#it's okay raistlin

[tatzelwyrm]

"So are you disappointed?" Raistlin asked. "No," Sturm replied. "I may have lost a hero, but I have found a friend. What about you? Magius was your hero." "I have found both a hero and a friend," said Raistlin. "You must find it hard, knowing as you do that Magius is destined to die a terrible death," said Sturm. You have no idea, Raistlin thought.

You know, given that the Twins Trilogy ends with "Raistlin discovers he has a heart and undooms the world", you know what would be a really funny way to end this book?

[skull-bearer]

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Dragonlance - Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dalamar the Dark/Raistlin Majere Characters: Raistlin Majere, Dalamar the Dark, Mari, William Sweetwater, Par-Salian (Dragonlance), Justarius (Dragonlance), Ladonna (Dragonlance), Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s) Additional Tags: Coming Back, Second Chances, Changing the Darkness, Towers of High Sorcery, Return, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Optimism, Definitely Upbeat, Friendship, Dating, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, ish, Healing, Cuddles, Things Get Better, Secret Identity, Secret Identity Fail, magic shows, Raistlin actually having fun for once Series: Part 2 of A Second Chance Summary:

Raistlin is alive again, and determined to make the most of it. He meets old friends, and some both old and new.

Chapter 2 Raistlin and Mari reach Losacrum, and get to work.

[9mothsinspace]

Hearth Cat and Winter Wren

Okay, so I randomly found a dragonlance novel in an old book store with a collection of short stories.

One of which describes a small adventure the original companions had before the war of the lance when they were still in Solace.

And ppl, it's adorable so i'm gonna do a summary and share the good bits here. (Spoilers. Obviously)

We're starting out with a squirrel having a conversation with a cat. The squirrel is distraught because it's caged, afraid of the cat, and hardly fed. It is having strange dreams, though. And squirrel are not supposed to have dreams.

Cut to the Flint. He is in his house, carving, surrounded by some of his young companions and trying hard not to show that he's worried for Tasslehoff. Because he's run off after a 'talking wren' some days ago.

Back to the squirrel and the cat. The cat reveals that it hasn't always been a cat and suspects the squirrel hasn't always been a squirrel either.

To everyone's surprise, a talking wren does indeed turn up in Solace. She tells Sturm and the others that she was turned by a mage, along with a man called Petyr who got turned into a cat. And a kender who became a squirrel. They decide to hurry to their rescue. Raistlin has a plan.

So, (never mind that he shouldn't hold such power yet. He hasn't even taken the test at this point.) Raistlin turns Flint into a shepherd dog, Sturm into a falcon, Caramon into a panther, and Tanis into a fox.

They infiltrate the mage's house, overpower him and force him to turn back bird, cat, and squirrel. Raistlin deals with the mage.

And afterwards, companions and the two rescued people gather in Flint's house again and he gives Wren his carving.

Adorable, right?

The story was written by Nancy Varian Berberick and published in this book:

[the-pale-chancellor]

Have you watched the recording I sent @majeremorozova ? If so I’d love to hear your thoughts

Oh yes, I have.

I have.

And that's gonna be a long(fucking)read, beware everyone who dares to step further!

Disclaimer: Those are just my overall thoughts, I do not want to insult or humiliate any of the actors, directors or any other person with my words, though they may be harsh in some places. And that is totally my fault. So! With that out of the way!

Let me divide this thing into small parts.

1. Plot.

That's the biggest improvement here, literally. I could not thank Anton enough for actually making things understandable to a regular viewer, who didn't for example watch 4 different plays and read the books like I did. Scenes were moved between each other to make a comprehensible storyline. Though, at first I somewhat got confused with the pre-Conclave scene and the Nightmares suddenly being the second to play (which they weren't actually but at first it seemed so). They even added Paladine! (loving good old Fizban finally showing up, but sadly not Tas). Interesting way of singing Lord of Nothing along with Crysania and not Takhisis!

But there always will be things I don't like: first of all, just for the sake of Paladine, whAT IS HAPPENING IN THE ABYSS????? CABARET???? WITH TAKHISIS???? HALF-NAKED DANCERS???? That was supposed to be a serious, dark scene of Raistlin going nuts and not..whatever it was. Bruh. Lacked the emotional impact from the Cataclysm scene, it literally did nothing to achieve at least a sense of fear, meh. Also, for some reason I cringed from a JCSS reference before Battle for the Zaman Castle, Raistlin is not supposed to reperesent Jesus in any way, it just doesn't suit the character arc. Also Dalamar appearing in the most random places?? Where he was not supposed to be even in the book???? But oh well, characters are another problem here.

