#large cast of characters

[dathomirdumpsterfire]

~~ Chapter 6: Pickles and Ice cream ~~

Read the prequel on Ao3, links at the bottom. Updates Tuesdays.

When Dryden had gotten a holocall ping at three in the morning, he knows there was only one person it could be. His organization, as a whole, knew not to interrupt his beauty sleep unless the consequences of waiting until morning were in the 'millions of credits' range, and that just didn't happen on a tight ship like his. With rare exception, of course.

So he dutifully gets up, puts on his nubian cashmere robe -the long one with the embossed gray lilies, not the short black number with cranes- and sends a servant to go fetch him caf. Then, he answers. 

"My lord," he smiles at the hooded holo form sleepily, "how may I be of service?" 

"Vos. Listen carefully: My Enemies have decided to try a new track. They have unleashed some kind of spell or device which-"

As soon as he hears 'my enemies', capital M, capital E, Dryden knows to get comfortable.

The sith lord starts in on one of his legendary rants, with all the effortless panache of a born thespian. Maul paces in the tight space allotted by the holocomm, throwing his entire body into the little performance. Facial expressions that tell entire stories. Sweeping gestures with fists and- ah, he’s grown out his claws. Lovely.

"-these… instances vary in length and frequency. The lack of discernible pattern tells me that-"

One of the staff drops off his caffuccino with extra whip and cinnamon, and the head of the Crimson Dawn sips on it while learning a fair amount about a variety of things. Who Darth Maul suspects is doing this, what they might be using to do it, when it started, where the technique might have come from, why they might be doing this, and how poorly holoprojections capture the infernal yellow glow of his eyes when Maul is pissed .

The complete story just isn't possible via holocall. A shame… his sith is ever so entrancing when furious.

"-so now you understand what we must be looking for. I suspect the line of Darth Morpic might have texts which-"

He's still going. Dryden snuggles with his caf and waits for his moment. 

"-then you will have to bring whatever resources you find here to me, on Dathomir. I will ensure the temple's defenses do not… impede you, also-"

Still going.

"-renovations to that area are a work in progress. Do not land on the east side of the cliffs. Leaving is not an option or I would-"

His caf is gone, but the moment is here. Opportunity sings to him. He stands to meet the zabrak’s energy, gesturing grandly with his empty caf mug.

"My lord, please! It would be an honor to visit your home, bringing you aid." Stage secured, Dryden sets a hand to his breast, leaning in toward the holoprojector's camera. "My collection of esoteric references is nowhere near as extensive as yours must be, but I will begin combing it immediately."

Maul looks pleased. Or, no, he looks faintly murderous, but he’s just blinked the way he does when something has pleased him. Dryden smiles, indulgent, and sweetly promises, "I will also have a team begin checking the usual auctions and private collections for additional resources. Whoever has dared to inconvenience us like this is very quickly going to discover the error of their ways, yes?"

By 'discover' he means 'die for', and by 'error' he means 'interrupting his business and keeping Maul away'. How dare they? His sith is a necessary feature to Dryden's routine. To the Dawn itself. 

Working under sithless conditions would be, well, possible , of course. Allowing their criminal empire to fall over such a loss would be inexcusably negligent on his part. No, the Dawn would come regardless of Maul’s involvement, but operating without his cold-blooded, yellow-eyed warlock would be so much more… unsatisfying. Dull. Dreary. 

Untenable!

"Very good," Maul says, haughty. "I will expect you."

"Of course," he simpers, bowing slightly.

Maul scowls and hangs up.

Dryden grins at the inactive holocomm. Dathomir! Finally, his patience is beginning to pay off. What knowledge, what power, a planet of such repute might hold. With the demise of the witches the only thing left to guard Dathomir’s secrets is the planet itself, and… well. If any one being is capable of protecting the wisdom of an entire culture, perhaps it is Lord Maul. 

But, oh, he has come to understand the sith like no other, earning more of him with each conversation. Maul could be a truly formidable obstacle, if he chose to be, between Dathomir's lost arts and the rest of the galaxy. But, with time, he will not be to Dryden Vos. 

Flushed with victory, the crime lord wanders to the small archive he has onboard, still in his night clothes. Most of his collection is on an unnamed ice moon in a vault -not on a ship that could get scuttled if his luck soured- but there were a few things here that might provide either answers, or something to whet the appetite. At least until more robust materials could be found. 

He makes a call to the caretakers on his private moon base, and sends them digging. Then, the near-human starts in on trawling the materials onboard.

"Fear not, my dear ," he tells the quiet stacks, "I shall find us answers."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

tag list: @ghostpeppercalamari

[If you want to be added to the tag list comment on the chapter.]

[lackadaisycal-art]

I'm getting so sick of major female characters in historical media being incredibly feisty, outspoken and public defenders of women's rights with little to no realistic repercussions. Yes it feels like pandering, yes it's unrealistic and takes me out of the story, yes the dialogue almost always rings false - but beyond all that I think it does such a disservice to the women who lived during those periods. I'm not embarrassed of the women in history who didn't use every chance they had to Stick It To The Man. I'm not ashamed of women who were resigned to or enjoyed their lot in life. They weren't letting the side down by not having and representing modern gender ideals. It says a lot about how you view average ordinary women if the idea of one of your main characters behaving like one makes them seem lame and uninteresting to you.

