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infinite-xerath · 3 years

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Runeterra Retcons 2: Aatrox and the Darkin

I did another one. There’s one more character I have in mind to do, but then I’ll probably take a small break from these))

Aatrox is an interesting case; while I don’t necessarily believe his current lore is BAD per se, I think he’s more-so a case of missed opportunity and wasted potential. Aatrox, to me, reeks of a case where Riot gave zero forethought to the future of this character when they created him. To fully understand why I feel this way, we’re going to have to take a step back and analyze some of the history of League itself, as well as some characters connected to Aatrox. So, with that all said, let’s look back at the history of this angry red swords and see if we can make sense of the changes given to him over the years.

Aatrox was released into the game back in 2013, under the title “The Darkin Blade.” Now, what’s a Darkin, you ask? Well, at the time, we didn’t really know, and it kind of became obvious that Riot didn’t either. Let’s have a read of his original lore, shall we?

I was always a fan of Aatrox’s original lore: an ancient, mysterious figure who shows up to help you turn the tides of a war, but only after you’d effectively surrendered your own humanity for the sake of victory. The fact that there was an entire race just like him became the center of fan speculation of years, and countless theories cropped up as to who and what the Darkin even were. Some assumed that they were related to the Seven Deadly Sins, while others thought they might be akin to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Some thought they might just be a dying race, and that some might actually be benevolent, unlike Aatrox.

Unfortunately, Riot wouldn’t give us an answer for quite some time. All we knew was that Aatrox was a Darkin and that he looked a lot like typical modern depictions of demons. That does raise the question though: why didn’t they just make Aatrox a demon? He helps turn the tides of conflict with no apparent goal beyond just prolonging the chaos and suffering brought about by war. A lot of his voice lines even painted him as a psychotic “artist” of sorts, prior even to Jhin, that viewed conflict and bloodshed as elegant. Well, to better understand the full picture here, we need to take a step back and examine the broader picture here.

Now, admittedly, we’re delving in some speculation territory here, as it’s impossible to really say what Riot’s original plans for the Darkin were, if any. That being said, the inclusion of something like a demon would have had a lot of implications back in the day, as the Runeterra as we knew it then didn’t really have a “Heaven” or “Hell.” Sure, we had “angels” with Kayle and Morgana, but they were treated more like how Asgardians are treated in Marvel: more like a race of super powerful aliens than actual divine entities (keep that in mind for later.) If anything, what little we knew of an “afterlife” in League came from Yorick’s old lore, in which he acted like a psychopomp similar to Charon from Greek myth.

It wasn’t until Tahm Kench came out in 2015 that Riot properly introduced demons as a concept in the lore, retconning several other champions like Evelynn and Nocturne into being demons. For a bit of context: in Runeterra, demons are effectively malevolent spirits from the spirit realm that feed on negativity: fear, pain, hatred, and so-forth. When other characters started getting turned into demons, a lot of people, myself included, thought that Aatrox would meet the same fate. After-all, they hadn’t actually DONE anything with the “Darkin” outside of Aatrox’s bio, and he functioned in a manner similar to them. Some even theorized that the Darkin would be made to represent a specific breed of demon, and this theory gained even more traction when Tahm Kench was given special voice lines for taunting near Aatrox.

Then, on July 12, 2017, we got Kayn, and with him: Rhaast. Rhaast is the second Darkin character added to the lore: a talking scythe with an eye that possess its host. Kayn is able to hold back Rhaast’s influence, keeping it to a single arm through the use of shadow magic, but depending on your actions in-game, you can see what happens if Rhaast manages to win their struggle and take over Kayn’s body completely. With Rhaast’s introduction, it pretty-much cemented that the Darkin were living weapons that took over the hosts of their wielders, which made sense given that Aatrox’s sword was always hinted to be alive and have a mind of its own. In fact, the idea of the Darkin being living weapons, or at least being bound to their weapons in some way, was one of many fan theories raised since Aatrox’s release all the way back in 2013.

Unfortunately, the new champion’s bio didn’t give us a lot to work with. Rhaast was the weapon, but Kayn himself is the Champion, so a lot of his bio tells us more about Kayn’s backstory: how he joined the Order of Shadows, how he acquired Rhaast in the first place, etc. While this isn’t exactly a problem, it gave us no further information on the Darkin; what they really were, where they came from, and why there are only five left in existence all remained mysteries for the fans to speculate about. It still wasn’t even clear if the Darkin were connected to demons, or if they were something else entirely.

Now, it’s around this time that another theory began to start blowing up in popularity; technically, this was another old fan theory, but now that we had a general idea of what the Darkin actually were, there was another Champion wielding a living weapon that fans started to speculate might be connected to them: Varus. Varus is an old character, and though we won’t be deep-diving into him too much into this video, allow me to give you a tldr of his original story.

Varus was an Ionian archer set to guard the Pit of Pallas, a giant hole where his people had long ago sealed some unexplained corrupting purple entity that seemed like it maybe should have related to the Void somehow but didn’t. Varus resisted the entity’s influence for years until Noxians one day showed up and started slaughtering his people, wanting to get their hands on Pallas so that they could use it as a weapon because of course they did. Varus was faced with a choice: stay and guard the temple built around the pit or go back to his village and help his people fight. Varus chose the former and was apparently SUCH a badass archer that he single-handed kept the invaders at pay with his arrows, though this choice came at a cost: when Varus returned to his village, everyone he knew and loved was dead, including his wife and son.

Enraged, Varus returned to the pit and struck a deal with Pallas: he would allow the entity to inhabit his body in return for vengeance against the Noxians. Varus proceeded to wander the world with a bow made from the entity’s own solidified essence in the hopes of finding and killing… Basically every Noxian he could. Yeah, Varus wanted nothing short of full-on genocide, starting with the surviving soldiers that attacked his village. There’s a lot to go into there, but you’ve probably figured out the relevance of this by now: Pallas turned itself into a bow for Varus to take his vengeance in exchange for possession over his body. Not too dissimilar a living sword and scythe who also possessed people and had an insatiable hunger for death and destruction, right?

Riot seemed to agree, and in 2017 they released a music video along with a comic and an entirely new bio for Varus. Together, these updates served to not only retcon Varus’s backstory (a topic for another episode) but finally give us an update as to who and what the Darkin were. In a word: they were aliens.

In short, the Darkin were a race from another planet/dimension drawn to Runeterra for its abundant use of magic. They tried to conquer the planet, causing the Great Darkin War, which ended only when the races of Runeterra figured out how to seal the Darkin in their own otherworldly weapons. Varus, Aatrox, Rhaast, and two others were trapped in their weapons, which an unnamed warrior queen (possibly an Aspect) used to drive back the other Darkin and seal the portal to their world. The five that were imprisoned in their weapons were then scattered and hidden across Runeterra.

This, at last, brings us back to Aatrox’s new bio:

“One of the ancient Darkin, Aatrox was once a peerless swordmaster who reveled in the bloody chaos of the battlefield. Trapped within his own blade by the magic of his foes, he waited out the millennia for a suitable host to wield him - this mortal warrior was corrupted and transformed by the living weapon, and Aatrox was reborn. Though tales of the darkin have now passed into legend, he remembers only too well the destruction of his race, and wreaks his vengeance one sword blow at a time.”

