#figuring his speed overall is probably slightly less than his strength

[softgrungeprophet]

ensuring spider-man is a lethal weapon

(like he wasn't already)

when he says he is always holding back

i write this all out and i briefly say to myself, is this op? is 135 mph punching op? is being able to punch with over 370 thousand newtons of force OP???

but iirc i'm pretty sure he punched DP's head clean off in SM/DP so I think it's fine actually.

normally he's punching at 1/3rd that at most, obviously, against superpowered or otherwise augmented foes, cause he doesn't want to like... kill anyone. but still heavyweight boxer levels even holding back.

tbh. how did he even figure out he needs to pull his punches in the first place???? ...huh i should think about that one actually... maybe he discovered it one of the many times he accidentally broke a light pole in half XD

[enneamage]

Dream – 6w5

Dream is strangely difficult to write an introduction for. On one hand he seems like an aggressively normal nerd, on the other hand he’s got a set of qualities that people either connect with intuitively or completely do not grasp. Dream comes at us from the notoriously paradoxical type Six, known for their careful and obsessive planning… as well as their impulsivity. Still, Dream is deceptively simple once you know what to look for.

Like Clockwork

Much like Tommy, Dream sees YouTube like a video game. He’s pursued it intensely for years and strategized his rise to the top, paying careful attention to what kinds of techniques work and why. He’s a natural information gatherer and tries to be a couple steps ahead of what he’ll need when the time comes, looking for ways to create and sustain his success. Overall, YouTube has served as a structure to stabilise himself, giving him purpose and direction.

As his primary game, Dream has fused Minecraft into his DNA. The way he got to be a speed runner to begin with was the combination of the type Six affinity for systems and their ability to marry that system-based thinking with instinct. Manhunts show what happens when his systems brain meets his reflexes under pressure, making for an interesting watch.

The Loyal Sceptic, part ii.

Dream kind of needs to be structured from the inside out to orient himself. Because this is so personal to him, he has a strong stake in being sure that him and other people are going off sound, sturdy information. Dream can be quick to spot holes in plans and logic, fixating on them and trying to find ways to work the problem based on what he already knows.

Dream is concerned with ideas and figuring out ‘right’ from ‘wrong,’ sometimes from engaging directly with other people. He doesn’t do this smoothly, but he certainly does it a lot, getting into big and small arguments about things to come to shared conclusions about the truth. The thing is, Dream ‘debates’ people that he doesn’t like as well as those that he likes, to be sure that people are following sound logic and making ‘the right decisions.’ He’s not combative just for the sake of being unfriendly, but boy it can come off that way if people don’t know how to interpret him or he's getting carried away.

MCC serves as an example of times when Dream takes on a troubleshooting strategist role with other people. He’s good at analyzing both the players and the games themselves, seeing things down to the detail and optimising plans for better results. In general he likes using his skills to help people reach their potential and lean into their strengths when he can.

The Five Wing

Dream’s Five wing makes him slightly less expansive than a seven wing, preferring to keep to his established sphere of friends. He likes spending low-key time with people, but also has a tolerance of thinking and working alone for long periods.

Dream has been isolated for years now, largely out of stubbornness around his face reveal, and some of his ability to handle that is his more withdrawing nature. The online setup is probably a good middle ground for him, stimulated by the ongoing company of people but without direct person-to-person contact. While it’s likely that Dream will enjoy face to face interaction, it may tire him out a bit faster than it would a seven wing.

Oddly Casual

Something worth noting is that Dream still seems to think of himself as ‘just a guy.’ He doesn’t separate who he interacts with by rank or status, meaning that he’ll engage with anyone if posts are available on a public forum. He replies to people, posts on reddit, jokes with fans and gets into scuffles with fans and enemies alike.

This might be his version of Tommy’s “awkwardly social” quirk, having fleeting engagements with other people to feel stimulated and connected, but with added room for confrontation. He can be abrasive, but that abrasiveness comes from being oddly genuine, preferring direct conversations without too much polite pretense. People talk a lot about parasocial audiences, but truth be told Dream is parasocial right back, preferring to start conversations as though the ice has already been broken and it’s okay for him to 'play-fight' with the people around him.

Counterphobia

Like most Sixes, Dream also has a counterphobic streak. Dream pushes towards danger when he feels like something is threatening, and this comes out as reactive aggression when he feels like he or one of his friends is being targeted. Yes, this is where a good chunk of his social media fights come from.

This is a fire meets gas situation where his built-in anxiety makes him sensitive, and his instincts make him reactive. It makes sense that he tested as an Eight—he can be very combative when he’s in this state, wanting to try and fight things out hands-on. It’s taking him time to be less immediately aggressive when he feels attacked, learning to step away from things that set him off and calm down before he says something regrettable. He is capable of cooling down once the reaction window passes, but it’s a deeply wired reflex so it’s hard to get rid of entirely.

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

Dream is protective of his friends. Like, very protective. This is both from his loyalty and his ability to see the potential for danger in situations. This means that he’s willing to go into situations guns blazing to protect the people he cares about… even when they’re in the wrong. If a friend of Dream genuinely fucks up in public, he’s likely to try and defend them publicly, and then grill them brutally behind closed doors to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Dream also has a habit of throwing himself under the bus when his friends have done something, preferring to take the heat himself.

Dream is slower to loosen his grip and not see things from a ‘his people’ vs. ‘attackers’ perspective. The exceptions to this situation tend to be when either two people or two groups that he’s equally invested in start fighting, in which he gets more conflicted but equally compelled to intervene.

O Captain, My Captain

Dream slots himself into the leader role for a number of reasons. For one, it puts him in the driver’s seat and lets him strategize in situations. On top of that, it gives him a unique place in peoples lives, which helps him feel secure in his relationships. Being a leader-type both gives him the connections and the freedom that he finds most comfortable.

Like most Sixes, Dream also comes from a place of anxiety around abandonment, and inversely a desire for connection. His inner circle is defined by people who he expects to be with for a long time, looking to both give and receive loyalty. In return he takes care of the people around him, both as a social support and materially.

Dream has a deeply held sense of “his people” who he wants to extend his skills towards and protect from harm, and this includes his audience. Dream’s ongoing choices to change for and defend his fanbase are a significant part of his rapport with his community, and is a nonzero factor in his success. His default reflexes to defend his audience may not be popular, but he was one of the few popular male gaming CC’s who were willing to see a young majority female audience and defend them warts and all, which most male CC’s up until that point would be more reluctant to do. Like his friends, Dream wants to see the best in his following, for better or for worse.

[volleychumps]

hi i loved your helping karasuno during a game hc’s and i was wondering if you could do one for nekoma ?

Due to popular demand, here it is! I wrote with the ones I was the most comfortable with, so I hope you guys enjoy!!

Calming Down Nekoma in a Match

———————————————————

Kuroo

- “God, all these Nohebi players are pricks.” “Kuroo, they might hear-” “Kenma, look at my face. Do I look like I care?” 

- runs a hand through his already sweaty hair frustratedly as he gulps down water, eyes taking on a menacing edge as the team all simutaneously take a step away from the pissed-off captain

- “Nekomata-sensei…” “Don’t worry. We have luck on our side.” “What do you-?” “Get (Y/N) down here. Now.” 

- gets riled up immensely so much to the point where he begins making mistakes, allowing the toxic words from the other team to get to him until he gets subbed out

- legit the whole team is shook because the captain was no longer playing, messing up the flow that they’re usually able to keep intact 

- leans against the wall with a pissed-off expression as he dares the players of the other team to look his way, blinking when a pair of arms is suddenly on either side of his body

- Yaku has to stop the team from laughing at how funny it looked: your adorable figure was trapping Kuroo against the wall with both arms as he stared down at you. unblinking 

- stiff posture relaxes immediately, pissed-off expression forming into one of amusement and confusion 

- “Came to visit?” the side of his lips quirk up, feeling the tension slip his chest as you look up at him sternly, refusing to let him leave his spot on the wall before your arms suddenly wrap around his torso 

- “What are you so mad for? You’re playing so well.” You pout, looking up at him as your front body presses up against his in a hug. “And you’re the one who told me to come because you were gonna win. Were you wrong in saying that?” 

- looks at you for a second before his hand gently strokes your cheek, feeling his breathing even out before taking a deep breath, determination brimming his eyes as you grin. You had done it. 

- “Nope. I wasn’t wrong at all when saying that.” leans down towards you, feral eyes playful as his lips form a smirk, eyes twinkling in amusement as he pulls you in.

- flips off the staring Nohebi team as he plants his lips on yours for a good fifteen seconds, looking energized as he jogs back on to the court away from your flushed figure 

-bro wtf we get it you have a gf 

- “Kuroo, there are children-” “Lev and Shibuyama can get over it. Let’s win this.” 

- Nekomata sensei lets you sit next to him throughout the rest of the game, and when Nekoma manages to win their third set, Kuroo jogs over to you before quite literally sweeping you off your feet, picking you up bridal style as he peppers kisses all over your cheeks

- “Kuroo, please let me go-!”

- “Never.” His forehead rests against yours.

-“You’re too good to let go, I can’t help myself.” 

Kenma 

-You never thought you’d see the day where Kenma would lose his cool

- It was a match against Fukurodani, and you could tell Kenma was becoming more and more irate as Bokuto’s speed was too much to allow him to think

- Kenma’s sets begin to lack strength, signalling he was lessening the amount of pressure he was using in his arms to set the ball up as he got more and more lost within his mind 

- The Nekoma team blinks when Kenma’s set doesn’t even rise above the net

- Luckily, Fukunaga comes in to set in his place when Kenma gets benched, eyes downcast on the floor as the team legit freaks out

- Yamamoto stop freaking out baby pls

- like what are they supposed to do without the brain of the team? all connection would suddenly become lost without Kenma

-Kuroo is legit looking at Kenma with a we-say-a-fucking-chant-for-you-before-the-game-are-you-kidding-me look before whipping out his phone in the middle of time out

-poor love feels pressured as he sits on the bench, trying to make himself calm as the irritation bubbles in his stomach 

- “Hey uh, Y/N, you’re watching this, right?” “ I can see Kenma looks a tad frustrated.” “You’re his girlfriend! Do something!” “What?” 

- You snap your phone shut before leaving the stands to enter the gym floor, ignoring the stares you were getting from the audience to see that Nekoma had called a time-out, the other team sitting at set point 

- “Kenma, Bokuto has a stupid amount of strength and you know that-” “Kuroo. I don’t care. Don’t lecture me.” 

- silently, you shoo the surrounding members of the team away from Kenma as you take the unoccupied seat next to him, remaining quiet for a few seconds before you hear him sigh lightly 

- “You shouldn’t be down here.” “Yet here I am!” 

- doesn’t react when you take his hand, tracing your finger over the lines on his hands as your thumb runs back and forth soothingly on his skin

- “It’s just a game.” You say finally, nudging him in the side with your shoulder before resting your head on his. “Think about it this way. The faster you win this, the faster you can finally beat me at Smash Bros.” 

- “You’ve won once.” “Doesn’t matter! You still lost!” 

