#which suggest they're older than most spirits

[imthepunchlord]

If AtLA did get that season 4 the writers wanted, I kinda wonder if they would've revealed the origins of the Avatar and what they would've done; as LoK's take on the spirits and the origins of the Avatar and bending felt disconnected from what AtLA previously set up (at least for me).

As I never got the original show's answer, it led to me pondering it and I had a thought I felt makes more sense.

Based on AtLA and how spirits were, I thought that the Avatar originally started as a powerful spirit that was tied to nature, and had a fondness for humanity and how they connected to nature, strong enough that they developed bending. And similar to La and Tui, they mortalized themselves in human form to be amongst other humans, only they had the unique ability to bend all four elements.

And between being a powerful spirit that's tied to people and the four elements, and the devotion to be there for people, the Avatar Cycle just came to be upon the first death and the first birth, this spirit always becoming reborn in a new elemental nation, to grow up amongst the people it naturally cared for, having a new life to live, to have new experiences, and forming new friendships while also finding old friendships that will last lifetimes. And given the spiritual origins, can also work off the unique role the Avatar has between the spirit realm and the material realm.

I feel this thought makes more sense for the origins of Avatar and working more off AtLA's set up of spirits and the origins of bending.

And while I would vote the actual spirit be left a mystery, IF it had to be specified on what it was, I probably would've voted they were a lion turtle. Like, even in AtLA, they're set up as incredibly mystical and spiritual, and able to manipulate energy itself, and I think the creators even had the idea that people used to live on their backs before LoK confirmed it, confirming they did have a close connection to people.

Everything about them is kinda set up to be like, a precursor to the Avatar. Mindful, it's not a requirement, but that could be a potential reason why the lion turtle arose to help Aang in his time of need, how they sensed Aang was lost and in need of guidance and advise, the Avatar potentially was the soul of a lion turtle, and playing off the lion aspect, they are sociable and work as a team.

It's not a stretch to think a spirit tied to lions are open to helping another.

Either way, this is a thought I wanted to share as an alternative to LoK's answer for the Avatar origins as I just wasn't all that crazy about it.

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

Linguistics post!!

I'm sure it'll come as a surprise to everyone, but just about all my fantasy short stories take place in the same universe (it was inexplicably named Triworld by my younger self, and I haven't seen fit to change it since) across different times! I've been cultivating the little universe since I was 6, and it's basically become a sprawling mess.

Nonetheless, I want to set the lore down in stone, once and for all. And where better to start than with the linguistics?

Now, in modern Triworld, there are 4 main languages. They're generally divided by species, though there is some geopolitical leakage.

Trade-tongue (occasionally known as humani, Lingua Franca of everywhere except the Cescere/Syvniko)

Spirit/Fae (more commonly known as Cescereli)

Angelic/Demonic/Sirenic (generally called Angelic)

Ghoulish (also used by the nearly extinct shifters)

Trade-tongue:

You can operate on the assumption that Trade-tongue will be considered the default. The Humans, and to a lesser extent, the elves, use it exclusively. It is a mish-mash of a variety of different languages, from the days when different tribes worshipped different gods, with a great deal of influence from the now-archaic Elvish tongue. To a non-native speaker it will have a rolling cadence, with rounded words than the a spirit or ghoul would be comfortable with.

Interestingly, it contains some Greek/Latin prefixes in it, as seen by the countries Luxatia and Nyctomachia. (As a writer, it's because younger me loved her fancy language and never saw what a pain it would be for older me. The lore reason is that a Wanderer found his/her way into Triworld and messed up human linguistics in the process)

Cescereli:

Oh dear. Where do I even begin? This is by far the most detailed of my languages, and I would go so far as to call it a conlang. It operates on a character based format, similar to Chinese, and any depictions of Cescereli in my writing will be limited to phonetic transcriptions until I work out how to input made-up symbols into my writing.

Sentence structure is fairly variable, given that it has dozens of dialects, and some linguists have (very hesitantly) suggested that the linguistic drift might be so great that they ought to be considered several languages. The spirits, being a very United people, cannot and will never accept that, and the Fae's pidgin of trade-tongue and Cescereli is remarkably faithful to what is known as the Imperial dialect.

Cescereli uses a great deal of compound words, with each character being seperated by a ' or a -, or nothing at all, depending on the type of character in use. Something that would incorporate all three might be Cescere'nari-ilra, which is what spirits use to refer to mountain elves.

Directly translated, it would mean Our (ces) Mountain (Cere) Long-eared (nari, also a term used to refer to donkeys and rabbits) Mortals (ilra, with ilre being the immortal version). As you can tell, it is my darling. I could write its own post about it, and about the spirits in general)

Now, the elves, being geographically close to the spirit Capital, share quite a bit of vocabulary with the spirits, so spirits often find themselves shocked to hear Cescereli within trade-tongue. Spirits are fiercely protective of their language and insist on speaking it amongst themselves. Any being that wishes to work amongst spirits, or to a lesser extent, Far, has to have at least some modicum of Cescereli proficiency.

To a non-native speaker, it sounds like a teakettle hissing. This has been the source of rage for many spirits.

Angelic:

A dot-based language, it has the greatest tonal variation of any tongue on Triworld. Angelic requires the speaker to transverse as far as three octaves across a single sentence, leading it to be known as song-tongue colloquially.

Few species have the vocal chords to actually pronounce the words, with sirens, angels, demons, and spirits (who refuse to speak it due to an ancient rivalry with the sirens) being the only ones truly able to speak it fluently. The remaining species, when trying to learn Angelic, use a variant known as Lesser Enochian (another remnant of a long-gone Wanderer), which has far less warbling.

It is known as the most beautiful language in existence, and sirens take great pleasure in reciting Angelic poetry to honoured guests. Demons, on the other hand, delight in their dialect, Infernal (which has its own set of sub-dialects), as a method of mocking those without sufficiently high ranges of hearing to catch their words. Angels prefer pretending they do not have to share their language with two other species, and insist their dialect is the only 'true' one.

Ghoulish:

As languages go, Ghoulish is a mess. It has a basis of shifter-speak, with a dash of Cescereli, some elven, a remarkable amount of Goddish, vampiric to taste, and what might actually be the original human tongue, or perhaps ancient ghoulish.

It came of the Lich-Queen of Ceredell (yes, you do note the Cescereli Cere being mixed with the trade-tongue Dell) wanting to cut her ties to humanity. As a tribute to the people who visited her coronation (I'm currently writing this story up now, so spoiler alert for the Lich-Queen!), she named her capital after the spirits, made shifter-tongue the national language, devoted a quarter of every mortal city to the Gods, industrialised the blood-substitute industry for the vampires, and offered free and safe immigration for all the above species.

The result was... This. Ghoulish growls and snaps and whistles and bounces of the walls like it's high on booze-berry. It technically uses the trade-tongue alphabet, but with each letter having indentations and inflections, it might as well be its own language.

Well, that's about it! I'm sorry to anyone who made it this far, that's 5 minutes of your life that you're not getting back. I could talk endlessly on my world building, but I try to obey the principle of Show, not Tell. Next up, Geography!!!

[torchwood-99]

Theoden's Sisters' Names

We know that Theoden had four sisters, including Theodwyn, Eomer and Eowyn's mother. We don't know what happened to them, but the fact they're never mentioned in the books, and that it seems with Theodred gone, Eomer and Eowyn are the last ones left in Theoden's family, suggests they died pre-canon.

As Theoden and Theodwyn's names start with the same prefix, I'm gonna guess that their sisters did too.

Theoden, Eowyn and Eomer's names are all "translations" of their proper Rohirric names (Theoden's name is actually Tûrac), into old English names, which is what I'm going to use to come up with names for Theoden and Theodwyn's sisters.

The oldest sister was called Theocwen

cwen: is old English for queen, or woman, and therefore an appropriate name for the oldest daughter of a royal house.

Theocwen was some years older than Theoden, and spent most of her life in Gondor and felt a strong connection to her Gondorean roots, and was most like her mother in grace and elegance. She struggled to settle to Rohan and married into a Gondorean noble house at only sixteen, in a bid to return home, but died in childbirth. Her parents regretted letting her marry so soon, believing that she had married a few years too young in order to return to Gondor, before she was fully ready.

The second daughter was Theodeor

deor: old Engish for wild animal. If any of Theoden's sisters was a shield maiden, or similar to Eowyn, it was Theodeor, who shared Eowyn's spirit and desire for freedom.

She was a keen hunter, and unlike her sister took to life in Rohan like a duck to water. She adored the legends of shieldmaidens and keenly took up the blade and the spear, and was the best rider of all the sisters, equalling Theoden himself. The two were close in age, and had a competitive relationship, which lasted long into adulthood.

She never married and enjoyed her single state (but took more than one lover.) She lived in Edoras with Theoden, and helped raise Theodred after his mother's death.

She was the longest lived of Theoden's sisters, and died in her fifty eighth year, a couple of years before Theodwyn's death, during a boar hunt.

She'd made a wager with Theoden as to who would be the one to deal the killing blow, and the winner was to have an ivory and gold hunting horn that belonged to Eorl the Young. She struck the killing blow to the boar, but the boar also got her in turn, goring her fatally in the belly.

She was taken back to Edoras, and lived long enough to remind Theoden of their wager. She died that night in Theoden's arms, and he buried her with the hunting horn.

Her final words were "well struck". No one knows if she was talking about herself or the boar.

The third sister was called Theofolde

folde: is Old English for earth or ground.

She was the first of Theoden's sisters to be born in Rohan, and Thengel and Morwen named her after the land in honour of their country. She was delivered early and was always frail, and in her youth she was often ruled by the more bold and energetic Theodwyn. She was Thengel's favourite child, who doted on her, while Morwen kept her distance, having suffered a great deal in her birth, and suspecting from the start that Theofolde didn't have long for the world.

Theofolde loved foals, and farming, and liked accompanying Thengel when he met with the farmers to hear their petitions, or rode out to inspect their land. She had dreams of marrying a farmer, and living a quiet life dedicated to the earth. She died in her thirteenth year of a winter fever.

[messinwitheddie]

Dib "Pretty sure that's everything you brought with you from Cali and whatever you wrote while you lived with us. Dad has literally never touched any of our bedrooms since we moved out. It's kind of sweet, but also kind of creepy."

Squee "I can't believe he didn't throw all of my old journals out. I thought about throwing them out a thousand times."

Reg "Glad you didn't now, hu?"

Squee "Sort of. I'm not sure how useful any of this will be to Dipper, but-"

Dib "I think he just wants a second opinion-- like a beta reader. He over thinks everything every step of the way."

Squee "So you recommend ME to help ghost write the fourth journal?"

Dib "It's the perfect side project for you, trust me."

Squee "Yeah, maybe. It's a lot of pressure."

Dib "Only if you psych yourself out over it. Just enjoy the experience. You owe it to yourself."

Squee "I haven't dedicated any significant time or energy into writing since high school. Back then, it was just an escape from school bullies and home bully. Mostly fanfiction and campy short horror stories."

Dib "Which were amazing, I read them. So, keep writing. Don't let the sucky people that got in your way over a decade ago stop you from doing something awesome you want to do now. I was bullied for my interests and look at me, still chasing the paranormal... when free time permits me."

Reg "You were bullied in school too?"

Dib "Yeah, big time."

Reg "By WHO?"

Dib "Pretty much everyone; other kids, teachers, your grandad on occasion, your aunt Gaz-"

Reg "Really?"

Squee "She can bully with the best of them if you push her buttons right."

Reg "Wow."

Dib "Some kids were bigger jerks than others, but I never really found a group of kids I connected with until I met the Pines twins. I rarely left my room without hearing the words "big head" directed towards me."

Reg "But you're big and strong and super science smart. Who would ever screw with you?"

Dib "I was scrawny and awkward right up until my sophomore year of high school. Being... neurodivergent didn't help my case."

Reg "That's not a reason to make fun of someone."

Squee "You're not a bully, that's why you subscribe to that logic. My suggestion, make online friends. That's the beauty of the internet."

Reg "I know technically I have friends, it's just... Is bullying something everyone goes through?"

Squee "I didn't used to think so, but the older I get and the more people I interact with, I realized the answer is yes. Bullying is a learned behavior reinforced by past bullying. Most of the time, if someone is abusing the people around them, in some way, they're being abused themselves. You can't stop bullies from roaming this earth. You can just choose not to be one."

Reg "Is that why dad's a bully now? Because he was bullied when he was a kid?"

Dib "Wait wait wait-- You think I'm a bully? Seriously?"