2. Characters

Oh boy. I am going to rant here alot, ain't I..We'll go with everyone here for getting at least some improvements.

-Tika. Absolute favourite, nothing can change my opinion here. New version of the tavern scene is precious and some other scenes like holding a baby in her hands. Adorable.

-Caramon. Nothing changed x2. Rostik just slays and may I notice the cameraman was mostly filming him lmao. Fighting scenes were both appealing and wonky in different places, but he made it through really well.

-New: the Nun and the Inquisitor. They were added specifically in the new version of the musical and I rather enjoyed seeing them honestly. Especially the latter. The Nun though..she doesn't integrate with the plot well, too much of a comic relief which I don't like.

-Takhisis. Apart from the abyss scene and her costume design which I'ma mention later, she wasn't bad. Neutral opinion, that's all she gonna get.

-One line for the two: The Kingpriest and Par-Salian. Both are just okay, again, without additional rant about the costumes yet. One thing is that I don't like how the actor for the first one (woops, I don't remember his name, shame on me) - his voice is too rude, too harsh and rough when he sings, he's supposed to be like the Abbot from Curse of Strahd, like the Saint Being himself, and he just roars. But that's just taste, I got used to Plamenev and Sydorenko singing some parts I suppose.

-And here we start a rant. Ladies, gents and other people - Dalamar Argent! Even though I don't mention him a lot in my posts, I fucking love this character, even my DnD PC kinda reminds of him. bUT. Both in the books and in the previous staged versions he still HOLDS his respect towards his shalafi, his master. In this one he just goes "yeah whatever this mf is gonna die" and what??? where's the rest of it at least???? he appears in the Abyss to notify about the scenes (why would they even make him do that???) and what? Ending where? Also, his whole vibe of a twink gothic vampire is not what he's supposed to feel like. But alas, bonus points for the cane and for looking gay. And he got some new scenes, I'd say I liked (e.g. him going against Raistlin and losing miserably).

-*breathes in* Crysania. Just Crysania. I had my share of doubts about her at all times, I've never liked her originally so no expectations were there. She has bread instead of her brains in the original media, bUT THEY SOMEHOW MADE HER EVEN MORE STUPID. HOW GUYS. JUST HOW. Wtf you mean she pretended to pray to do her own things insted??? She is a CLERIC. She prays furiously, she lays all her hopes on the gods, on Paladine. Her behaviour is utterly childish, her descisions are peak dumbass, and the only good about this version - her laughing madly by the end and the very Lord of Nothing she sings in a duet. The "I can fix him" woman cannot get fixed herself I suppose. Ehhh.

-Oh, we really got here? Yes, yes we did. Raistlin. Again, outside the costume and prop design. Why in the sweet hells he is THAT disabled??? It's the 4-6th books, he's nearly fully in full health, he doesn't need his staff to walk like this, he isn't supposed to whither and wipe the floor with himself - he literally becomes a god so how come he looks like this? And with the actor thing - this man doesn't suit him, nor does Rostislav. I understand that choosing actors might have been a big deal, but not them. Maxim was there, he could have played Raist and not Dalamar, yet they decided otherwise. I completely disliked this Raistlin, but that's just some opinion of mine, don't get angry. I "grew up" as a fan of Ruslan and then original Anton version, anyone else (maybe except for Egorov) just don't feel any right, especially with this kind of acting out a character. Woah, that was a long rant, teheee.

3. Costumes.

I am utterly horrified. Literally zero words. Raistlin without a wig and with a mop on his head (not talking about SpB vers, it got better there), sport-like costume with white print AND a suit??? In fantasy????? (yeah, I read the comms of Anton about it all being just a fable, not fantasy-like, but then you could've made everything modern!au?)(Raist in the suit lowkey looks like the 12th doctor, I couldn't help but imagine 12th singing the last bits instead of Raist himself). Horrible. Just horrible. Everyone has different styles of their costumes, half of the actors are literally wearing curtains (yes, Kingpriest, i am looking at you). Par-Salian somehow got the best one here, I like the mirror thingies on his shoulder pads.

