#because he isn’t a monster he’s just writer’s block guarding the final chapter

[bestworstcase]

this little fairytale doesn’t seem to end well… pages are torn and there’s no final chapter… (what happened when you took alyx and lewis to the tree? i… i don’t know.)… i’ll write the ending of your tragic fairytale. i am the ending of your tragic fairytale… i’m not afraid of you, you’re nothing but the unwritten pages of my book… dark nightmarish tone seems inappropriate for young readers, especially its downbeat, pessimistic ending… hearts can unbreak in the story’s nick of time…

jabber jabber what are you for.

if the jabberwalker eats one of us, we do not ascend.

that’s not necessarily the same as we die, though, is it. what really happens if the jabberwalker eats you? do you, maybe, find out how the story ends? do you, maybe, read the final chapter, and find yourself back outside of the story again?

…jaune broke the story. the jabberwalker wants to fix something…

is he the door

[goddessofmischief]

Blue Monday, Chapter 12 - Loki Laufeyson x Reader

Read chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 8, 9, 10 & 11!

Author’s Note: It’s been a long time coming, but we’re in the endgame now! There will be only a few chapters left after this one.

...

“What do we do?”

It was a simple enough question, you knew. You had just discovered that Mobius - your boss, your trusted mentor - was plotting against you.

Either that, or Loki was.

Though somehow, it seemed infinitely preferable to you that it was Mobius. If Loki truly had betrayed you... well, you just couldn’t take it.

“We’ll go, of course,” said Loki. “Mobius has us on a leash - as long as he lives, we are bound to him. We both signed our souls over, Y/N, the very moment we signed that contract. The only thing left to do is confront him.”

“Travel by Tesseract?”

“No. We’ll take the Bifrost. If Mobius is plotting against us, it would be unwise to arrive via his method of transportation. We have to catch him off-guard.”

You nodded, mind racing.

“Alright, alright... we’ve just got to get to the Bifrost, then-”

“Easier said than done. The Bifrost is guarded by a soldier called Heimdall. He’ll know that I’m a time-traveler immediately. There’s no possibility he’ll let us through.”

“What if we could distract him?”

“I can’t imagine a distraction large enough that it could distract a man who can survey the entirety of the universe in a single glance.”

You thought, carefully.

“What if there were two Amoras?”

...

“This is an awful plan,” Loki muttered, striding beside you.

“It’s a wonderful plan. Heimdall will be distracted by the impossibility of the situation, and he’ll have to come look -- then we can sneak away.”

Loki nodded.

“It makes sense on paper, doesn't it? But these things never seem to work as well in practice.”

“Yes. True.”

“And besides... Amora was a fearsome warrior, love. She could kill you. How do you expect to fight her?”

You shrugged.

“I’ve got her sword, haven’t I? Without that... I imagine we’ll be equals.”

...

You were dead wrong.

You’d only been looking at Amora - who, you had to admit, did look quite a bit like you - for all of six minutes, and she was the most terrifyingly intense person you’d ever witnessed.

“And you’re sure you’re ready for this, darling?” Loki asked again.

“Yes,” you said, quietly. “I was born ready.”

With a final squeeze of his hand, you strode up to the warrior.

“Amora!” you shouted. “Of Asgard!”

You had gotten her attention, you knew - and she stared through you, with piercing eyes.

“You are myself, I see.”

“I am more yourself than you are,” you taunted, and Loki arched an eyebrow. You could almost hear his thoughts:

What are you doing?

Enough small talk!

Make her mad!

You cleared your throat.

“I am yourself, Amora. And I have come to take what is mine. I’ve already got your sword-” you swung Kursebreaker for extra effect. “How about your betrothed?”

Amora growled, and with identical grimaces, the two of you faced off against each other.

“I will destroy you,” she promised.

You smiled.

“You may try.”

She lunged in your direction, and to your surprise, the sword seemed to do all the work for you. You blocked her kicks and her punches, and even managed to knock her to the ground.

That is, until, someone tossed her a staff.

She beat you to the ground, and you began to collapse under her weight. Somewhere in the crowd, you could hear Loki’s whispers, as if he was speaking against the back of your neck - spells, enchantments.

Loki had chosen you over Amora. Loki was fighting for you.

That had to mean something.

“Well,” said a larger guard, who you guessed was Heimdall, “What’s this?”

“This imposter has attempted to vanquish me,” said Amora, standing up. “I was about to finish her off.”

Suddenly, like magic, fifteen of you appeared in the arena. Loki gestured at you, and you ran to him, the other Amoras distracting the crowd.

“That was close,” you panted, and you both ran. “I thought she was about to kill me.”

“I thought she would, too!”

You glared at him, and, suddenly, you stopped in front of a large, rainbow bridge -- the Bifrost, you guessed.

“Good, the sword’s here -- come on, you first.”

“What, so I can die first?” you shouted. “Nice try, Loki - not bloody likely!”

He groaned.

“Trust me?”

“No, of course not! The worst possible thing I could do is trust you!”

Thirty soldiers began to descend upon you, and you glanced at Loki.

“Fine, yes! I trust you!”

Without warning, Loki swept you into a kiss.

“I’ll see you on the other side,” he promised, and you vanished into the Bifrost.

...

The T.V.A. felt a little different, now. Cursed, or haunted, or something.

It felt wrong. Like you’d outgrown the place.

And you had, in a way. You didn’t need to be their agent, ever again. You didn’t belong to anyone. All you needed was Loki, and you had him.

“He must be around here somewhere,” Loki muttered, ducking around a hallway. “Somewhere...”

“Hey, kids.”

“Mobius,” you snapped, glaring at the man who had just appeared before you. “You son of a bitch.”

“Easy, darling,” Loki whispered, dangerously serene, tangling his fingers in yours. “It’ll be alright-”

“No, it won’t be!” you exclaimed, wrenching your hand away. “Don’t you understand? He’s about to kill us!”

“And do you really think I’ll let him?”

“Loki, I don’t think you’ve got a whole lot of say in it.”

“She’s right,” said Mobius, nodding towards both of you. “See... that’s kinda been my plan all along.”

“Explain yourself, small man,” Loki ordered.

