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thefirstknife · 3 years

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Iron Lord Saladin Forge

Season of the Lost dropped some major lore about Saladin and I love every piece of it so I will make a huge post detailing stuff about and what's important.

The lore is on Iron Banner armour which you can see in-game when you go to the armour section. The lore is the same on each class so it doesn't matter which one you read. It's in the order of how armour is set, so helmet -> arm piece -> chest piece -> leg piece -> class item. There's some extras on Iron banner weapons that I'll add as well.

The rest under the cut due to length and also spoilers!

I'll link to the Hunter gear because I'm a dirty Hunter main and I read it from there and that's what I have open because I couldn't remember the names for other two classes, but the lore is the same on all of them. The set is called Iron Forerunner.

We haven't really had any substantial Saladin lore in D2 besides few lore pieces from Chosen and Splicer. Not nearly enough I think, especially since he wasn't properly introduced in D2 at all and it was kinda assumed that everyone would know about him from the Rise of Iron expansion in D1. He had plenty of voice lines, but with no real context. His voice lines in Season of the Chosen were interesting, but also made a lot of people think he's a bad person and a warmongering coward who sat on his butt during the Red War and was then preaching action for action's sake.

The situation is obviously more complex, but I've always said that it's Bungie fault for not explaining more about him prior to his involvement in the Season of the Chosen. Well, now we got some really interesting information at last!

Anyway, helmet first!

Flavour text:

"Some know the legend. We threw ourselves on the blades of tyranny so others may live free." —Lord Saladin

This is referencing the Iron Lords' fight against the Warlords in the Dark Age. Saladin is heavily influenced by his time in the Dark Age. It seems like some really old Guardians never get over the trauma of living through that (Drifter is another example). Side note: this could also be referencing the battle against SIVA since Rasputin is also known as "The Tyrant." It's not fully relevant tho, as Saladin was equally affected by both periods in his life.

This first entry details something we don't really think about when it comes to Guardians: death. It's a temporary thing with them so it doesn't really matter. But Saladin recounts how he remembers his deaths and how each one felt. Despite the fact that he will be brought back, the pain and struggle of dying are very real. There is also the associated trauma of the realisation that you will go through this over and over and over:

He laughed when his Ghost reassembled him. Then, he cried.

It's not something mentioned often, and definitely wasn't a point raised with Saladin. It gives some context to how seriously he takes combat, training and the lives of his fellow Guardians.

Saladin remembers the day he stopped counting deaths. "Something about you is different," Jolder had said, and put her hand on his.

This explains that his worldview of the role of Lightbearers changed the moment he was invited to become an Iron Lord. It's also important to remember that he loved Lady Jolder very much (in whichever way you want to interpret it) and that watching her make the choice to die a final death has had a heavy impact on him.

Saladin remembers all this and more when he looks at the Crow. He feels rage form a hot pit in his belly when Osiris tells him about the young Lightbearer's suffering at the hands of his fellow Guardians. Osiris asks him if he can keep a secret.

"I don't like secrets," Saladin says, and that's the end of it.

Saladin doesn't really say this during Chosen and his interactions with Crow, but it's evident from this that he cares deeply about the young Light who suffered in ways Saladin only remembers people suffering during the Dark Age. It's also important to note that the Osiris he speaks to here is Savathun. Saladin seems to be uniquely unaffected by Savathun's schemes. This will repeat itself again later.

Second, arms piece.

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"Some know the legend. We were forged in the fires of a burning world." —Lord Saladin

Same thing as before. Referencing the post-Collapse Dark Age. The lore tab details a really tragic story of the Iron Lords burying bodies, including the implication of Saladin burying the body of a child. He recalls that these people were victims of Fallen Raiders.

"It's a vicious circle," Efrideet had said as she tied off a funeral shroud with great care. Saladin remembers the bundle being very small. "One day, I'm going to break it."

Saladin remembers how easily the body fit in his arms, how light it felt as he laid it in the grave. He remembers, with shame, pretending not to hear Efrideet's words so he wouldn't need to respond to them.

He remembers not having anything kind to say.

He obviously regrets not having a stronger stance on this in the past. Where Efrideet seems to have always been keen on ending the cycle of violence, he clearly thought differently and is now ashamed of it. This transitions into more about his relation to Crow:

Saladin remembers all this and more whenever the Crow talks back to him. Sometimes, he bites down on the inside of his cheek. Sometimes, he looks up to find his Ghost focused on him with a knowing look.

He doesn't say anything to his Ghost either.

Because Crow was saying things that reminded him of Efrideet. Breaking the cycles of violence, extending a friendly hand, not treating everyone like an enemy. It's evident that this turmoil is still inside of him as someone who spent most of his time fighting for survival, only to be told by those younger than him that there's a way out of that war. It's a very common struggle of people dealing with trauma and specifically PTSD to not be able to imagine and/or live in a world of peace and to outright reject the possibility of peace ever existing. Saladin is very clearly dealing with that and here, we see it from his own POV: despite sometimes being harsh to Crow, there were times when he chose to say nothing because deep down he knows that Crow is right. Accepting that is a long process though.

Third, chest piece.

Flavour text:

"Some know the legend. We rose from the ashes of a dying world to save humanity from itself." —Lord Saladin

Same again, but this is an interesting way to phrase it. He's talking about humanity being a danger to itself, not about any external threat. Ultimately, the Traveler's gift was the first thing that harmed humanity post-Collapse, despite later being the thing that saved it.

This leads into Saladin's thoughts on the Red War, something we've been sorely missing for a very long time.

Saladin remembers losing his connection to the Light. He remembers thinking that the Traveler must have discovered his most secret doubts; the darkest thoughts he shared with no one—not even his Ghost. He remembers the strange sense of relief that had washed over him until his radio crackled to life just moments later.

