#(basically him and hades were merged as one being)

[beresaad]

HADES II ↳ Melinoë — Μηλινοη, "Dark-Minded"

[yonemurishiroku]

i always found it weird how rick was never consistent when it came to nico getting ostracized it was so contradicting between will telling him he pushed himself away and percy just agreeing with him😭

=))))))))))) Ikr? That’s just so hilarious. 🤣🤣🤣 Will said it like CHB welcomed everyone whereas Percy Jackson the de facto leader is right there accepting it. 🙆‍♀️

Now. I think there’re many things going on for this.

The first thing I can think of is, well, Rick needs it for the plot. 🤷‍♀️ Nico’s like his plot device, you know?

Because he isn’t at camp -> he comes in contact with more sources -> he gathers information -> helping those who have no idea what they’re doing despite being the protagonists.

So basically. Rick needs Nico to leave. 🤷‍♀️ It’s just simple.

(Ofc this involves the whole character arc he creates but like akxhajxhak you know what I mean)

Ok maybe not that simple. Technically a good plot requires him to think of a logical, reasonable, context-fit explanation/ a series of incidents for why Nico has to leave. That roles fell into ‘Hades’ kids get ostracized’ (wasn’t a good choice as you can see) and now here we are. 🙆‍♀️

It might be possible that Will and Percy have very different views on CHB as a whole.

This is reasonable. Will is a son of Apollo healer, one of the most populated cabin. Percy is, well, Percy: son of a big Three, the prophecy child. Same reason as Nico is the Hades’ kid, the difference in linage prompts difference in treatment, leading to difference in the recipients’ reviews.

Generally, we can see Will is quite adored at camp. He has friends. He can pacify Clarisse. His role as a healer probably helps him make friends, too. Of course, we barely have any idea how Will was treated from the first day he went to Camp, so half of this might be just assumption (and should be taken with a grant of salt).

On the other hand, I can’t quite recall it correctly at the moment since it has been so long but apparently Percy didn’t have a nice smooth merge in with the Camp? People were wary of him as the son of Poseidon, child of the prophecy too. It’s also why Luke got to him so easily just by being nice. Percy had to fight to get his place, too. (Clarisse would still dunk his head in the toilet btw)

So as you can see: As it turns out, both Will and Percy probably have their own reasons for their views.

Maybe CHB is more complicated than we think. Unlike Camp Jupiter wherein a series of rules are applied and kids were raised disciplined by wolves, CHB is more lax - which might or might not bring another series of problems on another category.

All in all, Rick did not do it well to come up with a plot-wise logical reason for Nico’s leave. Or rather: the explanation he gave (Nico said people only liked him after he helped defeated Kronos and then went back to avoid him) sounds more like an excuse and brings more problems than not.

[tamibae]

A long post related our celestial queen's abilities🥰

Lucy Heartfilia

Celestial Magic :

Lucy Heartfilia is the strongest celestial mage to ever live. She has amazing skills in celestial magic and a great bond with her spirits. She has proved from time to time that holder type magic is also a strong magic which can turn tables on enemies.

So let's take a look on her abilities, shall we?

Celestial Spirits having contact with Lucy Heartfilia :

Golden Key Spirits :

Leo(Lion)~

Leo uses Regulus light. He's the leader of the zodiacs and also the most efficient combatant among them. He has the ability to open his own gate when his summoner is in trouble. He can efficiently respond to camoflauge attacks.

Virgo(Maid)~

Virgo is arguably the second strongest spirit among the zodiacs with incredible Earth magic(Spica lock, spica hole, chains attack, diving undergroud, pitfall etc). She is an efficient combatant and has a good control over speed. She can also appear on her own when needed.

Fact : Leo and Virgo take more power to keep their gates open than other zodiacs.

Aquarius(Mermaid)~

Aquarius is an incredibly strong mermaid spirit with amazing water powers. Maybe because she's so strong, she needs a condition(water) to summon her. She takes also takes more mp to keep her gate open like Leo and Virgo because of her powers.

Taurus(Cow)~

Taurus is very good at physical strength however, his magic doesn't allow him to perform any element based attack like Leo/Virgo/Aquarius. His axe is a weapon with heavy force.

Aries(Ram)~

Aries performs wool based magic. Her wool is powerful enough to stop any spell that requires incantation like Fairy Glitter, Urano Metria, Grand Chariot, Fairy Sphere, Fairy Law etc. Her wool also works great against powerful water attacks and it can help tangle the enemy in wool to buy some time.

Capricorn(Goat)~

Capricorn can cancel any kind of eye magic with his glasses and he's an efficient combatant. He's very good in close range combat.

Sagittarius(Shooter)~

Sagittarius is the master archer with incredible shooting skills. He's a great help in long range attacks.

Scorpio(Scorpion)~

Scorpio has the ability to produce huge sand cyclones. His sand wall is an efficient defense skill.

Gemini(Twins)~

These twins can copy any mage present at the moment along with their magic abilities but the said mage has to be on the same level or lower than the summoner.

Cancer(Crab)~

Cancer is a spirit with incredible speed and sharpness(his scissors). He can cross a huge distance within seconds and cut down people's hair or objects like that.

Silver Key Spirits :

Horologium~

One of the most useful spirits, it comes to rescue the summoner whenever their lives are on line.

Pyxis~

Pyxis has a strong sense of directions. Even when the normal compasses don't work, Pyxis can definitely be useful. It's stated by Lucy that Celestial spirits have stronger sense than humans.

Lyra~

This spirit has a beautiful singing voice and she can touch and bring out the feelings of any heart with the help of her melodious voice.

Plue~

It is a very cute celestial spirit with a good smell sense.

Crux~

Crux is basically a knowledge box and has all the info regarding the celestial word and other celestial mages along with their Powers and history. He comes in handy a lot with his power of knowledge.

Spells Lucy Heartfilia has in her arsenal :

Urano Metria~>

When the user recites the incantation, the 88 constellations of the sky come down as spheres and bestow their power upon the caster. This person then aims at their intended target and releases the energy gathered into a tremendous attack. This is the ultimate magic of the stars.

StarDress :

Stardress is a new concept to celestial magic. Spell in which the user incorporates the power of a Celestial Spirit into their body by placing the key of the Spirit in question on their chest. The power manifests itself in the form of dress which is similar to Requip. The user adopts the powers and appearance of the spirit they choose and also adopts a portion of their powers, being able to make use of their mp. This power also allows the user to make use of spells of their own that may require more than one person due to the tremendous amount of mp required to cast it.

Fact : Lucy is the first celestial mage to ever access the power from the zodiac gate spirits. Even her mother and her ancestor Anna who were considered strong celestial mages couldn't do this technique. Lucy is also the only celestial mage to be invited to the celestial world by the CSK himself.

Let's take a look at Lucy's StarDresses, shall we now?

StarDresses Lucy Heartfilia can access :

Leo Form~

This dress gives it's summoner the ability to use Regulus light magic, and she can use attacks like Regulus Kick and Regulus Punch which is very useful for mid-range and close combat.

Virgo Form~

This star dress gives the ability to use earth magic like Pitfall, summoner can use diver magic. It also provides a good amount of raw power and it's incredibly versatile form. This stardress can also access Aqua Metria water version.

Aquarius Form~

Summoner can use Aqua Metria(both Earth version which makes the ground swell like huge waves and water version which creates a big wave of water. It also gives the ability to do a very strong defense spell Water Barrier.

Sagittarius Form~

One of the most powerful stardresses which gives the ability to do long range attacks. It acts very useful when there are huge number of opponents. It has a spell called Star Shot which provides an unlimited supply of shots and marksmanship ability.

Aries Form~

It's wool can stop attacks that need incantation like Fairy Glitter, Grand Chariot, Fairy Sphere, Urano Metria, Fairy Law etc.

Capricorn Form~

This form gives the user a pair of glasses that cancels all the eye magics possible. It may also be useful in close combat because that's one of Capricorn's abilities.

Gemini Form~

This one helps in transformation, to turn anyone into anything like fishes regardless of their power level being more than the summoner. But of course, it may have some conditions for the transformation process.

