#Despite how close they are even her minions call her Wizard

[pinks-wizards]

I'm thinking about my YW Roslyn and specifically about how she's a myth wizard. I imagine myth students are heavily encouraged to befriend their minions by Cyrus (or at least build a positive business relationship) and while Roslyn doesn't get those classes (busy saving the spiral) she naturally wants to know and befriend them. She's borrowing their power so it's only polite and when she spends so much time travelling and alone she wants someone to talk to.

Roslyn knows her minions well. She knows their names if they have ones, and named the ones who wanted them. She calls on them to help her often outside of battle. She's a 4'0" forever 11-year-old body she's going to need help reaching stuff and has a habit of calling them to sit on shoulders so she isn't always looking up. And importantly, when things go badly, she trusts them to keep people away from the fight. To protect people where they can. She might only have one in the dueling circle with her but she has many. The wooden minion is her go to when she needs a voice to yell in her place.

And like everything related to the YW, this can get sad. Because myth minions are less usable as time goes on. I basically never use them now in game. And I think Roslyn in lore doesn't include them in battles. She's grown protective of them. They trusted her, so she wants to prove they can. Their biggest notice of this is likely Azteca. Roslyn goes on a mad run across the entire world to guide everyone to the spiral door she's opened to wizard city. And she does it alone. She doesn't dare summon them both because her brain is racing and she's already exhausted from a fight but also because she doesn't want them to experience it. The death, the blood. The glass shattered around her. And because if they go hit, they are too weak to take it. Despite needing the help she does it alone.

I imagine that hurts them. But they can't fault her either. They, like everyone close to Roslyn, just have to watch as she tears herself apart for failure. As she constantly pushes and pushes herself to the limit doing it all alone. She is still as nice to them as ever when she does see them. The breaks. She's always asking about them. Never letting them help her the same as they once did during the journey to Maliaster.

While I don't use shadow spells in game I imagine Roslyn does. She gets to know the shadows she calls. More hesitant, they are more likely to call her out on everything she represses, but still caring. Shadow Sentinel is her favourite, and is the one given the most chances to help Roslyn when she needs it. She calls them for others, to protect them, and after the fighting is done they take care of her. The backlash will only apply during duels, because carrying her (or dragging) her to the nearest healer isn't demanding work. I think myth wizards can befriend shadow casts more easily, if purely because befriending those they call the power of is part of what makes a good myth wizard.

Her minions are family and close friends. Be they myth or pure shadow. And they care for her too. So I imagine it hurts as even they can't keep up with her. As she grows stronger and faces stronger enemies she can't rely on them anymore. So they watch out for her in other ways. Warning (or threatening) those who could harm her. Seeking out those who can help her. They aren't always with her but they know her full story because her magic betrays it all.

[sepublic]

            Speaking of Warlock duos complimenting one another, each of the three pairs consists of a Warlock who is more of a ranged spellcaster, and another who is a lot more physical and hands-on. Majikus paired each Warlock like this, so they could cover one another and fulfill different niches as the situation calls for.

            Viracious relies a lot on minions, controlling them from a distance as any tactician does; He has his bone puppets that enable him to attack while sealed away completely. His undead and serpents act as guards, as does the natural environment, particularly the earth they spawn from. If uncovered, Viracious casts ranged spells and his Basilisk eyes see far, as do their abilities; Viracious is otherwise a pretty squishy wizard, and his skeletal spindliness gives it away. But he has a trick up his sleeve, using the Pink Magestone to reanimate wounded limbs and even organs.

            Kisonus tends to get up-close and personal with her natural claws, ability to transmute targets, and turning into creatures usually sicc’ed on others. She often has a smarter mind than said creatures to make full use of their abilities, and her transmutation can set up the environments they work best in, such as water. In her base form she’s naturally strong and vicious, and being up close is preferable too; She wants a taste of whatever she’s dealing with, not just to assimilate a sample to shapeshift into them, but for her own ravenous hunger as well. She wants people in her, can’t do that from a distance; That’s what victims are looking for!

            Editaurus creates chimeras, directs them from any distance, needs time before and even during a battle to set them up; She casts classic lightning bolts and webs, and can conjure life in the surrounding environment. She’d prefer to be more creative, just making a rock monster feels so bare minimum and droll… But whichever. It can be many chimeras, or one huge one whose reach is far despite relying on melee. The wings on her ankles flutter rapidly, allowing Editaurus to hover quickly. Mind you, she’s still a capable physical fighter, herself; Her own body is a perfectly-designed chimera!

            But compared to Megarus, Ed sticks to her relative niche; Megarus is a whole powerhouse, a super-fast beast even without the Orange Magestone. And that giant hammer he wields wreaks massive destruction. He’s always quick to close the gap and do things up-close and personal, which is where people fall before him thanks to Meg being proficient in melee combat and martial arts; His speed and precision can target weak points in bodies, and most witches are used to attacking from afar and relying on magic over their own flesh. Meg can use his Magestone to empower Editaurus’ chimeras, who fight for her. He’s a real whirlwind, conjuring literal ones to bring people closer, or to a chimera.

            Narellus relies a lot on her Blue Magestone, being selectively intangible, and making other things selectively intangible, makes it easy to play it safe. She specializes in illusions that can dazzle and disorient, and mind trickery. Ironically, she can actually get close and personal herself, because her selective intangibility renders her unharmed as she reaches a target, turns part of their body intangible, and then tears through the vulnerable pieces left tangible. But a lot of the time, her grace gives way to being more of a manipulator from afar, and whatever parts of herself Narellus exposes are fragile to make up for how hard she is to hit.

            Hydrownus gets his hands dirty, and bloody. His limbs can stretch due to being made of water, and being made of water makes him mostly immune to physical damage, with the Typhonus Motus protecting the internal tube and flask system Hyd relies on for stability, and to aid in funneling chemicals. He’s a master of different weapons, forming ice constructs around his staff; A giant club, a battle axe, a trident, etc. Hydrownus tears into his enemies, brutally tossing them around, burning and freezing or corroding; The worst is making the blood in your body concentrate in your head until it bursts. The pipes on his back can spew flames to propel Hyd forward as he forms ice skis to minimize friction; Sometimes a quick boost while jumping is all he needs.

            And then there’s Majikus, all by herself; And she doesn’t need anybody. Because she can fight up-close and personal, crafting energy weapons and constructs, even her greatest spell turns her into an invincible, super-strong, super-fast flier. And as the strongest Warlock, the jack-of-all-trades, she has a wide variety of spells and blasts to attack at a distance with. She can be both.

[raeynbowboi]

In the Dragon’s Dungeon: How to Play as Maleficent in D&D 5e

As a card-carrying, certified geek, I’m a fan of many dorky hobbies, and among them is Dungeons and Dragons. So in honor of Halloween, I’ve decided to dedicate my very first build to the Mistress of All Evil, Maleficent from the 1959 Disney Classic Sleeping Beauty, and to a lesser extent, her role as the leader of the Disney Villains in the Kingdom Hearts series and other 2nd tier canon material using the animated version. For this build, we are only interested in her animated counterpart. Jolie’s portray is far too noble and sympathetic for the diabolical witch we’re working with here. Maleficent is a very powerful fairy, so our goal for her build is to focus on causing as much unhappiness, pain, and misery as she possibly can.

Picking a Race

While our first instinct is to call Maleficent a Wicked Witch, she is in fact, a fairy. She’s based on the Aged Fairy (or the Bad Fairy in some translations) from the Grimm and Perrault versions of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. Unfortunately, while Fey exist in DnD, they are not a specific playable race with stats, so we’re forced to improvise. However, there are 3 subraces which seem best suited for what Maleficent could be: [Fallen Aasimar] - since all the other fairies have wings and can only perform good magic, this dark variation on the playable “angel” race which has lost its wings could fit Maleficent’s descent and mirror the fall of Lucifer. With this option she gains +2 Charisma and +1 Strength, 60 feet of darkvision, resistance to both necrotic and radiant damage, the power to instill fear in those around her, and boost her own necrotic damage for a short period between rests. However, this might not fit her the best, and she is slain by a sword endowed with good fairy magic, which could be considered radiant damage. However, Ventus puts her to sleep in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, so that could be a point in favor of this racial build for the character. [Maka Clan Elf] - Maka Clan elves specialize in curses by praying to old gods of nature and death. With this choice, she gains +2 Dexterity and +1 Wisdom, proficiency with Religion, 60 feet of darkvision, resistance to charm, immunity to sleep spells, and can enter an elven trance instead of sleeping. As a Maka Clan Elf, she knows the Thaumaturgy Cantrip at level 1, and starting at levels 3 and 5 respectively, she can cast both Hex and Crown of Madness once per long rest using her Wisdom modifier. [Shadar-Kai Elf] - The third option is the Shadar-Kai. Once a fey like other elves, the Shadar-Kai became loyal to the Raven Queen, and they have taken up refuge in Shadowfell, a dark dimension. This nicely mirrors Maleficent’s state as a corrupted fairy that now dwells in darkness. As a Shadar-Kai elf, she gains +2 Dexterity and +1 to Constitution, Proficiency with Perception, 60 feet of darkvision, resistance to necrotic damage, being charmed, immunity to sleep spells, and can enter an elven trance instead of sleeping. This archetype lacks pre-set one-use spells, but does allow her to teleport up to 30 feet and appear transparent as she does so, gaining resistance to all types of damage while moving like this starting at 3rd level.

As for her background, we’ll make her a Noble, since Queen Leah (yes, she has a name) refers to her as Your Exellency, which denotes Maleficent as a member of the aristocracy.

Powers and Abilities:

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

-appear and disappear in a flash of fire (teleports only herself, not Diablo) -create gusts of wind (possibly? She may have just blown down the doors) -has a Raven for a familiar -bestow curses, hexes, jinxes, etc. -bestow magical sleep -spy with Diablo (Flora is even afraid to speak her plan to hide Aurora out of fear that Maleficent might find out somehow, Diablo also later finds Aurora, acts as Maleficent’s alarm system, and leads her minions to where the intruders are.) -summon frost, snow, ice, or cold to kill Flora’s flowers -possibly some level of omniscience or divination? (Merrywhether states that Maleficent knows everything, interpret as you see fit) -shoot lightning with her staff. -Put out fires (the fire in the fireplace goes out when she lures Aurora) -possibly transmutation/relocating walls? (The Fireplace suddenly transforms into a passageway, but it’s unclear if that was already there, or if she created this doorway to lead Aurora to the spinning wheel. But once Aurora has been lead away from her room, Maleficent closes off the doorway that she created, and the fairies have to use magic to open the doorway again.) -Appearing as a floating green light (this may or may not be similar to when the three good fairies look like flying balls of colored light when in their shrunken forms.) -Hypnosis/Suggestion (Aurora clearly looks hypnotized while following Maleficent to the Spinning Wheel, only hesitating when she hears familiar voices calling her name, but is then compelled by Maleficent to touch the spindle) -creating inanimate objects out of thin air (she creates a black spinning wheel) -call lightning from the sky -raise a thicket of thorns -using non-physical form to fly/move quickly (as she flies from her tower in front of Phillip in some sort of spiral of sparks) -All the Powers of Hell (her minions are also a disgrace to The Forces of Evil) -transform into a dragon (with a fire breath attack) -weak to holy/radiant damage?

Suggested or Implied Powers These are powers she never really demonstrates in the film, but the other fairies can do them, so it’s possible she can too: -bestow gifts/blessings -shrink to a small size -change people into plants and back again -make inanimate objects float/act semi-conscious -create food -conjure clothing/don disguises -remove the other fairies’ wings -use magic to zap/weld off chains -conjure unholy/necrotic weapons and shields -turn creatures to stone -transform stones into bubbles, arrows into flowers, and boiling oil into a rainbow. -bestow an unholy/necrotic enchantment to a weapon -it’s unclear if her minions are mortal goblins that actually exist in the world, or if they’re demon minions she was given when she sold her service to Chernabog. Thus, it’s uncertain if she can summon more, or if she’s limited to the mortal beings in her service.

Kingdom Hearts

-create, summon, and control the Heartless -Teleporting (this time without columns of fire) -creating portals between worlds/planes/planets -bestow the power to control the Heartless -appear as a transparent projection -bring Oogie Boogie back to life (without the need of his body) -teleport Oogie Boogie and herself -Turn Santa Claus into a Heartless (or at least trying to) -Create a Wall of Fire -”awaken” the evil inside of people’s hearts/force people to stop repressing their evil impulses -make rocks float -summon meteors of heaven -conjure lightning indoors -move as a spiral of sparks/dark fire -Can be put to sleep by Ventus through magic

Converting her abilities to Spells and Feats

Before we can settle on a class, we have to decide what spells would fit under Maleficent based on her canon abilities, then pick a class or multi-classes that cover the widest selection of those spells and powers.

-Mobility     -Arcane Gate (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard)     -Astral Projection (Cleric, Warlock, Wizard)     -Dimension Door (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard)     -Misty Step (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard)     -Teleport (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard) -Curses     -Bestow Curse (Bard, Cleric, Wizard)     -Hex (Warlock) -Nature’s Power     -Call Lightning (Druid)     -Control Flames (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard)     -Gust of Wind (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard)     -Lightning Bolt (Sorcerer, Wizard)     -Melf’s Minute Meteors (Sorcerer, Wizard)     -Sleet Storm (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard)     -Ray of Frost (Sorcerer, Wizard)     -Wall of Thorns (Druid) -Transmutation     -Flesh to Stone (warlock, wizard)     -Polymorph (Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard) -Enchantment     -Charm Person (Bard, Druid, Sorcerer,Warlock, Wizard)     -Suggestion (Bard, Sorcerer,Warlock, Wizard) -Necromancy     -True Resurrection (Cleric, Druid) -Evil Flavored     -Hellish Rebuke (Warlock)     -Negative Energy Flood (Warlock, Wizard)     -Shadow of Moil (Warlock) -Heartless     -Conjure Shadow Demon (Sorcerer, Wizard)     -Infernal Calling (Warlock, Wizard)     -Summon Lesser Demons (Warlock, Wizard)     -Summon Greater Demon (Warlock, Wizard)

Get to Class

If you want to cover the majority of Maleficent’s powers, a Druid/Wizard combination is your best bet. However, Maleficent very clearly states that her power is directly given to her from Hell and that she serves the Forces of Evil, which is textbook Warlock. So, I would label her a Warlock/Druid. Specifically, a Fiend Patron Warlock, as in other Disney material, it’s stated that Maleficent serves Chernabog, the demon from Night on Bald Mountain. However, to offer multiple options, she could also be a Warlock sworn to the Raven Queen, which puts a lot of emphasis on having a Raven as almost an extension of oneself. As a Druid, she would fit well with the Circle of Land. Maleficent’s domain is in the lonesome, desolate mountains, which will also allow her to learn Lightning Bolt, despite being neither a Sorcerer, nor a Wizard.

Stats and Proficiencies

Considering all she had to do was appear and have people gasp in fear of her very presence, we can assume that Intimidation is likely a very highly trained skill of hers. She’s also good at lying to people, so Deception is another skill that would suit her nicely. Looking at how she handles herself, she’s very well-spoken, charming, and well-mannered until she snaps and starts hollering like a cat in heat. So, we should assume that Charisma is going to be her top stat. Next up for the Mistress of all evil is going to be her Wisdom stat, especially if you decided to make her a Maka Clan Elf. We see the wise, cunning side of Maleficent often in Kingdom Hearts as she frequently warns her weak-minded colleagues not to give in to the darkness, which she herself is too self-aware to succumb to. Next is Constitution, we can’t have her losing her concentration while she’s casting spells, like Oogie Boogie did while she was trying to turn Santa into a Heartless. Fourth is going to be Intelligence. It’s not super vital in most 5e builds I’ve seen, but the Mistress of All Evil is actually quite intelligent and clever. We especially see this again in the Kingdom Hearts series where she finds ways to corrupt the world in search of power. We’ll give her Strength next to last. I’m sure she can hit you with her staff or something. And we’ll be dumping Dexterity because this lady doesn’t even try to move in the original kingdom hearts game when you fight her. She’s one of the easiest boss battles because she’s so stationary. She gets better in Birth By Sleep where she’s teleporting around the field, but she still tends to stand still quite a lot. However, if you want to flip Dex and Strength for playability, no one would blame you.

So there you have it. Maleficent is a Noble Fallen Aasimar or a Noble variety of Elf, and is a Mountain Land Druid that has sworn a pact to either a Fiend (Chernabog) or the Raven Queen (via Diablo). What are your thoughts on this build? Do you think she should have been done differently? Did I make any mistakes in my analysis? And do you feel inspired to embrace your inner villain in your next campaign? Do you have a suggestion for who I should do next? Please, any feedback is welcomed and appreciated.

[rustedeaglewings]

The Chosen Ones and the War of Many

October 31st 1994. Harry James Potter’s name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, despite having been missing since October 31st 1981. But the Triwizard Tournament’s Magical Contract means he must compete or risk losing his magic. Here enters Hal Leblanc, an unassuming Gryffindor student known only for his protectiveness of his adoptive sister Rosie Leblanc, and Harry Potter in disguise. Raised by a hidden Sirius Black and hidden from Dumbledore in plain sight in Hogwarts, Hal must navigate through a deadly tournament, new offers of alliances and an unexpected discovery of a secret society older than Hogwarts herself.

The year is 1981 and a very different war is being fought. There is Lord Voldemort and the Knights of Walpurgis, advocating the Blood Supremacy and the annihilation of Non-Magicals. Opposing him openly is the Order of the Phoenix, lead by the so-called Leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore. The Ministry of Magic is being being torn apart in the midst of Voldemort’s open warfare against Muggles and Dumbledore’s Guerrilla Tactics. But behind the scenes, another battle is being fought, by two opposing factions of an organization founded by Merlin himself, the Ouroboros Circle. Since the end of the Grindelwald War, the then younger Augusta Longbottom opposed the older Arcturus Black III.  Augusta stood for the Origins, relying on the old ways, keeping power with those who knew what to do with it and keeping the New Bloods separate from the Old Bloods to keep both pure. Arcturus differed, having seen the ideals Augusta believed in used to fuel Grindelwald. He felt while knowledge and respect of the old ways was important, Wizardkind needed to innovate and create new paths, power needed to be spread out so one single person could not control the rest and the New Bloods needed to learn the old ways to remain pure. Caught up in their own struggle for control, they missed Voldemort’s decisive grab for power.