- scoffs a little at your fuming face before feeling the air circulation in his lungs allow him to breathe a little easier, glancing down at your bright grin before he sighs, as if this were the most troublesome thing 

-shut up kenma you know you love them

-“Fine then. Rematch. After this.” 

- “After this. Now will you hurry up and win already?” 

- As he stands, you press your lips to his knuckle quickly, not enough to make him flustered, but enough for him to smile the smallest of smiles at you -

-until it disappears as soon as Kuroo comes to drag him back into the game

- “You’re a miracle worker.” “I do what I can.” “Will you two stop high-fiving each other? I’m still here.” “Kenma, don’t be jealous.” 

- rolls his eyes as he makes his way back into the game, feeling complete serenity flow back trough his mind as the Nekoma team finally takes back the points they had missed

-so when they win, he’s already walking back to your sitting figure on the bench before plopping down in his previous seat, rummaging through his duffel before emerging with a switch

- “You don’t want to celebrate with your screaming team?” You question as he pops off a controller. He blinks before standing up, offering you his hand. 

- “You’re right. Let’s get out of here. Before Kuroo drags us.” 

- You laugh, grasping his hand as he leads you out of the gym. Without turning back to look at you, his grip tightens ever so slightly. 

- “Hey (Y/N)?” “Hm?”

- “Thank you.” 

Yaku

- “Don’t mind, Yakkun!” “Lev, you’re the last person I want to be telling me not to mind.” 

-Yaku you made the baby sad stop being a hoe 

- Irate baby frustratedly wipes the sweat trailing down the bridge of his nose when another ball slams down into the floor before his hand can reach in between it

- grinds his teeth together as the whistle seems to blow in his ears, his nails biting into his clenched fist as Kai flinches from trying to help him off the floor 

- “I’m so off my game today.” “Yaku, you’re doing great-” “Kai, don’t touch me. I mean it.” 

- creates an air that’s almost suffocating as he becomes more and more irritable, effecting his overall performance

- flinches when he gets switched out with Shibuyama, who was trembling as they switched numbers, Yaku pulling it a little more harshly than necessary

- “Hello love!”

- darkened eyes soften at your grinning figure standing by the bench before darkening again, taking a seat without paying much mind to you

- doesn’t even look at you as he pops the cap to his water bottle “So you saw me play. Like that. What are you even doing down here?”

- Unfazed, you stand in front of your libero boyfriend with your hands on your hips, noting the clench of his fists and tightened jaw before reaching your hand out

- seems to relax at your touch when you stroke his cheek gently, smiling softly down at him as his arms slowly snake around your waist, pulling you closer as his breaths begin to steady 

- “I’m sorry.” “There’s nothing to be sorry for. You’re playing great, love. I’m always proud of how you play, you’re the one who stands out the most on the court! Do you know how proud that makes me?”

- his eyes lose their darkened glare as he stares up at you, his grip on his water bottle loosening as he takes a deep breath, standing as he looks down at you

- “What would I do without you?” “Cry, probably.”

- quirks an eyebrow at your cheeky response before pressing his lips against your forehead, smiling down at you without a trace of his previous anger

- “Let’s go on a date after this.” “But the team dinner...?” “Nope. Just you and me.”

- kisses you on the tip of your nose before ensuring you get to the stands okay, waving at you when he’s put back in the game

- you smile widely when he fist pumps the air, reaching the top of his game as the atmosphere diminishes completely

- “Lev...I’m s...sor...cOUGH” “it’s okay, Yakkun! We won, and you did so well for someone who’s short!”

- Lev you little shit he’s trying

- is about to kick Lev in the shin until you leap into his arms, overjoyed as his hands wrap around your waist to steady you

- “You played so well, love!”

- “It’s all thanks to you, dork.”

- “Kuroo are you crying?” “I...Yakkun just never looks this nice!”

Lev

-“Lev, you could’ve gotten that-“ “I know! My receives still suck, I’m sorry.”

- the whole team blanches at Lev’s irate and borderline depressed self, knowing how low their attack power went if he isn’t at the top of his game

- “Kenma-San, please set to me less.” Literally gets so sad omg baby no

- Kenma being Kenma, shrugs and nods as the whistle blows, signaling the start of the next rally as Lev slowly becomes more and more downhearted

- when his next spike gets into the net, his spike usually being the one thing he has confidence in, he makes eye contact with his coach before he’s promptly benched

- “That one girl Lev never shuts up about...is she here?” “Uh, probably, sensei-“ “Go find her.”

- Within the next few minutes, you’re jogging into the gym after receiving a text from Inuoka, eyes brimmed with concern as you see your boy hunched over on the bench

- “what’s with him?” “I don’t know, his receives were off and I think that eventually effected his spikes...”

- ignoring the questioning stares of the people who noticed you, you give Lev a hug from behind, causing him to jump before relaxing into your touch

- “...(Y/N).”

- “Heyo, cutie.” You flirt, resting your chin on the top of his head as you hug him from his sitting position. “Come here often?”

- chuckles at your cute actions before his shoulders slump over again “Sorry you have to see me suck this bad...I bragged and everything.”

- “sorry, who are you?”

-blinks, thinking you’re still trying to flirt with him before spinning around on the bench to face you with a questioning stare

- “The Lev I know is the ace of the Nekoma team...right now I don’t really know who you are? Are you an imposter?”

- laughs, long arms finding your waist as he pulls you closer to him “Nope. I’m the real thing.”

- “Then go be the ace.” You say, hands cupping his cheeks. “They’re relying on you. And I’m here to support you. Always.”

- looks at you in awe for a moment before furrowing his brows and nodding, feeling soothed as you run your hands through his bright hair

- he pinches your waist, his cat-like grin passing over his face when you yelp, causing you to land in his lap as you blush

-digs his face into your neck as if he was recharging himself as you embarrassedly try to push him off before he sighs deeply and sets you down next to him

-when he stands and glances back, his eyes glint as he smiles at you lovingly

- “Don’t stop watching me.”

- so as you watch from the stands as Lev slams down the winning point, he blows you a kiss with a wink from the winning line-up as you roll your eyes

- “That was kind of cute, I guess.” You cross your arms when he comes to get you from the stands, pulling you into a tight hug as he smiles into your hair.

- “Good. You were watching.”

- “I never stopped.” 

[nanami-says]

Part IV (4/5): chapters 45~49

Chapter 45

[About talismans put on curses released for students to hunt during the group event]

“But even when exorcised with non-registered energy, it’ll burn red”

Not incorrect here, just pointing this bit out since it was mistranslated in the original explanation by Ichiji in ch. 40. (They kind of skipped the info about pre-registering cursed energy altogether.)

U:“It must be an outsider. Maybe an intruder?”

M:“Does that mean Master Tengen’s protective barrier isn’t working?”

G:“Intruder or not, this is an unexpected situation”

⇒ U:“Somewhere from the outside… Do you mean an intruder?”

[Mei Mei’s line]

G:“Whether it’s [someone] from the outside or from the inside, it doesn’t change that fact that those are unforeseen circumstances”.

Utahime was more asking and not actually stating anything here. Could go with “outsider” too but I wanted to capture the nuance of her still musing here better. As for Gakuganji, he wasn’t actually reiterating the line about “intruder” but “from the outside”! I.e. that it doesn’t matter if they came from the outside (of the barrier, I’m assuming), or from the inside. 

[Gojou talking about the curtain]

“We’ll just rip it apart once it’s complete”

⇒ “So all you have to do is just rip it apart after it’s gone down”

Not wrong but Gojou sounded cockier here haha.

“In exchange for denying Satoru Gojo entrance, it gives everyone else free access”

⇒ “This is a [protective] barrier that, in exchange for denying ‘Gojou Satoru’ entrance, allows ‘everyone else’ besides that to enter and leave freely”

The original included more technical information, like Gojou calling it a “barrier” (結界/kekkai) even though normally the term used is “curtain” (帳/tobari). I’m not really sure on the specifics but, for example, the Jujutsu High is protected by Master Tengen’s “barrier” and when sorcerers want to conceal their fights from civilians they use a “curtain”. 

Also, the original has “Gojou Satoru” and “everyone else” put in quotation marks so imo they should’ve signaled that somehow in the official English release as well.

“Why is there a cursed spirit here?”

Actually specifies “at Jujutsu High”.

“And whose curtain is that?”

“It’s probably coming from whomever is working with the cursed spirit”

Again, Megumi actually specifies that it’s “the curse user working(...)”.

[After Megumi interprets Inumaki’s riceball language with Kamo present]

“You can understand what he’s saying?”

“Does that matter right now? It might use expansion on us. We need to contact Gojo-sensei”

Megumi only says “domain” here (and it’s put in quotation marks again to show it’s a term) and not “domain expansion”. Also, he sounds more dismissive because the first line is closer to, “Something like that doesn’t matter right now, does it”.

[About Hanami’s speech] 

“What the-- I can understand the meaning behind the noises it makes”

⇒ “What’s that-- Even though I don’t get what it’s saying from the sound, I can still understand the meaning”

Not incorrect, just wanted to propose something closer to the original wording.

“The forest, the sea, the sky… They’re crying from the tragedies they’ve withstood. We can no longer live in peace with humans”

⇒ (...) They’re crying how they cannot bear any more. Continued coexistence with humans is no longer possible.”

Imo the “can no longer coexist” referred to the forest, sky etc. Also just a slightly different nuance for the whole line, I suppose.

“They know that there are humans who care for the planet. But how useful is mere compassion?”

Hanami doesn’t really call it “mere compassion”, just “that compassion”, or, literally, “kindness”, “affection”.

Chapter 46

“We’ll have Inumaki stop it so we can keep some distance between us after we attack. We gotta do this if we’re gonna have a chance of getting out of the curtain. We need to find the principals.”

⇒ “Have Inumaki stop it, then we attack, and gain distance. Through a repeat of this, we’ll aim to get outside of the curtain and regroup with the principals”

Not incorrect per se but it sounded more like Kamo just describing their strategy to me. 

Cont. on the next page.

“But how long can we keep this up. Inumaki’s cursed speech is losing effect. We can’t get in touch with the teachers either. It may even figure out a way to counter cursed speech.”

⇒ “But we don’t know when the current equilibrium will crumble. The effectiveness of cursed speech is bad as it is and we can’t even try and get in touch with the teachers. If he realises how to counter cursed speech, then it’s over.”

Lots of nuance lost here. First off, Kamo seems to have been talking about cursed speech’s low effectiveness in general, rather than referring to Inumaki getting weaker. And the line about the teachers actually said they “don’t even have a chance/space to contact” rather than that they’d already tried and failed.

“Finding Todo is a priority. Even Miwa would do at this point.”

⇒ “I’d like to join up with Todo, or at the very least Miwa, as soon as possible but....”

“Even Miwa” makes it sound like Kamo doesn’t really value her but he’s actually ranking her quite high, as she seems to be his next option after Toudou.

