#legends of oz royal family

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The Royal Family of Oz Redraw

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More stuff I'm learning from EAH ice berg: *In The Legend of Shadow High, there's a school for narrators who want to control the stories and in the book, Evil Queen actually sacrafices herself to stop the evil in the end of book and Raven at the end wants to be an author. *Straight up reminded more like but the next Blue Fairy is technically dead according to Farrah's diary where we told if the fairy tale characters dont do their destinies, their assigned fairies in the tales die. *Another reminded one to me, the tale of two sisters discovery in Storybook of Legends where the two sisters flee their destiny and are assumed dead and in reality are unknown status. *Apparently among the insperations given for EAH was British royal family....I need the source for that because if true, EAH I am so sorry oh my god- *Making me wanna re-read The Storybook of Legends just to check this because next to Wonderland, Evil Queen apparently cursed Oz and Neverland, only one of these lands I guess no longer being cursed by present as Neverland seems fine in the seuqel book, The Unfairest of Them All.

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Oz Lore: The Wicked West (3)

After the first series was done, a second series started called "South" and that series was not supposed to be a limited series but rathe the beginning of the on-going Legend of Oz: Wicked West series.

This second series starts six months after the end of the first story - here, Dorothy did not came back from the West, though her companions (not taken away by the winged monkeys) are back in the Emerald City (the lion, who doesn't speak here but is a very intelligent beast, like all in Oz ; the Tin Man equivalent a Law Man with more than it looks, and the Scarecrow, a young girl that looks like a human being but cannot speak and is made of straw - part of a general species of magic human-sized puppets called the scarecrows).

They are also all imprisoned because General Jinjur, the ruler of the Emerald City (presumably under the Wizard of Oz command) has now taken over the city entirely and began a rule as a tyrant. Enlisting all the women she could in her army, she sent down into the emerald mines all the men available, making them work all day long, digging and digging, to find tourmaline.

The exact reason why is unclear for now. We get a few glimpses of Jinjur character. She is a Gillikan woman or Gillikin (the comic is inconsistent on it). As a kid, she dreamed of ruling Oz and making it better for everyone, though she was the humble daughter of a farmer. Her family ended up slaughtered by a Kalidah, the beasts having bothered and attacked their village for generations now and that despite the humans not attacking or bothering the kalidahs, even working to avoid them at all costs. She came to the Wizard of Oz (appearing as a giant bull head) and begged him to kill al kalidahs because they are evil. But the Wizard said that if he killed the entire Kalidah species, he would be just as evil as them and dismissed her. She still stayed around, becoming general and a higher up of the city - managing to find the Wizard's "secrets" and using them to control him and by extension the city. And by extension Oz itself.

We later learn that Jinjur actually made a deal with Mombi - visibly Mombi offered her a chance at revenge and the possibility to kill all kalidahs, but in exchange Jinjur has to do things for her (and finding tourmaline seems to be part of those favors).

Despite seemingly enforcing a "women rule" ideal by putting all womens in position of command and all men to thte mines, she is not above sending women to the mine (especially if they failed their duty) but only for a limited amount of time. And while she might not be a pleasant and good person, Jinjur still deeply loves Oz. In fact, she hates those that steal the gold bricks of the Yellow Brick Road. For her, the road is a beacon of hope and attacking it is attacking Oz.

 Tip and Jack

We meet the two iconic characters of Tip and Jack Pumpkinhead.

Here Tip is a mysterious vagrant boy who was actually adopted by and is part of the Field Mice (a tribe of talking mice that have tribal markings, know how to use weapons, are very good at making traps, and live a nomadic life). Jack Pumpkinhead, while appearing at first as a creepy bandit hiding his face behind a pumpkin-smile handkerchief, he actually has quite a heavy background.

Jack lived in the Emerald City back when it still was an above-ground city and the capital of Oz. He served under the rule of Pastoria, Oz's last king and the one under which all Oz was unified, before it split in blood and frontier battles. He was part of the elite of the Royal Guards, the best warriors of the kingdom., yet he was one of the two guards tasked with protecting Pastoria's daughter, Ozma. Jack felt this as shameful and ended up abandonning his post one night, regretting to not patrol the Deadly Sands fighting any invasion by the Nome King. Unfortunately, it was this very night Mombi kidnapped Ozma. She replaced her with a Kalidah covered by a glamour - though the illussion quickly shattered. The Kalidah attacked the guards, and ripped the lower part of Jack's face flesh, leaving him with exposed jawbones and teeth (hence the pumpkin smile and why he hides his face behind handkerchiefs and masks). Pastoria punished him for neglecting his duties by banishing him from the Emerald Kingdom and making sure the tale of his treachery would be known all throughout the land. Ever since Jack has been searching throughout Oz for the missing Ozma. [Note that apparently this all happened around a decade ago, probably a bit more. Or rather it is said that people stopped telling the story of Ozma's disappearance a decade ago.]

As for the other guard? He was the soldier with a green beard from the books. Jack believed he had been slaughtered by the Kalidah, but in truth he survived, being put back together as a "Tik-Tok" soldier, a form of cyborg soldier. And he is still hunting down Jack to bring him to justice for his treachery... despite Pastoria having been deposed for years.

 Glinda

We get to explore a bit Glinda's realm and Glinda herself since the heroes, after freeing themselves from the Emerald City, going South seeking protection in Glinda's jurisdiction.

For the land itself, we don't see much. We get to meet the "fighting trees" which are enormous tees with creepy faces on them, but like the ones in the MGM movie they merely throw apples at people and mock them. They are said to be located in the "Emerald forest", and it is unclear if this forest is actually south of the Emerald territory (also known as the Central jurisdiction, Emerald city land or formerly the Emerald kingom) or north of the land of the south.

Glinda actually lives in the castle we saw her built earlier. Outside it looks like a medieval castle with a few Renaissance touches (such as windows) - and in fact, when night falls, it looks a LOT like the Wicked Witch of the West castle in the MGM movie (maybe another clue at Glinda's ambiguous nature). But the inside is very beautiful, going from Renaissance style halls to wealthy 19th century USA offices. Just like in the book, Glinda has personal uguards that are red-dressed young women - tough here they are actually three, clearly female versions of the Three Musketeers. Glinda also holds her refined court in the castle. When asked about Glinda's position in the South, the best answer someone can give is that she "might be" some "sort of queen" - basically acting as the queen and ruler of the South, in all but name, especially since peacekeepers/witches are not supposed to rule over their land.

A few other facts about Glinda: she actually colors her hair blond. But her natural hair color is red, and despite all of her magical efforts her hair keeps returning to its original red color, no matter what color she dyes it in, with magic or not. And the wand with the pearl at the end I mentionned before? Not only does it also acts as a scepter, but the pearl is also very clearly the "pearl of truth" from the books, telling her if people lied or not.

 Mombi

Of course, the main villain of the story turns out to be Mombi.

Mombi is quite a big villain, probably as threatening and evil as the Witch of the West. She first is mentionned as an old Gillikan sorceress whose Tip was a slave of, and that made a deal with Jinjur. She appears as an old woman dressed in a purple coat with gold edges. Sporting sometimes a black cloak, and very long braids of grey hair falling to her feet, she wields a strange magical staff in which is a glowing orb. If you look closely enough, you will note that her collar is made of animal's fur and the buttons of her cloak seem to be fangs. She has long grey claws for nails, and seems to have purple eyes.

She latter is revealed by Jack to have been the one behind Ozma's disappearance. She teleported in the princess bedroom with a handful of winged monkeys (because yes, winged monkeys actually served her back in the days), in a puff of pruple smoke (she still does that in modern days), took her away, put a glamoured Kalidah in her place and then escaped. Though, funnily, apparently the teleporting and the glamour over the Kalidah weakened her magic a lot, so to leave she has to ride on the shoulders of a winged monkey. Why did she kidnapped Ozma? In her words, to cut off the heart of Oz. Jack rather describes her as the kind of person that craves power for the sake of power, not because she has any project or idea to accomplish ; the kind of person that hates peace simply because she doesn't have a good position in it ; the kind of person that assumes everyone is as evil and unimaginative as her and thus fear anyone with more agency than her.

 But the biggest portrait of her is given by Tip who explains his backstory.

Tip wasn't just the slave of Mombi. He was A slave. Mombi officially owned a ranch (actually a plantation), but her true "job" was actually to be a power-breaker. She had a hand in all the evil projects and actions carried in Oz, ready to do all the dirty tasks and dirty jobs for those that had enough payment. And Mombi does not take money for payment, oh no. She asks payment in children. Human children. The luckiest become slaves in her ranch, working until they die of exhaustion or whipped too much by the flying monkeys. The others either end up as ingredients for her potions and powders, either as her next meal. Among her powers are seen the ability to turn people into frogs with one shot of green energy, and turning vegetables into tiny evil monsters (the same way the Witch of the West turned the Haunted Forest trees into sentient creatures). For this late feat she uses the incantation "Weaugh Teaugh Peaugh", a spell she also used to teleport in the bedroom of Princess Ozma.

Tip actually ended up, with the help of the Field Mice and Jack, freeing Mombi's slaves and animals, and putting fire to her ranch, but he could not vanquish her entirely. Tip does not fear her, never feared her like her other victims, but he deeply hates her because she embodies the revolting idea that "a body can own another body".

Something quite creepy is to note that Mombi is actually implied to be older than the Witch of the West herself - indeed, the Witch of the West was one of the "clients" of Mombi, at a time where she was already green and dressed in black but still youthful, not the crone Gale vanquished. Mombi herself claims that she is old enough for everyone in Oz to somehow respect or fear her. (However there is something weird going on with the chronology because the Witch of the West was Mombi's client back when Tip was still at the ranch, which implies she looked relatively "youthful" or at least like a lmature woman between ten and fifteen years ago. Whatever happened in between visibly aged her VERY rapidly.)

Fun fact: Mombi wears the white and red stripped socks the Witch of the East wore in the MGM movie.

 Other facts

# We get to see the Munchkins, which are indeed humanoids, smaller than regular humans, with pointy ears and while they are not dressed in blue, their coloration is different from those of regular people, more pale or pastel.

# I also forgot to mention - the Witch of the West in her most monstrous form has long, pointy ears, making her look even more like a demon.

# We don't know much of the land of the North, though it is mentionned that the "Gillikin can't keep their own house in order", implying the land of the north is in a state of chaos or at least badly managed.

# We get to know a bit more about Pipt. He created a powder that could bring things to life - notably, in this version he created the Sawhorse to entertain his daughter Scraps. It seems her weird patchwork of flesh and stitches are due to her being attacked by kalidahs, and her father putting her together with surgery. Indeed, Pipt seems to be actually a scientist more than a magic practicionner, who employed his talent to serve the Emerald City - he created for exemple a system able to heat the water of baths.

# The Wheelers appear. Here, they are creaturs of Oz, not of Ev. Visibly acting as bounty hunters, while many people use their name in funny or mocking expressions they are actually feared. Limbless ghouls, they have automatic wheels grafted on their stumps (and hidden in the wheels, firearms). In fact, there is a confusion over Oz and Ev since Tip at one points refers to Oz as Ev.

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Globe, April 12

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Brad Pitt Blindsided by Abuse Bombshell

Page 2: Up Front & Personal -- former Vanderpump Rules hunk Jax Taylor hauling trash outside his L.A. home, tennis star Venus Williams had some courtside cuddles with her pet pup in Miami, sitcom star turned pot peddler Jim Belushi during a spin around Santa Monica

Page 3: Chrissy Metz runs errands in L.A., David Hasselhoff with his wife Hayley Roberts in Calabasas, Lena Headey buzzed around in L.A. on an electric bike

Page 4: Toxic TV talker Ellen DeGeneres is trapped in a tragic tailspin, belting back booze while struggling to get a grip on her fading career and rocky marriage -- after losing 1 million viewers this year alone, Ellen's once high-flying show is on thin ice and she's fighting with wife Portia de Rossi amid talks of a $300 million divorce -- her ratings are tanking, and her marriage is coming apart at the seams and she's knocking back the red wine to drown her sorrows -- her strategy is to let the storm about her talk show die down and then pull in some huge guest stars to win back her audience and reestablish herself as top dog on the talk show circuit -- at the same time, her 12-year marriage to Portia has been hanging by a thread and the two had been at loggerheads after serial house-flipper Ellen put the estate she bought from Maroon 5's Adam Levine on the market for $53.5 million and Portia thought it was finally going to be their forever home and it was like pulling the rug out from under her -- then another crisis struck home as Ellen rushed Portia to the hospital after she collapsed and Portia underwent an emergency appendectomy and is now recuperating but her spouse is a mess over Portia's health crisis and she's been drowning her sorrows in booze -- Ellen realizes much more than ever how much she desperately loves Portia and what she's got to lose if they split but she also knows it's be a lot of work to get the relationship back on track once Portia recovers

Page 5: Chevy Chase secretly cheated death after a secret heart condition landed him in the hospital for five long weeks and now he may never be out of the woods -- the 77-year-old, who is now recovering at his Westchester, N.Y. home, recently revealed the heart issue snuck up on him -- Chevy needed valve replacement surgery, and recovering boozer Chevy's long history of swilling alcohol had left him with an enlarged heart and acute cardiomyopathy, a disease that makes it harder for the organ to pump blood to the rest of his body and his heart problems stems from his years of drinking plain and simple and it's affected his heart, weakened it over the years -- however, before risky surgery could be performed, docs needed to make sure the comedian was stable enough for the procedure -- in 2017, Chevy claimed he'd finally gotten sober after one of his daughters said she gave up on him and his wife Jayni threatened to leave him if he didn't clean up his act but it may be too little too late for the comedy legend because valve replacement surgery could affect his activities for the rest of his life and it means his heart was pumping through an ineffective valve, and this damages heart muscles, which never grow back and he could have ongoing chest pains or dangerous heart rhythm disturbances, which could lead to heart attack or death

Page 6: Dr. Dre's estranged wife, Nicole Young, claims the rap mogul knocked her out cold in a drunken rage -- it's the latest bombshell in the couple's brutal divorce war, with Nicole making the explosive charge in an application for a restraining order that was denied by a judge and she also alleges Dre punched her squarely in the face after he felt she disrespected him at a party in 1999 and Nicole claims she woke up in their car with Andre speeding at over 100 miles per hour, drunk and out of control and he was swerving and weaving and she thought she was going to die and she also claims a drunk and angry Dre held a gun to her head during a 2012 dispute, saying she was terrified he was going to kill her -- Dre has denied all of Nicole's abuse claims

* In a desperate bid to save their crumbling romance, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez are seeing a sex therapist to spice up their fizzling bedroom romps -- the duo called off their wedding plans after a stormy four-year affair and are on the brink of the end -- A-Rod staved off a break at the last minute by dashing down to the Dominican Republic, where J.Lo's filming her new flick and patching things up for the moment -- the biggest issue has been Alex's roving eye plus sexting various women on the side, and Jennifer wants to get to the bottom of why she's not enough for him

Page 7: Jeopardy! contestants want celeb medic Dr. Mehmet Oz axed as guest host -- casting the dubious doc celebrates the elevation of talking heads at the expense of academic rigor and consensus, according to a group of the game show's former winners and contestants in a letter -- the letter cites instances in which Dr. Oz used his authority as a doctor to push harmful ideas, and referred to a 2014 letter penned by faculty at Columbia Medical School, where Oz also teaches, calling for his removal from the program and the letter concludes inviting Oz to guest host is a slap in the face to all involved

Page 8: Jeffrey Epstein's accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell's third desperate bid to get out of jail on bail has been nixed by a federal judge -- the 59-year-old British socialite it rotting in a Brooklyn, N.Y. federal slammer denying charges she recruited underage girls to be sex slaves for her late lover Epstein, whose 2019 death in his jail cell is suspected on being a staged murder, despite an official ruling of suicide -- Maxwell's offer to plunk down $22.5 million and give up her citizenships in England and France was nixed by Judge Alison Nathan, who agreed with prosecutors the suspected Israeli intelligence asset was still a flight risk -- meanwhile, Ghislaine's lawyers claim she was abused by a guard and is losing hair and weight due to poor treatment in the slammer, where she's awaiting a July trail date

Page 9: Billionaire Queen Elizabeth is bracing for a big pay cut -- due to the financial crash triggered by the COVID pandemic, the Sovereign Grant, the tax money allowance the royals get, is expected to be slashed by more than 25 percent when it comes up for its five-year renewal in 2022 -- last year, Her Highness raked in $114.2 million from taxpayers, but that bundle was exceptional and cannot expect that to be repeated -- a major cost, besides allowances for the royal family, is a renovation of Buckingham Palace, which prices out at $500 million over 10 years -- one saving is Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle have been stripped of their titles and public paychecks -- Her Majesty is aware of the current financial situation and is happy to play her part in cutting costs

* Prince Harry has landed a job as a hot-shot exec of a firm providing mental health and life counseling but it sounds like the tech start-up company is really using him as a celebrity showhorse -- Harry, who studied art and geography in college, will be Chief Impact Officer for BetterUp Inc, saying he intends to help create impact in people's lives -- BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux refused to say how much he's paying the prince, but noted Harry will have a meaningful and meaty role and will attend all employee meetings at the San Francisco headquarters and Robichaux also hinted at Harry's true value, saying he'll be a special guest at company events; in other words, the company will use him as a celebrity draw and they'll lure potential clients and investors to events by saying they can run shoulders with the prince and Harry has no psychology training; he will be a showpiece -- Harry first hooked up with BetterUp by using its app that gives proactive coaching and provides endless possibilities for personal development, increased awareness and an all-around better life and Harry says he was matched with his coach who is truly awesome and has always given him sound advice and a fresh perspective, which is so valuable

Page 10: Lisa Marie Presley is getting back on track after her son Benjamin Keough's tragic suicide and bitter divorce from Michael Lockwood, but she's still a hopeless addict -- Elvis Presley's 53-year-old daughter smokes like a chimney from morning until night and is struggling for every breath and she goes through a pack or two a day minimum and she simply can't quit and she has cut out triggers like booze and coffee, but she still needs her cigarette fix from the moment she wakes up until she puts her head down at night -- she was snapped having a smoke outside a COVID-19 testing center in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley and it was the only time she was spotted in public since her son died in July -- she started smoking at age 15 and has admitted this is the one thing that got her and bit her in the ass that she can't shake even those she's kicked pain pills, cocaine, booze and opioids and she's tried everything she can think of to quit: patches, nicotine gum, going cold turkey, but nothing works and she did stop for a spell after being hypnotized but a day or two later she was lighting up again -- she's losing weight, exercising more and eating healthier, but her smoking habit is the elephant in the room

