#zains original posts

[crossroadsofchaos]

Okay so, since I didn't post any art on Aro Week (though I will be finishing the drawing I was doing), I'm gonna do some (very late) aro character text posting, talking about their identities.

Ft. a couple new characters and some new versions of old characters that I haven't reintroduced yet. Also including their ages to show the variety there.

--

Lev (he/him; early to mid 40s): bi aroace; sex-averse, but fine with romance; has flirted with people, gone on dates, kissed, etc; not opposed to eventually having a life partner.

Miguel (he/him; early to mid 50s): aroace; indifferent to both romance and sex; got married in his early 20s and had a kid with his wife, but they later divorced on good terms and are still friends; has since remained single.

Rufus (he/him; mid to late 50s): gay demiromantic ace; if he didn't have a partner, he was open to going on dates with people he wasn't attracted to if they seemed like they could be compatible; in present day he's married and has kids.

Howie (he/him; 16 y/o): poly aroacespec; unsure what kind of partnership he wants, is open to experimenting.

Angelo (he/him; 16 y/o): gay demirose (demi aroace); unsure what kind of partnership he wants, is open to experimenting.

Willow (they/them, he/him; 15-16 y/o): aro(spec) lesbian; romance-favorable; open to dating.

Zain (he/him; mid 20s): aromantic and either allosexual or acespec (but not strictly ace); friends, roommates and possibly fwbs with Harley.

Harley (they/them, ze/zir; mid 20s): aromantic bisexual, possibly non-partnering; friends, roommates and possibly fwbs with Zain.

Bridget (she/her; 50s): aromantic, doesn't really use other labels; romance-indifferent; close friends, roommates and sometimes fwbs with Darya.

Darya (she/her; 50s): pan grayromantic allosexual; romance-indifferent; close friends, roommates and sometimes fwbs with Bridget.

Debora (she/her; early 20s): lesbian oriented aroace; romance-averse but sex-indifferent; in a QPR with Erica.

Erica (she/her; early 20s): aromantic omnisexual; romance-indifferent; in a QPR with Debi.

Tristen (she/her; 30s): caedaroace; averse to both romance and sex; the only one on this list who is aspec due to trauma.

[nerosdayinanime]

fuck now im actually thinking abt making a self insert oc for kny. ive gone this long without it even being on my radar but now im legitimately considering making an oc specifically to fuck over giyuu

[bsideheart]

there’s a post about this family with tens of thousands of notes going around but i don’t know how much traction the fundraiser is getting so i’ll make another.

Hiyam Shehab (@hyamshehab92) is a Palestinian mother fundraising to evacuate herself, her husband Mohammed, their sons Zain and Yehya, and Mohammed’s parents from Gaza.

EDIT: the original fundraiser was closed due to high tax rates, donate to the one linked below.

‼️€1,865 out of €60,000 ‼️

please donate if you can and share if you can’t!!!!

this campaign was shared by 90-ghost !!

[truefrostedagony]

https://gofund.me/21ce54ec

The original posted has reached out to me to share his campaign!!

I sadly can't donate so please help spread around the campaign

[bastart13]

Well, you said it, now it's on you, haha!

1) Apart from Love & Legends, do you enjoy any other stories from Lovestruck? If so, which ones are your favorites?

2) If you were to create your own version of the Love & Legends characters, how different would they look compared to the original versions you've shared?

3) Is there anything you wish had been explored more or done differently in the original, both in terms of design and plot?

4) You've mentioned changes made to Reiner and others, but have you discussed Altea's redesign? Can you share more about the direction you've taken with her and the reasons behind it?

5) I noticed the addition of wet-haired sprites for the MC and Helena. Have you created or do you plan to create other variations like this?

6) Have you started working on redesigning the weapons? Is that something that interests you, given the unique and interesting weapons in Love & Legends?

7) Do you plan to create or add heart gallery scenes, and if so, how would the process differ from creating the sprites? Would you aim to recreate them faithfully or put your own spin on them?

8) Do you have favorite heart scenes from the original? Are there scenes you wish had been drawn?

9) If you had unlimited time and resources, what ambitious additions or changes would you make to the revival?

10) Are there any non-playable characters from the original that you wish had been added as love interests?

I think 10 questions are a good enough start, lol.

1) Apart from Love & Legends, do you enjoy any other stories from Lovestruck? If so, which ones are your favorites?

