#zora deserved better

[bobapril]

Star Trek: Discovery finale rant and spoilers below the fold.

I am so mad about how Zora's story ended. We all know from "Calypso" how miserable she was, for so long. And sure, it's great they at least remembered that long enough to explain how she got there - but that explanation was actually insulting, both to her as a sentient being/friend to the crew, and to us as the audience. "Sorry, Zora, we have to dump you out in the middle of space all alone. Why? Well, it's a Red Directive - that's all we can tell you. Sure, you saved our asses time and time again. You literally handed us a weapon that would let us kill you at will just so we would trust you enough to let you live. And of course, you've got all the knowledge you need to become a galactic life-destroying AI, which you helped us take away from ANOTHER life-destroying AI and then chose not to use yourself...but we can't trust you with any details on why your abandonment is so important." "Oh, and by the way, sorry for leaving you all alone on this apparently mothballed ship for who knows how long - but hey, at least that was good practice for your next ultra-important mission of being abandoned forever!" For five years, I've been defending Michael Burnham from her detractors, extolling her virtues as quite possibly the most effective officer Starfleet ever produced. And I'll continue to do so - but this last task is a betrayal of everything she stands for. Zora deserves FAR better, as a sentient, as a crewmate, and as a friend. And so do we. Data sacrificed himself - repeatedly, as it happens - and that's fine, because he made those choices, with full knowledge of what he was doing and why circumstances made it necessary. Airiam was sacrificed, but though she had no choice, she was at least given the chance to see why it was necessary and to forgive those who were forced to do it. Zora was sacrificed - and given neither knowledge nor choice.

[ppeplastic]

The idea Link should move straight onto Mipha's little brother after her death is so disgusting and disrespectful to Mipha herself that I can't believe it often comes from Miphlink shippers

[kneecapsoups]

More ledgend of Zelda stuff😋😋

[lynxriderwrites]

Rating: E

Link froze, instinct prickling at the back of his neck and making his damp hair stand on end. At first, he couldn't determine what had caught his attention, listening intently for the sounds of scuffling feet, the hiss of wings, or a malicious cry in the absence of sight. But there was nothing but the burbling of dark water and the persistent thrum heavy on the air.

Link blinked and realized abruptly what he had been missing when two faint glowing pinpricks, nearly hidden beneath the flickering reflection of the master sword against the black water, blinked back.

“Sidon?” Link stuttered in disbelief as it surfaced. Had the prince somehow fallen down here with him? Had he been a part of a search party?

But before Link could relax, a massive clawed hand latched upon the shore, close enough for him to realize that its skin was far from the familiar red and it was rising, rising, rising above him, stealing his breath with a fresh wash of alarm. That. Was not Sidon.

Or: Link stumbles into the Depths before the events of Tears of the Kingdom and finds a shiny new fishman.

[rocklover719]

Do I want to finish this??? Yeah. Will it be good??? Debatable

[newly-feral]

If you are silent about your pain, they'll kill you and say you enjoyed it.

-Zora Neale Hurston

[imanisays]

Sanaa Lathan as Zora Banks in Disappearing Acts.

.

.

.

This movie and the book will forever piss me tf off. She deserved better. But she was stupid as well.🤣

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 1

Propaganda Under Cut

Joan Watson

How were BBC Sherlock shippers so rancid about a WOMAN who wasnt even in the SAME SHOW?????

Lucy Liu real life victim of yaoi despite being on a DIFFERENT TV SHOW. And everyone was so busy hating her for getting in the way of johnlocke that they ignored the massive yuri potential of Elementary :(

she wasn't even in the same SHOW as the yaoi I've been convinced she deserves to win the entire poll. I was a Johnlocker but I did watch the first season of Elementary and it was fine????? It was totally okay????? Especially in hindsight given how hard Sherlock season four flopped. Also Lucy Liu is a queen and deserved zero vitriol for *checks notes* playing a character???? A fucking fictional character???????? Oh my god we were all SO mean to this show and we (or at least I) thought it was like The Good Fight™️, like we were defending BBC Sherlock against copyright infringement and straightwashing and Jonny Lee Miller's bizarre scarf, (it wasn't a good scarf I do stand by that) but then Elementary didn't make Holmes and Watson a couple either???? And also it didn't insult its audience constantly etc etc we've all seen the Hbomberguy Sherlock is Garbage video. This is really long sorry hashtag justice for Joan Watson.

