#so im so glad she got her own new kingdom

[seawardboundsammy]

[tinycheesecakedetective]

*Addendum: Fading Letters AU pt. 2: White Lily

I'm a FOOL.

Apparently I've lost all sense of time because I've been gone for a YEAR AND FIVE MONTHS. What the heck. Right. My rendition of Swap!Lily, everyone. It would've been out sooner, but I cannot draw backgrounds for the life of me. This had me stumped for a good long while until I just decided "fuck it we ball", and here we are now. I'm just glad it's out so I don't have to worry about her anymore.

Now unlike PV, I thought White Lily didn't need any updates to her look in the AU. I thought she was pretty set and done, but I reserve the right to change my mind in the future. Her design is pretty simple; it's the blind healer outfit but more so tailored to White Lily. Her staff is bound shut, she's cloaked and wearing rags, and most notably, her eyes aren't visible. She's hiding her identity out of shame, in search of something precious to her.

~~~

Quick Rundown: White Lily is stuck in Beast Yeast after falling ill, so Pure Vanilla went in her place at her request. (For more information, click https://www.tumblr.com/tinycheesecakedetective/744518672544071680/im-baaaack-i-mean-i-made-one-post-about) .

After PV became this universe's Dark Enchantress, the other half of him was sent to the Fairy Kingdom. Meaning unlike Canon PV, White Lily found out VERY quickly about what happened to him(or what she thinks happened, all she knows is that he's dead), and she takes the news horribly. She immediately blames herself for what happened and ended up grief stricken over the entire thing, so much so that she hallucinates him calling out to her. Elder Faerie tried her best to console her afterwards, and told her it would be possible to bring him back. She swears she'll do everything in her power to bring him back, but the Dark Flour War starts and she has to head back to Crispia. During the fighting, White Lily debates telling the others about what happened to Pure Vanilla, but she doesn't get to when she sees what looks like PV. She thinks it's really him, but then upon closer inspection she realizes something's not right. In reality, the real PV is wreaking havoc across Earthbread as this universe's DE, and no one knows it. The final battle is upon them, and PV has them against the ropes, their soul jams in his grasp. In a last ditch effort, White Lily attacks full force with dark moon magic and is able to stop him. She realizes who he really is, and while she's shocked, WL instead shows determination. She's part of the reason why he is the way he is, but she wants to set things right.

After the war, WL spent some of her time in Beast Yeast in order to understand how to bring back PV. With Elder Faerie's help, she returned to Crispia in search of the soul gem shards. She becomes a nomad, wandering around the world and only stopping for breaks. Along the way, she meets several cookies and makes a new friend. Her journey comes to a halt, however, when a group of travelers also finds one of the shards in their own quest.

~~~

Got all that? Great, here are a few head canons! White Lily's the one that bound her staff shut. From time to time, she visits the Vanilla Kingdom and gives a small tribute to PV. WL also keeps in touch with Elder Faerie through white butterflies he sends, and he gives her advice and motivation. Sometimes she makes small resting areas, and whenever she packs up a lily is there in it's place.

And that's it for now! If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to ask. Y'all have a good evening!

[journalsouppe]

Professor Layton and the Spectre’s Call!! I actually discovered ordering the game from the UK with shipping was actually cheaper than ordering the American version of the game, there were no major differences that I could tell as they still had the original English voice actors.

I enjoyed this game!! Not my top favorite installment but I still had a great time and loved the new characters. The puzzles were well designed and had nice scaled difficulty and the mini games were really neat too. The Eternal Diva references were so blatant lmfao but I’m excited for Miracle Mask! I was also super exhausted when writing the summary so sorry there’s so many errors and I use the word fun a million times ToT

The Descole and Tea sticker are from JordyDrawsMerch! All other stickers are from Daiso. Writing typed below!

Rating: 8.3

Played: Sp 2024

Port: DS on 3DS

Favorite? Y

Replayable? Y

Recommend? Y

Series: Professor Layton

Comments

Emmy and BABY LUKE!!

OH THANK GOD IT’S CHRISTOPHER ROBIN MILLER

Ngl im so excited to watch the anime, I love the animation sm

Oh Layton is not taking Claire’s death well at all

I love how animated the background now is!!

Beautiful music as always

Does Clark have the same VA as Dmitri lol

THE WORLD WILL END? Damn Luke

The specter looks like one of those little kingdom hearts guys

Luke’s been a LaytonMobile hater since day one lmao

Luke is especially funny in this game

Layton taking Luke to the black market is so wild

THE PUPPET PLAY IS ADORABLE

I’m going to fight aunt taffy

Ooo we get to play as Emmy

Holy shit Emmy

GIRL FROG

Emmy asking if Layton always pokes lamps he sees is making me think he physically touches everything the player taps

The convo with the meowing man???

CHELMEY AND BARTON

Based anti-cop npc

THE DYNAMITE WORKS LMAO

Is Hershel gonna get a cask of amantillado’d T^T

The canals are so pretty i like the design of misthallery

Oh i do not like the police chief

I LOVE YOU EMMYYY

Grosky is very funny

Omg the cliff death police cover up reminds me of killer frequency which i just watched a playthrough of

FUCK JAKES

Where’s phoenix when you need him

JAIL BREAK JAIL BREAK!!!

I love descole’s voice

YAAA LADDER VS STEP LADDER

NESSIE???

The story book stories and animations are so CUTE!!

I wonder if Naiya was added to the game to hit at the Eternal Diva

This kinda reminds me of a pokemon movie but I don’t remember which one it was

^^ it was pokemon heroes when latias and latios were caught ^^;

AN OCARINA!!!

Creepy fucking factory music ToT

Oh dear. I seem to have stepped on a hexagonal spanner

Descole always serving massive cunt

Woah the golden garden is beautiful

Ohh so that’s why Luke was fork life certified in plvspw

ZAMN T^T

THE WAY THE SPRITES WALK KILLS ME LOL

I really like these little episodes from others POVS! ^_^

Summary

This was such a fun origin story for Luke and Layton. Very much a classic Layton game with world ending machinery and gorgeous environment design. I really liked both Emmy and Descole, there’s a more serious undertone than with Don Paolo as the main villain (even though I do love Don Paolo). Emmy is amazing!! I was afraid she would be sidelined like Flora was but I’m glad to she stands her ground and does what she wants to do. I alos like how we got to go on our own adventure as her to London, she’s a character that doesn’t need to rely on Hershel to solve everything. Meeting Luke was great, loved his blank stare. It was fun seeing his origins and how Clark and Hershel knew each other. I’m curious how the prequels will play into the New World of Steam, especially now that Luke’s family have stories and sprites (unlike in the original trilogy). Loved the ACAB story, v nice to play while I’m still so mad at what’s happening to university students currently. Descole was so fun, I am obsessed with his outfit and personality. Unfortunately I was spoiled on who he is but I’m very excited to learn more. I think similar to Ace Attorney, the fourth installment is that last game in the classic 2D style, which is sad but PLvsPW makes me very hopeful about 3D Layton. The overall story was fun, I really liked the sub plot about the Ravens - that was really fun (i was so tired writing this omfg). I wish we got a little more backstory on the rich guy who died, I feel like there’s more to the story. OO I loved the little episodes, especially the one about Chelmey. They added a lot of fun context and gave more life to the NPCs. Such a fun and classic Layton game, I can’t wait to play Miracle Mask! (And read the light novels). This wasn’t my favorite Layton game but I still really loved it and had a great time and loved the puzzles — that’s all I want from PL!

[osarina]

Hellooooo

AWWW I’m so glad you like my princezai AND ITS ADDED TO THE DAZAIVERSE, LETS GOOO HAHAHA, I’m still in the otome isekai binge, THERE’S SO MANYYY IM DROWNING

So yeah, typically in those manhwa there’s a og fl who’s either two faced and tries to steal the ml or a cinnamon roll who falls for the villainess instead of the ml hahah but gurl same if someone comes between me and princezai im bout to invent guns and go full America

So like I’ve been thinking bout it some more, expanding the characters like mori got to be the king, oda is probably dazai personal bodyguard, ango or kunikida is the aide to the prince (god rest their souls🙏), fyodor being the crown prince of the neighbouring kingdom, atsushi is the newbie knight butting heads with senior knight akutagawa, black lizard as one of the knight squads ,DUCHESS KOYOU, Royal doctor yosano??, ada can be still a detective agency?or maybe a informant guild haha idk, marquess paul from another kingdom who is chuuya long lost brother

Like maybe when chuuya was young he was kidnap from his family and used by a cult of dark magicians to summon a demon but instead becomes a vessel, basically canon but ~fantasy~ and escape to another kingdom and was raised as a commoner and rose through the ranks through his hard work, until he finds out he actually is a noble but in game he bonds over with the og villainsess over how the nobles treat them with cruel rumors (him being not of noble blood and her being a villainess/foreigner) hahaha could even have the villainess falls for him but cannot marry him as her family wouldn’t approve of her marrying a commoner and chuuya thinking whether he’s worthy of her like angst and why am i making this sad let’s stop but yeah reader definitely would stick with chuuya like he’s such a reliable guy you would want on your side, one of the first people that she can trust and maybe tell the truth in this new world where she’s at risk of getting a bad ending

For dazai, usually in the isekai , the fl would use her knowledge on future events and people to her benefit, I’m thinking dazai would get even more intrigued seeing how he predicts how things happen but because of the reader’s knowledge she turns the tide and dazai is shook 🫨🫨🫨cause he’s always right except when it comes to reader 😏, first he gets close to figure out this mystery but slowly falls for reader and fast forward to him on his knees hugging reader, begging her to marry him while she tries to shove him of with a stick. Also we can have prince fyodor coming in as a love rival, gotta have dazai fighting for his life here hahah

ALSO!! I had another version of this verse where instead dazai is the demon king that the fl is suppose to defeat, with chuuya as the crown prince and main capture target

So like prince dazai is for when reader isekai as the villainess

And demon king dazai is when reader isekai as the heroine

Like think of the angst potential, falling for the one you have to kill for everyone’s happy ending(why do i do this to myself) OR the comedy where reader is trying to defeat the demon king but he’s so different from the og game, he’s in love with me?? That wasn’t in the lore!! Or the reverse where reader gets isekai and is like screw the other love interest give me the hot demon hahah with dazai being confused?? Flirting instead of fighting ✌️✌️✌️

Jsjdjdjf dazai with horns 🤌

I need more art of dazai and chuuya in princely fancy smacy suits😭😭😭

(Also bsd otome game where??!! LET ME DATE THEM PLS, oh yeah there’s actually a fan dating sim for bsd ,have you seen it, it’s sooo cute lemme just give you the link)

https://ryartchus.itch.io/lamourameursault

My dude, recs?

I HAVE A LIST OF EVERY MANHWA I’VE READ

Have my own notes to keep track of all the manhwa haha

Okay okay, lemme give you the ones I think are real great

Who made me a princess

Death is the only ending for the villainess

The fantasie of a stepmother

Villainess with the hourglass

The ways to protect the female lead’s older brother

My in-laws are obsessed with me

The villainess flips the script

I’ll be the matriarch of this life

The antagonist’s pet

Shadow queen

I’ll be the matriarch of this life

The little lady behind the scenes

They say I was born a king’s daughter

How to get my husband on my side

Beware the villainess

These manhwa have anime adaptation so you can give them a try

* The reason why Raeliana ended up at the duke’s mansion

* My next life as a villainess: All routes led to doom

* I’m the villainess so I’m taming the last boss

Ahhh so these not isekai, but I really love them so maybe you can check them out 👉👈

-Remarried Empress (FL is the greatest like ever, I love her)

-Endo and Kobayashi’s live commentary on the villainess (interesting spin on otome game, very cute and fluffy moments)

-cursed princess club (really like the take on princess and curses)

Hahah I gave such a long list, but there are so many good ones, they barely scratch the surface of the manhwa rabbit hole I have fallen into

tumblr user chererrry ... you are going to be SOOOO pleased i think ... because i've been trying to figure out what my next project is going to be after civzai, and now i'm HEAVILYYYYY leaning toward an otome isekei series w princezai, knight commander!chuuya, and im conflicted as to what to make fyodor because originally he was going to be a prince from a rival kingdom but now i'm realizing he also fits that trope of like the high priest/mage love interest. i wanted to add one more love interest - nikolai, maybe? or tachihara/jouno? idk it's being thought up in the brain and i have quite a while before it anyway, but i had to share it with you because you're the reason it came to me. obviously dazai would still be the main love interest, but the others would have their time to shine.

