#guardian units of nations AU

[soudlenoop]

HYPERCHROME AU CHARACTER PROFILES: ROUND 4

Uh huh, hi, sorry I’m late, I was celebrating THANKSGIVING with my family, so I missed the good Thursday streak I had. Very sorry about that, but hey, take a look at this.

Try this one on for size! What’s powerful, armed to the teeth with soldiers, and ready to protect Starlight City for the time being? Why, it’s the Guardian Units of Nations, of course! After the admittedly less-than-stellar job of the defenses of the police force during the Eggman Wars, GUN has agreed to lend a helping hand to South Island against the dastardly Dr. Eggman. Here’s a quick rundown of the purple-coated Majors of GUN.

Major Ian Jr.

Voiceclaim: Ian Jr.

Age: ???

Alignment: Neutral

Don’t think GUN makes you feel safe? Nonsense! Just ask Major Ian Jr! He’ll help you get over any worries you have about GUN! What’s that? He makes you uncomfortable? Yeah, me too, let’s get out of here right now.

Major Rouge Mauve

Voiceclaim: https://youtu.be/EYiN_SbvLYs?feature=shared (Salli Saffioti)

Age: 22

Alignment: Neutral

At first glance, Major Rouge seems like a ditsy young woman, who somehow became in charge of a number of people that she can’t even count to… But that’s exactly what she WANTS you to think, ol’ pal! Don’t be fooled by the looks, kid, there’s a very good reason she holds the nickname, “Major Silence”. Proficient in stealth, espionage, the techniques of Gravity Knives, and other things I can’t think of, Rouge Mauve is a master of her craft.

Major Lanolin Forbes

Voiceclaim: https://youtu.be/3rcq6qnkAjo?feature=shared (Elsie Lovelock)

Age: 28

Alignment: Neutral

Raised as the eldest sibling in her family, Major Lanolin knows a thing or two about authority. Unlike Rouge, Lanolin has more of a daredevil mindset, handling more risky missions, earning herself the nickname, “Major Fury”. Thankfully, Lanolin can keep a cool head, even under the most tense of situations, and although she may seem a tad bit rude, she truly does care for her fellow comrades and will go through hell and back, just to save them. So much so, that Lanolin’s been considered for a promotion to the rank of Colonel for some time now.

Ok, that took way too long. I’m done, and I hope you have a good night. Sorry I took so long.

[sonicchaoscontrol]

[Ch. 1, Page 27]

[FIRST] [PREVIOUS] [NEXT]

You've heard of an early morning run, now try an early morning briefing

(Image formatted for mobile or fullscreen - view in new tab if you experience fuzzy resolution!)

[tekatonic]

Hiya! So I just stumbled upon SEGAU and I gotta say, I'm hooked! Like, I'm very confused, but it all looks so cool! You said you were okay with questions and I want to know more, so here we go!

Is there anything in the early story (Sonic’s origins, meeting Tails, Project Shadow, the like) that has significantly changed from canon? I can't think of any other questions right now, so we'll start with that.

YES the first ask about it !!!! Heck yeah ! Sorry it took me a full hour to write this up I have a lot to say !

Let's see, the answer is Y E A H.

First of all lemme explain the basic chaos energy setup I have going on, it'll help. ( this ended up being VERY long feel free to skip the bullet points... )

So every person has a different way that chaos energy flows inside them, that's called chaos flow. There's different chaos flow categories with type distinctions based on if you have special powers and how strong they are, but let's forgo types for now because that's not that important, here are the categories !

Dormant : that's the base category, most everyone is born like this, with a stagnant chaos flow, and within their early childhood it's usually fixed into their definitive type ( which can also stay dormant ), important to note : just because you're not dormant doesn't mean you will have any special powers listed here !!

Passive : slow swirlies in your flow ! very stable ! the kinds of powers you can get from this are "internal", mind powers essentially, for example Rouge can read people's thoughts ! This is also the flow pattern that can give you a summonable item like Amy's hammer, those are called chaos objects.

Active : not stable ! the flow is sparking and bursting all throughout, and that's where you'll see most people with form changes, but not only like Super forms, also like what Tails, Cream and Knuckles do : shifting their body parts ( wings is the standard ). And this is where you'll see Shadow's abilities to externalize and shape chaos energy ! Shadow is just REALLY good at it.

Hyperactive : super rare, and for good reason, because it is like solar flares inside you all the time, and a lot of people with this one are born into it instead of developing it normally, and that's NO GOOD because newborns are NOT made to handle that and most of them will unfortunately not live for very long :( Silver is alive though !! Hyperactives tend to have faster everything ever.

and last up, Conditional : this is the rarest flow category, there's like 10 people in the world at once with this, aaaand Sonic is one of them. Basically this cycles multiple flow patterns, and can potentially use abilities from all available flow patterns. The problem with this is it's so rare and unpredictable that if you were ever to have a medical issue related to your chaos flow... well, good luck.

I lied there's another one but there is only one person that has it and it is Amy :)

Okay maybe I explained the basics too much... Are you still with me ?

So yes, let's get into backstory. The first thing you need to know is that GUN is very bad ! No good at all !! And they have a lab. Terrible things happen to children in there.

Anyway, little Sonic happens to be born and have conditional flow. Uh oh ! This is the perfect base to go off of to create a potentially perfect being ( aka Project Shadow ) ! Eventually they decide to move the project to the Ark, and poor 4 year-old Sonic with it. Unfortunately ( or fortunately ) for the little guy, once Shadow starts happening, they kind of forget about him, leading to Sonic being in suspended animation on the Ark for 38 years straight, secret to the world. Until his capsule gets ejected mysteriously and it lands on Christmas Island.

Of course, present-day Sonic does not remember a lick of this. Shadow doesn't know either, they were never in the same room together. Sonic was basically an unnamed research paper at that point.

38 years later and in fact 9 years after that, that GUN lab STILL exists... until little Amy, who also got caught by the GUN baby-stealing ninjas, absolutely blows it up and off the face of the world and walks away to meet with destiny.

---

Alllllright that's probably enough lore for your ask ? Sorry this is SO long and complex to say such a simple thing about Sonic being the basis for Shadow, haha...

A thing to note, I am fusing some games together here, the logistics are being worked on, but for example, CD and 06 are fused together, which means Amy meets Sonic during Sonic 2, just a little later than Tails !

[themightyhumanbroom]

Chapter 6 is up!

With the help of his friends, Shadow finds his resolve.

This chapter was originally gonna include the part with Surge waking up but things were getting too long so I decided to split it in half. most of the next chapter is written.

I hope this chapter shows that I do really like Shadow as a character, I just feel like he needs a ego check if he is ever too grow as a person. I want to see him grow and become happy, see that he is surrounded by people who love him.

Also very thrilled to provide further foreshadowing for an OC of mine.

[mergedau]

GUN does exist in this universe. The Lights have a sort of..... casual business relationship with GUN. Especially after Wily's first attempt.

That doesn't stop Light from slamming any doors in their face when SA2 happens because no one is going to blame his son for that nonsense.

[hecksilver]

Guardians of Godolkin [ATLA!AU]

Luke Riordan

Nationality: Fire Nation Capital, Fire Nation

Ethnicity: Fire Nation

Abilities: Firebending, Combustionbending

______________________________________________________________

Sam Riordan

Nationality: Ba Sing Se, Earth Kingdom

Ethnicity: Earth Kingdom

Abilities: Earthbending 

______________________________________________________________

Cate Dunlap

Nationality: United Republic of Nations, Republic City

Ethnicity: Republic City

Abilities: Energybending , Chi-blocking

______________________________________________________________

Emma Meyer

Nationality: United Republic of Nations, Republic City

Ethnicity: Republic City

Abilities: Hand-to-hand combat

______________________________________________________________

Marie Moreau

Nationality: Northern Water Tribe, Water Tribe

Ethnicity: Water Tribe

Abilities:  Waterbending, Bloodbending

______________________________________________________________

Jordan Li

Nationality: Northern Air Temple, Air Nomads

Ethnicity: Air Nomad

Abilities:  Airbending, Hand-to-hand combat

______________________________________________________________

Andre Anderson

Nationality: Gaoling, Earth Kingdom

Ethnicity: Earth Kingdom

Abilities:  Earthbending, Metalbending

______________________________________________________________

[altruistresistance]

INFO DUMP FOR MY PRIMARY AU

SONIC: BATTLE LINE

PLOT

On the Planet Mobius, all is quiet. The population of Humans and Mobians alike live in harmony. Or so it seems. Under the shining exterior, a cold war between extremists and the government is starting to boil over. Head of the Science Division, Dr. Ivo Robotnik plots to use scientific advancements to turn the population against one another. As such, the Guardians of the United Nations scrambled a small platoon of heroes with remarkable powers in order to stop him. The conflict has been going for three years... and it's reaching a boiling point.

THE SECOND STAR RESISTANCE

Cole "Sonic" Aleena the Hedgehog (Powers: Super speed, mild wind manipulation.)

Michelle "Sonia" Aleena the Hedgehog (Powers: Invisibility.)

Jordan "Manic" Aleena the Hedgehog (Powers: Super strength, limited seismic manipulation.)

Miles "Tails" Prower the Fox (Powers: Two-tailed flight.)

Amy "Rusty" Rose the Hedgehog (Powers: Super strength, invisibility, cyborg anatomy.)

Elijah "Knuckles" Meadows the Echidna (Powers: Super strength, hyper durability.)

Clara "Rouge" Hopkins the Bat (Powers: Psionic shield.)