Mipha

Honestly she's not just a victim of yaoi, tbh. Basically: she canonically had a massive crush on the protagonist, Link, which consistently gets swept under the rug or ignored entirely in favor of shipping Link with her brother Sidon, their fellow champion Revali, or Zelda herself. She deserves nice things and so many people just... completely overlook her??

She has a crush on Link, but so does her younger brother Sidon, who is much more affable and outgoing. Link/Sidon is the more popular ship. Mipha gets a lot of flak for being a weak female character who's only defined by her romantic relationship to the protagonist. That's not really fair; she has her own storyline about being the golden girl from her town who everyone looks up to, and the hole that's left in the town after her death. It is unfortunate that she is better remembered as the less compelling corner of a love triangle.

The princess of the Zora, sweetheart of the Zora's Domain. Champion pilot of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta. Master healer, cut down in her prime by an ancient evil. But you wouldn't know it, because she's reduced to someone who was in love with Link (the game's protagonist), and therefore has to be sidelined and villainized to ship Link with her younger brother Sidon or her fellow Champion Revali.

[asktheritochampion]

Revali!

How does... how does this look! This was what I wore during my time in Lurelin with my human family. They were... unfortunately killed by a wandering Lynel. I must tell you this Revali, but Lynels aren't 'mindlessly' killing anything. When they kill or injure hylians, gerudo, ritos, zoras or gorons, they do it for FUN. I appreciate you ending my species. They killed those that taught me how to read, write, talk, cook, plant, and so many other things. As I mourned, the Lynel that slaughtered the ones who nutured me to who I am laughed in my face and told me I was a fool to love and care for Hylians. That Lynel told me that all life that wasn't a Lynel was nothing but dust under my hoof. I yearn for their deaths. If I die under yours or your mens wings, then so be it, I would be more than proud knowing at least you helped me defeat an enemy of yours and mine. I need your help. Once the Lynels are dead, and they hopefully don't ressurect, I will be more than happy than to give my soul for Rito training. Please accept my request. And don't feel bad about the blood of Lynels on your wings. They DESERVED their deaths.

Walk with me.

How much do you know of philosophy and ethical studys?

Once upon a time, in very ancient days now, Rito were considered 'savage beasts' to Hylians because they did not understand out ways. They hunted us, and so we began to hunt them back. Our two races were violent and cruel to one another, both beleiving the other was a race of unintelligent beasts killing our people for sport.

The truth is, we were all beasts. Those flightless apes killed our women and took our children to study like animals for fun. We would hunt them from the sky and play games shooting down their people - even families. That is what our people had been taught. It's what their parents did, what their grandparents did. They didn't know any better.

Now - much study has been done into Bokoblins. Horrid little beasts - but easy to capture. They do not breed, they have no families. The creatures spawn from Ganon's malice. They feel no complex emotions, no one is entirely certain whether they even have free will or thought. They eat one another, kill anything they see, and truely appear to live only to serve the demon king as mindless puppets.

Typically is no ethical worry about killing Bokoblins. They aren't people - they are barely creatures, mere figments of Ganon's wrath.

This was thought the same for all monsters - at least at first. Now days there is more study being done into Lizalflo - they seem to be capable of forging metal weaponry - something which requires skill and design - suggesting they could have some form of sentiance.

Then there's you. A Lynel that was raised by Hylians to be 'good'. To repress any violent urges, and to live a peaceful life amongst others. If you are capable of being re-conditioned - that suggests that all Lynel are capable of free will and congative thought. Perhaps they do kill for fun - but perhaps that is all they know. If other Lynel were raised in different enviroments, who's to say they also couldn't asimilate into a society? Suddenly - there is our ethical dilema.

We're no longer killing an animal. We're killing a person raised in a bad situation.

