#also I have played a little fast and loose with the mythology for this one but I think it's more fun that way

[chronosdawn]

A little drabble based on the Hades!Wriothesley x Persephone!Reader idea I mentioned.

GN!Reader, warnings for discussions of kidnapping and imprisonment (but I feel like that comes with the territory with this AU ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯) and mild descriptions of gore.

Word count: 1.5k

The lord of the underworld stood before you in all his imposing might, the heavy sole of his boot tapping slowly against the stone floor as he cast his gaze over you. It couldn't have made for a terribly pretty sight. You sat sour-faced, trying to ignore the way the cold metal of your chair was seeping through your thin robes. The soft peach fabric—the only bright colour in this cursed place save for the sliver of red on your captor's clothes—now marred with sprays of dark ichor from your ill planned venture.

"I thought I told you to stay away from the lower levels?" Wriothesley said finally, his eyes narrowed—twin shards of ice freezing you in place.

You refused to meet his eyes. "I don't see why I should have to listen to someone who kidnapped me."

He let out a heavy sigh, like you'd already had this argument a hundred times and he was tired of it—probably because you had and he was. "Well, you'd better start to learn. This isn't the sunny fields you're used to; this is the underworld, it's dangerous. I might have brought you here but I have no intention of hurting you, although that relies on you sticking to the rules. You're lucky I had Cerberus keeping watch down there."

You flinched at the mention of the three-headed beast that had jumped out of the shadows the moment the first of the wraiths had reached you. For a few brief seconds you'd wondered if that was the end, whether Wriothesley would come looking for you only to find your blood running down the dark stone steps and into the Styx, but then the beast had leapt over you and the bone white hand was ripped away, it's claw-like nails a hair’s breadth from grazing your leg.

It had been complete carnage after that, skeletal limbs with sagging skin ripped from emaciated torsos one after the other as more wraiths clawed their way towards you, scrabbling over each other to reach the sole living thing in the room. It was only when they'd sensed Wriothesley's impended arrival—trails of frost creeping along the floor as he approached—that they'd finally stopped coming out of the water, the few with limbs still attached dragging themselves back down the steps.

"Maybe if you'd actually told me what was down there, I might have taken the warning a bit more seriously."

"Oh? So, if I gave you a description of everything gruesome thing the underworld has to offer, then you might be more inclined to listen to me? That's a long list, sweetheart."

You scowled at him, folding one leg over the other as you crossed your arms in front of your chest. "You don't have to be a dick about it."

"Because playing nice with you has worked so well thus far?" His lips started to twist into a sardonic smile but froze as his gaze narrowed in on where your robe had shifted with your movement, revealing a couple of extra inches of skin. Before you could think to move away, he was kneeling on the floor in front of you, his large hand curled around your calf as he scrutinised the exposed part of your leg.

"Hey, what are you doing?" You tried to bat his hand away but his arm might as well have been made of marble for all the good it did.

"Were you going to mention you got injured, or had you not even noticed?" Wriothesley's tone was oddly flat as he spoke, his eyes narrowed accusingly.

"What?" You leaned forward to see what he was talking about and caught sight of set of scratches running across your skin, the blood seeping from the wound shimmering in the light of the wall sconces. “When did—ow!” Reaching down to probe at the injury, you couldn’t help but wince as your finger grazed the edge of the torn flesh, pain flaring up your leg.

Wriothesley let out a deep breath and you suddenly became aware of how your current position had brought you far closer to the ruler of the underworld than you usually allowed, how from this distance you could pick out the individual strands of grey in his hair, the light scruff on his chin.

“It doesn’t look like it’s too deep at least. You got lucky, a serious wound from a wraith will scar even a god.” He kept his gaze on your injury, a faintly faraway look on his face and, not for the first time, you found yourself thinking of what could scar someone like Wriothesley. Whether it’d been a wraith that had carved its claws down his throat or something else—something worse. Maybe you should start paying more attention to the areas he said were off limits to you.

“Does it hurt?” You went to shake your head only to reconsider. It hadn’t hurt, or at least not enough that you’d noticed, but now as you focused on it, you became aware of dull but persistent throb in the area around the wound.

“It didn’t earlier but it’s starting to now. It’s not because the wraiths are um—poisonous or anything, right?” It was an effort to keep the panic out of your voice and you didn’t think you managed it entirely but Wriothesley simply chuckled at you.

“No, they’re not. You probably just didn’t notice the pain earlier because of the shock.” He ran his thumb down the side of your leg and though his touch was gentle, you still grimaced as it sent a flare of pain up your shin. “Healing magic isn’t really my forte so I’ll send for someone more qualified to come and take a look. In the meantime, this should help with the pain.”

A gasp escaped your lips as frost blossomed over your skin, an intense cold spreading over the area around the bloody scratches before being replaced by a heavy numbness such that you could only barely feel a faint pressure where Wriothesley’s fingers were still curled around your calf. You couldn’t feel the injury at all.

“That’s um…”

“What? Not even a thank you for acting as your rescuer and tending to your wounds?” He looked up at you from beneath dark lashes and you felt the words sitting heavy on your tongue. You’d thought before about how easy it would be to give in. Putting aside how you came to reside in the underworld, Wriothesley had never tried to force anything from you even if there had been a teasing comment here and there. You knew what he wanted though, could see the loneliness that clung to him like the fur-lined coat he favoured, that drove him to commit the act of stealing away a god, and no matter the temptation, you refused to give it to him.

“Considering that it was your beasts I needed saving from, I’m not sure a thank you is truly owed,” you replied instead, the words dripping from your lips like poison.

He dropped your leg as though you’d burned him. “My beasts, huh? Yeah, I guess it’d seem that way to you.” There was a faint trace of humour in his voice, though his wasn’t the tone of someone telling a joke, but rather the sort you used when you were the punchline.

“You can wait in your rooms,” he said, standing and turning to walk towards the towering marble arch that served as the entrance to the room. “I’ll tell our resident healer to come and find you. But seriously,” he paused on the threshold, turning back to look at you over his shoulder, the lower half of his face hidden by the collar of his coat, “keep away from the lower levels. If you want to act out at me for bringing you here, throwing your life away to the things that call that place a home is not the way to do it, and I can’t always be around to keep an eye on you. Not that I imagine you’d want me to either.”

He left without waiting for you to reply, and you watched his form disappear into the gloom that seemed to seep from the walls of the underworld, leaving the room feeling oddly empty. You looked down at your leg, frost still curled around your wound. Sometimes you wished Wriothesley was as terrible as the stories you’d heard about him on the surface claimed—wished he was a little easier to hate. Because you couldn’t give him what he wanted, not if it meant being stuck here more than you already were; a land that had never seen the sun and where every flower you’d tried to grow withered before it could bloom. You needed to find a way out of here and soon, you thought, the feeling of Wriothesley’s hand still fresh in your mind, before you were tempted into something that would ensure you could never leave at all.  

[silverbirching]

So as some of you may know, I am... let's say an armchair-level amateur scholar of classical studies. @qqueenofhades can tell you how often she has to talk me down off the ledge of enrolling in an MFA program.

Like some of you, I was an insufferable twelve-year-old when Disney's Hercules came out, and all of my critiques of that film were down to "it doesn't do the mythology right".

Well, I've reached the point where I don't care about that shit anymore. Go nuts. Have fun with it. There are, however, some... History Tik-tok tumblr Bad Takes about Greek mythology that I have very little patience for. #Girlboss Persephone, for instance, or basically anything that insists on treating the Greek gods like people, whose behavior can be judged as more or less Problematic, rather than... symbols, archetypes, divinities.

I am happy to say that Kaos, while it obviously plays fast and loose with basically every element, captures the vibes of Olympus. The feels. Jeff Goldblum's intense, eccentric and fucking terrifying performance as Zeus, the flawless Janet McTeer as Hera, Cliff Curtis as Middle-Aged Jaded Slutty Maori Fuckboy Poseidon, David Thewlis' exhausted, depressive turn as Hades... all of it is GOLD. It has instantly become one of my new favorite adaptations. Like all good adaptations, it captures the flavor, the vibes, the FEEL of the original works.

Here's some of my other faves!

Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips - a goofy, fun little romp about the past-it and aging Gods of Olympus living together in a shitty house in London. A comedy, but it very accurately captures the essence of the vain, fickle, and usually stupid Greek Gods.

Circe, by Madeline Miller - I mean, I hope to God everyone has already read this one, Jesus Christ. Told from the first-person perspective of the Goddess-witch Circe, this book is an amazing re-imagining of one of the most maligned and studied characters in the Odyssey.

Hades 1 & 2. by Supergiant Games - I could write several thousand words about how much I love these games, which both revolve around the challenges of an immortal family that you literally cannot get away from -- and the way cycles of violence perpetuate themselves, even if the people involved CAN'T DIE. The depths of the scholarship on display there are frankly staggering, and they go DEEP into the esoterica -- Zagreus teasing Orpheus that he and Dionysus are the same person (which they almost certainly are, don't get me started on Orphism) springs to mind. Hell, the second game's protagonist is literally Melinoe. Also, Scylla is a boss fight and is the lead singer of a bratty girl group and sings a diss track about how your hair is a disaster. What's not to love.

... I do wish they hadn't made Kronos the God of Time. That shit drives me nuts. The words are cognate but not--he was an agricultural--ANYWAY.

Kaos is intense as hell, but it's fucking GREAT. And literally every frame is filled with Gays and people with different bodies and body types and various flavors of gender fuckery. It's great. Watch it.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

My mom bought me this book for Christmas

The Resurrectionist by EB Hudspeth, a fantasy field guide full of anatomical illustrations of monsters and cryptids.

The musculoskeletal systems are fun to look at, but not nearly as in-depth as I would have liked. If you have more than a passing knowledge of taxonomy (or in my case, access to Wikipedia), a lot of the details fall apart under scrutiny

The harpy has four upper limbs connected to one shoulder girdle; it shouldn't have arms, only wings

The sphinx is not classified as a mammal, but is still somehow in the family Felidae with cats (and like the harpy is also drawn with only two girdles despite having six limbs. I will give the author credit for giving the sphinx a keel for the wing muscles to attach to)

It lists the Hindu deity Genesha as a cryptid, which is a no-no.

Cerberus is also explicitly not a mammal, but somehow still a canine (literally in the species Canis with wolves, dogs, and coyotes)

Both mermaids and dragons are listed as members of the order Caudata; the only extant members of Caudata are salamanders, which kinda makes sense for dragons, but not so much for mermaids (also, the author keeps playing it fast and loose with cladistics; both mermaids and dragons are in the same order despite being in different classes, and while dragons are explicitly said to be amphibians, mermaids are given the fictional class mammicthyes, which means mammal-fish. At that point, why not just call mermaids amphibians? Why make up a fake latin hybrid name?)

But what bugs me most of all is the classification of the Minotaur as its own order of mammal when in mythology it is explicitly described as a hybrid of two known species (made possible only by the cruel machinations of the divine, but still)

To use actual taxonomical nomenclature, the minotaur's species would be B. taurus × H. sapiens (specifically B. taurus♂ × H. sapiens♀; there are, to my knowledge, no legends of H. sapiens♂ × B. taurus♀). That's how ligers, tigons, mules, zorses, pizzly bears, narlugas, etc., are described.

If I had written this book, I would have leaned more into evolutionary biology. Most land animals have four limbs because they all evolved from boney lobe-finned fish, which split off from the boneless sharks and rays millions of years earlier, so any six-limbed vertebrates would need to be descended from a fictitious category of six-finned fish which would either be an offshoot of boney fish/tetrapods (I guess they'd be hexapods, though that term refers to insect arthropods), OR a precursor to boney and cartilaginous fish that both clades split away from much earlier (it's easier to lose structures than to gain them, so it makes more sense for a six-limbed ancestor to spawn four-limbed descendants than the other way around).

Think about how different elephants are from humans, and humans are from aligators, and aligators are from penguins, and remember that they all evolved from the same ancestor tiktaalik, an amphibious fish that existed some 375 million years ago. Imagine a precursor six-limbed species and how diverse all its descendants would look after 400 million years. Save for the occasional instance of convergent evolution causing two unrelated species to independently evolve similar body plans to fill the same niche, tetrapods and hexapods would look nothing alike. There would be very little recognizable overlap between the two. A six-limbed "pegasus" would not look like a real world horse, and a six-limbed "dragon" would not look reptilian/dinosaur-ish, for much the same reason that giraffes don't look like frogs; they're just too distantly related. Bonless sharks and boney fish and whales/dolphins all have similar looking bodyplans only because their environment requires the same hydrodynamic shape, while terrstrial vertebrates are much more physically diverse.

