#they're also on the same level power wise

[heartbreakercupcake]

This is how I play them out in my little world

[kirain]

Sigh....Galemancers really love to move the goal post when it comes to the grooming accusations huh? You found out Gale was a fully grown MAN when Mystra slept with him so now you have to say, "Well then he was emotionally groomed and the power dynamic is too vast." Mystra is a neutral good goddess because she's Midnight, who was a neutral good human. She hates that her magic has to be used for good and evil. Ao makes her share it evenly but she'd rather not. She would never do anything to hurt Gale. The writers of the game even confirmed she's not a groomer. People like you also downplay the point of Gale's entire story arc, which is he should've listened to Mystra! The whole point of his personal quest is he needs to learn to humble himself and listen to his goddess! He has no one to blame for his downfall but himself.

There's no "post" to move, anon. The game and lore give us all the context we need. Grooming doesn't only apply to children, and people have proven right and left that Mystra is terrible at relationships. She's petty and abusive when she isn't obeyed by her partners, and that's been the case with all of her iterations. Even the narrator describes her as a "jealous goddess" when you visit her shrine. Plus, your information is wrong on many accounts; the most pertinent being that the Mystra of BG3/5E isn't technically Midnight. Cyric and Shar killed her, reducing her to her godly essence (lore-wise that means she died). The current Mystra is an amalgamation of the vestiges of Mystryl, Mystra, and Midnight, as told in the novel Elminster Enraged.

Now, this is about to get complicated, as it always does with Mystra, so from here on out I'll be referring to Mystra #1 as Mystryl, Mystra #2 as Mystra #2, Mystra #3 as Midnight, and Mystra #4 as 5E Mystra. Alright, let's get started.

Elminster had to reform the fallen goddess by giving her fragments of all three iterations of Mystra. Since all three iterations are combined, our current 5E Mystra embodies the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. There's even a conversation with The Simbul (one of the Seven Sisters and a Chosen of Mystra) where the newly reformed 5E Mystra speaks of Elminster as her "longest lover". This puzzles The Simbul because that was something of the old Mystra (Mystra #2), not Midnight. The new 5E Mystra replies that she has become a combination of the memories of Mystryl, Mystra #2, and Midnight. This is all in chapter 25-30 of Elminster Enraged. I know it's confusing, but in short: 5E Mystra is not Midnight anymore, and the leading mind is clearly that of Mystra #2, hence her extremely poor judgement—a recurring theme with her character.

Mystryl and Mystra #2 were originally lawful neutral. The alignment changed to neutral good when Midnight took up the mantle, because Midnight herself was a neutral good person. But now it seems 5E Mystra is true neutral, because you are right, anon; Ao won't allow her to do whatever she wants. Midnight tried and was forbidden. 5E Mystra absolutely does not have the same level of humanity or kindness as Midnight, and that may be because Mystryl had no human consciousness and Mystra #2 was a mess.

Regardless of her alignment, she must embody her domain by Ao's decree, which means she needs to spread magic across all Realmspace. Since she has to maintain the balance, she approaches good, neutral, and evil mages with potential opportunities. This isn't a criticism (that's just how godhood works), but rather proof that Mystra is absolutely capable of good and bad. I don't want to hear any more of this "she's a precious little bean and Gale's victim" nonsense. Even if she wants to be, she's not. As Kikitakite said in their post, she's done some fucked up things.

Whether or not the writers intended to make Mystra a groomer, that's exactly what they did. Sometimes writers don't realise they've written an abusive character until they're criticised. Take writer of The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks, for example. He didn't realise he'd written Noah to be an abusive piece of shit until Ryan Gosling pointed it out himself. Gosling has gone on record many times to say he hates Noah, and experts have labeled him an unrealistic and emotionally abusive/manipulative character. The same can be said for Stephenie Meyer, who wrote some of the most celebrated toxic relationships in recent media—with a dash of borderline pedophilia on the side. Therapists have weighed in extensively to tell people that Bella and Edward's relationship isn't healthy and shouldn't be emulated in real life. Indeed, perhaps the best thing to come out of the entire franchise is Robert Pattinson's hatred of Edward and the series as a whole. Jacob's actor, Taylor Lautner, even argued with Meyer's on set because of how weird the "imprinting" segment was and he didn't want to come off as predatory. Meyer argued it was "romantic". 😕

Even if you don't agree Gale was groomed, Mystra is flagrantly responsible for his insecurities and she never should've put her hands on him. The power dynamic is too vast, and even god Gale (conceited as he is) realises it by the end. He only stays in a relationship with Tav if they allow him to ascend them alongside him as his equal. He recognises that anything else would be unhealthy and unacceptable. Also, I researched high and low regarding your claim, but none of the devs have dispelled the idea that Mystra is a groomer. In fact, the most I could find was one dev simply saying, "To Gale it was love, but he didn't know any better." If anything, that only confirms he was confused and didn't know what to do. Their "relationship" was a stunningly horrible idea from the start and that's not on Gale, it's on the literal cosmic being who initiated it.

Moreover, Gale was very likely 17 when Mystra revealed herself to him. This perfectly fits into the 5E Forgotten Realms timeline. If so, no, he absolutely wasn't a grown man. He was a teenager. Mystra may not have slept with him until he was in his 20's, but that still makes it a disgusting teacher-turned-lover situation. Gale even tells us he was "young" when she took him into her fold, and he was only eight years old when Elminster started their lessons. Remember, Elminster is Mystra's biggest apologist. He would've taught Gale to revere her, which means there was almost never a point in his life when Mystra wasn't the main focus. You can tell by the way he speaks about her in Act 1. He's in awe, he's excited, he's proud she chose him. That does something to a child. Something irreversible. If anything, Elminster is complicit in what happened. I've said this before, but he couldn't even be bothered to visit Gale himself. He sent a simulacrum.

As for your accusation that I'm "downplaying" Gale's story arc—you're damn right I am, because the writers made me! Most D&D players I know aren't very happy with how Mystra is portrayed in the game, and that's probably because even they know she isn't presented in a very flattering light. If you really think about it, it's obvious what the writers were going for, but they failed. For example, you said Gale should've listened to Mystra, right? Well, in Act 1 he admits his ambition was his undoing, blames himself for his downfall, and by Act 2 he's literally ready to off himself for her. In fact, he's the only one who sees her ultimatum as justified. Every other companion says she's being cruel and unreasonable. If Gale actually blows himself up at the end of Act 2, the results are catastrophic. The brain is destroyed, yes, but the tadpoles, free of the Absolute's control, complete their transformation and infect/enslave the entire Sword Coast. Anon. She. Is. Stupid. Even the Narrator is like, "You wanna ... you wanna try that again?"

The entirety of Act 2 is Gale learning he shouldn't listen to Mystra. And then she has the audacity to lecture him in Act 3? If he'd listened, it would've been the end of everything. Maybe if Mystra was as infallible as she pretends to be, she would've put her three brains together and came up with a better, less vindictive plan. Because make no mistake, she wanted Gale to blow up in Act 2, which is ridiculous. I know this is an uncomfortable topic for some people, but gods aren't perfect, especially in fiction. They're flawed. They're selfish. Some of them are straight up assholes. The real irony of Gale's arc isn't that he has no one to blame but himself, it's that Mystra should blame herself. At no point does she even consider if she's being unreasonable or unfair. There's no self reflection whatsoever. And the writers expect me to think Gale's full of himself? I wonder where he got it.

Probably from his teacher. ✋🎤

[oh-no-its-bird]

Ok, so. Smashing together my recent posts (stoner Itama / the secret Senju weed empire money / co-dependent twins Itama and Tobirama) to make a cohesive narrative:

So, Itama survives AU.

In this, Itama and Tobirama are twins. They're very close, arguably closer to each other than Hashi is to either of them.

Growing up, after Kawarama died, Hashirama found a new friend in his boy by the river. Meaning the twins were sort of left to mourn on their own, their older brother no longer as interested in playing with them. They got to be almost dangerously codependent, and their father only encouraged it bc they were also training to fight as a duo, and the codependency made the team synergy go crazy hard.

On that note, they're absolutely terrifying in battle together for sure. They're nightmares on their own already, but together?? Let's say that as long as they're fighting side by side, they're on the same level as Hashirama himself.

Itama grows up to be a scientist like Tobirama, but in a different field of science— ✨️plants✨️

Itama is like, a bioengineer for plants. He's crossbreeding the fuck out of these bad boys, finding ways to amplify certain traits in some plants, erase them altogether in others, or mixing them up for the best of both worlds. Full doctor Frankenstein plant edition

It's fun bc he often gets help from both of his brothers, and he's also able to help the both of them in turn!

Hashirama helps with growing plants, meaning Itama doesn't have to wait the years this research would usually take. He can go from nothing to having his final product in days flat when it should have taken a fucking lifetime to do. If he fucks up it's no stress bc as long as he has the seeds, Hashirama can just grow him a new plant to start from! All he needs is one single seed and an entire world of new possibilities is unlocked.

On top of all that, the mokuton can affect the plants in ways growing by regular time doesn't, so Itama also gets to play with special mokuton plants too

Then Itama can give Hashirama all sorts of new plants to potentially use in battle, tho Hashirama doesn't seem to want to use want against the Uchiha. But like. He has them!! And it's fucking terrifying!!! Plus they can just in general bond over being plant enthusiasts. If Hashi finds a cool new plant or vice versa they can get excited about it together

Tobirama understands all to most of Itama's research, at least in theory, and will often help with his experiments. Likewise, Itama also understands all to most of Tobirama's own research (at least in theory) and can help him in return. Having their own specific fields of interest, they're often bringing a fresh pair of eyes and different thought process to the others experiments, and it's great for them both. SO many results.

Itama is let in on most of Tobirama's projects, and even if he's not helping he generally knows what he's working on and vice versa. They have few secrets and its actually just in general very good for Tobirama specifically. Like, mentally and support wise.

Because Itama never died to serve as that final push over the edge, and was instead there to offer emotional support, Tobirama didn't turn to necromancy. (If he had tho, Itama would have been fully on board— sorry Hashirama) Instead, maybe he's spending that time being even more focused on cool time/space jutsu or something.