However - regardless of this ethical conundrum, I personally have no qualms about revenge murder for the killing of loved ones. Thus, if you take me to those who killed your Hylian kin then I shall gladly do my duties as a warrior to smite them.

Still, your presence here is something I must discus with the Princess regarding how we move forwards with Lynels as a whole. On the one wing, attempting to force them from a young age into more recognisable practises to our own is colonization which I shant stand for, however we simply cannot allow them to assult and kill innocent people either. We must research another way to find peace between us all.

[f-oighear]

Fanfic writer interview!

tagged by @ashenaura. Merci bien ! ;)

How many works do you have on AO3?

145.

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

I'll Follow

Where The Heart Is

Your World

Everything and More

Brittlest

(... yup, it's all SAU and those numbers will never not shock me)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Of course. It might take me forever (my inbox is staring at me dead in the eyes), but I will respond. It means the world to me and if anyone makes the effort, they deserve a response. Easy.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I need happy endings with my angst so... yeah. I think... Yesterday I died (tomorrow's bleeding) is quite sad.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I guess the SAU has the happiest ending. Everything And More's last chapter is literally sunshine and calmness which, yk, is needed after the whole thing.

Do you write crossovers?

I've just gotten into it! I didn't see the hype before but um that was because I never tried to mash together the right verses I think. The Arkham Horror x Black Clover crossover is very dear to me.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

*touching wood* Nope.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I've written steamy but never full smut. Well, I've written bits. But they're unpublished and I don't think I ever will publish them soooo yeah.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, no.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Someone translated Her Most Precious Memories in Russian (Её самые драгоценные воспоминания).

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Just like crossovers, I'm just getting into it. And just like crossovers, I'm absolutely loving it.

@kalolasfantasyworld knows. We've written that Olympics Swimming one, Silver Scorching Interdimensional Slash: the Magical Medley Relay of Doom, and we're writing the most wonderful Formula for a Crush.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

All time favorite... royai probably.

it's just the angst... it's just the sillies... it's just the war criminals... there's a dog... they're both so stupid... i love them...

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

fhjfhds all of them. If I start a wip it's that I want to see it finished (because I want to read it). Sadly, I often don't have the motivation to. The wip list is ever growing.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and internal monologues, I think.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Besides everything syntax and grammar-related because what even is English, I'd say description, especially of action scenes. It takes me forever to even dare put down a few words and I always feel like I'm describing like a 7yo would (no shade to 7yo but surely with 20 more years on this planet I should be able to do better).

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I did it in Formula for a Crush for Vanessa and Helena because Helena typically does it so it felt normal to As long as it's one word or one expression I don't really mind. (my Italian is non-existent and my Spanish is uhhh not good so, there's that.).

In my own work, I prefer to keep it in English and italicize. Less risk to completely fumble a whole language.

(I just realized that Zora doesn't even utter one word in French in FFAC and I'm French [I dare think I can speak and write the language relatively well]. so it's less down to messing up a language than personal preferences in writing ig..? I never really thought about it.)

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

Nothing comes to mind. Rarepair Week was a great occasion to tick some of these boxes too.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I've had this question ten thousand times and I think I reply differently every time dhjfdjskj. It's a tough one.

Right now I'm having a lot of fun with Formula for a Crush (nah, you can't tell with how much I'm talking about it).

what even is football anyway will always be very dear to me and I'll probably say it's this one.

Blue Hours (and its sequel, I might even like the sequel more simply for the rant about the dishes) is special because I loved the concept and I experienced a bit with the narration.

Thicker Than Blood because it's a longer one and it was a really non-pressure kind of fic (I expected no one to read it so I really had fun)

Yesterday I died (tomorrow's bleeding) and posing questions to a silent universe (my very thoughts a curse) for some nice Mia angst.

Lost in a storm, It’s a big office, chief, for some nice Phoenix angst.

Tell Me About Cruelty means a lot to me.

(you might realize: I cannot choose. I'm looking at the 145 fics and I'm like. they're all special to me in some way. even those I wish I could erase from the face of the earth I'm like. I like that line, that scene, that hug. it's terrible and it's wonderful.)