Because of the Circle’s turmoils, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter decided against inducting James and his friends into their lifelong commitment to keep Wizardkind safe from those without magic and vice versa. Sirius never learned of their mission because his parents’ radical opinions meant Arcturus never brought his son into the fold, and was too distracted to induct Sirius. When Albus sought new members for his organization, they were free to join and in doing so became enemies of Voldemort.

But James and Sirius know as purebloods of influential families that there is something influencing this war other than the obvious. When tensions rise in the Order due to rumours of a spy, they stage a break up to assess the reactions of others, drawing the other Marauders into their fallout without telling them anything. Their suspicions means Dumbledore’s suggestion of a Fidelius Charm falls on deaf ears. The prophecy is enough to worry all the Marauders, convincing Peter he was right to defect to the Dark Lord.  

Regulus, more cautious than his brother and less radical than his parents was a little more discreet than he might have been in another world. His discovery of Voldemort‘s Locket Horcrux came at the same time he heard rumours of Voldemort‘s other ‘priceless treasures’ and he remained at the Dark Lord’s side to find out the truth.

Frank Longbottom had joined the Circle in his Hogwarts years, but before he even knows to warn her, Alice follows her Gryffindor roommates Lily Potter nee Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Mary MacDonald to Dumbledore’s Order of the Phoenix. As they were engaged to be married, Frank joins the Order with the intention to spy on them for the Circle and tell Alice the truth of his allegiance once he is certain of her occlumancy skills. Unfortunately, this never happens.

October 31st 1981. Voldemort decides to go after Neville Longbottom as only a pureblood could oppose him in his mind. He gets the secret of his location from Frank Longbottom, whom he killed leaving the ministry after planning to go into hiding after hearing the prophecy from Dumbledore. Voldemort found found Neville silently, casting the killing curse before Alice awoke, but the curse rebounded, killing Voldemort instead. A frantic Alice and Neville is found by Augusta, who shares enough Circle knowledge that remaining in the Wizarding World where Dumbledore’s influence will only grow after Voldemort’s defeat is dangerous for Neville and urges Alice to flee to the Muggle world.

Desperate for a sacrificial hero, Dumbledore goes to the Potters, only to find James and Lily unconscious from overexposure to the Crucio Curse and Harry gone. It is discovered that it was Sirius Black who took Harry and Albus assumes it was on the Dark Lord’s orders. But a Ministry search can not find either Sirius or Harry.

So Neville Longbottom is named the Boy-Who-Lived, lost to the Wizarding World and Harry Potter an unfortunate victim to the Dark Lord’s minions.

But the Members of the Nights of Walpurgis, known by the young as Death Eaters, know that Sirius Black was not on their side. However, they cannot prove so with their Master gone and they bribe their way out of Azkaban to watch and wait for an opportunity to strike next.

Because they were not caught during their attack on the Potters, Bellatrix, Rodolphous and Rebastan Lestrange escape Azkaban with Barry Crouch Jr. Bellatrix and Rodolphous have a son but are caught a few years later attacking the Weasleys for information on the Dark Lord. Rigel Raban Lestrange was left to his uncle Rebastan’s care. He would later be sorted into Slytherin to no one’s surprise.

Molly Weasley was killed in the attack, leaving a mourning Arthur and seven young children. The children’s Great Uncle and Aunt, Ignatius and Lucretia Prewett came to help with the younger children, leading to an improved Burrow and closer familiar ties. In a Light family, Percy surprised everyone and no one who knew him by being sorted into Slytherin, having clung to his Great Aunt after the attack and learning some of her Black Ways. It would surprise no one when Ron was sorted into Ravenclaw, and Ginny into Hufflepuff.

After Voldemort’s disappearance, Regulus knew it would not last and, lacking any other options, went to his Grandfather. Both Arcturus and Regulus were surprised by the resulting conversation, Arcturus because he would never have believed Voldemort’s insanity in splitting his soul and wondering how he had missed the signs and Regulus because of the secret organization his Grandfather was a part of, trying to prevent abominations like this from occurring. Having risen to a stable position in the Dark Lord’s inner circle, Regulus reluctantly agreed to remain close to the other former Death Eaters while trying to find out the exact number and locations of the Horcruxes. With Sirius missing, on the run and supposedly kicked out of the family by their parents, Regulus remained the Black Heir. He married a fellow Slytherin Lucinda Talkalot pureblood and they had three children, rare in the Wizarding World. Arista Melania Black, Alcyone Cassiopeia Black, and Leonis Orion Black were all Slytherin and would break tradition by allowing Arista the Black Heirship despite having a younger brother. Although he kept his wife in the dark about his true allegiance, Regulus would eventually tell his children after trying to prepare them growing up. Even so, Lucinda definitely knew he wasn’t as firm a believer in the Dark Lord’s ways as others would believe.

Peter Pettigrew on the other hand had the opposite problem as Regulus. Having followed the Dark Lord in secret, he didn’t have to hide when Voldemort vanished. His relationship with others in the Order of the Phoenix was strained however, because of all the secrets he kept in the war and he found himself surprisingly joined by Barry Crouch Jr. in looking for a way to bring the Dark Lord back. However, as suspicions arose about what he was up to, Peter married a weak-willed Hufflepuff Maria Boyle and the two had a son, Timothy. But Maria would eventually leave Peter, taking Timothy with her, because of their differences and his secret obsession with the dark arts. During the few visits he got with his son, Peter impressed the knowledge of something greater than the Light to him, leaving behind a dark seed. Timothy Peter Boyle would go on to be a Hufflepuff and a supporter of not only the pureblood ideals but Voldemort himself.

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. But their two children were not. Not saddled with an unwanted freak, Petunia and Vernon gave Dudley a younger sister named Peony, and when both ended up displaying signs of magic at a young age, Petunia realized she could live her childhood dream through her children. Luckily, their neighbour, Mrs. 7 Privet Drive also known as Mrs. Eleanore Martins had a sister ‘in-the-know’ Emmeline Vance. Emmeline helped keep the Dursley children’s magic manageable, taught the Dursley’s what they needed to know about the Wizarding World, and became a well known friend of the family. However Emmeline was also a spy, not once but twice over. Emmeline’s squib sister Eleanore had been placed at Privet Drive to give cover for Emmeline to watch over the Dursley family by Albus Dumbledore, having both feared the Dark Lord’s followers - namely Sirius Black - might come after them for the relation to Harry Potter and Lily Potter nee Evans. But Emmeline had another allegiance. A few years younger than the future Alice Longbottom, she was tutored by Alice and protected from other student who mocked her for having a squib sibling. When Alice disappeared with Neville after Voldemort’s downfall, she went to Emmeline for help on navigating the muggle world. In return, Emmeline learned about Augusta’s suspicions about Albus and agreed to help both Longbottoms in their quest to protect Neville. Knowing Alice meant Emmeline knew Lily and from Lily, knew of Petunia and agreed to help Augusta keep an eye on Lily’s extended family. After seeing her devotion and her increasing suspicions on Dumbledore herself, Augusta inducted Emmeline into the Origins Chapter of the Ouroboros Circle. Thus, Dudley and Peony learned of more than Albus may have wanted them to know about the politics of the Wizarding World. Dudley would go into Gryffindor and Peony in Hufflepuff.

Draco Malfoy would grow up with not only other Death Eater children as playmates but pureblood cousins as well. Being the oldest of the Black cousins, he believed himself his younger cousins’ protector. With this experience, and with his Uncle Regulus’ teachings, Draco learns discretion and subtlety as well as how to evaluate his father’s words. The Draco who comes to Hogwarts is a quieter Slytherin, at the top of the food chain for his year, but second to his cousin Arista. When rumours of the Dark Lord’s expected return reach him, he is given the choice to spy on his peers or be granted protection, not by the Light, but by the Drake Chapter of the Ouroboros Circle by Uncle Regulus. He chooses the first,  never having completely rid himself of his Gryffindor tendency to do reckless things.

Born before the Fall of the Dark Lord, Draco’s godfather was his father’s close friend in Voldemort’s inner circle, Severus Snape. But after realizing that by telling the Dark Lord the beginning of the prophecy had put Lily in danger, Severus regretted his actions. But the one he went to was not Dumbledore. He went to Lily herself, to beg forgiveness for everything he had done in the past and that he would like to help in any way he could. She of course forgave him, always having mourned their past relationship as siblings, especially with Petunia pushing her away. Without consulting James, she repeated the godfather ceremony, giving Harry a second godfather. With this bond, there was no way Severus would be able to cause harm to Harry without risking his own life. Forgiven, Severus went to Albus, seeking help but keeping his arrangement with Lily a secret. But Albus wanted Severus to continue to work with the Dark Lord, as a spy, claiming passing on information the best repentance there could be. When Voldemort asked his inner circle their opinions on which child could be the one in the prophecy, Severus could only say Neville, his bond to Harry preventing him from causing harm even in this indirect way, despite dooming another child. But the spy in the Order condemned him, as Severus didn’t know who the spy was but the spy had discovered Severus and told the Dark Lord. Severus was imprisoned  and tortured by his former allies, including the father of his other godchild, Lucius Malfoy. It was luck for him that Voldemort disappeared that night, causing the wards around the manor to fall and Aurors resume him from death. Severus was revealed to have been Dumbledore’s spy in the ranks of the Dark Lord, and protected from legal prosecutions. He mourned for Lily because despite not being completely dead, her mind was unlikely to recover, same as with James. When Albus offered him a job at Hogwarts teaching potions, he nearly refused, but was convinced due to easier access to the potions ingredients he would need to search for a cure for Lily. Becoming Slytherin head of house was something no one wanted, not him, nor the other teachers, nor his students. The Slytherins felt he could betray them like he betrayed their parents, even those who didn’t believe in the Dark Lord’s ideology. But what Albus wanted, Albus got.

Which is why it was so frightening when Severus discovered Albus’ search for the Deathly Hallows, even more so when he realized only the stone was missing.

Two boys switched places that October night, not because of a whim but many many happenings.

Neville Longbottom grew up with his mother Alice in the middle of Muggle London. Along with Emmeline’s help, Alice found help from Remus Lupin, or rather, they helped each other. Remus knew more about the muggle world than Alice, and helped her settle down in a small bookshop and flat. He had become disillusioned with Albus when he realized Albus was doing nothing to keep the Marauders from tearing each other apart, as it appeared James and Sirius were doing. Others in the Order had feared Remus for the curse he bore and Albus had also done nothing to stop it. When his school year girlfriend turned mutual platonic friend Emmeline come to Remus looking for help for Alice and Neville with the need to keep it secret from Albus, Remus agreed. Alice herself had needed another person around, someone to help keep an eye on Neville and the shop while she was busy with the other. She had never minded Remus, a distant cousin of hers had had the same affliction as many a pureblood could trace in their lines, and his gentle nature reminded her of Frank. It was also a miracle she had gotten through those months without Remus, so distraught with the loss of her husband and the only life she had ever known. Over time they became closer, not romantically - for Alice felt she would never forget her love for Frank - but as close as a brother and sister. Soon, Alice claimed Lupin as her maiden name, both to protect her and Neville and as a lifeline of family. Augusta was not too far however, visiting during holidays when she could claim the loss of her family as reason enough not to host holiday parties and to remain secluded from society when not required to be present for Wizengomot sessions. She brought both Alice and Remus into the Circle, impressing them with the knowledge that there was more at stake than Light and Dark. Neville also got training, having been told about the prophecy and a meddling old fool. He would still tremble when he put the Sorting Hat on his head, but this time with the weight of more than just an old woman’s expectations that he follows in his father’s footsteps. He would be placed in a very different and exactly the same Gryffindor house. But this time, with a friendship already formed. Attending a muggle school, Neville recognized the signs of accidental magic. He was unsurprised to find bullies, who scattered upon seeing him. Only their victim was left, a young girl his own age. Hermione Granger. So clever and brave, she would leap into Gryffindor after her longtime friend Neville.

In his seventh year of Hogwarts, Sirius Black found himself growing up just a little. He had flirted with the girls of Hogwarts almost since he had arrived in first year, had chased girls and been chased, but this time, he felt something different. He, Sirius Black, has a crush on a girl. It may have been because of James and Lily’s recent relationship but all of the Marauders found themselves spending more time with the Gryffindor girls. And now, Sirius was developing an attraction to one of Lily’s best friends, Marlene McKinnon. For months they danced around each other, oblivious to the obviousness of their attraction to each other to everyone except themselves. But when they were going to graduate and the war was suddenly real for them, they disagreed on what should be done. Sirius wanted to take Marlene and run off, keep her safe and out of the war but she would have none of it. She would not be helpless and protected while her friends were in danger and she joined them in the Order of the Phoenix. Their on-again-off-again relationship was off as they both did what they could and tried to forget each other. Finally, they got caught up in the war and stopped the longing touches in the private moments of Order meetings. Sirius and James were staging their fight, hurting Lily because she didn’t understand what could have come between them. After Harry was born, she finally got them to sit still in the same room and got a garbled telling of their plan to rat out the spy, and that was why even though they were still going to pretend to be fighting, they wanted Sirius as Harry’s godfather. Lily was silent, she had met with Severus the day before and maybe this would work out for them all? She agreed, Sirius was bonded to Harry as his godfather and he left, feeling elated and suddenly missing the company of the woman he loved. He met with Marlene and they took the night for each other before she revealed she was going back to her family home to help out for a while. It was all Sirius could do to watch her leave and all he could do to comfort Lily as news of the attack on the McKinnon’s family home was reported with no survivors. They cried together into the night. When Sirius got wind of Voldemort’s attack on Frank Longbottom, he feared for Harry. He had just calmed James and Lily down and gone up to check on his sleeping godson when the Lestrange’s attacked. He heard James cry for Sirius to take Harry and run and the need to protect Harry won over his desire to help his brother in all but blood. He ran.

Only later did he find out that Voldemort was gone and he himself was declared an enemy for kidnapping and possibly killing Harry Potter and his parents. Without options, he hid from the Wizarding World before coming to the realization only one person had the political power to help him. Reluctantly, Sirius returned to Black Manor to find help from his grandfather, only to be stunned by what he found inside.

Marlene McKinnon had discovered she was pregnant four weeks after her night with Sirius. Fearing her unborn child and remembering what he wanted to do when they were about to graduate, she secretly left her family home, planning to make arrangements before springing the news on Sirius. But when her family was attacked and killed, she suddenly found herself at a loss. When Sirius was declared a follower of the Dark Lord a short time later, Marlene did the only thing she could think of, seek refuge from the great grandfather of her unborn child. Arcturus had been surprisingly welcome when she arrived on his doorstep, listening to her story before granting her request. She could stay in the Black Manor until they came up with a plan of what to do with Sirius’ child. When Sirius himself turned up with Harry Potter in tow, Arcturus once again had to rethink his plans. Hearing for the first time about the prophecy and connecting it with the knowledge Regulus had just recently shared about Voldemort’s immortality, Arcturus knew Harry needed to be protected. Neville Longbottom has disappeared and someone was going to have to defeat the Dark Lord. So the three adults made a plan.

Members of the Drake chapter of the Ouroboros Circle, Marlene and Sirius adopted the surname of a Black branch family in France and moved their with Harry and their newborn, Rosemary Aelia. They gave Harry a nickname based off his full name Harold Jame Potter, for they knew he would one day attend Hogwarts and didn’t want to give up the game too quick. When a chance meeting between Regulus and Severus revealed Severus’ secret status as Harry’s other godfather, Severus was granted knowledge of their location so he could also aid them on their quest. This was how Arcturus learned of Albus’ obsession with the Hallows. Knowing this was part of why the Circle was founded in the first place, they tried to find a way to keep the Stone away from Albus and protect Harry. He grew up loved with his father Sirius, mother Marlene and sister Rosie, despite knowing he was adopted he loved them like a real family. He learned of the politics in the United Kingdom and what role he might one day play in the not yet over war. When given the choice though on whether or not to attend Hogwarts, he knew he would go, for it was o my a matter of time before they found him anyways. But they wouldn’t make it easy for their enemies. So, in 1991, a famous newly emerged Neville Longbottom the Boy-Who-Lived was joined in Gryffindor by one unassuming Hal Leblanc.

[maaaddiexo]

Chapter Thirteen | Peter Pevensie

[Red Series Book One: Roses]

Synopsis: With World War Two ravaging the world, no one is safe and no one is happy.

Despite their protests, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are evacuated from London and sent to live in the English countryside with an old professor. Scared and unhappy, only the youngest Pevensie child remains optimistic and ends up sharing her hope with her siblings in the form of a wardrobe that takes them to Narnia, a different world where they are the only form of hope to bring an end to an evil witch's reign of terror.

Rosemary Bennett has no more hope left in her heart. Her brother and father are off fighting for their country, the former having gone missing months ago, and her mother ignores her, preferring the company of a bottle over her own daughter. Giving up seems the only logical plan of action. But when it finally comes to carrying it out, she's transported to a different world, with talking animals and a prophecy that doesn't involve her. Unsure as to why she is there, she must navigate a new world and ponder the possibility that maybe - just maybe - she doesn't actually want to die.

*Warning: this book deals with depression and suicide. Though mental illness isn't what this story revolves around, the act of suicide and depressive thoughts are intertwined with the plot and act as 'backseat drivers' to the novel.

[Chapter Fourteen] [Series Masterlist] [Masterlist]

What Susan had meant was mounting horses and running around the range. If it was all about tracking, then it shouldn't matter whether it was the target or the shooter that was moving. Right?

Once again, Rosemary was clearly more experienced with riding horses than the Pevensie girls so she spent the first hour simply helping them learn how to ride without their weapons.

