#we get to see Boros before he was all big and strong

[1rabong]

Amidst the seas of red

From @lara60 ‘s fic Dark Matter

Iryo chill

#cw gore #cw blood #someone help our poor boi #Boros is just having the worst day of his life #guys go read this fic it’s amazing #we get to see Boros before he was all big and strong #we get to see him roll down a metaphorical and literal hill of pain #it’s great #dark matter #opm #one punch man #boros #lord boros #fanfic #art #my art #fanart

[raveneira]

Friendly reminder these are feats Sarada was pulling at 11-12, this isnt something new or groundbreaking & definitely doesnt scale her to Otsutsuki. If that were the case then that'd make her stronger than B0ruto who had to flee from them 😑 which your crazy if you think she is

A Chidori is not hard to dodge if you have the sharingan and reflexes to match it which Sarada does, why I bring this up is because yall were the same ppl who attacked me and anyone else who said she was more than capable of fending for herself against Kawaki both here & here

Yall said he was too fast, that she would've died, and my favorite 'what did you expect her to do?'

I dunno, THIS?

Dont even try to argue that base Kawaki without karma, and V1 karma Kawaki was stronger and faster than a 10 tails Rinnegan amped Sasuke.

Also just wanna point out yet another glaring power scaling flaw, which is why the hell is her chidori weaker than it was when she was 12? she grabbed a whole chunk outta Boro but 3 years later she just gives bee stings? Hidari should be missing part of his abdomen.

For the record heres the damage Chidori typically does if you think Im just nitpicking no, this is a literal power scaling flaw.

Dont get me wrong Im glad shes doing something, but she was always capable of doing this all along so its not really impressive but more of why'd it take yall so long to show her actually use her arsenal & fend for herself like she always could? where was this in 58? 78? 81? 82?

It took 4 years, 4 YEARS for her to do what shes always been able to do again, shes done this since Gaiden, Sasuke has done the same at 12, yet for 4 years all she did after Boro was stand there or cry and yall response was 'what could she do?' stfu.

THIS is what she could do, if a 12 year old Sasuke could dodge a semi Kurama amped Naruto then Sarada can handle a base karmaless Kawaki and a V1 Karma Kawaki.

And before anyone mentions, the only reason Sasuke stopped being able to dodge is because Kurama had a mind of his own, he could predict Narutos movements and dodge accordingly but he couldn't predict Kuramas.

Now yall wanna gas when yall didnt even believe she could do THIS much, the bare damn minimum, DODGE, yall didnt even think she could do that but now all of a sudden when she does its this incredible feat? but I thought we were the haters for sayin she was always able to do this?

Isnt it ironic that the ones who were called haters are the ones who were saying Sarada was better than that, and the ones who were called 'real fans' were the ones saying she was too weak and slow to even dodge with her 3T sharingan? funny how that works.

See how fast ppl switch up and forget their own narratives they put out there. Be honest, you knew she was always capable of this, you just made excuses either because of a ship or because it made your goat look good.

I already know Im still gonna get branded a hater for literally saying she's always been this strong and capable of fending for herself, but Im not gonna pretend this is some impressive feat when it isn't, 3 years ago yea, but 3 years later? this SHOULD be light work for her now.

If next chapter we see some MS abilities then we can talk about impressive feats, but this? thats how I know yall didn't think much of her and still don't if you think this is a big moment just dodging an attack and doing a low damage chidori 🤦‍♀️

This is what yall clowned Naruto for when he came back in the timeskip still using his same arsenal he left with, so lets not pretend this is any different for Sarada, everything shes done in TBV so far she was doing in part 1, there's no difference YET but hopefully in 11 we'll finally see her growth, OR a dodge and chidori is all she gets and will immediately need saving now.

As long as Boruto stays outta the way then the odds are higher for her to actually hold her own, but if Boruto is coming back to the scene its game over for her so here's hoping his ass has to take a back seat the entire invasion so everyone else can actually do they thing without him draggin them down.

For context, what I mean by that is whenever Boruto is involved everybody else gets dragged down to make him look good by comparison, for example in 58, 78, 81, and 82 Sarada for some reason completely forgot how to move, dodge, react, or activate her own sharingan, but as soon as Boruto has to stay away hiding, suddenly she remembers she has the sharingan, reflexes to dodge, and defend herself. I used Sarada as the example but this is a problem with the entire cast not just her, but since this post is about her thats why I used her for reference, but everybody immediately got better as soon as Boruto was written out of the way.

I said it before and I'll say it again, HES the problem, not from any fault of his own, but because the writers cant seem to make him shine and stand out on his own without draggin everybody else down so he looks cool and badass by comparison, rather than him just standing out on his own merits.

Think about it, name one 'cool' or 'badass' moment he's had in the timeskip that hasn't been handed to him at someone else's expense

His win against Mitsuki came with Mitsuki was already wavering and feeling doubt and willing to die

His win against Code came after he just rescued Sarada who just stood there

His win against Kawaki came after he had spent the last 8 chapters being easily knocked out and knocked down

The entire invasion everybody was getting sneaked, caught off guard, barely holding their own, and needed saving, while Boruto was just casually beating Code and his grimes with zero effort.

Now? with Boruto removed? Inoshikacho holding their own against Jura and Hidari, the strongest two clones

Shikadai done restrained Jura and pulled his branches apart to free Himawari

Inojin saved Himawari and bought them time to get away from the village

Chocho pushed Jura out of the way to make his bijuu bomb miss and expanded herself when Inojins bird was hit to cushion everybodies fall.

Himawari awakens Kuramas power

Sarada remembers shes an Uchiha with the sharingan who can dodge and react accordingly

Kawaki got his brain back and prioritized Himawari's safety over hunting down Boruto.

The difference between when Boruto was involved and when he wasn't is night and day. Again its no fault of his own, but it seems like the writers cannot make Boruto shine without dragging everyone else down, and the only way everyone else will shine is if Boruto is FORCED outta the way.

#boruto manga #manga spoilers #pro sarada

[alicenttully]

Sansa Stark Day One Quotes -  Sansa Standing Up To Her Abusers/People In Power

-          Sansa was confused. "I don't understand," she said. "Where is Jeyne's father? Why can't Ser Boros take her to him instead of Lord Petyr having to do it?" She had promised herself she would be a lady, gentle as the queen and as strong as her mother, the Lady Catelyn, but all of a sudden, she was scared again. For a second, she thought she might cry. "Where are you sending her? She hasn't done anything wrong, she's a good girl."  (Sansa AGOT IV)

-          "Your father is a traitor, dear," Lord Varys said.

Grand Maester Pycelle lifted his ancient head. "With my own ears, I heard Lord Eddard swear to our beloved King Robert that he would protect the young princes as if they were his own sons. And yet the moment the king was dead, he called the small council together to steal Prince Joffrey's rightful throne."

"No," Sansa blurted. "He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't!" (Sansa AGOT IV)

 -          The words made her breath come faster, yet still Sansa hesitated. "Perhaps . . . if I might see my father, talk to him about . . . "

                 "Treason?" Lord Varys hinted.

  "You disappoint me, Sansa," the queen said, with eyes gone hard as stones. "We've told you of your father's crimes. If you are truly as loyal as you say, why should you want to see him?"

"I . . . I only meant . . . " Sansa felt her eyes grow wet. "He's not . . . please, he hasn't been . . . hurt, or . . . or . . . " (Sansa AGOT IV)

 -          "I don't want to marry you," Sansa wailed. "You chopped off my father's head!"

-          "He was a traitor. I never promised to spare him, only that I'd be merciful, and I was. If he hadn't been your father, I would have had him torn or flayed, but I gave him a clean death."

Sansa stared at him, seeing him for the first time. He was wearing a padded crimson doublet patterned with lions and a cloth-of-gold cape with a high collar that framed his face. She wondered how she could ever have thought him handsome. His lips were as soft and red as the worms you found after a rain, and his eyes were vain and cruel. "I hate you," she whispered.  (Sansa VI AGOT)

-          "Did he instruct you to hit me if I refused to come?"  

"Are you refusing to come, my lady?" The look he gave her was without expression. He did not so much as glance at the bruise he had left her.   He did not hate her, Sansa realized; neither did he love her. He felt nothing for her at all. She was only a . . . a thing to him. "No," she said, rising. She wanted to rage, to hurt him as he'd hurt her, to warn him that when she was queen, she would have him exiled if he ever dared strike her again . . . but she remembered what the Hound had told her, so all she said was, "I shall do whatever His Grace commands." "As I do," he replied.

"Yes . . . but you are no true knight, Ser Meryn." - (Sansa VI AGOT)

-          "Silence, fool." Joffrey lifted his crossbow and pointed it at her face. "You Starks are as unnatural as those wolves of yours. I've not forgotten how your monster savaged me."

"That was Arya's wolf," she said. "Lady never hurt you, but you killed her anyway." – (Sansa ACOK III)

-          She hated the way he talked, always so harsh and angry. "Does it give you joy to scare people?"

"No, it gives me joy to kill people." His mouth twitched. "Wrinkle up your face all you like, but spare me this false piety. You were a high lord's get. Don't tell me Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell never killed a man."

"That was his duty. He never liked it."

"Is that what he told you?" Clegane laughed again. "Your father lied. Killing is the sweetest thing there is." He drew his longsword. "Here's your truth. Your precious father found that out on Baelor's steps. Lord of Winterfell, Hand of the King, Warden of the North, the mighty Eddard Stark, of a line eight thousand years old . . . but Ilyn Payne's blade went through his neck all the same, didn't it? Do you remember the dance he did when his head came off his shoulders?"

Sansa hugged herself, suddenly cold. "Why are you always so hateful? I was thanking you…”   (Sansa IV ACOK)

-          He snorted. "There are no true knights, no more than there are gods. If you can't protect yourself, die and get out of the way of those who can. Sharp steel and strong arms rule this world, don't ever believe any different."

Sansa backed away from him. "You're awful."  (Sansa IV ACOK)

-          "They say my brother Robb always goes where the fighting is thickest," she said recklessly. "Though he's older than Your Grace, to be sure. A man grown."  (Sansa V ACOK)

-          “And what if I never want you?”  (Sansa III ASOS)

-          "Marillion?" she said, uncertain. "You are . . . kind to think of me, but . . . pray forgive me. I am very tired.”

"And very beautiful. All night I have been making songs for you in my head. A lay for your eyes, a ballad for your lips, a duet to your breasts. I will not sing them, though. They were poor things, unworthy of such beauty." He sat on her bed and put his hand on her leg. "Let me sing to you with my body instead."

She caught a whiff of his breath. "You're drunk."

"I never get drunk. Mead only makes me merry. I am on fire." His hand slipped up to her thigh. "And you as well.”

       "Unhand me. You forget yourself."  (Sansa VI ASOS)

-          Sansa tried to step back, but he pulled her into his arms and suddenly he was kissing her. Feebly, she tried to squirm, but only succeeded in pressing herself more tightly against him. His mouth was on hers, swallowing her words. He tasted of mint. For half a heartbeat she yielded to his kiss . . . before she turned her face away and wrenched free. "What are you doing?"

Petyr straightened his cloak. "Kissing a snow maid."

"You're supposed to kiss her." Sansa glanced up at Lysa's balcony, but it was empty now. "Your lady wife."  (Sansa VII ASOS)

-          "Will you play the coy deceiver with me?" her aunt said. "I was not speaking of Robert's doll. I saw you kissing him."

The High Hall seemed to grow a little colder. The walls and floor and columns might have turned to ice. "He kissed me."

Lysa's nostrils flared. "And why would he do that? He has a wife who loves him. A woman grown, not a little girl. He has no need for the likes of you. Confess, child. You threw yourself at him. That was the way of it."

Sansa took a step backward. "That's not true."

"Where are you going? Are you afraid? Such wanton behavior must be punished, but I will not be hard on you. We keep a whipping boy for Robert, as is the custom in the Free Cities. His health is too delicate for him to bear the rod himself. I shall find some common girl to take your whipping, but first you must own up to what you've done. I cannot abide a liar, Alayne."

"I was building a snow castle," Sansa said. "Lord Petyr was helping me, and then he kissed me. That's what you saw."

"Have you no honor?" her aunt said sharply. "Or do you take me for a fool? You do, don't you? You take me for a fool. Yes, I see that now. I am not a fool. You think you can have any man you want because you're young and beautiful. Don't think I haven't seen the looks you give Marillion. I know everything that happens in the Eyrie, little lady. And I have known your like before, too. But you are mistaken if you think big eyes and strumpet's smiles will win you Petyr. He is mine." She rose to her feet. "They all tried to take him from me. My lord father, my husband, your mother . . . Catelyn most of all. She liked to kiss my Petyr too, oh yes she did."

Sansa retreated another step. "My mother?"

"Yes, your mother, your precious mother, my own sweet sister Catelyn. Don't you think to play the innocent with me, you vile little liar. All those years in Riverrun, she played with Petyr as if he were her little toy. She teased him with smiles and soft words and wanton looks, and made his nights a torment."

  "No." My mother is dead, she wanted to shriek. She was your own sister, and she's dead. "She didn't. She wouldn't."  (Sansa VII ASOS)

#sansa stark #sansaweek21 #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #house stark #my daughter

[ravnicaforgoblins]

Ravnica for Goblins

More Awesome NPCs of Ravnica

NPCs are one of the most important tools in a DM’s campaign. Your assorted guards, informants, bartenders, hench-persons, random civilians, and, of course, your quest-givers. Optimistically, you hope to have certain NPCs stick around for a while to have the party build a relationship with them, as opposed to getting murder-hobo-ed because your party doesn’t like their attitude. Which is why it’s so great that Ravnica is filled with cool NPCs who are definitely stronger than your party (for a while)!

A couple notes; I already did a list of Awesome NPCs, focusing on the Ladies of Ravnica, so this time I thought I’d try and give the boys (and Melek) some spotlight. Secondly, as I’ve by now made annoyingly apparent, I’m focusing on characters in the modern era of Ravnica, i.e. after the Decamillennial, because everything before the Decamillennial is a nightmare to figure out and you don’t need that headache.

Tajic, Blade of the Legion

You can’t have the Boros without Tajic. Well, you can, but you don’t want to. Tajic is the Legion’s Champion as well as their Mazerunner, and embodies all the ideals the Legion stands for. Unity, strength, passion; an unbreakable shield against all who would threaten Ravnica’s citizens. He is technically considered a Firefist, but special considerations should be made to give him the flavor he really deserves. Both of Tajic’s MTG cards have had some manner of protection against damage when involving other creatures. In addition, Firefists are actually primarily spellcasters, whereas Tajic is never seen without a blade in his hand or his name. So, to sum up, take a Firefist, add in some manner of damage resistance or even immunity contingent upon having allies present, throw in a weapon trick or two for his big wavy sword, and ta-da! You’ve got Tajic!

Momir Vig, Simic Visionary

I know I said no pre-Decamillennial, but Momir Vig is a special case. Technically, the former Guildmaster is dead, but the shadow of his reign still lingers over the Simic Combine. Momir Vig symbolizes everything Ravnica fears about the Combine; progress without restraint. Vig’s cytoplasts were oozes designed for personalized evolution in subjects to correct flaws and deficiencies (regrowing lost limbs, bolstering weakened immune systems, extra brain cells, etc). The only problem is that the project worked so well that Vig stopped seeing the need for consent, creating a new form of cytoplast that only needs to touch a host to bond with it. This raised some understandable concerns among Ravnican citizens, as well as the other Guilds. These concerns went to 11 when Vig’s Project Kraj, a gargantuan organism composed of thousands of cytoplasts, was activated to purge Ravnica and start over with a fresh slate. They went to a further 12 when Vig was killed, Project Kraj summoned every cytoplasm back to it (maiming, crippling, or killing a large number of hosts), and proceeded to go on a rampage that only ended after it ate Rakdos and went into a coma.

Momir Vig is exactly the kind of mad scientist to escape the grave, go underground, and continue his research unimpeded until it’s ready. A Rogue Guildmaster with no boundaries, or as we like to call it, a ready-made Big Bad.

Melek, Izzet Paragon

As with Vig, Melek is canonically dead, but that sort of “dead” that could conceivably be temporary if the story requires it. Melek is a Weird designed by Niv-Mizzet himself to be the Izzet Mazerunner. A certain sparkmage had other ideas however, so he absorbed the sentient being of pure elemental energy into himself at the start of the Maze and took its place, then tried to shock the other runners to death because, you know, winning. But following the physics principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed into a different form, it’s believable that Melek could return someday. Probably with a grudge against said sparkmage. Melek is a fascinating build, combining high-level spellcasting with complete elemental resistance or possibly even immunity. Basically, a wizard who can tank. Even more intriguing, any lab run by a being composed of pure energy would be calibrated to channel said energy, possibly allowing short-range teleportation within said lab. This is a brilliant exercise in lair mechanics, so don’t hold back. Lest we forget Melek is a personal project of the Firemind, aka, the single most brilliant, powerful, and egocentric fire-breathing ancient dragon wizard in Ravnican history.

Tomik Vrona, Distinguished Advokist

Given the Orzhov Syndicate’s seeming fascination with being a faceless hierarchy of priests, lawmages, ghosts, tax collectors, etc; it’s nice to have another face with a name. Tomik Vrona is a lawmage who apprenticed under Teysa Karlov herself, making him a master of Ravnican law. It also makes him uncharacteristically open to relationships with other Guilds, as he is effectively Teysa’s link to the outside world during her imprisonment. Tomik carries a strong respect for the law, but is a passionate lover of interesting & creative loopholes. In short, he’s not inherently evil/greedy like most of the Syndicate, but still has ambition in spades. He prefers to use gargoyles for transportation, treasures every book he owns, and is canonically dating/living with that hot-tempered sparkmage mentioned previously. Whether the relationship is public or not is up to you. I personally see it as a measure of trust between the NPCs and the party; it’s a pretty controversial pairing of Guilds. It could even be a Romeo & Juliet (Julio?) kind of affair, just putting that out there.

Vorel of Hull Clade

If Momir Vig represents the dark side of the Simic Combine’s experiments, Vorel represents the infinite possibility they can offer. A former Gruul shaman, he made the decision to give up a piece of his clan’s territory to a Boros Legion garrison to better fortify their home turf, and was nearly killed when they turned on him for perceived cowardice. Vorel escaped and joined the Combine, where he was given Merfolk traits and an environment that embraced his ideas & strategic thinking. Vorel is extremely grateful to his new Guild, and believes himself to be an example of how anything is possible through the Simic, no matter one’s origins. His strong passion & drive have led to great breakthroughs, but he’s definitely more emotionally-driven than most Simic researchers. Here is a Biomancer that isn’t afraid to get dirty or bloody in combat. This could be a fun experiment in crafting a Simic Melee Weapon.

