and willingness to meet Damian in the middle leads to a sisterly bond between them. She cares for him and actively treats him as the 10-year-old he is. She has been shown to slip and deal a low blow every now and then but that actually worked in her favor as Damian would have walked all over her otherwise. IIRC, Steph and Duke were the ones who encouraged Damian to have a childhood. Recently, Bruce is giving it a go in the Batman and Robin Comics but this should not erase Steph's connection to Damian. In more recent comics, Cass was teasing Damian about his loss at the Lazarus Tournament sometime before the Lazarus Planet event started. The two were shown to have developed enough of a bond to tease each other though these interactions are VERY rare. This leads me to conclude that Damian still considers Steph as her de facto sister [sister based on the performance of the role] while Cass is the de jure sister [sister according to law] as the former actually extended their hand to him during his formative years.

[icelynia]

TBB FINALE SPOILERS

Tech, Other Characters, and Death

Speaking about Tech, I’ve heard a lot of people saying about how at least we now have a death in Star Wars and specifically the animation that sticks.

We’ve already had so many of them! For the Clones: Hardcase, Jesse, Fives, Tup, Waxer, Gregor (Rebels) (notable clones who appeared in more than one episode and I can remember at this time.)

Other Characters: Satine, Darth Maul (Rebels), Savage Oppress, Kanan Jarus, Yaddle (TotJ), Nala Se, Rampart, and probably more that I’m forgetting.

The point of this is to say that just counting Star Wars Animated shows, we have permanent death. Why add Tech to that list? (Minus the fact that he might have been too smart for the plot they wanted to happen). Almost all of the characters mentioned above were given plot time to deal with their deaths.

If Tech really is dead and not coming back in another show, he was done a major disservice by the writers. The whole cast was. No scenes about his death, really? Honestly, up until CX-2 getting the stab/electricity combo I was on team Tech Lives and is CX-2. Nothing makes sense otherwise, unless we go with the sinister baiting of fans.

From the framing of his “death” (falling into a cloud barrier; never learned what was on the other side), how the news was delivered (from the series villain with only Tech falling and the flimsy evidence that could’ve even been faked of Tech’s broken goggles), the advertising not clearing things up (not much about Tech in trailers and the only scene we see in trailers was Tech falling in ✨Sepia✨), using foreshadowing devices we’ve been taught to recognize since elementary school, to introducing a new character who reasonably could be Tech and who also has the same mannerisms (Pockets, “Domicile”, speak patterns, lots of technology, and scenes/framing that seem to intentionally parallel stuff Tech lived through). Let’s not forget about the creators’ cryptic and misleading posts and FOR SOME REASON CHANGING TECH’S CANONICAL HEIGHT AFTER HE “DIED”?!

I love this show, the creators did an otherwise great job, but this one point ruins it. Since Tech was never confirmed dead, we still don’t have closure.

[rayshippouuchiha]

Huge headcanon that Tsuna employs his mother's mannerisms in the future, canon universe or otherwise.

Like when he doesn't want to acknowledge something, such as his guardians destroying the Vongola mansion yet again, or the Varia exceeding their allotted destruction quota and causing budget troubles.

Cue him smiling, eyes closed, all but radiating geniality and the most malewifey housewifey aura possible.

"Ara! You must be mistaken. There is nothing much happening here." (Translation: There is no war in Ba Sing Se, for my own peace of mind. In fact, when I turn around, there better not be any war in Ba Sing Se.)

"Ara! Would you look at that? It seems some strange people believe in budget fairies!" (Translation: The next time any of you destroy my budget, I'll string you up by your intestines while playing a cello in your gut.)

His guardians or the Varia or whoever's responsible immediately start swearing buckets and putting things back in order as soon as they encounter the dreaded 'Ara' mode.

Or when he's at the end of his rope and is about to snap at some idiot mafia don or oyabun or pakkan.

Cue him with one arm wrapped around his midriff, with the other either covering his mouth or cupping his chin like a dainty young maiden, demure Sawada Nana grade smile on his lips,

"Ara! Isn't this just wonderful?"

"Ara Ara! You all have been quite busy I see."

"Araaaa! How interesting! Isn't this all just lovely Reborn? Go ahead and shoot them all will you?"

(Reborn, to everybody's horror, tends to comply with anything Tsuna asks in this mode, because Chaos of the most delightful kind often follows the Ara)

Ooooooooor when he genuinely wants to be oblivious, like whenever Vongola Nono brings up the topic of heirs.

Cue him sipping his tea calmly, with perfect manners, and then, "Ara! I'm sure Xanxus would find someone in due time. Don't rush him!" (Completely ignoring Timoteo choking on his tea and the prospect of Xanxus's kid being Vongola Undici.)

