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fishtail-tavra · 1 year ago

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Dreamed of 1980’s animated adaptation of Age of Resistance (in the style of the last unicorn) and to be honest it was super fun

They pushed everything into one, hour and a half movie, so a lot of things that were secrets weren’t anymore and the set up got changed to move things right to the climax-

So everyone knows the Skeksis are evil and eating people, but the Skeksis are holding everyone hostage saying the Dark Crystal will die without them (taking all of Thra with it) and THEY will die without Gelfling essence, so from the very start tithes include sacrifices and the retuning of the drained people and

In my dream I cared more about the gays though, meaning Tavra and Onica.

Tavra got introduced arriving late to some big party Mayrin was hosting for the visiting Skeksis- no actually, it was for Brea? Some kind of coming of age thing?- anyway, Tavra trips and falls on her face coming in the doors and everyone’s very O_O; except her sisters who are already running over to say hi

She tripped though bc she saw ONICA in the crowd, disguised, and there were a lot of shots of her in the background during the main action of the party, looking worried and discreetly talking with Totally Not Onica while spilling things on herself absentmindedly or having to get tugged out of the way gently by Onica before she runs into/got run into by someone else

(there’s a morning scene later where we see them in bed together- very PG- both still fully dressed bc Tavra was up most of the night worrying- but Onica is watching Tavra sleep now, reaching out to touch her recently shortened hair (more on that later), and Tavra wakes up from that, smiling, and it’s the first time in the movie we see her really smile so)

In my dream I was mostly busy looking at screen caps and gifs of these two, but there was other changes I had fun with, like BADASS ARCHER NAIA

Naia showing up at the last big battle-

(right before the Skeksis get spooked into unleash the garthim and the clans all scatter desperately hoping at least one Gelfling survives the slaughter long enough to fulfil the Far-Dream that Onica led them into dreaming together blah blah)

-with this MASSIVE bow, bigger than she is, (lots of cool shots of her arms and back muscles whenever she drew it) and to fire the thing she actually needs to be either standing on something (usually her brother) (or one time both Kylan and Amri stood in for a single Gurjin) or she needs to be airborne

She and Gurjin had this trick where he’d kneel down and she’d run and jump on him, he’d boost her up, and she’d use her wings to slow her fall long enough to get off a shot or two before landing again

She didn’t used it to kill anyone (except Arathim) bc movie Naia still was big on not having the Mystics as collateral damage for stopping the Skeksis,

But she did get a few really dramatic shots- once shattering a Skeksis’s jeweled staff when they were using it to hypnotized and then almost kill someone- and another where (after her own bow got broken) she picks up urVa’s bow (MUCH bigger than hers) and uses her legs while lying on the ground wounded to shoot a flask of essence out of a skeksis hand before they can drink it

In this adaption though Brea is the one who really gets the rebellion kicking, still by reading something, but not a book this time

The movie had Brea going through the trial by wing that her grandmother started as like a coming of age/proof of power to rule kinda thing, where the women who lead the Vapra have to fly the dangerous winds of Raunip’s Pass alone, reach this one high spot where Raunip left an inscription, read it and bring back a stone from the pile siting nearby

This rock pile and inscribed stone is actually the movie version of Lore,

only this time Lore was created by ye oldie Tavra (Raunip’s Friend) to keep her friend Raunip company long after she was dead, and as a way to show no hard feelings for the fight they had over the UrSkeks.

