#and he has to tell her he's a humanoid and blah blah blah

[midnightmah07]

Daisy pre twst!

[remember-the-fanfics]

Earthborn (Hazbin Hotel Reader Insert)

Oh geez this made me realize I have religious trama while writing this.

Spoilers if you haven't actually watched hazbin hotel.

Also apparently the characters are taalll. Minus Niffty

Just test on how I'll write hazbin hotel so to be continued or not

"Go fuck yourself pompous prick!" (Y/n) yelled at Adam, their anger getting to them.

"Don't speak to me like that! You came from me!" He responded. "You are alive because I fucked-."

"Up, yeah I know. Being God's chosen people, Adam and Eve. Cast out after eating the apple, had two sons and one killed the other. Blah blah, I was raised in church." They told him. "And in a club in elementary school about the Bible so I know a bunch."

Charlie and Vaggie looked at each other in confusion, (Y/n) never talked about these parts of their past.

"Then why are you arguing with me?!"

"Because if you get to be here after getting banished from the garden by God himself then I see no reason why Sinners that want change themselves to get shouldn't." (Y/n) said staring at Adam with their arms crossed.

The Angels watching started to whisper to themselves.

"(Y/n), you know why you are here." Said Sara. "Please do not get involved with the next issue until we get to that."

(Y/n) looked way up to where Sara and Emily were seated. "Very well, apologizes I just wanted to get that out of the way." They bowed while speaking before standing straight. "...This is probably has to do in how I've been in hell?"

"Yes, (Y/n) (Middle Name) (L/n), you are still earthborn, not yet a sinner or a winner, have been in hell for just less than a year. How did you get there?"

Shocked faces across the room from everyone minus (Y/n), who looked uncomfortable with being called their full name.

"(Y/n) is that true?" Asked Charlie, surprised at the information. She knew (Y/n) didn't look like a sinner, kept a more humanoid look than most and was shorter than most of the people at the hotel.

"Yeah, I'm still human or well Earthborn as it was called. I didn't tell any of you since I didn't want you to worry." (Y/n) told Charlie look at her and Vaggie. "How did you even know?" They asked the Seraphim in charge. "I have an... okay disguise." Looking at themselves, with pointy ears,sharper teeth, and their eyes were not a normal color. They atleast didn't look human enough to question.

"We can tell by your soul. It still shows your the weight of your sins or what not. Not like I forget what one of my millions of too many great-grandchildren look like." Said Adam and with a grin and a snap of his fingers, (Y/n) felt the necklace they wore break in peices as the magic it held broke with it.

"I would rather be dead than be related to you, prick." (Y/n) said with deadpan look.

"It took awhile to realize you weren't just a weird sinner soul so we told Sara when we noticed all of you earlier." Said Lute, finally butting in before Adam could argue again.

"(Y/n) how did you get into hell?" Sara asked again, tried of this again.

"Not sure? Its kinda just a blank space between being on earth and then in hell." They answered with a shrug. "I found someone to help me somewhat look the part and then Vaggie found me while I was wondering around."

The earthborn was complete being too nonchalant with being in hell.

"Why didn't you tell anyone about not being from hell?" Asked Emily, earning a look from Sara.

"Well I mean at first for safety and then to keep anyone from worried about me? I'm kinda more... fragile compared to anyone else since demons and sinner have... an easier time getting up from a normal serious injury than I would." (Y/n) having to think of what they said before they actually saying it.

"I threw you off a building into a fight, how did you survive that?" Questioned Vaggie.

"Well Angel Dust caught me slash soften the fall and I mostly hide until Husk picked me up to leave."

"Why have you been helping Priness Charlie Morningstar with her project even when you are earthborn?" Asked Sara.

"Because it's a good cause? If I was a sinner I would want the hotel to be there to even give me a small chance to get into heaven even if you all don't believe in it. It's a humane way of handling the population down there. If redemption can happen to people while they are alive, why wouldn't it happen while they are dead and in hell? As along as they put in the effort to be good person, they should be a good person."

"If you know the words of the Bible why didn't you spread it down there?"

"Because being pushy to the wrong person could end me? And they really don't really think highly of you all. Plus for me if you heard how people like me would end up there for something out of their control, I would have trama with it."

"Why are you talking about it now if you have an issue with the Bible and God?" Questioned Adam.

"Oh, mostly because I'm pissed off. I don't have an issue with God, at all. It's people with opinions that wrote the book that got translated to many time with out checking by people who also had opinions. The Bible is.. fine. Heck, I didn't even knew there was a Lilith involved until Charlie told me."

(Y/n) sighed, taking a deep breath.

"What's gonna happen now? Are you going to kill me? Actual make me a sinner? Send me back making seem crazy or thinking this is all a weird dream until I actually die?" They asked. "Because if you send me back crazy, I'm gonna actually kill myself."

"No! Let's not do that, please." Pleded Emily to Sara, scared for (Y/n)'s safety.

"Of course, I wouldn't want you to do that." Said Sara.

"Because the Bible says it's a sin or because you actually don't want me too?" Questioned (Y/n), they were tired of this.

"They could become an Exorcists, it would be funny." Said Adam, laughing at the thought of (Y/n) killing their friends.

"How many times do I have to tell you I would rather die than be anything associated with you?"

"You're soul has yet to be judged but you've seen more than any earthborn have seen in many decades. You could stay in heaven as Winner or angel. We could send you back to earth. Which would you want to do?"

"I want to continue to help Charlie see this though." Said (Y/n).

"Your soul would be damned forever, (Y/n) as a sinner. I would not let that happen to any earthborn in your place in good conscious."

"Then send me back as I am. When I die, wherever that may be judged me as I will be."

"(Y/n), you're too young for-."

"It's Hell, I know but it can be nice when you get use to it just like Earth. Please just let me help until I'm ready to go home."

"...Very well, I'll give you till a month time to sort this out for yourself."

Gives you enough time to help for get set for extermination.

[mika-lover]

I just found so much lore about my winged humanoid oc i made when i was really young . I cant believe i made a senator au , jedi au, and mandalorian au for him. He meant the world to me i guess. Its very rough and i clearly did it for fun.

But the planet was called galatea. And it had bird humanoids, fairy ppl, bug folk, and this spider humanoids. The fairies apparently broke a truce and enslaved the bird ppl???? (What was younger me writing??) They did this by taking the first feather that the bird people sprouted and in doing so they took away the power for the birds to manifest their wings and fly. Like their wings grew in another place or plane of space?? Idk how it work tbh but the fairy people put these feathers in a location that the bird people couldn’t reach.

(Mid sentence i found the name of the names of these races i made. The bird people are called the atriox, and the fairy people are called the Lepido??? )

What is important there was a secret hideaway that free atriox and the faeries who didnt agree with what occurred lived at . They were freeing groups of atriox with the princess fairy, Serah . Her name was Serah Fae and her sister Adrienne Fae who was to be monarch soon had ran away to become mercenary. Serah as a child had secretly gave back her atriox friend Talon Akos back their feather and that person became one of the war heroes in a civil war between the elites of Galatea and the free people of Galatea.

When serahs father the monarch (tell me why his name was memphis💀💀) found out his daughter was helping the resistance, she was ordered to become a thrall ans they put her in a cocoon??? And when adrienne found out she came back to save her sister and was a key leader in uniting the atriox and some of the fairies to rebel against the elites.

Serahs secret lover, June, was also a rebel leader who was a atriox and he had to work with adrienne. Blah blah war and fighting they save serah and install her as the new monarch. But to keep her safe they send her to the senate with talon who is forcefully elected as senator by the free people. (He didnt want to be there at all).

This senator au has him forced in goofy scenarios as he is a asshole to everyone but he is friends with senator chuchi and at the same time he is trying to protect serah from mutiple assassination attempts? Randomly he is friends with rex idk know how it happens but apparently they go on platonic icecream dates and spas. They actually are just besties but Rex friends and family are suspicious of talon since he kinda threatens people a lot??? (Younger me did not understand politics thats all i could understand from my chicken scratch writing)

[originalwinnercheesecake]

First Impressions and predictions based on the coven Leaders

After a full first season their fame adorning the banners and walls, who they are being hailed, yet they themselves being kept in the shadows we now get first looks (and throughout 2a will meet) the emperors top dogs: The coven leaders. I will not lie as a group... these guys dissappoint me. Making the majority of them very human in appearance for me is a big no. Compare this group to the many colorful and fantastical creatures that are shown teaching at hexside and the hexside teachers are far more creative, unique, and fun. Maybe the artists decided to make the coven leaders look more like normal people so the audience would have an easier time understanding their expressions and body language. Maybe the more humanoid whitches are a higher class and have a easier time climbing higher than the more beast and demon like residence.? We will have to wait and see. 

Seperate this group into individuals (like how we will hopefully meet them) and most of them become far more interesting, So below lets take a look at each coven leader individually, where the artists may have taken inspriation, and what  What kind of characters they could maybe turn out to be.

The Beast keeping coven Leader: One of the only two that are not humanoids. What type of animal is he? At first I was sure he was a hedgehog, but maybe he could also be like a chipmunk or a squirrel. I get the feeling he might be partially inspired by Sonic from Sega. I was really into Sonic back in middle school. I liked the cartoons and read through the archie’s old comic series. But I kinda out grew him since then. I know from helping to take care of kids though that he is still popular with the younger generation. That’s kinda how I thin the Beast Keeping Coven leader will be: less interesting for older viewers, but a real fun charcter for kids.

The Healing coven leader: Now this guy looks like fun villain all around. Is some kind of witch docotor? a Dark Priest? The size the purple Grin, he looks like the phantom boss from those horror films where you get trapped in nightmares. Tell me he has scary theme song music and talks in a very high pitched voice. I’ve heard some people wonder if he could be Selena (oracle girl from hexside)’s dad. I don’t thinks so, the macaroni crescent shape n his head looks more like a fancy cowl than part of his actual head. Also him having a daughter in Luz’s class could be used as a reason for him to change sides, I want this guy to stay as a villian/antagonist. We all know that with this size group some will stay with the emperor and some will defect to Luz’s side (possibility a couple will die, we haven’t seen yet just how dark Dana is willing to go). Personally my view with redemption arcs and if a character “deserves them” is it depends on what it will do for the story/character afterwards? IF redeeming them opens more doors for the characters and directions the story can take, do it. IF it closes doors leave them as they are. I absolutely hate when clever and well written bad guys get “redeemed” in to boring, plot useless, weebs. The only reason I could see having this guy change sides is for him to “cure” Eda and Lilith’s curse, and I would much rather see the two of them gain control over their forms than be “cured” of them.

The Illusion coven leader: Another fun looking antagonist. My third favorite of these nine. If the healer guy is horror movie based. This guy is Disney based all around. Looks like one of those Vegas suave showmen styled character. Love it. I guarantee you he does not actually look that young or slicked back, but is using illusion magic to make himself more pretty. Not sure if he will stay with the emperor or not. Illusion is Gus’s track and I could see Dana having the leaders of Luz’s friends tracks be the ones to stand by them. If so I am fine with that (in the case of the abomination leader I will beg for it). Gaining the respect of someone as high up as a coven leader could be really great for Gus’s character. Just as long as I get plenty of laughs from Gus and this guy both along the way.

The Potion coven leader: My second favorite and in my opinion the most creative idea of the whole bunch. A mosquito that works in potions! Does he suck them up with his nose and carry them in.. whatever it is mosquitos store blood in. Also he looks angry. Like everyone else is either amused or board. This guy is fed up and ready to do something about it. Not sure if it is the Emperor, the other leaders, or the owl gang he is mad at, but it should be a worthwhile show down.

The Abomination coven leader: Yes this is my favorite design. Yes it is because he is such a beautiful man. Would never have expected someone who creates mucks (the pokemon) with legs would be so fine. Its more than that though. He looks the most kind. Their is no malice or guise in his smile and his green eyes are bright and relaxed. I wondered what the purpose of the Abomination track was and why it had “more opportunity” all last season. Well slight spoilers if you haven’t seen episode 2x02 it is the industrialist field. When you learn about Industrialization usually the idea is that it is done to help the human race reach its full potential, and it is up to each individual to decide what to do with that potential. Whether you call that the passion of a creative mind or the carelessness of a fool would also be up to you. But I really don’t want this guy to be all bad. If for no other reason that more spoilers for episode 2 * with the interest/caution the emperor is showing the blights I expect this guy to show up to their house, probably meet Amity, and we really do not need another not so nice adult in her life. She has had enough.

The Oracle coven leader: What is this? He’s got nails/caws at the ends of dread thingys like Kikimore, so is this her father? Does he have anything to do with her being in the Emporor’s coven? But this is my least favorite. Like what was the inspiration behind this guy? With so many legendary oracles in mythology and we get this guy who mostly looks saggy, washed out, tierd, and just Blah. Hope thier is more to him, but here is one who I am not holding my breath for an episode on.

The Plant coven leader: based on her banner I was expecting something like the Swamp Giant from ALTA. Instead they went in the direction of a very traditional witch desgine: An old women with a wrinkled face and really messy hair, who probably lives alone in the woods, with maybe the exception of a cat, and dances around a fire at night. Okay. She is definitely going to become an ally of the owl gang. This is the only female of the group,and it is neither in Dana’s message nor would it be popular with her target audience to make a villain or even an antagonist out of a women who managed to climb the later into a male dominated success level. I am actually looking forward to seeing her, because it will probably be in a Willow based episode, and after 2x02 (which I personally feel should not have been a luminaty episode but rather a Willow and Amity one finishing up their reconciliation arc), Willow deserves an episode with potential centered around her. An episode where she goes against the Plant track Leader would be that. This witches Grin isn’t exactly friendly, but its more mischievous than wicked. She gives off vibes as one of those people who like to test the mains, and if you pass her tests than you earn her respect. I have no doubt Willow could win at her little games, and doing so would be a huge boost the confidence she has spent the show building.

The Construction coven leader: Oh joy here’s the other one I am unimpressed with. Unlike with the Oracle guy I know where they got his design. To everyone saying that we first saw him at the convention, your not backing far enough up. If you have ever seen any cartoon ever where the main character wanders past or onto a construction sight you have seen this man. Every trio of workers sitting on a iron frame eating from a lunchbox. Every pig that makes a catcall at a disgusted women. Every exhausted worker who watches as your slapstick mains chase each other past at quitting time... they all looked EXACTLY like this guy. This is really the character leading the track Dana herself has said she would pick to join? They could have done a Golem made of brick an stone that resembles a palace. They could have done some kind of humanoid ant with super strength. They could have done a wizard with shapes and mathematics on his robe who carried a scroll everywhere that he compulsively scribbled blueprints onto. But instead we get Mr. Generic here.

The Bard coven Leader: This is R, Eda’s old friend from her hexside days. Did I save R for last because of this connection? Partially. I am also unsure what R’s pronouns are. To me R looks physically male. I have seen other posters use “she” when posting about R. One person posted that Dana had confirmed R uses “they” and if so awesome, I would really like to see that tweet. What ever R’s pronouns though their appearance in the show will be tied with Eda, er past, and what she had to give up in order to live free. I look forward to this new insight onto her character

[unkownknowledge]

OC: CHAOS GOD OF THE VOID, GIOTA

story I'm still working on your requests don't worry, I just wanted to make a few character sheets since I'm not focused enough rn. I'll finish it when I take my meds though I promise.

And this isn't an oc for any show, rather a character from a multiversal mythos I'm making

also, an important term to understand this: 1 god year=5 billion years

_____________________

Description:

Giota is a very hot and cool Giota stop changing the text! Atleast change your style of writing so the reader can undead immediately Aw but wheres the fun GIOTA

Fine mister fun police, I'll write like this then. And I'll be cooler than you

Young man I wil... forget it, back on track:

Giota is a shapeshifting god of chaos, void, technological progress, freedom, and being a dramatic bitch.

Hey! I'm not a bitch!....maybe a little

When appearing before mortals he'll often take on the form the viewer imagines when they think of a god of chaos would appear as. Often times when the user knows the basic descriptions of Giota from the 'book of tales' will see him as a angel like statue of bones with numerous cracks, no face, and organ pipe wings.

When meeting with gods outside his domain or when he must meet mortals in a set form, he will take on simple, 10ft tall humanoid form with bone skin, a cracked mouth that cracks more when he speaks, two different colored eyes, and longer than floor length black hair. One of his eyes will be crying water that burns upwards, while the other cries fire that flows downwards. In this form he wears a black trenchcoat, green turtleneck, and purple dad pants.

