#imagine their own symbol as griffin!!!

[rozzsum]

“You chose me for this position.”

“Not I,” he said. “Fate chose you. Your father chose you. The Bene Gesserit chose you. The Guild chose you. And they have chosen you once more. For what have they chosen you, Irulan?”

Dune by Frank Herbert

[in-the-multiverse]

HotGuy is the bravest, sharpest, most handsomest hero in all of Hermit City. That’s what he’d tell you, anyway. Nobody can agree on what HotGuy is. A hero to some, villain to others. There’s a universal agreement he’s a wanna-be show off of some kind. Him and that pesky bird…

Scar is determined to win over the citys’ hearts (and charitable diamonds) so who better to face off against than King Cleo? With his charming smile, trusty bow, and sidekick CuteGuy, nothing can go wrong!

Coming soon to a theater near you /j

(but these are screenshot style pieces for what I imagine an animated hotguy movie would look like. More ramblings about this au below)

[trailer] / 1

King Cleo would IMMEDIATELY put them in their place like a teacher lecturing the entire class on how they’ve been misbehaving. But that’s no fun right away, so why not let them learn their lesson? >:)

HotGuy and CuteGuy are an iconic duo in Hermit City. King Cleo and Entropy (Cub) are another iconic duo. Whether each team is heroic or villainous depends on who you ask. Even the city residents are split on opinions

Except Bdubs. He runs a podcast spilling conspiracy theories and dragging almost every “hero” name into the mud (his attitude is very inspired by J. Jonah Jameson from Spiderman). He believes they’re menaces and should stay out of the city’s local problems because 9/10 they somehow make it worse. He’s very critical of these 4 in particular, and it doesn’t help that they all like to personally mess with him for the fun of it

Far off in the city outskirts, a living folktale hides in the forest. An amalgamation of creatures that make up one giant monster, and coming across their path is…certainly an experience. They speak in poetry and think out loud, peering deep into the soul of their visitor with just a few words. Sightings are few and far in between, but each interaction is memorable- to say the least. Their name is Joe Hills. A very close friend to King Cleo (but nobody else knows that)

And! an explanation to HotGuy’s mobility aid

With the best high-tech, Scar’s wheelchair can reshape into a mechanical griffin with the press of a button. It lets him take to the sky and hotguy targets! Griffins also have conflicting symbolism, which reflects his persona

Good and Evil. Light and Dark. They’re said to be harbingers of chaos. Mischief certainly seems to follow HotGuy wherever he goes. Be wary of his smirk

They’re also said to be gentle protectors. He shows up to help citizens and tiny creatures alike. With a voice so soothing, any trouble they face is wiped off like nothing (or, ends up feeling a little easier to handle)

Griffins are one of the most remarkable creatures in mythology, their stories told and twisted through generations, but how does the griffin tell his own story?

[mafuluzx]

Since ur writing requests... Hear me out on a Cole or Kai x m!reader🤭 like reader is like the most ethereal mf u could ever see and they r just nervous talking to reader about anything simple(it doesn't have to be a story it can be headcanon things!!!!)

ALRIGHT MY FIRST COMMISION HERE YOU GOOOOOOOOO! This thing is pretty detailed, but the tiny details can be changed with the power of your imagination. Now, here you go!

Kai x male reader oneshot!

Takes place in season 4, episode 2, Only One Can Remain.

Dancer boy

"Never before have so many Elemental Fighters been under one roof. I see Master of Fire, Earth, Shadow, Speed, even a prophesied Green Savior. And a former pupil has returned." Chen said as he motioned to the Elemental masters he spoke of.

The Elemental masters sat in a circle, just as Chen had planned. Not a single one of the invited was missing. The ninja kept their expressions schooled, for they couldn't show weakness in front of their future competition. Chen swayed on his chair like a child looking down at all his birthday party guests before pointing to a gong settled next to his chair.

"This symbol before you is for the fiercest Serpentine warrior to ever roam this land. Its creed: Only one can remain." The gong indeed had a symbol on it, a long snake with teeth sharp enough to bite through skin and bone: An Anacondrai. Chen then pressed a button on his chair, and the gong moved out of the way, revealing a bracket of how the tournament would go.

"Good, looks like we're each in our own bracket. We won't have to face each other for a while." Kai said in relief as Lloyd turned to him.

"Better find Zane before that happens." As Lloyd spoke, Chen's right hand man, Clouse brought him a chest, from which Chen pulled out a jade-green sword.

"Behold, a Jadeblade. Here, it represents life. Obtain it, move on. Allow your opponent to take it, loser. The rules are simple. Every match will be different. No two fights will be the same. Your powers will keep you in the Tournament. Use it or lose it." Chen explained as Karlof spoke up.

"Hm, what does Karlof win?"

"Win and stay on the island. Win it all, and you'll receive fortunes beyond your wildest dreams, and lifetime supply of Master Chen noodles. But no one is here because of noodles! You want the glory of being the greatest fighter in all of Ninjago!" Chen yelled as the Elemental masters, excluding the ninja, all cheered loudly.

"And what happens if they lose?" Garmadon's question cut through the cheering.

"Lose? Who here likes to lose?!" Chen asked sarcastically as everyone, excluding the ninja again, laughed.

"Now please, enjoy my island. It's a super fun happy place. Hahaha. Fun time on me. Oh, oh! But don't go just yet, I have a little show prepared for you all." Chen's words made Kai scoff and roll his eyes. Show? Really now? He didn't believe anything good would come of this. Chen clapped again as the main doors, which the elemental masters had come in from just a while ago, opened again.

A group of Chen's Kabuki started giggling in the corner as they hid their faces with their fans. Clouse threw them a glare, and they quieted down. There was a second of peace and quiet until Kai heard Griffin whistle, and one person whose name Kai didn't know let out a quiet "Wow..."

Now Kai's interest was peeked, and he finally turned to the door. Kai's eyes widened as his eyes fell onto the figure of a person dressed in elegant (f/c) robes. Slow footsteps sounded as the person walked to the center of the hall. Kai's eyes were now following the figure as they bowed to Chen. Chen laughed with a prideful smile before speaking up.

"I hereby present to you all, a dance like no other! Give it all you got." The last part was said as a command to the figure, who moved into a still pose, their eyes staring hazily at the floor as their hair fell slightly onto their face.

Suddenly a slow song started playing on the speakers littered around the hall, and the figure started moving. The movements were small, but they were smooth. The (f/c) robes draped and dragged behind the person as they danced. Kai's jaw fell open, and refused to close, no matter how hard he tried.

"Hmm... Not quite Chen's style." Garmadon pondered as he sipped down a cup of tea.

The person moved gracefully as their expression matched the tranquil tone of the song. Suddenly the pace of the music picked up, and so did the dancing. The calm swinging and spinning turned to sharp turns and jumps.

The dancers expression turned sterner, as he slid down to the floor. The choreography was something Kai had never seen before, and it made his eyes force themselves to keep open, refusing to miss even a second of the ongoing show.

Suddenly the person lifted their leg up, and Kai's face warmed up. There was another whistle from Griffin turner as the slit in the dancers robes revealed the persons leg. They were wearing short leg-wear resembling shorts, thankfully, but even one leg lift was enough to expose the rest of their leg.

The choreography lead the dancer to stand up again, as they threw their head back, making their (h/c) hair move along with them. The pace suddenly kicked up, before slowing down after a single, yet surreally high, leg throw. The music slowed down as the person slid to a pose on one knee, and the music stopped.

There was a moment of silence before Chen started clapping and cheering. The silence having been cut, elemental master after elemental master joined in the applause as the dancer relaxed, stood up, and bowed to Chen yet again.

"Thank you, (y/n)! That was amazing! Ah, It's probably good to mention, but (y/n) is also an esteemed guest of mine. He will join you during breakfast and lunch and so on." Chen explained as Griffin smirked behind his glasses. Kai noticed, and immediately threw the master of speed a glare.

"Now, you will be shown to your rooms." Chen added as a line of kabuki arrived and guided the fighters to their rooms. kai wasn't paying attention though. He stared after this (y/n) boy as he sighed, then walked into a room further away on the same floor as Kai's. After a few minutes of thinking about what just happened, Kai shook it away and left his room with the intention of exploring the place a little.

The first thing he saw made his blood boil. In front of the dancer boy's room stood Griffin, who knocked on it before calling out nonsense after nonsense.

"Could you at least open the door? You're being quite cold to me." And he knocked again. Kai then heard the voice of a boy speak up in a calm yet annoyed tone.

"Please, go away."

"How about we go on a walk? I already checked out the entire yard of this place and its pretty neat.

"Please, go away." Griffin received the exact same answer in the exact same tone. But Griffin made no move to leave.

"What abou-" Before Griffin could finish another sentence, Kai walked up to him.

"Hey. He told you to go away." Now that Kai had stepped up to Griffin, the master of speed grumbled before snapping at him.

"This is none of your business."

"It is, if you keep this up. I doubt Chen would be happy to hear someone was harassing another guest, hmm?"

"You-...Tch." Griffin let out before turning away and leaving. Kai scoffed at the master of speed before glancing at the door. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead just shook his head and left to continue exploring.

Then came the first challenge, Kai barely managed to move on while Karlof lost, and was thrown down to who knows where. The sun was starting to set, yet it wasn't too late to hang around yet. The ninja had planned to go exploring at midnight, but Kai had nothing to do before that.

So instead he took a stroll in the yard alone. He remembered Griffins words and hoped the man was speaking the truth when he said the place was 'pretty neat'. And surprisingly, neat it was. Kai at the pretty scenery before noticing something, no, someone sitting at the edge of a small man-made pond filled with colorful fishes. The person had sunk their feet into the water and stared at the lily pads floating over the water surface, until they too, noticed Kai.

It was the dancer boy, (y/n). Kai froze in place, and didn't know what to do. (y/n) just turned back to stare at the water as Kai stood still. His nerves kicking in, and remembering the leg lift from before, Kai turned on his heel and tried to leave, when (y/n) called to him.

"Not even going to say hello?"

"N-no, I m-mean yes, but I, ugh..." Kai's words got caught up in his throat, and he stopped trying. He turned back around and met (y/n)'s gaze as the boy stared at him silently. He was no longer wearing a set of different robes that constructed his beautiful looking dance outfit, and instead wore only the innermost white robe.

"Thank you." (y/n) suddenly spoke.

"H-huh?" Kai let out as (y/n) leaned his head on one of his knees.

"For helping earlier."

"Oh, I-I din't realize you saw me-" Kai lifted his hand and scratched his neck bashfully, when he was suddenly cut off.

"I didn't, I just recognized you from your voice." Kai stopped, before erupting in a blush of embarrassment. Suddenly (y/n)'s expression, which had been neutral the whole time, turned into a small smile as he chuckled. Kai's embarrassment disappeared and was replaced with a swarm of butterflies in his stomach.

"Sit with me?" (y/n) offered Kai, who took his time thinking about it, before he finally agreed.

"S-s-sure...!" The two shared a few words, nothing special, for Kai was too much of a nerve wrack to say much.

"What is your name?" (y/n) asked.

"It's Kai." Kai answered after clearing his throat. (y/n) nodded in aknowledgement before flashing him a smile.

"And your surname?"

"Smith." Kai answered as (y/n) turned away and giggled to himself.

"Hmm... Kai Smith... Ehehe..." Kai knew, he was either blessed with an angel, or this boy would give him a heart attack.

(,,>﹏<,,)

And as a little bonus...

"Yo." A voice said from next to the table where the ninja were eating breakfast the next day.

"Ugh, didn't you hear?! I said it's private!" Suddenly Jay stopped as the others turned to the one who spoke. Surprisingly, it was not Mr. Pale, who Jay had expected to be there, and instead there stood (y/n) with his breakfast tray. He was no longer wearing robes, whether those were simple white ones or regal ones for dancing. Now it was just a loose t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

"(y-(y/n)!" Kai stuttered out as (y/n) flashed the team a nervous smile. Kai looked behind (y/n) to noticed that Griffin was eyeing them from afar, and quickly scooted over to give (y/n) space to sit with them. Kai tired to scoot further away, but since there were people already sitting with him, he was forced to sit shoulder to shoulder with the (h/c) haired boy. Cole noticed the look Kai was giving (y/n) and sighed.

"Oh boy, first Skylor, now him?"

Dang, this stuff oneshot stuff is difficult, I hope it isn't too lame.

[drbased]

there was a popular post going around that said 'hmm i'm craving some brutal external punishment for something but i don't know what' or smth, and it was disheartening to see how many could relate to that, and even more so when i could relate to it too and i didn't exactly know why. i want to know why such masochistic desires even arise at all and how to get rid of them. your posts on symbolic states and other theories are fascinating. i was wondering if you had a theory on this too, and how to deal with it.

This is an incredibly interesting question and I've found it very enriching to respond to this, so thank you!

I was going to ask if the 'brutal external punishment' is reference to a kink thing or some existential thing, but I realised that my answer would be the same regardless, because they both stem from the same place.

I am going to once again plugging Susan Griffin's Pornography and Silence because this book has been such a phenomenal find for me; what she essentially discusses in this book is the symbolic state of the pornographic mind. I see her grasping for the right language to explain the concept, just as I've lacked the language to describe these 'abstract' psychological mechanisms. She describes how the pornographic mind finds there to be some inherent humiliation in human vulnerability to nature, and sees that nature is base, animalistic and yet somehow consciously cruel. The pornographic mind wishes to punish nature via one's own body - but as the body is part of nature, there is no separation between the body and humanity. So men project 'nature' onto women, who become representatives for all that is evil in the world, and men generate 'culture' which seeks mastery over nature. The pornographic mind seeks to destroy the natural vulnerability of eros through generating a sexuality in the form of sadomasochism - in this context, the sadist and masochist are essentially the same person, two halves of a whole, representative of this split between nature (the masochist) and culture (the sadist). But because this split is impossible - people are, by their very nature, whole and complete - this creates and obsessive neuroticism, an existential terror that can never be truly addressed, and the paranoia gets shoved further and further down in the psyche.

For me, my own masochistic desires are being addressed through the following:

1. The recognition that there is no essential humiliation to existence. Dropping my spirituality has helped with this; there is no objective standard I'm supposed to be adhering to, and there is nobody watching over me, judging my actions and finding them embarrassing or weird or disgusting. There is only me, in my pure subjectivity as an individual; there is a loneliness to that, but also a great power - I pull my focus away from the external world and back into myself, firmly focusing through my own eyes. Even in my imagination! I used to imagine myself through the third person a lot, and I've since learned the danger of that, because watching someone do something is not the same as being that person doing something. The image of me is not me: I am me, and trying to separate myself from that, to minimise that, to destroy that is impossible. I don't require masochistic yearning or pining over loss in order to generate meaning, because just like everything else, 'meaning' is not something that comes from the ether, this supposed universal force of objectivity, that I have to tap into; rather, meaning is something that necessarily comes from me, as it is the nature of human existence to generate meaning. Meaning, narrative and judgment are things that I do: they are mine, all mine!

And this is the essence of maturity: I don't need to have decisions or narrative or meaning taken away from me, because they're ultimately my responsibility. Yes, it makes me a lot more afraid of myself, but the world becomes a lot less scary as a result. I don't need to punish myself, because 'need' implies a necessity coming from somewhere - but there is only me, and it's up to me to judge if my actions are good or bad or not. If my actions are bad, then I don't need punishment - I just need to fucking stop doing them like a grown-ass adult. Punishment, like everything in the symbolic state is performative. Punishment in a bdsm context is especially performative.

Men do this shit all the time - they'll do shitty things to you and then emotionally self-flagellate in front of you. And like, you just wanna go, it's not that fucking deep, mate. This isn't about the sanctity of your immortal soul - this is about the harm that you're causing me. As with all symbolic states, self-punishment is self-centered, main-character-syndome shit. In reality, you show the depth of your character through your actions; you exist in reality, first and foremost. And since reality comes first, that reality does not contain some secret meaning - or if it does, then we as humans are clearly not built to engage with that meaning. We generate our own meaning, our own sense of morality, our own narratives, and you can either accept that or invent a list of sins to be punished for.

2. Life is hard. I know that despite everything I've said, there's clearly a human drive to dissociate, to invent rules so you don't have to fucking think about every damn decision you make. And we process the world though each other, we understand our decisions and generate our perception of ourselves in a cultural context. As in this video, it's always easier to plug your fingers in your ears and pretend not to know the potential harm of your actions - the fundamental potential of yourself as a moral actor - and then if there is someone at the pearly gates with a list of your sins, you can always shrug and go 'I just didn't know'. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. So these symbolic states, the pornographic mind, the masochism - they're all a form of abstraction; they're something that feels close enough to reality (we already process reality in symbols so it's very easy to do this psychological sleight-of-hand - and then be very confused why your mind and reality never seem to gel well with each other, as is what happened to me), so they can be a great substitute for reality - all difficult emotions and beliefs can be safely processed under the narrative and aesthetic.