Cancer Form~

It equips the summoner with dual blades similar to that of Cancer and enhanced speed. Both of these factors being huge advantages in battle.

Scorpio Form~

Gives summoner the ability to use sand magic like Scorpio. It cages the opponent in a whirlpool of sand, giving summoner the ability to move freely across it, this form helps to land swift kicks in that huge sandstorm. It also provides enhanced speed.

Taurus Form~

This increases the summoner's brute strength by a certain level giving a lot of raw power. It also provides with a strong whip which can do attacks like Earth Wave.

StarDress Mix :

The summoner can also combine their star dresses into one which manifests itself in the form of a dress and a crossed keys tattoo at the back of their hand with each key representing the Celestial Spirit gate keys of the StarDress forms that are being merged together.

StarDress Mix Lucy Heartfilia can access :

Lion Maiden~

This form gives the summoner access to Leo and Virgo's powers and cast a strong spell with Regulus and Spica power.

Aqua Stream~

This form gives the summoner powers of Aquarius and Scorpio. It can one-shot a Metro Golem with a powerful spell.

Lucy Heartfilia as a Celestial Spirit Mage can do:

Fairy Sphere-

One of the three greatest spells of Fairy Tail guild. Lucy was able to cast it with the help of magic power of the entire continent in the Alveraze Empire Arc. She is the only one so far after master Mavis, who was able to provoke this spell trapping Achnologia inside.

Gottfried-

In Celestial Spirit Arc, it was performed by Lucy, Yukino and Princess Hisui to break the Celestial Globe when nobody was even able to scratch it. It requires the casters to sit down and hold hands while one casts the spell, it reflects great pain upon the casters but is incredibly strong.

Unison Raid-

Lucy and Juvia were able to do it in their first attempt during the Tower Of Heaven Arc. It requires two powerful wizards with a very strong bond/mutual understanding and still they were able to do it. It was because of the fact that both of the magics that Lucy and Juvia uses were very compatible with each other. Later, Lucy and Wendy also use a Unison Raid against Hades in Tenrou Island Arc.

Re-writing Demonic Scripts-

She can re-write demonic scripts. She used it to rewrite the book of E.N.D. miraculously separating Natsu from the book during his battle with Zeref. Even Zeref was shocked and find it hard to believe that a mere human could rewrite a demonic script even after enduring a huge amount of pain.

Anti Nightmare Spell-

With the help of the infinity clock, she was able to use this spell saving the lives of 100 other celestial wizards in the Key To The Starry Sky Arc.

Forced Gate Closure-

This is not something every celestial mage can do. It's actually a very big deal in celestial world. Comes in handy when your spirits are out of control, like when Sherry controlled Taurus in the Galuna Island Arc or when a demon consumed both Aries and Taurus, Lucy forcefully closed their gates saving all of them.

Simultaneous Summoning-

Lucy can open upto 5 zodiac gates within a single day.

Multiple Summoning-

Lucy is able to summon multiple spirits at a time, which is actually a forbidden technique because it puts summoner's life on risk but after the unleash of her second origin during GMG Arc she was able to do it nearly effortlessly and then finally summoning three at a time during Tartaros Arc (Leo, Virgo and Aquarius).

Fact : Leo, Virgo and Aquarius take more mp than other zodiacs because of how powerful they are.

Summoning The CSK-

She had to sacrifice Aquarius's key to summon the celestial spirit king during the Tartaros Arc. She is the only mage who could do that because as per Aquarius, only celestial mages powerful enough to open 3 strongest gates at once can summon the CSK.

Zodiac Clamation-

A spell used by Lucy and Yukino to call upon the entire zodiac in the Eclipse Arc, it helped them in closing the Eclipse gate when 7 dragons invaded. Lucy contributed to opening 10 zodiac gates at once.

Opening All Of The Spirit Gates At Once-

Lucy is capable of opening all of the spirit gates keys she has in earthland for quite a few seconds which is nearly impossible and a forbidden technuque due to it's outcome. The summoner can die of magic deficiency. Lucy did that very early in the series. She again did that in the sequel in Elentir(although it was because Elentir's magic flow) but this time, she opened 10 zodiac gates at once and held onto that for enough time. No celestial wizard has been ever done that except Lucy.

Whip Specialist-

Lucy is very efficient in using a whip. She has countered a good number of people with it and defeated Edolas Byro with only a magical whip Virgo gave her(Fleuve d'étoiles).

So this was an updated version of Lucy's abilities. I'm really proud of ma gurl, look how much she has improved since the first time she was introduced.

[help-i-need-a-cool-username]

Day 13: Mythology AU

Im not to proud of this one. I made one draft and then forgot about it but essentially i built a whole Pantheon where i tried to make every character a different god.

Here’s the only stories i have and underneath i’ll put who is god of what.

Creation Myth: same as show with Brothers, when they left they made some human’s deities to rule instead (Ozma and Salem), all gods were once human (EXCEPT children) granted godhood by either Oz or Salem 

Ozma & Salem: After he died Salem went to the First Gods (the Brothers) to revive him, that whole dispute brought the gods’ attention to all of humanity and they decided they didn’t want to deal with it so they made both Salem and Ozma immortal and told them it was their problem now. Immortality changed Salem and Ozma was forced to banish her by the other gods. Ozma’s body was destroyed in the original dispute and now when he wishes to walk among the humans he has to take a host, and is typically referred to as the last host’s name until he has another host that gets famous because of being a host to the god Ozma. Ozma is unable to purposely choose his host, contrary to humans knowledge. 

Ozcarnations: Ozma’s original human body died he so he cannot walk in it, therefore needing a host. Oz walks among humans in order to remind himself of why/what he rules over after immortality changed the Salem he knew. Humans do not know he does NOT pick his host. He is stuck with his host until they die and his host merges into him upon their death

Maidens: same as show but instead of old wizard it was the god Oz

Ruby – goddess of sunsets, duty, responsibility, adventure/travelers. She is a child of moon and sun gods Weiss – goddess of talent, music, kindness, inner strength Blake – goddess of justice, equality, shadows. A protector of women and runaways, Yang – goddess of the sunrise, commitment, protection, familial love, grudges. She is a child of sky and sun gods Jaune – god of healing, recovery, energy, Nora – goddess of unconditional love, thunderstorms/lightning, warriors, Pyrrha – goddess of war/victory, honor, warriors, competition. She now guides souls of the fallen to the underworld Ren – ????? Ozpin – head god, god of illusions, dust, order, good intentions, Salem – head goddess; goddess of the underworld/dead, evil, darkness, magic. She is the mother of monsters, fell out of favor with the gods and now plans her revenge, souls of the damned are basically Valhalla, hates humanity  Cinder – goddess of wildfires/natural disasters, revenge, volcanoes. Human turned god by Salem Mercury – ???? Young god, turned himself immortal (mistake?), works for Salem as a messenger/eyes Emerald – goddess of deception and wealth. Young god, made the mistake of tricking Cinder and now works for Salem (time sentence) Watts – god of intelligence/wisdom, crafting, Tyrian – god of poison, murders, assassinations. Brings souls of criminals to fill Salem’s underworld army, known to be crazy and unnerving, Summer – goddess of the moon, destiny, travel(ers). Job is Ozpin’s warrior, felled by Salem (why the moon is shattered), creator of the Silver Eyed Warriors Taiyang – god of the sun, fire, light, routine. Drives sun over world, reports anything suspicious to Ozpin Raven – goddess of clarity, truth/honesty, power, fear, east winds, hurricanes. She is a sky god, twin god, worked for Ozpin before seeing through his illusions (giving her the clarity and truth) and becoming a independent entity who spend much of her time in hiding Qrow – god of misfortune, secrets, loyalty, skill, second chances, west winds. He is a sky god, twin god, Ozpin’s messenger/eyes, kinda treated like Hades (death vs misfortune)

[illegiblewords]

Really interesting interview!

On the spoilers under a cut.

Lahabrea’s status, I’m actually surprised that they confirmed his exact location after being eaten by Thordan. People were tracing what the hell happened to the eye/associated aether at various points, and one of the more interesting theories I saw was that he piggybacked on Zenos when he merged with Shinryu and is basically dormant with him.

