#everyone gets magic blessed weapons that choose their wielders

[polarishq]

Meet Esther Hughes. Their age is unknown and they hail from Las Vegas, NV (most recently). Esther embodies the constellation, CANCER. They use she/her pronouns. Their faceclaim is Lalisa Manoban.

Cancer reminds me of dew gathering on flower petals first thing in the morning, notebooks filled with nonsensical scribbles, radio static, knee high socks, the first taste of an ice cream cone, lavendar, ink stained fingers, midnight drives, a stellar fight-or-flight instinct that almost always chooses flight, pink cotton candy, and diving headfirst off into open waters.

BIOGRAPHY

(trigger warning for mentions of death and abuse)

Every magical being has a story entirely their own, for better or for worse. For Esther, that story isn’t so much ‘for worse’ as it is one she doesn’t quite remember. She remembers being born in Thailand, some time between 1920 and 1930, and raised in an orphanage after being cast aside for whatever reason. She remembers whispers from staff about how she didn’t grow like the other children. She recalls being forced out of that orphanage at a young age, after cries of witchcraft were hurled her way following an incident of a bully almost drowning without water in his lungs. Everything after that is even fuzzier. She wandered throughout south-east and central Asia, managing to survive despite the distance and her few resources somehow. Magic was never presented to her as a real thing, so she grew just thinking she was both extremely lucky to live and extremely cursed as to not age like everyone else. She stumbled into Europe during the 90s, not looking a day over 10 at the time, still as unsure of her existence as the day she was born. Esther was a name she chose herself in Germany, and while there, a kind woman took pity on her and helped find a host family in Las Vegas with resources to raise a child (nevermind that Esther was at least fifty then, although age and time have always been fuzzy subjects to her). Once in Nevada, Esther tried to settle into her host family. They were nice enough, but she had spent so much of her time wandering on her own that leaving them felt like a natural instinct. So that’s what she did. She ran and found herself on the streets of Las Vegas in the early 2000s, as lost as ever. It was by sheer happenstance that she was found by a social worker who wouldn’t have believed her if she tried explaining that she wasn’t a child. At first, the worker planned to take her to a group home and have her settle into the system until she seemed to be 18, but then he noticed the constellation pattern on the inside of her wrist. He knew what it meant — and to him, it wasn’t good.

Most humans are unaware of the existence of magic, and most of those who are aware view it as a gift. Not all, though. There exists a small number of people who view magic not as a gift to its wielders, but as something to be harvested and used for their own sake. In Las Vegas, there existed such a fraction. When Patrick and Renee Hughes got a call from a family friend about a special case he had found wandering the streets, they knew exactly what it meant. Without being told any of what was going on, Esther was taken to this family, who was positively elated to recognize the constellation Cancer on her skin. It was the first time anyone used the word magic  in front of Esther to describe what she had, and for a fleeting moment, it felt like a blessing. Quickly after though, the Hughes’ made their intentions clear. They existed to take in ‘children’ imbued with magic, not out of the kindness of their heart, but as a means to satisfy their own wishes. Esther was one of seven in the household who had been taken in for control. Records were falsified, and suddenly instead of a decades old witch who had wandered the planet, surviving wars and hunger and fear, she was Esther Hughes. A poor child, born July 9th, 1996 and abandoned, only to be taken in by the good, kind Hughes family. Water elements aren’t meant to thrive in such a dry climate like Vegas, and Esther had never been taught how to use her magic in any way. The only instances were when she was extremely hurt or angry or scared, far beyond her control. But the Hughes’ family didn’t care. When they tried to get Esther to use her magic and she couldn’t, all that came was their own frustration, yelling and belittling and hurting her as if that could ever work. Her first inclination like always was to do whatever necessary to escape, but it wasn’t so easy anymore. Not only did the Hughes’ keep a close eye on the house, but there were six other children — scared like her — who she would be leaving behind. It was the closest thing to a family she ever had, and she couldn’t leave them to this abuse. So she stayed.

Over the seven or so years that Esther spent with the Hughes family, her magic weakened, from a lack of her natural occurring element as well as having nothing else to go by. The final breaking point came when Patrick and Renee’s abuse went too far towards a young wizard (a child who had the powers of a single star, Deneb) who died as a result. The loss was unlike anything Esther had ever felt before. It had taken decades to find a group of people she cared so deeply for, and suddenly one of them — her brother — was gone. The anguish felt amongst the other siblings was too much, and Esther once again found it in herself to run — not away, but rather towards someone. The Hughes’ only missed her escape due to trying to cover up the death, and by the time they realized it, Esther was following an innate pull to something she couldn’t explain. At the same time, the combined distress of the magicals inside the Hughes’ house acted as a distress signal towards a staff member at Polaris (a minor constellation in their own right, but with a strong pull towards psychic magic). A small group from the school was sent to investigate immediately, and Esther quite literally ran into them. The pulling sensation she’d felt faded as soon as she met up with them, and from there, everything once again changed. Patrick and Renee Hughes were ‘dealt with’, though Esther never questioned what that meant, and the ‘children’ in their care were taken in by the Polaris school. Once there, Esther’s natural inclination to run away seemed to fade, and she realized why after settling in to the comfort of the school — she’d finally found a home.

