#i think the only time river's random weapon selection worked was when he used that fire extinguisher on hobbs

[loreartisan]

Slow Horses tip: if River picks up a piece of kitchenware expecting to use it as a weapon, know it will not end well

Evidence:

1 - he picks up a pan to use against the disguised Jed Moody; he gets hit in the head and Sid gets shot

2 - that kitchen knife he picks up and tries stabbing Frank Harkness with ends up against his own throat

3 - using a pot against a guy with a shotgun

And special mention of the shoe-in-a-bag trick he tried to pull off in season 1

[andypantsx3]

war paint | 3 | captain

pairing: Bakugou Katsuki / Reader

length: 27,765 words / 10 chapters

summary: Desperate times force you to disguise yourself and join the kingsguard. When a suspicious string of crimes strike the palace, however, Captain Katsuki Bakugou starts paying extra close attention. (spin off of in cinders)

tags: mulan AU, secret identity, romance, reader-insert

warnings: aged up characters, some violence, eventual smut

The first few weeks of your enlistment were inarguably the worst you’d ever lived.

If not on patrol, soldiers were awakened before dawn every morning and marched to the training pitch behind the castle where you drilled in different formations with various weapons. You were run through exercises that seemed designed to drop anyone with less than iron willpower, then set to menial tasks like cleaning the barracks or repairing any damaged weapons or equipment. The midday meal was the first break in your day, followed immediately by training in basic first aid and survival skills, then by more weaponry drills that took you until the dinner bell.

Between your extra training with Nishimura and the time you had to invest in sneaking off to use the lavatory or a spot to bathe in private, you were hardly resting. Even the time you did spend bathing, you spent in a constant state of anxiety, wondering if a random bunk check would reveal you missing. You hadn't chanced more than a wild, lightning fast scrub down in weeks.

At the end of the first week, you’d collected your enlistment fee with hands blistered from sword work, and it took you longer than you’d ever admit to count it out, stopping every few seconds when your eyes drifted involuntarily shut. You’d been happy to send it off to your family, though, with a short note that told them you were doing well.

Which was, of course, a lie.

You weren’t exactly the most popular among the kingsguard thanks to the show you’d put on when you arrived, and you had the misfortune of dorming in the same room as Nishimura. Despite Captain Bakugou’s warnings, he’d gone out of his way to make life uncomfortable for you, slipping bugs into your sheets and loudly discussing you in less than flattering terms well within earshot.

More than that, you were terrible at nearly everything and it was obvious. Kaminari helped you to the best of his ability, and so did Sero, the guard who’d poked fun at your age at the castle gates. Neither of them, however, could make up for the fact that as a woman, you were somewhat smaller and slighter, and hadn’t had the same opportunities building up muscle mass as men your age. Every sword felt like an anvil in your hands; lifting a mace like hauling a boulder.

The only thing you seemed to excel at was the first aid trainings. You found yourself listening with rapt attention as the court physician walked your battalion through wrapping injuries and cleaning wounds, noting which easily obtained herbs and flowers could slow blood loss or ease pain. Kaminari was always eager to pair with you during the practical exercises, as you were among the least likely to accidentally poison him with the wrong herbs. It was gratifying to be good at at least one thing.

Your favorite part of castle service, though, was the patrols.

After your first month of training, you’d been assigned thrice-weekly patrol routes and found that it was like wading into a cool river on a hot day. Patrols got you out of whichever drills were happening at the time and took you out from under Captain Bakugou’s purview and behind the relative safety of the castle walls.

Though monotonous, you only had to walk a specific route throughout the castle with a partner, and you were rarely supervised. On your first patrol with Kaminari, you also found that patrols were - for him - more of an opportunity to make social calls.

“L/N,” he said, nearly the minute you stepped inside the castle walls. “We’ve got an excellent route today.”

You raised an eyebrow in question.

He chuckled, gesturing you along. “Come on, our first stop is right over here.”

“Our first stop?” you echoed.

Kaminari grinned and grabbed your sleeve, pulling you into a side door. On the other side sat a cramped office stuffed with bright fabrics and colorful spools of thread. A woman with shocking pink hair hunched over a spill of pretty silk, working tiny, perfect stitches into the fabric.

“Mina!” Kaminari boomed and the woman sat up with a smile.

“Denki!” she said, reaching over to hug him. “It’s been a while since patrol took you over here! I have so much to tell you!”

Kaminari laughed and pulled you forward. “Me too. Mina, this is L/N! He lied about his age and wormed his way into the kingsguard.”

You whirled on him. “I’m old enough to be in the guard!”

The absolute wrong gender, but definitely the right age.

He gave you an innocent look. “I’m just passing on the popular opinion.”

Mina chuckled. “Oh, ignore him, L/N. We all do. It’s quite nice to meet you.”

Kaminari whined but Mina just laughed again, redirecting his attention to the dress she was making, saying it was for the princess-to-be. Apparently, Prince Shouto’s bride had been a kitchen girl that Mina and Denki had both been acquainted with, and they talked eagerly of the wedding they’d both been invited to and the food that would be there.

“Think old Bakugou will show up?” Kaminari asked at one point, making himself comfortable at Mina’s workstation. Mina met this with a shrug.

You gave them both a questioning look. “Why would the captain be invited?”

Kaminari turned to you conspiratorially. “Captain Bakugou and the prince grew up together - they’re something like old friends. Plus, Bakugou’s a marquis, he’s probably got an invitation just for political reasons.”

“He’s a marquis?” you asked. That explained the Lord appellation on your contract, then. “Why join the palace guard if he’s titled?”

Kaminari shrugged. “Probably not enough opportunity to torture innocent civilians in Musutafu. If he wants to hold the land, he’s got to be nice to them, hasn’t he?”

You grimaced, thinking of all the drills he’d run you through since you’d gotten here. That definitely wouldn’t endear him to anyone.

“Speaking of our favorite captain,” Mina said conversationally, “I heard he’s been meeting with the prince more often than usual.”

“Wedding stuff?” Kaminari asked, but Mina shook her head.

“As if he’d touch that mushy shit with a ten foot pole. He wouldn’t know romance if it pranced in front of him wearing a soldier’s uniform. No, I heard it’s because a bunch of papers and other valuables went missing from the prince’s study last Thursday night.”

Your mind wandered back to last Thursday, wondering if you’d been on patrol when it had happened. You only dredged up a memory of snuggling down into your bunk, relieved that Nishimura and his goon friend Hasumi were out on their own patrol and your bed was thankfully bug free.

Kaminari’s eyebrows went up. “Important papers?”

Mina raised a thin shoulder. “From what I heard, it seemed to be a weird selection. A couple letters, some wedding arrangements. But a land treaty disappeared as well. They think it’s a spy.”

Kaminari whistled. “Bet old Baku is pissed this happened on his watch. No wonder he’s been in such a foul mood lately.” He turned to you. “Don’t you think he’s been a little too happy when one of us gets clipped by the wrong edge of the sword?”

You thought back to his threats in the mess hall. “He seems normal enough to me.”

Kaminari mulled that over. “I suppose he’s usually that awful.”

Mina smiled. “Talking of which, shouldn’t you be getting on with your patrol? I’d hate to find out what he’d do if he found out you were in here gossiping.”

A spike of panic stabbed through your heart and you grabbed Kaminari’s sleeve. “Excellent observation, Mina. We really should be going. It was wonderful to meet you!”

You tugged Kaminari roughly back through the doorway. You thought it was a testament to his own fear of the captain that he went willingly enough.

The rest of your patrol proved uneventful, however, Bakugou thankfully never being alerted to your social stop. Your patrol ended just after the dinner bell and you ate quickly in the mess hall, then rushed off to the training pitch.

Today was also the last day of your punishment for fighting in the mess hall on your first day, and you thought dreamily of all the rested muscles and extra time you’d have on your hands once extra training ended. You might be able to sneak off to bathe at a normal time of the evening instead of in the dead of night, starting tomorrow.

Your good cheer faded quickly, however, as you arrived at the pitch to find Captain Bakugou there.

Nishimura was just behind you and he stopped short at your side. “Where’s our usual drill officer?” he demanded.

A horrible grin cut into Bakugou’s features, bearing his sharp canines. He looked like a wolf ready to tear into a nest of rabbits, and your stomach flipped. “Ojiro’s off duty tonight. Thought I’d see if you’d learned your lesson myself.”

You inhaled sharply, and Bakugou caught it, laughing. “Thought I’d forgotten about you two fucks, didn’t you?”

You lowered your gaze and took a deep, steadying breath. Just tonight. You just had to get through tonight and you would be free.

Nishimura seemed to steel himself as well, sweeping a hand through his dark hair. “What are our drills tonight, Captain?”

Bakugou’s crimson gaze flickered over you both. “Fight me.”

You looked up, startled. “Fight you?”

He looked you over disdainfully. “You’re a goddamn soldier, you telling me you can’t fight? Didn’t seem to stop you in the mess hall.”

You bit your lip, but Nishimura stepped forward, that violent gleam in his eye. “Yes, sir.”

Bakugou grinned. “I’m gonna fucking wipe this field with you.”

Nishimura didn’t dare correct his superior, but his hand went quickly to his sword and he leaned forward eagerly. Before you even had time to blink, the clash of metal rang out across the field and Bakugou had Nishimura on the defensive, pushing him back into step with you. You hadn’t even seen him go for his sword.

Swearing, you fumbled for your own blade, whipping it out just in time to catch the swipe Bakugou aimed at your side. You stumbled under the force of the strike, tripping backwards.

Nishimura growled and lunged again, but Bakugou was faster, parrying his attack and following up with his own. A low chuckle escaped him as he caught Nishimura with the back edge of his blade, winding him and sending him staggering back.

Bakugou whipped back to you, targeting you with another fast swipe that you barely caught in time. The strength of his blow almost knocked your sword from your grasp, shuddering up your arm and leaving you gasping.