Or in other words, finally taking a goddamn nap.

It’s kind of sad to me tbh that he was still in the eye when Estinien destroyed it. There’s room for a writer to do some interesting angst tbh with him getting sucked in and then even after Thordan’s defeat just getting progressively drained and unable to escape--probably while waiting for one of the other Ascians, or anyone at all, to free him. That’s a pretty slow death, and he basically got abandoned to it on the grounds that everyone assumed he was dead already.

By the time Estinien found him, guy was basically a hair from deceased anyway. And Estinien didn’t even know.

There’s still like, a minuscule chance somehow he lived but those are some grim odds. RIP Lahabrea, he was a ridiculous loser but he was our ridiculous loser.

*plays funeral dirge on kazoo*

Bright side though, I fuckin’ see what Ishikawa did and that was smooth as hell.

Seriously, situations like this you gotta read the fine print and make like a lawyer granted three wishes by an asshole genie.

Put another way, exact words matter.

“...it is believed that Hades has been completely destroyed.”

I see u Ishikawa. And I saw that screenshot with the soul fragments too.

;)

Also I think it’s cute that she uses his real name.

Don’t trust that fuckin’ Shoebill tho man. I didn’t realize how much it was watching.

We’re gonna get told “pfffff you believed us on Lahabrea being in the eye hell no he was that Shoebill the whole time”.

Eighth Umbral Calamity will come with the Shoebill’s wrath, just watch.

[shadowturtlesstuff]

Stolen kiss

ElainXAzriel

<><><

Guess what bitch decided to write. (Me!) it has taken me forever to truely write some fan fiction

I basically got bored in my Spanish and science lessons (again) and asked my friend @diamonds12girl to pick a prompt for me and at first I didn’t know what to do with an elain and az but I think I have something decent so enjoy

><><><><

Her shadows were on edge, they wanted help but wanted to be alone too. His shadows wanted to help but not knowing how to. It was a dance, a taughting and unending dance. A to and fro, both shadows wanting to merge to calm the other but both being jolted away.

It only lasted a few minutes until her shadows broke. They cowered away, hading the pain she was holding. That meant she was crying. Again. She cried all night and only had a few hours of sleep. His shadows kept awake, watching and waiting and not understanding how to help. Not risking it either.

Elain has a mate who would be able to tell through their bond that she was crying but if that was the case then she’d have stopped hours ago and have actually gotten sleep.

A year after the war she started speaking to Lucien more and they did start dating, but she hadn’t accepted the bond according to rhys. They were living together in the house of wind; taking a bedroom near the back overlooking the mountains. Azriel has avoided the house and Elain. But their shadows refused to ignore each other. At times when Elain was upset or in pain it broke his heart. She never called for him anymore so he never went, just listened to her pain.

“Please...” His whole body froze. He sat up in his bed, eyes wide. His shadows froze too as hers reached out. “Az...”

“Elain?” He whispered into the dark. Every please broke him.

“Please. Az. Take me.”

“Where?”

“Save me.”

He rushed out of his bed, stumbling to his discarded clothes. Elain wasn’t in any physical danger but he knew better than anyone that your own mental danger was worse.

“How Elain. Breathe.” Her shadows were racing, a consistent motion, showing her constant tears streaming down her face.

“I can’t. Az, Az please.”

He was gone. His heat was nearly bursting with his own pain. He was flying towards the house of wind. “Where Elain?” He has to get to her. She was having some sort of panic attack and considering her shadows were moving at speeds he’d never gone to, he knew she was in trouble.

“Ba. Bal, balcony. Please.”

Then he was soaring past the side of the building and around to the back. And then he saw her. She was crumpled down, a nightgown pooled around her and her head burning in her hands, hiding her red and blochy face. If she stayed out here in her state nylonger she was bound to catch a cold.

Azriel landed next to her, their shadows finally together, dancing in a perfect manner. Slowly she looked up and he took in her devastating state. Messy, uncombed hair that cling to her, the creased beige nightgown hung loose on her fragile body. The sight of her broke him even more. It has been months since theyd been together but Azriel has told himself it was for the best. Elain deserves the world, more than that even and he knew he just couldn’t give it to her. Her mate was the one, picked by fate, to do so.

Her breathing was rapid, trying to gulp down enough oxygen and failing. “Elain.”

“Please.” She whispered. Her shadows moved in a diliberate way, moving to hug his own. He stared as she whispered again and again until he understood. Slowly he walked towards her and enveloped her into a hug. His scarred hands rested in her back as her face moving to rest in the crook of his neck as she tried to stop crying.

After a short while Azriel let go and looked at her. Her golden brown eyes was still flooded with tears. All his thoughts were about this magnificent woman who was left alone to cry.

“I can’t anymore Azriel it hurts.”

Azriel swiped along her cheek, brushing away a runaway tear. “What hurts?”

“My heart!” She exclaimed taking herself out of my hands. “You, you left me! I was trying to figure out my feelings but you left.”

He was speechless. His mouth opening and closing. “I thou-”

“No you didn’t you ass! Your my best friend who I love with all my heart-”

“You have a mate El. I couldn’t.”

“I can Az, I choose who I love and then you left leaving me no choice. I can’t hurt Lucien but I can’t choose him either.” Her hands reached up to brush his cheek and keep his head from cowering away from her.

“It was always you but you left me and I thought, I thought you hated me for having a mate. For not picking you.”

Azriel closed his eyes and rested his head on Elains, their nose inches apart, mouths so close they were sharing breaths. “Oh el. I left you to be happy. To be happy with your mate and not some illrian bastard.” His wings curled around them, blocking away the crips air, his hands moved to rest on her shoulders.

“But I would’ve picked you if you gave me time you bastard.”

Azriel couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Whenever Elain swore it always made his smile. It was so out of character. “I am a bastard. I am so, so sorry.”

“For leaving or for being a bastard?”

“Both.”

Elain moves back as if she’d been struck. Her brows furrowed and her hands moving to rest on his chest. “Never. Never apologize for being you.” She moved, her lips finding his cheek. “For your shadows.” Theme he other side. “And for being a bastard.” she gave a small smile that he wouldn’t returned had his body not frozen. “I love you az.”

The she kissed him. A soft press to his lips. His grin grew as he looked at Elian. He love of his life truely loves him back. So he kissed her and they moved closer as their kiss became more than light kisses and more passionate.

“Elain?” It was a new voice. Lucien...

<><>

Asked if you want to be tagged in any of my work or specific tags ❤️

@mis-lil-red @highladyofthesith @sleeping-and-books

[popculturespiritwow]

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE: 1923 AD AKA A WORK OF ART(IFICE)

This issue is the Peakiest of Peak Gillen -- Gillen to the Power of Peak to the Power of Peak, if you will, #MathisCool. It’s a comic book masterpiece of research, reference and storytelling and I’ve been so daunted at attempting to comment on that it’s taken me months to make the attempt. You only climb Everest once, people!  (Shut your mouth, Nat Geo.)

WAGNER VERSUS WARHOL, FIGHT!

In format the issue involves a back and forth conversation/rap battle between high and low art. On the one hand, we have novelistic chapters rich with description. “The island looked like a threat, a fist of rock that had forced its way through the waves.” The island and Ananke both...

Then we cut to what at first glance seems like your standard comic book, but in fact is actually a riff on the early days of film, complete with title cards (which themselves get so silly the font might as well be comic sans #IllBeHereAllWeek) and everything shot in a wash of black, white and brown, except for the splashes of red at the scenes of death—victims’ blood, Lucifer’s apple, and my favorite, the red seaweed around Neptune.

Love that red seaweed.

The heart of the plot follows a similar back and forth, as the elitist “classic” artists, the TS Eliot/Ezra Pounds and Ginny Woolf-ish-types of the Pantheon, want to kill the more popular art types, the Shirley Temples and Buster Keatons and Robert Johnstons, to initiate a nightmare scenario that will supposedly give them control over the zeitgeist of the future. It’s an incredibly disturbing take on some of the giants of the early 20th century -- and one Gillen found based in fact.