--

tagging (no pressure, do it if you want) @kalolasfantasyworld (because ofc I'm tagging you), @wildflowerwoodsworld

[vilandel]

Just a random thought I had, I apologize 😅

*After an exhausting royal gathering, in the kitchens of the Silva Palace* Vanessa: This was really dreadful. Nozel: I apologize, you didn't deserve that. Vanessa: You neither and don't forget, I only came because I didn't want to leave you alone with that bitch nearby. Asta: But isn't that also Rosettes sister? Rosette: It's deserved, knowing what piece of work Athénaïs is. Zora: I like that energy. Vanessa: Anyway, as delicious this hot chocolate with whipped cream is, I would also love a bath later on. Nozel: I can have the royal baths ready for you, if you want. Vanessa: And help to get rid out of this clothes. Nozel: Do you need one of the maids? Nebra: Is he Asta stupid or just tired? Vanessa: And a giant bed a specific kind of cuddles. Asta: We can have a group cuddle later, like you always want the Black Bulls to do, but are there really different kinds of cuddles? Vanessa: *pouting* But I don't want a group cuddle, I want one only my handsome eagle can give me. Asta: Huh? Nozel: *slow realization* Oh... if you mean... You know that the Library is nearer, right? Vanessa: Finally you get it! Oh, I love the hunger in your eyes. *makes out with him* Solid: Really, in front of my hot chocolate? Noelle: You didn't need to come with us if you want to do that... Oh my gosh, you're doing actually THAT! Nozel: Sorry, we finish our cups and then we go! Zora: Better get out right now, otherwise Little Miss Royal here is going to be in a bad mood for the night. OUCH, what was that for? Nebra: How dare you say that I'm going to be in a bad mood? Zora: Is not my fault that your big bro is thirsty about the wino! Asta: Huh? But they aren't drinking right now? Solid & Noelle: STOP, PLEASE, WE'RE DRINKING HERE! Nozel & Vanessa: *slowly taking second cups of hot chocolate while trying hard to keep their hands from one another* Nebra: It is YOU who puts me in a bad mood! Zora: Oh, wanna work this out! Your fucking bedroom, then! Nebra: Let's settle somewhere else, last time you broke my bed! Zora: We broke your stupid bed, you where there too! Solid & Noelle: Not you too, please... Nebra: You still owe me that bed, you were too wild! Zora: You didn't complained back then, princess! Asta: Oh, you did some workout on the bed? Solid & Noelle: NO, THEY DIDN'T! AND I DON'T WANNA KNOW! Rosette: Well, this weirdly entertaining.

[riddle-of-sphinx]

Been thinking of how sad it is that the things that were so important in BotW (sheikah tech, divine beasts) were less than an afterthought in totk, so here's an idea of what the divine beasts at least could have been in totk, if they were around.

Vah Ruta: since the zora have great respect for Mipha and all that was associated with her, I can imagine Vah Ruta being turned into some sort of mobile hospital, one that can use the waterways to go to its patients, perhaps even experimenting with recreating the tech for the shrine of resurrection or something similar. Its endless source of clean water would do well in a hospital setting, for cleaning wounds an such. In game, a quest could be bringing water from the wellsprings in the depths to make the hospital better. (these assuming the beasts would be repurposed in a way that would make them less weapon-y)

Vah Rundania: hyper mobile mining rig. Capable of climbing into the caldera of death mountain itself, the gorons would get a lot of mileage out of the beeg lizarb. A lot of new minerals could potentially be obtained using Vah Rudania. In game, a quest could be going with the gorons on a mining run, if there were monsters that needed destroying.

Vah Medoh: Merchant or Charter plane, to transport items or people long distances, or bring people up to the sky islands for research purposes. In game, a quest could be helping repair it, and either it being something you could hitch a ride on to get to some harder to reach places, or helping the Zonai research crew get in touch with the Rito for a partnership investigating the skylands.

Vah Naboris: Power plant baby. If anyone deserves to discover air conditioning and indoor plumbing first, it's the Gerudo. Using Naboris as their source of electricity, making electric lights, motors, AC, etc. would be a cool and interesting way of repurposing Naboris. A lot of electricity ultrahand puzzles could have come out of this.

