#these guys have Lore. they have a Story. will it ever get actually written out and put anywhere? probably not

[pikkish]

been playing a lot of co-op classic doom with a buddy lately. doodled a couple of co-op guys for fun.

[wlwmedarda]

I'm honestly just looking to rant and this might be long depending on how fast I get irritated the more I type so if this isn't coherent or well written I apologize in advance. Since it looks like Ambessa will take on a more antagonistic role in arcane season two, I would like to unpack the fandom's antiblackness that you guys are either blind to or aware and too pussy to call it out as my gut is telling me it's gonna increase and if no one is gonna start the difficult conversation then I sure as hell will.

Sevika:

Mel:

Starting off strong with the definition of "you guys want complex female characters but can't even handle her". Mel Medarda is in quite the predicament seeing how she's morally grey, a black woman, AND "gets in the way" of a mlm ship so she was kinda screwed from the start. A cunning politician disowned for her pacifism who acts as a sort of bridge to Noxus' slow introduction, and is THE ONLY CHARACTER IN THE SEASON 1 MAIN CAST SPECIFICALLY CREATED FOR THE SHOW. She's treated like satan incarnate or a Jezebel (highly suggest looking into that if you don't know what that is), GOOD character analysis is rare, and when she is talked about positively, it's so often chalked up to appearances that I'd rather yall not talk about her at all. Oh you love Mel? Then can we talk about her relationship with her mother? Unpack her dynamic with Jayce? Maybe more fanworks centered around her? I've seen yall's fake asses dropping the shittiest fucking takes about her only to turn around and gush over how pretty she is, and yall think you're slick about it and you're not. I would say I prefer the ones who are loud and proud about their hatred but that'd be a lie, they're two cheeks on the same ass; annoying and couldn't give a decent break down of her character if a gun was pointed at they head even she's perfect to dissect. I could talk about her more but we'd be here all day and so many black women even from outside the fanbase have already talked about yall so there's no need for me to add on 🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️.

Quick question, have you guys ever tried to talk about her in a non sexual way? Yes, Sevika is undeniably sexy and you could argue that true stans of hers talk about her outside of horny time, but a good half of the fandom is a different story. In a similar case to Mel's, deep dives into her character are rare to find which is crazy when she acts as Zaun's own "kingmaker". She's loyal to her city and the cause, never to a specific person and will not hesitate to betray you. She could be your right hand man one day, and the next she might find a better kingpin to follow and stab you in the back like it all meant nothing. "Were you tempted?" "Not for a worm like him". Simple and subtle and probably my favorite Sevika scene; she comes to realize Silco is no longer the best leader for Zaun, but he's as good as it gets for now and so she sticks by him. I remember a YouTube comment breaking down how she's essentially the quintessential Zaun: a brute warrior molded by her environment, who defied Vander's peaceful ways and embraced Silco's cruelty. Her mindset and goal is interesting and you'd think it'd result in some fascinating meta or exploration of her upbringing when we got a hint that she potentially has some daddy issues right? Obviously, but what do we get instead? White sapphics treating her like nothing more than a sexual object. How delightful!

Ekko:

This might partially be Riot's fault because — and I hate to sound like a league lore nerd — Ekko is quite underdeveloped compared to the richer origins of his former pre arcane self, but I'm gonna hold off on that till the season finale to see how they handle him. Anyways, at this point the fandom clearly sees him as Jinx's trophy husband. When you talk about him, she is brought into the convo 90% of the time. That's exactly why I prefer black timebomb shippers over the nonblack ones because I trust they actually love Ekko as a character on his own. Even though I have my complaints regarding how's been written so far, I still know he's too good to be reduced to Jinx's loverboy. He fights and cares for his city, the only character that you can confidently say is pure of heart, and is the revolutionary leader Zaun really needs. He's just as smart as Jinx too, he is literally going to create TIME TRAVEL. Why does no one wanna talk about that? Can we be excited for his character development and arc not just for the timebomb scenes you'll get out of it?

Ambessa:

Can't even deny this woman is awful but her presence on screen enthralled me after a couple of rewatches and I also love bad mothers in media so I've settled on a love/hate relationship. Yes, she's definitely gonna have some influence on Caitlyn, which makes sense since she has now lost her mother; she's vulnerable and as we have seen, naive. She's practically free real estate for Ambessa. My recent worry though has been how the fandom seems to be willing to put all of Caitlyn's actions on her as if Cait isn't a grown ass woman who can make her own decisions. Of course being grown doesn't mean you're immune to manipulation, but I've seen some Silco and Jinx comparisons and it is NOT the same. Mind you we haven't even seen the first three episodes; we don't know how far Ambessa's manipulation is going to go and we can't really tell what the dynamic is gonna be like based off of clips and trailers that are likely shown out of context on purpose to throw people off. I'll never defend her actions, hell I'll join in on the lashings, but my black ass is also not gonna sit here and let yall talk about her weirdly or pin all of this on her.

Some might say I'm overthinking this, but I've been here since November 2021 and have sat back and observed for 2 years. You don't have to write deep, philosophical conversations 24/7, I'm sure it's not all in bad faith and I won't act like I don't thirst over Sevika or marvel at Mel's beauty. I'm not saying you have to like these characters and that you're racist if you don't. My frustration comes from the lack of nuanced conversations and hypocritical opinions surrounding black characters in this show. When you try to say something about this, you're hit with excuses; it reminds me of how man obsessed fujoshis act when they're questioned for not giving two fucks about female characters. They're either reduced to one character trait, only admired for their looks, or only discussed when it's about the white character they're connected to. Do NOT under ANY circumstance be black and morally ambiguous, you WILL be held to higher moral standards than everyone's wittle blorbos who can do wrong and are defended from all sides when you dare to take the rose colored stan glasses off and criticize them. What's really ridiculous is you hear the "complex characters" bullshit every two to three business days and some of you have the nerve to boast about this series being diverse while simultaneously ignoring the complexities in the characters of color. This is the main reason I took a step back and with season two around the corner I thought "Hey, maybe it'll be better this time!" and it was a mistake. Good to know yall still have an underlying racism problem you don't wanna address but with some extra classism thrown in. "What will we do once Arcane ends?" hopefully get a job, touch some grass, and reflect. Lord knows yall need it. The faster yall sizzle out the better. I'm done that's all I have to say lol goodnight 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽.

[singukieee]

—my all time favourite bts fics (pt. 4) ᯓᡣ𐭩

consists of my personal favourite bts fics that I've read countless of times. including those from other platforms, such as Wattpad, AO3, and Patreon.

For some works that are cross-posted between tumblr and wp/ao3, I'd only link them to the latters bcs I find it easier to read and navigate the stories on those. but I also tagged all the authors I know are here and linked the rest so you can check their blogs out yourself!

I'll also separate this list into several parts simply because there's too many... So it'd be easier for you guys to navigate!

red means unfinished

blue means finished

🗯️ curator's note

(sorted by alphabetical order)

Stay by OT7oramI

Y/N and her hybrid best friend, Jin, have known each other since Jin was eight years old and came to live with Y/N and her family. Throughout the years, Y/N and Jin have grown closer but there is one major secret between them. When an injured hybrid comes into Cherry Blossom Sanctuary where they both work, the secret is revealed. What will become of the friendship between Y/N and Jin when others are added to it?

Storms of Fate by SumiSG7

A darkly forbidden Auction in the veils of night catering to the morbid appetites of the wealthy in a world of legalized slave hybrids. Results in A melody of storm uniting the fates of a powerful Heiress with 7 mysteriously seductive & deadly hybrids The dark spiralling descent into the fever of passion & longing entwining their hungers while being targeted by an unknown enemy. What will be the result of the lethal games to Anya & the hybrids caught in a velvety prison of their own cravings for each other. But slowly, the realization trickled in… All was not normal as it should be, the love they forged, was a test of devotion that was still withstanding the time since before time began…

🗯️ too freaking good... but also really dark and sometimes sweet. I don't think I've ever read an ff as well-written as this one. plot's insane too. (this is actually a whole universe with side stories that you would be told to read along the way to understand the lore, so good it's crazy that it's free)

Sweet as Honey by sugakookie98

In a time where omegas are increasingly rare, others constantly question your resistance to find a mate. No one seemed to understand that you were content to stay in your comfort zone, focusing solely on your job. However, a series of unexpected events set your quiet world into motion, making you question your outlook on life and on mating bonds.

🗯️ another Idk what to say but it's really good

The Butterfly Effect by themonsterteddy

Easily attached hybrids get adopted into a family. Lei, the protagonist, is the quietest member of the family. Follow them to explore the lovely bond developing between them.

🗯️ a super warm read <3

The Butterseries by @minniepetals

Their names alone had every men and women turning their heads and falling at their feet. successful, prestigious, handsome, rich, and untouchable to anyone that looked their way. and you? you were just an employee who worked for them. who would’ve known you meant so much more to them than you could ever imagine?

The Byeoljali series by LittleShyGirl

❶ Finding A Place

As an isolated, lonely omega raised by humans, you have little understanding of how other wolves live. When you take a promotion to become a member of the BTS staff, your world collides with the Bangtan Pack and you realise you have a lot to learn.

❷ Making A Home

Now that she's found where she belongs, follow Y/N as she learns how to truly be a part of the Bangtan Pack.

The Companion by MoonChild791

After being fired, the job of a lifetime lands in your lap. You up root your life and moved to Seoul, only to find out you'll be working with your favorite group, BTS. Slowly, you start to develop feelings for them. But that's crazy, right? You can't have feelings for all seven of them, it would never work out.....would it?

The Contract by namjuicyy

Your life is turned upside down when a contract is pushed your way. But what happens if you sign it?

The Last Lycans by RoxNotRocks

Sometimes, a fateful encounter takes the form of a bullet through the head… After years of living as a wolf, alone in the wild, Yu has no memory of her past and no idea what her true nature is. As she attempts to begin anew and discovers that her fate doesn't have to be a lonely one, her lost secret comes back to haunt her. When your past comes back with a vengeance, should you flee, or fight?

The Line Between Love and War by @purpleyoonn

Your experiences told you that soulmates were something you would never have the pleasure of having; something not given to you because of who you are, despite the soulmark that resides on your inner left wrist. During your solo trip to Los Angeles, you find out that you are more than capable, that your soulmates had been waiting for you for a long time, and would not be letting you go anytime soon.

The Little Fox by @purpleyoonn

“The idea of being free was a foreign concept. Being free meant having choices, having opportunities. Being a hybrid meant never being free.” Just as you escaped the Little Fox, a bidding house, you find yourself at war with your thoughts, not wanting to go to another shelter. You didn’t expect yourself to find a home anywhere, especially not with the men who found you, and their pack.

The Pictures That Talk by @imnotlauriane

In a world where everyone has a special ability, mine is giving life to pictures. It allows me to see what happened behind the camera, reliving the moment when it was taken, as the subject. It's something I really cherish, but it can also come with great pain, so it's to be used carefully. I look at my finger, rings of fate black and cold. And I wonder, will I ever meet my soulmates?

The Seven by chewymilkyoda

When a young 17 year old girl and her friend went to an empty mansion that is reported as 'haunted', she never knew that her life would changed when she accidentally woke up 7 dangerous vampires that has been asleep for centuries. And boy is she in for a long-ass ride of fantasy shit that she never even knew about.

The Seven Princes by wassap_its_hunter

Being known as Nyx, you never had an easy life. With the expectations of being the world's best-renowned assassin and hunter, protector of your people, and a babysitter of five children, you can't really expect to have time in your hands to relax, the world being run by werewolves, witches, vampires, mermaids and more. But now, another role has been added. After hearing the princes of the biggest empire in the world, the Asian Kingdom, say the word "mate", you're scared for what is about to come. But then again you're Nyx, one of the very few humans that survived and became known, you could take a challenge like that.

🗯️ mc is so cool and the boys are whipped. my favourite.

The Seven Red Flags of HAKON University by tinyeyecat / emi ree

Born in the hell hole of Space Port 69, Rue’s a human Omega desperate to leave the alien whore house she calls home. Defying all odds, she masquerades as an Alpha and obtains a scholarship to the Ivy League of all space institutions. HAKON University is an all-male school that trains the cream of the crop—future leaders of the galaxies. Rue's just here to graduate, pretend to have a dick and then flee into the workforce, that is until the legendary Bangtan pack sets their eyes on her. They’re the future emperors—aliens with godlike abilities that make them rulers of their species. But with excessive power comes the price of testosterone-fuelled insanity that cannot be soothed. An esper will always need his guide. They’ve been searching for a final member to quell their raging soul-an eighth to complete their pack. Millions have tried for a taste of the peak, but none have succeeded, and thousands die from their power unable to withstand the bond. Bangtan doesn’t chase their prey, they don’t have to, but this time the seven Alphas want Rue.

🗯️ it's emi ree so it's gonna be insane!

The Siren's Song by PurpleQueenie

Modern day Seoul and myths don't go along hand in hand as easily as one might think. When for centuries (Y/N) has been bound to the Ocean, serving her duty as a siren- waiting for the day when it'll finally end, who knew stumbling across seven different souls would've been the reasons she needed to start living again, feeling again- even if it meant losing herself in the process.

🗯️ this might be my ultimate fave among queenie's stories. it's just soo good. mc who became the best version of herself after meeting the boys who support her despite the villain's constant torture. also, mc is just so full of life despite the ... it's amazing, go read it!

Through Her Eyes series by Gigi_Luv_4u

❶ Through Her Eyes

In the world of soulmates, perhaps Daun is the only one who does not expect for any soulmate to come. She doesn't have the soul marks that everyone supposed to have. Not one ink on her skin, no time marks on her wrists, no glowing red strings... but why does one day, seven gorgeous men claims to be her soulmate? And these seven are none other than the greatest boy band in the world?

