#kind of? my avatar is him and this is his house. i think its justified to be there.

[qwuilty]

I'm gonna have to put it under readmore cause its a lot of images but! I updated my build in b/lox/bur/g of the Postal 1 home map and im happy with it enough to share with yall, it has an inside of dude's house too!! (or at least what i imagine it looks like)

I tried to add alt text as best i could since it's very image heavy, apologies if they're not the best as admittedly sometimes i run out of spoons very quickly trying to describe images for them, but i wanted to still put something >>;;

#postal 1 #postal #postal dude #kind of? my avatar is him and this is his house. i think its justified to be there. #i tried to get some good photos thank god for the gui hiding command. now if only the screenshot taken thing went away quicker. #theres not a lot of good wall photos but i did the best i could #its very messy and disheveled but tbh its kind of. comfy in a way? #and yes the little wall hooks are for guns. i didnt want to risk actually making those to put around XD #my favorite part is his bedroom it used to feel pretty barren but i put a lot into renovating it #ive had this build for a while. earliest screenshot of it is december of last year #now if only i finished it in december so the grass didnt cut off but they added a lot of good things since then so. pros and cons i suppose

[squeamishdionysus]

Healer

pairing: Jet x Reader

TW: Heavy injury, near-death experience, discussions of trauma

Summary: The Freedom Fighters take Jet to a family of healers after his fight with Long Feng, where he begins a new friendship with the reader.

Notes: Hey everyone!! This was a request for a user on another platform who wanted a Jet x Reader. After many, many rewrites, I finally settled on making a two-parter, with this being the first part! I hope you like it and if you do, please feel free to leave a comment!!!

Masterlist

The sun had just risen over Ba Sing Se. The sky was an orange tint with only a few clouds in sight, the kind of day that always puts you in a good mood. You had opened the curtains wide, letting streams of sunlight fall into your living room, warming and brightening the space. You put a teapot full of hot water on top of the pot stand, using your spark rocks to begin heating it. Your parents hadn’t woken up yet, and you didn’t plan on waking them up any time soon.

You were the child of a mixed couple, with your mother being a refugee from the Northern Water Tribe and your father being a local in Ba Sing Se. Your mother moved to Ba Sing Se a long time ago, after the man she was originally arranged to marry died fighting in the war. Being a waterbender and a healer, she became very popular among the locals, opening her clinic in the Middle Ring, where she healed anyone who needed it. That’s how she met your father.

Eventually, of course, they had you, and as fate would have it, you were a healer and waterbender, as well. Your mother taught you as much as she could, and as soon as you were old enough, you began helping her. Even with your help, though, business could still be tiring. That was why you were letting them sleep.

You sprinkled a few jade tea leaves into the water, looking out the window and watching the houses around you begin to wake up. Your neighbor, Mrs Yao, was out watering the flowers in her garden. A few stray cats sat out in the alleyway, their tails swaying patiently as a boy, the son of one of the other neighbor’s, left out a saucer of milk for them. A newlywed couple kissed each other goodbye as one of them began her commute to work, the other bouncing a small baby on her hip. A group of children chased each other down the street, giggling and playing as they slowly made their way to school.

It was rare you got to see such a scenic morning. Perhaps you would take a walk after breakfast, just to enjoy it a little more. The gardens around this area were always nice to walk through, and you were sure they’d be even nicer with the weather.

You continued looking out the window, thinking about all the ways you could enjoy this fine morning, eventually having to check on the tea. You took it off its stand, putting out the fire and pouring yourself a cup. You sighed, holding the cup up to your lips and breathing in the scent of hot tea. Jade had always been a favorite of yours

A sharp, urgent knock rang out, startling you. You couldn’t think of anybody who would be visiting this early, so you hurried over to the door. You opened it just enough to peek out and felt your heart drop. You felt panic wash over your body, the scenic morning turning all the more grim.

In front of your house stood two people, a boy and a girl, holding up an unconscious and seriously injured boy in their arms. The girl had clearly been crying, the paint on her face was smudged and you could tell just from the expression of the boy helping her that whatever had happened was not good. As for the boy they were carrying, he didn’t look good at all. His eyes were shut, he couldn’t stand and he could barely breathe.

“Please,” the girl spoke, desperation in her voice. “Our friend was attacked by an earthbender. We heard a healer lives here and we need to see her.”

You stammered, struggling to think. Panic was setting in, and you couldn’t get out a single sound. You didn’t know what to do, but you’d have to figure it out. You took a deep breath in, clearing your mind and beginning to think. Stepping to the side, you began to speak.

“Get in, go to the hall and find the guest bedroom. Lay your friend down on the bed in there.”

You watched as they entered the house, rushing down the hall of your house and into the guest room. You turned to the basin that sat in your kitchen, holding up your arms and bending a round bubble of water. You walked as briskly as you could to the guest room, walking in and kneeling beside the boy. You bent the water over his chest, feeling all of the broken and bruised ribs he had. You frowned.

“This doesn’t look good,” you said. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see the girl fighting back another stream of tears. The boy beside her hung his head just enough so that you couldn’t see his face. You stared down at the injured boy in front of you, looking at his face. His eyes were still closed shut, his breathing short and tense, but steadier now that he was on his back. What were you going to do? You could try and heal him on your own, but it would be incredibly difficult, especially at your apprentice level. It was unlikely he’d live. There was only one thing you could think to do.

You bent the water into a nearby vase, standing and furrowing your brow in a serious expression.

“I need you two to take off everything covering his chest. It’s the only way I’ll be able to heal him effectively.”

They both looked up at you, a hopeful look coming across their faces.

“I need to get my mother.”

~

“These injuries are serious. What happened to him?” your mother asked, looking up at the Smellerbee and Longshot. They had told you their names after your mother and you had begun your healing session with their friend, Jet. You had woken up your parents half an hour ago and explained the situation, your mother immediately going to help. Your father was currently making a special medicinal tea in the kitchen, hoping it would be of help to Jet.

“It’s a long story,” Longshot answered. “And even if we had enough time to explain, we aren’t in a safe enough position to say.”

Your stomach tightened. Were they involved with some kind of gang? That would explain their clothes and face paint, but they seemed too friendly to be in one. However, that didn’t dismiss the idea that they could’ve just been targets. Either way, you were worried.

Your mother nodded. “I understand. I won’t pry any further. How about you tell us more about yourselves?”

Your father walked in, a soft smile on his face as he placed a tray of tea down.

“Jet, Longshot and I have been together for a long time,” Smellerbee spoke. “Before we came to Ba Sing Se, we lived in the woods around a small village that had been taken over by the Fire Nation. We stuck together because the Fire Nation had taken something away from all of us. Both Jet and I lost our families, and Longshot's village was burned to the ground."

Your father gave her a sympathetic look as he handed her a cup of tea. “I’m so sorry. I lost my father when I was about your age. It’s something nobody should ever have to go through, especially a child.”

Smellerbee gave him a soft smile. “Thank you, sir. It was alright in the end. We formed a group called the Freedom Fighters, where we would fight back against the troops in our area and help people who had been hurt by them.”

You were impressed and intrigued, hanging off of every word she said. “That all sounds so exciting!”

She nodded. “It was. For a while, at least. We even got to meet the Avatar at some point.”

You gasped softly, looking up from the boy below you with wide eyes. “The Avatar?”

“Yes,” Longshot answered. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t under the best circumstances. The Freedom Fighters had become more about revenge than helping the Earth Kingdom. We made a horrible mistake that almost cost the lives of an entire village.”

Seeing the previous awe on your face beginning to sink, Smellerbee quickly interjected, “but we’re not like that anymore. We came to Ba Sing Se for a fresh start to move on from our past mistakes. Unfortunately, Jet had a harder time letting go than we did and got himself arrested for attacking a tea shop worker who he thought was a firebender.”

Your mother frowned, the water underneath her hands continuing to flow over Jet’s chest.

“I had a horrible feeling the Dai Li had something to do with this,” she sighed. Your father gave Smellerbee and Longshot a smile.

“And please know that we don’t judge you for your past. You have all been through so much, and it is completely justified that you feel anger towards the Fire Nation.”

You nodded, the conversation ending there as you began to focus intensely on healing Jet. You could feel the bruises and broken ribs in his chest slowly begin to heal, and his breathing was becoming more and more steady. You were grateful the group had managed to find you and your mother in time before any of his injuries could get any worse. If they had waited any longer, you probably wouldn’t have been able to make this much progress.

About an hour later, you and your mother had managed to heal Jet enough that he would be stable on his own; his chest was still injured, but not lethally, and when he’d eventually wake up, he’d be able to breathe, talk and eat normally.

Your mother grabbed a towel and wiped her hands, smiling softly at Smellerbee and Longshot. “Jet is going to have to stay with us for a few weeks, just to make sure he heals completely. He’s not quite ready to be walking all around Ba Sing Se just yet.”

Smellerbee smiled brightly. “That’s great! How much do we owe you?

Your mother chuckled, shaking her head. “No, no, you don’t need to worry about that. Just worry about taking care of yourselves. Just make sure you visit at least once a week. That should be enough.”

Longshot bowed his head. Though his expression was blank, you could see the grateful glimmer in his eyes.

Smellerbee stood, Longshot doing the same. "Thank you so much. We'll be sure to come back and check on him tomorrow."

Your father walked with them to lead them out of the house and to possibly offer them some food. You looked back at your mother.

"What now?"

She sighed, looking down at Jet with her brow furrowed. "We're just going to have to do regular healing sessions and keep an eye on him until he wakes up. That's the best we can do for now."

You nodded and let your eyes fall on his face yet again, relaxing at the sight of him peacefully sleeping. The pain must have been subdued with your healing. You could finally take a breath and feel good that you had helped a little bit.

You stood and wiped your hands on your clothes, walking towards the door. You needed to eat something, as that healing session was quite draining. Perhaps you still had some good peaches.

You looked back at Jet one last time. He looked quite handsome when he wasn't in pain.

~

The light from the window to the side was practically blinding to Jet, his vision blurry as he tried to open his eyes. It took a while for his vision to focus enough for him to get a good look at where he was. The room was a lot different than what he was accustomed to. The walls were nice, much nicer than what you’d be able to find in the Lower Ring, and there was a landscape painting hung up on the wall directly in front of him. The mat he was lying on was a lot more comfortable than he was used to, and the sheets were made with some high-quality fabric. He had no memory of ever being here before. The last thing he really could remember was excruciating pain in his chest.

Right. He had that fight with Long Feng and had his chest crushed. The Avatar’s friends were there, as well as Smellerbee and Longshot. He must’ve blacked out some time after Aang left because he couldn’t seem to remember anything after that.

He tried to sit up, groaning as he moved his fatigued body for what seemed to be the first time in days. His chest didn’t hurt as bad as he recalled, but it was still very sore. He had to keep his back somewhat straight otherwise it hurt to breathe, not to mention his head was killing him. Overall, Jet was not comfortable in the slightest, and he still had no idea where he was.

When the pain toned down enough for him to be able to think and focus, he tried to observe his surroundings. He had already determined that he was most likely in the Middle or Upper ring, given how nice the interior was. There was a large vase beside his bedding, one he figured was filled with water. Other than that, not much was going on decorating wise.

He looked down at the sheets that covered his chest, hesitantly pulling them down to see the damage Long Feng had done to his chest. He winced. Large purple bruises were scattered across his chest. They weren’t severe, at least not as severe as he was thinking, but there were a lot and they were very sensitive. His mind went back to the feeling of being struck with the rock. It was horrible and it felt like it completely collapsed. The more Jet thought about it, the more it occurred to him that it was only a miracle that he wasn’t dead.

“Oh, great!”

Jet’s eyes immediately darted up to the doorway, just as a stranger walked into the room holding a tray of tea.

You gave him a smile, kneeling beside him and placing the tray down.

“Mother told me you’d be awake by now.”

Your voice was soft and reassuring, but Jet still eyed you with caution.

“Where am I?” he asked, his voice hoarse from going so long without use.

You took a cup of tea from the tray and handed it to him, smiling.

“You’re in my house Jet. Your friends, Smellerbee and Longshot, brought you in here a few days ago, because you were attacked. My mother and I are healers, so we’ve been taking care of you for a bit.”

He hummed, taking the tea from your hand and watching the steam rise from it. You shifted slightly, moving your feet from under you and crossing your legs.

“I’m sorry if you’re not a fan of jade tea, it was the only kind we had.”

Jet gave you a small smile of reassurance.

“It’s alright. I don’t drink tea often enough to have a favorite anyway.”

He took a sip of it, a sudden insatiable thirst awakening inside him the moment the tea touched his tongue. It had only just occurred to him how long he had gone without water, or food for that matter. He tilted his head back, chugging the tea until there wasn’t a drop left in the cup. He took a deep breath, looking back over at you, suddenly wide awake.

“How long was I out?” he exclaimed, panic in his voice.

“About a few days,” you said, handing him another cup that was on the tray. “And I wouldn’t call it ‘out.’ You were in and out of consciousness all day yesterday. I was able to make you drink a little water here and there, but not a lot.”

By the time you were finished talking, he was already done with his second cup, tea dribbling down his chin.

“Where are Smellerbee and Longshot?” He asked, wiping his face with his wrist.

“I don’t know, to be honest. They never told us where they lived.”

“And where’s your mother?”

You took a pause, pursing your lips together silently. You reached out and gently touched his chest, pushing him back a bit.

“Please lay back down. There’s a lot I have to tell you.”

He hesitated, giving you a questioning look, before slowly laying flat on the bed.

“Can you tell me your name?” he asked.

You gave him a smile and nodded, whispering your name to him as you raised your hands and looked towards the vase in the corner. You began to move them in slow patterns, water bending out of the vase and over to where he lay.

“Move the sheet out of the way so I can begin healing your chest,” you said, clear and stern.

He did as you asked, pulling the sheets out of the way to reveal his bruised abdomen. You smiled and muttered a small thank you, before bending the water over his wounds. The water began to glow dimly and left a cool sensation on Jet’s wounds. He hissed slightly, feeling the water begin to heal his wounds.

“You know,” he said raspily. “I’ve actually met another healer before.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… her name was Katara.”

You grinned. “Katara’s a beautiful name. What tribe was she from?”

“She and her brother were from the Southern Water Tribe. She was the only waterbender they had.”

You hummed, recalling what your mother had said about the Southern Water tribe.

“I assumed so. My mother told me that the Fire Nation captured all of the South’s waterbenders. I guess they missed one."

“Must’ve. She was travelling with her brother and the Avatar to the North when I first met her.”

You grinned excitedly, perking up at the mention of the Avatar.

“Your friends mentioned you had a run-in with the Avatar!” you beamed, continuing to heal him. “Tell me, what was he like?"

“He was a great kid. Friendly and always eager to help. He can be a bit naive, but he’s gotten smarter since I last saw him. I’ve run into him two separate times.”

“Weren’t you with him when you got attacked?”

His face fell a bit, his brow furrowing as he averted his eyes from you.

“Yeah. I was helping him find his bison.”

His tone was cold and distant, a total one-eighty from a few moments ago. You bit your lip softly and turned your head towards him.

“How did you get attacked, if you don’t mind me asking?”

He sighed, looking back up at you with a slight smile.

“How much time do you have?”

You grinned.

“All the time in the world.”

#avatar: the legend of korra #atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar fanart #team avatar #zuko #avatar x reader #katara #jet #avatar jet #jet x reader #jet x zuko #jet x katara #zuko fanfic #jet fanfic #atla jet #sokka #aang #toph #toph beifong #suki #smellerbee #longshot #jet x oc #avatar x oc #avatar x you #avatar reader insert #gender neutral reader #zuko x reader #sokka x reader

[justanotherexlover]

Anonymous said:

Can you please make another chapter of "The Metal Clan" the first one is so good and I was so happy to see a Lin x reader!

Anonymous said:

when are you gonna update the metal clan?

The Metal Clan (2/3) (Lin Beifong x Reader)

Warnings: Angst, language

Word count: 2,900+

Notes: Apologies for the title formatting, I’m without a computer and Tumblr mobile sucks. I’ll fix it when I get a chance!

You watched as Lin and Suyin went back and forth once Korra confronted Lin, and you felt like your head was spinning. You’d seen Lin upset before, but she seemed utterly impossible to reason with at this moment.

“You’re the one who tore our family apart,” Lin said, pointing a finger at her sister.

“Yeah, and you’ve done a bang-up job of keeping it that way!” Su shot back, looking every bit as fierce.

“Shut up!” You exclaimed, looking at both of them. Your wife looked shocked, and Suyin seemed slightly smug as you continued, your words aimed at your wife, “Let it go. For now, at least. We came here with a goal in mind.”

“Thank you,” Suyin asid politely, raising her eyebrows at her sister, then turning to Korra, “My daughter is thrilled to meet you.”

“Your niece--our niece--is the new Airbender,” You told Lin, sending her a look of warning to be nice.

“Terrific,” Lin said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

You glared at her, and Bolin leaned over to whisper to you, “Trouble in paradise?”

“Shut up Bolin,” You muttered.

---

You basically had to drag Lin out of the airship. Even though she’d been found out, she didn’t see the point in going around Zafou. You insisted, however, and she gave in eventually(although still grumbled about it).

“Those are my two youngest, Wei and Wing. They’re playing a game called power disc. They invented it all on their own,” Su said, her voice thick with pride for her twin sons.

A metal disk was being hit back and forth between the brothers, and hitting metal posts in the middle. You weren’t sure if you entirely understood the rules, but it looked like they were having fun.

They twins were both very talented benders, and you glanced at your wife to see if she noticed. Lin seemed so cold and apathetic, and it was beginning to bother you more and more with each passing moment. You knew bits and pieces of what had happened between her and her sister--how Su had left home at 16 after a fight, leaving their family essentially in pieces.

But what could she have done that would justify this behavior?

“I’m so proud of them,” Suyin said, her hands clasped together. She had a small smile on her face.

“You should be,” You spoke up, smiling at her. She placed one hand over her heart, looking bashful.

The team walked on, and you could hear Korra and Asami marveling over the metalwork of the mansion. It was a sight to behold, for sure.

You fell a little behind the group to stand next to Lin, and you looked at her, “You could at least pretend to care.”

She glanced at you, her face stiff, “Why would I do that?”

You let out a scoff. Lin had always been an opinionated woman, and you loved her for that, but you had never seen her so uncaring before. You wanted to ask her for an explanation, but knew that now wasn’t the time.

Your attention was soon taken by the sound of metal creaking and you searched for the source of the noise, your eyes landing on a man who was frowning at a statute he was attempting to bend.

“Huan, I want you to meet the Avatar and her friends,” Suyin said brightly, gesturing to the group, “And your Aunt Lin and her partner, your Aunt (y/n).”

It felt weird to be referred to as someone’s aunt, since before today you didn’t even know that Suyin had children. But a feeling of fondness spread through you, feeling fully embraced by Su.

“Nice to meet you,” Korra said.

“Hey,” Huan said, not looking away from his statue. He, like Lin, didn’t seem to care much about what was going on. You wondered if Lin had the introspection to see that Huan was similar to her, but again, she wasn’t even paying attention.

“Wow, that’s a really nice…” Bolin started, squinting at the statute. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, and his answer sounded more like a question, “Banana?”

You snorted, and Huan turned around and angrily exclaimed, “It’s not a banana! I was inspired by Harmonic Convergence. It represents the dawning of a new age, obviously.”

Bolin seemed embarrassed, but was squinting at the statue in an attempt to see what Huan was talking about. You figured you should probably help him out.

“Each side is supposed to be the opposite ends of Harmonic Convergence, right? And the middle piece rises above both, which is the new age dawning,” You guessed, and he turned toward you, an eyebrow raised.

“Yeah,” Huan said, his voice never straying from its monotone state as he pursed his lips, “Finally someone with an artistic eye.”