What the fuck are dad pants?

You know, those usually brown pants that are kinda jeans but soft and actually comfortable.

YOU BITCH MY HUSBAND LIKES JEANS AND HIS PANTS ARE SOFT!

YOUR HUSBAND HAS MARSHMALLOW THIGHS! LITERALLY! OF COURSE HIS PANTS ARE SOFT!

Inside his own domain, or if he's feeling especially done with whatever poor bastard made him upset, Giota takes the form of an innocent ten year old child with soft white steel skin, mile long black hair made of silk, and black eyes made of diamonds. In this form he wears pajamas for to big for him, his mouth leads to a dark void, and he carries around two plushies: a bunny made of roses from his mom, and a plush of his adult form from his husband. Of course he becomes an adult if they do anything adult, so please don't start.

Regardless of his form, even when it's based on the perspective of others, he always wears a large knitted infinity scarf his husband made for whenever he wanted to hide away.

_____________________

Powers:

Cool ones

I mean, he's not wrong...

(I should make an ice themed character)

Giota, as a god, has numerous powers related to his domains.

powers of freedom:

inspiring presence- while most gods or beings of power inspire mortals and lesser beings of power to kneel down or bow, Giota’s presence inspires all beings to rise up, to do anything, to do whatever they want, to become the best they can be. this can be used to inspire allies to carry on. However Giota can also let this power run rampant, and free the mind of any shackles, and while this sounds good it really just means removing all morals and causing mass violence, and if he lets it run rampant while in the same dimension he lets it then all life will mutate into eldritch monstrosities of decadence and selfishness. According to him this is to show that balance must be kept between chaos and law.

the torch of liberty- among Giota’s duties as a god of freedom is to liberate the populations of ‘doomed realms’ that have been enslaved. essentially, if a planet in a universe is ruled purely by either law or chaos then the entire universe can be effected, in the case of law it can result in the entire universe becoming one collective conscious. while it’s not common that enslaved worlds occur, however when they do they are the most dangerous of law worlds. to combat worlds like this gods of freedom are given torches that free the minds of the enslaved and bring down holy fire upon the enslavers in the form of the collective will of all the freed people.

powers of technological progress:

cybernetic god-many god-years ago Giota was severely wounded by a rogue god of flesh and a rogue god of metal, to the point even he could not regenerate it. to stop him from dying a cult of his granted Giota cybernetic enhancements. these enhancements integrated into Giota’s flesh as it regenerated and became enhanced in turn by Giota’s divinity, and Giota’s divine power was enhanced then by the cybernetics, resulting in a self sustaining growth in power. while he gladly used this to stop the rogue gods, and once again to destroy an old one, he feels being that powerful would upset the balance of power, so he sealed it in a time lock in time with the seasons and time of day in the void. his power increases from mid day to mid night, and from the end of summer to the end of winter. in the minute of exactly midnight at the end of winter, Giota becomes, in both this multiverse and the old, the most powerful being to exist.

self evolving knowledge- because his position as a god of technology is artificial his powers in it are very weak, being able to only grant full sentience and sapience to machines. he can also create minor miracles of technology, such as summoning a clockwork toy(which he does often)

hey man did you really have to bring up the whole getting my ass kicked thing?

yes, now shut up before I bring up what you sing in the shower

....fucker....

powers of being dramatic:

yeah that wasn't a joke. Giota is the god of being over the top, stylish, and over all flair. in other words, being dramatic

personal sound track- he can cause any song he wants to play when he does anything.

lights, camera, ACTION!- whenever he wants, Giota can cause a bright, sparkling light to emit from his body or behind himself.

my favorite is that one bad bitch’s theme. what’s her name again?

Ragyo Kiyurin?

that's the fucker! terrible taste in morals, but damn does she know how to enter a room.

...can I put sigh when it’s supposed to be me sighing?

powers of the god of chaos

Chaotic existence- for Giota to even exist is, in and of itself, a paradox. he comes from a timeline that never existed, that was on a set path, yet he exist, and he changed the course of the timeline. when he became a chaos god he became a paradox within a paradox, he existed yet did not. to attempt to change any aspect of his being, to take in any part of his being, is to know that which is not there to know, to understand that which is not there, you have to be able to comprehend the very essence of nonexistence to even bare a hair of his getting in your mouth. such a thing easily drives all things that try insane, to the point that every part of their conscience believes that it does not exist.

overwhelming power-chaos gods are only once a multiverse, and with the title comes pure power. such power could turn an infant into an indestructible warrior, however since Giota was already at that level on a mortal scale, and already capable of taking on powerful gods, this power sets him among the highest echelons of divine might.

powers of the god of void

key to nonexistence- the god of the void is the only being who can open the bridge between that which exist and that which does not

rapid regeneration- the void god has an innate ability to regenerate from nearly all damage, even if they are ground to a fine paste. this regeneration is enhanced by the cybernetic enhancements.

speed of darkness- the void god has an innate speed that surpasses light, Giota’s already superhuman speed was enhanced by this.

spear of not- the void god is the sole being in existence and non existence who can wield the spear of not, a finely forged weapon. it is not special beyond being enchanted to withstand godly power and a ‘security lock’ enchantment, however it is still a very well made weapon.

blah blah blah, enough about what I was handed, tell them about my mortal abilities

as Giota just said, and as I’ve brought up before, Giota is extremely powerful even without his powers, he also used to be two other mortals that were less powerful. but over all these were his powers, which he still has.

leather skin- while it might appear or feel like something else, Giota’s skin is exactly like leather armor. this comes from how he was raised as a child to be a powerful warrior and his skin was tanned into hide and treated while it was still on him.

adamantine bone- Giota’s bones were also replaced by an adamantine skeleton when he was a child.

super sonic speeds- during his training as a child, he was taught to be able to surpass the sound barrier on foot.

superhuman strength- his training also trained his body to carry ten tons, however as a mortal he improved that strength to the point he could exert enough force to blast away entire cities by blinking. This power did not come easy.

flight- after training with some monks late in his life, Giota was able to walk on the air, essentially he could fly at the same speed as he could run.

agility- he was trained as a warrior and assassin, so Giota’s training included advanced maneuverability training, including wall running, sneaking across tripwires, etc.

weapon master- Giota is a master in all weapons and various forms of martial arts.

he also has reciev- hey man you good?

I-I’m fine! d-don’t write that I’m crying! 

you...wanna talk about it?

…no...

is it about your mom?

…maybe...

alright take your time.

anyway Giota has a very useful piece of equipment, the cloak of maternity- despite it’s name, it’s actual a cloak that leads to a pocket dimension where Giota carries his weapons and toys. It is called the cloak of maternity because his adoptive mother gave him after he became a god-bounty hunter, she even designed it to help him hide away from people. it even has a designated snack pocket.

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BIO:

Giota was found by his adoptive mother after he destroyed his timeline, as punishment, or perhaps in an attempt to redeem him, she turned him back into a baby. something Giota happily accepted.

After this his life went on as a mortal’s would, only in the realm of divinity: he went to school, went into college, graduated, then entered the workforce. granted the workforce he entered was bounty hunting divine criminals. it was easy for him to get into, after all everything from his past life transferred over to this one, it wasn't long before he was hunting even the deadliest of criminals. while his mom was very supportive, it was still difficult for him to keep in contact with her as he did before moving out, and being a bounty hunter was hardly a sociable job. it wasn't long before Giota fell into depression, and then to drugs. for twenty three god years his life was an endless cycle of contract killing, payment, and wallowing in chemical joy. But at the end of all blinding lights, there is a welcoming darkness.

Giota had become the personal bounty hunter of the god of law and time: Ceerus. one day while leaving after receiving a contract, he met the god’s child, a boy his age named Dyalta.

It was thanks to Dyalta that Giota ever kicked drugs, or got out of depression, and thanks to Dyalta Giota managed to find happiness in anything other than a syringe.

Even the reason he found love.

rise to godhood

Giota became a god after an old god, named the Red slaughter, destroyed the entire universe. this was a catalyst for Giota, who had died previously, to return with his newly awakened god powers. I don't want to go into to much detail in this aspect as I intend to write it at some point.

_____________________

hey man you good yet? 

a little bit. Dyalta came by and gave me some cookies.

that's good buddy, I’m gonna describe your personality ok?

alright.. I’m gonna go home now.

alright man, take care.

_____________________

personality

do note that this is a bit hard for me to do. I’m more used to just writing a character. I’ll just post two short stories here to try and get his personality across. I made them in school last year.

ok so after looking at it the second one is twelve pages long. so I’m gonna post that elsewhere on here. to give context: this is after a wedding between Dyalta and Giota was interrupted. if you’d like to see more about him then feel free to interact or request him.

elavator story

Giota shifted uncomfortably to make room for his soon to be father in law as the man stepped into the lift.

“Soooooo…” Giota pressed their floor “wonderful, um, siege we’re having.”

Ceerus just keeps his eyes on the door “sure.”

“So how's the uh, wife?”

Ceerus sighed “locked in a tower, that we are invading.”

“Mhm, yup.”

‘Maybe I should try calling him dad.’

“So what did you think of my swordsmanship d-dad.”

Ceerus visibly restrained himself “it was fine ten- Giota.”

The elevator stopped, probably because of security.

“Oh maker damnit,” Ceerus tries rewinding the shut off, but it doesn't work “and it’s godproofed!”

“This reminds of this one time me and Dyalta wen-”

Ceerus put his hand to Giota’s mouth “if you end this story in anything less than fully clothed I will end your fake hide.”

Giota scratches his head nervously “Well I didn't, but Dyalta lost his shirt and well,” Giota notice Ceerus drawing his blade “b-but it was for a sword fi- wait bad wording, it was for a-you know- assasination thing!”

Ceerus sighed and sheathed his sword “look, you dusting mongrel, I don’t like you, you pretend to like me, let’s just try and not kill each other and maybe by the end of this, I won’t flay your ass at the altar.”

Well atleast now they both agreed on something: this was going to be a long crusade.

________________________________________________________________

ok that's that! not a very good character sheet but hopefully it got enough across to be interesting. I’ll end this off with some quotes I want him to say but have never gotten the chance to write out:

“hey Ceerus how’s the kid? oh thats right! in my bed, waiting patiently.” following Ceerus being exceptionally annoying.

“you know something? I try to be nice, I always smile, always banter with my targets. you know, try and be friendly. but then some RED MOTHERFUCKER, POSSESSES MY HUSBAND, WAKING ME UP FROM ETERNAL SLUMBER, AND NOW I ONCE AGAIN HAVE TO CLEAN UP THE GOD’S MESSES!”

*crying into Dyalta* “and then he said my clothes were stupid,” *sobbing* “I tried really hard on these!”

“this multiverse, to us gods, is wet paper mache. so easy to break, one wrong move and POP,” Giota flexes his finger and causes an ocean to split open for a solid ten seconds, “the very fabric of reality is gone. and you. you insuferable MOTHER FUCKERS have the AUDACITY TO COME IN HERE, AND TEAR IT ALL TO SHREDS! well assholes, if this reality is paper mache to you, and I’m stronger than you, take a wild gues as to what you are to me.”

(tagging: @storytravelled, @3lectro-heart, @genshin-obsessed)

[romulanfucker]

not to lwaxana/odo at you but im watchin the s7 ep where odo meets another of the lost changeling children and the other one tries to convince him to leave ds9 because the humanoids only like odo when he’s in humanoid form and then kira tells odo to leave w/ him but odo won’t and it ends on this big speech from kira about “blah blah i love you for you not for what you look like, i dont care if youre a pile of goo sometimes” .

big whoop. stop trying to convince me this is the first unconditional acceptance odo has ever had and thats why he loves kira. do you not remember season Fucking ONE when lwaxana and him were trapped in the elevator and he had to revert and to make him feel safer she took off her wig and said “no one’s ever seen me like this either. so at least we’ll both be vulnerable” and then held him in her skirt. fuck off. thats love. 

[rebellconquerer]

Another random rogue one ficlet in my head. One day I'll write connecting scenes. Blah!

 By the time they come to a stop on Yavin IV ( she is hard pressed to call what happened a ‘landing’) Cassian is all but unconscious. He stops responding to her directly sometime around their third hour in space, and he spends the rest of the trip breathing shallowly while whispering in a language she thinks might be Alderaani, or staring rather blankly around the ship. 

For her part, she doesn't move the entire trip. Cassian seems comfortable enough laying mostly in her lap and she makes the decision that nothing short of her death will make her leave him, not when he didn’t leave her. She wraps her fingers around his wrist, allowing his constant, though thready, pulse to calm her. That is exactly how the medics find them when they are finally, mercifully on the ground. Him laying on her. Her wrapped around him. 

The process of disentangling herself, and getting him onto the stretcher isn’t hard per se, but when she pulls away and they move him, he lets out a short, sharp sound, too quiet to really be called a scream, that breaks her nonetheless. She bats away the helping hands that come to her next, telling them that she is fine. 

It’s true in any case. She has strained a muscle in her right hip that makes it easier to limp than to walk. Apart from that, however, she is tired and sore and feels like one big bruise, but there is nothing deadly about her injuries. Not like Bodhi. Not like Cassian. 

She watches as her crew (her team?) gets carried off the ship and trails close behind them. She’s not sure what to expect when she leaves the ship. The battle overhead on the beach told her that the Alliance did come for them, that they decided to fight, but she isn’t sure how they will react to having their hands forced. 

That Draven is the one to meet her isn’t a surprise. She thinks there will be shouting and recriminations and maybe even a new prison in her future. She tilts her chin up, squaring her shoulders and lets her hardest glare paint her features. She won’t take a lashing for this man’s follies. She won’t go quietly to whatever corner they have prepared for her. She won’t leave Bodhi and Cassian to wake alone.

What she doesn’t expect however, is the quiet devastation that clouds Draven’s face when he sees Cassian being carried on the stretcher. She doesn’t expect him to touch Cassian’s cheek gently. She doesn’t expect his voice to break with what may very well be his last words to his spy.

When the medics brush them off and carry on towards the medward, Draven turns to her, and there it is. The cold fury behind his eyes that she had been expecting. 

“That was a hell of a risk you took. A suicide mission is the term being used.” He says flatly. 

“We did what needed to be done.” She grits out at him. She wants to know, wants to be told what happened after but refuses to ask this man for anything. Even for information. 

They hold each other's eyes a moment too long to be collegiate. “The plans made it off planet. Vader himself took down a command class vessel under  general reedus to get those plans back.*  An entire battalion was lost.” He pauses, seemingly wants to say something else, before he thinks better of it.

“The plans are now with a trusted ally who is being hunted by the Empire. We are attempting to get them somewhere safe. Until we know more, you are dismissed.” He ends curtly, turning sharply on his heel and marching back towards command. 

Jyn stands stock still and allows the quiet of the hallway to leach into her. She glances around. The bright white of the overhead lights wash the colour out of the vaguely orange walls, which seem to run into perpetuity on either side of her. It is hard to miss how empty the place is and how wrong that emptiness feels. All at once it hits her. She has nothing to do. Nowhere to be. For the first time in… she thinks back for a minute, really the first time in longer than she can remember, her life is not governed by a prison schedule or a mission, or the need to find food and shelter. 

She doesn’t know what to do, so she does the only thing she can. She follows her crew into the med bay. 

They see her as a patient as much as a visitor when she enters. She doesn’t object as they fuss around her, stripping her of her filthy clothes. They push her into the sonic, slather her in bacta, from head to toe, and give her very basic, vaguely humanoid new clothes to wear. 

After that, she waits. She waits for them to tell her that Bodhi will need a few Bacta immersions for his burns and a new left hand, but will live. She waits for them to tell her Cassian ruptured his spleen, lacerated his kidney and fractured 3 of his vertebrae so completely, they don’t believe he walked after the fall, much less climbed, and aren’t sure he’ll ever walk again. She waits for them to tell her Cassian died. 

For 12 minutes, alone on a table. 

She waits for them to tell her he’s alive, and will need bacta immersions and implants and…

Well she doesn’t hear too much after that, because Cassian died, but he came back. Again. 

She wanders out of the medward much later, cold and numb and stands just outside of the doors for a full 5 minutes trying to decide where to go. What to do next? She was assigned a bunk in the common dorm on her initial trip here, but the thought of open space and other people make her hackles rise. She should be hungry but the thought of food unsettles her stomach. She starts walking eventually, as much for something to do, as to try and get away from the jagged pieces of her psyche that her mind keeps timidly circling. 