When they'd finally called it quits for the day hours later, the sun was halfway through its descent. After returning the horses, the girls headed back to the outside of the camp where the shooting range was. There, Edmund and Peter were galloping through the large boulders and tall grass.

"Come on, Ed! Swordpoint up - like Oreius showed us."

They disappeared behind rocks and hills before reappearing somewhere else. The girls climbed on top of a large rock where they would be out of the way and cheered the two boys on.

"On garde!"

"Now block!"

Enchanted by the sight, the girls leaned forward with big smiles and watched the two boys spar, their swords clanging.

"Peter, Edmund!" Beaver appeared from the direction of the camp, standing up on his back paws. "The Witch has demanded a meeting with Aslan."

"What?!" Rosemary gasped, jumping down off of the boulder. "Why?"

"I don't know, but she's on her way here."

•

By the time the Witch's minions appeared at the edge of the camp, everyone had already assembled at the main pathway and watched silently and angrily as she was carried to Aslan's tent on a portable throne by four ogres.

A dwarf with a knotted beard and heavy fur coat walked ahead. "Jadis, the Queen of Narnia. Empress of the Lone Islands!"

"You can't be queen and empress but whatever," Rosemary uttered from between Peter and Edmund who snickered.

"Don't tell her that. She'll have your head."

Rosemary swallowed and looked back at the Witch, having never seen her before. She was very pale with long bleach blonde hair styled in dreadlocks that had been pulled up into a bun. She seemed extremely skinny, her cheekbones and elbows on the verge of breaking through her skin. A small crown of ice rested on her head. Her dress was extravagant, long, and thick. Rosemary was sure she must have been hot, even though it had short sleeves. Her wardrobe was clearly made for the cold.

People in the crowd heckled the Witch and Rosemary wanted nothing more than to join in with them. But unlike them, she was still scared of the Witch.

From the end of the aisle, Aslan growled lowly. Even he couldn't hold back his hatred for the Witch. As the Witch stood, everyone quieted down and Rosemary inched further back behind Peter. Noticing this, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly.

Hidden behind Peter, the Witch didn't have a good view of Rosemary but she could see the Witch in full. She could tell the Witch wasn't comfortable - perhaps not scared but definitely not fully in control. She wasn't in familiar territory and she was greatly outnumbered. If anything went wrong, the Witch knew she would lose within minutes. Nonetheless, the Witch made sure to keep her chin up.

"You have a traitor in your midst, Aslan."

"His offense was not against you."

"Have you forgotten the laws upon which Narnia was built?"

Aslan growled. "Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I was there when it was written."

"Then you'll remember well that every traitor belongs to me." The Witch looked over at Edmund. Her smile was one of pure evil. "His blood is my property."

Peter stepped in front of Edmund, raising his sword. "Try and take him then." He just got Edmund back and wouldn't lose him without a fight.

Jadis chuckled. "Do you really think that mere force will deny me my right, little King?"

With a burst of courage, Rosemary stepped forward. "You just acknowledged that he is meant to be King. Doubting yourself, are we?"

The smile on Jadis' face dropped at Rosemary's taunting words. Wanting to return to being in control and debuting her power, she turned back to Aslan as Rosemary pulled Peter back into the crowd.

"Aslan knows that unless I have blood, as the law demands, all of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water." Pointing at Edmund, she yelled, "That boy will die on the Stone Table as is tradition."

•

Rosemary had been sitting on the grass for close to an hour now, playing with the end of her braid. Aslan had demanded he speak alone with the Witch in his tent and no sound had been made since.

"Maybe I should just sacrifice myself," Edmund sighed. "So nobody else has to die."

"He won't let you die, Edmund," Susan assured. "He's so sure of the prophecy he wouldn't let us come so close to fulfilling it only for it to be ruined."

"Thanks, Su," Edmund smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. They waited for another thirty minutes in silence before the tent flaps finally rustled and the White Witch stepped out. She stared Edmund down before turning away and walking back to her carrier wordlessly.

"She has renounced her claim on the Son of Adam's blood."

Rosemary smiled, hugging Edmund first but she was soon trapped in the middle of a large group hug. She could hear Susan's relieved breath and Peter's laugh in her ears.

"How do I know your promise will be kept?" Jadis asked, turning to face the Lion.

Aslan released a threatening roar that knocked the Witch back into her traveling throne. Rosemary laughed and cheered, hugging her group of friends. It was about time someone put the Witch in her place. As the Witch was carried away, the cheers only got louder, but Rosemary could still hear Aslan when he called her name.

"Could I speak with you for a moment?"

Rosemary separated herself from the celebrating crowd and walked beside Aslan up the hill. It seemed it was his favourite spot. Celebrations moved to the campfire and Rosemary could see the four Pevensie children being lifted into the air, their laughter carrying up to Rosemary and Aslan.

"Do you know why you are here, Rosemary?"

Rosemary chuckled under her breath, "I've been trying to figure that out since I got here. Hate to admit I haven't had much luck."

Aslan sat down, looking out over Narnia. "You are here because you are important, Rosemary. Not like how the Pevensie children are important. Narnia needs them whereas you need Narnia."

"I don't understand."

"You know that Narnia called the Pevensies from England because it was time the prophecy was fulfilled. They were needed. You are special. You are here because Narnia believed it wasn't your time to die."

"Oh," Rosemary looked down, fiddling with her fingers. "How do you know about that?"

"I am entwined with the Deep Magic. It tells me what it wants to tell me."

"You're like the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. So Narnia didn't want me to die - for whatever reason. But why would it call me here?"

"Because only the best of us deserve a second chance."

Tears welled in Rosemary's eyes and she let them fall, knowing no one would see them from up on the hill. "I wanted to die, Aslan. And yet something always stops that from happening. Why couldn't Narnia just let me die?"

"Perhaps because it isn't your time to die."

"Isn't it my right to decide when to end my life?"

"It is, but the Deep Magic has a stronger hold on its inhabitants here in Narnia which is why you haven't tried to end your life since you got here."

"I was willing to sacrifice myself, though."

"Sacrifice is different than suicide. Tell me, do you still want to end your life?"

"Isn't Narnia's Deep Magic changing my mind?"

"No, it doesn't work like that. It doesn't change your mind, it is simply trying to stop you from carrying out the action."

"Oh, um," Rosemary squinted as she took a moment to think. Every sense seemed to heighten as she breathed deeply and looked around. The light of the moon seemed stronger, the grass felt softer, and the laughter of the Narnians by the fire seemed louder. She thought about her journey to Aslan's camp - Mrs. Beaver taking care of her, bonding with Susan during the boring parts of the journey, and Peter helping her across the melting river. "I...I don't know anymore."

"These people have changed your mind?"

"When the war began, everything seemed to fall apart. My father and brother left to fight and now Daniel's missing, and my mother drinks all the time and ignores me. I just couldn't live with that anymore - the war and being so alone. But the Pevensies and the people here - they're fighting through war too so I wonder what makes me different. You guys here have lived under the reign of the White Witch for a hundred years and I can't even last five months!"

"No two people are alike, Rosemary. You struggle with the absence of your family because you miss them. Your mindset is understandable."

"But you still don't agree with it."

Aslan avoided answering. "Have the rings on your necklace separated yet?"

"What? Oh. No." Rosemary pulled the necklace out from underneath her dress, taken off guard by the sudden change of topic. "I think Santa Claus made a mistake."

"He didn't. Give it time. You are changing as a person - growing. Perhaps you just need to grow a little more."

"I just want to be happy," Rosemary cried softly. She began to sob again, hiding her mouth behind her hands.

"I know it's hard but things will look up soon. Try to hold on a little longer."

"What happens when I return to England."

"I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that."

"What about your promise to the Witch? What did you promise her?"

Aslan sighed and lay down beside Rosemary, his mane brushing against her side. "I suppose I can tell you - it would be nice to get it off of my chest. But you can't tell anyone, Rosemary. Not the Pevensies and certainly not Peter."

"I promise. But why specifically not Peter?"

"Because his grief needs to be real."

"Grief? Aslan, what did you promise her?"

[Chapter Fourteen] [Series Masterlist] [Masterlist]

[emmett-the-wrighter]

The Kobold and the Goblin Queen

There once was a young kobold.

Now, this kobold’s flaws of birth were many. He was a white-scale, the lowest color of the tribes, and he was weak in body and innate arcana. And because of these, he turned to the sin of wizardry and would often avoid his industry and labors for sake of wandering off and studying how to wrest the Weave like a human would.

He was named Aithyas, a name not of his own choosing, but named for offal and dung, as he was the lowest of the low.

Despite this, however, he was cunning, and no matter what he was faced with, he was not unpleasant to talk with. The tribe, of course, did not feel sorry for how they treated him, as he was a white-scale and a wizard and deserved it, but at least he was not sullen about it. That is an important lesson, youngbloods. Hardship is the reality of these ones’ lives, and they may seethe, but they will keep it to themselves.

The Aithyas was an adventurous sort when he could slip away, and he knew all the caves and tunnels and paths of the mountain. For cycles and months he would wander and explore and he managed to eventually map all of the secrets possible.

Or so he claimed.

This young kobold was out one cycle, looking for something to eat, when he spotted a lone goblin dragging her newborn child in a shoddy travois along with her. Now, goblins weren’t exactly common in these tunnels, so the Aithyas was intrigued.

Goblins, he thought to himself. Who would settle for a life like that? Nothing but fodder, content to live their rotten idiotic lives.

On top of that, what a kobold needed to learn before they were considered adult, and a useful part of the tribe, was so much more than a goblin. Stories, strategy, cunning, all these lessons and more! What was life as a goblin? One ate. One produced dung. One produced offspring. And continued, until eaten by something larger or its own kind. They didn’t need education or tactics to know that. And what were goblins for other than minions of orcs or bugbears or whomever was the largest of their kind and not the wisest or strongest.

But, the Aithyas wasn’t one to leave up an opportunity.

After the goblin made its way to a large cave with many tunnels all leading elsewhere, she sat down to rest. Or to figure out which way to go. This wasn’t even a complicated part of the mountain! All the routes were clear to the young watching kobold. But for the filthy wretch, navigating these tunnels was as easy as outrunning a wyrm.

After skulking about, the Aithyas finally emerged from behind a rock, with his claws empty of any weapons, not even a staff that most wizards carried about. The goblin gazed upon him with her spawn held close, and she was not frightened, for he looked as scrawny and frail as one could be. What kind of threat was that?

“Good cycle,” the Aithyas called out as he turned around, pretending to look for something among the other rocks and rubble. “This one hasn’t seen goblins around these parts for some time.”

The goblin sighed in the way one did when they didn’t want to talk, a mixture of weariness and annoyance, but the kobold was so unassuming, she decided there wasn’t any harm in a little chatter. “Walkz many day, me has,” she admitted. “Not knowing bout scaleythings like yuses here.”

“Oh, there are thousands of these ones in the mountains,” the Aithyas said, edging closer as he claws through rocks and gravel. He picked up a single stone, looking at it with interest. “This one would only expect the bravest of scouts to bring their young with it. Newly hatched?”

The goblin wanted to remain aloof, but talking about herself was impossible to resist. “Me’s the bravest, yes! Why Big Booyahg told me goes out and looksee.”

“Big Booyahg?” the kobold repeated as he sidled closer and around, his slit-eyes flicking to, and past the squalling goblin in the travois. “It is that one’s leader?”

“Oh, yes, yes, Big Booyahg is the biggest and BIGGEST booyahg round all the tribes.”

The Aithyas finally looked up from his rock hunt, his eyes widening in a look of astonishment. “Truly the biggest and BIGGEST?”

“The most BIGGEST!” the goblin exclaimed, letting go of the travois to wave her arms around.

“How impressive,” the Aithyas said, clasping his claws together. “And what did the… most biggest of Booyahgs send her to look for?”

“We’s looking for clan home! Big Booyahg told her to find BIG cave or castle or BIGGEST and BESTEST clan home me can find!”

“You must be very important, then,” the Aithyas said, with another step closer to the goblin. He resisted the urge to curl his lips at the filthy thing’s scent. “He can’t imagine just anyone would be sent out for such a task; even the bravest of scouts.”

This was simply too much for the goblin, and she puffed out her chest. “Well, since yuses asking, she is gonna be queen of the Big Booyahg.”

The Aithyas hissed out a gasp, reeling back. “Then this one is in the presence of goblin royalty! Why, he is honored.” He dipped in a bow.

“Me’s not queen yet,” the goblin said hastily- after an appropriate hesitation. “Big Booyahg said me’s gonna be after find new home. Whoever come’s back first with BESTEST home is gonna be Big Booyahg queen!”

“Yet, is such a,” the Aithyas straightened with a wave of a claw, “future concept. Surely there can be none as cunning and brave as you. This one can’t imagine any others that would succeed as well as she can.”

“Yuses right!” she screeched, lifting her chin. “Me’s gonna be Big Booyahg queen and all the others gonna do all me’s gonna say!”

“This one is sure she will.” With that, the kobold sidled around once more to the travois. “And if she is a queen, then is this the… goblin prince? How delightful a thing.”

“Yes, yes! Son of Big Booyahg, gonna be little Booyahg.”

“Surely she could have found someone to take care of the little Booyahg on her journey? He thinks it could be rather dangerous, doesn’t she think?” The kobold leaned over the child.

“Well, me’s wouldn’t want to risk little Booyahg with just anyone,” the goblin admitted. “He’s got mark of Big Booyahg, see?” She turned back to roughly turn the child about, pointing at a silvery scar stretching up its arm. “Sign of gonna be real strong Booyahg, just like Big Booyahg! None of the others gots Booyahg mark. Is why me’s got best chance to be queen!”

“She is the most impressive goblin this one has met,” the Aithyas practically gushed. “He has decided he will help her, for he knows every passage through the mountain, and there is a perfect cave for her tribe, he thinks.”

“Ohoo?” The goblin hopped in place with glee. “Me’s thinking being real lucky meeting yuses.”

“Oh, yes,” the Aithyas skittered over and up onto a boulder. “He can give her a map from here to the perfect place, but,” he lifts a claw. “He will warn her. Many might want to move there, so if he tells her, she might want to go as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, yes! Me’s gonna run real-” the goblin pauses, looking back to the travois. “Little Booyahg too heavy to run fast.”

“How unfortunate,” the Aithyas said, tsking. “He really does wish to help her, but the risk…”

“Well,” the goblin turned about in a circle. “How far is home being from here?”

“A day’s walk, he reckons.” The kobold pulled a scroll of parchment, waving it temptingly to her. “But she runs, he is sure they can be there far sooner.”

“Yuses a real good friend,” the goblin scrambled forward. “Little Booyahg can gonna be safe with yuses, right? Me’s gonna bring me’s tribe all this way, then yuses gonna be friend with royalty!”

“Oh, she honors this one so much, of course he would take care of her prince.” The kobold opened his claws, letting the scroll fall to her greedily waiting hands. “He will await them in their new home.”

“Me’s gonna be back with Big Booyahg!” the goblin called as she galloped off, leaving her squalling child alone in the travois with the white-scale.

The Aithyas clambered down from the boulder to stare at the wretched goblin child. Now, what to do with it? The map he had given away would do its job well, and all he had to do was inform his All-Watcher of a tribe of goblins headed towards the ambush point. That was the easy part.

Hours later, when the white-scale returned to his tribe to inform them of their incoming prey, he endured much tongue-lashing for avoiding his industry once again. But the Aithyas bore it silently as always, content in his place, and he would tap his claws against the new skull adorning his belt. It was small and frail, and bore the crude scratchmarks of a crown.

[lilibetts]

All of It (waiting for a bus in the rain)

Rated: Mature (for sexytimes) Written for Camp Riverdale, Theme Two: Fantasy and SciFi (Harry Potter AU). Beta’d by @arsenicpanda “Betty, wait!” Jughead calls out.

She doesn't bother turning around because the next roll of thunder brings with it a heavier deluge. October in England means the water is cold as it soaks through her clothes, making her regret not grabbing a coat before they went on the run. 

Betty reaches the end of the sidewalk and glances up and down the dark, deserted street. They'd barely escaped two of the Gargoyle King's brainwashed minions at the Wayfarers’ Inn back there, and it's clear they have to get out of town now.

“Screw this,” she mutters, pulling her wand out of her dress pocket. Holding it out, she doesn't have to wait long before being rewarded by a popping noise and the sound of an approaching engine.

Jughead pulls abreast of her, his breath fogging up the air. “We should be staying off the grid,” he grounds out.

She hardly needs the reminder. The Gargoyle Gang are likely using the Tracking Spell to pick up on any traces of magical use. But she and Jughead are also vulnerable out here in the cold and the rain. Her robes are made of a thin midnight blue material, completely unsuitable for any length of time outside.

Neither have been out in the Muggle world extensively enough to know how to survive and hide, let alone how to survive and hide in a foreign country. Of course, they are operating here at the invitation of the Ministry of Magic because they have experience with how Gryphons & Gargoyles can invade and consume a town or a village.

They don't want another Eldervair.

In the distance, Betty spots the light beams bouncing off a house before the double-decker bus comes rushing around the turn. “I know. But this will get us farther away from the usual wizarding hubs. We can find a place to crash for the night.”

Indecision wars with the need for comfort on his face. Finally, he nods curtly. “Okay. Alright.”

Despite their history, Betty knows she could not have asked for a better Auror to be partnered with. Whatever may be said about the two of them, she and Jughead do make a great team. Even if he's pissed off at her right now.

Betty sighs with relief just as the bus pulls to a screeching halt in front of them, the doors already opening with a loud squeak. A bored-looking teenager with an ill-fitting uniform steps out and mumbles something about knuts. Betty reaches into her pocket and hands him enough money to cover both tickets.

“No luggage?”

“We're traveling light,” Jughead drawls from behind her as he follows her up into the bus. Betty sighs with relief that the interior is insulated with heating spells. For a moment, she silently bemoans how frizzy her hair is sure to become. The doors close behind them with another loud squeak and she barely has time to grab the overhead railing before they lurch into motion.