At Polaris, Esther has felt a comfort that seemed so very foreign to her previously. She’d had homes before, but there was something different about being surrounded by those who both understood and celebrated you. And she was made to learn about who she was rather than have it be weaponized. She has been at Polaris for just shy of a decade now, and in that time, has truly found some semblance of peace. It’s not always perfect — she is ruled by her emotions, and considering how long she’s lived and the things she’s survived, she has more emotions than she could ever know what to do with. She’s also taken comfort in her friends and newfound (and old) family. Perhaps a bit too much so; her attachment to people often leads to her misreading a situation, which in turn can throw her emotions and her magic off. For Esther, being at Polaris isn’t about learning magic. Long before she knew what it was, she had magic. It’s only a matter of controlling it. No, Polaris means something different to Esther. It’s about learning to control herself, above all else.

INCLINATION

Cancer’s connection with the moon gives them an inclination to the preternatural, even by magic standards. Their skills lie in the fields of psychomancy and divination; but just as the moon controls the waves, Cancer is controlled by their emotions by virtue of water. Cancer’s dependency also can prevent them from taking risks in order to unlock their true magical potential. Their magic is best controlled when their emotions are in check, but their constant waxing and waning can lead to them falling flat.

CONNECTIONS

Filling the role of Marisol Alvarez’s safe haven.

Foster sibling: Another member of the Hughes’ ‘family’, taken in by Polaris at the same time as Esther. These siblings were the first people Esther was able to bond with, and as such, the only ones who can understand the same heartbreak they felt in that home. Regardless of how their relationship may have changed over the years, Esther still thinks of them as family.

Makeshift therapy group: Let’s be real, Esther can’t be the only person at Polaris with unresolved personal trauma. This is someone (or a group of someones) who can gather with Esther as a way to talk through things they might otherwise struggle to say. It’s not official, but it’s some solace.

Penned by Jeanne ★

[subwalls]

WHUMPTOBER 2021 - 2/30

No. 2 - TALKING IS OVERRATED garotte | choking | gagged

Also available on AO3!

It’s not that Ranboo doesn’t want to protect Snowchester. 

He lives here. Of course he wants to keep it safe. And it’s not like he hates his kwami, either! Voyd is a blessing more often than not, a calming voice to keep him steady when the times get rough. 

The other Miraculous users are the same way. They all love their kwami and their power, and it’s unfair to expect everyone to hand them over just because the ex-Guardian said so. Fighting Dreamons is a good thing. Trying to separate Exdee from his wielder is a good thing.

It’s just… 

Ranboo doesn’t like Enderman.

Which is stupid, he knows. Ranboo is Enderman. Kind of.

Part of him is.

“Ranboo,” Voyd says, and Ranboo looks up from the cracked jewel of his cufflink. The kwami floats closer, her chitinous purple shell gleaming in the lamplight. “Honey’s pinging for Enderman. Are we going?”

Ranboo could say no. Voyd would understand—she’s understood in the past, and it’s not like there’s a lack of Miraculous users to pick up the slack—but, contrarily, that just makes Ranboo feel worse about it. She deserves a better wielder. One who doesn’t hesitate out of fear and misplaced sympathy. 

There is no other user she’d choose, though. There’s only Ranboo.

Ranboo, the Guardian without a guide, who can’t even meet the empty eyes of the body his brother used to inhabit. But he’s still here, isn’t he? Dream is still alive, empty or not, which means he has to be doing something right.

He takes a deep breath. Lifts his chin. He’s already in position to transform, anyway; nobody’s around. 

And Honey is asking for his help.

“Voyd,” Ranboo calls, and her body flashes a deep purple, already twisting into liquid light. “Warp in!”

His Miraculous lights up. Sparks erupt from the hairline fracture across the otherwise smooth face of the amethyst jewelry, but the magic runs its course anyway, armoring him in the light fabric of a suit and cloak, Enderman’s classic look settling cool and familiar over his body.

He doesn’t pay it any mind. Instead, he tries to cradle a single thought like trying to protect a candle in a hurricane, repeating it like a mantra: Don’t hurt Nightmare, don’t hurt Nightmare, don’t hurt Nightmare, don’t hurt Nightmare. Every transformation, he tries to remember that Nightmare forgot why he gave up Guardianship, only for Ranboo himself to forget the moment the light settles, but that doesn’t stop him from trying.

Don’t hurt Nightmare, don’t hurt Nightmare, don’t… 

… But why shouldn’t he?

Ranboo frowns to himself as the transformation completes in a rush of sparkling purple energy. He’s certain there’s a reason for that, because there always is, but he can’t remember what it could be.

Eh, it’s probably not important. Besides, Ranboo isn’t the one planning to punch Nightmare six feet into the ground once he’s found; that’s more Honey and Mellohi’s thing.

The guy deserves it, anyway. Unleashing Dreamons into the city is clearly an abuse of power much greater than anything they’ve ever done. So there.

Nodding to himself, Ranboo slips out of his hiding space to climb up the side of a building. With a flick of the wrist, his silken gloves darken and extend into sharp, tough points. The shadowy claws dig into the brickwork easily, letting him clamber all the way up to the roof without leaving a single dent in the wall behind him.