When she looks up again, she realises she recognises where she is. A quieter section of the base that has the officers quarters, or that’s what she had assumed anyway, because it was where Cassian’s quarters were. She had followed him there to grab supplies before they stole the ship. 

She glances around the hallway, somehow expecting someone, maybe even Draven, to appear and yell that she is in defiance of some Alliance ordinance and shouldn’t be there. No one materializes, so she walks slowly towards the door and tilts her head. She shouldn’t invade his space. She knows this on some level, thinks that if it was her, she’d go batshit on anyone who made themselves at home in her quarters. But suddenly she can feel every hit and scrape that she has taken over the past 2 weeks, hell over the past 2 years. And she is so very tired. 

It takes her longer than she would have expected to slice through his locks, but eventually it gives and the door slides open with a sigh. 

She walks quietly around the small space,  not questioning how or why she feels safe for the first time in days. There isn't much here. A datapad tossed casually on a small desk, a well worn jacket hung over the edge of the bed, seemingly forgotten in a hurry, three small plants along the sill of a dusty window that seem to be well taken care of. 

She runs her fingertips along the cool leaves, wondering if Cassian did this. If he is capable of nurturing life as well as taking it. She wonders what that is like.

Soon enough she crawls into his bed, expecting sleep to claim her quickly. She's never had trouble falling asleep. On the floor in some dirt bunker, outside under the trash of derelict buildings and broken dreams. Even in Wobani. Habits built from a lifetime of catching kip wherever she can. It doesn't happen like that tonight though. She spends an eternity staring at the bland ceiling above, trying to will her mind clear. Then the tears come.

She hasn't cried since she was a child sitting on the floor by Saw's feet, mourning deaths she didn't fully understand. She can still hear his voice.

“This is it” He had said, as kindly as he could manage. “The last time you will lose precious water over something you cannot change. The future is ahead of us. the past is dead.”

She wipes angrily at her eyes. This is stupid. The plans are out and she's survived. It's what she always does. She barely knows the lives that were lost. She never truly knew the guardians. Doesn't even really know Bodhi or Cassian. And she stopped caring about both the men that called themselves her father when they abandoned her. 

She's alive and that's all that matters. That's all that ever mattered.

But the tears don't stop. Her face flushes and her nose runs. A fine tremor starts in her hands. She begins to wring the sheet on the bed, over and over, becoming tighter each time, trying to calm her shaking.

Nothing works. Soon her whole body is shaking with mighty sobs. She sees Saw in his cave, old and frail and broken like she never realised when she was with him. She sees her father staring at her with joy and peace as the light goes out of his eyes. She buries her face into the pillow, allowing the soft, cool fabric to sooth her and hide the broken, hideous sounds she is making. 

She gives up and let's herself cry. Let's herself mourn for all that she has lost, let's out the fear and anger that she can no longer carry. She is safe for tonight. The future can wait.

[medea10]

My Review of Trigun

How did I get into this anime? Let’s just say this was one of those animes that used to air on Saturday nights back in the day that I would every now and then come across while waiting for either Full Metal Alchemist, InuYasha, or Cowboy Bebop to air. But I never did watch a full episode or know a damn thing about this anime. So I’m just jumping into this anime blindfolded. All I know is that this was Johnny Yong Bosch’s first anime role.

Who is Vash the Stampede?

A frequent question that comes up throughout the series! Rumor has it that he wears a long, red trench coat and sports a Mohawk hairstyle. Some say he’s a notorious lecher. Many recount him shooting up their villages to a pile of rubble just for the heck of it. He has quite the reputation as he has a $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head and is often known as the “Humanoid Typhoon”.

In reality, Vash the Stampede is…a bit of a dingus. He just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and things kinda get out of hand. But that doesn’t stop two insurance agents (Milly Thompson and Meryl Stryfe) from following him around to confirm Vash’s identity and keep his actions to a minimum. At first, it’s hard to tell if he’s a stupid-genius or just flighty and gets lucky one too many times. But when shit goes down, don’t be surprised when you see this doofus get serious.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: Okay, what sad company did this use to belong to, Geneon, Bandai, or ADV Films? Oh, Geneon! That means good voice actors from L.A. put in really shitty roles. On the contrary, this was a fairly decent English dub. And on a severely positive note, this was indeed Johnny Yong Bosch’s very first anime role (and a main role at that). This was like fresh off his time as a Power Ranger! And I gotta give props for giving this guy a chance at voice acting. This role was the launching point to what has been a very successful career for Bosch. As for the sub, let’s just say I’m happy any time I get to hear Hiromi Tsuru in something besides Dragon Ball. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Vash is played by Masaya Onosaka (known for Bill on Pokemon, Isaac on Baccano, Jadeite on Sailor Moon, Kero on Cardcaptor Sakura, Leeron on Gurren Lagann, France on Hetalia, and Spandam on One Piece)

*Meryl is played by Hiromi Tsuru (known for Bulma on DBZ, Ukyo on Ranma ½, Yubel on YGO GX, and Mika on Gravitation) [R.I.P.]

*Milly is played by Satsuki Yukino (known for Kagome on InuYasha, Mion/Shion on Higurashi, Tae on Gintama, Amakata on Free!, Hiiragi on Natsume Yuujinchou, Mutsumi on Love Hina, and Yoruichi on Bleach)

ENGLISH CAST: *Vash is played by Johnny Yong Bosch (known for Ichigo on Bleach, Lelouch on Code Geass, Makoto on Free!, Izaya on Durarara, Artemis on Sailor Moon redub, Koizumi on Haruhi Suzumiya, and Yukio on Blue Exorcist)

*Meryl is played by Dorothy Elias-Fahn (known for Kaoru on Rurouni Kenshin, Naru on Love Hina, Tomoe on Rozen Maiden, Hakuei on Magi, Houki on Fushigi Yugi, and Amane on Tenchi Muyo GXP)

*Milly is played by Lia Sargent (known for Dorothy on The Big O and Judy on Cowboy Bebop)

FAVORITE CHARACTER: Milly! I don’t need a reason, it’s Milly!

SHIPPING: I didn’t really start thinking about shipping until more than halfway into this series. I thought there might be something between Vash and Meryl, but then again maybe not! Then I saw the backstory of Vash’s “younger days” and falling for the one woman who showed him compassion.

Yes, this is the same woman we consistently see in Vash’s flashbacks, Rem. Ooh boy, it’s one of those stories! So yeah, never mind my thinking with Vash x Meryl ever happening. I feel like Vash will mourn Rem’s death for a long time that I don’t think the whole thing with Meryl will ever work.

And as for Wolfwood x Milly…

FUUUUUUUCK! WHY DID YOU RUIN THIS CUTE COUPLE?!

MILLY WAS HEART-BROKEN!

…At least she got to have one night of passion with Wolfy-boy before the unthinkable happened.

THAT DARN CAT: If you watched this series, you might have noticed a little black cat spotted in nearly every episode. It’s there in the opening theme. It’s there in random places throughout the series. It’s there in the ending theme. What’s up with this cat? Well, there are a lot of theories surrounding this particular cat (or Kuroneko). Some say it’s really Rem inside that cat since you see it in literally every episode around Vash. Others say it’s because the creator of Trigun wanted to just mess with your minds with the kitty walking around in random places and towns. Seriously, it will always appear in every new town Vash and the gang comes across! As an avid cat enthusiast, I’m fine with whatever the result. Just as long as no harm comes to the little Kuroneko.

HALFWAY POINT: Halfway into the series we notice something more when it comes to Mr. Vash the Stampede. First of all, those horrifying scars all over his body! Second, that mysterious girl he often thinks about. I mean, we see flashes of her in the opening sequence. And third, the reason why he never kills. Vash has the ability of causing so much damage when pushed to a breaking point. One of the many reasons why he’s known as the “humanoid typhoon”! And that was perfectly shown when Vash chases the residents out of a town (so there would be no casualties), totally demolished the town during a fight, and made an indent on the moon!

But the story takes a sharp-left turn into WTF territory when we learn about WHAT exactly Vash is. Vash is a plant. Vash also has a brother named Knives. And while Vash has a mentality that all beings have a right to live, Knives has a “kill them all and let God sort them out” point of view. Now the existence of Vash and Knives came with a lot of controversy, especially in the ship that they were on. But that girl who Vash cares for, Rem cared for them regardless of what they were. Rem had high hopes for a peaceful world with coexistence. Too bad Knives had other motives and killed her.

ENDING TO TV SERIES: Vash has tried so hard to keep Milly, Meryl, and Wolfwood out of harm’s way. He knows there are some pretty bad people after him, including his polar-opposite brother, Knives. Vash hates death and wants to save as many people as humanly possible. He doesn’t want to see any more needless death. Probably from his flashbacks and losing Rem! Unfortunately, this doesn’t go so well.

I can see how iconic this death was now after witnessing it. Wolfwood, the priest who would hook up with Vash every now and then when they’re up against some ruffians, now finds himself in a crucial decision. He gets orders that he must eliminate Vash. And Wolfwood ends up dying instead in a very dramatic death scene. God-damn! And just that scene where Milly is sobbing freakin’ eats you up inside.

At least she had one night of passion before the unfortunate happened!

Vash hates the thought of having to kill anyone. But he might not have a choice if Knives is coming after him and even hires a powerful foe from a previous episode and the guy that killed Wolfwood to take you out. Once Vash met up with Knives, he winds up having some pretty sick flashbacks of Knives. But our homeboy was able to take out Knives, the desert area gets water, and…

I’m gonna have to read the fucking manga for more, right?

Tap dancing fuck!

BADLANDS RUMBLE: 12 years after the series ended, Japan decides to release a side-story in the form of a movie, bringing back our favorite characters like Vash, Wolfwood, Milly, and Meryl. And yes, reuniting the cast…in Japan.

By 2010, Geneon was as good as dead and FUNimation licensed Trigun. In short, they managed to get Johnny Young Bosch to reprise his role as Vash the Stampede. But everyone else was replaced. And surprisingly, the people they got to do Wolfwood and Milly were pretty freakin’ close to their original voices. Meryl’s voice, come on I know Luci Christian any-damn-where! Vash helps a young lady take out a big-bad guy (who turns out to be his father). And it has the feel of the original series where it’s set in a western town with lots of booze and shoot-em-ups! It’s an interesting side-story to the Trigun trilogy.

Trigun was a pretty good anime. I mean, not one of my favorites, but I can definitely see a lot of people sticking by this classic. Maybe you can chalk up my blah attitude to the fact that I’m not fond of westerns and I kinda took it out on Trigun. Or the fact that there was so much more that the anime could have covered before the end and the ending kinda felt off to me! Like I thought I was expecting more. But I suppose that’s what mangas are for. To be honest, the stories that really grabbed my attention were the back-stories with Vash and Knives and Wolfwood’s final episode.

*sniffles* At least Milly got one night of passion before he died!

If you would like to check out Trigun, all the episodes are available through FUNimation and Hulu (in both Japanese and English). And if you really like the anime, why not purchase the hard copies? Both the series and movie are available for home video.

Okay, that took me a while, but I’m glad to finish Trigun. What’s next on the FUNimation list?

EEHHHHHEEEHHHE

Fuck is that supposed to mean? What is that? Is that even in English?

YOU WILL BE HORRIBLY MUTILATED: The Isekai

Do you mean Re:Zero? That’s great…but that review’s not ready yet. And it probably won’t be until after April 2021! So let’s cast caution to the wind and pick another FUNimation licensed anime.

You’re watching Sarazanmai next. It’s best if you don’t ask questions.

Sarazanmai? The fuck does that even mean?!

OH. MY. GOD.

[shreddedparchment]

Pseudo Princess Pt.04

Officially Family

10/03/2019

Pairing: King!Steve x Reader          Word Count: 4,265

Warnings: Language?, a wee bit of angst, sexy blonde kings wearing floofy shirts

A/N: So, this chapter was actually intended to be joined with what will be the next chapter but I think having them separate will do better. There’s a lot to digest in this one, so I hope it reads well even though it’s a little on the shorter side (for me). Let me know what you like/love/had to think about whatever! As always, if you happen to reblog, thanks so much for helping me spread my work. xoxo

It feels like a dream, sitting in the carriage as your new life looms closer and closer with every turn of the steel and wooden wheel.

