#⤜order of the bramble ⊶ rules⤘

[elenamegan14]

Yandere One Piece - Irish/Nordic Fae Folk Myth X F!Reader - Prologue

It's a spooky season, and I have yet to see any Yandere One Piece reader fics based on Slavic myths and legends! Blame me for being too invested in Bramble: the Mountain King game.

---

Once, there was a childless couple who lived in a quaint village. Although the village is rich in tradition and harvest, it was also a fearsome place. Not far from them lies a great forest called the Grand Line, a home of every fae folks, each more astounding and nightmarish than man had ever known. 

But that was where our story began. 

One night, on a full moon during a winter’s eve, the couple is visited by a frail, old woman. They immediately brought her in, warmed her, and fed her. When all is done, she transforms into a beautiful fairy. A member of the fairy monarchy, Rogue. 

To thank the couple, Rogue rewarded them with something they had yearned for years: a child. And so, on the first day of Spring, a healthy baby girl was born. 

Alas, even the fairy world has it;s own rules, and the rule is crueler than the rules of mankind. A baby who is granted life by the fairy must be returned back by the ripe age of thirteen. Rogue did not want her work to go to waste, so she told the couple that they must move the child away from the village, never to enter any fairy rings at any cost, and give their child a pair of special earrings made of iron to protect them. 

Thus, the family evaded the pursuit of the fae folks beyond the age of thirteen. In retaliation, the fae folks began to terrorize the villagers - they would not stop to torment them until the child was given to them. Furious at the fleeing family for putting them into this bedlam, the villagers set up a trap to return the child back to the Grand Line. 

Eighteen years have passed, and the child grew up in the Kingdom of Goa. With each passing day, the blessings from Rogue had made the child cunning, wise, and attractive. The child was a curious oddity amongst her peers, but there was one person who despised her existence more so than the others. 

Sarie is the daughter of a notorious monarchy in the Goa Kingdom. Although she has everything in the palm of her hand, she is wicked jealous of the child’s charm and beauty. Her opportunity stuck when a vengeful villager asked her to cooperate to rid of the child’s existence in the mortal world. 

Soon after, Sarie begged her fiancee, Sterry, to arrange a special trip only for his classmates, the child included, straight to the child’s original village. Sterry and his cohorts lured the child to the edge of the forest, right before the entrance of Grand Line. Once there, Sarie threw her scarf into the middle of the fairy ring and asked the child to pick it up for her. 

The child is confused. Why should she follow such a petty instruction? Also, the child pleaded that she was not supposed to enter the fairy ring at any cost. However, Sterry and their classmates loudly demanded her to do so. 

When the child reluctantly tried to enter the fairy ring, Sterry once again ordered the child to take off the child’s iron earrings for Sarie. She tried to refuse but Sterry warned her that if she disobeyed, he would make sure that she became the enemy of Goa. 

The child had always wanted to be accepted by Sterry and Sarie - she did not understand what she had done wrong to receive his ire. The child also knew that Sarie and Sterry’s family had more power than her family did. She hastily took off her earrings and gave them to Sarie. With a heavy heart, she entered the fairy ring. 

Sterry and Sarie’s deception became light once she turned around inside the fairy ring, only to find herself alone in a strange forest. She ran back and forth, calling for her classmates. 

None answered. 

Alone, terrified, and confused, the child trekked into the woods of Grand Line on her own, in hoping to find her way home… not knowing that she had fulfilled her promise…

And break the village’s curse. 

---

You are wandering around the fogged oath, unable to see what's beyond. Suddenly, you heard footsteps. Behind you, in front of you, everywhere! You barely have a moment's rest when a mischievous-looking human-like creature appears before your very eyes. Shrieking, you fall back behind, astounded by what you see.

"Shishishi! Did I scare you?" The creature grinned hugely, enhancing his unique shaggy features with a stitched scar underneath his left eye.

Monkey D. Luffy, the Pookah, has arrived. Next

[apomaro-mellow]

I'm finally starting it, the full-fledge version of my king eldritch abomination!eddie and prince steve ficlet series. Eddie is in the middle of a feud with an opposing kingdom. Running out of options, he decides to kidnap their prince. Part 1/?

Dark clouds descended over the castle. It had been raining for days. A fact that the king was certain had everything to do with the monster that made their home in the neighboring kingdom. Alric prided himself on being a successful monarch. His lineage was the stuff of legends. But there was one blemish on the Harrington name. And it was that none so far had been able to best the beast that lived on the horizon.

It was an unfortunate state that his land shared a border with that of a King Edward. He wasn’t a man, he was a…a creature. A thing with many voices and many faces that masqueraded as a mortal human.

If there was one thing Alric could do to seal his name in the annals of history, it was wiping that entire place and all its inhabitants off the face of the map.

Such a thing was easier said than done. As much steel and iron as his armory possessed, the monsters were numerous. 

“Increase the patrols. I want eyes on every inch of the border”, he ordered.

“Do we have enough men for that? Recruitment has been low”, the prince said.

An amendment to a previous statement. There was a second blemish on the Harrington family. And his name was Steven. His son, who did nothing but sleep with whatever girl looked his way. Complacent and unambitious. The rare day he was allowing the disappointment to join in on the session with his war council and he was speaking out of turn.

“You would do best to watch your tongue”, Alric said.

Steve turned his head down, deferring to his father. He was good at one thing at least. Obedience. He looked down to the map again, pacing about it, trying to think of where best to send his men to quell what was surely a slow uprising.

“He is right, my liege. We can’t afford to send more men to the borders. This year’s crop of squires hasn’t met expectations.”

Alric glared at anyone who dared to disagree with him, even if they were right. But the reasoning of the lack of bodies would give him an excuse to do what he’s been wanting to for a while. It wasn’t enough to kill the monsters that inched along the border. It was time to officially go on the offensive.

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

The rain coming down wasn’t by anyone’s hand but nature’s. You couldn’t tell a Harrington that though. They were stubborn as mules. He knew this quite well. King Edward had been ruling his realm for long enough that he had been dealing with Alric and his father and his father’s father. All who saw him and his people as only pests to be exterminated. 

He could look past the odd villager slaying one of the demogorgans when they came into a town looking for an easy meal. That was simply self defense. But as of recently King Alric had begun sending soldiers into his forests to start seeking out any beasts and ending them on their own ground.

In response, Eddie used his powers to erect a thorny barrier. Anyone who wanted to enter his kingdom from that side would have to struggle through a dense bramble. It would be difficult for soldiers on horseback to get through. This sort of back and forth continued for months. Alric would sent more people, despite the harsh terrain, never caring for the champions he lost. The border would be strengthened to try and keep him out and he would just find another way in.

Eddie was losing his patience with the man and the straw that broke the camel’s back was when a messenger arrived with news of what happened to one of the towns close to the border.

“My lord! It’s terrible!”, the messenger bellowed as he crashed into the throne room.

“What is it?”, Eddie asked, concern showing through his voice and face.

“King Alric’s men! They’ve-! They’ve-!”

They had trespassed the line once again but this time they didn’t go attack a nest of demodogs. No, it seemed for this visit they saw fit to lay waste to a township of innocent civilians. They hadn’t slain a single monster. Only people.

It was practically a declaration of war. 

“This can’t go on”, Jeff, one of his most trusted knights said when he heard the news.

“And it won’t”, Eddie promised. He was going to have some words with this tyrant. If he could avoid war, he would. But Eddie had a feeling if they ever got into the same room, he would kill him.

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

Alric barely gave the sealed envelope a glance before tossing it into the fire. Steve shot up from the chair he’d been sitting in. 

“What are you doing?! King Edward has finally sent a correspondence. Don’t you want to talk with him?”

“Steven! Don’t raise your voice at your father”, his mother, Juliana, scolded. “He knows what he’s doing.”

At the queen’s stern look, Steve sat back down. After speaking his mind in the war room, Steve hadn’t been allowed back. The privileges normally afforded to a crown prince, coming to the meetings, providing his own insight were taken from him. He didn’t want to think about what else would be taken if he kept speaking his mind. But this couldn’t be the right way of doing things. After shedding blood, the opposing monarch was trying to talk.

And his father was just ignoring it.

“That letter was most certainly just the incomprehensible scratch of an illiterate”, his father spat. “He wears the face of a man but that is not what he is.”

Steve ventured a question. “Then what is he?”, he asked quietly.

Alric stared intensely at the fire. “He is an abomination. Borne of the dark void which sucks all light and warmth from this world.”

“He can change his shape. That is why he is so dangerous”, Juliana added. “It is why he must be stopped.”

Steve understood that. He had heard the stories, which at this point were legends. One day, something had risen from a black pool and no one knew what it was. But it was powerful. Powerful enough to conjure up more from the black pool. More that were like it. Able to use the muck to make walls rise from the ground.

King Edward and fought with his great grandfather, which was how the border existed in the first place. He had fought his grandfather, which was why beasts like the demogorgan kept sentry at his borders. And now it was happening again.

Alric ignored every single letter that came, determined not to speak or negotiate. In the mean time, he continued to send squads to attack at towns and villages, stoking the other king’s ire. -----------------------------

Eddie was once again, meeting with his council, squatting in his chair while their voices rose in volume. Each one angry and hurt and wanting to finally bite back. Eddie thought that this time he could choose peace. That this time he could get away without fighting. But it appeared wise old Alric was ready for a war.

“SILENCE!”, Eddie shouted while slamming his hands on the table. All conversation ceased. He rubbed at his face. “We have one last step before waging a war that could kill more than it saves.”