”The cursed speech he used wasn’t particularly strong, but his throat gave out. The enemy is that much stronger”

⇒ “Even though he wasn’t using a powerful spirit of language, Inumaki-senpai’s throat still got crushed. The difference in levels is just that huge”

When speaking about Inumaki here, Megumi actually didn’t refer to “cursed speech”, i.e. the technique, but “kotodama”, which’s what the technique uses, its main component, you could say. (“The spirit of language”, please refer to ch. 33 part IV (1/5). Also, as the phrase used in the last sentence is literally “higher rank”, imo it wasn’t so much about difference in pure strength by itself, as difference in levels (which will obviously also translate to difference in strength).

“You can’t cut me with such sword”

He literally calls it “this blunt sword” here. 

“Its eye branches are its weak point”

Closer to, “are more fragile/brittle than the rest [of him]”.

[Maki about the new weapon she just switched to]

“But using this doesn’t feel right”

Actually “is vexing” or even “disgusting”, “revolting” etc., as, you know, it’s a weapon that used to belong to Getou, who once almost killed her. (Vol. 0)

Chapter 47

[About Maki’s special grade weapon]

“Indeed, that is not bad”

Actually “this is a good one”, a different nuance.

“Jujutsu sorcerers are interesting. And so emotional too. Every time one of their allies gets hurt, they leave new openings.”

⇒ “[It seems] jujutsu sorcerers are exceptionally compassionate.(...)”

What they translated as “interesting” was actually a descriptor for “compassionate”, which too imo is different from just “emotional”. All the possible translations given by the dictionary I checked are adverbs (highly, extremely, outstandingly, unusually, remarkably, exceptionally etc.), so imo, despite of how it was spaced in the original, it was intended as a single sentence.

[After Hanami explains how the bud that’s gotten lodged in Megumi’s body works]

“How nice of you to explain! You’re planning on killing me anyway, right?”

“I hear it’s more effective once explained”

This bit is interesting because while it’d been stated before that explaining a technique can lend it more power, Hanami is actually talking about speed here. I guess you could argue regarding the actual differences between speed vs. effectiveness but he did only say that “it'll work faster” this way.

[Hanami praising Maki]

“You have some nice moves”

Actually just “you can move well”, which imo has a slightly different nuance.

“I need to use everything I’ve got! Even if I get ripped apart”

⇒ “{Got to] Muster all of my cursed energy, even if it means my stomach/guts will rip!”

“I get ripped apart” sounds more drastic than the original imo.

Cont. onto. 

“I choose who I save, unlike the others. I’m bearing the least burden. That’s why it’s inexcusable that I be the first to go down!”

⇒ “I’m not like the others. I choose the people to protect. I’m not [the one] bearing the most burden. That’s why (...)”

Again some of the nuance of the original seems to have been altered imo. I’m not 100% sure re the line about bearing burden but I think the meaning was probably closer to what I suggested. I am sure that he said “people to protect” and not “people to save” here, though. 

Chapter 48

[Nishimiya about Toudou]

“If nothing else, you’re strong”

The phrase used here actually means “redeeming feature”. So you know, in Nishimiya’s eyes Toudou may suck overall but being strong is his only saving grace.

[Toudou to Megumi about Yuuji seeming different]

“You see it too. He’s beginning to spread his wings. He must find his own way. That is where he stands now.”

⇒ “So you’ve realised it too. When a person is beginning to spread their wings, it’s unforgiven for others to interfere. Itadori is in such a state right now”

Toudou was speaking rather loftily here, so maybe that’s why they seem to have gotten it slightly wrong but imo phrasing it as “must find his own way” didn’t really capture the original nuance of “it’s unforgiven for anyone else to so much as touch them”, which is what the second part of the sentence literally says. So it’s less emphasis on what Yuuji himself must do and more on what others aren’t allowed to do.

[Hanami after judging Toudou as weaker than himself]

“But he’s got a strong presence.”

⇒ “But this mysterious brazenness…”

Could also go with “impudence”, “shamelessness”, “boldness” etc. here haha.

[Hanami about Yuuji]

“You’re smart to close the distance. [I’ll commend you for that]

⇒ "You don't rush in recklessly. (...)"

...Literally the opposite meaning for this one. Hanami was commenting on Yuuji having attacked from the distance first.

“More agile than the girl! But his strength is disappointing”

⇒ “His instantaneous force surpasses the girl from before! (...)”

The word also means “explosiveness”, “explosive power”, so imo it pointed to Yuuji being able to unleash a lot of power in a short amount of time (although the actual output still fell short in Hanami’s opinion). Idk why they made it “agile” instead...

“Anger is a valuable trigger for a jujutsu sorcerer. There’ve been instances where people have been put on their heels after provoking an inferior opponent. The opposite is not good either. Mishandling cursed energy when angered, wastes your skills, and the fight will end in defeat.”

⇒ “‘Anger’ is an important trigger for jujutsu sorcerers. There are times when you can be beaten by a lower rank just because you’ve angered your opponent. Of course, the opposite is true as well. There are also times when you lose, because you became unable to draw out your true strength, with your cursed energy disrupted by anger”

They seem to have conveyed the nuance of Toudou’s lines here being a broader explanation this time but a lot of nuance has been lost nevertheless. Most importantly: “there are times” and not “there have’ve been instances”, this would be a different grammatical construction if the latter was the case; “the opposite is not good either” is just off; “wastes your skills” was imo unclear, it was closer to “can’t unleash your true power”.

“Your friend Fushiguro is hurt. And worst of all, our bonding time as best friends got interrupted, so I understand better than anyone why you would lose your cool.”

⇒ “Your friend got hurt, and worst of all, the honeymoon with me, your best friend, got interrupted as well. So I can understand rea~~~~~lly well why you’d be boiling with rage”

Once again Toudou using a much more poetic/lofty language in the original was flattened down in the official English release. (“Are boiling with rage” becoming “lose control”, freaking “honeymoon” - and yes, he actually used that word lol - becoming “bonding time”.)

More importantly though, there have been several cases before, when I mentioned that something is written one way but read differently, but didn’t go into the details. (For example, Sukuna’s way of referring to Megumi and Nobara in chapter 7 (refer to part I), or Nobara speaking about the Kyoto principal in ch. 37 (part IV 2/5). This is where I finally explain this phenomenon a bit more in-depth, using Toudou, who’s probably the best example.

If you've ever studied Japanese, you're probably familiar with furigana used over/beside kanji characters to indicate pronunciation. For example, the word “shin’yuu” which means best friend, would be written in kanji 親友, and then have しんゆう written over it in hiragana. Here, the actual word and the way it’s read match.

But in manga it's a fairly common practice to use furigana to provide an alternate reading. So you have 1) the actual text and 2) the reading.

  1) can sometimes supply additional information as well (e.g. written as “technique” but pronounced as “talent”) but mostly it’s included to provide context and specify something to the reader that the characters would be naturally aware of, and 2) is what the character is actually saying out loud in the scene.

So in this scene Toudou doesn’t really say Fushiguro’s name out loud and only calls him “[your] friend/comrade", because it’d be obvious to Yuuji from the context whom he means here.

The same also applies most of the time when Toudou addresses Yuuji, like in the line that got translated as “Itadori, my friend”. In this case, the text is “Itadori” (to indicate to the reader that Toudou truly addresses him here) but what he is saying out loud here is “my friend”, which, btw, is actually said in English even in the original. So he’s literally calling him “mai furendo” here, haha. (In general, Toudou seems to opt for English equivalents quite frequently in the manga.)

Whelp, this ended up very long but basically, whenever I say that “it’s written like XX, but he actually says YY”, this is what I mean!

“But that anger is not for you. Suppress it for now”

⇒ “But that anger is too much for you. (...)”

Not 100% sure but this is probably closer to the original meaning. Also I just found the English translation really vague/unclear. 

“Any more distractions?” 

“Nope”

⇒ ”Did they disappear? Distractions"

“Yeah, not a single cloud [left]”

Aww, this isn’t incorrect but the wording in the original is just so lovely.

“Thank you so much. My best friend - Todo”

⇒ “(...), best friend!”

What I said for Toudou re text vs. pronounciation, except now it’s spreading, down to gratuitous English. 

“For those who have experienced black flash, as compared to those who have not, their understanding of the essence of cursed energy is immeasurable.

⇒ “(...) the gap between their distance to the core of cursed energy is like heaven and earth”

Not incorrect but I really like the ring and the descriptiveness of the original wording.

Chapter 49

“You got to taste a sample of your cursed energy”

⇒ “You’ve grasped the ‘taste’ of cursed energy”

Imo not Yuuji’s own but cursed energy as a whole, as in that Yuuji has glimpsed what cursed energy truly is.

Extended cooking metaphor cont. onto the next page

“Until now, it’s like you’ve been putting ingredients that you’re not familiar with into a pot and cooking haphazardly”

Not incorrect per se but the original wording for the line about ingredients is “ingredients you never tasted yourself” and imo there’s a distinction.

“But with black flash, you’ve gained the ingredient that is cursed energy. As a chef, or in this case, a jujutsu sorcerer, you’re on a different level than you were just three seconds ago”

⇒ “But now through ‘black flash’ you’ve grasped the ‘taste’ of the ingredient that is cursed energy. As a chef, you’re now standing in a completely different dimension than the you from 3 seconds ago”

It wasn’t the “ingredient” (cursed energy) itself that was emphasised here but the ingredient’s “taste” (essence of cursed energy). Also Toudou is actually extrapolating on what he said on the previous page and he even reiterates  his line from there (that mistakenly got translated as “you got to taste a sample of your cursed energy”). Overall, the text on those two pages just flowed better originally and wasn’t as disjointed. Also, this was another instance of text (jujutsu sorcerer) vs. pronunciation (chef)!

“Congratulations brother. You will be strong”

Closer to “you will be able to grow strong”. Also, re “brother” - it’s written as "super best/close friend” and spoken out loud as “brother” and again, it’s actually pronounced in English (“brazaa”). Heck, Toudou also actually says “congratulations” in English too haha.

[After Hanami has healed his own limb]

“It can heal itself?!”

“Cursed spirits are made from cursed energy”

Actually specifies that it’s the “bodies of cursed spirits” here.

“But its cursed energy is undoubtedly weakened. If we get its head, then it’s game over.”

⇒ “But it [healing] will infallibly/certainly shave its cursed energy. And if you crush its head, it’s game over”

Again, imo a more general explanation on how self-healing works for cursed spirits.

“I need to try a little harder”

⇒ “It seems it’ll be better to get serious to an extent”

Just to make sure that the nuance here is that Hanami had been holding back before. 

“What a heavy hit! It’s not quite as heavy as the black flash hit from earlier. However, individually they have enough power to hurt me”

⇒ “Heavy! Not to the extent of the previous black flash hit but each [hit] has enough power to deal damage to me with certainty”

Imo the official release was a bit unclear, so I tried to tweak the wording. Especially the “individually” bit - imo it was intended to mean “each”. In other words, the two’s attacks, while not as powerful as black flash, are still potent enough to actually hurt Hanami with each respective hit.

[After Hanami dissolves his technique and Yuuji and Toudou's footing disappears]

“Our footing! We underestimated it! With this amount of mass I thought it was manipulating physical branches with its cursed energy. But it’s the embodiment of cursed energy! It made the illusion real with just its cursed energy. That’s a special grade for you!”