OMGGGG yes i love having the ada as like an informant guild -- mori as the king, oda as the prince's personal guard, ango as the royal aide (and maybe a traitor???), DUCHESS KOUYOU !!!! SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL - it reminds me of that one bungo mayoi card(fables) .. omg wait, i adore your background for chuuya actually. because originally i did want him to be the one that she went to first and trusted the most and you KNOWWWW i love angst ... and i imagine even i this new kingdom, he's ostracized a bit because people can tell something is up with him but they don't know what. dazai's the only one that treats him like a normal person until the og villainess comes along.

LOLLLLLL THE COMEDY DEMON KING ONE IM DEAD "THAT WASN'T IN THE LORE!!" that would be so cute actually i love that. people counting on this girl to come save them from some evil demon king but then she's like!!! wait a second .. why is he kinda ... LOLLLLL

i also started reading death is the only ending for the villainess!!! it's SOOOO good so far, i'm obsessed with it and penelope is soooooo pretty it makes me die. I'VE HEARD A LOTTTT ABOUT REMARRIED EMPRESS ACTUALLY, so even though that's not isekai, i'm probably going to read that one next when i have the time

[qibilette]

Can we hear more about the royal Seawing couple and their Issues tm?? I’m new here but DAMG if that isn’t such an enticing hook already…

absolutely!!! and dw about being new, I havent really gone in-depth on my au yet so im glad to talk about it :] one bit of lore before I start: the war started in 4996. in 4999, an absolute massacre of a battle convinced gill to pull the seawings out of the war, and he moved the whole kingdom underwater. coral backed him on this. this event is also when gill got all torn up, he was captured by burn & scarlet and very nearly killed before he could escape! orca tried to kill coral a few months after all this happened.

soooo anyhow! the way I handle the queens in my au is like a series of parables about ruling a kingdom. gill and coral are monarchs who let their own beliefs & feelings get in the way of being proper rulers.

gill believes firmly in the prophecy and wants to one-up the other kingdoms, especially burn's allies. when the dragonets of destiny bumble into his kingdom, he sees them as leverage against the others, who need them to end the war. he's also controlling and wants everything to go his way. In other news, he has a loose alliance with blister- he's agreed to back her if she wins but refuses to give her access to his army. she believes she can draw him back into the war. their relationship is tense and strange. blister would kill him, actually, if he weren't the door to an incredibly powerful army that she's convinced she can get back on the battlefield.

meanwhile, coral has lost 6 eggs to the statue and is stricken with grief and paranoia over it. she's very wary of anyone involved with the hatchery. at first her and tsunami are very close, but various things - her many neglected sons, torturing a hatchery guard, etc - drive them apart. coral has complicated relationships with all of her children, actually, but especially with anemone, turtle, and tsunami. she eventually improves, but that doesn't come until later (if I were to rewrite arc 2 it'd be a big part of turtle's story).

final note: yes, gill is still alive in the lost heir! tsunami killed her brother prince seal in the arena instead.

thank you so much for asking! I have sooooo much stuff for this lmao, im very excited to share

[raffi-cat]

Hi, first of all I LOVE your oc designs they looks so cool. What are their names and what’s going on with them. Gimme the details, if you would like to.

aaa thank you so much!! im assuming you're referring to specifically this post, and yeah, i'd love to talk about them! there isn't really an overarching story, they're all just individuals living their own lives

(also something to keep in mind: i made some of these stories when i was much younger, so they are a bit odd. i've since altered them to make a bit more sense, but i wanted to keep them mostly similar because they are dear to me)

this um, ended up longer than expected, so im putting it under the cut :]

daybreak (skywing): she comes from a family of minor nobility (via maternal generational wealth) and her father was a minor general. they were pretty strict with her and held her to very high standards. she was put to military training when she was fairly young, but the war ended before she was old enough to join

she doesn't really like her parents, especially her mother. there is a matriarch, her great grandmother on her mother's side. daybreak especially doesn't like her. they're all just too strict and it seems she can never quite hold up to their standards

her parents were pretty loyal to queen scarlet, but did easily accept ruby as queen when the official challenge took place. daybreak never liked scarlet, and was very glad ruby became queen

as she gets older she is able to distance from her parents, and moves away from their residence near the palace to live in a smaller town, likely more up north

i might give her a younger brother but i haven't decided yet

desert (sandwing): she has unusually potent venom that seems to eat away at the skin quicker. when her parents found out, being annoyingly loyal to burn, thought giving desert to her as a tool would be the best way they could serve their queen

burn was delighted about a new "secret weapon" but couldn't use her right away because she was still very young. so she was trained until burn deemed her fit to fight (still far too young) the war ended before burn was able to use her "properly", but she did get into many battles before hand, resulting in multiple scars and a partially burned right wing (though not enough to greatly impede her flying)

she was very happy about thorn becoming queen. she didn't stay near the palace long, wanting to get away as soon as possible. she likely finds a small town somewhat similar to possibility

storm (icewing): she was born with a genetic mutation that increases the pigment in parts of her scales. her patterns were pretty light as a baby, and got darker as she got older. if she lived near the palace, she would have been completely shunned. but she lives in a town in the southwest of the ice kingdom, where no one really cares about that. her darker scales do give her a disadvantage as she can't blend in with the snow very well, but she manages. her parents are very loving and she has an overall good life

saffron (mudwing): i don't really have anything for him, to be honest. he's just a sweet boy. i really need to design his siblings, so far i only have a name for one of them. he may not have much but i love him

prismarine (seawing): a middle class seawing, there's not much for her either. but she is gay and has a girlfriend, navy. they are very in love and very cute together

virga (rainwing): she is a pretty regular rainwing, and again not much for her. she's a bit more calm and less excitable than an average rainwing. the village can sometimes get a bit overwhelming, so she likes to spend time in secluded parts of the rainforest

duskfall (nightwing/skywing): her mother (wishkeeper) met a lone skywing soldier (her father, who i dont have a name for yet) while out for a patrol on the main continent. they continued to meet for several weeks and fell in love. she unfortunately couldn't tell him when she found out she was with egg, as he was gone when she went to meet up. (he's still alive don't worry, he was just called back from his post)

back on the island, she was very averse to talking about her egg. there was another dragon she was paired with, though they didn't care much for each other, and she just said it was his without further explanation. he knew it wasn't and was unbothered, but agreed to tell no one

when she had the egg, she kept it near her virtually all the time. even during her work testing animus magic. (i imagine the nightwings would have wanted to do some testing to make sure the magic worked how they wanted it to before using it for something as important as the tunnels. or.. something idk)

due to the close proximity to the magic and a small crack in the shell, caused a minor deformity as her wings being unusually thin and delicate, being practically transparent. this doesn't affect her

(i might change the reason her wings are thin? but this is what the story was and i honestly just haven't really thought about it much, so)

wishkeeper was getting increasingly worried about what would happen when when she hatched and everyone would be able to easily tell she wasn't full nightwing. so, she left the island to hide out in a secluded part of the forested mountains of the sky kingdom, essentially faking her and her egg's death

she found a hidden cave to make their home, and raised duskfall herself. though secluded and often lonely, she had a good mother and a good life. when she got older and the war ended, eventually her father was able to find them again

he was delighted to find out he and wishkeeper had a dragonet. unfortunately he cannot stay with them as he has responsibilities in the sky kingdom, but he does visit. (he got a wife (and potentially a son? haven't decided), but pretty much just for appearances. he doesn't care much for her (it's mutual))

duskfall is an artist and a writer and has always enjoyed capturing moments with her art. fun fact, she is left handed (left taloned?). she likely visits possiblity or a similar town often, but remains living relatively secluded

and there they are! this took longer than i expected but whatever

if you read all of this, uh, thanks! i really appreciate it :]

for your trouble here is a drawing of virga

[konnoiseur]

v7/v8 made me dislike ruby a lot but v9 made me really side with her. i've been in her shoes, with having to put on a strong happy face for everyone because their problems always seem to be bigger than mine.

but to see yang walk ahead of blake to shield her from ruby really broke me. like?? do you not know your own sister?? do you genuinely think she'd harm her own teammate??

blake doesn’t need protection, and it’s weird how yang tries to shield her like ruby is about to hurt her. i get bumbleby's whole thing is "we're protecting each other"

but that doesn't mean go and protect blake (who has shown she can hold her own in a verbal argument anyway) against your own sister, yang!

sorry for the rant, i just am in shock that this was written and executed this way with no one thinking of how ruby would feel from this. ruby was somehow more effected by jaune's rant (which, while valid, doesn't change the fact that jaune basically held a whole town hostage for 10-20 years) than by yang shielding blake.

as a certified Older Sibling that actually had to raise their siblings, its so wild to me how the writers seem to not want them to be sisters during this volume

:readmore:

like. from rubys seeming confusion at weiss saying "about time" to yang and blake flirting-- bc ruby is the team leader, she should be aware of the interpersonal development of her teammates, and also thats her SISTER ur telling me ruby wouldnt be a lil shit about her sisters crush on blake?-- to the more obvious, egregious issues that yang displays the entire volume about ruby and her mental health, its increasingly obvious to me that the writers of rwby struggle with writing their characters to have multiple different dynamics and relationships with multiple people, either from a lack of skill or an inability to diversify their characters emotional states

thats the problem with a) having all four main girls personalities mimic and mirror each other. there very little between their dialogue (until v9) that distinguishes them from each other; the words blake says could have been spoken by yang, whose lines could have been weiss', whose lines could have been rubys, whose lines could have been blakes, etc etc. until we get to v9 where suddenly blake is this flirty happy "bridge between humans and faunus" who can make plans when rubys unable to, who is more than happy to lead them through a fairytale without a care for the real world. and yang is back to being her quick to violence jokester, who seemingly never learned a lesson about starting fights and relying on her semblance. weiss is literally a joke, her character swinging rapidly between sadness for her fallen kingdom and physical comedic relief thats kinda... odd. and ruby... well. we know what rubys like in v9. but the point of all this is Suddenly all four girls are acting Very Different, not just between themselves but between their previous selves. it makes me wonder if these new personalities (sans depressed ruby who just had to be told her mother loved her and she kinda got over it all) going forward-- but this all means that yang and blakes relationship HAS to take priority for both characters at the loss of their other dynamics. we got half a second of blake and weiss actually talking and working together (which they failed, btw, somehow weiss and blake, the two smart ones, couldnt figure it out) where we get them shyly saying "im glad youre here" as if theyre barely friends, we dont get to see either of them actually find each other or ruby and the reunion-- but blake gets to glomp yang and cling to her and cry and have yang comfort her and hold her tight; weiss and ruby, who are also partners dont get that. RUBY AND YANG WHO ARE SISTERS DONT GET THAT.