Page 11: Following the heart-crushing suicide of her brother, Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough has become a death doula, a counselor who helps terminal patients and their cope with the devastating trauma -- Riley announced she'd completed her training on social media -- the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and her first husband Danny Keough, Riley was devastated when her brother Benjamin Keough committed suicide with a shotgun last July -- spurred by the tragedy to become a death doula, Riley says she thinks it's so important to be educated on conscious dying and death the way we educate ourselves on birth and conscious birthing

* Reality TV train wreck Mama June Shannon claims she and her boyfriend Geno Doak spent $900,000 in a year to feed their drug addiction and the couple were spending $2500 a day, if not more, on methamphetamine -- June entered rehab with $1.75 in her pocket and they've been clean 14 months

Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- reformed boozer Luann de Lesseps sips a soft drink in Mexico (picture), Real World star Rebecca Blasband believes she had an otherwordly 15-year beyond-the-grave relationship with Beatles legend John Lennon's ghost, in Australia a not so itsy bitsy spider bite turned into a giant wallop of a headache for Melissa McCarthy, Ilana Glazer and husband David Rooklin are happily expecting their first baby ironically right before of her horror movie False Positive, Sarah Silverman says no one ever told her not to use tongue in screen kisses and it got her fired from a show called Pride & Joy

Page 13: Al Pacino gets all gussied up in Italy to play fashion godfather Aldo in the biopic House of Gucci (picture), Justine Bateman (picture), Tom Selleck covers up his signature 'stache with a mask in L.A. (picture), first-time mama Katharine McPhee hit a sour note with composer husband David Foster for blabbing their newborn son's name Rennie David Foster on Today

Page 14: Rihanna plunked down $13.8 million for a new Beverly Hills mountaintop mansion that's literally surrounded by noteworthy neighbors like Paul McCartney and Mariah Carey and Madonna who live in the same exclusive star-studded cul-de-sac, Tom Cruise is on a mission to unload his Rocky Mountain getaway for $39.5 million, Goldie Hawn gushes her life partner Kurt Russell is still hot as heck after turning 70

* Fashion Verdict -- Miranda Lambert 4/10, Taylor Swift 5/10, Phoebe Bridgers 1/10, Giuliana Rancic 7/10, Brandi Carlile 6/10

Page 16: Cover Story -- Angelina Jolie is determined to paint her ex Brad Pitt as an abusive, drunken monster, and now she's got their kids backing her claim that he's the dad from hell -- the mom of six, who's been battling Brad in court over custody and money for five years, filed new bombshell papers saying she and her children want to testify their life was the pits -- while the documents are sealed, Angelina is making sure their kids paint Brad as violent and aggressive and her shocking charges continue earlier accusations by oldest child Maddox, now 19 and in college, who accused a booze-fueled Brad of abusing him on a private flight five years ago and Maddox essentially painted his dad as a demented monster and he went into detail about Brad's terrible temper, the abuse he inflicted on the whole household with his binge drinking and the scars that exist to this day because of the appalling way he alleges Brad treated his mom during the marriage -- Brad has reportedly been sober for years and Angelina's new claims of domestic abuse are basically a rehash of the old accusations -- legal experts also maintain the minor kids can only testify if Brad agrees to it, which is doubtful -- the superstars have spent a combined $10 million in legal fees and are currently battling over visitation rights for their brood and Angelina has refused to compromise, wants full custody and calls it a fight to the death and she doesn't care about Brad or how anybody sees their fight, she just wants what she feels she is entitled to as a mother and will fight with every inch of her body and soul to get it

Page 19: 10 Things You Don't Know About Topher Grace

* Katherine Heigl boasts she's bionic after having two titanium disks inserted into her neck and the actress says the surgery has freed her from the most excruciating pain

* Wendy Williams broke wind in a stunning fart-burp combo while she was live on camera, right in the middle to discussing Kim Kardashian's divorce from Kanye West -- the gassy lassie seemed surprised at her own outburst and apologized to the audience

Page 20: True Crime

Page 23: William Shatner is creating an artificial intelligence-powered version of himself -- in true sci-fi fashion, people in the future will be able to ask him questions about his life and times -- the 90-year-old icon is the first person to be captured by an advanced video and sound system developed by the L.A.-based company StoryFile -- Shatner says with StoryFile, we can now be present for the future; your authentic self, for all time

* Furious perfume mogul William Lauder is battling to kick his former mistress Taylor Stein and their 13-year-old love child out of her home and into the street, because their supposedly secret love affair was revealed -- the big stink exploded after the 60-year-old Estee Lauder heir learned his secret teen daughter wrote on social media that her parents were divorced but actually, Lauder never wed Taylor, but kept her like a queen in a $7 million, 6000-square-foot Bel Air mansion with a $1 million annual allowance for years and the only condition was that she keep their affair and the child under wraps, but the Park Avenue playboy claims she blasted their pact to smithereens when his illicit daughter blabbed about the relationship online -- Lauder hooked up with Taylor in Aspen in 2000 while still wed to wife Karen, mom of three of his daughters -- he knocked Taylor up in 2005, but told her to get an abortion because he was then in the midst of divorcing Karen but three years before the 2009 divorce, Taylor got pregnant again and gave birth to their girl and that's when the moneybags lover boy drew up the hush-hush deal

Page 24: COVID vaccines hidden dangers -- scientists warn shots don't work and have nightmare side effects

Page 27: Gal rock roadie Tana Douglas is snitching on music superstars including George Harrison and Iggy Pop, who she got close to during her wild years traveling with bands -- in her book called Loud, she recalls her job hauling equipment for bands nearly ended at age 21 when Beatle George Harrison was ready to propose, but she blew it; the two were getting close under a kitchen table after George fled his own birthday party, where he was embarrassed by his present: strippers and she ruined the mood by firing up a cigarette and George told her he would marry her tomorrow if she gave up smoking but the first female rock roadie couldn't kick butts -- she has crazy stories about saving AC/DC's frontman Bon Scott when he overdosed, Elton John who did drugs and threw tantrums, The Go-Gos, and doing a line of coke with Iggy Pop intended for David Bowie

Page 28: Health Report

Page 30: Julianne Hough has plumped up her kisser, and her new look falls flat -- the newly single star may have gone overboard with lip fillers to the point where she's almost unrecognizable -- Julianne's had some surgical and nonsurgical things done, but her lips just look wonky and no one can understand why she'd do it because her lips looked fine to her friends and family, but Julianne obviously thought they needed more volume and clearly got carried away -- she's also totally gone overboard with the spray tanning and hair extensions and she ditched the short blond bob that suited her so well and now she's looking like a Kardashian -- her lips look a bit swollen, so it's possible they will settle down and her natural lip proportions appear to have changed, with her upper lip the same size as her lower lip

Page 32: Tori Spelling has got the marriage blues and she's been out and about without her wedding ring -- the 47-year-old mom of five was spotted buying veggies at Underwood Family Farms in California's Moorpark with her kids but minus husband Dean McDermott and her wedding ring -- Tori's fed up with her mate, whining he's not doing his share around the house or paying her enough attention and they've found themselves in a real rut where they spend less and less time together and barely mention one another on social media and they haven't had a date night since goodness knows and Dean is never in the romantic mood and lately, they're more like brother and sister than husband and wife -- Tori wants Dean to step it up and start acting like a hubby instead of a leach and Tori's exhausting herself by taking care of the domestic chores single-handedly at times while Dean has other things on his mind and he hasn't picked up a vacuum or washed the dishes in weeks and sometimes he doesn't seem to be aware she's in the room and it's frustrating her to no end -- ditching her ring is sending Dean a very clear message that he needs to stop taking her for granted and work on the marriage

* Paul McCartney dove deep into his Beatles past and emerged with a children's book inspired by the group's 1966 hit Yellow Submarine -- Grandude's Green Submarine, a sequel to Paul's picture book Hey Grandude, will be released in September and changes the color of the submerged vessel

Page 36: Reality TV momager Kris Jenner is worth an estimated $190 million and masterminded the megabucks careers of her reality star daughters, but she confesses she was clueless about dough when she became divorced -- Kris confesses first husband Robert Kardashian handled everything and she never paid a bill during their 13-year marriage that ended in 1991 -- she said she woke up to responsibilities that she didn't have the day before but she says she's a quick study and she knew she had to get it together and she felt such an enormous sense of accomplishment to be able to figure it all out and pay her own bills and make her own money and do her own taxes and there were times when she didn't have a lot of money, but she was very organized -- now she studies business for new opportunities and she's interested in different businesses and how they evolve and how they become successful and she just enjoys the business world

* Bobby Brown's son Bobby Jr. died after accidentally overdosing on a killer cocktail of alcohol, cocaine and fentanyl, his autopsy reveals, but lawmen say they are now opening a criminal investigation into the 27-year-old's death at his father's home in suburban L.A. -- the autopsy report showed in his final hours Bobby Jr. consumed a deadly mix of tequila, cocaine and the prescription medication Percocet -- he was Brown's second child with former galpal Kim Ward

Page 38: Long-lost letters written by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's father, Alois, reveal the freaky Fuhrer grew up to be a cruel, tyrannical, arrogant lout, just like his old man -- the 31 letters were discovered by retiree Anneliese Smigielski in the attic of her house in the Austrian town of Wallern and are the basis of a new book by historian Roman Sandgruber -- penned to Anneliese's great-great-great-grandfather Joseph Radlegger, who sold retired customs official Alois a farm when future Nazi monster Adolf was six in 1895, the letters reveal Hitler's dad was a brutal boozer and boss of the house, but depended on the skills and money of his third wife, Klara, a former servant girl the cheating creep had seduced and wine-guzzling Alois was awfully rough with her and beat little Adolf and the other eight kids -- like his father, Adolf felt superior through the knowledge he had acquired in self-study and he saw himself as a military, technical and artistic genius, not only as a painter, but also as an architect, writer, composer and actor

Page 40: Bethenny Frankel is sporting an engagement ring from fiance Paul Bernon -- the three-stone ring features a huge eight- to ten-carat emerald-shaped center stone and if it's a real, natural diamond, its estimated value is up to $1 million

* Gwyneth Paltrow just babbled something her second husband, Brad Falchuk, probably doesn't want to hear: she never wanted to get divorced from Chris Martin but she wed Brad in 2018 and Gwyneth calls him the most amazing man adding they've built something that she's never had before

* Suzanne Somers brags she and husband Alan Hamel are having sizzling sex three times a day before noon -- she blames doses of hormones for their frisky urges in their golden years

* Klutzy comic Chelsea Handler jokes about her subpar skiing skills online, but later revealed she wrecked her knee and broke two toes after she flew into the trees on a snowy slope in Canada -- Chelsea confesses she took the terrible tumble in British Columbia, where she was training with a personal instructor

Page 41: Vin Diesel's son Vincent is learning it's a good career move to have a movie star dad -- the 10-year-old has landed a $1000-a-day role in his father's new Fast and Furious flick -- the kid plays the younger version of Vin's character Dominic Toretto in the already completed, ninth F&F film -- Vincent's mom is Vin's longtime galpal, Mexican model Paloma Jimenez, who also has two daughters with Vin -- unlike his dad's megabucks salary, Vincent got the basic $1005 daily rate

* The faith-based Duggar family of 19 Kids and Counting fame is still feuding after a sleazy sex scandal ripped them apart -- Jill Duggar Dillard, who's outed herself as one of four sisters molested by big brother Josh Duggar, reveals she hasn't visited her parents' home in years -- Jill and husband Derick Dillard, say they aren't allowed at Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's Big House without her father's permission and Jill reveals there's some restrictions but also they just feel like they have to prioritize their mental and emotional health -- TLC axed the family's show after Josh was exposed as a child molester and in the past, Jill's admitted she's not on the best terms with some of her family

Page 42: Kim Kardashian has been getting back in touch with her body big-time now that she has booted Kanye West from her bedroom and her life and she's been strolling around totally nude -- with the pair's six-year marriage officially kaput, Kim is gleefully letting it all hang out, while indulging in once-forbidden McDonald's french fries -- Kanye made a habit of telling Kim to cover up and picked her to pieces for wearing sexy outfits and he said she needed to class up her act and grow old gracefully but now she's free to express herself and a lot of the time, especially when Kanye's looking after the kids, she's walking around totally in the nude and it's liberating for her to be at one with her body and she's made no secret of her desire to pursue a racy image and right now Kim's priority is to get her mojo back and learn to love herself again physically

* Britney Spears confesses she's been so wrapped up in battling the conservatorship over her estate, she forgot about singing until her mom reminded her -- the singer hasn't cut an album for five years as she's battled dad Jamie Spears for control of her $60 million fortune after a court gave him control when she went bonkers in 2008 -- she now realizes she's neglected her career after mom Lynne Spears sent her a video of her signing You Got It All at a '90s concert in Singapore and Britney tweeted that her mom reminded her that she can sing and she never sings anymore

Page 44: Straight Talk -- Cradle-robbing Scott Disick has struck again, scooping up a new galpal half of his 37 years, who is barely out of high school -- the latest victim is Amelia Hamlin, 19 years old and daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin

Page 45: Sharon Osbourne is demanding at least $10 million to walk away from The Talk after being accused of racist and sexist attacks on co-hosts -- Sharon is playing hardball, saying she was wrongly vilified for branding lesbian co-star Sara Gilbert a fish eater and calling Chinese-American Julie Chen slanty eyes -- it's going to become a battle royale and Sharon's made her demands clear and will fight tooth and nail and she's a street fighter and is used to playing down and dirty, owing to her years as a hard-nosed rock manager for husband Ozzy Osbourne

[theradioghost]

Hi! Do you have any recs. for fantasy podcasts that are not horror? Found family is great, romance is fine as long as it is not the only thing happening. I like TAZ, critical role, and the penumbra podcast.

Yes! Weirdly fantasy seems to be one of the genres that modern audio fiction dips into a lot less but there’s some really good stuff out there.

Alba Salix, Royal Physician/The Axe and Crown: a fairytale-ish high fantasy medical sitcom, where the titular short-tempered witch and her assistants have to treat the magical ailments of their kingdom while also foiling various nefarious plots. In the same feed, the latter is a spinoff following the crew at a local tavern attempting to keep the business running and one-up their rivals; it’s incredibly heartfelt and genuinely one of my favorite shows in my (very long) subscription list.

Inn Between: not a D&D actual play, but a story about what is very clearly a D&D party, glossing over their main adventures and focusing on the moments between, where they sit down at their favorite inn and get to know one another bit by bit. All found family, all the time, every bit of it excellent, and very character driven.

The Prickwillow Papers: having graduated from college, a young half-elf ends up moving back home with her parents, desperately applying for incredibly competitive internships so she can finally be licensed to use magic. she expects this to be her biggest problem until she encounters a foul-mouthed fairy exile who demands help in regaining her own magic and returning home. contains gems like beth eyre playing a lesbian selkie, or a scene where two rival assassins hired to kill the protagonists instead end up admitting their feelings for one another during a duel.

Modern Fae: Diya moves to a small Texas town and takes up a job at a bookstore, only to discover that her new neighbors are all figures of myth and legend, and that someone may be coming after town residents. does a really nice job of bringing in less overused myths. currently on hiatus afaik but I miss it desperately

Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magick Services: urban fantasy. A young witch, thrown out of her coven after a spell gone disastrously awry, attempts to set up an independent business in a city where the gods figure prominently in everyday life and diplomatic relations with the fae are front page news. However, to achieve success she’ll have to grapple not just with her clients’ problems, but with her own, not to mention rising tensions in the city around her and a strange saboteur who seems to be trying to drive away her customers. Also one of my personal favorites.

Dark Ages: high fantasy comedy. The eccentric, dysfunctional, constantly-at-odds staff of the Rivercliffe Museum of Mostly Natural History attempt (with varying degrees of effort, competence, and success) to keep their faltering museum running, despite issues ranging from the long-prophesied Dark Lord Returning To Seek Dominion Over The World only to end up hanging around their exhibit halls, immortals and wannabe immortals and Death Herself constantly at odds with one another, obnoxious old college classmates, lawyers, evil plants, dragons, dwarf organized crime, and Useless Bisexuals Who Will Not Just Admit That They Like Each Other. Has a theme song which goes harder than it has any right to.

The Adventures of Sir Rodney The Root: also high fantasy comedy. A witch has turned famed knight Sir Rodney into a piece of inanimate wood. Now his compatriot Sir Gilbert, an imperious runaway princess, a haughty wizard, a creepy child raised by fairies, a ghostly stoner possessing the corpse of a unicorn, a smooth-talking thief, and a minstrel with no respect for the fourth wall have to collect a series of dangerous magical relics in order to turn him back.

Hit the Bricks: set 100 years after The Wizard of Oz, a modern-day teen moves to an old Kansas farmstead with her mother only to be swept up along with her cousin into an Oz where the old heroes have gone missing and things have started to fall apart. I cannot describe this in any way that does it justice, but this show is wildly underappreciated and extremely good

Also, although I have not yet listened to them myself, I’ve heard good things about Sidequesting, Windfall, Going Lowbrow (”a gay screwball fairy tale romance musical”), VALENCE, The Two Princes, and Otherworld. The people who make Alba Salix also make The End of the World and Other Bothers, which to my understanding is a sort of actual play hybrid and I’ve only encountered praise for it, so that may be worth looking into as well!

Side note, since you’ve listed a couple of actual plays there, I personally very much enjoy The Chimera and would recommend Season 2, where they play D&D 4e set in Greyhawk! (Full disclosure, I provided some brief voice clips for this one.)

[hello-robin-goodfellow]

Top Five Favorite Books

TAGGED BY: @hmmm-what-am-i-doing​

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The other famous novel by Victor Hugo. Written in 1831, Notre-Dame de Paris, known in English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is a rich, meandering tale that addresses messy relationships, fate, and the future of architecture in 1482. The English title is a misnomer, since the protagonist of the story is Esmeralda, the original title being a metaphor on the cathedral who serves as the central location of the novel, and Esmeralda herself (though one could argue the cathedral is itself a character). Victor Hugo strongly protested against the English title, as it turns the focus from the cathedral onto the characters.