His deepest secret? Probably that Light is a burden. When he lost the connection to the Light, he specifically thought it had only happened to him and then felt relief. Freedom from the eternal war he has to keep waging. I'm sure he feels incredible shame for thinking it would be better to just lose the Light and die a final death, but alas, he is bound by duty. Especially a Titan's duty.

He stands there thinking about it for a while before finally deciding to embrace that duty. And now we know what he was doing during the Red War:

"Saladin," his Ghost said again, and Saladin remembers moving. He remembers clutching his radio and rallying survivors—those strong enough to make the journey—to the Iron Temple.

It's been abbreviated as him "sitting out" the Red War because he didn't fight. Of course it was strange that the last remaining active Iron Lord did not show up to the City to fight alongside all the others, both Guardians and ordinary humans. That Lord Saladin, someone who endured so many hardships and fought so many battles since the Dark Age, hasn't come to help humanity in its time of greatest need.

But now this hits different. He didn't fight, yes. He couldn't. Losing the Light wasn't just something that made him scared (like all Lightbearers): it was something that made him scared of how he might actually enjoy dying a glorious final death. To end the trauma and the memories of all the horrors he's been through. So instead of throwing himself into a reckless death, he chose to stay in the Iron Temple and protect survivors.

So yeah, he didn't fight, but he did something equally important. The Iron Temple is an extremely well protected fortress that's very difficult to reach and breach, so any survivor he gathered was perfectly safe there until the Red War ended. Sometimes "sitting out" is more noble than fighting.

Saladin remembers all this and more whenever the Crow challenges him on his cowardice during the Red War. He wants to break the young Guardian's back to teach him a lesson about what it's like to feel helpless, but something stops him.

He remembers hearing stories about the Crow's life on the Shore before he arrived at the Tower, and does not raise a hand against him.

The lore entry ends with telling us that Saladin was clearly very agitated about Crow's teasing. But in the end, he remembered what Crow has been through and realised that Crow already knows what it's like to feel helpless. He did not need a reminder and Saladin decided to take the teasing without a response. It truly frames some of those voice lines in a different light, knowing this background.

Fourth, leg piece!

Flavour text:

"Some know the legend. We crossed a burning world with sword in hand, bringing justice and blood." —Lord Saladin

Once more, we are told that Saladin was mostly forged (eheh) through his experience in the Dark Age.

The lore page details a bittersweet memory Saladin has of him with his fellow Iron Lords and friends enjoying some good time over a meal and song.

He remembers Radegast asking him to sing the song taught to them by the people of the blacksmith's village, but agreeing only when Jolder and Perun promised to join in. Their voices rose like wolves in the night and were so raw by morning that none of them could speak.

This is honestly heartbreaking. Saladin being this happy and free to sing and enjoy himself: compared to how he is now. But even with that, he has retained the need to do it again sometimes, if he ever finds people to be comfortable around.

Saladin remembers all this and more when Zavala tells him Amanda has taken the Crow out to drink in the City's streets. He wonders what song they'll sing, if it's anything like the one he's heard everyone humming lately—even though he hasn't tried it himself.

I love how he projects his past joy onto the two young people and wonders if they'll do the same as he did once. Here we also get another hint about Saladin apparently not being affected by Savathun's viral chant. It might be a point relevant in the future.

Finally, class item!

Flavour text:

"Some know the legend. We crushed the Warlords beneath our heel so that they may never rise again." —Lord Saladin

Nothing new here. Just Saladin recounting how hard they went against the Warlords.

The rest is a very poignant lore page that details the relationship between Saladin and Zavala. Zavala studied under Saladin who was his mentor and it's been repeated often that Saladin has retained a "soft spot" for him.

Saladin remembers the first time he met Zavala. He remembers thinking that the Awoken had regal bearing like the stags he once hunted on the Steppes. His shoulders were broad, and his chin held high. When he moved, he did so with the strength and purposeful deliberation of someone with the power to determine his own place in the world.

"You'll never have a son," his Ghost had said, "but it isn't too late for you to take an apprentice."

I love when non-Awoken describe Awoken, there's always something ethereal about it. But I'm mostly putting this part here because of what Saladin's Ghost says.

First, I am incredibly soft for older Guardians adopting younger ones as kids and teaching them. Easily my favourite dynamic ever. Saladin seeing Zavala as a son makes me cry a thousand tears.

And second, is this finally a full confirmation that Guardians cannot bear children? It's kind of a strange place to put it, but it seems to be the implication. It makes sense they wouldn't be able to, but it's also nice to have some direct lore information about it in case it pops up as a question. I'm sorry if this ruins anyone's fics.

Saladin remembers their sparring matches. He remembers how Zavala always got back on his feet, no matter how many times Saladin put him down. He remembers refusing to offer the younger Lightbearer a hand up. Until the day Zavala finally bested him in combat.

He remembers lying flat on his back, left shoulder dislocated and ribs shattered, a strange pressure on his chest that made it difficult to breathe.

"Finish it," Saladin had commanded because that was the way of things. His Ghost would revive him.

Saying nothing, Zavala hauled him to his feet instead.

I love how this is placed at the end, paralleling the beginning of Saladin remembering his deaths and the pain of dying. But instead of "finishing it," Zavala pulls him back up. It's definitely something Saladin hasn't experienced before, especially not before becoming an Iron Lord, when all of his deaths were just gruesome ends to a struggle. Then seconds after, he'd be back up. He took the revival for granted, until Zavala offered him the alternative. Again, an interesting perspective about something we don't usually think about much. I do wonder how Saladin healed afterwards though.

Saladin remembers all this and more when his former apprentice calls him into his office and tells him about the face behind the Crow's mask. Zavala says he knows that Saladin doesn't like secrets; that it's unfair to ask him to keep one of this magnitude, but there will come a time when the Crow needs someone—the way Zavala needed Saladin.

"You never needed anyone," Saladin insists.

Zavala only smiles.