So like, all grown up he's a poison specialist with a major wind chakra attribute and minor fire attribute. His main weapon is a pipe, which he just smokes normally on top of using its smoke as a weapon. He can put so much pressure into the smoke that it becomes physical, and can then be used as a blunt force weapon (on top of ofc the smoke being used as just smoke, and having different effects on its own)

He's immune to a lot of his smokes effects, but has special extra powerful versions of most of his go to weaponized smokes that are so strong they work even on him. Obviously, he doesn't usually use these in battle, but they're there as a last resort

Fun sort of chain reaction attack where he disperses some super flammable powder or smoke then tosses in a single spark and it goes up like fucking fireworks. Or a cool combo attack where Tobirama provides hella fog with whatever water is nearby, and Itama condenses it so thickly that it chokes out their enemies without having to lift a single finger.

He can make like, platforms of smoke to stand on or use as shields, and he's especially good at deflecting and redirecting enemy attacks with carefully condensed smoke shields summoned up at just the right angles. Like, imagine you throw a kunai and it bounces off some invisible platform, then off ANOTHER invisible platform, and somehow its still gaining momentum (propelled by summoned winds or wrapped in a slightly solidified veil of smoke thats moving it on its own) and hits you right in the eyes

He absolutely fucks around with making all SORTS of custom effects with whatever he's smoking, which also brings us to the idea that got me here in the first place ->

Ok so the joke about the Senju having a secret weed empire where they sell ultra special mokuton weed, but it happens fr in this AU bc of Itama.

Stoner Itama deciding he can make the weed even better and forgetting what the word self-control means and making objectively the best weed in the naruto world. Ultra delux genetically modified mokuton grown senju weed.

Tobirama kind of gets on him for it at first (not liking the idea of mind-altering substances) but then tries some and stares dead silent at a wall for 10 hours then silently gets up, makes several scientific breakthroughs, then passes out dead on the floor.

They get Hashirama in on it and start mass producing, then start selling it and very quickly and mostly accidentally create a secret senju weed empire (oops?) which also gives them hella funds or the war and other things

No one can even reproduce their weed bc they need the Mokuton to grow it right, they have no competition in the market. AND their product safety/quality is insane bc Tobirama's perfectionist ass helps oversee it

Bc of Itama's interference, Izuna lives, and when they make Konoha the weed money means the first shinobi war doesn't happen bc they can afford to bribe officials they couldn't before (and probably have a uhh. Much more relaxed Kage meeting that year.)

You can't go to war with Konoha !!! That's where all the best ninja weed comes from !!!

Itama and Izuna get along really well actually. Izuna's cringe fail ass does NOT know how to smoke and refuses to admit it, he also becomes Itama's favorite test subjects for new product bc he and his brothers tolerance levels are insane so they need like, a normal guy to try shit on

As a person, Itama is one of those really friendly, charming, easy to get along with guys who seem to have a ton of friends— but when you look a bit closer you quickly notice that while many of those friends share their woes with him, he doesn't really with them. He has lots of friends but isn't really close to any.

He's a pretty good mix of his brothers, seeming friendly and cheerful like Hashirama but much more down to earth, and with the same ruthless streak as Tobirama underneath all the gentle mannerisms. He might be more ruthless than either of his brothers when it really comes down to it, but he's very slow to strike or anger, and virtually no one but his brothers and Touka really know he even has that side to him.

He's Konoha's lead poisons expert, is 100% aware and helping Tobirama with all of his especially fucked up experiments, and honestly that should tell you enough— but most tend to get distracted by the soft smiles and sleepy expression.

Art interlude ->

Anyways uhhh. All of this only exists bc I started thinking ab stoner Itama getting dumped face first into modern Konoha with Izuna, the two of them having been hiding after pissing off Madara for unimportant reasons. They don't realize they're not in their Konoha, and proceed to run from Madara (who they still think is mad at them)

Meanwhile Madara is losing his fucking MIND trying to chase down the ghost of his brother, and also some guy...? Who is that actually? He doesnt really give a shit tbh, Izuna oh god please come back here— ARE YOU FUCKING HIGH RIGHT NOW?

@fashionredalert : Zetsu lived in fear of Itama because itama would have made him into an edible That's why zetsu is two colors, itama smoked one half of him before zetsu managed to escape. One half intact the other half charred black

Please?? The closest hes been to death in years.

Itama was put on this earth to smoke everything he physically can, he hasnt been sober since he was 13, he no longer knows the meaning of fear or sanity. If it can burn he can smoke it

Hes holding one of those tiny Zetsu's going "Hey look at this fucked up plant I found :DD" then taking it straight into the weed lab

Zetsu specifically had him killed in canon bc he knew he'd grow to be too powerful pass it on

[gallusrostromegalus]

AEIWAM : what are the divisions specialities actually ? Like obviously the 4th heal and the 11h fight but like. The 9th? Do crosswords?

BOY AM I GLAD YOU ASKED BECAUSE THIS IS SOME OF THE BEST RETROACTIVE WORLD BUILDING I HAD TO DO AND I'M PROUD OF IT.

So in canon, almost none of the guard squads have "specialist" jobs, mostly because it's not terribly important to the plot, and because the court guards were essentially formed as an ad-hoc mercenary gang to protect one city specifically, but since Yamamoto didn't have to remain loyal to any noble family specifically, he kept getting pulled in as an arbiter and more and more responsibilities heaped upon him until the Court guard squads were acting as a De-Facto government, until the old man got pissed off with being involved in everybody else's business and rounded up a gang of nerds to do that for him so he could go do sword stuff. Seriously, everything about the administrative Bullshit in Soul Society makes sense when viewed through the lens of 'this shit was made ad-hoc out of what was available by people who only kind of knew what they were doing.

So the main government of Soul Society functions approximately like so:

Royal Guard:

Only technically part of the government, the Royal guard consists of The Monk who is responsible for making sure nobody steals any more of the soul king's body parts, and the four people he chose to help/didn't want left unattended in the Spirit World: The Guy who makes Zanpaktou, the Guy who can (theoretically) heal the Soul King, the lady who can literally mess with the fabric of reality and the lady who can create new souls. They spend nearly all their time in the Royal Realm trying to prevent the universe from unrevealing further, and don't really have administrative power so much as if any one of them decided to, they could wreck house of anyone in the spirit world, so if they say something, the central 46 listens and obeys.

Central 46:

The Highest Administrative level, sets society-wide policies, mediates disputes between provinces, wrangles the noble houses, assigns aid and designs social programs. It's comprised of 46 sages and other wise people appointed by the 46 as they die off. IN THEORY "Let a bunch of academics and philosophers who presumably know what they're doing make policy" isn't *that* bad an idea by itself, but it got coupled with "Also, to make sure these guys aren't being bribed or politically pressured, let's keep them in near-total isolation :)" and that's when things got weird.

The Central 46 does try it's best to maintain a peaceful and prosperous society, but it's got to strike a weird balance and the isolation sure does not fucking help maintain a cognizant worldview.

Noble Houses:

So the soul society, by the way they measure time*, only JUST got out of a major warring states period because magical Germany invaded and the guy that lead the army also managed to get The Mandate Of Heaven, but a lot of those formerly-warring states are still around, especially the ones that stole pieces of the soul king. They're not governmental bodies, but the families have shitloads of money, private armed forces and political influence. Think of the worst possible combination of magacorporation, mercenary army and royal dynasty. The are, unfortunately, still a political force to be reckoned with.

*Badly.

Provincial Governors:

So the Soul Society is divided up into Districts like so:

(Embiggen to actually see the damn thing)

The Seireitei is in the center, with the districts counting out until the central 46 got to the outer edge they could theoretically get forces and/or emergency food to in under a month and declared everything after that "District 80" AKA "You're on your own" No taxes are collected in the 80th district and people who don't want to deal with the soul society government often try to strike it on their own out there.

Each of those little rectangles is a district, and each of them has approximately the same number of people living in it- the lower districts are densely populated and, due to their proximity to the Seireitei, well-developed. The districts generally get less developed and less densely populated as you get farter from the center, but this varies wildly by the competence of that district's Daimyo or Governor. West 51 is a much more developed district than it's position would dictate, because it's Daimyo is canny and made good use of it's mineral resources and position in inter-mountain shipping. South 14 Should be one of the nicest districts, but their Governor is a moron who keeps picking fights with the neighboring districts like he's allowed to annex them, and the district has been sanctioned from hell to breakfast over it.

Gotei-13 / Court Guard Squads:

Sort of the executive branch of the Central 46, founded out of Yamamoto's gang of criminals he rounded up to deal with the Quincy invasion back when Rome was collapsing. So the court guard acts out the orders of the Central 46, and *theoretically* has authority over the noble houses and provincial governors, but they are pretty much constantly dancing on the edge of another warring states period, so things can get... tricky.

ALSO DID NOT HELP that The Monk who guards what's left of the Soul King came down from the Royal Realm and foisted a bunch of trans-dimensional responsibilities onto them but the Specific duties of the 13 court guards in AEIWAM are as follows:

(It's worth noting that the order of the court guard squads was determined literally by the order that the 12 criminals signed the agreement with Yamamoto to protect the seireitei, not the order of importance)

Division 1: ADMINISTRATION Oh god there is so much coordination to do between the central 46, the running of internal affairs, recruitment, training new shinigami, coordinating assignments that take more than one division's input. securing and distributing funding, etc. It's main jobs are: assigning work based on policy from the central 46, running the Shinigami Academy, and actually running the Gotei-13.

Division 2: SPY SHIT Gotei-13 is a shady-ass organization with a lot of enemies and that's not about to change. The second division is responsible for keeping an eye on the provinces and noble houses and anything else of interest, "Handling things quietly" for the Gotei-13, and preventing the Central 46 from being corrupted or assassinated. The Shihon Clan has historically held the captainacy of the 2nd division as part of the compromise Yamamoto struck with the noble houses at the founding of the court guard squads to end the civil wars- that each of the 4 noble houses would hold a captain's position, until the noble houses fell apart or the court guard did. This gave the Shihon clan a GREAT incentive to undermine the shit out of other noble houses, and Yamamoto gave them his blessing to do so. Ironically, the Shihon clan was one of the first to collapse.

