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#cause like it adds the element of a ship and then returns it back to earth by stating its platonic
fluffypichu876 · 4 months
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In retribution to my dear mutual @prototypelq's post, I will also be writing about my 3 favorites games of all time! Making this list was a bit easier than I expected, but because I have too many beloved games to choose from expect a lot of honorable mentions hehehe
And the first game on the list is, of course:
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
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It's no surprise that this game would be here. I mean, it's not like I replay it every year!
SOTN is a game of the genre "Metroidvania". You probably know this term if you have heard of games like Hollow Knight or Ori, but if you don't, basically, a Metroidvania game takes place on a huge map consisting of interconnected smaller rooms. When playing, you'll travel and explore around these rooms, defeating enemies and unlocking new abilities that allow you to acess new areas that were unaccessible before.
The OG Metroid on the NES can be considered the very first game of this genre, but Super Metroid and SOTN together were responsible for defining its standards and popularity today. Hence the term, "Metroidvania".
This game is a heck lot of fun to play. Dracula's Castle is huge and full of interesting areas to explore, filled with enemies and secrets of all kinds. SOTN is based on an RPG-like stat and level system, and you gradually grow stronger as you defeat foes, gain EXP, and level up. Weapons, armor, and other equipment are found all through the castle, further increasing your stats and other attributes.
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The soundtrack is an absolute masterpiece. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Castlevania as a franchise has some of the best OST's out there. Michiru Yamane is a great composer, and her instrumental works fit CV's themes and tone really well.
SOTN does not use MIDI samples processed by the PSX's sound chip (except for the Librarian's theme). Instead, all of the game's songs are played through audio streams, granting them CD-like quality, which is a little rare in other games on the system. Here's an example of what Yamane could do with this audio quality:
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Sounds great, doesn't it?
Another aspect of SOTN that I love is of course, the visuals. To this day, I consider this game to have some of the best 2D graphics ever. The levels and backgrounds are beautiful, and every tile is filled with plenty of detail. All of Alucard's animations are fluid, graceful, and an absolute delight to watch and control. Often, the game will mix in 3D elements to enhance the beauty of an area, and it looks great.
There are so many little hidden details in the game that make you appreciate the developers's love and care even more. For example, in the Outer Wall area, a small suspended room can be found at the area map's bottom. In this room alone:
A falcon/hawk/eagle/bird of prey can be observed in her nest. As you progress through the game and return to this room, you can see the falcon coming back everytime to lay, incubate, and take care of her offspring. It's really damn cute.
A telescope can be found in the left wall. Using it allows you to see the Ferryman from the Underground Caverns.
Alucard can sit in one of the chairs. Leaving him there for a few minutes will cause him to fall asleep. Aditionally, in the Japanese version, the fairy familiar will sing him a lullaby (she can sing in any chair, in fact.)
Now, what is the purpose of this area, you ask? None. There are no items, weapons, enemies, or anything of use to the player (except for map completion). The devs just created this room to add more life and personality to the game. And this is just one example!
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As much as I love this game, though, I do admit that it isn't as perfect as most people make it. It does have its flaws: the game has very bad balancing issues, and the difficulty curve is essentially non-existent.
I never liked the Inverted Castle. Not because it's just the normal castle turned 180º, but because it doesn't feel like it was coherently designed, instead just quickly put together so they could ship the game claiming it to have double the original content (Galamoth was a great addition, though. I might make a post someday on why I love this boss so damn much).
Overall, this game means a lot to me. It pretty much set up my standards and taste with video games, and it made me understand why I enjoy playing them so much. It's a great game that I recommend to pretty much everyone! It's fun and really easy to pick up, taking only about 12-18 hours to beat for the first time, at max.
Also, can we just appreciate Ayami Kojima's wonderful cover art for the game?
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And now, for my second most favorite game:
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
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My first (and only so far) FromSoft game, and boy did I fall in love with this game.
Well, to begin it, Sekiro has one of the best combat systems I have ever had the honor to experience. It's based primarely on player reaction, testing their ability to counter, parry, and dodge the various attacks thrown at them. Equipped with only one sword (and a few very useful prosthetic appendages), our protagonist Wolf must defeat all sorts of opponents, from respected warriors, shinobis with no honor, animals (yes I did die to a rooster. Twice), the undead, demons, and much more, all so can rescue and avenge his master.
Using your trusted katana, you have the ability to deflect enemy strikes based on your input timing, dropping their guard and allowing for attacks of your own. When fighting enemies in this game, you are not aiming for their health. Instead, you aim for their posture. As you deflect attacks with perfect timing, your enemy will slowy begin to lose posture, and once said posture breaks, you can go for a finisher attack that instantly depletes their whole health bar. It's hella satisfying to pull off. Deflecting attacks poorly can lead to your own posture breaking, though, so paying attention is essential.
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There are other aspects to the game's combat, such as Perilous Attacks, which cannot be deflected. To deal with them, you must either dodge, jump, or counter, adding even more danger to a fight and demanding focus from the player. Your prosthetic can also hold a few unique abilities, such as the Firecracker, which helps stunning certain opponents. Wise usage of these Prosthetic Tools will greatly help you on the harder fights.
Oh, and there's a catch: Wolf is no mere shinobi. He was blessed (or rather cursed?) with the power of the Divine Heritage, granting him immortality and the ability to revive from the dead for all of eternity. Gameplay-wise, this means that whenever you die, you'll receive one (or two, sometimes three) chance to revive on the spot at half health, allowing you to properly finish off your opponent. But don't think this makes the game easy! Reviving in the face of a tough boss never means an immediate victory, trust me.
Unlike Dark Souls, which rewards a more defensive playstyle, in Sekiro, the player must be aggressive and constantly take risks to overtake their opponents. Dodging everything and staying away will only drag on the fight and allow the enemy to regain their posture. As a certain character would say, "Hesitation is defeat".
But the amazing combat isn't this game's only strength. Another aspect that I love is how beautiful the game looks. Everything from the lighting, the colors, the gorgeous views, and the very well designed areas come together really nicely, and exploring this rather linear game is an absolute delight.
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The battles look graceful, and not just because of the combat system. The special effects look amazing, and add great beauty and danger to every strike. The Divine Dragon's bossfight is the most gorgeous part of the game. It's so cinematic and breath-taking that despite being one of From's easiest bosses, it's easily one of the most memorable ones.
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The instrumental soundtrack is really nice, complementing each moment of the game pretty well. The Divine Dragon battle above has one of my tracks in the game.
And as expected, the game is tough as nails (I died like, 50 times at the first mini-boss. The Ogre has no fucking chill). One of the hardest FromSoft games, according to fans. This game demands a lot of the player's attention, skill, and mostly importantly: their knowledge of the game and how everything works. Your first few hours will be very difficult, as you slowly get an grasp on the game. But once you beat Lady Butterfly or Genichiro (two of the game's most important skill checks), everything just clicks and the rest of the game becomes a lot more doable.
Overall, this game was an blast to play, but it may not be for everyone. I recommend it for anyone who likes FromSoft's other titles, as well as for those who enjoy a good challenge. If you want to get into more difficult games, this game is not too bad of a choice, since it's extremely balanced and very skill-based, completely free of bullshit.
Oh well, time for my last but not least favorite!:
Devil May Cry 5
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This shouldn't come off as a huge surprise xD
I might have only gotten into this game earlier this year, but the 160 hours I currently have on it speaks more than enough. I LOVE this game and don't plan on dropping it anytime soon!
It's rare for me to hyperfixate on one specific game and play it for hours and hours without tiring like this, and DMC5 is currently my second worst case of this xD (the first one being Castlevania of course, in which I have 100%'d like 4 games :P).
DMC's combat system is simply too much fun. You have lots of moves at your disposal, and using them creatively and with as much style as possible adds so much depth to the game that beating the heck out of demons never stops being fun and rewarding.
It's also very skill-based, adding another layer of satisfaction to everything. Building up the skill to perform a new combo, finally managing to use Royal Guard with consistency, defeating that one difficult enemy/boss with an SSS rank, or just beating the higher difficulties is absolutely worth it. And even if you don't have much skill with the game, nothing is ever stopping you from bullying enemies in your favorite ways.
The dynamic soundtrack fits the combat really well and gives you the right ammount of adrenaline and motivation to slash through hordes and hordes of enemies. Also thank you Capcom for adding the Jukebox. I can finally listen to Devils Never Cry during an actual battle (and not just the DMC3 credits one!)
The characters are another great strength for me. The DMC Crew is so unique and fun to watch, and the Spardas in particular have a lot of depth to them, keeping the mind of fans very busy thinking about them xD.
So yeah, this game is way too fun for my own good, aparently. Never saw such a powerful brainrot coming. Absolutely recommend it to anyone and everyone who likes some good video-gamey time!
And now, time to cast the spotlight to a few games that I love, but not enough to consider them my top 3 favorites:
Honorable Mentions
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow
My second favorite CV games. Aria of Sorrow picked everything that was good about SOTN and polished it to perfection, creating one of the best metroidvanias out there. Dawn of Sorrow may not be as good, but it has a very special place in my heart.
Final Fantasy IX
One of my favorite JRPGs ever. This game is so charming, but under it's seemingly light appearance is a great story about the meaning of life, and about coming in terms with your own mortality. The battle system is fun and the music is as good as ever. The characters are wonderful and I cherish them to this day.
Final Fantasy X
One of the best games I have ever played. Of all the (4) Final Fantasy games that I've played so far, this one has the best battle system and some of the best enemy/boss design in the series. Alongside the gameplay, the story is the game's second biggest strength, and it has a very high chance to make you cry. The soundtrack is one of Nobue Uematsu's best works for this franchise, making you feel all sorts of emotions. Can't recommend this game enough.
The Legend of the Zelda: Breath of the Wild
This is the only Zelda game that I've ever played (please don't kill me), but boy is it a good one. The land of Hyrule is vast and very fun to explore. The game has such a relaxing vibe: sometimes I would just ride my horse, let it follow a road automatically, and just chill to the music watching the beautiful landscape. I put 170 hours in this game and didn't even realize it until I beat Ganon xD
Devil May Cry 3
Second favorite DMC game! This game is surprisingly polished for its time, and it barely feels dated at all! I personally prefer DMC3's DMD mode over 5's, as I find it more fleshed out, but it sure is a LOT harder.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
My first Metal Gear game. It may be short and relatively simple in terms of combat depth, but it's a lot of fun, the soundtrack is a BANGER, and the cutscenes are a joy to watch. The memes just never end, do they?
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Quite possibly Kojima's craziest game to date, but also one of the most fun ones! Not as good as MGS3, but there's something about the old-school MGS gameplay that I absolutely adore. Also the dialogue and plot are so batshit insane that you end up enjoying it despite not understanding a single thing xD
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Most underrated CV game ever, and my favorite old-fashioned Castlevania game. It stands up to SCIV, its SNES counterpart, really well. In fact, I personally enjoyed this game's gameplay and level design more than the latter.
(just three more games I promise)
Pokémon: Black and White (and their sequels)
These games are the most fun i've ever had with Pokémon. They're really good. They've got the best plot of any Pokémon game, and the first BW games actually made me question the morality of keeping these creatures and leading them into battles.
The Great Ace Attorney
My favorite Ace Attorney game. Great story with lovely characters. The cases were a lot of fun, and I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes nerd, so it's only natural that this game appealed to me, I guess xD. I still have to play the sequel, tho.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
This game might be technically unfinished, but it has some of the best gameplay in the series. The filler side-missions get repetitive but they're oddly fun to finish. It's my second most played MG game, right behind MGRR.
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pikahlua · 1 year
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I have a question
But I really want to ask just from a writing standpoint, no ships or anything
Do you like Izuku and Ochaco's development as possible (or probable? idk where Hori wanna go with that) romance?
Cause I appreciated it (even tho it felt like the usual shonen romance) till the return of Izuku to UA, which made me see them more as platonic (and made me appreciate their bond way more tbh)
So from a writing standpoint, I'm not exactly a romance aficionado. It can really only come down to my preferences in what I like in a romance, but there are just some cheesy romance tropes I'm not into. I do think it's perfectly viable to analyze any relationship in any property, MHA included, for whatever dynamic you want. If you ask me to take a look at the potential romance in Izuku and Ochako's relationship, I can do that.
That said, this is a warning to hard-line IzuOcha shippers: I can't guarantee you'll enjoy everything I write about in this post.
To me, there are five major "sagas" in their relationship. Some of these I like, some of these I don't.
Saga 1: Beginning through the Internships Saga 2: Final Exams through Kamino Saga 3: Provisional License Exam through School Cultural Festival Saga 4: Joint Training Arc through Paranormal Liberation War Saga 5: Deku Retrieval Arc through to the present
Saga 1 was my favorite. This was when they were still getting to know each other and becoming friends. I like this part best because Ochako has the most characterization in the show. Her personality shines through and she's very entertaining. I also thought the stuff that happened between them in the Sports Festival was some of the most refreshing writing of opposite-sex characters I've seen in a while, platonic or romantic. Ochako has personal motivations that can be in conflict or in harmony with her relationship with Izuku, and the manner in which they interacted showed a special type of relationship for Izuku that he didn't have with any other character. It was nice variety in the context of everything else the show was giving us at the time. I wasn't necessarily dying for romance, because I do love a good platonic opposite-sex friendship too. But if it did take a romantic direction, I was excited to see how it went at the time.
Saga 2 just felt like it shoehorned the crush thing in there. It didn't really come from anything that came before it. I thought it was gonna be a good opportunity for some romantic humor, but it just turned out to be a bunch of embarrassed blushing and not much else. Wasn't really my thing.
Saga 3 tried to add something interesting to the mix with Ochako's jealousy which she tries to deny and squash, but...it doesn't come across as particularly deep or well-developed. Horikoshi kinda just throws it out there and then immediately ditches it. I wouldn't have been so annoyed if it didn't encompass all of Ochako's character for this saga. She didn't really do much of anything else at all. Even in the Overhaul arc, she didn't get any meaningful spotlight, and I mean this from an action perspective. After the awesome action she got in the Sports Festival, Horikoshi really pulled back on her and it felt like he was too afraid to make her get dirty and fight again, save for a brief moment when she pinned Toga in the woods at summer camp. I liked it better when Izuku was pining a bit after Ochako than the other way around.
Saga 4 was a bit better. There was finally some meaningful development between them with Ochako getting inspired to update her costume, saving Izuku as a development of her new character question of "who saves the heroes?", and--my favorite part--when she decides to trust Izuku when he says he can take Shinso on alone and she goes to take care of business elsewhere. But I notice these developments I like also happen to have non-romantic elements to them. It's really just when things are one-dimensionally romantic that I'm super disinterested. I like the complexity of other feelings even in their easy friendship. Platonic friendship that leads into budding romance brings at least a bit more flavor in the writing. That said, it's not a whole ton of flavor. I can see why other people would like it, but it's not the MOST exciting for me personally.
Saga 5 is again more exciting to me because of the non-romantic elements, kind of like you say. It's not that it's necessarily platonic, but it's just more interesting that Ochako's feelings seem more complicated now, and Toga has been added to the mix too. What we get in this saga especially puts me in a weird position where I'm rooting for Izuku and Ochako NOT to get together in the end, not because I don't like them or have a problem with the ship, but because it makes the overall story about their relationship since the beginning..."make sense" isn't the right phrase. It's just an interesting take on the trope in this genre. I really like the message it could potentially deliver on. I'm just not a big romance person in the first place, so the whole "there are even deeper things happening between people than just high school crushes" angle that doesn't necessarily mean romance speaks more to me. I don't really know what we get out of them getting together if that happens. But, as I said, I'm not big on romance to begin with, so I'm not the best judge of this. It could be we get a great message out of it and I'm just really bad at being able to see that at this stage. I will still be forced to lament what was lost in that case, though--because we would lose the far more interesting take on the trope if they were not to get together.
And that's why I say I'm not anti-IzuOcha, just anti-IzuOcha in canon. I think they're cute together and I really love their earlier dynamic. I think the fanart of them is cute. I love when they get along doing things. I love when people create excellent fan content for their favorite pairings. I just most like the idea of an ending where they don't end up together for the purposes of my own intrigue.
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goodqueenaly · 1 year
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How likely is it that on leaving Skagos Davos makes for Eastwatch instead of White Harbor (closest harbor after all) and delivers Rickon to Ramsay, who'd be chasing Arya/Jeyne there? ...thus setting up the foreshadowed battle between Ramsay's hounds and the Direwolves
Not at all, IMO.
For one, Davos has a very clear mission: deliver Rickon Stark to Wyman Manderly in exchange for Wyman’s fealty to Stannis. To have any kind of delay or alteration of this mission would be not simply an affront to the considerable risk Wyman took in pretending to execute Davos while actually keeping him in safe relative comfort in advance of this mission, but also a huge risk to securing one of the most important bannermen, if not the most important, of Winterfell for the cause Davos most believes in - that is, Stannis. Nor is Davos a fool, which he might have to be to think it makes more sense to go overland via the Wall back to White Harbor than returning the way that he came. Even if the threat of Mance Rayder’s host has been substantively broken, Davos has every reason to know that the North is not a safe place, with both ironborn and Bolton forces having made incursions. Why would Davos risk a long, slow, dangerous overland journey (including, presumably, through Bolton land!) with Rickon when he is both personally better with a ship and can likely sail back to White Harbor much faster? For the sake of going to a castle with which he has barely any connection and an institution which has to remain facially neutral to feudal politicking?
Additionally, I see no reason why Ramsay would be chasing Jeyne-Poole-as-Arya to the Wall. Ramsay made his demand to Jon Snow to have Jeyne-Poole-as-Arya and Theon returned to him; it seems ludicrous even for Ramsay, in my opinion, to send such a letter and then march to the Wall anyway, doing nothing for his cause except losing any element of surprise in such an attack. Moreover, Ramsay has and will have much bigger problems at home (or, rather, the Starks’ home of Winterfell) than assembling an army to march on the Wall (assuming he even could do so, which is a very implausible assumption). Ramsay already knows that stepmother Walda is pregnant, and may have guessed (or been told by Roose) that his, Ramsay’s, status as sole heir to the Bolton holdings is at best in question in light of this fact. If Ramsay then decides that the best course of action is to murder Roose and Walda - and I think he will - then he’s going to unconsciously remove the only protection he has, and suddenly be surrounded by people who both very much (and justifiably!) hate him and have the openly anti-Bolton Stannis almost literally knocking at the door. I firmly believe, in other words, that Ramsay is both not long for this world and going to die at or in the immediate vicinity of Winterfell, brought down by the consequences of his own sadism and evil.
Also, consider the narrative gain of having Davos go back through White Harbor with Rickon. It seems pretty likely, I think, that Littlefinger will go with Sansa and Harry to Winterfell via ship: against the significant danger and struggle of trying to journey through the impassable snowy mountains of the Vale, the wartorn Riverlands, and up the long way through the Neck to the Stark ancestral castle, a journey by ship out of Gulltown would be much faster, safer, and easier for both Sansa and the army Littlefinger promised her (and which seems poised to support her). Where would this navy land except at the North’s only major eastern port, White Harbor - and, consequently, what will either Sansa or Rickon think (depending on who gets there first) of hearing that her brother or his sister, each of whom the other thought or might have thought dead, is in fact alive and going back home? Indeed, add Arya to the mix (if Justin Massey, bringing her back to the North, decides White Harbor is a safer bet than Eastwatch) and there is even more possibility for interesting writing - Stark siblings on the trails of each other, all set to converge at Winterfell (and giving their ambitious factions concerns to chew on, with a surplus of Stark heirs where there had been seemingly none). I’m not saying any of this is guaranteed, but given what I see as the high likelihood of a Stark convergence on Winterfell in TWOW, I think GRRM has interesting possibilities to play with by making White Harbor the gateway for the return of two, maybe three Starklings.
Comparatively, I see no setup whatsoever for a direwolf-dog fight in TWOW. So far as I can tell, any theory on that is based on two lines in “Reek III”, when Ben Bones says that Ramsay “trained 'em [i.e. his dogs] to kill wolves as well” and when Ramsay proclaims his father that if Rickon and Bran “show their ugly faces … my girls will rip those wolves of theirs to pieces”. This I would say is far less a setup for some future battle between the animals and much more a reflection on Ramsay’s character: as @turtle-paced rightly notes, Ramsay so sorely wishes to compensate for his inability to hunt down Bran, Rickon, and their wolves (which he of course boasts of having done to Roose despite the total political blunder of doing so) that he needs to prove to the world that he could do that, if only he ever got the chance. Not every line in the books is secret foreshadowing, especially when it’s barely focused upon or brought up again (as here); GRRM, like any good author, writes to develop characters and set mood as much as to foreshadow future events, and I think here the latter reading is the correct one.
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therese-lokidottir · 5 months
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The Avengers: Earth Mightiest Heroes & X-Men Evolution series watch
Some Assembly Required written by Sebastian Montes
The supervillain Mandrill is jumping around the city causing trouble but is stopped by the Wasp. Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and Hulk. Meanwhile, a stowaway is confronted by sailors on a cargo ship. Black Panther defeats them and jumps ship into the night.
Pepper meets with Hulk, while the others are late. Iron Man gives them a guided tour, and Pepper hands out the Avenger ID cards. Bruce warns Hulk that after the Avengers have caught the escaped prisoners, they’ll turn on him. Meanwhile, Hank Pym works on his prototype Ultron head and Jan moves into the Avengers Mansion.
The Enchantress prowls the Mansion, hexing JARVIS, and assumes Bruce Banner's form. JARVIS issues a warning to Thor that an intruder is interfering with the security, and Thor suggests that Hulk and he patrol the Mansion. Hulk leaves in a huff, and Pepper convinces Thor to go after him to bring him back. Thor and Hulk fight in Central Park.
Nick Fury speaks with Stark about the team and says supports Avengers but people are uneasy with super-powered heroes. Tony is dubious about Fury's claims suspecting Shield really just wants more control in the situation.
Stark gathers the Avengers to deal with Hulk who is under the Enchantress's spell. Iron Man and Thor find out and Banner breaks the spell. Hulk flees. Iron Man is attacked by the Executioner. Avengers battle Enchantress and Executioner.
Hulk and Banner discuss the Hulk's existence. Hulk rejoins the battle to save Giant-Man. Enchantress fails to regain control of the Hulk and is defeated. but the Executioner manages to escape with her unconscious body by using his powers to manipulate time and space.
After the fight, the Hulk quits, claiming that the Enchantress was right. He leaps away, and the Avengers return to the mansion. The Black Panther is keeping a watchful eye on the mansion. Meanwhile, the Hulk heads towards the Arctic north where Captain America's shield is shown to be trapped in the ice.
Well, I really like this episode. Everyone has been introduced and the team has been formed so so it the characters can finally lean back a bit and interact with each other.
I really love the contrast between Janet and Hank, with Janet's enthusiasm for being a hero and Hank's but science tho. They're both really adorable in this.
This is weird to say but the Hulk and Bruce also have an interesting relationship in this with Hulk animosity but also trust in Bruce. Bruce basically is Hulk's conscience. Unlike the movies these two can interact with each other which adds an interesting element.
Amora get to be pretty cool in this episode. Showing that she is just as sneaky and cunning as the best of them and she gets to use her magic in a fun way in the fight.
Turn of the Rogue written by Greg Johnson and Rick Ungar
The X-men are training in the Danger Room when to Cyclop's surprise he finds that Rogue is part of the simulation. He stops the program and asks Xavier why he added Rogue to the training simulation, Xavier tells him that he added her as an element of surprise, something they will need to get used to on their missions. Scott later tells Jean he doesn't like using Rogue's images as an enemy because he still thinks there is a chance that Rogue may join their side. Mystique overhears their conversation and Darkholme informs Rogue of what happened and tells her that their no chance that the X-men would ever truly want to befriend her.