The Abyss and Takhisis are something else entirely, I hate how this powerful character got turned into a..what, brothel hostess? Her original costume design was rejected, they didn't have time to make a new one so they literally bought pieces from WildBerries and paired them together! (joke's on u, the comment section even found the exact version of her coat and body part)(alright, I mean this one costume doesn't look that bad, no, it just..too open, too out of place, not for a Dragon Queen).

Please, return Dalamar his ears, I beg. If not his wig, then at least his eARS-

4. The last one. Production and the props.

As it was just the recording, I cannot truly get you the whole picture, so bear with what I noticed.

The sound went off on minute 20. Raist's mic started flopping so he had to get a hand one and then just the other one between the scenes. The sound team didn't do their work properly, besides I sometimes couldn't understand what the characters were singing or saying (luckily, when you know most of the arias, it's easier). The orchestra was a bit louder than the leads, but maybe it was because of the recording itself.

Props were either good or bad, no in-between. The moons everyone were laughing at, were rather good in my opinion, just not something one would get used to in a matter of seconds. They looked funny when moving and not flying in one place, because they bent into different sides like balloons. Also the staff broke down a few times.

well, i do hope this review is fine! thanks for reading!

[wehavekookies]

Top 5 favorite characters of all time?

Okay, this is a big one, and i actually had tough time picking five (and i ended up with six ((or even seven XD)) anyway lol), but this is what i came down to, and it was pretty interesting to think on it to be honest, a good ask:

Master Twardowski - a character from several Polish legends to which i trace all my fascinations with the Deal with the Devil trope: a noble, a sorcerer, dealing in dark arts, kinda like a Polish doctor Faustus i guess? Witcher 3 Heart of Stone expansion was heavily based on these legends too, to add a more recognisable pop culture reference here. Anyway, these were some of the stories I was reading a lot as a kid, and I think they leaked through pretty heavily lol, so even tho I am not exploring the character as is that much I'm gonna give him first place on this list.

Honourable mention on this one: Devil as a character in general.

Raistlin Majere - ok, this is actually a crime that I never painted him, so something I have to definitely change in the nearest future. But this character had a massive impact on my interests, regarding fantasy in general, and in terms of specific character tropes, and I remember being absolutely fascinated by his arc. Gotta reread these books actually.

Sheogorath - yeah, so I don't paint this dude enough too, so another thing I gotta add to my list, but Shivering Isles may be my favourite game expansion still, the aesthetics, the plot, the reveal, and I have a feeling this character influenced quite a lot, directly or indirectly, also you know, I am not that big on Funko Pops but i got one of his, and that means a lot lol.

Baba Yaga - listen, this is just gonna be a list of characters I have to paint more or actually paint lmao, but in case you wondered where the witchy themes come from.

Morte - i didn't expect this dude to show up on this list, but here he is, both because he is a damn floating skull, duh, but also for sentimental reasons because Planescape: Torment, and i needed something to reference that influence, and Morte is the best face Planescape can get (tho Lady of Pain is a close second). Also he is a fantastic character.

Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy - okay, it is a top 6 apparently, but screw that, i need a vampire on this list too. both because a vampire and all fascinations related to this one, but also because of that gentle monster trope that I do adore.

[jinsai-ish]

Books that have left me legitimately traumatized (in a good way) and staring at a wall wondering how I go about my life with the hole it ripped in my heart:

- Lord of the Rings - do I even need to elaborate on this? But it truly is the OG of breaking your heart in the best way with its ending

- Lost in the Moment and Found - THANKS SO MUCH FOR RIPPING OUT MY STILL-BEATING HEART SEANAN MCGUIRE.

...I was not okay after this one. In a good way. In a "finishing this book took so much out of me I needed a legitimate recovery period"... 161 pages did that to me. Like, argh! Just. Yes.

- The West Passage - this one left me with so many questions! But also, in a good way. Like, the world created is so unique and fantastic and fascinating, and while so many things happen and questions are answered, as much as you come to know the world, at least as much remains mysterious, in a sort of holy way.

- The Orphan's Tales - ESPECIALLY the 2nd book. Like, I have PTSD from what the characters themselves endure. It's poetry so beautiful it's painful, but then again, I repeat myself.

- Daevabad - didn't give me book PTSD so much as just like... You ever tasted anything so delicious and perfect that you lose all appetite for a long time, because you know nothing else will ever taste that good? And you know you can read it again, but it's like... You need time.

