#and is not only capable of becoming a better person but also taking Mythical in a good direction overall

[celestiall0tus]

Bloody Bug Kwami Factory Reset - New Concepts, Powers, and More

Alright, with the reset chapter 68 of Bloody Bug, there has been a major change with the kwamis. I will still detail it in the story, however I will also put it here as a reference to fall back onto for those that like this stuff when it comes to my AUs (looks over at the Holder Powers master list). Alright, let's crack into this.

The Reset:

For those that haven't caught up, or haven't read it but are just here, the kwamis were reset to their original states when they were created by the Mage. It was discovered the Order had put limitations on the kwamis because they believed them too dangerous to leave as is and changed them. However, with the help of Tikki, Adrien, and Kagami, the kwamis have been returned to that state. With this comes some other big changes.

What was Lost:

The protections and limitations the Order of Guardians had created are gone. This means the following:

There is no safeguard to protect a holder's identity

There are no safeguards to keep a holder from using their powers as many times as they want, much like Shadybug and Claw Noir. However, unlike them, the holder isn't damaged, but like in Paradise AU, they lose lifeforce. It grows from seconds, to minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and finally years. This can be offset by the tier system that remains in place.

Kwamis are no longer subservient to humanity. They cannot be ordered to do anything, cannot be commanded so easily, and can straight up refuse to comply.

Kwamis can choose their own holders, for better or worse. In some cases, a kwami can override a person's consent and take them as their holder regardless, leading to its own consequences. They aren't bound to the holder either and may leave whenever they please.

The kwamis now embody their original concepts or the full range of their concepts. As such, many of their personalities and other aspects will be far different from canon.

Bad things don't happen when kwamis use their powers without holders.

What was Gained:

With the kwamis returned and fully embodying their concepts, the tiers of holders have been expanded with their new abilities. However, as it was stated, the higher up they are in these tiers, the less human the holders become and the harder it is for them to exist without kwamis, and for the kwamis to let them go. This was seen a little with Mayura and how inhuman she was, but will be driven home soon.

Kwamis have gained the ability to shapeshift, be it into their animals or humans. How they look as either is purely cosmetic to them. Their memories and experiences have been returned, including the ones that had belong to Velze. They are once again able to speak freely of him.

Now, the tiers reworked with the changes:

Tier 1: Baseline Holder. These are the very basic, very human of the holders. They still don't retain any special abilities and can only use their one power about once before they start drawing on their own lifeforce.

Tier 2: Enlightened Holder. These are the holders capable of 2-4 kwami unifications. They also gain another power, another use of their powers (2 max), and have a couple of passive abilities related to their kwami's animal.

Tier 3: Awakened Holder. These are the holders capable of amalgamation unifications/Velze unifications/5 kwami unifications. They also gain a couple of passives related to their kwami's concept along with another power, plus two more charges (making it up to 4 charges total). This is when holders have their strength, speed, and agility boosted in and out of transformations.

Tier 4: Mythic Holder. These are the holders that are capable of fusing with kwamis, allowing them access to primal forms. They gain a pair of passives related to both animal and concept. And gain another boost to strength, speed, and agility in and out of transformations.

Tier 5: Ascended Holders. These are the holders that are more kwami than human. They experience a small fraction of human needs such as hunger and sleep (Ie they get hungry about once a day, and need only sleep for 4 hours max). Their powers and charges are maxed out at 6 and they no longer need to speak to use their powers. They are deadly to holders lower than them with their attributes maxed out, in and out of transformations, making them closer to demigods. Paled in comparison to only one tier.

Tier 6: Mantle. The final and deadliest of tiers. No elixir exists to elevate a holder to this state. A holder must have a perfect bond with a kwami, then ingest the kwami. If they survive the process, they become the kwami, giving them access to all powers, near unlimited uses, disease immunity, can transform at will, and shapeshifting. However, the holder becomes their kwami's personality, relationships, and more (ie Duusu's Mantle becoming more emotional and sensitive, Tikki and Plagg's Mantles taking on their more romantic bond, etc). In addition, if there are other Mantles, they are able to fuse with other kwamis or Mantles. The only death for a Mantle is another Mantle, old age, or overusing powers.

Now the biggest of them...

Holders, their powers and weapons:

Let's get this started. You'll get the activation phrase, powers (listed by tiers), tools/weapon, and whatever else I may forget to mention. I will also only be doing the holders that have made it to this point. Sorry to Badb, Porcelet, Fennec, and Bomb Bee.

We start with the leading lady herself, Bloody Bug. Let's crack into this:

Concept: Creation

Tool/Weapon: Yo-yo

Transformation phrase: Tikki, spots on

Power phrases: Create (Object Creation), Form (Matter Creation), Walk (Construct Creation)

Tier 1: Power allows her to create objects.

Tier 2: Passives gained are walking on walls and ceilings (like spiderman) and hovering (which she does with her "skates"). Power gained is Construct Creation.

Tier 3: Passives gained are passive creative aura and Recreation. Power gained is Matter Creation.

Tier 4: Passives gained are Advantage Creation and Flight.

Next, the leading guy, Chat Noir.

Concept: Destruction

Tool/Weapon: Staff

Transformation phrase: Plagg, Claws Out

Power phrases: Cataclysm (Object Destruction), Ruin (Irreversible Destruction), Erase (Erasure)

Tier 1: Power allows him to destroy objects.

Tier 2: Passives gained are night vision and scale vertical surfaces. Power gained is Erasure.

Tier 3: Passives gained are passive destructive aura and destabilization. Power gained is Irreversible Destruction.

Tier 4: Passives gained are Decay and Claw Damage.

Chloe Bourgeois as Gallic Chick

Concept: Ambition

Tool/Weapon: Feather Pen

Transformation phrase: Orikko, Sunrise

Power phrases: Sublimation (Power Choice), Read (Attack Predication)

Tier 1: Power allows her access to any power to achieve her goals not governed by another kwami.

Tier 2: Passives gained are rooster crow that can be heard for miles and rooster spurs. Power gained is Attack Prediction.

Mylene Haprele as Hydra

Concept: Nature

Tool/Weapon: Sword and Shield

Transformation phrase: Longg, Ascension

Power phrases: Nature (Nature Manipulation), Water (Water Manipulation)

Tier 1: Power is nature manipulation.

Tier 2: Passives gained are breathe underwater and frightening roar. Power gained is water manipulation.

Max Kante as Apollo

Concept: Augmentation

Tool/Weapon: Grimoire

Transformation phrase: Mullo, Get Squeaky

Power phrases: Strengthen (Physical Augmentation), Boost (Power Augmentation)

Tier 1: Power allows him to enhance the physical capabilities of a single target.

Tier 2: Passives gained are enhanced hearing and able to scale surfaces quickly. Power gained is Power Augmentation.

Le Chien Kim as Minotaur

Concept: Willpower

Tool/Weapon: Warhammer

Transformation phrase: Stompp, Charge Ahead

Power phrases: Superior (Superiority), Unyielding (Power Invulnerability)

Tier 1: Power is Power Invulnerability.

Tier 2: Passives gained he has a higher pain tolerance (allowing him to take more hits) and can do a bull charge that cannot be interrupted. Power gained allows him to become greater than his opponent.

Marc Anciel as Ouroboros.

Concept: Clairvoyance

Tool/Weapon: Crystal Ball

Transformation phrase: Sass, Scales Slither

Power phrases: Foresee (Prophecy), Overlap (Astral Vision)

Tier 1: Power is Prophecy.

Tier 2: Passives gained are infrared vision at night and can glide. Power gained is Astral Vision.

Rose Lavillant as Pom Pom

Concept: Protection

Tool/Weapon: Throwing Knives

Transformation phrase: Barkk, Let's Play

Power phrases: Safeguard (Defense Augmentation), Break (Defense Weakening)

Tier 1: Power is Defense Augmentation.

Tier 2: Passives gained are enhanced smell and enhanced hearing. Power gained allows her to weaken defenses.

Ivan Bruel as Crimson Tiger

Concept: Power

Tool/Weapon: Gauntlets

Transformation phrase: Roarr, Stripes On

Power phrases: Clout (Super Punch), Copy (Power Mimicry)

Tier 1: Power is Clout.

Tier 2: Passives gained are night vision and claw damage. Power gained is Power Mimicry.

Kagami Tsurugi as Serow

Concept: Devotion

Tool/Weapon: Prayer Beads

Transformation phrase: Ziggy, Bleat it

Power phrases: Obey (Command)

Tier 1: Power is Command

Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ao

Concept: Philosophy

Tool/Weapon: Shield

Transformation phrase: Wayzz, shell on

Power phrases: Judgement (Character Judgement Mastery)

Tier 1: Power is Character Judgement Mastery.

Nino Lahiffe with the Bee, and I like @nocturnal-notes suggestion of Killer Bee, so we going with that.

Concept: Life

Tool/Weapon: Spinning Top

Transformation phrase: Pollen, Buzz On

Power phrases: Sting (Heal)

Tier 1: Power is Healing.

Zoe Lee as Rascal

Concept: Deception

Tool/Weapon: Flute

Transformation phrase: Trixx, Let's Pounce

Power phrases: Mirage (Illusions), Trick (Subliminal Messaging)

Tier 1: Power is Illusions

Tier 2: Passives gained are enhanced hearing and night vision. Power gained is Subliminal Messaging.

Felix Graham de Vanily as Llameri

Concept: Space

Tool/Weapon: TBA

Transformation phrase: Kaalki, full gallop

Power phrases: Voyage (Teleportation), Defy (Gravity Defiance)

Tier 1: Power is teleportation

Tier 2: Passives gained are enhanced hearing and night vision. Power gained is Gravity Defiance.

Now for the Villains, starting with Luka Couffaine with the Peacock (Name TBA)

Concept: Emotion

Tool/Weapon: Fan

Transformation phrase: Duusu, Spread my Feathers

Tier 1: Power allows him to induce/create emotions in others.

Tier 2: Passives gained are a spectral tail to distract opponents and powerful kicks. Power gained is Emotion Constructs.

Tier 3: Passives gained are emotion reading and behavior manipulation. Power gained is Emotion Augmentation.

Tier 4: Passives gained are emotion locking and glide.

Tier 5: Powers gained are Emotional Healing, Emotion Separation, Emotion Restoration

Last (for now) LIla Rossi as Chrysalis.

Concept: Transformation

Tool/Weapon: Cane

Transformation phrase: Nooroo, wings rise

Tier 1: Power allows her to transform objects.

Tier 2: Passives gained are able to create a chrysalis as a shield and walking along surfaces (like Bloody Bug). Power gained is form manipulation.

Tier 3: Passives gained are energy conversion and reshape. Power gained is Restoration.

Tier 4: Passives gained are remolding and flight.

Tier 5: Powers gained are Amalgamation, Overhaul, Petrification

Alright, that should be everything. There are two holders to be added, but they'll be added once I have their designs done and posted. Anyway, enjoy this for the time being.

[cheemken]

Iris, Cynthia, and Hau’s conversation in the last ask got me curious, where they learned about Cynthia and Gira sharing a body.

If all the champions could fuse with a legendary or mythical Pokémon which ones would they chose? And what abilities do they get/changes would happen to them?

Ouugghhh no bc I want it to be smth like they just choose the legendary of their region (like how Cyn has Gira), but also I know Lance would like a Dragon type legendary and Steven a Rock/Steel legendary and idk if the ones on their own respective region would fit them bcmxnd hahah

But hey I'm one for rambling abt my concepts so hey have hahah

For Lance, if we're going w the legends of their region thing, I'd imagine him w Ho-oh, mainly cause he knows abt the legend of Ho-oh and how it could grant eternal happiness and such, and nothing would give Lance eternal happiness other than mass genocide— nah I'm kidding, but death of others is still involved his happiness tho— but yeah idk how'd he'd actually get like, the Rainbow Wing and the Clear Bell maybe, but ofc he probably has his ways. And it kinda sucks ig bc Ho-oh shows himself to those who are pure of heart, and Lance at this point has his heart tainted by such a darkness that even Ho-oh couldn't fathom how a human could have so much hatred in them. But yknow maybe Lance did force an agreement w Ho-oh, wanted that power, caught him with his own Master Ball and maybe did some really questionable stuff that almost makes Rocket proud. For the lil features thing, idk I want him to have Ho-oh's wings hahah and like the ability to use Fire and Flying moves. Imagine him just using Sacred Fire on the ones who stand on his way tho, going on how it was more.. fun.. to see them slowly burn and be reduced to ashes than to just watch them instantly die w Dragonite's Hyper Beam

For Steven,, idk, but like,,, imagine Jirachi hahah. Like it's Steel/Psychic too, and it can grant any wishes. I imagine Steven trying to find Jirachi just to grant his wish. And it somewhat came true, Wallace became his partner, and the two of em are so happy together. But, seeing his husband struggle did not sit right w him, and so he ventured again, looking for Jirachi, but this time asking more than he did before. Jirachi tells him that it could only grant so much, could grant one at a time, and Steven already wished once, but nah, the Devon heir did not take it lightly. Fought Jirachi and won, and he wished that the two of them would become one, w Jirachi being forbidden to ever talk, and for him to grant Steven all the power he had; and as much as Jirachi wanted to deny Steven's wish, he's pretty sure he's gonna die a brutal death if he refused, and so he granted it. And hey, since then Steven could just kinda wish for anything and it'd happen, and hey, it's nice seeing the people of Hoenn appreciate Wallace yknow, and if they don't, well.. wish making isn't the only thing he got from Jirachi*

For Wallace it's clear it's gon be Kyogre cmon now hahah, like he knows where Kyogre is, knows just what to do to please it so it'd follow his commands, knows where the blue orb is, bc he has it w him. And imagine how cool it'd be, if Wallace has like a mini version of the blue orb that he has as a necklace after he and Kyogre fused, and when it's triggered and such, Wallace would have Kyogre's markings on his own skin too, summoning a neverending rainstorm, the tides becoming more and more violent with each breath, and he's there making sure those who oppose him will drown in the darkest depths of the sea

For Iris, idk that Kyurem thing low-key cool tho, bc imagine if Nate did leave Kyurem to Drayden along w the DNA Splicers too, saying how Plasma isn't around anymore, it's better to leave it to a person who knows what he's actually going to do w it. But yknow, Drayden is getting old, he can't always be there to look after Kyurem and guard the DNA Splicers, so he left that in the hands of Iris, he knows she's capable. What he didn't expect (and I wanna say he's also unaware of it) was for Iris to use Kyurem's powers like how Plasma used it, to freeze everyone solid, killing them with the bitter cold. And yknow maybe Iris hid that well, or maybe she already did fuse w Kyurem herself, she may not have Reshiram or Zekrom, but she knows she can handle Kyurem's powers better. Wanna add that whenever she uses its power, her arms would turn to to smth similar to Black Kyurem's left arm

For Diantha, I wanna say Yveltal but I also wanna go ahead and just say she would fuse w Diancie, more specifically her Diancie, the Carbink she had that turned to one. Like imagine if Mom Carnet didn't kill Carbink in this villain au, and Diantha found it as a Diancie, and smth smth strong bond between trainer and pkmn, and suddenly the two of them share a body. Dia was sad so to say, cause she found her best friend again only to lose her not a moment after, then she hears Diancie's voice in her head, saying she did not lose her again, and Diantha was happy w that. But also can you fucking imagine how terrifying Dia w Diancie's powers would be tho, being able to create diamonds and such*, imagine her like creating said diamonds within people's body tho, impaling them from within their bodies, and instead of being horrified, Diancie actually praised Dia on what she's doing, saying that she's doing a beautiful work, giving the people the shine that they clearly lack. I do wanna add that maybe Diancie's features aren't that seen bc ofc it's kinda humanoid already, but like,, maybe Dia got its pointy ears? Idk I think it'd be cute hahah

For Hau,,, ough idk bc I actually want him to have like, an Ultra Beast, but for one idk if they actually count as legendaries, two idk much abt them, and three idt he'd actually have one or try to seek one too. So like, let's go w Tapu Koko instead, since it's already the Island Deity/Guardian of Melemele island, the island his grandfather is the Kahuna of. Like maybe Tapu Koko is pretty elusive towards him, but Hau managed to catch it. Hala did not know abt it, but he did notice how Tapu Koko doesn't show himself that much anymore. Idk how'd Hau and Tapu Koko would actually fuse, but hey, maybe he went to Steven to grant him that wish, so he could be a powerful trainer too. Imagine how cool it'd be tho if Hau's wearing a similar coat(?) like Hala's, but w Tapu Koko's markings(?) and such

For Leon, well he already has a pair w Eternatus in pokemas, so hey let's go w that. It'd be cool too, if he hid Eternatus from everyone else, or maybe he was the one to summon Eternatus, threatening another Darkest Day to happen if they so much as go against him. So hey, he's got Eternatus at his disposal, maybe even made a deal w it similar w Cynthia and Giratina, and imagine if like,, Eternatus would often take control of Leon's right arm, and yeah turning it to his own, or maybe even downright taking his right arm and replacing it w its own. Idk how'd he'd hide it tho, or he does walk around w everyone seeing Eternatus' arm, a way of showing them that he and Eternatus became one, and thus Leon has its powers now too

For Geeta, so like,, in this villain au she did know what happened to Sada/Turo yeah, or even the both of em yeah the two exists together and did their research together and died together, and Geeta was there and she saw them die and she knows abt Miraidon and Koraidon. Imagine her kinda experimenting on them tho, wanting to find out more, doesn't matter her friends just died bc man that gave her a sense of thrill, and she thought that if that's what Miraidon and Koraidon could do, imagine if she had that power to herself. Imagine her fusing both Miraidon and Koraidon w herself tho, and she has like, Miraidon's eyes and horns?? Crest?? Idk what do you call those? And then Koraidon's claws/arms and tail

[ladycynthiana]

Im just... really tired of people hating on Stevie. I feel like most of it isn't even constructive criticism it's just negativity. And if rhett and link joke with or rib her at all, everyone on tumblr feels vindicated - like rhett and link don't like her either, which seems ridiculous to me. Do you feel like the mythical beast community on tumblr has become more negative? Maybe I'm projecting real life onto tumblr, lol.