Later, Jean and Scott were preparing for a school trip, but Darkholme manipulated things to make Jean lose her spot, and Rogue took her place instead. While they were riding the bus, heavy snow caused it to skid off the road and come to a halt. Rogue then suggested riding snowmobiles to caves during the storm, and she even challenged Scott to a race. The teacher gives a geology lecture to students in a cave. Rogue wanders off, followed by Scott. She asks what he wants. He wants to be friends. She demands the truth, asks if she's a target for the X-Men, and mentions the battle simulation with her as the enemy. Scott says she's been lied to and can join them. She refuses and starts to leave. A student approaches, revealing themself as Mystique. She taunts them, shoves Scott off a ledge, and tells him that Xavier is hiding the truth. Rogue confronts Mystique, demanding no more secrets. She uses her power to see Mystique's memories and sees that Mystique was deceiving her into thinking that the X-men were attacking her.
Scott landed on a ledge and Rogue was able to hop down and pull him up Mystique tried to drop a boulder on Scott and Rogue, causing them to fall into the river. Scott saves them from going over a waterfall, but he hits his head. Rogue apologized for what she had done.Xavier, Wolverine, and Storm have been alerted to the danger and fly towards the mountains in the Blackbird to try to find Scott. Scott and Rogue trying their best to avoid Mystique get stuck on a narrow bridge that nearly collapses before the X-men arrive. On the jet, Rogue hesitates to choose sides, but Wolverine assures her that she won't be thrown off. She takes their side and is welcomed by the X-Men. Later, the young mutants confront Xavier about Mystique. Rogue says honesty is important. Xavier promises to be more open with them.
Professor Xavier has a robot of a teenage girl and that's all I can think about. That wasn't a hologram in the danger room Xavier just had a robot of Rogue made and I don't know how or why.
In start contrast to EMH this show so far put emphasis on character based drama. It all been pretty good so far. I'm using on the side of Cyclops is a boring character but changing the settings and making him younger actually helps his character shine a bit. It lets his interactions with the others be personable and giving him that concept of he's growing into his role makes him more interesting.
Mystique can turn into animals in this show and I can't remember if that's a thing she can do in the comics. If so that puts her on the top tier considering this can allow her to fly.
With the bug shake up of rogue joining the X-Men and the reveal of Mystique's identity I'm looking forward to the next episode
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rafaelpallasigui2 · 1 year
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The Environmental Impacts of Products (Laptops)
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Raw materials used in laptops
Laptops or even any electronic device are made of different materials. For laptops, most of its components are made of various metals, silicon, and plastic, especially PC/ABS. The raw resources of these materials are primarily extracted from the Earth's surface via mining or drilling. The metals used for electronics are commonly copper, gold, iron, tin, lead, cobalt, and small traces of rarer metals. Mining and refining these metals do affect our environment. Mining causes soil erosion, contamination, destruction of terrain, and loss of floral life which could have been habitats. The process of mining also requires a large amount of water for filtering ores and this water is normally returned to the same source. Mining also releases particles into the air which affects the nearby population. Refining metals to their pure form creates harmful wastewater since the process uses acids and other chemical substances, this waste is even sometimes radioactive. In US most mining sites are located in western states, Missouri, and Tennessee. Silicon is another important element for making electronics, it is a semiconductor that could easily be altered depending on the purpose. It is an abundant element after oxygen and could be found anywhere, however, normally compounded with another element, thus it is impure. The solution is mining quartz which is 90% silicon, a similar process to metal mining is used to extract these crystals. These crystals are also refined similarly to steel, melting it down and separating residues to get a purity close to 100% for maximum efficiency. Surface quarries can be found in Norway. The plastic used for most chassis of laptops and electronic devices is made of thermoplastics such as PC/ABS. Polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), are two plastics with different properties mixed to create a material that is durable and heat resistant. The production involves heavy use of chemicals and mechanical processes. The raw or organic resources that these plastics use are oil-based, usually broken down from petroleum or crude oil. And these oil products come from drilling on land and sea, which puts nearby ecosystems at risk of oil spills from pipelines or transportation. Oil can contaminate soil and water and is highly flammable; it could sit on top of water or land which blocks sunlight needs of nutrient cycles. The common issue with most of the production is its high energy use, energy could be generated in various ways, but it was likely generated by carbon-emitting powerplants.
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The image above shows mineral deposits globally.
For laptop brands the raw materials for components are imported from suppliers that handle the acquisition, processing, and refinement; these suppliers are spread all over the world, and suppliers change depending on cost. The materials are shipped to Original Design Manufacturers (ODM) that are mostly in China or Taiwan, they make the components such as RAM, CPU, GPU, HDD, etc... These components are then shipped again to assembly lines which are also spread throughout the world. The most local ingredient in the entire process would likely be Silica since Wisconsin has its own deposit, yet it goes around various places before getting back as a final product. At the end of the device's lifetime, it becomes E-Waste, which could be recycled to create new electronics, yet the process can also be harmful and costly. Without proper recycling equipment, individuals can be exposed to lead, cadmium, and chromium which could cause cancer. Some extraction methods are primitive such as burning E-waste to leave only metals that add to carbon emissions. 
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Laptop E-Waste
So, I suggest keeping your device longer, repairing it, and buying only when completely broken.
References:
Raw Materials In A Laptop - Circular Computing™
9.5 Environmental Impacts of Metallic Mineral Mining – Dynamic Planet: Exploring Geological Disasters and Environmental Change (maricopa.edu)
Environmental Cost of Refineries (mit.edu)
Precious Metal Removal from Electronic Components (conceptmanagement.co.uk)
Metal Mining | US EPA
What is silicon, and why are computer chips made from it? - ExtremeTech
Silicon: mining and processing | Britannica
PC/ABS Resin | Polycarbonate ABS Blend - by Polymer Resources (prlresins.com)
PC-ABS: Polycarbonate Material Properties | Fast Radius
Thermoplastic - Wikipedia
Crude Oil Exports by Country 2021 (worldstopexports.com)
Oil and the environment - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
List of laptop brands and manufacturers - Wikipedia
How e-waste is harming our world - YouTube
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atlabeth · 3 years
Text
everything happens for a reason part 11 - zuko x fem!reader
Memories, where'd you go?
part 10 | masterlist | part 12
a/n: alternative name for this fic: y/n gets a crush on every pretty girl she meets. yue, katara, and now suki. she can't help it (and she questions why they're all connected to sokka in some way lmaoo)
anyways, this is kind of filler but it establishes some more with relationships and finallyyy gets us into ba sing se at the end. i know it's a lil annoying because there's a lot of episode-to-text writing, but i promise it'll get more freeform as it goes on
also i know that i just posted something yesterday but i have literally zero patience. like i cant hold chapters i have to post them as soon as i write them loll
wc: 5.3k
warning(s): some feels over zuko as per usual, but overall a pretty tame chapter
chapter title comes from memories by panic! at the disco!
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Zuko could barely sleep anymore.
He didn’t know when his life became so complicated, but he wasn’t a fan of it.
Back when it was just him, his crew, and the open sea — it was simple. He had a job, a straightforward mission. Find the Avatar, capture him, return home to the Fire Nation and regain his honor.
Now, the waters were more muddied than ever. Now on the run from the Fire Nation just like the boy he was chasing, all he really felt nowadays was anger.
Angry at the world for setting him on this path, angry at the Avatar for refusing to see what was necessary, his sister and her friends for turning against him, angry at the waterbender for making things so damn hard.
He didn’t want to hurt her. A part of him wished that she had never come back into his life, if it meant he wouldn’t have to constantly be fighting against her. He hated himself for the thought, but maybe it would have been easier for her to remain a memory of a lover than his active enemy.
Late at night, when he was reaching fruitlessly for sleep that would never come, he saw her face. The carefree energy from their childhood morphed into the shock and disappointment from both the North and their fight with Azula, and…
It made him wonder what in Agni had happened to them.
He—
He didn’t know. The way he felt about her, it was different than anything he had experienced before. Zuko didn’t know what it was, but he understood that it was special. And now… it felt like he had just thrown it all away.
Zuko couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened with her in that town — what he had done to her.
He had burned her to try and get to the Avatar, and he hadn’t even allowed a glance back at the damage he had done. He had heard her cry out in pain, pain he had caused, and he didn’t even look back.
What had happened to them? What had happened to him?
He kept telling himself that the mission was the only thing that mattered. And it was, wasn’t it? Capture the Avatar, regain his honor, get his old life back and finally be enough for his father. He didn’t have time for friends, or for these feelings he had, or— or for anything but capturing the Avatar. Because the Avatar was the key to everything, to his honor, and that was all that mattered.
But now…
Now, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He didn’t know what was right, or what was wrong, or what path was the one he had to take.
Zuko just wished things could be like they used to be.
~~~~~~~~~~
She didn’t really know when everything had become a mess again.
It all started out fine, like it usually did. Toph had become fully integrated into the group, any past squabbles put to rest in the name of a stronger friendship emerging between all five of them. Katara continued to work on Aang’s waterbending (oftentimes Y/N joining them in their sessions) while Toph slowly but steadily beat earthbending into him — literally.
They had all been working hard for so long that, by decree of Aang, it was ‘vacation time’. They would all get to pick out places they wanted to spend as a break, and after it was over they would get back to work.
Aang had chosen some sort of field with musical groundhogs, and Y/N had opted to revisit an Earth Kingdom village that she had passed through on her journey to the North. Sokka had complained the whole time about how they were ‘wasting valuable planning time’, but had finally conceded after the promise of ‘all the planning his heart could desire’ from Katara after their mini-vacations were over.
Y/N was actually feeling somewhat relaxed for once, but she had forgotten the golden rule — never let your guard down. Everytime she let her guard down, something bad happened without fail. So it shouldn’t have been any surprise with what happened in the desert.
Because after one trip to the Misty Palms Oasis and a journey into the desert with a professor to a long lost library, Appa had been taken by desert raiders.
It was… less than favourable. During their escape from the library, Professor Zei had insisted on staying behind, and now the five of them were stuck in the middle of the desert with no way out and zero guidance. Add some brewing tensions between Aang and Toph because of her being there when Appa was taken, and they had a recipe for a huge disaster.
And a disaster they had. Multiple disasters, actually.
There was only so much she and Katara could do to hold the group together, but by some miracle, they made it out of the desert with only one Avatar State mishap.
(And an incident with cactus juice, but… she didn’t really want to talk about that.)
....at least they had the information about the Eclipse. That was about the only thing keeping her together at the moment.
They had to get the information to the Earth King so they could formulate an attack with his warriors, but without Appa, they had to resort to more traditional methods of travel. Add in one passport problem, and that was how Y/N found herself braving the Serpent’s Pass alongside a refugee family with a baby on the way.
It was… intimidating, to say the least. Despite being surrounded by her element, Y/N didn’t feel any safer from the challenge that faced them. She took a deep breath, trying to tamp down on her fear the way her mother had taught her, as she followed the group, but her thoughts were soon interrupted.
“Hey.” She turned to see who the voice belonged to and was greeted by the girl that had teased Sokka early — Suki, if she remembered correctly. “I haven’t seen you around; are you with the Avatar or that family?”
“I’m with Aang,” Y/N explained. “I’m from the North, and they offered me a spot with them after they helped us defend our tribe against the Fire Nation. I’ve been with them ever since.” Suki nodded as they settled into a comfortable stride.
“That’s cool. Are you a waterbender?”
She gestured to her waterskin and smiled. “Yeah. I’ve been training with Aang and Katara ever since I left.” Y/N then turned her gaze back to Suki, raising an inquisitive brow. “Your makeup — what’s it for? I heard you talking about the Kyoshi Warriors back there; is that some kind of thing with Avatar Kyoshi?”
Suki grinned, her every expression heightened by the sharp reds and blacks above her eyes. “We’re a group of all-female warriors that use the teachings of Avatar Kyoshi and her partner Rangi to defend our home and the place she founded, Kyoshi Island. I’m the leader of our village section.”
“Wow,” she murmured, her eyes falling to the ground for a moment before finding their way back up to the warrior. “That’s really cool. You’re really cool.”
She laughed and shrugged. “Thanks. I’ve been training as a warrior for almost my whole life, so it just comes naturally. I like being able to protect people, and there’s no better way to pay back my home for all it’s done for me like protecting the whole village.”
“Wow,” she repeated with a small laugh of her own. “That’s really brave. I gotta say, I’m kinda jealous — I would love to see what would happen if Master Pakku met you all. Katara literally had to beat the sexism out of him in order to train to be a master.”
Suki chuckled. “Sounds like what I had to do with Sokka. Guess it’s a thing with Water Tribe guys, huh?”
At the mention of Sokka, she internally laughed. There had to be some kind of connection between the two of them, the way their interests kept aligning. “Sokka… he’s had it hard. I can’t blame him that much for any kind of attitude he had before he met you. Pakku, on the other hand? He had to have had something better to do than fight teenage girls.”
“You would think so, right?” Suki agreed. “And Sokka… I know. He’s got a heart of gold underneath all that, he just needed a little push to get it out.” As Y/N glanced over at the girl, noticing a slight pink tint under the white makeup, she gasped.
“La’s fins, are you two a thing?” she exclaimed with a grin.
Suki flushed even harder as she suddenly became very interested in the ocean around her, but she couldn’t help the smile on her lips. “No! I mean— yes— but… but—” she stopped to gather her thoughts before making eye contact again with a sheepish smile. “We’re not… really a thing, but… I do like him a lot. I didn’t really think I was going to see him again after they left the island, so this is really nice.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” Y/N asked. “I can already tell that he cares about you — have you seen how careful he’s being with you?”
“Well—” Whatever kind of excuse Suki would’ve made up was interrupted by a rock falling out just under Than, one of the refugees they were with, saved in the nick of time with Toph’s earthbending.
“I’m okay!” he reassured, but no sooner had the words left his mouth before the Fire Nation ship in the distance started firing.
“They’ve spotted us!” Sokka yelled. “Let’s go, let’s go!”
Aang flicked his glider open and deflected the blast, and Katara grabbed Y/N’s hand as they all began to run. Another blast rocked the mountain, causing several boulders to fall just above Suki. Y/N didn’t even have time to shout out a warning before Sokka tackled her out of the way, but it was ultimately more of Toph’s quick earthbending that saved him.
“Suki, are you okay?” Sokka brushed dust and pebbles off of her uniform as he examined her, and once he was satisfied he grabbed her hand and helped her up. “You have to be more careful! Come on!”
As the two of them caught up to Y/N and Katara, she gave Suki a knowing look. The warrior only blushed once again and glanced away.
After hours of navigating the pass, they were only about halfway through. Sokka made the executive decision to set up camp for the night to give everyone time to rest, and then they would get up at the crack of dawn to finish their trip. It only took a few minutes for Y/N to get a fire going, and soon everyone had settled in with their sleeping bags. Sokka got up from his spot as Suki wandered closer to the edge, and Katara nudged Y/N with her shoulder.
“Hey. How are your hands doing?”
“They’re fine,” she answered with a small smile, flipping her hands over as proof. Where there were once red burn scars on her palms only tiny white marks remained — one benefit to healing via waterbending was that most injuries were able to fade away completely after enough sessions. Her burns weren’t very serious and she was able to heal them almost immediately, so both her and Katara were sure that the marks would be completely gone soon.
The mental scars wouldn’t fade as easily.
“That’s good. And you’re taking care of them, right? Like, you’re not beating up people while we’re not looking?”
Y/N grinned. “No. I think I’ll leave that to Toph.”
Katara chuckled and nodded, turning her hands over in a final examination before nodding. “Good,” she repeated. The silence between them, although comfortable, stretched out for a little too long before she spoke again, this time much quieter. “He did this to you.”
“Katara…”
“I know,” she said. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this from me, or really at all, but… I’m worried about you. Zuko isn’t good for you. Every time we’ve run into him, he’s hurt you. And you deserve so much more than that.”
“You don’t understand,” she countered. “You don’t know Zuko like I do. You weren’t there when I was. I know you think I’m insane for still believing in him, but I— I can’t let go of him, Katara. I know the Zuko I love is still in there somewhere, and I have to try and find it. For me and for him.”
Katara’s eyes were full of nothing but sympathy as she sighed — it was obvious she didn’t believe her words, but in true fashion she was still trying her best to be supportive.
“Okay. I don’t understand it, but… I don’t think I can change your mind.” Y/N chuckled sadly and nodded, Katara’s piercing gaze meeting her own once more. “It’s just… Why are you playing with fire when you know you’re going to get burned?”
And for once, Y/N didn’t have an answer for her friend.
~~~~~~~~~
The night went by quickly, which Y/N was thankful for. It meant that the nightmares didn’t last as long.
After a quick headcount to make sure no one had fallen off the pass overnight and an even quicker gathering of their things, they set off to finish their journey.
It went just as well as she had expected — a giant serpent, the namesake of the pass, had attacked them while crossing through an underwater section. Thankfully, she was able to aid Katara and Aang in defeating it with waterbending with no casualties
But in the wake of one disaster there was always another, and before Y/N knew it a baby had been born. She was mostly there for moral support — Katara had it all handled, and Y/N didn’t expect anything less.
But finally, they had made it across the pass, and they were so close to Ba Sing Se that she could almost smell the city air. Sadly, though, that meant it was time for them to part ways — Aang to find Appa, and Suki back to her warriors. After some sad but hopeful goodbyes with Aang, it was time to bid farewell to Suki.
“Are you sure you can’t travel a little longer with us?” Y/N questioned, apparently not above pleading to try and get the girl to stay. “You’re— you’re amazing, and we’d really love to have you with us.”
“I can’t even imagine what travelling with the Avatar would be like,” she smiled, causing Y/N to get her hopes up for just a moment before they fell back down. “But I can’t stay. I have to get back to the Kyoshi Warriors.”
Y/N sighed, her gaze falling slightly downcast. “I get that. I just really wish you could stay. Or that I could meet your warriors. You seriously don’t know how cool you are, Suki.”
“Well, if you’re ever in town on Kyoshi Island, find us. I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out and do you one better than just meeting them all,” she said with a grin. “I think it’d be pretty cool to have the first waterbending Kyoshi Warrior.”
Y/N was unable to prevent the heat rushing to her cheeks as she smiled shyly, once again averting eye contact. “That would be amazing. I’ll have to find my way back there after the war.”
Suki bumped shoulders with her, causing a startled laugh to spill from her lips. “We’d love to have you.”
“Wait, why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye to her?” Sokka questioned as he walked up to the two of them. Y/N winked at Suki and gestured at him with her head, walking off before Suki could protest to find Katara.
The conversation the two girls were sharing was an extremely thinly veiled excuse to eavesdrop on the lovebirds, and when they kissed Y/N actually had to hold back a scream.
Sokka deserved this. She knew how much he beat himself up over every little thing that went wrong, and it was about time he got to relax even for a moment. She only hoped that Suki would be in their corner of the world sooner rather than later.
What could she say? She was already fantasizing about life as a Kyoshi Warrior.
~~~~~~~~~
Although they had parted ways, they soon found themselves reunited with Aang to stop yet another Fire Nation threat.
“For the love of Kuruk,” Y/N murmured as she stared into the distance, her eyes wide at the sight of a large mechanical drill. “That was Ty Lee who just took down all those soldiers. And if she’s here, Mai and Azula are with her too. Guys, It’s one thing to stop this drill, it’s another thing to take those three down with it.”
“The question is, how do we do it?” Aang questioned.
“Why can nothing ever be easy?” Sokka lamented. His gaze remained trained on the drill for a moment before he realized theirs were on him. “Why are you all looking at me?”
“You’re the idea guy,” Aang said.
“Wait, so I’m the only one who can ever come up with a plan?” he protested. “That’s a lot of pressure!”
“And also the complaining guy,” Katara muttered, drawing a chuckle out from Y/N.
“Now that part I don’t mind,” Sokka admitted.
“Well, Sokka— you were a huge help in the North, and you figured out a way to defeat the Fire Nation during that eclipse at the library! Plus, there’s all that stuff that Katara told me you did before I joined.” She patted him on the back. “If anyone can figure out how to take that thing down, it’s you.”
He shrugged nonchalantly, his ego only slightly bolstered. “...okay. I think I can do it.”
“That’s the spirit!” she said with a smile.
Unfortunately, that smile faded as a young guard came running up to the wall. “Excuse me, Avatar and friends — I’ve heard that you’ve dealt with that… that pink girl down there before.” They nodded and he continued. “It would do us a great deal of help if you could come down and look at our injured soldiers, then.”
Y/N and Katara nodded in unison and started to follow the guard, the remaining three trailing after them. They ended up inside the wall, in what looked like an infirmary of sorts with all the cots and soldiers lying around, and the two waterbenders exchanged looks.
“You know what to do?” Katara asked.
Y/N hummed in acknowledgment, and they both knelt down next to separate cots. “This definitely looks like Ty Lee’s work,” she murmured as she bent water up from the pot and molded it over the man’s arm.
“What’s wrong with him?” the general questioned. “He doesn’t look injured.”
“His chi is blocked,” Katara explained. “Who did this to you?”
“Two girls ambushed us,” the soldier said, moving his arm as he regained feeling. “One of them hit me with a bunch of quick jabs and suddenly I couldn't earthbend anymore and I could barely move. Then she cartwheeled away.”
Katara sighed as she bent the water back into the pot. “You were right, Y/N. That was Ty Lee — she doesn’t look dangerous, but she knows the human body and its weak point. It’s like she takes you down from the inside.”
As if struck by lightning, Sokka lit up. “Oh, oh, oh! What you just said — that’s how we’re going to take down the drill; the same way Ty Lee took down all those earthbenders!”
“By hitting its pressure points!” Toph exclaimed with a grin.
The breakthrough brought a steely determination to Aang’s features as he looked out into the distance. “We’ll take it down from the inside.”
~~~~~~~~~
Like everything they did, it seemed so simple on paper. But now that she was actually inside the drill, it felt a lot more nerve wracking. Toph opted to stay outside where she could see and try to slow down the drill with the earth at her disposal, which left the four of them to somehow take it down from the inside.
Sokka led them through a hallway with a myriad of valves and pipes as he thought out loud. “I need a plan of this machine — some schematics that show what the inside looks like. Then we can find its weak points.”
“Where are we gonna get something like that?” Aang asked.
Sokka thought for a moment before he took his machete out and hacked a valve off a pipe. Y/N instinctively took a step back and shielded her face from the hot steam. “What are you doing?” she cried. “Someone’s gonna hear us!”
“That’s the point!” he exclaimed. “A machine this big needs engineers to run it, and when something breaks—”
“Someone will come down to fix it!” Katara finished with a smile at Aang, a sentiment the boy returned happily.
It was surprisingly easy to take down the engineer once he arrived — with a little bit of frozen mist on Katara’s end, they had the plans they needed. Sokka’s expertise combined with the blueprints got them to the beginning of the outer shell.
“Wow,” Sokka muttered. “It looks a lot thicker than it does in the plans. We’re gonna have to work pretty hard to cut through that.”
Katara crossed her arms. “What’s this ‘we’ stuff? The three of us are gonna have to do all the work.”
“Look, I’m the plan guy!” Sokka explained with a gesture to himself. “You three are the ‘cut up stuff with waterbending’ guys. Together, we’re Team Avatar!”
Katara and Aang looked wholly unamused while Y/N chuckled. “Team Avatar. I like it.”
“Thank you,” he smiled. “At least someone appreciates my genius.”
“Tui’s gills, why do you have to keep boosting his ego?” Katara complained. “Let’s just get this done before it gets worse.”
The three of them got in position — Katara and Aang on opposite sides so they could pass the stream of water between them, and Y/N making the point of the triangle to work on the other side on her own. They were hoping it would be more efficient being able to cut through both sides at the same time, but it was proving to be much more difficult than they had imagined — halfway through the three of them were already exhausted.
By some feat of strength they were able to completely cut through the brace, but their hard work didn’t pay off in quite the way they had imagined — when the beam only shifted a few inches she groaned.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” she breathed as she wiped sweat off of her forehead.
“At this rate,” Katara paused to inhale deeply, “we won’t do enough damage before the drill reaches the wall.”
“I don’t know how many more of those I have in me,” Aang said sadly.
A large creak suddenly rang throughout the large chamber, and they all looked up for the source.
