#and also more about their magic which inspires toby at the end

[jugularbeat]

Deltarune/Brandish similarities

!!OBVIOUS SPOILERS FOR UNDERTALE/DELTARUNE AND THE BRANDISH SERIES!!

Making this post because HOT DAMN there are a lot of similarities when you look at them side by side.

But why Brandish? Because 1. It’s mentioned in the UNDERTALE artbook that Toby was inspired by Brandish about the whole ‘falling into a hole and going underground business’. There are also other parallels here, such as the first area of the game being named the Ruins (that’s the only thing specific to UT as far as I’m aware). And 2. The protagonist of Radiation’s Earthbound Halloween hack is Varik, which is the localized name of Ares, who is from Brandish.

Other than pointing at the stuff that inspired UT/DR’s creation, this post also serves as potential theoryfuel for whatever may occur in deltarune’s future. With that being said, let’s begin.

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First, let’s get the obvious out of the way: Kris is based off Varik/Ares.

Both have a weird shadow above their face, use a sword and shield in-game, have a red-ish cloth thing around their neck, have exposed forearms and fell into a darker place along with some chick who wants to kick their ass. Another thing to note about the eyes is that, because of the game’s weird turning mechanic, we never see Ares/Varik’s face in-game, even in cutscenes. But Kris is, albeit rarely, sometimes portrayed with their eyes, right? Well, those eyes are red, same as Dark Ares’ eye color. (sidenote: Dark Ares uses ice magic in one of his attacks...) Another interesting tidbit is that Ares/Varik is sometimes portrayed with brown hair in official content and cutscenes, or blue hair in-game. Both hair colors were incorporated in Kris’ light world and dark world designs, respectively.

But wait, there’s more! Even beyond physical similarities, the few personality traits that Ares/Varik displays add up with Kris’ behavior. In the first Brandish game, at the end, there’s a choice to save your bounty hunter mage rival, Dela Denon/Alexis, or kill her. While you can choose whatever, in the later games, she’s still alive, so it can be argued that the option to save her is canon. Ares/Varik also saves her regardless of what you do in Brandish 2... So both Kris and Ares/Varik end up saving/defending the chick who wants to beat their ass in the end.

Another thing about these playable characters’ hidden personalities is the miniscule amount of trickery they engage in. It’s common knowledge at this point that Kris is a fan of pranks, but Ares/Varik also enjoys a good trick or two, as evidenced by his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it smile after giving Dela Denon/Alexis a broken sword instead of the Planet Buster.

Besides that are even more similarities in other parts of the games. For starters, both games start with a cutscene about the darker world. There’s also this.

About that cutscene, by the by, there are two interesting tidbits from Brandish’s cutscene that were pretty obviously a source of inspiration for some of deltarune’s plot points.

In the center of the kingdom, piercing the sky itself,

stood a tall, majestic tower which symbolized this land.

I don’t think I need to explain what this inspired.

Doomed to an eternity of darkness…

Same as before. In that cutscene, there’s also a heavy focus on ‘the’ titles. The Protector, the Dragon, the King, a similar pattern to the Knight. In Brandish, the eyes of the King and army are also obscured similar to the heroes of prophecy in Deltarune’s opening cutscene, but the Dragon’s eyes are exposed. The only other exposed eyes in a stylized cutscene like that in Deltarune are the Titans.

From Brandish 2: The Planet Buster, after Bundevia falls (i think)

So Bundevia shares Vittovia’s fate…

You sure bring calamity wherever you go.

That last line is very interesting, since it’s reminiscent of how every fountain the deltawarriors visit is eventually sealed, excluding the grand fountain. (Speculation Warning) I wonder if future chapters will touch on the morality of opening a fountain, beyond how it can end the world, since you’ll have to seal the fountain eventually and the way you got to that point will be kinda messed up either way. You’re taking many Darkners from their homes to castle town while separating them from their friends who chose to stay if you decide to recruit anyone, or you’re beating everyone up so you can sever the connection between that dark world and the light world/destroy their home. Toby has a record of utilizing game mechanics that one might not expect to matter too much. We already saw how Undertale deconstructed many RPG tropes, but it’s also noticeable in Toby’s earlier works like the Halloween hack, where you have to press the B button to continue, and where running away from the desperate survivors is treated as the ethically better choice. (even though there’s nothing that really highlights that as an option)

Wait, so you’re King Bedorrer? But you’re just a feeble old man!

In this scene before fighting God Bedorrer, Dela Denon/Alexis underestimates him by calling him a ‘feeble old man’ and later says:

You sure talk the talk, but to me you’re just a shut-in hermit living in a smelly old cave!

The King later calls her a strumpet, turns into a monster and fucks her shit up. But anyways, this may or may not be a possible clue as to who deltarune’s final boss may be: someone who we/the characters might not expect? But speaking of turning into a monsters, both King Bedorrer and King Berebus turn into a beast, Berebus, less willingly.

Berebus, unable to control the Dragon’s furry-filled power, was cursed. It

transformed him into a wretched beast… one that matched his evil nature.

Possibly a hint for the Titan Ralsei theory??

Misc.: Both games have a sound test room and dimensional boxes. And I can’t believe I got this far without mentioning the shop screen similarities. 

(accidentally added the Seam pic at the beginning, would’ve made for an interesting introduction lol)

Lastly, there are some fascinating pieces of dialogue in Brandish that I wanted to highlight.

The labyrinth layout is so complicated that when you tried to examine it closely, you got dizzy and decided not to look at it anymore.

Inspiration for the description of Ralsei’s manual?

That town, the rocks, this whole world is just an illusion.  This place is nothing more than a nightmare.  You’re in it, and so am I.  There’s no way out.  See look at this.  My feet have turned to stone.

We all saw what happened to Rouxls Kaard and Lancer in Chapter 2.

“How many seasons have passed since this, our land, was swallowed by the earth?  There is no one left that can answer that now.  Our beloved land, along with the cursed King, will spend eternity forever in darkness. ��We wait.  We wait for the one that will free us, free us from our cursed fate…”

Seems important, doesn’t it? [SOURCE]

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If you got this far, thanks for reading! Feel free to add anything I missed or even got wrong.

#deltarune #deltarune speculation #deltarune theory #brandish #falcom #varik #ares toraernos #dela denon #kris deltarune #kris dreemurr #ralsei #susie deltarune

[emi-nova-music]

—*♪,» WELCOME ONE AND ALL ——•°.

hiii! i’m a 19yo college kid making magic however i can! i’m non-binary (they/nova pronouns), queer, neurodivergent, and i adore my strangely specific process and unique set of influences that lead to some cool ass shit! when i’m not jamming, i’m drawing, designing characters, building websites, and playing games 🫶 don’t hesitate to reach out

my main blog is @emerystellar as a general hub for all my creative stuff, and my crazy tumblr hermit spam all goes on @emery-reblogs !

—*♪,» LINKS ——•°.

Spotify || Bandcamp || Youtube || Apple Music

music carrd !! — main website !!

—*♪,» GENRE/INFLUENCES ——•°.

i’m pretty broad and experimental so it’s hard to narrow myself down, but i’d say i fall somewhere between jangle pop, psychedelic rock, shoegaze, and indie jazz! some of my biggest influences are louie zong, mild high club, miracle musical, vince guaraldi, toby fox, koji kondo, the avalanches, and temporex :]

for extra reference, here’s my giant playlist of all the music i listen to, and a really big list of weirdly specific genres i like! you can also ask me about influences/inspirations for certain songs, associations you make, Anything, i’d love to hear and conversate about it!

—*♪,» RIGHTS AND USAGE ——•°.

feel free to use my music in any personal projects, youtube videos, animations, character playlists, anything, as long as you do two things:

1. credit me however applicable (link to the song, my website/bandcamp, just listing the song title and artist name, etc)

2. show me what you made!! i absolutely ADORE interacting with the creative works others make and i wanna see what ways you use my creations!! 🩵

the only other thing of note is that if you want to remix/make a cover of my song, keep it non-monetary (i.e. keep it to soundcloud and/or youtube)!

addendum that i’m not great at transcription but if you need stems of any songs/sheet music/garageband soundfont titles, etc, i’ll do my very very best to provide!

i’m very very open to collabs, but i am extremely bad with deadlines “- forcing inspiration never really works for me, but if you’re okay with my weird process and want to hmu, please do so!!

—*♪,» GENERAL FAQ ——•°.

• i use garageband on my phone to write most of the time (sometimes bandlab or acoustic instruments, usually various pianos or organs)

• i use distrokid for platform distribution and i seriously recommend it it’s ridiculously easy and super cheap too

• my process is usually pretty linear, starting with a melodic idea and moving from start to finish with the song, then going back and buffing it out making it meatier and tweaking things as i see fit! then i’ll usually adjust the pitch/speed at the end simply bc the analog sound is a lot more pleasing garageband can get a little sterile after listening to it for so long :]

• writing a single song will usually take me anywhere from 2-6 hours depending on the complexity, spanning however many days (i have drafts that have been sitting in my phone for MONTHS bc i’ll often switch between them so none of them get too stale) -> however, some of my live songs work a little differently, seeing as a lot of them (especially on what never left the nebula) are actually almost completely improvised… you'll never guess which ones >:)

• i’ve been playing piano and singing since i was a toddler, but i started formally making music and being serious about it in 2017! i’ve come a long long long way, don’t look for my old soundcloud /hj

—*♪,» THANK YOU!!! ——•°.

if you’ve got any other curiosities or comments please don’t hesitate to send an ask!! i love when ppl engage with my music so please please by all means feel free to :] thank you so much for sticking around this long and have a stellar day!!!

#pinned post #info

[talesofsonicasura]

Dancer of Destiny

Yup! Another Trollhunters AU but with a rather delightful twist when it comes to Jim. There are gonna be two flavors: one human and one full troll! I can forget the dash of Monster Hunter inspiration either. Don't need to know about MH for this as I'm keeping it simple and limited.