which leads me into b) why are the teams even done the way they are. why is there an assigned team leader. isnt the whole point and culture of remnant that everyone is unique, every one has something special they can bring to a team? shouldnt a team of four be on equal footing with each other, where if there is a team leader its due to a vote by the members OF SAID TEAM? not some literal stranger after seeing one (1) fight based off the relics they picked on the first day of school?

idk thats more of just a flaw on rwbys worldbuilding and how frankly its kinda Silly to give ruby this angst about being team leader when A) multiple characters throughout the show have shown not to he happy and cheerful all the time and have never been punished for it, and those characters have only been met with love and support; where is this idea coming from where ruby thinks she cant be upset? she was literally upset a day ago when finding out about the hound and yang actively comforted her. nora was met with love and support with HER suicide attempt, was that why ruby veered to this extreme? idk and B) she spent more time as a member of RNJR and then as a conglomeration of two teams + two adults, and then they were huntsmen in atlas, where we didnt see team RWBY actually be a team at all.

anyways im spiraling off into other issues with the writing bc every bad writing choice in rwby spawns from fifteen others scattered throughout the show lol

as for ruby being more affected by jaunes outburst than yang defending ruby... well if i was ruby, id also be used to yang prioritizing blake and herself over me this point; both of them are basically strangers to me with all the shit they went through and all the shit i went through when we werent in each others lives and neither of them seem to be able to function without each other-- given that yang spent the whole time blowing up at ren and worrying about blake, and blake was unable to kill a single grimm without begging for help from ruby-- and jaune has been rubys best friend since the first day of beacon, and they have genuinely spent more time being partners and working together than ruby has had with any of her teammates. and regardless of what we, the audience, feel about his rant, to RUBY hes right; it IS all about her. the weight of the world is on her shoulders and she thinks shes fucking everything up and jaune just validated those feelings of failure, albeit unintentionally, given his own debilitated mental state

(i dont think i precisely agree the the paper pleasers were hostage but to be fair i think the whole paper pleaser thing was stupid in general bc when they ascend... they just have the same purpose? theyre just made of like gemstones instead of folded paper which isnt much of an improvement in the destructability scale tbh lol i see the paper pleasers as more metaphorical in a meta sense but then again i watched all of v9 blitzed out of my gourd so im not an expert and also everyone is entitled to their own interpretations lol)

sorry for just sort of going off and away from the main point of ur ask which was about the warped dynamic of yang and ruby; like i said, ever issue spirals back and around to twelve other problems and v9 is TERRIBLE WITH IT. v9 is just so WEIRD and not in a cool interesting way but in a... filler ooc way. it confuses my brain the way a tangled strand of a fine delicate necklace compels me; it looks interesting and sometimes i make a breakthrough but mostly its just tangled up in a weird knot that only seems to get worse the more i try and unravel it

[aftonfamilyvalues]

My mother was an abusive narcissist. Basically she knew I was being sexually abused by my father and was too afraid to leave him/hated me for the fact he was gross towards me and denied it, both parents spread lies to hide the abuse.

Once I was an adult and I’m 21 being threatened by my father over making a savings account, yea I’m reaching out to social workers (who ended up not believing me/took advantage of me as their new cash cow/I’m on disability…. Benefits initially went into my mother’s account. Guess that made her like a pimp I mean she didn’t work, stealing my benefit… they never had any intention of giving it to me.)

Talking to regular women and feminist women online is what got me out of that situation. Like telling me my rights and what resources.

I planned no contact. Father was stalking me via proxy and his police position. I was glad when she died. She obeyed him. She as an obedient slave, I would’ve had a stalker for life.

When my mom died, my Father made comments like “she won’t have to worry about wrinkles now. “ and “she was only 110 pounds.” Or “I’ll have 2 wives in the celestial kingdom now.”

I use to fantasize about killing them both. Sometimes I feel like I killed my mother, like I was her oxygen, she claimed I had special needs ; mormon church says women need to get married? But I’m too scared my father will violate me for having a bf/I dare in secret then ghost because I’m terrified he’s clearly painting a message that I’m “his.” Just tell everyone I’m autistic and don’t like to be touched and may never get married.

I feel anguish and sad I never experienced romantic love, wish I did as a teenager (because obvious men are unsafe, ) but murderous rage that basically my father felt entitled to my body, and humiliated about what that must say about me and my own mother didn’t care but she died because she was scared of folks finding out she was a horrible mother; nothing showed in the autopsy. Prior to her death she manically went around asking if I was talking about me, read my diary, started hitting me, etc.

This feel violated and my therapist suggested I needed romance to heal which makes me cringe because she didn’t get it, the concept of romantic love to me growing up was the concept of “pure” verses damaged Good’s. I did feel “clean” when I’d engage in sexuality at one point, (and the froze up and ghosted and felt guilty for hurting his feelings but I was scared/conscious I was being abused/had been molested and could go through that again, during intimate touching/never lead to sex or kissing because j froze. I feel a sense of sadness and regret and regret of never experienced a healthy sexuality or been the gate keeper of my own sexually.

I basically can never heal cause it all happened while I was developing. They claimed I was developmentally delayed.

My mother carried it to her grave but I think she died because I started telling the truth. I feel betrayed and angry even at her dying to preserve her image, as if she died on purpose.

I don’t think I’ll ever have a healthy sexuality, or ever feel good enough, and hate that I never got to grieve cause Instead seen as crazy for grieving/ evidently I just need to get over it and be “normal.” As if I even ever got to be normal in the first place.

I’m glad my mom died, somehow I always felt it was my job to save her when she abondoned me, constantly wanted her to like me, but she didn’t , felt guilty about going no contact, and scared, but it was a massive relief. And angry, cause now there no closure. I wish I had let her hit me, let her beat me, she couldn’t hid it anymore so she died.

this is one of the most awful things ive ever read, im so sorry you went through all this

[keefwho]

January 30 - 2024 Tuesday

11:43pm

5.5/10

This morning I organized my art ideas trello a lot. For breakfast I made spam and spicy ramen again which didn't hurt me today. On stream I didn't do commissions since they're all finished so I worked on my own ideas and sketched a few things. Sort of a chill day, also got to watch Mia and Ed finally. This commission guy thought he was getting free art for some reason and became a big pain about it but I couldn't call him out. Before lunch I spent another hour on Trello while listening to a podcast I unfortunately missed the point off because I had to do too much reading. For lunch I made soup and a big grilled cheese. I watched Band of Brothers which wasn't a good idea because it had some nasty violence. Today's request wasn't sent to me yet so I worked on more sketches in David's server. They really annoyed me for a bit but I stayed, also got a headache. The request came in on time so I finished that and left. I worked on my project for almost an hour before really wanting to let off some steam. I felt good because I wasn't shaming myself at all about it for once, I felt empowered because I knew that was what I wanted to do tonight and I was gonna do it good. Daisy ended up calling the second I was about to start so I abandoned that and we chilled while she did her finances and job application. Then I watched her play Minish Cap for a couple hours and we finished it. Vaati was a really wonky boss fight and I could tell it got very frustrating. In bed I played Kingdom Hearts for a tiny bit before she fell asleep. I still wanted to do the thing from earlier and I wanted it to be good so I took a good hit of my pen and waited. I did the thing for awhile and I did really need that, I'm glad I did it. But now I'm up an hour late.

There are some things Im worried about, mostly if I'm doing good enough or not. I feel like I never know unless I ask directly. I also gotta find new people to socialize with so I can try more groups out. Im really hoping I can get in touch with myself quickly so I know what to do with myself. I hate being with my favorite person and not knowing what to do, I feel boring

[nothazellevesque]

my findings are that prince eric on his own is largely unremarkable, but he exists in the sweet spot of three categories that The Tik Tok Girlies (gn) love: he is a himbo, a British man, and also a regency era man. His existence in the center of this venn diagram means that he has a much more universal appeal, which then allows his other redeeming qualities to come to the surface. Below this read more are my notes taken throughout the movie:

he has clear interest in seeing the world (adventurous)

Protector of sea creatures (kind, loves animals)

British accent (exotic)

Head empty, no thoughts (unable to disrespect women)

Treats his crew mates equally (not spoiled)

Wearing regency garb (the girlies LOVE mr darcy and they love bridgerton)

loves his dog (kind! willing to die for that dog! good boy)

no man left behind on his ship (good leader, values the lives of his people over his own)

Soaking wet, billowy white shirt (got mr darcy’d again i fear)

DELUSIONAL (has the whole kingdom looking for a voice that he heard while literally in a coma???)

culturally conscious

Has dreams/goals (and an alarmingly horny song to sing about them)

feels lost without a girl (love us a pathetic man don’t we folks)

dimples

wearing a drenched white shirt again (darcy’d again folks)

Very polite and accommodating to a stranger (sweet man)

Has interests (collections of cool items)

Tries to comfort strangers with his hobbies

always down to learn new things about his interests

goofy laugh

extremely patient

VERY SOFT (pure of heart)

kind smile?

helps herd goats (kind man. helps others for no benefit to himself)

Treasures gifts given to him by others (very sweet boy)

willing to have fun and be silly (fun to hang out with)

willing to chase down birds for a singular hat because His Girl Gave Him That.

very kind, empty eyes (dumb of ass)

Very Good At Giving Compliments. (“That’s a beautiful name. Written in the stars”??? SIR im not even into you and i would be INTO that)

Respectful king. Does not do ANYTHING with his nonverbal crush without given extreme hints to proceed (violating consent? not this man)

So deeply in love with Ariel to the point that it actively supersedes a spell designed to make him forget all about her (he still looks for her)

Has to be held back when Ariel starts throwing absolute hands (ride or die LEGEND)

Tries to protect Ariel from Ursula even while coming out from under a spell and a surprise Fish Reveal (man is quick on his feet, ill give him that)

man IMMEDIATELY tries to fight a massive sea witch for his girl, and is prepared to die fighting for Ariel.

Wet shirt three: this time his nips are out and clearly on display (darcy’d again folks)

very very sad man who stares morosely at the sea because he can’t see ariel (a SIMP)

Goes in for the hug first, not a kiss (because he is respectful and also glad she’s alive and with him)

Manages to achieve his dreams while also supporting his wife? good man

i, a queer woman who thought that being attracted to people was a bit that we were all doing (because ew why would you EVER wanna do that), have bought a ticket to the little mermaid just to see if i can figure out why the Tik Tok Girlies (gn) are thirsting over prince eric/ jonah hauer-king. i will be taking notes (and before you complain about me disrupting the experience for others, i purposely picked a weekday matinee show, on a school day, and am sitting alone in this back row, with like four whole people in this theater including me). I’m taking notes so that other Hopelessly Confused Queer Folks can maybe understand what tf is happening here. ill reblog this post with my Highly Scientific Findings after the movie

[fairytail-writing]

request for nalu guard x princess au 💕 mutual pining and all that <3

•oh no this has been in my inbox for 30+ days now??? op im so sorry! /gen•

•SHIP: Nalu•      •AU type: Royalty•

Lucy had been requesting a personal guard for a month now - after being stalked, threatened, and even a kidnapping attempt, who could blame her? They had enough guards for it, and payment wouldn’t be a problem either. Why her father kept refusing, she couldn’t guess.

But then, Layla got sick. Really sick. They weren’t sure where it came from, even with all of the doctors visiting, so rumors spread. Rumors of betrayal and poison, something snuck into the food. The maids turned against each other, arguing over who would take care of food and pointing at whoever was close to Layla.

Lucy, in a fit of stubbornness, even refused the cooks food for a while. She’d change out of her fancy dresses and into dirty overalls, a button-up shirt with pushed up sleeves, all covered in paint and dirt. Then, she’d go to the kitchen and try making her own food.