Jughead catches her eye and jerks his chin upwards; she nods in agreement. They both make their way upstairs to the third level where mercifully, there are no passengers; it's a Tuesday night in October, so it's unlikely anyone else will call for the bus tonight. Betty pauses next to Jughead as they stare down at the shifting beds instead of each other. Now, there's a practical problem they hadn't anticipated.

Their things are in Betty's purse, on which she had put an Undetectable Extension Charm. Without using their wands to summon some dry clothes, they're out of luck.

“Fucking Brits, it's called a Sticking Charm,” he mutters under his breath before turning around, showing her his back. When he angrily yanks off the gaudy, decidedly un-Jugheadian robes he’d been wearing and starts to unbutton his shirt, her body finally catches up to her brain and she spins around.

Not that it completely gives him his privacy—she can still make out his body in the reflection of the dark window. She hurries to unwrap her soaked robes, laying them over the metal railing that forms the canopy of the nearest bed. Kicking her shoes off, she's left shivering in her bra and panties. She ignores the thrill at the thought of Jughead seeing her nearly naked, same as she had during the past few weeks of pretending on-and-off to be his girlfriend.

Back in school, he had mostly ever known her as Betty Cooper, the girl who had a crush on his best friend Archie. Would he ever believe her if she told him those feelings had been gone for years? Would he ever believe her if she told him she’d started to have feelings for him in the months before they graduated? All those late nights in the library, studying for exams or trying to figure out the Gargoyle King’s next steps...did any of it disabuse him of the preconceived notions he had formed about her by third year? When it’d been easier to be the type of witch her mother demanded she be?

The stubborn sense of righteousness that has sustained her these past two days deflates. Betty knows she fucked up. “You were only part right,” she says, finally. In the reflection of the window, she sees Jughead pause, his pants halfway down his hips. “I shouldn't have gone on that Quest without you. But I didn't do it because I don't trust you.”

His voice is rough—tired—when he replies, “Then why?”

“Because somewhere along the line I began to care about you as more than just a friend and a partner. And well, if this was one of Chic’s traps, then it's personal, and I didn't want you to be hurt because of—”

“Because of you? News flash, Betty, but stopping the Gargoyle King is personal to me for reasons that aren't about Chic, or you. We're supposed to be partners; that means we don't let them break us apart.”

Just then, the bus makes two hairpin turns in the space of two seconds, sending Betty flying into Jughead's waiting arms and then the two of them stumbling onto the nearest bed. When she blinks up at him, Jughead is above her, bracing some of his weight on his forearms. The blanket beneath her is scratchy.

And the rest of his body is very definitely lying in between her legs. Their knees bump together, his jeans bunched around his thighs, and one of his hands is tangled in her hair. His hips shift against hers, and she makes this noise in the back of her throat. The next thing Betty knows, he's kissing her, hard.

Another turn causes the bed to slam backwards against the side of the bus, making Jughead's weight press harder into the cradle of her thighs. Betty has no compunction about making appreciative noises, rocking against him.

With what had to be wandless magic, Jughead flips them around until he's sitting up on the bed and Betty is straddling him. A few kicks later and his jeans are on the floor, although the motions make her rock in his lap. “Enjoying the view?” she asks throatily. This bra does do spectacular things for her cleavage, which is now at eye-level for him.

He only gives her an unrepentant grin before peppering her throat with bruising kisses and the occasional nip that has her shivering and arching against him. She gets him back, mouthing along the curve of his ear before scraping her teeth over his earlobe, eliciting a gasp and a low keening noise. Her hand carding through his hair knocks his crown beanie loose, but Betty catches it, holding it tight in her other hand.

It comes over her so quickly—she's grinding the thin material of her panties against the hard ridge of his erection through his boxers, and with Jughead's strong forearms wrapped around her back and cradling her bottom to help her rock harder against him, it isn't long before Betty's eyelids are fluttering shut and she's letting out uncontrollable moans as her orgasm crests.

She clings to him, and to the hat squeezed in one fist, as he continues to buck against her, allowing her to draw the pleasure out for much longer. Finally, the shudders taper off and she's left there with an uncomfortable coldness in the front panel of her underwear. Jughead's watching her with awe, and Betty thinks she could get used to him looking at her like that.

She lets the fingers of her free hand graze the skin just past the elastic of his boxers.

“You don't have to—”

She shushes him, pulling the beanie onto her own head. Was it her imagination, or did his eyes darken with approval? “Flip us back around, Juggie, please.”

His reply of “Yes, my Queen” positively drips with sarcasm.

The world spins once again until Betty's on her back and Jughead is holding himself up above her. It’s undignified, she thinks, to spit in her palm instead of using a lubrication charm, but must needs. She pulls the elastic away and reaches down to curl her hand around him. There's a huff against her ear, and a low groan.

It's heady, the sense of absolute control she feels then as Jughead trembles against her. She jerks him off slowly but insistently, building him up until he's so, so hard and the muscles in his arms are starting to shake. The Knight Bus is winding through traffic now, and the centrifugal force doing half the work for them.

“Come for me, my brave Hellcaster,” she whispers. The effect is immediate: he gasps and rocks his hips into her now wet hand. Betty kisses him softly, sweetly, as he pants and just about collapses on top of her.

“Merlin, Betts,” he groans against her shoulder before chuckling. “Has dirtier talk ever been had?”

That brings a giggle bubbling out of her. “Nope, never.” She shakes her head emphatically back and forth. Jughead doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get dressed, let alone find another bed. Theirs slides every which way while they stare into each other's eyes, getting used to this strange new frontier. Once the bed slides back over far enough, he does reach down to pull out a handkerchief from his jeans pocket; she uses it to wipe her hand and stomach.

“It looks good on you,” he says, adjusting the hat a fraction. “It looks right.”

“Well, I am the Gryphon Queen, it's only fair I should have a crown. And it's only right that it should be yours.” Jughead boops her nose in reprisal before his expression turns serious.

“So, partners? In the Aurors, in life, all of it?”

She hums her assent. 

“All of it.”

[littlemisssquiggles]

How do you think elements from Snow White/Evil Queen, Pinocchio/Gepetto, and Ozma/Mombi will be incorporated in Volume 7?

Ozma and Mombi

Whelp,given what I know about the character in the context of the Wizard of Oz,I feel there is a greater likelihood that Mombi will be anadversary character to Oscar similar to how Salem is an adversary to Ozpin.

Perhaps RWBY’sinterpretation of Mombi will be another genderbentcharacter from the Wizard of Oz.Since Oscar is technically a genderbent Princess Ozma, picture…RWBY’s version ofMombi being a young male student of Atlas with a transformation semblance whoends up bullying Oscar while he’s astudent attending Atlas Academy.

I’m still holding out for myheadcanon about the heroes attending Atlas Academy during their stay in Atlas.I can definitely picture Mombi being arival student who takes an instant disliking to poor Oscar.

Youknow how back at Beacon, Cardin Winchester wasJaune’s adversary since his character alluded to the priest who I believedsentenced Joan of Arc to be executed. Well what if…at AtlasAcademy, Mombiwill be an Atlesian student who torments Oscar and tries to make him his slave similar to how Tip, the male persona of PrincessOzma, was the child slave for the Witch Mombi.

Inthe MarvellousLand of Oz, Mombi was a wannabe wizardress who was obsessed withobtaining magic despite not possessing any of her own. Perhaps, RWBY can alludeto this by having this Mombi character share the same obsession with magic ashis Oz counterpart and part of the reason why he takes a disliking to Oscar isbecause, Oscar knows more about magic than Mombi (being part magic himself) andends up embarrassing Mombi.

Dueto this, Mombi makes it his duty to make Oscar’s time at Atlas Academy a livingnightmare; even going so far as to use his transformative semblance to frameOscar for heinous crimes that put him at trouble with the school. At leastuntil his friends come to his aid. That’s one concept.

Youknow how back at Beacon, Cardin Winchester wasJaune’s adversary since his character alluded to the priest who I believedsentenced Joan of Arc to be executed. Well what if…at AtlasAcademy, Mombiwill be an Atlesian student who torments Oscar and tries to make him his slave similar to how Tip, the male persona of PrincessOzma, was the child slave for the Witch Mombi.

Inthe MarvellousLand of Oz, Mombi was a wannabe wizardress who was obsessed withobtaining magic despite not possessing any of her own. Perhaps, RWBY can alludeto this by having this Mombi character share the same obsession with magic ashis Oz counterpart and part of the reason why he takes a disliking to Oscar isbecause, Oscar knows more about magic than Mombi (being part magic himself) andends up embarrassing Mombi.

Dueto this, Mombi makes it his duty to make Oscar’s time at Atlas Academy a livingnightmare; even going so far as to use his transformative semblance to frameOscar for heinous crimes that put him at trouble with the school. At leastuntil his friends come to his aid. That’s one concept.

Eitherthat or…Mombiwill be one of Salem’s so-called followersbeyond Team WTCH that Qrow claimed to be back in V5. Y’know it’sweird. I find it heavily ironic that both Branwen Twins claimed that Salem andOzpin share followers outside of their close inner circles and yet we’ve seemexamples of neither following V5.

Upuntil this point, we’ve only seen the close members of Ozpin and Salem’ssanctions. At least with Oz, we know he technically has our young heroes whowere his former students. But as for Salem, apart from the Grimm and themembers of WTCH inclusive of Emerald and Mercury, who else serves Salem?

Whatother minions does she have under her grasps? It’d be interesting if Mombi ispotentially made to be another loyal servant of Salem who has wormed their wayinto being a professor of Atlas Academy teaching under Ironwood. That could be interesting.

Thisversion of Mombi, as a teacher could retain their fairytale counterpart’sobsession with magic. Perhaps thisversion of Mombi is someone who Salem promised power to, like Cinder Fall, ifthey served her loyally. Now that I think about it, Cinder is technically like Mombi.

WhileCinder is based loosely on Cinderella, her power-hungry nature and obsessionwith gaining more power by stealing it from other Maidens reminds me of Mombi from what I know of them, minus the connection toOscar. At least…notyet.  

IfMombi isn’t made into their own character for the Atlas Arc then I can totallysee the CRWBY Writers giving elements of her story to Cinder Fall to alsoestablish a connection between Cinder and Oscar which could eventually playinto their inevitable rematch. If Neo is to fight Ruby then picture Oscarfacing off against Cinder to avenge what she did to Ozpin?

Imagine what would happen ifCinder discovered that it was Ozpin who created the Maidens or that he stillpossesses magic himself. Imagine if…Cinder,knowing this detail, tries to finish what she failed to do by killing Oscar andstealing the rest of Ozma’s magic for herself. I’ve all for an Ozpin vs. Cinderrematch but with Oscar instead.

Imagine if…Cindershows her inner Mombi by kidnapping Oscar and using him as bait to lure out andtrap Ruby?

I like the idea of Oscar defeating Cinder Fall and taking back the magic fromher that was stolen from the past Fall Maiden. This will also tie into a curiosity I have about theMaiden magic. For centuries, the Wizards have remained distant fromthe Maidens. Ozpin said that the Maidens chose themselves which I now wonder ifthat was a choice the Wizards left up to them.

Thatbeing said, what would happen if a Maiden lost her power while a Wizard—itsoriginal vessel—was nearby? Would the magic return to Ozma, bestowing his successorwith the power he sacrificed?

Perhaps this will be how Oscar awakens his magical potential. Ozpin told the others in V5that his magic has been dwindling since he sacrificed a great deal of magic tocreate the Maidens during his lifetime as Isaac the Hermit.

Solet’s do some math here, shall we?

Let’s say, Ozma sacrificed 90% ofhis magic to create the original Four Maidens. That power was then dividedevenly amongst  each Maiden.

TheMaidens = 90% / 4 = 22.5 % magical strength per Maiden.

NoMaiden is magically stronger than the other because in terms of magicalstrength, they are all evenly matched. This would justify how Raven wasable to best Cinder during their match, not really on magical powers but moreso on experience and wit since magic-wise, Cinder and Raven were evenlymatched.

Soeach Maiden has been operating with an equal power of 22.5% magic while poorOzma and his wizarding successors after Isacc the Hermit hasonly been using 10% making the Maidens twice as strong as the Wizards.

Thiscould also justify how Ozpin wasn’t able to beat Cinder. While Ozpin has theexperience and the wit, he lacked the magical strength to go toe to toe withCinder and lost because of it. But…this is all just my speculation since wenever saw how that fight went down. Just the outcome.

Fall Maiden = 22.5 % magicalstrengthWinter Maiden = 22.5 magical strengthSummer Maiden = 22.5 % magicalstrengthSpring Maiden = 22.5 magical strength

Wizard (Ozmaincarnate) =10% magical strength

Thefour maidens combined will equal the amount of magic Ozma lost. However, what if…aMaiden were to be killed and instead of the magic going to another potentialMaiden, instead it returns to thecurrent incarnate of Ozma where the power originated from, i.e. Oscar Pine.

Rightnow, Oscar, like many of his Wizards before him, is working with only a smallpercentage of magic which he has yet to tap into for, I guess, plot reasonsand oh yeah, this thing called the Merge. But if a Maiden is killed and Oscargains the fraction of the power that was bestowed to that respective Maiden, thenthat would increase Oscar’s magical strength making him magically stronger than an average Maiden.

Let’s say, Oscar axes Cinder Fall during the Atlas Arcand the Fall Maiden magic returns to him tying into thetheory of what would happen if a Maiden dies while Oscar is within very closeproximity to the Maiden magic.

Oscar(Current Ozma Incarnate/Wizard of Light) = 10% + 22.5% = 32.5 % magical strengthWinter Maiden= 22.5% magical strengthSummer Maiden= 22.5% magical strengthSpring Maiden= 22.5magical strength

Combinedwith the Fall Maiden’s magic that Oscar/Ozpin can withdraw from Cinder, this inturn will give Oscar enough magical strength to be stronger than a Maiden inthe event that he ever has to fight one again.

Hewon’t be as powerful as Salem since she’s still operating at 100%. But let’snot forget the important detail. If it weren’t for Salem’s immortality, Ozma wouldhave killed her eons ago. As Diggs, Ozma bested Salem anddefeated her in their one on one dual.

What if…to defeat Salem, Oscargets the idea to revoke the Maidens of their magic, not by force but by another safer means so that hecan combat Salem one last time at full power, this time with Ruby’s aid.

If Ozma had the power to bestow the Maidens withmagic then perhaps Oscar via hisunlocked semblance will provide a wayto revoke the Maidens of their powers without necessarily needing to kill them.This fits into his character influence from Princess Ozma.

Perhaps…Oscar will come to see that it was a mistake of Ozma to create the Maidens and offers to taketheir powers away. After all, the Maiden magic belonged to Ozma and it should’ve been a power he shouldered alone.And…if my Pineheadheadcanon where Oscar is revealed to be the original form of Ozma reborn inModern Remnant then everything will comefull circle with both his soul and his magic returning to him in the modern new world.

Unfortunately atthe expense of other innocent people, such as the past Maidens and pastWizards. All the more reason why I can see Oscar coming to make this decision on his own in time.

Imagine if…both Ruby and Oscar workingtogether as one unit are vital to defeating Salem once and for all.When Ozma faced Salem years ago, he may have had the gods’ gift but he didn’thave the God of Light’s eyes. That went to the Silver Eyed Warriors and sinceRuby is technically the last one then…ifOscar a.k.a Ozma fought Salem again at full magical strength with the help of agirl who shares the eyes of the God of Light, would they succeed in killingSalem? Who knows? 

It’s all speculation fornow but dagnabbit, that’s a hunch I’m digging mighty fondly.

Pinocchio andGepetto

Well I already shared my favourite Gepetto and Pinocchioelements in this answer post that you can read right here.

Snow White and the Evil Queen

Hmm, honestly I don’t have much I can say to this section.However I will say this. The one element I can think off the top of my head isthe use of the huntsman.

In the Snow White fairy-tale, the evil queen ordered theHuntsman to kill Snow White so the huntsman lured Snow White into the forestwhere he had planned to axe her off. However after Snow White begged thehuntsman to spare her life, promising to flee into the forest, the huntsman doesspare Snow white, taking the heart of a wild animal back to the Queen as proofof him killing Snow White.

In the context of RWBY, what if…Whitley Schnee will play the roleof the huntsman in Weiss’ story? Since Jacques is constantly trying to getWeiss to return home so that she can resume being a prisoner of his patriarchalcage then perhaps this is how Jacques will utilize Whitley to get at Weiss. 

MaybeJacques will force Whitley to worm his way back into his sister’s life andeither manipulate Weiss or perhaps sabotage her relationships with her friends.

Similar to how the huntsmen was ordered to killSnow White, maybe Whitley’s orders will be to sever or ‘kill’ Weiss’ ties with the other heroes. After all, Weiss left home to forge her own path and on that path sheformed a better family dynamic with her friends and teammates which serves as part of herstrength and belief in herself.

Perhaps Whitley will attempt to ruin Weiss’bond with the other heroes as a means of forcing Weiss no choice but toreturn home when she feels like she has no one anymore. But just like thehuntsman, imagine if Whitley comes to understand Weiss’ reasoning for leavinghome and his experience and exposure to being with his sister (or sisters) andamong her band of friends will awaken a softer side to Whitley. So Whitley willend up being unsuccessful in bringing Weiss home. He might even be the one to bring to light and inform Weiss of their father’s secrets and crimes within the SDC. However Whitley’s potential role doesn’t stopjust there.

There is the part about the poison apple that’s supposed to kill Snow White but instead puts her into adeep sleep until a kiss from her prince wakes her up.

Perhaps Jacques will succeed in recapturing Weiss but it will be Whitley who either comes to Weiss’ aid with the help of Klein or maybe Whitley will inform Weiss’ friends of what happened to her to make amends for his actions at the influence of his father. That’s a way to redeem Whitley especially to the folks who are craving his redemption.  I know this isn’t really a well-established conceptbut this is the only thing I can think of at the moment.