❷ Through Her Eyes: Eternal

Multiples puffing out to the open has been on the news, but not as often as Daun with her seven. Now, more than ever, people have made their lives more than just a curious entertainment. Snippets of their married lives have become great treasures of inspirations that the entire world would simultaneously coo. No one can't blame them with how adorable they have cultivated their marriage to an inspiring one. Not to mention with the new additional members that surely adds more life to their already dynamic universe. Or… How does a family of Multiples go through their lives?

To Be, Or Not To Be Your Omega by Anonymous

Which would be harder? To be an Omega in an Alpha's world, or to have to play Omega to a pack of Alpha's that's known across the WHOLE world? As if disguising your gender truth isn't hard enough, how many omegas can say they have seven alphas that want to claim them? That went to the trouble of drafting up an overly generous contract just to have you as their omega? Oh, why did they have to find out your truth? Maybe it won't be so bad to be theirs, even if it's only by contract? After all, they're all so handsome, and smell so good, and— Is it wrong to have your inner omega cooing at the idea that this could become more than just your Omega status being taken advantage of like it's been all over the world?

To Be, or Not To Be Your Omega REBOOT by Anonymous

What would you do if you suddenly found yourself playing Omega to not just one, but seven world-renowned Alphas? Your struggle to conceal your true gender pales in comparison to this new challenge. These Alphas want to claim you. They've gone so far as to draft an outrageously generous contract just to have you as their Omega. But as your scent betrays your truth, you're left wondering: why did they have to find out? As you contemplate your fate, you can't help but think – maybe being theirs wouldn't be so bad, even if it's just by contract? After all, they're devastatingly handsome, their scents intoxicating, and... wait, is your inner Omega actually cooing at the idea? You've spent your life seeing Omegas taken advantage of across the world. Could this be different? Could this become more than just another power play? In this story, you'll navigate a world of primal instincts, hidden truths, and unexpected desires. Are you ready to step into the shoes of an Omega on the brink of a life-changing decisions?

Trouvaille by @spookyserenades

In a world where hybrids are both the hottest commodity and largely exploited, a recent shortage of hybrids nationwide due to the wealthy adopting for sport hunting dominates the news headlines. More than ever, stray hybrids are whisked off the streets and taken into shelters to meet the demand. Mistreated, neglected, forgotten – in a notoriously disreputable hybrid shelter in a pocket of downtown Boston, seven “aggressive” hybrids await their inevitable fate of being sold for sport.

After years of trying to distance herself from her mystical past and upbringing, Y/N finds herself quitting her emotionally-draining job and is forced to face past mistakes. While accompanying her friends looking to adopt a child hybrid into their newly-formed family, Y/N inadvertently finds herself face-to-face with seven hybrids doomed to die. In a spur of the moment epiphany, Y/N decides to change the course of fate for the better; though bringing seven aggressive hybrids into her life and the darkening spiritual energy of her old home is trickier to navigate than she originally thought.

🗯️ I really appreciate the length of every chapter. like, so much details put into each and every chapter, and each chapter it just gets better and better.

Until The Last Star Falls by Lov3Mochi / @minniepetals

It was a love you knew would never make it out alive without sacrificing a part of your happiness to receive a greater happiness. but for them, you’d go to any extreme to have them again, and for you, they will always remind you each day that you are theirs and that nothing can tear you apart, not even until the last star falls.

🗯️ so freaking good! a painful journey of love, full of longing and sacrifice.

You Never Walk Alone by @agustdakasuga

You live a quiet life in your late grandfather’s cabin in the woods. You go to school just to graduate and get your diploma, not to make friends or stand out from the crowd. That was until one day, you enter your home to see a pack of wolves that need shelter.

사람 (People) by thearmyprof

You are preparing to move across the Pacific Ocean and start a new chapter in your life, when a chance meeting with a man in a coffee shop has you questioning the timing of everything in the universe. When you hit it off on your first date, little do you know that the man you’ve already fallen head over heels for is, in fact, a member of BTS.

🗯️ this story doesn't include any insane themes, but so enjoyable and heartwarming. the characters also feel human, well-written.

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | NAVI

[brailsthesmolgurl]

RETRIBUTION

SEQUEL TO DAMNNATION. kindly read the prequel to get a better idea on the story's direction. I know I promised an alternate ending, where angst is not involved, but I want to prolong this pain for you masochists :> Enjoy this long, hefty, and incredibly hurtful read. But, it is okay my lovelies, I shall have a good-comforting parallel-universe ending written for you guys this week. SOOO pls do keep up with my profile :)

The legend goes on, with the God of the Sea failing to protect his beloved. His fate was decided for him by his people, but now, he shall take fate upon his own hands and remake his own endings. But, does fate falter? Even to a God?

Warnings: Angst Angst Angst Angst, Spoiler to Rafayel's Lore and I put in some of my own zesty twists to the lore, Deaths and Bloods and some okay maybe not some descriptive gore.

Rafayel walked across the sandy paths of Lemuria, in his human form, with his beloved laid peacefully in his arms. Rafayel did not even bothered to shift back into his merman form as he wanted to dedicate the mundane's death to his people. Or rather, to show how much he loves her, by being a shadow of her, a human, walking amongst Lemuria. A promise he had always given her.

"You promise to show me Lemuria someday right?" He remembered the way her face would light up when he tells her stories of Lemuria. From how Lemurians had sourced for various kinds of sea stones from different parts of the ocean to build their homes to how Lemurians were created, to what do their daily routines consists of and many other kinds of stories that a man could ever dream of hearing from an actual Lemurian.

There was not a moment that y/n was ever bored of it. Instead, whenever he visits, it naturally became a conversation starter. Y'n would ask him of the most random things. "So do Lemurians possess any gardrobes?" Rafayel nearly spat his tea out, snapping his head towards her when she mentioned about toilets as they were having snacks in the middle of the night within her chambers. "Or perhaps they just do their business wherever they are allowed to---" Before she could even finished, Rafayel would have his hand on her lips, to silence her before she continue ruining his appetite for the rest of the night.

The swipe of his fingers on her pale lips reminded him of those days. She is no longer smiling now, eyes and mouth closed, her skin looked ghoulish under the water, skin reflecting light whenever the lightning above struck the surface of the sea. Rafayel's face is a sheet of calm demeanour, but the soul that lays beneath the hunk of this man is a roaring sea, just like how he summoned for the storm before he stepped foot into the vast ocean.

Fishes and various kinds of sea creatures that used to swim along the pathways are not seen nor found within miles of Rafayel's sight. None of them were brave enough to be within his presence as they knew the aura that Rafayel had emitted. It is no doubt that sea creatures are much smarter than Lemurians. Every step he took made the sea creatures scattered further away, burying deeper into their hideouts, scared for their lives.

Rafayel stood in front of his kingdom, eyes pinned against the marble white towers that he calls home. Cheers and laughters could be heard from the banquet hall, where the Lemurians were probably herded, awaiting for his return for a grand celebration towards the revival of Lemuria. But Rafayel was far from a celebratory mood. "We have arrived, my love." His voice monotonous, no hints of happiness nor giddiness, nor sadness, nor disappointment. Just numbness. A man with feelings bears empathy and sympathy, but, a man without feelings bears emptiness, null and void of all emotions.

He continued his course, holding onto y/n tighter in his arms. He had the initial thought of wanting her body to rest within his chambers before he commits bloodshed. But, having an audience might not be a bad idea. Instead, Rafayel wanted this. He knew that she could not be able to tell nor see, nor to be there to stop him, but he wanted her soul to watch him commit this, to execute damnation upon his kind. All he wanted, was to show her how much he loves her, to the point he is willing to do this, to be a mad man.

The heavy doors leading to the banquet hall slowly opened with a chant of a spell. Rafayel's eyes staring straight ahead, his once two-toned irises had now dissolved to be a dark maroon colour. His guess was right, all of the Lemurians were gathered within this hall, laughters and conversations filled the environment. But, almost abruptly, the laughters and conversations seized, and Rafayel could care less about the whispers that started to take place within the silence.

It did not took long before some of the Lemurians sensed something was off and they started swimming towards the heavy doors. Rafayel chanted something under his breath and the doors slammed right in front of their faces. The ones who tried to escape were shocked, but none of them made their move to question why the God of the Sea had a dead girl with a gaping orifice on her chest within his arms and why did he chose to present himself in a miniature form of a mere mortal. Practically the size of an ant compared to the average 2m Lemurians surrounding him.

"Your highness!" Arvia was initially cheerful, emerging from the crowd before he spotted the girl the God was holding onto. He stopped in his tracks, wanting to turn back before he felt a strong force pulling him towards Rafayel. Arvia faced Rafayel, eyes bulging when the invisible force coiled around his neck. "Your highness.... please!" The young merman coughed, the crowd watching in horror.

"You were the messenger weren't you?" Rafayel asked, eyes looking past the young merman, not even sparing him any last bits of attention.

"I was only...executing...what...was being....told..." The merman replied, his breath getting more restricted by every passing second. "I did...not...know...of...the ceremony. Please...I just want to save---"

"Your highness, no!" A mermaid appeared from the crowd, with blonde hair curling like tendrils on land, hazel eyes staring at the young merman before darting over to Rafayel's figure. She happened to be Arvia's mother. "He did what he have to...To save us all." Her sentence made Rafayel's right eye twitched slightly, fueling the God's wrath even more. "Then," Rafayel turned his head and angled it upwards to stare at her right into her eyes. His dark eyes could quite literally burn a hole through her soul as she finds herself talking back to a God. Not just any God at this moment, for he has taken his stance as a vengeful God. "Should it be justified? That I am only doing this to save my beloved?" Before the mother could even say anything, Rafayel only exhaled his breath and Arvia's head immediately got cut off clean by the invisible force. The head's eyes blinked a couple of times, floating upwards towards the surface, while its body sank onto the sea floor, twitching as it goes down. Blood seeping out into the ocean waters, creating symbols guided by the waves.

Lemurians within the banquet hall went into immediate panic, screaming and screeching, wanting to leave the banquet to save themselves. Rafayel looked up, watching as the Lemurians tried to flee. Like a bunch of fishes trapped within a fisherman's net, pushing against one another and fighting for whatever that is left for their puny lives. His voice was hushed, but clear enough to be heard within the hall. "Don't worry my people, you shall only feel the hurt that I had felt." And all of the screams halted.

...

Amund dragged himself across the sea floor, a trail of blood painted by his very own body fluids. The man was in agonizing pain, nearly to the point of passing out. Just a while ago, he was getting all cozy within his own chambers before he heard loud screams that travelled through the sea rifts. But it did not took long before it stopped so he took no mind to it, figuring it was just another norm for those celebratory parties. Not segregating the mischievious ones from the docile ones, that is just an invitation for a mishap to happen at a party.

He heard a swoosh coming from the side of his house and his door slammed open to reveal the God of the Sea, in his mundane form, covered in splatters of blood from head to toe. Amund's jaw dropped when the screams finally registered into his head. The screams may just be caused by this man standing right in front of him. The very girl Amund had tortured set securely within Rafayel's arms. Rafayel's unusual calm demeanour is not part and parcel of his personality, which further solidified Amund's questions to himself.

"Your high---" Amund was literally smashed through the walls of his house and the merman landed roughly onto the sand pile behind his house. Rafayel walked through the hole, eyes still hollow and face expressionless. "Pleas---" Another slam through another wall. And this repeated for a couple of times, until Amund was laying on the sandy pathway in the village, blood pooling out of his mouth. He tried to escape, pushing himself up and trying his best to get his tail to wag so he could generate enough momentum to give him a boost off of the ocean floor.

"It was a fairly easy instruction." Rafayel spoke, finally. Maroon eyes boring into Amund's skull. "And yet, you failed." Rafayel knelt down, showing Amund the girl he was holding onto the whole time. "You had deeply failed me, Amund. And you had failed Lemuria." Rafayel stood back up on his feet, licking his lips and looking back towards the towers that he had walked out from. "For what you had done to her, death would only be the easy way out for you." Rafayel's eyes turned a darker shade and Amund let out a blood curdled scream, begging for his highness' mercy.

It has been a while, with Amund crawling on the sea floor. Dirt and rubble trapped under the old man's nails. Some of his nails however, were ripped off due to him being tossed around---his failure to hold onto anything to slow down the impact, caused some of his nails to be ripped right off of his fingertips during the impact---with Rafayel's invisible force whenever he tried to plead for the God's mercy.

Rafayel had managed to pluck out the merman's scale, piece by piece. Lemurians scale are used to make lethal weapons not only on land, but also in the waters. Yet, they are the hardest to harvest as pulling off ONE scale would equate to a human ripping off their whole scalp in one go. So, one could only imagine the pain Amund is going through currently. Amund could barely crawl, eyes swollen from the sand that had entered his tear duct and hoarse voices turned into silenced croaks.

If Rafayel was not holding onto his beloved, he would have easily been the one to pluck out Amund's scales one by one. Rafayel's blinding rage had deluded his mind, as he watched the merman who is the reason behind his lover's death. "She was going to be my mate, my lifetime mate, for this upcoming season, do you know that?" Rafayel scoffed, tears stinging at the back of his eyes.

"But you had to just test my patience, and my capabilities as the God of the Sea. Hence, what you had experienced today, shall never equate to the pain you made me go through. For you had taken my fate, my people's fate upon your own hands." He gave Amund a good kick and the guy groaned in agony, facing down as he regurgitated blood. "What I did today, was nothing but a mere taste of what I am capable of. AS A GOD." His last sentence carried a strong surge of disgust, his bloodlust psyche temporarily separated his status between Amund, an ordinary merman and himself, which is made to be a God.

"I curse...curse her." He managed to choke out and Rafayel's eyes widened, immediately leaping forward to grab the merman's head to face him. The merman croaked out his very last laugh, taunting Rafayel's actions and the last sentence of his was spoken in Lemurian, a rendition of a chant to curse y/n to be reincarnated into a sea witch.

