#I didn't read TOA so I had no idea

[somewhereincairparavel]

Haha I just found out that Jason had a framed picture of a smiling Thalia in the middle of his wall. Ha. *Jumps off a building*

#I didn't read TOA so I had no idea #I only knew the basics of what happened in those books #I stubbornly refused to read it after I got spoiled of Jason's death #But wow. #I was doing perfectly fine not knowing this #Apparently it was when apollo was in Jason's room after his death #He loved his sister so much omg :( #I'm sad now #jason grace #percy jackson #pjo fandom #pjo #pjo hoo #pjo series #pjo hoo toa #thalia grace #pjo toa #toa

[aeithalian]

Hermes: the ultimate middle child

And now for the other promised meta!

There was a great discussion on the TOA discord earlier that I got the chance to read once it was over that was basically exactly what I wanted to talk about - Hermes as a character and how he is very subtly contrasted with Apollo in multiple ways.

First, for a curiosity I've had ever since I finished TON. We learn several very interesting things about Hermes in the scene when Apollo returns to the Council:

He initiated the bets on Apollo's success (and then has the nerve to say he was worried about Apollo)

He bet against Apollo (and it was enough money to make him look visibly upset by the loss)

He was not among the gods who looked happy at Zeus' proclamation of Apollo's success (Artemis makes sense for being happy, Dionysus makes sense for not, but Hermes is supposedly a close brother figure in the myths, so what gives?)

He immediately suggested that Apollo cause outright harm to some mortals with his renewed power, despite displaying no such malice in his previous appearances

There is an interesting play of contrast here when you look at Hermes' other notable scene in the Riordanverse - his conversation with Percy at the end of TLO.

Hermes is generally portrayed as much more serious right here. He's grieving Luke's death at this point, but Hermes knew that was coming, and this demeanor is consistent with his other appearances up until this point: put-together, down-to-business, pragmatic, and so on.

This doesn't seem like the same person we see at the end of TON: making jokes, placing bets, and the like. And THEN you go back to the myths and the Hermes there seems much more similar to the one we meet in TON.

My point being, there is a very obvious disconnect here between who Hermes used to be, who he is now, and who he is pretending to be.

And it has a lot to do with Zeus, and as a result, Apollo.

I think there's a twofold reason for this dichotomy: one, Hermes and Apollo have fundamentally contradictory views on both fate and change which have larger implications for Hermes' overall morality; and two, Hermes resents Apollo for being Zeus' favorite when Apollo probably doesn't deserve it (or Hermes believes he deserves it more).

Part I: Fate and Change

I'd like to go back to that conversation between Percy and Hermes at the end of The Last Olympian. The entire conversation is so strange to me: here's a sixteen-year-old who has never had a positive father figure in his life (save Paul, who is still a recent addition to his family at this point) trying to comfort a 4,000-year-old god that he's not a bad father:

"I thought you were a bad father," I admitted. "I thought you abandoned Luke because you knew his future and didn't do anything to stop it."

The main point of that conversation comes from Hermes' response to Percy's statement. To paraphrase, Hermes says 'I couldn't have saved Luke, it's against the laws and I can't defy the fates. I loved him, yes, but I couldn't save him. Those laws aren't going to change anytime soon, and neither are the gods.'

What we get from this conversation is this: Hermes was resigned to being unable to help Luke because he views the future as inevitable and the Fates as all-powerful (as does Zeus). He also doesn't believe that gods can change in the ways Percy wants them to; he scoffs at the idea that Percy's proposed changes will be permanent:

"No one can tamper with fate, Percy. Not even a god."

and then:

He laughed. "After three thousand years, you think gods can change their nature?"

To Hermes? Fate is inevitable and the gods can't change.

On the other hand, to Apollo? The future is behind any number of unlocked doors, and the only thing stopping the gods from changing are themselves:

[Regarding Frank burning his stick in TTT] "Frank went into that tunnel knowing he might die. He willingly sacrificed himself for a noble cause. In doing so, he broke free of his own fate. By burning his own tinder, he kind of... I don't know, started a new fire with it. He's in charge of his own destiny now."

Frank broke free of his fate, and the way Apollo talks about it indicates that he believes that such things are certainly possible.

And this:

[After regaining his godhood in TON] I could only try to be different from [Zeus]. Better. More... human.

Apollo intends to change the way he acts now that he is returned to Olympus, and has the support of everyone else who noted that he has already grown as a person: Jason, Sally, Will, Reyna, and so many more.

I feel like Hermes has always felt that he has the excuse of being a god when Percy asks him to do better for the sake of Luke's memory: "We gods have never been very good at keeping oaths." and "Eventually we'll become forgetful. We always do." and generally lots of other sentiments that give the impression that he believes that failure to do right by mortals is inevitable for gods. He's been so used to thinking that Luke was resigned to his fate from the very beginning, and that Hermes was never capable of changing it. Hermes didn't fail because he didn't try to succeed.

But Apollo ruins that for him when he returns - Apollo has not and will not let that same excuse stop him, and now Hermes is losing the only reason he had for not helping Luke. If Hermes is right, that gods can never help their mortal children and Luke was born to die at Kronos' hand, it was excusable for Hermes to turn his back on his own son. But if Apollo is right that gods can change and you can shape your own destiny, then it was Hermes and his inaction that killed Luke, not Kronos.

And we know that Apollo is right. Apollo did defy his fate. Apollo did change. And Hermes saw it all from the safety of his throne on Olympus.

Which means that Hermes was always wrong, and he knows it now. Hermes says that not helping Luke was the hardest thing he's ever done, because it would have amounted to nothing. Hermes thought he was completely incapable of helping Luke, but Apollo is living proof that he could have.

So now, Apollo is a daily reminder that Hermes failed Luke. Every day.

That would be enough to drive a wedge between any two people, much less two gods. And I don't think Apollo would ever truly realize that this is the case, so one day, Hermes is going to break, and Apollo will be left blindsided.

It only makes sense that Hermes might have some very heavy clown makeup on when we see him at the end of TON. I can't speak for him when we talk about the gambling, but I bet it's because Hermes, like he did with Luke, thought that Apollo would be resigned to his death the very moment Delphi-Python said that "Apollo will fall". And the fact that Apollo survived against all the odds (and seemingly against the Fates themselves) is just another smack to the face. I believe his behavior and comments in this scene are him lashing out in anger and frustration at the solid fact of the matter; that Hermes failed his own family, which is something he values to no end.

That's got to suck.

But now I think we have to closely examine why Hermes believes those things. Hermes has been brainwashed in a sense to believe that he can't defy fate and can't change. By who, then?

Do I really need to answer that? You have a brain. It's obvious, isn't it?

Part II: The fight to be the golden child

Let's rewind a bit, shall we?

The entire discussion had over on discord was started with talking about the potentials of Apollo's relationships with Ares and the rest of his siblings, then someone (I believe it was @fearlessinger, along with some very valid points made by uke) said this:

...but Ares, who was always the least favored of Zeus's children, the family's scapegoat, and who gave up on trying to get on Zeus's good side basically as soon as he was born and deemed a failure… he of all ppl would actually have no reason to resent Apollo for his success, nor for throwing away that success

To which I replied:

so i wonder then who has the reason to resent Apollo the most?... it’s probably a son, because they’re the ones who have to fight the most for Zeus’ approval ... maybe Hermes? because he’s never really done anything wrong and still doesn’t receive the title he deserves ...

To summarize: Apollo was the golden child, and used to be Zeus' favorite. We are certain he faces a lot of resentment for this fact (he admits to it himself), and Hermes definitely fits the bill.

Think about it.

Besides Luke, what has Hermes ever done that would put him out of the running for golden child? He's useful, talented, powerful enough to be on the Council, and despite being a god of liars and thieves, is work-driven enough that his father still trusts him. Even in the myths, he's clever in a very Zeus-y way.

Apollo, on the other hand, acts like a complete and utter fool pre-trials. He's vain, self-centered, and shallow. He's a chronic attention-seeker, and, in the myths tried to overthrow Zeus, and had angered him to the point of turning him mortal, not once, but twice. So what gives? Why is Apollo the favorite son, and not Hermes?

Honestly, I couldn't say, besides vague suggestions that it's because Zeus likes the idea of having the powerful and popular son as a favorite, rather than the less noticeable behind-the-scenes son. But who knows how Zeus and his favoritism work. Apollo doesn't, and I don't think Hermes does either.