[nonnie-the-friend]

I don’t care what canon is implying, I don’t think that Kratos and Freya should end up as a couple. There is just so much between them that it truly just does not make sense to me that they would end up together. No matter who Kratos is supposed to represent from Norse myth, no matter how many children Freya is supposed to have in Norse myth, it doesn’t matter. Sony Santa Monica already played fast and loose with Norse mythology to CREATE the games, so they don’t have to follow every little aspect of it in terms of giving a character more children.

On top of that, Freya is the first living female character we met in the Norse saga, she’s also the only one with a FACE in the first game. Having Kratos end up in a relationship, even one of convenience, with essentially the second woman that he ever met in Midgard, is just cheap. I truly do not believe that they could ever work long term, I truly do not believe that Freya can ever move past Baldur’s death at Kratos’ hands. No matter what the game is intending to imply, having Freya and Kratos get together is a huge disservice to both characters but ESPECIALLY to Freya, who has quickly and easily become one of my favourite characters from anything ever

[hushed-chorus]

Six Photo Sunday

Hey everyone, I hope you've had a good week! I'm scheduling this ahead of time so thanks to everyone who may have tagged me already!

Today I'm doing something a little different. I wanted to share some photos of places that inspired What Remains After The Storm.

Although WRATS is pitched as a fantasy AU, I'd say that is a 'flag of convenience' (i.e. I could play fast and loose with the setting to suit the story's needs). In many ways, WRATS is a historical fantasy based in Cornwall, UK, including Cornish mythology and fictionalisations of real places. So please enjoy these photos and tidbits on the fic's inspiration.

I'll share the first photo above the cut, and the following five below.

Cornish cliffs (Image by Tim Hill)

Whenever I imagine young Simon scurrying around on the cliffs, I think of something like this. The moor backs onto the cliffs, and the sea is often rough. Wrecks were incredibly common around Cornwall's coast, owing partly to strong currents and its many reefs and skerries. Many impoverished locals would seize the cargo of wrecked ships, and were often accused of intentionally luring ships to wreck by using false lights, but there is no clear evidence that this happened.

More (and tags) below the cut

Bodmin Moor (Image by Richard Norris)

The Cornish moorland has been gently grazed for centuries, so it is a patchwork of heather, gorse, bracken, coarse grass and distinctive granite tors which resemble pancakes stacks (though not pictured are some of the beautiful wooded valleys, one of which features in chp 8). It is exposed, frequently windy, and often dangerous--dotted with forgotten mine shafts and boggy terrain. When not at his barn, this is where Simon wanders with his goats.

Mên-an-Tol (Image by LoggaWiggler)

This formation of neolithic standing stones is one of my favourite places in Cornwall. Local folklore says that if you suspect that your child has been stolen by Fae and a changeling left in its place, you can pass the changeling through the hole and have your child returned to you. It was also credited with curing rickets. This formation and its legend is directly referenced in WRATS, where it is known as "the Way-In Stone" (and previously known by Simon as "The Scone With The Hole").

St Michael's Mount (Image by Tim Hill)

My other favourite place in Cornwall! This small tidal island is where Pitch Manor is based in WRATS. It can be reached at low tide by a causeway (pictured part-submerged here) amd otherwise must be reached by boat. The island includes a castle and chapel, with a small village and harbour on its landward-facing side. In WRATS, the location has been the seat of the Pitches since time immemorial, but in reality it has a long and varied history, such as a site of pilgrimage, siege and tourism.

St Ives harbour, Cornwall, no date given (from the book Reflections of Old Cornwall by Reg Watkiss)

More vibes for you! Fishing was the basis of Cornwall's economy for centuries. Whenever a shoal of fish was sighted off the coast, almost everyone would turn out to help. The men and various boats worked together, arranging their nets to scoop up the whole shoal, while the women waiting in the harbour to salt and barrel them.

Newlyn, Cornwall c. 1900 (from Reflections of Old Cornwall)

This steep, cobbled street is very typical of Cornish villages. Many of the granite cottages are homes which doubled up as fish cellars, but some structures were inns or boat- and basket-makers' sheds. When I look at this, I can't help but think of a bare-footed Baz, hood drawn over his face, angrily stomping a puddle. Today, most Cornish villages are dominated by holiday lets and airbnbs, and many of the houses have been renovated beyond recognition. However, you can still glimpse some of the old charm in numerous places.

Ok so yeah, that's my love letter to Cornwall done. Thank you for indulging me, and I hope the readers of WRATS get something out of this!

@johnwgrey @bookish-bogwitch @artsyunderstudy @erzbethluna @facewithoutheart @captain-aralias @raenestee @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @yeonjunenby @cutestkilla @ivelovedhimthroughworse @larkral @stitchyqueer @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @ileadacharmedlife @confused-bi-queer @aristocratic-otter @tea-brigade @whogaveyoupermission @nightimedreamersworld @fatalfangirl @thewholelemon @onepintobean @chen-chen-chen-again-chen @shrekgogurt @theearlgreymage @martsonmars @blackberrysummerblog @orange-peony @palimpsessed @valeffelees

[arthurdrakoni]

Long Night in Egypt is a fantastic horror audio drama that draws upon Egyptian Mythology. And stays incredibly faithful to the original sources.

There are some audio dramas I listen to that absolutely scream for me to review them.  I know I have to get the word out as soon as possible.  That way, everyone can enjoy them.  Such is the case with Long Night in Egypt. 

Long Night in Egypt follows four college students named Mo, Kayla, Jorden, and Pia. They are on vacation in Egypt to visit Mo’s aunt and uncle; a pair of renowned Egyptologists. It’s sure to be a trip filled with relaxation, visits to archeological sites, and maybe even a bit of partying. Then, Mo’s cousin Samira comes up with the idea to visit the Pyramid of Unas at night. Mo’s aunt and uncle are very firm that the Pyramid of Unas must never be entered at night. However, the students sneak into the pyramid anyway. They will soon discover that the myths and legends of Ancient Egypt might just be true after all. They will have to navigate their way thought the Egyptian underworld, and face numerous challenges, if they wish to survive their long in Egypt. 

I always find myself returning to the gods and stories of Egyptian Mythology. I love the weird and wonderful animal-headed gods. I love reading about all of the spells and incantations Egyptian magicians created. I love the way that real Ancient Egyptian historical figures sometimes factor into the stories. I love Egyptian Mythology. The stories of Egyptian Mythology took me on magical adventures away from my mundane world. 

We have had several audio dramas adapt or reinterpret Greek Mythology, but not really any takes on Egyptian Mythology. In fact, Long Night in Egypt is, thus far, the only audio drama I’ve encountered that utilizes Egyptian Mythology in a major way. Now, this was certainly an exciting discovery, but I had my apprehensions. I’ve had to endure far too many movies and television shows that played way too fast and loose with real mythology. Hey, I’m just saying. If the source material you’re incorporating is a hindrance to the story you want to tell, then perhaps you should write a different story. That, or find a mythology more agreeable to the story you want to make. 

Sorry, I got a little distracted there. Getting back on track, I was cautiously optimistic, but I was fully prepared to be disappointed. I was combing through every episode with a fine-toothed comb. I was prepared to pounce at the slightest slip-up. I was particularly worried that Anubis and/or Set would be portrayed as Ancient Egyptian Satan. However, much to my pleasant surprise, I couldn’t find a single mythological misappropriation. In fact, I even learned a few things as a result of listening to Long Night in Egypt. 

The main inspirations for this audio drama are The Pyramid Texts and The Egyptian Book of the Dead. The Pyramid Texts is one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world. It is inscribed into the walls of the pyramids and burial chambers of Saqqara. And yes, that includes the Pyramid of Unas. The texts are a series of spells, incantations, hymns, and utterances that help the pharaoh to navigate the afterlife and ascend to godhood. The Egyptian Book of the Dead is much the same, but with different spells and writings. Also, the Book of the Dead was written on papyrus, not carved into stone. 

The Pyramid Texts were completed in the Old Kingdom era, while The Book of the Dead wasn’t completed until the New Kingdom era. The characters do discover inscriptions from The Book on the Dead on the walls of the Pyramid of Unas. However, they do acknowledge this discrepancy, and wave it off as The Book of the Dead being older than previously believed. The Book of the Dead does drawn heavily upon The Pyramid Texts, so, this isn’t all that implausible. 

We frequently hear characters, both mortal and divine, quoting passages from both The Pyramid Texts and The Book of the Dead. Oh, and that part where Unas consumes some of the gods to increase his power? Believe it or not, that is directly from The Pyramid Texts. That particular section is even called The Cannibal Hymn. See, this is why I’m such a big advocate for being accurate to the mythological sources. Oftentimes, the actual sources are way wilder than anything a modern writer might come up with. 

Long Night in Egypt is a horror audio drama, and I like the approach it took to that. Unas isn’t portrayed as some monster who is bent on world domination. The main characters were warned not to go into the Pyramid of Unas at night, and they paid the price. Granted, they probably wouldn’t have believed the real reason they were to stay away. Still, their troubles are self-inflicted because they ran foul of ancient traditions, and disrespected the pyramid. Even without the undead pharaoh and the magic, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to go into a pyramid at night. It is bound to be dark, and you can get easily hurt if you don’t know what you’re doing. 

I loved how the horror comes from the characters finding themself in a story straight out of mythology. I do tend to fantasize about going on urban fantasy mythology adventures. On the other hand, perhaps I should be careful about what I wish for. Such things might be fun to read about, but it might not be so fun to actually live though. Especially if you don’t have magical powers. 

I seriously doubt we’re getting a season two of Long Night in Egypt. The ending is pretty conclusive. Still, there are a lot of other mythologies out there. There’s plenty of other myths that could be given the Long Night in Egypt treatment. Hint, hint, Violet Hour and Realm. 

Have you listened to Long Night in Egypt?  If so, what did you think?

Link to the full review on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-audio-file-long-night-in-egypt.html?m=0

[dearchickadee]

↳ LARK - Shepherds of Haven

thank you oh so very much to @xiuqius for unknowingly but probably unsurprisingly giving me a template to base my oc sheet on......you da bomb dot com :)

also Lark was originally going to be more self-insert than her own OC but she grew up so fast 🥺 so if any of her characteristics seem familiar, 1) those are probably my favorite tropes and 2) she is me but advanced. Kenna+. This is why she and Larken have such similar names LOL

UPDATED 9/28/23: clarified a few things, tweaked a few basics, expanded upon her relationship w Qilan

* GENERAL INFORMATION * ༉‧₊˚✧

Name, Nicknames: Lark van Laast, Birdie (by Trouble)

Callsign: Dawnbreaker

Sexuality: Biromantic Grayace

Pronouns: she/her 

Age: Mid to late 20s (25?)

Birthday: Autumn (November 5th irl, idek the names of the "months" for shoh nfkdkskd)

Height: 5’7

Appearance: Navy blue hair (straight, shoulder-length, usually in milkmaid braids pinned closely to her head), fair skin with freckles, stormy gray eyes, glasses SOMETIMES (i don't know when reading glasses were invented but if my girlie was directly made by the gods they could've invented reading glasses too)

Other: Frequently ends her sentences in a sort of song or trill, especially if she’s teasing someone. plays with the loose strands of her hair when she’s nervous but insists she doesn’t have any tells. (tbh this only happens with friends and when she’s not on a mission or anything. Professionally, she could be a politician with how seamlessly she can be bisexualromantic, eat hot chip and lie)

* BACKGROUND INFORMATION * ༉‧₊˚✧

Weapon: Sword

I'm thinking mainly just a typical basket-hilted sword to really drive home that image of an obedient soldier. Also partial to a mortuary sword because it sounds cool. Regardless, she also has a secret, smaller sword similar to the ancient Greek xiphos for close combat / if her sword is ever broken or lost in combat

Magic Specialization: Enchantments and Bewitchments

Racial Heritage, Birthplace: Hunter, Maj

Education: Self-taught

* PERSONAL INFORMATION * ༉‧₊˚✧

Past Jobs: sideshow hypnotist, saleswoman, business security personnel, bodyguard

Likes: anything that is tied to her name (her love of birds + her favorite flower being larkspur, for example), mythology and folklore, foggy mornings, foraging / searching for lost objects

Dislikes: being out of the loop, competitive training exercises, people scaring off her birds (even if they are in the way of training or caring for the grounds)

Strengths: smooth talking, swordsmanship, peacekeeping / mending personal relationships, curious and amiable / easy to give answers to

Weaknesses: indecisive, dependent on others, sometimes a little dimwitted, puts too much stock in the power of friendship

Hobbies/Special Skills: reading, feeding the birds, simple embroidery, mending/sewing, hurdy-gurdy

Guardian Animal: Deer

Major Arcana: The Moon

* PERSONALITY * ༉‧₊˚✧

Heart of Gold/Will of Iron Rebellious/Loyal Independent/Social Tactful/Straightforward Bold/Cautious Charming/Stoic/Intimidating Witty/Sincere Resentful/Forgiving Self-Preserving/Self-Sacrificing Book-Smart/Street-Smart/Stupid (affectionate) One-God/Atheist/Old Faith/Agnostic

* RELATIONSHIPS * ༉‧₊˚✧

Blade: Lark is a good little soldier girl and, professionally, is obedient and respectful - perhaps to a bit of an extreme degree. At the compound, or in moments of downtime during missions, she's much more comfortable and casual around him. He sees her as a good friend; she doesn't know this and is still trying to become friends. They'll figure it out.