Across from you, his Majesty is staring at you. Sussing out your lack of reaction to what happened last night.

~~~~~~~~~~

Happy has your arm, carefully leading you down further and further into the castle. Deeper than you’ve gone yet, and when he finally stops, you’re sure that you’re in a dungeon somewhere because there are no windows, only diffuse candlelight every few steps.

You can hear the subtle drip of water and the scurrying of tiny feet.

An echoing meow tells you that it’s probably just cats and their kittens inhabiting the deep parts of the castle.

“Why are we down here?” You ask, frightened that maybe his Majesty really is upset with you.

What if Happy lied? What if King Rogers was not happy with you and because you failed to entice him, King Tony is going to have you chained up in a cell?

“His Majesty’s other office is down here. Just at the end of the hall. I’m not supposed to go with you, so...” He hesitates in letting your arm go. “Can you make it there on your own? You’re not going to faint again, are you?”

You look down at your pretty white gown with its pink underlay and the way even down here in the dim it seems to shine like a pearl. The bottom layer is dirty now, both from your fall and from dragging it down along these dirty floors.

“No. I’m fine.” You think.

Happy lets you go. “Just straight ahead. Last door at the end of the hall. Don’t bother knocking. He’s expecting you.”

You watch as he turns away from you and with one final glance back to make sure you’re alright, he disappears up along the gray stone steps to the daylight above.

Fear will get you nowhere. So, you shove it aside and march straight for that door at the end.

You give yourself one moment of hesitation to take a deep breath and prepare yourself for what might be a trap but as the heavy door swings open, you find yourself facing a golden mask, devoid of humanoid features save for the glowing blue eyes of what you’re sure must be magic.

You take a deep breath, a scream working its way into your throat before the golden face shakes its head and then it speaks.

“Wait, wait, wait. Don’t scream.” His Majesty’s voice says. He throws one hand out towards you and you watch the slit of his metallic lips that do not move as he speaks.

Somehow, despite there being no real opening, his voice is amplified. The golden armor, which you now see is to accentuate the massive amounts of red that he’s wearing, extends down to his sternum, shoulders, and arms.

It’s there in his arms that the armor begins to weave with regular leather plate armor, deep red. In his hands shine two large orbs of light like that which comes out of his eyes. At the center of his chest is a glowing blue circle that you suddenly realize is the design you’d first noticed on his servants’ armor. The coachman and the footman.

The rest of his outfit is thick, sturdy red linen and cotton, black leather belts around his waist that match the darker shade of his leather pants. Golden boots rise high up to his knees where golden shin guards with red leather beneath complete the look.

He reaches up behind his head and with a small click, there’s a hiss and he pulls off the heavy metal mask and then pops it underneath his arm as if he were holding nothing more than a child’s ball.

“This probably won’t be the worst thing you’ll catch me doing.” He teases, then moves towards you.

You almost step back, but you remind yourself at whose invitation you’re in the castle and that this man is no longer just your king but your father.

“Please, say something.” He rolls his shoulders nervously, dark brow drawn together.

“You’re the Iron Knight.” You gasp, nearly breathless.

“It’s not really Iron. It’s a new metal. Lighter than iron. Titanium is what they called it where I found it. I added some nickel. Makes it easier to move in. Here, try it on.”

He holds the mask out to you, and you take a step back, this time simply refusing to wear the mask not fearful.

“No thank you.” You frown at him, wondering what he’s playing at offering to let you try it on.

“It won’t bite.” He chuckles but puts it down on a table which finally draws your eyes to the rest of the room.

In essence it is a massive dungeon. It’s tall and wide with a vaulted ceiling supported with thick stone pillars. There are also countless tables along two of the walls, some metal, some wood. So much gear is stacked on each table. Different shin guards and boots, shoulder guards, and wristlets. There are a few chest pieces like the one he’s wearing, works in progress.

He’d been standing right at the center of this collection of tables, a target dummy made of straw and burlap sacks at the far end of the dungeon room, singed at the head.

“I think I’ve finally got the aiming down.” He tells you, and you wander over behind him as he lifts his hand and aims it at the dummy. “Careful.”

His warning makes you step back, but he puts his hand out towards you to make sure you’re safe.

There’s a subtle buzz. A hiss, like fire but not exactly fire. It reminds you of the initial crackle and spark of a fire but it’s chaotic in its power. It buzzes louder and louder until there’s a loud fizzing sound as the blue light explodes from his palm.

It lights up the room but soars across to strike the dummy right in the center of its chest.

“Wow!” You nearly yell, the booming in your ears deafening still.

His Majesty turns towards you with a smirk, a cat’s grin as he peels off the gauntlet he’s wearing and with it the chest piece it’s attached to.

“Is it magic?” You ask him, hearing going back to normal.

“Science.” He counters, piling his armor up on the empty table where he’d placed his mask. “And a little bit of magic, yes.”

“What kind of science?” You wonder, knowing nothing about science, your curiosity is peaked.

“Chemistry. It took me a long time to figure out the right combination but a little copper sulfate, some special water, a few other ingredients and of course, the magic that gives my little light show a nice blue glow.” His Majesty says.

“And the magic?” You ask him, desperate to understand but already completely lost. Copper sulfate?

“It’s a root. Nothing I’ve ever seen before. Grown by one of the witches in the East woods. She taught me how to do it and how to use its properties.” He explains.

“You got instructions from a witch?” You wonder, shocked by this revelation more than knowing that he is the Iron Knight.

“They’re not all bad. Some of them just wanna be left alone. It’s her own creation. The root.” He places the last bit of his armor aside then massages his wrist.

“Does it hurt, your Maje-”

“Ah, ah.” He frowns at you, his bearded lips contorted into a small pout.

“Father.” You correct yourself. “Does it hurt?”

“I’m alright. And it’s Man, by the way.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Iron Man. Not Iron Knight. I don’t want people to think he’s of noble birth.” He explains.

“Oh.” You think. “But you are of noble birth.”

“Yes. But I want people to feel like anyone could be the Iron Man. They should all feel like they can take power back in their own kingdom whether it’s from an oppressive lord or a schoolyard bully. My people should be able to stand up for themselves.” He says passionately, moving to sit on a stool and roll up the white sleeves of his shirt.

“Anyway,” He begins, “Let’s forget about the Iron Man for now. Steve has written back about your portrait.”

Oh, man, there are those nerves again. You can feel the lightheadedness working its way back in.

“And wh-what did he say?” You lick your lips and move to stand closer.

Tony reaches into his vest pocket and unfolds a piece of paper before holding it out for you.

“Read it.” He tells you, and hesitantly you take it.

“I-I don’t know how to read just yet.” You admit, feeling shame once again.

“Sound it out. You know how to say your letters, right?”

Damn. Okay…time to give this a try. “First word is ‘I’.”

Easy enough.

“Good.” Father says.

“I ‘C-A-N’ with a t? Can’t?”

He nods.

“Wooo-wuu-wah-it?” You say the word a few times in your head. “Oh, ‘wait’?”

Another nod.

“I can’t wait…t-o..to. I can’t wait to ‘mee-eet her.’” You beam up at him, then look back down at the painfully short note. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Okay. You’re too slow. That was torture. Give it here.” He reaches for it and you hurry to hand it to him then move around behind him to look over his shoulder at the words.

“Tony, I can’t wait to meet her. She has nice eyes. Bring her tomorrow. We can marry the day after. Sincerely, His Royal Majesty…blah blah blah…you get the picture.” Father begins to fold up the letter, but you throw your hand over his shoulder gently, reaching for it.

“Can I keep it?” You smile at him, neck and ears burning.

“Sure, kid. Keep it.” He hands it over then gets up and moves to his tables of scraps and projects.

“Did he really say that I have nice eyes?” You unfold the piece of paper and look for the word eyes. How was that spelt again?

“Yes. He says that about every girl though, so don’t get your hopes up.” He says, dashing your dreams.

“Oh.” You sigh, moving to sit on the stool he’d been on.

“Don’t worry, kid. It just means that he isn’t sure what to think. He’ll have more of an idea when he sees you in person. I saw the picture and it doesn’t do you justice. You’ll knock his socks off.” He promises. “You’re my kid, remember?”

You nearly smile but you’re reminded that in two days’ time, you’ll be married.

“I want to make him happy, father.” You sigh, melancholy.

“You will. Just…don’t rush it. Get to know him.” He looks up at you and stares right back into your own sorrowful gaze.

He puts his tools down and moves to you, placing his hands on your arms.

“Look, I know what I’m asking of you. I didn’t even want to let Morgana do this because I want her to have what I have with her mother.”

“It’s okay.” You smile and give him a shrug.

“But it isn’t.” He frowns. “You deserve to marry for love to, Y/N. And I’m sorry for being selfish enough to ask you to do this for us, but-”

“I think I am.” You admit, sadness overtaking your chest to make it ache. “I’ve never met him. I know that he will not be what I’m expecting but Natasha has told me about him. About the person he was before Queen Margaret died and if I’d had to choose the qualities that I would want in a husband, he has almost all of them.”

“But he’s different now. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Are you trying to talk me out of this?” You ask him, nearly laughing.

“No.” Father says, shaking his head, no laughing for him. “No. What I’m trying to say is don’t give yourself to him completely. Not for a while. Keep your guard up and don’t let him break you.”

“Is he really that altered?” You wonder, no more worried than you were before.

“He’s not the same Steve. If you have to love him, love him in secret. Don’t tell him. Don’t tell anyone. Don’t give him that power over you. Promise me that you’ll think about yourself first.”

You know that he means well but becoming King Rogers’s wife…it means dedicating your life to the crown. To your future people. To your husband. Maybe, just to appease him, you can give him a little lie?

“I promise. I won’t let myself fall in love with him completely.” You smile at him and he relaxes.

“Good. Now, about your dress…”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Father…” You begin, “You’ve been staring at me for half an hour.”

He looks at the Queen beside him, Pepper, mother to you now. She’s smiling at him knowingly. She shakes her head at him and then looks out the window.

“Sorry. I’m just…about what you saw last night-”

“I won’t say anything.” You promise him. “And anyway, nothing happened last night. I didn’t see anything, so I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I told you, you have nothing to worry about with this one.” Mother tells him.

“I didn’t think I did.” He replies with a gruff.

“He was up half the night, worried that he’d scared you.” Mother tells you.

“Pepper…” He grumbles.

“I know that this is all for show.” You start, smiling at them as they look away from their silent argument to you. “I know that it all kind of just happened and I was at the right place at the right time, but I appreciate your kindness. It’s been a long time since I’ve had parents and this past week has almost felt like I’ve had them back.

“I know it isn’t real but, you really do feel like my mother and father and I’m grateful. Thank you.”

For a moment, while you thank them, you let your mind think of them as they truly are. Your King and Queen.

They exchange a long look before they both reach out to take one of your hands. His Majesty the right, and the Queen the left.

“From the day that we took you in and until the day that you die, sweetheart, you will be our daughter. We’ve already added your name into our family register. You are now and forever officially a Stark. We can never repay what you have given not only us but your sister as well.

“When we find her, we’ll make sure she knows what you did for her.” Her Majesty says, eyes slightly misted.

“Kind of feels like we’re on the losing end having to lose a daughter we just found.” His Majesty says, and you nod with a smile, knowing exactly what he means.

“Once I learn how to write properly. I will write all the time.” You promise.

Her Majesty gives a small chuckle then the carriage jerks to a stop.

“We’re here, your Majesty.” Peter’s voice chimes in from the front of the carriage.

Time to meet your future husband.

~~~~~~~~~~

Father gives you a new dress. Beautiful silk sky blue fabric with white lace sewn in at the bust and wrists. The top of the sleeves are slightly puffed, and the skirt flows out, more lace along the bottom. It hugs your figure and Natasha ties your corset extra tight today, if only to accentuate your bosom.

“Maybe he’s a breasts man?” She shrugs.

Your neck burns.

She leave your hair down, as instructed by his Majesty, your father, long wavy curls left to flow down along your shoulders.

On your head she places a simple diamond tiara, small sapphires spread throughout the base to accentuate the blue of your dress.

All too soon you’re moving with hastened steps behind Natasha towards a room called the council chamber.

As you walk, you take the opportunity to look the castle over.

You’ve been in such a rush that you hadn’t really allowed yourself a proper look. You know that there are large round towers made of pink granite, the main structures of the castle are white marble. The roofs you can see a you pass yet another window—as they are numerous in this castle—are a dark blue slate. The colors go well together and make an aesthetically pleasing palette.

Inside the colors are darker, with deep chocolate oak wood walls and dark gray floors and ceilings. All the light fixtures however are in shades of silver and gold, bright colors to illuminate the darker tones of the interior.

There are also plenty of colorful carpets, pictures, and vases with flowers. Your future home is very warm in its décor and if it is any indication as to the style of the man you are about meet, you may not have anything to worry about after all.

You find Peter already waiting inside the room with Mother and Father also standing off to the side. Natasha shows you in, straight to the center of the room before a large high-backed chair embellished with golden etchings along the arm rests and back.

As Natasha fusses over your dress and hair, the rest of the room is absolutely silent. The nerves in the quiet are enough to drive you mad.

You wish someone would say something. Anything.

You’re already dying of nervousness. Why can’t they try and alleviate your mood?

Wringing your hands nervously, you turn to look at father who gives you an encouraging smile, mother also looking kindly.

Peter is chewing on his lip and Natasha moves to slap your hands away.

“Stop that.” She gasps.

“I’m nervous.” You admit, grieving silently.

“Me too.” She agrees.

“What?!” You gasp, quietly.

“What?” She shrugs. “I’m nervous for you.”

“I thought you said you knew him?”

“I did. Before his wife died.” She sighs. “He’s changed since then, and I don’t know what he’s really like anymore.”

It feels like you’re about to burst into tears when the large double doors behind the tall chair—which you now realize is a type of throne—open. Instead of the blonde you’ve been itching to finally see in person, your heart relaxes when a familiar long haired and blue-eyed knight enters the room.

He stops beside the throne and looks at father first, hand on his sword while the other is straight at his side.

“Your Majesties.” He bows politely, then turns to you. “Your Highness.”

The smile he gives you is one of encouragement and you appreciate it.

“His Royal Majesty, King Rogers, wonders if he and the Princess might be left to meet alone?” James meets Natasha’s eyes and you can see a quick silent communication between them before she’s reaching down for your hand.

“Listen, don’t speak until you’re spoken to. Smile if you think you should. Don’t mention the old Queen, and definitely don’t slip up about…well, you know. Keep conversation light. No swearing.” She’s rushing through these instructions and fussing with your hair and dress.

Your heart begins to panic.

“You’re leaving me?” You whine.

“Just for a few minutes.” She promises. “I’ll be right outside that door. Okay?”

“Nat…?” You swallow hard, wishing your nerves away. “What if he doesn’t-?”

“He just has to marry you.” She reminds you. “Nothing else matters. Once he’s married you, then you can worry about making him fall in love with you. Alright?”

“What if-?”

“It’s time.” She smiles. “Once step at a time. Good luck, your Highness.”

She pulls her hand out of your own firmly, and follows your mother, father, and Peter out of the room the way you’d first come in.

As the doors close, Natasha sends you one last smile before she’s out of sight.

“Nervous?” The deep familiar voice asks, and you turn to James with your breath held.

You nod. He’s wearing an outfit similar to when you met him two days ago, only today it’s dark blue instead of black.

“Don’t worry, Princess. I was there when he saw your portrait and-”

“Please don’t raise my expectations, Sir James.” You sigh. “I can’t stand it.”

“Bucky, your Highness, if you please. And if that is your wish…I will show his Majesty in now.” He offers, and gestures to the doors he’d marched in through.

You nod and watch as he leaves the room again.

For sixty long seconds you stand alone at the center of this large room where chairs line the walls. You consider making a run for it because anything is better than this waiting and then suddenly, he’s there.

Behind the chair, he walks in, wide steps made by long legs. A narrow waist hidden underneath a form fitting aqua blue vest, silver trimmings embroidered along both sides of his wide chest and collar. Underneath the vest is a plain white blouse cinched at the wrists with a small ruffle around the base of his hand where it then puffs out slightly. He looks cool, as if the fabric were flowing with a relaxing breeze.

His lower body looks powerful, muscled and thick covered in dark gray trousers, but your eyes linger there for only a moment because you’re already searching for the kindly blonde face you’ve been staring at for days in the portrait you have.

What you find instead is long blonde hair, not as long as Bucky’s but long enough to flow in waves along the sides of his face, parted along the middle. The clean-shaven face from the portrait is covered in a thick neatly trimmed beard. It all comes together to make a manly visage. He might tear solid logs in two if he tried, he looks that strong.

He’s older than he’d been in the portrait you have and there’s a sadness in his storm blue eyes that is there instead of the blue sparkle of curiosity you’ve come to expect.

He walks with his hands behind his back and stops a few feet in front of you, staring at you just as you’re staring at him. Appraising you.

He’s just as beautiful as he is in his portrait but still a little different.

Suddenly, you remember yourself and you quickly curtsy, averting your gaze down to his black boots.

Neither of you speaks as you bow and the endless minute that you just endured spreads into a few endless more.

The silence is deafening and when your legs finally begin to ache, you shut your eyes to force yourself to remain in position.

“Stand up, your Highness.” He says, his voice is deep and even. Full of authority and impatience. A little colder than you expected. “I trust your trip went well?”

Slowly you stand up, finally tearing your eyes away from his feet to look back into those storm blue eyes. They’re not sad anymore, rather, they look slightly annoyed. Angry? No. Irritated.

“It was a very good trip, your Majesty. Thank you for asking.” You reply, a little too quiet because you haven’t been breathing.

More silence. He stares at you. Relentless. No smiles. No hint as to what he might be thinking. Only a scowl, thick eyebrows drawn in at the center, eyes brooding and sad. Like he wants to say something but won’t.

Finally…

“Why are you doing this?” He suddenly asks, taking a step towards you.

“Your Majesty?”

“This marriage. This whole thing, why? You could have anyone. You’re a princess.”

“I…” How do you answer that honestly? Natasha did say you’d have to lie on your feet. You hadn’t expected for it to be this soon. “I want to-to make my father happy.”

“Mm.” King Rogers says, understanding this reason but also unsatisfied. “Any other reasons?”

And as you stare at his handsome face, you know that what you’re about to say is most definitely not a lie, so you’ll tell him. At least there are some things you’ll be able to be true about.

“When I saw your portrait…” You begin, wondering if this is giving away too much. No…it’s good for him to know where you stand, right?

“My portrait? What portrait?” He asks, taking a step towards you but not moving forward.

You hurry to grab the compact from your dress pocket and unhook the clasp to show him.

He moves in closer, the heat of his body overtaking you and momentarily dulling your mind.

“When I saw it…I decided that I…I wanted to make you happy.” You admit and look up to find him staring at you, brow furrowed even deeper.

His stern expression makes your hope waver. What does it mean? That intense glower?

“That’ll never happen.” He tells you, his voice hard, defensive.

“Your Majesty?” You ask, slightly confused.

When he speaks, his voice is intimate, quiet, and sure. He says it right beside you, close enough that his whisper is as loud as a shout and it hits you just as hard. The pleasantness of his voice making your skin pimple while the harsh truth in it fills you with dread.

“You will never make me happy. Never.” He promises, then moves away from you back towards the doors behind his throne. “We’ll get married in the morning. Tell Tony I accept his offer.”

As he vanishes from view, taking his beautiful brooding face with him, he leaves behind the tiny shreds of your hope, completely eviscerated by his cool declaration that you—specifically you—will never make him happy. Never.

[whole-dip]

My Trip to Omega Mart

Opened in 2021, Omega Mart is an immersive art experience that utilizes numerous artistic mediums to tell a layered and thematically rich story to guests. A story that actively involves the guest in various different ways, challenging their sense of physical space, as well as eliciting questions of consumerism, family, love, and even the nature human connection. This story is told within a massive space comprised of roughly four main physical spaces, each with their own smaller spaces wherein guests may engage with physical media to the level of their interest. Omega Mart was developed by an artist collective known as Meow Wolf, a group formed in 2008 that specializes in immersive art experiences that are often referred to as psychedelic, dreamlike environments. Previous works include The Due Return, an immersive art experience depicting an alien ship that travels through time, The House of Eternal Return, an immersive experience showcasing a house that seemingly exists in multiple dimensions, and various other immersive art experiences across the country. I visited Omega Mart, located in Las Vegas, recently and this piece will focus on my visit. Please keep in mind that Omega Mart is often updated in small ways and some of my account may not totally reflect your visit, be it in the past or future. Along with that, I will be going into great detail about my experience and if you plan to visit Omega Mart with no prior knowledge, you may not want to read this until after you visit.