“Well, the thing is - this universe is done. Earth is gonna destroy itself, just wait and see. Asgard is dead. The rest of our universe will soon follow. So I’m going to take that tesseract... and I’m going to the next one. It’s a big multiverse. I’ll travel a little, y’know... decide where I want to end up. I’m really kinda glad you guys came to confront me, by the way - after all... it is why I brought you here.”

“You tried to frame me?”

Loki looks completely unsurprised, of course, as utterly tranquil as a resting lake, but you saw the stirring underneath.

Mobius had chosen him because he thought he would be a monster, and make a monstrous choice. He had hoped that Loki would destroy the universe for him.

And Loki had disappointed him.

But he had saved you. That had to count for something.

Right?

“Tried? I did frame you,” said Mobius. “In the eyes of the universe... when I destroy this world, you will be the only possible culprit.” “Why’d you bother?” you ask. “You could’ve just... destroyed this timeline yourself, and taken the credit. You were my mentor. I know you’re powerful enough to do it.”

Mobius wagged his finger at you.

“The Watchers,” he said. “They see everything, you know. Broad strokes and actions. If I had done it, they would’ve made my travel... inconvenient.

And, besides. I had the book, I knew how the story would end. I knew what he thought you were, all along. And I knew that if I put the one thing that Loki needed and just could not have so close to him, it’d be bound to end in bloodshed. It’s simply the most likely outcome. Why have all that blood on my hands, when it could so easily be on the God of Mischief’s?”

Loki looked lost, and far less certain than before. You wanted to comfort him, but... you were quite unsure, yourself. Both of you would soon be dead. There was precious little that either he or you could do about it.

“It’ll be alright,” Loki repeated, sounding a little uneasier than he had been. You looked up at him, concentrating, carefully, on memorizing every flawless line of his face.

You’d never told him you loved him.

Well... it just didn’t matter. You’d be dead in moments.

It just didn’t matter.

But he had to know something else. You had to destroy one last bit of hope for him.

“Loki,” you whispered, quietly, reaching for his hand, “Loki, I can’t do it.”

“Can’t do what, darling? Handle this fool?”

“No. I can’t... I know part of you thinks I can save us, but I can’t. I’m not a goddess. I’m not. I’m just me. And that isn’t enough.” “I know.”

“What?”

He did a half-hearted little shrug.

“I suppose... I’ve known for a long time. If you ever were who I thought you were... you aren’t, anymore. I can’t explain it. But I did know.

Oh, what’d you expect me to do, love? Admit that I had been sticking around, all this time, simply for you?”

Your breath caught in your throat.

“But... no matter,” Loki said, briskly, pressing a kiss to the top of your head and continuing to glare at Mobius. “I imagine you know why she looks like Amora? That must all be part of your plan, yes?”

Mobius chuckled.

“Certainly, friend. See... it’s all very funny... she is Amora.”

...

Feedback feeds this writer, feel free to send me an ask to let me know what you thought of this chapter, or ask me about it!

Taglist: gorgeourrific-nerd @suwupremeleader​​ @sserpente​ @tripleyeeet​ @kcd15 @rorybutnotgilmore 

[amplesalty]

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

If I can make it there, I’ll make it anyhwere...

We’ve just had another Friday the 13th so it’s time to dust off the old slasher franchise for my ongoing attempts to make it all the way through the series. Let’s see where we left off last time, 6? Well, that’s not strictly true. I did watch 7 last November but never bothered posting about it. Which, I probably should have done because for once it actually bucked the trend with these movies and I actually kinda liked it? Just try to imagine ‘Jason vs Carrie’ and that’s basically it. Kinda takes the whole thing in a slightly different direction which is a welcome change after so many chapters of ‘Jason stabs camp councilors...again’. Maybe I’ll revisit it in more detail some time.

This movie isn’t quite that far out with it’s gimmickry there’s definitely an element of that with swapping the shoes of Crystal Lake for the neon lights of Manhattan. At least, that’s what the title of the movie would have you believe.  It doesn’t exactly play out that way though.

The opening of the movie seems to be going that way as it takes you on a guided tour around the dark city streets, with steaming sewer vents, shady alleyways complete with muggings, subway rides, diner coffee orders and a shot of Times Square.  It’s all set to the stylings of Metropolis and ‘The Darkest Side of the Night’. I dig the song, has a very 80’s rock vibe to it, like something by Survivor that you’d get in a Rocky movie but it just seems a little out of place here.

Wait a minute, is that the Batman symbol?! Forget Jason vs Carrie, give us Jason vs Batman. Don’t tell me DC wouldn’t go for that, they seem more than happy to license out the Caped Crusader. I mean, we did just have crossover movies with Scooby Doo and the Ninja Turtles in recent years.

The requisite awakening of Jason takes place, this time jolted into life by the 1.2 gigawatts of electricity running through an underwater cable next to his watery grave. From there, we bumps off a couple of kids making whoopee in a house boat before stowing away on board as the boat slowly drifts into port where a high school pleasure cruise is about to set sail.

And it’s here that the bulk of the movie takes place which...isn’t the worst idea in the world? Would have that same sort of idea behind Alien where you’re trapped on board with this killer, not quite as extreme since there are some ways off a ship if need be. The movie touches on it to a degree, there’s a sense of paranoia and claustrophobia that develops but it doesn’t feel fleshed out.

You could throw in a sort of moral element to it, like the characters coming to terms with there being no escape and no way to eliminate Jason so they ponder whether to destroy the ship and sacrifice themselves so Jason doesn’t make it to land. Then you have the obvious sequel bait of him actually surviving and finding himself a whole host of new victims.

It just feels like a bait and switch. Just look at the poster, how awesome is that? You’ve got one of the most iconic skylines in the world and home to some of the tallest and most famous buildings but yet Jason looms over each and every one of them. And the subtitle ‘Jason Takes Manhattan’ conjures up all these images in your head of Jason rampaging through the streets like when the T-Rex gets loose in San Diego in The Lost World. I guess ‘Jason Goes Boating’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. Jason being in the big city is a novel concept which hasn’t really been explored in the series up to now. Sure it starts to move away from just being confined to the camp grounds but it’s still a pretty rural area so to go to this level of widespread panic would be interesting.

At first I thought the movie might be trying to be a ‘best of both’ worlds and the ship section was just to explain how he gets to the big city. It kinda gives that impression the way it starts rattling off all the people on board and starts killing them off quicker than it can introduce them. This one rock chick is in all of two scenes and the second one is her death. They’re characters done with very broad strokes so it feels they’re doing the bare minimum to give you some context before Jason kills them off, just to keep the pace up before we get to the real meat and potatoes of the action in the big city. It’s almost like The Breakfast Club with all the stereotypes we have on show; the jock, the nerd, the beauty queen...