Division 3: INTERNAL AFFAIRS Law Enforcement, but specifically the Seireitei and shinigami/martial court/jail. The court guard kind of lives and dies by how much it's respected* and it's essential the Gotei-13 follow strict ethical standards and also a tight adherence to authority lest one of the squads break off and start a civil war. Accepting Bribes and Defying Orders are much more severe crimes than say, excessive collateral damage. The 3rd division is responsible for investigating complaints, mediating disputes between divisions, and generally making sure everyone is behaving properly. *By the noble houses, Daimyos and central 46. The average civilian? not so much.

Division 4 Medical This division was actually the FIRST established, even before the court guard really became Squads. It was Chigiri and her pack of field surgeons that commanded Yamamoto's respect and gave him the idea of letting the other criminals have minions too. 4th divison is responsible for maintaining the health of the court guard- not just emergency medicine, but vaccinations, post-service medical care, and civil sanitation- keeping the streets clean and water safe is the #1 way to prevent deaths. Until recently, this meant a lot of trained medics were doing a lot of grunt work, until Zaraki, a guy from districts where Dysentery is still the #1 killer, successful argued a proposal to Unohana that her medics should be managing other, less-in-demand squads doing the labor, which would get the jobs done a hell of a lot faster, and not back up triage as much. Unohana, who had previously not *trusted* other squads to do the work reliably, finally relented and accepted some damn help.

Division 5: Rukongai Affairs The 5th division is responsible for coordinating efforts between the Gotei-13 and the Provincial Governors- Hollow Eradication, Disaster Relief, additional armed forces to help local police, Helping distribute grain to mitigate famine, etc.

Division 6: External Affairs Responsible for representing the Gotei-13 to other groups and dealing with Noble House Bullshit specifically. While Noble House Bullshit is 95% of what they do, but technically, they're also responsible for handling diplomatic relations with the Beastfolk in the eastern districts, Las Noches after the winter war in the west, Any Kami that might come through, and Hell, if they ever get a line open. The Kuchiki family has held the 6th Division captaincy for generations as a peacekeeping measure between the gotei-13 and the noble houses.

Division 7: Incoming Souls The reason the soul society doesn't reunite people with their families when they die is that they do not actually have control over who reincarnates as themselves (and if they retain their memories), who is reborn as a baby in the spirit world, and what district they get assigned to- that's all decided at the moment of a Soul's death by Hell, using a Metric the Shinigami can only guess at. That said, the 7th still can do a lot- Souls that had to be cleansed with Konsho go through the 7th division and are escorted to their assigned districts. Other, non-hollowfied but odd case souls will end up in the pocket dimension that serves as the queue into the afterlife- people with high spiritual power, animals that achieved personhood in the world of the living and other nonhuman persons, and somtimes spirits who were almost certainly supposed to go to a different afterlife all come through. The 7th division is also charged with keeping a running tally on important statistics like the relative balance between souls, who got hollowfied and why, collecting data on who goes to hell when konsho is prefromed on them and why, and other data to try and work out Hell's metric backwards.

Division 8: Income and Funding The court guard squads are... kind of taxpayer funded. The Daimyos collect taxes from civilians, they pay those taxes to the central 46, and the central 46 disburses some of that money to the Gotei-13, but the truth is, for all the duties they're expected to preform, they're wildly underfunded. So the court guard has had to get... inventive to make sure everyone gets paid and they can do what they need to. Investments in industries, ownership of weird land grants, taking out loans, selling merchandise and straight-up schmooze have all been used by the 8th division to make sure the bills get paid. Shunsui is, by that measure, the best captain the division has ever had- he's shrewd and had astonishingly good luck when it comes to finances so there hasn't been a pay strike since he took over. Probably his best idea was handing the branding and product design of the Gikon to the Shinigami Women's Association- that one paid mad dividends.

Division 9: Information Services The ninth division is most famously home to the Seireitei's first and most largely-ciculated newspaper, but it's also the records office, PAYROLL, library, document archives, data collection and data analytics. Also, tech support. Also also: manage all the arts programs, propaganda and festivals. This is why Kaname was load-bearing to Aizen's plan.

Division 10: Living World Affairs The 10th division was responsible for monitoring the living world- mostly keeping track of hollow appearances, but also: what the remaining Quincies are up to, reporting back on useful technological advancements, any other weird shit that turns up there, and keeping track of all the Shinigami on deployment to the living world (mostly 10th division but the post-war population boom means every division's having to chip in now.

Division 11: Emergency/Heavy Deployment Every time the Gotei-13 had to do some heavy lifting, it's the 11th division's job. Mass outbreak of hollows? 11th's job. Emergency Dam repair to prevent a flood? 11th division muscle time. Daimyo got funny ideas about conquering a neighboring district? 11th division. Funcking Quincies again? 11th division. Rampaging Kami afflicted by a terrible curse? you know who to call. This was the SECOND Division to be founded, because the actual sentence that came out of Yamamoto's mouth was "Chigiri, you and your gremlins put my guts back in, Yachiru, round up some assholes and DEAL WITH THAT FUCKING THING." and the 11th's prerogative and hiring practices have not changed since. Since the 11th's work is more intermittent, there are long periods between jobs for them, and it's only recently they've been allowed to pitch in on regular maintenance and rehabilitate their reputation as a bunch of lazy degenerates.

Divison 12: Supplies (more recently, Research and Development) Prior to Kisuke Urahara's weird science boner, the 12th Division's primary job was the manufacture and supply of everything the Shinigami would need to do their jobs. Uniforms, Gigai, medical supplies, communicators, rations, Gikon, the actual buildings in the Seireitei, bedding, Protective gear- if a Shinigami received it for their job, it was made by the 12th division. Despite previous captain Kirio Hikifune being the most accomplished chef in the history of Soul Society, it's Mayuri that has made the most profound mark on Soul Society Cuisine with the fast-prepared, acceptable-tasting and surprisingly nutritious meals he developed to deal with the mass influx of souls after WW2, and the franchise distribution centers combined with his attempts at children's educational programming mean that Mayuri occupies a cultural niche in Soul Society not unlike Krusty The Clown.

Division 13: Magical Research, Kido Corps Until recently, the Kido Corps was a seperate division governed under the purview of the central 46, and the 13th division was doing it's research into Hado, Bakudo and Haikido independently, but as the two organizations worked increasingly closely together, they began to share more until the catastrophic events of Turn Back The Pendulum left the Kido Corps severely depleted and without leadership, at which point Yamamoto persuaded the central 46 to let the 13th division absorb the rest of the Kido corps and take on their work.

So that's how the government in Soul Society is SUPPOSESD to work.

[natsukishinomiyaswife]

Expanding on this post, here's a more in-depth look at the Treydia AU I'm cooking up! ♡ Also, to clarify, the Twisted Wonderland in this AU has no magic (meaning it's like our world). This is so it has a more Enchanted (the movie) feel to it lol ♡

Lydia's Appearance:

Since Lydia is the main character of her game, she wears something functional but cute (to draw in potential players). She wears a pink and white heart shaped apron (like this one) over a simple white dress (like this) with light pink tights (that match the color of the apron) and white Mary Jane's (that have a light pink bow on each one)

Her hair is the same, except the bow that holds her bun is pink and white gingham (to match the apron). She has heart earrings that match the apron (they're pink and white gingham as well).

Gameplay:

Lydia's game has a casual mode and a story mode, along with an archive that includes every recipe the player's unlocked. For the player to unlock a recipe, they must complete the level the recipe is featured in. Once they've successfully helped Lydia make it, the recipe is then added to the archive (with step by step instructions so they can make it irl)

Certain recipes can only be unlocked by completing the story mode, and once that level is complete, the recipe is then added to casual mode as well.

In casual mode, players can help Lydia successfully make recipes without a time limit. The player can still fail the dish, though game play wise it is easier than story mode.

In story mode, Lydia competes in a cooking competition, with the winner getting their recipes published as a book (along with earning the title of "Recipe Royalty", and a nice cash prize!) The player must face challenging opponents that grow more difficult as Lydia progresses, with some of them not playing fair. Unlike casual mode, story mode has a time limit, with the player automatically losing if time runs out.

Game Bosses:

Throughout story mode, Lydia will have to face off against top contenders to rank up in the competition. These opponents are different than the other's, using their signature recipes and tricks to win.