He spots the fight quickly. The Dreamon this time is a massive spider, easily three stories tall with even longer legs that go tap-tapping up the side of a mansion like it’s trying to climb inside. When its mandibles part in a hissing scream into the sky, the rest of its body flashes a violent teal under the sunlight. 

A blur of gold and black movement highlights Honey in the fray. He’s keeping the oversized bug occupied, poking irritably at its eyes with his lance-like weapon. There’s no tell-tale shine of Stinger in action, though, so he must not be having that much trouble.

Ranboo leaps buildings and rooftops—very much enjoying the rush of air and that lightweight feeling of being less affected by gravity than he’d normally be, untransformed—until he lands within shouting distance.

“Hey, Honey!” he calls cheerfully, and Honey turns with a bright whoop and greeting.

“You’re a bit late, Ender,” Honey says, grinning. “We had to get started without you!”

Ranboo snorts, and darts in to rake his claws against the Dreamon’s leg to stop it from advancing on them. “Why don’t you try sprinting halfway across the city in half a minute, and then you can talk?” he asks over the monstrous hiss of the recoiling spider.

“No need,” Honey says cheerfully. He does a little spin, clearly showing off the iridescent bee-like wings humming against his back, before swooping in to stab into the Dreamon’s eyes.

As the spider backs away from them, stumbling, Ranboo takes a moment to look it over properly. “Do you know where its Mask is, Honey?” he calls.

“Oh! Yeah, it’s somewhere under it, I think.” Honey points at his own stomach. “Like here-ish. It won’t let me make a dive for it, so do you think you can handle it, big man?”

“I hope so,” Ranboo says. Getting there the easy part; once Dreamons lose their Mask, they tend to go crazy until they get it back, and they don’t care if who or what stands between them. “Any idea where the victim is?”

“You know that bookstore next to Nihachu’s bakery?”

Oh boy. Non-transformed knowledge. Ranboo flounders for a moment, trying to grasp the fringes of his civilian self’s memory, and manages to pull up a mental map of Snowchester. “Yeah?”

“Think they’re in the back room somewhere.”

“Okay, okay.” Ranboo watches as the spider gets its bearings back, its body flashing teal again as it bellows at them. “So, you distract, I go get it, I Pearl out, and you Sting like my life depends on it because it most definitely does?”

“Read my mind,” Honey says, giving him a thumbs-up. “Make a bee line for that bookstore, and it’ll all work out in the end!”

Ranboo can feel himself withering at the halfhearted puns, which he swears Honey doesn’t even like that much (mostly because he tends to stumble over them a lot), it’s just to bother him with. “No.”

“No?”

“No, please, I can’t stand it.”

Honey laughs, throwing himself into a loop before buzzing up towards the spider’s face again. “You can’t hate puns this much, it’s a requirement to be a Miraculous user!” he shouts, barely audible from the growing distance between them.

“That doesn’t sound right, but I don’t know enough about Miraculouses to dispute it!” Ranboo retorts, and promptly dives out of the way as the spider staggers and its leg drives into the ground where he’d been standing a moment before.

They’re too far to communicate further, but Ranboo trusts that Honey’s occupying the Dreamon’s attention as much as possible. As for him, he maneuvers himself under the spider without much effort; the hardest part is getting up to the shiny abdomen.

Maybe the plan should be tweaked just a little. Pearl into it, grab it, drop off, and just make a normal run for the bookstore on foot.

Ranboo waits exactly twelve seconds just in case that idea is, in fact, so awful that they would’ve needed the Journalist to turn back time and stop him. No amnesiacs in eye-searing sweaters show up to stop him, so Ranboo taps his cufflink.

Light flashes across its surface, still catching on that little crack, but eventually the sparks it shoots out coalesces into a green glass orb that fits neatly into the palm of his hand.

Faintly, Ranboo catches a glimpse of an eye within his Miraculous that shuts. He’s on a countdown now; five minutes at best. Unfortunately, with his Miraculous broken the way it is, this is the only warning he’s going to get. 

Five minutes should be plenty of time, though.

Ranboo takes a deep breath, rocking his weight back, carefully positions himself right under the pale glimpse of porcelain embedded in the spider’s abdomen. He heaves once, twice, and throws—

The Pearl shatters on impact, and Ranboo feels the world drop out beneath him. He digs his claws into the tough exoskeleton of the spider (spiders do have exoskeletons, right? He thinks they do, they’re bugs) and yelps, trying to flatten himself to the underside of the Dreamon as much as possible as it sways abruptly to the side.

It probably knows he’s there now, so he has to act quickly. Ranboo carefully extracts one hand and jams the sharp talons of his glove into the edges of the circular mask. It creaks, and then pops free with a quiet snap.

Above him, the Dreamon shudders.

“Alright, time to go,” Ranboo says, mostly to himself. He drops down just as a sickly wave of teal energy emanates from the Dreamon’s body, managing to avoid it by ducking under an overhang. The civilians who hadn’t yet evacuated abruptly keel over, coughing wet and sickly, and boy is Ranboo glad he didn’t get caught in that. Yikes.