Tolsimir Wolfblood, Ledev Guardian

You know that one leader elf in fantasy stories who everyone else takes orders from but never fights themselves? Yeah, this isn’t that elf. This is what you wish that elf was, a warrior archer who leads his soldiers into battle atop a giant dire wolf and kicks some serious ass. The Ledev are Selesnya’s elite mounted force, skilled fighters, archers, swordsmen, and even spellcasters. They are the cavalry, the breaking dawn on Hornburg, the “oh shit” in an enemy’s mouth. Please don’t make the mistakes of countless fantasy novels by being on bad terms with such badass warriors. Having any member of the Ledev behind you should be a boost to the party’s courage & resolve. Having Tolsimir fight alongside you should be one of the greatest honors of your life. The chance to finally recreate that “besties” relationship between Legolas & Gimli as you see who can kill the most enemies in battle.

Domri Rade, City Smasher

I hesitate to include Domri, I genuinely do. He’s a scraggly little punk who nearly brought about the destruction of the Gruul (and all of Ravnica) ultimately because he was too weak and too stupid. I include him here out of respect for the lore, but you can honestly do better. Domri Rade was considered too small & weak for any Gruul clan, so he instead bonded with the savage animals of the Rubblebelt, eventually discovering he could incite them into stampedes at will. This new power finally granted him admission into Borborygmos’ own Burning Tree Clan, but he panicked during the burial rite of passage and planeswalked away for the first time. Eventually he learned to control his powers, returned to the Rubblebelt, challenged Borborygmos for leadership of the Burning Tree clan, and won by sending wave after wave of stampeding boars to trample the cyclops Guildmaster. He was enlisted by Nicol Bolas to help destroy Ravnica, and failed to realize that meant him too as an eternal ripped out his Planeswalker Spark, killing him. Domri Rade is basically a cheap knockoff of Garruk Wildspeaker, only smaller and weaker and dumber and infinitely less dangerous. He is, however, considered by many to be an omen of the End-Raze, heralding the return of the Boar God Ilharg and the burning down of Ravnica by the Gruul who follow the Old Ways. So maybe play up that angle if you include him in your campaign.

Ral Zarek, Izzet Viceroy

If you only include one NPC from any of my lists in your Ravnica campaign, you must include Ral Zarek. Failing to do so is denying your players the opportunity to interact with the single coolest character in Ravnica. He beats out Vraska for the sole reason that he’s a much more public & accessible figure than the Gorgon Assassin, and an unexpected encounter with him is significantly less likely to end in your death/petrification. Between his good looks, cocky grin, brilliant mind, and lightning powers that put Thor to shame; Ral is certain to make any situation more interesting. He’s a great contact to have within the Izzet, a brilliant researcher, extremely talented with designing gadgets or magic items, an astonishingly powerful magic user, and a fun guy to hang around with. He can definitely have a temper on him, so understand when to back away. Hint: His hair turns from black to white when his electromancy powers are activating. You’ll also probably notice the sounds of static discharge building up around him, perhaps a faint smell of ozone, crackling energy coming from his gauntlet, and, oh yeah, his eyes glow and his smile turns into a growling grimace of death as he fills you with lightning. Whether by design or accident, Ral is basically the mascot for Ravnica, and it’s almost unthinkable for him to be absent from a campaign set there.

#ravnica for goblins #ravnica #goblins #D&D #D&D 5e #dungeons and dragons #mtg #ral zarek #domri rade #tajic #momir vig #tolsimir wolfblood #tomik vrona #vorel #melek #roleplaying #npcs

[xantchaslegacy]

Even the Swine

The dragon reminded Domri of the boar-god.

It was a stupid comparison, obviously. They looked nothing like each other, and Domri knew for a fact that Ilharg was somewhere else in the city, finally let loose to smash the Azorius and the Orzhov and all the bastards who spat on him and his.

But the power the dragon had about him. The same power Domri had felt the night Ilharg entered his dreams, speaking a language Domri didn’t know, but that he understood perfectly. The language that made sense of slaughter. The language that let Domri bring all the lost beasts of Ravnica to his side and finally set the Gruul clans on the right path.

Power. The other guilds wielded false power gained through lies and tricks. The pathetic guildless had no power, and would never amount to anything. Even among the Gruul, there was too much fear to wield power. Only power could smash this rotten place. Only real power.

So why not follow real power?

Domri splashed through a puddle that was probably more blood than water. At his back the most loyal of the clans stomped along with him. A small group, but some of the best and strongest of the Gruul. Strong enough to see that Domri would lead them to a better life.

Even so, many of them couldn’t keep their eyes off the fools running around them, fleeing from the eternals instead of joining them. Idiots who couldn’t see that the blue men were here to remove the boot of guild oppression.

“We should help ‘em,” Revka grunted at Domri’s side. The big-shouldered berserker was looking toward the storefronts, at a bunch of eternals trying to get at a clutch of guildless workers. Two Golgari trolls and a spike-clad bloodwitch were fending them off with improvised weapons.

“Why?” Domri turned away. “They want to protect the weak, then they can die with the weak.”

“They’re fellow chaos-guilders,” Revka said. Domri could hear the frown on her face.

“Eh. Let the Raze take ‘em. We’ve got bigger rats to fry.”

“Should we bash them?” Another companion, a big-bellied ogre called Chokki, pointed a thumb over his shoulder. A bunch of gateless folk were huddled in a half-collapsed archway off the square, trying not to catch the attention of the metal skeletons that were wandering every inch of the district.

“If we’re not gonna help them, that is.”

Domri scowled. They shouldn’t even have been there, weak things. Idiots who licked the boots of merchants and the guilds of order, no doubt. They should have joined the clans when they had the chance. They should have joined the power that would have helped them.

He sneered. “Leave ‘em. This is happening for their good too. Either they’ll get to live in the dragon’s new world or they’ll die, either way it’s better than living in this stinking city as it is.”

“New world.” Thom, a long-legged viashino, looked around the street. Fires reflected in his wide eyes. “What kinda world do you suppose he wants?”

Domri scratched his chin. “It’ll be a world for the powerful. The right kind of powerful, this time.”

“Sure, Dom.” Chokki frowned at the eternals, still grappling with the Golgari. “Are we the right kind of powerful?” That got the others muttering. A few even stopped, and it looked like they might be itching to help with the fight.

On the wrong side.

Domri stomped. “That’s the world of laws back there. Laws that protect the weak and spit on us. It’s got nothing to offer any of you.” He thrust his axe toward the plaza. “That’s where the new power is. That’s what the Gruul have got to adopt to survive.”

The others exchanged looks. Most shrugged and followed Domri, but a few cowards slunk off to help fight the eternals.

Domri spat after them, and stomped away. Too frightened to follow power to freedom? Fine. He knew there were weaklings like that in the clans. He’d lived with them all his life.

Old Borborygmos had seemed powerful, once. He was big. Strong. But he lacked the power of will. The power to use power to do what had to be done in the world.

He’d seemed powerful when Domri first challenged him. When the fire of the Raze-boar filled Domri’s heart and the wild beasts of Ravnica had flocked to him, throwing the suppressed rage of every member of the clans at the cyclops’ dragging feet. Borborygmos had knocked aside the first few easily. Easily enough that Domri had felt the old fear of his own smallness again. Easily enough that Domri had almost begun to doubt.

But then the first boar had made it past Borborygmos’ axe and struck his heel. Then the great coward had stumbled, and all the clans saw it. They saw him fall to one knee, then to another, and numbers overcame him. Tusks tore new scars into his legs. Heavy bodies rammed him. He beat at them still, killing a few, but unable to overcome the mighty rhythm of the wild. He’d dragged himself away like a dog, and even the swine had jeered his weakness.

...

The sky was clear by the time they reached the plaza, though the streets were anything but. Ravnicans, Eternals, and people in strange clothes who could only have been other planeswalkers were fighting, running, hiding. Some of Domri’s boars had found their way to the plaza, and charged through the screaming crowds, bowling aside outsiders and city natives in their rage. There were enough idiots fighting the eternals to keep them busy, but still the odd skeleton had made a run at Domri’s group, and gotten carved up for their trouble.

They were almost dangerous, as distracted as Domri and his companions were by the titans that loomed over the Plaza.

Every child knew that there had been ten stone titans long ago, that those pompous Boros had called on when they wanted to stamp down on anyone who dared want to be free. These new creatures might have been them, if they hadn’t looked so much like the eternals. If they didn’t also stomp wojeks and ledevs alongside the guildless beneath their metal-sandaled feet.

“Do you feel that?” Domri whispered. “The power of gods. They feel the same as Ilharg.”

The others looked at him like he was out of his head. The words did sound wild, it was true. But he felt in them the same raw power as he felt in the Raze-boar. The same power to topple the world.

The power the dragon radiated by the ton.

“Dragon!” He shouted, channeling the violence of the wilds into his voice. “I’m Domri Rade! Champion and leader of the Gruul clans!” He waved at his companions. “We’re here to help you bring this place to the ground!”

The dragon didn’t even flinch. He was looking somewhere else in the chaos of the plaza.

Chokki coughed. “I don’t think he hears ya, Dom’”

Domri swore. “Yeah, I can see that!” He looked around the plaza. The Dragon’s new gods were killing people by the handful. The eternals were killing people by the handful. If the dragon couldn’t hear him, then he’d show his allegiance by example. “Krokt, just start killing the strange-looking ones. It’s their own damn fault for coming here anyways.”

The others hesitated. Domri snarled and charged a tall human with red face paint who hovered off the ground like a ghost. Another planeswalker, sure, but he defied the dragon-

Domri swung his axe. The strange man folded around it and lay still on the ground.

-and the dragon was the only power now.

Something collided with his axe on the back-swing. An older guildless man. He fell to the ground, at the feet of other ragged-clothed guildless. Family? Friends?

Domri didn’t have a lot of time to consider the group before they all pressed toward him, as if they didn’t care how dangerous he was. A line of eternals followed right behind them, weapons drawn. Behind Domri it was the same. His clan-mates pressed together, suddenly surrounded by a wall of blue and shiny bronze.

“P-please!” The guildless man scrambled up, clutching at Domri. “You have to protect us. You have to get us out of here.”

“Get off!” Domri shoved the man away, and he stumbled at the feet of the eternals. Two of his fellow guildless rushed after him, grabbing at his cloak to pull him away from the eternals. They got him halfway to his feet before eternal blades stuck them in a dozen places. The last one, a boy a little younger than Domri, tried to flee on his hands and knees, but a blue foot stomped down on his back, cracking his spine.

“Shoulda stayed in your home,” Domri muttered at the corpses. His heart was hammering. The other’s boy’s limp hand was inches from Domri’s own foot. “Shoulda just stood aside and let us bring the old ways back.”

Rade. I see you had brains enough to challenge Borborygmos at the right time.

The voice of power boomed like a battle-cry in Domri’s skull. The magical fires around the dragon’s feet flared up. Domri’s heart rose up. He’d been right. Power was on the side of nature. On the side of the Gruul.

I hope you’re grateful. I lost my best contact in the Simic procuring a contagion to make the cyclops weak enough to best without him realizing.

Domri blinked. Simic? What did they have to do with anything?

What brings you here? What can you offer me, little walker?

“I-I’ve brought you the clans!” Domri thumped his chest. “We’re all ready. Ready to tear down the stones and make Ravnica a paradise for the strong.”

The laugh that filled Domri’s head was unexpected. Unexpected and chilling.

An amusing fantasy, but I have all the dumb muscle I need. Your spark is worth much more to me now than you are.

A spear plunged through Chokki’s chest. The tips poked out of his back like tiny golden zits popping with blood. The ogre fell to his knees, grabbing uselessly at the wound.

Actually, I suppose it always was.

Domri barely had the time to get his weapon up to block a gob of acid-magic flung at his face. Revka’s scream cut short as an eternal’s tail ripped a hole in her throat. Thom managed to block a sword-strike, only to have the wind and the life bashed out of him by another eternal’s savage headbutt.

Two eternals came at Domri from the left and the right. One he smashed through with his axe. The other actually threw down its sword and reached out for him with its bare hands. It was almost fast enough to grab him, except that Chokki’s body came down on it, smashing it to the stone.

Domri swung his axe again in a wide arc, smashing apart two eternals whose weapons were still in his friends. He realized he was shouting. With a jolt and a bit of shame, he realized there were tears in his eyes.

“Bloody shits! We were here to help!” He scooped up a chunk of rubble and hurled it at another eternal. The bull-thing caught the stone in the head and stumbled a step, which was all Domri needed to get his axe up in the air and crack the thing’s chest apart. “We just meant to-”

He paused. The other eternals had stepped back. A single skeleton, all in fancy garb, was walking at him, holding a staff of gold out in front of them.

Domri spread his arms. “L-look. I’m strong enough, right? I’m strong enough to fight.” He backed away a step, nearly tripping over Chokki’s arm. “I’m not like them. I can-”

The skeleton lashed out with its staff, knocking Domri’s axe out of his hands. Domri looked dumbfounded at where the weapon had fallen. A second later cold metal fingers clamped down on his jaw and jerked his face back around to face the skeleton.

Domri cried in surprise. A quick but pathetic sound that he was, for the briefest second, glad his comrades weren’t alive to hear.

“Let me go, you-”

The hands were cold

The hands were cold, and the cold seeped into Domri’s throat. His chest. His stomach.

“S-stop!” He grabbed the eternal’s arm to yank it off. These things were flimsy, right? He’d watched Revka rip half a dozen limbs out today, and he beat her at arm-wrestling all the time.

The cold flooded his fingers. His palms. His arms. They went numb.

Domri tried to shout. Someone would hear. Someone had to hear and come help him. The eternal squeezed, and only a gasp came out.

Walk. He had to planeswalk away. He could escape, and find more of his friends.

Domri’s knees gave out. He dipped down an inch, but the eternal held him upright.

He could fix this. He could make this right. Hadn’t he done right?

Pain was building in Domri’s chest. A crushing pain. A boot pressing the breath out of his lungs and into the eternal. His body sagged further, and his head lolled to the side. He saw the street. Bodies. His clan and the ones in tattered cloaks and hoods. Boars rooted around the corpses, snuffling and chewing.

Domri reached out to the rubble. To the dirt. The mana wouldn’t come to him. He tried to think of Ilharg, but in his mind the boar-god twisted into a shadow with horns and wings who just laughed.

Then the dragon was gone, and his head was full of light. Light that sang and hushed and went dark, dark, darker, darker, darker and quiet.

It was alright. It was alright. Just another burying, wasn’t it? Just another trial He would be fine. He would see the jungle again. He would see what he could turn Ravnica into. A good place. A green place. He just had to

    “Even the Swine” is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan  Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the  materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the  Coast LLC.

#mtg fan fiction #mtg #war of the spark #domri rade #ravnica

[swanqueeneverafter]

Sins of the Past Pt.22

Camelot. (Elsa, Kristoff and Anna make their latest sweep of the castle while Anna explains what she saw at the marketplace.) Anna: "Why would she be cloaking her appearance from us if she didn't feel guilty about something?" Elsa: "I agree it's more than a little suspect." Anna: (Scoffs:) "Suspect? I'll bet you anything that Morgause was the one who killed Lady Helen and pretended to be her at your birthday party." Kristoff: "Woah, that's a pretty huge accusation. Do you have any proof of that?" Anna: "I don't need proof, it's a gut feeling." Kristoff: "Okay, but Morgana would still have to have known about it if that’s true and Elsa thinks she's innocent." Elsa: "I did not use the word ‘innocent’. She's definitely up to something, but I don't believe Morgana is fully aware of all Morgause's movements." Anna: "You think Morgause did this by herself without Morgana's knowledge?" Elsa: "I don’t know, but one thing is for sure, Morgause is not acting alone."

Maleficent's Holding Cell. (Deep beneath the castle, Maleficent is suspended by her wrists and feet against the wall. Opening the cell door, Aredian enters, a smug grin upon his face.) Aredian: "Ah, Maleficent. Well, I hope you've found some relief now that your ordeal is almost at an end." Maleficent: "Your concern is touching, Aredian. (She spits at him:) Get out of my sight!" Aredian: "Ha! Of course, I just thought you'd want to hear the news, that's all." Maleficent: "What news?" Aredian: "Your daughter is almost certain to be purchased by the end of the day. It seems Morgause has taken a liking to her." Maleficent: "Goad me all you want, old man. You are not a Dragonlord and therefore cannot hope to control my daughter. She will never answer to you." Aredian: "Perhaps not. Then again, I've always found that people will do pretty much anything, if given the proper motivation. Say for instance, watching her mother being slowly tortured to death?" Maleficent: "And what would that prove?" Aredian: "That she loves you? That the familial bond is strong even between half-breed atrocities? It does not matter. Once I convince your daughter to change willingly into her dragon form, Morgause has a spell that will keep her trapped that way indefinitely." (He turns to leave.) Maleficent: "Wait! (Aredian stops:) I won't fight you any longer, I give you my word. Have them take me instead, please. Just let my daughter go." Aredian: (Chuckles:) "Oh, I don't bargain with monsters." (He walks out of the cell and locks the door, chuckling darkly as he leaves.) Council Chamber. (Morgana and Morgause discuss strategy.) Morgana: "So is it still your belief that Ella, will seek her vengeance upon Regina?" Morgause: "Undoubtedly. However, there are always contingencies if she does not." Morgana: "You speak of Mordred, I take it?" Morgause: (Hesitates:) "Naturally. If all else fails, he is in position to implement our last resort." Morgana: "So, our last resort, according to you, would also be our only contingency. You're certain there are no other plans I need to know about?" Morgause: (Considers her sister for a long moment:) "No, Sister.” Morgana: "Excellent. Then I see no reason as to why we cannot begin preparations for Emma Swan's trial." Morgause: (Nods:) "It shall be done, my Queen."