So Aatrox was made into a general for an alien race who sought to finish what his people started by having the Runeterrans fight and slaughter one another in a series of bloody conflicts… For a few months, at least. Literally the next year in 2018, Aatrox finally got his visual and gameplay update, turning him into the World Ender we know today. Along with this came entirely new lore for him, as well as the Darkin.

Insert lore here

So… The Darkin are no longer invading aliens, but Ascended who went nuts and were trapped inside their own weapons. In other words, the Darkin went from being a race to being more of a derogative term for fallen demigods. What’s more, Aatrox received a VERY substantial alteration his character and personality: he went from being a war-loving “artist” who causes conflict for the sake of it to being a tortured soul who wants to die so badly that he’ll end all of creation to do it.

Now, like I said before: I don’t think this backstory is bad. I don’t hate it. It does a lot to flesh out Shurima as a region, gives us more info on the Ascended, and it adds a bit more nuance to Aatrox as a character. Imagine being trapped inside a weapon, losing all access to your senses. Imagine that the only chance you get to move is when you take over someone else’s body, transforming it into a warped version of your own former glory, only to realize that you’re on a time limit and the only way you can continue to walk, talk, see, hear, or feel anything is by slaughter’s people and consuming their blood. Imagine spending CENTURIES trying to find a way out, only to repeatedly learn that any means to free or even kill yourself ends in failure. Imagine being SO desperate to rest that you’re willing to end all of existence just to find peace.

I like Aatrox’s new story. I do. Honestly, the only real complaint I have is that Aatrox doesn’t exactly have a PLAN for how he aims to end existence? Like, he calls himself a World Ender and a god-slayer, but we only know of one god he’s actually slain (Pantheon) and given that Runeterra is still around, it seems like his world-destroying count is still at zero. Honestly, if he wants to end all of existence, I feel like turning the Void, a reality-consuming threat that he has FOUGHT BEFORE would kind of be the obvious solution? Honestly, I imagine that just chucking the sword into the Void would be a good way for him to end his own existence, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

So, if I like Aatrox’s new lore, why am I rewriting it? Simple, really: even if I overall like his current lore state, I feel like the road we took to get here was… Kind of long and unnecessary. It seems kind of obvious looking back that Riot didn’t have a clear long-term plan for Aatrox or the Darkin, as years of unanswered questions followed by multiple retcons kind of entails. From being the last survivor of an ancient race, to MAYBE being a demon, to being an alien, to finally becoming a fallen demigod. Aatrox’s history is practically a whole story in-and-of-itself, and I’ve long wondered how things might have turned out if Riot had, you know, picked a direction and gone with it a bit sooner?

So, here’s the basis of my rewrite: I’m gonna try and incorporate elements from all of Aatrox’s various backstories into a single, coherent biography. Can I manage it? Well, I’ll leave that for you all to determine…

When the skies are blackened by the flames of war and the earth is dyed red with blood, Aatrox draws near. For as long as conflict has existed among the races of Runeterra, the Chaos Blade has manifested to those deemed worthy, turning the tides of battle in exchange for the flesh of whoever wields it.

The true origins of the Darkin have long been lost time. Some say that they are the first weapons ever forged, corrupted by the malice of those who have wielded them over ages. Others claim that the Darkin are a rare breed of demon, of whom only five remain. Only one thing is certain: the Darkin exist only to bring death and destruction, and none embrace this more than Aatrox himself.

Tales of a wicked blade manifesting amidst the heat of battle exists across all cultures, from the frigid north to the blistering south. The sword is said to appear before warriors on the cusp of defeat: those who would give anything, even their own lives, for the sake of victory. Those who wield the Chaos Blade are granted inhuman strength and endurance, often haled as heroes for turning the tides of battle. With every foe slain, however, the Chaos Blade grows stronger, consuming the mind of its wielder and warping their flesh. In time, the hero becomes a mindless vessel, slaughter all in its path until slain. When its host falls, the Chaos Blade returns from whence it came, waiting for the moment that another might heed the sword’s call.

For ages this cycle persisted, until the day the sword manifested before a warrior of Shurima’s Ascended Host. After the Fall of Icathia, the Sunborn were called to face the encroaching threat of the Void, wielding celestial might and magic great enough to crush a hundred mortal armies. Before the Void, however, even the mighty Ascended began to falter.

The horrors summoned by Icathia steadily pushed north, consuming everything in their path and twisting the earth into maddening shapes. As their numbers dwindled, many Sunborn called to retreat, hoping to regroup within the capital and think of a plan. As some fled, however, the Ascended general Aatrox stood his ground. Pushing his draconic form to its limits, Aatrox struck down one abomination after another. When his great blade, soaked in the Oasis of the Dawn itself, was wrenched from its grasp, Aatrox fought with tooth and claw. Even if he were to fall, Aatrox would do everything in his power to slay as many Voidspawn as possible, resigning himself to death so the other Sunborn might rally their forces.

It was then, amidst the sea of madness woven by the Void, that Aatrox saw a sword embedded into the twisted earth. The blade seemed to call out to him, and Aatrox took it without question. In an instant, the general was filled with unimaginable strength and fury, and his allies watched in amazement as Aatrox fought with strength of ten Ascended warriors. Inspired by his newfound fury, the Sunborn rallied, their fighting spirits renewed at last.

When the conflict against the Void drew to a close, Aatrox was haled as a hero among heroes, though many of his former allies became wary of him and the wicked sword he now carried. Some suggested that the blade should be destroyed, while others, such as Aatrox himself, argued that its power would be instrumental if the Void ever returned.

Resentment and suspicion began to grow amongst the Sunborn, and the cracks only grew larger as Aatrox aided the other Ascended in summoning weapons similar to his own. The warriors of the Ascended host began to distance themselves from one-another and the capital, taking up posts across Shurima’s vast empire. They remained united only in the shared goal of protecting their empire.

And then the Sun Disc fell.

Following Xerath’s Ascension and the death of Emperor Azir, years of growing tensions erupted across the desert. Some Ascended raced for the chance to fill the now-vacant seat of power for themselves, while others insisted on finding a means to restore the royal dynasty. Debate soon turned to bloodshed, and Shurima was engulfed in a war that lasted centuries. It wasn’t until the Aspects of Targon intervened that the war was finally brought to an end.

Those wielding Darkin weapons were bound to their armaments with powerful magic, in-turn trapping the wicked weapons in the physical realm. The Darkin were scattered across Runeterra, and yet the souls of the Ascended persisted, stripped of bodies and senses.

For ages, Aatrox stewed within the sword that had become his prison, his soul slowly being corrupted further and further by the Chaos Blade until the two had become a single being. Ages passed and the sword was slowly forgotten, until a band of thieves broke into the Darkin’s prison in search of ancient treasure. When the thieves’ leader touched the sword, his mind was overwhelmed in an instant, his body transformed into a twisted likeness of Aatrox’s Ascended form. The Darkin slew the other thieves in an instant, drawing strength from their blood before breaking free of his long confinement.

Aatrox emerged into a frozen landscape with but a single goal: to bring about a war so violent, so destructive, that it would be the end of all things. He would be the World Ender, herald of a conflict to end all others. With every foe he slays, with every swing of his sword, Aatrox sews the seeds for violence and carnage, drawing one step closer to his magnus opus.

