Work Text:
bloodysky144
Why are there so many edits of XZA_lion with confetti every time he plays a harasser? Is this some sort of meme I'm unfamiliar with?
lionsleftnip
The short version of the answer:
Yes it is as those edits were spawned from this clip of Echoes of the Manor that went viral when long-term Lion fans first created those edits when he first played Antiquarian with XZA in 20XX Summer IVL.
The long version of the answer is under the readmore:
Firstly I'm assuming you’re unfamiliar with HCQ (if you are familiar with them, I'm sorry for repeating info you already know)
XZA_lion was formerly part of the now-disbanded team High Cloud Quintet (HCQ). HCQ was one of the og teams of IVL alongside IPC Gaming (ICG), Taixuan (TX), Anti-Entropy (AET), Genius Society (GS), and Knights of Beauty (KB).
Brief aside to explain the unfamiliar names on this list besides HCQ:
TX later rebranded to Xianzhou Alliance (XZA).
AET rebranded to Astral Express (AE).
KB disbanded due to issues with their sponsor, but all of its members are still involved with IVL in some way (the most prominent of whom is Argenti, who you’ll probably recognize as one of the commentators). All of its members have expressed a desire to reform KB, so we’ll hopefully see a return in the future.
Continuing on,
HCQ consisted of the survivor mains HCQ_lion, HCQ_Flash, HCQ_Yinyue, and HCQ_Blade alongside their hunter main HCQ_Fox. Their coach was TengXiao.
It is important to note that out of the og teams, HCQ was perhaps one of the most dominant if not the most dominant teams in tourney (See: their three COA victories). This was in part due to HCQ_Fox excelling as a fast chase hunter main (had she not retired, she would probably make one fearsome Opsing but alas), but also in part due to the excellent teamwork on the part of Lion, Flash, Yinyue, and Blade (see this match in particular for an example of their teamwork).
Where the Echoes of the Manor clip comes in is here:
Back in the HCQ era, Lion often played rescuers as back then Blade mainly played support and Yinyue, when not playing a decoder, would often also play a support or a kiting type character. Flash is well-known for her fearsome harassers to the point where even today, many pro hunter mains will grow extremely scared at the thought of her Antiquarian or Prospector.
In this clip, Lion jokingly asks to play Antiquarian, but is shot down by the rest of his team. He grumbles about him having an S-badge Antiquarian to which Flash says “get an S1 Antiquarian and then we’ll talk.”
This has spawned many memes of Lion being a harasser in disguise (see: this meme in particular poking fun at the fact that Coordi can be played as a harasser) who was forced to play rescuer as no one else wanted to. It died down when another Echoes of the Manor clip was released when Lion finally got to bring out his S1 Antiquarian. When XZA era Lion got to play harasser on a semi-frequent basis, us Lion fans jokingly celebrated his victory, bringing the clip and the meme back into full focus.
So what happened to HCQ?
In short, we don’t really know what happened to cause HCQ to disband.
Obligatory please don’t pressure anyone to give out details as they’re clearly still uncomfortable telling the public the full story of what happened, and they all seemingly have kept their close relationships that I'd (and many other HCQ fans) would hate to see destroyed due to pressure from fans.
However, here’s what we do know:
1) Fox has retired due to an injury.
3) Flash has retired but has refused to give out any definitive reason.
4) The team Denizens of Abundance (DOA) was also disbanded at around the same time with all of its members retiring, but none of their members have returned to IVL as coaches or commentators.
Where are they now?
Lion joined XZA shortly after their disbandment, joining their ranks alongside XZA_Matrix, XZA_HuoH, XZA_QQ, XZA_Chicken, and XZA_Starskiff under the coach Phoenix.
Yinyue took a season off, but joined AE shortly after, joining alongside AE_Arahato, AE_6phase, AE_star, and AE_sky and AE_coffee.
Blade took a year-long break, but he has recently come back with the Stellaron Hunters (STH) as a surv main in the recent 20XX IVL Summer Season.
Flash has retired, but she has returned as the coach for Antimatter Legion (AML) in the 20XX IVL Summer Season.
Fox has not returned to IVL in any way, but she still uploads videos regularly here which includes frequent cameos from other former HCQ members as well as her reacting to recent IVL matches.
TengXiao has become a commentator for IVL.
I'm so sorry for the info dump op, I hope this is helpful for you.
bloodysky144
No the lore dump was really helpful op! I really appreciate getting to learn more about past IVL lore!
fatherlesscloud
sdkljfdnljsdfnsljdkfs local XZA_lion simp proves their chops by infodumping about the HCQ more at 11.
myakuyakoku
Special shout out to these tags!
[image id: a picture of tags with the text reading #ivl #this is azures lion tag #clouds over the sky (hcq tag) #phoenix rise (xza tag) #I know half of this isnt related to the clip #but I swear this is good knowledge for any lion fan #like knowing about hcq does a lot to explain why him blade and yinyue are so close #and why theyre often on interviews together #for cross team interviews #and knowing more about ivl history never hurt anyone
End ID]
feeshception
i mean like what else did we expect from azure?
fatherlesscloud
so true. Someone asks a simple question about XZA_lion and Azure just gives them an essay in return.
feeshception
average azure moment.
fatherlesscloud
average Azure moment indeed.
myakuyakoku
Average Azure moment indeed!
lionsleftnip
Okay you three knock it off before you blow up poor op’s notifs.