The hunchback is Quasimodo, the deaf, one-eyed, hunchbacked, monstrously ugly bell-ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Abandoned outside the church at the age of four, he was taken in out of kindness by the Archdeacon of Josas, Claude Frollo, who raised him in the church and introduced him to the bells. When the hitherto chaste Frollo sees the  romani girl Esmeralda dancing in the street one day, he finds himself stricken with lust, and doesn't know how to deal with it. So, sure as Love Makes You Evil, he grabs Quasimodo (for muscle) and tries to kidnap her. The attempt is foiled by Phoebus, Captain of the Archers. It is spectacularly not foiled by lovable slacker-poet Pierre Gringoire, who gets knocked out trying to save the girl.Later that night, however, Esmeralda temporarily marries the poet, to save his life from her friends at the Court of Miracles. That doesn't mean she's going to let her new "husband" touch her, mind you, or that she's going to give up her dreams of marrying Phoebus. Phoebus likes the look of her, himself, and although he's already engaged to his teenage cousin Fleur-de-Lys, he's not opposed to a bit on the side. Esmeralda's small kindness to Quasimodo when he is in the stocks for the kidnapping attempt (Frollo having let him take the fall) makes her an angel in Quasimodo's mind, and he is henceforth devoted to her. This eventually, and painfully, puts him in conflict with Frollo, whose combination of lust and loathing for Esmeralda makes him increasingly unstable. Amidst the drama and tragedy resulting from everybody's fatal obsessions, Hugo includes leisurely chapters on the architecture of Paris and the expected impact of the newly-developed printing press.

Frankenstein

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, usually abbreviated to Frankstein is a novel by Mary Shelley. It was originally published in 1818. It had a 1823 reprint without Shelley's involvement and a third edition in 1831, this time with significant edits from the author. Frankenstein is considered an Ur-Example of Science Fiction and inarguably has vast historical significance.

The novel tells of Dr. Victor Frankenstein who unlocks the secrets to Creating Life. He uses this knowledge to create an artificial man, larger and stronger than most mortals, by means which he chooses not to describe. While he is initially triumphant with his success, a few moments of observing the flailing and moaning patchwork being leaves Victor disgusted by and fearful of his creation. Realizing the ramifications of his success, he is horrified. He abandons the Creature and flees to his family's estate. In his absence, the Creature is forced to come to grips with suddenly finding itself alive and alone without explanation or guidance. He learns about humanity by watching a family cottage from afar, but is again driven off when he attempts to offer his friendship- one of many bad run-ins with humanity which leave the monster bitter and cynical. Eventually, the Creature comes to resent his creator, whom he views as his father, for abandoning the Creature to a life of torment, and decides to come home to seek vengeance against Frankenstein...

The subtitle, The Modern Prometheus, compares Victor Frankenstein to the Greek titan Prometheus, who brought the secret of fire from Mount Olympus to mortal men, reflecting on Frankenstein's spiritual would-be theft of the secret to creating life — but like Prometheus, Frankenstein also came to regret his transgression.note Many would say that Frankenstein was the ultimate warning of Science Is Bad, though similar stories were common throughout the industrial revolution and it is not even clear whether the act of creating the Monster was bad in itself, if the world wasn't ready for it, or Frankenstein was just a horrible and abusive parent.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

One Hundred Years of Solitude is a 1967 novel that won Gabriel García Márquez the Nobel Prize for Literature. It's become a staple of Spanish-speaking high school curricula everywhere.  Arguably one of the most important pieces of literature written in the 20th century, or to put in context, almost as important as Don Quixote to Spanish speaking literature. Famous, among other things, for using every conceivable trope one could ever hope to fit in 28.8 oz of paper.

The book follows the story of the Buendía family and the town they create, Macondo, from its foundation to its end. Of course, it is told in a non-linear fashion with every generation having the same few names, as well as the same basic attributes (except for a pair of twins whose names are thought to have been accidentally switched at some point). Alongside the story of the Buendía family, there are an abundance of vignettes recounting both the everyday and the supernatural occurrences that shape the lives of the inhabitants of Macondo. The themes range widely, incorporating legendary figures (such as the Wandering Jew), historical events (Sir Francis Drake’s bombing of Rioacha, the Massacre of the Banana growers), and short stories about the love of two minor characters who never get to interfere with the main action. Believe it or not the story takes place in a time span of a hundred years.

Netflix has announced that it will be adapting the story into a television series.

The Arabian Nights

The Arabian Nights, correctly known as The Tales of One Thousand and One Nights (Farsi Hezār-o yek šab, Arabic Kitāb 'alf layla wa-layla), is a massive collection of Fairy Tales drawn from sources as far apart as the Middle East, North Africa, India, and, to an extent, even China and Greece. It has for centuries shaped the European view of the [relative to Europe] "(Near) East" or "Orient", even though only some of the stories are widely known. In fact, early Arabic-language versions only contain about 300 nights. The 701 others were added later; most of the additions were by Arab writers, but European translators added some other folktales they'd collected in their editions. Some of these additions were based on other Arabian sources, but others, including Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, were stolen by Antoine Galland (the French translator) from Syrian Maronite writer Hanna Diyab, who recounted those tales to Galland and based them on various aspects of his own life. Diyab's autobiography was found in 1993 and greatly expanded our understanding of these stories.

The Framing  Device for the story cycle is the tale of King Shahryar and Shahrazad. The King's first wife had cheated on him, so he had her executed. Then, feeling that no woman could be trusted, he hit upon a plan only a powerful and insane tyrant could pull off: He'd marry a woman, spend the night with her, and then, in the morning, send her off to the royal Wazir (chancellor) to be executed. No woman would ever betray him again! After a great many wives were executed in this manner (Richard Burton's translation says the King did this for three years, which would be about 1,100 wives), the Wazir was running out of marriage prospects to present to the King. Then the Wazir's daughter, Shahrazad, came to him with a plan. Since her plan involved marrying the King, the Wazir objected in the strongest manner possible, but nothing would deter the girl, and finally he brought her to the King.

Come the wedding night, once he started putting the moves on her, she feigned becoming upset, and pleaded to see her younger sister one last time. The King acquiesced, and allowed Shahrazad's sister Dunyazad to stay in the room with them until dawn. Even while they consummated the marriage. Awkward. After that and the three of them went to sleep, the sisters woke up at midnight. Just as planned, Dunyazad asked Shahrazad to tell her a story, but by the morning she was not finished, and ended the story on a Cliffhanger. The awoken King was so hooked on the story that he postponed the execution for one night, in order to hear the rest. But after Scheherazade ended that story, it was still the middle of the night, and she started up another story, again ending on a cliffhanger in the morning. The nightly routine continued. Some of the stories were simple, some complex and multi-layered; sometimes a character in one story would begin to tell a second story, and sometimes the story was never actually ended because Scheherazade had gone on two or three layers and never returned to wrap up. Or sometimes she claimed she didn't know the ending, but had another tale that was even more intriguing than the unfinished one. But all of the stories were so compelling that the King could never bear to order her execution without hearing the ending. So Shahrazad kept up the stories for three years — in the meantime bearing Shahryar three sons — and finally, after 1,001 nights, she said that she had told all of her tales and was ready to die. But the King had fallen in love with her, and had been calmed by her entrancing stories. He declared that no woman in the kingdom was as wise as Shahrazad, and he made her his queen for keeps this time, and they lived Happily Ever After.

Unlike many legends which deal primarily with the deeds of the nobility (who after all were the ones who could afford to have a bard as a permanent resident at their palaces), Arabian Nights has the fascinating twist that it covers people from myriads of occupations in a highly-complex society.

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana

A novel by Umberto Eco.

Yambo Bodoni has a problem. After suffering a stroke, he lost his episodic memory. Now he can't remember his name, family, or any aspects of his life. Thanks to a lifetime of work as an antiquarian book dealer in Milan, however, he can recall anything he's ever read. In order to rediscover his lost past, Yambo heads to his childhood hometown of Solara. As he pores through old newspapers, comics, and magazines, Yambo - and the reader - get glimpses into the often tragic and bittersweet reality of a boy coming of age in Italy during World War II.

[superonceuponawholock]

Updated my Ebay Store Come on in and make an offer on things you like. ;)

http://www.ebay.com/usr/jessicalynndrake

Autographed Books

Two Boys Kissing  signed by David Levithan

Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David Levithan

Sucks to be me The all true confessions of Mina Hamilton Teen Vamprie Autographed Kimberly Pavley

 Funko Pops

Funko Pop! Tee Black Widow Marvel Collector Corps M T-Shirt New in bag

Black Widow Movie Alexei 620 Marvel Collector Corps Brand New Exclusive

Taskmasker Funko Pop Pin from Marvel Collector Corps Black Widow Mystery Box

Harry Potter Bloody Baron 74

Marvel Captain Marvel 433 Target exclusive Captain Marvel

Pocket Pop Keychain Doctor Who Fourth Doctor

 Disney Trading Pins

Marvel 80th anniversary pin

 Card Games

Brand New Exploding Kittens Card Game

Cards Against Humanity 2013 Holiday 2 seal packs

Cards Against Humanity 90’s Nostalgia pack

 Doctor Who/Torchwood/Sarah Jane Adventures Audio CDs

The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Shadow People

The Sarah Jane Adventures: The White Wolf

Torchwood: Dead Man's Switch

Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor Novels: Eight adventures for the 10th Doctor Volume 1  

Doctor Who Books (All are Hardcovers and like new, except one which has some light wear to the cover and prices is lower than the others.)

Doctor Who: Wooden Heart by Martin Day 

 Doctor Who - Forever Autumn by Mark Morris

 Doctor Who: Sting of the Zygons by Stephen Cole

 Doctor Who: The Last Dodo by Jacqueline Rayner 

 Doctor Who WISHING WELL 

 Doctor Who Martha in the Mirror, Justin Richards 

 DOCTOR WHO Snowglobe 7 MIKE TUCKER 

 Doctor Who Beautiful Chaos Brand

 Doctor Who: The Eyeless by Lance Parkin 

 Doctor Who: Sick Building by Magrs, Paul VG

 Doctor Who - The Many Hands by Smith, Dale

 Doctor Who: Wit, Wisdom and Timey Wimey Stuff - the Quotable

 Doctor Who Doctor Who Adventures Issue 9 with Dalek poster  

Comic Books and Graphic Novels

Zero’s Journey Volume 1

Zero’s Journey Volume 2

Zero’s Journey Volume 3

X-Men Gold #30 Wedding issues Colossus & Kitty Gambit & Rogue

All New Invaders #1-5 Marvel Comics

Invaders #1-6 Marvel (2019) Comics

Rick and Morty: Council of Ricks #1

Doctor Who The Road to the 13th Doctor (Titan Comics) #2A 2018 BN

Doctor Who #2 Film Lovers Almanac 1926 Sliver Scream

Angel #1 Boom! Studios 2019 Buffy the Vampire Slayer NM

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New School Nightmare HC

Wires and Nerve: Volume 1 by Marissa Meyer Lunar Chronicle Series Hardcover 2017

Owly The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer  TPB Vol 1 First edition

Owly: Just a little blue  TPB Vol 2 1st edition

Owly: Flying Lessons TPB Vol 3 1st edition

 Adult Coloring Books

Doctor Who Coloring Book

Colour Me Good Benedict Cumberbatch

Color and Activity Book for Librarians: Or anybody who has worked at a library

 Other Books

Or Give me Death: A novel of Patrick Henry’s Family (Great Episodes)

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the living dead

An Abundance of Katherines

Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances

The Vampire Watcher’s Handbook: A Guide for Slayers

Naming Jack the Ripper

Portrait of a Killer: Jack the ripper case closed

The Passage

Horns a novel

I hunt Killers

I am Not a Serial Killer

Librarian Stereotype: Deconstructing Perceptions

Alice in Zombieland

Never After by Laurell K. Hamilton

The school for good and evil number 1

Ever After High The Storybook of Legends Book 1

The Road to Woodbury: Walking Dead Series Book 2

Lost Souls: A Park Avenue Novel Book 3

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New School Nightmare HC

Wires and Nerve: Volume 1 by Marissa Meyer Lunar Chronicle Series Hardcover 2017

Zero’s Journey Volume 1

Zero’s Journey Volume 2

Zero’s Journey Volume 3

Owly The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer  TPB Vol 1 First edition

Owly: Just a little blue  TPB Vol 2 1st edition

Owly: Flying Lessons TPB Vol 3 1st edition

 Parenting Books

What to Expect When You're Expecting

What to Expect the Second Year : From 12 to 24 Months by Murkoff

The Wonder Weeks: How to Stimulate Your Babys Men

Cheap Psychological Tricks for Parents: 62 Sure-fire Secrets and Solutions for Successful Parenting

 Comic Book Art

Witchblade Original Art By Keu Cha Comic book Artwork

Boone Original Artwork By Jeff Johnson Comic Book Artwork

Po-Po Original Artwork By Jeff Johnson Comic Book Artwork

Sharon Carter Original Artwork By Andy Smith Comic Book Art

Natasha Romanoff Black Widow Original Artwork By Sean Chen Comic Book Art

 Halloween Costumes (All Costumes wore once and like new)

Adult Batman Spirit Halloween Costume (Batman vs Superman)

Dorothy Costume Adult Wizard of Oz FunCostumes.com

Yoda Toddler Costume 2T Rubie’s Star Wars 2pc

 Collectible Stamps, Coins, & Postcards

2012 London Olympic Games 50p Sports Collection card. Uncirculated Gymnastics.

2012 London Olympic Games 50p Sports Collection card. Uncirculated Hockey

THE ROYAL MAIL - PHQ CARD NO. 324 ( 2 ) - MYTHICAL CREATURES – 2009

Royal Mail 2009 Presentation Pack #428 MNH Mythical Creatures

Royal Mail British Mint Stamps - Magical Realms - Pack No. 453 Voldemort HP

[everydisneymovie]

THE LIST

Post #2

3/1/2020

Let’s get this out of the way: Every theatrically released Disney movie. A [X] near a movie means I have already seen it, but I will still be re-watching it for this project.

A [(number)] near a movie means it has been watched and reviewed so far.

Some movies were added to fit the rules, such as the High school musical movies and the March of the Penguins Movie.

Let’s do this:

1930’s

Academy Award Review of Walt Disney Cartoons [11] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs [30]

1940’s

Pinocchio [21] Fantasia [25] The Reluctant Dragon [16] Dumbo [27] Bambi [32] Saludos Amigos [19] Victory Through Air Power [20] The Three Caballeros [17] Make Mine Music [17] Song of the South [12] Fun and Fancy Free [14] Melody Time [14] So Dear to My Heart [21] The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad [22]

1950’s

Cinderella [16] Treasure Island Alice in Wonderland [X] The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men Peter Pan [X] The Sword and the Rose The Living Desert Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue The Vanishing Prairie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier Lady and the Tramp [X] The African Lion The Littlest Outlaw The Great Locomotive Chase Davy Crockett and the River Pirates Secrets of Life Westward Ho the Wagons! Johnny Tremain Perri Old Yeller [X] The Light in the Forest White Wilderness Tonka Sleeping Beauty [X] The Shaggy Dog  Darby O'Gill and the Little People Zorro the Avenger Third Man on the Mountain

1960’s

Toby Tyler [X] Kidnapped Pollyanna [X] The Sign of Zorro Jungle Cat Ten Who Dared Swiss Family Robinson [X] One Hundred and One Dalmatians [X] The Absent-Minded Professor The Parent Trap [X] Nikki, Wild Dog of the North Greyfriars Bobby Babes in Toyland Moon Pilot Bon Voyage! Big Red [X] Almost Angels The Legend of Lobo In Search of the Castaways Son of Flubber Miracle of the White Stallions Savage Sam Summer Magic The Incredible Journey The Sword in the Stone [X] A Tiger Walks The Misadventures of Merlin Jones The Three Lives of Thomasina The Moon-Spinners Mary Poppins Emil and the Detectives Those Calloways The Monkey's Uncle That Darn Cat! The Ugly Dachshund Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. The Fighting Prince of Donegal Follow Me, Boys! Monkeys, Go Home! The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin The Gnome-Mobile The Jungle Book [X] Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar The Happiest Millionaire Blackbeard's Ghost The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band Never a Dull Moment The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit The Love Bug Smith! Rascal The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes

1970’s

King of the Grizzlies The Boatniks The Wild Country The Aristocats [X] The Barefoot Executive Scandalous John The Million Dollar Duck Bedknobs and Broomsticks The Biscuit Eater Now You See Him, Now You Don't Napoleon and Samantha Run, Cougar, Run Snowball Express The World's Greatest Athlete Charley and the Angel One Little Indian Robin Hood [X] Superdad Herbie Rides Again The Bears and I The Castaway Cowboy The Island at the Top of the World The Strongest Man in the World Escape to Witch Mountain The Apple Dumpling Gang One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures Ride a Wild Pony No Deposit, No Return Treasure of Matecumbe Gus The Shaggy D.A. Freaky Friday The Littlest Horse Thieves The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh A Tale of Two Critters The Rescuers [X] Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo Pete's Dragon Candleshoe Return from Witch Mountain The Cat from Outer Space Hot Lead and Cold Feet The North Avenue Irregulars The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again Unidentified Flying Oddball The Black Hole The London Connection

1980’s

Midnight Madness The Watcher in the Woods Herbie Goes Bananas The Last Flight of Noah's Ark Popeye The Devil and Max Devlin Amy Dragonslayer The Fox and the Hound Condorman Night Crossing Tron Tex Trenchcoat Something Wicked This Way Comes Never Cry Wolf Return to Oz The Black Cauldron [X] The Journey of Natty Gann One Magic Christmas The Great Mouse Detective [X] Flight of the Navigator Benji the Hunted Return to Snowy River Oliver & Company [X] Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [X] Cheetah The Little Mermaid [X]

1990’s

DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp The Rescuers Down Under White Fang Shipwrecked Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken The Rocketeer [X] Beauty and the Beast [X] Newsies [X] Honey, I Blew Up the Kid The Mighty Ducks Aladdin [X] The Muppet Christmas Carol [X] Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey A Far Off Place The Adventures of Huck Finn Hocus Pocus Cool Runnings [X] The Three Musketeers Iron Will Blank Check [X] D2: The Mighty Ducks White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf The Lion King [X] Angels in the Outfield Squanto: A Warrior's Tale The Santa Clause [X] The Jungle Book Heavyweights [X] Man of the House Tall Tale A Goofy Movie Pocahontas Operation Dumbo Drop A Kid in King Arthur's Court The Big Green Frank and Ollie Toy Story [X] Tom and Huck Muppet Treasure Island [X] Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco James and the Giant Peach [X] The Hunchback of Notre Dame [X] First Kid D3: The Mighty Ducks 101 Dalmatians [X] That Darn Cat Jungle 2 Jungle Hercules [X] George of the Jungle [X] Air Bud [X] RocketMan Flubber [X] Mr. Magoo Meet the Deedles Mulan [X] The Parent Trap [X] Air Bud: Golden Receiver I'll Be Home for Christmas A Bug's Life [X] Mighty Joe Young My Favorite Martian Doug's 1st Movie [X] Endurance  Tarzan [X] Inspector Gadget [X] The Straight Story Toy Story 2 [X]