But when Raunip left for the last time (passing through the mountains of Tavra’s home and what would later get named Raunip’s pass) he left Lore behind in the cliffs overlooking Ha’rar, so the Dream-Stitched stone could watch over Tavra’s people even after he was gone

This choked me up every time dream me saw a dream post about it ngl

Anyway, Seladon the 1st, Mayrin, Seladon the 2nd, and Tavra had all just flown up there, seen some old oddly etched rocks, the dedication from Raunip to his friend Tavra, shrugged and grabbed a rock before leaving

(the size of the rock you could manage to haul back was also part of the trial and Seladon was feeling both worried for ‘airheaded’ Brea and insecure knowing her little sister was probably going to bring back a larger stone than Seladon- with her crooked wing- had felt safe carrying)

Only Brea actually takes an interest the ancient writing and the symbols and the odd carvings and she gets distracted clearing away some dirt and rubble

underneath she finds the Dream-Stitching, activates it, gets a lore dump from ye oldie Tavra’s memories AND gets Lore itself to wake up, when it turns out to be able to play recordings of Raunip’s voice etched into stone- Tavra’s real gift to him, a way for him to Dream-Stitch his memories and be remembered even without vliya- so Brea ALSO gets all of RAUNIP’S fears and confessions about his involvement with the second great conjunction and the UrSkeks and the shattering and how things have gone downhill since then and

Brea’s family is getting increasingly worried she’s taking so long, what if she got smashing on the rocks by the winds, what if she’s hurt and needs help-

and the Skeksis get a chance to be evil and manipulative commenting that if Brea isn’t strong enough to follow in her grandmother’s flight path then maybe it’s the will of Thra that she fails this challenge and never comes home

I think I remember this being one of those moments where you can see everyone’s different reactions in a single frame, and it went something like Mayrin: devastated, Seladon: flinching and cringing, Tavra: looking absolutely murderous.

This is when Tavra steps forward and when questioned says she’s going to go look for her sister, since it was the will of Thra that they BE sisters in the first place, and Seladon hesitates before also saying she’ll go with Tavra

But that’s when Brea comes home with an entire rock monster and sort of accidentally starts a rebellion by asking questions, so

The night BEFORE this, the party scene, with the tithing and the prepping Brea for her big day, there had been this moment when the drained Gelflings were returned home, and Mira was one of them

And so Rian had come too, because up until this moment the “crystal anointed” were kept in seclusion, hooded and veiled, to keep a general panic from breaking out, and they only were released back to their own family in the clan they came from

(an information isolation tactic, to help the Skeksis spread rumors of each clan paying more than the other, or of their offered Gelfling being less worthy of the Crystal’s light and THAT’S why they are Like That Now, but the other clans aren’t being effected, no no no it’s totally just you, and you’re also having to give more people because the richer clans are paying more in tithes to send fewer offerings, so really the ones you should be mad at are the OTHER CLANS, not the Skeksis, the Skeksis don’t care how they get their sacrifices, the Skeksis only care about maintaining the Crystal that maintains all life on Thra obviously-)

Rian followed them to Ha’rar (with Gurjin) (and Naia because Naia’s not letting her twin go off into maybe danger without her) to finally reunite with Mira, but she’s been SO badly drained he barely recognizes her and she DOESN’T recognize him,

Cue very sad scene of Rian trying to help her remember, and after a bit she does reach out to dreamfast, like its instinct, only nothing happens, and Naia (the healer) checks and declares she doesn’t have enough vliya to dreamfast with- in fact, she doesn’t have enough to stay alive with, even. She isn’t just old and drained looking. She’s dying.

Rian is horrified, Rian breaks down, Rian shouts at the Skeksis while crying and holding Mira close,

The Skeksis don’t like that and we get a fun dramatic party screeches to a halt scene as the General gets up and draws his sword

Dream me thought it was very fun that Gurjin still got his hero moment, causing a distraction by taking on the castle guards that came here with the Skeksis so Rian could get Mira away

(also callback to the first movie, with a drained and totally out of it Mira still managing to break her and Rian’s fall with her wings when he has to throw them off a cliff)

(he totally thought they were gonna die together and was fine with that)

(instead they land on a Sifa ship and WOOO YEAH TAE AND ETHRI ARE HERE totally not because Oinca had a feeling it would be good and convenient if they parked their ship in this very specific spot)

Back in Ha’rar, Gurjin is captured by the guard, a pissed Naia challenges and fights the general about it

(there was a scene were the Skeksis realize Naia and Gurjin are twins and get Excited about that)

So they make a deal with Naia, if she wins, her brother will go free, if she loses… they both will go to the crystal together.