⇒ ”(...) We let our guards down! (...) Everything was materialised and manifested just with his cursed energy!! (...)”

Like in the instance above, imo the way the official release translated it was really unclear, especially the line about “making illusion real”, which actually was just “manifest”. (Again, “materialisation” is actually “realisation” but I used the former to make it easier to understand.)

(jp)

“You should be more true to yourself, Hanami”

“I’m not trying to be anything else”

“I’m not saying you’re lying. I know why you fight. But as long as we’re fighting, why not try to enjoy it?”

⇒ ”Hanami, you know, you should be more honest”

“I don’t think I’m pretending”

“It’s not like I’m calling you a liar or anything and I know what’s the objective you fight for. But I think you should try to enjoy the process - the present called ‘fight’ - more”

The meaning was there but I wanted to propose something closer to the original wording because it’s interesting to me how Mahito switches between very simple phrases and more complicated thought processes (like here he explicitly compares “objective”/”goal” and “the process”).

[After Hanami asks whether Mahito enjoys fighting]

“The pleasure I feel while fighting didn’t motivate me much until recently”

⇒ “It’s not until recently that the joy, that the pleasure, I feel at the height of a fight have become my motive”

So it’s not like they didn’t motive him much but that they only recently became his motive/incentive to fight!! Quite a significant distinction imo.

“Before I realised, all the deceit, cheating and killing left me satiated. Just like humans eat, sleep and rape, curses manifest instinctive behaviors as well”

⇒ “When I realised - deceit, tricking, killing - I’ve already been filled/satisfied without being aware of it. The same way humans eat, sleep and transgress/violate - for curses those are probably their instincts”

Not 100% sure about the first sentence but it’s something similar. Emphasis mine for the second sentence. In other words, it’s precisely deceit, tricking and killing that Mahito sees as curses’ instincts. Also the word that they translated as “rape” does indeed mean that as well, but imo it could’ve just as well been pointing to one of its more broader meanings, like “to violate” or “commit [crimes]”.

“We might have gained reasoning, but that doesn’t mean we should deny our impulses”

Imo “reason” instead of “reasoning” and “fight against our instincts” (since the same word gets used) instead of “deny our impulses”. Especially since they translate it as “reason” in the next panel.

“A spirit is blend of impulse and reason”

⇒ “A soul is a blend of instinct and reason”

Emphasis mine. I genuinely have no clue why the official release suddenly translated it differently here... Everywhere else they’d also gone with  “soul” whenever the word appeared before, which, needless to say, happened in almost every other instance of Mahito talking about his technique and/or philosophy. 

“You all right, brother?”

“No problem!”

“There you go!” ⇒ “Splendid!”

Also means “excellent”, another example where in the original Toudou is using a lofty expression and which sadly got a cut in the official release. He’s so proud of everything that Yuuji does, okay. :”( The first two are fine. 

[to part iv (5/5)]

[fortheloveoflizards]

ive actually been a fan of wof for years now, im just not super active in the fandom and i guess id like to be? so here i am, sending u an awkward ask lol. anyways, the more i think about animus magic, the more i hate the way tui executed the concept? like theres barely any consequences or limitations. dragons can do whatever they want with it, which is bad for the plot. idk what are ur thoughts?

Hah, this isn’t awkward at all, I actually do have a lot of thoughts on animus magic, particularly how it differs in each tribe. I think giving each tribe different types of magic, as well as individual drawbacks on top of the general “you go crazy if you abuse your power”. Though I think the latter could have worked as more of a “if you use your power selfishly, it’ll turn on you” sort of situation? In my headcanons, each tribe has a type of magic they work best with, and a type of magic that puts strain on their physical form.

As the tribe closest in appearance to traditional European dragons, I like to headcanon Skywing animus magic as Weather and Element based. Stuff like creating storms and controlling wind currents is easy to imagine, but also magic pertaining to emotions, often fueled by the feelings of the animus themselves. A Skywing animus might find it easiest to use an object to better conduct magic, like a branch or, most commonly, crystals of different types. Skywing magic is what you would call “cast spells”, meaning they have no need to write or say what they wish to do, just think or “feel” it. As for drawbacks, emotional instability is kind of obvious, huh? There’s also bad weather being attracted to the animus, and parts of their body slowly turning into whatever object they used to channel their spells. As an example, using crystals in his spells might result in an animus’ scales turning into crystals themselves, whereas an animus that used a branch to direct air currents would notice her tail growing small twigs and leaves out from between her scales. The magic Skywings have most difficulty with is Herbal and Brewed magic. I feel since Skywing magic is very much based on action and emotion, it would be difficult for a Skywing animus to properly channel it in such a passive way.

Mudwing animus magic is perhaps my favourite to think about, it being what I call Herbal or Brewed magic. Mudwing animi specialize in potions and medicine, though this is more of an inherent tribe skill, their magic works best when imbued into food or drink. To continue with this technique, “power-ups” would be cool to see. Potions to give a dragon super strength or speed, or to keep their scales permanently warm so they can always breath fire. I think Mudwings would be most likely to use so called “magical ingredients” for their spells, as in the act of the animus using an ingredient makes it magic, rather than a normal dragon including it in their stew. I don’t feel there would be much room for drawbacks when it comes to Mudwing magic, so I’m gonna say there isn’t one. However, I will say Brewed magic is one of the hardest to perfect, as if a quantity of ingredient is even slightly off, disaster is imminent. Transformation magic is likely to be the hardest for a Mudwing animus to use. While Brewed magic is hard, it’s precise and a recipe can be done a hundred times for a hundred different dragons, and the effects never alter. Transformation magic is the opposite, in that the spell must be altered for every dragon, as every dragon is slightly different.

Next up is Sandwings! They lean most towards Written and Solar based magic. As you can guess, this means their magic is linked at least partially to the sun. Though they can’t control them, Sandwing animi often have very keen senses when it comes to the weather and seasonal changes. Change itself is a big thing for Sandwings, so seasonal magic is common. Sandwings also find writing spells easiest, as the spell is then precise and exactly as they need it. Sandwing riddles, told at parties or in passing as a fun conversation topic, have their roots in animus magic. Sandwing animi also enjoy the company of animal companions, usually camels or vultures; animals that can carry scrolls and items for the animus in question. The downside for Sandwing animi can be either mental or physical. They can start forgetting things, losing track of time, generally being scatterbrained, which eventually leads to them losing their entire memory. Or, their scales begin to darken, although I’m undecided on what kind of colour they would turn. Should they just turn golden or maybe more of a sunburnt orange or red. Perhaps even black. I dunno, maybe all three. Spoken and Lunar magic are the clear opposites of Written and Solar, so it’s pretty obvious why a Sandwing animus would have trouble in this area. Sandwing magic can be very picky, kind of like a sadistic genie that goes by what a wisher says, rather than what they mean. A dragon has to be very careful how they phrase a spell, which is hard for most Sandwing animi, hence their avoidance of Spoken spells.

I think my Seawing animus headcanon is the closest to being confirmed in canon, since the Seawing animi we see using their magic are usually using what I’ve called Spoken and Lunar magic. This includes regeneration(like healing of themselves and others), curses, transfiguration of objects and generally verbal commands. And for the record, “verbal commands” is usually, like the animus test the Seawings take, telling an inanimate object to do something. Lunar magic is connected to the moon and the tides, opposite to Solar magic. This can mean it gets stronger under a full moon, and gives a Seawing animus a kind of bond to the ocean the more they use Lunar magic. As with Sandwing animi, the magic that comes most natural to Seawings involves change. Changing tides, moon rotations, drifting currents and rips, all those factor into their magic’s strength, in and out of water. Seawing animi can also suffer a lowering of inhibitions, and can suffer what I call “going feral”. Theirs is the most noticeable, though this final drawback can affect all tribes. I like to think the more a Seawing animus uses their magic, the more they start to look like a deep sea creature. Brighter glowing scales, thinner scales overall(sometimes so thin you can almost see their insides, bleurgh!), elongated, thinner teeth, and increased speed of growth to their whole body. As you can probably guess, Written and Solar magic are the areas that cause the most trouble for Seawing animi. I’m not sure what else to comment here, since I feel it’s pretty straightforward, so there you go.

Rainwings! The tribe I’m most like! I feel that since the average Rainwing can change the colour of their scales regardless of magical ability, Transformation magic would be a perfect match for any animi that might exist in the tribe. Transformation magic includes form shifting of themselves and others, body hrror/torture(which differs from simple form shifting because it’s specifically supposed to cause pain) and transfiguration of objects. Transformation magic requires knowledge of how the specific dragon’s body works, moves and how their mind reacts to things. You might think the average Rainwing is too self-centered to be capable of that kind of perceptiveness, but I believe they’re more perceptive than they’re portrayed in-canon. I think the most noticeable consequence of a Rainwing animus using their magic is their scale colours “glitching”. If the Rainwing is naturally purple and green and they try to turn red and blue, areas of their scales might change slower than the rest, or not change altogether. A camouflaged Rainwing might suddenly find themselves bright pink and orange. Stuff like that. Weather magic is most difficult for a Rainwing animus, since it requires a lot of, I guess passionate emotions? Weather magic is loud and aggressive and takes a lot of power to control. It also relies heavily on being strongly connected to every emotion, and can backfire terribly on a dragon that doesn’t know how to wrangle that kind of power.

Mind and Time magic is what I’ve assigned for Nightwings! I felt it fits with their whole Mystical Infinite Powers aesthetic. Obviously, Mind magic includes mindreading and and Time magic future vision - which were most likely a gift from a Nightwing animus a long time ago. Other abilities include fate writing(a spell that can change an otherwise unchangeable future), enchanting, illusions, and changing minds/the perceptions of a dragon. This magic is actually relatively simple to perform, and one of the most used types by all animus dragons. That doesn’t make it any less powerful or dangerous, in fact it’s probably more dangerous that it’s so easy to use. Nightwings certainly haven’t been using it for the best purposes. This is the magic I think is the root cause of dragons losing their minds, since “Mind” is like one whole half of the magic. The unfortunate thing is that Nightwings are excellent bullshitters, so they at least last a while before anyone figures out something’s wrong. The side effect of using other types of magic is most notably scale discolouration, to the point that there are records of completely white, full-blood Nightwings. Since Icewings and Nightwings are Enemies For Life I figure their magics would clash just as much, out of principal. Reflective magic in particular requires the user to be self aware, to know their faults and, if only momentarily, be at peace with them. Nightwings are pretty in denial about a lot of stuff, it’s part of the culture they’ve built up.

Finally, Reflective and Defensive magic is the natural inclination of Icewings. That means shielding and barrier magic - which can be physical or psychological, insightful magic, illusions and star spells. No insightful magic is Not future vision, if you make that comparison in front of even a regular Icewing you will be murdered. The Icewing mind is typically pretty guarded already, as we see when Moon tries to read them. I like to believe that an animus a long time ago used their Gift to make it so Nightwings can’t read the tribe’s minds, or at least not easily. This would be an example of a psychological barrier spell. Star spells are tied to the stars(no duh) like Solar and Lunar magic are tied to their respective namesakes. However, as opposed to change, star spells are constant. Once one is cast, it stays forever. Almost all Icewing magic is a star spell of some kind, making other dragons very wary of an animus born from the tribe. Thankfully, the fact that Icewing magic includes that of Defense, it’s rarely used for aggressive purposes. I believe Icewing magic would backfire by crystalising within the user’s bones, making their joints stiff and their mind fuzzy. They may dissociate from the world and eventually be lost, as with Sandwings. As I said, Icewings and Nightwings are opposites in magic, though there are overlaps which serve to infuriate both tribes. Considering Nightwing animus magic supposedly came from Icewings, the former retained some of the abilities of the latter.