So, what did you think? As stated before: my primary goal this time around was to try and combine Aatrox’s various origin stories into a single narrative. Admittedly, I could only manage to do this by adding an air of mystery to the actual origin of the Darkin; maybe they’re demons, maybe they’re aliens, maybe they’re something else entirely. I know that might seem like a bit of a cop-out, but a large part of what made the Darkin so interesting to the community in the first place was the air of mystery surrounding them, and the room it offered for speculation and theorizing.

Another main concern, though, was that I wanted to find a way to blend old Aatrox’s personality with his new one. The thing I miss most about the OG Aatrox was that, despite being obsessed with war and bloodshed, he wasn’t just another rage monster. He was calm and composed, and a lot of his lines hinted at a deeper philosophy toward the inevitability of conflict rather than just “I wanna kill everything because I’m angry!” League has way too many of those, in my honest opinion. I thought that, by combining his mind with a semi-sentient sword that brings about carnage because that’s simply its PURPOSE, a little but of that old Aatrox might shine through.

But, as always, this is all just my opinion; how I, personally, would have gone about reworking the character. If you prefer Aatrox as he currently is, or think my version of the story is inferior, that’s fine! Feel free to share your thoughts and comments, but please, let’s try to keep it civil. After-all…

The last thing we want is to start a war over this…

#Outofpower #Runeterra Retcons #League of Legends

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band-blogging · 7 years

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Ruins

Title: Ruins

Summary: You, along with hundreds of others, are living in a post-apocalyptic society brought upon earth by nuclear war. The effect of this is long-lasting and only allows you to see the sun one every two years.

Characters: Harry Styles x Reader

Warnings: Cursing

A/N: I didn't really know how else to go about this so one part sort of has a Hunger Games feel to it.

Imagine based on this image (x)

There hasn’t been a society for many decades. Not a functioning one. The society that is present is unstable and could fall apart easily. The world hasn’t seen peace for a very long time. The world has been in chaos since World War lll.

2019 was the year that nuclear weapons were used as a threat so that some countries that craved power could attain it. Their tactics, however, were called to be an empty threat. History now shows that they were, in fact, very real.

When the first weapon hit Japan, the world was blown into chaos and the first wave of nuclear attacks killed almost half the population. the second killed most of what was left, leaving less than 200,000 to pick up the pieces and start over in what could be called an entirely new earth.

Eventually, the world quieted and those who were left gathered where they could, forming small groups of survivors that would remain for years to come. Many suffered from the radiation that still plagued the earth, but those that were luckier stayed alive long enough to see the bunkers get built, safe places to protect from the deadly poisons in the air. After years, the condition of the earth only worsened and natural light became abruptly scarce. No one knows why, or how, but the sun is only seen once every two years, like clockwork.

People say it has to do with certain gaps in the gas that has taken over the atmosphere since the war, others think it is God giving his grace to those that survived. No one questions it, instead enjoying what parts of their past that they have left. After a while, people began to have families, and more and more people inhabited the bunkers. The generation that lived to see the war grow old, and the young that had not seen the horror thrived, living in the only place they had ever known.

But it’s not easy, for resources have been scarce for years and many of the older residents of the bunkers don’t know how much longer they have until supplies run out. Days seem bleak and numbered in the future and some fear that they may only live to see the sun once more before they’re left in the darkness, lost in the shadows with nothing but they’re last breaths.

“Harry?”

“Hmm?”

Harry smiles, his hand moving through your hair as the two of you wait by the small window that gives you a decent view of the sunrise. Most of the residents of your compound go to the larger windows near the south side of the building, but you prefer the smaller window, in your own area. The view may not be as amazing as one from the other windows, but people crowd the windows, giving only a few a view and the two of you figure that it would be better if you were alone to see the light.

“How much longer?”

“Only a few minutes left, love.”

You nod and turn so that your cheek in pressed against Harry’s leg. You had situated yourself between his legs, your head resting on his thigh as he ran his fingers through your hair.

You smile and watch as a minimal amount of light begins to seep through the window, barely noticeable except for the contrast of the light and the paint covering the wall.

“Wow...” you mutter, seeing the light on the wall grow, covering a small part of the wall above you. You want nothing more than to reach up and feel the warmth of the sun on your fingers, feel it beating against your cheeks, a feeling you have long forgotten, but you can’t bring yourself to do anything except stare at it. You sit up and lean against Harry’s chest, straining your neck to look at the wall.

Harry seems to be in the same situation, because he too is staring at the growing patch of light on the wall, brighter than anything either of you had seen.

Harry snaps out of his trance first, taking your hand in his and softly intertwining your fingers. He lifts both of your hands and touches the wall where the light begins, just a small square that only has enough space for your two hands.

It only takes a moment for the warmth in your hand to spread through your whole body, making you sink back into Harry. It’s the best feeling in the world, the pure warmth that you only get to feel every two years, and you feel yourself close your eyes, moving your fingers slightly in Harry’s so that your hands are no longer intertwined, but yours is resting gently over his.

“You go first today.”

Your movements are small, but you stand slowly, avoiding the light for a moment. You had always been a bit frightened of it, despite the beauty it shows, you’ve heard the stories. You know the danger it holds and the death it’s capable of bringing, but as Harry gives you a reassuring smile and your mind tells you that you won’t get to experience this for much longer, you walk into the light’s path. You’re standing directly in front of the window and the light has ceased to reach the wall behind you, instead stopping on your face, the direct warmth now making the cold tip of your nose warm ever-so-slightly, making your cheeks grow red and your eyes squint.

“Does it hurt?” Harry asks, peeking at the light he can see that comes past your head.

“No, it doesn’t hurt. My eyes feel...weird, but it’s not painful.”

You continue to stare out of the small window, your eyes slowly getting used to the light, opening bit by bit the longer your eyes glaze over the lit up sky.

Harry’s eyes flicker between the window and the light shining on your face, waiting for you to back away with the expression he never forgets when you’re finished looking at the light. An expression that radiates awe and joy, an expression he only sees at these times, when the two of you are looking at the sun.

“How is it?” he whispers.

“It’s...beautiful.”

It’s like listening to a song after years of never having heard it. You know you’v head it before and you recognize the beat of it, but there’s still this sense that it’s something completely new even though you’re still able to sing along with the chorus.

You back away after another few minutes, and Harry smiles at your expression, the expression he waits two years to see.

“Take a look.”

He walks to the window and, like you, pauses. He looks back at you for a moment, the light gone from your face, but just as amazed. You give him a nod and he walks directly into the line of light that looks as if it had been drawn in midair across the hall.

He doesn’t say anything, he just stares with his mouth open slightly and his eyes wider than you had ever seen them, as if he had never seen the sun before.

“Is it good?”

“It’s better than good,” Harry lets out a breathless laugh, still staring out through the window. You nod, smiling as you watch the light glowing on his face, lighting up his features. You’ve always been fascinated with the way light makes someone’s features become so beautiful, even though Harry has always been beautiful, the light makes it that much purer.

His eyes are what you look at first, the green of his irises sparkling as he watches the sun, making the color seem brighter than it ever could have without the sun. You look at his hair next, the light making it glow so that the brown almost seems golden. He’s just glowing in the scarce sunlight and you always take advantage of two things during these times: seeing the light for yourself and seeing what it does to those who are watching it.

“I wish it lasted,” he whispers, pulling you from your trance. You nod and walk closer to him, resting your head on his shoulder so that you can see the sun too, so that the two off you can feel the warmth on your faces at the same time.

“Me too.”