I think she has just gotten under the skin of a few very vocal people, and like follows like, so people who agree with them magnify whatever issue they're having with her.

Personally, I'm fine with her and always open to hear genuine criticism if someone in the spotlight has said or done something wrong, but as far as I can tell, this is just a personality clash issue as she gets increasing screen (or whatever the audio equivalent is) time. Some people just don't vibe with certain other people. I know there have been a few crew members who have made me feel icky for no actual reason in the past, so I don't wholly blame people who are bothered by her. I would hope they can just keep their opinions to their own space, where they can be unfollowed if necessary.

If I were you, I would just unfollow people who you feel are negative to the point it's bothering you, and try to ignore it as best you can. Negativity feeds off of reaction.

I think the world in general has become more negative, anon, and the best we can do is just not add to it and add positivity where we can. Hope you have a nice day, wherever you are, and don't let it get to you too much!

[a-d-nox]

lucifer, the fallen morning star (asteroid 1930)

Before there was the Devil, Satan, Mephistopheles, Beelzebub (click on “beelz” for the best song ever made in regards to satan:)), etc. there was Lucifer. Lucifer's existence is first noted in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, but Lucifer existed before that. God created the heavens before creating earth - before the humans, there were the angelic beings: cherubs (lowest rank), angels, and archangels (highest rank). Lucifer was the highest ranking archangel and thought to be the first angel to be created. He was thought to be the ideal - the most perfect being made by God. Lucifer himself became aware of his high regard and status becoming cocky and prideful. Eventually, he thought that he should reign in God's place - he was the perfect creation of God - he knew Him better than all the angels after all. He could think of no one else who was better suited to reign in God's place and certainly no one more capable of overthrowing Him. The Bible states Lucifer having said, "I will ascend into heaven, / I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; / I will also sit on the mount of the congregation / On the farthest sides of the north; / I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, / I will be like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:13-14). Lucifer was likely smart enough and powerful enough to overthrow God - he did manipulate other angels into helping him - but it was his pride that was his downfall (lol fall). Lucifer had nearly a third of the heavens on his side and launched an attack on God for the throne. It was said that the Archangel Michael stood against him. Lucifer felt his angelic form inadequate to win against him, so he transformed into a dragon. The story states, "And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, / but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. / So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:7-9). God was not involved in the battle so it is unknown if Lucifer was indeed stronger. Lucifer lost everything; his wings never became feathered again after the transformation into a dragon, he was shunned by his creator, he was banned from the heavens, etc. He plotted his revenge on God by the only means he knew how - using Adam and Eve and humans alike. IN MY OPINION Lucifer in a chart represents a) pride/egoism and where you may experience too much of it, b) where you can be seen as powerful, c) where you gain a lot of followers/can manipulate people into following or believing you, d) how you transform, and/or e) why you look for revenge (usually aspect related).

i encourage you to look into the aspects of lucifer along with the sign, degree, and house placement. for the more advanced astrologers, take a look at the persona chart of lucifer!

thank you to @plutoconjunctvenusprettygirl for your request on my ask and embla post to post lucifer <3 i do recommend if anyone has requests that they use my “suggest a post topic” button; i don’t always see the reblogs with comments attached - the sure fire way to reach me is comment sections, dms, or that magic button. also use that button if you want to see a specific post or mythical asteroid next! like what you read? leave a tip and state what post it is for!

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[whatifxwereyou]

The Oncoming Storm Part 3: Earthrealm

Fandom: Mortal Kombat 2021

Liu Kang x Reader or Kung Lao x Reader

Summary: You meet the mythical Lord Raiden. He reminds you of your dad, but nicer, oddly enough. Liu Kang might also be your new best friend.

A/N: Thanks again everyone! This has been such fun. I meant to say earlier that this takes place a couple years prior to the film (also that I know a bit about MK as a game series, so I will include tidbits here and there if I can). ALSO! I am open to any suggestions that you may wish to see throughout this story- either for Liu Kang or Kung Lao. I can't guarantee I will use them but I will consider them. I am delighting in writing this!! EDIT:: lol why did no one tell me there were so many errors in this one. All fixed!

The Beginning << Previous Chapter Next Chapter >> Chapter Index

The days that followed were a struggle. Monks would visit and care for your wounds at all hours of the day. You were in and out of consciousness. When you did manage to stay awake, you would meditate and do simple exercises to keep your body strong. That was a struggle in itself. Wounds needed rest to heal but you refused to become weak to them in the meantime. You were ready to fight.

Without fail Liu Kang would visit every evening. He brought books for you to read together. On his second visit he gifted you with a crudely bound leather journal and a pen to take notes with. You were inquisitive and Liu Kang was a wealth of knowledge. On nights where you finished a book or a lesson early, you would meditate together. Other nights you would chat and often times those chats would end in swapping personal stories. You had become fast friends.

You kept a calendar in the back of the journal. Liu Kang helped account for the time that you’d lost to unconsciousness. A week had passed since you’d woken up in Raiden’s Temple. You circled the x over the day and wondered where Kung Lao was. You’d asked around about him but had been told that many of the Earthrealm warriors were often absent. Apparently, he was frequently gone for long stretches of time. Many of the monks left on lengthy errands. Mortal Kombat and the protection of Earthrealm extended far beyond China. You wondered how much of the world Kung Lao had seen. You’d barely ever left your hometown for anything other than martial arts tournaments.

“Miss Y/N?” A monk pulled aside the sheet that had been pinned around the doorway of the small closet-sized space that had become your semi-permanent dwelling. You offered the monk a tired smile and gestured to allow him to enter. The monk bowed politely. “Your presence has been requested by Lord Raiden.”

“Oh?” You had known that you would meet with the man who the temple belonged to eventually. Liu Kang had told you that you would be summoned only after you’d been deemed well enough. You hadn’t passed out in exhaustion for the last 48 hours so you supposed this was as good a time as any. “Give me a moment to change, if you will.”

“Yes, of course Miss Y/N.” The monk bowed and left you with some privacy. You’d grown accustomed to the dressing gowns. They were comfortable and since you didn’t move around much, they worked. You’d been given several lightweight gi for future training and several hanfu, traditional Chinese garments, to wear if you desired. You wished, more than anything, that you’d gotten to pack some of your things before everything had gone to hell. No t-shirts or tank tops. No jeans or leggings. Not even any cute summer dresses. But you were grateful to have anything.

You changed into the soft blue and white hanfu that had become your favorite. It was simpler in design than the others but still long and flowing. You didn’t need anything terribly fancy to have a conversation with someone. You were sure that if Lord Raiden expected you to dress up then you would have been warned. Considering that Liu Kang rotated through the same three tattered gi and was almost always covered in soot, you doubted there was a strict dress code.

After you changed, you pulled your hair up lazily with a set of chopsticks. Then you returned to the monk who was waiting for you in the hall. The monk bowed again and then led you through the halls of the temple. The floor you’d been on had very few windows and only in the hallways. You followed the monk up several ramps and flights of stairs. Endless halls branched in every direction making the whole place seem labyrinthian. You were certain that you could spend weeks exploring the halls and still manage to miss things.

If the monk hadn’t been leading you then you wouldn’t have been able to resist your curiosity. After a good thirty minutes spent walking, you were led into a dark hallway with a rounded ceiling. It disappeared into the distance lit only by odd white statues that stood in a line along its center. The monk bowed and gestured down the hall.

“Good luck, Miss Y/N.” The monk then left you alone. You approached the glass statues in the center of the hall and found their insides sparking with electricity. They were funny in that they reminded you of a sophisticated and silent Tesla coil that fired constantly. Below the frosted glass you could see currents of electricity flowing almost as you imagined lightning would through the clouds. Your fingers brushed curiously over the glass.

“Miss Y/N?” A commanding and deep voice called from the end of the hall. You felt like a child who had disobeyed your teacher and winced. You hurried down the hall as quickly as your legs would allow then bowed before entering the room at its end.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t seen much outside of the infirmary. I was fascinated.”

The man who stood before you was of average build and height, his face mostly obscured by his hat. You grinned in surprise and recognition but then quickly fought to hide your glee. Raiden’s expression was severe, reminding you very much of your father and the way he’d glare at you when you’d said something un-lady-like as a child.

“There is much to discuss.” He gestured for you to take a seat on the floor in front of where he was seated with his legs crossed so you did. Much to your surprise, he was floating several inches off the ground and while you tried to hide your shock, you were sure your eyes had gone wide. “I am Lord Raiden; the protector of Earthrealm.”

“It’s an honor to meet you. Liu Kang has told me a little about you.”

“I am not surprised.” Raiden had a commanding voice as well as presence so you listened attentively. He explained the nature of other realms though he didn’t go terribly in depth with their origins or existence. Outworld was their greatest opposition with the desire to control earth and humanity. They were brutal warmongers from how Raiden described them. He then explained the tournaments and how if Outworld won a tenth tournament they could lay claim to Earthrealm.

Shang Tsung, a powerful sorcerer, would lead his armies there and take humanity as slaves. You didn’t ask but you wondered if Shang Tsung was the ruler of Outworld. You figured that if it were important then Raiden would tell you. He went on to tell you that Outworld had done this before with other realms and they had been devastated into waste.

Raiden spoke in a way that made it seem as though he had lived through countless lifetimes. While his tone often sounded severe, he also spoke with great purpose. “Our next tournament will not be for a few more years. You are one of Earthrealm’s chosen warriors.” Raiden’s lecture was winding down. “Do you have any questions?” You had known much of what Raiden had taught you that day but still sat patiently through it.

“I think I understand. If I have any questions later then I can ask Liu Kang. It’s difficult for me to wrap my mind around this craziness, for lack of a better word. He’s been very patient with me. The idea of arcana and how I’m meant to fight warriors from another world is still wild to me but I understand the concept. I think with time and practice I will be better off.” You stifled a giggle and then cleared your throat to stop any further giggles from escaping.

“Is there something you find funny?”

Guilt again. The kind you’d felt exclusively around your parents.

“You’re the man with the funny hat.” Your cheeks burned when he seemed affronted by your description of him. “I don’t mean to come off as rude! Forgive me. My shop is on the edge of town and there are many travelers passing through. I remember you from one of those visits. You chose your words carefully and spoke very little. You required precious stones and, as I often do, I made polite small talk. I asked what you needed them for and you said in the protection of Earthrealm which you quickly corrected to the protection of nature. You opened my eyes long ago to the secrets of the world though I was doubtful there was any truth to it until now.”

Raiden’s expression shifted and he seemed pleased but he was also difficult to read. You hoped he was pleased. Despite his severe and intimidating presence, he seemed well meaning.

“I don’t recall this instance but am happy to learn that there are those who learn the truth without panic or dismissal.”

“So, I have to fight then.”

“More than fight. You must find your arcana so that you may stand a chance against the warriors of Outworld. They are ruthless and possess skills that may seem impossible to you. Without your arcana you will not stand a chance.”

“How do I do that? Find my arcana, I mean.”

“Through trial and adversity. Everyone is different. Your arcana is unique to you.” Raiden stood and so you did the same. “Your training will begin tomorrow.”

You weren’t sure you were ready for that but you bowed respectfully. That was tomorrow’s problem. “Thank you. I promise to work my hardest.”

Raiden said nothing but didn’t look as though he quite believed you capable. You had long ago stopped seeking the approval of others. Actions spoke louder than words and you would do as you promised. Raiden turned from you without another word. You waited for an awkward moment to be dismissed then turned and left. You chose not to linger in the hall with the pretty lightning sculptures that had distracted you earlier.

The path back to the infirmary wasn’t easily found and you wandered aimlessly for a time before asking a monk to help you back to the infirmary. You were exhausted. Upon arrival you closed the curtain to your tiny room and sat on the edge of your bed. Your arms were aching. You were sore and tired. Gravity didn’t agree with your healing wounds. Training was going to be a bitch but you would be better for it.

Retrieving the journal Liu Kang had given you, you made yourself cozy after rekindling the flame of your lantern. You went over the notes from the day before and smiled. Your handwriting was often sandwiched between his. You’d had a difficult time holding a pen for the first few days and your handwriting was atrocious. There had been times where you’d been too dazed with exhaustion so Liu would take over and explain what he was writing down. He was incredibly considerate.

You drifted to sleep leaning against the wall behind your narrow bed, book in your arms. In your very brief dreams you’d been seated with a young Kung Lao in the field outside of your grandparents’ farm. The more you remembered of him the more you could see the man he’d grown up to be.

A knock against stone startled you awake and you jumped upright. Standing in your doorway, peering through the curtain was Liu Kang. He seemed surprised.

“Did I wake you?” He stepped inside and closed the curtain behind him for privacy. How long had you slept? Crap.

“What time is it? Did I sleep through training?”

“No.” He laughed and it was a welcome and comforting sound. “It’s quite late but I was busy today and had no time until now. I wished to see you before bed.” He spoke of you with such fondness that if you hadn’t been half asleep then you probably would have blushed. You adjusted yourself and made room for him to sit next to you on the bed as you often had while reading. He joined you gratefully. You watched as he brushed his thumb over the prayer beads that often went from wrapped around his wrist to his palm and back again. “Tomorrow is going to be difficult, Y/N.”

You guessed that he would be the one training you. He was one of the only warriors with the marking that stayed in Raiden’s Temple besides Kung Lao that you knew of.

“Promise not to pull any punches, okay?”

“I knew you would say that.” He nudged your shoulder with his.

“I mean it, Liu. It’s been over two weeks since this happened. I’m ready to fight. If I’m going to survive all of this… otherworldly supernatural nonsense then I have no choice. Besides that… I want to do this. I want to fight.”

“I need you to promise to be safe.”

“That’s very sweet, Liu, but I’m a fighter. I’ve been fighting for years. I’m ready to help and more importantly, I’m ready to feel strong again. This thing with the poison and my arms? It’s taken a toll on me. I need to be okay.”

“I understand, I think.” He slipped the beads back around his wrist and caught a glimpse of the journal that you’d fallen asleep holding. Then he looked back toward the door. He was nervous. You could feel it.

“Are you okay, Liu?”

“I’m fine.” He picked up the journal and tapped the pages. “Would you like to study?”

“Can’t sleep, can you?”

“Oh, right. It’s late. I apologize. I woke you. I should let you rest.” He stood, bowed, and then turned to leave. Without thinking, you grabbed his hand. If your arms hadn’t been aching, you would have pulled him back to you. Liu Kang was very aware of the strain that it would put on you to pull so he stopped dead in his tracks. He was always aware of what was going on around him and your aching arms appreciated that more than ever.

“You can stay. We can keep reading. I’d like that.” You insisted. Liu Kang smiled and so you let go of his hand, realizing that you’d been holding it for perhaps too long. He grabbed a hefty book that had been resting beneath your side table. You’d made your way a quarter through it over the past few days. Then you sat together, leaning against the wall. He read to you and his soothing voice nearly lulled you back to sleep. It provided you with a sense of security you hadn’t felt in a long time. Studying with him, even in your worst moments of pain, had become a fond memory.