The spider throws what can only be called a tantrum, stomping its feet and reeling about with furious screeches. Ranboo’s starting to think he isn’t going to be able to leave the street intact when it suddenly freezes in place, rippling with the honey-warm glow of Stinger. 

Paralyzed, at least for the moment. Thank heavens for Honey. 

Ranboo sprints for the bookstore. 

It’s not too far, thankfully. Dreamons usually try their best to take the victim’s Mask as far from them as possible, which maybe has something to do with the whole ‘distance themselves from their worst emotions’ thing, but it looks like Honey managed to cut it off before it could get too far.

Maybe he’d been on the scene as a civilian? Ranboo makes a mental note of that. They don’t know each other’s identities, and he isn’t trying to know, but it would be useful to have an idea of where to look in case something happens.

Regardless, he’s here now, and he has two or three minutes left before he’ll need to recharge. He can only hope his civilian self brought Voyd those sprinkles she likes. 

Ranboo walks through the door and immediately gets caught on something—a thin line of some kind, pressed up to his throat. 

He coughs, immediately reeling back, but the wire goes with him, refusing to let up from his neck. Ranboo twists to the side, thrashing, and nearly slips out before someone pulls him down from the back and kicks the smiling Mask out of his hands.

The pale porcelain skitters over the floor with a rasp.

Ranboo can’t even reach for it. He paws at the wire, but the shadowy claws of his Miraculous suit can’t cut or damage anything. They can only catch against it.

The line goes tighter, somehow, and Ranboo makes a wheezing noise when he tries to cry out. “Shush,” says an unfamiliar voice, low and grating. “You were going to put that Dreamon back in me, weren’t you?”

Well, not usually phrased like that, Ranboo would say, if he could get the air to. He just coughs, hands at his neck. The line feels thick, but not metallic, like he’d expected. More like… silk. 

Spider silk.

Definitely the Dreamon’s victim, then. They always think they’re better off like this, letting their deepest emotions run amok without them, leaving the original person a seemingly logical shell of themselves with a few extra powers left over from the gaping hole in their heart.

They don’t usually take the initiative when it comes to attacking Miraculous users, though.

“Don’t worry,” the person says, as Ranboo’s vision starts to darken, “I’m not in the business of murdering children. I just want your Miraculous—Nightmare will let me have the Dreamon forever if I bring it to him…” 

Ranboo never sees the smile flash across their face, the unnatural glow of a Miraculous at work, because the next thing he knows, his cufflink is flashing purple and his half-mask is dissolving from his face and the rest of his suit is fading into light and his memories fall back into place and oh, is he going to die, is this where it ends, is he going to be the next failure of a Guardian who can’t even pass on the others properly, he still can’t breathe—

A blur of purple darts across his vision, a smear of color Ranboo blearily identifies as Voyd in squeaking anger, “Stop it, Dream, he’s your brother!”

The line slackens, but Ranboo tumbles into unconsciousness anyway.

[ramajmedia]

Jane Foster Can't Become THOR The Way Marvel Fans Think

The secret is out for Thor: Love & Thunder, with Natalie Portman becoming the MCU's next cosmic superhero--or she will be, once Jane Foster becomes the new Thor. But even if Jane is worthy of godhood... how she will actually get that power is a serious problem for any Marvel fan who's been paying attention.

After all, the entire mythology of Thor and his role as the God of Thunder centers on being 'worthy' of lifting Mjolnir--and gaining the 'Power of Thor' that the act bestows. That's how it's always been in Marvel's comic book universe, and it's the way the first Thor movie understood the magic. But with Mjolnir destroyed, and the power it grants now a logical mess in the current MCU, the way Jane Foster becomes Thor in the actual comics can't be adapted.Which leaves fans with the same question the filmmakers must now answer: how is Jane Foster supposed to become worthy of Thor's powers... if Mjolnir doesn't exist to give them to her?

For anyone who missed out on the actual story of Jane Foster lifting Mjolnir to become 'The Mighty Thor' in Marvel Comics, the changing of the hero's identity took everyone by surprise--Thor Odinson and Jane included. After Thor found himself unworthy of Mjolnir in the Original Sin event, he was forced to abandon his hammer on the surface of the Moon. But on the final page of the relaunched Thor #1, a mysterious woman approached the hammer speaking the words, "There must always be a Thor." With that she raised Mjolnir, and transformed into the new Goddess of Thunder. And we do mean 'transformed.'

RELATED: Everything You Need To Know About Jane Foster, The MIGHTY THOR

It's a detail largely lost in Thor's adaptation to the MCU, but the idea that lifting Mjolnir physically transforms the wielder into Thor goes back to the hero's beginnings. Over time, Thor's alter ego was erased, leaving Thor of Asgard looking the part whether holding Mjolnir or not. But the literal interpretation inscribed on Mjolnir returned with Jane Foster: when lifting the hammer, she is blessed with superhuman strength, endurance, knowledge, durability, and flight--and her physical form changes to match. Which poses a problem for the movies, because...

If fans remember back to the very first Thor movie, they can recall a more or less accurate depiction of this magic at work. Deemed unworthy by his father, Thor Odinson becomes a mortal without any of his powers (but still retaining the same appearance, since Marvel cast Chris Hemsworth for a reason). The film's final battle sticks to this mythology as well, returning to Thor's hand and transforming him into his God of Thunder form. Unfortunately, that's about the last time Marvel stuck to the lore behind Mjolnir at all.

