#this is technically lu but prior to it

[adrift-in-thyme]

A Pre-Malink fluff of Link's first experience with Hylian holidays. I say pre-Malink since I imagine he still would have been a kid

Thanks for the prompt! This was fun to write

——————

Something strange is happening at Lon Lon Ranch.

Link has been there more often than not this past year. But never has he seen anything like it. One moment, the cozy little home that Talon and Malon share is the same as it has always been. And the next, long strands of spruce have been draped over the doorways and mantel.

There are lights on them too that twinkle like fairies, and little things Malon calls “ornaments.”

(Link thinks they look a bit like miniature versions of the Spiritual Stones he fetched so long ago.)

The lights make their way onto the house and the barn, glittering on the piles of powdery snow. And today the strangest development of all has occurred.

There is a giant pine tree towering over the living room.

He stares up at it, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. How he hadn’t realized it was being constructed during the night, he hasn’t a clue. But here it is…a tree inside of a house.

Link understands a love of trees. After all, he had loved his father and he had been a great big tree. But to decide to stick one in the house…

“Oh fairy boy, how do ya like our Hylia Day tree?”

Malon comes up beside him, bouncing excitedly. He looks over at her, eyes narrowed.

“Hylia Day tree? What’s that?”

Malon tilts her head to gaze up at the tree. Link can’t help but notice how the lights adorning it make her eyes glitter.

“Well, Hylia Day is when we celebrate all the goddess has done for us. And we put up a tree to remember her love for her hero.” She grins at him. “Y’know cause of the green.”

“It’s also cause of the symbolism,” comes Talon’s voice from behind them. They both turn to see the man grinning, two steaming mugs in his hands. “The green is for the new growth Hylia and her hero made possible. The lights are for their sacred powers.”

He shrugs, good naturedly. “But no one really cared about all that anymore. Now it’s just a time for goodwill and celebrating with those you love.”

He sets the two mugs in Malon and Link’s hands.

“Speaking of, it’s a chilly mornin’. Thought you two could use something to warm you up.”

Link stares down into his cup, mouth watering at the scent of chocolate. He has only had this once before, while he was at the castle with Zelda. But he remembers loving it.

He takes a large gulp, then breaks out into a coughing fit as the scalding liquid burns his tongue and throat.

Oh, he’d forgotten about that part.

“You’re forgettin’ about the presents, Father,” Malon says, as she sends Link a sympathetic look. “Don’t drink that so fast, fairy boy! You’ll hurt yourself!”

He gives her a sheepish grin. “I think I already did. Can’t feel my tongue.”

Talon pats him on the back. “It’ll heal up fast, don’t you worry, son. Just take it slower from here on out.”

He turns to Malon, then, smiling. “Ah, yes, the presents. How on earth could I have forgotten? How about you explain that part to our little hero here?”

Malon’s eyes light up. “Alright! Every year around this time, we get each other something nice. We wrap it up all pretty and stick it beneath the tree. Then, on Hylia Day, we get to open our presents!”

Link gnaws his lip, contemplating that. He has received presents before — or what he supposes would count as them — and given them too. But he’s never heard of a day specifically for them.

Now that he thinks of it, though, it sounds promising. On one condition…

He frowns at Malon. “I don’t have to get everyone in Hyrule a present…do I?”

Malon laughs. “Of course not, silly! Just your friends and family.”

Link pauses to think that over, then nods, taking another sip of his cocoa. He can definitely work with that.

Now, to figure out the perfect presents.

…

December 25th rolls around far faster than Link had expected it to. The month has flown by, filled with an odd sort of energy and plenty of things to do. Cookie baking, caroling, wrapping the presents in tidy little packages – the tasks are nothing at all like the drudgery of shoveling snow outside (though he’s found that even that can be made enjoyable if you try). But nothing compares to helping Malon cut stars and wreaths out of soft dough or playing his ocarina while she sings.

(One of the best things about the holiday, he decides, is that Malon sings even more than usual. And though he didn’t think it was possible, her voice is even more beautiful when belted out beneath a sky of wintry blue and swirling clouds of pearly white snow.)

Now, the day is here – finally and yet all too soon. He awakens that morning with a tight, little wad of worry in his throat.

He’s never celebrated a holiday like this before. Will he even do it right?

Taking a deep breath, he slides out of the bed that in the past months has become his own. He grabs the package he had carefully stowed away in his pouch and peers down at it. The wrapping is not quite as nicely done as Talon’s or Malon’s. But he guesses it’s good enough. Out of his multiple tries, this one was the best.

So, he tucks it beneath his arm and heads into the living room.

Talon and Malon both greet him warmly with exclamations of “Happy Hylia Day!” Breakfast is already on the table – fresh eggs and milk and little buns that smell like cinnamon. Link breathes in the scent of it, mouth watering. But — he steels himself, shoulders squared, jaw tight, as though he is heading into battle (he’s nervous enough to be, that’s for certain) — before he can eat, before he can enjoy the hospitality this small family continues to bestow upon him there is something he must do.

He turns to Malon, awkwardly stretches out a present-laden hand in her direction.

She looks down at it, a small grin quirking her lips.

“Is that a present for me, fairy boy?”

His stomach somersaults. He nods.

“Well, we usually open presents after we eat, but…” she looks at Talon and he nods, smiling. “I suppose I can make an exception for my best friend.”

Link’s cheeks redden, the color only deepening as she takes the package from him. She inspects it, shaking it a bit to try and guess its contents. Then, she begins to unwrap it.

It seems an eternity before she finishes. Finally, she sets aside the paper and turns her attention to what was housed within it. It is a small bottle, in which floats is a purple flame.

She frowns. “Is this a…”

“It’s a poe,” Link says, quickly. He’s sure he is going to melt now. Maybe this wasn’t the best choice of a present. “The spirit of one, anyway. It gives you good luck if you keep it around. And if you’re ever in trouble, you can drink it and it’ll heal you.”

Malon hesitates a moment more, looking undecided. Then her face splits into a grin.

“I always have wanted to capture one of these little buggers.” She lunges forward, throwing her arms around Link. “Thanks, fairy boy. I love it.”

Hesitantly, Link returns the hug. His face is so hot he could easily imagine that he is back in the depths of Death Mountain.

“You’re sure?”

“You couldn’t have gotten me a better gift. Honest!”

Link relaxes with a sigh of relief. Maybe this holiday thing isn’t so hard after all.

[mmelete]

Ranking LU Links based on their ability to tan:

Time: Ngl he seems like that one off-white crayon in those crayola boxes. He slept for seven years and lived in a fully shaded forest prior to the coma, this man tans like a rotisserie chicken in the oven. 3/10

Warriors: He can definitely tan. Beach boy vibes. And he'll brag about it too. Just don't bring up that one time he got a tanline from his scarf, that was embarrassing.... 7/10

Twilight: THE MOST HORRENDOUS FARMER'S TAN KNOWN TO MANKIND. Dude this guy never rolls up his sleeves, always in jeans and boots---his feet have never seen the light of day. 7/10

Sky: So, in-game and in LU, he's pretty pale. Which is ironic, since he LITERALLY LIVES. IN THE SKY. My man has been getting point-blank sun rays since 1 week old, he's never not tan. 8/10

Legend: Technically, he adventures a lot, especially outside, so you'd think he'd be decently tan. But I think it would be hilarious if he was just like Time. This little spunky guy gets annihilated by the sun daily, refuses to wear sunscreen, gets made fun of for looking like Pink Panther, gets burned again the next day (it's an endless cycle). 2/10

Hyrule: Has the best tan ever, zero sweat. He doesn't even realize how it happens. He'll be laying by the beach all day, wake up from a five-hour-long nap and glow. Picture perfect tan, zero effort, Warriors is jealous (but refuses to admit it). 10/10

Wind: He literally lives on an island, and despite how pale he is in-game, my man is rivaling Twilight with how ATROCIOUS his tan-lines are. Wind also absolutely has a disgusting sandal/flip-flop tanline. 6/10

Wild: My guy has run around naked way longer than he cares to admit. He's taking that secret to the grave. Full body tan, no notes needed. 9/10

Four: He is like a Discord mod but the blacksmith version. You know how Shadow burns in the sun or whatever? Four does too, and doesn't even have the excuse of being a shadow being. Sunscreen can't even help him. Getting burned by a furnace fire? Easy, no problem. Getting burned by the sun? Fatal blow, insta death game over. 1/10

[daycourtofficial]

I don’t know about the other gingerfucker freaks but rest assured I have been well behaved, in fact, I would say the most well behaved to receive a lil snippet your grace 🙏🏻

This made me laugh so here’s a big snippet of what I’ve been working on since yesterday 🫶🏻 it’s unedited so 🔫 be nice 🔫

Kidnapping gingerfucker fic snippet below!!

Lucien’s mate seemed happy to carry Atlas around, her soft voice explaining to him the recent travels she and Lucien had gone on.

“Tulips of every color covered the fields. I’m sure one day Lu and I can take you to see them.”

“Uh oh, Elain. The High Lord’s going to kill you for speaking of kidnapping his son.” He wasn’t sure if Nesta knew he needed banter to keep his mind occupied or that he needed her to act as she always did. Either way, her words put him slightly at ease.

“Nonsense, Elain. If I had you killed, Lucien would mope about the house for the reat of his life.” His hands reached out, gently taking Atlas from her hold. “You keep him entertained for him. I owe you a great debt for it.”

Elain never knew how to respond to Eris, had only truly interacted with him a handful of times up to this point. She swallowed, determined to make some headway with her mate’s brother.

“Perhaps you could entertain him with the dog toys?”

Eris tilted his head, his thumb stroking down his son’s back as he bit back a laugh. He knew any Cauldron fated mate of Lucien’s and sister to Nesta was surely somebody of interest to him, but Elain had yet to show anything Eris found to be interesting until now.

“Did you just make a joke?”

“Yes.”

Eris nodded, accepting that maybe he had underestimated his brother’s mate. The air held a hint of awkwardness as they all stared at each other, the two sisters filing out quickly. The click of the door behind them was a beautiful symphony to Eris’s ears. To be alone with his son at last. It had only been twelve hours, but it was more like weeks had passed since he had seen Atlas’s small face, kissing his forehead goodbye. Nothing had felt off - no sense of anxiety overcame him, no fear for his family. Just annoyance and sadness at being away from them.

His mate had only made Autumn her home not even two years prior, but they spent every night in the same bed, arms wrapped tight each other in slumber.

Eris had always hated sharing a bed - he ran so warm when he slept, the few occasions another fae was in his bed lasted mere hours before he kicked them out in the middle of the night, hurriedly giving them their clothes and shoes. The years had softened him and he dreaded spending an evening alone in the bed much too big for one.

Eris slipped off his shoes, gently cradling Atlas as he made his way up the mattress, propping himself up against the headboard, back cushioned by pillows. His son had been restless in his arms when he took him from Elain, his little arms and legs trying to disturb the perfectly swaddled blanket around him.

The room had no windows and technically connected to his private chambers. When he was a boy, he had a full time nursemaid stay in here. Once he outgrew her, the space became his own private sanctuary. It took many years to turn it into its glory, a safehaven of his own design. Many nights spent hidden in this room, no concept of the passage of time as he poured over books, back curved in desperation to stay awake so he could finish it.

The shelves of books and notebooks still lined the walls, but he had some of the furniture removed and replaced with the bedframe and mattress should his mate eventually want her own chambers.

His head dug into the headboard as he realized this might be the first anyone’s used this bed. A pity, he thought, it was extremely comfortable. His muscles ached less the longer he stayed still, and he softly piled up pillows on each side of him.

Atlas was stirring in his arms, tiny coos resembling the chirping of birds. He broached a long finger close to Atlas, tiny hands wrapping around it as he settled back down. If he could, he’d strip his shirt to allow his son to rest on his skin, but thought better of it. The jostling would wake him for good, and he’d be doubly upset to know he was on someone’s chest who wasn’t his mother.

The sound of deep breaths was all that could be heard in the room as Eris used his magic to put out the lit candles littering every surface. The darkness of the shadows made his eyes heavier, but he fought to stay awake, not wanting to let his guard down.

“My beautiful son.” Hushed words filled the room, the warmth of his voice almost visible in the darkness.Atlas didn’t acknowledge the words, content in his slumber and being with his father. He felt warm in Eris’s arms, Vanserra babies always running hot.

“I will always find you.” Outside the moon rose high in the air, the cold bringing a slight frost to Autumn. The midnight hour was one Eris made most of his best kept promises, all relating to the mate from the Night Court he found centuries ago. A tradition he unknowingly passed on to doing with his son. He was so pale, cheeks flaming pink. He didn’t know his father was High Lord or general of Autumn’s armies for centuries. He had yet to experience the parts of himself Eris wanted to keep hidden. Eris’s eyes closed slowly, lulled by his son’s breathing, content to know that for now, his son only knew the best parts of his father.

