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your-brilliant-lady-m · 3 years ago

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Part 1 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Miraculous Jewels

Alright! I promised you meta and now I deliver!

I feel like people mostly watch Miraculous for the romance these days. Shipping is all everyone cares about. I wonder why? Probably because writers themselves don't take their worldbuilding very seriously and because they don't put much effort into making the audience care about something other than Love Square, like the mythology behind the Miraculous, or motivations of the main villain, or some pretty heavy topics for a kid's show that they bring up and then refuse to touch again. You know, all the good things. And this is coming from someone who is a passionate multishipper. I have lived through several shipping wars in different fandoms and came out victorious after all.

I am probably the only person out there who cares about the big picture, the overall storyline and the worldbuilding of Miraculous in addition to all details and implications that could develop into fascinating plotlines relevant to the main story. It is a rather lonely fandom experience, I must confess. But, hey? Who cares? I am here to have fun and bring to the table discussions no one wants to have.

So, let's talk about the basics.

If you, as the writing team, are capable of keeping only 1 thing consistent, then please, I beg you, let it be the basic concepts of your universe. Because in this case, one has to actively put effort into writing characters and conflict resolutions badly. And also because nothing can save bad worldbuilding.

I don't have high worldbuilding standards for Miraculous. They certainly aren't as high as the ones I had for Legend of Korra (which was a badly written trainwreck, that ATLA doesn't deserve as a sequel) or the ones I currently have for Dragon Prince. Therefore I won't be too harsh in my criticisms. Granted, I think that Miraculous has better worldbuilding and lore consistency than Winx Club for example (I haven't seen the reboot yet, so writers might have fixed their worldbuilding at least a little bit). Even though I enjoyed Winx when I was younger and some elements of this story still attract me.

Both serialised and episodic shows as well as movies to the lesser extent must have some flexibility in worldbuilding and plot because you can never be 100% sure where your story is going. Maybe, you'll get money for more seasons, maybe not. However, you must never lose sight of your basic concepts. They have to stay the same no matter what, because rewriting lore and retconning major developments every new season is not and never will be called good writing.

Forgive me for using architectural metaphors, but you need a solid foundation to build any kind of structure. Otherwise, everything falls apart.

I like to apply this logic to writing as well. When designing a world where your story takes place, you must lay a few ground rules. It's especially important if you have a magic system. What kind of ideas absolutely must exist? What kind of conclusion do you want your story to have? Does your magic system has limitations? Where is the grey area? Could you introduce new elements later on?

And I feel like the writing team of Miraculous Ladybug did not ask these questions. This may feel like I am nit-picking canon material and looking for problems that simply aren't there, but I promise that I am not. You see, things that I am about to point out only seem small at first glance. But these details are actually the source of the largest plotholes in the series. And their presence negatively affects character development, conflicts and resolutions of said conflicts.

That doesn't mean that I have nothing good to say about the magic system of the show and its elements. There are a lot of great ideas and concepts. And some of them have the potential to contribute to the delightful story.

Let's dive right into it, shall we?

Camouflage

I have to give credit where it's due because the idea of camouflage and shapeshifting for Miraculouses is brilliant. It seems like Miraculous can't fundamentally change its type of jewellery or accessory. The ring will always be the ring but with a different ornament, colour or shape. This is true most of the time (Monkey Miraculous is an exception since it transformed into earplugs/headphones/headband/circlet) It makes sense and avoids plotholes. Grimoire doesn't have the pictures of each Miraculous in disguise for identity protection. That was very neat too. I have no comments. This concept was very good.

Also, since Marinette wore a nose ring of the Ox in "Kwamibuster" without any problem and Adrien wore Ladybug's earrings in "Reflekdoll", we can assume that you don't need to have piercings to wear a Miraculous. Miraculous just magically passes through your skin.

I'm interested to know the following. Can Kwamis recognise a camouflaged Miraculous on a person? Can the holder order them to confess the identity of this person? This shouldn't be possible for identity protection just like with Kwamis sensing each other. But more on that in later posts.

Power Levels

For a long time, we assume that there are only 7 Miraculouses. Turtle belongs to Master Fu, Gabriel has Butterfly and Peacock, Marinette and Adrien have Ladybug and Black Cat. Everything is pretty straightforward. Then it's revealed that there are more jewels and more boxes. It makes the worldbuilding interesting, but it also majorly complicates things, making them inconsistent.

Their position in the Miracle Box implies their power levels. Creation and destruction are the most powerful forces in existence, therefore they are at the top. Moreover, it makes this Box the most important, the most powerful out of all others. Su Han in "Furious Fu" calls it "Mother Miracle Box". Fox, Turtle, Bee, Butterfly and Peacock have less power than the main pair, but more than the Miraculous of the lower Zodiac tier (since they correspond with animals of the Chinese Zodiac).

1. Ladybug can create anything out of nothing (Lucky Charm, which gives what you need the most at the moment). This Miraculous can resurrect the dead, reverse the effects of the Cataclysm. The power of Miraculous Cure or Miraculous Ladybug can work in several ways:

it simply repairs the damage (puts stuff back together, heals injuries and so on)

it reverses time for the matter, restoring things back to the state they were before the destruction occurred (however, the Cure doesn't erase people's memories of everything that happened unless they were mind-controlled, frozen in place or transformed by Akuma into something else - this is an important point that I'll discuss some other time)

How does Miraculous Cure work when there are no supervillians? In NY Special Marinette just says this.

Excuse me, what? What was that? You can't do anything when the villain is gone? What the hell?

*insert here every scene where Ladybug fixed Paris after destroying akumatized/amokized object (this action causes the Akuma victim to detransform/sentimonster to disappear - villain is gone) and purifying butterfly and feather*

It was such cheap angst. I couldn't even be upset when Adrien gave up his Miraculous, because that whole situation is just stupid. But, never mind. We aren't talking about that today.

Apparently, Lucky Charm and Miraculous Cure only work when summoned to battle a specific villain. What is the point then? Huh? You can't tell me that Ladybug has the power of unlimited creation and then say that she can't repair the damage without a special Lucky Charm that was magically synchronised with specific big bad of the week.

Ladybug also can purify Akumas. It makes sense for Ladybug to have the ability to reverse the magic of less powerful Miraculous. But this power can't be applied universally. How does this power of reversal apply to different situations where there is no evil Butterfly holder? Can Ladybug reverse the magic of any Miraculous?

The unlimited power of creation introduced in season 4 ("Mr. Pidgeon 72") is another fascinating thing. On one hand, it's logical and proves the status of this Miraculous as the most powerful. On the other hand, by introducing this power, you have created a plothole. Look, Marinette can create the charm which repels Akumas. If Ladybug can create anything then what stops her from creating a tool for finding Hawkmoth (like special glasses for discovering identities or a compass)? I mean, the show says that the power of creation is unlimited, it means that the creation of such tool is possible.

2. Black Cat can destroy anything with Cataclysm, even other Miraculous. He can kill living things and turn them into ash, but not himself. This Miraculous is supposed to have other special abilities that we don't see. And they should be equal to powers of Ladybug, both in number and in potency. Unfortunately, after 3 seasons writers didn't give us anything. It makes laughable the idea of balance between Ladybug and Black Cat.

Now, to the second tier. These Miraculouses have a singular ability, but they need a second one to keep the power balanced between Zodiac and the main pair.

3. Butterfly creates champions with different superpowers. But how does the time limit of children work for Butterfly? In theory, the countdown should start right after the creation of the Akuma since for Ladybug and Chat Noir countdown starts after activation of their powers even if they don't use them. However, if the countdown of the Butterfly begins after Akuma creation then there's no point because the holder has to stay transformed to guide their champion. The charged butterfly won't have time to even grant powers before the transformation of the child-holder drops. This issue is never explored because Gabriel doesn't have a time limit. However, I feel like it should be addressed in flashbacks of past Butterfly holders for example.

This Miraculous should be less powerful than Ladybug and Black Cat. It's often not. Some Akumas are too overpowered. Stormy Weather can move the Earth away from the Sun, Timetagger can send people through time and jump through time as well, Chat Blanc destroyed the world with a single energy blast, Miraculer could steal powers of those more powerful than her by default. These are the most notable examples. One could argue that Chat Blanc was a different case. Hawkmoth simply gave the most powerful Miraculous a boost. However, we know that even without a holder (the wildest and the most powerful form of uncontrolled Miraculous magic) Plagg's Cataclysm can't destroy the universe just like that (he presumably wiped out dinosaurs and sunk Atlantis on his own without a holder). I think that the less powerful Miraculous (Butterfly) shouldn't be able to increase the power of destruction to such a degree and give Black Cat the power to destroy celestial bodies and galaxies.

Writers want us to see Hawkmoth as the formidable villain. But it's not easy because he is less powerful than your main heroes by default of your worldbuilding. Sometimes writers make the Butterfly more powerful than creation and destruction to raise the stakes, breaking the laws of their magic system. So, how do you solve this? Let Ladybug and Black Cat keep their status as the most powerful and instead of giving Hawkmoth more magical power, make him smarter, more cunning, inventive. Gabriel is a fashion designer, whose creativity makes him a very good Butterfly holder. He has a life full of experience, he knows much more about things than the main teenage characters. Catalyst was very interesting for this very reason. Gabriel sort of discovered a cheat code to boost his powers. Show us how he experiments with his powers, how he analyses his past Akumas and tries to find the most effective ones. Maybe Gabriel tries to design Akumas that can specifically neutralise Ladybug and Chat Noir. This exploration could also give writers an opportunity to explain how the powers of Butterfly work. Can he control the type of powers he grants? Can he control the appearance of Akumas? There are many things to be explored.

4. Peacock creates sentimonsters. I remember that fans were very disappointed when the power of the Peacock was revealed at the end of season 2. I was one of them. The concept of Amoks is far too similar to akumatized butterflies. Other Miraculouses have unique abilities and keywords for their powers, while Peacock just looks like Butterfly 2.0. That glowing mask effect just adds insult to injury.

You have to start by figuring out the powers of the Peacock in a normal situation. If a holder is a good person, then how does their power work? For example, make them related to sight (because of the "eye" pattern on feathers). Maybe, Peacock grants the ability to see the several possibilities of the future, but only a few minutes ahead. Maybe, this Miraculous gives you the ability to see through someone's eyes for a few minutes (and the victim is completely unaware of the intrusion). Perhaps, Peacock allows the holder to use feathers (or tiny peacocks) as cameras one at a time and be all-seeing. These feather-spies can be destroyed by the holder or disappear on their own after some time. Such power could be devastating when used against heroes in canon.

5. Bee can paralyze. This power is pretty straightforward. Once I read a fanfiction focused on very vell done Chloe Redemption, where she fights alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir. Eventually, she grows and becomes a better person. This fic ends with an Akuma battle, where LB and CN are trapped and Akuma is ready to kill them. But Chloe uses a second power of the Bee on the villain - Miraculous Stinger. It's deadly both for the holder and for the victim (because bees die when they sting someone). Chloe kills the Akuma with a Stinger before it can get LB and CN, but she too dies making the ultimate irreversible sacrifice. I will add a link if I find it again.