That was when Jude finally turned and agreed to getting another guard - a personal one, just for Lucy. He took applications and scouted for a while, searching for one good enough for his daughter, but... well, the kingdoms people were all odd. Eventually, he gives Lucy the job to find one, since it was her wish to have the guard; he thinks, maybe, she won’t be able to find one and will give up. (After all, his idea of protecting her was to keep her inside the castle.)

She searches the group for someone interesting, someone that stands out. There’s a strong man that comments on her body as she passes, a strange reporter calling everyone cool, a brightly colored knight chanting about love... the list goes on. How disappointing.

“Waaa, I’m bored...” A man in the back yawns and sighs, ignoring the immediate glares he gets from the others. Now, that’s interesting. Someone here to become a guard for royalty, but relaxing and complaining about boredom? Lucy steps through the crowd easily, approaching the man. He rests on the floor leaning against the wall, trying to stay away. His hair... it’s salmon color, the first thing she notices about him.

“You’re here for the position?” She asks, crouching down to be level with the man, softly laughing at the way everyone else gasps and stares, clearly confused. “You’re interesting. Tell me, what would you do if someone... poisoned me?”

“Sniff it out, obviously. And then beat up whoever did that.” He threatens the hypothetical person easily, without even opening his eyes to look at her. “Who’d be dumb enough to poison royalty anyway? They’d be crazy to do that.” He sighs and stretches his arms out, nearly hitting Lucy in the process. This man... he’s very interesting.

“What’s your name?” She asks, meeting olive eyes, and immediately repeats the name that falls from his lips. Natsu. Summer. He’s hired immediately, somehow speeding his way through training - the trained guards are beat easily, dummies knocked over and somehow burnt, and... well, him and Lucy get along well enough, Jude figures.

.

It’s been months since Lucy got her guard, and the two were rarely seen apart; besides nighttime, the two usually walked side-by-side through the castle grounds, idly talking about recent news and upcoming events. Lucy was never seen showing so many emotions, but with Natsu? She seemed like a completely different person. She’d laugh, relax, or even bicker with him whenever he forgot about their plans - the castle workers were glad he was there, really. With Layla still sick, it’d been a while since Lucy smiled so often.

Plus, everyone can tell that Lucy isn’t the only one growing and changing from this experience. Natsu was more reserved at the beginning, not caring to remember anything, but the improvement was obvious now. He’d call Lucy and other workers by name, easily guiding her to and from castle rooms, no longer getting lost in the seemingly endless hallways and garden trails.

No one saw the way Lucy’s smile would soften when the two were alone though, or how she’d lean into his touch whenever he’d stand a step too close. How he’d take her out to the garden at night, watching her expression light up at the clear night sky. Fuck, he never cared about the stars before meeting her, but he could probably find so many in just her eyes. The night sky would never be the same, really.

“Hah?!” Natsu stares, wide-eyed, at the princess in his doorway. It’s late. Way too late, but here Lucy is, standing in front of him - in her pajamas. “Cuddling is NOT part of my job! I think.”

“But... you make me feel safe. That’s your job.” Lucy reminds him, voice gone soft and quiet. She rubs her eyes and yawns, staring up at Natsu’s blank expression. Probably lost in thought, struggling to think the idea over.

“Hmmmgh, okay.” He groans, stepping aside to open his door wider. “But, uh, just this one time.” His room is... surprisingly cleaner than Lucy expected. Besides the papers and notes scattered across his desk, the pulled out chair, and a few clothes left on the floor. She walks around the chair, quickly making her way toward the bed - it’s definitely smaller than her own, with a lot less blankets and pillows, but it still looks comfortable. Besides, with Natsu by her side, she’d surely sleep easily.

Lucy climbs under the blankets, quickly disappearing underneath the few Natsu had on his bed. They're more scratchy than soft, but warm only in the way Natsu was, along with smelling like an old campfire. Natsu sighs from where he stands, but doesn't complain. The light turns off and, a second later, Natsu is pulling the blankets back to slide in next to her. It's warm, safe. When he moves closer to her, she leans against him, burying her face in his neck.

... Natsu gets no sleep that night.

[atlabeth]

everything happens for a reason part 7 - zuko x fem!reader

I think my ways are wearing me down

part 6 | masterlist | part 8

a/n: as said very astutely in my outline, "y/n just keeps taking L's"

i actually had to take breaks while writing the final scene and watching the episode LMAo i forgot how fucking sad this scene was!!

warning(s): you know what happens in this chapter. its siege of the north part 2. its so much more angst like SO MUCH ANGST. im so sorry i got so sad while writing this

wc: 4.0k

chapter title comes from brand new city by mitski!

Y/N adjusted her hold on the basket of clothes as she knocked on the door with her free hand, pushing it open after waiting a few moments.

“Prince Zuko?” she called in a whisper. They had gotten past the point of formalities, but it was a precaution she opted to take when they met like this. She spotted him sitting on his bed and he gave her a thumbs up, a sign she took to mean they were in the clear. Y/N closed the door behind her and bounded over, then set the basket on his bed.

“Alright. I brought you the book that you wanted to borrow.” She unearthed the novel from the pile of clothes with caution, taking care to not ruin the hard work that went into folding all of them. “I had to hide it so I could get in here — no one thinks anything of a servant bringing clothes around, but books are a little more suspicious. But here you go! My very own edition of ‘Keiko and the Koalaotter’.”

“Thank you!” The prince grinned as he took the book and examined the cover. “I’ve always been curious about Water Tribe culture, even more after you started teaching me about it. They don’t really tell us about it in our classes.”

“It’s not really accurate to actual Water Tribe stuff, but it is cute,” she laughed. “I remember begging my parents for a koalaotter for weeks after I finished it. They told me that there was no way to get one all the way in the Earth Kingdom, but I never listened to them.”

“Oh, that reminds me!” His eyes lit up as he ran over to the windowsill. “I got you a gift too!”

“Zuko, really? You shouldn’t have.”

“Well, I did. So don’t even think about not accepting it,” he joked. He picked something up from a vase and bounded back over, doing as good a job of hiding the flowers behind his back as his excited grin.

“What is it?” she questioned.

“They’re silver wisterias!” he exclaimed as he presented the bouquet. “They grow in the palace gardens. They’re really pretty, and so are you, and I know how much you love the gardens, so I thought you’d like it.”

She felt her cheeks heat up when she accepted the gift, twirling the stem in her fingers as she inhaled its sweet scent with a smile. “That’s really thoughtful of you, Zuko. Thank you.”

“Of course! You could wear one in your hair, pin one onto your uniform, put them in your room, whatever you want.”

As she carefully ran her fingers over the petals, she couldn’t stop the nagging question at the back of her mind from escaping.

“Why are you so nice to me?” she blurted out, causing Zuko’s brows to furrow in confusion.

“Because you’re my friend. Friends are nice to each other.”

“I know, but why are we friends?” she pushed. “You know that you could get in trouble for talking to me like this, but you still do it. Why?”

He pondered the question for a moment before he answered. “Well.. you don’t treat me like everyone else. I’m the prince, so everyone here has to do what I want and be nice to me. But you’re not like that. When it’s just the two of us, you treat me like anyone else, and I like that — I know that you always mean what you say, so when you’re nice to me I know it’s because you like me, not because you have to be. Why do you do that?” the prince asked as he turned the tables. “You know that you could get in trouble for talking to me like this, but you still do it. Why?”

She punched him playfully on the shoulder and giggled. “Someone’s gotta keep you humble.”

His cheeks flushed a bright red as he rubbed his arm shyly. “I’m really glad we’re friends. Sometimes it feels like you’re my only one in this whole nation.”

“So am I,” she beamed. “Always and forever, right?”

“Right.”

-

Y/N’s eyes snapped open and she gasped, immediately whipping her head around frantically to see if the Avatar was still there, but Katara shook her head.

“He’s gone,” Katara said miserably, confirming her suspicions. “I woke up a few minutes before you and I checked everywhere.”

“Great,” she muttered. She rubbed the back of her head and winced — she had a feeling she would be plagued by headaches for at least the next couple of days.

“So…” Katara began. “You and Zuko both recognized each other. He— he said he thought that you were dead.”

Y/N pursed her lips, wondering how to start that story, when Sokka and Yue burst into the oasis on Appa.

“What happened?” he questioned. “Where’s Zuko?”

“He took Aang,” Katara mourned. “He took him right out from under me.”

“It’s not your fault, Katara,” Y/N insisted. “It really looks like he’s improved since… since last time.”

“‘Last time’?” Sokka asked, prompting a sigh from Y/N. She looked to Yue for help, and the princess nodded supportively.

“We have… history.” She looked at her hands for a moment before continuing. “I’m not from the Northern Water Tribe. My mother is, but I was born in a small village in the Earth Kingdom. I told you that my village was invaded, Katara, but after it, my mother and I were captured for being waterbenders, and they took us to the Fire Nation to work as healers and servants in the palace.”

“I became friends with Zuko there. He was nothing like you saw today, or like anything you know from the past. He was kind, and caring, and passionate, and he made my dismal life a little bit brighter. And… we ended up falling for each other.”

“We went too far, the Fire Lord found out, and— well, he was going to kill me. My mother managed to get me out, but she stayed behind, and I haven’t seen her since that night. I haven’t seen Zuko since that night. I always held hope that I would find my way back and see them both again, but now that Zuko is like… like that?” She bit down on her lip and shook her head.

“Now I don’t know what to think. He’s completely different than anything I knew, than the boy that I fell in love with. And I can’t help but think about what happened to my mother if that is what happened to Zuko.” And I can’t help but think that it’s my fault for not being there for him.

A collective silence hung in the air for just a moment before Sokka broke it. “You had a thing with Zuko?”

Y/N let out a surprised laugh as Katara hit him on the shoulder. “Sokka, now is not the time!”

“No,” she chuckled. “No, it’s alright. It’s a lot, I know. It’s just… impossible. That the Zuko I knew turned into someone like this. I mean, you saw, Katara— he didn’t even hesitate to try and hurt me.”

Katara pulled her into a warm embrace before separating and looking her in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Y/N, for all that you’ve been through. And I know that fighting against Zuko hurts, so if you can’t come after Aang with us then I completely understand—”

“No,” she said once more, something hardening in her eyes. “I’ll help you find Aang, it’s the least I can do. Besides, I… I have to see him again. I have to see him again to know that this is actually real, that— that this is actually who he is now.”

Katara nodded solemnly; Sokka had already started walking back to Appa with Yue. “Well, Zuko couldn’t have gotten far. We’ll find him — Aang’s gonna be fine.”

Katara looked back hopefully at Y/N and she met her eyes with a smile, though slightly strained, as she jogged to catch up with them. But as she climbed onto Appa with her fellow waterbender, the anger in his eyes was all she could see.

The boy she fought might’ve been the Fire Prince, but it was not her Zuko.

-

Cold.

That was all Zuko seemed to know as he trekked through the frozen tundra, the blizzard around him threatening to end him at any moment. No more had he despised the Water Tribes than he did in this moment, but the weight of the Avatar on his back and the promise of his honor was enough to push him onwards.

The only thing on his mind that he couldn’t shake was her.

Zuko thought she was dead, honestly and truly. Few were lucky enough to escape his father’s wrath once it was incurred upon them — Zuko himself wasn’t even an exception — and though he wanted nothing more than for her to be one of the few, he knew that she was dead. There was no other explanation.

For years, the waterbender had been a staple in his mind — a memory of a childhood love, of a better time. He thought about her when he fought against his soldiers on slow evenings on the ship, her words of encouragement and joking retorts echoing through his ears as he went through every form. He thought about her when he talked to his uncle, his attitude often mirroring hers. The morning of the Agni Kai, he almost turned to her for reassurance before remembering.