And while all THIS was happening, BREA ran off to fetch Tavra, who’d slipped away at some point, and runs in on the secret that her big stern sister is very much kissing a Sifa, which these days is Very Very illegal, but Brea’s just shocked to see very serious soldier Tavvra actually kissing anyone-

She remembers to tell Tavra what’s happening at the party, Tavra dives out the nearest window to get there faster, Onica suggests she and Brea take a detour along the way

(the detour is to set up a small tricky sabotage that will let Naia escape in moment)

The first time we see Tavra do anything cool in the movie is when she breaks through a window, sword drawn, and slashes at the General’s hand to make him drop Naia when he has her by the throat

Tavra and the General duel, Naia uses this distraction to attack the guards holding Gurjin and they exit stage right pursued by more guards, Seladon is freaking out and Mayrin calls for Tavra to stand down-

And in the tags of one post about this, ppl talk about how earlier in the movie it was set up how Gelfling don’t normally cut there hair short, since hair is kinda like tree rings or roots to them, so getting rid of it is like throwing away your life up till then and wanting to forget/distance yourself from it

(a thing traditionally associated with criminals, outlaws, Gelflings who went against their families)

BUT lately short hair has ALSO been used by rebels, the rumored Gelflings who refuse to pay tithes or offer up people to the castle

So this scene comes up, Tavra's duel, where the General says something like “blah blah traitorous Vapra, blah, oath breaking Gelfling scum”

And Tavra’s just like, it’s not breaking a vow to defend the people I’ve sworn to protect- which makes the General so mad he tries decapitating her, only she just kneels in response and bows her head-

So the sword cuts off her braid of hair instead. Big crowd reaction shot and gasp

(also revelation that Tavra’s hair is really wavy/curly when it’s short and not tied back, I don’t know why dream me thought that detail was super fun)

(tags on this post point out that this is kinda like, symbolism of how the Skeksis have being cutting Gelfling’s off from their actual old laws and traditions while making Gelflings bow to them instead)

And the other Skeksis sees this, hears the murmurs and muttering, sees the very bad PR image of a Skeksis about to kill a princess who is kneeling on the floor before him WHILE ALL THEIR PERSONAL GUARDS ARE MISSING and rushes in to pull the General back before he can split Tavra down the middle

The party ends… awkwardly, with the Skeksis placating the crowd by commending Tavra (through gritted beaks) for withstanding their ‘test’ of her loyalty and duty to her vows as a paladin, which they totally did on purpose, never would have actually killed anyone nope

They just barely restrain most of their rage when the guards come back (covered in odd powders that make them sneeze and slipping on boots covered in grease) to report that the three ‘criminals’ have escaped with their ‘abducted’ ‘prisoner’ (Mira)

annnnnnd they’re forced to accept Mayrin’s offer of Tavra leading her soldiers on the search, since they’re the only ones who know Ha’rar well enough to do it

(quick scene of Tavra directing her paladins to search the mountains and the cliffs and the village and the valley, and… no, not the seashore or the coast. Without the help of a Sifa they wouldn’t survive long there and would have to turn inland soon anyway. it’s not like there are any Sifa up here right now. Right? Right.)

I think I also remember that Deet gets introduced while she’s dreamfasting a giant taint-maddened nebrie-

(she can’t heal them, but as long as she’s dreamfasting with them SHE can take on the pain and horror of the taint, and when she sings while doing that they fall peacefully asleep, letting anyone nearby get safely away)

And it turns out she’s been working so hard to find out what’s going on with the tainted creatures of Thra she’s become sensitive to the presence of the taint, AND good enough at listening with her vliya that she can hear and understand what the Trees are saying, even though their voices have almost gone quiet

The trees lost contract with each other as the taint spread (some of them being taken over by it even) so Deet got sent out by her clan’s Tree to contact / warn / bring messages to the other trees and their clans

There was still that cool moment of Kylan dreamstitching the warning onto flower petals and everyone watching them fly off in a cloud so I guess Deet recruited him at some point… or no… maybe that was to summon the clans to what ended up being the big final battle?