Tallys: They're on good terms but aren't very close. Lark asks too many blunt questions and gets lost in the sneaky dance of Elven conversation too much to truly understand what Tallys is saying. Tallys thinks Lark is too forgiving and idealistic to see as completely reasonable. However, Lark does have a gentle soul and likes to join Tallys in foraging and caring for nature, so they have some common ground to keep things breezy between them.

Trouble: Quickly became close, though Lark lasted about a few weeks calling them “acquaintances” rather than “friends.” While helping Trouble clean that wall (in his first hangout), she tried to stay stiff, formal, but still kind. It wasn’t until she helped him investigate the Equalists that she admitted this cold front act of hers wasn’t doing anything for her. Within the span of that one night, she tumbled from aloof recruit to trusted friend. Her feelings only deepened, and at record speed. She’s been sending signals and dropping hints forever - awkwardly and of course in her hot-and-cold, indecisive way - but Trouble is even worse and can’t pick up on any of it.

Shery: Kindred spirits. Can be found occupying a room together and silently working on their own needlepoint crafts. Lark asked Shery to teach her how to do various home building activities. People think they're both too shy and awkward to speak to each other, but they find they can have a silent understanding of each other and be just fine.

Chase: Originally didn't get along because Lark was intimidated by knowing that he could talk his way out of anything she tried to get him to do if he really wanted to. However, the two people closest to her are also close to Chase, so they inevitably spent some time together. Now the two are good friends, with Lark offering as much of the unconditional support he'll accept and Chase making sure she doesn't float somewhere dangerous with her head in the clouds so often.

Riel: Lark is intimidated by Riel, and he’s probably the one she “dislikes” the most. Riel is a genius and can get people to do his will a myriad of different ways, and even though Lark isn’t nearly as smart as he is, she knows her way around mind games. She’s determined not to let him move her around like a chess piece and hates when he ends up proven right, even (and especially) when she’s agreed with him from the beginning. She does appreciate his dry wit, though she is probably a little too sincere for his tastes.

Red: They are cordial. Both find the other easy to get along with, but Red moves too fast with grand topics too quickly for Lark to keep up and Red can tell when Lark stops listening to him because she got frustrated or overwhelmed. He does sometimes help her study, and when their usual groups are preoccupied they eat meals together. They just don’t seek each other out all that often.

Ayla: Since Ayla and Trouble bicker like siblings, Ayla and Lark’s relationship takes on a dynamic sort of based on that; Ayla views Lark as her “brother’s” girlfriend (that she likes more than her “brother”). Ayla often steals her away from Trouble (whether to tease one of them or just because that’s where she knows to find them), but they wouldn’t be such good friends if they didn’t also have Trouble as a common factor. Also, where Lark keeps Trouble from getting into trouble, she doesn’t have that kind of pull with Ayla.

Halek: Lark secretly looks up to Halek a lot, mostly because she’s insanely interested in her Hunter heritage. However, Lark is a try-hard and Halek is…the exact opposite, so almost every day she has a sobering moment of the “never meet your idols” variety. Her respect for him is generous, but not entirely unfounded at the end of the day. Halek has caught on to this a bit and enjoys it thoroughly. She doesn’t act reverent and obnoxious because he’s the Sol, and she’s entertaining, so he doesn’t mind the baseless respect she has for him too much.

Briony: Good friends that wish they could spend more time together. They both have that belief in goodwill and ability to make everyone like them, at least a little bit. When they do have each other’s attention, they’re often both talking quickly and excitedly about something deep and personal. They don’t waste time and they’re known to have boundless energy when together. They also like to IMMEDIATELY spill the tea to each other when they can. Lark has mistaken Briony for Qilan and Qilan for Briony from behind multiple times.

Lavinet: Lavinet likes to dote on Lark, and while she doesn't mind it too much, Lark wishes they could be closer and more genuine friends. Whether due to their limited time together or too much of a difference in their upbringing, they’ve not yet reached that point. They are on good terms, though! 

Mimir: Friends, even though Mimir's manner of speech can confuse Lark. Oftentimes, Lark seeks Mimir out - she finds her presence calming in an arduous sense, like meditating beneath a waterfall. Mimir is more talkative around Lark, almost as if she thinks she has to entertain Lark when she has her company. Lark sometimes gets the feeling that Mimir sees her as some type of pet - or perhaps a docile little forest creature - in need of enrichment and engagement, rather than a real friend.

Croelle:

Qilan: Besties. Attached at the hip. Soulmates. I like the idea of them purposely both being kithma…like they were made by the gods to enhance the other’s power 🥺 they also (accidentally) balance each other out, especially in terms of how their similar backstories made them turn out. Lark found small shreds of kindness and community and eventually became a bleeding heart, while Qilan was forced to live on her own and cultivate lands of ruin to something she could use to sustain herself. Sometimes they kinda see each other as "Qilan is everything I could be if I wasn't such a failure"/"Lark managed to keep hold of that one precious thing that I've lost, that ability to love". But they are very close....forever.... It’s a bonus that their attachés are good friends too. They are an INSEPARABLE group. Do not even TRY

Currently, in the version of events where Lark and Qilan are BOTH the MC, I imagine they were both created by the gods in an effort to maximize the chances that at least one of them would be able to succeed in their task. Lark and Qilan never meet until they were both assigned to protect a caravan (before the events of canon.) This caravan didn't care much if the diminished fraternized or not, so Qilan spent half the journey both befriending Lark and dropping hella hints. (Perhaps both being the gods' special little dolls drew them to each other too...) Anyway, Qilan definitely successfully seduces Lark during this trip (it is a positive experience that helps Lark understand her asexuality and boundaries btw) and they part ways, expecting to never see each other again. ...then they both get assigned to Prihine's caravan. Qilan is assigned to Prihine, while Lark is either there to accompany some merchant that's better off that the rest or a guest of the wedding. Either way, Qilan and Lark aren't allowed to talk while on this journey, though Caine willingly winds up being their middleman sometimes. At the wedding, there's either twice as many demons descending upon Caine and Prihine or they both use the WOP to stop the demon and later are like "dangit one of us could've save ours!" Or maybe they share the WOP pool and have to split the seven between them. These details do not matter rn only the drama does. ANYWAY.....by the time they both recover and settle into the Shepherds, Qilan and Lark are basically inseparable. They are always around each other, everybody knows they're a set even before they discover that they are literally two halves of the same soul. Even once Qilan and Lark find themselves with, ahem, romantic entanglements, they still sometimes act more like a couple with each other than with their beau (i.e. going to each other to patch up wounds or when seeking comfort). So, to repeat: do NOT separate!!!

* HISTORY * ༉‧₊˚✧

Lark grew up in a sheltered little farming town, daughter to the heads of the community and heir to her father’s little farm. He kept chickens, and though Lark was taught how to do the entire process, she never got comfortable with killing the ones that they were to eat. Maj was a very close-knit community which often treated children as if they were everyone’s charge, not just the parents'. Lark gained a lot of skills from people in the community, including learning her instrument from a lonely, grumpy old man on the other end of the village.

Though she was expected to take over the farm and possibly as leader of the community, Lark dreamed of becoming a scholar. There was no way for this to happen - not when learned Mages were seen as so dangerous, plus the formal education in Maj was not quite up to the standards of most academic circles - but she still hungrily read every book in the village, trying to teach herself and broaden her horizons.

When the demon attacked and Maj disappeared, Lark immediately ran away. She didn’t know where to go or what to do, but staying in the open field, not even a single dogwood petal on the grass when there should’ve been houses and dirt paths and at least bodies - triggered too much of a panic. She hated the suffocating fear of being entirely and unexpectedly alone. Even worse, she hated that she felt abandoned, as if it was ever their fault that she couldn’t save a single soul.

Soon, a shady man found her and recognized her iladrin. He took her in with the promise of shelter, food, work and a new family. Still a young teen and obviously vulnerable, Lark readily agreed and found herself the newest attraction of an illegal traveling sideshow. The man kept dangerous animals in cages too small and mistreated his workers - all of which were Diminished of some kind, illegally using their powers to entertain people. Lark was a hypnotist, forced to use her magic to convince people to do whatever she wanted and keep up the act. The first time she refused, her meals were withheld from her and she was hurt so badly they had to cancel her performance that night. Eventually, somebody reported the sideshow to the Inquisitors, and Lark was lucky enough to have been out when they besieged the show.

For a while afterwards, Lark drifted around from town to town, selling small embroidered handcrafts to feed herself. When she stayed in one town for a while, she’d take commissions for clothing or tablecloths - larger projects worth more money. But she always left, afraid the Inquisitors or even her old ringmaster might find her.

She managed to get a job as the security personnel for a jeweler, a position she held for a year. However, her boss’ son stole from the store and blamed it on her. Though he was a kind man, he couldn’t accept that his child had done that to him and fired Lark over it. The son didn’t bring enough “evidence” to warrant charges, but the man still let her go for allowing things to be stolen in the first place. Then she got her job as a bodyguard, mainly guarding caravans, and the rest is history.

Lark winds up absorbing the thoughts and feelings of others (not magically, just empathically), which lends to her rather dramatic mood and countenance swings. In Maj, she was happy and confident, a beloved child of the leader and all around ‘little charmer.’ After the incident, she was disposable and unwanted, so she shut down. In the Shepherds, she’s valued once more, so she adopts her friendly, welcoming persona once again - the one that comes more naturally to her. Once she loses the voices, she feels unimportant and severed from the piece of her that gave her worth, and she starts shutting down again. Her sensitivity to the wants of others - and wanting to be wanted by others - makes it more extreme than a simple trauma response.

Despite her difficulties in structured, formal learning, Lark has a sharp mind and can weasel her way out of many difficult situations. Her charm has never quite left her, and she is often able to give opponents a false sense of security when they underestimate her. She doesn’t operate on any basis of pride and is willing to pull almost any trick to get what she wants, as long as her people won’t think less of her.

In training her recruits, Lark tries to be strict and commanding during drills and kind and nurturing in the downtime. However, since she is extremely sensitive as aforementioned, she winds up leaning on the kind and gentle side. At first, the recruits take advantage of this, but after seeing how crestfallen she was when they failed their first assignment, they all silently agreed to NEVER make her that upset again.

Some captains with their recruits: Listen to me or you will DIE on the field! Other captains with their recruits: Listen to me or you'll have to do laps!! Lark with her recruits: 🥺🥺 listen to me 🥺🥺 or I'll cry

* TRIVIA * ༉‧₊˚✧

Lark's swordmanship borrows from the many different places she's learned from: her hometown, where she learned rudimentary skills for self and farm defense; the sideshow, where there was a ket-mage that could fight with swords as well as juggle them; an old Inquisitor, secretly disgruntled with the Autarchy for one reason or another, who was willing to turn a blind eye and give a Diminished some pointers for her security job; and some other Diminished as she traveled with various caravans.

As she starts studying magic more efficiently, she eventually gains an affinity for wilds magic and can talk to some animals. (It helps that, during her time at the sideshow, there was a woman with wilds magic who worked as a "beast tamer" there and sort of became a motherly figure for Lark) She never gains the complete ability - not without it taking a great amount of effort and energy, at least - but if she forms a close bond with an animal, she can then communicate with it freely.

She has tamed crows so that they recognize her and bring her shiny things / gifts - first the normal way by feeding them, then additionally with her wilds magic. There's a whole murder of them that she can talk to now. Sometimes she can use them for surveillance as well, but only a few are good at that (for now).

On her own, Lark doesn't have a specifically good eye, but she has an uncanny talent for finding things. This isn't related to her magic at all - she's just good at it. That's how her crows know what to look out for and what's "suspicious" during surveillance, and people at the compound often look for her when they need to find something they misplaced.

