#rip in our memories dragon plane

[dretadel]

The Doors of Oblivion: Extended (TES fanfic)

My take on the in-game book The Doors of Oblivion. A lot of this is speculative and/or an elaboration, with some alterations made to fit the tone of what I was going for. I do not own TES or any of its characters nor do I profit from them, all rights go to their respective owners.

"We should wait, Master Zenas. You're not well, and you could navigate Oblivion better than I ever could," I pleaded, despite knowing the answer already.

"Nonsense, Seif-ij. You're fully capable, and we've waited too long for this. We finally have the chance to explore Oblivion and grant Tamriel the knowledge it craves about the mysteries of Oblivion. We know so little about the Planes of Oblivion and their respective Daedric Princes. We need to know more about our universe." Morian Zenas reclined in his bed. "If I can't cure this affliction with magic, this could very well be the beginning of my end. We can't risk losing this knowledge."

"But Master, if we could just wait a little longer to see if you get better--"

I won't take that risk. Morian spoke directly in my mind through our accidental mental link. If you get into trouble, I can aid you and maybe even pull you out myself. You know how to exploit the portals of that Telvanni wizard. All you need do now is apply that knowledge. Your excellent memory will more than suffice for your inexperience. I looked at him, his aged Altmer face set in that stubborn expression where it'd be easier to bend the will of a dragon than convince him otherwise.

As you wish, Master. I'll make sure I gather as much information as I can. I stood up, left the room, and went into the vault where Morian conducted all his dealings with lesser Daedra. I muttered the incantation. A portal opened before me on the floor, the portal that would lead me to where few mortals have ever gone and returned from: the Planes of Oblivion, and perhaps even to their gods, the Daedric Princes.

I took a deep breath, and took the plunge.

Noise. 

The first thing I noticed was the noise: a cacophony of dissonant sounds, each vying for my attention. A scream here, a clang there, a hiss just behind me. It was only when I went to look behind me that I realized I was in free fall. The moment I realized this, however, the void again confused me. I was not in free fall, but floating up. Then, I was flying to the side. The orientation of gravity seemed subject to whatever realms I passed through. I opened my eyes to see thousands of colors flashing before me, some barely noticeable under the afterimages of the more vibrant ones. Suddenly, some sort of dust flew into my eyes, and I yelled out in pain. When I breathed in to replenish my air, I didn't breathe in dust. Instead, the air was ripped from my lungs with such force that I was amazed I hadn't felt anything tear. When I finally hit the ground, I did so in a heap. I pushed myself up, wiping dust and tears from my eyes, and looked around.

The sky was red, streaked with bolts of lightning that seemed to hover behind the clouds. The sand beneath me was hard and red, but just to my left I could see bits of life, including large roots that seemed to be inching towards me. On instinct, I cast an intense bolt of lightning at them, and they dodged it. I scrambled backwards, and the roots also retreated. To my right, the ground ended in a steep cliff that led to a sea of magma that stretched as far as the eye could see. In the distance, I could only just make out a single tower, with great spikes jutting out from its sides. The heat around me was intense, but the dryness made it bearable.

What news? Morian's impatient voice appeared in my mind. I should've been used to it, but by the Nine did it make me jump. Where are you?

I'm not sure, I replied, and then I described my surroundings.

You're in the Deadlands of Mehrunes Dagon, he said, sounding completely sure of himself. Be sure that the Dremora don't see you; they'll hunt you down and flay you alive. Thunder rumbled, and the clouds began to thicken overhead. Can you harvest any of the plants there?

Not without them trying to attack me. I eyed the creeping root, which was presently still as a stone. I might be able to burn off a section, but Destruction magic isn't usually my forte.

That'll do. Without hesitating, I sent a few fireballs at the roots, which let out a sound eerily close to a human scream. Rather than scorching a few spots around the bit of root I wanted to sever, it immediately burst into flame. When it cleared, there were a couple small bits of root that seemed mostly untouched, so I telekinetically brought one to me and pocketed it, noting the effort it took to bring it to myself that way.

Destruction magic seems to be amplified here, I told Morian. Both my fireballs and my lightning bolt were unusually intense. The sky began to darken, and a stale wind began to blow, carrying with it the stench of decay and burning flesh.

Fascinating, he murmured. Is it just Destruction magic, or other kinds as well?

I think just Destruction. Telekinesis took the same effort from me as usual. In the distance, dark droplets began to fall, a wall of liquid moving steadily closer. It makes sense. Mehrunes Dagon is the embodiment of destruction and change. I looked around for some cover, but found none as the storm approached.

What's your fear, Seif-ij? I can feel it.

A storm is almost upon me. I'll see if I can protect myself from it. With the wall of dark drops rapidly approaching, I began to cast an invisible umbrella over myself to shield me from whatever was falling from those clouds, but a deafening shriek cut through my focus and almost made me jump out of my skin, and I turned to see a huge lizard-like beast shake itself and begin lumbering towards me.

A Daedroth. I immediately cast a bolt of lightning at it, and it fell to the ground, twitching and croaking. Another bolt finished it off, but more were trying to hide behind boulders, as if I couldn't see them. Stupid creatures, I thought, and then the storm hit. Dark, oily liquid seeped into my robes and hair, dripping into my mouth with a copper taste even a dimwit could recognize as any visible light faded away, blocked by the stormclouds.

Blood.

I coughed and gagged, hastily casting a protective spell around myself, and although it slowed the onslaught slightly, more blood rained down upon me.

Seif-ij! Morian cried. Get out of there! This isn't worth your life! I collapsed and curled into a ball to stop any more blood from entering my mouth, and quickly wove the spell necessary to bring the next portal of the dead Telvanni wizard to me. Light shone from behind me, and without hesitation I rolled backwards into the portal.

This time, there was no such chaos like when I traveled from Mundus to Oblivion. The cold hit me first, biting deep into my body so that I immediately felt a deep ache in my bones. As I stood up, the ground sank ever so slightly beneath me, as if I were in a bog, but it didn't suck at my feet so that I would become stuck. I cast flames all around me, which helped to mitigate the chill, but not by much. I found myself missing the oppressive heat of the Deadlands.

Everything was dark. The sky was blue, dancing with blue flame. The rocks and trees were twisted and black, and any sort of plant life had long died. Hanging from various dead branches and outcroppings of rock were empty chains that jangled despite the still air.

I'm in Coldharbour, I told Morian, then relayed what I observed.

Do not tarry, he immediately warned me. The Lord of Domination knows you're there. He will seek you out, and if he finds you, there's little hope of escape. Get whatever information you can, but get out before Molag Bal finds you. I shivered, this time not entirely due to the cold, and pressed onwards, though not before cutting down a piece of a vine and pocketing it. As I roamed the wastes, I recognized some of the structures as broken, rotting pieces of the Imperial City, but that couldn't be true. The walls between Oblivion and Mundus were sealed; that's why it took Morian and I so long to find a way through in the first place. I shuddered and kept moving. I passed countless tortured slaves, who cried out to me even as they labored in their useless tasks, gathering up rubble they couldn't hope to clear in several lifetimes. I cast a spell of invisibility on myself, and was pleased to see myself easily fade from sight and for the slaves to cease their crying out. As I walked around a particularly large pile of rubble, the Imperial Palace came into view, but it was all wrong. The White-Gold tower was broken, its top crumbled down and the spire ending in a jagged stump. The Imperial Palace was covered in blood, gore, and corpses in various states of decay and intactness. The stench hit me like a chariot, and I had to quickly cast a spell to empty my stomach before I vomited.

"Awful, isn't it?" I froze. The voice that spoke behind me made me want to curl up into a ball and surrender, and I hadn't even seen the owner. "It is the inevitable future of your world, though. You might as well surrender. Make it easier on yourself."

My body flickered once, twice, and the spell of invisibility I cast on myself faded entirely. I shuddered, but drew myself up to my full height. "Only a fool surrenders to the King of Rape. I know you, Molag Bal." Something struck me in the back, and I went flying face-first into a boulder. My nose broke, and white-hot agony shot through my fae as blood began to flow, freezing to my face as it left my nose.

"Only a fool thinks he has another option!" he roared, his breath even colder than the rest of his realm. "Your knowledge makes you an ever greater fool, Seif-ij Hidja!" I flinched. "What, you thought you could hide from me in my realm?" Hands grabbed hold of my wrists and ankles, and I lashed out, my animalistic impulses taking over. They were too strong for me though, and I was turned around and pinned to a boulder by his withered slaves. Before me stood the Lord of Lies, the Prince of Schemes, Molag Bal.

He stood several times taller than any man, skinnier in proportion but no less terrifying for it. His skin was mottled black and blue, and appeared chitinous. My gut told me that nothing but the power of a god could pierce it. His legs ended with thick, reptilian talons, and he wore only a tunic crafted of skin and bone. His head sprouted twisted black horns like those of a bull, and they were stained with what could only be blood. In one hand he held a mace larger than me, and in his other he held a slave, writhing in his grasp but unable to break free from the crushing grip encasing its torso. His forked tongue flicked out, licking the slave's face, who screamed before being thrown at me. All the air was forced from my lungs as the slave exploded in a cloud of blue vapor, all of its blood long gone. As I gasped, he turned his eyes to me, pits of blue fire that danced with a hatred to rival his very sky.

"You may think you won't surrender. All the fools think that. In the end, even the most dimwitted fools are able to make the realization that resistance is pointless." He swung his mace at me, and I screamed as my right leg shattered. He swung again, and the lower part separated entirely. He picked it up, bone protruding from the knee, and shoved the jagged end into my throat. As he ripped it out, my blood began ro rush out, and I felt my mind fading. At least I won't surrender, I thought as I breathed out and couldn't find the will to breathe in again….

A slap to the face. I started awake, fervently hoping it was just a horrible nightmare. As I flexed my legs, I breathed a sigh of relief, before realizing that I couldn't move my ankles, and all my limbs were being stretched away from my body. I opened my eyes to see the King of Strife grinning down at me.

"You didn't think death could stop me, did you?" His voice rumbled in my ears, and I wanted to cry. "I am the Lord of Domination! Not even death holds dominion here! Again!" And thus the pain began anew. With a small movement from my hands, I cast a spell of silencing on myself, so even if my will broke I couldn't surrender to him. As my existence became nothing but torture, I heard a faint but insistent presence in my mind.

Seif-ij! Morian's voice was frantic. Just hang on! I'll try to summon you back to Mundus like a Daedra! I felt a tugging on my soul, but my body stayed put. The torture ceased for a moment, though, and Molag Bal began to laugh.

"So you have another Conjurer on Nirn, do you? A clever trick, but nobody leaves my realm without my permission!" He lowered his mace. "I'll give you your second chance to surrender early. Such a clever trick merits a reward, don't you think?"

Master Zenas, I mentally shouted. When I start to Conjure them, send more my way!

Will do. Anything to get you out. I undid the silencing spell, then began to wiggle my fingers madly, whispering to myself as I did so.

"SPEAK UP, MORTAL!" Molag Bal's voice thundered all around me, and my heart nearly stopped before I cried out.

"I surrender! I surrender!" His face split into an even wider grin, revealing sharp teeth stained with gore, until I thought his mouth would reach all the way around his head and the top would simply topple off. I felt my essence being sucked away, and knew I had only moments to spare before my surrender would turn me into one of the slaves around me.

"There, was that so hard? Slaves, release him!" The hands gripping my limbs disappeared, and I fell to the ground, still contorting my fingers and softly chanting.

When I finished, I shouted, "But not to you!" As I felt my energy returning to me from my false surrender, the Daedric army Morian and I had summoned fell upon Molag Bal from behind.

"TRAITOR!" As I healed myself, he swung his mace, and a battalion of Dremora fell to the side, bloodied and broken. "YOU THINK TO INVADE MY REALM?" Another swing, and a group of Xivilai collapsed.

"No," I gasped, casting one last spell. "I think to escape it." As he turned towards me, the cold flames in his eyes burning out to consume his face, I dove backwards into the portal before blacking out.

When I came to, it was to my master's mental shouting. Yes, yes, I'm awake.

I feared you were dead. You need to come back. You're not ready for this. Concern tinged his thoughts.

I'm fine, Master Zoran. By the Nine, together we tricked a Daedric Prince. We can summon an army of Daedra if we have no other options. I'll be fine. I stood up and brushed myself off. Once I turned my attention outwards, I gasped. It was beautiful. Too beautiful. I saw flowers and waterfalls, growing larger with a beauty beyond compare. The trees that grew shone with the brilliance of the moon, and a city of silver rose before me. All the colors, so many, I was half-blinded by them. They ran together like water. No, it was raining, and the rain carried with it the scent of light perfume. Master Zenas… it's beautiful. I'm half-blinded by the beauty, and I'm having trouble thinking. What place could this be?

He was quiet for a moment. That must be Moonshadow, the realm of Azura. You are indeed lucky to have made it there. I couldn't help but agree with Morian. I wandered about, with only the memories of my torture in Coldharbour keeping me from frolicking there forever, when I stumbled across a gateway crafted of thorns and roses. When I entered, the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on sat upon a throne of rose petals. To her right was a crescent moon, and to her left was the image of the sun. I fell to my knees, with no doubts as to who this woman was.

"Well met, Lady Azura." My voice trembled, and I could barely do anything but gaze upon her beauty. Her form seemed ever shifting, but she was never beautiful in a way that a man might seek to claim her. No, her beauty was that of a goddess, radiating power and inspiring worship and reverence.

"Greetings, Seif-ij. What brings you here before me?" I told her everything, of my and Morian's research for a Door to Oblivion, of our mental link, of how I finally slipped through, and my experiences in the Deadlands and Coldharbour before finally arriving at Moonshadow. She listened to my breathless tale with a smile as radiant as the moon. "You have come far indeed, Seif-ij. You have interested me with your tale, so I will offer you one in return. Have you heard of the Nerevarine Prophecy?"

"Yes, Lady Azura. The reincarnation of Nerevar will come one day to unite Morrowind and cast down the usurper gods. The Tribunal condemns it, though."

"They are no Tribunal!" she snapped, and her beauty gave way to a terrible visage of anger and indignity. "They are pretenders to the thrones of we who founded Morrowind!" In her eyes I saw infinite depths of anger, the likes of which made Molag Bal look like a petty child, and I shrank back in fear of her cosmic power.

"Of course, Lady Azura," I heard myself stammer. "I meant no disrespect." She calmed, and returned to her previous beauty, though I now saw what wrath she was capable of.

"No, of course you didn't. I blame the usurpers, not you. Know this: the prophecy shall come to pass. Not in this era, which will last many more centuries, but the next. No matter the claims of the false 'Tribunal,' they will fall, and their unrightful godhood shall be severed through the actions of the Nerevarine. He shall outwit gods and Daedric Princes alike, a vessel of power unimagined in mortals.

"Now I offer you an invitation, Seif-ij Hidja: if you like, you may stay here in Moonshadow for however long you wish. Your cleverness and bravery make you a powerful being, and worthy of being by my side."

By the Nine! Morian's voice filled my mind. An invitation like that is unheard of! A great part of me wished to accept, to reside in Moonshadow, half-blinded by beauty forever. However, a greater part of me knew that I had to press on, for the sake of Morian and Tamriel's knowledge.

"I am honored, Lady Azura, but I must continue on my journey."

"Then I bid thee well, Seif-ij. May you find the knowledge you seek." Her radiance dimmed until I was standing outside the gateway of thorns and roses without having walked an inch. I plucked a silver rose from the ground, hoping to take a sample back to Morian. Closing my eyes, I chanted the incantation to summon another portal and stepped through. 

I entered into a bleak land. The sky was purple, scored with what looked like still lightning. The ground itself was barren, with only a few barnacle-like plants growing here and there, and fissures seeping purple energy cut through the sand, dirt, and rock. Some Nordic-styled buildings dotted the landscape, but those shouldn't be in a realm of Oblivion. Where am I? I thought to myself. One of the Nordic towers had an open top, upon which rested what looked like a giant soul gem.

Morian understood just a moment before I did. You're in the Soul Cairn, he said with wonder. The land of the Ideal Masters. How you slipped in here is a mystery, but let's not complain about our blessings. Did you bring a soul gem with you?

Yes, Master Zenas. Several, in fact. They jangled in my hip pouch. Even a couple black ones.

Where did you-- nevermind, we'll discuss this at a later date, Seif-ij. He sounded reproachful, but it was overshadowed with a thirst for knowledge. Those fissures, if I remember correctly, are where souls flow into the Soul Cairn. I'm afraid I'm not as much an expert on individual pocket dimensions as I am on Planes of Oblivion. Take your black soul gem and hold it to the fissure. A soul should flow into it. With any luck, we'll get a black, sentient soul that we could study.

I'll do it. I approached the fissure, but as I did I felt a drain on myself. It was as if my energy was being slowly sucked out of me. Shaking it off as just the loss of Moonshadow's beauty, I knelt down beside the fissure and held the black soul gems just above it. Instantly, I felt the gems fill with black souls, or souls of sentient creatures like humans or elves. In response, I felt the drain on my energy increase, and it was difficult for me to not collapse into the fissure. My mind felt like it was expanding, taking in too much information and simultaneously losing it despite not learning anything new.

Seif-ij! Morian's mental voice sounded urgent, but tiny and distant. Get out of there! It's trying to suck out your soul! He had to repeat this several times before I understood him, and even when I did, I didn't feel the energy for fear. I was tired, so tired. I murmured the incantation, stumbling over the words, and when the portal appeared in front of me I simply fell in, not having the energy to walk.

When I hit the ground, I opened my eyes to a storm, one that blocked out nearly all light, save for enough to cast dark silhouettes of twisted trees and creeping roots. I could already feel myself getting stronger, recovering the energy the Soul Cairn tried to steal from me, and I shuddered at how close I had come to death and how I had barely even cared. I took out a lesser soul gem and crushes it in my hand, absorbing the soul's energy and taking it in as my own. A vile practice, but it wasn't like the soul had much use for it anymore. Master Zenas, I'm back in the Deadlands.

Keep your wits about you, he said. Maybe you can get another sample. I stood up, my energy replenished. As I moved to cut a branch from a tree, though, reality shifted. Suddenly I was on a ship that was being sucked into a maelstrom, the ship itself manned by nobody. Just before a flying oar would have brained me, reality shifted again. This time I was in a den of raging animals, who all looked at me the moment I appeared. Terrified, I conjured up every manner of Daedra I knew of to defend me, but they all drew their weapons and turned on me instead. I wildly cast bolts of fire and lightning, and was pleased to hear their flesh sizzling as they were all laid to waste before me.

I'm not in the Deadlands. I think I'm in Quagmire, the land of Vaermina, Queen of Nightmares. Suddenly I was covered in webs, a giant spider crawling towards me. It spat venom at my face, but just before it hit me, reality shifted again. I was in a coffin, but the lid was off. Dirt hit me in the chest. I tried to move, but I was paralyzed as I was buried alive. Just before it first entered my mouth, I was free falling in the sky. Terrified, I shouted the incantation, and a portal opened below me. I passed through the portal and hit the ground hard. I looked up to see… books. Thousands upon thousands of black books without titles, pages fluttering in wind that I couldn't feel, and a sea of black tar from which tentacles rose up and waved menacingly. I felt ghostly impressions of others flipping through the pages, ever searching.

I'm in Apocrypha, I told Morian, still shivering from what I'd experienced at the hands of Vaermina's whims.

Oh, how I wish I could be there! He replied, longing and excitement warring for dominance in his voice. Hermaeus Mora's land of forbidden knowledge, all there is to know. What I wouldn't give to read one of those books. You should read one. Maybe you'll find out more about Oblivion.

Uh, Master, maybe that knowledge is forbidden for a reason? Even though it was just a mental link, I could hear him scoff.

Nonsense. What use is knowledge if nobody is to know it? Just one book couldn't hurt.

Fine, I said, and grabbed the first book I saw. It was thin, so hopefully it wouldn't warp my mind that much. I opened it and started reading. No, I thought. No, no, no, this can't be.

What can't be? Morian barked. What did you read? I could barely pay attention to his words. Frantically, I flipped through the book. No, the world can't end like this. There must be a way to stop it. There, that book! That one will give the solution! I opened it and flipped through the pages in a frenzy, desperate to save the world. No, no, it can't be just a dream. Nobody would ever guess the truth… Seif-ij Hidja! Stop reading those books right now! Morian's commands were insistent; I was having trouble focusing with them in my mind. So, I distanced my mind from his. I picked up a third book. I had to learn more, more, MORE. I felt a tugging on my soul, and I knew Morian was trying to summon me as if I were a Daedra myself again, like he tried to in Coldharbour. Thankfully, in one of the books I'd read, I learned how to resist even a Master Conjurer's summons, and I broke his magical attempts to transport me back to Mundus.

I rifled through book after book, desperate for answers. Several times when I looked up, I saw a mass of eyes and tentacles peering down at me, no doubt studying me for more information. Such was the nature of Hermaeus Mora, hoarder of all knowledge. Each time I looked up, however, was shorter, until I finally never did. I always had at least two books in my hand, one that I was reading and another to immediately open when I finished the previous book. Not even when I felt weightless did I look up, not until I reached for another book and found none.

I was in a verdant field, with giant twisting mushrooms reaching hundreds, thousands of feet in the sky. Man-sized insects roamed in the distance, and though it was night the multitude of stars in the sky meant I could see clearly for miles. Strange, frog-like creatures bigger than men swam in pools, and the flora looked bright and deadly. Far to what I assumed was the east, the land suddenly transitioned to dark, twisting roots, rainstorms, and walking tree creatures. Wherever I was, I wasn't in Apocrypha anymore. I frantically tried to cast my portal to go back, but it wouldn't open. 

"Oh! A new arrival! I'm so happy, I could just… tear out your intestines and strangle you with them!" The voice behind me was heavily accented, but not one I'd ever heard or, more importantly, ever read about. I turned around, hoping beyond hope that Hermaeus Mora was playing some trick on me, but instead I saw a bearded man in flashy regalia and holding a cane topped with what looked like an eyeball. He grinned, and I felt my mind shudder. In an instant, I knew who he was. How could I not, when I'd hungered for so much knowledge?

"You're Sheogorath, Prince of Madness. And this is--"

"The Shivering Isles, yes yes. And you're Seif-ij Hidja, apprentice of Morian Zenas. Charmed."

"The portal isn't working. Why isn't it working? I need to go back. I need to know. I need to--"

"The portal isn't working because I'm not letting it work. You've gone mad, plain and simple. You don't even realize you're speaking Gibberish, do you? My favorite language, incidentally." He seemed quite pleased with himself, but I recoiled, my heart being gripped by a cold hand.

"I'm not mad! It's just… I need to know more! The knowledge, it's all I have! I need it! I wasn't meant to understand, but I do! I handled it!" I paced around, already extrapolating new ideas from the old ones I learned. I needed more.

"If you weren't mad, old Mora wouldn't have given you up to me, now would he?" The Madgod laughed. "Face it, son: you're madder than a hatter. Of course, my old hatter died, so anyone's madder than a corpse, really, but you get my point. Or maybe you don't. Who's to say?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," I chanted. I started running in circles. "I'm not mad, I'm not mad, I'm not mad, I'm not mad!" I collapsed.

"Here now, take some Greenmote. It'll help you out." He gave me a strange, green, mold-like thing, and without thinking I shoveled it into my mouth. The world around me began to swim, and I saw new patterns, new knowledge, new understandings the likes of which even Hermaeus Mora would give anything to know. "Welcome to Sheogorath's Madhouse, Seif-ij. Enjoy your stay."

#fanfic #elder scrolls #skyrim #oblivion #morrowind #horror #fiction #short story

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep 24: Someone Actually Called the Cops.

So recently I was like, “I should do something different than my usual” and I decided to open up a little thread for critiquing ppl’s short stories, and I kid you not, the very first story I got was someone’s Seto Kaiba erotica. Which, even in erotica form, did not have very much romance in it. So, now that Yugioh will apparently haunt my every waking move forever until I die, lets get back to S4. Lets desperately get back to canon. I miss canon.

Last we left off, Kaiba lost KaibaCorp...again. Really feels like he loses this company once every couple of years (weeks if we count season 1-3). Except, this time, Dartz didn’t read the fine print in the legal files that says the company must be run by a member of the Kaiba family. While that was a huge plot point with Pegasus, turns out that Seto and Mokuba’s memories have been blended so thoroughly, like a very fine Shadow Realm smoothie, that they just...forgot.

And like I’m positive that Roland remembers, but Roland’s not gonna say something and accidentally reveal he’s the 4th Kaiba brother and have to get abducted all the time and actually work for a living. Anyways, they forgot why Pegasus abducted them in the first place in Season 1, and honestly, so did the writers of this season 4 years later. Not like it mattered, because if Seto and Mokuba did take Dartz to court, the world would end before their case would even start.

Which is how, after one talk with Roland, Seto and Mokuba just sort of laid prone on the metaphorical ground and let it wash over them that yes, KaibaCorp is gone.

I really like this extra-long helicopter, PS.

Both members of Kaiba’s Sunglasses Army decided to align themselves with Kaiba, although honestly, I don’t think anyone else in this company has realized that they’ve been bought. It happened...1 hour ago. Like what do you even do if your company randomly gets bought in the middle of a workday? Like no lead up, no indication, just BAM you’ve been bought?

And if Duke works for Pegasus who got bought out by Dartz and then Dartz bought Kaiba Corp-------What does that make Duke? Is he gonna have to start wearing sunglasses inside?

Anyway, Roland knows better than to tell Seto Kaiba he doesn’t work for him anymore while still in the same helicopter as Seto Kaiba, who already crashed one plane today and will crash yet another plane before this episode is through.

(read more under the cut)

Seto decides to align with Yugi since he needs to confront Dartz eventually. Which is when we find out that Seto always planned to align with Yugi and was just giving him a really hard time.

Because over the last several episodes, Seto has had an entire team at this random museum in Florida in order to take some pictures (that really should have already been on the internet but wtv, it was 2003 so maybe it wasn’t?)

It’s like most of the way through s4 and the biker ninjas still send me. How did he make SO MANY biker ninjas? At what point was Dartz like...and now...all my mooks...will be ninja bikers. Or orcs. Mostly Ninja bikers.

Did Alister or the others ever tell him “hey, Master Dartz, I get that your 10000 years old but like...do you not understand what a biker is?” and was Dartz like

“clearly bikers are the most evil thing in the world, obviously.” completely unaware that most bikers are just 45 year old accountants.

In these scenes we also get a gander at their laptops and, if you ever want to see high level life crippling OCD anxiety in picture form, it’s illustrated very clearly right here:

Not only did they draw this keyboard in 1 pt perspective, they used like a ruler to draw all those letters so they were the same size. Some artist put so much time getting this nice and crisp and smooth...and then this happened.

And I’m pretty sure they died after that. I’m pretty sure this scene killed an artist.

It’s at this point that Yami kinda puts two and two together and was like “WE BOUGHT PLANE TICKET’S, YOU ASSHOLES.”

(It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen Mokuba smile like this, and it’s because he’s been hiding the fact for So Many Episodes that he and his brother prepped like hours ago to get this huge dunk on the rest of the party. He just wants to dunk on them so bad. Look at him. His company was bought today. BUT he gets to spend time with his bro dunking.)

Serious question, will Delta refund your flight if the Great Leviathan appears in the sky and tries to eat your soul to reboot the world from the ground up?

Of course not. They will never refund your flight. Trick question.

We switch back over to Rebecca and Duke, who have been absent from this show for so long, I actually forgot what Duke’s name was and had to think for like...5 entire minutes until I remembered that his nickname sounds like a poop and I was like “oh man, what name of poop would it be???” and then I recalled “Dookie. Yes. His name is literally Dookie. Wow that took way too long!”

Then we start a story arc I’d to call “My Kingdom For a Sharpen Filter” where, much like King Lear, the Yugi crew splays themselves on a battle field just strewn with different ways to sharpen an image, but can’t for the life of them use any other one, but the one deep in the heart of what is now DartzCorp.

And so yes, we are going to fly to San Fransisco, hop into ye Olde KaibaCorp, and log into proto-Noah in order to read a language that Arthur Hawkins can already read.

