#so their three years together looking for the avatar is basically the exact same as in canon down to iroh trying to get through to zuko

[deliriumsdelight7]

For people who have a problem with this, I invite you to look through the older Stranger Things tags. There’s aged-up Mileven smut from 2016 - when Finn and Millie were, what, thirteen? Fourteen? The smut is of them as adults. I invite you to really think about why you’re so dead set that this is wrong.

This happens in every fucking fandom with young characters. There’s smut for all of the main characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender - characters who range from twelve to sixteen years old. There’s smut of the Harry Potter characters, both as teens and as adults. This is common, and it’s not fucking problematic. We were all children once. To say that a character cannot be allowed to experience sex as an adult because they were a child in canon is ludicrous.

Also, there’s a lot of hypocrisy going on here. Why are you all going after Phoenix when the Stranger Things fandom is full of people writing smut involving underage characters and/or actors? There’s smut of Eleven and Hopper from season 2, when the two of them were living in the cabin together. Have I read it? No. Do I want to? No. But Eleven was twelve when that happened, and I don’t see any of you going after that author. I don’t see you guys going after that camp counselor fic writer, for that matter. If you guys are going to come after Phoenix for writing smut of Erica - something I’m pretty sure she hasn’t even done yet - then I’d better see you combing through the Stranger Things tag on AO3 from 2016 on for Mileven, Byler, Lumax, Dustin/Suzie, and any other ships involving the kid characters. Or better yet - try to understand that this shit happens in fandom.

In fact, this shit happens in canon! Nancy Wheeler had sex in season 1, when she was a sophomore - say, fifteen years old? Dustin heavily implies that he’s seen Suzie topless in season 3. Hopper had the “door open three inches” rule when Mike came over because he knew that his teenage daughter and her boyfriend were sexual beings. I keep hearing this rhetoric that “there are minors on Tumblr/AO3.” Well, there are minors on Netflix. I don’t see you guys baying for the Duffers’ blood for writing about child abuse, teens in sexual situations, teens being murdered, or a child torturing small animals and murdering his family. Where’s your outrage for them?

Look. I am a smut writer. I’m also a kink writer. Bonus fun fact: I’m asexual. I write smut scenes for kinks that I have no interest in trying, and ones that I’ve tried and don’t care for. I’ve also written scenes where a character ruthlessly murders an innocent person without remorse. And just for funsies, let’s add that I basically spent my teenage years reading smutty Harry Potter student/teacher fanfic. And yet… here I am. I’ve never killed anybody. I’ve never been inclined to fuck a teacher, or anyone I’m in a position of power over. I don’t like getting spanked and period sex does nothing for me, but I’ve written scenes of those things. Writing something does not mean that you condone that thing, and consuming that media isn’t going to magically brainwash you into thinking that those things are okay. And I’ll add - yes, I was a minor knowingly going into adult spaces. That’s not on the people who wrote the fanfics, or the people who hosted the website. That’s on me, and on my parents for not monitoring my internet use.

Jesus Christ, people. You sound exactly like the “concerned parents” of the eighties who said that metal music made kids violent, or the ones who said that video games caused the Columbine shooting. It takes a hefty amount of media illiteracy to watch season 4 of Stranger Things and engage in the exact same Satanic Panic rhetoric that got Eddie killed.

Do you not realize that Priah Ferguson is a minor and even if you age up Erica it is wrong to write smut about a character portrayed by a minor?

No, because I’m not writing about Priah Ferguson. I am writing about an imaginary character created by the Duffers and envisioning her as an adult or how Erica might be in high school.

There is nothing wrong with this. Because Erica Sinclair does not exist. She is fictional.

We can write Erica as a a 17 year old, as a 29 year old, as a 57 year old, and it’s absolutely fine. Because it doesn’t matter. Writing what we imagine Erica might be like? Is not wrong. When you’re trying to assign real life moral rules on characters who do not exist you are limiting yourself in a really stupid way.

Man. You really wouldn’t have survived the Harry Potter fandom in its heyday if you’re whining about aging up characters for fic.

[hella1975]

wait hold on a ursa takes both zuko and azula away fic??? idk how anyone hasn’t done this concept but hella you��ve tapped into a concept that has to be explored at this point! making it zukka is also just the norm around here too.

ah im glad you like the sound of it! i refuse to believe im the first to think of that idea bc i dont think ive ever had an original thought but there's definitely a lack of ursa exploration in the fandom. the thing with this wip is that it's going to be so ginormous and so multi-faceted that it's actually really hard to explain the plot of? like ursa takes zuko and azula with her but ursa is so damaged by what she's been through and is too busy prioritising survival to be loving anymore and their life on the run is so brutal that zuko and azula - still only 9 and 11 years old which is a big reason of why their relationship is able to heal, bc they're still so young - really lean on each other to cope. initially it's a survival thing, but they grow to just genuinely get on well with and care deeply about each other. and one way they do that is that zuko starts telling azula stories! like the two of them become huge avatar nerds bc of these stories and actually i might just give you a snippet bc this is rlly hard to explain LMAO

Neither of them had any idea how to just be nice to each other, but Zuko wanted to be nice. He wanted Azula to be safe. He wanted to protect her. She was his little sister. She always had been, and she needed him. Now, more than ever. 

“You know, Mother used to tell me about our great-grandfather.” Zuko said quietly into the shadows, a whisper to ensure Ursa, always so quick to anger these days, didn’t wake up. “You know he was Avatar Roku?” 

For a while, it was painfully silent, to the point Zuko was certain Azula wouldn't respond. Then; “Of course I know. Some of us actually paid attention in our lessons.” Azula sniped, but she sounded a little too cutting, in a way she only sounded when she was unsure. She didn’t like it when she didn’t know what Zuko was leading to. 

Zuko turned to face her direction, the cheap blanket scratching his chin and not covering all of his body. At eleven-years-old, Zuko was finally starting to grow into himself.  

They were in a town on the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom, barely a speck on the map, and currently, their names were Riku and Aoi. Ursa has been very clear; her children were to never use their birthnames, no matter how alone they thought they were. They were living in a cottage with half a roof, their mother funding the rent by sewing patches onto dresses for a seamstress. She was barely in the house, but Zuko knew even when they left in a few day’s time – as they never stayed in one place longer than a week or two – he would still barely see Ursa. He wondered if she knew how reclusive she’d become. 

“She told me stories about all the Avatars. I always wished she’d tell you them too.” Zuko said a little sadly. “I never understood why she didn’t.” 

This silence was different, and they both knew Zuko wasn’t just talking about the stories. 

“Tell me.” Azula breathed, so quiet Zuko almost missed it. 

“The stories?” Zuko asked in surprise. He had been waiting for Azula to cut him down, to tell him to go away like she used to. But...  

He realised maybe Azula wanted to be nice too. Maybe she was tired of being looked at like a monster by the people supposed to love her.  

Maybe she was just a nine-year-old girl who needed a bedtime story every now and then. 

“Yes, Zuko.” Azula hissed, and his name was so shocking it was like a curse. “The stories. Tell me about the Avatars.” 

So, Zuko did. 

“Water, earth, fire, air.” Zuko whispered, remembering how Mother told it. In the shadows, Azula’s eyes burned gold. “Long ago, the four nations lived together, but everything changed when the Fire Nation, the superior nation, began to share its wealth. The Hundred Year War began, and the only person able to stand in the Fire Nation’s way was the Avatar, master of all four elements. But when the world called for him, he fled...” 

It became a tradition, after that. Zuko would lie beside his sister on the nights neither of them could sleep, and after an entire day of hiding himself, he’d turn to Azula and just talk. In Kyoshi Island, he told her of Avatar Kyoshi murdering Chin the Great. In Makapu village, he told her of Avatar Roku – Great-Grandfather Roku – battling a volcano. And in the Western Air Temple, he told her of the Avatar who never was. 

“He’s out there somewhere, though.” Zuko uttered wondrously. “One-hundred-and-twelve, the last airbender. Can you imagine it?” 

“You’re in your head too much.” Azula sighed. She always pretended not to care, but as the months dragged on, she allowed herself more. First, it was in her asking for a specific story. Then sometimes, she’d slip up and laugh. In the fragments of these nights handed over to ancient legends, as scraps of lies left behind in their wake with every new roof they found themselves beneath, Azula was more herself than ever. She could be, in front of her big brother. That was something she learned. 

They learned other things, too. They learned that the Earth Kingdom was starving, that the Fire Nation was hated, that people weren’t rebelling; they were suffering. The story changed. When Zuko saw technological advancements that bewildered him in the Northern Air Temple, he stopped saying that the Fire Nation was the superior nation. When he saw children with burn scars and amputated limbs, he changed ‘began to share its wealth’ to ‘attacked.’ When the stories he told his little sister of the Avatar turned into a lifeline, a speck of hope in a world of ashes, ‘fled’ became ‘vanished.’

Zuko learned that a war was a war, that his father was not a hero by any means, that they got out just in time. 

And it was hard, but the two had their own rebellions. Zuko and Azula didn’t get on in Caldera, but out here with a string of fake identities behind them and a death sentence at the end of it, they only had each other. Their mother was a wound, their father was a blade, and they were, through it all, still just kids. They leaned on each other in the places they used to bruise. Azula took the softness she tortured her brother over and began to protect it. Zuko took the coldness in his sister he used to despise and chased it away. When Azula drew the curtains and hid in cupboards to hold a flame in her palm and just breathe, Zuko made sure Ursa didn’t catch her. When Zuko lay beside Azula and talked to her until she finally fell asleep, Azula didn't push him away. 

Azula, he whispered, and it was a promise that she could still be who she wanted to be. 

Zuko, she breathed back, and it was a recognition that, through it all, she still saw him. 

[sokkagatekeeper]

what do you mean when you say that zuko is a pessimistic idealist and sokka is a pessimistic realist? i love your analyses and i’d love to hear more of your thoughts on that!!! (also love how you say sokka and zuko are perfect for each other because they’re both grumps lol)

i do not remember saying that however it does sound like something i would say lmao. i think what i (would) mean with the statement “zuko is a pessimistic idealist” is that he grew up... idk if unappreciated is the exact word, but in the militaristic hypermasculine society that valued traits that he did not have in comparison to azula, zuko was always at a disadvantage and he had to run for it, sometimes make rash decisions as they were the better/only decisions he could make at all in order to be appreciated and most times it did not pay off which resulted in the entire mess that is zuko’s personality. for all of this, zuko has a tendency to see the worst part of the situation he’s in (coming to mind atm ‘it blew up in my face — like everything always does!’ ‘this city is a prison’ more or less?), so in other words he’s grumpy and kinda sour as hell, all the time.

but at the same time, zuko has a certain... idea of the world, a kind and caring heart, a strong sense of justice, an overall vision for a world that’s good. when zuko comes to understand the fire nation is actually actively pushing back this vision, and he practically immediately turns away from its ideals and pursues a philosophy and a group that actually fit his ideas of what’s better for the world. zuko spent three years at sea looking for a myth, in hopes that finding it would finally put an end to his suffering, making him and katara the only people in the world who truly believed the avatar was still out there. zuko is always expecting everything to blow up in his face like it often did throughout his childhood, and he sees the worst part of the situation before anything else but he always pushes back to make it better, or to what he believes would be making it better.

my favorite example of this is during the blue spirit after zuko finds out zhao got the avatar before him, and he gives iroh a speech about how all hope is lost for him and he will never ever have love honor or happiness ever again, and about five hours later he’s behind a theatre mask with two swords against the world rescuing the avatar just so he can capture this avatar himself in the future, while also letting him go afterwards because it’s not honorable to take him in the easy manner he could take him at that precise moment(???) and that was just nuts. therefore pessimistic idealist.

on the other hand there’s sokka.

sokka is a pessimist through and through, a serial complainer, a paranoid neurotic strategist. sokka grew up in disadvantage to the rest of the world and overshadowed by a his little sister — not because katara was a bender and sokka was not, but because katara was the last bender they had left. i’ve talked about this before but basically it’s no wonder katara is a solid optimistic idealist with all the hope and faith and determination in the world while sokka is a pessimistic realist and pragmatic depressed cynical bastard. presumably his village but also sokka put himself at disadvantage. it is safe to assume sokka sacrificed his own uhh. hope? naivetè? innocence? for katara to keep hers and in order to protect her better — after all katara is the last southern waterbender, their collective hero, and you can’t have a hero with no hope, you can’t have a dead hero. and also sokka is an eldest sibling, it’s instinctual.

now don’t get me wrong, sokka has a huge heart full of love and devotion and wonder. he is an inventor, an artist, a scientist. sokka is filled with ideas, but he is always waiting for the lowest blow, he is always waiting for a disaster to happen (and with a good reason!). sokka believes optimists are liars, he thinks destiny and fate is more or less bullshit, he has a pragmatic and careful approach to almost every situation he’s presented with and even though he has a clear sense of morality, he is willing to make certain sacrifices as are the demands of war – where zuko is willing to save zhao without hesitation, who tried to kill him multiple times and whom he had been fighting not one minute ago, for example.

sokka wants the world to be a better place, and at the same time he has little trouble turning away from people who aren’t in any immediate danger even if they are suffering because he has more pressing matters at hand (the painted lady), he obviously would want the avatar to come back and save them, but aang being a complete stranger signaling to a fire nation ship is most definitely a valid justification for sokka to banish him (the boy in the iceberg/the avatar returns i don't remember lol). among many many many other situations in which sokka is technically right, even if it doesn’t fit other characters’ idealistic views or it doesn’t make for a good story, sokka is the realist they all need in order to survive.

also i admit ‘perfect for each other’ can be kind of a stretch and i believe that it being because they’re both grumpy is kinda reductive since that can also be the basis of mai and zuko’s relationship and we all know what i think of those two aksjaks (this is NOT mai slander. # mai deserves better 2k21). however i do think sokka and zuko fit together because they have different types of emotional constipation and they actively push each other to be more balanced in order to reach to the other. sokka wants to believe deep down, and the fact that he is in a story even if he doesn’t really believe it plays its cards sometimes which translates into the universe’s obsession with sokka, and zuko is destiny fan #1 so he can give sokka an overemotional speech once in a while that sokka will ruthlessly dismiss and dismantle verbally but that at the same time will warm his heart and help him loosen up on his scheduled cerebral to a default existence on the long-run; zuko needs grounding once in a while which he usually got from iroh or at the very least iroh made an attempt to get through him, and sokka is intellectually crude enough to give zuko a reality check while making himself understood and because of their shared wavelength he can do this without crushing all of zuko’s hopes and dreams in the process.

they are also two eldest siblings one with depression the other filled with rage and they are the only real ‘pessimists’ in the gaang, so while yes, zuko will take action to solve problems he will also complain about it forever more and he can do that with sokka. together they can yell at god, complain about jocks, complain about prescriptivists, bond over their very niche taste in art that nobody ever understands, and absolutely tear apart everything that doesn’t fit their competence standard (it’s a very high fucking standard, those are two grumpy neurodivergent people) among many other grump-activities that seem to make them miserable but that actually serve both of them to validate their annoyed kind of love for the world and it makes both of them really happy :)

[aerialflight]

Fic Recs (cause it's always nice to give a shout out and get people into things I'm into rn)

[The Magnus Archives] (I recently finished the podcast and I fell into a hole for a while so here you go)

Sing a Song of Sixpence by Kaiel

Ship: Jon/Martin

In which Jonathan Sims is a Siren, and he fails to notice any new abilities granted to him by the position of Archivist. Or really anything about the Entities at all.

Takes place in season 1 featuring Jonah Magnus’s slow decent into madness

(The new mythology interwoven with tma's worldbuilding is so freaking good and I love how all the characters change and develop because of these changes. Also, f you Elias)

Along Came a Spider by Dribbledscribbles

Ship: implied Jon/Martin

Sasha James is the Archivist, as expected. Martin Blackwood is menaced by Jane Prentiss, as expected. Elias Bouchard weaves his web, as expected.

All goes as it should.

At least until something calling itself Jonathan Sims steps in.

(Web!Jon in this makes me want to weep, it's so freaking good. A pretty long, very excellent oneshot on what could've happened if Jon got taken by the web when he was a kid. And Sasha as the Archivist is ALWAYS so cool, we love her in this house.)

A Break in the Clouds by Ash_Rabbit

“I’m eight.” the kid sniffs as if eight was any different from four, maybe not an unspeakable horror then, just a regular horror. “And I heard that the Magnus Institute deals with-” his little nose scrunches, cute. “-spooky things.”

“Do you have a-” he cracks a grin, and then rethinks it as small hands tighten against their burden.”-spooky thing to deliver?” gods he hopes not, it’s bad enough when adults walk in and lay out all of their baggage, but for a child-

“There’s a spider in this book.” the kid says solemnly, raising his textbook sized parcel. “It ate Evan Pritchard.” a bloody fucking Leitner. Of course an eight year old would find a murder spider book. “This seemed like the best place to bring it.”

(I never thought about what the Original Elias could've been like AND NOW I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF THIS FIC. I LOVE HIM, HE'S COMPLEX AND HE CARES AND JON CARES AND THEY BOTH CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER. THIS IS THE CONTENT I WANT, OMG. Also, Jon being even smaller than usual is adorable, so cute. No wonder Elias wants to hug him, a LOT.)

See the Line where the Sky meets the Sea by The_Floating_World

Ship: Jon/Martin, Jon/Oliver Banks

When Jon is a child he looks into the infinite abyss of space. The Vast looks back into him.

(One of my all time fave fics in this fandom, no questions asked. I have reread this three times and am open to doing it again, god. Vast!Jon, such a concept. It's written so beautifully and the relationships Jon develops, so good. ugh. My heart. Please please read.)

Sweet As Roses by Prim_the_Amazing

Ship: Jon/Martin

“Come in, Martin,” he says, not looking up from his notes.

“Hi, Jon,” he says, and Jon stops writing at the sound of his voice. “We’re out of the green tea, but we’ve got lemon?”

Jon looks at him. Martin smiles at him in his usual tentative way as he sets the mug of tea down on Jon’s desk. Heat spikes so sharply in his gut that he twitches with it.

“Thank you, Martin,” he says, mouth dry, and he stands up.