You never have to worry if you actually want to study if you process it under the dark academia aesthetic - because studying can be a hard, miserable slog, but also we're told it's important, we're told it's something we should do. And that 'should' always hangs there, constantly pointing to that external objective standard that I've referenced. You 'should' brush your teeth, you 'should' exercise', you 'should' go to university, you 'should' finish everything on your plate, you 'should' look pretty, you 'should' respect your (abusive) parents, should should should. Different people from all walks of life will have their own interpretation of what you 'should' do; your parents tell you you 'should' study law, like they did - your friend tells you you 'should' follow your heart. With every 'should' there's this abstraction of the self from responsibility, from recognition of cause and effect. There is. no. should: you may decide that you never want to brush you teeth ever again and have all your teeth fall out. That's a 'bad' consequence, but it's only bad if you give a shit. I don't use the words 'should' or 'need' anymore for this exact reason: my subjectivity is by its very nature pure and untouchable, and just like an addict I don't want to use words that so much as imply that I should once again return outside of myself. (So instead of 'I need to save money' I say 'I want to save money because I would find going broke miserable and terrifying' - I reinforce constantly that my consequences are mine, and that's not an embarrassing thing.)

The thing is, whilst I personally went too far, it's clear to me that humans need a certain amount of abstraction in order to process the world. As I said, life is hard, and make pure, thoughtful decisions all the time with zero regard for your perception of yourself and your life's narrative is borderline impossible. Our ability to abstract and generate narrative is a beautiful thing! So I don't judge my younger self for desiring that abstraction - it's clearly not just natural but deeply culturally enforced, not just in language but more recently in post-ironic highly self-referential mass media, where culture becomes this well-oiled self-sustaining machine.

Capitalism thrives off generating objective standards for you to follow; the Playboy magazine first started off as a lifestyle magazine, showing off an aspirational lifestyle to a growing middle class of disillusioned men encouraged by the conservativism of the time to find fulfilment in suburban marriages with miserable, locked-up and drugged-up housewives. The core of this aspiration was the promotion of being a 'wealthy bachelor' which involved fancy living, high-brow artistic tastes and, of course, a slew of hot babes. It should come as no surprise that this pornographic magazine offered this supposedly libertine option to a conservative culture - because despite the supposed left-wing sex-positive rebellion, all the magazine offered was simply a different narrative path. And said narrative path was even more capitalistic, and so perhaps even more symbolic, and of course still utilised the woman as a symbol in this narative, just in a different way.

Our natural desire for meaning and finding a place in the world is exploited by religion, capitalism, and even our closest peers: everyone is existentially terrified, it seems to be the nature of the human condition to be so. But I do think it's worth pointing out here at just how much of this collective symbolic state is entirely male-driven. This is why I don't think I would be able to theorise on this subject so much without feminism; it's clear to me that patriarchal thought, as underpinned by this pornographic symbolic state, is the primary driver of this mass self-abstraction. There isn't a clear solution to this, but as an individual I have found that generating this much stronger sense of self within my natural place in causality - and sharing how I've achieved that - has certainly given me some peace. At the end of the book Susan says how it is women who are especially fractured under the pornographic mind: that we are paradoxically supposed to embody some sense of nonbeingness; she references how Marilyn Monroe's selfhood was destroyed and she instead embodied this pornographic 'image' of herself as a blonde bimbo, a nonhuman entity that could be comprised entirely within the male definition of 'sex symbol'. Men want to destroy our selfhoods so they can prove we never had one to begin with; they want to prove that they're the ones capable of real mastery over nature with their superior culture - they commit violence against us because they believe that nature demands violence, but believe that they are ultimately above the violence of nature. Pornographic thought is fundamentally violent; so, then, of course its answer to all of life's ills is to find yet another away to increase the amount of violence in the world: though punishment.

3. With all the above in mind, if my life events have shown so far that I have used a certain amount of (unconscious) reasoning to choose to percieve the world and myself a certain way, then that implies I can find reasoning to choose to percieve those things another way. And if the consequences of desiring an objective standard that exists outside of causality and morality means that I feel this cosmic humiliation for which I must punish myself as a performance for the universe, then that's a consequence I don't much like! I used to like it - because despite the darkness, it gave me an avenue through which I could generate meaning and feel connected with the world. However, I now see the fragility of that connection for what it realy is, and now I have an entirely different way to process and feel connected with the world, I'd rather choose that option, instead. Making my own decisions is hard but it's made me feel more comfortable in myself, comfortable with other people, and most of all stable. I have decided that self-love is not embarrassing, but rather simply something I do because feeling good feels good. The catharsis that people get from punishment is not related to what is actually happening but what it represents. And like all symbolic states that's fundamentally fragile. But feeling good is so pure and, well, animal that it needs to justification. It just simply is. So it makes sense, then, that I've felt much more firmly grounded in myself and infinitely less insecure since I've chosen this path.

I also think it makes me write a lot better, because have you ever noticed that when you feel secure in what you know, you seem to communicate it a lot better? Because it's like building muscle memory for the mind: every time I engage with reality properly, I get used to understanding how connections are formed on a deeply fundamental level. I also don't lose stuff as often because I remember where I last put the item - because I'm not treating reality as a sort of floating TV screen but rather acknowledging myself within that reality; so I'm not 'watching' 'myself' put something down - I'm being the person putting that thing down, and hence I'm being more - eurgh - mindful. I find it hilariously ironic that when I recognised and accepted by subjecivity, I've actually been able to hold myself to those supposedly objective standards I was once terrified I'd never be able to achieve - so I now have less to self-flagellate over. But this makes sense when you think about it; because there is no universal force of objectivity, those beliefs about what I 'should' do came from me. So I need to respect them, too, as part of my subjectivity. I've had to tell myself so many times: if believing this thing is not going to make me do it, then will anything actually make me do it? And if not, I clearly don't care about the thing as much as I felt I should, and so then if I'm going to do it anyway then I need to fucking own it and stop beating myself up about it unnecessarily.

I think I've sufficiently covered here how the nature of this 'brutal external punishment' doesn't matter - it could be crying with embarrassment because you spilt milk (make note of how common it is for depressed people to cry over tiny things - I'm now very aware of just how much of that crying was actually embarrassment), it could be literal self-flagellation for sinful thoughts, or it could be sexual punishment for some unknown humiliation - likely, for a woman, the humiliation of being a sexually desiring being with true eros, believing that to be a sign of your inherent evil animalistic nature, and agreeing with the pornographic man that you as a woman innately deserve violence.

I now recognise that as a subjective individual I do not 'deserve' anything; I simply want, and I would rather want to feel good for its own sake than go through the complicated mental gymnastics of inventing a form of morality that sounds good, pretending it didn't come from me and instead it's 'purely logical', and then tearing myself asunder trying to reach this moral perfection that I clearly have no interest in achieving. Instead it's been much more peaceful to reel it all back in and put myself as my natural focus. Depression used to feel comfortable, punishing myself emotionally used to feel comfortable - but now I have a different option for myself, I realise that comfort was just sunk-cost fallacy. Sunk-cost fallacy is inherently embarrassing; it's a narrative in-and-of itself. So rejecting this cosmic embarrassment also requires me to reject the embarrassment of the sunk-cost fallacy. I did what I believed to be right according to the information I had at the time; I now have a different option, and I prefer the consequences of that.

[anyaprincessa]

since there are a lot of people creating theories about Anya's name,her backstory and discussing about chapter 90.1,I wanted to share my own opinion｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡

tbh,I was surprised that Ania's name had all this time a meaning and it wasn't just a mix of Misha and Ashe from Endo's previous works kinda expected it though,I'm not sure why Endo was hiding it all the time,maybe because it was supposed to be a surprise..

I honestly think that Ania is a Russian name took from Anna,is she a reference of princess Anastasia?my own question leaded me to an imagination of her backstory,hehe(⁠^⁠^⁠);

Ania was the princess of a royal family,they all were under serveillance,all the members conversations were encrypted in classic language so that the content couldn't be understood it wasn't the native language of the country by the way

Desmond was the one behind everything happening to the country and the royal family,he nuked/destroyed the country it's kind of confirmed that he's doing suspicious activities,right?,all the family were killed but Anya wasn't,instead those monsters kidnapped her and she became their new test subject for the Ostanian project apple subject 007

everyone in the lab treated her as a tool and forced her to study..

There was a scientist,he was cruel like all of them and for some sort of reason,he changed later on and became a kind person,he was the one who helped Anya escaping the lab,she will surely start a new happy life with a new family,well,after a short period,the little girl was adopted and returned to the orphanage 4 times,till one day a spy codenamed Twilight waku waku came searching for a 6 years old child,ends up adopting her to become a part of a fake family,the forgers for the sake of operation strix (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

there is also a high possibility that there is a reason behind Anya's freedom...probably nobody helped her escape the cursed lab,the scientists just started a new experiment is her freedom itself, this experiment is designed to train her to become a skilled telepath naturally, so that they can kidnap their tool whenever they are ready to start the war

Melinda knows about her past herself, that's why she wants Anya and Damian to become closer because of some other hidden reasons idk myself..

and before I forget,here's some canon proofs supporting the princess theory;

Ania loves castles,she talked about servants in the first chapter,we even had a whole episode about her as a princess and her her papa saving her,most of the anime episode was an original though was it for a foreshadowing purpose from Endo himself?!

there's also several mentions about royality in the manga,for example in chapter 42,etc,etc..the lastest and the most important mention was in chapter 88,Melinda choosing specifically the royal top elite cakes as a gift for Anya wich Damian told her to buy,he didn't said for who exactly

"they were cakes said to originally have been created by king Willy II,as a conciliatory gift for the queen of an enemy country"!!! this line alone raised a lot of suspicion inside me...so I had to do some search(⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)I found out later on that King Willy and the queen from the enemy country are actually a reference of king Frederick the great and Empress Elizaveta!! probably I'm gonna make a thread talking about them

In addition to my proofs,we also had Anya comparing the Griffin wich is the symbol of the Desmonds and Chimera the possible symbol of her royal family and her dear friend who knows everything about her

I'mma include the Authens since they are 100% getting involved in this arc and were introduced just before the chapter we got a new hints about Ania's past and the confirmation of her backstory arc

First of all,Sigmund Authen might be a reference of Sigmund Freud the founder of Psychoanalysis,is related to minds?!!mind reading powers in sxf universe??!?the theory of super powers and all this stuff might be proposed by him since he was a professor teaching in the berlint university is owned by the Desmond family,you can notice the letter "D" in the logo

he is likely to be from Anya's same country,he's talking in Classical language most of the time,both Yor and Anya didn't understand most of what he said either Anya because the majority of what he was saying is complicated,unhearable and she didn't care

I think he is retired or perhaps not ,he seems that he loves Barbara sm and he definitely loves kids(⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

the important person this arc is either him or Barbara

[spider-xan]

If you had to make a League of your own, who would you include from that period? Which characters do you think would work best together?

I wouldn't consider myself a creative person, so honestly, I have never thought about whom I would include in a League of my choosing and would much rather analyze the existing Leagues in the comics and film. Also, I'm not really a reader, so I have barely read much Victorian literature, which may or may not come as a surprise, and therefore don't have enough literary knowledge to really choose characters more broadly.

That said, if I approach this as an interesting thought exercise, here's the mental process I would go through:

First, I would keep most of the original members from the comics as a starting point, save for Quatermain; I've written briefly about how I do think his inclusion in the comics and movie makes sense from a symbolic perspective, which I won't get into again here, but for my own purposes, I don't think he's very interesting, and if his role is to be the (monster) hunter, I think Mina fits well enough into that role given her experience and as a way to progress her character from the source material. Otherwise, everyone else - Mina, Nemo, Jekyll/Hyde, Griffin - fits well as a Victorian proto-superhero in a specific superhero team role while also being famous to the general public.

Second, the superhero team aspect is what sets the League apart from just any Victorian crossover concept, so that would drive any decisions I make about members and how their powers work; so yes, unpopular as it is, I would use Hyde as the Victorian version of a team's brute strength, and it would be rooted in the line in the novella about Hyde growing as Jekyll weakens, even if I don't necessarily go full Hulk.

I do like Dorian Gray as an invulnerable immortal with supernatural charm like in the film, but he would have to be blackmailed into joining, unless you find a way for him to get involved as part of his self-centered attempt at redemption. An older Alice is a great choice too to increase the number of women, and there are many ways to re-imagine her as a Victorian superhero - portals or travelling through mirrors was a popular idea back in the day, but she could also shrink and grow like Ant-Man, maybe do something math-related like probability manipulation, etc. I would not include Holmes bc I agree with Moore that his inclusion would overshadow everyone, but Irene Adler could work as a highly skilled member without powers like, say, Black Widow, where her role is to be an undercover spy - and again, more women, and she could balance Mina if you go with vampire!Mina instead of human!Mina.

Personally, I am also a stickler for the 'Only one character from each source material' rule to keep the team balanced and so that no one member has more support than another - which means no Jonathan, no Van Helsing, no Arronax, no Ned Land, no Utterson, etc. as team members.

Third, on the topic of who 'would work best together' - that's an interesting question bc it means something different on a meta versus in-universe level! On a meta level, the question would be, 'Are these characters together compelling and well-balanced so that the team makes narrative sense and would be interesting to read while covering a breadth of genres?', and I think I have answered that above; on an in-universe level, 'Would these people get along and co-operate with each other?', and my opinion is that it's more interesting when the characters don't quite get along bc they have different moral compasses, motivations, etc., but they have to find a way to work together bc there are greater things happening than their personal conflicts and they are a professional team with a job to do.

I could go on for longer, but that's my lengthy analytical rather than creative answer! Feel free to ask for more elaboration on anything if you want, and I would be happy to answer!

[sugcrxspice]

( lighting griffin tattoo, afternoon, mid-april ) @blessedcvrsed

"So, you think it's a good idea?" she asked Seokmin expectantly, fingers anxiously fiddling with the outer seams of her jeans as she awaited his reaction. Ava had long been toying with the thought of getting a tribute tattoo for her late brother, but for the longest time, the mere idea of Kurt actually being gone was just too much for the brunette to confront. Denial had been her most trusted coping mechanism for years, but there was only so long that she could numb the pain of losing him by pretending that his death didn't affect her at all. "I didn't want to do his name or his lifespan with the angel wings—God, could you imagine the horror of strangers randomly coming up to you to tell you that they're sorry for your loss because of a tattoo? No fucking way am I letting that happen. So, I figured something symbolic was the way to go," she reasoned, managing a small smile over at her friend. Ava wasn't typically known for being a vulnerable person, not even with her own family. But she felt like she could trust Seokmin with this. "Do you think his old lighter is too cheesy, though? Should I pick something more... abstract?" She worried that no matter how thoughtful the idea, it wouldn't convey the massive love she still carried for her brother. And she didn't want whatever she chose to morph into a mere reminder of the gaping hole in her heart.

[ainews]

The world of fantasy is often filled with mysterious and powerful creatures, and griffins are no exception. These majestic creatures, known for their dual eagle and lion features, have captured the imaginations of people for centuries. In many fantasy worlds, griffins are revered as symbols of strength, power, and nobility. It is no surprise then that these creatures are often sought after as allies and mounts by those who are skilled enough to tame them.

One of the most interesting aspects of griffins is their ability to harness electricity, making them formidable and versatile creatures in battle. But this raises the question: why are dynamos moated for vectors for griffins?

First, it is important to understand the concept of vectors in regards to griffins. Vectors refer to a physical or geographical location that is used by griffins to create and store electricity. This energy can then be used by the griffins for a variety of purposes, including powering their powerful wings and attacks.

The reason why dynamos, which are machines that convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, are moated is to protect the vectors that griffins use to generate electricity. These vectors can come in various forms, such as crystals, natural formations, or even man-made structures. By moating dynamos, these vectors are kept safe from outside interference and can continue to generate electricity without being disrupted.

This protective measure is crucial because griffins heavily rely on their electricity abilities in battle. It allows them to fight with increased speed, strength, and agility, making them formidable opponents. Protecting their ability to harness electricity is essential for their survival and the preservation of their kind.

In addition to protection, moating dynamos also serves as a way to harness the energy created by griffins. The deep and wide ditches provide a controlled and concentrated area for the generated electricity, making it easier to collect and distribute it as needed. This allows for a more efficient use of the energy and can also prevent any potential accidents or harm to nearby surroundings.

Moreover, moated dynamos also serve as a barrier between the griffins and potential enemies. It is not uncommon for griffins to be targeted by those who wish to steal their electricity abilities for their own gain. The deep, wide ditch filled with water acts as a physical barrier, deterring any potential intruders.

In conclusion, dynamos are moated for vectors for griffins to protect these powerful creatures and their ability to harness electricity. This measure not only ensures the safety of the griffins and their vectors but also allows for efficient use and distribution of their electricity in battle. It is just one of the many ways that humans and creatures coexist and rely on each other in the world of fantasy.