The light only lasts for a few hours and you spend the rest of the time looking through the window and sitting against the wall as you let the light seep between your fingers, but it only feels like seconds before the light begins to grow dim against the wall, and the light doesn’t feel as warm now that you know it won’t last for much longer.

“Don’t go,” you mutter, your hand becoming a fist as if you’re trying to grasp at the last bit of light that’s left. Harry does the same and you know that he’s thinking the same thing, trying to hold on as long as possible before there’s nothing left to hold onto.

But the light fades and the wall is so much darker than it was before.

It’s gone. And you’re always hit with a wave of despair realizing that you won’t be able to see it again for another two years. Harry always says something when it goes. Every single time he says “now we can start looking forward to next time,” but he’s silent. This time, it’s different, and you’re not sure why, but this year it hurts just a little bit more and the sun seems just a little too important for it to be so...temporary.

“Come on,” he says eventually, standing with his hand stretched out for you, “we should get back.”

You nod and take his hand, letting him pull you up. You’re directly in front of the window and light no longer floods in to hit the wall behind it, and it looks almost as sad as you feel.

The light’s gone and it won’t be coming back for a long, long time.

1 year and 9 months later...

Society has a funny way of crawling into the human mind, an idea that becomes a practice, which eventually turns into a term that’s used everyday. It’s something that exists everywhere, anywhere that homes enough people.

In your opinion, society needs three things to function: set laws, a leader, and a population.

Your laws are simple enough: don’t get into physical conflicts, don’t take more than your ration of food daily, and don’t go outside of the compound. You don't know of any exits in the compound, but you’re going to assume there’s at least one.

Your leader, Alexander, is one of the few in your compound that was alive during the war. There are other compounds that house the others that survived, but most of the population is from newer generations, like you and Harry.

“Y/N!” a voice giggles, taking you by surprise as this mystery person launches into your arms, “Harry taught me how to play a new game! Will you play with us, please?”

“That depends,” you say warily, knowing that Harry has a tendency to create card games that are based off real scenarios, “what game has he taught you?”

Harry stands behind the girl, Annie, with a sheepish expression, and you already know that he didn't intend for her to tell you about their new game. Annie, however, seems very excited and you let her tug on your hand to drag you towards the main hall, where table after table is seen. You’re led to a table where a few piles of cards a laid out.

“It’s called war!”

Fantastic

Annie’s mother died when she was barely a year old, and you and Harry took it upon yourselves to help raise her. You were both very close with her mother and felt that you had something of a responsibility to take care of her.

“Harry,” you say with a smile, watching Harry avert his eyes and scratch the back of his neck, “why’s the game called war?”

“Um...” he lets out a quiet chuckle, “well, yeh know, love, it’s sort of based on... past events-”

“Yeah!” Annie interrupts, “the eights are bombs! And the bombs kill the jack, queen, and king. The jacks aren’t as important as the queen and king because if you lose all of those, then you lose.”

You close your eyes and smile at Annie, giving her a small nod, “that sounds fun.”

Annie nods and begins to reset the game while you turn to Harry, taking him by the arm and dragging him away from the table to a secluded corner of the room.

“What kind of game is this?” you say harshly, “she’s five, Harry, what were you thinking-”

“She’s going to find out at some point! And just because some stupid game is based on the war doesn’t mean she's going to figure anything out. Honestly, I don’t see what’s got you so upset-”

“Because she’s just a child! She doesn’t need to be exposed to these things yet!”

Harry shakes his head and crosses his arms, now getting a bit agitated because of your anger. It’s just a game, nothing that someone as young as Annie could piece together to understand what happened during the war.

“Look, I won’t play with her anymore, we’ll play Go Fish or something, alright? Will that make you happy?”

You sigh and shove his shoulder, hearing him chuckle above you, “yes, that would make me very happy.”

“Good. Go Fish will be our next game.”

“Thank you.”

He nods and takes your hand, dragging you back to Annie, who is ready to play the next round of war.

“Let’s play! Let’s play again, Harry, with Y/N this time!”

Harry ruffles her hair a bit and shakes his head, although his smile doesn’t falter.

“Hey, bug, I think we’re going to play Go Fish now.”

Annie pouts as Harry gathers all of the cards, putting them into a pile so that he can begin dealing them out again.

“Harry,” you murmur, trying to get his attention away from Annie and the card game. “Harry, stand up.”

Harry turns his attention to you and furrows his eyebrows, following your gaze to Alexander, who is standing in front of everyone in the main hall, his gaze set over as many people as possible, slowly silencing the room as his presence is noticed.

Slowly, everyone begins to stand, something that has become a tradition over the years. Not a law, more of an unspoken, unofficial rule. When the leader of this compound is seen and making an announcement, everyone that is in his presence must stand until instructed to take their seat.

“Please, be seated,” his voice echoes throughout the large room. You know that Alexander is a kind man, you’ve met him a few times and he remembered your name after the first encounter, which was enough to tell you that he cares about those living in his compound, but he is rarely seen giving announcements, something usually done by someone assigned to work for him directly.

“As you know, the sun will show itself to us once more in three months, and I know you are all very excited for that day.”

Most in the room erupt into applause, and a few cheers are heard as the claps die down.

“But we are soon going to be faced with implications,” he says, immediately silencing the hall. “As you know, our supplies are limited and it was only a matter of time before our rations began to run low.”

There’s a long pause before his voice echoes out again, louder then it was before, “That day is upon us.”

There’s a pause, but soon after those words are spoken people all around are speaking to each other in hushed whispers, asking each other what this could mean for the society.

“Y/N,” Annie tugs on your hand, gaining your attention, “what does that mean?”

You gulp and glance at Harry, who looks as if he’s in a slight trance as he meets your gaze.

“I don’t know, bug,” you say, immediately regretting the words when you see the girls eyes widen in fear, “but we’re going to be fine,” you add, “we’re going to be okay, they have a plan.”

“Please, please,” Alexander says, silencing the room once more, “I know that this comes as something of a shock to some of you, we have lived so long with enough supplies, but we have far too many people here to risk continuing on with the amount of supplies we have.”

“What are you going to do?” a voice is heard in the back of the crowd, unknown to everyone except those nearest to him. You glance back to where the voice originated, but fail to see who started the commotion.

“I was about to announce,” Alexander says, his voice slightly agitated by the interruption, “that we’ll have to leave the compound to gather more supplies.”

This time, you almost have to cover your ears because of the outburst. Everyone begins shouting at Alexander, asking him question after question about the rules he’ll be breaking and the safety precautions that he’ll be taking.

“We will be taking a name from those of you that are of the proper age, the healthiest and most fit age. Those between the ages of fifteen and twenty five will be eligible to go with me to gather our supplies from a compound north of here. The drawing will be taking place tomorrow, please be present for dinner and be ready to stay for another twenty minutes after that. We will be taking volunteers before the drawing begins, incase any of you want to go willingly. If not, the drawing will continue as planned. Two of you will be chosen and, incase you have any concerns, we’ve made sure that the trip is safe for you.”

There’s a pause and a very unpleasant silence follows the speech that had been given, so Alexander decides to leave with one last goodnight, leaving the rest of the occupants of the compound to wonder which unlucky few will be chosen to accompany Alexander.