“Did you hear that?” Sokka asked, already backing up to make an exit. “We took it down! We gotta get out of here, fast!”
Just as they reached the door on the other side, a crackle followed by the sound of a man’s voice dashed their hopes. “Congratulations, crew. The drill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se. Start the countdown to victory!”
A collective silence hung in the air between them, the threat now even more imminent as their situation sunk in. Mai and Ty Lee had proven effective in taking down any Earth Kingdom threat posed at them, and despite Toph’s skill they knew she couldn’t take down something like this on their own.
They either had to figure out a way to destroy this drill, or the Fire Nation was going to make it into the city.
Sokka ran back over to the brace and pushed against it, putting all his strength into the feat but to no avail. “Come…. on! Move!”
Katara started pacing around in a small circle, crossing her arms again as she tried to think of something. “This is bad. This is really bad.”
“Sokka, that’s not going to work!” Y/N didn’t mean to snap, but the grinding of metal on metal combined with her nervousness got to her. She sighed and ran her hand over her face. “I— I’m sorry. But it’s still not going to work.”
He groaned as he leaned against the brace. “We’re putting everything we have into busting these things, but it’s taking too long!”
Suddenly, Aang jumped up from the ground with stars in his eyes. “Maybe we don’t need to cut all the way through! Toph — she’s been teaching me that you shouldn’t put a hundred percent of your energy in any one strike. Sokka, get in a fighting stance.”
Sokka complied and as Aang talked through his points, he demonstrated it on Sokka. “You've got to be quick and accurate. Hit a series of points and break your opponent's stance. And when he's reeling back, you deliver the final blow. His own weight becomes his downfall, literally.”
As Sokka fell over from the attack, Katara lit up. “So we just need to weaken the braces instead of cutting all the way through—”
“—then I can go to the top of this thing and deliver the final blow!” Aang finished.
Y/N helped Sokka up from the ground, his spirits not dampened at all. “Then boom! This whole thing goes down!”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Y/N asked, flexing her fingers to refresh them for all the bending she was going to have to do. “Aang, Katara and I can handle the braces. Focus on getting up to the top before anyone sees you.”
He nodded and they all met each other with determined eyes. “Everyone inside that wall, the whole world — they’re all counting on us.”
“Here, take this. You need this more than I do. ” Katara took her waterskin off and handed it to Aang. “Good luck. And be careful.”
Y/N noticed a slight blush on her cheeks and she had to hold back her smile. That was definitely something she was going to tease her friend about later — when they weren’t trying to stop the Fire Nation from breaking into Ba Sing Se.
“I will,” he assured. Aang slung the strap of the waterskin around his shoulder and took off, and Y/N and Katara got to work breaking through the rest of the braces.
With the knowledge that they only had to cut through half of each column and the revitalization that came from having a plan, their work went by much quicker. Just when they finished the final brace, it all went wrong.
“Good work, Team Avatar!” Sokka cheered. “Now we— Y/N, duck!”
She didn’t question Sokka as she immediately dropped to the ground, something she was immensely thankful for as a blast of blue fire seared past her. Her eyes snapped up to the source of the attack and narrowed in recognition.
“Of course they’re here,” she growled as she pulled herself back up. “We gotta go, now!”
Katara and Sokka nodded and they all started running. Bringing up the rear, Y/N was able to hear Azula’s words right before they split off into an intersection:
“Follow them! I’m going to find the Avatar.”
Sure enough, when she allowed a glance back, Mai and Ty Lee were closing in on them. She flicked open the cap of her waterskin and bent some out, managing to freeze it at just the right moment to block the incoming daggers from Mai. Still running, she melted it quickly and let it fall to the ground before freezing it again, creating some ice on the ground that would hopefully give them a few more seconds of leeway.
“That should give us some time!” she yelled as they turned a corner, finally turning her attention back to the path in front of them. “Any idea how we’re gonna get out of this thing?”
“Maybe!” Sokka yelled back, slowing to a stop as they came to a dead end, a large hatch the only thing at their disposal. He started tugging on the wheel in an attempt to open it, and when Y/N joined in they were able to wrench it open.
“Slurry pipeline?” Katara frowned as she read the sign on the wall and looked at Sokka. “What does that mean?”
“It’s rock and water mixed together,” he explained as they looked into the rushing liquid underneath the hatch. “It means it’s our way out!”
Katara nodded and climbed in, Sokka following close after. The sound of metal footsteps got closer and closer, and Y/N ducked inside just as Mai’s knives clanked against the hatch. Never before had she been so happy to be floating in a stream of slurry.
The rest of their mission went by surprisingly easy — at least, on their end. All it took was some waterbending — earthbending, when Toph joined them — and encouragement from Sokka (though unappreciated by Katara). Whatever magic Aang was working at the top of the drill had done its job, because soon enough the drill had collapsed in on itself.
And now, they had reunited on the top of the wall overlooking the sunset. After the chaos that had been their day, it was nice to just relax for even a moment. And there was no better way to do so than with her friends.
“I just want to say, good effort out there, Team Avatar!” Sokka exclaimed as he threw an arm around Y/N’s shoulder.
“Enough with the ‘Team Avatar’ stuff,” Katara said dryly. “No matter how many times you say it, it’s not going to catch on.”
“I like it, Sokka,” Y/N smiled. “I’ve liked it this whole time.”
“You always appreciate my genius, Y/N,” he mused. “That’s why I appreciate you.” She laughed and leaned her head against his shoulder as he continued to list off names.
“How about… the Boomeraang squad! Eh? See, it’s good because it’s boomerang, and it has Aang in it—”
“Yeah Sokka,” Toph interrupted. “We got it.”
Aang grinned and scratched his head. “I kinda like that one.”
“The Aang Gang. Ooh, the Fearsome Fivesome!”
“You’re crazy,” Toph muttered as she walked away.
“Wait, Sokka—” Y/N pulled away from him and held up her pointer finger. “Aang Gang — what if we combine it, so it’s just the Gaang? But still with Aang’s name?”
And at that moment, Sokka looked more proud than ever. “Oh, you— you are a genius.”
“Oh, spirits,” Katara groaned. “Why do you insist on encouraging him?”
“You’re just jealous of our name-making abilities,” Sokka said haughtily.
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “You two are completely ridiculous, you know that? Let’s just get into the city before the trains stop running.”
Y/N and Sokka winked at each other as they all started walking, unable to keep the smile off of her face. She always thought it was amazing — they went through insane things every day, but at the end of it all she was always able to smile because of them. And as her gaze drifted towards the city in the distance, she hoped it would hold true.
She had no idea what Ba Sing Se had in store for her.
-
shit is gonna happen next chapter so i hope you all are READY bc im not
perm tags: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77
atla tags: @marianne1806 @brown-eyed-thang @akiris
ehfar tags: @chandies-sideblog @zacatecanaaaa @anzanity @randomthingssss @escapingthoughtsandsecrets @shanksfav @shephard17895 @ilovespideyyy @carisi-sonny @selfship-mishaps @i-belong-in-fandoms @ilistentotayswifttocope @i-make-questionable-choices @3leni
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timbertumbr · 3 years
Text
Average (Ninjago Zane X Reader)
No spoilers. Just something I wrote. :)
Believe it or not, you’re the only average person aboard the bounty. No elemental powers, no crazy super intelligence, you’re just a normal human being that happens to know the Ninja. How you met is also pretty normal, you just came across the dojo in search of directions and now you live on the bounty. Sensei Wu was intrigued by you, even if you were normal and kept insisting as such. 
“Normal comes in different shapes and sizes, but it’s always based on interpretation. You may find yourself to be normal, but others may think differently,” That’s what he said which convinced you to join, that and the fact he muttered under his breath that the Ninja need more social interactions besides their own tight knit group.
The Ninja were a little wary at first, which is understandable after all they’ve been through. But they came around eventually. You help them out whenever and however you can. Usually it’s small things like doing a chore or making sure the equipment was cleaned and safe for the Ninja. 
And it hasn’t gone unnoticed, after you’re done with a chore or whatever you’re doing to help out, one of the Ninja comes up to you and asks if you want to watch them train or want to play video games with them. Ah, bonding experiences.
While you were reminiscing on how close you’ve gotten to the Ninja, you walked to the kitchen to see if you could find something to eat when you noticed the fridge and cabinets were practically bare. 
Taking out your phone, you begin writing a list of things you need before texting Jay that you’ll be going to the store. He sends you a thumbs up emoji in response. You pocket your phone and walk out onto the deck, hop over the side and tumble onto the top of a building. Just because you live with the ninja, doesn’t mean you are one. 
You get up, dust yourself off, open the roof top and walk down the stairs until you’re on the busy streets of Ninjago city. You open Google Maps and begin walking to the closest store. 
________
After around an hour and a half, you walked out of the store with a cartful of bags. You pull out your phone and begin texting Jay to come pick you up with the groceries when someone grabs you from behind, a hand covering your mouth. 
Fear flooded your system and you grabbed a hold of the assailants finger before pulling back on it HARD. A male scream rang through the parking lot as you slipped from his grasp and started running. You didn’t make it far before another person jumped out from the corner and swiftly punched you in the face. You stagger for a bit before your body hits the pavement and you soon lose consciousness. 
_________
You groan when you open your eyes and realize your body is stiff. You try to stretch but realize you're tied up. Great. And on top of that, a stinging pain is erupting from where you got punched. 
You look around and see that there’s a lot of people around. They’re all looking at you, so you can’t exactly try and figure out how to escape even if you wanted to. But you’re too terrified and shocked to be even thinking about escaping. 
In a matter of moments, a person emerges from the shadows of the dark room and approaches you with a grin. You could only stare in fear.
“Comfortable? I’d hope so since you’re our money bargain,” He taunted, so clearly he's the leader. Or maybe the right hand man? Again, you couldn’t tell. You swallow as best as you can and open your mouth to speak.
“Wh-What do you want?” You curse under your breath, stuttering and showing fear is what they want… But you can’t exactly help it. The people in the room begin cackling. 
“Sounds like someone’s not paying attention, ey gang? You’re a money ticket, and you’re also going to help us prove that we’re the only thing the ninja should care about,” He sneers while poking your forehead. Oh. OH. They’re THOSE kinds of bad guys, the overconfident ones. He backs away from you and looks to the others in the room. 
“Be on your guard, they ARE Ninja after all,” And with that he takes his leave. Okay, so this is good. It’s only a matter of time before the ninja find you. Either before or after the ransom call, it wouldn’t matter anyway. But… a small part of you worried they wouldn’t notice. 
You shake your head gently to get rid of those thoughts. They’d come. They always do. Your shaking slightly irritated your now bruising cheek which made you inhale sharply. A chorus of quiet chuckles scattered throughout the room.
Seconds pass, them minutes. You waited and waited… until you heard a wonderful sound. Something hitting one of the many gang members and them groaning in pain. You look around in hope.
“It’s the Ni- AGH!” They got kicked into the wall and got knocked out instantly. The entire room was filled with the sounds of fighting while you watched blurs fly around the room. In a matter of minutes, everyone was on the ground either groaning in pain or just flat out unconscious. 
“Y/N! Are you alright?!” Cole asks, taking off his hood and coming around to untie you while Zane looks around the room scanning their vitals to ensure no one was faking. 
“I’m alright, just glad you’re here,” You stretched after being released from your bonds. You meant what you said, you just wish you could’ve done more. 
“It seems everyone is down for the count. I have contacted the authorities to deal with them and their leader,” Zane approaches you two as he speaks and stares at you.
“You are injured,” Cole furrows his brows in slight confusion before checking and gasps.
“What the- You said you were alright!” Cole panicked a little (a lot), you smile sheepishly.
“I am, it just stings a bit is all,” Zane silently looks between you and Cole before speaking.
“We should return to the bounty. The others are worried for your safety,” He turns on his heel and begins to walk out despite Cole trying to protest. You awkwardly follow the two back to the bounty.
___________
When you return to the bounty, you receive a lot of worried yelling from mostly everyone on the ship. Wu and Zane were able to quiet them before things got out of hand. 
“Zane, can you take care of Y/N’s injuries?” Wu asks, Zane opens his mouth to answer.
“Y/N WAS INJURED?!” Jay screeched.
“Who was it?! Let me at ‘em!” Nya yelled afterwards.
“Hey, at least leave some for me sis,” Kai adds. Zane sighs and gently takes your hand. He starts to slightly drag you away from the worried chaos that was the Ninja. You walk past the kitchen to see Lloyd was making dinner. He sees you both and waves before returning back to his task.
“How-” 
“It was the cart that led us to your location. I asked Jay, Kai and Lloyd to put away the groceries while Cole and I searched for you,” Zane explains as you enter the bathroom. He asks you to sit on the toilet and you do. Zane takes out the first aid kit and grabs the necessary supplies. He pours some hydrogen peroxide onto some cotton pads, turns to you and kneels. 
“This may sting,” He mutters before gently patting your bruised cheek, causing you to inhale sharply until the stinging stops. 
“Apologies,” He gets up and throws away the cotton pad, returning to the first aid kit and fishing out the appropriate bandaid and ointment. He applies the ointment on the bandaid before gently putting it on your cheek.
“Thank you Zane,” He nods as he puts away the first aid kit. 
“In the future, when you’re running errands please take one of us with you,” Zane comments politely.
“Oh. Yeah, I can understand why but…” You trail off, Zane raises a brow in confusion.
“But…?” 
“It feels like I’m wasting your time. I’m not like any of you and was only able to live on the ship because Wu thought it would be for the best. You all have big responsibilities to shoulder and I don’t want to make things more difficult for you,” Zane stares at you unsure of how to respond. You start to get uncomfortable and get up.
“S-Sorry, forget I said anything, yeah?” 
“No,” 
“Huh?” You look at Zane confused.
“No, I will not be simply forgetting something that you’ve seemed to be harboring for quite some time now. I do not believe you are wasting anyone’s time, in fact, time spent with you always makes the others and myself quite happy. You’re always making sure we’re alright and do what you think are the simplest of chores that we simply do not have time for. You brighten our world, Y/N. You always have and always will,” 
Zane smiles at you while you stare at him shocked but also happy. He opens his arms offering a hug and you take it, wrapping your arms around the robo boi. 
“Thank you Zane,” You mutter. He gently pats your head.
“It is no problem, Y/N,” You both separate and FINALLY exit the bathroom. The scent of Lloyd’s cooking enters your nose as soon as you leave the room.
“Looks like Lloyd’s done! Let’s go before Cole and Kai eat it all,” You joke, speed walking to the dining room. Zane follows with a confused smile, but a smile nonetheless.
Want to Request? Please Read this before you do so.
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gashinabts · 4 years
Text
Ask Me Out (m)
Words: 5k
Pairing: Taehyung x Reader, Idiots to lovers
Genre: Angst, Smut, Fluff, Mature
Summary: You and Taehyung get in a fight because you were allegedly cheating, the only problem is, who are you dating and who are you cheating on.
Warnings: Teasing, spitting, oral (f/receiving), fingering, DomTae, slapping, jealously sex
A/N: Just a small one shot, hope you enjoy!! This is my work no reposting this and my other works on any other platforms.
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Holding the letter tight to your chest you breathe out a heavy sigh before giving the letter to Eunha. Taehyung texted her that he will meet with her across the administration building, instead here you are standing in front of her, counting the seconds of when this interaction will end. She opens the letter and you cringe at every second she reads it, you look off at a distance to see if Taehyung could be watching this scene unfold. “ What the hell is this Y/N? Where’s Taehyung?,” she crumbles the letter and there’s irritation evident on her angelic face.
The one con of being Taehyung’s friend is that you have to break up with his girlfriends since he doesn’t like confrontation, to see them yell at him or worst cry in front of them.
In middle school Taehyung told you to break up with Soojin for him on Valentine's day, that was the first time you got bitch slapped by someone at school. Taehyung went to visit you at the nurse office with a red rose. “ Where did you get that?,” you asked him as you pressed the ice pack closer to your cheek. “ I stole it from Jungkook’s valentine’s gift,” he says, as he hands you the rose and sits next to you. His hands gently take off the ice pack inspecting your pink slap mark. “ Ouch. This will be the last time I let you do this for me,” he gives you a boxy smile. Another con of being his friend, Taehyung could be quite the liar.
“ Well as it says on the letter, he wants to break up with you…” you trail off taking a centimeter back. You don’t think she’ll do anything crazy, Eunha was nice when she was with Taehyung, however break ups can change a person.
Eunha takes a step closer and takes the lid of her ice coffee and throws it on your sweatshirt. The cup is empty and the ice cold coffee makes you flinch, “ I knew you guys were sleeping behind my back. Tell him, ‘ The next time he wants to break up with someone, he should be a man and tell them in person,’” she bumps her shoulder against you hard as she walks past you. You groan at her comment and walk towards the center of the campus where the water fountain is, there are students who briefly look at your coffee stain white sweatshirt. “ Well she got you good?,” Taehyung bites his lip and you glare at him. He stands tall right next to you, with his neutral tone baggy pants and sweatshirt.  “ Hey I’m sorry I didn’t know she’ll react that way. Take my sweater,” he pulls his already oversized sweater and hands it to you.
You pull off your soaked sweater, “ That’s what you always say Tae,” then you put on his ugly dark green sweater. “ When are you ever going to have the guts to ask the girls you like out and also break up with them?” There’s also another thing he has a problem with, he needs to have someone, you, to ask the girls he likes out. It’s always awkward for you to tell them that Taehyung, the guy that you have a slight crush on, likes them.
“ Y/N, I can’t do that! Just imagine if I ask someone out and they straight out reject me. I would be traumatized for my whole life,” he takes your dirty sweater and walks with you to the apartment.
“ Nope. I can’t possibly see that. You are attractive and funny so I don’t see how you’ll be rejected,” you smell yourself and groan at the scent of ice americano. “ Look, ask me out right now,” you joke around while laughing to yourself. The short laugh becomes a gasp when Taehyung pushes you against a wall with his arm caging you in. His face is close to yours, you could almost count all the long dark eyelashes. Time feels like it slows down because the wind started to lessen along with chirping sounds from the birds.
“ Y/N. Go out with me,” he looks at you dead in the eye, his black curls slightly cover them. Without thinking much you let out a small okay and he backs up giving you space.
His face returns back to his bubbly self smiling, “ Do you want to order fried chicken and beer or pizza?,” he asked you while adjusting the straps of his backpack. The question takes you back and you pinch yourself just to see if this is a dream or an alternative universel. “ Fried chicken and beer,” you tell him, walking alongside him. There is silence between you two as he orders the food on his phone, he gives you the phone so you can review the order, you smile as he orders an extra order of spicy chicken since you are the only one that likes it. “ Looks good,” you say while handing it back.
You and Taehyung are watching a movie while eating the fried chicken peacefully until Jungkook barges in the living room from the front door, “ BAHAHA...Y/N you’re like all over everyone's snapchat. I even saw this video on my fyp on tiktok. Look it almost has one million likes,” he hands his phone while sitting down on the couch. ‘It’s the cheating for me’ you groan as you read the description. “ What the hell? Did you at least comment and tell them that I wasn’t the other woman?,” you ask Jungkook, the video plays and Eunha throws the coffee at you and your face grimaces.
“Yeah but like my comment got lost through the thousands of comments that are there,” he grabs a beer from the table, “ just live through your fifteen minutes of fame,” he chugs the beer. “ Ohh spicy chicken, my favorite,” his hands grab your chicken eating it with gusto.
You toss the phone on the couch, “ Y/N-” you ignore Taehyung’s voice as you go to your room. You take solace in your warm comforter hugging your stuffed penguin and taking a nap. The feeling of Taehyung’s warm hands wakes you up, he’s spooning you, hugging you tightly against his chest. You are used to Taehyung's skin ship at home, he typically does this when he sees a scary movie and has nightmares so he crawls into your bed or when the apartment is too cold and he doesn’t want to spend money on the heater. “ Are you okay?,” he asked carefully.
“ Yeah, I just hate how people don’t know the real story but it’s whatever I have you to make me feel better,” you sigh as you hug your penguin tighter.
He laughs and grabs the stuffed animal, “ You still have this raggedy thing?”
“ I’m not gonna throw him away. It was a present,” you take it back in your arms. Yeah, it looks beaten down but it was something special you cherished.
“ Man, I still can’t believe you dated Jungkook in high school. Doesn’t it feel weird to have that since you guys are not dating?,” he hugs you closer to him, you feel his warm breath against your neck.
“ Nah, we are still good friends even if he is kind of an asshole,” one of your hands reaches back raking your fingers against his curls. He hums deeply, “ Are you jealous of Mr. Penguin?,” you teased him with the question.
“ Kind of,” he mutters and snuggles into your hair. That wasn’t the answer you were expecting but you ignore it going back to sleep.
---
You grab an ice coffee for Taehyung and add sugar but a light tap halts you, turning you see a girl holding a phone zooming onto your face, “ Is this you?,” she asked you, eyes peering for a reaction. It was that stupid video from tiktok.
You laugh lightly, “ No, that is my twin,” you lie eaisly, you ignore her calls as you continue walking. You wait outside Taehyung’s office since he is talking to one of his students. The student adorably bows multiple times and thanks him, as she exits his room. “ She’s cute,” you comment as you enter his office with his coffee. He has his glasses on, along with his usual comfy aesthetic, there are a bunch of papers on the desk, and he looks the part as professor but clearly isn’t because he is a TA.
“ You are cute,” his large hand holds your hand giving it a quick kiss, while grabbing the coffee with his other hand and starts to gulp it. Today you were far from cute, you had no makeup, and you feel bloated because you were on your period.  “ There’s an essay due about the elements of Gothic architecture and she was having a hard time about what to write,” he moves his hand as he talks, he finally sits down on his desk.
“ That sounds fun,” you sarcastically state. Sitting down on the chair you look on his desk and there’s a picture of you and him at the Louvre, it was two years ago that you guys spontaneously took a trip to Paris.
“ Sorry you aren’t a fan of art history,” he nudges you with his leg, “ Anyways let’s go to this new hotpot restaurant,” he gets up putting his laptop away along with his papers. “ Should we invite Jungkook?,” you asked while putting your seatbelt on in Taehyung's car.
“ No. It’s Y/N and Taehyung time,” he firmly states but his sparkly teeth show as he smiles.
---
“ You guys look closer than ever, which is weird because how can you guys possibly get closer,” Jungkook comments as you wash the dishes. It’s obvious that he is talking about Taehyung. Taehyung had been more clingy with you, almost every night sleeping in your bed and taking you to random restaurants without Jungkook.
“ What do you mean? We are always like that, you are just jealous that we don’t take you out anymore and pay for you,” you finish washing the last plate, you put the gloves away to dry. Jungkook crosses his arms which cause his biceps to bulge and you throw your head back with a laugh, “ Is that supposed to intimidate me?,” you lean against the counter.
He walks closer, “ Kinda, I’ve been working out,” he flexes it more. You roll your eyes and he stands right in front of you, “ So friends just invade other people’s personal space?,” his face comes closer to you, making eye contact with you. He’s provoking you and you just want to slap his smirk off his face. Jungkook lays his head against your neck, rubbing his nose against your neck, his body is against yours. “ This kind of reminds me of our first time, we did it in my parent’s kitchen when they weren’t home,” his hands gripped your waist.
You decided to play at his game, your hands reach his nape pulling his hair, “ But then you came the minute you put it in,” you whisper against his ear. You laugh as his face flush with embarrassment, you push him against his chest so he can give you space.
“ C’mon Y/N that wasn’t nice,” he groans, he tugs his situation in his grey sweatpants to not make it obvious that he has a boner. You stop laughing when you see Taehyung standing near the entrance of the kitchen, he has a blank face and goes to the fridge. Jungkook turned around looking at Taehyung as he quietly grabbed a coke, “ Hey Hyung, have you eaten? Y/N made dinner.”
Taehyung looks at Jungkook, “ I’m good,” he doesn’t even acknowledge you, walking away from the kitchen and you hear his door shut.
It’s quiet as you eat dinner alone and it is even quieter when you go to sleep by yourself. The bed feels more bigger and you might think it’s more comfortable but it’s not since you don’t have Taehyung hugging you like a pillow. The next morning you wake up late, Taehyung usually wakes you up and cooks you burnt toast with a shitload of jam but this time he’s already gone.