This page ends with the two bonding again. Despite their differences and disagreements, there's mutual respect between the mentor and the apprentice. The father and the son.

And Saladin thinks Zavala never needed him, but that is obviously not true and Zavala tells him so. He also tells him that Crow, and implied Guardians like him, will need the same guidance.

It gives us a full circle back to Saladin's musings about his purpose as a Guardian and Lightbearer. He may have doubted his place in the world before, but seeing as he's still here with us and actively participating and helping; training us through Iron Banner, helping with the Eliksni, refusing to side against the Vanguard despite the difference in opinion, now serving as Zavala's ambassador for the Cabal and easily bonding with someone he would've considered an enemy not long ago...

I think Saladin knows his place. He's one of the strongest Lightbearers and most principled among them. He is not swayed by lies and deceptions, he does not abide by them and speaks plainly. He has deeply rooted beliefs in justice and he will not compromise himself, even if it means conceding his position to make peace with a former enemy when that enemy proves their worth, honesty and good intentions to him.

He is a Guardian.

He is an Iron Lord.

#destiny 2 #lord saladin #lore vibing #long post #more iron lord lore bungie please?#iron temple as a social space?#please?#anyway i love this new lore about him so much #i wish we had it before people formed some crude opinions about him #but hopefully this can retroactively clear certain things up

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cherrymoonvol6 · 5 years

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some avengers endgame Thoughts cause i saw the movie yesterday and can't stop thinking about it

of course..... spoilers ahead

nebula and tony playing!!!! i just love how nebula's personality comes through without it being ooc

also... nebula carefully sitting tony up. she Cares so much :(

steve immediately going to tony :( like im a stucky kind of gal but holy shit i love them

which was completely erased in the next scene where tony drags steve up and down and after that passes out, which is a confrontation Mood

i wonder how they made tony look so skinny and sick. if it was cgi then i applaud them cause it looked so good

the way they killed thanos so fucking quickly here... i don't know how to feel lmao. like cutting the gauntlet arm and then slicing his neck... that's what we were all screaming at them during infinity war. it's good to see them learn from their mistakes, i guess ?

(can't remember the order in which things happen from now so forgive me if i make a mistake)

i told my sister "that's one of the russos!!!!!" so it took me ten seconds to realize that the russo was the gay character everyone was talking about (i thought it would be fury for no other reason than it being shocking and fury having very little to do with the plot, but)

and steve being supportive of that :( man out of time said gay rights!

carol's new hair!! holy shit!!!!!

rocket insinuating carol has been experimenting with more hairstyles... i would like to see it

don't think i missed that carol x rhodey nod. i support it.

don't wanna say it now... for now ill just state: i love what they're doing with natasha in the movie. she truly feels like a friend to steve. like that small gesture of her sliding the plate towards steve is just so domestic and beautiful! it really makes her feel so human and complex at the end. i was so worried about her being wasted but i loved her throughout the film

it was a fucking rat who got scott out. i have to laugh.

also is that the guy from that old "gayyyyy" meme????

cassie is all grown up!!!!!! i can't even imagine how hard it had been for her

also what happened to her mom? and the stepdad??? are they fine????? i hope so

i was hoping we would get more tony as a dad in this movie and it delivered!! tony is so fucking good with kids. the bond between him and morgan was so well portrayed

also the place they live in is so cozy and that's what he deserves

when steve stepped down the car in that black outfit with the leather jacket on i gasped... he's fucking gorgeous

i kept wanting him and tony to kiss lmao tf is wrong with me

OKAY my hawkeye rights. i missed him so much

the stylish subtitles on the middle of the screen felt like too much. this isn't a tumblr gifset honey, just write them down!

thinking about the whole clintasha conversation really foreshadows the whole thing. natasha cares so deeply about clint and really puts his needs before hers. it's so beautiful to see

honestly... my clintasha rights!

i think the hulk/bruce scene was kinda endearing but then the ant man banter dragged on for toooo long

the dab i YELLED. these poor kids have to stand this man on 2023 pulling out 2016 trends to appear Hip and Cool

fat thor...... i hate how it was handled. hate it so fucking much.

new asgard! that's so cute. i hope that's on norway

miek and korg are alive!!!!

the thought of thor insulting a possibly 14 year old on fortnight is too much for me. it sounds like bad fanon talk. i still laughed (bc noobmaster69??? that's fucking hilarious)

tonys reaction to i love you 3000 is so beautiful. like the way he looks taken aback and so happy. i love irondad

steve in a white shirt and jeans!!!! i gasped again. he's delivering, the fucking model

i know they were like, barely being decent to each other again, but i still wanted my stony hug:(

when they're discussing their infinity stones memories and natasha and tony are laying down together on a table???? adorable. amazing.

also why tf didn't nebula said the soul stone required a sacrifice??? i thought that's what she got from gamora dying in volmir

as soon as natasha and clint arrived to volmir i began chanting "nonononononononono"

fuckkdjdksndk fucking nebula. cue to more nononono chanting

rhodey knocking out quill with a single hit is the funniest scene in the movie

clintasha calling on bullshit on the sacrifice thing was also quite funny

the forehead touch :((( im so weak! so sad!

clintasha literally fighting each other to be each other's sacrifice!!!! kill me now!!!!

jeez now i can finally say it: scarjo shined so fucking much on this movie!!!! her delivery was amazing, i really felt a connection between her and the avengers, it really showed her growth during the five year time jump. she fucking killed it. she did her best and she's the best black widow we could've ever gotten.

clint mourning her :((((( probably the third time i cried during the movie

thor's panic attack being used for cheap laughs was the most uncomfortable moment for me... or any scene where people only saw thor as Fat and Lazy (basically, two thirds of the movie)

the freya + thor reunion was so sweet though!

okay. okay. hear me out. tony was on a very serious mission to regain an infinity stone. and the first thing he does is check out steve's ass. and aknowledge how glorious it is. i couldn't believe what i was watching!!!!!! like that actually fucking happened. consider me a fully formed stony bitch.