“Oh,” he says, sounding almost surprised. He smiles again. “No-- no problem-- um, what are you--”

Jon takes Martin by the shoulders, leans up on the tips of his toes, and kisses him.

(You have no idea how much I howled through this fic, my god. *buries face in hands* The number of times I wanted to cry from sheer hilarity and horror reading this good lord.)

Things Could Always Be Worse by theOestofOCs

Ship: Jon/Martin, Georgie/Melanie

Sometimes, the most horrifying thing of all is what might have been.

Somewhere, Jon could swear he heard a crowd laughing.

Or: in which Jonathan Sims is forced to swap places with his alternate self—a tall, chivalrous hero extraordinaire, who knows neither fear nor nuance—and is sent to the aggressively straight alternate universe the Magnus Archives was never meant to be.

“Whatever place this is,” Jon announced, “I just want to be sure it knows I hate it.”

(I will say this once, THIS IS THE MOST CURSED THING IVE EVER READ EVER. Like holy hell. I can't believe this thing exists. please read it oh please please please)

-

[Supernatural]

heard from your mother (she don't recognize you) by Schmuzz

Ship: Dean/Cas, Jessica/Sam

A man named Cas wakes up in 2003 with no memories, but he's able to piece together a few things:

1. Supernatural creatures exist, and most of them will hurt innocent civilians if he doesn't stop them; 2. He has abilities that no human hunter should have, but he knows enough about human hunters to keep that to himself, and finally; 3. He keeps running into another hunter named Dean Winchester, who seems to be about as lonely as he is if he's willing to put up with those former facts long enough to help Cas unravel the mystery of who (or what) he really is.

For his part, Dean's still (not) dealing with Sam's departure to Stanford, and figures distracting himself with a bit of mystery and intrigue is as harmless as it gets, right? Right.

(THE fic I'm most into right now, been following this from the very start and it's AMAZING. Cas has agency and is making friends and S1 Dean is growing out of John's influence and is becoming a Person and the both of them first being friends then more. The slow burn as their relationship develops, SO GOOD. SO SO DAMN GOOD. *screams* Seriously one of the best spn fics I've read in a long, long time.)

anamnesis by cenotaphy

Ships: Castiel/Dean, Sam/Eileen

Chuck is depowered, Jack is the new god, and the world is free. Dean and Sam get into the Impala and chase down the miles on an endless highway, and their story is finally, finally their own to follow. At least, that's what Dean tells himself. But the diners and motels and painted interstate lines are blurring together and the smallest details keep catching at his brain like tiny fishhooks and he can't quite shake the feeling that not everything is exactly as it should be.

* Fix-it/alternate series finale. Canon-compliant through the end of 15.19.

(THIS IS THE FIC THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE FINALE OKAY. WHY COULDN'T THIS HAVE BEEN CANON. It's Disturbing and honestly plot-wise this makes more sense. Why couldn't we have had this. *screams*)

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[Avatar: The Last Airbender]

where the stars do not take sides by WitchofEndor

Ship: Sokka/Zuko

When Azula is nine, she becomes an only child. She hears the Fire Lord call for Zuko's life, and in the morning, her mother and brother are gone. Azula may be young, but she isn't naive. She knows what happened to them.

Which makes it all the more surprising when Azula tracks the Avatar down and fights his group of peasant friends, only to find herself staring into an eerily familiar face.

(The fact one of the tags in this fic is, "Sibling Dynamic: Fucked Up But Wholesome" should give you an idea what this fic is like. Chaotic as HELL and I just love Azula here, she loves Zuko so much in her messed up way and Zuko loves her back in the exact same way lol. It's batshit and I am Here For This.)

-

[Naruto]

Eclipse by AislingRoisin (JayBird345) for HybrisAnaideia

Ship: Nara Shikaku/OFC

"In life, it's easier to remain stagnant and wallow in your troubles. But life isn't merely about continued existence, nor is it meant to be gone through alone."

(This is a fic that's slept on and I NEED people to read this. A self-insert fic that I find really interesting in its approach and the worldbuilding for the post-third war shinobi world is fantastic. I feel like there's a certain pattern with self-insert fics, not that is a detriment in any way to how much I enjoy them, so this fic feels fresh to me in a way I haven't read in a while. I am waiting eagerly for this to get updated! Please read!)

On Freedom and Other Formalities by iaso

Ship: Kakashi/Genma/OFC

When push comes to shove, Hiwa Inuzuka doesn't go down easy. Reborn into a new, dangerous world? She puts her past life as a spy to work. Thrown into a war? Hiwa does her duty, for Konoha. And when she's forced into an arranged marriage? All there is to do is beat them to the punch and get married first. Thankfully, Genma Shiranui is willing to lend a hand. Literally. SI/OC

(Listen, LISTEN, it's about the slow burn, the longing, the communication (it both has and hasn't and isn't THAT great??), the messy way you fit three very different people together, it's so freaking good! Also, Kakashi is so Chaotic here this is my fave characterization of him, you can't change my mind. And Genma is a Good Boi who is Doing His Best, along with the Self-insert character who I LOVE SO MUCH, SHE'S FANTASTIC FNEIWOPAF. Sped past this fic in the speed of light, I could not stop reading!)(Honestly, read all of the author's fics, they're all really REALLY good!)

Building a Castle by WhisperingDarkness

Without needing anyone to tell her, Sakura knew that talking to someone no-one else could see or hear would make her weird. It would draw the bad kind of attention to her, something people could make fun of her for.

She didn’t like being weird, but she did like the voice. Her inner voice was helpful and it was a part of her that had always been there. The idea of it not being there would have been so much weirder than anything else.

It was during her first year at the Academy that Sakura realised the voice was not in her head at all, but that it came from a cloudy shape floating next to her.

(Basically a short-ish retelling of Hikaru no Go. Only with more Shogi and Nara and Ninja's)

(Sakura can see ghosts (I'm noticing this is a popular trope for her) and it's really cute haha! Her relationship with Tobirama is sweet and I just enjoyed reading this so much.)

-

[The Magicians]

So Long (And Thanks For All The Books) by IncompleteSentanc (Erava)

Ships: Quentin/Eliot, James/Julia, Quentin/Margo/Eliot

When Quentin is told Julia wasn't admitted to Brakebills, he realizes he has a drastic decision in front of him. If he tells Julia about magic, he'll have his mind wiped as well as hers. But he can't just leave her behind, either. He can't lose his best friend, and he can't let her life a life with her magical potential stolen away from her.

So he makes a third choice.

(Really, and I mean REALLY well-done canon divergent fic, this is the Quentin & Julia friendship fic I have been looking for forever. It explores so much of what could've happened and I just love Quentin here, I really really do. Characterization done so right. I also recommend the author's other works too. Been a follower of them for a long time, they're great.)

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[Game of Thrones]

The Road to Victory by writing_as_tracey

Too late in preparing for the Night King and the Long Night, the last stand at Winterfell is close to falling. Bran takes desperate measures to ensure victory, and Jon, Sansa, and Arya pay the price for it in a time unfamiliar to them, on the cusp of another war. [GoT, time-travel fix it]

(I swear, this fic made me laugh so many times, all the Stark are BAMF and fantastic, and Rhaegar gets Wrecked lol. It's crack btw, and the plot goes in directions you'll never guess and it's amazing hahaha!)

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[Haikyuu!!] (I am very very late to the fandom but here I am)

Ballare (To Dance) by MidnightSparks

Ship: Iwaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru, and platonic Kageyama & Kentarou (really love their friendship)

Kageyama’s first love is volleyball. His second, however, is ballet.

In one world, Kageyama Tobio is left behind by his parents. In this world, the existence of soulbonds keeps Kageyama’s parents in Miyagi and leaves Kageyama in the care of his grandma and grandpa.

(In which soulmates exist and that changes everything and nothing at the same time.)

(*buries face in hands* I have fallen for this ship so hard and I can't get out fudge me. I understand now. Their DYNAMICS FIEWONPAF)

Kings of Tomorrow by bokubroya (liarielle)

Ship: Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru

On the eve of Tobio’s 16th birthday, he counts down the seconds to midnight, and emerges with Oikawa Tooru’s name on his wrist.

It’s been two years since then, and Tobio thought they had an understanding. A silent, never spoken about understanding that this thing between them is nothing, and they’re going to pretend it doesn’t exist.

Of course, it’s just like Oikawa to change the game and leave Tobio wondering what comes next.

(I am WEAK for soulmate fics between these two, I don't even really like soulmate fics half the times what is WRONG WITH ME-)(Please suffer with me, I'm begging you. Its a good fic, thumbs up.)

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[Crossover]

Honey and Magic by JustARatherVerySillyWriter, White_Squirrel for Super Carlin Brothers

Fandoms: Matilda (yeah you read that right), Harry Potter

Everyone knew Matilda was a rather extraordinary child, but even she didn't know she was a witch. Matilda Honey receives her Hogwarts letter in the year of the Triwizard Tournament, and soon, she will leave her unique mark on the magical world.

(Do I even need to explain how amazing it is to have Matilda in the wizarding world? And Matilda is a HUFFLEPUFF AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL THIS FIC IS GREAT PLEASE READ!!!)

An Eye for an Eye by DpsMercy

Fandoms: The Magnus Archives, Welcome to Night Vale

In which Jonathan Sims is not from the UK but instead, if you took his origins and turned them sideways twice then flipped them over, he technically would be from the US, the town of Night Vale specifically. Elias can’t do shit about it and gets a headache and slowly creeping madness instead.

(Look, I know probably everyone has read this because if they haven't, what have you been DOING with your lives??? Jon interning at Night Vale is Incredible, nothing phases this man, it's Delightful. I laughed so many times reading this, I'm not even kidding right now. Read or perish.)

The Favour by R_Cookie

Fandoms: Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Ship: Original Percival Graves/Harry Potter

Percival is ten years old when his grandfather tries to tell him that he's ensured the greatness of the Graves legacy for him, that he ought to be eternally grateful - but the explanation is hijacked by a stranger who manages to intimidate Chester Graves with an ease never seen before.

or: Hadrian (Harry) Potter is the Master of Death, who grants Graves a boon. Nobody could have known that the Deathly Hallows didn't turn you so much into the 'Master of Death' as into the anthropomorphic personification of Death. And so, Death becomes Percival's guardian angel, and Percival does not spit out his cereal.

(Look, I don't know how I stumbled back into the FBAWTFT fandom either, it just happened and I'm grateful for that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found this amazing fic. Their relationship is slow and strange and I just love how Percival is characterized here. Also, one of the tag promises that it deviates from canon so I am really, really excited for that! XD)

baby that's what i do by natanije

Fandoms: Naruto, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!

"Are you telling me," Hidan exclaims, incredulous, "that you collect money all this time to give to orphans?!"

Kakuzu pauses. He blinks a few times.

"Huh. I guess I do."

(Tsuna reincarnates as Kakuzu and it's HILARIOUS. HE'S SUCH A MOM HAHAHA)

[littlelovelyspiderling]

Legacy

haha oops again, anon request was too good to pass up

After a string of losses, Zuko is acting uncharacteristically dejected. Iroh employs one of Ursa’s old methods to reanimate his despondent nephew.

word count: 3,006

__________________________

Zuko hadn’t been right for over three days now. After losing his entire naval crew, then being betrayed by Azula, then letting the avatar escape him in the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom, the young prince had transformed from his usual fiery, driven self into a spiritless husk. It didn’t help that they were basically living as refugees, scrounging for food and shelter in the woods surrounding a collection of tiny Earth Kingdom villages. 

It wasn’t like his nephew to get discouraged. And in the few instances he had, it had never lasted this long. Even when met with the bleakest odds, Zuko always found a way to power through, to hold out hope, sometimes to an unhealthy degree. 

Now, Iroh was amazed to find himself actually missing his nephew’s rage-fueled rants and outbursts. He had years of practice navigating Zuko’s temper: an angry Zuko was something he could handle. Plus, in expressing his frustrations, Zuko was at least being passionate about something. 

But a hopeless Zuko? An idle, dejected, not-eating-or-moving-for-days Zuko? That was not Iroh’s area of expertise. When he ducked into their cave hideout to find his nephew lying in the exact same position he’d left him in over two hours ago, Iroh sighed.

“Prince Zuko,” he said, placing his foraging findings beside the teen’s head. “You are worrying me.”

Zuko didn’t respond other than a slight shift in his shoulders. Iroh sat next to him and leaned against the wall of the cave, the rock cool against his back.

“I know times are difficult for us right now—more than they have ever been. But you cannot give into despair. Your destiny is in your own hands now. Whether you choose to continue searching for the avatar or to pursue a different path, I will do whatever I can to support you.”

When Zuko still didn’t answer, Iroh laid his hand on his shoulder. The teen tensed beneath his touch.

“Why should I even try anymore?” he said, voice small. Iroh ran his thumb along his back in comforting circles.

“What do you mean?” he pried, encouraged by the fact that he was at least speaking.

Zuko hunched his shoulders. “I’ll never capture the avatar. Not like this. It’s over. I’m going to live out the rest of my life as a banished failure hated by my entire country.” A shudder ran through him. “I’m never going home. I’ll never win Father’s love back.” 

Iroh knew this wasn’t the time to boast of his brother’s cruel nature and confirm Zuko’s greatest fears. He placed his hand on his nephew’s head. His hair was thin but soft; it was finally beginning to grow back after he’d cut it. Zuko hadn’t had a full head of hair since his father had scorched his face, burning off much of his hairline with it. The area around his scar was still patchy in places, but not in a way that was too noticeable. His new look was quite becoming of him. Under different circumstances, Zuko could easily win the hearts of an entire town of pining adolescents, maybe even find someone to settle down with. But that seemed to be the last thing on his mind.

“That’s not true,” Iroh insisted. “None of it is. You can still find the avatar and reclaim your honor.”

Zuko sat up suddenly, turning on him with desolation in his eyes. “How, Uncle? Look at us! No ship, no crew, no transport of any kind.” He swatted the pile of berries across the room. “Scavenging for food like animals. We’re enemies of every nation at this point. There’s nowhere for us to go where we won’t be imprisoned or executed. How can we hope to find the avatar like this, let alone capture him?”

Before Iroh could attempt to summon a reply, Zuko dropped his face into his hands, shaking his head. “It’s pointless, Uncle. I can’t do it anymore.”

Iroh gazed upon his nephew with a deep ache in his chest. It cut him up inside to see the boy he loved as his own look so miserable. He wished he had the words to make everything better, but none existed. He leaned forward and gripped both of Zuko’s forearms.

 “And you don’t have to, if that is your choice. But don’t choose this path because you are giving up, Prince Zuko. Choose it because you want to carve out a new destiny for yourself. A fresh start in life.”

Zuko released his face and stared at the ground, eyes foggy with defeat. He wrenched out of his uncle’s hold and laid back on the floor, curling his knees to his chest, balling his hands under his head. Iroh exhaled despondently, stroking his beard as he probed his mind for a solution to this predicament. 

While he observed Zuko’s pouty silhouette, a memory resurfaced in the back of his mind. A grassy hillside on Ember Island, young Lu Ten by his side, griping about some fight he’d had with another boy at school. Iroh scooping his son into his arms and tickling his belly until everything that was troubling him had washed away in a flood of happy laughter. 

Then another memory, this one after Lu Ten had left to fight in the war, with Iroh soon to follow him. It was his last day in the Fire Nation before shipping out to Ba Sing Se. As he was taking in the royal courtyard one last time, he spotted Zuko and Ursa sitting together by the turtle duck pond. Zuko was young, probably about eight or nine, and looked upset about something. Iroh considered going over to try to cheer him up, but Ursa had it under control. After talking gently to him for a few more moments, she dragged Zuko into her lap and pulled up his shirt, blowing a giant raspberry into his tummy before he could even register what was happening. His shrieky, hysterical laughter had warmed his heart, making him eager to be at his own son’s side again. 

How he longed to return to those days. How he longed for Zuko to experience that kind of happiness again. 

Iroh blinked and found himself back in the cave. Back with the berries and the darkness and his now older, grumpier nephew. The warmth in his heart shriveled away. How could that joyful little kid and the broken teenager in front of him be one and the same? He couldn’t recall the last time Zuko had laughed authentically. He couldn’t even remember what his laugh sounded like.

I wonder if that tactic still works on him. The thought was bittersweet, but also incredibly endearing. It wasn’t entirely out of the question, he realized. Maybe he’d never grown out of it. 

Iroh found himself smiling at the idea—half out of curiosity, and half out of mischief. It wasn’t like he had any other means of lifting his spirits at the moment. Why not give it a try?

“I’m afraid I do not have a way to fix your situation, Prince Zuko,” Iroh said, scooting closer to his side. “But I may be able to temporarily brighten your mood.”

Zuko huffed. “I don’t want any tea, Uncle.”

“Not tea,” Iroh chuckled. His nephew knew him too well. “Not right now, at least.”

He felt unsure suddenly, like he was about to breach some unspoken social contract. But the possibility of cheering up his downtrodden nephew was too tempting to dismiss. By now, he was desperate to get his old Zuko back. 

So Iroh reached out and gave Zuko’s side a few experimental squeezes. The response was immediate and frenzied. The teen jolted and yelped, jerking away from Iroh’s touch and whirling on him with bulging eyes.

“Hey! W-what are you doing?” Zuko stammered. A hint of pink bloomed in the apples of his cheeks.

Delight sparkled across his uncle’s expression. “Ah! So it does still work!” Grinning fiendishly, he curled his hands into claws and pounced on the young prince, making him gasp in surprise.

“Uncle! What’re you trying to—wha!” To his disbelief, Iroh wrapped his hands around his torso and started tickling his belly, pinching at his sides and kneading underneath his ribs. The sensation was so unexpected, a smile sprawled across Zuko’s face faster than he could stop it, followed by an enormous wall of laughter. It bubbled up his throat and poured from his lips, shrill and squeaky and uncontrollable, making his blush deepen.

“Ahahack! Whaha—s-stohahap! Iroh!” He grappled with his wrists and kicked his legs, but his uncle wasn’t messing around. He loomed over his nephew, using his superior weight to keep the lanky teen trapped underneath him—and helpless to defend himself against the surprise tickle attack. Although Iroh’s technique was diabolical, his expression was warm and cheerful as Zuko’s laughter filled the cave. 