After class, you get his favorite coffee drink, and go to his office, there is another cute student talking to him. You peer through the window and see how happily he exchanges words with her. You wait until their session is done and she thanks him and he waves goodbye, you walk into his office. He looks at you but quickly reverts his gaze back at his laptop screen typing mindlessly. Placing the coffee on his desk, “ She’s cute,” you comment.
“ Yeah,” he says and continues typing, your heart lurches not expecting him to agree with you. There’s so much tension you feel like you are walking on eggshells.
“ Umm...are you okay?,” you ask timidly. You aren’t sure if he heard you since a minute goes by and he looks through his paper and then again types. There is sweat coming off your hands and wipe them down against your jeans,“ Taehyung?,” you speak just a decibel louder.
He closes his laptop, packing up his papers, throwing them harpazidly in his backpack, throwing the ice coffee that he hasn’t even got a sip of into the trash. “ I’m meeting with someone,” he brushes past you trying to exit his office. You grab his wrist before he can leave, “ Tae, are you mad at me?,” is the only question you can think of.
This is the first time he looks at you, it’s the first time he has ever shown anger at you, he yanks his hand back to himself and the feeling of the subtle warmth is gone from the palms of your hand. “ I just didn’t think you were the type of girl to cheat and try to fuck their ex in the kitchen,” he says seriously.
Cheating? Who were you cheating on? “ I wasn’t- Jungkook and I-,” you try to explain yourself but he wasn’t hearing any of it. He interrupts you, “ I don’t care anymore...I don’t want to see your face,” he jabs at you with a disgusted face one last time before leaving. There’s tears coming out and you quickly wipe them but they still stream down your cheeks. This is the first time in your friendship that you had a fight with Taehyung and it looks like it will be the last time you grab the tissue of his desk blowing your nose. The picture of you and Taehyung gleefully smiling in Paris is mocking you, you grab the picture and take it with you before he can also throw it away as easily as he did with the ice coffee.
You usually don’t like going to your parent’s house but this time you accept their invitation, planning to stay with them for a week, you already submitted all the assignments for classes and you could always look at the podcast lectures. There’s not much clothes you have to pack up since you hardly buy any new clothes and you usually borrow Taehyung's infinite amount of clothes, well used to. “ I’ll see you in a week,” you hug Jungkook goodbye.
“ Make sure you get some rest,” he walks you to the car, you nod and smile at him, waving him goodbye.
This is the last time you will ever visit your family, they make you do chores and take care of your nephews and nieces. It doesn’t even feel like you got any rest, you found a box under your bed and it’s filled with pictures of you and Taehyung, some of Jungkook but mostly of Taehyung. The more you shuffle through the pictures it gets harder to hold your tears. You have the urge to call him but you are afraid that he has you blocked.
---
It feels and sounds quiet in the apartment, Taehyung thinks to himself. Jungkook isn’t even making noise either which is odd since he is loud. He hasn’t seen you in three days, he was sure that he was going to eventually bump into around the house while you cook or get out of the shower but nothing, he hasn’t even seen light peek out of your door. He hears the door opening expecting it was you but it was Jungkook. Jungkook goes straight to the kitchen taking out a pan and vegetables out of the fridge, “ You want some Kimchi fried rice?,��� Jungkook asks as he cuts some kimchi.
“ No,” Taehyung shakes his head and scrolls down on his instagram.
Jungkook sighs loudly, “ Wow this is going to suck. I have to start learning how to cook better since Y/N moved out.”
Taehyung drops his phone on the ground, “ What?,” he asked while walking towards the kitchen to where Jungkook is at.
Jungkook puts oil in the pan and adds onions, “ Yeah she moved out three days ago. She looked really sad, took everything she had and left.” Taehyung doesn’t believe him and enters her room, the bed looks empty, there are no comforters or pillows, he opens your drawers and is met with nothing, there are some skincare products on the table but those can easily be left behind. However there are pictures of you and Taehyung on the dresser, and he easily spots the one that he kept in his office. He walks back out and Jungkook looks like he is almost done cooking. “ You could be a real asshole Taehyung. Y/N would never do anything with me since she already whipped for you. The things you make her do and how she always does it because your Taehyung,” Jungkook says and finally turns off the stove.
“ What are talking about?,” Taehyung asked with hesitance.
“ Ask Y/N, why does she break up with people for you despite the many times she gets hurt from it. Ask her why does she spend so much money on your dumb ice americano? Ask her why she broke up with me in high school?,” Jungkook didn’t mean for the last question to come out but he’s tired of his two best friends being idiots. “ I’m going to eat in my room,” he leaves with a plate of Kimchi fried rice.
Taehyung sits in silence in his room thinking about your last conversation with him, and how he didn’t let you explain. How he yelled at you, how he threw his coffee, and how you looked like you wanted to cry. He hugged his pillow tightly desperately wishing that it was you and maybe if he thought hard enough you would appear.
---
“ Are you sure you don’t want to stay the whole week?,” your Mom asked while she helped you put your suitcase in your car. It’s the fourth day, six in the morning, and you don’t think you can last another day with her yelling at you to stop taking naps and to go grocery shopping with her.
Getting in your small car you sigh,“ Yeah, I have to go back. I forgot to turn something in for class,” you make up a lie.
“ What? Are you serious? Why didn’t you do that before when you came here, that’s very irresponsible-” Maybe on another day you can take her lecturing but not today.
“ Okay, bye Mom. Love you!,” you close your door waving at her as you leave the driveway.
It is expected for the apartment to be quiet since it’s early in the morning, you drag the suitcase quietly hoping that you won’t wake them up. Opening the door slowly, you are shocked to see a sleeping figure in your bed, your hand let’s go of the suitcase and you yelp trying to get it but it comes down crashing loudly on the wooden floor. Taehyung's head pops up from his small blanket, looking at you with wide eyes. “ I umm- I’m sorry. I’ll leave right now,” you pathetically try to excuse yourself. Taehyung said he didn’t want to see your face anymore so you hurry to pick up your things. Your shaky hands try to grab your suitcase but you are tackled into a hug, Taehyung’s arms engulf you trying to make you part of his body.
“ You came...I was scared that you were gone forever,” he whispers. “ I’m sorry for what I said. I was an asshole and didn’t let you speak. I hurt you in many ways that I never expected. Then Jungkook said you moved out…” he trailed off you couldn’t clearly hear him since his voice muffled in your hair.
“ Taehyung, let’s sit down and talk, okay?,” you asked him and brushed some of the strands of hair out of his face. He nods and sits down beside you and your bed, “ I wasn’t going to move out, I just went to visit my parents hoping that would relax me but it didn’t so I came back early,” you smile at him. “ Okay good,” he smiles back and scoots closer to you. “ Taehyung, I need to ask you something?,” you look away nervously.
“ Ask me,” he encourages and grabs your chin to look at you.
You swallow nervously, “ Are we together? I mean were we together? Since you said I cheated on you and I was kind of confused…” you trail off playing with your fingers.
He grabs your hands gently squeezing them “ Of course we were together. I mean we still are. Remember when you told me to ask you out?,” he asked, you nodded remembering it vividly, “ Well since that day we’ve been dating.” You didn’t think that was serious but it did make sense because of all the skinship he was doing and the places he would take out to eat. He did take you to the Han river and had a picnic during the night which you found oddly romantic but you didn’t think much into it.  “ Y/N, I’m sorry,”  he asked, kissing your hands.
“ It’s okay there was a misunderstanding. Next time, let’s talk before we act out on our emotions,” you tell him softly, before pecking him on his cheek. Turning quickly away so he won’t see you blushing in the morning sun.  “ Help me set up comforters,” you get up, grabbing the comforters off the floor. He helps you set it up while complaining about how he missed you while you were gone, crying in your bed until Jungkook told him to shut up. You place Mr. Penguin on the bed and lay down hugging it.
Taehyung turns your body easily around so you're facing him, “ I actually didn’t know we were dating, I thought we were joking around,” your hand caresses his sharp jawline.
“ Idiot. I would never joke around about dating you,” he scoffs and takes the hand you were caressing him with, bringing it to his lips, kissing it softly.  His lips move to your wrist, trailing up your forearm, arising goosebumps and leaving a giggly response from you, making him smile. Taehyung scoots closer to your neck so he can leave kisses there and you hug him closer when he kisses a particular spot that makes you squirm. The kisses trail upwards to your jaw, going closer to the area you wanted. He looks at you seeking permission and you pull him to feel your lips against his. It’s soft as you expected and you sigh happily at the feeling of his warmth. He pulls aways looking at you, “ That was nice,” he says as he moves over to hover you.
“ Yeah, it was,” you pull him down for another kiss, this time it’s more needier. Lips smacking at each other can be heard along with some heavy breathing. Your hands leave his tousled hair and go under his baggy sleeping shirt, feeling his naked back. You never thought you could feel Taehyung this way, but here are lightly trailing your fingers up and down his back. His mouth leaves yours kissing your neck and leaving marks here and there, he pulls the collar of your shirt down trying to get more access but gets frustrated. Laughing at him, you pull your shirt off, laying back down so he can kiss wherever he desires. His eyes sparkle at the sight of the swell of your breast, immediately leaving open mouth kisses that make you shudder with excitement. His large hands pull the cups of bra and his mouth envelopes your nipple, sucking while his other fondles with your other breast. Your pants are being louder and you can’t take anymore of the teasing. Your hands pull his hair as he lightly bites your nipple leaving you with pleasure and pain, “ Touch me Taehyung,” moaning at the end of the sentence.
“ Baby, I am touching you,” his lips leave your abused nipple and go to the other one giving it the same treatment. It looks like he enjoys you getting impatient since he is smiling at your frustration as you try to grind against him. “ No no no, touch me somewhere else,” you tell him shyly, you are never this coy with your partners but Taehyung just screams out dominance. His eyes darken and his mouth leave your nipple along with a string of salvia, his hand wipes his spit all over your chest. He sits up pulling off his shirt, his eyebrow arched, “ Where does my baby want to be touched?,” he asked, looking down on you. Your hand trails down to the button of your jeans, slightly tugging at it, refusing to tell him in words. His index finger tugs at the belt loop, “ You want me to touch your pussy?” Blushing at his words you nod, he takes off your jeans and looks at your panties, smirking at your evident arousal. He bends down and kisses above the hem of your panties before tugging them down your legs.
“ Please Tae,” you whine as he teasingly kisses the inside of your thighs, Taehyung finally listens to your words and eats you out like his favorite dessert, his hands holding your thighs up trying to taste more of you. Crying out in pleasure, as his tongue pays special attention to your clit and his two fingers slowly inched his way into your seeping hole. Afraid that you are making too much noise, you moan into your palm, his head lifts up and you whine at the loss of his tongue. “ Who told you you can cover your pretty mouth?,” Taehyung slaps your cunt, making you moan louder.  “ Sorry,” you meekly let out but you desperately want to be punished again. He chuckles at your apology, rubbing your cunt to soothe the pain, “ Do you want me to fuck this needy pussy?”
“ Yes, I want you so bad,” you drawl at your words, hips rising and riding his long fingers. His fingers withdraw from you, quickly taking off his sweats and boxers, as you finally discard your bra. “ Spit,” he commands, his hand is below your mouth. Following his command, his large hand wraps around his impressive dick and you can’t wait for it to stretch you. Reaching to your drawer, you give him a condom and he puts it on. Taehyung slowly enters you and you feel an immediate stretch, your nails scratch his back at the slight pain. He kisses you to relax you and smile at his encouraging words. Moaning at the slow thrusting, the pain is completely gone, wanting to feel him deeper you tell him to fuck you harder. His hips move at fast pace and you can feel him in your stomach, “ You’re so fucking tight, I’m gonna have to fuck you everyday,” he moans out. “ Gonna have to fuck you everywhere too, so Jungkook can no longer flirt with you,” he thrust deeper hitting that particular spot that makes your toes curl. Nodding deliriously you meet his thrust, eyes rolling back at the euphoric feeling of Taehyung fucking you good. Moaning his name louder, as he grabs your jaw forcing you to look at him, “ I’m the only one that makes you feel this good, right?,” he asked but he already knows the answer.
“ Only you, only Taehyung,” you scream out feeling his other hand rubbing your clit. “ No one else,” you confirm once more, pulling him down for a messy kiss. Your approach is coming, clenching around him harder, “ I’m gonna cum,” you claw his back more, “ Can I please cum?,” begging him.
Rubbing your clit faster, “ Yeah, fucking cum for me, scream out my name,” he gives your clit you couple smacks. Crying out his name you come loudly with your body shaking in pleasure. Taehyung's pace falters, groaning at your tight cunt swallowing him in, holding your body closer as he orgasms. Kissing you softly Taehyung pulls out, tossing the condom in the trash bin. “ How’s my baby?,” he asked while stroking your flush cheeks.
“ Good but kinda tired,” giving him a tired smile. “ Taehyung I like you so much,” you confess, holding his warm hand against your cheek. High school you would be so proud that you finally confessed to him.
Taehyung grabs your hand and kisses it, “ I like you so much more. I liked you since high school but I was afraid to tell you and then you started dating Jungkook. So I thought I can never be your type. But then you told me to ask you out, joke or not, I thought that was finally my chance to have you be my girl,” he softly speaks but there’s an underlying insecurity in voice. Your hands pull him close to your body causing him to squeal, his head is on top of your breast listening to your heartbeat, as one of your hands comb his hair.
“ I guess we are both idiots, I liked you since high school too. But here we are now in each other's arms, better late than never right?,” you sigh. His fingers trace shapes your stomach, “ Just gotta make up for the lost time,” he agrees and his hand trails down.
“ Yes but not now because I’m tired,” you grab his hand before it can go any further. He laughs and kisses your breast tenderly.
“ I’m just glad that Mr. Penguin got to see me fuck my girl,” he snuggles more into you with heavy eyelids.
You sleepy smile at his words, “ You are so weird.”
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Do not repost, translate, or alternate my work in any way, onto any platform. I do not take plagiarism lightly.
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kittydemon9000 · 3 years
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SO MERLOPIAN KAI PART 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
So, with Kalmaar, he ofc immediately goes to his parents about his feeling, slightly placing his revenge on hold. They are...dubious about it, but Maya raises the point of how there has never been a human/merlopian hybrid before, and from what Ray has told them about having two EM parents it’s possible for Kai to have some water abilities himself, which could be what gave Kalmaar his feeling. So, they agree to look into it.
Moving on..... Uh. Kai doesn’t have a fun time in S6, as briefly as he’s there. You see, Nahdakahn knows exactly what buttons to press and is able to get Kai into a panicked state where he, on the verge of a panic attack and mental breakdown, just says “I wish that I could just be normal! I wish I could just go home! I wish I could be with dad and mom and father and Kal and Bentho and Nya!!!”
The “normal” comment comes from how they weren’t able to completely hide Kai’s heritage since yeah, there were other people on the boat who saw him. That and he also tried a lot less to keep it hidden. And because some humans are assholes, he has to deal with that.
So ofc, Nahdakahn interprets it in the worst ways and as two wishes. Kai is now a full human yes….but was also sent to where the fish fam currently were……which just so happened to be at the bottom of the ocean.
So yeah, double trauma for both groups. Kai got to experience what drowning felt like, and his fam was essentially forced to watch him die since there was nothing they could do. They were too far under to take him to the surface and too far from the palace to take him there.
But dw, it gets even worse.
You see, the whole reason Nahdakahn is being this malicious about Kai’s wishes is because he learned that Kai was the reason the Preeminent was destroyed, thereby destroying Djinjago.
Nahdakahn is then able to do a “oh? Is this not what you wanted? I thought you wished to be normal.” Which ofc sounds really bad since it’s in front of his family. “But, I understand. You grow tired of the stares in the street, how they whisper behind you back about what you are. Not human, not merlopian, not normal. Just a freak masquerading as one of them.”
This ofc supremely pisses off the fam. Like, weapons drawn ready to commit murder.
But then Nahdakahn stop them with a “ah ah ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. After all, I am the only way your son has a chance at living. So go ahead. Make a wish.”
Trimaar ends up being the one to do it, and is smart enough to know this uh will twist it in anyway he can so says. “I wish for Kai to be sent safely to the surface without harm done upon him.”
Blah blah blah, your wish is yours to keep, Trimaar realizing “wait there’s a lot that could be interpreted” but too late BAM now Kai’s kinda stuck on the Misfortune’s Keep.
And he....generally has a pretty bad time. Think Jay but this time it’s personal.
However, Kai’s appearance had Trimaar get the Merlopian army and start heading to the surface. The remaining ninja have a brief moment of “are you kidding me two enemies at once” before learning that this is Kai’s lost family and they’re here to help.
So now the ninja have a whole ass fish army to help them, plus a very protective, very angry fish family.
But for the rest of canon, the only difference is that when they’re leaving Tiger Widow Island, Nya gets snatched along with Jay(who was taken because he hadn’t used his wish yet) and they aren’t stuck on the island, and then later that Kai gets sucked into the sword when the ninja launch their rescue mission.
But yeah, it gets all Un-Happened by Jay’s wish(which at seeing Kai physically hurt and being emotionally torn apart at his baby sister dying, wished that none of this ever happened and that Nahdakahn was never found), only like canon Nya and Jay still remember what happens.
Nya is now firmly on team Kai Is Alive and tells her parents everything about what happened and the wish Jay made, and more importantly where Kai is.
Unfortunately, they need to take some time and prepare. Trimaar and Maya have been doing their best over the years to open the populace possibly making bonds with the humans, but now it’s finally happening. They can’t just go up there out of no where, since from what Nya has told them 1) most humans don’t even know they exist and 2) in the past few years they have been subject of many attacks, mostly from non-humans, so they need to make sure the humans understand they don’t mean any harm.
So DotD happens, then the beginnings of S7 :)
Right out, Kai never liked the museum curator. Up to that point he’d only ever caught fleeting glimpse of him but something about him Kai just despised. As a result, he also visited the museum as scarcely as possible, and thus didn’t notice a very interesting painting containing a two very strange figures.
When he learns his name was Dr.Saunders.....things don’t go well.
It happened when Kai brought the helmet with his dad’s symbol on it. As much as he disliked the curator, he was the most likely to be able to recognize what kind of helmet it was.
Then in his anger he gets himself captured.
He’s taken to a special cell lined with vengestone and has guards around the clock, and Krux takes extra care to make sure Kai doesn’t know where Ray is.
ofc it’s around this time that the Merlopians arrive and express their wishes for a possible alliance between their two races. Unfortunately they showed up at literally the worst time, and double unfortunately the people in charge of diplomacy decide to bring some of the ninja in as an extra precaution because of the villains have been running around.
So the people who join the meeting are Lloyd and Jay from the ninja(they would’ve brought Kai but he hasn’t returned from his missions yet and isn’t answering their calls) as well as some police officers and from the Merlopians is the whole royal family plus a few guards.
Both Jay and Nya have a silent moment of staring at each other since “I know and I’m not sure you know but I think you know but I don’t want to say anything since you might not”
And just as they’re about to start, The Time Twins attack. Because why the hell not.
They’re actually able to hold them off for a while, but unfortunately there are too many Vermillion. Then Kalmaar whips out his Water Powers which causes him to get kidnapped since they need both Fire and Water masters for the blade.
While they’re recovering, Lloyd then gets a panicked call from Zane saying that he checked the museum footage and Kai has been captured. The gets overheard by the royal family, and then Lloyd asks why they looked so upset at which they learn(sans Jay since wish) that Kai is royalty. The eldest son actually, and thus first in line for the throne, as well as being presumed dead for the past five years.
So basically Krux has kidnapped the King and Queen’s husband, the crown prince, and the second in line prince(if anyone knows a more fancy term for this please let me know)
Maya, Trimaar, Nya and Benthomaar are not happy. Not with the Ninjagian people, no they’re fine, but they’re bout ready to murder Krux, and they don’t even know about Ray yet.
So they offer any help they can.
Zap back to how Kai and Kalmaar are doing.
Kalmaar is….kind feral tbh. Like, he’s biting, clawing, trying to strangle them with his tentacles, and before they got vengestone cuffs on him was trying very hard to drown anyone.
Ofc, this does little to the Vermillion and soon Kalmaar finds himself in the cell right next to Kai’s. He’s overjoyed to see his brother again, albeit upset that this is why.
They both reluctantly come to the conclusion that there isn’t much they can do at the moment, and there are many Vermillion guards right outside their cells, so they decide to start catching up.
And for pretty much the rest of the season canon is pretty much the same, just shuffle around the characters a bit and add a protective Fish Fam. 
Though their little trip back in time is quite sight for the Past EMs, especially because of how Kalmaar is using his powers, which leaves Kai mostly stuck in his Fish Form. This time they don’t even bother trying to explain, just give instructions on how to defeat the Vermillion and jumping into the battle. 
And I mean just imagine that from the EMs perspective. An enemy you thought you defeated just returned with a giant metal creature and an army of snake things that don’t look like any kind of Serpentine they’d ever seen. Then a shark person and squid person??? show up and not only do they know how to fight the snake things but they also seem to be Elemental Masters???? Despite the fact Ray is very much alive and they didn’t even know there was a Water EM. Then the two not only summon dragons but they also fuse their dragons into an even bigger one with two heads.
And then all of them disappear into the sky without a trace.
W i l d
But yeah, after that it calms down quite a bit. Kai spends the time skip before S8 reconnecting with his family and his dad, and through some tech courtesy of Borg they're able to bring Ray with them :D
And Kai actually goes to meet the Jade Royal Family since y’know. He’s the crown prince. He’s kinda important and legitimately forgot about it. Luckily Kalmaar is able to help coach Kai through it, but is also a bit smug about how he finally has something to teach to his older brother. Kai was actually the one who suggested asking the ninja for help protecting the mask.....but we know how that inevitably ends.
Bentho, Kal and Nya were actually on the ship for this particular adventure, and then Nya and Bentho were dragged along when they got sent to the First Realm. Bentho, despite being the youngest sibling and to the surprise of literally everyone, was actually really good with kids and spent the most time with Little Wu, right behind Cole.
But yeah S9......Nya and Bentho have a really bad time in the First Realm beause of the heat, but at least they don’t get captured. Kai on the other hand....
Yeah at some point he gets accidentally splashed with water and well.....it definitely doesn’t help with the Oni accusations. The Dragon Hunters decide to burn him along with the Wind Dragon, which moves up their Build Our Own Dragon time table.
After they escape Faith is actually pretty chill about the whole fish thing, but she does ask a lot of questions. 
And then S10..... kinda the same. They end up dropping off as many people as they can with the Merlopians since the smoke can’t reach them.
I might make a Part 3 for the rest of the seasons, but yeah. this is where we’re at.
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Personal highlights from the fifth chapter of the fanbook!!! You can read the entire chapter translation here :)
Thank you so much @/1000sunnygo for the translation!!!!!!
Forgive me for this got so long, but really there was pretty much nothing not interesting in this chapter ;;;;;;
The comparision between Shirai's draft and Demizu's finished piece pfftt- they make such a great team.
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Shirai confirmed when meeting Norman again was the first time Emma cried since the first chapter: “Emma tried her best not to cry all along for the promise she made in chapter 1 ("I won't cry anymore") but ended up crying when she met Norman.” ;;;;;;
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T/N: The last sentence wasn't present in the final version of the chapter: “I let you go away, it was me. To a place where you won't return from.”
This omitted sentence left me?? Shocked????????? I always thought it was Norman's choice to let himself be shipped, so I never put much thought into what it could have meant for Emma (beyond the feeling of betrayal). But to think that she kept blaming herself for his death is so heartbreaking... Besides, her never bringing it up again, refusing to look back at what's done and can't be changed but still keeping blaming herself for it is also very Emma pffft. This girl is too good for the world!!!!!!
The “1000 years ago” setting was inspired by the fact that about 1000 years ago people used to believe in demons; the existence of demon-like creatures makes a parallel between TPN's world and the real world. I find it nice, it's like Shirai is giving his own in-world explanation to way 1000 years ago demons disappeared from the human world.