I rather think Hermes is, as I said in the title, the ultimate middle child. Overlooked by his father in favor of his siblings, whether they be rebellious (Apollo), perfect in every way (Athena or Artemis) or just plain failures (Ares or Dionysus). In comparison, Hermes is invisible, having never done anything to make him stand out in the eyes of his father, nor having done anything that deserves a strict punishment. Nothing worthy of attention.

I've seen people wonder why Hermes never suffered the same consequences for Luke's actions in the way Apollo did for Octavian. But that's because Hermes never broke Zeus' fundamental law: do not interact with your mortal children.

The problems Octavian caused were supposedly because Apollo defied Zeus and created a forbidden connection with his legacy.

On the other hand, the problems Luke caused were because Hermes obeyed Zeus to the letter.

Why would Zeus punish Hermes for being obedient? And why wouldn't Zeus punish Apollo for breaking the 'ancient laws'?

Arguably, Hermes is Zeus' best behaved child (which is ironic, considering a few notable domains of his). Hermes is one of a trend that we see a lot with toxic parents who don't give attention and approval freely - Hermes and Apollo are on opposite sides of this spectrum. Apollo in the past has acted out in order to gain attention, whereas Hermes has glued himself to Zeus' side in an attempt to be perfect.

And this perfection includes indoctrinating into Zeus' belief systems and fears. Zeus fears the inevitability of fate. So does Hermes. Zeus refuses to let the gods change. So Hermes believes change impossible. Zeus says that you may not have contact with your mortal children. And although to Hermes this is the hardest of all, he turns his back on Luke.

And yet, 'golden child' is still not his title to claim. That rests with Apollo, still, who has not met Zeus' standards, openly rejects Zeus' belief systems, and yet continues to rise above the rest.

That is the formula for a deteriorating relationship between brothers: Apollo's mere existence being an everyday reminder to Hermes that he is a failure both to his son and to his father.

Everyone say hello to our old friend resentment.

Now, I'm not necessarily saying that Hermes and Apollo's relationship is inherently negative. But there's a lot of reason for there to be some contention coming from Hermes (and I didn't even touch on May Castellan - basically, I think Apollo refused to oversee her attempt to become the next Oracle because he knew it wouldn't work, which is why he wasn't present for May's attempt, but was for Rachel's; later on, Hermes could start seeing Apollo's domain and subsequent absence as the thing that drove her mad).

We don't have a lot of hints for whether or not he plans to act on those feelings of resentment. But they're there. And in a new, post-trials Olympus, they're going to come to light sooner or later.

Because Percy was right.

"I thought you were a bad father," I admitted. "I thought you abandoned Luke because you knew his future and didn't do anything to stop it."

That's exactly what happened. And because of Apollo, Hermes now knows it.

(a list of my other metas if you'd like to read)

And a very special shoutout to @firealder2005 for writing this absolutely gut-wrenching and angsty but super cool fic based around this very idea that i am absolutely in love with and everyone should go read it ❤️

#toa #riordanverse #trials of apollo #apollogists #pjo #lester papadopoulos #hermes #greek mythology #pjo hermes #toa hermes #toa apollo #pjo apollo #the last olympian #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo toa

[sadlynojellybeans]

So I am re-reading TOA and i have decided to write some things i noticed now that I know what is going to happen next.

THE HIDDEN ORACLE

Meg was about do develop a crush on Percy, and Apollo noticed. It was immediatly curbed by Percy mentioning his girlfriend. He did not even notice XD

Apollo actually got out of the three legged death race unscathed O.o Scared to death but unharmed

Lester is being surprisingly not pathetic??? I mean, he can't remember shit and has the constutution of a limp noodle, but he has not fainted in several chapters!!! Maybe it's because Camp Half Blood is a relatively safe space for them...

THE FORESHADOWING IN CHAPTER 26 IS DEVASTATING - he gets confirmation it is the emperors behind everything and he thinks "i would have rather tangled with Tartarus or Ouranos or Primordial Chaos" APOLLO PLEASE

Speaking of foreshadowing, Rhea?!??!? "Find your center. Enlightenment has to come from within" HELLO??!?!??

Apollo mentioning he caused an earthquake that wiped out most of Sparta and that he never liked the Spartans much??? What about HYACINTHUS???????

"I busted out some footwork the Nine Muses and I had been working on" please I want so bad to see Apollo dance. Especially Apollo as Lester

Apollo being absolutely convinced that he will never have a proper partner is tragic. "It was not in my destiny" bro

The Germani appear and the absolute first thing Apollo does is move in front of Meg. "Instinctively". This is the same guy that at the beginning of the book was evaluating which demigods would be best to keep on hand to throw at quests. I can't. Just how much exactly did he repress his protective instincts through the years and centuries?

I find so fascinating that Apollo wants to strike Nero down immediately after meeting him. Like, yes. Apollo is a god. And he would not allow anyone to threaten what he cares about. Even after his trials, he might be kinder and more attentive to demigods, but I think that anybody who crosses him (really crosses him) will have to start praying for mercy.

If there is one thing I can say about TOA is that it is certainly expanding my musical horizons, with all the songs I have to check out on youtube just to have an idea of what Apollo is singing about.

He did not suck during the confrontation with Nero?! Burst of godly strength saved the day and his dignity

"Just because she had lied about being my friend did not mean I wasn't hers. She was in danger. I was not going to leave her" man. He cares so fucking much. No wonder he never let anybody get close to him in the last years.

Didn't they say a sonnet was worse than a limerick in the next book?

"BLESS HIS CONNIVING LITTLE HEART". "Children of Hermes cannot rap". "[Cecil] was demoted to dancer" skjsjskansnkzbsnsmmsnzm

It's kind of ... sad? How happy Apollo is when flying on the giant ants. He is used to being a god who can fly whenever he wants, and a part of him is usually in the sky every day as he drives the sun chariot. And instead he has been stranded on earth, away from what is both his duty and something he greatly enjoys. "It felt so good to fly again. [...] For two or three seconds I was exhilarated".

AND THE ARROW OF DODONA IS FINALLY HERE AND TALKING FRIENDS!!!!

I cannot believe I am so happy because of a talking arrow

The arrow QUIVERED kjsnsksjsnsnzjxndnsk i love them so much

Not Apollo asking where Jason Grace is 💀

I genuinely cannot understand if this is foreshadowing or really lucky wording on Riordan's part. Rachel asks about Meg and Apollo thinks "She might as well have plunged the Arrow of Dodona into my chest". RICK. RICK DID YOU KNOW? HAD YOU ALREADY THOUGTH ABOUT THAT SCENE IN TBM OR WAS IT PURE CHANCE????

WE WERE ROBBED. I have been wondering for a few days if in TOA we ever see Apollo sing for fun (not to confuse enemies, not to open doors, not for any practical purpose. Just for the fun of it). The depressing answer seems to be no, although I might have forgotten. At the end of THO it is implied that Apollo, Leo and Calypso join the sing-along at CHB, but the fact that the books end before we actually see him sing is a travesty.

#trials of apollo #toa #toa apollo #lester papadopoulos #meg mccaffrey #the hidden oracle

[13leaguestories]

February 2024 Forecast

Superstition

Episode Four has been talked about and Episode Five is being written still. You'll know when it all gets updated. I want at least two episodes down before I even put something out. I actually just want to finish it but heyyyyyyy, you're going too far now.

Riders of Abauruth Survey

This survey is so that I can get an idea of what people want to see return and what they may like to see change.

This rewrite was for two reasons.

1. To bring RoA into the Jiwenia universe and to do that things had to be changed. For example, the history. I just couldn't copy and paste and move it over, it wasn't going to work nor fit. At this moment I don't even know where it will fit in the timeline just yet. Probably a few decades after ToA but I'm not entirely sure, like I said.

2. To tell the rest of the story I did want to tell back then but didn't really get too. I already had a whole thing on why I canceled it so just go read that.

This is brainstorming stage. So once I shut it down I'll be going through it, figuring out what tons of folks want versus what they really do not and figuring out how to make it all work or if it even works with my vision.

Some quick out there facts that I know:

Allison won't be dying like in the original. Her death will be like everyone else's, based on the reader. Sorry but her name doesn't start with Ch so she won't be one of those "could be in, could be dead" characters.

Dragons will still be male. Only addition to the setup is there will be a green dragon.

Your character is not the prophesied hero they once were. Read the summary on the survey.

There are 7 LI's and some of them will be locked out depending on gender. Gender is important!

These characters are the same but their allegiances and motives have changed. Do not go into this thinking they are the exact same. This is not the same RoA.