There you are, my thoughts on dragon magic. This turned into much more of a headcanons post than an answer, so I hope you don’t mind. Thanks so much for the ask, and I hope you find content creators that make you feel safe being active in the fandom!

[kimberlycook95]

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[kingofthewilderwest]

Hi, I wreally love your theorys and I would like to ask you what do you think about Fishleg's Dragon cards.How do they function ? Wich facts does Fishlegs write on them ?What do you think ? Thanks

Alright! Let’s talk about those dragon cards! Since you’ve waited so long for my response, I made sure to make it extra detailed. :) Thank you so much for the kind words, and I hope that this analysis works well for you. I really did have a lot of fun diving into these cards.

Fishlegs’ dragon cards are somewhat difficult to read in the HTTYD 2 screencaps. I tried to take pictures of them and decode it, but because every HTTYD movie differs in how it depicts Futhark, and RTTE has its own alphabet, and the images are slightly blurry, I could never make out much text from these screencaps. I can tell that the dragon on the right in the second picture is “Red Death,” though slightly misspelled.

Thankfully, the latest season of RTTE gave us more images of Fishlegs’ dragon cards, such as in “A Matter of Perspective.” 

The Futhark from the television show is usually very easy to transcribe into the English alphabet. While there are a few words here and there I’m not certain about, we can still get some decent information from these dragon cards.

The text of the first card reads “Eruptodon. | Power up. | The Eruptodon is a Boulder Class dragon that feeds off lava.” The text of the second card is “Cavern [Crasher] | [Tame?]able | able slide at ge… rare… dueller (sic)” Note: dueller is Fishlegs spelling “dweller.”

Looking at text from cards in “No Dragon Left Behind,” we see:

While we can only get unhelpful bits and pieces of the Whispering Death card and the third one lying at the far right corner, the Slitherwing card is easily readable. The word “loated” is spelled that way… my best guess is that Fishlegs was intended to write “loaded” - in which case the Slitherwing card reads “This dragon is loaded in poisonous venom.”

From this text alone, we can glean, extract, and theorize about several bits of information:

The top of the card labels the name of the dragon. That is probably to be expected, but we can nevertheless see that fact verified through Race to the Edge’s decoded texts.

The first line on the bottom of the card gives information about the dragon’s unique abilities. I’ll get into that more later.

The bottom main text on the card provides a quick summary of the dragon, containing the main key fact about the species that marks it as unique. These succinct descriptions are about the dragon’s physical abilities - be it the ability to consume lava, or the containment of dangerous venom.

But there appears to be a lot more to the cards. Fishlegs doesn’t just use written words to demonstrate information. He also uses visuals and symbols to succinctly provide quick details about the dragons.

First, let’s talk about the first line of text - what is labeled for the Slitherwing and Eruptodon as a “power up.” I absolutely love that term because it harks back to Fishlegs’ nerdy commentary in the first HTTYD, where he goes off listing dragon statistics in numbers (ex: “jaw strength eight”). A power up is another Fishlegs nerdy thing. I’m not sure what power up is supposed to refer to exactly, but I imagine it pertains to how potent a dragon’s specific skill is. For instance, the Slitherwing’s power up could be the ranking of how venomous it is (given as Fishlegs marks a note about the dragon’s venom in the notes). For the Eruptodon, maybe it refers simply to mere physical strength and “defeatability.” Basically - how powerful overall the dragon is.

Either way, Fishlegs ranks these “power ups” out of five. You’ll notice there are five circles next to the word. Some of the circles are left open while others are filled in. They’re filled in left to right, suggesting that all the filled in ones are what apply to the dragon, while the entire number of circles is the potential maximum score. It’s like rating things out of five stars on Amazon. The colored in stars are the stars you’re ranking; the entire line of stars is how many stars you can give the product total.

So the Slitherwing’s power up is three out of five:

While the Eruptodon, a more intimidating dragon apparently to Fishlegs, is given a four out of five. 

I would guess that dragons like the Foreverwing or Bewilderbeast would be given a five out of five, if Fishlegs decided to provide that information on their specific card.

Fishlegs doesn’t always rate a dragon’s “power up.” The Cavern Crasher has different text on that line. Fishlegs’ finger is in the way during that scene in “A Matter of Perspective,” so I cannot read it all, but my best guess would be that it’s something like “tameable.” (The symbol Fishlegs’ finger is covering does not look like part of an M, though, to note). Regardless, talking about how hostile or friendly a dragon is would be very useful information on a quick card.

Whatever it is, the Cavern Crasher is given a three out of five rating.

There is a third marking pattern that we see in Fishlegs’ cards. Instead of giving dragons ratings out of five, sometimes he provides a series of colored symbols for the dragons. We see this both in RTTE and HTTYD 2. If you look closely at the screencap for the Whispering Death card in “No Dragon Left Behind,” you’ll notice that it has, from left to right, orange, yellow, blue, and green dots. The Red Death has different colors, starting with reddish and orangish, while the third dragon card we can see in the same screencap has orange(?), white(?), blue, and yellow.

There’s a bit more to question about what these dots mean. It’s to note they always appear in fours, though. I suspect Fishlegs color-coded a list of important features and places them on the cards for rapid information. For instance, maybe the cards mark if a dragon breathes fire (all three dragons start with a red/orange color, and that would correspond to fire) or spews some other substance like ice.

So. We’ve got that down (more or less). But there are several other symbols that need to be covered. They’re the symbols on the top left and top right corners of each card.

So, before I begin with my theorizing, it’s to note:

For the top left corner, the Eruptodon, Cavern Crasher, and Slitherwing all have the same symbol. Two of the dragons in the HTTYD 2 share another symbol, while the Red Death has its own third symbol.

For the top right corner, the Red Death, Eruptodon, and Slitherwing have the same symbol. It looks like a sideways D with the arch on the top. The rest of the dragons share a second symbol that looks like a circle overlaying an x-y graph.

The first thing I would have expected would be that these symbols mark Dragon Classes. But that’s not the case. The Eruptodon is a Boulder Class, the Cavern Crasher and Slitherwing are Mystery Classes, and the Red Death is a Stoker Class. Neither the top left nor the top right corners correspond to the dragon classes. The closest we can get is the top left; the Cavern Crasher and Slitherwing are both Mystery Class, so maybe we could say the Eruptodon was “mis-marked” as a Mystery Class.

Otherwise, we have to make new guesses about what these symbols mean. It’s very hard for me to find patterns, to be honest. Here are a few possibilities:

The top left corner could give a ranking of what class the dragon is - not as in Stoker, Mystery, Boulder, etc. - but as in numerical. Fishlegs fishes through his dragon cards in HTTYD 2 while making a guess at what creature Drago has - “a class five leviathan” is his first guess. Later, Fishlegs screams that the Bewilderbeast is a class ten. It appears that the dragons are ranked in classes also based upon their sizes, and the left could provide a marking for how large those dragons are. Since the Red Death is so much larger than the Eruptodon, Cavern Crasher, and Slitherwing, it’s not too surprising it has a different marking than those dragons.

The top right corner could mark dragons who have projectile abilities (shooting fire, spitting venom), while the dragons with the circles do not (Cavern Crashers emitting mucus from the skin but not firing it through the mouth). A third symbol would provide some other means of defining a dragon’s projectile ability (we do see at least three different symbols in that corner).

Or, one of the corners provides information about the correct ordering of the cards - assuming Fishlegs wants to have an “order.”

Insert various dragon features here!

What I find interesting about Fishlegs’ dragon cards is not just what is on them: it’s what’s left off. Fishlegs talks on an on about numerical draconic statistics - Speed eight, armor sixteen, plus eleven stealth times two, etc. We see none of these numerical devices on the dragon cards anywhere.

What this suggests is that these cards are meant to be very quick prompts for Fishlegs. He’s not wanting to dive into information about these cards and use them as references... so much as memory-refreshers. Fishlegs can fish through the cards, remember all the dragon species that are out there, and do a quick recall-and-identify with the pictures and text blurb. The cards therefore jog his memory by providing visuals and an important fact to help him remember what this species is... and then he can yak on about the rest of the dragon.

There is a little bit of a challenge to the idea in that in “No Dragon Left Behind,” Fishlegs appears to not only be reading the information about the venom, but he appears to also be staring at the card to figure out what the antidote is. He acts excited upon stumbling upon the idea of an antidote, keeping his eyes on the dragon card text while he lists off the antidote ingredients. It seems like he’s reading from the card... but we’ve seen the card and know it doesn’t have those facts. But all we can do about that is postulate that Fishlegs is staring at the card, recalling what this creature is, and excitedly bursting out what he suddenly remembers about the Slitherwing.

And I suppose that’s not too far-fetched, considering that Fishlegs knows his dragons extraordinarily well. He knows all the tidbits and interesting facts about these creatures. He doesn’t need to write down all that information to recall specific facts about the species - besides, he has the Book of Dragons back on Berk for all the details. He just uses these cards as a way to keep a quick document of all the dragons he could encounter, allowing him to spot and classify a creature instantly. The cards are memory joggers more than anything!

[abakersquest]

CHAPTER NINETEEN – ON FALLEN EMPIRES AND ASH-LADEN SHORES

The water around the speeding Fortune exploded violently as volley after volley of cannon shot zeroed in on the escaping vessel. Behind them, the mystical tower of the Storm Bell finally sank beneath the unruly waves, ringing what its listeners could only assume was the death knell to the intricate workings of the sea. As Blackeye took the ship’s wheel, Polly desperately tried to concentrate through the din and make the ship invisible again to no avail. Undeterred, she rushed to the aft of the ship where Wally and Wistea conjured what they could to deflect any of the many incoming cannonballs. Behind them, Hector focused and channeled every last ounce of magic he could into his sword. He’d been able to hobble the ship before, so he’d try to do it again.

It was then that everything shook with the sudden resonance of a mighty chime, and the chaotic waves behind them calmed. The Storm Bell rang again and the sky was instantly filled with dark and heavy clouds. A third ring birthed a maelstrom that almost lifted the Fortune out of the water, disrupting the flight of the pursuing sky fortress and many of its shots. A fourth ring brought lightning and thunder the likes no living being had ever seen. With the fifth ring, the waters below the spontaneous tempest began to spin and reform the once collapsing whirlpool. It was nowhere near the size of its predecessor, but large enough to expose part of the sunken tower.

Powerful bolts of lightning quickly snaked through the ink black clouds and cascaded over the warship. The bolts homed in on several spots and seemingly did no damage until something in the body of the vessel exploded violently. The warship’s propellers locked instantly and it fell toward the ocean. Half the distance from splashdown, its mighty supports rang to life once more and its armored belly skipped along the water.