I feel like there was a ‘lighting the beacons’ scene where all the clans lit their blue flames and a moment (echoing the opening of the tv show) where we saw their leaders all standing together in dreamfast on a map vision of Skarith land, reaching out to each other around a shared blue fire….

Anyway taking on the suffering of the taint was slowly tainting Deet herself, and she kept lashing out in pain more, or getting lost in the nightmare visions of the crystal’s breaking

She got one cool scene at the end though.

After the Gelfling come together to Far-Dream the prophecy of how the Skeksis might fall and the Skeksis see this and, in a panic, unleash all their Garthim before they can even control them properly, leading to many Gelfling being killed instead of captured for draining-

Deet is one of the ones caught and brought back to be drained, but she’s laughing when they strap her into the draining chair, and when she calls out,

all the tainted creatures she’s helped over the movie wake up in time to cause havoc on any nearby garthim-

and so do the Trees, reconnected briefly THROUGH the spreading taint BY Deet as she’s being DRAINED by the crystal, and the connection lasts just long enough for their roots to soak up as much of the taint as they can while tearing up the ground around the castle, breaking the crystal (and the taint’s) direct connection to the rest of Thra-

The trees all die, burning up in a last blaze of vliya along with Deet, but the tainted creatures aren't tainted anymore, and outside the barren land around the castle everything else starts growing in healthy again

Turns out it was the world that was feeding life to the crystal, not the other way around

(another skeksis lie)

Which makes the skeksis ultra SUPER unhappy the garthim rampage killed off so many useful Gelflings before their essence could be drained

The stinger ending was Kylan finishing writing all this down and hiding the book just before garthim burst in, the shot of his hand desperately tucking the book away-

-jump cutting to Jen’s hand gently pulling it’s crumbling pages out of hiding who knows how many trine later

Final shot being a slow pull back and pan out of Jen calling to Kira about what he found, and her excitedly calling back that she thinks a small nearby sapling might have just talked to her, so maybe he could read the book aloud to both of them?

end credits roll over the scene as Jen reads and Kira clears away weeds from a young baby tree, while fizzgig gets chased around the clearing by a whole pack of little angry baby fizzgigs

And that’s it, that’s the movie adaption that doesn’t exist but I got to be in the fandom of for a few glorious minutes

The last unicorn animation style REALLY went well with the vibes. loved it.

#the dark crystal: age of resistance #tdc:aor #tavra #brea #naia #rian #gurjin #deet #onica #adaption #au #non-canon

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eanfee · 3 months ago

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Dark Crystal Barbie AU Part 2!

First, let's understand the geopolitical issue of this universe:

Unlike the Thra we know, this is not a large Pangea. The world is divided between a larger continent composed of the lands of Spriton, Vapra and Sifa and smaller lands across the globe, which can be as large as the Stonewood Empire, as vast as the Dusan Archipelago or as small as the island inhabited by the Drenchens, the furthest from the continent, in a place that went ages without being explored due to the difficult navigation, which kept them isolated from everything.

During the First Age of Great Navigations, the Vapras attempted to cross the cape and reach the unexplored Lands, with a fleet of extremely advanced ships for the time, which carried dozens of explorers and the royal family: Queen Mayrin and her three daughters: Seladon, Katavra and Brea. Unfortunately, their ship sank and their middle daughter, Katavra, was lost at sea and presumed dead, which shook the entire world and kept any explorers away from the area for decades.

Now, the story:

However, Princess Katavra (who now remembered nothing about her past other than the nickname Tavra, as she became known), miraculously managed to survive and ended up on the beaches of Sog Island, home of the Drenchen, where she was found by Maudra Laesid and her family. Too young and not knowing who she was, little Vapra was pitied by Maudra and her husband, who decided to raise her as a legitimate daughter alongside their newborn twins: Naia and Gurjin.