“And what’s that?”, Gareth asked.

Eddie rose to stand on his chair, then stepped onto the table that held a map of both of their lands. “If Harrington won’t sit down with us well then”, he stalked over to the pieces on the table that represented the royal family. He plucked up the one that was meant for the prince. “We’ll make him sit down.”

Part 2

[bonefall]

Au: Nightheart tells Bramble he sucks at naming and he’s gonna choose his own name and everyone agrees with him

That is VERY funny lmao, I like that

Though I am fixin' to keep something else about ASC that I like a lot, and feel is being totally wasted; the fact that Nightheart seems to really like Bramblestar. Stick with me.

Why does he like Bramblestar, in contrast to the other cats in his life...? His mother, who he blows up at constantly. His sister, who is fed up with him treating their mom poorly. Lionblaze, who was angry after he defied a direct order. His mentor Lilyheart, who keeps telling him to stop being so wreckless.

Squirrelflight, who flunked his second assessment after putting himself in extreme danger.

It seems the only family member he likes... is the only one who has never told him no.

And what does Bramblestar DO with that trust? Immediately uses him to create an abusive set-up, which he can use to scream at Squirrelflight publicly for "ruling behind his back" while he refuses to. It's why I don't buy the "Oh, he has dementia and can't be held accountable for his actions" bit; Interesting how he couldn't recognize that he had to step down so we can't be mad at him, but abusing his wife was so second nature he can do it even when he's "not thinking straight".

SO for BB I'm thinking about really leaning into "the bond" between Night and Bramble, and unpack how easy it is to manipulate Nightheart if he feels validated.

In fact, it's a trait he shares with Bramble. Which I find fascinating.

BUT.

I don't rewrite arcs until they are done. I have a lot of ideas for Nightheart, but I need to see how it ends before I think about how to fix it.

[mdhwrites]

Since you watched Hazbin hotel, you maybe have watched Helluva Boss too. I have a question, cause im curious.

Do you think that Stolas's marriage was retconned to victimize him?

So I'm going to swerve this at first to just talk about the fact that what they did with Stolas is nothing new, it's just essentially twin tropes smashing together at the same time. Both are ways people use family to humanize someone, and in a broader context two ways in general used to humanize someone. His daughter is essentially "Save the Cat" where by showing a gentler, warmer, more caring side of himself, we know there's nobility in him which can paint some of his better actions in a kinder light. Meanwhile, his wife shows the pressure and cruelty upon him, the way life crushes him, that makes his crueler actions seem perhaps more like coping mechanisms. It's like giving an alcoholic a tragic backstory so you understand that he doesn't drink himself to oblivion because it's fun for him and he doesn't care about the harm it does to others but because he needs it to survive and function at all, at least in his eyes.

Neither of these tropes are bad either. Done with less awful character traits, you get stuff like the silly person who covers their trauma by being over the top and maybe ignoring reality more than they should. I myself literally used saving a cat as a way to humanize my noble main character in Little Miss Rich Witch because while she was dismissive of others and seem annoyed at many people's actions, now she was willing to hurt herself by reaching into a bush of brambles and help a kitten find safety. It theoretically can help assure the reader that a better person is under there and going to emerge eventually.

...Which brings us back to Stolas. Now the first thing I have to mention is that you're actually incorrect. I have not watched Hazbin but I mention a lot of shows that I've seen enough analysis, discussion, etc. for and feel comfortable enough mentioning some broadstroke elements that resonate with what I'm discussing. I HAVE seen some of Helluva Boss but ended it on the episode where Blitzo and Moxxie get kidnapped so I'm not ignorant on these subjects but I didn't really see when life went to complete shit for Stolas...

And I do not give a fuck because neither of these tropes function when there is no better man to speak of. I mentioned Rich Witch not just as self promotion but because of a REALLY important element that fails with his daughter: Follow through. Azu, the noble girl, puts herself in danger of breaking the rules because her busy schedule means that in order to bring the kitten to a shelter, she first has to bring it to school the next day. Then we find out that while she's tsundere about the reasons for working there and doesn't think animals like her, she actually volunteers at that same shelter so this is hardly the first animal she's saved in some way. This makes what is essentially virtue signalling an actual part of the fucking character. Stolas on the other hand, in the SAME EPISODE that we introduced to Octavia, has seemingly neglected his daughter's interests and the fact that she's been growing up for roughly a decade. Hell, even then, he still hires his boytoy to guard them so he can focus on being horny than his daughter and on other childish pleasures that he enjoys. So... Yeah, he gets a really sweet song with her but it's hardly like that's some small nugget smoldering at the core of his character as that fire burned out long ago.

Which brings us to his wife. Hey, why does the alcoholic have a tragic backstory instead of saying, "I beat my wife because she's a bitch and that's why I drink"? It's because the latter doesn't feel like a justified response. At that point, you are a horrible human being with little care for others, you're just bitching and moaning so that you can justify your terrible behavior. This is what Stolas is doing to his wife. "You're a bitch so I openly, confidently, CONSTANTLY cheat on you with someone I do not actually act like I give a fuck about except for his dick because otherwise show him basic human decency." At that point, the only reason the show manages to frame Stolas' wife as worse than him is because she never gets a song with Octavia so it comes across like only one tried to be a good parent before things went to hell and... That's just narrative bias, not strict fact. Not from what I saw.

These tropes only work when there is a better man underneath it all. There is no better man to Stolas. It's akin to how Blitzo has this tragic backstory, life has clearly dealt him a terrible hand... And he's just a complete horrid monster when it comes to those around him. Moxxie despises him for what he does to his privacy, his boundaries and his own personal life and for what? Because Blitzo gets off on it? Luna is a trying too hard goth chick and she isn't actually that mean or cruel or the like. Not even the fucking succubi that act as an antagonist for an episode are as bad to their people as Blitzo is to his and that's without getting into how that episode's proper antagonist is actually Blitzo, both because of past actions and present.

There is at no point, besides shallow backstory (which as always, backstory does not actually a character make because their present actions matter WAY MORE), where we really have a reason to think there's good people in there anymore. That's also why I dropped the show. I wanted to continue but it clearly was going to focus on its worst characters rather than anyone with an ounce of likability. Or, better yet, anything actually compelling about them several episodes into the series besides "Uwu, look at my tragedy while I harass the people around me."

I'm sorry, that just makes you the asshole. See you next tale.

======+++++======

I had initially considering answering this privately since I don't know all the nuances about Blitzo's marriage... But also I watched 7 episodes (including the pilot), more than twice as many as most people tell you is a fair shake, and these were my impressions. At that point... Sorry, you have an uphill battle to prove your sexual harassment in story is somehow justified. The CONSTANT sexual harassment that is not just because they're in hell since Moxxie and Millie prove you don't have to be like this. It's still a choice.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[bitchfitch]

"Stay out of the woods."

The order rang around Peregrine's head like a bell lost in white water. Stay out of the woods, Peregrine. Don't go in the woods. Stay out of the fucking woods.

It didn't matter what Peregrine asked about the stupid forest behind their temporary home, that was his husband's only answer. Ensio had grown up in the manor, so perhaps it was a now pointless holdover from a young boy's days of reckless exploration. Or Ensio was attempting to hide some family secret from the last piece of family he had. Or whatever fucking else.

His reasoning didn't matter if he wouldn't tell what it was because if Ensio had wanted a spouse who would obey pointless rules, he didn't find it in Peregrine.

The snow crunched under Peregrine's boots over the gravel paths through the acres of trees. They had been finely maintained, no brambles or dead leaves rotting and blocking the way. The occasional set of deer tracks, or birds flittering about in the cold air to break up the blinding white monotony. There was, annoyingly, nothing off about the forest in the slightest. It was Just an old grove that hadn't seen propper cultivation in ages.

That added to his frustrated confusion.

Seven years of marriage, another two of courting. Never had Ensio set a boundary he refused to explain, nor had he ever once expected Peregrine to obey an order like a dog.

It was just a forest. Maybe Ensio had some childhood memory of this place that soured him to it? He did grow up on this estate.

He did have those scars he refused to tell Peregrine how he got.

Peregrine pulled his coat tighter around himself. It was a pleasant day, in a pleasant forest. They'd worked through much worse things together than a little childhood trauma being exasperated by the stress of suddenly becoming lord of a territory neither of them had interest in living within. They'd get through this too.

And if they didn't... They weren't going to be here for long. Soon they'd find a regent and go home to Peregrine's estate on the sunny beach where they both belonged.

Peregrine let his dream of going home soon slip aside as he finally found something that might explain this bizarre behavior.

Wolf tracks in the snow. Maybe that was it? Some stupid wolves? Peregrine was a witch of little comparison, Ensio knew that better than anyone else. Wolves couldn't be his concern. Could they? Sure, Peregrine might have let his studies slide while he tended to the operations of their businesses, but he could still handle a few lousy wolves.

The tracks were strange enough to give him pause, though. The toes long and splayed, the spacing between each print too far. Peregrine didn't know how to read tracks, but he felt there was something off in the rhythm of the steps. They looked more like his than they did anything four legged.

But he'd seen his kitty carefully step within her own paw prints when the snow was deep. Perhaps the wolf had done the same?

Peregrine lowered himself to place his hand beside a paw print. He'd never actually seen a wolf, but judging by these prints, each as wide as his hand was long, the bastards must be massive... He still had that familiar spell saved in his journal, the one he'd used to bind his kitty, Snowdrop, to himself. Perhaps the solution to their problem was to give his dear Ensio something he'd been humming and hawing over for some time. A wolf would suit him nicely, Peregrine thought.