E-123 Omega (Powers: Internal nanometal arsenal.)

Samson Robotnik Beowulf "Shadow" Terios the Hedgehog (Powers: super speed, super strength, mastery over Chaos manipulation.)

THE ROBOTON REGIME (HIGH COMMAND)

Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik (Powers: Cybernetic enhancements Badnik control.)

Jason "Sleet" Fredrick the Wolf (Powers: control over the nanometal drones known as the Dingo Pack.)

Snively Robotnik (Powers: Badnik control.)

Neo "Metal Sonic" Metallix the Android Hedgehog (Powers: Nanometal copy ability.)

Xander "Infinite" Oliver the Jackal (Powers: Unstable Chaos energy manipulation filtered through the Phantom Ruby.)

Agent Breezie the Synthetic Hedgehog (Powers: Hypnotic mist.)

THE ROBOTON REGIME (BADNIKS)

MotoBugs (Motorcycle beetles armed with submachine guns. Weak point, wheels.)

Buzz Bombers (Small VTOL wasps armed with low-burn plasma beams in the stinger. Weak point, torso.)

Crabmeat (Crustacean sentinels with claw-mounted rocket launchers. Weak point, joints.)

Optic Pods (Single-eyed scouts with micro missile salvos. Weak point, power core/eye.)

Slicers (Praying mantis guards with reinforced titanium blades. Weak point, back of the neck.)

SwatBots (Elite humanoid Badniks capable of speech that use built in high-burn plasma cannons and smart-lock missiles. Weak point, Achilles heel.)

Hover Units (Large helicopter drones armed with ultrasonic concussion cannons, fusion core missiles, and a deployable energy shield. Weak point, rotor blades.)

Tank-Rexes (Huge theropod-like tanks with powerful jaws, optical plasma cutters, drill tail, and hyper-concussive roar. Weak point, internal generator.)

WEAPON TYPES

Melee (Swords, hammers, pile bunkers, the list goes on.)

Ballistic (Firearms that use traditional bullets. Effective against lighter Badniks, but useless against SwatBots and large units.)

Plasma (Firearms that utilize plasma engines rather than standard ammunition. Rare, but effective against more elite Badniks.)

Explosive (Be it a rocket launcher or grenade, these weapons pack a punch. Can be just as damaging to the wielder as it is to the enemy.)

HEADCANON VOICES SO FAR

Sonic - Benjamin Diskin

Sonia - Erica Mendez

Manic - Johnny Yong Bosch

Tails - Anthony Del Rio

Knuckles - Khary Payton

Amy - Jamie Lamchick

Rouge - Grey DeLisle

Omega - Keith David

Shadow - Ian Hanlin

Eggman - Charlie Adler

Sleet - Steve Blum

Snively - Peter MacNicol

Metallix - Ron Perlman

Infinite - Liam O'Brien

Breezie - Laura Bailey

SwatBots - Isaac Singleton Jr.

[kp777]

By Olivia Rosane

Common Dreams

Dec. 6, 2023

"Averting this crisis—and doing so equitably—must be the core goal of COP28 and ongoing global cooperation," one expert said.

Current levels of global heating from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of nature risk triggering five tipping points that could throw Earth's systems further out of balance, with three more at risk of toppling in the next decade.

The Global Tipping Points Report, released Wednesday at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates, argues that policymakers have delayed climate action long enough that "linear incremental change" will no longer be enough to protect ecosystems and communities from the worst impacts of the climate crisis. However, world leaders can still choose to take advantage of positive tipping points to drive transformative change.

"The existence of tipping points means that 'business as usual' is now over," the report authors wrote. "Rapid changes to nature and society are occurring, and more are coming."

"Crossing these thresholds may trigger fundamental and sometimes abrupt changes that could irreversibly determine the fate of essential parts of our Earth system for the coming hundreds or thousands of years."

The report defines a "tipping point" as "occurring when change in part of a system becomes self-perpetuating beyond a threshold, leading to substantial, widespread, frequently abrupt and often irreversible impact." A group of more than 200 researchers assessed 26 different potential tipping points in Earth's systems that could be triggered by the climate crisis.

"Tipping points in the Earth system pose threats of a magnitude never faced by humanity," report leader Tim Lenton of Exeter's Global Systems Institute said in a statement. "They can trigger devastating domino effects, including the loss of whole ecosystems and capacity to grow staple crops, with societal impacts including mass displacement, political instability, and financial collapse."

Because current emissions trajectories put the world on track for 1.5°C of warming, this is likely to trigger five tipping points, the report authors found. Those tipping points are the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the mass die-off of warm-water coral reefs, the thawing of Arctic permafrost, and the collapse of the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre circulation.

The melting of just the Antarctic ice sheet, for example, could raise global sea levels by 6.6 feet by 2100, Carbon Brief reported, meaning 480 million people would face yearly coastal flooding. Three more tipping points could be triggered in the 2030s if temperatures rise past 1.5°C. These include the mass death of seagrass meadows, mangroves, and boreal forests, according to The Guardian.

"Crossing these thresholds may trigger fundamental and sometimes abrupt changes that could irreversibly determine the fate of essential parts of our Earth system for the coming hundreds or thousands of years," co-author Sina Loriani of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research told The Guardian.

Contributor Manjana Milkoreit of the University of Oslo said in a statement that "our global governance system is inadequate to deal with the coming threats and implement the solutions urgently required."

But that doesn't mean the report authors believe that hope is lost. Rather, they see it as a call to ambitious action at the current U.N. climate talks and beyond.

"Averting this crisis—and doing so equitably—must be the core goal of COP28 and ongoing global cooperation," Milkoreit said.

One way to do this is to take advantage of positive tipping points.

"Concerted actions can create the enabling conditions for triggering rapid and large-scale transformation," the report authors wrote. "Human history is flush with examples of abrupt social and technological change. Recent examples include the exponential increases in renewable electricity, the global reach of environmental justice movements, and the accelerating rollout of electric vehicles."

The report authors made six recommendations based on their findings:

Immediately phasing out fossil fuels and emissions from land use changes like deforestation;

Strengthening plans for adaptation and loss and damage in the face of inevitable tipping points;

Taking tipping points into account in Paris agreement mechanisms like the global stocktake and national climate pledges;

Collaborating to trigger positive tipping points;

Organizing a global summit on tipping points; and

Increasing research on tipping points, including through a special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"Now is the moment to unleash a cascade of positive tipping points to ensure a safe, just, and sustainable future for humanity," Lenton said.

An earlier version of this article said the sea levels could rise by 656 feet by 2100 if the Antarctic ice sheet started to melt. It has been corrected to reflect the fact that they would rise by 6.6 feet.

[1982brucespringsteen]

so about that modern au i wrote about ages ago 😳 I've decided to localize it in madrid!!

luffy is from a tiny seaside valencian town. his dad was involved in the early 2000s housing market economic bubble, making benidorm a hellscape and all that. his other dad is a països catalans independentist. his biggest influence as a kid was shanks, a football legend from valencia c.f. that spent his summers in luffy's town. he now lives in madrid with his brothers in what they thought was a squat (garp was paying the rent behind their backs). doesn't really have a real relationship with his dads, but he's very fond of his dad's girlfriend ivankov, who runs his fave drag club. any pronouns transfag who doesn't bind. speaks fluent valencià

zoro is a basque punk. he ended up in madrid because he took the wrong train at the bilbao station. gym rat and all that. currently lives in the storage unit of johnny and yosaku's business. best friends with kuina (alive and transmasc in this au), hates his twin sister tashigi with a passion (she's a national police officer after all). him and perona were adopted by mihawk when they were very young. he/him transfag with green hair and more piercings than a pincushion. speaks euskara batua

nami is from murcia but downplays her accent sooo much (think la kinki from la pija y la kinki). influencer who got cancelled, she originally came to madrid to study meteorology and become the weather woman. maybe she'll go back to college some day. currently she's couchsurfing through her girl best friend's apartments since vivi kicked her out of their shared place. she/her femme lesbian who has "completed" her transition.

usopp says they're from barcelona but they actually grew up in a tiny bedroom-town adjacent to the city. ironically the most skilled and well rounded person from the squad but the least confident in their worth. shared a huuuge apartment with their gf kaya, but she went back to barcelona to do her residency there, so now they're looking for roommates 👀 afrodescendent, speaks a bit of fang and fluent català, but can't understand luffy to save their life. works at humana and has an etsy store. they/them bisexual nonbinary transfem, pulls people all over the queer spectrum

sanji was born in tenerife from a british expat family but moved to madrid to live on his own when he was VERY young. zeff hired him knowing he wasn't even 16 and ended up adopting him. during the 2020 lockdown he had a very popular tiktok account where he cooked designer dishes shirtless but now it's all been deleted. secretly performs as a drag queen in ivankov's drag club, is fucking the bouncer (ace). the biggest egg you've ever seen, will end up identifying as a she/her bisexual trans woman, but a lot has to happen before she can do that...

more mugiwaras under the cut!

robin is an archeology professor at the complutense. originally from [REDACTED], speaks with a completely standard accent and is fluent a couple dozen languages. somehow knows luffy's dads? the intelligence brigade spies on her regularly and they joke about it sooo much. judo black belt. works with the ARMH. she/they in a t4t bi4bi d/s open marriage with franky.