[crazylittlejester]

Daily brainrot delivery. :)

I had to go to town and that gave me a solid hour to think about the brainrot.

LU EAH AU: I'm considering the problem of Time/Mask, and I think I've largely come to the conclusion that I'm going to write him as Mask. Partly because I don't think I can do a longfic with Time (yet), and partly because the main story is going to be taking place either prior to or during when Warriors' story was supposed to happen. (Technically, all the stories are somewhat going off the rails because that's half the point of EAH, but that's beside the point.)

Switching topics, I've been thinking about the whole blood curse thing with Hyrule again. I've looked, but I can't find any canon material that says he has a blood curse, even though that's what's in the fics I've read. It's still a cool idea and I like it, but I'm baffled because what I've found sounds like it's basically just... a recipe? Like an evil cookbook or something. The most instructions I can find say to kill him and then mix Ganon's ashes with Link's blood, so I'm assuming that the killing part is important to the process somehow.

I am now going to be haunted by the image of bokoblins baking Ganon-bread in a kitchen, using Ganon's ashes as flour and Link's blood in place of water. This is why I can't have nice things.

I really need to get around to writing that piece of Hyrule angst I've been mulling over on and off because the sheer vagueness of the whole resurrecting Ganon ritual thing is just too much to resist. Like, dude, can you imagine knowing that monsters want you and your blood to resurrect the guy you just murdered, except you have no idea how it works so you have no idea what exactly you're trying to avoid other than the general dying and being used as an ingredient part? That would keep me up at night. Because it could be just the blood and ashes that does it, but what if he has to be 100% dead first? That's a huge difference. Hence, the angst stick.

i told myself i was gonna take a break from tumblr for at least 48 hours cos I’m not doing too good but I caved for a second just to check my notifs and see if I missed something super important, and I WAS RIGHT ON TIME TO SEE THE DAILY BRAINROT AND I GOT SO FUCKING EXCITED. The daily brainrot actually cures me, istg

OOOOOOH i love Mask so much, and I cannot wait to see what you do with him. LU EAH AU my BELOVED, grabbing it like a rubber chicken but also holding it so gently

Yeah I don’t know where the curse thing came from either, but it is now canon to me that the bokoblins gotta bake their Ganon bread, that’s fucking hilarious

YEAAAAAAAAH SMACK HIM WITH THE ANGST STICK, there is not nearly enough Hyrule angst in this world 😔💔

anyways THANK AGAIN FOR THE DAILY BRAINROT, I SERIOUSLY LOOK FORWARD TO IT EVERY SINGLE DAY :)

[digitalmidnight]

Hey y'all

So I'm almost on spring break! Finals puts me in the mood to write for some reason. Long story short, my total Ao3 word count is 91,884. I therefore want to write 8,116 words to get to that sweet sweet even 100k.

Below are story ideas. One for Loonatics Unleashed, rest for Tom and Jerry. There's also a poll and I will write whatever wins. Poll ends around 2am, March 14th, PST

Loonatics Unleashed:

Solution [name pending]

"After another failed demonstration, Tech and Rev return to their home 3.5 minutes before the meteor falls, and their lives are changed forever." An expansion off this post. A different remimaging of Tech and Rev's relationship right before they get their powers. Based technically on the AU I had in my head, but I will write it with their canon powers and such. Rev will have his speed prior to powers, though. Oh, and some light angst as they figure out their powers, including Tech's :)

Tom and Jerry:

Rewrite/Remake: Don't fall in Love

"Jerry makes bet with Tom, the first one to fall in love loses." The rewrite will contain the same plot, but with updated writing, grammar and jokes. Don't fall in love has a mere 788 words. The updated version will be more expanded with lots more imagery.

Back again (Human AU + Ship):

"After many years of hyping it up, Tom finally takes Jerry to a multi-day event in his hometown. However, he begins to get cold feet as he remembers how unwelcoming it can be." A fic that takes place over 3 days involving almost comical amounts of miscommunication that takes place in a rural farm town.

[Warning! Potential to go over word limit. If it does, I'll post second place, get the pic, then post this]

Boxes (Human AU + Ship):

"Mentally, Tom puts everyone into boxes (stereotypes). Everyone is supposed to stay in their little box and be predictable. Tom can not put Jerry into a box, and Jerry seems to be dragging Tom out of his." Tom centric. Tom trying to overcome his own mental stereotypes while also coming to the realization he might have a crush.

Instincts (Canon + Implied)

Jerry hurt his legs and they are lost together in the woods. Tom has to get them out while also fighting his prey drive/hunger that gets worse the longer they are out there.

Last Night (Canon)

Tom irreparably breaks his owner's prized heirloom. Knowing he'll be punished no matter what he does, he decides to have one last night of fun. Tom centric and mostly about the feeling of dread that comes with making a mistake and fearing the consequences.

Amnesiacat (Canon + Friends)

5+1. 5 times one of them tries to remember, and 1 time they do. One of them (still picking who. Leaning towards Jerry) gets amnesia cartoon style. The amnesiac believes their relationship mimics the first cartoon, while their relationship has evolved to what it is in the later cartoons.

[Least developed idea mentally]

Winner of poll will be the fic written. The losers may or may not be written someday depending on hyperfixation/ideas being put into other fics.

For the Tom and Jerry fics: Human = they will be human. Canon = they will be cat and mouse. Ship = 100% romantic interest. Implied = it's possible. Friends = written as friends.

[silvyavan]

It's 2 am, time to unleash Theory Bullshit

Topic of shithousery: Astaroth's Big Dick Energy pulled 1000 IQ ideas out of his ass in true trickster god nature.

Or, how Astaroth is one suicidal bitch, making a whole ass war for the funnies, 1200+ years in the making.

What we DONT talk about is how Astaroth is old as fuck if we go by his roots and how his connection to Christianity (which Lucius is trying to gentrify) are a lot closer getting to home than one thinks.

Now, there's lots of shit concerning Astaroth that is both "lore connections that is TOO damn important to the series to ignore" and "shit that feels like a loose end waiting to be connected to the web". My previous theory here had a few to name but those were mostly "namedrop" connections.

Right off the bat, we gotta talk how Lucius' plan is, technically going smoothly. Except its clearly shown to be going TOO smoothly.

Lucius' plan claims to be based off many futures, but his power is very, VERY limited in terms of being only able to see the futures of those WITH mana and that he can, very likely, only see that which he wants, similar to how Lolopechka can't see specific information of the past until she finds out about it and Ryuuya's clairvoyance is very much ridding him of his mana and giving him a shortterm preparation period.

It's likely Lolopechka's boon was directly given to the first Queen of heart, prior to Qlipoth. Then there was likely a period after the Yami Clan Massacre where Ryuuya found a way to obtain Clairvoyance, likely through an artifact because at that point, Astaroth was already MIA.

We have 3 people in positions of power with 3 coaligning powers connected to Astaroth's own lore equivalent powers of having Knowledge of past, present and future. In addition, ALL OF THESE PEOPLE have SIMILAR NAMES/1ST VOWELS.

LU-cius - future focused, likely stolen, became Ruler by taking/planting an alter in a foreign country.

RU-ya - present focused, likely traded for mana/eye (Basing off the fact that the Japanese language doesn't have a distinction between Ls and Rs and that some cases yu are more similar sounding to just U sounds.), chosen to be a Ruler by The People (assuming he was elected as per Ichika as a source).

LO-lopechka - past focused, likely given as a boon/gift, chosen to be a Ruler by a Spirit.

Considering Asta has one half of the name and NO mana whatsoever, we can assume he'll be necessary in the oncoming Demonic Shoe Drop. The other half of the name, follows the pattern and completes the primary vowels having RO-th, but since its the "first" vowel of the "latter" half, this will likely be used to define ASTAROTH as a whole and the defining feature being "born with", both with time related abilities and status as a Duke of The Underworld.

And we all know Tabata loves his plays on names, with Liebe being named after Licita through her first vowel, and Asta being named after Astaroths first half of the name. So these connections are, in fact VALUABLE.

Ryuuya and Lolopechka both may be involved in the Judgement Day battle, with Lolopechka likely trying to regain her past Knowledge and Ryuuya trying to stop Lucius to protect the Land of the Sun.

Like trying to get back stolen past and the present trying to save the future. Connections are Massive.

But now to the more important part: how the fuck has Lucius, Christian Airfrier 9000, managed to have a massive 20 year apocalypse plan perfectly executed when he clearly was asleep for at LEAST 18 years? How did he even manage to get Astaroths power, considering Astaroth is actually described as VERY STUBBORN, to the point where if you summon him WRONG he won't obey shit?

Adrammelech and Beelzebub.

Adrammelech, in just the Ars Goetia, isn't really found. Rather, the closest equivalent would be Andrealphus.

Andrealphus, menstruation and fertility connections aside, is in the category of Astronomy, which connects to Lucius and Julius having Sun and Star markings, leading to believe that Lucius originally had a contract with Adrammelech.

But Adrammelech has roots in the same pantheon that ASTAROTH originated from: Ancient Semitic Religion and by connection, Babylonian Religion of Mesopotamia.

Astaroth is based off the ancient goddess Ishtar, goddes of Love and War, as well as Fertility and Political Power, and patron diety of Nineveh, which was considered the LARGEST city of its time and the OLDEST in antiquity. Ishtar herself was based off of Inanna and known as "the Queen of Heaven", prominent symbols being an 8 pointed star. (In contrast, Asta's main symbol is a 4 pointed star, which could lead to him only being half of Astaroth). Her Greek equivalent was Aphrodite, Roman being Venus and Canaanite Astarte.

Adrammelech is part of the same religion, but more vaguely. He's briefly described as the god of "duality" or Sepharvaim. The name itself means "Adar is Prince", Adar being derived from Akkadian A-tar: meaning father of decision. Likewise decision, destiny and also having the name of the plague God. Adrammelech is worshipped through child sacrifice. The name could also mean "to carry a king".

Adrammelech is often pair with the god Anammelech, even to the point they both resided over the same twin cities. Twins in Black Clover are usually a death flag, and with child sacrifices involved, much is to be feared.

But Adrammelech himself is rumored (I say rumored because I can't find a lot of credible sources for this) to be the god of the sun, which I think comes from Andrealphus.

This, connected with Beelzebub being a Canaanite and Phillistine god, translating to "Lord of heavenly dwelling", we're getting the impression for the earth, the sky and the sun all being in kahoots.

With Adrammelech having duality connections and Beelzebub having "traitor theory" Zenon as his main contractor, it's not far off to assume that Astaroth's "death" was planned and Adrammelech was the one who organised it. Beelzebub likely agreed to it, so you've got 2 inside men - one is watching to make sure the humans are falling into place, the other is working to make sure the devils are moving appropriately and likely teleporting them into the human realm.

With Astaroth having split his power and likely letting Adrammelech watch over Lucius to make sure he doesn't step out of line, we're given the possible assumption that, if Lucifero was going 1 step ahead with the Qlipoth, Lucius was going 5 steps, Adrammelech was going 7, and Astaroth, who's technically dead, was going 10.

The current arc already parallels a LOT with Elf Reincarnation arc (in a good way), so a demonic plot twist in the end is to be expected, if not feared.

So.

How does Asta tie into this? By being connected to Jesus more than Lucius.

Lucius' godlike powers come as a reference to the gospels of John.

But Asta's mercy, kindness and forgiveness comes from Jesus personally.

Asta himself is actually performing Easter as Jesus.

Easter was originally based off the celebration of Ishtar (note the phonetic likeness). While there is no direct connection, the use of eggs and rabbits as sec and fertility symbols go hand in hand, thus connecting to Astaroth.

Asta, in this sense, is acting out Jesus' rebirth - he is supposedly "trapped" in a cave for 3 days (3 days before judgement day) by authorities who hated him (Lucius lmao) and on the 3rd day when they checked, the body was nowhere to be found (no proof of death). Instead, there are news of Jesus having come back to life (future prediction of Asta returning to Clover.)

In that's sense, if we connect Asta and Astaroth, it begs the question on which one of them will actually be rising from the dead. Likely both, as Asta was only dead symbolically, while Astaroth was death physically.

In a way, it ties to the idea of bringing the hearts of devils into the human realm for "perfect manifestation". If Lucius is defeated or loses control of the hearts, that can be possible or the devils take over the hosts they were put into. Remember, if Lucius can make bodies out of his siblings' magic, this could have been the way to make perfect vessels for them. Also ties into the fact that Demons in the bible aren't manifestations of sin, rather being hated for being traitors. So sudden bout of paladins getting their forms taken over by devils? Very possible.