Lark wound up having 100% heart of gold and 100% soldier stats on ACCIDENT when my original plan was for her to be a little manipulative but appearing innocent enough to get away with it. Silver tongue was her first stat to get to 100%, so now to reconcile these two ideas, I've simply decided that: 

- She's unwittingly but incredibly persuasive - She has major guilt over everything and assumes she's manipulating people when she's actually just convincing them normally - Doesn't think twice about using her enchantments to get information but always feels really bad about it as soon as she's done  - Is incredibly overdramatic and genuinely believed that she had walled off her heart and iced everyone out while simultaneously in the process of befriending literally everyone she first met at the Shepherds compound

Lark loves to lie. She doesn't do it maliciously but she likes doing that thing where she teasingly tries to pass lies off as true facts. She's also really good at lying for the sake of a mission - in fact, during the climactic battle of a mission, she almost turns into a different person, cold and calculating and knowing exactly where to hit with her sword - but it all falls apart the moment it's over or when the mission starts to fall apart. And she could never lie to her fwends 🥺

Her mood oscillates between two extremes of numb / anxious and affectionate / confident. Work in the Shepherds keeps her busy enough, and she’s (mostly) been able to keep her self esteem up and her moods more stable. Before joining, she was definitely more on the numb side of things, and when she loses the voices in her head after touching the luminary stone, she withdraws again.

Also related to losing the voices - Lark kind of accepted them at first because she didn’t care if it was a demon or not. She was sort of thinking “if it kills me, it kills me,” but in her most desperate moments she was glad to not be totally and utterly alone. Then she started to find it comforting before battles with the Faceless Lords, almost like a secret trusted advisor in her head…even if it was off-putting and, as far as she knew, a demon. Losing the voices felt like losing a friend. She was right on the brink of self-preserving and self-sacrificing before this, but once the voices are gone and there’s a gaping void in her thoughts, she starts dancing closer and closer to tendencies of martyrdom.

Her Hunter blood manifests a little more than she notices, and she always attributes it to natural causes. Somebody cold on an early winter’s day in Haven? She offers them her jacket - she runs warm, anyway. Somebody is lying to her? Well, she has a good gut instinct for that kind of thing - maybe she’s subconsciously picking up little gives?

[blacksunscorpio]

Aphrodite No. 1388

Have you ever found yourself inexplicably fascinated with Hollywood sex symbols, fashion, arts, or general glamor? You've probably chalked it up to your Venus placement or stellium in the 2nd or 7th [The houses Venus rules] but what if I told you that might not be the only reason?

Yes, Asteroid Aphrodite No. 1388 is the placement you may want to peep. Especially if she's making prominent placements or aspects to your inner planets. Note: Pay attention to conjunctions/squares/oppositions the most and orbs within 0-3 degrees. Trines and sextiles are of note but only if they are respecting inner planets, the ascendant, and at the aforementioned degrees.

So let's get into it:

Aphrodite in Mythology

was the goddess of sex, love, beauty, passion, fertility, prosperity, and procreation. She was also patron goddess of prostitutes and believed no one should leave this world a virgin. She was wife of the god Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths and fire but also the most notable lover of Ares [her 'Soul mate'. So what does she represent in the birth chart?

All of the above.

Asteroid Aphrodite in her elevated expression is all about love, beauty, talent, and sex appeal. She is compassionate and generous. Independent, strong in her femininity, and charming. This asteroid has the ability to see beauty in everything and has an innate knack for creativity and artistic talents. A developed and healthy expression of sexuality and passion [not the toxic kind but the kind true love stories are made of]. She's all positive pleasure and sensuality. Body positivity and healthy expressions of sex.

In her base or lower expression, she's a bit like a toxic Lilith. She'll manifest as using attractiveness for underhanded means. Infidelity, repression of the sexual drive, callousness in love or arrogance based on vanity, vanity in general, sexual manipulation, fickleness, fixation of impossible standards of beauty, or superficiality regarding aesthetics. [Basically everything wrong with fashion and beauty today.] She can also manifest in the 6th house and/or ill-aspected as those who suffer from body dysmorphia or those who suffer from eating disorders due to these impossible beauty standards. Physical perfection becomes an obsession.

Now, if you have this particular asteroid prominently based in your chart, you may find that you value beauty, pleasure, and romance. There might be a taste for refined aesthetics and/or one can just be naturally gifted with creativity and art. Career-wise, one could find themselves drawn to jobs that revolve around fashion, interior design, modeling, make-up, photography, cooking, etc. If she's touching Mars or in the 8th, one could find themselves making sex work a part of their career as well.

Aphrodite in the signs

Aries: Two words: Sexuality promiscuous. Like the sign of Aries, the fire burns hot then goes out. Freedom and independence are paramount and they value those who see things similarly. Getting too emotionally invested in others is not appearing to them in any way, here for a good time, not a long time. Sporty aesthetic. Athleisure. Sex will likely be hard and fast.

Taurus: Love of the material. Base-level treasure seekers. However, they are typically quite attractive and even look pleasant when they don't put much effort in. Follow trends and keep up with the day-to-day fashion world. Most likely an Instagram fashion influencer. Love of glitz and glam. Shinier the better. Diamonds are their best friend.

Gemini: Serial fuckers. Literally, this aphrodite placement will have a full black book of names. A thousand notches on the belt. A million notches on the bedpost... well, you get the idea. Very charismatic and uses their intelligence to seduce. Sapiosexuals. Stimulate their mind and you might keep their attention... for an hour as opposed to 15 minutes like the rest. Will know everyone and everything about everyone. Life of the party and will charm with their wit.

Cancer: The emotional lover. Don't let this food you though, hurt them and they'll pull out their pincers. This Aphrodite placement loves to be nurtured and taken care of and will often do the same. Mood affects appearance. Charms using one of two things: their hard to get energy [Crabshell] or their love of family and togetherness [4th house]. No in-between, really.

Leo: Worship me vibes. Lovers of attention. This placement is very prideful. They don't like to share [their lovers] at all. Typically though, because of their love of the spotlight, their fashion sense is impeccable. They are hard to miss and will usually light up a room. Ignore them and you'll wound them.

Virgo: Immediate/outwardly "perfect" appearance. Because of this sign's attention to detail, they are often very pristine in their approach. Clean sex- the type in the shower or when one is freshly groomed around the genital area. Will use their "perfection" to pull the cream of the crop in the dating pool their way. This placement can go far in the fashion world and may even become designers. Often do well as dancers or some sort of aesthetic career that involves "precision".

Libra: Serial Flirt. With Aphrodite here, it's like getting a double shot of Venusian energy. Pleasant, charming... naturally beauties not unlike Taurean Aphrodite's. Don't mind casual sex or casual flings but prefer relationships. Very focused on aesthetics and, like Virgo Aphrodites could go far in their fashion world or make-up pursuits. Can be very superficial.

Scorpio: Alluring vibe. They WILL fuck a lot. It's in their nature. Will be loyal if they are in a committed partnership though. Can give off scary vibes or RBF but they feel things deeply. Their aesthetic is dark colors, black as elegance, an intimidating style that appears edgy. Artistically may enjoy all things Tim Burton.

Sagittarius: Vagabond vibes. Eternal traveler. Eternal nomad. Epitome of promiscuity here. However, quite laid back. Their aesthetic probably has something to do with maps or cartography. Bohemian energy with pictures or fabrics from the far east or even Africa. Most likely has a buddha head somewhere in their home. Speak to them in an accent or different language to turn them on.

Capricorn: Independent vibes. These aphrodite placements are not keen on sharing their lives too much with others. Very business-like. Sexually though, they are insatiable. Machines. They like things to but black tie or button up. This does not mean they aren't laid back, they just like things to be all work with very little play until said work is done. Name brands and expensive suits/dresses? They're all about that. It's a status symbol thing. What Caps are famous for.

Aquarius: Avant-garde vibes. This placement will cut their hand off before they lose their freedom. More vagabond-esque than Sag tbh. Will love a style that shocks you or is out of the ordinary. Not traditional in any sense. Their sex will be kinky or they'll prefer it to have some sort of spice. Missionary? Nope. Expect a toy or ten. Pansexuals. Free love. Don't try to get them to commit unless they're ready.

Pisces: Subtle vibes. Subtle style. Dreamy style. Sexually they need to be emotionally connected. May find themselves falling in love often with the idea of someone than the reality of them. Lovers of the grunge and druggy era. 90's vibes are their aesthetic with a touch of the ethereal. Messy art studios, messy hair, even messier love lives. Might attract co-dependent types. Day-dreamy.

[reki-of-the-valley]

Ok, so like, yeah. You could be boring.

Langa - Ice type trainer

Reki - Normal Type trainer

Cherry - Psychic Type trainer

Joe - Grass Type trainer

Shadow - Dark Type

Miya - idk. Just a variety of cat pokemon.

But that's boring. So here's our variety because I'm more passionate about pokemon than I am about my major. And we're going deeper than just teams

Langa:

A Sinnoh boy. But not from Snow point city. He's actually from Eterna City (I know, controversial). It's right off of Mt Coronet so he can get his snow there, and I'm sure there's snow seasons all around Sinnoh, especial in the north.

He was the kid that learned a lot about Sinnoh's mythology as a kid because his parents didn't let him play by the forest like the other kids, so he was often just learning about the mythology of the region. And he's really good at it, but he doesn't really like talking about it because the other kids used to make fun of him as a kid for his vast knowledge, calling him spacey (get it? Because the mythology is mostly about the space trio? And because he's just normally spacey?)

His team + what he does:

Controversial but he'd be in a research branch. "But Langa's too braindead to be in a research field!" SHUT UP! he goes around looking up ""new"" mythology and trying to understand the past! A historical research path, if you will

Sneasel. He found it as a kid and unlike the other sneasels, this one wasn't aggressive by nature. And Nanako 100% freaked out when Langa came home with it, but Oliver convinced her they could keep it

Braviery. After spending so much time reading about the history and mythology of Sinnoh, he needs one. And yeah, it's evolved, not the same as in the books, but it's still cool

Vulpix (Alolan). Nanako brought it back from the center one day, after it was rushed in. Apparently there was a Vulpix trafficking happening and this one was discarded, so Nanako brought it home and Langa immediately got attached to it

Flaaffy. No big reason, just Flaaffy (which will eventually evolve)

--

Reki:

An Alolan kid! Paniola town, right by the ranch. It's a bit off from the beach and just. The ranch seems like a Kyan thing, for some reason? And not just because you could let the kids run loose after pokemon

Anyway, Reki. Essentially the same as canon. Has fun with his skateboard, works on boards in one of the ranch barns. No major change there. Except that there aren't many kids around the ranch, essentially just him and his sisters, so he doesn't have many friends, so he tries teaching the ranch pokemon how to skateboard which isn't all that successful

Team + ""career"" path:

He sets off as a trainer because he wants adventure before he has to take up the ranch work which is expected of him. But he has time before then, so he wants to explore, especially the other islands and potentially whole other regions. He wants to be an awesome trainer and he's just looking for his happiness (and he rather have a smaller team that's closer than a bigger team where he can't give everyone the attention they deserve)

Eevee. Has it since it's an egg. He found it around the ranch when he was younger and just hide it in his room until it hatched. And once it hatched, he tried hiding it but that didn't work and his mom found out. Thankfully, she let him keep it because it had already grown attached to him. It's also his only pokemon that can successfully use a skateboard

Growlithe. Big puppy, matches his energy. It likes running next to him while he's on his skateboard because he goes really fast and it likes going fast (it'll eventually evolve into an Arcanine and Reki will be able to leash it up and let it run and pull him on his skateboard and go REAL fast)

Mimikyu. Befriended it by making it cute little costumes, which he has lots of fun doing. It latched onto him when it realized he was nice and not scared of it

--

Cherry:

A basic bitch. A Kanto man. Saffron City. Works at the Silph Co. Head Office. Honestly, his parents probably own part of the company or something. Because this man was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and probably one of a Kadabra or of an Alakazam.

Cherry was 100% raised by nannies and all those people, but that doesn't mean he wasn't flown around the world as a kid. He knows every region and once he was old enough to rebel, he does by running away from home to be a pokemon trainer. Cherry actually tries a lot of things and while he's really good as a contest performer, he refuses to do it because there are performers in his family and he'd be ""conforming"" to the family image, and they have a very bad view on trainers, so he sticks to being a reckless trainer for years.

His team + career:

So as a teen, he travels the world as a trainer, but when he's running low on funds, he does do contests because he wins all of them. He's known as the "Elusive Cherry Blossom" and no one can figure out his identity and he finds it hilarious. Also he travels with Joe.

Adult Cherry, however, has returned home and took up the family business. He still occasionally appears as Cherry Blossom on stages across the world, but especially around Kanto. But not much, since he's so busy with Silph Co and all.

Alakazam: It was one of the Abras he had around the house when he was growing up, like his emotional support Abra which would go everywhere with him. It never left his side

Cherrim: Obviously Cherry Blossom has the blossom pokemon. It's his signature pokemon.