chopper is a child prodigy from córdoba who came to madrid to study medicine. kureha, his legal guardian, set him up to live with frobin, thinking a young couple of respectable professionals will be a good influence on him!! jokes on her chopper came back with pink hair, a new gender and a boiling hate for capitalism (kureha's chill about it don't worry). is starting to have contact with real live patients and is soooo scared to mess up. has ended up stitching zoro in the er more times that he would like. has a local speech modism from córdoba where he calls people close to him "padre" and "madre" and when i tell you franky straight up started sobbing the first time chopper called him that........

franky is from ferrol.

brook was a

jinbe

[usafphantom2]

VS-27 Grumman S2F-1 Tracker 136615 (AU-10) by Wing attack Plan R Via Flickr: Grumman S2F-1 (S-2A) Tracker/Bu.No. 136615 -Upgraded to S-2F. -1961: VS-27 as AU-10. -VS-32 as AT-42. - 1966: VS-32. -8/1966: Put into storage at MASDC. -Converted to US-2A. -1968: MCAS New River Base Flight. -11/19/1968: Written off. Photo Credit's: Unknown to me (Reprint). Photo date: 1961-62. Location: Aboard USS Essex (CV-9)? The Grumman S-2 Tracker (S2F prior to 1962) was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventional design — propeller-driven with twin radial engines, a high wing that could be folded for storage on aircraft carriers, and tricycle undercarriage. The type was exported to a number of navies around the world. Introduced in 1952, the Tracker and its E-1 Tracer derivative saw service in the U.S. Navy until the mid-1970s, and its C-1 Trader derivative until the mid-1980s, with a few aircraft remaining in service with other air arms into the 21st century. Argentina and Brazil are the last countries to still use the Tracker. Design and development- The Tracker was intended as a replacement for the Grumman AF Guardian, which was the first purpose-built aircraft system for ASW, using two airframes for two versions, one with the detection gear, and the other with the weapon systems. The Tracker combined both functions in one aircraft. Grumman's design (model G-89) was for a large high-wing monoplane with twin Wright Cyclone R-1820 nine cylinder radial engines, a yoke type arrestor hook and a crew of four. Both the two prototypes XS2F-1 and 15 production aircraft, S2F-1 were ordered at the same time, on 30 June 1950. The first flight was conducted on 4 December 1952, and production aircraft entered service with VS-26, in February 1954. Follow-on versions included the WF Tracer and TF Trader, which became the Grumman E-1 Tracer and Grumman C-1 Trader in the tri-service designation standardization of 1962. The S-2 carried the nickname "Stoof" (S-two-F) throughout its military career; and the E-1 Tracer variant with the large overhead radome was colloquially called the "stoof with a roof.". Grumman produced 1,185 Trackers. At least 99 and possibly 100 aircraft carrying the CS2F designation were manufactured in Canada under license by de Havilland Canada. U.S.-built versions of the Tracker were sold to various nations, including Australia, Japan, Turkey and Taiwan. Sensors and armament- The Tracker had an internal torpedo bay capable of carrying two lightweight aerial torpedoes or one nuclear depth charge. There were six underwing hard points for rocket pods and conventional depth charges or up to four additional torpedoes. A ventrally-mounted retractable radome for AN/APS-38 radar and a Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) AN/ASQ-8 mounted on an extendable rear mounted boom were also fitted. Early model Trackers had an Electronic Support Measures (ESM) pod mounted dorsally just aft of the front seat overhead hatches and were also fitted with a smoke particle detector or "sniffer" for detecting exhaust particles from diesel-electric submarines running on snorkel. Later S-2s had the sniffer removed and had the ESM antennae moved to four rounded extensions on the wingtips. A 70-million-candlepower searchlight was mounted on the starboard wing. The engine nacelles carried JEZEBEL sonobuoys in the rear (16 in early marks, 32 in the S-2E/G). Early Trackers also carried 60 explosive charges, dispensed ventrally from the rear of the fuselage and used to create sound pulses for semi-active sonar (JULIE) with the AN/AQA-3 and later AQA-4 detection sets, whereas the introduction of active sonobuoys (pingers) and AN/AQA-7 with the S-2G conversion saw these removed. Smoke dispensers were mounted on the port ventral surface of the nacelles in groups of three each.

[chriscdcase95]

ATLA fic: "The Ancient World" - Character Arcs and OC's

Normally I don't do “This is my OC” posts, but I’ve been revisiting one of my shelved fics — The Ancient World, a crossover AU between ATLA and Godzilla. 

I’m currently writing draft chapters and segments that I am posting on AO3 as one shots. So I thought I’d talk more about the story while I’m working on the drafts.

“But you told this story before-”

Summary: Taking place a few years after Avatar The Last Airbender. The United Republic began international mining operations in the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes, as society progresses with early technological advancements. When they dug too deep, they uncovered the remains of an ancient civilization lost to time, and regarded as myth. When dug deeper, they awaken Titans - beasts of these myths, that brought “The Ancient World” to an end, and may do the same to the current one.

One such the Titan known as “Godzilla” decimates the Water Tribes and makes his way to and through the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdoms. Another is a weakened and wounded dragon fleeing the wrath of Godzilla. Quickly showing its own spiritual power, communicating with humanity, introducing itself as Ghidorah, a claiming to be “guardian” sent to protect the world from Godzilla. Too weak to do much of anything (save for destroying a vast cabbage field), Ghidorah is seen as harmless by the general populations, who rally behind him as the only one who can stop Godzilla.

The leaders of the Water, Fire and Earth Kingdoms elect to throw their armies to face Godzilla until such a time Ghidorah’s power is restored. While Aang, his Team  and a small band of Kyoshi warriors, seek out the secrets of these monsters and try to find the way to put a stop to them with as little bloodshed as possible, Zuko is pushed by the other leaders, prioritizing the threat of Godzilla and a militant approach to deal with them. During an initial encounter with Azula and her followers out at sea, Godzilla attacks the expedition, getting them stranded on “The Uncharted Lands”.

Between Ghidorah’s growing power, and the hero’s isolation, people on both sides find themselves going down the rabbit hole, learning of the Ancient World, and the monsters that brought it to an end in a bid to save their current one.

— — — —

Getting the obvious twist out of the way, the titular “Ancient World” was our time period, wiped out by an apocalyptic event called "The Final Wars", which occurred about a century before Avatar Wan's time.

At the time of ATLA it’s now regarded as ancient history/myth. The present world of ATLA is the result of civilization and humanity having to rebuild over a millennia, with spirits stepping in following the Final Wars to help restore the world.

Anyways, this I covered this story in few other posts. You can read the full layout, here, but this post specifically covers shipping arcs and OC's. This will be part one of two posts, that will talk more about the monsters in this AU and how they're portrayed.

This AU may be out of date, with Azula in the Spirit Temple's release, but it’s still something I like to revisit.

— — — —

Monster Humans Interactions

Including the mysticism of ATLA's world, some Titans, such as Mothra and Ghidorah have a supernatural and spiritual aspect to them. The Lion Turtles are revealed to be such Titans, having helped humanity after the Final Wars.

There is also a new power called “Channeling”; where an enlightened enough human (usually a bender) can soul-bond with a Titan through meditation. From this, a Titan’s consciousness can be channeled through them to the point of verbal communication.

When Aang and Katara have regular meditation sessions, Katara ends up “Channeling” Godzilla at a few points, getting more of an understanding of Godzilla, pretty much interacting with them face to face. In these instances, Godzilla shows he has a marginal understanding of human emotion, but social interaction is an alien concept that leaves him baffled.

His attempts to comprehend slang, expressions and etiquette are Played for Laughs.

Originally posted by azulasnailtech

Stronger beings like Ghidorah channel through others by force. Ghidorah does so to Mai; speaking through her to manipulate Zuko and the Nation's other leaders, selling himself as a "Guardian Monster" protecting the world from the "evil" Godzilla.

Ghidorah is physically weakened for two thirds of the story, manipulating the Nations' leaders into throwing their armies against Godzilla, forcing Mai to be his mouth piece. Ghidorah keeps Mai in line by threatening to kill Tom Tom using her own hands.

“Channeling” is a call back to the OG Ghidorah movie, which featured an alien possessing a princess. It is also a nod towards the Heisei character Miki Saegusa, who had a psychic link with Godzilla. “Guardian Monsters” originates from GMK, in which Godzilla was the villain, against an unusually heroic Ghidorah.

In fact, the story Ghidorah sells though Mia is pretty much a recap of GMK, even having Ember Island host a stage play adaptation as “Pro Ghidorah” propaganda.

This story also features Bagan as a secondary threat. For those who don't know, Bagan is a monster infamous in the Godzilla fandom for numerous planned but scrapped movie appearances.

Bagan's "canon" backstory describes him as this "Demonic Dragon God" or "The God of Darkness", causing no end of edgy portrayals of Bagan in the fandom; in fact, there was an IRL urban legend for an unmade "Godzilla vs the Devil", originating from a mistranslation for one of Bagan's scripts.

In this story, Bagan is a demonic dragon that Ghidorah claims is another "Guardian Monster" who can fight Godzilla in his stead. Because Bagan is bound to the Fire Nation, Zuko is the one who has the final say in actually releasing him. Zuko reluctant to do so because, y'know, the whole "demonic dragon" thing.

However, when the Nation's leaders receive fabrications of a coup plotted by Azula, claiming that she's taken control of Godzilla, Zuko is talked into giving the "Okay". Bagan then rampages across the Nations, becoming a threat that unites humanity with Godzilla, leading to a fight in Ba Sing Se.

After his defeat, Bagan flees to recover, before Ghidorah soon kills him and drains his power. Ghidorah then drops an exhausted Godzilla into the Boiling Lake, becoming the antagonist for the remaining third of the story.