[ryin-silverfish]

Remembering the topic of prejudice against the Yaoguai, I understand that some of the immortal masters on the Yuanshi side were objects of nature? you know, rocks, stones, etc (correct me if I'm wrong). So, the prejudice would technically be more present against cultivated animals? Or just that the Jie sect AND Yaoguai in general are perceived as evil or that they shouldn't cultivate. In addition to what you said that the Jie sect were accepting Yaoguai that they may have done bad things.

However I've been reading a lot of articles lately so my mind may be remembering it differently.

The only character on the Chan side who is explicitly stated to be a yaoguai is the Dragon-bearded Tiger, and the only yaoguai who is a cultivated rock is Lady Rock Demoness/Shiji, who is a disciple of the Jie Sect.

Characters like Jade Tripod and Yellow Dragon, despite their fancy Daoist names, are not literal inanimate object yaoguais or dragons.

However, if we are not just talking about Chan Sect proper (the 12 immortals and their students), and include their Western Sect allies?

There's Ma Shan, FSYY's take on Huaguang, who is the flame spirit of Vulture Peak's crystal lamp, Kong Xuan the Peacock General who, uh, just shows up out of nowhere to be a giant roadblock and isn't actually aligned with any of the sects prior to his defeat, and...yeah that's it.

If we are getting into theory territories, Sage Lu Ya, who specializes in seriously OP curse rituals and owns the Immortal-slaying Flying Knife, may also be a non-human character.

Like, during the Ten Formations arc, he just walks into the Blazing Flames Formation and stands there unharmed, because he is "the treasure in the flames, the essence of the Li position, the spirit of Samadhi". (乃火内之珍，离地之精，三昧之灵)

This naturally leads to a lot of speculations by readers and FSYY-inspired Xianxia webnovel genres, from him being a Three-legged Sun Crow to a lamp spirit like Ma Shan to the literal elemental spirit of the Samadhi Fire.

But, whatever he may be, Lu Ya is also a sectless/unaligned Daoist (散人) who just shows up to help, kinda like the Western Sect guys. So yeah.

My reading is not that yaoguais are considered evil, or should not cultivate per se——otherwise Dragon-bearded Tiger wouldn't have been allowed, would he? It's just that, for a more orthodox, less folk-religion-ish sect, their "barrier to entry" seems to be much higher.

As to whether the prejudice towards cultivated animals is stronger? No, I don't think so. One of the Three Demonesses of Xuanyuan Tomb is a cultivated musical instrument, the Jade Pipa Demoness, and she is treated just like Daji: a femme fatale villain.

[russeliarat]

What are your age headcanons for the LU gang?

Hey Tempest! Welcome to whatever's going on with me and my wonderful group of askers. I'm gonna go in age order, because it makes it very much easier to list for me lol.

Time is in his mid 30s, 36 years old max. I saw a piece of concept art for Malon listing her as in her 30s, so I took the same direction for Time.

Warriors is about 26-27. He's still carrying his war trauma and all that but it wasn't like it happened years and years ago. It's been a couple years and he's still learning to recover.

Twilight is 24. Its mainly because he's kept his Link swag since he was 17 and I still can't fathom why, but he also gives me the vibe of a 24 year old fun uncle kinda man.

Sky is 19, he's fresh out of education so he's now finished his senior year (which he hadn't in SkSw, that's a mistake I've seen a lot of people make) and kinda doesn't know what he wants to do in life other than be a knight.

Legend is about 17. He's the one of oldest of the teens coz he's been through so many adventures over the years, gives off the feeling that he's younger than he should be though. Lots of people prob thought he was 19-early 20s.

Wild is one of the few to have their ages confirmed, being 117, technically 17. So I'm not fighting Jojo on that one lol I agree actually.

Four is 16, idk he gives me 16 year old vibes fsr. Just a real buff, somewhat emotionally suppressed 16 year old. Also totally not because I project onto him the most.

Hyrule is 15, he's one of the younger ones. Really, I couldn't confidently say hes 16 when I first decided these headcanons prior to the two most recent arcs, but he's kind of teetering the line now. We'll put a question mark on him being 15 for now.

Wind, being another to have his age revealed, is 14! Fits him honestly, 14 year olds are both really stupid and smart at the same time, and quite capable and independent while still being told they're a child.

[minorbookblog]

Different Dystopian Genres

While bored in class I broke down different dystopian genres. I added books that I thought fit in. 

·      Rebellious Dystopian

o   When the protagonist is against the society from the beginning. They have always questioned what the society meant and what they do. It isn’t until they found someone else that they can rebel with (usually a whole thought out rebellion or a singular person who’s already thought it through). The society usually already has holes and is not “Perfect” as everyone believes

§  Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

§  Divergent by Veronica Roth

§  The Selection by Kiera Cass

§  Chemical Garden Trilogy by Lauren DeStefano

§  #Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil

§  Imposters by Scott Westerfeld

§  The Young Elites by Marie Lu

§  The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano

§  Pawn by Aimee Carter

§  XVI by Julia Karr

§  The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

·       This could also be considered Sci-fi but their society isn’t obsessed with technology (except it is). I don’t know I think it fits here the best

§  The Program by Suzanne Young

·       “Perfect Society” Dystopian – I recognize this sounds redundant, but I think it’s the best title

o   The protagonist is all for the society. They are excited for what the society stands for and what they are required to do. Until some accident happens where they are thrown into the rebellion. The protagonist finds the flaw and starts to fight against them, but it takes some convincing before they realize the society has bad execution.

§  Matched by Allie Condie

§  Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

§  Arc of Scythe Neal Shusterman

·       This could be argued it’s only sci-fi dystopian but I see it as Citra agrees with society until she herself becomes a Scythe and realizes how wrong the society is, but at the same time she has secrets prior to being a Scythe but honestly I don’t remember it that’s why I am putting it here

§  Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brian

§  Eve by Anna Carey

§  Legend by Marie Lu

·       This is a difficult one but because I remember June’s story more it gets put here. But because it’s a multiple protagonist with multiple POV’s who both have different views on the society so really its both.

§  The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

·       Sci-fi Dystopian – also a little redundant since dystopian is technically sci-fi although I don’t really believe that.

o   Honestly this is pretty self-explainable. This is one of the bigger categories of dystopian where others fit into it. But this is where technology is more prominent than just basic society has evolved

§  Enders Game by Orson Scott Card

§  Maze Runner by James Dashner

·       I don’t know necessarily where else to put this book but I think because the technology is what drives the society at least in the rest of the books besides the first one. The first one could be a stand alone without the others but to understand the first book you need the rest of them.

§  The fifth wave by Rick Yancey

·       This is another one where I don’t know if this is where I would put it. But because its not a different society it’s aliens so I am going Sci-fi above anything else

§  Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

§  Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

[lord-valery-mimes]

Meet the Venoms - Kuo Chui

If you took a poll of all the Venom Mob fans in the world and asked them, “Who is your favorite Venom?” chances are the guy coming out on top with the most votes would be Kuo Chui (Nowadays he is credited as Philip Kwok Chun Fung, but I’m going to stick with Kuo Chui as he was billed in the 70s).

Personally I can’t pick a favorite Venom (excluding my kung fu son Chiang Sheng obviously), but it’s plainly obvious why Kuo Chui is so well-loved. While all of the Venoms had their individual strengths, Kuo Chui was the one Venom who seemed to be able to do everything, and make it look absolutely effortless.

Like Lu Feng and Chiang Sheng, Kuo Chui was born in Taiwan and attended a Peking Opera school where he learned martial arts and acrobatics. Just prior to his joining the Peking Opera school (when he was only THIRTEEN) he lost part of the two middle fingers of his left hand in an accident with some heavy machinery at a factory where he worked. AT THIRTEEN. Christ. Luckily it certainly didn’t effect his career in the slightest. He does a great job hiding the missing fingers from the camera, but there are occasions where you can catch a glimpse.

Sometimes I wonder if this injury was what spurred him to join the opera school, instead of doing factory work. Regardless, even though he was missing the ends of his fingers, AND didn’t even start training in Peking opera until he was fourteen, it didn’t stop Kuo Chui from becoming an incredible kung fu star.

Technically Kuo Chui studied Taiwanese opera which is slightly different from Peking opera in that it’s sung in the native Taiwanese dialect and there is a difference in costuming and makeup, but the skills he learned were identical to the other Peking Opera trained Venoms: acrobatics, martial arts, and fighting with various weapons.

After leaving the opera school, Kuo Chui started working doing stunts in the films Chang Cheh was making for Shaw Brothers in Taiwan. Action director Lui Chia Liang noticed Kuo Chui’s potential, and pointed him out to Cheh who had a part written specifically to highlight his acrobatic skills in his upcoming production: Marco Polo (1975). 

Apart from a horribly mismatched wig, Chui was also stuck spending most of the production jumping and flipping into pits filled with dirty water. But even the mighty have to start somewhere.

His role in Marco Polo lead to several other supporting roles in Chang Cheh productions, making him the first of the Venoms to graduate from doing background stunts.

Although he was already making a name for himself at Shaw Brothers, real fame arrived with the Five Deadly Venoms where he played the agile Gecko/Lizard. 

Once the Venoms established themselves as kung fu stars, Kuo Chui also began working behind the camera, helping to choreograph the lavish fights that would become the trademark of Venoms films. Chui, Lu Feng and Chiang Sheng would all work together to choreograph sequences that highlighted their acrobatic Peking style, while still allowing for the other two non-Peking Opera Venoms to be involved. 

Kuo Chui was usually cast as either the heroic lead, or the mischievous scamp with a heart of gold in most of Chang Cheh’s Venom-era films, and it’s easy to see why he tended to take center stage. Apart from being a dazzling acrobat, and a whiz at fight scenes, Chui has real star quality and just shines when he’s in front of the camera. Just look at that smile.

While the whole trio of Venoms with Peking opera background were all amazing acrobats, but Kuo Chui in particular, made everything he did look absolutely effortless.

No wires anywhere for this scene. Just Kuo Chui launching himself about ten feet in the air off a springboard, flipping upside down, and landing ready to fight. You just don't see action scenes like this without wires or CGI these days.

His best quality is his SPROINGS.

Kuo Chui has said in multiple interviews, that his favorite role was in Shaolin Rescuers, where he plays a restaurant server/would-be Kung Fu hero, opposite Lol Mang who plays a tofu seller/would-be Kung Fu hero. Kuo Chui was able to make ample use of his acrobatic skills in this one, using the inside of the restaurant set as his own personal gymnasium. He and Mang have fantastic comedic chemistry together in this one, but I'll save that for a full kung fu review.

Unfortunately for all the Venoms, their stars started to rise just as the popularity of Kung Fu films was starting to decline. After a few years, Chang Cheh left Shaw Brothers and decided to make films in Taiwan. Several of the Venoms, feeling pressured to remain loyal to the man who'd made them stars, followed him there. Kuo Chui was one of them, and he's been vocal about regretting this decision. He eventually returned to Hong Kong, but by then, the kung fu movie industry was on its last legs.

Fortunately for Chui, he was able to utilize his fight choreography skills to find work behind the camera. He still dabbled in acting over the years: in John Woo's Hard Boiled, and even making a brief appearance in western cinema, in Tomorrow Never Dies in the late 90s.

He's been content with his career behind the scenes, and is still a highly sought after fight choreographer in Hong Kong to this day. And he still occasionally hangs out with Lu Feng. 

Kuo Chui has left an indelible mark in Eastern films and television. He seems to be pretty private these days, but I’m glad that he’s managed to spend so many years being involved in something that he loves, and we love him for it!

[cutebutalsostabby]

Linked Universe Four vs Timeline 4x7

Ok, so the LU fic I’m writing has some Zelda timeline-related plot points and uhh time to decide which historical hero(es) Four actually is for that purpose. Has anyone figured out a way for that to make sense or are we all just kind of handwaving it? Might do the same tbh but I wouldn’t mind seeing how others have handled it.

Going off Hyrule Historia (HH) - plus Hyrule Warriors since that’s also included in LU - here are the 7 (x4) different heroes Four could be:

The Hero of Men. First major hero after the Era of the Sky. Referenced in the Minish Cap as the original wielder of the Picori Blade (later Four Sword) - not actually playable.

The protagonist of LoZ: Minish Cap. This game occurs prior to the OoT timeline split. At the end of Minish Cap, the Picori Blade turns into the Four Sword.

The Hero of the Four Sword, as referenced in Four Sword Adventures. Not a playable character. HH suggests this is a descendent of the hero from Minish Cap. Not really any particularly compelling reason why this needs to be a separate person, but canonically (according to HH) it is.

The hero of Four Swords (the game), not to be confused with the Hero of the Four Sword (character that makes an appearance in Four Sword Adventures).