A racket of snapping twigs and crunching snow rang out to his side, instinct jolting him up from the cold ground and back onto his feet.

"Peregrine!?" Ensio's panicked voice broke throw the still air.

"I'm here! Straight down the main path," Peregrine called back with a sigh and a hand over his thundering heart.

Ensio came running, his face red and his breathing rough with exertion. Peregrine barely had time to turn to greet him before he was being tackled in tight hug. The impact making him stumble backwards.

"You worried me Sick." Ensio pulled away, fear and rage plastered across his face, "Go back to the house. Now. It's not safe out here,"

"The wolves. I know," Peregrine narrowed his eyes, glancing to the riffle Ensio had felt the need to bring with him, "Let me handle them for you."

"No. No. You- You need to go Peregrine. Now." Ensio's grip on his arm was a hairs width shy of bruising as he yanked him back the way they'd both came.

"Not until you tell me what is going on," he dug in his heels and jerked his arm free.

"Peregrine-" Ensio looked like Peregrine had just slapped him.

"No excuses, Tell me."

"I can't. Not yet. It's not safe yet. Please, please I am begging you to trust me." Ensio tried to grab for Peregrine's hand but caught only frigid air.

"I trust you to not treat me like I can't-" Peregrine's protests were lost to an indignant yelp.

Ensio was freakishly strong for his build, a fact Peregrine had adored for nine years but which now made his blood boil as he was lifted like he weighed nothing. At least the bastard had the good sense to opt for a bridal carry, anything else would have enraged Peregrine enough to do more than attempt and fail to out-strength him.

Ensio looked like a dog with his tail between his legs the entire jog back to the manner. His eyes forward to avoid meeting Peregrine's silent glare at all costs.

Guilt, Peregrine knew the way Ensio wore it well. He had just hoped he wouldn't be seeing it on this trip until Ensio got bored and swanned off with some beau Peregrine never cared to know about. At least then he'd understand why Ensio was eating himself up and then get some gift of apology for a crime Peregrine didn't actually mind all that much. This time Peregrine didn't even have an annoying taboo to blame for Ensio's hurt.

When Ensio finally let Peregrine stand on his own two feet again on the back kitchen of the manor, they both knew that whatever Ensio buys to sate his guilt this time, it better be real fucking good if he didn't want Peregrine taking walks to become a nightly occurrence. At least until Ensio spat out his hairball reasoning.

[outofgloom]

STEEL

The Glass Plain was steel, pocked here and there with statued figures, rank upon rank, frozen in time. The ground was steel, and the hills beyond were steel, shimmering hot in the reflected daylight. Kio upon kio the Glass Plain stretched, kio upon kio of twisted, rusted, tortured metal.

She paused to catch her breath in the shade of a lone tree. It rattled in the breeze above her. The leaves and spines were steel, though most had snapped free by now. The ground was littered with them, still razor-sharp as the day it had happened.

She rested a hand against the trunk, checked the horizon behind her with her scope. Nothing so far, but he wouldn’t be far behind. She’d wounded him well enough at the village. He hadn’t expected her to put up a fight, nor to lead such a chase. He’d be very angry by now, and that would drive him. Hopefully make him sloppy. Maybe the delay would be enough after all...

She stooped and gathered a few of the metal leaves, tested one against her finger. It was fairly conductive. A good sign. The purity of the protodermic metal around her would increase as she drew nearer to the Epicenter. That would even the odds a bit.

She left the tree and descended the low hill, following the same track that had been there a thousand years ago, first etched into the earth by the tramping feet of soldiers and then frozen there forever, gilded and entombed. 

As she reached the surface of the plain, the metal effigies surrounded her like a forest. Here at the outer edge, the figures were evocative, the thinner layers of metal still allowing expression to show through. Arms pointed into the distance, faces crazed with shock and terror. Many of the figures faced outwards, away from the center of the plain, frozen in the act of running or falling, abandoning their ranks as they had realized what was coming.

Here was the form of a Toa, fallen to one knee. Here a Steltaxian brute, arms outstretched to clear a path through the bodies. Here an overturned Jaga-beast, legs clawing skyward, tail striking into the body of its rider, all fused into one. 

Sometimes the masses of limbs and weapons were too dense, and she was obliged to crawl and clamber. She tried not to think about it too much, tried to keep the memories at bay. At least it was quiet now. The muffled voices of the entombed had grown silent many years ago–no need to replay those memories. She had replayed them often enough over the past thousand years. 

Now there was only the rattle and creak of lifeless metal, and the need for haste. Quickly! These brambles would not slow her pursuer down. He’d flicker through them in a second, even wounded. The only challenge for him would be to track her through the plain, where the metal ground left few signs of her passage.

And even then…he’d tracked her across the world before. These were minor setbacks to him. He who had abandoned all codes, all rules. He was a killer, and he would not stop.

He would never stop.

The day wore on, and she made good progress. Nearer to the Epicenter, the metal was layered thicker, obscuring the frozen bodies and turning them into strange, angular pillars, faceless and spotted with rust. Rank upon rank they stood here–obedient to the end. There had been no warning at this range. No time to react.

In the near distance, the rotted out shell that dominated the Epicenter rose into the sky, its outer layers corroded away, revealing the chaotic lattice of protodermic iron within. Wind whistled mournfully through the structure, a thin, tinny sound.

She had not returned to this place since it had happened…since they had escaped. She had been a Toa then. Tall, strong, at the height of her powers, ready to fight Mata’s crusade, ready to obey the commands of Mata’s Barraki and bring order to a disordered world. Now…what was she? A weak Turaga, more used to the daily routines of Koro than the rush of battle. Her powers were a fraction of their former might. Even her Mask of Fate was a diminished Noble Kanohi now. How could she hope to win?

Slumped in the shade of a metal pillar, less than a kio from the place where her brothers had perished in tombs of elemental iron…despair almost overcame her. Her preparations were feeble. Her plans were half-baked. Soon he would be here. Soon she would be dead. Maybe…maybe she deserved it, after all.

Your life is owed me, sister. Unwelcome memories flickered in her mind. Scenes of a village, her village. Her Matoran stood around her. The huts were caved in. The air was heavy with dust and fear.

“I saved you,” he spat, standing at the village entrance, large as life. “I saved you when Ahrak lost control, and how did you repay me?”

“Naj...you’re…you’re alive?” she stammered, still reeling at the revelation. “But you…I don’t–”

“How did you repay me?!” Najak the Stone-Toa shouted, and the rocks trembled. The Matoran huddled closer.

“Why are you here, Naj?”

He advanced into the village. She tightened her grip on the pronged staff. The shock of recognition was starting to wear off, replaced by a dull understanding.

“I’m here to take back what I gave you,” he said.

There were scars on his armor, deep burn marks around his heartlight and across his Mask of Quick-Travel.

“Recognize these?” he said, noting her glance. “You didn’t finish the job, did you, Keersa? All those years ago. It hurt, that’s for sure, but you didn’t put quite enough juice into the current. Or maybe you couldn’t bring yourself to kill a brother?”

“You hunted me down. I defended myself.”

“You abandoned the cause. I gave you your life, saved you from the Iron Wave, and then you abandoned us, forsook your vows. The Lords of Order could not let that stand.”

“The Lords of Order are dead, Naj. Slain by the Makuta.”

“Don’t speak of the Makuta. Even now their hounds are after me.”

“Then you’d better keep running. Leave us be.”

“Not until I get what I'm owed.”

“What’s that? My life? You still want to kill me–that’s it? After all this time…I have nothing to say to you.”

“Words are the last thing I want. I’m disappointed, actually. Look at you now…a Turaga? What a waste. I was hoping you’d at least be able to put up a fight again, like old times.”

“How did you find this place?”

“Oh, the other Stone-Toa told me. Didn’t get his name. He was a fresh one.” Najak laughed coldly, “Could barely lift a boulder. Did you ‘make’ him, Keersa? Did you waste your power on him? As poor an Elder as you were a soldier, it seems.”

A chill went through her.

“What...Naj, what did you do?”

“I asked him to tell me where your village was. He didn’t want to, but eventually I made him. He died badly.”

The crowding Matoran shuddered, their eyes wide with fear.

“I had heard…rumors,” Keersa said numbly. “But the Code…”

Najak advanced further, eyes flashing. The Matoran cowered away on either side.

“--The Code is zyga, Keersa, and you know it. We are older than the Code. We killed long before it was written down by the charlatans who now supplant our Barraki. It was invented to hobble us, to keep us from victory.”

“What victory, Naj? The wars are over! The crusade is–”

A hammer struck into the back of the Stone-Toa’s knee and bounced off. Najak’s eyes flicked downward, and the Matoran holding the hammer looked at once very defiant, and very, very small.

A sharp sound rang out in the air, and Keersa screamed as the earth erupted with small stones, bullet-like, and rent the Matoran’s body to shreds. Screamed with all the force of her lungs as more stones whizzed through the crowd, and she dashed forward suddenly on Calix-borne feet and struck hard with her staff, struck hard with her lightning, and with all the white-hot anger of her grief...

Keersa sat bolt upright, her drowsy mind pinging with alarms and with deep, deep rage. One of the static leylines she’d set down amongst the metal pillars had snapped off to the east. The wind was rising, and the sky was the color of rust. There was a dust storm on the way, by the taste of the static charge in the air. She would take any advantage she could get. 

Ping. Another line discharged, closer now. She slipped into a hollow beneath the frozen limbs of a statue, activated the scope on her mask, and watched. Everything hinged on her spotting him first. The cries of her Matoran echoed in the back of her mind, but she pushed them grimly down. No more distractions. No more doubts.