You smiled at him, and noticed Suyin give you an appreciative smile as you moved closer to her as the group began walking again. Bolin was rambling on about understanding the artwork, and attempting to make a frame with his hands from which to view it. So much for your attempts at helping him out.

“Nice job,” Suyin said, smiling at you, “Huan is such a great artist, but to be honest I don’t understand his art until he explains it most of the time.”

You waved her off, flushing slightly, “It seemed obvious, I suppose.”

“Nonsense. You have the eye of an artist,” She praised you, and you noticed Lin’s shoulders set in the back of the group. She was obviously listening in on the conversation.

You began walking up the stairs with Lin, each step making a slight creaking noise, “I didn’t get to say it before, Zafou is absolutely beautiful. I’ve always wanted to visit, but… It’s more than I could’ve imagined.”

Now it was Su’s turn to blush, and she spread her arms in front of herself, “It’s my pride and joy, after my husband and children, of course… I wish you two would’ve visited sooner.

“Me too,” You said quietly, “It hasn’t been for lack of trying on my part.”

Su hummed, nodding in understanding, “I know how stubborn my sister can be. But at least you’re here now.”

Suyin was nothing like what Lin had described her as--your wife had said she was selfish and irresponsible, but the woman next to you seemed smart and kind. She’d changed a lot over the last 30 years it seemed, but Lin didn’t want to see that.

You arrived at the top of the stairs and followed Suyin as she walked up to a sweet looking girl and began speaking, “This is my daughter Opal.”

Upon hearing her name, the girl looked over and closed her book, her eyes instantly landing on Korra as she said, “Wow, Avatar Korra. I can’t believe you’re really here. You’re amazing.”

Opal had a soft voice and a delicate demeanor, and you were sure that she would do well as an Airbender.

“It’s great to meet you, Opal,” Korra said kindly.

“Opal? That’s a beautiful name,” Bolin said, holding out his hand. She smiled bashfully and pushed her hair behind her ear. You raised your eyebrow, watching the exchange carefully.

“Thanks,” She said.

“I’m Bolin,” He introduced himself, and she shook his hand.

“Opal,” She responded instantly. A blush took over her face, and you smiled as she rushed to recover, “But, uh, you already knew that.”

Lin walked over to you, and you hoped that Lin saw how sweet her niece was and would feel more sociable. But instead she said, “Great, we found the Airbender. Let’s take her back to the airship and get out of here.”

You rolled your eyes, giving her a scathing look. She ignored it easily.

“And the woman apparently trying to abduct you is your Aunt Lin, and her spouse (y/n),” Suyin explained to her daughter, slightly amused.

Opal looked between you and Lin, and a large smile come onto her face, “Really? I didn’t know Aunt Lin was married. I’ve always wanted to meet you!”

Lin’s face didn’t change, but you reached forward and took Opal’s hand, “It’s great to meet you, Opal. You seem like a nice girl.”

She blushed again, and said, “Thank you.” After shaking your hand, Opal turned her attention to Lin and said, “My mom’s told me so many stories about you.”

“I’m sure she has,” Lin said coldly, crossing her arms. Opal’s face fell, and you looked at her apologetically. Regardless of Lin’s feelings towards her sister, she had no right to speak to Opal that way.

Suyin, thankfully, moved past the tension with ease, “So I’ve set all of you up in the guest houses while Korra trains Opal.”

“Oh…” Korra started, sounding slightly unsure, “I’m sorry, but I was hoping that Opal could train with the rest of the airbenders at the Northern Air Temple.”

“That sounds amazing,” Opal said dreamily, clasping her hands together. She was such a sweet girl, and you found it funny considering that most Beifong women were known for being harsh.

“Nonsense,” Suyin said, and her daughter’s face fell as she continued, “This is where Opal’s home and family are. You can train her here.”

“I guess I could help her get started,” Korra said, shrugging.

You wanted to point out that Opal obviously wanted to train at the temple, but Lin was already speaking.

“Absolutely not. We’re leaving,” She said, leaving no room for argument.

“I have to agree with Lin,” You said, and Suyin seemed surprised as you added, “There are assassins after Korra, and even then… I think it would be nice for Opal to be around other airbenders.”

You wanted to stay in Zaofu, but even you could recognize that it would be safer to leave and keep moving.

“If you’re concerned about safety, don’t be. This is the safest city in the world,” Suyin said confidently. She then went on to invite you and everyone else to dinner, but your eyes were on Lin the whole time.

-

“Five kids, what a nightmare,” Lin said when Suyin introduced her oldest, and you kicked her shin under the table. She sent you a scathing look, but you ignored it and just rolled your eyes.

“No, no, my children are a blessing,” Suyin said graciously, bowing her head. You smiled at her.

“Yeah, mom used to say that too but she never meant it,” Lin shot back. You looked down at your plate, suddenly feeling very awkward and out of place.

You reached a hand forward to brush Lin’s hand, but she pulled away, crossing her arms. You tried to hide the hurt expression on your face, but Suyin noticed and sent you a sympathetic look.

Lin made a few more comments to her sister, but you largely ignored them, feeling overwhelmed with trying to reign in Lin’s attitude.

Most of the conversation was lost on you(you even ignored Varrick’s arrival, deciding that you had too much on your plate to deal with him), as you contemplated what could’ve happened between Lin and Suyin.

Suyin left home at 16, which would’ve made Lin not much older at just 22. But she was definitely an officer by then, so maybe it was some encounter there?

Or maybe Lin was upset that her sister didn’t want to become an officer? Or did Toph favor Suyin? You didn’t know much about Lin’s mother and had never met her, but nothing you knew from Lin was positive.

Your mind was reeling with possibilities and it was starting to make you feel on edge. It was made worse when the sound of a chair being thrown back caught you off guard, and you jumped.

“All right, enough!” Lin yelled, throwing up her arms, “I’m trying to keep the Avatar safe and you’re harboring a criminal?”

Your eyes widened at your wife’s outburst, and you thought about intervening but decided not yet.

“Ease up, Lin,” Suyin said, “Sure, Varrick’s made a few mistakes in his past, but that doesn’t mean he should pay for it the rest of his life. My chef was a pirate but now he’s a culinary master. People change.”

“You haven’t!” Lin yelled, pointing at her sister. She looked like she wanted to say more but you interrupted her.

“That’s enough,” You said, your voice level. Your hands were in fists at your sides, and you felt utterly humiliated. Lin turned to look at you, and you held her gaze steadily.

She growled and stomped off, slamming the door shut behind her.

“I’m sorry,” You said, feeling your lip begin to tremble. You needed to get out of here, now, and take some time to think. You stood up and followed your wife’s path, ignoring the calls to come back.

-

After a little while wandering through Huan’s statue garden, you decided to return to your room. You’d managed to mostly calm yourself, but you were beginning to wonder if maybe there was a lot more to the story than you thought.

You knocked hesitantly, then opened the door to the guest room you two were sharing.

Lin was sitting in a chair reading a newspaper, wearing just her pants and typical white tank top.

You walked forward and put a hand on her arm and gently said, “Look, we won’t be here for more than a few days… Even then, I want to be here. I wish you did too.”

Lin looked at you, her eyes narrowed. If you were anyone else then you would’ve likely been intimidated, but after being with her for so long you could read her like a book.

“Doesn’t what I want matter?” She asked, her tone venomous. You reeled back, holding a hand in front of yourself defensively.

“Of course it does!” You exclaimed defensively, and she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, sure, that’s why you keep sucking up to my sister,” She muttered, turning away from you.

“I…” You trailed off, your mind beginning to cloud with anger, “I am not! I’m trying to get my wife’s family to like me, so what? It’s normal!”

“But they aren’t my family!” She responded, looking fierce, “You are! I made that decision a long time ago.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but closed it again. What she said was touching, and it made you hesitate to argue with her any longer.

“Lin…” You trailed off, looking at her. It seemed like she hadn’t meant to reveal that so readily, but she was holding her head high. You raised a hand to her face, caressing her scarred cheek softly, “I just want you to talk to me. Explain why you feel like this.”

She looked at you with narrowed eyes, but still leaned into your touch, obviously finding comfort in it. Lin seemed to be thinking of the right words when someone knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Lin asked loudly, and you pulled away, looking at the door as it opened.

“Hey, it’s me” Korra said, peeking her head in. She glanced at your wife, then you, and you shook your head, trying to tell her that it wasn’t a good time. Your warning went ignored as she continued, “I brought someone who wants to talk to you.”

Korra opened the door wider to reveal Opal, who you offered a soft smile too. She seemed nervous.

“You wanna talk, then talk,” Lin said, sitting back and crossing her arms. You stood next to her, one hand on her shoulder.

Opal stepped forward and took a breath, then began speaking as if she’d practiced, “I’m sorry being here is hard for you.”

She walked forward, and you stepped back, watching the situation carefully as Opal kept going, “When you showed up, I was so excited to get to know you. I’d heard so many grea things about you from mom and Grandma Toph. So… I guess I was kind of sad that you didn’t want to get to know me… Believe me, I know my family can be a little crazy and overwhelming sometimes, but I would love it so much if you and (y/n) would be a part of it.”

Opal casted you a glanced towards the end, her hands clasped together. She sounded so sincere and sweet. You wanted to hug her, but decided to wait to see what Lin said.

“Get out,” Lin said quietly.

“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” Opal asked, her voice quaking.

“Get out!” Lin yelled. Opal’s eye filled with tears and you reached forward to try to comfort her, but she turned and ran out of the room crying. Korra followed her.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” You asked, stepping forward to glare at your wife, “Opal is your niece, and a sweet girl who didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Maybe you should reconsider whose side you’re on!” Lin yelled back, and you threw your hands up in exasperation.

“There are no sides, Lin!” You yelled, finally fully losing your cool. You pointed a finger at your wife, “You’ve been nothing but rude since we got here, and I would stand by your side if I knew why! But you’re so closed off that I can’t seem to understand you.”

Lin turned away, brushing you off. You scoffed, feeling your rage pushing you forward.

“You know what? Fine. You wanna be alone, then be alone. I’m leaving,” You said, turning on your heel and walking out the door. You didn’t know where you were gonna go, but you were sure that Su could find space for you somewhere.

#lin beifong #lin beifong x reader #lin beifong/reader #lin beifong simp club #angst

[vivithefolle]

Not sure if you already talked about this. (I’m pretty sure you have) but someone seemed to notice that when the trio get into fights, Hermione’s always in the right. Even when she’s supposed to be wrong she always seems to be half right. That kind of bothers me. Especially since it’s evident in the whole Scabbers situation.

I have indeed, on Quora, so let’s move yet another answer of mine to Tumblr!

Hermione is seldom wrong in the Harry Potter books. Sometimes she makes mistakes but those mistakes are either completely swept under the rug or downright ignored.

It’s partly due to lazy writing and partly due to Rowling’s own growing bias in favour of her Author Avatar that was fuelled by Steve Kloves, the primary advocate of the Hermione Granger Is The Perfect Girl Ever line of thinking (an utterly ridiculous line of thinking mind you).

Lizo: Steve, Hermione is a character that you have said is one of your favorites. Has that made her easier to write?

Steve: Yeah, I mean, I like writing all three, but I've always loved writing Hermione. Because, I just, one, she's a tremendous character for a lot of reasons for a writer, which also is she can carry exposition in a wonderful way because you just assume she read it in a book. If I need to tell the audience something...

JKR: Absolutely right, I find that all the time in the book, if you need to tell your readers something just put it in her. There are only two characters that you can put it convincingly into their dialogue. One is Hermione, the other is Dumbledore. In both cases you accept, it's plausible that they have, well Dumbledore knows pretty much everything anyway, but that Hermione has read it somewhere. So, she's handy.

Now this, right here, is the exact core of the problem.

Rowling herself admits it: if she wants the readers to have information, she puts Hermione in the scene. Hermione is our primary means of exposition because, like *grits teeth* Sssssteve puts it, it’s easy to assume that she’s read about it somewhere and it makes sense.

That’s all well and good but at first, if you notice, Ron also gave us exposition about the wizarding world, mostly about its culture. He was able to recall the exact year of the Wizarding Confederation that outlawed dragon breeding in Philosopher’s Stone! He explained what were respectively a “Mudblood”, a “Squib”, and Parseltongue, Hermione doing a little exposition about the history of that last one! He was also able to identify Sirius, after being dragged into the Whomping Willow, as an Animagi!

But then Goblet of Fire happens and you can notice the first change that will exponentially grow through the books: instead of Ron, pureblood Ron, born-before-the-end-of-the-war Ron, lived-through-the-aftermath-of-the-war Ron, identifying the Dark Mark, it’s instead Hermione, muggleborn Hermione, lived-as-a-Muggle-for-most-of-her-life Hermione, has-no-idea-about-the-emotional-impact-of-the-Mark Hermione who looks terrified as the Dark Mark shoots into the sky!

And it only will get worse, by the end of the series, Hermione pretty much knows about everything the plot needs her to know, instead of having to work with things she knows but can’t always apply to the situation:

Suddenly has a deep knowledge of Magical Law (in the will of Dumbledore’s chapter, while we had Rufus Scrimgeour who could have provided it to us, or to a lesser extent, Ron could have explained how a wizarding will basically worked)

Is suddenly an expert at finding edible plants and mushrooms. Apparently books are always the goddamn answer in JKR’s world, you can literally learn anything from them

She can decipher all the Tales of Beedle the Bard (may I remind you that they were written in Runes, okay Hermione may have a few years of Ancient Runes education BUT I once tried to translate a 3k+ story I had written for fun, from French to English, which means I knew what the subtleties and intentions were, I knew which turns of phrase I had to preserve so it would make sense in the end, and it still took me two gruelling weeks to get a satisfying result!)

Has suddenly grown a sense of quick-thinking (escaping Xenophilius’ house, using the jinx to make Harry’s face weird-looking) despite it being the only remaining flaw she had at the time (remember when she turned her back on her enemy while he was still conscious just to compliment Harry, and almost died as a result, even though she had been training in the DA to learn how to fight Death Eaters?) Quick-thinking under pressure can be learned, but it takes time and a lot of work to force your brain to override its instinct - and it’s fine because we’re all human and different. But no suddenly Hermione is the Greatest Strategist Evah™ and those silly boys (who actually were the original quick-thinking ones, and one of them was established as the strategist early on) better be grateful for this literal goddess because she protects them from all harm with her superhuman brain.

Somehow knows about Quidditch stuff - she knows about a Snitch’s “memory-touch”. Why should she give all the answers? Why can’t Ron give us this particular tidbit of information?

And then when we come to something Ron actually knows, the damn narration itself goes “woah a book that Ron has read but Hermione hasn’t??? shocking!! incredible!! Ron is not dumb, somebody call the news channel”. But… is that really so surprising? We’ve never seen Hermione read wizarding fiction or even Muggle fiction. We’ve never seen Hermione with anything other than schoolbooks in her hands. Of course Ron has read books she hasn’t read since she doesn’t seem to read fiction at all!

Sorry, bit of a tangent over here.

There are only two characters that you can put it convincingly into their dialogue.

So, that’s one part of the problem: the fact that Rowling, after making Ron our insight into magical culture and Hermione our provider of knowledge, ended up saying “eh whatever I guess Hermione can tell us everything we gotta know because it’s more convenient for me”. Which is a decision that was not based on Hermione’s character, but simply lazy writing. Long story short, it probably went: “Could Ron explain this bit of trivia? Meh, better make Hermione say it cause she’ll have read it in a book. It’s convenient and I won’t need to bother myself with exploring Ron’s characterisation.”

(And thus completely forgetting that Ron could maybe ask his big brothers via owl and provide us with a good heap of extra advanced knowledge - Bill is supposed to have aced his NEWTs after all.)

The other part of the problem is quite simply that Hermione is more often than not, either painted as a victim by the narrative (which makes more people take her side, classic manipulation tactic), or made to be right anytime it’s about a plot point.

Hermione’s mistakes are never explicitly stated, corrected, or even pointed out as being unethical.

Hermione only gets one mistake expressedly pointed out as being a mistake: her misadventure in Polyjuice Potion. The rest of them? Even her crush on Lockhart can’t be counted as a mistake - people get crushes all the time, based solely on physical appearance, it’s not something awful or terrible (Except when it’s Ron who crushes on someone. Ron crushing on someone is absolutely forbidden, and he must be punished with much ridicule and humiliation if he thinks he can get away with not worshipping Hermione like the goddess she is. The nerve of him, really.).

Throughout the books Hermione eventually morphs into Rowling’s Powerful Angel of Vengeance, that punishes the people who dared to do something she disliked - Rita is silenced but at a very ethically dubious price; Marietta gets scarred for life because she was more loyal to her mother than to a bunch of people her friend insisted she hang out with; Umbridge is led to a very, very alarming fate that is never made clear but some people have ideas and they’re not all very kid-friendly; Ron first is “helped” without knowing it because Hermione can’t be bothered to have faith in his capabilities, then when he fails to dutifully reward her for “helping” him, she causes him bodily harm before actively bullying him for not mind-reading her interest in him; causes even more bodily harm to Ron because that’s how feminism works; etc.

Hermione’s mistakes are always justified through the plot itself (which is lazy writing).

Turning into a cat? Only affects her.

The Firebolt? Scabbers? Well, in the end, it was really sent by Sirius Black and Crookshanks really wasn’t the culprit. Therefore all the feelings that were hurt and all the trust lost are irrelevant because Hermione was right all along.

Trying to free the house-elves? Well, it’s the intent that counts, right? And we’re never told enough about house-elf lore to know whether they’re poor brainwashed victims or powerful Penate-like symbiotes who need to serve a wizard to survive?

Kidnapping Rita Skeeter, trapping her and blackmailing her? Rita may be one foul little beetle, but that’s going a bit far, isn’t it? Harry approves? Oh, well, I guess it’s okay then…? A main character can’t have a dubious morality, right?

Manipulating Harry into forming Dumbledore’s Army and forcing him to relive a traumatic event with the same woman she’s kidnapped and blackmail and that she knows he hates? In the end, it all works out for the best and Harry’s hurt feelings don’t matter since it’s all about the greater good.

Using the centaurs to get rid of Umbridge (which poses the highly distressing question of what did the centaurs do to her?), realizing that the centaurs aren’t nice little horsies that are going to gently obey her every orders like good Disney princess’ companions, my goodness could this be an opportunity for character growth - nevermind, here comes Grawp the Giant Ex Machina, saving her arse and protecting Hermione from all that scary possibility of introspection. Thanks, Grawp Ex Machina.

Trying to dissuade a highly stressed-out and irrational Harry from rescuing Sirius by telling him exactly what he needed not to hear, a.k.a. “you have a saving people-thing” which causes Harry to completely go bonkers and go save his godfather without thinking twice? Well she was right after all, it was a trap! Nevermind how mind-boggingly insenstive and inadept at dealing with someone else’s feelings she was being, she was right! That means it wasn’t Hermione’s mistake!… probably. (Geez, I’m sensing a pattern here…)

Endangering Cormac’s life (Confunding him WHILE HE’S ON HIS BROOM) to promote Ron’s success? Oh but that’s so romantic! (Yeaaaah, how romantic to display exactly how much faith you lack in your crush. Top it off with a broken neck and that’s a picture perfect first date!)

Assaulting Ron with magic and causing him even more scars than he already had? But he was being cold with her first, right? And he totally should have known she was asking him out! It’s not like her invitation was even worse than his attempt to ask her out two years earlier! Plus she’s just a teenage girl expressing her emotions, anyone who tries to find fault in this is a disgusting abusive misogynist pig! Ha!

Getting all jealous that Harry is better than her at Potions, then pretending she’s not jealous by claiming that TEH BOOK IS EVIL, HARRY, and giving him the cold shoulder too? But no, she’s right, look, Harry used Sectumsempra and he almost killed Draco, nevermind that he’s very horrified about it! Hermione was right, like she always is!