As we've explored in the past, the MCU basically ignored Thor's entire mythology for the sake of a more comedic reboot in Thor: Ragnarok. When Mjolnir was destroyed in the comics, Jane lost her powers completely and returned to normal human physiology. But in the movies, the destruction of Mjolnir renders Thor as weak and depowered as an everyday Asgardian... for a while. Right up until his father Odin informs him that Thor was always the God of Thunder himself, and never needed Mjolnir--making it a hunk of metal, and nothing more.

That change to comic canon is backed up when Captain America lifts Mjolnir in Avengers: Endgame, and doesn't transform into Thor form--he simply wields it as a cosmic hammer, with a blast of lightning here and there for added effect. The directors of Endgame can't be blamed for not really knowing how to handle Mjolnir's magic, because Thor's own movies have erased its ability to bestow the 'God of Thunder' power upon its wielder. Which poses a MAJOR problem, now that Jane Foster needs to become The Mighty Thor in Love & Thunder.

The benefit to the Thor/Mjolnir confusion in the MCU is that the rules have been so thoroughly broken, and fans have taken so little issue along the way, the filmmakers are free to come up with a new, even semi-workable solution. After all, the idea of the Asgardians being literal 'Gods of...' anything has been cast aside as well (Loki's magic and trickery were taught to him by his mother, not innate). Since Odin presumably bestowed Thor's power, too, then it may be an authority granted to the King of Asgard--or Queen, now that Thor has appointed Valkyrie the new ruler.

RELATED: Jane Foster FELT The Thanos Snap, But Didn't Die

If the idea that "there must always be a Thor" is maintained on film, but Mjolnir can't seek out or choose Jane as it did in the comics, it must be something else. Will Valkyrie sense Jane Foster being chosen as the new Goddess of Thunder? Will she choose Jane due to her knowledge of Bifrost, or the 'magic' of Asgard she can actually understand and practice? Or will she choose Jane knowing it will catch Thor's attention like nothing else could? Whatever the answer, there's still no Mjolnir. Which may be the biggest problem for Thor 4 to fix going forward.

Again, the fact that Marvel reduced Mjolnir to a hammer, enchanted so only a few worthy (whatever that means) people could lift it means its destruction isn't too important. Even Thor has judged his Infinity War axe Stormbreaker to be a better weapon since it's bigger. So there's nothing keeping Valkyrie from forging another hammer, enchanting it to seek out someone worthy of becoming the new God of Thunder, and it ending up in Jane's hand. Again, that's more due to the lack of lore than what's been established, but a fix is a fix. However, it's possible that the rebirth of Mjolnir and its selection of Jane could mean much, much more.

The modern comics revealed the truth of Mjolnir, not even known to Thor himself: that the hammer contained Tempest, also known as 'The Mother of Storms,' basically a cosmic force which Thor wielded through Mjolnir. After its destruction, and after Thor proved himself truly worthy, the Mother of Storms collected the shards of the shattered hammer to forge a new, more powerful Mjolnir. The same could take place in Thor: Love & Thunder, since a cosmically-reforged Mjolnir slamming into the ground in front of Valkyrie could have only one meaning.

Jane Foster would have several reasons to be called to the site, but if handled properly this new origin for 'The Mighty Thor' could adapt one of the best modern changes to the mythology of Mjolnir. One that would make both Jane Foster and her hammer more powerful than Thor has ever been. When Thor Odinson first sought out the 'pretender Thor' in the comics, he yielded after witnessing Jane's mastery of Mjolnir. Controlling it even outside of her hand, changing its speed and direction at will, Thor acknowledged it served her as it had never served him.

When Mjolnir was recently reforged to end the War of The Realms, it brought a tear to Thor's eye... since it meant The Mother of Storms now accepted his command willingly, and not through force as Odin had done the first time. Combining the two stories, it seems fated that in Thor: Love & Thunder, the Mother of Storms should forge a new, stronger Mjolnir to send forth to the Queen of Asgard, calling out to a new Goddess of Thunder to accept the duties Odin's son has left behind. Now, we just have to hope Marvel Studios agrees.

MORE: Jane Foster's Done Being Thor, as Marvel's New VALKYRIE

source https://screenrant.com/thor-4-jane-foster-mjolnir-powers/

[ohsweetflips]

okay so if the Gangsey was in the Dragon Age world, what would their races/classes be?

oh shit i love this omg

okay for the sake of the fact that im tired, we’re gonna go with the basis that they’re all human unless stated otherwise. i am very tired so im gonna dedicate my energy to their classes omg

also im basing this all around origins and off the idea that they’re becoming grey wardens

this is going under the cut bc this got super long. under the cut is classes, slight backstories, and outcomes of the blight

blue sargent: mage, obviously. (like morrigan,) she and her family are called “witches of the wild”. people tend to fear them at first, considering the rumors of blood magic and stealing children, but they’re actually friendlier than most... sort of. they can sense people’s energies, and if they sense something harmful, they will do whatever it takes to get rid of it and its source. if friendly, they’ll welcome them warmly and perhaps even tell a prophecy. blue herself though usually mostly deals with spirit magic. she discovered her magic at an age older than most, so she’s still getting used to it. unlike the books she has a knack in telling prophecies for what the future may hold. she ends up specializing as an arcane warrior. she’s completely against the circles, though she doesn’t have a full perspective considering she was never in one. she becomes a grey warden when she told the prophecy of the warden recruit duncan, and he decided that they needed a mage like her fighting the blight. if there was one thing they needed, it was someone to possibly predict what will happen. upon meeting the noble gansey son in her party, she first realized that she couldn’t stand him one bit, and then realized that this boy’s future held a different ending than the other’s.