— — — —

Character Arcs

For Katara and Aang's arc, Aang wants to understand these monsters, and learn what they can of them. Aang also privately worries about the Air Nomads and the current world being forgotten in the same way the Ancient World was reduced to myths. For this, he and Katara try to reach an understanding with Godzilla whenever he is channelled.

We learn Godzilla lost faith in humanity sometime after the Final Wars; following a cycle of war, genocide and environmental damage, when Godzilla last awoke (Kyoshi’s era), he saved the world from another monster — the Nation's armies showed their gratitude by attacking Godzilla while he was exhausted and injured.

To fix this, Aang and Katara try showing Godzilla that humanity is still worth caring about, having Godzilla look through Katara’s eyes as they interact with the world around and through them.

In Zuko and Mai's subplot, Zuko's in a position where he and the Three Nations rally against Godzilla, with their people flocking to Ghidorah as their "savior". Zuko gradually realizes Ghidorah's true colors, and what he's really doing with Mai.

Zuko steps up, helping Mai sever Ghidorah's link and attempts to expose Ghidorah's manipulations to the Nation's leaders. Unfortunately Ghidorah has another ace up his sleeve that makes the situation worse, now "channelling" himself through Kiyi.

But my favorite character arc in this was Azula's, being an Azula Redemption fic. Following Smoke and Shadow, Azula is a Decoy Antagonist still trying to influence Zuko and his rule, getting her hands dirty where Zuko's are tied.

Azula and her new crew follow Aang’s expedition behind Zuko’s back, with Ty Lee among the Kyoshi warriors joining them.  Azula thinks she can play the situation ostensibly for Zuko's benefit; international mining operations discover what is soon revealed to be nuclear materials. After a test with these materials goes awry, Zuko hands them over to Aang and his expedition in hopes they can quietly dispose of them.

Azula's initial plan is to use these materials to manufacture something to deal with the Titans, and instill the Fire Nation as a world superpower. Godzilla attacks Aang’s expedition, leaving them and Azula's crew, on the "Uncharted Lands".

From there, Azula goes through a similar arc as Zuko did in season three; having a “bonding chapter/episode” with Team Avatar, and two with Ty Lee.

This would also be a Tyzula fic.

Azula doesn't have the same humility as Zuko, and is a lot more reluctant to open up and show her vulnerability to others. A lot of the time when Azula shows compassion or does something altruistic, she tries to downplay it. There's a point where she saves a baby from choking, trying to brush is off as "Well, if it wasn't me, it would have been someone else."

It isn’t until Azula accidentally soul bonds with Mothra that she actually airs out her baggage to the others. While this is also a Tyzula story, we don’t go for “Caretaker Ty Lee”. In fact, Ty Lee’s arc is about being assertive. She doesn’t immediately forgive Azula, nor is she relegated to Azula’s support system. In fact, Aang has more to do with helping Azula than Ty Lee.  

Ty Lee has mixed feelings, second guessing herself whether she is just afraid of Azula or has buried romantic feelings for her. Initially reconnecting with a childhood friend named, Shirio (we'll talk about him later) Ty Lee spends much of the first half telling off Azula and standing up to herself. But bit by bit her resolve falters, and romantic feelings start to boil over.

While Ty Lee herself isn’t that instrumental to Azula’s reformation, their relationship is used to juxtapose it; the more Azula heals and betters herself, the more she and Ty Lee start to reconnect. It’s only when Azula's walls break down does Ty Lee let her own walls break too.

— — — —

And then there's the Fire Nation Royal family subplot, with Kiyi and Ursa. Being 12 years old at the time of this story, Kiyi significantly differs from her comic counterpart. While Ursa tries a hand at this politics, representing the Fire Nation in Republic City, Kiyi becomes a student at Republic City's Academy. 

Kiyi doesn't have many friends due to being part of the Fire Nation's royal family. The few friends she has are in it for nepotism. Kiyi isn't as close to her family because of their duties. While Azula doesn't admit it, she looks out for Kiyi, having younger followers observe her as a proxy.

Being an Azula redemption story, Azula exaggerates Ursa‘s “dismissal” of her; though Ursa herself thinks she could have done more, but has a hard time accepting her faults as faults. Not helping is Ursa often sidesteps issues instead of actually dealing with them.

For example; in this story, there are rumors that Ozai is Kiyi’s biological father, and the timeline of her birth adds up. This causes some turmoil in Kiyi, especially when she’s compared to Zuko and Azula.

When Kiyi brings these concerns up, Ursa sidesteps the matter by stating Ozai didn’t raise her and so it doesn’t matter…without doing anything to actually help Kiyi’s worries or anxiety.

As a student, Kiyi’s favorite subjects were myths and history. So when Godzilla and Ghidorah awaken, Kiyi is enthusiastic to help get a better understanding of them and the Ancient World. Ursa also returns to the Fire Nation to help support Zuko and their cause.

At one point, Ursa joins a conversation between Zuko and Ghidorah/Mai; Ghidorah recounts a backstory of a sibling/rival of his — “empathizing” with them regarding Azula, suggesting that they should have smothered her in the crib. It begins to click on Ursa and Zuko that this "Guardian Monster" might not be so benevolent.

When Mai’s link is later severed, Ghidorah channels himself through Kiyi — doing such a spot on impression of her, that only Mai and Zuko aware of this — using self harm to keep Zuko in line for as long as Ghidorah needs the Fire Nation to back him up. To keep Kiyi in line, Ghidorah threatens to kill Ursa with Kiyi's own two hands.

In some revisions, Ghidorah actually goes through with this threat towards the end.

Ursa, Kiyi and Zuki don't interact with Azula until the third act, with mixed reactions. While Azula helped save the Nations from Bagan, after their leader's awoke him, Zuko helped awaken Bagan because he was lied to about Azula plotting a coup, manipulating his friends, and taking control of Godzila; which was followed with Azula and Team Avatar showing up in Ba Sing Se, with Godzilla in tow.

Even when it's obvious Zuko was lied to about Azula, he still isn't sure he can trust her or his friends. It takes a scathing "What the Hell Hero ?" speech from his friends to talk some sense into him.

With Ursa, I picture her being uneasy around Azula; the most she heard of Azula is second hand accounts from Zuko. The way I see it, both fear clouds Ursa's judgement, as well as guilt for (in her mind) pushing Azula away.

As for Kiyi, she considers connecting with Azula, to her family’s concern. But by the time Kiyi and Azula meet, Ghidorah is in the driver's seat. To spite Kiyi's desire to connect with Azula, Ghidorah shoots down Azula's attempts to bond with Kiyi.

I had a hard time thinking up a reconciliation that felt right for Azula and Ursa. Which is why I have Ghidorah going through with forcing Kiyi to kill Ursa in some revisions, making it a more bittersweet reconciliation.

Ghidorah then has Kiyi throw herself from a tower into the sea. Kiyi is rescued and resuscitated by Azula. In their first real interaction in this story, Kiyi hugs Azula in response.

— — — —

Original Characters

First up is The Woodland's Commander - A minor but critical character, she is a more of a plot device for world building.

The is de-facto leader of her country's coalition in one of the "Uncharted Lands", it's through her and her people that the protagonists learn more about the Ancient World. 

She's also an expy of Lexa from The 100.

Originally posted by sabrinushka

Before The Ancient World, I wanted to do a Godzilla + The 100, crossover called, but while went nowhere, I carried quite a bit from one story to the other.

Like Lexa, the Commander is an introverted, ruthless, and pragmatic young woman; with warmer side slipping through, such as at a wedding she hosts, and she can usually be reasoned with.

When Aang and Azula's crews end up stranded in her lands, the Commander has them brought before her, deciding they'll stay at her palace's ranching village as guests. During their stay, we get some world building. We learn the “Nations” consist of multiple regions from our time period.

The Water Tribes: Consists of Alaska; Greenland; Northern Canada, and the province of British Columbia.

The Fire Nation: Consists of Japan; North China; North and South Korea; Mongolia; Far East Russia; Southern and Central Russia Kazakhstan; and the Ukraine.

The Earth Kingdoms: Consist of India, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, South China, Tibet, Nepal, Vietnam and Thailand.

The “Uncharted Lands” broadly refer to lands outside the three Nations.

What is explored here is The Woodlands: consisting of Eastern Canada, and Eastern United States. Their culture and people are mostly based on the Grounders from The 100, and the tribes of Horizon Zero Dawn.

They're familiar with Bending, but generally lack it, making it a subject of curiosity. Instead they try rebuilding technology of the Ancient World; some regions have functioning electricity and radios, and are on their way to re-creating automobiles and firearms.

They also have greater knowledge of the Titans and their history, especially the Final Wars. Besides Godzilla's bond with Katara, their objective version of the Final Wars helps turn the protagonists to Godzilla's side.

The Commander herself plays a minimal role in the story; having the protagonists brought before her and allowing their stay; hosting a wedding celebration for two of her servants, inviting the protagonists to observe their ceremonies. During Bagan's attack on her cities, she leads a defensive counter attack, and later makes a trade agreement with the United Republic.

Another “uncharted” country is mentioned several times but unexplored — The Green Islands: consisting of Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland

While we don’t see The Green Islands in this story, it’s mentioned Kyoshi previously ventured there when Godzilla previously awoke. I imagine it as having a Celtic and Nordic pagan aesthetic.

— — — —

Miki - A minor but critical character, Miki’s the only member of Azula’s new crew I put much thought into. A young, nerdish woman, Miki was an abused and disowned daughter of a noble family, placed in the same sanitarium as Azula. There, she was conscripted into Azula's new crew.