He appeared off to the left first, about 15 bio away. He was crouched, and she saw that his arm was now slung against his chest. Good–he hadn’t had a chance to repair himself since the village. He hadn’t expected the speed of her attack then, enhanced by her Mask of Fate. She allowed herself a small smile, remembering the sound of the servos in his arm frying as she'd coursed lightning through them. If only she’d been able to reach his heartlight…

Najak vanished from his position abruptly, then reappeared to the right. Less than half the distance now. A wall of dust was approaching in the sky. She saw him turn to glance up at it, shading his eyes. 

His back was turned. Now.

She activated her Mask of Fate, felt the surge of energy and strange potential it granted her. One of the metal-gilded tree leaves was in her hand. She raised herself slightly, all precision and intensity, and hurled it straight at Najak’s head.

The Mask of Fate was sadly no Mask of Accuracy, but by the time the razor-sharp missile buried itself in Najak’s right thigh, she had already nearly closed the distance. Najak roared in pain, dropping to one knee. His good arm craned to reach the puncture wound. She was almost on him. Her mask glowed hot. Her hand crackled with a deadly charge. Straight to the heartlight. Straight to the heartlight as he knelt forward...

His eyes flicked wide. He saw her.

Najak snapped out of existence. Her electrified hand skewered thin air, and she fell headlong on the metal ground, skidding and cursing.

She twisted, flipped. On her feet again, running for shelter, ducking and weaving through the forest of iron.

There was a low rumble like an earthquake, and the protodermic metal of the Glass Plain groaned as something pounded against it from below. Then it ceased. Keersa slid to a stop behind a pillar. She almost laughed.

“Can’t try that here, Naj!” she yelled into the air, now dashing for new cover. “The bedrock is buried under half a kio of Ahrak’s best iron. Didn’t you know?”

A metal figure exploded into shards next to her as a small bullet-stone struck through it. So he had some elemental energy left in him after all.

Before she even knew what she was doing, her Calix-empowered eyes were tracking the source of the stone’s trajectory, body was twisting painfully into a head-first tumble. A second stone tore through the ground where her feet had just been and exploded into needles of rock. The shrapnel bit into her legs and torso, but there was no time for pain.

She glanced off a nearby pillar, landed on her back, and kicked off from the pillar’s base, shoving herself across the smooth ground, across the open space, hoping she could slide far enough. Her mask was fading out.

Shoulders struck against a ripple in the ground and she rolled into a crouch with muscles that felt like jelly. Her limbs were slowing. Mask was inert. Head snapped upward, eyes darted around. There was a familiar noise, very near, and the ozone smell of elemental power. There! 

She slammed a hand against the metal ground and poured her small reserves of Turaga-lightning into it, channeled it with all her strength forward, along the conductive surface, up through the exposed feet of the Stone-Toa that crouched between pillars not two bio away.

Najak gave a choking cry as his muscles seized and contracted, and the stone bullet he had been conjuring dissipated in the air. She pushed with everything she had, until smoke rose from the gaps in Najak’s leg-armor, and then she released. Pain from the shrapnel in her side finally registered to her nerves, and the world reeled as she sagged to the ground.

Najak’s breathing came in a ragged hiss through his locked jaw. He slumped over, supporting himself on his good arm. His eyes were still open, still fixed on her. A moment passed.

“Well…fought,” Najak rasped. “Maybe…you are not such a coward…after all.”

“I’m no coward,” Keersa said, fighting nausea. “You killed my Matoran. You’ve killed your own brothers. You deserve everything I’ve done to you, and more.”

“Very righteous. You sound like Ahrak.”

“He was better than you.”

“He was…a fool.”

“We were all fools, following the orders of our masters.”

“Better to serve a cause…than to run away.”

“Look what that cause has done to us, Naj. Look around! This place is our grave, and the grave of our brothers. Ahrak followed his orders, and he died…drowning in his own element, with iron in his lungs and brain, and he took ten thousand souls with him in the Nova Blast.”

“It was certainly impressive. A testament to our power.”

“It was a waste. We were losing the battle--don't deny it. The Barraki decided it wasn’t worth it, and the mighty Iron-Toa Ahrak obeyed…”

“And then I saved you. Without me, you’d be just as dead as the rest. You’re welcome.”

“Maybe that would have been better…”

“It doesn’t really matter. The way I see it, you’re already dead. You were dead to me the moment you abandoned your duty to the Lords of Order. Right here, you remember?”

“I found a new duty, and I fulfilled my purpose, Naj. Passed on my power. Not like you.”

He ignored her.

“The Iron Wave had passed,” he said, “and I traveled us back. The metal was all fresh and new, shining like glass…and all those voices trapped beneath. We couldn’t even carve them out…But we’d won, Keersa. We were the victors, remember? But you…you balked and ran away. Like a coward.”

Keersa said nothing. The sky darkened as the dust storm blew in over the landscape at last. Heat-lightning flickered on the horizon.

“But I didn’t run,” Najak continued. “I returned to our Lord, and informed him of our victory…and your betrayal. And as a reward, I was sent to deal with you, to balance out the scales.”

“I remember. And I beat you once already, could have killed you... We are even, Najak. The scales are balanced.”

“Almost, but not quite.”

Keersa lifted herself up again, almost faint with exhaustion. She raised her head.

Najak was standing upright. A coating of stone covered his lower torso, keeping him stable. He blinked in the blowing dust and spat grit from his mouth. Then he moved forward, one halting step at a time, as the rock liquified and hardened around his ruined legs. Keersa watched him with dull eyes, resigned.

“Once I kill you,” Najak said, “my duty will be fulfilled. Then...maybe I’ll return to your village. There were still a few weaklings hiding in the rubble. No one will remain to remember you, sister.”

“The Makuta will stop you. Their hounds are already prowling the outskirts of the Plain.”

“I’ve evaded them well enough so far,” he scoffed. Another slow step. “Anyways, the Makuta have bigger things to worry about. Unrest in Metru Nui and the like. One rogue Toa won’t be worth the resources for long.”

“And then what?”

“I’m not sure.” Another step. “I’ve been all about revenge for so long. I’ll have to rethink things, I guess.”

“You look tired.”

“You look like death.” 

Another step. Keersa looked up into the Stone-Toa’s face.

“Well,” she murmured, “it’s like you said…I’m already dead, aren’t I?”

Najak’s mask glowed, and she understood. He grasped her by the throat. She’d seen him do this before, to his enemies, in battle. Her ears popped as the world flashed into rushing light, and for a split second she was inside swirling dust and the rust of ages driven before the wind, and dry static washed over her face. 

Another pop, and they were above the storm, a kio in the air, and the Glass Plain stretched out on all sides from the Epicenter, harsh and horrible. Najak's grip tightened, and she gasped.

One more jump, and now the air was cold, and she felt his fingers relax, ready to drop her and be done with it. 

Rage. Static from the lower air clung to her. She drank it in, deactivated the pain signals that coursed through her body. With the last fraction of her ebbing will, her mask flickered on.

Winds buffeted them as they began to fall, but her grip was suddenly iron on Najak’s forearm, shocking his fingers open. He realized, and tried to hurl her away, but she was twisting, contorting. Her knee connected with the shoulder of his bad arm. Pain. He smashed his head forward into her face, and she saw stars, almost let go, but the fingers of her other hand had found what they sought.

His next blow went wide. She twisted again, and blind fingertips purchased just under his chin, crooked inward with alien dexterity. Her foot caved into his chest and kicked hard, and she was spinning. Spinning free, spinning wildly in open air, spinning around the axis of a madly spinning horizon. And it would have been sickening… 

…But his mask was in her hand, clenched tight. 

And his voice was screaming in her ears, somewhere off in the distance, in the wide air. Drifting further and further away. Screaming death and vengeance and dreadful fear as the Glass Plain hurtled up, up, up toward them like the execution hammers of the Lords of Order.

And the Glass Plain was steel.

[littlelostmabari]

I don't know if I was supposed to do these in order but I had an itch to write a happy Wyll snippet so WE'RE BREAKING THE RULES.

Thanks to @kelandrin for the lovely BG3 Pride Prompts! (Link to that post here) (Dividers here)

9. First Meeting

Pairing: Wyll x Tav

Warnings: No warnings, unless you're squeamish about undead.

Word count: 1.4k

Arctavius swung down from the ledge above the brawl, shoving the ghast back with two feet and the momentum of his arc. Fighting unarmed had its downsides — namely that he was going to have to breathe in the nasty beast’s odor in order to get close enough to strike. His next blow failed to land, but the second shattered something within the creature and caused it to reel. Stunned. Good.

The momentary relief allowed him to survey the rest of the battlefield. Whoever this fighter was, taking on this horde of undead, was both extremely skilled and extremely stupid. There were too many of them to have taken them on alone. 

That's alright, Arctavius always loved an underdog. 

That's why he had entered the fray from his hunting perch in the ruined tower above the battle. It definitely wasn't that the man in front of him was easily the best swordsman he'd seen in an age, and losing such talent would be a waste. And it certainly wasn't that the man’s cheerful taunts fell on ears too dead to understand them, and yet he persisted. 

And gods forbid, it wasn't because Arctavius had a thing for tieflings. His eyes darted across the curve of the swordsman's horns and ornamented black — no, deep brown — locs that draped across his forehead and down over his shoulders. He allowed his gaze to be drawn down across the man's neck and shoulders, down down down to his bare muscled forearm to his wrist and hand and the rapier that he used as an extension of his own body. 