Hermione Obliviating her parents, which pulls her from the “ethically dubious” zone into the “wow okay I’m pretty sure that this counts as a violation of basic human rights” zone, makes her one of those quirky wizardfolk who have the privilege to control those simple-minded Muggles because it’s for the greater good? But nooo she’s crying about it so it’s obviously very sad and angsty and it shows her devotion to the cause!

Splinching Ron while fleeing from the Ministry? Eeeh, but he’s fine, they’ve got Dittany, he’s good as new!… blood loss? Anaemia? What’s that?

Hermione was wrong about the Deathly Hallows not existing? Um, um, that doesn’t matter, LOOK DOBBY IS DEAD AND HARRY IS BACK TO LOOKING FOR THE HORCRUXES!! Therefore Hermione was right, the Hallows weren’t important for their quest, therefore the Hallows might as well not exist, HERMIONE WAS RIGHT NO REALLY I’VE GOT RECEIPTS -

The books never forget to remind Harry and Ron of their own shortcomings and moments of weakness.

Harry’s wrath and recklessness cost Sirius his life. This is the lesson he has to learn from his entitled behaviour in OotP: actions have consequences, and the greater your responsibility, the greater the cost will be.

Ron’s envy and insecurity lead him astray; they’re used to humiliate, ridicule and torture him throughout the books. They’re supposed to teach him that he’s worth something - but how is he supposed to believe that, when nobody ever tells him he’s worth anything? When nobody ever apologizes to him? When his feelings are taken for granted over and over? When his two friends seem to discard him whenever he does one thing wrong?

Hermione is never punished. Hermione is never said to be wrong, never shown to be wrong, never called out on her behaviour. From Prisoner of Azkaban to mid-Deathly Hallows, she stays exactly the same character. She doesn’t grow up. She doesn’t learn. She doesn’t change. She has virtually no character arc.

The only time, THE ONLY TIME IN SEVEN BOOKS, the only time we have something remotely resembling a call-out of Hermione’s horrible behaviour is with this sole quote in HBP:

Harry was left to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge.

Note how it’s about “girls” and not Hermione in particular, which implies that any girl would do what Hermione does to Ron. Thanks for the generalization, JKR, but I like to believe I’m actually a decent sort of person that doesn’t resort to petty cruelty and exploits my friends’ insecurities whenever I’m angry with them.

Hermione NEVER has to apologize. Hermione NEVER has to learn from her mistakes because she’s always presented as a victim when she really isn’t. Hermione NEVER develops into something more - she’s emotionally stuck at fourteen years old. Even less than that when you consider that her reaction to Ron’s return in Deathly Hallows is to trash him with her fists - and she was going to get her wand!! The utter psychopathic b- wanted TO THROW BIRDS AT HIM AGAIN!!! - and this reaction is an appropriate one for a four-years old girl, but certainly not for a supposedly “mature” seventeen-years old.

(Yes, because what separates a child from an adult is the ability to reign in your emotions and not succumb to your impulses. Exactly what Ron did when he left the tent (notice that he had drawn his wand, then he left before he could start hexing Harry), he left to calm himself down. Exactly what Hermione fails to do when Ron returns (she has the impulse to strike him and immediately succumbs to it, which proves to us that The Brightest Witch Of Her Age has all the maturity of a very small child).)

All of that, on top of the awful portrayal in the movies which removes all of Ron’s characteristics to stuff them into Hermione and turns her into some impossible epitome of perfection, eventually contributed to the portrayal of Hermione as the one who is always right and knows everything.

Add to it JKR’s own ridiculous bias (“Ron was quite emotionally immature compared to the other two”, yeah right I don’t see him trying to force freedom onto unwilling creatures or making Harry fly into an irrational rage with mere words but you do you, Jo) and the sexist misconception that “girls are innately more mature than boys”, and you get yourself this apparent behemoth of righteousness that was literally the sole reason why those two silly boys survived everything, and don’t you dare criticize this angel of perfection OR ELSE.

#vivi answers #ask #hermione granger critical #hermione granger #hermione critical #harry potter series #ron weasley #jk rowling #anti jk rowling

[just-jordie-things]

Could u do 8 and 61 for Sokka?

prompt 8: seductive kiss prompt 61: hands on the other person’s back, fingertips pressing under their top, drawing gentle circles against that small strip of skin that makes them break the kiss with a gasp ___

** takes place during Tales of Ba Sing Se **

You weren’t exactly sure about spending the entire day with Sokka, you didn’t often have alone time with him, and that’s how you liked it.  Too much time alone and you would say something goofy and let your feelings slip out, and you simply couldn’t have that, could you?

However, the other options weren’t all too enticing either.

You could have had a girl’s day with Katara and Toph, go to a spa, get all done up, but you weren’t the type.  Neither was Toph- but she hadn’t gotten the choice.  You were the lucky one.

You could have joined Aang in his hunt for Appa, and you truly had considered it, but the young Avatar was so worked up about it that you didn’t want to get in the way.

And so that left you with Sokka, alone, in the apartment.

“Let’s go out!” The boy declared.

You looked up from where you’d been intently focused on a book you’d picked up- you’d planned on reading it front to cover tonight, just to keep some distance- and you found Sokka standing before you, grinning ear to ear.

“Um, out?” You mumble, weakly, unsurely.

“Yeah! Let’s just get out of here and find something cool to do,” Sokka suggested, waving his hands in hopes of getting you to put your book down and come with him.  “We can go wherever you want...?”

Your mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to think of a good excuse, a justified reason as to why you couldn’t do that.  But none came to mind, and you only ended up stammering.

“I- I don’t know, I’m in pajamas and the others will be home soon I think-” 

“So? Get dressed!” Sokka said, and you winced a little, realizing it was a terrible excuse.

“Sokka... I just don’t know about-” 

“Alright, enough of this,” He stepped forward, taking your book and being sure to mark your page before tossing it aside.  “Come on! You need to liven up a little!”

He reached out, taking your hands and tugging until you stood, gaping even more.

“Sokka-” 

“Come on, please? Please (y/n/n)? Can we just go do one fun stupid thing together?”

You opened your mouth to protest, but he was begging you, and the puppy dog look in his eyes was impossible to reject.

So you sighed, and headed towards your room.

“Just let me change into some normal clothes, I’ll be right out” 

Sokka cheered silently and fist pumped the air a couple times while your back was turned. ___

“You clean up nice when you’re not moping!” 

You roll your eyes, although you’re blushing, and stuff your hands into your pockets.

“I wasn’t moping,” You argued.  “I just really wanted to finish my book” 

“You can finish it anytime!” Sokka retorted, gazing down at you fondly although he was scolding you.

He couldn’t help it, you looked so pretty in the Earth-Kingdom-green outfit you wore, even when you were pouting up at him.

“We don’t have all the time in the world to just explore the city, you know?” He asks, and you duck your head down, knowing you can’t disagree with that.

It’s quiet between the two of you as you wander along the streets in search of something to do.  And if you weren’t so lost in your thoughts, you probably would have felt awkward being alone with him like this.

Sokka, on the other hand, thought his heart was going to explode from the nerves.

“Are you hungry? We could get dinner,” He offered, desperate to fill the silence between you.  “Oh! Or we could go see a show or something?”

“A show?” You ask, quirking a brow up at him and fighting he urge to smirk.  “Like... a musical? Like a performance show?” You began to giggle.

“Sure! Why are you laughing?” Sokka asked, confused.  “Wouldn’t that be... fun?”

“I mean, isn’t that kind of.. a date?” You asked, your face burning up at the word alone.  “Dinner and a show?”

“So?” 

Upon his simple rebuttal, you were blushing harder, your wide is locking on his while you walked, but your pace significantly slowed.

“So...?” You repeated, shaking your head slightly.  “So this isn’t a date,” You tell him, shrugging your shoulders.  “We’re just getting something to eat”  ___

“I mean, it’s kind of a date” 

You glanced up at him from across the small table you were sat at.  The flame of the candle between you flickering for a moment before going still again.

“No, it really isn't” You remind him for what felt like the tenth time that night, before looking back down at your food, picking around at it.

A few minutes later, the waitress came back with a dessert on the house.

“For the lovebirds to share” She’d said.

Sokka gave you a look, before grinning and helping himself to the sweet treat.

“Don’t even say it” You muttered.

He didn’t, but he was still wearing that dopey smile of his. ___

“You really don’t think so, huh?” He brought it up again as you sat at the fountain in the town center.

“Sokka, if you bring up the date thing again-” 

“I’m just saying, you can admit it, (y/n)” He tells you, but you shake your head.

“Nothing to admit,” You shook your head, before leaning back on your hands and looking up at the stars.  “Now, would you just enjoy this one stupid fun thing?” You repeated his words back at him, smiling to yourself as you traced constellations with your eyes.

Sokka smiled as well, his gaze set on you, wearing the same fond look you had when you stargazed.

You must have felt his eyes on you, because you were turning to him suddenly, raising a brow.

“What?” You mumbled, a blush creeping up your neck as you met his gaze.

He’s silent, his smile stretching, only making the rosy hue in your face darken.

You wonder if he’s doing this on purpose, if he’s messing with you.  Maybe he likes to see you flustered, maybe he knows you’re harboring a crush on him and he just wants to see you suffer.

You’re not sure why exactly he’s looking at you like that.

But he doesn’t say anything, just mimics your position and looks up at the sky. ___

The rest of the night went smoothly, at least you thought it did, because you didn't feel like you were on the verge of throwing up butterflies.

As the pair of you walked home, laughing, talking more than you ever had before, you felt relieved that you’d let Sokka drag you out tonight.

“Thank you,” You told him as you reached the apartment.  “I was just gonna hole myself up all night-” 

“I know,” Sokka chuckles, opening the door and letting you in first.  “You do it all the time” 

You open your mouth to defend yourself, but you don’t know what to say, so you close it again, but Sokka can read the expression on your face well.

“I mean, that’s why we’ve never hung out before” He says, turning away from you as he walks further inside.

“It’s not personal” You say, quickly, before he can think you’ve been avoiding him for the wrong reasons.

You follow him into the kitchen, wringing your hands together.

He laughs at your reply, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Really? Cause we just spent the entire night together and you can barely look at me- you’re not even looking at me now-” 

“Sokka its not that-” 

“Then what is it?”

Your eyes shoot up to his then, glossy, and worried.  He doesn’t understand why, but your nerves are eating away at you.

“Sokka, I- I just...” 

You’re shaking your head, shutting your eyes, trying to find the right words, but you can’t, your anxiety is closing up your throat.

“To be honest (y/n) I like you,” 

His words make your eyes open again, your lips parting in shock.

“A lot, actually, but you just always push me away, and I don’t get why either-” 

“You like me?” You ask him, stepping closer.  “Like- as in you have feelings for me?”

It takes him a second, but he nods back.

A breathless laugh escapes you.

“I like you too,” You reply, a soft smile playing on your lips.  “That’s why I.... I didn’t want to hang out too much... you know?” 

He pauses for a moment, before walking in closer to you, taking you by surprise as his hands reached out for your jaw.

“That’s so stupid” He sighs.

You have no time to retaliate, before his lips are covering yours, and your knees almost give out beneath you.

You melt into him before you can think otherwise- like maybe your friends would be home soon- and you kiss him back fervently.

You’d been waiting for this for a while now, might as well make the most of it.

So you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him down to you even further, properly deepening the kiss.

Sokka’s lips were warm, and soft, and it shouldn’t have surprised you, but he was a really good kisser.

His hands dropped from your face, grabbing at our hips and pulling you closer to him.  Unintentionally, or so you thought, his his hands slipped under the hem of your shirt.

But as you small sound of pleasure died in the back of your throat, he grew more confident, and suddenly both of his hands were sliding around the dip in your back, drawing small shapes into your skin and delighting in the way you gasped against his mouth, before stealing another kiss.

“We, should, um,” You panted, having a hard time collecting your words.  “We should go upstairs,” You said, taking him by surprise.  “They’re gonna be back soon” 

As he started to smirk at you, you were quick to stand on the tips of your toes, and capture a few more kisses, just because you could, and you felt like it.

“It was totally a date by the way” 

“Oh my spirits- no, it wasn’t!” You giggled, before he was picking you up and bringing you towards the stairs.

“It was,” He mumbled, sealing your lips in a kiss, holding it a few seconds longer than before.  “Just stop trying to deny it” 

You sigh, resting your forehead against his as he takes you up the stairs.

“Never,” You giggle.  “I just like to see you suffer” 

“Clearly” He mutters, leaning down and kissing you again as he made it to the top of the stairs.

Just as you were heading into his room, you could hear the front door opening downstairs, Katara and Toph waltzing in laughing and calling into the apartment that they were home.

Sokka kicked his door shut behind him. ___

xoxo ~ jordie

#atla #sokka #sokka x reader #sokka imagine #sokka scenario

[tuiyla]

So I finally watched The Owl House

I wish I’d do this with every show I watch but it seems like only a lucky few get the She-Ra style rant of love treatment. Well, I finally watched The Owl House after my dash having been flooded for the past couple of weeks and I have some thoughts. Slight spoilers below.

First off, I love the whole vibe. I had a faint idea that this show would be about magic but I didn’t know much before watching - except for one thing, we’ll get back to that. The way it builds its world and deals with magic, though, is so refreshing. And I just have to mention here that I laughed out loud at all the Harry Potter jabs, they were hilarious. I expect we’ll learn much more about magic and its users as the show goes on but as far as the first season goes the introduction was really solid. It strikes the right balance between leaving things to the imagination but being more than “wave wand and magic happens”. It’s colourful, it’s creative, and I even like the ovens and school tracks, despite knowing that the story is about not conforming to those. It makes the Boiling Isles unique and make me want to learn more about the world even beyond the characters and the main plot.

TOH also presents a world that’s much more macabre than I was expecting from the Disney Channel, not that that’s a bad thing. I found myself thinking of Adventure Time at certain points and pondering, at scary moments, how kids would react. I think kids love this, though, and besides, nothing can be more scarring than Courage the Cowardly Dog was. It’s not that terrifying, of course, just daring enough to stand out. Overall the show has what I would classify as more of a Cartoon Network vibe than a Disney Channel one, but I admittedly haven’t really been following many Disney shows. In any case, I dig it. I dig the weird creatures and the beautiful backgrounds and I appreciate how alive the Boiling Isles feel. It doesn’t take long for TOH to immerse you in its world so I’m for one am hooked.

I make a big deal of loving the world itself because rarely does it happen that world-building stands out to me so soon in a series. I do love carefully constructed fantasy worlds but for the most part I’m more interested in the characters themselves. Here, I’d say it’s close to being a 50-50, which is something that even Avatar can’t say with its elemental masterclass in world-building (which is mostly because the character depth there is unrivaled but still). So yeah, kudos to The Owl House for achieving this. From Luz’s glyph magic to the covens and the titans, I’m excited to explore this world more.

Now, the characters. The real meat of any story. Starting with Luz, I have seen some criticism that she’s a generic hero so far, the “I’m a weirdo”, heart of gold, upbeat variety. I don’t think this makes her bland, though I do admit that being told over and over again that she’s weird makes me less engaged, even she’s also shown to be weird. I like the message of her arc and that the chosen one trope was deconstructed almost right away. I like that she’s relentlessly enthusiastic and kind to people and I like that she doesn’t have to get more bitter in order to get development. Instead, she learns from her mistakes but keeps being herself and brings her unique spirit to the Boiling Isles. We need protagonists like Luz, not just because she’s latina and bisexual but because her learning process doesn’t involve cynicism. Sure, there is a lot she needs to learn but her heart is presented as an asset and a sort of source of magic. I’m excited to see where her story goes, for sure.

I’m gonna write briefly about the other characters before I get to my favourite one. Eda is super cool and I quickly got over the fact that she’s not Beatrice Horseman, lol. She embodies such a youthful energy but the show also allows her to be a middle-aged woman comfortable in her own body - well, owl curse notwithstanding. Also, her relationship with Lilith is one of my favourite parts of the whole show. Eda subverts so many of the mentor’s traditional tropes and I’m here for it. I kinda thought she was the villain based on her design and when I didn’t know anything about the show but hey, happy she’s not.

I don’t think I’d even seen a picture of King before starting to watch the series and at first I thought I’d get tired of him real quick. He’s the type of character who can get really annoying instead of endearing really fast if he’s not given any depth or charm, both by way of writing and voice acting. Luckily, I ended up liking King and his antics. His design is indeed adorable and Alex Hirsch is a genius. The only time I felt like he went too far was, perhaps surprisingly, in the book writing episode, “Sense and Insensitivity”, but even there going too far was the point. So yeah, King’s also great, there’s much potential in his backstory and general character.

Alright so really quickly, other characters: Willow and Gus are generic best friend characters and though they already have other things going on, I expect more development as the series progresses. I like that Willow is actually super powerful, just not in the way people expected her to and Gus is clearly also talented despite being younger. I’d be happy to see more of the other kids, get more familiar with Hexside. Edric and Emira are fun characters but they were really shitty in their first episode so I was kind of surprised they weren’t more of a nuisance to Amity later on. I’m all for supportive siblings so I wouldn’t mind a good relationship between the three but I feel like it’s more complicated than that with the Blights.

Finally, I also have to mention that Hooty is... well, quite something, isn’t he. Much like with King, I thought he’d be much more annoying but somehow the show is self-aware enough that it makes Hooty tolerable. I’m almost always torn between feeling sorry for him and being thoroughly weirded out, and I think that’s the intention? It’s fitting that he’s the titular character as he embodies the tone of The Owl House well in my eyes. He’s there for the comedy but there’s just enough there to hint at something more. Very bizarre, strong CN vibes, here for it.

Now that I’ve written a paragraph more about Hooty than I expected to, let’s talk about Amity. Listen, no other character stood a chance to be my favourite as soon as I learned Mae Whitman voiced Amity. That woman gave me Katara so now I have a quasi Pavlovian response to her voice. I’d also say that I knew more about Amity going into the show than I did about any other aspect of TOH. I heard somewhere that she started out as an antagonist, I knew her parents were abusive, and the reason the show blew up on my dash and my general online bubble is the Grom episode. Lucikly I only saw stills of Lumity beneath the crescent moon but the pure Sapphic energy of that was enough to gay migrate me to this show. I’d like to note it here though that The Owl House is a good show in and of itself, the queer rep is just a nice extra. I’m gonna spend the next couple hundred words going on about Amity and her crush on Luz but I don’t value only that. The Gay Migration is great and rep is great but I’m also grateful to have a solid show behind it. That being said.

I’m a total dyke for Amity Blight. I was very biased before even being introduced to her character but I genuinely find her to be fascinating and she has great potential. She’s developing quite quickly, like much of The Owl House, but an arc not being stretched out for several seasons before getting a rushed conclusion is refreshing. The progress hits all the beats and the only note I have is that I want more. She starts out as a generic bully but the opportunity to be more is there from the beginning. We find out early on that she used to be friends with Willow, we see that she works hard and values honest work. When she becomes Luz’s rival, it doesn’t last long before Amity shows that she’s open to new perspectives. That’s not to defend or even justify her earlier and nastier moments, Amity was rude to both Luz and Willow. But through all that, she becomes a complex character who does bad things but isn’t a bad person and grows when she gets the space to. I think that’s neat.

Luz’s decision to befriend her might be cartoon logic but as someone who subscribes to the “kill them with kindness” ideology, I can totally relate. Amity’s softer side doesn’t take long to show and “Lost in Language” is such a great episode to show how complex people can be. Again, I was already biased when it came to Amity but she’s consistently shown to be capable of self-reflection and growth when others give her the chance. I think her past and potential future friendship with Willow is a great way to explore many different topics and I’m trusting the show to do it justice. I also can’t wait to meet the rest of the Blights, if only to get me some angst and further develop Amity. I half expected Grom to take the form of her parents. Too dark for Disney? Well, we don’t know Amity’s dynamic with her parents, exactly, but there’s so much subtext and potential. I love what we’ve already seen from her but I’d also say that she has one of the greatest potentials in the show.