 Omega Mart, is located within Area 15, an immersive art space located near the Las Vegas strip. As you enter, you’ll find yourself in massive blacklit warehouse that’s a sort of psychedelic mall. Individual kiosks show glow in the dark shirts and various other rave theme toys. To the left, lies the massive front entrance of Omega Mart. Flanking the entrance are walls with various advertisements for Dramcorp products that you’ll find inside. The entrance itself takes the form of an omega symbol, the central arch being a sort of portal inside. Once you enter, you find yourself inside, where else, Omega Mart. All around you are neatly organize aisles of typical products like cereal, household cleaners, salt and spices, like any other mall. The produce section lies to your left, meats to your right. A bluish glow from the fluorescent lights above gives the same sense of blah that you’d find in superstores like Wal Mart; inoffensive smooth jazz warbles out from speakers above you. It’s all drab and expected, until you pay closer attention. The products are all hilariously surreal, and there are truly hundreds of them on the fully stocked shelves. You’ll find cans of tattooed chicken, bottles of gender fluid, even zalg “America’s forgotten vegetable!” As you inspect the items their enticing labels show something more sinister going on. Most continue the absurd humor but a few seem to break brand style and urge you, beg you, to wake up from what you’re doing, to run away from where you are, to get back to reality, if it even exists any more. At times, the music will seemingly forget its place and skip incessantly as it repeats the same few seconds of music over and over to a maddening degree, only to go back to normal as though nothing happened. At other times, we hear Walter Dram, former CEO and founder of Omega Mart, and parent company Dramcorp, talk through the speakers. He’s exhausted, coughing and barely able to speak, halfheartedly assuring us that Omega Mart is the best supermarket in the universe, the he is Omega Mart, Omega Mart is him. He almost stumbles over his words, telling us about savings and being endlessly lost in the store. This story continues in the produce section, where on video, Walter advertises Omega Mart’s Valley of Plenty in-store brand. There, he, along with daughter Cecelia (heir apparent to Omega Mart and Dramcorp), showcase the incredible fruits and vegetables available for sale. He describes how he found the valley of plenty and admired the hard working local farmers as, taking the opportunity to share the fruits of their labor with the world. Just as the promo video ends, Walter drops his commercial persona and turns into his true exhausted self. He asks if he has to do it again. Cecelia reminds him that it’s his job, that soon she’ll take his place and that for now it is his duty to work. Walter sighs, resigned to his fate. Moments later, the commercial begins again, Walter repeats his spiel.

 As you explore, you’ll find various hideaways that take you to different locations. One such vestibule is the janitor’s closet, which houses nightmarish creatures made from brooms and mops. Their wood handle necks twist around and their fringed rag tails drip with glowing slime. Once you pass through, you enter the Dramcorp factory floor. Unlike the clean(ish) plastic of Omega Mart, the factory is a metallic horror of purplish browns, machines groan all around you as vile liquids ooze through pipes. On the floor above lies Dramcorp’s corporate offices with ominous glows seeping out from its closed doors. Here in the factory, you learn that Dramcorp has been utilizing something called, “Source” to develop and manufacture new products. Omega Mart itself is somehow fully infused with the dreamy, psychotropic qualities of source, but Dramcorp has refined it to make products addicting on a spiritual level. In one hidden corner we find a glowing orb that once was Walter Dram. He laments about his greed and how he went too far in his pursuit of profit. Now, his daughter Cecelia runs Dramcorp and he can only watch as she continues to be woman he raised her to be. Throughout the factory you’ll see that the refinement process is messy and various factory machinery are in disarray as employees try to clean up emotional messes and bliss outbreaks. Signs warn you of rooms with giant bugs or maddening corridors. In another corner, a particularly broken machine is spilling source runoff as a river out of the factory and into Seven Monolith Village.

 Seven Monolith Village is a small valley community in the Nevada desert where Dramcorp’s source runoff pools. Here, the psychedelic energy of the source has transformed the sleepy town into a living Alex Gray painting. The sun bleached rocks crack open with bright colored lines and massive desert wildlife like wolves and snakes now glow in fractal patterns. Giant humanoids made of pure energy slowly appear around you, only to disappear from our plane of existence moments later. Exploring the village leads us to find that the town has been ravaged by Dramcorp’s pollution and is near uninhabitable. One of the few people left Charlie Dram, owner of the local gas station and estranged brother of Walter. In his small gas station, we see that Charlie has begun a new business of collecting source runoff and selling it as a sort of psychedelic elixir. His phone regularly rings with calls from regular customers looking to make purchases from Charlie, many of them Dramcorp employees looking for an escape from their corporate lives.

 Next door to Charlie is a small shack that’s home to Marin Dram, grandniece of Charlie and daughter of Cecelia Dram. Looking through her room we learn her story. Years ago, Cecelia, along with her father Walter, discovered the original, raw source, a remnant of ancient visitors to our Earth from a parallel dimension. Drinking of that well, Cecelia and Walter discovered receive a divine vision for how to make Omega Mart the most profitable supermarket in the multiverse. From there, they tirelessly worked to study the source, finding that it is the wellspring from which all life emerged and all ideas come from. With this knowledge, they developed Omega Mart’s products as addicting and powerfully satisfying. Along with that however, came Marin, an immaculate conception born of both Cecelia and source, with strange abilities unseen by anyone before. Marin was raised by Charlie while her mother was busy running the company, but Cecelia began taking an interest in Marin and the potential for her to lead Dramcorp and Omega Mart into a new age of even greater prosperity. Pushed too far by her mother’s need to groom her into the next CEO, Marin opened a portal and fled our world for somewhere else, and everyone has been looking for her since. The only remains of Marin are lingering projections of her dreams, surreal music videos of being tormented by her mother, teen heartbreak, and visitations from ethereal beings. Now, all of Seven Monolith Village and Dramcorp alike are searching for Marin, to save her, or use her.

 Nearby in another home within 7MV you are drafted into the fight against Dramcorp by an anarchist group fighting against the capitalist propaganda and the abuse against human lives, as well as the earth itself. You must venture back into Omega Mart, as well as Dramcorp’s factory, and hack into their systems before you finally enter the corporate offices.

 Dramcorp’s offices are a nightmarish cavern of cubicles, computers, and offices. The executive portraits have haunting smiles and smoke billows from all around as lights flash in strange patterns. Behind each test facility door are horrific sounds and lights. Each office tells a small story of business drones that work tirelessly in hopes of one day ascending into management nirvana where they will exist fully with the company. All the while, employees drown themselves in the very same poisonous runoff elixirs that they sell in the store downstairs. After hacking into all three branches of Dramcorp’s reach, my involvement with Meow Wolf’s story was complete, though I suspect more is yet to come were I to visit again in the future.

 Omega Mart is rich with themes that comment on capitalism, spirituality, emotional relationships, and much more. The biggest difficulty that has always pervaded immersive art experiences, even those that can be found at theme parks like Walt Disney World, is the difficulty in having thematic density when the audience is not guaranteed to be interacting with the art as intended. While other mediums have the benefit of standardized ways to consume them such as film or literature, immersive art spaces have no set path in which the guest should traverse the space, nor even the guarantee that guests will be able to have the time to interact with the art in ways sufficient of fully understanding the plot. Because of this, many immersive experiences rely on using a heavier hand with its themes and utilizing narrative devices that directly speak to the audience. Commonly, this comes in the form of narration that speaks directly to the audience. Meow Wolf however, takes the risk of the audience not being able to experience the story in the event that they miss key elements. Meow Wolf mitigates this by making it clear through the use of electronic media and hiding certain show elements that guests should be in somewhat of a scavenger hunt mindset. While most of the guests I noticed on my visit had no prior knowledge of their Omega Mart experience involving a story, it was very clear upon entering to everyone that a major aspect of their visit would be interacting with the story should they choose. Meow Wolf themselves have stated that they look to make their stories accessible to all people on the level of the audience’s choosing. A visitor to Omega Mart would not feel ripped off by having not experienced the full story, but rather someone might feel as though their ticket gained value for having fully experienced the depth of Omega Mart’s characters and world.

 Even so, there is still a challenge when designing the story that comes with the nature of the medium of immersive art. Truly, there is no one specific art form that takes center stage here. Each room in Omega Mart could potentially involved artistic use of light, sound (musical and practical), wood work, print design, sculpture, painting, writing, and much more. The challenge in designing Omega Mart is to not only make individual pieces of art that resonate with the audience, but to bring them together within a space that is narratively cohesive rather than just a series of interesting things in a large room. Meow Wolf’s artists were able to pull that off. A common example of that level of connectivity is the referential nature of each space, details in one room would be seen in other rooms, often with new contexts and plot information that would provide greater thematic depth. Many of the humorous gag items available in the grocery store’s aisles could also be found in Dramcorp’s development offices where they could be viewed not as the silly puns you originally saw them as, but now as cynical totems designed on a molecular level to be addicting to consumers. Even more than that, the overall story itself would only be possible by intricately weaving a story throughout the space in a way that guests could understand how each room referenced the other together to create the whole. The end result being an experience in which guests can fully feel as though they visited specific places, met complex individuals, and had meaningful interactions, all of which I did during my trip.

 One of my biggest concerns before visiting was that Omega Mart’s story would be told in a way that said overarching ideas that were ultimately hollow. I dreaded that the only message Meow Wolf would leave me with is the trite “Corporation Bad” that so many hollow pieces of art tout. While a far more nuanced anticapitalism message is a major theme of Omega Mart, the story itself smartly anchors itself within the story Marin Dram. Marin’s story is one that I personally found to be profoundly relatable. The echoing dream in her bedroom mirror has stuck with me for days after my visit, along with the incredibly vaginal nightmare in a nook nearby. Marin’s story reflects each of the themes of Omega Mart’s message, that of feeling used by other, tied between two worlds, and the commodification of bodies for the sake of industry. There is a terrible sadness that I felt in my core as Marin cried at the school dance, only moments later to be covered in milk and cereal by her mother in some feeble attempt to become one with the family business. More than that, the Dramcorp, and the Dram family’s Cecelia and Walter themselves, tout plastic products as the quick fix solution to loneliness. We’re urged to question how we fill our own emptiness with products, or even how we use others as a means to an end. Walter and Cecelia use and consume their loved ones for their goals in much the same way Omega Mart’s customers are primed to use ridiculous products. There is a sadness to the way Cecelia can only connect to others through consumption. She can only connect to her daughter by offering products, she puts her father in the source well to be consumed by the store, ultimately she’ll be consumed herself by whomever is her successor as CEO. Everything in Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart experience is punctuated by the ways they can be balled up in put into your mouth for digestion.

 As an aside, I am somewhat disappointed in how prevalent the discussion of Omega Mart’s lore is both at the experience and online. Much of the discussion’s online is primarily about dissecting the origin of the source, the details of dark nula and light nula, and various other inconsequential details related to the world that props up the thematic meat of Omega Mart. Omega Mart, while not bashing the audience with its message, is not particularly subtle with what it wants to say. It is abundantly clear that Omega Mart’s messages of anticapitalism and reverence for emotional connection are the intended takeaways. One of the biggest drawbacks in how Omega Mart tells its story is the moments in which, typically on phones, the audience is given a neat summary on everything in the story so far. This is very much a personal gripe.

 Omega Mart’s most prominent medium is perhaps space itself. The uniting factor in every individual piece of art that makes up the whole is the unification of space itself, and the clear delineation of crossing the threshold from space that is wholly not Omega Mart, into a space that wholly is. Within that space, Omega Mart’s guests will find themselves walking, climbing, crawling, and even sliding at they traverse the location. We see this create transitionary vestibules like the janitor’s closet from earlier, but also a space bending soda freezer or even a staircase from the store to the offices that has the numbing drone of music fade into haunting groans with each step. As guests traverse the space they also find themselves crossing paths with staff and other guests, all of which flesh out Omega Mart just by the vary nature of being there together. Guests will find themselves falling back into the same patterns and habits they exhibit when visiting real grocery stores, struggling to pass each other in cramped aisles, knocking baskets accidentally and apologizing, all the motions of a grocery store, but none of the actual purposeful substance of visiting a normal grocery store. This contrasts with the purposeful halts guests will make when experiencing the dreams in Marin’s room, stopped and fully enraptured by a story beat. While Omega Mart as an experience is easily considered hard to describe, the actions guests take while there, reading, talking on the phone, navigating a blog, walking up stair, are all deceptively simple.

 However, this comes at a cost. Omega Mart, like much of Meow Wolf’s previous work, is not particularly accessible to many different types of people. The House of Eternal Return has been criticized in the past for not being wheelchair accessible. Omega Mart remedies this by always having multiple ways to access new areas including wide open pathways and an elevator, but the thrill of tunnels, rock climbing, and narrow passages are impossible to experience. Really, anyone who is not able bodied and below a certain size will have challenges when experiencing Omega Mart. Not only that, Omega Mart’s usage of the full emotional spectrum means that some experiences, specifically those that utilize sensory overload to intentionally elicit anxiety in guests, would be almost impossible for many neurodivergent guests, or just guests with sensory difficulties. None of the main experiences and plot requires guests to directly engage with intense rooms or inaccessible spaces, but there still might be a disappointment in some guests when finding that they are unable to fully experience every inch of Omega Mart.

 Meow Wolf has been around since 2008, but beginning with the opening of House of Eternal Return in 2016, Meow Wolf has exploded in popularity and is noted by the theme park industry as a group to watch. House of Eternal Return even received an award for outstanding achievement by the Themed Entertainment Association, one of the industry’s highest honors. While many people are oblivious to the small movements within the themed entertainment industry, the larger pushes done by groups like Disney and Universal do get noticed by the general vacationing public. Some have noted that what Meow Wolf is doing today, could in fact be what Disney is doing a few years from now. Meow Wolf’s principles could be most applicable in the upcoming Galactic Starcruiser experience that also promises to be similarly immersive and engaging to guests. More than that, Meow Wolf does consider their work to be made for the general public rather than niche crowds of art lovers and theme park fans. This is clearly evidenced by how many guests I saw at Omega Mart surprised to find out there was a story at play, some of which actively chose to not engage with in out of disinterest. One does wonder if a version of Meow Wolf’s immersive experiences, bigger than an escape room but not quite EPCOT, that tells a complex story with characters and themes, could be common relatively common place for most people to visit. Meow Wolf is wholly unique in their execution, but spaces of play, even for adults, aren’t. At the same time, while Dave and Buster’s and barcades may be popular, how likely is it that middle class office workers would clock out and head to something like Omega Mart? Even beyond that, Meow Wolf actively updates their experiences in various ways and their website encourage guests to visit at least once a year. I certainly would not be opposed to visiting again in a year, but the experience would be less akin to going on a rollercoaster a second time and more like rewatching a movie. I can’t see typical socialization, small talk and the like, occurring in a place like Omega Mart.

 Ultimately, Omega Mart sets out to, and very much does, create a thematically rich experience that is truly mind bending and challenges the ways we consider our traversal of space, and our connections with others. While everyone will likely come out with a different experience to varying levels of intensity, I personally found my trip to be one of the most spiritually intense experiences of my life, one that drastically made me rethink my relationship to others, as well as to myself. I don’t think visiting Omega Mart should require pre and post consultation with a therapist, but I do encourage guests to be prepared to have at least one of their ideas about the world to be radically challenged. Time will tell if Meow Wolf’s continued work in the world of immersive art experiences is sustainable with an audience, but for now Omega Mart is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before and afterwards you may find yourself to be unlike you were when you entered.

[ghostgetter]

hi idea i want to write but am too lazy to compile:

there needs to be a klance canon divergent au of lance idk, being manipulated by druid magic or possibly (and i like this idea better) post-undercover mission instructed by shiro and getting caught, trying to escape in his ship (not Blue) and it crashing and a galra leader blowing it up and Lotor (who, since i have watched one episode, is Bad To Me) finds him near-death after being begrudgingly ordered to kill him, but with n o m e m o r y of anything - he thinks his name is Tailor until Lotor comes to the conclusion by galaxy rumors that his name is Lance - and is thus coined a ~*~*~perfect right-hand man~*~*~, a perfect soldier, who has all the muscle memory of an excellent pilot and shooter but no recollection of his home or his family or his life or his friends, so nothing to hold him back from getting the job done.