Bonus: Shrine of resurrection dlc dungeon (forgot what its called lol). Make that the new sheikah lab, where you can assist with integrating zonai and sheikah tech.

[yoinkschief]

I remember watching this one movie called Us by Jordan Peele

What if the eddsworld lads were dropped in this universe lol

It's actually so funny that you ask that cause I just finished watching that movie after my friends recommended it to me !!!

The easy answer would be haha Spares ! And they just kill them all ofc, but I think thinking about it in the setting of Us is the best way to go about this,,,

To me I immediately go to character 1-to-1s, like who would be which character in the movie, yk ?

I think Edd would be Adelaide, I mean cause duh main characters, but also they just,,,, I dunno something about them fits, I think it's cause to me they both have that same instinct of wanting to protect everyone themselves but also holding all responsibility on their shoulders and not letting anyone else feel that weight if that makes sense (This is just a personal HC for Edd, but I think Adelaide might genuinely feel this way, at least in some regard, seeing as she hadn't told Gabe about her fears with Santa Cruz's beach until the movie, which sure could be for plot reasons but I don't see why she wouldn't have told him way sooner since they've been to the beach house before if it wasn't because she was scared to let him hear that cause he'd think she's crazy, yk, keeping all the "burden" to herself)

I think Tom would be Gabe, because I mean fucking look at them, goofy ass dads the both of them I mean it's perfect it fits something something TomEdd propaganda

Matt would be Zora in an odd sense,, I dunno him and Tord's character placements are a little flimsy to be fair,,, honestly I have Tord as Jason cause he's a little shit who loves fire

Also I'm mostly doing this because I would LOVE to see Eduardo and Jon as Kitty and Josh,,, I think Kitty would be Eduardo and Josh would be Jon, and I know a lot of people aren't going to agree with that but I see it with the times Kitty turns to Adelaide and is just like "I think about killing him sometimes" like as a joke obviously cause haha ball and chain, but also mostly because of the scene where Kitty's on the balcony and telling Josh to go and look outside since she heard something

and there's another reason why but it's cruel and would have minor spoilers for the movie

As for who's Becca and Lindsey I don't care I hate them bitches Mark can be both he's blonde enough for it

BUTTT thinking about this in a more "The boys but their next shenanigan is Us" it changes a bit

(WARNING: SPOILERS BEYOND THIS)

Leaning more into that whole "haha, Spares!" moment but mostly just for Bing and Larry cause they totally fucking would be the type to create soulless copies like that I mean they already fucking did and I will never forgive them from throwing Scribble Tom in the reject room he deserves to be free

But also imo if we're going down this route I think it would be better to have Tord as Adelaide with the whole leaving and coming back bit he did, I think it would be a great way to incorporate the twist if ykwim I don't wanna outright spoil anything yk but I think that would be the extent of like the one-to-one comparisons with the main cast versus eddsworld casting since everyone else has pretty different personalities

But they wouldn't hesitate to not give a damn and just kill every doppelganger they came across, I think the neighbors would still get killed but they'd show up in the next eddisode like nothing happened, and I think Edd would know about the whole twist at the end,,, kinda like how some people speculate Jason does :ppp

[creativesplat]

💘, 🐳, ⛩️, 🙊?

💘, 🐳, ⛩️, 🙊

💘 MIPHLINK!!! Do I have to say it? Absolutely 110% Miphlink. Honestly they are a pairing that I love more than all the other ships I have ever shipped, and I come back to them whenever other hyper fixations fizzle out or I want something comforting. I love them both so much. AoC is one of my favourite zelda games for that reason. (BoTW too, but the tragic lovers vibe is so sad)

Skyward Sword Zelink, a little bit, I wasn’t head over heals for them, but SS Zelda reminded me a fair bit of Mipha (if Mipha had been brought up in a less dangerous time and with less royal duties they would have probably been more similar), so that was that! 