Nope, it definitely wasn't that the man was terribly, infuriatingly attractive. So much so that the recovered ghast got a claw down the right side of his hip when he was distracted. By the sweat beading on the unblemished ochre skin of the swordsman's neck, of all things. 

Get it together, you perv.

Groaning to himself, Arctavius pushed through the pain and punched the ghast directly in the face, shoving him back ten feet into a pair of ghouls that were clambering up the side of the wall preparing to ambush the tiefling from high above. They collapsed into a pile of limbs and angry undead noises, before Arcavius gently tossed an alchemist’s fire into the lot of them. It was good that undead burned easily, but the smell would probably linger. With a grimace and a slight turn of his stomach, he turned his attention back to the other swordsman, who [with my timely intervention] was rapidly downing the rest of the undead horde, with only a death shepherd remaining. 

He locked eyes with the other warrior just long enough to realize two things — one, that his eyes were mismatched in color, one a stony gray and the other a deep fiery red, and two, that this death shepherd was going to regret its unlife choices. 

~~~

Moments after the last of the horde had keeled over, Arctavius was patting himself down to check for injuries. The claw strike was the worst of it, and he mourned the robes he had just purchased from that roving caravan. They were a soft bloody red, his favorite color, and they had cost him dearly. He let his head fall back onto his shoulders to groan into the sky. Well, all was not lost. 

His head immediately perked up and scanned the battlefield, finding that the other fighter had disappeared. He felt his ears twitch, seeking and finding sound in the bramble bushes a distance north from the ruined tower. Scrambling in that direction, he stumbled almost into the tiefling man, who turned on his heel and suddenly he was face to face with not a tiefling, but a devil. 

It was there in the features. His claws were just a little too pointed, his eyes just a little too fiery. The horns weren’t right, and the points along his jaw — while undoubtedly attractive — were more purposeful than ancestral. Arctavius started, clenching his jaw as he looked about the man, taking him in in less violent surrounds. It meant he was unnerved when the man began to speak. 

“Hah! Well met friend. Seems I got a lucky break today, you arriving when you did.” The man closed his eyes gently and bowed swiftly, his right hand clutching into a fist and beating once on his chest in a friendly salute. Arctavius noticed that his left hand never left the pommel of his rapier, and had clicked it just so it sat outside of its sheath — prepared to draw if necessary. 

Friendly, but wary. Good to know.

“Indeed!” Arctavius copied the salute but bowed further and with greater flourish. “I could not let those nasty little critters get away with … well, whatever it was they were doing.” He forced his face into a disarming grin. Its meaning didn’t escape the swordsman, whose mismatched eyes glinted fiercely. 

“Hunting my wards,” he replied, and stepped aside to reveal a scene in the bushes that Arctavius did not expect. Six children in various states of fear and courage were curled up in the brambles. A tiefling boy, not more than ten, stood with his fists up in a decent fighting stance. A pair of elven twins curled around each other deep in the huddle. The other three — a dragonborn, another tiefling, and a human — looked at him with a mix of fear and curiosity. “They’re orphans of the recent calamity. I am taking them to their new home at the druid grove in Moonrise Towers, just over the next vale.” The dragonborn child pushed past the tiefling boy in front and clung to the back of the swordsman’s tabard, his little claws pushing into the cloth and holding on tightly.

“Are we safe, Mr. Blade?”

The swordsman — Mr. Blade — still with his gentle smile and crooked head tilt, looked Arctavius up and down slowly. He must have seen something halfway decent because he pushed his rapier back into its sheath with a click and turned to kneel in front of the boy. 

“Soon, Nemrac,” he smiled. “We will be safe soon. Ser Halsin will be so happy to see you.” 

The dragonborn child grinned toothily and dug in his pockets for a moment before pulling out a well-hewn wooden mallard. “Do you think he’ll make me another bird?” Mr. Blade laughed. 

“Yes, if you ask him very nicely.”

Arctavius had no idea what to do with this little scene. It could be that this devil-man was sending children to a grisly fate… but the way they looked up at him as they crawled from the bramble was with eyes wide open to his features. Mr. Blade cooed as he picked up one of the elven twins and rested them gently on his hip. The child reached a hand up to his horn to steady themselves. Mr. Blade took their sibling in a firm grip with his other hand and turned toward Arctavius who felt suddenly like he was intruding on a family reunion. 

“Well, we had best be on our way,” Mr. Blade said with a nod. “I’d like to get the children settled before supper. Thank you for your timely kindness, Ser…” 

“Not Ser, just Arctavius. Tav to my friends.” Arctavius wasn’t quite sure why he added that last part. 

“Tav, then.” He released his hand from the standing elven child and reached out in greeting. Arctavius took his forearm. 

“Wyll Ravengard, Blade of Avernus, at your service.” His grip was unyielding, but he released quickly enough that the child was not bereft of his comfort for long. “Thank you for the help, and may the Three guide your steps.” Wyll turned to the children and began to usher them down the hillside, their trek towards Moonrise almost complete. 

Arctavius glanced back up at the tower that had been his home for three nights. He had meant to move on eventually, right? And now that his temporary sanctum smelled of burnt ghast and ghoul, he wasn’t about to sleep here again? Right? 

He scrambled up the side of the tower to his perch some forty feet in the air, stuffed everything that wasn’t food [ew, smells of ghast] into his knapsack, and scaled back down the tower. With children in tow, Wyll wasn’t moving particularly quickly. 

“Hey, Blade!?” Arctavius called as he approached. “I’m heading back toward that vale anyway, would you like the company?” It wasn’t technically the truth — he wasn’t heading in any particular direction except that which the wind took him.

Then again, maybe the wind was telling him something, as he felt his stomach drop through his feet and his breath stolen by the aforementioned breeze at the smile that Wyll Ravengard, Blade of Avernus, was wearing as he joyfully waited for Tav to catch up.

[iapislazuli]

hii I've followed your wc ramblings on Twitter for a while, and I have a burning question that's been bothering me. So, when Pinestar abandoned his clan, Sunstar only gets 8 lives. Makes sense. Brambleclaw steps down and leader and squirrelstar presumably gets 9 lives? Why? Is it because bramble is a special boy? Is it because he didn't leave the clan? I need to know what you think on this topic. Thank you for your time I love your content.

Hi thank you im glad you like my WC ramblings! I really like picking apart and analyzing the story, its quite fun :)

anyways i do have some thoughts on this! Leader lives and all that. A quick disclaimer is the leader lives thing is frustratingly inconsistent, so i'm theorizing on a bunch of wet spaghetti, bear with me X)

i put this under a cut cause it got so freaking long sooo text wall warning!

First of all we don't really know Squirrelstar's lives situation, nor do we know exactly how many lives Bramble had left when he abdicated, so it's hard to say exactly what the deal is there. Bramble has one confirmed death, but leaders have hid losing their lives before, such as Bluestar, who kept three of her deaths secret due to thistleclaw's ambition. Also, we dont know if the lives are tied to the body or spirit... it's possible ashfur lost some of brambleclaw's lives while posessing his body, and hid it. HOWEVER, for the sake of simplicity here i will be assuming that squilf was granted a full nine lives. (will explain why later)

BUT small tangent.. we really don't know the exact lives situation of Brambleclaw and Squirrelstar!

And... the same could go for Pinestar and Sunstar. Sunstar says he recieved eight lives, but... he blew through them FAST. Who's to say StarClan even gave him any extra lives? we never see any of his extra deaths, only that he lost his final life to dogs after being weakened by illness. (note that it says "weakened" by illness, but doesn't specify he lost any lives to it specifically)

However, if sunstar got no lives, but squirrelstar did, whats the difference? and also, what about nightstar, and tigerstar II, where do they fit into this?

My headcanon is when it comes to these unusual succession situations, it depends on both the former leader AND starclan.

For example, with Brokenstar - He was deposed against his will, and starclan didn't take his lives, therefore Nightstar got none, and Nightstar's successor Tigerstar I got lives presumably because Brokenstar was dead by that time

Pinestar - He left willingly, but had no extra lives for StarClan to take, and he was acting in direct defiance of starclan too

Rowanstar - He left willingly, with an unknown number of lives left. Wether or not he was acting against starclan isn't entirely clear... it's not like pinestar where he disobeyed a direct order. his situation is very strange.

Bramblestar - he left willingly, and starclan approved of his decision

So based on these HIGHLY INCONSISTENT occurrences, ive deduced a few rules ...

In order for a new leader to receive any lives at all, the previous leader must have willingly given up their position and/or their lives, because only one extra-lives cat can exist for each clan. (dying the final time fulfills this automatically, since giving their lives for their clan is an agreement condition to the position of leader. Starclan cannot strip lives from an unwilling leader.

Abdication must be approved by starclan. In Rowanstar and Brambleclaw's cases, they were abdicating primarily for the purpose of bettering their clans, passing them on to a more fit leader. Thus, next leader granted all nine lives

If abdication is NOT approved by starclan, then starclan gets petty and enacts divine punishment. For example, Pinestar's primary motive for abdication was so he could disobey the orders they were giving to kill his son. While he was becoming unfit to lead, he was abdicating mostly out of self-preservation.

so anyways ... to my next point. Brokenstar and Pinestar, though in very different ways, were both defying Starclan's will. (Brokenstar by ultrakilling his dad, Pinestar by deciding they should improve society somewhat). Both their successors, Nightstar and Sunstar, didnt get the full 9 lives. Which, following those rules i made up, means neither of them met the conditions for proper leadership. In Nightstar's case, Brokenstar had remaining lives, but was unwillingly deposed and therefore would not give his lives up. In Pinestar's case, he only had one life left, and chose to live it as a kittypet.