This is nonsense, but they put it there because it’s something to do. And honestly, it’s not a card game, so I’m down for this change-up. Lets go visit a version of Noah’s brain. At least they won’t drop an orichalcos for the 12th episode in a row.

On the way, Seto decides to try and egg on Yugi.

This backfires as you expect it will because Yami doesn’t freakin care. Like he’s not Yugi, he doesn’t care who the King of Games is, he harnesses freakin Dark Magic. The Wizard never cares if he’s King Arthur or not, and in fact, he probably prefers it....

..................Except in that spinoff where they had Yugi as a reincarnation of King Henry VII.

...................................................never mind.

And then Seto Kaiba says this actual line and I just...

WH.

WHHH

WHAT?

This entire show is just watching Yugi desperately cling to his scary ass hobbies. The tagline of Yugioh is “1001 reasons to go back to school and get a real job.”

What does Kaiba think Yugi does when he’s not around? Does he actually think Yugi attends school or sleeps at night or works an actual job? Like...he thinks Yugi has...NO HOBBIES.

Very interesting insight into what Seto considers a hobby and not hobby.

Especially since this Yami, who spends most of his spare time farting around his scary ass brain castle and getting lost. Occasionally he is forced on a date with Tea and wipes minds. That’s it. That’s all the things Yami does outside of hobbies.

Anyway, what is Dartz doing during all of this?

After this, Dartz pulls back the literal curtains on this room to reveal these candles that each hold the soul of someone he’s murdered.

There are not NEARLY enough candles for this segment.

A very brave man to have candles littered on the floor when his hair is down to his ass and all of his mooks have floorduster coats.

I really want to know what the local arts and crafts store thought when Dartz strode in there and bought every single tiny styrafoam skull during the Halloween sale and was like “can I put souls in these? You sell the kind I can put souls in, right?” and then immediately pulled out like a dozen 50% off coupons like a complete asshole.

Anyway, using this candle hocus pocus, Dartz uses the Orichalcos powers to take advantage of something Yugi did in the first episode. We distantly recall there was a giant eyeball in the sky--turns out if you bust up the eyeball with, lets say, a card that has a dragon on it, the eyeball will explode into many tiny Orichalcos pieces that will fall all over planet Earth.

So apparently Yugi didn’t save anyone at all when he busted that eyeball, because he instead set in motion Dartz’ evil plan to eventually use these many tiny Orichalcos pieces like the one seen here, to kill the hell out of people.

Good job, Yugi. Too bad you missed the Actual Bakura.

In fact, actual Bakura is probably the only one who survived this incident because I guarantee that Ryou Bakura is too busy eating all the contents of his fridge out of stress. He’s probably opened his window at this point, seen the crazy lights in the sky and in the street and was like  “Blooooooody nope nopenopenopenopenope” and just locked the windows and doors, turned up Hercule Poirot to max volume, and stuffed his face with cookies.

(Or biscuits, I guess.)

WELL.

I don’t know how to tally that.

Yugioh not only broke the tally I was using to measure the distance they spent commuting this season, it also broke the tally on the amount of people who have died on this children’s show.

That’s a really big number.

We’ve had real duel monsters for a couple weeks but youknow...this time they’re extra, extra, extra real. More so than the last times. Also they’re all Orichalcos versions of their cards so their extra edge now. They’re the hot topic versions of what were already pretty hot-topic ass cards.

MMM. We come full circle, back at a dock, a warehouse, and some huge ass boat.

Right where we belong. Where all friends meet, where we can all finally be one.

Yugioh found one of the only cities that has a very famous and tourist heavy pier/warehouse district in it just so the Yugi gang could finally feel comfortable in their natural habitat. HOWEVER, there’s just one tiny problem in this scene, and it’s that it’s not overlaid with the actual soundscape of a SF pier, which is that of 100000 screaming seals

I don’t have a seal problem, you have a seal problem.

Anyway, the only healthy adults here attempt to follow the children into danger but someone on the animation team was like “we just lost the keyboard drawing guy to that capslock! We cannot lose any more interns to a crowd scene with 9 people in it and 2 dead bodies!” and they uh...

And we immediately eject Roland and whoever that weird sunglasses guy is out of the script. Mokuba gave them a longing glance as they helicoptered away. Maybe because he missed his Dad stand-ins that he went through such efforts to call in the first place. Or more likely, because Mokuba would have preferred to be on that helicopter and far away from whatever the hell is going to go down on this dock.

Honestly the rest of Joey’s storyline this episode is him going rogue because of Mai rage, and it both comes out of nowhere and also seems very on point for him.

Meanwhile, Rebecca’s unbridled rage towards Yami Muto is still low key hilarious to me.

Witness the only character here who thinks Yami should suffer actual consequences and witness Yami just appear to not give a single damn about it.

Nearly spat out my own drink watching this.

The...

...police...

...exist in this universe?

Anyway, while Tristan and Tea try to locate a payphone to dial 911, Seto and Yugi decide to invade Seto’s own company by going through an elevator that you have to reach through the sewers.

Straight up I don’t think SF even has sewers. At least, not in the sense that you can walk in em like New York or Paris or other cities that have sewers. Our sewer systems are very small cuz we got something called “liquefaction” which means our ground is so soft (and artificial--a lot of the land is fake), that when there is an earthquake, certain parts of the city will...liquefy. It’s Terrifying. We kind of...avoid going and building underground except in certain stable places. (like even BART gives me the heebies.)

I just have a very strong distrust of basements, caves and other underground places in general and it’s not because of spiders, or ghosts or whatever, I’m just afraid of faultlines. It’s like having an active volcano, but you just don’t see it, and we haven’t had a Big One since 1989 so...any day now (I mean, 2020 has been such redic content, that I think we’re finally ready)

Again, Japan has way more intense Earthquakes than we do, and yet they have a billion underground subways and very, very tall buildings, so like, this is mostly a big cultural difference between the two of us. And the bedrock. They probably have better bedrock than we do (honestly, I just have no idea).

MASTER HACKER SKILLS.

Almost as good as that time he hacked into Pegasus’ company by dropping a satellite on it. I’m starting to think Seto actually doesn’t know how to use a computer.

Anyway, Seto is faced with...real cards, real monsters, indisputable evidence, and he decides, it’s time. It’s time to finally face facts.

So, while these two are just flinging cards around willy nilly, Tea and Tristan are ...actually talking to police.

4 seasons. They’re actually doing it.

Although, TBH, they probably should have gone to the Japanese Embassy first? Just throwing that out there.

Ah Yugioh, the only kids show around that tells you point blank not to trust cops. Timeless.

U.S

In some weird underground earthquake hazard, Rebecca proves that she is smarter than Seto Kaiba. She’s maybe even the smartest person on this show. Nice that we gave her nothing to do this season but pine over Yugi who is already taken by Tea who he is also not even dating.

Not that I love Rebecca or anything, I actually have a hard time with her voice, but like...they really dropped the ball on Rebecca.

If she does end up joining Kaiba corp as their back up Felicity Smoak while Seto just runs around aimlessly punching stuff that really is just offbrand Arrow but with cards. And with slightly less resurrections.

So, lets get a gander at that computer.

We didn’t get to see Kaiba pull out 12 other discs to complete the installation process for these all these Hard Discs. Maybe the lure of throwing a very aerodynamic CD across the room like a paper card was so strong that his dev team forced him to switch to these defunct squares?

PS, I am a true millennial, OK? But, I don’t remember Hard Discs.

Hard Discs were SO long go. I stopped using these damn things in Elementary school. The last Hard Disc I ever touched was in college, when I had to put my art portfolio on a disc to submit it to my degree. I don't know even why. Everyone had a mac, so I knew no one’s computer in the department even...HAD a disc drive so it was like...whomst among you has this damn computer from 1997? Whomst among you is still using Windows 95? WHY would I put IMAGES on a floppy when I can just email them to you?

Anyway, I had to get a USB hard disc reader, and to get that reader, I had to call my Dad who had legacy software because he’s a computer engineer, and he had to mail it to me.

In that same portfolio review, PS, I also had to submit my portfolio as slides.

I didn’t even know where to produce slides so I had to ask all these old people and go to the last photo processing store on earth to get digital pictures turned into negatives and then turned into freakin slides.

SLIDES.

I honestly think they just did that to weed people out of the art degree.

Anyway, I tell you this story just to say that there is no way in hell that Kaiba was using a hard disc during the height of the CD era. We were CD or go home since 2000. We had pretty decent jump drives at this point. We had wifi. It was realllly bad wifi, but we had it. Your phone could connect to the internet. It would charge you 50 bucks, but it COULD connect.

Who on the Yugioh team DID this?

Anyway lets see these pictures that for which, we spent thousands of dollars in unused plane tickets, destroyed a Caltrain, killed 2 ancient Atlanteans (and their dog), killed 3 random mid-villains, walked across the entire Peninsula, crashed an international plane, and left both the plane and the train to rot gas fuel into the nearest lake which is right next to a ghost graveyard?

Yeaaaaaaaaaah!

Like he reads it and is all “They’re gonna resurrect Atlantis” and it’s like WE KNOW. Dartz and his hooligans have talked about starting their Utopia to reboot the world since Gurimo. Since Day 1.

Man.

Anyways, there was one plus to the pictures, and it was that Seto Kaiba recognized the Oricalchos logo.

just...

The Oricalchos logo is...

...This logo, Seto?

You...didn’t recognize...seriously? Not until just now? You have been inside of this logo, rearing to lose your soul to Alister 2 times, and he only recognized it...just now.

I mean Seto takes a while y’all. He’s a genius, but his memory is so, so bad, that he will Eventually get smart, but you have to wait until like episode 24. But he’ll get there. Just gotta be patient.

And, when he saw it, he wigged out in a way I wasn’t prepared for.

Y’all I feel like I’ve seen to many weird zooms on Kaiba’s crotch in this show. Or just in life in general, especially after that surprise fic. That’s all.

I don’t know why everything exploded, but maybe the logo is cursed in the same way as God Cards? I dunno.

Anyway, this is when Dartz shows up with his brand new dog.

So they run outside onto the roof.

Now listen, does every Kaiba Corp building need the same weird ass roof? Is it like a McDonalds?

Because I’m just picturing this type of roof in SF and I’m having a time.

Forgive me if I made this lemming joke already. He’s just stood on a cliff’s edge so many times I can’t keep up.

RIP Dragon Jet, who took us from S3-S4, you’ll always live on in our memory, you glorious, wasteful, beautiful death trap.

Seto and Yugi are fine by the way, they just kinda jumped out, as you do when you’re an immortal god possessing a small boy and a...whatever the hell Seto is.

It’s at this point we reintroduce Valon because Joey went rogue and has decided to take on Dartz by himself. This is what happens when Tristan leaves the party. You always need Tristan to hold back Joey by his armpits to keep him from fighting random people.

So I guess Valon’s gonna die next episode. That’ll be nice.

What’s great about this show is each arc is just watching each villain die. You know they’ll die. But...how much?

Anyway, that’s all for today. I’m still drawing a hell ton of stuff so I don’t know when the next update will be...but just now I haven’t dropped off or something. I’ll...eventually get to it.

And if you just got here, this is a link to read all of these in chrono order.

Anyway, I mentioned Hercule Poirot, (because watching a hell ton of BBC was how I spent time with my family when I was a kid, and my very Southern Grandma freakin LOVED Hercule Poirot) So here is the best subplot of that show, which is David Suchet eating stuff.

And which doesn’t want to embed for some reason. Probs can’t embed more than one video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17antzzJrzQ

#yugioh #yu gi oh #photo recap #episode recap #yami #yami muto #seto kaiba #crashes a plane again #dragon plane #rip in our memories dragon plane #mokuba #joey wheeler #tea gardner #tristan taylor #has to now avoid the cops #dartz #rebecca hawkins #duke devlin #man there were so many people in this episode #S4 #Ep24

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

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[mysticalmusicwhispers]

lovers’ dreams

Summary: “A day fit for a spring dream.” And then he kisses Roshan, and they become lost in each other.

Characters: India (Aditya), China, Iran/Persia (Roshan, genderfluid). Human names used. Indran, Churan, and Indchu for ships!

Notes: 100% distilled surrealism! This was supposed to be a writing exercise that ran away from me rip. There are many footnotes that explain Many things. Enjoy!

also on AO3! (there are bonus thoughts and explanations there for anyone who’s interested or slightly confused 😅. everything necessary for you to understand the story is here too but I ramble about my thoughts going into the piece on AO3 lol)

———

The willow’s drooping branches hide Yao’s face like a beaded curtain, a bride’s sheer red veil. The spring breeze snakes through the tree, and the sound of wedding suona—sorna rings through the silence. A flutter of phoenix wings brushes past their ear, a whisper on the wind. Roshan walks languidly until they are in front of Yao; it takes a minute—it takes a month. Yao’s face is sharp and his eyes glint, like the jade in his belt. But the kiss is soft when they take his lips in theirs, and it tastes of the rose’s tender petals. The clean sweetness of flowers is warm against Roshan’s face and the fragrance of tea drifts into their nostrils. 

Yao pulls away, and Roshan opens their eyes to polished jade thorns sprouting up from the earth around them—crisp green, sharp-tipped; elegant, dangerous. So these are the fruits of our love. It is fitting. They lean to kiss Yao again, and this time, a laugh peals through the air when they part. It is not Roshan’s, and it isn’t Yao’s. But it is clear as spring water and tinkles like a bell, a joyous sound, and it makes Yao smile—a smile that is gentle, calculating; sweet, dangerous. A copper coin hides in the corner of his lips. “A day fit for a spring dream.” And then he kisses Roshan, and they become lost in each other.

When Roshan opens their eyes again, Yao is gone. They are standing in nothingness, a shell of a dream. A liminal plane. A wedding song echoes in the empty space, loud and cheerful, although there are no musicians to be seen playing the dohol, the sorna. Then sprung from the air, a mirror of fate, Aayeneh-ye Bakh, with its customary candelabras flanking it, and with their dots of golden light—miniature suns, sparkling stars. Its face shimmers, clear and gleaming: a pond on a full moon night—and in it, Yao stands, his reflection bright, splendid robes shimmering like gold scales and fine silk. Roshan reaches out a hand, and pulls him into a kiss.

“Welcome back, my dear.”

———

It is sunset, and a chill brushes past Yao’s shoulders and winds through his hair. The sky burns red, and fork tongued flames lick at the sun. A world bathed in fire, on the cusp of night. A lotus pond sits before him, and a figure is at its edge—Aditya, adorned in gold, the perfect figure of a prince. He, a dream of glittering palaces and beady emeralds, bright against the glow of the setting sun, sharp against the bloody sky. He holds a lotus blossom out, and Yao takes it. It is pure, tender in his calloused hands. A drop of blood drips from a petal. He lets it float into the water, and Aditya watches with him as the peach pink petals drop before their eyes—the lotus head balloons, then falls with the weight of seeds; it withers, a shell of its fruit. Divine beauty is short lived—seasons turn with the winds of change.  

Aditya loops an arm around him, bare skin on bare skin, the warmth of the sun hanging around them like a curtain. Their lips meet. The kiss is long, and lingers even after Yao pulls away; it is slightly bitter, but how could it not be? Aditya’s eyes are like black tea, and Yao tastes acrid lily bulbs. The sky has faded into burnt orange, the aftermath of a blaze. Autumn leaves fall from ginkgo trees, golden yellow, bright with memories of the past. Aditya closes his eyes, and Yao watches him sink into a dream.

The scene shifts before his eyes. The lotus pond morphs into a giant chessboard, and they are on opposite sides. Aditya plays white. Cream colored pawns meet chocolate brown knights, and they watch as kings rise and fall, as steady as the spinning of the world. Chariots race and elephants trumpet; the cavalry fight with long swords and bows, and the peasants use polearms, raised fists. Yao meets Aditya’s eyes, warm but gleaming with an ambition that has never gone away. He nods to his neighbor to the west, to his rival, lover, partner, equal. Aditya smiles.

“So we meet again.”

———

It is afternoon, and the sun is warm on his face. Roshan sits on a bench in the courtyard, holding a cup of coffee in one hand, a pomegranate in the other. Aditya nestles into their side, and they give him a feather light cheek kiss, gift him a wisp of air. They hold out the pomegranate, offers it, and Aditya takes a bite. Roshan takes the other half. They watch as the fruit regrows, seeds become jewels, glittering rubies in folds of red fabric. Roshan holds one up to the light with a critical eye. They spread tawny wings, amber eagle eyes alight with the pride of the past present future. A lion and the sun. The wings disappear—a trick of the light, reality fallen away. Then they hold up the cup of coffee.

“For you.” Aditya smiles, and offers a cup of black tea in return.

We have shared many things, and fought over equally many. How will it be in the future? He takes a sip, and falls through the cup.

A cemetery of swords surrounds them, a memory of things gone by. Afternoon sunlight filters through the trees, winds into Roshan’s hair. Idly peaceful. Flowers sprout through the earth; wither; climb up the rusted metal once again. A vine of roses twists around the hilt of a ceremonial spear, supple and full against cool, glinting steel. The leaves flicker, green yellow dead green again. Its blossom is still fresh red, like passion, like their love, pooling around them like a million memories, a still night in the river of time. Aditya looks at Roshan, different yet the same, a reflection of what they once were. Familiar, always, despite the changing tides and shifting dreams.

———

Notes

this part might actually be longer than the fic itself rip 😔 reminder that there’s extra rambling on ao3 lol

Suona/sorna: suona (唢呐) is a traditional wind instrument often played at wedding and funeral processions in northern China! (also used in Southeast China + Taiwan) It’s very loud and has a super brassy sound, but personally I think it sounds alright! The instrument came from Central Asia and is also used at weddings in Iran (where it’s spelled sorna/sarna), where it’s played with a dohol, a large cylindrical drum.

Phoenixes: wedding imagery in China, where a dragon symbolizes the groom and the phoenix the bride. There’s also an analogue to the phoenix in Persian mythology, a simurgh, which is a benevolent creature that is said to purify the land, roosts in the Tree of Knowledge, and apparently has seen the world be destroyed 3 times. Can symbolize healing, divinity, wisdom, and life. (the simurgh symbolism doesn't have much relevance to the fic but I thought it was incredibly interesting to read about lol)

Spring dream: very loosely referencing the Chinese phrase 一场春梦 (yi chang chun meng), which literally translates to an episode of a spring dream. It means the feeling that past predictions or events were actually totally wrong and fruitless, like you expected something (probably really good), but then woke up to reality not being up to your expectations? I can’t translate 😔

Mirror of Fate: In traditional Iranian weddings, a large, elaborate table with flowers and food and different spices is set up (sofreh aghd). A mirror of fate and 2 candelabras are also placed in the center of the table. The mirror represents how fate brought the bride and groom together, and the candelabras represent light and fire. The mirror is there so that when the groom looks into it, the first thing he should see is his betrothed's reflection.

Lotus blossoms: in China and India and many other parts of Asia, lotuses represent purity (they grow from dark mud but the flowers are pure white/pink), the divine, elegance, spiritual promise, the good part of humanity. so, a lotus with a drop of blood in Yao’s hands would be interesting.

Lily bulbs: this is purely self projection but lily bulbs (baihe) are used in Chinese medicine and I despise them. They're not super bitter but they taste starchy, bland, and off. Also lilies and lotuses are pretty similar and I thought that would be interesting :>

Chess: idk if I need a note for this but chess originated as an Indian game called Chaturanga and spread over to China and Iran, among many other places in Asia.

Tea and Coffee: nothing really special about this besides that Iranians Really Like tea. Decided to make India drink coffee instead for contrast; realistically he’d also be drinking tea lol

Eagle eyes: the Iranian/Persian symbol of the Faravahar, from Zoroastrianism has wings that are supposed to be eagle wings (I think? correct me if it’s just unspecified). You’ve probably seen it; it depicts a man with spread wings, half kneeling in a side view. Nowadays it’s also a symbol of Iranian culture, history, and national pride, besides being representative of Zoroastrianism.

Rose: national flower of Iran, and obv I don’t need to explain the other rose connotations. Also I’ve fully adopted the hc that Roshan and all their stuff smells like roses so that’s there too.

Lion and the sun: getting lazy with the explanations, but the short version is that it was a very important Iranian national symbol for many reasons, moreso tied to the state than culture (imo); it was also on the national flag up till the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Although I’m still debating how much Roshan is associated with the state, I also think sun and lion imagery fits them (glory, golden days, pride and courage). It’s super interesting, go search it up if you wanna read more!

This whole fic was somewhat inspired by this one, and the indchu bit was also somewhat inspired by this fanart.

If you made it down here, you have all my gratitude. Feedback is welcome and appreciated! Thanks for reading <3

#fic musings #the three sections *can* represent specific historical time periods; even if it's very vague; however my original intention was to just have #them kiss in a surrealist painting's landscape; so you can really read it however you want. there are more thoughts on ao3 tho! :> #aph india #aph china #aph persia #musings #aph iran #hws india #hws china #hws persia #hws iran #indran #indchu #churan #hetalia fanfiction #hetalia #aph #hws #hetalia fanfic #hetalia fic #aph china fic #aph india fic #indran fic #indchu fic #churan fic

[eri-223]

Kiss prompt: Eris/Toland, #29?

(hushed conversation in-between kisses)

There is a sliver of a place in the Ascendant Plane where the Moon overlooks the Earth.

Rather, there are many such places, and this is not a safe one. No place is safe here, the definition of “place” itself too malleable. Each cliffside is a succession of cliffsides. Yet, this hideaway is mapped in some way, and the weapons that ring it are those which Eris has made for herself.

Eris and Toland sit curled like vines around trees. The back of her leg presses against the back of his. Other lovers have been lost this night and she remembers what it was like to be like them, stolen and transformed. Here her vision is almost perfect, the Earth a blue-black jewel shot with silver, in ripped-curtain true color. Here he conjured robes he last held in blood-and-nerve hands before his exile, cinched at the bond and cut in vampiric angles at the throat. She never knew him back then, indulges in what she knows are sophomoric fantasies of lessons and trysts and loving mockery if she had been. Indulges in his vanity.

Once a Hunter and a Warlock, now still as a single outcropping of a northward-pointing scrap of a world. A tomb moth flies along the edge with dusty, tattered wings. Eris darts a hand out and pinches the soft, light body between her thumb and forefinger, squeezes. The moth dissolves into dust.

“What had it done to you?” Toland asks, calm and curious, against her bare ear.

“It is a thing from my enemies,” Eris says, and means it. Moths like that once watched, unseeing and empty, while she retched from hunger in the Pit. Nevertheless, the layers and layers of kinder memories had made that one softer, not as raw. Even her voice that sounded sepulchral among Guardians is resonant and pleasing to her ears now.

She turns back to Toland, kisses him possessively. You are a thing from my enemies, she does not say. He nibbles her lip and sinks back, his stare deferential and devoted.

When he tips his head toward the ghost or shadow or template of the Earth she follows his gaze. What enemy he thinks of she does not know.

“We have been lost in many labyrinths together,” he says, “and found our ways out.”

Crota. Oryx. Savathûn. The words curdle in her gut, then die like moths when Toland presses his lips to hers again. She steadies her hands on his shoulders, the pain in her wrists — old malnutrition, old cold, old grief — never quite gone.

Once she had been a dragon-killer and he had been a mad magician with bloody hands tapping to the rhythm of a screaming song.

She leans her forehead against his, losing sight of the Earth as his face fills her vision. Surely there are Hive somewhere listening, moths carrying messages, some cosmic, curious terror that will use her soft words against her, so she whispers. “We will always find each other, Toland. Through ascendance and pits and deaths.”

Won’t we?

“Like gravity.” He leans forward, then pauses. She wants him closer — draws him closer. But he holds himself away. “No — do not hold me to such a banal standard. Lovers like gravity? It’s a cliche.” He can not help himself and lightly kisses her nose. “Like orbits …”

“That is still gravity,” she manages. “And you have said it before.”

“I will sing one thousand new verses for you,” he says, and accepts her next offer of a soft kiss against thin lips. The shape of him is familiar and new at once, then more easy and familiar than her own hands.

“I need … ” She starts, only to stop when he traces a fingertip across the full curve of her lower lip. Over her mouth and her hands attuned nerves prickle, and the roil in her stomach cools to a pleasant heat. “… only one.”

“Eris.” Just as she wanted, he says her name into her mouth, against his own hand, breaking it into impossible syllables. The kisses she returns to him are not names or songs, not cities on Earth or anchor points in ascendant fog, but only the movement and sensation itself, only breath not yet formed into words.

“Shattered One,” she murmurs against the curve of his cheek while he digs a canine tooth into his own tender mouth. “We're still here — "

#destiny 2 #eris/toland #writings #this is hot out of the oven and messy and long #but tbh I miss when it was an unspoken part of the game that drabbles were done really fast #not a rule #part of the game

[minervahopebeyond]

Blood Petals.

This one is dedicated to @nearly-memories 💕 Happy birthday, darling! Thank you for reading and commenting everything from the start...

Chapter 27: Goodbyes. (Part 1)

The air felt different. Draco didn’t like it. He had this undeniable hunch that something was meant to go to shit in the foreseeable future, and he was so scare that he started to say goodbye to everyone.

“Darling, you are scaring me. What’s wrong? Is it the Hanahaki?” Pansy asked with a worried tone. Draco shook his head.

“I just wanted to tell you that I love you both.” He replied with a kind voice... Blaise didn’t believe him.

“Dragon. Stop. We still have time...”

Blaise said that because he knew, he was aware that Draco was leaving and he was not coming back. Much less with the few time he had left, he wasn’t about to spend it with his abusive father in the manor.

“This feels different. Just-“ He sighed. “Let me enjoy being with you as much as I can. Let’s not talk about it, but know that I’m going to miss you immensely.” And he pulled the both of them into a hug, tears started to come out of his eyes. “You do whatever you need to do to survive. Promise me.”

He felt Pansy resting her head on his chest, something wet started to stain his shirt... Her voice was so weak and pleading that Draco wanted to keep hugging her forever, just to make her feel a little better.

“That-... That goes to you as well. Do whatever you need to do Draco. You already have the death sentence, please try to have the option of being alive.”

Which was a very nice way of asking the blond boy to make Potter fall in love with him.

“I can’t promise you anything, I’ve been trying since I was eleven and it hasn’t work so far.” He said with a fun tone, trying to light up the mood.

The petit girl just took his face in her hands to force him to look at her.

“You haven’t. You were too afraid to do something about it, because of many reasons, one of them being your prick of a father.” She said determined. “I need you to forget about those reasons and just go for it. If we are lucky, we’ll see each other when this is all over.”

The tears were cursing down her cheeks; the other boy stood behind her with a sad look on his face.

“We’ll see each other at the end of this, one way or another.” Blaise said. “Let’s just hope that it’ll be in this realm.”

And they cried for a little longer, before planing what they were going to do that week. Draco was going to spend every minute, of every bloody day he had left, with them. He just wished it would be enough to say goodbye.

——————-

Severus was in his office, revising some of the last essays that were handed in, when he saw Draco enter the room his eyes clouded with worried.

“Draco... Is something wrong?” He asked with a kind voice.

“I don’t know how this is going to work,especially with your particular situation...” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I just wanted you to know that I love you, Severus. I don’t know if we are going to see each other after the year is over, so I wanted to tell you.”

The man stood up and walked to where he was and pulled him into a hug. It wasn’t the first time that he hugged Draco, but this one felt different.

“I know. I love you too... I’m glad you have someone to take care of you. Even if it’s Potter and Black.” Draco smiled and then asked the most feared question on his mind.

“How long do you think we have?” His godfather stayed quiet for a few moments before responding.

“Not long.”

————————-

The only good news about all of this was that he didn’t need to say goodbye to the Gryffindors. It was in moments like this when he was grateful of followed them to the ministry in fifth year.

One year with Hanahaki already, it could only go downhill from there.

He needed to say goodbye to Theo, though. He couldn’t find it in him, to be honest. He wanted the boy to defect and come with him... He was so sure that they could find a secure place for him to live alone and peaceful. And if not, Sirius and Mr. Potter would love Theodore, they had the same brilliant sense of humor.

He just needed to convince him, somehow.