I really wish I shipped Revali with someone, because I love the birb because he is stupid and fun to draw, initially I was a pining Miphvali shipper, but like, I wasn’t a massive fan of that, so maybe ZelVali? Some people ship that, and I’ve got to say the Revali and Zelda talking scene is one of my favourite cutscenes in BoTW, not to mention Zelda’s dialogue to Revali; If not romantic, definitely platonic. 

Teba and Saki are the adorable birb parents so I quite like their couple dynamic? Im not really the biggest shipper outside of Miphlink tbh.  

🐳

I honestly have no idea? Probably a Hylian (boring answer sorry!), but maybe a Rito. I love the decoration styles, and bright colours, and also they live in a cool climate and I do not like hot weather. So maybe a rito. 

⛩️

I think my favourite dungeon would have to be the Ancient Cystern in SS, I just love how beautiful the whole thing is, with all the lotus-y patterns and the pinks and turquoises and the flowers and stuff. ITs just so dang beautiful!! I also really loved the Sandship Dungeon. I think in terms of play through that was my favourite from start to finish. Location is SO much harder. Aesthetically Satori Mountain, and Rito village, story-wise and where I spend my most time in BoTW Zora’s domain, I also Love the Zora’s domain and Rito Village music. Also sweet cozy little skyloft is so nice and permanent and homely. The great plateau is so nostalgic and I love that too… AAA I don’t think I can pick! In AoC it has to be Scero’s Supplies, I know you can’t really go there, but the merging of Zora and Hateno architecture is just so beautiful and I LOVE IT SO MUCH! 

🙊

Ohhh… Unpopular Zelda opinions… I have quite a few of those. Ok. Here we go. 

ToTK is AWUFUL. Hot dang it is the worst thing ever. It wasn’t even the story that made me stop playing. It was one line from an NPC in Rito Village. Molli wants to make elemental arrows, and has an idea for arrow inventions, that can freeze enemies! No way that’s so cool, except… that is literally one of the main things in the last game. You can buy elemental arrows from the shops. Like what the heck? At least explain to me why a very common commodity that EVERYONE but Particularly the people who’s job it is to look after Bows (Harth and Moli) know about and have access to is somethign they want to invent now. I hate is. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I ha- anyway. I despise whatever Lazy idiot decided that was the way to go. Who cares about lore? Not us apparently. I also have a massive problem with the imperialist mass-destruction weapon wearing zonai as well. And as a historian I just love BoTW so much better than ToTK. It treats its history with respect, and nuance, and good golly thats not how ruins from 10,000 years ago would work and o my word stop suspending my disbelief!?! 

Anyway. I could rant for far longer about far more things, but I’ll leave it at that. 

Way more unpopular, and Zelink shippers please ignore this: I think BoTW Zelink is creepy. The power dynamic is insanely bad (princess and her servant who literally cannot disobey her father), and the age gap is also awful (16 turned 17 for one day and “20 something” from the BoTW art book). 

Also, the women deserve better from that fandom. But that’s not news.

Thank you so much for the ask Stars!

[getblackout503]

So this is the first chapter of the greyche spy au fanfic inspired by @jaycrakhead art, I started to create a story and they convinced me to act on it, so thanks jay, hope it’s good, upload schedule is finna be a mess, so jay make sure to bug me about when chapters are coming out, but anyways enjoy.

———————————————————————

Buzz Buzz Buzz

Grey’s phone didn’t ring often, but when It did it usually meant one thing.

A mission

“Hello?” Grey asked even though she knew full well who it was.

“Agent 461, you will go undercover at a party in order to infiltrate and, be an inside man for agent 479, as he steals the information our client requests, do you understand the mission and risk?” The voice on the other end of the phone explained and asked.

“Yes sir, always”

“Very good, you’re transport and clothes will arrive shortly, the party will start at 2000, be safe and if he is there, there’s no shame in running kid”

“Understood yami sir” as Grey ended the call she made her way to the entrance of the hotel she stayed in ‘Agent 479? Why him again?’ Grey didn’t like working with him, not because he was a bad partner, far from it actually, he had to be the organization’s best agent, it’s just whenever she was with him, well she didn’t know how to explain it, but she just can’t pay attention with getting nervous and embarrassed around him, she had a problem she knows, but it’s not like she can act on her feelings, because last time she did, it ruined her.