Rafayel's blink of an eye sparked his evol, and he stood there, watching the eternal flames that was casted on Amund burn the merman from what was left of him into a pile of dust, waiting to be consumed by the planktons that lives within the sea water's ecosystem. Tears unknowingly flowed down his cheek and trickled onto his lover's face. The show is over and so is his wish to see her to be a mundane again in her next life. Rafayel held her corpse closely and tightly to his body, soft sobs finally leaving his lips as he faltered to the sea floor.

...

Hundreds of years has passed. And hundreds of years, Rafayel had travelled the seas to search for her. To at least sense any signs of her presence. Ever since the massacre, Rafayel was tied down by his own guilt, for not only failing to protect his lover, but also being the sole reason for the extinction of Lemurians. How uncanny, a legend that tells the tale of a God seeking vengeance upon his own kind just because they had killed his one and only lover. That tale would surely be pure nonsensical or would and could possibly generate pure hatred from anyone who hears it.

Rafayel could care less, like how he heard the screams of his people in their very last moments, the sound of blood and tears splattered across the once white and pristine walls that they were confined within. The sound of Amund begging not to be killed---with his throat slowly giving up on him---the last curse that he uttered and the last sounds that had bubbled from him when he was lit up with Rafayel's evol.

A hint of humming caught his ears and the man stopped his movements, ears twitching in directions to catch onto the tune. A tune only he has ever whistled. With a gesture, dolphins came surrounding the God in circles, by command. "Find out the source for me, yeah?" Rafayel asked and the circling dolphins chirped in return before they dispersed into all directions.

Rafayel's heart skipped a beat, out of nervousness? He had no idea, he still has not gotten used to the idea of his heart being whole again. Because his heart has only been whole only when he was with her. He does not need a whole heart, he only needs her to fill in for the whole of his heart. And for that moment, he shall forever await.

One of the dolphins returned, whistling back to catch the God's attention. Rafayel looked up, and without hesitation, grab ahold onto the dolphin's fin and he was led towards the source of the humming. The dolphins brought him through the kelp grounds, where his people would usually come by to forage for food when they migrate to the northern side for warmer waters during the changing in seasons.

The dolphin led him to the side of the cliff, where it plunges down to the deepest part of the ocean. Creatures beneath those waters are indespicable, and no Lemurians had ever dived that deep. And that includes the God of Sea himself. The humming came again, this time further confirming that the source of the sound came from down below. Rafayel turned around to look for the dolphin, but the poor creature had left him all alone the moment it dropped him off here.

With a deep breath and a puff of his chest, the purple haired God swam deep into the dark waters below. All of his senses heightened to the max as he himself would not expect what he might encounter. Legends were told that there lives a sea serpent so huge that it could engulf the whole world if it awakes. And that was the only legend that still kept Rafayel on edge till now.

His fear dissipated almost instantly when he spotted a faint light in the far distance within the dark. You see, Lemurians although are half-fish and half-man, they do not possess infrared vision that allows them to see in the depths. Within the depths, Rafayel's flames do not work as well as this is the place where Gods are not exactly welcomed. He sped up his swimming when he noticed the light bounces further down into the dark. Pause. Then the light comes back up, but this time, at a very high speed.

Noticing a huge shadow, Rafayel turned and immediately started charging full speed towards the cliff again. But due to the darkness of the waters around him, the God found himself entrapped in the darkness, bumping and hitting himself against the cliffside. The bone-crushing, chomping sounds that came from behind him made him not-one-bit curious to see what was actually chasing him. Right when he was about to be gnawed by a creature, he heard a voice calling out in a language he had not heard of and he blacked out.

...

"I think he is waking up." A voice whispered next to Rafayel. "His eyes are fluttering."

"Is it? Oh yeah, he does look like he is awakening." Another voice intruded, deeper, but not enough to be known as a man's voice.

Rafayel slowly opened his eyes, before he was met with two snailfishes. One with a red while another is tinted with a blue hue. His eyes darted in between the two fishes as he was trying to comprehend if they were the ones talking earlier.

"Good morning." The red one spoke and Rafayel gasped, moving away from the fish. His pupils blown out as he was shocked. He has seen fishes all of his life, but he had never encountered talking fishes. EVER. But making spells to make fishes talk is definitely a skill only a sea witch possesses. This gave Rafayel a thought, maybe she felt lonely down here so she made herself some friends.

"You scared him Red." The blue one spoke this time, and it swam closer towards Rafayel, using its spiny fins to mimic how a mundane would usually talk. Gestures, as what was taught to the snailfishes, is a common courtesy of good body language to humans. But given the snailfishes had never been in contact with any humans, they took the closest resemblance to what their highness looked like. Rafayel looked just like a human to them.

With parted hair and two eyes, a nose and a lip. He is obviously a human to their knowledge. "We are not going to hurt you." The blue fish gestured it's small fins in circles, speaking slowly for each word, afraid that the man before it would not understand them. "Our master ask us to care for you as she went out to gather some food."

"Who is your master?" Rafayel asked as he sat up, kindly hoping that it was the girl he had awaited for many years. "Where is she?" His excitement made him winced, his head still hurts, a side effect of a sea witch's spell.

The feel of the water temperature shifting made the two snailfishes swam off to one of the tunnels. Rafayel took this time to observe his surroundings. Contrast to the dark waters he was in just now, he is currently in a cave like structure, with huge seaweeds and some pebbles laid out beneath him and a sea lantern hung up at every corner of the cave to provide some decent lighting. For a moment, he did not believe that he is in a sea witch's abode.

The walls had paints on them, some forming artworks of the seas above, and some were writings written in what Rafayel assumed to be sea witch's language. Rafayel stopped at one of the drawings, it was a rough sketch of Lemuria. Seeing the sketch, his breath hitched in his throat. The past memories of his massacre surfacing again but he forced it down. Not willing to show weakness in such a foreign territory. Below the sketch, there were symbols that Rafayel could not read. But he decided not to further crack his head.

The fishes returned and Rafayel's heart dropped to the bottom of his tail when he was met with her. The girl who he had always been waiting, the girl he had committed massacre for, the girl that had made him suffer with loneliness for the past hundred years. Y/n is now in front of him, but other than human legs, it was swapped with a black and singular long tail, resembling one a Moray eel has. Her once brunette curls took on a much darker shade, the same as the waters below here. The curse happened after all, for she had became the sea witch of the depths.

"You are awake." Y/n spoke and oh how he missed her voice. The voice that produces the best laughters and asked the most silly questions. Yet, with this version of her, her voice held none of those characteristics he remembered. It was deadpanned, the lack of emotions nearly made Rafayel winced. With his lack of a response, the sea witch looked towards both of her friends. "Does he happen to be a mute?"

"He spoke to us just now, but more like engaged us in a question or two." The blue snailfish chirped, swimming back to the side of Rafayel. The same fin that used to make gestures came to give a pat onto Rafayel's cheek and the merman turned to look at the fish in question. Seeing Rafayel's reaction, the fish hurriedly swam back to its master. "He is a human as you described right? Right, master?"

"Not quite, Blue." Ironic, Rafayel thought. It is very ironic of her to name things exactly based on the way they looked. It has always been a habit of hers. She placed the seashells she had harvested neatly onto the floor and she swam over to have a closer look at Rafayel. "I think, his origins are of a mermaid." Her eyes are now a different shade of colour, black irises match the shade of her pupils. Another staple for a sea witch. "I apologise for the black out you had to experience earlier on. I had to cease the Angler Fish from rising towards the surface as I did not want it to disturb the ecosystem as of above."

"Do you know of my name?" Rafayel asked, a glimmer of hope shined in his eyes as he really wished for her to remember at least a slither of memory of him. For he had been her one and only lover in her past life. But with the way she raised an eyebrow and tilted her head, his hope got extinguished like a fire that could not be ignited.

"What do you seek for, Lemurian?" Y/n swam back towards the pile of sea shells she had collected and she grabbed one of the bottles from above her shelf. Examining the shells one by one before placing them into the bottle, only the ones that has spots on them would be chosen while the other would be tossed aside and the two snailfishes seem to be having a feast with the leftovers.

The turn of her head got her to look him right into his eyes. The warm glow emitting from the sea lantern casting a soft glow on her face. Just like the time when he held her in his arms, on top of the rock. He tore his eyes away from her, his cheeks burning from how affected he was from her gaze. But he answered her. "I came here for a potion. A potion to cure me from my wandering heart." ...

It took y/n 100 days, a cycle between 50 days and 50 nights to produce the potion that Rafayel had requested for. Shortly after the interaction, Rafayel had returned back to the shallow seas, as he could not bear to watch the love of his life not knowing him for who he is and who he was to her.

His last words to her before he departed to the shallows was, "Once the potion has been completed, I shall meet you at the sea stacks by dawn. The one far north." He said, index finger pointing towards the said direction. His eyes does not meet hers before he left. That was how heartbroken he was. His heart wearing him down day by day as he waited for the potion to be crafted.

During the 100 days of wait, he kept going back and forth between the waters and land to keep himself occupied. But the land served him better as the mourning of the princess had ended long ago. When the princess went missing, the King sent out every single one of his troops to search for the lost princess.

Rafayel purposely placed her back onto the sea stacks so she could be found easily. Knowing the God, he would have kept her by his side even if she were to be nothing but a bag of bones, but he knew, her people would want to know of her whereabouts. Even if it would only bring them to her corpse. He could not give himself anymore liberty to take her away from her people, like how he had singlehandedly perished the people of his kingdom. He did not turned his head back at all once he had left her there, swimming away in full speed so that he would not be discovered and caught, and to save himself from crying anymore.

The beloved princess' death was mourned by all. Every citizen within the Kingdom's grounds were in tears, regardless if its a man or a woman, an adult or a child. That was how loved she was. Her people mourned for her for nearly five decades, and that was how long Rafayel refused to surface and to walk on land. Every time he closed in to the shores of her kingdom, the sounds of the cries of her people would strike his ears. He became so used to it that he would visit the same place every day, by dusk, just to silently cry and mourn with the people of her kingdom.

He would not even go anywhere near his kingdom either. For it was filled with the bones of his people. The people that he used to cherish, that he would always go back to. But now, all he returns to, is a dead and eerie silence. The bloody stains of his people had now hardened, taken over by sea crustaceans as Lemurian blood offers a lot of benefits to the sea creatures. If any Lemurians lived past that day, Rafayal would definitely earn the title of 'The God Who Went Deranged'.

The day has finally came, where they shall rejoice by the sea stacks. Rafayel was already waiting there since dusk, body floating above the waters, facing up towards the bright skies painted in pastel yellows and reds. Blobs of clouds that seemed so edible Rafayel wished he could fly instead of swim. A bunch of bubbles surfaced next to him and he slightly turned his head, watching as she emerged from the waters, holding two vials in her hand. Her face expressionless and cold as the first time he had met her in this life.

"Here." She handed him one of the vials and he took it, repositioning himself from having to float, to facing her directly. "Are you sure this is what you desire?" Her question caught his attention, his mixture of lilac-lapis orbs stared into her obsidian ones. "Because your memories will be perished forever, do you know that?"

Rafayel looked at the vial, the contents of the fluid is watery, and takes on a sheen of coral-like pink. "My mind is set." His eyes caught her again. "This is what I had desired when I met you that day." His words although does not hold any meaning to the sea witch, but it held meanings that one could never fathom, within the God of Sea's memories.

"This is usually done between two, one to forget while the other to contain the forgotten memories." She explained, holding up the vial to her eye level as she continued. "And since you do not have anyone you want to consume this with, I shall be the one to contain your forgotten memories."

As expected, Rafayel knew she was going to say this. He had never once mentioned anything about the Lemurians being extinct. Neither did she asked. Always putting people ahead of herself, her nature still seeped through from her past life that it has easily become one of her core personalities even till now. Rafayel silently sighed in his own mind when he looked at this woman in front of him. The lover that he had sworn his life to, became the lover that was seemingly a stranger to him.

"We shall consume this together, and with a chant of a spell, hence the void of the memory shall take upon its place." Rafayel pulled the cap open, mirroring her actions and they drank the mixture together. Rafayel winced at how bitter the content tasted but y/n seemed unaffected, as sea witches are not equipped with a sense of taste as most of their potions tasted wicked as their personalities had always been portrayed to be. "Well enough to start?"

"Hu-Ayr-Tey Ta-Fa-Fu-Lei." Rafayel chanted and he watched as y/n's eyes widened. Finally, a reaction from her. Not in the way he had hoped for a reaction of course. You see, Rafayel, being God of the Sea, although had never travelled through the deep waters and had never knew of the Sea Witches' language, but the spells equipped by the sea witches were born out of a God's nature. Should there be benevolence, there shall be malevolence. Just like how Rafayel's massacre is a proof of a God's malevolent nature taking place physically, a sea witch's spells are born out of a God's mentally twisted nature.

"What have you done?!" She held onto her neck, feeling herself struggling to breathe as her neck is closing up on her. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" She raised her voice, looking at him with anger that starts to paint her face a shade of red. "How do you know of this spell?!" She was in disbelief, eyes shooting daggers into the merman in front of her. Rafayel showed no amusement though, his eyes although were entirely focused on her, his heart crushed.

Fate in general, creates thousands and millions of possibilities towards one's ending. For a God, fate should easily be nothing but a just another miniscule issue within their palms. But for Rafayel, the moment he fell for a mundane, was the moment he signed a blackmail for himself. He has to gamble with fate now, just like with any other mere mortal. The only advantage he got is that he could look into the near future to help him better plan out his upcoming course of actions.

This happening now, marks one of his course of actions. The fate he had chosen was to kill y/n with his own hands, so she could be reincarnated to be a human in her next life. Then, he could take place as a man, on the land, seeking for her love and attention, just like how a mere mortal would. Yes. Rafayel, the God of the Sea, would risk his status of being a God just to be a human, just to be with her. "This is the only way." He spoke to her, as he watched her slowly lose her memories to swim, her tail, now a pair of legs, flailing clumsily in an effort to save herself.