#monthly forecast

[ellilyre]

I finished ToA not long ago and I wanted to write down some thoughts/scenes that stick with me

(in chronological (ish) order, watch out for spoilers)

Theres an italian girl at camp ! It means Nico gets to practice and speak italian ! (which probably haven't happened in about 70 years)

Will introducing Nico as "my boyfriend". I already knew they would be canon, but reading that line felt weird /pos

Apollo sees Solangelo and think of himself and Hyacinth

That night when Kayla and Austin disappeared and Apollo left to look for them, it probably was the first night Will ever spent alone in his cabin

Apollo's insane body dysmorphia. He's a god, he can always take the physical form he is the most comfortable and confident in... Until now. He is stuck in a body that isn't his, he feels ashamed, when he sees certain traits in others he find them charming or pretty, but when it's on him then it's disgusting. He complain that everything is this body's fault (ex. he wouldn't have been touched by the Eurynomos if it wasn't for his chub.)(I could go on for hours)

Lityerses ! I love that guy. Idk why i love him that much. He is my best guy.

Apollo's reaction to Commodus' name. His flashback of him. So painful he was physically sick.

Apollo talking Helios out of killing them, because he just want to be free, not to hurt them.

APOLLO ATTEMPT TO KHS TO STOP THEM ?? IM A SUCKER FOR SOME GOOD PAINFUL SELF SACRIFICE.

Jason. I'm not talking about Jason. I can't speak about Jason.

Frank and Apollo ! They are so fond of each other !!!

Apollo heard all of Frank's prayers when he was unclaimed and wished he could've adopted him.

And Frank respecting Apollo as a god although he is *vaguely gesture at Apollo/Lester*

Reyna saying aloud that she doesn't want nor needs romance. It's so rare to see aromantic representation and Rick did it so well.

Literally Apollo singing his way out of situations.

FRANK'S SELF SACRIFICE!!! (He already had one of my favorite character development before that)

APOLLO KILLING COMMODUS ??? why do never talk about that it's one of the best deaths I've ever seen that was BADASS AND FULL OF EMOTIONS.

Apollo slowly dying out of poison and the Dodona Arrow doing everything it can to keep him conscious.

I hope Dakota didn't get killed off just to give Lavinia the role of Centurion. I love my boy Dakota, and his death felt kind of meaningless, except for her rank up :/ also i feel like it doesn't suit Lavinia. Some ppl are strong and good and trustable but just not made to order others. (ill prop make a full post about that)

Dionysos confirmed to be an annoying little brother!

Nico. How does Rick manage to always give him more issues. Leave the kid alone.

When Will glows, Apollo is genuinely impressed and tells him how proud he is.

Nico destroying Nero's door with his giant zombie bull. That was cool.

When Apollo gets stabbed in Nero's tower and think it's the end, he prays "Zeus, Artemis, Leto, anyone"

And in general the few parts he talks about Leto, he's such a momma's boy and I love it.

When Apollo left for Delphi... I was fully expecting Meg to go with him. I was so worried that he went alone while already feeling that weakened from the previous events.

DODONA ARROW. FOREVER IN MY HEART.

Artemis is here when Apollo wakes up. She's by his side, she's the first person to tell him he succeeded, she hold him while he sobs...

The first thing he does is to greet his horses :) and then to see his friends.

When he gets back to the Dodona bush ! To tell them all how brave and heroic the Arrow have been !

I could spend hours talking about the character developments of Apollo, Meg and the Dodona Arrow (i love the arrow so much you have no idea) but its for another day

There's many things I didn't talk about, but the post is already long enough. I love those 5 books, and Apollo is an amazing narrator.

I love the Arrow of Dodona with all my heart.

#when ill finish tsats ill maybe make the same kind of post #writing down all my most memorable thoughts #pjo #percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #hoo #nico di angelo #will solace #trials of apollo #apollo pjo #toa #meg mccaffrey #frank zhang

[be-co-me]

Anonymous

Miya Atsumu

1.9k Words

Summary: Homework help proves to be more useful with a cute tutor.

...

Some days college was hard, but the first week of the semester, you didn't think you would be struggling as much as you were. You sat at your desk, nearly at the sixth hour of trying to figure out physics. A lot of it was math. Your worst subject. You struggled with even some of the simplest parts of it.

You decided to take a small break, grabbing your phone and leaning back in your desk chair. You opened ChitChat, an app that many college students around you and the world used. It essentially allowed you to talk and post with people anonymously within a five mile radius of you. You scrolled the usual content that others posted before posting about your struggles with physics.

This physics class is going to be the death of me.

Once it was posted, you scrolled a bit longer, reading some of the threads about the drama going on around the school. There was always something with one of the fraternities or sororities going on, or more like a person in them.

Eventually, your focus returned to your homework, until you heard your phone ding.

New comment on your post, view now!

You sat back once more, picking up your phone and opening the app.

Anon: Which physics course are you in? 

You: The first one :'( I'm struggling hard. 

Anon: Wait till you take the second one. The end is rough.

You: Sounds like I'll be crying a lot next semester then lol

Anon: Well, let me help. Which part are you having trouble with?

You: We're going over trig right now.

Anon: The math is the hardest part. Give me an example problem and I'll see if I can help you understand how to solve it.

You eyed your homework for the problem that you least understood. Maybe if you could understand how to do the hardest problem you could understand the easiest parts, which most of the other problems seemed to be.

You: The hypotenuse is 6 and the adjacent is 5, find the cosine.

Anon: Remember SOHCAHTOA? Sin= Opposite over Hypotenuse and so on so forth?

You didn't know what he was talking about. What was this abbreviation? You remembered a lot of weird ones or songs you learned to remember things, like the quadratic formula and pythagorean theorem, but never one for trigonometry. 

You: I do not. Never learned it. Please elaborate.

Anon: Okay, so the CAH is Cosine= Adjacent over Hypotenuse and the TOA is Tangent= Opposite over Adjacent. Remember that, it's crucial.

You: Got it.

Anon: Now, you need to find the cosine, so you need the CAH part. Your cosine equals your adjacent over the hypotenuse, so 5 over 6. Which is 0.83 in decimal form. Take your calculator and press the cos-1 button and enter 0.83 in the parentheses and close it, then press enter. What'd you get?

You did as he said, eyeing the problem one more time to make sure you told him what it was correctly. 

You: 33.56 was my answer.

Anon: And it's the correct one. Congrats, now you know the basics of trigonometry. Those rules are so important to knowing what to do. If you need more help add me on Snap. My username is    tsumu_rice_&_volley.

You instantly changed to Snap and added him. You had an idea as to who it was and when he added you back and sent you a picture composed with a selfie of him holding his own homework reading "Miya Atsumu", you instantly knew you were correct.

The volleyball team captain. And one of the most well known fraternity members of the school. All the girls sought after him. You never imagined he'd be good at school, but then again how would he stay in it if he wasn't? And volleyball too.

You viewed yourself in the camera, making sure you looked decent, sending a selfie back with your own homework. He responded with one back, the caption reading,

Need help with anymore of those questions?

You could only laugh. At yourself and maybe at how kinda cute the setter was. Your brain wandered off to if there was a chance he would ever like you. There were so many other people he had the option of dating if he wanted to.

Is all of them an acceptable answer?

You sent back. You eyed the paper, none of the answers becoming any easier to you. You wished your professor would explain things a little better, and the online platform you did lessons and homework on wasn't helpful even one bit. He sent a picture back and you opened it.

Could you meet in the library? Maybe I can explain it better in person.

You pondered on if you wanted to go or not. It was very cold outside and you were holed away in warmth of your dorm room. On the other hand this homework was due the next day and you had 49 other problems to get through that you couldn't begin to understand on your own, therefore you opted to meet with him. You snapped a quick picture.

If it's not too much trouble then sure! But I'm buying you a coffee at the cafe. No questions asked.

You got up from the warmth of your desk and the heater pushed into the corner of the floor underneath it, turning it off and putting on a cozy outfit. You packed your backpack up and began your trek to the library/cafe.

You received a Snap from him as you walked, opening it.

I'm here in the corner. It's void of people in here, so I should be pretty easy to find.

His pictures were cute. You were glad he sent his Snap and not some other generic messaging app to talk on. You got to see him along with it. It made your heart leap a little bit when you saw the picture.

Almost there!

You responded, shoving your phone into your jacket pocket as you opened the door to go inside. You wiped the snow off of yourself and walked into the main study area. You looked around for him and met his eyes, him waving you down. You walked towards him.

"Well, I guess I should introduce myself properly. Hi Anon, I'm Atsumu." he said, sticking his hand out.

"And I'm (Y/N)." you responded, shaking his hand with your gloved one. You set your bag down and shrugged your winter attire off.