The antagonist of the Palace of the Four Sword, aka the bonus dungeon which can only be found in the Gameboy Advance version of Link to the Past (Downfall Timeline, aka Legend). Not necessarily canon - this is an alternate ending where instead of going up to fight Ganon at the top of the Pyramid of Power, you instead go and fight green Link, blue Link, red Link and purple Link in turn. You then get a cutscene of Ganon and his minions dancing happily, so uhh I guess Legend is the villain in this one?

The protagonist of Four Sword Adventures, which occurs in the Child Timeline after Twilight Princess - though it also has some weird cross-over with LttP from the Downfall Timeline, e.g. the Pyramid of Power containing Ganon’s Trident, which is “an evil weapon born of darkness”, plus the fact that this Ganondorf is canonically unrelated to the guy Twilight stabbed to death. Possible timeline convergence shenanigans?

[Not technically canon BUT] the historical hero referenced in Hyrule Warriors who originally split Ganon into four parts and scattered them across time. Might also be the same hero who possessed the magic mirror found in the Water Temple. The Four Sword isn’t actually referenced here but I thought the idea of splitting Ganon into four + the related space/time shenanigans of where the four parts went merited mention.

Did I miss any?

(Not here to start fights or criticise anything btw, just that making this make sense is a fun little mental exercise.)

[jaxsteamblog]

Momtara and Dadko

Click here to read the entire fic on AO3

Content Warning: Suggestive Content

Zuko, as usual, woke up early in the morning. Katara recalled kissing him before he went on his run, but didn’t properly wake up until a few hours later. Normally, Zuko woke her up when he returned, so Katara was confused when her aide came knocking. 

After getting dressed, Katara walked into the dining room where Sokka, Suki, and the children were firmly entrenched in their breakfast. 

“Where’s Zuko?” She asked.

“He’s not with you?” Sokka asked, glancing up briefly before looking back down to continue feeding Lu Ten small pieces of bacon.

“Clearly.” Katara said dryly, taking her seat.

“Mommy, you are being mean to Uncle Sokka. You should say sorry.” Izumi said. 

“It’s okay.” Sokka said quickly.

“It’s not.” Katara said and sighed. “I have been mean. I’m stressed out and taking it out on you, which isn’t fair. I’m sorry Sokka.”

“I understand Kat. I forgive you.” Sokka replied.

“And I’m sorry Mimi. I shouldn’t have yelled at you yesterday.” Katara said, putting her hand on the top of Izumi’s head.

“I forgive you mommy.” Izumi said primly. “Now Kya.”

“I’m sorry Kya. I shouldn’t have yelled at you either.” Katara said, looking at her niece while stroking Izumi’s hair.

“Thank you Auntie.” Kya murmured, looking down at her plate.

“And Lu Ten!” Izumi chirped.

“What did I do to Lu Ten?” Katara asked, tilting her head down to look at Izumi.

“You left him out.” She stated.

“You’re right. I’m sorry Lu Ten.” Katara said.

Sokka picked up Lu Ten, thrusting the toddler over the table. Katara chuckled as she leaned across the corner to kiss Lu Ten. He, with his hands covered in greasy egg, grabbed onto her face as he kissed her back.

“Ew!” Kya and Izumi shrieked together. 

Katara leaned back, wiping her face off as the others started chattering once again.

“What did I miss?” Zuko asked as he walked in. Katara turned and was surprised to see him still in his running clothes. 

Then Hakoda, Malina, and Bato stepped in after him.

“Lu Ten got mommy messy.” Izumi answered.

“He seems especially skilled at that.” Zuko agreed. He walked to Katara and kissed her cheek.

“Good morning beloved.” He murmured.

“Kisses!” Lu Ten yelled. Zuko smiled and made his way down the table and around, going so far as to kiss Suki and Sokka’s cheeks. As he got to Sokka, he took Lu Ten from his lap and walked back to take his seat next to Katara.

“That’s very cute.” Malina remarked.

“Thank you. It was very weird at first; physical affection wasn’t something I was used to as a kid.” Zuko said, speaking easily enough to keep things from growing awkward.

“I can understand that! South Pole custom seems to be very touchy.” Malina said, playfully nudging Hakoda with her shoulder. 

“The first time I hugged Zuko, he thanked me and then shook my hand.” Sokka said. Bato sputtered out a laugh and Hakoda broke a smile. 

“Was he always like that?” Zuko asked, looking side to side for verification from the other South Pole members.

“As children, they were handled a lot. It’s nearly impossible to get toddlers through the snow when left on their own two feet.” Hakoda said. 

“Katara wore one of those wrap things when the kids were babies. Genius. I think I carried both of them all day sometimes.” Zuko said.

Katara snorted and everyone looked at her.

“One time, Zuko had Lu Ten in a sling during a financial meet and, in his sleep, decided to use his diaper.” She explained.

“Nothing is worse than potty training a child during the dark season in the South Pole when your bathroom is outside.” Hakoda interjected as the others were laughing.

“Paw-Paw, what was mommy like when she was my age?” Izumi asked.

The table quieted and Katara stared at her father.

“Well, I wasn’t around when your mother was five. I was fighting in the Earth Kingdom.” Hakoda said.

“You didn’t see her at all?” Izumi questioned with clear shock.

“Not for many years.” Hakoda said with a shake of his head.

“Sometimes I don’t get to see mommy for a few weeks when I live with daddy in the Fire Nation.” Izumi said softly. “It makes me sad.” 

“I was very sad when I couldn’t see my mom or my dad.” Katara said, putting her arms around Izumi and kissing her hair. 

“When I’m queen, I’m going to live here and I’ll be able to see Izumi every day.” Kya announced.

“What about me and mama?” Sokka asked.

“You can live here too if you want.” She conceded and Sokka scoffed in amusement. 

“Oh, why thank you.” He said and smiled over Kya’s head at Suki.

“I had hoped after the war, I’d be able to live with my entire family in one place.” Hakoda grumbled and Malina patted his hand. 

“Tell me about it.” Katara sighed. 

“Excuse me, your majesty?” A woman called from the doorway. Katara turned and waved the aide in.

“The Matriarch is waiting for you. And we just got confirmation that the ambassador has entered the city.” She said, angling a tablet down so Katara could see the verification. 

“Delightful.” Katara muttered. Then, speaking up, she tried to sound more cheerful. “Time to get dressed!”

More voices than she expected groaned in disappointment. 

The first meeting would be a quick, but formal, welcome. In the throne room, Katara had Hakoda and Dong-Lee take their seats first. Then, holding up the thick fabric of her skirt, she stepped up to the platform where her own carved monstrosity awaited her. Kya knelt on a cushion at her side, still on the platform above Hakoda and Dong-Lee. Politics were in everything.

The Ambassador was escorted in and he bowed in greeting.

“Ambassador Yi, welcome to our little oasis in Republic City.” Katara said.

Yi was a stout man, but younger than she expected. He was middle aged with a receding hairline, yet his face was fairly youthful. From his file, Katara knew he was married with three children, all a few years older than Izumi.

“Thank you, Queen Katara.” He said.

“You are here at the pleasure of Chief Hakoda, leader of the Southern Water Tribes, and Matriarch Dong-Lee of the Swamp Tribe.” Katara went on, gesturing with both hands to the other leaders. 

Yi bowed again.

“Thank you, Chief Hakoda and Matriarch Dong-Lee.” He said.

“And I would like to introduce you to my heir, Princess Kya.” Katara finished.

A third bow and Kya shifted uneasily.

“It is a pleasure to meet the princess.” Yi said.

“I know you have meetings with us separately, but did you have anything you would like to bring before the triumvirate?” Katara questioned.

“No, your majesty.” Yi answered.

“Then I give you your leave. I will see you at our appointed time.” Katara said. She stood and Yi bowed again, keeping his gaze lowered. The others stood and left, exiting behind the platform before Yi made his way back the way he entered. 

Such rituals made Katara feel stiff and irritated; she’d be taking her lunch with the man in a few hours while wearing pants. All of the preceding pageantry struck her as unnecessary. 

“He seems agreeable.” Dong-Lee said.

“Well, be careful, he’s from the Upper Ring. There’s been a lot of chatter about pruning the swamp.” Katara said.

Dong-Lee scoffed. “As if the swamp would let anyone do such a thing.” 

“Are all the meetings going to be like that Auntie?” Kya asked, tugging hard at the neckline of her dress.

“Not all of them, no. But enough of them to make you grumpy.” Katara said and Kya groaned loudly. 

“How does Izumi do it?” Kya whined.

“She’s a lot like her father I suppose. They were born into it.” Katara remarked lightly. Kya groaned again and Katara laughed. 

“I wish Thuy was here.” She muttered.

Katara only nodded.

Ambassador Yi met with Hakoda and Dong-Lee prior to lunch, talking about his goals for his appointment and the technical aspects of the placement. The lunch was far more casual, and Yi brought his family. Dong-Lee was attended by her brother and two children, while Malina came along with Hakoda. The rest of Katara’s royal family bustled in and the large table on the veranda was bursting with activity. 

Yi and his family were patient through the introductions, though Katara promptly forgot the names of everyone with him. Zuko had a better mind for names and she would have to ask him about it later. 

“Ambassador, I’d like to introduce my consort, Fire Lord Zuko.” Katara said, gesturing to Zuko. Yi and his family all gave a hasty Fire Nation salute while Zuko only smiled, holding Lu Ten at his hip. 

“Forgive me,” Yi’s wife said, sounding nervous. “But how should we refer to your Highness?” 

“Zuko is fine.” He replied and the blood drained from her face. 

Katara made a tsk sound and swatted his arm lightly. 

“Titles are very loosely held and wielded around here. We both prefer to be on a first name basis, but since we don’t have a family name, I understand it can be awkward.” She explained.

“I do think consort is rather fun.” Zuko said, smiling at Katara, who glowered back at him. 

“I was told the Earth Empire custom was a bit formal compared to the rest of the world.” Yi admitted.

“It was the same in the Fire Nation until very recently.” Zuko said. 

“I’d like us to be friends.” Katara said. “So I’d love it if you’d use our given names.” 

“That would make it easier to know when I’m in trouble.” Yi joked and Katara laughed. His wife looked mortified. 

Lu Ten started to fuss and Zuko started bouncing him.

“I think it’s nap time.” He said.

“Thank you.” Katara replied, offering her cheek as Zuko leaned in to kiss her. 

“Can we go eat mom?” Yi’s eldest son asked, tugging lightly on his mother’s sleeve.

“Please! This was meant to welcome you after all!” Katara said, shooing them away. Yi’s wife and children walked off, heading over to the serving tables.

“You have a lovely family.” Katara said.

“Thank you. Your’s is charming as well.” Yi said and rubbed his chin. “I hadn’t expected the Fire Lord to be so approachable.” 

“He’s a lot like his uncle.” Katara replied.

“Your son looks just like him.” 

“Oh yes.” Katara said with a laugh. “He’s a Firebender too.”

“But how lucky your daughter is just like you!” Yi said.

“Hmm?” Katara turned and faced Yi more purposefully. 

“I was glad you introduced her first, because my packet was incorrect. I thought her name was Izumi.” He said.

“Izumi is my daughter.” Katara said.

“My apologies. Is that her Fire Nation name?” Yi questioned.

“Yes.” Katara said slowly. “You misunderstand, Kya is my niece.” 

Yi’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“Then Izumi is not the Waterbender?” He asked.

“No, Izumi is a…” Katara frowned. “She’s not a Waterbender. Kya is my brother’s daughter. She recently came into her bending and now she’s my heir.” 

“So Izumi is…” Yi sounded panicked and confused.

“Fire Nation. Completely.” Katara said tersely. “She is her father’s heir.”

“I’m sorry. I am completely embarrassed.” Yi said in a hurry, bowing in apology. 

“I can understand the confusion. The inheritance law changed when I was crowned.” Katara said. 

“Thank you for your understanding, your Majesty.” Yi said.

“Of course. You should join your family, they seem to be waiting for you.” Katara said. Yi bowed again and walked to the table. Katara watched him for a moment before turning back toward the palace.

She saw Izumi’s face peeking from behind a wooden beam that supported the pergola. As their eyes met, Izumi darted back inside the palace. Katara sighed, a weight settling on her shoulders. 

Katara’s meeting with the new ambassador was awkward, but she merely questioned him about his goals. The Earth Empire was still gunning for drilling rights in the arctic, which simply wasn’t going to happen. They also wanted to expand their fishing and research waters, which also wasn’t going to happen. Those two points came up time and again, becoming chronic sores in Katara’s life. In the Poles at least, her people had learned how to live in harmony with the seas. They were also intimately aware of what happened when they tried to tip the balance in their favor. Seas could rise, ice could crack, and hungry things could see better than they in the night. 