Spirits, Zuko thought about her every time he looked at the water. And even all these years after her disappearance, he was still plagued by nightmares of her fate.

He had resigned himself to mourning her. Zuko truly thought she was dead.

But there she was, in the flesh, with the Avatar and his friends. Breathing. Alive. His enemy.

How the fuck was he supposed to deal with that?

She was even more beautiful than he remembered, but it was obvious the years since her escape had weathered her. He noticed a certain emptiness in her eyes, the brightness from their childhood a distant memory. It was obvious she had grown — she carried a certain elegance that he didn’t remember, and her skill in waterbending had improved so much since the days of their sparring sessions.

It felt like he had betrayed her. The expression she wore after his first blast was like a physical weight, the guilt of broken promises heavy over his head when he struck the final blow. So familiar to their friendly fights, yet such a far cry.

But they weren’t kids anymore. She had changed, and so had he.

It had been years. Any feelings he still harbored for her didn’t matter anymore.

Zuko had a mission, and he was going to complete it no matter what.

-

The tundra was treacherous, the blizzard making it difficult to see anything at all. Y/N had taken to holding Yue’s hand, something the princess had offered when she had seen how restless her friend was, as well as gnawing on the bottom of her lip. She feared for both Zuko and Aang, and she could only hope that they would be able to find them before something happened to either of them.

“Don’t worry,” the princess reassured. “Prince Zuko can’t be getting too far in this weather.”

“I’m not worried they’ll get away in the blizzard,” Katara murmured. “I’m worried that they won’t.”

“They’re not gonna die in this blizzard,” Sokka said as he gripped the reins tighter. “If we know anything, it’s that Zuko never gives up.”

Y/N chuckled softly and nodded. “You’ve got that right.”

Yue gave her hand a squeeze and a small smile, a sentiment that Y/N returned as Sokka continued. “They’ll survive, and we’ll find them.”

It took a few more minutes of riding and searching, but eventually a bright blue light streaked through the air. Katara gasped and pointed up. “Look!” she exclaimed. “That’s gotta be Aang! Yip yip!”

Appa groaned once more and Sokka turned to follow the light — it had stopped in a small cove before glowing brilliantly then disappearing — and sure enough, Zuko and Aang were down in the snow.

“Appa!” he cheered as they landed, causing Zuko’s eyes to flick up too. Y/N met his gaze for just a moment before he broke it, throwing Aang to the side and easing into a bending stance as Katara slid off of Appa’s back.

“Here for a rematch?” Zuko challenged, the undeserved confidence he spoke with a glimpse of the past.

“Trust me, Zuko,” Katara countered as she raised her hands, “It’s not going to be much of a match.”

She blocked his fire blast then sent a current of snow at him, launching him up into the air on a frozen column before letting him fall to the ground and knocking him out. Y/N couldn’t help but wince, and as Sokka jumped down to free Aang, she slid down as well.

She ran over the pile of snow and bent it off of Zuko, then knelt down next to him and pulled off her glove. She put two fingers on his neck and confirmed what she already thought, but it was still a relief. He was alive, but he wouldn’t be for much longer if he stayed out here.

“What are you doing?” she heard Sokka yell. Y/N turned to find everyone back on Appa already, staring expectantly at her.

“We can’t leave him!” Y/N protested.

“Sure we can!” he countered. “Now come on, let’s go!”

“No,” she insisted, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. It was ice cold. “If we leave him, he’ll die!”

“She’s right.” Aang airbended himself off of Appa and helped her pick up Zuko; Aang bringing himself and the prince back onto the bison with his element and Y/N climbing back up with a hand from Katara.

Sokka rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Let’s bring the guy who’s constantly trying to kill us.”

Y/N ignored the remark and met Aang’s eyes, mouthing a silent ‘thank you’. He smiled and nodded, then grabbed the reins and took off.

As they flew through the sky, Y/N glanced down at Zuko. He looked so much more peaceful now than a few moments ago, his features relaxed rather than tense. It was strange seeing him like this after all these years; angry, scarred, changed. Nothing like the reunion she had imagined.

She bent some of the snow falling down into water and molded it over the cuts on his face, the element taking on a slight glow as she started to heal him.

“Oh, Zuko,” she murmured. “What happened in those four years?”

As if her concentration had broken, the water previously under her control lost both its shape and glow as it pooled on his face. She frowned and attempted to bend it off, but none of the usual power she felt at night was flowing through her veins.

It was at that moment that Y/N looked up and noticed her surroundings.

Everything was cloaked in a veil of red, a crimson moon their backdrop as they continued through the air. “My bending isn’t working,” Y/N muttered, earning a curious look from Katara.

And to make matters worse, Yue winced and held her head, Aang doing the same.

“Are you okay?” Sokka questioned as he reached out to comfort her.

“I feel faint,” she muttered, the effort it took not lost on Y/N.

“I feel it too.” Aang pressed his palm against the side of his head and grimaced as his gaze shifted upwards. “The Moon Spirit is in trouble.”

Y/N’s eyes widened immediately as they flicked towards Yue, the princess choosing not to meet them as she began to tell them all the story of her birth and how she owed the Moon Spirit her life. By the time she was done the Water Tribe siblings were staring at her with disbelief, but there was no time for questions as they flew into the Spirit Oasis.

The sight that awaited them shocked Y/N to her core. A Fire Nation admiral — one she recognized from all the years ago, yet unable to place a name — held a bag with one clenched fist, the other posing the unsaid threat.

“Don’t bother,” he spat in response to their fighting stances, the two words overflowing with unearned confidence. But as cocky as he may have been, it worked — he knew that they were rendered helpless when he held the possibility of a dying spirit against them.

“Zhao, don’t.” Aang dropped his staff and held his hands up in surrender, an action Y/N and the others mirrored.

Everything after that happened unbelievably quickly. After General Iroh — a man she knew as both the ruthless general that laid siege to Ba Sing Se for six hundred long days and Zuko’s surprisingly kind uncle — threatened the admiral with his own firebending, Y/N foolishly believed it to be the end once he let the fish back into the pond.

But any hopes of peace were dashed with the slice of firebending the admiral sent at Tui, plunging the world back into shades of grey just as quickly as it had returned.

“NO!”

A bloodcurdling scream rang in the air; Y/N thought whoever produced it must’ve been insane. It took her a moment to realize the strangled sound had come from her, and that Sokka’s grip on her arms was the only thing stopping her from foolishly throwing herself into the raging battle that had started.

Did the admiral not understand what he had just done? To attack any spirit was to inflict the rage of many others, to kill a spirit was to sign not only one's own death warrant, but those around him as well.

To kill the Moon Spirit meant to destroy waterbending as the world knew it. To kill the Moon Spirit meant to disrupt the balance of the world. To kill the Moon Spirit meant to kill Yue.

The admiral should’ve considered himself very lucky that her waterbending was gone. With it, Y/N knew she would’ve done something she would regret.

As soon as the flames of Iroh’s onslaught disappeared, Sokka’s grip loosened on her arms and she all but sprinted over to the pond. A choked sob fell from her lips when she saw the dead fish in the water, palpable horror in the air as the rest of the group joined her.

Not even Aang’s feat of merging with the Ocean Spirit could help — it might’ve saved the tribe from the attack on the Fire Nation, but it could do nothing for the dead spirit. Y/N watched on mournfully as Iroh placed Tui back into the pond, the mortal body of the fish laying there unmoving.

“It’s too late,” Katara lamented. “It’s dead.”

Iroh looked up and met Y/N’s eyes, recognition flashing through them for just a moment before they moved to Yue’s. The blue hues of her irises were even more striking than usual — they were the only sign of color in the world around them.

His own widened with surprise as he gestured at her. “You have been touched by the Moon Spirit. Some of its life is in you.”

Yue seemed to understand what he was saying as she raised her head, her features taking on a mask of stoicism. “Yes, you’re right. It gave me life… maybe I can give it back.”

It was as if lightning had struck Y/N, the way that fear was jolted into her heart. “No!” she cried at the same time as Sokka, a reprise of her earlier plea. “Yue, you can’t!”

“You don’t have to do that!” Sokka reached out for her hand but she wrenched it out of his grasp — nothing they could say was going to change her mind.

“It’s my duty.” The princess stated it so plainly, carving the letters on her headstone herself.

“I won’t let you!” Sokka insisted. “Your father told me to protect you.”

“Yue, your duty isn’t to die for your tribe!” Y/N cried. She couldn’t think, spirits she could barely breathe. She couldn’t go through this again. She couldn’t go through this again. “Please, there has to be another way!”

She smiled sadly at Y/N and shook her head. “This was what I was born to do.” The princess glanced at the pond then took a step forward, wrapping Y/N in the tightest hug she could muster. She pressed her lips against Y/N’s cheek in a feather light kiss before she pulled away and continued forward and placed her hands against the koi fish.

The fish began to glow, Yue closed her eyes, she collapsed into Sokka’s arms.

And that was it.

The color returned to the world, but Y/N was frozen in place. She couldn’t do anything to save her friend, the girl that she was pretty sure she loved, as she died in front of her. Her cheek was still burning from where Yue’s lips had touched, and she wanted to bottle that warmth because she knew that was the last time she would ever feel it.

The first tear to fall snapped her out of her paralysis as she fell to her knees next to Sokka, her body cradled in his arms as he mourned for a lost love. Y/N wanted to scream, she wanted to sob, she wanted to do anything to get this anger and sadness out but she could do nothing but stare, eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears.

Her body slowly faded away, and Y/N could’ve laughed at the irony. Yue gave her life for the spirits and all they could leave them with was the fleeting memory.

The fish in Iroh’s hands began to glow and he placed it back in the water, and almost immediately it returned to its natural rhythm. The oasis took on the glow of the fish and it formed the cruelest joke of them all.

Princess Yue. She was ethereal, both her hair and white dress flowing down her back and a peaceful expression on her face. She was more beautiful than ever, and her voice echoed through the oasis as she spoke.

“I will always be with you, Y/N. Thank you for making me feel alive.” A small smile, much like the one she gave her just moments ago, played on her lips. “I love you.”

Y/N could do nothing but stare, awestruck and heartbroken, as she whispered something to Sokka and kissed him.

And then she was gone.

Her gaze was trained forward, tears spouting and falling down her cheeks, some dim part of her still hoping that it was just a cruel joke by the spirits. She couldn’t go through this again.

How could they do this to her again? How could they introduce a light into her life and make her fall in love, then wrench it away from her grasp? She felt selfish for only caring about herself. She couldn’t go through this again.

Yue was gone.

She couldn’t go through this again.

Another strangled sob fell from her lips and Katara pulled her into a hug. That simple motion seemed to open to the floodgates, and suddenly she was choking on her own tears. Katara’s arms around her were the only tether she had to the world right now, she had to focus on it or else she would lose herself to the grief.

It felt like the minutes were hours with how long it took until Y/N was finally able to walk out of the oasis, but Katara and Sokka stayed by her side the entire time. When they finally stumbled out into the real world, Y/N felt weaker than ever. The constant go go go of the siege had finally caught up to her, and she was so damn tired.

“Always and forever.”

“You’re stuck with me.”

She was losing hope in promises.

-

perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77

ehfar: @chandies-sideblog @persica27 @anzanity @randomthingssss @escapingthoughtsandsecrets @shanksfav @shephard17895 @ilovespideyyy @carisi-sonny

atla: @marianne1806

[lovebecomeshim]

hello! your zutara posting today has finally motivated me to ask this question because I came to atla very late(last year, to be specific) and I Love It Very Much but am 1000% out of the loop as far as why what remains of fandom (at least that I've seen among my friends) is so very strongly zutara. I'm not opposed to it per se I just don't really know what has driven it to apparently be such a popular ship? can you help me understand and maybe convert me a little bit?