It’s fascinating, too, for as much as the real object of venom is the truly popular artists, the movie star types with their simplistic narratives and opium for the masses, the elitists focus on killing figures who from our perspective sit far closer to them – Lucifer (F. Scott Fitzgerald), Poseidon (Ernest Hemingway), Dionysius (Pablo Picasso) and the Morrigan (James Joyce). I wonder if it’s something about the chaos those specific figures represent, the way that their particular forms of art end up undermining not only the structures but internal belief system of the modern world. If Baal-Et-Al’s idea is to work with Joe Goebbels to coopt pop culture for their own We Will Keep Control project, in a sense a Picasso or Joyce was doing the reverse, presenting in the formats of the elites only to deconstruct their validity. (Gillen’s notes on the Morrigan point in this direction. Also, his description of Set as coming off “a little like Tahani from The Good Place made me laugh out loud.)

In the end our good guys will stop the bad using their own popular media, film from a train, which was in real life the very first motion picture, and terrified people back in the day for exactly the reason that they feared the train was real and was going to leap off the screen and kill them all. 

Writing perfection.

HISTORY IN REPETITION AND RHYME

As we’ve seen throughout these specials, we get lots of echoes between periods here. Lucifer is once again the first one killed, the Morrigan is once again a character all about voice and drama (I love his self-narration so much, please sir can I have a spin-off?), the Norns are still trying to figure everything out, Susanoo=Dandy Baphomet, complete with his own complicated dating relationship (those rings made out of light, though, such a pristine beauty of a moment that Baph never gets), and Woden is once again a gross racist hack misogynist -- that submarine has got to be phallic, right? -- who has stolen his tech powers from someone else to produce content that is entirely derivative while secretly playing the gods and being used by Ananke.

There is also another mechanical creature, “Little Brother”, which we see only for a few panels, and that is not nearly enough because it is an adorable looking flying squid. (SCREW YOU BABY SHARK, BABY FLYING SQUID IS EVERYTHING.) Ananke also works from her standard playbook here, the Prometheus Gambit – you can gain some life if you kill others, which Baal et al will then use for bat#!% crazy purposes, which of course is also part of her plan.

And Minerva is also once again a child who seems maybe to be working with Ananke. It’s clear right from the start that the whole Shirley Temple schtick, lots of Yays and Gollys, is just an act, part of her “character”. And we get a glimpse of the real her again at the end.

That doesn’t have to mean she’s in league with Ananke. (Just read the next arc; she’s totally in league with Ananke.) But she also comes to know what happened to Verdandi, when she wasn’t with the group that discovered him. (Dude: She’s totally in league with Ananke.) And it gives her an excuse to leave Morrigan at precisely the right moment for him to get murdered by Ananke. (Yes, exactly, because she’s in league with Ananke.) And she will kill Set herself without a second thought; it’s all still just hint and innuendo (UGH NO IT’S NOT STOP), but given what we’ve just learned in the present day that’s all we need for now.

Meanwhile Baal is in some ways the opposite of ours, a racist white elitist who dismisses James Baldwin-type Amon-Re as incapable of being an artist given his “nature”, and Set is her own thing too, a snobby name-dropping Virginia Woolf.  Most intriguingly, the Norns have internal divisions that break them down, which make me worry a little bit for Cassandra and her friends. 

Best take care of your family, Cassie. Remember, in #WicDiv no one is just a sidekick…

CREATURE(S) IN EBONY This is the second special where the Fall of the Gods involves the introduction of a new being created by the gods by way of a classic Ananke “Definitely Don’t Do This (wink wink)”.  In 1831, Lucifer and Morrigan resurrect Hades to create an energy vampire that after killing them merged with Woden Shelley to create Steam Punk Elsa. This time the being – again a woman – is described as “looking like some ancient ancestor of the Metropolitans, but made of living poetry and bleak lightning rather than simple metal.” Which sounds an awful like the 1831 Creature.

She also emerged from “an ebony luminescence with streaks of blue beyond blue”, which again, sounds a lot like Mary Shelley Elsa Frankenstein.

Almost 92 years later we’ve heard nothing from her. But Kieron never forgets anything, INCLUDING YOUR BIRTHDAY, SO WATCH OUT. What could this all possibly mean…

ANANKIERON CHRISTIE

For me the most interesting element of 1923, though, is everything to do with Ananke. We come into the special, like the last two, knowing she is our Big Bad (probably, I don’t know you guys, I think in the next arc Kieron’s going to make me feel bad for her and I don’t want to). (No worries, he didn’t, or did he, wait, there are two Anankes now, I don’t know, what?)

But here for the first time we enter into the story alongside her. In fact, in that very first shot it almost seems like she’s looking right at us.  

Time’s running out, she’s got to get to the murder-y and behead-yness stat, and this time we get to watch her do it. Awesome!

It’s almost like we’re partners in the exercise, even; right before they’re about to go in for dinner and discover Lucifer Ananke seems to stop and look at us again.

Us and the millennia-old serial killer of children--High fives all around!

For the last 30+ issues I’ve been asking why Ananke is she always wearing a mask, and now finally I get it: just like the Pantheon, she is an actor giving a performance.

Here specifically she presents herself as a classic Agatha Christie protagonist, finding herself along with everyone else in the Remote Place version of a locked room murder mystery and slowly working to uncover the truth of what’s going on while others continue to die. And Then There Was Fun!

Except in fact Ananke is not The Marple but Christie herself, author of the entire series of events that happen, which makes this to my mind pretty much the greatest Christie story ever, and also reinforces the belief of All of Us that Jessica Beatrice Fletcher is the Greatest Fictional Serial Killer that Ever Lived.  

But wait, though. Doesn’t that make Ananke basically…a writer? Like um, this guy…?

But that’s crazy. We’ve spent the last five years with him. He’s fine.

I mean yes, both he and Ananke fashion fictional Big Bads (Note: this issue has absolutely no trace nor mention of a Great Darkness, despite the fact that this entire Pantheon has been around almost to their Use By) and also Ways to Save the World which motivate the characters down paths which lead to their eventual destructions.

And okay, true, in this issue Kieron does spotlight/ridicule parts of the storytelling mechanic, the machines characters are always trying to find/build/repair as nonsense. 

Such rituals are actually simple. It is about will and art. The machines…in my experience, they are little more than props. All that matters is your action and intent. They killed so the world would die. You die so the world can live.

But still, if we were to accept that Ananke is Just Kieron’s, er, Mask, then it’s like this whole time he’s been the one doing terrible things to all these characters, including the characters that he made me want to love.

And then this question which I’ve been chewing on since 455 AD, whether the characters can ever be free of the roles they’ve been assigned, in a sense becomes a question about whether they can ever escape not Her but Him…

Or what about us? The Audience. The ones that Jamie and Kieron and the others are creating this for.

This isn’t And Then There Were None, is it? No, this is Temple of Doom. Kieron may be Mola Ram, but I’m the Ever-Hungry, Never-Satisfied G--D-- Kali.

All along, Kieron has thrown in these moments where we get glimpses of the broader world, the way it feeds on the Pantheon. And I can get to the end of 1923 AD and say there’s a fascinating battle going on here about the ethics and/or violence of being a writer. But maybe there are also deeper questions being asked of me as a reader.

Maybe the issue begins with Ananke looking at me like that for a reason.

STOP IT, ANANKE. YOU’RE MAKING ME UNCOMFORTABLE. LOOK AWAY.

WORLD WARS, IRL AND URL A last point: 1923 AD is unusual for the degree to which it is haunted by something external, aka war. Even as the story takes place in the effervescent champagne bubble oasis of the Roaring 20s, both the nightmare that was World War I and the possibility of another war which is somehow impossibly much much worse than it hangs over the characters. That’s an insightful take on the period, but also an awe-full twist on the sense of doom that we’ve witnessed in the 21st century Pantheon, their own personal oncoming catastrophes expanded to the scale of disaster for the whole world.