Honorable mentions:

- Priory of the Orange Tree is excellent as well. I don't know if it quuuite left me as insens(ible, but definitely book PTSD, from both novels.

- The original 6 Dragonlance novels (Chronicles and Legends) - I don't know how well these hold up but they were a huge part of my youth and re-reading them in college and just loving Raistlin and then finishing the last book Legends and it's such a huge exhale.

[voidwhump]

yea what i was talking about to whither-wander-whump was Dragonlance, like you guessed. Dragonlance Legends specifically (so, in case you're not sure which one that was, the premise is basically that the mage Raistlin wants to become a god, his twin brother Caramon needs to do a bunch of character development and stop being emotionally dependent on Raistlin, and the cleric Crysania wants to redeem Raistlin and Raistlin uses that to manipulate her to help himself). I've just been having brainrot abt it, like Dragonlance isn't even really a main fandom for me - honestly I haven't even really looked into what sort of a fandom exists for it, i've just been. you know. having brainrot abt it and suffering silently on my own, lmao. (I haven't even read that much of the franchise, and I'm further hindered by the fact that my local library mostly only has translated copies which I refuse to touch because the one time I read one of the books translated, the translation quality was awful. So anyway for now all I've read is Chronicles, Legends, and the first book of Destinies.)

Anyway for some reason my brain has decided it's fun to poke at Caramon a little bit (literally this wasn't a choice my brain just went okay we're rotating him now, without asking my opinion, you know how it is sometimes) and i've been toying with some "okay no way in hell he's actually just fine at the end of the story, he's gotta be traumatized as fuck after all that, what if I make him break down a lil bit over everything and then throw in some comfort" kinda thing. Y'know, a good old-fashioned aftermath angst / hurt/comfort fic. And I just feel like a few extra scars and an injury that didn't really heal properly or some lil things like that could be fun to add into the mix. anyway yea idk i'll probably never actually write it anyway cuz my brain is stupid

(also i ended up even reading the books in literally the stupidest weirdest most roundabout "how the fuck did you even manage that" way, it's ridiculous, but that's beside the point)

Cool! Like I said, dragonlance has never been my main focus, but I definitely read at least the first book of chronicles and I remember Raistlin but not his twin for some reason. It might be because I read it somewhere between 8 and 11 years ago lmao.

If you do actually get words on paper, the two routes I primarily see in fanfic in D&D universes to keep cannon injuries around are 1. removing magical healing that happened in cannon or 2. making a unique injury harder to heal/fully recover from than was established in cannon. For injuries invented for the fanfic writers just exclude clerics and include limited healing potions it seems.

I just now thought of a secret third option that could be a vibe: phantom pain from an injury that was healed but for whatever reason that character's brain didn't catch on. Maintains cannon injury -> magical healing status but fits nicely with emotional stress.

Anyway fucking mood on not being able to find copies of these older series, I've been trying to hook myself up with legend of drizzt ebooks for a while but Hoopla straight up removed the prequel trilogy at some point and libby's options from my branch are sporadic at best and always checked out. If I'm buying books I want physical copies and I do NOT have the space for that lol. Or the funds really.

[curiouselleth]

Would you do 📣, 🥲, and 🔎 for the music ask game, please?

hi @general-illyrin!

📣 A lyric that feels like it is specifically calling you out

hmm okay I don't listen to this song tooo much anymore but, heres the chorus from the song What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club;

And I can tell just what you want You don't want to be alone You don't want to be alone And I can't say it's what you know But you've known it the whole time Yeah, you've known it the whole time

🥲 A song that makes you cry

Lullaby from the Last Trial. The pain, the grief for someone who is lost to but not dead, looking back for the last time with the knowledge that this is goodbye. This is the last goodbye the last time Caramon is seeing his brother forever, because when the sun rises they will see how time has changed them, that them, twins, have become different people who do not know each other. They have grown and changed for the better and worse and now they are different people and they are lost to each other so the young, happy brothers they used to be are gone and long dead and Caramon's done denying that.

🔎 A song you can't stop analyzing

Concerning Love from the Last Trial Musical! Raistlin's motivations, Takhisis's flawless manipulation, Caramon and Crysania's desperation to help and get through to him, all the different takes of it different actors have done... AAAAAAAAAH

[writingcaterpillar]

Dragonlance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I somehow managed to miss that there was a brand spanking new Dragonlance trilogy in the works until just now?! It's by Hickman and Weis?! There's time travel?! Raistlin and Sturm both show up?!