Trolldancer

A seven year old Jim begins having very strange yet very real dreams of another world. One where monsters and people unlike anything he ever seen tend to collide. Jim is taken in by a Monster Hunter by the name of Val'tah Choso alongside his monster ward Buena, a Will o' Wisp Magnamalo. (Old drawing)

In the waking world, he lives a normal life with his mother and friend completely unaware about what happens when he sleeps. Jim learns to dance under Val'tah's tutelage upon discovering his caretaker's personal hobby but also former dream. Although the lessons of monster hunting doesn't fail to sink its claws when the young boy turns 13.

Nor the domino effect when Jim soon learns about the world underneath his feet but also his dreams hold more influence than he thought. Sometimes a dance can change destiny just like any blade.

Jim isn't the Trollhunter but he will assist them whether it be Kanijar or someone else. Young Lake bears magic that is tied to not only the dances he was taught but also his experiences in the Monster Hunter world. I will tell you at least two parts of Jim's magic.

Offensive Style which is summoning weapons and armor he acquired to apparitions based on monsters he fought to his aid. When it comes to his apparitions, think of Bending from ATLA mixed with ROTTMNT Raphael's magic in how they operate. If the monster has an element or specific nature such as being venomous, then his apparition shall have that same ability.

Wild Style can cause various effects such as empower allies, debuff enemies, healing or even change the weather. It just depends on what he performs especially if it encompasses a monster.

Example: Scarlet Feast, Malzeno

-Every successful attack drains bits of the victims' strength and heal Jim. Any beneficial boosts can also be stolen. Once a certain amount of damage is done, "Bloodening" mode triggers boosting Jim's power and speed for a short time.

Jim's unique magic definitely put him in the line of fire during one earlier clash between the Kanijar and Bular(not the canon battle.) Something that leads to him being called 'Trolldancer' as his current clothing made him look like a troll from a distance. Trust me when I say both sides are looking for Jim and it drags the dancer's companions into the madness too.

Protector of Dancing Souls

A mysterious crystal gives life to a troll whelp immune to sunlight. He is raised by a mysterious tribe of Felynes and given the name Avalon. (I couldn't resist a Troll Jim being raised by cats, well, cat based monsters).

He learned not only from his tribe but also the people he tends to spy on, especially hunters. Avalon took the role of a protector, at first leading others to safety until an encounter with a dangerous monster gave him reason to fight. This earned him the Monster name 'Petronion, Dancer of Souls' and the Fanged Beast classification amongst the hunting world.

On one fateful day, a teenage Avalon crashes into Arcadia, badly injured from a fight with a dangerous unknown monster. (10 years before the events of the show.) He is found by Barbara and nursed back to health while given the name Jim. Ends up meeting Toby two weeks after his arrival as the child had a scheduled visit the nurse accidentally forgot.

Over the years, both help the misplaced troll become accustom to this new world and he shares his knowledge in return. It isn't much longer before one midnight run goes wrong as Jim encounters a battle between two certain trolls. Remember that our troll boy has no knowledge about what he is nor if there are more like him.

Jim only interferes when Bular's temperament marks him as a major threat and chases him off. He flees before Kanijar could stop the young troll who is facing an existential crisis. Everything Jim knows about himself has been flipped on its head and now he struggles to understand his origins.

It doesn't help when certain Trollmarket denizens seek out the clearly young troll before the Gumm Gumm Prince with his forces find him first. Or for Jim's new family to get dragged into the crossfire.

Now the young troll doesn't have a human disguise and it'll probably take halfway through the first maybe second season before he gets one. Jim uses the Dance of the Ancient Phantom, Chameleos, to wander Arcadia without being seen. Like his human counterpart, his magic functions the same way.

-Makes the wielder invisible for long periods of time unless hit. Jim can create thick mist to shroud his form and even forge poison clouds.

He often uses this to spy on people, wander around, observe Barbara at her job or follow Toby in school. Jim may have tripped his human friend's bullies and mother's harsh coworkers. He is quite protective of people he sees as kin. A lean yet firm body type, similar to Angor Rot albeit with more muscle, makes stealth stupid easy.

Also I can't resist imagining this particular Troll Jim being horrified to learn that trolls like to eat cats. He was essentially raised by cat people so the idea would probably make him hurl. Jim definitely bonded with Toby over the whole feline topic in general.

That's it for now! Until next time folks, I'll see you back in Arcadia!

#tales of sonicasura #sonicasura #dancer of destiny au #tales of arcadia trollhunters #trollhunters au #toa trollhunters #trollhunters #toa #tales of arcadia #james lake junior #james lake jr #jim lake jr #jim lake junior #troll jim #troll!jim #mentioned fandoms #monster hunter

[tarabyte3]

I had some thoughts re: Kino Loy because I love to wax poetic about him…basically always, but I feel like there's a lense through which to view this character that I haven't seen discussed. And it fits into the overall theme of the show so I wanted to get it out of my head.

This is your spoiler warning for Andor episodes 8 through 10.

If you look at Kino's character arc over the 3 episodes that he's in, he starts out as the hardass shift manager just trying to keep his numbers up to stay out of trouble and finish his sentence. He doesn't see another way. Anything else is, to him, impossible when he holds none of the power. Then he learns that everything he's done up to that point never mattered because he was never getting out. Cassian and Melshi (that one probably really hurt Kino to realize, btw) were right.

It completely shatters him. Now he has to join the fight, and he's been doing the prison thing for so long that he doesn't know HOW. But MORE IMPORTANTLY: Cassian realizes Kino has to join this fight. It falls apart without him. Kino has to be the one to give orders and be the face. Kino is the one that inspires the people around him inside the prison.

Except that, when faced with the opportunity to inspire people, Kino uses Cassian's words instead. Because at the center of this story, the inspiration, is Cassian. He has the heart of a rebel and has never forgotten it on Narkina 5. Kino has. Maybe in the future Kino could be an incredible force for the rebellion in his own right, but he isn't there yet.

At the end of episode 10, when they're all getting out, we get that devastating Kino line of "I can't swim." Of course, we the viewers are struck with the implication that this character we watched step up despite his terror and devastation is likely to die during the escape. Right at what feels like the beginning of a new chapter in his story. Not only that, but if you watch Kino's face (because Andy Serkis is a god) before that moment, he knows what's out there. He knows he can't swim. He knows, even though this is his only chance to escape, that he never will. And still he steps up.

BUT!

And here is the point of this rambling post: What if there was more to his line than that.

What if it was never about not being able to swim, but being too afraid to take the plunge. Before Ulaf's death, his place in the world and goals made sense to him, but then everything happens so quickly. Now the thought of his freedom, at committing to the leap of faith and getting what he has wanted for so long, is too much and in the moment he is overwhelmed. So he makes up an excuse that, while true, is only a flimsy excuse because he has to truly accept what is happening first.

We never see him jump. We never see him crawl up on the shoreline. We also never see him drown or see his body. We don't know what happens to him, though we can think about that one line and guess.

Toby Haynes, the director of "No Way Out," says we know Kino wasn't killed. Tony Gilroy, the creator, has said we never saw him die. So maybe they would be thrilled to have Andy Serkis back (Tony, please, I beg). And I love to think that a Kino that shows up later in the show would be a Kino that went into the water petrified and crawled out reborn. He goes off and continues to help and inspire people because, by chance, he met Cassian Andor.

That's what this show is about. It's not destiny or the force. Sure, having a Jedi helps, but those prisoners aren't a Jedi breaking into an Imperial Star Destroyer with a lightsaber and fucking magic. They're several desperate men with no power that have been worked to a mind and body breaking exhaustion, and are willing to give everything. Not out of fate. Out of a constant struggle for hope. Because a rebellion is started between individuals. Andor is the microcosm of Star Wars. It's about the ripples we make in the pond and not the ocean. It's about the way our actions and choices touch those around us, and how they make their own ripples in return.

God, I love this show.

#andor #kino loy #cassian andor #narkina 5 #nobody's listening #no way out #star wars #andor spoilers #andor season 1 #andy serkis

[rookie-critic]

Empire of Light (2022, dir. Sam Mendes) - review by Rookie-Critic

Empire of Light has a gorgeous score and brilliantly inspired cinematography as well as a couple of masterful performances from Olivia Colman and Michael Ward, which makes it all the more disappointing that the film itself isn't that special. Sold to audiences as a kind of "ode to the cinema," the theater is almost just a backdrop for a plot that is messy and largely unfocused. I did really enjoy a lot of the first half of the film, I caught myself smiling ear-to-ear multiple times, but it really starts to unravel in the second half. The film switches perspective between Colman and Ward a couple times, and their stories are so different it really does feel like you switched movies when the other lead isn't around. Also, and I felt this way about Licorice Pizza last year, I find age gaps in romance stories pretty problematic. Granted, in Licorice Pizza it was incredibly problematic because it was a 15 and a 25-year-old, and in Empire of Light the romance is developing between two consenting adults who's ages are never disclosed, but Ward is 25 and Colman is 48, so we can assume at least a 20 year difference in their characters. I just can't get past it, and I can't make an excuse for it being ok.

Also, they way they handle mental illness is... not the best. I get that it takes place in the 80s and the attitude and general knowledge wasn't where it is today, but there are things that the film suggests that I just can't get behind. Lastly, to round back to the original point about the film marketing itself as an ode to the cinema, there are a couple of scenes where it decides that it does want that to be what the movie is, for that moment, at least. Unfortunately, those moments are the best of the entire film, largely thanks to Toby Jones, who gives what could have been the role of his career had it actually been a substantial part of the film at all. I really believe that, had this film actually been about what it was marketed as instead of the really odd and problematic romance that we got, it would have been really brilliant. Sam Mendes can do so much better than this, and has. Knowing this is his first fully solo-written screenplay is incredibly disheartening. If you watch this, do it for everything but the plot, because Roger Deakins' (the absolute best there ever has been and possibly ever will be) camerawork mixed with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' atmospheric score elevate the great acting to make this middling movie look and feel magical, even if they're at odds with the director and his script.