This bit: “The reason why Norman admired Emma caused their ways to diverge at the same time”. It's at the same time sweet and tragic you know- the reasons why Norman admired Emma, like her determination in wanting to save all the children or her confidence for being able to change the world, ended up setting Norman down a path Emma herself would have never chosen 🥺🥺🥺
Shirai notes that Norman had a short lifespan and couldn't build the world Emma desired without killing the demons. Norman wanted to ensure a safe world for Emma and everyone. Shirai thinks Norman might have chosen a slightly different method if he wasn't running out of time.
I feel like we shouldn't overlook this??? I've seen so many people arguing that it was ooc for kind and good-hearted Norman to choose such a bloody way; however, Shirai himself said Norman would have probably gone for another way given more time. Norman prioritized ensuring a safe world for his family while he still could, and I think we should give him credit for at least that?
In the initial concept, Shirai wanted Norman to reappear as a different person and gave him a slightly different design. But Norman in Posuka's arts seemed to follow a natural growth of his younger self, so Shirai discarded the idea. The storyboards had some leftovers of the old design. [...] [Rephrased] traces of the old design are still visible, such as the longest bangs through chapters 119-124.
... Maybe this explains why Norman looks so different post time skip? (“Natural growth??????” lmao Shirai)
Shirai and Sugita praising Ray's growth, so true besties 🤧🤧🤧
Sugita notices how the trio ended up saving each other in rotation: Ray was saved by Norman and Emma in the first arc; Norman was saved by Ray and Emma in the Royal Capital arc; Emma was saved (more like, found again?) by Norman and Ray in the last arc. I love how it all came to full circle :')
Hayato, Jin, Cislo and Barbara were all modeled after Bartolomeo from One Piece to add comedic elements
(About chapter 124) “Shirai wished they [Barbara, Cislo and Vincent] could interact with Emma's side more.” MH-MH TELL ME ABOUT IT BRO
“Unlike most demons who wear dark-colored clothes, Geelan wore white”. I never noticed before, but I think it's s a very cool detail! Somehow foreshadows his past of a just and morally noble demon, different from the other black and corrupted regent houses and royalty.
Geelan's old (pre-decaying) design had yet to be set at the time of his first appearance. Shirai says that if Geelan's royal and elegant past appearance had been decided from the very beginning, he would have made Geelan's speaking in chapter 125 “a little cooler” pfffttt-
Shirai says it was particularly hard to write Emma and Norman's confrontation because Norman was correct. However, reading back Shirai says that “Emma didn't lose the argument at all and had her own way of being correct” which warms my heart :')
THIS WHOLE PARAGRAPH THAT LEGIT MADE ME CRY WHEN I FIRST READ IT:
Norman was capable of doing various things, so his weakness was his tendency to fight alone. In the old stories, boys carried certain responsibilities on their backs. Saying something soft was considered as a weakness. From all TPN characters, Shirai thinks Norman's mindset was the closest to such beliefs - “mustn't be uncool in front of a girl”, “never whine or complain”, and “must be strong”. To save Norman was to save him from these self-imposed principles. Even before starting TPN serialization, Shirai decided to make him say “help me” as a part of his growth.
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It's so true that TPN is a Shonen manga like no others.
Shirai says he requested the 'god or devil' panel because everything becomes cool when drawn by Posuka.
THIS PART IS SO HILARIOUS TO ME BECAUSE LIKE
Anime Norman: Edgy, overdramatic, uncool
Manga Norman: Cool, stunning, iconic
Lambda's seizures where inspired by Shirai's own experience, who started suffering from severe headaches daily. It says that “Following Sugita's suggestion, he had to tone down the depiction of pain in the storyboard” like bruh king you ok????? (The Lambda seizures seem already painful enough????????)
Additional details on the five regents houses leads personalities!!!:
Dozza was an arrogant upstart. Yverk was an aristocrat who had been around for a long time. Bayon Jr. was Bayon's serious natured son. Pupo had the image of a harmless old man; Shirai and Sugita wanted to make him flashy and dumb like the World Nobles from One Piece. Noum had the image of a young, serious and excellent Patriarch (like a character from Game of Thrones).
And on the queen:
Leglavalima was Leuvis's sister. She's the strong, fearsome and charismatic queen who held dignity and beauty. Her design was a mixture of royalties from Europe and China.
Legravalima my beloved ☺️☺️💕💕✨✨❤️❤️
The first concept was having a king rather than a queen, but apparently “ "Leuvis's older sister" gives off a scarier image than "Leuvis's older brother" ” (??). Legravalima was set to be female also to tie, as one of the final enemies of the story, with Isabella, who was the first.
Chapter 134 had only 11 pages. Shirai had a cold for 4 months that worsened even after taking care of his health, so he had to take a week's break. Mangaka who draw their manga themselves can take a week's suspension if they fail to complete their manuscript due to sickness. Author-onlies have to submit a leave application. Shirai admits that he cried in frustration, as it was hard for him to make his own decision and ask "please let me rest."
Bruh I had no idea they overworked authors so badly, this is?????? Horrible???????? I'm upset authors have to go through this and severaly angry at SJ too- no author deserves such treatment.
Apparently writing Ayshe's side centric chapters was “healing” for Shirai :')
Ayshe's first design was drafted right after the first arc. At first, she was supposed to have the appearance of an older woman; the design was then changed to the one of a wild girl with furry arms. Although she had a scar on her face in all versions, how she got the scar was unknown.
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The amount of times during the serialization Sugita intervened asking to "make it pretty" is quite funny pfftt. (He did it for Geelan's old design, Ayshe's wild design, Leslie's design... )
Ayshe was thought to mirror both Norman and Ray: Norman, as someone who was similarly raised by demons, yet didn't hate them; Ray, as someone who had a “monster” as a parent.
Shirai considered Ayshe to be a partner for Ray, but then thought that was unfair because apparently Ayshe is too pretty for Ray PFFFFTT
There isn't any specific story behind Ayshe's dad's scar; the deformed face is an accidental abnormality. Ayshe's dad was a former aristocrat, and that's why he knew the demon language ("former aristocrat who fell in disgrace" feels like a recurring trope for Shirai lmao). Once his face structure collapsed, he couldn't stay at home anymore and started living an hidden life.
The firstborn child of the Bayon family is a girl. As reported in the exhibition booklet interview, Demizu told that the most shocking request she faced was learning that the Bayon children were going to die too soon. It seems like Demizu drew a girl while imagining various things, like her becoming friends with Emma. But then the girl died in a second. “How cruel was that? If I heard it beforehand, maybe I would've made her appear more” (Shirai). This was so cute and wholesome, Demizu is such an angel I swear (╥﹏╥)
About the fancy suit Vincent wore in chapter 137, Shirai says that Vincent is “fashionable and picky with his clothes”
The Seven Walls' cube was supposed to be a 4-D hypercube, how cool is that!!!! Seeing it in motion makes me appreciate Demizu's depiction even more.
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Demon god's appearance transforming when Emma reached the Seven Walls was a remnant of Shirai's unused setting according to which Scribbles' appearance changes based on the time of day (looking like a child in the morning, a young person in the daytime and an old person in the evening).
Shirai doesn't think Julius was a bad person, but rather a pure and serious man who hadn't been able to rest in a long time.
(Pretty obviously), the ancestors were designed with a rebirth-like theme.
Lewis looking so old and Sonju looking so much younger is because Lewis received many wounds and regenerated too much: the more of a warrior-like a demon was, the faster they would age. An early concept had a note that Lewis was a “combat enthusiast”, and didn't eat as much as Legravalima. Shirai says that “contrasting to Lewis, Legravalima was like “a beautiful witch who would do anything to keep her beautiful appearance” 🥰🥰🥰
Sonju's chapter 144 quote “I'll turn you into meatballs" was a line Shirai had wanted him to say even from before the series began.
About the matter of Yverk and Julius reaching the Day and Night so smoothly, Shirai reports that a secret passage exists, but only the queen and Yverk know about it. Shirai answering my 2019 old questions :')
Barbara and Cislo were random picks for Lambda
Like Hayato, Jin's ability is his superhuman speed
Norman made Zazie's paperbag. Since Zazie grew up in a dark room, he hates lights / electricity.
Like Norman, Vincent was brought to Lambda because his test scores were exceptionally good. Once at Lambda, he was forced to undergo brain surgery to determine if he could be pushed further to Norman's level (that’s the reason behind the scars on his head). Though his scores improved after the surgery, he never managed to reach Norman.
Ray's “huh / what?” in chapter 117 was because of him seeing the farm's mass produced children- seems like once again Shirai asked “is anyone else going to add trauma to this kid” and didn't wait for an answer (个_个)
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escapingdestiny101 · 3 years
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The Braid
Loki is accustomed to being in places he's not supposed to be. It's one of his hallmarks: getting in and getting out, sometimes anonymously and other times with great fanfare. He's good at it. He's always been good at it, even as a child.
When they were young, young by the standards of any species, Loki particularly loved to sneak into Thor's room at night. His brother slept so soundly that Loki could rearrange the furniture in his room, enchant his clothes to cause itching or to turn invisible, hide nettles in his shoes... Loki pranked Thor so many times that eventually Thor would become paranoid if he woke up and found that his room had been undisturbed in the night.
That was a long time ago, but hopefully Thor was as sound a sleeper as he had always been. If the grimy, ramshackle ship that was currently groaning under Loki's feet hadn't woken Thor yet, nothing short of a claxon or a call to battle would.
This is a major violation of his parole, Loki is well aware. But he needs...he has to...it's important. Important enough to risk being vaporized by the ridiculous TVA and their equally ridiculous rules.
Loki freezes as Thor turns slightly in his sleep. He waits until the makeshift hammock stops swaying before inching closer.
Thor looks worse than Loki has ever seen him. His hair is lank and tangled. Even in sleep his brow is drawn like the weight of his burdens follow him even into dreams. If he opened his eyes, Loki knows that one of them would be brown instead of the cold blue lightning. Physically, he's a mess. Creeping closer still until he's hovering over his sleeping brother, Loki closes his eyes as he feels the aura of Thor's instinctive, elemental magic wash over him. It fills his senses; crackles against his skin, smells like rain and ozone, leaves a metallic tang on the back of his tongue. Loki's breath catches. It's like coming home. For all that Thor looks like a disaster, he's still Thor. Still Loki's brother.
Clearing his throat quietly, Loki chastises himself. Now is not the time for sentiment. Well, it is, but Loki has a purpose for this breach of parole and it's in his best interest to get on with it.
Pulling a small knife, a real metal one not an illusion, from one of his many hidden sheaths, Loki contemplates his task. It had been on Thor's right side, yes?
The knife is sharp but it still pulls and skips as Loki uses it to cut off a small section of his own hair. He winces at the sensation. Even after all Loki has been through, hairpulling remains one of his least favorite feelings. That's probably why he and Thor had resorted to it so often as children.
Lock of inky black hair in hand, Loki takes a deep breath and begins the most dangerous part of his mission.
Thor's hair is a tangled mess. Loki combs through it with his fingers as best he can but there's only so much he can do without a comb. Loki begins the braid at Thor's temple, incorporating his own lock of hair as he goes. His hands are steady despite his nerves. He thinks his mother would be proud, not just of the skill with which he has created the braid but with the sentiment, the gift behind it.
After a few seconds the braid is complete. Two small gold clasps are affixed to the top and bottom of the plait to keep the dark strands from falling out.
Loki steps back to admire his work. It's perfect, much better than the knotty mass that Thor had apparently fashioned for himself after Loki faked his death on Svartalfheim.
Though his mission was complete, Loki lingers. He knows it's unwise; he has already given Thor his memento, it's time to return to the TVA before he's missed. The familiar itch of wanting is what makes him pause. A terrible idea forms, making him smile briefly. If anyone notices, Loki will be in even deeper trouble.
Trouble is what you're good at, Loki hears Thor say so clearly in his mind that he has to check to make sure that his brother is still sleeping.
Taking the knife in hand once more, Loki trims a short piece from the back of Thor's head near the hairline above his neck where it will be less noticeable. Once Loki returns to the TVA he'll braid the golden lock into the same place on his head where he had taken it from Thor's. It needs to remain hidden for obvious reasons, but more importantly it's a secret just for Loki. A talisman of sorts, to keep him tethered to something he thought was lost a long time ago.
Loki twists Thor's hair around on itself into a loop so that it doesn't fall apart in his pocket. With one last, long look at his brother, Loki pulls himself away and activates the device that will return him to the TVA.
-
Thor wakes several hours later, no more rested than he was when he first fell into a fitful sleep. Above the general din of the clanking of the ship, Thor can hear Rocket and Groot with Quill and Korg's heavy stone footsteps over the metal grating. The sounds of home, he thinks, with only a touch of bitterness.
Rolling out of his hammock, Thor stretches, arms raised above his head to work out the kinks in his back. The smell from his armpits nearly makes him gag. Time for a shower.
He waves at Draxx and Mantis as he passes, heading towards the ship's shower room. They wave back distractedly, barely looking up from the holo they're watching. That's fine, Thor's not in the mood for conversation very often these days.
Stripping his mismatched armor, leathers, and sweatshirt and dropping them in the recycler to be cleaned, Thor waits for the water to warm up. He inspects his beard in the cracked mirror over the sink; he should probably trim his beard, or at least groom it. His hair is a rat's nest as well, maybe the next time they stop for supplies he can-
With shaking, cautious fingers, Thor gently runs his fingertips over the new plait. Woven expertly through his own blond hair is a dark, inky black lock. It's silky to the touch, a stark contrast to the rougher blond hair. Straw, his mother used to call it, in both color and texture.
It's impossible. It can't be. But how else could it have happened? Who else could have done it, would have known? Mantis's hair was the right color and length but no one on the ship would have known what the gesture meant. Even if they did they know and understand the cultural and sentimental value, they wouldn't have bothered.
Thor stared raptly at the braid, once again back where it belonged and looking better than the hastily made one that Thor had created years ago. The gold clasps had a particular Asgardian motif that Loki favored.
Loki had fooled Thor twice before. By the Nine, Thor hoped Loki had managed to pull yet another miraculous escape out of his seemingly endless sleeve.
How had Loki gotten aboard the ship? Where did he go?
Striding out of the washroom, unconcerned by his own nakedness, Thor searches methodically around his bunk. Loki isn't infallible; if you know what to look for, Loki occasionally leaves a trace.
There! On the floor, stuck in the grooves of a grate, a glint of silver catches Thor's eye. A small throwing knife. Gingerly, Thor picks it up, expecting is to dissolve into green light. It doesn't. The knife is cold against his palm. A throwing knife, small and light, meant to be lost. Loki kept so many on him that he probably never realized it was missing.
"Quill!" he yells, gripping the knife so tightly it digs into his palm.
"What?" Thor follows the captains voice to the galley. "Whoah, man! I don't know how y'all did it on Ass-guard but around here we at least cover our junk!"
"We need to find the owner of this knife," Thor says. He ignores the desperation in his own voice. Thor knows how he must look, naked and crazed and brandishing an ornate knife in Quill's face, but he doesn't care. Loki is out there, somewhere, and Thor is going to find him no matter what.
"Let's roll back the crazy for a second," Quill says, covering his eyes with his hand but peeking through his fingers to look at the knife. "Fancy. Whose is it and why should I care?"
"The blade belongs to my brother."
"The dead one?"
"It was in my bunk when I awoke, along with this" Thor explains, gesturing to the braid in his hair. Quill looks at it uncomprehendingly and Thor is not in a frame of mind to explain.
"So you're telling me that your dead brother snuck onto our ship, braided your hair, dropped a knife, and somehow disappeared without waking any of us or setting off the security alarms?"
"We have security alarms?" Rocket asks, grabbing the knife out of Thor's hand to inspect it. After a few seconds he returns it and declares, "Yeah, that's that fancy Asgardian metal stuff alright."
"It does sound like something his brother would do," Korg pipes in.
Quill sighs and rubs his hand over his face before turning around dramatically. "Ugh, fine," he relents far more easily than Thor had expected. "On one condition: you go put some pants on."
"I agree to your terms," Thor declares. He returns to the shower room to make himself presentable. Along with a haircut and a beard trimming, Thor adds a set of armor or at least matching leathers to his mental list of things to get at their next stop. He doubts that Loki will be easy to find; he needs to be ready for anything.
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runeterrankhaleesi · 3 years
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Hey, Khaleesi! Remember that alternate Ruination link? So here, for @theruinednymph and all who don't understand Polish, I give a translation of the script to English :)
Here's the (more or less accurately) translated version of Marvecc's Ruination. I'm giving you the closest thing to what he said but in English. Sorry for inevitable inconsistencies, typos and misspellings 😅
It is commonly known that for quite some time I've been complaining about the Ruination, I shamelessly admit. But I think nothing I said was unjustified. When the Ruination came to an end, I had sort of a bad hangover. I noticed wasted potential. "So make a better event. If you're so smart!" So uh… let's try!
I may not have plentiful resources as Riot Games do, I am no graphic designer or animator but I know a bit of game lore so I've decided to take it one step further. I've decided to fix the Ruination. It will be a huge test for me, because some day, in five, ten, fifteen or twenty years I'd like to create my own world. My own universe. That's why today you yourselves will judge if in any way, knowing the lore of some world, I am fit for this task.
Welcome dear viewers, I am Marvecc, and today I will be telling you how, in my opinion, the plot of the Ruination should've looked like, or how I would create it.
Let's assume some basics in the making of the plot. Let's leave the cinematic from the season's beginning because it was fantastic, let's be real, and let's leave the regional structure. It's clear that a very important changing element was the characters' journey in a way that everyone could find themselves in their favorite region. Well, maybe not everyone because not all regions had been presented, but the majority of them. So without further ado, let's move onto my machinations.
As we know, the cinematic ended on a ship with the sight of Senna and Lucian, and in my opinion the champions should've immediately headed for Bilgewater it was there Lucian had allies in the fight against Harrowing and it is there the plot of the game "Ruined King" begins. We reach the harbor, Lucian and Senna meet with Miss Fortune, shed light on the situation and she decides it's time to head to the Temple of Nagakabuross on the hill, asking the high priestess of the Kraken - Illaoi - for help. The four of them meet at an inn, discussing the end of the world and the apocalypse of the undead. Everyone is wondering how to stop Viego. What to do to save the world from destruction. It turns out that our conversation was unintentionally being listened to by Yummi - yes, exactly. Yummi - who quietly has been sitting in a corner in the shadow and eavesdropping on what our champions were talking about. Lucian and Mf obviously laugh the cat off, but she had taken notice of the unease of humans and all creatures while travelling, caused by the sudden attack of the Mist. When those attacks had taken place, she was in Freljord with her friend Braum and they'd witnessed the Mist and its abominations slaughter the inhabitants of one of the Freljordian villages. Braum jumped into the frey, trying to protect the people but he was anguished when he realised that he's, sadly, powerless.
Caring deeply for his homeland, he asked his friend Yummi to try and gather some information. And she did. After a while of sitting on a table, she leaped onto the Book, vanished and jumped out of a portal moments later with Braum in tow. You know, it makes sense, they're both friends and Braum understands that now the biggest threat for the Freljord is Viego. Our characters debate on how to stop him. It turns out however, that they don't really have any plan. They don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. How are they supposed to face the might of the undead, having so little force at their disposal? Now, if the power of Nagakabuross and Illaoi, who despise the dead, is some sort of a natural counterpart to the undead, our group heads to the Temple of the Bearded Lady. Illaoi decides it is there they would find the solution.
And curiously enough, Buhru Sentinel awaits them there with Gwen who met him while searching for Senna whom she'd sensed because Viego didn't take the whole fragment of Isolde's soul, which we know from "the Ruination", as she herself also possesses a fragment. Buhru Sentinel has a similar role. He's, somewhat, an introduction, tells us he'd fixed the connection between the base in Bilgewater and the one in Ixtal - of course I'm talking about the Sentinels' bases. His role is of a man who travels with us, a sage of sorts, who stays behind and repairs the links in bases.
Well then. We've been to Bilgewater and we have the means to travel to Ixtal. You may be thinking "Marvecc, okay, but the event started in Demacia". Mind you. I'm making up my own version. Also, Demacia lies, you know, on the opposite side of the known Runeterra and honestly the Mist comes from Shadow Isles, so we constantly, not paying mind to the danger of it, travel to those regions. In the original Ruination, the role of the Mist had been terribly diminished to a substance which just searches for Isolde. I would make it so that we fear the Mist. We fear Viego's army and we flee from east to west, not go to random locations. And obviously we don't go to Shadow Isles just like that in the end where a huge army if undead resides which for some reason can't see us and doesn't murder us on sight.. Of course, just so you know. The Mist can materialise in various places thanks to Vex, as it was shown in the cinematic but a path from Shadow Isles - escape from the Mist - seems more logical to me than braving overtaken regions.
Anyway, Buhru Sentinel also tells us that he knew about our arrival and had sent Rookie to greet us or welcome us to Bilgewater. He wasn't supposed to reveal anything to Senna and Lucian, because Buhru found out about a Sentinel who abandoned his post and didn't really respect Sentinel's rules - you surely know I mean Akshan - and wanted to check what are the intentions of Senna and Lucian.
At the same time in the scriptures of the first Sentinels, Buhru has found information about an ancient prophecy, foretelling the great return of the King of the Dead and his defeat. Now, just a head's up, because I wrote a prophecy:
Darkness of his heart will swallow the world
Nations and countries will not bend the knee
It is not his goal
It is her goal
Obsession of feeling, love is all that matters
No matter how, it only matters when
The dreary King of the Dead beside his Queen
They shall change the future world
Darkness only darkness can defeat
Love can be beaten by vengeance
And Heavens can fell Death itself.
I don't know what it's like, this was my first prophecy, I hope it's not abysmal, but it will be important later on.
Anyway, our whole group debates on how to defeat Viego and it turns out that they don't have a better chance than to rely on the prophecy. The Sentinels don't know how to trap Viego, how to stop him. So far, they only know that he can be slowed down, with relic weapons for instance but not just with them. But eventually, the old Buhru Sentinel interprets that it won't change a thing. For this reason, our group decides to follow the prophecy and travel to Targon, where, as it is stated, Heavens can fell Death itself.
And that's how our adventure begins, where without chances or resources, Sentinels aren't trying to stop Viego from finding the fetters of his wife, but attempt to follow an ancient prophecy of the Sentinels of Light. Let's add something extra from me. A lore accurate expansion to the cinematic about the Ruination. In the cinematic, the locations of Noxus, Demacia and Ionia weren't an accident, in my version that is. Let's add Freljord as well, because we know that something like this has happened there too but it didn't make it to the cinematic. All those places in my opinion were important to Viego. Why he's so powerful also wasn't really explained by Riot Games. I have a good idea for this. Sure, partially thanks to Vex he could cause a global Ruination, but to me a magical aid of a teenage Yordle is a bit too little.
In Demacia, Viego discovered a piece of his wife, the same in Freljord. When it comes to Ionia, he knows that the land is too magically powerful to allow him to freely take over Runeterra and search for Isolde, when Ionia with its primordial magic can challenge him. This is why, in the cinematic, the Ruined King first wanted to weaken Karma, the land itself and its Spirit, while in Noxus he wanted to check something out. He wanted to discover the dark secrets of the Immortal Bastion. Here, let's remember that Yummi is still with us, and let's assume she knew that Vex fled from Bandle City, met Viego and Yummi figured it out when she encountered the Mist, as she sensed Yordle magic within it. She explained to the group that the combination of the King of the Dead and Yordle magic is.. very powerful. That's why our characters decide on a plan consisting of three elements. First is strictly about the game "Ruined King". Illaoi, Braum and Miss Fortune want to head to Shadow Isles as a distraction, to focus Viego's attention on themselves and buy more time. Yummi goes to the Bandle City to mobilize and convince Yordles to help the creatures of the Physical Realm. And this was the second part. For the third part, Senna, Gwen and Lucian set out to Targon. And here our party splits up.