Another way in which this potential manifests is Lumity, of course. Again, they’re developing quite quickly but that doesn’t mean it’s rushed. I’d love to explore Amity’s crush more and what Luz means to her. The Grom episode surpassed all expectations, still and gifs don’t do the stunning dance sequence justice. The animation is so smooth, the colours are amazing, the music is on point and the Sapphic vibes complete the picture. Poetic cinema, truly. Molly Ostertag and Noelle Stevenson are really out there giving wlw animation fans everything we ever wanted, huh. It also warms my heart that the crush is made very clear, not just by Luz’s name being on the note but by the delightful gay disaster that is Amity in “Wing It Like Witches”. I never thought I’d ever see such a relatable useless lesbian in animation so kudos to Dana Terrace and the whole crew. Wow, how far we’ve come.

So yeah, Amity is a funky little lesbian and I’m a 100% here for her gay disaster moments, but I also love where Lumity is going thematically. They’re great as foils and I’m hoping that they won’t get together at the very end. Look, I love me some Bubbline, Korrasami and Catradora, but it’s time a wlw relationship had the chance to exist onscreen and not only in the last episode. The Owl House has a great chance to do that. I know the creators don’t want romance to be the main focus and I respect that, I think the world they created deserves to showcased and explored to its full potential. Lumity could be a great subplot though, as representation on the one hand and as a thematically interesting dynamic on the other. Plus, Luz and Amity are just cute and sometimes, it’s as simple as that. Oh, and also the whole Little Miss Perfect thing? One of the best fandom discoveries I’ve made in a long while. Not only is the song truly perfect for Amity, I love that Joriah Kwamé went on to write Ordinary as well. This right here is why fandom is beautiful.

I think that’s about it for season 1 initial thoughts. The moral can be a bit on the nose at times, especially in the early episodes but the show is ultimately for kids and I appreciate its message. Interesting world and magic system, good characters, great potential for later seasons, just a well put together show that I’m really glad I started watching. I’m kind of sorry I didn’t keep up with season 1 as it was coming out but I would not have been able to wait between episodes. The pacing is good overall, deffo moves fast but I wouldn’t call it rushed, and the “filler” episodes still add something to the story. I’m not sure if I would still feel like the show moves at a fast pace if I hadn’t binged it but in any case it isn’t rushed, the necessary beats are all there and have time to sit. I’m going to watch as it comes out from now on so hopefully season 2 will arrive early next year.

Oh, and: I’m very new to the fandom, barely just found out about Little Miss Perfect, so any and all tidbits, fun facts, and fic recommendations are welcome. Also if you just want to chat my inbox is always open!

#the owl house #toh #amity blight #lumity #luz noceda #my thoughts #down another rabbit hole i go

[emblemxeno]

(3H SPOILERS) Analysis of Main Characters in FE and the Western FE Community’s Perception of Them

In the midst of all the Three Houses hype, there’s a lot of contention with Edelgard as a character as well as her route in general with how it plays out.

With this, it’s given me some perspective on how the community feels about main characters and whether or not they are liked and/or well written. Since I am a Westerner myself, please always assume this is in the context of the western FE audience, as I don’t know enough about the JP audience to do comparisons or whatnot.

Now with this, there’s more or less a pattern with some main characters in how they’re received by western fans. (Sigurd, Seliph, Leif, Roy and Kris won’t be covered in this since I haven’t read enough of their games’ scripts to get a grasp on them)

The most contentious main characters by far are Eirika, Micaiah, Corrin and Celica (when I say contentious I don’t mean unpopular as they have many fans; however, though popular, they also have the most detractors). 

These characters all have very defined flaws that get them in trouble in their games, are peace seeking in general and look for peaceful ways unless there is no other choice, and all do questionable things in their stories that call for doubt, discussion, and criticism. Most of their development comes from making mistakes and learning from them. They are also all known for getting into situations where they either need rescue or because of something they fucked up.

The least contentious main characters (compared to the four above, I might add) are Hector, Ephraim, Ike, and Alm. 

They may or may not have noticeable flaws, but they hardly ever cause trouble for them. They may or may not seek peace at some opportunities, but are always willing, with no hesitation, to fight. They are all blunt and speak their mind, and though sometimes that poses situations where they could get into trouble, but they never really do. Most of their development comes from growth after bad things happening to them rather than something that they messed up.

In this, realize that main characters are the ones that people identify with the most, therefore, there’s a reason for certain characters to be less contentious than others. In particular, the reason for FE main characters?

It’s probably a little bitchy to say it like this, but it’s kind of power fantasy esque. 

Hector, Ephraim, Ike, and Alm all have great authority/renown within their groups or territories and are always seemingly in control of the situation. They are hardly questioned, and when they are they are almost always proven right. In short, the players like these characters because they are validated as strong, intelligent, and almost always in control of the moment. Since these are the characters players identify with, the players themselves feel validated.

In contrast, compare to them Eirika, Micaiah, Corrin and Celica. They hold little authority (compared to the other four), are questioned and not always proven right, doubted at some points, they question and doubt themselves, they’re not as notably strong in various fields like the other four so they don’t get validated as the other four. Being main characters, these are also characters that players are to identify with, but since they have unattractive/undesirable qualities to them, (and because FE players always believe they themselves have the perfect solutions to everything) they are instead cast aside as being badly written, stupid, incompetent, and the oh so misused moniker, Mary Sue. 

(Well, Celica doesn’t really get called that, but that’s because she wasn’t known by the audience that uses it frequently, and Echoes came out at a period when people stopped using it wrongly)

Again, I don’t wanna sound condescending, but power fantasy is really what I get from this.

Now there is sort of a problem with this theory, and that’s Ephraim, because he’s contentious in his own right because of the shit he pulls in FE8, but he gets less flack than his sister, Corrin, and Micaiah, so...

Anyway, besides the characters I intentionally left out because I didn’t know enough about them, there remains Marth, Lyn, Eliwood, Chrom, Robin, and the 3H Lords.

What’s notable about Mar-Mar is that his Shadow Dragon interpretation is very well received over here in the west. Marth in Shadow Dragon is written as being more blunt, and not really questioning himself, his actions, or anything that happens around him. Notice how this is very much unique to SD, as the original Dark Dragon script as well as Mystery and New Mystery portray softer, more idealistic Mar-Mars. Heroes also takes after those portrayals. Yet the audience here likes the SD portrayal the best; the one most similar to Hector, Ephraim, Ike, and Alm.

Lyn is in an interesting situation; she’s very much in control and she’s not as unimportant in the story as some say, but it’s still very much Eliwood’s story. Which makes it all the more weird that Hector shines over poor Eli. Had Lyn not been many players first Waifu FE lord, Hector would no doubt be the most popular one. Compared to Hec, Eli is peaceseeking and idealistic, though not to the point of the more contentious lords, so he gets passed on compared to his friends, but not to the point where people think he’s badly written.

Chrom and Robin are in an interesting situation as well, as the story is Chrom’s and then gradually become’s Robin’s story as it nears the end. (Some say they stole it from Chrom, but I would say it’s like the spotlight slowly drifted from him to them) 

Chrom doesn’t have a notable flaw that gets him into danger, and is in control/has authority throughout a good deal of the campaign, but also very emotional and starts looking for peaceful solutions more often than say Hector, Ephraim, Ike, and Alm. Chrom tries to reason with Walhart, even, and those other four would never. So he’s kind of at an in between. Robin... is kind of hard to discern. They are supposed to be the character the player identifies with more since they are the avatar. We do see that they are in control as well and never makes to many mistakes. But they’re also batshit crazy for setting fleets on fire and fighting in a volcano. Having the player suspend their disbelief like that isn’t the best thing for identifying with a character, but it seems people like them enough for other reasons so indirect validation isn’t as prominent a thing with them.

Then come the 3H lords, and oh my, they do not fit into any sort of mold whatsoever; not perfectly anyway.

Byleth being a complete blank slate means they are truly in the middle on things; despite being the least customizable in appearance, they are the most avatar like of the FE avatars. The player can feel true, direct validation from the 3H cast as you get to pick which dialogue choices you want, and do other things at your own pace. (Unless you care about support points) As a character they’re not anything too special, but since they are a true avatar, they’re not seen as bad as say, Corrin, because the player can literally be who they want through Byleth and be validated by the story at the same time.

Edelgard, (the most discussed of the lords) is also unique. Never has a main character been so extreme in how they accomplish things. From what I’ve gathered from FE4, she’s Arvis like. And yet, she’s a protagonist in one possible outcome. She has the attractive qualities of protagonists like Hector and Ike, (being in control/having authority, speaking her mind) yet she’s contentious because unlike them her morality is very grey. The very definition of the ends justify the means. There’s a reason her title in Heroes is ‘The Future’. Because her goal and ambition is for the future, with no limit on what she’ll do to get there.

Dimitri is unique because he starts off as model prince, honor loving, sweet boy with bad hair. Then you gradually notice strange things about him, then Remire happens, then you learn he’s at the academy for revenge, then he goes feral at the Holy Tomb, and descends even further for 5 years, until he’s a revenge obsessed beast. He then begins his ascent back to being a proper king for his people (he’s more deserving of the title Restoration King than Ephraim, but that’s just me). There’s never been a main character in FE that falls so low and then climbs back up like that.

Claude himself is unique as well. Besides being the most well adjusted of the three lords, he’s actually pretty idealistic compared to them. He has big dreams and ambitions for Fodlan, and his main concerns are with the world at large, and his story doesn’t end with the major war among the 3 factions. He’s intelligent enough to not be blinded by emotion like Dimitri but also keen enough enough to realize that pure brute force isn’t the only option unlike with Edelgard. He’s very much a middle ground, but a middle ground that’s like a bell curve instead of a straight line, since Edie and Dima both fall hard and do messed up things, but are still not completely terrible people, whereas Claude is nowhere as extreme as they are and feels like a true balance.

If nothing else, 3 Houses achieves something very different with all of its main characters for once.

Anway, that’s kind of all I have. Sorry for the long post, but Fire Emblem is my #1 game series for a reason, so I get big into these passion analyses sometimes.

#fire emblem #fire emblem shadow dragon #fire emblem echoes #fire emblem blazing sword #fire emblem sacred stones #fire emblem path of radiance #fire emblem radiant dawn #fire emblem awakening #fire emblem fates #fire emblem three houses #marth #alm #celica #eliwood #lyn #hector #eirika #ephraim #ike #micaiah #chrom #robin #corrin #byleth #edelgard von hresvelg #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #claude von riegan

[eldritchsurveys]

911.

5k Survey XXXIV

1751. Do you think that it is okay for a homosexual or a woman to become a priest? >> Of course. I’m sure some sects think they’re justified in barring certain kinds of people from being priests, but I think it’s kind of fucked up to deny someone that kind of religious stature based on nothing but some arbitrary fact of birth or design. 1752. Which would you rather give up forever, religion or sex? >> Why can’t you love god in your bed? said Steve Vai and he was fucking right, god dammit. Give me both at the same time. 1753. What comes to mind when you think of these places: Canada? Moose. UK? Those red double-decker buses. I’ve seen way too many pictures of London and not enough of the rest of the UK. USA? The White House. Australia? The movie The Nightingale. Germany? Beer. Italy? The canals in Venice. 1754. What does your favorite bumper sticker say? >> Oh fuck, I’ve forgotten! I saw one a while ago that just slayed me but I’ve forgotten what it said by now. Unfortunate. 1755. Have you ever taken a shower with another person? >> Yes.

1756. What bath toys do you have, if any? >> I don’t have any bath toys. 1757. Would you rather propose to someone you love or would you rather be proposed to by someone you love? >> Does it matter? 1758. How can you reject someone nicely? >> By being tactfully honest about the fact that you’re not interested in what they’re offering.

1759. What kinds of diary names make you interested enough to check out the diary? >> --- 1760. What do you think are three common passwords people use to secure their diaries? >> --- 1761. Pick an object in the room. Give that object a name. >> I’m cheating and picking a plushie. Its name is Marshmellow and it’s a white dog with pink accents. 1762. What is the quickest way to make you blush? >> --- 1763. Do you usually feel that you deserve it when other people compliment you? >> I don’t always feel like I deserve it, but I try to accept it gracefully anyway. It’s a kind gesture to give a compliment and I'd hate to alienate the giver by denying it. 1764. If you were to start your own business what kind of business do you think it might be? >> I don’t want to do that. 1765. What is one of your pet peeves? >> When I’m taking a walk and have to dodge into the fucking street to avoid lawn sprinklers. 1766. What question do you get asked too frequently? >> I used to get asked constantly if my septum ring hurt. Luckily I haven’t heard that question in a while.

1767. You notice a ring is priced $40.00, but the cashier only charges you $10.00. Do you mention this to the cashier? >> Yeah. Back in the day, I wouldn’t have, because an extra $30 in my pocket would have been beyond lucky. But I don’t have to worry about that so much anymore, so I can indulge the luxury of uprightness. 1768. Could a kiss on the ___ be considered cheating? Cheek?  Lips? Nose? Hand? Ear? Neck? 1769. Would it bother you if your lover occasionally flirted with others? >> Of course not. That person’d better flirt back too, she’s a catch.  1770. How long has it been since you last played truth or dare? >> I don’t play that. 1771. Should people who are living now be obligated to do things that will make the world better for people who will live 100 years from now? >> I don’t know. I mean, we’re struggling trying to make the world better for ourselves, let alone hypothetical people who don’t even exist yet. 1772. Imagine you have a dream in which someone you care for acts mean to you. Is it possible you will still be angry with this person when you wake up? >> I know it’s possible for some people because I’ve heard this kind of story before. It’s not possible for me, I don’t think of the people in my dreams as actual avatars of real-life people. Dream folks are just wearing faces they’ve pulled from my memory. 1773. Have you ever left someone a note with a picture in it? If yes, how do you do it? >> Er, no, I don’t think so. 1774. What do you fear more, death or pain? >> Pain, definitely pain. When I think of the various things I fear about death, they all come down to being afraid of some kind of pain (physical, mental, psychic). 1775. Are the questions still interesting this far into the survey? >> Some of them are, like the previous one. And then there are whole sections that have just annoyed me, lol. 1776. Do you like the cartoon Inspector Gadget? >> I’ve never seen it. 1777. You know how Gadget wears the same outfit all the time, and his closet is full of outfits that are exactly identical to the one he wears? If your closet was full of just one outfit that you had to wear everyday what would it be like? >> Sweatpants (or shorts, in summer) and a band t-shirt. And a hoodie, in chilly weather. 1778. Would you rather time travel to the future or the past? >> No. 1779. Would you rather know how the world began or how it will end? >> I think we’ve learned a lot about how the world began, right? Or at the very least, we have sound theories about it. Now, how the universe began... that’s the kind of shit I’m into. 1780. Would you rather meet your ancient ancestors or your great great great great great great grandchildren? >> --- 1781. Out of these 4 which is most important (1=most, 2= second most, 3 = 3rd most, 4 = least)? Curing diseases such as aids, cancer:  Preserving wildlife areas:  Ending terrorism:  Building colonies in space: 1782. In your opinion should every child be entitled to a good education? >> Sure. I mean, why not, right? 1783. What news item are you tired of hearing about? >> The presidential election. 1784. Speaking of 9/11 the anniversary is coming up. What will you be doing? >> Nothing. It doesn’t mean anything to me, I wasn’t there and neither was anyone I know. 1785. If this were a recipe for you, how would it go? >> --- 1786. Which of the following would YOU be more likely to survive: A fall from a 3 story building Driving a car into the water >> A fall from a 3-storey building. I can’t swim, so I’m definitely not surviving the second one. 1787. What philosophy was manifested in the communist manifesto? >> Was it not Communism? Or is that not a philosophy, per se... hmm. 1788. Who is your exact opposite? >> No one is my exact opposite. That just doesn’t make any sense. 1789. Would you rather have serenity or insanity? >> --- 1790. What do these phrases mean? Moulin Rouge:  Le voyage sur le bateau:  Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir: something about would you like to sleep with me tonight, idk. I just remember it from that one song. 1791. What is the longest distance you have ever walked? >> I have no idea. Miles and miles. 1792. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato believes that beauty truth and justice all basically mean the same thing. What are your feelings about this? >> I don’t understand what Plato was trying to say here, I need the context. 1793. How did you first begin to assert yourself as independent from your parents? >> I mean, that... happens in childhood, right? The development of the self as a separate entity from one’s caregivers? 1794. If you had a magic bracelet, would you use it to gain luck, money, health, creativity or love? >> No. 1795. What would you do if every time you used your magic bracelet something bad would happen to someone else? >> I wouldn’t have used the bracelet in the first place, because all shit like that has some kind of equivalent-exchange side effect. I know my magic devices, okay. 1796. This is a story about a girl. While at the funeral of her own mother, she met a guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing, so much her dream guy she believed him to be that she fell in love with him then and there, although she didn’t even see him after the funeral ended. A few days later, the girl killed her own sister. What is her motive for killing her sister? >> Oh, I’ve heard this one before. It’s some kind of crack “test” to see if you’re a psychopath. The supposed “psychopath answer” is that she was hoping that the guy would appear at her sister’s funeral. 1797. Have you ever intentionally hurt someone’s feelings? >> Sure. 1798. What do you think of Franz Ferdinand? >> As far as the band is concerned, I like that Take Me Out song, but I don’t know any of their others. Alas, I don’t know anything about the Archduke except that he was assassinated, so I can’t say I have an opinion on him. 1799. What do you think of the band Modest Mouse? >> I liked Float On, but I don’t know any of their other songs. 1800. What do you think of Morrissey? >> I like Morrissey. Well, his music, anyway.

#surveys #survey #5000 question survey

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #57: Legacy of Light. A Squiggle Meister’s Views on the Oz Reincarnation Cycle

I believe it was @keyenuta who once asked me to discuss the Ozpin reincarnates when their faces were first revealed. While I didn’t have much to say on this subject at the time, I do wish to share my views on it now since there’s one thing that's been really bugging me about the Oz Cycle.

Am I the only one who finds it odd how Ozpin’s adversaries seem to act surprised at him returning so soon after death? This point was first made by Leonardo Lionheart back in V4 and later followed up by the remaining members of Team WTCH in V6.

“…This can’t be…I knew you would be back, but...you made it here! You found Qrow! How?”

“Wait. You can’t have had this form for long. You’re…not really Ozpin right now.”  - Leonardo Lionheart (RWBY Volume 5 Chapter 11)  

“That’s not just a boy. It’s Ozpin. He’s already reincarnated.” - Leonardo Lionheart (RWBY Volume 5 Chapter 12)  

“Qrow and the children are taking the lamp to Atlas and they’re being led by Ozpin.”

“So soon!” – Hazel Rainart and Tyrian Callows (RWBY Volume 6 Chapter 4)  

I always found this bit to be kind of strange. They all make it seem as if Oz reincarnation cycle doesn’t happen as instantaneous as most of us probably assumed it would be. I originally pegged that the Oz Cycle followed the same mechanics as the Avatar Cycle from Last Airbender meaning that the moment the last predecessor died, their successor would be born. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with Ozma.

The impression I got is that there is this great gap of time lost between the moment the last Ozma incarnate died and the next one. That being said, this brings to light something I observed back in Volume 6 Chapter 3.

During the scene where the God of Light was first communing with Ozma in-between worlds, the God told Ozma that his world was destroyed, which the audience knew since we witnessed it happen at the hands of the God of Darkness as a result of Salem insubordination. 

However, despite this, the God of Light also informed Ozma that humanity would grow to walk Remnant’s surface once more and when Ozma was reincarnated the first time, he returned as a man born in a time when Second Remnant had already been established.

This brings me to my theory. What if…the way the Ozma Cycle works is that Ozma reincarnates a whole half a century meaning 50 years following his previous death. This could justify why Ozpin had to put things in place during times of reincarnation. It wasn’t just as a failsafe to prepare his trusted allies for when he returned but also to provide them with instructions on how to help humanity in his place because he knew that the next time he reawakens in the body of someone else a lot of time would have passed.