He was walking towards the Room of Requirement in the seventh floor, he always needed to pass near the Gryffindor tower to get there. As he got closer, he started to hear Weasley talking.

“You can’t just do this, mate. What happened?”

There was no response; Draco started to walk towards the entrance of their common room. When he got there, the Golden Trio was standing next to the portrait.

“Harry, don’t ignore us. We can’t help you if you don’t tell us what’s wrong.”

“Hey.” Draco said with a hesitant tone.

The three of them turned to look at him. Potter seemed almost scare to see him, big green eyes looking at him. Then, the boy casually looked to the hallway that was the way towards the Room of Requirement.

“Draco... Hi. What are you doing here?” The boy asked. It was a dumb question, he already knew the answer. He didn’t want to fight, though. And every time the blond boy mentioned Theodore they ended up in an argument or an awkward silence.

“I was passing by and I heard you. Did something happen?” He asked curious. Clearly, something had happened because the boy looked like shit and the other two had worried faces on.

“Yes, ferret, Harry actually-“

“Nothing happened.” The boy cut Weasley short.

Everyone, except for the green-eyed boy frowned. The flowers inside of him were getting so angry and hurt, he needed to find Theodore before he started to have a coughing fit.

“Fine, have your little secrets. I have something better to do anyway.” He said in an aloof way and turned to walk off of there. He could swear he heard Potter mumbled something like: ‘someone to do seems more like it’. Draco didn’t have the energy to fight the prat who lived right now.

———————

It was weird, he was spending more time with Pansy and Blaise, trying to live as many things as he could with them before, well, everything.

It felt rather familiar to be watching the Golden Trio from his table, counting the times that Potter smiled... Which were like two, Draco was getting worried.

He didn’t see Potter with Ginevra anymore. He supposed that they evolved to be disgusting in private, as the adult and well behaved people did. But the boy seemed unhappy, and Draco did not like that, not in the least.

A paper crane flew to him, it had to be Theo’s, his mother used to teach them how to do origami and the charm to make them move... Draco took it in his hands and opened it.

‘Our bedroom tonight. Wear those indecent jeans that your cousin gave to you.’

Draco blushed terribly and put the note in his pocket. His face was Gryffindor red, he knew.

“Prince Charming?” Pansy asked with a smirk.

“Shut it, Pans.” He hissed as he took a sip from his tea.

When he looked again at the Gryffindor table, Potter was not there anymore.

————————

Draco knew that something was wrong since the moment that Theo entered the room.

They kissed and the blond boy knew that the boy was trying to tell him something with it. And with every touch it was more and more evident: he was saying goodbye.

Draco wanted to cry but he knew that it wouldn’t be good for either of them.

When they were done, they lay on the bed, looking at each other with kind eyes. Sometimes, Theo would look at his dark mark or hiss in pain.

It was calling for him, the blond boy was sure of it. He saw it with his father. Binding contract, worst than marriage, because you can’t divorce the Dark Lord... He is like this toxic husband that you either stay with or cheat on (like Severus did by putting his loyalties in the Order).

“I bought you this.” Theo said as he grabbed a chocolate bar from Honeydukes and gave it to Draco. It was his favorite. The boy smiled and kissed him on the lips.

“Don’t you want to eat it? You love that stuff.” He just shook his head.

And then the boy offered him some water, with an almost pleading tone in his voice.

‘Darling, do you think that I’m stupid?’

He pretended to drink the water, barely touched his lips, and Theo didn’t seemed to notice. He must had been so bloody nervous.

He was not dumb, so he pretended to fall sleep as well. After a while, he felt the brunette kissing him on the forehead before getting of the bed and putting his clothes on.

“I’m sorry.” He heard him whisper before closing the door behind him.

Fuck. He needed to stop him. Draco got up from the bed and changed with the same clothes that he had chosen to meet Theo that night. The ripped light-blue jeans with a plain white t-shirt. He grabbed his combat boots and marched off of there, wand in hand.

The castles was quiet, but not the kind of quiet that he loved... it was quiet because people was expecting something bad to happen. He tried to get up the stairs as fast as he could.

He couldn’t be seen, he couldn’t stop Theodore before it because he would get stupefied by him and that would be it. No, he needed to be smart about this. He took the short-cut to the Room of Requirement, the one that left him two hallways away from there.

He was so close, what the hell could he do? How could he stop him from doing this incredible stupid shit.

“Kid! What the hell are you doing here??” Mr. Potter hissed as he saw Draco walking by, furious. “Did every single one of you decided to be idiots tonight?”

Sirius was right behind him, putting a hand in his shoulder.

“James, again, we did worst at their age. At least this is for a good cause.”

“Shut up, Padfoot. This is a nightmare. Now I understand my parents, Merlin.”

The both of them were looking at Draco, he was actually speechless. Did everyone knew about Theodore trying to kill the bloody Headmaster?

“At least you drank the Felix felicis too, right?” Sirius asked. The blond boy just blinked.

“What?”

“The drops! Ginny said you all took some!” Mr Potter said with his very best indignant tone of voice.

“I- I gotta go to stop Theo.” Draco said as he started to walk again. “I don’t what the hell are you talking about, and I don’t care.”

He felt Mr. Potter grabbing him by the shoulders to stop him.

“Let me go! He can’t do this!”

“No, little cousin. Harry would kill us if we let you go over there without any protection.” Sirius said with a calm voice. Draco tried to free himself from the man’s arms but he couldn’t.

The noise of the fight started. The light from the spells were floating around, they saw Death Eaters running around the castle. Draco tightened the grip of his wand, tears started to appear in his eyes. He was so fucking useless, he could not stop him. Fuck.

“Well, well... look who we have here.”

That voice. Shit. The three of them turned around. Aunt Bella was looking at them with that vile smile on her face that Draco hated. Flashbacks of her trying to kill Sirius appeared on his mind.

He pushed his cousin behind him, and held his wand, ready for the fight.

“Now, Draco. Let’s not be hasty.” She said with her mouth fixed in a fake pout, before bursting into her maniac laughter.

“You touch them and I kill you.” He hissed back.

Mr. Potter tried to get closer but Bellatix fired a spell their way. Draco fired a Petrificus Totalus right back.

“You ungrateful brat. Cissy has been crying for you since last year.”

“Bombarda!” He casted at her. She moved so fast. She dodge the spell and pointed her wand at him again.

“Crucio!”

Unbearable pain. Everywhere. He heard Sirius and Mr. Potter screaming. They couldn’t fire anything her way because they could hit Draco in the process. His veins were on fire. Not the first time he felt it, though. His father loved to cast it for a minute or two when he was ‘disrespectful’.

Suddenly, everything was over. His aunt fell in the floor before him. He was falling right next to her, when someone caught him before hitting the ground. He blinked, slowly. He found worried hazel-eyes looking at him.

He tried to incorporate himself, cleaning some of the blood that was left in his mouth.

“How are you here?”

“The next- “ His voice came out rough. He tried to clear his throat. “The next time you want to drug me, do it in a more subtle way.”

“Little cousin! Are you alright?”

Draco just nodded and then he looked at Aunt Bella, lying on the floor. He raised his wand.

“Petrificus Totalus. Fucking lunatic.”

“Take him.” Theodore pleaded Sirius and Mr. Potter. They nodded and started to drag Draco away, the blond boy freed himself from his cousin’s hand.

“No!” And Then, he hugged the brunette so very tightly. Tears escaping from his eyes. “Come with us. Defect. I love you so much, please don’t do this.” He pleaded. Theodore just looked at him with kind eyes.

“I can’t. I can’t leave my father.”

And Draco started to cry even harder. He was ruining his entire life.

“Don’t make this any more difficult, Draco. Please.”

He looked at the boy. His eyes were so sad and conflicted. Draco just had to try. Maybe Theodore would hate him for this but he was running out of options.

He grabbed the hazel-eyed by the neck and put his mouth over his. He heard Mr. Potter and Sirius gasped behind them.

The kiss was passionate, raw, filled with need. ‘Run away with me please’.

Theo slowed down the pace of the kiss until they stopped. Their foreheads were touching, as the boy took a deep breath.

“That was goodbye.” He whispered so softly and kind. Draco felt so fucking useless. “Be safe.”

“You too.” Draco said, tears coursing down his cheeks.

He felt Sirius put his arm around him and guide him away from there. Draco felt so numb, he turned his head to look at Theo one more time.

The hazel eyed had his lips fixed in a fine line, when he saw Draco looking at him he mouthed:

‘I love you too’

And Draco started to cry again as he continued to walk away from him.

———————

#drarry #fanfic #fanfiction #prongsfoot

[ven-uzumaki13]

A FROZEN DEVICE

In the middle of the Alpha 13’s centre room, a boy named Ven was in the kitchen making food for his friends Kree, Abby and Jake they were taking about what their next mission was until Abby brought up her past in joking manner saying, “Well my family thinks I'm a god or something” Kree then asked about Ven’s past “what about you Ven I couldn't find your proper file” Ven stop cutting carrots and leaned onto of the counter and says, “what my file said... that I was flouting in space for a thousand years with a celestial spirit inside me.” “so, nothing” Ven shortly followed up with “What about your name Ven that’s important... right.” Jake shouted across the room “Uzumaki...?” He whispered to himself “No I think it's all a gang now...” the glare in his eye fades “hmm what about you, Jake... those arms, are you ready...” Ven says with a knowing smile. Silence for just a moment until “yea...yea” he said staring at his metallic arms “it was that apollo game 2 years ago there was an attack everyone was running, screaming you know... I blacked out and woke up... with my arms gone they couldn’t find them; I lost my mom's bracelets they were everything... to me at least.” Jake then held his face crying, Abby who was sat next to him gave him a hug and held him “we have all lost something ether memories or families” Ven said trying to make the mood lighter “what about you Kree? How's your life.” “well, it's not that much better… my family was crushed in the same attack, Abby saved me.” Kree said holding back tears his green hair falling over his face.  

“I could have done better it's my fault.” Abby said with a deep angry in her voices, Kree and Abby arguing over who is to blame until Ven steps in “guys none of you are to blame it the ones who attacked... speaking of which did they catch them ye...” Ven is cut off by a large device smashing into the coffee table, covered in snow and ice, everyone jumps up and looks at it until it blinks away, Ven walks over and raises his wrapped hand and a wave of energy scans the table “This is new... a blink drive? hmm... we have them now?” Ven looking around at the others, Kree looking confused and says, “no we can't make it yet, were still decades away.” “Maybe it's not ours” Jake said standing from his seat, Ven eyes narrowed as he orders Jake to open a portal to the bridge of the eclipse, “thank you.” he says as he walked throw the portal.

The portal spins to existence in the rush of dust and lighting and as Ven walks out fairing his armour and helmet in a blaze of fire washing over his body his 2 red eyes breach the helmets tinted visor, staring at the captain, his white coat flows behind him as he says “Ven what are you doing?” “A blink drive just broke my coffee table and I'm here to find out more about it.” Ven says as his gun slowly materialises on his thigh “you're not going to use that?” the captain says raising an eyebrow “no” Ven says with a smile his helmet fades away his clothes returning to normal “so the blink drive was that you or?” Ven says looking around the empty bridge “no but we have tracked it to a planet not that far away I was about to call your team and then...” the captain pointing at Ven with his arms outspreaded “you and your team will be on the move in ten minutes.” the captain says this as Ven walks bye and goes back throw the portal, the rest of the team is watching kree spin his knife around his hands until Ven walks throw the portal and says, “ok the captain know where the device came from, get ready.” Ven and his team loaded into their ship the vanguard a smooth model curser class designed to get in and out and cause an explosion or 2, the ship was held in a small hanger just outside the communal area of the Alpha 13 command centre the ship engines turn on its clamps holding it in place released, and the ship started to fall into the deep void of space the vanguard meet up with 2 other ships before they jumped, it opened a chamber under the nose of the ship a slip-space cannon lowed itself and fired a single shot causing a large and loud opening to slip-space its edges violently trying to close the 3 ship enter the portal and it closes shortly after, the ship was shaking due to the energy bouncing of the hull “VIOLENT isn't it” Abby said fighting for control of the ship nav system, “OK when we land make sure that you’re wearing your cold-protection Armor” Ven said while putting on his coat, Jake starts to put on his vest until Ven says “Jake you'll need to cover your arms too, you don't want them freezing you won't be able to do much” Jake nods and grabs a bigger coat.

A slip-space portal opens with a grinding screech and loud blast of energy the purple vortex expands and 3 ships slowly crawl out and enter an orbit of a planet frozen in time, as the Vanguard was preparing to drop to the planet the other 2 ships would stay in orbit and bring backup if needed, the Vanguard’s engines turn on and it heads to the planet passing throw a snowstorm as large ice shards fall from the sky doges and narrowing missing the ship the Vanguard’s shield fairing changing from green to red, the ship passing throw the storm leaving a hole in the clouds revealing a white plane surface of snow with a small building the back hanger door of the Vanguard open and the ship spins to show the hanger, Ven, Abby, Kree and Jake all go to the hanger wearing there cold-protection Armor a gust of wind nocks Kree to his knee in reflex Kree grabs a railing as he is blinded by the snow, his eyes reeling in a small pain  to adjust to the snow “Kree” Ven yells as the wind blows by “are you ok” he continues the ships door reaches the snowy floor “okay everyone spread out try to find a door, it’s really cold”

Ven told the team on the radio the winds howl ringing in his ear, a static howl screeches throw the radio Ven concerned with this he jumps into the sky and a blast of energy is sent from his chest his eyes split like a dragon and can see 5 energy signals, 3 signals were intertwined almost dancing Ven realised there were fighting he calls this on the radio and the team charges the building Ven braking down from the roof the debris falling with him fire rising from the ground with him he looks up to see Abby who had delt with 2 unknown individuals “I expected something else, not going to lie” Ven said laughing a little “well I am an Alpha member Ven” Abby said with a smirk “yep” Ven said looking around the room “this place is really old” Ven said “yea these guys were tiring to delete some files they also tried to steal this" Abby handing Ven a smaller version of the blink drive “take this to the ship we need it” at this point Jake and Kree run throw an aged door slowly opening Jake uncovering his face from his red scarf “HURRY there are ships on the way, 40 of them" Jake gasping for breath.

Ven looking at Abby and says “go" as she starts running, “ok where're holding the line, none of them get to the Vanguard!” Ven ordering the rest of his team, Ven getting to the roof and can barely see the fleet of ships “scavengers” Ven whispered to himself as a large bright light is placed on top of the small stations hut the storm closes in and the hut’s lights fade into the dust and wind of the storm the presence of the ship cannot be forgotten the sounds of the engines were louder than the storm Ven blast the side of this ship it did not have shields Ven grind and jumped back down his entry hole “Jake I need a portal from lower orbit... I have a plan” Ven smiling as he puts on his helmet as Jake opens his portal the sky Infront of him he jumps, and dives throw while Ven was falling he was building up kinetic energy to part the clouds and allow a signal throw bringing the 2 ships in higher orbit as Ven is falling from the clouds Binary emerges from his shoulder in a small blaze of fire this small dragon says, “are you sure you can do this?” Ven nods does a spin and confuses his fall, Binary says “fine but hold on!" As she covers his in a flaming cloak of fire that tuns into a larger version of Binary they both breach the storm pashing the ships in a Blair but before Ven hits the ground he releases his built-up energy in a blast so powerful it pushes back the 40 ships along with the storm 26 of the scavenger's ships crashes into a frozen ocean of pure ice Ven’s blast had blown away all the snow around the hut making a makeshift wall.

The Vanguard spins up its engines and slowly flouts above the hut it weapons charged as the rest of the scavenger’s ship raise from the snow, the falling snow causes a mist under the ships the storm as its background and a loud horn can be heard as a hoard of smaller ships are launched “great they have attack ships now” Kree said holding his Eletronic swords hilt spinning around his hand and ignites his blades “the signal has been sent we have like 30 minutes” Jake said messing with a small panel “HOLD THEM OFF!” Ven said summoning his 9 spirit orbs, Ven them preforms a small hand sign interlocking his fingers and pushing them out launching a blaze of fire that transformed into Binary she then charges the largest ship latching on top of its hull ripping Armor pieces off until she can see the reactor of the ship, she tilts her back and blasts the ship with hell fire breaching the core and makes the ships engines explode dropping it to the snowy floor, Ven creating another hand sign to attack a different ship once binary is released Ven fly's up and forms a small sun in his hand he then throws it at a larger ship, Ven hit the ground and runs to attack a drop ship as he does the large ship flies over head and explodes as it hits the ground he raised his hand and fired a small blast witch destroys the drop ship in a ball of fire as he slides under a closing door of hut “11 left let get this done!” Ven calls over the radio.

Abby spinning the engines of the Vanguard and flies behind the rest of the fleet launching a barrage of missals a second horde of smaller ships start to chase the Vanguard, Abby realises and runs into the storm the horde follows her blindly, Kree blitzes throw a small group of scavengers until the Vanguard flies over head he throws his blade into a Scavengers head the lighting stored in the blade expels pushing back the rest of its group allowing him to grab his blade and kill the rest of the scavengers and run back to the hut “ok that’s like 3,4 ships maybe how's our backup going and where's Abby and the Vanguard?” Ven said loading his pistol “the backup ships are 2 minutes away and I think see flew back into the storm” Jake said with his face into a console “ok you fine here... right?” Ven asked “yes I'm fine go” Jake said trying to push him out of the room Ven grabs his helmet from the table and heads outside as Ven opens the main door a gust of wind hits him in the face and Kree is standing Infront of him and says, “alright what's the plan?” “we have 3 minutes until backup gets, here” Ven says holding up 3 fingers “so deal with that” Ven says pointing at a scavenger dreadnought.

Dreadnought pushing itself out of the storm “great, you said 3 minutes... right?” Kree said tired from fighting “ok yes let's try this” Ven said raising his hand pointing all 5 fingers towards the dreadnought, a small energy builds up on each of his finger and is released ripping throw the air the 5 beams intertwine and hits the dreadnought’s shield causing minor damage “great...” Ven said while his helmet folds into a cap and the smoke from his finger fades “that all you got...VEN” Kree said mocking Ven’s attack “do you want to try?” Ven said clenching his fist and a small flame emerging from it “nope do wana try punching it, that usually work” Kree said sliding down a wall, out of breath while Ven staired blankly at Kree tilting his head, Ven looking out into the snow-white ground the sky corrupted by the dreadnought presence he again tilts his head and notices a small crack in its shield and a small drone lacing it with an energy healing the ship “hmm that’s interesting” Ven said as Kree popped up from his small nap “What. Where. Who? oh hi... Ven what's happening” “Kree were you asleep really … anyway I found that the dreadnought has drones that heals the shield” Ven said while helping up Kree “get to the Vanguard and attack that ship with everything”.

Ven looking down at the ship he starts to run from the left side of the hut’s door he runs until the snow is built up too much to run so he jumps and starts to fly a blast of energy pushing him into his flite Ven lifts his right leg up to his chest and a second blast of energy pushes him faster the ships turrets start to aim at him, Ven pulls his arm and starts to attack the ship in a repetitive blast of fire, Ven releases binary to cover him while he charges a concentrated beam hiding himself inside the snow storm, Binary covering the ships shield in flames its turrets firing blindly throw it until the ship stops suddenly and turns to the storm pointing directly at Ven, the fire still raging on top of the shield the ship was detecting Ven inside the storm, the turrets aimed and fired into the storm until a bright white beam of light breaches throw the storm and charges towards the ship, the ship pushes itself up trying to dodge the blast but one of its engines stops, overloads and explodes stopping it from its escape then the blast hits its shield braking it under the weight shattering it too Pieces and all that remains from the dreadnought is a fire ball falling to the ground lighting up the storm.

Ven dropping to the snowy floor and as he walks to the hut he falls and laughs trying to breath before Ven can stand the Vanguard flies throw the storm and lands Infront of the hut a large ramp lowers from the back of the ship Abby and Kree walks out and points to Ven laughing in the snow and says “Jake is he okay? how long has he been like this?” “just a few minutes" Jake said leaning on the huts wall “WHERE ARE THOSE SHIPS, WE CALLED FOR!!!” Ven said getting up from the snow and brushing himself off, he then looks up into the shy to see both ships remains flying towards them “RUN!” Ven shouted ordering everyone into the ship as they prepare to take off, the remains catching fire from re-entering the atmosphere causing large explosions across the large empty snowy field the shockwaves shaking the ship as its engines push it into the sky, the clouds covering the bridge’s window until the Vanguard rocketing throw into orbit as the ship’s nose lowered to show 600 Scavenger ships surrounding the ship and its crew...

[thesunlitnerd]

Heal Your Aura: 7 Common Aura Problems and How To Solve Them

All of us possess unique auric fields which interacts with the auras of others we meet. Auras are a colorful kaleidoscopic of electromagnetic field of energy which rhythmically vibrates around our body. Our aura is also connected with our health, emotions and other external factors. This is a technicolor, multi-layered coat that we wear at all times and is attuned with our spiritual body, mental body, casual body, higher mental body, astral body and etheric body. Combined together, these look like a psychedelic blend of colors & light around your skin. Your aura is an extension of your physical being. 

But often, there might be some problems with our energy fields that affect our aura and our physical, mental and emotional health. Hence, it becomes crucial to know about the basic aura problems and how to cleanse them.

What is Aura?

“’AURA‘ IS WHAT ONE REFLECTS IN THE HEART, WHAT YOU BRING INTO THE WORLD, AND WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO LEARN FROM YOU.” – OZUNA

Aura is the energy matrix that surrounds all living (and not only living) creatures. Particularly for humans, the aura is something that many occultists and scientists tried to study. From Kirlian photos to scrying with crystals, all who take aura as a fact attempted to analyze aura, or even detect possible aura problems. You see, the aura is not just an energy field. But, also, a matrix of information, which can potentially be used to diagnose, or even predict information.

7 Common Aura Problems

“THE AURA GIVEN OUT BY A PERSON OR OBJECT IS AS MUCH A PART OF THEM AS THEIR FLESH.” – LUCIAN FREUD

In this article we will try to present to you the most common Aura Problems and, of course, remind you how to overcome them. One of our favorite recipes we use is now available and is called ‘cleansing

1.Insufficient connection with the Divine

It is a very common problem, especially nowadays. As many people turn away from spirituality and religion, they forget a very important piece of information about themselves. They are part of something greater, something unique and magical. According to all ancient sources, we have the divine spark within. Thus, we are always in touch with the Great Spirit / God / Goddess.

Reason:

Our energy is mainly replenished bythe divine source. Additionally, we take energy from food/water and the environment, whilst the earth supports and grounds us. When we neglect our divine source, we actually block the gate of divine energy intake. This makes our aura week. We feel disorientated, sad and uninspired.

Solution:

What we have to do is re-establish the connection with the divine, by either praying or spell-casting. Call upon your guardian Angel. Benzoin was believed to invite Angels and welcome them to stay around! You can always burn some Benzoin while calling upon your Guardian Angel.

2. Parasitic Cords

Over time, we socialize and engage in different kinds of relationships. This actually helps humans, a lot, by learning important lessons throughout life’s experiences. The same lessons probably appear again and again until the message is clear and received. However, not all relationships are helpful.

Reason:

There are times when we hang out or even are closer to people who have lost their way. Temporarily or not, these people have a lack of energy. This negative energy balance creates a ‘thirst’ or ‘craving’ of energy. To appease that, one needs to ‘connect’ with the victim. However, this is always a challenge for them, as we are gifted with several defense mechanisms. Therefore, these people try to develop a pathological relationship, with mood swings, in an effort to poison our hearts with guilt and pain. This creates a ‘sick bond’ or a parasitic cord, from which these people feast on our vital energy. What modern people call ‘toxic relationships’, witches call parasitic cords for centuries.

Solution:

Cord-cutting rituals are the best way to free yourself (spiritually and mentally) from these parasitic cords. Of course, when is needed, psychological assistance should be received, too. The toxic effect may be deep. You may need additional help. It was believed that Pure Frankincense can help you smite the dark energies that suck your spiritual energy. Additionally, peppermint is known to heal the auric wounds, after we cut off such bonds.

3. Cracks in Aura’s Matrix

Aura has a thick – energy shield. This is a very effective defense mechanism we use against lower vibrations, curses and the dark arts. However, sometimes, this shield may crack.

Reason:

These rips are usually created after a psychic attack. However, this attack may be psychic in nature, but it can occur in the material plane, in a form of quarrel drenched with psychological weapons. Pain and sorrow create a weakness and these psychic attacks can actually penetrate our shield and eventually crack it. This creates a scar, which opens the door to future attacks.

Solution:

Fortify your aura with love and light. One healing word you can use is ‘Ra(m)’. This is the sound of Fire (and light) which can be mastered to feed and shield your aura once again. Sandalwood was used by Witches since ancient times to help in healing the cracks in one’s aura. Additionally, we would propose Palo Santo.

“LET YOUR AURA PRESENT ITSELF TO THE WORLD.” ANONYMOUS

4. Watchers

We’ve never tried to hide it. Magic is not always good. In Witchcraft and Arcane arts, there are things we love and things we despise. Thus, some practitioners prefer to spy upon their victims, prior to dark spell casting. Therefore, they love to create “the Watchers”. Some of us may have them on our aura.

Reason:

Watchers are intelligent remnants of Spiritual attack, forced to feed on the target’s aura, while simultaneously reporting for everything the target does or thinks. Therefore, this is one of the darkest forms of Witchcraft. Have you ever felt that someone is always watching you? Knowing what you do? Spying on you? Creating a Watcher is very popular amongst the dark arts.

Solution:

As this is actually not an entity but a part of another’s an entity, one needs to exorcise it out of its aura. To do that, Witches used to burn Dragon’s Blood, one of the most potent magical materials ever found, according to the old books of Shadows. Usually, Witches burned Dragon’s Blood alone or mixed with bay laurel leaves, clove buds and a dash of red cayenne pepper (do not exaggerate with the cayenne pepper).

5. Chakra Blocks

In our bodies, there are several mechanisms that help the divine energy flow through us. The most well-known mechanisms are the Chakras – wheels that help the energy flow. There are seven major chakras, but many more secondary ones exist all over our bodies.

Reason:

For many reasons, these chakras may be blocked or severely poisoned by our feelings, traumas and other reasons. Unfortunately, this may bring out many problems. We have actually created a specific article for this issue. You may want to check it, here!

Solution:

Witches during their training were taught that they should periodically cleanse the chakras and help the energy flow! This is not always easy. However, they did believe that there are some recipes that can help them with this issue. Myrrh and Palo Santo (the holy Wood), were amongst the most beloved ingredients for unblocking the chakras.

“WHEN YOU SMILE AND PROJECT AN AURA OF WARMTH, KINDNESS, AND FRIENDLINESS, YOU WILL ATTRACT WARMTH, KINDNESS, AND FRIENDLINESS. HAPPY PEOPLE WILL BE DRAWN TO YOU.”  – JOEL OSTEEN

6. Energy Debris

Our aura is a unique and intelligent matrix of energy. Important information comes and goes. Moreover, this intelligent matrix is not static, for it reacts with anything around. Some times, bad things happen, and the aura reacts by producing defensive energy.

Reason:

Aura can help us deflect a psychic attack. Some times, information is stored from a previous attack, in order to understand what happened and know how to deal with it in the future. This is called ‘energy debris’. It is not ‘bad energy’ is it just the memory stored in astral energy inside our aura. However, this energy might make us feel stagnant and ‘heavy’. This lack of fresh spiritual energy may actually be caused by this debris. We need to periodically abolish it.

Solution:

To do so, we need first to meditate and understand the nature of this debris. What caused it? Later, witches used to burn dried agrimony, in order to repel all stagnant and malevolent energy, stuck in our aura.

7. Insufficient Grounding

It’s no secret that as we interact with this plane, we engage in overwhelming activities. This is why we are often flooded by excessive energy. Although this excessive energy is part of a defense mechanism, we should always balance this energy.

Reason:

As this energy may cause several imbalances in our chakras and aura, we need to abolish it regularly. This is why grounding is needed. Grounding is a technique which is used by all witches, especially after a ritual, or an overwhelming experience.