Reg "You have... bully-like tendencies."

Dib "NO I DON'T. "

Reg "You bully Zim."

Dib "ZIM is an imperialist megalomaniac butt weevil from space! I don't BULLY Zim, I retaliate."

Squee "You bully the interns at the lab."

Dib "Because they're idiots who can't follow directions! Being assertive and expecting my coworkers to focus and not blow anything up doesn't make me a bully."

Reg "You harass your fellow swollen eyeballs."

Dib "Don't even-- I've had to defend my theories and research from oblivious trolls and amateurs trying to pick apart my work every step of the way! Todd, man, tell the boy I'm not a bully."

Squee "You have bully-like tendencies."

Dib "..."

Squee/ Reg "..."

Dib "Okay... nice to know what my big brother and my only son really think of me."

Reg "Dad-"

Dib "No, I get it. It's cool."

Squee "Come on, man-"

*series of high pitched, static and beeping*

Dib "Holy shit, my ghost boxes are going off like crazy. At least the spirits in this house think I'm bearable to be around."

Squee " Wait, Dib, that's probably just Nny-- he'll figure it out."

Reg -sad groan-

Squee "I can't win."

[For context, because my aus are all over the place.

Dib had bought a historically haunted house upstate on an impulse with the intention of ghost hunting with Reg, father and son. However, Reg has decided to go live with his mother on the Von Verminstrasser cryptid nature reservation, virtually crushing Dib's dream.

He rents the house out to the recently married, Squee and Pepito.

Sketched these out on break and lunch throughout last week. Decided to clean them up a little earlier today.]

[sam-keeper]

Put out a new article on my Patreon

It's about some old articles entitled "Classics of Fantasy" that were published on the Wizards of the Coast book publishing hub site, back when that was a thing in, uh, 2003. Here's a cut from the piece about why I find these articles so interesting to revisit 20 years later:

Personal significance aside, I think the articles have a notable place in the history of Wizards of the Coast: they're from a period when Wizards harbored bold plans for the future of their publishing line, plans that ultimately fell through. With all the author interviews, craft discussion, and inside scoops into the industry, the articles from this period radiate a sense that WotC hoped to cultivate new authors. This makes sense: they were putting out calls for original fantasy fiction at the time and clearly aspired to be a "legitimate" publisher. They even published some original young adult fiction, though unfortunately I haven't been able to track down evidence they ever published independent fantasy fiction for adults. (On the Magic side too optimism reigned about the future of Magic's fiction--optimism that then head of Creative Brady Dommermuth would later tell us, after the cancellation of the entire novel line, was never backed up with solid sales numbers.)

I think we can see this series as fitting within the logic of cultivation that WotC has since abandoned. Their belief at the time was that things like the Open Game License would ultimately drive more players to their monopoly on Dungeons & Dragons, would further D&D as THE table top role playing game, and marginalize non OGL systems like World of Darkness. Their recent attempt to simply retroactively rewrite the OGL out of existence suggests they've long since abandoned this perspective. But the Classics of Fantasy series attempts to use older and often public domain works to broaden the horizons of their player base and indeed reader base, under I suppose the presumption that a rising tide raises all ships.

It's this spirit that feels bygone to me, much more so than any individual website. A loyal fan base with broad interests can't give you meteoric exponential growth.

The articles are weird, too, because while most have that tip section for Dungeon Masters, encouraging them to incorporate these books into their game, those sections can get pretty vestigial and half-hearted. Evidently, it was hard to imagine how to turn the fairy story Hobberdy Dick into a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Others, even more weirdly, don't bother with the pretext that "your game" is going to be D&D at all. One early article freely and confidently argues that "any MR James [ghost] story is a top-notch ready-made Call of Cthulhu scenario focusing on conventional horrors rather than the Mythos (thereby confounding those who see a Great Old One behind every mystery)." Not only is he reccing the work of Chaosium, WotC's competitor, he's got enough familiarity with the game to suggest ways of subverting player expectations! In fact, in the Unknown Kadath article he exclusively points DMs to Chaosium's products. Interestingly, in the MR James article he offers another suitable system: Gaslight, which as far as I can tell was a third-party, Open Game License powered Victorian setting. The setting apparently is still going, with a 5th edition D&D compatible OGL book released last year. The primary interest, though, seems to be in cultivating tabletop roleplaying *for its own sake* and as an artform unto itself.

This makes some sense given the author. John D Rateliff apparently is a doctor of literary studies, with a focus on Tolkien and the other "Inklings" that Tolkien hung out with. What do you do with a degree like that? Apparently, write a bunch of stuff for Dungeons & Dragons books. It feels like maybe someone at WotC had the thought, hey, we've got a literal doctor of fantasy fiction here, maybe we should get him to just write about books for us for a while. imagine that! a company actually utilizing its talent pool instead of squandering and burning it out!

Read More On Patreon

[kickasssloth666]

I'm looking for some long term friendships :) not sure if anyone is gonna read this but might as well give it a try!

I'm not sure how to start describing myself, I'm not great with words but I'll try my best.

(I'm so sorry for the extremely long post ahead!)

I think some of my most defining characteristics are that I'm very shy, awkward, "weird" and "different" or at the very least I feel weird, different and often misunderstood.

I'm unfortunately not very smart, I'd say I'm down right stupid lol

I am very ignorant about many things in life, I'd say I'm somewhat innocent and naive. I still don't understand my purpose in life and I haven't found a reason to be alive either.

I sometimes say things that offend people or I say things that are wrong. Sometimes I don't completely understand what I do wrong but I don't do it on purpose and I try to improve to the best of my abilities.

I don't go out often at all. Whenever I do go out it's only to buy groceries and such but I don't enjoy it, I much rather be at home, in my room most specifically, which is my favorite place in the world.

I don't have any IRL friends but I do have a handful of online friends, I'm not particularly close to any of them tho.

I enjoy many things like sculpting for instance! I do digital sculpting for fun. I'm pretty bad at it but I try my best. There are many things I'd like to create and I hope to make those things a reality in the near future!

I like to watch anime! my favorites change from time to time but I really like Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball, Demon Slayer, Ancient Magus Bride (I really love this show!) among many others!

I like to collect action figures, I really like masks, I love movies and I love talk about them and analyze them, I like all kinds of music, I don't really have any artists that I like in particular other than David Bowie and I'm always happy and open to new suggestions!

I like to scroll through TikTok and to watch long essay style videos on YouTube about random topics, I love video games!! I don't play too many modern games, I mostly prefer older stuff, like, ps2 era games, particularly survival horror stuff. I also really like very old platform games and side scrollers but I'd be open to play anything and I'd love to try co op games since I never played anything online with anyone and it looks super fun and I'd love to try it!! playing Stardew Valley with a friend is a dream of mine lol

I adore animals!! I have cats and dogs and a chicken and they're my babies and my world!

I think it's important to mention some of the things I don't like too. I don't like cruelty or mean spirited people, I hate big companies, billionaires, politicians and other people in positions of power that use their money and power to affect people, animals, or the environment for their own gain. I don't like injustices, I hate racists, homophobic people, transphobic people, sexists, and all kinds of discrimination in general. I hate bugs!! I'm deadly afraid of them 😖 I really dislike conflict and arguments, I believe we can disagree and have discussions as long as we're calm and civilized about it and as long as we have respect for each other and try our best to understand the other person's point of view.

lastly I'd like to mention some of my defects and shortcomings.

I'm extremely anxious, I'm always very nervous about one thing or another, I'm also extremely weak of mind, I tend to react with my feelings a lot and I'm often very emotional. I can be very selfish at times, I have an awful tendency to get bored of things quickly and sometimes I also get bored of conversations and people. I think I'm immature. I can be extremely lazy, I struggle a lot with doing basic things like cleaning or cooking. when I'm anxious or afraid I can get paralyzed with fear and stay in bed all day doing nothing feeling awful about it. As I mentioned before sometimes I can say bad things without realizing. I'm very dumb and ignorant so I promise I don't mean anything bad I say and I'm trying to improve! I am extremely annoying. I'm very loud and I think I scream a lot. I don't really understand what constitutes screaming exactly but I think I often raise my voice a lot and especially when I'm excited I can't control myself very well. I'm very afraid of life and I don't understand how the "real world" works exactly. I'm really bad at small talk and I think I'm really bad at speaking in general. i digress a lot. I have the bad habit of not replying too fast, sometimes I'll even wait for weeks or even months, I think it's one of my biggest problems when it comes to keep in touch with people, sometimes it's simply because I don't have the energy, other times it's because I'm not sure about how to continue a conversation. Not sure if this is a defect necessarily but I also never send the first message, I just hate to be annoying. I'm full of defects in general, and I do believe I'm a bad person. I try to improve and I try my best but if I'm bad for you in any way or a burden I promise to stop talking to you and not bother you!

I have many other defects but I think those are the main ones I can remember at the moment.

Finally what I'm looking for is a real connection with someone, a person I can talk to, have fun with, watch stuff with and play games together and such! just be able to share our days and even be able to help each other and be there when we need each other. I know I'm a mess of a human being and I may never find the connection I'm looking for but I'd like to give it a try cause you never know :)

one actual last thing I'd like to say is that at the moment I'm going through the hardest time in my life and that my craving for friendship may be the result of me not wanting to be alone during this time and I may be trying to use people as distraction for what's happening but lately I really been craving the company of a real friend.

I have Instagram, discord and twitter as social media if it's more comfortable to talk there. I also think I prefer audio messages, it's easier for me to send audio notes rather than to type cause I type a lot 😅 thank you very much to anyone that has taken the time to read my extremely long post and considers messaging me!!

[the-magical-world-of-rewrites]

Gruagach (Edited House Elves)

Creature Family: Fae

Gruagach are fae spirits that often tie themselves to one specific place. If a Gruagach ties itself to a piece of land that is already inhabited then it makes up for it intrusion by helping out the original owners around whatever establishment they've built, more often then not they tie themselves to large expanses of land, farms and large land plots like manors are often the place they tie themselves to.

However it is highly advised that if you are the ones taking residence in a place already claimed by a Gruagach that you must gain permission from the Gruagach. If you get premission the Gruagach would still help with certain tasks but will expect payment. In the olden days this was with food and trinkets but with the introduction of currency some Gruagach have taken to being paid.

There is a way to take residency in a Gruagach's land without permission but it is highly suggested that one not do this, and that is by either cursing that Gruagach into enslavement or banishing it. To enslave a Gruagach you need to preform a powerful ritual in the claimed land with out the Gruagach finding out. This ritual binds the Gruagach to the blood of the caster.

To banish a Gruagach you must give it clothes, this is the highest offense in Gruagach culture as the see it as an insult to they're very being. Gruagach often show their distinct personalities through their clothing, their clothing signifying what that specific Gruagach values and works towards. It is so ingrained in them that an action like offering them clothes overrides any magic claim preformed in the area. As a result another being can easily take claim of the land, effectively banishing the Gruagach.

This is very dangerous as Gruagach are fae spirits, meaning they are easily offended and doing either of these things will lead to consequences, from general mischief to attempts on the guilty parties life. Though that depends on the Gruagach itself, usually the older ones will make attempts but most of the time it is just "harmless" pranks. There are ways to prevent a Gruagach attack, such as salt and leaving a house shoe on all entrances to the land, though they do have varying success depending on how old and how powerful the Gruagach is. Not only that but a Gruagach leaving a home because of an offense often causes the "Gruagach Jinx" which leads to whatever land the Gruagach was inhabiting to rapidly decay, this is a very hard jinx to remove. As a result most people move after they've offended a Gruagach.

Description;

a Gruagach's appearance is dependant on two things, one, the Gruagach themselves and what they value, and two, the area they have claimed. More often than not there will be an aspect of plant life on them that signifies the land they have claimed, bark like skin and hair made out of leaves for forests, vines and moss for old buildings, any plant life that is common in the area is what will be on the Gruagach form. They are also often significatly smaller then the average wizard, the average tallest Gruagach being at the same hight of the adverage Wizards knee. They also often have full black or gold eyes and large pointed ears. The ears being a signifier that they are from the fae family of magical creatures.

[vagueandominousvibes]

a bit late but,,, top 5 mytological/fantasy creatures

Hi Niz, not to worry! I'm still happy to answer :)

I've been thinking about this for about a day now, and I keep thinking that I should put dragons on the list, because dragons are really cool and I play an Ancient Golden Dragon in one of the D&D campaigns I'm in, except ... I could interpret 'mythological/fantasy creatures' to also include folkloric creatures. And let me tell you, there are some Norse/Scandinavian folkloric creatures that, in my humble opinion, absolutely fuck.