and scott joining in to say it was "america's ass" ???? poetic cinema

so it's canon that everyone checks out steve's ass and appreciates it as a national treasure. that's all i never thought id needed.

steve saying "hail hydra" i YELLED. it was a nice nod to the whole "cap is a nazi" mess

and steve fighting himself... hot

using his bucky trauma to shock himself is :/// but also :((((

i loved that for one moment i knew everyone on the theatre was staring at steve's ass

and steve being appreciative of his own butt!!!! ok that's all i have to say about steve's ass

i loved the reminder that thor was still kinda goofy back in avengers 1, for everyone who says taika completely changed his character. and the little tony + thor moment was adorable

"howard..... potts" i can understand tony being a mess but how did howard not suspect of anything??? elevator lady took one look of steve's face and all of her alarms started ringing

peggy carter... ive missed my wife so much

did peggy marry souza. i hope she did. steve tf are you doing staring at a married woman (jk)

clint kicking the stones away as soon as bruce is done with the snap is the biggest mood

also... the hell was scott looking at that made him think it had worked? just... more birds outside? i was really curious

the irony of the only avenger without superpowers being left with the stones

"i know you" *hands out stones* how can you not love clint, he's so pure

nebula killing his 2014 self is a power move. that would be me if i met my 2014 self

thor with a braided beard!!!!! beautiful

thanos is like, a real threat and i love that

okay. i kinda saw it coming. i saw thor leave mjolnir behind and i thought "oh????". and then the shock of thanos being able to wield stormbreaker. and then fucking mjolnir moving!!!!! i was the only person in the theatre who yelled

but seriously!!!! steve wielding AND fighting with mjolnir!!!!! couldn't stop thinking about it all day!!!!!!!!! STEVE IS WORTHY!!!!!!!

parallels to thor going for the chest. it never works babies!

and just.... this was steve's moment. steve i-can-do-this-all-day rogers really fighting with every ounce of his body and soul against the most powerful being on earth. justice for him getting knocked after touching thanos for one second in iw!

and steve getting up again! all dirty and wounded!! trembling with exhaustuation and resolution!!! with his broken shield on his arm!!!! just him facing the biggest army of the universe!!!!! so powerful

sorry to destroy this epic moment, but like, okay. people had been reintegrated to life like, twenty minutes before. and i understand that they were all confused and out of place. but sam really needed ALL that time to just... try to communicate with steve????? ok

the "avengers..." *brings mjolnir with one hand while bracing his shield with the other* "assemble" moment was... oh my God. chills all over my body.

that One Moment where steve has stormbreaker on his hand... so fucking hot

the tony and peter reunion holy shit. the hug was everything i needed! like please just hug tony stark for ages

and tony and pepper fighting together!!! that's a power couple right there

i felt it when quill looked at gamora and just... stopped. im so sad his moment was played for laughs when it was obviously such an important moment for his character

thanos was so fucking scared of wanda that he put his own troops at risk to stop her for a little while. strongest avenger right there!

and carol coming back!!!! i was like

i felt so relieved at that point. i was like "yeah thanos is fucking over what's next"

no need to talk about all the women coming together to defend peter :')

thanos getting the gauntlet again... the nonono chanting came back

fucking CAROL trying to stop him. looking at him with such a determined face, like "you can't stop me from stopping you". it was so powerful he had to snatch one stone to stop her

and strange giving him the one finger to tony.... i knew what was coming holy shit. i knew it. they knew it.

tony really proved himself there. it was his best scene on the entire mcu, don't argue with me!!!!!! the way he stood there and took all the power of the stones, unmasked, unaffected, powerful and almighty

"i am... iron man" cue to ugly sobbing

tony knew there was no other way. pepper did, too... she knew exactly what she had to tell him. she was right. tony spent all of these years moved by selfishness first, then fear, then guilt. an endless battle since thanos was on his head. but the war was over. what mattered was that he saved everyone, and he sacrificed himself for everyone. a complete 180° from last movie's ending.... wow

gotta said... peter there felt a little bit out of place for me. i think it would've been more powerful if he didn't say anything, though peter is a teenager, i can get it

his arc with steve felt unfinished, too. i would've liked to see steve's reaction as well, since tony had told him he wanted everyone back and also for his family so survive. but whatever

im not against tony killing thanos instead of gamora and nebula but i would've liked if we saw them react to his death, at least:/ like a little parallel between nebula's reaction at the beginning and the end of endgame

the One stucky interaction here was pulled from cap1 and iw. i feel betrayed

bucky Knew what steve was going to do. i wonder if steve told him before or bucky just sensed it

you can't convince me steve would go back and carelessly dance with peggy knowing his friend is being used like a weapon by hydra and bound to kill tonys parents. nah nah. it all felt wrong

my steggy rights!!!

love that the russos foreshadowed cap!bucky on tws just to give the shield to sam at the end

anyways what the fuck bucky was all steve had but he lived the happiest life without it and left him alone on the 21st century? okay fuck y'all

#long post #avengers endgame #endgame spoilers #avengers spoilers #avengers endgame spoilers #a4 spoilers #mine #marvel #this is.... so long and idk how to add a read more on mobile #but enjoy my thoughts i guess

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sage-nebula · 5 years

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9 and 10 for JuMilla, 1 and 7 for Keitor :)

JuMilla:

9.) Favorite aspect of them/their relationship dynamics?

It’s been a long time, but I think it’s the way they’re inspired to just give their all for each other. Like in many ways they’ll do that anyway in just about any situation (especially Milla; she will always do The Most if she feels it must be done), but they’re truly each other’s inspiration and motivation when you get right down to it. Milla decided to sacrifice herself because she wanted to be the Maxwell that Jude loved. Jude punched Old Man Maxwell (basically a god) in the face for Milla. And not only that, but they each uphold their own duties in their own respective worlds because they want to be the person that the other one loves. (And, again, because it’s the right thing to do, but their love for each other is at the forefront.) They’re both capable of miracles, both magical and scientific, but it’s their relationship which inspires them to go the extra mile and I really like that about them.