So, id say in the case of lives weirdness, either the former leader is being a little bitch or starclan is being a little bitch. Starclan couldn't give nightstar lives because Brokenstar was like "nuh uh", and for sunstar it was starclan themself going "nuh uh" because pinestar pissed them off. i think they were specifically so mad about pinestar because no other cat has just... hit the bricks like him LMFAOO he really was like "ok.. bye". big slap in the face for all powerful god cats. he left and took the last life and they couldnt do anything about it, besides punish sunstar, warning the other thunderclan cats to fall in line.

But anyways circling back to bramble and squilf!

in brambles case, though there was an element of self preservation to his decision, his main motivation was because he and squilf agreed she would make a stronger leader, and thunderclan was suffering with his wishy-washy shell of a man schtick that he'd been stuck in since TBC. Additionally, with code changes, its pretty clear starclan has become more lenient in recent books. Squirrelflight also is making a selfless decision by stepping up to leadership after everything shes been through.

So in a nutshell i think its because starclan approved of brambleclaw's abdication, since both he and squilf were selflessly motivated, (and also asked starclan for approval GHFDGFKS) while they did NOT approve of Pinestar going ok byeeeee <3

(i also just really like the theory of sunstar not getting any lives ok)

also, i know theres weirdness with wind runner vs tigerheart getting revived and the number of lives they got I SIMPLY WILL IGNORE IT FOR NOW TILL I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET IT TO FIT IN TO THIS IDEA ......

anyways this got super long and rambly sorry its not too organized LOL warrior cats lore y u so messy....

[color-cacophony]

I was going to make a Big Official Review Post about Rayman in the Phantom Show but I don't really have enough complete thoughts to make something comprehensive and organized, but I still want to share some points from my experience with it so uhhh without further ado, here's a bunch of thoughts on what dazzled me and what I thought could have been done better.

Here I go...

I'll start with the stuff that bugged me first because I don't like to end on a bad note:

I think the biggest issue is that giving the player the option to complete each set in any order diminishes the opportunity to have a linear story. Without a series of events building up to the finale, the actual climax doesn't feel as grand or substantial as it should be (it definitely feels like a few lines were cut from the moments before Phantom's first verse with how abruptly it starts). It would have felt more immersive to see actual scenes of the heroes trying to play their roles and have more varied quests based on puzzles or even characters and dialogue (like the search for Sweetlopek's stolen axe), all whilst gradually putting the pieces together that they were led into a trap.

Speaking of putting the pieces together, it would've paid off to have Beep-0 learn from his own arrogance in the past instead of repeating his assertion that he knew what Phantom was up to all along. That part made me kind of sad because I really like Beep-0 and it seemed like they were setting him up to eventually become less uptight and more open to admitting his mistakes, which would be more satisfying and obvious!

As we all know, Beep-0 isn't the only one who repeated himself. I remember an exchange I had with @randomrabbidramblings about our predictions for what would happen in the climax; they were hoping the final showdown with Phantom would not be redundant with his first encounter, having the same battle gimmick as before. Unfortunately that is, in fact, what they ended up doing. While framing it as Phantom being unoriginal or making a callback helps it a little bit, ultimately it made me feel let down (although I love Beep-0's delivery when he reiterates his line from Kingdom Battle. he means business).

As for the aftermath of the battle, I want to know where Phantom went. There doesn't seem to be any sign of him anywhere in the studio. It's really odd, given how this was supposed to be his grand comeback (alongside Rayman, of course), but we don't get even a simple explanation of what happened to him after he was defeated for the second time, unless I missed something. I presume this is his last major appearance in a game (unless they decide to do something completely different with him in the distant future??? wishful thinking but not ruling it out!), so it's a strangely underwhelming and mysterious send-off to our beloved ghostly diva. I would have been bummed that we didn't get lore paintings for him, but the memory entry summarizing his surprisingly short-lived career actually made me laugh and honestly, the thought of him only releasing one album and becoming so well-known just because he's notoriously a huge jerk and a producer of incredibly terrible films is so in-character for him.

Another choice I found unusual was the lack of any explanation as to how he got his voice back, since it's been established that he screwed it up by overdoing it. Although, they must have dismissed it knowing that not everyone is going to find the mural containing the only source of that detail. His voice could have healed over time anyway, but it just doesn't entirely make sense that they don't acknowledge it at all (I did see @bramble-scramble 's post mentioning a detail @randomrabbidramblings pointed out where a gramophone can be seen in a box in the studio's control room and it is supposedly the one Phantom replaced with a new one when he messed it up, but even if that's true, it's still a bit easy to miss).

I understand that a lot of these issues were due to restraints since it's only a DLC and they could only fit so much in, but that goes to show that this concept is a little too big for a DLC, but not quite big enough for a full game.

Now, for the things I loved...

I must give massive props to the artists and animators for taking reference from multiple Rayman games and essentially making the pinnacle of his goofiness. Rayman was HIGHLY entertaining to see (and listen to, thanks to David Gasman) and very lovable in this! And the way his dynamic with Rabbid Peach and Rabbid Mario changes up until the end where he becomes friends with them and realizes that he can work with the Rabbids now instead of against them it's just 🥺 awgh... It feels cheesy to talk about it but it really does make me happy now that Rayman has a chance to be an equal to the Rabbids and have something resembling a mutual understanding.

I appreciate them bringing back characters from the main game and giving them their own sets. Fittingly enough, it's like a curtain call for the final installment of SoH.

The return of Beep-0's swearing. SERIOUSLY IT'S SUCH A SMALL THING BUT IT DELIGHTED ME

The studio's lobby is gorgeous. Absolutely STUNNING I love all the details and the music notation motifs on everything.

Honestly the rest of this is just going to be me gushing about Phantom hehehe...

First of all, I was completely awestruck at the decision to give him a swing/jazz sequence because I love the aesthetic of the whole sassy big band musical number kind of thing so when I saw that Phantom was going to do that I went INSANE. The animation in the song sequences is absolutely top tier. Phantom is ALL OVER THE PLACE, very charming, very energetic. The swing bit made me realize just how unbelievably coordinated he is. Like when he's zipping and spinning around the stage and it doesn't affect his singing at all? Holy crap. Then, I went even MORE insane when rock/metal Phantom showed up. I would have wanted a verse in that style too, but I get that it was cut because it would mess up the pacing of the battle.

I love Phantom's inability to contain his excitement at the start of the battle, his annoyed lines when you destroy the lights, his smug remarks even when he's taking damage. He's just so- I'm just gonna say it- so freaking cute in this! His line deliveries in general made me fall so hard for him, especially "were you EVER a thing, Rayman?". The way he drops his voice sounds so cool...

Regarding his abilities, I thought they were going to explain why he could turn people to stone in Kingdom Battle, but they simply took that detail away. I don't have a big problem with this, as the Stone Deaf ability could have been part of the Megabug's influence (and it makes him at least a bit less OP lol). I'm also satisfied to finally know that he can indeed phase through things like any other ghost and isn't limited to just teleporting.

His death acting has definitely improved since last time, in that it's silly and makes me smile instead of just making me feel embarrassed lol.

So uummmm yeah that's all the noteworthy stuff I can think of! Overall I thought the DLC was delightful during my playthrough, but after I finished it I felt kind of sad because it just didn't feel "thorough". However, given that Sparks of Hope generally improved on so many aspects from the last game, I'm confident that they'll keep adding and experimenting with more characterizations and scenarios and make something even better if they decide to continue with Mario + Rabbids. And even if they don't, we'll always have the amazing fans to continue the story and put even more wonder into this wild crossed-over universe!

Anyway, thank you for reading through this highly disorganized rant/gush! And while I'm at it, thank you to everybody in the Mario + Rabbids community for making such amazing art and just being here to share our love for the series. That means thank you to @randomrabbidramblings @bramble-scramble @salamifuposey @hostess-of-horror @phandrow @pastelprince18 @critterzone13 @hostdoozy @majorpepperidge and more! You guys are super cool and I appreciate you even though I've never directly interacted with all of you, hehe. I suppose all I have left to say is goodnight, so goodnight/day everyone! Until next time I decide to dump more nonsense onto your dashboard :D

[troutfur]

Yeah, I like the Shrewpaw going with Ashfur in the Sundrown patrol AU tbh, Trout. Maybe Squirrel and Bramble get closer when Leaf goes missing--perhaps Hawkfrost gets a bit busy with his new deputy position?

No, no, you see part of the point of benching Bramble and letting Ashfur onto the field is that he has to get closer to Hawkfrost before the move to the lake. In order for him to be in the position I want him to be by the latter half of the plot he needs to a) have a connection to Hawkfrost, b) be a mentor to Birchpaw, and c) take upon himself some of the burden of Graystripe's disappearance so he can prove himself. Between all this I'd hardly think he has any time for Squirrelpaw.

If anything I'd have the interim deputy Hawkfrost collaborating with the up and coming Brambleclaw to begin to sow the seed in Bramble's mind that it'd be a good idea to pull off a coup and rule as allied leaders, Hawkstar and Bramblestar.