“What the fuck are you in the kingsguard for if you won’t fight?” he snarled. Another swipe came your way and again you barely caught it. Your heart beat frantically in your chest and you tried to duck out of range of his arm.

“Come back here, pretty boy,” Bakugou taunted, advancing on you, but Nishimura cut in with another attack. Bakugou whipped the edge of his blade up again, faster than your eye could follow, catching the strike. You caught the curl of that savage grin on the corner of his mouth again before he moved, ducking under Nishimura’s arm and twisting his blade. It slid along the edge of Nishimura’s sword with an awful screech, then caught the hilt at an angle, ripping it straight out of Nishimura’s grip.

A kick from Bakugou had Nishimura on the ground and just as quickly he twisted back around, stalking back towards you. Your heartbeat quickened in fear as he approached, crimson gaze burning into you.

“You don’t belong here if you can’t face me,” he ground out. “Fight me or I’m discharging you. That’s a fucking order.”

You trembled, but lifted your blade. You needed the money to send back to your parents. It was too early to be discharged - if you left now, they’d have no way of clearing the debt.

You thrust your sword forward but Bakugou dodged easily. You quickly flicked through all the maneuvers you’d been drilling the past month, and followed up with a lunge. Bakugou grinned, flicking it aside with a quick twist of his wrist.

“Put your back into it, shrimp,” he demanded.

You gripped your sword with both hands, bringing it down on him with all the force you had in you. Bakugou deflected, and before you knew what was happening, your sword was rent from your grasp, skidding along the dirt of the pitch behind you.

The flat of Bakugou’s sword came up to tip your chin up to him.

“Pathetic,” he spat, “you fight like a damn woman.”

Your hands curled into fists at your sides. Bakugou’s sharp eyes caught it and he smirked. “You gonna punch me, pretty boy?”

You struggled to tamp down the hot anger bubbling up inside you like a spring from the earth. “No, sir.”

He eyed you distrustfully, pressing the flat of his blade into your chin a little harder. “I’d think seriously about what the fuck you think you’re doing here. This is the kingsguard and I don’t need weak little shits like you endangering the royal family or your fellow soldiers.”

You stared back at him, not daring to speak. Your blood rushed in your ears and your heart hammered wildly in your chest.

After a long moment he lowered his blade, sheathing it back at his hip. He looked over at Nishimura, who was delicately picking himself up off the ground.

“Disappointing,” Bakugou said roughly. “I’ve seen enough here. You’re both dismissed - back to your dormitories.”

You nodded, backing away from him. Nishimura stalked off, and you turned and picked your way gingerly back across the field, stopping only to pick up your sword and tuck it back into the belt at your waist. You set off slowly for the barracks, something like hot tears stinging at the back of your eyes.

You didn’t look back, but you swore you could feel a pair of crimson eyes on you as you slipped quietly through the dark.

[naancypants]

Back To Normal

@nancydrew-onthecase​ I ended up kinda combining this prompt with my headcanon post lol, so hopefully that’s alright. Thank you for the prompt submission!! And I hope it’s enjoyable ❤ I’ve also popped this onto Ao3 if anyone wants to support it there. I’m always accepting more Jancy prompts! ;)

After a case brought Nancy Drew to a town neighboring Bayport, it was only natural for her to drop in to the Hardy residence and say hello to her favorite brothers in the world; and, naturally, the trio spent the next few days finishing up the case altogether, eventually tracking down the notorious jewel thief who had been hitting a carefully selected array of towns all the way across the United States. Finally bringing such a criminal to justice was an immensely satisfying feeling no matter how many times it was experienced, and knowing that the guy was safely behind bars for years to come, the detectives decided it would be nice to spend a little mystery-free time together on the night before Nancy’s departure back to River Heights - that is, until they realized that this happened to be the same night Frank had previously signed up to give a lecture on criminal justice at the local community college. “Well, at least the timing of this last case kinda worked out. Now I have some fresh experiences to share,” Frank says with a halfhearted grin, “Look after Joe tonight, will you, Nancy?” They exchange a long, tender goodbye hug as Nancy chuckles a little, “No problem.” Frank begins striding towards the entryway, teasing inflections lacing his deep voice as it gets gradually further away, “Yeah, well, you might want to wait and see what it’s actually like watching over him! Not as easy as it sounds.” “Hey, I’m right here,” Joe jokes back, waving his hands a little from inside his hoodie’s pockets. Nancy gazes after the older Hardy brother as he leaves, “Bye.” “See you, Nancy.” The front door opens then closes, leaving the two remaining sleuths in silence. Joe takes in a deep breath, glancing at the vintage CLUE board game that Aunt Trudy had gifted to the brothers for Christmas when they were 8 and 9 – an expected favorite of theirs. He casually ambles over to where the unopened box sits on one edge of the angled fireplace, gesturing towards it. “Well, there’s no reason we can’t still have a game night of our own, right?” Nancy shrugs, “I don’t see why not!” As Joe sets up the board on the living room floor, Nancy goes into the kitchen to fetch a glass. “Joe, do you want anything to drink?” “Nah I’m good,” he responds, attempting to shuffle the deck of Room cards back and forth in his hands; split the deck at a random place, shove the two halves back together, hope for the best. Repeat. Frank was a much better shuffler, to be honest, but someone had never bothered to teach Joe how to do it properly. So. This is the method he is using. Shut up. A mild look of distaste suddenly clouds Joe’s face, though despite his furrowed brows there’s a bit of a smile playing at the edges of his lips, “Hey Nance, you’re not about to do that thing where you just drink plain milk, are you? ‘Cause –” He twists his body around to see the strawberry blonde shuffling sheepishly towards him with both hands protectively cradling a glass full of solid white liquid. “Oh my God.” Nancy crosses her legs and sits opposite him, “It’s good for you.” “It’s also gross.” “No, it’s not!” “Milk is good for cereal and absolutely nothing else!” Nancy shakes her head at his antics – in this case, a dramatic finger lifted into the air as if he were making some grand point – and lets out a short giggle, “Ookay, Joe. Are we ready to get started?” “Absolutely,” he points to the two messy starter decks he’d already dealt out, “Pick your poison – err, I mean… well, yeah. That’s pretty on the nose for a game of CLUE, don’t you think?” Nancy nods, cheekily yet subtly repeating Joe’s line from just a few moments before, “Absolutely.” Hours pass as the two race each other to crack each miniature case, and the stakes keep getting higher as they find small ways to make the mysteries harder – taking random unseen cards 100% out of play, limiting their amount of turns before someone has to make an accusation, and in one heated round they even ditched their notepads entirely, opting instead to take on the challenge of storing everything in memory. Nancy crushed him in that round, because Joe’s long term memory is all right, but short term…? Forget about it. Joe keeps a win/lose tally on his phone, of course, and by the time 10:30PM rolls around Nancy has him beat by 3 wins. He isn’t sure if it’s because of the dim lighting from the many candles Mrs. Hardy likes to keep around the house or the fact that he’s still on this semi-childish competitive high, but when he looks up at Nancy while she’s gathering up the pieces from their latest game, he’s reminded of something. “Hey Nance, do you remember doing this as kids?” She pauses, absentmindedly setting down the weapon pieces in their correct spots on the board. “I do. ‘Course, we didn’t get to do it very much.” There was a chuckle at the end of her sentence, after which Joe emits one of his own. “Yeah. Man, things were so different back then.” “How so?” Joe starts to open his mouth, but realizes he isn’t sure how to explain what he meant. Game nights back then for Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys really were few and far between, but every once in a while - whenever Carson was away on business and Hannah had family matters to attend to - the stars would align, and Nancy would be allowed to stay with the Hardy family for a few days. On the night of Nancy’s arrival Laura always made sure to bake up a fresh batch of her famous chocolate chip cookies, which was a favorite of the 3 young teenagers. Unsurprisingly, the heaping pile of cookies would be devoured in about 5 minutes flat… Joe really wishes he hadn’t thought of that. Now his mouth is watering. He also realizes that Nancy is still waiting for him to answer her question. He shrugs. “I don’t know, I mean, we were kids. Of course it was different.” “You’re not different, though,” a playful, sincere smile works its way onto her face as she looks up at him in the candlelight, “I think you’ve changed the least out of all of us.” She means this to be a lighthearted comment, Joe knows, but internally it makes him feel a little funny. He thinks he’s changed a lot since then. True, he’s still impulsive and daring and makes himself laugh at all of the stupid jokes that formulate in his brain… but not everything is how it was back in those days. Long before the world caught on to the inherent connection that exists between Frank & Nancy, Joe was actually the one who had first taken an interest in the girl detective; well, as much interest as an awkward, inexperienced 13-year-old could. He had just started noticing girls, and Nancy was very pretty, but… she was so, so unlike all the other pretty girls at Bayport Middle & High School. But obviously he doesn’t feel that way anymore. That’s probably the biggest difference between now & then, because Joe had easily understood that if Nancy were ever to break up with her longtime beau Ned Nickerson (which probably wasn’t going to happen), the next person in line for her romantic affections was going to be Frank Hardy (who is definitely not Joe). And he was totally okay with that. In fact, it was kinda fun to watch Nancy & his brother’s friendship grow over the years, especially when he got to tease Frank about all the lingering glances and “unspoken words” he never had the chance to say to Nancy. Poking at his brother is something Joe enjoys no matter the context. Back in reality, Nancy has finally finished dealing out the cards for another game and is looking expectantly at her friend. “Your turn to choose!” Joe thinks he remembers her saying the exact same thing when they were about 15, sitting in the exact same spot on the floor, playing the exact same board game. Her reddish-blonde hair had been pulled into a side braid as she usually wore it at the time, as opposed to the natural perfect curl her hair comes to at her shoulder blades now, but her ice blue eyes were as sharp and sparkling as ever. It’s been a long time since Joe has looked at Nancy. Like, looked at her in the way he did when they first met. In fact, up until this moment he thought that her freckles had just disappeared as she got older, but underneath the dancing shadows on her face he can still see a light dusting of them going across her nose; subtle, but cute, and only noticeable if you’re really looking. ...Oh. Joe swallows. At last he picks up the leftmost deck of starter cards and fans it out in his hand, examining the assortment in front of him; Peacock, revolver, wrench, conservatory, billiard room. His heart pounds a little heavier than usual as he marks them each off his list. Anxiety isn’t something Joe usually struggles with, but he thinks this is what it feels like. It’s okay, though, Joe reasons with himself, This is just a weird flash of… whatever. It’ll pass and all will go back to normal. “Alright. You can go first this time.” when Nancy looks up from her notepad, she must take notice of the thoughtful look on Joe’s face. She frowns a bit, her brows furrowing in that concerned, inquisitive way they do. “Hey, are you okay?” Joe clears his throat. Back to normal. “Yeah, sorry! Was thinking about… something totally unrelated. I’m good. Lets go.” With that he flashes her a trademark Joe Hardy smile, picks up the dice, and does not give it another thought.