"So coffee? My treat for you helping me." you said. He nodded, standing up. You walked over to the cafe with him, pulling your wallet out. You eyed the menu for a little while before deciding on a brown sugar oat milk cold brew. He chose an iced matcha latte. You paid for the drinks and stood to the side, waiting for them to be made.

"It sure is dead in here. I didn't expect it to be with the first week of school and all." he said, breaking the ice and starting up a conversation.

"I know what you mean. Maybe everyone thinks it's too cold to go out. I don't have many friends here or I'd be in here studying with them all the time, I just don't wanna be alone in here. It would be kind of awkward." you responded, the barista handing the drinks to you. You handed him his own.

"I get that. I don't have wifi at my dorm yet. I'm in the new building so they haven't set it up. I've got no choice so I kinda got past the awkward part." he chuckled. You made your way back to the table and sat down.

"We even get this huge whiteboard all to ourselves to do as much trigonometry as we desire." he said, pointing out the whiteboard in the corner. Almost all study areas in the school had a whiteboard or, new as of that semester, a large tablet to do work on.

He began to explain the next homework problem you had, eyeing all of the erased pencil and light evidence of wrong answers on the paper. He stood and drew a problem on the whiteboard, prompting you to answer as he wrote down what you responded to his questions. You took your calculator and entered what you had come up with, the correct answer popping up. You smiled as you finally began to understand.

"Alright, I'm gonna take a problem for sine, cosine, and tangent each and put them up here. I want you to solve them on your own." he said, picking up your homework packet and rummaging through the pages to find one of each problem.

Once he was done, he sat back down, working on what seemed to be a literature essay. You took a while trying to make sure every detail was correct, typing into your calculator to get an answer occasionally. Once you were confident your answers and your work underneath each triangular model was correct, you turned around.

"Alright, finished." you said. He looked up from his laptop, setting down his latte and standing to review your work. You sat down, watching him as he carefully reviewed your writing. He leaned over the table and took your calculator, typing in what you hoped was your correct work on each problem. You sipped on your coffee as he reviewed.

"All correct! Good job! Do you think you're okay to finish them up on your own?" he asked. You nodded.

"Ask me if you have any questions." he said, sitting back down across from you. You nodded once more, beginning to work on the packet once more.

After thirty minutes of doing problems and typing into your calculator, you finally finished. You set the calculator down and stretched your arms, eyeing your now empty coffee cup.

"Finished?" he asked, looking up. You nodded, your eyes looking up to meet his own.

"Let me see it." he said, motioning with his hand for you to give it to him. He eyed the packet over, typing in a few problems from each page to make sure they were right.

"You did good! All the ones I put in are correct so I'm sure you did well on everything else." he said, handing the packet back to you. You packed it into it's respectful folder where it would sit until your class the following day.

"How about you? What have you been typing up over there?" you asked.

"Just reviewing this essay. Can you believe we had to do an essay the first week of school? Unbelievable." he said, shaking his head in disapointment. You chuckled in response. That was a little much of the teacher. You'd take note so you knew not to take that teacher's class in the future.

The two of you talked until the library hours were over. You packed your things and put your winter attire back on, ready to walk out. 

"I printed a paper off. Can you grab it for me please?" he asked you nodded, walking across the library to grab it. You stood in front of the printer, grabbing the slightly warm paper off of it. You turned around to wave it at him, but he was gone.

You frowned slightly, turning the paper over.

Let's make this a weekly thing so you don't have to study alone. Here's my number. You better text me! :P  XX-XXXX-XXXX. -Anonymous

#haikyuu #haikyuu!! #haikyū!! #haikyu x you #haikyuu x you #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu scenarios #miya atsumu #atsumu x reader #atsumu x y/n #hq #hq x reader #hq fluff

[the-dragon-girl-27]

In my previous post i talked about how I have a lotta scrapped MV ideas, well may as well dump some designs i've made based on songs over the years because like I probably wouldn't post these otherwize

also heres a few nice picture of miku from one of em to make you click on this post because its gunna be a long one and all these are hidden below a read more

for the record don't expect me to do anything with any of these, also these are from old to new some of these date back to early 2022 and it shows

This one i posted a storyboard for actually its An Aliens I Love You by Utsu-P.

I gave young Rin a sakura motif with her dress because of miku and rin meeting under a sakura tree, teen miku has a pink ribbion and hairclip to continue this. both rins bow and mikus outfit get darker outfits overtime to sybolize the song getting darker. I also gave adult rin the future rin hair. Miku's "alien" form is more or less how its described in the song tho i was lazy and didn't draw the 4 arms in the refs.

also Lily is Rins mom in this yup there she is indeed.

I actually have a lot of assets finished including the ones above i may show em off one day who knows.

This one is Stained Nocturne by Toa i actually did finish this one

the grey one is when they talk about being colorless

i gave them both very cute and elegent outfits i think it matches the vibe of the song. The starry outfits are the real highlight. if you wonder how I drew em over and over i just copy pasted the stars on their dresses.

they also are very blue because yknow nocturne. I forgot if i dumped the assets for this MV or not maybe next rant post.

This one is Corona by Utsu-P no idea why i did it its probably not even in my top 20 Utsu-P songs i just had some brainworms that wore off. I finished like a minute of it I guess.

I really like rin's outfit. "goth metal astronaut" is such a weirdly specific concept but she absolutley nailed it. 10/10 desin

This one is Garando by Picon. I gave her a like idk what to call it paperboy outfit like the one you see in the MV a few times. her eyes are yellow like bullets because I had this one S teir visual idea. I have some assets for this one i may show off one day.

i also considered doin the sekai ver i really like garando if u cant tell lol

This one is Happy Haloween by Junky another one i finished

Rins is just from the OG mv the rest are themed around the characters

Minori is a dark angel because tenshi no clover is themed around... a normal angel

haruka has candy and a penguin mask because thats her thing

airi is a vampire cuz she has fangs

shizuku is a witch because of her cast a spell on you outfit

This one is NEXT NEST by Satsuki Ga Tenkomori. The cubes are from the original MV image thing. I gave her a super cybernetic look to match the song vibe. I also gave her a plaid skirt to match miku's concept desin because this song is like sorta miku becoming sentient or smth idk been a while since i read the lyrics.

another S teir design. also zamn this ref goes hard lol.

This one is Bluff Liar by EZFG. VY1 doesn't really have a desin so I went with this based on the semi official one (we dont speak of her new official one also i drew this long before that regardless lol) I have a shitty animatic thats 80% stick figures for this. never posted it tho.

tbh i put the file to this ref on an external hard drive cuz this whole video killed my storage because i actually finished it so i yeeted all th assets off my computer as soon as i was finished so i just dowloaded the little thing of assets from this post

not much goin on its kinda just normal ol luka lol

This is Black Hole Artist by utsu-P. its not in project sekai and never will be but it reminded me of Ena so I had this idea. not much to say, I have a few assets for this but nothing really finished.

Another VY1 EZFG song, IDK what my plan was for drawing this over and over. also pretty asthetic ref lol. not much to say i don't draw very cyberish designs so its fun

this is just concept art. this is Roless Weapon by Neru and Inubakumori. yeah those two colabed you wouldnt know cuz this song has no MV. IDK what my plan for this was tbh but like when else would i show this off.

From here on its just concepts lol. this is Atari Front Program by Utsu-P... god how many Utsu songs is this lol

S teir desin i love miniskirt plus pants combo idk its just a vibe.

this drawing sucks lol. this is Live by Mizuno Atsu. Long haired kafu is cute I have better drawings of this in my sketchbook somewhere I think. I might revisit this it would be very simple and cute.

also weirdly my fav part of this aside from her hair is her shoes.

anyway Kafu needs more outfits for songs tbh theres like 3 kafu songs where she has a unique outfit

actually i lied about only having doodles, this is Where Shall We Go by Mellowclle

already made a post bout this

this is my most recent. I sketched this after finishing this art of this song. It is Memento Mori by Buriru

I love this song the creator said its supposed to sound like a mecha anime opening so i went with that vibe. teto looks great, miku doesn't. Teto doesn't really have a counterpart so I assigned miku as her girlfriend lol.

sadly I cannot draw robots so idk what my plan was tho i have a cool visual for the end in my head.

anyway thats everything I could find. does anyone give a crap? probably not but hey character design is fun and i love messing around.

anyway fun trivia more songs i have video ideas for i won't make: Poster Girls Prank - Utsu-P (but with MMJ project sekai)

Stella - Jin

Paranoia - Mezame-P

and probably more i'm forgetting lmfao

#vocaloid #hatsune miku #kagamine rin #kagamine len #megurine luka #lily vocaloid #vy1 #kaai yuki #kafu #kasane teto #hanasato minori #kiritani haruka #momoi airi #hinomori shizuku #shinonome ena #akiyama mizuki #utsu p #project sekai #doodle #maybe i should make a ref tag one day #i probably forgot to tag something #long ass rant #character design

[maspers]

Bionicle is weird yall

Okay so let's talk Bionicle. The Lego action figures with surprisingly deep lore and themes, and basically one of the coolest things to ever exist. You either love Bionicle or have not read Bionicle.

