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jackrrabbit · 3 years ago

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🤍 Haikyuu WIP excerpts

preview post for hq because recently i showed sara a list of my works in progress and she laughed at me and then made a dn joke like this is 2015 or something. we got:

🤍 communal property /// ushijima x f!reader x tendou 🤍 sunshower /// atsumu x f!reader x osamu 🤍 corporate ethics /// kuroo x f!reader

anyway these are all terrible first drafts and i'm not sorry. however i am very very into these pieces and if you're interested in seeing them finished, you should tell me fr fr

🤍 communal property /// Ushijima x f!Reader x Tendou

Summary: Tendou shares everything with Ushijima—his food, his dorm room, even the AVs he likes. Why not his girlfriend, too?

Tags/warnings: poly relationship in progress (only you and Tendou are dating at this point), mild suggestiveness ??, s*ze k*nk

Status: 10k words written (holy fuck lol) out of ~11k total? this bitch better get finished is2g

After the match, your voice is hoarse from screaming but you still manage to yell congratulations for your boyfriend when you meet him and Ushijima outside the locker room in the stadium. You’re pumped on the adrenaline of the game, so you don’t even protest like you usually would when Tendou picks you up in the middle of your hug and lifts you off the ground effortlessly. “How was I? Awesome, right? I told you we would beat them!”

“You did, you so did—“ Even though your throat hurts, you can’t help gushing about every rally, every soul-crushing block, every impossible spike. “—and then the guy on the left thought he was clear to shoot it but you just—“ You throw your arms in the air and mime hitting the ball down like a blocker. “Wha-bam!—and the look on his face! I thought he was going to punch you!”

Tendou laughs and lays a sloppy kiss on your cheek, just as thrilled as you are by the win. “You really liked it that much? I thought you weren’t into sports.”

“I loved it! You were so cool! I can’t believe I’m dating someone so cool!” You wrap your legs around his back and hug his face close to yours, reveling in the fact that this weirdo belongs to you wholly and entirely, that you get to have him to yourself (well, other than his roommate). “And I’m not into sports, I’m into you.”

Tendou smiles in a way that makes the sides of his eyes crinkle up and little red patches bloom over his cheeks, a look that says, I like you so much (Y/N), I like you I like you I like you, except he’s probably trying not to be mushy like that since Ushijima is standing off to the side.

You feel a little bad for ignoring him (no one likes being the third wheel, even if he never shows signs of caring) so when Tendou sets you down you turn to Ushijima. “And you! Holy shit, Tendou said you were good, but I didn’t know you were that good. The ball when you hit it was super loud—honestly, how are your hands okay? If I hit it that hard I’d probably break something.”

“My hands are fine…this is normal for me.”

But just because you’ve got them here in front of you and you’re still pumped from the exhilaration of the win, you can’t help grabbing Ushijima’s hand and flipping it palm-up to inspect. True to his word, there’s no redness, just the calluses he’s built up on his long fingers. “Wow.”

“You don’t need to worry about Wakatoshi,” Tendou tells you, grinning and then making a face. “He’s a monster, he can handle it.”

“No kidding. You’re both monsters.” You put the base of your palm up against Ushijima’s to gauge the size of his hand against yours, and without prompting Tendou grabs your other hand to press against his own. Tendou’s fingers are a bit longer, but Ushijima’s are…thicker, more solid. Your hands look like a little kid’s in comparison. “Can I be honest? Half the time I was thinking I actually feel bad for the other team. If I had to take on both of you at the same time, I’d probably cry.”

You’re (mostly) joking, but it’s still a complete shock when you see the side of Ushijima’s mouth curl up a tiny bit. You’ve known each other for months at this point, but you’ve never seen him smile until now. Half of you is wondering if this is some kind of optical illusion caused by the atmosphere and the dim light of the stadium cutting through the evening, but the other half of you enjoys it. You made Ushijima smile. You did that.

“Don’t sell yourself short, (Y/N).” Ushijima says, tipping his head to the side.

“Yeah!” Tendou chimes in, resting his chin on top of your head and folding his arms around your neck from his place behind you. “I’m sure you could take both of us. Right, Wakatoshi?”

So that’s probably a sign.

🤍 sunshower /// Atsumu x f!Reader x Osamu

Summary: [Kitsune AU] You find an old Ō-Inari shrine in the woods that may not be as abandoned as it looks.

Tags/warnings: Shinto religion, this preview is biased toward tsumu oops, yearning/soft vibes

Status: 3.9k words written out of 5–6k? total

Atsumu was the one who found you.

That’s how he likes to talk about it, that he found you, like you’d still be wandering around lost in the woods if it weren’t for him. Osamu thinks you would have found your way back home eventually but Atsumu likes it better this way, this framing that makes it seem like they saved you.

It’s hard for him to tell time linearly the way humans do but you mention once that you’ve known them for a year and that seems to fit. It’s spring now, almost barely tipping into summer, and it was spring when Atsumu found you. He remembers because of the way it was raining: light and tender, a summer rain early in the season, each little drop tapping off a leaf and then rolling into the forest bed to be eaten up by the grass and the soil.

Atsumu likes the rain, likes the sweet earthy smell it makes and the way the plants look so lush and green and alive, like they’d bleed if he sunk his teeth into them. He was out in the woods because of the rain ('Samu was in the shrine, as usual, attempting to set buckets under the millions of holes in the roof so the rainwater wouldn’t pool and rot through the wood underneath). But Atsumu was half asleep in a tree when he heard you crashing through the undergrowth, tripping over ferns and snapping every twig in your path (thought ya might be a bear, he tells you later, that’s how loud ya were) but he wouldn’t really have woken up if he hadn’t heard you singing.

(The odd thing is, you weren’t actually singing. You remember that day as vividly as they do: the warm, humid air making your skin feel sticky under your yellow raincoat; the tiny raindrops filtering through the canopy and kissing your cheeks; the ink feathering out on the damp xerox of the old map you found in your great-aunt’s attic so you could barely make out the “X” that was supposed to mark the location of the lost Inari shrine… You were cursing how stupid you’d been to go on a wild goose chase into the mountains with no cell service and no marked trail to look for a shrine that no one had seen in decades. You definitely weren’t singing.)

But Atsumu remembers it differently. No matter how many times you explain that you were just talking to yourself, when he replays the sound of your voice back then (reaching and lilting and falling, the way the birds talk to each other in the early morning, except the music of it was poured into syllables and words), it sounds like you’re singing. He wasn’t sure at first, hadn’t heard a voice that wasn’t Osamu’s in so many years that he gets tired counting them, but then he saw you push into view from between two bushes and he thought, a human!

A girl, too—it was hard to say at first because you were wearing that weird, slick jacket of yours, so bright yellow it was like an oversized flower blooming out of the grass, but then you tilted your head up to feel the rain on your face and the hood fell down and he knew. Not just a human, a girl! Atsumu wanted to yell for Osamu, make him come and confirm that there was a person wandering around not a mile from the shrine. A real person! Singing and smiling and wiping the rain off her cheeks (does that mean you like the rain, just like he does? did you come out to feel it too?) But he also wanted to surprise Osamu so he hid his tails and his ears and came down from the tree and asked if you had lost your way in the forest, since you were so far from any path…

When you think back on this yourself you’re amazed that you just went with him: a strange boy (man?) wearing a fox mask and traditional Shinto priest robes, which were somehow pristine white and red despite him having appeared from nowhere in the middle of a dense forest, who told you he had no idea what direction the village was but he could take you to the Inari shrine you’d been searching for…well. Maybe you were too surprised to be wary, or maybe you were just exhausted and lost. But you like to think you had a sense of it even then, the irrational belief that the boy in the woods was not just a boy in the woods.

Atsumu thinks you knew. Humans always understand, even when they try not to… He remembers, he took your hand that day in the forest and you saw that the claws on his fingers were too long to be human, and you said nothing because on some level you already felt it. Your skin was cool then, smooth and damp from the rain; he wanted to stop, run his hands up your arms, touch the places on your face where your mouth had been turned up at the corners and press his fingers into your cheeks.

🤍 corporate ethics /// Kuroo x f!Reader

Summary: [Office AU] The new junior marketing associate just happens to be Kuroo’s favorite camgirl, and he’s having trouble keeping his hands to himself.

Tags/Warnings: boss/employee, businessman!Kuroo as a reformed player, camgirl reader, this excerpt has a lil bit of 18+ content 👀

Status: 1.2k words written out of 4k? words total

Kuroo doesn’t watch porn.

It’s not, like, a moral principle or something. He has nothing against pornography. As far as he knows, it’s perfectly normal for single men. He just doesn’t like it…unless it’s you.

When he was in school it was easy. Being a teenager meant being so flooded with hormones that a warm breeze could get him up, and the adrenaline rush of winning a game was better than any big-titted porn actress faking moans into a shit-quality boom mic. Sure, he watched porn back then (what teenage boy didn’t?), but it was more out of curiosity than necessity. It was all kind of a mystery at that point, the way it can only be when you’re a clueless virgin and you and all your friends are too busy practicing for the next game to get girls.

Somehow Bokuto was the first one in their friend group to lose his virginity, and the memory of the dumbass self-consciously describing the experience has been lodged in Kuroo’s brain for the 10+ years since. “It was…I don’t know. She smelled good. You know how girls always smell good?” Bokuto’s hands twitched and his face was pink. “It’s just really…soft.”

Soft was right, Kuroo would reflect when he got laid for the first time a few months later. Soft, warm, wet. Sex was awkward at first, but before he knew it it was more natural than breathing.

It didn’t change much after high school, either. He didn’t get into volleyball for the groupies, but they didn’t hurt. There were girls when he played for his college team, more girls when he joined a business frat, so many girls he couldn’t keep track…they blurred together after a while. It didn’t take effort. You don’t need game when you’re 6’2 and you’re in the gym 40 hours a week, and you definitely don’t need porn.

So he never got into it. Now that he’s promoting volleyball instead of playing, things are more complicated. Kuroo’s never been the type who expects things to fall in his lap, but there are so many rules when it comes to dating in the real world. Good morning texts, anniversaries, flowers, parents. It’s exhausting. One time—seriously, just one time—Kuroo misses his girlfriend’s birthday to go watch a Jackals game, and the next time he sees her she throws her drink on him in public and keys his car. After that, Kuroo decides that until he’s ready to settle down there will be no more girlfriends. Which means no more reliable sex. Which means resorting to porn.

Which means you.

You, batting your eyelashes at the camera and biting the side of your lip. You, purring and mewing like a kitten. You, lying back on your pretty pink bedsheets in your pretty pink lingerie, sliding your hands between your legs. It takes Kuroo a full month to decide to pay for access to your website (Kenma’s unsolicited recommendation) but it takes less than five minutes for him to upgrade access to premium. You look like a wet dream—no, you look like the centerfold of every dirty magazine Kuroo managed to get his hands on when he was younger. Pristine and alluring and so deliciously out of reach.

And you make it so simple. No delicate emotional games with rules Kuroo never bothered to learn. No pretending to care how your day was. You untie the little bows on the side of your panties and lick your fingers and Kuroo just has to take his dick out and watch you. Getting off hasn’t been this easy for him since college. You’re a camgirl, you exist on his computer screen, and that’s how he likes it.

Which makes it a lot more awkward when Kuroo finds out that the only woman he’s gotten off to in the past…year, maybe?…somehow just got hired in JVA’s sports promotion department as his junior associate.

Your prim work blouse is buttoned up to the collar and your makeup is different, but he knows it’s you. You have to tell him your name twice because he’s too stunned to respond the first time, and even then he can’t summon up more of a response than a curt nod because his mouth tastes like dirt.

You smile a little awkwardly at his cool reception, and the hand you’d extended out to shake swings back down to your side. “Um, the guy at HR said he sent up my info yesterday…I’ll be working directly underneath you?”

Directly underneath me. Kuroo is taking a sip of his coffee when you say this. He doesn’t spit it out, but it’s close.

#haikyuu x reader #ushijima x reader #tendou x reader #atsumu x reader #osamu x reader #kuroo x reader #hq x reader #haikyuu #ushijima wakatoshi x reader #tendou satori x reader #atsumu miya x reader #osamu miya x reader #kuroo tetsuro x reader #haikyuu imagines

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starcrossedkaiju · 3 years ago

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Kingslayer AU: Chapter Six

Finally. Onto the newer chapters. These’ll have a lot more character development and bonding. I wrote this about two days ago. So it’s hot off the presses.

I’m actually kinda proud of this one. Also I’m trying to make these shorter because I don’t wanna be writing a single chapter for three days straight anymore; it was burning me the hell out.

Tango readjusted his scarf, throwing the end of it behind him. It hit Scott in the face on the way down.

“Watch it,” Scott smacked the man in front of him on the shoulder.

“You’re annoying,” Tango replied from in front of him.

“Guys,” Impulse scolded.

They were approaching the end of the tree line, which would lead them right to the gates of Dogwarts. Scott had been looking at his feet for most of the journey, which is why he ran into Tango when he stopped suddenly.

Tango turned around and pushed him away, “Watch it,” he said with sarcasm.

The group chose to stop just inside the trees. Impulse drew a cloth from his pocket and wrapped it over Scott’s eyes. If he was the one making the plan he wouldn’t have himself as a kidnapping victim, it was a bit on the nose. Tango said it was just for looks.

Scott’s weapons were taken and stashed in Impulse’s Ender Chest, as well as his pager.

Scott sighed, “I still don’t understand why we can’t just get in there and…” he made a stabbing gesture to the air.

Impulse made a sarcastic attempt at looking shocked, “okay, first off, there’s six of them and three of us,” he pointed out.

“Second, that would be impulsive and stupid. They would all come back and hunt us for sport,” he said.

“Says you,” Scott said in the wrong direction, because he was blindfolded. Impulse rolled his eyes at the jape.

“Okay, you ready?” Tango put a hand on Scott’s shoulder. Eager to get a move on.

“As ever,” Scott replied. Then he was lifted off his feet by his accomplices, both of which were taller than him. A hand under each arm.

The trio left the trees and trudged up the mountain towards Dogwarts. Scott went over his life choices in his head while Tango and Impulse quietly argued over not dropping him.

Apparently someone was waiting for them, because Tango began exchanging words with a person standing in front of the gates. It was Etho, no doubt. They discussed the elephant in the room, Scott stuck to the plan and said nothing. Even when Etho asked him how it felt.

He did flip him the bird though.

When Scott was re-introduced to the ground he was on a set of wooden steps. Tango had gone inside, presumably to alert the boss of the situation. Impulse kept a firm grip on Scott’s forearm.

“You know what to do right?” Impulse asked.

Scott nodded. Hoping his acting skills weren’t too rough around the edges.

The door clicked open and a pair of hands dragged him into the main base, pushed him down in a chair, and pulled his blindfold off.

Across from Scott, standing over the opened book on the enchantment table was the Red King. A shiny new pair of sunglasses rested on his face, on top of a purple-tinted nose, and his arm was in a sling. The sight almost brought a smile to Scott’s face.

Ren clapped the book shut and stood to assess his guest.

“Well, what a pleasant surprise,” he greeted without a smile.

Tango put a hand on Scott’s back, “I think you’d be pleased to know he came to us,” he said.

An eyebrow raised from under Ren’s sunglasses. He reached out and pulled a chair from a table near the wall, positioning it in front of Scott.

Ren sighed and sat down, crossing his legs, “is that so?” he asked. Scott started getting uncomfortable.

Impulse made to speak up but was silenced by a hand.

“Let the man speak for himself,” Ren ordered, “come on now dude. Don’t tell me you’ve lost your voice,” he teased.

Scott cleared his throat, “I came to them. Yes,” he confirmed.

“Why,” Ren asked sternly.

Scott did his best not to squirm.

“I changed my mind,” he said, “I want except your offer. To join the Red Army,” Scott explained.

Ren laughed out loud. He threw his head back and leaned backwards. Scott bit the inside of his lip and looked away. Tango shifted on his feet.

“Really?” Ren asked, he was almost crying.

“Ren…” Impulse attempted to calm the king down but was silenced.

“No, no, by all means I want to hear what Major has to say,” Ren said with encouragement.

Scott grimaced, “Although I do not agree that kidnapping me was the best way to go about gaining my interest,” he started.

“Well it certainly gained some interest,” Ren said under his breath.

“I was already considering leaving my agreement with the Red Desert; and do not get me wrong I don’t appreciate anything you and your men have put me or my husband through,” Scott raised his voice. Assertiveness taking over, he stood up.

“I can see an opportunity when it holds an axe above my head,” Scott crossed his arms.

“I am willing to come to an agreement with you. I will join your army, I will act as a double agent, I will act under your orders, on one condition,” he held up a finger.

Ren slowly stood to meet his gaze, although he was a lot taller.

“Jimmy will not be involved,” Scott said explicitly.

The Red King turned away and went back to the enchantment table, he gazed into the book absently. Then tossed it back on the table.

“You’re on thin Ice Major,” Ren concluded and quickly left.

Scott expected a handshake at least.

“I’d say that went pretty well,” Tango said after the door slammed.

“He agreed?” Scott asked.

“Well he didn’t reject. So I’d say you’re hired,” Impulse provided.

“He thinks you’re a valuable asset. I don’t think he could afford to refuse your offer,” Tango leaned down and reassured.

Scott slouched down in the chair and rubbed his eyes. This was a bad idea.

His first orders came two days later. He was put in charge of the “chores”. Which essentially meant he was doing everything nobody else wanted to do.

Tango assured him that the Red Army was just sizing him up to see if he was actually serious. It was precaution, considering Scott had sort of blindsided them by joining forces. Nobody would look him in the eyes unless they were ordering him around. He knew he wasn’t meant to feel welcome there.

“They’ll come around, although I’m not sure why it bothers you,” he said.

“It’s just awkward,” Scott excused, “they act like I’m gonna pull a knife on them whenever there’s only two of us on the room,” he said.

“Well, after you showed them the door two weeks ago they’ve been a bit jumpy,” Tango replied.

Being the supply runner meant the sacrifice of his sleep schedule, except for his three “off days”. In order to operate effectively he had to do most of his chores at night when his husband was sleeping; and thank god he did that most of the time.

Most of the time.

The other times Scott packed a bag full of iron or wood and said he was running errands under the guise of not being able to sleep. It didn’t feel good to lie, but as far as Jimmy was concerned Scott only left the house on the nights they were both awake.

At the next meeting Scott complained to Tango over a bottle of mystery alcohol, “I may as well be an indentured servant,” he poured himself another glass.

“You know, Scott, you’re actually doing something pretty important,” Tango said from where he was lounging on a pile of pillows.

“Indentured servant,” Scott repeated.

“You’re the one in charge of all their resources. I mean they even have you doing farm work right? So you know like, everything about them,” Tango pointed out.

Scott put his head down on the table, “to the last stack of paper,” he deadpanned.

Tango sighed, he got up and pat his teammate on the back.

“At least you’re not on Nether duty,” he said.

“I’m leading a double life! I’m lying to my husband, I’m lying to my friends, I’m lying to the whole Red Army! Who am I?,” Scott shouted; and he meant it more than he’d like to under the alcohol.

“Okay, that’s deeper than I wanna go,” Tango replied. He sat back down and chugged the last of his drink.

“I mean I’m just sitting here, letting other people write my life for me!” Scott continued.

“Okay calm down,” Tango said.

“No! I won’t. You have no idea what I’ve been through,” Scott stood up, his chair slammed on the ground.

Tango shot to his feet, “then enlighten me, Scott. Enlighten me on how hard your life has been while you ignored the rest of the server,” he yelled.

“While you sat back and did nothing, watching the world fall apart around you?” he provided.

“You don’t know me,” Scott said with disgust.

“And who does, Scott?” Tango replied.

The other couldn’t answer, because Tango was right. Scott nodded curtly, picked up his drink, and left the room.

He finished his drink on the way out and threw the glass against the rock face next to the abandoned cow farm.

The shards exploded and scattered in the snow.

Impulse found him sitting on a bolder an hour later, sharpening a stick with a rock.

“I heard you had a disagreement,” he said without warning.

Scott turned around, then resumed his sulking.

“We had an argument, you may as well call it what it is,” he replied.

“Hm,” Impulse responded.

“He insulted me,” Scott complained.

“Does “insulted” mean he said something true that you don’t like?” Impulse asked.

Scott didn’t respond.

Impulse leaned on the side of the bolder and looked into the distance, thinking about his next sentences. Chips of wood fell near his feet.

“You know it would be a lot easier if you two could just get along,” he said.

“Okay dad,” Scott deadpanned.

“Don’t start with me now. I’m trying to help you,” Impulse cautioned.

“Sorry,” Scott apologized. He felt worse when he insulted Impulse than when he insulted Tango.

“I know he’s a bit of a handful, but so are you. I want to make this as easy as possible, and I know you’re not looking to make friends right now, but I think you would feel better-“ Impulse started, Scott rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“You would feel better if you just,” he gestured with his hands between himself and Scott, “let us in,” Impulse finished a bit dejected.

Scott stopped sharpening his dwindling stick. He sighed and dropped it in his lap, putting his head on his knees.

“Who else can it be Scott? Don’t shut down on us like this,” Impulse begged.

“Leave me alone,” Scott said without hesitation.

Impulse lingered next to him, then pat his hand on the rock and nodded. He walked away.

Scott raised his head and watched him until his head disappeared under the hill.

#ACT 2 BABEY #kingslayer au #3rdlife #3rd life smp #3rdlife smp #scott smajor #me trying to remember who is in this #tangotek #impulsesv #rendog #ethoslab #barely but he is there.#mcyt #cas types

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 5 years ago

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Earth is A Deathwrold, “The Forest.”

Wrote a little something to start your day off or maybe finish it, who knows. Have a great day everyone :)

“My family has lived in these mountains for more than three thousand years.”

“How can you be sure of that.”

“Because we have records going back two thousand years and then records of my family's tribe before that. For that reason, no one knows these mountains better than I do, and even then, I still don’t know everything there is to know. Every time I go out in the woods, I feel something new.” Krill glanced over at Sunny. If he could raise an eyebrow he would have.

OF all the places they could go on their weekend, and she had decided to go on a guided hike. This would be just like something Adam would do.

He thought of all the people he wouldn’t have to remind Sunny how dangerous Earth forests were with their trees, and animals, and poisonous plants, and, well, pretty much everything.

“Don’t give me that look, Krill. You know if Adam was here he would take us out to do the same thing, and you needed to quit moping anyway. He’s going to be back soon.”

Krill crossed his arms emphatically, “I am not moping.”

“You are too moping, and it’s honestly kind of pathetic. You get all cranky when Adam isn’t around.”

“That's because I worry about his health and safety.”

“He’s a grown man.”

“He's a man child.”

She sighed and turned back to look at their guide who was staring on in mild amusement. This human had dark tan skin, deep brown eyes and long dark hair pulled back from his face. He wore a green ranger’s uniform, but she knew for a fact he was off duty, “We’re ready.”

He smiled, and motioned them to follow him.

Krill held onto Sunny's shoulder as they followed the human into the woods.

“Aren't we going to take a trail?”

“You don’t need a trail when you have me.”

“I definitely think a trail would-.”

“Is your mind ever still?”

Sunny shoo her head, “No, never, not even a little bit.”

“Well try. I can’t show you anything if you don’t also listen.”

“Now that just makes no sense.”

Sunny huffed and the ranger sighed, “There is more in these woods to hear that there is to see. The wind leaves the animals.” Then past over soggy earth and into a meadow filled with bright wildflowers. Krill was about to ask another question, but the ranger held up a hand despite not looking at him, “Shhh, just listen, to the silence.”

Krill turned to glower at Sunny, and she smirked at him, but he angrily did as told focusing away from his eyes and towards his ears. He could hear the wind in the trees, the distant chirp of birds, rustling in the underbrush, their feet as it moved over packed earth. In the silence there was also a strange rushing. A sort of white noise that you expect to find at the ocean but comes from deep within the mountains.

He watched their new human friend from the corner of his eye as it led them deeper into the mountains. For all sunny knew this creature was more interested in killing them and eating them.

How did she even know him?

With his usual paranoia, krill continued to watch as the green clad human lead them through patches of shadow, over rocks and through little mountain gullies. He used no trail, but it seemed as if all of his senses were alive, following something into the forest. He used his hands to trace over rough packed dirt He scanned his eyes through the underbrush and lifted his head eyes closed allowing little gusts of air to sweep hair about his face.

He listened, and occasionally, krill thought he saw the human smelling at the air.

And as they went they were led deeper and deeper into the forest, krill had to admit that there was something peaceful about it, almost surreal, like being removed from one’s own head and being surrounded by the quiet.

A couple of times, he thought he saw the human smiling over his shoulder at him.

They had made it a good hour or two into the woods when they broke into a nearby clearing. Sunny was about to step out with him, but right at the edge of the treeline, she was stopped by the human, who had pulled back into the shadows.

Sunny blinked and looked around. Krill did as well.

The ranger shook his head.

Krill looked over Sunny’s shoulder, but in the clearing, he saw nothing, nothing except for a strangely geometric circle of wildflowers, in the middle of which there was nothing but a barren patch of dirt.

That was strange, there seemed to be nothing growing inside that circle.

“We go around.” he muttered

“Why?”

“Because, we don’t want to trespass.”

“Trespass on what exactly?” Krill found himself whispering.

“Well, the fey, of course.” The human smiled at him, and he wasn’t entirely sure if the creature was pulling his leg or not.”

“What are the fey?”

The human smiled again slowly motioning him to follow as he led them around the open circle, “The fey or fairies, are a group of mystical creatures known to make mischief. Most of the time if you trespass on their land you forfeit your rights as human, and the laws of the fey world become absolute. If you take anything from a fey, you are immediately required to stay with them for the rest of eternity. There are many rules governing the world of the fey, so it is best just to avoid team.”

Krill snorted, “Ah yes…. fairies .”

“You laugh, but through all these years as a ranger, I have seen things I cannot explain.”

“Like what.”

“Like the time someone went missing in the forest. He was lost on a relatively well traveled hiking trail. We didn’t find him for over six months. The search party was called off after those first few weeks. Six months later I am hiking in an unrelated part of the forest forty miles away n the other side of a mountain, and I find this man’s decomposing corpse hanging from a forty-foot tall tree with impact wounds that looked like he had been dropped from a great height. There were no cliffs in the area, and it appeared as if the man had died three months earlier.”