We even get elements of the controlling father of EMILIOOOOOO’s character with young Sean Robertson who’s own father is the ships captain and seems quite keen on Sean taking up the family business. Are you not taking things a little too seriously to be in full naval uniform and ribbons for the sake of some exaggerated high school graduation party?

And don’t forget basket case Rennie who has visions of a young Jason drowning. Except, her dog spends this scene looking at the port hole in a very worried manner as well before getting freaked out and running away so apparently he has these visions too?!

Rennie clearly isn’t too popular amongst her peers as the bitchy, popular girl promptly hip checks her off the deck, sending her flying through the air and into the icy waters below. Have the people who made this ship not heard of a guard rail?

I’m not sure what the deal is with Rennie and all these weird visions she has, like blood coming out of a tap or young Jason bursting through the mirror and gooziling her. The movie never really explains what the link is between the two of them, at most it seems to be this mutated childhood trauma where she nearly drowned, mixed with warnings she had back then that she needed to learn to swim lest she end up drowning like that Jason Vorhees boy. It’s just like the puritan origins of those urban legends, clearly all along Jason Vorhees was just a means of scaring kids into taking water safety seriously.

Still, as unexplained as it is, it still adds some enjoyable moments to the movie and I’ll gladly take the writers throwing a bunch of weird shit at the wall to see what sticks over some of the earlier movies.

I love the moment when the core group of survivors eventually make it off the ship, taking refuge in the life boat, rowing day and night to try and find some sort of sanctuary before eventually seeing a torch on the horizon; that of Lady Liberty. One of the most iconic images in human history, a great symbol of hope to the tired, poor and huddled masses yearning to breathe free that made their way to her shores. Like those that came before them across the seas, finally their nightmare is over.

Or, at least it is for all of about five minutes before they get promptly mugged by two street urchins.  Not just muggers mind you, given that they usher Rennie away with disturbing plans in mind for her.

Which, say what you will about Jason, he does stop an attempted rape in this movie. Probably not going to tip the karmic scales in his favour after the hundreds of grizzly murders at his hands over the years but still, it’s a start. Plus, this is doubly puritan as this guy injected Rennie with heroin or something so Jason is taking a stand against drugs as well.

We also get one of the characters standing up to Jason on a rooftop and trying to use his boxing skills to good use by giving him a series of right hooks and body blows. Only, Jason has been following the Homer Simpson school of boxing as he just stands there and takes it before the other guy gets too fatigued to carry on. At which point Jason literally knocks his block off like a Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em robot and the guys head rolls away into a nearby dumpster which then slams shut in a very satisfying manner.

Rennie and Sean end up in the sewers but need to get out again as the sewer system is about to flood with toxic waste. Lucky that they just have buckets of that lying around that Rennie can just throw in Jason’s face. He then removes his mask in what I can only assume is a loving tribute to The Phantom of the Opera to reveal the mutated freak beneath. Maybe this is another Toxic Avenger origin movie?

Then lightning strikes The Statue of Liberty because...symbolism, I guess?

And Jason succumbs to his one weakness; drowning. Only this time in the aforementioned toxic waste so it’s nice to have a bit of variety. At which point he turns back into child Jason because...I have no idea. Maybe it’s another one of their visions, or they’ve somehow exorcised the demons of zombie ghost Jason and now the spirit of child Jason can rest in peace?

You know what the most amazing thing about this movie is? Other than the fact that Rennie’s dog shows up again at the end because it seems to have the homing skills of one of those animals you read about in the papers who travel across country to their old house, these characters have been through the innards of a manky old ship, been lost at sea for however long, trudged through the shift encrusted sewers and tussled with a decaying monster and still manage to come out without a speck of dirt on them.

Maybe I’ve just been going into these last couple with super low expectations but I’m actually beginning to enjoy them now? Like I said before, I found the old ones really boring so changing up the formula is refreshing and they’re tickling my ‘so bad it’s good’ senses with all the weird shit going on.

Like, amongst all those images in my head of what a Jason in New York movie would be, funny wasn’t one of them but it just seems to really ramp up in this finale. You have individual moments like when a bunch of thugs are listening to music from their boombox which Jason storms past and punts in the air. They don’t too kindly to this, pulling out chains and switchblades to threaten him, to which he calmly lifts up his mask and causes them to flee with their tails between their legs.

But there’s also this broader idea which serves as this sort of amazing anti climax that having Jason turn up in New York is not the cataclysmic event you think it would be. It’s like no one outside of Crystal Lake has even heard of him so no one bats an eyelid when some 7ft behemoth goes by in the street or on the subway at 1am. I mean, who’s going to notice another freak around here? When Sean and Rennie storm into a diner looking for help, their cries of a maniac being on the loose and trying to kill them is met with a rather quizzical look by the waitress who simply replies ‘Welcome to New York...’.

Then Jason bursts through the wall like the Kool Aid man and the cook just shakes his head and walks out to confront him. He does it so nonchalantly as if he’s had to deal with his a hundred times already, like it happens so often that it’s lost all meaning. This whole movie has a pretty damning outlook on this city, maybe the true horror in our lives isn’t playing out on TV or on the big screens of our local cinemas. It’s a call to arms that the true horror is the violence and crime taking place on our city streets every day and the systemic issues going unchecked that give rise to it.

[fe8meta]

The Sacred Twins and their Mythos

Anyone who looks into the names of FE8′s Sacred Twins will know that all but two of them have basis in Norse mythology. The two outliers, Latona and Excalibur, have basis in Roman and Arthurian legend, respectively. Why? Because they can.

Mind you, even I can’t make much sense behind the names of these Sacred Twins. The only one that makes a margin of sense without heavy extrapolation and theorizing, is a margin of sense that people blow out of proportion in favor of a certain pairing, so that’ll be discussed at the very end of this meta. (Yes, I’m talking about Sieglinde and Siegmund, but the reference is most likely only a surface-deep reference to them being twins and nothing more.)