2000’s

Fantasia 2000 The Tigger Movie [X] Dinosaur [X] Disney's The Kid Remember the Titans 102 Dalmatians The Emperor's New Groove [X] Recess: School's Out [X] Atlantis: The Lost Empire [X] The Princess Diaries Max Keeble's Big Move Monsters, Inc. [X] Snow Dogs Return to Never Land The Rookie Lilo & Stitch [X] The Country Bears Tuck Everlasting The Santa Clause 2 [X] Treasure Planet [X] The Jungle Book 2  Piglet's Big Movie [X] Ghosts of the Abyss Holes [X] The Lizzie McGuire Movie Finding Nemo [X] Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl [X] Freaky Friday [X] Brother Bear The Haunted Mansion [X] The Young Black Stallion Teacher's Pet [X] Miracle Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Home on the Range [X] Sacred Planet Around the World in 80 Days America's Heart and Soul The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement The Incredibles [X] National Treasure [X] Aliens of the Deep Pooh's Heffalump Movie [X] The Pacifier [X] Ice Princess Herbie: Fully Loaded [X] Sky High [X] Valiant [X] The Greatest Game Ever Played Chicken Little The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe [X] Glory Road Roving Mars Eight Below [X] The Shaggy Dog The Wild [X] Cars [X] Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest [X] Invincible The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D [X] The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause [X] Bridge to Terabithia Meet the Robinsons  [X] Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End [X] Ratatouille [X] Underdog [X] The Pixar Story The Game Plan Le Premier Cri Enchanted [X] National Treasure: Book of Secrets [X] Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert College Road Trip The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Dasavathaaram WALL-E [X] Beverly Hills Chihuahua Morning Light (High School Musical) [X] (High School Musical 2) [X] High School Musical 3: Senior Year Bolt [X] Bedtime Stories [X] Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience Race to Witch Mountain Hannah Montana: The Movie Earth Trail of the Panda Up [X] Lilly the Witch: The Dragon and the Magic Book G-Force [X] Walt & El Grupo The Book of Masters Disney's A Christmas Carol Old Dogs The Princess and the Frog [X]

2010’s

Alice in Wonderland [X] Waking Sleeping Beauty Oceans Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Toy Story 3 [X] The Sorcerer's Apprentice The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos Secretariat Do Dooni Chaar Tangled [X] The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story Tron: Legacy Anaganaga O Dheerudu Lilly the Witch: The Journey to Mandolan Mars Needs Moms Zokkomon African Cats Prom Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides [X] Cars 2 Winnie the Pooh The Muppets [X] John Carter Chimpanzee Arjun: The Warrior Prince Brave [X] The Odd Life of Timothy Green Frankenweenie Wreck-It Ralph [X] Oz the Great and Powerful Wings of Life Monsters University [X] The Lone Ranger [X] Planes Frozen [X] Saving Mr. Banks [X] Muppets Most Wanted [X] Bears Million Dollar Arm Maleficent Planes: Fire & Rescue Khoobsurat Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Big Hero 6 [X] Into the Woods [X] McFarland, USA Cinderella Monkey Kingdom Tomorrowland Inside Out [X] (ABCD) ABCD 2 The Good Dinosaur The Finest Hours Zootopia [X] The Jungle Book Tini: The Movie Alice Through the Looking Glass Finding Dory The BFG Pete's Dragon Queen of Katwe Moana [X] Growing Up Wild Dangal (March of the Penguins?) [X] L'Empereur - March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step Beauty and the Beast [X] Born in China Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Cars 3 Ghost of the Mountains Jagga Jasoos Coco [X] Expedition China A Wrinkle in Time Incredibles 2 [X] Christopher Robin The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Ralph Breaks the Internet Mary Poppins Returns Dumbo Penguins Aladdin Toy Story 4 [X] The Lion King Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Lady and the Tramp Noelle Frozen II One Day at Disney Togo

2020’s

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made

There are about 431 movies on this list and I have seen about 124 of them, for a total of 28.7% of all Disney movies.

This should be a nightmare.

[mask131]

Fables Folklore: A Wolf Among Us

And now, here is the review of the prequel series "A Wolf Among Us" (note here that I am using the comic book, not the video game).

# First of all, I need to make a correction. The urban legends-based Fables I mentionned in the Everafter post, such as La Llorona and the Chupacabra, may not be "New Fables" but simply regular Fables. I've got the feeling that the New Fables mentionned in the series were actually simply these new "human Fables" (the stage magician, the teenage wizard, the girl who can bend reality, etc...). I think that because there are in this series, A Wolf Among Us, two Fables that are based on urban legends and that are actually part of the "classical" Fables. Anyway.

# Since this is a prequel, I won't mention all the main characters from the main series, of course. But we get to see a lot of new faces in Fabletown : The Woodsman (the one from the fairytale "Little Red Riding Hood"), Mr. Toad (and his son Toad Jr.), the speaking toad from the children novel "The Wind in the Willows" ; Grendel (the monster that Beowulf fought ; and Grendel's mother also makes an apparition)... Jack Horner also mentions the "Tin Woodsman" of Oz, which implies he was somewhere around, as well as Paul Bunyan, from the USA folklore.

We also get to see other background faces in the main series, here expandes, such as Ichabod Crane (from the short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"), the Magic Mirror (from the Snow White fairytale, even though it is an archetype in itself) and doctor Swineheart (from the fairytale "The Three Army Surgeons").

# The characters that start the series, and that most of the story is centered around, is actually the princess from the fairy tale "Donkey Skin" (here called Faith) as well as her prince (named Prince Lawrence Gateau - Gateau means cake, due to the role of cake in Donkey Skin's seduction). Interestingly, the princess' royal family is named "Allerleirauh" which means "all kinds of fur" a reference to the fairytale. I'll explain : Donkey Skin is the French version of the fairy tale, written at the end of the 17th century. But the Brothers Grimm collected the German version of the tale at the beginning of the 19th century, and this German version is called "All-Kinds-of-Fur", in German "Allerleirauh".

# We see two troll sisters, named Holly and Lily. They don't seem to be from any kind of specific folklore (through Holly owns a bar called "Trip Trap", which is a reference to the fairy tale "Three Billy Goat Gruff" - trip trap is the sound the goat's hoof make on the bridge under which the troll resides).

# We get to see Salem, the real-life Salem, and we discover that the events of the Witch Hunt were orchestrated by several Fables (such as Ichabod Crane, Aunty Greenleaf and the like). But we later get to see two of the girls involved in these events have adventures and alliances with the Fables, and appearing in the Silvering, so they may be Fables of their own or just mundane magic users that got involved with the Fables... the two girls involved are Tituba and Abigail Williams.

But, Aunty Greenleaf? You ask. Who is this? Good question. Well she is actually a figure of American folklore - an old ghost story/witch story about Aunty Greenleaf and a white deer in Brookhaven... And Aunty Greenleaf's powers seem to depend on a specific magic tree taken out of the old forests of the Homeland - and this tree happened to be worshipped by the witches of Salem.

It is quite interesting however to see that the events of the witches of Salem happened in our world, but that Salem is also one of the locations of the "fiction location" that is Americana... Makes you think about the paradoxes of the Fable world.

# In terms of other realms, we get to see the Looking-Glass Land (the universe from "Alice Through the Looking-Glass), and it is explained that it is a different realm from the one of Wonderland (from "Alice in Wonderland") but the two seem to be close to each other. In the Looking-Glass Land we actually get to see Humpty Dumpty and a statue of the Walrus and the Carpenter, and the Wasp in a Wig is mentionned (we also have numerous mirror puns, such as a shop called "AromeRoma" or a town called "Mirror Rim", etc...)

Apparently different from the Looking-Glass Land, is another realm called the "Silvering". The Silvering is called as such because, compared to the "real world" which is "gold", this realm is but a second-hand one, thus "silver". The idea behind of the Silvering is that everything in the real world has a reflection - in mirrors, ponds, metal, etc... But when the person dies, when the trees is torn off, when the building is destroyed, its reflection isn't destroyed with it. The reflection is rather "set free" and lives on its own in the Silvering - a realm where everything is possible, at the same time a mix of everything that ever happened, and a parallel universe where you get to live all the things that couldn't be or wouldn't be in the real world.

# Spoilers here, but the main antagonist of the series is actually The Crooked Man (from the nursery rhyme "There was a Crooked Man"). He is a sort of criminal boss, underground empire lord, the "crooked" power of the Fable community in the mundane world. Among his underlings, we have: Bloody Mary (from the urban legend, and who seems to be linked to the Jack the Riper murders), Georgie Porgie (from the nursery rhyme of the same name), Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (from the nursery rhyme of the same name AND Alice Through the Looking-Glass) as well as the Knave of Hearts (from the nursery rhyme AND Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), and the Jersey Devil (from the urban legend).

# Bloody Mary mentions Sweeney Todd, implying he might be a Fable too.

# We also get to see "Tiny" Tim, from A Christmas Carol, but now all grown up ; Nerissa, the mermaid from "The Little Mermaid" but now with a pair of real legs that stay on ; Hans from the fairytale "Clever Hans" ; and Vivian, the "girl with the ribbon" (if you don't know it, this is actually a horror story/legend that goes around for a long time under different names, like "The Green Ribbon" or the "Velvet Ribbon").

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch Master List

Epic Movie (Re) Watch #1: 007 Collection - Dr. No Epic Movie (Re) Watch #2: 007 Collection - From Russia with Love Epic Movie (Re) Watch #3: 007 Collection - Goldfinger Epic Movie (Re) Watch #4: 007 Collection - Thunderball Epic Movie (Re) Watch #5: 007 Collection - You Only Live Twice Epic Movie (Re) Watch #6.1: 007 Collection - On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Epic Movie (Re) Watch #7: 007 Collection - Diamonds are Forever Epic Movie (Re) Watch #8: 007 Collection - Live And Let Die Epic Movie (Re) Watch #9: 007 Collection - The Man with the Golden Gun Epic Movie (Re) Watch #10: 007 Collection - The Spy Who Loved Me Epic Movie (Re) Watch #11: 007 Collection - Moonraker Epic Movie (Re) Watch #12: 007 Collection - For Your Eyes Only Epic Movie (Re) Watch #13: 007 Collection - Octopussy Epic Movie (Re) Watch #14: 007 Collection - A View to a Kill Epic Movie (Re) Watch #15: 007 Collection - The Living Daylights Epic Movie (Re) Watch #16: 007 Collection - Licence to Kill Epic Movie (Re) Watch #17: 007 Collection - GoldenEye Epic Movie (Re) Watch #18: 007 Collection - Tomorrow Never Dies Epic Movie (Re) Watch #19: 007 Collection - The World is Not Enough Epic Movie (Re) Watch #20: 007 Collection - Die Another Day Epic Movie (Re) Watch #21: 007 Collection - Casino Royale Epic Movie (Re) Watch #22: 007 Collection - Quantum of Solace Epic Movie (Re) Watch #23: 007 - Skyfall Epic Movie (Re) Watch #24: 007 - Spectre Epic Movie (Re) Watch #25 - 2001: A Space Odyssey Epic Movie (Re)Watch #26 - 2012 Epic Movie (Re)Watch #27 - 21 Jump Street Epic Movie (Re)Watch #28 - 22 Jump Street Epic Movie (Re)Watch #29 - 42 Epic Movie (Re)Watch #30- (500) Days of Summer Epic Movie (Re)Watch #31 - 9 (2009) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #32 - Independence Day Epic Movie (Re)Watch #33 - 101 Dalmatians (1961) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #34 - The A-Team (2010) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #35 - The Adjustment Bureau Epic Movie (Re)Watch #36 - The Adventures of Tintin (2011) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #37 - Agent Cody Banks Epic Movie (Re)Watch #38 - Bandslam Epic Movie (Re)Watch #39 - Air Force One Epic Movie (Re)Watch #40 - Aladdin (1992) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #41 - Alfred Hitchcock; The Masterpiece Collection: Saboteur Epic Movie (Re)Watch #42 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: Shadow of a Doubt Epic Movie (Re)Watch #43 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: Rope Epic Movie (Re)Watch #44 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: Rear Window Epic Movie (Re)Watch #45 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: The Trouble With Harry Epic Movie (Re)Watch #46 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #47 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: Vertigo Epic Movie (Re)Watch #48 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: North By Northwest Epic Movie (Re)Watch #49 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: Psycho Epic Movie (Re)Watch #50 - Network Epic Movie (Re)Watch #51 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: The Birds Epic Movie (Re)Watch #52 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: Marnie Epic Movie (Re)Watch #53 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: Torn Curtain Epic Movie (Re)Watch #54 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: Topaz Epic Movie (Re)Watch #55 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: Frenzy Epic Movie (Re)Watch #56 - Alfred Hitchcock, The Masterpiece Collection: Family Plot Epic Movie (Re)Watch #57 - Labyrinth Epic Movie (Re)Watch #58 - Universal Classic Monsters: Dracula (1931) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #59 - Universal Classic Monsters: Frankenstein (1931) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #60 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Mummy (1932) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #61 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Invisible Man (1933) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #62 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #63 - Universal Classic Monsters: Dracula’s Daughter Epic Movie (Re)Watch #64 - Universal Classic Monsters: Son of Frankenstein Epic Movie (Re)Watch #65 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Invisible Man Returns Epic Movie (Re)Watch #66 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Invisible Woman (1940) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #67 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Mummy’s Hand Epic Movie (Re)Watch #68 - Universal Classic Monsters: Werewolf of London Epic Movie (Re)Watch #69 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Wolf Man (1941) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #70 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Ghost of Frankenstein Epic Movie (Re)Watch #71 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Mummy’s Tomb Epic Movie (Re)Watch #72 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Invisible Agent Epic Movie (Re)Watch #73 - Universal Classic Monsters: Phantom of the Opera (1943) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #74 - Universal Classic Monsters: Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man Epic Movie (Re)Watch #75 - Universal Classic Monsters: Son of Dracula (1943) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #76 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Mummy’s Ghost Epic Movie (Re)Watch #77 - Universal Classic Monsters: House of Frankenstein Epic Movie (Re)Watch #78 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Mummy’s Curse Epic Movie (Re)Watch #79 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Invisible Man’s Revenge Epic Movie (Re)Watch #80 - Universal Classic Monsters: House of Dracula Epic Movie (Re)Watch #81 - Universal Classic Monsters: She-Wolf of London Epic Movie (Re)Watch #82.1 - Universal Classic Monsters: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein Epic Movie (Re)Watch #83 - Universal Classic Monsters: Abbott and Costello Meet The Invisible Man Epic Movie (Re)Watch #84 - Universal Classic Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon Epic Movie (Re)Watch #85 - Universal Classic Monsters: Abbott & Costello Meet The Mummy Epic Movie (Re)Watch #86 - Universal Classic Monsters: Revenge of the Creature Epic Movie (Re)Watch #87 - Universal Classic Monsters: The Creature Walks Among Us Epic Movie (Re)Watch #88 - The Mummy (1999) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #89 - The Mummy Returns Epic Movie (Re)Watch #90 - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Epic Movie (Re)Watch #91 - Van Helsing (2004) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #92 - Frankenweenie (2012) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #93 - The Nightmare Before Christmas Epic Movie (Re)Watch #94 - The Book of Life Epic Movie (Re)Watch #95 - Alice in Wonderland (1951) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #96 - Alien Anthology: Alien Epic Movie (Re)Watch #97 - Alien Anthology: Aliens Epic Movie (Re)Watch #98 - Alien Anthology: Alien 3 Epic Movie (Re)Watch #99 - Alien Anthology: Alien - Resurrection Epic Movie (Re)Watch #100 - Alien VS Predator Epic Movie (Re)Watch #101 - Amadeus: Director’s Cut Epic Movie (Re)Watch #102 - Planes, Trains, & Automobiles Epic Movie (Re)Watch #103 - The Muppet Christmas Carol Epic Movie (Re)Watch #104 - The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Movie (Re)Watch #105 - American Hustle Epic Movie (Re)Watch #106 - An American in Paris Epic Movie (Re)Watch #107 - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Epic Movie (Re)Watch #108 - The Road to El Dorado Epic Movie (Re)Watch #109 - Atlantis: The Lost Empire Epic Movie (Re)Watch #110 - The Great Mouse Detective Epic Movie (Re)Watch #111 - The Rocketeer Epic Movie (Re)Watch #112 - The Prince of Egypt Epic Movie (Re)Watch #113 - Groundhog Day Epic Movie (Re)Watch #114 - The Italian Job (2003) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #115 - Fantasia Epic Movie (Re)Watch #116 - Oliver & Company Epic Movie (Re)Watch #117 - Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Epic Movie (Re)Watch #118 - Kingsman: The Secret Service Epic Movie (Re)Watch #119 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit Epic Movie (Re)Watch #120 - Lady & The Tramp Epic Movie (Re)Watch #121 - Back to the Future Epic Movie (Re)Watch #122 - Back to the Future Part II Epic Movie (Re)Watch #123 - Back to the Future Part III Epic Movie (Re)Watch #124 - Zootopia Epic Movie (Re)Watch #125 - Goosebumps Epic Movie (Re)Watch #126 - Darby O’Gill & The Little People Epic Movie (Re)Watch #127 - Chicago Epic Movie (Re)Watch #128 - The Wizard of Oz (1939) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #129 - Bottle Shock Epic Movie (Re)Watch #130 - Veronica Mars Epic Movie (Re)Watch #131 - High Noon Epic Movie (Re)Watch #132 - Good Will Hunting Epic Movie (Re)Watch #133 - Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #134 - Return From Witch Mountain Epic Movie (Re)Watch #135 - Race to Witch Mountain Epic Movie (Re)Watch #136 - Captive Wild Woman Epic Movie (Re)Watch #137 - Jungle Woman Epic Movie (Re)Watch #138 - Mr. Peabody and Sherman Epic Movie (Re)Watch #139 - Brave Epic Movie (Re)Watch #140 - Singin’ in the Rain Epic Movie (Re)Watch #141 - The Librarian: Quest for the Spear Epic Movie (Re)Watch #142 - The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines Epic Movie (Re)Watch #143 - The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice Epic Movie (Re)Watch #144 - Coraline Epic Movie (Re)Watch #145 - ParaNorman Epic Movie (Re)Watch #146 - The Boxtrolls Epic Movie (Re)Watch #147 - This Island Earth Epic Movie (Re)Watch #148 - Sleepy Hollow Epic Movie (Re)Watch #149 - The Bounty Hunter Epic Movie (Re)Watch #150 - The Jungle Book (1967) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #151 - The Phantom of the Opera (2004) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #152 - The Mask of Zorro Epic Movie (Re)Watch #153 - Hail, Caesar! Epic Movie (Re)Watch #154 - The Jungle Book (2016) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #155 - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Epic Movie (Re)Watch #156 - Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Epic Movie (Re)Watch #157 - Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Epic Movie (Re)Watch #158 - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Epic Movie (Re)Watch #159 - Star Trek (2009) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #160 - Star Trek Into Darkness Epic Movie (Re)Watch #161 - Star Trek Beyond Epic Movie (Re)Watch #162 - The Adventures of Ichabod And Mr. Toad Epic Movie (Re)Watch #163 - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Epic Movie (Re)Watch #164 - Twitches Epic Movie (Re)Watch #165 - Inkheart Epic Movie (Re)Watch #166 - Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Epic Movie (Re)Watch #167 - X-Men (2000) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #168 - X2 Epic Movie (Re)Watch #169 - X-Men: The Last Stand Epic Movie (Re)Watch #170 - X-Men Origins: Wolverine Epic Movie (Re)Watch #171 - X-Men: First Class Epic Movie (Re)Watch #172 - The Wolverine Epic Movie (Re)Watch #173 - X-Men: Days of Future Past Epic Movie (Re)Watch #174 - Deadpool Epic Movie (Re)Watch #175 - X-Men: Apocalypse Epic Movie (Re)Watch #176 - Logan Epic Movie (Re)Watch #177 - The Emperor’s New Groove Epic Movie (Re)Watch #178 - Madagascar Epic Movie (Re)Watch #179 - Scooby-Doo (2002) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #180 - Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed Epic Movie (Re)Watch #181 - Begin Again Epic Movie (Re)Watch #182 - The Haunted Mansion Epic Movie (Re)Watch #183 - The Fault in Our Stars Epic Movie (Re)Watch #184 - Brooklyn Epic Movie (Re)Watch #185 - The Princess Diaries Epic Movie (Re)Watch #186 - The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement Epic Movie (Re)Watch #187 - Jaws Epic Movie (Re)Watch #188 - Hercules (2014) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #189 - Spy Epic Movie (Re)Watch #190 - Robots (2005) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #191 - 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #192 - Robin Hood: Men in Tights Epic Movie (Re)Watch #193 - Pacific Rim Epic Movie (Re)Watch #194 - Godzilla (2014) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #195 - Kong: Skull Island Epic Movie (Re)Watch #196 - The Walk (2015) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #197 - The Lion King Epic Movie (Re)Watch #198 - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Epic Movie (Re)Watch #199 - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Epic Movie (Re)Watch #200 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Epic Movie (Re)Watch #201 - Predator Epic Movie (Re)Watch #202 - Grandma (2015) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #203 - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #204 - The Untouchables Epic Movie (Re)Watch #205 - Hocus Pocus Epic Movie (Re)Watch #206 - Night Key (1937) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #207 - Tower of London (1939) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #208 - The Climax (1944) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #209 - The Strange Door Epic Movie (Re)Watch #210 - The Black Castle (1952) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #211 - Tower of Terror (1997) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #212 - Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Calling Dr. Death Epic Movie (Re)Watch #213 - Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Weird Woman Epic Movie (Re)Watch #214 - Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Dead Man’s Eyes Epic Movie (Re)Watch #215 - Inner Sanctum Mysteries: The Frozen Ghost Epic Movie (Re)Watch #216 - Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Strange Confession Epic Movie (Re)Watch #217 - Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Pillow of Death Epic Movie (Re)Watch #218 - Corpse Bride Epic Movie (Re)Watch #219 - Anastasia (1997) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #220 - Ghostbusters (1984) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #221 - Zombieland Epic Movie (Re)Watch #222 - Ghostbusters (2016) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #223 - Muppet Treasure Island Epic Movie (Re)Watch #224 - Fletch Epic Movie (Re)Watch #225 - Underdog (2007) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #226 - Zoolander Epic Movie (Re)Watch #227 - Trolls (2016) Epic Movie (Re)Watch #228 - Tower Heist Epic Movie (Re)Watch #229 - Moana Epic Movie (Re)Watch #230 - It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie Epic Movie (Re)Watch #231 - Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas Epic Movie (Re)Watch #232 - Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas Epic Movie (Re)Watch #233 - National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Epic Movie (Re)Watch #234 - Home Alone Epic Movie (Re)Watch #235 - White Christmas Epic Movie (Re)Watch #236 - Men in Black Epic Movie (Re)Watch #237 - Men in Black II Epic Movie (Re)Watch #238 - Men in Black 3 Epic Movie (Re)Watch #239 - The Muppet Movie Epic Movie (Re)Watch #240 - Ice Age Epic Movie (Re)Watch #241 - James & The Giant Peach Epic Movie (Re)Watch #242 - Paul