[Youtube]
Break Ace @breakace
1M+ Subscribers
Channel Description
Hello! I'm Ace (BreakAce in Identity V), and I'm an IDV content creator. Hunter mains are Photographer and Naiad. You’re probably here for my videos breaking down or commentating on tourney matches, my insights on the IDV meta, or to watch me fail at this game.
NetEase please hire me ;-;
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[Thumbnail : The Hunter Naiad in her “Rosemary” skin is pictured before a stunned Enchantress, clearly in the middle of circling her. On the top left is a black corner with white text saying “Hunter Rank.” ]
Tram is still the best hunter in the game - Hunter Ranking (Identity V) .2 hours ago
[Thumbnail : The Hunter Shadow’s Original costume card is shown pictured. Behind her is the inside of the church on the Red Church map. ]
Trying out the new hunter & Thoughts on her (Identity V) - .2 weeks ago
[Thumbnail : The hunter Naiad is posed in the center of the frame with the survivors Antiquarian, Aeroplanist, Wilding, and Female Dancer positioned around her. Underneath the characters are placards telling the player’s ign in red (survivors) and yellow (hunter). White text at the top says MUSIC BOX MADNESS! ]
Let’s Watch IVL Autumn finals! (AE vs AML) - .2 months ago
[Thumbnail : Break Ace is pictured sitting to the right of the thumbnail across from IVL commentator Luka. They seem to be in mid conversation. ]
Interview with IVL Commentator Luka. - .8 months ago
Break Ace
1M+ Subscribers
[Thumbnail : The hunter Photographer is posed in the center of the frame with the survivors Coordinator and Magician on his left and the survivors Acrobat and Merc on his right. Underneath all the characters are placards telling the player’s ign in cyan (survivors) and yellow (hunter). White text at the bottom says CALCULATED 4K ]
Why ICG_AVEN is a Legend among Joseph Mains
5.1M views. 1 year ago.
Description
Today, we’ll be breaking down ICG_AVEN’s legendary 4k with Photographer against GS in 20XX Summer IVL.
20XX Summer IVL match breakdowns, IVL Finals, GS vs …more
Comments
Pinned comment
@icg-aventurine
Although I had already posted a video on my own channel breaking down my own thoughts during this match, it is very refreshing seeing an outsider’s perspective on the match. It was a gamble playing Joseph, but I knew I could secure a 4k with him.
@breakace
slkjdfnskljfsdkflsdf it’s an honor to know that you’re watching my videos sir.
@preciousstones
And this is the match that launched ICG_AVEN’s Joseph into legendary status as he repeated history once again. This is 100% the match I refer people to when they ask me what the hype around ICG_Aven is.
@peppyismyspiritanimal
What do you mean by repeated history once again?
@preciousstones
Back in one of the previous COAs, Aventurine had a 4k with Joseph.
@featheredcloud
Thank you for your video Ace! Back then I was just getting into IVL, and was mostly focused on the HCQ, so I completely missed this match and all of the hype after it. This was an excellent video to help me understand what’s all the hype behind Aventurine’s Joseph.
@luminescentcherries
This 100% just explaining why Aven’s the Joseph main through the lens of this match.
@PrincessCeleste
Thank you for the video Ace! This match means a lot to me as a fellow Joseph main. It’s not common to see a Joseph in tournaments other than a meme pick, so to see this miracle happening is exciting. Thank you so much for breaking down this match for us! Being able to see the steps to AVEN’s victory was so satisfying, almost as satisfying as watching it for the first time.
@jingfang
Fellow Joseph main here!
Watching out Jojo WINNING makes me so happy
@datsinchresting134
Wait so who won this matchup?
@asteriaflower
Ultimately, GS won in Overtime. However, Aventurine 100% won this IVL due to this amazing Joseph performance followed up by his excellent Spider in Overtime.
@geopoliticsandriod
He just needed one more elimination…
@callamura
This match, that one PCO clown play, and ffan’s Gamekeeper will always be on my top favorite tournament hunter plays. I would love to see more successful nonmeta hunter plays.
@Xxracnorc0cxX
Watch Clown was LEGENDARY
@rensleftear
That PCO Clown was hella good
@cycranedeliveryservice
Where can I watch those matches?
@callamura
Ace has made videos on those matches. You can also find them by simply searching for “Watch Clown” and “ffan Gamekeeper COA”
@tunamana99
I kid you not when i saw that Joseph only picked trump card i started sweating,when a Joseph doesn't bring detention on high tiers is because he knows he will get at least a draw.
@kavioli
You know, Aventurine didn’t even need to carry any final Persona traits to get the 4k as he never used Trump Card. Either way, switching to anything other than Blink was risky on this map due to the sheer size of this map.