[girlactionfigure]

Ok, another "biggie" - this time on German Jewish life from the Enlightenment to the rise of Nazi rule.

The German Enlightenment began around 1650 when Germany was a group of absolutist kingdoms (Prussia, Hamburg, Bradenburg, Pomerania, etc.) 

The rulers of these kingdoms realized it was not economically feasible to constantly expel their Jews, who had proven to be a valuable “commodity” wherever they were tolerated.

So, the expulsions slowed, but anti-Jewish attacks remained.

One infamous German mob attack took place in 1699 against the Jewish Quarter of Bamberg. As the mob attacked, one Jew poured a basket of ripe plums on top of them. For some reason, this caused panic among the rioters, who fled. This bizarre event is still commemorated every 29th of Nisan as the Zwetschgen-Ta’anit (“Prune-Fest”).

The 1700s in Germany saw the “reforms” of Frederick II, the king of Prussia (who Hitler would later call a “heroic genius”). 

Frederick II felt his kingdom had “too many Jews.” But rather than expel them, he wanted them to essentially “make themselves useful” on the Polish border engaging in trade. 

Beginning in 1750, Frederick II issued various anti-Jewish edicts aimed at keeping the Jewish population to an absolute, fixed minimum. He named a small number of “protected” Jewish families who could stay in specific cities provided they abstain from future marriages lest they "transform it into complete Jerusalem."

In the 1760s, Frederick II also issued edicts precluding Jews from various occupations. Then came the oppressive taxation. Frederick II would not permit Jews to fight in the Seven Years War – instead, he required Jews to pay extraordinary sums to fund his war while keeping the Jewish community poor.

Decades after Frederick II, however, in 1812, Prussia became the first German state to grant citizenship to its Jews. 

However, the problem of the European “Enlightenment” was that “full rights” for Jews came with the condition that they discard all that made them Jewish. In other words, you could be accepted as a German citizen or you could choose to remain a Jew. You couldn’t be both.

Of note, 1812 was also the year the Brothers Grimm published Rumpelstiltskin. This treasured fairy tale along with various others by the Brothers Grimm, including Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel are loaded with thinly-veiled antisemitism. Other works by the Brothers Grimm were not so subtle. Antisemitism was the express theme of their stories The Jew in the Brambles, The Jew Among the Thorns, and The Good Bargain.

In fact, in Nazi Germany, all German households were required to own a copy of the “sacred” Brothers Grimm tales, and schools were required to use their antisemitic stories as educational literature.

1817 saw the rise of the Reform Judaism movement, which was intended both to "modernize" Judaism and make it palatable to German Christians. 

Some German Christians, however, were not impressed by these assimilation attempts.

Have you ever said the words, “hep hep hooray?” Well, I’m sorry to tell you that phrase has antisemitic origins. 

During the series of “Hep Hep” riots in 1819, violent anti-Jewish mobs used “Hep Hep” as their rallying cry. The term had a double meaning. It was an acronym for the Latin phrase “Hierosolyma est perdita” meaning “Jerusalem is lost” and said to taunt Prussian Jews. It was also what German sheep-herders yelped to their sheep to keep them in order. Basically, the phrase came naturally to Prussians who hated Jews, and it was even used more than 100 years later by Hitler’s stormtroopers when they went on the prowl for Jews.

Despite widespread antisemitism, the bilateral efforts of German Enlightenment thinkers and Jewish assimilationists led ultimately to the Revolution of 1848, when all German states proclaimed Jewish emancipation.

Again, however, any gains by the German Jewish community were always met with antisemitic backlash.

One of Germany’s most famous composers, Richard Wagner, was a virulent antisemite and one of Hitler's inspirations. 

In 1850, Wagner began speaking out against what he called “Jewish decadence” and influence in music. Wagner was one of the original faces of racist antisemitism in Germany such that “Jewish blood” was all that mattered for that person to be worthy of scorn and to be considered "dangerous" to "pure" German blood. 

Wagner would later write, “I hold the Jewish race to be the born enemy of pure humanity and everything noble in it. It is certain that it is running us Germans to the ground.”

On November 1, 1867, all remaining restrictions on Jews’ right of residence, real estate purchase, and choice of profession were abolished in the North German Confederation.

A gain for the Jewish community? Yup. So, now the backlash.

Also in 1867, the German journalist Wilhelm Marr coined the phrase “antisemitism” for the purpose of being able to discuss Jew-hatred in “polite society.”

Then, in 1871, a German constitution was passed that granted Jews full equality.

Three cheers for … wait a minute.

Violent backlash against German Jews took-off again in 1881. First, a petition calling for the removal of all Jews from public life, containing 250,000 signatures, was delivered to the Reichstag (German parliament).

Then, the pan-German Austrian leader and virulent antisemite Georg Ritter von Schönerer developed a following where (tell me if this sounds familiar) he was referred to as "Führer," and he and his followers used the greeting "Heil!"

April and May of 1881 saw popular antisemitic riots against Jewish homes in Berlin.

While German antisemitism persisted, the 1890s and early 1900s gave way to Jews finally being able to actualize some of the promises of emancipation.

Germans looked down at the “barbaric” Ukranian pogroms that were occurring and thought themselves above such things now.

In fact, by 1912, 12 of the 100 members of the Reichstag were Jews.

On the eve of World War I (1914), antisemitism was all but a fringe political force. Though there remained antisemitic parties, they never received more than 4-5% of the vote. And more than 100,000 German Jews fought for their country during the Great War (12% higher than their population ratio).

At the war’s end on November 11, 1918, there were 20 million dead.

The Treaty of Versailles that ended the war placed all blame for the war on Germany and required Germany pay reparations to the Allies. This led to the collapse of the German economy, hyperinflation, depression, and mass discontent.

Hitler and his Nazi Party attempted to take advantage of the discontent via an unsuccessful coup attempt known as the Beer Hall Putsch on November 9, 1923. Hitler was arrested, but his prominence and popularity only increased, and in 1925 he published his raving antisemitic manifesto entitled Mein Kampf (My Struggle).

Meanwhile, the United States stepped in to try to save the German economy beginning with the Dawes Plan. Essentially, the United States agreed to provide Germany with loans with which it could pay reparations to France and Britain. Suddenly, the Germany economy thrived. The "roaring twenties" began to roar for Germany as well.

But, when the Great Depression hit in 1929, America was no longer willing or able to provide any aide to Germany. The payments stopped, and Germany took the most devastating hit of all from the Depression.

In this time of turmoil, the brash German nationalist Hitler, who could rouse crowds big and small and bend them to his will, began to gain wider public support. His blaming of the Jews as a singular "boogeyman" for all of Germany’s problems became a simple explanation for Germans to accept, and his vague promises to remake the great German empire brought him a wildly devoted fanbase.

German elections on September 30, 1930, saw the Nazis become the second-largest party in the Reichstag with 18% of the vote.

Another election took place on July 31, 1932, where the Nazis won more than 37% of the vote and became the largest political party in Germany (but still not a majority).

So, in early 1933, Hitler called for more elections and launched into an intensive and violent campaign pushing Nazism and pushing Hitler as a messianic figure who would "save" Germany.

Then, on February 27, 1933, the Reichstag was set on fire and burned down. Confusion, panic, and terror spread among the German public. The Nazis used the hysteria to their advantage.

Elections took place only days later on March 5, 1933, with an extremely high turnout of 89%. The Nazis remained the largest party in the Reichstag and made major gains after securing 44% of the vote. Meanwhile, another extreme right-wing, nationalist party allied with the Nazis (the DNVP) won 8% of the vote, in effect giving Hitler his majority.

On March 23, 1933, the German government passed the Enabling Act by a landslide, which granted the government dictatorial powers. Hitler now had the power to govern by decree.

Yet another election on November 12, 1933, sealed the deal with the Nazis receiving 92% of the vote. Germany was now Hitler’s country.

Captain Allen

[cryptidclaw]

Has anyone noticed Brambleclaw didn’t have a apprentice when he was appointed deputy? I think the Erin’s forgot about this rule or something. Cause honestly did Tigerheart have an apprentice? 💀

Brambleclaws only apprentice was Berrynose, who joined after he was made deputy, or around the time because he was a kit when he was brought to Thunderclan.

Idk, I was looking around and noticed that lol.

Not to mention why would FireStar be so desperate for a deputy that he would pick a inexperienced cat who hadn’t even mentored a cat when, idk there is Sandstorm who is great and should be given a chance, Thornclaw and Brackenfur are both really good cats who have HAD an apprentice, not to mention just more cats all around Thunderclan.

Idk, I just don’t get this.

No bec. this perfectly summarizes what pissed me off about Bramble becoming Deputy!!

He was young, inexperienced, there were plenty of cats who were better fit for the role and he never had an apprentice!!!

Im pretty sure the reason Bramble became deputy in canon was purely plot reasons, the Erins said he deserved to be deputy and so he was made deputy lol.

I still want him to have a deputy arc in RoC tho, so I'm gonna give him an apprentice (idk who tho) and I think Firestar will have been motivated to choose a younger cat to be deputy, 1: so that they will hopefully live long enough to be leader and 2: because Fire knows that the Orders are moving into a new era and he knows a young cat with newer ideals should lead after him (Hence why he chose Ashfur, another young cat, after Bramble stepped down)!

[bonefall]

sorry if this is random but i got to thinking... how/when does leafpool die

Leafpool is going to die in the redux of Squirrelflight’s Hope, Squirrelflight’s Horror.