It’s implied Miki was involved in the whole Kemurikage business, but that’s neither here nor there. Miki and Azula’s dynamic is described as a sisterly version of Entrapdak. In fact, Entrapta was Miki’s main inspiration.

Despite her past of familial abuse, ableism and misogyny — and involvement in Azula’s schemes — Miki’s otherwise upbeat and friendly and the primary example in humanizing Azula’s new crew. What Miki lacks in bending, she makes up for in her fixation in redeveloping lost Ancient World technology. Notably, she built a functioning cattle prod that she uses as her primary weapon.

When a mining operation uncovers nuclear materials in the Fire Nation, a small nuke is inadvertently re-created, and a test goes wrong causing a village to get radiation poisoning. Zuko has the weapons stored away in hopes of eventually disposing of them. When Godzilla and Ghidroah awaken, Azula opts to recreate these weapons to destroy these monsters, make the Fire Nation a superpower, and bring “glory” to Zuko. And Miki is in charge of building them.

Miki’s dynamic with everyone is that she earnestly tries to help people, but has a problem filtering social cues and reading emotions. As a result, Miki has little filter, and tells the truth in the face. It’s implied Azula (reluctantly) respects Miki as she’s the only one not afraid to talk back to her and stand her ground when confronted on it.

Miki is among those in Azula’s crew caught in the Woodlands, and the first to make an earnest attempt to befriend Team Avatar. Miki spends much of the story in the background as a passive presence, but would sometimes tell Azula what she needs to hear, as Azula’s walls break down.

While Miki’s not as active as the others, she is critical in helping Team Avatar and Azula’s new crew reach an understanding, and building bridges between them…and another miniature nuke under their noses.

That same nuke is used by Azula to revive an injured Godzilla in the third act. Miki catches on that Azula is in a dark place during the third act. When Azula goes alone to Boiling Rock, Miki tells Team Avatar what she’s up to, and they might want to talk to her out of something stupid.

Miki isn’t a participant in the fight with Ghidorah, but is among those at the celebration where Azula is publicly honored.

— — — —

Shiro - The only real human villain.

Most of this stories human antagonists are the Nations' leaders protecting their people from the “threat” of Godzilla. Characters like Kuei, Bumi, Hadoka, Arnook, even Zuko and Iroh fall into this camp.

We know where they are coming from; there’s no ill will between them and Team Avatar; and they have the benefit of the doubt of (mostly) being manipulated. When they realize they were wrong in the last third, they try to make things right. 

Then you got this utter raasclaat.

A young, ambitious, but minor Fire Nation noble, Shiro is looking for a spot on Zuko's court upon being released from house arrest following the war. He is also a childhood friend of Ty Lee's, having an open infatuation with her. After Ty Lee's falling out with Azula, Shirio is quick to try to reconnect with her.

Besides his relationship with Ty Lee, Shirio is something of a fanboy, and sycophant to Zuko, who often becomes put off by him. Shirio also has a serious hate boner for Azula, and makes it everyone's problem.

Initially, Shirio comes off as an enthusiastic — if arrogant and annoying — new friend to Team Avatar, looking to lend a helping hand. Shirio joins Aang's expedition, ostensibly on Zuko's behalf, but mainly because Ty Lee was coming with. But over time, we gradually see his true colors.

Shirio see's himself as this wholesome and romantic savior, “protecting” Ty Lee from “abusive influences” (Azula), while exhibiting many red flags of his own; becoming increasingly controlling of Ty Lee, keeping her dependent on him; infantilizing her under the guise of being a “concerned and protective” friend.

He also has zero sense of boundaries, to the point Ty Lee subconsciously locks her doors from him when staying in the same house.

He uses gaslighting tactics whenever Ty Lee second guesses herself; self harms when things and conversations aren’t going his way. When initially stranded, Shirio keeps an injured Ty Lee in an isolated camp, claiming everyone else was killed, so he can be “alone” with her...only to feign surprise/relief when they’re found by the others.

Y’see, Shirio is a “Tender Misanthrope”: someone who deludes themselves into thinking they’re a loving, caring person, while treating everyone around them like shit. They only care about idealized images they project onto others; friends and “loved ones” are accessories. You’re only worth caring about if you’re the person they want you to be, a thought process not uncommon for abusers or groomers.

Shirio idolizes Zuko as this sort of "chad" power fantasy to vicariously live through; “likes” Ty Lee as this battered damsel of his Romantic Hero fantasies; while Azula is this toxic abuser to “protect” Ty Lee from. Anything that challenges these images or his narrative, results in Shirio showing a very ugly side.

Ironically, this means when Azula shows she’s not the monster he sees her as, Shirio hates her even more for distorting that image. Unfortunately for Shirio, he's not only in an Azula redemption story, but a Tyzula one. The more Azula heals, betters herself and reconnects with others — especially Ty Lee — the more openly hateful and toxic Shirio becomes.

There is a point in the story where Azula saves a choking baby in the house they're staying at — Shiro privately considers smothering the baby for being “tainted” by Azula. He only doesn't go through with it, because he couldn't think of a way to get away with it at the time.

When Ty Lee soon tells him off for his increasingly toxic behavior, Shirio punches a stone wall beside her head to try shut her up, unfazed that he broke his own hand. 

Later reaching out to the Nations' leaders, Shirio lies that Azula is plotting a coup and weaponizing Godzilla, and manipulated Team Avatar to her side. Ostensibly to “help” his people, Shirio makes a blood pact with Bagan and encourages a paranoid and desperate Zuko to give the "Okay" to setting Bagan against Godzilla.

As a blood sacrifice, Shirio orders mass executions of the Fire Nation’s prisoners, regardless of their crimes, engineering Bagan's awakening. Bagan's subsequent rampage kills about 900,000 people across the Nation's and a city in the Woodlands. 

All to punish Ty Lee for “loving a monster”.

On a comedic note, Bagan is flatly disappointed to learn Shirio's actual motives for setting him loose.

After Bagan is defeated, an unrepentant Shirio is confronted, cornered and imprisoned. We last see him at the end, after Ghidroah's death; when Azula is publicly honored and reconciles with her surviving family, a bitter and seething Shirio hears the news in his cell.

While Shirio's story end with his imprisonment, years later, Ty Lee and Azula would start a family, through mystical means of conception I won't explain here; having a daughter named Yasuko, and from her, a granddaughter named Asami.

You're probably wondering if Shirio has any tragic backstory ? Eh, not really. Shirio lived a pampered life as a noble, with the only real setback was his four year house arrest. “But why does he hate Azula ?" You ask "If they knew each other as children, she must have done something to him, right ?”

As children, Azula often teased Shirio regarding his lack of fighting prowess, and status as a lesser noble. In retaliation, Shirio eventually cornered Azula outside the girls' academy, attempting to strangle Azula and bash her head with a rock. In self defense, Azula broke his wrist. Shirio was subsequently put under house arrest until Zuko pardoned him shortly into his rule.

But the worst part was Ty Lee stopped hanging out with him in favor of Azula. For this, Shirio saw Azula as this wretched, inhuman monster, and is genuinely offended at the insinuation that she isn't. Comparatively, Shirio's idolization of Zuko began when the young prince took him to get his hand bandaged after Azula broke it — a single gesture that Zuko himself barely remembers.

That’s it. That's his sob story. That's all the tragedy and nuance he's gonna get.

— — — —

I may do a follow up post, talking more about the monsters featured in this AU. I would have done so here, but it was getting bloated.

[greatwyrmgold]

Avatar×Family

I saw an idea for a Spy×Family/ATLA crossover fic, and I decided I'd respond by writing my own. Their idea sounds neat, and if someone wrote it into a fanfic I'd read it. But I'm still going to frame some of the parts of this AU against that one.

(At the AU author's request, I've tried to remove mention of them. If some of these paragraphs end up a little awkward, that's probably why. Mea culpa.)

The Avatar

The Avatar is the single most important person in the entire world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. They are a guardian, a spiritual guide, often a political leader uniting the four nations. Each Avatar defines their lifetime; the only known historical period not named after its avatar is the one defined by not having an avatar. And of course, the shows are named after them.

Twilight is not important. He is an exceptional cog in the Westalis state machine, but still a mere cog. He was a normal child who survived a war, caught the eye of a low-rank intelligence officer, and was trained into an exceptional agent. He's special in the way that Sokka, Ty Lee, or Zhu Li are special. Moreover, his work is unknown by its very nature. If Twilight got what he thinks he wants, he'd spend the next 30-40 years fighting as part of the Westalian machine, die protecting peace, and be remembered only by his spy apprentices.

There are obviously a lot of contradictions between Twilight the spy and The Avatar, the AU idea doesn't ignore those contradictions. Arguably, their fic idea is about the contradictions inherent in Twilight The Avatar. But that's not how I personally write crossover fics.

I don't ask how I can make these contradictory ideas un-contradict; I look for areas which fit together neatly, and then fill in the rest from there. I try to make as much of the world as possible feel like it's both (in this case) S×F and ATLA; Twilight The Avatar sounds like an interesting character, but he doesn't quite fit either the role of Twilight or the role of the Avatar.

You could make a compelling argument for Yor fitting the role of Avatar. Twilight was a mostly unremarkable soldier for most of the war; Yor was scouted for a secret elite group of assassins when she was a kid, and reached the point of "Don't worry, it's the other ten guys' blood" during middle school. Yor is special in a way Twilight wasn't. There's still tension between Thorn Princess and The Avatar, but I can see an Avatar raised by the Red Lotus ending up a lot like Yor.