Rill frowned. The math on that didn’t particularly add up.

“Then a year ago we went looking for a missing child. His parents turned around for five seconds and when they turned back he was gone. I found his body forty feet up a sheer cliff-face stuffed into a crevice five months later. He had been dead only two hours, and was wearing the same clothes he had been lost in.”

Sunny’s eyes widened and Krill snorted.

He was expected to believe that?

The ranger waved at him, “Say what you will, but the forest is a dangerous and unusual place if you don’t know how to respect her.”

“Would you say you are superstitious then?”

“Very. Look, I can’t explain everything in the world, and I have no desire to do so. I see no harm in giving things the respect they deserve even if, later, it turns out I was wrong”

The human was not particularly kidding about him being superstitious. More than a few times, he leads them around strange objects or formations. There was at one point, a time when they were heading towards another low gully in the middle of the woods, and all of a sudden their entire party grew very uneasy.

The woods seemed darker to Krill than they had before.

But he shook it off.

Sunny seemed to be behaving similarly.

But the ranger, he looked downright terrified, grabbed the two of them by the arm and pulled them away quick time setting them to a low jog in the opposite direction.

Sunny and Krill stared at him in confusion not entirely sure what to make of it.

“What was that all about.”

The human just shook his head, “We were not welcome?”

“From what.”

“Does it matter. When you are not welcome somewhere, you do not question it.”

“What are you worried about angering the wendigo.”

It was at that moment that Krill was pretty sure he had made a huge mistake, as the human grabbed him and had a hand pressed over his mouth in under a millisecond flat. Even sunny looked shocked, “We do not joke about those ind of things here.”

He let Krill go, and Krill stared on in confusion and mild terror.

“I come from a line of people who believe you can attract things to you based off the kind of energy you put off. Now I don’t know if it’s true or not, but joking about something’s existence is bound to piss it off enough to test its patience.” he took a deep breath and adjusted his shirt, ‘now there are a few other things it could have been. It could have been the den of a mountain lion, or a bear. It could have been a subliminal sense of danger, an incorrect smell, or the way the rocks looked. Or it could simply have been us all getting paranoid at once, but whatever it is, I would rather be safe than sorry. Now come on, let’s take you back.”

Krill stayed quiet and tried not to joke more about the supernatural things. Apparently humans tended to take that sort of thing seriously. They heard more stories form the strange ranger, about finding people in places they shouldn't be, staircases in strange places, the sudden loss of time.

“There was one point, when I was doing some training out in the field. We were on top of a mountain, and I went off to go to the bathroom. It was so weird, after I was finished, it was like time seemed to slow down. I got starving, and I was looking around in the forest thinking I might be able to find something to eat. I was so hungry. It was all I could think about, and then suddenly I see one of the other rangers, sort of snaps me out of how hungry I was.” He shrugged, “I raise my hand to him and this guy looks terrified, he runs up to me, and he’s going off about where was I and what was I doing, what is going on we have been looking for you Of course, I am super confused and as what he’s on about, and this guy looks at me, and he’s all like you have been missing for three days.”

Krill and sunny stared at him

“I know, strange isn’t it. To me it almost seemed like hours. But it was three days and almost twenty miles over to the next mountain ridge. I don’t remember any of it.”

“Sounds like a dissociative fugue.”

“Maybe, whatever i was it was strange.” Behind them, the sun was just beginning to fall and the undergrowth was heading towards a deep black. They could see the parking lot just ahead of them, and it was at that moment, a blood curling shriek echoed up from the trees at their back.

Sunny leaped nearly a foot.

Krill squealed

The ranger jumped.

The scream came again.

It sounded like a woman’s voice in absolute gut wrenching agony. Like she was being eviscerated from the inside moving out.

The ranger turned back towards the trees his chin down his eyes up, “Get back to the car, but don’t run.”

“Don’t run! Don’t run.”

“Yes don’t run. It’s a mountain lion.” he stared hard into the trees, “It is a mountain lion and if you run it will have no other choice than to chase you. They don’t like to attack from the front and running will trigger her hunting instincts. Walk backwards towards the car very slowly and do not take your eyes off the treeline.”

Off to his side, krill heard a sharp metallic snik and watched as Sunny’s spear suddenly appeared in hand.

Of course, she wasn’t worried.

But together they backed towards the truck and got in.

As their headlights turned on, the high beams broke over a body hunched up against the treeline.

Sunny cursed in Drev.

The ranger nodded, “See, mountain lion.”

Krill stared in paralyzed horror at the massive cat as it stalked back into the trees. “Going to have to call that in. She is way to close to the trails for comfort, someone is going to get hurt.”

As they were driving away, Krill glanced back towards he woods, and did a double take as he thought he saw a tall willowy figure standing at the edge of the treeline in almost the same spot as the mountain lion with glittering red eyes, but when he looked again it was gone.

He sat back in his seat eyes straight forward.

He had a greater appreciation for the woods now because, for some reason, on earth nature is connected to something strange an unexplainable, and whatever it is krill was not interested in finding out.

#earth is a deathworld #Earth is space Ausralia #humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #HUMANS ARE WEIRD

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therealabbyham · 4 years ago

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Racism in modern media.

A lot of controversy over the depiction of people of color (POC) in modern media has arisen. With both the Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate movements that have happened in the last year, both new and old shows and movies have been brought forward as examples of what is not okay. Now, with some research, I'd like to go through these examples and go through what has made them controversial.

"Stock characters and slapstick tropes have always existed in theatre, from Shakespearean comedies to even something as seemingly benign as the Disney Channel show “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (remember Esteban?). But ethnic stock characters have been tricky to write in an increasingly politically correct 21st century, despite their appearances in such Broadway classics as “West Side Story” and “The King and I." (The Muse at Dreyfoos)

”Song of the South (Disney film) - By far one of the most controversial and well-known instances of controversy. So much so that Disney never sold the movie on DVD and will not be putting it on Disney plus. Disney's most recent effort to erase the racism from their history (also see: the crows in Dumbo and the original draft of Fantasia), was to go farther in changing Splash Mountain. Originally they had gotten rid of the characters on the ride (who were all characters from the movie), now, however, they are changing the ride altogether, changing it into a Princess and the Frog-inspired ride. "Song of the South’s African American characters are treated warmly, particularly Uncle Remus, who is Johnny’s best friend and confidant, a charismatic storyteller, and, most importantly, the film’s conduit to the animated world of Br’er Rabbit... The problem isn’t necessarily what Song of the South depicts, but what it chooses not to depict. Although Harris’ Uncle Remus stories were set in Georgia after the Civil War, the film adaptation never makes it clear when the story is taking place... If you’re not a scholar or an Uncle Remus expert, it’s very easy to assume that the film is set before the Civil War, and that Remus and Aunt Tempy (Hattie McDaniel) are slaves — and that they are completely fine with that." (Quotes from Screencrush) "By stripping out any concrete details of time and place, Disney essentially turned the plantation system into a ludicrous utopia where blacks and whites live in harmony — a harmony where the only thing that’s clear is that the blacks are inferior and servile to the whites, but are content to work the fields anyway." "Several of Remus’ stories are about Br’er Rabbit wanting to run away from his problems; the moral, inevitably, is that you can’t avoid trouble and there’s no place like home. These lessons are particularly important to Johnny because he doesn’t like life on the plantation initially and wants to run away to live with his father in Atlanta. But when coupled with the African American characters’ oddly cheerful attitude about their social status, the movie seems to be arguing on behalf of complacency. Don’t leave the plantation, don’t try to better yourself. Just go with the flow."

Thoroughly Modern Millie (Broadway show) - The show is about a young girl named Millie who moved from a small town to NYC, and the show is known for having "the subplot and the peddling of outdated Chinese stereotypes". (A lot of this will be in quotes from the previous link). Although "the play is set in the 1920s... the script was written in 2000, based on source material from the 1967 film of the same name" On Playbill, another study is done, "As much as the 2002 Tony-winning Best Musical is a love story about making it in the big city, the show’s major subplot centers on “white slavery.”" An argument could be made that “To actually have real Chinese guys singing and speaking in their own language and meaning it, and to link their immigrant story to the same story as Millie ... and come to America because of the American Dream, all these people who come to New York to reinvent themselves and be modern—I think is exactly what the Chinese guys are all about." (This is irrelevant if the characters are not played by someone who's Chinese). With accurate casting then it might be "another opportunity to cast shade on racist attitudes and assumptions about us [the Chinese] and what we know and how smart we are and what we’re capable of..." However it still "can be racist if you do it racist. This show can be done racist but it doesn’t have to and actually, it can actually be anti-racist." Personally, I think if the line you walk is so fine and covered in eggshells, it may not be worth it (but of course, it's an opinion, even if it's widely accepted). Even Ashley Park, who wanted to be Millie, thought “It’s one of the characters that I’ve loved, always, but I always figured I’d never play it just because of the race stuff that’s in [the show].” because she's Korean-American.

Emily in Paris (Netflix show) - Speaking of Ashley Parks, let's talk about Emily in Paris, one of Netflix's most controversial and most hated shows. To put it simply, the show (which I have not seen) is about an American girl who moves to Paris. Yep. That simple. In a video by Friendly Space Ninja (who's French), he says "I've been insulted by this show, more than once... Emily in Paris has a huge racism problem... and it also comes up as arrogant." He goes on to say, "When people say Emily in Paris portrays French culture in a very insulting way, they're not exaggerating." "The French in this show think Americans are the greatest and they aspire to be more like them and as a French person myself... Yeah no that's not accurate." "During the entire show, Emily tries to teach the French that doing things the American way is the right way." (I highly recommend watching this video if you don't mind the swear words, it has good points, that's why I'm just using quotes). "Emily in Paris only has two characters of color... these two characters of color are made of degrading cliches..." "All of the racist things [Mindy, a POC character,] says were written by a white writer." "The other non-white character is this guy... He's one of Emily's co-workers and he's gay... and I had to read he was gay online... and his entire point of existence in this show is to be the most stereotypical gay man the writers could come up with... all he does is stand in the background and act sassy... The writers are so dismissive with him I'm pretty sure the only reason they made him black is so they could kill two birds with one stone." "Emily in Paris has two actors of color and both of them feel like an afterthought." My thoughts: Don't watch this show. It has a season two coming out, don't watch it, even if you want to see how bad it is. There will be someone online who will tell you why it's bad and you'll save time reading or watching their review instead of giving Netflix a reason for a season three.

Anyways, those are just a few (obvious) examples of how racism isn't okay, even if it isn't inherently meant to be racist. Song of the South was meant to be a heart-warming movie full of stories about morals, but it's been banned and basically erased from Disney history because it comes off as being pro-slave. Millie was meant to be a commentary on Asain stereotypes while lifting up Asain actors so they were given more opportunities, yet most schools have banned it. And Emily in Paris, despite its connections that got it nominated for awards, was such a dumpster fire, a good review is near impossible to find.

#black lives matter #stop asain hate #song of the south #disney #thoroughly modern millie #broadway #ashley park #emily in paris #netflix

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sandu-zidian · 4 years ago

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Hello! I doubt many people are gonna read this, but I decided to finally post on here about my Star Wars planet! I wanted to create a planet that was based off of Asian culture, specifically, Chinese culture. Star Wars does a lot of things right, but I don’t think diversity in world-building is one of them. I’m not an expert and I’m pulling off of my own experiences as much as I am research. I posted about it on Insta a while ago, but lowkey Tumblr is much more suited for very, very long posts. So, get ready for a lot, and I mean a lot of info under the line!

General Info:

Area: Mid-Rim

Size: mid-size

Population: 2 billion

Geography: One large continent surrounded by water, with croppings of islands on the coasts. Mountainous in the northern and western regions of the mainland, with plains spread across the rest.

Climate: temperate, slightly humid. But northern mountain ranges get very cold.

Capital: Zhongjing, resided in the middle of the continent, next to a large river that cuts through the city from north to south. Is surrounded by plains (though you can see the northern mountains on a good day)

Geography:

Northern Mountains:

The northern mountains of Nassora’s large continent spans the whole northern side. Climate is quite cold, spending much of the year around and below zero degrees. Original settlers in this area stuck to the mountain base and the ocean.

The main interest of this area is the fishing and lumber industry. Large forests span the surrounding areas and mountains. As sea villages, fishing was also the main source of food, making it an obvious trading item. With the abundance of wood, making homes and boats was easy. Hunters also venture into the forests, killing elk and bears for meat and fur. Traditional clothing of this area is layered with dense fur and thick hide.

Flora: large pine trees, grass and wildflowers during the short summer season. May see some winter fruit, but not much.

Fauna: large bears (white and brown fur), elks, hares, owls, small rodents, white tiger (found between the Western and Northern mountains)

Western Mountains:

The western mountains are hot and humid, similar to a jungle climate. A river, the XiJiang (西江), flows through the mountains, hugging the base, flowing from north to south. With large areas of marshy land, Nassorans found a specific type of grain that thrives in this climate: rice. Many Nassorans in the western area planted rice and used water buffalos to help work the fields. Other plants bore fruit, which grow in flatter areas in groves. The subtropical climate of this area also makes it a perfect place to grow spices. Salt mines are also abundant within the mountains. Food in this area consists of spicy food to help combat the heat. Another common plant found is bamboo, which is useful for making paper.

A large river runs parallel to the mountain, separating the cities close to the mountain from the mainland. Bridges will be built later, but this forced villages and cities to be pushed closer to the mountain, where hot weather gets trapped between the mountains and the river. This causes a large layer of fog to fall over many cities.

Flora: rice, fruit, large trees with vines, spices, bamboo

Fauna: monkeys, large birds, cranes, water buffalos, monkeys, tiger

Plains:

The large plains spread from the center of the continent to the south and east. By far the largest area on the continent, the climate here is mild and temperate compared to the west. But humidity and heat increase as you travel further south. Two rivers occupy the plains: Gui He (龟河), the winding river that branches out, one headed for the Capital and one headed into the plains, and Yu He (玉河), which is further north. Small lakes also crop up in this area, making for good sources of water outside the river.

Because of the flat area, early Nassorans in this region were nomadic, using domesticated horses to herd cattle. Eventually, they settled down as they discovered farming. Nassorans grew vegetables, fruit, and grain. Other plants grown are cotton and indigo down in the southern plains. Hills pop up every so often in the mostly flat area, and small pockets of woods can be found closer to the east. Outside of farming areas, tall grass spans the area, and gives a very idyllic landscape. Pockets of sugar cane can also be found near the lakes in this region.

Flora: fruit trees, grain, cotton, smaller trees, tall grass, sugar cane

Fauna: horses, cattle, chickens, small birds, rodent animals

History:

Pre-Space Travel:

Nassorans were groups of nomadic settlers spread across the continent. Plain residers herded cattle on domesticated horses, and used the large areas of flat land to build farms, harvesting grain and eventually cotton. Were the first to settle into villages. Groups living in the northern mountains moved around a lot more, eventually moving south as the colder climate became harder to reside. Some stay in the north near the ocean. Groups living in the western mountain ranges found a wet, temperate climate, perfect for growing rice and spices.

After a couple hundred years, trade was established between these three areas, and eventually, a governing body formed to connect the trade routes and eventually, the people. A man named Huangwei (皇位) crusaded across the continent, uniting the people under one flag, and established a monarchy under his family. Later, he is coveted as the ‘messiah’ of the Nassorans, for his reign brought prosperity to the land. They say he opened the Spirit World and connected it to the Mortal World.

After almost 1000 years, a group of space travelers found Nassora. Intrigued by the majority-water planet, this group of sentients descended onto Nassora. The Nassorans, fascinated yet terrified, welcomed these foreigners. Many wondered if they were immortals. But after seeing a couple die of disease, the rumor died quickly. With the introduction of intricate technology, Nassorans quickly adapted to the new opening of the planet to space.

Post-Space Travel:

After the introduction of space travel, many changes quickly opened up.

Rapid advancement in technology: as foreigners came, Nassorans quickly picked up new theories and inventions which were disseminated across the continent. Fishing, which was very important in the north, became much easier. Agriculture became much more efficient. With the new influx of information, more and more Nassorans began to develop mathematical and scientific skills to do their own research. Many even went off-world to learn from other planets. Over time, the imperial capital of Nassora, Zhongjing (中京) will develop into the technological center of Nassora, surrounded by agriculture.

Increased trade: With new planets discovering Nassora, trade between them increased significantly. To keep up with this, Nassora had to quickly adapt their agricultural industry to keep up with demand. Farms grew, more workers were needed. Eventually, Nassora found itself as an impressive agricultural planet.

Dissemination of Nassoran religion and clothing: Nassorans were one of the first Jedi. With many of their people supposedly “Blessed” with these powerful gifts, Force-Sensitives were incredibly dear to Nassorans. When rumors of a new religious group surrounding FS began to pop up, many were interested to meet others similar to them. With them, they brought ancient religious texts (as many FS were monks living in HuangDi’s temple, thanking him for their gifts) and their style of clothing. While the Jedi today are very different to Nassorans in regards to religion, the foundation of the Jedi philosophy was Nassoran, and their clothing is still reminiscent of traditional Nassoran clothing.

Increased planetary involvement: Nassora’s relationships with other planets led to the increasing need for Nassora’s involvement with other planets in order to ensure they benefit. However, this also went vice versa. Other planets began to encroach into Nassoran life, as one of the few large agricultural planets in the region. Superior weapons and power meant Nassora could do little without invoking outright physical conflict, or even war.

Increased diversity and conflict: with the influx of new species onto the planet, many Nassorans were wary. But most people were curious and excited for such a development. However, with their lack of intellectual prowess and seemingly strange lifestyle, many off-worlders were condescending and outright discriminatory, holding their superior technology as a sign of their superiority over the Nassorans. They treated the Nassorans as lesser, and this led to many conflicts between individuals, and eventually the governments.

As tensions between Nassora and other nearby planets rose from the treatment of Nassoran people and political tensions, a woman called Meng Xiao Gen began to plan a revolt. After a year of planning, the group Shadow Hand, which was made of a large number of Nassorans, launched a continent wide attack against the off-worlders, essentially driving them off the planet. The government, while not involved in the planning, did little to stop it. With no connection to the group, other planetary governments could do nothing against them without seeming the aggravator.

After this event, Nassora closed its borders to all off-worlders that were not traders. Even then, traders were confined to a few cities, unable to leave their assigned room/house. Nassorans were allowed to leave, but could not bring back a foreigner. Most Nassorans at this point didn’t want to leave, and were content to be almost isolated. Unless for trade or family reasons, no Off-Worlders were allowed onto the planet. The Jedi, who were closely tied to Nassoran’s religious temples, were also driven off. Most FS from this time on are taught within the temples or by private tutors, if their family was wealthy enough.

After a couple of centuries of isolation, Nassorans became even more wary of off-worlders. The amount of animosity towards anyone that did not look or dress or talk like Nassorans were at an all time high. As the Republic’s power grew and Nassora’s prowess waned, the government found it was high time to reconnect with the greater galaxy in hopes of rekindling planetary relations. Now much more technologically advanced, the worry was less about being seen as lesser, and more about Nassoran people’s ire and xenophobia.

Era of the Republic:

Nassora officially joined the Republic 245 BBY, one of the most recent additions to the Republic. In a couple of years, the planet opened its borders, to the wariness of the people. Slowly, entering and leaving the planet began to increase, as more came for job opportunities and tourism, for the elusive agricultural planet was a mere shadow to many. In the Senate, Nassora has one Senator, dominated by the wealthy and noble Yan family, who are very closely tied to planetary politics as well.

Nassora’s political stance was to keep the Republic as far from their planetary politics as possible. They disliked laws that forced Nassora to be more involved than it already was. They were also at odds with the banking clan, as they tried to integrate themselves into the galactic banking system, only to find themselves blocked at seemingly all avenues. From a galactic view, Nassora was still a developing planet, despite their technological advancements from limited connections to the rest of the galaxy.

When Nassora first opened up and the first off-worlder tourists came passing through, misunderstandings plus the tense climate around letting off-worlder into Nassora led to some violent first couple of months. Off-worlders and Nassorans alike were attacked, and protests began against letting off-worlders into their shops and their towns. Many Nassorans announced their fear of history repeating itself. Slogans like “Never Again” and “Leave us Be” became popularly used. Eventually, the government was forced to step in to quell the protests. After five months of tension, politicians like the Yan family pleaded for the people to be understanding, showing their support of opening borders by publicly mingling with off-worlders. Protests stopped, but tension lasted for another year or two.

Nassora, being a largely agricultural system, was sought after for trade opportunities. However, the government was still cautious of trusting new planets that wanted to trade with them. After opening their borders, their textile industry boomed. The quality of their cloth from well grown cotton and the mix of technology meant that many wealthy elites craved new quality clothing. However, the importance of clothing in Nassoran culture made it very hard for anyone to get their hands on it. Many wealthy planets tried very hard to make pleasing deals for it. Nassora won’t be so easily persuaded however, and is a constant battle.

After opening up, the Jedi Order began to resurface in Nassora. Many came on pilgrimages, to see where the foundations of the Jedi religion came from. Some came to seek out new initiates, only to be rebuffed most of the time. There are a handful of times when the Jedi came with a diplomat in order to settle trade disputes. Overall, the Jedi, while open to Nassora, found that the people were just as wary of them as they were everybody else. With each new generation of Nassorans, the xenophobic nature began to dispel as young children became used to seeing off-worlders.

In the years leading up to the Clone Wars, the Nassoran government saw an increasing number of cases of corruption within the Republic. One such instance was the Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY. Nassorans were horrified at the encroachment of the Trade Federation into Naboo, and the Republic’s lack of help. Nassorans applauded Nabooians’ strength, as they fought off the invaders themselves. Increasing instances of such encroachment and no help from the Republic led to increasing bitterness and hatred to the Republic. In 22 BBY, Senator Yan Ruwei pulled Nassora out of the Republic alongside the CIS, though became an independent system rather than join. The Nassoran people were tired of such galactic politics, and were glad to begin looking inwards once more.

Era of the Empire:

In 19 BBY, the Republic dies, and the Empire rises. With a direct connection to the Jedi, the Empire seeked to control what information about the now dead religious group was known. But Nassora was not under Republic or Imperial jurisdiction. So, after establishing power over the Senate and current Republic planets, the Empire began its crusade over independent systems. Planets such as Mandalore and Lasan were under heavy attack, and Nassora made its way onto that list. In 17 BBY, the Empire began it’s invasion. The Invasion of Nassora lasted 2 years, ending when the capital was taken. Much of Nassora’s beautiful plains and farms were razed in the fighting. In the next years, as the Empire established firm control, Nassorans got to rebuilding.

Under Imperial control, the Empire usurped the monarchy, placing a governor and Moff to keep the government under their control. The former senator was brought back, under a very tight leash. In order to try and destroy everything tied to the Jedi, the Empire also began razing Shenist Temples. Many monks and locals tried to protect them, but were unsuccessful. After the slaughter of a group of Huangdi Blessed children, receiving Blessed tattoos became forbidden. Their five large festivals also ceased, leaving a generation of Nassorans uneducated to a large part of their heritage and culture.

Nassorans became increasingly angry and bitter under Imperial rule. Rebellion ranged from small inconveniences towards Imperial troops and officers to outright fighting. A small rebel cell began growing in the years after Invasion. But because of their small size, they were limited in scope of their attacks. Many Nassorans were also against hurting their own planet and people more, for fear that the Spirits would become angrier than they already were. Despite the struggles, the rebel cell stayed strong against Imperial power. Some Nassorans chose to join the larger Rebellion at hand or travelled to Lothal or Mandalore. Others chose to help both the local rebel cell and larger alliance by providing supplies and local help whenever they could. The government also began preparing for war, and attacked after the Liberation of Lothal.

War lasted for years. When the Emperor died, Imperial forces began falling apart. In a couple of months, Nassora finally drove off the last Imperials from their planet. In celebration, the people immediately began rebuilding their temples, and started giving facial tattoos to the children who were never given the honor. Many of these children were now adults, age 18, who were born right before and during the Invasion of Nassora. Senator Talira returned from her place in the Alliance to help restore Nassora to its former glory. Eventually, she’ll become the PM. Nassora will not join the New Republic. However, they will have fairly good relations with the governing body, who leave them to their own devices for the most part.

Culture

Language:

Nassora’s standard language is called Nassu, using the common written language and plain dialect. All three regions, before unifying, had their own dialect. Trade made it so that all three dialects had similar grammar usage. Close trading connections also forced writing to be standardized very early on, even though dialect stayed mutually unintelligible.

The foundation of the language is from a set of pictograms, which associate a pictorial with a morpheme. Ideograms are characters in which the pictorial describes abstract ideas. The most common form of logograms in the language is the radical-phonetic compounds, in which the first part of the character indicates meaning and the latter half indicates pronunciation. This latter half allowed Nassu to grow it’s vocabulary significantly. The rebus-principle is also incredibly important to the development of Nassu. (i’m not a linguist, especially not one for a barely explored set of languages). Despite Nassu being used by all citizens, as it is the standard, usage of dialect is still very prominent between locals. The further you get from the capital and the plains, the more you will hear dialect being spoken.

After the first opening of Nassora, basic became a common language as well, and continued to have minor influence even during its isolation given the need to keep up governmental and trade relations. Basic became even more common after joining the Republic, as more off-worlders began entering the system and even staying, though Nassu is still much more common, enough that many off-worlders learn the language to ease their stay.

Nassorans take much pride in their culinary diversity. The different regions have different food staples that dominate their eating habits. However, some habits are common across the whole planet. Food is a sign of love and work ethics. Every family will always meet for at least one meal, usually lunch or dinner. This communal eating habit fosters both familial and friendly connections. During large celebrations and festivals, communities will come together for large potlucks where communal food reserves are redistributed among the community. During the four large festivals, the Royal family will redistribute part of the government surplus as a sign of goodwill and generosity. This will pass from hand to hand: Emperor to Princes to Ministries to communities to families. Because of this tradition of communal eating, lots of effort goes into preparing meals that sometimes take the whole family to do so. It is a time of bonding and a time of rigorous work, and therefore exemplifies many of the values Nassorans believe in.