Solution:

To do so, a witch might employ some herbs and resins to create and multiply the effects. Patchouli has been used extensively for this matter. Furthermore, witches have used Patchouli for smudging to call upon spirits of healing and help them ground. It was considered to aid in meditation and was has been used in all procedures which need mental and spiritual clarity.

“WORDS WERE NEVER INVENTED TO FULLY EXPLAIN THE PEACEFUL AURA THAT SURROUNDS US WHEN WE ARE IN COMMUNION WITH MINDS OF THE SAME THOUGHTS.” – EDDIE MYERS

Your aura is a pulsating energy field that is impenetrable, compact and a rainbow of gorgeous colors. This your own internal and external energy that you need to protect and care for at all times. By taking the right steps you can effectively solve all problems related to your aura to enjoy a healthy mind, body and spirit. By improving your auric senses you can experience better emotions and enhanced energy everyday.

#energyflow #energy #energy work #universalenergy #universal #aura #auracleansing

[theyearoftheking]

Book Thirty-One: Four Past Midnight

You know you’re in for a good time when you crack open a collection of novellas, and the introduction discusses the 1989 Milwaukee Brewers, and specifically Robin Yount. 

I am not really a baseball fan. I will admit to going to games just to tailgate, get snacks and drink an overpriced beer. I own some cute Milwaukee Brewers merch, and love a brat with stadium sauce. That’s the extent of my fandom. You’ll never find me being a baseball bandwagon junkie.

But.

Every late 30-40 something raised in Milwaukee has really fond memories of County Stadium (our old, humble stadium) before Miller Park took over (Sorry, refuse to call it Am-Fam Field, or whatever the hell its new name is). And we have fond memories of Robin Yount, Paul Moliter- the OG Brew Crew. Warm and fuzzies all around. 

Steve drops one hell of a Wisconsin reference when he talks about watching a Brewers/Red Sox game (Brewers won, btw), and the announcers are talking about how old Robin Yount is. Steve almost flies out of his recliner when he realizes Robin started playing baseball the same year he published his first novel. They’re the same age!! Robin Yount can’t be old, because if he’s old, ergo, Steve is old. 

Time is a funny thing. I write this as I’m a week away from turning forty. Ugh. It hurts so bad. 

Four Past Midnight was another home run (ha!) collection of novellas. I told another constant reader this past week that the novella is really where Steve shines. It’s long enough to create some magic, but short enough to keep the editing tight. I didn’t love this collection as much as Different Seasons, but The Sun Dog might be my new favorite story ever... and it set the scene for Needful Things, which I’m now one hundred pages into. The flow from one story to the other is masterful. 

The collection kicks off with The Langoliers, which I mostly remember because it was a campy television miniseries in 1995.

Basically, a bunch of people are on a red-eye flight, and Dinah Bellman, a little blind girl wakes up to find most of the people on the plane (including her caretaker Aunt) have disappeared. All their jewelry and belongings have been left behind, but it’s like they’ve been body-snatched out of thin air. Oh, the pilot was langolier-ed too. Thankfully, one of the other passengers on the plane, Brian Engle, just so happens to be a pilot, and attempts to land the plane. But, there are no lights, he’s not getting any response from any major airports... so landing at Boston Logan isn’t going to be a thing. He (of course) needs to re-route to Bangor. 

At this point, Craig Toomer is losing his shit. He NEEDS to be in Boston to meet with a bank about some shady shit with some bonds. He’s not having this Bangor thing. So, he sits in his seat and sulks, ripping pieces of paper into thin strips (legit serial killer behavior), and remembering horror stories his dad used to tell him about monsters called the Langoliers. 

Aaaand that’s where the title comes from. 

The plane lands in Bangor, the airport is empty, the food has no taste and the beers have no carbonation. Noises are both muffled and amplified, and planes won’t go. So, Brian fuels up the original plane they were on, loads everyone inside; and takes off again. The passengers realize they need to be asleep to fly through the time/space continuum, so Brian lowers the cabin pressure, they all go to sleep (except for the dashing Nick Hopewell who bravely offers to fly the plane through the rip), and they make it safely to the other side, where life slowly starts back up again. 

The end.

Then, there’s Secret Window, Secret Garden; which I also remember because of the Johnny Depp movie, which I had forgotten most of until my husband thought he’d summarize the plot of The Dark Half for me. He got it totally wrong, and ended up describing SWSG instead; thus ruining the surprise I forgot I already knew about. Welcome to marriage, kids. Lesson learned: if you haven’t seen The Secret Window, just wait and read the novella instead. 

Best-selling author Morton Rainey answers his door one afternoon, and finds a Faulkner-esque gentleman in a wide-brimmed hat, accusing him of plagiarism. “You stole my story!” John Shooter tells him. Mort is supes confused, and has no idea what Shooter is talking about. He’s even able to prove he wrote and published the story a few years before Shooter wrote it. 

“Prove it,” Shooter taunts him. 

And then the story takes a left turn into Crazyville, when Shooter starts killing people, starting Mort’s ex-wife’s house on fire, and trying to kill Mort. 

But here’s the twist.

Ready?

Shooter is Mort. 

Mort is Shooter. 

God damn, I wish my husband hadn’t reminded me of this spoiler, it would have been more epic to discover on my own. But it’s an excellent slight-of-hand on Steve’s part. Well done. 

And then we get to The Library Policeman... which I really loved until I got to the part about the policeman anally raping small children who don’t turn their books in on time. That jumped the shark just a little bit. But prior to that cringefest, the idea of Library Policeman was fun. And in my world of enforcing rental policies, and returning books in beautiful, unblemished condition; I’m all for some library police. Maybe just ones with better social distancing, though... 

And then we arrive to Sun Dog, the real winner of the collection. Steve starts the story with a brief introduction that covers the strange history of Castle Rock. This is a great refresher if you’re new to the universe, or haven’t read thirty-one Steve books in five months. No judgement.

 Kevin Delevan receives a Sun 660 Polaroid camera for this fifteenth birthday. He takes a family picture, and notices a dog in the snapshot. A dog his family doesn’t own, and doesn’t know. Thinking it’s a fluke, he takes a few more pictures, and the dog keeps showing up, but is moving in each picture. 

A few days later, Kevin takes the camera over to Reginald “Pop” Merrill at the Emporium Galorium. Pop fixes cameras and clocks, and also acts as the local loan shark, and seller of odd things. Pop inspects the camera, and sees nothing wrong with it. But he knows darkness when he sees it, and after a quick swap; he ends up with the Sun Dog camera, and sends Kevin home with another one. 

Pop tries selling the camera to collectors of the dark and odd, but no one wants it. He’s starting to stress, because he knows it’s only a matter of time before the camera unleashes its true dark potential. 

Kevin wakes up from a nightmare and realized Pop pulled a fast one on him. He gets to the Emporium Galorium just as the dog is trying to emerge from the film, and Kevin is able to kill it, and the shop starts on fire. But, it’s not the last strange thing to happen in Castle Rock...

I’m not going to lie, I finished Sun Dog at about 8pm last night, and promptly dived into Needful Things. Y’all... it might be my favorite Steve book ever. Too soon to say for sure, but damn it’s dark and twisty. Stay tuned. 

In addition to the Brewers reference, there was one Dark Tower reference in The Library Police, “...lookin’ as fierce as a gunslinger in an old Western movie...” 

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 25

Total Dark Tower References: 23

Book Grade: A+

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

The Talisman: A+

Misery: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

Four Past Midnight: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

The Drawing of the Three: A-

Nightmares in the Sky: B+

The Dark Half: B+

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Thinner: C+

Dark Visions: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Roadwork: D

Christine: D

The Tommyknockers: D-

I hope everyone is continuing to social distance and quarantine well. I’m headed back to work in another week... kinda hoping it doesn’t cut into my reading time. But reality is a cruel thing sometimes... 

Long Days and Pleasant Nights, Rebecca

#stephen king #constant readers #castle rock #the langoliers #sun dog #secret window secret garden #secret window #library police #the dark tower #milwaukee brewers #county stadium #needful things

[bookshelfpassageway]

Hello yes I would like the full rundown on It's A Wonderful Life a la Eugene Riverworth (I once helped my DM spec out alignment-reversed versions of our entire party, alt universe characters are near and dear to my heart)

ALRIGHT SO IT'S CATASTROPHIC AMOUNTS OF CONTEXT TIME

Sorry I took so long, I've just spent most of my week trying not to turn into a puddle of goo. I accidentally listened to Mr Blue Sky today, however, and the last verse sucker-punched me into finishing this.

...At some point, I'm going to take my google doc of garbage notes with no filter and turn them into a coherent campaign recap to hand out to people. But for now, here's this definitely-more-than-a-snippet-snippet.

Alright so, to start with, we have an NPC friend named Rothwin. He's a goth wood-elf wizard with a deep, deep set guilt complex about how many people he's known that have died. His mother, due to a dragon attack, and he recently discovered, his little sister, due to the mafia said dragon runs. His twin brother was recently thralled by Mind Flayers, and we've been trying to track him down. He also had a particular bond (I don't have all the details, but he gave him an enchanted knife and a letter) with our halfling assassin, Tasher, who was disintegrated back at lv 8 by a possessed Eugene. He let the possession happen on purpose, to try to get the upper hand in a fight with our warlock's patron, but the thing he gave himself over to was not at all inclined to give Eugene's body back. This chain of events also led to the kidnapping of Rothwin's brother. There's a reason we call him the "trashwizard".

Anyway, Rothwin. Rothwin is the hero child that wants to fix everything. Guilt complex from here to the moon. He's also a slightly higher level wizard than us, a lv 14 party, and he's recently spent a LOT of time scribing studiously in his spellbook. Because Eugene is a nosy little man, he actually got a glimpse at the spell he was working on: Wish.

So, the night after Rothwin's brother is captured, we hang around and try to comfort him. He seems oddly alright, and tells us that he thinks things will be looking up, soon.

When we awake, the world is different, none of us know any of the others, we remember nothing of the world before, and Rothwin has erased the dragon that tore his family apart, over 200 years ago. In the process, the circumstances did not arise where Tasher died.

The original Eugene left home at 17 to seek his fortune, and, finding that to be a very hard task, gradually lowered his standards over the course of a decade until he became the glitzy mountebank in the pointy hat we all know and love.

This new Eugene never had that chance to be a con man. If he did swindle, it would have only been a brief stint of the minor, hunger-induced infractions of the very beginning of his career. He had a pretty similar childhood and departure. Instead, he was recruited by this universe's much more prosperous version of the Mage's Guild (run by Rothwin's mother), an agent of whom saw some element of talent in him. So for the past ten years, he's made his name as an Illusionist of mild note, a full wizard rather than a rogue multiclass, and slowly moving up the Guild's ranks. He'd just been promoted, even. He's Neutral-Good-aligned, as opposed to the original True Neutral, and though his base traits remain the same (including: sociable, vain, ambitious, indulgent, a bit foolish), they're dialed up to different degrees. This Eugene is a genuinely sweet person, in a slightly fussy and oblivious kind of way, and actually allows himself to get attached to people. Which happens easily, and strongly. He hasn't had any need to shut that part of himself down. He has a Simulacrum named Snowy, and understands what birds are (running joke in the campaign, his familiar is exactly one pint of screech owl and summoning medium-sized birds has never been successful).

Eugene's youngest sister, in the original timeline, was a warlock of the Raven Queen. She quickly began having visions of the way fate was originally supposed to play out, and together they were able to research what might have happened and start to contact the old partymembers. Everyone arrived, and started getting flashbacks of the events of the campaign. We fought some old enemies who were defeated in the original world, including the devil that set off so much catastrophe, and a mad wizard who here had managed to imprison the guy who can fix this.

We managed to short out this wizard's magical abilities with a Counterspell, triggering the source of his stolen power to take over his body to see what the hell was going on. The Whispered One, known more commonly (though not in this campaign. His name is a pricey secret after all) as Vecna. We met him once in the original timeline too, he's how Rothwin found out his sister was dead, and was responsible for the warlockifying of an artificer. (it was almost the original Eugene, but the depressed cat got in there first, also, selfishly, a warlock multiclass would have screwed over his spell slot situation too much)

Between people starting to get flashbacks (flashsidewayses?), logical deductions, and a free trial of information from the Whispered One, we realize IC what's happened and what we'd be going back to, and how to set things back to exactly square one.

Everyone gets... Maybe a little too into the RP at this point. There's a lot of philosophy and metaphysics. There's also a lot of upset when we realize who doesn't survive the original course of fate. We try to figure out if it's possible to put it back the same but just a little different, and realize that someone is here with the power to do so, but the Whispered One is not going to budge unless we give him a secret as payment. Changing fate to save a life (possibly more), would likely require a more costly secret than average. Also, we as players aren't just going to shortchange VECNA. We like being alive (Sure we will piss off the Raven Queen, but that's fine, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it). Also dramatic gestures are more narratively satisfying. Eugene's mental state is a fascinating concoction of self-loathing, existential dread, cunning bastard, hero wannabe, "hey I've known this party longer than anyone except my family and former business partner" + "I will admit I care about people". Some solutions are proposed, the Dragonborn Paladin has a book from her backstory, the Assassin has god secrets...

And Eugene, filled with guilt and distaste for tragedy and fondness for Tasher and a complicated infatuation towards Rothwin and all the trappings of a moral person, realizing for absolute certainty that all that he's become, worked for, and hoped for in this life, MUST be overwritten by someone he can't stand, and knows won't be able to stand him... Suggests that what is more secret than a life that could have been, and never could have been, lived? His own existence could not only amount to something, but actually be preserved in some capacity in the Whispered One's library.

This is immediately, though with some surprise, accepted by the Whispered One. "In all my years and years, I've never had a whole person a secret before..." A portal into a dark room with pinpoints of green light inside opens, and all he has to do is step through, and Rothwin will be given the power to re-cast Wish to bend the world back to the way it was-... While having fixed that which can be fixed. There's a bit of devolving back into Philosophy here, people trying to stop him or suggest simpler secrets, but knowing this might lead anywhere except causing more stress and the risk of him chickening out, Eugene steps through the portal.

Cassie, who had been watching him intently since the deal was proposed, gives the world's smallest "...wait" at the exact moment it's too late. Rothwin is given a green glowing rune, and casts Wish again.

The party wakes up right where they left off before all this happened, with no memory of what transpired. Eugene seems no worse for wear, and has gone back to accidentally persecuting the local introverts. Tasher washes up on the beach where we scattered his ashes, remembering only the other world and feeling a compulsion to seek out the place where we might be going next, and the devil we fought... Is present on the material plane again, somewhere.

So yeah. The man can’t go one timeline without yeeting himself headfirst into shady eldritch nonsense in a bid to find a Third Option. But this time having fixed the problems he created by all the previous times he’s done it. RIP good!Eugene, you were too pure to exist without the universe breaking. This is absolutely going to come back to bite me in the ass and I have no idea how my DM will have it do so.

#hey why did the readmore screw up? the readmore should be lower #damn it tumblr #it refuses to let me change this #anyway long post ahead #my posts #anonymous #answered #Eugene Riverworth #should tag the campaign at some point

[thecomicsnexus]

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ADVENTURES #28-30 JANUARY - MARCH 1992 BY DEAN CLARRAIN (STEVEN MURPHY), CHRIS ALLAN, BRIAN THOMAS, JON D’AGOSTINO, ROD OLLERENSHAW AND BARRY GROSSMAN

SYNOPSIS (FROM COMIC VINE)

The issue opens with Splinter teaching the Turtles about Japanese mythology, where a male god named Izanagi is accompanied by a female god named Izanami, who watches as the male removes his eyes and creates the sun and the moon with them. Together, the two formed the Japanese islands.

The TMNT, Master Splinter and April have stowed away on a plane headed for the Land of the Rising Son. Leonardo asks April to reiterate her tale, and the reporter reluctantly agrees. O'Neil explains that she had been in Chinatown when she ran into Fu Sheng and Chu Hsi, and soon after ninjas had shown up and kidnapped Fu Sheng. Chu changed into the form of the Dragon and fought the ninjas, but they used a powder to knock him out and revert him to his human form - and then they took off with both Chu and Fu.

April and Splinter then began investigating Chinatown looking for clues, and eventually found some thugs involved in the kidnapping. When they began questioning one of the villains, strange ninjas dressed in white attacked them. April was shocked to discover that when the white ninjas were dealt a severe blow, they dissipated into a sorcerous vapor. After defeating the strange ninjas, the thug told April and the Sensei that Chu Hsi and Fu Sheng had been taken to Hiroshima, Japan. Just as her tale concludes, the plane begins its descent to the Japanese city.

Meanwhile, we see a youthful Japanese girl kidnapped by some ninjas garbed in black, who take her to a secret warehouse headquarters near the ocean. There, she meets a new villain, wearing a Samurai mask and calling himself Chien Khan. Khan states that the girl's soul will serve them well, when Fu Sheng interrupts and states that it is his soul that they seek. We then see that Chu is lying unconscious on a table, and Chien Khan states that he desires neither the old man's nor the young girl's soul - but that of the Warrior Dragon that resides in Chu Hsi - and he intends to get it, with the assistance of Fu!

Meanwhile, the TMNT and April scam their way out of a jam at the airport by convincing the securtity guards that they're American actors in costume. One of the guards recognizes April as a famous reporter and escorts our heroes to their "limousine." As soon as possible, everyone ducks into a sewer. Splinter announces that they'll need to look for clues topside once night falls, and the group heads to the east under the Sensei's orders. The TMNT are surprised to find that the sewers are newer than those of NYC, since they thought the Japanese city was older than their home, and Splinter explains that everything had to be rebuilt after the city was almost completely destroyed during World War II.

As they transverse the sewer, the group stumbles into a group of young men, who do not take kindly to the presence of our protagonists. Splinter attempts to negotiate a peaceful meeting...

Back at the docks, Chien Khan revels in his opportunity to appropriate the soul of the Warrior Dragon. The villain demands that Fu assist him and the old man refuses - until Khan threatens to kill the girl.

Unfortunately for the Turtles, as they try to negotiate safe passage through the sewer, a group of black-grabed ninjas attack the youths. Having started the fight, the ninja retreat to leave the battle to be fought between the TMNT and the young men, who think that the Turtles are "oni" (demons). The TMNT win the fight and move on, as there's no sight of the ninjas who had begun the struggle. Splinter states that they will go to the Peace Memorial at the heart of Hiroshima - the Sensei's comments are overheard by one of the ninjas, and he retreats to Chien Khan's headquarters and tells him the news. Khan tells Fu Sheng that his friends have arrived to try to help him - so the masked villain sends his most trusted warrior to defeat the Turtles - the fox named Ninjara.

The second issue begins with Master Splinter recounting his first hand experience witnessing the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima back in 1945 (Note: TMNT Adventures utilizes the same origin for Splinter that was used in the cartoon, in that he was once a man named Hamato Yoshi as opposed to being the pet rat of Yoshi, as he was in the original comic book from Mirage). Our heroes have arrived at the Industrial Exhibition Hall, one of the few structures that withstood the force of the blast. It has been left in its decimated state to remind everyone of the horrors of war. Splinter reveals that this is the first time that he has seen the building since that fateful day in 1945.

The Sensei is interrupted as Ninjara arrives on the scene and a battle erupts between the TMNT and her sorcerous white ninja forces.

Back at the docks, Fu Sheng agrees to help Chien Khan if he promises not to harm the girl. The Khan agrees and then states that it has taken Ninjara many years to steal all of the artificats required to perform the ritual.

The Turtles continue to battle Ninjara as Fu Sheng prepares the transformation powder for Khan. The Warrior Dragon is released and is now under the control of Chien Khan, who sends him on a mission.

The TMNT are fairing well in the battle when the Warrior Dragon arrives on the scene. The Turtles notice that something is wrong with their friednd, so they hop on board to see what he's up to. Ninjara also manages to climb onto the Dragon, as she threatens to cut out Raph's heart.

At the warehouse, Fu Sheng admonishes and uncaring Chien Khan for ordering the Dragon to destroy a nearby nuclear power plant and use its power to open a gateway to a world of demons.

Chien Khan negotiates with a demon lord named Noi Tai Dar. Khan offers the souls of all mankind to the hellspawn, as he seeks vengeance against humanity and wishes to see them destroyed. Noi Tai Dar states that if Chien Khan will open a doorway for him, he will see it done. To open the passage, Khan must sacrifice a life and the Warrior Dragon must unleash the power of the nuclear power plant.

Meanwhile, the Dragon, under the control of Khan, begins to destroy the nuclear power plant. The TMNT attack their friend to try to stop him, to no avail. Ninjara is enraged when she discovers that the Warrior Dragon has been ordered to destroy the power plant - she is disgusted that Chien Khan would allow more radiation to foul Japan considering the bombing in 1945.

Chien Khan prepares the young girl for sacrifice while the damaged nuclear power plant opens the gateway for the massive demon. The hellspawn attacks the Dragon, who comes to his senses after being blasted by a bolt of energy. The mighty Warrior is dismayed at what his actions have caused.

Master Splinter tries to meditate to find a solution to their enormous problem as the Warrior Dragon attacks the demon. The Sensei notes that he feels another great presence nearby...

Leo asks Ninjara what Chien Khan has planned, and she reveals that the summoning requires both a power source and a sacrifice. Apparently Khan hasn't performed the sacrifice yet, as Noi Tai Dar is still tied to his power source - but once Khan completes his part of the ritual, the demon will be free to destroy all humanity. Leo determines that since the demon is too powerful for them to fight, they must stop Khan from making his sacrifice. Ninjara states that his headquarters are far from where they are, and Leonardo tells her that gives them all the more reason to hurry.

Master Splinter stays in his meditative state, noting that the spirits are coming closer... behind him, two gigantic forms begin to appear in the sky... it's none other than the gods, Izanagi and Izanami!

Fu Sheng breaks free of his bounds and smashes into Chien Khan, preventing him from sacrificing the girl.

Izanagi blasts Noi Tai Dar with a beam of light from his eyes and destroys the demon.

Chien Khan's helmet is knocked off by Fu Sheng's attack - revealing Khan to be a dog-faced man! Chien punches a shocked Fu Sheng in the face and then returns to his sacrifice, but the TMNT and Ninjara arrive in time to stop him. Khan is livid and calls Ninjara a traitor before ordering his henchmen to kill our heroes - but the villains are no much for the Turtles and their new foxy ally. Suddenly, the roof of the building is ripped apart by the Warrior Dragon, who has returned to save his friend Fu Sheng. The old man is fine, but Chien uses the distraction to strike Ninjara and make his escape.

Raph helps Ninjara to her feet, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief for another hard fought victory.

REVIEW

This story could have been a lot better had the characters been consistent all along. I am talking, of course, about Ninjara. Now, I know people hated the character back in the day, but here I am, reading these issues for the first time.

It is hard to understand her motivations, she is part of an ancient race of foxes, that allied herself with a dog-man that wanted to use demon to destroy humanity... but because the way to bring the demon required nuclear pollution, all of a sudden she is not ok with that. WTF?

And she joins the good guys right away.

The rest is a story that is not exactly that great, but it offers some background on Hamato Yoshi. He lived in Hiroshima when the bomb hit.

I give this story a score of 6.

#peter laird #steve lavigne #chris allan #rod ollerenshaw #ken mitchroney #archie comics #comics #review #1992 #modern age #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles adventures #splinter #ninjara

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 3: Apdnarg is Really Hard to Spell

 Yo guys, people are getting vaccinated, the sun is parting through the clouds, and I felt so nice that I even stopped listening to quite so many throwback 00′s BTS mashups (and yet I keep clicking on these dissonant catastrophes thinking “this time it’s got to be better. This time they’ll figure it out.” and like, no. Turns out you can’t match Brittany’s Toxic with BTS’ Black Swan. You can’t do that.)

This must be a sign that things are getting better. If anything, it means my personal tastes are improving. I mean I only clicked on like 3 “Dark Academia” Playlists where I could pretend I’m some sort of spooky witch in an abandoned library with a bad music player and basic taste in classical music (like can we ban Satie from Youtube for a little while?). Hell, I might even do a prompt update to this blog!

Yeah, you heard me, I’m actually going to stay ahead of the update schedule for Yugioh Abridged (maybe. I haven’t actually watched cuz of spoilers, I just noticed the thumbnail pop up on Youtube and was like “Damn it, they came out of hiatus??? I got hurry UP.”)

Anyway, speaking of the sky parting.

I’ll have you know my bro said this is actually more like a circumcision and it was one of the worst thing I have ever heard.

We get a chance to take in this lineup of confusing and varied character designs, and Joey. who is...still Joey.

The animators probably had to hold a strike in order for them to put Yugi in the audience, lets be real. There are TOO MANY PEOPLE in this shot and one is wearing a turban where you draw every single wrap. I hope those artists charged by the line.

Tea has a subplot where she’s just very frustrated with everyone she knows. They have been traveling together for like many weeks and got trapped in a foreign country so I get it. But at the same time, it’s kind of hard to picture Tea with female friends.

Because right now you got this 12 year old child, the other duelist who does not care about anything besides cards, and Kaiba’s 3 dragon cards that we’ve all collectively decided are female.

Hell it’s almost like the writers are asking themselves why Tea is here. Maybe they forgot. There’s no more ghosts to bus, no more people to knock out with her ass with random Olympic feats. Tea’s just sidelining.

(read more under the cut)

Mokuba is a itty bit bit taller this season, and so I guess that means he can legally climb on top of the cherry picker in order to give a riveting speech.

Really says a lot about Mokuba that he is so unphased about talking to, I dunno...an entire planet of people. Kind of a shame we never see this courage from Mokuba used for anything other than talking really, really big and giving everyone around him a really hard time.

Mokuba takes a moment to dunk on Yugi Muto, as is Kaiba tradition.

And then introduce the first pair of duelists, which obviously must be between the few people in this tournament that we actually know and care about.

Thankfully, in between last episode and this episode, Yugi has figured out who his own Grandpa is. This is a relief, because Yugi is such a mess, that I was fully convinced it would take over half a season for him to recognize it. I mean how long did it take him to figure out he shares a body with a ghost? Like half a season?

Instead Yugi recovered gracefully from not recognizing his grandpa, but it’s not like he bothered to tell anyone else, so the rest of our cast is just gonna be like “Is he my hairdresser? The guy who delivers my mail? Who is this guy who made absolutely no significant changes to his outfit or voice?”

Like sometimes this show goes full Spongebob silly kid’s show and you never know when to take it seriously or not. They might be sacrificing the entire cast next episode. I really don’t know. But for now their big concern is who is grandpa??? Like an innocent card version of “Are you my Mother?”

Faced with public speaking, Yugi decides to have a melt down.

We have seen him face monsters, we’ve seen him on TV dozens of times, he’s been in multiple competitions...but give a speech? Of course he can’t do that. The kid doesn’t attend enough school to know how to do that. Them’s learning skills.

And that was when a newly assembled wife-jet spliced through the sky like a souped up razer scooter and deposited 1 fully equipped Seto Kaiba in a Buzz Lightyear jetsuit.

THE RECOVERY.

Seto always watching over his Brother, ready to save this awkward party if it kills him (and it really should, that suit is held together by two seat-belts), making sure to get on that platform before Yugi starts going off about how he’s half an Ancient Egyptian. (Ah, life before social media. You could just be hella famous and also half a dead dude and people would just not know. I kinda miss the time before I knew literally everything about everyone.)

Please admire how close those flames are to setting Mokuba’s heavily hairsprayed mane completely alight. It would be an unforgettable spectacle.

These were absolutely just random ass jet packs that Gozaburo Kaiba made to kill hell tons of people, right? Like Seto found it in the family cabin, clutched to the heart of some crispy fried corpse and was like “neat! Mokuba! I found a cool toy!” and just plucked that thing out of that skeleton’s clutches and has been flying around for months?

Like this is Seto Kaiba’s Butter Glider, right?

Seriously what type of vehicle license do you need for one of these things? RIP My ‘Seto only has a scooter license’ headcanon.

Which I’m only even thinking about because I’ve had to try and make an appt with the DMV for days to get a freakin REAL ID. I went to sleep in 2019 and I could fly on a plane. I woke up in 2021 and it’s like “Want one last screw you?” and just...can 2020 please stop screwing me over? It’s March.

Anyway, the Jet is removed soon after, so no, this is not part of his new outfit. He goes right back to his Post-S4-Trauma-Normcore.