In book two, out in August, they travel back in time and meet Huma and Magius?!

Hold on, folks, I'm about to get back into an old, old fandom and be completely obnoxious about it.

Okay, that's a lie. I'll try really, really, really hard to be quiet. I promise!

[silverglass83]

Last line meme

thank you for the tag @mogwaei

Rules: post the last line you've written.

Raistlin again had to force the drunken smirk off his face as he considered their first time could very well result - not in rug burns - but grass stains!

Okay I sort of cheated. I have no idea the last line I wrote. But as I reworked an old chapter of The Star and The Hourglass today, I expanded on a scene where Raistlin daydreams that he and Yurielle knew one another when they were young and studying together at the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth. The chapter needed more spice, and I think I delivered ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Plus, what can I say? Daydreaming, love-sick Raistlin is adorable and fun to write. Fight me (ง'̀-'́)ง

The full rework is nearly done. Hopefully I’ll be confident enough to repost the story again soon...

Unfortunately, I don’t really follow many people who write fics that would even see me tag them.

[six-of-ravens]

Okay,

Chrysania would do numbers on hashtag positivity social media for her bland statements about loving everyone, being soft and kind and living in the light ect etc, before being cancelled bone stealing witch style for the most insane shit you've ever heard of. Now she constantly posts "I can fix him" memes about Raistlin in between Teal Swan style meditation videos. She refuses to believe anyone who says Raistlin is gay. Dalamar stitches her tiktoks with his own vague implications that he and Raistlin are boning, which enrages her, but every time she blocks him he just makes a new side account to troll her.

Kitiara does numbers for posting videos of dragon-riding and swordfighting stunts as well as slow-mo videos of her taking off her helm and shaking her hair out. Everyone loves the bi butch dragon highlord hashtag queen. She makes one dramatic apology video about how sorry she is for joining Takhisis' army and how she only did it to get a life beyond being the stand-in mother for her twin brothers and to heal from her toxic relationship with Tanis, hashtag feminism, and she didn't even really kill anyone anyway in fact she led Tanis to Takhisis! and everyone forgives her instantly. Every so often a true crime podcast tries to report on how she's actually planning world domination but they get absolutely destroyed by her fandom and then, reportedly, a blue dragon.

Raistlin doesn't know social media exists and wouldn't use it if he did but Dalamar exclusively posts meme videos and tiktok dances with stories about nefarious goings-on in the Tower of High Sorcery. Everyone loves the stone-faced gangly elf lad doing an awkward dance while the text says the shoikan trees ate another guy today, it was gross, they like ripped his legs off with their weird hand roots and Shalafi made me go bury the rest of him so it wouldn't smell. Anyway if you're looking for a Knight of Solamnia with long blond hair and a tattoo of the name Laurana on his ass I have some bad news. Oh wait that's every Knight of Solamnia sorry. I got to keep his cool dagger tho

Tanis tries very hard to be an influencer but every 3 months or so he alienates one half of his fanbase or the other by either shaving his beard or growing it out again and making obnoxious declarations about identifying with his evil human side or good elf side. People constantly try and explain to him that humans are not all evil and elves are not all good and he really, like really needs therapy. They know a good half-elf therapist too, and she doesn't charge too mu-- oh shit they're blocked.

Laurana has a very serious account where she discusses the political relations between the different factions that came out of the War of the Lance and everyone begs her to divorce Tanis because she could do so much better, why is she playing wifey in Qualinesti when she could be leading Palanthas? She's seriously considering it. Also, Kitiara likes all of her posts and it's rumoured the two are making up after their long enmity that primarily revolved around them both dating Tanis at one point or another.

[redrascal1]

What has happened to our happy endings?

It's one of the things I loved about SW. The characters went through hell, but it all worked out in the end.

I'm a depressant. I've earlier mentioned Raistlin Majere, the most memorable character in the Dragonlance games/novels. Much as I loved those books, I had to put them aside eventually because the endings were so...depressing.

And now I've had to walk away from SW for the same reason.

If ever a character deserved a happy ending...it was Ben Solo. Instead, this was given, along with everything else, to Rey PALPATINE.

Some SW fans, much to my surprise - and I admit, my disappointment - are fine with this. They are happy to say goodbye to the Skywalkers and move on with new characters. I would have been okay with that too...

......if Ben had gotten his happy ending.