Cuisine:

Cuisine varies by region. In the North, seafoods are staples in their diet. It is common to find lots of stews and sometimes rice noodles, which did not appear in northern cuisine until after trade was established with the rest of the planet. Root vegetables are also quite common. In the West, the humid climate fosters heavy use of spice as a way to alleviate heat in the body. Grains are especially prominent with rice, beans, and seeds playing a major part in the food’s taste and texture. In the South, abundance of large open fields means the growth of vegetables and other plants. Meats are also prominent, as some semblance of semi-nomadic life still features in cuisine. Bread is a particularly unique feature of Southern style food, as grains are mulled into flour. Congee also features heavily with the abundance of grains.

Art/Architecture:

Art features heavily in Nassoran society, marking temples and prominent government buildings. Basic understanding of Nassoran art is very simple: artists and musicians focus heavily on nature, emphasizing peace, harmony, and balance. Ink paintings are a common focus, as the unpredictability of the medium allows the artist to focus less on replicating what they see and replicate what they feel. Religious artwork is much more detailed, focused on depicting deities and spirits in grandiose ways. Statues and sculptures of spiritual figures dominate temples.

Ethnic instruments used by Nassorans are always handmade. Luthiers focus on the intricate beauty of each instrument as creators of balance and harmony. Oftentimes, luthiers focus on spiritual understandings of balance to help create the best instruments possible. While other instruments and musical styles have entered Nassoran culture, traditional instruments, acting as spiritual items in many ways, are not to be tampered with.

Old architecture in Nassora is heavily reliant on timberwork. Wooden posts and beams are used to hold up roofs, with walls separating rooms. Architectural features are the emphasis on symmetry, use of open enclosed spaces (courtyards), and horizontal emphasis (spread horizontally vs growth vertically). Unlike more Western houses, Nassoran homes feature large compounds. Buildings facing the door are the most important, with the side buildings being less important, and buildings facing away from the large doors as the least important. Guardian statues are also common, and can range from the Shangshen to personal spirits. Most buildings feature tile roofs, though the yellow tiles are reserved for Imperial buildings built for the Emperor. Imperial buildings also feature many roof details that signify the Emperor’s spiritual and political legitimacy. Religious temples follow similar features, with side buildings set as living quarters and the shrines for deities and spirits in the center of the building. Offerings are often scattered around the floor, and mats are set in place for prayers and meditation.

Race/Ethnicity:

Nassorans are a near-human species. Most are unsure where the Nassorans came from, as they evolved so similarly to humans, and yet had no connection to them during most of their development.

Despite the common understanding of biological differences between the millions of species in the galaxy, Nassorans group all of them as off-worlders/foreigners, guaididui (怪敌对). The first off-worlders were hostile in their confrontations, and Nassorans, with inferior technology, were unfortunately treated quite unfairly. In response, Nassorans developed a deep distrust of foreigners that carried into their isolationist period. When they opened themselves up and joined the Republic, Nassorans were quite upset about this. They believed that doing so would be asking for off-worlders to exploit them again. Fortunately, that was not the case. In the 200 years after opening up, increase of tourism and flow of people in and out of Nassora meant that the understanding of other species changed rapidly, especially by young Nassorans who travelled and studied in other planets during this time period. By the time the Clone Wars hit, Nassoran’s xenophobia had already broken down significantly. Nassora was often sympathetic to the CIS and independent worlds, respecting the strive for independence and control over what happens to the people of these planets. Leaving the Republic was a sign of returning to the planet’s people versus the whims of other planets.

When the Empire took over Nassora, interrelations with other species in the rebel alliance pushed Nassora to break down their racial understanding even further. Friendships and relationships formed out of working side-by-side. During this period, Nassoran’s marriage norm also began shifting as interspecies relationships became more common. Families began accepting species into Nassoran culture rather than just coexisting with them in separate bubbles.

Economy:

An agricultural based system with a budding technology system, Nassora is a very good place for investors to get involved with new tech businesses. However, most of Nassora’s trade is taken up by food supplies from grain to fruit to vegetables and non-perishables. Nassora became a hotspot for relief supplies during the Clone Wars for both sides, especially for CIS planets.

Although Nassora has large farms run by some corporations, Nassora’s deep connection with nature through their religion means lots of regulations are set in place to check corporations. Because of this, Nassora relies more on horticulture and family farming surplus. Alongside these regulations, horticulture is still very prominent in smaller communities, who sell their surplus to companies or the government to sustain themselves. It is not uncommon to see large farms next to small horticulture fields.

The largest industry in Nassora by far is textiles. With large areas of plains and very good climate, it is very easy to grow cotton to make string and cloth, alongside the abundance of indigo and dyes in the region. Much of the textile production is family-based and oftentimes the family also work as tailors and have close relations with cotton farmers. There are some textile factories, but stringent regulations means it is much harder to profit lucratively. Production of Nassora’s high quality cloth means that selling it to other planets is very lucrative. In most places, only the wealthy can afford the high price Nassoran cloth is set at.

The intersection of textiles and technology has led to many interesting experiments. Researchers have been able to successfully blend cloth and technology together to create clothing strong enough to protect the wearer from immediate harm of a knife or one blaster shot, though this type of clothing can’t withstand extreme force. The creation of cloth that can create shields have also been in the works. Most prototypes feature the cloth as a set of fans that when put together, can activate a small shield to protect the user. However, such technology is kept very tight-lipped, especially around off-worlders.

Government and Politics:

In the early ages, Nassora was a monarchy/empire. The Emperor held most of the power, distributed among the princes. Some power was allocated to the Court and Ministries, but all worked under and took orders from the Emperor.

Royal Family- it was common, even encouraged, for the Emperor to take on concubines on top of his Empress. The inner palace, run by the Empress, housed all the concubines and consorts (higher level concubines) and ran the inner workings of the Palace.

Princes that were of age would have palaces in the Capital, though most resided outside, taking on roles of governors of far reaching territories. Only the Crown Prince would reside in the Capital, taking over smaller responsibilities in Court. The good use of having princes take on governmental roles was to minimize any political fights for the throne, though even this didn’t stop tumultuous political periods between princes fighting for the throne.

The heir of the throne is not decided by birth. Instead, it is based on the merits of the prince, and the will of the Emperor. Whoever the Emperor thought would be the best fit for the throne would thereby be the Crown Prince. This style of lineage allowed for infighting to be much more common, as ambitious princes fight for the Emperor’s favor, pushing to be the best. During these early years, princes, like the feudal age, held small armies to help protect their area of governing.

Court and Ministry- the court is made of Ministers who commence everyday to debate over new laws and judicial cases. The Ministers involved in Court are usually high ranking in their respective Ministries with seniority. The process for gaining a Minister position is extensive. Candidates are highly educated, and usually come from wealthy families. After extensive background checks on their political affiliations and any criminal offenses, they then take an entrance test. If they pass the entrance test, they then meet for interviews. Finally, a candidate is chosen. The court will usually debate laws and regulations that pass either from the Emperor, Ministries, or a Minister. On some days, large cases that need the court to preside over will take place, though these are few and far between.

The Ministries are organizations that work under the Emperor. They have specific tasks and goals to fulfill. Examples are: Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Religion, etc. They will often work independently or conversely with each other. These Ministries regulate whatever it is the Emperor has tasked them with. Ministry of Justice will deal with criminals; Ministry of trade with domestic and interplanetary trade, Ministry of Religion coordinating with monks and shamans. (they’re basically agencies)

Other groups-

The Royal Guard is the group of elite soldiers that protect the Palace and Emperor. They work within the bounds of the Palace grounds, though will often work with Capital Patrol and even other areas if they are called upon. The leader is often a Commander or General.

The Capital Patrols are controlled by a General. They police within the Capital boundaries and are supposed to be neutral in any political fights. They serve the Emperor and the people. Over time, the Capital Patrols and Royal Guard will consolidate under the Ministry of Defense.

After the Revolt of Shadow Hand, the leader Meng Xiao Gen, takes on the role of Prime Minister, a new government official created in order for the government to reconcile and appease the people, showing that they are hearing their cries and will make changes. Under her rule, Nassora flourishes.

Over time, the position of Prime Minister and the courts and Ministries began gaining power, and the Emperor’s control waned. After a very turbulent time where two princes fought for the throne as their father died, the Prime Minister at the time instigated massive restructuring of Nassora’s government. The courts became a legislative body, and the Prime Minister gained immense power. Elections were set into place, and a constitution was written. This is known as the Great Restruction. The day the constitution was ratified became a planetary holiday.

When Nassora joined the Republic, the government once again shifted, though significantly smaller this time. Nassora decided to only send one senator, who is chosen by the Prime Minister and Emperor. The role becomes insignificant after they leave, but makes a revival when the Empire takes over.

During Imperial reign, the Empire established a governor, which took the role of the Prime Minister. The current PM had little power, and left office after his term was over. No re-election was called, and the Imperial governor took over the Nassoran government. The senator role had little power, as it was seen as mostly a figurehead position. It was a lazy show of compromise, even though in the heart of the Empire, Coruscant, the senator has little power.

Nassorans, in general, are very nationalistic. They dislike any planetary intervention from outside such as the Republic and the Empire. Even as a member of the Republic, Nassora pushed for less Republic intervention into planetary affairs. Their ire for outside forces spreads to their interactions with other systems. Nassora is a staunch defender for independent planets and is willing to lend hands for groups that wish to take more control over the policies of their own planets.

Kinship and Family:

Nassorans follow a bilineal descent line and focus heavily on the extended family. In most cases, Nassoran families live either within the same roof, or in the near vicinity. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews are common figures in a person’s life, and Nassorans will find that their support system to be quite extensive within the family. Because Nassorans follow a bilineal, descent of both the mother and father pass through their children. Last names of the married couple are not exchanged for one or the other, and the child takes the last name of the parent who has the higher prestige or class status. Mixed children (where one parent is an offworlder) will always take the name of their Nassoran parent, although this fluctuates depending on where the family is settled and how closely tied they are to Nassoran culture.

The notion of ‘blood’ ancestry is not necessarily biological either. Oftentimes, close families are seen as part of the extended family. Family friends virtually adopt each other into their system of kinship. It is not uncommon for families to adopt a recent orphan of a family friend. In this instance, the distinction between the adopted and biological child are virtually nonexistent.

Within the nuclear family, wife and husband both hold significant roles in order to keep the household functioning. This more egalitarian system meant that gender roles, stereotypes, and ideology were much less pervasive in a person’s identity. Other identifiers like class status and Blessed status feature more prominently than a person’s gender.

As a system, kinship is one of the most important social groups one is a part of. In many ways, kinship dominates a person’s social life. Large family gatherings and dinners are common. Festivities and holidays together are mostly with family. While friends are an important part of a person’s life, family is by far the most dominant feature. Because of this, the family is often involved with marriage. Families spend much time nagging and helping members find proper partners to build a life with. For the most part, same-sex marriage was easily integrated, as the understanding of gender in Nassora is much more fluid and not a prominent identifier for the people.

What is most contested in the realm of kinship is the importance of children and marrying off-worlders. The large feature of family means that legacy and continuing the descent line is invaluable to the family. Passing down traditions and one’s gifts is part of the process of life. To not want children, adopted or through labor, seems impossible. Miscegenation (in this case, to off-worlders) is also harshly stigmatized. Nassora’s history with off-worlders created a common belief that off-worlders are untrustworthy and will abuse you. After opening up and joining the Republic, Nassora’s stigma and miscegenation continuously comes into conflict with changing ideals of the youth as mingling with off-worlders becomes more and more common. The era of the Empire forced Nassorans to face growing intersections with other species, forcing marriage norms to change alongside changing understandings of race.

Gender and Sexuality:

Nassoran understanding of both gender and sexuality are quite fluid, unlike the rigid binaries seen in many other planets. Bilineal descent and fluid division of labor meant that gender roles were not emphasized. In turn, understanding of gender has a lack of gender norms and therefore, lack of gender ideologies. It isn’t uncommon to see women and men owning land, depending on prestige (emphasis on age and Blessing). Because gender norms are lacking, the emergence of gender fluidity was accepted very easily. Unlike in other cultures, gender doesn’t play a significant role in a person’s status, nor does it play a significant role in someone’s identity. In Nassu, gender identifiers describe a person as either ‘female leaning’ (ten), ‘male leaning’ (tan), and ‘neutral leaning’ (zong). Because of the fluidity of gender, sexuality is also very fluid. Words identifying someone’s sexual preferences do not exist in Nassu, meaning that partners of any gender are acceptable.

Sexuality is also not defined in Nassoran culture. While it is understood that females have the reproductive system, adoption as another form of creating a family means that pregnancy is not emphasized as much. Polygamy and polyandry were common when horticulture was the dominant way of life (contained mostly in the Southern Plains), as sharing land among a community was more common. Marriages were the most common way to secure ties to land. To this day, communities still practice polyamory and the government recognizes it as a legitimate form of marriage.

Religion:

The religion that the vast majority of Nassorans follow is called 栓神教 (shuangshenjiao), or shenism in Basic. Nassoran’s religious beliefs are intrinsic and powerful, and play a significant role in how Nassorans connect with the world.

Nassora’s religious beliefs are very based around this fundamental idea: the universe is a dynamic cycle of energy between two imposing realms; the spirit world and the mortal world. The movement of energy/qi creates the dynamic flow of life and death from one realm to the other. Equilibrium between these two realms is ideal for prosperous lives and a healthy world.

Spirits and Immortals- A Look at the Mythology of Shenism

Shenism creationist story is similar to many other religions as a creation from chaos type. For eternity, the universe was filled with Chaos, a mere abyss. The four Shangshen, who lived within the Chaos, gained enough power to harness the Chaos into energy, forming it into the two realms that are vaguely denoted as the “sky” and the “earth”, though these descriptions are not necessarily accurate. The Mortal World, or the “earth”, and the Spirit World, or the “sky”, began a back and forth ebb and flow as the chaotic energy embeds itself into the foundations of both realms. Mythology predicts the eventual breakdown of qi back into chaos as balance is lost, before being harnessed again. This cyclical cycle of chaos and cosmos is unique to Shenism.

Shenism mythology uses Spirits (��) and Immortals (仙) as dieties. The jobs of the Spirits are to maintain proper flow of energy (qi) through the two realms. Immortals are former humans that gave up their mortality to help the Spirits work efficiently. While the two types of dieties seem very similar, Immortals differ from Spirits by controlling the complex weavings of qi within man-made society. Spirits focus on the natural world instead.

The story that follows the Creation story is of Huangwei (皇位), the first Immortal. At birth, Huangwei had immense powers to manipulate his surroundings. At age 24, he set on a quest of enlightenment and self-actualization. On his journey, he united all parts of the world, and at the end of his journey, ascended to immortality as he connected to the spirit worlds. He opened a large bridge between the Mortal and Spirit Worlds, bringing a time of peace and prosperity.

As an Immortal, Huangwei became Huangdi, and is one of the most important figures in Shenism mythology. Huangdi is the tie between the two realms and grants mortals supernatural powers that mirror his to help guide Spirits. Oftentimes, Blessed under Huangdi are often recruited as shamans, working as Spirit guides during festivals and important religious ceremonies.

The four main Spirits (Shangshen 上神) that guide the movement of energy are as follows:

Dragon Spirit (龙神): In power during the Spring, the Dragon harkens the beginning of the year with growth and a clean slate. Unlike dragons in other religions, the Nassoran Dragon is deeply tied to water and its vital part to the cycle of life. During its height of power, the Dragon blesses the land, starting the cycle of growth physically shown with the rising temperature and blooming flowers. The dormant energy of the turtle goes from ice to water. The Dragon’s temple is in the East, right next to the coast.

The Dragon also begins blessing children with strength and flexibility. Children blessed and confirmed by the Dragon’s largest temple are known to be very malleable to hard situations, and are often strong warriors.

Phoenix Spirit(凤凰神): The Phoenix follows the Dragon, moving into summer. Unlike the dragon, the Phoenix is represented by fire and energy. The Phoenix continues the flow of energy as crops begin growing. The energy must be in constant motion in order for the proper flow of light, dark, and rain to produce the best crops. The Phoenix’s temple is in the north, nestled in a small cropping of mountains to the west of the ___ River.

Blessed children of the Phoenix Spirit are known to be graceful and clever. They often take on more creative jobs. Blessed of the Phoenix Spirit are the most likely to be found in multiple realms of jobs, as their defining traits are malleable for many fields.

White Tiger Spirit (白老虎神): The White Tiger brings harvest season. During this time, the fiery energy begins to settle as the temperature cools. The energy flow goes into an ebb, as the White Tiger begins to regulate it after the Phoenix. During this time, families and groups come together to celebrate the good harvest, or pray for a better harvest the next year. Oftentimes, the White Tiger is seen as the ‘judgement spirit’, as a bad harvest signifies that the spirits are angry, and are punishing the mortals. The White Tiger Temple is in the west, deep in the Wang mountains (王山).

Children blessed by the White Tiger are known to be passionate and morally inclined. Most of these blessed children become public servants or work on bettering the lives of other people, though some who are more academically inclined go into research and university work.

Tortoise Spirit (乌龟神): The end of the harvest season brings winter. The Tortoise Spirit brings the energy to a dormant state, where it allows the world to settle down and recuperate. The winter season is a time of stillness and retreat. The Tortoise Spirit Temple resides in the southernmost tip of the continent

Children Blessed by the Tortoise Spirit are known to be level headed and determined. They can be stubborn at times, or be stalwart figureheads to help support people around them. Tortoise Blessed either enter very stable jobs or enter very fluid jobs, where they act as the center.

There are plenty of other spirits, but they all are minor compared to these four. These spirits are called xiaoshen (小神). Other spirits work with the Four shangshen during their height of power alongside Immortals. These spirits are also seen as animals, and have smaller shrines connected to the larger shangshen temples. Individual families may also have altars for these xiaoshen as personal spirits that watch over their household and family members. The concept of malevolent spirits does not exist within Shenism. Spirits have duties to push and pull the energy that binds the universe together. As a core understanding, balance must also mean that both good and bad exist. Spirits that bring famine and war, while bring bad events, must be treated with respect in order to keep the universe in balance. Mistreatment could lead to malformation of the spirit and may cause more harm than good.

Beliefs, Values, and Real Life Repercussions-

A core understanding of Nassoran religion is balance. There must be balance within all aspects of life: between duty and personal ambitions, family and individual desires, selfish and selfless. The best and most well-rounded people are those who can balance all aspects of their life and live within the middle. To Nassorans, unbalance in one aspect of life should be noted and rectified. Unfortunately, the first off-worlders were lacking in balance, and refused to change. To this day, Nassorans still look down on off-worlders as unbalanced and therefore lesser. Understanding of off-worlders shifted to be more complex over time, but the sentiment stands the test of time.

Daily prayer is not common in Shenism. Nassorans practice Shenism through their actions and thoughts. The Blessings of the Spirits are everywhere, and therefore everything should be cherished from the smallest ant to the most important of people and objects. However, it is common to see small altars within a familial compound for a family spirit that protects the family from harm. Nassorans will pray when life-changing events happen, such as marriage or birth, and during the Season Festivals.

The four Shangshen enter and exit the Mortal realm at the end of a season. For each changing of Spirit, Nassorans celebrate the work the previous spirit has done and hope for the next Spirit’s prosperity to begin. The names of each festival are as follows: Spring’s End (春尾节), Summer’s End (夏尾节), Autumn’s End (秋尾节), and Winter’s End (冬尾节). All four Temples will be open for prayers, and on sunset of Season’s End, the four temples will simultaneously ring their temple bells, opening their realm to the Spirits. In the Huangdi temple, disciples will begin the Ritual of Bridges in order to facilitate easy change of hands. It lasts from sunset to dusk, when the full moon appears.

Festivities start the week before the public Ritual, filled with food and family. If a family is unable to travel to the four large temples for prayer, they will usually congregate at a local temple or within their own homes. During the ritual, families meditate, hoping to connect with the spirits as they pass by.

Special delicacies are eaten specifically for certain festivals. Winter’s End: sticky rice, congee, warm chicken broth. Spring’s End: fruit deserts, rice balls, chicken’s feet. Summer’s End: sesame treats, spicy noodles, sugar hair. Autumn’s End: apple cider, cake pastry (aka moon cakes), bamboo wrapped rice.

A major part of Nassoran religion is the connection between mortal and spirits. Blessed children are Nassorans blessed by the Shangshen, lending them a unique connection to the world that shapes their personality. The Blessed are designated by their tattoos. While designs are up to families and the Blessed child, the color of the tattoos are fixed. Yellow for the Dragon. Red for the Phoenix. White for the White Tiger. Black for the Tortoise. The only other people with Blessed tattoos are those blessed by the Huangdi. These children have black and white tattoos, and are the only ones whose tattoos also show up on their bodies like the hands and feet, signifying their unique connection to the Qi.

Though Blessed face lots of opportunities, it can become limiting, as not all Blessed fit into these personality boxes organized by spirit. However, Blessed also have a unique position in society, where they are usually held to a higher standard and are thought of more highly in general, even though they only make up a small portion of the population (37%). This created a unique set of prestige within Nassoran culture. Status is often determined by whether or not one is Blessed, even if merits also play a significant role in gaining prestige as well.

Shenism plays a significant part in establishing the foundations of the Jedi Religion. Much of the basic principles of the Jedi such as the Force and Balance can be traced back to Shenism. Use of the Force has ties to Shenist Monks following Huangdi, who would use their deep connection to Qi (or the Force) for rituals. Even the lightsaber can be traced back to Nassoran weapons, though the significance of the lightsaber and kyber crystal are different. Although the Jedi Religion has changed significantly since Nassora isolated itself, the two religions are still deeply entwined together. Within the 200 years that Nassora was in Republic jurisdiction, Jedi re-established relations with Shenism, encouraging pilgrimages to Shenist temples for younglings as a way to educate them on the beginnings of Jedi religions. This tie with the Jedi meant that it wasn’t uncommon for Jedi consulars to oversee any diplomatic work between Nassora and other planets.

Unfortunately, when the Clone Wars began, relations between Shenists and Jedi began to fray as the Jedi became generals in a war. Shenists berated the group for turning their back on the spiritual, warning of their lack of balance within the qi/Force. Nassora’s secession from the Republic didn’t help the situation. By the time the Clone Wars was coming to an end, Nassorans lost much of their respect and trust of the Jedi.

If you have gotten to the very end, wow. Thank you for taking the time to read this very lengthy post!

#my post #nassora #my planet #star wars #star wars planet

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captaincoffeegirl515 · 4 years ago

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I just saw the live-action Mulan movie, and in short, it sucked.

It’s not worth the money! Not worth the 37 dollars you’ll need to pay so that you can merely rent the movie. Don’t worry, I pirated it. I didn’t give Disney any money, and I’m writing this so you won’t have to as well.

To think, my mom was so excited about this film especially since we are Chinese and the animated Mulan film was one of her favourite Disney films. But throughout the film, we were disappointed again and again.

First of all, the directing, camera work, pacing, and editing was terrible. The pacing of the movie was all over the place. The fight scenes especially, were so erratic and badly put together. Either they’d have the scene move at a normal pace but would cut and change to a new angle or perspective multiple times until you can barely tell if there were any hits or what they were doing. Or they would do slow-mo and do a zoom-in on Mulan’s blank, stiff face.

They had Donnie Yen, a famous martial artist and actor, doing some incredible swordsmanship and martial arts in front of the soldiers but then they ruined it by constantly cutting away from him to some random blank-faced soldier. What wasted potential!

Did I mention the blank faces. Everyone looked so stiff during the movie, barely any proper acting done. This was especially obvious with the Witch, whose face barely seems to move. The most emotional I saw her was when she had teary eyes, but still, the rest of her face stayed smooth.

My biggest problem lay with the fact that they took the sexism of the animated Mulan movie and managed to crank it up to a thousand. The whole concept of chi/qi was wrong. For starters, real chi lies in everyone, and it does not give you superpowers or suddenly makes you a good fighter. But in the movie, apparently only men can use chi and gain superpowers, and that if a woman somehow had chi then she’s a witch and must be outcast or killed. And it made it seem like the only reason Mulan could keep up with the men or be better than them was because she had these superpowers. I honestly have no words to express my anger and disappointment at this.

I understand they removed Mushu in the live action since it was offensive to Chinese mythology. But replacing it with a phoenix based on Greek mythology?? That made no sense. And not only that, the CGI was terrible. Not only did it look obviously fake, my siblings and I all felt like the phoenix was made of paper. One of them joked that it was a kite. The coloring also reminded me of the bird in Wings of Time that I saw in Sentosa Singapore.

Btw, Chinese don’t have any concept of witches or witch hunts. Lord knows why Disney tried to put more Western concepts when they wanted to make an Asian movie.

Moving on to the characters and their chemistry. In short, there was none. Little to none actually. I don’t understand why Honghui was supposed to be her love interest. No chemistry and barely any meaningful interactions. They met with him insulting her and continuing to insult her throughout most of their scenes. The “love interest” also spent a lot of his time staring at Mulan like one of those creepy perverts that you try your best to ignore. Is this really the kind of lesson you want to teach kids?

And Ling? Yao? Chien-po? What happened to them? Their names were barely mentioned and their characterizations were so one-dimensional. There were not enough scenes building them up as proper characters, which made them easily forgettable. Because of this, we also had trouble telling all of the soldiers apart, and this includes Honghui and Cricket. Cricket was initially mistaken as Chien-po. There was even less time emphasizing their friendship with Mulan. I also didn’t understand why the need to add Cricket in the movie as another soldier. Disney still didn’t give him any proper growth or arc beyond that one shining moment with the arrow. I also didn’t understand why he suddenly decided to play dead at the end of the corridor fight. Another “dramatic moment” that fell flat.

Where do I begin with the Witch? Shan Yu was an incredible bad guy already. Why did they try to make his falcon human and have her as a witch? For the most part, it seemed like she was just there to drive down the movie’s point that women should be subjugated. She had the power to kill Bori Khan easily, but… chose not to because she thought he would help make her not an outcast?? And even when she changed sides, instead of idk killing Bori Khan when he tried to shoot Mulan, she just… flew… in front of… the arrow… and died. Wow.

What was Bori Khan’s revenge supposed to be anyways? For the most part, it looked like he was trying to slow-cook the Emperor. Like what was up with the random forges and the 2 inch pool of lava?? Were forges back then even hot enough to make lava and have it stay red hot the whole time even when it was in that pool?? Also, swords do NOT melt that fast.