After wrestling this competition out of his brother’s hands and confusing everyone in the audience, Roland must have gotten the memo to cut the microphone before Seto got too excited and we were quickly ushered on to the next stage of the tournament.

One sec...the BTS Mashup playlist I just clicked on did a Black Swan X 7 rings mashup and it’s the worst thing my ears have ever heard.

Holy crap. I had to actually turn down my volume. Like...Ariana Grande already has music that has way too many overlapping singing parts on it--and then lets just stick a 52-person boy band on top? That’ll fix it. Yeah. Go ahead.

Wow. Even I had to change the song and you know how much I enjoy pop culture mistakes.

Spot the Mickey but like a million times easier because it’s a Massive Dick Shaped Dragon.

Yep. That’s my grocery shopping outfit. Except maybe not a lab coat and a duel disk. Wish I had a duel disk, that would make social distancing just a hell ton earlier. Just a “Yo, only one person in checkout, please” and then bap them on the head with a propelled discuss/hologram.

Anyway, Grocery shopping/Doctor man dueled the Purple Hair Boy, and considering that Purple Hair got screen time and shook Yugi’s hand once--I think that Doctor man doesn’t stand a freakin chance.

Good. I hate him.

Also, every time he breathes he’s gonna fog up his glasses. I have experience in this area. He can’t read his own cards in the same way I can’t read my phone if I’m in the refrigerated aisle.

So the way this tournament works, is everyone has to sit in the stadium to watch the show. Kinda like showing up to a football stadium just to watch a recorded TV monitor...but then again...that is how it feels to watch a football game at a football stadium when it’s live (at least with the tickets I usually get.)

And as we watch Grandpa waiting for his competitor, we find out that his competitor (Joey) is too busy eating snacks to give him the time of day.

Why do cartoon hot dogs always have lettuce? Is that seriously supposed to be relish? Or is there a place in the world where you put lettuce on your hot dog?

Sorry, bro has just informed of his favorite hot dog order, which is absolutely terrible so I will share it with you: a Five Guys hot dog with ketchup, mustard, pickle relish, onions, mushrooms, pickled peppers, and you guessed it--topped with freakin lettuce.

My own kin. How am I over 30 and just finding out that my baby brother thinks it’s normal to walk into a restaurant with normal god-fearing law-abiding people and order lettuce and mushrooms on a hot dog?

I have fully failed him.

The rest of this episode is watching both Joey Wheeler and Mokuba have a shared panic attack while Seto does freakin nothing.

Please remember that Seto has both a jetpack and a dragon wife plane and could have easily solved this problem. But nah.

Then again, Seto Kaiba has given this crew so MANY rides, that maybe he’s tired of being the Soccer Mom for the team?

Like they don’t actually say this episode, but Seto was the one in charge of like...this entire place, do you think he made the 2 for 1 special just to get Joey where it hurts the most? Or does it actually not take any subterfuge to screw Joey Wheeler because he’s just naturally this way?

Like Mokuba wasn’t there when Joey was told “stay right here, and then we will all go together to fight Dartz” and Joey was like “I’mma save Mai from herself although she told me not to!” and then he Hella Died. But, Mokuba did see the result, AKA, Joey’s dead body being carried on the back of Tristan. Maybe Mokuba never realized that Joey died because he went out of his way to be late?

Lets do a tally of every time I can recall with my dodgy memory that Joey was threatened to be DQ’d/pretty much was DQ’d either by his own fault or no fault of his own

-When he wasn’t allowed to go on the boat to Murder Island because he was a stupid nobody kid who did not have a dueling glove

-When he wasn’t actually supposed to be in Pegasus’ tourney and was, in fact, secretly using half of Yugi’s entrance ticket the entire time

-when Bandit Keith stole the ticket that Joey got from Yugi so then Joey had to borrow Mai’s ticket although she had just used it so it really shouldn't have counted. Because, really anyone could have just piggy backed off of each other’s ticket until the whole boat went through that castle.

-When his account was hacked to get entered into Kaiba’s tourney when Kaiba very clearly told him he could not apply solely because he was Joey Wheeler.

-When he was late to his sister’s eye surgery because he got mugged by Marik’s Rare Hunters, so she almost refused to do the surgery.

-When Joey got possessed by Marik, and as Marik, threatened to murder everyone else in the tournament including both of the Kaiba brother’s who’s tournament it was, and then chained himself to Yugi Muto to throw both of them to the bottom of the ocean.

-I think there was a point when he threatened to attack Kaiba in Kaiba’s own tourney while not possessed? Like several times?

-when he got struck by Lightning and almost did not stand up fast enough after being struck by lightning, which is apparently a type of DQ in Duel Monsters.

-When he tried to save Mai from getting hit by a fireball, but then Yugi did it instead, and then so many people were standing on the dueling platform that Kaiba couldn’t possibly DQ them all.

-When he entered the restricted area of the blimp in order to hassle Kaiba into landing the Blimp, which Kaiba did not do.

-When Marik killed Joey before Joey could press the “go” button on his duel disk to play the card that should have won Joey the match.

-When he was dueling a lawyer in a digital universe but then the dice was like...weighted? So Noah had to walk over and be like “The hell is this weighted dice? This is my perfect digital world? How did you even do that?” and then Joey won because the match was no longer legit.

-When Joey yelled at Noah too much and so Noah turned Joey to stone for being a rude ass spectator

-When Mai was like “Wheeler and Valon, listen closely: do NOT murder each other” and then Joey did a murder on Valon so she was like “I guess I have no choice, I was very clear” and killed Joey straight up.

-When Joey decided to block Seto’s fireballs while Joey Wheeler WAS a playing card, somehow disrespecting both Dartz and Seto Kaiba at the same time.

-When Joey was playing cards but then got absorbed into a giant Leviathan and basically couldn’t play anymore after that.

-There’s probably hell ton of S0 stuff I just haven’t seen yet.

-This episode

And Joey runs fast for a montage of wacky things that really have no business being in a theme park. Things like this:

(remember when Bakura almost died from a rock that ended up being a balloon? It comes full circle.)

The stuff that the Kaiba brother’s think is normal and fun.

Anyway Joey fights off a bunch of hologram snakes and bats and everyone is like “Should we tell him it’s just holograms???” And it’s like wow, guys, how many times have these ‘holograms’ straight up murdered Joey Wheeler and everyone else on this cast? Too many? Because I have a google doc with so many deaths on it. 7,805,844,048, to be exact.

Anyway, he gets there with five seconds to spare and Mokuba’s like “well at least you were still entertaining while we filmed you in front of a live audience being a total spaz for 15 minutes straight, so I’ll let you go.”

Grandpa and Joey start playing, Joey completely oblivious that this is just an older Muto, while Hawkins walks up awkwardly and is like “hey guys. I’m so sorry about this.”

(welcome to my font choices, for those new here, I have to make weird font color choices to make sure it’s legible for the colorblind and also for the non-colorblind. This one is not much contrast, so I may change it up in the future, but for now, this is Grandpa Muto’s new font. I apologize to every graphic designer reading this. Please don’t tell anyone who has ever hired me for graphic design about this blog.)

What’s funny about this exchange is that after they find out that Yugi’s Grandpa is Apdnarg (HOLY my brain cannot get around the spelling for that, and I will not change it in the caps. I cannot do a ‘pdn’ ever again), they don’t stand on his side of the field or anything. Hawkins is legit Solomon Muto’s only fan during this exchange and like...damn. Way not to back your Grandpa, Yugi.

Yugi immediately strides up to Mokuba to non-confrontation-ally inform him that he has stepped over a line and Mokuba is like “what are these things you say called ‘lines?’”

According to Mokuba, Solomon Muto begged him to be in the competition so he could relive his glory days (glory days making no sense here, because the game has only been released for the past 15 years, so glory days is like...the before times that can only be referring to disgraced archeologists and Pegasus ((who is, in his own way...a disgraced archeologist, too))) and Mokuba was like

“You trained Yugi Muto, right? Hey that’s good enough for me. This drama is gold. People will eat it up. Hell yes. Don’t be afraid to abduct him a little bit. Maybe trap a couple people in a digital hellscape for a little while? Now we go by Pegasus house rules here, so fire as many lasers as you want, but just make sure not to hit anyone in the face. Oh man, we are going to be swimming in cash. Love it, Muto Sr, love it.”

But I dunno, I feel like Grandpa won’t make it past next episode. It is Joey. We kinda need him to make it past Ep 4 of the arc. If Grandpa Muto becomes the new Joey Wheeler, that will be a weird transition for this show to make.

But that’s all for today, as always, here is the link to read these in chrono order becuase there’s SO MANY that you don’t need to read backwards--don’t do it--just use the chrono tag (and I don’t know if you can add compound tags, but I did separate the Season from the Episode, so if you write S4, it should only pop up stuff from S4. I didn't’ do that to seasons 1-3 though because I just...didn’t.)

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

And because I brought it up: here it is, the best BTS Mashup that I found on my deep dive. Like legit--this one isn’t a mess:

Most of other ones are horrible in a fascinating way. Like I’m not even a BTS fan, I think I sort of age out of that metric, I’m just bored and quarantined. And lets be real, we all appreciate a good bop when we hear it.

#yugioh #ygo #yu gi oh #photo recap #recap #episode recap #yugi muto #seto kaiba #mokuba kaiba #Joey Wheeler #Apdnarg #Grandpa muto #tea gardner #tristan taylor #professor hawkins #and then I ranted about BTS #but please don't quiz me about BTS I know nothing about them aside from the music #I actually thought there were over 12 of them because every time I see them perform it feels like an entire stageplay production of people #like a 101 dalmations situation where every time I saw BTS there were 3 new people #I assumed it was like the Gorrilaz where people just show up and then disappear in a rotation #but no. There's 7 BTS members #that can't be right #there has to be more than 7 #is this a berenstein bears situation? #how is there only 7? #I swear there used to be like 16 #and they would be introduced like here's jimin and Jungkook and red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet and black and ochre and pea #like is google seriously telling me there's only 7 kids in this band? #this is the biggest scam google has ever played on me #this weird alternate timeline that not only has an epidemic but also only 7 members of BTS

[vorthosjay]

Let’s Talk About Chronicle of Bolas: Perspectives

The penultimate story for Chronicle of Bolas is here! Chronicle of Bolas: Perspectives gives us another glimpse into a Nicol-centric retelling of the history of the Elder Dragons, with some real meat on it’s bones to dive into. Yeah... I trust Ugin’s recounting of events better.

I’ve also got a note about the Let’s Talk About series going forward.

Nicol Bolas, the Arisen by Svetlin Velinov

I opened my wings to catch the air. Ugin may tell you that he and I were wrapped together like one creature, born together, falling together, minds waking together in bewilderment and curiosity. He may tell you that as we realized we were beings—minds—consciousnesses—that we unfolded together. Flew together.

But that is wrong.

I just want to quickly remind everyone that Bolas is full of crap, so he’s version of events should be taken with a grain of salt. I’m sure the events themselves happened but how they played out - and what Bolas leaves out - are highly suspect.

I beheld the majesty of the sun and the splendor of the heavens and understood the magnificence of my mind in those first instants. Then I recognized the curled-up creature falling helplessly beside me. Of course, my instinct was to help.

In case you were wondering how full of crap Bolas is, I doubt his first instinct was ever to help. Bolas is merely re-framing events to diminish Ugin and make himself look superior.

"Six?" Naiva asked. "Weren't there eight of you? Didn't two fall without waking? Didn't their bodies shatter atop the mountain?"

One of his foreclaws swatted down next to her, the impact shaking her off her feet. Her knees hit the ground hard. Pain stabbed tears into her eyes.

"Do not interrupt me again!" he thundered.

Lol, I think Bolas might be a wee insecure.

At last, I alone had the courage, and the hunger, to dare fold my wings and set my claws upon the ground. Of course, that momentous decision presaged all that was and is to come: my wings span the heavens, and my presence, my weight, my size, my claws, all these give me dominion over the earth and all that lives on the earth. So, I named our home Dominaria, because I claimed its song for myself.

Dominaria is actually named after Dominia, the old name of the multiverse (not typically called that anymore). Dominaria is the song of Dominia.

Again. Bolas. Crap. But hilariously in line with his character. I genuinely loved his retelling.

RAGE

How dare he have what I had not!

A white-hot spark kindled deep in my chest with a flash of such sunlit brightness that it blinded me. Impenetrable blackness filled my vision. Tumbling, I fell, totally disoriented, until with a gut-wrenching twist I righted myself.

This is very much Bolas. His spark ignited through anger, avarice and jealousy.

Notice the inconsistency in his story, though? He claims Ugin wasn’t a planeswalker until later... so why was he jealous of Ugin?

Only to find myself no longer atop the birth mountain but gliding over a boundless stretch of oceanic waters as flat and still as a mirror. I was the only thing in motion, my wings shadowing the sea's surface. There was no sun in this peculiar place, only the water and many craggy islets and a constant shushing whisper of secrets just out of my reach. By a faint humming vibration deep in my bones, I suspected this was not a plane but some manner of artificial construct, built by an unknown agent that had left neither claw nor footprint to mark its authorship. Who, or what, possessed so much power? And why had it been abandoned?

This is a cool lore tidbit! By now, my theory has borne out, this is the Meditation Realm (described as such later). But Bolas notes that it’s an artificial realm, not unlike Rath or Serra’s Realm.

Bubbles floated peaceably in the sky, drifting downward until they touched my scales and popped

With each pop, a sweet vista sprang open before me for a breathtaking moment before it vanished: other lands, other worlds, other planes.

This is new. I mean, we saw some of this with Naiva’s visions last time, but this is probably how Te Ju Ki knew of other planes, she’d reached the Meditation Realm through Meditation!

What wonders lay beyond the meager treasures of Dominaria! A hundred worlds I visited, and then a hundred more. Yet in all that time I found no trace of any other creature who could walk between worlds. I was the first among all sapient creatures to discover the possibility of traveling between planes. No wonder eternity and infinity welcomed me, having sojourned alone for so long!

Sure you were, Bolas. Sure you were. What’s interesting is he doesn’t think to describe what he does to those worlds.

There I found the wars between the elder dragons over long since. A tenuous peace had taken hold throughout much of the land. Of all the elder dragons and their children, only Chromium Rhuell, Arcades Sabboth, Palladia-Mors, and that vexatious beast Vaevictis Asmadi had survived.

If we take Bolas at his word, this is probably during the time of Legends, as Piru is unmentioned. Piru would probably be unmentioned regardless, or beneath Bolas’s notice, but if we’re taking it literally this is somewhere between -5,000 AR and 0 AR.

This also brings up some timing issues. If the Dominaria timeline is to be believed, we’ve skipped right over the Primevals, the Numena, and Bolas dueling the Demonic Leviathan (which should have happened shortly after Bolas became a planeswalker). I assume Bolas is editing his story for relevance, but it’s improtna

He regarded me with his usual patronizing superiority. "The battle you fled from, abandoning your troops? I gathered them under my wings. They were grateful for my protection, I assure you."

"Did you not see him, flying between our armies?" I demanded, utterly astonished by his obliviousness.

"You were not yourself that day, Bolas. No doubt you were seeing illusory things. You have always felt shame about Ugin's death, haven't you? Did you blame yourself for not protecting him? Or did you stand aside and allow him to be killed by some venomous sorcery? I've always wondered. I've always suspected you envied him because he was cleverer and wiser than you."

THIS is interesting. Why wouldn’t Arcades have seen Ugin? Even in Nicol Bolas’s story?

Is this Bolas attempting to diminish Arcades? Hmmm. Bears more thinking about.

But I was bigger than that. Much, much bigger. I was a Planeswalker, first and only one of my kind. To rule in Dominaria was all very well for a small-minded despot like Arcades, while I had grown as far beyond him as he was beyond pathetic, weak, short-lived humans.

I love that Bolas is unironically looking at Arcades like Ugin looked at him.

Also, I hope Arcades didn’t turn on his people. He’s the only one of the five to never get any characterization and that would be such a tragedy. More so than how they all die, anyway.

So, you may imagine my shock and my joy when I walked out of the blind eternities into the place I had come to call my Meditation Realm only to find Ugin there! He was floating atop the waters staring at himself as if he could imagine nothing better than to look at his own reflection.

HERE IS THE CONFIRMATION OF THE MEDITATION REALM!

He attacked, viciously and without warning, all raw fury and malignant resentment. I had no choice but to defend myself. First above the wide waters of the Meditation Realm and then on a wild pummeling path through the planes, we struggled for days, years, generations.

Okay, so obviously this is bullshit because this is not Ugin. The question is, what drove Ugin to this? Did he see the destruction his brother wrought across the Multiverse?

In the end, by diverse paths, we returned to the Meditation Realm. There, purely in self-defense, I killed him.

With a mighty splash, he fell into the still waters. The impact resounded like thunder. Monstrous waves rose from the displacement and swept across the craggy islets, crashing and destroying as they went. The waves ran on and on, washing far beyond the bounds of the Meditation Realm into the web of connection that links the planes themselves and maybe even into the blind eternities whose depths even dragons cannot plumb. The waves spilled out of the Meditation Realm as if Ugin's death had, like a weight dropped upon a ceramic bowl, broken cracks in the vessel itself.

The violence of the waves swept me out of the Meditation Realm. Like a cast spear, I was flung through ten or twenty or a hundred planes before I fell hard back into Dominaria, onto the island chain of Madara at a time when the memory of the Elder Dragon Wars had faded into legend. Bruised and stunned, I struggled to recover my strength, but recover it I did. Many battles lay before me, and I met them with ease.

Okay, so some questions here.

Did Bolas actually kill Ugin here? Was Ugin revived like Bolas was?

Did Ugin’s death collapse the Meditation Realm? When Bolas was killed in the Meditation Realm in the Legends II cycle, it did. And Bolas is spat back out on Madara. And if it did collapse, was it later restored for Legends II?

Is this before the Demonic Leviathan battle? Because we used to think that was the first planeswalker duel, but it might have just been the first one on Dominaria itself. Why did it spit Bolas back out on Madara? Was it because of the rift from the Demonic Leviathan battle?

I have so many questions about this battle that I really hope we get answers to next week.

Yet when she thought of the young ghostfire warrior, of his courage and sacrifice, a shudder passed through her frame and ripped a gash in her certainty. What would Tae Jin say when he learned she had handed over the great Yasova Dragonclaw to Nicol Bolas?

"Little Naiva, you mustn't believe I want to hurt Yasova. I want to help. That's all. Now go." His voice hardened. A pressure built in her head until she thought her skull would burst. "Now."

Kneeling, she pulled aside the fragment of broken hedron and crawled in. There, in the dim, stuffy confines of the space, Baishya lay as if asleep, breathing evenly. Grandmother sat cross-legged in mediation, eyes closed, left hand resting open on a thigh while her right hand grasped Baishya's bare fingers with an affectionate clasp. The gesture ate a hole of envy right through Naiva's heart. Grandmother had always preferred Baishya. She loved her more than she loved Naiva.

She would have to bodily haul Grandmother outside. But that could wait. Pulling her knife from its sheath, she pressed the blade against Baishya's vulnerable throat.

Where is Tae Jin in all of this? I wonder if the ghostfire warrior saves the day, shocking Naiva back to her senses.

Finally, I wanted to say that I’m going to be putting “Let’s Talk About” on indefinite hiatus following the conclusion of Chronicle of Bolas. “Indefinite” does not mean ‘cancelled’ in this context, just that I don’t know when I’m going to have time for it again.

I really appreciate everyone who has been a faithful reader, but I can’t sustain the amount of time and energy I put into it - almost as much as one of my biweekly articles! I’m moving next month and I genuinely don’t know if my new work situation will allow me the leeway to get these out every week around lunchtime. So overall, things are just up in the air.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop talking about the story week by week! Please continue to send me asks and I’ll try to clarify lore or give background whenever possible. It may just be in a much shorter format than this or as ask responses.

#vorthos #mtgm19 #archive trap blog #let's talk about

[11jj11]

Far From Yesterday - Ch 21 - Marissonshipping

Here’s chapter 21. :)

‘Hey, Alex...' A voice muttered in his ear, causing the Charmeleon to groan. He rolled over, shoving away the Pokemon nudging him. He only got a few moments of peace before he felt someone pawing at him once more. 'Alex, wake up!'

A silver eye cracked open, before it pressed closed once more. 'It's the middle of the night, Lucas,' Alex muttered, but the Electrike didn't stop. 'Just let me sleep...'

'But dude, you gotta wake up,' Lucas said, sounding both eager and on edge. 'The sky is all weird!'

'Well, when it's nighttime the sky gets all dark, you see...' Alex began, wincing as Lucas shot several sparks in his direction.

'Not funny! I'm not talking about nighttime– the sky is glowing all green!' Lucas exclaimed, and the Charmeleon stiffened up. Silver eyes shot open, the Charmeleon suddenly rolling to his feet, causing the Electrike to leap back.

Alex's eyes were wide, and he whipped his head up towards the small window of their enclosure. He told himself that this was just a mistake, he was just over reacting, Lucas had just probably saw a green light on a plane or something–

His heart skipped a beat as he stared through that small window though, fear filling his silver eyes. For a moment he couldn't move, staring up at the auroras flickering across the sky. The green lights danced, the sight almost hypnotizing, but it only filled the fire type with fear. He felt like a small Charmander again as he watched the lights.

'N-no...' Alex whispered.

'Pretty weird, isn't it?' Lucas said. 'Looks like lightning! But slow... and green... and yeah!'

'No!' Alex screeched, the shrill sound making Lucas scramble back as Alex leapt to his feet. Claws dug into the ground, his tail lashing as he stared up at the auroras– this had to be a dream– this couldn't be happening, not again.

'Um... Alex?' Lucas said uncertainly, but the Charmeleon had already scurried towards the hole they had been digging. Claws scratched at the soil, attempting to burrow even deeper. The Electrike watched him in confusion as he scraped at the dirt, but the earth was nearly rock beneath.

'N-no...' Alex whispered. 'It's back, it's b-back, it's back...'

'Dude?'

'The monster is back!' Alex cried, his whole body trembling. Memories flooded his mind, the terrifying moments that had been seared into his mind. The light from the auroras flared across their cell, causing the fire type to inch back. Tears stung his eyes, scales rattling as he stared up at the horrid sight.

'...You mean the lights?' Lucas asked uncertainly, glancing towards the window.

Alex swallowed, heart pounding as he tried to gather his racing thoughts. 'Th-they come from a monster...' He whispered, slowly climbing out of the hole with shaking limbs, and he began pacing the room. 'It must have followed her here... it followed her and now it's back,' Suddenly he froze up– eyes widening with fear. 'The baby!'

A new fear rose in Alex, one even more intense than when he had seen the lights. The baby... if the monster got near Mairin, if it took control of her again, then it wouldn't just be her at risk. The little baby growing within her... His thoughts turned towards his mother, and the egg that had been growing within her.

He couldn't let the monster take the life of another unborn child.

'...You said one of your pack mates was gravid, didn't you?' Lucas said, pawing at the ground, clearly not sure what to make of what was happening. 'The r-rest of your pack will be protecting her though, won't they...? That's what packs do...'

'I– she's not–' He began, flinching, and he closed his eyes. 'W-we need to get out of here,' Alex whispered, eyes sweeping their prison. 'Now.'

'Operation tunnel-out isn't going too well though,' Lucas said, glancing at their hole. It was about five feet deep and perhaps seven across, which was impressive on its own, but they simply hadn't been able to dig further. The ground was like rock, and it was only a matter of time until they hit the foundation of the building. Alex hissed at the hole, several cinders flying from his mouth.

'We need out of here,' Alex muttered, a growl rattling his throat, and Lucas inched back. He didn't give the Electrike any heed, forming a Dragon Pulse and launching it at the metal bars. They rattled slightly when struck, but held firm. 'We need out!'

'If we could break out of here we would have already done that,' Lucas said, pawing at the ground uncertainly, cringing as a silver-eyed glare was flashed his way. 'I thought tunneling would work but–'

'We're going to be carted off to fights if we don't get out of here!' Alex screamed at the top of his lungs, wheeling around to face him. 'Don't you get it?! They'll be pitting us in matches where one Pokemon won't be coming out alive! That's what'll happen if we don't get out of here!'

'Dude–'

'And if we don't get out of here now that monster is going to hurt my family!' Alex's cries rose to a roar, echoing throughout their prison. 'It took everything from me! My mother, my brother!' He started shaking, claws trembling. 'It's going to find Mairin again, it's going to hurt them again, and this time another innocent child will suffer! And I'm not losing my family again!'

Alex spun around, lowering his head and charging at the bars. He slammed his entire body against them, rattling against his weight. His scales ached from where he had crashed into the metal, and he stumbled back to charge again. Lucas watched him with wide eyes, the Electrike unsure of what to do as he watched his friend bash himself against the metal bars. Alex let out desperate cries with each charge, unrelenting as he slammed against them.

Tears stung his eyes, blurring his vision. They were going to get hurt again...

A whimper of pain escaped him as he slammed his body against the bars once more, but still they held firm.

I need to stop the monster...

Bruises formed along his scales, his desperation the only thing that kept him dragging himself around for another charge.

I need to protect the baby...

'Alex, you're hurting yourself,' Lucas whispered, taking a step forward, but still Alex threw himself at the bars. They creaked and shook, but yet they didn't even bend under his weight.

I... I need to... I need to protect Mairin...

A surge of energy washed over him as he lowered himself for another charge, a burst of light flaring up as he raced forward. The bright glow engulfed his whole form as he ran, his body humming with energy. He could feel himself growing with each step, body expanding as he rushed forward. His body swelled in size, neck stretching high out. Something burst free from his back, and he could feel his spikes and claws lengthening as he charged forward.

The sudden glow died down, and the newly evolved Charizard slammed into the bars.

The metal was as nearly unyielding as it had been before, barely even bending as a mass of muscle and scales slammed into it. But the hinges and screws that had been holding the bars to the wall had reached their limit– being torn right from the cement walls as Alex bashed into the metal bars.

Crash!

The bars were sent flying into the hallway, clattering against the ground as their enclosure was ripped open. Alex huffed, body shaking as he stared at the now-open entrance, blinking in surprise. His prison suddenly seemed much smaller, his head nearly scraping against the ceiling as he stood there. He shifted, his long neck craning far above the ground.

He could feel a ridge of spikes running down his neck, and two large... things were spread out across his back and sides. He shifted, the limbs unfamiliar to him as he instinctively folded them against his back. His tail was thick and muscular, a bright flame crackling at the end, and his claws curved to a deadly point.

He slumped against the wall, the sudden burst of energy from the evolution now gone. He pressed his head against the cool wall, a faint ache from his charges, but over all he felt unharmed. Something on him scraped against the wall as he shifted, and he lifted up a clawed hand to his head, frowning as he felt some-sort of crest right in front of his new twin horns.

'Woah...' An awed voice said from behind him. 'Dude, you look awesome...'

'I...' Alex said slowly. 'I evolved...?'

It was as if a stranger was speaking, his voice a deep rumble, and he couldn't help but flinch. He sounded strange, he felt strange... even everything looked strange. He twisted his head, his long neck making it so he didn't even have to move his body to look around. Lucas looked tiny– it felt as if one misstep would crush him!

'You look like a dragon,' Lucas decided after a moment. 'I've only seen one before– it was huge and blue! But you look like it!'

Alex's claws grasp the mega stone around his neck, the realization that he was now a Charizard settling in. Perhaps not a true dragon... but he was evolved. The goal that so many Pokemon looked forward too, and he was now here. He knew that he should be excited, happy... but he simply looked out into the hallway, closing his silver eyes.

'We got to get moving,' Alex said, taking a shaking step forward– and his wings instinctively flared open for balance. 'This may be our only chance to–'

Alex didn't get to finish his sentence, muttering a curse under his breath as he glanced down the hallway. Clearly slamming metal bars across the room didn't go unnoticed, as he could make out at least two human guards, and several Pokemon. The Charizard tensed, attempting to hiss, but a deep snarl rumbled out of his throat instead.

"...Um... I don't think that's a Charmeleon we have to deal with, Ross..." One of the guards muttered uncertainly.