Excalibur, as many people probably know, is the sword of the legendary King Arthur, after which legends surrounding him are named after. In the Fire Emblem series, FE8 included, Excalibur is... a wind tome. FE8 at least grants it the epithet “wind blade Excalibur” to acknowledge the whole sword part of its original namesake. I don’t know why FE8 reused the name Excalibur, considering it was technically only used in the Archanea games and Gaiden before that; FE7′s Excalibur was named Gigascalibur in the Japanese version.

Latona, meanwhile, is the Roman name for the Greek goddess Leto. For some reason, the writers of FE8 really couldn’t find a Norse name to use for them, I guess. It’s especially odd when one background character, Saaga (the court troubador who inspired L’Arachel to go on her journey), shares the Japanese spelling of their name with Sága... a Norse goddess.

All I’m really gathering, from what I can find about (Roman) Latona, is that (Magvel) Latona was probably foreign to Magvel, and that’s why their name isn’t rooted in Norse mythology. We really can’t even say that Latona was a woman, despite the name’s female origins. The Japanese script didn’t assign Latona a gender, but used 司祭 to talk about Latona. (The word translates to “priest,” specifically Christian priests, who have traditionally been men.) The English script referred to Latona as Rausten’s “most holy father” due to that. There aren’t any references or possible ties to Roman Latona other than the name, so...

For the next several I will talk about, I have come up with a wholly self-indulgent explanation for their names. It probably doesn’t make complete sense, but it's more than the game’s nonexistent reason for the references. The Sacred Twins in question are Nidhogg, Vidofnir, Garm, and Audhulma.

They’re all from Norse mythology, and more specifically, creatures from Norse mythology. My explanation behind their names is that the weapons were used to defeat especially powerful monsters created by the Demon King, then had parts of those monsters forged into those weapons.

(As it so happens, Shadows of Valentia did something similar, with the Blessed weapons being able to be forged into Regalia. I didn’t notice this parallel until after I came up with this explanation, though.)

Nidhogg, the Serpent Bow. In Norse mythology, Nidhogg is indeed recognized as a serpent or dragon. (On that note, the word for “dragon” comes from, at its furthest root, the Greek drakon, which means “serpent.” Dragons were also originally depicted as serpentine creatures before gaining legs and becoming more lizard-like, at least in Western media.) In FE8, dragons gained a weakness to bows. (In the Elibe games, dragons had no such weakness.) So it would be appropriate for the bow that slew Nidhogg to become known as the Serpent (Slaying) Bow. It could also explain why it belongs to Frelia, the country with pegasi—pegasus knights could take the battle to the skies instead of having to remain rooted to the ground the whole while, making the battle against the great monster easier. (FE14 introduced Kinshi Knights, fliers who can use Lances and Bows. Like FE15, it’s giving me some precedence to support my theory.)

As for Vidofnir, it is a rooster in Norse mythology that sits atop Mímameiðr  (often taken to be the same as Yggdrasil, the tree whose roots Nidhogg gnaws on). Vidofnir is referred to as the “tree snake,” harking back to serpent symbolism. By stealing Vidofnir’s tail feathers, the giantess Sinmora will grant a person the sword Laevateinn, which can then be used to slay Vidofnir. After doing so, one can take its two wings and serve them to Odin’s hounds, Geri and Freki, to sneak past them. In-game, Vidofnir is referred to as the Winged Lance.

Garm, the Black Axe, is named after the hound that guards Hel’s gate. Garm’s howling heralds the coming of Ragnarok; after Garm’s first howl, Fimbulvetr (the great winter) puts an end to life on earth. (Fimbulvetr, in FE, is a tome that attacks the enemy with a blizzard. Already more accurate to its source than the rest of the Sacred Twins.)

Finally, Audhulma, the Ice Blade. In Norse mythology, Audhulma is a primeval cow who licked an ice block until she unfroze a man named Buri. I have no idea what this means for the FE8 weapon, as Audhulma is not capable of summoning a Fimbulvetr-like attack and only grants a Res boost. It’s further proof that whoever picked out these names probably just skimmed a Japanese book on Norse mythology and went “oh look, there’s an element referenced here, let’s use it.” I mean, the best thing I can say for “why a sword” is that Audhulma was a cow, so the blade was... a glorified butcher knife, I guess?

(When I was discussing this theory with someone else, they mentioned that some of FE8′s monsters could also, at least loosely, tie back to the respective creatures. Necrodragons for Nidhogg, Gargoyles for Vidofnir, Mauthe Doogs for Garm, and Tarvos for Audhulma.)

For some more “shit that just works,” we have the Dark Tome Gleipnir. It’s also from Norse mythology, but it is neither a person nor a creature. Rather, it is the chain that binds Fenrir until Ragnarok. As it so happens, Fenrir is a tome in the game: specifically, it’s used by Lyon in Chapter 17. So there’s a bit of symbolism in Gleipnir being the tome left behind by Lyon, which is then acquired by the heroes in their attempt to stop him and the Demon King.

(As for Naglfar, while I’m at it: in Norse mythology, it’s a boat made by the fingernails and toenails of the dead. Commanded by Loki, it carries the undead on their assault on the gods. As for “why fingernails and toenails,” apparently some Indo-European beliefs state that improperly disposing of hair and nails will “threaten the well-being of” the cosmos. Make of this what you will.)

As for Ivaldi, I genuinely have no clue how its legend is supposed to inspire it. In fact, the character Ivaldi himself is barely referenced in Norse mythology itself, as his name is referenced through his sons, who crafted some cool stuff for Freyr, Odin, and Sif. The closest thing I can dig up regarding Ivaldi’s in-game epithet as the “Glorious Light” is the fact that the Sons of Ivaldi made... golden hair to replace the hair Sif lost to Loki.

Finally, the notorious use of Siegmund and Sieglinde as Renais’ Sacred Twins. In all honesty, they were probably only used because those two characters are twins in Norse mythology, nothing more. I’ve seen claims that the incest between the twins at one point in the legends is “proof” that Eirika/Ephraim is basically canon, but said “evidence” runs into problems.

The first issue is the fact Siegmund and Sieglinde in-game have zero similarities to their legendary selves outside of their names. In lore, Siegmund used a sword, and there is no association with him to fire whatsoever. So how it becomes the Flame Lance in FE8 is a mystery. In fact, fire would be associated more with Sieglinde—who kills herself by burning to death with her husband, Siggeir, as penance for making Siegmund murder her own children and tricking him into an incestuous affair for the sake of revenge. Sieglinde in legend isn’t depicted using a weapon ever, and has absolutely no association with thunder. So her name being attached to the Thunder Sword came out of IntSys’ booty.