Also, the part where Bori Khan was talking to the captured Emperor was so unintentionally funny. Like at the end of every sentence he would just suddenly make sparks with his weapon at the Emperor’s face. If it was a one-time thing, it would have been fine. But he just… kept… doing it. And with every strike I just started laughing more and more.

The Emperor was… something. Of course he was probably one of the men who has chi powers judging by his sleeve attacks. Honestly, that part felt so random, my siblings and I were all laughing and going “what??”. His voice was so clearly dubbed in, and badly done. He also seemed to have been given the clunkiest dialogue in the movie. I also miss the scene in the animated movie where Shan Yu tells the Emperor to bow down to him and the Emperor replies, “No matter how strong the wind blows, the mountain cannot bow down to it.” because that line was awesome.

The sister’s character was also completely unnecessary. According to Disney, she’s to showcase Mulan’s devotion to her family and give her more motivation to do what she does. But?? She took her father's place in the war to protect him?? Wasn’t the whole point of her story is her pretending to be a man to protect her father from certain death?? Is that not already a huge motivational factor and shows her devotion to her family??

Does anyone else also find it weird that when Mulan was in the army, everyone referred to her by her full name? Like everyone had their first names and were called that, but for Mulan it was always Hua Jun? Btw for those not aware, with Chinese names, the surname is at the beginning. Hua is Mulan’s surname. So shouldn’t they be calling her simply as Jun??

Moving on, I have to bring attention to several of the changes in the movie. It’s like they cut out all the scenes that gave the movie an emotional impact and replaced it with bland scenes that didn’t add to the story at all. Her decision to take her father’s place in the war and steal his armor was replaced with some weird thing about her getting lost and the phoenix having to bail her out.

The incredible moment when Mulan gets the arrow from the top of the post was replaced by bringing two buckets to the top of the mountain. Anyone who is strong and determined enough would have been able to do that. With the arrow, she needed to think and strategize, using the weights to help carry her up. With the buckets, she just used her chi superpowers.

The drama and shock as the happily-singing soldiers come upon the destroyed village becomes a drawn-out traveling scene that has the General asking Mulan to marry his daughter, and then cuts to the army at the village.

The scene where it looked like Shang was going to kill Mulan but then he spares her because she saved his life is gone completely since they decided to split Shang into two characters instead. Even Mulan’s line where she says, “You believe Ping, why not Mulan?” was given to Honghui instead, robbing Mulan of her moment.

Honestly, there was no need for the Witch and her fight scene with Mulan, but apparently in the movie, chi is weakened by dishonesty. It’s weird that the Witch is even telling her that since they’re supposedly enemies, and telling her about the dishonesty will make Mulan stronger.

Another thing is Disney’s weirdly intense focus on arranged marriages and matchmaking, with multiple characters mentioning whether or not they are matched or asking others if they are. Even at the end, the sister goes “oh I am matched”. I didn’t see the point of having that in the movie.

I almost forgot about the trebuchet/catapult! The Rourans are supposed to be a Nomadic people. Where are they finding the time and energy to drag that gigantic thing around? I also have to mention that the Rourans had some incredibly good aim when firing at the soldiers but missed by a long shot when they fired at where Mulan was hiding. That was… dumb, to say the least.

How did Mulan even get there anyways? And how did she carry all those helmets with only two hands? I’m even giving her some leeway because there are people who can control a horse with just their legs. The actress for Mulan also has clearly never fired an arrow before and was not given training for it. The way she loaded the arrows and how her fingers sprung open like that screamed CGI arrows

And now I’m remembering the random horse gymnastics the Rourans used to turn around on their horse so that they could fire arrows while riding. It looked cool, yes, but I don’t think that was the most efficient way to turn around.

Back to the fight scene, Mulan managed to go from chasing the Rourans into the mountains and fighting the Witch, to back to where her army was, then somehow teleported to a different mountain behind where the Rourans were. She also somehow outran an avalanche?? She also killed her own men in that avalanche. Not the best plan in my opinion.

Ultimately, Mulan’s growth and arc to become a soldier and hero of China was undermined by the fact that she was already perfect due to her chi powers. There was no need for her to grow and train because her chi made her strong, her chi made her skillful. And because of this, she lost her relatability. I hate to say this, but she became a Marysue.

I don’t know where to put this but Mulan’s makeup and outfit for the matchmaker scene was the ugliest thing I have ever seen. Green eyebrows?? Really?? What happened to her face? What happened to her dress? Everyone’s costumes also felt unrealistically colorful for a poor farming village.

Lastly, I’m sure many of you know that Disney worked with, credited, and gave thanks to the Xinjiang authorities. Those authorities are responsible for imprisoning up to TWO MILLION Uighur Muslims in concentration camps, forcing them to learn and be patriotic about China’s communist doctrine and propoganda, not allowing them to practice their faith, and subjecting them to horrific conditions, torture, sexual abuse, forced sterilization, brainwashing, and other abuses.

To end this overly wordy review, I don’t understand why Disney would willingly get so much wrong. They tried very hard to make changes and appeal to the Chinese audience but refused to have Chinese creators to help with the screenplay, directing, costume and makeup, etc. Now all they’ve done is alienate said audience.

#mulan 2020 #mulan #disney #rant

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mercurryblack · 4 years ago

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Chapter 8: Rosario

A certain Garland girl spends a peaceful evening with LLAC’s leader.

❃❃❃

“You’re late, chica.”

Rosario Garland had never been the kind of girl to make others wait. She may not have been perfect, but she prided herself on making sure that she was at least fifteen minutes early when she was meeting with anyone, regardless of the importance of their meeting.

The girl was patient if nothing else, and that trait had proved itself invaluable when she started dating Lillian, who was also an early bird. It had come to the point where it had become a friendly competition— whoever was the last to arrive would pick up a check, and vice versa.

Not that it really mattered, however— she couldn’t recall the last time she had lost to Lillian.

“Of course you’re here already. Why is it that you always come first?” Lillian said, greeted her girlfriend with a side hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Would you prefer it if I came last?” grinned Rosario, nuzzling up to her.

Lillian shrugged. “You know, sometimes I wouldn’t mind if— wait.”

Rosario’s grin widened. “Heh. Gotcha again, Lilly.”

“Okay, I set myself up for that one.” Lillian sighed, her cheeks turning pink as she understood the entendre. Pretending that she wasn’t caught off guard, she coughed loudly and continued. “So, what have you been up to these past few days, Rosa?”

Rosario let out a long breath as she answered. “Ohhhhh, y’know, the usual. I’ve been helping my parents with th’ Dulcinea in my downtime, and making sure Sirocco and Socorro stay out of my room. School’s been drop-dead boring, though. Pbbbllltt.” She blew a noisy raspberry. “I shoulda become a Huntress like Dad used to be.”

Lillian nodded, as the two started to walk. “It’s got its ups and downs. How’s the restaurant doing, anyhow?”

“Pretty well. We got flatscreens installed, so with the Festival upcoming, it’s reached the point where we don’t have to eat leftovers from the day’s menu any longer.” Rosario rolled her eyes. “I know it’s saving Lien, but papa’s got a butt-load of dosh saved up from old contracts. You think he’d be less of a tightwad.”

“Eh, it’s practical. Huntsman mindset and all that.” Lillian shrugged. After a moment, she smirked and gently elbowed Rosario. “Maybe your folks should’ve invested in a McGarland’s franchise instead.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Rosario scoffed, shaking her head. Her brown hair swayed across her shoulders. “Y’know, I asked mamá about doing that a while back, and she said that— word for word— ‘she’d sooner shove her head in a boiling fry vat than ever involve herself with her shit-eating malaka of an idiot brother ever again.’”

Lillian nodded, humming pensively. “This ‘idiot brother’… the same one who tried to take her as his wife? Helios something-or-other?” She asked.

“Apollo, actually, and yeah.” Rosario replied. “I never actually met the guy, don’t really want to. All I know ‘bout it’s that papá found out and beat him up in some ritual fight, and won the right to marry mamá, and they eloped to Mistral City and lived happily ever after, blah blah blah. Just the same story they tell me on every single anniversary of theirs.”

“You swamp clans are a laugh a minute, aren’t you?” Lillian remarked dryly.

“Tell me about it. I’ll take the Dulcinea over being sent away to Laurelboros anyday.”

“If I get another break, I’ll try and pay you a visit over at your place. Who knows what my feminine charms could bring, hm?” Lillian half-jokingly suggested.

Rosario laughed. “Yeah, that’d be a hoot— see how many poor schmucks try and hit on the biggest lesbian in all of Mistral.” She said. “But enough about me, Lilly— what about you? Anything new in your life, my dear Huntress?” She asked, leaning her head sideways and curiously raising an eyebrow.

“It’s been… stressful. You heard about the whole SYBR case in the news, right?”

Rosario nodded. Days prior, the news of the two members’ deaths had flooded the news outlets. While the details of the case still remained confidential, the media hadn’t shied away from the gruesome way in which the murders had taken place. “Yeah, Dad was pretty shaken up about it. He used to be pretty close with Yaara and Berilo— well, all of them, really. They were in the same year, I think.” She bit her lower lip. “What about it?”

Lillian sighed. “Well, we’ve been assigned to help out with it.”

“Yeesh. How’s that going?” asked Rosario, wincing in surprise.

“Right now, the whole thing is shitty. It was done neatly, whoever did it made sure they weren’t leaving any clues.” Lillian pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

“Ugh, we haven’t made any progress since the initial investigation. I feel like dead weight.”

Rosario affirmingly placed a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder, giving it a gentle rub. “Hey, hey, don’t beat yourself up over it. I’m sure you and your compadres will find out who did it. Who knows? Maybe you just haven’t looked in the right place yet.”

Lillian turned to the Garland girl, her eyes half-lidded and her expression unamused. “Really. Not the right place. In the exact place where they were murdered, Rosario?”

“ … Okay, not my best moment of reassurance, but you know what I mean.” The Garland girl winced.

Lillian rolled her eyes. “Sure I do, cabeza hueca.”

Rosario glowered. “I may be stupid—”

“Yes.” Lillian cut her off, visibly holding back a laugh.

“This is you getting back at me for that “came last” bit, isn’t it?”

“Also yes.”

***

After twenty minutes’ worth of a pleasant stroll, the pair finally made it to the upper cliffs near the base of Haven Academy. It was mainly a residential area, but just behind the pagoda-style houses was a cozy picnic spot overlooking the mountain’s majestic waterfall. Only a select few were in the know, yet it was a popular dating spot among those few.

So it was just as well that they were here now, in the evening when nobody was about to interrupt them.

Lillian had thought it would be a good idea to bring Rosario to a place that wasn’t a restaurant. The Garland girl had more or less grown up in one, so a change of scenery was best for both of them. Undoing a backpack that Rosario had handed off to her earlier on, she tossed a blanket to Rosario, who spread it out on the grass while Lillian undid the cloth surrounding their meal’s basket.

The couple ate their food— a pair of bocata-style sandwiches the Garland had made herself— as they overlooked the city. It made each of them drift away from the issues in their minds; doubts, worries, and problems fading to the back as they took in the serene moment.

Naturally, Rosario figured it was a bit quiet.

“Uh…” She began, attempting to come up with an appropriate point for conversation. “So, Lilly, how’s your training going? The Vytal Festival’s coming up in a couple’a weeks after all, right?”

Lillian coughed on her bite of food. “Oh, yeah, right. Vytal.” She had almost forgotten about LLAC’s prior plans for the festival. For a second, it seemed like only yesterday that she and her team had been drilling for their matches.

“My cousin Robin— she’s in her second year, I think you’ve met— she’s popped around the shop once or twice while you were there. She’s entered her team already, says they really have a shot at the championship.” Rosario continued. “You could probably kick her butt, though.”

Lillian nodded. “I’ve run into her a couple of times. Her teammate… Kogane or something? She went and bought a couple of new Mistrali-styled uniforms for me and Am when we first arrived in Haven, after bawling us out for wearing what she called ‘unfashionable’ Atlesian outfits.” She huffed disparagingly. “Yeah, as if her three-inch heels are any kind of improvement over a tac suit, but whatever.”

She paused, taking a bite out of her sandwich. “Oh, and just so you know, I could kick your cousin’s butt. No sweat. But I doubt it’d happen anyways.”

“Whff’a maffr? Iff’ere—mllpp— s’there a problem?” Rosario asked, swallowing a particularly large bite as she turned to Lillian.

“No… it’s just that I think it’ll be much better for LLAC to not participate in the festival altogether. We promised to help Detective Yuen with solving the SYBR case.” She pursed her lips. “So I think it’s safe to say that we’re not going to be fighting anytime soon.”

Rosario threw her arms up, stunned. “Not going to fight? Are you shitting me? I’ve seen you guys throw down in exhibitions, remember— between that goth’s agility, your sister’s durability, the hat kid’s unpredictability, and your strength, you’re totally fit to win it! You’re one of the best fighters I know, amiguita, no way are they gonna keep you from the Festival!”

Lillian rolled her eyes. “Well, be that as it may, it still won’t change the fact that we’re busy with the murder investigation, and this year’s festival is being hosted in Vale. It’s too far away, no way are we going to get a pass from Detective Yuen to compete.” She replied.

“Man.” Rosario muttered, shaking her head. “That just ain’t right. You talked to the rest of the team about this yet?”

“Not yet, no, but I figured I’d tell them tomorrow. If they agree with me, I’ll talk to Professor Lionheart about withdrawing from the tournament.” She scratched the back of her neck. “And if they don’t… well, I’ll figure something out. But that’s not important right this minute.”

However, the nagging thought of how her teammates might not agree to her proposition stayed in the back of Lillian’s mind. Either way, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Seeing the girl’s troubled expression, Rosario leaned in to rest against the crook of Lillian’s neck. “Okay, I get it. Enough serious talk.” She said, before turning her attention again to the view from the mountaintop.

“I never realized how pretty it is when you get just a little higher up.”

She lived in the area just underneath the cliffs, and had little business anywhere higher, so she’d never paid much consideration to coming to the summit before. Now that she did, she was slightly awestruck by how small Mistral City looked from up on high.

“It’s even prettier when you see it all the way up, right from the academy grounds.” Lillian said, her voice calm.

“Lucky. Means you get to take it in all the time.”

“Well, after a few years there, you’ll get tired of the view and much rather be down in the city proper.” Lillian shifted her shoulder. “But do you want to know about the one view I’ll never get tired of?”

“Sure. Where’s that?” Rosario asked, looking up to face her.

“Here,” Lillian gently placed her hand atop Rosario’s own and stared at the city below them, before turning her gaze to her girlfriend. “Right beside you, Rosa.”

After a moment’s pause, Rosario pulled her beanie down and averted her gaze, trying to hide her suddenly flushed face. It was usually her who threw around corny romantic remarks and double entendres, but when Lillian said something to make her blush…

Well, she could dish it out, but she wasn’t very good at taking it.

“You have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen, you know that?” Lillian said, giving the Garland girl’s cheek a soft brush as she gazed into Rosario’s turquoise orbs.

“Yeah, and you have the cheesiest compliments.” Rosario replied, still blushing. “But thanks, I like yours too. They’re, uh…” She trailed off, too distracted by Lillian’s eye contact.

They lapsed back into silence, looking over the cityscape dotted by lights under a darkening evening sky.

“…Time like this, kinda makes you wish this moment could last forever, doesn’t it?” Rosario asked offhandedly.

“You mean, this moment with your hand on my abs?”

Rosario tilted her head downwards, and noticed that her left hand had indeed found its way onto Lillian’s stomach.

“...You mind?” She asked in a faux innocent tone, glancing back up.

“Hmf,” Lillian smiled, wrapping an arm around Rosario’s shoulder. “Not even a bit.”

Rosario grinned, slowly closing her eyes as she melted into the embrace. “Then, yeah… this is a moment I could live with.”

#team llac #team llac fic #rosario garland #lillian armilde #fanfic #fan fiction #rwby fan fiction #rwby oc #rwbyoc #rwby

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nimmy22 · 3 years ago

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A Mistake: Chapter 7

A man and a woman, each strapped to a surgical table and naked, screaming for help. Their cries shifted from, "God, please help. Please!" to, "It's your fault, you bitch! You wanted to come to this god-forsaken town. You did this! Why am I here? I didn't want to come here. I did nothing wrong, I swear. It was all her. She kept wanting more money. She kept stealing from everyone, even our daughter."

With a bracelet authorization approval, a door slid open with a beep, revealing two staff members in yellow biohazard suits fitted with oxygen tanks and masks. One wheeled in a metal cart covered by a sterile blue drape. The cart was positioned and locked in place near the medical tables, the blue drape lifted.

The man and woman looked at the sheer size of the needles and the vails of bright purple liquid laid out neatly across the cart. Any day, they would've stolen, cheated, and lied to have the sweet relief of a drug but not like this. The irony was unwelcome.

Their wide eyes stared unblinking, their pleading lips forming incoherent words. The nightmare refused to let them go, no matter how hard they bit their tongues, tasting metal. Reality sunk in harder than the restraints digging into their raw bruised flesh. Soon the woman became delirious before fainting while the man sported a growing wetness between his legs, dripping onto the floor of the unadorned white room. The only colors in the room were the yellow of the suits, the dark brown urine, and the Umbrella logo in the center of the floor.

One of the staff members turned to the camera in the corner of the room before speaking, "Experiment number 9932-Code X, subjects are a 43-year-old female and a 51-year-old male. Treatment with Serum X41 injected intramuscularly at the deltoid site. "

The contents of the syringes were injected into the upper arm of the two test subjects. They didn't so much as blink an eye as the male begged for his life and questioning their humanity.

"Mama... please, I'll be a good boy. Please let me out. Mama..." the 51-year-old man wailed, digging his nails into the leather restraints. They retreated as fast they entered, sealing the door behind them.

"Experiment in progress, do not enter experimentation chamber number 451 due to a biohazard element in containment." The voice of a female AI sounded through the speakers, a warning to all employees on the level.

William's eyes glowed as he watched through the reinforced glass, his thumb repeatedly pressing the ballpoint pen in his hand. He leaned forward, licking his lips as the serum began taking effect. The subjects began convulsing against the restraints, their limbs spasming as their entire genome was remodeled.

With a scream, the bones of the female cracked. Her teeth tumbled out of her bleeding gums, muscles and tendons ruptured. She burst out of the restraints and threw herself against walls, pounding with bloody fists as she screeched. The serum made work of replacing her organs and connective tissue, reforming her into something stronger, faster, and more deadly—an elegant hunter of pure carnage.

William hardly paid attention to the male whose body exploded, spraying the entire room with innards. Nothing remained to identify him as having once been human. Smelling the fresh blood, the female lapped the bloodied walls with an impressively long tongue slithering out of a mouth layered with sharpened teeth. With skinless appendages, she explored the room, climbing the walls and walking on the ceiling. It wasn't long before instinct led her to devour what remained of her husband.

"Excellent! We are making progress. This is the first subject to survive injection with Serum X41 without becoming a pile of liquefied tissue. Increasing the concertation of the base chemical allowed the body to become more receptive to the serum. I can't wait to Annette and Albert know. I'm thinking of calling this project black widow." He babbled to himself, feeling like he deserves a pat on the back. All those nights spent bent over his desk were finally paying off.

Sparing one last glance at the remains of the male, William frowned. "Looks like your mama didn't quite hear you but thank you for offering yourself to science. Your contribution is greatly appreciated." William said as he began recording the experiment's findings into a clipboard adorned with the Umbrella logo. William loved making progress in his research. It flooded his brain with dopamine better than a night of good sex or winning the lottery.

------------------------- It had been three days since the last time she had seen Wesker, but she heard his voice plenty enough, calling her for hourly updates while she was alone with Sherry in his house. He didn't personally pick her up after school. Instead, He sent a very kind elderly driver under the assumption that he was employed by her' parents' to drop her off 'home.' Both were so extremely far from reality. Thankfully, the man seemed busy playing cops and robbers. She was left alone with Sherry, and while she was in a more relaxed mood, she didn't dare go exploring the property belonging to the devil. The less she knew about him and his dealings, the looser the noose around her neck.

Her actual parents were nowhere to be found. Still, she wasn't worried. Aside from the whole situation with Wesker, these were the most peaceful days she'd seen in a long time, in fact… ever. The bruises could finally heal without the addition of new ones. Her parents most likely realized the extent of their financial situation and made a break for it. The loan sharks were not going to wait forever and will soon take more forceful actions. As much as it hurt Cara, she believed they left her behind to distract the collectors. They had done something similar years back in a town not too different from Raccoon, but at least they took her with them. It worked once, and they likely believed it will again. She decided to worry about that later, placing her problems on hold. A break was much needed.

Putting on her nicer pair of sneakers and her least washed-out pair of jeans, Cara regarded herself in the mirror and opted to leave her hair down. Wondering whether she should take the cellphone, Cara spent ten minutes arguing with herself. With a heavy sigh, she stuffed it into her back pocket, hoping to 'accidentally' smash the damn thing while sitting down extra hard. What would Wesker say? You have a big butt? Don't sit down?

Today Cara was hanging out with Rick, a mutual friend. They never hung outside school before, especially on their own, and she was a little nervous about things getting awkward. Due to Cara's 'full-time job' after school, they decided to skip a few classes and go out for a hike in the Arkley mountains. This would be her most needed change of scenery, and she may walk away with a good friend.

For Cara, the past few days have been a routine, wake up, go to school, go to Wesker's home to watch Sherry, and then come home to sleep only to do it all over again the next day. Things have been calm, and so Claire's suspicion turned off its headlights, but she often complained they couldn't hang out as much.

Cara tried inviting Claire to head out with them, but she turned the offer down, smiling from ear to ear. She hinted to Cara that Rick might have caught some feelings for her and that the courage to make a move required they be alone under the right circumstances. Guys and girls alike often confessed in the Arkley mountains. It became an omen of good luck for couples to stay together longer. Of course, that was total bullshit as many of those same couples break up soon after. However, it's nice to have hope in a relationship, something Cara never experienced. She decided that if Rick did indeed liked her that she would at least give things a try.

She was shy about Rick picking her up from the bad side of town and instead promised to meet him by the start of the Arkley trails. By the time she arrived, he was already there, standing by a pickup truck in the trail parking lot. Cara smiled, catching him in the midst of fixing his brown hair and testing the smell of his breath in a cupped hand. Why hadn't she ever noticed him? He seemed like such a pleasant guy.

When he finally noticed her standing behind him in the reflection, he spun around, almost stumbling over his feet. "T-there was something stuck in my hair, I swear," He stuttered, scratching his neck while his ears roasted tomato red.

"Whatever you say, pretty boy," Cara laughed, feeling her heart grow lighter with every minute. She had a good feeling today will be very meaningful.

The two walked along a path marked with bright orange ribbons tied to the trees. They passed dozens of signs warning hikers against straying off the path, many of which were covered with graffiti. All around them, birds chirped, and strangely, a few crows cawed as they hovered over the trees.

Walking around a growth of poison Ivy, they talked about random silly things and the distant future. Cara was glad to find herself closer to another person. Real genuine friends were a shortage in her life. She always had to be to one extending a hand, reaching out first. It was nice for a change that someone else extended their hand.

"You know, Cara, despite all the things I kept hearing about you from everyone, I knew they were wrong. They judged you without knowing shit about you."

"What…kind of stuff. And who is talking about me?" Cara's voice held a hard edge, her feet taking a pause. With furrowed brows, her eyes followed Rick as he walked ahead before noticing she stopped. This was the first time Cara heard of any rumors concerning her. She never made any enemies, keeping herself relatively unnoticed at school. Cara felt betrayed, wondering if Claire heard the rumors too, and if so, why hasn't she said anything? Why does she have to hear it from Rick?

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's nothing important. What matters is that I'm on your side." He spoke quickly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Rick, what are they saying about me," Cara walked closer to him, her eyes piercing through him.

"You'll be upset," His eyes kept avoiding Cara, settling on a hole in his shoe.

"I can take it. I just want to know what was said. Please Rick."

"Ah shit…um… they've said that someone saw you walking on Chandler street where all the…dealers and escorts hang. They said you offered to give blow jobs for five bucks to some older men behind a dumpster. That the bruising on your arm because you inject heroin, that your parents pimp you out to-"

Cara expelled a breath, her eyes misting rapidly. "No! that not true. I didn't do that. Why would anyone say something like that? I'm a fucking babysitter, ok? I'm not this, I'm not…my mom." She turned on her heel, wanting to get out of there. "I'm not like her." She repeated, clenching her fists. They didn't have the right to spin stories about her, turning her into a lunchtime gossip storyline. It wasn't fair. She was wrong. She couldn't handle it. She was always pathetic, always crying.

Rick caught up to Cara, grabbing her shoulder to spin her around to face him. "I'm so sorry Cara, I knew it was going to upset you, and I still told you about it. God, I'm so stupid." He said, wrapping his arms around Cara. She was caught by surprise and tried to push him away. Eventually, she found herself leaning against him, letting out a sigh as he stroked her hair.

"It's ok Rick, I'm glad you told me. They're just stupid rumors. I don't know why I'm over- " He kissed her open mouth midsentence, softly at first but quickly added more pressure. His hands fisted into her shirt, forcing her closer. She felt the bile rise quickly.

Cara's eyes were wide open as she tried pulling back, but he held her tightly. She tried forcefully turning her head, but his hand reached up to hold her chin in a painful vice grip, his tongue demanding entrance against her lips. She whimpered, clenching her teeth shut. Her lack of participation agitated him, and he grabbed her arm with a bruising tightness. Cara cried out in pain, and he took the opportunity to force his tongue into her mouth.

Cara wanted to shout for help, her eyes darting around the forest, encircling them. Still, they were completely alone, save for a couple of crows weeping among the trees. They seemed closer than before, sensing a meal in the making.

Allowing his tongue full entrance, Cara bit down as hard as she could on it, gagging against the metallic taste. Rick shoved her away, groaning in pain as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Cara spat the blood in her mouth before shouting. Her eyes burned into him as she backed away.

"I believed in you despite everyone else. I told you I was on your side, and you hurt me. Do you know how many times I defended you? How many times I got picked on for simply standing beside you? You led me to think that you felt something, and then you hurt me." He growled, nursing his tongue in his hand.