I love most of the other Lovestruck series :D There’s such a broad variety of genres and characters, but they share this great focus on group dynamics that really makes you get attached to them as a whole. I think my other favourite series are Reigning Passions, Queen of Thieves, and Sweet Enchantments. My favourite routes are Amara, Fiona, Onyx, Zain, Emilio, and Razi, though shoutout to Remy and Onyx’s writers for being the ones to make me cry.

[Going to stick the rest under a read more to avoid the long post]

2) If you were to create your own version of the Love & Legends characters, how different would they look compared to the original versions you've shared?

Immensely hard to say. My tendencies aren’t towards classic medieval fantasy so the aesthetic probably would have ended up entirely different but I feel like I already took a lot of liberties with them? Honestly, they could have ended up like anything XD

3) Is there anything you wish had been explored more or done differently in the original, both in terms of design and plot?

Hm... Reiner’s probably my favourite character of the lot, but I do think I’d prefer his route if it carried over some worldbuilding from Helena’s and wedding traditions were different from modern western ones. Culture shock comes up a lot in the game as conflict and leaning into Reiner not understanding why giving the MC a ring makes her uncomfortable or the proposal being the first stage of establishing their relationship would make his end a bit more sympathetic.

Also, personally, I get a bit checked out with prophecies or acts of god, even in fantasy, so Alain and Saerys’ routes can get harder for me to engage with towards the end.

4) You've mentioned changes made to Reiner and others, but have you discussed Altea's redesign? Can you share more about the direction you've taken with her and the reasons behind it?

Ooh, yeah! So Altea’s design is a bit racially ambiguous but like the MC and Saerys I thought it’d be nice to draw her as Asian, though more south-east Asian like Cambodia or Malaysia. You get a lot of beautiful ornamentation and clothing from those cultures which I could style into celestial or winged symbols to suit Altea’s magical girl aesthetic while grounding it.

The general direction I’m taking with Eclaciel is combining medieval European silhouettes with the fabrics and styles of south east Asia + magical girl colours and sparkles.

As for her actual design, I wanted to make her chubbier as a further contrast to Helena and as another symbol of her subtle wealth. Altea’s the sort of character I imagine who took the peace time to flourish, especially after such a hard childhood > adulthood. The retainers care about their appearances in different ways and while Altea doesn’t want to rub it in anyone’s face, she does like to show off a bit with good quality fabrics, polished jewellery, and bright colours.

5) I noticed the addition of wet-haired sprites for the MC and Helena. Have you created or do you plan to create other variations like this?

All the main characters have wet hair sprites now and I think my plan is to create new variations where I see them. The MC also has a ponytail sprite and Witch Queen eyes when she’s being possessed, Alain has a messy hair sprite to echo himself as a child, and Reiner wears a silk cap when he’s sleeping to protect his hair.

I’m not sure right now what other variations might pop up but I’m planning wedding variations, makeup, and the timeskip hairstyles.

6) Have you started working on redesigning the weapons? Is that something that interests you, given the unique and interesting weapons in Love & Legends?

I... don’t have much practice drawing weapons. I did have to sketch them out for the promo art I did, though I only really made references for Atlea’s staff, Iseul’s bow, and August and Alain’s swords.

Like the characters, I veer towards more grounded, simpler designs vs fantastical and detailed.

7) Do you plan to create or add heart gallery scenes, and if so, how would the process differ from creating the sprites? Would you aim to recreate them faithfully or put your own spin on them?

I do plan to draw CGs eventually, though I’m a bit intimidated by the sheer quantity. The process would be the same as most of my illustration work: thumbnails > lineart > flats > lighting. Similarly to the sprites, I’d vary how much inspiration I’d want to take. Some I’d essentially want to redraw, I’d have a bit of fun with others, and maybe replace others. One major change is converting all the portrait compositions to landscape. I understand why they did it that way, but landscape orientation is far more comfortable for the game.  

(Some of my ideation thumbnails)

8) Do you have favorite heart scenes from the original? Are there scenes you wish had been drawn?

Like all of Love & Legends, it’s an interesting blend of incredible and strange art. I think they got a new colourist past Iseul’s 7th season and that definitely made a big difference but the compositions have always been impressive. My favourites from each route are:

As for scenes I wish had been drawn, I’m not sure anything comes to mind other that Reiner and MC’s Vegas wedding, since that was the climax of the season.

9) If you had unlimited time and resources, what ambitious additions or changes would you make to the revival?

Oh god, I’m not sure? Voice acting would be sick even if I never know what anyone sounds like. An animated intro/trailer would be awesome. Maybe updating backgrounds as well?