Hey!! Your ICON! :D I can try but I’m not sure how coherent I’ll be; however I AM sure someone a lot more competent will be willing to add to this. Either way, I’m glad you asked because my plan was to drag down as many people as possible with me.

*smacks the hood of zutara* this baby can fit so much mutual love and support!

This got so long, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to put it under a cut on mobile and it already got deleted once so I’m scared to mess with it lol. Moving on.

I’m gonna start this with a disclaimer that im on mobile so formatting is tricky and I’m also really new to atla in that I only completed my first watch through in like 2019??? So some of my info is all just based on what I’ve picked up from Discourse 👀 so anyway the sparknotes version: zutara was wildly popular from the beginning. To the point where the atla crew internally disagreed on which ship should be endgame. (Ex. Bryke [showrunners] asked the writers to rewrite The Southern Raiders to make Zuko seem less ideal for Katara than Aang [which failed, depending on who you ask]; the animation team purposefully created a visual parrallel between Oma and Shu in the Cave of Two Lovers and Zuko and Katara in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se in the Crossroads of Destiny; etc.)

The ship was popular enough that Bryke actually chose to display zk fanart at a con for the sole purpose of mocking the fans, but that’s neither here nor there. The entire episode Ember Island Players, while a love letter to/parody of the whole show, was an opportunity to address zutara’s viability as a canon pairing (while, again, mocking zutaras for romanticizing that catacombs scene). Point is! It’s always been popular but with it not being endgame, there’s got to be something that’s given it staying power.

And that’s honestly got to do with three things: their dynamic, thematic cohesion, and potential.

(You know what... you know what, it’s four things. The fourth is they’re so aesthetically pleasing together and individually. Like, they’re just good looking people [specifically when they’re grown but they’re also cute kids] and that absolutely doesn’t hurt) (but it’s not the Point, it’s just nice to point out sometimes)

The dynamic is hard to get into without also looking at the canon pairings, but I think I can do that without unnecessary bashing. It’s just that part of the magic of zutara is really highlighted by what they give to each other that their other relationships don’t.

First off, it’s classic enemies to (would be) lovers. The absolute truest form of it. It’s not too different from how CS started out: a rogue antagonist with a job to do—but no personal vendetta against the future love interest—who is deeply and emotionally invested in his personal storyline (revenge/redemption) with little regard for how it effects other people after his entire life and genuine good nature are marred by suffering, and a fierce warrior girl with a strong moral compass and her own personal investment in stopping him (protect her family and save the world doing it). Obviously frustration and animosity grew between them by the nature of them being on opposing sides, but that just lends itself to the sweetness of their later reconciliation.

The thing is that while they’re wildly different on the surface (he’s a hot-headed prince of a fascist regime who is trying to capture the Avatar to please his father; she’s a nurturing daughter of the chief who is trying to protect and train the Avatar in order to topple his father’s throne) they find out that they have so much more in common both in their experiences and their personalities.

(What follows is an excessive use of the word “both” and I’m sorry about that)(I can edit it. I can do that. That IS an option............)

They both have an innate sense of justice that they are determined to see done (zuko, at the war meeting, sticking up for the Earth Kingdom kid when the guards torment his family, choosing not to steal from the pregnant couple despite his circumstances, abiding by his word to leave the SWT should Aang come willingly, etc.; katara, literally.... at any point). They both have pretty one-track minds at accomplishing certain goals once they’ve put their mind to it, regardless of a lack of support in that endeavor (it goes without saying I guess, but zuko’s entire hunt; katara’s determination to get the earth benders to fight back, her determination to absolutely destroy Pakku until he agrees to teach her, etc.). They both lost their mothers at young ages. Their worlds are war-torn and traumatizing to them both, if in different ways, but that ultimately forces them to grow up too quickly to be wholly independent individuals. They both have issues with their fathers (for WILDLY different reasons, but). They both hold extreme prejudices that they need to learn to overcome (which ties into thematic cohesion)(bit like Lizzie and Darcy in that way but magnified by a million). They’re both extremely emotional and empathetic—which can and often does result in loud outbursts. Katara’s a bit better adjusted and can temper her anger for longer than S1 Zuko can, but they both feel that anger deeply and have no compunctions expressing it (Katara is, usually, more justified, particularly in S1. Again, S1 Zuko is severely maladjusted but at the point when they could’ve feasibly become a couple, he’s so much better off with the way he carries himself). They both struggle with feelings of inferiority in their bending abilities when confronted with prodigal benders like Aang and Azula, but have the work ethic required to double down and become two of the most powerful benders in the three remaining nations. This is a little more minor but it is a parrallel that appeals to some shippers that they both have these alter egos in the Painted Lady (notably fire nation coded) and the Blue Spirit (water tribe coded) that are pretty different from who they are day-to-day and are useful in accomplishing a purpose that they as themselves cannot.

(I’m.... I just realized that this could potentially get very long. Should I have made a slide show with bullet points??????)

Anyway, similar. I know there’s more but there’s literally so much to love about zutara that I’ll drive myself a little crazy trying to compile all the ways they’re similar. (Just gonna say that at this exact moment I went back to add more similarities.... so okay then)

Once they’ve reconciled, we see how all of these things only lend themselves to a deeper intimacy together than they share with literally anyone else. There’s a steady partnership that positions them as the mom/dad of the gaang, while also providing the support necessary to allow the other to not have to carry so much responsibility. A lot of zutaras will point out how zuko is actually depicted doing the more domestic chores that are normally relegated to Katara once he joins the gaang, since the others in the group are two 12-year-olds and sokka. The one that sticks out the most is how he makes tea for the group and then serves them, while Katara is able to just relax with her friends around the fire. Fanon expands upon this a lot to Zuko helping with the laundry or the cooking or whatever else needs doing since he, as a once-refugee, is used to doing his own domestic tasks. Before Zuko joined, Katara was the one mothering everyone, sewing for them, cooking for them, etc. She’s always tending to the needs of the group, and that includes emotionally. She does the emotional labor for the gaang 99% of the time, but when she’s the one falling apart, she’s usually doing it alone and without the comfort that she normally provides for others. Until Zuko. And that’s before they’re even friends.

Which is WHY people romanticize the catacombs of Ba Sing Se so much. Katara is verbally attacking Zuko out of her own righteous anger but also her own prejudice when Zuko, surprisingly, chooses to be vulnerable with her. He’s been on a journey that’s opened his eyes a bit, but he’s never actively chosen to expose the rawest parts of his past to anyone. But for some reason he chooses to do that with Katara of all people. While she’s yelling at him. He sees her humanity, and for once can look past his prejudice and empathize with her. And this time, when she breaks down, she gets to be comforted. Katara normally talks about her mother when she’s trying to explain to someone else that she sees and understands they’re pain, as a form of comfort to them. Here, Zuko uses the exact same tactic. He sees her and he understands. And for zuko? He’s not being shut down. He’s allowed to articulate his pain regarding his mother without being ignored and made to internalize it, and he’s allowed to process how he feels about his scar out loud without being told that he deserved it. And then he lets her touch his scar, something we’ve seen him actively avoid before. He’s completely open to her and she’s completely open to him and all it took was one five minute conversation. She was about to use the little bit of Spirit water that she had, that she was saving for something Important, to heal the scar that still daily causes him pain just because they had, somehow, connected.

Plus there’s the whole parallel to the star-crossed lovers forbidden from one another, a war divides their people—

And then zuko messes up, he regresses, he gets what he wants and he HATES it. And the sense of justice he had as a child has been restored to him against his will and he can’t think of anything he wants to do more than the Right Thing, so he joins team avatar. Before he does that though, we get to see his relationship with Mai, which is where comparison really comes in. And what we see is Zuko, fresh off of his encounter with Katara in the catacombs, trying to be emotionally honest with Mai... and getting shut down and dismissed. Which is just how Mai is and it’s fine, but not for Zuko. Still, he keeps trying, and he keeps getting ignored or scoffed at or yelled at. Which is really a larger symbol for how he doesn’t fit in his old life anymore, but again that’s about thematic cohesion. He tries to articulate his anxieties about returning home, he tries to make romantic gestures, he tries to explain how morally conflicted he’s feeling—and Mai diverts to some kind of physical affection to shut him up and a parting comment that is pretty much always, in essence, “I don’t wanna talk about this.” So they don’t. On the other hand, once zuko and Katara are friends, we see him again emotionally distraught and caught up in his anxieties about facing Iroh, and it’s Katara who comes to him and listens to him and comforts and encourages him.

Similarly, we have Aang clamming up and getting uncomfortable whenever Katara shows any negative emotion, usually resulting in him making excuses or running away. Or, in the case of the Southern Raiders, lecturing her on how she needs to just let go of her anger about her mother’s murder. People have talked this episode to death and usually better than I ever could, so imma... keep it brief. There’s a serious disconnect between Aang and Katara in his ability to empathize with Katara and her needs that has her tamping down her vulnerability and amping up her anger. He tells her that he was able to forgive his people’s genocide and appa’s kidnapping (petnapping? Theft??), which is blatantly not true but also not an entirely equal parrallel to Katara’s situation, and continues making these little remarks throughout the episode. But it’s Zuko that Katara opens up to. It’s with him that she’s able to talk about the most traumatic day of her life, and it’s with him that she’s able to get the closure she needs, cementing their bond as friends and partners. This disagreement between Aang and Katara is then... never resolved. They just never bring it up and hear what the other is saying.

There’s a fic called The Portraits of Ember Island that has a line that so completely sums up the heart of the matter for why people love their dynamic. For context, zuko has woken up early to help Katara with the cooking and they spend the whole time just letting one another talk, and zuko stops to ask why she always just lets him talk. And so she stops to ask why he’s always helping, and it goes as follows:

There’s just... so much mutual support! Trust! Intimacy!! And it just continues like that from the Southern Raiders on, listening to each other, advising each other, watching each other’s backs! And then! Literally saving each other’s lives!! I will never be over the last Agni kai. Not ever. Zuko may have been willing to jump in front of lightning for anyone, but he actually did it for Katara. And in a show, that’s the thing that really matters. It’s a fulfilled trope usually exclusively applied to romantic pairings, and it ended up applying to Zuko and Katara. And then she ran out into the middle of a fight with tunnel vision just to get to him.

Also!! Also Zuko pushing Katara out of the way of the falling rocks at the Western Air Temple!! And Katara catching him as he fell from the war balloon that he fought Azula on!! Before they’re even getting along, they’re the ones reaching for each other. They come to this place of equal ground, as partners, who watch each other’s backs, call each other out but still listen attentively and understand, and provide the support that the other has been sorely lacking up until they knew each other (whether that be from lack of effort or lack of understanding from others, or an unwillingness to accept it for themselves).

Then, trailing along under the surface of this, we see the themes of the show totally embodied by Zuko and Katara as individuals and in their relationship to one another. There’s a YouTuber, sneezyreviews, who has a, like, 2-hour explanation on why she not only loves zutara but also believes that their endgame would’ve actually elevated the writing of atla to new levels particularly because of thematic cohesion and resolved character arcs. It’s the zutara dissertation I never knew I needed, and it’s funny and eloquent and effective, so I’m just going to sum up her section on thematic cohesion to the best of my abilities and then link it for whenever you have the time. And I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you want a full understanding of what makes zutara so great and gives it such longevity.