Smeargle: It's for the calligraphy

Absol: Edgy Teen Cherry needed one, obviously. And what he wants, he gets

Chimeco: It got attached to him and he just let it tag along. Plus it's temperamental so it's a little like him, aka looks can be deceiving

Roselia: More flowers and it's got thorns. Again, looks can be deceiving, kinda like with Cherry

--

Joe:

Johto-born, but grew up in Kanto, first in Cerulean but then his parents moved to Saffron where he met Cherry as a grade-school kid. Comes from a middle-class family, so meeting Cherry was a complete coincidence, probably during one of the times he ran away from home. He didn't get to see Cherry very often, but every day he would wait at the same spot, and every once in awhile, Cherry would come out and play with him until he was found again. And the day Joe sneaks Cherry into his room when they're middle schoolers (just to have a sleepover because Cherry told him he never had one), the whole city is in shambles because he's missing. Everyone is searching for him but they hide out in Joe's room, giggling and having fun, and Cherry ends up sneaking back home at around 5 in the morning and pretends nothing happened, and no one will ever know about that sleepover. They leave on an adventure together not long after (also Joe's parents were 100% aware about the Cherry situation, but didn't say anything)

His team + career:

Joe starts off as a pokemon trainer like Cherry, but quickly gives it up. He likes training, but he doesn't like the fighting. And he quickly learns that he likes making food (because someone has to feed him and Cherry, and Cherry has no idea how to make food). So Joe focuses on trying new things while cooking and helps Cherry train.

As an adult, he also goes back to Saffron with Cherry, and opens up a local restaurant. At first it's just a low-key place, not really known or on the map. He has his clientele and he's happy with just them, but as soon as the news comes out that The CEO of Silph Co (or whatever Cherry is) has been spotted at a local restaurant, business explodes and suddenly Joe's got Silph Co. big boss meetings in his little shop. Cherry pretends not to know him because Reputation, but almost everyone knows that they know each other very well

Munchlax: His little taste tester. It loves trying all of Joe's new recipes for him, especially when Cherry would refuse, claiming that Joe was trying to poison him

Charmeleon: His assistant in the kitchen. The flame is hot and it loves helping, unlike Munchlax that just wants to eat

Golem: Great for training and for certain things in the kitchen. It's a little sad that Joe can't carry it anymore, but it still thinks it's a lap pokemon and will try to sit on Joe

Tropius: It loves picking berries for Joe when they were out on their adventure and its fruit is Cherry's favorite pick-me-up sweets

--

Shadow:

A Hoenn native, Petalburg to be exact, but his family moved to Floaroma Town, Sinnoh when he was a kid, around the age of 10. That's where he got his love of flowers; he would hang out by the flower shop a lot and the employees would let him help them, which is how he learned so much, so quickly.

When he's a little older and traveling around (per his parents' request, because they want him to experience the world before settling down), he goes to Galar and that's where his Shadow side comes out. There's a big punk community there and it clicks with him

Team + Career

Obstagoon. Do I really need to explain? + it tied back to his Hoenn roots since Zigzagoons are primarily native to there

Roserade: He caught it as a Bedew when he was a kid and he excitedly showed everyone at the flower shop and they were very proud of him. It's been his best friend since

Drifblim: Another around Floaroma Town catch. He weirdly vibed with it and his parents were terrified he was gonna get kidnapped but turns out it was friend, not foe

Cacnea: it was quirky and he couldn't abandon it. It also really likes hiding in his plants which drives him crazy, but also makes him laugh (not that anyone will ever see him laugh)

--

Miya:

Goldenrod, Johto, but his parents are from Unova. A star kid, aka his parents put him in show business since he was a toddler because he was a manipulative kid who could be loved by everyone. They often travel for shoots and stuff, but they still mainly stay in Goldenrod since it's such a big city. And in an industry like that, Miya quickly develops like a God-complex and becomes a total brat, but his parents don't see anything wrong with that

He leaves for his adventure a little younger than the rest, but he's got a camera crew essentially following him around at all time, because his parents pretty much signed him over for a reality tv like show. And the show crashes and burns the day Miya actually disappears. No one knows where he's gone and he's looked for by everyone.

His team + what he does:

With his tv business down the drain and suddenly having a bit more freedom (but also less freedom because he's hiding?), he can be himself a little more. He can be a kid, instead of what everyone expects him to be. He's not doing anything in particular, since he has to keep a low profile, but he still has fun battling (and winning most battles, like 95% of them) and he just likes bonding with his pokemon for real.

Zorua: He met it while on set, and he threw a tantrum until his parents let him keep it. And when he's on the run, it helps him disguise himself with its illusions

Teddiursa: Every kid at the company where Miya was put into had one and it was equipped with an everstone collar so it doesn't evolve and traumatize the little kids

Glameow: It's as bratty as Miya and they have a love-hate relationship

Altaria: It was his mom's, but she gave it to him when he left for his "adventure." It's extremely protective of him and when he has nightmares, it lets him cuddle it and it hums him to sleep

[late-to-the-party-81]

Checkmate Ch9

AN: Hi folks, another update on Loki and Chess. It's time for Loki to find out what's going on and realise what he feels.

This series is un-Beta'd. Divider by @firefly-graphics. Mood-board by me but photo credits to those who took them.

Series Master list | Chapter 8

CW: Swearing, Dreams, Mysticism, Soul mates, playing fast and loose with Norse Mythology, Angst

Word count: 2.5k

It took some curt phone-calls and a lot of self-control not to just ‘deal’ with the problem, but finally Loki had the press situation settled.

Val had pulled some strings to encourage the press to leave Chess alone. In return Loki had issued a written statement. First, rumours of his demise had be greatly exaggerated and two, he was working for the New Asgardian government in the role of an advisor. Thirdly, he would not be commenting on why he was at the police station other than the fact he was helping out a friend.

Having publicly announced he was now an advisor, he decided it would be best to actually visit Val in person, again. It had been a couple of months since he was last there, and if he were to actually start assisting in some official capacity then it would be easier to organise in person, even if he decided not to stay permanently. And time away from his firefly was what he needed.

Thoughts of her invaded nearly every waking moment.

Was she okay?

Did she need him?

Did she miss him?

A purely sexual obsession he could have coped with, but this was different. It took significant will power not to rush to her, wrap her up in his arms and hold her safe. He wanted to break every microphone and camera that had been thrust in her face, scream at every reporter for violating her space. And if the days were bad, the nights were worse. He was tormented by dreams of her. Dreams of the pair of them together. Dreams of her eyes looking into his filled with trust, dreams of the sound of her voice emitting little gasps as he loved her slowly, tenderly. And dreams of her, astride a horse, dressed in Valkyrie armour, triumphant and shining, and his! He needed to purge this, and maybe actually involving himself in some work would distract him.

It had been a week since he last saw her. And despite the fact they hadn’t been physically intimate, they had still spent a significant amount of time together in the aftermath of the assault. He was hoping he could manage a good two weeks away before having to return; he was still getting nowhere on the whole buzzing thing. He didn’t know how long he could keep up being near her and not touch her. Being back in New Asgard should also allow him more time and further access to the library to try and sort it all.

He landed the next day and made his way to Val’s offices. She greeted him more warmly than usual, a twinkle in her eye and a smirk on her face.

“Helping a friend, huh? You ready to spill yet?”

He glared in response and she chuckled.

“Okay, okay, I guess not. I’ve set you up with your own office if you want to use that rather than just working out of your rooms – whichever you prefer. And the same rooms as last time- those are now permanently yours for when you visit.” His expression softened.

“Thanks Val, for this and for helping out with the other stuff. I’ll go and get myself set up in the office – which way?”

She pointed a few doors down the corridor and he set off.

The desk in the room already had a few folders on it, detailing various different issues that Val wanted him to look at. The room itself was fairly sterile, but it only took a small burst of his magic to add a comfy chaise and a few other touches to make it more his style. He smiled – this was just what he needed. He poured himself a drink and settled in to look through his new workload.

He stayed in the office for several hours, catching up on everything before Val popped her head through the door and told him to leave.

“I’ve organised some food to be sent to your rooms tonight, but let me know if you want to meet up one evening to shoot the breeze outside of work.”

He gave her a small smile. He was thankful for her kindness. He was exhausted emotionally and all he wanted to do was eat something and go to sleep for a week. It was a shame his dreams that night continued to torture him.

She was blazing, a glow surrounding her. Air crackled with the energy radiating from her. She seemed so far away from him. He tried to move towards her but he couldn’t move. He cried out when someone ran towards her, weapon raised. She barely gave the assailant any of her notice, eyes fixated on the god before her. Without breaking his gaze her hand wrapped around the throat of the man trying to attack her. She lifted him in the air and squeezed, and audible cracking sound ringing out before she tossed him to the floor like a broken toy. More men ran towards her, with clubs, sticks, fists and guns. She span, kicked and disabled them, all the while moving further forward, towards him. He couldn’t tell whether she was there to kill him or save him, her expression entirely neutral. He tried to cry her name, but nothing came from his mouth. He urged his body to move but it was like he was in a vice. And then she was there, directly in front of him, a trail of bodies littered in her wake. She was glorious and terrifying and the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. “Loki……” his name came from her lips like a puff of wind, soft and gentle. Her hands, still crackling, came up to cup his face. She leant forward, pressing her lips to his. The world went white and he shattered apart.

Loki woke up with a start, breathing heavily, legs tangled in the sheet on his bed. He ran his hand over his face. It had all seemed so real. He downed the water in the glass on his bedside table and flopped back against the mattress and pillows. He tossed and turned during the next few hours, finally falling into a fitful sleep around dawn.

He was sat at his desk the next morning when Val poked her head around the door.

“Well you look like shit this morning.”

“You’re too kind.”

“What happened?”

“Dreams. Just probably first night in an unfamiliar bed.”

He got up from his chair and grabbing the folder in the top of his tray walked over to her.

“This builder is scamming you – he has inflated his quotation by 10%. I looked into other projects he has done of a similar nature. Would you like me to talk to him about it?”

He smiled, a slightly feral look in his eye. Val smirked at him.

“I think for his own safety, and for the protection of your new reputation, I will talk to him. I am sure I can encourage him to review his original quote. Thanks – this allows us a little more wiggle room in our budget. Don’t work too hard now.”

And with that she retreated from the room, leaving him to move onto his next task.

The days rolled on, and Loki got into a rhythm with his new work. He’d learnt a lot about the running of a kingdom from Odin as a youth, but it was all different now, here on Earth. The Asgardians couldn’t do everything needed in their new city themselves, they just didn’t have the resources and naturally had to work with and employ Midgardians for some projects. He was more familiar with them than anyone else in New Asgard. And being the God of Lies meant that no-one could pull the wool over his eyes. There were many unscrupulous businessmen out their willing to take advantage of the naivety of their new neighbours.

However, despite how happy he was with his work, any free moments, and his nights were still dominated by her. Francesca. Her name swirled around his brain like leaves caught in the wind. And there were still the dreams. The one last night had been particularly disturbing to him.

He was walking through a house. He could see grass and flowers outside the windows. He could hear a humming in the air. A soft glow radiated from the upper storey, pulling him up the stairs like a siren’s song. He could feel the rough wood of the bannister under his hand, hear the creak of the wooden stairs under his feet. He tried climbing faster but it was like wading through treacle. He knew he had to get up there, to the source of the light and the melodious humming. And then, like he was bursting out of a bubble, he stumbled up the top step. He cocked his head to figure out where the sound was coming from. The light was so bright up here it was hard to work out where it was originating from. He walked up the corridor, drawn to a half open door at the end. Yes, this was the right way. The humming was getting louder. The melody tugged at his memory, half familiar but too intangible to grasp. He pushed the door open and was bathed in more light. It warmed his skin like the sun, a feeling of peace and contentment settling over him like a blanket. There was a rocking chair facing a window. Someone was in it, because it was moving back and forth. He knew there was more furniture in the room but his brain couldn’t focus on it. He reached his hand out to grasp the back of the chair, and stepped around it to look at the occupant. “Loki……” She smiled up at him before turning her attention back to the small ebony haired baby in her arms. The child looked up at Loki with its light blue eyes.

Loki was sat on the floor of the library, books scattered around him. He was frustrated. He needed to know what the cause of the buzzing was, before it came back. He sighed in irritation as he recognised Val’s footsteps approaching. She came into the room and surveyed the mess surrounding the former Prince of Asgard.

“Doing research?” she asked, the usual half insolent smirk on her face.

“Not that it is any of your business, I have been suffering from a strange malady the past few months and I am trying to find out the cause. So far it eludes me.”

“Have you been to see the healers?”