(Note: Some of these made it into the award-winning children's trilogy Alvetegnet, by Sigbjørn Mostue, which I started translating into English for my degree, because it hasn't been translated yet and I'm absolutely devastated by this. I've tried to get in touch with publishing companies, but no luck so far. Hopefully you'll all get to read it someday!)

In no particular order:

Elves. Specifically, Old Norse elves. These aren't whatever British elves have got going. These elves appear occasionally in Old Norse texts, usually in association with the Vanir (a subsection of the Norse pantheon), either separate from the Vanir or as the Vanir themselves. Although they could take a human likeness, they were distinctly not human. They could cause or heal illnesses, and they could have intimate relationships with humans that produced half-elven children. What I find most fascinating, however, is that the Poetic Edda suggests an overlap between human ancestors and elves. Essentially, humans could become elves after death, and isn't that cool and absolutely terrifying? You life your life and die, expecting to meet Hel and find rest in Helheim, only to become a maybe-deity worshipped by your family? You live and live and live, with no end in sight, other than a foretold Ragnarok, and years drag on around you and you watch the world change, but you're still the same? And you used to be human — you know what it means to be human — but now you're not, and what does that even mean? You have undergone a profound Othering, but do you still feel some kinship to humans? Do you still remember your family and come when they call? Have you become a guardian spirit? The individual deity they pray to when their need is great? What happens when the last of them dies, killed by war or famine, and your name is your own, remembered by no one but the gods?

Fjøsnissen. There is no decent translation of this word into English. I've tried. The closest would be the Scottish brownie (known in Scottish Gaelic as a brùnaidh or gruagach), but it's not. Fjøsnissen is generally viewed as a creature of halfling size. They're round, dressed in knitted woollen clothes, and live in the barn. They help out around the property, keep animals hale and healthy, and generally ensure peace and bounty. On the 23rd of December, the family repays fjøsnissen with a bowl of rice porridge sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and maybe some butter and almonds. (My family has done this every year for as long as I can remember, and although I don't live there anymore, I'll do my best to keep the tradition going.)

Fossekallen. You know how folklore is filled with creatures that lure you to your death? This is the first of three such ones included in this list. Fossekallen, as I recall it, is a handsome young man of a terribly grouchy disposition. You usually find him under waterfalls, where he plays his fiddle and sings mournfully, luring people over the edge.

Nøkken. No, don't think about that horse in Frozen II. That is, admittedly, one version of it, but it's not the one I grew up with. The one my grandmother and older cousins told me about lived at the bottom of the mountain lake down the road from our cabin, under the fallen rocks and hairy freshwater seaweed. If you swam too far out, you had to watch out for nøkken, who would grab your ankles and drag you down under his rocks. He would then either drown you, or keep you alive until he ate you. To this day I'm still terrified of going swimming in that lake, and will only go out fishing if I'm with someone else. The illustration of him that has stayed with me is this one, by Theodor Kittelsen (1904):

(Source)

Huldra. This one looks like a beautiful young woman. She sings and walks the pastures, sometimes herding cows, sometimes on her own. Her voice and beauty enchant you, and she will lure you into the nearby marshes and drown you. The enchantment can only be broken if you catch a glimpse of her tail, which is that of a cow, or her back, which is a gaping rotting hole where her spine has been gouged out.

If creatures like these last three have been created and passed down through generations to keep children from wandering into potentially dangerous situations in the wilderness, then they've certainly worked on me. To this day, I don't swim where there's seaweed, I walk around marshes if I can, and I stay clear of the slippery edges of waterfalls.

[cienie-isengardu]

Not only do I not regret asking you to "RELEASE THE RAMBLES!", I'm sending you requests for more. Below is a list of questions that I asked @bihansthot , and enjoyed their answers, but because you are so thorough, and answer in such depth, I'm re-asking them to you.

Brace yourself, it's a list. I didnt have time to sort thru them, I just copied and pasted, so if any are questions you already answered before, please feel free to include the links.

"LET US BEGIN!"

---------------------------------------------

In the spirit of potential future writing,  I'm trying to find a building that  would make a good substitution for Lin Kuei temple.

I've tried looking up ancient Chinese military barracks/forts, and have found some stuff,  but is all exterior.  Anyone know of any locations (or several I can cobble together) that would make good inspiration fodder?

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So, uhm, religion? What's the Lin Kuei's take on that one? I know they are aware of Gods, they team up with/ encounter Raiden all the time,  and have literally worked for/against Shinook, so I know they recognize higher powers... but I  guess the question is,  do they care?

Do they have a religion,  or spiritual practice that resembles religion? Or do they have a more practical approach "gods exist,  but we just consider them very strong people"?

Which segues into... do they recognize and participate in holidays, or things like birthdays? Or are all their celebrations work related (I.E. successful missions or levels of combat mastery)?

---------------------------------------------

Food.  What foods do they normally eat? What foods do they like?  What foods don't they like? What foods do they absolutely love so much they'll stop what they're doing to get it?

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If you had to match the Lin Kuei with a dynasty,  what one would it be? (I know the 2021 movie has the opening in the Ming dynasty, so the Lin Kuei is at least that old,  but given that movie Bi Han hasn't aged in 400 years, and was taken is a child,  its probably much older) (and also know the game probably cherry picked random Chinese things it liked).

What do you think the Lin Kuei's view on artistic culture (probably not the right word) is? I know they are heavily militaristic,  but in the game,  Kuai Liang offers Hanzo tea and he properly prepares it the Japanese way, that says they have something of an education other than just related to fighting?

Lastly,  in the movie,  everything Bi Han does is "for the Lin Kuei", but the Lin Kuei is on Earth (assumedly),  and he is working for a guy who wants to enslave Earth, so what do you think the deal is?

---------------------------------------------

Question about the Cryomancers. I know the game lore says that they are supposed to be rare, but I also know that the Lin Kuei have had at least 5 (grandpa, papa, older, and younger Sub Zero,  and Frost). 4 of which are part of 3 generations that inherited it even with mixed blood (I'm assuming Mama Sub Zero wasn't Cryomancer since they left her alone).

That's a lot of generations in a row for a rare trait... So do you think the Cryomancers as a group have figured out they're being hunted and have chosen to live in hiding?

---------------------------------------------

Lin Kuei society question? I like writing so I also like world building and I think about these things.

Is Lin Kuei society ever covered? I know there is a Grandmaster, a handful master assassins (Sub Zero's, Sektor, Cyrax, etc) and the  movies always have a bunch canon fodder lesser assassins.

And they live in the very isolated Lin Kuei Palace/Temple in Arktika (or wherever it used to be)

But is Lin Kuei (we'll call it "village") ever covered?   Do they have willing servants, kidnapped slaves, or a mix of both? Are there women (non fighter women,  I know there's Frost) or do they employ strictly male help? If there are women, what's their role, and are there children born there? What about Elderly? What about resources,  is everything (from food, clothes, weapons, and the raw materials to create them) grown or manufactured on sight by skilled laborers or do they import/interact with the outside world? How vicious or civil is this society, could you be killed for looking at Sektor wrong or do they value your services to a degree? What's the degree? This is obviously a combat culture,  but is everyone expected to know martial arts of some variety, is it optional, or do they prohibit it among the servants/slaves? How strict are they on things like clothing, food, alcohol,  drugs, "luxuries", or pleasures? Money? If they interact with the world do they recognize and use $$ currency, commodity currency, or a mixture? Internally are the Lin Kuei payed or just provided for? What about illness or injury,  if you're not a master and it a serious injury/illness are you taken care of or do they just give you a quick death?

Etc. That's all the questions I can think of,  but please feel free to answer questions I didn't ask,  if you think of anything else.

Thank you for this wonderful list to talk about! I’m gonna split the answer into smaller parts, for better focusing on each aspect but also so I don’t feel bad for keeping you waiting for ages, lol. For now let’s focus on asks about the religion!

So good questions! I do think they have some spiritual practice(s) because in martial arts the state of a mind is as important as the physical body and religion is one of many ways to shape someone’s mindset from a young age. I do, however, think that Lin Kuei does not worship the gods. They are aware that the gods exist (with Raiden as the thorn in the side) and may even respect their supernatural powers and battle skills but it never has stopped Lin Kuei from desecrating holy places, murdering people and stealing stuff for the best price. So, it seems to me that whatever religion the members of the clan follow, by nature it is rooted in nontheism.

Of course, there is also a chance that Lin Kuei worships some forgotten deity or deities (as a remnant of their ancient connections with Outworld / realms conquered and destroyed by Shao Kahn?) or may even practice ancestor worship which seems like a good way to uphold a widely understood tradition that plays an important role in the discussed community.

The closest thing to religious practice was seen in Mortal Kombat X, when Sub-Zero and his warriors seemed to pray together before statue of god / deity / ancestor / legendary warrior / personalized thing they value the most (sadly, my knowledge about Asian religious practices or faiths is very limited so I don’t have idea if the statue is supposed to represent any real god/religious symbol).

At the same time, it could be just a bluff since Grandmaster was aware of Cage’s team infiltrating the Lin Kuei territory and used this moment to lure them into a trap. Additionally, Mortal Kombat X comics presented once Kuai Liang sitting before the same statue albeit in a completely different (devoid of reverence?) position.

Of course, if we take into account Mortal Kombat Armageddon, the game states that Lin Kuei Temple placed in Arctika was actually once the Temple of Delia (the great sorceress & wife of god Argus) that at some point get abandoned and re-used by Sub-Zero’s clan.

(In the background, we can see a statue of Delia that Lin Kuei does not worship but did not remove for whatever reason. Mixing both old and new games, we can only wonder if MKX!statue is also the remnant of someone else's faith/religion?)

Beside that, Kuai Liang was pretty vocal about Lin Kuei not worshipping the Elder Gods, what was seen in MK11’s intro dialogue with Cetrion

Sub-Zero: The Lin Kuei do not worship the Elder Gods.

Cetrion: We seek gratitude, not worship.

Sub-Zero: I see no distinction.

and personally did not have any reason to pray to the goddess:

Sub-Zero: Why should I pray to you?

Cetrion: Why does a bird flap its wings?

Sub-Zero: I asked a simple question.

In all fairness, in MK11 Kuai Liang seems the most passive-aggressive toward the Elder God while Frost is focused on her ambitions and Noob!Bi-Han just wants to be left alone when bothered by Cetrion. Similar thing happens toward Raiden. Despite gratitude for saving him, Kuai Liang does not spare the god criticism (can’t serve both Elder Gods and Earthrealm, isn’t fit for his role of protector) and in MKX outright says he does not fear divine beings:

Raiden: Sub-Zero...

Sub-Zero: I fear no gods, Raiden.

Raiden': That's why you shall lose.

Surprisingly, Kuai Liang’s interaction with MK11!Fujin sounds less accusing than with Raiden and Cetrion and it is connected closely to their ties with Bi-Han. And maybe Kuai Liang did seek in the past Fujin and other elements to make a peace with them, like he planned to do so in Mortal Kombat 4 Limited comics?

"I came here to make peace with the gods of the elements that you fought [...]"

Anyway, the accusingly behaviour toward Raiden and Cetrion could be just Kuai Liang’s personal dislike for gods and serious authority issues, which makes sense considering how much he suffered because of their meddling and conflicts.

But honestly?

The available examples of Lin Kuei attitude toward gods, demigods and supernatural beings suggest how little the warriors - especially cryomancers - care for them.

Like, we have Bi-Han in Mythologies, who asked Quan Chi about details of mission:

Sub-Zero: If it's so precious, why don't you get it yourself?

Quan Chi: I cannot enter the temple until the four elements within its walls have been defeated. And I am not on the best of terms with the gods of your realm... especially your god of thunder.

Sub-Zero: Tell me about these elements.

Quan Chi outright said he and earthrealm gods weren’t friends and Bi-Han, reading between the lines, could get the idea that he may end on bad terms with Thunder God. Yet he was interested only in elements (lesser gods than protector of realm?) guarding the temple.

Then Bi-Han beat down four demigods and met a displeased Raiden after Quan Chi got the Shinnok Amulet. His reaction? No fear, like meeting an angry god was a normal occurrence.

Rayden: Do you realize what you've done??

Sub-Zero: I was just earning my living.

Rayden: Your clan's ignorance and greed will cost this entire realm. You must now set things straight.

Sub-Zero: Quan Chi could simply be a lunatic sorcerer. I've never heard of an elder god named Shinnok or of a place called the Netherrealm.