Alex opened his maw, preparing a Dragon Pulse. The draconic energy filled his mouth in seconds, crackling as it grew. He released the attack, the burst of energy easily the most powerful Dragon Pulse he had ever unleashed. The twisting blue energy slammed into a Barbaracle, knocking it off of its feet. Silver eyes swept over the other Pokemon with the human, which was a Donphan.

'Come on!' Alex cried, turning and racing away in the opposite direction. He felt himself falling forward, arms reaching out to catch him. He tried not to think as he began running on all fours, simply letting instincts guide him through this new form. Lucas weaved between him, the much swifter Electrike taking the lead. They passed by other cages and enclosures, the Pokemon within either fast asleep or tiredly lifting their heads as they raced by.

'Eek!' Lucas cried, skittering to a halt as he rounded a corner. Alex craned his head around and found two more humans coming towards them– with a Seviper and Granbull accompanying them. His whole body tensed, knowing that these Pokemon would be trained to take on powerful Pokemon. 'N-now what?!'

He pushed himself onto his hind legs, claws curling as he thought of the lights dancing across the sky. Alex bared his teeth, a Fire Fang filling his maw. 'Get ready to fight– because I'm not going down quietly.'

Lucas shifted, before lowering himself into a charging position, electricity crackling around his body. A Spark formed around him, and with a howling bark he raced towards the humans coming towards them. Alex tensed, before whipping around and lashing out at the ones approaching them from behind. He sank his Fire Fang into the Donphan, lifting it up into the air and sending it flying back into one of the humans.

'For the pack!' Lucas howled, slamming into the Granbull.

'Trade me places!' Alex shouted as he watched the Barbaracle form a Razor Shell, knowing that the Electrike would do better if he had a type advantage. Lucas used a Quick Attack to avoid a Crunch from a Seviper, twisting and bolting to take on the other two humans.

The Charizard lashed out with his tail as the Seviper changed targets to him, knocking the Pokemon back. He released a Dragon Pulse at the Donphan, before turning to face the Seviper and Granbull– a Shadow Claw draped around both hands. He slashed the poison type across the face, before jabbing his claws into the Granbull's stomach. It took effort to guide this new form in a fight, but the power he held made up for any struggle with his movements– each strike he landed delivering a powerful blow.

The Granbull slammed a Thunder Punch into him, jolts of electricity winding up his body. The Seviper jabbed a Poison Tail into his gut, the blade-like end digging into his scales. Alex stumbled back, and one of the humans leveled a metal object at him, a blast echoing through the halls as a net was fired from it. Alex recoiled at the sound, stumbling and tripping over his new large form– and the net was fired over his head, engulfing the Donphan instead.

Lucas attempted a Fire Fang, a small burst of flames escaping his mouth, but it was of no threat to the Barbaracle. Snarling, the Electrike opted for a Thunder Fang instead, sinking his teeth into the Pokemon's arm. Alex slashed with a Shadow Claw at the nearest human, the raw force sending him flying back. A puff of smoke flared up from the Charizard's nostrils as he snorted, a deep growl rattling his throat.

He lashed out with his tail, catching the Granbull in the chest to keep him at bay. The Seviper hissed as it sprang at Alex once more, a powerful Wrap coiling around Alex's neck. He let out a gurgled cry as a Crunch sank into his shoulder, long fangs piercing right below a spike that jutted out from his wing joint. The Charizard stumbled back, attempting to tear the snake off from him.

"Keep 'im steady," One of the humans muttered as Alex struggled for air, one eye cracking open as he saw they were preparing to launch another net at him.

"Trike!" A voice snarled, Lucas speeding away from the Barbaracle towards the human, flames filling his mouth. "Elec!"

A Flamethrower poured from his throat– making the human leap back to avoid the rush of flames. The green Pokemon turned, electricity dancing between his teeth as he sprang towards the Charizard. The Electrike began to glow, the intensity of the light making Alex close his eyes as the Seviper coiled tighter around his throat.

"Sev!" The Seviper screamed in pain, his coils loosening around Alex as a Thunder Fang crunched into his back. Alex gasped for air, black spots dancing across his vision as he opened his eyes to watch a Manectric tear the snake off from him, the glow of evolution fading from around Lucas.

A Poison Tail was formed on the blade-like tail of the snake, but the Manectric simply used his newfound strength to swing the Seviper around, the attack hitting a charging Granbull instead. He released the Seviper, sending it flying, then fired a Flamethrower at the two Pokemon before they could recover.

Alex was down on all fours, bracing himself as he tried to rise. His wings hung open uselessly at his sides, lungs burning as they tried to recover the oxygen they had lost. Claws brushed against the mega stone on his neck, and the Charizard groaned as he forced himself to stand.

Lucas was standing in front of him, eyeing the several humans and Pokemon still standing. The Seviper had taken several brutal attacks, and the Donphan was still entangled in one of the nets. In the course of the fighting Alex and Lucas had managed to break through part of their ranks, so they were no longer surrounded– but they were still outnumbered. The Manectric glanced down the empty hall, then back at Alex.

'Go,' He said, lowering himself into a charging position as the others got ready to attack again. 'I'll hold them off.'

'Wha–' Alex began, his eyes widening. 'Wait, no, I'm not–!'

'If we both keep fighting they'll wear us out and more will come,' Lucas growled, sparks flickering across his yellow mane. His blue fur bristled as he built up an electric charge, shivering as the humans prepared to fire the net once more. 'Go, dude, while you have the chance.'

'I'm not leaving you!' Alex cried.

'Your pack needs you!' Lucas cried back. 'Go!'

He released a powerful Discharge as he called out, a wave of electricity rushing out from him. The Pokemon cringed as they were hit, while the humans let out cries of pain. Alex only hesitated for a moment, before remembering the auroras in the sky. He didn't have time to stay and fight– every moment here was another moment that monster was free. Gritting his teeth the Charizard turned, claws clattering against the cement floor as he charged down the hallway.

The Manectric let out a howl, engulfing himself in a Spark as he rushed towards their captors.

Alex's heart was pumping, eyes stinging as he raced forward. He knew what leaving Lucas here meant, knowing that the Manectric would be sold to the underground if he wasn't able to escape. He closed his eyes for a moment, before speeding around another corner, ignoring the other caged Pokemon that looked up at him.

Thank you, Lucas. Alex thought. I'll be back– I promise.

He could smell fresh air as he ran, the hallways getting wider as he continued on. His eyes scanned the room, looking for the exit, some way to get out of here. He barely even blinked when he saw two figures down the hall– backup just as Lucas had predicted. The human and Machoke looked unafraid as he ran right at them, running on all fours. He felt his wings on his back, remembering how his mother would use her own to strike with a Steel Wing.

He let them slide open, trying to imagine an energy surrounding them, trying to picture them glow with a metallic light. He could feel the limbs tingling, a faint glow covering his wings as he rushed at the ones blocking his path.

The Wing Attack flared to life, each wing glowing as he charged between the human and the Machoke, slashing at them with the attack. The force knocked them to the ground, allowing Alex to keep running. He rounded one more corner, not even pausing to see if they were standing to come after him. Hope surged within him as he saw a large metal door up ahead– the same door he had been through when he had been brought to this horrible place.

He lowered his head. He wasn't just a Charizard– but he had Tyranitar in his blood. He didn't allow himself to hesitate, stiffening as he forced himself to charge straight at the door.

Crash!

He bashed into the metal door, the force of his charge ripping it from the wall just like he had done with the bars. It was sent tumbling across the asphalt of the parking lot, the Charizard bursting out of his prison and into the night– stepping outside for the first time in ages. The cool air burned against his lungs, heart fluttering as he tasted the fresh air.

The moment didn't last– a mere glance up sending a rush of fear through him. He froze in his tracks– staring up at the sky with wide eyes. He had known that the auroras were there, he had seen them through the tiny window... but even that had been nothing compared to staring up at the wide open sky, the entire night blanketed in those horrifying green rays. An eerie silence filled the streets of Lumiose, only making the sight that much more frightening.

For a moment he felt like a little Charmander again, staring up at the Hoenn sky.

"There he is!" A voice shouted from the warehouse behind him, snapping Alex from his thoughts. He whipped his neck around, and could make out several figures rushing after him. His heart pounded– was Lucas okay? "Don't let it get away!"

He couldn't keep fighting them, he didn't have that time. He stared at them for a moment, before feeling a breeze rush by him. The newly evolved Charizard looked up at the sky, then down at his back. Twin spikes jutted out near shoulders, his two wings quivering in the wind. He raised them, for the first time stretching the limbs out to their full length. Wingtip to wingtip was easily as long as his new body, if not more. A feeling rushed through him, and he wasn't sure if it was fear or excitement.

He didn't listen to the calls behind him, simply lowering himself to the ground as he turned his gaze to the horrible green sky. His tail braced against the ground as his muscles tensed. His whole body coiled like a spring– before he leapt up into the air, wings flapping wildly as he threw himself towards the sky.

It wasn't just his wings or his leap that carried him upwards– he could feel the very air around him twisting, as if pulling him up. It was the same sensation he had felt when using Wing Attack, the same rush he had felt when he had evolved. It was more than just wings, but his flying typing bending the air about him to help him rush up towards the sky. He didn't even hear the cries of outrage from below– heart soaring as he realized he was flying.

In mere moments he was rising above the parking lot, wings working as he took himself higher. Soon he cleared the top of the buildings– the city and the streets below him, and the glowing sky above him. The moment was so surreal, so breathtaking– and for the first time in years he truly felt free.

But it wasn't a moment he could savor– his eyes locking on the auroras as he flew above the city. Something much more important was at risk, something much more valuable than flying through the sky. He angled his wings against the wind, not quite sure how he knew what to do, and began speeding across the city– eyes sweeping the streets below.

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

Alain suddenly jerked awake– heart pounding.

The faint cries of a Charizard faded from around him, his dream melting away as he found himself suddenly awake. He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, trying to take in his surroundings. He was sitting in the middle of his bed, not even under his covers, still in his day clothes. He glanced at the clock, the glowing numbers showing him it was the middle of the night.

It took him a moment for the events of the yesterday to rush into his mind, and he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. He wasn't quite sure when he had even fallen asleep, all he remembered was having paced his room as night fell... then nothing. All he could recall after that was the dream he had been having moments before he had woken up, Charizard crying out for him...

"Zah!"

Alain flinched as he heard the same cry again, eyes widening. It was painful how real it sounded, to hear the cries of the one who had been like a sister to him, and he had to tell himself that it was all in his head. He forced himself to stand up, his lights on since he had fallen asleep before turning them off. He wondered if that was what had awoken him, but that still didn't explain what had jerked him so suddenly out of his sleep.

He paused as he reached the for the light switch– the unmistakable swishing of wings making him stop. He glanced at the window, his curtains drawn shut, but he could make out the faint glow of the streetlights from outside. It wasn't unheard of for Pidgeys to fly about outside or for a Murkrow to linger at night, but the sound he had heard clearly came from something much larger. He hesitated for a moment, listening.

"Zah!" A desperate voice called from outside, and Alain went completely still, recognizing the sound right away.

The cries of the Charizard hadn't been from his dream.

His heart started racing, because the call sounded just like the Charizard he knew in his memories. He closed his eyes for a moment, reminding himself that wasn't possible. Still, he had heard the cry, and he didn't know why a Charizard would just be roaming the city. Swallowing nervously he made his way towards the window, carefully listening, but heard nothing more.

He pulled the curtains back, before drawing up the blinds. As he slowly pulled the window open the first thing he noticed was the silence– no cars driving out on the road or the honking of horns. Even in the middle of the night the big city was usually teeming with life. Alain leaned his head out the window, trying to get a better view of the streets. A cool breeze was blowing, sending slight shivers racing down his arms.

"Zah!" A voice cried, and Alain's gaze flickered down to the creature standing outside the front of the lab.

The Charizard was looking up at him, breathing heavily, wings drooped at its sides. There was a red tint to its orange scales, its jagged gray underbelly quite different from any Charizard he had seen before. The fire type's appearance could only be described as intimidating– spines running down its neck, a crest sweeping over his head crowned by twin horns, and two sharp spikes jutting out from at his wing joints. Alain stared at the creature for a moment, freezing as a pair of familiar silver eyes met his.

"Zawah!" The Charizard cried, pointing upwards with its monstrous claws. Alain's eyes settled on the blue gem around the creature's neck, and his mouth went dry. "Zar!"

"A-alex?" Alain stuttered out, almost afraid to believe what he was saying. But there was no denying that those were the same eyes that had belonged to the Charmeleon, his mother's mega stone hanging around his neck. "How– what are you–?"

"Zah!" He screamed, stamping his feet. He looked up at Alain with a pleading gaze, desperation in his eyes. But Alain had yet to notice this, just staring at the Charizard with wide eyes. It wasn't until another rush of wind blew by, and a flicker of movement caught his eyes. His gaze shifted towards the front door of the lab, which was swinging in the wind– wide open.

"What on earth?" Alain whispered, narrowing his eyes.

Alex, tensing in frustration with being ignored, formed a Dragon Pulse in his maw– firing it skyward.

Alain flinched at the burst of light, instinctively glancing up as the attack faded. He went still as he finally saw what was the cause of Alex's panic, barely visible through the towering buildings that lined the road. The man's eyes widened as he stared up at the sky, every muscle freezing as he stared at the green auroras that flared across the night sky. For a moment he couldn't move, fear taking hold of him.

"Mairin!" Alain cried, shoving himself away from the window, scrambling towards the door of his room. He stumbled as he threw it open, charging down the hall. His heart hammered in his chest, the image of the open front door playing in his mind. His heart became heavy as he found Mairin's bedroom door open as well, food scattered across the floor... "Mairin!"

He was panting by the time he reached her doorway– her room and bed empty. A wave of fear crashed over him, the green lights from the auroras tauntingly lighting up her room. This scene was all too familiar to him, this fear all too real...

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

"Alain!" Bonnie's voice cried, shaking his tent and Max's tent. "Alain! Max! Wake up!"

He groaned as he was pulled out of his sleep, the small Charmander sleeping next to him curling up tighter. The young man sat up in his sleeping bag, glancing to his side as he watched Max fumble for his glasses. The tent door unzipped open– revealing a panicked Bonnie, Floette, Quilladin, Dedenne, and Frogadier. The Pokemon were making panicked noises, while Bonnie crawled into the boys' tent.

"What's going on?" Max muttered, a Mightyena curled up at his feet giving a toothy yawn. Alain picked up the Charmander at his side, trying to get the young Pokemon to fall back asleep.

"Mairin's gone again!" Bonnie said, blue eyes lit with panic. "Tent door left open, she's not in sight, but her tracks are headed east," She paused for a moment, swallowing. "A-also that Absol is back, it woke me up and, and the sky is–"

She didn't get to finish her sentence, Alain springing to his feet the moment he heard Mairin was missing. He clutched Alex close to his chest, shoving Bonnie aside as he headed out into the night. The small Charmander curiously glanced upwards, before tugging on his shirt. Alain ignore this, along with the cries of the other Pokemon, heading straight for the girls' tent.

Empty sleeping bags greeted his eyes, an eerie white figure sitting in the middle of the tent. Alain froze up as his icy gaze met a pair of ruby eyes, the Absol that had been stalking Mairin silently watching him. He stiffened up at the creature– the one that always showed up whenever Mairin sleepwalked.

"Where is she?" Alain growled at the Absol.

"Sol," The creature said, standing up and trotting towards him. Alain pulled back, and the dark type slipped out of the tent, looking towards the east, before glancing back at Alain. He didn't want to shove the blame into the Pokemon, but ever since it had shown up Mairin had been reacting strangely. Headaches, being nearly impossible to wake up, and of course the sleepwalking...

"See!" Bonnie said. "Northern lights!"

Alain looked skyward as Bonnie spoke, for a moment there was nothing but stars in the sky, before a wave of green rushed across it. Humans and Pokemon stared up at the sky, watching as the auroras flickered across the clear sky before fading away. There was silence for a moment, before they flared up once more.

"Aurora borealis?" Alain muttered in confusion. "This far south? That's not possible–"

"Those aren't the northern lights," Max said, who had joined them outside. His eyes were wide, looking much more alert than he had a few minutes ago. He quickly jumped back into the tent, dragging his bag towards them. "Those... those were made by a Pokemon."

Bonnie frowned, nervously glancing at the Absol as it pulled up to her side. "I know the Amaura line can creature auroras and stuff, but those are small and locate, they can't cover the sky like that–"

"I don't care what's causing them," Alain growled, kneeling down and grabbing his shoes. "We need to go after Mairin– nocturnal Pokemon can be territorial!"

Alex had slunk up onto his shoulder, the Charmander staring up at the auroras with awe. The little fire type giggled, reaching up with his claws. The other Pokemon let out cries of agreement with Alain, while the Absol merely looked east– where more lights could be seen. Bonnie went to grab her shoes as well, slipping her backpack over her shoulders.

"Y-yeah," Bonnie said. "Didn't you say there were Cacturne on route 111, Max? That's where her tracks are heading!"

Max stumbled out of the tent, a tablet in his hands, eyes flickering across the screen. He had his Pokebelt slipped over one arm, a look of nervous awe on his face as he looked down at the screen. "Cacturne shouldn't be our worry tonight," He muttered, then he glanced at the lights. "I think we're dealing with something much stronger."

"All the more reason to find Mairin," Alain muttered, barely listening to his words. He quickly took off in the direction where the tracks lead, the Pokemon at his heels. He shot a glare at the Absol, but she gave no movement to leave their group, and finally with a sigh Alain looked at Max's Mightyena. "Track her down– like you usually do."

His voice was tense, but the Pokemon seemed to realize the frustration wasn't directed at him. The canine sniffed at the tracks, trotting ahead of the group as he tried to gather Mairin's scent. Max and Bonnie were quickly following after them, trying to keep up with Alain's strides.

"The knight needs to go rescue his princess," Bonnie said with a giggle.

"Now's not the time for jokes!" Alain snapped– ever since Mairin had nearly slept walked into a lake he refused to take her wanderings lightly. There was set determination in his eyes, one hand wrapped around one of his Pokeballs. "We need to find Mairin!"

"Come on Alain," Bonnie said, grinning. "We both know you like her– just admit it."

Alain said nothing, simply following Max's Mightyena towards the desert.

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

Alain shook himself from the memories, stumbling back in the hallway. The auroras were back, and Mairin was gone... the auroras were back, Mairin was gone...

He ran back to his room, fear coursing through his body. Last time there had been warnings, signs he promised himself he'd be ready for if that monster ever returned. But... but there had been nothing. Mairin hadn't slept walked in years, she had barely been sleeping at all! The only headaches she got were from when she lingered around psychic types for too long, but nothing to suggest that it was back...

But the auroras only proved that the Deoxys had returned.

"Sh-she's gone!" Alain cried, shaking as he turned back towards the window– only to jump back with he saw an orange shape staring right at him. Alex's silver eyes peered at him from the window, panicked whimpers coming from the giant Charizard. He shakily stumbled towards the window and found that the fire type had climbed up to the second story window, claws digging into the side of the lab.

"Zah!" Alex cried.

"M-mairin's gone," Alain whispered, breathing becoming ragged. "She'd gone and I didn't– agh!"

Alex had stuck his long neck through the window, mouth opening as he reached for Alain. Sharp fangs pierced the back of his shirt, careful to avoid his skin, and Alex began to drag him towards the window. Alain struggled against the lizard, but the fire type was easily stronger than the human. A small yelp escaped Alain as he was dragged out the window– and suddenly he found himself dangling from the Charizard's mouth, just like a Skitty carrying its kitten.

"Al-alex...?" Alain said, his panic surging as he stared down at the fall below him if the lizard was to let out. His shirt was painfully cutting into his skin as Alex grasped it in his mouth. "Put me down–!"

Alex swung his neck around, tossing Alain up into the air, letting go of him. A cry of fear escaped him as he was thrown up, stomach twisting as he started falling– right onto Alex's back. He narrowly avoided the sharp spikes on his wing joints by inches, and one of the blunt spines on the lizard's neck hit him in the chest.

"Ow," Alain gasped, one hand grabbing the where he had been hit, the other lashing around Alex's neck to keep him from sliding off. "Wh-what are you doing– you're covered in spikes you just can't throw me like that–!"

Alex glanced back to make sure Alain was secure, before sniffing the air. The lizard then began climbing up the side of the building farther, claws digging into the walls of the lab. Alain let out a yelp, grabbing the nearest spine with his other hand to keep him in place. He was grateful for the Charizard's rough scales, giving him some traction to keep him from falling to the ground. He swallowed nervously, glancing up at the aurora-covered sky as the lizard only climbed higher.

The Charizard let out a snort as he reached the roof, while Alain let out a sigh of relief as Alex leveled out on the top of the lab– Alain no longer clinging vertically to his back. The night was still frightening silent as Alex scurried to the edge of the roof, hooked claws keeping him from sliding off. The wind felt even stronger from up here, and Alain shivered as they looked out over the city, one hand grabbing the key stone around his neck.

"N-now what?" Alain whispered.

Alex unfurled his wings.

Alain's eyes widened. "W-wait you're not thinking of–" The lizard tensed, crouching. "–You've never carried a passenger before–" Alex didn't seem to be listening, down on all fours as he prepared to jump. "–We're three stories up–!"

The Charizard leapt off the roof, and Alain closed his eyes, praying to whatever legendary was listening.

Large wings began flapping, catching a breeze that took them into the air. The lizard gave a proud rumble as he rose up into the sky, wings working to keep them up. Alain slowly opened his eyes when he realized they weren't falling, and found that the were racing above Lumiose City. A stillness came over him as he flew on the back of the Charizard, memories filling his mind...

"Zar," Alex rumbled, eyes locking on the auroras overhead.

Alain's hands tightened on Alex's spine. "...Can you take me to Mairin?"

"Zah!" The Charizard gave a single nod, slowly turning towards where the auroras were the brightest. A sense of dread washed over Alain as he saw those bright lights, Alex angling himself towards the west. He steadily flew on, the fear in Alain growing as he found that the auroras were coming from outside the city– from route 13.

The Lumiose badlands– Kalos' desert.

Alain swallowed. "We're coming, Mairin."

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

The first thing Mairin noticed was the sand.

She shivered, hating the gritty feeling of the grains between her bare feet, the chill of the desert night making her shiver. She wrapped her arms around herself, a yawn escaping her as she slowly began to awaken. She felt far from rested, feet and legs aching as if she had just been running. She weakly flexed her toes, a frown coming over her face.

She shifted her arms, eyes widening in confusion as she found herself in control of her body. She had so many dreams about the desert– but never once had she been able to have control over what she did. What she had seen were always memories, what happened already set in stone.

So why could she move now?

She looked around– nothing looked out of place from her dreams. The auroras filled sky, the chill of the night, the desert around her... she frowned as she looked around though, beginning to notice that things weren't normally how they were in the dreams.

There was a red tinge to the sand, the grains not the tan like she was used to viewing in her dreams. And unlike the star-filled sky that was covered with auroras there was only a few stars in this sky tonight, a faint glow on the horizon showing that a city wasn't far. The auroras flared out with an intensity that she hadn't seen before in her dreams.

She slowly stumbled back, the realization that this wasn't a dream washing over her.

Everything hurt– her wounds, her legs, her heart. She didn't know how she had gotten here, and her limbs trembled in hunger. She stiffened up as she saw a shadow fall over her– and she quickly whipped around. Her eyes widened as she stared up at the figure hovering above her, empty eyes watching her.

She recognized the creature right away from the picture she had seen– the sight of the alien making her freeze up. The Deoxys slowly landed on the sand, silent as she stared at her with unblinking black eyes. Vivid red skin was highlighted with neon green marks, a gem of the same color embedded into its chest. The creature didn't make a sound as Mairin let out a small gasp, her body feeding her a fear her mind did not know.

She didn't remember seeing this creature, but yet her mind knew she had seen it before. She stumbled back several steps, shaking in fear. Even though no picture had been present in her folder, she instantly knew that this Deoxys was the same one it had spoken of.

The Pokemon was unmoving save for its arms, coiled and unnatural, swaying in the desert night. A slight frown tugged at Mairin's face, instantly noticing that one of its foreign arms was shorter than the other– ends blackened as if it had been burnt away. The creature glanced down at the limb as it noticed Mairin staring, before looking back at her.

She scrambled back, knowing she needed to get away from this creature.

#marissonshipping #alain #mairin #alex #my fics #visitor the deoxys

[liesandarbor]

A Falling Star in Westeros Pt II: Analyzing Ashara Dayne

A Falling Star in Westeros

Part II of V in a collection of writings regarding the mysterious and ‘late’ Ashara Dayne, her potential effect on narrative, and compelling arguments for and against her fate. Part II deconstructs popular -  yet unlikely - theories surrounding Ashara's fate, and, while not as thorough as Part I, lays groundwork for future parts of the series.

Ashara Dayne by Bellabergolts

Tower of Joy: a Conspiracy

Ned's wraiths moved up beside him, with shadow swords in hand. They were seven against three.

"And now it begins," said Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. He unsheathed Dawn and held it with both hands. The blade was pale as milkglass, alive with light.

"No," Ned said with sadness in his voice. "Now it ends." As they came together in a rush of steel and shadow, he could hear Lyanna screaming. "Eddard!" she called. A storm of rose petals blew across a blood-streaked sky, as blue as the eyes of death.

-Eddard X, AGOT

Readers are left puzzled by George RR Martin’s remarkably vague accounts of Robert’s Rebellion. Whether the fever dream retelling of the Tower of Joy in Eddard X, or missing birth timestamps, everything has been left deliberately unfinished, leaving room for major speculation. Martin’s tight-lipped nature on the Rebellion even transcends into what HBO adapts:

We're not doing Robert's Rebellion either. I know thousands of you want that, I know there's a petition... but by the time I finish writing A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, you will know every important thing that happened in Robert's Rebellion. There would be no surprises or revelations left in such a show, just the acting out of conflicts whose resolutions you already know. That's not a story I want to tell just now; it would feel too much like a twice-told tale.

(Notablog, 5/14/17)

The Rebellion changed how war was waged in Westeros, destroyed relationships, and scarred our main characters in the process - both physically and emotionally  (promise me/the tolling of the bells/Jaime, my name’s Jaime). While Martin’s exposition throws us in the shoes of main characters (a brother and a girl dying in a bed of blood, a melancholy but noble prince, the ever-paranoid king, a man at war to bring his betrothed home to him, independence from the crown), we are reminded of what the ‘Game of Thrones’ is about: power, money, land, and control. Smallfolk fought for their homes against rebels (Gulltown, Summerhall, the Reach), many dragged into war for lords they had no reason to respect.  The suffering was on a different plane than ever before, and not just for the high lords.

The Rebellion wasn’t necessarily about Rhaegar leaving his wife to get his rocks off with a Northern girl.  In fact, the Northern girl was merely a blip - whether prophecy, lust, romance, or fate - in the middle of a bigger plan.  With Tywin Lannister financially backing Rhaegar at every turn (The Fall of the Dragons: the Year of the False Spring, TWOIAF), and Rhaegar ready to depose his paranoid, cruel father from the throne, tensions were at an all time high throughout the kingdom.  Add insulting the North, Dorne, and someone with an influential social network - and big ‘ol warhammer - and you have a mess on your hands.

Other essayists have more than explored pre-ASOIAF plots and politics in depth. Whether you’re reading the so-gripping-it’s-almost-dubious Harrenhal Conspiracies by Reddit user U/KingLittleFinger, the impeccably thorough Southron Ambitions by Stefan Sasse, or the illustrious Rescue at the Crossroads by Lady Gwynhyfvar, these compelling pieces highlight one similar train of thought: there’s information about this Rebellion that we, as readers, are missing.

Martyn Cassel had perished with the rest. Ned had pulled the tower down afterward, and used its bloody stones to build eight cairns upon the ridge. It was said that Rhaegar had named that place the tower of joy, but for Ned it was a bitter memory. They had been seven against three, yet only two had lived to ride away; Eddard Stark himself and the little crannogman, Howland Reed. He did not think it omened well that he should dream that dream again after so many years. -Eddard X, AGOT

Ned remembered the way she had smiled then, how tightly her fingers had clutched his as she gave up her hold on life, the rose petals spilling from her palm, dead and black. After that he remembered nothing. They had found him still holding her body, silent with grief. The little crannogman, Howland Reed, had taken her hand from his. Ned could recall none of it. "I bring her flowers when I can," he said. "Lyanna was … fond of flowers."