Identity V League
@ivlofficial .1 year ago
AE & XZA Players Take on an Escape Room | IVL Off-Duty
In this video, Guinaifen takes AE players Star and Sky and XZA players HuoH and Chicken with her to a ghost-themed escape room!
[Video Transcript:
G: Hello fam! I'm your favorite caster Guinaifen, and I'm joined by four guests on this very special program. Would you guys like to introduce yourself?
Star: Hello! I am Star, and this is Sky. We both play survivor for AE.
Sky: sounding mock-hurt Wow, you aren’t letting me introduce myself?
Star: I'm sorry I don’t trust you enough to introduce yourself adequately.
Guinaifen is side-eyeing Star and Sky as a bubble pops up over her head with the caption “Sad that she has to stop the drama.”
G: Moving on! Would you two like to introduce yourselves now?
H: Y-yeah! I am Huohuo from the team XZA, and I often play support or rescuer for XZA. um.
C: And finally! I am Chicken, and I often play a harasser for XZA!
G: Alright, and now we’re off to head towards our activity. Do you guys have any idea what it’ll be?
H: The invitation mentioned to bring our bravery, so I assume it’s something horror related?
C: Seconded!
Star: But it wouldn’t simply be us watching a horror movie…
G: That wouldn’t be fun content, no!
C: So it’s something intensive that’s also horror related… laser tag but with zombies?
Moment of silence as everyone looks at Chicken
Sky: How is laser tag horror-related?
C, flustered : That’s why I added the “with zombies”.
Sky: But-
G: Does anyone else have any guesses before we head over?
Star: As much as I hate to admit it, no.
H: Could be us solving some sort of puzzle…
G: Any guess from you, Sky?
Sky: No, they got everything I thought of.
There is transition and the five have switched locations.
G: Today, we are going to take on a ghost-themed escape room. The five of us are going to attempt to complete this escape room. How are you guys feeling about this?
Sky: Pretty hyped!
H: I'm pretty scared of ghosts so…
Chicken: Aiya! Don’t worry A-Huo! If ghosts come at you, I'll beat them off!
Star: Will you do the same for me, Sky?
Sky: No. If the ghosts appear, I'm sacrificing you to them.
A bubble pops up with the caption “two sets of teammates…”
G: Alright then! Well then, as much as we would like to see how you guys would do it, we are not going to do any human sacrifice here! We still all need your talent for the next competition! Is there anything you guys would like to tell your fans before we start the escape room?
H: I hope you will like seeing us flail about trying to solve the puzzles?
Star: Watch us crush these puzzles and complete the escape room in record time!
G: Ah. We seem to have two conflicting views as to how this will pan out. Well then let’s see how we’ll do and who’s prediction will be correct! Do you guys want to bet anything?
H: Oh that wouldn’t be necessary…
What follows is security camera footage montage of the five completing the various puzzles and being jumpscared by the various actors. It seems like HuoH’s prediction of them flailing about is correct.
G: We’ve completed the escape room! How do you all think you’ve done?
The sound of a crow cawing in the background is edited in as all four players look at each other.
Chicken: I…
Sky: This…
H: I screamed a lot?
Sky looks to Star with the text “Save me” edited below him.
Star: We were very interesting?
G: I'll leave that for the fans to decide! Comment down below how you found our performance here! Anyways, who do you think contributed the most to solving the puzzle? Star?
Star: You, Guinaifen! You were the one who solved most of the puzzles when we were clueless.
G: Aw, thank you Star! Chicken, who do you think contributed the most?
Chicken, caught off-guard : Huohuo! She seemed to know the most out of what she was doing out of all of us.
H: Oh, thanks!
G: Huohuo, who do you think contributed the most?
H: Sky and Chicken. They were the loudest and pretty much the only two I could hear throughout the escape room.
Sky , at the same time as C : That’s not how I remember it…
C , at the same time as Sky : That’s not a compliment…
H: You two contributed the most in that you two set the mood with your constant screaming.
C: Wait no you were also screaming a lot.
H: Yeah, but I wasn’t as loud as you two were…
Slapping sfx plays as both Chicken and Sky are edited to look as if they’ve been slapped .
G: And last but not least! Sky, who do you think contributed the most?
Sky: Huohuo was essential in figuring out the final puzzle!
H: Oh…thank you…
Star: Yeah! Huohuo absolutely carried us in the final puzzle!
H: I didn’t really do much…
C: No you absolutely carried!
G: Alright, so would you guys say the title of MVP goes to Huohuo for today?
Sky, Star, and Chicken all nod.
G: Congrats Huohuo for winning MVP then!
Victory music plays as Huohuo is edited to have a medal around her neck.
G: Finally, is there anything you guys want to say to the fans?
C: Be sure to watch us next season for IVL!
H: Thank you for supporting us! We’ll try our best not to disappoint you!
G: And do you two have anything to say?
Star: Have you heard about our lord and savior the Lordly Trashcan?
G, softly : Oh no.
Sky: He who holds all the world’s treasures within his great shiny can.
Star: Not to mention his-
G, cutting off Star : And that’s a wrap! Make sure that you stay tuned for more IVL content! We’ll see you all in the next competition! Guinaifen, out!
End transcript]