10.) Least favorite aspect of them/their relationship dynamics? (Can be headcanon)

Probably the way they have so much trouble actually spitting out how they feel. Milla couldn’t bring herself to tell Jude that she suspected / knew that she wasn’t really Maxwell before her sacrifice because she was afraid that he’d reject her / she’d be letting him down. Jude could never bring himself to tell Milla he loved her to her face for similar reasons. They’re a bit better about this in Xillia 2, but even there they lack a true goodbye, and I think it’s because as strong as they both are, they’re terrible at confronting the things that hurt, which leads to there still being some distance between them (figuratively) despite the fact that we know they’ve at least kissed thanks to the waterfall scene.

Keitor:

1.) If you had to change the pairing’s very first meeting, how would you change it?

I mean, I don’t know that we’d even call what they had in canon as a “first meeting” considering that they never formally introduced themselves to one another, haha. This is something I was salty about for a while, but given how JDS and LM are both absolutely terrible at writing relationships, in the end I think it was a blessing. They would have just destroyed Keitor had they actually done anything with it. At least this way it remains untainted.

That said, it really depends on if we want a canon compliant universe or not. If we’re going canon compliant, then I would have had Lotor join the Blade of Marmora at the end of season four, and once there he would have sought out Keith given that Keith is half-galra, just like him and his generals. Keith would have been incredibly wary, of course (but also would have been the one most arguing to give Lotor a chance and hear him out after Lotor literally saved his life and all), but slowly a relationship would have formed between them. I’ve actually written fic of that here.

As for Paradigm Shift, their meeting there is completely different given how much of an AU it is. I don’t want to spoil too much since I want to actually write out that fic someday, but since I don’t know when I’ll actually get around to writing that fic, and since I’ve dropped plenty of references to it in other fics in the series that I have posted, I’ll just go ahead and say:

In Paradigm Shift, Keith is raised by the Blade of Marmora until he’s three years old, at which point he’s kidnapped by the Empire (assumed dead by the Blade) and taken to the planet Revender. Revender is an Empire-controlled planet near the Empire’s borders, where weapons (both physical and chemical) are manufactured for Empire use. More specifically, it’s an Empire-controlled planet where part-galra are taken / imprisoned / exiled to in order to be used as test subjects for the chemical and physical weapons manufacturing. (Though there are also slums there where part-galra live “freely,” having gone there on their own volition back when there were lies spread about Revender that it was a planet friendly to part-galra, where they could live without facing the discrimination they faced in the rest of the universe. Sort of a, “We, the Empire, don’t like you, but if you stay here on this planet you won’t be bothered.” Yeah, that was a damnable lie, but one purposefully spread to lure part-galra who couldn’t be “legally” arrested there.) Aside from the slums, there are numerous facilities on Revender where tests are carried out on part-galra in order to develop poisons, antidotes, and other scientific breakthroughs, as well as tests to make sure that new weapons are functioning as they should. Theses tests can be anything from giving a part-galra a weapon and having them try to make it through a very deadly obstacle course, to making them fight other part-galra in arenas. Either-or.

Anyway, Keith was taken there when he was three (and the trauma of how that happened wiped his memory of everything before that point). Since he was so little he was originally purely used for scientific testing (poisons, antidotes, but they also took keen interest in his ability to sense quintessence), but when he was around nine he was transferred to the weapons testing division. This is, incidentally, how he met Acxa, and he met her first. She was born and raised in the slums, but volunteered to go to the facility in place of her elderly grandmother, who had raised her after her father was taken to Revender when she was little, and the deaths of her mother and brothers. Note that Acxa didn’t really know what happened at the facilities at the time since she was only about seven herself, but she knew that her father never came back, and that her grandmother was old, and that she loved her grandma and wanted to protect and help her, so she volunteered to go in her grandma’s place instead. Anyway, two years after that Acxa and Keith were pitted against each other in the arena, and Keith got the upperhand but pulled back without killing her, so Acxa turned the tables and very nearly killed him, but spared him just as he spared her. And that set the course for their friendship / found family.

Anyway, since I came up with all of this before anything about Lotor’s backstory was revealed, in Paradigm Shift Lotor is not only around the same age as Keith and Acxa, but he himself was exiled to Revender when he was twelve for “educational purposes” (i.e. for his dayak to abuse him until he was an obedient, monstrous pawn for his father). Lotor wasn’t in one of the slums or facilities, but was instead in the only nice manor on the planet, i.e. a gilded cage. Lotor was given a tour of the facilities, though, as both a “this is how we keep the Empire well stocked with weapons” deal and a “remember that you’re a half-breed yourself, you should consider yourself lucky you’re not here, but remember you could be” type of deal. It was during one of those tours, though, that he was able to sit in on arena battles, and he saw both Keith and Acxa during these fights and was impressed by them and started to formulate a plan of escape.

One year after that (when they’re all thirteen), Lotor disguised himself, escaped his manor, and sneaked into the arena and put himself in among that day’s test subjects / combatants. He ended up going up against Keith, and though he obviously didn’t die (since Keith always tried very hard to spare his opponents), he did lose and Keith actually drew blood. Far from being upset about this, Lotor was actually exhilarated to see that he was right about his feeling about Keith before, and removed his helmet to make a speech in the arena about how, see, part-galra were just as exemplary as any, this form of subjugation was wrong and they should all work together to build a glorious future, et cetera, pretty similar to the speech he makes in his first appearance in canon. Unlike in canon, though, here reality ensued and it went terribly wrong. Far from being inspired by his speech of equality and unity, the audience were put-off, disgusted, and by and large of the opinion that even royal blood clearly couldn’t make Lotor any better than other “half-breeds.” Empire soldiers swarmed the arena and accosted Keith for daring to harm the crown prince, and very nearly executed him on the spot (while Acxa was screaming for him and restrained by other prisoners in the background) for the crime, something that Lotor only just barely managed to prevent by pulling rank through his own confusion and fear that this had all gone so terribly wrong. Keith was still detained, though, and Lotor’s dayak marched him out of the arena by his hair, a fact Keith didn’t miss despite his own predicament. Lotor’s punishment that evening was not gentle. He still has the scars all down his back.