The spell that he had uttered, does not only make her forget her own identity, but it makes her forget everything, wiping everything off of her memory and giving her a clean slate. A reincarnated soul would always remember bits of their past lives, that is how deja-vu and realistic dreams come about. But this spell would wipe her memory of her past life as well. As bad as it sounds, Rafayel sees this as the only viable way for him to live his next life, having to protect her. All the other courses of action, would only lead to more bloodshed and he grew tired of it.

The tears came flowing again, watching his beloved struggle to breathe as she started to choke onto the seawater that is rapidly entering her lungs. Rafayel could only watch, he could not interfere as it would ruin the course of her next life. Heart wrenching, gut punching, every other word of torturous feeling would describe him perfectly at this moment.

Y/n reached out her hand to him, desperately looking at him and clawing for him, seeking for his help to drag her out and onto solid land. But his refusal seemingly made her accepted her fate. Her pupils then slowly stopped moving, her body slowly stopped thrashing and twitching as she continued descended deeper into the waters. A scene that reminded him deeply of Arvia during his last moments.

Once the bubbles had stopped surfacing out of her agape lips, Rafayel swam down as fast as he could, and he held her cold body in his arms again, closely studying her very last moments. Her eyes were opened, in a state of shock and acceptance, lips blue like the shade of his lapis-coloured eyes, tail had now taken form into two legs, her body stiff and hollow like how she was when he first found her in the past 100 years. The curse was finally broken, but it also broke Rafayel. With shaky breaths, he uttered. "In your next life, I promise you. I promise. You shall only ever hear of my name as to be Rafayel. I shall no longer...be the God of the Sea."

Parallel Universe Ending is Out: Salvation

I love doubling the damage sometimes, this one-shot had became somewhat of a small series. I enjoyed using a bit of my gore movie visual experiences within this piece of writing. Thank you for the ones who wished for a sequel. I hope this makes you bawl your eyes out.

But do not worry, I am already starting on a not-so-angsty ending that takes place in a parallel universe. I don't think this series would continue on as I think it is best to leave it to you lovelies' vast imagination.

As usual, any requests you want me to write? I can write it for ya :)

Have a good day and pls cry for me lovelies :)

[tridentrans]

WOAHHHH my DP ocs....which are actually just AU versions of my normal ocs yay <3 got so excited for this event bc i love ocs that i drew new lil references for them on the spot. bc i did not have any before now. which is why i'm late to day 1!! just pretend this is also for day 2. even though it's not reverse AU for these ghosts to have human designs. because they're adaptations of ocs i already have and i decided they were humans who died and became ghosts LOL... and of course Reo is here. he's human and still alive. further oc lore concepts will be under the cut ↓

OK. so. Maverick first. he's a poor teenage ghost who is REALLY passionate about mail. he was quite lonely and pushed-aside (thanks in large part to his brother) when he was alive, so as a ghost his greatest desire has become "acknowledgement", in a sense. as a ghost he can't speak, so he just writes and sends letters. one of his ghost powers is just being able to instantly pull written and sealed letters out of his bag. so if you were to have an actual conversation with him he'd just be handing you endless amounts of letters over and over again... he can also manipulate or summon other mail, doesn't just have to be his own.

ironically, his other main ability is pyromancy. he can burn your mail just as easily as he can deliver it, lol. the fire powers is bc i associate him with fire in my original oc story but also because he's slightly based on the phrase "going postal," so. he has a bit of a hot temper here. i imagine that most people or ghosts aren't keen on answering random letters from someone they don't know, (humans especially are prone to ignoring spam mail) so he still ends up ignored (he gets ghosted, you could say). and then he gets mad.

this would lead in to the hypothetical Episode that exists in my mind. which i would title "going postal" haha. basic plot rundown is that Maverick would be trying to get Danny's attention with some letters, but Danny is a veryyyyy busy guy and would keep accidentally, or through hijinks, ignoring or destroying the letters, both in human and ghost form. this would be the last straw for Maverick and he'd get pissed enough to attack. he wouldn't be a reoccurring antagonist though, as I imagine the miscommunication would get resolved by the end of the episode.

and now for Reo!! he's a student at Casper High and is on the baseball team. which i don't recall if the school is ever mentioned as having a baseball team in the show? but it's a high school. it has one. anyways, he was one of the random people selected to receive Maverick's letters, and one of the only ones ever to actually send a reply. he's VERYYY curious by nature. so even if it is weird as hell to get a letter out of nowhere from someone you don't know, he'd probably reply.... and then he keeps replying even after he finds out his new pen pal is a ghost. he's nice like that. so hooray for MavReo friendship.

As for canon interactions. I did consider the idea of like. One day Reo takes Maverick to school with him, and it keeps setting off Danny's ghost sense. So Danny's freaked out all episode bc there Must be some Ghost following him around school all day ...sneaking ...stalking.... But actually it's his random background classmate passing notes w a ghost all day long. I also have another (human) character from my oc story that Reo is friends with that I didn't do an AU design for (yet?). In this setting, they would definitely try to do ghost investigations together. so that could be a goofy episode plot, that Danny has to manage some random students poking their nose in ghost stuff. WITH another ghost, no less.

now for "Ricky." in my regular oc story his name is a secret but i had to call him something for the sake of this AU so just don't mind my weird quotation marks. he and Maverick do NOTTTTT have a good relationship. he's the sorta typical jerk older brother who has no time for his sibling. doesn't care for that kid at ALL. Maverick is annoying, yeah, and it's really just stupid that their names are so similar, sheesh.... he would definitely be an antagonist, possibly reoccurring, because he's an asshole.

i do not have a little episode plot in mind for him yet, but his main thing is shapeshifting. i imagine he has all the basic ghost abilities everyone seems to have (invisibility, flight, intangibility) but beyond that, the shapeshifting is his only shtick. mostly because that's what he does in the original story AND i'm not trying to make him overpowered. you can do a lot with impersonation, especially since i have him able to mimic humans (something Spectra needs to siphon teenage angst for lol). So. bc he's kindof an all around jerk he would definitely just use this ability to cause problems. it is fun for him...

[joltai-showa]

Exhausting day, so let's yap about something fun.

I've seen a post floating around that went something like "imagine Naruto releasing now, Akatsuki gang would be called woke" and I wanna take this concept another step further and talk about how generally these S-rank criminals are surprisingly tolerating of each other.

(though side point nothing will ever help these men and Konan beat the fruity friend group allegations, like they are wearing matching coats that are TERRIBLY impractical when you are working as, you know, a fucking ASSASSIN. and the nail polish? can anybody explain how that idea came about? like, I guess it's not surprising that members like Konan and Deidara aka Ms. and Mr. Insane Make Up Game of the Terrorist World would paint their nails, but why is Nagato sitting Pain's bodies down for a manicure? The local 195 cm tall fishman agreeing to a pedicure? Why the fuck is Uchiha "killing readers with boredom that I evoke with my 13 hour long yapping about despair and hopelessness" Obito still doing his pedicure in KAGE SUMMIT ARC? BRO, LET GO OF THEM, YOUR BESTIES AREN'T COMING BACK, YOU SENT THEM ALL TO THEIR DEATHS, YOU PIECE OF SHIT, EVERYONE IS 15 SECONDS AWAY FROM MURDERING EACH OTHER, WHY ARE YOU PAINTING THE NAILS ON THE ARM YOU ARE ABOUT TO ATTACH??? omg🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄)

Because I am a lore nerd, I am completely fascinated by the sheer difference between the members. And I speak both of the age and the geographic differences, which, realistically, should create some absolutely wild scenarios between the members.

So let's start by separating the gang by age, because they've actually got three pretty definitive clusters in their group when we look at them from that particular parameter.

Kakuzu is in his own subgroup, being *checks notes* jesus christ 91. Kakuzu is actually older than the village system itself (Kishimoto can't count, so it was either founded 60 or 80 years before the events of Shippuden, and either way Kakuzu spawned in this world on hardcore difficulty way before the clans in Land of Fire decided to stop terrorizing each other and chose to terrorize everyone around them). Mind you, the characters from the major Hidden Villages that were constantly joked about as being these ancient fossils and those who have seen the dawn of fucking civilizations were people like Chiyo (73 years old in Shippuden) and Onoki (79 years old). And. Like. Shinobi generally don't live that long even in the villages where they can live in relative protection and have an opportunity for retirement. Kakuzu's out there collecting his retirement fund from any unlucky motherfucker who gets his face plastered into a Bingo book or something. And he was probably doing that even before becoming a member of Akatsuki. Which. Lmao.

And considering the fact that he was in some sort of fighting age whenever fucking Hashirama was still alive, Akatsuki's old man is likely actually written in the history books that they read in the hidden villages (do kids even learn how to read? I'm pretty sure the villages value kunai throwing more than reading huh). Or at least in the history books of nukenins. Wait, scratch that, he is probably one of the people who is the reason behind a lot of the operating procedures that the villages have whenever you got a deserter or a general terrorist running through you territory. What I'm saying is, the guys from the major villages (meaning Sasori, Deidara, Obito, Kisame and Itachi) have probably known of Kakuzu just off the stories they read in the Academy/heard from older shinobi. I'm not mentioning the guys from minor villages because I am not giving them enough benefit of the doubt to have something like a decent system of education or ninja living past 30😁. I imagine that must be quite the bizarre experience to abandon your village, become a nukenin and meet the OG guy. Like, as OG as they get.

And one last thing I wanted to point out before moving onto the next generation of our fruity terrorist is how weird it must have been for Deidara to meet Kakuzu for the first time? I don't mention the other two from Akatsuki's kids aka Hidan about whom we don't know much about and Itachi who's relationship with old men in his life can be summarized by "they exploit me, I try to get the best things out of this🙂", but Deidara, being Onoki's student, in canon is shown to constantly refer to him as "old man" in various degrees of insultingness (insert a meme about 18 year old Kurotsuchi's broke "maybe you should retire, old man" vs 10 year old Deidara's woke "KILL YOURSELF OLD MAN" *some bridge in Iwa fucking explodes*) and like. He's like 13. And gets to meet Kakuzu. Who is like 85 at the time. Just imagine the experience that Deidara got. He's been hating the old man as long as he remembers, and then gets to meet THAT. Local teenager meets an actual dinosaur moment.

So know we get to the second generational group and it's by far the biggest one in this pretty small organization, and I like to title them "the ones that were born some time around the Second Shinobi World War and got completely fucked over by the Third one😁". This group, obviously, includes Konan and Nagato (both 40 in Shippuden), Sasori (35), Kisame (32) and Obito (yeah yeah I remember that he's been stated to be like 31, but for timeline purposes I prefer to have him at around 30, because otherwise like twenty events get funky). The Second Shinobi World War can only be approximately estimated, but given what little is known of about the characters involved in it, Ame orphans' year of birth is a pretty good estimate of a starting point for shit starting to go down, while Konoha suddenly started having a lot of kids right around the time of Kakashi's generation, meaning that their parents suddenly started having a lot of time to procreate and did not have to run across the border to beat shit out of someone else🤭Either that, or Konoha got the money to pay the shinobi for every kid they manage to pop in the next five years lol.

Anyway, the Third war followed pretty soon (around 18 years after Ame trio's birth, actually), and we certainly know that Obito got pulled into it (because of the, you know, the successful pancake challenge) with Konan and Nagato too, but on Ame's side (the Third War would actually be the best and prime time for the original Akatsuki led by Yahiko to operate, as they would be both old enough to organize something and be strong enough to maneuver between Hanzo and the external enemies aka Konoha, Iwa and Suna). With Sasori it isn't exactly confirmed straight away, but considering that his nickname is "Scorpion of Red SANDS", and when you are a nukenin why would you stay in the desert where there's a lot of sand it's coarse and it gets everywhere in your puppets (c), so most likely Sasori would have gotten this nickname while he was still living in the village, and mind you he was 15 when he left the village with the dead Third Kazekage in tow, all of which would have taken place right around the middle of the Third War, so it isn't much of a stretch to assume that he got a good chunk of murder experience during it.

Kisame is a weird one, because we don't know anything about his life until he's like, adultish? At least that's the vibe I'm getting off his pre-death memories, which are obviously way past the Third Shinobi World War, however, thankfully, Kishimoto can't fucking count, so we have a pretty decent confirmation that this wonderful thing called the Blood Mist would already be in place come Kisame's childhood and youth (regardless of how much Kishimoto repeats the Blood Mist = Fourth Mizukage = the mysterious entity controlling Yagura = the one and only Uchiha Obito. unless, of course, there's a Kamui+ subscription that Obito had when he was younger that allowed him to teleport back in time too, exclusively to be a bigger fucking bitch to everyone). I can't remember the exact calcs, but it's actually thanks to Mei (the Fifth Mizukage) that has a mention that she had to take the wonderful murder exam as a genin, and based off Mei's and Kisame's ages it actually becomes clear that Kisame would have had to graduate from Academy right around the time of Mei's exam or they were literally taking the same exam, something like that. Point being, even if we don't know for sure that Kisame took part in the TSWW, but we do know that he has had to deal with all of that mess related to growing up in Blood Mist🙂🙂🙂🙂So I guess we can call this generation "were born during the SSWW, most got royally fucked over by TSWW, but some of them also got fucked over by Blood Mist".