richard gansey the iii: noble and warrior and tragic hero. he came from a line of strong templars. a couple years back, as a child, there was an assassination attempt on richard gansey senior. however, goblets got mixed up and richard gansey junior ended up with the poison. he ingested it, and actually did die. when he awoke from death, his parents claimed it was the maker blessing him with life. gansey believed it was magic reaching out to him, a human, from the fade, and ever since then, he fell in love with magic. when gansey was a child, his family thought that his interest in magic would make him a great templar. however, as he got older, they realized that his love for magic was what made him despise the idea of being a templar. gansey believed that mages should be free and that magic should be accepted, not condemned. but the ganseys were a powerful noble family with a strong templar lineage, so they hid from the public that their youngest son wanted to break that line that they valued so much. gansey himself desired to be a hero. he wanted to change the world and make things better, and he wanted to be remembered in history. ever since he was a child, he trained in sword and shield fighting, and when duncan came to visit his family, he near begged duncan to recruit him. duncan finally did when he saw that gansey was actually a sufficient fighter. gansey happily said goodbye to his family, and continued on the road with duncan. he soon specialized as a champion, and through out his journey, in the back of his mind, he knew that one day he would be called to his duty and be forced to choose between his life and everyone else’s.

adam parrish: rogue, half-dalish. he was born in the brecillian forest, but ended up growing in a crappy little house in denerim. he tended to ignore his dalish side, not because he didn’t want to be elven, but because it never really meant anything in his life. in denerim, he’s living poor on the streets with an abusive father; he spends most of his time stealing from others on the street and doing odd jobs to make enough money to be able to eat. if he lived with a dalish clan, he would have had to spend his time being wary of templars and always ready to uproot his old life and find a new one. to him, whether or not he was raised dalish or raised human was no big deal to him. he just knew that he would never be rich and powerful like the ganseys. as he got older, though, he started having weird and frequent dreams of woods and trees calling out to him, saying that he was the one they needed. he had those dreams, and felt connected to the nature around him when he managed to get outside of denerim, but never acquired any magic. he was conscripted into the wardens when he was caught in the nearby woods by templars and was accused of being an apostate proceeding with a ritual. he was trying to see if he could find any connection with nature (he did) but he was no mage. duncan conscripted him to save him from a life of imprisonment, but ended up getting a sufficient rogue, and eventually a ranger. he was at first mortified when he saw that richard gansey the iii was in his party, but over the course of the blight, he found an unlikely friend in the noble.

ronan lynch: human, ex-noble. the lynches were once as powerful as the ganseys. they were the two dominant families in denerim, and every lord looked to marry off his daughters to the duo of ronan lynch and richard gansey the iii. however, when niall lynch was revealed to not only be an apostate, but a blood mage, and his wife aurora just someone under his spell, he was promptly murdered and the lynches were stripped of their title as nobles. there left only the lynch brothers: declan, ronan, and matthew. declan tried to restore his family from the bottom, trying to get people to respect them again in more safe ways. matthew was the charmer of denerim, loved by all despite his father’s ways. and then all that was left was ronan. it was not uncommon for him to steal things from merchants, except he was never caught. he had run into adam parrish a few times, but he was neat and knew how to steal and didn’t stop to give him the time of day. as a noble, he got training in using two-handed weapons when he was still a noble, and continued to train himself when he wasn’t. like parrish, he too felt a connection to nature, except he felt the darker parts of it. he heard the spirits and demons that whispered in the roots, and they heard him too. he ended up being conscripted by duncan when a fight with the noble family kavinsky’s son turned into a deadly brawl, and ronan was to face execution. instead, duncan conscripted him. with his time in the wardens, ronan tapped into the spirits (or demons) that seemed to call to him in nature and became a reaver. and adam parrish, a boy ronan barely paid attention to before, became someone that he would risk his life and being for.

noah czerny: psyche he’s still dead and he’s a spirit of hope. he never actually possessed a body, but he retained a human silhouette as a spirit. he was the son of a noble family from a couple years back, and died when his friend used him in a blood sacrifice. instead of becoming a harmful spirit, or even an abomination, he became a spirit of hope. he followed around the wardens on their quest, evoking hope in their hearts. everyone at first believed noah was just a spirit who found an interest in the band of wardens. it wasn’t until the end that the connection was made between gansey and noah.