“Aw! Look at you, Prince Zuko! I can’t remember the last time you were this happy!”

Zuko thrashed and squirmed, giggling hysterically, smiling from ear to ear. “Quihihit it!” he cackled, tugging on his arms. “Thihis isn’t—I’m nahat—ehahaha—h-hahappy!”

“Are you sure about that? You look pretty happy to me!” He switched to targeting his ribs, recalling them to be a particularly sensitive area on the young prince. His memory held true as Zuko threw his head back, pealing into loud, high-pitched belly laughs. 

“Ahahahuhuncle!” he squealed, wrestling uselessly against his hold. His adorable giggling coupled with the gigantic smile on his bright pink face formed a combo too cute for words. Watching him in that moment reminded Iroh just how young the banished prince truly was. It was easy to forget that the scarred, powerful fire bender he called his nephew was still only a kid. He wondered why he hadn’t tested this out on him sooner. 

“I never expected tickling to be so effective on you, Prince Zuko,” Iroh observed amusedly. “You better hope no one else finds out. Someone could use it against you!”

At that point, Zuko was beyond flustered. Embarrassment radiated off him in sizzling waves. He, Prince Zuko, royal heir of the Fire Nation and son of the Fire Lord, was collapsed on the ground in a giggly heap, being tickled to tears by his uncle like a helpless little child. Even worse, Uncle was teasing him about it! And there was nothing he could do to stop him. Zuko’s fire was fueled by constant rage and steady breathing, neither of which he could maintain in his current state of hysterical laughing. His brain didn’t seem capable of recalling any aspects of his many years of martial arts training while occupied by the feeling of Iroh’s fingers drilling into his rib cage. Plus, it wasn’t like he wanted to actually hurt his uncle. Just get him off so he could escape this unbelievably mortifying situation.

Zuko arched his spine, desperately trying to buck Uncle’s weight off so he could slip out from underneath him, but it was no use. To his horror, Iroh’s hands shot under Zuko’s arms and began wiggling against the hollows, making him yelp and sputter. His laughter jumped to an octave that surprised both of them. 

“GAHA—nohohahaha!” Zuko bellowed. He knocked Iroh’s hands aside and managed to roll onto his stomach, but Iroh caught him by the waist and dragged him into his lap, wrecking his tummy with tickles. Try as he might, Zuko couldn’t wriggle free or pry away the fingers endlessly needling his belly. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Iroh asked playfully, his hands darting all over his midsection, ticking every inch of his sensitive torso. “I’m not done with you! You haven’t smiled this much in years! I haven’t gotten my fill yet!”

Iroh seized one of Zuko’s wrists and held it above his head, then used his free arm to pin him down and tickle the entirety of his now defenseless left side. His fingers scuttled along his rib cage and burrowed deep into his exposed armpit, sending shocks through Zuko’s entire nervous system and making him cackle. It was a cruel trick Uncle used to pull against him as a child that, unfortunately for him, proved just as effective today as it did then. The harder he fought to escape, the crueler Iroh’s tickle tactics became. 

“Ahahagh! Stahahahap!” Zuko laughed, his frenzied squirming only driving him further into Iroh’s lap. “Uhuncle! Pleehease! Hahahahahaaa!”

By now, poor Zuko was falling to giggly pieces. Hiccups began punctuating his happy laughter. He’d never been tickled this viciously for this long, and therefore had never realized the severity of his sensitivity until now. How was it that he could suffer through burns and battle wounds and fatigue with steely perseverance, but barely handle two minutes of tickling? He doubted he would ever live this day down. 

Who knew his uncle could be so silly and so merciless at the same time?

Iroh smiled at his nephew’s flustered pleas. If he was actually resorting to asking politely, he must’ve been desperate for the torture to end. “I’ll only stop if you promise to start taking care of yourself again,” Iroh said. He dug his thumb into Zuko’s hip bone, causing him to buck and flounder. “And don’t just say it—mean it, and act on it.”

“Ohokahay!” Zuko giggled, yanking at the hand spidering across his tummy. “Ihi prahamise!”

Iroh soaked in his nephew’s bright laughter and radiant smile for a few more precious seconds. Then, with evil glee, he pulled up his shirt and leaned over his stomach, blowing a gigantic raspberry directly into his bare belly. 

The sound that jumped from Zuko’s throat was less like a laugh and more like a shriek. He thrashed out of Iroh’s lap and rolled onto the ground, scrambling backwards until his back hit the wall, panting heavily.

Iroh chuckled at his nephew’s frantic response, clutching his large belly. “I’m happy to see Ursa’s secret weapon still works on you. Even at sixteen.”

Zuko hugged himself around the middle, blushing from head to toe, knees tucked against his chest, eyes wide. “W-what on earth was that for?” he stammered bewilderedly, voice shrill. “You can’t just—just do that to me!”

“Why not?” Iroh inquired.

“Because—” Zuko bristled. “Because I’m the prince! And I—I forbid it!”

“You forbid me from tickling you?” Iroh snorted. “All right. Good luck enforcing that.”

Zuko scowled at his feet. “I’m not a child anymore. You can’t treat me like one.”

“Then don’t act like one,” Iroh retorted, standing upright. “You’ve pouted in the dark long enough, Prince Zuko. Now it’s time to face your destiny and show the world the beautiful person you’ve become.”

When Zuko didn’t reply, Iroh gave his side a quick jab, making him recoil with a sharp giggle. 

“Hehey!” Zuko protested. 

“Besides, I’m a prince too, you know. And I say I get to tickle you whenever I please, especially when you’re needlessly beating yourself down. And since you believe you’re going to be a refugee for the rest of your life, not a prince, my word supersedes yours.”

Zuko burned inside and out. His skin still tingled all over, buzzing with phantom sensations of Iroh’s wiggly fingertips. He was too humiliated by the entire situation to figure out how to deal with it. 

Uncle could sense the teen’s bashfulness and grinned sympathetically. “Come now, Prince Zuko. There’s no need to be embarrassed. Your laughter is quite adorable.”

Heat rushed up his neck and into his ears. He grimaced shyly, avoiding his gaze.

“You’re telling me that your mood isn’t the slightest bit improved after all that smiling and laughing?”

“No,” Zuko growled. Never in a million years would he admit that being tickled by his dumb, goofy uncle cheered him up in any way. He’d never let himself or anyone else believe for one second that it felt kinda nice to laugh authentically for the first time in what seemed like decades. It definitely didn’t remind him of his mother’s warm, uplifting presence, or solidify the fact that Uncle Iroh loved him as his own and wanted to see him happy. It was a stupid, childish thing he never wanted to acknowledge ever again.

Iroh grinned wryly, stepping closer. “Really? Not even a little bit?”

He reached toward him suddenly, making Zuko flinch and giggle reflexively. His hands stopped a few inches back without making contact, his fingers simply wiggling in his nephew’s direction, but that was more than enough to set off Zuko’s nerves and make him squirm with anticipation. 

“Stohop it!” Zuko demanded, shrinking into himself and laughing sheepishly. 

“Stop what? I’m not even touching you!” Iroh couldn’t get enough of it—seeing his historically grouchy nephew so smiley and giggly. He would most definitely be exploiting Zuko’s ticklishness again in the future. At that moment, he spotted a vulnerability in Zuko’s defenses and made quick work of it, tasering his side with his index finger. Zuko yelped and flailed and flew to his feet. 

“Ehenough, Uncle!” he shouted, biting back another wave of giggles. He stomped toward the mouth of the cave, hands balled into fists. “I’m going to find us some real food—not some stupid berries that are probably poisonous.” 

Iroh smiled at the sight of his nephew on his feet again. The fire had finally returned to his eyes. The truth was obvious, even if neither of them ever said it out loud: Iroh’s mischievous plan had worked. 

“Wonderful!” Uncle exclaimed, fishing a kettle out of his bag. “I’ll make us some lovely ginseng tea to share once you are back.”

Zuko huffed and stalked into the forest, blush continuously burning in his cheeks. No matter how humiliating all this was, at least he knew if he was ever reduced to a hopeless wreck again, Iroh had a way to snap him out of it. At least he’d learned he wasn’t completely incapable of laughter and happiness, even after everything he’d gone through—a realization that had taken him thoroughly by surprise. Mom would’ve been happy to know Iroh was here, carrying on her playful legacy. 

[lvi-o-sa]

Week 3: Day 5

Oops! The multiverse opened up!

I’ve always been a fan of Avatar : The Last Airbender before I’d stumble in the world of Yugioh Zexal & srlsly, sometimes I find so many similarities between these two that a crossover au is rlly possible. The characters for instance bears striking similarities. So here it is:

What could’ve been if Yugioh Zexal characters got transported/reincarnated into the ATLA universe.

𝙰𝚣𝚞𝚕𝚊 ↷ 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚜

Starting off with these two extremely sassy and savage teens. Both share the same sadist, cruel, psychopaths who deeply yearns for their father’s approval & love. Only, Azula led onto her despair whereas Thomas was redeemed & was able to got what he wanted.

𝙼𝚊𝚒 ↷ 𝚀𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘𝚗

Both were the eldest amongst their siblings & both always shared this stoic, steely look onto their eyes not to mention they’ve both come from very influential families & liked to act cold but is deep down caring & protective onto their loved ones.

𝚃𝚢 𝙻𝚎𝚎 ↷ 𝙼𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚎𝚕

In contrast to Mai & Quinton, Ty Lee & Trey were both the youngest on their siblings. Both were cheerful but hides deep sadness from within. Both were also similar into achieving their goals to make a difference for their family. Ty Lee wants to make her own mark as she grew up looking exactly the same as her sisters & her talent in circus were her only chance of shining on her own while Trey duels Yuma even if it cost him his crest to prove that he can bring his family back. Both were successful in achieving their own aspirations though.

𝙾𝚣𝚊𝚒 ↷ 𝚅𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚡

Now with the fathers on both sides. Ozai is known to be the “worst father in the history of fathers” as said by his son, Zuko as Ozai were a cold, sadist, power seeking & manipulative father onto his sons, heck, he even banished her wife & his son when he gets in his way. This didn’t really were the same with Vetrix. Vetrix, although manipulative & sometimes tends to be sadistic, had a perfect reason to be in this way, he is vengeful because his family is torn apart & although he used his sons as pawns, he did regretted it & seek redemption. If there’s a huge similarity between the two, it’s their antagonistic acts but what sets them apart is how they viewed their families. Vetrix got redeemed & lived a happy life with his sons while Ozai, like his daughter Azula were thrown in jail for their sins.

𝙼𝚎𝚗𝚐 ↷ 𝙲𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚢

These two, although supporting characters, almost have no difference apart. Meng loved Aang the way Cathy loved Yuma. Both were always supportive of their lovers even if it’s unrequited type of love.

𝚂𝚘𝚔𝚔𝚊 ↷ 𝙵𝚕𝚒𝚙

These two shitheads characteristics almost falls in the exact way. Sokka, in his younger years yearned to be one of the greatest warriors in their tribe, Flip on the other side, yearned to make friends by dueling. Both failed miserably by then but as time passes by, these weaknesses both made them reach their truest friends that will stick to them till the end. Not to mention both shares the same attitude of being the comic relief of their own respective bands. Both also shares this whimsical witty attitude that often led them to trouble.

𝚉𝚞𝚔𝚘 ↷ 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚔

If Zuko were a firebender, Shark was on the opposite using his water deck. However both of these two shared the same trait of being “I’m never happy” with a plastered frown or sneer onto their face. Like others, family were the ones who fuel their goals. Zuko yearned for his redemption as the banished prince while Shark wants to avenge her sister making them act like b**tch boss to everyone but deep down their kind, shy beings who get all dorky around their friends. Just like Zuko with the gaang & Shark with Yuma & company.

𝙺𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚊 ↷ 𝚃𝚘𝚛𝚒

The main character’s emotional support person, the titular “mom friend”, the fierce female in the group of her boy friends, the primary friend of the MC; I could go on and on for the list but the main point is that both served & acts as the one female who encompass everyone while going onto their journey. Not to mention both Katara & Kotori shares being the focal love interest of both MC as it has been canon that Aang loved Katara by those kisses although it was much subtle with Tori & Yuma as friends but come on, it was evident in the way they blushes everytime.

𝙰𝚊𝚗𝚐 ↷ 𝚈𝚞𝚖𝚊

The main characters for both series. These two shares almost all the same characteristics that a protagonist should have. Even their goal lies the same. To bring peace and friendship in their own ways. What’s more, both goes onto many duels/encounters & made new friends along the way that only strengthens their beliefs into achieving their utmost goal to which both did at the end. Now intriguing enough, it is funny to think that both of these shows ended with a shared stark resemblance: Aang shared the last moments of the series while standing in a balcony enjoying the view with all of his friends while the sun sets whereas it was canonically parallel with Yuma flying with all his friends enjoying theirselves also, while the sun sets onto Heartland as the series finale.

BONUS

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚕𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 ↷ 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚛𝚌𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜

As if all those canon parallel isn’t enough, these three ladies & gentlemen poses the same way from the youngest to the oldest. Also I’d like to point out that I could definitely see the Arclights reborn genderbent now, being these ladies above. As their characteristics is just too perfect with each other. With all that power & sass together combined make them so a deadly, fearsome group.

Now, what I’ve done above is basically a canon crossover parallel 😅 to each respective characters of both shows; that perfectly resembles & act the same way. I also lowkey hoped 🤞🏻that if you haven’t watched ATLA still, I suggest you better do cause it’s a great show just like Zexal 🥰

Note: I didn’t paid much attention to the elements that they’ll have/part of but more of their humane characteristics. I believe the idea of to which element they’ll lie was free as the imagination of the readers (on how they’ll perceive them) but for me their traits was much more important as it defines who they were.

@zexalmonth

[atlafan]

Can I ask you what your thoughts on the legend of Korra are?? 🌹

*cracks knuckles* I have many thoughts, so many thoughts. tbh I made my tumblr after the first season ended because I wanted to be able to chat with people about the show. I was very excited for it, and it wasn’t what i thought it was going to be. I think of the gaang as my children, maybe because I grew up with them??? When LoK came out, I was a senior in high school, and I was a sophomore in college when it ended. I remember when they stopped showing it on TV and only showed it online. I used to get together with friends on campus to watch it. 

I thought it was a fun follow up piece, and I don’t think people were ready for how much more adult it was. I also think people wanted an exact replica of the original series. But I think that was the beauty of Kora herself. I think when you look at her and look at Aang, and the other past avatars, you could see there was no right way or perfect way to be the avatar. They all have to grow into it. Also, these young avatars keeps having to make these big decisions. Aang was twelve and had less than a year to learn three other elements and was basically told he needed to kill someone, all while facing off Zhao, Azula, at times Zuko, and some other baddies. 

Korra though...god, that girl...did she have to suffer the grief that aang did? no. however...fuck...she lost all of her bending, and was told she was a failure because she was having trouble connecting spiritually. Then she had to face off her own crazy ass uncle and all of these fucking spirits, THEN she had to witness the death of all of her past fucking lives, and try to defeat this thing with only the knowledge of her own bending. This was followed up by a gang of freak benders that were trying to kill her. This lead to her almost not being able to walk again, and having to be rehabilitated. I thought the fourth book was a great way to wrap things up. She got a little better, and mastered metal bending. WE WATCHED THE EARTH QUEEN GET THE AIR SUCKED OUT OF HER LUNGS AND DIE OKAY!!!

I never had a problem with Korra or her friends. I wish there had been less of a love triangle. I loved her and Mako, and I thought it was bold to make her and Asami bisexual queens. What I had a problem with was how the gaang was portrayed. As fans, we wanted to know what happened to them in their later years. We were given small tastes of this, but it was all a tease. Everyone got a statue but Katara. I think the topic of Katara makes me the most angry. Did she really just push out her babies and become a healer????? THERE’S NO WAY SHE WOULD HAVE SETTLED FOR THAT?! WHY WOULD AANG LET HER SETTLE FOR THAT?! IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE! WE ALSO GOT TO SEE EVERYONE IN THE SAME FLASHBACK IN THAT COURTROOM, WHERE THE FUCK WAS KATARA?! ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME SHE HAD NO SAY IN WHAT WAS GOING ON REPUBLIC CITY?! REALLY?! ALSO DID SOKKA EVER HAVE KIDS????? WAS HE SUE’S FATHER???? 

There were so many fucking theories that were left unanswered, and I think that was what made me so sad. I think Korra’s story itself was well told, and I’ve made peace with her. I would love to see that come to Netflix next because I’m in desperate need of a rewatch. Also, Lin Beifong owned my whole ass. Plus, the things that came out of the series??? If you’ve never looked into @projectvoicebend I strongly suggest you do so. You can find it on YouTube, but I think they had to move everything to vimeo because of viacom. Best abridged series I’ve ever seen. 

SORRY FOR ALL MY THOUGHTS BUT YOU ASKED!

[violetsystems]

#personal

I keep reading a lot about how video chat is exhausting.  There’s a strange psychology to it.  The synthesia that comes from people being “in real time” and yet not.  My connection at home operates on a ten to eleven millisecond latency.  I spent the last month tightening the requirements I had for operating my office at home.  I’m IT person so I feel like I need to lead the charge on that front.  I’m also not typically someone who communicates through video.  I quit facebook over a year ago along with twitter.  I post things to instagram with no captions.  I write three paragraphs online every week here.  This is about as personal as it gets for me.  And yet I socialize with people just the same in this post Covid-19 world.  In fact, I keep hearing how we’re all in this together.  How the importance of neighbors and families become more apparent.  And nobody really interacts with me beyond that professional veil that separates in real life me from deep thought me.  If anyone really wanted to get into my head I leave it here for them to process.  There are people on here that have said more to me in a like than a series of sentences.  Years ago people would think that’s insane.  And yet here we are locked in our bedrooms speaking awkwardly through delay.  Desperately trying to connect through video glitches to brick walls on occasion.  People hiding their clutter through filters and masks.  People drowned out of group chat stuttering in and out.  False starts and runaway monologues.  My job has a lot to do with managing groups of people in this atmosphere and improving communication.  I ran a zoom happy hour recently for an employee’s departure.  I don’t drink anymore.  I’m not particularly bothered by it.  But it was an enlightening experience of voyeurism to watch.  I guess people who go to bars now just hang out on video drunk.  I’m the one who has to reel in the commentary if it gets too out of control.  But it’s always out of sequence in terms of the rhythm of conversation.  Worse so when it’s not work related.  In a world where people worry out loud about taking the train to work.  I’m still paying my Ventra benefit.  I’m proud of my city in that way.  I went to the bank over lunch to get quarters.  Shopped at a smaller grocery store in the neighborhood.  Everybody was so lively and conversational.  People thanked me for wearing a mask.  For bagging my groceries correctly.  In real time.  A mask was the only thing between us really.  Not an entire quantum grid of time distorted projections.  And then there’s the people who lean on that even more.  We’re all neighbors.  We all need each other.  Society is almost as exhausting as telepresence.  In some ways we’re seeing it’s just as good.  Kind of like quarantine ushered in a new kind of Videodrome.  Long live the new flesh.  Same as the old flesh really.  It’s the quality of the people that breathe life in the world.  Or suck the air out of the room.  You wish they’d suck out all the Covid droplets too.  