6. Turtle can create a shield. I don't have much to say on this either. It feels underpowered compared to others in the second tier. Maybe Turtle can also slow down opponents (because turtles aren't the fasters animals out there).

7. Fox creates illusions and acts as their puppeteer. In order to create a balance between other powers, these illusions must hold for as long as the holder needs them to. I propose this mostly because we see that Venom of the Bee lasts very long, the shield of the Turtle lasts either until it's destroyed or the holder wants to remove it, same goes for Akumas and sentimonsters who disappear only when the holder wants them to or their affected object is destroyed.

Let's talk about Zodiac tier. Miraculous of the third tier shouldn't have the second ability like more powerful ones. These powers are the most inconsistent. Even if we haven't seen all of them yet.

8. Mouse can create many small clones of the holder. It is unclear how these clones communicate with each other and how many of them this Miraculous can create. The holder can control the number of clones. This power was very convenient in "Kwamibuster" and it makes sense symbolically for the mouse. What activates the time-limit for children? Marinette didn't have any problems with it when she became Multimouse.

9. Snake can create a 5-minute time loop and has the ability to come back in time. This Miraculous feels a bit overpowered for the Miraculous of the Zodiac Tier. The holder can reset the time as many times as he/she needs to. It's was a good source of drama and trauma in "Desperada". I was honestly surprised that Adrien was capable of fighting after spending months in a loop. But this doesn't change the fact that Snake is overpowered. You can give this Miraculous the power to hypnotise or keep the time ability but place a limit on the number of resets. How does the lyre work as a weapon? Who knows? No one!

10. Dragon can shapeshift into elements: water, wind and lightning. It has the coolest transformation words hands down (Bring the Storm and Open Sky). Apparently this Miraculous doesn't have the time limit.

11. Rabbit can time travel or jump through alternative realities, even writers aren't sure. Time-travel in this show is so badly written it gives me a headache. This Miraculous shouldn't exist just like its powers. Snake belongs to the same tier, but 5 minutes and whole centuries of time jumps aren't comparable in power levels. They are not and this is the hill I will die on. Give the Rabbit powers related to its symbolism in China like an ability to de-age people, heal them or give them a speed boost in contrast with Turtle who might have the ability to slow down.

This Miraculous is so special that its Kwami - Fluff can live separately from his Miraculous in a Miracle Box for millennia (Fluff lives in the Box in "Sandboy", but his Miraculous, pocket watch, was passed down for generations in Alix's family). This is a discussion for a separate post, however. There's a lot to unpack. We'll do that some other time. You will suffer with me but at a later date.

12. Horse can create portals. They could lead anywhere, which is pretty cool. On the other hand, this power is not very useful in direct combat, especially when it's used by a child since we can have only one portal per transformation.

13. Monkey can cause a malfunction in powers of other people. What is the point of this? This power was specifically created by writers to defeat Akuma in "Party Crasher". That's it. What if your target is not magical? How does this Miraculous work in different circumstances?

14. Pig shows people their greatest desire. Both the holder and the recipient of this power can see this desire. Chat Noir wasn't impressed in "Guiltrip" and neither was I. It's underpowered compared to other Miraculous in this tier. Also, why does the tambourine can shoot energy beams? Why?

That's all I have to say on the matter. I'll update the power analysis as needed.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #miraculous analysis #miraculous meta #ml meta #ml analysis #miraculous transformations #miraculous critical #miraculous ladybug critical #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #mt of lb and cn #miraculous jewels

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abeingfromnothingness · 3 years ago

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Anthropocene

(This is a short story to help with visualizing -this- idea don't take it way too seriously. You can make your own version of the idea if you want.)

Shoutout to @marlynnofmany "accidentaly human" series for inspiring this idea

@niqhtlord01 @dycefic @starr-fall-knight-rise for their great stories which are used as inspiration

@whereartthoubromeo this is for you

And the humans are weird community here

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Humans, when you hear that word what do you usualy think it describes?

More often than not it describes these hairless unasuming bipeds, they naturally have no magic abilities, traits or anything noteworthy except for being sexually compatible with all races but that all changed when a human named wudolf suon made a discovery that changed how we see these dissapointing apes.

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Wudolf was like every other human in his village normal and boring except for a select few with magical potential through familial ties. His parents were magicaly potent but he himself was not, he was enroled into the best academy there by scholarships his parents paid for using money acumulated during their adventuring days with a group who saved the world, this was to help him learn magic.

Most humans were often bullied for being weak and pathetic magic casters but wudolf got the most bulliying due to the fact he has little no magic potential, so during his freetime he experimented ways to forcefully give himself magical powers or disabling it from others.

One fatefull night during one of his experiments he got into an accident thankfully or should i say unfortunately he survived and gained magic powers like he wanted though ever since that day all magical creatures that stand near him always felt slightly uneasy, to the point no one makes any friends with him except human friends, they never felt what the rest of the students described, at the end of the day he didn't care as long as he can use magic now.

Whenever wudolf tries to cast a spell it never seems to work the first time then the next day he suddenly can do it perfectly though there was something a bit off about the aura, whenever he is questioned how he did it he always replied "i don't know it just... gave itself to me i guess".

Over the course of the semester his power kept growing, the range where magical creatures felt uneasy also increases, every magic fight he entered always resulted in him winning every single time with little to no harm done to him with most magical beings attending feeling unwell and a few humans having a faint headache.

The principal suspected something strange was happening but didn't care because of wudolf helping the academy acumulate many tournament trophies, one day the principal got an anonymous tip about wudolf practicing forbiden magic with a picture of wudolf reading a mysterious book, it is suspected that the ones who sent the anonymous tip were jealous students but whoever that sent it just opened pandora's box.

Wudolf and his parents were called into the principals office one day to discuss about his dabling with the forbiden arts, of course wudolf is innocent but any mention about the dabling in forbiden arts are treated with zero tolerance.

Wudolf tries and pleads innocence but the principal doesn't bellive him after the many months of accumulated reports from many students feeling uneasy around him and only him though no human students ever complained which proves he wasn't using forbiden arts, but was ruled out for the reason that "humans have difficulty with magic" so he was kicked out and ran away into the wilderness never to be seen again.

A month has passed when suddenly a figure wearing a carved out dragon head and a cloak made of dragon skin attacked the village, a group of heroes consisting of a human mage, an elf archer, an orc barbarian, and a dragonborn paladin confronts the figure in front of them standing amongst rubble of a ruined square.

"Ah, i assume you are one of this vilage's groups of heroes am i correct?" The figure speaks though slightly muffled and distorted by the head they are wearing.

"That is correct and you should leave or else we'll strike you down even killing you if we have to." The dragonborn exclaims

"Well i should say the same way to beings such as yourselves, except you human" the figure points at the suprised mage

"What do you want from me?" The human exclaimed.

"It's pretty obvious, You and other humans"

the orc stands infront of the mage

"you no hurt little buddy!"

The figure laughs "hurt? Oh no no no, let's just say 'under my care' it's not like orcs such as you can show kindness, the only thing you know is being a big brutish pushover who values an ally by stength so let me place us at an even footing" with a snap of a finger the orc suddenly collapses on to their back

"Gear. Too. Heavy."

"What did you do!?" The paladin shouted getting the attention of the figure "i already told you what i did, i placed us in an even footing, i made them 'human' so to speak"

the group turns to the orc waiting for some sort of transformation to happen but nothing happened.

"I don't know what you did but i will shoot you down from your mountain!" The elf taunts preparing a shot

"Granny, stop being mad, else you'll wither away faster, here let me help you take a well deserved break from this adventuring buisness." With another snap the elf expected to suddenly feel heavier which is why they aimed higher than usual, what waited for them was something else other than an increase in weight.

Their hair starts to grey, their vision starts to blur, their limbs slowly feel weak, the arrow that was fired was deflected effortlessly by the sturdy dragon scales of the figure's cloak.

"Your gravity and aging magic won't work on me, prepare to be brought justice." The dragonborn paladin exclaimed triumphantly

"Justice? Ha, after your kind's scally egotistical reign on many other regions especialy what one of you kept on doing to me and my friends during my student years, i'd beg to differ. let me serve you your just deserts master." The paladin prepares a breath attack but with a snap the dragonborn suddenly falls on their knee puking with their scales turning pale.

The figure looms menacingly "how the mighty have fallen. You know, your reaction reminded me of a dragon that i encountered, you all are wondering why suddenly there seems to be little to no dragon sightings?" What the figure says is true, for whatever reason no dragons have shown up for the past few weeks eventhough this area is known for many dragons in hiding, this never happened until a certain scholar was expeled and was never seen again.

"Let's just say i returned a long overdue debt. Of course i am not an idiot so i cut some loose ends one being a problem now and four more in the future, how did you think i got this attire, and survived?"

"You...monster" the dragonborn replies through their nausea

"A monster huh? how ironic especialy coming from a cousin of the species that did so without care to us lesser species." "Fireball!" The mage casts a spell which quickly dissipates instantly a feet away from the figure, the remaining heat catches the figure's attention "pathetic, now, time to deal with you my buddy ol'pal marcus." Marcus taken aback "w-wudolf!?"

Wudolf raises the ex-hatchling's maw revealing a familiar face with a very noticable change. "Hello marcus, it has been a while huh?"

Marcus draws in magic to prepare a spell "Look, whatever malicious god or being that is passively controling you, i will save you even if it results in any of our deaths."

Wudolf laughs "a malicious entity is that your conclusion of what happened to me?" Marcus nods in confirmation. "Well i can't blame you due to it being a common occurence to people like me and the fact that i was expeled due to being accused of such things, but allow me to show you OUR power." Marcus tries to cast a spell but nothing happened and he was then hit by a powerful force sending him flying into a wall, marcus tries again...nothing happened and he was hit by a blast sending him to the ground, he is starting to have a headaches. Wudolf prepares a large spear made off whatever magic he is using and throws it. Frusturated marcus tries and block it, and succedes creating a shield with the same magic wudolf is using, he falls down fatigued. "What was that i just did!?" Marcus stared at his hand in awe of what he has done, so does his teamates.

Wudolf stands there satisfied "i already told you, it is OUR power. Let me ask you a question." Wudolf summons ropes to bind each hero down. "Have you wondered what makes an art forbiden?"

Marcus was about to answer. "Don't worry i know what you'll answer and yes with the same reason of it being a common occurence but maybe, it is to stop instances of overpowering." "What do you mean by that?"

Wudolf smiles a little and starts walking around "well remember that day when i got into an accident?" Marcus nods remembering that day clearly. "when i recovered, i suddenly have the abillity to cast magic which was slowly growing more powerful with a side effect at the time i brushed of as miniscule. I then became our academy's champion winning several magic tournanent throphies which are null and void by now considering what happened last month. Did you ever notice how weird that after my 5th win in a row i was suddenly accused of practicing the forbiden arts which was treated with instant expultion?" Marcus pipes up "well yeah and we even found the sender of the annonymous tip who was a half-dragon that was jealous of you and used your weird unsetling aura as proof of forbiden magic possesion. So yeah i feel really sorry for you." "I can understand that too. Anyway, during my time out there i practiced my new found magic to find out what element it is and maybe who it was bestowed to me. Well the answer is very suprising, it's nothing and it is in fact OUR own natural magic."