The words were familiar and so you snapped one eye open. “We already read this.” You waited for a pause in his natural cadence.

“No, we did not.”

“We did, look.” You pointed to your journal and the scribbles in it from the night before. Your handwriting really was terrible. You could make out bits and pieces of it. Liu had the patience of a saint for trying to decipher it. He squinted at the letters.

“I can’t read that. No one can read that, Y/N.” He tapped the page you had pointed to. “That could say almost anything. Are you bored with the history of the Wu Shi Academy?”

“No! We were just further along than this, that’s all. Look, just…” You shoved the journal in front of the book and he laughed. His laugh was sweet and filled with warmth. “I think that this is highlighting this passage here about the foundations and the energy wells beneath it…”

“You can’t possibly read that. We have established that it’s gibberish.”

“I wrote it! I can sort of make out little bits…”

“We have to work on your penmanship, Y/N.”

“I got all sliced up where the tendons and stuff are. They’re still healing!” You whined and then pouted. Liu took the journal and set it on the bed just beyond your feet. You reached past him and turned the pages of the book, searching for the next chapter. “At least get to the part with the arena. You promised that we would learn about that next. You went on and on about it.”

“I did no such thing. You can admit that you’re bored.” Liu teased. You flipped the pages again without his permission so he tried to tug the book away and you jolted to the side with him, hair falling into your face, chopsticks now useless. Much to your surprise, as you righted yourself, Liu helped you and pushed your messy hair away and tucked some of it behind your ear. Your laughter subsided and you avoided his eyes as his admired you. You swore your heart skipped a beat. “Your hair.” He brushed a few strands between his thumb and forefinger.

“Oh?” You dared to look into his dark eyes that were rivers of thought and emotion. You had no aspirations of unraveling them. You liked their mystery.

“The color.”

“Oh, yeah… I uh… I haven’t been able to keep up with dye here and it’s naturally white.” You pointed to the roots that had begun to show.

“White? That’s peculiar.”

“Wow, thanks. Yeah, I know it’s weird.”

“I didn’t mean any offense. It looks nice.” He seemed to realize that his hand was very much still in your hair. His tongue ran nervously over his lower lip while he was lost briefly in thought before he pulled his hand back. “We’ll read about the arena but only because you have chosen to entertain me at a late hour instead of turning me away.”

“And because you realized I was right.” You joked but your stomach was very much in knots. This was no time to be feeling butterflies in your stomach but there they were. Liu Kang made you feel butterflies. Literal butterflies. You hadn’t understood that idiom until now.

“There will be a test, Y/N.” He joked and smoothed out the pages of the book. You retrieved the journal and pen but had given up on writing notes for the night. Your arms were still aching and you were drained. Liu delighted in sharing a map of the ancient arena and reciting battles that he’d won and lost there. His voice was a soothing and familiar drone and before you realized it, you were falling asleep, head falling against his shoulder.

Instead of leaving you there to sleep, Liu Kang continued to read. Sometime later you woke up and the flame in the lantern had gone dim. Liu was still seated next to you, his head now rested atop yours. From his soft, slow breaths, you guessed that he had fallen asleep too. The book was rested neatly on top of your journal as if he had made the decision to put it aside and stay. You should wake him and send him back to his room. He would be more comfortable there. Selfishly, you wanted him to stay. He’d chosen to stay so you decided to let him have his choice.

For the first time since you’d woken up in Raiden’s Temple, you went to sleep feeling secure and comfortable.

Next Chapter >>

[the-fae-folk]

What type of powers do faeries have? What can they do with their magic and what can't they?

It’s actually a really good question, but a surprisingly hard one to answer. Let’s take a step back and look at what people have believed that Fairies actually are. They are described as a kind of mythical creature that is metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural. These strange folk don’t actually have one single origin but are an amalgamation of countless sources of Folklore from across Europe. There are even different explanations given to the origin or nature of Fairies. Describing them as demons, deities, fallen or neutral angels, spirits of the dead or never living, incarnations of nature, prehistoric precursors to humans, deified ancestors, or even beings from Otherworlds beyond our own. But what can they do? What do their powers and magics entail? Well lets start with the most obvious. Glamour is easily the most remembered of fairy magics, but what it actually is is a lot harder to define than you would think. Nowadays, contemporary fantasy has distilled the idea of glamour into a sort of powerful illusion magic with the capability to make a person see, hear, feel, taste, even touch something that is different in nature then they are perceiving. Sometimes this is combined with the idea that the strength of belief can make something true and that powerful enough glamours can transcend mere illusion to become reality. But older variations of glamour, while they include much of this idea of illusion magic, has some interesting variations on it. Sometimes glamour included actual shapeshifting to a form that wasn’t the person’s own. Or it was used in hiding and disguising or making things and persons invisible to human eyes. They were said to be able to change their size and make themselves appear very small or very large. Whatever glamour is, it seems to deal heavily with perception and charisma. Other powers that Fairies were said to hold depended on where the story itself came from. The ancient Irish Tuatha Dé Danann who are said to have become the Fairy Folk after being driven from their homeland were thought to have had supernatural powers and magical artifacts of incredible power. Dagda’s cauldron which produced feasts which no company left unsatisfied, the spear of Lugh which was said to have never been beaten in any battle it was used in, the sword of light from whom no one ever escaped after it was drawn from its sheath, and the Stone of Fál which would cry out beneath the king who would take sovereignty of Ireland. Norse stories lent some of their own myths to the idea of creating artifacts with power. Chains that cannot break, goblets that flow with the power of the whole sea, magical clothing that grants the wearer all kinds of powers. Some stories gave them magic of a much darker kind. The ability to inflict diseases or afflictions upon those who crossed them, or sometimes just for pure malice. Sometimes to injure or even kill humans or others of their own kind without ever touching them. Causing persons to sicken and die over time or become addicted through various magical methods (such as being tricked into eating fairy food), or being entranced sexually or romantically against your will or better nature. In some cases they even performed what might be described as a binding upon a person to force their will onto them, or break that will entirely and turn a person into a puppet. Nature based Fairy Folklore often depicted them as being personifications of natural forces such as trees, flowers, rivers, lakes, and hills. But sometimes they were shown as beings who simply were closer to and more knowledgeable about nature and therefore could control or influence it in ways that humans could not fathom. Wings, though common in Victorian artwork were actually incredibly rare in Folklore. Flight, on the other hand, was not. Fae were often depicted as having various means of travel. The taming of birds, beasts, and insects to carry them, or magical flying through the air, or even some means of teleportation were all mentioned ways that the Folk could travel with magic. A lot of fairy lore involves people attempting to ward off Faeries with charms and minor enchantments such as St. John’s Wort, Four leaf clovers, wearing your clothes inside out, or carrying iron or fresh homemade bread. Much of this sort of thing tends to contradict itself. For example some stories mention bells keeping fairies away, while others depict fairy queens and ladies with bells on the harness of their horse. Even the things that were “Known” about the fairies usually just led to more confusion. One knew that giving clothing as a gift to a house brownie would drive it away. But there was a difference of opinion as to why. Whether the inferior clothing offended them, or if they were so delighted by the gift that they took it and left. A stray compliment or complaint could drive away a house faerie just the same. One account mentions a farmer whose field was magically threshed by the Folk, only after all his corn was finished the threshing continued and he guessed that they were stealing his neighbor’s corn, leaving him the choice of offending the Faeries by telling them to stop, or offending them by profiting from the theft of corn. Its important to note that some of the powers the Fae were thought to have are only mentioned in passing or vaguely discussed. Given how often people who intruded upon Fairy Rings found themselves stranded from their own time or even outside time altogether, it is clear that the Fae have some connection to a temporal magic we don’t get a clear explanation of. Whether the person returns the same age a hundred years later, or before they were even born, or turns to dust the moment they leave the circle because they age all at once in a single moment, the idea of time magic is not to be dismissed.

Granting wishes, having prophetic or near prophetic knowledge, being able to exert control over beings whose names they discover, having all kinds of powers and restrictions related to contracts and deals...these are many of the abilities that never seem to have a clear cut explanation because much of the lore either ignores the details concerning the whys and wherefores of such powers, or changes depending on where each bit of folklore came from.

And they of course have the ability to traverse easily to whatever Otherworlds are mentioned and discussed in the multitudes of stories. Whether underground, hidden in secluded parts of the world away from humans, or in another world entirely they seem to have many gates and keys that humans have a harder time working with. There are a lot of different things that have been occasionally attributed to Fairies that are also given to other characters and peoples in stories. Herbal and spellcraft type magic usually reserved for witches, the broader swaths of sorcery most often seen in characters like Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings” who works mostly with very subtle touches of power and more his own influence and knowledge, ritual and ceremonial magic, and much else. In conclusion, it is interesting to see that while almost everything we have about the Faerie Folk agrees that they are incredibly powerful and dangerous to cross, we have very little concrete knowledge of what that power actual entails. For the most part it seems that the greatest danger from the Faeries is not their magic, but their inclination to play pranks upon humanity. Harmless or harmful, they kidnap and steal and mess up or break. They cause havoc and they fix at unexpected moments. It is possible that the nature of the Faerie power is not magic at all but simply a greater knowledge and understanding of forces of the world we cannot perceive. Like how an ant cannot fathom why the entire world seems to be having an earthquake, and no amount of explaining things like tractors and farms is going to make it understand, but at least if we could talk to it we might get it to figure out who was responsible, even if it doesn’t really know why or how.

[catharsistine]

To Write A Good Villain

TW: loss of control, hallucinogenics, dr*gs, sc*rs, venom, bl*od, death, defeat, s*x, god, volcanoes, pr*dtors, m*rder, j*alousy, smoking, ab*se, cheating, sl*very, oppression, servitude, vampires, destruction.

Technically, I'm here on Tumblr as a writer. So. It's time I contributed my itty bitty bit.

Many things make a good story. Some claim it is world-building, some think it the cast of protagonists, some the vivid descriptions. All of those elements, however, will seem lacklustre, if your story does not have a good villain. What use is an MC with glorious superpowers or magic, if there is nothing to oppose them? Can there be any victory without a great evil?

In real life? Perhaps. In any fictional world? No. The readers tune in for awesome conflict, so we writers must provide, and enjoy ourselves while doing so.

So what does make a great villain?

Before we explore that, let us review the types of villains. Most important to remember is that a villain need not be human. In literature, there can be many types of discord:

- Person Vs Self: Often used as a compelling subplot, this kind of conflict is valid when a person needs to do something that is opposed to their inner self, something they find morally, emotionally or intellectually repulsive. Eg; A scholar forced to indulge in activities that are unscientific, like smoking when they know it is bad for their health. A pacifist who is forced into a war situation and must commit murder to save their own or their family's lives. A person seeking enlightenment struggles with jealousy when their guru finds a new favourite. (IMPORTANT: Feeling conflicted due to one's morals is acceptable. Hating oneself due to a mental disorder is not. Please do not use mental illness as a plot point.)

- Person Vs Person: Often used as a primary plot point in standalone stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when a person bears a personal grudge or hatred toward another. Eg; A wrestler hating someone who defeated them in the ring through sabotage. A child-hating the murderer that orphaned them and their sibling. A person hating their lover who manipulated, gas-lit or cheated on them. (IMPORTANT: Ensure that abuse and abusers are not romanticized, that the healing journey of the character does not lead to them forgiving their abuser. Forgiveness is not a prerequisite for closure. Please do not encourage abuser-abused relationships.)

- Person Vs Society: Often used as a primary plot point in dystopian stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when a person aims to fight against a law or a government that systematically oppresses them. Eg; A womon fighting against the law which considers them as lower-class citizens. A PoC fighting against slave laws. A member of the working class rebelling against the bourgeoisie. (IMPORTANT: If you are not a minority, do not presume you are qualified to tell their story. Our stories belong to us alone, and taking away from us the privilege of sharing our trauma when we feel comfortable enough to do so is the worst kind of representation. Please remember if you occupy a position of power, you have no right to speak on our behalf. Already we are often silenced, do not participate in that further if you claim to be an ally.)

- Person Vs Machine: Often used as a primary plot point in science fiction stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when any man-made object gains enough intelligence to be considered sentient and becomes a threat to humanity. Eg; A machine that acts as a maid desiring to be free of the bonds of its servitude. An AI which does not have empathy and value for human life. A robot that attempts to destroy mankind. (IMPORTANT: These conflicts are often intricate, and can be spun anyway. Perhaps a human tries to teach a robot to love, and the result is embarrassing in a comedic way. But do not try to equate people on the asexual and aromantic spectrums, people with mental illness or people with severe trauma to these AI. They are extremely discriminated against. Please, do not contribute to the stigma.)

- Person Vs Nature: Often used as a compelling subplot, this kind of conflict is valid when a person is pitted against fauna and flora in a vulnerable state. Eg; A captive who has escaped their bonds only to come upon a harsh landscape. A person with severe allergies visits a place that is opposed to their disposition. A person with a grudge against a famous wild animal who bit off their leg. (IMPORTANT: In many such stories, a trend is that a character comes across a hostile tribal group. These tribes are portrayed only the negative attributes of certain PoC cultures. Doing so is blatantly racist and highly offensive. Please refrain from representing us in such appalling ways.)

- Person Vs Fate/Supernatural: Often used as a primary plot point in fantasy and YA stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when a person is threatened or working against a force that is outside nature. Eg; A person coming across a magical artefact belonging to a god, and the devil's henchmen are after it, but it has bonded to them. A lower-level employee working in a tampon factory accidentally discovering their boss is a deadly vampire. A person falling in love, only to discover their partner is heir to a clan of selkies, and their younger sibling plans on overthrowing them. (IMPORTANT: Oftentimes, the villains are given physical and cultural attributes exclusive to PoC and their culture, like the antagonist having dreadlocks or enjoying food that lies outside white cuisine. Please realise that is racist.)

How to create a proper villain:

1. Motive.

Arguably the most important factor in a villain is motive. Their end goal must be reasonable(depends on their moral compass), achievable(depends on their means), and must cause moral conflict in the protagonist.

Eg; Due to childhood trauma, a villain feels weak and unsafe in their own skin. Adopting a terrifying persona, they seek to control everyone around them, and by extension, the world, through a potent hallucinogen. Considered worthless until they design a new identity, the villain is only considered a threat when they overthrow a monarchy/gain obscene amounts of money/create a giant machine. The MC knows that the villain is wrong in their actions, but understands that their henchmen are drugged, and must choose a different course of action than brute force to defeat them.

2. Power/Skill

Expanding on the earlier point of a goal being achievable, a villain must have the capabilities to obtain the prize they desire. If they perform actions outside their means, the entire premise becomes boring and unrealistic. Unless the villain is playing pretend for a future plot twist, humble the antagonist before they get out of hand.

Eg; A machine cannot destroy the world if they do not have an intricate base code if they are not linked to machines around the world. An animal cannot be famous unless its existence is questionable unless it is more mythical than real unless it possesses some quality (a missing tooth, a scar across their eye) that the others of its breed do not have. Kindness cannot be a source of a moral dilemma if it is not shown in many actions of the protagonist.

3. Appearance.

Contrary to popular belief, the way a villain looks contributes greatly to their story. If the appearance of an antagonist does not match their other attributes, the villain may fall flat and feel one-dimensional.

Eg; If a person comes from humbler beginnings, them wearing designer clothes is not feasible. A wealthier person should at least maintain the appearance of being well-groomed, but a few things out of place, such as a tie clip, messy eyeliner, or stubble are acceptable, perhaps due to lack of respect for themselves, or mania from unfulfilled desires. If a plant is secretly venomous, let insects keep away from it. If a werewolf is known to violently transition, let them have a feral look in their eye, larger canines and stronger jawbones.

4. Presence

Outside of appearance, the overall vibe of the villain is of the utmost importance. Their aesthetic instils fear, inspires awe, which is one of the primary things that cause audiences to secretly root for them. Their smooth delivery of scathing, savage lines makes us fall in love with them. Having a stellar, scary presence amplifies whatever the villain does tenfold.

Eg; If a villain wears a daring dress, different from the style of their era, it will make them seem much more impressive. Fresh after a murder, if they have blood splattered on their face, it will make the ghastliness of their actions more resounding. If they're haunting little children, having grotesque features instead of sharp ones will terrify the kids more, and the readers.