Or when Iemitsu wants to pretend they are close.

"Ara! What's this? Did you hear something Reborn?"

Personally I call this the Tsunarara hc...you know... After the anime Durarara... Ya kind of lame I know.

I see this as the AU in which Tsuna, who has nothing else in his life, decides as a kid that he's gonna be Nana's Disciple and learn the Art of the Housewife since the outlook isn't really good for him otherwise.

Come to find out this makes him terrifying in the future

[tomyo]

Hi I'm gonna use this figure arriving to have a vent about Soul Eater.

So I'm gonna be so real, my expectations for the franchise are rock bottom. Personally I am pretty critical of Ohkubo and my opinions of him are a dude who really cooked but in an almost Ratatouille esque manner. Idk how this man was revolutionary and created one of the first notable female lead Shonen or a canon non binary character that isn't a stereotype but he did. But like, since the end of the manga, the series has fumbled so hard.

I share a lot of shit on tiktok and people are particularly get hype about the fukuro I own, to which for some reason Shonen GanGan just went ham for a few years with custom computer mice and mp3 players. But often there's a comment like "I wish they made more stuff like this now!" And fully they're right but I'm so defeated with official shit. Said figure above is really the only good shit they've released since the early 2010s and otherwise it's been a constant game of trying to not spend dumb money on secondhand merch. And I've felt the need to take the helm in some more bigger SE fan creations (plush which will go a questioning distance). But really if I think of the most hype shit SE has received, it's all from fan merch; the headphone attachments and the black room oni backpack for instance. Around 2018 was the first major anniversary to come up and since then there's constant "Soul Eater Remake 🥺" and no shame but I just know to give up by now.

So what I mean is, rn we've had the shitty anime anniversary merch release and now the manga anniversary exhibit.....which I'm gonna be real is kinda shit. I know the vague elements used for these types of shows but I sat there like "Is this gonna be 3D recreations or cardboard cutouts?" Turns out both but more of the latter. I'm really kinda disappointed that from what I've seen it's just Shinigami-sama's mirror for recreation and then the rest is blown up manga panels and really subpar cutouts. Tbr I was hoping for the apartment or the school podium maybe. I know the later manga elements would not be on the table sadly. But man, not even weapon recreations or something?

And the other part I gotta be real about, what the fuck happened to Ohkubo's art? I mean last I saw, Fire Force was still quality. But there was the perfect editions and now the main visual for the exhibition and it's baaad. The line art and posing feel amateurish and lazy. It feels like he almost hates the series the way he draws it. I really supported Ohkubo's weirder pieces and even found him a huge influence at one point but the perfect editions are what got me into buying the originals.

Idk I literally have planned to go to Japan for the exhibition but I know it's gonna be so disappointing. This series post mortum is fully just disappointment. The most surprising thing of the exhibition merch was there being any form of plush although they look a little cheap. Either way I know I still want them, I'm just tired of knowing my fandom is obtusely dead. It's become a game of looking at good smile's releases and seeing what niche thing gets a nendo over soul eater. Do that and I promise the results are WILD.

[ceoofhelaegon]

ngl idk how people can come to the conclusion that the twins are aemonds because if we had to add the age up, they were born in 123AC, and aemond was like 12/13 at that time, it's just weird and gives me the icks. I'm aware aegon and helaena would've been 15/16 or 14/15 respectively but aemond was implied to be a virgin until he was 13 till aegon took him to the street of silk, likely still fresh after his injury.

they quite literally don't add up at all, even if the directors were to make aemond their father (which let's be honest, they're only gonna probably do it to make tg look bad because they always cater towards tb), there will be soooo many plotholes. Like???? it will make it even more complicated than it needs to be.

idk, I just wanted to share this thought since I felt that you might be the only one who'll be able to understand my view, because telling this to those shippers is like talking to a wall lmao 💀

anyway, I love your blog sm and the way you analyse helaegon moments, people always like to assume based on the surface level with no regards to deeper understanding, they wanna act like aegon ab*ses helaena because of the dinner scene, but if they remove their blind goggles and look into the books, they'll see how aegon actually did indeed care of her. otherwise there wouldn't be a whole ass arc for his revenge when b&c happens, aegon wouldn't have cared if he truly hated helaena and his children 😬

Well, I totally understand your frustration.

They'll also need to realise that most, if not all helaegons don't have anything against their ship but the fact they want US to "accept the fact" their ship is canon and amazing and everyone shits sunshine and rainbows.

But when it comes to Aegon, he abuses everyone, his mother, his wife/sister, his daughter and he's a psychopath and there is NO OTHER interpretation for his character.

With the twins age, it's already awful that both Helaena and Aegon had to do this so young, you want to make it even worse? Okay...