So these guys, I would say, can be characterised by them having a certain period of peace and purpose in their lifes that they ultimately lost during the subsequent wars, oftentimes suddenly, leaving them with psychological traumas for the rest of their lives that they WOULD make everyone's problem, so what ends up happening is a generation of deluloids that are running around with their grand plans of fixing the world or finding the ideal form of themselves. Ironically, I would say that Nagato and Konan have the most... er... realistic ideas regarding the whole "fixing" thing that others in their generation seem to have. Yes, the guys who say they are a God and an Angel. Because selective nuclear annihilation is a surprisingly effective way to dissuade most people from starting shit with each other😇🙏

Then we have Obito and Kisame both of whom worked for the whole Eye of the Moon thing... I'm not even gonna go in detail about it, it's just so fucking stupid. You listen to it one time and it really becomes apparent that this shit was concocted by a crazy old man with his ex's face on his tiddy and his dead little brother's eyes in his eye sockets that was living in a dank cave for about 50 years all alone. I mean, Obito got brain damage from going on a field trip to Kannabi bridge, I'm not surprised he though that was a good idea, but Kisame has no excuses, yeah, I know you've lived a horrible life that you took as a norm and suddenly all those deaths that you witnessed and contributed to turned out to be completely meaningless, just like pretty much your entire life, but that's not an excuse to listen to this masked dude's yapping about making a PowerPoint Presentation of his Sharingan on the surface of the fucking moon and go "Woah...😳🤩"

And finally we have Sasori, who's less bothered by doing the whole changing the world thing and moreso got his own idea of what an absolute ideal form is supposed to be, and he is going full murder hobo achieving it in his immediate surrondings. And it all stems from that time when his parents died after meeting Hatake Sakumo. Ah, speaking of that.

So back to the original topic of this post as in Akatsuki members are surprisingly chill with each other, regardless of the circumstances of their previous lives? Well, there's a thing with these guys that Kakuzu wouldn't have - a sort of developed sense of loyalty to the village and animosity or coldness to people from the enemy villages. Again, Kakuzu is older than the village system itself, and he would have left pretty early on (considering the whole fiasco seemed to have stemmed from that attempt on Hashirama's life, and Hashirama couldn't have lived past 20-25 years after Konoha's foundation), so he doesn't care for any of that, a guy with a bouty on his head goes into the retirement fund regardless of what headband he's wearing. But for kids that grew up in this system I think it would be at times pretty jarring to suddenly sit on the work meetings with someone they would have considered their mortal enemy just some years ago.

We don't know much about with whom in particular Sasori and Kisame were fighting while in the villages, but taking a look at the geography... I mean, Suna might have been going at it with both Iwa and Konoha lol? Imagine Pain asking Sasori what does he know of Iwa ninja, Sasori goes on to list all the squads he murder and dismembered back in the good old Third War days and then the boss hits him with "Yeah, yeah, anyway, we are getting you a new partner. It's a child from Iwa. He's now yours. Raise him and don't let him kill himself before he turns 18."

Or just Kisame and Sasori generally dealing with the existence of Konoha lmao? Obito's obviously not piping up about his origins, but I like the idea of Itachi getting interrogated on what he knows about Kakashi in particular (who is the son of the guy who killed Sasori's parents. and granny Chiyo went for his throat on fucking sight. not to mention her mass murdering grandsonny).

"Itachi, do you know this Hatake guy?"

"Er, yes, we served in ANBU together?.."

"Good. Tell me where he lives, at what time does he go to bed, what he eats for breakfast and how is he with his Sharingan."

Or just chatting with Kisame and the topic of Kakashi pops up

"Oh, I would love to fight him one day. Is he really that bloodthirsty and insane as they say?"

"Er, no, what gives?"

"He has been in Kirigakure's Bingo Book for years! Oh, and there was this one time when he massacred an entire squad on his own, ripping guts and all. Come to think of it, that was also about the time when we lost one of our biju. What a weird coincidence, huh."

"Oh yeah, I think I know that one. That was about the time when one of his teammates died too. What a weird coincidence, huh."

(somewhere in the corner Obito is furiously chewing on the wall)

Because Kishimoto is such an incredible writer that gives only his best when it comes to Obito, especially when he needs to write the conflict and relationships for a 30 year old guy and comes up with nothing but shit that concerned him when he was 14😁😁😁😁😁so he's stuck with nothing interesting for his entire Akatsuki life period, but I still think it's pretty funny that of all the people Obito could have gotten partnered with it had to be the only guy from the village that freed him of the burden of having a right side of the body🙏

But I think by far the most interesting ones would be Konan and Nagato as people of Amegakure, a village, as you remember, that kept getting run over by the major powers surronding it, I believe that in Nagato's flashbacks we even get the confirmation of the conflicts that Nagato personally had with Konoha and Iwa ninja (one for his parents' murder and another whenever Yahiko got in trouble as a kid). To them as part of the original militia Akatsuki the shinobi of the major villages (Iwa, Konoha, Suna in particular) are invaders and pretty much just enemies. But then obviously "Madara" pulls up and starts Uchihasplaining them how the world is wrong (duh) and how they must fix it. Obviously, following the change in management of the organization, they had to recruit new members, and while the official materials don't really have anything regarding this process (no, the videogames/light novels/whatever other bullshit produced by people not called Kishimoto Masashi don't count), I believe it's reasonable to assume that Obito, Nagato and Konan would at least sit down and chat about who they are bringing on their world-fixing-terroristic tour. And like. It must have been quite the experience to just sit there with this guy (who's supposedly one of the founders of the entire system they are currently living in) and get a bunch of candidates that they are supposed to invite even if just some time ago they would have been their enemies lol.

(and to be fair out of all the people that they have from the above mentioned villages two of them (Itachi and Deidara) were like 5 and 3 years old at the time Yahiko got killed, not to mention the whole TSWW, so I guess it would have been more weird to watch "Madara" turn their organization into a daycare rather than watch their headbands. but Sasori absolutely could have been to Ame back in his Suna days during the Third War. though again the nickname suggest that he was likely fighting a defensive war)

And, finally, we got what I like to call the kids generation meaning Hidan, Itachi and Deidara, all three of whom were born during the Third Shinobi World War, and, well, let's just that the defining feature of this group is just mental illness. Like, yeah, everyone's not okay in Akatsuki, but these guys? Fucked over since, like, toddlerhood. At least based on what limited information we have on them, with Itachi's extensive biography throught the plot it's obvious, Deidara was taken in at about the same age as Itachi did and was already on his manic pixie boy yapping about art with a "resume" so long that people three times his age would have trouble competing with the bullshit this young teenager already did. Hidan's the only one of three who was taken in as an adult, but... yeah... the whole cult and mass murder thing probably says nothing good about his childhood.

And just imagine being this young nukenin, only starting to become infamous for your crimes, and then you get dragged to join the organization with some of the strongest terrorists in modern shinobi history. I like to imagine there was this tiny sense of giddiness at achieving something like that? Like whenever a kid gets to do adult things, and there these guys are, on the same level as big shots. Well, at least for Deidara and Hidan, Itachi's too depressed and thinking of his foolish little brother. He can at least be happy that he's got the chillest guy as his partner.

(and on the other hand you got the rest of Akatsuki members confused why the fuck did the Leader get two 13 year olds in quick succession. like. yeah they good at mass murder but do we really have to raise them? is having ninja zoomers on the staff that important for the world domination plan?)

[thornethenorn]

I wanna hear all the fun facts about the norn then pretty please

Okie dokie hehe

1. It's assumed that there is a spirit of the wild for every animal that exists, not just the ones we hear about. This leaves room for a lot of original spirits for people to make

2. They produce a lot of body heat, and this is likely why they don't cover up in cold environments- they would overheat. I made a whole post about this you can find in my Biology of Tyria tag.

3. The Kodan believe that norn are descendants of Kodan who didn't listen to Koda and went south. This is likely not true.

4. The lowland Kodan call norn "Children of the Bitter Wind"

5. They're shapeshifters. It's not acknowledged enough that they're literally a race of shapeshifters.

6. They also have an AVERAGE hight of 9ft tall. They can be way taller than that, probably.

7. They don't sleep in beds. They don't have mattresses, just piles of furs and blankets. They also will sleep on the floor.

8. Skaalds are bards, yes, but anet literally just took the actual Norse word for 'singer/bard/poet" and added an a.

9. Speaking of which, Hoelbrak means "hall of noise" in old Norse, but in-game, it means "lowland" in the norn's native language.

10. The norn's native language is canonically mostly lost, but it can be infered that its writing system, described as runes, are similar to elder futhark runes. In old Norse, elder futhark was the writing system and alphabet. Old Norse was mostly a spoken language, but occasionally could use the runes as writing. The runes also had individual meanings and were used for divination.

11. They were forced out of their native home and have been for 200 years. Even after killing Jormag the corruption still makes the far Shiverpeaks uninhabitable.

12. Norn and Jotun used to be some of the most powerful magic weilders in Tyria.

13. I call them the viking furries race as a joke but honestly they're more like the normal scandanavians. This isn't really a fact about norn this is actually your monthly PSA that vikings were from literally ONE part of scandanavia and the history of this region is so much more nuanced than just "those guys with cool pirates"

14. They're anets least favorite race of the main five (next to Asura free my guys Asura mains) and if I have to write the rest of their lore on my own I will

15. Also the norn and Asura have a lot of parallels that should be explored more often. Both pushed out of their homes and given half-written lore that we're begging to be completed

16. Norn live up to 120 naturally. However, almost nobody ever lives this long because of their culture. They constantly try to top themselves and push themselves too hard and die to 'hold my beer' moments and that's sad

17. Norn women die so often in the story. The fact Arina survived getting thrown into Nayos is a miracle

18. They're named after the Norse version of the Fates. The Nornir (singular being norn) in Norse myth were the three goddesses that sat at the base of Yggdrasil and spun threads of fate. While they can be depicted as hags, they are also sometimes depicted as maidens. This works for the norn race because their culture is insanely intertwined with the concept of fate and destiny.

19. They're not human. Anet are cowards for not doubling down on that. Norn should've had pointed ears and fangs and slit pupils and I will die on this hill

20. There's a stereotype of norn being dumb muscle that only drink and hunt but fuck you all they're nuanced and perfect and I love them

Now we're not even getting into my headcanons either so...

[dragon-ascent]

Another year draws to an end~ what a ride 2024 has been! Lots of stuff happened: I finished postgrad, started a job and I even got engaged just this last week to the sweetest man ever! In some attributes, he even reminds me of Zhongli a bit <3 oh, and he follows this blog and acknowledges Zhongzhong is THE husband ever so hiii V you know who you are bestie ;)

This time last year on my blog, I had about 800+ followers. Now, I have 3.1k and counting, which is just, aaaaaa! It makes me so happy to see that I can dump my brainrot about Zhongli all I want here and people are actually interested in listening ;u;

I'm definitely disappointed that the year of the dragon didn't exactly herald any Zhongli lore, but as Ei says, his story is far from finished. So I'm still excited to see what direction his tale will take! I personally am still huffing the sun god theory copium, but any Zhongli crumbs are a whole buffet to me.

You can expect to see lots and lots of Zhongli food from me in the coming year, so stick around for that! I know I have many inbox messages to get to as well so pls be patient :') oh! And dare I say I have a Zhongli longfic in the pipeline finally? Need to work out the kinks and things, but when I do roll it out I think I'll upload a chapter per week. So if you want a more immersive fic with a fleshed-out world, keep an eye out for it~!

I'm rambling like Zhongli here but lastly, thank you all SO MUCH for all your support!! You guys really DELIGHT me with every lovely message you send, and comments and reblogs too, and lord knows my heart flutters and I literally SOB (/pos) when you say you love the way I portray Zhongli!! (If you've been here long, you'll know I've written about Zhongli doing calligraphy a couple times. So this year's birthday art with it actually happening? I am on CLOUD NINE)

Here's to a beautiful 2025! Love you all soooo much mwah!

[muchmossymess]

A Revali Fanfic Recommendation

I urge you all to put your life on hold for a moment and go read this brilliant fanfiction:

A hundred years after the fall of Hyrule to Calamity Ganon, and the hero Link has finally sealed the darkness and freed the Divine Beasts of their curse - and with it, their pilots are finally free. But not just as spirits. Awake once again, the four Champions of old have a second chance at life and must re-adjust to this future world with their decendants. Well - all except for one Champion, who doesn't have a decentant. Or even anyone left alive that knew him. Teba is happy to take in his revived ancient idol as one of his own, but sharing a living space with a hundred year old Champion with an ego the size of his divine beast and who might have some issues he's not willing to share can be a lot sometimes and they don't always see eye to eye. Revali thinks he should return to leading the new generation of Rito warriors. Teba thinks this actual child should never have been leading warriors or fighting a war in the first place. Tulin is just excited to have the infamous Rito Champion in his house.

Beautifully written and lovingly crafted, this baby can fit so much trauma and whump into the most gut-wrenching and heat-breakingly found family story you may ever read. 130,000 words, 36 chapters (and still regularly updating!), and a CRIMINALLY low number of kudos. If that doesn't sway you, here is some gushing under the cut <3

You think you've read a champions revival fic before? This will have you saying "how the FUCK have I not seen this before" and completely change the way you view everything (mild exaggeration. m i l d). We have all of your favourite revali tropes: being a dick and getting owned, being a dick and being right, getting own and never showing those feelings to the light of day, getting killed, getting unkilled and loved, showing emotions but being super weird and revali about it, bonding with tulin!!, bonding with teba and the rest of rito village, bonding with the champions, having panic attacks and trauma, vah medoh being the best ever, being a terrifying force of nature, being an idiot kid, and so much more!

Do you like grumpy dad teba? Do you like revali swallowing his pride? Do you like revali immediately spitting his pride back up and being a bitchy bird? Do you like mipha and revali as gossip buddies? Do you like the complete and utter fool revali makes of himself everytime he so much as hears the name link? Do you like people seeing right through his facade and calling him out on it?

AND NOT TO MENTION THE WORLD BUILDING??? this fic is so in depth of the political climates, racism, lore, changes in culture during times of war, colonisation, biology of the races and just fucking everything?? It adds so much life to the world of hyrule I am genuinely shocked at how much this person clearly loves these games (botw/totk/aoc) and they are able to incorporate all of this amazing information in a way that flows so naturally and just hhrnngngg I am fucking insane about it. THE SCIENCE, oh my god how did I forget all the wonderous thoughts surrounding the divine beasts and the sheikah tech, oh god and how they write the magic system? Guys I swear it's so good.