Marcus wide eyed in shock "you are telling me that we were supposed to have our own magic abilities and what do you mean by it's nothing? It's magic, it's got to be something." Wudolf turns sharply to face Marcus "That's the thing, our magic comes from absolute nothing though now it's more of a something that is revealed within the absence of natural magic. With this knowledge i posses and now you too, i will bring our kind the justice we all deserve after many years living under fear of these creatures. I will create a world where they can never hurt us, one way or another, a libberation of you will."

Marcus finally has the strength to stand up "dude, i know your intention and it is a good one, but there's got to be a better way than a mass genocide, we can still live with each other side by side and yes we may be feared of but still, it is way better than extermination. You probably know this, so have a little bit of humani-" a large spike of energy pierces marcus' stomach sending him to a critical condition, this is followed by ropes of energy binding him. "You still don't get it do you. Maybe i need a larger example and suprisingly, (Wudolf creates an extra dimensional portal and pulls out a modified trumpet bearing a flag of a kingdom.) I do." He blows into it and a large portal appears that leads to the front of a kingdom "my own design if you are wondering." standing behind them is a king with an army of people from various ages standing behind them, far off behind them there seems to be a walled of kingdom with the wall having visible signs of damage as well as a huge area that was lost. From the wide and deep claw marks covering the wall to the massive bloodstain it is safe to assume that a massive creature had attacked not too long ago. Wudolf aproaches the king "ah mister wudolf let me guess, your friend?" The king says to him in a casual manner. "Yes though now more of an obstacle. Really hoped for them to join our cause." The king chuckles "happens to most of us. Well then, it is time for us to do a full sweep to recruit soldiers and exterminate these pests. It's funny how one day we were the most pathetic race to ever existed and then the next, eldritch monsters capable of crippling massive beasts with a glare." They both laugh at the thought while men and women storm the village.

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This was several years ago and since that time we started the rebelion, many creatures against these humans now called as (homo sapinihilis) courtesy of our (homo sapien) friends.

We also discovered these mushrooms that create a zone of replenishing mana which allows us access to magic while engaging those things.

We have reports of from our scouts that the "nihilistums" are developing a bomb to wipe everyone from existance.

Now it is your job to stop them, don't worry we have an adventuring group ready for you

#humans are weird #humans are weird + fantasyland #fantasy

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ranger-report · 4 years ago

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Thoughts On: Heretic

Earlier this year, just before the beginning of quarantine, I played a little game called AMID EVIL, something I would not have done were it not for the enchanting video skills of YouTuber Civvie 11. In his video, Civvie demonstrated the awesomeness of the retro shooter, both in graphics and gameplay, and since I was jonesing for something a little more dark fantasy than I was used to, I decided to give it a try. The game is a thrilling rush, and worthy of its own post here, but that game was a segue into me finally picking up and playing a game series that I had been intrigued by for nearly twenty some odd years: the Heretic and Hexen games.

AMID EVIL owes a lot to these games; in fact, it's not much of a leap to say that it owes everything to these games. It's even less of a leap to say that most first person shooters, whether dark fantasy or no, owe a lot to these games. Raven Software introduced a monster of a franchise when they dropped Heretic in December of 1994, working in collaboration with id Software as Raven was creating their games using the DOOM engine (or, as I think we're calling it now, “id tech 1”). John Romero helped in-house, giving advice on how to work with the engine, which was instrumental for Raven to push id tech 1 to its limits. They made changes to the engine which eventually became staples in other FPS games: an inventory system, translucent objects, pushable objects, the ability to look up and down, and the ability to fly. While the game itself was objectively a reskinned version of DOOM, it was stylish and engaging and reworked the most popular game engine at the time. In short, it won accolades in no small amount, and sealed itself in history as a high watermark for boomer shooters, hell, for PC gaming in general. So when we're looking backwards into the foggy past of our ancestors, is Heretic a game that we, in the Year of Our Lord Gaben 2020, should consider playing, either for the first time or as a throwback? Roll up your sleeves, party people, we've got a deep one to dive into today. Because we can't simply look at Heretic alone; oh, no. We're going to have to look at the whole franchise.

Heretic is not a complicated game per se, but it has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. We have the standard issue Run-Gun-Have-Some-Fun gameplay that Wolfenstein and DOOM brought to the table. There's three keys of different colors – yellow, green, and blue – there's a variety of weapons that almost line up point-for-point with DOOM's stack of damage inducers, and there's a horde of enemies that are around every corner waiting for you to come out magic blazing. But where DOOM has a mostly straightforward path from point A to point B, Heretic is a trickster which can and will give cause to tear one's hair out. Secret doors, invisible walls, fake walls, and hidden switches are everywhere, which means that nine times out of ten you'll either be consulting your map to figure out where the fake walls are, or you'll be pressing the space bar on every surface to see if it will open or activate something useful. Raven did a bit of a whammy on the game, setting up the simplistic stuff to lure you in, as though promising a hot night out with the kind of experience you think that you're used to, but then they strap you in for the kinky stuff that you always imagined you'd be into, but now that we're here you're not so sure. Make no mistake, I did consult a walkthrough at least once, maybe twice if I'm remembering right, during my playthrough. And the game is punishing the deeper you get: enemies lie in wait immediately behind doors, around corners, hidden out of sight or just above you since some of them can fly, and as your limited ammunition dwindles down into the red, you'll be forced into running risk-and-reward of melee weapons and inventory items to keep moving. Fortunately, each weapon has its own ammo stock, and some enemies are more susceptible to different weapon types. Adding to the bonus in the player's favor are inventory items that boost weapon damage, specifically the Tome of Power which magnifies the current weapon's attack power into a secondary fire that more often than not is absolutely brutal. But, unlike future entries in this series, the motto of the day is: Keep Moving, Keep Shooting, Don't Stop Moving, Don't Stop Shooting. It's Fun, Fast, and Furious in an entertaining way that only occasionally leaves you pondering why you even booted up the game this morning.

However you may feel about the gameplay itself, it can't be denied that the visual aesthetics and gamefeel are dripping with atmosphere. Everything from top to bottom feels like the best of cheesy 80's style fantasy art, from the front cover to final screen. Gloomy castles, underwater domes, craggy hellscapes. Weapons impress with over-the-top magical properties. The default staff acts like the DOOM pistol, lobbing nearly harmless yellow energy, while the Etheral Crossbow shoots multiple energy arrows at once, like a magic shotgun, easily the most versatile weapon in the game. Besides that one, my other favorite weapons are the Hellstaff (which blasts rapid-fire red energy, and causes acid rain to fall when Tomed up) and the Phoenix Rod (basically a magic rocket launcher that belches fire when overpowered). Depending on what you're facing, proper usage of these weapons (all finely drawn sprites, natch) can either chew through a mob with ease or leave you scrambling to get back. Stun lock Disciples with the Dragon Claw while obliterating Golems with the Crossbow; save the Phoenix Rod for big bads. And enemy creatures run the gamut from the simplistically annoying Gargoyles (red bat-winged creatures who also shoot fireballs) to the sturdy Golems (which come in a secondary variety which throw flaming skulls at you) to the Disciples of D'Sparil (faceless hooded monks who fly, chant, and shoot fireballs at you, on theme). Usually these damage sponges come at you in packs, rarely doing so in solo numbers because otherwise the game wouldn't be a DOOM clone. What really gets challenging is when boss creatures start popping up like regular enemies – in packs. Take the Iron Lich for example, a massive floating skull wearing a spiked helmet that throws walls of fire and tornadoes that do continual damage, they appear as a boss at the end of the final level of the first episode, then appear later on in groups. They take incredible amounts of damage and return fire constantly, which leads to a tense game of bobbing and weaving and staying as far away from them as possible. But the absolute worst is the Maulotaur. Basically, a minotaur that stands head and shoulders taller than the Iron Lich, carries a huge mace, and shoots waves of fire at you which can one-shot you if you're not paying attention. Staying away from them is key, but they can charge forward fast in order to close distance and take a few swings at you with the mace. These assholes also start as a final bosses, then appear as regular enemies surrounded by waves of other mobs. Maulotaurs are the dealbreakers of the game; they require ridiculous amounts of ammo to kill, and will force you through most of your inventory items if you're not already powered up. Thankfully, your inventory can hold quite a few helpful items, such as quartz flasks for health, the aforementioned Tomes of Power to boost weapon damage, invisibility spheres and wings of flight, and even motherfucking time bombs. But amongst all these, the most ridiculous and yet satisfying item is the Morph Ovum. Shaped like an egg, when used it gets thrown outward and whatever it hits is transformed into an easily killable chicken. Got a wave of monsters crowding too close and you need to thin the herd fast? Turn them into chickens, then turn them into fried chickens.

What gets me is that this game doesn't feel nearly as highly regarded as its indirect sequel, Hexen, and that's probably because for the most part this is a full-on DOOM clone. There were a lot of them back in the day, too many to count, and I think that if wasn't for the legacy of Raven and Hexen, this might have fallen through the cracks of history. Is it uninspired? No, not in the slightest. The quality of the spritework and animations are top notch, the production values are stellar, putting it just above the quality of the average obvious Doom clone. The amount of innovation, with the aforementioned inventory system and modifications to the engine, mesh well with the ambitious world/story crafted in the background of a single warrior trudging across worlds to defeat an evil tyrant who has taken over his people's lands. The current version on Steam is actually the second version released; initially, the game launched in 1994 with three episodes, the first one being the shareware version, and then later on in 1996 had a second physical release which added on two new episodes. It was like an expansion pack folded into the main game, and considering that Hexen was released in 1995, it makes sense that the two new episodes of Heretic feel so much more brutal in difficulty by comparison. And thematically it makes sense for them to have a higher base difficulty, since it’s about escaping the dark world you had to break into, and now you're crawling your way back out of it. Kind of a neat trick, having the hero beat the bad guy halfway through the story, then showing his journey to get back home. Hell, even the name of the main character is awesome. A later game in the series will reveal that his name is Corvus, but originally the character was simply referred to as The Heretic, and in a gaming landscape featuring such characters as Doomguy, the Quake Ranger, and the Doomslayer, the Heretic ought to stand right up there with the rest of them.

So is the game worth playing today? Absolutely. Any fan of boomer shooters or retro gaming in general should absolutely play this game. Utilizing DOSBOX (which the Steam release uses) is fine, but doesn't allow for the best playing experience currently. A quick download of GZDOOM to launch the game will give better controls, easier mouse compatibility, and smoother graphics. There's a method to tie GZDOOM into your Steam page so you can even track how long you've been playing it (for those who this is important for). And it's super cheap, meaning there's little to no excuse to not play it. So why then is this game sitting in the background, kind of like the little engine that could? You know, I'm doing my best to get into the meat and potatoes of this game, to be more descriptive of it and really entice you, the reader, into wanting to play this game. The powerups are fun, there are segments where you absolutely get to go apeshit on monsters and laugh hysterically while you do so, there are moments where the “AHA” is so enlighting that the relief is palpable. Some of the bosses are so memorable that to find them around the corner later in the game as minibosses – in multiple! – is downright frightening and adds to the risk/reward, since they're usually guarding something good that you want to pick up. Long story short, if you like DOOM, you'll like Heretic, which feels like selling the experience short. But the real reason I think Heretic is overlooked is because it is overshadowed by the more complex, more engaging, and more brutal Hexen.