After the business was concluded, Katara cancelled the debrief with Hakoda and Dong-Lee, pushing it back a day. 

She needed to talk to Zuko.

In their bedroom, Katara sat on the bed as Zuko undid his dress shirt. He never dressed down around politicians, despite his insistence on the given name thing. 

“Am I ashamed of our children?” Katara blurted as Zuko hung the shirt on the valet rack. He paused, his hands still on the hanger and slowly turned his head around to look at her.

“Excuse me?” He asked.

“Yi thought Kya was our daughter and I couldn’t just come out and correct him. It was so awkward!” Katara said.

“I don’t think that means you’re ashamed of her.” Zuko stated firmly. 

“Izumi heard me and she ran off.” Katara said.

“Did you talk to her?” 

“No.”

“We probably shouldn’t let that marinate.”

Katara groaned and bent over, holding her head in her hands.

“I am the worst parent.” She said.

“I think we can both agree that Ozai was the worst parent.” Zuko retorted.

Katara lifted her head, keeping her fingers splayed over her mouth.

“I’m serious.” She moaned and Zuko raised an eyebrow.

He brought both hands sharply up to his face, framing his scar.

“So am I.” He said. 

“I don’t even consider him a parent.” Katara said, falling backward onto the bed. “He’s a monster.”

“Fair point, yet he still is legally my father.” Zuko said.

“I think biologically too.” Katara added.

“Did you know Toph takes Lin and Suyin to her matches?” Zuko asked.

“What?” Katara asked, shooting her confused look up to the ceiling. 

“Lin caught a tooth before she even lost one of her own. It’s nuts.” Zuko said, sitting on the bed beside her.

“And?”

“And she adopted Jae-hwan, seemingly on a whim. No one knows who fathered Lin or Suyin, but Toph doesn’t care because they’d be Beifongs regardless.”

“I repeat, and?”

“And Toph is an amazing mother. Lots of people give her so much crap for simply being blind and having kids, let alone all this other stuff. None of us are perfect, but we’re doing our best. Our kids are great.” 

“I know that Zuko. But I don’t act like it.” Katara muttered, covering her face with her arms. 

“You’ve been really protective of Izumi about this bending stuff, but have you talked to her about it?” Zuko asked.

“No.” Katara said, her voice muffled. 

“I’m telling you, Izumi and Kya love each other. And Izumi is going to be Fire Lord, so it’s not like she’s getting shoved to the side.” Zuko said.

“So what about Lu Ten?” Katara asked.

“Who knows? The Fire Nation hasn’t had a good run with siblings, but Izumi and Lu Ten seem to be fine.” 

“Has there ever been a woman Fire Lord? Or a non-Bender?” 

“Well. No.” Zuko admitted. “But there’s never been a Prime Minister before either.”

“Obviously I don’t need to protect her, so why am I hiding her?”

“When Kya was born, you were so relieved. I thought it was because you were worried about Suki, but you were so anxious before Sokka texted. Then suddenly everything was easier and Izumi popped out two minutes later. I think Izumi was exactly what you wanted her to be.” Zuko explained.

“What do you mean?” Katara lowered her arms and looked up at him.

“She’s not named Kya, so you didn’t have to go through that. She looks like you when you haven’t been in the sun for awhile, and her hair is just like mine. I remember you talking about how much more manageable her hair was when it started to really grow in.

“And she’s not a Waterbender, so you didn’t have to put her through what you’re going through.” Zuko added softly. 

“But Kya’s going to be fine.” Katara said.

“Kya is going to have to live away from her parents more than you think. Sokka has a job in the Fire Nation now, remember? And Suki is still holding onto the flower shop for him.”

“I.” Katara cut off, not knowing what to say. 

“Sokka’s really anxious about this. He’s terrified of being away from Kya, because he hated being away from your parents.” Zuko said.

Tears welled in Katara’s eyes and she threw her arms over her face again.

“So not only am I a terrible mother, but I’m the worst sister and daughter too!” She wailed. 

“Katara, you know it’s not like that.” Zuko said, rubbing one of her arms.

“I hate that this happened. I hate how everyone makes these stupid choices without me and then I end up doing something terrible!”

“So it’s not your fault?”

“How is this my fault?”

“How is it anyone’s?”

Frustrated, Zuko stood up and walked back to their closet. 

“We talked about kids for years because we knew this was going to be hard. And Sokka and Suki could never have expected that their kid was going to be a Bender. And your dad didn’t go off thinking he’d never see his wife again, or that his children would grow up without him.” He said. 

Katara sat up, glaring at his back as Zuko picked out a new outfit. 

“So it’s me then? I’m the one making everything difficult?” She shot back.

“I didn’t say that.” Zuko replied.

“Then what are you saying?”

“I’m saying this sucks!” Zuko turned around sharply, holding tight onto a t-shirt. “I hate being in Caldera without you for so long. And it’s pure misery when you have the children.”

He yanked on the shirt and rubbed his nose furiously.

“Honestly, sometimes I can’t wait for the children to be grown. Because then I can toss Izumi onto the throne and Kya can move in here and then you and I can finally be together, properly.” He laughed darkly and ran a hand through his hair. “But then I feel terrible because these are my children and I’m already missing out on so much.” 

“Maybe we shouldn’t have gotten married.” Katara muttered.

Zuko advanced on her quickly and grabbed her arms, squeezing her hard enough to scare her.

“Don’t you ever say that.” He said, his voice low. “I would rather have died in the Agni Kai than even think you mean that for a second.” 

“Zuko…” Katara protested and he shook her once, softly but with urgency.

“Tell me to step down. Ask me. Order me and I would crawl from the port to your throne to become your proper consort.” Zuko said. “But don’t you ever think things would be better had I not made you mine.” 

“Stop.” Katara said brusquely, using her forearms to break his hold. Zuko grabbed her wrists, holding them up.

“You gave me your bed, you gave me children. And they are forever a part of me. But you are mine. Just as I am yours.” Zuko kissed her, loosening his grip on her wrists. Katara grabbed his shirt, pulling him onto the bed. 

~

“Do you suppose that was a healthy and loving way to handle our fight?” Katara asked, shaking her hands off in the sink. It was easy enough to heal the minor marks and Zuko examined his chest in the mirror.

“I would definitely say it was loving.” He said and then nodded at his reflection. “But we should probably leave out some details if we bring this up at therapy.” 

“What are you so angry about anyway?” Katara asked.

“I am angry, dear wife, that you are in the throes of your righteous fury while I’m also struggling but I feel like I have to hold everything together.” Zuko said. 

He had an easy way of talking that made Katara relax. Had it been anyone else, she would have launched right into a fight.

“I’m sorry I’m not being more supportive.” Katara said and moved behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle and pressing her cheek into his shoulder blade. 

“Like I said last night, I do understand that this is difficult for you. But I think you need to have a little faith and try letting go. Not everything has to be a battle that you win or lose.” Zuko held onto her arms and tilted his head back to bump hers. 

“Fine. So, as a wife first, what can I do?” Katara asked.

“Not much. Summer will be in a few weeks and you get to be Fire Lady again. I’ll be able to breathe once you and the children are in Caldera.” Zuko answered.

“Mom time then?” Katara said meekly.

“Mom and dad time. We’re a team.” Zuko replied.

They dressed and went to Izumi’s bedroom. Apparently, she had run there during lunch and refused to come out.

Zuko knocked on the door and called gently. “Mimi?” 

“Come in.” Izumi said, sounding despondent. 

Opening the door, Zuko and Katara hesitated before entering. Izumi was on the floor, moving her dolls around limply.

“Izumi, it is time. For.” Zuko paused with performative austerity. “The feelings wheel.” 

Izumi heaved a long sigh as she got up and shuffled to her small desk. Pulling open the center drawer, she pulled out a laminated piece of paper and went back to her spot on the floor. Zuko and Katara joined her, shutting the door behind them.

“Okay Mimi, you know the drill. How are you feeling?” Zuko asked as he and Katara sat down.

On the paper was a large circle cut into tiered segments. The wider wedges at the center of the circle were labelled with general emotions like “happy” and “scared.” Things got more specific in the thinner wedges radiating outward. 

Izumi pointed with a heavy finger to “sad.”

Zuko worked with Izumi through the process, getting her to be more specific about how she was feeling. Katara stayed quiet, watching her daughter’s face. She was surprised that Izumi identified “guilty” before ending on “ashamed.”

It wasn’t what Katara expected at all.

But she knew exactly how Izumi was feeling.

“Why do you feel ashamed sweetie?” Katara asked.

“Because I’m not Water Tribe.” Izumi said quietly. 

“Why do you think you’re not?” Zuko asked.

“Because mommy always says that I’m only Fire Nation. That I’m your heir and that’s it.” Izumi explained.

“Okay, that’s a valid reason.” Zuko said and Katara sighed.

“I say that because I know you’re part Tribal. I want everyone to know that you deserve to be your father’s heir regardless.” She said.

“Why would being Tribal be bad?” Izumi asked.

“Well…” Katara drifted, sharing a look with Zuko.

“During the war, the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe were enemies.” Zuko said honestly. “And a lot of people in the Fire Nation still feel angry about that.” 

“So they hate me?” Izumi asked, her voice quivering.

“Oh no sweetie! No one hates you!” Katara said in a rush. “It’s just, they may think being from the Water Tribe will make you a bad Fire Lord.” 

“Do you think I’ll be a bad Fire Lord?” Izumi asked Zuko.

“I think you’ll be the first good one.” He said. Izumi crawled onto Zuko, hugging him.

“You’re good, daddy.” She said.

Zuko hugged her back and kissed her hair. “I’m glad you think so, Mimi.” 

“Your father is a great Fire Lord, and you’ll be even better.” Katara added, patting Izumi’s back.

Izumi still clung to Zuko but looked over at Katara.

“So it’s okay that I don’t look like you or Paw-Paw?” She asked.

“Of course sweetie! And not all Water Tribals look like me. Some of them.” Katara stopped and took in a breath. “Some of them look like your Gran-Gran remember?” 

“And it’s okay that I’m not a Waterbender?” Izumi continued.

“Absolutely. Is it okay that Kya is?” Katara asked.

Izumi thought about it seriously for a moment and then nodded.

“Kya is going to rule the tribes and I’m going to be Fire Lord and then we’re going to take over the world.” She said and Katara sputtered.

“What was that?” She asked.

“Well Lu Ten has to have something and there are Waterbenders and Firebenders in the Earth Empire, so Kya and I are going to take it.” Izumi stated.

“You very much are not, young lady.” Zuko said, holding Izumi up to look at her. 

“But daddy, you said I could do anything.” Izumi replied simply. “And grandfather Ozai took over Omashu, my teacher told me so.” 

“Okay, we’re firing your teacher for one thing.” Zuko said and Katara gently pried their daughter from his hold. 

“Izumi, we’ll have to have a chat about why world domination is not a good thing, but do you feel better now?” She asked.

“Yes mommy. Can I have lunch?” Izumi asked. 

“Let’s go see what’s in the kitchen.” Katara stood up and held Izumi’s hand, pausing while Zuko stared off.

“Coming?” She prompted. Zuko shook himself and stood, looking curiously down at Izumi.

“Maybe we should hold off on introducing her to Azula.” He said.

Izumi lifted her head, her hazel eyes shifting in the overhead light. 

“I already know all about her. Auntie Ty Lee told me about her when we were on Avatar Island.” She said and then looked toward the door. Zuko, bewildered, caught Katara’s eye.

Auntie Ty Lee? He mouthed over Izumi’s head. Katara only shrugged.

She had her own family problems to deal with. 

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[crazylittlejester]

I have been extremely scatterbrained today, so I didn't make as much progress as I wanted, but I did get the first small portion of Fi's origin story in LU EAH AU written.

The main issue I'm having is with the way the plot is working out, Fi has a vibrant personality prior to her sacrifice, and I'm not sure how exactly to approach that because from what I've heard, she's very emotionless in Skyward Sword. I'm trying to use that to my advantage by having her personality be erased on account of her soul being wiped clean as a part of the sacrificial process, but I feel like I'm reverse engineering something here.

As a side note, I'm leaning into the aesthetic of the mythological stories I've read and studied with some of this. Fi's actual birth takes place before this, but she's pretty much born the same way that Aphrodite was, except in Fi's case she comes from a mountain spring instead of the ocean.

Similarly, Ghirahim is spawned around the same time from a volcanic eruption, making them roughly the same age. Technically, they're not siblings, but they have very strong sibling energy.

Another side note, I'm not completely sure how to justify Demise's existence, but I'm toying with the idea that he's either Hylia's brother or spawned into existence because the world couldn't handle the imbalance caused by Hylia's existence without any checks and balances.