[earfgoddesss]

one of these is not like the other.

((also moots, who wanna be the one other zukaang fan with me??))

[mollysunder]

The thing I never got about the fan reaction to Mel and Jayce's relationship (in general) is that people were incensed on Jayce's behalf that Mel used him for political gain, but like... that's what happens when the government sponsors your research. Obviously the funding mechanisms aren't the same because Piltover is an oligarchy where civic functions such as the Enforcers and even Zaun's ventilation system are privately funded instead of through a common pool of taxpayer money, but the purpose is the same, which is to benefit from the conclusions drawn from the results of the research.

I don't understand how anyone in the audience could be shocked or angry that when Mel, a high ranking representative of Piltover’s government, chose to invest in hextech it wasn't clear that she and Piltover would benefit. And it's not like this foreign concept to Jayce, he was originally being SPONSORED by the Kirammans', which is almost the same relationship except it's more explicitly private to the Kirammans' benefit, but I didn't see any pitchforks out for Tobias and Cassandra.

It's just such a double whammy headache to end up reading posts where Mel is hypervillainized while Jayce is practically infantilized because as an adult man in his 30s he simply can't understand complex relationships or make his own decisions. The way some fans have been offended on Jayce's behalf straight up erases any agency or even intelligence he has.

[shrimpwizards]

i can be your angle or you devil...

[internetskiff]

Brother rly went "so yeah about that beer :)" immediately followed by implying he had (and still has) to beat at least a couple of people to maintain his position in Civil Protection. Really creates way more questions than it answers. What did u do Barney Calhoun. Is beating people up all it takes? Is there innocent blood on his hands? Is there weight on his conscience? Despite everything, did he still partake in the perks the position offered, the better housing, the extra food? How trusted is he in the resistance, really? It's probably well known that he still has to participate in the Combine's oppressive system, right? They can't all possibly view it as a completely necessary evil. I mean, some rebels hate Odessa Cubbage and his only crime seems to be "being an idiot".

Okay completely unrelated train of thought now but I wonder if he smuggles the melons Kleiner feeds to Lamarr. You can see some watermelons in a Civil Protection outpost/apartment so I assume that's one of the "better" foods the Combine provide to those that serve them. Goddd there's so much to this guy but it's all implication.. Wish he had more screentiiiiiiime I wanna see more of him. I wanna see what he's had to do to maintain cover, and what he's actually done to earn the Resistance's trust. How do the rebels feel, knowing that while they have to take shelter in the canal system, he's able to sleep in an actual apartment with an intact door?

[mikimeiko]

L'amica geniale | Season 1 (2018), Saverio Costanzo

[jayktoralldaylong]

"MelJayVik can't work because both Jayce and Viktor are too possessive to share."

And it just might be the stupidest argument I've ever heard to be honest.

But I think what pisses me off the most is that I only see this argument being used for MelJayVik, and that is so interesting considering I adore a lot of Poly ships and I have never seen such an argument before.

Interesting isn't it.

So what's the problem? Is it because Mel is a woman? (I doubt it. Alucard X Trevor X Sypha is a popular ship).

So it's because she's black isn't it? 🙂

"That's not true. We love our Queen Mel."

Ah but you've all unanimously decided that she's not Queen enough to work in even a platonic relationship with Jayce and Viktor. 😌 Don't give me that queen shit until you treat her like the queen she actually is.

I swear y'all jump through hoops to keep them apart. If it isn't pushing the agenda that Mel and Viktor hate each other (which they don't. Having a disagreement does not mean loathing. What's wrong with you? 💀 You guys did the same thing with Jayce and the bridge scene after season one), then it's pushing the agenda that Viktor and Jayce don't share.

MIND YOU, while they are both OBSESSED with each other, Jayce kept trying to pull Viktor into the world of popularity and fame. He wanted Viktor to expand and have fun. And the second Viktor realised he was being too clingy his first instinct is always to pull away and push Jayce towards others. Don't give me shit about them not sharing. Their problem isn't that they want to own each other, it's that they think the other wants nothing to do with them. Stop pushing your fantasies on Jayce and Viktor. It annoys me.

[n0isy-gh0st]

Watching Arcane really highlights how bad Hazbin and Helluva are. They just don’t hold a candle to this masterpiece. THAT is how you do diversity. THAT is how you give depth to characters. THAT is how you tell a compelling story that actually has something to say.

[slymanner]

Look all I'm saying is if that a shadow game can work THAT well and be so well designed story wise and gameplay wise

HE can work

[cryptcoop]

re ur recent post:

dont stress too much! this is your blog and you can post whatever you want forever. people who dont leave can unfollow :)

im mega excited to see some oc art!! can you share some of your ocs that you want to start drawing more?