Storybrooke. Granny's Diner. (Emma and Regina return to the diner to hear the next challenge in the couples competition.) Emma: "You've got to be kidding." Snow White: "Well, we just thought that the first task showed how well you worked as a team, so this one should test how well you know your partner." Regina: "And you thought the best way to do that is if we swap jobs for a day?" Zelena: "Not just jobs, clothes too. (Considers:) We may let you keep your own hairstyles." Snow White: "Although bonus points would be awarded if you did decide to go the extra step." Regina: (Folding her arms:) "I see, so you two are enjoying yourselves at our expense?" Snow White: "Actually, it wasn't our idea. Mulan and Ruby came up with this task." Emma: (Flatly:) "Great." Zelena: "Oh what's the big deal? You two are always trying to get into each other's pants anyway, at least this time you'll finally get to do it in front of that audience you've secretly wanted all these years." Emma & Regina: "What?" Zelena: (Laughs:) "Don't try and deny it. You two are always doing it somewhere out in the open. (To Snow:) You just know they want to get caught. (Thinks:) Although probably not by you." Snow White: (A little flustered:) "A-anyway we're getting a little off track here. The winner of the next round will be the pair who most accurately plays the role of their partner." Zelena: "There you go, some role play thrown in too. Everyone's happy." (Zelena is all smiles while Emma and Regina glare at her and, groaning, Snow lowers her head onto the table.) Wonderland. The Boro Grove. (Will arrives, dropping his torch and calling out for Ella.) Will: “Ella! Ella! Ella, are you ohh, (Dodges a purple spray:) not today!” Ella: (Gasps and runs towards him:) “You're here!” (They hug.) Will: “Found ya. And you're in one piece. I guess we're both okay. You had me worried for a bit.” Ella: “Don't worry about anything. Everything is wonderful here. (Excitedly:) You've got to see this!” (Ella grabs Will’s hand and pulls him along the grove.) Will: “Slow down.” Ella: “Come on!” (They come to a circle of flowers on the ground. In the middle of which is Ella’s sword with the necklace wrapped around it.) Will: “What the hell is that?” Ella: (Giddily:) “I made it. Isn't it pretty?” Will: (Looking around, mutters under his breath:) “What the bloody hell is going on here? (Sees the Carpenter smiling at him:) Who's that?” Ella: “Oh. That's just the Carpenter. Don't worry about him.” Will: “Right. Don't worry about the man with the saw and the scary grin.” Ella: (Picking a flower:) “Exactly.” Will: “Um how long have you been here, Ella?” Ella: “I don't remember. A while.” Will: “And you took the necklace off and just stopped everything to pick flowers? With your mother still out there?” Ella: (Thinks, scrunching up her nose:) “Yes?” Will: “Why would you do that?” Ella: “Because it makes me happy.” (Ella blithely stoops down to pick more flowers while Will stares at her with concern.)

Storybrooke. Forest. (A large crowd has gathered in an open field, just outside the mouth of the woods.) Gabrielle: (Readjusting Xena's armour:) "I remember this being a lot baggier last time I wore it." (Ruby and Mulan, who are watching this with great interest, can't help but comment.) Ruby: "That's probably because you weren't as buff back then." Mulan: "I'll say." Gabrielle: (Pursing her lips:) "You know I'm used to being ogled by sleazy guys in taverns, but you two are something else." Ruby: "Hey, we're not 'ogling', we're 'fangirling'." Mulan: "There's a difference." Gabrielle: "The producers of that show really took liberties with my scrolls. Half the things on there Xena and I never actually did." Mulan: "Well, we know about Hades. Zelena killed him." Ruby: "And Poseidon's still ruling the oceans with Ursula, but are you trying to tell us you never met Caesar or Cecrops or Joxer?" Xena: (Stepping out from behind a tree:) "Oh, Joxer was very real." (Mulan and Ruby's mouths drop. Smirking at their reactions, Gabrielle turns and gazes longingly at Xena herself.) Gabrielle: "Wow. Xena, you look amazing." Xena: "Oh give me a break, Gabrielle. You've seen me with a lot less clothes than this." Mulan: (Raising a hand:) "Not that I'm complaining..." Ruby: "No, we're definitely not complaining." Mulan: "But aren't you supposed to be wearing Gabrielle's clothes?" Xena: "Tried. (Shakes her head:) Velvet just isn't me, so I've compromised. Gabrielle is an Amazon Queen, so, seeing as Regina is also known as the Evil Queen, I thought I'd even the odds." Gabrielle: "Oh there's nothing evil about that outfit." (Xena winks and gives her a very Miss Amphipolis-esque spin.) Ruby: (Clearing her throat:) "So ladies, shall we see what the crowd thinks?" Xena: (Looks to Gabrielle, who nods:) "Lead on, you two." (Walking ahead of them, Mulan and Ruby step aside to reveal Xena and Gabrielle to the gathered masses. While the crowd cheers their approval, we see David standing at the back watching on. Just as Xena and Gabrielle begin to demonstrate their fighting skills by sparring with Mulan and Ruby, a car horn sounds behind him. Turning, he sees Snow waving from the passenger seat while Regina pulls up beside him, driving Emma's yellow bug.) Regina: "Get in loser, we're going to the Mayor's office." Outside Town Hall. (Parking up, Regina steps out of the car, stamp in hand.) Regina: "Before we go in, you two need your hands stamped. I've put the same protection spell around town hall and my office.” Snow White: (Smiling, extends her hand:) "You look so adorable, just like Emma." Regina: "Oh, please. The only thing I'm wearing of Emma's you can see is her jacket. The rest are Roni's clothes. Turns out Roni and Emma have the same taste." David: "What do you mean ‘the only thing we can see’?" Regina: (Unashamedly:) "What do you think I mean? (Enjoying both Snow and David's wince when they both realise just what other item of clothing of Emma's Regina could be wearing:) Come on, they're waiting inside."

Mayor's Office. (Beaming at the sight of her wife and daughter behind the desk, Regina walks over to them. Kissing Emma before lifting Maria out of the carrier and into her arms, Regina turns to the Charmings.) Regina: "So, what do you think?" Snow White: (Smiles:) "I think she looks at home behind the Mayor's desk." Emma: "Well I've been over, on top of and under it, so why not, right? (At David's grimace:) Sorry. Were you guys followed?" Regina: "I don't think so, but we'll soon find out if anyone's listening in should a large tree appear in the corner of the office." Emma: "Good, so where are we?" David: "Merida's positioned her people at the border while Robin and his men are working out their game plan in the forest." Snow White: "I've spoken with Tiana and Jasmine and they've both briefed their soldiers." Emma: "Great, and the Fairies?" Snow White: (Nods:) "Blue and Tinker Bell each have teams ready to go at a moment's notice." David: "Grumpy and the remaining Dwarves have been speaking with the Munchkins and with Zelena's help they're ready to attack via the tunnel systems." Regina: "Excellent. With Xena, Gabrielle, Mulan, Emma and I leading the charge with Lancelot and his knights, I can't see how Camelot has a chance." David: "Be that as it may, you know my thoughts on all this. I still don't think attacking Morgana and Morgause is the right play. Not when we have no idea how powerful their magic is." Emma: "Dad, we've done things your way long enough. We've played the waiting game, now it's time to act. One way or the other we need to find Lily and Maleficent. If it turns out they are being held in Camelot and we do nothing, can you really live with that decision?" Snow White: "I can if it means keeping you safe." (Regina and Emma exchange surprised looks.) Emma: "I appreciate that, Mom, but as you guys have told me, helping people no matter the cost, should always be the first and only choice." Camelot. Underground Holding Cell. (Still tied to her chair, Lily is rudely awakened by Aredian, who throws a bucket of water over her.) Aredian: "Oh, I'm sorry, I heard you'd been asking for water earlier? (Chuckles, to Guards:) Watch her, I'll be back with my instruments shortly."

(Aredian leaves while the two guards stand outside her cell. Unbeknownst to any of them, Lily has managed to fray the rope binding her hands behind her back.) Wonderland. The Boro Grove. (Will is anxious to leave.) Will: “Come on, Ella. We've got to find your mum, remember?” Ella: “Maybe in a little while. Have you felt the bark on this tree? It's lovely.” Will: (Ella skips away:) “I don't want to feel the bloody bark. I want you to snap out of it.” Ella: “Snap out of what?” Will: “Ella, what's wrong with you?” Ella: “Nothing! For the first time in my life, nothing's wrong. I'm happy. He's happy. Why aren't you?” (While Ella skips away, Will turns his attention to the Carpenter.) Will: (Standing directly in front of him:) “What have you done to Ella? (No response:) I said, what did you do to her? (Again, no reply:) Listen, I'm more of a lover, generally. But if you don't talk, I will knock an answer out of you. (Grabbing the man by the shirt, Will is about to hit him when a leaf sprouts out of the Carpenter’s neck:) Mate, you got something. (Walking around the man to look closer, Will finally notices that the Carpenter’s lower body has turned into a tree. Backing away:) Bloody hell! (Bumping into a tree, Will turns and sees a face carved into the wood:) Oh, God. (Looking at the other trees, he sees yet more faces:) This is not good.” Carpenter: (Serenely:) “It makes you want to stay.” Will: (Takes off running:) “Ella! Ella! Ella! (Catching up with her:) Ella, we have to get out of here right bloody now. Ella.” Ella: (Blankly:) “Who's Ella?”

Storybrooke. Swan-Mills House. Maria's Nursery. (Emma stands over Maria's crib watching her sleep. Glancing at Regina, she notices the huge smile on her face.) Emma: (Returning the smile:) "What is it?" Regina: (Shrugs:) "This. Us. You. Everything. I just... I've never been so happy in all my life. I almost feel like a child again." Emma: "Well, we are standing in a nursery." Regina: "No, it's not just that. Even when I was a little girl, I never had as much fun as we do now." Emma: (Scoffs:) "Hopefully you didn't have any fun like we do, back then." Regina: (Rolling her eyes:) "I mean the silliness, the adventures, the people in our lives. Our family. It makes me feel as though we've really made it, you know? That we've really beaten the odds." Emma: (Placing her hand on Regina's:) "Me too. I couldn't be happier. Although, (Begins stroking the back of Regina's hand in a playful manner:) as much as I enjoy the giddy, child-like Regina, I had hoped that the Sheriff Swan-Mills version might like to come out and play?" Regina: "Oh really?" Emma: "Mmhmm." Regina: "Well that can be arranged, but I thought that could wait for another evening." Emma: "Oh. (Slightly disappointed:) I guess you're right, we probably should get an early night before tomorrow." Regina: (Chuckles:) "No, silly. I just meant that I had something else in mind for tonight." Emma: "Ooh. Do tell." Regina: "Oh no, this one will be much more fun if I just show you. But it will take a little while to get ready. So, why don't you give me five minutes, and then come find me." Emma: (Reluctantly releases Regina's fingers as she backs out of the room:) "Five minutes?" Regina: (Nods:) "A quick five, I promise. Oh, and Emma?" Emma: "Hm?" Regina: (Covers her eyes with her hands:) "No peeking." (Upon seeing the pure joy and excitement on her wife's face, Emma concludes that there is nothing she would not do to make Regina happy.) Wonderland. The Boro Grove. (While Ella begins making herself a daisy-chain tiara, Will has other ideas.) Will: “All right, that's enough. You don't remember the search for your mother. You don't remember yourself. Well, no more arguments. (Grabs Ella’s hand and pulls her to her feet:) We're going.” Ella: “Go where?” Will: “The hell out of here. Look, Ella! You see all these trees? They all used to be people. That's what's gonna happen to you if you stay. So I'm getting you out.” (Ella wrenches her arm out of Will’s grip.) Ella: “No! (Runs back and picks up her sword:) I don't want to go! I'm not leaving! (Slashes the air:) Stay away from me!” Will: “Easy. (Ella slashes again:) Easy!” Ella: “I won't go! You can't make me go! Just leave me alone! Let me stay!” Will: “I don't wanna hurt you, Ella, but you're not yourself.” Ella: “I'm better! I'm the person I've always wanted to be! I’m happy!” Will: “This place isn’t making you happy! It's not real happiness! Believe me. I know the difference when I see it.” Ella: “And why is that?!” Will: “Listen. There's something I never told you before. When my heart was ripped from me, I mean, literally taken from my chest, I thought that hole could never be filled. And then I got it back and since then, I’ve tried everything I can to always do the right thing. Maybe that's why I can't let this happen.” (Will tries to pull Ella’s sword away from her.) Ella: “Stop!” Will: “Give me the sword, Ella! (Ella throws him to the ground. Landing hard, Will sits up and notices that Ella’s lower half is also turning into a tree. Stands:) Ella, I can't make you go.” Ella: “Exactly.” Will: “No, I mean it. I can't make you. I can't take you. I can't force you. Because in this place the only way out is wanting to go. So please, Ella, just come with me. Oh, bloody hell, Ella. Look at ya! (Ella looks down at herself:) Please just come with me.” Ella: “No. I'm not going anywhere. I finally found a home.”

Camelot. Dungeons. (Kristoff wearily follows Anna and Elsa through the dungeons yet again.) Kristoff: "Guys, how many more times are we going to come down here? It's not like we're suddenly going to find-" Anna & Elsa: "Shh!" (Moving quickly into an unoccupied cell, the trio hide in the darkness as Aredian emerges from behind the false stone wall, whistling merrily to himself. Once he passes, Elsa and Anna rush to the wall before it seals itself.) Elsa: "Wait. Anna, please, it could be dangerous. Why don't you and Kristoff go for help and I'll-" Anna: "What are you crazy? You're not going down there by yourself. Tell her, Kristoff." Kristoff: "Absolutely, we go together or not at all." (Elsa smiles at this, still worried for their safety, but pleased not to be facing whatever lies at the end of the steep tunnel alone.) Storybrooke. Swan-Mills House. (Tiptoeing down the hall after three minutes and two seconds, Emma hopes to catch a glimpse of Regina's planned surprise. Before she can push open the door however, Emma hears Regina speak.) Regina: "Come in, Madam Mayor. (Smiling when Emma enters sheepishly:) I knew you couldn't wait the full five minutes." Emma: (Stepping into the room and closing the door:) "You'd be supremely disappointed if I did." (Turning towards the sound of her wife's voice, Emma gasps when she sees Regina sitting on the edge of the table in front of the vanity mirror clad in a leather halter top, and not much else.) Regina: "Good evening, Madam Mayor." Emma: (Approaching:) "Good evening... Mistress?" Regina: "Really?" Emma: (Stops walking, whispers:) "Well, what are you supposed to be?" Regina: "This is my version of what an Amazon Queen would wear." Emma: "So now you're an Amazon? (Notices the stockings and heels:) Do Amazon's wear heels?" Regina: "This one does." Emma: "Mm, how silly of me." Regina: "Don't you like it?" Emma: (Scoffs:) "You know I do. It's just... it looks more like S&M gear than battle armour." Regina: "Well, it did come with a pair of these." (Regina holds up a pair of handcuffs.) Emma: "Ah, so this is an undercover operation. Very tricky Sheriff Swan-Mills. So I assume you know your Miranda rights?" Regina: (Lifting an eyebrow:) "Of course I do. I have the right to be picked up by a woman in uniform." Emma: (Resumes her approach:) "Uh huh." Regina: "I have the right to be handcuffed and stripped-searched." Emma: (Chuckles and lifts Regina into her arms:) "You most certainly do." Regina: "Anything I see or touch must be held against me." Emma: (Depositing Regina gently on the bed:) "Yes, Ma'am." Regina: "I have the right to bare arms, chest and legs." Emma: "Just give me a minute to work out how to take this thing off you and I'll be right on that." Regina: "Wait, who's arresting who here?" Emma: (Leaning down for a kiss:) "Oh, you captured my heart years ago, officer." Camelot. Underground Cell. (One of the guards enters Lily's cell, placing his sword against the wall.) Guard 2: "What are you doing? He said watch her." Guard 1: "What do you think I'm doing? I'm just getting a better look, is all. (Creepily, the guard approaches the bound woman. Placing his hands on his knees, he bends down to stare at her:) So you're some kind of fire breathing dragon, huh? You don't look too scary to me." Guard 2: "Come on, get out of there." Guard 1: (Ignoring him:) "Don't mind him. (Stroking her face with the back of his hand:) You know what? If you promise to play nice, I'll remove that gag and give you something more fun to do with that pretty mouth." (Shakily, Lily nods her head. Emboldened by this, the guard reaches up and removes the gag.) Lily: "Thank you." (Swinging her arm around from behind her back, Lily embeds a broken piece of wood from her chair into the guard's temple, killing him instantly. Reaching the guard's weapon first, Lily uses it against the second guard, slashing him twice across the chest. Catching the man's body and easing him silently to the ground, Lily relieves the dead man of his sword before running for the door and heading down the long, dark passageway.)

#sq #swanqueen #swan queen

[gofancyninjaworld]

A village’s worth: cast size of OPM

I was mentioning to @loopielupie​ that one thing ‘mad cyborg’ theories all had in common is that they all served to shrink the number of people involved. Sometimes dramatically!  But I’m not here to talk conspiracy theories. Cast size is a big thing in stories, with small central casts the rule. I was thinking that it’s easier to write about a starship going across the galaxy than it is to name every member of its crew.  

Why mention this? I have finally finishing logging every recurrent character from the main chapters of the manga thus far.  Recurrent characters, so monsters that appeared, rampaged and died aren’t included (sorry Boros, sorry Kabuto).

So far, there are 160 recurrent characters in the OPM manga.  There are some as yet unnamed characters I’ve not included.

The interesting thing is that they’re distinctive.  I usually struggle to remember more than 8 - 10 people in a story, but OPM characters tend to come easily to me. Seriously, toss me numbers between 1 - 160 and I’ll reply with who they correspond to.  You’ll be hard-put confusing them.   Somehow ONE is wielding a crazy number of characters without them dissolving into a red-shirted mosh pit of people.

Example: nos 40, 74, and 112  are Charanko, Sludge Jellyfish, and Amahare respectively.

Dunbar’s number

160 happens to be very close to Dunbar’s number (150), a number that the anthropologist Robin Dunbar came up with as the theoretical maximum number of people that a person is actively close to at any given time (the range he posited is between 100 - 230). [1]  While not a hard and fast rule, it’s round about the size of a small village, the average person’s Christmas card list, and is also around about the size that an online community or IRL club can be self-regulating. 

Of course, out of 160 recurrent characters, not all of them are alive right now. 27 are very firmly dead right now. Several have no further relevance to the plot, like the SuperFight contestants (yes, a few we’ll probably see again in a different context).  And some will be retired.  Nevertheless, ONE is keeping in play an awful lot of people.

That’s nice, but how the heck is ONE doing it?

At this point in time, I don’t know!  Correction, I mean I do have an idea, but there’s a lot more for me to understand still.   Here’s what I’ve gotten so far.

1. Very strong visual and personality characteristics.   Murata may be a godly artist, but ONE’s visual design is exceptional.  Even when he’s just sketching out characters for Murata to adapt, that a character has a unique look comes across.

from chapter 82: just because it’s ‘only’ a sketch doesn’t mean that every character in the panels isn’t instantly recognisable.

Murata has definitely taken this lesson to heart, like when he draws some of the HA executives having come to Z-City to see this Saitama guy in person in chapter 29.

Even though none of them are as yet named, we can spot all of them in chapter 79.  And they are the easiest characters to present as faceless functionaries.

most of these guys are not on my list (no names).  Yet, there’s no question they’re individuals.