The second issue is the implication that the writers actually knew the contents of the legends they were referencing. If they knew what they were doing, they wouldn’t be using Excalibur, Latona, or Ivaldi. Considering that I just came up with my theory for Nidhogg, Vidofnir, Garm, and Audhulma, and there’s no actual in-game basis to suggest any of it, those names may as well have been picked out of a hat too. As mentioned above, IntSys completely made up the Flame Lance and Thunder Sword epithets, and they have no ties whatsoever to Sieglinde or Siegmund’s tale. So there’s no reason to assume that the writers knew, or cared about, any part of the legend outside of “they’re twins.”

Considering all the other Norse references in FE8, the reference to Siegmund and Sieglinde would also be rooted in Norse mythology more than Wagner’s Die Walküre. The Norse version of their story makes the incest a lot less consensual than Wagner’s version; Sieglinde tricks Siegmund into sleeping with her by disguising herself as someone else. Siegmund doesn’t find out until he and their son kill Siggeir. It is then that Sieglinde reveals the truth, and walks into the fire to burn to death as penance for her deeds. Then Siegmund goes and marries another woman. Oh, and before Sieglinde had her affair with Siegmund, she had Siegmund kill the “unworthy sons” she had with Siggeir since they didn’t prove themselves strong enough for the revenge she wanted. It’s because Siegmund refused to keep killing innocent children that she gets desperate enough to sleep with him. Eugenics, I guess. So the whole “Siegmund and Sieglinde are incestuous twins” thing is a lot more complicated than just that.

TL;DR: The names behind Magvel’s Sacred Twins basically have no connection to their namesakes at all.

[justowrite]

New Surroundings

lenght: 2183words

genre: light angst(and exposition)

summary: Simon, with a bare understanding of the world he has thrown himself into, has to adapt to it and the only two things keeping him from getting completely and utterly lost are the fire of excitement in his chest and well...Penny.

a/n: straight out from a writers block(still not completly out of it), and mostly because i forgot carry on’s birthday(i am awful), the second chapter of this medieval au thing i am trying to do. i wasn’t planning to publish this until a more reasonable of the day but te birthday thing happened so...here we are. Okay so i’m really sorry if there are any mistakes, i tried to correct all of them, but english isn’t my first language.

Anyway without any more further due, thank you for reading and happy birthday to Carry On(here is my two hours late gift)!

Chapter One / Ao3

***

He couldn’t do anything but stare to the room. It had two beds, some furniture to keep some belongings on opposite sides and a big window in between the halves. He thought he would be with Penny, but apparently, it wasn’t allowed. He had to share a room with another boy, which to Simon was the most terrifying thing of all this experience. Leaving the forest was something he never thought of doing, the possibility never even passed his head. Simon didn’t know if he even wanted to. It was too late now. He had left the forest and everything he ever knew. Well, everything but Penny; they’ll be closer now. The Mage had concluded that Simon would be better under his care, training in the castle with the knights and witches of the kingdom.

Although he liked the Mage, he had been kind and patient while Simon was scared.

“It’s okay boy, I mean no harm.” His voice was soft, still Simon in bed and wounded didn’t dare to trust him. “I only come to make a proposal to you, in any case, you can ask me to leave anytime you wish.” Penny took Simon’s hand, in an attempt to reassure him.

He had come to see Simon, to offer him the opportunity to study, to have a house, to be treated like a person.  Simon had only accepted because Penny was there too.

Simon realized ­-once it was time to organize his things in the new room- he didn’t have much or nothing at all really. All he had was what he used to sleep and eat, nothing personal really; just a couple of old pants and shirts Penny had enchanted so they would disappear when he was a dragon and reappeared, so he wasn’t completely naked every time he turned back. The Mage had told him he would get new clothing since he was going to be around people a lot and couldn’t use the same old cloth.

He lay down on the bed, eyes closed. It was softer than the one he had in the cave, colder too. It smelled different; here it smelled to dust, old as if it was never used. Instead like the one back in the cave, which smelled to leaves, fresh air, and burned fabric. Unable to shake the feeling, he stood up. Simon got close to the window. The room was in one of the towers of the castle, isolated from the rest. It was the last room available. Simon couldn’t complain though, it was beautiful a sight. The sun was ready to set. The sky painted in red, clear from clouds and open almost calling for Simon.

Suddenly Simon was jumping from the window.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath in. Once he exhales and opens his eyes, a loud roar accompanied the impotent presence in the sky.

As Simon flew he realized how big the castle was. It wasn’t hard to see him in the sky, still, he was high enough nobody would hear the sound of his wings, which made easy to observe the people talking, walking, even -as Simon was unfortunate enough to watch- making out in hidden spots. It was more people Simon had ever seen or more people he was comfortable seeing.

Finally, he saw Penny sitting in a tree away from the rest. Simon rushed back to his human form, Penny had already recognized him and was waiting for him anyway.

As they started walking in the village Simon stopped listening to Penny instead he was looking around. The town seemed to match the falling sun in the sky, it was showered in orange and brown’s shadows. In the air, it was easy to breathe the magic, different from the one in the forest. Back in the forest, there was only the aura of the creatures, since most magical creatures only own the magic not control it; here there weren’t different magic to control but hundreds of different auras. Most people wouldn’t sense it, there were used to it by now, but Simon had only met one person. All of this was almost too much for him. Finally, the market was in the center of the town, the little stalls were on both sides of a long street that ended in, what Penny called, the Heart Fountain.

Simon walked self-conscious, sure someone would notice his wings and tail even when Penny had enchanted them for the afternoon. They walked through the streets, Simon first jumping at the promotions yells for cheap products. Slowly his fear was a small buzz in the back of his neck, still alarmed but more amused by the magical objects flying over him and the voices talking things he didn’t understand. He filled Penny with questions.

Penny was happy to see Simon so excited, instead of scared. Penny was happy to have his best friend with her.

They reached the end of the street where there was the last stand.