5. Backstory

Why did the villain become a villain in the first place? This is perhaps the most important question when it comes to antagonists. Not only do backstories help us understand the villain's motives and reasons better, but readers may also root for them if they glimpse a part of them reflected in the villain, making the tale more painful to read.

Eg; If a bully has been abused at home, it explains their actions. If a villain was in a situation where their body was not theirs, their actions may be born out of a desire for control.

Things to avoid:

1. Do not make them a caricature. Avoid toxic and dull stereotypes such as "catty ex-girlfriend", "sex-crazed womon", "evil old pr*dator" etc. Not only are these caricatures cartoonish and overused, but they also make a villain hollow and lifeless. Villains are humans too, give them quirks, bad habits and things they enjoy, beliefs of their own. (Eg; They enjoy watching cat videos, smoke or bite their nails, enjoy mixing drinks for fun, and think God is a hoax.)

2. Avoid coding them as PoC or LGBTQ+. If you have a diverse cast of various races, ethnicities, sexualities and genders, then it is completely alright to write another such character as the villain. However, if your only minority character is the villain, that is highly problematic.

3. A backstory does not equate to sympathy. If the villain's actions are extremely reprehensible, including and not limited to; r*pe, g*nocide, ab*se or s*rial murder, please do not try to redeem them. Understanding someone's motives is wildly different from making the audiences sympathize with them. Do not romanticize their flaws.

4. Lastly, humble them. A villain will always entertain the audiences if they suffer a bit too. Instead of constant angst and pain, add lighter moments, moments where they stumble, trip, are tired or bored. This would make their eventual death/defeat burn even more, and the audience will definitely mourn the loss of a wonderful antagonist.

Like a volcano, a true villain leaves ashes in their wake, but their fire forces the protagonists to solidify into stone. Let their actions echo into the age.

[thebigoblin]

For some reason i was listening to this is home - cavetown and came to the crushing realization that if fits sterek kinda well???? Its always been my song for comfort but the other day i was listening to it and got slapped in the face by sterek feels-

I just listened to it right now (x) and I have soooo maaaanyyy feeels. Goddammit, Sterek. Let me have one hour in peace.

Anyways. So.

Often I am upset that I cannot fall in love but I guess

This avoids the stress of falling out of it

Are you tired of me yet?

This is soo Derek. He has been burned by love (both literally and figuratively), first with the death of his first love (which he had to do, even if it was a mercy killing he did kill her) and then he thought this woman loved him enough to want him as he was: broken, young, inexperienced. Grieving.

And then Kate showed him exactly what it means to love someone like him.

It always ends in death.

So now Derek doesn't fall in love. He doesn't even make friends, doesn't socialize. He doesn't let anyone enter the fortress of his solitude, not even Laura, knowing he is the reason they've lost their pack. He doesn't deserve that kind of love.

He waits for Laura to tire of him. To be frustrated and angry at him, to tell him he means nothing to her anymore, because even though he hasn't told her he knows why the fire happened—knows who did it—he is been nothing but a thorn in her side, anything but helpful in her endeavor to help rebuild their lives.

He waits and waits for Laura to tire of him, to kick him out of the two person pack—and she does. But not the way he wanted.

She dies and leaves him alone and there is no one to nag at him to get his shit together, to make him see that he can be loved, should be; but it's not at all what he wanted.

I'll hide my chest

And I'll figure out a way to get us out of here

This can be both Derek and Stiles... but I see it more for Stiles. Idk why.

Derek plays his cards close to his chest, but he does all he can to try and protect the others. We don't really see him be anything but angry in the earlier parts of the show, and you can't make me believe that the person who gave up his Alpha powers for his sister, who trusted Peter (when he was the Alpha) despite the things he'd done simply because he's family, won't be grieving for the only family he thought he had.

And then there's Stiles. Stiles '147 pounds of pale skin and fragile bones. Sarcasm is my only defense' Stilinski who is human and logically the weakest person in a show of mythical creatures. And he is. He is weak. Physically, he knows he can't take on Peter or the Kanima or the Alpha Pack. And he is terrified of that. But you know what he does? He fights in spite of that. He talks, he plans, he misguides, and he fights. He fights because he won't let anyone hurt him or the ones he wants to keep safe.

Stiles, too, 'hides' his true feelings and figures out a way to get them out of their problems. (Does that make sense??)

Are you dead? Sometimes I think I'm dead

'Cause I can feel ghosts and ghouls wrapping my head

But I don't wanna fall asleep just yet

This one is kinda self-explanatory isn't it... Derek is haunted by his past and it's made him into a person who can and is willing to sacrifice his own life without a second thought.

'I know what I'm risking. My life for theirs.'

He doesn't exactly have anything to live for. But he's brave. He's going through hell and he keeps going.

He doesn't want to sleep. Not yet.

Get a load of this monster

He doesn't know how to communicate

His mind is in a different place

Will everybody please give him a little bit of space

Get a load of this train-wreck

His hair's a mess and he doesn't know who he is yet

The first two lines... these are also self-explanatory. I see this as things Stiles thinks (not the monster part, not once he's rationalized that mythical creatures exist in the world) about Derek. (Honesty, I think we all think that lol).

Derek is not good at communication. He wants something but he does something else. He wanted Isaac to leave him so that The Alpha Pack can't leverage his third beta against him, hurt him/kill him like Erica (and Boyd, but I don't remember if he was alive during this time or not), but the way he made Isaac leave was to bank on Isaac's trauma—if I am remembering correctly, this is when he throws the glass at Isaac.

Derek is so not good at communication. And he is definitely a train-wreck; he never wanted to be the Alpha and he still becomes one. He never wanted for Laura to come back to BH (probably why he himself didn't come back here while she did) but she did anyways and he lost her. He didn't want to kill Peter, but he had to anyway.

He lost who he was in the chaos of his life. And he doesn't know who he is anymore—he isn't even the Alpha anymore, he's lost that, and he's been human too.

He keeps losing who he is. He keeps losing his identity.

Derek Hale doesn't know who he is supposed to be.

But maybe...

But little do we know, the stars

Welcome him with open arms

...This is how it was supposed to be.

Maybe this was all fate. All of it, from the loss of Paige to his evolution, maybe it was all mapped out in the stars. Maybe it was supposed to happen.

Just so he could find who he is.

And who he is? He's the best legacy his family could have asked for. He's a predator, and he's a killer, but he's not a cold-blooded killer. He's strong, he's brave, and he is good. He's someone who has had the worst life but come out of it a brighter person, a burning sun; a moon that shines brighter the more that it wanes, because Derek? He's learned to hide his craters, and he's learned to live with them.

Alternatively, though, 'the stars' could also mean Stiles (his moles, scattered along his skin like constellations), the only one who opened his arms for Derek even when he didn't have to. Like saving his life even when they weren't anything to each other.

Time is slowly

Tracing his face

But strangely he feels at home in this place

Time heals wounds, doesn't it?

Derek gets better with time. He doesn't just live, but he's alive. He is living.

Since I've gone full canon up until now, I'll continue post-canon here: Stiles and Derek, we know how their story goes up till S6B. We know how much Stiles means to Derek and Derek to Stiles, even if it wasn't strictly said aloud in canon.

We know.

And I... well. I think that Stiles and Derek say it aloud. To each other. How much they matter to each other.

It might be during one of those high-tension missions, the pack preparing to fight against Monroe, making plans and doing everything they can. Stiles is planning, laying out rules and objectives and making sure to drill into one of them how important this is, and Derek watches him and he watches Lydia, the girl who has Stiles' heart. (Only she doesn't, and she knows it).

And then Stiles says he will come, too. But it's too dangerous.

Derek immediately objects.

Everyone goes deathly silent. Because Stiles is the one who is 100% capable of them all, who is the best on their side (being FBI does that, as does being part of ops like this since he was 16, even if Stiles wasn't as badass as he is now).

Stiles is angry.

"So, what, you wanna be the martyr, then? Is that what you want?"

Derek is angrier. (He is terrified).

"You'll get hurt!"

"I will not! Even if I do, it's my fucking job—I'll get hurt if it means keeping you all safe!"

"You can die!"

"So I will die!"

"No, Stiles, you will not. I—"

"What do you mean I will not—"

"—can't lose you too!"

Yes, this is total cliché, but I am a total simp for cliché so :D

And yeah, after? When they've defeated Monroe and are back to 'normal,' Derek and Stiles fill the parts of each other that they've lost over the years. They make a home for themselves. In each other, with each other.

(And okayyyyy, wow. I did not mean to get so into this but... here we are. I totally obsessed over this lol).

(Also this is a beautiful song, if a bit sad? Anyways, now I have a new song to listen to so thanks <3)

[davidmann95]

So you've talked a lot about Darkseid, but what about the other New Gods?

SO THIS HAS BEEN IN MY INBOX FOR ALMOST AS LONG AS THIS BLOG’S BEEN AROUND AND I JUST FINALLY FINISHED FOURTH WORLD

Well that sure was something. My musings on some major players that I either have substantial thoughts on, or where I especially think the majority consensus/interpretation has subsequently gotten them wrong (a state Kirby is well aware of, because a HUGE part of “Even Gods Can Die!” is him being frustrated at subsequent handlings of the characters even by 1984 mucking things up):

Orion: Perhaps the most hard-done by as a result of Kirby never being able to fully finish Fourth World as he had imagined it, as his character arc ends on a cliffhanger for a decade and is forced into a rapid completion later. When he emerges, while a warrior born he’s also every bit the classical, magnificent hero you expect to see in a superhero comic to try and overshadow his inner demons, while by the end of New Gods he’s embraced not only his true face (the OTHER face, as his father would put it) in the fight against Apokolips but the murderous, sadistic rage that is his birthright, reveling in inflicting agony and very much the berserker others have since portrayed him as. Surely as much a product of his trauma from a childhood on Apokolips (a detail frequently glossed over) and a sense of being unwanted as anything genetic, it’s ultimately unconditional love for him as he truly is in Hunger Dogs that lets him overcome his fear that he can’t be anything but a monstrous tool in service of better people than himself, and embrace ‘the tomorrow overture’. Even his anger has its righteous if tragic place as a primal force of upheaval: “It defies time! It stands firm against the hammers of change! It mocks life and defies death!” I won’t get to it for awhile yet, but very curious what Simonson does with him.

Lightray: Rules! He’s the closest the New Gods have to a traditional superhero, and it’s in that capacity that while a lousy warrior next to Orion (Kalibak thinks little of his attempt at fighting him, mockingly deeming him a “callow little killer”), his strength is in transformation: he makes himself light, he turns a tormented weapon into the glory boat, a machine armed against the New Gods into a weapon against Darkseid, Orion from a man alone into a friend. He’s not a warrior, but he’s the one who makes a better world worth waging war for and who might one day make such war unnecessary. Also he and Orion have definitely fucked.

Mister Miracle: Not WILDLY off the mark since, but it’s interesting that as I expect a result of JLI he’s been written so often since as an everymanish, relatable, bordering-on-comedic figure, when under Kirby he was very much the archetypal good guy. One often committed to freeing others as he had been freed himself, in the likes of Ted Brown and Shilo Norman, an avenue I’m surprised hasn’t been explored more often from what I’ve seen. Also worth noting: Darkseid declared the moment he got his hands on the kid that Granny would be twice as hard on him as others, and that it would eventually drive the boy away and let the war resume. Which not only indicates Darkseid’s understanding of the subtlety needed in control, but would seem to take Scott’s rebellion out of his own hands…except that at the moment of his escape Darkseid still offered him a choice, implored the boy to allow him to “complete the destruction of Scott Free – so you may live with the majesty that is the power of DARKSEID!” And instead he turned his back on his god and chose to be what he is.

Barda: Shockingly, great as she’s been since, her background is often severely mischaracterized. The shorthand is “love saved her and turned her from a servant of evil to a champion of good!”, but that’s…while not entirely wrong, a bad way of presenting it. When she leaves Apokolips initially, even after she starts hanging out with Scott Free and Oberson after having helped the former escape years earlier, she still believes in Darkseid. She fights and hates her former allies not because she’s turned against his vision of the universe (this is in fact a major aspect often overlooked - under Kirby Darkseid’s agents don’t simply fear him, they sincerely believe in him and his vision of how the universe works) but because she sees them as loathsome, brutish executors of his grand design. In short, she doesn’t think it’s the system that’s the problem, but a bunch of bad apples. It’s her experience with freedom and simple pleasures and life on Earth, her lingering guilt over the death of her friend Auralie as eventually manifested in her protection and training of Shiloh Norman, and yes, her eventual realized love for Scott, that brings her around to realizing she truly desires a life beyond what Darkseid can offer.

Forever People: Okay I actually don’t have a ton to say about the Forever People, though I do think they’re underrated and underutilized. Naive and in over their heads as the frequently are they’re also the best of their peers, believing in freedom and transformation and the potential of those around them to become better - their defining moment for me is when they reassure Sonny Sumo that having the power of the Anti-Life Equation doesn’t make him a monster. “Where we come from the Anti-Life Equation is one of many others–almost as awesome!! But they merely exist!! It’s we who live!!”

Metron: The big figure I haven’t really been able to crack. Machinery as not necessarily cold mechanization but extensions of ourselves and our souls, and able to nourish them in turn, is a big aspect of Fourth World, but Metron as the embodiment of mechanization and knowledge feels like not just an outsider as he’s framed but one who never quite became whatever Kirby had in mind for him, making his crucial role at the end of Hunger Dogs a bit of a non-sequitur for me. I’d be curious to hear what other people think.

Desaad: God Desaad’s been made boring. Not that he isn’t fairly one-dimensional under Kirby too, but his craft and awful glee as the god of torture isn’t just in strapping people to tables and poking them with unpleasant tools, it’s in manipulating their emotions and agonies to a fever pitch - he should be such an unsettling figure, and instead he’s a simpering helpless toady.

Highfather: Not a perfect figure, given how he’s framed with the likes of Fastbak, and the Forever People, and the Pact, willing to deploy fear as a weapon in the name of peace as Darkseid will use chaos in the name of a larger order, but always trying - as with Darkseid, an imperfect vessel of what he represents, but capable of growth and realization as a leader.

Steppenwolf/Heggra: Essential to understanding The Pact, they’re the old ways of the world and war, petty despots and warrior-kings, supplanted by fascism in Darkseid.

Darkseid: So I’ve discussed Darkseid before in terms of his broad use and ideas, but the very specific ways Kirby presented him have their own dimensions. In the world of superheroes he’s larger-than-life and often such in here too, but in rare moments, and by the end entirely as all artifice is stripped away? Kirby’s Darkseid is a profoundly human figure. He recognizes the irony that the Forever People believe in letting all be who they are, for that very need to fulfill himself is why he must pursue conquest (“And of course - that’s the pity of it!”). While he thinks to himself “Oh, how heroes LOVE to flaunt their nobility in the face of death! Yet THEY know better than most that war is but the COLD game of the BUTCHER!” he too believes in “Boldness! Risk! The raw meat of existence!” even as he consigns himself to the role of puppetmaster rather than warrior. He does or so he tells himself “no more than what HAS to be done!!” rather than indulging in cruelty for its own sake. He dresses up in ridiculous costumes for his schemes, he gets sarcastic, he recognizes honor and respects worthy foes, he feels love, he craves the laughter of a friend, he fears the obsolesce of his preferred way of doing things, he tells himself that should he achieve omnipotence others will find “eternal shelter”. He’s a person, one capable of a range of emotions, but he is the TIGER FORCE AT THE CORE OF ALL THINGS regardless…not because he is a mythic unstoppable force, but because every day he rises and believes in himself over all others, because there is a black hole within him that he can only hope dominance might fill regardless of what pain he finds in the process. But as Mister Miracle’s battle with the Lump foretold, when left truly alone over a world that is himself he will be only within “a self-made prison”, reflections of his own fear and agony.

[defensefilms]

Defense Films Lists His Favorite TV Characters Of All Time

5. Chris Partlow- The Wire

The ending of The Wire paints Chris Partlow as something closer to a serial killer. 

He wasn’t. None of his hits were done out of pleasure, curiosity or even impulse. Every one of those bodies helped the Stanfield organization become what they became, even the one on Michael’s stepdad.

What Chris represents is reliability and capability. The ultimate “get shit done” guy. Out of all the characters on the show, none were more dependable or crucial to the success of the institution they served. 