Score: 6/10

Currently at the tail end of its theatrical run.

#Empire of Light #Sam Mendes #Olivia Colman #Michael Ward #Colin Firth #Toby Jones #Tom Brooke #Hannah Onslow #Crystal Clarke #Tanya Moodie #Sara Stewart #film review #movie review #2022 films

[specialability]

Naruto

In my Naruto reread I've basically hit the point where I stopped reading the manga in its original run. I didn't even make it to the Sasuke vs Itachi fight originally and then speed-read a bunch once it ended so I don't remember it much. Unnecessarily long thoughts follow.

The first story arc, i.e. pre-time-skip, is a bit rough sometimes but is fairly tightly written and fast-paced. It has a set of coherent themes and character arcs. Unfortunately, this is only 27 volumes, ending with Kakashi Gaiden.

There are 72 volumes total so that's only about a third of series. The second post-time-skip arc (Shippuden) starts off okay as it reintroduces all the new characters. Kakashi vs Itachi (and Gai's rescue~) is vol 29. As some variety from going to rescue Sasuke they go to rescue Gaara instead. I appreciate this arc because we get some more Sand Siblings and Team Gai. Most interestingly, Sakura gets her one and only battle victory. As far as battles go, it's a well-written one as Sakura shows off her new skills, intelligence, and determination. She gets a W on the board and we get two women fighting together! Chiyo's relationship to Gaara changing is genuinely touching.

The introduction of the chakra types in Shippuden feels like a very late retcon. Even though Kishimoto may have been using those concepts from the beginning, it really doesn't feel like it, especially when he avoids explaining more how more complex jutsu fit the system. It's impossible not to compare to Hunter x Hunter (although I'm trying) because as Gon and Killua progress through that story and learn more about the magic system of that world you definitely get the feeling that all the battles previously still make sense and a lot of things fall into place for the audience as well the characters. It's a bit like hitting a twist in a mystery. In order for it to feel satisfying you have to be able to look back and say "oh, I see it now". For examples of this not being done well see also: midichlorians

While Togashi is definitely the master of shonen battle manga when it comes to coming up with intentional magic systems, it's Oda who is probably the best at coming up with new powers and plot twists and making it seem like he was planning it all along. Fans call him GOda, but in interviews he's always like "at the last minute I had a sudden inspiration on how to finish this battle!" and then fans find some detail from volume 2 that has come back to pay off in volume 200 or whatever. I'm not sure sometimes how much of it is planned and how much is completely flying by the seat of his pants. If you write a manga for so long, there's no way you can remember every detail the way fans do.

And then back into the story... I cannot overemphasize how boring it is to rehash the same argument over and over again. Yamato and Sai are added to Team 7 in vol 32 and this starts the Pain arc which is... painful. It can't help but feel a bit cheap that after only a few years of training Naruto surpasses basically everybody else including his mentors. Pain apparently seeks to derive world peace from essentially causing equal pain to everyone. Fair enough, people in real life have made that argument. However, Naruto's response inspiring him to revive everyone and also kill himself so Naruto doesn't have to bloody his hands feels even more cheap and childish. I can't help but feel the philosophical questions of why is there war and how to solve cycles of violence is beyond Naruto as a character but also Naruto as a narrative.

This is also what strikes me about Sasuke vs Itachi and his interactions with Tobi afterwards. Naruto's response to "how do we solve war and heal emotional wounds" is generally a big shrug and "be nice to people". His unintentional method of seeking peace is befriending world leaders one at a time which isn't completely ineffectual. Sasuke's response to "how do we stop people from suffering" is "who cares, fuck you, my pain is more important than yours". Which is even more childish. An interesting theme that doesn't seem utilized is being trapped in one's childhood / not progressing as a person because you choose to hold on to your pain otherwise you feel you'll have nothing. Gaara's character arc towards accepting and giving love after alienation and suffering is way better by comparison. The manga keeps bringing up more mature big questions like the economic value of war but never actually addresses the various viewpoints and keeps skipping back to the interpersonal relationships. Which I mean sure, is important. But since there's no intentionality about it it just ends up feeling muddied.

On to the next...

#misc #ruth reads manga #:naruto

[elissastillstands]

DEATH-OMENS BELOVED - Toby Daye Fancasts [6/9]

Before she became a Fetch, May was a night-haunt, one of the dark secrets of Faerie. Jazz was a Raven-maid. In a war, she would go on the battlefield when the killing was over and the scavenging began. Their relationship was a love story about missed sleep, compromises, and working around differences. (Adapted from A Rose-Red Chain, Seanan McGuire)

Featuring Melanie Scrofano as May Daye and Tiya Sircar as Jasmine Patel. With images from Wynonna Earp, Good Sam, and Once Upon a Time; all other photographs from Unsplash.

#october daye #toby daye #litedit #seanan mcguire #may daye #jasmine patel #melanie scrofano #tiya sircar #okay quick note: TUK is probs one of my top 5 books but imagine if jazz had a larger role in it #so we can learn more about the raven-maids and the swan-mays #and also more about their magic which inspires toby at the end #(maybe nolan + cassandra also do something with the swan-mays? idk. i trust SM to carry through with that setup in the next couple of books) #anyways may and jazz make me go heart eyes #toby fancasts

[nattikay]

hmm...just thinkin’ about how to deal with Bellroc and Skrael in my headcanon, which lead to hmm, let’s try taking some of the general ideas from the movie but make them less dumb. I wouldn’t call this a rewrite per se, nor even something that I’m set on “officially” incorporating into my headcanon--just some idle hypotheticals.

Douxie uses his magic to mask Nari’s magical signature, thus making it much more difficult for Bellroc and Skrael to track her down. As such, the Titan reawakening takes place much further in the future--approximately 10 years from the events of Wizards. 

.

Jim has long since regained his half-troll form as per my headcanon, with the upgrade of being able to walk in daylight. He has probably already received the new amulet as well, and has had plenty of time with Douxie and Krel to troubleshoot and perfect its abilities.

.

Jim and Claire are married and already have their lil hybrid babies cuz heck if you can stop me. They are living in the New Jersey trollmarket, where the trolls have successfully settled after the Eternal Night. Thanks to Claire’s portal abilities, it is very easy for them to get from there to Arcadia and back whenever wanted/needed. The need to protect not only their friends but also their children puts 10x more ferocity into their determination in battle.

.

Strickler and Barbara, Toby and Darci, and Aja and Steve are all also married. Toby and Darci probably also have kids.

.

We can still even have Aja and Steve be expecting, but Steve is very most definitely NOT pregnant. And actually neither is Aja, cuz let’s flesh out this whole “seventh kiss” bs:

So Akiridions are made out of energy, and their bodies are a projection from the central “life cores”, correct? To form a new Akiridion, you need a new life core. So let’s say that to make a life core, two Akiridions must take bits of their own energies and merge them. Once merged into a new core, said core is put into a special device that keeps it safe and nourished while the projected body develops, kinda like a fancy electronic egg. Once the body is developed enough to properly take in and interact with the outside world, the “egg” is opened and boom, there’s your Akiridion baby.

Obviously this is very different from human/Earthling reproduction. If Steve is human, how is he gonna take bits of energy that he’s not made of in the same way Aja is to merge it with hers? Lucky for them, we are constantly reminded how advanced Akiridion technology is supposed to be. They take a DNA sample from Steve and use their technology to convert it into the required energy, which is then merged with Aja’s aaaaand...there you go. Because of this, while the bab(ies?) can resemble their dad in certain ways, they will be functionally fully Akiridion in that they are made of energy and fueled by a life core rather than human carbon-based biology and DNA.

So how does the “seventh kiss” play into this? Obviously the seventh kiss itself does not “make baby”; the process is much more intentional than that. BUT, let’s say that when a couple shares their seventh kiss, it means by Akiridion standards that they’re pretty devoted to each other. As such, it is the trigger that makes it possible for their bodies to split off a piece of energy to merge if they so desire. So the seventh kiss does not automatically make a baby, it merely makes it possible for a given couple to do so.

You’re welcome. Moving on...

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Speaking of Steve, he is a knight, and has brought back a form of the roundtable as he promised Lancelot. He splits his time between Earth and Akiridion-5 thanks to Krel’s wormhole device, which has been refined over the years, and leads factions of knights/warriors on both planets.

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Nana (who is pretty much semi-immortal at this point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) and Barbara watch the great/grandkids during the battle, because someone has to do it, and neither of them have any particular magical powers to fight in the battle themselves anyways. This not only keeps they themselves safely out of the way while the magical heavyweights do the hard part, but also still gives them a sense of purpose in keeping their beloved great/grandkids safe. I was originally gonna have Darci with them but then I came up with a better idea:

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Darci is one of Steve’s new knights. Inspired by Toby, she was keen to sign up when Steve started accepting applicants. As one of the first recruits, she is now second-in-command of the Earthling faction.

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Claire is officially Douxie’s apprentice and her magic has improved leaps and bounds with a formal teacher to help her. That said, not only have Claire and Douxie not been nerfed, their power level has actually increased since Wizards.

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Strickler doesn’t die suicide-bombing the titan because that’s dumb. He just drops the bombs onto it from above and gets the heck out of the way.

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Nomura also doesn’t die because no one was stupid enough to let a troll try to fight a titan in the middle of the flippin’ afternoon.

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The titan battle between Nari and Skrael still happens, but Nari is basically a distraction to keep his attention and efforts occupied while the rest of the team swoops in to take him down. Thus, Nari doesn’t die.