As we prepare for the journey in "Ruined King" we're attacked by Pyke, which makes sense. MF, as a captain, is on his list. Due to the preparations for the sail, nobody notices anything, nobody notices Pyke. But! MF is saved at the last moment only by a strong tornado which knocks the assassin back. It turns out it's Ahri and Yasuo. The tornado gives Illaoi a chance to subdue Pyke with the power of the Goddess. He's a bit brainwashed and decides to assist in the quest. You know, it would explain his odd behavior. The group thanks for the help and asks who the unknown newcomers are - which are Ahri and Yasuo. Ahri explains that she's looking for a craftsman by the name of Melo, which is accurate with her lore, and Yasuo is her bodyguard, which is accurate as well. During the game "Ruined King" we gather resources for the journey, prepare our crew and collect information as Ahri and Yasuo, to find out that the aforementioned craftsman had headed - for reasons unknown - to Shadow Isles. Because of that. Ahri decides to join the expedition but she and Yasuo don't know - Illaoi, MF or Braum (who's very upset about it) haven't told them - the true goal of the quest, a mission with no return. A mission to delay the march of Viego or at least busy him.
I didn't make up what the craftsman's fate could've been because I didn't write that much about it, I just created the basics. We set to Shadow Isles and - not to make an entire plot to "Ruined King", because it's not the goal of this video - our task is to activate the pillars with the defense mechanism of the Blessed Isles, which could lead to the imprisonment of Viego and the Black Mist. You know, like in the cinematic with Thresh. The overall plot of the game would be about it. But this we would find out from the old Keeper on Shadow Isles. From that moment, our party struggles against the abominations of the Mist, Ahri and Yasuo find out about the true goal of the expedition, Ahri gets to know the truth behind her origins and the craftsman, she develops mutual feelings for Yasuo, only for their mission to fail in the end.
The finale is this: Hecarim stands in the way of Braum when he attempts to activate a pillar, Illaoi - using the Goddess' power - begins winning the fight with Viego (initially she was only supposed to stop him). However, she has used so much of her strength that her influence on Pyke weakened enough for him to snap out of it and take her with him to the depths. Viego - having no better opponent - takes control of MF, Pyke, and on the battlefield remain only Braum duelling Hecarim in the distance, and Viego, MF, Pyke - and of course a lot of creatures of the Mist, nothing new - versus Yasuo and Ahri. Suddenly, on Shadow Isles appears Yummi who hastily exclaims that she will save her friends. Unfortunately, Yasuo realises that the cat won't make it on time. He tells her to save Ahri and Braum, while he alone faces Viego, saying - imagine Yasuo's voice - "Time for me to atone for my sins". With a tornado, Yasuo repels the Mistwraiths as Ahri strikes Viego with all her force, which doesn't do him much harm but disorients him enough for Yummi to take wounded Braum, return for Ahri and the last thing we see in the game is Viego running Yasuo through with his blade. And may I remind you, at that time we didn't know yet that being impaled by Viego causes Ruination. That's why the game ends with a scene in which we are certain that Yasuo dies - because "Ruined King" was supposed to come out before the event. Additionally our characters leave to god-knows-where and Illaoi, from what we know, is also dead. A whole lot of cliffhangers.
That's it for the first part regarding "Ruined King". And considering that the game by Riot Forge was going to come out before the event, instead of the cinematic in Demacia, I would release a cinematic which shows Yasuo's ultimate sacrifice, Ahri and Braum on some neutral background, being approached by a stranger. A tiny stranger with a hammer. And the last look at Shadow Isles, Ruined MF, Pyke and Hecarim. And Hecarim asks Viego: "My liege, what now?" And he replies: "Everything is going according to plan."
Let's leave Yummi's plot for now. Let's now move onto the story from the client. Senna, Lucian, Gwen and Buhru Sentinel, who will be our Wayfinder, a person who repairs the links between quarters, head to the base in Ixtal, which happened to be hidden but lies close to an Ixtalian outpost. Of course, Buhru Sentinel - who, for short, we will be just calling Buhru - stays to fix the portal but characters are taken hostage during a scouting mission. Everyone here thinks they are spies from Piltover, which, lorewise, would be correct. In secrecy to talk with us, comes Qiyana intrigued by our presence, to check what the Sentinels do as she isn't so quick to wrongfully judge them. Senna explains that the Black Mist is approaching and they need to take all measures to fight it. Qiyana goes to Yuntal to give them the story of captured Sentinels. No one approves that she talked to them at all and she is about to be punished but the news of the Black Mist and the undead come from the east borders of Ixtal. Yuntal decides it's not the time to dwell on what Qiyana did, protecting the country from the Mist is their priority now. Ixtal's authorities order for as many citizens as possible to be moved to their archology, to have all masters of the elements stand against the Black Mist. Of course, nobody bothered with releasing Sentinels, because why would they? Qiyana, knowing that this fight is pointless, frees Sentinels, committing treason in the eyes of Ixtal's people and flees with them to Sentinel quarters where Hecarim catches up but is ultimately fended off. Buhru managed to make the connection with the base in Piltover. Before heading out, Sentinels find armor and relic stone in Ixtal quarters and allow Qyiana to upgrade her blade with relic stones, put the armor on and join the ranks of Sentinels of Light. Though, her devotion isn't entirely sincere. She knows that if she's the one to defeat Viego, she will have the right argument to seize the rule over Ixtal. Region's finale goes like this: Viego arrives, talks to Hecarim who tells him the news that the Sentinels have a plan to stop him. The last look is at the capital of Ixtal - Ixaocan - and its siege. As we know, Yuntal - the masters of the elements - are very powerful but have thousands upon thousands of foes to go against.
Let's move on to Piltover. The Mist has also reached it but something stopped it from breaching the city. Senna and Gwen, alone in the quarters, discover the closeness between one another, through the fragments of Viego's wife. Senna suspects everything before Gwen does and tells her that Viego did say that Isolde is his world, and this will be his main plan, which Senna knew earlier already but I won't spoil the ending.
In the base in Piltover we encounter Dess and Adda, of course. Those characters I would 100% leave because they have been very nicely done. Senna tells them of Viego's true plan. Dess and Adda mention a long-nonfunctioning device called Zindel's Incognium, which is able to find every person on Runeterra. Making use of the lack of the Mist in the city, the Sentinels go to Heimerdinger who is the only person capable of uncovering the secrets of the device's function. Heimer initially complains about not having time, about having enough of his own things to do but the professor is ultimately convinced by Gwen's positive attitude and pleas. He repairs the device, and it is revealed that Isolde's fetters are still in Demacia, Freljord and Shurima. The party thanks Heimerdinger for assistance and returns to the quarters. Meanwhile, it turns out Viego also knew about the device from one of the souls from Piltover and headed for the city. And, of course, here initially, during the first wave of the Black Mist, Viego was doing reconnaissance. A scouting of the terrain. But he didn't know, didn't find the locations of all fragments of Isolde. Because, honestly, from what I remember it wasn't specified why Viego and the Mist follow Isolde. Okay, we know that it does and that it's linked to Viego's despair but the despair in itself knows where all the pieces of Viego's wife's soul are? I think if it was made in the way that Viego doesn't have full knowledge about Isolde and the location of her soul's fragments it would've been more interesting. Either way, Viego goes to Piltover. And there at the entrance he meets Janna, and discovers it was her using her powers to defend Piltover and Zaun from the Mist at all costs. You know, Mist, and Janna is the Goddess of the Wind. For 20 days she's been keeping the Mist at bay but exhausted, she was no match for Viego who quickly defeated her. However, because Janna is after all a Goddess and not some poorly dressed lady who is just standing and calling tornadoes, with the last bits of her strength she makes an escape. Although Viego is strong, it's not like other champions are trembling in their boots before him at all times. Viego steps into Piltover, finds the device and bumps into Ziggs who left Zaun to see what's happening. And he notices that Heimerdinger repaired the machine and, being his former student - after being Ruined by Viego - betrays the secrets of the location of the fetters. Ziggs, naturally, gets "Ruined" skin. On the other hand, Heimerdinger brings along Vi and Caitlyn to the base to assure safe return and aid. Both Caitlyn and Vi decide to stay in Piltover to try and stop Viego alongside Adda and Dess but once he discovered the placement of his wife, he'd long made his escape and began his search. The Mistwraiths however, remained. At the end we see Thresh who goes around - like in the normal event - gathers power and collects souls from the Mist. Here, Buhru exclaims that the portal is too weak to take everyone to the same place. But it can take us to two places. Either to the base in Noxus, to find out what Viego wanted to discover there, or ti Shurima. The party breaks apart. Senna, Qiyana and Rookie go to Noxus, while Lucian, Gwen and Buhru - to Shurima. We witness a touching farewell between Lucian and Senna, and canonically the Noxus is unlocked because that's where we head first.
We know that there aren't any fragments of Isolde's soul in Noxus but Senna decides to discover Viego's plans. We come across Darius, Draven and Samira who lead the investigation on this case. Why has the Mist suddenly appeared in Noxus? Draven immediately wants to fight the Sentinels but Darius holds him back, seeing that Sentinels mean no harm to Noxus, quite the opposite. They want to discover what the King's deal is. Turns out that Viego, desiring to become unbeatable, already empowered by Vex, seeks a way to make it impossible for anyone to face him in a duel. And to make sure no one and nothing stands in his way as he searches for his Queen. For this reason, the Ruined King descends into the depths of the Immortal Bastion. He finds the demon summoned by the Black Rose. Viego right away kills all members of the organisation and stands face to face with the demon.
Turns out the Black Rose and LeBlanc beckoned it to fight another monster, another demon. She even has a line in the card game: "One monster to end another".
But the demon is unable to leave the chamber it was summoned in. And so, Viego proposes a deal, to join forces with one another and together become invincible. Why is this particular demon so important for Viego? We know that it is as powerful as big is the sum of its allies and Viego has plenty of allies. Plenty of souls in the Mist. Plenty of the dead. Atakhan realised Viego's potential and agreed to his terms. The demon and the King of the Dead merge into one being. Viego's fingers elongate, his armor appears more ethereal and he's wearing the demon's helmet. Viego gets a skin "Demonic King Viego" or something like that. He leaves the Immortal Bastion and comes across the Sentinels. Seeing him, Draven jumps him, after a second ending up Ruined. Viego naturally laughs at this pathetic attempt and flees. The Ruined King becomes pretty much indestructible.
Darius exclaims that he needs to consult the Grand General, while Samira follows the Sentinels. In Noxus quarters she is given a relic pistol as well as upgrades to her blade. Unfortunately, our team has no clue how to get to Demacia, because as I said Buhru is in Shurima with Lucian. Here, Darius proposes a solution in the form of magically modified Drake Hounds, tame towards those who were assigned to them. The Hounds are made for incredibly fast travels and were supposed to be a special tool for spies and messengers. They only nees a. Couple hours of sleep, thanks to which the Sentinels in around a week would reach Demacia.
Here, we completely cut off from the plot of the Sentinels and Rookie. Instead, we impersonate one of Camavor's soldiers who accompanies Viego alongside many others in a journey to Ionia. There are no fetters there but considering this is the magically primordial land, it poses a threat to Viego's plans. The magic of Vastaysheirei - ancestors of the Vastaya - as well as the Vastaya themselves, and all forces and all champions can use the power of the Spirit Realm and challenge him but this won't be possible once Viego conquers and Ruins Ionia. He goes to the Everlasting Altar right away and duels Karma, for her to ultimately fall. The Spirit of the land was corrupted but the duel didn't last five minutes but rather long hours. Karma realised that the King of the Dead is coming for her much earlier too. Shen, Kennen and Akali answer her summons along with Kinkou Order. Irelia stands with them. The champions try to get through to the Everlasting Altar barred by the wraiths but once Viego seized control over Karma, the fight was turned around. Viego descends along with Karma who throws all fighters back with a flick of her hand. Irelia stands up first and to extinguish the Spirit of the land once and for all, Viego impales her, causing her Ruination. Here, we're avoiding an inconsistency - why Sentinel (Ruined in this story) Irelia could fight with her blades.
Viego, Karma and Irelia vanish into the Mist but the wraiths remain to kill the rest. As they're about to die, Yone arrives, who has sensed the presence of a powerful demon, one he'd never sensed before. He felt the bond with the King of the Dead and came to fight him. Yone rescues the group because his demonic blade of Azakana can cut through the wraiths, and the last to fall is our Camavorian soldier, ran through with a spiritual blade by Shen. Before passing, he heard Kennen say that he has a plan to save Ionia and the whole Runeterra.
Next, we move to Shurima. As I said, we have Lucian, Gwen and Buhru here. And just so you know, because Rookie - the person we associate with - is not here, we remain nobody. A passive spectator of the events. Like we have on Shadow Isles, because Rookie, the person we steer, is bot always necessary. Of course we meey Akshan in Shurima Sentinel outpost, he doesn't give a damn and his story is very similar to the one in the client. I wouldn't change it that much because the construction in my opinion was fine but I would split it into two separate segments.
First - similar to the one in the client. And second - in which Viego heading to Shurima, before he claims the fetter, meets Azir and his devoted soldiers along with Nasus who knew about the approaching calamity from Ixtal - honoring the old alliance of countries. Viego decided he doesn't have time for this, knocked everyone aside and moved onward to reach the fetter which he takes. He kills Lucian and takes Buhru but Akshan revives Lucian, while Gwen - by Lucian's orders - hid herself away in the Hallowed Mist. The group meets up with Azir and Nasus, introduce them into the subject, and the emperor sends his most powerful warrior to join the Sentinels and assist with fighting the dead. Azir stays and defends his land from the wraiths. Nasus is given a special weapon in the quarters and Azir gifts him with the golden armor of the elite. Nasus joins the Sentinels and because Targon is nearby, this part of the team heads there.
Let's come back to the first part of the group. Senna, Qyiana, Samira and Rookie reached Demacia. The Mist has already taken the majority of the known lands and reached the capital of the Kingdom as well. The team meets the Dauntless Vanguard by the entrance who don't want to let them in at first but after Senna explains - that this is the matter of life and death and everything going on around - the warriors call for their leader, Garen who quickly takes the Sentinels to the palace where Jarvan and Tianna Crownguard debate what to do next. How to stop the Mist and Hecarim who - according to a published story - was already in Demacia. As a reasonable ruler, Jarvan simply asks what the Sentinels need. Senna switches off for a moment, hearing a small voice of Isolde whispering, telling Senna to find her in the city. She says she wants to stop Viego, which would add up since she'd already warned Senna in one of the stories. After a while Jarvan asks again and Senna replies "We only need time to stop the advance of the Mist". Jarvan promises to give them as much time as  possible and sends Shyvana with them.
When the group leaves the palace, the Ruination is raging across the city. Unexpectedly, from a rooftop jumps down Vayne who says she'd been watching them and has parted with Poppy, and that she's ready to help the Sentinels. Senna - knowing where the base is - heads to the quarters and gives Vayne a weapon, accepting her among the Sentinels. As they leave, everyone spots a flock of wraiths and Camavorian dragons as well as Ruined Cadregrin mounted by Viego. Shyvana decides to battle him but becomes Ruined. The Sentinels flee, prompted by Jarvan and the rest saying that soldiers of Demacia will stop Viego but he grew.. bored after a short fight with Shyvana and followed the Sentinels tracking down his Mist leading them to Isolde's fragment. Taking it, Senna once again hears the voice of Viego's wife and the fragment merges with the one inside of her. Viego arrives and says it's impossible. Isolde doesn't want to return to him? What do you mean? What's that about?? While he's shocked by his wife's behavior, the animated colossus Galio grabs him, which gives the Sentinels some time.
Simultaneously, Poppy appears, telling Vayne that she's found what they'd been looking for. You know. The thing from the cinematic. The Sentinels ask about it, Poppy explains there's no time for that. The champions quickly escape, enter some tenement, dead down into the basement where lies the tile engraved with the symbol of the Sentinels of Light. Poppy says it has taken a lot of time to discover all this and put all the clues together. Senna steps onto the stone, activating a passage in a wall where a secret portal to one of the bases was hidden. The entire group goes out into the unknown. Exactly! Into the unknown. We have no idea what's happening to them. I love such cliffhangers. I think it would be an interesting turn of events.
Once again, we're not Rookie and our plot guy is another Ruined soldier of Camavor. Viego heads to Freljord with Vex where they seek the last inanimate fetter. Not much is happening in the Freljord and Viego passes through one, two, three villages. The Ruined King doesn't fight anyone, he doesn't mean to Ruin anyone, he doesn't particularly care about taking the Freljord. He does nothing but search for the fetter. Vex absolutely dislikes it, asks Viego why he's becoming such a lamer, to which the King orders her to be silent. Vex asks again, again and again what's this about until he loses patience. He strikes her and she lands a good couple of meters further away. Viego floats up - with the demon's aid he can naturally - to the young Yordle and tells her she was just a pawn in his game. She was to empower him so that he could spread the Mist all across Runeterra in search of his wife. Vex is surprised that Viego is so prosaic and he strikes her again, once more causing her to fly quite a distance. The Shadow of course stands up to Viego but it has no chance - it is thrown back as well. Viego leans over Vex, calling her naive and says that after all, she can't undo the spell given to him, that he fulfilled his goal and has no regard for her.
Vex runs away in tears with Shadow's aid, saying "This isn't over yet". Viego finds the last fragment but suddenly he bumps into Thresh. The King asks if he tracked down the rest of the living fetters. He doesn't realise that Thresh is changing, because the Chain Warden tries - thanks to the newfound strength - to manipulate his looks as he did before. Exactly how it was in the novel. Thresh says he'd found Gwen in Targon and that's where the undead are heading but sadly.. he is unable to locate Senna.
We move onto the final region that is Targon. Here, Lucian, Gwen, Nasus, Akshan - you know, the entire party from Shurima - reach the base at the foot of Mount Targon. The group locks themselves inside to reconsider their next move. What happened to Senna, is she going to send them some information as to what they'd found in Noxus, what was Viego looking for? To Lucian all that mattered was that his wife had not returned. Nevertheless, the Sentinels decide to stop for the night at the base to rest up and regain strength. In the morning everyone is woken up by the arrival of Senna, Samira and the rest of the party. Lucian hugs his wife, asking what was happening, how she's back. And she is about to reveal to Lucian and others what happened when suddenly they hear someone calling from outside. "Sentinels of Light! You are surrounded! Come out with dignity and without tricks as our goal is one and the same!"
It turns out that before the base wait armies of Solari and Lunari with Diana, Leona and Atreus on the lead. Everyone is shocked by this sight. Leona comes up to the Sentinels, saying that the Heavens told them of a great threat looming. That the time of the world's union has come. This is why - by Leona's orders - the Solari stand side by side with the Lunari in the face of oncoming doom. While in Ionia, Diana heard the will of the Aspect to the Moon to make haste and return. In Targon she met Aphelios who is now in the army of the Lunari - naturally much smaller in comparison to the Solari - and he'd found Diana's weapon, kept it hidden, knowing that the First Light of the Moon would one day return. This is why Diana would have her blade here. Diana returned to Targon and there duelled Leona as the card game implies but both the Aspect of the Moon and the Sun ordered them to cease, unite against the approaching danger. Senna tells Leona of the ancient prophecy, it turns out that Leona knows it and tells the group to climb Mount Targon as soon as possible, as in the face of such a threat truly only Heavens can lend their aid. Solari and Lunari stay to delay the march of Viego.
At the beginning of the path we meet Taric who becomes our guide. Thanks to his powers and help the journey to the top is incredibly short. In the span of one day the Sentinels - thanks to the help of the Aspect of the Protector, which would be accurate with the lore - summit Mount Targon. Taric helps them bypass the Arbiter but at the top there's.. nothing. Gates to Astral Targon, the place where the Aspects reside remain closed. Sentinels go into a panic, what's happening, why is nothing here? And then.. the Mist reaches the peak. The last place of Runeterra not claimed by Viego. Sentinels lose hope but regardless, they are ready to fight. All Ruined champions step out of the Mist. MF, Pyke, Karma, Shyvana, Ziggs and even the old servants such as Hecarim. Yasuo, if you still remember him, and all others. Additionally, Ruined Atreus comes forth - not Pantheon, let's not be pretentious with resurrecting the Aspect of War. Viego exclaims that the vicious fight at the bottom still continues, that hehe underestimated Targon's strength but he managed to win a duel with Atreus, corrupt him and head with a part of his army to the peak. In desperation, Lucian steps forward and proposes Viego a deal. He can have his soul, he can have whatever he wants, as long as he lets Senna and the Sentinels live.
Viego simply laughs, with one swift motion killing Rookie. Lucian goes into a rage and attacks Viego, but barely in a second Viego laughs again and floats up, runs him through and to Senna's dismay Lucian is Ruined. Very pleased with himself, Viego orders his servants to kill the Sentinels. All Ruined champions charge at them. No hope, none. Here, I imagined a scene, like from the endgame. A portal appears out of which jumps Yummi. A positive little aspect, Gwen is happy to see her favorite cat. Yummi brushes dust off of her fur and nose with her paws and says: "You didn't think we forgot about you, did you?" And THEN. From the portal comes Yone wielding his red blade but the other that of a Sentinel and wearing Sentinel armor. Out comes Sentinel Kennen, Sentinel Tristana with her Gunners and Sentinel Teemo. Yes, Sentinel Teemo ·-·
In addition, Sentinel Poppy, Braum, Ahri and Lulu. It turns out that the second group travelled to Bandle City where Poppy and Kennen were secretly members of the Sentinels from the Spirit Realm, from the city of Yordles. That's why Kennen knew to take Yone to Bandle City and knew what to do next. Poppy too knew what to do in the case of Ruination. It's just a little Yordle twist, not to make the entire event too dark. I was also thinking about Corki because he's cinematically the best Yordle and the cinematics with Yordles in general are probably the best but I was afraid I'd overdo it.
Of course, Viego hasn't been expecting the enormous comeback, he orders to destroy the Sentinels. Some champions generally fight with the armies of wraiths but certain duels break out, like Yasuo/Yone where the elder brother strives to save the younger, Taric, as the Aspect's host and the mightiest warrior, stands against Atreus. In front of Senna stands Lucian who is defeated by her. But during this fight Senna sees Viego tearing out a fragment of Isolde from Gwen who soon collapses to the ground. Then, Senna hears a faint voice saying: "Now".
She drops her cannon, runs up to Viego and musters up her whole strength to draw in fragments of Isolde's soul. Viego, to put it shortly, looked at Senna, intending to end her life but in the same moment Taric - having already won with Ruined Atreus - jumps at Viego. Only he stood some chance. However, after a short struggle Viego manages to, not defeat per se, but knock Taric back. Meanwhile we see Teemo who addresses lieutenant Lulu "It is time". And Lulu, as a powerful sorceress - certainly more so than a teenage Yordle - reverses the spell which Vex bestowed upon Viego. In turn, Viego weakens, he senses it, but says that it changes nothing. Because, really, it does change nothing. The alliance of the demon and the King of the Dead is still much more powerful.
Even still, meanwhile, Senna connects all fragments of Isolde's soul in herself. Senna becomes Isolde. After a moment of transformation, Senna's appearance drastically changes. At first, she looks like a spectre. The fighting stops, everyone is astonished. Viego gazes at his beloved and says "My love, you have returned to me at last". Isolde comes up to Viego, embraces him and strokes his cheek. After a while though, out of the Mist she summons Thresh who approaches asking: "Yes, my lady?" Viego is disoriented and asks Isolde how she knows Thresh, and the Warden replies in his charismatic mannerism: "Well, your highness… I have always been loyal. But not to you." Then Thresh holds up a mask which he secretly obtained in Ixtal and hid from the eyes of all. How? If it was a soul fragment, he could easily lock it in his lantern and make it undetectable to Zindel's Incognium. Now, Thresh pulls the jade mask out from his lantern and tosses it to Isolde who absorbs the last fragment. And from a spectre she turns into a horrid monstrosity. Albeit.. with curves and features of a woman. We know Riot doesn't like to exaggerate. Isolde - or Senna - after the change says to Viego that the Ruler of the Dead can be only one.