Who's your favorite? Mine has got to be Kopaka. For various reasons, including his general competence throughout the whole story. He's just pretty rad.

Now, you might be surprised I like Kopaka, since all things considered he's kind of a prick. He snarks at basically everything that enters his line of sight, and largely acts kind of stuck up due to his (admittedly justified) belief that he's the smartest person around. He spends the entire story fed up with everything else. He is completely and utterly convinced that he is the only sane person in the entire universe, and that nothing in the entirety of Mata Nui is behaving in a logical and rational way.

But see, here's the thing: all of that bluster about being the only rational thing around is complete bullcrap and lies, and here's why:

Kopaka, like all the original six Toa, is an amnesiac. He popped out of a magic canister in the ground and basically has no backstory to speak of since before he woke up he essentially didn't exist. And we know he's not a possible exception to this since, unlike the other Toa, he's the one we actually see it happen to. He has legit no idea who he is until Nuju tells him. What this means is simple: KOPAKA HAS NO FRAME OF REFERENCE. You can't judge something to be insane if you have not experienced sanity. Nothing is "irrational" in the abstract, you need context. Most people have extremely well-developed context obtained by living, but since Kopaka had not yet lived until he woke up he has NONE OF THAT.

And even if he did, he'd still be a massive hypocrite. Sure, the Matoran society and the Makuta are kind of weird, but Kopaka is a TOA, and Toa are a whole new kettle of craziness. Kopaka is a magic space warrior robot with the power to control the very concept of THIS STUFF IS COLD. His face is a magic mask that grants him X-ray vision and then gets even more powers later on. He can physically combine with other Toa to create a weird mega fusion Toa. Heck, after his first upgrade his primary weapon was skis. SKIS. He basically shapeshifts into a new body every time he goes somewhere else. And, as noted before, he legit just popped out of the ground one day, which makes him and his sibling Toa objectively weirder than all other Toa ever, since all the rest are transformed Matoran. Kopaka's entire existence is really freaking weird. He has no legs to stand on in his "I am the only rational being in the universe" belief. So where the heck did he get it from?

The simple answer: Mata Nui himself. When designing the Toa to act as a sort of internal anti-virus for all the weird garbage in his system, Mata Nui decided "You know what let's make the Ice one a prick who thinks he's sane" and somehow that idea perpetuated to the very end of the design process. The only reason Kopaka has to deal with everything else seeming completely bonkers to him is because Mata Nui, massive benevolent Troll that he is, *made him that way*. I bet when Kopaka finally made it to Bara Magna he was probably internally extremely relieved, because now he could judge the Agori by comparing them to the Matoran and vice versa instead of judging the Matoran on no actual justification whatsoever.

TLDR Kopaka is my favorite Bionicle because the entire premise of his personality is absurd and he probably spent the entire plot trying to internally justify it. Also ice powers go brrrrr

#bionicle #kopaka #mata nui #for once i actually DO know how to tag this #typically i'm not as much of a fan of the “i'm the lancer and i make snide remarks” character #but kopaka just has that special something #it's a brain cell #gali and onua also have brain cells #team toa nuva has a surprising brain cell ratio #but gali uses hers a little too much #and onua thinks its funny when he DOESN'T use his #kopaka has the balance #smaht boi. biologeh.

[lookingforsneha]

Okay but Noah Kahan's 'She calls me back' is so Jason and Piper coded. (HOO and TOA spoilers ahead!!)

Because like, firstly the whole theme about unrequited love. Because Jason still loved her after the break up, he felt empty after it. And he died for her too.

And so much of Jason's character revolved around death and sacrifice. Most of his life (before HOO) he grew up thinking all he was there for was to die, almost like the goal of his life was to die like a hero, in combat.

And him (during HOO) getting a girlfriend, him finding close friends, it feels like around that time, there was more to living than just the glorified idea of dying as a hero.

'I do not exist to die'

Although most of HOO is about them being the seven from the prophecy, of being the ones that would stop Gaea and all that, it's also about them bonding. Becoming a good team. And for Jason, a lot of it is new: he didn't exactly have friends before (except maybe Reyna?). And he's falling in love too (and I will fight anyone who says it's fake, because even if those memories were planted into their minds by Hera- still doesn't change the fact that they ended up liking eachother. They started to create their own memories- that was the point of their arc, to find out what they feel for eachother on their own and separate it from the memories Hera created)

So he starts finding new purpose- separating himself from who he was forced to be as Preator. He has more to live for now.

'I do not exist to die, but live to die while saving you'

And it just hits so hard when this line comes up because like, the Roman's literally trained him that all his life was worth was in the cohorts- what he could give to camp Jupiter. It was never a two way relation, like the Greeks, like when percy got lost, they sent out search parties- Jason got none of that, even with all he did for camp Jupiter, because they couldn't waste resources on just one guy or whatever.

So when he dies for Piper, it's like- it's worth it to him. Like, to him, this is the healthiest relationship he has had, it gives him more to live for- and by extension more to die for.

And then, Kacey Musgraves verse resonates so perfectly with Piper's Character too, because in it's essence its about the 'unrequited love' theme. She doesn't love him anymore, at least not romantically.

and then the ending with, 'all the pain I should have saved, oh I was too afraid of living life in your footsteps,' feels like it fits so perfectly with the whole thing where Piper says, "That we'd be together forever like Percy and Annabeth?"

(I feel like this is more concerned with the Fandom culture of hating Jason and Piper together just cause it's threatening to be like Percabeth, the fan fave. Rick Riordan eventually gives the audience what they want. But if you ignore Fandom culture and all of that, I think the love they shared held so much value. They had such a unique start, different problems: it was so interesting to read about how they navigate their problems. It's just the constant comparison to Percabeth: both in the book with the characters; and out of the book with Fandom culture. They were too afraid of being confined to the thought of being like Percabeth, that what they did build up was never given value. -but that's a discussion for another time-)

Anyway, I wanna hug Jason so bad rn, I can’t read this anymore and I feel like I can’t listen to this fantastic song anymore cause all I think of is Jason and how he deserved the world but got literally nothing.

I wanna write an essay about him :( and hug him.

#jason grace #piper mclean #heroes of olympus #percy jackon and the olympians #jason grace angst #percy jackson #annabeth chase #trials of apollo #noah kahan #jason x piper #she calls me back #this is so fucking sad to me #Jason Grace needs a hug #i love him so much #his story is so fucking sad i can’t do this #he’s too babygirl to deserve this fate

[why-are-all-the-users-taken]

thoughts on toa

ok so everyone is doing this so imma do it too.

So when I first started reading toast I was like "lesters funny but he's kinda a drama king and thats annoying me a lil" but then,,, like- he started realizing "oH. I FUCKED UP A LIL AS A GOD" and once he started realizing that and acting on the idea that he needed to start being better, hE ACTUALLY BECAME SUCH A GOOD CHARACTER (not that he wasn't already but yk)

So like it kinda when like this

The hidden Oracle: Lester starts as a drama king and I didn't rlly like him too much at first. Like I would literally cringe every paragraph bc he was still in the "im a God and I'm better than u mortals" mindset which is probably why he annoyed me at first. But then he started realizing stuff like, "oh ya maybe that was my fault" example, Daphne and hyacinth. And then also realizing that everyone didn't love him, they just didn't disrespect him bc he could have smited them when he was a god

The dark prophecy: I liked this one a lot actually. Bc meg came back and it showed how much Lester loved her (as a sister) and also had Lester realize that he was kinda petty as a god and that he could have helped a lot more people. AND,,, THERE WAS A OLD LESBIAN COUPLE WHICH I LOVE (I can't remember their names T^T) NOT TO MENTION LEO CAME BACK!!! and the hunters of Artemis, I love them sm.