Additionally, characters are their own people.  They each have their own voice.  For example, the nameless executive with the pointless mustache we see explaining to his compatriots the reason behind promoting Saitama to B Class is to force him to show whether or not he’s a fake.  If he’s the real deal, then he’d have no trouble in withstanding the rookie-crushing attack that was sure to come from Fubuki.  In chapter 79, that same guy is considering what the Monster Association’s strategic aims might be.

Even when they share characteristics with others, they way they put it together is unique.   And who shares what is often surprising: for example, Fubuki and Bang both have in common a stronger older sibling who thinks they know better.  The way characters see their world is unique.  Their understanding is different, they remember the same event differently, their responses are different.   It all helps add up to believable characters.

2.  The camera moves. So, other than logging who was who in the story, I was also looking at what role they were playing in any given chapter -- were they front-and-centre, playing a secondary role or just somewhere in the background?  I’m still thinking about how to represent that nicely!  

What I learned was that there is a central cast in OPM.  But. Just because they’re the central character doesn’t mean that they get the spotlight at all times.  ONE has no shame in moving the focus off them for extended periods of time -- if what we need to know is how Suiryu feels about heroes, then that’s what we’re going to know, even if it takes 50 pages (it actually evolves over 250 pages).   But, when he’s done, the camera moves on.  Ruthlessly.  

Because he makes time for characters, and allows them to be the heroes of their own stories, it’s easy to get quite fond of characters you would normally not think twice about. As well as to miss them when the focus is whisked away from them. It’s a big world and a lot is happening, we can’t linger.

3. We remember little; we recognise much.   Our human capacity to remember specific details is quite limited.  However, our capacity to recognise what is familiar and make linkages is enormous. ONE appears to be using that capacity. He doesn’t try to tell us everything there is to know about any given character.  I’ve written before about ONE writing characters by accumulation, that is, coming back at later time points to add a bit more to what we already know about a character [Link].  Many characters appear as background figures well before we have reason to know who they are, but at least they’re not total strangers.

In often coming back to characters, even if it’s only as a passing mention, he helps to cement who various characters are in our minds as well as remind us of who is doing what where.  Mentions do double duty in that they also tell us something about the person doing the mentioning.  E.g. we learn much about how much respect Darkshine has for his fellow hero when he roll calls the ones who’d have turned Garou into shish-kabob had he met them. 

Wrapping up for now

So, so far what I’ve got is that he makes it easy to tell one character from another.  He makes them the hero of their own stories, which he gives them time to tell.  He often comes back to characters to build on them.

I’ll be back to dive into just how ONE makes a village full of characters work.

Bibliography

[1] Dunbar’s original research paper:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004724849290081J?via%3Dihub  This article is behind a paywall. However, a more layman-friendly read can be found here: http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2004/03/the_dunbar_numb.html

#OPM #meta #long #ONE #character building #writing #not sure how he gets away with it

[misc-headcanons]

Okay I finished S1 and I'm watching the Special Episodes and OVAs before getting to S2. I have a few thoughts so far:

I forgot how much I loved Boros, that one-eyed alien warlord can GET IT

I like whenever you see an episode or a scene or something from a show and it's just the animators busting the biggest artistic nut and going all out with what's left of the budget. Like "okay, last episode of season one, we're animating the big battle. Go fucking nuts, guys"

MUMEN RIDERRRRR

Amai Mask is the most Toreador-clan bitch alive. I swear to GOD if the reason he's obsessed with beauty is because he's secretly super ugly or something, I'm going to laugh my ass off. Knowing my taste, I'd probably thirst over his ugly form more than his pretty boy Gucci-ad looking ass.

I can't believe Metal Bat missed his sister's piano recital just to get bitched at by Amai Mask for not doing a good job. Did YOU miss YOUR little sister's recital because you were fighting an alien? No? Then sit your twunk ass down and go back to your garbage drama film shoot.

So Metal Knight was one of the figures who tried to kill Hammerhead, right? What, uh...what the fuck is THAT about. Is HE gonna be the cyborg who murked Genos's entire family? Also props to Hammerhead, applying for a job and visiting his mom and dad. I'm proud of you, dude.

Where is Blast? Does he just chill and do his own thing unless it's an enemy NOBODY else can defeat?

I WOULD LIKE. TO SEE GAROU. I was told that I would likely become a Garou hoe/stan when he appeared, so I'm very excited to see him in season 2.

Do we ever get to see Puri-Puri Prisoner's boyfriend? How does he feel about the whole "my bf can't stop going after handsome men" thing?

So...people can turn into monsters in OPM (like the dude who ate so much crab, he became a crab monster). If that's the case, then could Saitama be so powerful because his willpower and desire to be strong or something MADE him super powerful? Is it like Persona 5 rules where mindset and desires can either give you a shit ton of power or make you into a monster if they're distorted? If so, then what the fuck's making that happen?

Does Saitama ever get a therapist, because...it's pretty clear he's got some kind of depression. I mean now that he's the strongest THING ever, he doesn't really have a purpose. I mean idk how much a therapist could do, but CBT and maybe helping him find a new purpose/motivation in life could really help. The psych major in me is hopeful that with Genos and other friends Saitama makes, he could develop a good support system. All the physical power in the world doesn't matter when you hit a low point in depression, after all. And the anime fan in me is like "haha he punch good, can't wait to see him punch more good in season 2"

#opm #misc (re)watches opm #opm theory #personal #opm season 1

[yeniayofnymeria]

SanSan “The Beauty and The Beast”

Hello!

Yes, I’m a Jonarya shipper but i could not resist to share this theory. :) 

Personally, at first I looked cold but warmed up over time; Sansa and Sandor relationship. I've done a few researches on the subject, and frankly, I haven't found a satisfactory level of theory. But I used the excerpts from the video of asoiaf-theories and bridgte4 (youtube).

For those who do not know, Sansan is a Sandor and Sansa love theory.

GRRM is someone who leaves a lot of hints on his books. Like the detective, we can trace these traces and see what can happen. While I was reading Sansa's POVs - I didn't even pay particular attention - I saw a lot of signs about these two.

PROBABILITIES

Firstly, Sandor and Arya decided to go to the Valley, but for various reasons they could not. If he comes back, he may have to go to the Valley for his own reasons and may find her there. Since there is apparently no reason to go back to the south, it may be the direction of the Valley, where he has tried to go before. Although the North seems to be a possibility in the future, we understand from the conversation with Arya that he has nothing to do with the cold north. As a matter of fact, Sansa is currently in the Valley and may not turn north until the 7th book.

When we think that Sandor is in love with Sansa, it's normal for him to want to protect her. Especially when he see that Sansa was trapped by LF... Of course he knows that LF is the one responsible for Ned's death, this would be a second reason to push him to make that decision.

Throughout the scenes in KL, Sandor occasionally protected Sansa in some respects (as much as he could); Supporting the lie made to prevent Dantos from being killed; He blocked it when Sansa decided to push Joff to kill him (otherwise she would die), and saved her from rape in the city. If you pay attention, he often walks around Sansa.

If we look at the last point Sansa has come to, we can conclude that Sansa is no longer afraid of Sandor. Thus, when they spend time together, she can make the bad-tempered warrior, who has a bad mouth, harsh and threatening, see something good in him. As a matter of fact, when he heard the story that his face burned, she felt sorry for him. When they spoke badly about him, she defended Sandor from within and said that he was only afraid of fire.

While Sansa is a young girl who dreams of a handsome and heroic knight, Sandor is an anti-hero who is exactly the opposite of the knights in these dreams, hating knights. If we consider the irony logic of GRRM, there may be a story Beauty and the Beast we will read with pleasure. (GRRM already has a TV show with this name for 3 seasons. So he likes this story.)

The fact that the first three letters of Sansa and Sandor are in harmony is a nice detail, but of course probably this is just coincidence.

Sandor is a 30-year-old young man, so he's not that old. As a matter of fact, we cannot say that there is a very incompatible age among them.

SANSAN FORESHADOWINGS

Septa Mordane sniffed in disapproval. "A noble lady does not feed dogs at her table," she said, breaking off another piece of comb and letting the honey drip down onto her bread.

"She's not a dog, she's a direwolf," Sansa pointed out as Lady licked her fingers with a rough tongue

...

The king was in no mood for more argument. "Enough, Ned, I will hear no more. A direwolf is a savage beast. Sooner or later it would have turned on your girl the same way the other did on my son. Get her a dog, she'll be happier for it."

After the Lady's death warrant, the king said, "get her a dog." says. Some readers think it's a FS for Sandor.(.Remember, Sandor is Joff's dog, later he can be Sansa's dog)

The rasping voice trailed off. He squatted silently before her, a hulking black shape shrouded in the night, hidden from her eyes. Sansa could hear his ragged breathing. She was sad for him, she realized. Somehow, the fear had gone away.

The silence went on and on, so long that she began to grow afraid once more, but she was afraid for him now, not for herself. She found his massive shoulder with her hand. "He was no true knight," she whispered to him.

I mentioned above; She's seeing the wound inside Sandor and she approach to it with a sense of sympathy / empathy. I can tell you that women have a weakness for wounded men. As a matter of fact, when Cersei first saw Rhaegar, she looked deeply into his sad eyes and wanted to heal his wounds.

"I like dogs better than knights... A hound will die for you, but never lie to you. And he'll look you straight in the face."

In this scene, Sandor protected Sansa from the King Guard. And the knights never protected Sansa, but the dog did. There may be a sign that Sandor will always be honest with Sansa and die to protect her. Actually, I think there might be a moment when he has to protect her against the Mountain, but I don't know how these three will come together. (Remember Bran's coma dream "shadows of Mountain, Jaime and Hound" around her and yes, Arya)

In first book, Loras gave Sansa a red rose and she took a sweet smell (Remember, sweet word and dead symbolism: https://www.reddit.com/r/pureasoiaf/comments/cr8snv/a_death_mark_in_asoiaf_sweet_spoiler_main/ ). Red one is symbolism for love and "sweet" is dead or almost die (Like Bran and Tyrion).

Also there is this https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/am3xzt/spoilers_extended_the_serpentine_steps_of_doom/

When i read it, i noticed this scene...

She was racing headlong down the serpentine steps when a man lurched out of a hidden doorway. Sansa caromed into him and lost her balance. Iron fingers caught her by the wrist before she could fall, and a deep voice rasped at her. "It's a long roll down the serpentine, little bird. Want to kill us both?" His laughter was rough as a saw on stone. "Maybe you do."

Of course it could be nothing but caught my attention.

"Enough," she heard the Hound rasp.

"No it isn't," the king replied. "Boros, make her naked."

...

"Someone give the girl something to cover herself with," the Imp said. Sandor Clegane unfastened his cloak and tossed it at her. Sansa clutched it against her chest, fists bunched hard in the white wool. The coarse weave was scratchy against her skin, but no velvet had ever felt so fine.

It is remarkable that Sansa clings to Sandor's cloak and feels safe. A similar cloak issue will repeat one or two more times in the future. It's all about Sandor's cloak. The cloak represents “protection..

She even sang for Tyrion the Imp and for the Hound. He is no true knight but he saved me all the same, she told the Mother. Save him if you can, and gentle the rage inside him.

Here we see that she slowly began to care for the Hound, and of course she was grateful for saving her, which she will remember again in the future and will say to LF(inside her); "hound saved me, not you."

If the theories are true, the anger within Sandor may be a bit diminished.

"I could keep you safe," he rasped. "They're all afraid of me. No one would hurt you again, or I'd kill them." He yanked her closer, and for a moment she thought he meant to kiss her. He was too strong to fight. She closed her eyes, wanting it to be over, but nothing happened. "Still can't bear to look, can you?" she heard him say. He gave her arm a hard wrench, pulling her around and shoving her down onto the bed. "I'll have that song. Florian and Jonquil, you said." His dagger was out, poised at her throat. "Sing, little bird. Sing for your little life."

...

Some instinct made her lift her hand and cup his cheek with her fingers. The room was too dark for her to see him, but she could feel the stickiness of the blood, and a wetness that was not blood. "Little bird," he said once more, his voice raw and harsh as steel on stone. Then he rose from the bed. Sansa heard cloth ripping, followed by the softer sound of retreating footsteps.

When she crawled out of bed, long moments later, she was alone. She found his cloak on the floor, twisted up tight, the white wool stained by blood and fire. The sky outside was darker by then, with only a few pale green ghosts dancing against the stars. A chill wind was blowing, banging the shutters. Sansa was cold. She shook out the torn cloak and huddled beneath it on the floor, shivering.

One of my favorite quotes shows how much Sandor really is in love. Then Sandor throws his cape and she takes it, and Sansa clings to Sandor's cape again, to get out of the cold. We know that she keeps hiding his cape and he doesn't even know why she's doing it. It is also a remarkable detail that the desire to touch his face with a moment of strange emotion occurs.

Ashford Tournament and King's Hand Tournament

Jonsa fans use the Ashford incident for Jonsa, but this is a Sansan theory.

"Is the Hound the champion now?" Sansa asked Ned.

"No," he told her. "There will be one final joust, between the Hound and the Knight of Flowers."

But Sansa had the right of it after all. A few moments later Ser Loras Tyrell walked back onto the field in a simple linen doublet and said to Sandor Clegane, "I owe you my life. The day is yours, ser."

In both the King's Hand and the Ashford, the Lady's champions were another, and the champion was completely unexpected. The unexpected champion in Sansa's tournament was Sandor.

Dunk stood up against to a tyrant. Sandor did the same thing (against his big brother). And Dunk was probably not even a knight. Sandor is not a knight either.

Imaginary Kiss

The most emphasized issue in SanSan theory is Sandor's kiss. Sandor never did that, but Sansa remembered twice that Sandor kissed him.

Readers comment that Sansa had romantic feelings for Sandor. This why she remember this way.

Megga couldn't sing, but she was mad to be kissed. She and Alla played a kissing game sometimes, she confessed, but it wasn't the same as kissing a man, much less a king. Sansa wondered what Megga would think about kissing the Hound, as she had. He'd come to her the night of the battle stinking of wine and blood. He kissed me and threatened to kill me, and made me sing him a song.

...

Sweetrobin threw his skinny arms around her and kissed her. It was a little boy's kiss, and clumsy. Everything Robert Arryn did was clumsy. If I close my eyes I can pretend he is the Knight of Flowers. Ser Loras had given Sansa Stark a red rose once, but he had never kissed her . . . and no Tyrell would ever kiss Alayne Stone. Pretty as she was, she had been born on the wrong side of the blanket.

As the boy's lips touched her own she found herself thinking of another kiss. She could still remember how it felt, when his cruel mouth pressed down on her own. He had come to Sansa in the darkness as green fire filled the sky. He took a song and a kiss, and left me nothing but a bloody cloak.

She thought of dreaming of the Knight of Flowers when Robin kissed her, but suddenly she found herself thinking of the hound. And she says this. "He left me with nothing but a bloody cloak."

Another detail that attracts my attention. It feels like a lover talking about her lover, what did she expect? What he should left behind him for her?

GRRM interviews about imaginary kisses.

You will see, in A Storm of Swords and later volumes, that Sansa remembers the Hound kissing her the night he came to her bedroom… but if you look at the scene, he never does. That will eventually mean something, but just now it’s a subtle touch, something most of the readers may not even pick up on,

And there is this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLynybVOi2I

Thank you for read.

#asoiaf #sansan #sandor the hound clegane #sansa stark

[frogtownhobbies]

Frogtown Hobbies in Rossford, Ohio hosted a Starcity Games Invitational Qualifier on December 14. The format: Pioneer, the number of players: 39, the unbanned cards: still Oko and Nexus of Fate, unfortunately. Let’s dive into the results and see what can be gleaned from a bit of analysis.

As a reminder, Pioneer is Magic’s newest non-formatting competitive format and includes all cards from Return to Ravnica (October, 2012) forward. An interesting dynamic is at play between today’s hyper-fast exchange of information on the internet and the constant upheaval of near-weekly banlist changes as the format grows. Accordingly, two months in to Pioneer I don’t think anyone is sure exactly how “solved” the format is. Let’s delve into this quagmire of uncertainty and see if we can find any beacons of truth.

Tentative truth #1: Simic in general and Oko, Thief of Crowns and Nexus of Fate specifically were too strong for the format. 

Two days after this tournament Wizards of the Coast saw fit to ban these two Simic cards. For Oko, WotC cited the “nearly 60% non-mirror win rate” and high number of 5-0 league finishes of the Simic Food Ramp deck as well as the presence of Oko in “several of the other strongest decks” as their banning rationale. For Nexus of Fate the high number of league finishes was also cited as well as their assertion that “Simic Food Ramp was one of the Simic Nexus deck's only unfavorable matchups among top decks”.

    Well our tournament saw five players sleeve up some number of these banned cards and their results do give credence to WotC’s arguments. The total win rate for these 5 decks against the rest of the field was a hair under 70% (16-7) and two of the five made top-8 with two more in 9th and 14th place. Leading the pack and splitting in the finals was Raymond Perez on Simic Nexus.

Perez did not lose a match on the day, going 4-0 into double ID and splitting in the finals. Along the way he beat GB midrange, UG Food, UW Control, Izzet Phoenix, UW Control again (quarterfinals) and Izzet Phoenix again (semifinals). 

    The other top-8 player on future-banned cards was Santiago Lizcano on Simic Stompy who lost in the other half of the semifinals.

Here we see Oko augmenting a large creature plan and ensuring that whatever your opponent plays its going to be a smaller creature (as a 3/3 Elk) than your creatures. Lizcano went with the slightly beefier version of this deck, opting for 2 Ghalta, Primal Hunter and 2 Yorvo, Lord of Garenbrig in the maindeck. He also gambled a bit that his first turn mana dorks would live, running only 20 lands to go along with 11 such creatures. I also want to point out that Lizcano successfully came back from 0-1-1 to make top-8, which is definitely doing it on hard mode. He lost to UW Control in round 1 before drawing with Jeskai Fires in round 2. He then rattled off victories over Mono Black Aggro, UW Control, Abzan Aristocrats (!), Simic Ramp and Red Deck Wins (quarterfinals) before losing to UW Spirits (I’ll get to that).

The other two players on Oko decks to make the top-8 were Justin Krieg (9th place piloting my version of Bant Walkers that I loaned him) and Dominic Mayhew (14th place with Simic Food Ramp). Was Oko too strong for the format? Almost certainly yes. Was Nexus of Fate too strong for the format? Possibly, but it’s also super un-fun to play against and to watch on coverage so its leash was shorter. I bid both of these cards adieu.

Tentative Truth #2: UW Control and Red Deck Wins are both good choices going forward and their matchup may provide the backbone of the format going forward.

    I’m lumping these decks together because they were the two most played decks on Saturday (8 UW Control and 6 RDW), both faired poorly against the Simic decks, neither one loses anything in the bans and because nobody seems to agree on the right way to build either of them. On the other hand, despite each taking one player to the top-8 they did not have the same level of results across the board.