Guru pathik has a line that goes something like this: separation is an illusion; things that seem different are just two parts of the same whole. Iroh also tells Zuko something similar: balance and strength are achieved when the different nations come together and influence one another and celebrate what makes them each unique. And this lesson is a massive central arc that both Zuko and Katara go through, moving past a black-and-white, good guys-vs-bad guys, us-vs-them mentality and into a greyer, more nuanced view of the world. Zuko sees the fire nation from an entirely new perspective and while he still loves and hopes for his nations future, he surrenders his blind loyalty to them in exchange for an unflinching loyalty to peace and love. Katara too had to come to terms with the fact that cruel people exist in the earth kingdom and water tribes, while some fire nation citizens are just regular, kind people who also need and deserve to have someone speak on their behalf. And this is honed in directly on how they view each other. They grow in their individual journeys to be open to the humanity in the other and then, once they’ve found that, they’re able to grow more in compassion for others in a beautiful feedback loop. And this is all matched in the symbolism repeatedly and intentionally associated with them in canon: sun and moon, fire and water, yin and yang, Oma and Shu who found love despite their warring nations. Their individual arcs are completed in each other and complement the themes of atla beautifully.

The canon pairs... just don’t. Which, again, is fine. But the very things that give atla longevity and popularity are anchored in zutara. Kat@ang doesn’t accomplish this. They’re... nice. Sweet. Especially when you erase a good portion of their interactions in S3. It could’ve been just a sweet love story. (Personally, the dynamic between toph and aang accomplish the same thing that zutara does, with complementary personalities that fulfill the theme of opposites blending in harmony) M@iko, on the other hand, is less sweet but I think wasn’t even supposed to last. Zuko’s relationship with Mai seems to represent his relationship with his old life as a whole. He can’t be emotionally vulnerable, he’s goaded into abusing his privileges, his agency and opinions aren’t respected. They just don’t have common ground with which to discuss anything that matters, so they don’t. As far as themes, the relationship doesn’t fit with atla. It’s zuko returning to and sticking with what is (on the surface) like him, what’s expected. Fire nation with fire nation. Fluid water bender with the flexible air bender. Like with like, separated from what is different and challenging and complementary.

And all of these things combined of course lead to the potential for the ship. I don’t know how familiar you are with the post-atla canon but... well, miss “I will never turn my back on people who need me”, miss “I don’t want to heal! I want to fight!” ends up living quietly in the SWT as a designated healer who turns a blind eye to the water tribe civil war happening right outside her front door. Which can be fine! People change! Some people just wanna stay inside. I just wanna stay inside! But the potential future for zutara is so much more satisfying, with Katara becoming the most unconventional Fire Lady the uppity old cads who are stuck on the old ways have ever seen. Fanon has her serving as a voice for the other nations within a kingdom at the point of its biggest political upheaval, as a confidante to Zuko who can actually help him while he’s trying to figure out how to move forward and make reparations. They have the opportunity, together, to accomplish what they both have set on their hearts to fight for: positive change that lends itself to harmony and balance. And the steambabies! A popular headcanon is that their firstborn daughter, the crown princess, is actually a waterbender, which causes such an uproar among the people who are adamantly clinging to the old ways. It’s just a future full of potential to be forces for good together, full of trust, intimacy, joy. The exact era of peace and love and balance that zuko announces that he intends to ring in with the start of his reign as Fire Lord is, again, magnified by the very personal zutara relationship. And we love to see it.

tl;dr zutara isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t vibe with it. Some are nostalgic. Some love the canon they grew up with. Some have been disappointed for years. Some just see themselves in other characters and want their happiness instead. Whatever the reason, that’s fine. But for me, I love the way these two, from the moment they give each other a fair chance, are able to lower their walls and prejudices to see the other for the kindred spirits they are. They see each other’s humanity, and their response is to pour out love and support and compassion. I love that they’re a power couple in battle. I love the symbolism and, honestly, soulmatism that colors their every interaction. I love that they embody the whole storyline of atla in their relationship and how it develops, which is notably why their seasonal arcs always culminate in each finale with how they relate to one another. I love that zuko adopting a waterbending move is what actually saves his life and then katara’s. I love the chemistry! And I love the future they could’ve had, instead of the ones they were given.

So, in conclusion: I just think they’re neat and I hope you do too, at least a little bit. Even if it’s just respectfully from a disinterested distance cause you do you. And now here is the video I mentioned. I’m sorry this post got so long and then I gave you an even longer homework assignment, but I can’t recommend it enough. She says it all better than I can.

[vantasei]

the gang! has pmdd. heres firion dying of period cramps.

ANYWAYS. no its ok. im just both enough of a nerd to pay attention to stats like that and also enough of a nerd to infodump abt this enough to have the relevant stats mostly memorized. like. i love ff2 to death. will NEVER in my LIFE recommend someone play it. it just. its not a great gameplay experience for most people. i understand that.

the fact you managed to come out of the experience with appreciation for how batshit the game is considering how little like, anything there is. thats what matters. which is to say IM GLAD I DONT SEEM LIKE. COMPLETELY CRAZY AT LEAST. ive been munching on this idea for so long im at the point where im like. am i seeing things or am i cooking.

absolutely obsessed w the concept of forklift 12 btw. firion gets his forklifting certification to help w rebuilding. firion has become too powerful with the forklift. he has begun to run monsters over with the forklift. oh god leon watch out OH GOD HES GOT AIRPODS IN HE CANT HEAR ME.

i do wonder similarly how much magic knowledge must also be spread via oral teaching as well, even excluding the tomes. like, the premise behind them being Tomes is that theyre a learned ability. wonder whos running around with proto-fire-lite used solely for firing up the stove and nothing else because they never wanted to or had to put in the effort to do more than just that. on the flip-side, grandma with fire 16 that she just never uses is also a very funny concept. she burnt her tome while learning and we cant afford a new one so now we all just have shitty versions of fire based on her explanations.

hey. quick aside. whats up w ultima. why was it in machanon. did the tome just. also die. was minwu learning from the ultima tomes ghost. what was up with that.

i do agree that esp w ultima no longer being a considerable threat to the balance of magic (and with deumion being little more than a fairy tale at this rate), that it could afford to be more lax with its distribution of magic. especially with proof that in the right (foreigner) hands, it can do good. like. its not like controlling magic STOPPED the world from going into crazy hell war time.

granted, i dont know that anything could have the way mateus was headed. the only sympathy i could offer him is palamecias geopolitical status as a relatively isolated kingdom. even as a self sustaining kingdom, being stuck between a mountain range and a desert doesnt make for the easiest travel. between difficulty with foreign diplomacy and trade, even with being a possibly metal-rich land sustainable for technological developments rather than magical ones would not do well in ceasing ones envy for what they dont have.

i am not so kind as to characterize him beyond what we otherwise see of him, but i also dont think its so bad??? one thing i do love abt mateus is just how simply straightforward he is. "i want to rule the world." it is never implied that hes doing it for his people, or that hes doing it for anyones benefit other than his own. hell, he considers it easier to just kill the dragoons than try to subdue them! while arguably, forcing total destruction in order to leave the victims no other choice than to be reliant on their oppressors is certainly a means to control, but the fact that he would defer to such a strategy says a lot about how deeply self-centered his form of "control" aims to be.

AND I THINK THAT SHOULD BE FINE. not everyone needs to be evil for a good reason. sometimes people are just evil. he knows whats up. "i want control of the world. whatever happens to its people next is their problem, not mine. i will live lavishly in my avarice, and i will let my people starve." very sincerely how he reads to me and i heart him for it.

(and to turn back to your last statement) obsessed w the fact firion is like. kind of one of the least impactful people in the game. he speaks so rarely, and though hes arguably the protag, does less than maria as a leader if you ask me. ignoring how much more everyone else actually responds to things. hes such a (guy with no thoughts in his head) to me. he just does things as theyre in front of him in the simplest way and form possible. mateus is a problem? go kill him. hes in hell? walk into hell and kill him. the rebel army is in trouble? go help them. hes not a thinking guy, hes a doing guy, with all the right intentions and surprisingly the ability to back it up. whats his design tho? no clue. i like his psp colors. i think they should give him his red cape back. hes too blue in dissidia.

biting and scratching and crying thinking about deumion, like. LIKE you don't want to kill but your skill means that you're now 1. immortal, 2. alone, 3. forced to kill anyone who reaches you (if you're unlucky.) HE'S LITERALLY SHACKLED TO DEATH ITSELF my man cannot catch a BREAK 💔 on a lighter note, leila is so fun! how did she escape the leviathan? who knows! but what I do know is that I have no choice but to stan. I am gently holding all the ffii characters in my hands. except for borghen.

IT MAKES ME FUCKING CRAZY. hes so young. one of the last things he hears before he leaves to be stuck in isolation for millennia is his mother wailing behind him, desperately crying out his name. hes just a KID THEYRE ALL JUST KIDS ITS NOT FAIR. to be forced (ITS STILL FORCED AND YOU KNOW IT. YOU CANT PUT ALL THAT ON A KID AND EXPECT HIM TO SAY NO) to hold the weight of the future on your shoulders without ever even getting to see it. to be able to do nothing but hope that mankind survives with your sacrifice. everyones futures in exchange for your own and youll never even get to see it.

LIKE. he doesnt know that the shit w mateus was going down!! he has no idea how the outside world is doing! its just him and his ouppy and the arcane labyrinth and eternity. AND THATS THE GOOD ENDING. ETERNITY FOREVERMORE ALONE AND FORGOTTEN BY THE GREATER WORLD. THIS IS NOT A GOOD ENDING DAWG IM CRYING!!!!!!

BUT HIS. HIS DESPERATION AS HE CRAWLS AFTER YOU, DEFEATED BUT UNABLE TO LET GO BECAUSE WHAT WAS IT ALL FOR IF HE FALLS HERE. IF HE RELINQUISHES DESTRUCTION TO A STRANGER HE COULD NEVER KNOW. and even then, all the others he himself had slain to fulfill his role, as someone who loves humanity so deeply that his love is all he is anymore.

HES A KID.

cough. erm.

smiles at u. leila. girlbossing it up in here. TBH even without a ship youd have to imagine shes prepped as a swimmer + leviathan would have no reason to attack her after swallowing down firion and the crystal rod plus the tower is otherwise surrounded by that ring of land. so as unlikely as it would seem, i wouldnt say its outside of the realm of possibility for her to make it to land, esp w leviathan fucking w the currents. the biggest obstacle aside from the open water would be the monsters, but then again, it's not like she doesnt come default w thunder (i have so many thoughts abt magic and mysidia and i would LOVE to hear what someone else thinks abt it if ur ever up for that). so its unlikely, but i cant say its impossible for her to make it out of there... her other obstacle would be making it off the isles Also without a ship but tbh if she swam out of the bay i think she can make it across that channel also. to be quite honest.

ff2 characters 🥰 paul my good friend paul. finally, my chance to live up to my blog title has arrived.