Rayden: Well, you'd better start believing in both, because you're going to the Netherrealm and you're going to bring the amulet back. We must act quickly. I have no dominion in the Netherrealm... You are reality's only hope.

Sub-Zero: I'll do it, Thunder God... but only because I have no choice.

And once he came back from Netherrealm, where he was fixing what he messed up in the first place on Raiden’s order, his abrasive attitude did not change much:

Sub-Zero: Here... the amulet.

Rayden: Impressive, Sub-Zero. Perhaps you will reconcile your reckless past after all.

Sub-Zero: That's it? Not even a thank you?

Of course, to some degree Raiden’s words did have an impact on Bi-Han but even the god’s warning about his soul tainted with evil did not stop him from coming back to Lin Kuei. Bi-Han’s attitude and/or approach to gods seems to change somehow once he was reborn as Noob, but that is a different matter for different times.

Anyway, Mythologies!Bi-Han and MK11!Noob act less aggressive toward gods than Kuai Liang. But then we have Sub-Zero from from the MK novel by Jeff Rovin, who not only is not afraid of gods but outright insult them:

“Wait! Be warned, Shang Tsung. He is cursed!”

“Cursed? By whom?”

Ruthay wailed, “By the immortal Yu.”

Shang Tsung felt cold spiders crawl up his spine. “The demigod Yu?”

“Yes… he who is said to dwell in the underground caverns of Horse Ear Mountain… which is sacred to the goddess Kuan Lin. He who protects the canals… and the tunnels… and looks after all who use them, human and animal.”

“What did our brash friend do to Yu?”

“He… killed a man,” said Ruthay.

“What man?”

“A toll-taker… one who had given up a life of crime… one who had been a partner of the man… you… seek.”

“And how did that crime come to the attention of the spirit of Yu?” Shang Tsung asked.

“The man was killed… slowly disemboweled with a sword… while accomplices forced his wife and his son to look on! After his murder… the man’s remains… were dumped into a canal!”

Shang Tsung raised an eyebrow. “Is that all? I was expecting something truly terrible!”

“It was!” Ruthay shrieked. “When he disposed of the body… in that way … he profaned one of the sacred waterways… of Yu!”

Shang Tsung smiled now. “Then he is definitely the man I want,” he said. “Anyone who is impudent enough to insult a demigod won’t be afraid to attack a member of the White Lotus Society, or the gods who watch after them. I will send Hamachi, Ruthay. When he nears his goal, see through his eyes and guide him!”

Book!Sub-Zero was impudent enough to insult a demigod which is why he was one of Shang Tsung’s favorites. And to be clear - book!Sub-Zero did not regret insulting the demigod at all. Even more! He found humor in it!:

He dwelt in a cave two hundred feet up the face of a cliff by the sea. The mouth of his home was barely wide enough to accommodate a slender adult, and was accessible only by climbing the sheer wall of rock, a feat that was impossible for most adults and daunting even to the few arachnids and marsupials that tried it.

Maybe some of them were even sent by Yu, he thought with a smirk, little assassins who would chastise me for having spilled blood in his precious canal.

The less abrasive attitude toward gods was shown by Cyrax, who talked a bit with Raiden over Bi-Han’s remains. He wasn’t outright antagonistic but wasn’t overall respectful either. He talked with Thunder God like he would talk with any other human being that wasn’t actually Scorpion. Frankly, from the named Lin Kuei only MK9!Smoke actually addressed Raiden in respectful manner, with proper bow and the name of lord

albeit did he do so because he respects the divine beings or just out of gratitude for saving him, hard to tell for sure.

So yeah, it seems like no matter what kind of timeline or age or medium of the story, Lin Kuei does not fear gods nor pray to them. And the clan has a long history of dealing with Raiden, so the Lin Kuei had first-hand experiences with supernatural beings. Somehow, cryomancers are the most impudent warriors when it comes to dealing with or criticizing the gods.

Interestingly, as much as Lin Kuei warriors don’t care for gods, most of the known to us named characters believe to have - and to care - for their own souls. Sektor and MK11!Frost embraced the Cyber Lin Kuei idea but Kuai Liang, Cyrax and Smoke were opposed to C.I. project out for concern for their souls among other things. Even Bi-Han, to some degree became concerned about his soul after trip to Netherrealm.

Believing in souls is usually a sign of belief in the afterlife, albeit after all of them went through (the change into cyborgs, death and change into Revenants) this is less a matter of faith (religion) and more first-hand experiences. And let's not forget that regularly dealing over the centuries with Shang Tsung who steals people's souls on a daily basis makes it really hard to not believe spirits are real.

Also, an interesting matter of Lin Kuei practices that could have a religious/spiritual ground and/or be an example of ancestor worship is the clan’s funeral rites. I don’t think we actually saw any Lin Kuei to bury their own (especially after warrior’s failure?) and for sure MK9!Cyrax and Sektor did not bother to take care of Bi-Han’s remains. However the sources provide examples of Lin Kuei keeping corpses, most likely of their own leaders or warriors.

And so, we could see human remains:

put in two coffins on each side of statue

hidden / kept in a block of ice(?) in chamber of Fallen Lin Kuei in which Frost’s frozen body was also laid, but on the altar

Cyrax’s cyber body was kept and guarded by Sub-Zero (and this is like the only thing that Kuai Liang and Cyber Sektor so far agreed on)

and even Cyber Sektor’s remains, even if just for pragmatic reasons, are kept in what seems to be respectful manner:

It could be just Kuai Liang’s good nature to honor fallen of his clan (I’m still not sure if Lin Kuei Palace is the new place for Sub-Zero’s clan or the ancient hideout) but even in MK Conquest TV series, after Grandmaster was killed by then-currently-Sub-Zero, there was the farewell ceremony with clothes on display (cause there was not much left of body after freezing and shattering) while new leader gave the speech promising to punish the guilty.

Which makes me think that Lin Kuei did honor their fallen warriors (especially those exceptional, deserving). Such custom and apparently common belief in soul could also support the ancestor worship - both as some ancient, mythical ancestor(s) connecting warriors into one clan (family) and tradition to follow in the footsteps of forefathers (Bi-Han taking place of his father [old timeline] or grandfather [current timeline] or Kuai Liang taking Bi-Han’s place as Sub-Zero).

My general conclusion about Lin Kuei is that its members believe in souls, have respect and use of spiritual matters (meditation?) and maybe ancestor worship. Whatever the religious / spiritual practices they have over the centuries, it is not something they will share, as the Lin Kuei by nature are secretive people who keep personal things mostly for themselves. The people that joined the clan (Cyrax and Smoke) maybe kept their old, eventual religious beliefs but overall, Lin Kuei warriors did not fear, care for nor pray to gods. They may respect god (Raiden, Fujin) as a person but not because of their divine nature. And even that would not stop them from criticizing said god. Which is pretty much how Kuai Liang and Raiden’s relationship looks like. Grandmaster is grateful to Thunder God for saving him but he won’t blindly follow his authority.

(Kuai Liang has serious authority issues, hasn't he?)

As for holidays, I can’t really see Lin Kuei to follow any specific religious (theistic) special day cause they don’t care much for gods in the first place. Unless they worked undercover and needed to act as normal human beings, religious holidays would mean nothing to them. The warriors may however celebrate their mission success, combat mastery or promotion between themselves or in secret, I think. Like, Lin Kuei did forbid friendship because it was considered warrior’s flaw yet we know some members either were blood-related (Kuai Liang, Bi-Han, previous Sub-Zero - father or grandfather, depending on which timeline is correct) or considered each other a family (Kuai Liang and Tomas Vrbada) and most named characters worked in duos so they have both opportunity and knowledge about each other to celebrate important matters. If they managed to remember anything from previous life, that is. Because from ancient to at least Great Kung Lao’s times most(?) adepts were kidnapped from biological families at a really young age (something around 6 years old). And Mythologies: Sub-Zero takes that even further:

Its warriors are chosen at birth to be raised apart from the workings of day to day civilization and are stripped of their former lives. Only the clan knows their existence. Each of them posses certain skills and abilities that set them apart from normal men. These abilities are passed on from generation to generation and honed throughout the experiences of life.

So, celebrating birthdays doesn’t sound like happening much, unless those with family around could allow themselves such luxury. The clan may however celebrate the day of becoming a fully trained and sworn warrior? Or the fallen warriors? Who knows.

Also, something worth thinking about: in Mortal Kombat Conquest TV series, when the Grandmaster presented newly appointed Sub-Zero to the rest of the clan, he “celebrated” the cryomancer's first official performance as the execution of two men who failed their mission. So, yeah, celebration of something special in (old) Lin Kuei does not necessarily mean anything nice.

(The next part of answer most likely will be focused either on food or architecture / origin of Lin Kuei. Let's hope I will get it written sooner than later)

<><> EDIT <><>

RELIGION <> ORIGINS / ARCHITECTURE <> FOOD <> FOR THE LIN KUEI <> ART <> CRYOMANCERS <> LIN KUEI SOCIETY <> MONEY & MATERIAL GOODS

[bigskydreaming]

What kills me in fics is when you have tags going like "Good brother Jason", which, cool, but in the same story there's " Dick TRIES to be a Good Brother" LOL way to switch the dynamics. I also tend to stay clear of the ones where the centric character seems to have a platonic relationship tag with everyone (including the ones where they're antagonists in canon like Jason & Tim) except Dick. You can feel the hate/dislike/prejudice a MILE away.

Yeeeeeeah. You are definitely not alone. Like pretty much every Dick Grayson stan I’ve ever talked to on the subject stays the hell away from any fic tagged “Dick Grayson tries to be a good brother.”

LOL like....it’s basically what I was talking about in that older post I just reblogged a few minutes ago. That thing where Dick’s actions or choices in a canon story or fic aren’t judged on their own merits but are rather inherently weighed against some hypothetical perfect choice that he DIDNT make and so he’s basically evaluated based on how much he falls short of that mark each time instead of anything he actually did.

Sorry not sorry, but I’m just not interested in stories that TRANSFORM the character most commonly referred to as the emotional glue of the family and the only one who consistently even CARES about them all being a family....into the fumbling incompetent relationship disaster man who at best gets credit for at least putting in an attempt at being there for his family.

Especially not when Bruce and Jason and Tim are praised for doing the bare minimum in canon when it comes to family interactions while everything Dick ACTUALLY did is just completely ignored and overwritten in order to make his Failure to People Good the narrative obstacle to be overcome.

Now, the “Dick Grayson Tries To Be A Good Brother” tag applied to Tim-centric fics in particular tho....hoo boy I am out of there so fast there’s a Kool-Aid Man shaped hole in the wall and not a sign of me as far as the horizon.

Like, currently my Pet Peeve Thermostat is set to Battle for the Cowl-referencing fics that don’t use this tag but very much are in that spirit. You probably know the ones, like their summaries suggest they’re open to considering Dick’s side of the situation but turns out the author at most is throwing him a “well at least you tried not to suck” bone while still reading him the riot act for very much still sucking.

Because what drives me up a flipping WALL here in particular, when I naively click on a link that seems different from the usual and ignore the voice of experience because I’m just desperate enough for Tim and Dick food that doesn’t just go on and on about how Dick ruined their brotherhood and it will never be truly repaired....

What makes the fruit bats in my belfry go absolutely B-A-N-A-N-A-S is not just the super fun realization that Psych! You thought this fic might be different but it’s actually the same!

Nah.

It’s how much people, both writers AND commenters, just absolutely LOVE to reference Tim’s shitbag parents and how emotionally abusive and neglectful they were (all true and valid, btw, let’s be totally clear about that)....but bringing them up here specifically to emphasize just how great Dick’s ‘betrayal’ was and how what he did makes him no better than them.

It’s like. Oh. I see.

So because after twenty years worth of stories about Dick dropping everything the second Tim needs him, whether it’s for help or just advice or even just reassurance or comfort or ANYTHING ....because after two decades worth of content showing Dick absolutely doting on Tim in their EVERY SINGLE interaction and buttressing his self confidence at every opportunity, never passing up a chance to call him his brother and emphasize that they’re family and he loves Tim and is so proud of him...

Because after all that there’s a story whose very premise forced Dick to choose between two kids, both still very much his brothers and their shared father’s sons even if one was new to him and didn’t have the same history the other two had....

Because by the very nature of the story Dick had no choice but to prioritize one over the other due to them both hating each other and Dick already being stretched to his absolute limits trying to live his dead father’s life and take on everything Bruce used to do at the cost of giving up everything Dick had chosen for his own life and wants and priorities, all while dealing with his own grief....