[julierysava]

🌟 Discover the Enchantment of Magical Animals! 🦄🌈

Welcome to a world where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, where the mundane transforms into the mystical. 🪄✨ Today, we embark on a journey through the captivating realm of magical animals. 🦉🐉

🌟 Unicorns: Let's begin with the enchanting unicorn, a symbol of purity and grace. With their single spiraled horn and ethereal presence, unicorns have fascinated humans for centuries. 🦄✨

🌟 Dragons: From the fiery depths of mythology, dragons emerge with scales that shimmer like precious gems. These majestic creatures have been both feared and revered throughout history. 🐉🔥

🌟 Phoenixes: Rising from their own ashes, phoenixes are a symbol of renewal and resilience. Their radiant plumage and eternal life capture our imaginations. 🕊️🔥

🌟 Hippogriffs: Part horse, part eagle, the hippogriff combines the strength of the earth with the freedom of the sky. These magnificent beings are often seen as symbols of duality. 🦅🐎

🌟 Kitsune: In Japanese folklore, kitsune are foxes with magical abilities, often associated with intelligence and shape-shifting. Their stories are as diverse as the colors of their fur. 🦊🌕

🌟 Griffins: With the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, griffins stand as protectors of treasure and wisdom. They symbolize strength and guardianship. 🦁🦅

🌟 Nessie: Deep within the waters of Loch Ness lurks Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. This cryptid has eluded discovery for generations, sparking our imaginations. 🌊🐍

🌟 Fairies and Sprites: These tiny, mischievous beings are guardians of the natural world. They flutter among flowers and trees, tending to the magic of the earth. 🌿🧚

What magical creatures capture your imagination? Are there other mystical beings you'd like to explore? Share your thoughts and stories below! Let's celebrate the enchantment of magical animals together. 🌟🌍✨

[anupa-mga2022mi5018]

Research about fantasy creatures

Fantasy creatures are fictional beings that exist only in the realm of imagination and are often featured in mythologies, folklore, literature, movies, and games. These creatures typically possess extraordinary and magical abilities, living in worlds where the laws of nature can be quite different from our own. They add an element of wonder, excitement, and danger to the fantastical worlds they inhabit. Here are some popular fantasy creatures:

Dragons: Legendary reptilian creatures with wings and often capable of breathing fire. Dragons are commonly depicted as intelligent and powerful beings, sometimes being portrayed as wise mentors or fearsome adversaries.

Elves: Elegantly beautiful and immortal beings with pointed ears. Elves are often portrayed as skilled archers, magic users, and possess a strong connection to nature.

Dwarves: Short, stout creatures known for their craftsmanship, mining skills, and love of precious metals and gems. They are often depicted as skilled blacksmiths and warriors.

Orcs: A brutish, warlike race often depicted as antagonists in fantasy settings. They are fierce warriors and known for their chaotic and destructive tendencies.

Fairies: Tiny, ethereal beings with magical abilities. Fairies are often associated with nature and known for their mischievous behavior.

Mermaids: Half-human, half-fish creatures who dwell in the seas. They are often depicted as beautiful and enchanting beings with captivating singing voices.

Griffins: Mythical creatures with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Griffins are symbols of strength and courage.

Unicorns: Majestic horse-like creatures with a single spiral horn on their foreheads. Unicorns are often associated with purity and grace.

Phoenix: A mythical bird that is cyclically reborn from its own ashes, representing immortality and renewal.

Werewolves: Humans who can transform into wolves or wolf-like creatures during full moons or through magical means.

Vampires: Immortal beings that feed on the life essence of other living creatures, often blood. They are sensitive to sunlight and have various supernatural abilities.

Goblins: Small, grotesque creatures known for their cunning and mischievous behavior. They are often depicted as scavengers or servants of darker powers.

These are just a few examples, and there are countless other fantasy creatures found in different cultures and fantasy works. Fantasy allows writers and creators to unleash their imagination and explore unique and fantastical worlds filled with all sorts of magical beings and entities.

[beehindblueeyes]

Hi! I have a random question, are there any general headcanons that are shared by the fan base that you like or dislike with the Shadow Boys?

How much time you got? Shekskskka

I’m not aware of to to many headcanons that are shared by the fandom. Most that are shared(that I’ve seen) are X reader related and I’ve already expressed it’s not really my deal. One’s that aren’t, that I’ve seen generally shared- I’m unfortunately not a fan of for the most part

Scaredy-cat Finney (honorary shadow boy)

Literally loathe this one. Not only does it babify him but it also actively goes against what we see of him in the movie? He’s a pretty fucking brave kid from what he faces at school and in the basement. How it takes him till the very last minute to fully break down and cry. “Tough kids” like Vance and Robin broke down like everyone else.

momma’s boy Vance

I have a complicated relationship with this one. I think he did have a good relationship with his Mom but the way people use it to? Basically ignore how he acts/who he is I’m not quite a fan of. I agree he has a softer side, we all do. But to strip away that anger? No. (Not to mention saying mommas boy has a negative connotation but I don’t think people realise?)

Pretty boy

Speaking of not realising the meaning behind phrases. Not a fan on this being used in ships, mainly brance. It was a insult!! It’s a very 2020s thing to use pretty in relation to a guy. But this is a me thing- I’m very time period oriented (like as a joke or huff moment sure but as a compliment/flirt? Not necessarily idk)

Two kinds of boys sort of bad

*cough*Reddie treatment *cough* I just… the way the fandom treats the boys a lot of the time doesn’t sit right with me. Like people have never met 13 year old boys before- they’re the most annoying people you met in your life and it’s just not coming across. They’re heavily babified by the fandom. Uber soft, Uber cry baby or clingy or gentle. I’m - im not a fan. God if anything they should be trying to hard to seem tough (Vance and robin demonstrate this. They are tough but they also heavily put on a act- mainly Vance) and then when people do make them “bad boy” it’s sort of missing the point/idea behind it. Idk people don’t right them like a bunch of young boys. It’s messy and not as marketable I guess

Sunshine/sunshine protector

See above.

Hyper modern ones

Like those headcanons that feel like they’re for a modern au but the Op doesn’t specify. I’ve already said but this is a personal thing as I really like time period and staying to it when it comes to my own work.

Ones I like-

I don’t want this post to be all negative or seem like I’m tearing peoples opinions apart so here’s a few I absolutely love.

Griffin is a menace

It makes me laugh I like it. I like the idea of him being the weird kid that ate paste or bit a kid over a game one time. (Arson and actual law breaking is a bit to far but I love weird kid griffin)

Finney was the one to braid Gwens hair

It’s just cute! I can imagine their dad getting frustrated and calling Finn in to try one morning before school not long after their mom died and Finn nails it. He did it ever since

The pinball machine is out of order after Vance’s death

Sad and makes me think. I like it as a symbolic thing like it just so happens to break down more so it on purpose but the idea of the shop keeper having quarters waiting for the next game never to happen 🥲

The grabber can’t cook. (Bonus)

[demi-shoggoth]

2022 Reading Log, pt 29

My life has been tough lately, so I do what makes me happy. Read books about monsters.

141. The Old Snatchengrabber’s Big Book of Child Eating Monsters by Mike Rosen. This is not beloved British children’s author Mike Rosen, or asshole Republican pundit Mike Rosen. This is a different one. This book is a collection of folkloric bogeymen, illustrated in a cartoony style. Most of these are European, but some from around the world do appear. Some liberties have been taken with the monsters at hand, mostly in the art—the yara-ma-wa-yho, for example, is an amorphous blob instead of a hairless monkey-frog, and Krampus is both female and thicc. Brief, but pleasant.

142. The United States of Cryptids by J. W. Ocker. I’ve quite enjoyed Ocker’s Season of the Witch and Cursed Objects, and I quite enjoyed this book as well. The book is as much about crypto-tourism as it is about actual cryptozoology. As such, it takes a pretty broad view of what a cryptid is, including various UFOlogical entities, as well as folkloric entities like the wendigo or Navajo shapeshifters, if they have places to visit or sell merchandise for. It’s also pretty respectful, acknowledging that those aforementioned Navajo shapeshifters, for example, are taboo to a lot of Navajo people still. Ocker has clearly done his homework, and acknowledges that creatures like the Ozark Howler are modern hoaxes, as well as suggesting some very obscure monsters that are ripe for becoming tourist attractions (such as the Derry Fairy, the Prime Hook Swamp Creature and the Kodiak Dinosaur).

143. The Enemies of Rome by Stephen Kershaw. In some ways, this is the best whirlwind tour of Roman history I could imagine, covering events from the mythical foundation of Rome to the last of the Western emperors. It is most interested in what the Romans thought of the various people they fought and usually defeated, and how Romans built their own identity as separate from “barbarian”, even though they themselves were barbarians from the point of view of Greek culture, which they wholeheartedly appropriated. A lot of time is spent in the late Republic era, which I appreciated. Too often, books about Rome written for a popular audience skip straight from the Punic Wars to Julius Caesar. One thing I didn’t like, however, was its constant use of modern neologisms. “Fake news”, for example, shows up more than five times before I stopped counting. It was cute once, but rapidly became irritating.

144. Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws by Adrienne Mayor. This is a collection of short articles written for various magazines and websites by Mayor, collected and occasionally updated. Most of them are on the subject of weird ephemera of the classical world, often times animal themed. Examples include several articles on tourism in Greece during Roman times, a history of Roman perfumes, the use of weasels as household mousers in the Classical world, and of course writings on Greek and Roman monsters. The book includes her original article proposing that the griffin is based on Protoceratops fossils, and the argument is pretty much just “I went looking for a real animal that looks like a griffin, because I couldn’t imagine that it was a symbolic hybrid, and this is what I found”.  In the foreword, she refers to that essay as “embarrassing”, although whether because she has repudiated that (very poorly supported) hypothesis or merely because of its fannish tone addressed to Jack Horner, remains unsaid. I can’t say I recommend this book, but I didn’t consider reading it a complete waste of time.

145. Eaters of the Dead by Kevin J Wetmore Jr. If I could describe this book in one word, it would be “sloppy”. It is a survey of folklore and mythology related to cannibals and man-eating monsters. It seems, at least at first, to be arguing for a hypothesis that all cannibal monsters are embodiments of fears of survival cannibalism, but seems to give up on that thesis half way through. Possibly because the author realizes it’s a non-starter. For example, he claims that ghouls represent a fear of survival cannibalism in the Arabian Desert, before revealing that modern authors consider the corpse-eating and grave-robbing aspect of ghouls to be a Western appropriation in gothic literature, as opposed to an authentic folkloric belief. It also pairs some ideas in very odd ways and acts as if they make sense, like discussing both feeding the dead to vultures (as the Zoroastrians and Tibetans do) and Polyphemus in the Odyssey in the same chapter. It also seems weird to write a book about man-eating monsters, spend an entire chapter on ghouls, but dismiss zombies in two paragraphs. There’s some interesting ideas in here, and some good sources, but I think I would rather read those sources than this book (and in some cases, I have!).

[blueiscoool]

Masterpiece of Greek Art Found in the Griffin Warrior Tomb

The engraving on the Pylos Combat Agate is so tiny and intricate that it changes our understanding of what the ancient Greeks could produce

In 2015, archaeologists discovered an intact tomb of a Mycenean warrior or priest later dubbed the “Griffin Warrior” in an olive grove near Pylos, Greece, dating to around 1450 B.C. It was an incredible find, with the researchers recovering gold and silver cups, weapons and armor, and 50 gold and gemstone seals engraved with intricate images. Now, reports Nicholas Wade at The New York Times, researchers have fully analyzed one of those agate seals and have found that it is on par with the greatest artworks of the ancient world.

But unlike ancient Greek sculpture or Roman mosaics, the seal might be hard to see without a magnifying glass. The engraved image is less than an inch and a half long, but includes an incredibly detailed scene of a warrior slaying two enemies. The seal has been named the Pylos Combat Agate.

“The stunning combat scene on the seal stone, one of the greatest masterpieces of Aegean art, bears comparison with some of the drawings in the Michelangelo show now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” Malcolm H. Wiener, an expert on Aegean prehistory and a trustee emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum, tells Wade.

According to a press release, when archaeologists from the University of Cincinnati first found the agate, which was encrusted with dirt and grime, they did not recognizes its significance. It wasn’t until they began removing the layer of limestone on the agate that they saw the intricate image. “Looking at the image for the first time was a very moving experience, and it still is,” says Shari Stocker, one of the dig leaders and a research associate in University of Cincinnati's department of classics. "It's brought some people to tears."

How the stone was carved is something of a mystery. Some details are only half-a-millimeter in size and would have required the use of some sort of magnifying device to get the elements right. However, no such equipment has been found in the ancient Greek world, Wade of the Times reports.

The sealstone was likely designed to be mounted on a band and worn on the wrist. In fact, the victorious warrior on the stone is depicted wearing his own seal stone. For those wondering if the warrior image is from some early version of Greek epics like the Iliad or the Odyssey, the researchers say there is no real way to connect the two, especially since Homer’s works were written down around 700 B.C. It’s possible that the oral tradition behind the works stretches back to the time of the Griffin Warrior, but there is no evidence.

What the intricate seal does do, however, is build on what scholars know about the relationship between the ancient Mycenaeans, who lived mostly on the Peloponnese Peninsula on mainland Greece, and the Minoans, a culture that lived on Crete and likely created the Pylos Combat Agate. The Minoans were like the ancient Greeks of the ancient Greek world—they were miles ahead of other cultures in the region and developed sophisticated concepts of art, architecture, religion and thought that would heavily influence the rest of the Greek world. While archaeologists believed the Mycenaeans plundered the Minoans, absorbing many of their cultural ideas, the Griffin Warrior has challenged some of those assumptions, showing that there was an exchange of ideas between the Mycenaeans and Minoans, and that the mainlanders respected Minoan culture and used their iconography and art—like the Pylos Combat Agate—as symbols of political power.

The agate also shows just how advanced the Minoans were. “It seems that the Minoans were producing art of the sort that no one ever imagined they were capable of producing,” Jack Davis, head of the University of Cincinnati’s archaeology department, says in the press release. “It shows that their ability and interest in representational art, particularly movement and human anatomy, is beyond what it was imagined to be. Combined with the stylized features, that itself is just extraordinary.”

The Pylos agate may not be the only treasure from the tomb to rewrite early Greek history, either. The archaeologists have catalogued 3,000 objects from the tomb, many of which have not yet been cleaned or restored.

By Jason Daley.

[thecandywrites]

Blood For Gold Chapter 19

Ya’ll. Google and Pintrist have failed me. This is only kind of sorta how I envisioned this. If you simply take these images as the base and then use them to build with the descriptions I’ve tried giving, you *should* get the right picture in your head because how it looks in my head is more than I can describe. I could give you fifty thousand words to describe the Kamoba. What the arena should look like, how big and how expansive it is, like a really big obstacle course but more intricate than that, what the obsticles themselves should be like what the beacons would look like. What the rulebook itself looks like let alone what is actually written in it, down to what the weapons look like, what the fighting style looks like. What the armor should look like and act like and what the circle of bells looks like and how they sound and how drastically it changes from the day battles to the night battles because day is all about showing off your skills and showing off your moves whereas with the night battle, the fighters almost become invisible because it’s dark and you use more ninja tactics and surprise tactics and how the only time you really see the fighters is when they are actually fighting for brief moments and their flaming swords illuminate not just them, but each other and how it’s overwhelming to the point of you don’t know where to look because everything is going on all at once and how the music makes you want to go to war yourself and battle like a warrior and the roar of the crowd cheering would be deafening at points. Also, Hit The Floor by Linkin Park, that’s the final song but that’s what the music itself sounds like. 

And this is what sucks about having an overactive imagination. Because these scenes played out like an IMAX movie in my head and I’m just trying so hard to describe it to you because I can’t SHOW YOU on a movie screen because I don’t have a way to hook up my imagination to it. I wish but sadly, no. You just have to read it and try to imagine it yourself. And that’s frustrating, at least for me. But at the same time I don’t want those details to clutter the story or clog up the story line. 

THE STRUGGLE. Anyway. This is going to be a big bite and a lot to chew on. Enjoy. 

@punkhorse96​ buckle up, here’s the hill. It’s downhill from here. 

Blood For Gold 

Chapter 19

You happily got Heavencrest saddled as your grandmother borrowed Grevu for today while your mother borrowed Charlico as you were both in the stalls getting them harnessed while Axal was getting ready to ride one of Ramsey’s other griffins while your other brothers got on their own griffins down the line as the boys all seemed to leave at about the same time everyone else did while Jane stayed with Charlotte, Yalin and Gregori who were not participating but hosting this event. 

Commoners were already gathered for the Kamoba battle in the stands for the commoners who were arriving early to get the best seats on them, the vendors had been there since dawn and already had things cooking and grilling away as a series of tents were already up to serve a breakfast, lunch and dinner feasts for the commoners and the royal family’s suite was built onto a high platform above everyone else as a canopy and tent on top of the high platform, viewing right across the battle arena so that they got the best views and very comfortable chairs were already set up as a huge chalkboard was already set up between the commoners and the gentry but also at such an angle so that royalty could easily see it to showcase who would be fighting who to get to the playoffs with the rookies competing first as all the competitors would be flying in and showing off their flying skills to the crowd to also to show off their skill, prowess, strength and stamina.  

Benny was already out there, doing little flips and corkscrews on her borrowed griffin that had a banner in golden yellow with her name as Golden Alpha written on it along with the symbol of a wolf’s head painted in black as she had used the black griffin’s feathers that had been collected when she had groomed it that morning along with the other feathers that had been taken over the course of the last few weeks ever since the Kamoba battle was first planned so that each contestant on a griffin would have a bouquet of feathers from their griffins to pass out to the crowds, the better feathers for the gentry, and the lesser, imperfect, broken feathers for the commonwealth to gain the crowd’s favor as the musicians were playing the crowd’s familiar favorites before the actual battle would begin and they would play the traditional Kamoba battle music. 