“My mother doesn’t like to come here, but I like it. It’s better than going to Wings and Crowns,” Penny rolled her eyes at the memory of so much glitter before walking to the stall. Simon couldn’t see anyone or anything really. There was only clothing hanging from the ceiling. Simon was about to say something when Penny knocked the wood with the ring. The clothing moved aggressively to the back of the stall. Inside there was someone young on carrying a mountain of things.

“Need help, Rae?” Penny offered

The person looked at Penny, “Thanks, sweetheart but I think I can manage.” They turned completely around, letting go one hand so only the other one was holding the giant mountain of cloth. “What a pleasure to have you here, honey! What brings you here today?” Finally, they leave the cloth in a corner with a more ridiculous sized mountain.

“I was looking for cloth for my friend, you see…” Penny stared explain, leaning her weight on the counter.

They took a moment to stare at Simon, “I can see where the wings and tail could be a problem.” Simon jumped in surprised. “Don’t worry honey, only I can see it here.”

“Spacial Magic, they can see and modify things around them.” Penny explains, “Like making lighter a mountain of clothes, or seeing things others can’t.”

“A water down a couple generations version, I am not that strong; not like your friend here. I can feel his magic.” Rae smiled and took a step forward while sparkles of interest shine in their eyes.

Simon turned to Penny, almost scared. “So clothes…” Simon reminded her.

Immediately Rae’s face changed to what it was before, more playful than slightly scary.  “I am sure I’ve just the things for you.”

***

Simon was told that outfits should fit your magic. Which is why Rae was due to make, she could be recognized someone’s magic, unlike anyone.

Penny, as an example, was dressed in a dark long sleeve purple dress with what it seems a brown smaller sleeveless dress on top, and around her hips, it hanged a belt where she kept magical objects and she wore a black lazed cape that reached her boots. While the belt was obviously useful, the cape was Rae was most proud of. It was made especially to increase any charm when activated with magic words. But it would only work in that scene, if a fire mage wore that object it would burn in an instant with the mage in it.

Simon looked down to his new outfit. First, he had black boots, dark brown pants with a hell lot of pockets, a lighter brown jacket –which he had rolled the sleeves because with all of this it was getting hot. On top of all that he had a shoulder pad on his right shoulder, with gold metal pieces that looked like his own scales, hanging from it going across his chest a belt that combined with Penny’s. This was to make his cloth disappeared and reappeared when necessary and to help Simon to control his magic since he was new to the whole magic deal.  Although like Penny he had more than one magic clothing item, it even was jewelry. From his neck it hangs a gold chain with a small blue gem that matched his eyes, to keep his wings and tails hidden, not even corporeal. Which was a weird feeling to Simon, it was a part of him just not existing even if he had the power of making appear.

“And this…this was something someone gave me a long time ago…long before you were alive.” Rae had a nostalgic look on her face, as she gave it to Simon. “Someone with your eyes actually.”

“Simon!” Penny yelled as she stopped Simon with her arm. Simon almost throwing the bag full of new cloth off his should, focused back on what was around him. Simon realized he had been almost hit by a horse. The horse had stopped just before, and Penny stopped Simon. Simon looked up to apologize but was stopped by three things.

One; the overwhelming aura he knew that wasn’t from a human.

Two; by the disgusted looked in those eyes.

Three; even when the mask of the armor he was wearing hid most of the person’s face, Simon had seen those deep grey eyes before. At night. Drinking blood from another animal.

“Monster.” Simon murmured. Simon saw the surprise, the anger in the person's eyes before he run off with a group of more men behind. “Who were they?” They continued walking.

“The knights, probably doing a nightly checkup.” Penny explained. “They are trained to be part of the royal guard, or part of the Mage’s Man one day. Not all of them do, but that is the purpose.” Penny rolled her eyes. “Only men are chosen, but anyone can take the curses. It is a really idiotic.”

***

Finally, Simon was back at his new room. He put the new things in their place and left the old ones just in a cornered, Simon stared at them for a little bit before getting to his bed. Something inside was yelling and jumping excitedly. Almost a childish old desire he once had, to have a life like this. Even before he met Penny and had any understanding of the world in those dark nights when he was a child. He would dream that his mom and dad would pick him up and take him to a big house with all the food he could think off, and all the toys he would have seen from afar from the kids playing close to the forest.

A loud noise interrupted his thoughts. He sat up, to look at the person in the room. Both of them froze, staring into each other eyes. Simon could see his face perfectly now the mask was in his arm instead. He looked daring and fierce in the armor, his long black hair framing his features elegantly, the light of the moon creating shadows on his pale skin. Of course, his dark grey eyes were looking down Simon, it made him feel small under the new presence. Still, Simon stood up and talk.

“Y-you” Simon took a step towards. “I’ve seen you in the forest, you don’t…you are a…you are a..a..” Simon didn’t know how to say it, what were the right words.

“Are you sure you know how to talk or no one ever taught you back in the forest?” Simon stood back in shock and tried to talk back but again the words just wouldn’t come out correctly; the other boy gave him a smirk in response. “Well, I can see the success the Mage’s little project is going to be.” Simon stayed quiet, not knowing what to respond. “I don’t know what you pretend are you doing here but you are nothing to accuse me of nothing. Not when you can’t even get one sentence across.” Now he was starting to get angry.

“Y-you haven’t even met for five minutes, how can you…?” Once the boy was, once again, fast to answer.

“Says the one who called me a monster without even seen my face.” The boy stood tall and proud, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ve seen you!” Simon was getting really angry, “You…I…I am not lying.” Simon finally said.

“Well me neither.” The boy was taller than Simon, for a few inches at least. “Did the Mage a least gave you a pet name?”

Simon clenched his hands into fists, his nails leaving mark on his palms. “I already had one.”

“A pet name? Oh, I am glad someone took the time.” Simon’s name was a note, attached to his cloth as the kid and then he kept on his bed until Penny found him but he wouldn’t tell the boy that. “ So what is it? Sparkles?” The boy laughed before turning around and leaving to the change to other room.

“It’s Simon Snow!” He yelled once the boy had already closed the door.

[baldore-of-the-boros]

Kheve’s Ignition, Part 3

After a long Hiatus, here’s the finale of Kheve’s Igniton and transition to the next little story thing! I apologize for the wait but after Amonkhet, I’ve been making some changes to Arranger (due to the Smoke basically being the Curse of Wandering. Great mind’s think alike), I had finals, and I was just having writers block. Plus, this chapter just kept getting longer and longer and I had to cut it off. (Roughly 2,500 words)

Anyway, here ya go, under the break!