-Eddard I, AGOT   

Eight cairns stand in the blazing heat of Dornish mountains.  A small crannogman and a silent, grief-stricken man built them, after defeating three Kingsguard members, emerging the final surviving combatants out of the eight “dead”.  How long would it take a semi-catatonic, grieving man to pull down that tower?  Days? Weeks?  Did Ned Stark suddenly snag a +3 in Masonry while we weren’t paying attention? These two men - and whoever ‘they’ were - lugged the body of a dead sister, a newborn baby, a wet nurse , and an ancestral sword southwest to Starfall, following their weary hearts out of the mountains to return north; to return home. Not a single body’s bones returned to their families: not Arthur Dayne, Oswell Whent, Gerold Hightower, Willam Dustin, Ethan Glover, Theo Wull, Martyn Cassel, or Mark Ryswell.  

Rejoining the current narrative, the state of Westeros reads mostly as ‘everything has been swept under the rug, and everyone is pretending nothing happened.’ Ned hasn’t seen Robert Baratheon in nine years, or Howland Reed in fifteen; he hides in his winter fortress, safe within PTSD encrusted walls.  Every loose end from the Rebellion tucked behind Winterfell’s gates, threatening to spill out at any moment.

Why did Benjen join the Night's Watch? Good question. One day you will get an answer. But it will not be today.

-SSM

If the only other Tower of Joy survivor was Howland Reed - and no one has seen him in years - the weight of hiding Lyanna’s dragonspawn becomes far easier to manage. But we know that’s not the case. They weren’t the only ones carrying the knowledge of Jon Snow’s parentage - they couldn’t be.  

With indefinite language like “they found him still holding her body”, and conflicting stories, like Edric Dayne’s Dornish milk-brother story ("Brother?" Arya did not understand. "But you're from Dorne. How could you and Jon be blood?" "Milk brothers. Not blood. My lady mother had no milk when I was little, so Wylla had to nurse me." Arya VIII, ASOS), we’re sideswiped with waves of mystery.

Stark returns home with a baby on his hip, quite obviously carrying the family genes, and his younger brother immediately signs up for a life of celibacy in a freezing tundra (SSM).  Three kingsguard are placed in the mountains of Dorne, with the knowledge that what they are guarding is worth more than their lives. House Dayne sends their own serving woman, Wylla, to the tend the tower. Ashara plunges from the Palestone Sword Tower as the Rebellion ends, her body conveniently never found (SSM).   Martin has even hinted the Reed children “might know something about it” (SSM), something backed up by Bran II, ASOS.  The question is no longer ‘what happened in that tower?’ - it’s what created that tower? What actions put our leading lady in this tower, and why?

Compelling Arguments against Ashara Dayne as other “Popular Theories”

Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me –   The Carriage held but just Ourselves –   And Immortality. - Emily Dickinson

The shadow cast by Lyanna and Rhaegar’s romance found many agency-deprived Rebellion ladies meeting their doom.  Often called “The Dead Ladies Club” by members of the fandom (commonly coined by JoannaLannister), we rifle through pages of women led to slaughter by the same societal standards that they’re told will nourish them.  While not the leading, love interest, Ashara Dayne encompasses the “lady-in-purple” idea; a sexualized enigma.  Ashara’s reintroduction furthers her importance, the reader glimpsing her through Catelyn, Arya and Barristan chapters.

As far as dead ladies go, Lyanna Stark clocks in at a whopping twenty-six mentions by name in AGOT, while Ashara Dayne bottoms a lowly ten for the entire series.  Does that ten look small? Of course. But the consistent spacing of that ten serves as an important reminder: Ashara Dayne’s mystery still lies in the ocean, unresolved.

The game of Telephone surrounding Ashara’s fate warrants questioning.  Characters hiding post-Rebellion are constantly being introduced to the story, and each page begs: what reveal comes next?  

It’s not enough to ask “why” Ashara would be in hiding to justify some of the crazier theories.  Isolating her arc helps us closely examine the mystery at hand, balancing theories by what adds depth to her story.

If Ashara fakes her death, as popular theories tend to offer, there are many interesting ideas about her fate - but many tend to fail under a microscope.

Justice for Elia

Yet sometimes Dany would picture the way it had been, so often had her brother told her the stories. The midnight flight to Dragonstone, moonlight shimmering on the ship's black sails. Her brother Rhaegar battling the Usurper in the bloody waters of the Trident and dying for the woman he loved. The sack of King's Landing by the ones Viserys called the Usurper's dogs, the lords Lannister and Stark. Princess Elia of Dorne pleading for mercy as Rhaegar's heir was ripped from her breast and murdered before her eyes. The polished skulls of the last dragons staring down sightlessly from the walls of the throne room while the Kingslayer opened Father's throat with a golden sword. -Daenerys I, AGOT

One dark day in 283 AC, Elia Martell of Dorne learned that monsters were real. As family and life were ripped from her arms, one thing was certain: Dorne would not forgive the parties involved until Justice was served.  From ASOS on, we are introduced to the Justice For Elia plot, and as we travel along, the plot thickens - as it tends to.  A long-thought dead exiled Lord and a ragtag crew of Rebellion Nobodies turns up, advocating for what seems to be the lost son of Rhaegar and Elia, Aegon Targaryen.

The Soiled Septa

There was something wonderfully wicked about the thought of peeling the septa out of those chaste white robes and spreading her legs. Innocence despoiled, he thought … though Lemore was not near as innocent as she appeared. She had stretch marks on her belly that could only have come from childbirth.

-Tyrion IV, ADWD

At the surface, Ashara Dayne as Septa Lemore is an easy fit.  A group of B-List Rebellion members emerge from the depths of the story, embarking on a journey to enthrone Rhaegar Targaryen’s suddenly-alive-son. A mysterious septa with long, dark hair and tactfully placed stretch marks ignite a spark in the reader.  “Wait! You said everyone is in hiding from the rebellion! This is the perfect place to find Ashara!” Readers wait with baited breath for a reveal in (fake!)Aegon’s camp, and they’re waiting for something that will never come.

Afterward, Nurse had Ser Jorah's chains fastened to a stake near the cookfire whilst he escorted the two dwarfs inside the master's pavilion and showed them where they would sleep, in a carpeted alcove separated from the main tent by walls of yellow silk. They would share this space with Yezzan's other treasures: a boy with twisted, hairy "goat legs," a two-headed girl out of Mantarys, a bearded woman, and a willowy creature called Sweets who dressed in moonstones and Myrish lace. "You are trying to decide if I'm a man or woman," Sweets said, when she was brought before the dwarfs. Then she lifted her skirts and showed them what was underneath. "I'm both, and master loves me best."A grotesquerie, Tyrion realized. Somewhere some god is laughing. "Lovely," he said to Sweets, who had purple hair and violet eyes, "but we were hoping to be the pretty ones for once."

-Tyrion X ADWD

Lemore is introduced through both Tyrion and Jon Connington. Tyrion spends a solid half of ADWD gushing about Valyrian Lore in his brain, and the other half feeling sorry for himself (and being a general drunken sack of crap). Given what we know about Tyrion’s obsession with old Valyria, and what we know about Ashara’s physique: why didn’t Tyrion mention Septa Lemore’s eyes?  ‘He’s distracted by her body,’ arguments arise, ‘he was already overwhelmed by the stretchmarks.’ Well, friends, those arguments are ridiculous.

When Lemore climbed back onto the deck, Tyrion savored the sight of water trickling between her breasts, her smooth skin glowing golden in the morning light. She was past forty, more handsome than pretty, but still easy on the eye. Being randy is the next best thing to being drunk, he decided. It made him feel as if he was still alive. "Did you see the turtle, Hugor?" the septa asked him, wringing water from her hair. "The big ridgeback?"

-Tyrion IV, ADWD

The most defining description of Ashara in eleven on-page mentions are her haunting (or laughing) violet eyes.  In Tyrion IV, Tyrion sees Young Griff’s eyes are a dark blue or purple in the dusk.  In Tyrion X, a few chapters after Lemore’s stretch marks appear, Tyrion makes note of a slave’s purple eyes.  Too easy to miss, and completely out of character for Tyrion to ignore.

The prince arrived to join them four days later, riding at the head of a column of a hundred horse, with three elephants lumbering in his rear. Lady Lemore was with him, garbed once more in the white robes of a septa. Before them went Ser Rolly Duckfield, a snow-white cloak streaming from his shoulders.

-The Lost Lord, ADWD

Prince Aegon Targaryen was not near as biddable as the boy Young Griff had been, however. The better part of an hour had passed before he finally turned up in the solar, with Duck at his side. "Lord Connington," he said, "I like your castle."

-The Griffin Reborn, ADWD

Tyrion isn’t the only POV with an affinity for purple eyes, either.  Connington turns attention to Young Griff’s eyes, reminiscing on Rhaegar’s deep purple set.

"Your father's lands are beautiful," he said. His silvery hair was blowing in the wind, and his eyes were a deep purple, darker than this boy's.

-The Griffin Reborn, ADWD

Yet Connington - one of Ashara’s famed tourney dance partners (Bran II, ASOS) - fails to mention that Lemore catches his eye in the same way. In fact, there is no mention of Lemore’s eye color in any of the chapters she appears in.

Were eye color not enough to dispel the Lemore/Ashara theory, age throws it where it belongs: in a trash can.  Tyrion guesses Lemore past forty - where Tyrion has misjudged age in ASOIAF before (“Tyrion sighed. "You are remarkably polite for a bastard, Snow. What you see is a dwarf. You are what, twelve?" "Fourteen," the boy said.” - Tyrion II, AGOT), one to two years is not a very drastic difference. Martin has stated Ashara would be in her thirties if alive (SSM) - to be in her forties, she would have been born between 250 and 260 AC, which puts Ashara 22 to 32 years old during the Tourney at Harrenhal.  While 22 isn’t unbelievable, anything older just doesn’t fit Martin’s thematic and harrowing depictions of young, tragic Rebellion ladies. (see Ashara Dayne Age Calculation in Pt.I reddit/tumblr)

Aegon’s crew unfolds in ADWD, revealing these nameless survivors of the Rebellion - and countless questions.  An exiled lord, a rogue almost-maester, an apprentice smith with a shady past, and a soiled septa; all with reasons to hide, implementing the “rightful king” on the iron throne. But where does Ashara fit?  Besides Connington, the group seems to be comprised of… well, nobodies. In fact, the whole plot is pretty dead end, whether the real Aegon or not - Aunt Dany and her Dragons loom just ahead, surrounding Young Griff’s political campaign with fire, blood, and ultimately death.  

"Prince Aegon was Rhaegar's heir by Elia of Dorne," Ser Jorah said. "But if he was this prince that was promised, the promise was broken along with his skull when the Lannisters dashed his head against a wall."

-Daenerys V, ACOK

Many find themselves desperately wanting to fulfill the Lemore connection, to find closure for the mystery behind Ashara Dayne.  But when readers tug at the plot to make their theories fit, there are parts that don’t flow.

So be it. He had grown fond of Lemore, but that did not mean he required her approval. Her task had been to instruct the prince in the doctrines of the Faith, and she had done that. No amount of prayer would put him on the Iron Throne, however. That was Griff's task. He had failed Prince Rhaegar once. He would not fail his son, not whilst life remained in his body.

-The Lost Lord, ADWD

Ashara Dayne, after losing friends and family, goes into hiding, only to emerge, championing Elia Martell’s born-again child and teach him about the Faith.  Heck, let’s take it deeper, like most fans tend to: Ashara Dayne, who had a stillborn child, mad with grief after Ned Stark returned her family’s ancestral sword home, ‘slaying her brother’, emerges from committing suicide, championing Elia Martell’s born-again child and teaching him about the faith.  Ashara once more is turned into the sexy woman getting watched by seven guys on a boat, much like her place in the Tourney at Harrenhal, and much like her place in the fandom: stuck on a pedestal.

The months Ashara spent attending Elia of Dorne - yes, months, and definitely no more than a year - weren’t months of Ashara skipping down hallways, giggling and singing songs with fellow bedmaids and the Princess. Rhaenys’ birth was extremely traumatic, leaving Elia bedridden half a year (The Griffin Reborn, ADWD).  It is doubtful the Daynes and Martells were distant, per se, but besides Ashara’s dancing with Oberyn at Harrenhal, Arthur being a sworn brother to Lewyn, and House Dayne’s fealty to House Martell… we don’t have textual basis for a strong relationship between the Dayne and Martell family. In fact, the strongest friendship Arthur is referenced having throughout TWOIAF and ASOIAF (besides Connington and sworn brothers) happens to be with Rhaegar Targaryen.

Comparing it to present-day ASOIAF, Alys Karstark hadn’t seen the Stark brothers since she was six years old (ADWD, Jon IX). Northmen are loyal (to a fault, as we know the Dornish vassals can be), but there is nothing that suggests that House Martell and Dayne’s children were more than casual friends, just as House Karstark and Stark: it is more likely they merely met whenever their parents convened/arranged.

The Rebellion Dayne gang aren’t brought up in a single Dornish chapter, barring Gerold’s introduction (The Queensmaker, AFFC).  The first mention of Ashara through someone related to her, Ned Dayne, informs Arya her dad was in love with her; with not a single Martell name-drop. Beneath the theory’s already fragile surface, there is weaker motivation: Ashara Dayne showing up with a group of B/C-list Rebellion characters to help a son she never met, of a friend she barely knew, relies closely on House allegiancy.

And what about the eventual demise of “Aegon” “Targaryen”? With Young Griff’s heritage speculated (and arguably accepted as fandom-wide canon at this point) to be from the Blackfyre line or faked, the laid seeds of “Aegon Targaryen” are lost in Ashara Dayne’s narrative. Jon Connington spends years in exile raising the “perfect Prince”, only to fail once more, never avenging his silver Prince.  Ashara once more finds herself enveloped in tragedy for someone else’s story.  This ending does nothing but cheapen her original demise.

Fan theories often outline outlandish ideas, too complicated to be solved in the last two ASOIAF books: Ashara was in love with Rhaegar and couldn’t be with him, Ashara was dishonored by Aerys II and had his baby; there’s even a rather unsavory “Brandon Stark and Ashara Dayne” theory I’ll tear apart later.

So where are the textual ties to the stillborn/baby alive theories?

Daenerys has the same eyes. Sometimes when the queen looked at him, he felt as if he were looking at Ashara's daughter …

But Ashara's daughter had been stillborn, and his fair lady had thrown herself from a tower soon after, mad with grief for the child she had lost, and perhaps for the man who had dishonored her at Harrenhal as well. She died never knowing that Ser Barristan had loved her. How could she? He was a knight of the Kingsguard, sworn to celibacy. No good could have come from telling her his feelings. No good came from silence either. If I had unhorsed Rhaegar and crowned Ashara queen of love and beauty, might she have looked to me instead of Stark?

-The Kingbreaker, ADWD

Not a single character factually knows of Ashara’s stillbirth; Barristan, an established unreliable narrator, thinks of how he might have done things differently to avoid the war, and the memory of Ashara’s “child” come rushing to the front. Martin time and time again wants the reader to remember that characters don’t always see things through a “20/20” lens, as seen in Barristan’s thoughts regarding Quentyn Martell.

Prince Quentyn was listening intently, at least. That one is his father’s son. Short and stocky, plain-faced, he seemed a decent lad, sober, sensible, dutiful … but not the sort to make a young girl’s heart beat faster. And Daenerys Targaryen, whatever else she might be, was still a young girl, as she herself would claim when it pleased her to play the innocent. Like all good queens she put her people first—else she would never have wed Hizdahr zo Loraq—but the girl in her still yearned for poetry, passion, and laughter. She wants fire, and Dorne sent her mud.

-The Discarded Knight, ADWD

Dany unrolled the parchment and examined it again. Braavos. This was done in Braavos, while we were living in the house with the red door. Why did that make her feel so strange?

She found herself remembering her nightmare. Sometimes there is truth in dreams. Could Hizdahr zo Loraq be working for the warlocks, was that what the dream had meant? Could the dream have been a sending? Were the gods telling her to put Hizdahr aside and wed this Dornish prince instead?

-Daenerys VII, ADWD

It becomes easy to accept Barristan’s thoughts on Daenerys’ suitors at face value, until we remember Daenerys’ thoughts on Quentyn.  We know that, had he come to the Dragon Queen earlier, it would have been an easy alliance.  Barristan finds Daenerys’ behavior rash when it comes to Daario Naharis, the studly sellsword with nothing to offer her but his weapon and member. But at this point in the story, Daenerys has ceased sleeping with Naharis, and sacrificed personal and political ambitions to keep peace in Meereen.  

Where Barristan sees a young girl choosing fire, he does not know every conflict that plagues her mind, each internal thought she grapples with. The idea that Barristan projected what happened to Ashara isn’t farfetched.  Once more, the reader is given more information than Barristan seems to know - we know that there is more at play in the story than the idea that Daenerys is a silly little girl with silly little girl dreams.  Barristan’s projections on Quentyn sound a lot like “might she have looked to me instead of Stark” come again.

The Baby Swap

“Or was it the grieving sister, the Lady Ashara? She threw herself into the sea, I'm told. Why was that? For the brother you slew, or the child you stole?” -Eddard XII, AGOT

The idea of the Tower of Joy being part of a bigger conspiracy allows  ideas and answers that, while eccentric, are open minded approaches in sifting through text. With the amount of information that we aren’t given, credit where credit is due: some crazy stuff could have gone down surrounding the Tower of Joy.  We just don’t know.  What we can use to reel us in is how the reveal would come to be - and how it affects the overall story.

Some theories go too far.  When the phrases “Ashara + Aerys = Aegon”, “Ashara + Brandon = Jon/Aegon”, “Ashara + Ned = Jon/Aegon” pop up in any which order, I can’t help but cringe.  I say this at the risk of crucifixion, but if you’re with me thus far, some of these ideas are too outlandish to work. Whether you accept the canon of the show, or have actually read the same books we have been reading, Jon’s parentage has been more than hinted at. However this mess pans out,  I feel we’ve come to the point in our adult lives where we can and should accept that Rhaegar and Lyanna are the parents of Jon Snow/Stark/Garyen/Sand.  Ned’s fever dreams, his trauma, sheltering his family and daughters, and his entire AGOT investigative arc loses all emotional resonance when Jon’s parentage is assigned to someone not Lyanna and Rhaegar.  Daenerys’ House of the Undying visions,  Ned’s ferocious love for ‘whoever Jon’s mother must have been’ (Catelyn II, AGOT); they become hollow thoughts on a piece of paper, and not at all how Martin plants and harvests his writings.  

“Prince Rhaegar's friend might have been on hand when my father sacked King's Landing, to save Prince Rhaegar's precious little son from getting his royal brains dashed out against a wall."

The lad flushed. "That was not me. I told you. That was some tanner's son from Pisswater Bend whose mother died birthing him. His father sold him to Lord Varys for a jug of Arbor gold. He had other sons but had never tasted Arbor gold. Varys gave the Pisswater boy to my lady mother and carried me away."

"Aye." Tyrion moved his elephants. "And when the pisswater prince was safely dead, the eunuch smuggled you across the narrow sea to his fat friend the cheesemonger, who hid you on a poleboat and found an exile lord willing to call himself your father. It does make for a splendid story, and the singers will make much of your escape once you take the Iron Throne… “

-Tyrion VI, ADWD

The younger sister of Arthur Dayne gets knocked up in King’s Landing by someone of extremely convenient genetics, and has the child taken away from her - possibly as “the Pisswater Prince”.  Varys, being the one who stole a child from Ashara, switches the babies, and she raises Elia’s son as her own until the time is right.

When the lad emerged from the cabin with Lemore by his side, Griff looked him over carefully from head to heel. The prince wore sword and dagger, black boots polished to a high sheen, a black cloak lined with blood-red silk. With his hair washed and cut and freshly dyed a deep, dark blue, his eyes looked blue as well. At his throat he wore three huge square-cut rubies on a chain of black iron, a gift from Magister Illyrio. Red and black. Dragon colors. That was good. "You look a proper prince," he told the boy. "Your father would be proud if he could see you."

-The Lost Lord, ADWD

Martin highlights Aegon and Rhaegar’s difference in eye color through Connington’s chapters. As PoorQuentyn mentions on Tumblr, Martin drops a Doylist hint for the reader in these chapters: the son’s eyes are not like the father’s - something Connington clings to, refusing to actually confront (“his eyes were a deep purple, darker than this boy's.”-The Griffin Reborn, ADWD).  If one of Ashara’s purposes in the story is to serve as a red herring for Jon Snow’s parentage to the public eye, she can’t possibly fulfill that and some sort of pseudo-mother for F!Aegon.  The truth of the matter: that’s sloppy, and there isn’t enough page-time for it.

Clear pathways lead from the stories of the Rebellion, and unite in current narrative. Elia Martell’s plot lives on through relatives as they seek revenge for the injustice done to their family, but ends in fire and blood through miscalculations along the way.  Lyanna Stark’s tragedy fronts us the savior, and allows us to follow Jon Snow as he transforms into the front line of battle against the Others and the Long Night to come.  Is Ashara Dayne left with no real end to her plot, solely serving purpose as a sacrificial lamb?  Where do her lines lead, and what results because of her story?

The Wild Wolf

"Someone has been down here stealing swords. Brandon's is gone as well."

"He would hate that." She pulled off her glove and touched his knee, pale flesh against dark stone. "Brandon loved his sword. He loved to hone it. 'I want it sharp enough to shave the hair from a woman's cunt,' he used to say. And how he loved to use it. 'A bloody sword is a beautiful thing,' he told me once."

"You knew him," Theon said.

The lantern light in her eyes made them seem as if they were afire. "Brandon was fostered at Barrowton with old Lord Dustin, the father of the one I'd later wed, but he spent most of his time riding the Rills. He loved to ride. His little sister took after him in that. A pair of centaurs, those two. And my lord father was always pleased to play host to the heir to Winterfell. My father had great ambitions for House Ryswell. He would have served up my maidenhead to any Stark who happened by, but there was no need. Brandon was never shy about taking what he wanted. I am old now, a dried-up thing, too long a widow, but I still remember the look of my maiden's blood on his cock the night he claimed me. I think Brandon liked the sight as well. A bloody sword is a beautiful thing, yes. It hurt, but it was a sweet pain.

-The Turncloak, ADWD

If the Rebellion and main text revolve around Lyanna and Rhaegar’s Tower of Joy lovefest - and the bouncing, bundled product of it - there are silly theories we can knock off from the start.  Ashara Dayne and basically anyone producing Jon Snow, for instance.

Passion is a driving force where this Ashara theory is concerned, and hinges on little to no textual evidence, but rather, once more, an easy means to ending Ashara’s plot.  Brandon Stark, the older wolf brother: sexy, arrogant, wooing the tantalizingly ‘hot’ Dornish girl.  First requesting her favor to dance with the solemn younger brother, and later ‘dishonoring’ her in the heat of the night.  Where this theory works as an easy fit (‘had she turned to me instead of Stark, losing a child, killing herself out of grief’)  the finer details fail under examination.

Look.  We get it.  Brandon Stark was a Northern Stud. He hooked up with highborn girls, had long hair, dared to ride to the red keep - with an army - to call out the problematic silver-haired prophecy abiding hipster, Rhaegar Targaryen.  He was “badass”.  Cat knew it, Ned knew it, Barbrey knew it.  But did he really have time to throw one more highborn Lady into his juggling act?

Following Brandon’s timeline, his betrothal to Cat took place somewhere between 276 and 277 AC (Catelyn VI, ACOK).  In 281 AC, Brandon would have been posing as next-in-command for House Stark at the Tourney at Harrenhal, as Rickard didn’t attend - possibly keeping an eye out for an advantageous betrothal for Ned, the middle brother.  With Hoster Tully’s lack of attendance (speculated via the insult of Jaime Lannister’s Kingsguard induction - and not marrying Lysa) there’s no chance Brandon would risk further spectacle.  Brandon, the born leader, was still seeing Barbrey (tourney was pre-wedding date announcement to Catelyn) and betrothed to Catelyn Tully; someone would tell.  Someone always tells.

Some theorists latch on to forbidden love in the dungeons of the Red Keep, and the dates just don’t line up. The only opportunity for Ashara Dayne to get pregnant by Brandon Stark would have been during the Tourney at Harrenhal in 281 AC.  Following the tourney, Elia Martell returned home to Dragonstone, giving birth to Aegon in early 282 AC. Ashara, ‘not long at court’ (The Kingbreaker, ADWD) would make for Dorne; and if rumors were true, pregnant.  Brandon Stark’s famous death at the hands of Aerys II Targaryen took place in early 282 AC in the throne room of King’s Landing.

Ashara’s ‘death’ - and Brandon’s more certain one - is used as a convenient device in these theories.  Without either to give their living word, how can we possibly disprove it?  But at the same time, how can we possibly prove it?  Brandon’s story is over; the songs have been written, the wild wolf has been put to sleep. But Ashara’s mentions don’t fade, like her story has. What would Ashara Dayne’s romance with a very officially dead man, many years ago, add to the narrative?  With Jon Snow’s parentage being of the Dragon and the She-Wolf, and both Ned and Brandon long gone, there would be zero point in any Ashara and Brandon reveal: dead or alive.

Wrapped in Starlight

"If you have some warning for me, speak plainly. What do you want of me, Quaithe?"

Moonlight shone in the woman's eyes. "To show you the way." -Daenerys II, ADWD

Quaithe of the Shadow appears in Daenerys’ POV’s across ASOIAF (ACOK I, II, III, ASOS III, ADWD II, X).   A Shadowbinder from Asshai maintaining a certain amount of mystery, she appears periodically to deliver cryptic messages and prophecies to Daenerys - she even projects herself through the stars.  Where Quaithe is bathed in starlight and enigmas, many speculate the imagery and mystique matches Ashara Dayne, leaving hints to help the Dragon’s daughter.  

Once more, an easy fit from outside - a woman with a hidden identity and lacquered mask, speaking in riddles, never revealing herself to reader or POV character.

Dany had not noticed Quaithe in the crowd, yet there she stood, eyes wet and shiny behind the implacable red lacquer mask. "What mean you, my lady?"

-Daenerys III, ACOK

Much like the Lemore theory, diving skin-deep into the Quaithe as Ashara theory is enough to break it.  Dany mentions Quaithe’s eyes twice - once in ACOK, another in ADWD.  Wouldn’t Daenerys be surprised by and eager to explore Quaithe’s purple eyes, something that would signify some sort of Valyrian connection to her; Daenerys, who yearns for home, constantly craving the company of the family she never knew?

Two direct mentions of Quaithe’s eyes make the page, with zero descriptions of color.  In ADWD alone, Daenerys focuses specifically on Ser Barristan and Missandei’s eye colors.  if Quaithe had anything majorly important about her eyes, the audience would be aware.

Most sinister of all the sorcerers of Asshai are the shadowbinders, who's lacquered masks hide their faces from the eyes of gods and men. They alone dare to go up river past the walls of Asshai, into the heart of darkness.

-TWOIAF

"All sorcery comes at a cost, child. Years of prayer and sacrifice and study are required to work a proper glamor."

"Years?" she said, dismayed.

-Arya II, AFFC

And so the theory goes.  Ashara Dayne, in hiding from the Rebellion, begins training to become a shadowbinder, with 15-20 years under her belt to suddenly become heckin’ mystical, wearing a mask, communicating to Daenerys with a glass candle, haunting her dreams, meeting her in Qarth.

"What feeds a dragon's fire?" Marwyn seated himself upon a stool. "All Valyrian sorcery was rooted in blood or fire. The sorcerers of the Freehold could see across mountains, seas, and deserts with one of these glass candles. They could enter a man's dreams and give him visions, and speak to one another half a world apart, seated before their candles. Do you think that might be useful, Slayer?"

-Samwell V, AFFC

Last of the three seekers to depart was Quaithe the shadowbinder. From her Dany received only a warning. "Beware," the woman in the red lacquer mask said.