“That means we could be chosen,” Harry interrupts your thoughts, “we could go out.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“No,” he says immediately, “I may talk about leaving, but we have no idea what’s out there. We haven't stepped foot outside this compound, what makes him think that this will be safe? He can’t just force us to-”

“What else are we supposed to do, Harry?” you interrupt, rubbing your eyes with your palms, suddenly feeling exhausted because of the days events.

“Well, we probably won’t be chosen. And, if one of us is, it’ll be fine-”

“You don’t know that Y/N. What if...what if the person that’s chosen doesn’t come back to tell their stories about what’s out there? What if you’re chosen and you don’t come back, huh? What happens then?”

“It’ll be fine,” you repeat, trying to reassure him, although feeling doubt seep into your mind as he continues to list the things that could go wrong.

“Look, I know that Alexander was close with your family, but I don’t trust him, you know that. And if he thinks he can reassure us about something he knows nothing about, then he’s out of his goddamn mind. I’m not going out there, and I’ll be damned if I let him drag you out there.”

“Let’s just,” you take a deep breath and shake your head, taking his arm and pulling him back towards your room. you let out a sigh, trying to find the right words to say to the distraught boy next to you, “let’s worry about this tomorrow. We can talk about everything in the morning, but right now I think we should...read, or something.”

“I won’t be able to concentrate on anything I’m reading.”

“Then I’ll read to you.”

“I’m not five.”

“Really? Could have fooled me.”

Harry scoffs and shakes his head, although a chuckle escapes his lips at your comment. You laugh he mutters “you’re the one who’s five”, quieting only when you feel a slight tug on your sleeve. Behind you stands Annie, her lips pouted and her eyes watering.

“Annie,” you say, crouching down to her level, “what’s wrong, what happened?”

“Are you gonna go away? Are you and Harry gonna go away with Alexander?”

You shake your head and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Don’t worry about that, okay? You don’t have to worry about that.”

“I don’t want you to go-”

“I know, sweetheart, but I just don’t know what’s going to happen. But I’m going to do whatever I can to stay here with you, okay? Harry and I are going to try our very best to stay.”

Giving one last sniff, Annie nods and turns when her caretaker calls her, asking why she’s still awake. You give her a quick hug and watch her run away, turning to face Harry who has a dejected expression on his face.

“What happens to her if one of us leaves?”

“It’ll be fine.”

“Saying that doesn’t make it true-”

“I know that,” you snap, watching Harry stop and turn to face you, his eyes wide. You take a deep breath and shake your head, running a hand through your hair, “I know it doesn’t Harry, but saying that doesn’t change anything, so let’s just go to bed and stop trying to predict what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Harry still doesn’t look convinced, and his expression tells you that he wants to keep talking about it, so you add, “please.”

He sighs and gives you a smile, nodding, “yeah, okay.”

“Thank you,” you sigh, running a hand through your hair. This day has put an unbelievable amount of stress on everyone in the compound, and it seems you’re just starting to feel the effects of that.

“C’mon, love,” Harry says, “let’s get some sleep.”

“This was not an easy decision to make, but it is necessary if we want to ensure our survival. Most of you will be safe here, and the risks of leaving the compound are not as high as some of you may think-”

“You don't know anything about that! You don't know a damn thing about what’s outside the compound, don’t reassure us with facts you know aren’t true!”

Alexander had been trying to reason with those that strongly disagreed with his plans to leave the compound, but every time he opened his mouth someone would interrupt with questions about the credibility of his claims. You must admit, you have your doubts. And, over the course of the day, they’ve only grown as you’ve had more time to think over the situation, but you can’t seem to find any other solutions to this problem that everyone in the compound is inevitably going to have.

“I know one thing,” Alexander says harshly, silencing the man who had just spoken, seeing that he was ready to interrupt again, “I know that we won't survive much longer with the amount of supplies we have now. And if risking my life and the lives of two people is what it takes to save the rest of you then so be it. I have spent my days protecting what’s left of our race and I have had to make these decisions for us. The decisions that have kept us alive thus far. Please, try to understand why this is necessary.”

There are no more outbursts, only silence in the room, allowing Alexander to continue.

“Today is the day that the candidates for our supply mission are chosen. I hope all of you within the age range specified yesterday have prepared to be chosen,” he says, making an unpleasant shiver run down your spine. You know that Alexander is a kind man who is doing what is right for the good of those he’s trying protecting, but you can’t help but resent him for doing what he’s doing. For taking someone into the most dangerous environment there is, a place you’d rather stay away from.

“I will be choosing the names. We have a bowl here, all of your names are included.”

He pauses, looking behind the crowd for a moment before he continues, “I want to remind everyone before we draw these names that this will be perfectly safe. No one will get hurt.”

You hear Harry scoff next to you and you glance at him, seeing his face set in stone as he stares at the stage. You take the opportunity to grab onto his hand, not really sure whether it’s for his comfort or your own. His expression only changes for a moment, softening before it’s set back on the man in front of the crowd. He does, however, grasp your hand and give it a squeeze, letting you know he’s still with you.

“Before we draw any names, are there any volunteers?”

You could’ve heard a pin drop. The hall was the quietest it’s ever been, you think, about as quiet as you remember it ever being. A few people glance around but you don’t have to turn around to picture what’s behind you; everyone staring blankly at their leader, no one willing to possibly lay down their life for what is said to be greater good. It sounds as if you resent everyone that isn’t volunteering when you word it like that, considering you’re in that majority.

“Very well,” Alexander says, looking as if he expected the results he got. He reaches into the basket rather quickly and you’re grateful that he’s moving things along instead of drawing out the inevitable, making everyone in the room unnecessarily anxious.

“Ah,” he says as he reads the name on the small slip of paper he had taken from the basket, “Harry Styles.”

The name is read too quickly, and you don’t process it fully until Harry is letting go of your hand so that he can make his way towards the stage. You would’ve stopped him had it not been for the shock hitting you like a wrecking ball, almost making you stumble back when Harry has fully pulled his hand from yours. You draw in a breath, knowing better than to hold it in as you watch Harry move towards the stage, quickly climbing the stairs to face the crowd.

“Good, I hope you’re ready, m’boy.”

Harry doesn’t respond, doesn’t even turn to look at Alexander, who doesn’t seem to care as he goes back to the basket.

The words get caught in your throat, and you want so badly to scream them, loud enough for everyone in the room to turn their attention on you: I volunteer!

But the words are never voiced aloud and Alexander is already saying the next name.

“Ryan Browning.”

You hadn’t heard his name before, but you recognize his face. He lives quite close to your room, and you had seen him walking to meals, but that was as far as your interactions have ever gone. Perhaps you’ve given him a nice smile as you passed by, but that’s the extent of it.

However, you quickly forget that he’s up there when you turn your attention back to Harry, who is clearly trying to keep his eyes from wandering, keeping them locked on the wall above the crowd.

The crowd is dismissed quickly after that, everyone rushing out to go thank the Lord they weren’t chosen. You go straight to Harry’s room, waiting for him to get back from his meeting with Alexander, no doubt discussing the precautions they’ll have to take, sign whatever contract comes with this. “I am not responsible for any harm that comes to you outside of this compound.”

He comes back about an hour later and you had wasted the past half hour reading a book he had laid out on his bed. You practically throw it to the side when he comes through the door, his eyes glazed over as if he’s just now accepting that he’ll be leaving he compound.

“Oh, Harry,” you mutter, standing from the bed, cautious to reach out to him. “Are you alright?”