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No Khronisfere bs, and therefore Archie and Charlemagne don’t get trapped in the Chinese trollmarket and are still present for the final showdown against Bellroc.

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The showdown with Bellroc is now 10x quicker and easier as Nari is present, no one’s been nerfed, the whole team’s still kickin’, and everyone’s actually competent. Toby does not need to sacrifice himself.

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All the good guys survive and everyone goes back to their families and live happily ever after with no more world-ending threats of for the rest of their lives because they deserve their hard-earned peace thank you the end

#just some ideas ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #trollhunters #tales of arcadia #rise of the titans #rott spoilers #(sorta) #headcanon #future au #(also sorta)

[bluheaven-adw]

A tidbit about me. I am a very musical person. It gives me energy, stirs emotions, and sometimes inspires ideas. Listening while driving this song really struck me. So here is a ToA au idea: Evil Claire born of heartbreak.

We know at the end of RotT, Jim didn't travel back in time, like they did in Wizards, because then there would be two of him, like the double Douxies. He also didn't exactly reset his own timeline either, because if that were the case, everything leading up to the point he jumped to would be the same and we know this isn't true. Several things are already different: his alarm clock, Toby's arrival time, Toby's athleticism, the date for Romeo and Juliet tryouts. If he had just reset his own timeline, all of that would have remained the same and the only changes would have occurred as Jim deviated from his original path (like inviting Strickler over, and not fighting Steve). So what this probably means is that he is in an entirely different timeline, think multiverse, in which case the original timeline and everyone he left behind in it, still exist and are having to carry on without him.... abandoned.

Since we know that magic is borne of emotion and stronger emotion can mean stronger magic, what if the loss of Jim, the pain and heartbreaking and abandonment, causes Claire to have a psychotic break. Jim uses the amulet with the time stone and vanishes, leaving Claire standing there crying. Toby is gone, Arcadia is destroyed, Jim has basically abandoned her for another version of herself, all because he couldn't handle the loss. She drops to her knees and sobs. Blinky and the others try to comfort her but it's just too much hurt and loss. She flings her head back and screams out all her pain, eyes pitch and midnight violet. The magic gathers around her and lifts her into the air, then explodes outward forming giant sigils around her. Evil super villain Claire is born, stronger than Morgana ever was. Things could go many ways from that point. She could destroy what's left of Arcadia, maybe she possesses new timeline Claire using the shadow realm much like Morgana did, or maybe she just rips Jim right out of that timeline and back into the original, all because she wants him to hurt. The potential for severe angst is high.

I'm not sure where the story would go, the song just gave me the opening scene and a vague feel for the rest. If anyone wants to take this and run with it I'd be ok with that! I'm no writer.

Listen to it. Picture it all in your head.

I am the monster you created

You ripped out all my parts

And worst of all, for me to live, I gotta kill the part of me that saw

That I needed you more

I hope you know we had everything

When you broke me and left these pieces

I want you to hurt like you hurt me today and

I want you to lose like I lose when I play "What Could Have Been"

Oh, "What Could Have Been"

Why don't you love who I am?

What we could have been

I am your ghost, a fallen angel

You ripped out all my parts

I couldn't care what invention you made me

'Cause I, I was meant to be yours

I hope you know we had everything

When you broke me and left these pieces

I want you to hurt like you hurt me today and

I want you to lose like I lose when I play

I want you to hurt like you hurt me today and

I want you to lose like I lose when I play "What Could Have Been"

I promise I'll stop posting about RotT and get back to the original series now.

#tales of arcadia #trollhunters #toa #toa trollhunters #trollhunters tales of arcadia #toa rise of the titans #trollhunters rise of the titans #rise of the titans #toa rott #jim lake jr #james lake jr #toby domzalski #claire nuñez #evil claire au #alternate universe #angst prompt #Toa music #Rott salt

[nagirambles]

Do you have any headcanon about the other guilds like the one you had for Caitshelter? Like Lamia and Pegasus

Oh I do! I contributed heavily to lots of guild-related head canons in Verity (An OC fanfic where he just goes around finding the entire cast pre-canon and adopting them because why are there so many orphans what the fuck) and allow me to put them here.

Lamia Scale:

Super emphasis on strength and strategy. It's probably full of martial artists and people who value traditional duels

Lamias surround their prey, tire them out, and then attack from behind once they've let their guards down.

Not usually child-friendly guild due to aforementioned battle emphasis (only exception listed below:)

During the Deliora attack, guilds all over Fiore were commissioned to take in war orphans because orphanages were being overloaded. That's how Lamia ended up with Sherry, Toby, and Yuka. They are usually sent back to orphanages or foster homes after it calmed down (or they grew up and got independent, usually,) but these three joined the guild.

Blue Pegasus:

They're Pegasus because they're one of the most recognisable mythical creatures around-- people are fascinated by them, but they're really just incredibly showy. They're a divine inspiration that's immortal-- depicting something of an ageless, worship-worthy perfection that people tend to put even on idols today.

They're most likely a guild with more higher class people, eg people that actually have proper education/prestige already, such as Eve, who was a member of the Magic Knights.

If anything, this was the guild that Lucy's noble heritage and influence would've fit best in-- which is exactly why she avoided it.

A stretch! Logo design tidbits: Blue's the colour usually used to indicate professionalism and trustworthiness, which is why most social media app logos are blue.

And randomly, a few for Mermaid Heel:

Their guild would have an indoor fountain and pool. It would also be very strictly men-not-allowed, and thus the main reason we don't know what the building looks like is because Mashima himself is not allowed to look.

The mermaids are objects of fascination, and people really want to get closer looks-- but once those intruders come, the mermaids bare their fangs and drag them down into sea, drowning them.

In other words-- pretty ladies that want lady space, probably because they distrust men due to past experiences. They may look like cute bait, but they are not to be underestimated.

We never meet their guild master, but their master's title (like how Makarov is Gramps and Lamia’s is Babasama), would be 'Queen'.

#it's an ask #other guild rambles #fairy tail #I'm reaching #it's a headcanon

[rikalovesrice]

My Thoughts on Trollhunters : Rise of the Titans

WARNING : ALL THE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW

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Mmmmm. Okay. So I just finished the movie. I’m fatigued as always so this’ll be a bit of a mess lol. Gotta spew the thoughts while they’re still fresh, y’all know how it is.

Right out the gate, I definitely want to talk about the things I loved.

The animation was, of course, phenomenal and gorgeous!

Voice acting was incredible as always

MUSIC SLAPPED

Douxie. I just loved seeing Douxie again and honestly kept my eyes trained on him for most the of movie lol

OK DOUXIE AND NARI SWITCHING?? BODIES??? Definitely didn’t see that coming and I legit started screaming lol

Nari in Douxie’s body is the most precious, chaotic, and wholesome thing like holy cow that was so adorable LOOKIT DOUXIE CROUCHING AND CRAWLING AROUND ON ALL FOURS WITH THOSE NOODLE LIMBS OF HIS I CAN’T --

We called Nari’s mind control and Douxie trying to reason with her!

In the very few scenes they were together, Douxie’s love and affection for Nari really came through. You could really feel how much he cared about her. ALSO THAT TENDER HUG AND NARI’S LITTLE HAPPY SQUEAK MY HEART NO--

Loved Barbara. Always love Barbara.

Walter and Barbara getting engaged

Nomura back in action

Claire being the powerful sorceress she’s become

Loved seeing Aja, Krel, and Varvatos all together again.

NARI VS SKRAEL WAS ALL SORTS OF EPIC AND CRUSHING EMOTIONS.

The way Douxie yelled Nari’s name and ran to her after she died and the remnants of her magic falling all around him, like she was saying goodbye, just *UGLY CRYING*

It was so cool to see Charlie out of his den and flying about like the mighty dragon he is

Loved the Guardians of Arcadia pulling Excaliber out together.

All the gang all going after Bellroc together

YES JIM MY BOOOOOOY

BLINKY DIDN’T DIE

Aarrgh I love you so much

Stuart, what a bro!

We saw a hint of mercy in Bellroc towards the end.

Toby’s death... That was a huge curveball. Jim might as well have cut my heart out with Excaliber as he sobbed over his best friend.

Uh.....um....and.....Er...what else........ .___.

..........Alright so.......It’s about to get a bit brutal from here on out as I talk about the things I didn’t like at all. And the really sad thing is, at least to me, the cons far outweigh the pros in this movie. Because I’m actually having difficulty picking out things I enjoyed, they were so few and far between...which really sucks.

So here we go.

Gosh, where to begin... I guess I’ll go ahead and say this : I’m really disappointed. 

Like as I’m here typing this, I’m just thinking, “...That was it? That was the movie?? The big finale???”

So much of this movie just felt....unnecessary. I hate to say almost like filler. The entire intro re-caping the series really wasn’t needed. And then Toby went and restated it all again when he was being interrogated. The pacing, oh my gosh...Guys, the pacing in this movie was not good. The action started and it never seemed to stop. There wasn’t a single moment of rest, of levity, of our characters just being themselves, getting to know each other, being friends outside of the battle. No Reckless Club Segment. No fun, just... I mean Claire and Aja didn’t speak to each other at all. Douxie and Toby hardly interacted. Steve was turned into a gross male pregnancy joke. Jim and Krel barely spoke. Douxie and Aja had nothing to say to each other. Even Aja and Krel didn’t have any moments together. The list goes on. The whole movie was just go, go, go. And it’s so frustrating because there was time for it but it was poorly executed.