This could also explain why Salem was so adamant on Cinder confirming Ozpin’s death after the Fall of Beacon in V4. The Attack on the Vytal Festival and the simultaneous Fall of Beacon and its CCT Tower left Remnant tethering on the brink of a second Great War with all menacing eyes staring towards Atlas. With Ozpin gone and the world on the brink of conflict, it would’ve provided Salem and her forces with enough camouflage to go forward with their scheme to gather all the Relics without Ozpin’s interference.

If things had gone accordingly, Ozpin may not have returned to Remnant at all because the world would’ve been was destroyed for good if Salem had gotten her way and summoned the Gods with humanity as it now. If things had gone accordingly, the man we know as Professor Ozpin would’ve been Ozma’s final form.

This is probably another reason as to why Oscar’s predicament is so special. Professor Ozpin dying at Beacon would have marked a true failure for Ozma as he would have either returned to the world completely gone with just him and the immortal Salem floating around in space on what was left of the world or just not reawaken at all since humanity would’ve been wiped out for good this time along with Remnant itself. 

Even with Ozpin leaving his most trusted with instructions, we all know how that went down with Lionheart being revealed as a traitor last volume. And all of this might not have come to fruition if Ozpin hasn’t returned right away as Oscar. Interesting.

.Returning to my theory on the Ozma Cycle. So let's say, it took humanity a whole decade, give or take to be restored to their original form and restart civilization. I’m no science wiz but I think 100 years could work as enough time for the world to reboot itself, correct? Once humanity was restored, what if…Ozma was possibly first reincarnated another 50 years after that in the body of a 28 year old adult male. 

Okay here me out on this one because it’s about to get mathematical. This is what I think and feel free to disagree with me if you will. I think the way the Ozma cycle works is that when he dies, he returns every 50 years following his last life reborn as an adult male on the cusp of manhood at 28 years old. 

I know this is just me guessing here but my justification for why I picked the number 28 is in order to correlate with Oscar’s age. Currently, from the time of his introduction to now, Oscar is 14 years old and as we saw from V6 C3, Oscar is by far the youngest of Ozpin’s incarnates. So my hunch is that all of Ozpin’s previous forms must’ve been twice Oscar’s age when they were chosen.  

14 x 2 = 28   

 Solid math, right? I’d like to believe that what makes Oscar’s situation so unique is because he’s probably half the traditional age of all the other forms Ozma has had in the past. When you look back at all of Ozma’s predecessors, each of them don’t look to be that old. As a matter of fact, from a physically glance, they all look to be between age 25-30 years.

The one exception is the gray-haired man seen walking weakly following the death of Ozma 2.0. For this guy, I’d like to look at it as this. I still want to stick with my theory about Ozma reincarnating as 28 year old men. 

So in the case of this fine gentlemen, either his story was aged up to highlight the cycle of life and death for Ozma as Jinn described or…perhaps this incarnate is actually a young adult man but his physical health withered away due to him being born in a time in Remnant’s history that was plagued by famine, disease and lack of food. So this incarnate was probably a by-product of a life that was short-lived due to starvation and illness. 

This guy could either be an old man like everyone perceived him to be or a sickly malnourished young man. That’s how I’m looking at it.

Referring to Ozma. If I had to guess (and mind you, this is just me guessing here), Ozma could’ve been 25 years old when he first met Salem. Following that, let’s say the two lovebirds lived a happy and comfortable three years shacked up together planning their future as we saw they had a house until Ozma fell sick. Let’s say Ozma passed away young at just 28 years of age.

28 years old is young enough to still consider you young but still old enough to mark you an adult. What if… Ozma dying at this age justifies why he always comes back as men at this age. If he died at 28 then it would make sense if he was reborn as someone else at that age so that Ozma could live past his age of death in his other lives. Would make sense, right? 

Now let’s talk breifely about Ozma’s time as the King of Vale.

I think this is the best example to explain my 50 year idea for the Ozma cycle. As we know, during his life as King of Vale, Ozma ended the Great War, founded the four huntsmen academies to house the Relics and train the huntsmen---Remnant’s next generation of trained defenders. I’d like to believe that Ozma put all of that in place before his next life returned to carry on the mantle as Professor Ozpin.

The Great War ended 80 years prior to the timeline established in of RWBY Volume 1. According to Weiss Schnee back in V5, the man we know as Professor Ozpin was a prodigy. One of the youngest headmasters to be offered the position.

In doing a bit of research, I discovered that the youngest recorded age for a headmaster is 30 years. Putting my theory into play, let’s say Ozma returned a whole 50 years following the Great War as the then young Professor Ozpin. At 28 years old, Professor Ozpin was Beacon’s headmaster and taught at the school for 30 years until the current timeline when the first season of RWBY began.

I’d like to believe that Ozpin started as headmaster around the same time Qrow and the members of Team STQR were first year students at Beacon Academy just to have that correlation. This would mean that Ozpin was only 11 years older than Qrow when the two first met.

It makes sense because when I look at Qrow, he doesn’t look a day over 50. If this squiggle meister had to take a wild guess at Qrow Branwen’s age, I’d say Qrow could be about 47 years old.

So Team STQR were probably all students 30 years before current RWBY giving Ozpin 30 years of teaching experience under his belt. Not bad. If Qrow is 47 and my theory about Professor Ozpin being 11 years older than him is correct then this would place Professor Ozpin at 58 years of age when we first met him. 

I know the Professor Ozpin we know doesn’t look 58 years old but I'd like to think Oz is the Robert Downey Jr to Qrow's Jude Law.

You wouldn’t think that Robert Downey Jr. was in his late 50s just as how you wouldn’t believe Jude is in his late 40s. I'm no major Stan of either of these two fine actors but Professor Ozpin strikes me as one of those lucky men who age like fine wine ---they get more beautiful with time like the majestic creatures that they are.

Therein lies the joke, right? We all know that Ozpin a.k.a Ozma is 1000+ years old in reality but if we're talking about the man who was formerly Professor Ozpin, remember what Pyrhha told him back in V3? 

“You’re not that old Professor.”  

I think 58 is a decent age for Professor Ozpin because it puts him closer to Leonardo Lionheart’s age who looks to be about 60 years tops. This is what happens when the CRWBY don’t confirm the ages of the characters besides the main teenage cast. Theorists like me have to play guessing games but I guess that’s part of the fun, right?

I’d like to stand by my hunch that Professor Ozpin was 28 years when he started as Beacon’s Headmaster. I like it for the other joke where other characters, such as Qrow himself probably mistook him for a student when the two first met due to his young age. When you’re in your twenties, depending on how well you keep yourself you can thankfully still pass as a high school student. True story.

I'd like to assume that Professor Ozpin and the members of his Inner Circle aren’t a day over 60. Ironwood looks to be about the same age as Ozpin, perhaps a lil older by 1 year.

If I had to guess, Lionheart must've been the oldest of Ozpin's group at possibly 60 years old. So if I had to list Oz's inner circle members from oldest to youngest, not counting the fact that Ozpin is technically part immortal, it’d go as follows:

Professor Leonardo Lionheart at age 60,  General James Ironwood at age 59, Professor Ozpin at 58,  Glynda Goodwitch at age 49, and lastly Qrow Branwen at 47. I could be very much wrong but that's my best guess until the CRWBY confirms otherwise.

This makes me wonder something about Glynda and Ironwood. I wonder if prior to becoming a professor at Beacon and Ozpin’s right hand, what if…Glynda was already a third year senior student at Beacon Academy when Oz became headmaster.

It'd also be interesting if a teenage Glynda met Ironwood during the Vytal Festival Tournament during her time at Beacon and the past relationship they shared was a romance akin to Victor Krum and Hermione Granger during the Triwizard Cup in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Since the Vytal Festival takes place every two years and alternates between kingdoms, perhaps… when Team STRQ competed in the tournament it was hosted by the Kingdom of Atlas.

What if…during the STRQ Days, General Ironwood was another young headmaster like his protégée. I love the idea of James and Ozpin formerly sharing a competitive history before becoming allies. Like perhaps James used to be the youngest headmaster in Remnant’s history before Ozpin came along and upstaged him. This also adds to the scandal of his former relationship with Glynda.

If Glynda was a student of Beacon when James was headmaster of Atlas Academy then a headmaster being romantically involved with a student of another academy wouldn’t have weighed right on Ironwood’s reputation as headmaster, ruining his chances at one day earning a seat on the Atlesian Council. Maybe that was his ambition back then apart from being part of the Atlesian Military.

What if…at some point in the past, Ironwood and Glynda had one of those ‘forbidden relationships’ that had the potential to go far but never did for justifiable reasons. Like let’s say, it got so serious that at some point Ironwood brought up marriage to Glynda---proposing the idea of the two wedding after Glynda graduated from Beacon after which she would move to Atlas so the two could begin their married life officially and not have to keep their relationship a secret anymore.

This of course never happened because; Glynda had a commitment to Ozpin. This goes out to the OzGlyn shippers in the FNDM. My interpretation of the OzGlyn relationship is that Glynda had known the man who was Ozpin long before he became a professor and a headmaster of Beacon. In my imagination, the two were childhood best friends.

Perhaps OzGlyn were like Renora---Orphans who took care of one another. Though a whole nine years older than her, I’d like to think that Glynda has always been by Ozpin’s side through thick and thin, taking care of him since he did the same for her when they met as young children and this dynamic between them didn’t change even after Ozpin fused with Ozma. I’d imagine that Glynda was one of the first people who Ozpin told about Ozma.

In my head, Glynda was Ozpin’s best friend despite their age difference. Technically his proxy wife though unlike Renora, Ozpin and Glynda’s relationship stayed mostly nonsexual throughout the years. Sure there was mutual love and respect between them but nothing romantic . I’m saying that mostly in reference to the canon.

When I imagine a young Professor Ozpin, weirdly enough I don’t picture him as being the man we knew him to be. I figured in his early days after Ozma had just reincarnated inside his mind, Ozpin was still getting used to everything and was not as confident as he came to be.

Nor was he as sharp a dresser either. Like perhaps in the past, on his very first day of work, Ozpin showed up late looking like such a mess to the point that students were dumbfounded to find out that he was their new headmaster. Picture the Professor Ozpin we met in Volume 1: Mysterious yet charismatic, poised and well-kept with a kind yet serious voice that gives the best motivational speeches. Now imagine the opposite of that.

Picture Early Professor Ozpin somewhat like Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts: Quirky, socially awkward, unkempt, a bit clumsy in the sense that he can’t tell when someone is being sarcastic. But harbouring a whimsical wisdom and nurturing side to him that you wouldn’t acknowledge at first impression.

Somehow I’m humourously picturing the reason why Ozpin always looked so snazzy and well put together was frankly due to Glynda’s womanly touch. Except for his hair. That stayed through though why am I envisioning Ozpin with even messier hair than what we know him to have already? Like his hair is as naturally floofy as it is silver and refuses to be tamed, not even with the mightiest of fine-tooth combs and brushes.

So my hunch is that Glynda gave up her life with Ironwood for her commitment to her longstanding bond with Ozpin which actually worked out anyways since Ironwood ultimately rebuked his proposal to Glynda and ended their romance after he was appointed General of the Atlesian military. I know that sounds like a douchebag move on James’ part which could justify Glynda’s sour attitude toward him in V2. But that’s my hunch.

Regardless of what relationship they shared in the past, it obviously ended up on good terms since Glynda was shown to care a lot about James. I’d also like to believe Ironwood was headmaster of Atlas first before becoming General of the Atlesian military; working his way up the ranks which leant to him earning two seats on the Atlas Council. But that’s only a small guess.

Now to discuss Qrow and Ozpin’s earlier relationship for a bit. I figured that Early Professor Ozpin’s bond to Qrow was like Max and David from Camp Camp. Similar to David, Ozpin was super friendly, a little naïve and ditzy but overall a wise and kind-hearted man once you get to know him.

And at 17 year old, I definitely see Qrow as being the angry, sarcastic, rebellious type like Max who probably didn’t like Ozpin at all when they first met. But after the man showed the Branwen genuine kindness for the first time in his entire existence, Qrow started to soften up and little by little he began to respect Ozpin until they ultimately formed the close friendship and trust we know them to have. Well…had before.

I honestly hope the next couple of episodes of V6 will provide us with some Team STQR memories. Since Qrow brought up ‘meeting Ozpin’, the CRWBY has to show us the memory of that momentous day, right? I want to see when 17 year old Qrow met young Professor Ozpin. It’ll be even better if it’s all wrapped up in an episode that depicts Oscar’s past at the same time too.

I understand that the whole QROWBY were affected by the events of V6 C3. However I feel like Qrow and Oscar are the two characters that took the biggest hit from the reveal of Ozpin’s past. Qrow because of his longstanding history with Ozpin and Oscar for being Ozma’s current successor.

I don’t think Qrow even realizes just how much he and Oscar have in common and vice versa. Both male characters sacrificed the lives and ties they once had--- the only life they knew by the way, to join Ozpin’s cause. So it’d be really great to see what either of their lives looked like before and after they met Ozpin. I want to see both of these backstories done. I think we’ve earned another deep look into the past following Jinn’s reveal, this time from the perspectives of Qrow and Oscar. Don’t know about other FNDM fam but this squiggle meister would love that.

Besides Qrow and Oscar’s individual pasts as the focal point of an entire episode of RWBY V6 will definitely give some Fullmetal Alchemist vibes since their VA’s Vic and Aaron were the Elric Brothers. But...this is just me making assumptions.

To summarize my concept for the way the Ozma cycle works: when one of Ozma’s incarnates reaches the end of their life and dies, his next successor in the cycle will show up 50 years following his last life. Whenever Ozma reincarnates, he usually returns as an adult male at the age of 28 because that’s the age Ozma died in his first life. The one unique exception is Oscar Pine who Oz reincarnated at 14 years presumably within a few months following his Professor Ozpin’s death.

Unlike past rebirths, Ozpin’s fusion with Oscar came prematurely. Far earlier than what others expected of his cycle. Why is that possible? Well I’m sticking to my guns on Oscar being the true reincarnation of Ozma---the recreation of his original form symbolizing him as possibly the last in the cycle. I don’t think it was a coincidence that Oz came to be with Oscar.

I do believe he will be the final form. It will end where it began. The Ozpin reincarnation cycle began with Ozma and it will end with Oscar. It’d like to think that Ozma probably figured Ozpin was going to be his last form because I’m sure losing to Cinder Fall had more weight that it was led on.

For Ozpin to fall during Beacon’s destruction it would’ve meant he would have died leaving the world on the verge of war with Salem one step closer to acquiring the Relics and bringing about the destruction of mankind at the Gods’ hands. If Oz had reincarnated as expected he may not have returned at all since Salem would’ve succeeded in calling forth the Gods’ wrath and bringing about Remnant’s ultimate destruction.

Ozpin would have failed completely. Another thing I’m curious about is if Ozma ever met the God of Darkness in between worlds. The last time he met God of Light alone. It makes wonder if the God of Darkness played any role in Ozma returning as Oscar.

I wonder if at some point Oscar will begin to question why he was chosen to be one of Ozma’s successors. With the exception of the two lives Ozma lived in depression, the past Ozma-s were all men of wisdom and strength, for the most part. What makes Oscar so special?

He’s just a farmhand from Mistral. He came from a family built upon generations of simple farm folk; presumably. Not a shred of combat history in his bloodline as far as he knew. As far as Oscar assumed, he doesn’t even rank up to the original Ozma who was a righteous warrior and hero of justice. What made the Gods see him worthy of inheriting the responsibility of protecting humanity?

Why was Oscar chosen?

It would be really great if Oscar asks this question out loud and it prompts Ruby, who is in possession of the Relic of Knowledge to ask Jinn to answer that question for Oscar. Unless there is another way to address Oscar’s importance, I’m sticking to my guns on the final question going to Oscar and he will see first-hand why he was chosen.

This makes me wonder if we’ll get a parallel to when the God of Light met with Ozma between realms with Oscar possibly meeting the God of Darkness in between realms. Contrary to what other fans might assume about him, despite being the God of Darkness and Destruction, I would like to believe that the God of Darkness has as much investment in providing humanity the opportunity to save themselves as his brother did.

I mentioned this before in this RWBY Remark post. Say what you will about the Brother Gods but my interpretation is that the Gods do not wish to have to destroy their greatest creation. When Qrow first told the Tale of the Brothers in V4, he mentioned that the brothers referred to man as their ‘masterpiece’. You don’t receive a title like that unless it’s something extraordinarily special to you.

Just as how God of Light met with Ozma and granted him his message to aid humanity, I wonder if we’ll get to see Oscar somehow meet with the God of Darkness to further emphasize my point about him being important. While I’m not sure what kind of clue to humanity’s salvation this particular god could provide the farm boy, I do wonder if the God of Darkness can shed light on the reason why he was chosen.

Perhaps…God of Darkness had a part in Oscar’s true purpose in the first place. I’m not sure how much that can fit in with the canon. However I would like to see Oscar meet God of Darkness like how Ozma met God of Light because I honestly feel a parallel like that might come at some point and it could help tie into what I’ve been saying about Oscar this entire time.  

Ozma was the beginning and Oscar is the end. He is the first Ozma reborn. Something I found interesting about the God of Darkness’ power is that he had no difficulty in bringing Ozma back from the dead the first time. Unlike his brother whose power revived only Ozma’s soul in the bodies of other men, God of Darkness revived him in his original body.

Huh…I wonder now. I wonder…if at some point the Brothers met with each other in the realm between realms. What if… God of Light has been observing humanity’s development for the centuries his key player--- Ozma has been working to aid them in their restoration and foresaw that Ozma would fail at some point. I know using chess to symbolize a game of fate is another storytelling cliché but what’s my motto about clichés? They’re overused because they work.

Imagine… the Brother Gods having a discussion about humanity’s fate over a chessboard. For years, the God of Light has been using this board to ‘observe’  the remnants of his and his brother’s creations. And while his key piece has been playing well, Light feared that Ozma will ultimately fall completely to Salem and Remnant would meet its end---a prediction that saddened the God of Light. 

That’s when Brother Darkness would intervene and inform his brother of his own part in this game of fate. While he hasn’t been playing it fully like his brother, he did plant two very powerful pieces into the mix. 

Two unexpected players that he believed will turn the tides of the game. Remember God of Light only reincarnated Ozma’s soul. But what became of his original body?

What if…the way the Gods each had a hand in the creation of man is that God of Light created the soul while God of Darkness made the body. 

Is that why the God of Light referred to his younger brother’s version of reincarnating Ozma on his own as ‘not creation’? An interesting observation to note is when Ozma was revived by the God of Light, he revived only his soul---the very essence of who Ozma was---his memories and his personality.

But when God of Darkness revived Ozma, while he was able to bring back the boy’s body---I think that’s all he brought back. A body. Ozma reacted frightened and confused. At first I pegged this as him just being startled at awakening in the Realm of Darkness. Even ThatKaitoDan commented that Ozma possibly thought that he was in hell in his reaction video of the third episode.

But in my own recap of that scene, what I found interesting is that Ozma never looked at Salem once at all. He never acknowledged her presence. He just kept screaming and looking around frantically until the girl said something to calm him down. You would think that after opening his eyes, the first thing Ozma would’ve done was recognize the face of his lover right? Or am I overthinking this? I get that he was hysterical but…I dunno. I can’t help but think there might’ve been more subtext to such a minor moment.

This makes me curiouser and curiouser about something. If the God of Light hadn’t intervened and Salem was allowed to leave with Ozma as is, would she have been happy or would she have come to the realization that while the God of Darkness did restore Ozma, he didn’t bring back the man she loved completely.

Body and soul together creates a being---a person.  What made Ozma himself was his soul. Like I said, I think all the God of Darkness restored was the body of Ozma---the flesh. A meat puppet that could move and talk but it didn’t have a soul. As we know of the Grimm, the God of Darkness’ creations can live but what they lack is a soul.