It makes me wonder whether the last act of The Wicked + The Divine will involve something of a similar scale, whether the underlying momentum of the book has not always been toward the culture of celebrity, insofar as it engenders adoration, mob-think and a lack of fundamental care for and curiosity in one another, as sign of our own massive social crisis. (See: Brexit. Trump. The Fights My Dad Gets in on Facebook.)

Are we doomed? Do I still have time to tweet a thread about it? I really think it could make a difference, you guys.

[jesshq]

I have been putting her off for abit but I finally decided to draw her:

HERE IS PLAGUE: HADES’S FIRST WIFE AND PAIN, PANIC, NEUROSIS, PARANOIA AND HOPE’S MOTHER:

And here is her coloured (digitally):

She’s kind, caring, can be protective, very motherly, stubborn and can be as hot headed as Hades.

She and him were childhood sweet hearts, but when plague told him she was pregnant (after a drunk night with hades) hades was happy as he was going to ask her to be his queen of the underworld, but her half father: misery wasn’t and tried to make the children his…

She ran away when she couldn’t enter the underworld, and gave birth to pain in a village that feared no titan, monster or god or goddess. She then 3-4 years later had panic and neurosis, sadly she had to leave neurosis with her mother: sorrow due she couldn’t be on the run with three children it was the hardest thing she had to do.

She was ‘killed’ and cursed by her half father when he attacked the village when panic was the mental age of 1 and pain was the mental age of 4. She was ‘killed’ by misery impaling her with a spear and he removed her soul from her body, despite this plague in her curse dimension/her fountains can interact with things and touch living things.

Plague was tortured by misery…he found out neurosis wasn’t his son but plague’s so he abused neurosis daily in front of her. Plague 5 years later gave birth in her curse dimension to paranoia, about 2 years after him she had hope….however when neurosis was sent to work with hades, misery found a way to abuse her while she was in her dimension which paranoia and hope could only hear and see they’re mother be abused…

Eventually pain, panic and neurosis defeat misery but since hope and paranoia weren’t there and didn’t help misery’s curse on plague still stood but plague was able to give hades and her boys their half siblings.

When plague was fully freed from her curse when all her children defeated misery, however due to plague not having her body her soul was being called by the river styx…..so Persephone hades’s second wife merged plague’s soul to shares her body till they found plague’s real body, when when she is reunited to her body, she and Persephone like being merged due too how long they were sharing a body.

Powers:

Hermaphroditism

Shapeshifting

Flame AND water manipulation (water due to her time bond to her fountains)

Elemental body she can turn into mist

Flight (when not merged with Persephone)

Plant manipulation (due to she rather heal then make people sick (also she had this ability before she merged with Persephone))

(What I’m calling ‘dark shadow’ from my hero academia form) when merged with Persephone she can appear like dark shadow can in my hero academia

Knowledge of magic and potions (she made the mortal potion and the potion that hid pain, panic and neurosis’s god powers), and illnesses (which she isn’t a fan of luckily hades told her she wasn’t the only one making illness and diseases as the gods and goddesses do too just have him spread it, so she is basically like a reseacher on illness and disease and make cures for them) and makes cures as she doesn’t like making people sick (despite that’s her name being plague she is basically like the first doctor in the Hercules kingdom)

Titan strength due to her father: typhoon

Titan size like form (she looks like echidna minus the neck fluff but has frills on her arms and legs (basically her lower body looks like a rainwing from wings of fire) Aka with a dragon’s lower body, but her upper part is her upper part but with frills on her cheeks (like a rainwing) (echidna and sorrow think it’s due to them being related why plague’s titan form is almost like echidna) due to typhoon’s titan genes

She created a spell called plague’s protection when summons a elemental form of her to her children and the other Hercules characters (like Hercules, Meg, Pegasus, Hermes) to aid them.

Motherly instincts as she senses when something is bugging someone and will comfort them.

Healing and knowledge of herbs

Skilled with any weapon: but her main ones we’re giving to her children: a bow and quiver, a spear, two boas, chain duel blades, and a pan flute.

Aura ability that makes people feel her name aka makes people feel sick or she can heal them

What each of her children inherited from her:

Pain:

Her stubbornness

Protective nature

Her accuracy with a bow, she never missed

Speaking of bow, pain uses her bow and quiver that refills with any type of arrow.

Her way with cooking

Panic:

Her personality

Her skin colour and eyes

Hades and pain joke that he’s a mini version of plague

He uses her spear as his main weapon

Her fighting style

Neurosis:

Her aura abilities he can make people nervous or not

Her boas (three or four stones tied to a rope)

Her pacifist nature

Her way with animals

Paranoia:

Her personality

Her chain duel blades

Her ability analyzing (he turns into deku when seeing a enemy fight and find weaknesses before his older brothers)

Her kindness and gentleness

Hope:

Her playfulness

Her elemental manipulation (mainly the plant manipulation)

Her pan flute which she uses to grow plants or heal

Her pacifist nature

Her friendliness and ability to befriend even the enemy

Her healing abilities

[lodessa]

It’s been a while since I did this

Tagged by@carlynroth

List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or as little detail as you like then tag some friends to see what they’re working on: writing, art, gif sets, whatever.

Okay so I set some rules for myself in making this list in an attempt to maybe clear it out a bit to what I’m more likely to write any time soon: I did not allow myself to look at any of my previous lists OR my WIP documents/folders until after I’d made the list (only to add details/links after I’d finalized it).

Star Trek: Voyager - Janeway/Chakotay

Stumbling: Post Endgame Janeway and Chakotay struggle to get back what they once had (trust) even though they both want it.  Basically I really wanted to explore how messy emotions are and a realistic struggle to recover from what happened. I think it’s going to be like 8 chapters, but for all I know it will end up being 14 like Parameters and Voyager High; because, that’s apparently my natural length for drawn out chaptered fics.  Three chapters are currently posted. Chapter four is partly written.  Excerpt: 

“Here’s the thing: She still wants him.  It’s ironic, after all the years he was diligently waiting and she was able to stuff it down and put it aside some ninety something percent of the time Now, now she is so angry with him, so distrustful, but it’s like that pain has wrecked her self control. She can’t come back from the blunt honestly of her despair. When she’d been so secure in him it has been easy to set aside her desire.

Now. Now she feels raw, not just with the sting of his betrayal but also with her own longing.

Now he meets her for long afternoon walks between her meetings and his office hours and she can’t take comfort in his arm linked with her but she can’t ignore it either. His warmth beside her is a provocation, unsettling her.

He brings her a series of peace roses and part of her wants to feel comforted by the gesture but there’s something inside her that balks at any memory of how it used to be.” 

Just Once: Five times Janeway and Chakotay were only going to kiss once (and the time they finally gave that pretense up).  This is really a more drawn out version of “Why Janeway and Chakotay Can't Share the Couch: 5 Times They Slipped Up”   but it’s not like there can ever be enough of that type of fic. Currently I have posted 1 of 6 total chapters, but I do have all of it outlined.

The Greek Mythology AU Epic.  I only have a couple actual paragraphs of this written, but I have a very clear idea of the plot and style.  Basically it’s a homeric style epic, wherein Janeway is the hero and involves a plotline with her going down to the underworld to get Chakotay back.  Very different from my usual style, obviously.  Excerpt:

“You have heard, of course, about the great ship Voyager, and it’s captain: the wise but willful woman king known as Janeway, favored by Athena. The tale of how her ship was blown off course by a powerful storm and ended up in distant waters far from home, how she subdued the outlaw ship she’d been chasing on the other side of the world, won over it’s captain: the noble Chakotay, how together they kept raiders from causing Atlas to drop the world, and thereafter Chakotay and his followers served under her and he became her most trusted subject and against all odds they returned to Greece in seven years and seven days is widely known. 

Less famous, however, is the tale of Janeway’s descent into the Underworld and how she came to prevail upon Hades to undo what his wrathful brother, Poseidon, had done in spite and wounded pride.   Many heroes have gone down to plead with the king of the dead for lost loves, but few are those to emerge again to the sunlight.”