If it hasn't become obvious yet, this is going to be a multi-part Thoughts On post. You've read Heretic, which is a fine game that does what it does and is memorable and fun and fine. But next, we're going to dive into the second course of this delicious fantasy meal, Hexen, and talk about how the second game in this series is the one that got everyone to sit up and take notice of what Raven Software was doing.

#heretic #hexen #ck burch #rubyranger #thoughts on #boomer shooters #doom #quake #raven software #id software #amid evil #new blood #ranger report

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teamdoesminecraft · 5 years ago

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I've noticed you really like your lore for MC/TC. Can I ask then, what's the timeline of events? I know when they were created, but like a short timeline, starting when how the world was made to present day, if that makes sense. Thanks!

Ohhh I haven’t thought about @crystalfloe ‘s and my Canon Minecraft Lore in a while, it’s been touched up quite a bit since my last lore post.... I’ll be basically rewriting it as I go !!TL;DR: Sage makes Steve who turns into Herobrine, Sage and his Devs make True/SSundee/Lox/Seto, Herobrine makes Bajan/Husky, Sage makes Jerome to kill Bajan, and Steve/Sage simoultaneously fuck up and make Sky as an overpowered child and nerf him together.-Long ago, the world was a seething mass of untamed code. Some of this code pulled itself together into sentience: an entity named Sage.-Sage began manipulating the code for the first time. He was the first Player to access creative mode. He created:A dimension (grass, stone)Simple mobs (pigs, cows)

-Sage wanted to share his creative-mode capabilities, and so made slightly more advanced mobs. Endermen were simple creatures, capable of basic neutrality and hostility, and could interact with the world by moving one block at a time.-Sage realized that these were not the Players he was trying to make, so he set out to make an actual Creative Mode Player.-Sage made Steve, who lived in the single dimension and was capable of building great things.-Steve wanted to create new mobs, much like Sage did. He created:Creeper (aw man)SpidersThe Ender Dragon-The Ender Dragon destroyed the single-dimension world, leaving it barren, broken into pieces, and yellowed out (the End).-Sage managed to trap the Dragon on a single island. Sage then banished Steve to a second dimension (the Overworld, which had a bedrock layer below it, separating it from the End), and made a new gamemode for him: Survival Mode.-Steve wanted to right his wrongs, and so began searching for a way to get back to the End.-Sage didn’t want Steve back, so continued implementing coding changes:Monsters (creepers, spiders) would appear at night to hunt Steve and hinder his progressZombies and Skeletons, that were only just Steve’s former bodies, to continue to push his progress farther back-Sage attempted to remove Steve’s coding from the game entirely when he got too close-Eventually, Steve was “deleted,” more or less-No he wasn’t. He was a “ghost” of code, able to still grasp some of his prior Creative Mode abilities; to prevent Sage from finding him, he made the third dimension, the Nether (between the Overworld and the End, covered on both sides by bedrock), where Sage would be unable to find him-Sage tried to make two Creative-Mode Players again: the Devs. He created Jeb and Dinnerbone.-The three of them began populating the Overworld, realizing the End was almost unsalvagable. (This is the point where our canons and AUs start splintering, so it might get a little messy)-Sage made TrueMU first. This was the start of most Players being Survival-Mode only: he had no Creative-Mode abilities. -True was more or less on Sage’s side for a while, until, after a series of deaths/respawns, he realized how little Sage cared. True left at this point to escape to the Farlands (an area of the Overworld the Devs hadn’t yet tamed).-A long period of time passed, during which many other Players were created. (for those Yogs fans, Xephos was made very early, and was a pseudo-dev, until he also ran away from Sage to go do strange experiments on his own).-Jeb made SSundee during this time (traumatic backstory tbd)-Dinnerbone started creating more hostile mobs to provide extra challenge to the Players. Jeb started creating more passive mobs to populate the world and make it more interesting for the Players.-Signs of Steve started appearing again, as a half-glitched ghost. To prevent people from siding with Steve, Sage created Villagers. Villagers firmly believe Sage is true and correct all the time, and spread this ‘doctrine.’ They also tell the tale of a murderous entity known only as Herobrine (a name Steve would later whole-heartedly adopt).-Villagers have no hands, so they can’t build or create and potentially turn against Sage. Instead, their arms are conjoined in front of them.

-Some Villagers don’t believe Sage is the best, and break away from society to either form patrols or live in large, communal mansions. These Illagers practice things normally Villagers aren’t supposed to; many of them break their arms into two separate pieces. They hold weapons, build mansions/monuments, and practice magic.-A Player named Seto, originally made by Jeb, somehow found himself subsumed into Illager culture. He was raised in a Woodland Mansion and learned various magic from an Evoker.-Herobrine saw all these players being created. He knew he couldn’t enter the Overworld without being hunted, so he decided to make a Player of his own: Bajan.*Note: Herobrine has made other Players besides Bajan (notably Hypixel and Honeydew)*Double Note: in almost every other set of Lore we have, Bajan was either made or adopted by Xephos (I have no idea why)-Bajan was designed to master combat and, ultimately, defeat the Ender Dragon. His dogtags read HB002, marking him as Herobrine’s second creation. -However, Sage discovered Bajan, and wiped his memories/mission statement to prevent him from reaching the End.-Sage created a “monstrous” Player to hunt Bajan down and prevent him from respawning: Jerome-Naturally, this failed spectacularly, and though they were designed to destroy one another, they’re now best friends. Due to their combatative natures, they enter tournaments like the Survival Games often.-Realizing this approach was flawed, Herobrine took a different approach. The Stronghold he had been building, with a half-finished portal to the End, was underwater. So HB created a Player who could guide people to the Stronghold: Husky. He wasn’t extraordinarily combatative, but it was his job to find Players who could be and bring them to the Stronghold.-Sage did not like this, so had Dinnerbone create the Guardians to deter players from deep-sea exploration.-Herobrine wanted to try something new: he wanted to make his own Dev.*Note: it’s been discussed (but not solidified) that “bad end” Yogscast members, like Israphel/Lalna, are HB’s Devs, created later.-Sage was also developing a new Dev at this time.-Herobrine waited until Sage wasn’t paying attention (all players must be created at the Overworld Spawn to prevent complications), and began interfering with the code.-Sage and Herobrine fought for a while over this new Dev. However, when fully-formed, this Dev went on an uncontrollable creative-mode rampage.-Sage and HB teamed up for the first and only time to stop this Dev. They gave him an amulet (made of endstone and blaze rod) to suppress his powers, and created the Hardcore gamemode just for him. They wiped his memory (they knew what happened if you tried to delete a Dev, as evidenced by Herobrine) and dumped the newly-named Sky in a village.*Note: in at least one AU, Sage made Alex, who was then “used” by HB. After a series of corruptions, Alex’s code was repurposed and turned into Sky ala reincarnation.*fun fact: Sky is the only Player who cannot access his inventory. he’s gotta carry everything with him. always-Around this time, Dinnerbone created Lox (traumatic backstory TBD).-The “Plot” begins when Sky’s amulet becomes separated from his body, and he inadvertently teleports himself and Lox out to the Farlands. They are immediately interrogated by True.-True, knowing how Sky works, decides to initiate the Quest (which he won’t tell them too much about). This Quest has them meeting the various other members of the Team, becoming closer, and just bein real good pals.-No we don’t know how it goes or how it ends-sometimes they kill the Ender Dragon and Sky just resets the entire world with his Dev powers because Sage has gone nuts? -we really genuinely have no idea and we wrote it

#team crafted #minecraft #lore #ask #long post #jadespeedster17

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recentanimenews · 4 years ago

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J-Novel Club Licenses Slayers, Holmes of Kyoto, and More

Light novel and manga distributor J-Novel Club were on hand today for Anime Expo Lite, the West Coast convention's answer to the current social distancing measures in place. During their industry panel, they rolled out an exciting slate of 13 light novel and manga titles, some of which are available to start right now on their website if you're a JNC member!

Here's the full list of new titles:

The Bloodline

publishing first on J-Novel Club

After the fall of civilization, a hierarchical society was born where blood determines everything. The rich steal both the blood and lifespans of the poor, rejoicing in their now-eternal lives.

Nagi is a commoner fated to die, while Saya is royalty, gifted with eternal youth. When fate brings their unlikely paths together, their innocent love set the gears in motion to tear down the walls of a society built upon tremendous inequality and racial discrimination.

Slayers

Beautiful and brilliant sorcerer girls just can't have nice things, huh? All I wanted to do was swipe a little bit of bandit treasure. Now suddenly I'm being chased around by icky trolls, nasty demons, mean mummies, and brooding golem bad boys. And for what? A tiny little artifact that can bring about the end of the world? Hah! I'll show them there's a reason you don't cross Lina Inverse…

Start reading now

I Love Yuri and I Got Bodyswapped with a Fujoshi! (manga adaptation)

Meet Reiji Yoshida: a yuri otaku that loves yuri more than anything else in the world. All he wants is to enjoy his hobby in peace, but trouble ensues when he crosses paths with Mitsuru Hoshina, a fujoshi who is obsessed with boys’ love. Hijinks ensue, and a vengeful ghost residing in their school’s manga club swaps their bodies!

Polar opposites in both personalities and hobbies clash in this exciting first volume—follow the adventures of their comedic body swap experiences!

Start reading now

My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me!

Awaking to absolute chaos and carnage while on a school trip, Yogiri Takatou discovers that everyone in his class has been transported to another world! He had somehow managed to sleep through the entire ordeal himself, missing out on the Gift — powers bestowed upon the others by a mysterious Sage who appeared to transport them. Even worse, he and another classmate were ruthlessly abandoned by their friends, left as bait to distract a nearby dragon.

Although not terribly bothered by the thought of dying, he reluctantly decides to protect his lone companion. After all, a lowly Level 1000 monster doesn't stand a chance against his secret power to invoke Instant Death with a single thought! If he can stay awake long enough to bother using it, that is…

Start reading now

WATARU!!! The Hot-Blooded Fighting Teen & His Epic Adventures in a Fantasy World After Stopping a Truck with His Bare Hands!!

It's a wonderful day for Wataru Ito, high school student, master martial artist, honorable and humble teenager, and all-around awesome guy. During his daily run to school he happened to get hit by a large truck barreling around a corner.

Not that this is the kind of event that would be the end of the likes of Wataru, of course, but when a truck runs into you, you get sent to another world. That's just the way things are sometimes. Still, Wataru's not about to take this kind of thing lying down! The first thing he sets out to do is find who's the toughest hombre in this land and go up against the greatest challenges this new world has to offer!

Oh, and the greatest fighter in this place also happens to be the Demon Lord who is kidnapping people all across the kingdom in an attempt to wipe out humanity? Even better! Wataru's main interest is in facing a tough battle; saving the world in the process is just icing on the cake!