What God of Darkness probably revived was a flesh bag that looked and talked like Ozma but lacked the original soul with the memories that would have allowed him to recognize the face of the woman he loved.

Without even realizing it, what if…the God of Light actually did Salem a huge solid by intervening because she might not have been happy with what Brother Darkness did. Because as Brother Light said, what his brother did wasn’t creation. It wasn’t Ozma. It was his body but without the original soul of him that God of Light could’ve granted, he wasn’t him.

He wasn’t as a whole if that makes a lick of sense.

Resuming my theory on Oscar. Once upon a time, I made another RWBY Remark sharing a theory about Oscar being chosen as Ozpin’s successor from the moment he was born.

My concept was that Oscar’s fate has been binded to Ozpin since birth and that growing up, he’s had recurring dreams of Ozma’s life that he couldn’t make light of. It’s a stretch but I wonder if this could potentially become canon.

This is going to sound pretty farfetched but what if…the God of Darkness, at his brother’s behest, used Ozma’s original form in the birth of Oscar. I still want to stand firmly by the belief that Oscar is Ozma’s original form reborn in Modern Remnant and he was created as an important player in the final game to stop Salem.

When God of Light first spoke to Ozma, he mentioned humanity becoming whole again. Perhaps…humanity won’t be the only thing to be made whole in the long-run. In Kingdom Hearts terms, think of Ozma as Sora and Oscar as Roxas.

If Oscar is Ozma’s original self-reborn, then when the two souls finally fuse, Ozma will be made whole again and Oscar will stand as the true reincarnation of the original Warrior of Light and hero of justice brought back to save Remnant once and for all.

What if…in the game of fate, there were a million and one possible outcomes of the ongoing conflict between Salem and Ozpin to decide the fate of mankind? In only one instance did the heroes actually stand a chance of winning and defeating Salem and in that one possibility, Oscar was a key player.

What was it that Oscar asked Ruby in V6 C4?

“…I’m just going to be another one of his lives, aren’t I?”

I think there is importance to this quote. He asked it as if he assumed his standing in this fight was no different than the other incarnates. However I don’t think Oscar is just another one of Ozma’s lives. Oscar is special. He’s the last life. The version of Ozma destined to bring an end to it all.

Another reason why I like this concept is because of the tie in from the Wizard of Oz. For those who know the story, Princess Ozma was the rightful ruler of Oz whereas Oscar was the first name of the Wizard of Oz. In the original story, Oz preceded Ozma.

So it’d be cool if RWBY highlighted the opposite parallel from the Wizard of Oz where Oscar succeeds Ozma in more ways than one to further push my hunch that he is the one destined to end it all.

The one true reincarnation of the Ozma, the Warrior of Light meant to conquer the Wicked Witch through the power and aid of his trusted best friend, the Silver Eyed Warrior named Ruby Rose to parallel Dorothy defeating the Wicked Witch with the aid of her trusty ruby/silver slippers. 

Oscar and Ruby together are the key players to Salem’s defeat.

I once made this analogy in a very old musing from V5. If the War against Salem was like a game of chess, on the side of Light, Oscar would represent the King piece with Ruby as his Queen. I’m no chess player but from what I do know about the game is that your Queen is your strongest player while it’s the King that decides the game.

In this game of Light against Darkness, Salem and Oscar (being the current form of Ozma) are the King pieces in their respective courts. I once theorized that Cinder Fall was going to be Salem’s Queen Piece as her apprentice but I’m going to wait till V6 concludes to see if that still holds up. As for Ruby, she is still the established Queen in Oscar’s court. Not only is she probably the only player powerful enough to stop Salem with her Silver Eyes once and for all but I also believe her secondary role is to be Oscar’s protector.

Say what you will about Ruby and Oscar’s dynamic but I do think there is a narrative reason why these two honest souls are gravitating towards each other and no I’m actually not making this point as a RoseGardener. I mean it in the sense that Oscar and Ruby’s involvement in the war against Salem could be what ultimately brings her reign to an end.

Queens protect  their Kings because the death of a King decides the game in chess. If Ruby fails to protect Oscar then he dies and Salem wins for certain this time. However if Ruby checks Salem then this cruel game can finally be brought to a close.

That's my hunch for now.

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2018)

#rwby #oscar pine #professor ozpin #ruby rose #qrow branwen #rwby salem #oscar and ruby #glynda goodwitch #general ironwood #ozglyn #rwby musings #rwby theories #rwby volume 6 theories #rwby brother gods

[violetsystems]

“People were up in arms,” recalls Ursula Reinhart, a former member of Sufism Reoriented who left the order in 1980. “‘Suddenly this thing is supposed to be built?’ In the website were these comments, and they were all battling back and forth: ‘where does this money come from?’ And me, being an outsider, I just put in — ‘Cheesecake Factory.’”

It was true. While part of the sanctuary’s budget was sourced from the 500-plus congregation’s personal finances, it would turn out that much of the money was coming from one member in particular: David Overton, the founder and CEO of the family-dining chain. Overton had founded the Cheesecake Factory, now renowned worldwide for its abundant comfort-food menu and its rich glass-cased confections, in 1978. In the decades to come the Cheesecake Factory would blossom to nearly 200 locations worldwide, from L.A. to Hong Kong to Beirut.

Nearly a decade before its launch, Overton had become a proud Saranap Sufi. Older versions of the menu cover incorporated a piece of traditional Sufi iconography, a winged heart. At the Cheesecake Factory location nearest Saranap, a ceiling mural features that same winged heart along with the Star of David, the Hindu Om, and other religious icons, presumably a recognition of Sufism Reoriented's respect of all world faiths.

In one 2012 meeting, Cheesecake Factory CEO David Overton came to voice support. He identified as a member of Sufism Reoriented's Board of Directors. He praised the quality of the sanctuary’s architects, which was indeed top of the line: the plans came from the elite New York firm Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie, which had built Central Park West’s massive Trump Tower.

"The sanctuary has been a dream of ours for many years," Overton explained. "All of our members continue to give generously from their savings to make the dream a reality. In addition I have committed to ensuring its debt free completion because I believe so strongly in the principles of Sufism Reoriented: Honesty, financial responsibility, kindness, and service to others. I stand here today to tell you this project is on sound financial footing.”

Overton was attempting to bolster the project’s integrity. But to some, the promise of money felt like a battering ram.

The Saranap Sufis’ religious freedom does “not justify special treatment of the wealthy,” one local stressed in response. “Sufism Reoriented seems to have unlimited wealth,” claimed another. No one actually knew what the numbers were. But there was a sense that the tap would never run dry. (In 2003 Sufism Reoriented was granted non-profit status as a religious organization. In their last tax filing as a for-profit entity, they listed over $16 million in funds.)

The language would become pitched, heated, melodramatic. It felt, a bit, like a community finally having a frank, long-put-off conversation. It also felt, a bit, like the classic Twilight Zone episode, “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street,” in which a quiet suburb experiences unsettling power outages and subsequently falls into a riot of paranoid recrimination. The sanctuary was the trigger. And now the community was letting it all out.

Mechanical engineers, on the anti side, passionately argued zoning violations; rabbis, on the pro side, pointed out religious discrimination. “I will keep my comment to the trees,” said one woman, her voice quavering, “who cannot speak for themselves.” “The word isn’t proud,” said one local. “I am grateful that the Sufis are in our neighborhood.”

In 1970, Meher Baba landed the cover of Rolling Stone. The article was written by The Who’s Pete Townshend, who, at the height of his fame, had become a Baba Lover, as followers of Baba self-identify. The Who's classic jam "Baba O'Riley" is a nod to Meher Baba; it was written as part of a never completed rock opera, Lifehouse, that Townshend envisioned as an adaptation of Baba's ideas. Baba had died — or dropped the body, in his followers’ parlance — in 1969, at the age of 74, in the throes of his own international renown.

In the piece Townshend relates the guru’s biography. How he was born in a town called Poona in the west of India in 1894. How he studied under five Perfect Masters. How, one day, one of those Perfect Masters hit Baba with a stone right between the eyes, and how at that point Baba came to understand his destiny as a Perfect Master himself. How he took a vow of silence in 1925 that lasted the rest of his life.

As Baba would explain, "Because man has been deaf to the principles and precepts laid down by God in the past, in this present Avataric form I observe silence. You have asked for and been given enough words. It is now time to live them."

“At first his words were encouraging, his state of consciousness and his claims to be the Christ exciting and daring,” Townshend wrote. “Later they became scary. He made me weep for hours.” Baba had gotten inside his head: Townshend had been a prodigious drug user, he said, until he came across Baba’s declaration that narcotics were not the way to higher consciousness. Now Baba was his drug. “The crux of it is, I am now stoned all the time.”

There were tens of thousands of Baba Lovers throughout the world (then as now, there are no exact counts). In the U.S., they clustered around the Bay Area. San Francisco residents in the ’60s would have likely been familiar with Baba pamphlets (“God In A Pill? Meher Baba on L.S.D. and The High Roads”) and aphorisms. “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” was Baba’s coinage; it’d appear on postcards and billboards. (Bobby McFerrin spotted the phrase while visiting the San Francisco apartment of the jazz duo Tuck & Patti in San Francisco. In 1988, he took his corresponding song to No. 1.)

From Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, The Beatles’ favorite, to Rajneesh, the “sex guru,” divinely-touched figures from India were a cultural mainstay of 1960s America. Ursula Reinhart, the ex-Saranap Sufi, recalls a trip to India in the ’60s. “There were so many holy men that sat around the Ganges in orange robes smoking hash,” she laughs. “Thousands of them!” Through traveling companions, she was told to seek Meher Baba.

Baba, long at that point voluntarily mute, would use a wooden alphabet board to communicate (a follower would vocalize the Master’s messages). Baba asked her: who do you think I am? “I said, ‘I have no idea,’” Reinhart recalls. “And he said, ‘I am God in human form, and I know this because I constantly experience it.’” She was rattled. She was convinced. “The authority with which he said it — I believed him.”

#read this #the whole thing

[lykegenia]

Zutara Week Day 3: Steamy

Another year, another Zutara Week, another set of oneshots for my ZKWeek story A Life, Together, which you can find in its entirety here.

@zutaraweek

ZKWeek Day 3: Steamy Words: 2345 Summary: Katara has her first ‘oh no, he’s hot’ moment Read it on AO3

“Ta-da!”

Sokka stood in front of the rest of their group, his hands held out in an expansive gesture of presentation, with a grin on his face so wide it crinkled his eyes and showed every one of his teeth. Behind him stood a circular construction in mismatched stone – likely scrounged from the Western Air Temple’s crumbling masonry – which had a conical roof made of bamboo struts, overlaid with the tarp that used to form the roof of their shelter when they were still camping in the wilderness. Holes in the masonry were plugged with bunches of grass, and the whole thing looked like it would struggle to withstand even the smallest puff of air.

At least it explained his strange behaviour that morning.

“Well?” he demanded. “What do you think?”

“Uh…” Zuko glanced at the others, rubbing the back of his neck. “What is it?”

“It’s a shack,” Toph said. “Even I can see that.”

Sokka gave a disgusted squawk and threw his hands in the air. “It is not a shack!” he protested. “It’s a steam house. It’s a Water Tribe tradition!”

“I’ve heard of these!” Aang chimed in excitedly. “You sit in them and sweat out all the toxins in your body.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Twinkle toes, but we’re all already pretty sweaty. This humidity is going to kill me.”

“It’s meant to be very good for reaching the spirit world,” Aang replied with a shrug.

“Oh no,” Sokka groaned. “We aren’t doing that again. I was weirded out enough the first time, or don’t you remember what happened to me in Hei Bai Forest? No.” He held up a hand and began to count off on his fingers. “First, we are going to sit in there. Second, we’re going to relax and forget for an afternoon that we’re going to have to beat the Fire Lord. Third, we’re going to emerge refreshed and ready to get back to work.” He turned to Katara, the only one of the circle who had yet to speak. “Does that sound like a good plan?”

“Well, you are our go-to plan guy,” she replied, smiling. Despite the improvised construction, the roundhouse really did look like one of the steam huts they had had back in the village, before the soldiers went to war and the struggle for survival meant they had to do away with such luxuries.

“Do you have the camel moss?” she asked. The sweet-smelling lichen was added to the water to add fragrance to the steam, often along with other, more relaxing herbs.

Sokka beamed. “Bato gave me some before the invasion,” he said, and offered her a blue-patterned pouch filled to the brim with feathery, greyish moss. “It’s the real deal.”

“It is!” she cried, inhaling the sweet scent of the bag’s contents. “But… how are you planning to power this?”

“How do you think? We have one master waterbender –” he pointed to her – “One jerkbender –” to Zuko – “And one avatar who can do both. All we need to do is get the coals going and it’ll stay hot for hours.”

Katara glanced at Zuko and found him watching her warily. They had been in a cool stalemate ever since his return from the Sun Warriors with Aang, which had proved once and for all that whatever his reasons, the Fire Prince was no longer out to capture Aang. That made him an ally, and as the others became more accepting of his presence among them, her open hostility became harder to justify. Aang was especially good at throwing her pleading looks that made her feel guilty for being suspicious.

But how else could she act? Down in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se, she had let her guard down, and she was all too well aware how that had turned out. She couldn’t afford to trust him again, if only for Aang’s sake, but being so wired all the time was beginning to exhaust her.

And it was especially hard since Zuko was nothing like she expected him to be, day to day. She wanted him to be a stuck-up prince who left mess and expected others to clear up after him, but if anything, he was more considerate than the others.

“Don’t think I don’t see through this little act,” she had spat when he offered to clean the dishes after breakfast the previous week. “Why on earth would you want to?”

He had shrugged. “It’s not fair that you do everything.”

“Says the prince who’s never done a day of hard work in his life.”

For a beat, he had said nothing, clearly working out the best way to answer – he had taken to not addressing her hostility directly, having learned from Aang that sometimes it was better to circle and let your opponent do the work. That was frustrating, too.

“Believe what you want,” he had told her eventually. “But I lived in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se for months, and there weren’t any servants there.” And he had walked away.

The words had bothered her all day. She realised that between leaving him in the snow at the North Pole and finding him again in a tea shop in the Earth Kingdom, she had no idea what had happened to him. Thinking it might not all have been sunshine and daisies for him rankled, but then so did the fact that his offer to help had seemed genuine, and she had only snarled at him on reflex. Nobody else ever even noticed that she did most of the chores, let alone offered to help.

The next day, she had asked him, quietly, if he could sew. When he had answered, quietly, that he wasn’t very good but could mend basic tears, she knew he understood her sort-of apology, and walked away with a curious kind of twisting in the pit of her stomach. They hadn’t spoken since.

Now, Katara found herself shepherded into the steam house with everyone else. Inside it was snug, the light dimmed by the thick canvas of the roof, and it was very warm. A bucket of water stood on the floor next to a fire pit, the camel moss already steeping, waiting only for someone to ladle it out over the cluster of glowing coals. Sokka already sprawled across one of the benches, his arms and lanky legs spread out in a decent imitation of a starfish.

“Budge up,” she huffed, nudging one of his legs with her foot. “This is great.”

Her brother cracked open an eye to look at her. “You work hard, Katara. You deserve a break every now and then.”

She frowned, unsure how to respond to such an unprecedented acknowledgement of how she took care of them, but before she could dwell on it too much, Toph barged through the entrance, closely followed by Aang, and Katara had to sit down or risk stepping in the fire. Even with just four of them, the circular hut was rather squashed, and she felt an elbow dig uncomfortably into her side as she tried to get comfortable. And then Zuko arrived. Without his shirt.

It shouldn’t have bothered her so much – Aang and Sokka were topless, too, after all, though they were family so that didn’t really count. And neither of them looked like Zuko. In the muted light, the glow of the coals highlighted the fine tone of his physique, and the low ceiling only emphasised how tall he was. How had she never noticed that before? Suddenly self-conscious of how much skin she was exposing, sat there only in bindings and shorts, she tucked her legs up under the bench and brought her arms to rest in her lap, not quite hugging around her stomach. A chill ran up the back of her neck where the skin was exposed to the air.

“You okay, Sweetness?”

She glanced at Toph. “Fine.”

“Yeah, sure.” The younger girl grinned like a cat-monkey with cream, which did nothing to ease the new tension in Katara’s muscles.

And of course the only free space in the steam house was exactly opposite her. Zuko sat down, apparently unconscious of her irritation, and leaned back against the stone wall of the hut. His unruly hair skimmed the roof. Frowning, Katara supposed she should be grateful he was so far away, because otherwise he would have no doubt been next to her. She wouldn’t have been able to see him unless she looked – and she did not want to look, she had no interest in looking – but he would have been pressed against her side in the tight space, all that lean muscle and warmth and the dry muskiness of his scent.

“So how about some steam?” she asked, to distract herself from the shudder that tickled across her shoulders. She wanted to blame it on revulsion, but her heart wasn’t quite in it.

“Allow me, milady,” Aang said with his goofiest smile before she could raise her hand to bend the water. She grinned back at him, and seconds later the hut was filled with a cloud of thick, fragrant steam.

Katara allowed herself to drift, and the others did, too. In the silence, she sank into the soothing aroma of the camel moss, letting it take her back to a time when she was very young and the elders would gather round the long-fire in the big house to tell stories about the spirits. She amused herself by bending the steam into the shapes of fish and great whales, and the lithe, sinuous form of the dragon who was meant to bring thunderstorms in summer. Feeling the corner of her mouth quirk up, she flicked her fingers and the dragon breathed a tiny puff of steam where it circled above her head.

The smile faded when she caught a pair of golden eyes watching her from across the coals. Zuko glanced away, but the look made something itch beneath her skin, so she closed her eyes and leaned her head back, determined to block him from her mind completely.

When she opened her eyes again some while later, everyone else had already left. Most of the steam had escaped through the cracks in the walls, and all that was left was a dry, clean heat that raised prickles of sweat along her skin. Rubbing her tiredness out of her eyes, Katara stood and shuffled to the entrance, a slight headache throbbing behind her eyes brought on by dehydration. The fountain in the nearby courtyard ran with cool water, a perfect substitute for the ice pool traditionally used to clear away the sticky heat of the steam house.

As she walked through the surprisingly cool air of the temple halls, Katara wondered where the others had gone, why nobody had woken her when they left. The sun was low on the horizon, which meant it was almost dinner, and she had done none of the preparations she had meant to do. The worries that just a few minutes before had seemed trivial crowded round her, twining back into her limbs like the vines around the Air Temple itself, and with a sigh she bent the sweat off her body without waiting for the pool and hurried the familiar route back to the hall they used as their main shared space.

What she found left her open-mouthed.

The living space, usually scattered about with spare bedrolls, scrolls, and plans, was neatly tidied with a stack of firewood piled in one corner and their food supplies in another. She could smell dinner cooking, and noticed Sokka frowning over the stewpot. Occasionally, he muttered to himself and gave the fire below a prod with a long, forked stick, while Toph bent the dust out of the cracks in the floor so that the mosaic there gleamed.

“What is all this?” she asked.

The pair froze as if caught doing something they should be guilty for.

“Katara!” It was Aang, sliding to a stop behind her, out of breath.

“Aw man, Twinkle Toes,” Toph complained. “You were meant to keep her busy.”

“I had to feed Appa,” protested Aang, before turning to Katara. “It was meant to be a surprise,” he explained, blushing. “You do so much for all of us, and, well… we thought you deserved a break.”

Katara felt the same suspicion as earlier sneak over her. “Aang, this wasn’t… Zuko’s idea, was it?” she asked. The Fire Prince was nowhere to be seen.

“No!” Aang cried, hurt. “It was mine. Though I was training with him when I had the idea,” he added.