    UW control ended up with a 47% non-mirror match win percentage (17-19) when you include Keith Duncan’s Esper Control list in with them (he finished 2-2 in non-“mirrors”). While that’s obviously not great is does include a 2-6 record against decks with Oko or Nexus which will no longer be around to prey upon slow control decks. One might think that presence of a large number of mono-red decks also contributed to the losing record but in fact RDW and UW control split their 8 matches against each other 4-4. Here’s Dustin Klopping’s top 8 List, but like I said earlier, there is a lot of variability between the 8 UW Control lists played on Saturday:

The one big thing that sets Klopping’s list apart are the full set of 4 maindeck Detention Speres. Along the way to the top-8 he beat Mono-Black Vampires, UW Control, Esper Control, RDW and lost to Simic Food Ramp before drawing into the top-8 and losing to Simic Nexus.

    Mono-red decks had much better results than UW Control, winning nearly 56% of their non-mirror matches. Like the control deck they did not do well against the Simic decks (but in only 4 matches [1-3]). The builds of mono-red were even more variable then the UW Control lists. Here’s Ben Vasko’s top-8 list that was designed by Cory Brannon:

We’ll have to wait and see how mono-red decks settle into the new post-Oko world. Does Hazoret make the cut? Earthshaker Kenra? Cavalcade of Calamity, Legion Warboss and Chandra, Acolyte of Flame (All used by Matthew Stinehart to take 10th place)? I don’t know but I feel safe in assuming that I will have to play against some number of mono-red decks at my next Pioneer tournament.

Tentative Truth #3: You want some spice? You can play some spice!

Behold, the other deck that split in the finals, Jonathan Jackman’s UW Spirits:

Jackman went 2-0 against banned card decks, lost once to mono-red (Top-9 player Ben Vasko in round 3) and beat Abzan Midrange, Gruul Aggro and Jeskai Fires. If you like blue tempo decks, this is probably the way to go.

Maybe paying for your spicy spells isn’t really your thing. How about Jyrik Fields’ Jeskai Fires:

Like Santiago Lizcano, Jyrik Fields also made top-8 on hard mode, starting out with a loss against RDW (Ben Vasko again) and that unintentional draw against Simic Stompy. He then beat RDW, Boros Aggro, Esper Control and Izzet Tempo before bowing out in the quarterfinals against Jackman’s Spirits deck.

Brennan McAlear proved that getting 3-power hasty flyers into play just by casting your spells is still a real way to win in Pioneer, making top-8 with Izzet Phoenix:

Brennan only lost twice on the day, both times to the now-banned Nexus deck. Don’t count this deck out in the new format.

Last but not least, we have this piece de resistance by John Mezinko, 5c Niv to Light:

Do you want to use Teferi, Time Raveler to cast Bring to Light at the end of your opponent’s turn and put a Niv-Mizzet Reborn into play, netting 4 cards including another Bring to Light? How about on the next turn casting another Bring to Light during the attack step to play a Time Wipe, kill all your opponent’s stuff and get your Niv Mizzet back in hand to cast again the next turn? This deck does stuff like that, it’s glorious. Like Brennan McAlear, Mezinko only lost to one player on Saturday. In fact, it was actually McAlear who beat him, once in rd 3 and another time in the quarterfinals. He beat Mono-Red twice and UW Control once so this is another deck to keep an eye on. Its obviously very customizable as well so adapting to a new metagame is probably reasonable but it may need a settled field to really optimize the list.

Thank you for reading, hopefully we’ll see you all at Frogtown’s next Pioneer SCG IQ on January 25th. Keep brewing.

       -Stephen K Timmons

#articles #staff #mtg pioneer #pioneer #mtg

[monorayjak]

My Custom - Planeswalker

I was hoping to get some feedback on him. This is my first, serious attempt at an original character, so don't expect anything good. Anyways, here is a conversation I wrote out between me asking questions and him responding. Keep in mind, please, it is 4 AM and i literally just wrote all this out...so...yeah...expect a few typos.

M(e): So, first off lets start with the basics, so, what is your full name?

D(urah): Durah Olren Voln.

M: Ok, so, how old are you?

D: I am 18.

M: So Durah, tell me, what do you want in life?

D: Oh, thats a quick jump...well, I guess what I really want is to find something to believe in, something that I can stand for. Plus, it wouldn't be bad if I found a group to call a family along the way.

M: Interesting. So tell me, out of the possessions you own, what is the most important one to you?

D: My most important possession is probably my mother's locket.

M: And why is the locket so important?

D: She gave me this locket when I was just a small kid, but it wasn't long after that one of the Gruul clans raided the area we lived in and destroyed everything, we found her body three days after they left, burnt to a crisp.

M: Oh...I'm sorry to hear that.

D: Its ok, I miss her all the time, but it has been ten years.

M: Of course, of course...so, what about your father?

D: My father...the Boros officer, he stood high and mighty for the people he protected, but when he came home everyday, he would drink as much as he could, and then he would yell at me for hours on end about how imperfect I was, because I wasn't him...and then he'd beat me until he had to go back to his patrols. I hate him. I left him behind at 15, and I haven't looked back since.

M: Hm, sounds like you have had a very rough upbringing, what about your friends? Who were you close to after your mother passed away?

D: I was closest to a young merfolk girl named Asimi and another human boy named Veran.

M: So, how have you three been doing the past decade?

D: Well, we started working together doing odd jobs for the guilds, but as time went on, they both joined a guild, and I kept working alone. Veran asked me to help him with a mission for the Orzhov not too long ago.

M: Hm, how did this mission go?

D: Poorly...

M: And why is that?

D: Veran betrayed me.

M: Oh...how...why did he betray you?

D: The council of Orzhova asked him to assassinate a Simic biomancer, and he needed a scape-goat. He told me it was a simple retrieval and delivery job, picking up some materials the Simic had sold to the Orzhov and delivering it.

M: And he left the blame on you after the mission?

D: Not exactly.

M: Really?

D: Yeah, the thing about this Simic biomancer, was that we both knew her.

M: Asimi?

D: Yeah.

M: Could Veran not bring himself to kill a childhood friend?

D: No...he was ready to kill us both if needed, what he didn't expect was for us to fight back. Asimi fought after he began to attack, but he did not plan on fighting fair, he knocked me into a wall and pulled a poison dagger on her. They fought while I struggled to stand back up.

M: What happened next?

D: I failed. He got a hit on her, and after that she was easy to finish off, he was using some kind of rare poison that basically sedated a person after only a few seconds in the bloodstream. Before I could get up to try and help, he had already finished it, and he used a powerful flame spell to char her body, before charging it at me. He knew I hated flames.

M: So, how did you escape?

D: To be honest, I don't really know. One minute I have a fading grasp on reality, I see the flames burn Asimi's body, and then start heading to me, the next minute, I only see a blinding light.

M: Your spark ignited?

D: I guess. I'm still new to this. But anyways, the next thing I know, I'm laying in a dense forest, with some mountains in the distance.

M: Well...seems you've had quite a rough week.

D: Yeah.

M: So, Durah, would you mind if we switch topics for a bit?

D: I'd be happy too.

M: Ok, well in that case, why don't we switch to a lighter one for now.

D: Sounds good.

M: Ok, so, why don't you explain your style.

D: My "style?"

M: Yes, like your clothes, how would you describe the way you dress?

D: Ah...well, to be honest, I don't have much of a "style," I was used to growing up with little money, I mean, my father did spend most of it on alcohol. But, I guess I would say, casual? I just wear some cheap coats and pants.

M: What about the trinkets you have on? Like that skull for example?

D: Well, most of these trinkets are signs of acceptance into guilds. Where I did so many odd jobs over the years, many of the factions began to see me as a, well, a "honorary member" I guess. They gave me some trinkets to prove it. I mean, this glove-gauntlet was a gift from an Izzet mage I helped move some cargo, and these goggles were a present from the Simic for helping me dive down on their missions. Now, the skull you pointed out, is actually from a Gruul clan.

M: The Gruul? But, weren't the Gruul the ones who took your mothers life?

D: Well, yes, but the Gruul are seperated into hundreds of different clans. This clan is known as "Burning Tree" and while they are still strong and respected, they don't really do the large-scale raids that took my mother. At least, they don't do it a lot.

M: Ah, well, what about tattoos? Do you have any?

D: A few. I have one that's modeled after the symbol the Living Guildpact uses on my shoulder, and I have a few Gruul markings along this arm.

M: Hmm, why do you have a tattoo of the Living Guildpact's symbol?

D: I respect him, he creates peace between the guilds, at least more than their was when I grew up.

M: Well. In theme with our previous topic, why don't we look at combat style. Do you use any weapons? Do you rely on magic?

D: I usually use cryomancy for combat, but I also have a staff that I can use in physical combat.

M: Any particular reason you use a staff?

D: Mostly just how I was trained. I took combat lessons from the Gruul and Izzet.

M: Combat lessons from the Izzet?

D: Yeah...believe it or not but some of them are excellent fighters. But anyway, the Gruul used staffs mainly as their weapon of choice, and the Izzet modified my original staff with some tech to channel my ice magic.

M: Handy.

D: Yep.

M: So, now feel free to deny it, but if you don't mind, what is your sexuality?

D: Oh...well.. that was unexpected.

M: Feel free to stay silent.

D: No, its fine. I guess I would have to say Bisexual. I mean, I've never really had any serious romances or really sat down and thought about it, but I don't really care about a persons sex.

M: Fair enough. Now, I want to ask you a question that, based on what you have told me, you may have strong feelings about, is it ok if I ask it?

D: Well, sure, I guess.

M: Ok, have you ever been intoxicated?

D: A few times, twice when I was little, and once when I was older.

M: Really? How did they come about?

D: The first time was a simple accident, my father left his out, and I got my hands on it. I puked for a week.

M: Hm, well, what about the second?

D: The second time was less...cute. My father found out I had taken a drink from his...

M: The first time?

D: Yes.

M: Well, how did he react?

D: He yelled. I remember one moment very clearly, he had me pinned to the floor and was yelling something along the lines of "You want my drink!? Here, have it ALL THEN!" After that, he poured a whole bottle into my mouth and beat me after I swallowed it, telling me "A real man would have spit it back out and hit him."

M: Oh...

D: Yeah...

M: Well...what about the third time?

D: The third time was to celebrate my freedom from my dad. Asimi, Veran, and I all celebrated my escape.

M: Well, sounds like that memory was a happier one!

D: I wish. After just a few drinks...I lost control.

M: What?

D: I slipped into those same actions...I almost really hurt my friends...I...I was a monster...just like him...I vowed to never take a drink again after that day. I didn't want to be like him, I wanted to be someone he would be sick of, someone he would hate as much as I hate him. But after just a few drinks...I became him.

M: NO! I'm sure you gained back control before you hurt your friends!

D: Luckily.

M: Well...with that I think it may be time to begin wrapping up, but just to end on a happier note, do you think you could tell us any quirks you have?

D: ...

M: Durah?

D: Sorry....quirks you said?

M: Yes, if you have any.

D: Well, a big one is my heterochromia, my eyes are different colors.

M: Well, any others?

D: One more...

M: What is it?

D: I count in song...

M: Huh...not what I was expecting to be honest.

D: Yeah...figured we should end lighter.

M: Fair. Well Durah...I think its about time I take my leave, thank you for meeting with me today.

D: Yeah, thanks for listening.

#mtg #magic #magic the gathering #magic the card game #planeswalker #custom #custom planeswalker #oc #oc planeswalker

[scribeofmorpheus]

The Rebel Queen (vi)

Chapter Six: Aftermath

Pairing: Poe Dameron x (OFC) Princess Calista Ordell

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | A03

Words: 3k | Warnings: More ramblings of a delusional fanfic writer…

A/N: Ahhh! The Mandalorian’s trailer dropped and I’m… Whew! On a separate note, here is a post that links to causes to help aid Brazil Indigenous tribes and here is an article that talks about what is happening and other causes you may want to check out.

Taglist is open

Epilogue | About Thesmora

The Somnambulist strained against Odhen’s hands, the nav-stick rigid and stubborn. His hands were sweaty and raw, his muscles shaking as he tried to keep the ship from tearing in half from the intense speeds she was flying through. The Somnambulist had taken too much damage and hadn’t received nearly enough love. It was a miracle she was still holding fast.

“Climb, girl, climb,” he spoke endearingly to the metal ship as they broke through Takodana’s stratosphere. Heat from the friction of speed licked at his windshield.

Using the back of his hand, Odhen whipped the sweat from his forehead and pushed it up into his greasy hairline. A shaky laugh breaking through the empty cockpit as he finally saw stars.

He felt like he could finally slouch back in his chair, then he heard Koa scream loud and shrill. His heart started to race all over again as he swallowed against the dry lump in his throat. A weak sigh leaving him as he blinked away the images that plagued his mind. He blinked away the sound of his wife’s dying breaths coming through, delayed and nearly inaudible, via a weak tight-beam transmission. Now his eyes were watering and he stared down at the medal meant to signify heroism on his jacket and he sobbed, hand pulling the pin so tightly it threatened to tear through his jacket’s tough material.

Relief surged through him when Koa went silent. The whole ship was deader than a graveyard after that. The only sound was the Somnambulist’s soothing thrum. Ton-Ton waddled over, exhausted pants leaving his unseen mouth as he handed a data-pad to Odhen, revealing in Jawaese what was on it.

Odhen wiped his face with the rag that always hung on his belt, the smell of grease was strong, but he didn’t care. He read over the coordinates and swore. Fate was a cruel mistress. Of all the damned places in the entire galaxy, of course their next stop would be the one place he swore never to return to. D’Qar.

Ton-Ton jumped several times, trying his best to get into the co-pilot seat and Odhen chuckled with no humour as he watched his friend struggle to get up. The Jawa took offence at his rudeness and pulled out a wrench from under his robes and threw it at Odhen’s head.

In sluggish movements, using limbs too tired to function, Odhen blocked the wrench from hitting into his face but that just transferred the impact to his shattered elbow and he winced.

“The elbow, mind the elbow, you short devil!” Odhen hissed as he rubbed at his old war injury.

With a grumble, he picked Ton-Ton up and placed him on the chair, an accusatory finger wiggling in front of the Jawa’s one eye, “How many times have I lectured you about hittin’ people? This is my ship, I’m in charge and I’m orderin’ you to cut it out before I space you.”

Ton-Ton swore at him in rapid-fired shots, his little hands whacking the air causing his robe’s sleeves to swish about. Odhen was about to trade his own insults but then he suddenly stopped himself. He was no mood for their exhausting dynamic.

He punched in the coordinates and with a prayer that they wouldn’t be turned to stardust, he set the ship into hyperdrive and just watched the raining stars for a quiet minute.

“I need a drink,” Odhen complained as he licked the sides of his dry cheeks. “Keep us from collidin’ with a satellite will ya’.”

Ton-Ton dismissed him with a wave, then barked over his shoulder as Odhen stood to leave.

“I’m not your barmaid, get one yourself,” Odhen replied.

Ton-Ton made a snide comment and Odhen shook his head before giving in to the Jawa’s request, “Fine, what d’ya want?”

Ton-Ton’s pitch raised with uncertainty as he prattled on. Odhen held up his hand to stop the little firecracker from droning on and giving him a headache.

“We ain’t got none of that. I don’t even know why you think we would. We’re smugglers, not snooty aristocrats. We got some Thessi hooch and we got one cask left of that fancy Ne'tra gal stuff we were supposed to deliver. Pick your poison.”

Ton-Ton answered in monotone and Odhen nodded in response.

“Hooch. Commin’ up,” Odhen blinked slowly as he made his way to the lower decks.

 Odhen passed the med bay on his way to the lower deck. Inside he saw Koa in a medically induced coma, her vital organs hooked up to old and beaten machines that needed replacing at least a decade ago. Her warm breath fogged up the mask that covered half her face. Fresh blade slashes and green contusions on her bronze skin marred her arms and legs to imperfection. It would be more accurate to say one and a half arms now. 

There was a faint smell of antiseptic and burned hair. It itched at his nose. The white gown they had dressed her in reminded Odhen of funerals and with that simple, unwanted thought, his heart palpitated uncomfortably. 

She was so young, too young to look like this. He didn’t think he could survive seeing someone die again. It filled him with fear. 

He felt heavy all of a sudden, a name he hadn’t uttered in years slipping out as he braced his jacket at the left side, “Len…”

All of a sudden, the young, freckle-faced boy who held himself like a man, wandered up to Odhen, a sparkle in his eye that meant he knew who he was approaching –and it wasn’t Odhen Boro the smuggler, it was the other guy, the so-called hero.

“Heya, we didn’t get the chance to properly be introduced. I’m-“

Odhen frowned, he didn’t need another name to go with another face. He knew enough of those already and no good had come of adding more to his memory. “I don’t care.”

“Oh,” Zeeke’s mouth fell, his outstretched hand crumpling into a ball as he shoved it back into his pale blue utility pants, the other held onto a blood-stained brown jacket too big for his slender arms. “I just… I wanted to ask-“

Odhen brushed passed him, determined to be alone, “If you need something go ask the droid, it’s what he’s bloody there for.”

“I- Uh… sorry. Of course, I just wanted to say thanks, is all,” Zeeke ducked away in search of Watts.

Odhen pressed the pads of his fingers to his eyes until he saw white spots. 

“Now I need two bloody drinks,” he grimaced.

Calista sat with her head in her hands and her body slumped against a cold metal wall. The floor was uncomfortable, digging through her thighs until it found bone. She didn’t care. At least it meant she was still capable of feeling. She was exhausted. After having a disagreement with Mokk-Toh about his not wanting to be put under to allow his wounds to heal faster, Calista decided that the one thing she needed more than anything was solitude. Or the next best thing in a smugglers ship.

The thrum of the engine was louder here below deck. It smelled of ozone and the air tasted like foam. It was probably the effect of being so close to the fuel converters. The darkness was soothing though, and that’s all that mattered to her.

The sound of clanking echoed from an equally dark compartment, the grumbling and grumpy swearing let her know it was Odhen. His frustrated argument with inanimate objects made her smile. He may have been ungroomed, greasy and of poor manner, but something about Odhen struck Calista as being a man with a heart too sensitive for this time. A man guarded because he feared his own empathy, his own vulnerability. He reminded her of what her father would have turned into had he lived to see another war engulf the galaxy.

Another set of footsteps descended the ladder. Poe’s voice called out and Odhen yelped in surprise.

“Sorry,” Poe chuckled lightly. “Just looking for the kid. You seen him?”

“He ain’t here, last I saw he was by the med bay,” Odhen said.

“I just came from there, he’s not in the cockpit or the comms room.”

Odhen cleared his throat, “Look, I can’t help you. I don’t have eyes everywhere. I’m a pilot, not a Jedi.”