Whenever Lydia defeats one of these opponents, the player unlocks their signature recipes (and gains a power up they can use). The bosses in Lydia's game are:

Ace Trappola - A college kid who works at a local fast food place, and the tutorial character. He's the one that encourages Lydia to enter the competition, and teaches the player how it works. His power up allows the player to go into overtime (meaning if time runs out, they can use Ace to add an extra 30 seconds to the clock)

Ruggie Bucchi - A cook for multiple diners and restaurants, he makes due with what he has, and is able to make a dish out of anything (as long as it isn't rotten) If the player isn't careful, he'll take their ingredients and swap them out for bad ones. His power up allows the player to get extra ingredients (so if they mess up a dish, or an opponent takes their ingredients, they can use Ruggie to get those ingredients back)

Azul Ashengrotto - Owner of the Mostro Lounge, Lydia cooks against his employee (Floyd) until he steps in (so his "fight" has two phases) If the player isn't careful, octopus tentacles will come and scratch out parts of your recipe (making the player have to guess what ingredients to use, and how much) His power up allows the player to see what recipe their opponent is making, and gives them the opportunity to swap recipes (so if the opponent has a higher rated recipe, the player can use Azul to swap and get an advantage)

Jamil Viper - Personal chef of Kalim Al-Asim, his opponents underestimated him (which he used to his advantage) and quickly rose to the top (due to his amazing cooking skills). If the player isn't careful, their screen will be obstructed with snakes, making them unable to see what they're doing. If the player is unable to stop Jamil's eyes from flashing red, their screen will be "frozen", and Lydia will be unable to move for 5 seconds. He is considered the hardest boss in the game (besides the final boss), and is unable to beat without using Ace. His power up allows the player to "freeze" their opponent for 15 seconds (making them unable to cook or use their powers against the player)

Vil Schoenheit - A celebrity chef who cooks with his apprentice (Epel). If the player isn't careful, he will "poison" your dish (making you have to start over). When facing Vil, the player is unable to swap recipes (so pick wisely!). His power up allows the player to "poison" their opponents ingredients, making them unusable (putting their opponent at a disadvantage, and making them use a different recipe)

Idia and Ortho Shroud - The final boss of the cooking competition, Idia entered his brother Ortho (a robot with amazing cooking skills) when he heard Lydia joined, wishing to see her again (since they're exes). With how competitive he is, Idia has no plans on losing, and does everything he can to make Ortho win. If the player isn't careful, Idia will use his tablet to do one of three things (which is randomly selected): hack the clock to deduct 10 seconds from it, swap the player's recipe with a random one (which they can't switch back), or "pause" what the player is doing (meaning if you were working on one part of the recipe, you now have to work on something else until Idia "unpaused" it)

After completing the story mode, the player then unlocks "bonus levels", which are updates added to the game featuring new opponents to face. (Maybe... your OC? 👀)

Tagging some friends/mutuals ♡: @skriblee-ksk, @midnightmah07, @anbaisai, @crystallizsch, @cheerleaderman

@offorestsongs, @fell-e, @0honeybones0

[rawliverandgoronspice]

One thing that TotK does constantly but really doesn't land for me when compared to BotW is that every NPC loves Zelda so much.

She is the sweetest, and she loves animals and is the very best at them, and she goes to every major landmark to spend time there and also she teaches the people secrets about the lands they have always lived in and they're like woow thanks zelda incredible I'll change my entire ways because you were just SO enlightening (Lurelin + Gerudo Town feeling particularly questionable here for obvious reasons), and she's so wise and beloved and talented --to the point that nobody (beyond the Zora King) even dares to question her actions when she starts acting off.

(Yunobo please stop letting her walk all over you, like it's alarming that you understand she basically brainwashed you and your entire race, and you're still running after her like a lost puppy for an explanation that will surely make everything make sense instead of, like, punting her into the sun? I know it's the eeeevil zelda, but that this situation could even remotely begin to happen feels... so offputting.)

In BotW, the rare mentions of Zelda worked because 1) she was an ancient figure and the modern hylians knew very little about her and would build her up as a legendary figure accordingly, 2) she was literally giving her life for them (I mean she kind of still does here but people do not know that or cannot infer that in any way --which is its own sort of problem), 3) she was extremely hard on herself, felt like a failure and... kind of was one (and she was given shit for it).

(also in BotW we are in a post-Hyrule kingdom world, while here we're living its re-foundation, and so it feels very... convenient that they excavate a previous version of their perfect kingdom to boister up the hylian claim upon the lands also --but that's beyond the topic)

So for anyone to give her grace and compassion in BotW, while a little eyeroll worthy at times, was endearing and made sense. None of this was her fault; she may have extreme power, but she didn't directly yield it --her imperfections the byproduct of a stressful situation every champion was being forced into due to the tides of fate. Also the king was criticized for being a little ruthless and asking too much of his subjects, including his own daughter. There was solidarity between you and everyone else at the same level.

But here? I don't know, it feels like the entire kingdom is terrified that the sheikah secret police will drag them back in the Bottom of the Well if they breathe wrong when talking about their beloved princess, it's so unsettling. I liked BotW Zelda, but... I don't know, I'm literally more comfortable around fake Zelda than the real one. Fake Zelda feels more like a real person that she does.

[justsomeno1s]

LOBCORPxISAT AU ABNO IDEAS

Made it to Act 3! I now have more information to work with! Hooray!

Current Ideas for Siffrin, The King, and Loop as abnormalities under Read More due to length

ALSO IF YOU HAVE IDEAS/CRITISCMS, LMK PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!! I don't have any Unique Bonnie ideas yet, and I'm stumped, so I'm posting for feedback.

Siffrin

Sif is def an Abno. Formerly human, but lacking some humanity from being in containment so long. Prolly around HE or WAW.

Works best with Attachment, worst with Repression. (He's durable as anything from however many loops he's gone through- I don't think they'd take being forcefully repressed very well, either) Deals White damage in Unit.

Abilities wise, I think Sif would be pretty fun to play with, but also simple! They have a base counter of 3, and if their Counter hits 0, they breach and start attacking people. "WHO CARES?! THEY'RE NOT EVEN REAL!" kinda vibes. Resistant to Black and Red damage, Weak to White and Pale. He'd just tear through the facility until he's defeated, and if health gets to half, they'll start running away. If they aren't attacked for about a second, they'll heal themselves for 1/4 of max hp, and start dealing black and red damage at once. ofc, thats only if they get away.

For Mechanics, it's still basically the same idea as mentioned before; Every start of the day, when the ordeals are chosen, Siffrin chooses a genre of play, which dictates their likes and dislikes for the day. Add some interactions with Retrying Days, the time breaking abnos (I.E: Shelter from the 27th of March and Backwards Clock), and the other ISAT abnos, and there's something fun!

Comedy means they want Good Results, Tragedy means he wants Bad Results. Musicals are Insight, Slice of Life are Attachment, Dramas are Instinct. Nothing selected means they want Repression- Some suicidal ideation, in a way.

Equipment would obviously be based on Sif's things from ISAT: Weapon is a Temperance based Knife, curved and split at the tip, so it looks like a closed pair of scissors. Suit is a black suit with a short white cape and hood, maybe with off-white boots and gloves. (I can't think of any effects TT) For the gift, the Nugget gets a dark circle marking like the Healing Craft symbol, on their cheek, which turns a pale white when spent.

Idea: How about… a "get out of death free" type deal as a Ego Gift? Only once per Employee, a nugget can dodge death, in and out of Containment units. As a counter, it instantly drops their sanity to 0, and any other non-death effects still take place. (So, Counters dropping, breakouts, infections- that kind of deal. Might still be broken, but its fun to think about!)

The King

The King fits really well as an Aleph (idk if he's that powerful in ISAT, but still).

I think he'd be one of the abnos who change reaction based on level. Notable thoughts include: Lv 5 Insight is Bad, Lv 4 Insight is Good, Attachment works well but would be picky (From the offer to the party to be frozen).

Definitely still trying to freeze the world in time, producing tears, and showing visions of the future. For more interesting "gameplay", he could get the ability to create Sadnesses out of his Tears.

When his counter hits 0 and he breaches, he'd head to his department's Main Room, freezing anyone he comes in contact with. Upon reaching the destination, he'd begin to cry, spawning Tears and Sadnesses that spread away from him and begin attacking non-frozen Nuggets and Clerks. Being in the same room as him deals White damage over time. If defeated, the frozen Nuggets will return to normal, but the Tears and Sadnesses will continue to roam- The King is considered breaching until all of them are taken out, making them an end of day nightmare. So, essentially, a tanky Abno that can cause an Ordeal! Fun!!

Equipment: Weapon is a Shield and Mace combo, which lowers incoming damage taken when equipped (Deals Black, Reduces Pale). Suit is a deep blue, almost black set of armor with white strands that float off of it like hair in water (Weak to Black, neutral to all others). Ego gift gives the Nugget tears around their mouth and eyes.

Loop

Loop would be an abnormality, but I have no idea what level. The only idea I have so far is that their containment unit would also have the Favor Tree- The two could be fused in a way? Whether that makes Loop a dryad type deal or two separate entities in the same room, idk.

[I was think like parasite tree at first, but I like Loop being able to leave the Tree]

Maybe the Favor Tree grants wishes, and Loop tries to stop people from making them? Appearing inhuman, celestial, and ghost-like (maybe even scary) to ward people off. Or at least, that's the rumor. "The tree is fiercely protective of its leaves, calling upon a second form to punish those who take anything from it."

I really don't know enough yet to make them accurate to ISAT, so I'll just swing it to horror. Loop is a spirit that is given form by the favor tree specifically to "punish" (Kill brutally) anyone who takes things from the tree. Have them look human, but be able to pull people apart at the seams

In Unit, they deal white damage, definitely. If Loop were playing nice, their personality might only be a mild annoyance, but without that incentive, why not drive a few randos to madness for the hell of it?

Outside the unit... idrk " If high level, Pale. If low level, Black.

I feel like they'd get more aggro if the Nugget working on them had equipment/gifts from the other ISAT Abnos. A bit like Snow Queen, but not insta death. (Could include Loop's gifts too. "I gave you that in good faith, and you use it against me? Well, I guess I'll take it back!"

Would need high-ish Temperance or Prudence to avoid dropping their counter. Probably likes... insight. From the chats with Sif, and the Nugget knowing not to take anything (Thank you, Red Eyes)

Ego Equip would be a Staff with White, Star-like leaves. Deals White damage and slows the enemy slightly. (If high level, maybe heals?) Outfit is a white suit with black arms. If I could, I'd give a mask or helmet to make the Nugget look more like Loop as part of the suit. (Resist Black, Endure Red, Weak to White- Pale Res affected by level, again) Gift? Def a helmet- Imagine a laurel made of stars, that trails down the side of your face and covers an eye. (Raise Temp, lower SP)

[saturnniidae]

Autistic Astrid Hofferson.

She stims by tapping her fingers against the handle of her axe (she actually picked it up from Hiccup – he likes to tap his fingers against things) and takes comfort in the familiarity of the worn handle. (Pretty much a comfort item. I mean, she sleeps with it under her pillow, right?)

She likes running her hands over her skirt and finds the texture of the spikes pleasing, sensory wise.

She fists her hands in her hair and pulls at it or yells when she's overwhelmed, picks at her nails or fiddles with the end of her braid when she's anxious.