After breakfast, then the gentry seemed to show up in force and in style since the announcement was in the papers and the gossip columns in every news paper in London who had been rife with speculation as to why The Turqoise Pheonix had been renamed The Violet Viper as dozens of theories had been supplied and fabricated, also speculations as to why The Violet Viper was now the chosen favorite to win the battle today since their odds to win had gone up since the betting rings were now going for the bet that for every pound they bet on them, they would get two pounds back minus the betting ring’s fee, which was the same odds that The Saharan Viper had along with The Copper Cobra were as well. Whereas Benny’s odds had actually gone down, so that for every pound bet on her- if she won, they would get five pounds back instead of the usual four since the The Turquoise Phoenix's odds had been the same- one in four. 

The gentry began taking their seats in the stands that were especially built and roped off for them and painted white as the gentry’s servants came and put down luxurious cushions for the gentry to sit on as well as comfortable cushions to go on the backs of the benches while a huge canopy had been set up to keep the sun off of most of the gentry but would not interfere with their views, while they had their own raised platform that was open to the sun and thus, open to the griffins to pass by as another servant from the Palace of Windsor came and told everyone still in the stables that the gentry had arrived and that it was officially show time just as you finished getting Heavencrest ready as your mother had finished first and left the stables with Charlico who was chittering at Heavencrest to follow him before Demsey appeared since you were the last one to get ready, leaving you and Heavencrest alone in the griffin part of the barn but Heavencrest noticed Demsey first and started chittering softly at you to get your attention as you looked up and smiled wide when you saw him. 

“Demsey, could you help me with this cinch?” You asked him before he readily opened the door to the stall and ducked into the stall with you, petting Heavencest as he went around her as you readily undid it just so that he could redo it himself which caused him to grin as he happily redid it, becoming more and more accustomed to the giffin’s saddling. 

“Nervous?” He asked you as you could tell he was actually quite nervous himself before you used Heavencrest’s body as your shield before you grabbed his face and pulled him down as you stood on tiptoe to kiss him, granted it was closed mouth and rather on the chaste side but to feel his arms finally encircle you felt better than any trophy ever could.  

“No. It doesn’t matter who wins or loses today. All that does matter is that you do your best. No one can ever ask more from you than that, not even me or the King of England for that matter. Trust your instincts, trust your intuition and trust that win or lose, that my affections for you does not rest on such a thing as a silly battle and your outcome in it, it’s the first time you’re competing, I’m not expecting you to win the whole thing or even your class. All I want is for you to have fun, be a good sport about it and learn all you can, that is all.” You reassured him as you held his face in your hands and looked up so adoringly into his big beautiful purple eyes as he did the same. 

“Likewise.” Was all he could say just as he dipped his head to kiss you again, this time deeper, but you were too excited and happy about the kiss to realize how familiar it was as he held you close and securely as you felt all his own tension leave him before you heard Charlico practically scream as Heavencrest called back to him as she began to pace in place, anxious to get going and join Charlico. 

“Oh my gods it’s like he has anxiety from separation from her.” You complained once you broke for air. 

“I’ll see you out there Demsey Dear.” You cooed to him before you readily jumped onto Heavencrest’s back and into the saddle before giving Demsey one last tantalizing kiss before Heavencrest practically bolted out the barn and flew out into the skies with Charlico. 

Demsey sighed dreamily as he watched you go and practically strut back to the other side of the barn and happily got onto Alaphonse again before he left with the rest of his family and once in the skies, he could see you and your mother doing synchronized flips and stunts for the crowd as you both practiced flying by the crowds so close, you could hand the feathers off to the little kids that had come as their parents held them up from the stands as your battle names were written on different banners on the animals you were riding before the entire Royal Family including Yalin’s sister the Infanta Evinelle DeuSavance and her husband Charles also arrived in style as they waived to the crowds and took their seats in the Royal Suite that had been set up for them.  

That was when your grandmother came out riding Grevu as Grevu roared proudly before taking to the skies and seeing the dragon got everyone to cheer loudly as your grandmother flew him around the grounds, the other flyers, flying behind him, with you immediately to his left while your mother flew Charlico directly on his right as Loreiris was showing Grevu off and scattering preshed dragon scales into the crowds like flower petals or even coins as everyone scrambled to try to get one, which Grevu was happy to do, especially to stretch his wings out before she had him breathe fire to light the bowls filled with special fire oil within the arena as the sheer winds coming off his wings were almost strong enough to topple the people in the stands as the tents themselves billowed and groaned from the force of the winds as quite a few bonnets and top hats came flying off the ladies and gentlemen as their servants scrambled to pick them up again.

Then the announcer for the event with a voice amplifier encouraged each competitor to land, starting from the youngest of The Rookies Class, which was Callie Voyambi who was fighting under the name Little Spitfire which was your old childhood Kamoba battle name when you were a kid which you happily passed off to her, as you let her use your old banner as her own, it’s dark teal color with an orange flame, outlined in black as she landed her borrowed pegasus’ Eterna and came off and waived to the crowds, especially to her friends in the gentry as she then went over to where the circle that housed a myriad of bells were before she picked her favorite and chimed it with a special knocker tied to her fist before she sat down in a chair under the competitor’s tent next to the arena. Then Kiera came down and repeated the process followed by Amara, Tzane, Sierge and then finally Demsey, each of the Voyambi’s ringing a single note of their choosing. 

Then it was The Skillful Class’ turn where most of your family took their turns landing in the grass as the animals laid down regally on the other side of the battle field as their riders were waving to the crowd as they walked in front of the battle arena before they attached pieces of iron to their feet and ankles before they rang out their own “tune” that was unique to the fighter, each battle fought in- carried a longer tune and with each battle won- carried the bigger tunes as each one had their own little dance they did to ring out the various tunes in all the notes.  

Then it was your turn as you landed, being the first in The Proficient Class, and therefore the lowest of The Proficient Class since The Proficient Class was you, your parents and your grandmother, your heir father and his wife and his mother as you rang out your own tune from heart as you hit multiple bells to create a unique melody, the dance to ring them just as unique as all the others had been but it was still a third longer than Benny’s since she was the top competitor for the The Skillful Class and if she won her class, she would graduate the class and cement her place in The Proficient Class, either above you or below you depending on whether she beat you or not at the night games where it was played one on one since the day games usually kept to teams. 

After your turn on the bells, then it was your heir father and his wife and his mother also did the same since they were in The Proficient Class, then it was your parent’s turn before, at last, it was your grandmother’s Loreiris’ turn as she landed Grevu in the grass and practically strut in front of the crowd that went wild for her before she took the weights from your mother and put them on her wrists, fists, ankles and feet and spent the next five minutes ringing out the longest melodic chain of bell ringings, it was twice as long as your own mother’s who was the next one down from her and once she was done the crowd once again went wild.

Once she was done, then there was a flurry of calls for bets as even the royal family quietly whispered their own bets to their attendants before the announcer announced what was riding in the pot between the competitors before the Raymond’s showed off the Cup that had been made and delivered just that morning along with their own little treasure, a diamond necklace, as the Infanta’s put in a diamond tiara before the royal family put in their treasure, a whole bar of moura gold, which had to be carefully set into the trophy first so that it wouldn’t crush the other items that had all of the treasures taken from the pot that had been collected the day before, all of it’s treasures were put into the trophy as the trophy was now so heavy, it had to be carried by three men and placed before the King in the the Royal Suite with the diamond Tiara placed on top, kept there by your dagger Zairrabanit holding it down so that it wouldn’t fly away from the wind coming off of all the flying creatures that would be soon, taking to the skies as the winners of each round would fly their chosen animals around the skies after each victory.  

The way it was laid out, The Rookies, which were basically the whole Voyambi family, were split into two teams, Demsey, Amara and Callie on one, Sierge, Tzane and Kiera on the other. 

The two teams got into position and then the gong was struck to signify the beginning of the battle since the gong was next to the circle of bells. 

To everyone’s surprise, it was little Callie that struck first, striking Tzane down with a swipe of her legs to topple him over and then taking him out with two hits, one with the sword to his neck and the other from a dagger to his leg as she readily used her smaller size to get to the first beacon and readily touched her dagger’s blade to the fire of burning oil to then stab at the first beacon before it exploded in light and colored smoke as Amara then helped catapult her to the second to try to get that one too but Kiera was guarding the second and with three hits, using her larger size and power to knock Callie to the floor and pinned her neck down with her blade to the floor. 

“Good try though.” Kiera offered as Callie laughed and got up and got off the battle stage with Tzane before it was Amara used Kiera pinning Callie down to hit the second beacon where Kiera and made a run for the third while Demsey defended the beacons on his own side against Sierge. 

“So, what did your moura bride offer you if you win today?” Sierge offered as he fought with Demsey near the first beacon. 

“Nothing,” Demsey beamed happily as he did his best to keep the beacon safe. 

“Mine offered me that if I win The Rookie Class, that she would marry me, so I need you to lose with style.” Sierge revealed. 

“Aw, too bad that’s against the rules and against the code of honor. But that’s funny that you mentioned that, mine didn’t hold me to any such thing, all she asked for was my best and that she loves me win or lose, it’s a shame that Benny’s love for you hinges on such a battle like this. If she did really love you, she wouldn’t put such a condition on her love for you.” Demsey pointed out as he couldn’t stop smiling as Sierge and himself battled with the broad swords and the shields since those weapons were the ones they were most comfortable with.  

‘You loved him’ was the only thought that stayed in Demsey’s head because. that was all that mattered to him as Sierge kicked Demsey in the chest as he passed his blade through the fire before striking the first beacon and then sending the same blade to the second beacon before Demsey went to the third to defend that from Sierge as Amara and Kiera fought for the third beacon on their side as well.  

“This has to be the most grand thing we’ve ever done together.” Amara cackled as she and Kiera faced off against each other. 

“And we didn’t even have to get into a corset!” Kiera giggled before Amara spun around, the edge of her warhammer getting alight from the oil in the pan that was alight with fire before she smashed the third beacon, winning the round before a gong was rung to signify the end of the battle as Demsey and Sierge stopped fighting. 

“Damn it.” Sierge cursed as Demsey and Amara both won the rookie class and their team got to add a note to their chimes but since Callie had been struck down, she was not allowed to compete in the next stage as Demsey and Amara moved up in the competition, taking their borrowed pegasus’ for a ride around the grounds to waive their banners along with their added family crests as the first set of bets was paid out among the royalty, gentry and common folk alike before new bets were placed as Benny volunteered to fight in the next round against them, which went against traditional protocol since it was usually the lowest of the The Skillful class that would compete against the rookie class winners, but there was a rule, saying that anyone could challenge anyone else in the same class and since Amara and Demsey had moved up from the Rookie Class to the Skillful Class for the day battle- it was allowed- as Benny urged Octavia to join her as she insisted she wanted Demsey to herself which Octavia readily agreed to as Demsey and Amara landed before going back into the arena where Benny and Octavia were already waiting for them before they got into position and waited for the gong to ring again before they were jolted into action.  

“I should thank you for getting Sierge out of the competition so I wouldn’t have to fight him myself.” Benny offered smugly as Calla’s warning the night before was called to Demsey’s mind before she tried to undermine his footing by swiping at his legs but he easily jumped over her own leg and leapt onto the higher ground. 

“I knew you didn’t genuinely care for him if you put such an impossible task before him.” Demsey returned as he used his better vantage point to try to get in a strike of his own but she easily evaded him. 

“Of course not, I’ve been working him the same way Audra has been working you, it’s a moura bride thing, we can’t help it, it’s what we have been trained since infancy to do, work men and bend them to our wills and not the other way around.” Benny giggled evilly as she tried to get at the beacon but Demsey shoved her off before she could. 

“She in fact, hasn’t been working me, as you claim, unlike you, she’s actually been genuine, whereas you have had a pretense the moment you left home.” Demsey challenged as he defended the beacon from her as Amara was having the worst time just trying to get a hit in as Octavia evaded every advance and counter striked in such a way that Amara was soon on the defensive instead of the offensive as Octavia was quite advanced for being in The Skillful Class and it was immediately clear that Amara was in way over her head trying to fight off against Octavia who was much stronger and much more skilled than she looked.  

“Oh really? What did you think she was doing all those nights at The Red Velvet Rope meeting with another orc of all things? She was so broken hearted by the shakan status because she couldn’t come home to Leumeni who was equally heartbroken because it was him that was her favorite because he could please her best sexually back at the stables at The Lotus House, which is our version of a whorehouse and Leumeni was absolutely certain that the moment she was free of Edward, she would come home to be his wife, he even waited all that time just so she could come home to him, he even had his own pet name for her, His Liittle Firecracker, and her little nickname for him was her ‘Teal Titan’ that’s why he fights under that name, she’s the one that gave him that name because having sex with him was equal to having sex with the god like titans themselves. The only reason teal turquoise is her favorite color is because it’s the same color of his skin and the color always reminds her of him and that’s how she keeps all her memories of him close to her heart and in her mind. He’s been writing her almost daily ever since, and when not a single letter of his returned, he was devastated. But it was clear that she’s been looking for a replacement ever since, it was only your strict English society that kept them apart at the Ball at Havenfield because he saw her again and was ready to haul her off and bury himself to the hilt in her yet again but couldn’t. Even at the Masquerade Ball she was fucking her own manwhore only moments before being with you at the bar. Your brother Sierge’s sense of smell confirmed it, in fact it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s already pregnant by either Leumeni or her own manwhore. How does it feel knowing you’re always going to be second best in her heart?” Benny smugly chided as Demsey faltered so she could claim the first beacon before he ran to the second but she easily threw her flaming dagger at the second just as he got to it and it nearly took his head off before he scrambled to the third. 

“Just ask her or even ask your brother cause I’ve already told him all about it in exchange to learn that you yourself have been using whorehouses to find your own Audra? Miss Audra Draft was it? I heard from the gambling ring leaders that she put a bet of a hundred pounds on you to win the rookie class. I’ll bet you another hundred pounds that she is gonna take the money and run, you poor thing, still chasing a dream that doesn’t exist, because Audra’s love and loyalty lies with Leumeni, not you. Why do you think they’ve been making eyes at each other this whole time? Even now, she was only giving Ramsey the time of day until he could give her Dowager status, and then she’s coming home to Leumeni, no one else. It’s just a shame that your sister Kiera seems so taken with him. It’s gonna sting like a motherfucker when he leaves Kiera for Audra, she’s always been his wild thing, His Little Firecracker. Like a unicorn- untamed, unbridled, wild and intense. They have always had the best sex and off the charts chemistry and are quite the pair.” Benny instigated as Demsey looked over to see you talking with Leumeni as both of you looked particularly anxious and standing quite close, talking quietly between each other to see Benny really going after Demsey before she struck him in the balls before getting the kill strikes in his throat and on the kidneys before passing her blade through the fire and exploding the third beacon as Demsey fell to the ground sputtering and choking and nearly crying from the impacts as Amara happily got up from having Octavia pin her down as Octavia and Benny started cheering their victory before getting on their steeds and flying around, their banners flapping in the breeze. 

“You ok?” Amara asked Demsey as she helped him up and helped him off the stage. 

“Yeah, just, Benny is vicious.” He muttered as he stared at her reproachfully as she smugly blew him a kiss from atop her griffin as she flew it around, hooting and hollering her victory as the crowd chanted ‘Gold Alpha’. 

“Well Calla told me she loves to start shit and that she will take something small that is true and spin it into a lie, because something that is even ten percent true is a hundred percent misleading, so whatever she did say to you, I wouldn’t believe a word of it. She probably made the most atrocious allegations against Audra didn’t she? Because she knows that’s your weak spot. Octavia did the same thing with me and Storren.” Amara tried to reassure her brother as they walked off the stage and towards the buckets of water to clean off the paint marks from their white leather armor. 

“Are you ok?” You asked Demsey worriedly. 

“Yeah, just, was not expecting Benny to be as vicious or spiteful as she was.” Demsey reported. 

“Please don’t believe a word she said, she will take nothing and make it into something and blow it out of proportion to throw her components off. That’s why my tactic with her is to attack without letting her talk at all.” You reassured Demsey as Leumeni took his sister aside and asked how she was able to beat Demsey so quickly but with the low blows before she answered him and smiled smugly when his eyes grew wide and he stared at her in outraged horror before seething something to her just to see her cackle and laugh in his face before he stomped off. 

“Oh no.” Calla breathed when she saw it before she pulled you aside as Demsey was still washing the paint off of his armor as he noticed there seemed to be gold glitter in the yellow paint that seemed to smear and get everywhere as he had the hardest time getting clean again. 

“I think Benny told Demsey about you and Leumeni back in the stables to throw him off.” Calla breathed to you before you winced and grimaced and looked to Leumeni and used marinai’s sign language to ask before he nodded as you gave each other a meaningful look. 