And with it being inevitable that the boy he DIDNT choose to prioritize was going to be hurt....

Because after twenty years of never failing to put Tim first the second Tim needed him, never even putting HIMSELF first OVER Tim....because for the first time Dick felt that someone else he felt obligated to, felt a responsibility towards, actually needed him MORE than Tim....

And for that reason and that reason ONLY, Dick picked that other boy, all while trying his best to tell Tim that he still needed him, still valued him, all the things that Bruce DIDNT tell him when he took Robin not even because he thought someone else needed it at the time but simply to take away, with absolutely nothing Dick said in any way negating or contradicting any of his many, MANY assurances to Tim over the years that they were brothers and always would be and with them still very much legally brothers and with concrete ties to each other that declared them family even WITHOUT the connection of Robin....

Because after and despite ALL OF THAT, Dick picked the brother that he didn’t know and frankly didn’t even LIKE, because he knew no one else was going to pick this kid and he also knew he’d already picked Tim a hundred times before and hoped that at least all that HISTORY of past focus and attention he’d given Tim to help build him up, give him foundations to build further upon, that hopefully at least that history that was still there, still relevant, still something Tim had actively benefited and grown from in ways Dick now hoped to help Damian....like surely this would be of at least SOME significance to Tim, SOME kind of proof of how much Dick loved and valued Tim....

Because one time and one time ONLY, Dick DIDNT put Tim’s needs first, not because he didn’t want to or because he was being selfish or short sighted or simply didn’t care, but rather solely because this one time Tim’s needs were in direct opposition with the needs of another young boy Dick saw as his responsibility and in even greater need and with even less of a foundation than the one Dick had helped Tim build....

This puts Dick on the same level as Tim’s shitbag parents, the ones who are infamous for (and practically synonymous with) emotional abuse and neglect. Dick’s basically interchangeable with them now. Certainly no better than them. Tim’s entire emotional well-being rested on Dick and Dick alone and nothing he’d provided Tim with in the past counts, just this one moment in time right here right now, that’s the entirety of their relationship see, it all comes down to this and nothing else, and because Dick didn’t put Tim first, no matter WHAT his reasons or how much he wanted to, he has officially failed Tim as hard as the neglectful parents who did nothing BUT neglect, ignore and just not give a shit at all, simply because they couldn’t be bothered to.

Yeah.

That’s neat.

[jjk-anime-horray]

Call of Spirits

Megumi Fushiguro x Reader

Spirited Away Au

Previous

Chapter four:

The most interesting smell that ever has invaded your nostrils is probably the musk that the radish spirit that was currently taking up 90% of the elevator was giving off right now. The odor itself was a weird mix of unwashed vegetables and a sopping mop making you the perfect amount of uncomfortable as you currently were squished against the wall of the lifting box with Kugisaki. Who was just as uncomfortable as you were, and by the sheer look of disgust and discomfort on her face contemplating all of her life's decisions at the current moment.

While you could clearly hear Nobara bickering under her breath phrases like 'of course it's always customer first' and 'stupid radish could have had his own ride but nooooo'; she could clearly hear your heart beating faster than the fingers of a pianist playing Rimsky-Korsakov's flight of the bumblebee. Or to put it quite simply fast enough where your heart might actually pound a hole into your ribcage.

"Psk, hey you." The fiery orange haired girl whisper quips at you to get your attention.

"What?" You whisper quip back at her in response.

"Is it the raddish man invading your space that's making you nervous, or are you nervous to meet the boss?"

"It's a bit of both honestly."

"Alright, well, I would try to calm those nerves because quite frankly your stop is next."

"Oh okay."

Right on schedule in alinement with the end of your conversation the mystical but iconic ding of the wooden metallic elevator marked the arrival and ascension to your desired floor. The distinctive rise then fall under your feet confirming the notification.

With another iconic ding you swiftly exited the elevator by shoving your way through a couple of limbs and a whole lot of radish flesh to meet the boss who you knew absolutely nothing about, other than that they seemed scary.

Finally with one last push off of the white rough stomach of the radish man, the elevator doors finally came to a close just as you stumbled into the supposed office of the person you are meeting.

To start off, to you, it seemed like this person never got out of their goth phase in high school because the majority of the coloration for the room was purple and black with the last five or so percent being navy. Gloomy would a an understatement considering the only thing lighting the room was short wicked candles.

Interestingly enough, the one place in the room that was supposed to be the most vibrant and teeming with light, and or the fire place, was actually the darkest and the most ominous about of all of the office's nooks and crannies. In fact, you couldn't even see the back of it which was very peculiar.

With the curiosity enough to kill a cat filling your mind you quickly waltz over to the place in the rooming daunting on your mind. Letting your self inspect the wood burner your eyes traced around the cold stone trim of the mechanism, ultimately leading your leading your full blown pupils to let in more light at the darkness of the cut out box in the wall the a chimney.

The uncomfort you felt in the tiny elevator was nothing compared to the events that happened next. Instantly your eyes contracted into little slits as you forcefully have to stumble back from the fire place as it burst into flames along with every light giving instrument bursting into vivid life all the while you try to adjust your in pain eyes to the new life reverberation happening around you.

Then suddenly with the burst of light illuminating the room a short old man walked in. Grey haired, stalky, and grumpy in stature he wore traditional robes over some sort of jeans that couldn't be seen, only the outline, and he used a guitar as a cane.

"There have been rumors swindling around in the hotel, honestly I was a little disappointed to find out that they were true, yet here you are making the effort to see me, but why?" He gruffed out in an old gravely voice.

"I'm here to find a job."

"A job huh? You have spirit i'll give you that but you're human."

"I may be human, but I can still work."

"Your diligence isn't the problem, you're smell is, it's horrendous, no one is going to want to smell it."

"Well I can work in the boiler room were no one else will be there!"

"There only needs to be one boiler person, are you suggesting you take yaga's job?"

"Well......no."

"My thought exactly, so leave."

"What?! Why I really need a job."

Then out of the blue a rushing breeze swifted across all of the surfaces in the room leaving a wake of flying papers, only then to reveal the new presence of black haired spirit Megumi that you've come to know.

"Well if it isn't my usual little problem." The older man scoffs at the younger spirit. "What do you want?"

"You requested to see me sir, I have" He gestured to the lump in his pocket with is hand lifting it up "what you asked for."

"A right that, just go put in the back and leave i'm dealing with something right now." Which he clearly meant you.

"Sorry to intrude sir." The younger spirit quips, but he wasn't done speaking. "I couldn't help but over hear the last bit of the conversation between the two of you. Even though they're a human we both know their smell is already fading, and it will continue to fade as they keep eating our food. Just a thought."

The young spirit then swooshed out of the office room as quickly as he came, leaving the small package behind out of your. Also leaving the older spirit in reconsidering though that was clearly displayed on his face as turned back to meet your face. Then with pulling out a piece of paper and a pen he gestured to you.

"Come and right your name."

Doing as he said you just over and snagged the paper and pen from his wrinkly hand. Tightening your grip, trying to make your pen-men ship as neat as possible when gliding your hand in strokes across the scrap. Writing your name, (Y/N). Right after the man in front of you magically whipped the paper into his hand once for the read the piece's contents.

"(Y/N), lovely name." With that notion the ink on the paper started to change, more specifically the blackness started to lift of the paper and into the man's hand. "But from now on you'll be known as Sen, kugisaki will meet at the door and give you directions again.

"Wait that it's! I-

You couldn't finish your sentence because as soon as he stopped speaking he flew you back into the shaft in which you came, shutting the elevator's doors the second you entered the contraption, not even giving you a single second to do a double take on what just happened.

[jezy]

My Ben 10 Reboot/Grim Dawn OC-- Libra Renov! :D

Warning! Some of these parts have uncomfortable stuff, so if you don't like it. Might wanna either scroll down faster or endure it if you still wanna read it.

Libra has a lot of expertise with being a Sage of Illusions but she's also a healer and wild card in case missions go south. Which is about 50/50 percent most of the time.

She's also one of the smartest sages there is. But she sometimes focuses on the puzzles way too much so she doesn't notices anything going on around her.

Libra has a few friends but they're just a bunch of royal jerks. Except Hex, she liked him when they've met. Disa and Libra are friends too, but she trusts Hex more than anyone.

Before Libra died, she was a human with wavy chocolate brown hair with deep blue eyes and fair skin. Now, she's an aetherial with messy black charcoal hair with glowing green eyes and her skin's pale white.

She is an adopted royal, let me elaborate : Her real parents' kingdom got dethroned by another kingdom in ledgerdomain. The king and queen who has a tomboy daughter which they don't like, and resulting for said daughter to left them with no heir. So when they dethroned Libra's parents, they took toddler!Libra under their wings and taught her how to be a girly-girl princess.

At first, Libra loved it but when she grew older she became a rebellious child (in secret) and would often read her adopted father's books about magic without permission.

When she met Hex (when she first sneaked out for the first time), she realized she can be so much more than just be a useless princess in her kingdom. She could help people on the front instead of doing it behind the walls of the castle.

So ever since then, whenever she gets the chance to do something rebellious, she would do it using illusions as distraction then she helps the people in need with a disguise. (Like Robin Hood).

Her adopted parents didn't liked it obviously and were trying to figure out who would do such a thing. They still haven't found out it was her.

Libra & Hex are the "friends to lovers" couple. They're glue you can't easily separate and will hurt you if you hurt one of them.

When she found out that she's getting arranged marriage to Hex's younger brother, she didn't liked it. Yes, she knew about Hex's younger brother, Spellbinder, but she didn't liked him like that.

So when Libra & Hex became 18 years old, they eloped to Cairn and became Sages since then. They're not exactly married in legal standards, but they don't mind it one bit.

When Hex gets pissed at someone, its Libra's job to calm him down.

Since she's the only thing that stands between Hex and his anger to the whole multiverses. That is, when she died in the first cataclysmic war.

Libra deeply cares about Hex and is deeply hurt whenever Hex does something he regrets. Like, cursing his brother when Spellbinder forcefully kissed her lips.

Of course, Hex hid away from her for a few years because of the fear he'll hurt her too.

This made her depressed and longed for him, even to the point on not eating or sleeping because she misses him too much. Till Disa slaps her from her depression and yells at her to get a grip.

Libra was slightly thankful for her, even though it hurts like hell. She now learned a lesson that Hex would come back. Which he did, and Libra basically sprung out to crush him with her hug.

Libra cried rivers when Hex came back, as well as him.

After that, they now have more love to each other. Which is a blessing for the other sages since they now feared/despised Hex because of what he did.

They were peaceful, until the cataclysmic war....

Now, the cataclysmic war isn't just some war, it was a war between The Gods of Cairn and The Aetherial. (I'll probably make a post about the Aetherials and Gods of Cairn, since I can't explain everything in here)

It affected everyone even The Sages, half of the faction died including Libra. Who got trapped inside the spell of the Handmaiden Shield and burned alive by the aetherfire the aetherials had caused.

When she died, her soul got flung down deep into where the aetherials (now just spirits) had now reside. When they noticed her and found out she wasn't one of them, they tortured her for eons till they came back to take over the world. But she held it together for as long as she can take.

That was until... Theodin Marcell, The Master of Flesh, had began experimenting & reanimating the bodies of humans. He searched for test subjects (alive and/or dead) and found Libra's corpse in an ancient graveyard, and decided they will make her their most perfect masterpiece.

And so he did, first they forced Libra's soul to go into an aether crystal (a sort of physical form of aetherials). Then, he sliced open Libra's body's chest and planted the crystal inside her heart. Then he started reanimating her.

When she first came back to life, she was strapped naked in an electric chair. She tried to get out obviously until she saw Theodin Marcell coming down.

"Ah, so you're awake..."

"What do you want with me?!"

"The higher ups of the Aetherhold has accepted my request to test on you, Miss Libra Renov..."

"That still doesn't my question bastard!"

"The higher ups also want you to join our army. A special soldier, if you will."

"I'll never join you! Not after what your kind has done many eons ago!"

"Of course, I know you won't accept, so we'll do it the hard way instead..."

"Wha--" Then she screamed. Theodin had activated a switch that activated the electric chair. There were iron nails, nailed through her hands, and seemingly connected to the wires up to the switch. Making her feel the pain through her nerves system.

It hurts like hell, it felt like she was on fire. Her organs felt on fire, her brain-- Everything felt like on fire.

Theodin kept doing this to her till she threw up bile onto herself. Coughing up the remaining bile in her throat.

"Hmm, interesting, a human body can take so much of electricity before they perish. But you however, since you were blessed by the gods, you can take so much more..."