[fadingcoast]

Death Of The Lie  ||  Chapter 17: Asgard

Summary: Odin and his daughter Hela are the perfect conquerors of the universe. The nine realms fall one after the other into their clutch. After Odin takes a second wife and has a son with her, he doesn’t need Hela anymore. Hela abandons her father and ends up marrying Laufey, a sworn enemy of the Aesir people. Not long after, she becomes pregnant with Laufey’s child. Odin cannot let that son be born, but against all odds, the boy survives. Odin is forced to bring him back to Asgard to be raised as his own until he could make further use of him. The half-Jotun-half-Aesir boy grows up to look and act a lot like his mother, which disturbs Odin, and makes him treat the boy horribly. Odin’s lies are deep and complex, but one day the boy will find out the truth about everything he is.

PAIRING: None RATING: Teen

MASTERLIST

Feedback is always appreciated and reblogs are encouraged!!

Chapter 17: Asgard

Dearest Sigyn:

It is with great woe that I inform you that I have cut my hair. I imagine Gwyn will not be pleased with this, but I could never care for it as she did. And believe me, I tried. If I know you at all, right now you’re rolling your eyes wondering if my father had anything to do with my decision. I believe you know the answer to that, as he has been pestering me from day one to do this. I didn’t want to give in just yet, but even with the help of my magic, all I made of it was a mess. In this weather, though, it's probably for the best. It was getting a bit hot to maintain.

I have been in Asgard for so little time, but it already feels like decades. I want nothing more than to go back to Alfheim. To see you, to immerse in the Alfar world again. I miss the rivers, the lakes, the mountains… I imagine the berry fields must be ready for harvesting. It makes me sad not to be there to taste the first fruits. The castle is too quiet at night without a river nearby and at times I find it difficult to sleep. I had to conjure a fake one in my balcony just to get some rest.

Thor has become nearly unbearable in my absence. I had noticed his mannerisms becoming closer to Odin’s in the past, but without any opposing influence my brother has gone full brute. He talks often of the realms he wishes to keep under tighter control once he is king. Mother ensures that his rants don't go too far, but he treats her word more as a suggestion than wisdom. I fear he may one day become a victim of his own hubris, and the kingdom with him. I've not a clue what Lady Sif still sees in him but they are unbearably inseparable.

The news of our engagement is still quiet, as mother has not tested the waters of my father's approval yet. Odin appears to be somewhat relieved to have me back where he can see me and has kept his scorn to a reasonable level so long as I keep my nose clean. I suspect if he is not told soon he will either marry me off to a daughter of some random Aesir nobility and have us live in the castle or have me groomed to be the King's right hand when Thor takes the throne. It is with no exaggeration that I admit I would rather fling myself off the rainbow bridge than to do either, so I think I will have to tell him before long.

I hope to hear from you soon, as I know you are finishing up your last term at the Sanctum and I know you're terribly busy.

-L

.-

Dear Loki:

I don't have to tell you how beautiful the land looks right now, how thick the air is with the sweet fragrance of ripened fruits and honeysuckle. This land is in your blood, and you would sooner forget to breathe than to not think about it. I hardly get to see it these days but I like to go to your old room and sit in the bay window to study. At times I will fall asleep there and I will awake with a start, thinking it's you tapping on my shoulder, but it's Gwyn. Soon I will take my final exams, just a few years out. I don't know how you did it.

You don’t want to know what Gwyn’s reaction was when I broke the news about your hair to her. You’d think the world was ending. Honestly, as good as it looked, I’m surprised you didn’t do it sooner, it must have been so heavy.

I hope the selection of fruits and ale I sent with this letter are to your liking, and that they didn’t end up on your head. I think I will need a sketch or drawing of your room to get familiar with it and pinpoint my teleporting spells, as I am not as familiar with it as you are with my chambers. This will make our exchanges happen a lot faster and no one else can read what we write. It will also help me practice my teleportation techniques.

Maybe one day before long I can visit Asgard, with the King and Queen's permission, of course, after our engagement is known.

-S

.-

The steady exchange of letters Loki kept with Sigyn was full of funny anecdotes and jokes, and it kept him from losing his mind most days. Lucky for both of them, they had perfected a tracking system so they could teleport letters, portraits and presents back and forth, bypassing the regular system. It helped time pass and it kept Loki’s sense of humor intact on days where all he wanted was to escape royal life.

It wasn’t odd for Loki to wake up to a room full of blackberry infused ale, or daffodils in blossom, and some other seasonal foods. It was quite the feat to explain to Frigga why he had so many turnips in his room before he sent them all to the kitchens. But the Queen knew to keep his secret and would help her son ensure gifts from Sigyn ended up where they needed to go, though Loki did prefer to keep the ale for himself.

The letters were also full of less pleasant things. Loki’s nightmares had made a comeback, and they were getting worse. Visions of him in an icy tomb, surrounded by bright blue cold light, where the most frequent. Other times he would be surrounded by darkness, no wind, no sound, lifeless. Sometimes he could even swear there was something calling to him in the dark, but he would jolt awake, covered in frost, before he could figure it out. He spent most of his free time in the library, trying to find an explanation, but most of what he found presented more questions than answers and made no sense.

Loki could not tell this to anyone. Thor wouldn’t care, Frigga wouldn’t be able to help him and Odin would probably berate him for not controlling his powers. As if I could control them while asleep. Sigyn was the only person who he knew could trust with this, and though she was too far away to really help him, she still sent him medicinal herbs, sleeping potions (dreamless sleep was better than no sleep, after all) and comfort food he would not find in Asgard. In addition, she would also send copies of manuscripts she thought could help him.

During the day, Loki fell into a routine, keeping his mind busy to keep out of his own head and fill the endless hours of the day. He was obliged to attend certain diplomatic meetings but only as an observer and only to learn more about running the kingdom. Forced to wear his ceremonial uniform - horns and all - Loki loathed them, but was still far more observant of visiting ambassadors than he let on. It was him who picked up on it each time one would try to lie or trick the Allfather, and after some time Odin wanted to use his skill at every meeting. It was a thankless job, but Loki knew he had to make himself indispensable to gain the Allfather’s trust, so he performed his duty with a sort of reluctant sense of responsibility. For the first time in almost his entire life, Odin stopped insulting him at every opportunity, and replaced his mistrust with indifference. Loki was no longer followed by Odin’s blasted ravens, or by the Einherjar, everywhere he went.

Even while being used, Loki found a measure of freedom in Asgard at last.

.-

My Queen:

It’s been decades and I still can’t get used to being here.

I’ve been made very aware in more than one occasion that this is a world built for warriors, and I am not one of them. Thor has tried to include me in his tiny clique, but he insists on mocking my powers, unless he can make use of them.

“Some do battle, while others do tricks,” he says - but he’s perfectly happy with my “tricks” saving him, and then taking all the credit when an incursion goes well. In any case, is not like Odin would congratulate me, as he dislikes me using my magic when I‘m supposed to be using weapons and considers sorcery to be the cheater’s way. Nothing ever satisfies his impossible standards.

I must admit that I’ve used magic for more than saving my brother’s behind, though.

Fandral has gotten no more amenable, and wastes no opportunity to make crude remarks about my magic and my shapeshifting. This of course only happens whenever Thor isn’t around, the spineless worm. But I finally got my revenge.

In a recent trip, I suggested I used my female form, as the ruler of said realm was a fierce woman who wanted nothing to do with negotiations as long as Odin or Thor were conducting them. I thought, very accurately, she would be more lenient if a woman was the representative. To everyone’s surprise, except mine, it worked, and now interrealm relations are advancing.

That evening, in the revels of it, Fandral once again tried to make advances on me. This time, I was prepared. I had been working on a little something for some time, and it was the perfect opportunity to lace his drink with a very special concoction.

He spent the next two full days as a pig! His tiny brain managed to keep him safe from the slaughterhouse. Once the effect wore off, he tried to blame me for it, but he had no proof. Besides, it’s not the first time he has gone missing for a couple of days. Most believe his excuses just got out of hand.

I must say, potion making isn’t fun and it will probably never be my strong point, but the results are very satisfactory. Hopefully the goateed swine has learned at least a small lesson about underestimating me.

I believe the time has almost come for my father to be informed of our engagement, though if and when it happens it won’t likely be made public knowledge until after Thor’s coronation, which is at least another half century or more away. But it will stop Odin from discussing my possible marital prospects involving Aesir nobility for the foreseeable future. I will tell you as soon as I am able to do it.

-L

PS: Please, tell Gwyn her blackberry pie was delicious, and that without her here to tell me not to eat it in one sitting, I ate it in one sitting.

.-

My King:

Gwyn is both very pleased and very cross with your message. I could still hear her muttering about your sweet tooth and lack of self control well into dinner time.

I kind of want to feel sorry for Fandral, or at least tell you to make productive use of what you’ve learned. But I’m not going to, cause I am imagining a pig with a blond goatee, and I wish you could have kept some register of it.