“No, it is not of a ‘physical’ nature per se.”

She sat down, cross-legged beside him, picking up the nearest book.

“Common Hexes, huh? You think someone has bewitched you?”

She couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as he glared at her. She sat, flicking through the book, loudly eating an apple as he tried to get back to what he was doing. It was no use, his concentration had been broken.

“It’s my head, alright. A ridiculous buzzing in my head that gets louder and louder and more painful the longer I am away from…..what?”

He realised that Val was staring at him, slack-jawed. She leant forward and grabbed him roughly on his shoulder.

“From who Loki? Whose presence and absence affects you in this way?”

“Francesca….my…erm…friend…”

“The Midgardian girl?”

Val stood, still looking completely stunned.

“It shouldn’t be possible…” she said more to herself than to him.

He rose too, realising he was near to some kind of breakthrough.

“You know something, Val. What is it?”

Her only response was to grab his wrist and drag him away from curses and magic, towards history. She roughly shoved him towards a chair, grabbed a large volume from the shelf and sat opposite him, thumbing through the pages. When she found the correct page she turned the book to him.

“You, dear prince, have made a soul connection with a Valkyrie.”

The blood drained from already pale face.

“What? No…wait…she’s mortal…a Valkyrie?”

It felt as though his brain was misfiring – nothing made sense.

“Okay, when someone makes a soul connection with a Valkyrie something changes in both of them. It firstly manifests as an intense need to be near each other, and to fight it or ignore it leads to discomfort and pain when you are apart. Sound familiar?”

“But Francesca has never admitted to feeling any discomfort. She knows about mine, I can’t think she would be able to hide it from me. And what does a soul connection mean?”

“I don’t know why she can’t feel it, or why it manifests differently for her. Maybe because she is mortal, but something about her must be a Valkyrie, maybe her soul? That would make sense, although I have never ever heard of such a thing. And as for what it means?”

A small smile played across her lips.

“It means that the two of you are bound together until death.”

“What can stop it?”

“The soul connection? Nothing. The buzzing and pain? Let me ask you this. How long has it been since you felt it?”

“A couple of weeks, that’s how long it was last time before I had to go and see her. Why?”

“The buzzing only stops for one reason, when both souls have spent so much time together that their bodies, their minds have, well, got with the programme. And you have been here longer than a couple of weeks. It’s almost four since you got here. The buzzing has stopped because you, Loki, God of Mischief, are well and truly bound to, and in love with, a mortal with the soul of a Valkyrie.”

How she wished she could have preserved an image of Loki’s face in that instant. The play of emotion and confusion across his face was hilarious. She pushed her chair back and rose to her feet, cackling maniacally, patted the bemused god on the shoulder and left the library.

Love. The word rolled around his mind. He immediately knew that Val was right about that fact. He did love Francesca. He had been trying to deny it for the last few weeks but that night he had rescued her, he could no longer push the thoughts away. He would do anything to keep her safe, to make her days a joy and give her everything she could ever want or desire. He pulled the book that Val had found for him closer and started to read, eager to learn everything he could. The only love he’d really felt before was that he had had with his mother. But this, with his firefly, was something wholly different. And as he read he came to a further realisation, fulling understanding something that Val had said. For the buzzing to stop, they both had to be in love. She loved him. A wave of euphoria spread through him. She loved him.

It was time to go home.

Chapter 10

Tag list: @sidepartskinnyjeans @christywantspizza @turbolisedcomet @animnerd @viva-asgardia

[davidmann95]

So RWBY/Justice League is apparently a crossover that's actually going to happen. Of the little we know right now, how do you think that's going to pan out?

Anonymous said: Those questions about Superman and Batman in RWBY seem prescient, because I'm hearing that an official crossover is in the works

Anonymous said: Um, so there's a legit Justice League/RWBY crossover coming

Anonymous said: So, that official DC/RWBY crossover, huh?

Anonymous said: So, how about that DC/RWBY cross, eh?

Anonymous said: No more speculating how Superman would fit into RWBY when DC themselves are providing their own answer XD

The immediate thing that leaps out beyond the Kingdom Hearts* level of utterly out of nowhere berserk this premise is: while the RWBY comic had a couple minor sequel hooks, and I don’t know how it did in its original digital chapters or in trade, as a monthly periodical it was selling poorly enough that DC didn’t bother to print its last physical issue after the return from the Coronavirus shutdown, and while I thought it was great a lot of fans complained about its art and characterization throughout. I hoped for that sequel, sure, but I wasn’t expecting the book to be regarded internally as anything but a sales failure, nevermind not only continuing it but tripling down in the most extreme and bizarrely specific way possible that’s neither intuitive (unless you have special interests like me) nor surface-level ridiculous enough like Batman/Elmer Fudd that people will buy it just to see how it works. I don’t understand why this comic is happening when no one but me wanted this.

(* The Kingdom Hearts comparison is apt because they were similarly close to the top of things I’d love to see cross over with the DCU that would obviously never, ever happen because that’s too precise and random a combination of my interests. Even if this is legally possible where that isn’t, that would still be conceptually simpler.)

I was asked a couple times in the past about how Superman or Batman could make sense in RWBY’s setting, and it turns out I was closer with the latter than the former - that rather than a dimension-hopping traditional crossover, this is reverse-engineering what the assorted members of the League would look like if they had always been part of Remnant ala JLA/Planetary, some of the old DC/Marvel crossovers, or the more recent Batman/The Shadow. Which actually fits really well with the series regularly evoking assorted fairy tales and mythologies with their characters; this bunch is just one more set to be added. Though that raises several more thoughts and questions:

* The solicit refers to them as Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, and Diana Prince, but will they actually be referred to as such in the story, and will people comment on them not fitting with the color-based naming conventions of that world? Or will they be renamed and evoke their sources purely through iconography, ala Ruby not literally being Little Red Riding Hood?

* How much will the origins of the assorted characters be changed? Batman, Cyborg, and Aquaman would all make perfect sense within the ‘rules’ of the setting with few major alterations, but will Superman still be from Krypton and Green Lantern a space ranger, or will they simply be ordinary humans with thematically reminiscent backstories and Semblances/weapons that evoke the classic powers? I think the latter could work, but I imagine the former is more likely (even if Bennett might keep it vague on some of the details to preserve the aura of mystique and avoid changing the shape of the world too radically) simply because everyone’s surely aware that fans would complain about being ‘ripped off’ for getting the characters ‘in name only’ otherwise.

* Speaking of changes to fit the setting, between being a Faunus and the apparent low-tech traditional armor look of his suit, is Bruce Wayne in here not operating from a position of wealth? You’d just think as a given the Wayne family would be easily plopped in as business rivals to the Schnees and Alfred would be on a first name basis with Klein, but it seems Bennett might have something very different in mind. Also, little disappointing he simply has a katana rather than those collapsible batarangs that turn into swords that Ellis always gave him which would fit perfectly here. And, as so many have already asked: how miserable is he every second of every day in a world where everything is also a gun. At least this isn’t a universe where anyone’s gonna think he’s irresponsible for training teenage sidekicks.

* And if we’re going into individual characters: RWBY Barry Allen is adorable, what the hell. He just looks so dopey and hapless, I sure hope he doesn’t ever have to die to stop the Anti-Monitor. We’re definitely getting a meeting with Harriet that retcons in that he’s the other person with a speed Semblance she mentioned running into, and if he’s tapping into the Speed Force then the jokes that that’s what Harriet does are probably gonna become at least a little bit canon.

* Are the Themyscirans magic, given all magic has a very important common root in this world?

* I don’t think there’s a dud redesign in the bunch? These are all really inspired in their own ways, which is good because unlikely as it seems this is I believe the first time we’ve really gotten any sort of official interpretation of “here’s what the DCU would look like as a Shonen”. Go ahead and say the hell with it and make it Earth 28, I’ve thought before making that an anime Earth would fit with the map.

(By Ag_Nonsuch)

* Bunch of obvious ways these characters can play off of each other: Ruby is paralleled with Wonder Woman on the cover, and I’m curious how Bennett will play that, but she makes most sense next to Flash, a super-fast fan made good, or Superman, a character she so deeply if unintentionally evokes on so many levels I felt I had to make clear when describing her that I didn’t solely appreciate her as a psuedo-Superman analogue. Weiss makes sense up against Batman either as a wealthy heir or a Faunus who’s likely faced his share of pain from the Schees who either way are cold perfectionists defined by inner pain stemming from their families, or Wonder Woman/Aquaman as fellow ‘royalty’. Yang is paralleled with Superman on the cover and that makes sense with the two country bruisers with issues regarding their lost parents, though she’d also make sense with Aquaman as the ‘temperamental’ members a lot of the time of their respective teams, or Cyborg as they both deal with their relationships with their bodies after requiring prosthesis. And Blake pretty much has her pick: like Superman she uses an article of clothing to ‘pass’ and shares the commitment to justice, she and Batman are dark children of privilege (or not in this case, though in this world they’re both Faunus), she and Wonder Woman both left the island homes where their people were safe to try and make the rest of the world better, she and Aquaman are both Faunus royalty, and Green Lantern is about overcoming great fear and in Jessica Cruz’s case specifically about the guilt of running away.

* Will this be entirely flashbacks to the pre-series/Beacon years, or will those be flashbacks set from a ‘present’, and if so when? What happened between the siege of Haven and the train setting off for Argus is the most loosely-defined period in the story and is right on the heels of the end of the original RWBY mini, so I’d imagine it fitting here. And given they apparently join together “to take on a force unlike anything they've seen before” rather than purely the character work of that previous book, what might that be?

* Hey, superhero comics/superpowers as an idea already exist in this universe, will that come up?

* If we can get one single scene in this and it’s going with a “yes they’re still aliens and magic and whatnot” premise I want Clark, who hasn’t thought of being Superman yet and therefore is still at least somewhat hiding his powers, being wracked with guilt over not pursuing becoming a Huntsman and therefore not being there at the Fall of Beacon. Which is a ridiculous thing to take the blame for, but of course he would, he’s Clark, culminating in trying to apologize to JNR for Pyrrha dying he feels in part because he was a coward (when they don’t even have the faintest concept for why he would think he should have been there or could have done anything).

* Once all’s said and done, how is their presence in the world justified as not being a factor in the series proper? It’s simple if they’re ‘ordinary’ analogues who can go off to quietly have adventures elsewhere, but if not then some of them either have to be shuffled off stage or presumably left with their stories incomplete, with a little afterward of “and they went on to be the greatest heroes of all...later, after the scope of team RWBY’s main adventures so that we never have to directly address them again” to avoid them becoming unavoidable major factors in the war against Salem.

In the end, will it be DC’s best comic? No, though I imagine one of their better ones this year. Will it be among the ones I look forward to most each month? Right up there with Yang and Reis’s Batman/Superman baby, this is a miracle freak of fate and I’m gonna appreciate the universe bending over backwards to make entertainment for me and me alone while it lasts. Given I finally checked out RWBY in the first place because I was curious about Bennett’s original comic, this is a heck of a full-circle moment.

[gentlemancrow]

Man I am like BURSTING with fan fic ideas so I’m gonna list out all my current outlines I have in my gdrive in hopes of organizing and prioritizing them and also if people see one they like perhaps BUMP IT UP A LITTLE ON THE PRIORITY LIST?  So feel free to yell at me if there is something you wanna see in particular!

Continue with “Season 2″ of In Scientia, Magicae - I’m working on this I swear!  I have it open right now and I’m actually taking a brain break from it to write this post and get the noisy fic bees out of my head so I can focus better on it haha!  I can’t believe I wrote 66K words of basically solo Martin almost dying 80 times with Jon just watching him with beholding from his secret curse lair like WTF is wrong with this kid.

“The Road to Tír na nÓg“- A series of 3 one shots/short stories that explore elements of Gaelic/Welsh mythology with bonus Jmart childhood friends trope!  Tentatively titled, in order, Changeling, Hobgoblin, Avalon :> Also attempting to be in the style/spirit of a classic Gaelic/Welsh myth sort of??

Semi related at least thematically hehe, a one shot told in the style of an oral fable/almost a statement involving sirens and curses and an interesting narrative style I’ve never really tried before!

A really weird and metaphysical attempt at a canon compliant post Mag 200 fic where I play VERY fast and loose with interpreting the phrase “Somewhere else” hehe.  Also a chance to flex my comedy AND tragedy skills all at once!  Obviously a multi-chapter highly involved project so this one is kinda on the back burner pointedly for now :T

A super out there idea that smacked me in the face the other day and now it won’t leave me alone - Based EXTREMELY loosely on the part in Practical Magic where she casts a spell to fall in love only with this crazy specific dude who could never possibly exist so she never has to feel the pain of falling in love.  Yeah Martin finds a Leitner as a teen that lets him do exactly that and you see where I’m going with this 83

And that about does it?  MAN I wanna make all of these exist SO BADLY but there are only so many hours in the day!