All eyes turned to Hector who shrugged, “that wasn’t me.”

“Was the Storm Bell!” Blackeye shouted over his shoulder. “Looks to me it’s tryin’ to do the work of the Fount, but that ain’t gonna keep for long!”

---

A harried Insicai soldier rushed onto the command deck of the warship; Aegis. He was soon followed by a plume of billowing black smoke. “General!” he almost coughed. “The Lightning Collector has been overloaded! We are doing our best, best, best to halt the spread of the fire now, but it may grow out of hand if-”

The Indomitable Smith rose from his seat and walked toward the smoke. “Maintain this position until repairs are completed. After which we shall make way to Insicai, the next Mobius Glass should be completed by the time we arrive.” His helm turned to the right, indicating he was looking over his shoulder. “Re’duvae, see to our return course with the navigation team.”

The armored Insicai that had greeted him at the dispatch port stood and saluted before heading down a nearby stairwell that lead from the Command deck to Navigation.

---

The door to the Fortune’s interior opened and Rozzi hobbled as far as the door frame, looking everyone over. She could easily see the undeniable frustration and disappointment on all their faces.

“Anyone wanna fill in the particulars for me?”

“We saw their ship over the Storm Bell’s tower so we assumed that was their target,” Wally replied. “And while we were busy with puzzles and fighting an all together pointless battle, they were lifting the Fount of the Sea right out of the water.”

“Puzzles?” she asked.

“The tower challenges anyone who comes in, even the front door has a task before you can even enter,” answered Hector.

Rozzi stood and thought on that for a few seconds. “Hold on, everything was still intact by the time you got to the top of that thing? Nothin’ bashed in, or blown apart? The guy you fought actually made it past the stuff you did?”

The landing party all exchanged a look before Blackeye spoke.

“Its different challenges for everyone… But overall they reveal somethin’ about yerself. My first time, I learned to move more calmly.”

“I should be more careful not to burn myself out.” Wally added.

“An overabundance of pride could kill me.” Wistea volunteered.

“Focusing too much on the big picture means I miss important details that could save my life.” Hector concluded.

“But,” Wally began to reason. “That we didn’t pass through a bunch of smoldering ruins means that giant must’ve faced the same philosophical test. He had to tell the truth to enter, face a challenge of personal worth, and show the willingness not to fight.”

“Wally!” Hector quickly replied. “You asked him a question right? If he was being made to fight or fought of his own volition?”

“He said ‘both,’” Wally recalled the scene. “It was strange… My insight didn’t work on him like it did with the Rogue and the Princess. Granted he’s clearly less emotional than them, but it was more than that.” He scratched at the back of his ear to help his thinking. “I don’t quite know how to put it; it was more like he seemed…”

“Hollow?” Wistea volunteered.

Wally nodded. “But maybe I was wrong?”

“Well!” Rozzi shouted with a clap of her hands. “Not a total loss! The Storm Bell’s safe at least, and we learned more about what we’re facin’. I saw that little magic gizmo they pulled out for the Fount. Since they got here ahead of us and everything was still intact, I get the feelin’ they only had one of those on them. So, could be they could only pick one of the two magical artifacts to wreck up, or maybe they take a while t’ get ready, or there’s only the one.”

A slim smile grew on Hector’s face. “Gaining knowledge might be a tiny victory, but it still counts toward the whole.”

The whistle of the Kettle Engine finally faded and the ship began to slow. Blackeye worked the lever back to its neutral position and twisted the handle. The sensation of something large opening traveled across the deck beneath their feet. “It’s gonna take a day before the engine’s workin’ again. I sure don’t want to head to Sauro without it. Works out, we’re two days away at best. Nurse your bruises and steel yourselves, it’s gonna be a wild ride once we’re close.”

There was a loud thud off to the side that was quickly revealed to be the exhausted body of Polly Cofresi. At some point during the conversation she’d leaned against the railing, fallen asleep, and then finally slipped the rest of the way down. With a chuckle, the captain locked the wheel, gently scooped her up, and took her down to the bunk room with a few whispered words of praise.

Rozzi leaned on the door after it was closed and pouted slightly. “So you mean to tell me, I missed a magical game of Honest Consequences.”

Wistea’s expression grew pensive as, they all could tell now; she began to check her sizable catalog of memories and facts to figure out what Rozzi was asking about.

“It’s a children’s game in Animana,” Wally told her. “You sit ‘round in a circle, then go and challenge the person across from you to answer a question truthfully, or pull some outrageous stunt.”

“Except this particular outrageous stunt was having to almost fight my fellow knight.” Hector patted Wally on the shoulder.

“Wait? You saw me?! What’s that mean? I had to almost fight Sir Hammond!”

“Ah,” Wistea began. “No doubt it was a test of our personal feelings of inadequacy. We all faced someone that in some way made us feel weaker by comparison, no doubt to encourage us to fight it and fail. I can understand Hector’s imposition, after all, one of the last things you did was hurl one of Kota’s Generals across the Storm Bell’s belfry. That sort of thing can be very imposing.”

“AHHH! I CAN’T BELIEVE I MISSED THAT!” shouted Rozzi in frustration.

“Don’t you worry; I’m sure the next time we’re all in mortal danger, Wally will no doubt do something just as impressive and startling,” Hector chuckled.

Wally sighed, grateful for the levity that Rozzi seemed to have revitalized in everyone, but still frustrated that he could do nothing to prevent the day’s loss. It all left him in a somewhat frustrated mood he couldn’t immediately shake. “I’ll stay up here on first watch, you all relax…”

As he tried to walk toward the foredeck a sudden gust of air threw him off balance and back toward the group where he was met by Rozzi’s stern expression.

“I’ll have none of that, thank you very much! ‘First watch’ my tail, you just wanna stand up here and mope at the sky like that’d make you feel any better. Now,” she reached over and grabbed the fur on his cheek. “You’re gonna come down to the galley and make us all somethin’ to eat and I guarantee you’ll be smilin’ by the end of it… Also someone has to make sure I don’t fall down the stairs. I barely made it up here y’know?”

“What?” Hector said with playful incredulity. “Don’t you trust me?”

“About as far as I could THROW you,” she retorted.

He sighed and looked to Wally with an earnest smile, “not gonna live that one down, am I?”

“Probably not,” Wally answered plainly as he took Rozzi’s arm over his shoulder to help her down the stairs.

---

There was a disquieting stillness to the air as they sailed toward Sauro, Blackeye said that with the Storm Bell dividing its power, both the sea and the sky would suffer from an unseemly calm until the Fount was either restored, or the Bell lost its strength. The sails drove them forward as best they could with the steady but weakened winds. In another day’s worth of sailing the air grew much warmer and on the horizon, the crew of the God’s Fortune could see a faint glow. It was neither sunrise nor sunset, but the eternal fires of the twin molten peaks that flanked the island nation of Sauro. Soon its mountainous shore came into view, a natural and enormous barrier of peaks all along the island’s shoreline that made it practically unassailable from any angle, save the ports built into the mountain caverns.

According to the captain, the ports had all been sealed by cannon fire induced landslides after the end of the war, in order to prevent citizens of Sauro from ever leaving their island again. Every so often a ship would be conscripted to check on the ports to make sure the fallen stones hadn’t been disturbed, and in the 20 years since the end of the war, not a single Sauroian had come back to, or left from, Sauro.

Many of the refugees of Sauro had been taken in by Animana after the war’s end, while some others sailed and worked amidst the Icthy Isles. Planae, Orni’Hu, and Insicai however had denied them entry. In his quest for kitchen work back home, Wally had a job in the part of The Outers where the Sauroians had been allowed to settle. They were quiet and cautious whenever he was around, no doubt afraid any indiscretion would rob them of another home. They wore cloaks to hide their appearance, and kept to themselves whenever possible, all to avoid causing any uproar by simply existing. All said, there was absolutely no telling what life was like beyond the mountains of Sauro after the war, they’d be going in almost entirely blind.

The Fortune’s crew looked out over the waters ahead as the imposing mountain range loomed ever closer. “I suppose the loss of the Fount made the waters here more traversable,” said Hector curiously. “Seer Cinera made it sound like we’d be dealing with the most violent waves imaginable.”

“It ain’t the waves ones concerned with, lad.” The captain turned the wheel quickly, the God’s Fortune narrowly avoiding a spontaneous geyser of steaming water.

Everyone stared at the heated plume as Hector calmly stated, “oh.”

“Them hot spouts ain’t the bother either…” Blackeye warned. “You’ll know it when we see it.”

The God’s Fortune weaved around several more dangerous blast of superheated water as it came ever closer to Sauro. Everyone kept their attentions as extended as possible, readying as best they could for whatever imposing threat the mysterious island had to offer. Finally, they were close enough to see the tall red tower with a single light shining at the top, just as Cinera described. The many eyes on deck tried to get a better view when the clouds above them began to swirl unnaturally. At first they seemed to simply orbit one another until there was a loud snap of air and the clouds were replaced by a titanic orange eye with a thin and jagged black pupil. It stared down and drifted along with the ship it so easily dwarfed, and shone down with an otherworldly light.

“I hope Cinera was right about that Tetsu fella,” the captain said quietly. “Don’t think I’ll be able to trick Kota the same way twice…” Blackeye flipped the Kettle Engine’s switch and the Fortune shot forward, leaving the massive mystic eye trailing. The shine of the eye increased and Hector could see the water under its gaze begin to boil and the air above waver with a thick haze of heat. As the chase continued the air beneath the eye seemed to ignite, creating a pillar of shimmering death that only speed its pursuit with every passing second.

“How’d you trick it last time?!” called out Wally.

“Water canopy! Made us look like empty sea!”

“Grandpa! It’s gettin’ closer! Shouldn’t I make the ship invisible?!”

“Keep that for later! We’re gonna need it if we wanna get out in one piece!”

The giant eye vanished instantly, leaving only a trail of steaming seawater. As everyone quickly looked to see if they could spot it elsewhere, the snap of air signaling its appearance rocked their ears, as it spontaneously manifested directly ahead of them. They could feel the air temperature skyrocket as the captain desperately tried to change course. Suddenly a large black slate rose in their path and the ship raced into it at top speed. Between the ticks of a second the crew of the Fortune found themselves saved from certain death and thrown into uncertain surroundings. Their eyes slowly adjusted and their ears sought out what they could as Blackeye shut off the Kettle Engine.

In the low light of a few scattered torches and distant gleaming crystals, they could see the vague impression of a ship builder’s dock built into a mountainous cavern, long disused and left to rot beside a now stagnant pool of water. Of course, all that was less impressive than the fact they were hovering a dozen feet above it all.

Below they could hear a feminine voice grunt with effort as the ship slowly drifted down to rest in the water by the dock, affording said voice’s owner a slow reveal to the ship’s crew. Illuminated by a bright oil lamp by her feet, a short female frog stood adorned in a flowing dress and head scarf that bore the red, black, and yellow of a sunset, as well as a number of silver coins that shimmered in the flickering light. Her golden flecked eyes finally opened and looked up, taking the sight of them in with elliptical pupils. Her smile was one of content relief that certainly helped to lighten the mood of what had just occurred.