As for our engagement, I have no better news than you.

My cousin, Princess Frikka of Vanaheim, has announced her betrothal and upcoming wedding. Every and all announcements will be on hold until after she weds and the new future king is presented. Her fiancé comes from one of the oldest houses on the realm and has been around the royal family probably since he was born. Surprisingly enough, they chose each other, which leads me to believe he must have some integrity and intelligence in him. Frikka is smart and strong willed, she wouldn’t suffer a fool.

I am guessing that for a ceremony of this magnitude and significance, Asgard will be sending Thor in Odin’s behalf. If you want me to, I can brew something to turn him into a goat.

-S

.-

Sigyn:

In an unsuspected turn of events, my father has decided I’m the one to represent Asgard in Princess Frikka’s upcoming wedding. Thor, as usual, wants nothing to do with diplomatic visits or ceremonial commitments, and my father is once again incapable of putting his foot down with him.

I do regret that you will miss the chance to turn Thor into a goat. But there’s always more ceremonies and weddings, including our own, where you can try that out.

I look forward to see you in Vanaheim next fortnight. The prospect of you being there and seeing you again is the only thing that will keep me sane.

-L

.-

The week leading to the event, Loki found himself excited by the thought of reuniting with Sigyn, and wanted to do something special for her. For this, he enlisted his mother’s help, as he had no clue of where to get the gift he had in mind.

Loki had discussed their unofficial engagement with his mother several times in length, and while he knew the Queen had indeed informed Odin, it was rather odd that the Allfather hadn’t talked to him about it in person.

Loki wanted to question this decision, maybe even talk to his father himself. Odin had always been very adamant in controlling everything in his life. Why all of a sudden did he seem to not care about it? Or maybe he was looking for a reason to forbid Loki from marrying Sigyn, thus stopping him from leaving Asgard for good? Loki wouldn’t put it past Odin to do such a thing. It wasn’t until much later that the reason behind Odin’s silence became clearer.

As much as they tried to hide it, Odin’s dwindling health was a well-known secret. The whispers and rumors had not gone unnoticed by Loki. This only meant the palace would be making arrangements sooner than planned to proclaim Thor as King. Loki couldn’t help but feel bitter about it: as usual, he was being pushed aside for his brother to shine.

Yet, he had no time to dwell on it. Diplomatic trips weren’t something Asgard took lightly, least of all now, when such an important ceremony was involved. Loki had to get a proper outfit, take time to study and relearn some of Vanaheim ceremonial etiquette, and find Sigyn her gift.

When the day came, Loki found himself rather excited by the prospect of spending a few days away from Asgard. He told himself the butterflies in his stomach were from the responsibility invested on him to represent Asgard and the Nine Realms. They had nothing to do with seeing Sigyn again, of course not. Still, there was a little skip in his step when he and Frigga made way to the Bifrost chamber.

As in all the realms, Vanaheim had a special landing site for the Bifrost. It was very similar to the Alfheim one, except the stones that made the circle were blue. A wide stone road led out to the capitol, while other smaller dirt pathways led out to several shrines. Loki knew these were teleporting spots, portals that connected Vanaheim to other realms besides Asgard. Loki made way to the white Alfheim shrine to wait for Sigyn. His fingers traced the white stone, covered in familiar leaf patterns, and smiled to himself. His nostalgia was interrupted by a bright silver flash coming from the inside of the shrine.

Loki straightened himself and stood by the door and waited for Sigyn to come out. And what a vision she was. Her linen and silk dress was several shades of green, with golden leaves embroidered on the fabric that shimmered in the midday sun, making it look as if the light was going through the foliage of a tree. The golden and white sash on her waist was modeled after branches, and matched the design of the tiara on her head. Blue, red and yellow jewels embedded in the metal resembled little flowers.

Rendered temporarily speechless, Loki shook his head. In an attempt to get rid of the awkward atmosphere, he bowed theatrically, taking Sigyn’s hand and kissing it.

“Your majesty.” Loki chuckled.

“Your highness.” Sigyn bowed as well, trying to stifle a laugh. “What’s with the antlers?”

“Har-har,” Loki said, unamused. “Ceremonial regalia. It’s supposed to be intimidating, I think. I plan to get rid of it as soon as I’m allowed.” Sigyn’s face was red, and her lips pressed in a tight line as she tried not to giggle. “Laugh now, get it out of your system unless you want to enter the Realm looking like a strawberry,” he teased, rolling his eyes.

“I’m sorry!!” She broke down in hysterics, holding Loki’s arm to steady herself. “I’m sorry…” Finally she took a deep breath. “I’m fine now.” Loki stared blankly at her, and Sigyn broke down laughing again, unsuccessfully apologizing.

Loki shook his head a took a deep breath, smiling despite of himself while he waited for Sigyn to stop. She had tears in her eyes when the fit finally subsided.

“Okay, I am fine now. We can go.” Sigyn smiled at him.

He smiled back offering his arm for her to grab it. “You look beautiful.”

Loki and Sigyn were led into a carriage that transported them to the castle. Conversation was light and amenable, and Loki felt like he was floating on air sitting next to Sigyn again, becoming aware every few minutes that she had grown in his absence and blushing at this observation. Sigyn gently placed her hand over his as they approached the castle, openly gaping at the sight of the carved crystal palace.

Clearly Asgard doesn’t have the monopoly on gaudy castles, Loki mused, both amused and impressed at the Vanir capitol. The entire entryway was a giant blue crystal that thrust toward the sky like a beacon, its edges perfect and straight. At the tip of the crystal was a smaller but no less impressive crystal that Loki assumed was a massive diamond, by the way it refracted the natural sunlight into sparkling rainbows everywhere the light touched. Even the stone pathway leading to the castle glittered with every shift of the light.

“Look at it,” Sigyn breathed, her free hand resting on her chest in awe. “I haven’t been here since I was a child and the beauty of the castle still arrests me.”

The carriage stopped in front of the castle door and a servant assisted both of them out onto the front steps, bowing low and gesturing widely toward the open door to invite them in. Loki offered his arm to Sigyn and she gracefully placed her hand on his forearm, giving it a reassuring stroke with her thumb.

Already the front part of the castle was full to capacity with guests from other realms. Loki recognized a few members of nobility from Alfheim and Asgard and cringed inwardly. He was expected to play the part of the royal representative but he wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. Politely greeting people along the way as they bowed their heads to him, Loki led Sigyn through the throng and past the crystal door frame and heavy white amethyst doors leading into the throne room.

Loki had learned in his studies that Asgard was unique in its showcasing of ceremonial events, so he knew that no one would see the newlyweds until after their vows, since the Vanir preferred privacy for their weddings. The party would take place later. There were only a few people in the throne room aside from himself and Sigyn, and he could hear muffled voices in an adjoining room, where he assumed the happy couple were tying the knot right then.

The throne room itself was just as grand as the rest of the castle they had seen so far, nearly every surface all gleaming crystal and perfect edges. It was almost disorienting to the eye, the stark contrast between the sharp lines of the room and the organic curves of the people in it. The ceiling sloped up into a point and the blue crystal caused the room to be bathed in blue light that made one feel as though the room was underwater. Perched atop a white crystal dais, the throne itself was carved from several slabs of gold-laced white quartz. It was the only cushioned surface in the room, as the King likely spent a fair amount of time sitting on it. While beautiful, it was a kind of cold beauty that Loki found rather abrasive compared to the lush and green lands he had grown up in.  

Sigyn’s hand squeezed Loki’s arm and he turned to see her practically jumping up and down with excitement after seeing someone. She looked up at Loki with a smile before bounding off to greet a woman Loki recognized as her mother’s sister. He had met her a few times during his stay in Alfheim and knew she and Sigyn had a close bond.

Excited chatter began to filter from the ceremonial chambers and Loki supposed it was nearly time for the couple to make their entrance. As if on cue, more and more guests came from the foyer to mingle, and Loki suddenly felt as though the air was getting thicker by the second. Whether it was the dense group of people, or the flickering blue light that filled the room as the sun raised higher in the sky and which reminded him of his dreams, he could feel a chill brewing in his chest and he had to get out of there quickly before he made a scene.

As subtly as he could, Loki slipped through the crowd as the new Vanir Prince and Princess emerged amidst loud cheering from the ceremonial chambers, followed by the King and Queen and a High Priestess. His fingertips tingled with cold and he gasped for breath when he finally found a second door that led out to a balcony overlooking the castle gardens. Quietly he approached the railing and closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of the river below. Surely no one would notice him gone, even with the conspicuous absence of the ridiculous horns he had to wear.

Loki leaned on the railing and willed his breathing to slow and tried to ignore the clamor of voices insides. His eyes flew open in surprise when he felt a hand grasping his. Standing there patiently, her hair and skirt blowing gently in the breeze, was Sigyn, her soft brown eyes full of concern. She stroked his hand with her thumb and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you okay?” Sigyn meant it sincerely, and took his other hand in hers. “Want me to go back in with you?”

Loki considered this for a moment, and shook his head. “Not yet,” he murmured. “Just stay here with me.”

Sigyn returned his smile and leaned against his shoulder, still holding his hands. It felt like the most natural thing in the world, and Loki could sense his tension evaporating more as he moved his hands to pull her closer. Warmed by the sun, Sigyn’s hair smelled like roses, and the scent reminded him of all the time they spent together in Alfheim, the bond they shared, and the future he hoped to share with her.

“I nearly forgot,” Loki mumbled, freeing one hand to dig in his leather pockets. “I have something for you.” Finally he found it, and pulled it out for Sigyn to see. A quiet gasp was all Sigyn could muster when she saw the thin but elegant gold ring, the design made of intricate knots interwoven with branches and leaves.

“I promised you a real engagement ring, remember?”