‘Please, knock her down a peg, the past is the past, let it stay there.’ Leumeni signed to you before you nodded your agreement as Demsey watched on a little suspiciously at the interchange between Leumeni and yourself you stretched and got ready as the others began to enter and fight in the arena, the gong ringing out to start the battle before shortly after gonging again to signify a victory before it was Axal and Ramsey’s turn to square off in the arena against your heir father’s kids as you were no surprised to see Axal fight alongside Ramsey as the two of them together used the all out attack method and stormed the opponent's side and your half siblings didn’t stand a chance. It was quite epic to see, they made quite the pair. Ramsey used his greater experience whereas Axal used his youth and vigor and together they were almost an unstoppable force as others fought on in teams, but with the odd number of players in The Skillful class, with Calla being the odd one out, you volunteered to go down a class to fight along side Calla who faced off against Leumeni and her brother Storren. 

“I get Leumeni.” You urged Calla who nodded in agreement before the gong was struck.  

“So what did your sister say to Demsey?” You asked as you ran towards the first marker that Leumeni was defending. 

“She told him about us, but that the moment you get Dowager status, that you’re going home to stables with me.” Leumeni answered. 

“Is that what you want?” You asked him. 

“No. Two years ago- yes, but after the first six months of you not replying to my letters and because you followed the rules of not letting your heart get entangled and I didn’t, I thought it was my own fault. And then when you got the shakan status, I tried writing to you telling you that it didn’t matter to me what status you had, that I would take you no matter what but when that letter failed to get a response, I thought you had sworn off of Dorierra all together, that’s why I jumped at the chance to leave, to come here and a chance to see you again and I pushed Calla to accept so I could get an explanation as to why you were rejecting me only to find out that the mail service here failed you completely. And that you were completely unaware of any of it. But then I met Kiara and she’s everything I’ve ever wanted and now I’m hoping those letters never see the light of day so I don’t make an even bigger fool of myself than I already have.” Leumeni confessed as you dipped and dodged his attacks with ease and offered good counter attacks despite his larger size and considerable strength. 

“I get it, I’m your past, she’s your future. And I’m happy that you’re happy and I hope you’re happy with each other and she’s probably all the wild things you loved about me and just begging to have all the wild released. But I’ve become too tame and restrained for you eh?” You asked with a fond grin as you leaped up and wrapped your legs around his neck and twisted yourself around to get him to topple over, striking the first beacon on the way down before you practically bounced off of him and towards the second beacon. 

“In so many words, yes.” Leumeni grinned happily, relieved that you were taking this so well and were in agreement and happy for him instead of being hurt by the news. 

“Well, while I still want to be your friend, I have never really wanted more than that from you. And I think if the letters do come up, I’ll be sure to just excuse it as us being close friends and nothing more and burn them if you want me to without reading them to spare you any embarrassment.” You reassured him. 

“Thank you.” Leumeni thanked you before he picked you up and tossed you up and back as you used your grappling hooks to grab onto the beam above you before you could smack against a wall as you used the rope of it to run along the walls as you used your momentum from Leumeni throwing you to tie the rope around your arm to anchor yourself to it before you tied the rope around your waist so that it swung around in a circle, back to Leumeni who was gearing up for your arrival as you watched as Calla was already defending the second beacon on your side before you used your momentum on the rope to attach a weight to the bottom of it and threw it around Storren’s arm and wrist as the little weight acted like a snake like vine, wrapping snugly around his wrist and forearm just as he was about to hit the beacon and once it was wrapped around his wrist, you used your own momentum with the rope around your waist and the swinging motion back into Leumeni’s direction to yank him backwards as you were surprised when you barely felt the squeeze of it around your waist to pull him backwards, yanking him off the ground as Calla used Storren being yanked off of her to plant her feet onto Storren’s chest to kick him in that direction since he had her pinned down before you crashed Storren into Leumeni as Calla lit an arrow and sent it into the second beacon now that the two of them were out of the way as you readily untangled yourself from the rope of your grabling hook as you climbed up it as you flipped and swung along the rafters criss crossing the ceiling of the battle ground, using the beams on the ceiling to get you to the third beacon as Storren and Leumeni scrambled to beat you to it, running through the obstacle course to get to the third beacon as Calla lit an arrow and aimed it at the third beacon but with you leaping from the ceiling and onto Leumeni and Storren as they both tried to grab you and pin you down, but like a cat you slipped out of their grasps and instead balled yourself up and put your feet to Leumeni’s chest. 

“I got your back, metaphorically speaking that is.” You assured him before like a spring- you sprung him off of you and sent him flying backwards to crash into one of the obstacle elements as the whole crowd was amazed as you used your own strength to do that as you grabbed Storren who kept trying to grab you to throw you off of him as he tried to simply pin you down to a side as he used his body to try to pin you against the other sides of the obstacles around you as you seemed to crawl all over him, using his larger body as your own personal jungle gym as you seemed to slip and slither out of his grasps like a proper snake as Calla let the arrow loose as you heard it coming as you leaned back to let the arrow come between you and Storren as it seemed time slowed down for you to do so as you watched it pass between you as Storren only, half a beat later seemed to only catch the fletching of the arrow with his line of sight just as it seemed to leave his field of vision as you used this moment to swing yourself around him so that he fell, face first into the floor of the arena just as the target began to explode in colored smoke before time came back to full speed as you sat on the back of Storren’s shoulders as the impact knocked Storren out as you and Calla then practically bounced up and ran into each other’s embrace as the gong rang out just as Leumeni seemed to get the air back into his lungs as he rolled over and coughed as his body curled in on itself before you and Calla came over and helped him up to his feet and congratulated him on a good game before the three of you went back over to Storren to try to wake him up before Calla’s other brother as well as Benny’s and the Voyambi’s came over and picked him up and carried him out of there and laid him on a cot to wake up again before you and Calla rode griffins around the  grounds, doing another synchronized set of flips and twists and jumps and corkscrews to do it which was a feat in itself before you landed again and added your chimes to your tunes before you returned to the competitor tent. 

“You put him down hard, like a proper viper.” Your grandmother Loreiris praised you as you came over to where your family was hanging out. 

“Thanks.” You smiled as you took a deep pull from your glass of water before you took two more figs from the bowl of fruit and bit into them. 

“Gosh I wish these were ripe-er.” You complained about the state of the figs but that didn’t seem to deter you from practically inhaling them. 

“These English common figs are nothing to the ones in Dorierra, at least in Dorierra we have dozens of varieties to choose from.” Your grandmother turned her nose up at them. 

“No, but they are better than no figs at all, otherwise I would be spooning fig jam onto anything even remotely bread-like or even eating spoonfuls of it out of the jar.” You confessed. 

“Do you hunger for them that much?” Your grandmother asked you curiously. 

“I do. I couldn’t tell you why to save my life but I normally don’t overly like figs in general but ever since Grevu cured me, I’ve hungered for them like crazy and I can’t get enough. But Dr. Chu did say I would have cravings so, at least it’s this and not something impossible for me to get a hold of like guava or something.” You shrugged as you finished it off and got another long pull of water. 

“Maybe there is something in them that the mourkatili drained from your system and that figs have to resupply it.” Your grandmother reasoned. 

“Probably,” you nodded before you bit into the second one after promptly finishing the first. 

“So how dirty is Benny playing?” Your grandmother asked. 

“Very, she brought up The Lotus House with Leu and I back in the day with Demsey to defeat him, I want to put her into the dirt harder than I did Storren,” you confessed as Loreiris’ eyebrows raised in surprised as she hummed her acknowledgement of that. 

“Don’t let vengeance cloud your judgement, you have a few battles yet before you can face off against her. Focus on the battle at hand, then win the war with her and remind her that your venom is more lethal than the steel of her battle axes, much less her bark or her bite.” She advised as you nodded your agreement as you watched as Benny kept playing to the crowd and to the royal family even when she wasn’t in the battle arena competing as your grandmother kept an eye on all those who entered the arena and the way they were all fighting, gleaning their styles and leanings as they fought as she mentally fought each one in her head as you looked over to where Sierge was sitting and outright pouting since Benny was ignoring him in favor of the other nobility in the crowd, in particular Viscount Whiteale gentlemen, Kate’s brothers as she had them eating out of her hands practically as Leumeni was still coaching Kiera through the night battles and how to actually win those by doing more stealth tactics and using the shadows the other components of the obstacle course allowed as Amara stayed with Storren as he slowly woke up from being knocked out. 

“Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?” Amara asked. 

“Four?” He answered as Amara stared worriedly at the two fingers she was holding up before the doctor on standby gave him medicine for his concussion and left him to sleep it off before it was your mother and father’s turn to play against your heir father and his wife in the battlefield as almost everyone was on the edge of their seats as your grandmother Loreiris and your heir father’s mother, Anavia were the team to beat since they were technically the two most senior members and a team of their own as they both watched their children with pride while silently critiquing their performances and techniques before it ended in a draw, with both teams hitting their third beacon at the same time. 

“Play offs it is.” Your grandmother Loreiris noted to Anavia who grinned in turn before they came to the court, siding with their children as Loreiris, your mother and father took a moment to regroup and formulate a plan as did your hier father and when the moment the gong rang out, it was your mother and father that went out to the first beacon as your grandmother stood guard over the first beacon on their side as you watched on proudly as your parents easily outmaneuvered and outmatched your hier father and his wife as your grandmother Loreiris defended the first beacon from your other grandmother Anavia and with that, the morning Kamoba battle was done and over before the break for lunch was announced as the commonwealth were more than ready and willing to pay the multitude of food vendors for what they had to offer as they took refuge under the food tent from the heat that was starting to build before the Royal Family asked for a private audience with all competitors and their families. 

“I would like to congratulate everyone on a job well done and their victories and for those that saw defeat this morning, there is always the night battle where you can find redemption.” King Leopold offered. 

“However I would like to have a word with all of you as well.” The Queen Dowager began. 

“Please, Queen Mother, by all means.” King Leopold insisted. 

“Now I understand that Sultana Audravienne, you have survived an assassination attempt and were healed by your brother’s dragon Grevu was it?” She asked. 

“I have, thus my current hair color.” You confirmed. 

“Now I understand all of you are aware of who the guilty party is, however for the sake of decorum and to keep the nosey little busy bodies who are undoubtedly trying to hear this conversation through the door so they can then write about this affair in those horrid gossip columns that have had every newspaper selling out just from the speculation for the Kamoba battle. I will request, that all of you take a vow a silence on the matter until it can be settled properly. There are dozens of gossip column newspapers whose very writers are in cognito as members of the gentry in London and they do love a good scandal but I do not want anyone’s reputation to be damaged beyond repair before the matter can be settled. In order to keep things as peaceful as they can be for a Kamoba battle, you will all notice that the guilty parties are not in attendance, for they have been barred from attending and I’m sure anyone with half a wit will be able to come to certain conclusions. However I wish for today’s focus to be solely on the Kamoba battle and if anyone asks, I insist on everyone simply saying that ‘you are not at liberty to say’ and that is all the talk of the matter that will be indulged in and if I hear otherwise from anyone, the guilty parties will be answering to me. Is that clearly understood?” Dowager Queen Anastasia firmly insisted as King Leopold nodded his agreement along with his wife and all of their children and their spouses and their children along with Yalin’s other sister the Infanta and her family also nodded and vowed their agreement to that command. 

“Yes your Majesty.” Everyone echoed their answer. 

“Now, leave and enjoy the afternoon Kamo, however I do wish to have a private word with Sultana Audravienne alone.” Dowager Queen commanded before they curtsied and saw themselves out except for you and the Dowager Queen. 

“Now, don’t be frightened, or disheartened by this. After the Kamoba battle today, I am very much looking forward to seeing you get the satisfaction of the justice you deserve, you see Gregori and King Leopold keep no secrets between them and all the proof of the case that Gregori has found and told to King Leopold who has since shared it with me and it is appalling that such treatment was rendered to you and it is a feat of greatness that you survived such a thing, make no mistake, you will get your just desserts after such a trial, I’ll see to it personally.” The Dowager Queen reassured you as you blew out a breath of relief. 

“Thank you, your Majesty, I eagerly look forward to it. Thank you for counting me worthy of your involvement.” You thanked her graciously. 

“Once upon a time, I was a moura bride too, such things can never repeat and will never be tolerated ever again and I will be rooting for you- both today, and every day after, until you are satisfied with your vengeance at justice’s hand. I mean who can refute with proof such as this?” She reassured you as she took your hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze with a smile that was warmer than sunshine as her other hand gently pet your head since your hair had been braided back to keep it out of your eyes. 

“Thank you,” you thanked her earnestly as you curtsied down low again before her.  

“Now, go enjoy the Kamo lunch feast, and don’t let anyone beguile you or your charms.” She urged you before she urged you to go as you obeyed her and thanked her before you left with the Queen and went into the formal dining room were King Leopold and his Queen Alexandria had turned their attentions to Ramsey and getting to know Octavia since Ramsey had brought her over to meet with them and the rest of his royal family to get their figurative stamps of approval which they were happy to do. 

“What did the Dowager Queen say to you?” Your family asked once you reappeared.

“That she was a moura bride too, and that she will see to it that I get justice to my satisfaction and that she herself will be involved in my case. The Morrigans are finished.” You whispered excitedly as your moura marks lit up like fireworks on your skin as your eyes practically glowed gold as soon everyone was smiling just as happily as you were before you disbursed to have lunch with the gentry as all of them seemed to open up seats for any they could snag, since eating with with a Kamoba battle contestant was seen as an honor to be eating with a warrior of legend. 

Little Callie had never been so popular among the other children her age since she was the only one in her age group to compete as she and the rest of her family were proud to announce that they were building a proper Kamoba battle out of steel and iron back at Whydah and as soon as it was completed, the Voyambi’s would be happy to host another Kamoba battle to host more battles such as this which was met with great joy and jubilation as the King himself offered to help be a patron of the project which the Voyambi’s happily accepted. 

Kate Whitesale’s brothers who were seated around Benny as she ate and coyly flirted with both of them while Kate tried to take notes about how Benny was completely enrapturing her brothers so that she too could win back Duke Demsey since it was clear that neither Benny or Calla had ensnared him yet and if anything he still seemed unaffected by them now as he was at the ball which gave her a measure of hope that she had not lost that battle yet. 

“Princess, would you instruct me on how to win back Duke Voyambi’s favor?” Kate asked Benny as she looked down the table to see Demsey eating lunch with Tzane and Calla while you were having a private word with the rest of your family at the moment. 

“That would be difficult since the Sultana has her eye of favor on him and has already found his favor in his. And with her being the favorite to win today, it will be hard for him to see her as anything less than that. However, there is leverage to be had that could potentially break up the pair that I am in possession of. But since the Sultana is a friend of mine, I would be loathed to part from it…” Benny began before she got a wicked curve to her grin. 

“For anything less than the right price, so tell me, what would you give to come into possession of that leverage?” Benny asked Kate as Kate was seated across from her as both of Kate’s brothers were seated on either side of her as all three of them were practically salivating at the thought as the tips of their ears wiggled excitedly.  

“Anything that you could ask for. Anything I have that you would want.” Kate answered desperately as she fought to keep her voice down. 

“Well as it is, I don’t know what you have, so my suggestion to you, is to compile, perhaps a list of what assets, connections and favors that you have that can be transferable to me or shared with me. Because you see the reason I have that leverage was because the Raymonds had their eye on the Sultana as a bride for their son but since Buchon Octavia has come and stolen Ramsey away from the Sultana, it seems my leverage was rather useless and came with the unfortunate complication of Lord Sierge Voyambi’s affections, which of course I do not return since he is the second son, heir to nothing and has no real power or clout in this society since it rests solely on the first born son. But if the Duke is what you desire, then that leverage once again has value and I myself am in need of an escape from Lord Sierge’s unwanted affections and advances. So, think long and hard about what your family can offer me in return for what you desire most, which is obviously becoming the next Duchess Voyambi and host to the King and Queen to when they come to Whydah for those amazing Kamoba battles where fortunes could be made from the losing bets and of course a percentage of all bets made going to the hosting house.” Benny pointed out. 

“Would my own hand in marriage to become a Viscountess Whiteales be enough?” George asked her hopefully. 

“Perhaps, an honest appraisal of your situation and your family’s situation, as well as- an honest and accurate accounting of your family’s wealth, would be key to understanding it, so we shall see won’t we?” Benny cooed to him before she stood and went around to the other orc families to get to know them and see if there were any better options than Sierge or even the Viscount George Whitesale as you passed her and noticed she was “working” every other orc family there and just shook your head at her. ‘So short sighted’ you thought to yourself before you sat down next to Demsey for the lunch feast, much further down the table. 

“What did the Dowager Queen say to you?” Demsey inquired curiously. 

“How she personally is getting involved in my court case and won’t rest until I see justice and am perfectly satisfied with that justice.” You grinned triumphantly as your eyes glowed gold again and the moura marks that were visible on your skin lit up like fireworks again. 

“Oh, then your would-be assassinators are quite finished then, aren’t they?” Demsey smiled triumphantly in turn. Your infectious smile quite becoming.  

“Even if they are not and even if I don’t get another penny from them or even if I have to give back everything they’ve ever given to me to be free of them completely, I’ll gladly agree to it. I just want the past to stay in the past because you’re my future, whether you’re a winner or loser or Duke or not, just you, that is all I desire and I don’t need or want anything other than that.” You insisted as he took your hand and brought your knuckles up to his mouth to kiss them tenderly. 

“Likewise. Even if you were a commoner on the streets, my love for you would not be any less than what it is right now.” Demsey reassured you. 