I’m not too engaged by people these days.  Not on an intimate level.  But I am a genuinely open person.  I live in the moment.  I’m easy to read.  Some people have faulted me for that.  Claiming I’m not a good poker player when it comes to the game of life.  You don’t know how badly people have eaten those words.  It’s why they always have their foot in their mouth when they try to talk to me.  It sounds worse over the cold empty space of internet packets traveling through the screen.  The frightening thing about America is that it’s so easy to connect to everyone but yourself.  And none of that is ever satisfying when nobody respects you and your search for connection.  I have travelled the world.  I travelled it alone.  The largest amount of time I’ve spent in a foreign country was Korea.  I made a lot of friends in Seoul over a short period of time.  The lifecycle of which varies just as wildly as back home.  But I connected with people being myself.  Did people value those connections?  I don’t know.  When I think about traveling now it’s mostly to New York.  But the same goes for New York.  I travelled there alone.  I knew nobody.  I went there on my birthday twice alone.  Followed around by god knows who or what.  I’ve been through all of this for five or six years now.  And people still question my connection to myself.  How I communicate.  How I feel about the world.  What desires I keep to myself.  Who I’m inspired by.  Nobody ever asks.  I sit on video everyday looking out with tired eyes listening.  Constantly listening to people’s words.  My own are processed but it’s not about me.  I’m sure I could explain how I felt on video to someone I was close to.  But the truth is nobody is that close to me at all.  It’s an empty space.  I’d rather fill that space beside me.  Have somebody in my life I share the deeper side with.  When I sit and pretend on camera I feel consulted but never connected.  I hear about people’s worries and concerns.  But nobody knows how I feel or how I am thinking.  I feel worthless.  I feel ignored.  I feel like a fucking joke.  Like a punchline people use to show when people aren’t paying attention.  Like I’m a ghost or a hologram.  I do connect but it passes right through me.  Like I’m there but not really there.  An avatar to process an in real life transaction.  To be put away in cold storage after interaction.  Where does a person like myself go from here?  I have felt trapped.  I’ve felt buried.  And now I just feel like I’m in a revolutionary cave.  Weathering a shit storm.  Like Khan on Ceti Alpha Five.  Buried alive.

Khan definitely didn’t have fed ex.  Neither did he have the Dover Street Market E-shop.  Khan did not have a level 103 warlock in World of Warcraft.  Khan did have a crew.  He eventually got off that planet by putting worms in people’s ears.  I’m not a big fan of fake folk remedies.  I do like Star Trek.  I watch a lot of tv these days.  A lot more than I did.  I’ve set up my deliveries to sync up with my needs.  My cat food and litter is always delivered on time.  My cat now sleeps on my bed.  She crawls onto my chest inexplicably at times.  Getting me prepped for a ventilator I guess.  I still have a job.  A job that I will soon go back to in some context.  A job that I’ve been working every day since lockdown.  How people judge me from there is a constant reality.  People still out there trying to breach the six foot barrier of me not giving a fuck.  People still have something to say with or without a zoom meeting password.  And I’m still the same old Tim.  A little wiser.  A little more fed up with basic shit in America.  And still with my ear pressed firmly to the ground.  Everything is a complete shit show.  It’s been that way for years.  I’ve just gotten less sensitive to it.  And the more I walk through life ignoring things that waste my time, the more I see it for what it really is.  There’s a luxury in pausing to map the terrain.  To keep your distance.  To not always get led away by your passion and your emotions.  My passion does feel dead inside.  That’s a little harsh.  It feels like it’s hibernating.  It’s been hibernating.  I have very little emotion to show in terms of real intimacy.  I save it inside and that’s my business.  I do desire.  I do care.  And I’m sure my friends on here know exactly in what context and how hard that is to bear at times.  I’m expected to read so deeply into everyone and no one bothers to skim what I’m trying to say.  It’s life.  It’s the same exact feeling staring out on your video cam and watching someone who isn’t really there.  Like you’ve tuned into someone’s play or tv show.  And you are the laugh track.  That’s all you are to people.  A fucking ambient laugh track.  Distorted so much by selfishness that whatever you say has no bearing on anyone at all.  Marooned on your own dead planet with a fat pipe to the internet.  Talking to max headroom with a thirty second delay.  How was your day?  Oh let me tell you about mine.  Time stretched howl into the matrix.  I’d rather hear the soft rhythm of your breath next to mine.  That would say more than anything I could ever say.  Until then I’ll stick to writing love letters into the void.  That and shopping at home online.  I love clothes.  You know I love you too.  I’d say it on video but you deserve zero latency.  <3 Tim

[3w-writer-with-wings]

Character post: Aoi Zaizen

Why I like them/why I don’t:

Out of all Yu-Gi-Oh girls so far, Aoi feels the most relatable of them all. She is a lot like a grown-up version of Luna/Ruka from 5Ds with a similar mannerism and personality. Aoi has a really timid nature and the fact that she is so sheltered by Akira that she feels he doesn’t even trust her hits home hard. But what I really love about her is her development. She learns from her mistakes and tries to become the best version of herself. The actions she takes in order to change herself don’t always play in her favour and even then she keeps on trying. Aoi represents exactly what you should do if you face failure in life – make changes and learn from your mistakes. Unlike Go, she never succumbed to her own insecurities and rather used them in order to change for the better. While she may appear pretty naïve and stubborn at first, you can really see how she slowly transforms into a person she always wished to be.

She is also a good representation of a celebrity with depression. The episode that showed her life outside VRAINS nearly broke my heart. From the way she talked with Yusaku and members of duel club, to how she just ran away after Yusaku asked her about Akira and how she was lying on bed looking like she was about to cry… it was just hard to watch considering there are people who are actually suffering the same way. But then she logged in VRAINS and instantly became a bubbly Charisma Duelist to entertain people. While a lot of people compare Go to Yuya, I actually see Aoi to be more like Yuya. Her Blue Angel persona is just like Yuya’s goggles, a mask she hides behind to cover up her tears and she presents herself as someone who is always smiling.

When her wings broke after her loss to Yusaku… it just perfectly represented how she finally broke down a lot like how Yuya lost to Reiji and Jack. At that point, I was really afraid she would follow the same road that Go did in season 2 – her insecurities and depression getting the best of her, but she didn’t. No, instead she put some thought about it before she did anything. When her fans were bashing her name, it seemed like she was going to break again. Thank God Emma came to her rescue! What I love about her relationship with Emma the most is the fact that she is the kind of a person that Aoi always needed. Once Miyu was revealed it also made me realize why Aoi had a hard time finding friends – she was afraid of being separated from a friend and didn’t want to be hurt by it again. Emma let her know that she’ll be always on her side and this was the encouragement that she needed to make a step further.

Her style of duelling is also one of my favourites – the burndown strategy. When she was duelling that AI who had the same technique and they were burning each other’s LP down like crazy was really entertaining to watch. I was a bit disappointed once she no longer used that technique, though I liked that she acknowledged it as something that needs to be improved. In overall her character is just as complex as Yusaku’s and I’m glad that it was explored a lot.

The only downside to her character is how her character is treated. Unfortunately, female characters are something that Shin Yoshida doesn’t know how to handle and this plays a big part in her representation. She had many losses that downgraded her lot. While she made a very big comeback in season 2 as Blue Maiden she also had a big downfall as well. In other words, Aoi’s character deserved so much more but was unfortunately pushed aside many times.

What I like about their appearance

The fact that she has so many avatars! I actually cosplayed Blue Angel and this was one of the most difficult cosplays I’ve ever made, but I in no way regret it since it is a very cute outfit and I’ve learned so many cosplay-making techniques while making it. I also really like how each avatar in a way presents one part of her. Blue Angel is her childhood dream, a hero she wanted to become. Blue Girl represents her desire to be like Ghost Girl and make a change. And Blue Maiden is her embracing all of herself and honourably joining Team Playmaker. Her avatars give this Magical Girl feel that combine her kind nature with power in order to save the world. While magical girl anime portrays that more ribbons, sparkle and skirts equals more power, Aoi’s avatar changes are the exact opposite, showing that sometimes less can be more.

And the part I love the most and was the most difficult to make? Her wings! I think I spent nearly three whole days just figuring out how to make those wings stand! In the end, I used some very thick wires, extra strong duct tape and a handmade posture supporter to keep it still. And it was so worth it! I was a bit sad that Blue Girl didn’t have wings, so when Blue Maiden’s wings were shown I was excited as hell! I also really like her twintail hairstyle since I tend to wear my hair in this style too. When I cosplayed Blue Angel not that many people recognized the character, but those few who did really liked it and one of them even showed me all of the Trickstars he had in his deck! I had a really wonderful experience as Blue Angel and I even won the third place in cosplay contest! To conclude – I love absolutely everything about her appearance and I wouldn’t mind cosplaying her or her other avatars again!

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

While I really like the name Skye, it kinda sounds off for Aoi. I’ve grown really used to her original name so when her dub name was revealed… it just didn’t sound like her. I guess it could work as her user name since Skye goes well with her avatar’s wings, puffy skirt and blue colours like a short nickname for Blue Angel. Aoi is also the name of a hollyhock flower that represents the cycle of life which nicely symbolizes the changes that Aoi went through when changing her avatars and overall personality.

OTP

Definitely Miyu or Takeru, hard to decide. Miyu was introduced really late in the series and didn’t get that much screen time or backstory and yet it was enough to give away all necessary information about her. I made many theories why I thought Aoi was Aqua’s origin and in a way, she is - all because of Miyu. While all cheerful and caring, Miyu could’ve been lonely and even if she wasn’t, she choose to befriend someone who was. It is not clear how long the two of them were friends, though it most likely not long and yet out of all people, Miyu choose Aoi to be her anchor. Aqua basically represents Miyu’s love for Aoi and I’m sure that once Aoi gets to meet Miyu it will be a very emotional reunion. 

Then there’s Takeru and let’s face it, he is the kind of a character that can be shipped with anyone and it would still work. Still, I genuinely believe he has a secret crush on Aoi. When he passed Aoi in school, he didn’t appear to have much interest towards her though that could be because that was the first time he saw her as Aoi and not as Blue Angel. The duel they had as Soulburner and Blue Girl was pretty entertaining to watch and the encouragement he gives her in the end was very well-meaning and kind. The second time he meets her in real life is completely different as he approaches her right away and introduces himself. Considering how shy Takeru can be it is very unlikely he would do that with just anyone, so the fact that he did that with Aoi shows that he is interested in becoming her friend. Kiku said that he is not much of a friendly person, so the fact that he approached someone else besides Yusaku really says a lot. Their relationship would really work as they both love duelling and testing themselves. I hope that they get to have a tag duel one time together as they could really fit each other well despite representing opposite elements (water and fire) since this could be the first time for such combination in a tag duel. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a tag duel in the third season since I really enjoyed Aki and Crow tag duel in 5Ds and this could give some nostalgia.

NOTP

At first I didn’t know this even existed, but Aoi and Akira ship just feels wrong on so many levels. I know they aren’t blood-related but they are still siblings. While I really like their sibling relationship, romantic one would completely ruin it, especially how canon it actually felt during the first season. Like Aoi would use –sama for her brother which is reserved for masters and bosses, like she is super inferior to him and the whole reason why she went to duel Yusaku was so she could impress him, which resulted in her falling in coma. Even if they weren’t siblings, Aoi is still a minor and Akira is ten years older than her. At times Akira also acts a lot like her father which would make their romantic relationship that much worse.

I dislike romantic Aoi and Emma ship for the same reason. While I absolutely love their sisterly bond, the thought of them having something more just doesn’t feel okay. Maybe if Aoi was older like over 18 or in early 20s then it could work better. Even if Aoi would have feelings for Emma and she would want to start a relationship with her, I imagine Emma would tell her to wait. Emma is the kind of a person, who has no problem breaking a law, but getting in a relationship with a minor is something she wouldn’t do. I have no doubt that she loves Aoi like her little sister or a young partner in crime so a romantic relationship would pretty much ruin this nicely developed relationship.

OT3

Aoi, Miyu and Aqua! I don’t know why, but this trio just warms my heart. There’s no doubt that all three of them care about each other a lot and would form a really nice relationship with each other. In my perfect reality, both Aqua and Aoi come visit Miyu after everything is over, and together they create new VRAINS avatars in order to spend time with Aqua who is pretty much their lovechild. I see this trio to work in both platonic and romantic way since the three of them show nothing but kindness and care towards each other.

Favourite card they use

Marincess Crystal Heart. I already liked the concept of Crystal Heart, the fact that it symbolized Aqua’s and Earth’s love and that they did everything to keep it from being destroyed in the field. What truly made me love it even more was when Aoi used it in a duel against Bowman and empowered it. I believe that the heart still represents Aqua’s and Earth’s love and the water spirit protecting it is Aoi, protecting them both. From the start of their meeting, Aoi has been keeping Aqua safe and Marincess Crystal Heart perfectly represents that.

Favourite moment they were in

Her duel with Haru. After so many losses, the duel with Haru was the best comeback for Aoi. The character she has been building finally came into action and I absolutely enjoyed watching that duel. From the new archetype Marincess to how she stood her ground against Haru’s hurtful words - Aoi made it clear: she is back and ready to kick some ass! The new strategy, her partnership with Aqua and that badass skill when her wings showed up! And how she outright obliterated Haru’s LP! It was just amazing and it showed how far she has come. At that point, it really seemed like Aoi was set to win more duels...

Least favourite moment

... which is why her loss to Bowman was so sad. While it was no way as humiliating as her loss to Playmaker, Specter and Soulburner, it was still terrible. Bowman is disgustingly overpowered character and the fact that he used so many moves that were outright cheating really downgraded Aoi’s and Aqua’s character. I would be fine if Bowman defeated her with a good strategy, but no he used a literal asspull effect like he did the whole duel. He even tried to scare her and for a moment I thought Aoi would give in. Luckily she didn’t and I was so proud of her. Even the act of “mercy” was a very cheap move since Bowman is a freaking hypocrite and he probably used it just so he could feel better about losing Haru. 

Back then when I was still hopeful about Aoi’s further character development I wrote a theory why she was capable of defeating Bowman with very good arguments and how it could play out well in the final conclusion of season 2. (it is here if you wish to check it out  https://3w-writer-with-wings.tumblr.com/post/182925730720/lightnings-plans-and-why-i-believe-aoi-will  ). I was really disappointed when Bowman won using the cheap moves since it looked like writing staff pushed away Aoi’s promising future for the sake of having Bowman win at all cost.  

Would I fuck, marry or kill them

Can I just be her friend? Cuz really if I were to meet Aoi in real life, I would just hug her and take her out for ice cream or coffee and talk with her, letting her know that she is an amazing person and that she should never doubt herself cuz she is doing a great job at improving herself. I would likely be one of those Blue Angel fans in the crowd during her duels, holding banners with encouraging words or I would be writing a blog dedicated to her in order to support her, pretty much the same thing that I’m doing now. ;) If someone would bash her name and accuse her of things she didn’t do or weren’t her fault, you bet I would write a freaking essay similar to the one I made in order to defend Yusaku when someone made a youtube video ranting how boring he is. 

Aoi Zaizen deserves more recognition and hopefully, she gets to shine more in the third season. 

[blue-mint-winter]

Star Wars doesn’t learn from the past mistakes: LOTF and Sequel Trilogy

I already talked about how The Last Jedi is the opposite extreme of Legacy of the Force book series, now belonging to the non-canon Legends. There is a similarity in premise of both of them - set about 30 years after OT, a son of Han and Leia fashions himself after Vader and kills a family member to complete his turn to the Dark Side. This is a very general resemblance and the details of the circumstances in both stories are vastly different, from the villain’s motivation to the series attitude towards Jedi. To me however, it’s absolutely startling how sequel trilogy makes the same mistakes that LOTF made.

1. Round Robin

Both sequel trilogy and LOTF are passed from author to author. In LOTF there was an attempt at a general outline agreed between the writers, while Sequels don’t even have that, but in both cases this form of storytelling leads to big inconsistencies in the works, especially in characterization. TLJ doesn’t feel as much of a sequel to TFA as its own movie. Rian Johnson admitted there was no agreed plot and that he wrote his own screenplay before he even saw TFA. In LOTF’s case may I remind you all Karen “never read a Star Wars book that she didn’t write” Traviss and Troy “forced prequelization which makes no sense in 30 ABY and total disregard of EU continuity” Denning? Every author is pushing their own vision without much care to making the whole a cohesive story.

2. Unlimited Power

The authors in both got handed a lot of “creative liberty”. Rian Johnson said how surprised he was at his freedom to do whatever he wanted. Even if he faced opposition about some of his choices he could safely disregard it. The Story Group which was supposed to make sure the canon is unified and everything fits together completely dropped the ball. With LOTF, it was basically a Troy Denning show with his vision being the deciding factor, further reinforced by the fact that he always got to write the third, ending book in every cycle of the nine-book series. Many times I wondered if anyone was reading these books before allowing them to be published. Anyway, in both cases it looks like TPTB just told the authors: “make up some shit, I don’t care, you can go nuts”. And they did.