Sigyn nodded wordlessly, her mouth still hanging open, eyes misting over. She held up her left hand and Loki was touched to see the original ring he had given her, a gold band from one of his braids that was covered in scuffs and scratches. He replaced it with the new ring, which fit perfectly and would last longer, and Sigyn grinned wide and stood up on her toes to press her lips to his. The sudden kiss surprised Loki but he held her like that for a few extra seconds before she took a step back to admire the ring.

Her smile vanished, however, when she looked past Loki toward the door.

“Erik.”

<< Chapter 16  –  Chapter 18 >>

.-

@igotloki @xalgaliareptx  @christy-winchester @silverhart93 @claiming-loyalty-to-loki @honeybournehippy @unseelie1963 @mischievousbellerina @manager-of-mischief @angryowlet @thelittlestlittlecutiepie 

[anchoredtether]

LOTOR AND THE ALTEANS: A SEASON SIX META

[YARRR THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD!!! YE HAVE BEEN WARNED]

I WISH NETFLIX WOULD LET ME TAKE SCREENSHOTS!!! So I apologize for the lousy quality because all my pictures I had to either find elsewhere or take with my phone. 

Basically I think there’s a lot more to Lotor’s story, and we may find that everything is different than what we are lead to believe. If interested, delve into the madness below the cut. (there’s also a tl;dr at the end)

Let’s start at the beginning - Krolia’s mission.

Kolivan: This base was, until recently, run by a Galra commander named Ranveig, who was developing a super weapon of some sort. We’re not sure of the weapon’s specs, but we do know that it is incredibly powerful. 

Keith: How did we learn all this?

Kolivan: We have a spy in Ranveig’s camp who’s managed to acquire high-level security clearance. Since Ranveig’s departure, it’s possible she assumed control of the base, but we can’t be sure.

Keith: Why not?

Kolivan: We’re not the only ones who know of the weapon. Two Galra factions, led by Commanders Trugg and Ladnok, are at war over the territory. Since their fighting began, all communication has been cut off. We need you to infiltrate the base, extract our spy, and destroy Ranveig’s weapon.

Krolia explains further:

Keith: What is the weapon exactly?

Krolia: Warlord Ranveig intercepted an undocumented shipment of quintessence traveling through his territory. He took it for his own and began experimenting with it. It’s more powerful than any quintessence we’ve received from the empire, and it has some very unexpected effects.

Krolia: We’re going after the enriched quintessence that created Ranveig’s super weapon. I was with Ranveig when an unmarked cargo ship passed into his region. When we checked it out there was no crew aboard. The ship had been nearly torn to pieces, but inside, a single vat of quintessence remained. It was unlike any other quintessence we’ve seen. 

I’m guessing this was a ship of Alteans who were trying to escape or one of Lotor’s crews that helped with the Altean project (there were other Galra present, at least in Romelle’s recount). I believe the void tore the ship apart, and probably destroyed whoever was on board due to the stretching of space time. This ship could have been from thousands of years ago, or just from a week ago when Krolia discovered it. It’s impossible to tell.

The Altean colony is sketch from the get-go. It’s a synthetic environment (terribly similar looking to Allura’s simulation room where she would speak with her father - who was not real, it was a projection of his memories) within a dusty, abandoned-looking station. If Lotor came to this colony frequently, wouldn’t the station be in better shape? Wouldn’t he have some Galra soldiers stationed there? In Romelle’s flashbacks it shows other Galra assisting Lotor in moving Alteans to the other colony, so we know he didn’t work alone.

Keith also immediately says “What is this place??” When they first enter. 

They walk for a little ways (or maybe a good distance? It’s hard to tell) when Keith stops and says he hears something, and it’s Romelle humming. A convenient way to draw them towards her since she wasn’t sitting right next to the door.

The first we see of Romelle she’s cleaning clothes in the river - something that seems very routine and normal in a real environment. But if this is a synthetic environment like it appears to be, Romelle being there is a major red herring. The ONE Altean who doubted Lotor and the ONE Altean who knew the truth (part of the truth?) happened to be the ONE and ONLY Altean that Keith and Krolia see? 

Either the writers wanted to get to the point and keep the story concise, or Romelle is a conveniently placed trap.

Also convenient that NO ONE was around the hangar where they took the Altean pod? And again, no one was on the moon colony either. Keith and Krolia make moves to stealthily enter as if they’re expecting guards or alarms or something, but it seems abandoned.

Lance: Once they reach the quintessence field, then what? The last time anyone got in there, it turned Zarkon evil.

Shiro: Zarkon fell prey to his own evil instincts. The quintesence field didn’t create them, it revealed them. 

This is important to remember that the first time Lotor went into the quintessence field he didn’t turn evil. He seemed like the normal Lotor we know both when he was in the field and when he returned with Allura. Lotor didn’t snap until his second time in the quintessence field AFTER everyone called him a monster and wouldn’t even pause for one second to hear his side of the story. 

In fact, Allura even mentions how quintessence can’t fall into the wrong hands for evil intentions, and Lotor agrees with her.

Lotor: Readings are beyond anything I could’ve imagined. What we do here today will change the course of the universe forever.

Allura: In the hands of the wrong person, this power could easily corrupt.

Lotor: Together, we’ll see that it never does, and continue the work your father started so long ago.

If the quintessence field is supposed to reveal one’s evil intentions, all it did was reveal Lotor’s good intentions. He also brings this back to Altean Alchemy (mentioning Alfor), which I’ll talk about in a bit.

Let’s hear Romelle’s side of the story:

I come from a planet where there are thousands of Alteans. We have lived there since the war with Zarkon began. ... Every Altean child knows the story of how Lotor saved us from destruction. When Zarkon attacked, many were off-planet on trading expeditions. When news spread about the destruction of our home, those of us who remained went into hiding for deca-phoebs. But Lotor, with his deep knowledge of Altean culture, managed to track some of them down. ... To keep the Alteans secure, Lotor hid them on a remote planet beyond the quantum abyss. ... And over time, the Alteans came to worship Lotor as their savior. Generations ago, in an effort to increase our odds of survival, Lotor announced that he was creating another colony far from our own. But in order to do so, he needed to assess which Alteans were viable candidates to survive the journey. One by one, every Altean in the colony was given a series of tests. Those who were deemed fit for the journey were loaded onto a cargo ship and taken to the second colony. It was considered the highest honor. Any communication between the colonies was strictly prohibited for fear it would compromise the other’s location. This was the world I was born into, one of unquestioning devotion to a supposed messiah. My brother Bandor was always faithful, but I had questions. ... Eventually, Bandor grew old enough to be assessed for the journey to the other colony, and he was selected to leave mmediately. ... My brother was dead. I knew the truth, or at least part of it. But I also knew that no one would believe me without proof.

Let’s hear Bandor’s side of the story:

Bandor: Romelle, you were right. Lotor... the other colony... it’s all a lie...

The only thing we can rule out for Bandor’s statement is that the Alteans on the second colony weren’t there/doing things as Lotor explained. What exactly happened with the colony is still a mystery.

Let’s hear Lotor’s side of the story:

Romelle: Lotor is a monster and has been harvesting Altean quintessence for generations!

Allura: An Altean!

Romelle: [Lotor] killed my brother and thousands of others!

Pidge: Lotor has been lying to us the whole time. He’s a murderer, just like his father!

Lotor: You know nothing about what you speak.

Allura: What are they talking about?

Lotor: Allura, listen to me. I’ve dedicated my life to preserving Altean culture. Now that we have unlocked the quintessence field, all of your people, who would have been hunted down long ago had it not been for my intervention, can live in peace. Were some lives lost in the process? Yes. But they were martyrs to a noble cause. I sacrificed a few to preserve the future for millions. Allura, do not let this ruin everything we’ve worked for. Think of what we experienced in the quintessence field.

Lotor doesn’t deny Romelle’s accusations. He admits that lives were lost, but he emphasizes that it was for preserving Altean culture, and preserving the future for millions. It’s also interesting that he says “I sacrificed a few” as opposed to “a few Alteans died” as a result of failed experimentation or whatever. I think if you were trying to preserve a species and ran tests on them and a few died from random variables, I don’t think you would use the word sacrifice.

When Lotor first sees Romelle, it’s a strange look:

He looks more confused than he does shocked. Even a tad fearful. Keith and Krolia didn’t see any other Alteans besides Romelle. The place where they found her looked abandoned, the inside world looked like a simulation. There might not be any living Alteans left, only the ones left in the cryo-tubes that started to resemble Honerva. If this is the case, Lotor would be wondering who the heck Romelle is supposed to be.

Apparently in the 80s version, Haggar disguised herself as Romelle:

And Romelle may not be like Kuron, a puppet so to speak. She could simply be an Altean from this colony as she so claims, but Haggar could have given her false memories the way she did with clone Shiro. Or she might have been preserved via cryotube from back when there WERE Alteans living in the colony, and was just woken up now that the only Alteans left are the ones on the moon in their weakened near-dead state. She could be telling the complete truth as she knows it, but from what we’ve seen I would say there are no Alteans living at the colony. (I’ll address this more further down)

Also interesting that IMMEDIATELY after Romelle confronts Lotor, there is an alert that his generals (who are now working for Haggar) are attacking and then Shiro gets taken over by none other than Haggar.

Again, either the writers wanted to keep the story concise, or somehow Romelle was used to time the attack perfectly.

Honerva: You’ve continued the work I started all that time ago and have indeed seen it to heights I could have only imagined.

Is she referring to his search for knowledge on quintessence, or did she have something to do with the Altean colony as well? This statement is so vague that it opens many possibilities regarding Honerva’s involvement. The conversation that continues is also interesting:

Lotor: My mother ceased to exist when Honerva drew her last breath. Do not believe for a moment that I would ever accept you as kin. You are an abomination. A twisted perversion of what was once so pure and beautiful. The end is near, witch. I know you can sense it. If you beg for your life now, maybe I will take pity on you when the time comes.