Still, I hope it answers your anon-chan. Sorry for taking so longwith this response.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[thecomicsnexus]

THE GREAT DARKNESS SAGA LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #289-294 JULY - DECEMBER 1982 BY PAUL LEVITZ, KEITH GIFFEN, LARRY MAHLTSTEDT, BRUCE D. PATTERSON, CARMINE INFANTINO, CARL GAFFORD, HOWARD BENDER AND RODIN RODRIGUEZ

SYNOPSIS (FROM WIKIPEDIA AND DC DATABASE)

The Legion searches for its five members who are lost on an icy asteroid. Brainiac 5 and Element Lad attempt to cure Matter-Eater Lad's insanity, but fall victim to a renegade psychiatrist. 

Legion of Super-Heroes co-founder Cosmic Boy leads a group of Legionnaires to investigate attacks on the Museum of the Mystic Arts and the Tower of London, both located on Earth. Included in the squad is 20th-century member Superboy (the legendary Superman as a teenager) and the latest addition to the team—Jacques Foccart, the new Invisible Kid. At each site they are attacked by beings of great power, both of whom are shrouded in darkness and mention that they are servants of their "Master" who controls the "Great Darkness". Through the use of a teleportation warp, the beings escape with two stolen items: a mystical wand from the museum and the sword Excalibur from the Tower of London. When a third Servant attempts to steal the Orb of Orthanax from the Institute of Parapsychological Phenomena of Talok VIII, she is captured. However, a fourth Servant appears via another teleportation warp and absconds with the Orb. At his unknown base of operations, the Master absorbs the power contained within each of the stolen artifacts. The captured Servant is taken back to Legion headquarters. When she is brought in close proximity to Invisible Kid's younger sister Danielle Foccart, who has been possessed by the rogue artificial intelligence Computo, Danielle's brain activity spikes. In effect, the Servant causes the unconscious Computo to have a nightmare.

Through genetic testing, Mon-El and Dream Girl determine that the captured Servant is an inanimate "reverse-DNA" clone of Lydea Mallor, Shadow Lass' ancestor and a 20th-century heroine of Talok VIII. Meanwhile, on the planet Avalon, the fourth Servant frees the immensely powerful Mordru, the mightiest wizard in the universe and arguably the Legion's most powerful enemy. Just as Mordru is about to destroy the Servant, the Master appears and quickly defeats him. Shortly thereafter on the prison planet Takron-Galtos, the Legionnaires discover that the Time Trapper — another powerful Legion foe — has been drained of his cosmic time-manipulation abilities by the Master as well.

Dream Girl's precognitive abilities allow her to foresee the Servants attacking her sister, the sorceress known as the White Witch, on their homeworld Naltor. She and a squad of Legionnaires travel there and prevent one of the Servants from kidnapping the White Witch. During the attack, Invisible Kid seizes the opportunity to journey into one of the beings' teleportation warps and take the battle directly to the Master. He confronts the Master, who is amused by the notion that the young hero is presumptuous enough to confront him. The Master blasts him with energy beams from his eyes, and warps him back to Naltor. Having seen the Master's real face, Invisible Kid is frightened on such a fundamental level that a large stripe of his jet black hair turns white permanently.

In the midst of the crisis, the Legion holds its long-delayed election, choosing Dream Girl as its new leader. She leads a squad of Legionnaires to the Sorcerers' World, where they repel an attack by the Master and several of his Servants. Mon-El confronts the Master directly and immediately recognizes him, but is easily defeated. The Master then reads his mind, learning that Mon-El recognized him because of all that the Legionnaire witnessed during his many centuries in the Phantom Zone. Additionally, the Master learns of Mon-El's homeworld, Daxam. The sorcerers cast a spell intended to defend them against the Master, and they surprisingly conjure a humanoid baby. Meanwhile, on Earth, the three Legion founders (Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad) determine that two of the Servants are reverse-DNA clones of Superman and one of the Guardians of the Universe. Shocked that the Master is able to clone and harness the power of two of the mightiest beings in history, the founders send out a general alarm, calling all active and reserve Legionnaires to duty.

The Legionnaires manage to locate what turns out to be the Master's homeworld. Engaging the Servants in battle, Wildfire destroys the Guardian clone, while Element Lad exposes the Superman clone to gold kryptonite, allowing Timber Wolf to destroy him. Afterward, Brainiac 5 recognizes the Master’s homeworld, and is able to deduce his true identity. Meanwhile, the Master has travelled to Daxam. Having added the powers of Mordru, the Time Trapper and others to his own abilities, he transposes Daxam with his own homeworld. Consequently, Daxam's three billion natives each gain powers equal to those of Superman or Mon-El, and all of them fall under the thrall of the Master, who is determined to conquer the entire universe. At the villain's command, the Daxamites use their powers to physically reshape the planet until it has been sculpted in the image of the Master himself: the ancient New Gods tyrant, Darkseid.

Brainiac 5 is the only Legionnaire (other than Mon-El) with any knowledge of Darkseid or his homeworld, Apokolips. Once he briefs Dream Girl, she sends out a second general alarm to all of the Legion's super-powered allies, including Supergirl (who resides in the 20th century) and the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Throughout United Planets territory, the Kryptonian intelligence agent Dev-Em, the Heroes of Lallor, the Wanderers, the Substitute Heroes and the Legionnaires all struggle to hold back the onslaught of attacking Daxamites. On Takron-Galtos, a de-powered Chameleon Boy fends off an attack from a Daxamite child by using judo to toss him into a cell with Validus, the mysterious childlike creature who is the most powerful member of the Fatal Five.

As the humanoid child inexplicably ages at an accelerated rate, the White Witch casts a spell transporting the people on Daxam to Apokolips and vice versa. She is forcibly aided by a powerful unknown entity. When Darkseid tries to seize the child, the entity completes the aging process and reveals itself to be Darkseid's ancient enemy Izaya, Highfather of the New Gods from the planet New Genesis. Highfather transforms the last remaining Servant into a perfect clone of Darkseid’s son Orion, who is destined to someday destroy his father. Before fading into nothingness, Highfather summons Superboy and Supergirl to the battlefield above Apokolips, with his power allowing the Kryptonian cousins to maintain their abilities under a red sun. Darkseid destroys the Orion clone and sends Superboy back to the 20th century. He then becomes so preoccupied with battling Supergirl and the other Legionnaires that he loses mental control of the Daxamites, who begin to make their way toward the planet. Realizing that he cannot defeat three billion Daxamites, Darkseid concedes defeat and vanishes, taking Apokolips with him. As he departs, he declares that he has left the Legionnaires with the "curse of darkness" which will destroy them from within, promising "that which is purest of you shall be the first to go." In the aftermath of the crisis, the White Witch is inducted into the Legion, while Light Lass decides to quit.

REVIEW

This is perhaps the most famous Legion story, which doesn’t really speak well of the rest.

Perhaps at the time, having Darkseid in the future was unthinkable, but these days, we know he was involved in this saga, and even if you didn’t, the moment you pick up the trade, Darkseid is in the cover. That makes the “mystery” totally decompressed. We are hinted at the big reveal (that happens in the second to last issue) and in the meantime, we have the same fight over and over with Darkseid minions. Just in case you needed more clues, one of the minions is very recognizable as Orion.

I think they also cheated a little bit, making Boom tubes look different. For what I have read about the way Levitz used to write. His fight scenes were vaguely plotted, he was only interested in the soap opera plots. To be honest, I learned to skip most fight scenes in comics from 1941 to 1985. They just fill issues.

There are a couple of good things about this saga and I think those are the main reasons this story is so well remembered. One is Giffen and Mahltstedt style (Giffen would change his style later on). It actually fits the Kirby theme, but in the early issues, I can feel a George Perez vibe.

The other good thing is how these stories are starting to be less annoying. I don’t really want to talk shit about Levitz writing skills, because I know this was a tough job, and despite making mysteries last more than six months, he manages to have some kind individual story in each issue. Things like Lightning Lad being depressed and Chameleon Boy acting like a jerk lasted too long.

Another reason for the importance of this, is the surprise appearance of Darkseid. This was later parodied by Giffen itself in his Ambush Bug mini-series, where Darkseid would be revealed as the big bad in each issue. I can imagine that at the time, having the Legion fighting Darkseid was a big deal.

The reason I don’t think this is a great story is because it is very anti-climatic. Darkseid decides that he has been defeated and leaves. It doesn’t feel earned. And I know he leaves a curse on them, to be explored in the future, but that is a different arc.

All this aside, it actually brought some hope. Now that they know they can do great epic stories, perhaps they will continue doing so and I will find my greatest Legion story.

To do: Less repetition, simpler exposition, don’t plant mysteries to much ahead of the reveals.

I give this saga a score of 7

[zhanael]

@The RWBY FNDM

Fuck off with that “manipulation” bullshit in regards to Ozpin, thanks.  Rant under the cut.

First off, in case you didn’t play Grimm Eclipse, Oz actually doesn’t want anything to do with Grimm at all.  Dr. Merlot was experimenting with Grimm, mutating them, and was responsible for Mountain Glenn’s destruction, all of which Ozpin found disgusting and heinous.  He never sounded more angry with anyone than he did in that game with Merlot.  Suggesting that Ozpin manipulated Salem into experimenting with Grimm in any way and that’s why he’s “cursed” is flimsy and reaching at best and outright ignorant at worst.

(Yes, this is actually a “theory” I read.  Ugh.)

Second of all, immortality just by itself is a curse.  You live on, watching friends and family live and die, and you’re very, very alone.  But you still get attached because it’s what makes this immortality bearable, at least for a time.  Oz has it a little worse because he does die, but ends up resurrecting in someone else, still remembering literally everything, and actually absorbing that person.  It’s not that the gods themselves cursed him, it’s that he sees it as a curse.  I’m 100% sure that he doesn’t want to do this anymore, but he literally cannot stop it until he stops Salem.

And that’s the kicker, there.  Y’all keep wanting to blame him for shit Salem does.  He wouldn’t have to train warriors or make Maidens to throw at her if she wasn’t trying to destroy humanity (and faunus-kind).  That bitch started the war, and he’s trying to find ways to end it for good.  That’s the thing about war, kiddos.  It’s never bloodless.  People fucking die, and no, it’s not great, but what do you want him to do?  Salem and her Grimm want to kill everyone.  How the fuck do you expect him to fight that?  Walk up to her and give her a hug and tell her everything’s okay, that she doesn’t have to be this way anymore?

You people who blame Ozpin for Pyrrha’s death, saying he manipulated her or whatever, sound exactly like Hazel.  If I didn’t know better, I’d say Hazel was made as a portrayal of your portion of the FNDM (which I do know better, thankfully).  Pyrrha made her fucking choice, just as Gretchen did.  Pyrrha was a warrior with a heart of gold, ready to sacrifice herself for the greater good, Maiden or not.  Even if Ozpin hadn’t explained to her what was going on, if she hadn’t lost her life on the tower, she would have lost her life to Salem and her minions or her Grimm at some other time.  That wouldn’t have been Ozpin’s fault, but she would have died anyway, because she would have fought Salem--or at least her Grimm--and thrown herself in harm’s way for anyone else.

But since she did actually die after making her choice, let’s go over these circumstances of said death here.  First up: the world of Remnant as a whole.  Semblances are a thing, Grimm are a thing, Dust is a thing.  The supernatural isn’t uncommon.  But magic, the ability to manipulate reality in more ways than just one and without the use of Dust, is entirely unheard of anymore.  It’s lost to legends and fairy tales, much as it is in our own world.

So take a high school jock that’s still pretty nice and actually pretty smart.  Not nerdy by any means, but aware of pop culture, at least.  Then tell that jock that magic is real.  They’re not going to believe you at first, laugh you off.  But then other people they trust go “well...............yeah” and they’re going to start worrying.  “What do you mean?” they’ll ask. “Like, fireballs and shit?”

“Yes,” says the authorities they’ve grown to trust. “No special tools like lighters or flamethrowers.  From their hands, from nothing but the energy inside themselves.”

They’re probably going to start freaking out.  Like, a lot.  Their reality has been shattered.  Everything they thought was true could be a lie. 

There’s a show on Netflix called Magic for Humans.  Episode 5 featured a gimmick where the magician convinces a bunch of people to pretend the subject of his trick was completely invisible.  The show only featured two separate subjects.  Neither thought it was real at first, but when they came to realize that no one seemed to see them, their reactions changed.  The first bought into it pretty handily, even tried to steal some wine thinking he actually was invisible (lmfao at the Ring of Gyges actually proving right).  But the second was absolutely panicking and breaking down into tears, enough to make me wholly uncomfortable with the entire thing.  He believed he actually was invisible, and he hated it.  That’s how your average joe would react to magic.

And that’s how your average Remnant joe would react to magic.

It was revealed in Volume 5 that the Spring Maiden (before Raven) had panicked and fled.  The burden had become too much, Leo said.  She was scared, Raven said.  She was the dude who was turned invisible and she fucking hated it.

Given all that, why on earth would you people think putting all this shit up front would be at all helpful?  Why do you think Ozpin wants to scare off anyone who could take on this power when he’s already had it happen once?

Now, no.  Pyrrha was not your average Remnant joe.  She was strong, resourceful, and willing and able to learn.  I don’t think she would have freaked out, at least not that much, but you could hear how shaky her voice was when Glynda, Ironwood and Qrow confirmed that Ozpin wasn’t joking.  Even before she was given the actual choice, she was questioning everything she knew, and I’m sure Oz could see that.  I’m sure Oz could see another Spring coming on.

So he was going to take the slower approach with her, even despite the circumstances around Amber.  Surely he thought he had more time.  Even the choice he gave her was intended to be answered at the end of the Vytal Festival.  How long would that have been?  The Olympics, which is the closest real world comparison to the Vytal Festival, lasts 16 days, so just over two weeks.  We were probably close to halfway through the Festival when Oz called Pyrrha into his office, so that decision would have been given maybe a week, week and a half.  Not that long when it comes to a big decision like this, but certainly a lot longer than what she actually had.

Because the next day, Beacon fell.  And that wasn’t Ozpin’s fault.  That was Salem’s fault, and Cinder’s fault, and Emerald and Mercury’s fault.  That was Roman and Neo’s fault.  That was Adam and the Vale chapter of the White Fang’s fault.  Pyrrha saw what was happening, knew she had an opportunity to do good, to try to keep more people from being hurt, and she fucking took it.

If Cinder hadn’t ambushed Amber, she wouldn’t be in a coma.  If Amber hadn’t been in a coma, Ozpin would not have needed to seek out someone to take her on in an effort to keep the power out of Salem’s hands.  If Oz didn’t need to find a replacement Fall Maiden, he wouldn’t have called Pyrrha into his office.  If he hadn’t called Pyrrha into his office, she wouldn’t have known about magic or anything else.

But even if she hadn’t known about magic or anything else, if she had an opportunity to stop Cinder, she damn well would have taken it and died anyway.  Because that’s how Pyrrha do.

Yes, Ozpin appealed to her sense of justice and protectiveness.  But I don’t think that was unique to her, or to anyone.  I think that’s actually his own perspective.  He seeks out people who are willing to fight for humanity and protect it from the darkness, and tries to empower them to do so in any way he can.  But he hasn’t stopped being human (or faunus), despite being immortal.  He can still make mistakes.  Unfortunately, because this is war, those mistakes can be big ones, and cost lives.  Gretchen Reinart.  Summer Rose.  The second-most-recent Spring Maiden.

Pyrrha.

Their deaths burden him.  He’s exhausted, he doesn’t want to do this anymore.  The Wizard was him trying to escape it, or at least rest, just for a while.  But he can’t, quite literally, not while Salem is still around.  And now he’s stuck with a bunch of teenagers and one trusted friend, in the body of another teenager.  He no longer has the support he used to have--especially since Leo betrayed him.

Salem is winning.

And yet y’all want to think he’s the bad guy too, for doing what he can to stop her??

Right.  Okay.  What the fuck ever.

You people exhaust me.

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Vol. 5 "Dread in the Air"

This is a re-posting from Oct. 21st, 2017 in an effort to get all my recaps fully on tumblr. Thanks!

Seeing the intro for the first time as an intro in Episode 2 is always exciting, especially since RWBY has a history of hinting at things to come in their openings. Though it is a little reminiscent of an Instagram filter, I do enjoy the grainy texture given to each of the girls' introduction shots--a move from pure, bright coloring to a darker texture reflective of the show's darker themes. The fact that we have house shenanigans alongside a passing silhouette of Ozpin, an intense fight against a literally larger than life Salem while Ruby still finds reasons to smile... it's looking like Volume 5 is finding its balance.

Indeed, in the name of balance this is one of the rare episodes where Ruby never shows up. "Rare" doesn't even cover it really, considering that in previous episodes focusing on others she at least appeared in the background: attending class, cheering on her teammates in the tournament, etc. However, as the stakes and cast grow, we should expect more time to be devoted to the other players in this game. "Dread in the Air" pays particular attention to its villains.

Any lingering doubts about Lionheart's loyalty are laid to rest as Watts visits him personally, escorting him to one of Salem's jellyfish grimm that's... just hanging out in the middle of the school somewhere? Alright then. We see partly now why Lionheart got rid of all his security. Not easy to keep your duplicity a secret if you're housing stuff like that next to the broom closet. Regardless, it's clear that he's being threatened or blackmailed and is caving under that pressure pretty quick. For a long time the fandom considered Qrow/Tai/Ironwood/Ozpin as the scarecrow/cowardly lion/tin man/wizard representatives, but with the introduction of Lionheart as a cowardly figure and an obviously lion-ish look/name, we might eventually be getting a third school headmaster in need of a brain...

Now that jellyfish thing is certainly creepy--remember Mercury and Emerald's first reactions?--but here we get to see that even the creepiest grimm become a thousand times worse in Salem's hands. Lionheart makes the mistake of trying to order her around, telling Salem to hurry and get the Spring Maiden before Qrow does, and his outburst is rewarded by tentacles snapping out to choke him, one threatening to put out an eye. The fact that Salem can control her grimm from such a distance lends credence to the theory that she's the other "brother" from Qrow's story, capable of manipulating all her creations. Or at least she’s connected to them somehow. She is, in short, their god. Does that mean then Ozpin can do similar things with life as her opposite? Regardless, this moment also implies that these jellyfish grimm aren't inherently weird scroll replacements, but rather that this communication is an ability that Salem is bestowing on them. After all, we haven't seen any of the other creatures being used as tools yet.  