At any rate, once Lotor healed enough to do so, he escaped his manor again one night and went to the facilities, where he located Keith and Acxa and told him that he had plans to leave the planet and start a revolution and he wanted both of them to come with him since he was so impressed by their skills in the arena. Acxa was against this, because she blamed him for Keith’s near execution and didn’t trust him one bit, thinking this had to be a trick given that he was the prince. (And since his stunt had also led to some of the other prisoners on their block being executed to send a message that his words should not inspire an uprising, keep in mind she was not the only one there with a negative opinion of him at this point.) Keith, however, argued in favor of going with him since it was a chance to get the hell out of there, and also pointed out to her that it was two against one so, if it did end up being a trick or trap, they could overpower him and then escape that way. (Note: Lotor gave them space for this conversation so he didn’t hear Keith say any of that.) Acxa made Keith promise that he meant what he said about turning on Lotor if Lotor got shady, and Keith agreed, so the two of them told Lotor they accepted his deal and ran. (Keith wanted to free the others as well, but Lotor and Acxa both pointed out that’d put the rest of the prisoners in danger if they did, so the three of them agreed to liberate Revender’s prisoners at a later date.) It was chaotic and supremely dangerous, but ultimately the three of them managed to steal a janky transport ship that Lotor had scoped out and make it off the planet. (This, by the by, is the same piece of garbage they have when they meet Zethrid for the first time, haha, the one she keeps roasting. It may be a piece of shit, but it lasts them a long time.) Obviously, the promise that Keith and Acxa made never came to fruition, and Keith himself has long since forgotten about it (though Acxa never has), but nonetheless, though they agreed to work together, it was a tenuous truce in the beginning, very much Keith & Acxa + Lotor, if that makes sense. (Though think for a moment how far they’ve come. They went from Keith and Acxa mutually agreeing to take Lotor out and bolt if he got shady, to both of them being supremely protective of him in future stories like The Ultimate Reward and Revolutionary, standing on either side of him and even stepping a bit in front, weapons drawn, when necessary. You know what that is? Growth.

Oh, and also Keith falls in love with Lotor, but you know. That’s just a bonus.)

7.) Favorite headcanon?

I have so many it’s hard to keep track, haha. Off the top of my head and in no particular order:

Keith can sense quintessence, and over time (at Lotor’s suggestion) he trains that ability of his and gets to the point where he can pinpoint specific quintessence signatures if he knows a person well enough. Lotor’s is one of the absolute easiest for him to trace given their bond.

Lotor gets cold easily, but Keith is naturally warm, so Lotor often hugs Keith to him to share some of that body heat. Keith doesn’t mind at all.

No matter the reality, Lotor always verbally confesses first (though usually without using the words “I love you”), while Keith always makes the first physical move. It’s just the way they are.

Lotor gets supremely excited by new historical finds and will often go on about them at length to Keith, who isn’t too interested in history but does love seeing Lotor so excited. Even though Keith isn’t interested in the stories themselves, he always remembers them and usually gets Lotor presents related to them somehow on holidays. The fact that Keith remembers the things Lotor told him like that means more to Lotor than the actual physical item itself does.

Lotor cannot lie to Keith, and Keith does not let Lotor lie to himself. What I mean by this is, Keith can always tell when Lotor is lying, and calls him on it. And if Lotor lies to himself (e.g. by not accepting that Haggar is, in fact, his biological mother), Keith will push the issue until Lotor accepts it because he knows that denial will only hurt Lotor more later on down the line and he refuses to let that happen. The fact that Keith can and does call Lotor on his bullshit when necessary is part of what makes him such an invaluable part of Lotor’s life, and what therefore makes Lotor love him so much (even if he sometimes gets frustrated in the moment).

#yumexhanabi #keitor #21 questions #series: paradigm shift #i feel kind of bad about spoiling so much about Keith's prequel stories but at the same time idk when i'll actually sit down to finish writ #so i might as well give the general gist so people can understand all the references to Revender in the other fics anyway #besides even if you know the general basics of how it goes down #you don't know the specifics #so it could still be enjoyable nonetheless #especially since there's a LOT i left out even with this #yume-x-hanabi

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gorillazsource · 4 years

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blog post on murdoc’s profile, plastic beach website 5/10/2010

Well. Wow! What A pointless week that was. Sugary Beelzebub !! The US authorities man. Total bummers. I’d snuck over to the US to go monitor the great and good ‘Gorillaz live band’, y’know, before they hit the main stage for the big Coachella festival slot. The UK warm up shows were great, but we / “they” hadn’t played with the any of the visuals or any of the guests collaborators, so y’know…the stakes were high. And so was I. I would have pulled Coachella if the band were just going to be limp. I wouldn’t have even blinked. It would have ruined the good and glorious work I’ve spent the last decade building up, and I’m not have that.….Anyway….

I was all hyped up the night before my departure, just rocking around my Plastic Beach, tweeting my nuts off. Rum n’ rohypnol on the go. Bags packed full of flick-knives and rum and spare nappies and capes and Satnavs. I couldn’t have been more fired up about this gig.

So, next right, I revved up my crappy little submarine, and after it spent two hours on its own zipping round the bay like a wonky Toyota (I have to upgrade that thing), I popped a couple of Xanies then purred my way over to the States. Feeling a bit mongy, like, but nice and calm inside….Mmmm….