[littlemisssquiggles]

Hello! So, I read your last musing, about Oscar's most powerfuls spell, and it made me realise one thing: in the old Remnant, everyone could cast magic from their hands, but Ozma used a cane for it. Do you think that he may have been handicapped? Maybe he wasn't as connected to the world magic as much as others and he needed to use a medium. We know that he used a cane because he didn't believe in aggression, but what if it was also a sort of magic prosthesis?

Hey Yellow. Ironically that’s something I noticed too to after I finished posting my last Pinehead headcanon. Thus far, Ozma and essentially all of his successors are the only ones who used an object as a conduit to channel their magic

As to why, I’m not sure. I do like your concept of Ozma originally being magically handicapped than other magi from First Remnant. But since you also mentioned the tidbit about Ozma (and technically all the Wizards) preferring to use a sceptre/cane as their weapon of choice as it’s less lethal, it’s making me consider a different new headcanon about Ozma. Here me out:

What if…in his youth, Ozma was a completely different person.

When we were first introduced to his character, he was described as man who fought for righteousness and the people. But what if …this wasn’t always Ozma’s personality? What if …Ozma used to be the complete opposite of who we met him as during his younger teenaged years? Probably when he was roughly around the same age as Oscar is presently.

Since First Remnant was described to be home to kings and queens, what if… Ozma was possibly a young prince in his time. This could be a small little nod to his Oz counterpart of the same name who was a princess. But despite being of noble blood, imagine if…Ozma was rather spoilt and selfish in his youth, caring very little for others which was inclusive of the very people who lived within his family’s kingdom.

And because of this lack of empathy towards his fellow man, Ozma would often abuse his powers. Let’s say…rather than being magically handicapped, Ozma was quite talented in the mystical arts but lacked proper disciple as well as the patience to learn how to properly control it.

Since ‘arrogant’ was a word once used by Cinder Fall (as propagated by Salem) when describing Ozpin; as Ozpin is the current version of Ozma’s soul, perhaps in his past Ozma was very supercilious to a detrimental fault.

Picture…a fourteen-year-old Ozma, crowned prince of a kingdom devastated by poverty and ruled by greed, being the type of cocky adolescent whose vanity was only outmatched by his lack of self-control in using his own abilities.Like imagine Young Ozma being the type to walk around proclaiming that he was the greatest magi in all the land because of his abilities, having come from along line of powerful witches and wizards on both sides of his family.

Picture…Ozma being the type to cockily challenge others to a duel of might and magic since he’s arrogant enough in his abilities to know that he’s strong enough to wipe the floor with any opponent (or so he believes) whether his opponent was willing to participate or not. As a matter of fact, picture a scene where Ozma is training with his royal tutor using servants as his sparring partners. However Ozma keeps disobeying his master’s orders and going overboard with his magic to easily win his matches since the boy is fully aware that his lesser magically incompetent servants can’t put up much of a fight against.

Pretty soon the easy wins start to bore Ozma and he demands a proper challenge; to which one servant responds that there are no more servants for Ozma to fight since he’s beaten most of them while the rest were to scared to face him. Ozma then challenges his tutor to a duel claiming that since he was such a so-called powerful warlock then he’d be provide the challenge Ozma craved. At the first the tutor refused Ozma’s challenge after acknowledging the destruction and pain he had caused he past targets. However when Ozma begins mocking his tutor and belittling his abilities, he finally conceded for a chance to teach Ozma a much needed lesson.

Long story short, the tutor, of course, wipes the floor with Ozma much to the astonishment of the feeble spectators who all rushed to help their beaten prince. However Ozma wasn’t finished. Despite the tutor voicing that the match was won in his favour, the humiliating defeat angers Ozma to the point that he loses control of his magic, unintentionally summoning a much darker power which he unfortunately unleashes upon his tutor.

Of course the tutor masterfully dodges Ozma’s attack only for it to collide with the ceiling of the training room, causing debris to cave down on top a pair of servants caught in the crossfire.  

This of course badly wounds both of them and Ozma is genuinely stunned at what he had done. You ever noticed how Salem is mostly the only magic we’ve seen to use dark magic whereas Ozma (and the Wizards) don’t? I’d like to think that dark magic by RWBY terms stems from the power of destruction derived from the God of Darkness. 

I’d also like to think that in his youth, Ozma learned just how devastating such type of magic could prove in the wrong hands, in more ways than one. 

Anyways, as the injured servants are whisked away and as Ozma was still recovering from the shock of using the forbidden dark magic, his astonishment is short-lived as he was suddenly pulled aside to be scolded by his tutor, infuriated for his behaviour and his sudden misuse of the dark arts.

This in turn only serves to further annoy Ozma as he claps back at the older warlock, threatening to have his father—the king—behead the man for so much as daring to speak back to him in such a manner. As a bold reminder, Ozma even tells the tutor wizard that he was a servant of his kingdom and as a servant of his kingdom, he bows down to Ozma. And as you might expect, this threat causes the tutor wizard to resign as both Ozma’s mentor and a servant of his kingdom; joining the rest that came before him.

I’d like to think of Ozma being such a poor student that he racks up mentors faster than the servants can find one willing enough to take the job. Beside I like the satire of Ozma formerly being a pretty terrible student in his first life as compared the humble teacher he comes to be in later lives. 

Both as Professor Ozpin and his predecessor—the King of Vale since he founded the huntsmen academies and I’m still holding onto my hunch that the Warrior King—King Phadrig as I dubbed him—trained the very people who fought under him during the First Great War; including Great-Grandpappi Arc ( Jaune’s ancestor) according to my theories.

I know these theories more or less paint a different and less likeable version of the Ozma we know, but again hear me out again. To me, I find characters who start off being one way and slowly evolving into another way kind of fascinating to follow.

Like for example, a story about a timorous street cop, who desired to be promoted to detective but was a pushover for most of his career, slowly transforming to become the most intimidating crime bosses in the city; using his previous experience and knowledge from working in the force to outsmart his previous peers. It was originally meant to be an undercover gig that the cop wanted to use as means to rise in the ranks and finally achieve respect from his fellow cops who would look down on him. But what it leads into is a narrative that makes the audience question whose side this cop character really is many times throughout his arc as he does shady things that makes you wonder where his loyalty lies. Is he still the good cop working to stop the criminals or has hereally switched sides finding the life of a vicious crime lord his true calling since it brought him the satisfaction and respect he always craved?  Doesn’t thatsound like a compelling character to follow?

Or, in the case of my small theory here, picture a hero’s journey  about anarrogant little prince who cared very little for others outside the family thatspoiled him rotten ultimately growing up to become one of the most virtuousheroes in all the land whose chivalry and devotion to protecting mankind endsup transcending time and history.

The beginning and end stories are such a stark contrast that you’re left wondering how on earth did said character come to be so different in the end, thus lending to the ongoing intrigue of watching the chapters that contributed to this change. You’re left interested in following along to see how the storyreaches this ending in a sense, if you get what I mean.

That and I also like the juxtaposition of Ozma formerly being one of the worse students imaginable in the younger years of his first life but ultimately growing to become a humble man who now passes down his years of knowledge to guide others.

Anyways, let’s continue with the theory idea:

So Ozma is boy who desires to be great like his family but lacks the patience to be one as well as earn the respect of a mentor willing to teach him to be the person he desires to be. At least, not until Ozma meets someone— an old, wise nomadic wizard hailing from a faraway land unknown who ultimately became theperson who changed Ozma’s life forever. For the sake of this headcanon of mine, I’m going to dub this old wizard as Merlin; and going off the name alone you can probably tell or ready where I’m going with this.

Now let’s say, in a land of powerful magi blessed by the Gods there was one fabled to be the most powerful wizard in all of First Remnant—believed to have descended from the First Man created by the Brother Gods.

But in spite of being this legendary mage, no one knew anything of this true identity. Each legend spoke differently but they all shared one common detail—a mystical staff that was said to be the weapon of the legendary mage believed to have been bestowed him by the Gods themselves. Or something like that.

There was not a single child born into First Remnant who didn’t grow up hearing the legendary stories of the nameless great and powerful wizard. Among them was Ozma but he always believed the tales were all hogwash. Glamourous fairy tales of one powerful wizard who travelled the world using his magic to aid others in need yet no one has ever seen him before? How ridiculous, were the thoughts of a teenage Ozma.

And the fact about him fighting with a staff when magic is available by the mere snap of one’s finger just made the stories even less enticing to the boy’s ear ears.

Now in Ozma’s kingdom, like I said, there was this bum—as Ozma referred to him. He wasn’t actually a bum. He was in fact a humble nomad proclaiming to hail from a land far away—a land of light as he described and his travels eventually brought him to Ozma’s kingdom.

The only reason Ozma addressed him as a bum was because the strange newcomer’s attire matched the lower class that lined the streets of his kingdom in droves making the stranger blend right in.

Let’s say…poverty was quite rampart in Ozma’s kingdom since the kingdom royals—his family— did very little to help its citizens and they raised their son to do the same. But this bum—the nomad— peeked Ozma’s interest.

From his home, Ozma would always observe the man.  Each day the bum would perform the same routine—come into the kingdom from his temporary abode outside in the forest, sit in the same spot, pretend to accidentally drop a couple of lien into the hands of the starving poor folk who needed it (or perform some other type of good deed) and when the day was done, he would return quietly to the forest from whence he crawled out of only to return again the next day.He was a strange one, as Ozma would often say to himself but in a strange way, Ozma couldn’t help but be oddly fascinated by said man. 

Who was he anyways? 

The most interesting thing about the man is that he carried a strange sceptre. Ozma always found the sceptre to be the most outlandish thing about the bum since it contradicted with everything else about him.

To fast-forward this idea a bit, let’s say—one day, another kingdom attacked Ozma’s under the pursuit of conquering his throne. 

Unfortunately they succeeded. In the span of a single night, Ozma lost everything he once knew. His family. His home. His crown and dignity as the royal heir. He almost even lost his life when the assailants came after him. In spite of fleeing into the forest, Ozma eventually found himself cornered on a lonely bridge suspended over a deep canyon. 

Outnumbered, injured and outmatched, Ozma was like a rat trapped in a maze and it’s not like his magic was enough to help him this time. His lack of trainingin control of his powers came back to haunt him as he was easily overpowered by the more experienced assailants.

One of the attackers even resorted to using dark magic to restrain Ozma, twisting his body with the malicious intent of killing him slowly. But in his moments of pain, to the young boy’s astonishment he is rescued by an unlikely saviour.

It was the bum who arrived to protect Ozma from the assailants. And that’s not even the most surprising part, the bum was also a magi. But not just any magi. He was the great and powerful wizard of legend: Merlin the Myth.

I know that Merlin is the legendary sorcerer derived from Arthurian Legend. So imagine if there was a RWBY character inspired by him who played a pinnacle role in Ozma’s Origin story and was the man who made him into the champion of justice we know he came to be?

I know it’d probably be more in character to have Ozma start off as the type of eager hero archetype willing to fight for the people, as we saw with our main RWBY heroine: Ruby Rose.

However, as I;ll say again I like the contrast of Ozma coming from privilegedbeginnings governed by greed and selfishness only to ultimately change to become a better man  as a result of all the life changing experiences he endured during his youth while attaining the companionship and guidance of an old soul who left a lasting impression on him.

I like the idea of Ozma formerly being a spoiled prince who initially started to go down a path of revenge when his family is murdered by another kingdom that conquered his own. I like the idea of Ozma being taken under the wing by a legendary yet kind wizard who genuinely saw good and greatness in him and wanted to help him in some way.

Using this idea, imagine young Ozma practically begging Merlin to be his mentor upon learning that the legends about him were real. Picture Ozma boldly demanding that Merlin teach him how to become a powerful magi like him for the sake of returning to his conquered kingdom and slaughtering the people who took it from him out of revenge for what they did to him and his family.

Unfortunately Merlin wasn’t having any of that and refused to teach Ozma at all if his intentions were to use his teachings for harming others. It is only when Ozma agreed to Merlin’s way that the old sage took him in with a smile.

(Side Note: If I also had to depict Merlin the Myth, I’d picture him something like this image above while sometimes adopting an animal form in the shape of a brown owl or white owl. A lot of the images and art I find on Merlin have him featured with an owl of some kind.  

Since we know magic in RWBY can be used to turn people into animals, perhaps Merlin used his to shape-shift into an owl and that’s how he traveled from place to place and explains why no one could ever saw his face. He’d always transform and fly off before they could. Just an idea).

Resuming: Since Ozma was desperate for Merlin to teach him, he agrees to temporarily abandon his vendetta for the sake of learning from Merlin. However, truth be told Ozma had merely lied to Merlin so that he would provide him what he needed.

The boy still hungered for vengeance and when Merlin learnt this, he told Ozma that if revenge was his path then there was nothing he could teach him that will be of benefit to him. Enraged by the old wizard’s words, Ozma storms off and attempts his vendetta anyways.

Using what little he had learnt from Merlin, he returned to his kingdom and tried to stage a one-man attack. Ozma had planned to singlehandedly take back his throne by killing the new king and his family just like what he had done to him and his.

However, what made Ozma stop in his tracks is when he soon realized that the new conquerors had young children—four innocent little princesses who were absolutely oblivious to what their father—the king—had done.

In order for Ozma to enact his revenge, it would mean taking the lives of these four girls. In spite of his anger clouding his judgement. In spite of every fibre in his body screaming at him to defend his family’s honour, Ozma…couldn’t do it.

So basically Ozma fails in his vendetta. He believes he is done for when he is caught by the new king. But to Ozma’s surprise, Merlin appears and comes to his aid a second time.

In a nutshell, Merlin protects Ozma and when questioned by the young boy about why he came back for him, Merlin simply replied that despite his impulsive, bratty behaviour—the old soul could still tell that there was a kind heart behind it. In spite of only knowing Ozma for a short time, Merlin was willing to place his fate in the more honest soul he saw in him. 

In Merlin’s eyes, he believed that Ozma was destined for greatness. All he needed was proper guidance. Sure he was more than a little rough around the edges but in time, Ozma could be great if he was willing to put in the work to becoming a better person. Perhaps even the type that others could even call a hero.

Ozma scoffs at the very thought of it .Him? A hero? Impossible. He wasn’t even a prince anymore. He had no crown. No kingdom. His own people didn’t even miss him, not like he had ever given them reason to. Ozma was a nobody now and from here, where was he supposed to go? Who was he supposed to be now moving forward?