Characterisation is on point, everyone feels so full of life and that they are reacting exactly how you would expect them too, and they just seem so real, like they are right beside you as you're reading. The author does an IMMACULATE job of drawing you in and making you feel a part of the story, all the while being just beautifully written?

Don't get me started on the attention to rito culture. I have never seen someone pour so much love into something before, genuinely on of the greatest things I've seen. I've always had a fascination over how the races of hyrule view each other, similarities and differences, how their cultures and histories intertwine, and conflicts that may arise. But oh. my. god. My jaw was on the floor every time, it's so rich and beautiful but not without the horrors (and oh god, they are Horrors tm) and again it's just so real!!!

Be warned, however, that there is gore and viscera and terror and hurt and war crimes and death (duh), but for each terrible thing to happen it is repaid tenfold in love and kindness somewhere down the line. (Unless you are into hurt no comfort, then sorry buddy!) It is a beautiful narrative and the exploration of trauma and self is mind boggling and just go read it!!! 😭 😭 😭 I just love this fic so much, it has instantly sky-rocketed to one of my top 3 favourite fics I've ever read, and I'm so grateful to have found it and now be along for the ride that if I could bring that to one more person then by god I will fucking do it

[mystxmomo]

Two more drow for the road?

I've been throwing around a few character concepts with Cari over the last week or two. The first one is the promised House Weapons Master for Sabdra's house. He's relevant during Enclave's early life. The second character is one I haven't talked about publicly before, but wanted to throw together the reference sheet for while I was in the mood to do design stuff.

Design notes for the two of them are under the cut.

Beltrin Torndar

I already talked a little bit about him in that big lore-post, and implied a little on what his role in the story would be. So his section of the post is going to be a little bit shorter, especially compared to the next one. But I've been sitting on this guy's design WIP for a hot second now, and honestly I want to be able to start posting stupid shit posts with him so we're just going to barrel into it.

Weapons Master for House Torndar, Beltrin is every bit as ambitious and arrogant as you'd expect him to be. He's not particularly good at playing the wider societal game of social chess, because he's a little too stupid to actually be cunning, but he IS good at playing the Sabdra game (: Where you both get Sabdra's attention and keep her interested enough not to kill you. So credit where it's due.

Clothing design, I wanted to soften up his clothing compared to what the normal angular Lolth-society style is. Given that he's under Sabdra's house, her fashion sensibilities are bleeding into what he wears, as he's dressing specifically to impress her and keep her happy with his presence. I also think the softer design choices are a fun contrast to his role as a strict melee fighter. He has no particularly strong feelings on this.

Normally I don't share name meanings explicitly, but his name means burned, burning, fire, flame // clan, house, merchant, of the house. However, the reason I picked it was because the prefix "Bel" has a lot of associations to me of real world prefix that I think can be fun (Belladonna like the poisonous plant // Bella just being beautiful in a lot of languages.)

==

"???"

Cari and I have been calling them by the title The False Chosen, and I'm going to keep doing that.

I want to do something with the note that some of Selvetarm's followers are working to free him from Lolth, and how little he cares or answers their prayers. So, the main point of conception for this character is as a chosen for a god, not chosen by the god themself, but by the church in service to the god. This character in particular is also born at the tail end of the Masked Lady era. Like Vhaeraun, Selvetarm is dead. So their goal is two fold - Bring him back, and bring him back "right." And take out anything in the way of that goal.

Vibe-wise, they're based on HEAVILY on the way slasher movie villains move and feel. One one hand, it's the constant, suffocating threat that comes with something that always seems to be able to keep going. On the other hand, most slasher movie villains are often written to be rather sympathetic figures lashing out due to the circumstances they were in. I think that contrast has always been rather interesting, and something I hope to play into with this one. Their motivation is honorable, and they clearly have a point of trauma in their backstory given the scars and lack of arms. But do we ever get to know it? Do we ever get to understand them? Or are they a threat before they're a person now.

I want there to be an intentional and true denial of identity within their presence. They are a reflection of the most extreme version of what drow society expects of their soldiers and people. Because even when separated from Lolth and fighting against her, the trauma of what their society exists around remains.

Honestly? Easiest physical character design I've ever done. Other than the prosthetics (of which I want to do a full study on, in the near future) and scarring I want them to come across as an otherwise standard drow warrior. Their armor is taken entirely from FR official art, their hair is pretty standard elf hair without much style variation. I almost gave them the spider-leather cloak seen on the first drow in the official art as well, but I think that's too much accessorization for what we're going for here. Perhaps it's something they could wear in the future... one day.

The only other note for their physical appearance I want to add, for my benefit, is in regards to the hair. I've always found it really charming when edgy emo hair covers up something like a scar or mark. I wanted to subvert that a little. Their hair is covering up the side of their face that remains unharmed. Perhaps theres something of a metaphor in that, perhaps not.

Despite all of that, I do want there to be this layer of like? Sincere innocence with them. I think that they are going to be another one that I would mark as "noticeably young by elf standards." Despite everything about them and their goals, they're very sheltered socially and in environment. So perhaps under the bloodshed and violence, a bit of curiosity and innocence remains.

[lucariowrites]

Okay TailsTube. You have my fucking attention now.

https://x.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/1905273732375171221

Professor Tori is great. I like her, but that's secondary to everything. I heard them talking about the Great Civilizations. I'm about to nerd the hell out and be extremely hopeful.

The Ancients from Sonic Frontiers are now also known as "the First Great Civilization." On its own, this doesn't mean much, but will become important in a bit.

And the Gaians from Sonic Unleashed are now also known as "the Second Great Civilization." Still not the most important thing on its own, but there's a pattern emerging already.

Whoever is at the lore team is now trying to put together all these ancient civilizations we've thrown into Sonic's universe as the different "Great Civilizations." The first time we ever hear about these things is aaaaall the way back in Sonic Battle with best robot, Emerl, either being created by and/or causing the destruction of "the Fourth Great Civilization."

It should be noted that "four great civilizations" does have a parallel to a dubiously historical concept in the real world, but that's mainly to draw on inspiration as the two don't really line up between the game and real worlds.

That being said, who are the third and fourth in this case? The TailsTube does not mention them due to Orbot's insistence on being annoying, but we're basically out of ancient civilizations at this point save for two:

The Babylonians from Riders

The Echidnas

Thanks to some clarification on the Sonic Channel website, we know that the Babylonians arrived on Earth some time before the Echidnas almost went completely extinct. It does not give us an exact time, but the events are posited as being before then on the official timeline. While not outright confirmed, it's a reasonable assumption that the Babylonians would be "the Third Great Civilization" as well.

So who's the Fourth? We don't know yet, but there's three potential answers:

It's the Echidnas

This is the easiest answer and honestly fits pretty nicely into everything, though it does leave open the whole point that the Gizoid (Emerl) was made by the Echidnas which we'll get back to.

2. It's something we don't know yet

Sonic Team could very easily make a new ancient civilization for us to explore in the next game, and honestly I'd be down with that. Because in Sonic Battle, 4000 years ago does set it behind the Echidna Extinction Event comfortably by roughly 1000 years although that's mostly just an estimate. There very well could be a separate civilization going on at exactly the same time that Sonic Team could pull from thin air.

3. It's the Nocturnus

Okay, now hear me out. Chronicles was not written by Sonic Team; it was written by Bioware. But the guys at that specific team really liked Sonic in all of its incarnations and were probably the first to actually try to bring together multiple game histories explicitly into one story. The Fourth Great Civilization was made to be the Nocturnus, a rival clan the Knuckles Clan. They had weapons that were far ahead of their time (including the Gizoid) and that power is what drove Pachacamac to raid the Master Emerald shrine and ultimately cause his downfall. Something that gets played with a lot in the game, but that's for another time.

The problem is that Chronicles hasn't been canon for a very long time. Although it has other errors from what I've heard, what isn't erroneous from the Encylospeedia is that Chronicles is a non-canon adventure. However, with Sonic Team bringing back the concept of the Four Great Civilizations, they have the opportunity to do the funniest thing in the world and reintroduce that game as canon.

All in all, very exciting stuff lore wise and I'm usually not this pumped about it. Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and my enthusiasm.

[hrtfelt4u]

heartstrings. | wonbin park.

012. hi ladies. (written portion)

“Wait,” You pop out from behind a shelf stacked with CDs, making Juria look up from her phone, “You’re coming to tonight’s thing now?”

Juria sighs, pocketing her phone and nodding. “Leehan canceled on me. He has some work event he didn’t realize he needed to attend until now.”

Pouting, your hands holding multiple CDs dropping to your sides, “I’m sorry, love. That sucks,” 

Walking to Juria, you smile a little while nudging her. “At least you have an excuse to dress cute now. You can even wear this top you just bought with me!” 

Juria grins, looking down at the shopping bag in her hands. “I guess,” she sings, “I can’t remember the last time I put in effort to actually look good bartending at the Fix. We should head back to mine now to get ready if we’re going there after our shift tonight.” 

You purse your lips, agreeing and debating between the four CDs in your hands. “Okay, sounds good. But… which ones do I get?”

Juria groans while rolling her eyes, landing her hands on your shoulders to lead you to the counter, “All of them. I’ll even pay for one if it gets us out of here faster.”

With your friend’s urgent prompting, you check out and happily skip out the store with your new purchases. Weirdly enough, you couldn’t wait to show Wonbin later, knowing he’d be glad to see you found another Beatles cover to add to your collection. 

You had shown him your extensive shelf last night, explaining to him your lore of collecting CDs ever since you were a kid. 

Thinking back on your guys’ long chat that lasted until the early morning, you can’t help but feel giddy at how easy it was to get closer to Wonbin. As much as you wanted to excuse your attraction to the man on the alcohol or weed, your playful back-and-forth banter, interspersed with deep conversation, was… nice. 

You had so much fun getting to know someone as much into music as you, taking turns showing each other songs and artists using the Spotify Jam you guys kept going for five hours straight. You went into each other’s awful dating histories and bonded over each other’s horror stories of dates or exes. 

Wonbin shared how he met his closest friends, you two discussed each other’s mutuals, and talked a little on Anton and Juria’s complicated relationship. You’d probably discussed thousands of topics in the span of a few hours and even then, you two didn’t get sick of one another. 

It couldn’t be explained how easy it was to feel at ease in his presence. A bit of it had to do with the teasing pokes and soft touches you were giving one another but Wonbin had a kind of soft energy that combined with the lull of the night. It made you want to spill your everything out to him on the table, which was slightly terrifying. 

You reflected on that thought after Juria had innocently asked you about the coffee Wonbin had gotten you, showing up to her apartment earlier to hang out. 

Without much reflection, you didn’t tell her about Wonbin because you knew she’d dig into what you two were doing. You couldn’t be bothered to try to dissect it too much, knowing that it’d make you start to overthink and stress. 

So when your friend catches you smiling down at your CDs, she doesn’t say anything, only keeping your seemingly better mood to herself for now. 

You both get ready for tonight’s shift at the Fix, in no rush since you two had an hour and a half before you two had to be at the nightclub to start pre-shift duties. Eunseok swings by with boba; you, Juria, and Seok’s little ritual for whenever you three were manning the bar on Thursdays. 

At 8:45pm, three of you head out to walk to the nightclub, a short distance from Juria’s place to work. The night is pretty slow with a small rush of people at 10pm. Otherwise, tonight didn’t seem too busy and practically almost everyone was slowly filling out the dead club by 11:15. 

Based on Sungchan’s and Chisa’s location, they were both already at Sion’s and Wonbin’s place, celebrating Jurin’s return to the city. You had asked Wonbin for his address earlier in the day when he had dropped off the coffee, so you led the way after Eunseok helped lock up the club for the night. 

You can feel Juria’s slightly nervous energy radiating off her as you near the complex and head into the elevator to the top. 

Hugging her arm to your side, you whisper, “We can leave whenever you want if it’s too much.” 

She only scoffs, playing off her anxiety. “I’ll be fine! Besides, I promised I’d be civil. I’ll just stay away from the devil incarnate at all times.”

Eunseok pulls a face at that, unbelieving of the blonde woman. “When has that ever worked with you two, huh? You guys can’t stay away from one another.” 

Juria swings her bag lightly at your tall friend. “Have some faith in me, will you asshole? Besides, I have a boyfriend now, you know.”

Eunseok only gathers Juria under his arm and rubs at her head in affection. “I’ll fend him off for you! Don’t have Leehan here now, do you?”

Juria rolls her eyes, to which you notice in the back of your head. Seems like she still wasn’t too thrilled about her boyfriend canceling tonight.

The music can be heard in the hallway to the penthouse when you reach the top floor. Down the hall, the paintings on the wall slightly vibrate with the power of the bass in the apartment. 

Eunseok knocks but after a few seconds of no answer, you three decide to just open the door. The scene that greets your eyes impresses you but, you guess you should’ve expected a really nice place considering what Anton and Wonbin do for a living. 

The spacious, open-plan penthouse had a wall of windows overlooking Main Avenue and beyond into the city on the left, giving a great ambience. Warm lighting surrounds the room, mainly in the living and kitchen area where wine glasses and champagne flutes are being passed around. 

Chi, Jurin, and Shotaro are in the kitchen close to the front door where you three are near the finger food. Immediately, Chi exclaims when noticing your arrivals, giving tipsy hugs and kisses to you and Juria’s cheeks.

Eunseok daps Shotaro up and as they catch up, Chi hands you two champagne. Both you and Juria are clearly on the eye out for certain people but Chi doesn’t notice. 

“Let’s find the woman of the hour, shall we?” Chi says, looking around the room and spotting Jurin’s short black bob in the small crowd, “Oh, there she is!”

You follow Chisa’s lead, interrupting Jurin’s conversation with excited greetings. The two women she was talking to excuse themselves for you four to catch up and you all sit down on the plush couch.