He reaches out for you then, and you willingly walk into his arms, wrapping him in the tightest hug you can manage. He hugs you tight and you rub his back with one hand, the other tangling in his hair.

“I should’ve volunteered,” you murmured, “I’d go with you in a heartbeat.”

He shakes his head and squeezes you just a little bit harder, “I wouldn’t have known what to do with myself if you had gone out there for me. I’m glad you didn’t.”

You weren’t.

The rest of the night doesn’t last very long. Harry is emotionally exhausted and asks you to read to him for a while, then promptly falls asleep with his head in your lap. You try to decide whether or not you should just put a pillow behind your back and sleep there with him, not wanting to wake him up, but you know that you should get back to your room. The crossed-legged position you’re in now isn’t as comfortable when you’re trying to get to sleep.

You carefully move Harry’s head from your lap to a pillow placed in the exact spot you were just sitting and he lets out a sigh, shifting then settling back into a deep sleep, small snores escaping him.

You don’t have anyone else here, no one except Annie, but you don’t know what you’ll do without Harry.

You should’ve volunteered.

“I’d like to go with you.”

You stand in front of Alexander, your face set but your thoughts running wild, one side of you warning the other side that it’s stupid. And it was, it was probably the worst decision you’ve ever made, but after a long night of contemplating and barely any sleep, you finally decided you would go to see Alexander.

“Go with me?”

“Out. To gather supplies,” you inform him, watching as he nods and thinks through your request.

“I’m not sure if that’s the best idea-”

“Wouldn’t the mission be more successful with more people?” you rush to explain. “The only damage I could do is not provide any help, and I can assure you that I will. All I’m offering you is more hands here, I’m volunteering even though there’s nothing left to volunteer for.”

A long sigh emits from Alexander and you worry that he’ll deny your request, “Why didn’t you volunteer when I offered that option yesterday. That would’ve been the perfect opportunity to offer yourself to help.”

“I know it was, I just...I needed more time to think through everything. It’s a big decision.”

You wait patiently for Alexander to make a decision, watching his look of concentration slowly turn into a smile, making your hopes rise.

“I’m glad you’ll be joining us. Please come to my office tomorrow morning at eight for a meeting.”

“Thank you,” you smile, letting out a long breath of relief, “thank you so much.”

You immediately go back to Harry’s room after making your impulse decision to join him, and you know he’ll be upset with you but you hope he’ll understand your intention.

He’s crashed out in the same position you left him and you can hear soft snores coming from him as he sleeps, his cheek smushed against the pillow and and his hair messy from being shuffled when you took his head from your lap.

“Harry,” you mutter, shaking him a bit, “Harry, wake up.”

He groans and his eyes flutter open before he’s squeezing them shut again, shaking his head and putting the heels of his hands against his eyes.

“Y/N?” he murmurs, “what time is it?”

“You’re gonna be mad.”

“Y/N, I don’t care that you came in late-”

“No, no...I mean- I did something that’ll make you mad. Something different.”

He sits up slowly, still not fully awake as he turns to face you, his brows furrowed.

“What’d you do, wha’ happened?”

You bite your lip, thinking of how you should phrase what you did. The weight of it seems to hit you suddenly and you realize that you probably should’ve taken more time to think about it. Of course, you would’ve done it either way but now you wish you had been smarter about it. Especially since you’ve woken up an emotionally exhausted and most likely grumpy Harry to tell him that you’re going to join him on this dangerous mission.

“I, um...I volunteered?”

He shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair to tame it a bit.

“Volunteered?”

“I’m going with you to gather supplies.”

He freezes and his gaze slowly shifts to you, his eyes wide as realization slowly sinks in. He shakes his head and you take his wrist, which he promptly tugs out of your grip.

“Why? Why would you do that, you were fine, you- you were safe, and now you’re not...why did you do that, Y/N? What were you thinking?”

“I just thought that you would need a couple extra hands so I mentioned that three people might not be enough to get the job done and he agreed with me so I’m going with you. Nothing can really change that now.”

“What if I can convince him to let you stay?”

“I don’t think you can.”

“Yes I can, dammit!” he stands, running a hand through his hair, fully awake now, looking ready to have an argument. “I can, and I will. I’ll talk to him at the meeting tomorrow.”

“The meeting that I’m also going to.”

“No, no you’re not going, you’re not going to the meeting and you’re not leaving the compound.”

“Alright, Harry, so you’re just going to, what? Lock me in my room?”

“If that’s what it takes!”

“That’s ridiculous, Harry! I can do whatever the hell I want and you don’t have any power to stop me so stop acting like you do!”

He stares at you for a moment, his breathing heavy and his eyes still wide, but his mouth remaining shut. You take a deep breath and shake your head again, turning towards the door.

“Good night, Harry,” you mutter, walking out the door and letting it slam behind you.

We’ll go out there, he thinks to himself as he watches you leave, and there’ll be nothing. There won’t be any supplies to gather and we’ll have done all the for nothing.

All we’re going to find is ruins.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry styles x reader #imagines #imagine #bands #band #band imagine #band imagines #bands x reader

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bloggy-hell · 7 years

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MOVIE REVIEW: Passengers (2016)

PASSENGERS (2016): dir. by Mortem Tyldum Lead Actors: Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence My Rating: 7.610 Best Audience: Teen to adult audience with at least a small interest in the sci-fi/post-apocalyptic genre. Great Date Movie Idea!

Quick, Non Spoliery Synopsis by Yours Truly:

A mixed pot of romance, action and sci-fi, the film Passengers finds a space ship malfunctioning 90 years before it is to reach its destination, awaking Jim Preston from his suspended slumber much earlier than his 5000 companions. It is here where Jim, portrayed by Chris Pratt must sacrifice his morals, love and even safety for the future of the ship and all of those on board, as once you have woken up in the middle of a 120 year journey, there’s no going back to sleep.

Nitty-Gritty Review Time

*Definitely CAN’T guarantee no spoilers in this zone and below so God’s Speed my friends*

Did I enjoy this film?

Yes, on a basic level. The visuals were great, acting on point, the romance and action most thrilling…. However the storyline itself….? Honestly, the more I delve into the plot, the more points begin to jump out and irk me.

The Concept

I feel like nowadays everyone is at least familiar with the idea of leaving Earth for an alternative inhabitable planet in the future before we all start living on top of one another. Therefore for the ready-minded citizen, the idea and technologies of the story don’t seem too complex to understand. Here we have a space ship of the future throwing itself lightyears from Earth which transforms itself from 120 years of suspended human animation to the equivalent of a luxurious cruise for the final 4 months of travel. And the period where the ENTIRE ship is sleeping? total ghost town.