3. Plot over character

I mentioned inconsistency in characterization, right? So in TLJ it’s the most evident, because it looks like all the characters took a stupid pill so that the contrived plot could even take place. There’s nothing organic about their behaviour, they just acted as they needed for the plot to happen. And this is the exact same thing that happened ALL the time in LOTF, constantly. Jacen’s turn to the Dark Side which wouldn’t have happened if his character arc from NJO wasn’t conveniently forgotten and Mara’s actions leading to her death are the prime examples.

4. Characters as mouthpieces of the authors

One of the greatest sins is when you know the character wouldn’t say something, because it doesn’t suit their personality or their knowledge. Instead they act as the author’s mouthpieces, spouting the author’s views. Karen Traviss did that regularly, making the characters worship Mandalorians or say anti-Jedi propaganda. Troy Denning liberally used Luke, Han or Leia to condemn “Jacen”, also his pet character Saba was his mouthpiece. In TLJ, it’s clear that when Kylo tells Rey “you’re nothing, what did you think? that your parents were important? They were just some random drunks”, he’s not really speaking to Rey who never said she thought that her parents were important. Kylo was obviously Rian Johnson’s avatar speaking straight to the audience, mocking them for having fallen for the “Rey parentage theories” trap. Many times when Luke Skywalker opened his mouth to mock the Jedi, his past, being a hero and everything that was ever good in Star Wars, it didn’t feel like something the real Luke would ever say. That was Rian Johnson speaking through him.

5. Destruction of the old without giving anything new in return

In both cases, there’s a deliberate cannibalization of what had been built up in previous works without offering anything new in return. LOTF destroyed the EU established characters like Jacen and Mara, among others, to prop up Big Three, so they could stay main characters forever. Even the covers showed them much younger looking than they should have been at this point in their lives. Unfortunately, the values and core messages of OT were also lost to this destruction. In Sequels, we have right off the bat the denial of the final OT victory with the return of Empire as the First Order. The New Republic we’ve never ever seen is destroyed and the characters of Big Three are regressed, ignoring their character arcs from OT. This trend was continued in TLJ with its nihilistic outlook that nothing matters, for example Jedi training doesn’t matter because Rey can do anything without it anyway. Established rules of the universe don’t matter, which invalidates all the continuity, because if ghost Yoda can shoot lightning why didn’t he do that to Palpatine before? Both LOTF and Sequels really love to bring back those old characters and just kill them - see Ackbar or Coruscant World Brain (dhuryam), Han and Lumiya. Instead of building the new, the series are more concerned with bringing back the old so they can destroy it. And it’s not good and leads nowhere.

[libertarianbarbarian]

United State Wars Troopers

United Starwars Troopers

   Facts:

- https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Galactic_Empire/Legends#Government_and_politics

 - https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Loyalist

 - https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Galactic_Republic#Organization

 - https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Sector_Governance_Decree

 - https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Delegation_of_2,000

 - https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Petition_of_2,000

 -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers#Militarism

 - https://www.amazon.com/Expanded-Universe-Worlds-Robert-Heinlein/product-reviews/0441218830?pageNumber=2

  OPED WARNING

“My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop the Fire Nation.” Oh yeah, I’m going to get that dorky with it today!

So, here’s the spiel, we’re divided as ever. The left hates the right, liberals hate “nazis”, or “fascists”, or “racists” …or whatever the hell it is now and days. But there’s something to be said about coming together. I’m sorry but no matter what news source you look at whether it be CNN, or Newsmax…or Fox News, then you’re inevitably going to come up with one conclusion. We’re divided. The only real thing that you’re going to see is the source of the division from network to network.

I know, I know, you’re tired about hearing all of this bullshit by now. Got it, and I am too damn it…but hear me out on this one. This is classically, no comically standard procedure, and probably something that all of us have seen before. One look at my FACTS section and you’ll know where I’m going with this. I personally thought about it for a moment and started laughing my ass off about the whole thing myself!

So yeah, Star Wars, and Starship Troopers. Something everyone knows, and probably loves to hell. Well if you take a close look at everything you start to see a pattern. Back when “Lucasfilms” came out with the prequels of the series that everyone, except my goofy ass, hated they tried to explain how the galaxy was as fucked as it was. Back in the beginning of everything, regarding the prequels, it was kind of calm and had the normal shenanigans going on in politics. You know, a little corruption here, a lobbyist there, special interests for specific politicians popping up all over the place, normal stuff.

Well the biggest thing that popped up was the clone wars. I understand that it didn’t really kick off until episode II but stick with me on this. There was major upheaval. One man, spoiler alert…if you didn’t already know, Senator Palpatine rose through the ranks to prominence. In the background he was manipulating something that they call “the outer rim”, or a special group of planets in the galaxy that weren’t part of the “Galactic Republic”. Think of like a foreign interest’s type of thing. Not to long after that war broke out between a group in “the outer rim” and the “Galactic Republic” called the clone wars.

Yes, we’ve got little Anakin Skywalker, emotional little shit bag, and Padme Amidala as the protagonist’s along with young Obi-Wan Kenobi. There’s something to be said about the main political shit going on around the same time and the division it caused amongst the masses though. Basically while the “Clone Wars” were going on you still had senators going “rabble rabble” in one big hall that represented their planet and then Senator Palpatine inching his ass in to the Supreme Chancellor spot…or I guess their version of a president? Anyways slowly but surely, he started to use the war itself as a springboard to slowly limit the powers of the individual citizens, then BAM! Out comes the “Galactic Empire” that we’re all familiar with and the still evermore moody Anakin Skywalker now Darth Vader.

Ok, I think we’re all caught up now. The reason why I say that there was a major division going on here that made me laugh is that this all sounds vaguely familiar. Right now, as it is, we have a group of elites in Washington D.C. that are pretty much dictating what and who we are as individuals along with what we say socially. Take a look at the news I’ll wait. Are you back yet?

Alright, the real big thing that I looked in to as hard as I could was what the main doctrine of the Galactic Republic had as its backbone. I couldn’t find it exactly so I had to pull some crime show forensic shit to figure out what the hell was going on, and why was it so easy for that form of government to be broken up. Well looking at it they did have a “constitution”, but from everything I could find it was basically weak as hell. Point one for America right there.

It was nothing during a time of war for Palpatine to just waltz right in and declare himself the Supreme Chancellor. He still had to divide the senate and get them to argue amongst each other. Cause a little chaos here, question the morals of a specific candidate. Ahem…call in to question the freaking Supreme Chancellor Valurum, the guy before him. There ya go, bad guy in office for the movies to continue.

The part that really started to get me laughing though was the way everything was set up after I started to do my research for this blog. They had almost the exact same set up we did. “Office of the Chancellor”, “Galactic Senate”, “Judicial Department”. If you ask me that kind of sounds like the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court. Well I think that one might be a draw…maybe. Hold up, all the power was easily transferable to the Galactic Senate, because red tape. Yup, they put out all this shit that pretty much made it easy for them to grab power from anyone and everyone they wanted to through bureaucracy. As a matter of fact, Palpatine our good old Sith buddy here added more on to it.

One thing that I’m pretty sure everyone else knows, even though we’ve got a shit ton of red tape going through our own government here it’s damn near impossible to do that from any one of our three branches. They try, they always do, but because of the constitution of the United States of America, ahem, “You will fail!” I’m sorry that was just way to damn easy not to do.

So to say that we’re close to but not quiet like the Star Wars franchise is kind of funny. Yes, we are. We’re not exactly like space traveling ninjas that can do some pretty cool looking Dragon Ball Z stuff, nor are our two governmental systems EXACTLY alike, but we have something that they have and it’s political officials causing both division and derision with in our own society.

Palpatine isn’t just one specific person with in our own in real life society. Hell no! Instead he’s an amalgamation of several different things and groups we have going on right now. Social justice warriors, the ones that want to sit there and tell you that we have to accept the what is told to us by their community because no matter the situation they are right and we are wrong and that’s the way we’ve set it up for, I don’t know, millennia now. There’s the politicians that placate to the exact same kind of bullshit that’s been reiterated by the social justice warriors and those who are from the opposite that lets be honest here kind of issue the same rhetoric and year after year slowly increase government power and their paychecks.

There’s also, and you know I don’t like these folks here, big tech. I’m all for a company growing in the free market. I’m all for it becoming a big conglomerate of sorts. What I’m not for is that company monopolizing the market that it’s in, nor am I for that company not obeying the laws of its country of origin. Oh! Yeah almost forgot, here’s the liberal in me if you want to put it that way, I’m also not for these companies blatantly censoring those of a creed, race, political choice, religion, or country of origin. We should all have freedom of speech and be willing to accept the consequences of our actions no matter what caused them. All of those factors and groups are our Palpatine.

One thing that my ass is definitely going to talk about here is the Galactic Republic a little more. If you take a deeper dive in to the Star Wars franchise, you’ll notice something as well. Doing research about the whole Galactic Republic, and then the Galactic Empire there was a promise that further divided people. The promise of safety.

Granted everyone wants to be safe. Hell, I want to be safe, but there’s something to be said about HOW you are safe. Call me heated now because damn this is going to be a touchy one. Are you anymore safer if you relinquish how you are safe? Are you any safer in your very free mind if you have someone forcibly tell you how to be safe? I’m sorry but my answer is always going to be no. As should yours. The Galactic Republic, much like our own government, slowly eroded its own power through bureaucratic policy after bureaucratic policy. Even in the movies you can blatantly see them do this in the few scenes that they hold in the movies. Hell, one of the most famous movie quotes is “So this is how liberty dies…with thunderous applause.”

I’m sorry but there’s always one sure fire way to be able to get people to commit to that, make them afraid then divide them. We see it play out plenty of times a day here in our own country. The news reports things out of context, or completely false on both sides. Legislatures and other government officials will add more laws to try and cover up what we as a nation had as one of our founding documents. Then the radicals from either side will sit there and either fight against it with their utmost or tell the general population that there needs to be more.

It’s not right. Now there is a flipside to this coin. Militarism. And here’s the little gobblety goop that caused me to take pause and add in Starship Troopers to this whole mess. This whole series started off as a book that was written by Robert A. Heinlein. Don’t ask, I don’t know how to seriously pronounce his name. But I’m pretty sure that not many of my readers will know who the hell that is. I’m pretty sure that my readers would know more about the comical movie that was made in the nineties. I sure as hell didn’t know that there was a book written before the movie.

Now I say “Militarism” because that’s pretty much what Starship Troopers is all about. And it sure as hell mirrors other things that are going on now and days as well. The left has been militarized to form groups like “Antifa”. The right now has groups that won’t start a fight, nor are they racist, but sure as hell will finish a fight like “The Proud Boys”. Don’t get me wrong I have no issues with the proud boys, however I don’t think that their answer is quiet the right one. Some of the things that both groups do that could end up looking like some engagement on “Klendathu”.

Basically, though, in the 1950’s this writer Robert A. Heinlein wrote a sci-fi critique of what he believed was wrong with the U.S. at the time. He’d been stated for “glorified the military…Specifically the P.B.I., Poor Bloody Infantry, the mudfoot who places his frail body between his loved home and the wars desolation-but is rarely appreciated…he has the toughest job of all and should be honored.” Cool so he’s a fan of the military right? Well not so fast there. I, as a veteran of the Army, wouldn’t stand for the bullshit in the movies that he put out.

You’re only a citizen if you’ve served two years in the Starship Troopers military. Only citizens can vote. Only citizens have the right to apply for a license to procreate with their partner. I’m sorry but that would be more towards the right side of things. I can’t name a single military veteran that would actually be cool with that. Yeah democrats getting into our highest position in the executive offices would absolutely mean budget cuts. Oh, and that means that they end up drawing back on forces or start kicking out soldiers for the simplest or pettiest of reasons. No that’s not a way to go ahead and start doing things either.

See the thing about Heilein here is that he had a very crazy view on things. He looked at the way that the U.S. was at the time and thought “hey we need to hand out more ass whoopin’s.” I’m sorry what? Yes, that’s right, the guy who wrote Starship Troopers thought that there wasn’t enough corporal and capital punishment now and days.

Now if you said something like all around I might could get around that if we were talking a little less harsh corporal punishments than used to be passed around back in the day. The women suffrage movement should have been an example for just women, but for everyone. We don’t need a repeat of the “rule of thumb” for the next poor soul that fucks up in a way that’s irredeemable to their partner. No, I’m down with corporal punishment if it’s with less severe crimes than the big ones. You know rape, child molestation, man slaughter, stuff like that. I think that we can all agree that child molestation needs to be more punishable than “three squares and a cot”.

But one thing that we’ve shied away from what we use to be, and it caused us as a nation. I’m not suggesting that we all of a sudden put Rico on the stocks and start whipping him. It was negligible homicide, and he didn’t know what he was doing leave the poor kid alone. No, if you really want to keep people together first you have to start with a set of minds that things need to be more punishable than they are. Go ahead and call the child molester out and sentence him to death. It’s been proven that its more cost effective to our jail system anyways, and who in their right or left mind wouldn’t want to protect their own children?

No people, one less murderer is still one less murderer. Make sure there’s a time period where they do a more in-depth investigation to make sure that we’ve got the right guy. Make sure that there weren’t any false allegations handed forward against the person you say is a child molester. But if you’re caught selling drugs to someone that you know are illegal and could get the person addicted then you should absolutely not be a seamstress getting that “three squares and a cot”. No hell no, but the person’s ass to work, make them take responsibility for what they did. Put their ass to work like we use to with chain gangs, there’s plenty of substantive materials that we could use the jail systems help on producing.

Of course, the libertarian in me is going to cry out…right…about…now! There’s something to be said though about repealing other things away. No direct profit for any given company in regard to the labor put for by the “chain gang”. Give the profit nation wide to those we put to labor, have them reap some sort of reward. You commit to A form of corporal punishment and rehabilitate them at the same time. Win, win.

Now that I’m off of my little pulpit there’s something that goes back to topic here. In Starship Troopers there’s one agreement that I can make with author. Some conflicts have to be resolved by force. One thing that I will absolutely agree and disagree with at the same time. We didn’t need to go to Iraq, but we did need to go to Afghanistan. There were terrorists that were wreaking havoc on the whole of Afghanistan and in order for those people to chose for themselves what and who they want to be we needed to weed that shit out. No, we didn’t go there to do that originally. Yes, we went there to get Osama Bin Laden. But it was something that once we found we couldn’t stand for as a nation.

So yes, I agree that if we have an incursion against us, like 9/11, then we have to retaliate just like we did or what happened in Pearl Harbor. But when we find further injustice and the people cry out, well fuck if they ask us for aide then it’s our responsibility to answer. Hell, no should we be looking for “WMD’s”. We all figured out what the ploy was there real quick. Yes, they had a dictator that was gassing them pretty much every day. But the responsibility belongs to those countries around them to take refugee’s and protect them.

So, there’s absolutely an answer to all this division we have…and yeah, we see it all the time in our media. We have to sit on our high horse as a nation and as a people and first cut the division bullshit and then stop being like “Star Wars” or “Starship Troopers” and agree to disagree. I parrot this bullshit all day long and damn near every freaking blog. We need the third party, libertarians, to go ahead and help things along so that the two warring political parties we have right now don’t divide and conquer us. We see this all the time in our movies and books. We have a choice, do we still want looting, rioting, and others reaching across the isle to call each other names and censor them…Or do we want to be like Palpatine and start the first “Galactic Empire” and make everyone fear us?

[uncheckedtomfoolery]

Any thoughts on Shou? (Please no lost Pagoda jokes)

I would like to begin this post with an apology to @rabbiteclair, who has probably been waiting for a prompt like this for several years. Anything about Shou necessarily has some overlap with Nazrin and Bishamonten. This post about Nazrin here touches on their relationship a fair amount, and also on Bishamonten, so it may be useful (having said that, I might repeat myself a bit).

Rest is below the cut, per usual.

There are a lot of stories about how an ordinary tiger became a guardian youkai, and avatar of Bishamonten. No wonder, really; it’s not the sort of thing that happens every day. Most of them conflict, so it’s really best to go to the source, right?

Except that Shou would probably just shrug, look a bit sheepish and/or awkward, and steer the topic elsewhere. It’s been a very long time, and before all this, she was an animal. All of that combines into not… actually knowing exactly what happened. She might ask Bishamonten if she thought it was actually important. She’s mildly curious but a kind of ideological “I am who I am now, looking back would be Wrong” hangup has kicked away what little temptation there is. 

What she does know, though, is that she knew Nazrin from before all this, and they stayed together. I read it as Shou getting caught up in all this, and Nazrin deciding she’s not going alone, but that’s mostly because I consider Shou to be significantly more into this whole Bishamonten business than Nazrin is. 

Since we’re talking about origins anyway, I might as well note that I believe them to both be from India for fairly obvious reasons. The exact road trip that brought them to Japan and whether it’s pre- or post-Byakuren is one of the flexible blank patches in their history. I’ve made some posts about the idiosyncrasies that come out of this, half-jokingly. Some examples follow, if you like: (1, 2, oh dear I thought I had more of these).

Shou is basically the leader of the Byakuren fanclub. Her adoration and admiration for She Of The Crazy Hair knows no bounds (though I would say this is not necessarily, and is indeed wildly unlikely to be romantic or anything; this can take other forms, after all). When Byakuren got captured, she took it very hard, It’s a personal failing (or so she’s chosen to believe, at least) that she carries to this day, long after everyone else has stopped holding it against her - they never did anyway - and it affects a lot of things. She led the UFO rescue party, for one. She’s probably fairly overprotective and trying too hard to compensate for something that’s not even her fault, to this day.

More on that in a bit, though. I talked about Nazrin before, and briefly about Byakuren now. Let’s touch on the other major figure in her life: Bishamonten.

It’s not hard to see how Bishamonten is a big deal to Shou. Uplifted her from a regular animal or youkai to an avatar, for one. Two, he’s a generally virtuous and heroic sort, it would appear. Three, she’s an avatar, she’s kind of contractually obligated to approve of him even without the other stuff. Suffice to say it’s no real surprise she has a glowing opinion of him. 

Let’s look at him a bit, though. If any Buddhists in the audience feel I am in need of a correction or possibly a swift kick in the shins, please let me know; I’ve done research but that’s never really the same.