She spent so much of her life memorizing that unspoken social rulebook, trying to be the best (partially for her own ambitions, partially for validation), that until the turning point that was the start of her and Hiccup's friendship, she couldn't even comprehend allowing herself to openly behave in a way not considered 'normal' (which is part of why she lashed out so hard towards Hiccup during dragon training).

She's absolutely terrible at emotional regulation; if she feels anything she can't immediately understand and place the cause of, she defaults to anger and violence because those are familiar and in a way, safe. They're things she's been taught to feel for most of her life and she struggles to deviate from that.

Also, just generally she has a very low tolerance for irritating behavior and will immediately react to stop it with little thought to the possible casualties. (Read: she gets overwhelmed easily but has tried to train herself to power through it, which isn't healthy, and results in violent outbursts but she doesn't know how to stop)

She rigidly follows routines and her own set of rules and stubbornly refuses anything else unless she's actively proven to be wrong.

She hates sudden change (especially in the context of preset plans). As a warrior, she's of course had to learn to adapt to it, battle is unpredictable, but that doesn't stop it from being any less overwhelming or frustrating.

Special interest in combat and weapons, she likes watching Hiccup work in the smithy and bombards him with questions about the process of forging weapons. (they've spent hours talking, and once she actually understands what he's doing, she loves looking through his sketchbook and asking questions about his inventions, all of which he's happy to answer)

Stormfly grounds her, in a way. She's like an emotional anchor to Astrid, one of the only things able to help her calm down from suppressed meltdowns that manifest as overwhelming fits of rage. It's incredibly stressful for her whenever they're separated. Next to Hiccup, Stormfly is her best friend. (While of course not on the same level as Hiccup and Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly have a better understanding of each other than anyone else)

[agent-calivide]

Okay. I've been thinking about this for a while but it could still be incoherent.

So in IEYTD 3, there are some agency announcement transmissions after you beat a level. If I remember correctly, there was one after Hot Water which mentions Southern Philippines (along with other countries). (I, unfortunately, do not have access to the game but have watched gameplays.)

I have a few theories into why that (the agency doesn't have EOD agents in the Northern part of the Philippines) is (I can go on about that but it's likely it won't be historically accurate but let's just say the 50s were pretty wild and I have several agency headcanons if my suspicions are true.) and I was wondering if you have any more insights on possible points the games diverge from our timeline.

oh the can of worms this opens- /lh

So, this is all in the wonderful world of messing around with speculation, but for possible points of timeline divergence we first have to take into account the actual year IEYTD takes place, that being 1967. In addition, we need to look at the political systems in place, which is where this gets... funky.

See, in IEYTD 2 it is established that there are 4 world leaders:

Chancellor Magpantay, head of the Pacific League (Asia and Australia).

PM Markopoulos, head of the Mediterranean Commonwealth (Asia, Europe, and Africa)

President Okafor, head of the South Atlantic Union (Africa and South America)

Premier Sucre, head of the Hudson Federation (North America)

All of these positions are either elected or appointed by either the general public, or the country's parliament/whatever political system they have in place. So it's not like a monarchy where any of these people were born into these positions.

But, all that being said, these are not countries, but they're not continents either, they're some unique additional territory. We know this due to a detail where Juniper's jet took off from the JFK airport.

Why does this matter? Because the JFK airport was named after John F Kennedy after his assassination as the president of the United States. This means that all of the countries as we know them still exist, and this is also confirmed by the map in Juniper's jet and that radio broadcast that you reference. The long list of differing countries make it evident that the systems in place are one more level of authority on top of the heads of countries.

The reason I go into all of this is because a lot of "timeline divergence" things are tied deeply to politics, spies are innately political after all. Borders, international boundaries, treaties, all of this is what leads to the divvying up of the world like this.

So the question is no longer "why is the world laid out like this" it is now "why would all of these countries agree to this system/get pushed into this system when they were already established as individual powers?"

If I had to guess, the split would be around WWI/WWII, specifically either the foundation of NATO or something similar happening right after WWI, the results are the same either way.

Either after The Great War, which was the first war to take over the entire planet, or after WWII which took place so close after the first one, there was an international agreement that something needed to change to keep this sort of incident from occurring ever again.

So, rather than having dozens of people arguing over treaties, the political powers at be decided to simplify it to four people, four territories.

Now, meta wise, this is because kidnapping 4 people is a lot easier to depict than 40+, but there still are ramifications on the rest of the world building due to it. This may even impact how countries interact with each other normally.

Handler affectionately jokes about "the alien we met with the Russians!" Regardless if he is supposed to be English or US American like the devs, there is no undertone of space race, international conflict, or anything similar despite this occurring in the late 60's right when the space race would be happening between the US and Russia. Just delight over this thing that happened with those chums from Russia!

And it makes sense for individual countries to not be at each other's throats. Everyone is a bit too worried about what Zoraxis is doing at that point, the Mediterranean Commonwealth's representative saying he doesn't trust Zoraxis and the South Atlantic Union having a strong isolationist stance at the moment. There is no word of the territories fighting, just that they don't trust anyone at this moment.

And this why a system like this would be in place, it would make discussions of conflict easier, as it would be discussion between four people and their teams rather than dozens or even hundreds of conflicting sides. There likely would still be internal conflicts within the territories, but picking a fight with another territory wouldn't be possible.

The US can't pick a fight with Russia, they're part of the Mediterranean Commonwealth and the US is in the Hudson Federation. That would be like Texas bombing California or attacking Canada, they just don't have the jurisdiction for that.

This would explain why the politics in place are so different, as well as why real world politics are never brought up and don't have a tangible impact on these games. The EOD is dealing with Zoraxis rather than representing a specific country because the way the countries have conflicts is fundamentally different.

TL;DR

The way there are only 4 political leaders makes everything super funky in terms of international conflict that is fundamentally different from how we experience it irl

[shoggothkisses]

"BEDTIME STORY" - Preliminary Archon Quest (Ch. 4- Act IV) Thoughts

My diligence has finally paid off! For the first time in a while, I got to play through a Genshin quest as soon as it dropped! So, while energy is still high and the novelty of the event is still - well, novel - I offer you a collection of observations and examinations from the most recent Archon Quest.

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS - do not click unless you've played Bedtime Story or don't mind being spoiled on its events!

FIRST, and arguably (for me) most importantly - THE SINNER HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED, and before yesterday there was NO way you could have convinced me that it was Dainsleif's brother. (Has he even mentioned having a brother before this?) (The "Dain is the twins' sibling" theorists are probably deeply unhappy. Sorry for your loss.)

(A bit sad that it's not Deshret, personally, but that's not relevant atm.)

His name, Vedrfolnir (or Vethrfolnir, or Veðrfölnir or any number of phonetically similar spellings for those of us who can't do Scandanavian languages to save our lives), comes from the name of a hawk that, in Norse mythology, is partnered with a (nameless?) eagle that sits on top of Yggdrasil (Irminsul). Vedrfolnir is believed to represent the eagle's wisdom, able to see everything in the Nine Realms (likely why Genshin!Vedrfolnir's title is The Visionary) and passing information back and forth to it - much in the way that Odin's ravens are believed to pass information back and forth to him.

It is also believed to play a role in the battle between the eagle and Nidhogg (the serpent at Yggdrasil's roots) at Ragnarok - possibly similar to that of Ratatoskr, whose gossip back and forth between Nidhogg and the eagle (and Vedrfolnir by extension) is what causes their mutual aggression.

The name Vedrfolnir means something akin to "pale wind."

As far as the other "Five Sinners of Khaenri'ah" are concerned:

Hroptatyr is another name for Odin (huge? can you say HUGE?). The "wise" part is self explanatory. The name means "sage" in Old Norse.

Rhinedottir is, as we know, a Norse spelling of the German "Rheintöchter." She's named after the Rhinemaidens, three water spirits who dwell at the bottom of the Rhine river and are said to protect the Gold(tm) that can grant anyone immeasurable power. This origin is, however-

While the original Nibelungenleid (the 12th century German poem-epic) makes mention of mermaids, and Norse mythology makes mention of the proverbial gold (see below) the massively significant role mentioned above was almost COMPLETELY made up by Richard Wagner while writing the Ring Cycle. The Rhinemaidens are mentioned nowhere in Norse mythology, whereas all the other Sinners' names are pulled directly from old Norse sources. (Considering Rhinedottir's level of importance to the overarching plot, especially in Mondstadt, I have a hard time believing this difference from the other Sinners isn't equally important.)

I have discussed Surtalogi previously, so lemme just... (clears throat). Caaaaaalled it.

So yeah. He's the "Fire of Surtr," the jotunn who burns it all down. Dain and Surtalogi, sword buddies. Nice neat explanation. (Who's gonna be Surtr? Will we have a Surtr? We'll put a pin in that.)

And...if he's "the Foul," then I guess anyone who adopts his power has...the...Foul Legacy...yeah. No need to delve into that much. At least not for now.

Rerir is a little more to unpack. Or a lot more. Who am I kidding. In the Norse Volsungasaga, Rerir is part of a long and complicated line of royal births and deaths that result in rise and fall of the titular Volsung clan (similar to, but not the exact same as, the Nibelungenleid). A brief overview:

Odin gives birth to Sigi.

Sigi gives birth to Reri. Sigi is killed by his brothers-in-law.

Rerir avenges his father's death (for all you Sherlock Holmes fans - Racher is "avenger," or one who gets revenge [Rache].)

The goddess Frigg has a crow bring Rerir and his wife an apple because they're having a hard time getting pregnant. It works.

Rerir dies while his wife is pregnant - for six years.

Volsungr (Rerir's son) is born by C-section (something that seeems to happen with a lot of heroes in different mythologies, just saying). His mom dies in the process.

Volsung fathers (in addition to like ten other kids) the twins Sigmundr and Signy (in German, Sigmund and Sieglinde).

Sigmundr fathers Sigurd (Siegfried in German).

Sigurd is the dragon-slaying, Nibelung's-hoard-and-ring-of-power-having king that ends up being killed during a combination political dispute/relationship drama.