henry cheng: human noble. the chengs are another noble family who became powerful through trading of rare arcane items. henry was trained as a bard ever since he was a child, and was often used during trades. he didn’t just tell merchants stories, sometimes he had to use less... pleasant options. he’s a sufficient knife wielder, and his words can charm anyone into doing anything. his joining of the wardens was quite odd, actually- he was forced by his mother to join. of course he didn’t tell duncan that, he made it seem like his want to be a warden was genuine and from the heart. despite the fact that his initial reason for joining was to perhaps find mysterious and arcane artifacts along the journey, he ended up finding his family in this group of wardens, and he realized he wanted to see everything through until the end.

outcomes

blue sargent: she found that there is life outside of the wilds: a life with new family, a life with knowledge that she could have never learned in a circle or in the wilds, a life with gansey. (that last life was perhaps the most shocking considering that she decided she did not like the noble after their first conversation.) she found a best friend in everyone there, and actually found some weird sense of happiness at being a warden. because, yes, they could be killed at any moment, but she knew that none of them would go down without a fight, and would protect each other to the very end. she survived the archdemon and brought a new found respect to mages, especially witches of the wild.

adam parrish: he discovered that there was a reason he was a warden. nature had been calling out to him ever since he was young, but due to the fact that he never developed magic, the only two ways they could communicate to him was through him being a warden by the blighted lands, and through him being a ranger by the trees and animals. adam realized that his life was always meant to be bigger than the streets of denerim. he ended up falling in love with the reaver, ronan, and made sure to see them both through to the bitter end. he ended up surviving the blight with injuries causing him to go deaf in one ear. being a warden made him realize that he had purpose, and when the blight was over, he used his status and success to ensure a better life for him and the other surviving wardens.

ronan lynch: despite being conscripted, ronan actually did enjoy his time with the wardens in some sick, twisted way. he got to kill darkspawn, which was always a plus because he was actually allowed to use his strength against things and hit them. he also liked being able to use his full potential as a reaver and dominate the battle field. he also liked adam parrish. a lot. after the lynches were stripped of their title, ronan was ready to live as an outcast, even with his two brothers. however, the wardens ended up giving him the family that he would never admit he needed, and he was reunited with his childhood best friend, gansey. after the blight, ronan lynch was given back a prestigious title, and after slight consideration, he actually did use it to give his two brothers back some power.

henry cheng: henry did find magical artifacts on the journey, however instead of giving them to his mother when the blight was over, he gave them to blue since he believed that she would have a better use for him. through out the blight, he was probably the happiest since he believed that since they were all scared shitless, they might as well be happy, too. he enjoyed the company of his other wardens, and he would share stories with them during long treks across the country or late nights in camp. he survived the blight and continued to pass stories throughout the wardens. he was always thought of as the positive energy among the wardens.

richard gansey the iii: gansey loved his wardens. he loved the best friends he made, the best friend he was reconnected with, and the love of his life. he knew that he would do anything to keep them safe, to make sure that they see the end of this blight. and so, when they all learned that the warden who kills the archdemon makes the ultimate sacrifice, he told himself that that would be him. he would go down in history, and his fellow wardens would be able to live to see the next day. he kept his plan to himself, and when the time came to issue the final blow to the archdemon, gansey did not hesitate to stab it with his sword. a monument in his honor was built in denerim, and the name gansey was secured in history.

noah czerny: noah disappeared once the final battle was over. he left with no word; he was just on the battle field, and then he wasn’t. blue confirmed that he returned to the fade, and that he sometimes visits her in her dreams. they talk about the mortal and spirit realm, and how people are doing, and how warden life is treating them all. noah finds peace in blue, and appreciates her being his final connection to the human world. one night, however, he tells her that gansey used his second chance at life to make sure that they all stay safe, and that gansey misses them all and wishes them the best.

oh boy this got really long and i hope this makes sense i’ve been typing this for a very long time and i’m tired omfg

[ramajmedia]

Thor 4: How Jane Foster Can Become Worthy (Without Mjolnir)

The secret is out for Thor: Love & Thunder, with Natalie Portman becoming the MCU's next cosmic superhero--or she will be, once Jane Foster becomes the new Thor. But even if Jane is worthy of godhood... how she will actually get that power is a serious problem for any Marvel fan who's been paying attention.

After all, the entire mythology of Thor and his role as the God of Thunder centers on being 'worthy' of lifting Mjolnir--and gaining the 'Power of Thor' that the act bestows. That's how it's always been in Marvel's comic book universe, and it's the way the first Thor movie understood the magic. But with Mjolnir destroyed, and the power it grants now a logical mess in the current MCU, the way Jane Foster becomes Thor in the actual comics can't be adapted.Which leaves fans with the same question the filmmakers must now answer: how is Jane Foster supposed to become worthy of Thor's powers... if Mjolnir doesn't exist to give them to her?

For anyone who missed out on the actual story of Jane Foster lifting Mjolnir to become 'The Mighty Thor' in Marvel Comics, the changing of the hero's identity took everyone by surprise--Thor Odinson and Jane included. After Thor found himself unworthy of Mjolnir in the Original Sin event, he was forced to abandon his hammer on the surface of the Moon. But on the final page of the relaunched Thor #1, a mysterious woman approached the hammer speaking the words, "There must always be a Thor." With that she raised Mjolnir, and transformed into the new Goddess of Thunder. And we do mean 'transformed.'