With that preamble out of the way: Bishamonten always struck me as someone who doesn’t… quite fit in with the general Buddhist picture. He’s big and loud and fiery-tempered, he’s a god of war and (often material) fortune, he’s known for a great deal of smiting, he’s usually depicted with a world-class scowl (no, seriously) and a big fiery halo, et cetra. On countless levels, he does not come off as a lotus kind of guy. Not bad - he’s a god of justice and protecting the weak as well, after all - but just kind of wandered into the wrong group.

You can characterise him as just different, or necessary, or failing to follow Buddha’s doctrine, but in any of the above cases, I think anyone who idolises both Bishamonten and Byakuren might experience some clashes in how to act. My impression of him is someone who’s probably a great friend, stand-up guy, always there for people, et cetra, but you really wish he picked up an indoor voice and stopped getting into bar fights every day. 

Shou’s picked up a bit of all of the above. Again, avatar, can’t be helped. More on that later, though.

Your impression of Shou is largely a matter of whose eyes you see her through. To the average person, she is probably utterly awe-inspiring, a picture of charisma, effortless grace and an imposing, almost regal air all at once. If you want someone who impresses people into signing on just from seeing her, congratulations! You found her.

She’s aware of that, though, and she tries her best to take the edge off it by being friendly and amiable wherever possible. The effect is rather like a golden angel coming from the sky to a booming choir, only to ask how you’re doing and if you need any help carrying those radishes. And yet, she makes it work: Again, charisma and people skills are kind of her thing. She’s also built up a reputation as someone you can always go to if you need anything, whether it’s a thief caught, or a blessing of good fortune to last the winter, or just advice (though she’ll always try to direct you to Byakuren or Nazrin for that last one, unless you insist). Shou is happy to help, no strings attached, and everyone knows it. It’s the Meiling factor: A combination of a guard and a friendly face. Even people who dislike the entire Myouren temple will probably vouch for Shou. Byakuren is definitely up to something, but Shou? Not a chance, pillar of the community, don’t know what she’s even doing in a place like this.

To other youkai, she’s a touch more open, and uses a different tack. She’s Byakuren-lite: Just as nice and caring, but a little more in touch with the thoughts and concerns of youkai, and somewhat less uptight, easier to talk to, that kind of thing. Whether Byakuren is particularly unapproachable or whatever is beside the point: It’s how people see Shou by comparison.

In private and around non-Byakuren friends, Shou is loud, cheerful and boisterous, quite a contrast to her usual self: The sort of person that some might call ‘a handful’ if anyone actually minded. They don’t. Everyone within this small circle has stories to tell about Shou, all of them good. They’re usually told to people who were actually there, though. Shou’s got an image to keep up and everyone knows it. 

Shou herself has no particularly glowing opinion of herself. Have you ever heard that “nobody’s perfect”? Well, she hasn’t. Or at least, she heard, and then quickly dismissed this as an excuse (though only when applied to her; she’s fairly laid back about others). She does not give herself a break, and never has.

Part of this is kind of a… lack of perspective. She always has to do better, to measure up to Byakuren and Bishamonten. She, however, refuses to see either as anything less than utterly perfect, despite “we’re decent people, but boy have we taken some wrong turns in life” basically being the Myouren temple slogan, and Bishamonten being- well, see above. Not only are these contradictory, but a hopelessly idealised vision of another person is, in fact, not actually feasible as a goal. 

Essentially, Shou is already good enough to leave most people somewhat awestruck. She’s entirely unaware of this, and is instead bitterly disappointed that she’s not somehow perfect,  or reaching a set of contradictory, unattainable standards of people who are basically imaginary.

I imagine Nazrin tries to talk her out of it now and then, with middling and temporary success. It doesn’t help that, yeah, Shou does miss the mark occasionally (see: being a bit of a heavy drinker etc.) In practice this isn’t something you’d find out about, because Shou can still project  confidence very well. She’s good at this stuff, remember.

A couple odds and ends to close this out. One thing I’ve always liked from… some book or other (I can never remember the titles anyway) is that Shou is pretty much complete rubbish with a spear. It’s entirely ceremonial. I’ve seen people read this as “she’s basically helpless without the pagoda”, though, and I don’t think that’s quite true. A tiger is scary. A youkai is scary. A tiger youkai demigoddess is probably a whole lot scarier when she puts the spear down. 

As for blessings of fortune, I’ve always seen it as coming in two varieties, broadly. There’s good luck of the “huh, everything seems to be working out for me lately” kind. Then there’s the unsubtle kind where a sack of jewels just shows up in your living room one day. She can do both, and… yeah, sure, ideally you should cut off material attachment, but in practice people need things just to get by, and she considers helping with this to be an important part of her work at the temple.

That’s about it for my big rambly mess re: Shou, so I’m just gonna add a really silly idea I’ve had in my head for a while.

Shou once earned a single wish from Bishamonten in recognition of her services. She requested an arm-wrestling match with him, lost badly, and has been delighted about the whole thing ever since. Still kind of sore, though.

[gamelyplanet-blog]

“World of Warcraft”, Blizzard and trading off “fun”

UPDATE (12/2/2017): It was brought to my attention that, ironically, right after I posted this, Blizzard actually restructured their leveling experience for WoW. It’s currently on the PTR, it hasn’t been implemented in the Live servers, but based on player feedback, their new patch addresses a great deal of my problems with WoW. Watch THIS VIDEO by BellularGaming for more information and keep that in mind as you read the following piece.

I need someone to explain to me what the hell Blizzard has been doing lately.

I’m a simple man; I play games to have fun, enjoy myself and experience what they have to offer. I decided, very recently, to restart my World of Warcraft (WoW) subscription. I don’t do this often with any MMORPG; I get bored easily, but in games like City of Heroes or Final Fantasy XIV, I typically have a good amount of fun for about half a month before I cancel again. With World of Warcraft, not so much .

Quick history for context; I bought WoW around 2007; it was full price then, which means I paid 60 Euros for it, including a two-month game time card at 27 Euros. I installed the game and played for literally two hours before forgetting it ever existed and returning to City of Heroes. That’s right; 87 Euros for two hours of play. 

I didn’t bother with the game much afterwards; I mostly forgot I even had it, with the exception of a couple of cases that Blizzard gifted me a week of free play to promote the game after they released Cataclysm. I eagerly used that free time, but the game failed to convince me it was worth the sub.

Two summers ago, after Legion came out, I bought another card; I was hoping for a different result and I did my best to stick with the game for as long as I could tolerate it; I got my character, a Human Paladin, to Level 53 and gave up again, before the first month even ended.

A few weeks back, I got a WoW itch I wanted to scratch; the game always enticed me with its visual style and seemingly expansive lore, as well as its theoretically traditional and simplistic gameplay. Not one to learn from past mistakes in arguably any area of my life, I bought another month less than a week before writing this. 

As I logged in to my Paladin avatar, I found myself stranded in a volcanic area, with about 10 quests on the tracker, a bunch of dwarves with exclamation marks over their heads around me and two hotbars of skills I had to re-familiarize myself with. I was overwhelmed.

It’s not uncommon to be a little lost when returning to a RPG after a long time (let alone over a year). Most of the problem, however, usually comes in the form of not remember what the story is about and WoW isn’t big on “story”. No; the problem was that I felt no connection to my character. I couldn’t remember a single damned minute I’d spent with him, outside of a few hours of frustration during some earlier forced stealth bits. In contrast, I can still recount in excruciating detail hours of experiences I had in City of Heroes over a decade ago. I can still sing the praises of all the super-heroes I had created and I still miss every single one of them.

                   Look at this quest tracker. LOOK AT IT.

So, off I went, deleted the character in frustration and made a new one; a Night Elf Hunter this time, my WoW standard archetype from way back in 2007, as well as the free post-Cataclysm time. 

I’m recounting all of this, because I decided to use my frustration with my Paladin as a cautionary tale; I wouldn’t let it happen again. I wouldn’t let myself get absorbed in so much repetition that I don’t remember anything about the game once the subscription expires. I would pace myself and drink in the wonderful world and lore and missions of World of Warcraft.

It didn’t work.

I tried, really; instead of picking up every quest in a hub, I picked them up one-by-one. I wanted to focus on each quest separately, to remember why I was doing them, what the story of each of them was, why I was in that area I was in. I wanted to remember the path from and to the quest, to feel like I was actually an adventurer, immersed in the world around me, with an important task at hand. I didn’t even buy my mount until Level 26; I was going back and forth, on foot, me and my pet saving the world.

It wasn’t too bad at first; the starting area has just the right amount of quests and none send you too far, making the game accessible and the areas memorable. The longest stretch of road is between Dolanaar and Darnassus and not many quests force you to go back and forth on foot. 

The combat was the first thing that ruined it; it was too easy. I play some “vanilla”, WoW 1.12, on the side (thank you Elysium) and I can draw the comparisons. Vanilla combat is absolutely shit; too slow, too difficult, the game is unnecessarily punishing, considering the combat system is kind of simplistic shit that requires little skill or tactics. Current, official WoW has jumped entirely on the other side of the spectrum. I started realizing why I didn’t remember anything about my Paladin; there were no encounters worth remembering. From cannon fodder in the forests to the quest-significant enemies, they all dropped in two, maybe three hits. That bloody pet didn’t help; from some point on, all I had to do was aggro an enemy and my pet did the work for me. I was tearing through entire enemy camps in under a minute. I didn’t even have the chance to see what it was I was fighting, all the enemy NPCs just started blending in together.

This populated camp would’ve been a nightmare of careful planning and pulling in any other MMO.

Again, I tried. I was playing the Survivalist specialization and I tried to make things difficult for me. I refused to use a mishmash of armor with parts that didn’t fit; I purposefully downgraded my gear to look good. I even downgraded my weapon, from a two-handed axe to a quarterstaff that capped its DPS output to the base output of my previous weapon. 

No changes. Enemies still dropped like flies.

Eventually, I just got rid of the pet and switched to Marksman. It didn’t get much better; the combat was still easy, but at least each encounter lasted 3-5 seconds, which was 3-5 seconds more than before. So... progress?

I was very annoyed the game forced me to do this. Whenever I play a RPG, I don’t just do so for the mechanics and I certainly don’t do MMORPGs for the social aspect; I play these games for the lore and the world, to go about doing quests and to role-play. I really enjoyed my hunter, the Night Elf Don’thalar, roaming the woods with his pet bear Bols’htaran. I liked the story in my head, that I had rescued the bear when he was a cub and he was corrupted (I tamed it on Darkshore) and then took him to the druids to cure him through one of the quests I did for them. Afterwards we started hunting in the woods; I, my trusty axe and lil’ Bolsh, my only friend in the whole of Azeroth.

So, I sacrificed my RPing for some gameplay value. It still wasn’t enough.

At the time of writing this, my hunter is Level 31. I’ve left him next to a giant treant near a Burning Legion killing ground. I feel disappointed and exhausted. 

Mind you, I started playing this character four days ago.

Four. Days. Ago.

I didn’t even play that much each day, the progression system is just on steroids. For all my efforts, right now I still can’t tell you what game I’ve been playing, what I have experienced and what I have accomplished. I couldn’t tell you which areas I’ve visited and why. Four days. One character. Pacing myself. Acting out all the quest descriptions. Trying to role-play. And I still can’t recall a damned thing about the game.

This is bad. This is really bad. This is a fundamental issue with the game right now and, even though I’m far from an expert on WoW, I’m not the newbie I was in 2007. I’ve since become extremely familiar with the MMORPG genre, especially when it comes to the leveling experiences (which is what interests me in these games the most). WoW is currently work for me. It’s a thing I’m having no fun with and I’m literally paying Blizzard money for something I don’t enjoy.

Make a character. Walk to a hub. Pick up a quest. Finish quest. Turn it in. Five more quests pop up. Go to a different area for one of the five, another seven pop up.

This isn’t a game, this is what being at the back-end of the world’s biggest chili aficionado feels like. This is an avalanche of menial, insignificant bullshit that weigh on the player like insane. 

Outside of capping the character for raids and dungeons, the game gives literally no encouragement to go through its dull, grueling leveling process. Once upon a time you’d do quests at least for gear, if not for the XP. They can’t even pace that properly, however; I literally had (in more than one occasions) two NPCs side-by-side give me the same exact piece of armor, with only minor stat differences. I was spending hours doing insignificant quests for gear that has practically no impact in the game.

What kind of design is this?!

Most modern MMORPGs offer a basic storyline to hook the player in. WoW is older than it wants to look and doesn’t offer that. That’s not a problem in itself; even the very first single-player RPGs didn’t feature storylines. What they did feature was exploration-oriented gameplay. You can explore in WoW; sooner or later, the onslaught of meaningless quests will run out, you’ll open your map, see what the next area close to your character level is, jump on your mount and go there to find the next collection of exclamation marks. But that’s not exploring; that’s just moving elsewhere. There is nothing interesting to see in the world, it’s all enemy mobs roaming massive, but otherwise desolate plains dressed in slightly different trousers.  

The world feels dead. This is always going to be a problem with fantasy MMORPGs; one of the reasons I always loved City of Heroes was that you could see friendly NPCs, citizens, doing their thing. They weren’t exactly complicated, but they helped make the world feel alive. Fantasy MMORPGs have to rely on other players to inject the sense of life into their worlds. WoW is clearly still very populated, but it feels like all the players exist in their own bubble. Yes, we see each other; we pass each other on the road to objectives, in the big cities and near missions. But we don’t interact. We have no reason to. Because of the current design, instead of making the world feel alive, the player population makes the world feel manufactured. These aren’t other adventurers of Azeroth; they’re players, like you, detached from the framework of the adventurer in a fantasy world.

When I took a day off to try out vanilla WoW, we were all interacting. I’m not saying it was a better game; I’m the first to recognize the value of being able to solo without the game forcing team-ups for certain quests. I hate that shit. But I got more of a sense of community in the unofficial vanilla server than I ever do in official WoW. 

WoW is still installed in my computer because I need to do some screen captures for this bit. Once that’s done, it’s out for good. I renewed my sub less than a week ago and haven’t touched it in two days. From where I stand, the World of Warcraft experience is a vacuous one for anyone not interested in endgame content.

That’s what the crux of the argument really is and where I have to wonder what exactly it is that Blizzard is trying to do with their games. The leveling process has clearly been boosted to reach cap as fast as possible, so players can access endgame content. They’re not the only ones doing this; Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) recently streamlined the leveling experience as well for the same reason. SWTOR, however, comes with a lot less trekking and a lot more story to string you along. WoW remains a gelatinous mass of exhausting, forgettable leveling content that now you don’t even get to enjoy. 

I understand; arguably the majority of players want to cap their characters and enjoy the endgame content. Most expansions add almost exclusively endgame content, which is why they usually come with character boost tokens. Cataclysm was the only one that changed leveling dramatically. But when you want to focus exclusively on endgame, you lower that cap; DC Universe Online is very endgame-oriented and its cap is at a mere 30 and you can burn through leveling in two days, at most. WoW, on the other hand, keeps raising the cap with each new expansion. It was 60. Then it was 80. Then 90. With Legion, it’s 110. This is done to lock away people who don’t own the expansions out of the new areas, but at the same time, all it does is add to that gelatinous mass and make the leveling experience a lot more exhausting.

The core of WoW is no longer “fun”. It’s not the combat, it’s not the lore, there is no story; it’s all about more endgame content, more raids, more dungeons, more shit to do after you’ve spent two months of gaining nothing from the experience outside of finally hitting the cap. Then hitting it again. And again. The core mechanics are garbage and always have been, any sense of socialization comes into play after capping and anything story or lore-heavy is during endgame as well. Blizzard most certainly doesn’t force you to, but from some point on, that character booster token seems like the only viable option to enjoy the game; because the leveling just isn’t enjoyable. Even then, unless you grind for better gear or own the latest expansion, you’ll still find it hard to join a dungeon group or a raid if you’re not part of a Guild. 

WoW isn’t the only Blizzard game with misguided intentions; Overwatch, as popular as it is, doesn’t seem to focus on “fun” anymore either. Blizzard made a very attractive, well-marketed casual hero shooter. When all is said and done, it’s an average shooter with a lot of irrelevant hooks. Its reliance on team balance can make it infuriating more often than not. If, originally, Overwatch was designed to be an accessible shooter with interesting heroes to choose from, now there are only two things at the core of its design: loot-boxes and competitive play. 

The loot boxes are already annoying. They’re only cosmetics and one can ignore them, but they are a hook that plays to the game’s detriment in the long term. My experience was that I enjoyed the game at first and didn’t pay much attention to the loot boxes. Come the first Year of the Rooster event, I finally found a D.Va (my main) skin I liked. I never cared for the other alternatives to the base skin. So, I decided I’d grind for it. 

During the time that event ran for, I leveled my account for about 100 levels; that is a lot of playtime invested. I tolerated the broken arcade mode games (particularly Mystery Heroes), for the three extra loot boxes. No drop; I got a million other stuff, some even good, but nothing I really cared for. I eventually did the unthinkable and bought 10 extra loot boxes.

Still no drop! The only thing I managed to do with the boxes I paid for was finally scrounge up the 3000 credits needed to buy the damned thing on my own.

The legs may or may not had something to do with wanting this skin.

Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end. I’d grown to resent the game. I’d seen through the cracks in its design, how broken it is and how worse it gets with each update. The paint had started chipping away and I could compare it to other online shooters, like Red Orchestra 2, Natural Selection 2 and Insurgency; different types of shooter, but all of them infinitely more complex, tense and mechanically engaging.

It’s my fault I allowed myself to be hooked like a gambling addict, but the point is that the game stopped being about having fun. The core mechanics were shaky to begin with and at its core the game is made to provide more bad experiences than good, unless you have your own team of people you know and can communicate with on the fly. 