Lester Freeman was capable but not a good politician and ultimately a nuisance to his superiors. Bill Rawls was incredibly capable at his job but he was power hungry and ambitious. In season 5, Gus Haynes is the most capable man in the news office but the problem was that Gus questioned authority and didn’t “go with the flow” when the office decided the paper needed a “refreshing” of how they cover the local news.

Chris didn’t have any of these handicaps impeding the people he served.

He recruits the foot soldiers for the Stanfield crew, even training them himself and Marlo had something akin to a small army at his disposal as a result. He organized his sub-ordinates, handled all surveillance when Marlo’s crew was under investigation at the start of season 5 and took care of incoming shipments after they established a direct line to the Greeks. 

When the task required finesse or subtlety, like the time he stole Sergey’s picture from the court office, he was more than capable of that too. When Marlo is questioning how to address the murder of one of his dealers, he listens to Chris and chooses to retaliate on the perpetrator directly rather than targeting everyone on his corner. 

Marlo truly comes to rely on Chris in matters concerning Omar Little. Every step of how Marlo wants to get back at the near mythical larcenist, is first passed by Chris. Chris takes this as his number one job throughout the show. Anything concerning Omar is handled with brutal efficiency, tact and an almost out ouf place  sense of professional pride. 

That’s Chris’ most endearing quality. Through all the blood, guts, scheming, lying, betrayal that comprises Baltimore’s underworld, all of which Chris is very much a part of, he has a pride in how he approaches the day to day business aspects of what he does. 

Stringer Bell is arguably the best second-in-command in the show’s run but he was dishonest, ultimately harming the survival of the institution he served and damn near going rogue. 

Chris doesn’t share such qualities as blind ambition or selfishness. He understands that trust is all he has in this game. When the indictments eventually come down and Chris is facing a life sentence he doesn’t complain or even raise the possibility of turning state witness. Instead he ends up on the yard along side Wee-Bay. Marlo in turn makes sure that Chris’ people are taken care of financially.

Many of the men that serve in the various institutions depicted in the show could learn a thing from Chris Partlow. When the time came, he fell on his sword and did so in full acknowledgement that this is where it all leads. There’s a kind of honor in that.

4. Tony Soprano- The Sopranos

One of the biggest misconceptions about The Sopranos was that it was a story about a gangster. It wasn’t, or at the very least, that would be an over-simplification of what the story actually contained.

What it was was a story about a man and his family, both biological and criminal. That’s the tie the binds all of the story’s narratives together.

Another way of looking at Tony’s story is one of leadership. Having ousted his Uncle Junior from the seat of power, season 2 and onwards, as far Tony’s criminal life is concerned, focuses on what happens once you get to the top. 

While the show’s creators gave you plenty of grizzly, violent scenes, what leads to those is the story of a man struggling and failing at leadership. 

In every season, Tony has to deal with a problematic figure, employee or subordinate. 

Season 1 was his Uncle and the idea of old fashioned leadership. Then in season 2 it was the ever-acerbic Richie Aprile, representing a generation older than Tony’s, that still feels entitled to something. Seasons 3 and 4 gave us Ralph Cifaretto, the only one among the men I’m mentioning that actually earns his status and then in season 5, it was his cousin Tony Blundetto.

Each of these problems is uniquely stressful for Tony because of how they pull at the threads of both his family and criminal life. With the exception of his Uncle Junior, he kills all of them.

By that metric, Tony is in fact a very poor leader. 

He doesn’t really deal with the Richie Aprile problem because his sister beats him to it. He doesn’t willingly promote Ralph Cifaretto even though Ralph earns it and is the only one among the candidates with any real intellect and business savvy. In both the cases of Christopher Moltisanti and cousin Tony Blundetto, Tony allows favoritism and nepotism to cloud his judgement and ironically both those men die at Tony Soprano’s hands.

This paints a picture of a tyrannical man, slowly devouring everything around him because he’s got to be in control. Worse yet, his need to be in control doesn’t actually lead to smarter long term decisions or better people management.

Tony’s relationship with Ralph in particular is built on professional envy. He feels entitled to Ralph’s race horse winnings because “why should his subordinate benefit more from anything than he does?”. He then proceeds to take ownership of the racehorse itself without assuming any of the costs of owning the animal. Then to top it off, he steals Ralph’s girlfriend purely because he has the status to do it, even digging in to Ralph’s personal life in order to justify doing so.

Textbook mismanagement. Every type of managerial violation you could imagine.

So how does Tony handle it when an employee is actually being a problem on a criminal/business level?

He rewards Tony Blundetto’s deception after the Joey Peeps killing by letting him run an already profitable gambling joint. He promotes Christopher to “made guy” even with his drug problems being well known, and he promotes Bobby Baccalieri, partly at his sister’s behest and partly out of spite.

 It was fun to watch on screen but you’d hate to work for Tony Soprano.

How does that translate to his family? What kind of leader is Tony at home?

Season 3 does well at examining Tony as a father/paternal figure starting with his relationship with Jackie Jr, which is built on concern at first. Then later it starts to make Tony anxious. Before Tony decides to push nature towards taking it’s course, when Jackie runs afoul of men in Tony’s charge.

His relationship with AJ is also a bigger part of the show as the seasons go and it’s not much better in as far as the leadership or guidance that Tony offers. We can waffle on about AJ’s failings as a spoilt teenager but the real problem is that Tony doesn’t see himself in AJ. 

That’s the first step to any failure of leadership. An inability to find common ground or identify with the people you’re leading.

We won’t go in to how hypocritical it is because the entire way that Tony entered the mob life is because he himself was a mob prince and his father’s status definitely paved the way for him. 

Hypocrisy. That’s the other key to failure in leadership. 

All these negatives added up to make the most fascinating television character in over 20 years. A constant stream of contradictions and watching a man say one thing but do another was it’s own experience and you didn’t realize what a horrible human being you were watching until you saw the show over and over again. A scary observation that implies people are either blind or really comfortable with evil and narcissistic behaviour.

3. Noah Solloway- The Affair

Out of all the characters on this list, this one was hurt most by writers hitting a ceiling in how much they could say about the character or how much they wanted to say.  Divorced men don’t really have that much representation, so if you’re writing a character that so strongly linked to that one particular event in his life, you may hit a ceiling if you don’t actually have real life examples to work with.

They had the right actor, the right story and it was the right time in human history to tell this story, it just felt like they didn’t follow through on really speaking on the plight or rise of guys in Noah’s situation.

Anytime I watched The Affair, and unlike most, I was pretty loyal to it despite what reviews told me, I identified with Noah. All those other characters didn’t make sense to me the way Noah did.

The story begins with my man being stuck in a rut, the kind of middle age funk  married men tend to fall in to, so he drives out to visit some folks and while he’s there he happens to meet a baddie. Story of every man’s life. Only he does what you’re not supposed to do and sacrifices everything he has so he can be with the bad-bad. 

Then my mans starts popping off with his book writing, gets a publishing deal and in his 40′s, he starts achieving his highest career peaks. See this is important because it shows that the writers understood the subject matter really well, as well as the demographic they were talking about.

Then the next season, they go in to some murder mystery plot, Noah ends up in jail somehow, almost as if the writers and producers didn’t feel confident that they could tell Noah’s story without the theatrics/murder mystery element. 

The other danger that the writers probably didn’t want to indulge was rewarding the character with any kind of happy ending or positive outcome. Noah’s infidelity serves as the jumping off point to all of the story’s unfolding plots, mostly depicting the impact on the lives of his immediate family, a handful of which play out in sad dramatic fashion. So the writers likely felt like Noah couldn’t win at the end. 

In the 1930′s when gangster films were first being made, they would commonly feature PSA messages at the start warning against criminal behaviour. 1931′s “Little Caesar” starring Edward G Robinson, features a warning at the end that makes it clear the film’s producers and writers needed the character to go down in flames at the end, to prove the moral point that “crime doesn’t pay”. 

A writer’s moral obligation and the times in which they live can lead some to write the ending that makes a moral point rather than writing the most dramatic or honest ending. I think Noah Solloway kind of suffered from this.

I don’t know. 

There was a chance to explore modern men in a way that most stories fail to. They had the foundation. They knew enough about who and what they’re talking about. However it didn’t manifest in the telling of the story. 

I’m not saying Noah needed a positive ending, it’s just that the one we got was not the most fitting nor did it wind up ending the story honestly or even dramatically.

Noah Solloway should have got the Tony Soprano treatment in as far as how much the writers explored his inner world but instead the show’s creators decided it didn’t matter. They didn’t answer the question of why this happens to modern men.

If nothing else Noah Solloway can be a blueprint or foundation for those telling this story in the future.

 2. Ciro Di Marizio- Gomorrah

About as slimy and as low down as a television character can possibly be. Ciro represents Machiavellian criminality pushed to it’s extremes. 

When writers plot a character’s trajectory, they often fill it with moments that make the character more endearing. Exploring the relationship the character may have with a child, friend or spouse that makes you see the character’s more genuine/compassionate/likeable side. The writers of Gomorrah did plenty of that with Ciro.

However, they didn’t hesitate to show you just how off-the-rails and downright evil Ciro could be. 

What’s funny is that Ciro is defined by loyalty and servitude when the story begins. He is a capable captain and rises to 2nd in command when the Savastano family needs him to. However the death of his close friend and mentor changes him for the worse and he goes ham. 

What follows is betrayal and Ciro basically masterminding a coup of the Savastano clan but the levels of paranoia that his new found power push him to, make him question whether it was all worth it. The world burns around him and a kind of justice is restored when Gennaro is able to take back power and restore the Savastano name. 

That’s one aspect of the show that Ciro truly exemplifies in that he rises to the top but the throne never truly feels like it’s his.

He is Iago-like in his ability to understand the weaknesses of people around him. He proves himself more cunning, capable, strategic, murderous and even business-minded than almost every other character. Every character except for Pietro Savastano (the man he betrays) and Gennaro Savastano. 

The show goes to great lengths to put forth the idea that crime families in Naples are on the same level as the pope. True modern day monarchies. Royal families that have the power to benefit or harm anyone around them. People bow their heads to them when they walk in public and use reverential terms when addressing them. They will often have salons, jewelers  or restaurants cleared out so they can enjoy the establishment in ostentatious privacy. 

When you look at it like that, Ciro was always an outsider. The difference between just sitting on the throne and being born of the throne. 

In that way maybe Ciro’s story is about redemption. 

He eventually sides with Gennaro Savastano again, helping him get his wife and daughter back after they’re kidnapped. He does this by essentially lying to/duping a crew of young dealers from Florence to fund this hostage rescue and then he offers himself as a sacrifice when the Florentines demand blood.

At his best Ciro served the clan and went to great lengths to restore what he had destroyed. 

1. Marlo Stanfield- The Wire

Is there any greater?

Sure there are characters like Tony Soprano whose world and whose inner thoughts the audience gets more familiar and intimate with. Within the same shared universe as Marlo is a character like Stringer Bell and the writers of the Wire go to great lengths to understand and convey his moral conflict as a drug kingpin turned wannabe real estate tycoon. 

Marlo is something purer though. 

You don’t need to know his inner-most thoughts like Tony because his utmost desire is simple, he wants to be the top kingpin of Baltimore. What more do you want?

He does not share Stringer’s moral complexity because unlike Stringer he is not conflicted at all. He’s not a drug dealer playing businessman, he’s just a drug dealer and that’s all he ever wanted to be.

From the start of season 3, it was fascinating watching this man move about on the screen with a confidence reserved for the richest and most talented. Indeed Marlo proves he has both in bundles. 

He outwits the older drug kingpin in Stringer Bell by maintaining independence from the Co-Op. He matches Avon Barksdale’s war effort step-for-step after Avon comes home from prison. He outsmarts the wily, Proposition Joe in order to learn how to launder his money and then get access to the Greeks.

It was fascinating watching Marlo avoid pitfalls, monopolize Baltimore, out-think his older counterparts and grow his empire to the scope that he did. 

There’s a youtube video that compiled all of Marlo’s scenes from his 3 seasons on The Wire and it pretty much plays like a feature film. Watch it here if you dig Marlo as much as I do.

You’re not watching a drug dealer become a kingpin, or at the very least that’s what I believe. It has more to do with watching the younger generation upset the order, and in a lot of ways that’s what Marlo represents. From the moment Marlo shows up, all old agreements are null and void. He does this over and over again throughout his story. Constantly upsetting the order and establishing his own. 

Indeed Marlo isn’t aware that this is what he’s doing. He’s acting on ambition, arrogance and naivety. 

It speaks volumes that most of the characters on this list have on-screen relationships that explore their personalities, like the aforementioned Ciro’s relationship with his daughter. Marlo has none of that.

Marlo’s most revealing relationship is his rivalry with Omar Little, a man he only ever encounters once. The continuation of their feud happens because Marlo refuses to let any perceived slight towards him slide. One way of looking at what this shows is that Marlo is both egoist and perfectionist, the latter of which is actually very prized personality traits in today’s business environment. The combination of the two is actually commonly seen among CEO’s and top executives.

Marlo shows every weakness and drawback of youth while exposing the follies of the more seasoned and experienced in his field. A walking contradiction in that way.

[sokkascroptop]

Pls,,,,, the brother headcanons,,,,,,,, we crave your amazing writing -💜anon

ksajdfha;kdfj purple heart anon i haven't seen you in my ask box in so long my heart is racing

okay!!

- so three brothers, Ren (21), Haruki (18), and the unnamed little brothers from chapter two (5 or so).

and bc yes i'm this obsessive over my fic, i've created short descriptions of them as well:

- Ren is in the Fire Nation Army (per my Zuko drabble/prequel) and probably has been away from home since he was 18

- i think that he and Y/N probably frequently wrote letters to one another but haven't seen each other since he left home

- i hc that Y/N was closest with Ren, they just get on really well because he's very respectful of her as a person and treats her like the capable person that she is

- he's protective of her as well and i believe he was the only person to stand up for her when it came to her dad being mean

Ren is BIG, super tall, super built, would be absolutely terrifying if he was running at you even without firebending. He's a proficient firebender, relies on big moves/explosions, also know's how to use a sword, but not as well as Y/N

he's got a quiet and calm demeanor, but a big personality. very opposite to his outward appearance, and big himbo energy. He's really funny and you just can't not like him when you meet him.

definitely joined the Fire Nation army because he didn't know what else he could do in life, because he'd been raised like an American boy in public school, pipelined to the army.

someone one time, a long time ago, said that he dated one of Ty Lee's older sisters, and they break up but they get back together and he definitely marries her (ty lee loves the idea of being "sisters" with y/n)

- Haruki joined the Yuyan archers. He's a middle child and I hc him to be... very aggressive? with Y/N. he feels like he's constantly competing with her and Ren and he hates that they get along so well. he thinks that that is them ganging up on him or something

Haruki is like, a long, lithe, quiet looking dude. But he has the WORST temper out of the bunch. when he and Y/N are around each other–especially when they're younger–they WILL fight. I'm talking screaming matches that dissolve into physical beatdowns unless someone stops them. is this how Y/N learns to be a scrappy fighter? maybe ;)

like Y/N, he is ALSO on his dad's shit list because he joined the Yuyan archers instead of the Fire Nation army. He thought that by joining the Yuyan archers he'd be the favored son for once because they're an elite, special operations force of the Fire Nation but it did the complete opposite. basically, middle child? can't win. (also, i hc that the Yuyan archers are made up of nonbenders - or maybe that's canon i don't remember and so their dad thinks that is disgraceful for him to be one)

definitely is a great firebender, more precise than Ren but enjoyed learning archery, and that was definitely a factor in joining the Yuyan archers, while also trying to impress his dad

when he and Y/N get older though, i'm talking post war and after, he and Y/N have a better relationship because they now refuse to let their dad's influence fuel their petty rivalry. they still argue sometimes, but that's because they're both hot-heads

also lmao, idk why but he's definitely gay

- the unnamed little brother: i don't have much on him, tbh (i mean lmao he doesn't even have a name), mostly because Y/N didn't live with him for long and they only saw each other on important dates and holidays.

- like to think that he kind of has this obsession with Y/N though, like he hears stories about her from his mom and just finds her to be this mythical creature almost because "my sister is important enough to live at the palace?!!" and when she comes home from being with the gaang, he's like jumping in her arms (which probably freaks Y/N out a lot) and is all in her business trying to figure out where she was and what she did and overall is a really annoying little 5-year-old but honestly she finds it really endearing

- i also hc that he hangs out with her a lot more when she gets back and they become really close too, she's very over protective of him and when he's little she will give him piggyback rides all over the palace and take him to all the sweet shops in the city and buy him anything he wants

- he's like the sweetest little kid you'll ever meet because I fully believe that their dad wasn't around enough to corrupt him. plus their mom is more protective of him than she was of the others because he's the baby. so i don't think she would have let Y/N's dad be mean to him.