It was great…Took me 24 hours of underwater hi-jinx but I eventually arrive in LA on the Tuesday, unzipped my wetsuit, and then checked myself into The Roosevelt, on Hollywood Boulevard. Nice! The so-called ‘party hotel’ of Tinsel Town. Spacious rooms, clean toilets, big wet swimming pool. Took a quick shower and then scooted down to the rehearsal venue where we were testing out the big screens...They look enormous! The Gorillaz backing band were in top form. Keyboards – check. Two sets of drums – check. Backing Vocals (four) – check. One Damon Albarn – check. Half the Clash – check. All good, and sounding unique! Let’s roll out the visuals and guests….

FRIDAY NIGHT in L.A.

So come Friday night, the April 16th, I went down to check on the Gorillaz G –Club gig, the first live gig with the visuals and some of those there guests we always crap on about. (I was at the back incognito dressed as Eddy Murphy from the Nutty Professor. Don’t know why I chose that one, but it was the last costume in the shop and it took me four hours to get the damn thing on. Still, did the job.).

But next thing, right, I notice we’re a few guests short of the full meringue. Turns out that due to that sodding Icelandic volcano explosion which went off we missed out on having the likes of Mos Def, The Hypnotic Brass, Shaun Ryder, Una Stubbs, Mark. E. Smith Bashy and Kano (or “Ashy” and “VolKano” as they’re now known round these parts), Rosie Wilson…loads of our sparkly glittery highlights…all stranded in Blighty with no way of getting to L.A.

My theory is that was Paul Simonon’s bass that managed to shift the ash out that Volcano. Nice work, Simmo!

Still, as I suspected there was more than enough action for our small, cosy little selected audience. The set looked amazing… although the atmosphere in the makeshift concert-cum-rehearsal hall was a little..er… dry.

Everyone was cross-legged so while they got blasted with 60ft screens, giant Doggy Doggs, the legendary Bobby Womack and seismic sub-sonic rumblings so deep I think half the first three rows actually sharted! I was just laughing away at the back in my Eddie Murphy suit….

At the same time their reaction was kinda somewhat static and …quiet. I don’t think they know exactly how to react….Maybe of having 8 zillion volts of sound and light blasted right at them left them a bit frazzled….And we weren’t even giving them the full spectacle….They look shell-shocked so I knew we were all set to go…Set us up good and ready for the Coachella meltdown….

That was the Friday. Friday The 16th. So, listen, after that we all go back to the Roosevelt, for our own little private Gorillaz party, to celebrate all the work we’d put together over the last couple of months. We were finally there and ready for battle. Nice hotel, as I said. Although I don’t think hiring an 8ft bouncer to kick you out of your own party when you’ve dropped more the 60k hiring a roped of area just to serve up a bunch of tepid drinks and a few chicken drumsticks is really anyway to run a top-notch LA hotel, for so called “celeb-based parties”. More like a knackers-yard for botoxed cock-knockers if you ask me.

Still, it was all good until I found a turd floating in the Jacuzzi…I should have taken that as an omen. A warning sign of darker moments to come, maybe?

DEARLY DEPORTED

So check this out.

3:00 am Saturday 17th I’ve just finished up the last line of my er….‘frantic memoirs’ when this happened…Saturday morning. 3:00 am. I got a knock at the door. Pause. Then it gets booted in. Some baloney-eating copper is standing there, with his squashed piggy nose telling me to get up and get dressed. Him and his stupid chubby sidekick.

You what? “I’m already dressed, mate” I said, “Nappy, boots and cape. That’s how I roll. D’you get me?”

Obviously not.

Even in my sleep I dress for success…So anyway, they yank me out of bed, and they’re barking about I can’t stay in the country. I’ve gotta get my peachy ass out of the U.S. and back to Plastic Beach. Now! No work visa. NO WORK VISA? Are you SERIOUS? I’m playing the biggest gig of my life tomorrow!

But no. They escorted me, well ‘frogmarched’ me with my spindly green arm rammed right up to the back of me neck all the way to the coastal border, and shoved me back in my sub. Bit unnecessary. But, yeah, for me the Coachella concert was cancelled immediately.

I was made to tootle of my way from the shores of America in my own little submarine back to my little garbage dump idyll in the middle of nowhere. Swine! SWEINHUNTZ! The Gorillaz backing band had to do the gig for me….Cnuts!

I missed out of the greatest gig of my life! Handed it on a platter to a sliver-gilded hired pick-up backing band. The very band I’ve been training for months, now get all the glory of headlining the Coachella festival on the Sunday night, bringing down the house to rapturous applause….

I watched it all from a video link up I’d arranged last minute….just heartbreaking. I almost wept. Watching these trained imposters steal my thunder! (big slurp of rum n’ ginger…all better now…)

So my rundown of the concert…Well, from the video cam footage I saw, it did look like an all-spectacular….

The Technicolor visuals of “The Orchestral Intro” with a 360 panoramic tour of my Plastic Beach straight into a 2000-foot Snoop Dogg lurching across the helm of the boat, telescope in hand right, then hit after hit washing like a Tsunami across the shores of the Coachella festival; a giant wave in all rights I should have been riding. White Flag, Clint Eastwood, FeelGood Inc, Empire Ants, Kids with Guns…Gliterfreeze…STYLO! I’d planned it all with meticulous detail!

I don’t want to spoil it all because it’s something that needs to be witnessed first hand, with your own eyes n’ ears, but what a fantastic concert. Something Coachella had never seen before. The best closing set the festival had ever seen by all accounts… And they’re all my songs! So imagine just how grand and awe-inspiring it’ll look when I’m in there. The real Gorillaz! Right in the middle of it all! Plus the artists who couldn’t make over Stateside. Makes my heart go all butterflies just thinking about it….