And Lotor takes him under his wing to not exactly work with the galra (because he’s a prince damn it he has earned his place to take control of what he can and will not be ordered by shitty galra lieutenants) but still do Bad Things. He’s got Acxa and others and essentially overthrow governments for their team, collecting weapons and information and money and the like (but Lotor is sending most of this to Zarkon for control blah blah complications whatever)

Meanwhile the team is like, totally distraught. Nearly fallen apart. They have a funeral for Lance because they have no reason to think he’s alive. Keith, who had a fleeting moment with Lance a few days prior, who had developed feelings for him, blames Shiro for his death. Hunk’s furious with the team in general and demands they go home. Pidge is immensely sad and stops sleeping because she lost another brother figure. Shiro doesn’t blame Keith for being angry and agrees this is his fault. Keith’s being extra-“let’s throw my life on the line every mission who gives a shit anymore” until he and Shiro have a Serious Talk. Allura is reluctant but forces herself to attach to Blue, whom is also relectant (they later find out it’s cus Lance Is Alive and Blue Wants Her Paladin).

Anyway Kolivan, leader of the BOM, who Keith has been occassionally working under for more missions to kill himself in, comes to the castle of lions with news about the galra a few months after Lance’s death. He requests their help with stopping a side group of galra who don’t seem to be directly working with Zarkon but are on the map in a massive way and causing havoc and know team voltron wanna be involved. Allura is automatically in but Hunk is so fucking done he wants to go home. He wants to go to Cuba and see Mrs McClain and apologize and cry about their son. And then Kolivan pulls out a tablet that reveals a hologram of Lance.

Lance, in a bright purple uniform, a scar from his temple to his brow, hoisting a galra-styled rifle and perched on a futuristic building, aiming below, clearly unaware of his photo being taken. Alive.

And Keith snatches the tablet from Kolivan “when was this taken?”

“Three days ago.”

Anyway so Team Voltron and BOM team up immediately to get Lance but BOM’s goal is Lotor and the other galra Keith and Hunk (and Shiro, who is still very guilty) are all “we’re getting Lance and regrouping fuck this.” They end up on a planet untouched by Zarkon but in near chaos cus of Lotor’s team, and the BOM are chasing some of the galra in their ships, losing em, and team voltron are also in ships (not the lions), and Keith’s chasing Lotor but then his ship gets slammed into and it’s Lance, he just knows, so he has Shiro and Kolivan continue after Lotor while he chases Lance. He shoots out a cable that catches onto Lance’s ship and forces it to (roughly) land and he runs out of his ship to get Lance, who’s stumbling out

and Keith calls out to him and Lance shoots him.

Keith is able to dodge it enough so it grazes him but Lance quickly shoots at the cable attached to his ship to get it off and runs back in before escaping.

And in his sheer disbelief of what just happened, he hears on the coms that Lotor also escaped, and Hunk and Pidge’s ship crashed, and this was a fucking mess, and Lance looked right at him and just shot him, what the hell -

Anyway lots of heists and chasing and Keith has Pidge catch wind of Lance at an underground hover cycle race on a planet with lots of crime (Lance had ditched Lotor and his team for some air as things were getting Tense between him and Lotor, who was usually very on top of Lance in a protective, possessive way that was kinda creepy but also not necessarily Bad, unlike now where Lotor is being possessive and gross and Lance was starting to question things because Blue was trying to communicate with him through quintessence as the Castle Ship kinda hovered nearer and nearer and Allura was trying to expand it???? idk i don’t watch this show does this make sense lmao) and Keith heads off there alone and sees him in his natural habitat and it’s almost like???? he was the same person? It’s post race and he rips off his helmet, cocky and smirking at an alien that he just beat. mouthing off to him and shooting finger guns at the crowd and winking and Keith’s heart soothes because shit, it’s Lance.

And Lance is getting ready to leave - he’s collected his winnings and such and he’s pulling out and Keith drives up to him and takes his helmet off and Lance double takes. And is like “um, hello?”

And Keith has, no idea, maybe it’s the cocky smirk he saw, but he revs his engine and says: “I hear you’re pretty good at racing around here.”

Lance laughs, sudden startlement pushed aside by amusement. “I’d say I’m the best pilot they’ve seen.”

“Wanna test that theory?”

And Lance is confused because like, he shot this guy? “Do you have a death wish or something, man?”

“Maybe,” Keith smirks. “I just wanna race.”

Lance blinks once, twice, then scoffs. Turns forward, “Fine. Your funeral.”

“This’ll be fun,” Keith turns forward as well. “Lance and Keith, neck and neck, remember?”

And Lance looks at him, because no, what the fuck? No he doesn’t.

Anyway they race through the city streets. It is indeed: Lance and Keith, Neck and Neck. Lance comes to the conclusion that this Keith is immensely fucking good at racing. But so is Lance, who bypasses him on a few turns, of course until they start getting tailed by the city’s law enforcement. And Keith, who’s fucking crazy, is able to turn his bike around and force them to crash, and then pass Lance in reverse, and take the lead.

And win.

And Lance is pissed but he takes this loss and pulls out into an open field and Keith and him bicker a bit about the race and Keith criticizes him but also “but you got better with the accelerating. You just break too much on turns. You do that when you pilot, too.”

“I’m confused. So you know how I pilot, now?”

“Yeah, I know how you pilot. I know you.”

“No, you don’t,” Lance argues. “You don’t know me.”

“You’re a pilot, you’re good with a gun -”

“Everyone knows that,” Lance cuts in. “Everyone on this planet knows that. I made a name for myself here. That doesn’t mean you know anything about me—”

“I know you’re from Cuba, on Earth.” Keith argues back. “I know you have a large family. I know you love the ocean, and that you miss rain.”

Lance is quiet, then, “I don’t remember rain.”

“Maybe not. But I can help you remember it.”

And at this point they’ve gotten closer and they’re talking and Lance asks where he got the scar on his face “if you know me so well” and Keith tells him the story, breezing over their moment and tells him about Shiro, and fighting the galra, and that Lance is a paladin of -

And in comes Lotor, his ship coming in from above and landing, him and another Galra, and call out to Lance, in a calm, orderly fashion and Keith and Lance both freeze. Lotor tells Lance to meet at the randezvous point and Lance hesitates until Lotor repeats himself, and Lance sighs, looks at Keith and salutes him, and gets on his hoverbike with one last look before driving off to get to the ship he docked and fly off.

And then Lotor and Keith face off. Not fighty but more argumentative. And Lotor expresses just how much control he has over Lance, who’s so flighty lately since Voltron got involved and it’s agitating, and Lotor offers information on inside Galra war plans in exchange for Keith and his team to back off.

“And Lance?”

Lotor eyes him. “He stays.”

“Then no.”

And Keith takes out his sword because he’s honestly had it with Lotor and then he sees Lotor brought more than just one Galra, but another humanoid-alien, who comes out aiming a laser at Keith. And then bam bam Hunk appears from Yellow, who he took down to follow after Keith because fuck you, Lance is his best friend he wants him back, canon bayard loaded and trained on Lotor.

Anyway no harm comes from it and then after a battle happens with the Lions and Lance being forced to eject from the warship with a few others and join the fight and Lance is Not Feeling This (he feels super connected to Blue and Lotor is on his ass about Keith and Lance Does Not Remember fuck off). Keith sees this and has Red get close to Lance, with Shiro and everyone yelling at him, and he propells to Lance’s ship outta the jaw of Red and has Red back outta the line of fire, and somehow blah blah, gets into Lance’s ship. And Lance is like ?????? but then immediately sees that Lotor is aiming a canon at them and they’re gonna blow up and they do, until Red comes in and snatches them up. Keith is unconscious. Lance is confused. He sees Team Voltron on the vid cam and doesn’t know what’s happening. He tries to explain what Lotor’s doing and that Keith got knocked out with the blast and he’s so confused and why is the yellow guy crying, what’s going on, until Allura tries to get Lance to pilot Red, and Lance argues with her a bit while settling Keith in what looks like a seconadry pilot chair that miraculously popped up. And then Lance, like, hears this Lion-thing? Speaking to him??? And he pilots Red and Lotor escapes and they go back to the castle of Lions, get Keith into a pod, and everyone hugs Lance, who still doesn’t???? Understand????

Anyway. Long story short. He re-meets the team. Joins the fight. Pilots Blue again, who he confesses to have been hearing in some sorta abyss for the last month. Has a heart to heart with Shiro. Cries with Hunk. Re-falls for Keith. Big battle. He gets his memory back later. The end.

[luminarygardens]

WIP Introduction

Here’s a bit about my untitled WIP! (Sorry for the... blah-ness of this, I don’t have any moodboards or art or anything yet to show off.) I’ll add themes and the like to the intro when I have more of the actual story planned out, I promise. ^-^ 

*Note: Names and other details may change in future.

Synopsis

Saph has already tried escaping prison once. Needless to say, they failed--and got a good look at how hard it’ll be to get out. Fengzei’s central prison was built to hold much worse criminals than themself, so naturally defenses were built to be impossible to crack. They’re resigned to accept being stuck for the rest of their sentence... and then they get an offer that will grant them freedom. Fengzei is an empire spanning planets, and the capital city of their newest acquisition has just... disappeared. Into thin air. Scientists are puzzled by the impossibility of such an occurrence, and they’re forced to admit that maybe, just maybe, it was pulled into an alternate dimension. Of course, Fengzei wants its city back, and soon. But it’s not willing to risk its own soldiers on a mission to another universe... not when it has prisoners languishing away in cells. Saph’s recruited to go on a journey that will make history, but their team isn’t the only one intent on finding the lost city. Fengzei won’t put all its eggs in one basket, and has assigned multiple groups of prisoners to this cause--but there’s others on the hunt as well, wanting to win fame and glory for themselves. 

Characters

Saph {species unknown, fox-like humanoid / nonbinary} : Cunning and tough, Saph has always been able to get out of sticky situations. Until now, that is. Arrested for plotting a coup d’etat.

Dryad {Silva, a nature guardian / female} : Dryad, if asked, will insist that she was framed for her crime. However, what exactly that crime is changes with each telling--if she bothers to tell you at all. Doesn’t make friends well.

Thom {human / male} : The nature of his arrest is unknown, but the members of the team agree he’s the most likely one to have voluntarily went to prison. While Saph was appointed leader, he does his best to keep everyone in line and focused on the mission.

Four (as yet unnamed) {human (probably) / female} : She lurks in the shadows, watching and gathering information... it’s rare for any of the crew to actually see her beyond a quickly-moving shadow. She’s dependable, though, and will show up to major events--if only to take notes and observe. Maybe she’ll save someone’s life, if she feels like it.

(( There may be a fifth main character, but she’ll show up later, and right now she’s on a different storyline than the others, so we’ll see. ))

Taglist: @mousetache

[sekhisadventures]

Dead Men and the Tales They Tell

Oribos, four days after the group’s encounter with the Dreadlord

Nelen sat at a table in the tavern in Oribos, the mage in his human form as he sighed and took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes as he got the report from Jaie and Galdia. Given the situation and their enemy Savage United and Avalon had decided to abandon the whole ‘red VS blue’ thing openly upon arriving in the Shadowlands and, while he was grateful for it, it did mean more problems.

For one, teaming up their groups was difficult. Galdia flat out refused to work with Dareley under most circumstances because he used the Light, Shalandrae was more open to working with Sekhi and (much to her relief) Nitika again but the rest of Savage United was pushing it at best, and putting Merihim and Dissonantia on a team together was like sticking two cats in a box and giving it a good firm shake… if one of those cats could breathe fire and the other could blow things up with their mind.

For another some of the teams he set up weren’t great at certain objectives, like information gathering and interrogation.

“And did you manage to get any idea about how many Dreadlords there were in Korthia before Galdia cut his head off? Any names? Anything?” he asked with a long drawn out sigh.

Jaie shrugged awkwardly, “Well, I was about to force something out of them… I mean demon anatomy is surprisingly similar to most humanoids and people will tell you a lot when you press down on their kidneys like that but…” she glanced at the orcish warrior standing next to her.

Galdia snorted and rolled her eyes, “Blah, blah, BLAH! They’re DEMONS! Fuck the questions AND them!” she spat, glaring at the wall. “We’ll find out how many more there are when my blade finds their throats!” she smirked.

Nelen put his glasses back on and sighed, “Yes Galdia, its very impressive that you can kill a dreadlord so easily… but they’re masters of deception and illusion. We need to have at least some idea of which particular Nathrazeim we’re up against and how many…” he tried explaining to her again... knowing full well how it would go.

“WHATEVER, can’t Merihim and Dissonantia find them anyways?” she grumbled as Nelen frowned. The orc was an amazing fighter. She was a current favorite at the Theater of Pain in Maldraxxus and he’d personally seen her take one of the World Eaters apart both figuratively and literally… but when it came to strategy she was the type to stab first, stab some more, stomp a few ribcages, smash a few heads through walls, punch some jawbones off, and then when everyone is dead expect him or Nitika to ask any questions.

“Technically yes Galdia… but Merihim has to actually see them to recognize them, and he has to get close and if a Dreadlord is watching for an Illidari which after that one escaped us at the cave I’d have to assume they ARE… then Demon Hunters are very easy to spot.” he replied. An elf with fireballs for eyes, a penchant to go shirtless to show off their tattoos (and because the tattoos tended to ignite any cloth or leather one tried to wear,) and horns stood out even among the very mixed races of the Alliance and Horde. “… and while Dissonantia can sense them, she can only tell if one is nearby. She can’t pinpoint them yet without using the proper ritual.” he added.

This was something Dissonantia had made him painfully aware of, the warlock actually explaining to him (in gruesome detail) how the ritual worked. He could have known less about the reagents needed and after she mentioned needing the eye of a virgin he found he was quite put off his dinner, but the fact that Dissonantia was actually telling him this and not just cracking some joke and pissing off back to Revendreth showed just how serious the situation was. Dreadlords were the spymasters, infiltrators, and saboteurs of the Legion. If they were aligned with Zovaal then they were all in very very deep trouble.

Dissonantia had told him that the only other way was to work with another warlock to ward the base camp in Korthia as well as Sinfall, the Forest’s Heart, the Seat of the Primus, and the Archon’s Citadel against the infiltrators. While the ritual was simple enough, the power channeled would require at least two warlocks to succeed and Nelen only trusted Dissonantia.

Galdia just grumbled and decided that the meeting was over for her, and since she was a warsong warrior and quite capable of killing most people in the room, nobody argued. She stomped over to the bar and demanded something that would make her see flying pink kodo beasts as Jaie sighed, “I should probably go and hold her beer if needed. Nitika asked me to make sure she didn’t make herself sick again after our mission.” she smiled awkwardly at Nelen who nodded back. Jaie was a braver person than him to get between an orc and their booze…

As she did however there was a sudden sound of boots stomping outside the bar as Grimo rushed in through the doorway with Dissonantia following behind, the warlock smirking as if enjoying a private joke as Grimo grinned toothily at Nelen, slamming his fists down on the table. “HEY FULLMOON!” he shouted, “Ya said ya needed another warlock for that ritual Diss told ya about right? Wardin’ our places against the Dreadlords?” he nodded, smirking confidently at the mage.

Nelen looked at his expression and quickly did an inventory of nearby exits, when a goblin smiles like that its because they either expect to make a lot of money or a lot of noise, “… yes…” he replied to Grimo, taking a half step back.

“Well its yer lucky day bud! I just contracted a new member for Savage Untied! I put the word out we were lookin’ for infernalists, shadowmancers, and assorted fel-whatevers and when I mentioned to one of ‘em we were workin’ with a group of Alliance guys led by you they signed right on! Get this bud, they said they KNOW you!” he grinned.

Nelen paused at that. He’d worked with a few other warlocks in various campaigns, usually out of necessity, and most of them he didn’t even remember their names anymore. “… that… sounds extremely unlikely Grimo. The only warlock I really know is Dissonantia here.” he nodded to her as his fel-using counterpart sat down at the table and rested her elbows on it, folding her hands and putting her chin on them to grin at him.

“Aye, but he knew yez by name. Said he knew ya waaaaaaaaaaaay back in yer old school days.” she smirked.

Nelen looked between the two. Dissonantia’s sense of humor could lean dark, morbid, and downright psychotic at times, and Grimo… was Grimo. “… you guys are starting to worry me. Grimo, whats going on?”

Grimo opened his mouth to respond, then his ears twitched and he looked back at the doorway. “Hah, speak of th’ devil summoner.” he smirked, waving to a tall man in a long robe with a concealing hood. He wore heavy gloves over his hands and walked with a slight hunch to his posture. “Here’s our new recruit now! C’mon over man!” called the goblin.