Burning maze: ...so- I already had spoilers for this one so everytime Callugulas (?) Or Jason's name came out I started tearing up thinking abt what was gonna happen. And Lester sacrificing himself was everything. Literally I was terrified but at the Sam time iT SHOWED SO MUCH GROWTH!!! But honestly I'm glad Jasper broke up bc it was so forced- AND GROVER!!! I LITERALLY SQUEALED WHEN GROVER SHOWED UP!!! and I love all of the dryads sm. And loved coach hedge as well. But honestly it was a rlly good read!! I mean in my opinion Rick is better at first person than 3rd tbh. And Piper slayed. I love her.

The tyrants tomb: ok, I'mma just be honest here, I cried the most during this book. Between Lester almost dying, all of the mentions of Jason, all of the minor characters that died, and everything else, my eyes literally stung by the time I finished reading- BUT DONS DEATH HAD ME BAWLING. I LITERALLY WAS CRYING MY EYES OUT. AND DAKOTA DIED TOO!! I LOVED HIS CHARACTER!!! oh and Artemis and Apollos reunion was SOOO sweet (yes I cried when that happened too). And frazel <33 AND OH MY GODS DON'T GET ME STARTED ON REYNA!!! I LOVED HER BEFORE TTT BUT SHE JUST GOT BETTER!!! I love her sm. And hazel as well!!! AND OH MY GODS (AGAIN) LAVINA!!! MY LIL PINK HAIRED LESBIAN! I LIVE FOR HER CHARACTER! and lavina x poison oak forever bc I love them. But Don 😭 I literally died inside when he died. And oh Hades, meg and her armed unicorns- that was everything- and Apollo seeing how his actions hurt other people like the silent god and the voice in the jar (I'm terrible at names sorry) was such a character arch as well.

Tower of Nero: I'm just gonna say it,the solangelo in this book gave me life. They were so CUTE. and the ....hat creatures (i can't spell their name) were hilarious ngl. AND RACHEL SAW THE BROOKLYN HOUSE AND ONE OF FELIX'S PENGUINS- I LITERALLY STARTED LAUGHING SO HARD DURING THAT SCENE- oh my gods and don't get me started on how much the python and Apollo scene scared me. I was like holy shit Apollos gonna die! Dues flash, he didn't but yk- and meg and Apollo were the best. AND LOU!!! OH MY GODS I LOVED HER!! and I feel bad for all of neros adopted kids :( but Apollo after he became a god again literally shocked me so much- like- he forgave his father!! That shocked me so so much but I was so proud of him 😭

Anyways overall, I loved this series so much. The characters were amazing,the plot was amazing, Apollos character arch was wonderfully written- and I just loved it.

#toa #Apollo #meg mccaffrey #Totally wasn't abt to cry while writing this #Rrverse

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I recently read an OG atla fan on twitter say that when the 2010 movie was in development m. night shyamalan straight up asked bryke whether kataang or zutara were going to be endgame (probably to plan out the plot ending for a future trilogy of movies that never happened) and allegedly bryke themselves said they didn't know yet. This was one argument they used for why zutara could have happened in the original animated series because if they couldn't even give shyamalan a proper answer then it shows they thought about it...

I am curious if anyone else has heard about this happening or has any more information, because i'd like to read more.

Anon, sorry to break it to you, but that's a classic case of Zutarians making shit up/taking things out of context. Bryke (the creators, showrunners and writers for some episodes) have repeatedly stated Kataang was always the plan, and that Zutara NEVER so much as crossed their mind. Everything they've ever said about the ship indicates that they REALLY don't like it.

Zutarians have been trying to pretend their ship was ever even considered to be canon many, many, many times, from the very start of the show. They did everything, from people claiming their parents worked at Nick and "confirmed" Zutara would be a thing, toa fake interview with Aaron Ehasz (head writer) claiming Kataang was a last minute thing - they still use that one as an argument even though the dude himself said that interview never happened.

The ONLY thing Zutarians ever used as "proof" that their ship had a chance that was actually real was Nickelodeon airing fun facts about the show during re-runs, with one claiming Zuko was originally planned to be Katara's love interest, but that was scrapped.

The thing is NICK was lying. Anyone who was a fan of other Nick shows like Victorious and Icarly can tell you these fuckers loved using ship bait and misleading promos/episodes to get shippers to watch episodes that had nothing to do with shipping.

We have access to the first ideas for Avatar - and not only is Zutara not in it, but they also considered making Katara and TOPH (who was going to be a guy) Kataang's rival in a love triangle that ended up getting dropped, with only Kataang (that was ALWAYS described as "the heart of the show") being in the final version of the story. Combine that with literally EVERY WRITER saying "Kataang was always the plan. Some of us liked Zutara, but the writting itself never went there" and it's pretty clear Nick was only lying to get fans talking about the show more and watch the re-runs to try and see hints of the "aborted plot" - which never existed in the first place.

Also trusting SHYAMALAN to know what he's talking about (assuming that he ever even said anything about that in the first place) when he can't even the characters' names right is a real desperate move.

#anti zutara

[tiredspacedragon]

Helryx for the ask game

First Impression: So, for the longest time, I really did not care about much of the story material outside of the main plot. Partly because I had no way to access the extra content, and partly because that's just how I am. I like side characters well enough, but our main Toa teams are still my faves, for the most part. I still haven't read the serials, despite knowing everything that happens in them (I will read them though...someday). So, my relationship with Helryx was kinda like that. I remember thinking it was cool that we knew who the first Toa was, and that it was also cool that it was a Toa of Water. I thought it made sense and seemed appropriate. I also remember thinking her mace/shield combo was interesting, especially for a Toa of Water, really got the point across that Helryx meant business, as if her name starting with "hell" didn't establish that already. But that was it. I did not think much about her beyond that point, there were main story events that held my attention more. So I thought she was cool, but she was as mysterious and background-y to me as she was to most of the main characters in-universe.

Impression Now: Helryx is a badass and I could honestly stop there if I wanted to. Nowadays I find Helryx fascinating, not as much as I know some other people do, but still a fair amount. I'm certainly more curious about her now than I used to be. She's a well of potential stories in terms of both her past and her future. Her history spans the entire history of the Matoran Universe, and we know from her description that she is not one to sit idle; she has been active on the front lines of secret wars for her entire life. The things she must have seen. What was she like as a rookie Toa? What shaped her into the grizzled veteran we see today? And what will she do now that her mission has technically been fulfilled? I can't exactly see her retiring, at least not willingly. She's also a favourite of my mother's, so that earns her some bonus points. She was actually the one to point out how few non-evil female authority figures there are in Bionicle as a whole, which is a big part of why Helryx appeals to her, something I hadn't really noticed before that point.

Favourite Moment: I haven't read most of Helryx's moments, so my answer may change eventually, but for now it is definitely her entrance when she confronts the Dark Hunters on Xia, i.e. that moment when she summons a several-hundred-foot tsunami in front of the Dark Hunter fleet and just leaves it hanging in the air with no visible effort. And then jukes them out with it just to make a point. It's probably the best example we have of exactly how powerful a Toa is capable of becoming. No one else has the experience Helryx does in using their powers, but in theory any Toa could pull off something like that with enough training. Just goes to show how much the villains underestimate them. And as for Helryx herself, well, she'd have made the Shadowed One shit his pants if he'd been wearing any, and that earns her serious cool points.

Idea for a story: Like I said, Helryx will almost certainly never retire willingly. So eventually someone will probably have to make her do it. Her armour is pitted and scarred, her body is frail, and while I don't doubt that she could keep going for a long time, I think she may be nearing the point that it would be unhealthy for her to do so. I do like the idea that the Toa Nuva may not be able to become Turaga, but I'm definitely of the opinion that Helryx can, and that she eventually will, likely after suffering a potentially debilitating injury, either at the urging of her closest Order members or because Artakha or some similarly powerful entity artificially jumpstarts the process to save her life. Either way, she would not be happy about it. Actually, it would be cool if this was treated like some regenerations have been handled in Doctor Who. Everything I mentioned before still happens: Helryx takes a bad hit, and either someone else triggers the Turaga transformation process or it involuntarily begins, but Helryx resists it. She can't stop it now that it's started, but she can hold it off for a while. The rest of the story then is this ancient warrior coming to terms with the fact that her fight is over. Wrestling with her perception of herself and her vision for the future, and ultimately accepting that she has done more than enough in her current role, and that it's okay to move on, that it's a good time for a change. I can see this very poignant scene of Helryx letting go, probably on a beach or a seaside cliff because I'm unoriginal, and letting the transformation wash over her while a few other characters watch. Then the new Turaga Helryx would turn around, look at all her friends agents, and probably grumble something along the lines of "What are you all gawking at? We have work to do." Yeah, just because she wouldn't be on the battlefield anymore doesn't mean she wouldn't still be in charge. Her spine would still be made of steel, even if it was a little more bent than it used to be. Also her Badge of Office would absolutely just be a shrunken version of her mace, and she'd still have her shield, Lhikan style.