Cara let out a pained breath, closing her eyes before turning her head away. She replayed what happened in her mind, wondering where things went wrong. She said she will give him a chance but, this was wrong, so very wrong.

"Rick, stop this. I appreciate what you did for me, but you made me uncomfortable. I did not enjoy that, I did not consent to that, but you touched me anyway."

"How much would it take you to fucking notice me? I've tried being Mr. Fucking nice for two years, Two fucking years. But you never look at me differently." Rick snarled, clenching his fists. He unleashed his rage against the nearest tree punching it repeatedly. He did not stop the assault even as his knuckles split, and the blood flowed freely, staining the bark.

"Rick, please stop before you do something you'll regret," Cara whispered softly, reaching for his bloody hand.

"I will make you want me!"

Cara barely had a second to process things before a rock made a disorienting contact with her head. She saw an assortment of colors and shapes on her way to the muddy earth.

Rolling on her stomach, she tried to push herself up, but everything was spinning, or maybe she was spinning. She rested her cheek against the mud, willing the world to stop shifting. Blood trickled down her face, and she had to blink it out of her eyes, unable to wipe it away. Her limbs felt as if weights were tied to them, giving gravity a greater pull.

Cara fought to stay awake, drifting in and out of the dark, faintly aware of being dragged by her foot through rough earth. It scratched her exposed skin, forcing the back of her shirt to ride up.

#albert wesker #Albert Wesker X OC #resident evil #oc

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one-leaf-grimoire · 4 years ago

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“pine and lavender”

Lisa and Julius go to visit her hometown in the woods. Julius has a grand ol time. idk what the title is supposed to be ajfdskfljds. Anyway, here’s another self-indulgent one shot. stan julisa etc.

Pairing: Julius x Lisa (my oc ajfsdkl)

Warnings: alcohol use (Julius gets a lil drunk) also some heavy flirting, a little of it suggestive but not like... that suggestive.

Two years. That’s how long it had been since Lisa last visited her hometown. She was still a magic knight back then, young and full of dreams, ready to take on what she believed to be a long career. But now, of course, that changed. Her career, and her whole life was unrecognizable. And even she was.

But even so…

“Are you sure about this?”

“Hmm?”

Lisa looked up from where she waited, to see Julius walking over. They were both dressed to travel, packing light for the mere two day getaway they had planned. Yet, Julius was asking as if they were about to leave for some treacherous journey. Perhaps that was true.

“You know… I don’t want you to think I expect to hang out with your family all the time,” Julius continued, finally reaching her side to stand on the balcony. “I know it’s tough for you, with your mother and all-”

“Julius,” Lisa interrupted him, taking his hand in hers to cut him off. “It was my idea, not yours! You made me hang out with your parents last week so it’s only fair that you have to visit my family!”

Julius blinked owlishly, then narrowed his eyes. “I see… wait, so you didn’t enjoy yourself last week?”

Lisa gulped nervously. Meeting Julius’s parents for the first time was an… interesting experience. Both of them were quite old, living alone in a nice place out in the countryside. The Novachrono family, being nobility, owned a couple of residences which they cycled between. Lisa, who grew up a commoner, found the whole arrangement quite extravagant, but it provided some neat weekend hideouts for her and Julius to enjoy. However, they weren’t alone last week.

(tragic flashback time)

“Julius! Oh, this must be your girlfriend!”

Lisa peeked out from behind Julius, her heart thumping in her chest as the elderly couple finally spotted her after greeting their son. The spark of excitement in their eyes, nearly identical to how Julius’s would be, gave way to some other emotion. It was brief, but they almost looked taken aback. Lisa physically resisted wincing.

Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it-

“OOh, you’ve got some mysterious mark on your head as well! No wonder our Julius likes you so much, ahah!”

Oh good. Lisa let herself exhale a nervous laugh, stepping forward to greet them properly. It wasn’t her fault she looked so young; she stopped aging when she was 20, after all. But it was nice to not be bombarded with questions all the time, from people assuming things about her relationship.

“It’s nice to meet you, too!”

(end non-so-tragic flashback)

“Oh, your parents were wonderful. A little… excited, but wonderful.” Lisa grinned and elbowed Julius playfully, earning an exaggerated reaction. “Anyway, I think they told enough embarrassing stories about you to last me a lifetime!”

“Ah, is that so?” Julius grinned back sheepishly, his prior worries fading quickly. “I thought you already knew everything about me?”

“There’s always more to learn~” Lisa shot a cheeky wink up at him before picking up her bag. “Come on, we’ll be late for dinner if we keep chatting all evening.”

“Right, right.” Julius could barely contain himself as he took her hand again. “I’m so excited to see your cousins again- do you think they’ll remember me?”

“Remember? You?! Meeting you was the highlight of their lives!”

Without any more delays, Lisa held on tight as Julius finally took off, leaving nothing but faint traces of his mana behind.

Approximately two minutes later, the pair landed with a resounding whoosh, causing birds and leaves alike to take flight from the trees around them. Branches creaked, and bushes rippled, but only a moment later the forest was as still as it was before. “Well, here we are!” Julius let go of her hand only momentarily to stretch a long arm over his chest. “Too bad we have to walk into town from all the way out here-”

“We talked about this, remember? What do you think’s gonna happen if you just crash down in the middle of town?” Lisa reminded him, turning away once he was ready to start the walk. “And also- once we get there, you’ll have to transform into someone else. I don’t want to become the talk of the town or anything…”

“I know, I know!” Julius looked more disgruntled at that factor than anything else. He let out a deep sigh, sadness shifting through his gaze momentarily. “If I could have my way… I would want everyone to know.”

“... I know. Me too.”

Julius was unapologetic in every facet of his life, and love was no different. He loved the Kingdom, he loved his friends, but most of all, he loved Lisa. If he had it his way, Julius wouldn’t hesitate to herald the news from every corner of the country.

“This woman? She’s mine! And I’m hers!”

Sadly, the two of them already felt the harsh reality of the world, when Augustus and the Magic Parliament found out and used Lisa’s involvement with Julius against her. And because of that, Julius had to keep this treasured relationship close to his chest, where the general public wouldn’t find out.

“Hey-”

He looked down as Lisa snaked her arm around his, smiling up at him comfortingly. “Marry me one day, and then everyone can know.”

Julius’s eyes lit up at the mere thought. “Seriously? Let's get married today, then!”

“What?! No way! Not yet, at least…”

“Ah, alright. I’m patient~”

Before they knew it, they reached the outskirts of town, and Julius was forced to transform. Lisa watched curiously as his body glowed gold, and he morphed into an unfamiliar man. He kept his blonde hair, but he had blue eyes instead of his usual purple. Also, his nose, chin, ears, brow- it was all different. “There! How do I look? Handsome?”

“Not as handsome as usual,” Lisa answered, eyeing him up. It was true, nothing could beat the usual Julius. Julius, of course, knew this, giving her a teasing wink as he grabbed her hand again to continue their journey.

Lisa’s hometown was small, but stable. They mainly subsisted on local crops and game, but they had to buy food from neighboring areas as well. Situated at the base of the mountains dividing the Clover Kingdom from Diamond, the town was once a battlefield, as both kingdoms vied for control over the precious gems underground. However, all those gems have been stripped away, and things calmed down for years and years.

At least, it used to be calm… up until that day.

One fateful attack by the Diamond Kingdom, nearly four years ago. That day changed everything. Lisa’s father was killed, leaving her alone with a mother who hated her and powers that she didn’t understand. She lost so much…

But I wasn’t alone, remember?

Lisa glanced up at the man walking next to her, humming to himself as they moved. She couldn’t help but smile as the memories washed over her.

Because, that day… I met you.

“LISAAAA!!!!!”

The door to Lisa’s old home slammed open, revealing her aunt Portia and her cousins. Before the two of them could react, they were bombarded with hugs from adults and screeching children alike. Lisa could do nothing but stand there and take it, but the wide grin on her face betrayed the fact that she was enjoying it.

“Lyra! You’re going to suffocate me!”

“And I would be right to do so!”

Cousin Lyra- One year older than Lisa, a total airhead, but also the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. The girl stepped back from her cousin with a little pout on her face. “You never come to visit, even though I told you your mom moved out! We only get to see you once a year, you know!”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry! I am kinda busy, you know!” Lisa defended herself, still smiling brightly. “Well, we’re here now, both of us.”

“Hey, who’s this weird guy?!”

Uh oh.

Lisa turned just in time to see Julius being circled menacingly by her two younger cousins, Pat and Rocco, the twins. Both of them had met Julius before, but now they were eyeing him suspiciously. “You’re right, who is this guy, Lisa?” Portia asked, her eyes widening. “Don’t tell me you and Julius broke up!”

“What?! No! I am Julius!” Julius looked a bit confused before the reason dawned on him. “Oh wait- right!” He stepped inside the house, out of sight of the street, and let himself change back to normal. Rocco and Pat immediately gasped. “OH! WIZARD KING!”

Lisa covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Their excitement never failed to crack her up.

“Aha, you know- you can call me cousin Julius-” Julius told them, but it was no use. They continued to chant his title and before grabbing onto his legs like they were two tree trunks. Julius just sighed and let out a tired laugh, looking over at the others. “Not yet, I see-”

“Well, now that we’re here-” Lisa winced a little as she sat down at the kitchen table. “I’m ready for a relaxing night here at home.”

“What?! Relaxing?” Aunt Portia let out a giggle. “Nonsense! Lisa, you know what day it is, right?”

Her family giggled as she stared at them blankly. “It’s friday!”

Her eyes widened. “Oh no…”

Julius looked between them, confused. “Wait, what does that mean? Friday? What’s so special about friday.”

“It’s the busiest night at the tavern! All hands on deck!”

The rest of the family cackled. Lisa’s father owned the sole tavern in town, so it passed down to Portia and Lyra once he died. It was popular, and Lisa worked there for many years before leaving to join the Magic Knights. Lyra giggled and nudged Lisa with her elbow. “It’ll be just like old times! You and me waitressing, I even kept your old ‘uniform!’”

Lisa’s already-pale face was white as a sheet now. “U-Uniform!? Oh god, you can’t mean-”

(thirty horrible minutes later)

“TA-DA! Look at this, ‘James’!”

Julius turned around at the sound of the fake name he was using today. He had been sitting alone in the tavern, watching the other groups as they sat and drank, laughing and chatting among themselves. It was a strangely serene experience, being able to be alone. Well, at least it was nice to not have Marx breathing down his neck. Julius did miss Lisa though… he wasn’t sure why, but being away from her, even just for a little while, made him deeply uncomfortable. But luckily, she was back… sort of.

Lyra strained as she attempted to drag someone out from the back room. “Lisa! Behave!”

“No! Jul- I mean, James, don’t look at me! This is embarrassing-”

Lisa finally gave in, her face burning bright red as she was dragged out into the open.

“Isn’t she cute!? She had to wear this every day when she worked here!”

Her “uniform” was that of a tavern maid; a dress a little shorter than knee-length, a cute apron, and her usual tights. It wasn’t anything too shocking, but-

Lisa covered her face with her hands, mortified to be wearing something so out of her usual wardrobe. “D-Don’t look at me-”

It was too late- Julius was L O O K I N G.

“I said stop it!”

Julius finally snapped out of his “trance,” the dumbfounded look fading into a devilish grin. “Wowie… Lisa, maybe you should change your usual uniform to this-”

Portia and Lyra cackled along with the rest of her family as Lisa shouted back, too embarrassed to make any sense. Julius chuckled to himself, letting up on the teasing but allowing his eyes to still wander all over her body.”There’s nothing to worry about, my sweet… you look good in anything.”

Lisa sighed, letting her shoulders slumped, still not looking forward to the night ahead, but maybe it would be bearable. Maybe. “Thanks… You’re usually right.”

“Of course I am-”

“Lisa! Stop making eyes at him and get to work!”

With another loud objection, Lisa was dragged away once again, while Julius watched her work with shining eyes. As someone raised in nobility, Julius had to admit that he was a little out of his element. The tavern became increasingly louder as people started drinking, shouts and laughter filling the small building. Julius felt himself shrink around his drink, only accompanied by the younger twins and Lisa’s uncle. But among all the chaos, Lisa navigated it all perfectly. Once she forgot about the outfit, she weaved between the tables and jostling chairs, carrying a teetering tray of beers, her voice managing to pierce the noise filling the air. “Hey! Keep it civil, guys, I don’t want to mop up any of your blood.” “Talk to me like that again, and I’ll tell the Wizard King to come get you! Yeah? Scared now?” “NO GAMBLING IN HERE!” “Do you want me to burn you to a crisp? Because you’re asking for it!”

Julius laughed to himself as he listened, not able to tame the big smile on his face.

She’s so cute-

“Hey, Lisa, you got cute~”

Julius’s eyes popped back open.

Did… someone just-

“Hmm? So what if I did?” Lisa glared down at her new admirer, well, admirers. They were a group of three men sitting at a round table, red-faced and drunk, and apparently smitten with their waitress. “It doesn’t mean you can look at me!”

“Oh, but we are~” One of them giggled. “Why don’t you come back with us tonight? It can’t be fun JUST hanging out with your family.”

There was nothing Julius wanted to do in that moment other than spring to his feet, release his disguise, and teach those guys a lesson directly from the hands of the Wizard King. And he almost did, too! With his fists clenched so tight he knew his nails would leave a mark, Julius barely scooted his chair back before freezing as Lisa stepped in to defend herself much better than he could have.

“Listen! You three used to bully me all the time for having no mana. I wouldn’t want to be seen with you, even if my life depended on it! And besides-” Lisa resisted shooting a cheeky glance over at Julius. “I already belong to someone, so you’re too late.”

The trio blinked dumbly up at her, unable to comprehend what she was saying. Julius smiled to himself and slowly slid back down into his seat.

“I already belong to someone.”

He always liked hearing that.

“What are you looking at?”

And suddenly, she was right next to him, leaning up against the table with a little grin on her face. Julius blinked, his reaction sluggish. Ah, I guess I got stuck in a little daydream there- He shook off the feeling, amplified by the beers he drank, and smiled up at her. “Oh, just the cutest waitress in this place.”

Despite being mortified earlier, Lisa only blushed lightly at the comment, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Oh? I’m honored~ And what a coincidence, you’re the cutest guy in this place…”

Oh boy. The alcohol was starting to kick in for Julius, and Lisa knew it. His gaze started to fog up with some weird emotion that she knew well. She rarely saw him even get buzzed, so this was entirely unfamiliar. “Aha- ah, shucks, hehe-” He giggled boyishly to himself, closing his eyes for a moment as he collected his “thoughts.” Ahh… he would look so cute right now if he wasn’t in disguise, Lisa thought to herself, but it was enough to know that the unfamiliar man sitting here wasn’t unfamiliar at all… he was her man. “Hmm, you seem like you’ve had a little too much to drink” she teased.

Julius shrugged, lifting up his glass. “This is the best goddamn beer in the whole goddamn kingdom- HIC.”

Lisa bit her lip, thinking the little hiccup was just too cute. “Take it easy! I wouldn’t want you to pass out on me, hmm?”

Julius just laughed to himself again, his poor addled-brain hardly able to keep up. Damn! This beer is way more potent than I’m used to… these country folk know how to brew, that’s for sure. If I’m not careful, I’ll actually get drunk.

“Well, then tell me, waitress~” Julius finally spoke, wiggling his eyebrows. “When do you get off your shift?”

Lisa giggled, reaching out and running a friendly hand over his shoulder. Julius eagerly leaned into the gesture, like iron drawn to a magnet. That was what she was: a magnet. He would always be drawn to the gravity she possessed, something he couldn’t understand yet didn’t need to. All he really needed was her.

“Be patient~ We can go home soon.”

Without another word, Lisa leaned down and kissed his forehead, before pulling away to continue her work. Julius could do nothing but sigh and watch her go, his smile still traced on his lips and his mind hazy with desire.

(the next morning)

At exactly 6:30 am, Lisa’s eyes popped open. She was like a machine, her consciousness restoring itself almost instantly after her usual 6 hours of sleep. That was all she really needed, so she never gave herself much more. With a little yawn, the girl slowly rolled over in bed, her arm reaching out to find the warmth of a body beside her. However...

Julius wasn’t there, for some reason. Lisa frowned a bit, blinking as she got her bearings. Hmm, I wonder where he is? She was sure that they were together when they fell asleep late last night. In fact, she was 100% certain that was the case. Julius got all needy when he was drunk, and wouldn’t let go of her even as he fell asleep. It takes a lot to get him drunk in the first place. He should be terribly hungover right now.

“Portia? Lyra?”

Lisa peeked into the kitchen, the stillness in the air betraying that no one else was awake yet. That’s weird… well, Julius likes his morning walks, this could be his way of dealing with his hangover

She knew that Julius was the last person on earth she usually had to worry about, but he was unfamiliar with the area and could get lost. Keeping that in mind, Lisa quickly got dressed and headed out to search for him. It was still early, and also a Saturday, so the town was very quiet and empty. Lisa strolled down the streets, becoming increasingly disheartened as she failed to locate her wandering boyfriend. Well… maybe he went out into the woods? Ooh, I hope he’s alright-

Lisa decided to check the outskirts before heading back home, just in case. Luckily, her intuition ended up being right… just not in the way she expected at all.

“Lisa!!!! Hello!!! Good morning!!! Look at me!!!”

Just as Lisa reached the edge of the woods, who should come running out but a grinning Julius. Usually, Julius only moved fast when he was fighting, and moved so fast that he left afterimages everywhere he went. Other than that, he glided from place to place, as graceful and stately as could be. But now, Lisa watched in shock as a seemingly-normal albeit awkward looking man, with arms and legs a little too long for his body, came sprinting at her. But the strangest thing was-

“Julius!!! Why are you dressed like a lumberjack!?”

Lisa backed away slightly as he skidded to a stop in front of her, still almost giddy with boyish excitement, and she eyed his strange outfit: a red flannel shirt, JEANS, and a strange looking hat. She also noticed that he wasn’t in disguise anymore. But before she could say anything, Julius launched into a harried explanation, as if he already knew what she was thinking. “Oh, don’t worry! No one recognized me with this hat on, haha! See, I woke up early to make you some coffee for when you woke up, but your uncle was awake and invited me to come help him and some others gather wood and stuff in the forest! He gave me the outfit and everything! It’s a little tight though-” Julius shifted uncomfortably in his jeans. “Anyway, a lot of people in this town don’t have much magic, at least not for gathering wood, so I got to use an axe and everything! It was so much fun, we’re taking a short break now but we’ll be at it again soon, haha!”

Julius let out a jovial laugh while Lisa stood there, still absorbing the words he just spat out. “Oh… I see. Well, I’m glad you’re having fun-” She eyed his hat again, noticing that it covered most of his blonde hair as well as his swallowtail mark. “So… you’re not hungover or anything? You were pretty drunk last night…”

“Drunk? NO, no!” Julius wiggled his eyebrows. “That stuff only buzzed me… I was just using it as an excuse to act a bit more boldly, you know? I’m perfectly fine this morning.”

… of course he would do that- Lisa thought to herself, not sure if she should be charmed or exasperated…. She was leaning towards the former, since by now she was used to Julius’s antics. “You seem to be enjoying the commoner life, maybe we should quit our jobs and move out to a cabin in the woods,” she teased, letting herself smile brightly up at him. Now that the shock was wearing off… he did look really good in his new “uniform.” “You should wear stuff like this more often~”

Julius raised an eyebrow, but couldn’t wipe his goofy grin off his face. “Oh? Maybe I will~ And-” He reached down and took her hand in his, clasping it tenderly. “I’ll take you out to cabins in the woods whenever you feel like it! Just say the word, and it’s done!”

Lisa giggled, squeezing her eyes shut as Julius’s hand cupped her cheek, holding her face gently as his lips found the side of her head. “It’s good to know I have you wrapped around my finger~”

“Oh, more than my finger, my dear.” Julius winked as he straightened back up. However, that brief, sultry moment ended as soon as a new idea crossed his mind. “So! I was thinking- we should have a picnic for lunch!”

Lisa’s eyes it up at the same time as his own. “Ooh, I like that idea! Out in the woods?” She immediately started brainstorming what she could make.

“Not just any spot, though-” Julius fidgeted with excitement. “That spot by the river… with the flowers, where we first met?”

“Oh… oh! Yeah!” The memories flooded back, memories from a time much more complicated than now. “Meet me there at noon?”

“Yeah! Thank you, darling.” Julius leaned down, his intention clear. Lisa closed her eyes in time to feel his sweet kiss on her lips, brief yet just as intoxicating as ever. “See you soon!” Without another word, Julius waved goodbye before running off, disappearing into the trees. Lisa sighed to herself, the warmth of his presence still lingering on her skin. Wow… well, I have a picnic to prepare. She turned around and started to walk back home, her mind still caught up in the dream she somehow managed to turn into reality.

Back then, years ago, they met in that spot by the river. Lisa was lost, alone, hopeless, and confused, but all it took was a kind smile and that strange, warm feeling to get her moving again. Moving towards her goals, with nothing left to lose and everything to gain.

I gained and lost so much, over and over, but now… it’s just like you promised, Julius. You said, one day, our life will be simple. And now it is.

Despite the trials they experienced, the satisfaction of knowing filled Lisa’s heart: she was his, and he was hers. Completely.

(shortly before noon)

Finally alone, Julius took off his hat, letting his head breathe for the first time all morning. He had arrived at the spot a little early, so he had a few minutes to himself. “Hmm… this is the place, alright,” he muttered to himself, looking around. The stream still flowed lazily like it always did, and the blanket of white cornflowers still rippled gently in the breeze. The whole atmosphere was calming, yet so deeply potent with memories, both good and bad… but one in particular.

I still remember it so well… During that Diamond attack, Lisa dropped her Grimoire. I had to chase her all over town to give it back! I ended up catching up to her here… we had our first conversation. And her first smile-

Julius would have been content to die in that moment. For that brief second, he forgot that he was Wizard King, he forgot about all the responsibilities he carried on his back. He was weightless, unburdened… blessed. A girl he barely knew, someone he could tell was deeply troubled and complicated, defeated him with just a smile. At that time, he couldn’t have imagined that he would grow so close to her, watching as she clawed her way up, a girl with nothing to lose but everything to gain. It was what he admired most about her, but she was more than just another remarkable person in the magic knights.

She was his.

Julius found himself standing at the edge of the stream, the water calm enough for him to make out his reflection.

Despite how perfectly everything felt now… he couldn’t shake an unwelcome feeling.

Dread?

Julius shook his head slightly, watching his own eyes narrow with determination.

If I can protect an entire kingdom… I can protect one person dear to me.

“Julius!”

The voice calling out from behind him immediately dispelled the dread from his gut. Perking up, Julius quickly turned around to see Lisa walking over, picnic basket in hand and a big smile on her face. “Hey! I’m right on time~ Hungry?” She held up the basket, opening it up to look at the contents. “I made some sandwiches, but Portia had some leftover wine from last night so I packed a little of that as well, and-”

Lisa was suddenly cut off when a pair of arms closed around her. She stood there silently as she was held tightly, her face buried into the rough flannel of Julius’s shoulder. Slowly, she inhaled, taking in his scent, a scent indistinguishable from her own save for the new notes of pine he managed to pick up while working. Then, she exhaled, her arms drifting around his torso in time with her breath.

It was moments like these that she knew she was cherished. More than any treasure or prize the Kingdom could offer. Even if she didn’t understand why, she knew that fact.

After a few long, tender moments, Julius’s grip finally loosened, and he stepped back just enough to peer down at her face, his smile tinged with faint notes of sadness. “Thank you, Lisa.”

“My pleasure.”

The two of them turned and walked towards the stream, their hands still entwined as tight as fate itself.

#ajfksdl sorry I didn't mean for it to be this long #JuLisa #julius novachrono #julius novachrono x reader #oc: lisa #black clover

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loopy777 · 4 years ago

Note

RE: WIPs game: so, haru-tylee. that's one of my favorite crackships right there. what's that doing in your WIPs folder?

Ah, yes, that one. This is the piece that taught that I'm completely incapable of writing an in-character Haru.

I know, it's a weird character to stumble over, but it's true. He's just so bland in personality that there's nothing for me to grip onto. I have to write an exaggerated comedic personality for him in some way, or else the words just stop flowing from my fingers. Writing this small piece was like trying to lift concrete. I can write Azula in the midst of a depressed breakdown more easily than I can write Haru just being a nice dude.

As for why I made the attempt, it was for an exchange. One of the specified pairings was Haru/TyLee, and my only experience with it was that moment in the Chibi short. I figured it would be something fun to try, with a dash of some Romeo&Juliet tension, and would let me write more Ty Lee.

Fortunately, after I recovered from having my soul sucked out of my body, I was able to use one of the recipient's other pairings and meet the deadline (Long Feng/Song, and it resulted in a piece I'm still rather fond of).

Looking back at what I've written, it's not anything bad (except the part where Haru is given the assignment; woof, that's some first-draft writing), but it feels like it's missing some of the SNAP that I like to think exists in my better works. I dunno, maybe if I'd stuck with it, I'd have been able to revise it into something pretty good. Some of my best stuff lacked the SNAP until a little editing found it.

Once again, since this is a relatively short thing that I'll never finish, I might as well post everything I have:

Haru wasn't comfortable with the situation from the start.

When he and his father set out to help liberate all the conquered villages in the entire province, sure, he had been completely on board. It was difficult leaving Mom, but she wasn't a fighter, and Haru couldn't stay behind while Dad went on to help free all the other villages. The other Earthbenders had lent their aid to Haru's home, and it was only right to put his own skills to task returning the favor. That was good work. Not only was Haru living his dream of finally fighting back against the oppressors, he was doing it with his Dad, and together they were continuing their Earthbending training.

However, it seemed that there was more to a war than just saving people and fighting bad guys. An actual General in the Earth Kingdom military contacted their rebel group. This general, Fong, was maintaining a base right near the coast, and doing everything he could to keep his mountainous territory from being overrun by the Fire Nation. The messenger explained that Fong had heard of the rebel group's actions, and applauded them, and wished to direct their attention to an even more insidious threat than Fire Nation conquerors.