Anya the Avatar could be funny; replacing her telepathy with secret Avatar status would be a good way to "adapt" Anya if you didn't want to "integrate" her. Good for a one-shot, but not a great foundation and not much fun to theorize about.

If I was writing this crossover, my Avatar of choice would be either Demetrius, Kyoshi, or nobody.

One option would be to set the crossover shortly after Korra's death, which would justify a Spy×Family near-modern aesthetic. Demetrius being the Avatar would both strengthen Damian's feelings of inadequacy and make the Earth Unity Party's revanchist intent towards the United Republic more menacing. This isn't just a bunch of far-right loons, this is a bunch of far-right loons with the legitimacy of the Avatar backing them.

I don't know much about Kyoshi's era, but I flipped through its section in my Avatar Legends book and...yeah, that could probably work. Lots of war and political intrigue in that period's Earth Kingdom. Not many skyscrapers, though.

And then there's the Hundred-Year War. It has the war that shaped a nameless child into Agent Twilight, it has the tension between two nations out of balance, its geopolitics have the (relatively) dark tone you see in Spy×Family's worldbuilding. I'd probably go with this one.

Bending in general (and for the Family)

The biggest issue I have with the fic idea is that it seems based on the assumption that Bending is common. Like, Twilight's ability to pretend to be any kind of Bender is more useful to Westalis than having the public support of The Avatar. And Yor divides her civilian and assassin lives by only using Bending in one, which makes sense, but it's her civilian identity that uses Bending.

Bending is rare. If you're not an Air Nomad, most of the people you know aren't Benders. This is most true in the Earth Kingdom (where Earthbenders are a very visible, very small minority), but it's true in the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes, too. If you are a Bender, you stand out; if you are a Bender in a mundane civil servant position, you stand out worse.

Twilight

I don't think Twilight should be a Bender; again, he's special in the exact way that highly-trained non-Benders are special. But if he was...I mean, setting-wise it would make sense for him to be a Firebender in the Hundred-Year War era or an Earthbender in the Kyoshi era, but personality-wise...I could see an argument for anything except fire, but I think earth fits best.

Neutral jing—listening, waiting for the right moment to act, then acting decisively—fits Twilight's approach to both combat and most of his problems better than air's instinct, fire's aggression, or water's...go-with-the-flow-iness. Plus, earth is the least spiritual element, and Twilight is deathly pragmatic.

If we give Twilight a bit of Bending ability, it shouldn't be anything exceptional. No Metalbending, no sandbending, no seismic sense. Maybe he's even a particularly weak Earthbender—not strong enough to throw boulders, just strong enough to kick up clouds of dust when near a dry dirt road or disrupt his opponent's footing.

Yor

In every setting I discussed, it would make the most sense for a home-grown Bender-assassin like the Thorn Princess to be an earthbender. This is unfortunate, because earth doesn't suit Yor's personality very well. I wouldn't call her spontaneous, but she's far more spontaneous than her "fake" husband.

I could put the Hundred-Years-War-era version of the story in the Fire Nation capital and make Yor a local Firebender, and there's something to that. Firebending is an art of aggression, of overwhelming power, of unflinching will. And that describes the Thorn Princess adequately, but it doesn't describe Yor.

And Airbending is obviously wrong; Yor isn't quite spontaneous or imaginative enough, and far too casual with violence. I suppose she could be a Zaheer sort of Airbender, but Water fits much better.

Yor goes with the flow, adapting to whatever environment she finds herself in rather than shaping it to accommodate her. I'd argue that this is most obvious in how she goes out of her way to be Mrs. Forger, a virtuous housewife, even in ways that she's not suited for (cooking); it's probably also part of why she weathered a childhood of murder so casually. (Speaking of which, waterbending has the perk of emphasizing the Thorn Princess's hidden nurturing side.)

As I mentioned above, Yor is special in a way Twilight isn't. Even if she's not the Avatar, she should have some kind of distinct Bending art. The obvious choice would be some kind of offensive bloodbending, halfway between Hama and that one time Zaheer airbent the Earth Queen's breath out of her lungs. But I think plantbending would be more appropriate. On one hand, again, it fits her nurturing side better. On the other hand...she's the Thorn Princess. Icicles don't have thorns.

(The downside is that plantbending is...rather more situational. But does the Thorn Princess really need Bending in the first place, when she's still as strong and skilled as canon!Yor?)

Anya

If Anya is a Bender, she would keep it almost as secret as she keeps her telepathy. (Which she has. It's core to the whole S×F premise. I guess there are spirit scientists in this AU.) Bending is weird, it's notable, she'd get dragged into an institution like the lab if people knew she could Bend.

My first instinct was to notice that Anya's powers were connected to the Moon and call her a waterbender, but that's not her. Again, one of the key spiritual aspects of waterbending is the idea of adapting to one's surroundings; Anya flees the lab environment rather than adapting, and then actively creates an environment she can thrive in by making a spy and an assassin play house.

Anya doesn't have the patience for earthbending or the focus for firebending. What she does have is flexibility, intuition, and imagination. She's also driven by a desire for freedom, which is significant for airbenders.

You could make the argument that I'm just saying that Anya's a kid, and kids act like airbenders. And—I mean, you wouldn't be wrong, there's a reason Aang's the youngest member of the Gaang. (Well, youngest-acting; chronologically he's older than the rest combined.) But also, look at Damian or George or even Becky. Anya is and airhead, even by the standards of her—wait, hold on, that came out wrong—

Bond

Bond is a cavy hound, because animals in this world which aren't half X and half Y are exotic, and Bond's round fluffiness makes me think of guinea pigs, aka cavies. He's a product of mad spiritual scientists trying to create war dogs for the war, and by process of elimination, he can firebend.

Names

One last thing to bring up: The characters in ATLA mostly have names from real-world East Asian cultures. The characters in Spy×Family mostly have names from real-world European cultures. A name like "Loid" or "Anya" or "Damian" would stick out like a sore thumb.

I don't have a good solution for this. If I replaced everyone's names with Asian names that mean the same things, the readers wouldn't know who anyone is. Replacing their names with Asian names that sound similar would reduce that barrier, but not remove it. I also run the risk of picking names that sound really, really dumb if I don't get someone from a relevant culture to proofread my choices.

For the rest of this post, I'll use everyone's S×F canon names, except for the characters originally from ATLA. I'll leave that problem to future me, if he ever decides to follow up on this idea.

Though Yoru would be easy. I know for certain that that name doesn't sound goofy in a Japanese context, thanks to a certain devil who shares Yor's name.

An Actual Premise

Okay, setting first...

After going through that Bending section and giving the setting a bit more thought, I think I'd set this crossover in the Fire Nation capital in the early decades of the Hundred-Year war. It's not a perfect match to the Ostania/Westalis conflict; it's a constant hot war, with clear villains and victims, rather than a cold war that was hot a few decades ago and where both countries were equally at fault and in the wrong.

I think I'd set it during the tail end of Sozin's reign. Sozin's reign ended about twenty years after the start of the war, which gives about enough time for someone orphaned in the initial, traumatic attack to grow up and become a spy. Also, that imminent transfer of power (Sozin was 102 when he died) would give the Earth Kingdom some hope that a peace might be brokered with the new Fire Lord.

Speaking of which: Why the Fire Nation capital, and not Ba Sing Se? Only part of this decision is because I like the idea of a bunch of waterbending assassins running amok under the Firelord's nose. For instance:

Twilight's backstory works better if he didn't sign up to conquer and/or genocide weaker nations.

Ba Sing Se has a university, but it's a university. The Fire Nation capital has the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, which is basically a junior West Point for girls. Non-benders like Ty Lee and Mai can attend, so Anya not being a firebender isn't a problem. We have our Eden. (The fact that Second Son isn't a daughter would...require one adjustment or another. Maybe just dropping the "for Girls" part and hoping no Rise of Kyoshi fans call future me out.)

It's not clear when the war ended in Ba Sing Se; it was around the start of King Kuei's reign, but we don't know when that was. I'd rather avoid the issue entirely.

The Firelord isn't likely to send any spies to Ba Sing Se to incite peace, but the Earth Kingdom would.

Speaking of which...

Characters

Twilight

A nameless child born in the northwest Earth Kingdom, not far from the Western Air Temple. Perhaps his mother was a nomad who settled down, out of the mountains. His parents remembered when Firelord Sozin tried to occupy the Earth Kingdom coast, but his ambitions had been halted by Avatar Roku. The world was at peace.

Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

After the Firelord's soldiers slaughtered the Airbenders, they moved to seize the nearby countryside. The boy, his mother, and his surviving neighbors fled; he never saw his father again, nor most of the people he once knew. His mother died in another attack a few years later. The boy was alone.

As soon as he could convincingly pretend to be an adult, he joined a local governor's army, ready to retaliate against the Fire Nation. Three events ruined this resolve. The first was meeting Franky, a cynical Fire Nation soldier; the third is a notable spoiler for Twilight's flashback arc; but the second is new to this AU. It's the day he realized the governor wasn't fighting to protect the Earth Kingdom; he was fighting to expand his own base of power, which sometimes meant fighting the Fire Nation and sometimes meant bullying Earth Kingdom city-states for tribute or fealty.

Twilight was ultimately recruited by an Earth Kingdom equivalent of WISE. The Dai Li are named after an infamous chief of the Kuomintang Army Intelligence, so I'd like to name their less-significant foreign division after some other Chinese historical espionage...guy. Maybe Li Bai? (Input from someone who knows what they're talking about would be appreciated.) For now, it's WISE. Just like how he's Twilight, not Tasogare or whatever.