Start reading now

Record of Wortenia War (manga)

Ryoma Mikoshiba, an ordinary high-schooler adept at martial arts, one day finds himself summoned to another world. The ones who summoned him, the O’ltormea Empire, cite the fact that 'when those summoned kill another living being, they can absorb a fraction of their strength and make it their own' as their reason. But upon learning the empire uses those they summon to strengthen themselves by foul means, Ryoma is consumed by hatred and slays an important member of the O’ltormean court.

Attempting to escape the Empire's borders while keeping his identity a secret, he is accosted by two twin sisters— one golden-haired, the other silver-haired— in a meeting that sets the gears of fate in motion. The curtain rises on a record of the wars of a young supreme ruler in this other world fantasy!

Start reading now

A Lily Blooms in Another World

a J-Novel Heart title

Miyako Florence isn’t sad when her fiancée breaks off their engagement after two years. It’s all according to plan! Whisked to the world of her favorite otome game, Miyako frees herself from a dull noble to pursue her true soulmate: the game’s villainess Fuuka Hamilton. Proud Fuuka only has eyes for their mutual ex-fiancée! Miyako confesses her love to Fuuka and proposes that they run away together.

Fuuka agrees on one condition: Miyako must make her say “I’m happy” in 14 days. With conniving nobles, strange diseases, and magical rituals pulling them apart, can Miyako win the villainess’s heart? A tentative bud blossoms in this twisting romance from the author of Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress!

Start reading now

Mapping: The Trash-Tier Skill That Got Me into a Top-Tier Party

Note Athlon was really looking forward to becoming an adventurer with his best friend (and crush) Miya. That is, until he drew Mapping—a rare skill with practically no purpose. In other words, it’s trash. This kicks off a vicious spiral for Note, who plummets further and further into the depths of self-loathing despair when Miya leaves him. He now spends his days drinking away his earnings, wondering how things might have been different if only he’d pulled a better skill...

But little does he know his trash-tier skill is about to score him an invite to a top-tier adventuring party! Note’s now determined to find his way through life—and a dungeon!—in order to make something of himself.

Start reading now

Mapping: The Trash-Tier Skill That Got Me into a Top-Tier Party (manga adaptation)

Start reading now

The Sorcerer's Receptionist

a J-Novel Heart title

In a world of everyday magic, Nanalie has always dreamed of becoming a receptionist at the prestigious Sorcerer's Guild. To achieve her goal, she needs to attend a magic school full of princes and the daughters of nobles. Determined to prove that a commoner can be the number one student, she must compete with Rockmann, the son of a duke. When she graduates, she lands her dream job and they go their separate ways.

Nanalie enjoys spending each day alongside her familiar Lala and her kind co-workers, but it seems that fate won’t let her escape her entanglement with Rockmann that easily...

Start reading now

Black Summoner

Waking up in a strange new place with no memory of his past life, Kelvin learns that he’s bartered away those very memories in exchange for powerful new abilities during his recent transmigration. Heading out into a whole new world as a Summoner — with his first Follower being the very goddess who brought him over! — Kelvin begins his new life as an adventurer, and it isn’t long before he discovers his hidden disposition as a battle junkie.

From the Black Knight of the Ancient Castle of Evil Spirits to the demon within the Hidden Cave of the Sage, he revels in the fight against one formidable foe after another. Join this OP adventurer in an exhilarating and epic saga as he and his allies carve their way into the annals of history!

Start reading now

Black Summoner (manga)

Start reading now

Holmes of Kyoto

a J-Novel Heart title

Half a year after moving to Kyoto, high school girl Aoi Mashiro brings her late grandfather’s old scrolls to Kura, an antique store nestled in Kyoto’s Teramachi-Sanjo shopping arcade, for an appraisal. One thing leads to another, and she winds up working there part-time. The manager’s son, Kiyotaka Yagashira—nicknamed the “Holmes of Kyoto”—is uncannily perceptive, and together, they solve strange cases relating to the antiques brought to them by clients.

Start reading now

>> J-Novel Club Website

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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chaotic-good-hawke · 5 years ago

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My OCs Masterpost - Hawke Edition

Here is a brief introduction to my OC Hawkes!

Name: Katheryne “Kitty” Marian Hawke

Worldstate: Worldstate 1 & 2

Age: 24 in 9:31 (born on August 2nd, 9:07 Dragon)

Species/Race: human

Class/Specialization: mage/spirit healer/elemental

Height: 5’8

Gender/sexuality: bi/woman

Romance: Fenris

Characteristics/personality: Purple-leaning; charismatic, self-critical, sarcastic, fiercely protective, impulsive, reckless, story hungry, ambivert, optimistic, rambling talker, empathetic, physically affectionate, a worrier

Hair: short messy straight black hair

Eyes: blue

Distinguishing features: various scars, notably a long one across her back from when she fell from a tree when she was little; a few tattoos

Hobbies: gardening, exploring, finding stories, helping her friends, dancing

Brief Background: The family lived in Denerim, until Kitty was 7 years old and came into her magic. Worried about the templars discovering them, they moved further inland to just outside Lothering. There they worked the land and trained in secret, she learned to love gardening and growing things. Kitty was always closer to her father than her mother, following after him wherever he went. Hearing about his earlier adventures, Hawke was all set to see the world, but then tragedy struck when she was 20 years old, a day after her birthday, as her father died, suddenly. She got the nickname Kitty from Bethany and once they got to Kirkwall, she went by Hawke, because it hurt to hear the name.

Family: Malcolm Hawke (father-deceased 9:27 Dragon), Leandra Amell Hawke (mother – deceased 9:34 Dragon), Bethany Hawke (sister – deceased 9:30 Dragon), and Carver Hawke (Grey Warden), Gamlen Amell (uncle), Charade (cousin), Asher Amell (cousin). But let’s be real, the Kirkwall Crew is also her family. Later, she has two kids with Fenris, Mal and Diana.

Random Notes: Mabari named Babs (Babbler); talks with her hands; had to work hard for her magic, it didn’t come easy to here like it did Bethany; loves raspberries; bonded with a spirit of Hope; main love languages are physical touch and acts of service; infectious impish laugh; favorite season is Spring; lithe and leggy; always finds mischief

Art by @pegaeae and @gewska.

Name: Garrett Lysander Hawke

Worldstate: Worldstate 3

Age: 24 in 9:31 (born on August 2nd, 9:07 Dragon)

Species/Race: human

Class/Specialization: mage/force mage/fire focus

Height: 6’4

Gender/sexuality: gay/man

Romance: Anders

Characteristics/personality: Blue-leaning; cheerful, optimistic, a puppy dog of a human being, reckless, a sweet man who can’t say no, naïve, trusting to a fault, extrovert; strangely insightful for someone who is seemingly clueless; hates conflict

Hair: black hair kept shaggy and a (sometimes) trimmed beard

Eyes: golden amber

Distinguishing features: many scars; strong nose and jaw

Hobbies: talking to people, helping people, baking, getting into trouble by accident, running

Brief Background: Naturally talented in magic, an overpowered force mage who can’t really do small magic. He is a happy-go-lucky guy with more wisdom than intelligence, his father or his siblings keeping him from being conned. He ended up in the protector role in his family less because he is a leader (he really isn’t), but because of his abilities. He wants to take care of everyone and make sure they are happy, whether they are family or friends. He volunteers to help people in the Alienage and in the clinic, though he usually lifts things or entertains kids, instead of using magic.

Random Notes: Mabari is named Mabs (short for Mabel); has read (1) book; main love language is words of affirmation; jock mage (muscular, but soft); has trouble staying still for any length of time; loves sweets; cannot hold his alcohol; forgives easily; misquotes the Chant of Light (he tries); loves puns and dad jokes; boisterous full laugh

Name: Corva Rose Hawke

Worldstate: Worldstate 4

Age: 24 in 9:31 (born in 9:07 Dragon)

Species/Race: human

Class/Specialization: rogue/bow

Height: 5’0

Gender/sexuality: woman/lesbian

Romance: Isabela

Characteristics/personality: Red-leaning, bitter, fiercely and ruthlessly protective of her family and friends, blind to faults of those she loves, biting wit and sarcasm, shoot first and ask questions later, blind rage at injustice, judgmental, introvert, creative, competitive

Hair: long blond hair, like her mother

Eyes: one amber, one blue

Distinguishing features: several tattoos, freckles across her face

Hobbies: drawing, tattooing, archery, collecting flowers, drinking

Brief Background: A sweet child, no one who knew her then would guess that she is the woman she is today. When the family had to move for the fourth time to Lothering, to avoid the notice of templars, Corva was 12 and angry at the Chantry for forcing them to this life. She grew angrier and more bitter as the years went on, after the death of her father, she got in a fist fight with a local templar, Carver stopped her from killing him.

Family: Malcolm Hawke (father-deceased 9:27 Dragon), Leandra Amell Hawke (mother – deceased 9:34 Dragon), Bethany Hawke (sister – circle mage), and Carver Hawke (brother – deceased 9:30 dragon), Gamlen Amell (uncle), Charade (cousin), Asher Amell (cousin)

Random Notes: Mabari is named Baby Blue; was set to storm the Gallows when her sister was taken – only her mother intervening stopped her; not a touchy-feely person; main love language is acts of service; 180 pounds of muscle and padded curves; words are hard (when they need to mean something), action is easier; barking bright laugh

Name: Beau Constantine Hawke

Worldstate: Worldstate 5

Age: 24 in 9:31 (born in 9:07 Dragon)

Species/Race: human

Class/Specialization: mage/blood mage

Height: 5’10

Gender/sexuality: non-binary/bi (they/them)

Romance: Merrill

Characteristics/personality: mostly blue, sweet, charming, cautious, nosy, skittish, clumsy, a good listener, a private person, ambivert, questioning, they live in their head a lot, observant; when push-comes-to-shove, has an iron resolve

Hair: thick coiled red hair

Eyes: amber brown

Distinguishing features: so many little scars

Hobbies: painting, organizing, journaling, people watching, playing games/solving puzzles

Brief Background: A timid child, they were always sneaking and looking, finding things about people in the village they had no reason to know. No one could stay mad at them long, they just had that way about them. Although, it takes people a long time to actually get to know them, they keep everything close. They are fascinated by magic and the fade, never learning to fear it.

Family: Malcolm Hawke (father-deceased 9:27 Dragon), Leandra Amell Hawke (mother – deceased 9:34 Dragon), Bethany Hawke (sister – deceased 9:30 Dragon), and Carver Hawke (brother – deceased 9:32 Dragon), Gamlen Amell (uncle), Charade (cousin), Asher Amell (cousin).

Random Notes: Mabari is named Killjoy; main love language is quality time; loves fancy cheese and breads; 250 pounds of love and squishy curves; loves sunshine and the summer; a quiet leader and eloquent speaker; cheats as well as Isabela and Varric at cards; Snorts when they laugh

Link to my OC Masterpost: Grey Warden Edition!

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #Hawke #MY OCs #Kitty Hawke #Garrett Hawke #Corva Hawke #Beau Hawke #da2 #custom hawke #my oc: Garrett Hawke

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cinnbar-bun · 5 years ago

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Siegfried is Actually A Demonic Otherworld Dragon (100% Real!! NOT FAKE!!!)