The Fire Nation was also trying to destroy the Earht Kingdom's culture. There was a traveling group, it was explained, devoted to showcasing Fire Culture in a manner designed to appeal to the common people. Fong couldn't spare the resources to track the group down and "discourage" its members, but perhaps a small network of Earthbender rebels could find the time? Such a favor would also be proof of the rebels' reliability.

That's how Haru and his Dad wound up attacking a circus, of all things, and taking all its members captive after a small skirmish that barely qualified as a brawl. Most had been caught in their tents and carts, and seized without a fight. Some of the Firebenders had tried resisting, but they turned out to be mere showmen, and were easily taken by the experienced Earthbender fighters.

Then, the rebels had to figure out what to do with their new prisoners of war. That's where the trouble began.

The noise that night was unbearable. By midnight, the circus animals still hadn't settled down, and no knew what, exactly, to do with them. "We can't just open their cages and set them free," Dad -- Tyro the Indomitable, as most of the rebels called him now -- said to the assembled leadership. "I don't even recognize half these creatures, let alone know if they can survive in this forest."

Haru stepped closer to his dad. "Also, some of them might wander back, and either attack or lead enemies right to us," he said. Around the fire, some of the other rebel leaders nodded in agreement, and Haru had to suppress a smile. He didn't want to give the impression of having a childish need for validation, but after living powerlessly for so long, it was fulfilling to be treated as a man, with respect, by other people that he in turn respected. He had taken to wearing a mustache not to look more adult, but because it felt right.

Back towards the main tent, the screech of what sounded like a Sky Bison-sized bird tore through the night. Everyone around the fire winced. "Well, we have to do something to quiet them," someone said.

One gray-haired woman, part of the original group that had escaped from the same prison rig as Haru and his father, looked at the younger Earthbender. "You're a smart young man. Why don't you pick one of the prisoners and get them to help. Find someone docile who knows what to do with those dusty creatures, and keep an eye on them. You're young and bold, so you can handle it if they try to give you trouble. Maybe one of the captives will be more interested in helping the creatures than escaping."

Haru blinked. He had fought beside all these people, but he wasn't expecting to be handed responsibility for a personal prisoner. That seemed like a job for someone more... ruthless. "How will I know who to pick?"

His dad chuckled. "Look at their eyes. People can hide their intentions, but not their spirit."

Haru nodded, unsure- but ready to accept everyone's faith in him.

All of the prisoners were being held in one of the larger tents, seated on the dirt floor.

Haru hadn't picked the ringmaster, because the man wouldn't stop talking, blustering simultaneously about the troupe's innocence and the coming vengeance of the Fire Nation. He didn't pick the man who professed to be the animal tender, because he was a Firebender who had demonstrated some fine control of his element before he had been dogpiled by a team of Earthbenders in the initial attack; besides, the man had an oily quality that Haru didn't like. He didn't pick the strongman because -- seriously -- the guy was huge!

In the end, it was the trapeze artist who Haru thought was the best bet. She had friendly eyes, seemed well liked by the other prisoners, and didn't seem to quite realize that she was a captive of desperate rebels. Plus, she was just the high-wire act, not even a Bender, so it's not like she could cause much trouble. What could go wrong?

"You," he said, pointing at the girl. "You're coming with me."

She blinked innocently, her gray eyes wide. "Me?" She tilted her head to the side, and the ponytail hanging down her back shifted. She alone in all the circus folk wasn't wearing a straight shade of red; her two-piece tunic used tones of pink, and it somehow made her seem less like an enemy and more like a girl.

Of course, that kind of thinking could lead to trouble. Haru might be a teenage boy, but that didn't mean he had to let his own hormones goose-pigeonhole him as some kind of sap. Dad and the others were counting on him, here. "Yes, you, miss. The animals need to be fed. Do you know how?"

Her face positively lit up with a smile that included her eyes. "Oh! Yes, I know all the animals here! You wouldn't believe how many we have, from all over the world! The bear even knows how to walk the tightrope, just like me!"

Haru frowned. "Bear? What kind of bear?"

She winked. "A platypus-bear, silly. What kind of bear did you think?"

Haru ran his fingers through his mustache. At times like this, he found himself not quite used to the feel of it. "Let's... let's just get going."

"And this is Mister Screechy Feathers! He likes cabbages!" Ty Lee frowned. "Actually, now that I think about it, all these animals like cabbages. Well, except for the meat-eaters. I guess cabbage is the universal animal food? Or maybe we just get cabbage at a discount? I wonder who we buy it from..."

Haru decided that it was a good time to interrupt the acrobat and get her back on task.

Again.

"Well, wherever you get it," he said, "let's give some to him and move on. How many heads does he get?"

"Four. I think. Or maybe that was the platypus-bear. Oh well, we have plenty. We'll let him decide." With a giggle, Ty Lee trotted over to the wagon and began piling heads of cabbage under her arms.

Haru watched her carefully, maintaining a chi-connection with the Earth below his bare feet. She seemed harmless enough, but he was ready in case she decided to dash away. Of course, watching her body and her movements so closely, he was acutely aware of what a pleasant image she projected. She was a very pretty girl, and she didn't act like she was a prisoner. Dust, she didn't even act like she was Fire Nation. She was happy, and friendly. She was lighthearted in a way that Haru had forgotten could exist, in any nation.

Was this really the kind of person who could be trying to erase the Earth Kingdom's culture?

Then Haru realized he was staring, and that Ty Lee had noticed. "So, uh, what kind of animal is... Mister... Screechy Feathers?"

"A vulture-griffon," she cooed. "Isn't he cute?"

Haru looked over at the creature -- with a body like a jungle cat, the wings and gangly head of a buzzard -- then back at Ty Lee. He looked over again at the vulture-griffon, then back at Ty Lee. Vulture-griffon. Ty Lee. Griffon. Ty Lee. "Um, I can think of cuter things in this tent, right now," he found himself saying.

"Oh? Like what?" She leaned forward, and gazed right into his eyes.

Haru suddenly had trouble remembering what spoken language was.

That's when she threw a tight fist out at him and punched him hard near his shoulder.

Haru stumbled back, biting back a cry of pain, and tried to raise his hands into a defensive stance. Only one of his arms actually obeyed, and to Haru's growing horror, that came to a quick stop when Ty Lee leaned over and struck again. He stumbled back, more from his continuing state of shock than the pain, but the acrobat stayed with him, swept a leg to catch his own, and pushed at his chest.

Haru fell, and then reality suddenly went away.

Ty Lee felt just awful about the way Haru hit his head. She hadn't meant for him to step backwards and fall like that. Weren't Earthbenders supposed to especially stable, or something? Ty Lee thought she remembered learning something like that, but even if her recollection was correct, who knew if it was actually true? Lots of things Ty Lee had learned at the Academy turned out to be mistaken.

Still, she was nothing if not adaptable! As long as Haru was unconscious anyway, she might as well drag him off where no one could find him. That was part of her original plan, anyway, and she so rarely made plans that she might as well stick with this one.

Of course, her original plan also said she was supposed to tie Haru up and then go tappity-tap all the other Earthbenders by herself, so maybe she could make some changes as she went along. Princess Azula had said many times that it was okay. In fact, Ty Lee was pretty sure Azula said that the best plans were the ones that changed and got better.

Maybe. Or Azula said that her brother, Zuko, was a moron because he always changed his plans as they were happening. One of the two. Maybe both. Actually, this was pretty confusing.

Focus. Ty Lee carefully hoisted Haru up over her shoulders, and quietly carried him over to the back of the tent, where the hay-bales were piled up to make a kind of isolated shelter.

"Rrrrawk!" said Mister Screechy Feathers.

"Shhhhh," Ty Lee hissed. Honestly, that vulture-griffon could be so cranky sometimes. Although, Muzan was a pretty cranky Firewhipper himself, so maybe that rubbed off on all the animals he was in charge of training and feeding.

She got Haru over to her hiding place easily enough, and laid him down on a bed of loose hay. Now, her plan said she was supposed to restrain and leave him, but what if he had a concussion? She didn't want him hurt. Or dead! That would be awful! He was nice enough, for an enemy, and she could tell from his aura that he had a strong sense of family and honesty.

So Ty Lee sat down beside him, and hoped he would wake up soon.

Haru couldn't tell how much time had passed, when he came to. He had a tough time telling that he was conscious at all, actually.

#haru #ty lee #tylee #fanfic

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darkspellmaster · 5 years ago

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Castlevania Season 3 Trailer and Poster Theories Part 1: Characters and Posters

So if you’re just joining us, hi and welcome.

With the release of the Season 3 trailer for Castlevania, I figured I might as well break this down to see what’s in store for the characters and how this may connect to the future of the series. (Spoilers abound for a number of Castlevania games, so you have been warned.)

Realized this was really long so you have a warning that if you are reading this on mobile it may be better to read on the computer.

So this is probably during the fight between Alucard and the Japanese warrior we see in the trailer. Two things about this moment: One I’m a bit worried that Alucard is going to push himself too much. He absolutely needs to rest as if he’s still awake for years to come then the whole situation with Symphony of the Night has less weight to it. Two is the fact that he’s enjoying himself, meaning that this is a positive for him and what’s going to happen in the future in regard to people becoming friends with him and him having a life.

I’m assuming this is where Alucard is talking to the Japanese warrior that we meet in the forest. He’s explaining to them what happened to Dracula and what is up with the castle. However, this whole “Dracula is dead by my hand,” and Sypha and Trevor’s...is important. They are missing a key factor in ending him for good, that being the stone that Dracula has on him. As long as the Crimson Stone exists, he can keep coming back, again and again, and that means Death will have to be coming into play soon enough.

Again, he’s activating his powers, which, if he overuses them this could be a bad thing. I’m wondering if they’re going to put him to sleep after this one, or if he’s going to be around with Simon...Please don’t be awake with Simon. Please. It’s sort of cool seeing them in motion though, more so than with Season 2.

Okay, so a lot of speculation right now is that this is Zead, aka the man that teaches Hector about the Innocent Devil’s in Curse of Darkness that you use in-game. Zead is actually another important character in Curse of Darkness as he’s Death in disguise. His goal was to use Hector to beat Isaac, and then have Hector consumed by the curse to bring back Dracula.

However, another option may be a possible flashback to Leon’s story and this is just a priest that is traveling with the Crusaders. Though the outfits make me think that this is a later time period. If it’s not Zead, then he could be a character that comes into play as an introduction to the issues with Carmilla or ties into the village that was attacked by Legion minions.

So we officially have a title for him. The Judge, it seems, and he’s voiced by Jason Isaacs. Important to note that the name Judge is used as part of Judgement, which is another term for Death. Though I do have to wonder if he and Morana are one and the same. Or if he’s a red herring to her being actually Death. It wouldn’t be the first time that that happened.

Right, so I’m going to focus more on the two other Vampires on the left and the right rather than the center two at this moment.

So the Lady on the left is giving me a few options to work with here based on her looks.

Her name is apparently Morana and she’s voiced by Yasmine Al Massri. Morana is the Slavic goddess of Death and Rebirth. She is a winter goddess as well and can be depicted as an older crone character. What’s odd here is that they’re not going based on that idea. Her name means death so clearly, we have a case here of a character that may be more powerful than we first think.

So as for whom she may be based on the three following women are my best bets.

Actrise is personally one of my best guesses given the design of the character.

Actrise is a witch that turned people into Vampires. While not in-game technically a vampire herself, she is a vile piece of work, killing 100 children to get Dracula to make her immortal. In the game Legacy of Darkness, she plays one of the major antagonists for the lead Cornell and later for Carrie Fernandez, who is trying to get back her sister Camilla who was turned into a vampire by Actrise. I can easily see them not adapting Legacy of Darkness, so turning Actrise into a helper for Camilla would make sense.

Of course, there is the option of the second-best well known female vampire...

Elizabeth Bathory

I would have picked her as my main pick, however, Elizabeth is just as well known as Carmilla is in regard to being a solo female Villian that I can’t see them putting her as a lower-ranked assistant to Carmilla. So while this could be a possibility for our lovely lady vampire in blue and yellow, I just don’t see it as an option. But you never know. And Bathory’s name is just as well known, so that’s an added bonus.

The Countess was going to be a baddie in a Castlevania game that got canceled so she would be the easiest to adapt, and our lady Vampire has a lot of her looks. (High cheekbones, narrow nose, even the curved ears as an option and the high arched eyebrows.)

A character that was designed to be a main bad in a N64 Castlevania game. Not much is known about this woman, other than she was called the Female Dracula and that she was Dracula’s lover for a while. She can create a portal to resurrect him.

Next, we have Striga, who I thought was a guy, but is apparently a woman. She is voiced by Ivana Milicevic.

Now a Striga is a different sort of vampire and more a demon. But I do find it odd that we have two characters here named on two Slavic myths connected to death. What’s interesting about Striga is that I thought she may have been a guy that was connected to Alucard, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

Striga’s are born with two hearts and two souls and have two sets of teeth. They are bird-like and change into bird-like creatures that hunt humans for their blood.

My main guess is that Striga probably is based more on the Lady Bats, Lillith or more likely Draculina from Order of Ecclesia.

They are female vampires that are loyal to Dracula, although in this case, Striga may be more connected to Lilith as she seems to be seen and shown with Lenore more than with Morana. This makes me think that Striga is the lesser of the two in power and that Carmilla and Morana may be more the heads of this operation.

So the last character and the one that everyone wants to know about is this redhead. Her name is Lenore and she’s voiced by Jessica Brown Findlay.

The name Lenore is taken from the name Elenore and was commonly used in the middle ages due to several queens having that name (Elenore of Aquitaine, Elenore of Provance, and Elenore of Castile) and comes from the name Aenor, which is a Latinized form of a Germanic name we don’t know the meaning of.

Lenore is most well known for being the lead character in the Raven that Poe’s poet pines for. His Lost Lenore and I have a feeling that she is going to be a bit like that and a bit like Lucy from the Coppola version of Dracula.

Some have speculated that this is a version Rosaly, Hector’s future wife from Curse of Darkness. However she doesn’t match at all, not personality, nor looks. I have a feeling they purposely made her too seem like Rosaly since there are some similarities, but very generic.

As you can see, long hair, very cheery-looking and innocent. Yet the hair and eyes don’t match at all. And even with the drastic changes they have done to the characters, see Isaac, Rosaly would need to have a certain look because of Julia later on.

As you can see there’s an innocence to her, and while the woman’s dress is similar to nun wear, it’s clearly not the woman that later saves Hector. So who is she?

Well, there's the option of the Succubus character from a number of games.

the attitude and the look on the face, along with the hair and fangs would at least connect to that overall innocent look that the character is going for.

However I think this may be Laura, Carmilla’s lover Laura, or she may be going by the name Lenore.

So in the lore of Castlevania, Laura is Carmilla’s servant, and in the book, Laura was her food source. In the games, Carmilla attaches herself to the player and drains them of their hearts to help her mistress. She acts like an innocent victim but in truth, she’s just trying to lure the player into a false sense of security. Defeating Carmilla leads to her transforming into a fighter (in the first game she had cat ears as a nod to the Konami lady and a nod to the book where Carmilla fed off her in the form of a large cat),

Who then proceeds to attack the player for defeating her mistress.

Given what she’s doing to Hector in the poster and what we see her doing in the trailer I don’t doubt that she’s playing with Hector to make him easier to feed on for Carmilla and screwing with him for her mistress as a plaything. They stand close together and it’s clear by the fact that she’s on the same side as Carmilla that she’s there to be a creature that is going to cause issues going forward.

More than likely, given her outfit, she was probably once a nun in the same church as Rosely and may feature in getting backstory for what happened to the church that Rosely was a part of.

Alright, this is gonna be a doozy. So there’s a lot of speculation on who this woman is. Everything from Baba Yaga to a whole new character. So I have three major options here for who she could be.

Voiced by Barbra Steele, this is Miranda, a strange woman that Isaac meets. The thing is I think he’s in possibly the city near the Baljihet Mountains where the Garibaldi Temple is, that leads to the Tower of Evermore, where they may have put Legion. So why am I bringing this up? Well, there are various locations in Castlevania that get re-explored in other games, and one of those places is Aljiba, a coastal city that houses two characters that could play parts in this series. The Crystal Trader, who could be Sala, (more on that down lower) and the Old Crone, who is right below.

Option One is the Old Crone from Vampire Killer the sequel game in Japan to Castlevania.

Old Crone is a merchant in the castle where Dracula is. By whipping them you get items and discounts and the like. (Yes it’s weird.) She also will give you hints of where Simon in the game can get a piece of Dracula, in this case, his eyes. It wouldn’t be too odd if Miranda could be used as this hint giver to Isaac going forward on his journey to resurrect Dracula. Physically the character appears to be this sort of person. However, the marking on the neck and the robes have me speculating otherwise.

Option two is the more likely character and one that has direct ties to Dracula himself and could explain the marking on the neck.

Drolta Tzuentes is a character from Castlevania Bloodlines and is an assistant of Elizabeth Bathory.

There’s a lot of speculation around this character as she is very mysterious and was the one that revived Dracula’s niece Elizabeth in the game. She’s said to be very powerful and her looks seem to mirror that of the woman we see talking to Isaac. However, another big clue that this could be the character is that she may have been an alternative form to Death. (In the game she’s from it’s hinted heavily that she is.)

We know now that a character named “Judge” will be appearing, as played by Jason Isaacs. Why this is important is that this could be an allusion name to Death, and having both actors play different forms of the character makes sense.

IF this is the case this is a big deal due to what’s on the woman’s neck.

So if you don’t know Death is one of the main characters in Castlevania and he’s there to usually help revive Dracula as the two have a very interesting deal. When Mathias became Dracula he partnered with Death to take down the Vampire Walter whom Death was no longer interested in working with. Now Walter Bernhard, who was the Dracula before Dracula, and the man who took away Sara from Leon Belmont.

So why am I mentioning this? Well, Walter had on him one of two stones that are very important to the Lore of Castlevania. The Crimson Stone, which is the most important stone in the games history and what makes a person into Dracula (we will be getting back to that., and the Ebony stone which is a stone that allows the user to envelop its surroundings in eternal night and it was believed to control Death (it can’t).

It’s really hard to see but in the center of the old woman’s neck, there’s a star with a round circular object. At the end of the game Lament of Innocence either Dracula or Death had the Ebony stone.

If this is the stone, it would make sense then that this old woman would be Death in disguise, and explain her desires for killing them all, since the use of the dead would allow for Death to bring back Dracula using Isaac or Hector’s or even Trevor’s body to do so.

The other important thing to note is that the Belmonts have had a situation where Dracula has possessed them. So this is not beyond the scope for them to try this with Trevor.

On top of this, the image of Miranda that is used for the cast revel shows Miranda powering up, or using some sort of energy. This energy is a pinkish purple.

Why is this important? Well, that color has connections directly to two characters in Castlevania Lore.

The first is Walter Bernhard, the Vampire that came before Dracula and lead directly to the reason why the Belmonts hunt vampires, and why Dracula exists. During the game Lament of Innocence Walter dies and that color engulfs him as he’s dying (and probably being sucked into the Crimson stone).

Same colors, making me think this maybe some form of activation of her using the stone or giving something to Isaac.

The other option is Death again, where we see him using his powers, which again match the colors that we see Miranda using at this moment.

In both cases, this is when Death is activating his power, and as I said Death can show up in any form. Including an old woman.

Ignoring the water, I want to point out the glass shards. It seems like they’re trying to harm Hector or punish him in some way. The glass shards make me think they shattered glass on the bars, and the water might be from a pitcher or something like that over a bucket. It’s clear that they’re treating Hector as nothing but an abused pet for them to play with, and I hope we get to see a stronger Hector break free of that. What has me concerned though is the fact that he’s naked, namely because I wonder if there are some implications of assault going on.

So I’m not sure if Hector has a collar on when he’s getting hit by the water. However, we can see that he’s dressed when interacting with Lenore (I’m using the name because it makes sense that this would be her). His hand is out to her probably as she’s tempting him or offering him something and then she pulls him to her and does the “Good Boy” moment.

It has me thinking that she’s going to add to the issues of distrust that Hector has and that Rosely is going to have to work through during the next season if she’s not in this one. I strongly suspect that this character is going to try to push Hector into helping her out stopping the others or promising to help him only to betray him in the end.

So we know this is part of Isaac watching something, and probably has a connection to the green tower that we’re seeing. The reason this is significant is that Isaac ended up using some very strong powers to fight against Hector, and if he’s able to hold back Legion with his army, even subject it to his will, well then this could be an interesting fight if they go deeper into the lore of the Curse of Darkness game.

Isaac’s army. So it seems that they’re having Isaac and his army of monsters coming after Legion who is cooped up with that tower. This is known as the Tower of Evermore it’s a sort of Battle arena in the game. So this is probably where Isaac ends up doing a lot of his dirty work in forging devils for his army that he intends to use on the trio and possibly Hector.

The moon has always played an important part in Castlevania as a symbol of the mysteries of the night. The fact that we have Isaac on a black horse, cloaked in white (very much all things that could be associated with Death and the supernatural), gives rise to me suspecting that his journey into darkness is going to be happening a lot more significantly going forward. This is probably the same scene as him looking down and him with his monster army facing the tower.

I strongly suspect that these are servants or citizens in Japan that were captured by the female Japanese vampire (I think her name was Cho), and they are being saved by the two vampire hunters we see later. It’s clear from this shot that they seemed resigned to their fate as food for her and her minions. This is also more than likely a flashback episode to give backstory to our female vampire hunter that is fighting Alucard.

So here we have the duo that is probably Taka (Toru Uchikado) and Sumi (Rila Fukushima). So I don’t know what their crests means; I’ve been trying to look that up, and have yet to find a family crest that matches, but more than likely these two are siblings under the same family as Mina Hakuba. Mina, for those that don’t know, Mina is the childhood friend of Soma Cruz, the reincarnation of Dracula. During the time of Aria of Sorrow, Soma came to visit Mina in Japan, as the two seemed to be developing feelings for one another. Mina is the main shrine Maiden of the Hakuba clan, and they helped in the saving of the world and have tied to Alucard.

We can assume that the fight between Sumi and Alucard happen after their fight with Cho (Japanese Vampire) and that Sumi may have been the one to make it out alive, or that she’s trying to find a way to convert her brother back to normal, ala the whole Order of Ecclesia situation.

We know by the image of this scene that she’s outmatched so Alucard, it stands to reason, is going to try to protect her from probably making some bad mistakes and help her find a way to help her brother out, or free him from possibly Carmilla. This very much could be like the Fernandez cousins in Legacy of Darkness.

In that game, Carrie Fernandez was seeking out a way to save her elder sister Carmilla who had become a Vampire thanks to Actrisa, and is used as an obstacle to get to Dracula for Carrie’s Quest. In this case Sumi takes on the role of Carrie and Taka becomes Carmilla, who was turned and is right now a servant to the Vampires.

If these two are set up in that way, then it makes sense why Sumi would be paired with Alucard in this manner. Both are resolved in trying to fix a mistake they made a long time ago, and Sumi probably could become a strong Ally for the team, and more than likely will be returning to Japan after this story concludes. If they are of the clan that Mina’s connected to it means that this could show exactly how Alucard became connected with the Hakuba clan in Japan if Sumi came to destroy Dracula.

It’s also clear that Taka is probably the one fighting with the vampires in the scene below, and given we only see Sumi later, he’s likely to die or be cursed as a vampire. Which could tie into the idea of why she would travel that far to kill Cho or Dracula himself.

Japanese Vampire’s underlings are facing Taka. Interesting design for them as they are more like the zombies from Japanese myths than the traditional vampires which is what Cho is.

There’s also this fight with a samurai vs Cho and given his armor is not like that of what we see in Taka fighting, this means he’s someone else. He also looks a bit on the white side, so I have to wonder if he’s actually connected to Samurai William who worked for the Emperor at one point. William was an Englishman who became a Samurai in the Emperor's court for a long while, he wrote a book about it. It could be that he’s trying to take her down so that she doesn’t harm the royal family, or he self-styled himself as a vampire killer.

Either way, this has to be a flashback and connected to the whole situation with Taka and Sumi.

So this Ugly looking thing is a piece of Legion. Legion is a rather large monster that is hard to deal with and seconds later we see it crashing down into a church, and cutting to The Judge who seems to be sent at some point to deal with them.

So as you can see there, that’s Legion. It’s a huge fleshy body made of many corpse of those that were sacrificed to it. It seems here that rather than just having it crush it’s enemy it’s dropping parts of it as part of the attack.

This is in line with its attacks in Curse of Darkness, and how it causes issues for others, with Zombies that explode. On top of this, it’s center is a human-looking being that has a Nuculais in the center.

This is probably what Isaac is after, and Germain may be manipulating him to get it for use regarding Dracula.

So this poster has a LOT going on.

First let’s take care of the Stain Germain at the top. He’s being played by Bill Nighy.

So who is Saint Germain? Well, he’s part of the Time Watcher’s group, whose goal is still mysterious as get out. He’s known to talk and interact with Trevor in the Pachinko versions of Castlevania III, and according to history, he was an alchemist of sorts.

During the Curse of Darkness game, he’s trying to stop Hector from stopping Isaac, though he’s not saying why. He is not an enemy and seems to have a hate relationship with Zead (Death), though why that is we don’t know. He’s referenced by Aeon, the time traveler, and he himself mentions events farther in the future, such as the battle with Dracula in 1999.

What’s interesting here is that they have him holding what possibly is either a philosophers stone or the Crimson Stone. Now this is interesting because that stone is part of Dracula and given to him by Death himself. It holds the Soul of Walter Bernhard, Dracula’s enemy, and is known for being the treasure of the Vampires. Dracula needs this to come back.

Why he has it, I can only guess it’s to stop whatever the heck Death has planned.

Other interesting factors. Hector on the left in Chains mirroring Trevor wrapped up in the Vampire Killer. A lot of Germain’s point is Destiny and both Hector and Trevor want to be free of them. Both are tightly bound, but Trevor is clearly pulling at his, trying to get it to stay away from causing his death. We also see both Sypha and Alucard both looking on in a way that seems to indicate connections to the heroes.

Then you have Isaac, who is slowly being wrapped up by thorns, but isn’t there yet. So that means his full plunge into the dark isn’t complete. He’s still fighting against it, and it may connect him to the heroes at this point.