Despite Maudra's support and the love of her brothers, Tavra grew up slightly ignored and rejected by the Drenchens, who found her appearance strange and feared what this strange creature from across the sea might bring. That is, until Tavra gained her wings. The incredible flying ability never seen before in Drenchen history made Sog's adopted daughter a valuable and respected member of her people, and the girl began to receive training from her father to be a warrior. Tavra and Gurjin eventually became leaders of their island's defense force, with Gurjin responsible for overseeing the land and waters and Tavra keeping watch from the trees and above the clouds with her majestic wings. Naia, Maudra Laesid's eldest biological daughter, was raised from birth to succeed her mother, which leaves her with a much more hectic and boring routine than her siblings, making her somewhat envious. However, all this is forgotten when Tavra plays pranks to distract her from her hard work. For being her only sister and for always protecting and comforting her, Tavra became extremely special to Naia, to the point that the youngest did not like strangers interacting with the oldest, for fear of being abandoned.

However, one day, the peace of the inhabitants of Sog is interrupted by the arrival of an expeditionary force from abroad: a fleet of ships led by the heir to the Sifa throne, Onica.

Everyone is frightened and fearful, and they vote that they must drive the outsiders away before they cause any harm. Tavra, as one of the warriors' cheves, should be responsible for getting rid of the invaders, but when she sees a young vapra among the crew, she becomes intoxicated by the possibility that there are more gelflings like her, who can answer the questions she has had all her life: Who was she? Where did she come from? Did she have family beyond the endless sea? What could possibly await her on this so-called "continent" on the other side of the world?

Despite Gurjin's apprehension, Naia's insistence, and the general resistance of her people, Maudra Laesid allows Tavra to sail with the outsiders in search of answers, knowing how important this is to her small, twinkling star. She also sends her two children along (knowing that they will protect each other) in search of what the New World can offer Sog.

During the long voyage, Tavra and Onica grow closer and closer, much to Naia's dismay, and Tavra learns a little about the general history of her people, the Vapras, from some of the crew members.

Upon arriving in Sifa territory, Onica rushes to introduce Tavra (who is now dazzled, like her siblings, by the technology and lifestyle of the continent) to her parents, King Cadia and Queen Ethri, in order to ask for their blessing to marry Tavra. This plan, however, fails completely when her parents introduce her to her fiancé, Prince Kylan, and her adoptive mother, Queen Mera of the Spritons.

Time to explain the villain's past:

(I believe everyone remembers Queen Ariana's goal in the Barbie movie: to marry her daughter to Prince Antonio in order to stage a coup d'état due to the king's resentment. Well, the same goal applies here.)

King Cadia of the Sifas was a new king, crowned while still young after the death of his parents, and still too immature to carry the crown, thought the Spritons, who did not like the new form of trade that had been implemented and was unfavorable to their interests.

Because of this, a group of Spriton rebels joined together with the aim of killing the king and carrying out a coup d'état. However, they were caught and punished severely, some with death, some with exile, as was the case with Mera's family.

Her parents lost all their titles and properties, leaving only a small piece of land for their subsistence, where her parents worked until they died of exhaustion. Revolted, Mera faked her own death and started life over as a maid in the Spriton palace, where she calmly became close to the royal family, especially the queen, who had great affection for her because of the sweet way she treated her little baby Kylan.

Mera, after months of trust, engineered an accident that led to the queen's death, and taking advantage of the king's fragility, who feared that his son would have to grow up without a mother, soon married and assumed the role of queen, poisoning the king not long after.

Afraid of raising suspicions if she murdered the crown prince, she raised him as her own, and after hearing about the birth of King Sifa's daughter, she began to devise her plan, training Kylan to be the perfect heir to marry him to Onica, and thus take possession of the Sifa throne and put an end to the royal family.