- edited to add: after the war, the three oldest siblings (and eventually Unnamed Brother joins them) establish an annual trip to their house on Ember Island, where they basically relive the best parts of their childhoods. They swim in the ocean and in hidden lagoons on the island in the morning before it gets too hot. they skimboard and do whatever the equivalent to surfing the atla universe has. they cut fruit for each other and gorge on it during the day as they doze on the porch. they train at dusk, playing the silly games they learned when they were really young (that taught them things like how to hone their firebending and sword training). every night for the week they’re there, they have a bonfire out on the beach where they sit around it and talk about their lives, they talk about stupid things they did as kids and they talk about their growing families and the frustrations of their jobs. they go to old spots they used to sneak away to when they were kids, places that haven’t been seen by a human in 12+ years. they play in tide pools and catch badgerfrogs and fireflies when it gets dark. basically they live their best years over again and again with no Father or Mother to reprimand them for wasting time or tracking mud in the house.

- of course during these week long trips, the gaang is always invited, and almost always they join for a few days or the whole week. and it’s fun for everyone, but all of them can tell that this is really for Y/N and her brothers. Unnamed Brother joins in the fun, but he can’t understand the lives the other three lived in the Before. He was born basically as they all left the nest and his life was vastly different. It’s really about them having the childhoods they missed out on for so many years.

[jokerfan99]

My Top 10 Favorite Anime Heroines by DarkChild316

Being a hero isn’t easy, but someone’s gotta do it! And these ladies have shown to be just as capable as their male counterparts. Now I’ve already done a list showing everyone “My Top 10 Anime Villainesses”, but I figured: “Hey the good girls deserve some love too,” so I decided to give you guys my list of my Favorite Anime Heroines as well. So, with that in mind, here’s my list:

#10. Saeko Busujima (Highschool of the Dead): This is an anime that will give you plenty of two things in abundance…boobs and zombies! While it may seem like your run-of-the-mill apocalyptic fanservice anime, among the well-proportioned ladies is this kendo warrior who’s more than capable of holding her own against any foe and would fit right in with even the most old-school samurai-themed anime. When the dead start to walking most of the cast usually reach for a form of firearms, not this lady who prefers to slice apart the undead with the greatest of discipline and precision, whether it be with her signature bokken or her deadly Murata-tou sword. There’s no denying that Saeko’s the ideal companion we’d want on our side for a zombie apocalypse.

#9. Touka Kirishima (Tokyo Ghoul): Living as a ghoul isn’t easy, especially when you’re trying your damnest to retain what little remains of your humanity. Starting off as a cold, yet collected individual, Touka found shelter in both the horrors of her dark past and her constant hunger for flesh in her day job at a café as a waitress which serves other ghouls and as a hangout stop for ghouls. While she grew warmer as her relationship with one Ken Kaneki grew, she’s not without her bestial side, possessing an abject hatred for the CCG after they killed her parents. In a series where everyone seems to be on the edge of insanity and turning into a rampaging, bloodthirsty monster, Touka is one of the few characters genuinely fighting for a chance at a peaceful life.

#8. Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist): Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye is undoubtedly one of the best female anime characters of all time and for good reason, she is truly the perfect soldier. As both an Amestrian State Military’s officer as well as Colonel Roy Mustang’s bodyguard, Riza Hawkeye is a dangerous sharpshooter and firearms specialist. From the outside she can seem strict and even a little cold, but those close to her know that there’s much more to her than her strict no-nonsense attitude, including a courteous nature in the presence of her allies and a desire to protect those she holds dear. Beneath the strict persona is a kind soul who understands the difficulty of carrying a heavy burden and let’s not forget…she’s a true badass in every sense o the word!

#7. Erza Scarlett (Fairy Tail): She went from child slave to arguably one of the strongest mages in all of Fiore. All while battling against S-Class mages, terrifying demons, and even her own psychotic mother, now that’s dedication folks! Forced by her possessed childhood friend to build the Tower of Heaven, she manages to escape her captivity and make her way to Fairy Tail, where she would soon rise to become one of Fairy Tail’s youngest S-Class mages and one of the most truly badass fighters in Fairy Tail’s ranks. With her magical ability known as Re-Quip, she has an unlimited number of weapons and armors at her disposal, each possessing their own devastating abilities. She’s a stoic warrior with a soft heat and a dark past, and you can bet your ass that she’ll fight to defend her Nakama to the bitter end.

#6. Ryuko Matoi (Kill la Kill): Her choice of armor may be a bit on the revealing side but going against this rebel isn’t the smartest idea if you value your life. You’re not likely to find a more stubborn soul in this absolutely whacky series and trust me…NONE of these characters are on the subtle side of things. In search of her father’s killer, Ryuko takes up the sentient life-fiber uniform Senketsu, and openly battles the dictatorship that is the Student Council. Stubborn as hell, Ryuko will always stand up to anyone who gets in her way, no matter how badly the odds are stacked against her. How can you not love someone with that kind of drive!

#5. Saber (Fate/stay night): Before she became a hero in the endless Holy Grail Wars, Saber was actually Artoria Pendragon, known throughout history as King Arthur, the mythical King who united Britain. As the Saber-class servant, Artoria generally tries to hide her identity in battle by using an invisible sword. When pushed, she can brandish Excalibur instead though, a sword she wields with unmatched skill and can do long-range attacks as easily as close-range. With her holy sword, and her “Mana Burst” ability, she is one of the most powerful Servants. Saber is loved by fans worldwide for good reason: she is kind, valiant, and fierce, all traits that make for one divine heroine. None would mind putting the fate of the world in this blonde beauty's hands.

#4. Mikasa Ackerman (Attack on Titan): Attack on Titan's Mikasa is one of those reserved, stoic characters who doesn't speak very often and seems to be stuck in her own head. After all the trauma she’s experienced living under the looming terror of Titans and the carnage she witnessed while part of the Survey Corps, not to mention the brutal murder of her biological parents by criminals, it would be difficult to come out unscathed. Perhaps it’s endurance that is one of Mikasa’s most relatable traits. Despite her often-cynical comments about the world around her, she manages to retain her humanity. Mikasa herself said, “This world is cruel. And yet... so beautiful.” The stereotypical boy-saves-girl gender roles that play out in media are also very much reversed when it comes to her relationship with Eren, which is a refreshing and welcome change of pace to see, though her protectiveness of him seems a little unhealthy at times. On top of everything mentioned, she’s also totally ripped.

#3. Asuka Langley Soryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion): I just couldn’t leave out Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Asuka Langey Soryu from this list of awesome female protagonists. Asuka is a classic anime heroine and remains beloved by fans of the show to this day. Asuka is an American teenage girl who serves as an Eva pilot for the Evangelion Project and pilots the Evangelion Unit-02. Asuka was raised in Germany and often swears in German. She was a child prodigy with a college degree at only fourteen years old, but definitely has her human flaws. She has a temper and is obsessed with being the best at everything she does. Despite these flaws, Asuka is hilarious in her own way and has the kind of confidence and pride you rarely see in a young girl. She knows she can do her job well and isn't afraid to tell you about it. Asuka is relatable in that she is stubborn and often has a hard time properly expressing her feelings and vulnerability to others. Her eventual nervous breakdown shines a light on her humanity-- she is not a perfect person and she is still a child forced to do a job that no child should be forced to do.

#2. Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell): Major Motoko Kusanagi is one of the primary protagonists of the popular Ghost in the Shell franchise of manga, films, and animated series. Motoko is a cyborg who works as a field commander for Public Security Section 9 on the Japanese National Public Safety Commission. Motoko is a very physically strong and incredibly intellectual who that is quick-witted and an excellent hacker. But put a firearm in her hand, and she’s especially deadly. As a child, Motoko was comatose following an airplane accident. After her health began to steadily decline, her consciousness was put into a  "full-body prosthesis,” an augmented-cybernetic human body. Motoko causes us to question exactly what makes us human. She is an emotional, stoic, strong woman who fights for the citizens she protects, yet she lives inside an artificial body. But her greatest use is as a platform to speak on the nature of humanity in a technological age. She's a human mind that has been stuck in an artificial body since childhood, and her life and trials bring up the age-old question, "What does it mean to be human?"

#1. Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon): You really can’t have a list of awesome female protagonists without including everyone’s favorite schoolgirl superhero: Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon. Usagi is the embodiment of an empowering female in anime in her fearless display of conventional femininity without any implied weakness. Usagi is your typical teenage girl who is all about her friends, food, and cute things, while simultaneously being a badass heroine who cleanses the streets of evil. In the original manga and anime, Usagi was portrayed as reluctant to be a superhero and would often run away from fights and be a crybaby. However, through her careful character development, Usagi becomes a brave, reliable, and confident person who cares deeply for her friends. She becomes a better version of herself without stereotypically “shedding” her girliness. Instead, her femininity becomes a defining feature of hers, deconstructing the idea that being girly makes you weak. On the contrary, Usagi’s girliness makes her funny, relatable, and a good role model for young girls. Usagi set the template for a generation of female heroines for generations to come, and it’s for that reason why she’s well-deserving of my #1 ranking on my list.

So that's my updated list, what did you guys think about it? Love it, hated it? Go on and tell me what you think and let me know who your favorite anime heroines are. See you soon!

Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/darkchild316

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Forged Through Fire (9/13)

Summary: Amestris. Once democratic, now a military dictatorship. Prohibition is strict; personal freedoms curtailed. All alchemists must be state-licensed or face imprisonment. Foreigners are met with suspicion. It’s a grim place and a grim time, but there are some people able to bring a little light to the world. Behind an innocent-looking bookshop, speakeasy proprietor Chris Mustang has formed an unlikely alliance with unlicensed alchemist Van Hohenheim to provide alcohol to those who want it and medical care to those who need it. When Riza’s newly complete tattoo becomes infected, Roy brings her into this underworld, little knowing the way it will change their lives in the future – uncovering the secrets of the mythical Philosopher’s Stone and the schemes of a Fuhrer hell-bent on achieving immortality, all whilst navigating what they mean to each other.

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Rated: T

[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [AO3]

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Content warning for this chapter: Medical abuse and implied vivisection; panic attacks.

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Forged Through Fire

Nine

The first thing that Hohenheim became aware of when he woke up was that everything was suddenly very bright, because he was staring straight up into a fluorescent ceiling light. 

The second thing that he became aware of was that he couldn’t move. He tried to lift his arms, feeling the bite of metal against his wrists and hearing the clink of chain. His ankles were the same, and panic began to course through his veins as he felt cold steel against his neck as well. 

Even after nearly five hundred years, he still remembered the constant fear hanging over him, the constant threat against his already limited freedom. Every slave in Xerxes knew the terror of chains if they displeased their masters. 

He couldn’t breathe. 

It was the night Xerxes fell all over again, except that time he could definitely breathe because he’d screamed so much he couldn’t speak for a month afterwards.

He couldn’t breathe.

“Ah, you’re awake. I was beginning to think we might have gone too far and lost you there.” A fuzzy face loomed over him, blocking out the searing light, but Hohenheim was already hyperventilating and light-headed, and the only feature he could make out was a flash of gold in the area that was presumably the mouth. 

“You know, I’ve been studying your regenerative capability and it really is remarkable,” the gold-toothed voice continued. “I lost count of the number of times I tried to open you up to get a good look at the inner workings, but you always heal up before I can have a good poke around.”

Hohenheim couldn’t breathe. This was it, after four hundred and fifty years, give or take, he was finally going to die, and he was dying a slave in chains just as he’d been born; humans really didn’t change over time. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe…

“I’ve been wondering what would happen if we cut your head off. Would it just reattach itself or would you grow a new one? And would it have all the same memories as your old one?” There was a chuckle. “Don’t worry, I won’t try it. Not yet, anyway. Bradley wouldn’t be too pleased if I did end up killing the only immortal he’d ever come across by accident in the name of curiosity.”

Hohenheim blacked out. 

Forgive me, Trisha.

X

“Twenty-Three.”

“Yes, Sir?”

“Come here.”

Slave Twenty-Three crossed the room cautiously towards his master. He didn’t think he’d done anything that warranted punishment today. He’d been extra careful not to move any of his master’s alchemy materials whilst he’d been cleaning this morning, which was no mean feat considering that his desk amassed more and more papers and jars and equipment every day. 

“Give me your arm.”

Slave Twenty-Three just stared at the scalpel in his master’s hand. 

“Your arm, boy.”

He held out his arm, trying to stop it trembling. His master gave a snort of laughter. 

“There’s no need to be afraid, boy. This isn’t a punishment. In fact, this is a great honour for a slave. You’re assisting me in my research for the King of Xerxes. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt. Only a scratch.”

The scalpel nicked his inner elbow sharply, and blood began to ebb out of the blue vein there. His master pressed a small vial against his skin, collecting the drops, and Slave Twenty-Three looked over at all of the similar vials on the shelf. He wondered how many other slaves had had this dubious honour. 

At length, the vial was full, and his master gave him a rag to press against the cut to staunch the bleeding whilst he went back over to his steaming alchemy equipment, dripping Slave Twenty-Three’s blood into one of the bubbling jars. The clear liquid inside turned a bright ruby red colour, and his master smiled. 

“Now, that’s a new development.” He turned back to Slave Twenty-Three. “Your blood type is extremely rare, you know. I believe only a few others in Xerxes would have it. The alchemic potential is potent. Yes, I think that this could be the key.”

Slave Twenty-Three went back to his work, making sure that he was out of sight of his master before he shivered with fear at the implications that might bring. 

X

Hohenheim was vaguely aware of voices above him. 

“It’s slow going because I’m having to keep him sedated and the elixial healing factor means he burns through sedative quicker than a human. Every time he wakes up he starts having a panic attack and I don’t want him bringing the lab down around my ears.”

“Take your time, doctor.” That was Bradley’s voice. “It’s hardly as if he’s going to be missed. By the way, I think he’s waking up again.”

There was a curse and a needle plunged into his neck.

X

Slave Twenty-Three was beginning to wonder if there was actually any blood left in his body. 

On the one hand, he knew that he should probably be grateful for the interest that his master had taken in him. He had been relieved of most of his heavier duties in order to spend more time in the alchemy laboratory, and he was certainly much better fed now than he had been before. He was also learning a great deal of alchemy simply by being around it so much, but he hadn’t mentioned that to anyone, just like he hadn’t mentioned the fact he was beginning to learn to read. 

It was hard going trying to do it in secret, especially when he was around his master so much more these days, but he was getting there. He was desperate to know just what his blood was being used for. He knew that the King of Xerxes was attempting to achieve immortality, but Slave Twenty-Three didn’t know how he could possibly help with that.

He started to fear when his master began to despair. The experiments he was trying were becoming increasingly dangerous, and it appeared that they were not yielding any results. The more he tried, the more blood he took, and the more blood he took, the more Slave Twenty-Three feared that one day he’d take all of it and he’d die without ever having the chance to be a free man and have a family. 

(His master had promised him his freedom in return for his assistance with his commission from the King of Xerxes, but Slave Twenty-Three wasn’t holding out much hope.)

It was when the King himself appeared in the laboratory one day that Slave Twenty-Three began to wonder if perhaps trying to run away was the best idea. It had never really crossed his mind before since slaves so rarely escaped from Xerxes. Even if they made it out of the country without being captured and returned to their masters, there was still the great desert on all sides to cross before they could reach the safety of Xing or Amestris. 

Slave Twenty-Three decided that he was going to have to risk it and was about to inch out of the room when his master saw him.

“Ah, Twenty-Three. Come here.”

He could not disobey his master with the King in the room, so he crossed the floor with his heart in his mouth, bowing low and averting his eyes before the sovereign.

“I have good news, Twenty-Three. Tonight all of my research will pay off, and you will help the King achieve his goal of immortality.”

Slave Twenty-Three was shrewd enough to know that helping the king achieve immortality would definitely come at the expense of his own life.

“Don’t you feel it an honour to be a part of this great process?”

Slave Twenty-Three didn’t feel it was an honour. Slave Twenty-Three just felt sick. 

Slave Twenty-Three bolted and made it all of five steps out of the alchemy laboratory before the royal guards knocked him out. 