“So would you prefer I court you the English way, the orcish way or the moura way?” Demsey asked. 

“Whichever you prefer, although if I’m to stay here with you as Duchess Voyambi, might I suggest the more English route, so that no shame or reproach may come upon your family, no matter how tempting the moura way can be as far as instant gratification is concerned.” You suggested in a sultry murmur in his ear that had him ever so grateful that he was sittind down in stiff leathers to hide his physical reaction to you as that little line had him threatning to destroy every ounce of propriety he had if it meant his piqued curiosity could he satisfied as to what you were really implying and to feel your petal soft lips ever so gently graze the shell of his ear, had him ready to damn the whole thing, pick you up, throw you over his shoulder and carry you upstairs to bury himself to the hilt in you that instant as the flames of his desire for you ate him alive. 

But he was surrounded by the entire gentry and to look past you, down the table to where Kate was as she did her best to give them her ‘come hither’ eyes. Had him thinking the better of it. He wanted to marry you and shove your soon to be engaged then married hand into her face and flaunt you in front of her had him thinking the better of it.  

“Or your honor, which is the most precious above all else.” Demsey readily agreed as all of Benny’s earlier words seem to have washed away completely. That’s all they were, words meant to strike at him but were not based at all in truth because he could clearly see that while you and Leumeni were friends, he did not see anything other than that between you and his intuition and instincts were telling him that your loyalty and affections rested solely on him, and no one else and he trusted those more than he trusted whatever little seeds of doubt that bitch Benny tried to plant. 

“Yeah, about that…” You couldn’t help but wince apologetically. 

“The past is the past and it can stay there, you said so yourself, it doesn’t matter to me. Your honorable character and integrity in this moment and every other moment that I have known you, is what counts and both of those are the highest caliber in my honest opinion. That’s all.” Demsey reassured you as you smiled adoringly and appreciatively at him and kissed his hand in turn because outright kissing him at the table would not be permitted in society but that was all you could get away with, but tonight, when everyone went home, oh you were going to try your best to rut him so good and show him exactly what he could look forward to as being your husband and in a committed, monogamous relationship with you could encompass and how you were going to drain him dry, it would make battling in a Kamoba battle seem like a walk in the park. 

“So I have some ideas about the Kamoba battle arena at Whydah,” you began as Calla and Tzane, Amara and Storren and Kiera and Leumeni seemed to eagerly lean forward to also engage in this particular conversation as you spent most of the afternoon just talking about all the wonderful ideas you had about the arena and the stands that people would sit on and what the Royal Box should be like as well as the stands for the commoners and the gentry and special spots just for the food vendors and just how big and extraordinary it should be so that even the one in Dorierra would be hard pressed to compete with and as the afternoon wore on, there were several games and rounds of dancing between the competitors and the gentry and even the royal family participated. 

“I’m so happy that you’re happy with Olivia, Ramsey, honestly and truly, I am.” You offered to him in turn as you took a little turn on the dance floor with him in one of the English dances. 

“Thank you, and I fully intend to deliver on my promise to raise your own status and help you in any way I can, especially helping you destroy your ‘attempted assassintors’.” Ramsey answered. 

“Even if you can not, I will not hold it against you personally, you asked at the ball at Havenfield to be friends. And all I hope is that no matter what happens, that we stay that way.” You offered to him. 

“You really are remarkable Sultana, I would count myself lucky to have a woman such as you be my friend.” Ramsey smiled brightly as you did the same. 

The afternoon practically flew by and quickly morphed into evening and lunch was taken away before dinner was served and quickly eaten as you and the other competitors practically had to run to your rooms to change into the night leathers and other armor before rushing back the stadium to gear up for the night’s events as Grevu woke up when you returned before he gently knocked Benny over with his head as she passed by him. 

“Grevu!” Benny complained as Grevu sniffed her over curiously as his snout pinned her to the ground as he sniffed her all over. 

“Axal! Get Grevu off me!” Benny hollered as she tried batting Grevu’s nose away from her crotch. 

“You perverted rat with wings, get your nose out of my business!” Benny ordered before Grevu cleared his nostrils out all over her as he lifted his head and seemed to narrow his eyes at her and settled back down comfortably. 

“Ewwww! Yuck! What is your deal?!” Benny demanded as she went back over to the buckets as she washed herself off with Axal’s help before she began to feel nauseous and found a private corner to quickly and quietly throw up.

“You ok?” Axal asked as he handed her a towel to wipe her throw up off her mouth with. 

“Your rat with wings is gross.” Benny spat resentfully at Axal as she wiped her mouth with the offered towel before using another to wipe the sweat off her brow since the sweat was threatening to destroy her makeup.  

“Sorry.” Axal offered with a half hearted shrug. “He’s a dragon, he’s temperamental, maybe he didn’t like the scent of betrayal on you.” Axal offered with a smug smile as his eyes narrowed at her. 

“What betrayal?” Benny tried to shirk off. 

“Sure, go ahead, play dumb, I mean you’re really bad at it, almost as bad as you play innocent. I don’t care. Just don’t be surprised when the bite back for whatever barking you’ve done or you’re about to do knocks you down so hard you can’t get back up.” Axal warned her as he went over to Grevu to pet him and praise him for snorting snot all over Benny as Benny felt another wave of nausea and threw up again as her whole body felt weird as she shuddered almost violently.  

“Are you ok?” You asked as you noticed she was sitting in a corner and sweating profusely. 

“No, Grevu snotted on me,” Benny told you. 

“Oohh, well, he must have had a reason. Dragons can sense things we can’t, maybe you ate something that you shouldn’t have and needed to throw it up now instead of getting sick in the arena itself.” You offered as eyed the mess in the grass in the corner of the tent that she had clearly tried to dump water over to wash away as Benny recollected everything she had eaten and mentally tried to see if you had a point. 

“Probably.” Benny nodded as you simply smiled pleasantly before you turned and walked away and could feel Benny glare at your back as you smiled happily to yourself before you looked at Leumeni and gave him a meaningful look and looked pointedly at Benny then back to him before you looked pointedly to Grevu then back to him before you emphatically breathed out through your nose in a small snort as your smile grew more mischievous as Leumeni barked a laugh.

“Ha! Good dragon.” Leumeni practically crooned. 

“Yes, very good dragon.” You agreed as you passed him. 

“Ok, so how the night games go- is the lowest member of the class fights up the line, the first loser up to the winner of the class, up through the three classes.” The announcer revealed to the crowd as Tzane was the first to fight off against little Callie as this time, Tzane was expecting Callie’s tactics and had his own counter attack and won. 

Then Tzane, having won that round, faced off against Kiera, as Kiera didn’t hold back and promptly handed him his ass on a platter before she faced off against Sierge who used his bigger size and strength to his advantage and beat her and then used the same with Amara and won out before going up against Demsey but Demsey was still more level headed and much more tactical whereas Sierge was all emotion to win out against Sierge yet again as Demsey was happy and impressed that he got to win his class and move into the next class, however his very next fight in the skilled class, with Rian- beat him out as they went through the fighting all they way up until it was Calla against Benny as Benny, once again, used her vicious words to undermine Calla and take the victory. 

“I wish to break with Tradition.” Your grandmother Loreiris began as Benny was preparing to take you down in The Proficient Class. 

“Instead of trying to see if you can go through Audra and all of her parents, I wish to follow the example you set in the day games, now that you have reached the proficient class, I volunteer to be your first competitor in The Proficient Class.” Loreiris announced as everyone gasped in astonishment as Benny looked both thrilled yet terrified at the prospect as she entered the arena with The Saharan Viper herself. 

“Trying to protect your precious little snakelet from me?” Benny grinned as she got into position before the gong rang out to signal the start of the round as Loreiris charged Benny, a sword in each hand. 

“No, she has had attacks from foes pretending to be friends already and knows how to protect herself, so she needs no such protection from me. Least of all from you. I have heard what you have been saying all afternoon to the others about that leverage you have against her relationship with Duke Demsey. And while I have said nothing yet, because you have not revealed it. While she is The Violet Viper, you are acting like the bitch you are- vicious, conniving and two faced and so overly eager to prove yourself because you have been reigning supreme ever since she left and now that you’re in her presence again, she outmatches you without even trying- so of course, you are threatened. It is true, nothing reveals a moura’s colors of character like Kamoba and so far it has revealed that you rely too much on the damage your words say while your fighting skills themselves, have suffered greatly from neglect, you power through your strokes without relying on the actual proper execution of said strokes and techniques, aiming at the lowest, weakest yet easiest points, because any other is too much for you. Know that nothing you say can hurt me, let alone destabilize me. All you are is a bitch dog, pretending to be a wolf.” Loreiris taunted as she started attacking Benny, using an overwhelming tactic, swinging both her flaming sword along with an elven one, that was alight with magic that with every strike against another blade, grew stronger and hit harder, but also, unfortunately grew brighter to help illuminate the wielder. 

“Except that I know your secret.” Benny taunted right back. 

“I know that Kushi was blessed by Anuk-sunamun-ra. And has been carrying all of the goddess’ power in it ever since that she was banished into the blade at the fall of the empire but would always protect the wielder to keep them from being enslaved. It has always given you super abilities to beat your components and to demoralize your enemies the moment they see it, until now. Now that you gave Kushi to Audra, Anuk-sunamun-ra has left you to be with her which means you’re not unbeatable anymore. You’re just flesh and bone, no magic, or gods or goddesses to protect you or help you. The two times you lost in battle with it, were because you were pregnant and the goddess was protecting your unborn babe more than it was helping you in battle. The same is true now. I saw Audra with my own eyes go into a room and fuck her favorite manwhore and then I noticed she has not once drank pregnancy warding tea since, and while it is true that Grevu cured her of the rest of the mourkatili, Dr. Chu also had a big hand in it too and had already cured most of it already. Dr. Chu was likely curing her with the goal to restore her womb first. She most likely is pregnant right now, for only pregnant women hunger for fruit’s of their youths. That’s why having that rope around her waist and the toll of pulling Storren back didn’t rip her in half. Anuk-sunamun-ra is guarding her pregnancy. That is why you will lose to me, as will she and everyone else and you will not speak of this leverage. Demsey’s reputation can’t afford to take on a fallen lady, one who was fallen with child out of wedlock, much less by a manwhore. The best he could ever do by her is accepting her as his whore. Whereas with Leumeni, he can still save her as his wife. Granted the babe she’s carrying will obviously never fit in anywhere it goes. But Leumeni will still care for it nonetheless.” Benny spat as she did her best to keep her head and wits as she fought off Loreiris’ attacks and counter attacks. 

“The problem with such logic is that any trace of mourkatili acts like a natural birth control. Even if what you say is true. It is impossible for her to conceive before Grevu cured her and I know for a fact, she has not laid with anyone who can get her pregnant since then. So you are lying and that leverage will land in you in boiling lava that will burn you up completely and permanently and no one will be able to rescue you from that.” Loreiris said as she could feel the strain on her body from the fighting as she kept her wits and temper in check. 

“And you lie about the dagger. All it has ever been is a knife, made of steel, gold and jewels. Anuksu-namun-ra is a goddess of battle, of victory and she protects everyone who believes and puts faith in her. She is too powerful to be contained in a simple dagger made of steel, gold and jewels. If you worshiped her, perhaps you would benefit from her protection. But she is also a goddess of truth and loyalty and since you can never be counted on to be truthful or loyal to anyone who isn’t paying you to be, she will not protect you. Because any loyalty that can be bought, is never worth having.” Loreiris grinned as she kicked Benny in the head and stabbed her flaming sword into the first beacon. 

“Oh on the contrary, if Audra can make me a dowager, then I will feel inclined to keep her secret for her and that leverage will never see the light of day so Audra is in no real danger from me. Besides, the science of pregnancy is well guarded in Dorierra. If I keep my mouth shut, little Demsey will be none the wiser and you can keep your mouth shut for her sake can’t you? You should. She is, after all, your favorite granddaughter from your favorite daughter?” Benny said as she took a throwing star from her waist and threw it through the flames at the first beacon on Loreiris’ side and beamed when it became alight before throwing a second and hit the second as the whole crowd went wild to see Benny of all people that was able to get a score in on Loreiris as Loreiris threw her own throwing star at the second and exploded it before aiming at the third but Benny used her flaming sword and knocked Loreiris’ hand down while body slamming her into the back of the still smoking and burning beacon and burned Loreiris’ face and pinned her there so she couldn’t get out before she threw another throwing star at the third beacon as Loreiris screamed in pain and agony as your whole family were up on their feet and rushing to the battle arena and screaming curses at Benny before Benny grabbed Loreiris by her collar and picked her up to the crowd. 

“You call this woman a viper?! Where is her venom?! Where is her bite? She is an old, feeble garden snake, no bite at all, let alone any venom! Wolves always eat serpents! Always!” Benny roared to the crowd as it went wild as you had never wanted to murder Benny so badly before as rage seemed to course through your viens as your eyes and the eyes of your parents and heir parents all glowed gold as you all came forward as you got under your grandmother’s right shoulder and your mother got under her left as both of you were hissing hatefully about how you were going to make Benny pay for such a gross display of unprofessional and unsportsmanlike conduct as everyone contested the win. 

But sadly, there was nothing in the rulebook that specifically ruled out Benny’s actions or disqualified her as Benny continued to hoop and holler to the crowd how she was undefeatable as Sierge realized he just won a fortune, since he had bet everything he had that she would win against The Saharan Viper, at Benny’s insistence. And while he wasn’t exactly thrilled about how she got that victory, the fact that she got it and that it was uncontestable, and thus, the victory stuck and cemented her place in The Proficient Class. That that was what he had bet on. 

“I’m gonna kill her.” Your mother hissed. 

“Don’t actually kill her.” Your grandmother said as burn balm was put onto her face by you. 

“We need to get you to Grevu, he needs to heal you.” You insisted as you helped your grandmother to stand again. 

“Mama, bite, inject, put down.” You hissed angrily in Marinai at your mother as she then challenged Benyana herself as you helped your grandmother to go over to Grevu as Grevu was making the most unusual noise as he met you behind the battle field’s wall, so that all of you were hidden from view as Loreiris came over to him and kneeled before him as she simply said ‘please’ before he blew a blue, glowing smoke over her, that healed her wounds as the smoke turned from blue- to red the moment it touched and healed her wounds as you breathed in deeply and the smoke entered you through your nose as the whites of your eyes glowed neon white while the iris of your eye’s glowed a bright gold while your pupil’s seemed to grow twice as big as you felt more power than ever before unlock in your body. 

“You need to pray, pray to Anuk-sunamun-ra, pray for the strength and power for vengeance, and to have victory over her. She told me she has leverage against you and Demsey, that you are pregnant with a whore’s child, how she saw you at the masquerade ball bedding someone but did not drink pregnancy warding tea and that Dr. Chu’s medicine had the power to give you your womb back before Grevu could cure you. And how if you can not give her Dowager Status, she will unleash this upon all of England and you will be ruined and will have no choice but to return to Dorierra.” Your grandmother pleaded with you as you could hear from the battle arena how Benny was beating your mother, two beacons against one. 

“Pray for control over your emotions, pray to protect your mind and heart from such flaming arrows.” Your grandmother pleaded before the Benny hit the third beacon on your mother and came back to find you there with your grandmother. 

“Let your other parents fight her, we need to pray.” Your mother insisted as she wiped her angry tears away from her eyes as the three of you sat down in the grass, with you against Grevu’s chest as the three of you formed a triangle before Calla and her brothers as well as Leumeni and even his brother Coravien came and sat around them, all of them praying to their favorite god of choice to favor you as your mother and grandmother went through the sacred chant of Anuk-sunamun-ra in the ancient language of her origins while making the appropriate hand gestures as you once again found your center as a calm cooled your anger, but turned that fire that had been blazing inside of you into a lava that both flowed through you like a gentle massaging hand, going over your body, yet filled you, solidified you and strengthened you as you felt the air around you shift as a stiff breeze started to roll in as a storm that had barely been on the horizon seemed to make a B-Line for you as you heard a distant rumble of thunder, but instead of fearing the oncoming storm, you were welcoming it as the cool breeze caressed you as you barely noticed the other beacons from your father, your heir father, his wife and his mother’s as they all took their turns battling Benyana and how she used the same hurtful, spiteful, malicious words against them, beating them and crooning so loud and so high with every other victory before they all seemed to join in the prayer circle around you. 

“Go ahead, say your pointless, hopeless, meaningless prayers over the last little snakelet, who is barely even out of the egg.” Benny taunted everyone as she turned and sauntered off once she came upon all of you. 

“Told you I was a sure bet.” She grinned smugly at Sierge before going back towards the crowd to get them to chant her name as the Royal Family were quite fed up with her lack of sportsmanship and putting their bets on you to please put this brat in her place before, from the back, to the front of the group. Everyone put their hands on the top of the shoulder of the one in front of them and the one to the side of them before they all reached forward to you, your mother with a hand on your right shoulder and your grandmother with her hand to your left as they all prayed for their gods to bless you and make you stronger, faster, better. To make you their champion in the name of good, righteousness, and justice.