“Become my women, you’re better than this” A tall man tells a younger Grey as he offers her his hand

“Really?”

“Yes, you deserve the best” Grey takes his hand not knowing what she had done.

Grey shakes her head out of remembering that horrible decision and, ever since she’s never trusted her emotions fully, but for her line of work, what seemed as a flaw is actually an advantage for her, spies shouldn’t let emotions interfere with their missions and, that’s why she is considered one of the top spies in the organization, only beaten by some of her superior officers, one of which being agent 479, he was known for being, clever, ruthless, and most importantly quick on his feet and not afraid to get his hands dirty, he was the definition of the word spy, and that made Grey feel bad about her emotions even more, because as of recent they’ve been getting in the ways of her missions.

Take her last mission as an example, she and agent 479 had to go undercover at a fancy party, in order to keep their identity a secret they had to keep their arms locked together for most of the party until they had an opportunity to split up, the entire time she couldn’t stop blushing, and everytime she tried to say something it never came out the way she wanted it to, it’s a miracle they didn’t fail the mission because of her, and she wonders why they keep partnering her up with him, but she believes one of her superior wine drinking officers has something to do with it, but she could talk to her later, because her ride had just arrived.

“Good morning, my lovely lady” a brown hair man said to Grey in a flirtatious tone

“Good morning to you too finral” Grey said to her co-worker as they like to call themselves.

“Let me guess, with him again?”

Grey nods

“Well better you than me” Finral jokes as he starts driving to their location.

“Can’t you talk to vanessa, I know she’s the one up to this” Grey asked as finral’s face turned red.

“N-No, I can’t last time we talked well, um”

“Okay, okay, I get it finral” Grey sighed knowing it was out of her hands, she just begged the mission went well.

As they arrived at their destination, Grey got out with a suitcase and, made her way inside the building to get ready for the party, if all went well she could get home and, even maybe get to hang out with Zora today, though he seems like a bad boy prankster, Grey soon found out he’s just a cinnamon roll, she even considered him as a brother and, she believes that (possibly) he views her as a sister, although she didn’t have much to go off of beside how protective he can get with her when someone tries flirting with her, but it’s a hunch, walking in she went to the changing room to start preparing for the party soon to come and, she soon received a message from the second phone in the suitcase, it being equipped with everything she’ll need for the mission, her dark blue dress, high heels (which she despise), perfume, make up, and her revolver and hunting knife, you know the typical items one would take to a party and, especially for her, but the message was from agent 479, it reading.

‘I’m ready when you are’

Grey took a deep breath and, looked herself in the mirror one more time, before setting out for her mission.

“Get in and out, simple”

………….

……

…

Right?

[kharmii]

Here me out, -I spent a bunch of time thinking about this at work- but I think that Julius Novachrono gave Captain Yami a nudge to recruit Zora Ideale to the Black Bulls. He didn't come right out and order him to, but this is how it went down.

-So in an act of savage evil, a member of the Purple Orcas murders Zara Ideale because he's a commoner not knowing or caring that he's a single dad with a son who is now an orphan. Julius knows about Zora and even says, "Is that...?" when the child runs by him while he's visiting Zara's grave.

Despite knowing about the existence of Zara's son, Zora slips through the cracks and has a tough childhood. Revenge fantasies are constantly cycling in his thoughts throughout the years, and he is clever like his dad focusing on traps that use others' power against them while honing his magical technique. When he's in his late teens, he seeks revenge on the people who killed his father. While he successfully injures them, there's blow back that severely injures his face. It's unclear the details, (because I haven't fleshed it out in my mind) but it could be that his Uno Reverse Card spell got messed up causing some of the attack against him to get through that burned his lower face and neck. It could be a spell went wrong forcing him to draw runes on his own body spur-of-the-moment which caused him to injure himself. IE: His ash nature almost made himself ash.