X

“I’m having trouble with the alchemical potential. If we could just try and transmute…”

“No. Remember what happened in Xerxes. I’m not having you accidentally killing us.”

Hohenheim kept his eyes closed. The metal was still close around his neck. He tried to ignore it and breathe evenly. 

He felt the soft sparks of alchemy crackle over his fingertips, but he was still so light-headed and lethargic, his brain felt like it was made of cheese. There was nothing doing. The elixir that was his blood was humming actively through his veins, the electric feeling of automatic healing, but this time on a constant loop. 

He was so, so tired.

X

Slave Twenty-Three knew the transmutation circle for what it was as the royal guards dragged him in and tied him down in the centre. 

Human transmutation had always been forbidden in Xerxes, but since the King made the laws and it was the King that this transmutation was being performed for, Slave Twenty-Three didn’t think that his master would be punished for it. 

He didn’t fight against the heavy chains holding him down. What point was there?

“Do you really think that this will work, Master Atticus?”

“Your Majesty, my research shows that this process will use the alchemic potential of Twenty-Three’s blood and transmute it into the elixir of life. Once this is transfused into you, you will have gained immortality.”

“And if the alchemy rebounds?”

“The alchemy will not rebound. There is equivalent exchange – the slave for the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“Very well. Proceed, Master Atticus.”

Bright white alchemic lightning flew around the array as his master put his hands to it, and Slave Twenty-Three screamed. 

He didn’t know how long he screamed for, as every fibre of his being was pulled apart and put back together again what felt like a hundred times over.

He could feel the alchemy in his veins as his blood boiled. It was more powerful than anything he’d ever known. 

He kept screaming. Red lightning flashed in front of his eyes. 

That was new. Alchemic lightning was always white or blue. 

He kept screaming.

When Slave Twenty-Three woke up, everything was dark and deathly quiet. He craned his head to try and see what was going on. 

He could see his master slumped at the edge of the circle. He could see the King of Xerxes in his throne, his eyes wide open and glassy, and extremely, undeniably dead. 

He turned as much as the chains and collar would allow to look over at the guards, sprawled on the floor as well. 

Slave Twenty-Three screamed again, feeling the alchemy in his veins rush into life and red lightning sparkling over his skin as the chains melted away to dust.

Equivalent exchange. The slave for the Philosopher’s Stone. The elixir of life. 

Slave Twenty-Three kept screaming. 

X

X

Riza stared up at the ceiling in the dark. She didn’t even know why she’d even gone to bed, she knew that trying to sleep was going to be a completely futile endeavour until she knew for herself what was going on and whether Hohenheim had been found. Even though she knew that she probably wouldn’t get any news until morning, she still felt that she ought to be on hand the moment something happened. Time was of the essence, after all. 

She pulled on her robe over her pyjamas and crept down from her apartment, through the dark shop and into the bar. The lights were down apart from a few of the back lights over the bar rail itself, and Roy was sitting on one of the stools, chin resting on his arms on the polished wood as he stared at the whiskey tumbler in front of him. 

He looked over as he heard her footsteps coming towards him.

“Hey.”

“Hey. Is there any news?”

Roy shook his head. “Nothing yet. Everyone’s still on it. Armstrong and I went to Central Command to see if we could find out where Bradley is at the moment. They would have let him know as soon as they realised Hohenheim isn’t normal, and they would have worked that out pretty quickly; they’re not exactly gentle when they bag someone, and he wouldn’t have any marks to show for it.”

“So where is Bradley?”

“No one knows, but he left Central Command in a hurry on a timescale that fits in with Hohenheim’s arrest.” Roy sighed. “Armstrong’s still there; he’s laying the groundwork for tomorrow.”

“What happens tomorrow?”

“We break into the armoury. There’s no way we’re taking on the secret police without as much firepower as we can get our hands on.”

“You know I’m happy to add my firepower to that.”

Roy shook his head. “Riza, I can’t ask you to get involved with this.”

“Why not? This isn’t just a military thing, Roy. Whatever the Fuhrer’s doing, it’ll affect all of Amestris. It’ll affect me as well as you. And Hohenheim isn’t just your friend. He’s mine too. He’s all of ours. He’s part of this little family that we’ve made for ourselves here. I want to help him just as much as anyone else does. You can’t deny that I can.”

“Well, you were the first person that Chris gave her rifle to earlier, so no, I can’t really deny that.”

“Besides, you’re not asking me to get involved in it. I am saying that I want to get involved in it. I know it’s going to be dangerous, Roy, I’m not stupid. You’re going to need to have someone watching your back though, aren’t you?”

“Honestly, Riza, I don’t think I’d ever be more grateful to have you watching my back.”

Riza perched on the bar stool next to him, putting an arm around him.

“I know you’re blaming yourself. I can tell. This isn’t your fault. This isn’t Hughes’s fault. This isn’t Hohenheim’s fault. Lay the blame at Bradley’s door. This all comes down to him. You can’t keep beating yourself up about things that you have no control over, Roy. Life just doesn’t work like that.”

“I know.” Roy groaned, planting his face into the bar. “I should probably go home. It took a while, but I think that all the adrenaline’s finally wearing off. Part of me just wants to stay here and take a leaf out of Fuery’s book.” He gestured over his shoulder towards one of the booths where Fuery was curled up under a blanket, dead to the world. “Breda dragged him out of the office about twenty minutes ago and threatened to sit on him until he agreed to get some sleep.”

“You know, I have a couch upstairs,” Riza pointed out. “You don’t need to sleep in the bar.”

“Oh.” Roy raised his head an inch or so off the bar and looked at her. “Are you sure?”

In all the time that Riza had been living above the shop and frequenting the bar with Roy, since helping her move in, he had never been up into her apartment before. It was as if that part of her life had always been kept separate and self-contained, and now she was inviting him into it. It felt like a big step to be taking in their relationship, allowing him into her home, and Riza didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if they were going to do anything once they were there; Roy looked like he might pass out before he even got up the two flights of stairs to the couch, but all the same, she was going to be sharing her private domain with him. 

“Yes, I’m sure. Come on up. I’ve got cocoa up there, and no offence to Madam Christmas but I think it’s probably best if she sticks to coffee when it comes to non-alcoholic beverages.”

That raised a smile, and Roy pushed himself away from the bar, sliding gracelessly off his stool and following her up through the shop again. Once they were back in the apartment, Riza busied herself with finding a spare blanket and puffing up the cushions whilst she waited for the milk to warm. Roy just settled on the couch, kicking off his boots. 

“It’s certainly a lot cosier than when I was last in here,” he said, looking around at the living room and kitchenette. “Where did you put the crates of vodka in the end?”

Riza lifted the tablecloth to show that the table was not in fact a table but a plank resting on several crates, and Roy snorted. 

“Nice.”

They fell into silence with their cocoa. It felt like something really ought to be said, but Riza was all out of reassurances and was feeling just as wretched about the whole thing as Roy obviously was. Her thoughts kept coming back to Hohenheim and what might be happening to him now, and what might have happened to him before all those centuries ago. 

Suddenly her first meeting with him fell into a different light. 

“My father’s licensed, but he experiments.”

“On you?”

Of course she hadn’t known that he was coming from a place of personal experience then, but she understood the sympathy in his eyes now. 

He’d done so much good, and he’d helped so many people, turning the strange gift or curse of life that he’d been given to a higher calling, and Riza couldn’t bear to think of what might be happening to him now and of him being experimented on again, turned into a lab rat through circumstances he had no control over. 

She wiped her eyes before Roy could notice her tears and took a sip of her cocoa to cover the action. 

“It’s real now,” Roy muttered suddenly.

“Sorry?”

“It’s real now. It’s really happening. Before, when we were all just sitting around with all these books and papers trying to work out what was going on, it still felt like we were detached from it in a way. We knew that something was going on and we knew that it was bad, but there wasn’t the same sense of urgency that there is now. It had already affected us – Hughes had almost died for the secret, so we knew that they were serious about it. But we’d got Hughes back and he was safe, and maybe that lulled us into a false sense of security. All the talk of the Philosopher’s Stone and Bradley trying to be immortal, it still felt so fantastical and unreal. Now we know that the Philosopher’s Stone exists, and immortality is real and achievable, and suddenly it seems like Bradley might succeed.”

“He won’t,” Riza said, although she could hear the lack of conviction behind her own words. “I’ve spent enough time reading novels in that shop downstairs to know that this is all part of the journey. This is the part where the intrepid hero encounters just one obstacle too many and begins to doubt himself, and then we’ll have a great climactic finale where he saves the world, gets the girl and makes it home in time for dinner.”

Roy looked up from his cocoa mug and smiled. “I think I’m doing the hero’s journey out of order in that case. I’ve already got the girl.”

“Yes. You have.” Riza leaned in to press a soft kiss to his cheek. “I’m not going anywhere, Roy. No matter what happens, you will always have me at your back. Just like I know you’ve always got my back.”

It really was a fitting description, considering that it was her back that had forged the deep bond of trust between them in the first place. Roy knew the secret of her back, and he had kept it faithfully all these years; he truly had her back in all senses of the word. 

“Thank you.”

They finished their cocoa in silence, and Riza dumped the mugs in the sink. She didn’t know that she would be able to get to sleep any better than she had done before, especially not with the knowledge that Roy would be just a few steps away on the couch, but Roy himself looked ready to drop with exhaustion, so she decided it would be best to leave him to get what rest he could, especially if he was on a mission to the armoury in the morning. 

“Good night, Roy.”

“Good night, Riza.”

She closed her bedroom door behind her and leaned back against it, closing her eyes. 

Maybe the next time Roy ended up in her apartment, all of this would have come to a happy conclusion, and he would be coming into this room with her. It certainly wasn’t the first time she had thought about it, but this time she pushed it to the side. It wasn’t the time or place, and as much as she craved the comfort that such intimacy would bring her, they were both too emotional to be sure of no regrets in the morning. 

Soon though. Hopefully soon.

[theriu]

How To Reason With Perytons

Me: (sitting next to captured peryton) Now, let’s talk about why you tried to kill me.

Peryton: I don’t really WANT to kill you! It’s just the only way to get a soul of my own!

Me: See, I question this philosophy. I know perytons think killing a man is how you purify or get your soul, depending on your regional belief system, right? Except your foundational exchange rate for absolution is MURDER. You don’t even pick “bad” people, you count any old human as satisfactory, so there’s no rationalizing for justice or anything. And murder is universally accepted as a high crime.

Me: So my question is: Does doing a crime against another person really make sense as a feasible path towards washing out your own crimes? Like, if you deserve the death penalty, how does murdering SOMEONE ELSE make you LESS deserving of the death penalty? I understand someone willingly paying your penalty, that’s what Jesus is about, but unwillingly is just compounding the issue, you see what I mean?

Peryton: . . . We only need to kill ONE human, it’s not regular . . .

Me: I can give you a long list of people executed for one first-degree murder, my friend. 

Peryton: But . . . yeah, it’s awful, I don’t like it! But we have to or we’re doomed! You can see it happen, our shadows change—

Me: Wait, that’s another point I’ve wondered about. You currently have the shadow of a man, right? And men have souls, right? It’s only after you murder a man—yes, I’m gonna keep saying murder, deal with it—that your shadow matches your form, right? A form that, according to your own lore, is that of a soulless beast, right?

Me: But you are clearly capable of reason and moral choice, as evidenced by your attempts to justify your actions, which means you are more similar to man than to mere beasts. So I have to wonder: What if you already have a soul—a human-like soul, a redeemable soul . . . and that’s shown in your man-shaped shadow?

Peryton: . . . But, but that would mean . . .

Me: Right. Then the shadow-changing would be a peryton losing his or her soul—becoming a beast, not ceasing to be one—when they murder someone. Which I suppose could count as a kind of “rest” for your soul because you . . . y’know, no longer have one.

Peryton: (perplexed stare)

Peryton: (deep-thinking stare)

Peryton: (horrified stare) Oh my antlers what if you’re right, I mean the ones who get their shadows are really weird and distant and we just always thought it was the only way to get our own souls but what if everything we thought was a lie and we’re DOOMING OURSELVES—

Me: I really hate being a downer but . . . yeah, that’s kind of my theory.

(several minutes of loud blubbering and existential crises later)

Me: (awkward comforting pat) . . . Hey, tell ya what. If you want, when you’re feeling better, maybe we can sit and discuss some better options? I know a guy who’s big on the spiritual benefits of giving life instead of taking it. There’s gotta be a better path to peryton salvation than going around killing people.

Peryton: (sniffles) . . . That sounds . . . good. Will you take the nets off, too?

Me: You did just try to kill me, so I’m gonna ere on the side of caution and wait a bit.

Peryton: Yeah that’s fair.

------

(A/N: Apologies if this guide is less funny than the others, but I realized this was the perfect chance to address my longtime beef with the depressing lore of the peryton and why it doesn’t make sense to me. And the theme of hope seems fitting for Easter. =) Also, I am not making the assertion that murder is an unforgivable sin. There are some truly beautiful people who’ve been redeemed out of crimes as bad or worse.

Happy Easter, all, and I hope you’re staying safe and healthy!)

HE IS RISEN!

Other Nonsense:

How To Handle A HarpyHow To Thwart A KelpieHow To Charm A MedusaHow To Play With Dragons

And a bunch more on the How To Guides for Mythical Creatures Masterlist!

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Wano Theory - The Fall of Onigashima

Spoilers for Manga Chapters leading up to and including c997

So yeah, that happened Not content with just throwing his weight around in beating 8 Scabbards at once, Kaido decided to up his power play by LIFTING THE WHOLE DAMN ISLAND which he’s gonna then carry across this storming sea, to the Flower Capital - which is in the midst of the Fire Festival and completely unaware that this raid is taking place - which he likely will drop on top of the Flower Capital with the people below: destroying its aristocracy, a large chunk of rebels and leaving the weak and weakened at the mercy of Kaido’s (and Big Mom’s) military might.

So now we have more stakes to deal with, 2 stakes primarily:

Stake 1 - Defeat Kaido before Onigashima leaves the ocean, allowing the island to fall before it damages any populated area in Wano Stake 2 - Prevent Onigashima from falling on the Flower Capital, but at the same time defeat Kaido Obviously, neither are easy, but 2 is much more difficult than 1 to achieve, which means that Stake 2 will almost certainly come to fold, so the question is this: How does the Alliance STOP Onigashima from Falling?

No easy feat, but maybe this is a place for other Straw Hats and side characters to shine. So far I have 7 possibilities linked to who could help save Wano from ‘New Onigashima’.

Option 1 - Gods, Titans and Homies

Option 1 considers the idea of what, or better yet who, can amass to such a size to cushion Onigashima, and the first answer that comes to mind is Prometheus and Zeus. We’ve already seen Zeus and Prometheus grow to incredible sizes in Whole Cake Island and they both are able to carry Big Mom with ease, so who knows how much weight they can carry at that size. Zeus is probably the easier bet for cushioning Onigashima since Prometheus would burn everything too, allowing Zeus to be the pivotal character also allows it to go two ways, either Nami reclaims Zeus from Big Mom in some manner - which will likely lead to BM’s defeat - or Big Mom turns on Kaido and works with Nami to help. This allows Nami to show the strength of her Clima Tact, being able to strengthen Zeus beyond Big Mom’s own capabilities.

Option 2 - The Last Gift of the Minks

Currently the Minks are completely weakened by fighting Kaido, despite their Su Long form they have been left with a stalemate, however the Minks do have a disadvantage: if they turn off Su Long they are out for a considerably long time, too long to return to the fight, but if they don’t turn off Su Long they will die from exhaustion. Unfortunately I am convinced that many Minks will fight to the death, including at least one of the leaders, but there is a more valiant way they could go out, and it’s a power all minks had which is overlooked: Electro. Electro is born from every mink, the ability to produce electricity which is further empowered in Su Long, but when Carrot fought Big Mom’s fleet she was able to somewhat float off the ground, and that is what can help Onigashima float. If enough Su Long Minks surround the bottom of Onigashima, they could provide an electromagnetic field that can keep the island from even touching the surface below, pure static electricity as the Minks give every ounce of their life to save Wano.

Option 3 - Rise of the Kozuki Dragon

Momonosuke has an artificial Devil Fruit of a Dragon, one where he too is able to produce these clouds to float. The problem however, is that he doesn’t know how to use them, Momonosuke has been so busy training his human form that he’s never considered the benefits of a dragon form. Of course, this means Momonosuke cannot do this alone, but fortunately he’s got people who can help; Yamato has extensive knowledge of how the clouds work, Nami has weather magic, Shinobu’s ‘maturing’ theories could help strengthen Momo’s dragon powers or even his own age and experience and, should she turn on Kaido, Big Mom could imbue the clouds with souls to make them Homies, not only being able to funnel more power but give more sentient intent to the clouds themselves, she could even enthrall Kaido’s clouds this way.