"What the hell does that mean?!"

"That means, I have to do more experiments on you. But since you just woke up, I'll let you rest. Tomorrow, we will continue, and by then... You will sooner or later become a masterpiece....."

She only glared daggers at the possessed man as she was dragged away to a cell. They threw her and pinned her down, then they chained her up against the wall to make sure she doesn't escape.

Her hands felt numb from the electrocution, her body was shivering from the cold and shaking from the electricity. Her brain felt dizzy, if she focuses too much on an area, she would throw up.

Whatever the hell Theodin has in store for her, she'll endure it. She won't break from him. She'll get out and escape as soon as she finds a way how.

Besides, how worse can it get?....

Surely it won't be too much for her? Right? She's seen disturbing things, she has the confidence that she won't break.

Oh how wrong she was...

How very wrong she was...

The next day, when she was being escorted to the experimentation room. She tried to escape.

There were many aetherial possessed soldiers and once they saw her, they started shooting at her. Unfortunately, she was hit multiple times and died.

But that wasn't the worse part, the worse part was when she started to wake up. What she saw was scarring.

Her body's opened up like some frog in a science class, she could see her organs and everything from her perspective. Bloody equipment on a table, her beating heart, and Theodin poking and putting something inside her. It was enough to make her nauseous.

"Oh? Awake already?"

She was freaking out and started to squirm a lot.

"I suggest you don't squirm, unless you want an important organ to get cut from your recklessness."

She immediately froze from his words.

"Good pet." She growled at that nickname, she was very disgusted by him.

She tried to look around for any places where she can run, or anything nearby that she can use to break out of her confinement.

But she couldn't do anything, she knows that. She can't escape and she'll just bleed out if she somehow miraculously did. She was trapped.

She had no choice but to stare at what Theodin's doing to her for hours, mortified. And when he finished stitching up the slices he made, he did one more thing.

"Oh, and since you tried to escape. A little torture will be necessary."

And so he did, by stabbing her leg unexpectedly, in which she screamed. He kept doing this to different parts of her body until she began crying and whimpering.

Her face was covered in cuts and limbs that have stabs all over them. There were a few close calls to her neck making it look like scratches.

"Oh, you're crying? That's pathetic."

"...."

"Still not answering?"

"....."

"Whatever, because of your recklessness you got shot down by our troops. So I suggest you stop being stubborn and just accept it. You can't escape. And if you do, we'll be coming after you."

Those words slowly drilled down into her brain, she tried to ignore it but couldn't. In the next few days of those horrible electrocutions and mortifying tests that include getting her shoulders dislocated in the process, she was beginning to starve.

Theodin doesn't cares though so he just ignores Libra's whimpers of starvation and continued on the experiment. Even if it means Libra gets slammed like a bruised ragdoll.

There's more, more worse than that. When Theodin realized he couldn't do more experiments on Libra due to her lack of energy. He feeds her near-expired food, by literally shoving it down her throat till she chokes on it.

She absolutely doesn't likes it and tried to escape once after that. But she got stabbed from behind her and died once more.

Everytime she tried to escape, she keeps dying. And everytime she was brought back to life, she was punished. Either it was electrocution, beating her up, stabbing her randomly, or really painful whips in the back.

Her brown hair became darker until it was charcoal black due to getting electrocuted many times, her skin was so pale that you would barely see the cuts in her face. She has spots of burns on her skin when aetherfire was shot at her, body that has stitches everywhere, and her hands was beginning to glow bright green due to prolonged exposure to electricity.

Her head hurts, a lot and her chest feels funny every time she exhausts herself.

She cries in her sleep everytime, she can't take it anymore. She is in so much pain, so much stress. That she didn't even saw the worst part that happened to her.

"Fuck you..."

"Oh my, how dirty your mouth is."

"Screw. You. I can tell whatever I want to say."

"Oh my... Don't tell me you've forgotten one of the rules of your faction... That would be very disrespectful of you."

"Wait, the rules??"

"Yes, don't you remember the faction you joined and its rules?"

"My faction? Yes, my faction!... The err... S..So...The Sorcerers!"

"You meant 'The Sages'?"

"Wait, 'Sages'??? I thought--"

"Oh don't tell me you don't remember, The Sages of Cairn? The faction you dedicated your whole life into."

"Of course I remember! Its just err..."

"You seem to have forgotten your faction."

"N-No I don't! I do remember them!"

"Oh then please, tell me all about it."

"Its..erm, ugh! Why can't I remember?!"

"So you don't remember anything? Anything in particular. Your friends, your family, even your lover?"

"I...I don't remember....." Then laughter erupted from the man, as she tried to remember.

That was the worst part, she couldn't remember anything. Her memories full of holes, fuzzy dreams with no meaning to her, and sometimes nightmares would crawl into her mind. The only thing that she held onto was her name and the name of her lover, Hex, but memories of them being together was long gone.

And soon, Theodin had managed to succumb Libra in her weakest point. Where she was easily manipulated by the aetherial....

After a couple more years of experiments, torturing, etc. She was empty both inside and out. Her eyes were dull of life, her vision (sometimes) was such a haze but she didn't really cared.

Theodin had turned the once stubborn Sage into one of his mindless (very scarred soldier) soldiers for battle.

She couldn't feel pain no longer. After what she went through, she slowly became numb to pain. Which was good for Theodin Marcell, as they now have a perfect masterpiece, ready to go and do their bidding.

But the downside is that she became a masochist so every wounds inflicted to her, was a pleasure for her instead of pain. So she had to wear a mask, so people won't find out she loved the pain on herself.

She became a Mage Hunter, a mixture of an Inquisitor and an Arcanist. She disguised herself using illusions (that she vaguely remembers) and infiltrated the barracks of The Black Legion.

She then proceeded what Theodin tells her to do, smuggle the aetherial spirits to people who are the weakess mentally and with most negative emotions.

After Malmouth had fallen she continues hunting down humans for Theodin to "make a masterpiece" out of them. That was until Hex arrived.

One day, she received a mission to protect Warden Krieg in his home. So she used a rift to get there quickly, and when she did...

She saw none other than Hex who's fighting aetherials at the moment.

She stood there staring at him, thinking about how familiar Hex is to her. Though, she didn't know it was him. Until she decided to call out for him when he was finished with killing the aetherials.

"...Hex?"

That immediately caught Hex's attention and saw Libra standing there, shock mixed with confusion.

"How do you know my name?"

"I..I don't know, but I remember someone named Hex.... I'm not sure.... I just called out to you..."

"Well people don't know my name unless--"

"I'm Libra..."

That made Hex shut up quickly and come up to her with widened eyes before hugging Libra. Her mask was quickly swept to the side as Hex kissed her.

The hug and kiss really made her feel nice and warm. Like, they've been doing this for who knows how long.

But soon, the warm feeling disappeared when he let go, "How can I know you're Libra??? She died eons ago..." He said with sadness in his voice. That was a good choice, being skeptical was a good choice.

"I don't know either.... I can't remember anything, my memories are filled with holes..."

"Can you remember maybe a little bit?"

"Well, I've been getting nightmares more recently... My dreams were always different but I think I remember burning in one of them..."

"So it really is you... What happened?"

"I'll tell you, but first, we need to go somewhere and then we can talk."

Hex only nodded and followed her to a hidden place. That was when she told him everything she remembers so far, after the end of her talking Hex looked like he was going to rip Theodin Marcell into two. Which makes her scared.

She doesn't want to lose the only warmth that she has now, she needs to protect him. That was how she betrayed the aetherials and helped Hex with his missions.

This doesn't please Theodin though....

But she doesn't care, she's obsessed with Hex's warm feeling and she doesn't want to lose it.

Even though her memories is filled with holes, Libra felt like she belongs to Hex.

And since Hex is now together with Libra again, he can help her with those hole-filled memories.

And maybe now she can slowly remember what they used to be...

Here's the current gacha design for Reboot!Hex and Libra (Since I can't draw, lel)

Hope you enjoyed it!

[talas-starlight]

Scarred Spirits - Zuko x fem! reader (pt.5)

SUMMARY: y/n wakes up in an unfamiliar place and tries to find her way back to her mission (i suck at summaries LOL)

WORD COUNT: 2.3k

WARNINGS: swearing, fighting? kinda?

OTHER PARTS:  pt1   /   pt2 /   pt3 /   pt4 /   pt6

MASTERLIST: Here!

A/N: anddddd we’re back!!! hehe thank you to everyone who has been so so patient with me i am so greatful && hopefully youre just as excited as i am for this series heheh

Bricks. You felt as though you were just hit with a tonne of bricks. The idea of even opening your eyes to the harsh sunlight, which you could feel through your eyelids felt like the worst idea in the world. Your dry throat didn’t help at all either. Maybe if I just lay wherever the fuck I am, I’ll magically gain the energy to move again. Or better yet, maybe the ground will swallow me whole, and I can forget about this mission altogether.

Abruptly interrupting your painful stillness on the ground, there was a small kick into your left side. The sudden shock immediately sent your brain swirling into all the ways you could eliminate whoever disturbed your peace.

“Hey… I think she’s dead.”

Ah, the wonderful sound of an annoying, teenage boy. They’ll be easy to take out.

A second female voice emerged. “She's not dead Sokka! She's literally breathing!" Sokka? As in Hakodas son? Oh Spirits, you never fail to amaze me with how you choose to dictate my life. Hmmm, then that means the girl is Katara. Yay.

"Yeah?! Then why the hell hasn't she even moved a single inch since we found her!"

"Well, maybe she's protesting against your annoying poking!" Spirits they're annoying and loud.

A third voice attempted to intervene, "Guys…. Stop, she's fine. Trust me." Hmm, that's considerably younger. 10 years old perhaps? Or a bit older? 12 maybe? Male?

"Oh yeah? How can you be so sure Aang."

"Well Katara is right, she is breathing for one. But…. There's something else about her, I can feel it."

"What? Like an avatar thingy?"

"Yeah."

Wait the Avatar? Wasn't he on that dragon from when I was-

"Hmmm right, well what are we going to do with her?" At that statement, the annoying boy who seemed to be so confident that you were dead, kicked you again. Sick of his irritable presence, with as much strength you could muster, you took your right hand quickly snatching his ankle, and yanking it towards you, causing him to lose balance and ultimately backwards. Letting out a high-pitched yelp as he thudded onto the hard ground, you quickly rose to your knees. Taking the hand gripped around his ankle to tug him closer to you, you moved between his legs until you were able to straddle his waist, placing all of your weight on top of him. Finally, you grabbed both his arms, holding them above his head, completely hindering him from moving.

"If you kick me one more time, or even trying anything like that again, I WILL chop your legs off. Got it?"

Staring at you with pure horror in his eyes, he visibly gulped, nodding. "Yes! Yes! Hear it loud and clear. Totally got it! Just call me Sokka, the guy with perfect understanding."

Moving your right hand from his wrists, you firmly gripped his jaw, forcing him to keep eye contact with you. Taking in his scared features, you smirked even though he couldn't see it. "You sure about that, water boy?"

"YES! YES!", frantically nodding, you could tell that if you kept pressing on, he'd probably burst into tears soon. Bringing his voice down to a pathetic whimper, he let out, "please don't hurt me."

Finally lifting yourself off him, you let out a dry laugh, satisfied with his compliance. "Uh-huh. Right."

Turning your head to the people that belonged to the other two voices, you took in their stunned and weakly defensive stances. Chest heaving at your sudden physical movements, you nodded, acknowledging them. "Hey, Avatar. Katara. So, where am I?"

After a few moments of silence, the Avatar spoke up first. “You’re just outside of Omashu.”

Katara elbowed Aang, instantly alarmed at his calm nature towards you. “Aang! You can’t just say that. We don’t know who this person is or how she even knows my name! She could be with the Fire Nation for all we know!”

“Katara it’s alright! Calm down.”

“Calm down?! She just attacked Sokka! I mean, rightfully so- but it’s a little suspicious. We don’t know who she is or her intentions.”

Sighing, you looked around, taking in your surroundings. It seemed that rocky mountains surrounded you with a small group of tents in the distance. Interesting… why are they all Earth Kingdom people, when Omashu is so close by?

Shifting your attention back towards the three, you decided against telling them who you were. “It doesn’t matter how I know any of your names. What matters is that I need to get back to my original mission.”

Sokka scoffed, moving to stand beside his sister. “Your mission? Let me guess; you’re here to kill Aang too.”