Everyone, it’s time. Put on your tinfoil hats peeps, and I’ll reveal the TOTAL TRUTH ON SIEGFRIED. Reveals spoilers for JJBA AND SOME GBF THINGS

For starters, I want to show you something.

This is Siegfried when he was first revealed. Okay. Legit. Dudes been on the run. Definitely would look like he’s been not sleeping for over a hundred years.

Then look at this:

Do you see something strange?

Hm? Maybe it’s the fact that he looks... younger, even?

He permed his hair and dyed it a lighter caramel, and somehow got rid of his bags? Sorry. I don’t buy it.

But you know what I do buy?

He sucked the life force out of his enemies and victims and made himself younger. Let me tell you a story.

Long ago, an asshole enigmatic nobleman, Dio Brando, wears the stone mask and becomes a vampire. As a vampire, he sustains his life force and youthful appearance by sucking the life energy of his victims.

Simple vampire stuff.

But the creator of the stone mask is one of the most prominent Pillar Men ever, Kars.

See something familiar? The long hair? The bulging muscles?

What if I enlightened you ignorant fools and said they had the same voice.

Kars=Siegfried.

You might be a bit confused, but all shall be explained soon.

Kars, after getting the Stone of Aja and placing it on the mask, becomes the Ultimate Lifeform. He has the ability to control nature itself and turn into whatever he would like (ie, he can grow wings like a bird). How is this relevant-ITS VERY RELEVANT BECAUSE KARS HAS BECOME SO POWERFUL AND UNSTOPPABLE. SO MUCH POWER IN AN ALREADY POWERFUL MAN WHO CAN DO SO MUCH DAMAGE AND PRACTICALLY DESTROY THE WORLD WITH HIS MERE HANDS.

At the end though, it doesn’t last long and he gets blown to space, where he becomes a rock and floats for eternity and stops thinking.

OR SO WE ARE MADE TO BELIEVE

Do you really think a god could merely be stopped like that? I highly doubt such an object in space could remain passively existing there.

But as GBF has shown us-there is a way a God could continue. How?

THE MOON PEOPLE.

The Moon People, from what Second Advent has shown us, is very technologically advanced and promotes efficiency, work, and advancements over ‘inefficient’ things like love, leisure, and enjoyment.

IF KARS WAS FLOATING IN SPACE, I BELIEVE THE MOON PEOPLE CAPTURED HIM AND TOOK HIM IN TO RESEARCH HIM.

Kars has stopped thinking by that point probably, but because it was stated he could not die, he still has some parts of his soul in him. Second Advent also showed us that due to moon research, people are able to transfer consciousness into a vessel/another host (see Alandus).

My proposal is that the Moon People wished to create a powerful vessel that they could study and use to enhance their own race.

But, I’m going to take it a step further. It was simply too much to create a creature that powerful, furthermore, they would need something to transfer Kar’s soul into.

I mean, I dunno if any of y’all ever seen Shadow the Hedgehog, but Shadow was created by combining the blood of an alien named Black Doom with the power of the chaos emeralds and stuff. Same gist over here.

The Moon People, wanting to test their limits, made a pact with an Otherworld creature in order to gain some of their blood to help revive the vessel they would use to research. The Otherworld creatures work and deal in lives/souls. Think Dark Jeanne and Aglovale. Sacrifice is needed to keep the vessel going.

So, the Moon People, after finally creating this creature, try to deal with it but find it’s much too chaotic and too uncontrollable to deal with, so they send it to live amongst the skydom. It is equally as chaotic and unpredictable as the vessel they made, so they try to study it in hopes of seeing different results they never would have before.

Now here’s where shot gets crazy. I’m gonna take a page out of @tainbocuailnge ‘s book and borrow their theory about FGO Siegfried being Fafnir and apply it to here.

Basically, the vessel the Moon People and Otherworld creatures worked to create is Fafnir. Of course, since the Otherworld creatures demand sacrifice and ‘balance’ they decide to go ahead and transfer a bit of Fafnir’s power into a knight that tries to slay it. Fafnir is simply too destructive to exist on its own, and they need to create something that can be capable of defeating that destruction.

The knight that comes is ‘Siegfried’ or basically, what he was before he became the Siegfried we know and love today. Siegfried ‘slays’ Fafnir, although as we later find out that he simply sealed it away (more on that later). The knight that exits is not the ‘Siegfried’ he was before, but instead a new, reborn and potentially powerful creature that the Otherworld can use.

Siegfried tries to be the good knight he was before, but due to the Otherworld blood in him, he too has his moments of chaotic feelings and emotions. The Otherworld knows this.

Siegfried, now paraded as a hero, can freely live his life and continue to be the ‘savior’ everyone wants him to be. He now has the ability to infiltrate and gain trust of those around him. The Otherworld’s desire to take control has him act as a loyal Knight and Commander to King Josef and all of Feendrache. He can’t go exploiting his cover too soon. Not when there’s just so many things he needs to do.

But, since like I said before, to maintain his life force, he needs energy from other people. He can’t just exist at full strength and do what he needs, nor can he just drink peoples life energy away.

So he continues on, doing his best to carry out King Josef’s will. In that time, he finds out about Isabella, and the two co-conspire. In exchange for helping her get rid of Josef, she will offer him human sacrifices. They both have their own ideals, but realize they can’t do it alone and need to gain Josef’s full trust.

Siegfried manages to, as Josef entrusted him with the location of a secret passage/stairwell that leads to a jail cell where prisoners could secretly be out there without anyone knowing.

Then comes the day when Isabella murders Josef and frames Siegfried. This is a part of their plan. Isabella plans to kill Josef, frame Siegfried, and have him go on the run. While he’s on the run, he can form black-market level connections and discreetly find out about other kingdoms and magical/powerful things that can help in their quest for power. Isabella then becomes King Carl’s advisor and plays him like a puppet, while Siegfried’s name was slandered.

Notice, Siegfried always brings up his loyalty to Feendrache, but I want to show THIS evidence that proves otherwise.

After Lancelot, Vane, and Danchou go down the staircase and find the village Chief as well as Siegfried, this convo appears.

Siegfried basically admits that at any point in time, he could’ve broken them out. He has the power to stop the knights trying to fight them, he has the power to break the villagers out, and he knew they were in there the whole time.

And yet, for years, he did nothing.

Would a hero reaaaalllyyy do that? Why would he simply leave them there?

Like I said earlier, he has the power to do so, and the following cutscenes literally show him beating them with ease.

This, much like most of Siegfried’s appearances, is to seem like a hero and continue his facade of a valiant and strong warrior.

Consider, also, he knew about Aglovale, and did nothing to stop him earlier until war was about to break out.

Siegfried does this routinely to make himself appear trustworthy. The more people who trust him, the more powerful he can become. The more powerful he is, the more he can enact the will of the Otherworld creatures and do what he was created to all along- Test Potential. He was created to continuously overpower himself again and again, doing feats seemingly impossible with a calm and demure smile.

The moments he spends with his Dirt Kids are to distract from the obviously shady person he is. I mean, hell, his behavior even continues with Danchou too. Just because you are nice and trustworthy, it doesn’t mean shit to him.

In the Dragon Knights skin, the description says:

“Every gentleman knows that stepping out in style requires both polish and an eye for fashion. The contrast in the dark and light theme lends to the attire's mature calm and allure. And while a cool expression may veil one's true intentions, a simple bouquet of deep red roses whispers secretly of love.”

I mean, ‘a cool expression may veil one’s true intentions’-INCREDIBLY SHADY. And also, notice the mention of ‘contrast in the dark and light’. Also shady.

Look at his outfit closely. Most colors are used to symbolize different things, and usually, white represents purity, while black usually represents dark and more repulsive emotions.

His coat is WHITE. When you wear a coat, you’re concealing your body from the cold. In this case, it’s symbolistic for Siegfried acting on his facade as a pure righteous hero, defending justice and being loyal to those whom he serves.

But it’s not the full trust, as Siegfried is wearing a black suit, and notice, one of his hands (concealed with a white glove too), is in his pockets. The other hand, carrying a bouquet of roses, is concealed in his slouched form, partially covered by his coat.

He’s using you. Saying ‘I love you’, as to convince you that he’s there for you and cares for you. He is. But not for the reason you want.

As you’re the Singularity, you have potential. You have the potential to exceed potential, each time overpowering what was thought to be impossible. I mean, plenty of creatures/characters were interested in your potential.

But, by this theory, Siegfried was created to exceed potential as well. You are a perfect example of what potential is, and he craves for that kind of power that you could have. He loves your potential, the power you could provide, the change you can make.

If he could just grasp your potential, perhaps even take your life energy, he could become the powerful entity he was always meant to be.

#granblue fantasy #shitpost #gbf #siegfried #granblue fantasy shitpost #long post #theory #this is a joke #unless.....?

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authorkimberlygrey · 5 years ago

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I know I said I was gonna do a monthly world building post over on my website first but there’s basically nobody over there so /shrug anyway, here’s a mostly condensed history of the conflicts on earth

Be wary ye who enter here, it gets dark.

enjoy

The Blood Empires

Long ago, the first blood mages discovered a few simple spells to alter their surroundings, but as time moved forward, these simple spells became the seeds of empires. The most important of these seeds was the one that sprouted into the Twisted. Humans transformed through blood magic into terrifying weapons that only grew more powerful as they fed upon their victims. Over the centuries, hundreds of thousands of these creatures were unleashed against rival kingdoms until only two great empires remained. Their names are lost, but their conflict left deep scars upon even the modern world. Even thousands of years after their fall, their Twisted wander the earth. Many have been destroyed, but there are others who slumber beneath the wreckage of ancient buildings, waiting for someone foolish enough to wander close and set them upon their bloody missions once again.

The greatest of these twisted was the dragon. There is no way of knowing which empire created it, but the peak of Mt. Everest is still a crumbled wreck, the shell of an egg that hatched and scorched the world. Records of its creation are, thankfully lost, but there are still stories told of it into the modern day. It is said that a hundred Guardian fledglings were slaughtered in its creation, and a hundred thousand humans besides.

So powerful was the dragon that not even the Guardians could stand against it, it was only because the Trinity intervened that the beast was stopped at all. This would later go on to be known as the great flood, and it was from this point onward that Guardians inhabited the land of Caelam.

Though the blood empires left their mark on the world, they would never rise again. This did not mean that peace would reign supreme, however. The years after the Dragon were just as, if not more, tumulus than the days of the empires. Guardians had become more powerful with the gift of their new home and now many among them styled themselves as gods and reigned over their human followings. Oathsworn Guardians stood against them, and it was in the remnants of one of these great battles that the seeds of a new empire were planted.

The Fae Empire

Around eight thousand BC, a pantheon of Fallen Guardians were destroyed and their followers were cast out of the human enclaves. Angered, they took it upon themselves to create a new type of Twisted, a weapon of their truth that could be unleashed against those who denied them. The volunteer of this process was so focused upon the proving of this truth that instead of becoming a mindless beast of destruction, they became the first elf. The others quickly attempted the process for themselves, and though the majority of these first elves instead became Twisted, they eventually figured out the secret to keeping their minds intact. The twisted that resulted from this process were weak and quickly discarded as even canon fodder.