Unpopular Opinion: I actually like her "canon" appearance. I mean it's not perfect, I'd definitely make a few tweaks, but overall I think it's a pretty good look for her. I like the retro style, makes her look that much more like a prototype. I can see her and the other early Toa sporting that build before the Great Beings eventually perfected their design and transitioned to the more Glatorian-like Inika build.

Favourite Relationship: I am very fond of how Helryx's acts toward other Toa. Krakua specifically, but really in general. She's such a mom. She wants so badly to protect her younger Toa-brothers and sisters from the nightmares she has witnessed. She wants the best for them, keeping them out of the Order, even denying Krakua full membership at first because she wanted him separate from her dark, messy world. Believing strongly in the Toa Code and that Toa should strive to uphold it, to be these bright shining heroes in the sunlight, all the while excluding herself from it so she can take care of the dirty work that has to be done so her little siblings can have that. The things Helryx does aren't always good, even if they're done with good intentions, but she herself, I think, is so good. I'd love to see her interact with Orde, just to see if her attitude extends to all Toa who came after her, or if she'd recognize him as a contemporary and switch gears, going from commanding but ultimately caring, to just old work-friend banter mode. "Good work, Krakua. Go rest up, I'll have another assignment ready for you when you're back. And tell Johmak not to leave pieces of herself lying around if you see her." vs "Oh hey Orde. Piss off any other species lately?"

Favourite Headcanon: Kinda related to the above, I am firmly of the opinion that Helryx is hilarious. She's 100,000 years worth of razor sharp wit. Doesn't let it out often, of course, she has an organization to run. But when she wants to be, she can be absolutely hysterical. All while keeping a completely straight face, of course. G2 Gali would beg to learn her secrets.

#bionicle #helryx #order of mata nui #so uh #yeah #good character

[magicalgirlmascot]

Thoughts about your AU where Matoro is stuck in the Ignika. (And probably Mata Nui, too.)

- Mata Nui didn't want to retreat entirely. But he'd just recently recovered from a coma, a seizure, brain damage, and damage to his heart and more of his insides. Then he socialized with people in the first time ever, worried about his people, was diminished, then fought Makuta who was in the Great Spirit Robot.

He needed another nap after all that.

- The exertion also weakened Matoro and Ignika. Ignika still has their defenses up - no touching or coming closer without their consent - but both of them were barely aware of their surroundings for a while.

- Matoro hears voices he knows talking to him. He wishes he could answer them - they often sound so sad - but he's so tired... (And to talk with him they have to don the Ignika. Which is still very dangerous for most people even with Ignika's consent.)

- However, Matoro can write with ice energy. (And do pranks. It's sometimes very boring being stuck in one place.)

- As for who can don the Ignika safely:

The Toa Mahri

Kiina and Ackar and Berix

Wairuha or Akamai (because of their connection to Mata Nui)

Vakama because he created the Mask of Time and wore it

- Ignika is lowkey scared of Vakama. They sense time-fuckery around him.

- People do rotations on a voluntary base where they read to the Ignika or tell stories. It started with Kiina who wanted to share her adventures and new experiences and hoped Mata Nui would hear her. It grew from there as a way to honor Matoro and Mata Nui and Ignika and others who died to protect the GSR inhabitants and Spherus Magna inhabitants.

Then it turns around they're still there, that they can hear them, and that they're bored.

- Mata Nui, listening and observing, has a lot of time for self-reflection. He wonders who he is: He doesn't want to be a god. Being a god didn't help him against Makuta. He couldn't help his people because he was unaware that everybody had become self-aware.

It's also amazing how big this new world is. Not in size, but in the amount and variety of lived experiences.

AAAAAA I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED THIS SOMEHOW I'M SORRY

Honestly I love all of this!! "Mata Nui is tired of being god" is one of my favourite takes on the character tbh so having him just like. completely fine with just having a nap for an undetermined amount of time in the Ignika is great lmao. He has dealt with so many medical problems in the last 1000 years he needs a nap. A real one this time, not a forcibly induced coma.

I think that Nuju would also be able to wear the Ignika, if only because 95% of the time when someone gets to wear it it's because either Matoro or Mata Nui is calming Ignika down and trusts that person completely. I also think, however, that Nuju would abjectly refuse to put it on. Absolutely not. That thing killed his closest companion. (He does go talk to it in Bird sometimes, though. If nobody else is around to see him. He has his pride. The other Turaga all 100% know though)

People Matoro Has Pranked:

All of the Mahri at least twice each

Takanuva

Berix

Kopeke (only once and he felt really bad about it after)

Nuparu also constantly comes by with various ideas for contraptions to allow Matoro (and Mata Nui by extension) to be able to communicate better. None of them work but they appreciate the effort

If Matoro thought being attached to Mata Nui was weird, actively sharing headspace with him is even weirder somehow. Mata Nui is nothing if not a considerate roommate(?) and Generally A Pretty Swell Guy. They wind up becoming pretty close friends once Matoro is finally able to get over the whole Great Spirit thing.

#bionicle #in the mata nui/ackar fic i'm slowly working on mata nui is anxious about like. the concept of sleep #he confesses to ackar that the first night he was on bara magna when he lay down to sleep he wound up meditating all night instead #because he was afraid he would fall asleep and not wake up again #and so he doesn't sleep for like. 3 days when he first arrives until ackar is like 'OK BUT YOU NEED TO SLEEP THO. PLEASE GO TO SLEEP' #but i also love this idea where he's like 'alright goodnight everyone. please don't make me god again when i wake up i hated that a lot <3' #matoro ignika au

[swiftscion]

TOA anniversary munday!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

tagging: you. yes, you.

Name: Orokara

Pronouns: he/they

Birthday (no year): February 3

Where are you from? What is your time zone? Canada; EST

Roleplay experience: I have no idea but probably something like 7 or 8 years at this point

Got any pets? Just a few fish, if you can count those

Favorite time of year: Spring! It feels really nice when the days start to get longer

Some interests and things you like: Mythology, music and playlist making, reading, animanga, cooking, random video essays, biology

Some fun facts & trivia about you: I used to moderate a few roleplay groups and a Pixelmon server myself, though those interests all died. I share a birthday with Hilda Goneril. I have an awful habit of starting things and then never finishing them. I like wearing bracelets and golf clothing. I crack my neck like all the time.

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Currently, Honkai: Star Rail, League of Legends, and Flight Rising. I'm also a big fan of the Pokemon series (and fan games), Project Moon games, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Ultrakill, and Omori. Currently looking for people to play Stardew Valley with me ehe

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Ghost and Grass. I used to be a grass-type gym leader on the Pixelmon server i helped run, and Appletun was my ace. Did you know that due to its ability thick fat and partial dragon typing, it actually resists fire moves? Many of my challengers didn't ;) my other faves are Hisiuan Zoroark, and Altaria!

How did you get into Fire Emblem? I liked Ike from Smash Brothers Brawl and on a whim decided to play Path of Radiance one day. It was one of my first emulator experiences. I let Rhys and Soren die on the first map they were available and never reset for them. It was bad.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? All mainlines at least once, plus feh

First Fire Emblem game: Path of Radiance!

Favorite Fire Emblem game: Blazing Blade, Binding Blade, and Genealogy in no particular order

Any Fire Emblem crushes? Kagetsu, Shannan, DIECK, Tibarn, Gerik, Selena/Severa

If you’ve played the following games, who was your first S support? Awakening - I don't remember but most recent is Chrom. Fates - Selena. Three Houses - Marianne. Engage - Mauvier

Favorite Fire Emblem class: Swordmaster but I use early game pegasus knights and thieves religiously. Dodgetanking is my favorite thing ever

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class? Navarre archetype myrmidon

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? Fear the Deer baby!