As Lionheart reports that he's found the Spring Maiden we learn that Cinder has finally recovered, at least enough to tell Watts to shut up and argue with Salem about murdering children. (Didn't you miss her?). I'm always pretty attuned to when people use names vs. epithets, and Cinder's move from "the silver eyed girl" to "Ruby" when she begs Salem to kill her shows just how personal this fight has become. Salem also warns Cinder that Ruby's powers--once she harnesses them--are a real threat to the Maiden's. Jury’s still out on whether that’s because of their magic or something else intrinsic to the Maidens. 

After Salem asks to speak with Tyrion (appearing highly displeased) and Watts is tasked with somehow getting him a new tail, we cut to Weiss where my reading of last's week's conflict (and Weiss' character) rings true. They are still near the ship that sent out the distress call and after another one crashes Weiss says enough is enough. She's going to help, "What we should have done in the first place." We're then treated to what are, in my humble opinion, the most god awful grimm to ever grace the RWBY screen.

Wasps.

Or lancers, as they're called, with stingers that act like grappling hooks--isn't that wonderful?

A lot of people have complained about the fight sequences since Monty's death, but there's still a wonderful wealth of creativity here. Flexible magic structures aside, from a purely fight standpoint I've always appreciated the ways that Weiss utilizes her glyphs, in this case to steady herself on a moving airship, shoot volleys at a number of moving targets, slow their descent, and lift an entire cargo hold of dust to turn it into a bomb. (Seriously... she can do anything with that semblance.) When that doesn’t work we get what we all knew was coming: that knight. For the first time we really get to see it in action and learn that these summoned creatures aren't just mindless minions, but rather avatars that Weiss can control. While she closes her eyes in concentration the knight fights with her style: using glyphs as launching points to attack, the exact move we first got in her trailer.

It's also worth noting Weiss' little smirk while they're getting attacked by freaking wasps that shoot spikes and have a queen that is impervious to dust. It doesn't matter how hard things get. Like Ruby, Weiss just loves the challenge.

Meanwhile RWBY is once again showing that they have a very iffy handle on race issues. People have voiced numerous grievances over the years, from the small (that the racism against faunus is never actually shown--Cardin doesn't count when he's a bully to everyone), to the large (turning the group demanding equality into one of the series' main villains is...not good.) These problems are even more overt with the introduction of Sienna Khan, a tiger faunus who is murdered after just a few minutes of screen time. Her opinion that attacking the schools "crosses a line" and her speech that she wants respect from the humans sets her apart from Adam's radicalism. Yet at the same time including "fear" in what she wants and the implication that she's only refraining from going to war because she might not win... it adds complexity to her motives, complexity that we rarely see in so short a scene. Not that it matters, considering Adam runs her through with his sword seconds later. The fact that Sienna is one of the very few PoCs in RWBY (and a woman to boot) just makes her sudden death all the more cringe-worthy. It wasn't impactful and it hardly seemed necessary. Was I really the only one who thought Adam was already in charge of the White Fang? RWBY's wiki assures me Salem mentioned Sienna once, but it was hardly emphasized. Her loss of power means little when at least some of us didn't realize she had that power to begin with.

Admittedly some fans are already theorizing that Sienna survived (A single stabbing couldn't kill her, right? What's her semblance? Where’s her aura? They didn't have to mention that burial...) but we'll have to wait to find out if Sienna pops back up and spills some blood when they try to put her in the ground. For now Adam lounges on the throne, dreaming of the humans serving him, and Hazel laments that, "Nobody needed to die today." Despite my interest in Hazel and his connection to Oscar, I can't overlook the fact that this is two white men seizing power (and the scene) through violence. It's apt, but not exactly refreshing.

Luckily we don't end with these two. Poor Weiss takes a beating in that crash and the final scene is her waking up, begging two shady-looking men for help. Who should walk over then but Raven. See? Groups are already coming together! Just... not how we wanted.

First the Spring Maiden and now the (former) Schnee heiress. Raven sure does like kidnapping important young women. Sadly we'll have to wait until next week to see how Weiss gets out of this one.

Until then,

<3

Other Details of Note

Watts - "A little birdie told us." You're hilarious, asshole. Please stick around.

Nice change in audio as Salem speaks through the grimm. Her voice echoes a great deal, making her appear even more powerful and threatening than usual.

I appreciated the pilot's skill helping to save Weiss' ass. It's incredibly rare for us to see non-Huntsmen making a difference in combat.

We learn that the White Fang will execute its members if needed. They're no longer just an "activist" organization, but truly creating their own government and rule. Salem is, in many ways, no longer the biggest threat.

Can't help but think that Adam's choice to blame Sienna's death on a human huntsmen will cause serious trouble down the road (as is his intention). The kingdoms are already divided on the huntsman's place within society and having the White Fang hyper-focused on them (as an embodiment of the worst of humanity) certainly won't help.

[kurtty-drabbles]

Love is all you need au (story time)

N/A: So, I´ve this idea for making evil wizard Kurt and Kitty bonding ...it´s a cute scene to highlight that Kurt is not a great detective and to show Kitty he is not 24/7 evil all the time.

@djinmer4 @dannybagpipesarecalling

In the green gardens, where it´s an eternal spring despite Lorna affirming is the opposite the 4 women are relaxing, a commodity that is far too precious in the harem, as today the Evil Wizard is not in the house, conquering or whoring himself out, no one cares for the details right now, Lorna and Rachel enjoy the few moments of peace.

"So, how long this harem exist?" Kitty dares to ask as the question was looming over her mind lately, she never heard about this harem, however, there are many things she filters along the years.

"Don´t know and don´t care," Rachel replied and Kitty takes this as an answer. Lorna looking at the clouds have the misfortune to mention Genosha and that almost make the woman cry.

"I still miss my family" Lorna speaks up after cleaning her eyes, to make sure no tears will fall today, Kitty offers comfort as the best she can, the temple is the closest thing she has as a family.

"Thank you, Kitty, but I don´t think a temple is the same thing as my family, I want to go home..."Lorna speaks in defeat "but I know it won´t happen for a time now" noticing how Kitty is confused(but won´t dare to ask "is your story, you decide if you want to tell or not") Lorna has no problem in sharing "Father made a deal with the necromancer, the payment, however, was something lost in translation as he wanted one of us to be in his stupid harem, Wanda, my big sister, once sleep with him many, many years ago and let´s say she does not wish to repeat the experience, even now as she is married and has children, so, I take her place" Lorna make a disgusting face.

"That´s was very brave of you, Lorna" Kitty replied nicely and Lorna offers a weak smile.

"Don´t think too fond of me, maybe I had my selfish reasons too, I wanted to show Wanda I can be more than little Lorna, the little girl she always has to protect, and maybe I just want a way out of my father...Talia, if she could would accept any means to leave" noticing the stares the woman explain herself "Talia is the product of one night stand, just like me, sadly, Talia is his daughter and being his daughter gets little favours, funny, now I can see why me and Talia get along so well" Lorna finish her tale and Kitty merely thank her for sharing her story, she can´t offer advice on a subject she does not know well.

Rachel hugs Kitty like a teddy bear and rests her face on Kitty´s shoulder and speaks free of judgment her own story.

"To sum up, father asked for this monster´s help, a warlock was causing trouble along with his followers, and only him could help, sadly the monster pretends to have a soul to care for the children he slaughter...the warlock was using children as soldiers and the monster didn´t share a tears as he finishes them off" Rachel cuddles with Kitty as she finishes the tale "bottom line, the vindicative asshole put me here with an expensive fee to pay ...I´ll die here" Rachel explained sadly.

"Ray, I´m a healer of Zaorva, I may not understand the harem´s rules or politics" Lorna and Rachel agree with this by chuckle" but I promise to do something to help" Rachel thanks her but it does not seem she truly believes.

"Zaorva is that powerful, but she won´t interfere in the politic affair´s of humans ...or shiars" Cerise speaks dryly "is my turn to tell my tale? Ok, I was a soldier to Queen Lilandra, but, when her evil brother take the throne and a civil war begins, I ended up here...needless to say, people aren´t very fond of me and King Magneto" a pointy look to Lorna was spotted " order me to go to jail"

"Of course, that´s not what happened, Kurt...found me and offer me a trade, I would fight in his army and in exchange I would stay here, unharmed" Cerise continues and Kitty listen to very closely "it wasn´t bad, he didn´t send me to kill children or anything like that, in fact, he would just send me to make sure one of his students is doing alright" she gave a small smile "one day, he offers me to show about the date thing, I have no idea what this was all about so...I accept "Kitty didn´t like this and make this perfectly clear" sex was nice and all but I didn´t like as much he did, in fact, I could spend the rest of my life without sex...him, however, can´t. Kurt let me stay here promising that King Magneto won´t bother me"

"Cerise!" Kitty asked as the older woman(a joke at this point) looks at Kitty with a tender smile "I´m fine Kitty, it could have been much worse, I know what people want to do with a shiar refugee and in all honesty, as much Kurt is an idiot and I want to punch him, I must thank him, being here is much better than staying outside"

"He is a not nice person" Kitty offers and Rachel speak a more colourful language to describe him follow by "He is a monster"

"NO" Lorna replied shocking the others "if I acknowledge he´s a monster, I´ll have to acknowledge my own father is one too, I´m not ready for that"

"we understand" offers Kitty and Rachel. The day continues without any more discussions as Kitty tell them about the time Kurt take her to that boring festival making Kymri and Mara hate her "Kiddo, I think those two will form an anti-Kitty in hopes to get Kurt all for themselves" Rachel replied and the others laugh even Kitty.

Certainly, Kurt didn´t take her on purpose, and soon enough, will go back to his adoring fans. Right?

___________________________________________

Kitty opens her door and saw a bamf waiting for her, the little thing was giggling at her and Kitty only frown at her, certainly, Kurt and his minions still thought it was hilarious that Kitty really thought the bamfs are his children.

"He can´t laugh at me for that, I mean, you resemble him so much, except you´re way fluffier than him" Kitty hissed at the creature who still giggles and makes a notion to Kitty to follow him. "Hey, wait for you me, you little fuzzy thing" Kitty calls and the bamf is already miles away from her and Kitty follows phasing through walls when necessary.

The little bamf waves to Kitty and gesture for her to enter the room, his room, and Kitty gulp louder, does he wants...now? Well, what if she got pregnant? it will destroy the order of the harem. Kid Gladiator is already the new ruler of Kaledom and Talia ...is in Genosha, so, there´s no more need for heirs, right?

(stories of how depraved some necromancers can be a dance in her mind, all the while making her remember that Warlock, however, Kitty is no longer a small and hopeless little girl anymore)

Ok, think for this angle, if he wanted to do something kinky, you can scary him by knowing way more kinky stuff than him or asking to not do it tonight,  I´m not sure if I really want to sleep with him or not. Is my choice not his.

Kitty enters in the room with her eyes closed and already has a speech ready "Kurt, Stay dressed what you think is going to happen, won´t happen" Kitty speak up and now slowly open her eyes to see Kurt reading his book.

" Are we going to have sex? Well, I´m all aboard, let me close the book first" Kurt smiles amused and the little bamf is giggling at her as Kitty pouts at him. " he bring you here for a reason and as fun your idea sounds, we won´t have sex tonight, unless...you want it" Kitty blushes and shakes her head saying she is not ready yet.

"I understand, your virginity..."Kurt tries to speak but Kitty stops him right here and there.

"No virginity, my consent, elf, I´m not 100% sure if I want to sleep with an evil wizard, however, another myth I want to debunk with you, zaorvianos enjoy sex as much anyone else, we even have orgies"Kitty now smiles in front at his reaction "sex is something sacred, as long the persons involved consent, Zaorva has no problem in letting us explore our sexuality" Kitty explained almost laughing "so, no, elf, I´m not a virgin healer waiting for my man or woman, got it?" now she laughs and the necromancer compose himself and speaks again.

"Got it, later, let´s talk about the myths of Zaorva, does she has a bad healer?" the question was made as a joke but Kitty answer anyway.

"Yes, Dr Sinister, an evil wizard, however, he too works under Zaorva and never dares to break her rules, but he´s an inferior healer compared to me and the others" Kitty now puts a finger on her lips thinking about the last time she saw Dr Sinister "the man does seem to be crazy over Scott Summers"

Kurt Wagner is in silence pondering the information until he closes the book.

"That´s good to know" his tone is low as the bamfs bring a new book "however, enough of myths, you told me in the party you know a better story than in that play, carry to show me?" Kurt asked like a petulant child and Kitty almost laugh, the evil wizard wants to hear a story from her? Ok.

Kitty would sit in the chair next to him, that´s was her goal, but, the bamfs have another idea as she is now on his lap. Sighing loudly, the woman just herself to tell the tale. Kurt does not seem to mind the new situation.

"Ok, this is an old story of Galadon" Kurt is surprised for a moment as Galadon was destroyed way prior to Kitty´s existence, but, stories are immortals so maybe is not that surprising "once upon a time, there´s a woman with a magical mirror, the woman was a queen, a powerful witch and slaved by the mirror"

"Oh, I'm hooked already, I love magical mirrors" Kurt declares excitedly.

"One day, the mirror declares a woman from a village is prettier than her and would ascend to her throne and take everything away from her, of course, the evil witch didn´t accept this and as a slave of the mirror did what was instructed to kill the woman, a woman named Branca" Kurt didn´t understand what the name Branca means and Kitty only giggles at his expression.

"At first, the evil witch throw a spell that petrified everyone in the village, however, it missed Branca" Kitty told and Kurt makes some quips about how to really petrify someone "on her desperate crusade against Branca, the woman sells her soul to the entity of the mirror in exchange of power, the woman becomes a dragon as big and powerful as it can be...only to be a big target for a brave prince who killed the dragon"Kitty make a sad face but continues "but that´s not the end of the story, you see, the brave prince falls for the lovely Branca, as the evil witch has a brother that vows to get his revenge on the mirror and on the lovely Branca"

"The brother was...a necromancer" the word was spoken carefully and Kurt is paying attention. A tale about a brave young woman in the search of a heal for the people turned into stone, a brave prince that need to learn how to accept help and a necromancer that did have a heart in the end.

"So, the brave Branca kissed the check of the necromancer and the brave prince and speak ''you make me the famous princess, even though, I´m nothing but a mere village girl in my heart, however, I do not need to follow the rules and neither does you two, I now know who I´m and after this journey I´m ready to go back to my family, I´ve many things to do to decide which role I should be, in the end, I rather choose myself,'' the prince and the necromancer are understanding of her words and didn´t cause a brawl, as Branca heads back home to where her family is waiting, she is no longer the mere pretty face, this time, she knows who she is and is happy with her virtues and flaws, she is Branca, she is human" Kitty finishes the story. The bamfs seem to have loved it and are clapping hands, however, Kurt is in a deep thinking mood.

"She...didn´t choose the prince nor the necromancer?" Kurt´s golden eyes are on Kitty´s doe ones. "That...is an ending I never would guess, you´re right, is a much better story than in the play of that festival..."Kurt trails off and asks slowly "do you think she could have chosen the necromancer?"

"Yes, of course, she does have a soft spot for him and the prince, the necromancer has good qualities as bad, but, I don´t think Branca wanted a relationship at the moment" then she adds "But I think is possible for her to love the Necromancer, no, I think is possible for her to want to see more of him, and no, I´m not saying this because you´re a necromancer yourself, I just think is possible, he really loves her and she does feel something for him...however, as I told you, at moment, she wasn´t interested in a relationship"

"...I like your story, do you have another?" Kurt asked and Kitty nods happily "then tell away, wait" Kurt now adjust their position as Kitty begins her new tale, what a surprise this time it has a necromancer as a protagonist.

Kitty only leave his room by the next day, she ended up sleeping in a couch Kurt conjure and has the distant feeling someone kissed her forehead, as she leaves the room his fan club was not happy to know Kitty spend the entire night with him.

[tornrose24]

I remember how someone on here once joked about CU singing ‘Popular’ to Krupp like in Wicked... Hmm... a Wicked AU, or a Wizard of Oz AU ? ... Ah heck, why not combine both?

What would I call it to make life easier…. cu oz/wicked au?

(Also, I tried to present optional possibilities for both the Egg Casserole fans and the Kruppants fans in the Wicked section. Mainly because I’m very aware just how popular the ElphabaxGlinda ship is and I want to offer that possibility to those who will take over their parts too).

George and Harold: Both share the role of Dorothy. I’d imagine they came from either an 1930’s or 1990’s era Piqua when a tornado suddenly took them to a land beyond the rainbow. As strange and fun as Oz is, they know that they need to get back home as soon as possible... especially considering the fact Heidi hid with them during the storm. Instead of ruby slippers, they end up with a pair of bands that contain powerful magic.

Heidi: Ended up with the role of Toto and carries a dog plushie with her to symbolize that. Both George and Harold (but especially Harold) are protective of her when things get out of hand, but she’s also a lot tougher than she looks.

CU: Glinda–oh come on, you knew where this was going. He helps the boys and Heidi out, but he can’t join them because he has other matters to attend to, though that won’t stop him from helping however he can... just don’t trust him to give you proper directions on where you need to go. Also three words: Sparkly cape and underpants. You’re welcome.

Krupp: The Wicked Witch.... yup, I forced him into an antagonist’s role yet again. On one hand it’s because he has to be and because it’s funny. On the other it makes sense when... well, I’ll elaborate more on the Wicked portion of the AU.

???: The scarecrow. Note that revealing the identity of who I chose for the role will spoil a major story element from Wicked. If you don’t want the musical to be spoiled, don’t read the Wicked AU section down below. if you are ok with learning about the spoiler, you can click the keep reading link down below.

Kipper: The Tin Man. I know it’s an odd choice, but he always had that key and he’s someone who could learn to grow a heart. Otherwise I’d be open to Melvin in this role instead. My reason for this choice also ties to how the Wicked section comes into play.

Tommy: The cowardly lion. Ah come on, you know how that kid acts when he sees Krupp and he seems right for the role. He could get braver the longer he’s with the little group.