After several years of successful missions, WISE chose Twilight to be their ear in the Fire Lord's court. And there are only so many ways you can get into that court without an established Fire Nation aristocratic lineage. One of them was to send a child to one of the Royal Academies.

Which brings us to...

Anya

Anya was probably a child of some Air Nomad refugees who the Fire Nation hunted down. Around that time, some general was sponsoring experiments with spirit...gunk. This part isn't very fleshed out, it's just an excuse for Anya to have telepathy, and maybe cute little horns if I'm feeling weird.

She then does the stuff she does in canon: Runs away, gets passed between orphanages, tricks a spy into adopting her, convinces an assassin into fake-marrying him. Anya's a pretty simple character! But speaking of the assassin...

Yor

I'm torn on how to bring a waterbender into the Fire Nation. Either she and Yuri were from some swamp tribe, were driven out by Fire Nation attacks, and they were recruited by Garden from there; or she and Yuri were already living in the Fire Nation colonies, despite their family having some amount of Water Tribe ancestry.

Or, Garden searches for skilled Benders across all nations. The Order of the White Lotus doesn't map cleanly onto Garden, but most of that is because we genuinely don't know much about Garden. It would certainly solve some issues with integrating the two. And they share a floral theme! It's so tempting! The biggest problem is that assassination doesn't match the White Lotus's vibes, but...the Red Lotus had to come from somewhere, right?

Anyways, if I fold Yor into the White Lotus, she's pretty straightforward, too. She's an assassin for a more violent faction of a secret society, working in the Fire Nation capital. She's worried about standing out, and somehow comes to the conclusion that pretending to marry what looks like a wealthy Fire Nation scholar would serve as appropriate cover.

Actual Plot

Alright, I've worked hard to bring Spy×Family's core plot into the world of Avatar. Now what? What makes this different from S×F, beyond aesthetics? I've spent three or four hours on this post already, which was NOT my intent, so I can't spend as much time on this as I'd like. But I do have some thoughts.

The big one: Replace all the European-boarding-school stuff with European-feudal-melodrama stuff. You know...grade school Game of Thrones. Combine that with the fact that the Royal Fire Academy is an academy for training warriors and officers—the Nation's Ty Lees, Mais, and Azulas—and you have a whole host of new conflicts with higher stakes and an overall different texture.

The big looming threat would be Sozin's death. Nobody knows what kind of Firelord the young Azulon will be, which is stressful even if I don't bring out additional complications, like Sozin throwing around last-ditch efforts at securing his legacy or Azulon trying to act as de facto Firelord ahead of schedule.

I don't have a clear idea for a big, dramatic conclusion. I would probably want to think about that before writing this fic. But it is freaking midnight as I queue this, so for now, I'm done.

[rohanseoewe]

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[foximator-blog]

abe tower [the gun commander] definitely used his knowledge of black doom's existence to bargain his way out of being fired upon as the government didn't even know of the black arms other than the black comet coming every half-centennial

and then abe joined GUN to make it better than it was in the past so that what happened to him would never happen again

I've always considered G.U.N. to be separated from the United Federation as like, a military force for hire kind of situation mostly based on how they're portrayed in adventure 2. (I mean, yeah the slight retconning in Shadow the hedgehog makes some sense... But I want to do something different in my AU)

I mean, the president had no idea what G.U.N. was really up to in adventure to the point he hired Rouge to spy on them and gather Intel... Cause why would this mercenary organization suddenly call the hero of Mobius a criminal out of the blue? Plus the news got very clear shots of shadow, so I wouldn't be surprised if at least SOME people thought "that's gotta be someone different" even if Sonic can "change colors". G.U.N. was clearly hiding something.

In my AU, Abe Towers leaves G.U.N. after finding out they're responsible for everything and that they used Gerald and Shadow as scape goats. He forms a new organization that's much more transparent with the nations of Mobius and together they overthrow and completely take out G.U.N., which is why you don't see them in the series anymore.

The new organization being... G.E.M.S. (Guardian Embassy of Mobius Security). The name chosen both to symbolize transparency and the fact the security of the planet is their priority over making weapons of war.

Probably stupid... But it's something I put some thought into ><

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, April 26,2023

Biden Announces Re-election Bid, Defying Trump and History (NYT) President Biden formally announced on Tuesday that he would seek a second term, arguing that American democracy still faces a profound threat from former President Donald J. Trump as he set up the possibility of a climactic rematch between the two next year. The official declaration finally ended any lingering suspense over Mr. Biden’s intentions. While he had repeatedly and consistently said he intended to run, Mr. Biden stoked renewed speculation by delaying his kickoff for months. Biden is running for re-election as the oldest person ever to hold the presidency, a subject of concern among many Democrats, though the party has publicly set aside those worries and rallied around him. Although Donald Trump is somewhat diminished in influence within the Republican Party—and facing several legal investigations—he retains a large and committed base of supporters, and he could be aided in the primary by multiple challengers splitting a limited anti-Trump vote.

Mexican navy seizes tequila bottles containing nearly 10 tons of liquid meth (Guardian) Mexican navy inspectors have intercepted 11,520 tequila bottles bound for export that actually contained nearly 10 tons of concentrated liquid meth. In total, the bottles—intercepted over the weekend at the Pacific coast seaport of Manzanillo, contained approximately 8,640kgs (about 19,000lbs) of meth. Mexico is the world’s only producer of authentic tequila. While there have not been any reported instances of such bottles reaching consumers, ingesting the mixture would be immensely dangerous. Mexico has become a major producer of meth and drug smugglers frequently are stopped at the border with liquid meth in their windshield washer fluid or other containers in their cars. The liquid meth is usually recovered by the smugglers and taken to specialized facilities where the water is extracted and then returned to its usually crystal form.

Mob kills 13 suspected Haiti gangsters with gas-soaked tires (AP) A mob in the Haitian capital beat and burned 13 suspected gang members to death with gasoline-soaked tires Monday after pulling the men from police custody at a traffic stop, police and witnesses said. The horrific vigilante violence underlined public anger over the increasingly lawless situation in Port-au-Prince where criminal gangs have taken control over an estimated 60% of the city since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. The United Nations warned that insecurity in the city had “reached levels comparable to countries in armed conflict.”

Scottish Island for Sale, Amenities Not Included (NYT) For sale: An uninhabited, 25-acre island with pristine views of the Scottish coastline. No one in sight for miles. Just you and the birds, all for at least 150,000 British pounds, or about $186,000. The catch: Reaching the island is challenging, and staying there for any length of time even more so. Barlocco Island is only accessible by boat or, at low tide, by all-terrain vehicle or foot over a rock causeway. And there are no dwellings or buildings on the island, which is within a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a designation for land that the Scottish government considers to be of note for its flora, fauna, geology or natural landforms. The designation “will significantly limit the possibility of obtaining permission to construct any permanent structure or dwelling,” said David Corrie, the listing agent. “The only possibility for anyone wishing to stay on the island for any period of time would be off-grid solutions, such as solar power.”

Coronation gives tourism boost, but UK economy still reeling (AP) Kelly Curto is taking her first trip outside the U.S., and the die-hard fan of the British royal family is making it the one at the top of her bucket list—heading to London for King Charles III’s coronation. The coronation is luring royal enthusiasts fascinated by the ceremonial spectacle—and drama—of the monarchy and far-flung visitors eager to experience a piece of British history. The weekend of events starting May 6 will bring a cash infusion to central London businesses, especially hotels, pubs and restaurants, but it won’t do much for U.K. residents struggling with an economy on the precipice of recession and a cost-of-living crisis that has stirred months of disruptive strikes by workers seeking pay hikes. The British economy has been essentially stagnant since the start of last year as decades-high inflation squeezes households and small businesses. The International Monetary Fund expects U.K. output to shrink by the most of any major economy this year.

Ukraine Now Has More Landmines Than Any Other Nation (Les Echos/France) Walking along a rough dirt road in this eastern Ukrainian town, Trevor Kirton slowly makes his way, metal detector in hand. “Watch where you step,” warns the volunteer de-miner, a veteran of the British army. A hundred meters further on lie the pulverized remains of a Ukrainian truck, destroyed after driving over a Russian anti-tank mine. “We find [mines] every day, both anti-personnel mines and the remains of grenades and rockets,” explains Kirton, a volunteer with the organization Sons of Liberty International (Soli). According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 174,000 square kilometers of land are contaminated by mines and unexploded bombs, making Ukraine the most mined country in the world, ahead of Syria and Afghanistan.

These Countries Lined Up to Help Ukraine. Now Their Farmers Are Angry. (NYT) After more than a year of surprisingly solid European unity in support of Ukraine, grains of discord are piling up in the barn of Robert Vieru, a Romanian farmer with 500 tons of wheat and 250 tons of sunflower seeds now sitting unsold because of cut-price Ukrainian competition. A glut of Ukrainian cereals and other produce has nearly halved the value for the results of Mr. Vieru’s labors and left farmers across Eastern and Central Europe—and their governments, most of which face elections this year or next—caught between solidarity with Ukraine and their own survival. “I feel sad for them, but my heart breaks for myself,” Mr. Vieru said of Ukrainians living across the nearby border in Romania’s Danube River delta, as he opened the sliding door of a concrete barn, filled to the brim with last year’s unsold harvest. Prices have been driven so low by a flood of cheap food from Ukraine, he said, that selling would mean earning less than he paid to produce his crops. Mr. Vieru’s plight, shared by farmers in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria, flows from the unintended consequences of good intentions gone awry. Ukrainian grain, meant to pass through these countries, has in many cases remained.