Is Lotor being poetic, or did Honerva actually die? What if she was in the same ill-state as Bandor and all the other Alteans and died, and became the “witch” as she is called - and Lotor started or picked up the project of the Altean colony as a way to figure out why Honerva became the way she is? Maybe even as a way to figure out how to return her back to being Altean?

Allura: Then you’re... half Altean?

Lotor: Yes. It was something the Galra considered a weakness, but I consider it a strength. The union between Zarkon and Honerva sparked a technological revolution within the empire. Even back then, Altean culture was remarkably advanced. The kinds of experiments she was conducting she advanced science by eons. 

Allura: How did Haggar get her hands on this?

Lotor: She was constantly seeking Altean magical knowledge that she could pervert for her own power. There must have been things that she was unable to access.

I think it’s safe to say that it’s possible Honerva started the Altean colony. Perhaps Lotor was trying to right her wrongs. Allura even asks how she got her hands on scientific knowledge, and I think it may be more than simply she was once Altean 10k years ago. She probably learned more from the Altean colony.

I think the Altean colony somehow ties back to Honerva, in one shape or another. Whether she started it or Lotor started it because of what happened to her. I think we’re going to learn more about her and how she ties into all of this, since they focused greatly on her trip to Oriande and how she’s reverting back to her Altean form (I don’t think they would have focused on this unless it was important - course it could just be symbolic that Honerva is gaining more power).

I think this all ties back to Altean Alchemy. 

Lotor: I know you have the power within.

Allura: What if I don’t? ... Coran doesn’t have it, Honerva didn’t have it... The truth is, I may not have his abilities either. 

Lotor: You must. There must be a way to carry on the tradition of Altean alchemy.

Allura: That tradition died along with my planet 10,000 years ago. I’ll never be the alchemist my father was.

Why is Lotor so desperate to have Altean Alchemy? I think it ties into the Altean colony, whether he needs the alchemy to save the Alteans or if he needs the alchemy to further his goal, whatever it may be. At the moment it seems Allura is the only hope for there being Altean Alchemy. 

Back to the quintessence Krolia discovered.

What if the quintessence Krolia describes as “more powerful than any quintessence we’ve received from the empire [with] some very unexpected effects” is somehow a form of Altean Alchemy? Sounds kind of like Voltron when Alfor created it - Voltron was more powerful than anything in the universe, and it had the unexpected side effects of the Lions each having their own life force of sorts. 

What if Lotor figured out how to turn Altean Alchemy into pure quintessence?

He picked out Alteans on the colony based on “certain requirements” - I’m betting it was based on whether the individual had the potential for alchemy. As we’ve seen with Allura and Coran, some Alteans have it while others don’t. Whatever Lotor did with the second colony is still uncertain, but whatever it involved it caused them to have this “Altean sickness” (what I shall call the near-dead state with the elongated markings). I think all the Alteans on the moon colony are still alive, however, merely being preserved.

Romelle is a victim.

I suspect that she doesn’t have the whole story but everything she knows - albeit limited - is truth. I think Honerva is using her to further her agenda. Honerva could have even sought Romelle out, seeing that she had doubts about Lotor and thus would be the perfect one to turn Voltron against Lotor.

I’m speculating that Romelle is the last living Altean from the colony (without the Altean sickness) and that she either:

Was kept in cryosleep and recently woken and placed in the colony for Keith and Krolia to find (Honerva could have tabs on Krolia because she was technically working in the empire).

Is a clone of the original Romelle.

Knowing that Honerva was the one who started project Kuron in the first place, it’s not too much of a stretch to say she cloned Romelle as well.

Considering this was a thing that Voltron deleted shortly after, it may be a hint towards this theory. The binary translated to “Kuron.” Some speculated that this might mean that clone Shiro might come back, or that Lotor might even be cloned (apparently he was in the original), but I think it might relate to Romelle.

TL;DR

In summation, I think that:

The Altean colony is dead (possibly has been for many years now), save for the ones preserved on the moon colony.

There is more to Lotor’s story.

Honerva is tied to all of this.

The quintessence has something to do with Altean alchemy, and both have ties to both Lotor and Honerva’s goals.

Romelle is not a spy, but a victim of Honerva (and possibly a clone).

[divine-valley]

Voices of the Damned

(Hey this is just some random thing with an OC I made a looong time ago and was weirdly inspired. I like Batman a lot but not sure I’ll make anything out of this or continue it.)

“Whelp…it’s down there. Think I’ll be able to get it.”

“It? It’s not an it! It’s my body yeah can’t just call me it!”

“Seems like a it situation. How come it hasn’t floated up yet?”

“I’m wedged between something, look you helping me or not?!”

Looking unfazed at the spirit Ayumu gave a small shrug as he looked at the murky water of the channel. Wouldn’t be his first dip in there but he wasn’t up for another ear infection. The body of a petty low-level gangster, usually he wouldn’t be associating with his type but Jimbo here wasn’t easing up on the annoyance it was better to just get this over with. Peeling off his shirt first and started pulling at his sneakers when there was a shout.

“What are you doing?!”

“Go away Martha, I’m working.” Not bothering to even look in her direction he just wanted this night to end.

Here she was again the thorn in his side, keeping a blank expression he didn’t flinch when Martha appeared only inches from his face. Looking distraught as always she gestured to the river and his discarded clothing.

“You are not going in there to-to fish out a corpse.”

“It’s honestly not the first time I’ve done this, this would be like my 7th time.”

She cringed at that information but again he didn’t react, the fear over dead bodies had been lost on him long ago. “Look, Martha, I have class in the morning and if I have to suffer another night of Jimbo here wailing in my ear I might lose it.”

Martha’s gaze fell upon the gangster who looked put off by her sudden appearance. Turning back to him Martha gave him a pleading look her cold hands reaching out for his own but he was quick to move them away. “Why not use your cellular phone? You can tell the police and tell them where the body is.”

“My cellular phone can be tracked, Martha.” He replied keeping his tone neutral but considered the idea of calling. Pulling his clothes back on he walked down several blocks, the streets empty this time of night when he finally found a payphone. Depositing a few quarters he dialed 911 and squeezed his nose. “Yeeees hello? There’s a dead body in the canal by Greenridge Street.” He spoke in a nasally voice. “James Hicks he was shot in the head by a man named Harold Taylor. Kay bye.” Hanging up he started wiping his prints off and began walking home.

“Woah, woah! That it?! That’s how you’re helpin me?” Jimbo squawked as he flew after Ayumu who nodded his head, the teen putting on his headphones and started scrolling through his phone’s music.

“Yeah, your death will be all over the news, Taylor will be apprehended he kept the murder weapon and the bullet is in your brain still. It’s solved, maybe even Batman will show up.” He couldn’t help but glance in Martha’s direction. “I helped you so leave me alone now.”

Jimbo doesn’t reply, he doesn’t even utter a thank you, he vanished into the night probably back to where his body was to see the cops arrive for it. Staring at the empty spot for a moment Ayumu continued on his way still deciding on his music choice while Martha hovered behind him.

“Where’s Tommy?”

“With Bruce…”

“Hm, so you came to bother me. No rousing speech of morality from the good doctor tonight.”

“I came because Ray told me you were going to dive for bodies! Ayumu you are a 15-year old boy wandering around in the dead of night! Something can happen to you! What if someone saw or you were approached by someone dangerous.”

Finally looking up from the glow of his screen the light enhanced the bags under his eyes his mouth was a thin line now. “I’m not scared of the living Martha. I’ve been doing this long before you ever came into the picture. Don’t mother me.”

“Ayumu..."

“Go back to Bruce, I’m tired, I have to be up in four hours. Goodnight.”

Turning his back to her, he made his selection and increased it to full volume as he walked through the streets ignoring the figures that passed him by. Climbing the fire escape to his room he made sure to be quiet unsure if his guardians were still awake or in a drunken stupor. Closing the window and locking it he sighed heavily dropping onto the bed closing his eyes.

“You told her where I was going.” He mumbled keeping them shut even as a figure towered over him with a snicker.

“I didn’t want to have to deal with her nagging sorry. So how’d it look? Bloated up and soggy?”

“Didn’t see it this time, called the cops.”

Ray made a tutting noise, “You’re getting lazy. Well, that bozo is out of the way now. Get some z's. I’ll keep them all away for the night.” A freezing cold hand runs through his hair and Ayumu can feel his body finally start to relax.

“Thanks, Ray…” He whispered before he drifted off to sleep making sure his music would play for the rest of the night.

He needed something to drown out the voices of the damned.

[ciathyzareposts]

Ragnarok: Won! (with Summary and Rating)

I’d say that’s better than getting membership in a guild.

          Ragnarok

United States

Norsehelm Productions (developer and publisher); distributed in Europe as Valhalla by Optyk

Released 1992 for DOS

Date Started: 28 January 2020

Date Ended: 26 February 2020

Total Hours: 23

Difficulty: Moderate-Hard (3.5/5)

Final Rating: (To come later)

Ranking at Time of Posting: (To come later)         

Summary:

Ragnarok is an excellent freeware game with a roguelike base. Veterans of Rogue or NetHack will soon become familiar with the partly-randomized game maps and the game’s 47 keyboard commands such as (A)ttack, (i)nventory, (q)uaff a potion, and (Q)uit and save, but they will also appreciate the original and varied things that the developers did with potions, scrolls, wands, and other inventory items, as well as the interface upgrades. The story is also richer here than in most roguelikes, requiring the player to solve a series of quests that will turn things in the gods’ favor at Ragnarok. Character development, inventory, monsters, and combat tactics are particularly strong, but as with most roguelikes, there isn’t much “role-playing.” The game allows saving every 200 turns, which takes the edge of the permadeath of other roguelikes but still requires the player to act judiciously.

*****

What a ride. I was up late with this one Wednesday night, and even though I had to play through the endgame a couple of times, I never got bored with it. Ragnarok is one of the best games of 1992 and my blog in general. A lack of any real “role-playing,” including NPCs, will prevent it from reaching the absolute top spot, but it’s excellent for what it does.             