“You are glowing, did you know that? Germany really did something to you.” You laugh, teasingly touching the sunglasses on Jurin’s head. 

“Why, thank you!” Jurin flutters her lashes, “Of course, I had to get another set of sunglasses; you know me well. I could talk about my work trip forever but please… update me on everything. I heard some chaos ensued while I was gone.” 

Juria only shakes her head, “Everything was blown way out of proportion, probably more so if you heard stuff from the guys. Anyways, I wanted to tell you I’m officially with Leehan now.”

“Leehan?” Jurin questions, tilting her head, “Wait, is this real estate broker guy?” 

Juria’s eyebrows raise, nodding, “Yes! You actually introduced me to him like… a month ago?”

“Aw, that’s so nice! He’s sweet!” Jurin pouts in happiness to your blonde friend.

Chi taps on Juria’s arm, “Wait, I thought you said you couldn’t make it tonight. What happened?” 

“It’s nothing,” Juria waves off, taking a sip of her champagne, “Leehan had a last-minute work thing. I’ll see him tomorrow so I figured I’d come by and see our sweet Jurin back.”

“You haven’t seen Tonie, have you?” Jurin looks around, “Don’t worry, I genuinely gave him an ass whooping for the scene he caused at the Fix last weekend.” 

“Right,” You laugh, looking over to Eunseok, Taro, and Chi animatedly chatting to one another about it in the corner, given Seok’s exaggerated movements, “It was well deserved by the way.” 

“That it was.” Says a voice from behind you, and you turn to see Wonbin leaning on the couch’s backing, “Hi, ladies.”

Chi pats the seats beside her and Jurin, “Come join!”

“Me too!” Sion says, hopping over the couch from behind Wonbin and taking the spot beside you. 

You try your hardest to not stare at Wonbin’s attractive profile for too long, his hair styled tonight. He looks incredibly good with a black zip jacket and white tee on, his eyebrow slit more on display with his usual dark strands away from his forehead. 

“Where’s Sohee? I was looking forward to seeing him!” Sion grins, to which you exclaim, going to pull your phone from your pocket. 

“He said he was showing up around this time, he texted me he was on his way a little bit ago,” You mutter, reading back your messages with your coworker, “You said it was okay he brought his girlfriend?”

Sion shrugs, “The more, the merrier! Who’s his girlfriend, by the way?”

You’re about to explain when your phone buzzes, telling you Sohee had just arrived. Getting up with Sion to head to the door, you two excuse yourselves when Wonbin keeps a close eye on you.

Opening the door, you greet Sohee with a big smile and hug. Peeking behind his shoulder is a beautiful brunette woman with soft features and big eyes. You happily greet her, oblivious to Sion’s frozen, slightly panicked expression at seeing this Gaeul Sohee had brought. 

Gaeul is cheerful, happily exchanging words with you, when you finally catch the odd looks between Sohee and Sion. They seem to be having a silent exchange on Gaeul’s presence but you ignore it in favor of bringing them inside.

Taking the lead to grab the two newcomers' drinks, Sion had quietly pulled Sohee to the side to speak in his ear. You’re curious but decide to entertain Gaeul by asking her questions, finally meeting who your close coworker has been talking to for a while now. 

Sohee definitely deserved someone good for him so this was your chance to suspect Gaeul out. 

She’s incredibly sweet and bubbly, which you tried hard to match her energy well. As Gaeul is talking about what she does for a living, you subtly look past her to see Sohee’s very expressive faces, mixed between shock, confusion, and disbelief. 

You’re honestly scared of what those two could be discussing, seeing as it could only be about the woman you’re conversing with right now. Finally, Sion makes eye contact with you, desperately making a no-no gesture to his throat, eyes wide and lips tight. 

You’re afraid you couldn’t control your face in time because Gaeul catches on, turning around to look for Sohee. Instead though, her eyes catch on someone else in the kitchen. 

“Yujin?”

“Gaeul? Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?”

Sion licks his lips, fully turning around with his hand flying up to his head as if the worst thing had just occurred.

Wait… Yujin?

You knew this name… from Wonbin last night. It was an ex he had told you about. No, wait… what? 

You’re frozen to your spot, mind spinning and trying to make sense of how these two know each other, and more importantly, why Wonbin’s ex of all people was here, when someone makes a noise behind you. 

Slipping around, you see Wonbin with his arm tightly around Seunghan, who’s clearly thrown off with the presence of Gaeul. Wonbin is completely still, conflicted on what to do when Seunghan starts getting upset fast, face contorted in loathing.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Hannie?”

You get whiplash from the attitude in Seunghan’s tone, never once hearing such animosity come from the kind guy before. Meeting Wonbin’s eyes, they’re frozen with a big, big warning written in them. 

Shit was about to hit the fan. Again.

|

(ignore timestamps unless stated otherwise)

author's note: mess mess mess!!!!

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pls comment, dm, or send an ask to join/leave the taglist.

(c) hrtfelt4u 2025

[yuwushi]

★ SELLING MY MOOTS

ib @https-lvesick !!! i thought this idea/game was so cute… i hope u guys dont mind the tag! i love each and every one of u so much

@ddolbyong

pros sohee lover / insane music taste / will text u back super quickly / writes the most poetic beautiful fluffy works ever / sends u her whole fyp

cons Sends U Her Whole Fyp. / chronically online / professional crash out victim… / doesnt have enough motivation to finish her wips and then blames u for not giving her enough emotional support

price $70 and a pack of gummy bears

@chenlezip

pros cute / pretty tattoos / super comfortable person to talk to, will listen to ur vents and give u all the reassurance u need / writes the cutest stuff ever (and also the craziest… chenle basketball court…) / cute

cons u will develop cuteness aggression when talking to her

price changed my mind shes not for sale

@susicheng

pros WRITES THE BEST STUFF (u will develop an addiction to her works) / winwin truther / super fun to talk to / very very very extremely supportive / will send u previews of her works / funny / buzz cut vernon enthusiast / she's basically me but with a different name

cons Too Mysterious…

price a billion dollars and winyang or buy us as a package deal for $10 i cant let my wife go mb

@injvns

pros renjun lovebot / sweet pretty kind beautiful cute gorgeous / has the craziest stories for u… drops lore like no other / writes the fluffiest works

cons disappears randomly for a week but thats only bc shes busy… so basically theres no cons

price a million dollars and u have to set her school on fire

@https-lvesick

pros the cutest person ever / will send u previews/spoilers of her works, makes u feel so special / super supportive and lovely / the best works ever, extremely talented

cons too sweet for her own good

price a million dollars and ningning

@wonbin-truther

pros sends u previews/spoilers of her works / SO HOT, has tons of piercings / honestly one of the best authors i know, writes both written fics and smaus extremely well / will text u randomly about anything and everything, so fun to talk to

cons makes EXTREMELY bad decisions when shes drunk… / drops the craziest lore about herself on a random afternoon (makes u go insane ON A RANDOM AFTERNOON)

price eight million dollars and u have to get jiwoong to live with her

@lyvhie

pros cutest haechanf sunflower ever / writes the most amazing work, so so so so talented ull get addicted / so sweet and fun to talk to

cons literally none shes Actually perfect

price a million dollars but ill just buy her back with my kidneys u cant take my lyvpie away from me

@106alibi

pros SOOO CREATIVE and talented, has the best ideas for fics and writes the most interesting/fluffiest stuff ever / biggest wishzennie / extremely lovely and sweet / very supportive!!!! / easy to talk to, very comfortable to be around

cons might leave u for mark or yushi

price 106 million dollars

[lacunammmm]

Also, I think I say this to all Tumblrites who rant about MHA, but... You may be interested in Worm.

Short meta-story is, its author spent several years practicing his style on drafts and accumulating ideas, then took literary lessons that helped him overcome his main barriers, and over the course of couple years banged out 1.7 million word FREE web novel, two chapters a week (plus occasional donation goal bonuses) by an ironclad self-imposed schedule.

Wildbow LOVED Worm at the time of writing it. He cherished every character, and interludes showing POVs of others than the protagonists made some people change opinions on some of them - in the positive direction. Now, over the course of its sequel Ward fanbase kind of spoiled it, but still, it was clear he was doing what he wanted, how he wanted.

The power system is very elegant. Once you really get into it, you will not get out of it, and it makes sure every power is very uniquely literally tailored to be "perfect"(note the quotation marks) fit for its user. If you ever get to that point, I am interested in hearing what you think your power would be, at least in broad strokes ;3c

It is a frequent view on the dedicated subreddit to see a post go "I have finished Worm. I think I will re-read it again some day later" which, if you come back to its length, is an indication of peoples opinion on it.

Now, I will give fair warning: When the introduction says "if you need content warnings, this work may be not for you" it is NOT a conservative "ha-ha, triggered" taunt, but rather a genuine estimation of Worms contents. Also author has his own biases fairly aligned with less-than-perfectly-aware cishet man, but honestly to my reading it never really came to a tipping point. But damn, it is good in a way very few if any other works I encountered in capepunk have been.

Have I mentioned that it is FREE yet?

I was heavily into Worm. I got into it via fanfiction, as many people do. After absorbing knowledge of the world mainly through fanfics, I decided to read the story itself so I’d be able to win internet arguments. The ultimate power move in the Worm fandom. You can shut down and dumpster any smug fanboy who hasn’t actually read the story he claims to be a fan of with your superior knowledge of having engaged with the thing we’re discussing. I was right there when Wildbow was posting chapters of Ward. I’d read them within hours of them coming out, then hop on the meme subreddit to post some memes. Ward’s ending actually hurt me worse than MHA’s ending. I was having a pretty good time too up until the end. But there’s a reason the fandom only talks about Worm and people aren’t so much into Ward. Mainly because everyone fell in love with and soul bonded to Taylor Hebert, and the Vicky of Ward is radically different from Taylor. Worm is an okay story: if you only stick to what’s actually written in it. The guy has loads of Word Of Gods that the fandom complies where scores of mechanics and tidbits that were not shown in the actual story are fleshed out. The fanfic scene is tiresome as the audience expects you to have an encyclopedic knowledge of everything the man says in random discord groups that suddenly become the new canon. You could wake up in the morning and be posting on a discussion thread, and suddenly there's a new lore drop that totally changes things. The WOGS can conflict and contradict established lore and whatever is newest becomes what it is. See: Him getting annoyed at memes and deciding to retcon Browbeat’s death. It was absolutely hilarious and the meme subreddit was fantastic at the time. Someone made a meme where they’d rotate a picture of Browbeat every day and we’d upvote it every time.

The author wrote an extensive WOG about how Browbeat eventually drifted away from The Wards and found other ways to solve his problems and just left. So that makes it even funnier when people would count down the time to when Browbeat would make his reappearance in Ward, so Wildbow just retroactively kills him off. He didn’t want to reintroduce the guy or give people what they wanted, he just got mad about the memes and how the discussion would be filled with a handful of browbeat shit posts each new chapter. Oh, I just remembered, the memes about "X character is Browbeat in disguise and he changed himself with his biokinesis!" It was soooo good.

Easily some of my favorite moments in any fandom. Absolutely hysterical. I’ve never seen anything like it and we probably won’t again. I remember when Parian's true power wasn't revealed so people made theories on it. I wrote a short fic where Parian locks in after the death of some comrades and reveals her true power and beats Behemoth. My interpretation of it was that she could make strings completely unbreakable and was sandbagging. She wraps the guy in them and then shears through his body and dices him like a slap chop. Naruto was what was big back then, so I framed it as her unleashing her secret hidden forbidden technique. I think it was like a year later where we actually learned the canon explanation for how she'd stalemate Behemoth. Some wild speculation until then. I'm reminded of another one. Wildbow answered a question about a heroic Grayboy, and then said that Grayboy wouldn't be able to beat Leviathan 1 vs 1 and would be killed without backup. How's Leviathan kill the unkillable Grayboy? Wildbow didn't elaborate. Once again, more secret hidden forbidden techniques were speculated. My personal favorite is that Leviathan can secretly compress an oceans worth of water into the palm of his hand, then unleash it in an annihilating blast. Basically an aquatic style rasengan. It was fantastic for fanfics because it meant you could have Leviathan pull out whatever you wanted and it makes sense because the author explicitly told you this guy's a mega beast. WAAAAY more powerful than he pretended to be, even stronger than we expected. In this short fic, we've got the destroyed docks and Levithan retreats after he ended the life of Gray Lad (the hero Gray boy.) So then Armsmaster swears revenge. Gray Lad was volatile. Gray Lad is the nuclear option you send in for the greatest of threats. Gray Lad is capable of, has in the past, and has no remorse about inflicting fates worse than death on people. But he was a hero who did the right things for the wrong reasons. That last line is another meme, by the way. We loved to sprinkle it into posts or stories. Worm created an absolutely rich environment for fanfiction. I’ve read some really good Worm stories. Since you brought it to mind, I recall what it was about Worm that attracts people so much: the sandbox. You’ve got Brockton Bay where he captured the voice of a handful of characters really, really well so getting into how they’d respond if you change a variable is easy. Lung, E88, Coil. Then there’s factions like The Elite, The Teeth. Endbringer attacks to shake things up. Lots and lots of possibilities. I like some of the WOGs, though, since they spawn a few interesting what ifs. For example, an alternate reality with no gold morning because Echidna was allowed to rampage and consumed hundreds of natural trigger capes, thus killing off the main antagonist via energy drain. This is absolutely hilarious and all it costs us is a bunch of parahumans. No one could have known that at the time, but the author told us it was possible in a random post on spacebattles. We got into lots of theory crafting over on the CYOA community. I was big into Jumpchain and there’s lots of Worm CYOAS. That spawns its own genre of discussion and people often talked about problem solving. The world is an interesting puzzle to be solved, or doom entirely just because of your arrival. One of the fun discussions is the idea of “What would you do if Isekai’d to Worm?” And the answer is, “Doom the world just by being here if you read Ward, because the Simurgh now knows everything and she’s not going to lose this time.” Peak dark comedy. I've never loved a fandom more than my time in the heyday of Worm and Ward. I'm very thankful for the awesome times. Thanks a lot for this ask. I go years without thinking of Worm unless someone brings it up in a CYOA discussion and then I reminisce on the fandom I was heavily into. This trip down memory lane was excellent.