“You been drinking?” Poe asked with concern. 

“What of it?”

“I just expected the man in charge of navigating us through dangerous space to be sober enough to know the difference between which button launches a torpedo and which brings down the landing gear,” Poe said snidely.

“Why does everyone insist on talkin’ to me?” Odhen’s voice got an octave louder, “This is my ship. Don’t like how I run it, the airlocks that way.”

“What happened to you?” Poe asked almost with pity. “Those medals are Resistance issued. And assuming you didn’t steal them, you used to be more than… this.”

“Yeah, well if you’re the best General Leia has to offer, you’re in for a rude awakening kid. Wipe those stars out your eyes, this is war, war ain’t no place for poster boys like yourself. If you expect to live through it, you’ll be sporting a tough shell too,” Odhen spoke rudely and yet his words held an ominous premonition to it. 

Heavy feet clomped away and the whir of a door sliding open followed after. 

Calista heaved a sigh. All she wanted was some damn peace and quiet for two minutes. Two. Minutes.

She took a breath and cast her eyes up, staring at the buzzing light. Poe walked into the room and froze for a moment, taken aback by the fact someone else was down there with him.

“Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to…” His dark eyes narrowed, a thumb pointing behind him. “You didn’t hear any of that, did you?”

Calista smiled and said lazily, “I didn’t hear a thing.”

Poe chuckled, motioning to leave before something in his face decided otherwise, “You alright down here?”

“I’m fine.”

For some reason, he didn’t buy her words. Poe ruffled his hair before skittishly moving towards Calista, one thumb looped around his belt loop. After rocking on the balls of his feet, he sighed and slid down beside her.

There was only the sound of the engine thrum for a long time. Calista’s eyes kept wandering through the ship, her nails digging at the patterned panelling on the floor. Poe held his wrists with his knees digging into the crooks of his elbows.

“So, princess huh?” he said softly.

Calista chuckled, “You assumed. I merely went along with it.”

“A heads up would have been nice, now I look like a right fool in front of royalty,” he mused.

“Well, fool is a good look on you,” she joked.

He held out his hand, “We didn’t get the chance to have a proper introduction. Poe Dameron, Commander with the Resistance.”

Calista blinked slowly, fatigue circling her eyes, “Calista Ordell, Princess of Thesmora.”

They shook hands and then returned to staring at the wall in front of them.

“How’s your friend doing?” he asked.

Calista inhaled deeply, “I’d rather not… if that’s okay with you.”

Poe nodded, changing the subject, “You know, you two look a lot alike.”

Calista eyed him, nibbling at the corner of her mouth as she felt the muscle tug, “Is that your way of saying it wasn’t your fault that you mistook her for me?”

Poe scratched at the scruff under his chin, “Maybe…” he smiled. “But you do resemble each other.”

Calista started undoing one of her braids to keep her hands busy, “There’s some Ordell in her blood. A great grandmother or something other, I think. She got the warmer eyes though.” 

“And yet, why do I sense that she’s pricklier than you are?” 

“Because you spent five minutes arguing with her. That’s like arguing with a stone wall.”

They turned to each other and laughed in breathy puffs of air. Calista’s eyes growing smaller from the smile on her face. A bit of the weight was taken off her weary soul. She was thankful to him for that.

“She means a lot to you, huh?” he asked, fingers brushing against the letters stamped on his dog-tags, mind split between two places.

“I’ve known her for more than half my life. She’s the closest thing I’ll ever have to a sister,” Calista remarked with fondness, her voice quaky. “I can always count on her never be afraid to boss me around –to challenge me or have a normal conversation with me.”

Poe’s shoulder nudged hers, “What do you call this?” his finger circled between them and the dark, empty room.

She smirked, answering truthfully, “A distraction. One I was in dire need of… thank you.” She said earnestly. “It feels good to talk about anything other than war.”

Poe let go of his dog tags, a sliver of sadness pulling his lips back down, “I know the feeling. Vaguely.”

“I’m sorry about your men, on the ship,” she said wholeheartedly after another beat of silence.

Poe smiled with gratitude, but he didn’t look like a man in mourning, he was just shaken, “The apology is appreciated but not necessary. You didn’t kill them.” 

“What were they like?” she asked out of curiosity.

Poe’s jaw tensed before he replied with hollow words, “They were soldiers.”

Footsteps descended down to greet them in their small space.

“Hey hotshot, you down here?” it was Paige. 

“In here Tico,” he called out.

She followed after his voice, knocking into a few things on her way over. The first thing Calista noticed about her was that she wasn’t wearing her woolly hat. She looked much younger with her jet black hair falling in waves to shape her face. Poe was stunned for a moment but shook himself back to reality. The atmosphere had changed.

Paige’s eyes went wide when they met Calista’s, “Oh, uh… Your majesty –Am I allowed to call you that?– I wasn’t expecting to find you down here. I just…” She pointed at Poe. “Came down here looking for him.”

“Calista is fine, titles don’t matter much this far out in space,” she reassured the flustered Resistance soldier. 

Paige let out a breath, fingers running through her much tamer hair, “Good, thought I botched that one for a moment. I’m new to this whole… socialising with royalty thing.”

Paige shuffled awkwardly before tossing a brown jacket at Poe, “I found Zeeke. He got the droid to clean that for you by the way.”

Poe gave a mock salute with two fingers, “Where was he?”

Paige’s eyebrows rose high as she folded her arms, “In the comms room sending a tight beam.” 

“That was the first place I looked,” Poe informed her as he slipped into his Resistance issue jacket. 

“You guys must have gotten your wires crossed,” she huffed with an amused smile.

Poe stood from the ground, but didn’t offer Calista a hand up. Somehow he knew she wanted to stay in the dark a little longer. He nodded curtly at her with a knowing look and started towards Paige.

“You feeling better? No more nausea or vertigo?” his voice grew lighter.

Paige shrugged as she walked beside him, “Won’t lie, the nap helped a bunch. Mostly, I’m excited to get back to Rose and scraping the gunk off the wing thrusters…”

Calista closed her eyes as she took in the encompassing comfort of silence once more. The vibrations of the engine burrowing even deeper into her bones, all the way to her marrow. The vibrations turned comforting, like being held safely inside a womb with the sound of a mother’s heartbeat echoing throughout. Calista’s heavy lids grew heavier and she wasn’t strong enough to keep them open any longer. 

 Calista dreamed she was back on Thesmora, feet bare and planted on the white sands of the beach. The water was so clear it reflected the golden sunset back in a spectacular fashion. The warm water rushing up the sand lapped at her toes. She felt unburdened here. Free.

“Calista,” her mother’s voice sounded out from behind her and Calista gasped.

“Madani?” She whispered in shock as she spun around.

Mother?

Lo and behold, there she was, the magnificent Lenora Ordell. Queen of Thesmora. Mother. Wife. Sister. Ruler.

Her smile creased at her face, coily hair styled elegantly, eyes dusted purple –her signature colour. She held out her hands and Calista practically fell into her embrace. When she did, she felt smaller, shorter… younger.

Looking up, her mother seemed to be taller. Calista looked down at her hands and noticed they had shrunk to a child’s size, so had her toes. Her foot stepping in a footprint nearly three times the size of her own.

“You’ve got big shoes to fill,” a familiar masculine voice spoke out.

Calista removed her face from the sweet-scented fabric of her mother’s dress.

“Farhi?” she mumbled with joy

Father?

Calista turned to the side, eyes catching sight of the handsome and poised looking man who held his shoulders square and had the kindest golden eyes in all the galaxy. Duke Romaine Andrastas Belamon, consort to the queen, father and senator stood proudly before her. He looked barely a day older than when Calista last saw him. All her life, her father had been the older of her parents, but now, in the dream, it was her mother that looked older.

Childish Felix, beautiful, wryly and ill-mannered as he was, sprinted close to Calista’s stubby feet, tripping her onto the sand. Tears streamed down her face as she watched her brother run back to the ocean, her father lecturing him for his bad behaviour.

Lenora knelt down, knees digging into fine sand.

“Always find the courage to stand, my child,” a beautiful smile graced over Lenora's timeless features, her hand reaching down. “For as long as you believe you have the strength to keep going, then you will have the strength to keep going.” 

Calista rubbed at her cheeks, wiping hot tears away as she dusted her trousers and accepted her mother's outstretched hand. The sounds of her brother’s laughter tickling at her ear. 

“Remember Calista, just because you got knocked down, doesn’t mean you belong there.” Lenora helped Calista to her feet, glancing over at the golden shores of the beach, a content look in her eyes. 

As Lenora stepped to the side, a purple water lily grew in the spot where her feet had been planted. It was her coronation flower. The symbol that marked the start of her administration. To her people, purple meant strength in the face of adversity and great willpower –it also meant stubbornness and beauty. The water lily symbolised balance –someone of old faith with an open mind. 

Calista stared back at her own smaller footprint and noticed bare hyphae strands twining in the ground. No flower as yet. No identity as a ruler.

Boots crunched into the sand, clunky armour grinding at the joints. Calista jumped in fear when she saw Versengen encroaching towards her family. His footsteps turned the sand to glass, heat effervescing off the boot prints.

“You look so much like your father,” he repeated.

Calista spun around to look for her father, eyes darting anxiously, but he was gone, so was Felix. Nothing but clouds in the sky and waves on the shore. 

Something warm meandered along the length of her hand and she was shocked to discover it was blood. Calista’s head snapped up, seeing Maligma’s polished, dark nails wrapped around her mother’s throat while a sharp dagger was held close to her mouth. A fresh cut opened her mother’s throat so all she could do was gag voicelessly.

“Did you have a good day at the beach?” Maligma asked with an unhinging smile, her hair and body caught on fire, devouring everything like wildfire.

When she looked back at Versengen, he was inching his helmet off his head. The sun’s glare blinded her momentarily, and in that moment she thought she saw a familiar face hiding underneath the helmet. 

Then a cold touch shivered her out of her dream.

 Mokk-Toh hovered over her, his body looking the same; bruised, cut up and in need of rest. He removed his hand from her arm and stood upright, “We’re here princess.”

“Where’s here?” she rubbed her eyes to chase the blurry vision.

“D’Qar.”

To be continued...

Taglist: @carolinamalo53 @everything-intertwined

Permatags: @gruffle1 @thechickvic @notawarriorjustyet @savethehoneeybees

#star wars #poe dameron #poe dameron imagine #star wars fic #tlj #tfa #sw eu #sw tlj #sw tfa #original characters #lore #planets

[housebeleren]

War of the Spark New Commanders

It’s now that time. Time to figure out if I feel like turning any of these new Legendary Creatures into Commander decks. And since the *ahem* Rules Committee decided not to allow Planeswalkers as generals, I’ll have to be content with just the creatures. (I mean, c’mon. Really?!)

With that, let’s get started. There are some goodies to review.

Let’s start with Dragon Daddy Niv. Honestly, I’m really digging this design. He’s a 5 color general, but actually makes use of those 5 colors unlike certain other generals I can mention. *coughNajeelacough* This design also makes you have to think about deck design in a very interesting way, since you’re incentivized to put as many 2 color cards in the deck as possible. I went right ahead and put him at the helm of my Superfriends deck, because he’s a pretty strict upgrade over Jodah. And I typically draw 2-3 cards off casting him in that deck, so I feel pretty good about that choice. Overall, I really love the design for Niv-Mizzet Reborn, and I can imagine a wide range of decks being built for him.

Okay, now let’s get this out of the way, because this is obviously the Legend that got the most initial attention for EDH, and rightfully so. This is fantastic new design space for Boros, which is a notoriously difficult color combination in the format. And the possibilities are endless. Sure, you can throw all kinds of cantrips at Feather and dig deep into your deck, but there’s also fun stuff you can do with cards like Aurelia’s Fury, that can target multiple targets. And forget about it once you have Zada on the field. Then it just gets insane. I look forward to seeing all the different options people come up with, and I’m also just happy that Feather finally got a card.

Aside from being some absolutely gorgeous art, Roalesk packs a lot of action for 5 mana. For one, he’s huge just on his own. But the fact that he can spread the love on ETB and when he dies is just fantastic. That said, I definitely see Roalesk as a supporting player, and not so much as a lead. He’s a great inclusion in Ezuri, Claw of Progress decks, and I can also see builds of Atraxa being very interested. That deck has access to numerous ways to retrigger both the ETB & death abilities, so this could be a powerful proliferate engine if done right. Every general needs a lieutenant, right?

I like Storrev. I really do. I truly wish there was a format that really wanted this. But, alas, in Commander we have Meren of Clan Nel Toth, and I just don’t think Storrev is going to supplant her anytime soon. Maybe some Meren or Karador decks will find space for her as some added redundancy, but I’m not holding my breath. (Which is good, because a Zombie Elf Wizard is likely to beat me at a breath-holding contest.)

Another absolutely gorgeous piece of artwork, our final Gold Legend is... wolf tribal? Huh, I guess that’s a thing? This is definitely a Standard card, and I don’t really see this making any waves in EDH unless they come out with a ton of sweet wolves in the upcoming sets. I will say, between Tolsimir & Arlinn, this does give me some optimism that there will be wolves in the Fall set. Because wolves tribal in Standard is totally a deck I would play.

Alright, let’s tackle the gods next. Oketra, while an absolute monster of a beating in Limited, and a Standard powerhouse, doesn’t strike me as all that potent as a Commander on her own. Now, will Varina decks potentially be interested in this? Why, yes they will. And potentially any other creature-heavy go-wide decks might be down. But Oketra is definitely built for the 99.

Blue mages everywhere collectively nerdgasmed when Kefnet was previewed. I think there’s no doubt that Kefnet will likely have the largest impact on Commander from cards in this set. There’s already talk of him supplanting Teferi as the mono-Blue general of choice for CEDH, and that’s no easy feat. But honestly, this is exactly what every Blue deck wants to do! I’ve already slot him directly into my Aminatou deck manipulation build, where he goes infinite with her plus any extra turn spell. As the headliner or in the chorus, Kefnet is going to be an EDH staple for years to come. And that’s to say nothing of the impact he’ll have on Standard.

I’m glad not all of the gods are instant hits. Bontu is great, make no mistake. And there will definitely be Big Black decks that want this. But I don’t think she’s going to be an auto-include, and I also don’t think there are many good reasons to run her as the Commander of a deck over some of the better mono-Black options. Bontu is a clear role player in several builds. I, for one, will probably slot her right away into my Gisa & Geralf deck. And I suspect many will do the same.

Doing this slightly out of order, which is difficult because one compulsion is telling me to keep all the God-Eternals together, while another compulsion is telling me to do all 5 gods in color order. It’s rough up in here.

I guess every family needs a disappointing sibling, right? It’s crazy to think that a card like this could be a “disappointment,” but in the world of EDH, this reads like a mediocre Craterhoof impersonation. I’d honestly rather run End-Raze Forerunners more often than this, because the Trample is just so. relevant. I think there’s potential for Standard, and he’s undoubtedly a bomb in Limited, but that’s about the long & the short of it, from what I can see.

Ilharg is fun, and totally reminds me of Etali, Primal Storm, except for the part that they’re not actually that much alike. Okay, they are both 6/6 mono-Red Legendary creatures with an attack trigger, so that’s kinda similar. That said, I think Ilharg really wants to be a supporting cast member in a multicolor deck, with Green in it at the very least. You really want to power out huge creatures with ETBs with this guy. Again, Craterhoof comes to mind. It’s like that card is good or something.

Let’s keep going on this mono-Red train. New Neheb is fun, and a nice callback to the previous version. That said, I do think Neheb, the Eternal is probably a stronger general, as this version has the potential to get brick-walled by good blockers. Basically, the likelihood for this Neheb to fail seems greater than I’d like. Who knows, though. I could be wrong, and Dreadhorde Neheb could be the new hotness.

The string of “not quite as good as their previous versions” continues. Again, I do kinda love this design. But it’s really hard to compete with Double Trouble Krenko from before. Maybe they want to be in the same deck? But even that seems like a bit of a stretch.

Tomik is family and we never turn our backs on family, hon! You ride that gargoyle off into the sunset, you fabulous queen you. Also, I can’t be the only one who thinks it’s a bit on the nose to have the confirmed gay (and suspected top) and-I-quote “tie it into knots”? I mean, I could’ve told you Ral was into some kinky shit just from looking at him (e-stim much?), but apparently they’re just super about this life on Ravnica and I am here for it hennnnnny. 

Oh, the card. Yeah, stick to Legacy with this one. If your playgroup is literally all Frog Monsters & DaddyCats, sure. Knock yourself out. Or maybe Tomik will do it for you? Maybe if you beg good.

I always wondered how they would make a Fblthp card, and well... now I know. The little guy’s actually pretty good, doing his best Elvish Visionary impersonation, only better, because if he gets super duper lost, he finds himself an extra card on the way. Sure, yes, he combos with Proteus Staff in a deck with no creatures as a strange build-your-own Divination on a literal stick. But honestly, that’s not enough reason to run him as your Commander. Prove me wrong, bitches. Because, honestly? I’d love to see that.

The unfortunate thing is that, as much as I was happy to see a Massacre Girl card, it’s really unfortunate that there’s no Hekara in this set, given the role she played in the novel. (And the fact that miss not-Hekara here didn’t appear at all.) It just underscores how many missed opportunities there were in the coordination between the novel & the set. 

Anyway, not-Hekara is a super cool design, and will often be a pretty clean board wipe on a stick. Honestly... I could see her having a place in some Black decks that want this effect often, since recurring your board wipe over and over is a pretty strong line of play. It’s Staxy, but I’m kinda okay with that. Not a slam dunk, but a definite option for decks that want her.

Aaaaaand lastly, the goodest of boys is... a good boy. That’s about it. He’s fantastic in Limited, and I highly recommend playing him often, and with great enthusiasm. But yeah, there’s not really any EDH potential here, except maybe in the strangest of jank Ezuri decks. And that’s a stretch, for sure. If it doubled the counters, then I could see it more, because that would get out of hand really quickly.

So that’s basically it. All the Legendary Creatures of War of the Spark. Who are you running in your Commander decks?

#MtG #mtg commander #war of the spark

[qveenofthorns]

Brave, gentle, strong: there is only one (no really—I checked)

“When you’re old enough, I will make you a match with a high lord who’s worthy of you, someone brave and gentle and strong.” – Eddard Stark, Sansa III, AGOT

I’ve seen a lot of metas about textual evidence for Sandor being the BGS That Was Promised™, and I started wondering if there are any other candidates. What if we’re all so ~blinded~ by our ship that we missed something else right in front of us? I used A Search of Ice and Fire to check every single Sansa/Alayne chapter for these words (and variations of them) to see if she thinks of anyone else using all of these terms.  