That’s when Merlin would prompt him with the statement, “Well that’s what you get to figure out. This is your chance to decide your path, young Oz. Your future. You think you lost everything but in actuality, you’ve been given a tremendous opportunity.”

“For what?” Ozma would ask.  

“To start over,” Merlin replied optimistically, “begin a new leaf. Before you believed you had to abide by a destiny that was handed to you from birth. Now, you get to decide it for yourself. To forge your own path and decide the type of man you want to be in time.”

 “But how am I supposed to do that?” Ozma would then inquire, “I am a prince without a crown or kingdom and a child without a family. I’m just…a boy. How am I supposed to do anything now?

 “…Well I never said you have to figure it out right now,” Merlin would reply casually, “and I never said you would be going forward alone either.”

Basically in a nutshell, Merlin agrees to give Ozma a second chance. He agrees to stay by his side and continue training him as his mentor; so long as Ozma gives up his vendetta entirely and devote himself to

And this time, Ozma agrees after realizing finally, that regaining his kingdom was a lost cause.What would even be more interesting is if the reason why Ozma came to this conclusion is because he came to the startling realization that he and his family were in fact the bad guys in all of this. Ozma’s family were tyrants who treated their people like garbage. Ozma used to notice it but at the time, he never cared much for it since at the time he was raised to turn a blind eye to these things. It would be an interesting twist if the new conquerors were good people. Another kingdom who learnt of Ozma’s family tyranny and decide to conquer it in order to help the people who were suffering. Now the people were happy with its new rulers.

Consider it a stained victory—one where neither side is black nor white.  They’re each right and wrong in their actions and their reactions to the given circumstance. A starving kingdom was finally freed and living in prosperity under the reign of better, compassionate rulers. However at the same time, an innocent child lost his family in cold blood shed and has his life nearly taken by these same people.

I dunno if that makes a lick of sense at all. I just like the idea of it. I kind of like the idea of Ozma abandoning his title as prince upon learning the truth about his kingdom and what his family used to really do. After that, he was taken in by Merlin who practically raised him like a surrogate father. Together, the two travelled Remnant Merlin mentoring young Ozma on the ways and disciples of how to be a proper powerful magi through righteous rather than sheer talent alone or something like that.

It is through Merlin’s teachings where Ozma learnt the reason as to why he chooses to fight with a sceptre. RWBY has described the Long Memory as being very special to Ozma and essentially all the Wizards that came after him. Through the Lost Fable, we got a sense this is the case since as fans saw from the episode, the sceptre has been with Ozma since his first lifetime.

What was even more interesting is that even after he died the first time, even Salem still held onto the staff. I’d like to think that during their time together, Ozma must’ve told Salem the history behind his signature staff and why he held onto it for so long which in turn contributed to Salem cherishing it after Ozma’s death since it was the last thing she had of him.

I also found it pretty interesting how Salem even held onto the staff after humanity had been restored, after she had become corrupted by the Grimm Pools of Darkness. Not only has the Long Memory sustained time with Ozma (and essentially his descendants) but also with Salem pre-Ozma reincarnation. Wouldn’t been interesting if this somehow lent to the magic within the sceptre. 

Like imagine if…the Long Memory was a mystical archive that secretly stored memories from Ozma and all of his lifetimes which is inclusive even of the time he spent with Salem—from the time he met her, to their travels, to the day he died to even before when Salem had the sceptre in her possession and Ozma was able to learn from the cane of Salem’s loneliness, depression and anger after losing him. Or…something like that. Mostly spit balling here.

Once upon a time, I shared a theory about the Long Memory being Ozma’s cherished weapon because it was a gift to him by someone very important from his past. At first, I pegged it had been given to him by the original Four Maidens during his lifetime as the Hermit.

Mind you, this was pre-V6. Eventually I settled on the theory that the weaponwas given to Ozma by an old relative/ mentor who helped him become the man he was.

I figured the Long Memory was either made for Ozma by his old mentor or passed down to him after he set out to start his own journey. To add an extra layer of sentimentality to the Long Memory, I thought it would be nice if the weapon originally belonged to Ozma’s past mentor who then gave it to him upon completing his training as a sign that he was ready. For me, I kind of like the concept of Ozma inheriting his master’s weapon as a symbol of his growth into an outstanding magi, not to mention the everlasting bond he shared with his mentor.

A passing of the torch, so to speak.

Plus it’ll add more significance to the weapon being called the Long Memory having been passed down from Ozma’s former mentor him to him and eventually he passed it on to his next incarnates. This is where I going with the idea of a Merlin-character in RWBY for Ozma’s Origins.

Resuming my theory concept, if a Merlin-inspired character did exist in Ozma’s past, then I like the thought of this character training Ozma fromsince he was a very young teenager; fulfilling the role of the gentle sagewhose wisdom and guidance aided Ozma throughout his life well into his adultyears.

And even after Ozma was forced to depressingly part ways with said mentor (like perhaps he passed away by the time Ozma was older), the lessons and fond memories he shared with his man stayed with and still continue to guide him in some sense after all this centuries.

I like the idea of Ozma transforming from the snobbish boy he used to be to becoming a righteous soul by the time he was a man all through the teachings of the old soul who never lost fate in him and stood with him through thick and thin.

I really like the idea of a Merlin-esque wise old mentor character raising and loving Ozma like a son. And by the time Ozma was finally ready tostart his own journey, Merlin was ready to live this world on the peace of mindthat he had lived long enough to see Ozma grow up into a great young man.

Then following his mentor’s death, Ozma inherited his iconic weapon choosing to fight with it as a means of carrying on his mentor’s legacy in a way. This could add another layer as to why the Long Memory is special to Ozma. Not only was it his weapon but it was also the weapon shared by the kind-hearted old soul who shaped him into the champion he became. I like the idea of the Long Memory not only being symbolic of the memories Ozma shared with his fellow Wizards during their lifetimes. It’s not even symbolic of the years he spent with Salem.

No I’d to think that in addition to these memories, the Long Memory additionally chronicles the memories Ozma shared with the man who trained him. It is a memoir of the times they shared together, journeying, training, living, laughing. More than that, the Long Memory is also a remnant of that mentor since he has wielded it since it he was around Ozma’s age. It was the weapon that Merlin’s mentor trained him with and it is also the same weapon that Merlin used to pass his lessons onto Ozma.

The Long Memory is special to Ozma since it’s something he shares not just with his successors but also the man who was essentially like a second father to him. His hero and it’s his way of remembering him always no matter how many lives he’s lived.

Or…y’know, something to that liking XD This doesn’t necessarily need to happen for Ozma’s story. I mean, Ozma doesn’t really need to have his own mentor. However, since part of his reincarnation cycle does involve his past self imparting guidance onto his present self, it’d be interesting if that ties back to Ozma’s history. I dunno. It’s just an idea XD

And…yeah, I believe that’s all folks. That’s my answer. Sorry if this response turned out longer and took longer than usual to edit and submit. Nevertheless, I hope it was at least enough to actually answer your question, Yellow. I know I deviated from what you originally asked me but let me know what you think if you can. Until then, as always, take care.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)  

[tyry0011]

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[lilacmoon83]

Finding You Always

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Chapter 190: I'll Make a Man Out of You

At dinner last evening, Snow and David detailed their plan to Phillip and Aurora, only to be met with overwhelming support and excitement from the other royal pair. In addition, Red was so excited that she could barely contain her joy. She loved her life with Mulan and being with her, but she missed her them, Granny, and her Godchildren very much. So naturally, Mulan was on board as well, knowing how happy it was going to make Red.

They graciously enjoyed Phillip and Aurora's hospitality and got a good night's sleep in the guest wing of their castle, before awakening the next morning to enjoy breakfast with them. And before they knew it, it was time to move on.

"We'll see you soon," Snow said, as she hugged Aurora and David shook hands with Phillip.

"We are excited for this new direction," Phillip stated, as Phillip Jr. and Bobby said their goodbyes too. The boys were about the same age and fast friends.

"Us too," David agreed.

"Where will you go now?" Aurora asked curiously.

"Well...we were hoping Mulan could get us an audience with the Emperor of her land and then I suppose we'll have to visit King Francis in the Southern Isles. As much as we never cared for him, we don't feel it's right to exclude a Kingdom solely based on their ruler," Snow explained.

"Oh...King Francis passed away two years ago. His eldest son rules now," Phillips said.

"Do you know much about him?" David asked curiously.

"He seems to be a more just ruler than his father, but I'm afraid I have not met him directly, only representatives of his. He seemed to be appalled by what his youngest brother Hans tried to do in Arendelle, but I don't know if that was because he got caught and it reflected badly on his Kingdom or if he was truly appalled by his acts," Phillip advised. David nodded.

"We'll go into that one carefully," he said. They nodded and gathered with their children, while Mulan and Red joined them.

"The Emperor does not take meetings from outsiders often, but he is well versed in the legend of the Dragon King. If I explain that you are the next pair to hold the title of truest loves, he may grant you an audience," Mulan explained.

"And if he doesn't?" Snow asked.

"I will present your case for you," Mulan answered. They smiled.

"Thank you Mulan," the raven haired beauty said, as her husband toss a bean and a swirling orange portal appeared before them. With that, they, their children, Red, and Mulan stepped through to their intended destination.

~*~

Nephilim

Regina and Mim followed Seth, as he led them to a chamber in the bowels of his palace. Once they walked in, it was clear that it was a treasure room. It was filled with gold, silver, precious jewels, ancient artifacts, diamonds, and acquired items that Regina assumed were probably significant pieces.

"So...is there something in here that can help us?" Regina asked.

"I believe so," Seth responded, as he retrieved a helm from the highest shelf.

"And what exactly is this?" she asked.

"You uneducated fool...you don't recognize such an ancient prize?" Mim snapped.

"Easy Mim...I obtained this helmet long before she was even thought of, let alone born," Seth eased, as he put the cap on to demonstrate its power and Regina was astonished to see him disappear. He removed it and reappeared again.

"Hades' cap of invisibility. I took it from him centuries ago, before my banishment. You see, before they ousted me from my home, I put many things I acquired in a sort of magical dimensional pocket and when I arrived here, I found that I was able to retrieve everything I had stashed away." he replied.

"That's a fascinating trick. Care to teach it to me sometime?" Regina questioned.

"Pff...you're barely worthy enough to polish his boots, let alone become an apprentice," Mim protested.

"Your ambition is very refreshing. Perhaps a lesson or two is in order, but first, we need to figure out how to conceal this land and the curse from Storybrooke," he purported.

"We need to be hidden in plain sight so we may infiltrate our enemies and only reveal ourselves when we are ready," he continued.

"And you think the answer is in Hades' invisibility cap?" Regina inquired.

"I think if we melt this helm down and add its magical invisibility properties to the curse...then yes, I think it will work," Seth responded. She smirked.

"I don't see why it wouldn't. This is a powerful artifact...it could be exactly what we need," she agreed. He smirked back.

"Then let's proceed with our plan," he said.

~*~

"Order up!" Frankie called, as he finished the last of the breakfast rush. He and Joe were thoroughly enjoying their new lives in this extraordinary little town. They were still astounded at how the Charmings had basically adopted them into their large family and they had never been so grateful.

The last order, being that of apple pancakes and other breakfast and lunch items, went out to Regina's table. They were enjoying a late family breakfast that morning. Joining her was Robin and Roland of course, along with Chad, Zelena, Jade, Alice, who naturally brought Emma and Killian with her.

"Thanks Joe," Emma said, as she dug into her grilled cheese and onion rings.

"You're very welcome. So...how do you think things are going for your parents?" Joe asked curiously.

"Oh, I actually talked to them last night through magical Skype," she replied. His brow furrowed.

"Magical Skype?" he asked. She smirked.

"Also known as an enchanted looking glass. With the chalice, it allows them to talk to us through an enchanted looking glass, no matter where they are," she clarified. He shook his head.

"Amazing…" he said.

"Yeah, so they've visited Agrabah, the Maritime Kingdom, and were in King Phillips Kingdom last night. All three are overall excited and on board with it all," Emma reported.

"Agrabah...that's Aladdin, right?" Joe asked.

"Of course it is. His knowledge of fairy tales is embarrassing," Frankie complained.

"And yours is a little scary," Joe retorted.

"Right. And the Maritime Kingdom is ruled by King Eric and Queen Ariel. My Mom and Ariel go way back as friends," Emma added.

"Snow White and the Little Mermaid...now how come Disney never made that movie?" Frankie joked.

"You did see what they did to my parent's story, right?" Emma reminded.

"Very true...I read the book version and the mouse didn't even come close to doing them justice," Joe agreed.

"So King Phillip...we talking the Sleeping Beauty thing?" Frankie questioned.

"Yep and today, they're going with our Aunt Red and Mulan to see if they can get an audience with the Emperor of China...not this Earth's China...but that China," Emma explained. Joe shook his head.

"Mulan...unreal," he said in amazement, as the bell on the diner chimed and Mr. Hyde walked in.

"Mr. Hyde...I see you're back from the Land of Untold Stories. I hope you have good news," Regina stated.

"I do...I was weary about any of the residents that still remain there putting their faith in me. Thankfully, I had the foresight to take Aesop with me," he reported.

"And?" Robin asked.

"They were leery of course, but Aesop used his own experience to convince them. He told them that he too was afraid to resume his own story, but that doing so was the best thing he ever did, because Storybrooke allowed him a fresh start," Hyde replied.

"So...the Land of Untold Stories is on board?" Killian asked. He nodded curtly.

"Yes...thanks to Aesop's help, they are welcoming this new endeavor," Hyde answered.

"That's good news," Regina agreed, with a smile.

"Yeah...and if Mulan's Kingdom is on board, that just leaves the Southern Isles, the Land Without Color, Oz, and Neverland," Emma said.

"Yes and we might as well already count Neverland in. Your parents have a good relationship with Tigerlily and the tribes," Killian added.

"Zelena says that Glinda will likely get on board fairly easily too. Let's hope then Whale has good luck and that the Southern Isles are ruled by a better ruler than Hans," Regina stated.

"Sounds like things are on track," Frankie mentioned.

"Yeah, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Mr. Hyde is the good guy. That's not the book I read, Joe joked. Regina smirked.

"Oh there's always a twist around here," she responded, as they continued to eat and enjoy each other's company.

~*~

The Nine Realms

Midgard or Earth

New Asgard

Rose and Fandral, along with the children, followed Valkyrie and Sif to a modest dwelling within New Asgard.

"I feel I must warn you one more time. He's in quite a state," Sif said, as she turned to them.

"To be fair, I've seen Thor drunk before," Fandral replied, but she gave him a dire look.

"Not like this. No one has ever seen him quite like this," she admonished, as she and Valkyrie went inside. Rose squeezed his hand, as he took a deep breath and their eyes met.

"I'm here, my love...no matter what," she promised, as she kissed his cheek and they followed them inside.

The first thing they noticed was how utterly messy the place was and it appeared that Thor already had company in the form of a couple of creatures, the species of which he was unfamiliar. They all held game controllers and he recognized the devices as items he had seen in Storybrooke in the Charming household around the television.

His old friend, looking as disheveled as he had ever seen, jumped up and cheered in victory, though Fandral could see that the victory was something happening on the screen.

"Yes...the strongest Avenger strikes again," he boasted, as he took another swig of beer and stumbled slightly.

"Okaaay...you were right," Fandral told Sif.

"Out you two," Sif ordered to Korg and Miek.

"But we're on the verge of winning the whole thing," Korg complained.

"He's right...and victory shall be ours!" Thor boasted, as he slammed the beer bottle down and it shattered to pieces.

"Now morons," Valkyrie ordered and the two aliens quickly scurried out of the house. Neither was stupid enough to cross Valkyrie or Sif.

"S'okay...I shall take on this valiant quest alone," Thor slurred drunkenly. Valkyrie rolled her eyes and shut the television off.

"Hey...I'm Thor Odinson, King of Asgard. You can't just turn the King's television off," he complained.

"Sit your drunk…" Valkyrie started say.

"Valkyrie...they're are children present," Sif warned. She looked annoyed by that. Not at the children, but rather at the fact that she had to watch her mouth.

"Just sit," she snapped and he did so, as he finally looked up and saw the people with them. He squinted his eyes and then shook his head, before squinting again. He looked at the beer in his hand with scrutiny.

"Okay...someone definitely spiked this stuff, because now I'm seeing ghosts," he drawled. Fandral sighed.

"You're not seeing a ghost...I'm real," he confirmed, as he knelt down at eye level with his troubled friend.

"But how…" he wondered, as one could practically see the mental gymnastics his brain was performing in trying to figure out exactly how a member of the Warriors Three was alive.

"It's a very long story; one of which I am eager to tell you. But it is also one that you are not sober enough for," Fandral replied. Thor chuckled.

"Yeah...I'm pretty drunk," he agreed, as he looked up and fought the tears in his eyes. Fandral had known him a long time and could see past his bluster and drunken stupor. His oldest friend was in a lot of pain.

"Are they part of your story?" Thor questioned, as clarity started to break through. Thankfully, the ale on Midgard was about as weak as he remembered, compared to that of true Asgardian ale. And that meant Thor would sober up much faster.

"Very much so," Fandral replied.

"Here...coffee," Sif said, as she handed a mug to him.

"Two creams and three sugars?" he asked. She gave him a stern look.

"No black...now drink it," she ordered and he didn't disobey, as he sipped at the scalding liquid. While he was sobering up, they all found chairs and prepared to hear Fandral's tale and learn about the family he had with him.

~*~

New Orleans

2018

Cecily walked along the docks in the reclusive Bayou marina and approached one empty stall, which was being manned by a lone deck hand. The deck hand looked up to see her and looked surprised.

"Ms. Clayton...you're alive," the man said.

"Yes...unlike father, I survived that fiasco in Seattle. I need the submarine. We're leaving this land, Sykes," she replied. He nodded nervously, as he spotted the Military officials with her.

"Something wrong, Major?" Cecily asked the other woman, who seemed glued to her phone.

"The fall out from Seattle is not going away. Social media is still on fire with the whole thing and the news outlets are discussing it to death. The magic is real thing isn't going away," she revealed.

"And it probably won't," Cecily responded.

"There are even civilians conducting expeditions in the woods of Maine, looking for the source. We never mentioned anything in the news about Storybrooke or Maine. How did they even know to explore Maine as a possible source?" she questioned.

"Rumors and whispers of Storybrooke, magic, and its existence, as well as the people that might dwell there have been on the dark web for years now," Cecily answered.

"But trust me, Snow and Charming have the town well protected. They're not going to find anything. There is only two ways into Storybrooke these days, short of an actual curse," Cecily revealed.