The trial scene is still there but VERY different. Leafpool has a very minor trial; it's widely agreed that she fixed her "mistake" in the best way possible by giving her kits to Squirrelflight. StarClan didn't give the sisters conflicting orders in this rewrite, and though Leafpool broke the code, the Queen’s Rights exist for a reason.

Her long and loyal life of service more than makes up for this.

Squirrelflight, in contrast, is put on trial for her actions with the Sisters. This is more of a treatise on if StarClan is going to rule in favor of Fire Alone or not.

Anyway this post is about Leafpool

Bramblestar joining the raid was divisive to begin with, much of ThunderClan was already feeling like he was just doing it to upset Squirrelflight. Especially after the sisters shared the dandelion secret to save Sparkpelt, and Bramble's fiasco with denying Sunrise medical care.

And then A MEDICINE CAT dies horribly, in a raid they were already politically divided on, and the beloved deputy Squirrelflight is on death's door.

There are comparisons to him and his ancestor Oakstar with his crackpot Crusades, a dark time in their history. His reputation as a leader never really recovers from this; setting the stage for The Broken Code.

[warriors-rewritten-chaos]

squilf x nightcloud hypokits, in an au where they become leaders and bramble and crow get exiled/killed/whatever else ? i think they deserve it tbh

Warrior Cats Ships: NightSquirrel Edition

In this AU, Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight break up after it is discovered that the Three aren't his kits and Nightcloud and Crowfeather have a similar breakup after the Gathering where Hollyleaf tells everyone who her and her siblings’ real sire is. Brambleclaw also never becomes Deputy, with Brackenfur being the one in that position instead. Nightcloud approaches Squirrelflight at a Gathering soon after the the end of Arc 3 and they bond over the insanity that just occurred to both of them over the past moons. Over time, they fall in love but neither says anything, mostly to avoid more codebreaking shenanigans. Later on, Nightcloud is made Onestar’s Deputy after Ashfoot’s death, while Squirrelflight takes the place of Brackenfur after he steps down as Deputy of ThunderClan. Squirrelstar becomes Leader after Firestar’s death. When the Great Storm hits, Nightcloud ends up stuck by ThunderClan territory. She and Squirrelstar decide “screw it” and get together. They stay together even when Nightstar goes back to WindClan after the flooding dies down, becoming Leader of WindClan after Onestar’s death. Under the mateship of Nightstar and Squirrelstar, ThunderClan and WindClan run better than they have in many moons.

They have three kits:

Coldslate- black tabby tom with dark green eyes. Trans tom, aromantic asexual. Quiet and standoffish, Coldslate sticks out like a sore paw amongst his two more conspicuous littermates. He would much rather be left alone and strongly dislikes having to be around others. Many cats wonder why he hasn't left to become a loner. If he actually did leave the clans for good, he would probably have an awful time of it. Coldslate needs a highly structured routine to function, and thrives when he has plenty of rules and orders to follow. Although this makes him a very good warrior and clan member, the downside of this is that he does not adapt to change well. In fact, the only thing that will reliably make him upset is messing with his schedule and making changes to his duties without his knowledge. He isn't exactly very close with any of his older siblings, but he gets along with Breezepelt fine enough (mostly because he doesn't talk much). He is a Tactician.

Scorchbough- wild-furred fluffy ginger tolly with amber eyes. AMAB genderqueer, omnisexual. Ze uses ze/zir pronouns. Despite being the largest of zir litter and having the most ThunderClannish build out of zir siblings, Scorchbough is the best runner of the NightSquirrel litter. It is hardly any wonder that ze chose to live in WindClan, where there is lots of open space and ze can run all day. Ze has a lot of energy and cannot stand to sit still for longer than a few minutes. A common punishment for unruly apprentices is to make them spend the day patrolling alongside zir. Most cats can barely keep up with zir, both in pace and in conversation (ze is the fastest talker you will ever meet). Of all zir older siblings, ze is closest with Lionblaze. While Scorchbough often feels out of place in WindClan because of zir unusual appearance, ze loves living there and there's no place ze would rather be at the end of the day. Ze is a Scout.

Freckleplume- black tom with a white speckled face, a large bushy tail, and green eyes. Cis tom, gay. She uses she/he pronouns. Freckleplume is widely considered to be one of the prettiest cats in the clans, and that has absolutely gone to his head. She has always been spoiled by her mothers (though that goes for her other siblings as well) and expects that sort of treatment from everyone, becoming upset if she isn't treated well. He was the only one of his siblings that decided to live in ThunderClan with Mama Squirrelstar. He prefers napping in the shade of the trees to chasing rabbits any day. While Freckleplume is pretty selfish and vain, she does have a few good qualities. He is incredibly smart and knows exactly how to manipulate others to do what he wants, and is very loyal towards his clan and family. The few times he isn't acting in his own interest, he’s acting in theirs. She is a Mediator.

[blorboclaw]

actually that Hawkfrost as Richard III au might work out??

Picture it. War against Tigerkin and Firekin (Tigerstar is already dead). Hawkfrost is littermate of TawnyBramble instead of half-brother.

During the final battle, Hawkfrost kills Firestar and Cloudtail, the Lancasthunderclan king and crown prince.

Brambleclaw, eldest son/favorite son of Tigerstar, becomes leader. Obviously, Tawnypelt is deputy while LionHollyJaykit aren't of age.

Hawkfrost puts Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt in deadly hate the one against the other.

"Hey Bramble, I got a dream that looked a lot like it was from Starclan, saying that Tawnypelt would kill your children" (can't make the double-edged prophecy of 'g' being the murderer with 'g' being both in George and Gloucester's names, so let's keep it simple).

Tawnypelt is ripped from her deputy position. Hawkfrost is put as temporary deputy. Tawnypelt mysteriously drown, and Brambleclaw is so shocked that she died that he dies himself.

Hawkfrost gets cat-married with Brightheart after manipulating her and gaslighting her and pretending he only killed Cloudtail so he could become her mate. Then as Squirrelflight expects Lionblaze to become deputy just after his warrior ceremony, and Hawkfrost to give up leadership for Lionblaze as soon as he's got enough experience and an apprentice or something?, Hawkfrost actually exiles Lionblaze and Jayfeather under charges of being bastards (which they would be if we follow canon and the fact they're not really BrambleSquirrel's kits) and Lion and Jay mysteriously die, killed by the same rogue who drowned Tawnypelt.

Goldenflower curses Hawkfrost. Leafpool, Crowfeather, Stormfur, Graystripe... are killed by order of Hawkfrost, who purges everyone around him who doesn't trust him or isn't extremely loyal to him.

Brightheart was trying to help out in the medicine den when she strangely ate deathberries, probably by mistake (she wasn't poisonned by Hawkstar at all what are you talking about).

More and more cats are running away from him in hope to save their lives, and some get interested in following the lead of young... idk Berrynose?

Hawkstar decides to reinforce his position by marrying someone who's both a Tiger and a Firekin, and asks Squirrelflight to give him Hollyleaf in marriage, even if he's her uncle. Squirrelflight says yeah sure and then smuggles Hollyleaf out of the camp and they run away. Hollyleaf marries Berrynose and Hawkstar and Berrynose fight to death. Hawkstar gets his lives taken from him by Starclan or something and yells "nine lives! nine lives! my clan for nine lives!" (a horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!) then gets killed by Berrynose.

Berrystar rules with Hollyleaf and everyone lives happily ever after.

It makes no sense (compels me though)

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 4: Surging Undercurrents

Narrated by Lande.

Narrator: I arrive successfully in Lodden Hotel.

Narrator: The payload's now secure, and Scorpionfish has been taken away by Mercury's men.

Narrator: I finally learned that this was all part of Mercury's plan, and we were nothing but bait.

Narrator: Mercury wanted information from Scorpionfish, and knew he was coming for the goods.

Narrator: So he chose a safe, predictable time and had three black cars drive together on a road. Couldn't get more obvious than that.

Narrator: He set it all up to lure Scorpionfish out.

Narrator: We weren't controlled by Scorpionfish; my life was in the hands of Mercury.

Narrator: Yet again, these are the rules of the world.

Narrator: I fill my gun magazine with bullets. One, two, three... like playing with a child's toy.

Narrator: Mercury just gave out a new order.

Narrator: He spoke to me when he gave it.

Mercury: Some people in this world control fate, and some are controlled by it.

Mercury: Leaving Blacksands Street and Azureink was just escaping fate.

Lande: I understand now.

Choose either "What do you know?" or "How does he know your past?"

If "you," ...

You: What are you saying? What did you understand?

Narrator: I think joining the Hermes Auction Association was a good decision that I made.

If "him," ...

You: How does he know your past?

Narrator: He investigated my background. Of course, Mercury wouldn't let someone in that he didn't know about.

--

Narrator: The auction was ready, and my new mission was beginning.

Instruction: After the auction starts, wait for the final command, and once the order goes out, shut off all exists and secure all guests.

Instruction: Don't let a single person out, and don't let a single person in.

Instruction: Additionally, follow the people on this list closely the moment they enter the hotel.

Lande: Affirmative.

Narrator: I change into the outfit of an attendant, waiting at the doorstep to welcome those arriving at the auction.

Narrator: The outfit also bears the symbol of the Hermes Auction Association: a white dove flying through a bramble of roses.

Narrator: Everyone is like a dove, trying to find the truth hidden in the thorned brambles.

Narrator: Behind the auction lies even more secrets, and these secrets are tied to the powers of Mercury.

Narrator: Only by following Mercury's power, can I get to the core of these secrets.

Lande: Hello, ma'am... Would you like us to help bring your luggage to your room?

Lady: No need, thank you.

Narrator: The hat of the woman lowers over her face, and she grips tightly her briefcase, refusing my suggestion.

Narrator: The hotel manager himself brings her to her room, and I watch her disappear behind a corner.

Narrator: Then, I switch on my earpiece.

Lande: The target has entered the hotel.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3