As for why he's referred to as "the Jabberwocky," I don't have a good reason for that, except that it sticks to the theme. I'm really just trying to give Hylia and Demise's story the same aesthetic as a fairy tale or mythological story to try and make it blend in with the setting because I don't know what to do with it and this version of Fi is now living in my head rent-free so obviously I have to write it.

Anyway, here's the ~225 words I finished before I got a headache.

Hylia could do many things, but making a soul out of nothing was not one of them. And, unfortunately for her, a soul was exactly what she needed to create the Vorpal Sword. The one thing that could stop the Jabberwocky, either by outright slaying it, or sealing it away between the pages of the world where it would never be able to harm another person. The problem was finding a suitable soul or substitute for one, because there was a stark difference between the properties bestowed upon the souls of mortals and the essence that deities were made of. She herself was very powerful, albeit significantly less potent than Din, Farore, and Nayru were since she was their child in the strange sort of way that divine creation formed secondary deities. But she couldn't very well ask The Golden Goddesses to sacrifice one of themselves, for that would throw the entire world's balance into chaos. Each one was equally valuable to maintaining the precious equilibrium that kept the world in order, even if Nayru was the patron goddess of order and the one whose power was behind the natural laws of the universe. No, she either had to use the soul of a spirit or find enough mortal souls that they would be strong enough together to contain the sort of power that she needed to give Link.

every single time i see an ask from you I get so excited that I finish up everything I’m working on, grab my dog, and go get comfy and cozy somewhere and ask everyone near me to shut up so I can focus because these make my day and i take it very seriously 👁️👁️

MOUNTAIN SPRING AND VOLCANIC ERUPTION!!! I LOVE IT.

OUGH HYLIA’S BROTHER WOULD BE INSANE /pos

THANK YOU FOR THE LITTLE SNIPPET I LOVED IT DUDE YOU’RE COOKING AND IM SO OBSESSED. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE MORE!!!!!

[aseriesofvariousevents]

The Legend Series

The Legend Series is yet another series I received for Christmas years ago and never finished. This break, though, I finished it in what quite possibly could be a PR for time it took me to read a series. I started the books on a Friday evening and was done with the series by Sunday afternoon. Marie Lu wrote a riveting saga of strength with characters wholly unafraid to stand for what they believe in. 

*SPOILERS*

The first book in the series, Legend, is a strong start, though not perfect. I’ve technically read this book twice before, once as a physical book and the other as an audiobook during a long car ride, so I may be overly critical of my reading this time around, since I don’t typically re-read books, but I found parts of the story to be unnecessary. This may just be coming from my perspective as an “older reader��� instead of a young teen, but I found Marie Lu did the characters a disservice by making them 15. The age itself is fine hypothetically, but the emphasis on the romance at times, especially toward the end, felt forced between the two characters and I think, at this point in the series, it would’ve made more sense for them to be just friends. I thought the author wrote June’s loss of innocence surrounding the world she grew up in very well and I truly felt for the girl who had to watch her world crumble around her, bit by bit. I did appreciate the Les Miserables analogy throughout the story, with the June realizing that there may be more to Day than she thought. I also enjoyed Tess’s characters and, briefly, Metias’s, though I found Tess to be a bit one-dimensional at times. Overall, I found the book enjoyable and thought it was a good start to an interesting series. 

Favorite Quote: Each day means a new twenty-four hours. Each day means everything's possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time.

I found Prodigy to be an improvement overall from the first book (not that the first book was inherently bad in any way), but I still had some gripes with some of the plots Lu chose to explore. I really enjoyed the politics aspect of this book, with Anden’s utter desperateness to succeed as a ruler and the double crossing of the Patriots by Razor, lying about who is funding this assassination. I had a feeling Razor was not the character he was believed to be for a while, but I never put two and two together that it was the Republic behind the scheme, but when Kaede explained everything, it all made sense, which I found to be a really cool plot point. Once again, the romance in this book frustrated me to no end. The romance between the deceased Metias and Thomas seemed more like a throwaway gay couple than anything of significance, especially since Lu did not explore their relationship as anything other than friendship in the first book, with Thomas even flirting with June (though it was implied that that was all a ruse to keep her safe, but I found that a feeble excuse). It was intended to make us feel worse for Thomas and the “sacrifice” he made for duty, but it instead just made me more sad for Metias. Tess’s sudden love for Day seemed super random as well, especially since they were basically surrogate siblings for each other for years, and, at the end, June’s and Day’s break-up of sorts seemed overly formal for being fifteen-year-olds who had only known each other for a month or so. Prodigy was definitely a page turner, but aspects were still frustrating to get through as a reader.

Favorite Quote: My heart is ripped open, shredded, leaking blood. I can't let him leave like this. We've been through to much to turn into strangers.

Champion was a satisfying conclusion to the series (though I haven’t read Rebel yet, the newest book in the series). Eden’s character was sweet and it was exciting to see him as an actual character for the first time, and not just a sick child that Day constantly thought about. I appreciated that the Tess romance thing got resolved in this book, but Anden’s love of June was creepy to me, considering the age difference, and in the epilogue, I found it weird, but not unexpected, that the two of them dated, though I was glad they broke it off. Day’s illness throughout this story seemed out of place as a plot point for me, especially since it took five years for it to really develop, but I was glad he wasn’t “perfectly cured”, after getting shot. I’m not sure if Lu meant one of those last few chapters as an homage to Les Miserables, but June’s repeated pleads of “let him live” are in the song “Bring Him Home”, which I found to be a nice Easter egg in the story, whether intended or not. June being the cure made sense in a way, but I don’t understand how she got better completely. It’s implied that the colonies gave her some sort of cure and took the virus to spread, but how they got hold of a cure seems fishy to me. In the epilogue, when June sees Metias’s grave and says that they’re finally the same age, I teared up a bit. I can’t imagine having to come to terms with effectively outgrowing someone lost far too young, and I thought the author described her grief really beautifully here.

Favorite Quote: That's why I'm sorry. I'm sorry because you shouldn't have to be everything to me. I had you, but I'd forgotten that I had myself too. It's a new feeling, something I'm getting used to.

Okay, I know this is an unpopular opinion but this was my favorite book in the series. Although I found June and Day more compelling characters than Eden and Day in this book, I thought this story was so much more poignant and had a much more complicated and interesting villain. Ross City was fascinating and the class divide present there held such poignant implications about technology and so much more that I thought it was a much more interesting and complex setting than the original trilogy. Eden and Daniel's (still weird to refer to him by that name) bickering was tiring at times, but their relationship as siblings was really touching and I thought it brought out an interesting perspective of both of the characters. I didn't love Pressa at the beginning, but toward the end, she was such an interesting character and I loved her and Eden's dynamic. The very ending of the book was so so so good and definitely made me tear up a bit. I was wary coming into the book that I would just find it a totally unnecessary addition to the series but I actually really enjoyed it and I thought it added to the overall story (though I did miss June's narrations).

Favorite Quote: There is nothing to figure out, there is no how or why. Sometimes things just happen.

*END OF SPOILERS*

The Legend Series started out as an interesting, updated take on Les Miserables, but quickly evolved into something much more. Though not my favorite series in the whole world, there was never a dull moment and I’m really looking forward to reading some of Lu’s other works, hopefully finding them as immersive as the world of the Republic!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Books in Series: Legend; Prodigy; Champion; Rebel

Author: Marie Lu

BONUS REVIEWS

Life Before Legend is a duology of two short stories surrounding June and Day prior to the events in the Legend series. I much preferred June’s story to Day’s and found that her story had more heart to me and was more interesting. It was cute, but I found largely unnecessary, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Fun for lovers of the series!

Favorite Quote: Someday, someone out there will see you for the girl you really are. Someday, you’ll find someone who understands you.

Fun to see the epilogue of Champion from Day's perspective. Not a ton of new info but definitely a cute little story that fans of Legend will enjoy.

Favorite Quote: I loved you. I love you still. I want to be with you.

Really short but sweet nonetheless! It's nice to see June and Day together again with his memory mostly intact. Like the other Life After Legend story, didn't offer really any new info but it was exciting to see the duo interact once more, however briefly.

Favorite Quote: Your past is forever part of you, just as it is a part of me. And I loved that person, just as I love you.

Bonus Books: Life Before Legend; Life After Legend; Life After Legend II

[lightshielded]

spoilers and very VERY long, so below cut. 

tl;dr - jarv is a character going through a lot of emotional turmoil caused by the lose of trust in close friends, lose of his family to the very magic they were working to promote ( suggesting to him it was the wrong idea to promote it ), having little healthy support network, and around him is a game of politics where those older and more experienced on the council are influencing him heavily in his altered state of mind. however, he is still a character who cares for his people, wanting to protect his people from future catastrophes cause by magic but also knowing they aren’t all bad so is also shown tentatively reaching out to foreign advisers of allied nations which have advised his father in the past on the subject of magic and is trying to do his best despite being king far younger than anyone should and thrown into the position in a truly horrific way.

important - all is subject to change as we are provided more info, this is just a pouring out of my first impressions and my attempt to understand and rationalise everything under the current state and info provided. also important to note, this includes mentions of suicidal tendencies, depression, ptsd and other like matters. please read with caution.

so as you may know ( or don’t and do not care about spoilers ) our dear prince, or rather king now, has had a very bad day. like he was almost made to eat a rat, and marvel didn’t want to draw him in his actual armour and did in the ceremonial / ig armour instead so i got big cucked out of my hopes and dreams, he got hit with a morg ult when trying to gank mid lane . . . oh and the mid laner killed his dad. what a wonderful day for our dear prince, i mean king.

so a couple things that are unrelated to what i am about to talk about but things that are true in my mind. riot removed jarv’s capture and torture by noxus just so they could have sy/las say he has no idea what he has experienced. just saying. 8 years of basically the exact same lore only to have one of his key points removed at the addition of the character? who then mocks him for it? just saying it’s true. tho i personally still go by that he was capture on my own blog and all, but i have cracked riot’s code.

also like where was shy? i think jarv kinda mentions her but like she is his bodyguard. that’s her whole thing. where is she? i get she tries to lay low but she is meant to be on jarv’s personal guard, but she wasn’t there. now i have a short theory on this. for those who don’t know, shyv is genetically a dragon, her real magic is the fire rune inside her. but otherwise she is a dragon that some how fucked up and became a human ( prior to sy/las it was caused by magic so the magic is technically making her human not a human becoming a dragon and after sy/las the shitty lore we don’t like is that it is the weather ). 

so my theory is, since her dragon - ness isn’t magic but is like genetics, she would just eat him and he actually can’t use it against her so they had to remove her. some how. cause plot. and jarv is mopey that she isn’t around, for a reason they wont say :///// that or riot doesn’t care about her or forgot she existed :)))))))

so the actual things i wanted to talk about, jarv’s very harsh language and actions in the comic and short story. they seem so violent from what we know of the prince of the past. and while that might be true i would like to point out a couple things about jarv as a whole before we begin:

jarv was never brought up to fear or dislike mages - ( though would have heard stories i imagine ) which is evident in his father’s own opinions and his lore. this makes his point of view here seem obscure, he seems to hate very strongly despite not doing so before. this is true, but i believe i can provide some enlightenment on this. something similar to this has happened in his lore before. his first conflict with noxus he was introduced the harshest realities of war, it is the innocents that die first. in both new canon lores ( prior and post syl/as changes ) it is stated there were only a handful of survivors out of dozens of towns. it is said what he saw deeply affected him. the carnage there so deeply troubled him and he could not forget the faces of the dead. the atrocities he witnessed were far greater than he had anticipated and it left him very shaken and unable to correctly reason. this caused him to ignore all rational plotting and sense, pushing away all his advisers’ ideas, wanting nothing more the avenge those who died. and this ends badly for him. like jarv really, really loves his people and would do anything to keep them safe. in fact, it is known from other stories jarv doesn’t ask of his soldiers to do anything dangerous he himself isn’t doing. if they must face the risk of death he will do so too. and he has earned himself a lot of respect for that. so we know, jarv is deeply affected by his people’s deaths and is not unknown to react mindlessly out of rage when they are hurt, and thinking the ‘villain’ need to be punished.

our now king is younger than you all probably think - if you take demacia’s lore and the dates / ages we are given, he is quite young. low 20s with a max of about 25 but even that is generous. it is noted he doesn’t know what to do, his mood fluctuating like rising and falling flames, his lore says he needs to be ready but not that he is. this is not to say he is incompetent or emotional because of he age, but with age comes experience that he has not had the chance to garner yet. he is not ready yet in his own opinion and i would agree as well.

jarv loves his family, a lot - and his only family was his father and xin. i think it is important to note, jarv has a lot of love for his family for they are the only people that really see him as a person. his closest friend even had to be reminded to call him by name. so to lose the closest people to you hurts man. his dad just died. okay.