"And those are?" the Major questioned.

"Portal or through the barrier. And for that, we'll need mermaid scales, which is what the outer coating of my father's submarine is made of," Cecily answered.

"Fine...where is this submarine?" the Major snapped. Sykes fished something out of a net kept in the water and revealed it to be a control of some kind, obviously waterproof. He pressed a button and a massive submarine surfaced.

"Impressive," the Major stated.

"Tell me, Mr. Sykes, is it?" the Major questioned.

"Yes Ma'am," the nervous, scraggly man replied.

"How does this Submarine know which land to go to?" the Major inquired.

"The Submarine crosses realms through the All World River and the Collector had me program all the significant ones of interest into the GPS system on board," Sykes answered.

"Sykes was my father's technical guru," Cecily confirmed.

"Is that so? Then it's safe to say that you know much about these realms we're about to visit?" the Major questioned.

"Yes Ma'am...I have an entire database on all the realms the Collector ever visited. I also have an entire scope of Storybrooke and complete records of all the prominent members in the town. Add to that, I have the Collector's blueprints of Atlantis and a database of every item and person he ever collected," Sykes revealed. The Major smirked.

"That is excellent news," she stated, as she pulled a gun with a silencer out of her inside jacket pocket and shot Cecily in the head. Sykes put his hands up in surrender.

"Don't worry, Mr. Sykes. You work for me now and will be paid well for your complete cooperation, if so choose," she said. He nodded.

"I'm at your service, ma'am," he agreed.

"Tell me...are these waters infested with alligators?" she questioned. He nodded.

"Heavily, ma'am," he answered.

"Good…" she replied, as she kicked the body into the water. The animals would smell blood and there wouldn't be a body left soon.

"You're now our guide, Mr. Sykes. We have five years to find everything I need to take control of this magic and town concealed from us by the Charmings," she stated. Sykes nodded.

"I helped the Collector build his Empire...I can help you too," Sykes responded, as they boarded the Submarine and left the Land Without Magic.

~*~

While Mulan requested a meeting with the Emperor, Snow, David, the kids, and Red experienced the vibrant and lively Marketplace in the Capital city. Summer and Bobby were enthralled by the sights and sounds, especially the paper dragons and hand crafted lanterns. They got to sample some of the local cuisine too, which they all enjoyed.

It wasn't long before Mulan returned and seemed in good spirits.

"I have presented your request to the Emperor and he has accepted with an invitation for us all to join him for evening meal. He actually seems very eager to meet you," she reported.

"That's wonderful...thank you Mulan. Can you help us with proper attire?" Snow asked. The last thing she wanted to do was offend the Emperor.

"Actually, normally it would be required for you to dress in traditional robes of this land. But since you and David are royal dignitaries, the Emperor requests that you dress in traditional attire from the Kingdom from which you hail. He likes to experience other cultures when he the opportunity arises," she explained.

"Oh, then we'll still need a bit of time to conjure up some with the Chalice," Snow said. Mulan nodded.

"We have been granted a suite in the Emperor's palace," Mulan confirmed.

"Does this mean I have to wear another uncomfortable outfit?" Bobby complained.

"You'll get by," Snow assured, as she ruffled his hair and kissed his cheek.

"Mom…" he complained in embarrassment. David chuckled, as they followed Mulan into the palace and they were led to the suite.

Since Red was Mulan's consort and considered a citizen of the Emperor's Kingdom now, she dressed in a traditional silk Chinese dress, which was red in color, with a pink floral pattern. Mulan shed her armor and exchanged it for the traditional dress uniform that a member of the Chinese army would wear.

Snow chose Charming's red coat for him with his white tunic and black leather pants. And she had a lot of fun putting her son in a mini version of his father's outfit. Bobby endured his mother and Aunt Red gushing over how cute he looked. For Summer, she kept with her daughter's favorite color and chose a beautiful orchid colored gown for her and she and Red enjoyed giving her caramel colored hair princess curls.

Finally, Snow chose a white gown for herself that had a silver sheer overlay, which complimented her husband's attire well. She donned her tiara as well and Mulan led them to the dining hall where they would meet the Emperor.

When they entered, they were met by the steely gaze of the Emperor's top councilor, who looked none too happy about impromptu visitors, especially outsiders.

"Chi-Fu, I present Queen Snow and King David of Misthaven and their children, Princess Summer and Prince Bobby," Mulan announced. Snow and David bowed to the sour looking man and their children followed suit.

"You have been granted an audience with the Emperor, but his dining chamber is no place for children. They can eat in the servants dining nook," he stated.

"No...our children will eat with us," Snow refuted and the man fumed. It was painfully clear that this man not only didn't like outsiders, but he didn't particularly care for women, especially a woman in power.

"You are a visitor on this land...and you do not wield any power here," he refuted.

"Chi-Fu...your attitude dishonors us all and reflects badly on us," a voice said, as they looked behind the man to find a man in golden silk robes with a hat that signified his position of power.

"E...Emperor…" Chi-Fu squeaked, as he bowed deeply.

"The children are most welcome at my dining table," he stated.

"Thank you Emperor," Snow said graciously, as they all gave a deep bow.

"You must excuse Chi-Fu. I am afraid he is very much stuck in the past and chooses tradition over innovation much of the time," the Emperor stated.

"Tradition is important, but not at the price of making us stagnant," he continued.

"We couldn't agree more, Emperor and we are honored that you have accepted our request for a meeting," Snow said graciously. The Emperor gave a small smile.

"We once kept our gates closed tightly to outsiders and we were invaded anyway. Closing our gates only led to fear of outsiders and that is one tradition that I do not want to continue," the Emperor stated.

"I get the feeling that you somehow have an inkling of why we're here," David mentioned. The Emperor nodded at the younger man.

"I have studied ancient scrolls that detail this land's history quite thoroughly and within those scrolls foretells a prophetic future. As we dine, perhaps you will allow me to regale a tale to you that I believe you may find very interesting," the Emperor stated.

"We would love to hear it, Your Majesty," Snow agreed eagerly. The Emperor nodded and began to tell his story.

~*~

Flashback

Rose Red gasped, as she saw the injured man, who had seemingly dropped out of the sky. She had heard of such occurrences though; portals from other places and wondered if this man had come from such. As she got closer, she noticed how serious his wound was and called for the dwarf that lorded over her.

"He might as well be dead already. What do you want me to do about it?" he snapped at the girl.

"No...he's alive! He still draws breath, however faintly. You must heal him with your magic!" she pleaded.

"Oh...and just why would I do that? He has done nothing for me," the dwarf griped.

"Please...I will owe you the favor!" she begged. And the evil dwarf smirked deviously. He had just received word that there was a very rich Lord that wished to have Rose Red's hand in marriage. Just the riches a deal like that could barter him was too tempting and having her owe him ensured that he would benefit greatly.

"Fine stupid girl...I'll save this stranger and then you shall repay me with whatever favor I desire," he growled, as he used his magic and healed the handsome stranger's wound.

As the man opened his eyes, Rose was captivated by the bluest eyes she had ever seen. The stranger saw the beautiful woman kneeling over him and was also captivated by her beauty.

"Where...where am I?" he asked.

"You are in my garden...you were gravely injured. I bartered a favor from this dwarf to heal your wound," she replied. His brow furrowed.

"But you don't even know me? Why would help me?" he asked in awe. She looked down shyly.

"I could not let you die…" she said, as he sat up and their hands brushed, as an electricity passed between them.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Rose Red…" she answered.

"I am Fandral of Asgard...or at least I was," he introduced himself, as he stood up and towered over her.

"Was?" she asked.

"I'm afraid Asgard is gone...I was fatally wounded in an apocalyptic battle or so I thought," he replied.

"You must have fallen through a portal as your world collapsed," she surmised.

"And then you saved my life," he added.

"It seemed like the honorable thing to do," she said, as they stared at each other.

~*~

"And that's how I found myself in a new land. As far as we can figure, a portal was opened up as Asgard collapsed and I fell through it into the All World River, which would have killed a normal sentient being. But somehow, I clung to life, though unconscious and was deposited into the realm I now call my home," he explained.

"Extraordinary. We always suspected there were more than our nine realms, but never knew for sure," Sif stated.

"And you've been there for over twenty years now?" Valkyrie questioned.

"Yes...we have learned that time passes much faster in our realm than some others," he replied, as he looked at his wife.

"Rose and I fell in love, defeated her evil Uncle and took back her Kingdom from him, and started a family," he added. Sif smiled gently.

"I see that...care to properly introduce us?" she asked.

"Of course, this is my wife, Queen Rose Red, our eldest daughter Carina, and our twins Benjamin and Arianna," he said.

"A pleasure to meet all of you, though you seem to know quite a lot about us. And you seem to have knowledge of what has happened here. How is that possible?" Sif asked.

"My Kingdom has been tasked with guarding and maintaining the Library of Story for all the realms, a responsibility tasked to us by the Goddess Hermes. She even granted me an Asgardian lifespan so that I could live as long as Fandral and our children," Rose answered.

"Naturally, I became curious about the fates of those that survived Ragnarok and we retrieved the storybook for this realm. And to our horror, that's when we learned about the snap," he stated, watching his old friend, who had been silent, carefully.

"We wanted to come sooner, but I couldn't risk my family while that monster was still alive," Fandral explained.

"A wise decision," Thor finally spoke and Sif noticed the tension.

"Perhaps a tour of New Asgard is in order for Rose and the children," she suggested. Rose smiled and nodded.

"That would be lovely," she agreed, as she gave her husband a quick, encouraging gaze, before shuffling the children out, leaving Fandral and Thor alone.

"You have a beautiful family…" Thor mentioned, which brought a smile to Fandral's face.

"Thank you...they're my life," he agreed.

"As they should be," Thor agreed in return.

"I'm sorry...I thought that everyone was lost. I didn't come back…" Fandral started to say, but Thor put his hand up.

"You don't have to apologize for being happy and finding a life. I am happy for you," Thor said and Fandral's shoulders relaxed a bit in relief.

"Do you really think I would begrudge you such?" Thor questioned.

"No...I guess I'm just dealing with a bit of guilt since learning what really happened after Ragnarok. First, I was overjoyed that some of our people survived and that you killed Hela. And then…" Fandral said, trailing off.

"Thanos...you couldn't have known and by the time you did, judging by the difference in the passage of time, you had a family already," Thor replied.

"I know...Rose says I have survivor's guilt," he added. Thor smiled slightly.

"A friend told me that I have the same, especially since I could have stopped him," Thor added, as he got up and looked out the window, before turning back.

"I had him...I was so close to stopping him. I had my axe in his chest!" Thor ranted.

"You couldn't have known exactly what he was going to do," Fandral reminded.

"Oh but I did. He had all the stones and I could have cut the head off the monster himself, but I didn't," Thor responded.

"And when I did...it was too late. The damage was already done," he lamented.

"But you can still live. You can help other survivors move on," Fandral advised.

"How can I help them when I can't help myself?" Thor questioned brokenly. Fandral put a hand on his shoulder.

"Because I'll be there to help you," he assured. Thor smiled slightly.

"I appreciate that, my friend. But you have a family to care for and from what I hear, a Kingdom to protect now," he replied.

"And you have the bi-frost and I know a Goddess that can bring me here for frequent visits. Travel is not all that difficult between the realms anymore," Fandral said.

"I am not good company," Thor warned. Fandral chuckled.

"I'm familiar with your moods and I assure you that my wife and children can cheer up even the saddest sack," Fandral mused.

"Well then...perhaps we join that tour and I get to know your family," Thor suggested. Fandral smiled.

"An excellent idea," Fandral agreed, as they left the house.

~*~

And when the dust settled and the Gods finally banished the vicious and evil Typhon, there was peace in the realms for a time. But the damage was done. The battle was so catastrophic and so earth shattering that all the lands had been severed and broken apart from each other. Portals had swallowed up many of the lands and scattered them across the stars of their sector. Now, instead of one realm with many Kingdoms, they now had ten realms and a division that was never intended. But not even the Gods had the power to repair this.

However, Athena decreed a prophecy on that day that there would be hope. She prophesied that there would one day be a pair with the power to reunite the realms and end the division. They would not be Gods, but mortals that shared an incredible true love and many of the Gods scoffed at such a notion. But one Goddess did not, for she knew it would come to pass. The Goddess Aphrodite knew that one day, she could champion a pair with a love so powerful that they would bring light to the darkness and unite all. They would be hold the greatest amount of light magic ever and in turn create such magic into a bloodline that would flourish.

~*~

"Then it was this creature, Typhon, that caused all the realms to break apart?" Snow questioned with fascination.

"Yes...mother Gaia bore him from Tartarus itself as revenge for the Gods imprisoning the Titans and killing the Giants. He was so powerful that the Gods knew they could not kill him," the Emperor regaled.

"So they banished him," David surmised. The Emperor nodded.

"They suspended him with a powerful spell and then cast him into Oceanus where he would remain suspended for all eternity in the harsh oblivion of the All World River," he continued.

"And the prophecy...you think it speaks of us?" Snow questioned. The Emperor smiled gently.

"You and your husband seek to do just what the prophecy says, do you not?" he questioned in return. They exchanged a glance and then nodded.

"Yes Emperor…" David answered.

"There was a time that my ancestors thought that it would be your predecessors that would do this. But I am afraid, as powerful as their love was, they were not the ones chosen for this. But I believe, after everything the two of you have faced and accomplished, that you will be the ones to reunite the realms," he stated.

"Then we would be honored if your Kingdom agreed to be a part of the United Realms," Snow said eloquently. He smiled.

"My people and I will be honored," he said.

"Sire...are you sure this is a wise move?" Chi-Fu questioned.

"I know how leery you are of outsiders, Chi-Fu, but inclusion breeds ignorance. We learned that when the Huns almost destroyed us and we will not make the same mistake again," the Emperor decreed.

"We will join the United Realms and forge a prosperous path to a new future," he added. They smiled.

"Thank you Emperor…we are truly honored," Snow said graciously.

"The honor is mine," the Emperor said, as Bobby whispered something to his father. David smiled.

"Emperor...my son would like to ask you a question," David said.

"Of course young one, please," he replied.

"Can you tell us about the war with the Huns?" Bobby requested.

"Certainly...we faced a threat to our way of life in the form of Shan Yu. Now, there was once a Shan Yu that served in the Dragon King's army, over a thousand years ago. But when he betrayed the King, he was cast out and his descendants swore revenge for their leader's punishment," the Emperor said.

"They were exiled to Mongolia and their hatred of our Kingdom was harbored for a thousand years until Shan Yu's descendant, a man of the same name in honor of the man they considered their greatest leader, rose up and invaded us," he continued.

"Fortunately, thanks in large part to Mulan, he did not succeed," the Emperor said.

"Can you tell us more about the Dragon King and Queen?" Bobby requested. The Emperor chuckled.

"Our children love their stories," Snow said, smiling at him.

"As do I. It is not often that I find someone that wants to listen to my telling of the ancient scrolls. But yes, I can tell you much about those ancient times," the Emperor said, as he continued to regale them with tales.

~*~

"You know, I don't see why this is necessary. I'm fine," Emma complained, as she sat on her sister's exam table.

"Your heart was poisoned," Eva reminded, as they waited for the results of Emma's routine blood tests.

"But you just said that physically I'm in perfect shape," the blonde complained.

"And you are, but I want to make sure your insides are just as healthy. You may have been cured, but you know magic can be tricky. Just humor me, please," Eva replied.

"Mom and Dad put you up to this, didn't they?" Emma questioned.

"Maybe...but I would have wanted to do it even if they didn't suggest it, so hush," Eva retorted. Emma huffed impatiently.

"Honestly, you're a worse patient than Leo and that's saying something," Eva chided.

"You know I hate hospitals," Emma retorted, but Eva just shook her head at his older sister's antics, as the nurse delivered the test results. Eva took them and began looking them over.

"So…?" Emma asked.

"Everything is normal," Eva replied.

"Told you…" Emma said, as she grabbed her jacket and noticed the beaming smile on her sister's face.

"Except one anomaly," Eva said.

"What? What anomaly? And why are you smiling like you just one the lottery?" Emma asked.

"Because you, big sister, are pregnant…" Eva announced, bringing a look of shock to Emma's face.

"What?" she questioned.

"You heard me," Eva replied.

"But...I don't really have any symptoms at all!" Emma cried.

"I mean, I've felt a bit sick here and there, but nothing like I was with Henry. I was barfing all the time with him," she replied. Eva shrugged.

"All pregnancies are different. Remember, Mom could barely get out of the bathroom with Summer and then the morning sickness she had with Bobby was fairly mild," Eva reminded.

"Yeah...wow…" Emma said, letting it sink in.

"Are you happy?" Eva asked, watching a smile slowly eclipse her sister's face.

"Uh...yeah I am," she realized, as they hugged.

"Congratulations...when are you going to tell Killian?" Eva asked.

"Tonight I guess...and Mom and Dad will be over the moon, I know," she replied. Eva nodded.

"Oh yeah...another grand baby for them to spoil," the younger said with a laugh, just as Whale came in.

"There you are," he said, addressing Emma.

"Excuse me, but she's my patient and you can't just barge in here," Eva scolded him.

"Easy mini Snow...it's important," Whale replied. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Well, since you're back, then you must have news from the Land Without Color?" Emma questioned, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Uh yeah...I kind of blew it. Turns out, they all still pretty much hate me and think I'm some kind of mad scientist," Whale responded.

"You are," Emma reminded. Whale winced.

"Fair point, but maybe this is for the best. They're all scared of anything they don't understand. I'm not sure they'll ever accept any of this," he stated.

"Maybe...but I think we should give it one more try and this time Eva and Paul should go with you," Emma suggested.

"Us?" Eva asked in surprise.

"Yeah...you're both doctors too. And you have magic and amazing healing abilities. You can show them that this is a land of opportunity and they have nothing to fear," Emma replied.

"What makes you think she and Paul can convince them when I couldn't?" Whale asked.

"Because you're you," Emma deadpanned.

"Another fair point...well, I'll be off then," Whale said, intending to head for the Rabbit Hole.

"Wrong Frankenstein...you're going with them and the three of you leave in the morning," Emma said. Eva nodded.

"Fun...a trip with Whale. I'll go tell Paul. He'll be thrilled," Eva said sarcastically, as she went to find her husband.

"Hey...I'm a lot of fun!" Whale claimed. Emma rolled her eyes and walked out of the exam room, thinking about her news. She smiled from ear to ear and left to the hospital in search of Killian to tell him her news.