10) Are there any non-playable characters from the original that you wish had been added as love interests?

Weirdly I’m not someone who looks for other characters to become love interests. It’s fairly obvious when characters weren’t intended to carry a route by themselves and I'm content with the stories we have :D

[hedgiestail]

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Jason Kolchek/Salim Othman, Eric King/Rachel King

Characters: Jason Kolchek, Salim Othman, Eric King, Rachel King, Nick Kay, Zain Othman, Background & Cameo Characters, Original Characters, Original Child Character

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Attempt at Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Internalized Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Adventure & Romance, Slow Burn, Gen or Pre-Slash

Summary: Джейсон много херни на своём веку перевидал. От смертей из-за передоза до вампиров в шумерском храме. Подозрительного вида парочка, зазывающая с упорством заправского сутенёра работать в "бюро расследования и устранения паранормальных явлений", едва ли его впечатлила. Обещание полного пакета соц услуг, оплачиваемого отпуска и то, что всю налоговую волокиту возьмёт их бухгалтерский отдел — вот это ку��а интересней! "Крошить черпушки несанкионированным демоническим выползцам", — звучало, впрочем, не менее заманчиво.

Finally finished the first chapter!

Sincerely hope I'll be able to finish it🙈

If anyone want - I can post Jason's tattoo design with invisible background, so you can use it!

I thinking of printing it on a T-shirt or a mug🤔

[mikudesigns]

Hatsune Miku English V3 box art by Zain

I debated posting this one here since it’s not really it’s own design, it’s just a illustration of what seems to be v2 miku but I feel like it needs more recognition for how beautiful it is.

The long part of Miku’s iconic sleeves are holograms! As well parts of her skirt. I did not like this drawing when i was a lot younger but that was because I had no taste for art. It’s just so vibrant and lively. I can’t say it’s good character box art though. Usually I think it would be better to have a simple illustration of the character like the v2 miku did or a sketch like the original project Zola. V3 English is excused though because miku is already so well known that it’s doesn’t even matter, if it was a newer character I feel like doing something as beautiful as this would be a mistake.

Also she got that Eminem pose

It’s similar I swear-

[autumnslance]

LynMars FFXIV Write 2023 Master Post

This year's challenge completed! Congrats to everyone who wrote anything at all this month, even if just one prompt! Thanks again to @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast for 7 years of this!

Previous Years Master Posts: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022

Anything wolcred ship-related is marked by an asterisk* as usual. Commentary and stats for anyone interested below the Read More.

01. Envoy: ARR; Aeryn makes her Grand Company choice. 02. Bark: Dark has the wrong pie thief suspect. 03. Free Day! 04. Off the Hook: EW; Lucia & Maxima explore their new HQ. 05. Barbarous: HW; Aeryn's frustrated by the land of her birth. 06. Ring: EW; keepsakes & memories of Aeryn's mother. 07. Noisome: Dark & Iyna contend with ubiquitous seasonal flavors. 08. Shed: EW; Aeryn answers Zenos at the edge of everything. 09. Fair: EW; Azem's brother tries to ensure the future has his aid. 10. Free Day! 11. Once Bitten Twice Shy: ShB Bozja; unwarranted concerns. 12. Dowdy: Backstory; Aeryn's always had Opinions about fashion. 13. Check: Iyna discovers C'oretta's personal business. 14. Clear*: ShB; semi-poetic sweetness of coming together. 15. Portentous: Backstory. Zaine speaks to Tanzel about a decision. 16. Jerk: EW; Aeryn meets an old friend as the Final Days loom. 17. Free Day! 18. Fish Out of Water: Shb: G'raha gets used to his new life. 19. Weal: EW; Vrtra sees to his people and their home. 20. Hamper: In a possible future, Iyna answers academic questions. 21. Grave: Legacy; Zaine Striker returns to his childhood home. 22. Fulsome: C'oretta sorts through her parents' old promos. 23. Suit: ARR; what the Scions wore that most fateful night. 24: Free Day! 25. Call it a Day: Pre-ARR; Iron Summer contemplating his daughter. 26. Last: EW; a final conversation between ancients. 27. Sole*: Post-ShB; Thancred vs the perils of Aeryn's flip-tastic jobs. 28. Blunt: Post-ShB; working with Gaius, like it or not. 29. Contravention: EW; "In from the Cold" violates laws of nature. 30. Amity: EW; Varshahn & Aeryn discuss Thavnair & Garlemald.