The game warns me to stop wasting time.

           Late in my last session, Heimdall had warned that Ragnarok was at hand. Relying on one commenter’s statement that there was no time limit, I ignored Heimdall and kept exploring around the River Vid, which wraps around the base of the world. As I was screwing around, a comment happened to come through from Thomas Boyd that there is, in fact, a time limit. Right about then, Odin appeared before me and his voice came booming from his astral form:

           Many days will the gods battle fiercely with the forces of death. Make haste to reach Asgard but take care as well. You are the only hope that we have left. Aid us and join the ranks of mortals who have been honored with greatness. Fail and the universe shall perish. First, take Gjall to Heimdall at Bifrost or we shall be overwhelmed. We await you at Vigrid.

             At this point, I only had solved two of the six quests: I had found Freyr’s sword, Mimming, and Odin’s spear, Gungir. I knew where the Miner’s Well was to solve the third quest, and I had Thokk’s soul in a ring, which would allow me to solve the fourth if I could find Hela in Niflheim. I hadn’t heard a word about Mjollnir or a weapon that would allow Tyr to fight with one arm.

I headed back to Mimer’s Well and used my Wand of Wishing to generate a Scroll of Knowledge, which teaches you one skill or ability. I think it selects at random, so I took a save just before using it, prepared to save scum for the “Swimming” ability, but I got it on the first try. This allowed me to enter Mimer’s Well, where I promptly sank to the bottom, couldn’t move, and was soon slain by the serpent Aspenth. Apparently, I had to divest myself of heavy items first.             

Mimer’s Well had a fun title screen even though it was only a small area.

           I reloaded, and suddenly the game had never heard of “Swimming.” It took me about 12 reloads before I finally got the skill a second time, dropped most of my heavy stuff, and entered the well again. This time, I was able to maneuver. I drank a couple of Potions of Speed and attacked the serpent in melee range, killing him in about four blows. He dropped Gjall, Heimdall’s horn, and I snagged it.

Worried about time, I figured 50% of the quests was good enough to try. I made my way back along the River Vid to the Bifrost, which occupies its own map. Heimdall was standing at the end. He gratefully took the horn and blew it to call warriors to the final battle, then disappeared. I followed him north off the bridge and into Asgard, at which point the game told me that the Bifrost collapsed and I wouldn’t be able to use it to return.             

Not so much a “rainbow” bridge as a Romanian bridge.

            Asgard was under attack, with enemies and allies everywhere. I didn’t last long. In addition to hel dragons and draugr, which killed me in single blows, the map was swarming with a handful of unique demons. One of them had a piercing wail like the zardons I’d made extinct. Another could sap my strength from a distance.            

I didn’t last long in this crush of enemies.

          I reloaded an old save, from before I wasted so much time exploring the River Vid, and considered my options. Clearly, I needed to develop my character a bit more, with whatever time I had remaining, but also perhaps get some better equipment. Character and inventory development in Ragnarok are both consistent and rewarding because there are so many different methods. These include:

         Regular experience and leveling.

Finding and quaffing Potions of Experience.

Raising your strength with Potions of Strength.

Raising your constitution with Potions of Constitution.

Raising your luck with Holy Water.

Finding better items of equipment.

Improving your primary weapon or any piece of armor with Scrolls of Enchantment (preferably blessed).

Improving your constitution by eating hel dragons.

          Hel, yeah!

        Improving your speed by eating blurs (this is temporary but long-lasting)

Improving levels, for a while, and then maximum hit points by eating dead wraiths.

              If you explore an area that generates a lot of monsters of different types, like the dungeons, it’s nearly impossible that something on this list isn’t going to happen every few minutes. Thus, I spent some time back in the forest and dungeon just hewing through monsters and finding items. I saved every 200 turns unless I hadn’t accomplished anything in those 200 turns, at which point I loaded the previous save and tried a new area.           

Speed is worth a note. A high speed allows you to attack multiple times for every one attack from an enemy, and I found that it was absolutely necessary for some high-level enemies like hel dragons. The character has 10 by default and can boost it up to 60 or 70 with potions, dead blurs (a monster), and the Amulet of Quickening. Above 70 runs the risk of killing you. Unlike all the other attributes, I don’t think there’s any way to make the increase permanent. Potions and blurs wear off and even the amulet eventually loses its power and becomes an Eye of Sertrud (it turns out you need five of these to retrieve Mjollnir). Thus, it becomes important, particularly towards the endgame, to load up on speed-granting items. Since potions don’t stack but dead bodies do, at some point I used one of my wishes for 10 dead blurs. It worked, and that supply kept me speedy for most of the rest of the game.         

At some point, I figured I’d try to re-visit Niflheim and see if I could make it to Hera. I was feeling pretty strong, and I had a Wand of Wishing with 5 charges and no particular idea of how to spend it. Niflheim turned out to be as hard as I remembered, but I learned how to use speed to keep ahead of hel dragons. I’d attack them, dart away, wait for them to close, then attack again. Eating their corpses significantly boosted my constitution.          

Taking out a hel dragon with throwing weapons.

         Niflheim consists of 9 maps arranged in a 3 x 3 grid. Each one is ruled by a demon lord, and I recognized a lot of their names from the battle at Asgard. Apparently, if you don’t kill them in Niflheim, they show up in Asgard. Thus, I took my time trying to kill them here. It wasn’t easy; they’re all immune to wands and have a variety of special attacks. Here’s the rundown:

            Konr Rig: a powerful fighter-type demon. He can drive you insane, so you have to kill him before that happens. He’s immune to wands and missile weapons. I had to get my speed up to the highest levels and kill him with a few melee blows.

Vanseril: Hardest of them, I think. He has a psionic attack that he uses every few rounds, and it will damage you for several hundred points anywhere on the map. I had to look up an online hint to see that the only protection was a Disperser Helm, which hadn’t shown up in the game for me. I ended up wishing for one. But even then, he can drain your strength from anywhere on the visible map. It took me almost an hour to kill him with hit and run tactics using missile weapons and speed.

            When wishing for things, you can wish for a “+” equal to your current luck.

        Plog: Easiest of them. He summons monsters and drains wands, but I learned to just drop my wands and wait until he came into melee range.

Emanon: An annoying demon who takes your equipped weapons and armor. I killed him with throwing weapons.

Anxarcule: Second-hardest. He can steal your equipped weapon, create copies of you that fight you, and eat your legs. And he’s also immune to wands. As with the others, I used a combination of speed and missile weapons to kill him.

            Speed and missile weapons are the key to this whole area.

             Nidhogg: Not only is he immune to wands, he removes all their charges if you try to use them anywhere on his level. (That was a reload.) He also messes with the items in your backpack, turning them into useless items. Again, it was missile weapons and speed that finally did him in.

Gulveig: This guy was easy. Two whacks.

           Hela occupies the final section, and when I first approached, she took Thokk’s soul and asked what soul I wanted released in return. I said BALDER (the game’s spelling) and she complied. I then attacked her and was surprised when she died in just a few blows. She dropped a magic scythe, apparently one of the most powerful weapons in the game. Once I enchanted it a few times, hardly any enemy lasted more than one blow.           

Solving the fourth quest.

        Much stronger now, I returned to Asgard and started punching my way through the battle to the eastern exit. With the demons dead, I only had to worry about hel dragon and draugr. Draugrs return to life a few rounds after you kill them unless you (uck) eat their corpses.              

The chaotic final battle in Asgard. You must make your way from the left side of the screen to the right.

          Asgard has several buildings. One of them, in the mid-south, had stairs up. On the second level, three rooms held stacks of almost all the items in the game, including blessed versions of every scroll and potion–15 of them! I gorged myself on Potions of Strength, Holy Water, Scrolls of Enchantment, Potions of Constitution, and the like. I rendered a dozen creatures extinct (including most of those fighting below, but draugr an hel dragons are too powerful). I used Potions of Endurance to pump up my temporary health to ungodly levels. I loaded every free inventory slot with blessed Potions of Curing. Scrolls of Knowledge filled in every skill I didn’t have          

 A bonanza of items just before the end.

         It all turned out to be useless. A few steps later, I was off the Asgard map and onto Vigrid, site of the final battle. The game immediately started telling me that Heimdall was fighting Loki, Odin was attacking Fenrir, and so forth.             

The character joins the battle in progress.

       Giving the weapons I’d recovered to Odin and Freyr involved simply walking up to them. However, there was nothing else I could do. If I tried to attack any of the evil gods or monsters–if I even caught their attention–they would kill me from afar.            

Sometimes it’s best not to be noticed.

              Thus, all the bonuses I’d gained in Asgard served for nothing. I just wandered back and forth until I got a message that the gods had won the battle and I was welcomed into Valhalla. This was accompanied by a nice image.            

A real paradise would have more outlets near those tables.

           So you only need to solve some of the quests. I’m not sure you’d even have time to solve them all. I guess the fewer you solve, the less likely the gods are to win at Ragnarok, but I frankly couldn’t even make a loss happen. When I reloaded from my first step into Vigrid and refused to hand over the weapons this time, the gods still won. This happened on two more reloads.           

I guess they really just needed Heimdall.

          In addition to the two major areas I never explore and the two quests I didn’t solve, there are many aspects of the game I didn’t experience, including:

           Making use of spells or psionics (apparently, every time you pick up a “diamond needle,” you get better at psionics).

Dimension traveling. I got the ability when I ate a breleor, but I wasn’t sure how it worked and never had occasion to use it. Apparently it makes traveling between the major areas much faster.

          “The Crossroads” lets you travel between different planes. I only even visited for this screenshot.

           Potion making and potion-mixing. The alchemist was the last class I tried. He can mix potions into combinations otherwise not found in the game.

Ironworking. I guess I could have had a very powerful weapon (the runesword) long before I took Hela’s scythe.

           Blacksmiths can make things out of other things.

           Polymorphing, which can grant skills not available to regular classes. 

Taming animals or creating golems.