Still, such a bummer I couldn’t make it. Heartbreak aside I still managed to interrupt the performance with a message to my mate George, from Iowa, Des Moines just to let him know I got the stuff he wanted…I guess I’ll have to pass it on to him in Londonia. I sort you out at The Roundhouse if you’re coming George.

And where am I now? Kicking my heels back on Plastic Beach, that’s where!

Oh…The winds round here roar black operas into my ears. Tales of dust and ash and traumas, singing songs of desolation and hopes unfulfilled. All eternity wrapped into a single melancholic crappy midnight gale…I cannot seem to leave this rock.

It seems like my Plastic Beach is growing now too. Take a look at this. This beach in Hawaii is turning out the same as my place. Their beach is evolving into plastic too, all washed up by the sea…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8639769.stm

The horror is spreading…! Just without the cases of rum!

NEW YORK, AOL, STEVE COLBERT REPORT!

So, where were we? Oh yeah right, back in that world, while I just got escorted back to the island, the Gorillaz band continued without me. They had to. Straight on to New York, to do more promotion. A session at the legendary Electric Ladyland studios where Mr J. Hendrix laid down his seminal album. Historic! I think they’ve still got the original headphones he used in there. By all accounts they we’re well crackly…

Then what next hmmm…An AOL performance, and then some iTunes bizness. I’m glad these were just karaoke sessions otherwise I would have busted my nut over not being in on it. Still I just couldn’t hold my lip when it came to The Steve Colbert Report. That’s this TV show that’s big in America apparently. So I got wind that the boys and girls of the Gorillaz backing band were going to spring up on this programme, to play Stylo, again without your truly.

I thought it was only fair to let Steve Colbert know just exactly what he was getting for his bucks…I left him a little answerphone message to tell him that it wasn’t the real Gorillaz band, just a cod interpretation of it. I love them but I did think it’d be good to rain on their parade…

Steve Colbert quite rightly flipped his lid when he found out he’d been hustled. The interview with Jamie and Damon well and truly nose-dived into the surreal as soon as Steve got my message, so I’m glad to have helped out there….Or ruined it, if you like. Whatever.

Still none of that matters now. The past is a foreign country, as they say. Next Up!!!!

THE CAMDEN ROUNDHOUSE!!!

All of this is now loading the bases for The Camden Roundhouse in a magnificent style. Which I most certainly WILL be appearing at. My glorious return! And all the ‘work visa’ issues have just gone away. I just need to turn up. I’m a UK passport holder so there’s no worry of me not making this one. D’you get me…? I’m legit.

Boy, am I’m looking forward to this one. I’m applying the rosin to the shaft end of my bass….making it extra twangy for the Camden kids worldwide….POW!!!!!!!!!

This concert’s being streamed you know? LIVE to MTV worldwide. MTV will be steaming The Roundhouse concerts on the Friday and Saturday. So you can check it out all online, live streaming, for 48 hours after the concert…They’re going capture me in all my billowing glory! I’ve had my nappy silver –plated for this one…. http://gorillaz.mtv.com

And this time we’ll have the full set. We’ve got The Mos Def, The Hypnotic Brass, Shaun Ryder, Mark. E Smith….the works… Bobby Womack, Bashy & Kano, Little Dragon, The Syrian Orchestra….Gruff from the Super Furry Animals, Bootie Brown…De La Soul…

This will be the one! This will be the concert to end them all! Coachella got ruined because of the glaring gaping cavernous absence of me, Murdoc Niccals. That was like an Indiana Jones film without say…Harrison Ford. And I guess it would’ve helped too if, say, the Gorillaz guitarist Noodle was there too. Or Russel on drums. And having 2D singing instead of Damon Albarn probably would’ve made some kind of difference.

But the Camden Roundhouse concerts will have it all in spades! The full set. All the band, all the guests and all the back up we need to make this a gig to end them all.

It’s funny to think that Gorillaz started out here in this very spot all those years ago. Our very first gig was at the infamous Camden Brownhouse, just down the road from the Roundhouse. November 5th 1998. That’s the first one we did with out current line-up, me 2D and the other two. The first Gorillaz concert known to man.

A&R man Whiffy Smiffy from EMI signed us up there and then on the spot. One gig. One song. We we’re that good! And now look; 20 million record sales later, world tours, awards falling out of our collective arses, global stomping videos…. We couldn’t have taken it any further. We’ve pushed our boats to all four corners of the globe. The World is now Gorillaz-shaped!

And now we’ve come back to our old stomping ground. Camden, London, UK.

So here’s to Thursday, and here’s to me getting off this miserable island once more. It’s sending shivers up my spine now, this place. The island has started to rumble. Just before I left for LA it started playing spooky old jazz hits from the 50’s, eerie melodies wafting around its weeping shores. "Midnight, The Stars and You” I think the tune was...like something from the Overlook Hotel…I think something, some dark spirit, is trapped in this Plastic Beach. And it’s beginning to emerge….I’m actually hoping Russel gets here sooner rather than later now, which I never thought I’d hear myself say…

We shall see then…

Anyway, this is me Captain Murdoc of the Gorillaz Plastic Beach enterprise, signing off and hoping to see all of your pretty, pretty faces over in London at the Camden Roundhouse!

It promises to be an incredi….Hey! Wait a sec.! Just had a flick through the TV Times and what’s this? Apparently Gorillaz are playing the Jools Holland Show this Tuesday. In London. Tomorrow! Really? No-one informed me. Right, best get my harris over to England sharpish. Can’t miss that one too…Christ. It’s impossible to get decent update round these parts…Who’s tour-managing this thing? Houdini?!

Plastic Beach? It’s a concrete nightmare….

Right. I’m off

Love kisses and a sloppy dirty nicotine-stained smooch to you all.

I love you all from the bottom of my crooked little heart!

Ciao!

Murdoc N.

http://web.archive.org/web/20100924185751/http://gorillaz.com/profile/Murdoc

#gorillaz

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