That One Where Chakotay Gets Pegged.  So I have a number of fic ideas involving this (Including a follow up to Happy Accident) but the longest standing one and one I really mean to write in the near future is one where Janeway happens to mention one of the ways she has gotten the upper hand in diplomacy situations with men who want to fuck her  involving a strap on and well... Chakotay can’t get the idea out of his head. 

Daxverse:  After three years of intending to do this AU with Jadzia on Voyager and not actually writing it and @talsi74656 having been in the same situation for a couple, we are seriously exploring joining forces and merging our two different versions into one in hopes of getting it written.  Because, the idea is too good to sit forever unpublished.

Year of Hell PWP: Chakotay offers Kathryn a different kind of birthday present.  Excerpt:

Kathryn felt herself blush deeply at his probably innocently intended question.  She was wound so tightly right now she might explode on impact at the slightest jostling.

Chakotay flushed as well as he realized from her expression what she wasn’t saying.

“Oh…” he pressed his lips together, “I see. No wonder you are having trouble sleeping.”

“Chakotay!” she replied with a scandalized gasp.

“Let me help?” his voice and his expression both were beseeching, “You know you’ll sleep better and that will make you way more productive.  You wouldn’t accept my birthday gift… at least let me do something for you.”

Cracktastic Anthropomorphic Voyager/Janeway/Chakotay Situation: Sentient Voyager takes human form and interacts with its Captain(s) in a variety of ways. Set over the course of the series and post series when Chakotay takes command.  Most likely ends with a threesome.

Post Endgame Angst Where Janeway is Hallucinating: Janeway cracks once the immediacy of all those years of pressure lets up and loses touch with reality.  Feeling abandoned and lost, she hallucinates a Chakotay who is cruel and kind in turns, and by the time the real Chakotay shows up she doesn’t believe he’s actually there.

Timeless Timeline Chakotay/Endgame Timeline Admiral Janeway Fixit AU: Somehow the Admiral goes sideways instead of back and ends up in the averted Timeless timeline. Both of them are so damaged by loss and time in these timelines and I’d love to see them interact. Ultimately, they join forces and go back to save their past/alternative selves from becoming the selves they are then and there.  This started out as a coauthored fic that got abandoned midway through, but I still really love the idea.  Excerpt:

"Well that depends, what year is it and how long have I been dead for." She said it teasingly but the question still felt heavy, "How do you think I died?"

"Are you sure you want me to tell you? I'm not even sure I can." He shook his head, running his hand over his face, suddenly overwhelmed with the memory of seeing Kathryn dead on Voyager's bridge.

"It's important, I think." she sighed, running her fingers through his hair, "Unless you'd rather I tell you."

He wasn't sure what was worse, watching the pain that crossed Kathryn's face when she mentioned his death, or thinking about how hard it would be to relive her death. He couldn't bring himself to cause her more pain than he had to, even if that meant bearing the brunt of it himself.

"It was the slipstream drive..." he said quietly, trying not to go back to that day, "Harry and I went ahead in the Delta Flyer, but we'd miscalculated..."

He could barely get the words out, as the lump formed at the back of his throat. She reached for him, her hand cupping his face.

"All these years, and you still..." He could see her calculating how long it must have been.

"Always." He kissed her softly.

Her hands lingered on his face, thumb stroking his cheek.

"It's an alternate timeline," she said at last, "we never attempted that slipstream flight... Seven," he couldn't help but notice something off in Kathryn's voice as she said the former drone's name, "Seven got a message warning us."

RPF

KM/RB Fic No One Wants That Involves RealTalk(TM) Racism.  Because I feel like this needs to be addressed in terms of KM’s exoticism when it comes to him and also that she only publicly dates white dudes. She looks like a jerk in this one.

Another One No One Asked For: Why Both KM and Braga Got Pissed At RB Really. As JR is added to the cast, RB is upset that KM chose Hagan and decides to get back at her by exploiting somewhere he knows she’s already feeling vulnerable.  He looks like a jerk in this one.

KM Has Zero Sympathy for the Problems RB Created For Himself. Because KM sass is life and seriously CHOICES dude.

KM/RB As a Taurus/Scorpio Dynamic Case Study. Because they are.

Veronica Mars

Balacing Act: Two parts are written. Part 3 of the series is still in progress.  Continued  post movie threesome action with Logan, Weevil, and Veronica. Excerpt:

“I have acquired bagels… and coffee.”

It takes a moment for Eli to remember where he is or how he got there, gradually regaining enough consciousness to register Veronica’s way too chipper voice and remember that it must be Logan’s fucking arm he can feel slung across his hip. Reluctantly, he opens his eyes and there she is, looming over them with a take out tray of coffee cups in one hand and a paper bag in the other, looking cheerful and relaxed, like this is something that happens every day instead of being unprecedented, like she is used to him fucking Echolls up the ass until they both come.

“Enjoying the view from above from once, V?” he teases, refusing to act like this is weird if she isn’t going to.

“Wait… you went all the way to-“ Logan sits up, looking perfectly mussed as he notes the logo on the coffee cups.

This is weird. This is definitely weird, even for them.

That Season 3 AU I Started Around the Time The Movie Came Out: So season 3 was a mess as a whole, but it also always bugged me that Veronica’s “I was wrong not to trust” moment is about Logan (who didn’t deserve her trust and yeah actually his explanation in the end was shitty) and not about her dad (who deserved better than her judgement and criticism) and Weevil (seriously did she really think he’d rip Lilly’s necklace off her).  It’s a lot bigger than that, but basically this AU starts from there and has Weevil be the one to find her in the parking garage instead of Logan and goes from there. I need to finish it because it’s important, even if it’s a dead fandom. Excerpt:

“Would now be an appropriate time for me to list the reasons why you shouldn’t even be wasting your time with that spoiled gringo asshole?”

Weevil knew that was never going to be a productive addition to any conversation with her.  She had some mad feelings about Logan Echolls, every bit as much as Lilly had.  He didn’t think about Lilly so much these days, but sitting in Veronica’s car talking about whether Logan was a bad boyfriend was bringing the memories back.

She must have noticed the parallel too; because she said, “Is that what you told Lilly?”

They had never talked about Lilly.  Whenever possible she stuck to cases, favors, and harmless flirtatious banter that he knew didn’t mean anything at all. They avoided talking about Logan, but this - this was taboo.  And Weevil doesn’t know what to feel about that.

And what the hell is Veronica thinking, anyway?  Maybe it was the lingering effects of the drugs.  What the docs call trauma?  He hasn’t got a freaking clue .  All he knows is that Veronica Mars had bought up the girl whose ghost seemed to have more life than most of the people walking around Neptune. And he doesn’t like to say no to Veronica Mars.

“Sometimes I think it was what she wanted me to do.” He answered, deciding to pursue this line of potential honesty, “It was probably just a way to stroke her ego.   It’s not like I don’t get that, but she sure did like to paint a picture to me about how unhappy she was with him…”

“You and me both.” Veronica replied, gaze fixed away from him. “What were you supposed to tell her?  That she could do so much better?”

Sometimes these days he almost forgot that Veronica had been Lilly’s best friend, that she told her everything that really mattered.  Of course, that meant that he didn’t really matter.  He had always known that, even when he maybe wanted to believe otherwise, but there is maybe a small part of him that wanted to hold on to the idea that maybe he did.  

“Is that what you would tell me? If I said yes… If I asked you to tell me why I shouldn’t be with Logan?” Veronica turned around sharply to look him in the eyes.

“Pretty sure it would be a better option than giving you the spiel I gave her, the one that goes something like ‘I’d never let you feel alone’ and ‘Just let me show you how much better it can be.’ You know, that kind of crap.”

It was his turn to stare out the windshield, away from her.  Normally he would make a joke out of it, wink and suggest that maybe she wanted that all along, for him to profess his undying love, but not now.  They were both too raw.

“Tell you what.  If I ever do decide I want you to talk me out of dating Logan, I’ll let you know which version of the speech I’m looking for.”

“Deal.”  He agreed.  He knew they would never have that conversation, or at least not that version of it. That was what Lilly wanted to hear - she got  off  on hearing how much he wanted her. But Veronica wasn’t Lilly. She liked having leverage of a different kind.  Getting the better of someone.  Oneupsmanship . Veronica wasn’t interested in the straight power of someone finding her desirable, even if she used it to her advantage if she felt it was needed.