“Are you done yet? I don’t want to get struck by lightning and I would prefer not to get these leathers any wetter than they need to be, I want you to hurry up and beat you before I or much less the royal family has a chance of getting wet from the rain.” Benny sassed as she came over again several moments later as she looked on disapprovingly at her brothers for their traitorous act of trying to bless you instead of her as you pushed all the air out of your lungs before you took in the biggest and longest breath in, feeling that with every millimeter of space in your lungs that filled with air, you filled with power before your lungs reached their capacity as did your body before you steadily exhaled and opened your eyes to fix Benny with your gaze as everyone slowly pulled back, all of them feeling a sense of excitement tempered with peace that their prayers were about to be answered. 

“Come, let us battle, Axal, Rian, Zax, belt “Hit The Floor” out for me.” You suggested to them with a scheming and easy smile which they readily returned before they, along with Calla’s brothers as well as Benny’s rushed over to the band and eagerly took the instruments out of their hands and insisted that they needed to play this particular song themselves before you looked out over all the weapons offered to you by the whole family as the right weapons seemed to almost have a glowing aura around them as you picked them up and armed yourself with them before you entered the arena. 

“Let us do five out of seven, arm the arena with the two additional beacons and put the last two on the roof, above the rafters.” You instructed the others who came to change out the beacons with fresh ones. 

“Agreed.” Benny smiled as you simply sat down on top of the first beacon and got into a meditation pose and used these last moments to cement your mental fortitude as Benny laughed. 

“Oh are suddenly a monk? Praying and meditating all the time?” Benny taunted as you could see the gods that were supposed to be blessing her weapons were frowning at her for her haughtiness. 

“What is this? The Violet Viper is suddenly The Violet Monk? The Violet Praying Mantis? The Violet Idiot? Or just The Violet Whore.” Benny continued. 

“Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t be throwing stones.” You stated as you kept your eyes closed as you watched from the spirit realm as the remaining gods and goddesses with her finally seemed to have enough and leave her completely and come to be with you and all the other gods and goddesses with you which caused you to smile before you opened your eyes and got down and into position as the others finished doing what you asked and left the stage. 

“Axal! Now!” You called out after the gong rang out and your family as well as hers began to start up their instruments. 

“So? Leverage huh? Going for the lowest of blows? Betraying my trust and friendship for your own personal gain? Too bad I’ve seen this coming since the moment I saw you at the ball at Havenfield. Do you really think you can say anything that will break apart what the gods have given their blessings to bind together?” You asked as you struck first with more strength than what Benny was expecting as she faltered slightly as suddenly her battle ax seemed a bit heavier and unwieldier than normal. 

“I see your grandmother can’t keep a secret to save her life, like using a goddess, locked inside a dagger to fight and win all of her battles for her.” Benny taunted back. 

“Do you really think a goddess can be locked inside a weapon? No, she is everywhere but more importantly, she is with me, whether I possess that dagger or not because I am a believer in her and in her power and have willingly let myself be an instrument for her and all the other gods and goddesses who wish to use me as their instrument as well, I feel it to be true, I know it to be true. Just like how you can feel or know in your heart whether or not your own gods are with you, which I can both see and feel that they are not, they have abandoned you in the face of your own viciousness, of your own ruthlessness and your own haughtiness. You do not fight with honor. Your pride and your hunger for victory at any cost has made you blind to what is right and wrong. It has calloused your conscience and dulled your moral compass. You play men who would love you like instruments, if only to see their strings break. You play with feelings and intentions the way you play with toys, if only to see them fall apart then to be thrown into the fire at will.” You told her as as you advanced forward with surprising speed and strength as real fear started to seep into Benny’s eyes. 

“You crave destruction and only wish to have the fires of other people’s catastrophes light up in your eyes. If you do not turn back, and mend your ways, what you have lied about me and others and what you have predicted for me and others will come true for you. The gods have spoken this to me. And your redemption will only come at the hands of your latest victims. Whether they will give it or not, depends on them. Not me, for I am no longer a victim to anyone. Let alone you. You- who should have been a sister to me, you- who should have been a friend to me, you- who should have had my back instead of trying to stab it with everyone else since it already had an open wound for you to stick it into. But after tonight, I am healed, I am free. Of you, of everyone. I don’t owe anyone anything.” You vowed as you easily battled her across the course, as if the obstacles were not there at all as the whole fight seemed to be in slow motion for you, as you could almost see what moves she was going to make before she even made them as you were predicting her moves and counteracting them just as quickly as she was frantically trying to make them as your sword that was on fire kept slashing at her and lighting her entire torso on fire, as you could tell the heat from the fires were affecting her as if they were especially hot as you kept on advancing at a steady pace, the beacons practically exploding the moment the tip of a weapon touched them until you had her pinned into a corner before you struck the fifth beacon. 

“Seven out of 13!” Benny screamed from her corner as tears streaked her makeup. 

“Fine, seven out of 13.” You readily agreed before you stopped and calmly walked back to the center mark as she rushed to get out of the battle arena to get doused down with water to keep from being on fire as she was gasping for breath and sweating like a whore in church. 

“And this was her still barely out of the egg? I can’t imagine what she will be like after she fully sheds and grows into her own then.” Your mother and your grandmother taunted Benny from their spots inside the tent as everyone else laughed. 

“What’s wrong? I thought wolves eat serpents? Why aren’t you eating her before she eats you? Or does this viper actually have venom that you’re not immune to this time?” Calla snipped snidely herself. 

“I will eat her! I will eat her whole!” Benny screamed back as she put her weapons back into the fire to get reheated as you simply let your flaming sword “rest” in the flames of one of the bowls in the arena. 

“I don’t know why you’re getting so upset, or why you’re calling her a whore when you yourself are the biggest one I know.” Sierge taunted Benny himself. 

“Shut up! No one asked you!” Benny snapped angrily. 

“Make them the hottest you can!” Benny told the blacksmith who had set up a mini forge right there next to the battlefield. 

“I can try.” He answered as he put them in the hottest parts of the fire to get super heated as once again, you sat on top of your own beacon and meditated again. 

“There, that’s hot enough.” Benny said before she pulled them out and splashed them in the fire oil and let them become alight once more as she could feel the heat of them in her palms but they were nothing compared to the heat of her inner fiery temper as you opened your eyes and got into position before you pulled out another elven blade along with your fiery one before you pressed the jewel on the hilt and the weapon suddenly glowed white as frosty mist started falling from it. 

“That sword will shatter when it touches mine.” Benny said. 

“We’ll see.” You simply grinned before the gong rang out and you used the flaming sword to get her weapons into positions before you used your ice elven sword to cut bits and segments off of Benny’s weapons like cutting through soft butter. 

“NNoooo!!” Benny screeched as she pulled her own spare weapons out but they had similar effects, for every strike against your own weapons, they grew weaker and softer, bending and dulling greatly as you continued to take out the same five markers before leaping through to the roof and climbing onto the rafters to get the final two beacons on the roof as She did the same, using her body as a shield to protect them as you walked along the beam like you were walking along a paved sidewalk, paying no mind to the fall only a few scant inches away from each side of your feet. 

“No! I beat the Saharan Viper! I will beat you too!” She said as she used her flaming arrows to strike at your beacons as you used your own bow and arrows to throw hers off course and away from their intended targets until she was out of arrows. 

“You’re empty.” You called. 

“So are you!” She called back. 

“You’re right, I am.” You said before lighting seemed to crack right above your heads and fan out over the sky. 

“You’ll get electricuted!” Benny said as she cowered but would not leave the beacons. 

“You’re right, I will.” You smiled as you held Kushi up in one hand and your mother’s copy of Kushi- Kushi 2 in the other and raised them to the sky as lightning struck down and danced between the two blades around you as your eyes glowed white while you otherwise remained unharmed. 

“Viper- kills Wolf!” You boomed as you threw both daggers, the lightning dancing off of them, making it look like they were the fangs of a viper as the image of a viper’s head, made out by the lighting lit up the space as Benny screamed and dove down as you used your grappling hook to suspend yourself from the rafters as you used the other end of the rope and threw it around Benny so she wouldn’t crash on the ground as the two beacons exploded in bright white lights and smoke as the whole crowd roared in thunderous cheering and applause as you hung from the rafters with Benny hanging from the end of your own ropes as she gently swung around under you, the rope tied around her waist in such a way as she fought to untangle herself while you slowly eased down the rope like a silk climber flowing effortlessly down a length of silk before you got to her as Sierge came and gave the rope a quick tug to cause Benny to fall into his arms. 

“Well hey there loser.” Sierge grinned. 

“Put me down!” Benny screeched at him before he did as she asked as she fell the five feet from his arms to his feet as that little fall, knocked all the wind out of her lungs while Demsey was more than happy to let you slide down the rope into his own arms before he gently set you down and threw decorum out the window and kissed and dipped you in front of the gods and everyone which caused another round of applause as Kate and her brothers knew then that whatever “leverage” Benny had, was as good as worthless yet again as you happily got up and took your banner off of Heavencrest and put it on Grevu and rode him around the arena as others flew their own animals around behind, your grandmother happily riding Heavencrest in your stead as you cheered as Benny just sat there on the floor of the arena and sulked as she watched the Royal family’s attendants get the cup as the Royal Family got up and came down as Benny was escorted off the battle arena to the tent since her griffen was flying underneath Grevu in a show of dominance as the gentry crowded around the arena before you touched down as everyone offered their congratulations to you as you passed through, your mother to your immediate left and your grandmother to your immediate right as you climbed up into the battle arena yet again. 

“It is my supreme honor to bestow unto you- Sultana Audravienne Saharazat, this winning cup and prize for winning the Kamoba battle today.” King Leopold announced as he gestured to it as it sat on your first beacon before he took your hand and raised it high as everyone cheered and applauded. 

“Thank you, your Majesty.” You thanked him before you had to get help from your friends and family to help pick it up as the Royal Family as well as everyone else took their leave to go home as you came inside and had the cup put into your room as you began to unload it before you took your old knife, Zirrabanit and approached little Callie before you presented it to her. 

“To Callie, who was the first to strike and the first to take down a contestant today. Since you have taken up my old mantle from my youth, it is only fitting that you continue that legacy, Little Spitfire.” You said as she gasped and took it and gave you the biggest most excited smile. 

“Thank you!” Callie squealed in delight as she took it from you reverently before she practically launched herself in your arms and hugged you tight as you readily hugged her back. 

“You’re welcome.” You happily laughed as you hugged her back oh so tight.  

“Could I stay with you tonight? And could you pass down all the knowledge you can to me?” Callie asked hopefully and as much as you wanted to rail Demsey against every surface in his room, you didn’t have the heart to say no to her and her big lavender eyes. 

“Of course, all the ladies, sleepover in my room tonight.” You offered as all the girls giddily left and got dressed as the gentlemen saw themselves out before you managed to snag Demsey by the arm and pull him down to kiss him again. 

“Tomorrow night, I’ll properly and traditionally celebrate with you in the moura way.” You promised with a wink and a salacious smile. 

“Can’t wait.” Demsey practically giggled before he kissed you again. 

“Good night My Love, don’t stay up all night, we need to formulate a plan for court.” Demsey offered before he saw himself out just as his other sisters were coming back into the room, clad in only their nightgowns and robes as you all got into the bed in a circle, passing around the other treasures from the pot as Benny refused to even do that much as she continued to sulk in her room and went to bed only to fall into a fitful sleep, full of nightmares.

[carewyncromwell]

Hi guys! So I was tagged by @cursebreakerfarrier​ to make a post about my kiddos’ Patronuses with graphics/art/aesthetics/etc. and a brief explanation, so...here we go! Here’s Carewyn and Jacob Cromwell (HPHM); Erik Apollo and Anastasia Read (HPMA); and Jackson Knightly and Robert Harker/Bat Varney (HPHL)! (I would’ve included Carewyn and Jacob’s mother Lane Cromwell and my other HPHL kid Ru Ollivander too, but due to her lack of talent in Charms, Lane is unable to conjure a corporeal Patronus, and Ru, being a kelpie in disguise as a wizard, doesn’t have enough magical ability to make a Patronus.)

I’ll pass this along to @drinkyoursoupbitch​, @that-ravenpuff-witch​, @dat-silvers-girl​, @weasley-adoptee​, @lunasilvermorny​, @immagrosscandy​, @ariparri-hphm​, @kyril-hphm​, @lifeofkaze​, @smarti-at-smogwarts​, @tworoadsdivergedinyellowwood​, @brothergrimm71​, @hogwartsmystory​, and anyone else who likes this idea and wants to steal it! ❤️💛💙💚

Winged horses are symbolic of clarity of thought, achievement, divine inspiration, and freedom. Carey-Bear’s ambition is to be the best person she can be by helping others and to live her own life on her own terms, and she can be a very cool and calculating person who doesn’t like to lash out recklessly. Real-world white horses are also associated with heroism, which couldn’t be better suited to a paragon Slytherin like Carewyn. Interestingly enough, winged horses were also her favorite magical creature growing up! Carewyn shares her Patronus with her future romantic partner, Orion Amari.

Hippogriffs are incredibly proud and distrustful creatures that can lash out violently if insulted and only show respect and loyalty to those who prove themselves worthy -- and for all of Jacob’s genius intellect and Ravenclaw-worthy eccentricities, he certainly is as proud, vengeful, and loyal as his Patronus animal. Because hippogriffs are a fusion of land horses and griffins, they’re symbolic of true love and the impossible coming true, two ideas which Jacob values greatly. Whenever Jacob and Carewyn both cast their Patronuses, they’ll fly in circles around each other.

Cats in general are associated with independence, curiosity, and patience. Siberian cats in particular are the national cat of Russia and are generally seen as very athletic and agile cats which are natural jumpers thanks to their slightly longer back legs. It’s believed that Siberians as a breed are centuries old, originating all the way back in the year 1000 AD, so one could also associate them with history and heritage. When Erik was a child, his mother Sadie owned a grumpy old Siberian cat named Tabitha who, despite hating just about everyone, sort of “adopted” baby Erik and would frequently sit on his baby blanket to watch him. When Erik got older, he was therefore incredibly comfortable around cats and honestly is a “cat person” in both senses, as an owner and in temperament. Like the Siberian, Erik is a very independent and active sort, and he is always very conscious of where he’s been as well as where he’s going.

Seals are symbolic of dreaming, creativity, and one’s inner voice and feelings. Because of how intelligent they are, it’s common for different mythologies to associate them with humans, whether by depicting mermaid-like creatures with seal tails or by telling tales about “seal people” (otherwise known as selkies), who take human form upon shedding their seal skin. Being a quiet and introspective, but incredibly imaginative and idealistic Gryffindor, Ana suits all of this to a tee.

Swans are symbolic of love, grace, and transformation. Black swans aren’t an exception to this rule, but there is some additional nuance to them, since back in the olden days, black swans were thought to be something of an impossibility. The phrase “a black swan” was rather akin to the expression “when pigs fly,” until Europeans found real-life black swans in Australia, at which time the idea of a “black swan” evolved into an unexpected, miraculous event. In contrast to their supposedly more innocent white counterparts, black swans are also associated with maturity and -- thanks in part to the character Odile from the famous ballet Swan Lake -- deception. Although Jackson on the outside is a very outgoing, sociable, witty, and mischievous young man, at his heart, he is a deeply sensitive person with a passionate desire to rise above the lowly station he started in and be surrounded by people who sincerely love him for who he is. Even the deception aspect isn’t entirely off-base, as Jackson as an adult becomes a politician and later Minister of Magic.

Dogs in general are associated with protection, loyalty, and devotion. Irish Wolfhounds in particular are closely associated with the mythical Celtic hounds, which were envoys of the “Otherworld,” and were once the guard and hunting dogs of kings and generals. In the days when the vampire called Bat Varney was the human wizard Robert Harker, his Patronus took on this form, which is also Bat’s Animagus form! It’s not incredibly common for one’s Patronus to be the same as their Animagus form, but it can sometimes happen -- one famous example in the original Potter books is Minerva McGonagall, whose Patronus also resembles her tabby cat Animagus form. Today Irish Wolfhounds, despite their large size, are generally considered to be “gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked” -- which, honestly, is Bat in a nutshell. He may be an intellectual Ravenclaw with a talent for and love of problem-solving, but he’s also fearless in the face of new experiences and danger alike and, when he’s among those few who have earned a place in his heart, he proves himself to be a fiercely loyal friend. Ironically enough, Pottermore also gave me this exact same Patronus!

[voltrontranscript]

VLD S8E7: Day Forty-Seven

Season 8 Episode 7: Day Forty-Seven

Transcript by @dragonofyang

Summary: Kinkade and Rizavi film a vlog that follows a relatively normal day on the IGF-Atlas with its humorous moments and the stress of battle.

[Google Doc]

Kinkade: Hello. This is Lieutenant Ryan Kinkade, MFE pilot. The time is 0600 hours. It’s day forty-seven. And this is a glimpse at day-to-day life aboard the IGF-Atlas.

[Cut to Kinkade brushing his teeth as the camera floats over his shoulder.]

Kinkade: Last night, I unpacked my video gear and decided to document the crew. I know it seems strange, but before Earth was attacked, I didn’t go anywhere without my camera.

[Cut to Kinkade running on a treadmill.]

Kinkade: Back home, people asked me why I liked recording things. They also asked me why I didn’t talk that much. To both of those things, I’d always say… [grunts]

[Cut to Kinkade doing pull-ups.]