Here are all of the of the uses sorted by character/chronologically (excluding the times she tells Sweetrobin that he’s brave and strong or she tells herself to be brave like Robb):

Joffrey

1. “It was a great honor to ride with the queen, and besides, Prince Joffrey might be there. Her betrothed. Just thinking it made her feel a strange fluttering inside, even though they were not to marry for years and years. Sansa did not really know Joffrey yet, but she was already in love with him. He was all she ever dreamt her prince should be, tall and handsome and strong, with hair like gold.” Sansa I, AGOT

Okay, so I think we can discount this one given the context of Ned’s “brave and gentle and strong” quote, but I really wanted to cover all the bases. It’s also a pretty superficial assessment, moulding him to fit the part in which she’s cast him based on the songs.

Barristan Selmy

1. “One knight wore an intricate suit of white enameled scales, brilliant as a field of new-fallen snow, with silver chasings and clasps that glittered in the sun. When he removed his helm, Sansa saw that he was an old man with hair as pale as his armor, yet he seemed strong and graceful for all that. From his shoulders hung the pure white cloak of the Kingsguard.” Sansa I, AGOT

This one is also an extremely obvious no, though it is still interesting. Despite being old, he seems like a knight from the songs and we see the Kingsguard cloak for the first time in a Sansa POV.  

Sandor

1. “She stepped backward and bumped into someone. Strong hands grasped her by the shoulders, and for a moment Sansa thought it was her father, but when she turned, it was the burned face of Sandor Clegane looking down at her, his mouth twisted in a terrible mockery of a smile.” Sansa I, AGOT

This is after she first sees Ser Ilyn Payne, whom she finds terrifying. Her initial response to Sandor’s touch is positive and this won’t be the last time she backs into him when she’s afraid.

2. “Sandor Clegane scooped her up around the waist and lifted her off the featherbed as she struggled feebly. Her blanket fell to the floor. Underneath she only had a thin bed gown to cover her nakedness. ‘Do as you’re bid, child,’ Clegane said. ‘Dress.’ He pushed her toward her wardrobe, almost gently.” Sansa VI, AGOT

This is the first BGS occurrence since her conversation with Ned. She’s depressed and suicidal and hasn’t bathed in who-knows-how-long after his death. Joffrey has demanded she get dressed and bathe or else “his Hound” will do it for her. She still asks that Joff leave her alone and doesn’t move, at which point he orders Sandor to get her out of bed.

3. “‘Here, girl.’ Sandor Clegane knelt before her, between her and Joffrey. With a delicacy surprising in such a big man, he dabbed at the blood welling from her broken lip.” Sansa VI, AGOT

Not only is he being gentle with her here, he also just prevented her from committing a murder/suicide.

4. “‘True knights,’ he mocked. ‘And I’m no lord, no more than I’m a knight. Do I need to beat that into you?’ Clegane reeled and almost fell. ‘Gods,’ he swore, ‘too much wine. Do you like wine, little bird? True wine? A flagon of sour red, dark as blood, all a man needs. Or a woman.’ He laughed, shook his head. ‘Drunk as a dog, damn me. You come now. Back to your cage, little bird. I’ll take you there. Keep you safe for the king.’ The Hound gave her a push, oddly gentle, and followed her down the steps. By the time they reached the bottom, he had lapsed into a brooding silence, as if he had forgotten she was there.” Sansa II, ACOK

The serpentine encounter is the perfect example of the walking, talking dichotomy that is Sandor Clegane. “Iron fingers” catch her wrist and prevent her from falling down the steps and he makes a joke about how she’s trying to kill them both (something to consider for the future, Sandor: you’re the one lurching out of hidden doorways in the middle of the night, so maybe that’s part of the problem). She says he’s hurting her but he doesn’t let go of her wrist. Then he makes some inappropriate comments about her body and asks her to sing him a song about knights and fair maidens (because he’s a closet sappy romantic like that) because she likes knights. She says she likes true knights and then we come in at the quote. So we go from scary drunk who’s holding her wrist too tight and coming on to her sexually (the only time he ever does) to immediately realizing he’s way out of line, going back to gentle touches and promises to keep her safe. He also lies to protect her from Boros Blount on the very next page. I think it’s fairly safe to say his brooding is primarily about two things: kicking himself over how he just acted, and the “keep you safe for the king” part (he knows Joff well enough to realize that the king is the biggest threat to her safety). In a Daenerys ACOK chapter, she says of Jorah, “Sometimes he thinks of me as a child he must protect, and sometimes as a woman he would like to bed….” I reread that chapter the other day and couldn’t help but think of SanSan and this scene in particular.  

5. “The Hound pulled her to her feet, not ungently.” Sansa III, ACOK

This is at the beginning of the scene where she’s beaten and stripped by Boros Blount. While he’s gentle with her in that moment and does tell Joffrey to stop later, his inaction on this occasion is the biggest regret of his life and he cries about it on his “deathbed.”

6. “A stab went through her, so sharp that Sansa sobbed and clutched at her belly. She might have fallen, but a shadow moved suddenly, and strong fingers grabbed her arm and steadied her.” Sansa IV, ACOK

Okay, so I’m kind of convinced that Sandor spends all of his free time stalking her (because he doesn’t know how to handle the fact that he has positive feelings for another human being?). He’s always lurking in shadows, only to pop out to save her from falling. How often does he hide in the shadows near her that we just never see?

7. “She made herself look at that face now, really look. It was only courteous, and a lady must never forget her courtesies. The scars were not the worst part, nor even the way his mouth twitches. It’s his eyes. She had never seen eyes so full of anger. ‘I… I should have come to you after,’ she said haltingly. ‘To thank you, for… for saving me… you were so brave.’” Sansa IV, ACOK

Ugh, I just have so many feels about this interaction. Between these two quotes, Sandor bb gets sad because she’s scared of him and “still can’t bear to look,” so he lashes out. “He is a dog, just as he says. A half-wild, mean-tempered dog that bites any hand that tries to pet him, and yet will savage any man who tries to hurt his master.” Yes, because he is an ABUSED dog and no one has every tried to pet him before so he’s getting very confused. I’m getting side-tracked by the feels so I’ll stop myself here.

8. “Of late Ser Osmund had taken Sandor Clegane’s place by Joffrey’s side, and Sansa had heard the women at the washing well saying that he was as strong as the Hound, only younger and faster. If that was so, she wondered why she had never once heard of these Kettleblacks before Ser Osmund was named to the Kingsguard.” Sansa VI, ACOK

I considered also including this under the Kettleblacks, but decided against it because she’s not the one saying they’re strong. Her attitude here feels similar to her attitude during the first unkiss mention (“these other girls/women are so silly—I have the Hound and what they have is inferior”).

9. “He yanked her closer, and for a moment she thought he meant to kiss her. He was too strong to fight. She closed her eyes, wanting it to be over, but nothing happened.” Sansa VII, ACOK

This one typically gets left out because it doesn’t exactly portray him in a positive light, but I’m trying to include everything, good and bad. I have some thoughts on this re: the unkiss, but this isn’t the place for that. Short version: it would have been very easy for GRRM to write something like “she wished he wouldn’t,” but instead he wrote “wanting it to be over.” I’m not saying she wanted him to kiss her in that moment, but she didn’t not want him to kiss her either (or it could be a “just get it over with” scenario).

Tyrion

1. “Sansa watched him walk off, his body swaying heavily from side to side, like something from a grotesquerie. He speaks more gently than Joffrey, she thought, but the queen spoke to me gently too. He’s still a Lannister, her brother and Joff’s uncle, and no friend. Once she had loved Prince Joffrey with all her heart, and admired and trusted his mother, the queen. They had repaid that love and trust with her father’s head. Sansa would never make that mistake again.” Sansa I, ACOK

“More gently than Joffrey” is a pretty low bar. Overall, not a very glowing review of Tyrion: he’s not a monster, but he’s grotesque, can’t be trusted, and could turn into a monster later.

Osmund Kettleblack

1. “Sansa tried to run, but Cersei’s handmaiden caught her before she’d gone a yard. Ser Meryn Trant gave her a look that made her cringe, but Kettleblack touched her almost gently and said, “Do as you’re told, sweetling, it won’t be so bad. Wolves are supposed to be brave, aren’t they?” Sansa III, ASOS  

If you didn’t have déjà vu while reading this, something is wrong because this is almost EXACTLY the same as a Sandor moment included on this list. (“‘Do as you’re bid, child,’ Clegane said. ‘Dress.’ He pushed her toward her wardrobe, almost gently.”) HOWEVER, I don’t think Sandor would have been so chill in this particular situation. This is as she’s being dragged off to marry Tyrion and seeing as finding out Sansa had married Tyrion made Sandor suicidal, well, that’s a thought for another day. Between this and Sandor #8, I feel like there’s potential for a SanSan meta solely comparing Sandor and the Kettleblacks. (Someone else please write that—I’m only even doing this because I have mild writer’s block on a fic and needed a break.)

Ser Dontos

1. “‘Not far.’ Ser Dontos took her hand in his own and rubbed it gently. “Your friend is near, waiting for you.’” Sansa V, ASOS

This is while she and Dontos are escaping after Joffrey’s murder. It’s mentioned that they take the serpentine steps at one point. See Sandor #4 for another important interaction there.

Petyr Baelish

1. “He saved Alayne, his daughter, a voice within her whispered. But she was Sansa too… and sometimes it seemed to her that the Lord Protector was two people as well. He was Petyr, her protector, warm and funny and gentle… but he was also Littlefinger, the lord she’d known at King’s Landing, smiling slyly and stroking his beard as he whispered in Queen Cersei’s ear. And Littlefinger was no friend of hers. When Joff had her beaten, the Imp defended her, not Littlefinger. When the mob sought to rape her, the Hound carried her to safety, not Littlefinger. When the Lannisters we’d her to Tyrion against her will, Ser Garlan the Gallant gave her comfort, not Littlefinger. Littlefinger never lifted so much as his little finger for her.” Sansa I, AFFC

Wow, so there’s a lot to unpack here but most of it isn’t relevant to this post. However, this is one of the many times she compares Sandor favorably to other men.

2. “‘Forgive her, my lords,’ Petyr Baelish said softly. ‘She still has nightmares of that day. Small wonder if she cannot bear to speak of it.’ He came up behind her and put his hands gently on her shoulders. ‘I know how hard this is for you, Alayne, but our friends must hear the truth.’ Her throat felt so dry and tight it almost hurt to speak.” Sansa I, AFFC

I see two SanSan parallels in this brief passage. Putting his hands on her shoulders from behind reminds me of her first interaction with Sandor and her throat hasn’t been “dry and tight” since the Blackwater. All of the language in the Blackwater scene is highly sexual, but here, those are the only words that stand out and I only noticed them because they’ve been used before.

Lothor Brune

1. “Sober, he was a quiet man, but a strong one. And Petyr says he’s loyal.” Alayne II, AFFC

The only thing I’ll say about Lothor is that Sansa also compares him to Sandor/he triggers memories about Sandor (ex: the incident with Marillion where she thinks it might be the Hound saving her for a moment before she realizes that’s impossible).

Here’s a chart for the visual learners

Conclusion: Sandor is the only man worthy of Sansa, as per her father’s parameters

While, just like Sansa, “I knew the Hound would win,” I didn’t expect the results to be this conclusive. He hits all three points while no one else scores above a two. SANDOR BB IS THE ONLY ONE WHO MEETS MORE THAN ONE CRITERIA. SHE NEVER DESCRIBES ANOTHER MAN AS BRAVE. NOT ONCE. ONLY HIM. She talks about brave men in general, but he is the only specific man she ever calls brave.* And it’s not internal monologue like all of the other instances I’ve outlined—she’s saying it aloud, thanking him to his face. And it’s also worth noting that several of the occasions she describes another man as gentle or strong are callbacks to interactions with Sandor. Knowing GRRM, there’s no way that’s an accident. So SanSan is endgame or GRRM is the world’s biggest troll. Either way, my heart hurts.

*While bravery only shows up once in this analysis, Sansa does frequently describe women (herself included) as being brave and also reminds herself to be brave a lot (that whole weird thing where GRRM writes female characters like actual people instead of accessories to the men in their lives).

#the bgs that was promised™ #sansan fucking confirmed #sansan is endgame #science says so #sansa ships it #grrm ships it #sandor ships it #foreshadowing #sansan #sansa x sandor #sansa stark #sandor clegane #asoiaf #sandor x sansa #sansan meta #my very first real meta ahhh #asoiaf meta #brave gentle strong #mine #mine:meta

[turtle-paced]

Revisiting Chapters: Jaime VIII, ASoS

This chapter’s a good example of GRRM’s character writing driving his plot. The action of this chapter outside Jaime’s head is him holding a meeting. Internally...that’s a different kettle of fish.

The story so far…

After a long, dangerous, and traumatic journey through the Riverlands, plus some reunions with family members that turned out to be more confrontational than anticipated, Jaime tries to adjust to life as Lord Commander of Tommen’s Kingsguard. Sans dominant hand.

White

A white book sat on a white table in a white room.

The chapter opening makes no bones about this being the Kingsguard-iest of all Kingsguard-y chapters. We take stock of the entire Kingsguard here, examining their failings and demonstrating how Jaime intends to go about managing his surbordinates. On one level, this is assessing the king’s security and the men responsible for it. On another, it’s a tour of Jaime’s own service. Let’s tackle the surface layer first.

Right out of the gate, the prospects aren’t promising. Still, the discussion of Tyrion’s guilt shows which of the current Kingsguard aren’t a total lost cause. Jaime, of course, questions Tyrion’s guilt based on his knowledge of Tyrion. Osmund Kettleblack, Kingsguard supreme, doesn’t care about the question of who killed the previous king. Boros Blount and Meryn Trant think Tyrion did it, because Tyrion handled the cup and then tipped out the wine. Balon Swann is the one who thinks about the matter best, though, noticing that there were people moving all around the hall, guests and servants alike, and that nobody was watching the chalice when every eye was on Joffrey and Margaery opening the wedding pie. Loras, thinking a bit more broadly and showing his own priorities, notices the apparent risk to Margaery and names someone who was actually involved in the plot - Sansa.

Shortly afterwards, Jaime moves on to individual assessments. First up is Boros Blount, the coward. Jaime gives him the job of Tommen’s taster, to protect the king from poison. It’s a humiliating assignment, given with intent to humiliate. Boros Blount objects, Jaime bluffs…and Boros caves. Which just goes to prove again that Boros is a coward. Next is Osmund Kettleblack. The problem with Kettleblack is simple - he’s nobody. No tourney record, no past, not even a reliable means of confirming that he’s a knight. Jaime doesn’t know him, Jaime doesn’t trust him, and what he’s shown thus far in the meeting is not a great cause for confidence. He’s evasive at best, dishonest at worst, and finds the matter funny. Not to be relied on. Should never have been appointed.

Importantly, the appointment/reappointment of these men leads Jaime to internally criticise his sister and his father. Regarding Blount:

Cersei should never have stripped the man of his white cloak. But their father had only compounded the shame by restoring it. 

Regarding Kettleblack:

What was Cersei thinking when she gave this one a white cloak? 

His opinions here are definite. Jaime is not making excuses for Cersei and Tywin in this regard. This is a significant step for a character who has unquestioningly trusted in his family members to the detriment of others. That he starts his criticism with the Kingsguard shows that Jaime is starting to take the Kingsguard more seriously.

Next is Ser Meryn Trant. It’s a brief exchange, but it gets to the heart of many of Jaime’s problems with the institution.

“Here, show me where it is in our vows that we swear to beat women and children.” 

“I did as His Grace commanded me. We are sworn to obey.” 

Jaime, who once stood outside Rhaella’s door and asked his colleagues if there wasn’t anything they could do to protect her from Aerys, wants to find a solution to this problem. What he comes up with is better than nothing, but clearly not workable in a lot of situations.

“The king is eight. Our first duty is to protect him, which includes protecting him from himself. Use that ugly thing you keep inside your helm. If Tommen wants you to saddle his horse, obey him. If he tells you to kill his horse, come to me.” 

What happens when Tommen grows up? What if Jaime’s not around (especially as Cersei’s not likely to see ‘kill Tommen’s horse’ as a problematic order)? It’ll do for now, and it’s a big step up from prior Lord Commanders’ thinking on the topic, but not a permanent solution.

Next up, Balon Swann. Unlike Blount, Kettleblack, and Trant, Swann might actually be worth including on the Kingsguard. Jaime’s appraisal of his skills is positive. Still, he turns up the heat on Swann regarding another Kingsguard dilemma. Ser Balon has a brother.

Jaime leaned forward. “What will you do if brave Ser Donnel gives his sword to yet another usurper, and one day comes storming into the throne room? And there you stand all in white, between your king and your blood. What will you do?” 

Jaime doesn’t let him dodge the question. He only lets up when he’s extracted a promise from Balon not to turn on Tommen.

Jaime’s conversation with Loras is the longest by far. Not only does Jaime have the problem of an arrogant and untested colleague, there’s the issue of Loras’ allegiance to Renly and the matter of Brienne. Jaime already knows that Loras was Renly’s lover. What he sees when Loras starts to speak of Renly gets some compassion out of Jaime.

The arrogance had gone out of Ser Loras the moment he began to speak of Renly. He answered truly. He is proud and reckless and full of piss, but he is not false. Not yet. 

Incidentally, I do like that observation, that the arrogance went out of Loras, as a means of showing that Loras’ feelings were genuine. Renly was more important to Loras than Loras’ ego. Then they discuss Renly’s murder, and Loras’ accusations against Brienne. Jaime pokes a few holes in Loras’ arguments. He’s not a stupid man, Jaime. He might not be one of the leading intellectual lights of the series, but when he bothers to think, he’s not bad at it.

“She had sworn to protect him. Ser Emmon Cuy, Ser Robar Royce, Ser Parmen Crane, they’d sworn as well. How could anyone have hurt him, with her inside his tent and the others just outside? Unless they were part of it.” 

“There were five of you at the wedding feast,” Jaime pointed out. “How could Joffrey die? Unless you were part of it?” 

“Draw your sword, Ser Loras. Show me how you’d fight a shadow. I should like to see that.” 

That latter one gets Loras to contribute what he’d noticed of inconsistencies in the crime scene himself.

“The gorget was cut through. One clean stroke, through a steel gorget. Renly’s armor was the best, the finest steel. How could she do that? I tried myself, and it was not possible. She’s freakish strong for a woman, but even the Mountain would have needed a heavy axe. And why armor him and then cut his throat?” 

As a result of his judgment that Loras is honest in his grief and making accusations fairly rather than maliciously, Jaime decides that Loras can be asked to judge Brienne’s account fairly, on his honour as a knight. Loras agrees.