:-) I will share three. Something to keep in mind is I wont be sharing any bits of the story I deem too important to share (which is most of it) so most of what i share will be vague at best

From left to right its:

Ripley Hampton, an ex district attorney from Seattle who abandoned her successful career after a mysterious set of circumstances causes her to reevaluate what makes her life meaningful.

Moira Fischer, one of Washington's leading surgeons, who loses her career after a devastating set back which leads to her life spiraling out of control in a desperate scramble to fix the mistakes she's made.

And Clover Haugen, who has recently moved to Washington to leave her life in Los Angeles behind her. After struggling to find work, she accepts a suspicious job offer to be Moira Fischer's intern. She's attempting to juggle keeping her life together whilst uncovering the mystery that's been weighing over the small town of Deluge for decades.

[viminoo]

What are your thoughts on speirs? I think he’d bite <3

he’s so fascinating to me. as in i wanna dissect him under an electron microscope

he’s a character i lowkey didn’t gaf about at first but i liked how they built up his reputation as this seemingly ruthless killer crazy guy and then. we get to know him a little and he’s way more complex than what i initially thought,, he ends up caring a lot more than he thinks,, so now i care a lot about him. i really like reading how people interpret his character! so cool

[aroaceleovaldez]

i would like to say my ideal PJO adaptation (if i was being physically forced against my will to have to pick a live action adaptation over an animated one for some reason) would be a combo like writing of the musical + casting of the show + visuals of the movies

BUT the show actually does have the playwright for the musical as one of the major writers for like three episodes and that did nothing for it. so...

[draw-n-vent-with-imani]

Something about Captain Barnacles being the biggest and strongest Octonaut tickles my brain

He's such a happy guy with hobbies out the wazoo

But he'd go through hell and back for his crew and probably play it off with a smile

he is a rock for the whole crew, and the crew is his rock

I'm still just in season 1, but he steals the show every time he comes on screen

Honestly I just love how well developed everyone is and how their dynamics blend so well. Barnacles strives to bring out the best in his crew and it's crazy how in the span of 23 episodes, he has had time to not just talk to but influence ALL the crew members.

[rmbunnie]

Another little inconsequential red hood thing and I'll admit that I'm decently biased but it irks me to see the whole "Jason can't shut up about his death/he makes his death everyone else's problem" take really frequently because he simply does not do that enough for it to be a thing in like any actual Red Hood story.

It's a thing you see sometimes in modern annuals/comics with large casts, particularly if a writer doesn't seem super confident with writing all of the characters that they're working with or if he's just a background character in this one, because with comics it's quicker to reduce a character to recognizable landmarks than to try and work out a whole new complex voice if you don't really need to, so it's tire iron, Jane Austen, Joker, and death, and it's all written out in dialogue because every character in a group event can't have their own internal monologue, but like. That's pretty much it. UTRH is the establishing event for Jason Todd post death so of course a lot of it is about his death, although it's arguably about the lack of response to his death more than his death itself, and he certainly makes it Bruce's issue but one beef doesn't make a trend. Plus if his death is anyone's issue beyond his own Bruce and Joker are like the number one guys whose issue it is. He THINKS about his death a ton in Lost Days, but it doesn't really reflect externally on any of his interactions besides with Joker, which again, that's justified and relevant beef. Teen Titans 29 is more about his place in the hero community/feeling like he was an outsider even before the bomb/Tim being the new robin than about his death, and side note, that being counted as an attempt on Tim's life also bugs me. He beat him up and then left of his own volition. That's not an assassination attempt its called a fight, albeit a sneaky and unfair one. But anyways. I can't speak on Battle for the Cowl because i haven't read it, both that and Batman and Robin 2009 don't really compel me, but it's entirely possible that's an outlier to my point seeing as I kinda sorta haven't read it and don't care to lmao. Even New 52 (although HIGHLY unpopular) and Rebirth/Dawn of DC/Whatever we're doing now Red Hood content don't really have him talking to people about it besides the occasional little quips. He might make stances that were developed because of his death other people's problem, like in the Mia Dearden Green Arrow situation with the "getting involved in other people's business" issue, but acting like he makes specifically his death everyone else's problem is ignoring all of the perfectly valid actually canon things he makes other people's problem. Most of the unpleasant traits he brings to the table are a result of his death and the sense of abandonment and betrayal that came with it, but that doesn't mean he's bringing his death into it when he acts unpleasantly any more than he's bringing his birth into it when he shows up in the first place. The consequences do not equal the event. All this to say it's irritating when people say the character is grating because he doesn't stop whining about his death when that kinda just indicates to me that they're working off fanon based on fanon based on kinda mid batman annual.

[fiftysevenacademics]

I used to wonder why the brothel workers named their song "Regret of Chunshan." Then it occurred to me it's because they regret losing a regular customer (Shen Qingqiu) to a beautiful, desirable man they will now never have the pleasure of turning into a regular customer (Luo Binghe). Maybe this is explained somewhere in the book and I forgot it.