Like was the whole break-in to the Chinese Trollmarket really necessary?? Guys, I really found myself not caring. I didn’t care to see this random side quest involving an insignificant new troll character and a Trollmarket that had little to no bearing on the plot. Did I love seeing Charlie, Archie, Blinky, and Claire? Of course! But these scenes were so pointless. So needless. They could’ve written other ways for all our heroes to go after the chronosphere (Maybe we could’ve had Zoe for crying out loud). But instead this vital artifact was the hands of a character we don’t know and don’t care about in a place that turned out to have basically nothing to do with anything.

Deaths. The deaths in this movie. Because of the pacing in this movie, there wasn’t nearly enough time for the emotional impacts to sink in. Nomura? Gone and the only ones mourning her are Aaarrgh and Douxie, who barely knew her. Walter’s death was handled better since we got to see Jim and Barbara actually having a moment to mourn him. The weight of Nari’s death was singlehandedly carried by Douxie, but even that was over before it started. The immense gravity of Toby’s death, which really got to me, was also short-lived to make way for an ending that...I don’t know. 

ALSO DOUXIE JUST??? BEING OKAY WITH HIS FAMILIAR, THE ONE WHO RAISED HIM AND WENT THROUGH SO MUCH WITH HIM FOR CENTURIES, LEAVING HIM FOREVER TO BE TRAPPED IN THAT DUMB TROLLMARKET WITH CHARLIE LIKE???

“I hope he’s happy.”

WHAT. THE. EVERLASTING. FRICK. 

Douxie’s reaction objectively doesn’t make a shred of sense. Geez, it’s almost like Douxie was expecting Archie to up and leave him someday to be with Charlegmane. Just...what???

What also frustrates me so much is how this movie undid so much characterization and development that happened in Wizards. Or more like all that development didn’t even matter.

What was the point of Steve’s arc in Wizards if he was just going to be reduced to...this?

I was so excited to see Douxie really being a Master Wizard. To see him lead the Guardians of Arcadia alongside Jim. To see him in action as Successor to Merlin and Protector of this Realm.

But no.

Douxie, who had such an incredible arc in Wizards and a character who’s come to mean so much to me in my life, was nerfed and sidelined.

And then time restarts and I can’t help but wonder why any of this mattered at all. What the heck was the freaking point of the suffering, the loss, the pain, the growth, enduring and overcoming so much, the friendships and family spanning across three shows... All gone. Starting all over. Undoing everything, except what Jim went through. As much as I love Jim, I didn’t think he’d be the only character I’d be getting closure for at the grand finale of this entire franchise. But that’s what happened and I really hate it.

Just...all in all, this movie wasn’t satisfying. Not to me. It had its good moments. But not nearly enough. The comedy was misplaced and fell flat. The climax was sorely anticlimactic and didn’t hold a candle to Eternal Knight. The writing, the direction, characterization...For some reason it was all lost and confused and none of it felt right and so much didn’t make sense.

I’m not at all upset with the writers, though, because they still pulled through and did what they could. When the movie did something right, it was beautiful. The things I loved about it I truly adored. No, I’m not upset in the least bit with any of the creative team.

I’m upset with Netflix. I’m upset that Wizards was robbed of the seasons it should’ve had. I’m upset with big cooperations stifling creators. I’m upset that this’ll be it. This is the ending we got and nothing can be done about it.

Aaron did say there’s every possibility for the franchise to continue in some capacity, and I’m hoping for that someday. Because so much, too much, has been left unanswered. So much left to be explored that couldn’t. But until then....I guess this is it. This is what we get.

Now, I want to remind everyone that this is my own personal experience with the movie. These are all my opinions. If you enjoyed every second the movie, that’s wonderful! And who knows how my thoughts will change upon another viewing. But in the meantime, Rise of the Titans really missed the mark for me. I wanted found family badassery and fluff. But nope. Just fighting and heaviness and no payoff. It’s such a letdown...a real shame. 

But yeah...Thanks to any and everyone who read to the end of this haha

I still love Tales of Arcadia. It’s a series that has blessed and inspired me so much as an artist, writer, and as a person in general. I do want to keep making ToA content for a while. Cause this movie isn’t the end. Not my ending, at least.

I’ll continue to hope for more Tales of Arcadia in the future (a Douxie spin-off series please Lord pleaaase). We shall see. Until then, fics and fanart fixing this mess galore haha

Until next time everyone! God bless!

#trollhunters rise of the titans #rise of the titans #rott spoilers #tales of arcadia #jim lake jr #claire nunez #toby domzalski #steve palchuk #aja tarron #krel tarron #douxie #hisirdoux casperan #toa archie #nari of the eternal forest #toa wizards #rika rambles #this was tough guys #sigh #but oh well what can you do? #again I'll always cherish this franchise #but oof #They all deserved better

[arcadianmoonshadowjedi]

My Version of ROTT- Part 1

This isn’t really a fanfic, but more like bullet points of how I would make ROTT go if I was in charge of the story, which I might do some one shots or drabbles of eventually. Instead of a movie, I would make it into a limited series with an ensemble cast- where the focus would be on the main Arcadia gang rather than just Jim: Jim, Toby, Claire, Aja, Krel, and Douxie would fill the role as “main character” for the most part and get equal amounts of focus. Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, Varvatos, Archie would also play important roles, and Zoe would definitely have an important role as well. Steve and Eli would DEFINITELY be more useful!! More focus on the arcane order too since they’re the main villains. I only thought of ideas for how a two-part first episode would go so far, with bits and pieces later on.

A lot this is derived from Inspiration from across the fandom from headcanons and other fics! I’m definitely open to any ideas if anyone wants to share! :)

Episode 1:

Starts with a flashback of the Arcane Order way back in ancient Greece, where their father Kronos the titan laid dying in the battlefield after pulling a massive sacrifice to end a massive war. He told his children it is now their turn to carry on the balance between magic and nature, and that there will come a time when their titans will rise. They will need to retrieve the Genesis Seals and the Kronisphere, a powerful weapon capable of resetting time. Before Kronos could give more information, he finally succumbed to his death (might make some changes here).

The Arcane Order not only plans to reset the timeline and wipe out mankind on Earth, but also do the same across the whole entire universe to wipe out any “violent” beings that cause wars, including Akiridions; they plan to perform the timeline reset simultaneously which is why they need to go to Arcadia (center of the universe).

It’s Possible that Seklos and Gaylen were one, if not the first keepers of the balance in the universe before the AO and Kronos, to help tie in 3Below into this somehow, might expand on this later.

Flash forward to centuries later, after Wizards, Douxie is hiding Nari in Metro City and Jim, Claire, Toby, Steve, and Krel were able to go back to school for their junior year of high school. Jim (Not sure if I want him to be human or half-troll in this, probably the latter) is getting help to recover from his previous trauma and has a lot of catching up to do in school, but is being helped by his friends, mainly Claire and Krel.

Still working on the events leading up to the subway fight in the movie, but would probably keep it as it is for the most part. And Jim would still get knocked out the same way probably. However if he is a troll, he might have more strength but since the AO are ancient magical beings, they could still overpower him, and top of that Jim would still be insecure about his strength since they were able to corrupt him before.

When Claire tries to protect Nari after the subway fight, she gets hit hard by Skrael knocking her out. When Douxie asks Claire to teleport Nari out, she finds that instead of releasing shadows, she’s only emitting useless freezing air from her hands! Skrael’s hit froze her ability to do magic which was further evident by her hands being covered in icicles. Douxie switches places with Nari to prevent activating the seals.

The episode ends with The arrest of Claire, Toby, Aaarrrgh, Nari as Douxie, and Archie.

(This and the next ep sorta parallel when Jim and Toby got arrested in TH Season 1)

Episode 2:

The next ep would be part 2 of the Premiere and would start with the funny mugshots (Tobes saying something like “Not Again!” and the interrogations, and Krel breaking them out. Keeping this since this was all pure gold!

Everyone meets up in flying Camelot where Jim is injured & recovering from the battle. They maybe discussing some battle strategy and also guidance from Nari

Krel makes contact with Aja who comes to Earth with Eli (NO MPREG STEVE NONSENSE HERE!!!!).

Also Jim does some cooking in the castle kitchen which sorta cheers him up since it’s one thing he’s still good at and everyone loves (though if he’s troll Jim, he’s upset he can’t enjoy what he makes).Then there would be some Jlaire cuteness where Claire cheers up troll Jim by bringing him forks to enjoy and they get all lovey dovey and sweet.

The gang contacts Zoe, who’s determined to join the fight after Douxie and Nari switch places and she’s more determined to help her closest friend. We will see her bonding more with Krel despite their bumpy beginnings & they will be working on making a new amulet for Jim.

Meanwhile, the AO attempting the summon their titans while Douxie is spying on them and gathering more information. Still wanna work out the details as to how Douxie will switch back with Nari or whether he would escape like in the ROTT version by @tenebrius-excellium since I also prefer the titans rising later too!

The Ep might end with Aja coming to Earth and a sweet reunion.

#well these are just all a bunch of thoughts I had #tales of arcadia #toa #trollhunters #tales of arcadia rise of the titans #trollhunters rise of the titans #trollhunters: rise of the titans #Rott #toa rott #trollhunters rott #toa rott au #rise of the titans #toa au #tales of arcadia au #toa rott fix-it fic #toa rott fix it fic #rott fix it #jim lake jr #troll jim #claire nuñez #claire nunez #toby domzalski #Tobias Domzalski #aja tarron #krel tarron #douxie casperan #Hisirdoux Casperan

[novantinuum]

Trollhunters alt timeline AU concept:

Okay, so since I’ll never have the emotional energy to Write It in full, I just want to share my wild ass Trollhunters alt timeline AU, inspired by that chaos ride of a movie.