These first elves had fewer powers compared to the later ones, but it was still enough to begin forging a small kingdom of their own. As their numbers grew, the secret of keeping their anchor and how it kept their minds together slipped out and many more blood-changed races began appearing. Many of them were weak and their rituals created more twisted than blood, and they were easily brought into the elves empire as lesser member-races.

Mermaids were first created in a sea-side human enclave. They were women angered by their treatment in this enclave, and so there were no men among them. Unlike the other races, they were powerful and more often sane enough to hold their own against the elves. Their race quickly grew and spread to control the oceans, which they used as leverage against the elves to gain equal status in the empire.

Over time, the creation rituals for both races were adjusted and improved, until they were both far more powerful and longer lived than the earlier versions of themselves. However, though their minds were still present and not destroyed by the power flowing through them as Twisted are, they were still affected by it. Slowly in some and more quickly in others, but among the elves especially, their minds were slowly eroded away until they were insane in the cruelest of ways. Fallen Guardians were another group that was granted equal status to the elves. But even they were not immune to the cruelty of their supposed allies. Mad elves were just as likely to slit the throat of a Fallen as they were an Oathsworn Guardian.

Things only got worse when the elves developed their mental abilities. None are quite sure how they came about, but there are many suspicions that the inspiration for these powers came from Guardians, who were, up until this point, the only race with any telepathic or empathic abilites. While Guardians made it part of their code to never abuse these powers—in fact, most, aside from Fallen, never use them at all—the elves had no such hesitations. They enthralled droves of humans and as they refined this part of the ritual, their powers even became great enough to overpower the minds of Guardian fledglings, and even some adults.

Despite all of their allies and powers, Oathsworn Guardians still managed to keep the expansion of the empire relatively slow. Thus the elves began working to create a new race, one that would help them destroy their enemies once and for all. These efforts culminated in the creation of werewolves. They were capable of disguising themselves as humans. And with with no indication that they were magical at all, they were able to enter Guardian Sanctuaries unopposed as simple refugees, but once they’d gained access to the Sanctuaries, they unleashed their devastating powers.

An average werewolf is eight to nine feet tall standing on two legs, with powerful jaws and sharp claws, capable of leaping nearly twenty feet into the air to catch any attacking or fleeing Guardians. Their most devastating aspect, however, was their fur. No magic could penetrate it, not even the powerful Guardians and so they fell in droves. Their blood only fueling the deaths of their wards and comrades. With the werewolves unleashed, the war quickly turned in the empire’s favor. Guardians were driven to the bares scraps of territory and the clans which had been separate for thousands of years were united in a last ditch effort to strengthen themselves.

While the Guardians were uniting, the Fae empire was fracturing. The elves, growing ever madder in their quest for more powerful telepathic capabilities, angered the other member races. The mermaids began a slow withdraw from the empire, either becoming neutral or in the case of some, even working with their old enemies, the Guardians. These were limited alliances, of course, but it was enough to give the Guardians a stronger foothold along the coasts.

The werewolves, too, began to side against their masters. As the mermaids, some simply turned their backs on the war and kept themselves occupied with whatever territories they could hold. Others, however, turned to the Guardians. For many years, they were uneasy allies at best, neither trusting or respecting the other. The elves were pushed further back and an uneasy cease-fire developed. Every race dedicated themselves to gaining or regaining strength in preparation for the next development.

Only the next development wasn’t another bout of violence, but a gesture of peace. The Poet-Queen Clarity began her reign in the Citadel and though it was an extremely unpopular move, she opened true friendships with the werewolves. From these friendships were born the first Blessed werewolves. They couldn’t change shape like their elf-loyal kin, but they had the aid and protection of the Guardians and that proved to be a deciding factor. Slowly, the elf-loyal wolves began to die out but the Blessed werewolves were capable of having werewolf children and so their numbers increased.

This might have eventually spelled the end of the Fae empire, or perhaps the elves would have created a new shadow race to turn the tables once more. There is no way of knowing, however, because it was just after the first tentative steps of this peace that disaster struck the Guardians. The Calamity. The peoples of earth had no idea what happened, but one day, there was panic and instability among the Guardians. Their Queen was rumored to be dead, and there were no more doorways from Earth to Caelam.

The remaining Guardians clung to their Sanctuaries, but the elves smelled the blood in the water. Even formerly loyal blessed-wolf packs began to lean in the favor of their old masters. However, these weren’t the only powers that sensed a time of change.

The first vampires were a coven of seven blood mages, dedicated to wresting control of earth from the Fae empire. Chief among them was Militades, and when they were transformed, he was the first to gain control of himself and usher his companions back to rationality. With him at their helm, they began a bloody campaign against the remainder of the elves, Militades political cunning also gained them the cooperation of the unaligned mer clans.

Militades wasn’t just well versed in politics, he was a ruthless military commander who was in no way afraid of casualties. It was a quirk of the vampire ritual that the newly transformed were mad with blood lust, blind to any pain or rationality. Legions of blood-ferals could be turned against their enemies and the would be unstoppable until their thirst was slaked or they were killed.

Militades unleashed these blood ferals on elf territory, satisfied to either kill the elves or the humans that they relied upon to keep themselves alive. When he wasn’t unleashing swathes of destruction though, Militades plans could be insidious. He found the few who knew how to preform the elven ritual and killed them all, sending the knowledge of elf creation into death with them. It was in this way that the vampires rendered elves extinct.

Though mermaids worked alongside them in this work, they preferred their independence to becoming part of a new empire, the werewolves were of the same mind. Preferring their friendship with Guardians over servitude to another Shadow Race. The Guardians themselves were weakened from the Calamity still and though they had a new king, they didn’t have the numbers they used to. The vampires, luckily, were more sane than the elves and made themselves content with ruling their own lands. Treaties sprung up between all of these races and peace was—at least temporarily—returned and the Fae Empire forever ended.

The Loss of a Shadow

It was during this time of peace that Militades comrades turned against him. In one night, the vampire’s Elder Council was reduced from seven members to four. Militades and two of the other Elders simply vanished, presumed dead. The truth of the matter was that the Council had turned against their own leader, and though they couldn’t kill him, they managed to lock him away with a small guard of humans. It is unknown if the other two missing members of the council fought against Militades and lost or if they sided with him and were cast into the pit with him.

There he stayed for the next three hundred years, as his guard slowly transitioned into a cult dedicated to worshiping—and containing—what they believed to be the end of the world.

#World building #angels #alternate earth #Ascendant verse #ascendant world building

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midnightblue32-ao3-asianfic · 6 years ago

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Headcanon For Fanfic

This is a long post that’ll serve to introduce Rivens’ home planet, new characters and the headcanons of characters.

Aergon

The planet is set afar from most planets in the magical universe. The ground is mostly a kobicha colour with splats of tyrian purple and raw umber. The oceans are Alice Blue and Atlantic wave. The planet has a ring of amethyst and ash gray clouds that contain blue and yellow crystals.

Travelers often miss or don’t see it due to it having a magical force field about 20 000 km that hides the planet. The people are referred to as Aergons.

Cities

Aergon has 3 main cities

Gaza

Is the biggest of the cities, housing over 35 million people. The city is ruled by the Regierung (the government) and the king Ganon and the future king Alucard. The city in renowned for it’s lavish lifestyle. Also the main housing for the Royal family.

It’s separated into 3 zones.

Zone 1 - Is of Aristocrats and high priests

Zone 2 - Is White Cloaks,Dracons, Withes and Military Personal

Zone 3 - Fairies, Fae ,Common People

Paloma

This city is a heavily faith filled city ruled by the High priests and the Fae .The Fae are the monks of the Goddess and mother Hecate.They mostly live in the city Paloma as they receive same treatment as those of nobility. It also has a high amount of dracons and military personal. It is the main facility for Grims’ Gaurds and temples.

It’s seperated into 3 cities.

Zone 1 - Aristocrats, Clergymen

Zone 2 - Fae, Dracons, Military Personal

Zone 3 - Common People, Fairies

Opia

Is a city that’s just starting to build. It’s undetermined whether what type of city it’ll be. So far though it seems to be a city that is fully controlled city by the Military and Royal supporters.

Children can be made in a manner of three magical ways. Not ranked in popularity

1.The couple goes to a holy temple to fetch holy clay from the ancestral pit. If the ancestors approve of the union of the couple they will give them clay.The couple mold the clay into a baby in likeness of them. Both cut their thumbs to place blood on the temple of the baby in which will absorb the blood making the clay a living baby

2.The second is if a couple goes to a healer. In which the healer will take a small part of their souls and join them into one.The healer will then place the conjoined souls into the decided carrier.

3.This is mainly for couples with fertile issues or of the same sex. Their is a potion which will allow them to conceive and carry a child. This potion is dangerous as most don’t carry to full term and the carriers often die after the birth.

Notes: Domino and Aergon have always had bad relations while Aergon has okay relations with Eraklyon and Lynphea.

Royal Family Line

Myth says the Royal family were born out of iron ore after the Goddess of Magic,Hecate.Wiped the previous inhabitants of Aergon (why Gaza has it’s ruins) to form her own magically inclined people.The royal family live longer than their people as they drink a gold liquor that allows them to live for centuries longer than their subjects.Their has only been about 6 generations of the family.

Note: This is also why Riven was initially interested in Darcy, before she cast a love spell on him after he realized he wasn’t into her.

https://www.familyecho.com/?p=NFGXD&c=rocavuowla&f=387667439928417678

I tried to get pictures of the line to work,but I got annoyed and gave up.

To be King has to be born on 31st of October at 3 in the morning.

Protection for Aergon (apart from the military)

The Kings’ Circle, the protection force for the king and his family. Consists of witches,fairies dracons and the krees. Their emblem is a black circle with gold crossing it out horizontally.

Grims’ Gaurds,they work for Mortimer who is the husband of Tabitha the granddaughter of Pluto, The King Of Man,who was a powerful Sedir. These guards are sworn to protect the people from beasts (wendigos,minotaur and leshy) and protecting magical creatures in the name of the Goddess, Katerina of beasts and magical creatures.

White Cloaks,the guards and protectors of Aergon that has anything do with magic. They consist only of witches,warlocks with the exception of Estelle & Gwen.

Species on Aergon

Null, are humans with no magical ability. These people cover the majority of the population. They often are within the middle class or lower class. Only a few are within the wealthy minority.

Dracons, these people are believed to be descendants of dragons. They are often are tanned,tall with straight hair. They are physically stronger than the null. They often have issues with their emotions often being cold or having no control with their powers. They live in the middle class or nobility often take jobs within The Kings Circle,Grims’ Gaurds or the Military.Note: Rivens father was a Dracon before being turned to stone by Cassandra.

Kree, a minority of people who are half Dracons and Warlocks/Witches encouraged by the government. They often excel with their physical strengths or with their magical powers. Some can excel in both, but it’s not common. Note: Riven is a Kree,but he excels in his magic even though he’s been cursed which doesn’t allow him not to access a lot of his powers.