Either way, he ended up injured on the point of death, and only an accidental tapping into forbidden magic saved his life but left him disfigured and forced to wrap part of his face, neck and chest to hide it. Years go by, and he gets better at exacting his revenge without any pain coming back on him. He is really, really careful and will only attack when he's 100% sure of success. He's very grounded in reality and has a good concept of his own mortality after that traumatic incident where he almost died.

Fast forward to Zora's early twenties when he has violently put a lot of corrupt magic knights in their place. Since anyone has since failed to apprehend Zora, complaints about a vigilante eventually get to Marx and through him, the Wizard King. The corrupt magic knights don't want to admit they were targeted for being dirty, so they frame it like they were approached by a male prostitute in a slutty little crop top who offered to turn tricks for cash. When they refused -they are pure magic knights who would never give into such temptation- Zora in a rage beat them up and ripped them off. "You'll know him when you see him", they claimed.

Julius, through a spirit of adventure, looks into it personally. At first, he believes the lies he was told, mainly that Zora does look like a typical street worker who's a perfect ten from the neck down but sort of a butterface. He eventually works out who Zora is and the motivation behind his actions. He feels sorry for him and doesn't want to punish him for doing them a useful service, albeit something illegal. The corrupt among them have it coming and should be kept on their toes.

One day when Yami is in the area, Julius tells him about Zora -his circumstances behind why he does what he does- and asks him to deal with him how he sees fit. He doesn't come out and ask Yami to recruit Zora, but he hopes that he will at least talk sense into him, even if he's not interested in letting him join. Yami finds Zora hard at work beating the crap out of some magic knights he believes deserve a comeuppance, and in a rage, Zora attacks him thinking he's part of their group.

Zora finds himself outclassed by Yami. He thinks....well, it was good while it lasted...... He believed death was imminent only to be taken by surprise when Yami throws him a Black Bulls cape with the 'take it or leave it' attitude.

Zora stews on this for weeks-months-years, like he wants to be a magic knight like his dad, but it would be awkward as frick to just show up at the Black Bulls base and confront a room full of strangers who might be evil people who'd chew him up and spit him out. They'd probably expect him to ditch his super awesome look modeled after the doll his dad gave him and make him dress up all classy and sheeit.. It didn't quite click that maybe the Black Bulls wouldn't care so much about appearances when their captain is a crusty chain-smoking guy in a wife-beater. He angsts over the expectation they'd look down on him for not being nobility, and they might not respect his abilities or take him seriously. Finally, he decides it's best to confront them on neutral ground to feel them out, but where to do it?

His chance comes when he finds out Xerx Lugner is invited to the Royal Knights Selection Exam. Since nobody knows who that even is, the usually level-headed careful Zora goes on a suicide mission to impersonate Xerx under the threat of capital punishment. Fuck it, his life is in shambles at this point with the fact he was given the opportunity to be a magic knight but is too messed up emotionally to take Yami up on it. It's better to go out with a bang while putting a bunch of them in their place right in the Wizard King's face.

Lucky for him, the Wizard King is a fun-loving guy who appreciates a good prank. He knows who Zora is but doesn't let on. Still, he was startled by Zora rocking up out of nowhere impersonating a magic knight whose whereabouts are unknown. When Zora puts an arm around him, he was repulsed by his injuries, his look that doesn't appear fully human, and the pungent nose-hair burning stench emanating off him because a stink bug went off in his pocket. Still, since they are vying for selection to fight a powerful unknown enemy, Julius thinks it would be good for the others to be exposed to an enigmatic person like Zora who might teach them out-of-the-box thinking.

Everyone else wonders why 'Xerx' calls himself the "Saint of Pure Ice" but they quickly come to the conclusion it's because he's a stone-cold douche. Even though Julius likes a good prank, he has regrets because he's more of the light-hearted prankster with a child-like spirit, whereas Zora is bitter and mean-spirited roasting the others in a way that cuts to their souls.

They also wonder why he has his tiddies out and wears low riding pants that shows most of his happy trail. After all, the doll his dad gave him (that he shows everybody like a weirdo) is fully clothed. "Because I have to draw runes on my own body sometimes," Zora eventually reveals, "It's easier to draw runes on my own body when there is a lot of exposed skin!"