Disclaimer: Personally speaking, I actually enjoyed the RotT movie for the absolutely absurdist, emotion-murdering storyline it was. I can certainly say that it... (and in fact, Wizards too) most definitely doesn’t follow the ToA personal canon I hold in my heart, BUT- I don’t consider my idea a “fix-it” because I strongly dislike using that term myself. In all its imperfection, canon simply is what it is, and thus my idea is instead just a wild little AU concept, because thinking about what-ifs is fun. However, given that self-indulgence is a hoot, this is also my way of molding a plotline where some of my favored elements get to play in to everything.

Beginnings:

This AU diverges from the very end of the RotT movie.

So… from my reading of the last scene, one could argue that Jim’s canon decision to return to before he picked up the amulet and avoid picking it up again was born out of a sense of failure… a feeling that he failed as a hero because he wasn’t there to save his best friend from dying. He kinda wished himself (as he is, as the Trollhunter) away in a “It’s a Wonderful Life” type manner, hoping that by simply allowing someone else to take up the mantle, maybe things could end up better.

In this AU, instead of sending himself back to before he picked up the amulet, Jim’s last spoken desire before he uses the time crystal is a stubborn, confident assertion. Not doubting his own ability as the Trollhunter, but resolving to save all his friends in whatever way he can.

And he’s going to do this starting from Draal.

However, there’s a catch. This time crystal… powerful magic like this always poses consequences. And once he uses it, he discovers that the terms of this second chance are that no one can ever find out that this previous world ever existed. Jim is alone in his knowledge. He must tread carefully. Should anyone ever discover this secret… cataclysm will occur.

Time will shatter.

No pressure, or anything.

Timeline 2.0:

Future Jim is shucked back to his old body somewhere amidst early season 3. His first goal is keeping Draal alive. His foreknowledge of Angor Rot’s involvement in Merlin’s tomb will aid them greatly in how to better protect his friends.

His second goal... is one that he’s kinda of two minds about, but knows is desperately necessary for the fights he’ll face in the future. He’ll of course have to become a half-troll again. Thankfully, this go around it’s entirely his choice, and he knows it’s coming. That transition will be easier. Along with this... he knows he’ll have to somehow manage to keep ahold of his amulet. He can’t let the Arcane Order destroy it, and he can’t let them take control of him. If he stands any chance of being on top of his game in the early stages of their eventual fight against the titans, he’ll need to keep both that AND remain half-troll.

His challenge early on: Jim is stuck in the very awkward position of having to play chess master with events that he’s already lived through, so as to attain the same old victories WHILE ensuring all of his allies come out alive this time around... and WHILE not cluing anyone else in on the fact that he knows their futures. The stress involved with that is immense, and there’s bound to be instances in which he’s very clumsy with how he manages this. One of the largest early consequences of this second timeline is that he grows more emotionally distant from his friends and allies, especially those who had died in the original timeline... because after all, it’s almost as if he’s walking among ghosts, right now.

I honestly don’t know exactly how Wizards would shift because I haven’t seen it in eons, but Jim still has to ensure they end up in the past, right? Since he knows they’re a part of the past for better or for worse. He isn’t injured this time around, he likely has been hiding his amulet while back there, and there’s no beast Jim situation because the Arcane Order hasn’t wrest control of him. That’s all I know at the moment.

But yeah, those earlier battles end in victory (or partial victory, since of course the Arcane Order are a slippery bunch)... all allies are still alive... Jim remains half-troll by the beginning of the events of RotT in timeline 2.0...

HOWEVER.

Because of Jim’s extreme focus on keeping his friends- Nomura, Nari, Strickler, Toby- alive... because of how bonds within the group have weakened from his emotional distance... his second go at trying to stop complete armaggeddon is an entire failure.

Nari is saved, but they fail at stopping the other two titans. The world is set to be reborn in ice and fire. Jim has failed, once again. It’s at this moment that in a fit of frustration and rage, he lets his secret slip... accidentally reveals what was supposed to remain hidden... that this is his Second Time experiencing this.

Time shatters.

And then, the whole of creation falls silent. On pause, for Jim’s eyes only.

At this point in this AU story, since I am super self indulgent, I want to do a literal God from the Machine. Because I had a concept flash into my mind... a concept of a literal ancient deity rising from a deep sleep to set her attention upon the mess these mortals have created. All she appears as is bright, blinding light, and an echoing, sonorous voice.

When Jim asks her identity, she simply replies that she is the First Spark. The origin of all life, light, and magic. She has many names… names that countless souls have used to name their young in unknowing reverence… but one in particular that he might recognize.

Deya.

This goddess is the embodiment of daylight and creation, and the sword Jim wields? The armor? It is essentially made of her body. Her power. Her essence. Stripped away and used for whatever purpose mortals desired whilst she slept. How egotistical, she thinks, that Merlin directed all glory towards himself, rather than to the deity that allowed for his use of magic in the first place.

And so Deya reveals that she aims to clean up this cataclysm by returning the world to its original state. The original timeline. The one where this world hasn’t been destroyed in a horrible cataclysm. Jim, of course… immediately protests. Brings up all the hard, desperate days he lived just to get this far, just to save his closest friends and family. Begs her to do something, ANYTHING to help.

And eventually… the goddess offers up a choice. She’ll agree to restore the individuals who were dead in the original timeline, weaving the living souls of those in the second timeline into the first… but. To provide consequence for the disastrous mess mortal kind made, she refuses to use such power of resurrection in a “pick and choose” sort of manner. If she’s going to resurrect Jim’s allies, then she’s going to resurrect his enemies too. Everyone who has died throughout his journey will be brought back, no matter their alignment with the Trollhunter team.

Now, in order to save everyone, Jim must once again risk re-igniting the same conflicts with many of these foes all over again... except this time, in new paradigms and patterns that even he cannot predict. Is it worth it, for his friends? For the ones he loves?

Endgame:

Jim makes the deal. All the dead are restored. As time begins to flow again, they stand in the rubble of the titan they destroyed in timeline one. Jim feels great anxiety at the thought of the last two members of the Arcane Order being alive once more, but at very least the titans they piloted are no more. They’d have to come up with a new plan of attack now, if they had their hearts set on the same goal.

Toby is alive. So is Strickler, Nomura, Draal, Nari... Those who were dead, however... quickly realize that they remember dying. Those who remained alive in both timelines realize that they possess memories of both. Certain relationships will likely be rocky and strained for the first while.

Somewhere on this planet, old foes, old allies, and unpredictable agents alike have returned from the cold grasp of death with a shock. It’s anyone’s guess what new rivalries, alliances, and driving plans will emerge this time. At the very least, however... team Trolhunters is intact... and they’re more than willing to face this new, unpredictable future once more, wherever it leads. Together, hand-in-hand.

Fin.

#trollhunters #tales of arcadia #rise of the titans #jim lake jr #my post stuff #toa spoilers

[multifandomhellhole]

Not sure if your up for it but could you give a bit of info on some of the fics your 2orking on

Oof I got a lot mate so

1. Demon reader x giyuu, basically your a smart ass demon who takes advantage of the fact that giyuu is in a scruff with tanjiro and nezuko and attacks him right after from afar with your demon body needles. You basically get a closer look and decide that hes far to pretty to be just a meal and instead fuck him right there in the snow. Giyuu enjoys it obviously but at the same time wants to kill you since your a demon(duh, hes a slayer). once your satisfied and hes exhausted you bolt off before he can sever your head. Giyuu goes back to the slayer life while also researching you since it has never been known for demons to only care for sex and not a meal. As he asks around if people have seen a demon with your qualities and attack method he learns that most slayers haven't seen you but the few demons he interrogated before death dropped a bit of info that you have quite a few different territories, one being in the forests that you fucked him in and that your highly illusive. Giyuu decides to give you a bit more investigation. Meanwhile your hooked on this slayers body and find yourself trying to find more about your toy.

2. L lawliet x reader where L pisses reader off with his insensitive responses to their emotions and accusations of them being Kira and decides to try and find the best way for them to forgive him(after doing the equivalent of grounding them) and be productive on the case once more. Reader who decides to get revenge has him wear shibari throught the day under his regular clothes and will only take it off when he can learn to lower his pompous attitude.(and when someone has noticed and poor L becomes known as your new play toy)

3. The whole pirate reader x bakugou thing where reader and her all girl crew have spent many years on the sea( and are all secretly sexually frustrated) hoping to find a siren that seems to be nothing but a myth. During a storm they end up in bakugous territoryand he tries to kill the lead pirate which is you but in the end gets tranqed and captured. Obviously hes pissy and a complete animal as hes tied up but gradually becomes more docile (since hes smelling the lust from all the crew around him). At one point he moans at your smell and you decide upon seeing his arousal and two dicks that he may have a better purpose then as a wall mount and can perhaps cure everyone's midnight needs.

4. Jeff the killer and reader where you were both ina bar and he was looking for a victim and chose you. He tries to lure you outside with the illusion of friendship and even a hook up and tries to make you an easier victim with alcohol but your smart and end up being a little buzzed while hes loopy drunk. You can immediately tell that even tho hes drunk hes still a threat and decide to help tire him out with a few dances in the bar. Things get a bit spicy and you end up making the grinned man cum for you while dancing. Well you tired him out like how you wanted so boom you get to pop off while Jeff passes out in the bar.

5. A dark ticci toby and reader where he tries too kill them but they escape barely. Not without a cost tho.

6. Eyeless Jack x reader where he tries to break in for a midnight snack only to get bested by ex cop reader. As hes basically being kept hostage while reader tries to solve the case of the mysterious murders herself that she was recently fired from for suggesting that paranormal entities were to blame (using him as a lead). In her unstable state she decides to give ej a taste of her in a much more pleasurable way and soon is torn between keeping him as a fuck toy or regain her title.