            Kheve stared at Ithora, running a cloth over his Kithos to clean the long bladed weapon. The action came as naturally as breathing him and was a nice outlet for his energy as he digested the new information. The steadiness and familiarity of the blade always helped ground him when something tough was happening.

           “So, I’m a…Planeswalker?” He asked, having listened to her little explanation for the past hour or two. As soon as they had arrived, the woman had sat him down, sent Ridil and Sana away and started explaining the multiverse to him. Quite bluntly too, dismissing his doubts and questions until she finished.

           “Glad you were listening despite that blank look on your face,” The red head said, reclining back on the chair she had commandeered. “Planeswalker. Meaning that the Multiverse is your playground. You have power now, Ghildeer. And it seems that you’ve squandered it. Any plane and here you are, a runner on Kaladesh. Disappointing.”

           “Hardly my fault,” Kheve glared, blood running hot at the insult. “It’s not like you told me anything to help on that end. I ended up here with no explanation. I was almost convinced that Arangar….was gone.”            “Of course it isn’t.” Ithora snorted, brushing her hands off as she got to her feet. “Now are you ready to go? I have use for you, assuming you haven’t lost your edge. And judging from what you did to those goons earlier, I doubt it. Though that violatile nature of yours is rather annoying to deal with.”

           “Of course not….wait, I can’t just leave. What about Ridil and Sana?”

           “The dwarf and the girl? I do suppose you want to talk to them first before we leave.”

           “I’m not leaving. Those two…they’re important to me.” Kheve snapped, snapping his blade into its back sheath. “I-”

           “It’s not like we’re not coming back. I just plan on showing you how your powers work and few planes, maybe get your assistance on some matters.” She sighed at him. “I’m not abducting you here. Just tell them that I’m offering you a job or something like that.”

           “Fine,” Kheve nodded, making some sense of Ithora’s points. Perhaps it was for the best if they didn’t know the complete truth, it would really bug them. Besides, he was itching to see the rest of the ‘multiverse’ now. He found that he didn’t doubt Ithora at all, he knew that what she had said was the truth. Not to say he trusted her. She had managed to keep this from everyone one on Arangar and she always seemed to be plotting something at all times anyway. “I’ll do that and then we can get going.”

           “Very well, just make it quick. I would like to get going.” Ithora agreed. “’I’m leaving in two hours, with or without you.”

          Kheve stumbled, body shaking from the drain of planeswalking. He took a deep breath as he tried to gather himself. He wasn’t prepared for the amount of energy the magic would take. It was an odd feeling, different then using any old magic.

           Suddenly he felt a burning sensation against his skin and whipped out his blade, looking around. Ithora stood before him, dark blue magic calmly swirling off her fingers. She smiled at him as the magic faded.

           “Lesson one, Ghildeer. Always be ready for a fight after planeswalking. You never know what will be on the other side of a planeswalk and if you aren’t prepared, it could spell disaster for you.” She commented, ignoring his glare.

           “Then why didn’t you just say that instead of blasting me with magic?” Kheve grumbled as he brushed himself off and looked around the new plane. They appeared to be in a long curving road that cut through a mountain, leading to towering gothic structures in the distance. He felt a shiver run down his spin. There was a darkness looming in the air, it seemed more pervasive than just the dusk that floated around them.

           “Because that wouldn’t have gotten the point across,” Ithora pointed out before clapping her hands. “And welcome to Innistrad. As much as I’d like to be able to stand around and gawk, we should get moving. Things may be problematic if we don’t reach Thraben by nightfall. I’ll answer any questions you may have on the way.”

           “Innistrad, Thraben?” Kheve inquired, feeling rather better as they started walking. However, his gaze flicked nervously about them, ready for any of the trouble that his companion had mentioned.

           “Thraben is a town, rather well defended and as safe as you get here on Innistrad.” Ithora answered calmly, keeping their pace swift as the light faded. Her apparent rush was a slight cause of concern. The mage woman caught on to his concerns and elaborated. “Innistrad has some dark influences. Monsters are more prevalent here, werewolves, vampires and the like. They get rather aggressive at night.”

           “Oh, wonderful.” He said, walking quietly for a moment. “Alright, next question. Why are you helping me? You’re hardly one for charity, unless you’ve changed dramatically since I last spoke to you.”

           “No, I’m not. Though nothing is ever as simple as it seems. I followed your exploits back on Arangar. I know what you’re capable of, and that was before your spark ever even ignited.” Came the reply. “So, just look at it this way then. You’re a planeswalker now and some day, I may need to call in this favor?”

           “So you’re just helping me for a debt?”

           “Hardly. The Multiverse is a big place. I like having access to so many different places but there are a lot of different threats about. I think you’ll help keep the multiverse…healthy. And….” She paused, staring at him and pursing her lips for a second. “No, never mind.”

           “Right. What dangers are…wait, what’s sound?” The warrior stopped, looking around. They were surrounded by trees, with the walls of what he assumed to be Thraben peeking over the tops. He’d relaxed but the sound of twisted howls queued him to draw his weapon, and made him wish he’d grabbed his offhand one as well.

           No sooner had it left his sheath that a clawed shadow slammed into him, knocking him back. The beast snarled at him as he slid to a stop, lightning crackling about his body. It appeared to be a wolf, but with longer limbs and an odd gleam to its eyes. One of the werewolves Ithora had spoken about. It snapped forward but Kheve was ready this time and flashed to the side whipping his weapon around in a viscous arc and biting deeply into the wolf’s side. It howled and twisted, slashing with its long claws.

           Kheve hissed as the claws cut into his flesh before kicking his foe back, then charging the off balance and his blade twirling around with deadly precision. With a whimper, the dog fell to the ground, dead. He felt a pang of guilt from killing it, knowing that it used to be a human. His grievance was quickly interrupted by another snarling beast from the woods.

           The arangarian reacted quickly, adrenaline rushing through his body now. Arms raised, lightning blasted out from his body in a beam. A howl and the smell of burnt flesh filled the night as Kheve’s second foe fell to the ground in a heap. Kheve walked toward it, ready for more retaliation but the beast just looked at him with glassy eyes. He paused. In that moment, the wolf scrambled to its feet and fled, disappearing into the darkness.