Melvin: The lead flying monkey (or, as Wicked fans might recall, Chistery). Or else he’d invent a flying machine that has that name. His family is in service to Krupp due to something he did for them in the past. I wouldn’t mind if someone thinks Kipper would be a better fit for this role instead, but I have my reasons.

Poopypants: The wizard. Yup, I had to go there. He just seems like a good fit.

Ok, so how does the Wicked storyline tie into the Oz AU? Click the keep reading tab for how certain roles get expanded.

Krupp: So I can see him having VERY loose similarities to Elphaba. He might of had a not so easy life due to having the same skin condition she had (and we throw in the fangs and freakish strength for the heck of it because, believe it or not, Elphaba actually HAD sharp teeth when she was an infant in the book, so this could work) OR alternatively he looks normal until his negative emotions get the best of him and changes his appearance (like what happened to the Witch in Once upon a Time) OR neither one–his temper always got in the way and he wasn’t good with making friends. In this AU’s equivalent of Shiz, he was working on getting his Masters in Education, but him having magic also caught the interest of a few staff members who wanted him to develop his powers and work for the Wizard one day. There was a time where, despite having a quick temper and being hasty, he genuinely wanted to teach kids and be someone who could be there for them when it seemed that others would not. A discovery of a plot by the Wizard lead to him being framed as a villain, forcing him to be on the run. A series of events and misunderstandings would gradually harden his heart and he’d allow himself to embrace what everyone made him out to be. (Also, I REALLY want to hear Ed Helms sing Defying Gravity right now.)

CU: Would be Glinda for obvious reasons, but much nicer and a bit more ditzier even at the very beginning. About the same age as Krupp, but it took him longer to get to the University because he’s not very book smart. CU is more interested in magic than Krupp is at first, but wants to use such powers to help those who aren’t as fortunate. He gets on Krupp’s nerves and his a lot more popular than him, but an act of kindness brought them together and for awhile they were genuinely good friends who helped support each other. (If you wanted to go the Kruppants route, they harbored feelings for each other, but CU was more open about it). Unfortunately upon also discovering the plot of the Wizard, CU chose to stay behind instead of go with Krupp to see if he could undo the damage and clear his friend’s name. Upon graduating, he began to work solo to fulfill his own goals, though the Wizard and his minions have been keeping a close eye on him. He keeps Krupp from taking the bands from the boys because he was afraid of what would happen if Krupp had too much power, but he failed to realize what the Wizard would force the boys to do until it was almost too late.

Jasper: Nessarose, of course, but he doesn’t have either of the birth defects she has in the book or musical. He was in Shiz University for about a year or two when Krupp was getting his Masters and by this point he met his future wife. Because of his kind nature/ being born normal, he was more well loved in his family than Krupp was, though he idolized his brother and refused to believe that he was as evil as he was made out to be. Unfortunately, there was a tragic incident that would end the brotherly love. Many years after Krupp was declared a villain, he came back to his brother for help to try to end the Wizard’s reign. While it was a heartfelt reunion at first, Kipper (whose his usual spoiled, not-so-pleasant self at the time) came upon his uncle’s spell book and decided to mess around with it, and as a consequence accidentally casted a spell on himself that turned him into a metallic being. Krupp was unable to undo the spell before Kipper ran away and his brother threw him out in anger. There was never a chance to reconnect and Jasper was too angry to give Krupp the bands that could have aided him.

Edith: Fiyero, except maybe she’s a tad closer to the book version, but still a member of the main ruling family of the west. THIS was why I didn’t want to reveal the identity of the scarecrow at first. I estimate that she’s about 10-15 years younger than Krupp, so when she was invited to Shiz University for a few weeks (her family had ties to the school, since they want to send future rulers to the best schools) she was between ages 10 to 15 when she met Krupp, who was encouraged to tutor her to boost his resume. She wasn’t as book smart as her family, but the two developed an unlikely friendship, especially since she saw past his exterior. They’d meet again many years later when Edith was forced into an engagement with one of the Wizard’s minions, which neither her or her family wanted since they were against him, but they had no choice if they wanted to keep his control away from the west. (Yeah, so she’s not engaged to CU like in the musical because I doubt the circumstances would have been the same). Krupp was able to get her out of it in exchange for her family’s aid and while the two were surprised to see each other again, their old friendship resumed once more (and, if you want to go the Egg Casserole route, it of course grew into something much more than what either of them were ready for). Sadly, in an attempt to protect Krupp, Edith was captured by the Wizard’s guards when her family was overthrown. Their torture left her with burn scars on her hands, no memories of her life, and an extreme phobia of fire for reasons she can’t understand. She’d eventually come across a group of children just trying to get home and would join them in hopes of recovering her own memories. Unfortunately, Krupp was left with the idea that she had been killed and it was one of the final turning points to make him embrace the evil person everyone made him out to be.

Ribble: She seems perfect for Madam Morrible, though with less of the fake motherly-ness. She was the one who kept an eye on both Krupp and CU (and didn’t really expect much out of CU due to his seemingly idiotic nature) at the University and let the Wizard know about them.

Poopypants: Ok, so I said he’d be the Wizard, but unlike the musical, he’s NOT Krupp’s biological dad (Oh dear lord would that be odd. Though, if you want the green skin route, Krupp’s mom could have agreed to an experimentation for some extra money that involving drinking the miracle elixir). He wants to go through with his plan to annihilate laughter and/or make a ray that’ll make children prone to becoming violent to keep people from knowing that he’s not actually magical... as well as what his real name is, because you KNOW that wouldn’t be good for a ruler. When Krupp destroys everything, he opts to frame Krupp as someone out to ruin him and take over Oz with evil intentions to keep that attention on something else.

Anyway, it was something I did just for fun. As usual, I don’t mind sharing ideas with anyone else who is interested (though knowing me, I’d be more into developing the version that has Egg Casserole in it. I can do my best with the Kruppants one, even if I’m not a huge fan of it myself).

[jaku-the-askblog]

Aku Headcanon: Powers/Origin

((so im gunna geek out a little bit here about my personal ideas of Aku’s powers/what exactly he is and how that ties into the series, ok? Ok

Prepare for the long haul on this one guys

(Small disclaimer: this isnt a scientific/psychological thing, and im pretty sure this ain’t even close to what Genndy wanted to be canon. These are my ideas, pertaining to the askblog and a certain fic universe, based on canon, of my Aku. Lets move on)

I. So what is Aku according to Abby?

Firstly, despite whatever canonically or fanon-wise in my own series’ Jack and Aku himself (and others) call him, Aku isn’t a demon/wizard/etc. We already know, pretty much canonically, that Aku is one of a kind. Which means beings like Demongo, his minions, others, aren’t even close to what Aku is.

^A babby Aku leaves his nest to fend for himself in the harsh and unforgiving wild

Unless you wanna go on the theory that Aku’s minions are also him but lets not right now

I refuse to accept that Aku is “pure evil” unless you want to get into moral debate and the theories on what constitutes “evil,” because perhaps in the perspective of that universe he is the Worst Evil Ever but comparatively to our own world and especially my own perspective he really...isn’t. Which isn’t to say he’s done downright vile and awful and evil things, because he really has! He’s just not “pure evil.” I firmly believe that it’s just what we’re being fed, because all that we know about Aku is really from the perspective of other characters (ie, Jack’s father being the one that created Aku and immediately assuming that he’s something to be destroyed). And Aku seems to run with this because, realistically, it’s all he’s ever known/tried.

(I have additional input on Aku’s birth and his “starting” personality, but I will save that for another time)

(“But the gods said—” you start.

“FUCK the gods,” I spit back, punching Odin in his remaining eye, “Theyre fuckin useless as shit anyway”)

HOWEVER, I think Aku is something more like a conscious controlling what’s essentially pure magic from that universe in physical form, with magic being like a manipulatable energy source according to that universe’s rules. I think that, much like in the Avatar (the animated series not the atrocious live action one) series, the way this magic/energy can be used varies from person to person, from being to being. And a being like Aku, who’s made up of the stuff, is going to inherently be more powerful and more versatile than anyone else that just uses magic but wasn’t born from it. AND his magic is more wild and free and flexible than the contained/inherited forms of it that other mortals have.

And from there it only gets more fun.

You see, we never really hear/see Aku mention his time spent as the Black Goop, which likely infers he either couldn’t form into something that could speak/move around or he just doesn’t remember in the way a human might. Either way means he had no control over himself. Which only feeds my theory that Aku’s just a brain constantly controlling what are really just mindless drones with power to do his bidding much like his/the entity’s former shape.

I also theorize that, if he didn’t have the same kind of consciousness, the Black Goop was absorbing anyone/thing that came into contact because that was the only thing the mindless, physical manifest of magic knew to do. It can’t think to express itself! It can’t think to grow legs and walk around!

But on the other hand, if he was...some kind of mind in there, but couldn’t form into a shape, perhaps he was latching onto living things, trying to learn about them, trying to find some form of escape. I haven’t worked out which he was in the goop form as of yet, but either works really.

I do think that’s why the gods were trying to destroy the entity, because they knew that if it started wandering around the universe in a semi-tangible form, especially with the power it originally had, wild and free, then it would cause effortless and wide-spread chaos.

And somehow Jack’s father’s fire gave him/the magic the power to form a brain, buuuut it has its limitations from Aku.

Let’s take a closer look.

II. Aku’s Essence vs Aku Infection

In episodes like the Ultrabots, the final episode, and even in the comics, we see that when Aku has his essence control/power others, he retains some level of control over the individual to do his bidding. They also sometimes gain his powers, but I think that’s also under his control.

So what’s the difference between this and the Aku Infection?

I don’t think Aku knew about Jack getting infected. And instead, Jack was the one that made himself into Aku.

This really boils down to semantics and me wanting to go completely off my rocker here, so bear with me.

^Accurate depiction of abby now

First, though it is typical of Aku, we never see him attempt this again. If you want to include the IDW comics, he doesn’t even consider it in issue 10. Instead, he uses his time in Jack’s mind to eat his memories.

HOWEVER within the episode itself, we see an interesting progression of things:

Jack steals jewels from the explorers without realizing it

Argues with himself (!!) about rescuing a stranded sightseer and the reward if he does so (which he demands for money) yet doesn’t seem to notice the fact he’s doing so

Begins to feel irritated and twitchy as well as itchy (likely as his skin changes)

STILL SOMEHOW FAILS TO NOTICE HIS BODY CHANGING

Begins to speak/look more like Aku as time goes on

(Also, a minor, tiny detail but: no beard. Hmmmmm)

NOW let’s consider something here: normally Aku controls his essence to do as he wishes. In fact, he typically immediately controls his subjects. But Aku wasn’t in good shape when we see him first in this episode, nor is his state brought up again.

What (or shall I say who) is typically on the forefront of Jack’s mind, and he associates with darkness?

Thaaat’s right! Aku!

^This is what happens when you jack off too often kids

So I think, at this point, however subconsciously, Aku’s essence/that magic latched onto what Jack associated with that start of darkness and became what he thought it would be.

It became his idea of Aku. And it simply ran with it, because that is the first and most powerful thing Jack thought of. After all, Jack has no experience in controlling magic, and especially not one as powerful as Aku’s. And that magic, now detached from the main consciousness, is basically just trying to find it’s way out in him, so it was mindlessly searching for the easiest way to be “expressed.”

By examining Jack-Aku’s behavior and wording more closely, I’d like to point out something. Right after Jack FINALLY realizes what’s happening, we have this exchange:

Jack: “This cannot be happening!”

“Aku:” “Oh yes it can!”

Jack: “Must…keep…control!”

“Aku:” “Yeah! Gotta get a grip.”

Jack: “Need help. The monks—!”

“Aku:” “I got to find those accursed monks!”

Now, does this actually sound like something Aku would say, or like someone who’s imitating Aku would say?

Hm. Let’s look at another example.

It’s close, I’ll give Jack-Aku that! But it’s a little…too close. Again, like someone’s doing an impression of Aku.

It is close to things Aku has said before, but it still feels just off to me.

Jack-Aku certainly fights a little differently, but there’s still more touches of Jack than Aku in there. Sure his swings are more brutal, but then there’s stuff like this:

^SUPERHERO LANDING

That doesn’t look like an Aku pose to me. That’s a Jack one.

Now I do realize, as I said, most of this is just semantics and most of it could be explained away with “Aku was just fucking with Jack.” But I dunno, that just seems like it’s not what’s really going on, especially since we don’t see the original Aku trying to control Jack, much like how we got a hint of that in the Ultrabots and even in Mad Jack.

Interestingly, season 5 seems to support this!

You see, I think the priestess wanted to bear Aku’s children, so that’s what his magic did for her. There was probably something in her head that thought seven was a good number, so that’s what happened for her. As for why the essence didn’t overwhelm Ashi and her sisters before, I suspect that it became combined with their DNA in order to sustain them (as the priestess wished; at least until they “lived” until she was done with them) and became dormant until Aku “reactivated” it.

And then, Ashi is initially overwhelmed by Aku’s essence, but once she takes it for her own—

^THATS MY GIRL

It becomes her own. She’s owning Aku’s powers, Aku’s essence, Aku’s magic for her own use. It becomes what she wants it to be.

Jack never did that because he never took it. He allowed himself to be overwhelmed by it, letting it do it’s own thing inside him, and it nearly transformed him into his own Grand Theft Me nightmare.

III. Aku’s Powers (and the actual powers of the sword)

Ok ok, so what does this all have to do with Aku’s powers? Well, like I mentioned earlier, Aku is made up of pure energy that can be made into (almost) anything he wants to do with it.

“So why doesn’t he just do _ to kill Jack?!?!?!”

That’s actually quite simple: Because Aku has no idea what he is either.

^Aku voice: AWHUA

He has literally no frame of reference, no concept or comparison. All he’s ever really gotten is from others, who call him “evil,” “demon,” “wizard,” etc. He knows he’s more powerful than any being in the mortal world, but he doesn’t know how or why. He simply is.

(This feeds back into that linked post from the beginning about Aku being something of a narcissist, because he makes himself into whatever others think of him in order to be “accepted.” But I have more words on that idea at a later point when I can get all these thoughts about his powers out of the way, though I firmly emphasize that I’m not even close to a major in psychology so I’m not fit to diagnose him with anything, really. This is all just for funsies)

It’s how I explain his ability to pop random powers out without notice or mention of them again, ie creating a dark clone of Jack, encasing a living man in stone while also making him immortal?, telepathically manipulating objects from afar, RAISING THE FUCKING DEAD, etc etc. He knows he has tremendous powers, but does he explore their limits? Find out what all he can do? No! And why would he, if he’s already immortal and immune to everything? He only seeks out to use these powers like that when it conveniences him.

And yea, that would be his own fault. But it’s his life, and he’ll do as he pleases.

Now, let’s get to the sword.

It’s heavily implied (if not outright stated) that the sword is made from Jack’s father’s spirit/soul. The gods insist that only the strength of such a thing, combined with the virtue of “human righteousness” can destroy Aku. This is where they say he’s a “force of ultimate evil” and all that, but I already don’t like that the gods are entrusting this “duty,” which they started but didn’t finish, onto a mortal. Mighty suspicious.

So how exactly does the sword work if Aku isn’t made of evil, but instead pure magic? Easy. The sword destroys that magic from Aku’s physical form. It’s literally cutting away his control and his power, in a harsher and far worse way than if Aku were to be using his energy on his own. And the gods basically made a soul contract with Jack’s father to give it that power without there being serious repercussions on the wielder of the weapon. Because technically destroying a magic/energy like that should totally backfire and act more like splitting an atom than a cool firey-burning effect.

^( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

So Aku and his powers are in a constant state of decay-recovery, because he’s using his own body to do all these powers and abilities, but the sword speeds up the decay process faster than Aku can recover. And yes, Aku using massive amounts of magic quickly with little or no recovery period would do a similar thing, but the sword will always take longer and threaten to do more permanent damage for that than Aku using his magic himself, because it destroys instead of frees. And since magic is energy, Aku recovers through time and reabsorption of magic from…well, anything. Typically just the energy of the universe, I suppose.

So why couldn’t/didn’t Jack’s father destroy Aku the first time?

Because he didn’t make a final strike. Instead he allowed even the smallest sliver of Aku to persist. And if you do that, then you give Aku ability to reform.

(“But what about in season five when—“ you try again.

“It was bullshit and you know it,” I say as I firmly curb-stomp that “final fight” scene.)

So why did Aku get turned into a tree and was imprisoned?

….Yeah I haven’t worked that one out yet either, I’ll give you that. I’m thinking it may have something to do with cutting away so much of Aku that his mind is locked away and stripped of its power over his body, but I haven’t worked out all the fine points yet.

Aku makes his choices to do evil things, to follow his own will (whatever his will may be) but he’s still limited by his own mind and what he believes he’s capable of, due to mainly just being too lazy/unwilling to try anything else. Yes, of course like I said outside forces only contributed to this, effectively helping him make his own box to put himself in, but it only explains why he’s like that. It doesn’t excuse him, and ultimately his choices were still his own.

PHEW well I think that’s about all for now! Hope I made sense and you enjoyed reading! I’ve been stewing on this one for a long, long while, but only recently got half a mind to coherently jot it all down and explain it, so there’s probably a few holes here and there, forgive me... :,D

Thanks necessary for:

@strawberry-smilodon, for reading my draft!! and then i kept adding more...and more... and more.....

Obv @teacupballerina, for basically doing most of the theorizing waaaaay before i even got back into this fandom and inspiring my own mind to start thinking harder about Aku and canon :3

all my friends that tolerated me geeking out about this before i wrote it all down...i love yall 😙

And thank YOU for reading!!!

[skipdrawz]

Episode 1 Kevin in Videoland

lets go

-Intro playing-

Why is Kongoland mention is not even important or Donkeykong is not a teammate in any way so why is this world here

Also King Hippo Sprite is normal here

Who are the pizza cutters dudes are suppose to be

King Hippo and Eggplant wizard look pretty good but why Hippo blue see above for the normal reason

Honestly Mother Brain have nice design is unique but you can still see its her

Man why does it feel like we enter half way in the ep is only 2 mins in

Also funfact Lana is base on Palutena so... why not use her instead

Also Kid Icarus name was always Pit its state at the end of Nes game but I do say his desgin is pretty close to the og

Random Green Man

How do you reconize them?!