jarv’s part in turmoil - there is actually a story which occurs after the time frame of the lu/x comic ( unless they are going to say the events of the last volume cover a full month? ) which has some interesting links and i’ll summarise all that with my conclusions at the end.

so. onto the main part. why has our fair king turned from someone who sees ‘ the true strength of the Demacian people—standing together as one in defense of their homeland, no matter their differences or misgivings. ’ to ‘ Mages? . . . We should have executed them all. ’ it is shocking. even xin is shocked by how much he has seemingly flipped noting, ‘ Indeed, he knew the prince had always been troubled by Demacia’s treatment of its mages. But that was before. ’ note, xin is saying he was troubled once and these anti - magic outbursts are new. though, i will like to point out, i don’t think the outbursts in the short story or the comic are particularly anti - magic as they are anti - syl/as and anti - murderous rebellion. so from now on, i am going to work through the sections of the comic and then the short story and kind of evaluate jarv’s thoughts and feelings and what i think is happening with him. wow, i hope you like your posts long. ( oh, and i recommend turning the pages along with me since i will not be posting pictures unless it is very important to save on length )

so to begin, we first see jarv at a meeting with a mage - seeker, some council members and his father, reacting to what happened several hours ago. honestly here he is as normal, he is thinking first and foremost for the people and with a very strategical focus to his thoughts. he is trying to both reassure his own father while working to capture the murderers. truly nothing remarkable other than him being a little taken aback by his father chiding him. i can talk a long time how jarv was brought up with very zealot ideas despite the king’s best intentions but that is not for now.

next page is mostly focused on the riots outside but does show jarv’s priorities. protect my father, fight for my people. heck this is even brought up in his ( now very outdated ) voice lines ‘ for my father, the king. ’ ‘ protect the faithful. ’ also cue me getting excited they would show jarv’s actual combat armour since they have the guards all in that good shit but nah they didn’t and i am big sad. i get they set all the demacian champs to their in game stuff ( and for jarv that’s the for show / ceremonial armour ) rather than their lore stuff for accessibility but still i am sad.

and now we get to the fun stuff. wow look at jarv straight beating the shit out of people. legit knocking several people down, making someone into a kebab. the come at me stance. that face he makes when sy/las calls him princeling. so many people call him that in lore. is it even a unique insult at this point? get new material you chain gremlin you.

in the next page we do see him angry tho, at first he is controlled and stoic with his speak, not too many emotions showing on his face. but it is when he puts a threat on his father do we see his brows furrow and leave him quite angry in the last panel of this page. tho, while obvious mad at the threat on the king he is actually keeping his cool. rational thought based on what he knows of the magic syl/as has. but he is a bit ticked off. ( OH ALSO THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART DON’T @ ME BUT JARV IS TALLER THAN SY/LAS WHILE BENDING DOWN AND IN A FIGHTING STANCE AND SY/LAS IS UPRIGHT BY LIKE AN INCH. HE IS PROBABLY SEVERAL INCHES TALLER UPRIGHT. I STAN THIS TALL MAN. )

so the next page is very interesting, we see syl/as talk of ancient and powerful struggles then conjure fire from the pillars. so as far as i am aware this is meant to be a reference to our favourite angels but i am trying to work out when this would have been. i thought they fought in a small town which was all but destroyed and not in the capital city. it is possible that the petricite keystones were at the town and those keystones moved to where the capital would be considering their reverence of kay/le and stuff but idk. super cool tho! it might be explained in the future, or not but i think what i have there is the most rational ( or maybe they mean like various conflicts involving them but not them against each other ??). anyway, we also see jarv getting madder obvious from the last page and then the language he uses, gone from the neutral ‘ mage ‘ to negative terms such as ‘ thugs ’. so the fire heavily wounds or kills the guards and jarv jumps head long into the flames.

the next page continues with their fight which is frankly brutal but they really skimped on detail here. it is shown that jarv cut syl/as in the chest and stuff but 1) no blood and 2) it is no where to be seen later in the comic which is unfortunate. would have been cool. other things which is cool, jarv pinwheeling kay/le’s fire away. i love the dumb ways jarv is shown to use his lance in various media, just spectacular. but yeah, syl/as going for blows in calling him ignorant about the heritage he loves. cause we know how much our man loves demacia. but i think he is trying to goad him. like i said before, jarv wears his heart on his sleeve a lot. he is an emotional man, but emotions can make you sloppy.

so on the next page, we see morg’s magic and again i love this touch but who really knows how it is there. so jarv is taken down by that which is interesting because it affected him a lot more than kay/le’s? i have theories about the magics and how they affect people based on their judgements but again that’s for discussion for another post. so with the guards taken down and then their prince, syl/as finds himself victorious.

so skipping through gar/en’s bit, we next see jarv tied up and being walked ahead of some of the mages. notably he isn’t wearing his crown helm. but also, he is very calm. jarv doesn’t really fear his own death much, he has faced dying before and to him it is simply a risk a soldier faces. so he is rather calm on the walk while syl/as threatens him. though, likely also subdued by the magic from before. but he is also talking a lot of sense, this does end badly, really sy/las doesn’t get what he wants out of this venture, not really. sylas however thinks this funny and mocks him about eating rats ( which honestly i question what he actually ate because 1) idk about you but i didn’t see rats in these panels of his cell and 2) he looks very fit and healthy for a man who eats rats. personally i think they feed the prisoners but since their magic is being sapped constantly by the petricite that they likely get hungrier faster, like they are constantly exercising, and so he ate rats. but also again, lets be real, they removed jarv being tortured so he couldn’t reply ‘ well no, but i survived being tortured by noxus. i have eaten much worse. ’ ( also syl/as uses incorrect style of address here which is either an accident or an interesting hint to the next page - majesty is for kings, highness for princes ) anyway, he drags the prone jarv to the door and...

surprise. the king is already dead by the time they get there. now jarv is obviously shocked and horrified and sy/las is too but i think that is because someone is stealing his thunder and hello his plans aren’t going to plan. this is when things start going down hill for jarv’s mental state. before he was mad but controlled, jarv’s expression on this page are wild eyed. and very much lacking of any confidence he had prior. for once, the prince looks as young as he actually is, rather than acting a stoic faced prince.

now the next page is actually the one i think the artists drew the best for jarv. i really love his eyes in the first panel. jarv’s hunched posture, the looking over his shoulder and upwards, got to say i love the composition. also i didn’t mention it yet but jarv and syl/as’hair almost look the same and idk if that is intentional but i like the idea that it might have been cause it makes our fair prince look very rugged and references his position as a prisoner. anyway. but just jarv’s silence in the last panel, before he was confident and speaking and now his words are trailing off and he has nothing to say. he lost his family and the idea of mages being monsters comes to his mind here. ( also note, while i have cut this out of the image, when syl/as is asking about who killed the king the mages say it wasn’t them but possibly another mage that came with them. this is probably true since it is anarchy at the moment but also there is no blood so unlikely to have been caused by a weapon and poison doesn’t make sense since the guards were dead too. )

but that isn’t the end of it, that is for sure. syl/as lost the king to his own anarchy so he needs a new star of his show. and so jarv continues to have a bad time. he is dragged from his grieving and through the citadel ( and past some really fucked up and burnt bodies wow trying to give jarv flash backs are you? ) and here jarv is starting to have doubts about his father and his own views. ‘ my father was wrong about your kind. he thought he could make peace with you. and you murdered him. ’ jarv puts the barrier between his people and mages at this point, condemning any thought which would have allowed this as wrong. now syl/as then insists that the king could have changed this at any time but we also know the council of demacia is quite powerful itself and the king leaves it to a more democratic style of coming to decisions together and actually regrets letting them have so much power. and jarv is marched outside to be made an example of and executed.

passing over ‘lu/x being a bad ass part one’, we return to jarv being cuffed to this really fancy chair. i like it, but also how extra can you be sy/las. anyway, as this page goes on we can really see the prince’s loss of confidence and despairing states. he starts strong when syl/as claims he has been complacent on things ( finally confirmation that he hasn’t cause riot wont tell me anything !!!! ) and he denies that neither he or his father have, and syl/as knows nothing about either of them. but his words trail off, he is stuttering through his words, head bowed, skin clammy. 

what he is talking about is 1) his backstory where he fought noxian invaders of demacia’s outer borders and allied lands, 2) meeting with exiles and we know in demacia their exiles tend to be mages as magic use is given imprisonment or exile - this quite happily aligns with my own head canons that he meets with them to help provide safe passage and resources similar to j3 to the noxians in his and xin’s story - 3) now we can assume he is talking about the same person from before in the earlier comic but he is really dodging around a name. i’m inclined to think shyv right now based on the ‘not so different’ so implying similar but not mage but magical creature. but really we don’t know. though that’s cute. but syl/as simply laughs this off, deeming any effort they have made and mocking his relationship. anyway, jarv just looks really sad and upset man.

and so the next page goes on and sy/las is calling for the crowds opinion on if he should be executed. some ( likely the rebels ) say yes and some ( likely town folk ) say no and beg for someone to save him. syl/as of course listens to his own people only and takes execute as the option, and starts firing up the mages on that. some call for him to be bled ( oh i see this is where they wanted to put the noxian blood letting torture. they got rid of it to be put here i see. ) and another to behead him. and up until the end, jarv simply seems like he is simply given in, accepted his death. eyes closed and almost willing it over. he has already had to deal with one drawn out (near) death before, he doesn’t particularly want another. he only seems perturbed when syl/as tries to force him to eat a rat before he dies. again he is wide eyed, and very disgusted by the prospect. 

he is already in a state where his father has been murdered, he has been pulled away from him and forced to march past the magic warped remains of his people both soldiers, councillors and innocents, his death is being made into a sceptical and now he is also being humiliated. also important to note is that he is alone in all of this, his uncle is nowhere to be found, his father is dead, when forced into an arranged marriage with someone he considered a trusted friend he was given no answer but abandonment, and his two friends are no where to be seen. that mixed with the people he loves so dearly gathered to watch him die and some even calling for his death. he is hurting really badly, and if he didn’t want to be sick at the sight of burnt bodies he now wants to be sick at the thought of eating a live rat. 

and now we have ‘lu/x being bad ass part two’ and ga/ren rushes in to save them both. the comic doesn’t say and what exactly happens next is likely a flash back at the start of the next comic as i believe the next comic occurs after the short story, as it was released now and not then. but i imagine two things occur in jarv’s mind during this event of him being saved ( which he know he is ). 1) gar/en is right. he can always trust ga/ren. we know his friend is vocal in his dislike of magic and belief in the laws in place, so jarv after these events probably takes to leaning on this view point as it comes from on of the only people he has left and feels safe with him after all he has gone through. 

2) can lu/x really be trusted? jarv isn’t blind nor deaf. he heard syl/as and lux talk about them used to being friends, and that he used her to kill people. he doesn’t know about her magic i don’t think, but could clue it out from that maybe, and it is unsure if he knows her involvement with syl/as but he now knows she wouldn’t even deny the proposed arranged marriage to his face and she was apparently friends at one point with the one who lead to his father’s death. this cuts him a bit. ( also i see again, the trying to insert jarv lore into here? with gar/en saving him? interesting but not nearly as emotion jerking as gar/en finding his armour blood soaked and empty next to an executioners post with the pin signifying them as the closest shit in each other’s lives in the bloody mud c’: )

now, we do not know much until the events of the aftermath short story. this story, told through xin’s point of view, is honestly very depressing and provides a lot more focus on jarv’s collapsing mental state. while in the comic he is hurt and distressed, struggling with the idea of his own views on the matter and then the significant pain cause to him by magic and the possible danger it could cause his people, aftermath shows us a prince who has been stewing on it for the night. occurring the day after, it is told to us he does not look like he has slept and his emotions are raw at the surface. i suggest reading the full story but i will only be talking about jarv’s mentions in this.

so our encounter with jarv in this short story occurs with xin finding him at the training fields. he is described as already breathing with exertion and drenched with sweat, a suggestion that he has been doing this for some time now, and his emotions wild and clear. he is also attacking wildly at the dummy, very much venting but also showing us he isn’t poised or in control of himself. yet when he speaks, calling xin uncle, it seems uncertain. i surely read it with a tired and tentative voice in mind. yet, after a pause, his emotions re-flare and he becomes angry again (something which happens several times over the course of the short story). he speaks coldly, harsh, trying to find someone to take the blame for the events, shifting rapidly from seeing xin as family to seeing him as a simple bodyguard ( something from the previous flash backs show the later of being untrue, and that xin is extremely close to jarv ). i also see this as him struggling with his own thoughts and passions, a war of heart and mind - xin being family vs xin being his father’s bodyguard, in extension we have seen mages murdered my father vs not all mages are guilty, i hate them vs i hate them all.