At that moment, Zuko himself emerged from deeper within the temple, carrying a small bag with him. He handed it over to Sokka, who sniffed dubiously before pulling out several small jars of what looked like spices. Katara watched as Zuko gave instructions about which to add to the food already bubbling on the fire, the slight stain of colour on his cheeks the only indicator that he knew she was there. Could he have masterminded this?

Aang was still talking.

“… so we decided to give you a day off, and Sokka said we should make your favourite, so it’s a good thing Zuko said he brought Fire Nation ingredients with him when he came after us. What do you think of it?”

She glanced down into Aang’s grinning face, the grey eyes eager for her approval, and found her thoughts still whirling. She still didn’t trust Zuko, she couldn’t bring herself to forget what he did in Ba Sing Se. There had been too many times when she thought the best of the world and the consequences of her good nature snaked back to bite her in the arm. But still… If her suspicions were correct, then he had done all of this for her, just to be nice, without any desire for his efforts to be recognised.

Her chest constricted.

“Well?” Aang prompted. “Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yes,” she agreed. “It is.”

#zutara #Zutara Week #Zutara Week 2017 #ZKWeek #ZKWeek 2017 #Steamy

[redantsunderneath]

An explanation of the end of Twin Peaks that provides closure

Short version, unpacked below:  The story in the World of Twin Peaks has its end mid part 17 when the lights go out in the sheriff's station (with a farewell coda at the boiler room door).  Coop’s face superimposed on the screen indicates a dissociative episode, one foot on the denouement of the TP story and one in the temptation of solving the only unresolved issue: Laura.  The remainder of the show is a “last temptation of Cooper” fantasy/nightmare where the lesson metaphorically learned through his 25 years in the lodge is played out in the real world and demonstrates the horrific consequences of wasting your life in an obsession with solving other’s problems without facing your own.  After Coop’s nightmare climax winks out, leaving us in the real world as pre-season Coop returns to the lodge.  As farewell, we get the lingering lesson of the whisper, “you can never save me,” which brings us around to the fact that this has been learned before Coop leaves the Lodge – we end at the beginning, and this 1.5 episodes really belong before the first (holla, Infinite Jest fans) and is placed here as a remembered lesson, a real world version of 25 years in the lodge.

So, biases on the table – I needed an explanation that accomplished 3 things:

1. Provides closure – it has to work as a series finale without all the “there has to be a fourth season now”

2. Allows for Coop to not have to have, after the last 25 years, not learned his lesson – no cycle of “never learn” purgatory allowed

3. Saving Laura is bad because it robs her of agency and redemption and Coop’s desire to do it is damaging and reflects his deepest flaw

I bring a couple of preconceptions to the table that are, for certain, not universal.

1 Coop lost his confrontation with his shadow self (s2e22) because of his tainted savior complex.  This is due to the nature of white knight-ism itself (reducing women to grail objects), his repeating pattern of his relationships being structured this way (he tried to break this pattern with Annie, but Windom Earle placed her back in this context, setting him up for a fall), and a general fascination with the dark/morbid aspects of humanity/sexuality (grinning inappropriately at Fleshworld, desiring to see dead bodies at a young age, job enabled obsession with victims of sexual violence after it is too late). But also, the problem to be solved is that of a system that he has internalized, a kind of “bad” pattern of the way males and females relate, and he has not really taken a look at himself (or the FBI for that matter).  Going back to save Laura is the direct but wrong way to deal with his deepest desires and the problem with the world and not only would rob her of her own salvation but has the same cosmic wrongness that is demonstrated by the zombie Kahl Drogo sequence in GoT (has anyone compared that yet?). This is bad Coop – ends justify the means, playing with dark forces, trucking in life and death.  Mr C, another words.

2 In the World of Twin Peaks, things work like TV (the OS like nighttime soaps the Return like prestige drama) but with the symbolic aspects manifested as a psychological space of archetypes spilling in to the ground reality.  Thus, conflicts are played out metaphorically, but one can imagine the real world analogue to any of these.  Coop’s confrontation in the (s2 last episode) Lodge becomes him losing himself to his darker impulses given the situation (Annie possibly being killed like Caroline), killing Earle in rage, and this changing him, his demons taking over.  The current season does a lot to define the TP world against our world, both in implicating a dreamer (not just Lynch and Frost, but the audience which includes “real world” Coop/Richard, see below), placing Audrey/Sherlyn Fenn there (this only makes sense but is too much to broach here), including a real world city limits sign to contrast with the TP sign, and casting the owner of the house as the owner of the house.  

3 The ring represents responsibility for your actions.  Choosing to put the ring on is an act of radical self-determination, taking responsibility who you are and what you have done, enabling a choice whether to succumb to your demons, and dangerously stepping into the unknown world where the will meets the real (as opposed to the self-imagined or the civilized-symbolic).  Having the ring put on you is forcing responsibility and exposing someone to judgement.  I’d love to see a Green Lantern that took this view of the “ring of will,” the unworthy burning themselves out.  Cooper telling Laura “don’t take the ring” is a mistake of someone who has yet to learn the lesson (see savior complex above).  She and maybe some element of the world is saved by her sacrifice which is enacted by owning her actions.

4 I haven’t seen mentioned that, with everybody noting the Wizard of Oz nature of the “last scene in the world of TP,” the superimposed face is an element of going from Kansas to Oz.  Dorothy’s face doubles and the double hangs superimposed over the cyclone.  This is that in reverse, going from the “dream” to the real world.

5 Remember when Laura not only screamed at Cooper in FWWM (in black and white, Oz dudes) but then every line she says after that works as if addressed to him?  “Your Laura is gone, there’s only me now” “you want to take me home now.” That was awesome

6 Naido is only revealed to be Diane in the dissociative space while Coop’s real analogue views the dream, starting (seeing Naido is the first “split off” moment). Until then she is the injured, unaware, incoherent feminine who makes monkey noises, firmly in the symbolic space, rescue bait for old Cooper, the agency-less victim.  Coop maps her to Diane but also to the red room (face, Diane’s nail and hair choices).  The red room is a feminine space – vaginal red curtains, Venuses (note the replacement of the Venus DeMilo with no arms with the Venus of Arles with the arms ripped off, a change of nature, Naido to Judy), and the fact that the trial of the masculine entails facing the feminine.  Naido is a figment of the male imagination and being turned into the 3d Diane is the moment Coop shows he has learned.

7 Judy is tough to talk about, but we are gonna. The FBI men have clearly been on a search for something wrong with women (OK, the feminine) they can fix. Being less charitable, the function of the FBI in Twin Peaks the Return is to investigate what went wrong with women since WWII… what with the acting like men, gaining subjectivity, being less nurturing, and all. Charitably, something is wrong in every generation with the masculine and the feminine and the wish to try to find a solution.  Judy as the goddess of negative feminine energy makes sense, but Coop seems to be looking for something more like “the daughter” (Naido identifies Judy as mother just as Sarah is Laura’s mother), the woman in trouble to be saved from her Judy-bred impulses. This is kind of hard to articulate but this goes to my “TP is about Boomers” theory where there is a post war problem with the feminine associated with inattentiveness (Judy and Naido have no eyes), a replacement of the maternal succor with aggression, and a putting a part of its nature asleep.  Naido is the vulnerable, underdeveloped, defanged product of this.  

8 Coop’s 25 year period is a metaphor for the problems of America but, more importantly, is a metaphorical story of a man at war with himself.  Cooper’s fireman nature (strong, silent, problem solving, scrupulous, doing what needs to be done, productive of joy – in the lodge) has been suppressed in favor of his Bob nature (a taker, end justifies the means, all goal - doing what he wants, leaving destruction – Mr C) but it is Dougie (the original) that is the “real” Cooper in that this is the identity that has been manufactured to cover the deeper faces, the one he shows the world.  When the “mid-life crisis” hits, the good starts to reassert, there is a fight, the return of the good fixed the world, and the identity is recreated as a better person.  Note this is the metaphor I’m not claiming this is what “actually happened,” whatever the hell that means.

9 I think Mr C was on a mission to do what the Blue Rose task force set out to do - find Judy – he just didn’t care who died in the process and was an adversary of anything that would get in the way.  He had the same goal as OG Coop did. He needed the coordinates because he wanted Naido who, as above, is a sort of contrapositive of Judy.  The giant flips between the location of the TP embodiment of Judy (Sarah) and that of Naido.  The white lodge was another trap.

10 Diane has, this season, lined up to represent the relationship Coop really needs.  He realizes Mr C has raped her, and the seeing her in Naido is a demonstration in mastery, by making her her in his mind, not a victim.  All the stuff at the end is the failure of this mastery previously in the lodge which maybe “flits through" Coop's mind while the face is up (though the face disappears during the true healing/win moment of the kiss, real recognition, and affirmation of memory).

So away we go. It works like this:  In the “world of TP” Coop has gotten right with his identity (Mr C and Bob gone) and relation to the world (Dougie) has been restored.  Mr C has been brought down by an avatar of weaponized innocence (Lucy) and Coop has faced Bob who has been brought down by an avatar of, well, gumption (determination, enthusiasm, taking a leap of faith).  Then he sees Naido, an avatar of the helpless traumatized woman, the thing his trial is based on.

This brings about the superimposed face – this is a diffracted reality: “Coop” as a real world manifestation as part of the audience (see below) witnessing the end of the show he and all of us are dreaming.  From a TP plot perspective, they have rescued Diane from Mr C’s victimization (rape) and contact with the good Coop brings her back to herself.  He demonstrates that he has learned his lesson by making her a human in his mind.  He sees in her the red room - in Naido/Diane is the nature of his trial, the ugly thing in the room that has a distorted, covered Diane and Judy as part of it emblematic of the taint he has to banish.   He has triumphed, they are both whole.

The dreamer turns away just long enough to miss the real reconciliation and affirmation that they remember what happened.  Everyting is finalized, everyone has arrived, Coop says hope to see you again, and the lights of the world of the show go out – the end.

Lynch and his two lead actors of his career go to the Great Northern boiler room door, Kyle says he must go alone, and goes through.  This is Lynch, finished with his film career, saying goodbye as Lynch’s representative in the world of the show must go it alone.  The face is gone, the dream is over, see you at the curtain call. One could stop here as the show world is over.  Note that the idea of going to get Laura or going to get Judy has never even been broached (it seems like it, but it hasn’t - there is no indication that that's why he is going through the door).

We go back to the past (and I mean Dale in the lodge past), to the fantasy that will haunt everything retroactively.  Dale is allowed to experience his rescue Laura but loses her to the ratcheting sound of the compulsive attempt (the B&W slipping into color, the white lodge being lost).  He should not be doing this and he needs to become the guy who doesn’t.  This is happening again and again while Dale is in the lodge – he is tested, and fails. This failure causes the loss of Laura (to a similar “woosh”) in the red room.  Dale has to ignore Leland (the clear eyed one that killed his daughter, not the dopple white eyed one that never killed anybody) and leave Laura’s redemptive act intact. We witness one such failure in the fantasy space followed by the same in the room itself (shown extended in episode 1, again Dark Tower and IJ).  But there is a version we haven’t seen, the “real world” one that the others have been analogies of.  

OK, we’ve reached a part that has multiple layers going on at once.  The rest of the episode shows a “real” version of Coop living the fact that he will never be the savior, a demonstration of how his obsession drove away the real love of his life, a representation of the time in the lodge as really just 25 years wasted on a tainted dream, a presentation of what the complete un-metaphorically split Coop would have been like those 25 years, and a symbolic depiction of (and middle finger to) fandom.  You could read it as a coda which goes back to dramatize the lodge or a moment of Cooper in Twin Peaks (when the face is up) having the “lesson” flashed through his mind.

It begins. After a third repeat of the red room stuff with Leland, etc., the room appears to let him out into the world, our world.  He gets to live the life he would have lived, beginning with a symbolic marriage to Diane - they say are you sure you want to do this, kiss, and cross the threshold, risk be damned.  The “honeymoon” sex really represents their entire marriage/relationship… he commands, she obeys, their closeness slips into alienation, she loses who he is, as the Mr C part of him is dominant.  There is no rape per se, he violates her spirit.  There is no tulpa, just a person she becomes as a result of the general trauma of being with him.  This is what being married to old Dougie was like for Diane’s “sister,” except she was the fantasy version that could tough it out with resilience, spunk, and good spirit.  After 25 years, she leaves (the hotel is the same one 25 years later, but that’s just shorthand for he’s stuck, never "home" the whole time).  They are literally different people, now.  

Coop is going to finish this.  He shows off how he’s Coop, Mr C, and Dougie at once in the Judy’s diner scene. Finding Laura is the one thing that gives his life meaning (fandom alert).  He finds her, still trapped in the life/cycle her resolve and death freed her from, takes her “home” where the RR is closed (or is it the real diner -Norma's place never closes) and the Laura’s house is owned by the real house owner.  He lets out a wail of wasted time “what year is it?”  as she suddenly wakes up to the vast degree of her (and everyone like her)’s pain.  He has done nothing but create more suffering.  The lights go out, simulation over, and he returns to the red room.

The cycle starts again.  Laura whispers “Jackass, you cannot save me/women in trouble because the problem is in you” and he makes the face of horrifying recognition.  Start the season over, this is just the setup.

Hope this helps.

#twin peaks #david lynch #lynch #mark frost

[theattainer]

THE CULT OF THE CUSTOMIZED MCCOYS

http://theattainer.com/the-cult-of-the-customized-mccoys/

THE CULT OF THE CUSTOMIZED MCCOYS

Among those caught in Robert Mueller’s dragnet is the recently indicted Roger Stone, one of Trump’s long-time political advisors. Well known for his attention-seeking public persona, Stone’s eccentric taste in clothes has likewise become an ongoing subject of interest for the nation’s media. As he has attributed to me a significant role in mentoring him towards his own sartorial way, much of the press’s curiosity in his dressing style has landed at my shop’s doorstep.

I was first introduced to Mr. Stone in 1979 at the legendary Washington menswear retailer Britches of Georgetown. The folks at Britches were helping me launch my first tailored clothing collection, and Stone became an immediate devotee, going on to become an important client upon the opening of my first NYC Custom Shop in 1985. A good deal of what Stone sports in custom-made clothes today is an outgrowth of that collaboration.

Roger does not come by his passion for clothes casually. He has long been a serious student and ardent collector of the fashion arts, amassing a trove of vintage menswear posters and artwork. Having crowned himself a style arbiter, he has for some time published his own Best and Worst-Dressed list.

It’s probably been ten years or more since we last made Roger any clothes. While I share with Master Stone a life-long passion for matters sartorial, that is pretty much where our shared values end. Having no sympathy for his politics or take-no-prisoners style, my attention to him is limited to his public habiliment. In recent years, as he’s cultivated a fashion notoriety to complement his outsider politico image, his attire frequently lands on the too-conspicuous side of the tracks for my taste. However, dressing for outsize visibility fits in well with Stone’s persona as a card-carrying member of the Republican far right and outspoken critic of democratic politics. With a thirty-year-old tattoo of Nixon on his back, and as a fire-breathing defender of all things Trumpian, Stone dresses to the nines, the limelight being his holy grail.

What particularly interests me is the seeming legs of the Roger Stone as fashion doyen story, and more specifically, why it continues to curry more attention than one might anticipate. By now, one would have assumed that the sheer number of breaking investigations inundating the White House would have overrun the public’s attention-deficit news cycle. And yet, the press’s attention to Stone’s wardrobe has not abated and I can only imagine how his appearances in court will continue to ramp up interest.

Image by Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The last time I speculated about the underlying forces at work relative to a public display of custom-tailored stylishness was back in the eighties when I designed Michael Douglas’s wardrobe for the movie Wall Street. Basically a custom-tailored rendering of traditional male business garb (okay, with a soupcon of personal style thrown in) the interest was so widespread that menswear industries from Australia to America heralded the actor’s duds as the defining look in haute stylishness. Even today, thirty-plus years later, the Gordon Gekko wardrobe still evokes praise and commentary.

I think there’s a common thread between Gekko mania and the fascination with Stone’s wardrobe, and I’m going to title my theory The Cult of the Customized McCoy. (This is sounding more like a Sherlock Holmes episode every minute.) Members share patronage with high-establishment English tailors and their haberdashery brethren as well as a dressing mindset adhering to certain Savile Row-inspired markings. I speak of clothes cut to perfection and tailored to the highest quality. They appear neither rigid nor overt in any way, the impression one of discrete yet discernible distinction.

Now, I am not stating that this particular avatar should be everyone’s fashion ideal.  However, the mystique of these so-called Customized McCoys continues to fascinate and inspire today’s blogosphere and its many style pundits. The younger generation of aspiring menswear arbiters has seen their fashion intellects informed by exposure to the McCoy’s immediate progenitors —  the Astaires, Windsors, Agnellis, et al. who in their day formed a new sartorial species based on a shared experience from cutting their sartorial teeth in and around Bond Street, Rue Royale, and Madison Avenue.

Occasionally you’ll catch a glimpse of a Customized McCoy scurrying down a West End street in London, the Faubourg St. Honore in Paris, or New York’s Park Avenue to disappear behind some lacquered, gilt-handle doorway. This is not just about the clothes, but rather the underlying attitude defining their stylishness. It’s Brooks Brothers’ original secret sauce, Astaire and Agnelli’s dressing styles, the famous Duke of Windsor’s dégagé fashions, Ralph Lauren’s eclectic mixologies. Today you can find moments of it captured in the Rake Magazine, or in photo snippets from brands like Drakes, Rubinacci, or The Armoury. It’s a look born out of one’s own taste, based on both the recognition and the rejection of high fashion. You have to pay attention to notice it — subtle and opinionated, distinct yet inconspicuous, elitist but lacking in pretension.

Since Wall Street in 1986, menswear has glorified numerous questionable fashions and beau ideals: designer costumes monopolize the runway, shrink-wrapped James Bonds populate the silver screen, androgynous youths cover the world’s billboards. When you think about it, how frequently does the public get to witness even a fleeting glimpse of a Customized McCoy, or a compelling facsimile? Not too often.

While Stone’s dressing style doesn’t rank among the aforementioned pantheon of Customized McCoys, on certain days he can project the kind of stylish know-how that justifies the approving eyebrow. And while the public may not understand just what about his attire is distinguishable, they realize that there is something that distinguishes him, especially in the style-challenged landscape of the political realm. To the initiated, there are the giveaways – the locking in of the suit trouser’s height with that of the jacket waist, the expert pattern matching of suit and shirt and tie, the casually folded pocket square’s aplomb. When he executes it well, I would submit it’s the Cult of the Customized McCoy raising its head once again to take the temperature.

Despite the possibility of prison time, with his personage now slathered across high-brow covers from the New Yorker to the New York Times, Stone seems more than prepared to trade any pre-trial ignominy for his long-fantasized coming out party, his fifteen minutes of fame. For the Roger Stone brand, these would appear to be the boulevardier’s salad days.

What do you think?

#All #Style

[ciathyzareposts]

The Black Gate: Of Valor and Virginity

Surreptitiously awarding the Rune of Valor to Kliftin of Jhelom.

            The more Gideon thinks about it, the more he doesn’t really like having a death-dealing demon bound up in his sword. The question is what to do about it. Ideally, there would be some magic ritual that would simultaneously release the demon and send it to another plane, but I don’t know how to do that, and Erethian–the person who bound the demon in the first place–is dead. I can’t drop it in the deepest part of the ocean (which, let’s face it, is only about 20 feet deep) because the interface doesn’t let you drop things over water. I’ll assume that for similar reasons, I can’t drop it in a volcano–if I can even find one. No spells destroy it. 

      I think about trying to ruin it in the forge, and it’s in trying to put it on the hearth that I discover something unpleasant: I can’t even remove it from my inventory. If I lay it town somewhere, it just leaps back into my hand the moment I close my inventory screen. This also means I can’t try Plan F, which is to destroy it with Rudyom’s wand. (Rudyom’s wand doesn’t work on it anyway, even if I try it with the sword still in my hands.) I can temporarily stow the sword in a container, like my backpack, but if I then set down the backpack, the sword jumps back into my hands again. If I’ve already replaced the sword in my hands, it jumps into whatever container I’m carrying in place of the backpack, If I’m not carrying any container, it tosses whatever I’m carrying to the ground and puts itself in my hands. It will not be parted from me.             