A Song of Ice and Fire (really not Game of Thrones)

Jaime/Brienne Adventure Romance:  Because this ship deserves a long plotty romance novel and I wasn’t ready to write that kind of thing in 2008 when I stopped writing them but I am now.  Definitely book and not show universe.  Jaime and Brienne go looking for Arya across Essos.  Excerpt:

“Indeed father.  He does know me.  Do you not recognize Ser Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer?”

Brienne waited for Jaime to respond to the barb, but he did not. Her father looked surprised, doubtless he had expected Brienne’s visitor to be of less consequence. She could see him going over Jaime’s features and attire, as if putting the pieces together.

“It is an honor Ser. We so rarely get such important visitors here on our humble island.”

“Doubtless, Ser Jaime is here for his reward.”

“Reward?” Lord Selwyn looked, if possible, more perplexed.

“For saving my life, father.  Surely you will satisfy him.”

“He… he saved your life?”  

“Yes, when I was in the bear pit at Harrenhal. Really father, you’d think you didn’t listen to a word I said about my travels.”

Her father was indeed no longer listening to her.  Doubtless he was busy concocting some heroic version of her rescue that would culminate in his at long last marrying off his daughter.  Brienne was sure that’s what he thought the outcome of this visit would be, though he must have known Jaime was part of the Kingsguard.

At last Jaime spoke, “You mistake me, my lady.  I came seeking no reward.”

“Surely Ser, you came for something.”

“I came to see you, Brienne, for there are things I wish to discuss with you.  That is all.”

“You might have sent a letter.”

“Perhaps, but it I did not.  Will you walk with me?  While I am here I was hoping to witness the splendor of the Sapphire Isle.”

Jon/Sansa Fake!Married Trope:  Also definitely book!verse.  Following Danaerys’ reconquest, both remaining Starks attempt to leave Westeros without attention.  They run into each other. Excerpt:

She was undeniably lovely, with creamy skin and blue eyes he hadn't seen the like of since he left Winterfell.  She stared at Ghost in surprise, but not in fear.  Indeed she seemed transfixed by the direwolf as she reached her hands out to him and Ghost nuzzled his head against her.  Jon was amazed; he did not think she had noticed his own approach, she seemed so distracted.  

“It can't be.” She murmured to the direwolf, “But there is no mistaking you.  How did you get so far?”

Jon was unsure of how to alert her to his presence without startling her, yet it seemed rude just to stand here.

“They are all gone now, aren't they? Lady, and Nymeria, and Summer, and Greywind, and even Shaggydog.  Is he gone too Ghost, is that why you've found me?”

The woman sounded close to tears, and stranger yet she'd known. She had known not only Ghost but all the rest of the direwolf pups.  Realization dawned on Jon and he recognized Sansa, although his half sister had grown from a pretty child to a beautiful woman since he'd last seen her.  He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his mouth as he watched her fling her arms around the direwolf with a sob.

Crossovers

Restoration: Dresden Files/Revolution NBC, coauthored with @jaqofspades.  Miles Matheson doesn’t remember he’s a wizard, not that it matters with all the magic gone after the blackout.  Dark twisty multishipping with every kind of delicious wrong.  We need to get back on writing this eventually. 

Tagging: @talsi74656, @jaqofspades, @joyful-voyager, @sophia-helix, and @starfleet-vs-maquis if you guys want.

ETA: Oh I forgot one my favorite current projects!

That Massive 24th Century Trek Series Crossover AU: Which is a follow up to The Smallest Twine, in which certain details of the Cardassian Treaty get leaked before it is signed and the Federation is very nearly plunged into civil war.  It continues to explore the J/C relationship from the first story in the AU but also features a lot of our favorites from TNG and DS9 as well as more of the VOY characters.

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #109 - Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: Yes. No.

Format: DVD

1) The early 2000s have a lot of truly underrated gems, especially from Disney. Along with The Emperor’s New Groove and Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is probably one of the most underrated and overlooked films in their catalogue. Which is a true shame because it is such a great film.

2) This film opens with the city of Atlantis being washed away by a great flood, but if there was originally an alternate opening featuring vikings with the Shepard’s Journal in search of the fabled city. I prefer the opening we have, but you can watch the viking prologue if you want.

3) Michael J. Fox as Milo Thatch.

I saw this movie when it first came out in June of 2001. I fell in love with Back to the Future in February of 2009. So when I realized Marty McFly and Milo Thatch were one in the same my love for this film only grew. Fox brings a sincere enthusiasm to Milo, and like with the best voice acting you forget that you’re listening to Michael J. Fox. He BECOMES Milo, the guy who has to deal with everyone doubting him while still clinging true to his beliefs. It is a great character supported by an incredible actor.

4) There is a nice juxtaposition between how Helga sets up Mr. Whitmore (“Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite. Much.”) and the quirky little nut Mr. Whitmore actually is.

An enigmatic man who I would’ve liked to know more of, Whitmore is a little eccentric but comes off as a good hearted man. His relationship with Milo’s grandfather seems to be the defining thing in his life, so much so that he’s funding a multi-million (1914 million) dollar expedition to find a myth. John Mahoney (best known for the role of Frasier’s father on Frasier) gives a strong performance in his little bit of time, but this film is filled with strong voice over performances so it is no wonder his stacks up.

5) This line was improvised by Michael J. Fox:

Milo [after he throws up from being seasick]: “Carrots. Why is it always carrots? I didn’t even have carrots!”

6) Animated films tend to be short and with the added benefit of exaggeration need to establish personalities of supporting characters IMMEDIATELY. This is very true of the expedition’s crew. This starts with Jim Varney as Cookie, a hillbilly type who fits Varney’s comedic styling very nicely. Varney passed away before filming was complete, leaving some lines to have a stand in, but his life is in Cookie all the way.

Helga: “The men need their four basic food groups.”

Cookie [holding up three fingers]: “I’ve got your four basic food groups! Beans, bacon, whiskey, & lard!”

7) Oh my god Vinny.

Every line out of Vinny’s mouth is glorious! Voiced by Don Novello, Novello makes Vinny his own in the same way that James Woods made Hades his own in Hercules. I saw a behind the scenes featurette for this film way back when that said Novello improv-d a lot of lines and most of them are included in the film. Vinny is hysterical, with his penchant for blowing things up and dead pan delivery. The crew is made up of a bunch of great individuals & Vinny is no exception.

8) Rourke...

Rourke is the captain of the expedition and - after the film’s twist - turns out to be the main villain. Voiced by James Garner, Rourke is honestly at his most interesting towards the end when he can be a ruthless bad guy. Up until that point he’s a pretty good commander and seems like an honest man. But looks can be deceiving.

9) There are so many jokes you don’t get in these movies when you were a kid (just wait until I do Shrek). For example:

Mole [about his dirt from different countries]: “England must never merge with France!”

10) Although Vinny is awesome, there’s a good chance that Sweets is my favorite crew member in the film.

He’s fast talking, genuinely kind, a good doctor, and when the crew needs to start acting like bad guys he’s the first to abandon Rourke and his selfish quest (although much more quietly than the other characters). Phil Morris - like the other actors - breathes such life and personality into Sweets that you don’t even question that he’s real.

11) I love the wit in this film.

Sweets [presenting Milo with the vials presented above]: “Here, I’m going to need you to fill these up.”

Milo: “WITH WHAT!?”

12) And to round out the crew, Audrey.

Like most of the crew, we learn more about Audrey in a pivotal scene later. But when we first meet her she’s already impressive. Just a teenager, Audrey is the head engineer on the expedition and tough as nails. She knows her shit and is tough as hell, but that’s not why she’s awesome. Well, that’s not the ONLY reason she’s awesome. But more on that later.

13) The Leviathan.

Mike Mignola, the creator and artist behind the character Hellboy, is credited as a production designer on this film. Nowhere is his influence more clearly scene than the leviathan, the mechanical sea beast meant to defend the entrance to Atlantis. It is an impressive feat of imagination and animation, a creature which is truly menacing in both size and design. The leviathan and its attack on the submarine crew could quite well be the best part of this film.