Raising an eyebrow, his eyes immediately widened in fear. “Trust me, water boy, if I wanted him dead, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. I’m here on… other confidential business.” Met with silence from all three of them you moved on, “so let me guess, you found Omashu invaded by the Fire Nation, and you three were the ones that helped that tiny camp of people over there escape from their rule. Interesting choice considering there are bigger things you should be worrying about. Yet, why are all of you still here? Surely the Avatar and his friends don’t need to train them in how to look after themselves.”

“We’re going back into Omashu. To make a trade for King Bumi and to give the governor his son back.” Why does he keep willingly give me information? Now that’s interesting. I can barely feel any fire within him either, it’s almost as if it's not there at all…

“Okay. I’ll accompany you all into Omashu, and once we arrive within the city, we’ll go our separate ways.”

“Sure!”

“NO!”

“NO!”

Bursting out into a fit of laughter, you shook your head at the water tribe siblings. “Naw, it’s sweet how you think you all have a choice in this. Don’t worry, nothing will happen to any of you, I’m just hitching a ride and you’ll never have to see me again. Regardless, Aang said yes, and considering he’s the Avatar and all, I think his choice overrules yours.”

Katara didn’t seem to like your suggestion that her and Sokka’s opinion didn’t matter. “No, it doesn’t work like that! We’re a family, and we make these decisions together! You can’t just wake up after who knows how long you were laying there for, and expect us to trust you immediately! For one, you attacked Sokka a little too easily without any bending, and you literally said that you were on a mission! If I’m honest, you sound like trouble, especially since we don’t even know your name! Or what you even look like!”

“Just as I said before, it doesn’t matter. It’s sweet you all care enough about each other’s safety, but I’m not here to cause any of you ‘trouble’. Get me inside Omashu, and we’ll never have to speak or interact ever again. If it means so much to you, I’ll let water boy tie me up, and watch me the entire journey there as reparations for my small attack against him. How does that sound?”

Aang more than satisfied with your offer let out a quick, “Yes!”.

Grumbling under her breath Katara shook her head, clearly understanding that this was as good as it was going it get. “Fine. But he ties you up now. If I see you even move an inch out of line, don’t think I’ll go easy on you. I am a waterbender after all.”

As if you being a waterbender would have stopped me. Holding your arms out and casting your attention towards the ground, you were ready for Sokka to bind your wrists together with some cloth, he tore off his clothing. Unknown to you, he seemed to notice that despite how tough you were, you were weak. All of the sudden movements and the argument with his sister clearly drained you physically.

“Hey… I don’t really like you since you threatened to kill me, but are you sure you’re ready to be travelling so soon? You’re breathing really heavily. You need some water and food.” Gently wrapping your wrists together, he tried and failed to make eye contact with you.

At the mention of water, you throat physically constricted in pain. “Nah, I’ll be alright. Just need to get to Omashu.”

“Doubt it. Let’s get you on Appa and I’ll nag Katara for something.”

Silently following him to the Sky Bison, you were grateful that your mask covered the wide smile that broke out onto your face. It’s beautiful.

Finally, parting ways with them, you let out a breath of relief. That was the most silent journey I have ever been on and I travel by myself… Spirits, I hope I never have to run into them again. I think I’m going to lose my mind if I ever do. What was Hakoda thinking?! I’d be an awful big sister to them, they already hate me! It didn’t help how much they kept bickering either. Argh, what a mess. Aang kept looking at me funny the entire time too! What was up with that? Do his Avatar powers allow him to see into my soul or something? Spirits, he’d probably wants to unleash his Avatar state on me for all of the lives I’ve taken. Yikes.

Before setting off to find Azula, you needed to take precautions to blend into the small kingdom. Stealing some clothes, you found you chose to duplicate you last disguise with the only main difference being that it was in green cloth instead of pink.

After securing your final blade underneath your robes, you knew there was no more time to waste and you needed to find Azula quick. You weren’t sure how much she has progressed in her mission to find Iroh and Zuko and the guilt of not helping them when they ran off the Fire Nation ship was already nagging you like an itch you couldn’t scratch.

This city is too big to wander around aimlessly.

Closing your eyes and letting out a deep breath, you chose to look for her the quickest way you knew how. By sensing her fire.

Come on y/n; you can do it. Unsure of how far your abilities would work, you grew worried that she may be too far away for you to even feel her.

After a few minutes, you started to feel irritated. Of course, you could sense fire, you felt so much of it. The city was crawling with Fire Nation after all, but it wasn’t hers. You emitted a few more deep breaths, trying to clear your head.

Suddenly a deep, familiar voice entered your mind. Inner peace. You need to find your inner peace y/n. That’s why you keep losing control; you need to find it.

Is this that dragon again? As if you didn’t have a random voice inside your head, you were met with silence.

Look you can’t just randomly enter my mind you know, and who in Spirits name transports me to some random mountainside?! I don’t know who you are, but I’ve been doing fine all of these years on my own. So kindly, get out of my head.

Letting out a small scream into your hands as the voice never came back, you closed your eyes again.

Stupid voice.

Stupid inner peace.

Breathing in and out, you wracked your brain for something that made you feel at peace. Come on, you can do it. Then after a few moments, it hit you. Not your inner peace, no. You’d have to find that another day. What did hit you was Azula’s fire, you felt it.

Immediately following the tugging feeling, you ran as fast as you could until you came to a tall piece of scaffolding. Even though you were so far below, you could still hear the fight that was occurring many levels up. Can’t she keep herself out of a battle for at least a day?! I bet it’s not even Zuko up there. Scowling, knowing that you can’t ignore her completely, you climbed up until you reached the fight but still remaining hidden.

By the time you reached the platform, you felt that Azula had already moved from this part of the fight. That didn’t mean that there weren’t pressing matters right in front of you, though.

“How are you going to fight without your bending?” A Fire Nation girl before you brought out her blades ready to attack Katara. Holding back a verbal groan, you knew you were going to have to help her.  

Quickly jumping in, you deflect Mai’s knife with your arm while simultaneously catching a boomerang that you spotted in the corner of your eye. As the flying bison approached your quickly dodged its tail as it sent the two fire nation girls flying back. Seeing a distraction between all parties, you threw the boomerang back to Sokka while running for the scaffolding, making your way into the shadows. So much for never having to see them again.

When you ran away from the scene, you knew your disguise was too recognisable considering the two girls saw you when you intervened. This left you to painstakingly have to find a new set of clothes, just to make babysitting Azula and her friends so much easier. Despite finally being back on track with your mission, it didn’t make it any less tedious as you followed from a distance in the shadows. “So, we’re tracking down your brother and uncle, huh?”

“It’ll be interesting seeing Zuko again, won’t it Mai?” Huh? Is that coal brains girlfriend or something?

Azula spoke up at that comment, “It’s not just Zuko and Iroh anymore. We have a third target now.” You have got to be fucking joking. I guess I better start finding my inner peace after all, you know, so I don’t blow her FUCKING BRAINS OUT!

a/n: hehe thank you so much for reading!!! what did you think?? hehe i know its been a while so im kinda rusty so pls let me know your thoughts or any feedback!! hehe i know this wasnt that juicy and kinda short but ive got a lot planned so dw hehe we’ll get there ;)

taglist: @slythergirlimagines​​ @mangoberry43​​ @eridanuswave​​ @whiskeywinter89​​​ @kaylove12​​ @simplyfandomish​​ @khaleesi-of-assassins​ @callums-keith​ @ilovespideyyy​ @calciumcow​ @blackhood5sos​ @nnon-it-up​ @lozzybowe​ @scarletemeterio​ @reclusive-chicken-nugget​ @simpinforsukka​ @chewymoustachio​ @tiffy119​ @spearbatty​ @sokkassuki​

[jjr1971]

I suppose this shouldn't surprise me but this particular anime title (and personal favorite show of mine) is really violently triggering a lot of online incels at the moment...the Japanese title is イジらないで、長瀞さん, Hepburn: Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san; In English, it's known by the longer title Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro.  It's a new manga series (I'm current on it and have the next volume, #8, on pre-order when it releases in August) and it's basically a romantic comedy....it was even more recently picked up for an anime adaptation which is currently airing in Japan and streaming in the USA with subtitles on the Crunchyroll site/app.  I wouldn't be surprised if it gets picked up for an English dub & North American home video distribution eventually; it really is that good.

But it really is a very subtle show with complex emotions.  It's also kind of a role reversal story.  It's reminiscent of the earlier series Teasing Master Takagi-san (Japanese: からかい上手の高木さん, Hepburn: Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san, lit. "Good at Teasing, Miss Takagi"), another romantic comedy set in Late Elementary/early Middle School...it features a very emotionally mature and smart girl who likes a boy but he hasn't matured at the same pace and still views her as a practical joker rival.  He's playing checkers and she's playing chess.  He keeps trying to one-up her and she easily parries him and makes him embarrassed.  But from the audience POV she's definitely flirting with him, he just can't perceive it. With Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro our characters are High Schoolers.  The main character (known only as "Senpai", a polite form of address for people older than you) is a shy, reclusive, sensitive artist type who wears glasses and keeps to himself.  He's a Junior in High School.  He's been the victim of actual bullies in the past (that we see via flashback) but just kept his head down and endured.  One day he's in the school library, trying to study and there's a group of first year girls socializing at a nearby table (Sophomores, technically.  Japanese High Schools have only grades 10-12; 9th graders are still in Middle School in Japan).  He resolves to just ignore them and try to study but clumsily knocks over his satchel, sending books & papers flying, including (*gasp*) the adventure/romance manga he's been drawing as a personal side project. The girls all look up, noticing the commotion.  One of the girls walks over to help pick up his things and to "Senpai's" horror notices the manga drawings and skims them.  The other girls leave but she stays behind and starts asking questions about the manga and its characters.  She begins to act out the scene he has drawn, playing the female protagonist.  She doesn't have a sword like the character so she does a karate kick and holds it.  He's kind of impressed but intimidated.  She critiques the story and offers suggestions.  She even teases him a little.  The next day she shows up in the Art Room, where "Senpai", who is a member of the Art Club, is working on a sketch drawing.  She's loud and obnoxious and resumes teasing him, getting on his nerves. She even follows him while he's walking home, laughing and teasing him playfully some more.  She claps his back a little too hard and sends him flying into the nearby canal.  But we can see from the regretful expression on her face she didn't mean to and feels bad about it.  And all the times she's around him and even when she's being very intense with her teasing, she's blushing red in the face the whole time.  She helps him out of the canal and apologizes and introduces herself.  He's tall and lanky and she's short & athletic and on the swim team.  She gazes up at him as she says her name syllable by syllable ("Na-Ga-To-Ro") and with one finger playfully traces the Kanji on his chest through his wet shirt, again with a playful look on her face and blushing. And so it goes for the next 7 volumes of the manga.  He tries to remain aloof & dignified, while she says loud & obnoxious but also playful and clearly the more emotionally immature of the two...so they're like a comedy duo of sorts.  He completely misreads her at first and has little fantasies predicting how she will be terrible next, but they never pan out.  He expects her to be obnoxious to other guys and terrorize them the way he feels a bit terrorized but....she doesn't.  To guys she doesn't like or have interest in, she's quite cold & cutting.  She reserves her "special treatment" only for her Senpai.   All this is a long introduction to make note that a lot of incels who are also into anime really REALLY don't understand this show....they complain bitterly that it "glorifies bullying" and reserve the most hateful language for Nagatoro herself, using all the usual hateful words for women (c-word, etc)...they really really hate her.  On the one hand, I would

love to see this series dubbed into English but on the other hand I feel bad for the online abuse any voice actress will inevitably suffer from lending her voice in English to this character someday.  A lot of these guys seemingly have a real issue separating fantasy from reality and will yell at voice actors when they're actually angry at the character they play.... Nagatoro does arguably cross the line into bullying territory initially, but like I said, she feels remorseful for pushing him into the canal.  Her friends are kind of dimwits and *are* themselves traditional bullies....but when THEY try to bully HER Senpai she gives them death stares and they back down.  She's very possessive of him.  In the manga especially, Nagatoro sometimes "gets out over her own skis" and winds up revealing her real feelings and getting embarrassed herself, overplaying her hand and getting little bits of come-uppance.  She sometimes blurts out her real desires then covers them up quickly with a dismissive joke....it's a little gas-lighty but I understand it's mainly a defense mechanism. What the incels who hate-watch this show can't conceive in their heads.....is that Nagatoro has genuine feelings for her Senpai.  She's not bullying him....she's flirting!  Aggressively and badly, sure, but it's not mean-spirited.  She even coyly suggests to him he should be bolder with her, she could make it worth his while.  In my past, I've dated a hyper-aggressive flirt who reminds me a lot of Nagatoro.  I just have a lot of empathy for both characters and wish them well.  Just like with the male protagonist Nishikata in Takagi-san the viewer feels like doing a loud "stage whisper" to him:  "psst!  she likes you, dummy."  There are a few moments here and there between the two of them that are so wholesome & sweet it makes me want to cry.  It's such a good show and it's so horribly misunderstood by a lot of very damaged people who are too blinded by their own misogyny and self-pity to see it. To sum up, Nagatoro wouldn't constantly hang around her Senpai and do the things she does if she didn't have genuine feelings for him....which she very plainly does. And by Ep.5 of the anime, it's clear he cares about her, too.