It would have been great if he had redeemed himself by destroying Palpatine, and started a new life - even better with Rey. I would have been happy for the Skywalker Saga to have ended there and future films being about new characters.

But, to end it how they did...I'm sorry. I can't accept it, and never will.

A lot of fans of Ben and reylo have said DLF have turned SW into a horror story.

For what? Just to promote a tiresome 'women rock' agenda? Leia rocked. Padme rocked.

Rey is a bore. And TROS made her extremely unlikeable. She came across as callous, supercilious and arrogant.

But the real 'horror' was making her a Palpatine.

That is not a happy ending.

I miss happy endings.

[9mothsinspace]

Okay! Rant (and spoilers) ahead! It's been some time since I read Dragons of Fate now and I need to put down my thoughts about it. My obsessive bookmarking of scenes must be put to some use! Really, hoarding scenes it my one true dragon trait.

Now. Critique comes first. For one:

Inconsistency problems. I ranted about some of them in other posts as well, but here a few in short: 1. Raistlin is too well-informed about Immolatus. He may have figured out that he's a dragon at some point after Brothers in Arms, but even then, he couldn't have detailed knowledge about his hunting habits from the short encounters he had with him. 2. The Green dragon in the orb is named Viper, not Cyan 3. In the very first scene a gnome appears he finishes a sentence. The a-gnome-never-finishes-a-sentence rule has been broken before but still.

Then. The repetetive and tedious explainations of time travelling. Okay, so the book starts with a chapter that basically retells the last chapter of the previous book to explain where things left off. So far so good, it's a bit unnecessary that the time travelling is spelled out to the reader in such detail and that Sturm is used as the 'ignorant character' device that needs everything explained to him. But then we switch scenes and the same discussion takes place with Dalamar and Justarius. And then again with Tanis (again the ignorant character device) and Astinus! Yes, every character has to be up to date, but the process doesn't have to be described every time. It just feels like the reader isn't trusted to keep up and I would actually welcome some ambiguity here. But maybe that's just personal preference.

Destina. I was actually on bord with the entire Destina plotline in the first book, but in the second one it feels like she has simply been erased, now that the heroes of the lance have entered the stage. And the plot with her love interest... uff. I read somewhere that Dragonlance has a problem with writing love stories and I agree. There is no real distinction between initial attraction and supposed deeper feelings? At least not in this case. There was no time for these two to fall in love and it feels like a plot device.

Raistlin. Now. This REALLY is personal preference but he felt... out of character a bit? How do explain it better than 'he isn't evil enough'? Yes he is still sarcastic and snarky, but it also just set on fixing the river of time without ever even contemplating an outcome that doesn't end with him dead? Of course his memories of his failed atttempt of godhood could have taught him better, but are you really telling me that RAISTLIN MAJERE doesn't have any ambition or shred of selfishness left in him? Especially after he says he doesn't really regret his actions? And I loved the scene in the beginning where he tells Tasslehoff that he is sorry that Mary was never real but it also just felt off.

Now, I ranted a lot about things I didn't like. So here the things i absolutely did (especially in the third half of the book that made up for a lot of the previous bugs I think):

Gnomes!! They were hilarious! Like, in every scene and every dialogue they were what I expected gnomes to be. Chaotic bureaucracy, exploding shit, little self-preservation, that's just awesome.

Magius. I had my issues with his and Raistlin's dynamic at first because it felt like they were set up for being friends just because it serves the plot and Raistlin was more dragged along than making decisions on his own... but the death scene really had me with a lump in my throat. And Magius handing over the staff and declaring that it will be Raistlin's now and in the future - that was actually a mindblowing moment!

The Immolatus and Takhisis dynamic. Now, this was an intriguing and ambiguous relationship. We know that she favours him, gifts him a powerful artifact and makes him a commander of her army, even recruits him again in Brothers in Arms, but he just hates her guts. Why? We got just enough bits to be interested but not enough to make it flat. Nice!

Raistlin and Sturm. Sue me, i ship them and I loved every bit of interaction.

Kitiara and siblings in the dragon army. This... I mean-!!! Again, this is subjective, but I was just always absolutely in love with Kitiara and Raistlin as a team and understood but was saddened when they tried to kill each other half the time. To see them now on the same side in this alternative present and with Caramon at that... this is everything I wanted for them. I know, I know, that's just me, but i'm all in for team evil Majere / uth Matar siblings.

So much from me :) Plz tell me you thoughts if you agree or disagree with any of this.