Carmilla is clearly the opposing force here to the good Alucard. And we see that Hector is naked and trapped, though he’s being held lightly by Lenore, who seems to be acting gentle, but something about her look and set up seems to be hiding things. This is not someone that is truly being gentle to him, and, given that she’s probably a succubus, and working for Carmilla, she’s more than likely going to end up breaking his heart in some way.

So the Captain as played by Lance Reddick. Not much is known of this guy, but if I have to hazard a guess, he may be connected to Isaac’s story and probably is based around the Captain from Rondo of blood, who pilots a ghost ship and is a later enemy in the game.

Another option in regard to this is that the Captain may be the one that brings Isaac back from where he’s at for the moment. He seems to be a bit scared but maybe Isaac sees a kindred spirit in him and intends to use his services fairly as a means of traveling around to get to the location that he needs to.

Or he’s one of the men that Isaac ends up hating for whatever reason.

Or he’s actually the one that brings Sumi to where Alucard is. It’s a bit hard to judge based on the name the Captain as it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be playing a huge role, but maybe he’s just a nod to the games in this case. Though why hire a well-known actor to play a part without a name if he’s just going to be cannon fodder?

There’s also the chance that he’s actually the Ferryman, a character who actually goes and transports the heroes in the game. He seems to know Alucard. In the game the Ferryman is neutral, choosing to just help those that need to move around and such. So in that sense, he’s a lot like the ferryman of the river Stix in hades in Greek myth.

Though the likelihood is that he’s going to come back as some servant to Isaac.

Sala, has an interesting name meaning, in Arabic it means Order. And Sala here is voiced by Navid Negahban.

Now, who Sala is is a mystery but given we have an old crone like figure in Miranda, Sala maybe like the Crystal Trader in Aljiba who exchanges crystals in Simon’s Quest.

I can only assume for the most part he’s going to be an original character that could have links to maybe the Lords of Shadow versions of Castlevania, but since a lot of this has connections to the original games, and given his appearance, I’m going to guess he’s going to be linked with Isaac and his journey. Namely warning him of going down a dark path, or offering him help and assistance if he can destroy the Legion monster that is plaguing his town.

Given that he looks rather upset here just a bit, I think he’s in an argument. Now he also could be the leader of the town that Trevor is in, with Sypha, and owns the house that burns down. It’s hard really to say because there’s no other character in the games that quite match him, save the Crystal Traders maybe.

Sypha’s change of an outfit is interesting. It’s far more dramatic in nature and more built for a fighter and a bit of a ninja-style, what with the wrap in the middle and the leggings and free-flowing arms. This is really the first we’ve seen Sypha do this with her magic, indicating that she’s getting stronger with her elemental control.

So one other interesting thing is the Ice steps in the air. She apparently can create those now. This is probably during the werewolf fight that Trevor has since it’s in the forest. This is probably a deal with the town leaders to get rid of some monsters that are plaguing them.

So there’s speculation on who this could be, but it looks like he’s going to just be a cult member, possibly a relation to Orlock or Shaft, both of whom are villains from other games in the franchise. Though he’s clearly human so I’m guessing he probably will be an Original Character for the show. He’s probably part of a cult that is going to be trying to resurrect Dracula under the Judge. and more than likely will be just a side character to be used as cannon fodder.

Remember that house that’s on fire with the windows? Well, that’s it in the background. So it seems like the Cult staged something to burn down the town after Trevor beat the hell out of their leader. Or enforcer, or whoever he may be.

So recall way above about the Leviathan Cross? And how the two dudes were dressed before Trevor socked them? Well right now we can see that they are clearly part of a cult, and the Levithan Cross is their symbol. But how does that connect to the room? It could very well be that this is the group that Carmilla was referencing earlier along with Isaac. This group could be working for the Judge to bring back Dracula, or they could be working on their own to do so. Either way that room may be connected to this group given the alchemy symbol.

However, I’m betting anything that that room may very well be connected to Carmilla’s castle and Hector was the one that drew that. Or one of the other members of the club.

Okay, this one is something that keeps bugging me. There is no hint of Grant at all so far in this series. Yet, here we have a werewolf that has the wrappings that he wears in Judgement, minus the spikes, and of all things Grant’s red pants.

So a few things about Grant DaNasty. As a noble thief, he was assigned as part of a group to go deal with Dracula and he ended up being transformed into a monster to act as a guard. During Castlevania III he’s freed by Trevor and pledges to help them out and later stays to help rebuild his home.

Grant was just seen as a demon in the game, but making him a werewolf would tie into the whole Legacy of Darkness, and Circle of the Moon that came later. Also, the spikes on the arms could be used to help climb walls and the like, since Grant is the stealthy one of the group.

Furthermore, the reason I bring up the red pants is that every human design of Grant has him looking like this.

As you can see, bright red pants, much like the werewolf, and wraps on his arm. Now you can easily move the story of Grant from Dracula to Carmilla and have him be her guard. It would make sense too to have Grant be the one to inform Trevor and Sypha of the Cult or Carmilla’s doings. As a thief, he can get in and out faster and get information. Furthermore, it seems the best option when bringing him in as Grant is just as important to the team as Alucard, and maybe more so given he’s the one that stays to clean the messes up. Having his assistance could lead to some interesting moments and also leads later to the Belmont and DaNasty family connections for the future.

You see this group again, a Belmont, a DaNasty, a Beldanas and Alucard, all teamed up to fight Dracula one last time in 1999, and before then the Belmonts and DaNastys have had a close friendship teaming up at different points in history to fight Dracula and his minions. So not having Grant would be bad.

So I think, this werewolf will be Grant. Or at least I hope it will be Grant.

So New Look for Trevor Belmont it seems...

He’s ditched his original look and now proudly it seems wears the Belmont crest right over his heart, probably indicating that he’s embraced his destiny in helping those in need. there seems to be a bit there connected to the 2008 comic series as well in the upper part of the look.

It’s a little more connected to his Curse of Darkness look.

And there’s some going on with the look from the Pachinko games as well...

So it seems more and more they are leaning into Curse of Darkness for this story. What’s also interesting in this case is that Trevor’s personality has drastically changed. While he’s still rough and tumble we see that he’s more willing to help out, he’s not drinking and he’s asking for help with things rather than just running off and not facing down consequences.

He’s become a more mature fighter and feels belief again in what he’s doing. What’s going to be fun in watching is how his older self (if he’s at all going to show up in Simon’s story) will behave as a father figure. Simon is the golden boy and in a lot of ways is like his father in that he’s brash and somewhat willing to spoil for a fight. But he has his mother’s gentle nature and is willing to go out of his way to protect those in need.

So seeing Trevor here, dealing with something that may be way bigger than just Dracula is going to be fun and probably lead him to a better understanding of the cost of Leon Belmont and why he did what he did.

So The newest piece of art and again some interesting things.

Let’s look at the characters. We have our main trio, and oddly Alucard is at the forefront here. He’s not looking sad, but more like he’s looking when talking to Sumi about the situations. Unlike the earlier poster where it’s clear that he regrets killing his father.

Carmilla and Leigon are flanking him on the two sides, making me think he’s grappling with his actions leading to both these monsters rising because of it. I have to wonder if there’s going to be a moment where Carmilla tries to tempt Alucard, and which of these two are going to be the final boss for this season: Carmilla or Legion.

Then there’s Trevor, and he’s using the Vampire killer and wrapping everyone up in its chains, effectively indicating that they’re all wrapped up in this whole destiny thing. Sypha is beside him, but looking ahead, as with Trevor and Alucard, showing that she’s trying to look forward to the future.

The whip is glowing, as with her magic ball, indicating that there’s going to be more to the magic and history behind the Vampire killer. The fact that Trevor’s using it shows that he’s embraced that destiny for himself and Sypha is beside him.

Then there are the roses. Typically this indicates love, which is something that has a deep connection to the Castlevania lore. All four characters that are not some evil amalgams monster have some form of love in their lives. Alucard had a familial love for his late mother and father and is dealing with the guilt of loving and losing them. Carmilla has a love of power and life and possibly Lenore, whom she may be doing a lot of mistakes in order to protect. Trevor and Sypha love each other romantically.

Now another love that happens is tragic love and that could be seen as the love between Leon Belmont and Sara Trantoul, his late fiance who sacrificed herself to create the Vampire Killer (in here the upgraded Morning Star Whip) after she was slowly becoming a vampire when Walter Bernhard captured her and bit her for his own amusement. This same Tragic love was visited twice on Dracula. Once for Elisabetha when he was human as Mathias and she died of illness when he was away during the crusades, causing him to reject god and take up plans to become a vampire. And again when her reincarnation of Lisa came about and died due to her being seen as a witch.

So Roses can be love, and roses are also connected to Rosaly, Hector’s future wife who was a former nun and a healer for the church. So the images of Roses could be significant in that sense too.

Then there are the butterflies that we see in the picture. Butterflies don’t normally have any tie to symbols in Castlevania. However, the color might have some connections to Sara Trantoul.

Sara always wears blue in Lament of Innocence and is shown to be a kind and gentle soul who became twisted up in a fight between a man that lost the love of his life, and the man that wanted nothing more than the destruction and pain of love for his own amusement. So her being symbolized as a delicate butterfly would make perfect sense, along with the connection to Roses and thorns as we’ve seen with several pictures so far.

So that’s it for part one. Part 2 is going to cover more about the scenes in the trailer and hopefully showcase more about the plot moving forward.

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anchorsnook · 4 years ago

Text

The Ursa Squad

So I decided to try NaNoWriMo for the first time and will be working on THIS fanfiction :P If it goes well I’ll post it on Wattpad and AO3 so if you like it, please give it a like, comment, or reblog!

Summary:

Atlas and his crew, the Ursa Squad are Republic Commando’s during the Clone War. The Squad was sent to spy on Grievous and his dealings with the Trandoshan Slavers. But, things don’t go according to plan and they end up in a fight for their lives.

Guest Appearences:

Anakin, Rex, Padme, Fives and Echo, General Grievous, and others.

Warnings:

A little bit of violence but that’s about it.

A light flickered on in the fog, indicated the presence of other life forms. These particular life forms were the Trandoshan slavers Atlas and his squad, the Ursa squad had been tracking. Atlas perched on the cliff face above the Trandoshan camp, watching their every move through his rifle scope. The black, craggy rocks made for harsh silhouettes against the cold, grey/blue sky. It didn’t rain much this time of year, but when it did, as it was now, the black rocks glistened as if with fresh blood.

Above the cliff Atlas perched at, a dark forest of angry trees hid his other three brothers. Jumper, the team medic, and Ulysses, the team tech guy, were partnered as usual, watching for any scouts. Max, the sniper, perched like an eager predatory bird in a taller tree not too far off, with his sniper rifle trained on the camp for when the excitement started. Their normally white armor had been covered with the mud of the local planet, though Atlas could still see the different colored paint marks his crew had used to make themselves individual.

Max took a moment and cleaned his scope.

“This is a nice place. Friendly, ya know?” He said over the coms. “Like you, Ulysses.”

Ulysses growled over the coms in response.

“Exactly. Couldn’t agree more.” Max chirped.

Ulysses didn’t respond. Jumper, who crouched next to him nudged Ulysses.

“This doesn’t seem like a place the Trandoshans would want to meet Grievous. Is this place anything like Trandosha?” Jumper asked.

After a pause, Ulysses growled back,

“Why would you think I know that?”

“Maybe because you’re a nerd and know everything there is to know about anything. Don’t think I don’t see you reading Reg Manuals in your free time.” Jumper said, without hesitation.

“Call me a nerd again and I’ll rip out your femur and beat you with it.” Ulysses grumbled, though he didn’t contradict Jumper. Jumper himself wasn’t bothered by the threat. When Ulysses quit threatening, that was the time to be bothered.

After a moment of silence, Ulysses spoke,

“There’s less sand. It’s colder, gloomier, and nicer here.” He said quietly. Jumper smirked to himself.

“I knew it. There was no reason to pick this miserable place,” Max piped up, “Other than to make Ulysses happy. Nice to know they care.”

Jumper could almost see Ulysses roll his eyes under his bucket. Just then, a ship emerged from the heavy fog.

“Cut the chatter Ursa’s. General Grievous is here.” Atlas, the leader, said. The other three obediently complied, readying themselves. This was only a reconnaissance mission, but they knew missions rarely stuck to the plan.

Atlas looked through his scope and watched Grievous’ ship land. Soon, the General himself exited the craft, escorted by three of his signature Magna guards. What appeared to be the Trandoshan leader, came out in the light rain to greet them. As words began to be exchanged, Atlas turned on his audio.

“- prize will be arriving soon.” Grievous said, interweaving his spiked fingers. The Trandoshan leader crossed his arms.

“I hope they’re as good as you say, for your sake.”

Grievous laughed, then fell into a coughing fit.

“They are the best. I am sure they will put up a good hunt. The Separatist Alliance greatly appreciates your continued supply of good in exchange for such…Ferocious prey.” Grievous said. If Grievous’ face plate could smile, Atlas was sure he would be.

“So they ARE trading with each other. Glad to know we were right,” Max chirped in their ears, “Wait…Don’t the Trandoshans hunt PEOPLE?”

“Yup.” Ulysses responded.

“Man, that’s messed up.” Max said, tragically. There was a slight pause.

“Isn’t that your entire job? As a sniper?” Ulysses commented.

“I-That’s not-You….no…it’s different…. stop it.” Max said. Ulysses let out a deep chuckle.

“Clear coms.” Atlas said again. He would never admit it, for fear of encouraging this behavior, but he liked the banter of his brothers. It comforted him.

“When should we be expecting them?” The Trandoshan leaders gravely voice grated against Atlas’ ears.

“They should be just outside.” Grievous said. Atlas’ heart jumped. If Grievous had prisoners, why hadn’t they noticed them?

Blaster fire sounded in Atlas’ coms, and sparks of light shown through the trees where Jumper and Ulysses had been hiding.

“Jumper, Ulysses, are you okay over there?” Atlas called. Nothing.

“Ursa’s, report!” Atlas tried again. Panic rose in his chest. Atlas sensed movement behind him. A snapping twig confirmed a presence. Atlas whipped around. Several Magna guards and two Trandoshans stalked towards him.

“Sir, it’s us! We’re what the prey the Trandoshans were promised!” Jumpers urgent voice came through the garbled coms. Dread knotted in Atlas’ stomach.

The first Trandoshan charged Atlas. Lithely, Atlas stepped to the side, giving the Trandoshan a good shove on the back as it barreled past him, sending it careening off the cliff screaming. Seeing his brother fall, the second Trandoshan charges him, pulling out a machete. Atlas charges back, ducking the blade and grabbing the Trandoshan around the torso before plowing him into the ground. The Magna guards engaged. Before Atlas could land a hit on the Trandoshan, the Magna guards attacked, swinging their electrified staff weapons.

Atlas catches the first one inches from his face, then ducks the second one. The Trandoshan under him angrily kicks Atlas away. Atlas grunts and tumbles away, losing his grip on the first electric staff. Atlas rolls backward and comes up with his blaster in hand. But, the Magna guards were already there, and knocked it out of his hand. The other Magna guard jabbed him with the electrified end, just under his arm where the chest plate didn’t cover.

Pain surged through Atlas and his muscles seized up. He tasted iron in his mouth as blood from biting his own cheek slowly covered his tongue.

The Trandoshan took advantage of Atlas’ momentary distraction. Grabbing his machete, he slammed the handle down on Atlas’ head. White flashed in Atlas’ vision and he crumpled to the ground. Atlas reached for his pistol. Before he could get to it, the magna guards tased him again. Again, his muscles seized up and he let out a strangled roar. The Trandoshan unholstered his rifle and switched it to stun.

The moment the guards let up, Atlas tried to jump, but the electrocution made him sloppy. The Trandoshans blast nailed him in the chest. Atlas grunted. His chest and limbs instantly went numb. Atlas crumpled to the ground as his vision went black.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Grievous sat as comfortably as his metallic body would let him. The dull electronic buzzing of the lights sucked the soul out of the filthy room. Trophies, food supplies, and weapons lay strewn about too unorganized for Grievous’ comfort, but this clearly did not bother the Trandoshan leader who sat across from him. Together they casually watched the blaster fire light up the night sky until it abruptly stopped. Grievous chuckled.

“Right on time.” He said. The Trandoshan leader smirked.

“Excellent. General Grievous, how did you know they would be there?” the leader hissed.

“No average clone could complete this mission,” Grievous explained, “And, you’re not important enough for the Republic to send a Jedi.”

The leader bristled and stood up, his stool violently falling back.

“You watch you’re-“

Grievous’ com interrupted the outburst.

“Sir, we have captured two of the Commando’s. The other two have fled on foot. We are pursuing.” A Magna guard reported.

“Gooooood, “Grievous drawled, “Bring them here. We will meet you on the landing platform.”

Grievous turned to the Trandoshan leader.

“It would be wise to prepare your transports. Your quarry will be here soon.”

Without a word, the leader briskly gestures to two of his men and they dash out of the room.

“They better be worth the slaves we’re providing you.” The leader hissed.

“They will be.” Grievous said, before heading out into the light rain.

Meanwhile, up on the mountain, Ulysses and Jumper stood, surrounded by mangle Magna guards and Trandoshan bodies. Their breath came in short, fast gasps until their healthy bodies quickly recuperated. Smoke gently oozed out of their rifle barrels.

“Grievous got Atlas and Max.” Ulysses said angrily, almost a whisper. Jumper aggressively reloaded.

“That slimy doshing, moof-milker knew we were coming.” Jumper spat.

“Language.” Ulysses chided. Jumper raised an eyebrow, knowing his brother couldn’t see it. While Ulysses inspected the damaged droids, Jumper reached into his med kit and pulled out a syringe. He grabbed Ulysses helmet, pulling it to the side so his neck was exposed, and shoved the syringe in.

“ARGH! What-?” Ulysses sputtered.

“That was to stop the bleeding…and the pain.” Jumper said, putting his gear away. Ulysses still looked at him, not understanding. Jumper sighed and pointed to Ulysses’ side. One of the Trandoshans blades must’ve slipped under his armor. The concoction Jumper just gave him would stave off the bleeding until they could get to a read medical facility.

“Didn’t notice.” Ulysses said.

“I know.” Jumper replied. Despite being genetically the same, Ulysses had an abnormally high pain tolerance.

They finished loading their weapons.

“Let’s go get those sons of Bantha’s.” He said. He could almost feel Ulysses smirk. They head through the trees towards the base.

On the bases landing platform, Atlas and Max were dragged handcuffed, then thrown to their knees at Grievous’ feet. The Trandoshan leader waited greedily at the entrance of his base, not caring to go out into the rain until he had to. Grievous towered over the two Commando’s on the ground.

“Tell me, where are the other two?” Grievous asked, almost in a pleasant manner. The two Commando’s stayed silent.

“We know they are out there. Save yourselves some pain and give us their locations.” Grievous said, trying again. Again, the Commando’s stayed silent. The Trandoshan leader looked concerned. Pain usually meant injury or death and injured prey did not put up a good hunt. Worse, dead prey put up no hunt at all. Still, he didn’t say anything. Not yet.

“Very well. If we can’t go to them, we’ll make them come to us.” Grievous said. He aggressively backhanded Max onto the ground. Max grunted as his head was knocked around his helmet. Atlas tried to stand, but the Magna guards electrocuted him back to his knees. Through his visor, Atlas glared at Grievous.

“What are you doing? I need them alive!” The Trandoshan leader finally said, stepping into the rain. Grievous grabbed Max’s chest plate, lifting him one armed to look him in the face.

“And they will be. But, if you want the whole package, I will have to damage some of the…goods.” Grievous said, almost purring. Violently, he slammed Max into the ground. Max gasped as the air left his lungs. Grievous pulled out one of his many lightsabers, ignited it and drove it into Max’s thigh. A strangled scream escaped Max’s throat. Atlas jumped up and leapt at Grievous.

“You skug!” He bellowed. The Trandoshan leader quickly pulled out the handcuff controls and tased Atlas sending white hot pain through his body, holding the button until Atlas was frozen on his knees. Two Trandoshan guards quickly grabbed hold of the Commando, holding him down after the pain stopped.

Grievous was unmoved by the commotion. He scanned the forest for life signs.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” He said, mostly to himself. At this, Grievous stepped on Max’s injury. Max tries to hold in a scream, but Grievous presses down until Max couldn’t hold it back and the full scream ripped through his throat. His own voice vibrated through his helmet. The burning in his leg was the only thing he could think of. He couldn’t even hear Grievous’ cackles of metalic laughter.

Max’s screams carried through the forest to Jumper and Ulysses angry ears. They bristled, hearing their brother being tortured. The base was just insight. They saw it all. It is everything they can do to not rush down there to their brother’s aid, but they both know that’s what Grievous wants.

“I’m going to rip that clankers faceplate off and use it to pry his guts out of his living carcass.” Jumper hissed.

“Get in line.” Ulysses said.

They sneak through the trees for a better view of the base. Ulysses took care to add sensors behind them as they went. Crouching above the base, in some bushes, the two scope the scene. Below them, Grievous hits Max again, causing their brother to crumple in on himself. Ulysses suppresses a growl as hot anger flushes his cheeks. He toys with the violent ideas he often had about his enemies. These were more aggressive than most as his brother lay on the ground.

“The longer we’re here, the more he’s gonna hurt Max.” Jumper whispered, jolting Ulysses out of his daydream. Behind him, a rock jutted out, briefly sheltering them from the rain. Ulysses glanced up at it, then back at the base. On the opposite side of the base, a nest of small transport pads were neatly parked. Grinning, Ulysses pulled out a grenade.

“I have an idea.” He said softly. Jumper looked at him and Ulysses could feel him raise an eyebrow.

“Will I be comfortable with it?” Jumper asked.

“No.” Ulysses replied easily. There was a pause.

“Will it save them?”

“Yes.”

Jumper thought about it and looked down at the platform. He trusted his brother. No one ever suspected it because Ulysses was so quiet and violent, but Ulysses was probably the smartest clone Jumper had ever known. He had been thrilled when Ulysses had been put on the Tech track instead of the Demolition track back on Kamino.

“What do you need?” Jumper said.

“I need you to get Max, while I get us a ride.” Ulysses said, pointing to the helipads. Jumper grinned, having an idea of what Ulysses was planning. A clean, silent getaway. Distract and get out. Honestly, cleaner than a lot of Ulysses’ plans.

“Wait for the boom, then attack.” Ulysses said, jumping up and running off.

“Wait, boom?” Jumper asked. On second thought, this sounded about right. One of the sensors that Ulysses put in the trees went off. Without really thinking about it, Jumper turned, aimed, and fired, blasting the Trandoshan right in the head.

“Watch your back Vod.” Jumper mumbled quietly.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Max’s ribs felt like shards of glass with every inhale. He knew he’d broken a few. Even through his thick Commando armor. He could vaguely hear Grievous taunting them, somewhere in the distance. Softly he groaned as his vision blurred. His head pounded. The weight of Grievous’ foot lifted off his chest. Max gasped, his vision cleared, except a few black dots at the edges of his vision. His ribs were like shards as he breathed in deeply. He hadn’t been this wrecked since the last time he’d been this wrecked. Above him Grievous looked to the tree line above them.

“They are taking longer than I thought.” He muttered. Menacingly, he stalked up to Atlas.

“Maybe the legendary bond between your kind isn’t as strong as we thought.” Grievous mocked. Atlas clenched his fist. Max could feel the icy stare of his brother. Max wanted to yell at Atlas not to take on Grievous. Then they’d both be in the same situation Max was. What help would they be to the other two if him and Atlas couldn’t move?

Atlas straightened and leaned into Grievous’ stare, but thankfully, the Trandoshan Leader interrupted the stare off.

“I hope you intend to pay us back if this one doesn’t give us a good hunt!” He growled, gesturing to Max, crumpled on the ground. Max weakly rolled his eyes. Yeah, that wasn’t insulting or anything.

“I…I could take you on…any day…you chuff sucking leech.” Max said, just barely loud enough to hear. He could almost audibly hear the eye roll that followed from Atlas. Any day he could get a massive eyeroll out of Atlas was a good day…Which was most days.

“Why you filthy little-” The Trandoshan leader stepped towards Max.

“Now, now. I thought you said you wanted me to pay you back if he didn’t give a good fight. I assure you if you do that, he won’t put up a good hunt.” Grievous said. The Trandoshan leader stopped and eyed Max.

“Besides, these ones are equipped with bacta processing, which as you noticed, I have plenty of bacta in my ship. I will give you a case when we capture the other 2. They can heal on the way to Trandosha…Unless you do something…Unnecessary sooner.” Grievous said. The Trandoshan leader huffed and crossed his arms.

Just then an explosion rocked the platform from the other side of the outpost.

“Here they come. I hope you’re ready for a sample hunt.” Grievous said. The Trandoshan leader grinned at him wickedly.

“Of course we are! You four, come with me!” He said. The Trandoshans ran into the base. Grievous didn’t move. He didn’t even drop his cape. Instead he had his Magna Guards replace the Trandoshans as the guards around the commandos.

“You’re not coming?” The leader asked.

“I’m not inclined to leave our investment alone.” He said. The Trandoshan leader nodded, then charged into the building. Grievous turned to Atlas.

“Not when this is clearly a diversion.” Grievous whispered. Atlas growled at him. Grievous whipped away and called for the Trandoshan prison transport to be flown down.

“You two,” Grievous said, pointing at the only two remaining Trandoshans, “Get the prisoners ready for transport.”

A droid popper bounced across the platform and came to a stop underneath the nearest Magna guard’s feet. Max grinned weakly. The poppers exploded, zapping the two closest Magna guards, sizzling their metallic bodies. A blaster bolts streak across the platform and finished them off. Without hesitation, Atlas grabbed the staff of the nearest, distracted guard, snatching it and shoving it through the guards chest plate. Before Atlas could do much else, Grievous snatches up the handcuff remote and electrocutes Atlas. Atlas let out a strangled scream and fell to his knees. A blaster bolt knocked the remote out of Grievous’ hand. Atlas gasped and slouched. Blaster bolts struck around Grievous’ feet and he ignited his sabers, snarling with delight.