Then, there is the Competitive angle. Blizzard made, by design, a very casual shooter to appeal to lowest common denominator, with its simplistic mechanics and waifus. Then, they suddenly decided they wanted in on that Competitive scene, because Starcraft had proven them there’s a lot of a money there. In doing so, they started re-balancing and changing and overall slaughtering their own game design with one questionable decision after the other. Re-balancing wasn’t done on the basis of fun gameplay, but instead on the basis of pick-rate. The whole thing was (and is) a sordid affair.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Both in terms of WoW and Overwatch, one could argue that the problem is that these games aren’t for me. I’d disagree, I think the design problems of these games are fairly easy to recognize, but one could debate I’m reading them wrong. The best example of how completely off they are with their modern design is Heroes of the Storm (HOTS).

I don’t like MOBAs and I don’t really play MOBAs. I’m slightly familiar with the genre and even I can attest to the fact that HOTS is a bad MOBA compared to DOTA, League of Legends, Paragon etc. I wouldn’t ever go back to that game and I don’t think anybody, not already into it, would.

Blizzard aren’t idiots; they know HOTS isn’t very popular. So, they did this promotion event, where they forced you to play HOTS to unlock Genji’s Oni skin and D.Va’s police outfit in Overwatch.

I played HOTS, during that event, for four hours. Consecutive. I did all the matches to get everything on offer. I was exhausted. I wasn’t the only one, either. At some point, some six games in, all of us, unrelated people, strangers to one-another, started complaining in chat about how tired we were and that we really didn’t want to move our characters and play. Couldn’t we just sit there, shit-posting and let the other guys pretend they’re playing, so the round can be done as fast as possible?

We weren’t trying to be assholes and ruin the game. We were legitimately just exhausted. Our brains had started melting from the repetition. We couldn’t even pretend we were having fun. 

This entire event was Blizzard’s brilliant idea to promote HOTS to people who played Overwatch, but not HOTS. I don’t know the retention numbers after that event ended; what I do know is that the moment all the D.Va shit unlocked, that game was out of my hard drive immediately. Again, I wasn’t the only one to do this.

In the process, not only did Blizzard fail to promote HOTS; not only did they turn off newcomers to HOTS, because grind-based gaming is a necessarily evil and not a good motivator; they also alienated their established player-base, who just wanted to play the fucking game and ended up matched with us assholes who just wanted the goodies; goodies for a different fucking game, no less.

Between these three games, it’s pretty obvious to me that whatever Blizzard’s current focus is, it’s not to provide an entertaining experience for the player. Making money is good; I’m not going to be the person to say that Blizzard shouldn’t care for profit, but it infuriates me that their system works. I don’t even mean it works on others; the Blizzard spell mind-controls me just as well. I’m still itching to go back to WoW, after writing this long diatribe on why I hate it. Part of it is the repetition; I can waste entire hours, doing the exact same thing for no reward. It’s like pulling the level in a slot machine, only in this case I know for a fact there will be no reward. If not for that, I feel like going back simply to justify the money I paid for the subscription. It’s almost Machiavellian; I gain absolutely nothing from the experience, but if I don’t sink my time into this dull and dreary experience, I’ll feel like I’m not getting my investment back. 

So yes, their system currently works. They’re doing well. The problem is, I’m not sure how long this will last. A really good way to not only sell copies, but also retain a player base is to offer a game that’s actually enjoyable. Though I’m certain there are newcomers to WoW, I’m pretty confident in assuming the majority of players are veterans. They got into the game when it was still fun, when the market was much more bare and there was far less competition. They stick around still, because leveling your character to the cap is an investment you don’t want to sacrifice. Familiarity is a powerful motivator, but it only goes so far; especially when the audience is constantly growing. 

As someone who has never capped a character in a MMORPG, all I feel I’ve been offered by Blizzard is extra chores to do. Leveling in WoW feels like an obligation, like work. Grinding for loot boxes in Overwatch feels like work. That shit I put myself through in HOTS was absolutely work. Their games started out well enough, but they evolved into these unpaid internships that ultimately offer nothing outside of killing time. Worse yet, this is the scummiest kind of unpaid work, the kind you have to pay to be granted the honor to partake in. 

When you reach the point that have to schedule your game sessions as a thing you “must do” each day to make sure you get that gear, or that level, or that loot box, instead of going “I can’t wait to play this game again”, there’s something wrong. I have a soft spot for Blizzard; I think all of us do. I want to like a lot of their stuff and they have put out good games in the past; some of them being the very games I now find so infuriating. But considering I just paid 15 bucks for an experience that’s so depressing I had to switch to Cryptic’s shitty Neverwinter game to sate my MMORPG hunger (UPDATE: It didn’t work), I’m not really very willing to give them any more chances. They need to restructure their focus. Money’s good, popularity is good too; but you’re making games, something intended to make people feel good and enjoy themselves. Do try to remember this, once in a while. 

[fellmother-archive]

{ Fe13 Holy Blood Theory}

{ ooc. Please note that this is in no way insisting that the following theory is absolutely canon-- rather, it's more just lacing together an idea from bits and pieces scattered around fe13 and fe4/5. After all, that's what a theory is-- a proposed idea for something which has no explanation.

Am I going to add any of this to my blog? Probably not, unless people ask me to do it. Put the pitchforks down, okay-

Got it? Great! This is 2303 words long, so I hope you’re ready. }

          Fire emblem awakening, throughout the entire game, including its dlc, makes many references to Jugdral, whether it be through a few lines in support conversations, spotpass, lines in dlc maps, deadlords, weapons such as Sigurd's lance, or the inclusion of the holy weapons themselves. In fact, one of the characters, and their children by extension, is almost explicitly stated to be a descendant of one of fe4's protagonists, and the game implies that several holy bloodlines have made it into the continent of Ylisse, albeit these points will surface later. The theory proposed in this post is that Robin from fe13 is, in fact, a descendant of the Fala bloodline--specifically, of Saias/Cyas from fe5. Of course, he wouldn't have major blood-- that would be impossible--, but instead has minor.

          The first, and probably most obvious point is that both of these two are noted for their tactical brilliance, which, to some, immediately sparks the idea that the two characters might share some sort of connection, considering that their games fall on the same timeline, unlike fe7's tactician and Soren. Whist it is a slightly weak point, the reason behind mentioning this is that one was regarded as a tactician specifically, and one has an exclusive class  specific to their family line, as seen through how Robin's child(ren) are the only others who can canonically have access to the tactician and grandmaster classes. In fact, it is more than likely that Robin inherited their class from their mother, whom we can assume must have also held a position similar to them at some point, and that the people before them on that side of the family must have also been denoted in the same way, as classes more often than not signify what their occupation is. In the fire emblem universe, there are multiple examples of characters having families who follow the same career path generation after generation-- such as Anna's family, even going so far as to take on the same name, Miriel's mother, Miriel and Laurent all being mages pursuing logical explanations to everyday phenomenons, both Morgan's changing class to mimic the non-avatar parent, the generic 'from a line of powerful mages/mercenaries' description, and Chrom's entire family line from the first Exalt onwards. It could be very likely that part of Robin's family comes from a line of tacticians, and the earliest point on the timeline fe13 takes place which has someone being revered as a brilliant tactician is Saias, whose offspring probably would have been pressured into taking the same career path, as such a practice was common in the time period which fire emblem tends to base itself around loosely.

          Not only this, but the skills learned in the tactician and grandmaster classes might also serve as a call-back to fe4/5's leadership stars-- solidarity and rally spectrum. The former grants adjacent units +10 crit and dodge, which closely mimics the 10% bonus to hit and evade every leadership star after the first grants units within three spaces in fe4/ 3% bonus to hit and evade for every leadership star after the first for every ally unit on the map in fe5. It is also worth noting that charm cannot be considered a reference to the leadership stars, as such a skill exists in fe4/5 with the same effects, and the tactician class, in itself, could be a nod to the mage fighter class, of which Velthomer had no shortage of.

          For rally spectrum, however, it could be considered yet another call-back to leadership stars, in some round-about way due to how it increases all stats aside from movement in a three-tile radius, however the main reason as to why this skill might show a connection to Saias, and hence the Fala bloodline, is that out of all of the spotpass characters seen in awakening, only one unit has this skill, and possesses it on every map they appear in. That unit is Saias. No other spotpass character has rally spectrum, and both ignis and solidarity do not appear on any of spotpass characters. Other tacticians such as Soren, and non-apotheosis Katarina do not have rally spectrum either. Not only this, but rally spectrum is a skill canonically locked only to Robin and  their child(ren), which might indicate that Robin has some sort of connection, perhaps familial, to Saias, which leads on nicely to the next part.

          The next piece of evidence which might indicate some sort of connection between the two characters is that in the dlc maps 'Rouges and Redeemers 1/2/3', male!Robin and Saias have exclusive conversations with one another.  Whilst nothing is said which might act as proof for being related-- the two only trash-talk one another a little, but acknowledge that they are both tacticians--, this is a deliberate move by the game designers, and people such as Chrom, Lucina and Lissa do get conversations with characters they are related to as well, such as Marth, and what might make sense later, Julia, Ethlyn, Seliph and Sigurd. It might also be worth it to note that female!Morgan gets conversations with Julia, who is obviously related to Arvis, and by extension, Saias.

          The major question, then, would be how any sort of holy blood made it all the way to the continent of Ylisse in the first place, considering the fact that Jugdral is presumably quite far away. Luckily, there is solid evidence for certain holy bloodline having made it to Ylisse sometime after fe4/5, and the strongest bit of proof comes from Tiki and Male!Robin's B support, and by extension, Chrom, Lissa and Emmeryn even existing. In the conversation, Tiki claims that Chrom does not remind her of Marth, but instead another man from their line from one thousand years ago, around the time that she was born—‘Perhaps because Chrom is not like Marth. He is much more direct, and committed to what he believes is right. Chrom might more resemble a different ancestor, from the age I was born in. Another great man in their line, from 1000 years before Marth...’. Looking at the rough timeline of the series, the most likely candidate for this ancestor would be none other than Sigurd, and this would show that at least one bloodline has made it to Ylisse; the Baldur bloodline.

          The next thing which hints to even more of the crusader bloodlines making it to the continent can be seen in fe13' Chapter 22, 'An Ill Presage'. In this chapter of the game, the enemy units, aside from Aversa, is made up of the deadlords, however it is unlikely that they are the same as the ones from fe4/5, but instead are sort of recreation of them. Out of the twelve, five wield holy weapons-- Equus with Gungnir, Tigris with Helswath, Draco with Yewfelle, Simia with Balmung, and Canis with, surprise, Valflame. If we are to believe that these 'deadlords' hold the real things with the seals still in effect, then that right there is not-so-living proof that, aside from Baldur, the Dain, Neir, Ulir, Odo, and Fala bloodlines have also made it into Ylisse.           One could also argue that the Hezul line has also made it into Valm, as Owain states to be looking for Mystletainn in his paralogue. Regardless, this leaves us with potentially seven of these bloodlines having descendants who live in Ylisse and/or Valm, and Fala is one of those whose lineage could theoretically still be present by the time fe13 happens.

          So then, for this theory to have the slightest chance of being true, then why is Robin's hair white-- shouldn't it be some shade of red like a majority of those from the Fala bloodline? Not necessarily, and there are two reasons as to why Robin having his default hair colour still works with this theory, and does not debunk it.           The first is probably the most obvious one-- the time between fe4 and fe13 is around four thousand years; the chance of any descendant having the exact same traits as, say, Saias, Aida or Arvis is extremely small. Over that period of time, any later generation might move to different continents, and/or reproduce with someone who does not bear those same traits-- in fact, the trademark red hair could be lost in one generation, much like how we see the complete absence of curly hair in Julius, Julia, and Saias despite Arvis having hair like that, and in the former two cases, Deirdre as well. Let's also keep in mind that straight hair is recessive, and curly hair is dominant-- something which seems to apply to the Jugdral family trees--, so it isn't like this could be a one-off case. Much like that, the offspring of any descendant from a surviving member of the Fala bloodline could express a phenotype different to any specific ancestor.

          If that does not appeal to you, however, and you think that assuming something like the aforementioned reason is a little too far-fetched, could be used to link anyone to someone else, or you believe that his hair colour has to come from the family line because game-logic, then there is another one which you can see for yourself. White hair does actually appear in the Fala bloodline, if only because of the fact that she mothered a major-blooded child. Cigyun, Arvis' mother, naturally has white hair. So how does this tie in with anything? By doing basic genetics, it becomes apparent that Arvis is a carrier for white hair, as he would have had to inherit one allele from his mother, and the man is able to produce Julia, who also has white hair. With Aida having the exact same shade of red hair her son has, it is also quite possible that Saias might have inherited the gene coding for white hair as well, and that explains how Robin’s hair colour could come from the Fala bloodline, as Saias might be capable of having a child with white hair, which could then be passed down.

          The next piece, whilst being quite minor, is one that might not have any connection to the Fala bloodline, however, as you will be able to see in a moment, it does seem as though it could be. In fe13, Robin eventually learns the skill 'Ignis', however it is not the actual effect of this that raises any questions-- it is the name, its visual appearance, lineage, and the class that it comes from which do. The name is quite basic, literally meaning 'fire', and with every name given to this skill in other languages, the theme of the name is still the same-- 'blossoming flame', 'ignus', 'ignition', and 'Apolo'. These names also reflect the visual aspect of this skill, as, upon activation, the user is engulfed in bright orange fire and a pink glow, and when the attack hits the enemy, a burst of those same orange flames and pink flower petals erupts from the site of contact-- the fire's colour being more easily seen in fe14. The fact that this is a skill exclusive to Robin and any children they have, discounting fe14 as I highly doubt that dlc is canon, shows that this particular skill must be bound to one or both halves of his family tree.

          But Isn't it just a skill connected to Grima? No.           If ignis was something tied to Grima, then we would have seen a skill akin to this-- aesthetically or otherwise-- on the 'Creation' in fe15 alongside anathema and dragonskin. Not only this, but you would imagine that this skill would be seen appearing in the fell bloodline, without anything else mixed in, however that is not the case either, as Validar does not possess ignis, and instead has dragonskin. Another thing to point out is that the tactician/grandmaster class is not connected to Validar either-- the cloak is Grimleal, yes, but if he was from that class originally, he would at least have something from the skills learnt in those two. So then, ignis is not connected to the fell bloodline or Grima, but is still bound to Robin's family line. The tactician/grandmaster class is something we can assume came from Robin’s mother, and the skills found in this line are also exclusive to Robin and their child(ren), strengthening the idea that the class is, like ignis, locked to their bloodline.

          Another piece which might hint towards some sort of connection between Robin and the Fala bloodline can be found in the Cipher cards, albeit for obvious reasons, this might not mean much due to whether or not these cards are considered 'canon' material or not. Regardless, the cards for both Robins and both Morgans possess a support skill called 'tactician's emblem'. This is something which, aside from Soren, Yukimura and Naesala, only appears again on Julius' and Arvis' cards.           Again, it probably means nothing, but it could still be considered as some sort of 'hint' towards a connection between the characters. Depends on whether or not you consider that a valid source of information.

          So, in short, we have Robin-- a tactician, presumably from a long line of them, with white hair, possessing a skill which is locked to their family but not Grima's blood, and utilises fire to boost an attack, another which mimics the effects of leadership stars slightly, and one which only ever appears on one spotpass character, whose bloodline might exist in Ylisse still, whom they have exclusive conversations with, and share the same profession.            There is ample evidence to suggest that the two characters have some sort of connection, and with the emphasis on genetics in both fe4 and fe13, it might be possible that Robin is a descendant of Saias, which would make him part of the Fala bloodline-- a minor carrier, in this case. 

          But who knows?

[shima-draws]

//SLAMS HANDS DOWN ON TABLE HOW ABOUT TELLING US ABOUT THAT READY PLAYER ONE BE MORE CHILL AU YOU KEEP MENTIONING HUH

//SLAMS HANDS DOWN ON TABLEALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT LOVELY ANON

So for those of you who don’t know the basic plot of Ready Player One, it’s about this virtual world called the OASIS, which was created by this guy named Halliday. In the beginning of the book Halliday passes away and reveals that the will to his multi-billion dollar inheritance is hidden in an Easter Egg inside the OASIS, and gives hints to its whereabouts. It has to be unlocked by three keys and three gates. Groups of egg hunters, shortened to gunters, start to look for the egg to get their hands on the money. The quest for the egg is called the hunt. The evil people after the egg are called the Sixers (in this AU, the Squips). And that’s the gist~

Okay so!! We have Jeremy, who calls himself Ny0 in the OASIS (based off of Keanu Reeves’ character in The Matrix, YES I’m linking this back to how his squip looks like Keanu Reeves lmfao), and his only and best friend Michael, who is known to everyone as Ehm. (So like, how Aech’s name is basically the spelling of the letter H, Ehm is M. Get it?)

This got to be really long so the rest of it is under the cut! c:

So while the original novel focuses on Wade (the protagonist) this AU focuses more on Michael, who takes the place of Aech (Wade’s best friend in the novel). Just wanted to make that clear :3c And this is basically the same exact plot as the novel, with a few minor changes (and a lot more gay. Lol) So yeah this entire thing contains spoilers for the book. So if you’re planning on reading and don’t want to be spoiled, do not continue reading this!!

*Ahem*

Michael is one of the most popular gunters known. He has this chatroom called the Basement, where he has stored thousands of different movies, video games, and comic books relating to the hunt. But despite the fact that he’s almost famous in the OASIS, he still manages to reach out and befriend Jeremy, who is a nobody. They’ve been best friends for five years, and Michael treasures Jeremy more than anyone else. He always stands up for him when other gunters pick on him. They hang out together, playing two-player games and having movie marathons in the Basement. Michael and Jeremy are super close. Practically inseparable. But they’re both solo players, and Michael is of a level far far above Jeremy’s, so Jeremy never really comes with him when he goes to compete in tournaments and stuff. Which is fine! Michael always supports him and offers to give him money for teleportation fees to other planets in the OASIS if he ever needs it.

And then, after Jeremy finds the Copper key and clears the first Gate, Michael is ecstatic! He can’t believe his bff figured out the puzzle after so long, and is so impressed and amazed and proud of him for discovering the secret first. Due to this though, Jeremy becomes world famous, and he might have let all that go to his head. He starts hanging out with the second person to clear the gate, Juli3t (Christine, she named her avatar after Romeo and Juliet since she loves theater) more often, and ditches Michael to go spend time with her instead. Much to Michael’s dismay he and Jeremy start to hang out less, and Jeremy’s obsession with Christine tears them apart. So Michael becomes really bitter, and they get into a fight…and they don’t speak for months after.