Only 2 short shippy prompts all month! All 4 modern girls got a couple spotlights, various family cameos and backstories, a future prompt as is tradition, Zaine had a few posts, a few NPC-only scenes, a LOT of Endwalker, and even Ancient Icarus got a story, tying into 2021's "Destruct" prompt and how/why the siblings' souls have been connected through time and reincarnations.

A few of these are alternate takes on scenes I've touched on before, but it's interesting what a new prompt at a different time can get one to say, how we change as writers in what we focus on and how we say it.

This comes in roughly 300 words shorter than last year, at 18,493. The week of the 18-22 I had off work for my birthday, and that had the most 1k+ prompts, with a word count nearly double the other 3 full weeks. While the longer prompts are good, I'm really happy with how so many of the short ones turned out!

I was again trying to be realistic about my time, energy, not pushing free write days...and also working on an original writing project on the side, so I actually did do more writing over the month, just not FFXIV related!

(Also why some of my responses were in just under the wire...)

But this was a good break and exercise from that other writing, and let me try a few new things.

And comparing to earlier years--especially 2017 and 2018 when I was getting back onto the writing horse and feeling out my OCs--I feel like my growth as a writer, especially to be more succinct yet still evocative when needed, is evident. I've gotten a lot of practice in over time, and this challenge is one of the things that helped me get to where I can write an original story on top of my fanfic!

Breakdowns for funsies: Longest: 21 Grave; 1,652 words Shortest: 14 Clear; 106 words

Between 100-500 words: 1 Envoy; 2 Bark; 4 Off the Hook; 5 Barbarous; 7 Noisome; 8 Shed; 14 Clear; 15 Portentous; 26 Last; 27 Sole. Between 500-1000 words: 6 Ring; 11 Once Bitten, Twice Shy; 13 Check; 16 Jerk; 18 Fish Out of Water; 22 Fulsome; 23 Suit; 25 Call it a Day; 28 Blunt; 29 Contravention; 30 Amity. 1000+ words: 9 Fair; 12 Dowdy; 19 Weal; 20 Hamper; 21 Grave.

I didn't look at the totals until the end; I only checked some of the shorter ones during the challenge to see if they hit my personal "500+ words" cut off for adding a Read More to the posts.

"Grave" honestly could have been a lot shorter; I started the plot too early, and much as I like Zaine making one last visit to his childhood Nana, for the purposes of the challenge, I could have just focused on going to the lichyard to save myself time and energy, and wrote about the visit on my own another time. On the other hand, it's done now!

Not sure which is a favorite; there's a lot I like.

As usual, these will be revised at...some point (some more than others, probably) and added to Ao3, in my various series and threads.

[dracyab]

I just realised while waiting for the bus I never posted my Soider-Volt and Niles prints series. So I'm still waiting for the bus but now I'm posting it.

These were done with Intaglio printing.

The original concept was opposing forces and these little blorbos as the kids say these days were the first thing to pop into my mind! I knew it had to be them. the eternal struggle over Spider-Volt's wife whose name only I know.

below is all the six prints in the series. 3 of Niles, 3 of Spider-Volt. I plan to give two of them away to people with great ties to the characters

and here are the two I think turned out the best especially when pairs with each other.

I enjoyed making this but I could have spent more time on it I think someone is snorting coke in front of me on the bus. I kinda threw it together last minute and didn't compose the image well or add as much detail as I could have. I could have also worked on the anatomy more, but deadline. I'm still happy with it though. I went into this project wanting to create a connected set of prints wherein Niles and Spider-Volt are fighting, and I did succeed on that.

and Zain if you're reading this I'm never using your ink again there was no linseed oil in that wtf.

[khattikeri]

Urgent Fundraisers 🇵🇸 🍉(14 Sep 2024)

I'm compiling asks from Palestinians and their families who have reached out to me into one post. Some are sick, disabled, elderly, or with infants and young children. Many have nowhere to go and are trapped in areas ridden with disease and Israe.li violence.

I wish all of you the best and hope you can escape. I apologize if I wrote your names or gofundme details wrong in this post.

I am unfortunately unable to donate at the moment, though many of these people have asked me to. I am spreading word of their campaigns instead. Please donate to their fundraisers (linked in blue) if you can and reblog this post if you can't.

Zain Sami -- €530 / €35,000 since 27 Aug 2024

@zainsami

unvetted but images are original according to reverse image search

donation protected

Ibrahim Hussein -- $45,108 / $100,000 since 14 May 2024 (45% funded / 4 months)

@ibrahimhuss

unvetted but images are original according to reverse image search

donation protected

Doaa Jadalhaq & her son Omar -- kr202,134 SEK / kr300,000 since 3 June 2024 (67% funded / 3 months)

Previously posted on 6 Sept 2024 and had reached kr184,175 SEK. This means in the past ~8 days we have helped raise kr17,959.