7. A fairy izuku x reader inspired by fairy anon on depraved Empress's blog. Basically reader can see magical creatures and has formed a neutral bond with the fairies but one in particular fairy is much more friendly and is willing to give his body in return for this humans affection. This sparks curiosity in a few other fairies and reader soon finds herself the goddess of a lustful fairy harem. 8. A second Jason the toymaker fic where reader is his chosen one. She is teetering closer and closer to becoming just another doll but when she finds his precious music box and decides to poke and prod it she unintentionally does the equivalent of touching her captors body. With this new action she may have changed Jason's idea of her once "boring " nature. 9. A tiny Jason the toymaker childhood drabble of him playing with his wooden figures and Amelia being instructed by the teacher to socialize with him and how awkward it was at first.

#Adonis rambles #Future fics #creepypasta #bhna #death note #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #l lawliet #jason the toymaker #tomioka giyuu #eyeless jack #jeff the killer #ticci toby #Nsft #izuku mydoria #dom reader

[route22ny]

By CALVIN WOODWARD, ELLEN KNICKMEYER and DAVID RISING

September 10, 2021 GMT

In the ghastly rubble of ground zero’s fallen towers 20 years ago, Hour Zero arrived, a chance to start anew.

World affairs reordered abruptly on that morning of blue skies, black ash, fire and death.

In Iran, chants of “death to America” quickly gave way to candlelight vigils to mourn the American dead. Vladimir Putin weighed in with substantive help as the U.S. prepared to go to war in Russia’s region of influence.

Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, a murderous dictator with a poetic streak, spoke of the “human duty” to be with Americans after “these horrifying and awesome events, which are bound to awaken human conscience.”

From the first terrible moments, America’s longstanding allies were joined by longtime enemies in that singularly galvanizing instant. No nation with global standing was cheering the stateless terrorists vowing to conquer capitalism and democracy. How rare is that?

Too rare to last, it turned out.

___

Civilizations have their allegories for rebirth in times of devastation. A global favorite is that of the phoenix, a magical and magnificent bird, rising from ashes. In the hellscape of Germany at the end of World War II, it was the concept of Hour Zero, or Stunde Null, that offered the opportunity to start anew.

For the U.S., the zero hour of Sept. 11, 2001, meant a chance to reshape its place in the post-Cold War world from a high perch of influence and goodwill as it entered the new millennium. This was only a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union left America with both the moral authority and the financial and military muscle to be unquestionably the lone superpower.

Those advantages were soon squandered. Instead of a new order, 9/11 fueled 20 years of war abroad. In the U.S., it gave rise to the angry, aggrieved, self-proclaimed patriot, and heightened surveillance and suspicion in the name of common defense.

It opened an era of deference to the armed forces as lawmakers pulled back on oversight and let presidents give primacy to the military over law enforcement in the fight against terrorism. And it sparked anti-immigrant sentiment, primarily directed at Muslim countries, that lingers today.

A war of necessity — in the eyes of most of the world — in Afghanistan was followed two years later by a war of choice as the U.S. invaded Iraq on false claims that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction. President George W. Bush labeled Iran, Iraq and North Korea an “axis of evil.”

Thus opened the deep, deadly mineshaft of “forever wars.” There were convulsions throughout the Middle East, and U.S. foreign policy — for half a century a force for ballast — instead gave way to a head-snapping change in approaches in foreign policy from Bush to Obama to Trump. With that came waning trust in America’s leadership and reliability.

Other parts of the world were not immune. Far-right populist movements coursed through Europe. Britain voted to break away from the European Union. And China steadily ascended in the global pecking order.

President Joe Biden is trying to restore trust in the belief of a steady hand from the U.S. but there is no easy path. He is ending war, but what comes next?

In Afghanistan in August, the Taliban seized control with menacing swiftness as the Afghan government and security forces that the United States and its allies had spent two decades trying to build collapsed. No steady hand was evident from the U.S. in the harried, disorganized evacuation of Afghans desperately trying to flee the country in the first weeks of the Taliban’s re-established rule.

Allies whose troops had fought and died in the U.S-led war in Afghanistan expressed dismay at Biden’s management of the U.S. withdrawal, under a deal President Donald Trump had struck with the Taliban.

THE ‘HOMELAND’

In the United States, the Sept. 11 attacks set loose a torrent of rage.

In shock from the assault, a swath of American society embraced the us vs. them binary outlook articulated by Bush — “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists” — and has never let go of it.

You could hear it in the country songs and talk radio, and during presidential campaigns, offering the balm of a bloodlust cry for revenge. “We’ll put a boot in your ass, it’s the American way,” Toby Keith promised America’s enemies in one of the most popular of those songs in 2002.

Americans stuck flags in yards and on the back of trucks. Factionalism hardened inside America, in school board fights, on Facebook posts, and in national politics, so that opposing views were treated as propaganda from mortal enemies. The concept of enemy also evolved, from not simply the terrorist but also to the immigrant, or the conflation of the terrorist as immigrant trying to cross the border.

The patriot under threat became a personal and political identity in the United States. Fifteen years later, Trump harnessed it to help him win the presidency.

THE OTHERING

In the week after the attacks, Bush demanded of Americans that they know “Islam is peace” and that the attacks were a perversion of that religion. He told the country that American Muslims are us, not them, even as mosques came under surveillance and Arabs coming to the U.S. to take their kids to Disneyland or go to school risked being detained for questioning.

For Trump, in contrast, everything was always about them, the outsiders.

In the birther lie Trump promoted before his presidency, Barack Obama was an outsider. In Trump’s campaigns and administration, Muslims and immigrants were outsiders. The “China virus” was a foreign interloper, too.

Overseas, deadly attacks by Islamic extremists, like the 2004 bombing of Madrid trains that killed nearly 200 people and the 2005 attack on London’s transportation system that killed more than 50, hardened attitudes in Europe as well.

By 2015, as the Islamic State group captured wide areas of Iraq and pushed deep into Syria, the number of refugees increased dramatically, with more than 1 million migrants, primarily from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, entering Europe that year alone.

The year was bracketed by attacks in France on the Charlie Hebdo magazine staff in January after it published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, and on the Bataclan theater and other Paris locations in November, reinforcing the angst then gripping the continent.

Already growing in support, far-right parties were able to capitalize on the fears to establish themselves as part of the European mainstream. They remain represented in many European parliaments, even as the flow of immigrants has slowed dramatically and most concerns have proved unfounded.

THE UNRAVELING

Dozens of countries joined or endorsed the NATO coalition fighting in Afghanistan. Russia acquiesced to NATO troops in Central Asia for the first time and provided logistical support. Never before had NATO invoked Article 5 of its charter that an attack against one member was an attack against all.

But in 2003, the U.S. and Britain were practically alone in prosecuting the Iraq war. This time, millions worldwide marched in protest in the run-up to the invasion. World opinion of the United States turned sharply negative.

In June 2003, after the invasion had swiftly ousted Saddam and dismantled the Iraqi army and security forces, a Pew Research poll found a widening rift between Americans and Western Europeans and reported that “the bottom has fallen out of support for America in most of the Muslim world.” Most South Koreans, half of Brazilians and plenty more people outside the Islamic world agreed.

And this was when the war was going well, before the world saw cruel images from Abu Ghraib prison, learned all that it knows now about CIA black op sites, waterboarding, years of Guantanamo Bay detention without charges or trials — and before the rise of the brutal Islamic State.

By 2007, when the U.S. set up the Africa Command to counter terrorism and the rising influence of China and Russia on the continent, African countries did not want to host it. It operates from Stuttgart, Germany.

THE SUCCESSES

Over the two decades, a succession of U.S. presidents scored important achievements in shoring up security, and so far U.S. territory has remained safe from more international terrorism anywhere on the scale of 9/11.

Globally, U.S.-led forces weakened al-Qaida, which has failed to launch a major attack on the West since 2005. The Iraq invasion rid that country and region of a murderous dictator in Saddam.

Yet strategically, eliminating him did just what Arab leaders warned Bush it would do: It strengthened Saddam’s main rival, Iran, threatening U.S. objectives and partners.

Deadly chaos soon followed in Iraq. The Bush administration, in its nation-building haste, failed to plan for keeping order, leaving Islamist extremists and rival militias to fight for dominance in the security vacuum.

The overthrow of Saddam served both to inspire and limit public support for Arab Spring uprisings a few years later. For if the U.S. showed people in the Middle East that strongmen can be toppled, the insurgency demonstrated that what comes next may not be a season of renewal.

Authoritarian regimes in the Middle East pointed to the post-Saddam era as an argument for their own survival.

The U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq killed more than 7,000 American military men and women, more than 1,000 from the allied forces, many tens of thousands of members of Afghan and Iraqi security forces, and many hundreds of thousands of civilians, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project. Costs, including tending the wars’ unusually high number of disabled vets, are expected to top $6 trillion.

For the U.S., the presidencies since Bush’s wars have been marked by an effort — not always consistent, not always successful — to pull back the military from the conflicts of the Middle East and Central Asia.

The perception of a U.S. retreat has allowed Russia and China to gain influence in the regions, and left U.S. allies struggling to understand Washington’s place in the world. The notion that 9/11 would create an enduring unity of interest to combat terrorism collided with rising nationalism and a U.S. president, Trump, who spoke disdainfully of the NATO allies that in 2001 had rallied to America’s cause.

Even before Trump, Obama surprised allies and enemies alike when he stepped back abruptly from the U.S. role of world cop. Obama geared up for, then called off, a strike on Syrian President Bashar Assad for using chemical weapons against his people.

“Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong,” Obama said on Sept. 11, 2013.

THE NEWISH ORDER

The legacies of 9/11 ripple both in obvious and unusual ways.

Most directly, millions of people in the U.S. and Europe go about their public business under the constant gaze of security cameras while other surveillance tools scoop up private communications. The government layered post-9/11 bureaucracies on to law enforcement to support the expansive security apparatus.

Militarization is more evident now, from large cities to small towns that now own military vehicles and weapons that seem well out of proportion to any terrorist threat. Government offices have become fortifications and airports a security maze.