The chunks of the Volsungsaga from Volsung on are retold in Wagner's Ring Cycle, albeit with his own embellishments (see Rhinedottir).

The aspect of Rerir's title here that's confusing me the most is "Solnari." Based on Rerir's mythological origin, Solnari should be his father - but then, why not just call him "Racher of Sigi"? Meanwhile, Sol is almost certainly a reference to a Sun deity (in Norse and Germanic, the sun goddess), but the "-nari" suffix is more confusing. From what I can tell,

1) "Nari" is Sanskrit for "woman" or "maiden" - so if Solnari were The Lady Sun it would make sense, but it seems weird to randomly throw Sanskrit into a Norse civilization; and

2) Nari, or Narfi, is a different deity in Norse mythology that is supposed to be either Loki's son (killed by his wolf-shifting brother Vali), the personification of night (Nott), or both.

I can't really make sense of it in the moment, but hopefully we'll get more info as we go - preferably before another year goes by, Dainsleif, please!???

The Vinster King is, likewise, difficult to parse. There is, on one hand, the Swedish word “vinst” meaning to win, or make a return/profit - which would make the “vinster king” the king who…won? This isn’t totally impossible as we know there have been plenty of wars of succession between both gods and humans in Teyvat. On the other hand, this may be a butchered spelling of the German “finster,” meaning “dark,” “sinister,” or “gloomy.” I wasn’t super sold on my own interpretation of this until I remembered this sweet loot drop we get in the Chasm:

So that may be the case, and, as such, the “Vinster King” may be another name for Irmin.

(Side tangent: I now think it would be super funny if we found out later that Irmin and Pierrot really ARE the same person…Gloomy King…becomes a Clown…? Love that…anyway.)

I have already heard that someone has translated the message in Caribert’s memory-travel/loading-screen thingy, but I DON’T TRUST PEOPLE! So i’m gonna do it here for myself.

From the top, line by line:

FAREWELL ATOSSA

I APOLOGIZE

FOR MAKING YOU KNOW ME

UNWILLINGLY

STILL I DONT WISH

YOU TO FORGET ME

This is written in Sumeran script, not Khaenri’ahn. A nice easter egg, and very touching to be sure. ;v;

One last thing: on the Sea of Flowers.

There are a few things that this Sea of Flowers reminds me of - Nabu Malikata and her connection to water and flowers comes to mind, for one - but the thing that I was IMMEDIATELY reminded of was the Dandelion Sea.

For those who don’t particularly enjoy coming through Genshin’s archive: The Fox in the Dandelion Sea is a whopping 11-volume story series found hidden throughout Mondstadt. In the story, a hunter makes a deal with a fox (or spirit. or fox-spirit) who believes that he intentionally saved her life (he was just a bad shot, and broke the ice that was keeping her trapped on a lake): teach her fox-child to speak the language of humans, and she will teach the hunter how to transform into other creatures.

In order to meet and teach her cub, the fox takes the hunter to a “sea of dandelions, stretching as far as my eyes could see.” All foxes who “disappear during the hunt” come here, and time appears to be meaningless. While the hunter appears to move toward learning a lesson, by the end of the series, he still informs the fox that his reason for learning transformation magic is to be a better hunter. At this, the fox turns him into a dandelion puff and blows him away to a “faraway land.” He then wakes, as is from a dream, with none of what he could have had (the magic, the beautiful fox-woman, or the peaceful sea of dandelions).

While I’m unsure if the Sea of Dandelions actually has anything to do with the Sea of Flowers, it would be interesting if we found out that the Sea of Flowers is some alternate version of reality - a domain, an isolated region, or even a beautiful (but ultimately unattainable) dream.

THAT IS. basically all i have so far. This is coming off (as i said) basically 4-5 hours of sleep followed by all day on-and-off research to try and process everything we got since yesterday. and yes i know I didn't mention the Loom of Fate even ONCE but honestly between the pretty explicit "it weaves ley lines" description and the Abyss twin's equally explicit "I don't know what I'm gonna do with it yet," I don't really feel like any deeper picking has to be done for now.

okay byeee

[drbased]

This is really not directed at you, but I don't think sending this to the actual OP would be productive- that womb envy post strikes me as pure woo woo. Particularly this irritating line, which the OP even highlights: "Is not the tremendous strength in men of the impulse to creative work in every field precisely due to their feeling of playing a relatively small part in the creation of a living being, which constantly impels them to an overcompensation in achievements?" This is psychologizing where there needs to be no psychologizing, and at the same time a bizarre unquestioned assumption of women's lesser creative accomplishment. Even if we took this claim at face value, would it not in fact imply the very superiority of men? Is it wise to pit a physical trait, a non-skill one just happens to be born with through no action of their own, against the human power of creativity? As for idea male creativity is driven by womb envy on some deep subconscious level… this is about as legitimate as any equivalent claim by freud.

I understand the reverent attitude of some feminists toward motherhood and the uterus is a reaction to the way we are devalued and exploited for our reproductive anatomy, a cathartic reversal (or, """reversal""") of male supremacist rhetoric. But just as women are not inferior for any of our comparative physical disadvantages, it only comes across as self-serving hypocrisy when we try to turn it around to our benefit.

(Also, side note, because no one should be expected to vet any blog they reblog. But reading her blog should show you where this type of thought originates. It's very unnerving and very regressive.)

I'm actually ecstatic over the quality of responses and anons I get now. When people are responding to you with discourse instead of OP, that's when you know you've made it :P

I actually fundamentally disagree at the whole thing being woo-woo. I do believe that men have womb-envy - or, rather, I believe that they perhaps once did, back when we were all much more primitive beings with a direct relationship with our own mortality and the fundamental terror of being alive, vulnerable human beings - and these blossoming existential terrors have been built on and so form the fabric of the collective narrative, associated biases and language. In my tag theory posting I like to examine male psychology and where men's oppression of women's actually came from, since I despise this idea that men are intrinsically 'bad' on some biological/pseudo-spiritual level - said rhetoric, that forms an easy-to-swallow narrative, keeps seeping through radfem spaces (through blogs like OPs) and directly contradicts all the feminist theory that shows just how deep socialisation goes and how much these are human problems with human beliefs at the root of them. From my observation, it seems to be a repeating pattern time and time again that everything men say about women is projection, and so I've come to formulate this hypothesis that projection from the oppressor class is a window into said class's psychology and neuroses. So where men claim that women have penis envy, I think whilst for some women it is simply an easy catharsis to simply go 'no u', for me I do think there's real reasoning to suggest that men are the ones who have womb envy.

Similarly, whilst men claim they are superior for their biology, there are also a large number of feminist-identified women who want the catharsis of reversing the claim and using different metrics to claim women's biological superiority. I admit I do experience this catharsis, but also I think part of that catharsis is the greater knowledge I gain from exploring the idea that women's bodies aren't just a broken crock of shit doomed to pain and misery, and that we're actually much more hardy, have better pain tolerance etc. - and that 'women live longer' isn't just some stupid joke to pair up with 'because they're not married to men'. I find exploring the contrary to be a useful way to deconstruct from male supremacist rhetoric. Although at the end of it all I still refuse to use the word 'superior' - also because it's a losing game, since it's not fucking real you could make up any criteria, and as long as these symbolic concepts exist their meaning is always going to be owned by the ruling class. This is why on my side-blog learningwomanhood I use the tag 'female as default' rather than 'female supremacy' - as well as the whole female supremacy thing being a fetish (proof of my point about how the ruling class utilises these concepts), I also think it's much more accurate to say that the reason for women's 'biological superiority' is that we're the default human beings and men, biologically speaking, an offshoot purely for reproduction. So women's bodies are built to survive better because we're, well, the essential ones.

And I don't even really like that - that's not nice to know, that the men I've loved and liked are biologically unnecessary. And then I think, well men who have loved and liked me low-key think that about me - and unlike me, intrinsically believe I'm a lesser human being for it - and they never had a problem with that... ugh. I digress.

And I entirely agree with you about the creativity part. The drive to create is a natural human one; no need to psycho-analyse about it. Men are still human, and trying to create this narrative of men being less human might not be 'bad' in the same way that men dehumanise us, but as I said it's always a losing game, and imo it's intellectual cowardice.

And I do thank you for pointing out the OP. Because I'm not one of those radblr people who will reblog from literally anybody and say 'I shouldn't have to background check every silly post I reblog' - girl, this isn't your fucking diary, this is literally the public and if you know literally anything about politics from the last decade then you'll know that the popular rise of naziism has been entirely because the alt-right glob onto apolitical spaces under some sort of shroedinger's irony - it's all jokes till it's not. If you're not at least somewhat vigilant about what you're sharing and the implicit politics it contains then you're part of the problem. Simply proclaiming that your audience should 'use critical thinking' so you can absolve yourself of responsibility for your influence is exactly why we're in this fucking mess. But I succumb to brain rot like everyone else and my attention span isn't exactly what it should be (especially at the moment, given my life circumstances - which is an explanation, not an excuse). I think if I had read and absorbed the post properly then I wouldn't have reblogged it uncritically.

I am somewhat hesitant to take the post down because as much as I dislike the vibes and the OP, there is an interesting bit of history in there: a woman's response to freud. Considering how freud seems to have shown up in almost every damn feminist book I've read, I think modern day feminism has forgotten just how influential he was on society. My theory is that 'his ideas' (or at least, his popularisation of ideas that were perhaps already floating around psychiatric circles) were so new to the public that they opened up this idea that people have intrinsic beliefs, and that sex has a lot to do with said intrinsic beliefs. This opened the door for a lot of feminists to be able to discuss sexual psychology in an entirely new way. So even if the Karen Horney's response is flawed, then I still think it's a necessary piece of the puzzle to see how women responded to freud's ideas.

OK. So. I think this exchange has been a good criticism of the post so what I'm going to do is screenshot it here and delete my original reblog. I think that covers all bases, thank you.

[asofspades]

And the power scalers are back at it again on TikTok about Law Vs Blackbeard, I can't do this shit anymore.