the prince then decides the best way to interrogate xin is by also trying to vent his frustrations with sparing. in jarv’s short story ‘ ebony, ivory, jasper ‘ we see him as a very level headed tactician which is controlled and ultimately able to see the right plays and choices in things where others can not. this is not that jarv. he is literally striking first, thoughts and questions later. xin mentions he is also not taking his strikes lightly, that he is swinging hard enough to break bone, something one wouldn’t do unarmoured or with someone you care about. he is pacing like a stressed animal, gripping his weapon like it is only lifeline, and forcing xin to fight him like it is his only reprise. another point made which shows jarv’s very altered state of mind is how xin also notes his form is sloppy, jarv is a good fighter, one of the kingdoms best, yet he observes there to be ‘ little finesse to the strikes ’ and that ‘ at any other time he would have berated the prince for his poor form—he was thinking only of attack, and leaving himself open for ripostes and counter-strikes ’. now since we know xin trained him and considers this poor form for him, it is likely jarv is definitely not of these traits normally, something further confirmed when he notes these are something he wouldn’t do now or take advantage because he sees them as caused by his justified anger.

skipping past the first flash back, jarv continues to press xin and eventually just tosses his weapon away when he doesn’t get an answer he wants. the frustration and anger is palpable. the prince isn’t the kind of person to discard something so carelessly, to be so disrespectful as to throw something of his to the ground. jarv has been raised to have the ideas of honour and respect and personal value and virtue as being very important, and the disrespect of tossing one of his weapons, staring at it while someone else picks it up, isn’t something jarv in his stable mind would do. yet he does such and grabs his lance - a sharp and deadly weapon in comparison to his blunted sword - and xin protests using them because jarv is unarmoured. now i have not heard anyone cover this exact fact but i want to talk about it for a bit, xin is armoured but jarv is not. jarv is attacking and not caring about his defence. and now he is making xin fight him with their actual sharpened weapons while only xin is armoured. either of these weapons could kill him, even his own by his own hand if he isn’t careful as noted by xin. and just, he doesn’t care if he gets hurt.

i think this exemplifies one fact about jarv, the first fact i mentioned above. he experiences a great amounts of survivor guilt in the time he failed his troops as a youth and now he sees himself as failing his people and his father by not saving them. he couldn’t even beat syl/as. and now he has to live with that fact, and very alone with it now. he is both trying to find someone else to blame to share in his own self torment or at least have someone either take him out of his misery or give him a punishment that jarv thinks is fitting for his failure. and i think perhaps, while not explicitly noted, xin acknowledges it ‘ “You are not armored,” . . .   “I don’t care,” . . . Reluctantly, his heart heavy, he retrieved his spear and moved back out into the open area in the center of the hall. ’ after all, it was xin in jarv’s earliest lore which remarked on the prince’s altered mental state as one of the people that knew him best, i would say that perhaps this is our new lore equivalent. and perhaps bring another down with him. ( jarv has always had a slight discard for his own life - see his quotes and his colour story - but this is quite excessive. the others can be seen as brave, this is different )

one more flash back later, they are fighting and we know jarv is not holding back. none of the fighting right now is casual, he is serious and very angry. this is contrasted with memories of xin with jarv and how jarv once idolised heros and here he is wielding the weapon in a very non-hero-like way. and yet drakebane itself moves in conjunction with his own actions like a perfect extension of his body. we are told that drakebane ( as obvious by its name ) was forged by the great weapon smith orlon, the same who made pop/py’s hammer, in order to combat a powerful frostdrake named maelstrom and her brood. perhaps digging into it too much, but i do see in essence that while the sword was not working for him yet his lance remains faithful is by his conviction in its original purpose. this lance was created to slay great beings of magic, to kill dragons, for the great kings of demacia to wield against the mages of the runewars. and this fits the mindset this king currently has.

another flashback passed we come back to a xin who is facing a new set of concerns, before he was worried about fighting the prince with dangerous weapons while jarv are unarmoured and now he is concerned that maybe the prince getting horribly wounded is not the only issue. here we see another drastic flip in jarv, he would never hurt someone he cared about, he is especially known to put himself in harms way before anyone else. and yet. he cut xin and xin is reasonably concerned but also unafraid. while it is only explicitly stated that xin thinks there is balance in dying here but it surely seems jarv also has this opinion. they both seem to think death is what they deserve. yet ( as angry as jarv is ) he doesn’t to want kill xin as much as xin wishes not to harm him. he stops as the blade ghosts xin’s skin, begging xin for answers but upon receiving it ( if not by xin’s confession but by his own reasoning ) he just deflates. he works out xin was sent away and so he is left as the only one at fault for ‘failing’. xin was fulfilling his duty, while he failed in his.

instead, jarv is just remains tired, tired and grieving and alone. through the next two flashbacks and jarv’s reaction to them we learn the late king was a stubborn man about what he believed in and that he often put his work ahead of himself and his family despite his love for his son. and just as quickly did jarv sober did his temper re-flare, upon hearing about the rebellion again he declares that they should have killed all the mage prisoners instead of imprisoning them. xin is shocked by this for he remarks that once jarv used to be concerned with the treatment of mages in demacia like his father but acknowledges that this was before what they did to him and that his anger in the moment is justified. but he still reminds him that his father wouldn’t agree with that, as he wouldn’t have once agreed with that. here it is key to see one of the great hurts in him right now is he feels both a failure and he feels betrayed, he snaps back ‘ and they killed him. ’ the lightshields had been working towards making things better for mages and in jarv’s angry thoughts and he feels betrayed by the ones they were working to help, he feels as if his good nature was taken advantage of and hurt by those he cared about. ( also note, canonically, execution is a murderer’s punishment. killing another is punishable by death and this is shown in some stories. )

just as quickly as this outburst begins does it end however, his fire dies and he sheds any mask of princely facade and anger, revealing he is simply lost, scared, sad and confused again. he grips feebly to support, and weeps. likely not the first time given his earlier description, but likely the first true time where he might realise the full emotion and weight of the situation. and he tries to hold strongly to it, he doesn’t have confidence or stability so he is all but begging xin to be it for him. when he is told that xin sees his life as forfeit, jarv grips at strings to keep xin with him. while desperate it is still very controlled though, controlled and thought out. begging wouldn’t work, but xin’s sense of duty would. and once xin starts to relent, he asks formally, appealing to the formal requirements. and once that digs at him, he appeals to the side that is his uncle, for he needs him as much as his kingdom. strategic in all things but it also shows his reliance on xin emotionally in this point. i strongly believe, if xin denied him he would crumple and things would be a lot worse. even if xin thinks he looks more composed after his breakdown.

and the short story ends with xin accompanying jarv to a council meeting. xin remarks at how controlled jarv is compared to his outburst, likely due to two things: 1) he had his outburst and is now not bottling up his emotions as much and is able to control himself better, and 2) jarv is required to look regal. xin notes that demacia needs a strong leader right now and jarv likely knows that just as well ( which will play a part in his next actions ) and so is portraying himself in such a way regardless of how his emotions might still be. i think this is shown well when he asks to see the note xin was to deliver, the contents of which anger him. it is a reminder of his older self, of his old ambitions and everything that he lost. and so he wrings its neck like he has to his old self and what he wishes to do to those that caused this. this shocks and disturbs xin and he is concerned. it is also important to note that the mageseekers are trained to combat magic so keeping them with greater powers, he increases arrests while the note wished to limit them, is advantageous to his wants.

after this point lu/x 5 will fill but we don’t know much of it so we shall skip over it for now. lastly, we have turmoil, a short story i really suggest reading which takes place one month after these events. as not much is relevant other than a few details and the laws of stone i will summarise. in turmoil, it follows a group of demacian soldiers as they are sent to escort a foreign dignitary to the capital, a mage from arbormark called arjen. the soldiers are uneasy with this and some wish that they could be out hunting the rebellions in the woods instead. two mageseekers accompany them as is now required by the laws. as they escort the mage they run into trouble. fearing the villages of the town wish to hurt the mage they are escorting, the soldiers form a tight perimeter and try to escape through a passage and a building. however, it is revealed the mob is not mad about the mage but one of the mageseekers with them. this mageseeker, under the new laws of stone was made to remove a young girl who he had been working with prior, he laments he didn’t want to remove her for she was innocent and he wouldn’t have required to prior but the laws have changed to become stricter and so all mages are considered guilty. the mother of the young mage tries to kill him but she is talked down but the crossbow still fires in a shot which would have killed one of the more vocal mage hating soldiers but arjen carefully uses his magic to deflect the bullet with only that soldier and the main character noticing. the mage hating soldier is conflicted and says nothing, implied to be having a turn of heart. the mother tells the mob to disperse and the envoy continues to the capital.

now from this we learn a couple things: 1) is is now illegal to BE a mage. prior to sy/las it was only illegal to USE magic and so benign mages were actually educated on how to control themselves at times and we treated more of a sickness at other. but now you’re life is a crime. 2) some of the mageseekers themselves are uncomfortable with this. while mageseekers have often been portrayed as horrific people, it is shown in this story as being more a magic focused police service which holds some corruption in higher ranks but also employs people who simply want demacia kept safe and don’t agree that magic is bad but rather bad mages are bad people. 3) that demacia has a lot of allies due to their defence of realms beyond their boarders and also that they understand demacia’s place and don’t condemn them for it. they understand the position of demacia based on its history. 4) these allies are sending who they think will help advise the new king of demacia best including mages and jarv is NOT denying them entry, which shows a willingness to listen which is a step beyond his much more aggressive stance one month earlier. 5) the punishment for being a mage is exile or imprisonment. currently the prisons in demacia are overloaded and there are prison camps in the outskirts. also exile is seen as one of the worst punishments in demacia. and 6) the rebellion is being hunted by the demacian army.

so, after all this, what can be conclude? it is obvious jarv is GREATLY affected by the barrage of death around him. his pre-existing survivor’s guilt is further exasperated by the failure to protect his father and those he swore to and he feels greatly betrayed by many people in his life ( lu/x for claiming to be a friend of the one who killed all these people, the mages he was trying to help striking when he is most vulnerable ). he is greatly alone with losing many friends and family and others being seemingly absent from the events, giving him only those with views which would increase his own anti-mage sentiment if he listens to them. he is lost in his grief and his depression and his anger, his empathetic nature stretched to its breaking point and he has no respite. in the end, jarv is doing what he thinks will protect his people, note he likely does not think mages among his people anymore, and will do anything for their safety. but he is also trying to be reasonable by reaching out to his allied nations as a new king and accepting the advise of mages on these topics. he isn’t murderous, but he is hurt and alone and his actions in his hurt are making him more alone. it’s a vicious cycle demacia has always been in, and now our dear newly crowned king has fallen into it.

a little extra: i do think there is a bit of jarv’s lore MISSING given the situation with shyv. i hope this will shed light on what he was doing and how that also affected him before this happened. i also hope they eventually show us jarv being redeemed for this is FAR from the jarv that the bio shows us on his page and i think that is his true self. just, if i can recall, someone i know once said at your lowest you become your opposite and i think this is true here.

[bluewindfall]

16 or 20 for OS please :)

(Okay, I’m sorry, your prompt was actually really nice, but I rewrote this at least 13 times, you can see it on my revision history in google docs and it still sucks. Also, like zero motivation to write OS right now, is season 2 never coming??? T.T I’ll make it up to you someday. OTL)

I picked “in dreams” from the prompt, and technically, this also has the ones you asked for before: harsh whisper, and flinders, so here’s this really short, microfic: 

It’s been three days since he saw the trial on the news—three days since Chi Zhen could have gone back.

He’s afraid to return, and see how much has changed, how much he’s lost in this year

It’s funny, that he’s reminded of his first day at the station; his first official case with Lu Li.

Chi Zhen remembers walking up to his desk, with Lu Li glaring daggers at him— and back then, nearly half of his prior encounters with Lu Li had resulted in Chi Zhen triumphantly winning the verbal argument, but somehow getting rudely slugged in the face for his efforts. And when they’d been in the tea fields…two or three times, he’d wondered if he’d made the right decision.

He’s been telling himself he’s terrified of how furious Lu Li will be when he returns, but that’s not it.

Not everyone has that courage.

He’d meant to say it softly, quietly to himself, but it’d come out as a harsh whisper; an admonishment. What kind of a hypocrite is he? To tell Lu Li to pursue the person he loves, to do everything he can to be with who he wants…when Chi Zhen can’t himself.

I’ll wait for you, Lu Li had said.

He’s been playing the words over and over in his head, if only as the flinders of his unfulfilled regret. His worst fear is that it’s too late now.

…Only in dreams, does he dare wish he never left.