Writing my own scrolls, a sage ability.

Helping my allies. You can give equipment, potions, and other useful items to any human fighting alongside you at any point in the game. I didn’t explore this.

            But unlike some players who prefer the so-called “completionist” approach, I enjoy leaving a game with plenty of content to be explored. It gives me an excuse to replay.             

The various areas of Ragnarok. Although I played for 23 hours, I still missed a lot of the maps.

         On my GIMLET, the game earns:

               5 points for the game world. We’ve had other games use Norse mythology–notably Dusk of the Gods, which has the same plot. But it’s still relatively original among RPGs.

5 points for character creation and development. Development is satisfying, rewarding, and constant, as we saw. I don’t think the different classes matter as much as they should, though. Since they’re all capable of using the same items, the only real purpose of the classes is to work your way up to the highest level and get the class-specific skills. More benefits and restrictions would have made a more interesting game.

       My character at the game’s end.

         2 point for NPC Interaction. It gets this for the hint-delivering Ravens and the occasional NPC ally that you can help. It’s too bad there are no dialogue options with any NPCs.

5 points for encounters and foes. There are no non-combat encounters or puzzles, but the bestiary is as original and varied as its source material while not being completely derivative of it. I enjoyed learning their strengths and weaknesses and adapting my own tactics in response.

6 points for magic and combat. As with most roguelikes, combat seems somewhat blunt but is surprisingly tactical. I was underwhelmed by the magic system, though.

8 points for equipment. Easily the best part of the game. Ragnarok doesn’t feature quite as many item interactions as NetHack, but it still has a wide variety of things to find, use, and equip. You can even make your own items as a blacksmith, sage, or alchemist.

           Dragons always drop a wealth of treasure.

          4 points for the economy. You stop thinking about it, or bothering to collect gold, about halfway through the game. But during the portion when you find the occasional shop (the forest and the dungeon), it has a reasonable amount of relevance.

3 points for a main quest with multiple parts, some optional, but no side quests nor role-playing choices or alternate endings.

            An “alternate ending.”

          4 points for graphics, sound, and interface. It gets almost all of it for the excellent interface. One command=one key, logically mapped, but with a mouse backup. I like the way the main interface shows both a large-scale and small-scale area. Graphics are a step up from most roguelikes; sound is sparse and only okay.

8 points for gameplay. It’s mostly nonlinear and quite replayable. It offers the challenge of a roguelike without the insanity of permadeath. Limiting saves to once every 200 turns is just about perfect. The game lasted exactly as long as its content supported.

         That gives us a final score of 50, six points higher than I gave NetHack. Omega (1988) remains the best roguelike I’ve played so far, but Ragnarok is a close second, and frankly a better game for a player who wants a tighter storyline.           

A slick ad for what was essentially a shareware game.

         As we now know, Ragnarok was a passion project of two California-based college friends, Thomas Boyd and Robert Vawter, and I thank both of them for offering comments and recollections during my coverage. Norsehelm was their company, meaning they self-published and self-distributed the game in the United States, albeit with (as we see above) commercial production values. Their London publisher, Optyk, apparently never sent them any royalties, so the duo decided to offer it as freeware after a few years of modest income.

I couldn’t find any contemporary American reviews. European magazines mostly weren’t kind. The lowest score came from the February 1993 PC Joker, where the reviewer compared it to a flight simulator and seemed to find the number of keyboard commands bewildering despite mouse buttons, including a help menu, right on the screen. Other reviews simply suggested that the reviewer wasn’t really aware of roguelike history and was looking for fancy graphics and sound. PC Games (March 1993) had the only complimentary review, recommending it for its replayability and challenging strategy.

It’s too bad that Norsehelm never produced another game. Mr. Vawter hinted in an e-mail to me that they started one based on the Seven Wonders of the World but didn’t get very far. Both seem to have done well for themselves, however, with successful technology careers in the San Francisco Bay area.

I gave the choice of the next game to commenter Lance M., who’s helped me a lot lately with “lost” games. Lance wanted me to play GayBlade, one of the games he managed to turn up. This led to a confusing bit of research. GayBlade is listed as a 1992 game on a lot of sites, but I’ve found comments from the author that he based it on DragonBlade (1993), and moreover only released it after he got into a rights battle with the publisher of his Citadel of the Dead (1994). My attempts to contact the author have not been answered. For now, I have to assume DragonBlade came first and play it first.

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/ragnarok-won-with-summary-and-rating/

[onthe5thday]

5th Day Residents Revealed: Lucien Biscop

To kick-start our On the 5th Day 'Residents Revealed’ feature we bring you our much cherished Lucien Biscop - an artist with a love for melancholic elements in his techno and who nearly resigned when we asked what his top 3 favourite tracks of all time were… he does have a point!

Whether warming up at the start of a night, bringing his take on ambience to the room in order to pull 5th Dayers in, or peaking proceedings in room two where he’s guaranteed to consistently bring it, Lucien can always be relied on to to deliver.

Delve into his 5th Day podcast for a beautiful taster of what Lucien likes to bring to the techno table:    https://soundcloud.com/onthe5thday/on-the-5th-day-podcast-036-lucien-biscop

Support Lucien here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lucien.biscop

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/lucienbiscop

RA: https://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/lucienbiscop

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

So its fair to say we know you pretty well by now, but for the sake of the not so familiar, tell us a little bit about yourself and the short and sweet version of what’s bought you to where you are today.

It probably all started with a love for music; not very original but that’s the reason why. From a young age I always enjoyed discovering new music. I then realised later that I also really liked sharing it. I was fascinated by DJs but always thought that it was inaccessible for me - I’m too old, or I’m going to ridicule myself. But then one day I googled “become a dj” and the rest was a one step at a time journey. A combination of hard work and luck, to be part of the On The 5th Day family is what made me where I am now.

What is techno to you?

I have a very wide taste in music, I particularly like sad music regardless of the genre, and techno really doesn’t lack melancholic tracks. When playing it fully allows me to express myself. I’m discovering new tracks and artists that I like almost every day, that’s one of the reasons why it’s the genre that satisfies my hunger for new music the most. It’s also the music that allows me to get completely lost regardless of my mood, the location or the activity. It will affect my mood but out of the very varied sub genres in techno, I can also easily select something that will correspond to my mood of the moment.

What have been your most magical On the 5th Day moments so far, both sides of the decks?

That is a difficult question. Every On the 5th Day has had its unique moments, every party brought something different, a bit like a new chapter in a story. Behind the decks, it’s going to sound un-elaborate, but maybe just recently the last September party when mixing 3 tracks that I had never imagined would have worked together and getting a very good response from the crowd. I am very self critical and when it comes to playing or producing, I depend a lot on others’ opinions, so I must have been smiling a lot in that moment.

In front of the decks, I cannot remember a moment that has not been magical, it is very difficult to choose one in particular. If I really have to choose it might have been for the Semantica showcase, obviously a great lineup and the crowd that it attracted made it a very nice party.

In your view, is there a particular artist On the 5th Day has booked who perfectly captures the heart and soul of On the 5th Day and what we stand for?

These questions are not getting any easier [our bad]. I think if I had to choose it might be Svreca or Abdulla Rashim. In my opinion their productions or their mixing are a good definition of what On the 5th Day is about. From a DJ’s point of view, every time I hear them play it is the equivalent of a masterclass, and from a dancer’s point of view it is always an absolute pleasure. Flawless mixing that makes complete sense from the beginning to the end which will send you into a trance.

Can you tell us about the inspirations behind your recent On the 5th Day podcast (which is frickin’ lovely by the way!)

The inspiration behind my mix was partly my mood at the time and also artists/tracks that I enjoyed in the moment. I always think that my mixes are a direct reflection of who I am at the moment I play them. Any external stimuli somehow will make a difference whether it’s the painting that I just looked at, the weather outside or a memory. Of course this mix was prepared but I would definitely have played it differently or changed it altogether if recorded on another day. Although I think all my mixes have these melancholic elements which really define the music that I like.

What for you makes a positive crowd / party vibe?

It’s a combination of different things but when you take your eyes off of the decks and you realise that the whole crowd is dancing in rhythm, as one, with their eyes shut, when music is the only connection, it almost makes me shiver thinking about it. Most of the time I would say that the location/lineup attracts the right people. The vibe is a direct consequence of the promoter’s approach and connections.

We’re intrigued, can you name your top 3 tracks of all time?

Definitely not easy, also it should be illegal haha, DJs cannot give secret weapons away. Looking at the play count on my rekordbox it appears that Reggy Van Oers | Tetra [The Gods Planet 2015] or Shifted - Vacive [HOS470] have been played quite a few times though. And maybe Polar Inertia - Hell Frozen Over [DM3D011], everyone knows that one and it has been a bit overplayed so I’m not really breaking grounds here. I have actually never played that last one, but the first time I heard it I was really wondering what was happening, “what spaceship or planet am I on” haha.

What else is happening in the life of Lucien at the moment, what else are you working on?

If I am not at work or preparing the next gig I am spending my time producing and spending money on buying new equipment. My main goal right now is to get an EP out. I have a lot of finished and unfinished tracks but nothing that I feel ready to be shared yet. It probably never will be completely ready but I want to take my time to hopefully reach a point where I will be satisfied (not happy, that will never happen ha) with the quality of my productions.

Whenever I find the time I really enjoy recording random things and that really inspires me. The rain, a river, machines, anything. A few weeks ago back at my parents’ place I found this really crappy stereo, a terrible thing. I turned it on and it made a really weird organic noise which was brilliant. Or recently I found that if my Analog Rytm is plugged on a specific USB port of my computer, it glitches, it drove me mad at first, I even contacted emailed Elektron but then I realised that some of these glitches sounded very cool.

Besides music I still enjoy driving fast cars, arts in general, photography and sports.

You can catch Lucien playing at our November event with Sigha, Antigone and VSK (https://www.residentadvisor.net/events/1010134). 

#techno #onthe5thday