           Kheve smiled, glad to have one threat gone before standing still, his staccato breathing peppering the sudden calm. Slowly, the lightning he was generating faded and he relaxed. His gaze snapped back in a panic, sudden concern for his companion reemerging. He hadn’t paid attention to Ithora during the fight and if she was injured or worse…

           Yet Ithora was calmly smoothing her robes as dark black-blue fog churned maliciously around her.  Several ethereal swords drifted calmly orbited her as if waiting for someone to try something, like attack dogs. Smiling at him, she waved her hands and the dark fogs and weaponry faded into wisps. “Well, wasn’t that invigorating? I’d hoped to avoid that; it seems I miscalculated some. You have my apologies.”

           Kheve opened his mouth to speak but his cuts suddenly burned painfully as the rush of battle left him. He gritted his teeth, focusing on ignoring the pain. Ithora raised an eyebrow. “You were injured? Well, we better get to town than. Until then…”

           The woman pulled some cloth out of a pouch, quickly putting a poultice onto it before wrapping his wound and slipping the vial back into her robes. “There. That will numb the pain and staunch the bleeding.”

           “Thanks.” He said quickly, motioning for her to continue leading. He had no interest in slowing and showing his pain. He was out of practice, two wolves nearly ending him, and that truth cut deeper than any battle scar, not exactly wanting to share that.

           The rest of the walk was done in silence, ending rather soon as they came upon large town gates. Two guards stood watch on the walls, spotting them quickly. They seemed to be giving them the once over but the second guard was already starting to prepare to open the gate. “Hail, you two. Names and business in Thraben, please.”

           “Of course, of course. Lady Ithora, my body guard and I are coming to meet with some clients we have here. Unfortunately, we were just ambushed by some werewolves in the forest nearby and he was injured.”

           “Werewolves? Are you two alright?” Concern suddenly replaced the bored tones of the guards. “I’ll fetch the Cathar of the Sun immediately, I believe he was planning to go hunt those particular werewolves soon anyway, they’ve been a nuisance and-“

           “There’s no need for that. Despite Kheve’s…. unkempt appearance, my guard is extremely adept. Those werewolves won’t be a bother anymore,” Ithora interrupted, waving a hand dismissively.

           “Oh…well, alright. Welcome to Thraben, then. I assume you know the healer’s place?” The guard said, recovering from his surprise rather quickly.

           “Of course,” Ithora said with a smile at the guard, before motioning to Kheve follow. The warrior followed, mouthing ‘Unkempt?’ with more than a touch of annoyance. The mage just rolled her eyes and walked into Thraben, with a nod of thanks to the guards.

           Two hours later, a healed Kheve accompanied Ithora to the front of a towering manor in the back of the town. She’d dropped him off at some house that kept spotting nonsense about “Avacyn this” and “Avacyn that” while they cast some light healing spells on him. If it hadn’t actually healed his wound, he would have continued to ask about that Avacyn lady but his first query on the subject had only garnered some odd looks and he resigned himself to silence until Ithora retrieved him.

           “Yes, yes, of course I know who Avacyn is. She’s the Guardian Angel of Innistrad. She’s the one who grants the priests their magic and wards.” Ithora said after his inquiries. “And sorry for leaving you there, I wasn’t lying about those clients and I needed to stop by them before coming back here.”

           “This plane is strange.” Kheve sighed, shaking his head. “And I can’t shake this feeling I have about it. Like something is about to jump me at all times.”

           “Indeed. Innistrad does have an air about it. Always making you feel like you have to look over your shoulder,” Ithora agreed before slamming the knocker against the door. “I like the architecture though.”

           Several seconds passed before the large double doors creaked open and a young man’s face peeked out. The face quickly split into a grin and the door was thrown open. “Mistress Ithora!  You’re back!”

           “Ah, Garth.” The planeswalker smiled as the door was thrown open for her. “It is good to see you again. Has everything been well in my absence?”

           “Of course, I have kept everything as you left it. An inspector came by last week but it was rather ritual and no problems arose.” The man said, closing the door behind the duo as he brushed his suit. “Will you or your guest require any assistance?”

           “I don’t think so; we’ll just be using the basement.”

           “Ah, I understand. Well, I will go prepare some refreshments for you then.” The butler gave a quick bow before heading making his way toward what Kheve assumed to be the kitchen. “I wish you luck, Lady Ithora.”

           “Thank you, Garth.” Ithora smiled, motioning for Kheve to follow her as she produced a key from her robes and unlocked a door, revealing a downward spiraling stair case.

           “Now, I know you have more questions, Ghildeer, but please hold them for the moment.” The witch commented as they descended. “I will answer them in time. Until then, I’ll explain what we’re doing on Innistrad because I know you’ve been keeping questions about Arangar barely held back.”

           “How…?”

           “Mind reading, to some extent. Not that I needed it. Your desire to return Arangar is splayed over your face. It was your home after all,” Ithora unlocked another door at the bottom of the stair case. “But I have kept you from Arangar for a reason. You’re dead there. It’s been three years since your little stunt. Not to mention Arangar has changed since then. You need to be ready when you head back, not on an impulse like you would now.”

           “What do you mean, changed? And-“ Kheve frowned, staring at Ithora intently, crossing his arms. “What’s to stop me from going back right now?”

           Ithora sighed deeply, rubbing her temples. “Nothing, actually. You could planeswalk there right now. Nothing is stopping you but I am simply warning you here. Arangar is not as you left it and you shouldn’t return until you are ready to accept that.”

           “And that’s it?”

           “Of course not,” Ithora chuckled, as if the mere proposition was insulting. “I would like you to stay, discover your powers and limits. That said, I do have my own reasons for that. I’m not asking for you to not return but Planeswalkers are a rarity and I don’t want you to throw your life away, if only because I’d like to use you later.”

           “That’s rather blunt of you,” Kheve said, rather surprised at her honesty. He’d never trusted her back on Arangar. She always seemed to know more than she let on and always knew what she wasn’t supposed to. This honesty was new. Had she changed this much in three years?

           “I thought you’d appreciate it.” Ithora waved her hand before procuring another key to unlock a second door. This one opened up to a massive underground chamber, large arching pillars of support lined the walls. Blue balls of flame burst to life to illuminate the tables and different workstations that ringed what appeared to be some sort of arena in the middle. “Now, are you going what I have to teach you or run off and get yourself killed again?”