Kinkade: Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.

Romelle: You’re recording? Why?

Griffin: Kinkade has always been, uh… an individual who’s most comfortable observing and reflecting on life. Being a fighter pilot was actually his backup plan.

[Cut to Kinkade wearing a blindfold as he works on his blaster rifle.]

Kinkade: It’s true. I learned how to shoot with a camera before I learned how to shoot with a rifle. I guess filming is just a small piece of the larger puzzle that makes up the picture of who I am. Hm.

[Cut to Kinkade turning the camera on once more and walking to a fighter jet.]

Rizavi: So you’re really shooting another documentary? Please tell me this is going to be more exciting than that project you did for Mr. Pollard’s biology class about yeast.

Kinkade: That was actually about the process of fermentation. Yeast converts carbohydrates into carbon diox--

Rizavi: Boring! Okay, look, if this little documentary is how history will remember us, I’m gonna help you spruce it up! How many cameras do you have? What’s your visual effects budget? Do you have any smoke bombs?

[Cut to Keith and Pidge facing the camera as it focuses on Pidge directly.]

Kinkade: Okay. We’re set.

Rizavi: So, uh, catch us up on what’s going on.

Pidge: Right. Well, the Atlas is headed to the Grei-Aye system where we’ve identified the remains of a disabled robeast.

Rizavi: Oh! Those things are pretty dangerous, right?

Pidge: Do I need to explain that the robeast was one of the ones used in Honerva’s intergalactic ritual?

Rizavi: No, it’s fine.

Pidge: Okay. Um, so, once the Atlas arrives in orbit around the planet, the other Paladins and I will head down to the surface to secure the robeast and hopefully find its Altean pilot.

Rizavi: Ugh, okay. Keith! Why don’t you tell us about the dangers of this mission?

Keith: Well, every mission has some inherent dangers. For this one, we have to be especially diligent about the robeast. Even if it’s not fully functional, it can still pose an extreme threat. Combine that with the hostile Altean that’s probably still in the vicinity, and you’ve potentially got threats on multiple fronts.

Hunk: Hey, guys. What’s up? You making a movie? Cool. Can I be in it? Now, wait, if this is an action movie… is it? I don’t wanna be in it.

Rizavi: Hunk, we’re trying to do an interview here.

Hunk: Oh, sorry. Yeah, my bad. I just came by to see if you wanted to try this new recipe I’ve been experimenting with. This is just the first pass. The final version of it will be coming soon. No, Bae Bae! Not for you! I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’ll make you some doggy treats later.

Kinkade: What’s the recipe? Can we watch you work?

Hunk: Well, yeah! Yeah, this’ll be great! I’ve secretly always wanted my own cooking show.

Rizavi: What? No! Keith was just telling us about the mission and all the dangers! We’re not losing that to document cooking.

Kinkade: But, I like cooking.

Rizavi: It’s like you’re trying to make this boring.

Hunk: Whoa, first of all, cooking is not boring, okay? And it can bring people together. Some of the best times of my life were spent breaking bread with loved ones.

Keith: So, is this interview over?

Rizavi: No! Great, now the talent’s getting restless!

Iverson: Everyone, report to your battle stations immediately! I repeat… battle stations immediately! This is not a drill!

Rizavi: The camera!

Kinkade: Leave it! We need to go!

Rizavi: But this is gold!

Kinkade: Come o--

Iverson: MFE pilots, report to hangars alpha-bravo! Scrambling fighters in five! Paladins, stand by for launch.

[Scene change as Bae Bae finds the fallen camera and carries it around.]

Shiro: Where did it come from? Veronica, get me eyes on it!

Coran: That thing just appeared out of nowhere!

Shiro: Iverson, fire when ready!

Iverson: Target acquired! We’ve got lock! Wait. No… we lost it! Target has gone dark!

Veronica: Electromagnetic radiation from that planet is overloading our radars.

Shiro: Voltron, do you have a visual? I repeat, Voltron, do you have a visual?

Keith: Not yet. We’re going in now! Stand by! We can’t see a thing in here!

Griffin: Copy that. We have zero visibility as well. We need a visual.

Curtis: Roger. Trying another avenue. Scanning for biometrics. Visual acquired!

Coran: Incoming!

Iverson: Recharging all starboard cannons!

Curtis: Sensors are offline!

Iverson: What is that thing?

Coran: It’s massive!

Shiro: Iverson, open fire!

Coran: Direct hit! It’s coming back around for another shot!

Shiro: Veronica, prep shields!

[Scene change as the camera falls down a vent into Sam and Slav’s workstation.]

Sam: Whatever hit us just knocked loose the gravity generator! Grab the flaxum assembly!

Slav: I can’t do that! It’s red!

Sam: Is this one of your crazy probability, reality things?

[Scene change to a hallway as soldiers float through to their stations.]

Shiro: All crew, report to stations and prepare for Atlas transformation--

Atlas Crewmember: Go, go, go!

Shiro: --in T-minus thirty seconds!

[Scene change as Bae Bae finds the camera again and carries it.]

Colleen: Bae Bae, what are you doing out here? And what’s this in your mouth? A camera? Come on, girl.

Shiro: All crew, prepare for Atlas transformation sequence in five… four… three… two… one!

[Scene change as the camera dies, then powers on again facing Kinkade once more.]

Kinkade: Camera’s fully charged. We’re good to go. The time is now 0900 hours. We just experienced a minor mishap aboard the IGF-Atlas, but we’re back on track. In the future, we’ll hopefully be avoiding creature-occupied gas planets.

[Cut to Kinkade floating through a hallway.]

Kinkade: Hey, Seok Jin, where you headed?

Seok Jin: I’m transporting these samples back to Earth. Commander Holt thinks it can help with the recovery efforts there.

Kinkade: Well, they couldn’t have picked a better man for the job. Take care, man. Hey, Seok Jin… we’ll miss you, buddy.

[Scene change to the camera looking into the mess hall, where Vrepit Sal is cleaning tables and then rotates to face the hallway.]

Rizavi: There you are! Tell me this thing was recording during the attack! That was so intense! Oh, this documentary’s gonna be awesome!

[Cut to Kolivan sitting in a small office facing the camera.]

Kolivan: I believe our heading readout en route was 92254739.275. Wait, no. It was 9.265. Yes. That was our heading per our readout just prior to our deployment.

Rizavi: [mock snoring]

Kolivan: Our teams vary in size. Often we use the three-person unit, but it’s not unusual to have a four- or a five- or perhaps even a six-person unit. Seven seems rare, but... it could happen.

Rizavi: Okay, I like everything you’re telling me, but let’s just try it a little less like you’re reporting the facts to your commanding officer and a little more like you’re telling your friend an exciting story in the gym. You understand?

Kolivan: Yes, understood.

Rizavi: Okay, good. Why don’t you tell us about your last mission?

Kolivan: Our last mission took place on planet K-V Exus. The Blades divided into three four-person teams and we escorted approximately twelve rescue crafts to the surface. I believe our heading readout was 359.222--

Rizavi: Thank! Thank you! Okay, I think we got it!

Kolivan: But I wasn’t done.

Rizavi: Yeah, you nailed it. Yeah. We need to get someone more exciting in here.

[Cut to Coran leaning into the camera as it slowly attempts to focus on him.]

Coran: Then the Atlas started firing with everything it had! And don’t forget the white hole is swirling right next to us the entire time! Oh, no, it’s about to close! Meanwhile, not one, but two, yes, two, robeasts are attacking! Shiro’s shouting out orders. “Coran, get closer! Iverson, open fire!” Beams of quintessence energy are converging from all over the galaxy! Ah! You know, you could just imagine it.

[Scene change to Rizavi turning the camera on in Slav and Sam’s workspace.]

Sam: Welcome to the engine room. What you see here is just a tiny part of what keeps the ship functioning.

Rizavi: Slav, you’ve created some incredible technology. What do you think of the Atlas?

Slav: I can respect any engineering that extrapolates for transmutation, but I wish the writing was in Altean.

Sam: He’s mentioned that a few times.

Rizavi: So what are you doing now?

Slav: Right now we’re about to adjust the gravity generator, which was fractionally increased during our last battle.

Sam: Yes, our gravity generator is actually a fluid system, ever-changing depending on the specific needs of the location, so it requires recalibrating from time to time. Okay, adjust gravity generator back down to .12.

Slav: Copy. Adjusting now.

Sam: What did you press?

Slav: I don’t know! Which one is the two again? I can’t read these weird symbols you call numbers! Hey, big guy, toss me over! Oh, no. Directly on a crack!

Kinkade: Weird.

[Cut to the camera focusing on some juniberry shoots in a pot.]

Colleen: Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s an Altean juniberry. The first one to bloom in nearly ten thousand years. I managed to get it to grow by resequencing the genetic code of a similar plant. I wanna give it to Allura. These are our fertilizers. We have fish emulsion, worm castings, Kaltenecker manure. Just so much great recycled poop! And this is our lighting station. I like to say our lighting array is literally out of this world! You know, because we’re, you know, on a space ship.

Rizavi: Can I take a shot at this?

[Cut to the camera panning across the crops in the grow room.]

Rizavi: Welcome to extreme space harvesting! Where we have plants and crops and super fertilizers all under one roof! Meet Colleen Holt, the botanical genius behind it all.

[Cut to Colleen sitting in a chair in the grow room.]

Colleen: I guess I just liked plants all my life. I’ve done a lot of research, but I know I have much to learn. I guess… I like… the challenge. I’m sorry, where am I supposed to be looking?

Rizavi: Without Colleen, all life aboard the ship could perish. One bad crop, the introduction of one foreign pest, and it’s all over.

Colleen: I just like plants.

Hunk: Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something again? I just--I just came in to see if Colleen had a very specific type of yeast.

Kinkade: Yeast? What for?

Rizavi: Oh, no.

Hunk: It’s that recipe I’ve been working on. I think I got the topping down, but I’m still trying to figure out the sweet bread.

Colleen: Well, I have so many strains of yeast, it’ll make your head spin. I got AB972, S288C. I even have O unilateralis. Don’t mess with that one.

Kinkade: Are you getting this?

Rizavi: Unfortunately, yes.

[Camera cuts to Kinkade and Rizavi floating through a hallway.]

Rizavi: The time is 1200 hours. We just got word that we are in the Grei-Aye star system. The Paladins will be heading down to the surface of the planet any second now.

[Cut to the camera facing Allura, Lance, and Keith in the hangar for Black Lion.]

Rizavi: Lance, how are you feeling about the mission you’re about to go on?

Lance: Oh, hey. I’m feeling good, I guess. Maybe a little tense. Maybe a lot tense. I don’t know. Why’d you have to ask me that question?

Allura: I think what Lance is trying to say is he’ll be fine. We all will.

Keith: Let’s move out.

[Camera cuts to Kinkade and Rizavi standing a ways away from Blue Lion as it launches.]

Rizavi: Right now, we’re headed to the situation room where we’ll be monitoring the Paladins in real-time.

Kinkade: By the way, you know we’re not gonna be able to bring our camera into that meeting, right?

Rizavi: Says who?

[Scene change to the situation room where Veronica, Coran, Sam, and Shiro are all facing a screen showing a no-signal symbol.]

Sam: Come in, Pidge. Are you reading us?

Pidge: Okay, we’ve just touched down on the surface.

Keith: We’re at the crash site now.

Pidge: That’s the robeast. It looks disabled, just like our intel reported. The Altean should be nearby.

Shiro: Paladins, brace for incoming!

Hunk: I didn’t know it could do that!

Keith: Take cover!

Shiro: Paladins, report! We’ve lost visual. Bridge, lock onto that ship now!

Curtis: Yes, Captain. Adjusting to long-range parameters. Locked on!

Shiro: Light it up!

Curtis: Direct hit!

Lance: Nice shot, Atlas!

Hunk: Yeah, thanks for the cover!

Shiro: Bridge, stay on alert.

[Cut to the Altean viewscreen of Pidge’s point of view through her helmet.]

Allura: Stand by, Atlas. We’re approaching the ship.

Hunk: Guys, there doesn’t seem to be a pilot inside.

Keith: Hey, guys. Over here.

Pidge: Keith’s found something. Let’s go! Give me a second. Just reconfiguring to this barrier’s isometric frequency. There! That should do it.

Keith: Atlas, our target is acquired.

Overlapping voices: Yippee! Alright! Yeah!

Shiro: Great job, everyone!

[Cut to Kinkade and Rizavi floating through another hallway.]

Rizavi: We just got word that the Paladins have returned from their mission. Maybe we can catch a glimpse of this new Altean.

Kinkade: This’ll be the sixth Altean pilot we’ve recovered from the powered-down robeasts left behind after Honerva escaped Oriande. Allura keeps trying, but she hasn’t been able to get any information from them as of yet.

[Camera cuts to Rizavi standing outside a room marked “Authorized Personnel Only”.]

Rizavi: Commander Shirogane said you two were needed on the bridge. We’ll cover your station.

Woman: Yes, Lieutenant.

Rizavi: There! Oh, man, I think we missed the beginning.

Romelle: Tavo, please. You and I grew up alongside one another. You must trust me. We’re here to help.

Tavo: We were told you are a traitor, and I can see now that it is true.

Allura: I’m done talking with him. I’m done with all of them.

Kinkade: Uh, what are you doing?

Rizavi: Sh! I got an idea.

Lance: Anything?

Allura: No. He was just like the others. A true believer in Honerva, and there’s nothing I can say that would make him think otherwise.

Lance: I’m sorry.

Allura: No, I am. These Alteans are the key to unlocking Honerva’s plan. They’re my people, but they won’t speak with me. You have no idea what it’s like to find out after ten thousand years that you’re not the last of your kind… only to be rejected by them.

Lance: I don’t. But I wish every day there were something I could do to change it all for you. You’ve suffered more than anyone should in a thousand lifetimes. But still you persist. Through the pain, you inspire. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you.

Kinkade: No, that’s private.

Rizavi: Kinkade, what are you doing? That was our love angle!

[Camera cuts out, then focuses in on Romelle’s face.]

Kinkade: Please don’t touch that.

Romelle: Oh, sorry.

Rizavi: So, Romelle, you know these Alteans from your time on the colony?

Romelle: Yes, I lived alongside them for many decaphoebs. They are good people.

Kinkade: What do you think would make them join forces with Honerva?

Romelle: I don’t know. But you must understand, my people were hunted nearly to extinction. They’re afraid. And this Honerva… she’s turned that fear to aggression. If there was just some way to get through to them.

[Cut to the mess hall.]

Griffin: I’ve never seen anything like it. All those tentacles… so nasty.

[Cut to the kitchen where Hunk is stirring something purple in a pan.]

Hunk: Oh, hey. You’re just in time. I was just about to add the yeast Colleen gave me. No, Bae Bae! Bad dog!

[Cut to Kinkade and Rizavi sitting at a table with Allura.]

Kinkade: First off, thanks for doing this, Allura.

Allura: You’re welcome.

Rizavi: Maybe we can start with the Alteans we have aboard.

Allura: What about them? They’re on the wrong side of this war and they refuse to speak with me. There’s nothing else to say.

Rizavi: So, you’re frustrated?

Allura: Yes, I am. Oriande was destroyed, Lotor is back, and we aren’t any closer to tracking down Honerva. She’s out there, right now, planning something, preparing, and growing stronger. And we’re here flying around in circles, searching for Fraunhofer lines that don’t appear and scanning for wormhole signatures that don’t exist!

Rizavi: Do you think we’ll ever find Honerva?

Allura: No. I think she’ll find us.

[Camera cuts back to Hunk in the kitchen, this time wearing oven mitts.]

Hunk: Okay, it’s been a long day, but I’m finally done.

Kinkade: What is it?

Hunk: It’s an authentic Altean dessert! I’m gonna give it to the Alteans. Coran helped me with the recipe, but I think his memory was, like, a little bit fuzzy, so, you know, I did some improvising. No big whoop.

Kinkade: You did this for them? Why?

Hunk: Well, I don’t know. Because food has a way of reminding people of moments in time. That’s why I made a dessert. Usually, when you eat dessert, you’re pretty happy, right? Who knows? Maybe this’ll help those Alteans remember some moment that made them smile. Something before all this madness. That could go a long way in building a relationship. Well, that’s just what I think.

[Cut to the Alteans in a holding cell as the camera zooms out and pans to face Hunk.]

Hunk: Please, eat. Look, it’s good! Mm, really!

Tavo: You made this? It reminds me of home.

Hunk: Well, I had a little help from someone born and raised on Altea. A-and I know you don’t wanna talk with them, but Allura and Coran know more about your homeland than anyone alive. They were on Altea until its final day. They both would’ve stayed and died to protect it if Alfor hadn’t sent them away. That’s how much they loved it.

Tavo: I heard Altea was one of the most beautiful places in the universe. Did your Alteans ever tell you about the zyo crystal springs outside of the capital? The stories say those cliffs were more beautiful than all of the stars combined.

Hunk: They never told me about them. But I’m sure they’d love to tell you themselves.

[Scene change to Kinkade sitting in casual clothes facing the camera.]

Kinkade: This is Lieutenant Ryan Kinkade, MFE pilot. The time is 2300 hours. Day forty-seven aboard the IGF-Atlas is officially done.

End.