Polly gasped as she could see an ornate glowing halo behind her, similar to Cinera’s. However, the outer ring of it was darker than the inner structure. This did nothing to diminish the beauty of its ethereal presence as far as she was concerned.

“Please,” the Sauroian stranger spoke. “Follow me to Master Tetsudin; I can only shield us from Kota’s sight for so long.”

Every pair of eyes that didn’t belong to a wallaby settled on the only one in the cavern.

“Does everyone need to check with me every time we meet someone new?”

“They say power and responsibility are steamy bedfellows,” paraphrased Hector

“I don’t think anyone in the whole of history has ever said anything even remotely like that… And the answer is yes, we can trust her,” replied the slightly annoyed wallaby.

The heroes hopped down to the creaking docks that hadn’t felt much in the way of weight in two decades. The young Sauroian girl, who was just barely an inch or two taller than Wally, politely curtsied for the group. “My name is Hyla, Hyla Areo. I am Master Tetsudin’s current apprentice. Please, before we go, I must take the Flarebearer’s hands.”

Wally raised a curious eyebrow at her as she outstretched her broadly rounded fingers. Sensing nothing dangerous about the gesture, Wally placed his hands in hers.

There was a sudden rush of emotions, memories, thoughts, and experiences that twisted like a tornado around the wallaby’s consciousness. Some recent, some from long ago, and some that were clearly not his own. He grit his teeth and braced himself to weather the typhoon of it all, only to see it fade as rapidly as it arose. Hyla slowly shook a somewhat awestruck expression from her face.

“F-… Forgive me; I just had to make sure. You… Really are everything Master Tetsudin said you’d be.”

Wally blinked a few times, finding it a little difficult to see at first. “He knew about me?”

She nodded. “There is little my master does not know.”

Rozzi cleared her throat, “S’pose etiquette’s on that list somewhere, eh?”

She tapped Hyla on the wrist gently, revealing she’d yet to release Wally’s hands. “Oh! Yes, right, of course.” She released his hands before bowing her head apologetically. “Please, this way. I’m afraid we’ll have to take the long way since moving your ship took a lot out of me.”

“S’long as you can put her back where she belongs, we’re fine, lass.” Blackeye patted the ship’s hull before following.

The dock’s facilities were naught but the ramshackle remnants of a ship building yard. Tools and scrap materials strewn all about, no doubt due to a hasty retreat by the workers. Everything creaked, groaned, and shook at the passing of these new travelers. Even shadows moved like old, broken wrecks as the oil lamp’s light slid along every surface. They soon came to a boulder set before a sheer stone wall. Hyla whistled and the stone moved aside like a polite gentleman on a narrow street. Beyond it was a stone staircase, carved directly into the mountain’s interior; Polly had a giggle as her broad shouldered grandfather had to walk up it sideways.

“Life’s been hard here, hasn’t it, Hyla…” Wally began to speak amidst the sound of stair climbing.

She looked back at him over her shoulder, saying nothing.

“Seems like when you were ‘looking’ at me… I saw a little bit of you. I know it’s probably not much but, from one almost starved child refuge to another, I’m sorry.”

She smiled and nodded silent thanks.

Rozzi walked up and nudged him gently, speaking softly, “’bout that. Just how much did she see y’think?”

“Felt like all of it,” he said quietly. “Even parts of my childhood.” Wally frowned. “But growing up in Sauro after the war? Leagues worse than The Outers ever were…”

The group came to another sheer wall that a whistle from Hyla opened. The room beyond was lit by a series of floating orbs, with no clear support or mechanism. Every inch of their surroundings was a surprising contrast to the tower’s exterior, a deep almost black blue. The only features within were the four pillars that reached high toward the domed ceiling and the massive chains attached to each one. At the end of the chains sat a titanic figure that dwarfed anyone they’d met thus far. Clothed in tarnished silver robes, there could be no doubt this was Master Tetsudin, an absolutely gargantuan turtle.

“Welcome,” he said in a voice best described as that of a beloved family elder just waking up from a nap. “Lovely to finally see you all in person. Ah, so to speak.”

It was baffling that such a kindly voice could come from such an enormous body with a face like ancient brown leather. But beyond that, Wally saw something that truly shocked him. Where there should be a set of eyes or even the vaguest impression of them on a wrinkled face, there was nothing, an empty darkness.

“No, young Flarebearer, your eyes do not deceive you. As part of my penance, I surrendered my gift of sight before I built myself this prison. The beauty of nature is something I shall rightfully never see again… Despite my other ways of seeing.”

Wally tucked his initial shock away as well he could and approached Master Tetsudin. “I… Well, sir, we were told that if anyone anywhere could tell us more about the Stellar Flare and how to restore its power, it’d be you.”

Tetsudin reached out his enormous hand, and the chains attached rung like church bells thrown down a flight of stairs. “Present the blade, please.”

Wally readily unsheathed it and held the broadside up, quickly wondering if trying to hold it up higher would make any possible difference at this point.

The old Sauroian tapped a single clawed finger against the blade, causing it to chime like a tuning fork.

“Mm, as is to be expected. The sword expended all its power to banish Kota the last time it was used against her.”

Everyone but Hyla replied in varying shocked tones, “Banished?!”

Wally was the first to continue, “You mean that… Sir Hammond the Only didn’t actually slay Kota?!”

The ancient Sauroian gave a small yet genial laugh. “Would you be fighting her now if he did?”

“I… I guess we all assumed she was back from the dead…”

“Death is a rather permanent event, young Flarebearer.” Tetsudin leaned back and looked up toward the ceiling. “There may linger some lesser presence in your stead, or you may simply live on in memory or legend. But there exist no magic in this world to truly resurrect the dead. I do not know why Sir Hammond chose to banish her; the Flare at full strength could easily have ended her life in his skilled hands. Now she has returned from her banishment, and the Flare came with her, having expended its power to keep her sealed these twenty years.”

Hector spoke more to calm his mind than anything else, “I’m certain, whatever the reason, my father did what was best for all of us…”

Blackeye patted him on the shoulder comfortingly.

Tetsudin leaned down, finally directing the whole of his attention to the slightly shocked wallaby. “Wally, heed my words. You must take the Stellar Flare to the tallest peak of Krust Mountain; there and only there can it be restored.”

“Krust Mountain?” Blackeye chuckled. “Fella, I been sailin’ the seas since I was a wee lad, so while experience says I can believe it exists, it’s most likely in the Southeastern seas, which is a big patch of nothin’ for ages. So, even if the place’s real, findin’ a bloody island that MOVES on such a big empty stretch’a ocean is damn near impossible.”

Tetsudin smiled at him. “So you’re up to the challenge then?”

“Course I am y’ daft shellback! Just ‘cause it’s impossible don’t mean I can’t do it!” The captain slapped Hector on the back, causing him to stagger slightly in surprise. “‘Specially with a crew this hardy!”

Tetsudin laughed, or at least that’s what the deep rumbling noise in his throat made everyone think. “I have a great deal of faith in you all. I can only apologize that I could but answer only one of your questions. Unfortunately,” the great turtle pulled back from the heroes. “We are out of time.”

A green armored soldier had leapt in through the single window in the tower, landing between them and Tetsudin. While the sagely turtle outsized it by a measure of ten, its full height loomed over the band of heroes. It was the opposite of the Indomitable Smith, a living metal testament to imposing physiques.

“Hyla!” Tetsudin shouted. “You must aid the Flarebearer on his quest! Go with him and his allies!”

“But Master!” She cried out.

The large emerald armored figure turned toward her. “Have you no respect for your elder’s wishes, little mage?” The voiced of the intruder carried the air of aristocracy and dignity in every last properly pronounced syllable. “How shameful! I shall see to it you are properly punished.”

With speed that blatantly opposed his enormity, the green armored assailant rocketed toward Hyla, a shimmering blade of unknown make in hand.

Wally quickly sprang from his position to intercede, bringing the Flare up to block the overhead strike. The blow rang through the Flare’s blade and shook Wally’s bones as the ground beneath his feet shattered.

“Interfering in my duties to defend a lady, truly a commendable act by the Flarebearer!” Wally suddenly found himself struggling, his opponent pressing down against his sword with a force he’d never felt before. “But I am the Peerless Knight. Not even you could rival me!”

With a sudden upward thrust the Knight’s crossguard caught the edge of the Flare, breaking Wally’s guard. Unexpectedly, Wally rolled backward with the force of the blow and narrowly dodged the following strike. However, the force of its impact shattered the floor, giving Wally no way to reclaim his footing. Instead he landed flat on his back with a hearty thud.

The Knight unleashed loud triumphant laughter as he closed the distance between them almost instantly. In that far too quick of a moment, Wally knew this was the fastest and strongest opponent he’d ever faced. Before he could even lift the Flare, the enemy’s blade was mere inches from stabbing a superfluous hole into his chest. Then, as he closed his eyes to brace himself for the death blow, he felt himself fall a short distance and greet the floor with his back once again. When his eyes finally opened, another portal was sliding shut above his head, having dropped him behind his friends.

“Young Sauroian,” the Knight spoke with a subtle tinge of frustration. “You would betray your own people? Did you forget the devastation wrought on this land by his predecessor? Do you feel no honor, no patriotism?”

Hyla glared furiously at the Knight. “You can’t begin to imagine what I feel!”

“Such presumption from someone so young, do not fear,” he said as he bowed gracefully to her. “I shall be happy to mentor you properly at the end of my sword!”

The sound of enormous chains being rattled filled the air as Tetsudin slapped his hand down against the floor, and the heroes all vanished from sight in a cascade of blue flashes.

The Peerless Knight looked over his shoulder to the ancient mystic and spoke in a civil tone. “A pity… You recall your vow to never use your magic, do you not?”

Tetsudin made a small noise in his throat to scoff at him. “Visit whatever punishment you like upon me, I can assure you there is no suffering in this world I could not endure for the sake of others, especially my pupils.”

---

The deck of the God’s Fortune suddenly found itself populated by several tumbling bodies. Hyla was the first to her feet, helping Wally to his. “We must go quickly! If the Knight is here, Bulfo won’t be far behind.”

With a grunt, Blackeye righted himself. “Little Miss, Fast is what the Fortune does best!”

“How far can one of those gates you made go?” Hector asked as he helped Wistea up.

Hyla thought on it for only a second or two. “I’ve never moved anything this size before today so I have no idea. But I shall do my best!”

“Right then!” Captain Blackeye gripped the ships wheel. “We got one good go left in the Kettle Engine, and we might be ambushed by a toad in a dress! Miss Areo, are you ready?”

Hyla took a few deep breaths to center herself, and a prismatic shimmer rushed over her hands. “Whenever you are.”

“Once we’re through, Polly makes us invisible, and we make for Galaga, got some old Orni’Hulan friends who can get us some leads on Krust Mountain. If anyone in the world even has the vaguest idea of findin’ a mountain that dances about the Southeast, it’ll be one of those crazy feathered nomads, livin’ on old stories and pub snacks.”