But as profound an event as 9/11 was, its immediate effect on how the world has been ordered was temporary and largely undone by domestic political forces, a global economic downturn and now a lethal pandemic.

The awakening of human conscience predicted by Gadhafi didn’t last. Gadhafi didn’t last.

Osama bin Laden has been dead for a decade. Saddam was hanged in 2006. The forever wars — the Afghanistan one being the longest in U.S. history — now are over or ending. The days of Russia tactically enabling the U.S., and China not standing in the way, petered out. Only the phoenix lasts.

___

Rising reported from Bangkok; Knickmeyer and Woodward from Washington. AP National Security Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.

https://apnews.com/article/911-20-years-world-affairs-cc497f11743fcbd48b0b3e0c3ed2da5f

#vladimir putin #two decades after 9/11 #new world order #historical turning point

[houseboatisland]

Is Elizabeth on your island, and if so how has she adjusted after decades abandoned?

She is! And here's my headcanon for her:

Topham Hatt I, (The Fat Director,) had by 1926 accumulated a small fortune as General Manager of the North Western Railway. Reputed as a workaholic, (or boss-aholic,) Topham had sunk considerable amounts of money into his sprawling Wellsworth estate, Topham Hall. Topham was inspired by the undertaking of his sometime friend Sir Robert Walker, the Baronet of Sand Hutton. Walker's estate utilized war surplus one foot and three inch gauge locomotives to carry distinguished guests, agricultural produce, and coal to and bricks deriving from the nearby brickworks of Claxton.

The resulting pet project, the Topham Hall Railway, is where Elizabeth's story begins.

The T.H.R. was laid to what had essentially become the Sudrian "standard narrow gauge," of two feet and three inches. The line started from its Exchange Siding with Wellsworth Station, and made several crossings through the streets of that town's suburbs, before reaching the estate grounds. Hall Station brought passengers within a stone's throw of the mansion itself. Moving on, the line dove into the woods through a magical tree tunnel, with a spur at its opening for the engine and carriage shed. Crossing a brook over a three-span wooden trestle bridge, another station and a few sidings known as "Orchard Station" served the fruit and vegetable orchard. Another mile or so, and the railway stopped again for "Bowler's Station," where the Hatts and any guests could detrain for the estate's cricket pavilion.

Another half a mile, and the railway terminated at the Wellsworth Brickworks. This had been a puny operation before the THR linked up with it, employing only three men or so. After the railway's arrival, it expanded to employ a few dozen, and three more kilns were added. Throughout the Great Depression, Topham kept the Brickworks open and its employees onboard out of his own pocket, even as the bricks accumulated unsold. This was far more humanitarian than his treatment of NWR employees and three of his engines!

The railway had one locomotive, a royal purple Kerr Stuart 'Tattoo' class, named "Little Barford," technically a brother of the Mid Sodor Railway's No. 4, "Stuart." Little Barford arrived also with several v-tipper wagons, a dozen ex-War Department bogie wagons, four-wheel trucks and two ambulance vans. The ambulance vans were thoroughly rebuilt by the estate's woodshop to become an elaborate passenger coach, and a "Dining Car," which was quite identical save for the fewer seats and teeny gas cooker. The passenger coach saw constant use, but the Dining Car mostly sat in the siding at Bowler's Station as it cooked. The line was so short, it never could've done more than boil an egg while moving to timetable!

Capping off this complement of rolling stock was one Sentinel DG4 "Overtype" Steam Lorry, quickly named Elizabeth, after the Duchess of York's newborn daughter. Elizabeth was absolutely coveted by Topham, though he wasn’t exactly a steady hand at the wheel. Elizabeth was kept polished to perfection, even when her work involved carting such grubby loads as soil, clay, and coal. She was in every respect a "father's princess," but she worked dutifully and loved Little Barford like a twin brother. She also learned from her Victorian old master her favorite catchphrase, "We are/are not amused!" depending on the context.

The Second World War began in September 1939, and this national shift in priorities turned Elizabeth’s devil-may-care youth on its head. The Wellsworth Brickworks shuttered as many of its men volunteered or were called up, and housing construction all but ended. Little Barford was kept on at the Hall as the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries set to increase production on Topham Hall’s farms. Elizabeth on the other hand was, for the first time, moved away from her only home. As the civilian petrol rationing situation tightened, and private motoring was eventually banned, Elizabeth was suddenly very valuable as a coal-fired road vehicle.

She was commandeered and relocated to Tidmouth Harbour, working night and day as a dockside lorry. This was a very stressful period for her, for she was utterly friendless and out of her element. Although Sodor was never bombed, the routine blackout drills and stories of other ports destroyed, such as Liverpool, took their toll on her mentally. At some point however, she "bucked up." Elizabeth realized she was no longer an aristocrat's toy. For all she knew, Topham had probably forgotten her. As the military lorries she came face to face with daily were almost all of the internal-combustion type, who was to say that when, if ever the war was over, that he'd want her back if he remembered her?

In these circumstances, Elizabeth adopted her more familiar, stiff-upper lip personality. There was no time for polish or quaint little rides to the cricket pavilion, there was a war on! She became grubby, and liked to be grubby. She worked like the devil, and loved that even more. Her posh accent never left her, but she was now in every respect out to be a working girl. Elizabeth would never admit it to herself, but this huge change of self owed much to her upset at being removed from her only home. Did she legitimately like being a working lorry, rather than an estate owner's princess? Certainly she did. Was it an easy and completely voluntary change of character? Of course not. But it was done, and Elizabeth spent many nights assuring herself that it was the right path, the only path to have taken.

1945, the end of the war. Everyone was so jubilant. Elizabeth was cleaned and polished like a crown jewel, decked out with flags and bunting, and allowed to participate in the Tidmouth Victory Parade. In several colour newswreels of the event, you can spot her amid the cascade of tickertape and throngs of soldiers, nurses, longshoremen, civilians, tanks and lorries. It was no doubt a fun day for her, but now she thought a great deal about the future.

The war, which had been everything to her for six years, was over. Soldiers were being demobilized and coming home. Industries were retooling for the postwar world, to make consumer goods rather than several airplanes an hour. The Attlee Government, in conjunction with the devolved Sudrian Parliament established in 1946, had a grand vision for The Mainland and Sodor, where the welfare state for the long-suffering people and machines was vastly expanded, their jobs would be increasingly unionized and their bosses answerable to them, rather than the other way around.

Despite the historically harsh winter into the New Year of 1947, Sudrian workers, bouncing back much quicker than their Mainland counterparts, were delighted with PM Attlee's "New Jerusalem." Tidmouth Harbour was still very busy, as Sodor's biggest gate in and out for the world, and Elizabeth kept calm and carried on as time marched on. She was much busier than she had first feared, and that winter was her time to shine as so many petrol lorries were out of commission with "head colds." Elizabeth convinced herself, somehow, that these thousands and thousands of war surplus petrol lorries wouldn't take over. If so many had taken ill in these conditions, maybe Sodor, or even the whole world, would consider turning back the clock and restoring steam to the roads completely.

She feared and resented petrol lorries something terrible. When the petrol ration which had enabled her life all this time, was finally ended, she was heartbroken. Every worry she had seemed to come to pass all at once. First, the Tidmouth Harbour Authority decided it would be much cheaper to stack its fleet with war surplus lorries, and she was out of a job. Her next owner, a furniture mover, didn't keep her long, and neither did the next, a man who planned to fit her out as a bus and ran out of money.

By 1956, when the now-knighted Sir Topham Hatt I had died, Elizabeth had already been accumulating dust in a shed for two years. She never saw her last owner, who by now had failed to pay rent on her storage. Anopha Quarry, who owned the tumbledown little shack, seized her to make up the difference, but never once came to inspect the lorry who was now their property. Eventually, the Quarry forgot about her too.

It wasn't until 1961, when a little blue puffer deputizing for Toby on the Quarry Tramway carelessly had a coupling rod failure, that she reemerged. She made a heartstopping journey down the line for the necessary spare rod, pins, oilpot and tools in Ffarquhar Sheds, where she stirred up quite a scene, before an even more uncomfortable journey back. Elizabeth's Sentinel heritage thankfully preserved her for the whole ordeal, when Thomas' Driver, then at her wheel, worried that she'd explode and take him with her.

Back into the shed she went after this good deed, for how long, if ever to come out again, she didn't know. Until of course, that same night, a man very like her old Master, named Bertram just like his son whom she had given so many rides through the orchards and to cricket games, came to make a visit...

You can guess the rest :3

Sir Bertram Topham Hatt I was reunited with his childhood friend, and his father's favorite lorry. He immediately sent for her with his own money to be restored, and at once moved her back to Topham Hall, where she was herself reunited with the closest thing to a brother she'd ever had, Little Barford, who this whole time had been working as well as ever, and wondered why no one had ever gone to look for Elizabeth despite all his questions. It had been assumed, wrongly, that Elizabeth had perished on war service. That's how the Tidmouth Harbour Authority wrote it, after they pocketed her sale money! (Sir Bertram was LIVID not to get his hands on the now deceased Harbourmaster responsible.)

Elizabeth is now back to her childhood home hauling farm produce and any visitor willing to get dirty, for she still insists on carrying a bit of grime as a testament to her labours. The Wellsworth Brickworks has reopened, on a much smaller scale, as a "living museum," and Elizabeth takes great joy in carrying clay and coal again. Her, Little Barford, and Sir Bertram are now tighter than they've ever been, and Sir Bertram is the only man allowed to polish her. He's a much more sedated force at the wheel than his father, she notes, and quite often!

We ARE amused to see her <3

#ttte #ttte elizabeth #ttte the fat director #topham hall railway #ttte little barford #ttte worldbuilding #ttte thomas #ttte oc: sir bertram hatt i #tw death