Characters

Now Jim Preston is portrayed by Chris Pratt who although billed second to Jennifer Lawrence, stands as the protagonist of this film. Jim is shown from the beginning as a practical, engineeringly skilled man in search of a new life away from Earth. With simple morals and desires, he reminds me of nothing but an Aussie tradie searching for a quiet life and an attractive lass to settle down with after work each day. Jim lives for the lifestyle in which the ship and new planet promotes to potential investors in the seemingly ginormous capitalised organisation. He is therefore left nearly hopeless at his awakening 90 years prior to arrival. Pratt, undertaking a largely serious role on comparison to his past stints with Parks and Recreation and Guardians of the Galaxy, overall shines as our alpha-male frontman determined to fix the malfunctioning ship and save the 5000 lives on board. Opposite Chris, Jennifer Lawrence is Aurora, conveniently sharing a name with Disney’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’ who is awoken by Jim in his desperate need for human (particularly female) contact on the lonely ship. Jen, who we’ve now seen in a variety of roles is quite familiar with the futuristic ‘save the world’ setting in which she shines. And whilst she is not purely Jim’s helpless love interest, for once Jen takes a backseat as the almost supporting character role in the heroic tale. As a born-bred hunger games fan I find myself almost biased in my praise for Lawrence as an actor as her versatility in character, style, personality and raw emotion is next to limitless. I mean. she didnt get those Oscars for just throwing a costume on and showing up on set. Despite these talents though, you never see her overpowering Pratt, who strongly holds his own in this movie which, although from the sci-fi genre, truly paves a future for him in more serious upcoming roles.

Chris and Jens chemistry as a couple was pure fireworks. Some say you only need put 2 attractive people in a room together to really build the basic sparks of your fire but i completely disagree. Chemistry comes from deep within, a connection to ones own emotions as well as their characters and the ability to intertwine them with others. I believe that it is a true art form, a dedication to an actors work which should never be brushed off with something as basic as ‘looks’. The 2 frontliners who have many an experience with onscreen romance completely nailed the almost insecurity that comes from being one of only two people awake on an enormous vessel as well as the dependence that they develop on each other. brava.

The Set and Visuals

I think we can all agree that nothing’s worse sometimes than some bad CGI, which i saw nothing of in this film. Many of the scenes presumably filmed on green screen appeared crafted by Gods as the clean, sleek and fresh architecture of the future remained as such for the entirety of the film. From the Hibernation pods to the bedrooms and public spaces of the ship, the smooth modern touch of curves, mezzanines, illuminations and extremely basic colour schemes really took me into the future, joined by the new technologies of the plot. These aesthetic visuals recall images of brand new houses or cars, yet to be touched by the wear of humans and really emphasise the ‘new life’ that the many Passengers would soon be experiencing.

The Plot

I was on a mixed platter with the writing of this film. The physical script was great, funny, intelligent and hardly cringe. The futuristic technolgies and outerspace caastrophes always delivered asthe developed romance between the 2 lone passaengers did. But sometimes i just wasnt fully there with them.

As much as I hate to break it down like the ghost of english teachers past, every story must have a beginning, middle and end and every character must have objectives and actions to reason why exactly they do everything which is written. I feel like Passengers had a strong beginning and middle, a clear path and direction from where Jim wakes up and everything is explained to when he and Aurora fall in love and she discovers the classic character betrayal (predictable af right?). The middle to end however is where it gets uber messy. Jim’s objective in life is defined at a fresh start on the new planet where he is needed and he can build and grow. Aurora’s is quite different, putting her writing career first and travelling only to be able to write about her experiences and be appreciated back on Earth. These are clear and whilst not set in stone, need to be remembered.

As we near the end of the plot where Jim and Aurora whilst not on good terms must fight to save the ship, it is clear that their objectives seem to go out the window. All writers love a good heroic act and happy ending i know, but with audience predictability and confusability at its finest, sometimes it best to be realistic with the plot. After both characters commit heroic acts to save the lives of those on board and coincidentally save each others lives they simply just decide to grow old together on the space ship, righto. And I know its supposed to be cute and romantic and happy and im sorry but it’s just not believable, it is to me, the writer’s easy way out to an ‘enjoyable’ movie.

And just when you thought I was finished I would also like to tack on a small plot hole I found in the story. As the lovebirds develop their relationship, we see them running round participating in the complimentary activities of the ship from basketball to dance off’s. They also showed the ships passing of a nearby star where the couple marvels at its beauty as the ship voiceover announces its passing. But technically guys, they were all supposed to be asleep in their pods when they passed this particular phenomena so why on earth would it be programmed into the voiceovers in the first place? I understand that their being awake activated a lot of the services but there is really no need to prepare to view a star that nobody is going to be awake to see #plotholeeees.

In Summary:

Despite my finalising with plotholes and slight writing criticisms, I still thoroughly enjoyed watching Passengers. As a not too common sci fi watcher (beside the occasional doctor who binge) I found the films technologies to be easy to follow and understand and praised the art directions and set & costume designers for their simplistically elegant designs. Further praise also to the great acting from Jen and Chris who I will continue to place my faith in with future epics.

#passengers #movie #passengersmovie #chris pratt #jennifer lawrence #jlaw #review #reviews #movies #writing #plotholes #futuristics #scifi #romance #love

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ba11etomane · 6 years

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Fall Kingdom Roles

You may have 2 named characters. I would prefer if they were from different kingdoms. You may have as many extra characters (those with **) as you'd like though.

If there are any roles not listed here or the other kingdoms that you're dying to include, let me know and we can work something out!

Spring: https://goo.gl/gbdLXN Summer: https://goo.gl/XJV4yp Winter: https://goo.gl/tK7EDU Humans: https://goo.gl/j1cdNF

General Info

Ruler: Oberon

Magic: Generally, their magic is based on consumption, physically or metaphorically. They drain and decay, and some of the denizens of the Fall are nothing more than husks and shades, the products of such transformative siphoning of their energy. Their magic is mostly about entropy, releasing and turning structured magic back into raw power. They are relatively chaotic and decentralized as a kingdom because of this.

Geography: The Fire Forest is a portion of the Land Beyond eternally caught in brilliant fall. Its leaves are always fiery red and gleaming yellow, and seem to drift endlessly to the dark and foggy forest floor with every crisp breeze. There are winding trails of stones, fairy rings of towering mushrooms, fog-choked clearings where vaguely human forms flit between the shadows, and ruined temples slowly being consumed by gnarled vines. Oberon holds court in one of these abandoned temples, on his throne of vines. His court is more a hectic collection of different creatures yelling and carousing than a productive meeting.

Goals: Mostly, they long for respect. The Fall kingdom is often forgotten by the other three, and seen as a non-threat. They are the least organized and centralized, and so it's incredibly hard to get them to agree on a goal, much less actually follow through with it. Individually, many people within the Fall Kingdom have some grudge against their king for some slight or curse of his when he was in one of his fickle moods. While it isn't entirely clear why they want heir human, many think it could give them the power to usurp Oberon.

Social Strata: Oberon's kingdom is one of the most egalitarian, mostly because he can't get everyone to agree on anything long enough to enforce any sort of order. In general, the shades are viewed with respect and a healthy dose of fear, but are kept at arms length. They are not to be trifled with. The animals and other fae are much more friendly and approachable, and always seem to be trying to avenge themselves for one slight or another. Alliances shift rapidly.

Oberon

Ballet: Midsummer Night's Dream

Gender: Male

Age Range: 30+

Basic Info:

The Fall King has long suffered what he views as a lack of respect from both the other kingdoms, and his own vassals. The Fall Kingdom is by far the most disorganized and democratic, which results in Oberon lacking most of the power the other Kings and Queens have over their kingdom’s inhabitants. Part of Oberon wants to change this, to consolidate his own kingdom and spread his rot and ruin and wilderness to the other kingdoms.