Anyway, I look forward to reading the next volume of the manga and finishing season 1 of the anime adaptation.  I would definitely watch it again if it gets an English dub release.

[seansginreview]

BATCH “GARAM MASALA GIN”

Distillery: Batch

Name: Garam Masala Gin

ABV: 44% vol

Based: Lancashire

Price: £37 (Subscription price £35)

Description:

Garam Masala Gin is an exploration of Indian ingredients. A blend of spices including tamarind, fenugreek, and bay leaf are combined with traditional botanicals. Subtle heat and sweetness are balanced with gentle warmth and spice, resulting in depth and complexity.

Review:

When I signed up to the Batch Innovations club back in March 2019, I didn't really know what to expect. What I was looking for was something a little different to other gin subscriptions where they'll send you a bottle of gin with some snacks and a magazine or something. I was a member of a couple of other clubs before however, after getting a few gins which I later was just able to buy quite easily (and usually a little cheaper than what the subscription was) I decided to look elsewhere, and boy I'm glad I did.

I came across Batch Innovations which seemed to offer something a little different. BINGO! Exactly what I was looking for. The first month, you get a bit of money off (standard across most subscriptions to be honest) and so I joined, and waited.

A few days later, I took delivery of a rather beautiful bottle with a very unique gin inside. It was the Batch "Garam Masala Gin" - Yes... Garam Masala!

I'd never seen or heard of anything quite like it before and considering I had no idea what spirit I would be getting when I signed up, this really surprised me. I knew I was onto a winner.

It came with some Fever Tree Aromatic tonic, which is what they suggested to try it with first time round. (I'll explain the first time around bit in just a moment)

I don't know what I was expecting when I opened the bottle. Curry flavoured gin I guess? - Well, that was wrong (and as much as I like curry, I think I was a little relieved when I smelt the gin and got the aroma of juniper with notes of ginger and subtle warming spices. It was actually very pleasant.

I poured 50ml over ice and topped up with some of the Fever Tree Aromatic tonic they sent with it and I was really surprised. What I tasted was unusual but just beautiful, like no other gin I've tasted. The cumin really gives it a warm, sweetness which was so nice. I tried the second glass with some ginger ale... wow! this was just as nice. 2 drinks in and I've yet to be disappointed. Even with standard Indian Tonic, it was lovely to drink.

One of the unique things about Batch is when they're gone, they're gone. These aren't just gins you can pop into your local supermarket and pick up off the shelf. Oh no... and even when you go to sites that might stock them, they don't last very long at all so these spirits are actually pretty tough to get hold of. That's what also makes the subscription that little more special. When I have friends over, they're always checking out what's new in the Batch collection, knowing it's unlikely they would have tried any of the innovation flavours.

I did mention earlier about the "first time around" - well, that's because, occasionally, Batch will revisit some of their older innovations and release a second batch and that's exactly what happened with this. Around 18 months later, members got an email asking which spirit they would like to see make a comeback. They gave us 3 options and Garam Masala won this time! This means, older members got to experience something they hadn't had in quite a long time and new members got to experience the joy of this gin for the first time. It's great they do this too as sometimes, one bottle just isn't enough and that was clearly the case with this one.

Sometimes, the gins they release do go onto their online store however, most of the time, these are for members.

The second time around, they suggested their Mango Sparkler cocktail. I had to give it a go... here's how they recommend you make it...

1 Cinnamon Stick

40g Caster Sugar

100ml Garam Masala Gin

100ml Mango Juice

200ml Prosecco

Orange Peel to Garnish

Method:

Put the cinnamon stick in 200ml of water. Bring to the boil and simmer rapidly for around 5 minutes. Add the sugar and return to the boil until it's reduced by half.

Leave to cool, then mix with the gin and mango juice and divide between two glasses.

Top up with prosecco and garnish with an orange peel.

This was a delicious cocktail and one I'll be making again, that's for sure.

Overall, this gin is absolutely brilliant. What a great innovation to receive, and so pleased this was the first one I tried from Batch Distillery. Warming spices with gin work very well. So many different ways to drink this and would absolutely recommend if you can grab a bottle.

Thumbs Up: 5/5

👍👍👍👍👍

[fates-factory]

Hi could you do a fanfic about M!Kana and Selkie (since she's the only one who doesn't friendzone him). There's no fanfics about them anywhere so you can do anything as long as they're a cute coulpe, Thanks! :)

Another apology for my slacking, but here is a super fluffy fic for you! Thank you again for the request, Enjoy!

Words: 1641

The clearing was quiet with the occasional sound of movement and life in the daylight hours in the forest. A rabbit hopped into the clearing, sniffing the air before hopping forward to search for a tasty morsel in the grasses. A sudden crash sounded, but the rabbit had no time to avoid the dragon that pounced on it from above. A fox hopped off it's back and gave a happy little twirl before becoming a girl again.

“You got it!” Selkie squealed happily, “and you didn't squish it this time!”

“I don't mean to,” Kana sighed, stowing the rabbit in a bag he had been carrying on his horn as a dragon, “I can't help that I'm much bigger than a rabbit,”

“That bear you got the other day sure needed a squish,” Selkie giggled.

“Didn't you knock it out of a tree?” Kana asked. Selkie giggled again and shrugged. Kana relented and laughed along with her.

Selkie suddenly paused, nose upturned ever so slightly, “There is a boar nearby,”

“Mama would love that,” Kana gasped, “That would feed a lot of people,”

Selkie was a fox again in no time and pointed with her nose, nodding her head a few times to show how far it was. Kana transformed in a flurry, suppressing the roar he wanted to let loose as the change overtook him, as not to scare the boar Selkie hopped on his back and he took to the air, Selkie signaling which direction to go and when to dive.

They had figured things out pretty well in terms of communication and teamwork. Selkie rode on Kana's back, leading him to the prey by sliding a claw along his scales or tapping on the base of his wings. When they were in the air, she would bark when the prey was close, but if they were on the ground she would quiet the sound into a huff. Growling meant another predator was nearby, and a whine would signal a human. Kana got to focus on being fast and strong, flying them to the prey and then taking whatever it was down. He also always kept his senses open to predators, protecting Selkie when one got too close. He might not have been as big as his mama, but he was still much bigger than any animal they would find in the forests.

Selkie gave two short barks and a growl. Kana slowed his flight and silently spiraled downwards, looking out over the forest, trying to see what was below. They both caught sight of two young boars and a cougar that had wounded one and was closing in on the second. Kana snorted slightly, questioning their target, but Selkie was already preparing to jump down. Her fur began to shimmer, the product of her kitsune spirit, which once she was older would become will-o-wisps like her father produced in his fox form. Kana dove down after her, but stopped just short of the tree line, looking for a suitable place to touch down. He knew she wanted to have the prey this time, so it was his job to startle the predator long enough for his fox friend to down the second boar. He found a hole in the tree canopy just large enough for him to slip through, but not quite big enough for a stealthy entrance like he wanted. The cougar's ears swiveled towards him until he clamored out of the tree onto the forest floor, causing the cat to turn its entire head at the sound. Kana straightened himself to his full height and unfurled his wings, tipping just his head forward to brandish his branching horns. The big cat twitched its tail, considering it's options until a streak crossed between it and it's initial prey. The cougar yowled and hissed, keeping its body towards Kana but it's head facing the new threat. Selkie, who had the little boar under a clawed paw, bore her teeth and growled, her hackles rising and her fur sparking wildly. Kana added his growl to the mix and stalked forward, aiming to be between the cougar and Selkie. The outnumbered predator gave one more flick of its tail before its ears flattened against its head and it slowly backed away from them. After it had gone far enough without pursuit, it turned quickly and launched itself out of sight.

After both boars had been incapacitated, Selkie turned back into human form, chattering happily as she helped load the two young boars onto Kana's back. After she secured their kills, Kana dipped his head towards her and snorted happily as she threw her arms around his neck. She vocalized the idea of heading back to the castle, to which Kana nodded, motioning for her to climb on his back.

“You sure you can carry me and those boars?” Selkie asked with an unusual note of concern in her voice. Kana nodded, then rustled his wings impatiently.

“I think I'll stay human then,” Selkie chirped, nimbly climbing onto Kana's back, “I'm much lighter this way and then you won't be as tired when we get back and we can play some more!” Kana made a noise of agreement before standing and taking off into the sky.

“Thank you Kana, Selkie,” Corrin smiled at the two children as they excitedly showed her their conquests, “I appreciate you bringing back such good meat,”

“We did roast one of the rabbits already,” Kana admitted, “But we saved the boars for you, mama!”

“That's okay my Kana-bean, you earned it,” Corrin ruffled his hair as she directed the meat be taken to the kitchen for supper that night.

“Kana!” Selkie called up from the ground.

“Mama, are you sure she won't mind,” Kana said up in the treehouse, “Most of the other kids all brush me off cause I'm littler than everyone else,”

“I think you should find out yourself,” Corrin knelt down face to face with her son, “Considering how often I see you two together, I think it will be just fine,”

Kana hugged Corrin before heading for the door, “Thank you, mama!”

“Be back before dark,” Corrin waved.

“I will!” Kana called back just before disappearing down the ladder.

“Come on, I found a great new place we can play!” Selkie tugged Kana's hand before he had touched down on the ground. Kana stumbled, but quickly regained his footing and ran along with her. She led him around the castle wall and past the grove of trees that his mother had sprung from the ground using the ever-present dragon veins. Kana could feel them thrumming, but his mama was the only one allowed to change things in the castle, even his aunts and uncles weren't allowed.

“Now it's just through here,” Selkie pointed to a small hole in the wall, one most people would miss on first glance. They squeezed through one at a time and on the other side, Kana could only gape at what was there.

A wide meadow of flowers stretched out along the castle wall and down the slope of the hill beyond. There were many different colors, as many as in the book of pressed flowers his mama had made from the ones he would bring her when he first joined the army in the castle.

Selkie stood by waiting for him to say something, but her natural impatience soon kicked in, “Kana? What do you think?”

“So pretty,” Kana said airily, “Like you,” he words escaped before he realized it and raised a hand to his mouth.

“Aw, that's really sweet Kana,” Selkie giggled, “But why're you acting weird?”

“I-I,” Kana paused briefly, “Yeah I guess I am acting a bit weird, but it's cause I want to say something to you but I don't know how,”

“You can tell me anything, I'll always listen to you cause we're friends right?” Selkie gave him a lopsided grin, “Let's go sit under that tree while we talk, papa always said that talking is always best done cuddling under a shady tree,” Kana went a bit red at the suggestion but followed her anyway.

Selkie turned to him expectantly as they leaned against the tree together, not cuddling, but close enough, “Okay, Go,”

“I hope you don't wanna stop hanging out with me after,” Kana gulped.

“Why?!” Selkie gasped, “Are you leaving? do you not like hunting together?”

“No, no,” Kana held up his hands, “It's actually the opposite, I want to keep doing all those things with you more, cause I really like you,”

“I like you too Kana,” Selkie chirped, then seeing the hesitant look on his face, it dawned on her, “OH! You mean you LIKE me, like that?”

Kana nodded hopefully before Selkie grabbed him in a hug, “I like you too Kana. As long as we can keep playing,”

“Of course we can, just instead of friends, we can be boyfriend and girlfriend, right?” Kana clarified.

“Yeah, that's even closer than friends, which means you and I will spend even more time together,” Selkie agreed enthusiastically, “A Fox and a Dragon, the unbreakable duo!”

“Now shall we go enjoy this meadow properly?” Kana giggled, jumping up and transforming.

“I'm gonna get you!” Selkie jumped up after him, fluidly becoming a fox and jumping after the dragon just as he took to the sky, giving a little roar. She jumped again, batting at his hanging tail, making a giggling yip as his flight faltered as he tried to catch himself in the air. He rose a little higher in the air before Selkie dashed off in one direction, and he swooped off after her.