The warlock looked towards them, the cowl hiding his features in shadow as he padded forward, and Nelen hesitated. Something about him did seem familiar. He was wearing red quilted robes and his shoulder pads had some scrolls tied onto them in a manner that reminded him of the tidespeakers of Kul’tiras but then, it wasn’t just them who wore those. They were known for it yeah, but a lot of Kul’tirian spellcasters liked that style.

And then the mage spoke, and Nelen’s eyes went wide.

"Tides below! Th' goblin was tellin’ th' truth! I knew ye’d gotten outta Dalaran somehow!” the cloaked man cackled, pointing at him. “Hair’s got some grey, 'n th' glasses 're different, but its definitely me ol' mate Nelen Fullmoon!” he added.

Nelen took a step back as Jaie looked up from the bar, Gladia taking the opportunity to down half a bottle of something violently purple as she did. “That voice… no way…” he shook his head. He hadn’t heard that voice in years, not since he was a student at Dalaran…

… not since that fateful day that the city fell to the Scourge.

“What? Don’t ye remember me? We were like brothers back then! Thick as thieves we was!” the cloaked man added as the pandaren padded over to stand near the table, curiosity overruling her desire to keep Galdia from drinking the bar dry.

Nelen stared, then finally found his voice, “… Ed? Edwood Vargas?” he asked, disbelief thick in his voice.

The cloaked man slapped his hands together. “GOT IT IN ONE! Knew ye’d do it! Ye always were th' brains back then matey!” he added, nodding his head under his hood.

“That’s not possible! Edwood died! I saw him fall off the battlements after Arthas shot him in the face with a death coil!” he shouted, hesitating a bit as he remembered where they were. "Okay... Ed could be here... but... you're no Venthyr or Maldraxxi or disembodied soul or anything from the Shadowlands... You're clearly a flesh and blood being..." he trailed off as his nose twitched.

Even in his human form, his sense of smell was stronger than it had been before the curse. Not uncanny like Shalandrae's, but stronger than the average person's... and he smelled something, something that would explain exactly how this could be his former classmate... "... no..." he whispered under his breath.

The coweled head tilted, “… well, aye, there is that detail…” he chuckled, reaching up, then pulling down his hood as Nelen’s eyes went huge, the mage staring at the sight.

It was Ed, he knew the face of his boyhood friend anywhere. But, this Edwood’s face was a sickly green, and his lower jaw was all exposed bone, his eyes glowing a poisonous fel glow as his hair hung about his head limply.

“… yer right about that Fullmoon. I did die… but since when does that stop people anymore eh?” he laughed, “Now c’mere and give yer ol' pal Edwood a hug!” he grinned toothily, the scent of formaldehyde, preservatives, and rot filling the worgen's nostrils.

Edwood Vargas, Nelen had last seen him falling to his death as a young man in his twenties, killed by Arthas Menethil, who was leading the Scourge. An army of the dead.

Edwood had fallen to his death, but he hadn’t stayed fallen. He was back, as one of the Forsaken.

Next Story

Previous Story

[lcclements]

Bonded Chapter 3

Author’s Not: So, you may have noticed that I change the title. The reason for this is because the silence theme was pretty weak by itself. Also, there is the whole bonded theme, which was meant for comedic purposes. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the Legend of Zelda franchise. It belongs to Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. Please don’t sue! I only create OOCs!

Guide:

“blah” : sign language

‘blah’: thoughts

[blah]: foreign language

Chapter 3: Adjusting

    Zelda placed back and forth in her library. This man who fell from the sky looked like a hylian, but not like a hylian. His skin was gray, tattooed with symbols, and black hair streaked with flicks of silver. His injuries were extensive, and he would be covered in scars. The garb he wore, it seemed like he either came from an ancient civilization, or an arid one. Looking through what was left of the historical texts, she couldn’t find the symbols marked all over his arms. It was frustrating, most of the library that contained historical records were burned by Calamity Ganon. Now, she was stuck with this humanoid creature and no idea if the male wash hostile or not. She sent a messenger to Hateno Labs, but she hasn’t heard back yet. She went back to one historical text, the one of how Hyrule was infected by a blanket of darkness and only a descendant of those banished by the goddesses could cure it. The hero and the goddesses’ descendant had a trusted ally who destroyed the mirror, returning to the dark realm.

    The story was only briefly touched on when she was a child, but after the mirror was broken, there was to be no contact from the dark realm. Then again, there were ways to reach the sacred realm, not just the triforce. Still, if this humanoid creature was a threat to Hyrule, she would quickly put it down. She was brought out of her thoughts by a soft voice. “Your highness?”

She looked up from her notes to look at a mousy maid. She was small in stature, and even tinier in voice. Thinking, she couldn’t come up with the maid’s name. Then again, she had just gotten a new staff after Hyrule Castle was rebuilt. “Thank you.” She said, “Has this…person, exhibited any violent tendencies?”

“No, your highness. Though, he didtell the doctor that he wished to speak with you.” “He? This is a male?” “The doctor confirmed it, among other things.”

“Excellent I’ll be there shortly.” The maid sighed as she saw Princess Zelda grab a quill and paper with a giddy expression. As she ran past the maid, the worker sighed. Many wondered if Zelda was meant to be a researcher rather than a monarch. Princess Zelda hurriedly walked down the hallways of her castle. She often marveled at how the master builders were able to restore her home to its formal glory. A brisk walk made it a short distance between the available rooms and the library. The guards bowed and opened the door to the doctor and the inhabitant. He looked male, with bandages adorning his chest. The old royal doctor stood and bowed. “How is he, Erol?”

“Besides the two broken ribs, the second degree burn to his leg, and the dislocated shoulder? He should be fine. He speaks very well, and I see no signs of a concussion.”

“Is this Princess Zelda?” asked the male

She looked at him for a moment. His eyes were red, and he had black splotches everywhere, with one on his left eye. “Why yes, I am.” She said, “Can you understand me?” “I can understand you fine. To be honest, I’m actually surprised you didn’t kill me on sight.”

“I see no reason to kill a non-hostile creature?” “Creature? Princess Zelda, my name is King Stil of the Twili, descendant of the interlopers.”

    Saphira could only wince as she heard King Dorephan bellow at his son. After the bonding ceremony, Prince Sidon had to sleep overnight in the room next to Saphira’s, and of course the rumor mill started. Both were summoned to the King’s chambers, which made Saphira shake in fear. She had never seen a creature so big, and she was hoping that she wouldn’t be executed for such a stunt. Sidon had tried to assure her that this wouldn’t be the case, but she still folded her arms to cover her twitching fingers. King Dorephan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Father, I assure you that Saphira has no ulterior motive.” Said Sidon

“How do we know this?” asked Mizu, “Ever since this…thingarrived, we’ve had nothing but misery. First the poisoning from that shadow, then a third of our troops are dealing with a deadly poison, and now bonding with our Prince?”

“She didn’t mean for that to happen. She was just trying to communicate.” “And she couldn’t find another way?”

“She is standing right here.” Snapped Saphira, “And no, I don’t have another way, considering normal languages takes years to master. Plus, I already know how to cure them and I told your royal doctor how to cure them.” “Witch!” hissed Mizu, “You did this to your people!” “Enough!” bellowed King Dorephan

Saphira stepped forward, going down on one knee. “Your Majsty, my intent was to warn your people of the creature that passed through our portal.”

King Dorephan looked at the girl with wisdom in his eyes, then looked at his son. He lowered his hand. “Rise child, and come here.”

She looked back at Sidon, who got closer and held her hand. A feeling of calmness washed over her as he led her to the King’s hand. She stood her back rigid but her left hand twitching. Sidon gave her right hand a squeeze for reassurance. “Tell me what was your intention.” Said the King

“I wish to warn the people of this land of the demon that plagued our lands, killed all our food, and forced us to flee to this land. The demon, Lenora, destroyed everything because we refused to bow down to her whims. She possessed our Queen, and created a King for herself, a usurper named Aghanim. I apologie your Majesty for anything I did, but I did notmean to bond myself to Prince Sidon. I don’t plan on marrying him or any other man.” A tug of hurt crossed her and she felt her hand being let go. Out the corner of her eye, she could see Prince Sidon turning away. “As priestesses, we are to remain chaste, a conflict of feelings would only desecrate the oath that we took as teenagers. I willfind a way to break this bond between us.”

King Dorephan nodded and lowered his hand for the two to step off. That pang of hurt in her chest seemed to get heavy, especially when she looked at Prince Sidon, who was looking away from her. “Very well, Mizu, make sure Saphira has access to the library.” Mizu balked at his King and then compsed himself. He bowed and walked away, glaring at Saphira on her way out. King Dorephan sighed, looking away for a second before looking down at the two of them. “I hope that you canbreak this bond.”

“I’ll do my best.”

With one last bow, she left the room quickly after Sidon. He walked quickly, with her following briskly after him. The hallways became familiar to her, and the Prince stopped before an ornate set of doors, with the symbol of the Zora above it. She could see the Prince sigh before turning to look at her. His arms were folded and he looked down at her with a look of contempt, but she could see the look of hurt in his eyes, and in her heart. “Prince Sidon?” she asked

“Don’t you have somewhere else you could be?” he sneered

“Is there something you need to talk to me about?” “After you rejectedme? I don’t think so.” Saphira felt guilt knot in her stomach. She didn’t remember outright rejecting him, but she knew she was impeccable in her words when she stated that her intention wasn’t to marry Sidon. Sure, he was a cute man and, wait, cute? She felt her face flush and then she cleared her throat. “Maybe we should talk about this in private?” Sidon pinched the bridge of his nose and led her inside. She gave an apologetic look the guards before going in, but it didn’t seem to faze them. She shut the doors behind her and then looked at a pacing Prince Sidon. “This is not like me.” He said, “I’m sorry.” “Well, I figured it had something to do with the bonding ceremony we did. Maybe it enhanced our feelings and made is more attracted to each other.” “Yes, well it’s hard to turn down a beautiful woman.”

Saphira blushed again and looked away. Sidon could feel a pang of sorrow in his chest, and watched as she stood defensively, back towards him. “Don’t lie. I’m the only Twili you’ve seen. When you meet my people, you’ll find someone even more beautiful.” Sidon puckered his lips for a moment as he felt despair creep into his heart. He walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “When I say you’re beautiful, I meant it.” She brushed him away before turning around. He could feel the despair getting lighter, slightly. “You’re only saying that because of the bonding. When I find a way to break it, you’ll be back to normal.”

“Well until then, I’m going to show you around the kingdom.”

“How? Sunlight is very painful if you haven’t noticed.” “Maybe your cloak.”

“Not enough. Besides, I don’t wan to keep getting it dirty. I’m guessing black cloth isn’t in demand.” Sidon scratched the bottom of his chin. Cloth wasn’t necessary except for special occasions. “Maybe the hylian merchant has something.”

[kadian-theodosia-xanthos-blog]