[tabloidtoc]

TV Guide, April 12-25

Cover: Secrets of WWE Legends

Page 1: Contents, Your Feedback

Page 2: Ask Matt -- Grey's Anatomy and COVID, thirtysomething, Saturday Night at the Movies

* Coming Next Issue -- in TV Guide's April 26 issue, check in with The CW's original big-hearted Kryptonian hero, Kara Danvers, aka Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) to learn more about what's in store for the action-packed series' sixth and final season

Page 4: TV Insider -- 25 top shows

Page 5: First Look -- for season 25, Antiques Roadshow brings its fact-spouting appraisers to anxious owners of vintage pieces who just happen to be celebrities, like Carla Hall with expert Katy Kane

* The Show We're Talking About in the Office -- The Nevers

* The Big Number -- 1,187 total captures resulting from America's Most Wanted tipsters and the debut of Fox's AMW reboot helped with the latest, a violent carjacker nabbed after a viewer called Colorado police

Page 8: Family Room -- shows both adults and kids will love

Page 10: The Roush Review -- Mare of Easttown

Page 11: The Serpent, Back, Chad

Page 12: Cover Story -- Lords of the Ring -- A&E's Biography profiles 8 of professional wrestling's most revered and in some cases reviled Hall of Famers -- preview the WWE Legends' jaw-dropping reveals, notorious rivalries and most fun facts -- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper

Page 13: "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Booker T, Best of the Rest -- Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, Ultimate Warrior, Bret "Hitman" Hart

Page 14: Jumping Through Hoops -- John Stamos plays a former college basketball coach getting a second chance leading a team of high school girls on Big Shot

Page 16: What's Worth Watching -- Week 1 -- Alan Cumming on Prodigal Son

Page 17: Monday, April 12 -- Barry Shabaka Henley on Bob Hearts Abishola, Jeopardy! with guest host Aaron Rodgers, Small Sacrifices, Breeders, Miz & Mrs

Page 18: Tuesday, April 13 -- Big Sky, The Resident, Finding Your Roots with John Lithgow, Star Trek, Our Towns

Page 19: Wednesday, April 14 -- The Last Picture Show, The Big Interview With Dan Rather -- Lady A's Hillary Scott and her husband Chris Tyrrell, Tough as Nails, Game of Talents, The Conners, Bargain Block, Forged in Fire, Call Your Mother, I Survived a Crime

Page 20: Thursday, April 15 -- John Cena on Wipeout, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Mom, Taxi

Page 22: Friday, April 16 -- Tricia Helfer on Van Helsing, Days of Our Lives, MacGyver, Blue Bloods

* Saturday, April 17 -- The Beverly Hillbillies, Pit Bulls & Parolees, Right in Front of Me

Page 23: Sunday, April 18 -- Sunday Today With Willie Geist, 56th Academy of Country Music Awards, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Confronting a Serial Killer, WWE's Most Wanted Treasures, Couples Therapy

Page 24-37: TV listings

Page 38: Stream It! Your guide to the very best streaming available -- Netflix -- Five Can't Miss Movies -- Concrete Cowboy, Sky High, The Stand In, Thunder Force, A Week Away

Page 39: Shadow and Bone, Stream the Oscar Nominees --- Mank, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Pieces of a Woman, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Hillbilly Elegy, The White Tiger

Page 40: Prime Video -- Frank of Ireland, Stream the Oscar Nominees -- Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, One Night in Miami, Sound of Metal, Time, Oxygen -- stream serial killer week -- Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer, Living With a Serial Killer, Murders at the Boarding House

Page 41: Hulu -- Sasquatch, Stream the Oscar Nominees -- Another Round, The Mole Agent, Nomadland, The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Page 42: New Movie Releases

Page 43: Series, Specials & Documentaries

Page 44: What's Worth Watching -- Week 2 -- Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor on Great Performances: Romeo & Juliet

Page 45: Monday, April 19 -- 9-1-1, Quantum Leap, 9-1-1: Lone Star, American Oz, All Rise, American Dad!, The Secrets She Keeps

Page 46: Tuesday, April 20 -- NCIS, Queen Sugar, Cruel Summer, Philly D.A., Hustle & Tow, The Walking Dead: World Beyond

Page 47: Wednesday, April 21 -- S.W.A.T., Chicago P.D., Married at First Sight: Unmatchables

Page 48: Thursday, April 22 -- Kingdom of the Polar Bears, Earth Day Takeover, Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World, Last Man Standing, 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards, Big Trick Energy

Page 49: Friday, April 23 -- The Young and the Restless, Doing the Most With Phoebe Robinson

* Saturday, April 24 -- Yannick Bisson on Murdoch Mysteries, House Hunters, Iyanla: Fix My Life

Page 50: Sunday, April 25 -- Air Disasters, The 93rd Oscars, Autopsy: The Last Hours of Anthony Bourdain, 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?, Top Gear

Page 52-73: TV listings

Page 76: Cheers & Jeers -- cheers to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Breeders, Netflix for giving weekly drops another shot, Debris, jeers to American Idol, Hallmark for leaving Home & Family behind, Lifetime for capitalizing on a royal mess

[ruluxe]

Scaultrite City

Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender Pairing: Lance/Loving Himself, Lance/Original Character Characters: Lance, Original Characters Tags: Aliens, Comedy, Lance-centric, Kissing, Marriage Proposal, Gift Fic Summary: Lance rescues a small ice planet from the Galra and its prince wants to thank him in a very peculiar way. Notes: My dear Tom asked me to write a fic where Lance gets appreciated, perhaps by a gorgeous alien prince. I hope I did their request justice. Love ya babe!

Read on Ao3

Lance cautiously follows the royal guard down the long stretch of hallway towards the throne room. They're dressed in long, heavy robes made from what looks like crushed velvet, soft blue in colour and fastened together with holo buttons. They march robotically, carrying slender poles that resemble a wizard’s staff, complete with an opalescent orb caged within a crystal claw.

The castle walls are made of glistening scaultrite. He remembers the ordeal Keith once had to go through to get some and wonders just how they managed to harvest this much from the belly of a weblum.

“You could make a thousand giant teluduvs out of this castle,” he says brightly, hoping to break the uncomfortable silence. The guards do not regard him.

He stops abruptly as they halt at a giant door, one tall enough to fit the whole of Voltron through. There are knockers made of scaultrite too and as one of the guards leans forward to lightly tap one against the door, Lance begins to get nervous. For once in his life he feels like his wit and charm might not be useful in this situation, he’s already tried a number of times. It isn't until another royal guard pokes it's pale grey face out a small and round peep door inside the larger one that Lance's mood lightens. He feels like he's seen this comical movement somewhere before.

They speak to each other in a foreign language, a series of mechanical whirs and clacks that sound more like heavy machinery struggling to start up rather than words that have any meaning. The guard behind the door shifts its beady black eyes towards Lance and then nods in understanding before shutting the smaller door.

He suddenly begins to sweat profusely under his paladin armour despite the frosty atmosphere. Lance tries to convince himself that this could only mean good things, but the guards’ stiffness doesn't put him at ease. He begins chewing on his bottom lip as the guards usher him inside. It’s funny that no matter how many times he's done this before, doing it alone makes this so much more nerve-wracking.

There’s a long swoosh and a booming thud, the sounds of a big and heavy deadbolt sliding to unlock. The doors open with a loud whining creak and Lance follows their lead.

Inside the throne room, guards form a line on either side of a navy carpet, stretching the distance of this very large space. They’re dressed differently in here, with tall garish caps and chin straps to hold them in place. Their robes are just as long but the collars resemble white feather boas and the cuffs remind Lance of faux fur hand muffs. Their weapons are spears made from scaultrite with tips so sharp they could pierce through the thickest of armour. None of them look at Lance, but rather through him as he walks. Like statues. It gives him the chills.

“Welcome,” a voice calls, silken and soft. It echoes off the hollowed walls.

Lance startles, it’s the first bit of English he’s heard since arriving on this planet, other than the slurs and curses of the Galran fleet he took out moments ago.

His eyes find the throne. It’s huge and jagged points make it look like an iceberg jutting out from the Arctic Ocean. Also made of scaultrite.

“No surprise there,” Lance mutters under his breath. Then his eyes fall to the being occupying it.

He expected to find a short, pudgy alien, like the rest of the residents in the city. They, like the guards, are slightly different in appearance, a light grey compared to the sickly, almost translucent colour of occupants outside the kingdom. Their faces are round like small moons, their irises pinprick black floating around mercury-like sclera but otherwise humanoid features. One nose, one mouth, normal teeth and oddly enough, human ears. It’s kind of jarring to look at, even though he’s seen his fair share of extraterrestrials.

Their leader, however, is much different.

He is strikingly handsome, with silvery skin and flowing white hair. His irises are an icy blue, stark against the dark sclera. Just under his eyes bear the mark of an Altean, though these are crystalline, dug deep into the leader’s cheekbones unnaturally and catch the light like the rest of the castle. Lance can't help but shudder with a peculiar intrigue. His ears are pointed and peek through strands of his hair, which Lance wonders if they are also in homage to the race. Atop the leader’s head is a scaultrite crown with five high points resembling shards of glass. In the front centre is the highest and widest, adorned with a large opalescent gem. He wears a long, midnight blue mantle over a futuristic looking bodysuit that looks and shines like it was made from mithril. It’s fashionable, Lance will admit, but practical and comfortable? He doubts it.

“I am Prince Oz,” he declares, rising from his throne.

Lance snorts and hysterical laughter follows. He knows now why everything had felt so familiar to him.

The prince cocks his head in confusion. “Why do you laugh?” he asks, his mouth quirking into a smile.

Lance tries to stifle it before he gets into trouble but can’t help himself. “Your name is Oz. Like the Oz? As in the Wizard of Oz?”

The smile drops from his face as he shakes his head, his brows knit pensively. “I do not know this wizard you speak of. In this kingdom, there is only one Oz and it is I, the great and powerful.”

“Yeah huh,” Lance agrees with a nod as he fights off another laughing fit. “It’s nice to meet you, Prince Oz, the great and powerful.” He bows as the prince steps down and suddenly that anxious knot is back and Lance has to wonder if these aliens are versed in linguistic nuance. All jokes aside, he must be serious now otherwise he’ll probably be beheaded before Blue can crash through this scaultrite palace to rescue him.

The prince takes his gloved hand and kisses it, and heat flushes Lance's cheeks. “I had my guards bring you here to thank you for saving our city. It has been under the Galra’s control for too long. We fought back at first but many of my people suffered and died at their hands.”

Lance stands, watches with confusion as the prince circles around him, skimming his long fingers along his paladin armour.

“You must be a very brave warrior on your planet. We have heard the legends of Voltron but have always wondered if our kingdom was too far out of its reach. For you to travel so far through thousands of galaxies to save our home from the Galra’s clutches says a lot about your character, paladin —”

The prince stops, slides his fingers under Lance's chin. They're surprisingly smooth and cool against the heat of his skin. Oz looks at him expectantly and realisation dawns on him.

“Lance,” he squawks, instantly chastising himself for producing such an undignified sound in front of royalty.

Oz tips his chin and smiles. Lance can see his reflection in the scaultrite boomerangs under the prince’s eyes.

“Lance… what a lovely name.”

Lance's heart is thudding in his chest. He isn't sure if he's flattered or terrified or a little bit of both. He laughs nervously, feet cemented to the scaultrite floor. “Thanks… And the whole saving your planet thing well, it was really nothing,” he says as modestly as possible but it sounds just as boastful as anything that comes out of his mouth.

“I beg to differ,” says the prince, coming full circle to stand in front of him. Lance hadn't realised how tall the other was before now. Not when his words are softly spoken and his height is quite clearly being used for intimidation. “Which is why I have prepared a feast in your honour to not only commemorate your bravery but to celebrate our union.”

Lance physically feels his eyes bulge out of their sockets and his heart jumps into his throat. “Our what?!” he chokes, leaping a step back away from the prince.

Oz smiles once again and though he's still gorgeous, his facial expressions are beginning to look a lot more nefarious. Even downright eerie. “Our union, of course. Your level of courage will be a quality that my people must learn to aspire to and my excellence will continue to expand this beautiful city until we are a force to be reckoned with. Together we will lead Scaultrite City — and possibly the universe — to greatness.”

Lance forces down the panic quickly rising from his gut. He isn't quite sure how to get out of this. “Uh, look man —” He stops himself in an attempt to smooth out the tremble in his voice but he also reminds himself that he is speaking with royalty. He clears his throat again after shooting a nervous glance over his shoulder. The guards are still in their places and have yet to start closing in. Even the prince remains at the foot of his throne. “I’m sorry, Prince Oz, but I can't marry you. I also can't stay here on your planet. I have a family back on my home planet that I miss a lot. My sister Veronica, my brothers Luis and Marco. My parents and grandparents. Besides, I already have some—”

Again Lance stops himself from finishing the sentence with someone I love. He has no idea how the prince would react to that. Instead, he says, “— other planets I have to rescue from the Galra.” He ends up puffing out his chest, if intentional he'll never really know. “Voltron needs me. They'd be lost without my mad skills.”

The prince stares at him in what Lance hopes is quiet consideration. He's sure if he makes it out alive, this will definitely be a story to tell, though he'll make sure he leaves out the part where he was so terrified at one point, he probably would have peed his pants.

Finally, after what seemed like one thousand decaphoebs, the prince nods. “I agree, Lance. It would be truly selfish of me to steal you away from your duties as a valiant paladin of Voltron. You must continue your mission.”

Lance shakes his head in shock. He doesn't think he heard right. “Are you serious? You're letting me go, just like that?”

It's the prince's turn to shake his head and he begins closing the distance between them. “I do not hold you captive, Lance. You are free to leave at any time.”

“But what about our union?” Lance blurts. He scolds himself internally for not being able to think before he speaks. He backs away from the prince as he gets closer when he hears a commotion behind him and his back hits against something preventing him from moving any further. His heart starts to race and his blood runs cold knowing that the guards behind him have just blocked his only exit and this is about to get real dangerous. Lance wonders if he should try and reach out to Blue but part of him feels guilty already at the thought of the lion destroying the castle to get to him. It is truly a stunningly marvellous building.

The prince leans forward and he takes Lance's head in his hands. He's even more beautiful up close. His hands are smooth as they caress Lance's skin, igniting a fire in Lance's cheeks. Despite the gentle motion, Lance is frightened, and his eyes squeeze shut as he tries to concentrate on calling out to his lion.

However, the link is broken when he feels the plush push of lips against his own. His heart stops for a minute, either out of terror or some other emotion he isn't quite sure has a name. His petrification only eases from here on out, beginning in the tips of his toes. A tingling warmth meanders through his icy veins, and Lance can't explain it himself but he finds himself embracing the kiss, gently grasping at the prince's cloak. He has no idea what he's doing.

The kiss doesn't last longer than a dobash, at least he thinks so. Lance isn't sure if he's disappointed or relieved by that fact. Either way, when their lips part, Lance is left in a hazy and wanting state. He has half a mind to chase that heat right back to the prince's mouth.

Luckily, the prince speaks.

“It is an open invitation shall you return. It was an honour to meet you, paladin Lance. I hope one day we meet again.”

Lance can feel the heat radiating off his entire body, certain that he'd melt ice should he be near it. He's rendered speechless, and happily so, lest he make a fool out of himself saying any number of things that would get him into trouble.

The prince turns on his heel and walks gracefully up the stairs to his throne. Lance watches in awe before stammering, “It��� It was uh, very nice to m-meet a great and powerful prince like yourself.”

Gone is the resistance at his back and as Oz sits, Lance catches one more of his smiles, this one more genuine than the rest. “And never will again, I fancy. There is only one of I and I am it.”

Lance nods, feigning understanding, and turns to leave the throne room. The guards are back to lining a walkway, silent and statuesque for their tiny, fat bodies. The door is closed and there is no doorman in sight. Lance's anxiety returns.

“Uh,” he asks shakily, running his hand through his hair. “How do I get out of here?”

“All you must to do is to knock on the door three times and command the wormhole created to carry you wherever you wish to go,” Oz calls from his throne.

Lance turns to face the prince and almost laughs. “Are you saying I've gotta tap three times and repeat 'there's no place like home ’?”

“If home is where you desire,” replies Oz. The marks on his face Lance had assumed were fake until now begin to glow as he places both hands over orbs on the armrests of his throne Lance had failed to notice before. Maybe he was some form of an alternate universe Altean after all.

He marvels for a moment, even more in awe than before. This is probably simultaneously the coolest and weirdest thing that's ever happened to him since this journey began. It makes him think of home, where there are vast valleys of green and blue skies with the fluffiest of clouds; crystal blue oceans and the people he loves most. Where things move at a slower pace but that's okay because he'd get to savour the moments. Yet he knows if he had never come here, he would never have found his place in the world, would have never have known what it's like to be part of a team that needs him. A universe that needs him. He would have never come to value his own self-worth.

So, as desperate as he is to go home to be with his family, Lance does not knock three times and wish for that. Instead, he closes his eyes and thinks of his other family, and the home he's found in them.

And he knocks.

[sleemo]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi European Premiere Live Stream Details for Dec 12th

— Filmoria.co.uk

Attending from the movie:

Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega,

Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson,

Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran,

Laura Dern, Benicio Del Toro, Joonas Suotamo

Kathleen Kennedy, Ram Bergman (Producers)

Rian Johnson (Writer/director)

Special guests attending include:

Frank Oz, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Tom Daley, Simon Pegg, Dermot O’leary,

Adwoa Aboah, Alexa Chung, Tess Daly, Vernon Kay,

Leigh Francis, Sharon Horgan, Jonathan Ross

The European Premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the highly anticipated next chapter of the Skywalker Saga, will take place at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall tomorrow, Tuesday 12thDecember 2017.

To mark this special occasion, a special premiere show will be live streamed on the night in partnership with O2, giving fans around the world the opportunity to watch all the red carpet action, starting at 5pm GMT:

https://www.facebook.com/StarWars.UK

https://www.youtube.com/StarwarsUK

The event will benefit the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry and will be attended by the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry. The Royal Foundation has invited more than 400 young people, military veterans and volunteers who have taken part its programmes to join Their Royal Highnesses at the Premiere. There will be representatives from Coach Core, Full Effect, and military programmes such as the Endeavour Fund. The premiere will be an opportunity to recognise and celebrate people who have worked so hard to change their lives and the lives of others.

On behalf of the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, The Royal Foundation has also invited some of the families who were affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy, alongside representatives of the local fire services and the charities and organisations who are now helping them recover and try to rebuild their lives.

The Royal Albert Hall is being specially transformed into an IMAX® theatre for this one-night-only event.

In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of the UK’s biggest film of all time, The Force Awakens, join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is written and directed by Rian Johnson and produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman. J.J. Abrams, Tom Karnowski and Jason McGatlin are the executive producers.

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI will be released in cinemas on Thursday 14th December 2017