[maplethedarkshine]

The true chaos

Crack theory/headcanon/Somewhat of an au(?)/insane rambling/character analysis

Ok so I WILL do a crackshit theory about how Sonic is actually just the positive manifestation of chaos and this the same being

First one to say "so this is just the Kirby lore" will be sent to the guillotine /j

This is barely a theory, I'll basically be 10% making actual points and 90% just saying stuff because it sounds narratively cool

Obligatory "English isn't my first language don't give me shit if something is written poorly"

OK SO CHAOS AND SONIC PARALLELS

Letting Sonic speak for himself for a moment, the game itself brings to life the parallels this is not something I'm pulling out of my ass

They're both one in the same as the song says, forces of chaos (literally) that do what they think is right, the only difference is that Chaos' heart is tinted with pain, and as the song itself says, evil, while Sonic is devoid of it, and in a way, pure

Also line from the song that always stuck up to me:

"I'm not gonna think this way nor will I count on others"

Which is such an odd thing for Sonic to say, right? Why wouldn't he count on others? In the game the other characters are who gathered the chaos emeralds and the people cheering him up is what got him to transform into super sonic

Except that's wrong, because what Sonic's doing there is appealing to his feelings, because he understands Chaos' reasoning

That first part, "I'm not gonna think this way", because he can't say he gets how he feels. Again, he's devoid of that pain that's been tormenting Chaos for thousands of years by this point. He's not delusional, he know there's no way he can say with a straight face that he gets it.

What he does understand is that narrow-mindness, because he's like that too.

Just like the game itself says, both are using the same power, just one the negative energy of the emeralds and the other the positive

Two sides of the same coin

What's the difference between the two then? That Chaos has closed himself out from the world and let himself be consumed by pain, while Sonic has... His heart opened.

The entire Song is Sonic trying to appeal to Chaos to "Open his heart". Because he knows that trapping him back on the master emerald would only make it all worse, because such a free spirit like he knows that the worst thing you can do to another is removing that freedom to them, and because what got Chaos to be so corrupted is exactly being trapped- not only in a physical sense, but in a phycological way

He trapped himself. And while on the boss battle the only thing that happened was Sonic beating the shit out of him until he got it, the song tells another story

To make first point short: Open your heart itself makes parallels from the two and directly says they're in a way one in the same, both set on their ways, and Sonic gets Chaos to a point, and that's why he can't let him have his way, because he's trapped, and he needs to be set free from that hatred to be able to make a decision. And once he is, his decision is to stop the destruction leave peacefully

For a so claimed "God of destruction", destruction isn't his natural way if being, it got imposed to him; chaos is neither a good or a bad force of nature, it just is. And for a being literally named by it, he seemed to only embody the negative parts of it...

So where is the positive part of chaos?

On Sonic.

Sonic is Chaos. Sonic is the good of Chaos, the good that got banished from him the day the echidnas got too greedy with power

Ever thought how curious is that SA1 was the first game were Sonic has green eyes? Green as in the same color of Chaos' eyes? Green as in "they're both blue and green they have almost the same color palette"? Or green as in the color of the master emerald, mainly notorious for its connections to Chaos?

Also outside of the things Open your heart already implies, there's so more parrales between the two...

I mean, being of water vs guy infamous for not going well with water can't get more obvious than that

Sonic is, as a character, meant to be the representation of freedom, that's where the comparison to wind comes from... And what's more free than chaos? No direction, doing whenever you want as you wish, isn't that what Sonic is? He's notorious for never calling himself a hero, one of his more iconic phrases "what you see is what you get, just a guy who loves adventure"

Sonic is chaos (the concept) on the way that he's freedom, doing as he pleases, liberating, never changing his ways

Chaos (the character) is chaos (the concept) on the way that he's directionless, he's destructive, and never changing his ways

Sonic is Chaos (the character), because they represent the same concept on different ways

Sonic already has a villain to present the danger of order (Dr. Eggman, aka: mr control freak), so Chaos presents the dangers of chaos. "Do as you please" and "Keep your convictions straight" sounds good on paper until those convictions leeds you to hurt people and doing whenever you want leads you to causing pain and suffering.

Because thinking of it, Chaos had good intentions- he was protecting the chao from the echidna tribe that were hurting them for selfish reasons- he was protecting them, but after that? After that it was simply rage for the sake of rage- he flooded a city full of people that weren't even born when the incident happened and have nothing to do with it- people DIED, yet he wasn't changing his ways- his convictions never changed, and since he still thought the Chao were endangered he did what he did last time: protect

Those are, in paper, the same principles as Sonic on Sonic and the black night: do what you think is right, no matter if that will make some see you as the villain... Except what Chaos did is CLEARLY different and wrong

Because, as much as they're both selfish (selfish as in "most Decisions they make are purely based on what they want"), Sonic is coming from love and Chaos from hatred. On paper maybe Sonic could be seen as selfish (example: leaves station square as soon as Chaos is defeated because the rebuilding is no longer his problem) yet his heart is always on the right place. And maybe he just does whenever he wants, but what he wants is what's good for the people, so his selfishness turns him into a selfless being. Chaos is "doing whenever he wants" from a misguided place: he thinks he's doing what's the best for the Chao, just like Sonic does what's best for the people, when in reality the Chao don't even need him to do allat. Even if he's running by instinct, he's not achieving what he's trying to get, and his selfishness is just that- selfish, even if it came from a selfless core

Sonic's motto is basically to help the world only when it can no longer help itself, while Chaos "helps" it when the help is not only no longer needed, but actively just making it all difficult to the ones he's trying to protect, THAT'S were they differ

That's why, while both "selfish", one his presented as clearly right and the other clearly wrong. Because Sonic knows what he's doing, while Chaos is too blinded to see the truth. But once he gets some sense to him and sees that the chao are ok he does the exact same thing as Sonic: he simply leaves. Doesn't stay to try to fix what he did, because he knows that at this point the world can help itself, and he won't do the same mistake he did of trying to help at a point where is no longer needed

Sonic got him to open his heart (I'm so sorry for bringing it up so much I just love the song-)

Ok, so we got to how Sonic and Chaos are the same in a thematic way. Cool. That's nice

Now here's why Sonic and Chaos are literally the same person

Now this part I don't have as solid as an argument so take is as more lf a fun AU thing

Early jp classic Sonic was very much treated like a fairy-tale character. A mystical creature that would appear and disappeared when the adventure is over, and even in more modern games he's sort of like that (come on guys he's literally summoned from the sky in SatBk how more obvious can it get...?)

He's, in most game characterizations, a flat character. He doesn't grow because he doesn't NEED to grow. He seems to be inmune to corruption (Examples: In unleashed he's unaffected by dark gaia's influence outside of becoming more furry. On frontiers he smiles through the pain to the point Sage questions him what the hell he's doing) He's unable to be corrupted, as he's usually not the one to learn something from the story, rather the one delivering the lesson to another character (ak: Sonic 2 him indirectly giving confidence to Tails by just being there. Sonic and the secret rings he being what brought Sara our of her toxic relationship. The one SatBK monolog everyone already knows)

Sonic is a lot of things, a lot of them bad: impatient, a bit of a brat, annoying, but on top of everything he's pure. Sonic is incapable of evil. And thus him not changing his ways ever is GOOD

Chaos IS corruption, as in that's what defines the his character and character arc- because he's, unlike Sonic, NOT a flat character, in fact he's the one that receives the lesson by Sonic in Sa1

He's also treated as this mystical being, except that instead of being a fairly-tale it's a prophecy of a disaster. Chaos is not only capable of evil, but rather he IS evil itself for a good part of the story, and thus him not changing his ways is BAD, even if it goes under the same core premise as Sonic's motto of freedom- a decision made from blinded pain is not a decision made in your full freedom after all

That evil is not inherent to him; once again, it was imposed- forced onto him. And when he got purified... What is his role on the next time he happens to appear in the story, when he's given the freedom of actually choosing without being tied down by the chains of old wounds? To only make himself known when the master emerald is in danger (said in Sonic battle and the sonic forces comic prequel)

On other words, he only helps when the world can't help itself

He literally turned into Sonic the moment his heart was devoid of evil

Sonic was not only reaching out to Chaos, he was reaching out to himself- a part of him he never got to terms with, as "hate" is not something he's capable of, not in this form. He not only helped Chaos, but he also processed that hate- a hate that he never got to experience, but it's indirectly "his"

... Except it's not his and never was his

Because of course, realistically, IF this theory/headcanon was right, Sonic would see himself and Chaos as different beings. Because who cares of what was before? Yeah, what IF he came from the guy? He's no longer that person, and be will not get tied by boring concepts as the strings of the past

This is a kind of Solaris Mephiles-iblis situation, except while Mephiles is obsessed with being "one in the same" and "complete" again, Sonic will give the autonomy to Chaos to decide to be his own being. Sonic is Sonic and Chaos is Chaos, he will not do any attempt to go back to being "complete", because he already IS completely, and then he helped Chaos be complete to... Why change what's not broken?

Chaos is happy being a guardian of the master emerald and Sonic himself is happy just being some guy who loves adventure. To make them go back to what was before would be to force a sense of order on two beings of chaos, which is counterproductive. I'm sure none of the two would agree with it

If, as Open your heart says, the fundamental difference between Sonic and Chaos is one being trapped by hatred and the other devoid from it, and then the moment Chaos is set free from that feeling he takes an almost identical fairy-tale like creature role Sonic also has... Then what does that mean?

Perfect Chaos is a fake god because he's not truly "perfect", the resentment is what's keeping him from it, and the moment he lets go of it he truly reaches the perfect state of chaos... And basically turns to Sonic

Sonic is perfect chaos, as he's the good of it

Ever wondered where he comes from? Game Sonic never ever had an origin story, at best an "He comes from Christmas island, no we will not tell you or show you ever where or what Christmas Island is"

He doesn't seem to have parents or an origin story. As far as the world is concerned there's been this blue hedgehog wandering around and randomly helping people then disappearing to never be seen ever again. Ever since that Dr. Robotnik guy has been causing trouble the hedgehog has always been there to stop him, as if he came out of nowhere... As if he spawned thin air

And perhaps that's the easiest reasoning. Perhaps he DID come out of nowhere. Because you can't keep trapped chaos (the concept). It WILL find a way to get out, and it won't listen to you, and it's only agenda is to oppose order

And what happens when a destructive force comes and imposes order on the world? In a way Eggman created his worst enemy... Sa1 was not the first time he liberated Chaos

Because when the world needed him the most it brought back his ashes to life into a form devoid from the hatred and pain that caused his perish on the first place. Made the good that was vanished from his heart and the kindness forced out of him into a being of flesh and bone. And from his wounds of the past there'll be something beautiful for the present. The pureness that the echidnas took away from him so many years ago will be reborn

There'll be brought chaos

They'll ne brought freedom

There'll be Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog

[wolvertooth]

i feel like im at the point of being a gatekeepy comic fan whenever i answer peoples questions so im gonna just like. break that mindset. cuz its all bullshit anyway, yall shouldnt be listening to one guys opinion ^^;

besides, the sabrevine plot we all know n love isnt even technically the original, its retcon of the 1991 weapon x comics, the plot being created in order to try to introduce logans new backstory into the wolverine comics. they took the bits of sabretooth referring to himself as logans father in the uncanny xmen comics when they first met and turned that into just being false implants, to help introduce the concept of some of wolverines memories being fake. they also took the silverfox story from issue 10, and retconned that into also being a false implant. the reason why that issue feels so out of place compared to the newer stuff is literally cuz it was just a random story, not attached to any other lore at the time. (then at somepoint it got retconned that a lotta the earlier sabretooth stuff before issue 41 was actually a clone working for sinister, which breaks the continuity of it being implants, since it wasnt even him)(shoutout to the recent Wolverine: Deep Cut btw, it goes over that a bit while having some good sabrevine team up moments)

plots also just straight up get forgotten about if another plot ends up getting favored. like, originally there wasnt any team x. logan n vic were still working for the program, but they were partners. tho, there were still other people on the team—

(Wolverine 1988, issue #62)

(kestrel is wraith btw) before maverick, it was actually mastodon being the 3rd on their team. but after the team x plot got introduced in the xmen 1991 series, those 2 plots had to get altered a bit and merged. in later comics, the team x plot got picked over the partner plot, simply due to it not being as popular. then it got completely changed in the 2003 series with romulus, and again in the 2010 series, etc etc

the romulus thing is another big example of the favoring of plots even during the same run. early into the 2003 run, the weapon x plot was retconned, changing silverfox into ‘feral’, a feral type mutant who was an experiment of weapon x that they intended to breed. the cabin still existed, but its not really explained why or when it got lived in, or even what happened in it, just that logan and her did live there at somepoint. the plot ends with sabretooth fighting and killing her, but out of the reason that he was told she’d take over his place and he’d become obsolete

but then, issue 50 comes around and that retcon is completely abandoned, in place for a NEW retcon about logan n vic being decedents of a species called the lupine, and that species has been fighting for like. forever. and some deity named romulus was in charge of the weapon x program. and this one tends to be the one that gets talked about cuz, again, it was just a more popular plot

even the james howlett plot is a retcon, since there already was a childhood backstory for wolverine in issue 25. his story is just constantly evolving, nothing ever being truly set in stone, everything being retcons and au’s of eachother. i actually encourage people to go read the more obscure issues, cuz you’ll likely find plots that have never been talked about before that can be used for inspiration! one of my fav fics that ive written was actually based on the feral/native arc i mentioned 👍

seriously, theres sooooo many plots that only last a couple issues and then get completely abandoned….so much potential out there…….