@dodoomar12345

vetted by 90-ghost

donation protected

Ahmed Awad & her son Majd -- €17,357 / €20,000 since 9 Aug 2024 (87% funded / 1 month)

@girlqueen89

vetted by 90-ghost

#406 on The ButterflyEffect Project spreadsheet

donation protected

Aya Almajdoub -- €1,317 / €55,000 since 17 May 2024 (2% funded / 4 months)

@aiamaher

unvetted but images are original according to reverse image search

donation protected

Mahmoud Ayyad -- €5,465 / €55,000 since 24 July 2024 (11% funded / 1.5 months)

Previously posted on 12 Sept 2024 and had reached €5,295. This means in the past 2 days we have helped raise €170.

@mahmoudayyad

vetted by 90-ghost

donation protected

Asmaa Ayyad -- €20,045 raised of €45,000 since 23 April 2024 (45% funded / 5 months)

The last time I posted about Asmaa's campaign was on 10 Sept 2024, and it had reached €18,636. This means in the past 4 days we have helped raise €1409.

@asmaayyad

vetted by 90-ghost

donation protected

Tahreer Jad Al-Haq -- $9,172 raised of $65,000 -- since 22 July 2024. (14% funded / ~2 months)

The last time I posted about Tahreer's campaign was on 31 Aug 2024, and it had reached $8081. This means in the past 2 weeks we have helped raise $1091.

@tahreer19900 & @tahreer-199

Shared by 90-ghost

donation protected

Organized for Tahreer's sister Doaa; funds are meant to go to all four sisters & their families.

[ophthalmotropy]

Hello ❤️🍉🍉 I am Mohammed from Gaza 🇵🇸💔. I hope that you are well .. I want you to help me spread the word about my family's fundraising campaign If you reblog the campaign with your followers, it will help me a lot .. This is a link to a video for my children👇 https://www.tumblr.com/mohammedshehab/754905193953574912?source=share Please watch the video until the end I hope you can help me .. The goal of the campaign is to save my family from the danger of war in Gaza Please help me reblog and post the campaign link on your blog, as I don't always have internet due to the ongoing fighting and displacement inside Gaza. Thank you very much🙏🌹

Hello, I'll share the links here and reblog the original post. My best wishes to you and your family 💙

As of posting this, the GFM is at €1,112/€25,000. Please help spread the word and donate if you are able.

[weakasfuck]

Hey, I’m Zain! I’m a writer and artist that reblogs stuff sometimes.

[108garys]

I'm gonna run a little defence for a second

For hoa beyond the whole setting thing I would encourage the acknowledgment of the midcentury cast and while that still has a 3-4 gender breakdown I'll say that those characters are important even offscreen

While Aline herself isn't as prominent Mary Hodgson is the emotional core of the expedition subplot and is explicitly name dropped and referenced in the main story, mostly by Salim when he expresses his curiosity and his deep desire to go home to Zain, Agnes Bradshaw on the other hand was a fairly interesting antagonist that I enjoy a lot and I don't think any female characters in hoa should be discounted for not being playable(although I feel you on Clarice)

Secondly I will defend Little Hope

Due to the nature of the story it required a relatively traditional nuclear family dynamic, I wouldn't change the A-boys casting and changing things so he's the only son would have significantly shifted the dynamics of the Clarke family. That said they are a family of 6 that equally divides into 3/3 and as such Little Hope has 9 onscreen female characters and they're all important to the story (I know Melissa can be classified as a plot device but you get the point)

Maybe the fact that some of my favourites are npc plays into my views but I'll say none of this is a knock on the original post and I'd love to see what they'd do with that concept given we are halfway through the anthology and there's a clear desire on the part of the Devs to explore different dynamics

I hope we get an all-female cast in DPA season 2 to make up for the awful male-to-female ratio in HOA as well as 3/4 of the games in season 1 having mostly male casts. Hopefully the games in season 2 take notes from TDIM about gender ratio❤

[trashcanakin]

Clint is a member of a Monster/Beast hunter guild, and a Werewolf has been terrorizing a town, so him & his team have set out to slay the beast. They kill the wolf, but word got out that another werewolf has been spotted! What will Clint do when he finds out it’s Bucky? Bucky may have full control over his wolf form and doesn't hunt humans, but he's still a beast. Will Clint go against his very nature as a hunter and protect his friend; the one he loves?