RELATED: Everything You Need To Know About Jane Foster, The MIGHTY THOR

It's a detail largely lost in Thor's adaptation to the MCU, but the idea that lifting Mjolnir physically transforms the wielder into Thor goes back to the hero's beginnings. Over time, Thor's alter ego was erased, leaving Thor of Asgard looking the part whether holding Mjolnir or not. But the literal interpretation inscribed on Mjolnir returned with Jane Foster: when lifting the hammer, she is blessed with superhuman strength, endurance, knowledge, durability, and flight--and her physical form changes to match. Which poses a problem for the movies, because...

If fans remember back to the very first Thor movie, they can recall a more or less accurate depiction of this magic at work. Deemed unworthy by his father, Thor Odinson becomes a mortal without any of his powers (but still retaining the same appearance, since Marvel cast Chris Hemsworth for a reason). The film's final battle sticks to this mythology as well, returning to Thor's hand and transforming him into his God of Thunder form. Unfortunately, that's about the last time Marvel stuck to the lore behind Mjolnir at all.

As we've explored in the past, the MCU basically ignored Thor's entire mythology for the sake of a more comedic reboot in Thor: Ragnarok. When Mjolnir was destroyed in the comics, Jane lost her powers completely and returned to normal human physiology. But in the movies, the destruction of Mjolnir renders Thor as weak and depowered as an everyday Asgardian... for a while. Right up until his father Odin informs him that Thor was always the God of Thunder himself, and never needed Mjolnir--making it a hunk of metal, and nothing more.

That change to comic canon is backed up when Captain America lifts Mjolnir in Avengers: Endgame, and doesn't transform into Thor form--he simply wields it as a cosmic hammer, with a blast of lightning here and there for added effect. The directors of Endgame can't be blamed for not really knowing how to handle Mjolnir's magic, because Thor's own movies have erased its ability to bestow the 'God of Thunder' power upon its wielder. Which poses a MAJOR problem, now that Jane Foster needs to become The Mighty Thor in Love & Thunder.

The benefit to the Thor/Mjolnir confusion in the MCU is that the rules have been so thoroughly broken, and fans have taken so little issue along the way, the filmmakers are free to come up with a new, even semi-workable solution. After all, the idea of the Asgardians being literal 'Gods of...' anything has been cast aside as well (Loki's magic and trickery were taught to him by his mother, not innate). Since Odin presumably bestowed Thor's power, too, then it may be an authority granted to the King of Asgard--or Queen, now that Thor has appointed Valkyrie the new ruler.

RELATED: Jane Foster FELT The Thanos Snap, But Didn't Die

If the idea that "there must always be a Thor" is maintained on film, but Mjolnir can't seek out or choose Jane as it did in the comics, it must be something else. Will Valkyrie sense Jane Foster being chosen as the new Goddess of Thunder? Will she choose Jane due to her knowledge of Bifrost, or the 'magic' of Asgard she can actually understand and practice? Or will she choose Jane knowing it will catch Thor's attention like nothing else could? Whatever the answer, there's still no Mjolnir. Which may be the biggest problem for Thor 4 to fix going forward.

Again, the fact that Marvel reduced Mjolnir to a hammer, enchanted so only a few worthy (whatever that means) people could lift it means its destruction isn't too important. Even Thor has judged his Infinity War axe Stormbreaker to be a better weapon since it's bigger. So there's nothing keeping Valkyrie from forging another hammer, enchanting it to seek out someone worthy of becoming the new God of Thunder, and it ending up in Jane's hand. Again, that's more due to the lack of lore than what's been established, but a fix is a fix. However, it's possible that the rebirth of Mjolnir and its selection of Jane could mean much, much more.

The modern comics revealed the truth of Mjolnir, not even known to Thor himself: that the hammer contained Tempest, also known as 'The Mother of Storms,' basically a cosmic force which Thor wielded through Mjolnir. After its destruction, and after Thor proved himself truly worthy, the Mother of Storms collected the shards of the shattered hammer to forge a new, more powerful Mjolnir. The same could take place in Thor: Love & Thunder, since a cosmically-reforged Mjolnir slamming into the ground in front of Valkyrie could have only one meaning.

Jane Foster would have several reasons to be called to the site, but if handled properly this new origin for 'The Mighty Thor' could adapt one of the best modern changes to the mythology of Mjolnir. One that would make both Jane Foster and her hammer more powerful than Thor has ever been. When Thor Odinson first sought out the 'pretender Thor' in the comics, he yielded after witnessing Jane's mastery of Mjolnir. Controlling it even outside of her hand, changing its speed and direction at will, Thor acknowledged it served her as it had never served him.

When Mjolnir was recently reforged to end the War of The Realms, it brought a tear to Thor's eye... since it meant The Mother of Storms now accepted his command willingly, and not through force as Odin had done the first time. Combining the two stories, it seems fated that in Thor: Love & Thunder, the Mother of Storms should forge a new, stronger Mjolnir to send forth to the Queen of Asgard, calling out to a new Goddess of Thunder to accept the duties Odin's son has left behind. Now, we just have to hope Marvel Studios agrees.

MORE: Jane Foster's Done Being Thor, as Marvel's New VALKYRIE

source https://screenrant.com/thor-4-jane-foster-mjolnir-powers/