Some shit opinions I've seen because apparently people lack critical thinking skills:

"Blackbeard won low diff" (some people watch things with their eyes closed apparently)

"Law doesn't know how to use his df to the maximum efficiency" (not even going to dignify this with a rant)

"law is at the same level that Sanji is" (this is actually an insane take because we're talking about someone who took down a Yonkou and who literally had to step in to save Sanji from Doflamingo in dressrosa)

"law's crew is useless" (they ignored the fight, a fight may I remind people they were forced to engage in, no preparation whatsoever, also, obviously not every crew can be Luffy's crew level, otherwise they wouldn't be the main crew)

"Law is a fraud" (you know you can just not like a character without needing to put the character down or say facts that aren't true )

"Law shouldn't be worth 3billion berries" (no yeah, you're right, technically he should be worth more because of how much his devil fruit is worth in the underworld but obviously they gave him the same as Luffy and Kid to show that Captain wise they're basically at the same level, bounties are nit only about brute strength, Kid is worth that much because on top of defeating a Yonkou with Law he is brutal in his treatment of people, Luffy is powerful AF and always willing to go toe to toe against injustice and the World Government and Law is powerful and also dangerous due to his use of strategy and the knowledge he accumulates and then obviously the fact his df is worth more than his current bounty)

"The op-op would probably be more powerful if someone else had it instead of Law" (oh I'm sorry, are we not watching the same anime and reading the same manga, Law literally can get his fruit to that extent because of his insane level of knowledge of medicine and the human body and because of his resourcefulness and intellect, I don't think there's a better fit for that fruit than Law)

[scarfacemarston]

J and E for arthur please! and maybe this is cheating but could i have a bonus how he’d get back together too bc i can’t have angst without a happy ending 🥹

For have a second I thought you said Arthur cheating and I would have been like, nooo. This is a longer one because you gave me three prompts.These have also been added to the Charthur tag by request. Please let me know if there is another ship that should be added. Prompt here for everyone! J: Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they're jealous?) - Given that he has low confidence and how humble he is when it comes to love, I feel like it's more of a "Oh, of course she found someone, they are younger/more attractive/more well off/etc than me." However, that doesn't mean he doesn't feel it. He tends to be a bit more weary in camp or saloons. Camp because it's something he's picked up from others and it makes sense that people know that you two are in a relationship. At a saloon, he's thinking of potential "low lives". However, places like the nicer parts of St. Denis can trigger him as well because he feels like he can't give the reader what they deserve. He might say a self deprecating comment, or he may say a sarcastic comment to the person flirting and snake an arm around your waist. It depends on his mood. E - Ending (if they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?) I think it would only be if he was feeling insecure and thought they were better off with someone else. Maybe he sees reader having a good time with Sean, Sadie or Lenny and he feels as though he can't provide that for the reader, so it's best to let them go. Arthur is very tolerant so I don't see it as something that is small or a bad habit. He had a very complicated relationship with Mary and regardless of one's opinion of her, she did have a lot of power over him. I think with the reader, it would be the same and the reader would have to be careful not to take advantage of him. He's a people pleaser with more than just Dutch and Hosea and that would include the reader. I think if he started acting low honor-ish or at least engaging in more criminal behavior, he would think that you don't need to be dragged down by him. Then, the talks of "I'm too old. I have a lot of baggage. There are more honest men out there." etc. begins. Unless reader did something horrible, that's the only way I see Arthur ending it. To him, break ups are more likely a "him" problem, not a you problem. Bonus: Getting back together: I really don't see him actually pursuing that on his own. He'd have to get a lot of hints about it first from you. He's not "going to make a fool" of himself again. Hosea, Charles, Lenny or Abigail would have to talk sense into him or the reader would have to make it clear that they want him. It's not the gushy answer you may want, but meta wise, it's the realistic answer. I like to combine the two. It would be awkward at first, quiet conversations that are pretty surface level until he blurts something out about what he feels when the tension becomes too much, or if he says some unexpectedly funny comment. Once that first step is taken, he's still apprehensive, but gains his confidence back from there. Again, reader has to be VERY communicative and clear with him. From there, it would be going out on rides together, just the two of you, or exploring a new place he found. Maybe he'd take you hunting, or to town if you really wanted to. It would be slow, but if you/reader loved Arthur, it would be worth it.

[misc-obeyme]

HELLO I'M HERE TO RAMBLE ABOUT MC'S MORTALITY. I have literally been grinding event battles and coins and such all day because the power up campaign ends today (I'm under 200 in rank NB wise but geez it's getting harder to keep up)

anyway I always think about what happens to mc after/if they did die. like I love sam's/still-a-moronsexual's interpretation of mc not being entirely human for one

but there's different levels/circles of hell in the Devildom, and that the devildom and the celestial realm are separate from the traditional heaven/hell if I remember correctly? like what happens to mc in the event they do pass on. Everyone says they have a shiny soul. And would mc keep their memories after passing?

Like everyone has different beliefs and I'm just rambling, but there's reincarnation for one. Sometimes I think about Michael and if we'll ever meet him, and if he'd go so far as to pull strings to get mc into the celestial realm (everyone wants the once powerful mortal on their side). And imagine him making sure to keep mc's info access limited, but then let's say luke catches a glimpse and tells the brothers. Imagine mc doesn't remember the brothers either, but there's this dull tug in their gut when they see these demons. Painful angst. (And if mc DID keep their memories, would they immediately choose to fall? Imagine your fave catches you. like I think my mc would stick around to get info and out of curiosity, but would secretly be planning to fall. Even if it was painful, it'd be worth it to them.)

or mc ends up in the devildom because of how big of a tie they have. I wonder if they would/could become an Avatar, and what if they did. Despair possibly? Would they be a regular demon, or have a special power perhaps? Diavolo would probably give them a noble title. but also, ANGST IF THEY HAVE NO RECOLLECTION OF ANYTHING. Diavolo early in NB said something about knowing almost every demon, so I wonder if he meets new people to help them get set up?? aha imagine he lets them stay at the castle, and mc wanders off, and bumps into someone they used to know. chaos

There's also the possibility they could become immortal I'm sure with a spell or Solomon's cooking. Or maybe their lifespan is just longer than a humans by a hundred years or so. They simply cherish the time they have, but suddenly they're aging past 120 and they're sweating internally. Solomon I think has talked about feeling like he loses/lost touch with his humanity, until he met mc. I wonder if mc would go through the same if they ended up truly immortal

THIS IS GETTING SO LONG SORRY, BUT THIS IS MY LAST AND FAVORITE IDEA. The three worlds couldn't decide what happens to mc, like this is the first time this has happened. Huge arguments. Sometimes i think about the good place show when I'm brainstorming. ANYWAY, mc becomes a reaper. No one gets their soul. They are now in charge of collecting them, and reapers are sorta neutral right? It's a compromise for everyone. Thirteen is overjoyed. Mc with a scythe, what will they do? Or the night dagger lol

the obey me manga comes out on tuesday i think, I'm probably hitting the bookstore on Thursday. and while I could order it online, something about finding it on the shelf is so fun. I literally finished king of wrath on friday, and read almost the entirety of king of pride on Saturday, and now I'm on king of greed. My friend is concerned with how fast I read because we have a book tracking app that allows buddy reads lol

HAVE A GOOD DAY CC, MANIFESTING YOUR NEXT TEN PULL HAS TWO UR+ CARDS

- ✨ anon

AH thank you, ✨ anon, I need all the luck I can get lol!!

Now see the interesting thing about all of this is that the game doesn't really specify. I do think they have implied that hell is a separate place from the Devildom (aka the Underworld where Solomon walked through the rings and Luci got trapped in the ice). So presumably if MC died and went to hell, they wouldn't actually end up in the Devildom itself. I don't remember if they've implied the same for heaven and the Celestial Realm, but it seems likely that it would be the case.

Personally I like the idea of reincarnation but MC just... keeps being reincarnated as a human on earth lol. Like every time MC dies, the others have to find them again. And they don't remember each life. Though if this happens enough perhaps Solomon or somebody comes up with a spell that can restore all their memories.

I do think it'd be interesting if Michael intervened and somehow got MC to be in the Celestial Realm, especially if they had no memories of the Devildom and everything. Imagine being an angel and then suddenly you get those memories back and you're like, that's it, I'm falling.

Which leads me to the question of how does one fall?

They don't really get into the specifics of that, either. Can you choose to fall? Or do you just do terrible things with the hope that the consequence will be banishment to the Devildom?? I have thoughts about this, but it's all just personal headcanon stuff.

I do think it makes sense for MC to just sorta end up in the Devildom because yo that's basically their home now, you know?

I tend to headcanon that due to the pacts and the "ring" and everything else MC has been through, they have enough magic interfering with their usual biology that they're probably already immortal. Just because that makes sense to me. I also think Solomon probably knows a way to make them immortal if they really wanted to be. vampire!MC lol

AHHH reaper!MC!! Thirteen would be thrilled!! They don't really give us a whole lot of info about the reapers either, but I headcanon that they're neutral and somewhat outside of the whole Devildom vs Celestial Realm situation. I have a lot of ideas about this, but again it's all personal headcanon.

So I think any of these options are possible! And it's certainly fun to think about all the ways in which MC's death might be dealt with. Somehow I don't think we're gonna get anything like that in canon, but I guess you never know!

Ah I love reading, I used to read so much... now I don't read as much as I used to because I'm spending all my time writing al;kdfkjfd. But yes the manga I read the first free chapter they had, but maybe I will buy the book itself...

Anyway, I love all these ideas and I think it's fascinating to think about all of these possibilities!

[antianakin]

(Sorry if I'm pushing this topic too much, feel free to ignore.)

So, in an AU where Anakin's found a little earlier before he develops the mindset that would make him a bad Jedi, and where Palpatine just kind of ignores him. In other words an AU where Anakin's a normal Jedi who doesn't fall to the dark side.

Let's say he's still assigned Ahsoka Tano as a padawan (I know personality-wise another Jedi would probably be a better fit for her) but teaches her without the Sithy elements and abusive training. How well do you think Ahsoka does Jedi-wise then?