---

@winterhawkbingo N3 - FREE

[autumnslance]

A thought occurs, given the recent WoLverse post(s)... Has Aeryn bumped into a Shard on the First or Thirteenth that could be her brother's? And if so... how well/badly did that go? :3

On the First, I headcanoned a sister for Ardbert, who would have been Zaine's shard. They also initially planned to go adventuring together, but she had a lover on their little island, ended up pregnant, and so Ardbert went off into the world on his own.

(This was also part of my initial "silly meta" given I was just using the base Meteor and Lady Midlander CGI models, with color tweaks, for Aeryn and Zaine, and we had Ardbert in the HW patches and knew vaguely, when I wrote "Bonded", only that we were going to see the Champions of the First again in the newly-announced Shadowbringers, and little else of the expac at the time. It was supposed to just be a ha-ha-funny coincidence. I should have known better.)

After defeating Mitron and Lohgrif and realizing "oh no!" Ardbert returned home...to find his sister and her child both dead to an accident, and his brother-in-law lost in a bottle over it. Ardbert, having already sacrificed his best friends, said one last goodbye at his sister's grave as Elidibus walked up, waiting on Ardbert to finish himself to ferry the fallen champions to the Source.

That was part of a story about the cycles of rebirth between Zaine, Ardbert's unnamed sister OC, and my Ancient OC Icarus. Ao3 link, as that version was heavily revised from the original prompt.

So Aeryn never got to meet Zaine's First shard, though she and Ardbert talked a lot about their late siblings during those long evenings in the Pendants.

As for the Thirteenth...either Durante or Rubicante would fit the bill, and I lean on Durante.

With the sibling soulmates the way things normally happen is Icarus's soul falls first, leaving Pandora's to carry onward. Icarus was with Venat in Elpis and met Aeryn. The tiniest sliver of Icarus's soul/aether/whatever is extant in her--and if our favorite pair of soulseers would have seen Zaine, they'd see the teeniest sliver of Pandora in him. Icarus did not join the party in Ktisis Hyperboreia, so retained his memories. As ever, he was desperate to help his sibling--even a reincarnation of her, who was herself Icarus's friend. Bolstered by the idea of that tiny sliver, he performed a risky magic to tie his and Azem's souls together (I really need to get last year's FF14 Write up on Ao3). But his own prophetic ability also showed him his reincarnations would always die before hers. That when Aeryn spoke of her brother in the past tense, it was because that was Icarus's modern reincarnation--who didn't make it out of Louisoix's spell (because he offered his strength to Hydaelyn).

Part of the problem with the Thirteenth is that the cycle is disrupted and then broken. Golbez (who I personally think was the WoL/Azem shard) was corrupted and Durante forced to Memoria him. Which then led to Durante breaking down and taking up Golbez's identity so the world would know their "true hero." It's all choices made of despair that I can see Zaine making, especially given the lengths his precursor was willing to go to, to stay with his heroic sibling and help her across millennia.

However, neither modern Golbez nor Aeryn have realized that connection, and no one they travel with currently has the necessary gifts to see it. So it doesn't come up during the story, nor matter at all before, during, or after. He's his own person, and has made his own choices--including, now, to hope again.

--

(I tend to think Zero is actually Zenos's shard, given the resonance of their aether to make her his avatar, and it makes for some interesting parallels about their potentials and how their natures and lives led them. And canon-Durante is another extraordinary hero the same way our Scion pals are. But overall I also don't worry about that all too much; those characters are themselves in the end. And all is subject to revision based on future canon revelations/changes.)

[magica-pseudoacademica]

Sufism [...] had since the early twentieth century attracted white converts and even non-Muslims. Marcia Hermansen argues that during the 1960s, Sufism appealed to "young, middle-class Americans [who] located the cause of racism, the Vietnam War, and the evils of technocracy in a spiritual sickness that establishment religions in America had not only failed to solve but had fostered." But in recent years, there is less uniformity among its followers. "Characterizing 'Sufism' among white Americans in the 21st Century is challenging," says Alyson L. Dickson. "The range of Sufi groups and practices has varied significantly, from the most universalistic and New Age tor metaphysical to those that strictly follow the shari'ah, the legal, ethical, and behavioral rules based on the Qur'an and Muslim tradition."

Zain Abdullah, “American Muslims in the Contemporary World: 1965 to the Present” in The Cambridge Companion to American Islam (2013)