Option 4 - Combined Might and Monsters

While we expect at the least Luffy and Zoro to have a crack at Kaido in the final fight, and hopefully more if not all the Straw Hats, there becomes a matter of what others can do to stop Onigashima from falling. We’ve seen Nami’s potential with Zeus but others can also combine in strength. First is Robin, her Gigantesco Manos or even a Spider’s Web could help resist the fall, but of course even she cannot carry that much weight. This is where Chopper’s Monster Point and Franky’s Iron Pirate can also assist with their raw strength, and this is where Usopp can also shine. Usopp’s weaponry appear to involve plants now thanks to his pop-greens, but what if he could influence existing flora? One of the main pieces of the Flower Capital is a giant tree and if he could influence that he too could be able to contribute to pinning Onigashima above him. But it can go farther, Tama’s DF allows the opening to control the entire flying squadron, anyone Tama brought with her (remember she has something brewing in 3 minutes), Drake’s Allosaurus form, Hawkins’ giant Straw Demon, Jimbei can even call the giant Koi from the waterfall (though it may serve more to drag it back), Marco’s phoenix flames may also have influence on top of Apoo’s sound manipulation, Kid’s metal, even Law’s shambles could assist - since I don’t think he could make it big enough to cover all of Onigashima. There’s also the matter of Perospero’s candy if he survives to help and anyone else not revealed to have been present in Onigashima, the possibilities are wide and combined could hold up an island. 

Option 5 - Outside Parties

By raising Onigashima from the ground, Oda wants to give us the perception that no other external forces can roll up to Onigashima and support for or against Kaido, but that could be a misdirect. Currently on the surface as far as we know, Big Mom’s remaining forces, Law’s remaining crew and any other samurai, prisoners, SMILE members Tama had taken control over and as far as we know Hiyori, Hitetsu, Onimaru and Caribou, maybe even the Mountain God(s) from the Oden flashback. But outside of who we know is in Wano could be others we didn’t expect to be there; Germa 66 for one may come to ‘repay’ Big Mom for her attempted assassination, reengaging Sanji with his estranged family - and Baeju...which holds bias in this hope - which could just send all the other North Blue boys in a frenzy. The other outside factor is the Marines, Drake may not have called for help but circumstances outside of Wano may call for it: the marines going for a Warlord we didn’t know about (We only knew about Weevil, Mihawk, Boa, Buggy and Kuma, meaning Law and Doffy’s replacements were unknown), if Fujitora also shows up then Onigashima is no problem to his Gravity DF, but it will snowball another conflict.

Option 6 - The Sky Ships

This is probably my most deep-cut part of the Onigashima theory. As much as Luffy has to defeat the Yonko, Wano will never be free unless they see it for themselves: Orochi dead, Kaido defeated, until that is something the people can even believe in, Wano can never truly escape that oppression. Which is why arriving at the Flower Capital during the Fire Festival may actually allow ‘Wano’ itself to help save the country and a key part of that is the Sky Ships. Oda made note of paying attention to it, and making sure that the Fire Festival is as big as ever because this is the 20 year prophecy, every person in the Flower Capital right now is as spirited as ever because they desperately are clinging to the idea of salvation, so what if Oda is actually giving them an opportunity? The Sky Ships alone may actually be imbued with the spirits, the will of those who died for Wano, in that way the spirits of Wano itself could prevent Wano from falling atop of them, the same way Skypeia’s golden bell was to reach Noland and Calgara. It may be simple as these mythic powers from Wano’s culture, but it could be ushered by someone else - Brook. In WCI Brook proved himself capable of suppressing souls of chess soldiers via his DF, able to harm homies via Soul Solid, so what if via his Soru Soru no Mi he would be able to temporarily raise the souls of Wano’s dead and empower them through the memory and belief of the people symbolized by the Sky Ships they would release into the sky. 

Option 7 - All of the Above Outside of Luffy suddenly awakening his DF and making the island bounce off or a surprise Katakuri appearance, there aren’t many other options outside of the six detailed. But, why settle for only one option? Each of these options are feasible together as well as apart; Nami can empower Zeus and Momo’s clouds while Usopp, Robin, Jimbei, Chopper and Franky provide weight support as the Minks surround the island and Momo’s clouds with electro and raised by Brook’s soul-powered Sky Ships. A culmination of an absolutely bonkers scenario we’ve found ourselves in which can allow every Straw Hat a vital means of contribution but also allowing Wano and its citizens to have a large part in liberating its country from Kaido, Orochi and the Isolationist Regime Wano currently has.

Whether that comes to be remains to be seen, there are many pieces moving and as with this moment itself, it can go any manner of directions, we just have to wait for Oda to weave his magic.

[lovewillthaw-j]

Forest of Shadows review

I finally read FoS, because my recent post on the “Secret Room” led me to search FoS and I also had some time on hand. I’m writing this post to share my views and invite conversations. Spoilers ahead! Also; I have not read any other full reviews of FoS. This is also the first Frozen-related official fiction I have read other than the Dark Horse comic True Treasure. Long post ahead.

Background: Ever since joining the fandom, I have seen mentions of FoS by other bloggers and get the general feeling that it’s a great book; thus I had high expectations of FoS. I had obtained the book in early February, read the first chapter and found it interesting. Didn’t have time to finish the book till now. Unfortunately, to be honest and true to myself, I did not like it.

The Good: I give credit to the author for 1) Exciting writing, it is truly quite a page turner, I couldn’t put it down and finished it in a day, reading into the night way past my usual bedtime. 2) A complex plot that did not feel drawn out for the sake of filling pages 3) Focusing on the sisters throughout and the climax being about their love for each other 4) The new characters do not take too much focus away from the sisters 5) Countless F2 references such as the scarf, Iduna singing the lullaby and cuddling both children, mention of a Dark Sea on the map, mention of Runeard and the Northuldra. 

The Bad: I will touch on 6 areas (with some unavoidable overlap): 1) The premise 2) Anna’s characterisation 3) The Nattmara 4) Aren and Revolute sword 5) Myth vs Reality 6) Plot holes. Spoilers ahead!

1) In this story, Elsa is 24 and Anna is 21 - 3 years post Frozen 1 and in the same year as F2. The premise of the story is that Elsa is fearful of being a bad queen, and Anna is insecure about how Elsa feels about her. Elsa is also about to leave, without Anna, on a world tour on a ship. Elsa has planned for Anna to be the “keeper of the kingdom” while she is away but for some reason, has not told Anna, even up till 3 days before the voyage. The Blight starts and Elsa feels powerless, amplifying her fear, which brings on the wolf form of the Nattmara. Anna, who is insecure for almost the whole story, gets freed from her insecurity when it is revealed to her that Elsa intended for Anna to be the “keeper of the kingdom” all along. And then, Anna figures out the Nattmara is Elsa’s nightmare (and not Anna’s) and in the climax, uses “true love” to free Elsa and the whole kingdom. I feel that the entire premise of this story is thin and very OOC for the sisters, at least in my headcanon. 

It is illogical to me that after 3 years of rule, Elsa feels fearful of being a bad queen. Surely she would have feared she would be a bad queen for the entire time since Agnarr died 6 years ago? Why now? Why would she feel this way 3 years after the great thaw and when she has Anna by her side? It is illogical to me that Elsa wouldn’t bring Anna on the world tour, and illogical that she would make Anna the keeper of the kingdom but not tell her about it or even give her some preparation and instructions, up till 3 days before the voyage. In the library, the sisters spent a whole afternoon together reading books and they couldn’t find the time to talk to each other? 

Regarding the climax, I acknowledge that the author found a clever word play with “Revolute” being an anagram of “True Love”. But, using an act of “True love” to save the day felt stale and rehashed from F1, as if Anna’s act of true love in F1 was insignificant. I was sorely disappointed when I reached the climax.

2) I was very irritated with how Anna was characterised in this story as it clashes with my headcanon of how 21 year old post F1 pre F2 Anna should be. The author decided that “Anna is really, really, REALLY insecure” and bombarded us with reminders every few sentences about it. For example, when the sisters talked to SoYun, Elsa told SoYun “you did the right thing coming to me” and Anna felt insecure that Elsa had not said “us”. When Anna suggested to send Kristoff to look for the trolls, Elsa hesitated and Anna felt insecure that Elsa did not seem to like Anna’s idea. When Anna discovers the secret room, she is reminded of how she was always “the last to know” as a child. When Elsa talked to Gerda, Anna “would have been even happier if Elsa had told Gerda that Anna had found something important”. Anna also has a nightmare that there is another “Anna” that Elsa and Kristoff interact with, while she, the real Anna watches from outside. Why is Anna so insecure 3 years post F1 when she knows that Elsa’s love for her is so great that Elsa would willingly lock herself away from her? The book also tells us that Anna felt that she needed to “prove her worth” to Elsa, and this led to Anna becoming fixated on fixing the Blight, to earn Elsa’s approval and to bring her on the boat trip. To me, Anna giving up her life for Elsa in F1 has “proved her worth” for all time!! The author also took pains to bombard us with reminders of how ditzy and clumsy and awkward Anna is eg always waking up late, walking into the great hall in her nightgown, interrupting Elsa and embarrassing Elsa in front of the people, running off with Revolute sword with no plan. This is not what I headcanon 21 year old post-F1 Anna to be. She might be awkward, yes, but not to this level.

Anna also did a couple of immature things. 2 big examples: Elsa held a meeting in her bedroom and Anna wasn’t invited, but Anna could hear that the meeting was going on (outside the door) and was upset and fled to her room. I would have expected Anna to knock on the door and go in and be helpful, after all, she is the royal princess and Elsa’s confidante. Anna’s belief in the spell that grants dreams is also rather immature, as a 21 year old adult I would have expected her to know better. 

I also expected Anna to sleep in Elsa’s bed every night to be there for her, especially when Elsa has been troubled by events (think about F2). Since when does Anna put anything, including her own insecurity over her love for Elsa? but no, upon finding Elsa’s bedroom empty, she goes back to sleep in her own room, and Elsa also didn’t come over to look for Anna. Why couldn’t the sisters just TALK to each other?? At the end of F1 they couldn’t stop touching each other, holding hands, hugging each other, making up for lost time.In summary:

I just cannot see my darling Anna as this person, sorry! 

Yes she could have been like this before F1, but not after her epic F1 journey to save Elsa and not after 3 years with Elsa by her side. 

3) The Nattmara. I have trouble with the Nattmara’s existence. As mentioned above, Elsa should have been fearful of being a bad queen 6 years ago - Nattmara should have appeared way earlier, why now? 

The powers of the Nattmara were also ill defined. First, it was a sickness on animals and crops. Then it became a literal, physical wolf with capabilities to inflict real physical harm. Then, it also gained the ability to scare humans (not as a wolf, but as some unseen, spiritual force) but additionally, turn humans into zombies (Kai and Gerda, while half-awake, were able to hold weapons against Anna) Next, the Nattmara gained the ability to turn into black sand, reform into a wolf, and turn back into black sand effortlessly. IIRC, the Nattmara only demonstrated the ability to turn into black sand after they read about it in Sorenson’s book, and then it started to use this power extensively. But even more confusing, when they were leaving the Huldrefolk and rushing back to Arendelle, they met up with Sorenson who was “possessed” by the Nattmara but didn’t have the yellow eyes and was able to speak normally and deceive the main characters about a magical water source. And after that, “possessed-Sorenson” (an old man) gained the physical ability to take on Kristoff in a fight. 

I feel that the author twisted the powers and capabilities of the Nattmara to keep the reader on the edge. (doesn’t everybody like zombies) I’m not sure if the Nattmara is just darkness or does it have a mind of its own? And every normal person has nightmares and fears, why hasn’t Nattmara appeared before? In chapter 9, it is stated that “Anna had dreamed of the wolf her entire childhood” - what is the explanation for that from a Nattmara perspective?

4) Aren and the Revolute sword are confusing as the author first introduces it as a myth (a sword that can create an actual, geographical fjord miles wide, is a myth) and the sisters acknowledge that it is only a tale. Sorenson debunks Aren and Revolute. Inexplicably, after Sorenson debunks it, Anna immediately says “So we need Revolute!”, showing that she now believes that there is a real Aren and a real sword, and this leads them to look for the Huldrefolk because “the Huldrefolk always find that which is lost”. To put it another way, a group of adults decided to enter dangerous, abandoned mines, based on the thinnest of suggestions that a mythical sword exists and a magical people that may not exist, somehow have it. Their quest to find the sword then leads them back to the tumulus, which they now believe is Aren’s. After some difficulty, they actually find a physical sword named Revolute, but my question is, do the sisters believe this is a real, normal sword owned by a normal human warrior called Aren or do they now believe they have found the mythical, fjord carving sword? They then try to use a physical sword against a mythical creature - doesn’t that contradict the “myth to destroy a myth” bit? 

Nattmara destroys the sword, and eventually the “myth to destroy a myth” is revealed to be True Love, which happens to be the anagram of “Revolute”. Clever, but too convenient! What does the sword have to do with true love? Couldn’t Anna have figured out that the answer was true love by another way? 

Historically speaking, warriors would be buried with their swords next to them or laid on their bodies with their arms crossed over the sword, so why is the sword found in the ship’s dragon mouth? And, the book said that the tumulus may be thousands of years old, how can a sword that old not have rusted and disintegrated by now?

Additionally, the Earth giant’s passage starts from the castle and passes the tumulus of Aren; Iduna knew the existence of the passage because she wrote about it in her book, so why wouldn’t any other king, Agnarr included, have examined/exhumed the tumulus and made it a museum, or store the artifacts in a museum, and research to see whose tomb it was? These are the 1800s after all, archaelogy had already begun post-renaissance.

5) As an extension of point 4, the treatment of myth/magic and reality is confusing. The story starts off on the premise that aside from Elsa’s magic and the rock trolls, we are in the real world dealing with real botanical and animal farming issues. Sorenson is introduced by Oaken as a “mystic” but in person, Sorenson is actually a scientist (reminds you of Varian from RTA/ TTS). Sorenson makes an excellent speech debunking the Nattmara, Huldrefolk and Aren and Revolute. When I got to this point in the book, I thought, that’s an absolutely correct 21st century mythbuster/human psychology explanation of nightmares and magical creatures and other unexplained phenomena. The book that he is holding is even called “Psychologia”. I was expecting that there would be a real world, logical explanation for the wolf and the Blight and Kai and Gerda going mad (Zootopia and the “night howlers” serum causing savageness comes to mind) However, the author then throws this away and the Nattmara is shown to be a real magic force, the Huldrefolk are shown to be real, Aren and his sword are actually real. Sorenson is the one who said “you can only defeat a myth with a thing of myth” but in the same breath says that all of these don’t truly exist; Yet, the rest of the story rests on defeating Nattmara with a thing of myth. 

 If the author had intended to portray this as a magical world and Sorenson as the “skeptic”, she didn’t write it clearly enough; or she shouldn’t have inserted so many sentences on debunking to maintain the suspension of disbelief. 

6) Plot holes: Why is Elsa the only one who can deal with mundane problems like cracks in chimneys and animal illnesses? Hasn’t she heard of delegation?

Why isn’t Elsa interested in the contents of the secret room, as an educated adult and ruler? She took one look at the portrait of Aren, thought about “great leaders”, felt consumed by fear that she isn’t one, and decided that she will shut the secret room and inexplicably says “mother and father intended for it to be hidden, so it should stay hidden”. A great leader would read extensively and do research and build on what your forebears have done; here is a treasure trove of work done by her parents, the previous rulers.

If Elsa could make the massive snow bear, Bjorn, then why didn’t she make an army of snow bears to fight possessed-Sorenson? Instead she left Kristoff to face him alone?

When Elsa was consumed by the black sand and Anna ran towards her, it is clearly written that Elsa attacked Anna with the black sand, but in the next chapter Anna is still Anna and not zombified.  

==

Wow, I have really written a lot. I guess I was really invested in the story, but my disappointment at the ending and the overall premise is too great. I really wanted to like this story. I don’t mean to start any wars, I hope I haven’t offended anybody and I’m willing to consider other perspectives. Please talk to me in the comments! Thanks for reading if you reached here!