To overcome the disagreements that have grown between the kingdoms since the assassination attempt years ago, Cadia thinks it would be a great idea to arrange the marriage of Onica and Kylan, against the wishes of the princess, who is heartbroken when Tavra leaves her, devastated.

The bullying only gets worse and worse, with the sifas, vapras and spritons making fun of Tavra and her brothers because of their customs, the way they speak and behave, and in the case of Naia and Gurjin, their appearance. The king even suggests that they should sleep in the royal stables, alongside other animals, which Ethri vehemently rebukes, and sends them to the royal greenhouse, as they had requested. The brothers sleep together perched in the main tree, homesick, but Tavra cannot contain her thoughts about Onica and her lost family.

On the day of the engagement ball, Onica invites Tavra to attend, and sends her a Vapra assistant, Juni, who tries to guide her in the traditions and customs of the high court. Juni is part of a select group of young people who have moved from their homeland to Sifa territory to serve in the name of the Vapra crown, in order to foster peace between the kingdoms. Another example of these young people is her cousin, the pale sailor with freckles and reddish hair who is Onica's personal assistant.

Juni's behavior displeases the Drenchen twins, who say that Tavra should remain true to who she is and follow the traditions they have learned since childhood.

Tavra decides to strike a balance between the two, fully accepting that she is both Vapra and Drenchen, and attends the ball in the clothes that Juni, Naia and Gurjin have prepared for her. Gurjin wants to see his sister happy, even if she is far from him and with a Sifa. Naia also wants her sister happy, but is afraid of losing her.

Afraid that Tavra and Onica's proximity will disrupt her plans, Mera poisons part of the servants, including Juni, with a strong sleeping herb and blames the girl and her family, claiming that they brought a curse to the mainland, which causes them to be imprisoned. In prison, Queen Spriton tries to poison them too, and Gurjin ends up falling ill.

Onica agrees to marry Kylan if her father suspends the execution of his beloved and her brothers and only allows them to return to their island safely, which the king gladly does. However, Mera sabotages the trip and they all fall into the sea, with Naia struggling to hold her unconscious brother's body so that it does not get swept away by the current while crying out to Tavra, who is in shock.

At this point, she recalls parts of her old life, with memories of the shipwreck where someone calls her name: Katavra.

Before drowning, the siblings are saved by Freckles, who secretly heard Mera's plans and is terribly worried about his cousin. When shown a sample of the plant used to make the poison, Naia recognizes it from one of her mother's lessons on basic healing, and claims that the antidote is a flower that can be found in the palace greenhouse.

Arriving at the last minute to stop the wedding, everyone is shocked when they see Juni awake and right next to her cousin, Naia, Gurjin and Tavra, who expose Mera's plan. When confronted, she ends up exposing the truth about all her crimes, breaking the heart of Kylan who loved and respected his adoptive mother so much, but who joins Tavra at this moment to capture her.

At the end of her imprisonment, Tavra reasserts herself to Mera in retaliation for all the harm she has done to her, and proudly reveals that she is a Vapra-drenchen who may not have found her biological family, but has learned to recognize and appreciate her siblings and adoptive parents, and that she will love them no matter what. She now knows who she is, she is Katavra, and that is who she has always been.

Among the wedding guests was a longing queen, accompanied by her two daughters, who joyfully recognizes the name of her daughter who was lost so many years ago, recognizing Katavra as her own. In the midst of the party, with Tavra now a recognized princess, Cadia finally accepts the marriage of her and her daughter Onica.

Queen Mayrin finally found her beloved daughter again, Naia and Gurjin returned to Sog to tell the good news and every year they receive a visit from Tavra and Onica, who bring products from the Continent for exchange, Mera was arrested and deposed and Kylan assumed the throne, marrying some time later someone he truly loved, as he had always dreamed.

#dark crystal #dark crystal age of resistance #dark crystal aor #dark crystal au #gelfling #gurjin #tavra #BarbieCrystal #naia #kylan #onica

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