[storytelller-drabbles-english]

«The Last Trial». Takhisis, Raistlin Majere, Rosamun Majere. Death (#1)

Notes:

I write in Russian and use a translator. If you find any errors, please let me know about it.

___

Takhisis stretched on her throne in boredom. After damn Raistlin Majere sealed the Gates of the Abyss to save the world (and locked her inside), nothing interesting happened in the Abyss itself.

He's weak. He is so weak, but he was able to defeat her, the very Mistress of Darkness! Takhisis hissed irritably, not wanting to admit final defeat. She'll get to him. She would make him pay for everything he had done! She closed her eyes, searching for him in the Darkness.

Where are you...

I'll find you...

He was sleeping peacefully. In the dream, he was with his mother and brother and seemed very happy. The sky above them was bright blue, the twins' mother, Rosamun, was smiling at them both, and the boys were snuggled up to her, basking in the rays of the warm sun. Takhisis hissed softly, letting out his nightmares. She crouched in the shadows, watching and waiting for the right moment. Very soon she will break it. He will become an obedient toy in her hands and then she will force him to open the Gate. Takhisis smiled softly, tasting the sweet taste of his fear when he realized she was here. She knew what needed to be done in order to start breaking him — to take his mother, the most precious thing he has.

In the blink of an eye, everything changed. The sky quickly overcast and the wind came. Rosamun tightened her arms around her sons, as if she understood what was going to happen. But she couldn't stop it. Caramon and Raistlin clung to their mother, but only one of them clearly understood what would happen next and therefore clung to his mother more desperately.

When tentacles reached out from the Darkness, Raistlin screamed and jumped to his feet, and then ran forward, trying to protect his mother.

"Raistlin," Rosamun called softly, looking at the approaching tentacles. They circled around him as if they couldn't go any further. Then they surrounded him. The sphere was getting darker and darker…

Rosamun got to her feet, clasping her eldest son's hands in hers.

"It's all right, honey," she assured him, leaving a long goodbye kiss on his forehead, "I love you".

"I love you, Mom," Caramon's voice reached Takhisis.

Rosamun moved toward Raistlin, looking around warily. She seemed to hold her breath until she approached her youngest son.

She easily walked right into the shadows, driving them away from herself and Raistlin, but they were still circling nearby. When the young magician looked at his mother in bewilderment, she sat down next to him.

"I love you, Raistlin. Please don't give in to the Darkness," Rosamun looked at him seriously, "it won't lead to anything good."

When Raistlin nodded, she gently hugged him and kissed him on the forehead. He held out his hands to his mother, but she pulled away, walking towards the shadows.

"No, Mom!" He cried desperately, clinging to the hem of her dress. "Stay, Mom, stay! Don't go there!"

"I have to, honey," Rosamun smiled sadly at him, "please go to your brother, okay? He will help you."

"I love you, Mom, don't leave! Please don't leave!" Raistlin was getting more and more desperate and was already on the verge of tears.

She gently unhooked his hands and gave Caramon a little push.

"Go. And goodbye," came to him with the wind.

Raistlin's desperate cry was drowned out by the descending Darkness.

"Don't touch them. You need me, so take it, but don't touch my children," the woman whispered.

"I can't swear," Takhisis smiled.

"Raistlin is a smart boy, he won't mess with magic like I do, and Caramon isn't interested in it," Rosamun smiled with relief, "they're safe. You can't touch them."

"Why won't it? See for yourself."

Takhisis showed the astonished mother how her sonhad really changed.

"Your son defeated me and imprisoned me in the Abyss with the help of magic", the goddess hissed.

"No…" Rosamun whispered in amazement, shaking her head as if refusing to believe it.

"He defeated me, but soon I will break him... with your help."

The woman didn't even have time to turn around. Rosamun's scream was swallowed up by Darkness.

Takhisis smiled. From now on, she would be the only one in his dreams. She'll break it. And then he will come and open the Gates to her.

And she will win.

Photo by Julia Gubina (https://vk.com/photo-48269334_457256277)

[therealkrynnsub]

[alypagemage]

….

No, no no. No! no no no no RaiSTLIN I SWEAR TO SOLINARI-

Dammit, Raist! Now is not the time to get all pissy about how nature f’d you over you always were a whole person it’s not Caramon’s fault at least not intentionally now go sit down and comfort your twin-

Aaaaand he’s gone.