You cannot unforge what has been forged.

              The best I can do for now is commit to not using it, which means taking Magebane back from Jaana and giving her her old regular sword again. I don’t need a sentient sword influencing my thoughts and actions, and that little confrontation with Dracothraxus was a bit too uncomfortable for me to trust that the sword isn’t doing either. Maybe I’ll figure out some other options along the way.     Before heading for Jhelom, the party returns briefly to Britain and cashes in nuggets and gems for gold. I spend nearly all my gold on new spells and reagents from Nystul. Now that the Avatar is maxed out in intelligence and magic, I want to get more out of my spells than usual, and I vow to find a reason to cast every spell and discuss them as I do. Before I get into this, it’s important to remember that spells in Ultima VII come in nine levels: eight regular levels plus a set of 8 Level 0 “cantrips” that you can cast indefinitely. Except for cantrips, each spell requires an expenditure of mana equal to their level plus the associated reagents. The syllables from Ultima V still exist, theoretically, but the player no longer has to know them. The spellcaster just speaks them automatically.         We get to Jhelom by heading south to Trinsic and then west across the lower continent and then across the channel. I’m doing this from memory, so I’m happy when we see roads and houses on the first island we encounter. We land near the dock, which worryingly has cannons pointed outward, as if expecting hostile ships to arrive. It occurs to me that cannons in this game can be moved but not turned, which is odd for a game that allows so much interactivity otherwise. It amuses me that Britannians, when they go to buy cannons, have to specify whether they want an east-facing cannon or north-facing cannon or whatever.          

If the invasion comes from an oblique angle, they’re screwed no matter what.

          We arrive at midnight, which I assume is going to give me a chance to use my first spell, “Awaken,” on a sleeping NPC. Oddly, although the first building we come to–city hall–has a double bed, there’s no one in it. There is, however, someone in bed in the hut across the way.

          Awaken – AN ZU (“Negate Sleep”), Level 0 cantrip. A relatively useful spell that wakes up a sleeper. It doesn’t have to be a magic slumber: it awakens normal sleepers, too, and is the most reliable way of doing so. Unlike in Ultima VI, regular sleepers in VII will sometimes awaken if you just make a ruckus around their bedrooms, but it’s faster to cast the cantrip. I’m sure I’ve used it more times to wake up NPCs in the middle of the night so I could talk to them than I have on characters put magically to sleep.

    Maybe the joke is there is no such cantrip, and the person really awakens from some idiot yelling “AN ZU!” in his room.

          The sleeper turns out to be Master de Snel, head of the Library of Scars fighting school. (The name is a clear play on producer Dallas Snell.) He’s also a trainer. Some experimentation shows that he only raises combat, not the associated attributes, so I think Inforlem is a better deal. (de Snel gives +2 combat for 2 points; Inforlem gives +2 combat, +1 strength, and +1 dexterity for 3 points). I try to have Gideon train with him anyway, but he remarks that Gideon is already his superior in skill. I guess the Avatar just isn’t going to be able to spend those skill points. His statement that Jhelom is “devoted to the art of combat–not mere slavish military discipline, but pure violent confrontation” strikes me as a bit ominous. Jhelom used to be devoted to valor.     Back at city hall, the mayor, Joseph, has appeared, and he wakes up before I’m able to use the spell. He characterizes Jhelom as a rough place, and he’s called upon to maintain order with his sword as often as his pen. He says that fighters gather in the town square to duel every day, but then clarifies that they mostly use training dummies. It’s more like a mass workout than a battle. There are sometimes matches “to the blood,” though, and people bet on them. So far, Joseph is beating Jheolm in the contest for the Rune of Valor, but I’m not sure I like this place.            

Is that because of its nature or because of people like you?

        We take the opportunity to explore the empty Library of Scars. In addition to practice rooms, it has an actual library, which disappointingly has a “Britannian Purity League” flyer in a prominent place. The “Books of Britannia” entry is updated with The Accedens of Armoury. To make it easier to see, I cast the “Glimmer” spell, which I honestly forgot existed until I started reviewing the spells. I would have used it earlier in some of the dungeons.            

Glimmer – IN BET LOR (“Create Small Light”), Level 0 cantrip. Creates a low-level light for a short duration–just long enough to check out a room. Still better than adventuring in the dark. Useful when you don’t want to waste reagents or spell points on “Light” or “Great Light.”

            De Snel made me suspicious enough that I confess I swiped a key I found in his house. I justify it by saying I’ve been generally charged by Lord British with investigating what’s wrong with Britannia, and I need a wide mandate to do that. The key opens a locked office in the Library of Scars which has a couple of chests. One has The Book of the Fellowship and a serpentine dagger. The other has three gold bars and a Fellowship medallion. A parrot in the corner says “I know where the treasure is” in between “Polly wanna cracker” and “pretty bird.” But I can’t make it say anything else, even when I try to give it some fish and chips.         At this point, it becomes weird to rouse people from their beds, so I set up my bedroll and get a few hours of sleep. I still don’t know what the rest of the party does while I use the only bedroll. When I wake up, it’s raining and thundering, which gives me a chance to use another cantrip.         

Weather – REL HUR (“Change Wind”), Level 0 cantrip. Makes it stormy if it’s sunny and vice versa. Not very “useful,” but it’s actually kind of unpleasant to adventure when it’s raining, so I use it just for aesthetic purposes. There are lots of other games that I’ve wished had this option, particularly the two Assassin’s Creed games where a storm seems to magically appear every time you engage in a sea battle. Note that the original spell of this title in Ultima V was necessary for sailing the direction that you want to go.

       Kliftin, an ex-soldier, runs the town’s armory, but for some reason the armory also has a spinning wheel and loom, and I catch Kliftin operating the loom as I enter. He claims to have “seen [his] share of death and destruction,” which reminds me that the book talks about strife between regional leaders, but you really never have any sense of where these supposed wars happened. Britannia’s not that big of a place, and Lord British seems to keep it pretty orderly. Unnamed wars and campaigns simply don’t fit with the landscape. He’s a little less charitable in his views of the town’s duels, which he says are often fought to the death. He’s worried about Sprellic, the mild-mannered innkeeper, who stole the Honor Flag from the wall of the Library of Scars and has refused to return it. (I would have stolen it, too; it’s supposed to be the Valor flag. Doesn’t this town know its own history?) He’s therefore going to face three fighters from the Library in a duel to the death. He suggests I ask more at the pub. He sells equipment, but I need to save my money for spells and training, and I’m already doing a fine job finding equipment upgrades.         We cross a bridge to the west side of Jhelom, where we find nothing in a few houses. Then we find Sprellic hiding in his own house, where he begs Gideon not to hurt him “this time.” He calms down as we talk and explains that he arrived from Minoc a few years ago to buy the Bunk and Stool pub. He employs two barmaids who together keep the unruly fighters under control through charm (Ophelia) or physical violence (Daphne). Recently, a stranger came to the tavern claiming to be the Avatar. A member of the Fellowship, the man consumed conspicuously then went to bed. Not long afterwards, he complained that it was too cold, and he kept complaining even after he had every blanket in the inn. In desperation, Sprellic went running around town and found an “old tapestry” hanging on a wall, so he took it, not knowing he was taking the standard of the Library of Scars. In the morning, the “Avatar” was gone, with the tapestry, and without paying his bill. Later, three members of the Library of Scars–Syria, Vokes, and Timmons challenged him to duels to the death. Before I’ve left his house, I’ve agreed to serve as his champion.             

This is a bad sign.

           The last place to visit in town, believe it or not, is the Bunk and Stool. Right in the front door, we run into Syria, an olive-skinned “fighter from the south”–gods know what that means in the confusing geography of Britannia. It’s clear that Sprellic would have a crush on her if she didn’t terrify him. She got 10 lashes for allowing Sprellic to escape with the flag, so she’s determined to make him pay. I soon meet Vokes and Timmons, and they are similarly intractable when it comes to the subject. They refuse to believe it’s a misunderstanding, or to show any mercy to someone who clearly isn’t a fighter. Timmons isn’t even a member of the Library of Scars yet, but de Snel won’t let him join until he defeats someone who has challenged the school. I had started this quest by thinking that it’s solution would be finding the stolen banner, but now I’m thinking that these three deserve a good thrashing.      Dupre is next. He’s his usual self, recently knighted, in the midst of “conducting a survey of all the drinking establishments in Britannia.” He confirms that Jhelom has gotten a lot more “bloodthirsty” and he summarizes what’s happening with Sprellic. I have him join the party, of course, determined to kick out Sentri if things get unwieldy. Dupre comes with chain armor, a sword, a shield, and a mug of beer.          

To be fair, that’s what most RPGs are about.

            It’s 11:50 at this point, and the duel is supposed to be at noon, so I have just enough time to talk to the barmaids before I have to head out. They’re taking bets on the duel, so I bet 100 gold pieces on myself–well, technically Sprellic, but I hope it will pay regardless. Daphne is heavy and unattractive and vocally resents Ophelia. Ophelia is both a bit mean, egging on Daphne, and bit daft, claiming that Sprellic is the Avatar in secret and will easily defeat the three fighters before opening his own fighting school.         

Remember this quote.

           The dueling grounds are back on the first island, so we head there. I soon find that there’s no good way to fight the three members of the Library of Scars solo. Going into combat mode engages everyone in the duel, which isn’t as unfair as it sounds because all three of the Library fighters jump in together instead of individually. There’s no way to tell my party to exercise restraint, so we actually kill all of them. De Snel is happy about the outcome and invites me to join the Library of Scars. Ophelia gives me 1,000 gold for the outcome (Sprellic was poorly favored by the odds). Later, it occurs me that there is a way to get the party not to fight–set them all to “retreat”–but slaughter seems like the wrong way to go about it. I try just knocking them out or putting them to sleep, but it just delays the inevitable end of the duel. They did insist it was “to the death,” after all.           

Technically, your buildings are both on the north side of the street.

         Reloading, I try some other options. De Snel has nothing useful to say about the upcoming duel. Joseph, for all his claims that he often intervenes, refuses to do anything about this case. He claims that he and de Snel have an understanding and that if he upsets that, de Snel is likely to assassinate him and take over the town completely. It’s Kliftin who has the answer. First, he figures that the false Avatar is Sullivan the Trickster, known to do this sort of thing. Second, he comes up with the solution: he can just weave a new Honor Flag. It will fool the fighters long enough to call off the duel, and if they ever do figure out it’s a counterfeit, they won’t be able to say so without looking foolish. Plus, they’d have to challenge Kliftin in that case, who’s a lot tougher to beat. It’s going to mean that I miss the appointed duel time, but I rationalize (correctly) that this game doesn’t have any way of telling today’s noon from tomorrow’s noon.     While we wait, we explore the rest of the island. Outside of town to the west is a cave, where we’re attacked by a single nameless fighter the moment we enter. The cave has a crate with a triple crossbow–supposedly a devastating weapon that costs a ton if you try to buy it in Iolo’s shop. I hate micromanaging ammunition, though, so I don’t bother with it.      A cave system south of town is much more extensive, so much that I’m surprised it’s not a named dungeon. We fight some bats and gremlins as we enter; I’m still not sure why gremlins turn into food in this game. We soon come across a trap that generates a field of fire across the floor. I think this might be a good opportunity for a spell, but it turns out I’m wrong.        

Douse – AN FLAM (“Negate Flame”), Level 0 cantrip. Supposedly douses flames, but doesn’t work on any flame that you’d really want doused, like ones blocking your passage in corridors. Only works on things like torches and campfires that you could douse by double-clicking on them. At least it doesn’t cost anything, which is more than I can say for Great Douse, or VAS AN FLAM (“Great Negate Flame,” Level 1), which supposedly douses everything in the area. While we’re at it, I might also discuss Ignite (IN FLAM, “Create Flame,” cantrip), which does the opposite. If you can think of a single use for these spells, even hypothetical, anywhere in the game, I beg you to comment.        

     A wizard attacks us in a ruined structure in which two stone harpies flank a crystal ball. Trying to use the crystal ball prompts a voice that might be The Guardian to shout “go away!”          

An interesting scene.

          As we return to the entrance, the spontaneous flames are gone, so I use the occasion to try “Detect Traps” and “Destroy Traps.” Neither works, but it’s maybe the case that the flames’ appearance isn’t a “trap” as such. I’ll have to experiment some more before declaring the spells worthless. The dungeon has a few minor finds–a few reagents, a set of swamp boots, a little food.       On an island east of town, the Shrine of Valor is in pretty good shape. There are some gremlins running around the area, but it’s well-kept and has a sword on the altar, which I suppose is okay. It occurs to me that I didn’t hear the word “valor” once in Jhelom, which is a bit depressing, but I suppose I can’t expect cities to maintain their mission statements for over 200 years. It occurs to me that when the cities were created around the virtues in the backstory of Ultima IV, certain professions were naturally drawn to certain cities because of those virtues: fighters to valor, mages to truth, and so on. (Druids=justice and rangers=spirituality were always a bit of a stretch and should have been reversed in my opinion, and I guess tinkers=sacrifice never made much sense.) Two centuries later, the remnants of the professions are there, but not the virtues. Jhelom still attracts fighters and Moonglow still attracts mages, but they’ve become more about the realities of those professions than their aspirations.         

The Shrine of Valor from above.

         There’s a small island northwest of Jhelom with another cave entrance. It’s clear that someone’s been living inside, but I can’t figure out what they’ve been up to. There’s a huge barrel of beer in a corner–and next to it a set of thumb screws. At the south end of the cavern, a curtain parts to reveal a sack with a single key. The key opens two chests in the main room, and inside we find a couple of bars of gold, reagents, and a magic helm. The best I can figure is that some bootleggers operate out of here. On a fun note, if you turn the spigot on a keg of liquor in this game, your party members absolutely freak out, alternately screaming “turn it off!’ and “thou art wasting it!” Nothing brings them more distress, apparently.         

It’s not like you were going to get to drink it.

          Our final adventure in the Valerian Isles occurs on the southeastern tip of the main island, where we find a pirate and the remains of a ship. The pirate is pacing back and forth but refuses to talk with us even though his garbage pile and arrangement of furnishing suggest he’s been stranded here for a while. There are three barrels of gunpowder among the wreckage, and these are the first ones in the game that I feel comfortable (for role-playing reasons) grabbing for my own use. They generate explosions that can be useful on locked doors and in combat.           

I like that graphics are advanced enough in this game to set up little “vignettes.”

           I return to Jhelom, where Kliftin has created the fake Honor Flag. I return it to Syria, who takes it grudgingly and calls off the duel. Sprellic is overjoyed at the result. Ophelia refuses my arguments of a “moral victory” and I’m left with ten worthless chits. As for the Rune of Valor, I always interpreted valor as a mandate to actively seek wrongs and right them. You can life an honorable, just, and compassionate life just dealing with things as they come to you, but only the truly valiant do something proactively about an injustice that isn’t otherwise their duty. Thus, I give the rune to Kliftin, who came up with a solution to a problem that he could have ignored, taking some risk upon himself in doing so.           

I was tempted not to, but the game didn’t give me that option.

        We cap this long entry with a visit to the Dungeon Destard, which has always struck me as the least literal of the original eight dungeons (“Wrong,” “Deceit,” “Despise,” etc.), although as the opposite of valor, it’s clearly meant to evoke “dastardliness” or thereabouts.

In an early room, I meet an unlikely trio consisting of a fighter, a ranger, and a winged gargoyle. The fighter introduces himself as Cosmo. He claims to be betrothed to Ophelia, the Jhelom barmaid (who didn’t mention him once), but she’s apparently decided to make him prove his virginity before they get married. That sounds like she gave him something to keep him busy, because she certainly didn’t sound like a virgin. Anyway, he thinks there’s a unicorn in the area that only virgins can touch. This tickles a memory, but I seem to recall that the unicorn is in a different dungeon. His companions, the ranger Cairbre and the gargoyle Kallibrus, Kallibrus seems genuine but confused because gargoyles don’t have genders and don’t mate. Cairbre concurs with me that Ophelia just sent Cosmo on the quest to get rid of him, and he even shares my opinion about Ophelia’s likely virginity. Despite all of that, he has a fondness for Cosmo and didn’t want him to venture to the dungeon alone. It’s nice to meet another group of friends, even if their quest is stupid.             

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” Cairbre hastens to add.

         Deeper in the dungeon, we start running into dragons. Dupre proves himself the weakest link of the party, having joined when he was only Level 3 (everyone else is Level 6), so I get a lot of use out of:            

Heal – MANI (“Life”), Level 3. A simple spell that heals about 10 hit points. A useful workhorse; probably the spell I’ve cast most since beginning the game.

        There are a lot of caltrops in the corridors. I really hate those things. You never seem to get them all, and no matter where you move them, someone always seems to stumble over them later. But it’s worth it, because we soon find a bunch of gold bars just sitting in the hallway.           

Can you even see these?

        In a large, central chamber, we kill three more dragons and find the corpse of a man with a Fellowship staff, a chest with two Fellowship medallions, and a sack full of potions and reagents. Further along, another dragon cave delivers some huge dividends: stacks of gold, gold bars, gold nuggets, and gems, along with the 5-10 gems per dragon that we’ve already been looting from their corpses. Our economic prospects have definitely turned around, and it’s time to reflect that in spells, reagents, and training. Poor Spark has 15 training credits to use. There’s also a spellbook in one of the chests, but none of my party besides the Avatar can use it, and he has his own. I’m not sure that any NPC in the game besides the Avatar can cast spells.             

Coming here should have proven our valor, but it just stoked our avarice.

        We do find the unicorn, although in a separate set of caves that share the same mountain range with Despise (if there’s an illusory wall connecting them, I didn’t find it). He’s right in the entrance, prancing around a pool of water, and he introduces himself as Lasher. He tells a horrible story about why unicorns can detect virgins: they were originally a species of nature spirits, both male and female, bound to service by a wizard. When the leader of the clan decided to spend one night chasing females instead of heeding the wizard’s call, the wizard cursed the entire herd with chastity, forbidding them to mate. This curse caused them to kill all the females of their species and left them with a sensitivity to “sexual energy” such that they could only tolerate the presence of virgins.          

I thought Britannia was a more enlightened society.

          He’s aware of the presence of Cosmo and his companions, and he’s avoiding them because he’s “sick of being used as the instrument of women’s humiliation.” But he laughs when he hears that they’re looking for him to prove a male virgin and agrees to help. (I return to them later, but there are no new dialogue options.) During the conversation, he asks whether I’m a virgin. It’s an interesting question. I’m not, obviously, but I never thought about whether my character is. He didn’t explicitly have sex with Princess Aiela in The Savage Empire, and he rejected the overtures of the gypsies in Ultima VI. He seems pretty old to be a virgin, but one wonders if things back on Earth even count. I mean, his power and skill all reset when he walks through the moongate; why not his virginity? I err on the side of saying yes, and the damned horse actually has the nerve to accuse me of lying to avoid embarrassment! After my party has a good laugh at my expense, he confirms that I do regain my virginity upon entering the moongate.

Maybe I put that demon sword away too soon.

            He then asks if I’m a virgin by choice or circumstance. I say “circumstance” because Jaana’s in a relationship and I’ve otherwise been surrounded by men since I got here. Lasher offers to help and asks if I want love or lust. The real answer is that I want neither in a society that has yet to discover deodorant or razor blades, but I choose “love” and he directs me to Nastassia in Cove.           I’ve already met Nastassia, of course, but the conversation reminds me that I promised to find out what happened to her parents. We’re going to make some spell and training stops along the way, but otherwise the next stop is Yew, city of Justice.        Time so far: 46 hours

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/the-black-gate-of-valor-and-virginity/

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