I guess in a darker iteration of the AU, Palpatine could decide to manipulate her somehow instead to turn her against Anakin.

So, for this AU we have to assume that everything in canon stays at least mostly the same despite Anakin's role in it being DRAMATICALLY different. If Anakin is found much earlier (say somewhere around 2-3 years old, before they've left Gardulla maybe or just after Watto acquires them at the latest) then that means that he would have no reason to be involved in the plot of TPM. Even if we assume Obi-Wan would still take Anakin on as his apprentice and would do so almost immediately after being Knighted himself, Obi-Wan is obviously NOT quite a knight yet by TPM and could theoretically have ended up waiting another few months to a year before Qui-Gon and the Council had him undergo the trials. This leaves Anakin at the Temple for the entirety of this mission, so he isn't there to help them when they land on Tatooine nor is he there to blow up the droid mothership on Naboo, both of which could have MASSIVE changes to the story if you explored that further.

But for the sake of addressing this AU concept more directly and without getting too side-tracked, let's just say that somehow things in TPM go at least MOSTLY the same (everything that makes canon move forward still happens: Palpatine is voted in as Chancellor, Maul dies, Naboo is freed by Padme asking the Gungans for help, Qui-Gon dies, Obi-Wan is knighted for his actions on Naboo, and he takes Anakin as an apprentice probably within a year or so of being knighted). Palpatine would then have no real REASON to notice Anakin, he only does so because Anakin destroys the droid mothership on Naboo and unless we assume Anakin starts doing some equally crazy and noticeable things during his apprenticeship, it seems unlikely that Palpatine would really notice him or his power at all. Palpatine would also not have the excuse of Anakin having saved his people as an excuse to want to speak to him which makes any requests to spend time with Anakin a lot more suspicious, especially while he's still a child. So I think that EVEN IF Palpatine noticed Anakin somehow still, it'd be a lot harder for him to find ways to get close to Anakin to manipulate him and manipulating him would be made more difficult by Anakin having grown up among the Jedi to begin with.

I don't really see Palpatine going for Ahsoka instead of Anakin, I think if we was able to recognize Anakin's power enough to WANT to try to turn him, he'd just try to manipulate Anakin directly. But he also doesn't truly NEED Anakin at all, he's got Dooku to help him start the war and he can work on eliminating Dooku and replacing him with another stooge later on, he's already working on trying to kidnap Force sensitive children he can mold the way he did Maul which might honestly seem easier than trying to get to an Anakin that doesn't have any real reason to turn on the Jedi. If he recognizes Anakin's power at all, he's probably more likely to just want to kill him to get him out of the way as a threat than he is to try to turn him into a Sith.

All of which means that Anakin in this scenario probably grows up entirely normal as a Jedi. They're likely AWARE of his midichlorian levels and have probably considered the possibility of Anakin being a child of prophecy, but given that this is something we know isn't really put on Anakin's shoulders much in canon, I think we can assume the same would have been true in this AU. Anakin would just be a Jedi with somewhat higher power levels than the average, that's it. He'd be a GOOD Jedi who genuinely believed in the philosophies of non-attachment and compassion towards everyone. He'd lack a lot of the things that cause him the most problems, like the memories of Shmi and his attachment to her, or the friendship he built up with Padme that he clings to for 10 years, or the inherent mistrust of authority that causes him problems with the Council. Anakin would probably end up a lot like Ahsoka herself during early TCW; in other words, he's still impatient and a little cocky sometimes, prone to running off and getting himself into trouble trying to be independent and overestimating his own abilities because of how advanced his skillset is without taking into account his own youth.

So if we assume things progress generally as they do in canon and the Clone War still starts around the same time, and Anakin still gets knighted at the beginning of it, then Ahsoka getting assigned to him likely goes exactly the way Yoda and Obi-Wan seem to think it will. They're going to be VERY similar people, even more so than they were in canon due to Anakin having grown up among the Jedi same as Ahsoka. It makes sense that Yoda and Obi-Wan recognize Anakin, while ready to be a knight, is still very young and could use something to help teach him responsibility, while Ahsoka could use a master who is young and powerful and able to keep up with her as well as give her a challenge for her own advanced abilities. And I think this AU version of Anakin could certainly do exactly that.

This AU version of Anakin is someone who genuinely BELIEVES in the Jedi way of life and probably perfectly comfortable in it, he's not close to either Palapatine OR Padme, which eliminates a lot of the bigger distractions he has in this time period. So I think Ahsoka would end up a really GREAT Jedi with this version of Anakin. This is, in many ways, the version of Anakin that the Jedi all think they're dealing with generally in canon. That Anakin is a little cocky and impatient still, sure, but he's a good person who believes in the Jedi way of life and understands their teachings. Anakin will LEARN more responsibility by being forced to take charge of teaching someone else, so both he and Ahsoka will be able to mature TOGETHER via this relationship. Ahsoka wouldn't be taught to just completely disregard what she's told to do by the Council, but I could see Anakin training her on how to recognize when to do what you're told and when to listen to what your instincts tell you instead. This is generally exactly what Qui-Gon was teaching Obi-Wan during TPM, there's a time to simply do the job you've been told to do and a time to adapt and listen to your instincts even if they're leading you down a different path.

Now, depending on how you think canon goes from here, Ahsoka could end up in some pretty different places. I do think that this is the kind of AU where the Wrong Jedi arc just wouldn't happen. Even if we leave in the idea that Ahsoka does get framed for something late in the war (though not by Barriss because this is our AU and I've decided that that's stupid so I'm not including it), she'd handle it a lot better and never have to get expelled from the Order in the first place. So what we're dealing with is basically, does Order 66 happen or not and what happens to Ahsoka and Anakin in this scenario?

If Order 66 DOES happen then we have a few options: either they both survive, or only Ahsoka survives. Maybe they're left on Coruscant still, so they're in the Temple when the clones march on it. Either Ahsoka manages to get away because Anakin does what we know every other Jedi master did and sacrificed himself to protect her, or they both get away because they're doing something similar to what Kelleran Beq does and try to escape with as many survivors as they can (so basically Ahsoka and Anakin are given a bunch of younglings to protect that they go on the run with). If Ahsoka ends up alone, she likely turns out not dissimilar to the other padawan survivors we know like Cal and Kanan where she's cut off from her culture and forced to hide but figures out how to come back to it when she needs to by remembering the things she learned from her time with Anakin and the other Jedi. If Ahsoka and Anakin both survive together, she gets to keep her master for a while even though that training likely changes shape quite a bit given the circumstances.

If Order 66 is somehow averted, then presumably Ahsoka is able to just continue on as Anakin's padawan after the war ends and becomes a perfectly normal Jedi knight as a result.

[emma-is-swaggy-and-epic]

Felt like expanding my MLP next gen a little lol

All the bases used are made by ElementBases on deviantart and here are the links for them (might not work though since i didn't bother to check if they lead to the right URL)

X / X / X / X / X

SHIPS AND LORE UNDER THE CUT!!! (OR NOT SINCE TUMBLR DECIDED TO BE FUCKING BROKEN AND NOT LET ME FORMAT THIS POST HOW I WANTED!!!)

Left to right

Majesty, serena, royal blue - princess celestia x mirror!sombra (he's from the IDW comics in case you're confused)

These three are triplets, surprisingly! They're the princesses of heart, soul and mind and are named after three ponies from G1. Legends say that if you were to come into contact with one of the sisters and give an offering, they would bless you with their abilities; majesty gives you the ability to sense emotions, serena gives you the ability to understand yourself on a spiritual level and royal blue gives you endless wisdom. They may seem like super elegant princesses but in reality they're just a bunch of dorks who argue while playing monopoly on family game night. Majesty is very kind and often acts as a peacemaker in most situations; serena is the most pompous of the three due to being the only one who's an alicorn and therefore being the most powerful (fun fact: serena's hair is inspired by usagi from sailor moon because she has the same name in the DIC dub of the anime, not to mention serena has sailor moon's tiara!) Lastly royal blue is more or less the quiet one and she spends most her time nose-deep in a book. I imagine her being kinda like shiver from splatoon 3 personality-wise because i can't think of a trio of characters with different personalities without thinking of those 3 mfs from sploon 3

Taffeta and taurus - princess luna x discord

Fun fact: i decided to ship luna x discord and make it part of my next gen because i saw a fancomic on deviantart when i was like, 8 where the two pull pranks on the ponies by giving them weird dreams! Anyways, taurus is the older one. They are the princess of the zodiac and is very stoic and calm, she takes things EXTREMELY seriously and has a hard time letting loose and having fun (also she goes by she/they, just so you know), she also has albinism and their design was inspired by princess tiffany from G1 because i think she's really pretty :3

Taffeta is the younger sister, she is named after a pony from G1 much like the other princesses though i imagine she goes by "taffy" as a nickname. Taffy isn't really the princess of anything yet so she's just vibin as a typical 16 year old girl (a direct character inspiration for her being pearl from spongebob) i imagine that she has acne and likes covering it up with face stickers....also she's pansexual because i accidentally used the pan colors in her design and thought "why not?"

Red rhubarb pie - pinkie pie x minty

Rhubarb is chocomint's older sister, since chocomint is inspired by the song "aoi chan is going to eat chocomint no matter what" by GYARI, and by extension the synthV character aoi kotonoha, rhubarb is inspired by aoi's sister akane. Her name is inspired by a food item in stardew valley and i imagine she often hangs around her aunt maud, her special talent is making CBD candies and she runs a cannabis shop where she often runs into daisy bell.

B.B. buttercup - rainbow dash x applejack

If i'm being honest, i only created this cutie because i wanted to make a pony based on the powerpuff girls! Her full name is "bubbly blossoming buttercup" and she's around 11-12 years old. Much like the ACTUAL powerpuff girls, she's very strong (ESPECIALLY for an earth pony) i imagine her personality being somewhat similar to that one theory about the powerpuff girls being 3 different parts of a girl named brenda or whatever that theory was about lol (fun fact: her name was inspired by the youtuber dollightful's character bibi bubbles ^w^)