[shadow-kings-legacy]

"We're wide awake now, our eyes are wide open" Definition of hero

1a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability b : an illustrious warrior c : a person admired for achievements and noble qualities d : one who shows great courage source: Meriam Webster online dictionary

The dictionary definition of a hero paints quite a fantastic picture of an ideal good character, something my players and I have put aside for the PCs, who all have flaws, goals and needs. It makes me really proud everytime someone does something incredible and in-character when we play. But I digress, it's time to introduce the main characters of our journey. In order of appearence and color coded for your benefit: 🟡 Alyssa (the paladin) 🌞 🟠 Joshiro (the monk) ⚓ 🔵 Korinn (the warlock) 🌊 🎀 Nonemi (the artificer) 🔫 🟢 Ozthen (the rogue) 🍀 🟣 Vesper (the bard) 💄 ⚫ Cassius (the warlock) 📚 🔴 Phybble (the (villain) wizard) 🍵 (Not shown) Dakreg (the fighter) 💪 I'll go into detail about their backstories and my thoughts about them in individual posts. For now, I'd like to make a synopsis of the story and a little bit of the process of how I came up with it.

"Have you heard about the Warlock King?" "Shh! Don't call him that, least you'll anger him!" "Alright, how about Shadow King?" -Whispers amoung a Waterdeep tavern crowd It all started in our starting campaing, where our local tabaxi warlock Korinn chose Larloch, the Shadow King to be her patron. This is nothing new of course, he is a popular choice for he is know as an incredibly powerful archmage in the DnD lore, his existence stretching back for centuries, having been a powerful mage in the ancient Netheril empire. Always the naive woman, Korinn made a deal with the lich, and in exchange, she would bring him magical items and offer him interesting subjects for his research. But in her chaotic nature, Korinn chose to defy his orders at the end of Lost Mines of Phandelver, this being the starting point of our next plot, and the birth of our new BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy). Now, for anyone who has read a bit about Larloch, you'll know he's not really "evil" by canon lore, he's a lawful (but still kinda evil, he kills anyone not of interest to him without a second thought, come on) crature, one who wants to be left alone to read and experiment by his lonesome like the nerd he is, he simps for the goddess of magic Mystra (he calls her The Lady, tips fedora) and makes the ocassional ground breaking new magical item / spell of the moment. That said, the wiki gave me a juicy hook to use him as a villain:

"But he was also insane, his mind affected by his extreme age. Sometimes he could be calm and even whimsical. Other times he was crazed, snarling and launching spells at random" -Forgotten Realms Wiki

"Well now, ain't that interesting" thought the me of the past. You're telling me this stupidly powerful being, who is presumed to have planned to every single variant that could occur, Dr Strange style, is a unstable old man? Sweet. So the magical equivalent of an atomic bomb's trigger was being held by this dude, let's just make the small sliver of sanity he has left realize he is loosing himself, that time is running out and he has to secure his legacy, to go out with a boom. But Larloch is not that selfish, he knows whatever plan he comes up with will affect Faerûn as a whole, so why not try to change the continet for good? Start a new era, an age of magic. Sweet lady Mystra, as much as she likes him, would not approve of him messing with her precious Weave of course, so his first step, deal with the meddling (but oh so beautiful) goddess of magic. He would not kill her, as he is no fool, gods can not be slayed (or can they...? Let's put a pin in that as well); so he'll just trap her, sealing her powers and keeping her safe in the safest place he knows, his phylactery. One deceitful invitation later, and with the help of his ol' "pals" Szass Tam, Zulkir of Necromancy and leader of the Thay nation; and the ancient black dragon (I know, he's cannonicaly green, but as I said, this is semi-homebrewed to fit the needs of my table) Vorgansharax, better know as the The Maimed Virulence, Mystra finds herself trapped and helpless at the hand of one of the few mortals she admired. Ain't life funny.

"Wait, so you're telling me a goddess, and not just any goddess, the misstress of fucking magic got trapped and no one noticed?!" Well, not quite dear reader, the other gods of the pantheon of course noticed, particulary god of justice Torm and his fiance (again, homebrewed) goddess of beauty Sune. The latter being the first to realized the absence of her dear friend, who went and told her man something smelled fishy (or dead, considering Larloch's an undead?). Both set out to investigate, and considering not many beings in the realm could be a danger to a god, the trail let to our lich friend quite fast. Torm, being a bit of a hot-head jumped at the chance to teach justice to this creature, while Tyr, the old god of justice begged him to reconsider, to think things through before taking actions. "A mortal capable of making Mystra dissapear is not to be taken lightly my friend" he said to deaf ears.

And so, with Sune helping him, Torm met with quite the surprise. Larloch had prepared for the interferance of other gods, so he ran a little experiment, he knew gods couldn't be killed, but why was that? The church would tell you it's because the gods live on all of us, as long as we believe in them, so even if they were to be struck down, the faith of the believers would bring them back. "The hypothesis is set, it is time to test it". And test it he did. With the raw power of two ancient liches and a black dragon, they were struck down in all of their inmortal arrogance. Larloch tracked the massive magical energies to two mortals in the Material Plane. "Interesting". The gods, after the mess that the Spellplague caused in the mortal's plane, had decided to not pick "champions" to control again it seemed, but still designed "vessels" of high faith and compatibility with their characteristics to recuperate their strenght at a faster rate if something were to happen to them. "So it is true, gods cannot die as long as their faith exist in mortals... Well now, what would happen if we removed this faith? Time for a new experiment. How intriguing". And so, the Shadow King set out to do the impossible, again. I'll tell more about the backstory and start tyring to tie in the PCs in the next posts. it is quite a lot of information, so putting everything together is a bit overwhelming, but so fun. Makes me realize how much work I've put into this. I'm proud of myself, take that depression! Stay tunned, and beware of the shadows 💀 Credit of the Faerûn map goes to Johnovick on Reddit.

[malakia215]

Think fast! What's your favourite mythical figure/ deity / beast and why? (Syu wanna learn more mythology)

Which mythology????

Did I expect this to take me two+ hours to type up? No. But you asked for this.

Egyptian it has to be Ma'at. Ma'at is the goddess that uses her feather to balance an individuals heart on Anubis's scales when they are in the after life. She is a goddess of balance in the universe. Idk I have just always been attracted to her as a goddess that I enjoy. In Greek mythology, there is the tale of Persephone and Hades. An oldie but a classic. Also if you like so good 2D platforming there is this game I LOVE. An indie game called Apotheon. It deals with a lot of Greek mythology in a fun game. But also there is just so many tales that it is hard to choose. In Roman mythology, I really enjoy the Romulus and Remus tale. Again, pretty classic but it is interesting that the founding of Rome was established based on twins that were raised by a shewolf (and also a little sad because one twin killed the other). Also, if you are interested in tales/stories the Metamorphoses and the tales of Julius Caesar are very good. Going further North, we have even more tales: This one isn't mythological or anything but there was historically a Celtic queen that united the Celtic people and revolted against the Roman invasion. Boudica! The Romans HATED her because she was a thorn in their sides and I RESPECT her for it as well as her leadership skills. Celtic also ties very closely with Irish mythology and there is a tale of Cú Chulainn. I learned about him from MiracleofSound video. If you want some good folk metal and to learn his tale I would def check it out! Celtic, Scottish, and Irish mythology deals heavily with Nature so there isn't a specific sort of tale I could give you. (that and I haven't looked much into it as I was more interested in the history and culture of the people). Also, there are many tales of creatures and the like that are region-based so there are just soooo many. I did do a KakaIru fic featuring two of the legends but haven't explored more. Norse mythology is pretty much the same with my knowledge though I do know some stuff thanks to the likes of God of War 4 and (loosely) Marvel movies. You have the Valkeries that ride into battle to carry those humans that gotten a spot in Vahalla (cause who doesn't love that?). But again, this is just one of those pantheons that there are so many good tales it is hard to choose from. If you move further to Asia, there are a lot of tales. Mostly the stuff I have looked up revolves around death, like the pocong- a ghost in a shroud whose origins are from Indonesia. If you would like some spooky tales (both supernatural and otherwise) I would suggest checking out Lazy Masquerade . Also, yokai are very fascinating. Cause Yokai aren't technically monsters in the typical sense of Western Standards. But if you want to learn more about them, I usually go to this nifty website. Moving over to North America there are Aztec legends. I don't know much about them either except for what I know from the MOBA game Smite. Quetzalcoatl is one of my favs that I have learned about but there are many more Aztec gods/goddesses. There is also the tale of the founding of one of their major cities: "The Aztecs claimed that an idol of Huitzilopochtli had led them south during their long migration and told them to build their capital on the site where an eagle was seen eating a snake. The cult of Huitzilopochtli was especially strong in Tenochtitlán, which regarded him as the city's founding god." 1 2

This is also where the Mexico Coat of Arms comes from.

Moving up, there are Native American legends. Once again, the legends I know of are really spooky stuff. For some good tales, you can listen to Mr. Sinister. He does tales about Skin Walkers and Wendigos. But there are also beautiful tales such as Where the Two Came to Their Father. It is a tale of the Navaho People and used during War Ceremonies. I am not well versed on it fully but the story was told to an author to ensure that the legend would live on as (sadly) it wasn't passed down often. This leads into a WHOLE bunch of shit which isn't the focus of your question. That can be a totally different topic of cultural annihilation through the destruction of folklore.

And then moving FURTHER up there are tales from the Inuit people. This isn't something I am well versed in and I won't pretend I am. But it should be mention because it is the focus of some games like Never Alone (which I still need to play). I'm sorry I can't give you more but I am sure there are some wonderful tales for you to explore if you desire. Then there are tales that I have learned off hand. Such the Finnish tale of how the Aurora Borealis came to be. I learned it thanks to this video that was inspired by the tale.

And then if you want to learn about some spooky stuff all over the world you can do a check of this playlist. Has a lot of spooky urban legends for you to explore in a quick top 10 format.

This list doesn't include many different cultures. There aren't any from African countries or Australia or India or Middle Eastern countries or A WHOLE BUNCH OF AREAS. fikfnafjvnjafndvasdnf SO. Did not expect this to be so long but I hope you found some answers and something to explore :D

[365days365movies]

March 12, 2021: Jason and the Argonauts (Review)

We gotta revitalize the mythology epic film.

I loved this movie...mostly. I’ll get to the “mostly” of it all, but I need to first say that I love the idea of this film. I desperately want more films based (faithfully) on Greek mythology. Please. PLEASE. And I know, I know, Paramount made a Clash of the Titans reboot in 2010, and it was...

...bad. It was really bad. Also probably ended Sam Worthington’s career, because dude VANISHED into the aether of Hollywood after this movie, and its equally bad sequel, Wrath of the Titans. I know, OK? But I still desperately want Greek mythology films.

And yeah, this would be an...OK start, but there’s so much potential! We’ve had Troy to cover Homer’s Iliad, and Troy wasn’t terrible, but we NEED an Odyssey movie, for the love of GOD. Do you know how much goddamn potential there is for an Odyssey movie? 

And I’m fully aware of O Brother Where Art Thou, but it’s loosely based on the story at best. We need an Odyssey movie, is all I’m saying. Not just that, though. We need a new movie about Hercules (non-Disney, and NOT starring the Rock), a movie about a normal Greek dude navigating the complex world of the gods, maybe a movie about Theseus or Perseus (again, yes, I know), and, of course, a Jason and the Argonauts movie.

I need this. I need this more than I can express. Oh, and I really want these films to be accurate, not the fast-and-loose approach to mythology that 1963′s film incarnation played. And oh...let’s get to THAT, shall we? Check out Part One and Part Two of the Recap for more on that, if you’d like more details!

Review

Cast and Acting: 9/10

Much to my everlasting surprise, the acting in this film is actually pretty good! Yeah, it’s definitely got that stereotypical 1960s flair, but it actually makes sense for an epic film based on Greek mythology. It all feels very epic, very grand, and the actors definitely help to contribute to that feeling. Up top, of course, you’ve got Todd Armstrong playing the noble Jason...kinda. Yeah, we’ll get to that, but he only played the character physically, while his voice was overdubbed by Tim Turner. Which...yeah, again, more on that later. But Armstrong is backed by some good support, especially Honor Blackman, Laurence Naismith, and Nancy Kovack, whose turn as the future murderer Medea actually shows her potential villainy in her sparse performance. Seriously, I was impressed by her characterization! This movie surprised me in terms of its acting. Although...Nigel Green as Heracles is only OK, and I’m a little chuffed that he only lasted through some of the film. Of course, that harkens to my BIGGEST issue...