Wow good first impression calling them lame

oh so Lana is crush

This is the only time I think Mario is mention

What hero leaving right now

To be fair King Hippo is boxer so at least Mother Brain choose strength

Hey speak up your minions are still screaming for oreos

Hey few years to early for megamind ref

That was a nice translation

Wow Kevin your a jerk

Thank narrtor for pointing out what we already know

Simon how did you fall this hard should have been Megman considering he only have 2 games so far or even Pit

Sure rolling her in carpet is better than bagnapping

Sha shae Nes Left smoth

Eggplant Wizard is suppose to turn people into Eggplant that his gimmick

How did they disappear so quick King Hippo is giant you should hear him

Pit and Megman putting a bunch of stuff infront the door is at least in character for them

Why did they bring Simon back there on the hero team you idoits

WHY YOU GIVE HIM THE PAUSE BUTTON! THAT OVER OP

HOW WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT THE WARP WHAT GAME YOU PLAYED

Wow how likeably Simon Cheater

ORe-reuse animation

Shut up with the oreos

Hey classic DK why do you so giant sure he was big but not that big

Pit stop with the-icus

-Wood sarcastic laugh about Simon laugh-

Wait how does Captain N know what he doing he have no training

hey Kraid

WHAT LEVEL DK TAKE PLACE IN A VOLCANO

It took place construction sight should have made it the Pie level if you wanna do the volocano

Here his OP Pause but now with time limt and for fun let count how many time he use it from this point (2)

Another Pause so (3)

Simon I don't think in your game you were ever in princess also reminder Princess Lana is Teen like Kevin and Simon is an adult even in the og games

Oh that a sudden turn around

While this montage goes on reminder the Show people did not know who Samus was despite Mother Brain being the main villain of this Series.

You know this would have work in another context but not with Simon whip

Oh so were not gonna finish her off

Yeah shut up simon

Why does Captain N have option to leave most series have them stuck this is similar issue i had with season 1 owlhouse but I don't think this series would explore the reprocusion of this choice here something Im gonna change make him a orphan and heck maybe try to go with a found family dynamic think about

Pit the Silly brother but can get serious

Megaman: More Serious than Pit but very knowing of Teach

Simon: The buff dude but he like the big brother that would defender the younger member like "He ask for no pickles

Samus: The Older sister and is probaly the must serious of the group and can be straightman to all these werid worlds

Lana: Can be the polar opposite to Samus to be in more Girly things but have she have her own spin of thing

Palutena: The Mother of the group reasponsable but can also have fun

Captain N: The Most unknowing of heroes he can come off jerk some times but is really a chill person

I wanna make a Captain N Reboot Fanfic but that mean I have to watch the OG Series so to understand context

And also maybe some episode ideas are pretty good and I want to use it in my series

[cosmiclovepats-blog]

Tzica and Tzoren

Herald to the Dragon, Magistrate of the Duchess, Seneschal to Her Will. Friend.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Then be prepared for life to knock over your pitcher and break all your glasses. 

Tzica and Tzoren were a pair of NPCs I used in a game a few years back, one I’d refer to as River Kingdom Rambles. I liked them. She didn’t come to a very nice fate, but that’s just how things go when you let your precious NPCs intersect with your Players. 

When they first met with her (rescued her,) she and her brother were escaped slaves, ‘living’ in the half-flooded bilge of a small pirate ship. Escaped slaves being returned to their owners.  A little geography might be necessary. 

You see that river just north of Loric Fells? Below the ‘M’ in River Kingdoms? That was the river this scummy band of freshwater pirates sailed. The two tieflings had escaped from Numeria beforehand. They’d made it to the River Kingdoms, tasted real freedom, then gotten abducted by pirates who may have been contracted by their previous owner and sent to retrieve them, or may have just figured a pair of escaped slaves would be easy money. Doesn’t really matter; their return voyage got interrupted by the PCs and a whole lot of violence.

Now from the player’s perspective, what you’re encountering is a pair of sodden, bedraggled tieflings who don’t look related to each other outside of, you know, tiefling, emerging from the stinking, fetid bilge of a river brig. Both of them look half-starved and mistreated. The guy’s a bit bigger, and he eyes you up with the wariness of someone who considers ‘good luck’ to be inherently suspect. The gal is a little shorter, a little younger, looks you over and smiles broadly, then goes “Ah, yes. My book. Thank you. Needed that, yes.” and takes the odd book the wizard found on the pirates and was trying to figure out. 

Over the next day or so and further interaction (It’s been a few years; I think they were using the pirate ship to head down river. Likewise, her words are definitely not exact quotes, but approximations.) they determine a couple things; the tieflings are, naturally, pretty grateful for having been rescued; life didn’t look too great where they were headed. She, Tzica, smiles a lot, speaks peculiarly broken common, speaks a lot, and seems to lie or exaggerate or just embellish constantly and habitually. She’s a sorceress of some kind (Pathfinder. I’ll save my bitching about the system for some other post) and generally a pleasant but odd individual. Her ‘brother’(?) is mute, seems intelligent but doesn’t seem to know common, and is fairly protective- but can’t understand her any better than you, so...? She says he’s fine, he was born that way, then amends the next day that, no, he was injured trying to save her, then rescinds, no, he’s just very shy. She was grinning that time, she’s probably joking? Whatever. Not much she can repay you with- her ‘spellbook’ isn’t, though it’s clearly gimmicked to look like one. Presumably so that if someone wants to disarm the “wizard” she might be able to convince them that they can do it by taking away her spellbook. 

There, an odd, quirky character, just strange enough to be memorable despite being the beneficiary of one of their good deeds, and that’s about it. Well, that’s fine. Not everyone needs to be more important than that- but oh, she was. To begin with though, where did she come from? Well, of course all NPCs have somewhat ephemeral backstory before encountering the PCs, but the broad strokes I had in mind were;

Slaves born in Numeria, owned by a magos of the Technic League.

(Millenia back a “star” exploded in the sky over Numeria and rained down in pieces. These had everything from androids to roboscorpions. The technic league are a bunch of natives of Golarion trying to gather scraps and pieces of this wondrous knowledge and power. Frequently, this takes the form of poking things until they do something. Sometimes something is useful. Sometimes something is ‘irradiate everything in a mile of here’. Very Conan the Barbarian vs Giant Roboscorpions vs The Adeptus Mechanicus)

Involved in the general unpleasantness the Technic League engaged with, usually with slaves and bizarre unintelligible magitek spaceships debris. 

Not actually siblings, but hey, tieflings, slavery, similar sob story, etc. Perfectly chaste allies/friends/as close to family as either had.

Because I’d been re-reading David Brin’s Uplift Storm Trilogy (Brightness Reef, Infinity's Shores, Heaven’s Reach), in their slavery to a high-ranking member of the Technic League, Tzica had tried to escape (or backtalked one too many times) and gotten in real trouble. Tzoren helped her escape, in exchange got punished with a partial lobotomy; he’d lost the speech center of his brain. Again, this is based on the character from the books; he can do math, he’s a trained engineer, but he can’t even think in words, much less actually use or understand them. Tzica went back for him, they managed to both get out and flee south. 

Well, Okay, That’s An Involved Backstory, But What Do They Do?

I’m so glad you asked. You see, they do come back. Much later, (maybe, four to eight months...) when the party happens to be fleeing a fey hunt with faerie riders hot on their heels, they reach salvation; a big river, a branch of the Sellen river. The boundary of the forest, the limit of the fey domain. They dive in and start swimming for the passing ship they see... and someone on board recognizes them. Waves, orders the ship to stop, and gets sailors to throw them a rope and help them up, all while the faeries mill on the shore, unable to chase them beyond the bounds of their realm. Who is it, but...  Tzica and Tzoren, dragonslayers!

No, not yet. But the main ‘background’ to the campaign involved a dragon showing up in a city state towards the north of the River Kingdoms (whose king ruler had mysteriously vanished recently while travelling) and declaring herself Queen of the Realm. “Any objections?” the dragon asked pleasantly, daring people to raise their hands... But the long and short of it was that there were secret calls for heroes to come, for dragonslayers to arise from obscurity and save the  world city duchy. Well, what does that have to do with a pair of ex-slaves? Tzica, it turned out, had managed to bluff free passage on the ship (towards the city in question) with claims of being great dragonslayers, answering the call and travelling to deliver the people of Wyvernmark! And when the opportunity to do a solid to some people who had done her a really good turn earlier arose, well... Can’t skip on that, can you? She was very smug and pleased about being able to return the favor. 

Of course, the PCs weren’t dummies, and looked at a single sorceress and a single fighter, apparently off to fight the BBEG being set up in the background for the whole campaign, and quietly concluded that they’d never see her again. But of course...

When they next saw her, they were actually going to Wyvernmark. City the campaign had actually started at, sans dragon queen. There’s a public execution as they arrive- a spy trying to sneak into the royal lair palace (dragons particularly dislike thieves, after all)  and it’s done by sealing him in a large brass bull, (for real, you might not want to click) and then melting that to slag in about thirty seconds with dragonbreath.

It leaves an impression. Pretty humane compared to the original, but it still leaves an impression. And then the players, who’d arrived just in time to witness that, receive personal invitations to the palace later that day...

Oh. Oh Shit.

But no- it’s not the dragon who spotted them in the crowd. It’s her right hand and number-one minion, Tzica. Tzica, who arrived in the city about as destitute as they last saw her, through sheer chutzpah and bluff managed to secure a meeting with the dragon and... hit it off. For real. She’s brave enough to talk to the dragon, to be funny and flippant while she’s doing it, wise enough to flatter and praise where necessary, willing to “act” impressed when appropriate. She’s from out of town and unlikely to betray her only ally in Wyvernmark- and hell, the idea of having to treat some tiefling, and a foreign ex-slave at that, as their equal or superior sent the local nobility into fits, a feature they both found hilarious. The red dragon kept her throne room absolutely sweltering, 120*+, because she liked fucking with the humans who came to whine at her, keeping them uncomfortable and so on- Tzica and her brother, being tieflings, had fire resistance such that they could not only tolerate such unpleasantness, but wear heavy clothing while doing so without breaking a sweat. 

So. Tzica finagled herself a position as the dragon’s seneschal. Magistrate. Personal herald and emissary, minister of the Duchess. And spotting her friends in the crowds (or perhaps being informed by servants) decided she wanted to wow her friends with her new status, and do them a solid; she invited them to dinner, introduced them to her boss, and tried to toss some work their way. That’s not quite “Thanks for saving me from captivity, torture, and death”, but it’s pretty good and the thought is in the right place.

It went over pretty badly, no lie. Two of the players... well, let’s just say Kalythierixa Vel’darathys, She of the Crimson and Carmine, Duchess of Wyvernmark and Blazing Judgement nailed two PCs. Some people don’t know when to be diplomatic, and some people would rather die than cower, flatter, or beg. 

But really, they were the most difficult players, and neither of them was the Ex-Numerian-slave PC, who Tzica was probably closest to. So, to the survivors, she repeats her efforts to throw them work; Dragon Queen wants Artifact, go and get it, you’ll be rewarded nicely for your efforts. (And privately, Abadar’s blood, I’m just trying to engage in a little remunerative kickback, why are you throwing a goddamn fit about it!)

Still, it got them out of the city for a bit, and they went questing, yea, even unto Numerian lands, found the tomb of a hero (Mesa Hack or something, I was cribbing pretty heavily off the plot of Shadow of Death- the Artifact they were after was the Elixir of Life) and came back- all the while more rankling at the fact that they were working for an evil dragon (Red, Chromatic) than grateful for the work their friend had managed to secure them. They also had real reservations about giving a heavy-duty Artifact to said evil dragon. (I think they eventually found out- Kalythierixa didn’t give a damn about the Vial, other than “hey, artifact, nifty thing for my hoard”- It was all being done as a favor to her favorite minion, maybe even friend Tzica, who thought that it could be used to cure her lobotomized brother.)

The PCs got rewarded with funds and a small fort to the south of the city- Kalythierixa even cleaned it out of hobgoblins for them. (The PCs were upset about that, which I found really weird. “No, we want to be gifted somebody else’s home and have to clean it up ourselves.”) One of the PCs was fallen nobility from Brevoy, so a small title and deed was exactly the kind of thing they’d been aiming for all along. However, he really didn’t like the dragon. I’m not sure why- my impression was that he went “Red dragon -> chromatic -> evil -> must kill”. Spindly, if you ever read this, feel free to set me straight.

Which was somewhat frustrating for me; the whole point of the campaign had been to have the players thrust into the position where they got to decide between restoring the mortal nobility or siding with the dragon. Tzica represented a major in with the dragon, and they were well placed to end up the most significant nobles in the city, with the ear of the dragon herself (and especially her seneschal). Who would dare attack a city ruled by a dragon, what games of nobility would see commoner pawns sacrificed for sport or intrigue? She wasn’t being that bad of a ruler....

 Or, they could decide that, sure, a young dragon might not be that awful now, but what if she gets bored in ten years? A century? Two? Dragons go up in CR with age, right?  What if she decides she’s tired of playing the long game in thirty years and decides to up an raze the city, hauling off everything valuable and killing everyone for the lulz? What if Tzica has nowhere near the influence on her she seems to think, what if she turns on us next?

It was supposed to be a balanced grey-on-grey choice with no particular ‘right’ (or wrong) answer; think about it, make the best guess you or your character can make, and profit from the results whichever way you turn. There was no wrong answer, and it kind of felt like they still failed, because with one player dead set on “dragon bad, kill dragon”, the amount of  weight I’d have to place on the other side of the scales to make it an actual quandary for him meant it would be a no-brainer for everyone else. 

All good things must come to an end, or if you’re an NPC, eventually the PCs show up to knock over your lemonade, smash all your dishes, and accidentally break your table in two. The party split, and a player shuffled PCs- Crafting-bitch ex-slave wizard (pregnant...) stayed behind in Wyernmark as a genteel hostage (this happened because player wanted to swap out PCs for a new one) while the party was sent to go deal with some rabble-rousing war-talk in Daggermark. Daggermark being the preeminent city of the River Kingdoms. So remember; party of four. One hates her boss, Ex-slave Wizard (Sara) here is good friends with her, and the other two died shortly after meeting the dragon. Suddenly the party has zero people who are ‘good friends’ with Tzica, and the only one who is still a buddy is NPC’d and offscreen, serving as a hostage for good behavior. (Admittedly, the dragon was aware that they had been plotting to betray her- the hostage was probably necessary.)

Despite that all, Sara the Wizard makes some good work. She is, and has always been, all about getting along with people, making friends, and trying to do right by everyone. She hangs out with her good friend Tzica (even helped Tzica cure Tzoren) and slowly ingratiates herself with the dragon- doing her best to turn the Chaotic Evil red dragon (and really, it was a kind of bemused, sedate CE to begin with) towards Neutral. Show her that the maximum wealth derives not from tyranny, but from wise, lasting rulership. Tzica had already started down this path, to be honest, but her concerns were much more limited in scope- Don’t torture. That was about the only limit she’d placed on her boss, and through her prudence in not actually ordering the prideful scaly teenager around, she’d managed to achieve it in effect without it ever being acknowledged. (Yes, brazen bulls are pretty horrible torture implements, but again, they were being used for rather swift state executions- being reduced from ‘intact human’ to ‘bubbling metal with a high carbon content in under thirty seconds isn’t exactly drawn out.)

But the party comes back oblivious to all that effort. They show up loaded for bear, throw down with their sworn liege, (Promises made to NPCs don’t count.:^)) and Wizard is indisposed during the fighting. (Player is only allowed one character at a time.) Tzica, sorceress, seneschal, herald of the dragon, fights in her defense- after all, given her public role as servant of the tyrant lizard, she’d be dead woman walking if the dragon was replaced. On top of that, the dragon is her friend. Friend. Simply through friendship and getting along, the dragon gifted her power and wealth quite literally beyond a poor slave’s imagination- And damned if she was going to let a bunch of ungrateful vagrants (even ones she didn’t want to dislike) tear down all she had and slay her best friend. 

Tzica didn’t survive that fight. Sara the Wizard’s player was playing a Paladin in that fight, who zeroed in on the caster supporting the dragon with PC levels and (quite sensibly) killed her despite Tzoren’s best efforts to do anything to stop her. It was a pretty nasty and effective build, not that I can remember it in detail beyond a stupidly high AC. 

Sara tried resurrecting her when she found out what had happened. It worked... sort of. Tzica came back... a little wrong. Or maybe that was just natural bitterness at having everything going for her in life turned upside down and shattered. What she thought had been some of her closest friends had betrayed her (Sara was married to one of the slayers, the other PC who’d been there since the start) and they’d done so by killing her actual best friend. 

She took a bone and some scales from the dragon’s body and left without looking back, seeking a way to resurrect her only friend. A lot of her charm and levity was gone; you could hardly tell her common was weird and idiosyncratic with how little she spoke. 

Tzoren, healed by his sister (but never quite so fond of the dragon as she was) loved her but felt like she’d changed a bit too much to really follow. There was no point in avenging her death when she’d been resurrected, and besides, it didn’t seem like it was her death that had made her so much colder. He moved to another city, and settled down semi-happily with another NPC; He’d just been a bodyguard, after all, servant-of-a-servant, not the chief quisling who’d served as the dragon’s enforcer himself. 

Much, much, much later, in a different campaign in a different system (but still Golarion because I’m fond of the setting), the party came across a wizened old hag busy plating a dracolich in necromantic metal. A jaded, heartless caster with a dragonbone staff, empowering a horrific undead beast that was never a pleasant creature in life much less death. With a strange rapport, always punctilious and polite, infinitely respectful of the draconic titan, but rather closer to ‘peer’ than anyone would expect a dracolich to tolerate, even if she was doing a great service for him. 

They never got her name.