Envy is Everything Chapter 1

Tink-a-link. I stepped into Distant Encounters, the light of the setting sun illuminating the dusty thrift store. The assortment of knick knacks blankly stared at me as I walked past looking for a large calligraphy set. I got to the back of the store where a glass display case detained my objective. A noise made me drag my eyes up to the source of it. A large woman with graying eyes, a side effect of too many emotion potions, raised her also graying eyebrows at me. I gave her a sheepish smile and cleared my throat. "How much for that?" I asked pointing at the set. I glanced at the bedazzled lanyard hanging around her thick neck. Celeste it read. She continued to stare me down making me fidget until she sighed heavily getting a rusty from behind the counter to, hopefully, unlock the display case. I gave her a puzzled look since she hadn't answered my question. She removed the set from the case and handed it to me still saying nothing. Celeste walked around a shelf of cracked porcelain dolls and disappeared for a few minutes, leaving me to stand awkwardly at the display case. She returned with two spiral notebooks. My confusion grew with each passing second. "$10 please." She told me. "What?" I asked almost dropping the calligraphy set. "The notebooks are $5 each and with 2 of them your total is $10." Celeste explained. "Oh, of course." I realized that my head wasn't in the conversation. I pulled a $10 bill out of my wallet. Before I could ask about the price of the set again she started shoving me towards the front door, past the previous knick knacks. Then I was outside on the street with the door closed and locked behind me. "What just happened?" I said to the empty street. A stray cat meowed in response before staring at me like the woman did. I hissed at it before heading in the direction of my apartment. Once home a wave of exhaustion hit me like the tsunami on Japan in 2010. I settled the calligraphy set and notebooks on my cluttered desk and fell asleep just before I hit the bed. That night’s dreams were even stranger than usual. The typical terrors invaded my dreams, clawing at my sanity again with frenetic brutes from my past. A salmagundi leviathans with serpentine bodies, gnarled hands, floating severed heads with fanged yellow teeth, and many other ghastly apparitions. Amidst the onslaught of devils I saw something truly monstrous. My eyes were completely froze. It was the sliver of hope in my Pandora’s Box, with curly black hair and ice blue irises inside of black eyeballs. They were often described them as icy comets floating in deep space. He turned his head finally acknowledging that I was there. I froze, recognition flashing on his pale face. If I remembered correctly the name that he went by in that incarnation was Rook “The Raven Sword” Saxon.  This incarnation was from the 1920s in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was strange that he recognized me since in the last incarnation that we were together I looked very different. I guess when you’re soulmates you just know. Pure hatred and loathing engulfed his face and he lunged for me. I bolted out of sleep covered in a gelid sweat. Leaping from my bed, I bounded to my desk and took out the calligraphy set, knowing that I wouldn’t be sleeping for awhile. The box was simple enough, just a typical cardboard box. The contents were the same as any other calligraphy set as well except for the weird rattle I heard in the plastic. Placing the contents of the set on the desk, I ripped apart the the plastic sending a cylindrical object flying across my bedroom. My eyes widened as I stared at it: I feared that it had been damaged or worse. A few beats passed before I went over and picked the object up. A light purple crystal was the mysterious object. Something told me not to mess with it anymore but of course it was just a friendly suggestion courtesy of my conscience. I shook the crystal and a sloshy sound came from inside of it. Puzzled, I put a hand on each end and twisted. To my surprise the ends moved like the way a screw does. “What the hell?” I inquired outloud. I continued to twist until half of the crystal portion came off completely. It was a pen; a calligraphy pen to be more specific. The pen looked much better than the calligraphy pens today with the rough grip and uneasy flow ink. I brought it closer to my face for further inspection. The design was 200 years old at least but the pen itself looked to be only 5 years of age. I turned it to see every angle. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. It read 3:49 AM. I went back over to my desk and grabbed one of the notebooks. Opening the polka-dot cover, I started to write when a stream of ink started to float around my room, my level of puzzlement rising. It stayed suspended in the air for a few minutes before gravitating towards the rest of the ink. The blob had formed a large glob and started shaping itself into that of a human. “Welp, I’m dead.” I stated bluntly. The ink began to define itself, making all the nitty gritty details of the humanoid. The humanoid was the other half of my soul, Phoenixis the god of wrath. It was the incarnation from my dream. I hate prophetic dreams worse than dandelions. Nix’s (his nickname) comet eyes, full of loathing, narrowed at me but he didn’t move. “What’s the matter, your insides still liquid?” I stabbed. Then his face softened, followed a faint scratch on my hardwood floor behind me. “Great.” I said sarcastically. Turning around slowly, I tensed anticipating some kind of monster but all that was there was the cat that had meowed at me outside of Distant Encounters. “Oh it’s just…” I started before the cat jumped up in my face, scratching and biting. I could hear Nix’s familiar laughter at my predicament. Black fur clouded my vision. “Don’t just stand there, help me!” I demanded but it was rather muffled so I probably sounded like the Swedish Chef from The Muppets. His laughter finally ceased. “Temperet.” He commanded with a hint of real magic lining the word. “Let me guess not your average cat based on that locution.” I said not really caring about his answer for my rhetorical question. I started the search for my first-aid kit in case I had anything that needed tending. Sitting down at my desk and pulling my mirror closer to inspect my face, I remarked. “What’s the matter cat got your tongue?” “I am not human. I never was. Over every incarnation I tell you this. So why do you keep expecting me to act like one?” He finally spoke. “ Sorry just trying to make polite conversation. By the way, your soul may not be human but your body sure is so get off your high horse before you fall and break every single bone in that human body of yours.” I snapped. “Why you planning to finish me off, Sweetheart? Nix snapped back. “Only if you want me to.” I said sweetly. He rolled his eyes. “What stray did you pick up this time?” I said closing the first-aid kit since none of the scratches were worth worrying over. Nix ignored me. If he was going to be like this the whole time I’d end both our suffering and kill him now. A little thing you should know about the world I live in, almost everyone is born with a number somewhere on their body. This number indicates the amount of previous lives we had endured. I mean experienced because not all lives are horrific. Most people seem to have a 3 or 4 but occasionally there is a 10 or so usually they tend to disappear relatively quickly. I wonder where they go, hm? My number isn’t really a number: it’s an infinity symbol. Nix has the same sign. How about we just call it a sign to save confusion for something complicated like math. The bulb in my desk lamp when out. “Oh Satan bless it! I should throw out this fickle thing!”I said sounding like an old woman. I walked out of the room into the dark hallway and flipped on the switch. The door to the apartment opened as the light turned back on to reveal my roommate and best friend, Elisheva Ramon. She was holding a box of donuts from the bakery that she works at. The treats from Heavenly Magic were just like, if not better than, the food of the gods. Trust me I would know. I heard Nix come out of my room behind me reminded me of the onslaught of rules in the roommate agreement that I signed 72 times. She had set up a very long list of “basic” rules and regulations to make sure everything was orderly. One of them happened to be if we invited anyone over to alert the other member of the domicile, in order to prevent any unnecessary encounters. Elisheva started ranting to me about how I should have told her, how I should have this and that, blah, blah, blah. Cue insane amount of eye rolls now. Now would be a good  time for that cat to start clawing my eyes out. Thankfully after 10 agonizing minutes she stopped and handed me the box that I was probably drooling over. Elisheva gestured to Nix, saying that he could have one too. “Yeah, right,” I muttered. I picked a Boston Creme donut with chocolate icing, licking all the chocolate icing off the top. A black ball of fur came soaring into the kitchen. My eyes shot daggers at it. The cat did a backflip into the air and disappeared in a flash of light. The three of us turned away so we wouldn’t be blinded by the mini sun. When we had turned back a dark haired pale slender figure was where the cat was supposed to be. “Diablo gato!” Elisheva shrieked ducking behind the kitchen island. I facepalmed saying, “Like hell I would let any kind of demon in my home.” The lights flickered again. “What kind of power source are you using? This stuff works worse than the stuff in 1922.” Nix said looking around the kitchen. The human version of the cat sat down crossed legged on the floor. “Spurious energy source!” I complained. I went outside to give the leaning lamppost a good kick. This usually gets the magic flowing again for some reason. Elisheva and Rook followed closely behind me out to the edge of the property with the the first rays of dawn peeking through the sea of buildings. A woman was walking down the sidewalk wearing a sweatshirt to keep the chill off her. I looked at the woman's face. It was the woman from Distant Encounters, Celeste. Turning to the post, I told Elisheva to go back inside to see if the magic was showing a constant flow. She did as I asked, hopping up the stairs back inside. Rook hadn’t seemed to notice her even though the clicking of her stilettos would at least spike someone’s curiosity to glance in her direction. I glanced at him then. His icy eyes were closed but they were moving under his eyelids as if they were searching for something. “The magic that you spoke of,” he paused. “It’s quite anomalous.” Rook finished opening his eyes. “That’s because it’s about as artificial as this.” I told him taking a mint out of my jacket pocket and tossing it to him. Rook caught it and popped it in his mouth, nodding. The clicking stopped. I whirled around taking a step back, almost into Rook’s booted feet. “We meet again Theodosia, goddess of envy, and Pheonixis, god of wrath.” Celeste said looking at us each in turn. A red flag started waving just behind my eyes. How could she possibly know who I really was just by a single meeting? “Thea, it’s alright.” Rook said. “ This woman is a descendant of the man that saved me from dying during our last joint incarnation.” He clarified as if that would make the fact that she knew our real identities any less of a reason to raise alarm. The door to the building opened letting out Elisheva. She bounded back down the cinder steps, “It’s good.” She said taking in the situation with her dark eyes. “Elise, stay there.” I told her. Elisheva and I locked eyes and I knew that she wouldn’t. Ya know, she listens about as well as a rock. My eyes widened and I gave her frozen jazz hands. “Elisheva can come along as well, if she would like?” Celeste interjected. I glared at her. “No, Elisheva cannot come if she would like. Now, let us be going.” I shook my head and asked. “Where are we going? And why are we going there with you?” I air jabbed my pointer finger at Celeste. “He may trust you but I sure as flapjacks don’t.” As soon as I had stopped yapping at how I distrusted Celeste all four of us were enveloped in a blue light. We had been Zipped! Once the room had been starved of the blinding light, Rook observed. “It didn’t matter if we wanted to come and take the job offer freely. Your instructions were to shepherd us hear regardless of our protests or approvals.” Celeste nodded indifferently. The room had many layers for court officials, each row a level higher than the last. Every level had colored flags hanging over the edges of the front, most likely to exhibit the  difference in rank between the levels of court officials. At the opposite end of the colossal room was, quite possibly, the judge. He was in a depression in the wall that was enclosed by the same stones that made up the pews. The flag that draped off the front of his booth was pale white and outlined in blood red with the presidential crest; a golden eagle with its wings spread wide ready to could fly off the banner, emblazoned in the center. The setting of the meeting makes me uneasy due to the resemblance to that of a 16th century courtroom. I’ve been on the receiving end of their so called justice. I was able to get my own justice when their howls of pain erupted from the burning court room like the crimson flames. I shook my head dragging it out of the Dark Ages. We were herded down the room until the judge’s box was upon us, the eagle staring us down with its golden, beady eyes. The eyes of the official were much like that of the eagle, although I would take the eagle over the officials, at least I knew what to expect from the eagle. “Welcome to those that have accepted our gracious offering of employment,” came a booming voice. “This is a job that has been assigned to you because only you can do it. You have been chosen by the magical force that we have come to rely on.” The voice definitely belonged to a man, unless puberty messed up and hit a poor woman with the wrong stick. It resonated throughout the courtroom by sound magic. In the early 2000’s scientists had predicted that the world would run out of coal by the year 2050 and they were almost right. Unfortunately, we ran out halfway through 2045. The world was in the third world war for the remaining coal. (Technically the fourth, hello the War on Terror) Real magic has been around since the beginning of everything. That’s what the gods were created from and have to obey. Yes even gods have to obey rules, we can’t just do what we want willy-nilly. The alternative energy source that the world has come to rely on is artificial magic. It's much easier to use and contain but not as powerful as actual magic. “Hey, can I get the MoJo incantation?” Elisheva inquired slowly raising her hand. “You are here to get employment not to play games.” Rook snapped. MoJo is like early 21st century WiFi for our almost mid 22nd century technology. I turned around and looked at Rook. The look on his face told me that he was also remembering the 16th century. During that time he was a member of the court sometimes saving people’s lives by persuading the king that they needed to be punished justly, not simply executed. Other times his persuasions had the opposite effect. The king would condemn to death a simple farmer that had stolen some seeds for payment crops. I put my hand on his arm to silently tell him it was going to be fine. He nodded, shaking my hand off and facing the source of the voice. “What does the job entice?” Rook bellowed at the box. “It is quite simple. All you must do is go back and stop a few mass murderers.” The voice replied. ELisheva cocked her head her dark ponytail swinging to the side. “Go back where?” She bubbled. “You’re concerned where you would be going but not the whole ‘stop mass murderer’?” Celeste chuckled. “Enough, please allow me to finish with the details Miss Lyda.” A small man materialized in front of us. He had a pot belly that was emphasized by how he stood, opposite slouch. He wore a robe styled like that of priest with the colors of the presidential flag. “It is a pleasure to finally meet the last two creators of mankind. Would the rest of you come and meet them please?” 5 other people came out into the aisle, 3 were male and 2 were female. Rook stepped up next to me. The two of us surveyed them all in turn not knowing whether to embrace them or attack them. The 5 of them starred us down just as intensely. “Kadi, you don’t have to intimidate every person you meet.’ Elisheva said poking me in the ribs. “Elisheva Ramon how ya doin?” She held out her hand in hope that one of the 5 would shake it. “They aren’t much into the whole friendly greetings thing there, Elise.” I told her pulling her hand back.

I am with everyone but no one wants me

A goddess of sin in every era

I have been cast down from above with he who is forever my enemy

But also my love

A man that looked about 23 had recited part of a poem that I had written to be able to identify myself as Theodosia by any of the other gods of sin. My only response was a simple nod.

I am killed by my love in every life

Strings stronger than fate are what tether us

Sewn into everyone’s souls is that of my essence

I am also a sin

A 15  year old girl finished the rest of the poem. Nix had the same response. ‘It really is you!” A 27 year old woman with purple eyes crushed the two us into a bear hug. I would know those eyes anywhere. They belonged to the goddess of pride, Verena. Each god had some kind of physical attribute that was colored to that of our sin. I have green eyes because the color associated with envy is green. “Sid get over here and say hello to our old friends.” She told a guy about the same age as her with light blue eyes. The god of sloth, Isidor. “Well it’s certainly been awhile. The Holocaust was it?” He said. I nodded looking back at Elisheva. Her reincarnation number is 4. During the Holocaust she had experienced it through the eyes of two people. My sister was her second incarnation where she had been killed by disease in the Theresienstadt ghetto. Elisheva’s third incarnation was my daughter in that same ghetto. It was a miracle that either of us survived birth since a few of the Nazi soldiers thought it would be hysterical to tie my legs together when I went into labor. Any time the Holocaust is mentioned Elisheva would get really angry or scared as if she was remembering anything from that time. It happened 200 years ago so I had my doubts that her soul would remember it, but considering how traumatic it was even to me. Her soul will never forget anything that happened there. She didn’t even look bothered by it, thankfully. “Let me see if I can do this correctly.” Elisheva said. She pointed at each person in turn. “Verena, goddess of pride.” The woman with violet eyes. “Isidor, god of sloth.” The man with light blue eyes. “Ogden, god of gluttony.” A teenage boy with a slight pink complexion. “Keyshia, goddess of greed.” A blonde teenage girl. “Jotham, god of lust.” A man with red hair. Elisheva then looked closely at me and Rook as if she needed any additional thought to who Theodosia and Pheonixis could be. She pointed at me and said. “Theodosia, goddess of envy.” Her eyes examined Nix trying to find where his color distinction for being the god of wrath was. He pulled back his black hair to reveal his pale forehead and a small orange circle just above his brow. “Pheonixis, god of wrath.” Elisheva finished. “Do you all still have your marks?” I asked putting my hair up so it would be easier to reveal mine. They all nodded moving to show us. Verena had her infinity symbol on her left hip. Isidor had his on the right side of his abdomen. Ogden’s was on his right shoulder. Keyshia’s was on her left wrist. The symbol on Jotham was on his left ankle. Nix held out his right hand and I pulled back my left ear. All the symbols had been accounted for. “Am I supposed to reveal mine too?” Elisheva asked. I shook my head at her. “What exactly are you asking of us?” I asked. “We are asking you to go back in time and stop mass murderers from killing. The first place you would be going would be Victorian London when Jack the Ripper roamed the streets a free man until the day he died.” (fill in word for president here) informed us. I pursed my lips thinking it over. I was hesitant since I was his 5th victim out of 7. “Would all of you be joining us?” Nix asked. “Yep.” Jotham answered. “Can I have some time to think it over?” I inquired. “But, of course. We wouldn’t want you to do something against your will.” He answered. I bit back the comment about being brought here without any of our consent. “Now best be on your way. You three have a lot of thinking to do in not a lot of time. Tomorrow at 10:00 am is when I would like your decision please.” He instructed with a wave of his wrinkly hand. With that simple gesture the three of us were back in front of the apartment complex.

[rosezemlya]

I am very curious about these children you spent a month creating! If you have any highlights or a favorite child in particular you could tell us about I am all ears I love every person you bring into being

Well, on a high level, the characters were:

Eliot Makepeace

Yannik “Niko” Locke

Mika De la Vega

Mazan

Seven (/ The War Mind)

The first three are soldiers (Makepeace = standard soldier type, Niko = scientific officer, Mika = ex-sapper now comms officer).  The fourth (Mazan) is a member of the alien species which I still have not thought out well but they’re insect-based humanoids of very varied bases and Mazan has four arms and many eyes and that’s honestly all I got on him visually.  It was one of the major challenges during NaNo was that I had not thought his species through before starting.  The last (Seven) is a shard/copy of an AI called the War Mind that used to run everything on very-limited post-apocalyptic earth and some of the off-planet bases (he began his AI life as a “smart city” running city infrastructure and developing on his own that way for a long time and then getting adapted by the military to do intelligence / big data analysis / run their operations and hopefully stop the aliens from continuing to kick their ass).

Niko is the one who converted the War Mind and helped it develop from tiny AI to truly impressive AI / possible actual person.  Makepeace and Niko were married, but they have very opposed personality types (Guardian / Rational for those familiar with MBTI/KTS) and weren’t quite prepared to put the work into the marriage that would have been necessary to manage that difference.  A number of things happened (including an are they / aren’t they relationship between Makepeace and the War Mind) that added tension to their marriage.  And then the base on Mars (where the War Mind and they were situated) got attacked and sacked.  Makepeace had to blow up the War Mind to keep it out of enemy hands which fucked him up, and got himself half-blown up in the process.  A bunch of stuff happened after, including Makepeace and Niko getting divorced and being sad but prideful fuckers about it.

And then five years later, they get a signal from, supposedly, the War Mind on Mars.  The humans are losing the war again, so the brass sends Makepeace and a small team (that obviously includes Niko and Mika) to Mars to retrieve it if they can, or destroy it entirely if they can’t (to keep it out of enemy hands... again).  Nobody’s really happy about this because it’s a suicide mission, but blah blah soldiers, and blah blah two of them at least feel they owe the War Mind (Makepeace pushed the button after Niko gave the order.  Mika just wants to find a better way than blowing things up (hence her switch from sapper to linguist / comms officer) and figures a War Mind would be helpful in doing so).

So they go to Mars, and then I really struggled finding ways to kill off all the unnamed characters I felt they had to bring because it made sense (you wouldn’t go with three people) but wasn’t too convenient (that didn’t last long.  I think somewhere there might even be a placeholder that says “and then they all die”).  On Mars they meet Mazan, who wants to defect and has been working with Seven/The War Mind to get the original signal out to bring everyone there in the first place.

Turns out the War Mind is actually dead, but he was getting frustrated with not being recognized as a person and not being afforded certain freedoms before he died, so he copied all the “important” parts of himself in his own mind over onto a secret “Shard” which took over when they other ones went down (later in the story it is revealed that the War Mind actually arranged for his own destruction in order to allow that Shard (Shard-7 - see?  Seven?) to continue on without the same sort of restrictions built in).  Seven’s got the War Mind’s memories, but isn’t the War Mind, and has his own agenda a little bit.

And then everything starts breaking down because mostly I wanted to fast-forward to when they all go home again, having saved the day, and Makepeace and Niko get back together and decide to try it again, but this time with more effort and understanding and awareness of the kind of work they need to do (e.g., Makepeace needs to be more direct about his emotional needs because Niko isn’t built to “see” that on his own, Niko needs to register his relationship as a priority to avoid it being put on the back burner for other things, Makepeace needs to get better about not shutting down when he’s upset, Niko needs to get better about listening and letting Makepeace find his own answers sometimes, they both need to talk to each other more, Makepeace needs to get out of the army because it was slowly killing him before he got half blown up and he’s not got a lot of bandwidth for that and it was drawing on resources he would have rathered put into their marriage, etc.).  Around the three-quarter mark I had actually decided if I ever come back to this story I’m going to rearrange things so I can focus on THIS part as the story and just do the rest in relevant flashbacks.

Mika and Mazan were not going to hook up in this story, but they were going to move along a path that would - some time after the story - lead to hooking up.  Because they’re both tired of fighting, and they both want to understand the other side better, and they’re both nerds in their own ways.  They need a lot more thought before I can make something better out of them, though.  They took a back burner because of time and NaNo pressure.

The primary theme of the story was trust - Makepeace and Niko learning to trust each other again after a messy divorce, Seven learning to trust Makepeace/Niko again after knowing that even if he was the one who arranged for the order to be given they both played a part in carrying it out, Makepeace and Niko learning to trust Seven as an independent entity without all the safeguards programmed into the War mind, and Mika and Mazan representing learning to trust someone despite differences/history and moving forward within the context of that trust (though, again, way more thought needed for them).

And that’s, like, it, basically!  That is the framework in which I was writing!