Plot and Writing: 7/10

...OK, look, I know in my heart-of-hearts that judging the story of this film, adapted by Beverley Cross and Jan Read, as based on The Argonautica by Appolonius Rhodius, is unfair. It is. I’m aware of this, don���t worry. But that said...it’s not as good as the original story. Or, at the very least, it makes some weird choices that could’ve been changed. I went through the major inaccuracies in my Recap (too much, at that), so I won’t touch on most of that here. BUT, I do have some points to get through. Bear with me (or just skip this section, let’s be honest).

Missing Argonauts: Literally, the only major Argonaut from the story that actually gets to do something is Heracles, and he DOESN’T GET TO BE HERACLES. Dude is the most famous demigod of all time, and he never gets to do anything more than hold open a door and piss of Talos. Yeah. Disappointing as HELL. But that’s not THE WORST of it. Sure, Atalanta can be unused, as she wasn’t in many versions of the myth anyway. But the Wind Brothers? They’re necessary for defeating the Harpies, but they’re nowhere to be seen. Castor and Pollux? Oh, they’re in the movie, and they don’t do ANYTHING. Orpheus? ORPHEUS? YOU DIDN’T INCLUDE ORPHEUS AT ALL? Orpheus is arguably the most important of the Argonauts outside of Jason and Heracles, and he’s just...nonexistent. That’s just patently offensive. You really couldn’t give Harryhausen the chance to make Sirens? That would’ve been amazing! Speaking of them...

Missing and Misplaced Perils: Yeah, OK, this one’s a little unfair, because I don’t think putting Talos in here was a bad idea AT ALL. It’s actually my favorite part of the film, not gonna lie. But yeah, he was present on the return journey, not the journey to Colchis. But OK, whatever. At least we have the Harpies, the Clashing Rocks, the Sirens, the...oh wait. Where are the Sirens? I guess with no Orpheus, there are no Sirens, but...we really should’ve had both in here, come on.

Acastus: Yeah, here’s a weird criticism, but Acastus really was misused in here as well. He was actually one of Jason’s Argonauts, and came back from the journey on good terms with him...until Medea manipulated and tricked his sisters into cutting their father into pieces in order to gain promised immortality and boil those pieces for consumption. Yeah. Medea’s evil as SHIT. But turning Acastus into a heel-turn villain was...unnecessary, I think. Not that bad, though, so I guess this is a nitpick. I guess I would’ve liked to see the group return, and have had Acastus side with Jason against Pelias. I think that would’ve been neat. And speaking of Pelias...

The Ending: WHAT THE FUCK WAS WITH THE ENDING? Really? No conclusion to the story? What happens on the journey back? What happens with Pelias and Jason? Does Jason become King of Thessaly, now that Acastus is dead? Come on, man, what the hell! I HATE how that film ends so much, because there’s just nothing. Jason escapes by jumping off a cliff, the soldiers are still around (and are probably gonna kill the Colchian soldiers out of bloodlust), and Jason and Medea kiss, AND THE MOVIE ENDS. GAAAAAAAH

...Yeah, the plot could use some work, I think. But the worst part is...it’s still not a bad version of the story. Yeah! Despite all of my problems with it, most of the changes narratively make sense, outside of the original Argonautica. So, all things considered, I’m probably being too harsh on this film for personal reasons. What can I say, I love Greek mythology? But, I can still admit that this film is well-plotted out...for what it is.

Directing and Cinematography: 8/10

Is it the most groundbreaking direction by Don Chaffey, or the best cinematography by Wilkie Cooper? Well, no, but it’s still good. There aren’t exactly any amazing and groundbreaking shots here, but I also have no complains about either of these categories. So, yeah, not bad, guys. However...

Production and Art Design: 10/10

...the film still LOOKS fantastic. Because the production, set, and art design of this movie are all fantastic. From the costumes, to the Argo, to the authentic-looking sets, this movie looks great. And, of course...there are the effects by Ray Harryhausen. Which deserves the biggest chef’s kiss I can muster. Some of you may be thinking, “I dunno man, those effects don’t fully hold up.” To which I must remind you, that this film is 57 years old. FIFTY. SEVEN. Look, for the time period, this is groundbreaking, and it honestly looks pretty good today, even with the advent of better technologies. And the fact that these are technically physical objects does make this film look more...well, real, to be honest. It all looks pretty real, in a way. And they’re even pretty well-integrated with the live-action actors, much to my surprise. Gotta say, I love it. Antiquated, maybe, but also authentic. I love it.

Music and Editing: 9/10

Music, done by Bernard Hermann, is stellar and BOOMING. It’s an epic score for an epic story, and I also love it. As for the editing by Maurice Rootes, it’s also pretty great. Except for the sound editing. Yeah, um, the sound-editing for this movie isn’t great. It’s not bad, but it definitely isn’t amazing, especially in the base of dubbing for Jason and Medea. Oh, yeah, she’s dubbed over by Eva Haddon, forgot to mention that. And it’s pretty obvious. It’s a weak point, is what I’m saying.

88%, which might be a little...biased.

I love Greek mythology (he said for the eightieth time), and that may have colored my perception of this film. And yet, I do still really like this movie! It’s a classic film, and I’m looking forward to the other film of it’s caliber coming in a few days!

For the next one, though, I’ll have to do something non-Greek myth based. I mean, to continue the previously established trend...back to Japan for 3 HOURS? Oh...oh shit. I may have to break this next one up.

March 13, 2021: Kwaidan (1965)

[kyndaris]

A Vikingr Saga for the Ages

Ever since the first game in the franchise, I was enraptured by the idea of stalking my prey on the rooftops of Renaissance Italy and then leaping down - slaying them with a flourish. I didn’t know it yet but the marriage between history and stealthy parkour had me hooked from the very first trailer for Assassin’s Creed. When the series pivoted towards mythology and set further in history than ever before, I eagerly followed. From Ptolemaic Egypt to Ancient Greece. It should come as no surprise that I devoured, then, that I devoured as much of the world that I could in the latest entry: Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. And after clocking in just under 150 hours, there is much for me to unpack in Ubisoft’s latest entry into the Assassin’s Creed franchise. That, and a fierce desire to finally start watching Vikings. 

When I initially booted up Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (AC:V), I will admit that I was a little disappointed with the control scheme. Once again, Ubisoft had made it a confusing mess with trigger buttons instead of face buttons used to attack. Since I had just come from Spider-Man: Miles Morales, it took a good long while for me to adjust. Several hours later, after fumbling through my first battle with a lost drengr (I actually dumbed down the difficulty a litte), I finally managed to find my footing and was on my way to England to scrape out a place for the Raven Clan.

As for stealth...well, the less said about it the better. I never found it effective. It was much easier to smash my way through, axe in hand (or greatsword) and lay waste to their paltry resistance with a mixture of heavy attacks and parrying. I also, hardly used the bow (one of my favourite weapons to being stealthy in Origins and Odyssey). 

The story in AC: V is a little messy. Most of it is done through a separate arcs for each territory Eivor ventures through: from East Anglia to Snotinghamscire, with little to link it all together except the main character. Were it not for the very loose story threat surrounding Sigurd and the conquering of Mercia to establish a firm foothold in this new land of England, many of the storylines could be regarded as standalone adventures in Eivor’s epic saga of conquest.

That doesn’t, of course, mean it’s bad. Merely disjointed. Particularly when I went from Jorvik and its Yule Tide celebrations to Glowecestrescire that was right in the midst of Samhain right after each other. Did I go back in time? Or did almost an entire year fly past Eivor with none the wiser?

Still, even though they were mostly standalone storylines, I still very much liked all the characters I met along the way. My favourites were the earnest Hunwald, noble Ceolbert (his death was almost as bad as all the horse deaths I’ve encountered in video games) and fun-loving Twydwr (particularly when he and Eivor were drunk, and messing with the local chickens) On the Norse side, I very much enjoyed the banter between Eivor and her childhood friend Vili. But the one that I admisted most was Soma. She was the jarlskona of Grantebridgescire - the first place I explored after landing in England. And one, I hoped I could romance to some degree. Alas, my hopes were dashed on that end.

What I did find a little intriguing were how Sigurd and Eivor were sages for the Isus: Odin and Tyr. And in their little Raven Clan, revealed much later, was also Freyr. It seemed strange that so many of the reincarnated Isu were all incredibly close at hand.

In this title, Ubisoft was able to focus again a little more on their complex lore that was seeded throughout the first few games. And while some questions were answered, it still left plenty of mysteries of where the games go from here - particularly from a modern-day standpoint. Though I am reluctant to see the franchise go, it does feel like Ubisoft is finally coming to a close on the grand story that they are trying to tell. What the end result turns out to be is still to be determined, but more emphasis needs to be focused on the central conflict.

For a game that still has Assassin’s Creed in the title, Eivor’s connection with the order and their enemies seemed very tangential. While I killed many Order of the Ancient members, there was no sense of personal investiture, like, say with Ezio’s quest. The only ones that I felt motivated to put an end to were Fulke and Kjotve the Cruel. Unfortunately, all the build-up in the first scenes with Eivor were quickly resolves within the first two to three hours of the game, and Fulke’s arc was all but over in the half-way point.

I suppose the main reason for my discontent with the narrative of AC: V is the fact that there is no Big Bad for Eivor and her Raven Clan. Yes, Aelfred of Wessex is a ‘villain’ that hinders our protagonist, but he never felt like an oppressive threat. 

Basim’s reveal, somewhat late in the game, was also a little underwhelming. Yes, he did look an awful lot like Loki, but how did he manage to get to Norway? He hadn’t accompanied Sigurd and Eivor. Did he travel with a third party? How did he know that Sigurd and Eivor would be in the ruins of an Isu temple? So many questions, so little time.

Then there was the whole ‘Heir of Memories’ and the fact that Layla seemed so worn. After finishing Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, my last impression of her was receiving the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus from Kassandra and being hopeful for the future. Fast forward to AC: V and Layla is tired. The world is on the edge of destruction once again and she’s now paired up with married couple: Rebecca Crane and Shaun Hastings (the two last appearing undercover in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag). 

On a side note, why are their adventures all done in the comics or some other media? AND WHY DO I NOT HAVE ACCESS TO ANY OF THIS?

And because I didn’t play the expansions for Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, I knew too little regarding the modern-day struggles with Layla. In fact, I basically resorted to the Assassin’s Creed wiki to bring me up to date. Honestly, DLC should never be story-related. Or, if it is, should be more tangential rather than major. It’s a terrible practice that quite a few publishers do, and which leaves players such as myself playing catch-up.

The only one that landed with any oomph (at least for me) were the Asgard and Jotunheim arcs. These were connected and told the story of Havi as he struggled to find a way to avert his fate. The final battle also proved challenging and climactic. A far cry from the ‘endings’ that the main story provided. In all honesty, I probably should have left that to last while completing everything else first. But the temptation was too great and I was vastly overlevelled.

I also enjoyed the play on the Norse myths. The only downside with the Builder was that there was no horse to help him. And so, there was no sexy mare Loki to tempt away the Builder’s horse - giving birth to Sleipnir. The other stuff, though, was clever. And I liked the references made to other myths, such as fighting against ‘old age’ and Thrym’s disastrous marriage to ‘Thor dressed as Freyr.’

What was also a little odd, at least for me, was that there was no definitive part where the credits rolled. Much like in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Assassin’s Creedy: Origins. Personally, I hate it. Credits give closure and tell gamers that the narrative that they were pursuing has come to an end. It lets me reflect on everything that I experienced and is an indication that I can finally set the controller down.

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla also came with its fair share of bugs and glitches. Many, after reading up on them, made me frightened to continue. One, in particular, took me a while to figure out an alternative to: entering Lunden. I didn’t help that the more I read, the more I worried about encountering a game-breaking bug. Thankfully, most were simply treasure hoards not loading, late texture pop-ins that were a little frightening, and the drunk Eivor every time I loaded up the game. 

Despite its many faults, I still very much enjoyed my time roaming around England, Vinland and Norway as I worked to build up Eivor’s reputation and to ensure her name would be sung for ages to come. Like a true Vikingr, I played copious amounts of orlog, drank mead and tore up the battlefield to create a home for my people.

Even better, at Gunnar’s wedding, I managed to finally woo Randvi (who I abstained from bedding down with earlier on in the game)! That, perhaps, elevated the game for me and I can be happy knowing that all my hard work paid off.

(As an additional aside, I also love how many of the side quests or ‘mysteries’ in AC: Valhalla made references to popular culture. From Winnie the Pooh to Alice in Wonderland. AND ROBIN HOOD! THE NPC CALLED LITTLE JOHN HAD ME GUFFAWING!)