There’s one last thing before Loras leaves:

When I saw him all bloody, with her fled and the three of them unharmed... if she’s innocent, then Robar and Emmon...” He could not seem to say the words. 

Jaime chooses to lie and comfort him rather than condemn him for the murders he’s committed.

Jaime That Was

The thinking that starts the chapter is that of a man profoundly out of place. At no level is he comfortable with the life he’s living.

He’s not at ease in the court.

Jaime had spent his days at his brother’s trial, standing well to the back of the hall. Either Tyrion never saw him there or he did not know him, but that was no surprise. Half the court no longer seemed to know him. 

He’s not at ease in his job.

The chair behind the table was old black oak, with cushions of blanched cowhide, the leather worn thin. Worn by the bony arse of Barristan the Bold and Ser Gerold Hightower before him, by Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, Ser Ryam Redwyne, and the Demon of Darry, by Ser Duncan the Tall and the Pale Griffin Alyn Connington. How could the Kingslayer belong in such exalted company? 

Yet here he was.

He’s not at ease in his family.

I am a stranger in my own House. His son was dead, his father had disowned him, and his sister... she had not allowed him to be alone with her once, after that first day in the royal sept where Joffrey lay amongst the candles. 

He’s not at ease in his clothing.

His clothing fit badly as well. He had donned the winter raiment of the Kingsguard, a tunic and breeches of bleached white wool and a heavy white cloak, but it all seemed to hang loose on him. 

He’s not at ease in his own body.

A longsword hung from his hip. From the wrong hip. Before he had always worn his sword on his left, and drawn it across his body when he unsheathed. He had shifted it to his right hip this morning, so as to be able to draw it with his left hand in the same manner, but the weight of it felt strange there, and when he had tried to pull the blade from the scabbard the whole motion seemed clumsy and unnatural. 

Having returned to his old life and finding that it doesn’t fit, Jaime’s taking stock. What exactly was it that he was so comfortable with? Who was he, last he was in King’s Landing? He looks to the literal record of his accomplishments and finds them lacking. Barristan Selmy - not Jaime’s biggest fan - declined to record any but the most notable accomplishments and honours. We even have the full text so we can run a direct comparison. Ser Barristan’s entry is twice as long, and amongst several tourney victories, there are lines recording his accomplishments in battle: slaying Maelys the Monstrous, rescuing Aerys during the Defiance of Duskendale, rescuing Jeyne Swann from bandits. Jaime…knighted for “valour in the field,” and after that his page records his Kingslaying, his part in the honour guard that brought Cersei to King’s Landing, and his tourney victory at Cersei’s wedding.

Summed up like that, his life seemed a rather scant and mingy thing. 

Jaime follows that ego-punching observation with a wish that Barristan could have recorded more of his tourney victories, and a few of his deeds in fighting the Kingswood Brotherhood. But think about what that means. What does Ser Jaime Lannister have to be proud of? Professional sports wins? Stuff he did when he was a teenager? He’s a grown man now. What has he done with his life?

And me, that boy I was... when did he die, I wonder? When I donned the white cloak? When I opened Aerys’s throat? That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne, but someplace along the way he had become the Smiling Knight instead. 

This gets quoted a lot, because it’s a damn good executive summary of Jaime’s character and dramatic tension. At fifteen, Jaime was a boy who wanted to be a great and honourable knight. At thirty, he might have been a knight, but also “a madman, cruelty and chivalry all jumbled up together” who knew no fear. He even reconsiders who he was as a boy when faced by seventeen-year-old Loras Tyrell.

He’s me, Jaime realized suddenly. I am speaking to myself, as I was, all cocksure arrogance and empty chivalry. This is what it does to you, to be too good too young. 

He wanted to be a knight, and everyone always said he was great, the best. And teenage Jaime ate it up without knowing what his vows actually meant, but blithely certain he could face any challenge perfectly anyway.

When he looks at the Kingsguard, he has to admit that he’s not exactly been a shining example of high standards.

He wondered what Ser Arthur Dayne would have to say of this lot. “How is it that the Kingsguard has fallen so low,” most like. “It was my doing,” I would have to answer. “I opened the door, and did nothing when the vermin began to crawl inside.” 

The person he’s been is not one he can be proud of.

Jaime That Is

So if Jaime isn’t who he was, who is he now? Clothing reflects the man, here. The Kingsguard uniform doesn’t fit him, as quoted above - he literally does not fill it. Nor does he recognise his own reflection, or identify with the man he sees in the mirror.

When he looked in a glass, he no longer saw the man who had crossed the riverlands with Brienne... but he did not see himself either. 

As mentioned above, the deeper level to the tour of shitty Kingsguard members is a tour of Jaime’s own service in the Kingsguard. The highs and the lows.

We start with a relative high note, in Jaime’s handling of Boros Blount. Blount is craven, and this is a vice Jaime does not share. When Blount accuses Jaime of treating his obligations to Aerys the way Blount himself treated his obligations to Tommen, Jaime does not rise to the bait. He has the courage of his convictions in his killing of Aerys. He says he’s unfit to guard the king as Boros, and would Boros care to fight him on it and improve the Kingsguard? The risk here is, as Jaime says, the mediocre Blount could have easily killed him.

His handling of Ser Meryn goes to the classic Kingsguard problem - what if the king they’re sworn to serve is a tyrant? Jaime here has an opportunity to address a problem that’s haunted him for years. His internal narration makes no mention of the consequences of mindlessly obeying. It doesn’t have to. On top of this, Jaime, who once went on at some length at the futility of swearing vows and the contradictory nature of the ones he did swear, has been thinking of ways around the Kingsguard ones. We see here his insistence on not being like his distinguished predecessors in a far better way.

Jaime’s confrontation with Ser Balon expressly recalls Jaime’s kingslaying.

“What will you do if brave Ser Donnel gives his sword to yet another usurper, and one day comes storming into the throne room? And there you stand all in white, between your king and your blood. What will you do?” 

“I... my lord, that will never happen.”

“It happened to me,” Jaime said.

What satisfies Jaime here is Balon’s promise not to do as Jaime did, that is, turn on his king. Balon’s willingness to criticise Jaime amuses him. He calls the answer a good one - not willing to tell anyone but Brienne the truth of why he turned on Aerys - and bids Balon return to his duties. Nevertheless, that Jaime himself brings up the Kingslaying issue as a matter of standing between his blood and his king does tell us quite a bit about Jaime’s affections for Tywin.

Finally, Loras. Here, Jaime loses his temper.

Jaime hated that smile. “I was better than you, Ser Loras. I was bigger, I was stronger, and I was quicker.”

“And now you’re older,” the boy said. “My lord.”

Even when he realises the essential ridiculousness of the pissing contest (because he is older and wiser, as he says), he still can’t help but snap back again when Loras reminds him that not only is he older…

“Older and wiser, ser. You should learn from me.” 

“As you learned from Ser Boros and Ser Meryn?”

…he’s arguably a member of the Kingsguard more in the model of those two rather than the dead Aerys-era colleagues Jaime respected, the ones everyone agrees were what members of the Kingsguard should be. Jaime knows that he’s not been good at his job, as discussed above. Nevertheless, the realisation that he’s talking to a boy not so very different to how he was motivates him to demonstrate that he has learned. 

As in a swordfight, sometimes it is best to try a different stroke.

Then he changes tack to flattery and softer words. Which gets him way further. He even holds his tongue when a zinger about Renly occurs to him - I know, right. He reasons with Loras about Brienne’s account of events, pointing out the flaws in Loras’ arguments.

Most of all, though, Jaime’s reflection on his journey through the Riverlands with Brienne shows how he’s changed. 

“Brienne’s ugly, and pighead stubborn. But she lacks the wits to be a liar, and she is loyal past the point of sense. She swore an oath to bring me to King’s Landing, and here I sit. This hand I lost... well, that was my doing as much as hers. Considering all she did to protect me, I have no doubt that she would have fought for Renly, had there been a foe to fight.”

That’s a lot added to his initial dismissal of Brienne as just plain ugly. He gives her the credit she’s due, and refuses to blame her entirely for the loss of his hand. (He blames her a little.) Just as importantly, he puts that blame on himself.

Finally, once Loras is gone, Jaime is left alone to consider some of the things Loras did, and how they might analogise to his own situation. Loras, in his grief over Renly’s murder, himself killed two of the men supposed to be guarding Renly.

The Knight of Flowers had been so mad with grief for Renly that he had cut down two of his own Sworn Brothers, but it had never occurred to Jaime to do the same with the five who had failed Joffrey. He was my son, my secret son... What am I, if I do not lift the hand I have left to avenge mine own blood and seed? 

This is pretty telling about how Jaime continues to think of love. It involves murder and violent retribution. While he might not have murdered guards in a similar situation, the thinking that brought him to push Bran out a window and start a fight with Ned on the street is still apparent. The very fact that he did not consider that sort of revenge against his fellow Kingsguard for failing Joffrey is evidence to him that he must not have loved Joffrey. Who is Jaime? Not Joffrey’s father. Not in truth.

Jaime closes the chapter with the next items on his agenda. Second is a prosthetic hand. He wants it to be gold - showing that he still very much feels himself a Lannister - and he wants it “to stroke [Cersei’s] golden hair, and hold her hard against me.” He hasn’t given up on the relationship, either, though he is painfully mistaken about Cersei possibly liking or approving of any prosthetic hand Jaime might wear. Before that, there are other debts to pay. They’ll have to wait for the next chapter, though.

Chapter Function

This chapter is an extended meditation on Jaime Lannister and his place in the world. Crucially, the character himself is thinking about the issue as well. Brienne is not in this chapter. Cersei is not in this chapter. Tywin and Tyrion are not in this chapter. This is vital to such a taking-stock of the character, as Jaime is reactive and passive in most of his personal relationships. Without his family stealing scene after scene from him, we can see who Jaime is on his own, and who he might want to be. Without his family stealing scene after scene, Jaime can get some breathing space to work it out for himself.

Needless to say, this is something long overdue for Jaime, and a vital piece of the character development that drives his choices through AFFC.

Miscellany

Who doesn’t love the detail of Barristan recording his own dismissal from the Kingsguard before leaving?

Loras reports Renly’s true opinion of Brienne here, which goes further to showing the audience that Renly was not a nice individual.

I do not envy the poor bastards who keep the White Tower clean. All that white. Good god. Every single bit of dirt would show. I hope nobody in the Kingsguard likes red wine.

Clothing Porn

A snowy linen tunic with white wool breeches and a white silk cloak, accessorised with a gold belt and a gold rose brooch to clasp the cloak. Some people have nicer whites than others.

Food Porn

None.

Next three chapters

Sansa VII, ASoS - Catelyn III, ACoK - The Drowned Man, AFFC

You know the drill. If there’s a particular chapter you’d like me to look at, send me an ask and it’ll go on the list!

#ASoIaF #revisiting chapters #cw: violence #cw: abuse #jaime lannister #loras tyrell #a storm of swords

[jainarepellista]

Tower of God S2ch315 Rough Translations

W.. what the?! Who are those guys?

(There are.. So many!!)

That symbol on the suspendiships, does that mean they’re regulars sponsored by families?

*To maintain fairness with the 10 Families and the natives, regulars team up and get sponsorship from the families to obtain resources. However, side effects have emerged such as the families taking advantage of the regulars to do their dirty work.

..I think I’ve seen that skull pattern before. // “Always Asking” Levi

They’re one of the few regulars who are supported by Zahard.

Why are those guys flocking to this place?

Well..

Maybe they’re headed to the same destination as us.

You mean the last station?

Why the heck would they go to the end of the Train?

How would I know // It’s just a hunch.

I think we need to find out more.

43F Hell Train - The Three Commands - 07

Suspendiship Shelter (Docks)

3rd Dock

So tired.

That was a long flight.

The schedule was too tight.

If our captain says this is an order from our sponsor, this must be a real killer. [zumi: difficult might as well be ded]

(Haha!)

It can’t be helped. They’re responsible for our lives.

Well, that is true.

This is the Third Dock. The ningen on board are descending. [T/N: Vespa uses ningen to refer to humans.]

Well- looking at them, their skills seem to be on par with children // They look like a bunch of beggars who got sponsored by a family to climb the Tower.

Their mark is a red-bearded human. // It’s ugly.

(Dis--gusting--)

Alright, keep on watching.

And let us know if you find out why they’re heading to the last station.

Uh.. okay. // You got me honey so I’ll help.

5th Dock

Verdi-ahjumma. How’s it going on your end?

Hehee~ This is Verdi~

Verdi the Special Correspondent!

(Ta-da!)

(Long time no see, everyone!)

Ahjumma.. Just tell us what’s happening..

The regulars here have also alighted! // Oh my~ they’re all different ethnicities!

Looks like the crew* is multi-ethnic too~

*Refers to an alliance of teams

Their mark seems to be an ear on a green background? // I’m not a lightbearer so it’s difficult to search, but it’s probably a pretty huge crew?

Maybe their ace is su.per. strong? Hehehee!! [zumi: dots intentional]

And that is all from special correspondent, Verdi~!

Yeah.. Sure~ I got it. Verdi-ssi.

(Why is our team like this…)

Hmm.. It looks like Benny’s crew did not stop at the shelter. // Should we wait until they leak information.. No..

Ergh?! Where are you going Hatsu?

I’m going to ask them where they’re going.

Wait a sec, Hatsu! Let’s wait for them to leak out information!!

It’s faster to ask with my sword.

It’ll be trouble if you get out of control..

You’re so noisy.

?!

W.. what the!! You!!

Why did you break in!!

My name is Hatsu. // Excuse me for breaking in-

But if you don’t answer my questions

Prepare to die [lit. I will cut you down. But the urge to meme….]

Koon-ssi..

A month ago

Huh?!

You think there’s a way for Koon-ssi to wake up again?!

That’s right.

H.. how will you do it?!

I have almost finished my analysis on his current state. // According to the data, it’s a rare ability that manifests in some direct-line descendants.

There are cases where a person who is competent in dealing with ice can break out of that state by themselves. // But his power awakened in a moment of crisis so he won’t be able to do that.

However, in the ancient chronicles, there was a record of somebody waking up again by the Yeon Family’s flame.

!!

The Yeon Family, which means..!!

Flamethrower turtle!!

We can ask Yihwa-ssi!!

But it’s not as easy as it sounds. // The person recorded is a very famous ranker, “Yeon Un”.

It’s highly impossible for a mere regular’s power, and that lady in your group is still far down in the lower parts to arrive here.

That’s why! I’m going to introduce you to that ranker “Yeon Un”!

That person is actually affiliated with Wolhaiksong now. // She’ll do it if I ask for it. [zumi: assumed female; text is neutral]

Really?!

Yeah. Of course it’s best to see her in person. // I will let you meet “Yeon Un”.

Turtle!!

This is great, Rak-ssi!!

(Haha…)

Yeah!! Not that I want him to wake up or anything!!

Please wait for a bit.

Koon-ssi.

You’ll wake up again for sure-

Ah- I feel alive now!

What sort of Train is this that it reflects the seasons thoroughly.

It’s so hot now that it’s summer..

I’m glad we found a big bathroom.

That last battle left a bad taste in my mouth. // Rachel escaped

And it seems White also disappeared together with her..

He’s definitely not the type to run away.. // so I don’t understand why he suddenly disappeared.

Hwa Ryun, you went down first. // Don’t you know anything?

None at all. // Why, do you doubt me?

Isn’t that natural? You both belong to FUG!!

Speak up. You’re hiding something, aren’t you?

….White was already gone when I went down. // I don’t know anything.

This person..

(Super suspicious..)

I never trusted her ever since I first met her..

What about Miseng?

She’s training by herself. // She wants to become stronger to avenge her companions..

Hmm- she’s doing well then. I actually gave her some good stuff.

Good stuff?

Yeah~ Something real good. [zumi: androssi don’t give drugs to kids reee]

Princess Androssi!!

Oi!! I told you not to come out because I’m washing up!!

(Beta)

T-that’s not important!! Right now!!

White’s final clone disappeared!!

...What..?!

Train God of Guardian’s Residence

God of Guardians-nim.

You have come today too.

Yes.

You keep coming even though you’re already strong enough to not need my training.. // Are you sure you’re okay?

Yes. It’s fine.

I cannot get the second thorn out yet. // I want to accomplish that before I leave the Train.

Hmm.. There’s nothing I can do.

I’ll take you on today!

Yes!

Rachel..

Maybe what you said is true. // Maybe you’re just an ordinary person

Who thinks I’m a monster.

But I.. do not care.

No matter what anybody calls me // And whatever the fate I was born with is

I will get stronger-

To protect those people precious to me.

Boro, what kind of place is the last station?

The last station?

Mhm. I’m curious.

Hmm- It’s a nice place, I guess? // Don’t worry about it. There’s nothing dangerous with arriving at the station.

The last station is divided into two sections // Unlike the other stations, non-ticket holders can go to the circular portion.

And all the regulars who cleared the Train stay at first-class hotels // and are given the best treatment.

By the way, the person ruling the station // Li Xiaong, is a quite skillful regular. // He lost his legs while in the Train and decided to settle down at the station afterwards.

Now, it looks like control of the station is divided between his adopted son and his daughter.

His daughter is especially cute and she runs a huge bar. // The beer there is delicious.

You shouldn’t drink too much, Boro. // It’s not good for your health.

Have you thought about what you’re going to do once we leave the Train, Hockney?

Ah well.. I’ll go with Baam for now // I need to find the piece of my painting.

I see-

Well- That was a wild ride // that I never would have imagined I would experience.

It would be nice if things will just be uneventful until we reach the end.

You crazy guy!!

Die!!

(Demonic Fishwheel Dance-)

(Single Annihilation-!!)

Kaagh!!

Aaaaaack!!

!!

Answer me. // Why are you heading to the last station?

T-that’s..!

If you don’t answer, you will die.

W-We received the order from our sponsor!! // To subdue the ticket holders in the Hell Train!!

It looked like those people in the Train broke some major rule!

What..?

I heard that they allied with FUG and took over the Train // and that they’re moving the Train as they please

(And then the signal to subdue them came..!)

The rankers from Zahard’s army are already gathering to confront FUG’s affiliates // and looks like we’re the ones who are going to handle the regulars..!

Everyone in the Hell Train is going to die!!

Somewhere in the Tower

Zahard Army’s High Speed Suspendiship

Gck!!

Initiating eye recognition-

Kgu..keuk..!!

Identity confirmed.

Keuk..

Would you like to set the route?

At top speed-

To the last station of the Hell Train.

Understood-!

Kallaban’s symbol..

This will not be easy.

52F of the Tower

Zahard Army’s 4th Unit Kallaban’s Carrier

This “rhapsody”..

4th Unit Army Commander Kallaban

It’s a good song for this war.

#Tower of God #translations #S2ch315