"Of whom?"

"Of all. They shall come day and night to see the wonder that has been born again into the world, and when they see they shall lust. For dragons are fire made flesh, and fire is power."

When Quaithe too was gone, Ser Jorah said, "She speaks truly, my queen . . . though I like her no more than the others."

-Daenerys II, ACOK

While House Dayne’s mystical qualities seem to be important, Shadowbinders are of the night.  They work their art in darkness, where Ashara and her immediate family seem to be of the light, Arthur as the Sword of the Morning.  With so little text about Quaithe and House Dayne, this is a theory that’s as  hard to rebuff as to prove.

If Quaithe is using a glass candle to communicate with Daenerys, or at least is aware of the burning glass candles, she is using/seeing a Valyrian method of magical contact; which ...isn’t very Dayne.  Descending originally from First Men, and commonly theorized from the Great Empire of the Dawn, Valyrian sorcery and Shadowbinding both hold one similar trait: House Dayne doesn’t seem to have a history with it.

The woman took a step backward. "You must leave this city soon, Daenerys Targaryen, or you will never be permitted to leave it at all."

Dany's wrist still tingled where Quaithe had touched her. "Where would you have me go?" she asked.

"To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow."

-Daenerys III, ASOS

So where does the Daenerys connection come into play?  Did Ashara Dayne hold so much regard for Rhaegar Targaryen - and whatever prophecy may or may not have come into play - that she threw herself off of a tower, faked her death, and dedicated the next decade and a half to becoming a magical sorceress for his sister?  Doubtful - that doesn’t seem to be where her loyalty lie.

The biggest truth of any of these theories? We don’t have enough page time for them.  Whatever Ashara’s fate becomes in the books, the nature of its reveal won’t take up more than a handful of pages - at best.  With eleven mentions (ten by name) in the story, and 155+ plot threads to be wrapped up, Ashara currently has about 850 words surrounding her plot - out of 1.77 million words in the entire story.  That’s far less than 1% of the plot. This story is huge, and while Ashara Dayne played an integral part in the Rebellion - whatever it was - a chapter long reveal of these theories is not in the cards at this point.

#ashara dayne #asoiaf #asoiaf meta #ashara meta #house dayne

[impalaimagining]

PittCon Sunday

(sorry this is so late. my mind has been reeling since I stepped into Jensen’s hug. cut comes after the gold panel)

My heart was racing as I typed this because it contains the letters to Jared story and the interaction between he and I as I gave him the binder and reliving that moment is everything I ever wanted. My liiiffeeee <3333 

Part One (Gold Panel): 

They come walking down the glass bridge. Jensen waves. Jared pushes him aside and becomes the star of the show. Jared takes off his beanie and everybody screams (still don’t understand how he does it).

Someone in the second row continues to talk to Jared from her seat instead of waiting to be selected for a question. (*heavy eye rolling from me*)

Jared and Jensen are sleepy little dorks and I love it. They’re still running on Vancouver time. Jensen didn’t sleep Saturday night, he watched the hours roll by. Jared says we should’ve called Jensen and invited him out with us. Jensen’s got “about two hours of solid” him left before it gets either “really interesting or really boring.”

Jared realizes the actress who plays Hitler granddaughter is from Pittsburgh. They’re “chuggin’ along” with filming - already on episode six. 

Jared says they’re still waiting for the call for season 14 renewal.

Fan is upset because Jensen promised to sing at SNS this year. He laughs and asks, “You believed that?!” He blames timezone switches and Rob, because Rob “likes Pittsburgh to himself.”

They’ve been on a juice diet because “summer was hard” on them (specifically Jared - who still looks incredible, by the way). As Jensen was walking on stage, he found a cup of goldfish crackers and stuffed a handful in his mouth. He comes on stage still chewing. They’re already talking about getting burgers for dinner Sunday night.

Jared envies people who can draw because he loves to do it but is “really bad at it.” Jensen makes a “mean stick figure.” They joke about they wish they could take their profession anywhere the way musicians and sketch artists/painters can. Jensen laughs and says he envisions Jared standing in front of a t-rex exhibit “To be! Or not to be!”

Jared takes on “Misha form!” while answering a question about their childhood memory. Jared tells the story of Tom starting kindergarten. He was flooded with emotions while the other parents were already used to taking their kids and just dropping them off. Meanwhile Jared is crying. Jensen says he has a lot of good childhood memories, but one of his favorite is his sixth birthday. He woke up and put on his cowboy outfit, complete with six-shooters and a sheriff’s badge. He walked outside and there was a horse in the yard for him to ride. Their yard wasn’t big, but he rode the horse in circles and shot his cap guns.

Jensen was never “into” sports medicine, but it was what he chose as he selected college major originally. Jensen says he thinks it would be fun to be a boat captain. Jared planned on going to school for engineering to follow in the footsteps of his brother. Instead, his brother ended up becoming a surgeon, and Jared thinks he would’ve followed that path as well. Jared’s other career options are doctor or teacher. “It’d be fun to be a wildlife photographer,” according to Jared. Jensen decides he wants to be a food and drink writer. Jared mocks avocado toast, Jensen says he’ll wolf one down if it allows him to travel to Italy.

Jared has so much trouble with his microphone.

They’ve never dreamed as Sam and Dean, but they dream about them and the set. Jared has had dreams about Kim Manners since his passing, where they talk, “which is... interesting.”

Danneel has to tell Jensen to stop using the Dean voice. Other times she’s like, “Can you please use the Dean voice...?”

Fan says alternate universe in s12 was out of left field but it was awesome. Asks if the boys have been surprised by anything the writers have thrown into the plot. Jensen says French Mistake. Jared says his big left field moment was when he traveled to Los Angeles before season 6 and met with Sera. She told him about soulless!Sam and he had to hide his gut reaction because he was right in front of her instead of being on the phone like he normally would be. Soulless!Sam is one of Jared’s favorite character twists. 

Jensen would never rule theatre out of his life as a future option. He doesn’t currently have plans to return to the stage, but he wouldn’t mind going back. Jared says he hasn’t done theatre in a long time, and he loved it. It’s the “best training ground possible,” but it’s hard to keep it fresh. Jared compares theatre to doing squats for thirty minutes. Jensen laughs and mocks him. joking about never skipping leg day.

A fan is getting fired for being at the convention. Asks about binge watching because she has a lot of free time now. Jensen says he watched Ozark in a week. Jared says Breaking Bad, but he’s on to Ozark because of Jensen’s recommendation. 

Fan gives suggestions for food places. A place called Burgatory. Jensen asks if there are any exits. 

“Did someone say Sanchez?” - Jared... why

Unicorns or dragons? Jared: unicorns ‘cause they’re not going to kill me, and they fart rainbows. Jensen: I’m gonna go dragons. Speaking of dragons... anybody watch game of thrones? Jared jokes about Jensen ruining the show for him by mentioning dragons. Jensen asks if everyone is caught up. Fan says no. Jensen: “earmufffssss!” He thinks they totally ripped off the demon!Dean transformation scene.

Part Two:

Jensen Ackles photo op! 

Was a little nervous but not really because like yeah he’s adorable and Jensen friggin Ackles but I didn’t have anything to tell him or show him so it was nothing like Misha (or Jared).

I walked up and said, “Hi! How are you?” He smiled and said, “I’m good. Tired. How are you?” I kind of yelled a little bit when I responded but it was so worth it. “Great now!” And then I proceeded to throw my arms around him and Chris took the picture. Jensen rubbed my shoulder as I was walking away. 

His hugs are so soft and gentle. His voice is so sweet and smooth. Jensen Ackles smells amazing and he’s so... *sigh* 

Part Three: 

JARED. PADALECKI.

This is the motherfucking ultimate high point of my weekend. I met. I hugged. I got a photo with. Jared. Padalecki. 

As I walked up, my heart was pounding let me tell you, boy. He smiles and says, “Hi!” oooh lawd his breath smells like booze and it’s something of my dreams (don’t ask.). I can smell his cologne. Y’all weren’t kidding when you said he uses a fuckton. I love it. I’m all giggly and nervous and I’m like, “I wanna show you something!” 

I spin around and pull my hair back off my ear and show him my tattoo. He - I kid you not - screams over the music playing. “NO SHIT!” I nod and give him this giant smile. “That’s my handwriting!!!” Yes it is you big, beautiful man. “That’s awesome!” I’m in fuckin euphoria and I don’t even feel him lean against my head when Chris snaps the photo. I have no idea if I even looked into the camera at this point. I’m praying to God I did and as I leave, Jared gives me a little pat on the back and when I turn around, he’s still smiling at me. “Thanks so much!” I get a wink. I GET A MOTHERFUCKING JARED PADALECKI WINK I AM SIMULTANEOUSLY LIVING AND DYING. (the next person in line was already next to him while this is all happening, LOL)

I practically skip out of the room but there are no tears. How did I do this??? This man makes me so fucking happy I didn’t even cry??? Jared is my savior. That’s it. 

Part Four: 

Jim Beaver. What an adorable father-like man.

I’m thoroughly convinced he’s drunk when he comes on stage. Jim Beaver danced. Like... heavy footwork, light on his toes danced. He’s holding a coke can and I can pretty much guarantee it wasn’t just soda in that can. 

I don’t remember much of his panel but the first thing he said was, “Hey idjits!” 

A fan asked him to say balls. It was... kind of awesome. 

A young girl came up to the mic to ask a question. He called her on stage and knelt down at her eye level. “Is that all you see???” She laughed. She has the same name as his daughter. They’re spelled the same way. “Are you my kid?? How weird would that be if my kid came all the way here and I didn’t know it. I didn’t buy her a plane ticket, I know that!” She asks her question (which I forget because I suck) and after he answers, he hugs her and sends her back off the stage. 

Part Five: 

J2 main panel. Boys come running down the center aisle through the crowd. Pretty convinced their body guards/handlers hate them lmao.

I’m not going to go through every question like I did for the gold panel. Jared and Jensen are perfect. That’s just about all you need to know. 

Jared’s pretty sure he’s going to get in trouble for jumping. His back has been hurting. “The medicine, it works!” 

It’s a glorious Sunday because “Dallas hasn’t played yet.”

Jared’s pretty sure turning 35 makes everything stop working.

Jim Beaver walks by in the glass bridge. Jared has the crowd yell “come back!” 

Jensen thanks football fans for giving up opening day to be at the convention. Says it’s hard not to be in front of a tv on the first football Sunday. Terrible towels come out.

Jared compares having three kids to “drowning... and then someone throws you three kids.” Jensen originally only wanted one kid, but Danneel wanted three. They compromised on a second pregnancy. ... “You always find a way to get what you want, don’t you, ladies?”

Jensen apologizes for having to leave the J2 photo ops earlier in the day because Danneel had called him multiple times. He thought something was really wrong. When he called back, she asked if he could FaceTime quickly. Arrow was saying “dada.” “Unfortunately, it was our plumber that was there...”

If I had been playing the SPN Con drinking game I would’ve been wasted the entire weekend. Good Lord. 

Jensen’s favorite episode to film was Baby. Jared’s favorites include episodes like Baby, French Mistake, Changing Channels, and Hollywood Babylon. It was the first time they were allowed to make fun of themselves and the industry. After filming Hollywood Babylon, they convinced the crew to give them the bigger trailers since they were already on set. 

Working with kids depends on their parents.

Jared mentions GameBoy. Jensen has a moment like dude you’re so old why are you bringing up GameBoy. It becomes a running joke throughout the panel. 

“Does your face hurt, Jensen?? Because it’s killin’ me!” ... dorks. 

They turn off Sam and Dean when they go back to their real lives. It’s easy for them at this point to flip the switch of the emotional pain Sam and Dean go through because of their friends and especially their family.

Part Six: AUTOGRAPHS AND THE BINDER (!!!!!!)

Guys guys guys I’m freaking out at this point. I know how much trouble I could get in for giving something to Jared. The handlers are going to hate me. According to a friend, “They’ve kicked people out for less.” hashtag fuck.

Something happens with another fan and the woman announcing rows to head back to autos is wrapped up with other things. I waited so much longer than I should have. It was horrendous and put me that much more on edge. 

Finally my row is called. I’m only in the fourth row. Why did it take this long. 

Steve Miller Band is playing from Jared’s phone onto a bluetooth speaker while I’m standing in line. When I get to him, it’s Fly Like An Eagle.

“How’re you, sweetheart?” *dies* He signs my book. “Did you read it?” I nod and say yes, of course. “And...?!” I told him I loved it and I thought it was very brave of him to share as much and as honestly as he did. He smiles and then I bring up the binder. 

Me: “I actually have something to give to you, and I know it could get me in a lot of crap for doing it this way. This is a project I put together. It’s letters from me and a lot of my friends because we just wanted to thank you for what you’ve done and let you know how much you mean to us. I don’t expect you to read them all, there’s a lot of them in there.” J: “I do like to read! *he’s flipping through them, paging to see just how many there are* No way! Damn girl!!!” Me: “It’s just something we did for you.” J: “Thank you. Thank you very much. Please pass on my gratitude to whoever sent you a letter.” Me: “I will, thank you!!!” J: “Thank you.” AND THE FREAKIN’ SMILE OMG. 

I don’t know how I lived. I don’t know how me and my shaky knees made it to Jensen’s autograph line but I did and he is such a sweetheart, my goodness. 

I slipped Jensen my book and he was just so tired omg it’s so sad and adorable. He signed the wrong page of my FDEWB book because sleeeepy. 

He slid it across the table to me and I thanked him for everything. He said “You’re welcome.” And patted the back of my hand and again, *i die*

THUS CONCLUDES MY FIRST EVER CON WEEKEND MY LIFE HAS BEEN MADE AND JARED HAS THE LETTERS AND MY SHIRT /STILL/ SMELLS LIKE HIM.

#Taylor Takes PittCon #PittCon 2017: The Jared Padalecki Project #PittCon2017 #PittCon #SPNPitt #Supernatural PittCon #Supernatural Pittsburgh

[lotrewrite]

LOT Chat Summaries (Sep-Oct)

Sorry this took so long! Find below the LOT Chat Summaries for the chats held on 16 September and 1 October. Includes the song recs and fanfic/fanart etc moments we’d like to see, as mentioned in the chats :-)

Episode 1

A gifset of Kendra flying, a flashback to a sepia-toned image, and then her saying “not another flashback

Gifset of Kendra saying she dumped Carter

One with Mick and Nate, with nate realising he’s travelling on his own

Something of Nate waving his pencil in Oliver’s face and complaining about his thesis

Run Boy Run by Woodkid

Don’t Let ‘Em Grind You Down by motörhead for Nate

Dust in the Wind by Kansas for Mick

Centuries by FOB just in general

Do it like a Dude for Queen Bee

Europa - Globus should be for WWII

40s music! There’s Torched Song from the L.A. Noire soundtrack and it’s so good for Mick

You Turn Me Right Round for the Lichtenstein anomaly Hello by Adele for Coldwave

Postmodern Jukebox

for the 40s in France music, there should definitely be Le Temps des Cerises

Legendary by Welshly Arms for the rewrite in general

Welshly Arms - Legendary for the whole season 

"Look What you made me do” theme for the Legion

 Our Corner of the Universe by KS Rhoads for Team Legends

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjiupe-odRQ Goldberg Variations

“Sexual Healing” for Queen Anne/Sara…

“House of Memories” by Panic at the Disco for 2 or 3

way to the future by kate herzig

Episode 2

Bambi

Bambi and Ray eating together

Ratigan riding bambi at one point

Bambi meeting Ratigan

Bambi in the remains of the other raptors

Ratigan standing on Bambis head, pointing one paw: ONWARDS, Waverider in the background, Ray and Mick screaming of screen “Come back you little shits!”, “Join the Legends of Tomorrow” text above, “Save the Timeline” underneath, think like an old style Soviet propaganda poster, Waverider in the background, Ratigan and Bambi up front, “Join the Legends of Tomorrow” text above, “Save the Timeline” underneath

Coldwave song idea- Whispers by Dave Baxter)

Angel with a shotgun (for song choices)

gregorian monks chanting modern songs?

Pull the monks from Monty Python

For Ray: “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts”

Gregorian version of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”

“I walk a lonely road” = Ray having a moment

We are the monks from the Galavant soundtrack

I’m a different kind of princess from the galavant soundtrack for Sara

Mick telling Jax to fly because he’s already had whiskey

Jax and Stein in the infirmary

More of Kendra’s incarnation’s story

Hotblooded for Mick

Fireball

arsonist’s lullaby

Sir Patrick Stewart played the Lionheart once

coldwave - fate don’t know you by desi valentine

a version of friar tuck as one of the monks 

Jurassic Park theme

Jon Bernthal’s character would be good for Peter

“Istanbul not Constantinople” by They Might Be Giants

“Jerusalem of Gold” by Ofra Haza

“Lanercost” by Steeleye Span

Episode 3

Ginnifer Goodwin as Nancy wake?

Melanie Lynskey for Nancy

Amaya and Sara’s conversations

The moment where Nate shouts “NANCY WAKE?!?”

le temps des cerises europa

fanart of that fight scene with everyone

Edith Piaf

Europa by Globus

“Le Temps des Cerises”

“La Vie En Rose” by Edith Piaf

In the Mood" by Glen Miller

la marsaillaise by edith piaf

The jukebox version of Seven Nation Army

Sentimental Journey by Doris Day for Amaya

Cover of paper planes done in a '40s style by jukebox

Hitler Has Only Got One Ball to the Colonel Bogey’s March

Nancy Wake’s song is Witness by Mindless Self Indulgence 

Episode 4

Watch Your Back by Sam Tinnesz for the second half with Eobard

Fanart of the moment Eo brings back Laurel

Sara and Laurel in the med bay

Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall, possibly some ominous cover version, for the villains’ evil wall related schemes

Sara and Eobard drinking together

Every Breath You Take by Chase Holfeder. He does great minor covers of songs in major keys

99 Luftballoons by Nena

Something with Stein giving Marty his talking to, in the middle of the crowds in Berlin

Kim Weston – You hit Me Where It Hurts

The Ramones – Never Should Have Opened That Door

It’s So Easy when you’re evil

Rotten to the Core Disney movie descendants

When You’re Evil" by Voltaire for the Legion

Episode 5

Faroese Valravn or German Faun’s music

Mick Rory with the viking horns

Lisa

Wagner

Gunlod singing at the battle

ride of the valkyries

Looking too Closely by Fink for the end

Faun’s Walpurgisnacht would fit

fanart (gifset if possible) of Jax and Gunlod, being all flirty

Valravn has a version of Drømte mig en drøm

Jakob Oftebro for King Sweyn

Never Forget by Greta Salome

the fires

Mick headbutting the viking with his horned helmet

Paprika Steen or Hella Joof for Adisla

everybody talking to Lisa about their memories of Len, like one of those pics, with the bonfire and everyone around it, in the centre of the page, and then everyone’s memories in a circle around it

Eivør Pálsdóttir for Gunlød

“For the Love of a Princess "James Horner https://youtu.be/fckH2P0KK14

Episode 6

Uh, all of it

fancasts for our robot gangster

brent spiner

THE VOICE OF K2-SO whatshisname

Alan Tudyk

James Spader

we should just have ALL the famous robot actors hanging out

C3PO too

R2D2 and BB8

something frank sinatra

mission impossible theme

Robot Parade

"Mr Roboto”

A mix of Mission Impossible and the LoT theme

There’s a french revolution documentary with a song called rise of robespierre that sounds very steampunk and mechanical

Mick in his fireman clothes

the song from anything goes where she’s singing about her gangsters

Lisa kneeing Ray in the balls? like, I love Ray

like, every moment of lisa

“Weird Science” for the Stein/Dr Metcalf argument by Oingo Bongo

The Last of the Real Ones by FOB

Episode 7

Cisco getting thumbs up from Felicity and Winn when Lisa winks at him as she’s walking off

X-files theme somewhere along the way

seven nation army the original version would be good there

“Space Girl” for all the girls

salute by little mix for the girls

“Science Fiction Double Feature”

Episode 8

it’s a kind of magic

Lupita Nyong'o for Queen Bee

Magic Man" by Heart

Angela Basset

Taraji P Henson

viola davis

jada pinkett smith

Constantine interacting with the Legends

Something with the legends standing outside Zatanna’s place, looking frustrated at her “I’m not here” sign

Episode 9

Mick and Georgie, anything and everything with them

Is Anybody There from 1776

One of those things that fly across your dash with Ray and his rocket boot

Battle of Yorktown

fanart of that first confrontation when they meet Rip for the first time

Fanart of Washington’s ridiculous height

Georgie and Mick towering over everyone

Sara realising she just knocked back Martha’s eggnog and is actually talking to George Washington

Joke suggestion for Rip: I knew you were trouble, Taylor Swift

For Georgie storyarc, the Too Late to Apologize cover

mama look sharp from 1776

for Mick and Len and the hallucination arc, “Drumming Song” Florence and the Machine

“White Rabbit” Jefferson Airplane for Ray’s shrinking arc

 "The Battle of New Orleans"

Episode 10

black sails intro

pirates OST

Ray’s costume trials need “Sharp dressed man”

There’s a lovely cover by Jo Dee Messina

“Yo Ho A Pirate’s Life for Me”

Wolves of the Sea by Pirates of the Sea, the Eurovision version

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag music

I’m a Modern Major General for Stein in disguise

Heroes by Måns Zelmerlöw for the legends at some point in some episode

Ray’s montage fanart

something from crouching tiger hidden dragon maybe

Ray dressing as blue beetle and everyone looking thoroughly unimpressed

Ray trying to be Cold, and Mick of taking back the cold gun

Mick and Ray arguing about pirates vs ninjas and Len in the back, very very frustrated

Fanart of what would happen if Len COULD change outfits at will, mick looks over and has to try not laughing if len could change outfits, Len shows up in a terrible pirate outfit, Mick spit-takes, Ray says “we have to re-shoot that”, Sara (from offscreen): “Where did you even GET that?”

Ming-Na Wen for Ching, Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, Fan Bingbing

Episode 11

Mick in shorts

“Down Under” by Men at Work, maybe for the sequence where Mick is being mistaken for an Aussie

fanart of that scene and also of everybody in their clothes

Everybody Wants To Rule the World by Tears for Fears

all the bad fashion

lost boys soundtrack

fanart of the intro scene of bby Mick and Len

people are strange by the doors; don’t cry little sister

Weird Al’s “Smells Like Nirvana” for the section that goes

we didn’t start the fire

Ngaire - Keisha Castle-Hughes

Episode 12

the alien theme

Sort of atmospheric background music

skittering noises

Space Girl

Ziggy Stardust

Lost in Space theme

Thus Spake Zarathusa

cold as ice for Len

AIDA from Agents of Shield in part inspired Grace, but she’s not the fancast

major tom 

sigourney weaver as the engineer

for fanfic, something about Mick as Chronos, or Rip and Miranda hearing the story of the Mosaic

The moment with the Captain is saving Mick

Len and Gideon

The ghost behind Sara, and of Medusa!Grace

scaredy cat Stein

Sara and Mick sharing the quiet moment next to the graves

From Space girl: “Travelled through the time warp in the Psycho Plan”

Len shouting at Mick not to go on the other ship

Episode 13

Some ironic/dark use of something from the Evita musical

Don’t cry for me, Argentina

Mercedes Sosa

Solo le pido a dios

Churros. Any pic set of this episode must include churros.

Saved the world by eurythimics

copa la vida by ricky martin, maybe for the sequence with the soccer reference

under my umbrella aka, “Bus Stop” by the Hollies

The Legion surrounded by umbrellas

when Mick and the others are in the bakery

Fanart of Len, Thawne and Dahrk replicating the Singing In The Rain poster

Episode 14

fanart of Amaya dancing while Jax looks on like a proud brother

Greensleeves

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry

Pasttime in Good Company

Brian Blessed

Eric Bana 

Sean Astin

Mick sitting alone in the garden with his lighter while len looks at him sadly

the globe burning

Sara dancing with Henry, and amaya in the back like….oh shit

Burning Down The House

Talking Heads

Royals by Lorde

Sons of Serendip

Fanart of Sara and Amaya trying to get dressed

Natalie Dormer as Ann, Natalie Portman

prison themed music for the dungeon scene

Johnny Cash

lone blues harmonica 

Mood board for henry and anne (+sara)

Episode 15

New york new york

All the old Irish songs about New York

Streets of New York

Pogues and Flogging Molly 

Wolfe Tones

the legion in their “hq”

Queen Been in a barbershop chair

Amaya carrying Sara with spirit wings behind her.

Legion!Len being pissed at racists

Some dramatic baroque-layout style picture of the mob about to start, and the only points of colour in the pic are Sara, Amaya, and Darhk

Lily fanart

her and Rip working together to guide the team from the Waverider

Stein helping a tiny Lily make her first atom model

Episode 16

annoying game show background music

A montage set to the actual Legends of the Hidden Temple, or art with the Legends and Legion wearing those dorky outfits

Benny Hill theme song

The Chicken Dance song played in slow mo 

theme from Gremlins

Someone who does podcasts needs to do some lines from the announcers

Fanart of the renegades first appearance

Fan art of affronted Mick and Len

Those (song) in Minor Key posts, Maybe the Benny Hill theme in minor key for dramatic parts

Stephen Fry would probably be perfect for Ethelred

Some of the challenges in the labyrinth should come with really annoying early computer game sounds

Art of the game in the style of one of those old crappy text RPGs and at one point, there’s a sign off to the side that says “don’t go this way - you will be eaten by a grue”

The whole Legends in The Future, yelling at a computer

16 or 32-bit version of the characters

 in the year 2525 (song)

Episode 17

it's gotta be cassette quality 90's music

Green Day

Aqua barbie girl

drunk Legends

Spice Girls

lots of Madonna and Prince and Maria Carey

Jax and Jessica duke it out at the whack a mole

all the home alone sequences

Sound of Silence for the “Hello Darhk-ness my old friend” part

O!Len realising L!Len can see him

Jessica - Gina Rodriguez

“I put a spell on you” for the final sequence with Queen Bee

Any Jax/Jessica photoset would need their respective dolls

Episode 18

music rec: we will rock you. Nothing else will do for Sara’s gladiator appearance

the woman who played Lucilla in Gladiator for Fulvia

Centuries 

Marc Antony, the guy who played him in Rome did it

Is Anybody There from 1776 musical

Rome, Spartacus, The Gladiator soundtracks

Sara fighting Darhk

EVERYONE in ancient Rome outfits

Legionnaire!Len

Kendra and Fulvia, lounging on their seats

Legion!Len in his toga

Having scenes from this episode using dialogue from Life Of Brian.

Kendra in Rome getup

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Episode 19

Camelot from Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Len’s ice ramp

Old school superhero comic style fan art of the knights

Joan (song)

everyone dressed up for dinner

Mick and Mordred

Colin Farrell for Jason Blood

Merlin - Taika Waititi

Eva Green for Morgana

Sofia Boutella for Nimue

Ivana Baquero ystina

Faun's Tanz mit mir for the party scene

Doomworld 1 & 2

crossover fan art of a certain Victor von Doom being angry with the Legion

It’s the End of the World as We Know It

Eurythmics "Sweet dreams are made of this"

Walking on the Ground

for Batman, Batfleck, Jason O’Mara

B: TAS theme

Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny"

Nathan Fillion - Hal

Don’t Mess With Me by Temposhark

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant

Ted - Danny Pudi

Everyone decked out in their doomworld versions

The fight between Mick, L!Len, and then the lanterns show up

all by myself to be playing in the background at the very end when Mick is left alone

Land of Confusion by Genesis, or the Disturbia version

Uprising by Muse

Believer by Imagine Dragons

Last Episode

Fan art of Bambi leaping joyfully into Ray’s arms

A gif set of Mick and Len hugging

fanart, specifically, of Ray and Bambi skipping through a field of flowers towards each other as “So Happy Together” plays in the background

everyone hugging Len, then Len and Mick hugging

A sweet piece of Sara and Laurel talking through the inter-dimensional skype

O!Len holding the spear, with the team in the back yelling at him not to do it 

The sequence where the jump ship explodes in the middle of the time stream

we are the champions

Legendary

#episode #suggestions #recap #submission