In despair, Viego stands before his love, not really knowing what's going on but - not to make him a total noob easy to beat up - he decides "So be it". They cannot defeat him because he's too strong. To which, Thresh lifts his lantern and in the blink of an eye begins to absorb the power from the Mist. Remember the demon I mentioned? The more allies it has, the more powerful it is. I think it would be an interesting way to weaken Viego. You know, Thresh drains the Mist, the souls within it, simultaneously taking power of Viego and the demon. He takes pretty much everything. Even the demon. You still might think I made Viego a bit of a noob anyway because in the end he's still defeated but throughout the whole adventure I was trying to paint him as a guy you really should be afraid of. Who really does something to the Sentinels. Here however, he loses. In the end, Isolde using Senna's power drains the remnants of the Mist from Viego like in the cinematic. His servants stand stunned as he kneels in disbelief. Senna comes up to him and he asks her why she's done that.
Here we have a bit of a retrospection. Isolde tells him that despite his great love, the King treated her as his property, he was sickly jealous and Isolde thinks it was because of him she passed in agony. Because of the pain and misery, the gentle woman changed beyond recognition and wished only for vengeance as her shattered soul also suffered unspeakably. Isolde looks at Akshan and tells him to shoot Viego. He hesitates but she says it's the only way to reverse what Viego had done after his return. To reverse the Ruination of the entire Runeterra. To reverse his deeds. He almost shoots but looks at Isolde, asking how she knows this. And suddenly, she changes to resemble Senna more and with her voice she says she's always here. That she's an ally of Isoldeof. It's only to convince the Sentinels and gain their trust. Akshan takes a shot at Viego. He cannot die but the effects of the Ruination recede from champions as well as the Mist releases Runeterra. Additionally, Gwen creates a prison from Hallowed Mist for Viego. Why Gwen, you ask? Let me explain. Powerful magic of every fantasy world is love. In youth, Isolde pouring her feelings into the doll accidentally - she was no mage but certainly a strongly magical character - creates certain magical abilities which made sort of a sentient construct that afterwards, I mean now, without the soul fragment could exist on its own.
Lucian comes back to himself as well, we have a touching scene but this isn't the end. Terrified, Lucian runs up to Senna. He asks how all this could have happened, what they're going to do now that Senna has two souls. Senna looks at Lucian, a tear runs down her cheek and Thresh says: "It is time, my dear". Lucian turns to the wraith and is about to shoot from his pistol. But Senna stands before him. She turns to Thresh "He at least deserves an explanation". Thresh replies, alright but make it short. Senna reveals a great secret to everyone..
In Bilgewater, after learning of the prophecy she encountered Thresh while she went out to get some air. He already had absorbed some of the Mist and could assume human form. He approached Senna and asked her for the way but she didn't know and had no time to react as Thresh caught her with his chains, saying that if she starts screaming, he's going to kill everyone.. in Bilgewater. Senna promised to be calm, Thresh released her and told her how he hates Viego and if they work together, they can stop him. He explained that Sentinels without aid from the dead stand no chance against Viego. He reveals to Senna Viego's plans regarding Vex, the facts about the demon and Isolde. He adds that this is the only way for Lucian to survive. And here, in spite of herself, Senna decides to trust Thresh. She shares the prophecy, the plans of the Sentinels but together they come up with a secret plan of their own.
Thresh convinced that Sentinels's prophecies are worthless and the only way to defeat Viego is to use his weakness against him. Isolde, who - Thresh knows - wants revenge against Viego. And he promises to spare Lucian if Senna absorbs all fragments of Isolde who was unspeakably powerful due to the Ruination, which will cause Senna to have two souls, giving her enough strength to beat Viego. In the end though, the deal was simple. For Thresh's aid Senna promised him the soul of Isolde
Despite his hatred towards Thresh, Lucian understands, Senna explains she did this all to save their love but Thresh grows impatient. Senna takes a couple of steps away, once again changes to Isolde and Thresh begins to drain her soul. It takes a while, everyone is blinded by blue light which fades after a moment. And once it does, we see only Thresh. Without Senna. Thresh becomes even more powerful through the absorption of Isolde's soul. Everyone thought that Senna would remain with them. Disoriented Lucian furiously says that it was supposed to be just Isolde. To which Thresh replies: "Don't tell me that after all the trouble you have caused me I would stop tormenting her.. and you."
Laughing, Thresh knocks back everyone with his chain. With the might of thousands of souls, demon and corrupted by Ruination's paradox Isolde, no one present could be a match for him. Most of the Sentinels fall from the summit of Targon bit Yummi - thanks to her Book - saves all one by one and takes them to the bottom where Diana and Leona wait for them. At the peak there is only Taric. Here I will tell you how I pictured it in my head. Immense power of Thresh thrums in the air and his great plan was truly a masterpiece. Taric attempts to attack Thresh but the host of the Aspect of the Protector is also thrown off the peak. But here we have another twist.
Remember the prophecy? It would be nice if it was fulfilled. Grand, golden Astral Gate. Thresh stares stunned as from the sky descends a creature with blazing wings, donning armor of cosmic stone and wielding twin blades burning with astral fire. Kayle returns to Runeterra. She doesn't have her helmet and her eyes are filled with white energy revealing that she.. is an Aspect. Not just a host. But she herself became the Aspect of Justice. The mightiest champion currently residing on Runeterra. In a split of a second she flies up to Thresh and starts a duel. Still, with all the power he possesses, Thresh is certainly a worthy opponent. The fight between the Aspect and the new King of the Dead is murderous. Sentinels, Solari and Lunari gaze up at the skies, at the peak of Targon in awe, watching the shifting colors as Kale and Thresh battle one another. In any case, Thresh - unwilling to lose so soon and endanger his newfound power - says "This isn't over, Aspect", dissolves like mist in the air and retreats. Unmoved by this Kayle flies down to Lunari, Solari and the Sentinels, announcing that an end must be put to Thresh and his likes. 
And here we have a bittersweet ending. Yummi returns everyone to respective regions and Viego is moved to Shadow Isles where he's guarded by previously allied with the old Keeper Yorick, and yes, I know the Maiden wasn't here as a fetter but instead of changing the concept, in my Ruination I'd rather not turn it around by 180°. And Yorick, in truce with Kalista and Maokai, guards the King of the Dead and attempts restoration of the isles. The Shadow Isles are still dangerous and betrayed by Thresh Hecarim, Karthus and the likes want to free Viego and give Thresh a payback. We also find out that thanks to the power of her Goddess Illaoi survived and she stays to watch over Viego as well. Thresh on the other hand, no longer bound to Shadow Isles, travels across Runeterra and quietly, without drawing too much attention enlarges his collection of souls and tries to find a way to win with Kayle. All regions try to stand up after the Ruination. Qyiana tries to become the head of Ixtal, Nasus returns to Azir, Leona and Diana decide to bring peace to Targon together. Braum returns to Freljord, Yordles to Bandle City. Meanwhile, Lucian becomes a shadow of himself. Revenge consumes him in full. Vayne and Yone join him to find Thresh and defeat him. Samira and Draven go to Noxus, Irelia goes back with Karma but here I would expand Karma's plot. That she steps out and chooses solitude, unable to forgive herself. You know, all champions go more or less back to normal. I realise there are a bunch of inconsistencies here, more detail is required, dialogues etc. But making this scenario took me about 3 hours. And those unexplained parts should be clarified and if I was working at Riot Gamespolice, I would say before the event that things left unclear will be resolved in future stories. The event itself I would end with such a cinematic:
Vex, attacked and used by Viego, wandered around Ruined Noxus. Unsure what to do with herself she even considered returning toto Bandle City but she came across a man named Yanuk (Januk? Sorry, for the misspellings, I was writing it without a script xD). The very same who told Ezreal to retrieve the Uloa elixir. A special elixir which could revive a certain person. Ezreal however, tricked him. Vex didn't care what Yanuk had to say but he shouted that she looked like she wished for darkness. And he knows how to give it. Along with Shadow, Vex hearing the plan came back toto Yanuk with the Uloa elixir. Yanuk performs the right ritual which leads to a certain dark event. An ethereal gateway opens. And through it steps out none other than Mordekeiser who ends the cinematic with one sentence. Imagine I am saying this with Mordekeiser's voice. "I will show you… Ruination."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
submitted by: @sophi-s
Holy shit, that was super long.
I haven't actually read it because I wanted to share this to everyone as soon as possible, but I WILL read it.
How long did this take you, darling? Three days?
But thank you for this incredible translation and thank you very much for your hardwork. I really appreciate you doing all this for us, thank you sophi-s.
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burnsopale · 3 years
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Pictured: three tired boys breaking into pieces.
I was gonna wait until we actually reached lake Baikal, but I’m impatient, so let’s start the final part of my little series about these three disasters.
In the last post I talked about how Kai, Rai and Johnny are similar. Now I want to talk about how their similar fates will mean something different for each of them.
To recap, all three boys are highly sensitive and emotional, but too proud to dare be vulnerable, and so they hide behind more aggressive behaviour; Kai is antisocial, Johnny is sarcastic and cruel, and Rai is ANGRY. All three spend canon dealing with a big change in their lives (his name is Takao), but they are locked in their self-denial, so they resist the change furiously until they exhaust themselves and reach a crisis point where their armour is shattered and they stand revealed as who they truly are.
Or at least, Rai and Kai get that, Johnny almost gets there, but the arc ends before he can really reach it. He would have, though. Remember, Ralf, arguably the main antagonist of the arc, accepts the existence of the power of friendship before he even steps up to battle Takao. Johnny on the other hand never says out loud that he’s on board with the new regime. So for the images above, I could have chosen Johnny’s flinch after Ralf lost, where he’s got the same pinched expression and bared teeth as the other two, but in his case, it’s his moment of quiet distress in the garden that gives us the clearest glimpse behind the armour.
So they are similar, but the beauty of Bakuten Shoot Beyblade is the level of detail these characters get at their best. All three boys are facing an authority that demand they submit, but giving in will mean something different for each boy.
(Oh no, Judin’s getting horny again.)
(She’s not sorry, though.)
Rai’s case is fascinating because he is an alpha who, more than the other two, is forced to submit. He resists until he breaks, and then Rei overwhelms him with massive power. It’s a benevolent destruction, meant to tear down Rai’s walls and show him a better path, but it’s also a horrible humiliation. Don’t forget that Rai has to deliberately control his temper before he can congratulate Rei.
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Remember also that it was Rai’s ambition to be chief, and for a little while that was his future, and now, while he will not have to live with being an imposter chief, the chief who was not chosen, he will have to live with having been the Almost Usurper. Rei and Rai will both be “the redeemed boy” of the tribe, except Rei is pure and blameless, while Rai is blackened and tainted by what he did.
Yes, this is all terribly dramatic, but that’s kinda the point; Rai is dramatic. Rai, Johnny and Kai are so proud that every little embarrassment is excruciating, and this embarrassment was not little.
So it is my belief that for Rai, submission to Rei will never be easy. First of all because his submission was forced; he is part of the clan, Rei is Byakko’s chosen chief of the clan, Rai has no choice but to submit; he tried to resist once and Rei showed him his place. Secondly, Rai is himself an alpha, used to being the dominating personality in all his relationships except with Rei.
And yeah okay we’re getting dangerously close to AlphaOmega fanfic territory here, but they’re friggin cat-people, so the terminology works, and anyway, not every character in this story is dominant or submissive. Max, for instance, can be either or neither. I’ve used him before as the example of a boy who accepts himself completely, emotions, weaknesses and all, and that makes him strong and adaptable, able to withstand for instance the realisation that his mom is a terrible mother. He can blend in with any group of people and do just fine; after all, his element is water.
I obviously have no idea how Rai deals with Rei returning in G-Rev, but looking strictly at season 1, I see a Rai who will always struggle to take orders from Rei, though he will do it for the sake of duty, and because he knows his reluctance comes from his own pride and shame, not from any fault of Rei’s, and really that just adds to his pain. Even leading the Chinese blading team is something Rai will know he is only doing until Rei decides to join them. Then he will have to step down.
ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO, ANYBODY ELSE FEELING A CREEPING DREAD? *sweats* Well buckle up cause it’s about to get hornier.
Next is Johnny. The funny thing is that where Rai is an alpha forced to submit, Johnny only thinks he’s an alpha, and submission actually comes very natural to him. Once he met Ralf anyway. AND YES I SHIP THEM PUT DOWN THE PITCHFORKS. I like to think I ship them because they have this dynamic, and not that I give them this dynamic because I ship them.
Part of Johnny’s problem is that he’s a soft boy who thinks he needs to be a swaggering macho male. He keeps tripping himself up because his natural instinct is to curl up in the safety of Ralf’s authority, which means he’s always doing what Ralf tells him to in the hope that senpai will notice him and give him the affirmation he needs. Remember my argument that Johnny bases his self-worth on his wealth, status and blading skills, all of which Takao is teaching him means nothing, leaving him with precious little; he is in desperate need of someone to tell him he is good enough even without these things. His loud complaining is both a front he puts up, his armour, and the way he expresses his fear of where this train is hurtling. Highly sensitive people are not good at accepting change, and Takao introduces change about as gently as a hurricane.
Unfortunately, the one who Johnny is looking to for affirmation is a guy who has no interpersonal skills whatsoever, and Johnny can’t really look elsewhere because of a little thing that Saint-Exupéry talks about in The Little Prince, when the Prince meets a fox who asks the boy to tame him:
“"I am looking for friends. What does that mean--'tame'?"
"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."
"'To establish ties'?"
"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."
...
But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow.”
By giving Johnny his first major defeat, Ralf has tamed him, and, as Saint-Exupery goes on to say: “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”
Unfortunately, as before mentioned, Ralf is UTTERLY OBLIVIOUS to this thing having happened. He’s a stork what can I say. At best he has an instinctual sense of Johnny, Giancarlo and Olivier being “his people” now, which for instance allows him to casually dismiss Johnny’s very reasonable request TO BE ALLOWED TO GO HOME.
Ralf is the type who rules with complete authority. He’s a stone wall as far as negotiations go. Not that he can’t change his mind or see the sense in an argument (Again, he accepts the power of friendship when he sees it in action), but only if he is Wrong. This is like the one thing that keeps him from being a straight up villain. In all other ways he is unbendable, which also leaves Johnny’s attempts at asserting dominance hilariously ineffective.
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For Johnny, his final submission to Ralf would mean he had reached self-acceptance, and it would give him safety and comfort, and I think Ralf, once he learns how to act like a human being, will grow into his role as Johnny’s Captain.
Though I admit that this, more than with Kai and Rai, is my own interpretation of Johnny’s character, since we don’t get his full arc. And he is not like this at all in the manga, but that’s a separate canon.
Again, if you think this is all very ... well, horny of me, I’m not saying all relationship work this way. Again, Kai defeating Max in battle did not mean Max is now tamed, because Max does not work that way. If he ever allows himself to be tamed, it will be his choice.
Takao, and shounen anime protagonists in general, tend to tame everyone they meet, and some people take it in stride, while others become their devoted followers or obsessed rivals.
Kai was very much tamed by Takao, but since he doesn’t respect Takao or think much of his abilities as a blader, Kai is able to shrug their bond off at first.
At first.
But I’ll come back to Kai if we ever get through episode 45.
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thecottageinthedark · 3 years
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Sorting Persona 4
Here again with another Sorting Hat Chats post! This one’s for Persona 4. Full disclaimer; this is based just on the game, not the anime. Also it’s behind a cut cause it is LONG. And has spoilers.
The system I’m using is explained here by @wisteria-lodge.
The Persona 4 MC, whose name is either Souji Seta or Yu Narukami depending on which supplemental materials you go by, is a really REALLY loud Badger secondary. His power is based on making Social Links with NPCs and shifting to become whatever they need-and also on patiently grinding to level up his attributes. And because he lives so much in this secondary-plus the fact that on a meta level he’s kind of a stand-in for the player-his Primary is hard to see.
But where it gets revealed in the end is the decisive moment when the ending you’re going to get is decided. The Investigation Team have discovered that Namatame’s been putting people into the TV, and thus are assuming he’s the murderer-and it’s become horribly personal, because one of the people he did that to was Nanako, and even though she’s been rescued, she’s deathly ill thanks to the TV World’s poison.
And now you-and the MC-have a choice. The IT are baying for Namatame’s blood, ready to kill. One Badger Primary method would be to appeal to the fact that he’s a person, you can’t just kill people….but nobody’s listening. Another would be to dehumanise him and say, he’s a murderer, he needs to die for the sake of everyone-going along with all the fury of the group. A Lion would lash out too-less because everyone’s doing it and more from their own gut feeling, but that would still lead to dead Namatame. A Snake might kill Namatame because he hurt Nanako...or, in the Golden remake, if they’ve done Adachi’s social link, they might cover for him. Either way, they’d be prioritising an inner circle member.
And all of those get you bad endings. Especially the Snake choice to cover for Adachi.
What gets the good ending, the happy ending where the MC is fulfilled and at peace, is to ignore all the emotion that’s running so high, and order everyone to step back and take time to think about whether the theory of Namatame being the killer makes sense. Pounce on the niggling little detail that doesn’t fit, and realise that the assumption everyone is labouring under isn’t true. And then prioritise the actual truth over personal loyalties or emotional reactions.
Bird Primary.
Because of course. This is a detective story. Your party are called both the Investigation Team and the Seekers of Truth. Even the title song hints at it; find the truth (Bird) by getting together with others (Badger).
Yosuke Hanamura’s a young, immature Snake Primary at game start, with the selfishness typical to that. His Shadow throws that back in his face, and he realises he doesn’t like being an asshole whose secret gut reaction to murders happening is ‘well at least I’m not bored anymore now something is happening in this dead-end town’.
So he does two things pretty much at the same time; he widens his inner circle to let in first Souji and then the rest of the IT, and he adds a model on top to let him care about things outside that circle. I think it’s a Lion model-a young Lion, just like his Snake, that edges into Glory Hound, but keeps hold of the idea that you should do certain things because they’re just right.
(It’s not based on the MC, though the MC is undoubtedly his most important person, who he even calls his partner. But then, as I said, the MC’s Bird is very quiet, so it’d be hard for Yosuke to perceive it well enough to mimic it. I think it’s actually based on Chie, who is after all the inner circle member he has known longest!)
And his secondary? Yosuke’s a support guy. He lifts his friends up. His family run Junes, and he leverages that connection to create a base location for the IT and secure a portal into the TV world that’s big enough to be usable. When Teddie comes to the human world, it’s Yosuke who gives him a place to stay. He’s a Badger secondary, and again, this makes perfect sense. The Lover sorting. No wonder so much of the fandom ships him with the MC.
Chie Satonaka is LOUD and BRASH and if you are a jerk she will KICK YOU IN THE FACE. She is so goddamn Lion Secondary, and utterly unapologetic about it.
Her primary, I think, is Lion again. The reason she has gotten possessive of Yukiko (as her Shadow calls her out on) isn’t that she wants Yukiko to be just hers-it’s that she wants to be Yukiko’s knight. Saving the princess is actually a textbook Lion cause. It lets her feel heroic and brave.
But that’s not good for either of them. Damsel in distress is a shitty role, one that doesn’t allow Yukiko to be strong and capable herself, and Chie pushing Yukiko into that role is really straining their relationship. It’s also something that Chie herself knows is wrong-that’s why her Shadow accuses her of it. (“I am a Shadow, the true self...”)
So instead Chie changes gears, because oh look a new Cause just popped up! Find the killer and bring them to justice! And on top of that, there’s always sexist prats to kick.
Yukiko Amagi models Badger Primary, because it’s expected of her. Running an inn is a really Badger kind of job. She also models Badger Secondary, for the same reasons. She feels this is who she’s meant to be; sweet, gentle, socially adept, community-focused and hard-working. The traditional Japanese ideal of womanhood.
But it chafes. The weight of societal expectations feels crushing. She doesn’t want to do stuff just because she’s meant to, because people think she should. She’s an Internal Primary, and needs to follow the voice of her own heart.
And where that heart leads her...is back to the Amagi Inn, except now she’s decided that she’s doing this for herself. She needed to feel that she could actually choose to not inherit the inn, before she could realise that she wanted to run it. She’s a Snake Primary, and the inn is important to her because it’s hers.
Her secondary...actually I get the feeling she’s like Toph Beifong of Avatar, a Snake who likes to spend most of her time in neutral. She is delightfully quirky and weird, and owns that, but she doesn’t charge like a Lion and she’s comfy with wearing masks when the situation calls for it.
Kanji Tatsumi panics at the idea that he might be gay, and caretakes like a boss, and that might look at first sight like a Double Badger who’s scared that he might be one of the people he’s used to dehumanising. His Shadow screams that it wants to be accepted...but what calms it is when Kanji himself accepts it, and says that this resolution is about being true to himself. Kanji’s a Double Lion who burnt his primary because being given shit for the feminine, queer-coded parts of himself made him lose faith in his internal compass, worrying that it was leading him somewhere that he viewed as bad. Internalised homophobia’s a bitch of a thing.
Accepting his Shadow is the start of Kanji healing his primary-letting go of shame for being an oddball and telling the world to go fuck itself if it thinks it can make him conform. He does model Badger Secondary-as I said, he caretakes like a boss-but that’s more a thing he does as a gift to others. When it comes to solving problems, he charges in swinging, ready to beat up anyone from biker gangs to otherworldly monsters.
Rise Kujikawa is a cheerful, shameless Snake Primary, loving and ambitious. She became an idol to make friends, and enjoys the fame it gets her. And when she needs to take a break for the sake of her mental health, she has no compunctions about doing so.
But she needed that break because the idol life was stressing her out-unsurprisingly, it’s a really intense life. And the particular problem she had was to do with the conflicting expectations the public has of celebrities. Perfection is demanded...but so is authenticity.
Rise realised that she was face-shifting as an integral part of her career, and this knowledge sent her into a tailspin. The fans don’t like the real Rise Kujikawa-they like Risette. But who is the real Rise Kujikawa? She doesn’t know! It’s frightening! What if she’s just made of smoke and mirrors? How does she find out what’s underneath?
And the answer she comes to is that there is no real Rise Kujikawa...which is the same as saying that there is no false one. Rise is Risette is Rise, it’s all just her, adapting to the context as she needs to. She’s a Badger Secondary, and the act of performance is the true self.
And for her, that’s a good answer-it brings her peace. But now we need to talk about Teddie.
Because just hearing Rise say ‘there’s no real me’ sends Teddie into a Shadow crisis right there.
He completely fucking loses it. He’s a denizen of the TV world-he’s been immune to it all this time, never manifesting a Shadow, but this is what breaks him. And that just screams Bird Lion. It’s his Buzz Lightyear moment-or rather his first Buzz Lightyear moment, because there are two. This is the first, and he survives it by retreating into his Secondary. It allows him to bring Shadow Teddie under control...but this isn’t sustainable. He’s realised something terrible and can’t avoid that knowledge indefinitely.
And soon enough he admits it to himself (and to the MC). He is a Shadow, that somehow became self-aware. His Truth was never true. He can’t handle it, he has no idea how to even exist, and he outright tells the MC that he intends to commit suicide.
He recovers, though-and he does so because the MC tells him Nanako survived. That’s the first thing that gives him a glimmer of hope, because his Truth already had some Snakey elements in there about chosen people and ambitions. He comes back from the brink, reshapes his system to centre those Snake principles, and returns to the side of his friends.
Lastly, Naoto Shirogane, our other queer-coded character. (I’m using she pronouns for the sake of canon here-but I’m a firm believer in nonbinary Naoto, for the record.) I think she’s a Bird secondary-the only one of those here, jeez. She’s just so analytical. She’s a rapid-fire Bird too, Detective Prince working on a case, squarely in the middle of her comfort zone. But push her out of it-into a normal teenager social situation, say-and watch her squirm!
She has a Bird Primary performance, too. But performance is the operative word here. She’s trying to look adult and smart and collected, in order to be taken seriously by the police officers she works with. And she is smart, mind you, but that’s not the why of her though it is the how. It’s not Naoto who goes ‘wait, let’s think about this, we need more information’ at the crucial point, but the MC, who really is a Bird Primary. Naoto was the one to suggest doing a little vigilante justice vis-a-vis murdering Namatame.