A new threat rises in earthquake-battered Turkey: Mountains of rubble (Washington Post) At all hours the dump trucks arrive, hauling earthquake rubble to what has become a growing mountain by the sea—of concrete and steel and blankets and bikes and, residents worry, a stew of toxic substances waiting to be released. On one side of the spreading mound is a tent camp for people who lost their homes in the earthquakes, where the eyes of some of the occupants have begun to burn. On another is the Capa Restaurant, which serves fish on Samandag’s Mediterranean shore. Thousands of buildings collapsed instantly when two earthquakes struck on Feb. 6, killing more than 50,000 people in Turkey and neighboring Syria and leveling whole neighborhoods. Tens of thousands of other crippled buildings are in the process of being demolished. The catastrophe created up to 210 millions tons of rubble, the United Nations has estimated, the building materials mingling with the detritus of countless lives, and emitting what environmental activists fear are harmful substances such as asbestos fibers. The question of how to dispose of it all safely is a complex task, one of many critical dilemmas facing Turkey in the aftermath of the earthquakes—a national trauma that left grieving cities across the country’s south, and more than a million people homeless. In Samandag, the dump sites are another blow to a wounded town, sparking protests by residents and environmental activists, and adding to longtime complaints of discrimination in a district with a large population of Arab Alawites, members of a heterodox, historically marginalized Muslim sect. Here, and in other parts of Turkey’s southern Hatay province, there are growing complaints that the disposal effort is being handled recklessly.

China Says Chatbots Must Toe the Party Line (NYT) Five months after ChatGPT set off an investment frenzy over artificial intelligence, Beijing is moving to rein in China’s chatbots. According to the regulations, companies must heed the Chinese Communist Party’s strict censorship rules, just as websites and apps have to avoid publishing material that besmirches China’s leaders or rehashes forbidden history. The content of A.I. systems will need to reflect “socialist core values” and avoid information that undermines “state power” or national unity. China has a long history of censoring the internet. Throughout the 2000s, the country has constructed the world’s most powerful information dragnet over the web. It scared away noncompliant Western companies like Google and Facebook. It hired millions of workers to monitor internet activity.

Israel marks Memorial Day plagued by divisions, violence (AP) Israel marked its Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of militant attacks on Tuesday against the backdrop of some of the deepest political divisions in its history and soaring tensions with Palestinians. Memorial Day is one of the most solemn moments on Israel’s national calendar, in honor of its 24,213 war dead and 4,255 attack victims. People came to a standstill when a two-minute siren sounded late in the morning. Motorists and pedestrians halted in the street, stopped their cars and stood with heads bowed. Bereaved families visited cemeteries and attended ceremonies while television and radio programming shifted to somber music and documentaries about slain soldiers. This year, Memorial Day is tainted by deep divisions roiling the country over a contentious plan by Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judiciary. Fighter pilots have threatened to stop reporting for duty. The nation’s leaders have openly warned of civil war, and families of fallen soldiers have called on politicians to stay away from the ceremonies. Many Israelis wonder if the deep split can ever heal.

Civilians Flee Fighting in Sudan for Troubled Neighboring Countries (NYT) Civilians fleeing the fighting between two rival generals in Sudan streamed into neighboring nations on Monday, raising concerns about a humanitarian crisis spreading to places already grappling with conflict, hunger and dire economic straits. The heavy gunfire, shelling and airstrikes that have rocked Sudan for 10 days prompted foreign countries to begin evacuating diplomatic staff and nationals over the weekend. It also has driven thousands of Sudanese and other people across borders into Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, aid workers said. The huge movement of people risks overwhelming Sudan’s neighbors, some of which already host large numbers of refugees and internally displaced people. Sudan, a country of 45 million people and the third-largest by area in Africa, is surrounded by seven countries racked by poverty and instability. Just the past few years have seen a civil war in Ethiopia; hunger, flooding and ethnic fighting in South Sudan; and a coup in Chad. “The humanitarian impact of this crisis is going to be almost unimaginable,” said Faith Kasina, the regional spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency. “The worst case scenario is unfolding right before our eyes.”

The Surprising Surge of Faith Among Young People (WSJ) About one-third of 18-to-25-year-olds say they believe—more than doubt—the existence of a higher power, up from about one-quarter in 2021, according to a recent survey of young adults. The findings, based on December polling, are part of an annual report on the state of religion and youth from the Springtide Research Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit. Young adults, theologians and church leaders attribute the increase in part to the need for people to believe in something beyond themselves after three years of loss. For many young people, the pandemic was the first crisis they faced. It affected everyone to some degree, from the loss of family and friends to uncertainty about jobs and daily life. In many ways, it aged young Americans and they are now turning to the same comfort previous generations have turned to during tragedies for healing and comfort. Believing in God “gives you a reason for living and some hope,” says Becca Bell, an 18-year-old college student from Peosta, Iowa. The Springtide survey uses the term “higher power,” which can include God but isn’t limited to a Christian concept or specific religion, to capture the spectrum of believers. Many young adults say they don’t necessarily believe in a God depicted in images they remember from childhood or described in biblical passages, but do believe there is a higher benevolent deity.

If It’s Advertised to You Online, You Probably Shouldn’t Buy It. (NYT) If you saw a Facebook ad recently for Jeremy’s Razors, which bills itself as a “woke-free” razor for men, you may well be a father of school-age children who likes ultimate fighting, Hershey’s chocolate, hunting or Johnny Cash. This is according to Facebook’s ad library, which describes the audiences to which marketers target their advertisements. Tech firms track nearly every click from website to website, develop detailed profiles of your interests and desires and make that data available to advertisers. That’s why you get those creepy ads that seem to know what you were just talking about. The ability to track people has turned out to be an unbeatable advantage for the online ad industry, which has grown to a $540 billion market worldwide, dwarfing all other forms of advertising, including TV, radio and newspapers. Last year, researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Virginia Tech studied targeted ads. The results were so surprising that the researchers repeated the study to make sure their findings were correct. The new study confirmed the results: The targeted ads shown to another set of nearly 500 participants were pitching more expensive products from lower-quality vendors than identical products that showed up in a simple web search. The products shown in targeted ads were, on average, roughly 10 percent more expensive than what users could find by searching online. And the products were more than twice as likely to be sold by lower-quality vendors, as measured by their Better Business Bureau ratings.

[freelance-informatique]

Napoli : Koulibaly répond sèchement à De Laurentis !

Le Président du Napoli, De Laurentiis a déclaré mardi qu'il ne signerait plus de joueurs africains.  Autrement, il faudrait que ces joueurs renoncent à participer au tournoi de la CAN. Sa programmation en milieu de saison prive Napoli de joueurs, alors que le club paye entièrement le salaire des joueurs. La réponse franche du joueur Le défenseur de Chelsea Kalidou Koulibaly, fraichement arrivé à Londres, n'a pas hésité à prendre la parole à ce sujet. L'ancien joueur du Napoli a déclaré qu'Aurelio De Laurentiis, le propriétaire de son ancien club, devrait respecter les équipes africaines. Il devrait considérer ces séléctions autant que les autres équipes nationales, suite à ses commentaires sur la Coupe d'Afrique des Nations. Koulibaly a passé huit saisons au Napoli avant de rejoindre Chelsea. Il a été capitaine du Sénégal lors de la victoire à la CAN alors qu'il jouait pour le club de Serie A. Il a assuré que la majorité des supporters ne partageait pas l'opinion de De Laurentiis. Lire aussi : Naples veut faire ses courses à Chelsea ! "Pour moi, la chose la plus importante est de respecter tout le monde. Vous ne pouvez pas parler d'une équipe nationale africaine comme ça. Vous devez avoir du respect comme vous en avez pour les autres équipes nationales.", a déclaré Koulibaly aux journalistes mercredi. Je pense que tout le monde dans le club n'a pas la même idée que lui. Je connais tout le monde là-bas, je connais les supporters, et les supporters ne pensent pas comme ça." De Laurentis a bloqué un départ de koulibaly du Napoli par le passé. Dans une interview séparée publiée mercredi, le joueur de 31 ans a fait une révélation. Il a déclaré que De Laurentiis ne lui a pas permis de quitter Naples en 2015. Chelsea a, à l'époque, fait une première tentative pour le signer. "J'ai demandé respectueusement au Président que je voulais partir pour Chelsea. Mais il m'a dit que ce ne serait pas possible. J'ai donc attendu un peu et continué ma conversation avec eux. Mais ils ne voulaient vraiment pas que je quitte le club donc j'ai décidé de renouveler mon contrat pour rester à Naples.", a déclaré Koulibaly à The Guardian Lire aussi : West Ham United négocie pour Hirving Lozano !  Naples a failli remporter la Serie A sous la direction de Maurizio Sarri. Koulibaly n'a soulevé qu'un seul trophée de la Coupe d'Italie lorsqu'il était au club. Il a ajouté que ses chances de remporter un trophée étaient plus élevées dans le club de Premier League. "Avec mon expérience personnelle, je sais que vous ne devez pas donner une limite à votre rêve. Le mien est de tout gagner avec Chelsea. Je ne viens pas avec un comportement arrogant. Je viens avec du respect, beaucoup de respect pour tout le monde, mais je sais que Chelsea est une grande équipe et une équipe qui doit gagner, qui a l'habitude de gagner.", a-t-il ajouté. Read the full article