Beyond his more political goals, Oberon is ruled by his wild and often erratic passions. At one time he and the Summer Queen were lovers, and their falling-out has been quite explosive. He longs to regain her love, or to destroy everything she holds dear, whichever is easiest. But while he longs for the Queen out of reach, another Queen closer to home longs for him. The Fall King has had a very tumultuous relationship with the queen of the Shades and her motley crew of spirits. Long ago, she loved him and thought they could rule the Fall Kingdom side by side, but he spurned her for the love of the Summer Queen. She has descended into a grief and rage-fueled madness bent on destroying his kingdom from the inside out, and wouldn’t mind killing every beautiful, vibrantly living thing in the Summer Kingdom just for good measure.

Oberon’s powers lie in both physical and metaphysical consumption, the strongest of any of the Fall Kingdomers. While he was once a powerful magic user, his wild passions and regrets have caused him to lose control. Nowadays, his magic seems to turn back on himself as much as lashing out towards others. The fruit he holds rots in his fingers. The grass underfoot shrivels and browns. His throne itself crumbles under him. He thinks the love of the Summer Queen could cure him of this, or perhaps a human heart. But he is far from attaining either.

Player: @.username

Audition:

Firebird

Ballet: Firebird

Gender: Female

Age Range: 18+

Basic Info:

Trickster shapeshifter (a commonly Winter kingdom trait) who was originally kingdomless before being captured and imprisoned by the Mouse King. She was given to Oberon as a pet by the Mouse King to entice him to form an alliance with the Winter Kingdom. She hates both of them for this, and isn't too fond of the Spring and Summer queens for various other reasons.

She had knowledge of Drosselmeyer and Clara (both of whom may know a bit more about who or what she really is), and is certainly involved in bringing the new humans beyond the Veil, though she is rather tight-lipped about why.

While not originally a member of the Fall Kingdom, her powers are vaguely related to decay, decay of reality that is. She appears to be an anomaly of the most contagious kind, who has the ability to morph and corrupt the world around her. In more practical terms, she can take the laws of physics and time and just throw them out the window. Generally, her powers rely on word games, puns, rhyming, etc. Be careful if you think you understand a gift she's giving. Often its true meaning is shrouded under many deceptive layers.

Player: @.questing-witch

Audition:

Myrtha

Ballet: Giselle

Gender: Female

Age Range: 18+

Basic Info:

While the Fall Kingdom is ostensibly ruled by Oberon, there is an ever-growing faction of dangerous, hungry, and lost Shades who are ruled by the vengeful Willi Queen Myrtha. At one time she was a Summer Kingdomer, a servant of Titania who fell in love with Oberon. But he used her to get closer to her queen, and eventually spurned her for Titania. After Titania had Myrtha executed for her treachery, Myrtha’s restless spirit joined the Fall Kingdom. She has not forgiven Titania or Oberon, and her love has turned to poison. She wishes for nothing more than to destroy the Fall and Summer Kingdoms and make their monarchs suffer as she suffered.

Myrtha also has a pet fascination with dooming other young lovers, and has built up quite a collection of lost souls who came to her for aid or were trapped by her various schemes. Her power in the Fall Kingdom grows the more lovers she dooms, though she may be too overconfident in their loyalty.

While Myrtha’s powers were quite different in life, in death she only has the power to consume passion and devotion. She can siphon off love and turn it to bitter hate, and has been sucking souls to a withered husks in order to build up her own court of loyal Shades. But she can also be overcome by extremely powerful devotions, and fears true, innocent love. Instead, she’ll do anything she can to corrupt it.

*Player: @.username

*Audition:

Giselle

Ballet: Giselle

Gender: Female

Age Range: 18+

Basic Info:

Giselle has been a Shade so long she almost forgets what it was to be alive. But those few fleeting memories of her life, wild, untamed, and pure in the dense forests of the Fall Kingdom, haunt her just as she now haunts those same woods. Her memories are a curse to her, an unbearable weight to be overcome by fleeting feeling and then left empty once more. She hates her Mistress for this pain, and often takes it out on others who remind her of what she lost when Myrtha turned her into a Shade.

Queen Myrtha believes Giselle is her most loyal servant, and treats her almost like a daughter. She believes one day Giselle will become as strong and bitter as she is, fueled by vengeance and an aching hunger. But while Giselle may act the obedient handmaiden, and sometimes seems to take cruel pleasure in doing her Mistress’ bidding, she longs to be free, not just of the Willi Queen but of life itself.

Just like her mistress, Giselle can suck the life out of others. But she is even more susceptible to being overcome by their emotions in the process than her mistress is, and this power causes her much pain. She can seem cold and detached at one moment and then painfully alive the next, and even she doesn’t know what she really feels and what is just a product of these fleeting but powerful emotions.

Player: @.username

Audition:

Hilarion

Ballet: Giselle

Gender: Male

Age Range: 18+

Basic Info:

Hilarion was once a Wild Hunter of the Summer Kingdom, a tasked protector of the Summer Court and a favorite of Queen Titania. But Oberon, jealous of Titania’s waning affections for him, corrupted her favorite hunter and kept him as a prisoner of the Fall Kingdom. While in the Fall Kingdom, he was tasked with hunting down the Shades and bringing them back under Oberon’s rule. He was given a bow that could kill even the dead, and still bears this fearsome weapon. But it was powerless against one Shade Myrtha sent to tempt him. Giselle, ever Myrtha’s loyal servant, lured Hilarion deep into the fog-choked forest and stole his heart, turning him at last into his current form, all because Myrtha wanted some small vengeance for Oberon’s spurned affections.

Basically, poor Hilarion was just Doing His Best™, but got caught between the unholy love triangle of immature and overpowered royalty, and has paid many, many times for it. Now he is a Shade, under the reign of Myrtha but not entirely under her control. He may possess that thing she truly hates and fears, unwavering devotion and pure love, and that has helped him keep more of his autonomy than many of the Shades. It may be though, that his own weariness and bitterness at being continuously used and thrown aside by powers beyond his control, and the cruel realization that perhaps Giselle never loved him in return are finishing the job Myrtha started, and turning him into a vicious, heartless, ravenous spirit.

Unlike most Shades, Hilarion’s powers of energy consumption are rather weak. This is probably due to Myrtha’s incomplete control over him. He is still stuck between what he was and what he is becoming, and the internal struggle to come to terms with what he is and what has happened to him is tearing him apart.

Player: @.username

Audition:

Animals**

Ballet: Sleeping Beauty, etc.

Gender: Any

Age Range: Any

Basic Info:

The various other inhabitants of the Fall Kingdom are a motley crew of wild, unfocused, irreverent, and often destructive fae, many of whom take the characteristics of various animals. They are not transformed into these animals by a curse or a spell, unlike those of the Winter Kingdom. They simply are. As such, they feel they owe very little allegiance to their lord because, what did he ever give to them, honestly?

They are often fueled by petty feuds with their neighbors, and are too busy meddling with each other to think about the larger politics of the four kingdoms. Some are drawn to serve Oberon because of the power he holds. Others hate being called on by their king because they would much rather wreak havoc in the woods on their own terms, and like being contrary just for the fun of it.

Their powers are just as varied as their interests, but all are destructive. Some work by undoing magic, and like to fiddle with Summer Kingdom illusions to drink their fill of magic. Others delight in tearing dolls to shreds. Still others have powers more similar to their king, and live off of rot and decay. But while they enjoy wreaking havoc, they tend to stay out of the way of the Shades. Not only are they dangerous, but they simply aren’t any fun to mess with.

Player: @.usernames

Auditions:

#info #roles #fall

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