Her real Primary is Lion. Being a detective is a Cause for her, not a Truth, and she is blazingly certain of her own sense of what’s right-so much so that she doesn’t stop and check it against other people’s. And she inspires people! She doesn’t even mean to, and certainly doesn’t know why, but she is just so cool that people flock to her and admire her. ‘The Detective Prince’ is, when you think about it, a really Lion Bird kind of title!
Her Shadow has two issues with her. First, it harps on the gender angle. Hey, self, there’s that thing about your identity that you’ve been refusing to think about! You need to go poke at it! And then it breaks down into a scared child. Self, your performance is eating you alive. You need to do it, yes, the Cause demands it, but you also need to be able to stop sometimes and let yourself have emotions!
In short:
MC/Souji/Yu: Bird primary, Badger secondary
Yosuke: Snake primary, Badger secondary, models Lion primary
Chie: Lion primary, Lion secondary
Yukiko: Snake primary, Snake secondary, with Badger primary and secondary models that start out pretty unhealthy for her. 
Kanji: Lion primary that starts out burnt and begins to unburn after his Shadow fight, Lion secondary. Models Badger secondary.
Rise: Snake primary, Badger secondary
Teddie: Bird primary, Lion secondary. Falls dramatically and recovers by shaping his system to be more Snakelike.
Naoto: Lion primary, Bird secondary, performs Bird primary
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ask-the-riders · 3 years
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Movie Night
A flashback kinda thing, I guess, showing Connie back before she met Death (when she still went by Chimera)
Contains some of Glo's shenanigans, some of her friendship with Cobalt, and even some of her friendship with her demon buddy, too :P
I know it leaves off at kind of a weird spot, but eh. I wasn't sure what else to add ^^"
Chimera let out a soft whine, and her companion snorted, arching a brow bone, "See? I told you that you wouldn't like this movie." The female skeleton made a face, lightly swatting at his arm, "Oh whatever, Cobalt! I don't remember you ever saying anything of the sort!" Cobalt sighed softly, absentmindedly wrapping his arm around Chimera and tugging her flush against his side. As a masked killer emerged from a building on the tv screen and began to pursue a group of young monsters, she turned, cuddling as close to her friend as possible and burying her face in part of his shoulder.
He sighed, content to have her in his arms as they sat on her living room sofa. Appearing in the entrance to her kitchen, an all too familiar pink and blue fire elemental held up a bag of unpopped popcorn, "Hey love birds, I'm making popcorn. You want any?" Both skeletons immediately froze, Chimera's face flushing bright orange while Cobalt's became a faint shade of blue. Chimera made a face at the fire elemental in question and groaned, "Come on, Glo! I thought you said you wouldn't tease us like that anymore!" Glo hummed, "No idea what you're talking about. Now do you want any popcorn, or am I only making it for myself?" The female skeleton rolled her eye lights, "I think I'm good for now. What about you?" She looked to Cobalt and he shrugged, "Sure, why not? I'll take a bag, I guess."
Glo playfully scoffed, her attention focused on Chimera as she gestured to him, "I'm tellin' ya, he knows what's up." Cobalt couldn't help the amused grin that found it's way onto his face and Chimera waved off her adopted sister's words, trying to hide her own tiny smile, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Glo." The fire elemental held the flat, unpopped bag of popcorn in both hands, and as her body temperature began to rise, the bag began to unfold on its own, the kernels inside loudly popping. Once the bag was done, she called out, "Incoming!" Chimera looked up in time to see Glo toss the bag in her direction, and her sockets widened. She let out a soft gasp as Cobalt moved without warning, raising a hand to catch the bag with seemingly no effort. Quickly trying to regain her composure, she prepared to scold Glo, only to find that Glo had already vanished back into the kitchen, likely to get another bag of popcorn from the cupboard.
When Glo returned and made herself comfortable on the floor, everything went silent as the three went back to watching their movie. As the end credits began rolling, Glo scooted away, and the pair of skeletons watched curiously as she wedged herself inside the unlit fireplace. Her body temperature began to rise again, warming the room ever so slightly and casting a pink and blue glow across the space. Chimera raised a brow bone, visibly confused, "Uhh Glo, what are you doing in there?" Glo took her phone out of her pocket and pushed a button, sliding it a bit away from herself and grinning mischievously as 'Careless Whisper' began to play through their Bluetooth radio, "I'm about to see this ship set sail. Now ignore me. I'm your warm, cozy evening fire and nothing more."
Chimera's orange blush slowly spread down to her shoulders, and she attempted to hide her face again, very clearly embarrassed as she murmured, "Oh my God, I cannot believe you right now..." Cobalt's blush gradually began to darken as well and he sighed, lifting his free arm and awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, unsure of how he should respond. An unexpected guest cleared his throat and Chimera squeaked in surprise, jerking her entire body back away from Cobalt. Her guest arched a single brow, the rest of his expression appearing bored, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The female skeleton stared up at him with wide eyes, her face still burning a vibrant orange as she shook her head, "N-No, of course not! I-I um... What are you doing here, Dr. Wright?" The demon sighed softly, "Please. It's 'Soren', remember? We're past the point of needing formalities." Cobalt offered him a polite smile, "Hey there, Soren. What's up, dude?" The demon's attention snapped to him and he hummed in disapproval, "I said it was 'Soren' to her, not to you." Cobalt held up his hands in surrender, "Sorry, sorry. I guess I forgot about that."
In what felt like the blink of an eye, Glo slipped out of the fireplace and lowered her body temperature as she zipped across the room. Reaching out to delicately touch the demon's arm, she smiled sweetly up at him and purred, "Well hello there, Doctor~ I was starting to wonder when you'd come see me again." He deadpanned, his vibrant, almost neon green gaze boring into her, "It's 'Soren' to Chimera, and 'Dr. Wright' to that other bonehead. To you, however, it's 'Diamondback.' Please refrain from calling me anything else. If you do, I may have to hurt you for it. Do you understand?" Glo was frozen for a moment, nodding slowly, "...Yeah. I read you loud and clear." Diamondback sighed, "Good. Now will you please remove your hand from my arm? I don't care much for physical contact." The fire elemental nodded again, promptly releasing his arm and taking a step back, watching quietly as he looked over his sleeve, as if inspecting the area she'd touched.
Chimera also watched him, her breath momentarily catching in her false throat as his gaze locked with hers. Clearing his throat again, he lifted a hand, conjuring a small stack of books, "I thought I'd stop by to drop these off, since I remember how interested you were in them last time you were over." She smiled politely, standing and making her way over to him. Carefully accepting the books with one hand, her other gently patted his arm and she hummed, "Thank you, Soren. I appreciate that very much, and I'll be sure to get them back to you as soon as I'm finished reading them." The demon nodded, "Of course. Despite my numerous attempts to push you away, you kept coming back, and as fate would have it you're my friend now, so it's only fair that I allow you access to my personal library." Her smile widened slightly as she stepped aside, gingerly placing the books on a small stand, "That's very kind of you. I'm really happy that we're on such good terms like this."
Diamondback offered her a slight smile, his fangs peeking out of his mouth, "As am I." As Cobalt caught sight of the fangs, he shrunk back the smallest bit, absentmindedly lifting a hand to prod at one of his own, much smaller fangs. Glo's flames very briefly flickered in interest as she caught sight of the demon's fangs, and she let out a soft breath; For all she knew, Diamondback could be venomous, but she was dying to know what it'd be like to experience a bite from him. As if her interest was beginning to show on her face, the demon shifted his attention to her, his small smile falling into a frown, "Whatever disgusting thoughts you're having had better be gone soon. I don't like that you're ogling me, young lady."
Glo's face became flushed with a faint blush and she smiled awkwardly, "Sorry... Can't help it, I guess." She paused, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, "Not when you're this good looking. If you weren't so attractive, maybe I wouldn't ogle you as much." As if a switch had been flipped, the demon warped through the space between them, his hand firmly catching her jaw as he leaned down, his eyes narrowed as he hissed, "I would've let it slide this time, if you hadn't added on that additional little comment." Glo's soul began to beat faster in her chest and she stared at him with wide eyes, frozen in place. Not giving her the chance to say anything more, he bared his fangs, letting them both be fully exposed as a liquid - more than likely venom, Glo assumed - began to gather at the tips and a faint rattling sound could be heard from somewhere nearby. A single drop of his venom dripped down onto the carpet, and the demon drew in a deep breath, attempting to calm himself, "For the last time, you're not my type, and you never will be. I'm in the process of courting someone else, and I would like it very much if you could stop flirting with me."
The fire elemental continued to stare at him with wide eyes, still visibly in shock. Taking her silence as agreement, he released his hold on her jaw and the rattling sound around them began to fade away. Closing his mouth and allowing his lips to conceal his fangs again, he sighed softly, glancing up at Chimera as she cautiously approached him, keeping her voice low, "I'm sorry for all of her flirting, but I do appreciate that you're able to control your temper. Thank you for not lashing out, Soren." Diamondback's shoulders seemed to sag a bit and he hummed, mumbling back, "Of course... I might be a demon, but that doesn't mean I'm some irredeemable creature that enjoys causing harm." As if she could read his body language, she frowned, "And I've never thought that of you. Not even once. You have your good days and bad days, just like everyone else."
Diamondback offered her a small, vaguely saddened smile, "I appreciate that, Chimera. I think I should head on home now and call it a night, though... It's getting late, and I have work tomorrow." The female skeleton nodded in understanding, "That's alright. I hope you rest well tonight, Soren. I'll be over again tomorrow to drop off your mail and some goodies, since you seem like you could really use a few right now." Diamondback made a sound in acknowledgment, "Ok, that sounds like a plan, I suppose. Thank you in advance for the goodies, in case I'm not there when you stop by." Chimera offered him a small but genuine smile, gently patting his shoulder before taking a step back. Shifting his attention back to Glo, he sighed, "Apologies for the outburst. I hope I didn't traumatize you or anything." Glo nodded, her voice cracking, "I-It's ok. It's on me, for always hitting on you." The demon offered her a tiny smile, glad to hear that she was finally taking responsibility for something. In the blink of an eye, he seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving the pair of skeletons and the fire elemental alone.
Chimera let out a soft sigh, returning to her seat on the couch. Casting a glance up at the clock that hung on the nearby wall, Cobalt frowned; Like Diamondback had said, it had gotten later than he'd realized. Because it was getting so late, that meant he'd have to head home for the night. He wasn't working tomorrow, so he could always ask if Chimera wanted to hang out again in the morning. He stole a glance at her, quietly appreciating her perfectly smooth ivory bones, the way her nimble fingers moved as she idly picked at her clothes, and the soft, peaceful smile she wore. As if she sensed him looking at her, Chimera met his gaze and tilted her head curiously, her cheekbones gaining the faintest hint of a blush, "Something on your mind, Cobalt?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, he cleared his throat and shook his head, his brow bones furrowing as he shook his head and offered her a small smile, "Nah, it's nothing, 'Mera. Just spacing out again, I guess." The female skeleton made a sound in understanding, "Ah, I see. You know, I think that's something that happens more often when you get tired. Have you been sleeping alright?" Cobalt shrugged his shoulders, glancing away from her and hoping she wouldn't notice the slight bags under his sockets, "Eh... My sleep schedule hasn't been the best, but at least it's better than nothing." Chimera frowned, reaching out to gently touch his arm, "Coby, you should've said something. If you'd like some medicine to help you sleep at night, I have more than enough in my cupboard."
At the nickname, his cheekbones flushed a soft shade of blue, and he grinned sheepishly, "I know, I know... Sorry about that. Are you sure you'd wanna give me any of that medicine though?... What if you run out sometime soon and don't have anymore when you need it?" Chimera arched a brow bone, "I can always make another trip to the store, you goof. It wouldn't be a problem, I promise. Just... You seem like you could use some, and I'd be happy to share." Cobalt let out a soft sigh in defeat, still smiling sheepishly, "Ok... If you're sure about that, then I guess it'd be alright. I just don't wanna inconvenience you at all, y'know?" She scooted closer to him, and without warning, lifted both hands, delicately cupping his face and prompting him to look at her. Locking gazes, his breath momentarily hitched, and his soft blush because a bit brighter. Making sure to hold his gaze, she offered him a reassuring smile, "Cobalt, it's ok. I don't mind giving you some medicine, if it means helping you sleep better at night."
She paused, lightly tapping on his cheekbone with her thumb, "I really like being able to help you, you know. It makes me happy." Cobalt was frozen, his blush very gradually becoming even brighter. His gaze drifted downward, briefly settling on her teeth. For a moment, he couldn't help but notice how smooth they looked, and then when he coaxed himself to make eye contact with her again, his sockets widened the smallest bit; Those beautiful eyes... They were focused solely on him. The soft glow from her eye lights cast a faint glow, and the warmth in her gaze made him melt. He snuck another quick glance at her teeth, and then he watched quietly as she seemed to mirror what he'd just done, her eye lights flickering downward to his own teeth.
She seemed to debate something for a moment, before she leaned closer, gently pressing her forehead to his. Cobalt stared at her, breathing in her scent and noting what seemed to be a hint of oranges in the smell as he looked at her. He opened his mouth to speak, wanting to somehow acknowledge how beautiful Chimera was, but to his frustration, no sound would come out. Keeping her voice soft, the female skeleton murmured, "I'm gonna go get that medicine for you... I think I'm gonna send you off with some of the leftovers from dinner, too. Is that ok?" Cobalt nodded, making a sound in confirmation as he murmured back, "Yeah, of course. I love your cooking, so it's not like I'd have any complaints with that."
A soft orange blush dusted across her face and she smiled, almost looking shy, "Ok... I'm really happy you like it that much." Cobalt could only smile back at her, his soul thudding inside his chest. As she withdrew her hands and backed up a bit, he let out a deep sigh, trying to push back to disappointment he felt; She was so close, and he could've sworn he felt something there. If he had acted on it the way he'd wanted to, then maybe, just maybe, he could've-
Chimera stood, vanishing from the room and leaving him alone with Glo, who was quietly staring at him with raised brows and the hint of a smug grin that was hidden within her flames. Looking at the fire elemental, he arched a brow bone, "What?" She hummed, still grinning, "Oh, I think you know 'what,' mister man." Cobalt willed his blush to fade and he deadpanned, "Nope. I have no idea what you're talking about." Glo let out an exaggerated sigh, moving closer to him, "Oh come on, yes, you do. It was all of that, just now. Her touching your face, the foreheads touching, all of that prolonged eye contact, and the way you guys kept looking at each other's teeth. You wanted to kiss her, didn't you?" Cobalt's blush reignited, now so bright that it began to glow faintly, "Shut up, airhead. What if she hears you saying stuff like that?" Completely unbothered by what she'd been called, Glo tilted her head, "I'm gonna take that as a 'yes.' If I'm right, then why didn't you?"
Cobalt fell silent, his gaze shifting away from his companion. He watched to entrance to the kitchen for a few seconds before mumbling, "...I dunno if she even likes me, like that... And I wouldn't wanna feel like I was forcing anything on her. If that's what it felt like from her perspective, that means I might as well say goodbye to my friendship with her." The fire elemental stared at him for a moment before reaching out and flicking his face. He jerked back away from the contact in surprise, "What was that for, weirdo?" Glo raised a single brow and sighed again, "You're such a dweeb, y'know that? If you're not sure how she feels about you, then ask. If she doesn't give you the response you want, you can either pass off the question as nothing more than curiosity, or you can make your big confession. If you take a risk and tell her how you feel, then who knows... Maybe she'll end up feeling the same."
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officialwagnerrant · 3 years
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Wagnerrant Review #6 - Tristan und Isolde
Work: Tristan und Isolde Bayerische Staatsoper Date of performance: 31.07.202
Team Director: Krzysztof Warlikowski Conductor: Kirill Petrenko With: Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros, Okka von der Damerau, Wolfgang Koch, Mika Kares, Manuel Günther, Dean Power, Christian Rieger
Review: @beckmessering
Here’s an entirely hypothetical question: when not very familiar with an opera, is a Regietheater production with hotly anticipated role debuts the best opportunity to form an emotional understanding? Answers may vary, but take it from a someone whose opera education had a shamefully large Tristan-shaped hole: Krzysztof Warlikowski’s Tristan und Isolde at Bayerische Staatsoper is a production to to gnaw on – conceptually elusive and a puzzle with many pieces, but finally a great reward in scenery and in music.
Jonas Kaufmann lends Tristan his well-known baritonal timbre, although it’s not quite as prominent as usual. His voice is dense and rich, though not artificially darkened, and brings delicate piani as well as strength to the role. The third act with Tristan’s near-incessant monologues of increasing volume and intensity provide an audible challenge that doesn’t leave Kaufmann’s voice untouched: he sounds somewhat taxed by the time he’s finally allowed to collapse once and for all. Granted, it’s a punishing and brutal feat; the sheer amount of energy required to sing oneself to death likely isn’t equivalent to the amount a badly wounded man would still have. Kaufmann thus doesn’t quite look to be on death’s door despite a shirt soaked in progressively darker shades of red, but he nonetheless he provides a well-grounded interpretation of one titular character. He steers away from classic hero territory into something more nuanced and disconcerting if one only looks closely enough – Isolde, for that matter, hits the nail on the head when she replies “Frag deine Furcht!” to his “Und welchen Feind?”. He’s scared – or perhaps haunted by thoughts that won’t leave him alone, unable to keep his hands and his gaze still when not singing. He doesn’t outright long for death, but from the very start, he sure doesn’t seem at ease with life, either. Something isn’t quite right with Tristan – and just the right person is needed to unleash it fully.
That just-right-person is Anja Harteros as Isolde, who deserves perhaps the audience’s grandest ovation. Vocally, she is still in excellent shape until the last measures of her delicately sung Liebestod, having preserved her gleaming heights and pristine sound over all three acts. Her middle register, uniquely crystalline and incredibly poignant, could conceivably serve to distinguish her voice from thousands. Yet her singing by far isn’t too pretty to show feelings – Harteros’ voice suits a seething young woman with a rich inner life that progressively unfolds throughout the opera. “Lass’ uns Sühne trinken!“ is an actual threat, one that Tristan wholeheartedly embraces. After losing herself in love in the second act, she reemerges from it lonely and bitingly aware of it. Her grief, like her rage, is controlled yet bone-deep, and it inevitably leads her to die. Perhaps something wasn’t quite right with Isolde, too.
Wolfgang Koch sings Kurwenal with a vivacious, robust baritone that energetically prizes life – a great contrast to Tristan’s inclinations. However, Koch stays far from acting clownish, particularly in the third act, where he wears the worry about his friend on his sleeve, but ultimately remains powerless against Tristan’s impending death. While the latter ecstatically sings himself into delirium, Koch remains comparatively static, demonstrating his character’s inability to help and by extension, vastly different attitude towards life.
Okka von der Damerau’s Brangäne is a well-meaning figure trying her best to put Isolde at ease in this admittedly highly tense situation. While initially reminiscent of a caring aunt, the two women’s bond becomes far more sisterly in nature once the first act’s dialogue – or perhaps conspiracy – around Isolde’s secret potion stash unfolds. She braves the act’s finale with top notes of impressive volume and provides a surprisingly bright, silvery metallic sound for a mezzo. Considering the standout dynamic between the two women, it’s perhaps fitting that her voice blends so smoothly with Isolde’s and even elicits comparisons to a soprano’s sound.
Mika Kares as King Marke packs much disappointment into his clear, well-articulated bass, though it’s about far more than the good old besmirching of honour – this betrayal is personal to him and runs deep. Regrettably, he’s given little to do once he has discovered the wrongdoers in each other’s arms except stalk back and forth between Tristan and Isolde, so he resorts to various pronounced eye movements that verge on accidentally amusing. Brangäne’s single look of horror upon assessing the scene says more than any eye movement could.
Kirill Petrenko’s conducting is fluid, gentle, a statement in and of itself never at the cost of the singers. He crafts the prelude into an intensely lyrical treat, promising much and delivering on that by keeping the orchestra’s sound light yet rich enough to satisfy. He eschews heaviness, but never at the expense of intensity. Particularly the tense moments of the first act are played out very well, and the performance is audibly a successful collaboration between singers, conductor and orchestra: the singers are never drowned out, the orchestra makes its mark, and Petrenko himself brings both together with excellent timing to savour a spectrum of emotions.
Director Krzysztof Warlikowski transplants the setting into a wood-panelled room with high ceilings that traps all characters within its high ceiling, allowing them little escape from what troubles them. This room serves as a continuous backdrop throughout all three acts, although each act adds elements uniquely suited to the current happenings. During the prelude, two silent dancers dressed as almost frighteningly life-like dolls, one male and one female, appear. Their movements are tentative, childlike, evocative of a fragile state as they interact and cautiously touch each other. In the second act, a projection that previously illustrated the view outside a ship’s porthole serves as perhaps an emotional window into the lovers’ psyche. It shows grainy, black-and-white footage of Isolde sitting – waiting – alone on a bed, suggestive of a security camera’s spying eye. In the film, Tristan enters only during “O sink hernieder” and the two sit silently next to each other sans any eye contact, while the real-life Tristan of course has of course entered the stage some time ago. While both of these elements receive their resolution in the final act, the act two film is already subtly reflective of the singers’ actions onstage. While the first act was far more dynamic in terms of interaction, much of this movement disappeared once Tristan and Isolde fell in love, causing the lovers to remain comparatively static during their time together. This takes some time to notice and even more time to get used to, but it allows for much inference on the nature of this love. It’s of the paralysing sort, and it can’t coexist with normal life and regular interaction. There is wallowing in this love or interacting with the rest of the world – but ultimately, a choice will be have to be made. It’s a consuming love, yet clearly not of the physical or even romantic sort, judging from the frequent lack of touch and eye contact – perhaps it’s more of a kinship, a matter of two people having found a part of themselves in each other that they had lost. In any case, the concept avoids the stylisation of Tristan and Isolde’s love as something bright or pure – they may be enraptured, but their state of intoxication doesn’t induce wishful thinking in the audience. The music, more than anything else, connects the lovers with the onlookers. It’s a maddeningly subtle concept of interaction that can easily be taken as stiff or confused with lack of ideas, and the only time it doesn’t pay off is during King Marke’s confrontation in the second act, where Mika Kares isn’t given enough space to physically communicate the emotions of the normal world.
The place of Tristan’s youth in the third act finally unites the previously introduced ideas: Tristan awakes at a table surrounded by dolls seated at a dinner table and dressed like the one representing him in the prelude. As he recalls the early death of his parents, the suggestion that he grew up in a boarding-school atmosphere and carried the burden of being orphaned plants the core idea that he comes from a place of loneliness. Absent a place of emotional safety and affection, his outlook on life is shaped by the inner fragility and unsteadiness he was instead endowed with, and causes him to escape into a love – or a construct – that opposes this life. The question of whether his love is static and at odds with life by nature or rather by Tristan’s nature remains somewhat open, but both are conceivable. During Isolde’s Liebestod, the projections return, showing the lovers lying side by side on the bed again while the room floods with water. As the two inevitably drown, they gaze into each other’s eyes for the first time while the film turns colourful. What initially seems oddly romanticising of death and clichefully pleasant becomes exceptionally poignant when seen as the lovers’ attitude towards death and final fulfilment rather than the director’s views.
It’s an interpretation that becomes more wrenching the longer one thinks about it – multi-layered, elusive, and it refreshingly strays from unduly heroic characterisations that don’t fit the story well. Admittedly, the focus is somewhat aimed at Tristan, and by necessity of the set, much of the psychologization of Isolde in the first act has to occur in the same setting Tristan’s mind will eventually be dissected in. Partially bound by the story and partially by the staging, she can’t be given the same due, which, considering Harteros’ standout Isolde, is a slight shame. Nonetheless, the production doesn’t feel uneven, and when adding music and singers, it becomes a harmonising whole entity. I myself may have closed my eyes in an attempt to fall in love, and I don’t see anything more befitting this opera.
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