[wrestlezon]

liveblog containment zone for 10/18/22 aew dynamite

started a little bit late...

dalton castle cut a great promo and its a fucking shame hes gonna lose to jericho :/

best friends + oc vs death triangle

OH my guys are up first!! lmao oc holding the belt with the backpack falling to the floor. extremely stylish. i love him the worst part is that i can totally see them booking death triangle dirty and having them lose to best friends. this sucks. i actually have hope that the best friends could win. lucha bros kicking the shit outta chuck ;~; now everyones beating up rey fenix!! nooo their Special Trios Move! interrupted! nevermind i think the best friends have zero hope to win again. phew. i am at peace (by being a pessimist) KILLING orange. MURDERING him. hes caught in the DEATH TRIANGLE THEYRE CHOPPING HIM… TO DEATH!!!!!! the best friends watching orange get murdered just makes me think of goku letting gohan get his ass kicked oh theyre making a super SUPER plex a proper death triangle (human pyramid superplex) oooo pac with the bloodlust very cool. love it when chins get held lmao chuck hiding behind trent when penta approached the hammer!!! OHHH ITS HAPPENING REY FENIX WAS LIKE NO I BELIEVE IN MORALS oh man if they lose now there could be lore. hmm oh double cutter on the best friends… nevermind they pinned trent!

video promo with jon moxley and hangman page

look moxley is gonna win. unless mjf wants to really make moxley lose BAD bad in his own hometown

baker crew backstage interview

when will jamie hayter leave………..

toni storm vs hikaru shida

SHIDA!!!! i know she aint gonna win. but i like her :( im trying to pay attention to this match but my friends are talking about mjf and max caster. typical theyre gonna read this later and get mad at me. YALL are the women likers!!!!! whoa. the camera angle on that suplex pin toni wins! oh no theres baker crew violence now!!

boo baker!!! oh she got nice shoes on though saraya! is she clear to fight now huh!! that theme… riho!!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!! the return of riho!! oh yeah. where DID saraya and baker get off to

video promo from war(dlow + samoa)joe

i dont know these new roh kingdom guys.

backstage with FTR

its ftr! the AAA tag titles need, like, a hit of metallic spraypaint on them or something. they really do look like theyre made outta foam hey! its swerve in our glory!! yay!!!!! STEALING HIS APPLE swerve is so good. i love this misfit tag team. tony k dont ever break them up OR ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

backstage with jay lethal and darby allin

oh hes uh challenging him to a rematch. e_e where are they filming this? oh a loading dock LMAO ARE THEY GOING TO CHOP HIM IN HALF WITH THE SHUTTERS

in the ring! with tony schiavone and william regal

"thats pretty wild. anyway, im here with regal" oh my god mjf is here. hes moving on to feud with the next sexually charged old man hmm… what will mjf reveal now… wow! naming wwe just like that. zero fear! oooohhh is he mad at regal for embarassing him when he was green ……………… "and boy did i" "and when i finished your jaw was on the floor" MJF IS NOT BEATING THE "I FUCKED THAT OLD MAN" ALLEGATIONS dang dude too young. rip maxwell calling an email "a promo" is so funny ooooo that is CUTTING LMAO HES SO EMOTIONAL oh my god regal looks insane "catnip to old men" my friend says. well, a succubus huh i read that email every day. not because im obsessed. its because im normal, actually woooooow. ok, now lets hear it from regal oooooooooohh "if an email is all it took to get you here then you got it easy" HELL YEA OHHHH HES MAD ABOUT MJF HITTING TONY SCHIAVONE HOW DARE YOU HIT MY DEAR TONY "you hire people to do your bad work for you" "i dont need a ring to knock people out" LMAO THE CROWD GUY "KICK HIM IN THE NUTS" OHHHHH hes turning mjf honorable. i mean, still a villain, but honorable. mjf redemption hours (LMAO)

video promo of dalton castle and jericho

man i need to stop watching those road to vids if theyre just gonna play them during the show. im glad they are though, i loved this promo. if theyre gonna make dalton castle lose then they might as well give him tv cloud

backstage with the acclaimed and billy gunn

lmao they taped over the "scissor me" on the shirt… varsity athletes vs the acclaimed! titles vs trademarks!

backstage interview with bryan danielson and wheeler yuta

what is going to happen here… please keep talking about daniel garcia and get wheeler yuta jealous LMAO YES YUTA WITH THE SHADE. YUTA IS DOWN ON DANIELSON OHHHhghghHGHGHHHH!!

dalton castle vs chris jericho

yay!!!! OH DAMN HE GETS A HELL OF AN ENTRANCE swagger levels are off the charts he has so many boys. a whole twink staircase or twonks. twunks? he dug DEEP in those trunks for that i cant focus on this match because we're too busy talking about mjf and regal. dang ok we restarted the match because another friend joined dalton castle coming out of his bird cage… his championship sequins!! omg!!! chris jericho being shadowed by hager in that stupid fucking hat lmao its too bad hager sucks and not in a funny or cool or endearing way LMAO god i gotta get a screencap of jericho's face getting flipped off oh lmao that was cute, his boys following him around the ring as they hype up the crowd ooooh these show announcements… they comin back to cali huh… lmao i love it when you can hear jericho yell in surprise. getting thrown off the corner WHOA DALTON that was an insane charge-stumble-out-of-the-ring move LMAO hager caught in the BOYS ATTACK DAMAGE ZONE oh my god he's hulking out over the hat nooo not he walls of jericho! dalton castle your back!!! oh phew he got out. yeah finish move him! oh nooo hes in the walls of jericho!!!!!!! rope break! SASSING AUBREY!!!!!!! JERICHO NO >:( ooo big suplex by dalton lmfao taz "so whaaat if he destroys the honor in ring of honor!" I KNOW DALTON IS NOT GONNA WIN BUT THEY KEEP GIVING ME HOPE!!!!!!!!!!!! if anything jericho is gonna drop the belt at final battle >:/ there it is u_u oh yeah theyre right. he DIDNT cheat… even… ring of honor commentators!! NO LOOK OUT IAN RICCABONI!!!!!!! oh its jerry lynn to talk some sense NOOOO JERICHO YOU CANT THATS WRESTLING LEGEND JERRY LYNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a true monster lmfao even taz is like "WHOA nvm i dont support piledriving jerry lynn wtf"

excalibur announces the upcoming matches

hmm not much for me to look forward to... RIHO AND JAMIE HATYER!!!!!!!!

backstage with jade's crew

omg jade is MAD mad tony khan get me my belt or i will hold this whole fucking show hostage

hangman page vs jon moxley

mjf holding his chip like a baby blanket hangman starting out before the ring huh in the crowd already? LMAO HANGMAN WAIT damn doing backflips off scaffolding onto concrete???? jesus wow theyre doing the whole walk through the crowd huh lmao ok every time a wrestler sits themselves down to get beaten up in a folding chair it makes me laugh NOW the match has started there is too many things going on. blood! blood! blood! blood! MJF IS MISSING… this is a good fight. im too busy watching it. lmao schiavone so bitter about mjf. "i hope your words regal chased him out of the building" whoa hangman's flip out of that german suplex, nice match end… huh… i dont.. THINK this is a shoot injury………… we've been pausing so much and we also started late, i cant even look at the clock to tell how much time left in the show there is… ………… oh now excalibur talking about matches? oh… theyre buying time… oh no… he got shoot injured for sure… oh… hangman… :( taz is so concerned too he is NOT joking around. makes sense knowing what happened to him and his neck jesus moxley is a true professional. i dont think there are many people who'd be able to cut a fucking promo after that theyre going through with things? keep it going i guess whoa theyre getting TWO shits per show? mic feedback-- moxley making jokes??? at a time like this even! ;~; well… i suspected that the belt would only change hands during a ppv, and with full gear coming up… so this makes sense

[aquariusshadow]

Live!Blogging Legacies 3x09

Aight ya'll here we go again with another Legacies Live!Blog session. Listen, I've seen things about this episode...I have high expectations regarding MG and Ethan.

--

belgium...aight i'm down for a change in scenery

CLARK?! CLARK'S BACK HELL YEA

awwww landon youre such a dork i hope you're actually you rn

hope just apologize to cleo--she'll probaly forgive you...i think

i really hope we see hope and cleo interact i miss them

'harmless monster' my ass

yaaaaaaaay another mg and josie scene <3 (yes i saw lizzie and kaleb earlier i wanna see more too)

oh duh mg transfered to mystic falls

i'm an idiot for not realizing that immediately

look at MG inviting ethan to sit with him and josie

.............guys help

its just one scene

its just one scene

thank god lizzie's still pissed at hope, now we just need hope to apologize or do some reconciliation thing

"as your new bestie" awwwwww i really like lizzie/kaleb friendship

OMFG "no tribrids allowed"

hope...you need to realize that landon isn't the only important thing for you

okay i like that landon is trying to help hope deal with everything...im not sure his approach is the best but she does seem to listen to him

monster be like hai

why is landon all of us hahaha

.......its cute.....im scared

dfgdafjgkgjs

"screw you" hahahaha

why does the monster sound like chirithy from kingdom hearts plz help

man i do feel for lizzie :/

i really shouldn't be surprised but i wish alaric would show more...i guess...frustration(???) at the danger hope put josie through last episode instead of just acknowledging it

but it's alaric

i dont expect much from him

LANDON THANK YOU

holy hell thank you for suggesting she apologize

see this is what i wanted Handon to be

omfg......is the monster...mimicking lizzie

ooooo werewolf eyes...this better go somewhere

why why why did it take me until now to realize alaric was the goddamn coach

OMFG YALL WEREN'T KIDDING ABOUT THE TWILIGHT THING

"about three things i was absolutely positive. first. mg was a vampire. second....shit i'm gay"

cleooooooooo you mediator i love you

landon you're so precious never change

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW "i think it's super cool MG has super powers" ajshfdladjfasdf guys help

...did MG only compel ethan to find happiness...cuz that's the case then i just ahsjflasdjfhs

gdi my idiot cats are banging against the door

interrupting my commentary ungrateful felines

honestly? i'm not really feelin kaleb/cleo as a romantic pairing? maybe i'm too curious about hope/cleo but i dont have an issue with kaleb/cleo

i'm very curious about cleo's backstory...will we get to see it after we save cleo from the gremlin?

"is vervain your kryptonite?" MG....Ethan...i....i can see it...so much....

he's so curious and excited ahaha this is precious

SUPERHERO NERD ETHAN X MG THIS IS ALL I EVER WANTED FOR MG

LOOK AT THEM

THEY HAVE A SECRET

A SECRET BOND OVER COMIC BOOKS

ITS A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

HELP

oh god burn it kill it im too tired for that thing ew

is that damon's car

"gremzilla" jfc hahaha

look at my bbies this is what i wanted for MG

mizzie who??? bitch we got METHAN

this. is. so. precious.

i think i found my new favorite legacies ship

mg nooooooo don't compel him

you need someone like him

" dont leave the part where we met today"

i think you mean 'boyfriends' ethan

okay.........i'm not sure how i feel about a monster being the catalyst for hope apologizing instead of her coming to it on her own

i mean i'm glad theyre talking this out

but...if there wasn't a monster who's weakness is genuine respect this conversation wouldn't be happening

maybe it's better than nothing

but idk i feel like Hope, and Lizzie both, could've grown a lot more as characters if Hope 100% initiated the heart to heart purely because she realized what she needed to do (hell i'm down with Landon talking her through it like earlier)

poor Hope...i really wish she gets a chance to actually work through some of her fear

awwwwwwwwww landon "i can't be everything to you"

thank you landon for telling her what she needs to hear

i'm back on board with handon

i missed handon ( i really liked them in season 1)

oh my god is that

is that elena's house

adjfahlfdjasdf

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

and the fact josie played elena in the musical

and theyre here

afadfhakdfs

ok i really don't care about alaric's character anymore but i really do like his heart to heart convo with josie

i do like the damon and elena references, my nostaglic heart

"MG's my guy" awwww kaleb

mg and ethan are playing football togetherrrrrrrr

awww kaleb :/

awwww lizzie im sure josie will come back when shes ready *hizzie hug awww*

landon, hope, and lizzie watching a movie together..........i like this :D

oh wtf is that

dorian!!!

rasputin......... IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT TERROR WILL FIND HERRRRRRRR.........no...no one...just me with the anastasia reference? okay i'll see myself out

--

So that episode was probably one of my all time favorites. I just...really enjoyed the character interactions and the monster was entertaining enough it didn’t detract from the episode.

Also...MGxEthan did not disappoint. I love them together. Half my commentary was me gushing over them. I...I found my new favorite Legacies pairing.... Yes I may have embellished in the Twilight thing don’t @ me ahahaha.