Michael misses Jeremy immensely. They used to spend time with each other every day, after school and on the weekends. But he’s still angry at Jeremy for ditching him. He hangs out with other gunters and competes in tons of tournaments while trying to discover the secret to finding the next key…but it isn’t the same. He misses being able to talk to Jeremy about the hunt and their findings, and goofing off. But he’s not going to apologize, because it isn’t his fault.

During this time apart Michael comes to a drastic realization. He’s been in love with Jeremy for a long time, and the reason he feels so bitter about the Juli3t incident is because he was jealous. But now isn’t really the best time to confess his feelings. (Also, he’s pretty sure Jeremy is straight, so.) He just deals with the fact that he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend and there’s nothing he can do about it.

Then, suddenly!! Michael finds out where the Jade Key is. So, in return for Jeremy sort of giving him hints to where the Copper Key was, he sends him a very curt email with a hint about the Jade Key’s whereabouts as payback. “Now we’re even.” (He almost has a breakdown before he sends the email. He hasn’t talked to Jeremy in months and doing this is nerve-wracking. He purposefully tries to sound like an asshole and make it come off that he’s still angry. Well, he is, but he’s more heartbroken that their friendship is in shambles.) Michael finds the Jade Key and gets through the Jade Gate. Soon after, so does Jeremy.

Several weeks later, amongst the chaos of the Squips finding the next gate and key before the gunters do, Jeremy sends him an email this time. He tells him the location of the Crystal Key, and, to Michael’s extreme delight, apologizes for everything he’s done and said, and pleads for forgiveness. (He’s going to hold this over Jeremy’s head forever, but he’s so freaking happy that Jeremy seems to miss him as much as he misses Jeremy.) Also inside Jeremy’s email are details about the forcefield the Squips have up and how he has plans to deactivate it to get to the Crystal Gate.

And then? Michael doesn’t hear from him for a week straight.

Normally he wouldn’t be concerned. But they’ve finally sort of made up, and usually when he sends Jer messages he responds within the same day, normally within the hour. But Jeremy doesn’t answer. And Michael freaks the fuck out. He sends him tons of messages and tries to call him, but he still doesn’t reply. And Michael starts to break. What if the Squips found him in the real world and killed him? They’d tried doing that before, and it almost worked. (They bombed the place where he lived. Luckily he wasn’t home at the time.) What if his best friend and the guy he was in love with was dead??

Jeremy finally logs back in eight days later and Michael literally almost strangles him. After Jeremy explains where he’d been and what he’d been doing, and after they all (the top four gunters of the hunt, being him, Ehm, Juli3t, and Kerm (Rich’s avatar, a shortened name of Kermit since his Squip is apparently Evil Kermit lmfao)) make plans for the ~FINAL BATTLE~, everyone else logs out except for Jer and Michael.

And then they talk.

Jeremy uses this opportunity to apologize in person and say how guilty he is. He also eventually comes to confess that he isn’t in love with Juli3t (Christine) anymore, and that he now has feelings for somebody else. He gives a very vague description of this person and explains how, like he’d done to Michael, had been very awful to this person and had ignored them when he shouldn’t have. He confesses that while he was separated from this person he began to miss them very much. He was so desperate to apologize and reconcile with them, and he thought about them every day. And then he came to realize that he liked them, way more than a friend. (“I think I might love them, actually.”) Michael is happy but also secretly devastated to hear this. He’s glad Jer isn’t gonna obsess over Christine anymore, but of course he’s upset that Jer is now in love with somebody else. Jeremy starts crying and Michael freaks out, and Jer asks him if he really has forgiven him for ditching him. Michael says of course, and Jeremy starts rambling about how happy he is to hear that, and how he’s missed Michael so so so so so much. And then. Michael starts putting the pieces together.

“That person you’re in love with…is it…me?”

And Jeremy flips out and gets super embarrassed, starts saying things like “I’m sorry to spring this on you out of nowhere” and “I know you’re like probably straight and stuff” and “Oh god I just ruined our friendship again I’m so awful I’m so sorry forget I said anything” and Michael is OVERJOYED!! He is so happy to hear that Jer loves him, so much that he kisses him, although it’s definitely not the same as a kiss in the real world lol. Jer is shocked and Michael says he’s been in love with Jeremy since the day they met, it just took him a long time to realize that. Jer is in denial for a while but once he accepts it they start confessing more things to each other, their feelings, their thoughts, everything. Jeremy says he doesn’t care who Michael is in the real world, he’ll love him anyway, and Michael feels the same. They tell each other their real names and, with the upcoming final fight, they’re going to meet in person with the rest of the group and head into the battle together.

So Michael drives his RV for four hours to go pick up Jeremy in a different state. It’s really weird for them meeting in real life outside of the OASIS, because obviously their avatars aren’t accurate descriptions of what they really look like. Michael of course is super self-conscious of what Jeremy thinks of him, while he inwardly freaks at how much cuter Jeremy is in real life. And he tells him so. Jeremy gets super flustered and starts saying how adorable Michael is too, and how he likes his glasses and his hoodie and just everything about him. Moment of self doubt kicks in and Michael’s like “Really? You’re not just saying that?” And Jer’s like UH YEAH dude you’re so cute like? I really want to kiss you and that part slips out and then they both blush like the nerds they are. Michael teasingly tells him “Save that for when I get the egg” and they fall back into their usual routine of bickering and having fun while driving to meet the others.

Once they meet up with Christine and Rich, they go back into the OASIS. They’d been separated for a good twenty minutes before they see each other again and that’s enough for Jeremy to come flying at Michael and tackling him in a hug in the middle of the greatest battle in OASIS history in front of thousands of cameras that are broadcasting them all over the world. Christine tells them to stop flirting since everyone can see but they honestly don’t give a shit lol. Michael’s like this way I can show everyone that Jeremy’s mine now and they can all fuck off lol.

And then!! The final battle happens! Of course Jeremy being the hero ends up being the only one to make it into the Crystal Gate, but the squips are right behind him. While Jeremy’s clearing the final games to make it to the egg, Michael manages to patch himself, Christine and Rich into Jeremy’s headpiece so he can hear them talking directly into his ear. They all cheer for him and give him tips and basically have a really fun time while Jeremy’s clearing these games, and Jer tries really hard not to screw up whenever Michael flirts and says something cute.

Finally Jeremy makes it to the final level and due to the coding Michael, Christine and Jake are kicked off of his audio feed and have to watch while he clears it by himself. Of course he manages to do that just fine, and finds the egg. Jeremy has won the game, cleared the hunt, and is now a multi-billionaire. He promised beforehand that he was going to split the money four-way with the rest of them, so now the others are rich too. Jeremy’s avatar is granted the abilities of a game master, so now he is invincible and can do pretty much anything he wants. He has full control of the OASIS. Michael is so fucking proud of him and feels so privileged to know and be in love with somebody so amazing. Of course the instant Jeremy comes out of the gate to show that hey, he’d actually won and stuff, everyone congratulates him and Michael’s like “I’ll race you to the real world” and logs out. Jeremy’s like OH SHIT gotta go kiss my babe so he logs out too, and the instant he throws off all of his gear Michael bursts into the room, tackles him to the floor, and kisses him. Awww

After it’s all said and done, Michael, Jer, Christine and Rich all move into a mansion and start living together. Michael and Jer are in an official relationship, something that the whole world knows since they’re famous, and their days are filled with laughter and excitement as they explore the unexplored parts of the OASIS. Jeremy turns off his admin privileges so he’s as vulnerable as the rest of them, finding that being all powerful is boring (he can turn this back on whenever he wants to tho, so it does come in handy sometimes). And that’s the end!! They all just hang out in the real world and in the OASIS, going on quests and having pillow fights, and eventually I feel that they’d let more popular gunters into their little group, so this would be Brooke and Chloe and the rest. And it’s a HAPPY ENDING!!

So yeah, that’s the AU in it’s entirety! If you read through it all KUDOS and yeah I really love the book so if you get a chance PLEASE read it it’s phenomenal. Thanks for reading about my silly AU //throws confetti

[acoolguyscoollife]

Chapter 15: More of the Same

“Wow, this place looks…” Aki began, spinning around to get a view of the entirety of the room. “…exactly the same.” She finished, slightly disappointed. Where we were getting up from the tables we had been on, removing the helmets that were most likely not needed whatsoever, she was just stood there, which raised even more confusion.

“Okay, Tabitha, I can get that it’s not a simulation, and all. But how come we needed to put on those helmets? And if they were other worlds, how could we use magic? And why are we able to bring people back? And…” Before I was given the chance to continue, Tabitha shushed me.

“It’s complicated. Except for the helmets bit, that was just for show. Had to make you believe it was a simulation.” Tabitha said, having sat in a wheel computer chair thing and wheeled herself over to a computer, tapping away at a keyboard that was connected to a screen she couldn’t possibly have seen the entirety of from the angle she sat at.

“Explain it in Layman’s terms?” Seth offered, leaning against the desk she was working on. She glanced up for a moment before returning to her typing.

“I would, really I would, but I just don’t have the time. You have to understand, finding Uchen was priority one, and if I don’t try and focus on the trail he left, I might never be able to.” Tabitha replied, apologetically, though still not looking away.

“Oh come on, Tab’, you’re one of the smartest people I know. I’m sure you can multitask.” Seth pressured her slightly, and she looked at him again, a small smirk visible even from where I was sat.

“Never let it be said that flattery will get you nowhere.” Tabitha said, pushing the enter key with a flourish. “Our bodies are literally put into the computer, which was a process we obviously couldn’t see from inside it. Kinda like in movies, where they get reduced to particles and atoms, except with some parameters in place to maintain integrity of the body and mind.” A video came up in a corner of the large monitor, showing a very handsome man, along with his three also moderately attractive friends disappearing in a puff of particles from the tables they were placed on. “As for Aki, I had to make sure I had her body’s exact proportions locked down, otherwise I could have screwed up in the transfer. I’m sure there’s an easier way that didn’t require me having to worry about it, but I’d rather take the risk of a minor human error over a major computer error.”

“But what about the magic? Is magic real?” Amy asked, excited. She clapped her hands together and placed them to the ground, but nothing happened.

“Not exactly. We’re filled with energy we’ll call dimensional energy, for want of a better term. Our energy is attuned to our dimension, but when we’re in another world, we don’t gain that world’s energy, we still have our own. We’re still linked to our own dimensions when we travel to other ones, so we can still gain energy from it. But in other worlds, that foreign energy can be manifested in forms such as magic.” Tabitha exposited. I’m not gonna lie, I barely understood that.

“So magic is real?” I asked, and Tabitha clearly sensed that it had gone in through one ear and out the other.

“Yes, magic is real. We just can’t do it here.” Tabitha gave up, sighing heavily as she returned to typing. There was a silence of a few seconds, save for the obvious noise of her keyboard, quickly broken by yet another comment that was sure to annoy her.

“What about me?” Aki asked, raising a very valid point and subverting what I was expecting. Tabitha glanced over, as if to visibly roll her eyes at Aki, but stopped short as the words actually set in.

“Huh, I never really thought about that. Give it a try, it’s not much more than just feeling the energy inside you and channelling it.” Tabitha said, casually waving her hand as she spoke. Aki’s face contorted slightly as she raised her hand, an eye squinting as she stared at it. After a few awkward moments, a small spark ignited at her fingertips, quickly extinguished by her concentration dropping in her celebration. I gave her a few quick claps as she hopped in place, grinning ear to ear. Or, where her ears would be if they weren’t at the top of her head.

“So uh… how long is this going to take?” I had to ask, feeling like I had nothing to do. Tabitha sighed deeply, before spinning around in her chair.

“Do you not have anything to do?” Tabitha asked, and I shook my head. Going home wasn’t something I was too keen on, and I had a feeling my parents wouldn’t have even noticed that I’d been gone for a few days. “Amy, Seth, don’t you have family you should let know that you’re okay?” Tabitha turned to them, and Amy let out a loud gasp.

“Oh god, Paul! He doesn’t know where I’ve been!” Amy said, frantically taking out her phone and dialling a number, walking away from the rest of us as she did so.

“Tell him I said hi!” Seth called out after her, before turning back to us. “Yeah, nah, I live by myself, remember? Only thing I need to worry about is the food in my fridge going off.” Tabitha gave him a short head nod, before turning back to us.

“I don’t know, do you have any dimensions of games you’ve played that you wanna go into? You could show Aki the ropes, I suppose.” Tabitha offered, and I thought about it. It had been incredibly fun to go into both Apocalypse VII and The Under-World, but at the same time, it had ended up being incredibly risky. While I’d come out with my Cobatana and a new friend, could I know for sure that I wouldn’t end up screwing up without everyone else?

“Nah, I think I’ll be an indecisive bitch for a while to avoid accidentally screwing something up.” I admitted, and Tabitha turned back to her computer.

“Try not to be annoying then. The sooner I do this, the sooner we’ll be back to travelling again.” As she spoke, something came to my mind, that immediately made me interrupt her work once more.

“Hey, do you have a laptop?”

 The title screen of The Under-World dazzled brightly on the screen, as Aki clicked through the various menus and I watched from over her shoulder. She had been apprehensive at first, but with some nudging, she’d agreed that it would be really interesting to see the game that inspired her world. I observed her actions silently as she moved through the tutorial, eventually coming face to face with her in-game representation. While there was no voice acting in the game itself, the dialogue of the character was unmistakably in the same sort of tone that Aki had when we’d first met her. She had been talking casually to me while playing, but upon seeing herself, she had gone quiet, following the instructions of the game without any words whatsoever.

“You okay?” I asked, and she nodded quickly.

“It’s just like… you know when you see a picture of yourself from years ago, and you just think that it can’t possibly be you? That’s basically what this feels like.” Aki replied, still following her digital counterpart.

“My family wasn’t exactly the picture-taking type.” I said casually, and Aki paused the game, looking over at me.

“What sort of family spawns a cool guy such as you, anyway? They must be pretty badass, if they gave you a pseudonym instead of a real name.” She asked, and I laughed slightly in response, while simultaneously attempting to think of a way to side-step the question.

“Cool Guy isn’t my real name, you know. Well, it is, but it’s not what I was born with.” I said, causing her eyes to widen.

“You mean your parents just let you change your name? That’s actually really lucky, all things considered.” The laptop screen had dimmed from inactivity at this point, and the further the conversation went, the less I wanted to have it. But at the same time, Aki wasn’t asking out of anything other than sheer curiosity. I owed her at least something.

“They encouraged it. My parents were, if nothing else, the kind that pushed children to be who they wanted to.” I said. I neglected to include the part about children not knowing who they wanted to be yet, and letting that choice be made so soon could affect them later in life, and not for the better.

“They sound like good people.” Aki said, before turning back to the game.

“I suppose so.” I said quietly, but if she had heard my doubt, she didn’t say anything in response. Instead, she controlled the player’s avatar immediately in the direction of the rebellion’s campsite. Part of me wanted to stop her, knowing that it might not end that well if she saw the in-game version of her father, but at the same time, this was her coping mechanism. What sort of person would I be if I tried to take this away from her? I watched as she silently came up to her father’s character, and just stood there, looking at him. There were no words. There didn’t need to be.

Amy

“So where have you been?” Paul’s voice rang out from the other end of the phone line, and once again, I couldn’t say.

“Just travelling. Not too far, but we’ve still got a long way to go, I think.” I replied, feeling the warmth of the phone against my cheek, serving as a reminder as to how long I was on this phone conversation for. He was nice, but it was a bit annoying for him to act like the parent when he’s only a year or so older than me.

“Travelling where? Why are you being so cryptic?” Paul’s voice had a tone of suspicion in it, and I had to deflect as best as I could away from any weird ideas he might have gotten.

“Tabitha’s looking for some ancient tech thing, as usual, and she’s dragging us along. Thankfully, she’s also buying us food and stuff while we’re away.” I was quite proud of this, since it wasn’t technically a lie. She was looking for an old scientist, or an ancient tech thing. Technicalities were my forte, after all.

“And you’re safe? She’s not taking you to anywhere dangerous, like Guantanamo Bay, or Huddersfield, is she?” I snorted slightly, both at Paul’s absurd priority list over dangerous places, and at how much danger I had already been in.

“Nah, we’ve not left the city at all, really.” Again, not technically a lie. We left the dimension altogether, which doesn’t count as leaving the city. Okay, that excuse was weak.

“Well, as long as Seth and CG are with you, I’m sure you’ll be alright. How have they been, anyway? Feels like forever since I’ve talked to them.” I glanced down the hallway, half expecting them to be listening in.

“I don’t know, CG seems different. Maybe it’s the forced interaction with other people, but he’s… kinda emoting more. At this point, he’s basically an emotionally stunted person, instead of being like a poorly-disguised android.” I admitted, thinking back to the time I had known him in high school. He’d always been this person who laughed, sure, but it didn’t feel as if he was actually there. I wasn’t sure what reasoning his parents had given to allow his sunglasses, but he had worn them even then, and it was impossible to know if he was looking at you, or through you. To his benefit, though, it had made a lot of the girls in the classes he took attracted to him. Stoic quietness always seemed to do that for a lot of people, but he never even seemed to notice. In all the years that I’d known him, I’d only ever seen him date one girl, and that was… well, that was something else entirely.

“Hey, that’s good, I always worried about socialising with him a bit because I didn’t wanna accidentally annoy him and get no reaction whatsoever.” Paul cracked another joke, reminding me that I was still on a call with him.

“Paul, I gotta go, we’ve been talking for ages and I need to get back to Tabitha. I’ll talk to you soon.” I said, hanging up before he could even respond. At first, he’d hated that, but he’d gotten used to it, with the amount of times I’d called him while waiting for blind dates. Sometimes you either have to jump to meet them at the door, or in some cases of insane stalkery exes, run away as fast as I can. Despite my attempts at distraction, my mind still raced with thoughts of old CG, and thoughts about who he was now. The sword seemed to suit him, but I had doubts that it was the reason he’d seemed to change so much. I could only hope that it was just because he was happier, as I walked to catch up with the rest of the group again.