If you were an Engage character, which Emblem would you Engage with? Emblem Ike so I can run into an entire pack of enemies and slap the great aether button

How did you find TOA? Got invited after i was struggling as like. the only fe4 fan in a discord group that mostly wrote modern fe titles

Current TOA muses: Larcei, Owain, Sain

Who was your first TOA muse? If you don’t have them anymore, could you see yourself picking them up again? Larcei! Though she has come and gone

Have you had any other TOA muses? Ough I might not remember them all but I think the list is: Lewyn, Elm, Sirius, L'Arachel, Ryoma, Idunn

Do you think you have a type of character you gravitate towards? This might sound crazy considering my muselist but edgy swordsmen... I think people who grapple with feelings of revenge, hatred, and guilt are so interesting to delve into the psychology of. Lif is probably my all-time fave, if that says anything about me

What do you believe you enjoy writing the most? Slow and steady character growth. I like it so much when my muses become long-term friends with other ones. Owain and Julius, Larcei and Edward, Sain and Caeda, etc etc. Gaining a new reason to wake up in the morning and all the implications of that is always a joy to hash out over the course over multiple posts

Favorite TOA-related memory: The time Sirius and Est kept being forced to attack eachother by an arena boss, but whiffed all their rolls. Darcy and I wrote it with this little tongue-and-cheek bit where they kept saying "now isn't the time for sparring" before misdirecting yet another attack and writing Sirius' feelings regarding her, his past in Archanea, and the present state of that arena was real fun. Shoutout to N's Leif for the incredible setting of a really dark cave, too!

How do you pronounce TOA?: Sometimes I pronounce each letter individually and sometimes I say "towah". I am mad inconsistent sorry

Got any delusions that didn’t see the light of day in TOA that you’d like to share? Fuck it have my whole delusion list: Rutger, Fergus, Lif, The Vaike, Lewyn (again), Osian, Melady, Orson, Zihark, Louis, Kagetsu, Libra, Lon'qu

#OOC #//happy toaversary!!

[majonohouseki]

A Bionicle Question About Matoro Part 2

Hey again, to anyone out there. This is sort of the second part, follow up on my question about Matoro which goes like this:

"Hey to anyone out there... do you think it was Matoro's soul that saved Mata Nui when he sacrificed himself to save him?

Because when Kopeke asked Hahli if Matoro was truly dead, she said this: “He is. But his life force brought Mata Nui back from the endless dark. So you could say that Matoro is a part of everything now – the sky, the waters, the sunlight, and every living thing that walks or flies or swims or crawls. Matoro is dead… but never truly gone… not as long as the Great Spirit Mata Nui exists.”

I've been wondering what that meant ever since I first read that part of the story. At first I thought it meant his soul was now a part of everything. After asking a few fans, one of them said it was up to interpretation, because not everyone believes souls exist, that some people believe life-force and souls are the same thing, but others believe they're completely different, that life-force is a presence/energy that gives life while souls continue to exist after death. They didn't believe in souls in the religious sense, so he thought Matoro's presence, energy was a part of everything.

The idea of Matoro's soul being everywhere made me feel better, because he may have been dead... but he was still truly there. The idea of his energy being everywhere... I don't even want to think about it, because he was never truly there, it's not really him, just the energy that radiated from him.

It was so horrible, soul-destroying, seeing what happened to Matoro. And the idea of Matoro not really being there... made me feel so much worse.

And lately I've discovered more and more evidence that it's not up to interpretation, and that he was turned into life-force rather than soul, both in the story, and in a few of the chats Greg Farshtey would answer questions to.

So if anyone has anything to say to object that, please do."

The first part of this question was finding all the question and answer chats with Greg Farshtey that implied that whatever happened to Matoro was not only not up to interpretation like I initially hoped, but that it was also Matoro being turned into life-force energy rather than soul energy. In this second part, I'm going to go over the stuff I found in the stories themselves.

Here's the previous part: https://www.tumblr.com/majonohouseki/733484348014231552/a-bionicle-question-about-matoro?source=share

So my true worries started when Makuta revealed he had taken over the universe.

“No crime, wise one,” answered Makuta, his voice as soft as the breeze that heralds a storm. “Your heroes brought Mata Nui back from death… but before his spirit could return to his body, mine slipped in and took its place. And so when the Toa Nuva awakened Mata Nui, they awakened his body… with my mind.”..."The ground shook violently as a surge of energy flowed through all existence. “Now I have banished the mask from this universe. I hope you have enjoyed your fleeting moments of happiness, Toa… they are the last you will know for an eternity to come.” - Page 250

"In the microsecond between when the body was alive once more and Mata Nui’s spirit returned to it, my own spirit entered it. Once I was in place, Mata Nui’s consciousness was barred from residing in his own body, for there cannot be two spirits in one form." - 258

Both of these are from file:///C:/Users/Cathl/Downloads/Book%208%20-%20Ignition-69.pdf

That was where my fear truly began. Because think about it... the story makes it clear Mata Nui was brought back to life... but then it shows that Makuta took over instead... if there is still any chance that Matoro's soul is what saved Mata Nui in the end, then those chances have decreased. I was also just as confused as I was on edge, because... when Matoro died to save the universe, did both Makuta and Mata Nui's souls slip in? Because before Mata Nui's soul could go back into his body, Makuta Teridax overtook his body first. And then banished Mata Nui's soul into the mask of life when the robot body woke up. But then, how was Teridax awake when he took over the body, and Mata Nui was still asleep when he couldn't even properly get in the robot body?

I talked about this one with a few Bionicle fans. In April, I talked to the same one who said they believed it was his life-force presence that saved Mata Nui rather than his soul, and they told me that the timing was never fully clear. And about the possibility that after Mata Nui’s body was revived with Makuta’s soul, Mata Nui’s soul was free floating outside the body. But I think Mata Nui's spirit would've faded away long after that. Especially given what Greg said in that quotes from my last post about souls fading away soon after death. There's no way, I think, Mata Nui's bodyless soul could've stayed for weeks until he was put in the Ignika... unless Greg has some explanation in a chat I don't know of. Also he was stuffed into the Ignika. What if he was in the body, just not properly? The fan replied that Mata Nui also might’ve also been in the body, just dormant. Then Makuta managed to kick him out and stuff him into the mask once he woke up.

But then... if that was the case... then who did Matoro's soul, life-force, whatever go into? Mata Nui... or Makuta?

#bionicle #matoro #soul #life force #questions

[imthepunchlord]

I think 3Below would’ve worked better as a stand-alone show tbh. It’s arguably the least involved of the three in the overall plot and could probably be cut without much issue. Some of the writing issues probably also could’ve been solved by the disconnect since they might’ve had more time to polish it out and not have to worry about making it consistent with the rest of Tales imo. It’s not necessarily bad, just kinda Frankensteined on to the rest of it.

Yeah, as being apart of Tales of Arcadia, it's awkward. Like, Trollhunters and Wizards go together, both tie into fantasy and you do have it established that Merlin a famous wizard made the amulet. Incorporating aliens is a curve ball.

Personally, I would've rather seen more fantasy races, to see what their relationship with trolls are and how are they living and hiding from humanity. Like, let's see some mermaids, elves, and dwarves. We got a little bit of dragons, I've love to see more of dragons and their culture (though them cat-winged-trolls was an interesting choice). But there's a lot of things they could've done that would've fit in more naturally, and because they're sticking to the fantasy setting, maybe those villains from Wizards could've been better built up. Like, I don't know about you guys, I don't know if there was a book or a comic I didn't know about that I was supposed to read, but I got blindsided by the villains in Wizards. They just literally showed up and I don't who or what they are, what is going on, and then Wizards jumped to time travel and I still couldn't tell you why they had to time travel and it's, I was so confused.

Anyway, back on topic.

It was very awkwardly included, and yeah, you could've easily cut it out and not miss out on much. There's the factor too that it brought in 2 new characters to follow in this familiar setting and it's like, man, there are other characters I like more and would rather follow more than these 2. They're not bad but there are other characters I just like more. I remember the first time we got the announcement for 3Below and Wizards and I was rooting for the idea that Trollhunters is Jim's story, 3Below would be Toby's, and Wizards would be Claire's. And all three would have a chance to be lead characters which I was excited for as I honestly like Toby and Claire more than Jim and see them have a chance to really shine.

It didn't happen though.

So yeah, 3 Below would've been better as it's own show and stand alone, I think it really hurt ToA to not only bring in aliens, but it hurt 3 Below be set in Arcadia. It's hard to get into it when there are familiar character you like a lot more than the new leads. The most fun I had in 3 Below were eps that focused more on the classmates and those were far and few. And it's not good when you want more of the background characters from Trollhunters than your new leads in 3 Below. So it should have been it's own show, maybe implied to be in the same setting but not directly tied to it, cause then it can't stand alone on it's own two feet and be it's own thing cause it has to tie into Trollhunters which got to be a chance to be it's own thing, and Wizards is going to fit naturally with Trollhunters with the establishment of wizards and humans able to use magic.

3 Below was awkwardly inserted and not given a chance to really stand on it's own.

#ask Punchie #tales of arcadia #3 below #3 below salt