13.5) Why does a science expedition have battle stations? I mean, now we know because they’re mercenaries. But did this not raise any red flags?

14) God bless Packard. I’m not even sure what her role on the ship is besides announcer, but god bless her.

15) The pivotal scene for so many of these characters in this film is when Milo eats with them for the first time and we get their backstory.

Sweets’ of mixed descent, part black part Native American (I believe he said he’s Navajo). He studied to be a doctor when he got enlisted in the army.

Audrey’s father wanted sons, one to run his auto shop and another to become world boxing champion. Her sister has a shot at the title.

Vinny’s family owned a flower shop and when the business next door blew up, “It was like a sign from god! I found myself in that ‘boom.’”

And then of course we get this line.

Milo: “What’s Mole’s story?”

Sweets: “Trust me on this one. You don't wanna know. Audrey, don't tell him. You shouldn't have told me, but you did. And now I'm tellin' you, you don’t wanna know.”

You see THIS is what fleshes out these characters. Its this one scene which makes them more than jokes or stereotypes or archetypes, but real people. We get their conflict, their history. We learn of Audrey’s family, of Vinny’s boredom with flowers, or Sweets’ history in the army. THIS is what makes the film standout in the way it does.

16) Kida.

It’s too bad Atlantis didn’t do too well at the box-office, otherwise Kida might take her place among the official Disney Princess line. Along the same lines as Mulan, Kida is a warrior princess. A woman who can kick ass but also loves her father and her people very dearly. Cree Summer is an accomplished actress in the voice over world, with Kida possibly being one of her finest roles. Kida is tough but never mean, curious but never overbearing, capable but able to form a meaningful relationship with Milo (while also not being too over the top lovey dovey), and just an all around great character.

17) Hey look, its Spock!

Leonard Nimoy has had a number of voice over roles, particularly in the 21st century. Its nice hearing him in this, even if we don’t get to spend too much time with the king.

18) So you know the trope of a 100+ year old vampire forming a slightly weird relationship with a much younger woman?

Well...

19) The betrayal of the crew wouldn’t have hurt nearly as much as it does if it weren’t for the scene where we get all their backstories.

Notably we don’t get the backstories of the two most evil characters in the film: Rourke & Helga. This is when Rourke becomes REALLY interesting and when James Garner has a lot of fun as the bad guy. He’s a brute! A bully! He’s ruthless, pretty much kills the king, beats on Milo when he’s down, all while cracking a jock and flexing his impressive muscles for a 60+ year old man. Rourke doesn’t get enough credit as a Disney bad guy in my opinion.

20) I love this.

Milo [after Rourke asks him to translate better]: “I know, why don’t you translate AND I’LL WAVE THE GUN AROUND!”

I live for heroes telling bad guys who are “in control” to f*** off.

21) The entire crystal chamber scene is just absolutely gorgeous. The early 2000s were noteworthy for frequent mingling of hand drawn and computer animation, with Atlantis being one of the finest examples of it.

Also this shot is gorgeous:

22) I never got this line.

Rourke (after his crew decide to stick with Milo & the Atlanteans): “PT Barnum was right.”

Only now do I know one of Barnum's famous quotes is, "There's a sucker born every minute." And I had to google it.

22.5) Fun fact: Joss Whedon worked on the story for this film! For you Whedonites out there, doesn’t “PT Barnum was right.” sound like a very Whedon-y line?

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

23) Okay, as a child and even now I was OBSESSED with crystalized Rourke.

Like that image is just very memorable to me, especially after Rourke was supposedly killed by being encased in crystal. It’s too bad we only got a minute or so of it before the airship crashed, but damn that’s just the coolest thing to me. If there are any Kingdom Hearts fans reading this, imagine this: A Rourke boss fight, where after you beat him the first time you have to fight his crystal form and its an even tougher fight.

24) And of course Milo stays in Atlantis at the end, because it is what he and his grandfather sent their entire lives searching for. What would be the point of returning to the surface where either A) no one will believe him, or B) people will believe him and try to take advantage of this culture they found? It’s a great ending which makes a lot of sense.

I love Atlantis. It’s one of my favorite Disney films, but it maybe wouldn’t be if it weren’t so underrated. If you’re a fan of action, adventure, Disney, animation, or heck, even Stargate, I think you’ll enjoy this film.

[acutecoral]

I saw Eras standing on the edge of the highest balcony in wonderland, and so I decided to check things up. He jumped, the winds catching in his wings, giving him enough lift to glide over the later that surrounded the house. He made his way through the valley, flying over the flower fields to the north-west of wonderland. He flew up the mountain that separated the jungle and open fields, flying over the trees and to the edges of the water fall before he ended up circling to the top of a tree. He perched himself at the highest branches, looking back at our home and enjoying the view. It also seemed at that everyone was getting ready for the new trees that James suggested yesterday. The shadow of the highest peak of the mountain that encircle the edges of wonderland came over him, teasing him as he glanced back. Eras smirked and took off once more, this time flying up the mountain, climbing altitude quickly. He ended up running on all fours when it was nearly at a vertical 90° angle, and launched himself up at the peak, making himself a platform to land on as he caught his breath. He continued to fly down the mountain ranges, following the river to the lake once more. However he flew a little too low and tore a bit of his wing, causing him to make a landing on one of the mangrove trees nearby. It wasn't too bad, but it still hurt to fly. Eras was about to make a tear to take him to the inside of the house, but I healed his wing, making my presence known. He was surprised, but pleased and immediately hugged me. He talked to be about what happened last night and how he heard what occured and that he felt bad for not being there since he was asleep, but honestly it's okay and he just enjoyed keeping me close. His form in my mind seems a lot more solid now and he seems like a formidable figure. His form definitely suits him a lot. Then I was called to the side since I felt that it was time to being up the new four trees. I first grew them all up from the water, using the already huge roots of the main house to shape them. I first made James' new library and archive. There are at least four levels to it, circular. With empty shelves for whatever James will need them for. However, there are wide windows at least one part of each room, to give light, and in the centre of each room is a hole that lets in the light to the bottom floor, which is a cozy reading room that has doors that lead out to the grass and makes it a nice place to read at a lazy and hot afternoon. There would be a bridge that connects the existing library to the new one. The second one I helped with was Morty's tree, which would be his bigger greenhouse. This one also hade a lot of windows, which Morty could easily manipulate the properties of, depending the plants on each floor. The bottom floor is open to the lake it sits on top, and at the top is where the water container would be, which is connected by a glass pipe. The container would hold the water that would be used by the irrigation system and sprinklers that's found on each floor and each section of the greenhouse. Morty could alter the gravity in the glass pipe, floating it up to the container and use it as needed. He's very wrapped about it. The pathway connecting it to the main tree is between his current greenhouse. It's a glassed bridge. The third one was Sansy’s and it took me a bit to figure out how it would work. Sansy ended up holding my hand and helping me brainstorm what it would be like. I figured out that the bottom floor could be where he could store his spaceship when it wasn't in use. The floor above it would be where the ship could be brought up to do some maintenance and fix things up and such; basically his own personal laboratory since I think the lil guy deserves his own space to experiment and tinker. The floor above that would be his other lab, but more for data and analysis. Another version of the holomap is in the centre where he could chart courses and analyze the data he found in his travels. The top floor would be the observatory, where I made a specially made telescope for him to watch the stars, but it can zoom at anything, and won't ruin the vision no matter how closely he looks at it. Sansy was touched by it and had ended up tearing up and hugging me, thanking me for making it for him. The last one was the witchcraft tower for Veto, Dagny and myself. It was pretty easy enough. The top floor was Veto's crystal room, mostly dimly lit just in case the crystals were sensitive. The floor below was were our altar sat, and the floor below that was a flight of stairs that led to the inside of our astral space. Around the stairs leading down, is a protection sigil to ensure nothing escapes to the wonderland just in case. We just couldn't imagine the house in the astral space to be merged to the tree, so we simply just connected the two spaces. Everyone's pretty content because of it and I'm glad that they love it.