Everyone braced as Blackeye nodded to Hyla and the pitch black portal slid open before the ship. The captain kicked the Kettle Engine into action and the fount of steam jolted them through. The second open sky and the sight of Sauro at their backs met her eyes; Polly reached up to form a shroud of invisibility around the ship once again, only to have the nascent energy shatter to ethereal dust. With the ugly sound of air being torn apart, Vizier Bulfo appeared on the deck of the God’s Fortune.

“Mmman excellent effort on transporting an entire ship, Miss Areo. As should be expected of a student of Master Tetsudin.” Croaked the aging sorcerer.

Wally, Hector, and Blackeye charged at him with all the speed they could muster, only to find they’d been transported behind him in the blink of an eye. Without a moment hesitation, Wally spun and launched a sizable volley of fire at Bulfo. He barely acknowledged it, the fireball rebounding off an instantly summoned barrier of light sending it back toward its caster.

Had he paid more attention however, he would’ve seen Wally closing the distance the entire time the shot was flying, with quickness instilled into him by weeks and weeks of training with Animana’s greatest soldier, Wally slapped the mystic conflagration with the broadside of the Flare, sending it right back at Bulfo with twice the speed. Wally could see the barrier clip the very end of the fireball off as it slipped past Bulfo’s defenses and hit him full on the chest, sending him tumbling and burning along the deck with a howl of pain.

Wally kept his momentum, ready to bring the Flare down on him as Rozzi ran up alongside to also strike the still sizzling sorcerer, their blades only sliced through open air and the remnants of mystic fire as he vanished and reappeared above the ship.

“GGRRHA! NO MORE GAMES! I’LL CRUSH YOU ALL NOW!” Bulfo pointed his ugly staff at them and the Fortune was lifted harshly from the sea and high into the air.

Terrifyingly loud groans and creaks rang in every ear as the Fortune was subjected to intense stresses, Bulfo’s magic slowly crushing it.

“NO!” Polly shouted as she thrust her hands out and formed a protective bubble of light around the ship.

It rocked slightly inside the bubble, but the pained sounds of the ship’s timber ceased. Polly shook and grunted with effort as Bulfo sneered and floated closer, the air beneath him a strangely distorted mess keeping him aloft. He brought his staff back and struck the barrier with it, the impact cascading over the entire surface. Polly shrieked in pain and recoiled at the blow, but the barrier did not fall.

The wicked mage cackled hoarsely as he hit the barrier again and again, each strike transmitting great pain to Polly.

“Wally!” Hyla shouted as she ran up to him. “Throw the biggest punch you can, I’ll handle the rest!”

Wally, entirely done with thinking twice, pulled back his hand and delivered the best straight right he could toward Hyla. The Sauroian sorceress placed a very small portal between herself and Wally, sending his hand on a mystically aided journey. Beside the villainous fiend a much larger portal came into being. Through it, the magically magnified fist of the Flarebearer emerged, ten times the size of its owner. It slammed into the unsuspecting toad’s broadside, and sent him flying against his will toward the horizon.

“G… Grandpa…” Polly shook with pain and exhaustion, eyes filled with tears. “Is… Is it safe? D-… Did I…”

The world fell away in that moment, as Blackeye could do nothing else but fall to his knees and embrace the child he’d raised. The fact the ship would plummet toward the ocean without her magic was a banished thought as he held her and said, “You saved us all, my dear… I’m so very proud.”

Polly managed a smile before consciousness slipped away from her.

The barrier vaporized.

The ship fell.

Every hand scrambled for something to hold onto.

Hyla shouted something unheard, and they all fell through another portal.

<[Chapter 18]–[Index]–[Chapter 20]>

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How to Assess NBA Summer League Like a Scout

It isn't easy to properly scout NBA Summer League.

The quality of play is higher than the average NCAA game, but lower than the NBA. Teams are assembled somewhat hastily and given less than a week to learn each other's names, create a playbook, and travel to Las Vegas. Once there, they play five or more games in the span of seven days. Rosters are comprised of rookies selected in the latest NBA Draft who are making their league debuts, second and third year players who are trying to prove that they are too good for Summer League, veterans of professional leagues overseas who are making one last push for a training camp invite, and more than a handful of guys that will never sniff a regular season NBA game. Some teams lack a high-quality point guard, the most difficult positional shortage to overcome; others lack rebounding, or rim protection, or shooting.

And yet, over this one week in mid-July, basketball fans never fail to overreact.

In 2002, Nikoloz Tskitishvili won Summer League MVP; four years later, it was Randy Foye; in 2012, Josh Selby collected the honor. Every summer, there are players who look good in Las Vegas but can't parlay that success into meaningful NBA performance—and vice versa. Who can forget the immortal Glen Rice, Jr.? Or the time Anthony Randolph outshone an overmatched-looking teammate named Steph Curry?

Of course, none of this is to say to say that Summer League is completely meaningless. In addition to being a lot of fun, it's a great opportunity to scout the next wave of NBA talent— provided you know what to look for, and what to overlook. League teams send scouts to Las Vegas for that very reason. Here's what they look for:

Speed

Unlike college basketball, Summer League is full of grown men. Moreover, while most of the players taken in the first round of the NBA Draft are still teenagers, the majority of players competing in Las Vegas are a bit older and either have pro-level athleticism or have played at NBA speed at some point in their careers.

As such, scouts get their first chance to see how rookies adjust—or struggle to adjust—to the faster NBA game. In this clip, Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball is matched up with Dallas Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr. The Mavericks spread the floor and run a fake ball screen at Ball, which he anticipates by icing the screen, forcing the ball-handler to one direction with the expectation that his teammate defending the screener will show on the screen to slow him down. Only the Mavericks don't actually set the screen. Instead, they have the screener fake the screen and clear out before rolling to the rim.

This is a classic NBA action, and a staple of Dallas coach Rick Carlisle's spread offense. Ball, who is already on the slower end in terms of on-ball defensive foot speed, is also slow to react to the fake screen, yielding a wide open lane to the basket and a tomahawk dunk.

Lonzo Ball has the skill, but does he have the speed? Photo by Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Ball has been incredibly impressive during Summer League and may end up named this year's MVP, but this play showed how he'll have to improve his foot speed to keep up with the long list of super athletes playing point guard in the NBA—a list that now includes Smith Jr.

Of course, raw speed is only one aspect of NBA athleticism. Scouts also look for players who have the ability shift tempo and play at the proper pace throughout a game. Often, a super-athletic, but raw, player will get stuck at one speed, sprinting aimlessly into and out of traffic. Some players take years to figure out how to regulate their intensity; others seem to have a natural feel for the rhythm of the game. Just check out how effective this fast break from Kyle "Slow-Mo" Anderson is despite the fact that he never appears to leave second gear.

Strength

If NBA speed is a notch higher than that of college basketball, NBA physicality is about five notches greater. If you have the budget for courtside NBA tickets, or are lucky enough to score some, it's fun from that vantage point to count the number of times you'd cry foul if you were playing.

Consider Jack Cooley. He stands 6-foot-10, and weighs nearly 250 pounds. Every time a shot goes up, Cooley bangs his body into the nearest opponent, like a Greco Roman wrestler trying to wrangle an opponent to the ground. When Cooley corrals a rebound, he immediately slings his elbows back into the chest of the same opponent, attempting to draw contact and score.

Cooley will probably never hang around in the NBA, but if you take the ball up softly against him in Summer League, you'll get sent back with a bruised chest and a bruised ego. In the NBA, bigs have to learn how to attack the rim with purpose and finish through contact that would be considered a foul in the NCAA—and the rare young player who already knows how to do that enjoys a significant advantage.

Shooting

Summer League is much more about process than it is about results. Nowhere is this more true than with regards to shooting. Since teams only play a handful of games, shooting efficiency is especially prone to variance—if a player has an off-night or two, his overall efficiency will be terrible.

As such, you have to look past the numbers. What really matters? First, see if ball-dominant players display a basic understanding of shot selection. In Las Vegas, it's especially easy for one player to dominate the ball. Defenders barely know each other, never mind a well-honed defensive game plan. Volume shooters and high usage players can get away with going one-on-one much more than they ever would be able to in an real NBA game.

When you see a player score, ask yourself if he made the right read on the play. And if not, was his move to the basket good enough to get by an actual NBA defense despite being the wrong read? Many players can look like Russell Westbrook against Summer League competition—the aforementioned Rice Jr. being a good example—but far fewer can bully their way through legitimate pro defenses.

Former Syracuse player Tyler Lydon struggled to get up shots during Summer League, a sizable red flag. Photo by Mike Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Second, off-ball players have to find ways to get open. Sometimes, this is heavily dependent on the surrounding talent on the roster. If a Summer League team lacks a go-to playmaker that can draw a double-team, or a point guard that can successfully get a team into their offensive sets, then it becomes much harder for a spot-up shooter to get open looks.

Nevertheless, most elite spot-up shooting prospects have developed little tricks for finding angles off the ball to get open. Timing on cuts, the quickness of a release, footwork on the catch—all can be the difference between a player getting three or four open looks per game versus getting seven or eight. Kyle Korver and Klay Thompson are masters of every trick and fundamental that helps them shake free behind the arc. Some players at Summer League show flashes of those fundamentals.

Denver Nuggets rookie Tyler Lydon attempted 9.4 FGAs per game last season with Syracuse, including 3.7 three pointers and 3.4 free throws per game. In five Summer League games, he only attempted 20 shots total which led to just 12 points. Both of those numbers are uniquely low, especially considering that he was on the court for 120 minutes over five games. Why does this matter? The Nuggets had decent playmakers on the floor in second year wings Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez, and also had point guard Monte Morris, the NCAA's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio for four straight seasons. So Lydon's inability to get shots off is a fairly sizable red flag.

Footwork and fundamentals

Against bigger, stronger, faster opponents, a player's footwork and fundamental weaknesses are bound to be exposed. Put an average post player in an empty gym, and you'll see an arsenal of moves; add in some elbows, speed, and opposing muscle, and every little misstep becomes fatal.

The same is true for pick-and-roll scorers. When the game is slow, a player can be sloppy turning the corner off of a screen; but when the defenders' arms are three inches longer and they're 10 percent faster, that same sloppiness adds up to blocked shots and turnovers. A slightly loose handle suddenly makes it harder to bring the ball up court. A hitch in a jump shot makes for a wasted motion that leads to less time to get a shot off. Drives to the basket that don't utilize full lower body extension look clunky.

On defense, bigs who in college relied on height and leaping ability are now forced to contest their athletic equals at the rim, or show on ball screens against point guards who are faster and more skilled than anyone they've seen. How well they read their defensive assignments or anticipate their opponents is as important as how they hard they block shots. The Miami Heat might allow 100 points in a 40-minute game, but that doesn't mean that Bam Adebayo can't protect the rim—it just means you have to watch his individual movements on the court separate from whatever else is happening.

Ultimately, Summer League is a lot like a glorified team practice. Details matter much more than outcomes. Players who impress on both fronts—like the talented rookie point guard class of Donovan Mitchell, De'Aaron Fox, Ball, and Smith Jr.—likely will do the same in the NBA. For almost everyone else, a closer look is required.

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