Max watched with blurry vison as Jumper leapt from behind some supply boxes at the far end of the platform. Jumper ducked and dodged, taking out the remaining Trandoshans before they could get to him. Max tried to sit up, but black spots darkened his vision and a metallic taste coated his tongue. He groaned and dropped his head. Hands gripped his shoulders roughly and started dragging Max to the edge of the platform.

“…Atlas.” Max whispered.

“I got you.” Atlas said back quietly. His cuffs were still smoking from whatever laser blast had cut them in half. Atlas gently rests Max behind some supply boxes. Quickly, he takes out the Magna guards closest to Jumper, blasting them away with the Trandoshans shot gun. At the sight of the Magna guards being shredded, Atlas looks at the shotgun with admiration.

“Ugh…get a room.” Max said.

“I’d like to see you shoot this weapon and not look at it with love.” Atlas retorted.

“…Touché.” Max said. Atlas gestured at Jumper, who leapt across the platform. Him and Atlas switch places. Atlas leaps out from behind the crate, throwing a grenade at Grievous as he does so. Grievous shields himself as the grenade blinds him. Atlas isn’t far behind and jumps through the smoke, planting his foot firmly on Grievous and launching him off the platform. Jumper turns towards the delirious and bleeding form of Max.

“Hey kiddo, you’re gonna be okay. This is for the pain…and this is bacta.” Jumper said, jamming a syringe into the port in Max’s suit design for that purpose. Max grunts as it pinches, then relaxes as a cool wave of relief spreads over his body.

“I knew you…couldn’t live without me…” Max chuckled.

“No, it’s just too much trouble to replace you.” Jumper replied evenly.

There was a pause.

“Cool.” Max said, in too much pain to think of anything smarter. The pain meds made him drowsy.

“This is Ursa squad. Mission when south. We need immediate evac.” Jumper said over his com.

“Understood. Sending evac now. Be ready to get out of there.” The person on the other line replied. A ship descended above them. It didn’t look like a Republic ship. Next to him, Jumper swore. It was the Trandoshan prison ship.

“We’ll be ready.” Jumper said. Trandoshans start unloading from the ship. Atlas whirls around.

“Seriously! Where is Ulysses?” He shouts.

Another big boom rocks the platform. Still trailing fire from the blast, Ulysses flies above on a helipad.

“Get on Nerf Herders.” Ulysses says, flying just low enough for the rest of them to load on. Max groans as they move him onto the flying transport. A spray of blaster bolts fly by them as they speed away. The transport wobbles as a bolt hits them.

“Please tell me your plan involved more than just one boom.” Atlas said, firing back at the Magna Guards and Trandoshan reinforcements.

“Heh heh…yup.” Ulysses said. He held up a detonator and pressed the button. The base of the ledge of rock Jumper had noticed earlier exploded. It tumbled down the clifface and smashed into the platform, rocking it and crushing the Trandoshan prison ship. The ship explodes and knocks off Grievous’ ship, scattering bacta pacts everywhere. Both ships go tumbling down into the grey mist below, leaving the unsteady platform in flames.

From below the platform, Grievous hung, watching his ship fall into the abyss. He eyed the Ursa’s. He swung lithely underneath the platform, quickly getting to the other side before crawling onto the top of the platform. He eyed the Ursa’s, then launched himself at them. He snagged the back of the transportation platform, grabbing the handrails for support. The platform tilts back, Jumper stumbles and tumbles off the back, barely grabbing hold with one hand. Grievous steadied himself, then stalked towards the front, knocking Atlas aside. Ulysses stood at the helm, with Max laying at his feet. Ulysses pulled his blaster and aimed at Grievous. Grievous grabbed it and pointed it up just as Ulysses fired. Grievous slammed his metal faceplate down on Ulysses forehead. The Commando’s head jerked back. He grunted and stumbled back. Grievous reached for the helm. Ulysses kicked out, slamming his heel into Grievous’ knee. Grievous roared and grabbed Ulysses by the neck, lifting him off his feet. With a look of hatred, Grievous threw Ulysses off the platform.

Without even a chuckle, Grievous stepped over Max to the helm. Just as he reached it, Atlas and Jumper attack him, wrenching him away from the steering. Max watched weakly as his brothers fight the General. There’s a tangle of metal arms and armored fists. Each brother struck blows while the other keeps Grievous from his sabers. But, Grievous separated his arms, going from two arms to four. He quickly pinned down the two Commandos, pressing his claws to their faceplates and their helmets to the floor. With his free hands, he draws his sabers and ignites them. Their hot plasma sizzled in the cold rain. Panic built in Max’s chest. From below, he can see Ulysses hanging on with his grappling hook, slowly making his way back up. But he’s going too slow. With agonizing slowness, Max grabbed his thigh pistol. Grievous raised his sabers. With one trembling arm, Max took aim. He pulled the trigger. The blast nailed Grievous in the shoulder. Grievous roared. Another shot hit him in the hip. Grievous crouched down and came at Max like an angry metal spider. Dread knotted in Max’s stomach. He fired frantically at the furious creature coming at him. It dodged and was soon on top of him, knocking his weapon out of his hand. It stared at him, burning hatred filling those awful yellow eyes.

“Ursa’s, this is Captain Jack, we see you and are headed your way.” The com above them blinks. Help is on the way. Atlas tried to get up, but Jumper beat him to it, flinging himself on Grievous. Without effort, Grievous caught him and threw him over the side, not watching long enough to see that he was caught be Ulysses.

“Get clear of General Grievous. We have the tractor beam ready for you.” The coms call again.

Now, Grievous laughed.

“It’s too bad the Trandoshans won’t get the chance to hunt you like the vermin you are.”

Grievous raised his lightsabers.

“You are DOOMED.” He bellowed. Max winced and closed his eyes. But the blow didn’t come. Instead, the sound of another light saber igniting caused Max to look up. Lightsabers crisscrossed just above him. Two were Grievous’. The other was by Atlas, blocking the Generals blow. Behind them, Ulysses and Jumper grabbed on to the platform and began climbing on.

“Hurry! Separatist reinforcements just entered orbit. We can’t hold them off long!” The coms beeped.

“Scum!” Grievous shrieked. He slammed down his sabers on Atlas. Barely, Atlas blocked. Grievous swung his sabers and blinding speed as Atlas jumped, ducked and blocked in barely controlled chaos. Grievous slammed them both down on top of Atlas. Atlas barely managed to stop the force of the blow, slowly forcing him back towards Max.

“Now, you die.” Grievous whispered. Faster than Atlas could react, the General whipped one saber back, then jammed it into Atlas’ torso.

“No!”

Max wasn’t sure which brother cried it, or if all of them did.

“The cripple is next!” Grievous laughed. Atlas looks back at Max. Atlas firmly grabbed Grievous’ wrist, keeping them to his torso.

“If I’m going, you’re coming with me.” Atlas growled. Keeping Grievous’ hands firmly trapped, Atlas forced him to the edge.

“Ret’urcye mhi, vode.” Atlas said, before wrapping his arms around Grievous and launching them both off the transport, falling into the fog below.

Without hesitation, Jumper leapt off of the transport after them, but just as he did, the tractor beam caught them, freezing Jumper in midair.

Panic filled Ulysses as he watched his brother disappear into the fog. He had been one second away from following Jumper off the transport. In the longest moment ever, they were hauled up into the Republic vessel. Max was immediately put on a stretcher. In a haze Ulysses and Jumper fight to jump back out through the open door. No plan, just desperate to get their brother and leader back.

The transport door closed.

Ulysses raced to the nearest window for any glimpse of Atlas. The ship speeds away.

Hot fury boiled in Ulysses chest. He stormed into the cockpit.

“Turn us around.” He said quietly. A commanding officer, steps in front of him.

“We cannot do that. Our forces are being overrun. If we don’t leave now we-“

“I don’t care. Turn this ship around. Now.” Ulysses said, more forcefully.

“We cannot afford to-“

Ulysses grabbed the man by the collar, interrupting him, and slammed him into the wall.

“Turn. Us. Around.” He whispered in the man’s ear. The man looks both terrified and sad.

“There’s no point. He’s dead. I watched.” He said. Resisting the urge to snap the man’s neck right then and there, Ulysses threw the man down behind him. He stalked towards the pilot.

“If you won’t turn this ship around, I will.”

The door opens again behind them and Jumper walked in.

“Oh good! You! Talk some sense into your teammate!” The commander called to Jumper as he got up.

Jumper surveyed the scene and Ulysses made eye contact. Jumper turned to the commander and shrugged.

“No brother left behind,” He said, then turned back to Ulysses, “Do it.”

With a curt nod, Ulysses turned to the pilot and yanked him out of the seat.

“Guards!” The commander called. The commander stepped toward Jumper. Smoothy, Jumper pressed his elbow into the commander’s throat and pinned him to the wall. Then a crackling pain shot through his body, freezing his limbs. A cold numbness spread through him and Jumper crumpled to the floor. Ulysses leapt across the cockpit at the guards who had stunned his brother. But before he could get there, the commander pressed his blaster into Ulysses side and pulled the trigger. The crackling pain shot through Ulysses and he convulsed and his knees buckled. He collapsed to the floor as the cold numbness spread through his body. Blackness overtook him as he lay on the floor. The last thing he heard was the sound of his own heart, and the faint memory cry of Atlas as he was ran through.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A dull ache pulsed through Atlas’ body. The rain had turned to snow which had been stained with the mud, the bacta, and the blood of the fight minutes earlier. Atlas groans. The sound jarred his ears. He tried to breath in, but a burning pain in his stomach stopped him. Next to him, a bacta injection lay in the snow. Several of them scattered over the snow where they had fallen from General Grievous’ ship.

Atlas took a quivering breath. He could feel his life force leaving him. Weakly, he reached for the bacta and injected it. A small relief. There was another one nearby. Again, he reached for that and injected it. Slowly, a warmth slowly spread in his fingers. But, he was still on the edge. He needed more, but there weren’t anymore nearby.

Slowly, Atlas propped himself up on his elbows. Hot blood dripped down his forehead and off his nose onto the inside of his visor. Grievous’ ship was nearby. If he could get to that, he could get more bacta and maybe call for help. He crawled, painfully through the snow, one inch at a time. One last bacta injection was enough for him to feel his strength slowly returning. He made the mistake of trying to stand. His vision blurred and spots danced in front of him. Pain ripped through his abdomen and he collapsed. He didn’t hear the footsteps approaching.

“He’s still alive.” A gravelly voice said.

“He’s one of those commandos. He would fetch a high price on the Zygerian slave market.” A second slithering voice said.

“Or a good hunt….If he lives.” The first said. A figure crouched down into Atlas’ vision. A Trandoshan.

“Well, we better get going before Count Dooku gets here.” It said.

“Or Grievous wakes up,” the second one said, “Come on big boy, you’re coming with us.”

The Tradoshan slammed the butt of his rifle down on Atlas’ head. Atlas’ vision flashed white, then went black.

I hoped you liked it! If you did, please reblog or comment so I know to share more. I should be updating within the week ish! Also, check out more of the art for it on my insta @comicoffii

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thebibliomancer · 5 years ago

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Essential Avengers: Avengers #204: Claws Across the Water!

February, 1981

Welcome back, true believers! ... Eh, true believer?

I hope at least one person out there is still into this.

It has been nearly two years. I let this sort of series slip into forever hiatus. My at the time job was really eating all of my energy.

That plus the yellow peril villain two-parter that’s this and next made it hard to get motivation up to get back into it.

But in the time between then and now, I wrote a fixer-upper draft of a pretty okay novel for nanowrimo and started learning crochet. So the time not Avengersing wasn’t entirely wasted.

But now I don’t have a job!

Thus, the Avengers.

Our roster of Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, Vision, Beast and Wonder Man are going to fight an enormous Ming the Merciless and many fuchsia Laserbeaks from Transformers.

Its a weird but gutsy concept for a crossover.

(Three cooks in the kitchen, writing-wise. Not an auspicious start.)

The issue really starts with a woman named Shu Han sending a secret message for help because she is being held captive by THE YELLOW CLAW.

Yellow Claw has offered Shu Han “honor, unlimited power, a pivotal role in the new history of the world” in exchange for something. He gives her three days to make up her mind, leaving Shu Han unsure of how much longer she can continue to resist.

And a day later, in Avengers Mansion, the Avengers say goodbye to Hawkeye. He had been hanging out with them a couple issues through the Red Ronin thing, the shudder Avengers #200 thing, and yet another Ultron thing.

And then Jarvis comes in with the mail.

Despite the Avengers being the Avengers, all of their mail fits neatly on one tray. And one piece of mail dramatically marked LIFE AND DEATH gets Cap’s attention and he pauses their meeting to read it.

It seems that Shu Han’s secret distress message was picked up by a ham radio operator in Hong Kong.

Imagine. Two hundred and four issues in and ham radios are still a relevant plot point! And yet Rick Jones no longer is. Goes to show...

Anyway, the ham radio operator’s letter says that Shu Han says that she’s being held captive by the Yellow Claw. And since Jocasta doesn’t know who that is, it lets Cap exposit.

Captain America: “The Yellow Claw is a biochemical genius. Well over a hundred years old, he retains his youth through secret scientific methods of his own devising. Unfortunately, he’s also a tyrant intent on destroying every last vestige of western civilization -- at any price! The Claw and I have fought several times in the past. I’d hope we wouldn’t have to again.”

So as you might guess from this, Yellow Claw isn’t a new character. He first appeared in a self-titled book in 1956. And opposing the Yellow Claw in the Yellow Claw was FBI agent Jimmy Woo. Which is slightly better.

Anyway, Iron Man chimes in that he’s heard of Shu Han. She’s a gold medalist in track in the 1968 Olympics. And Beast has heard of her too! She won the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics!

Both of these things! Shu Han is quite the accomplished person.

And Cap isn’t sure why the Yellow Claw wants an Olympic gold medalist who is also a physicist but it can’t be for anything good!

Vision points out that the Yellow Claw’s island is in contested waters and that actions by the Avengers could cause an international incident. And also it might just be a trap.

I mean, ham radio operator? Really? In 1981?

Captain America: “That might be true, Vision, but the fact remains that someone in trouble has asked for our help. And as acting chairman, the only thing I can say in response to that is -- AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!”

Good attitude, Cap. That’s a good attitude to have.

And the Avengers Assemble, which in this case means run out the door like they’re racing for shotgun in the Quinjet.

Running right past Jarvis who was bringing coffee and ginger cake in. Leaving him to eat the cake himself because heck, no sense letting it go to waste.

I tell ya, Jarvis is underappreciated. Do you know, I don’t think they even invited him to move into Dead Alien Mountain in the current book? Instead they got a man trapped in a gorilla to be their butler. I mean, valid, but you do Jarvis a disservice.

LATER ELSEWHERE

The Yellow Claw stands villainously on a balcony talking with a Dr. Liu and asking him about the status of a project.

Dr. Liu says that there’s almost enough “formula” to begin distribution.

Yellow Claw: “Your words please me, Liu, for I have waited long to grasp this moment. Others may have their kingdoms, their countries, even their continents. But soon, doctor, I... shall have a world!”

But the Avengers’ Quinjet appearing on radar takes some wind out of his sails and he orders the base locked down and defenses activated.

As the Quinjet circles the island, Cap decides to send Wasp and Vision to try to find a way to snoop around undetected.

Vision can just intangible through walls and Wasp can find small entrances.

Of course, when Yellow Claw says lock the base down he means lock it down because even the air vents have been covered up with plexiglass. But Wasp decides to just blow it open and fly inside.

Somehow, even with that, its Vision who makes the more conspicuous entrance, as he manages to intangible in right where some guards happen to be staring at a wall.

Good work, Vision.

For whatever reason, solid snaking through a dark air vent makes Wasp wistful for some time that she and Hank went in a tunnel of love. And he was so shy that she had to teach him SOMETHING.

I’m almost sorry that she stops her internal monologue anecdote when she spots the Yellow Claw.

And here our two sneakiest Avengers both prove that they need to intern with Black Panther for a weekend or something because they both make a goofus.

Vision beat up the two guards that spotted him and just left their bodies where they fell, causing alarum when they were found. See, Black Panther would have told Vision that you need to hide bodies in a locker.

And Wasp falls off the wall while trying to eavesdrop and is spotted by the Yellow Claw.

He doesn’t recognize her as a tiny woman, tiiiiiny woman, but the fact that a bug is in the base at all means that the base isn’t airtight which means one of the air vents has been compromised.

Meanwhile, the Quinjet has continued to circle because there’s no good place to land on the whole island. So Cap decides to land off the whole island and makes a water landing.

Apparently Quinjets are like seaplanes in that regard.

And then as they are trudging through the surf to come ashore, -battle transition music- A SLIME ATTACKS!

Wait, this isn’t a dragon quest. This is an Avengers. They’ve got a man in power armor and a robot woman. We’re sci-fi. Okay so its a cyborg slime.

Or a jellyfish. Or, you know what? It has a beak. Maybe its a kraken. A cykraken.

And it drags the Avengers underwater, which is just what a jellyslimefishkraken cyborg would do, if you think about it.

Beast and Scarlet Witch are SOL. Scarlet Witch’s arms are tentacled to her sides and all of her spells require a somatic component. And she hasn’t taken the feat yet to let her ignore that requirement.

And Beast doesn’t have any leverage underwater to apply his strength and agility.

Cap isn’t doing much better because he’s trying to hit the thing with his shield underwater and the water drag isn’t helping.

Jocasta is doing alright. Her eye beams work perfectly fine underwater at cutting the tentacles. Although the narration calls her a “robotrix” which... what?

And Wonder Man does fine too. Even underwater his super strength is enough to just tie the tentacles in knots.

But Iron Man goes completely limp and the jellyslimefishkraken cyborg grabs him up and sticks him right in its mouth.

But it was a ruse. He baited the thing into eating him so he can repulsor blast it from inside and destroy it, freeing the other Avengers.

Good job, Iron Man. You killed a unique, horrible lifeform.

I think we can see that the real monster is Man. Comma Iron.

Meanwhile, inside the evil villain base, Vision runs into the evil villain. Who asks sincerely what the fuck Vision is doing here.

And Vision responds by immediately firing a laser at Yellow Claw.

Which. Good hustle, Vision.

Buuuut. The guy has an energy field that rebounds the energy back at Vision and knocks him out. Its a proven fact that the villain will always have something to stop Vision from soloing the plot.

Kryptonite, so to speak, is everywhere.

Yellow Claw has Vision taken to his lab to be dissected. FOR SCIENCE!

Outside, Beast goes ahead of the other Avengers to scout.

In his Beasty way, he’s goofing a little, singing the Loch Lomond song. And then he’s attacked by just so many flying blades. A lot many.

And so are the rest of the Avengers.

Wonder Man: “No kidding! One just clipped a lock of Jocasta’s hair -- and that stuff can take a bazooka blast!”

I really like imagining the Avengers testing that.

More than that, I’m amused imagining Jocasta’s deadpan expression as they shoot bazookas at her head.

‘The things I do to socialize.’

Anyway, the Avengers scatter to make harder targets because the blades are clearing the jungle to deny any cover to the heroes. Cap spots the blade launcher and throws his shield at it. Because that’s what he do. And it works. Because that’s what he do.

And since the jellyslimefishkraken cyborg and the “death crescents” hadn’t given the Avengers the hint, Yellow Claw appears before them towering several stories high and tells the Avengers to GTFO his island! GEEZ!

Jocasta notices that giant Yellow Claw casts no shadow and announces that it must be a hologram of some sort.

AND THEN THE METAL DEATH BIRDS

They get very angry when you point out special effect failures.

And then the Avengers do their various Avengers things.

Its an action scene. Avengers fighting robot death birds.

Iron Man jumps upside down in front of Beast to protect him from a missile. And Cap does the same right side up with his shield to protect Wanda.

I do appreciate the teamwork with immediate protecting the squishy members of the team.

Wonder Man hits one metal death bird with another. Because hitting an enemy with an enemy is great. I love grievous harm with a body.

Only thing better? If some Jedi force pushed General Grievous to smash some droids. Grievous harm.

Anyway, Jocasta does her eye blasts again, to great effect again.

Captain America throws his mighty shield and even a metal death bird must yiiiiield.

And Scarlet Witch gets to do something this time because everybody is doing a thing this time. Its a real team showcase.

She. And this is totally what probability alteration is. She changes the probability that a launched missile will just turn around and blow up the robot death bird that launched it. That’s just math.

Iron Man says that since his armor powers were originally based on magnetism, he can just remotely magnetize two of the metal death birds and cause them to smash into each other.

BUT THE BEST ONE OF ALL? And the reason I bothered to synopsize the individual actions instead of just saying “and then an action scene happened”? The best one of all.

A robot death bird launches a missile at Beast and he catches it. He catches it between his toes and throws it back, blowing up the robot.

Spectacular.

So spectacular that we can assume that it instantly ended the battle just because of its sheer majesty. I can draw no other conclusions from the juxtaposition of panels.

The Avengers finally reach the base after spending most of the issue traipsing up from the beach. And the base being locked down is swiftly solved by Wonder Man and Iron Man punching the door down.

My only regret is that neither of them make a joke about knocking. C’mon guys, I can’t be writing your snappy dialogue for you decades after the fact. Publishing doesn’t work that way! I’m not writing a redub!

A bunch of Yellow Claw’s goofy guards all prepare to be ineffectual mooks in a mob brawl but Yellow Claw stops them over the intercom.

See, he’s got Vision prisoner. And while he had intended to dissect him FOR SCIENCE, hostage is equally good. So if the Avengers don’t surrender, Vision will be sliced to bits by dissection laser scalpels.

Anyway, Dr. Liu shows up through a secret door to show the Avengers in to talk to Yellow Claw.

And Yellow Claw says politely ‘why the fuck you on my island??’

Or:

Yellow Claw: “Welcome, Avengers. I am pleased to have such illustrious visitors in my humble home. In fact, there is one thing that could possibly make my bliss more complete -- the reason why you’ve invaded my island, and my privacy!”

Which in less polite terms is ‘why the fuck you on my island??’

At this point, Wasp secretly flies up to Cap and tells him she’s okay.

It’s good to reassure him that she’s not a second hostage but. There was no reason in the plot for her to have entered the base. She accomplishes no things. She arguably makes things worst but its only arguably because she didn’t alert the Yellow Claw any more than Vision already did.

I would have liked if she had tried to free Vision or sabotaged Yellow Claw’s security system or something but that’s not the direction the plot was going.

Anyway.

Yellow Claw asked a question so Cap answers. He tells Yellow Claw that the Avengers are here because they received a distress call from a woman named Shu Han who says she’s being held captive.

Yellow Claw is actually surprised. Possibly dismayed.

He recovers himself quickly and has Shu Han brought in so the Avengers can see she’s not under restraint.

She wasn’t brought to this island to be a prisoner! She was brought to be his bride!

Easy mistake to make, honestly!

Wonder Man points out the should-be-obvious that hey kidnapping is kidnapping even if its for nuptials but Yellow Claw is like ha ha kidnapping no no, Shu Han fill this dumbo in.

And it is. A story.

Shu Han: “I... I wasn’t exactly... kidnapped. You see, when I was very young, a man came to my father’s farm, and, as was custom in my country, an arrangement was made. To be less delicate... I was bought!

“Over the years, I all but forgot the arrangement, as I turned my thoughts and energies towards excelling in athletics, and in science.

“But then, some weeks ago, I was approached by agents of Master Claw, and was brought here. I was frightened, but didn’t know what to do. And so I secretly sent a message, hoping for you help.”

Shu Han has that mix of super good at science and sports you see in superheroes but she’s a normal genius person living her life. It’s going to be weird if she just never shows up again. But also: good for her.

Yellow Claw is just so disappointed that she dragged some randos into their interpersonal drama. And we can see now that the proposal he was proposing at her was “marry me.”

Yellow Claw: “Shu Han, I wished you no harm. I am old -- even my potions cannot stay the hand of death much longer -- and I fervently desired an heir to carry my name when that hand fell.

“Thus I offered you wealth, power, the prestige of sitting at my side. And now you repay me with treachery, with cowardice... with dishonor.

“You wish your freedom that much? Very well, then -- you shall have it!

“Go! For I’ve no desire to take an unwilling bride!”

Yellow Claw: May be a supervillain but is big into consent. I mean, except for the part where he bought a child.

Yellow Claw: May be a supervillain but is big into consent when the alternative is superheroes hanging around.

Shu Han doesn’t look super burned by his speech so maybe that’s why he does what he does. He klaps to bring out a bunch of backup wives to prove that he’s not so hurt by rejection. And that he’s got ‘mad game.’

Yellow Claw: “As you can see, there are others more amenable to that lofty position! So, Avengers, you have what you came for. Please don’t let me delay your departure any longer.”

Or in less polite terms ‘GTFO!’

Cap points out that obviously they’re not going to just leave without Vision so Yellow Claw has some goons carry out Vision like a potato sack.

Iron Man and Wonder Man carry Vision with Iron Man warning that he’s not just going to forget Yellow Claw even though the guy claims he just wants to spend his final years in peace with his pile of wives.

And a good call to not take the guy strictly at his word.

As soon as the Avengers are gone Yellow Claw all about mwahahahahas and says that now his evil plan can commence.

Yellow Claw: “No, Dr. Liu, having one less wife should not effect the project appreciably. For the others, hand-picked like Shu Han for their superior genetic traits, will all give me sons, strong sons whom I will train in the arcane ways.

“Then, when they reach manhood, they shall fight each other, until only the most worthy, the strongest, survives! And it shall be he who shall inherit my destiny! The conquest and eradication of the western world!

“Yes, the plan is still sound, and there shall be no defense against it! For my children, doctor -- SHALL BE THE LAST CHILDREN ON EARTH!”

As far as evil plans go, having a bunch of babies so they can fight to the death is pretty evil even before the conquest thing. And the last children on Earth thing.

Follow @essential-avengers. Or don’t. Honestly, I can’t blame you if you don’t. Throw me a like if you read and liked so I can get a sense of how many people read and liked, if you like.

#Avengers #Yellow Claw #Vision #Wasp #Captain America #Wonder Man #Iron Man #Scarlet Witch #Jocasta #beast #essential avengers #essential marvel liveblogging #honestly one of the reasons i started this up again #is i've been reading slott's iron man and thinking 'wow jocasta is great'#'wasn't i right in the middle of the era she was on the avengers?'

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