Fairies, Are looked down upon for their magic,seems no consequence and wild with their use,easy to obtain. Their are two notable fairies on Fairy of Chaos,Estelle and the Fairy of Wind, Gwen. They mostly live in the middle class or lower class.

New Characters (come with headcanon)

Glinda, The Fairy of Stars. She is Stella’s cousin on her mother’s side. She works for La Mode magazine as an editor, that’s how she was able to get Stella the internship.

She has icy blonde hair with thick brown eyebrows (dyed them), small pink lips and amber eyes. She’s tall and has an athletes body since she has broad shoulders.

Loves to annoy Tecna, she likes to the Zenith princess show her emotions. Currently residing in Magix.

Kaden, is a human from Gardenia who is currently seeing Musa. He works as a historian for the local university. He is new in town.

He has tanned skin,silver hair wears glasses and has a bit of a beard. Is a little shorter than Musa.

Alucard, comes from a long line of pure blooded witches and warlocks. He has been announced to be king due to his birthday being on the 31st of October born directly at 3. His reasoning to choose Riven as consort is high controversial in court and to the family. Not because they can’t have kids together,but due to Riven being cursed he’s an unsuitable person to marry. He older than Riven by 3 centuries.

Alucard basically looks like Atticus Rhodes from Yu-Gi-Oh GX ,but with Alucard of Hellsing hairstyle. He also has dark amber eyes which he hides under a mask due to his blindness of magical reasoning,it’s not permanent. Also has a dark smile

Nabora, As old as Cloud Tower Nabora has spent her lifetime with the attempt of being immortal by sucking the lives out of her partners. Although of her high place in society she’s looked down upon due to her fairy blood.

The main reason she was placed on this team is because both members are respectful towards her even though she’s half fairy.

She has pale skin with long grey hair, that at times she can use as a weapon. Also her hair is a symbol for her lifeline. She is of average height and has normal build. She has light pink eyes and pouty blueish lips.

Castiel, a former High priest he was approached by Namath to join the the Gaurds after he defeated a Zero who tried to kill his daughter. Namath joins due to it bringing shelter to him and his family.

Castiel is dark skinned black man . Who is short and has big black eyes. He’s bald except for the back of his head in which his hair is shaped into a golden triangle. He is often seen in a black suit.Also wears golden earrings.

Character Headcanon’s

So in the comics it mentions that they’re supposed attend Alfea for 5 years. So that means they should be done at 21 when they graduate.But if a fairy wants to get honours for their magic they need to spend an additional 2 years at the school teaching and going on missions.

Riven: This is gonna be a long as fuq post cause it features a lot of history.

Riven comes from the Aristocratic family from Paloma. The child of Lord Nicklaus, a dracon and Zatanna a powerful witch from a low class family Kree Riven. They had a loveless marriage as Nicklaus had a strew of mistresses and Zatanna focused too much on her magic for either to focus on a young Riven.

At the age of 4 his mother began having magical breakdowns in which her magic is overpowering her making her physically and magically weak. This has also made her have an obsession over making herself powerful. Riven has only witnessed a few of these moments. This caused Klaus to restrict her presence in the household and to send her off for an unknown time to a temple.

After two years of not seeing his mother she returns as cold as she usually is. His parents marriage remains the same and her magic although controlled at times overpowers her due to her practice of Necromancy. After spending the day with another aristocratic household he returns one day to his mothers eyes being completely white, her blonde hair unruly in a mess of knots and overly brushed hair and grey skin.

She places a curse over him, why his hair is magenta, and locks him in a trunk suitcase.The nanny witnessing this sends a magical emergency telegram to a Temple close which houses the White Cloaks before Zatanna turns her to dust. The White Cloaks arrive with Grims Gaurds (Nicklaus is a part of this team) and turns most of the Cloaks and Gaurds into stone statues.

But Nicklaus stabs her and a wizard named Namath stops her from taking Riven who is in the trunk suitcase. Leaving Riven traumatized and an orphan as his father was turned into a stone statue too. He is then raised by Namath a White Cloak who has a high position within the faith. Reason being is that Namath recognizes that Riven holds a lot of magic within himself, but is unable to access the power.

At age 16, Riven is sent to attend Red Fountain although it’s part of his training to join Grims Guard. Riven is very secretive at school as most Aergons who leave home world. Now we follow Winx canon for a while. After the death of Nabu,his closest friend Riven is sent a letter to return home.

Riven returns to Aergon and immediately joins Grims Gaurds. During the two years Riven is put into a team with Nabora (half witch and half fairy) who is close to age as the creation of Cloud Tower and Castiel a strong warlock from Paloma. Until the soon to be King Alucard, betroths himself to Riven.

Riven although not wanting to be engaged attempts to be in a proper relationship with him whether it be one of companionship or love. He chooses one of love not wanting a situation like his mother. Two years into his duty Mortimer sends Riven and his team to Magix to return magical creatures and using the discovery of a ruin building located in Magix for their official reasoning of being there.

Rivens’ new hairstyle, I personally can’t stand that troll hairstyle with a point especially since it’s been around for like 15 years. Also I do think this will suit his face and personality now. Since he is a calmer person now who at times still does get angry.

Rivens’ Headpiece was given to him in sign of his engagement to Alucard. They don’t wear rings until marriage and even then they wear bands of gold,silver,copper and platinum on their right arrm most of the times to show their married status.

Stella: Although Stella loves designing and clothes in general she’s realized she prefers working behind a desk. And although it does seem out of character she’s managed to convince her cousin, Glinda, to get her an internship at La Mode magazine. She has all the time to do what she wants the most in life with her coronation being moved to her 26th birthday.

Bloom: Being away on Domino has surely helped her the first weeks of her and Sky being on a break. All she wants to do is get back in the art studio, spend time with her friends and finish getting her honours.

Tecna: Tecna’s life is mostly planned out on calendars with chores put in built points. Heck she and Timmy scheduled their breakup two months in advance. Tecna loves her plans and gets mildly annoyed when someone ruins them especially if that person is Glinda who for the better part of a year has been getting on her nerves.

(Also Tecna’s hair has been genetically altered. Since she’s from Zenith the technology to change certain parts of yourself without magic or surgery is possible i.e Height and bone structure. Also I’m gonna let Tecna be a princess here cause in the comics she is one)

Musa: Over the years she’s put herself and her singing career on hold to finish her honours for her fathers sake. Since she’s going to get her honours soon ,she’s so excitied to get back onto the stage. She’s been seeing a guy called Kaden a man from Earth who she met at the Juice bar. She likes , she really likes him,but she doesn’t think it’s gonna work out with her lying to him constantly.

(What I mean by this is she hasn’t told him she’s a fairy and that she’s planning to on being a solo artist. He knows she’s a teacher since her class had a trip to visit earth.)

Aisha/Layla: Her home planet is divided into two kingdoms and although her parents make it seem easy for both kingdoms to co-exist it’s really stressing her out. It also doesn’t help that her and Nex aren’t the best and the stress of obtaining her honours is really stressing her.

Flora: She’s excited for her studies to come to an end. Especially since her and Helia are planning to get married over the spring and with Flora joining the high council of fairies in Lynphea. Life couldn’t be any better.

Sky: With his impending coronation coming soon he’s chosen to take a break this off with Bloom for a while. He think’s it’ll be the best for him to focus on him becoming King and squash a rebellion.

Brandon: Has always stuck to Sky’s side and he’s fine with that. What he isn’t fine with is him being given a position in Sky’s royal court.

Timmy: He doesn’t know much of himself. He doesn’t know what he likes or who he is. He’s always followed a plan that wasn’t meant for him. He wants to live his own life.

Helia: He’s happy with his life and the upcoming wedding. What he’s not happy with is his father, who not only disproves of his relationship ,but also wants him to be with Krystal.

#winx #winx club #winxriven #winxmusa #winxstella #winxbrandon #winxbloom #winxsky #winxtecna #winxtimmy #winxaisha #winxlayla #winxnex #original character #fanfic #headcanon #thewriteristired #sleep #goodnight

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raeynbowboi · 6 years ago

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My Favorite Pokemon of Each Type

I wonder how obvious it is which Pokemon Gen was my first? So I wanted to not only share my favorite Pokemon, but also the reasoning behind why I like them as much as I do. I also took the liberty to include in the descriptions below the 2nd and 3rd place runner ups for each type. A couple ground rules I held myself to: 1. No legendaries, mythical pokemon, or special event Pokemon 2. No Megas, no Alolan Forms

GRASS - SCEPTILE

My least favorite of the Hoenn starters, and the one I was last to do a playthrough with, Sceptile is still by far one of, if not the best grass starter in any generation. The Hoenn region being covered by a lot of water certainly does help its case, and gives it an edge over Team Aqua. Although, for being named Team Aqua, they sure don’t have a lot of water-type pokemon. Still, Sceptile’s speed made it quite the formidable pokemon.

2nd - Tsareena 3rd - Trevenant

FIRE - BLAZIKEN

The first starter I ever completed a Hoenn playthrough with, Blaziken was often my go-to starter for the Hoenn region, largely due to how adorable Torchic was, and how strong Blaziken was. Honestly, I think it has one of the most broken, OP Mega forms in the game, and I absolutely adore it. You may have noticed my top 3 Fire types are all starter pokemon. Yeah, Fire Pokemon as a whole are not very good, so the starters tend to be the only really viable fire types in any given game.

2nd - Charizard 3rd - Infernape

WATER - MILOTIC

I freaking love this monstrosity. Pack this little lady up with Surf, Recover, Toxic, and Ice Beam, and you’ve got a self-regenerating wall. I’ve blown through entire teams with this dynamite creature. This thing has saved me from the brink of defeat, swept teams, stalled long enough to give me the advantage, and whatever else it could in so many battles that I do not do a playthrough without one on my team. I’m even willing to violate the “no repeating types” rule I tend to employ just to have this thing with me. I truly cannot sing its praises enough.

2nd - Kingdra 3rd - Azumarill

NORMAL - LOPUNNY

A very solid hitter, I ran one on a cutesy/beauty team a while back, and it sometimes swept entire teams. I still remember a fight where one of these lovely ladies punched her way through an entire team of Snorlaxes and she wasn’t even Mega-Evolved. I tended to run Power Up Punch, Drain Punch, Attract, and Fire Punch in case of ghosts. Her speed made her a phenomenal support, and the only reason I don’t use her as much any more is that she could benefit from more healing moves or just being bulkier.

2nd - Blissey 3rd - Eevee

ELECTRIC - ELECTIVIRE

Okay, so this thing is more physical than special, and most Electric moves are special, but I tended to just run this guy with Wild Charge, Earthquake, Ice Punch, and Giga Impact. While not the greatest pokemon in the world, I certainly can recall numberous fights where it saved my butt. Plus, it just looks really awesome.

2nd - Luxray 3rd - Manectric

PSYCHIC - ESPEON

Prior to the introduction of Sylveon in gen VI, this thing was the undisputed best Eeveelution in my opinion. Now, I still hold Espeon as #1 due to its healing factor, but Sylveon is a very close 2nd place. I always run this Pokemon with Magic Bounce, and the moves Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Calm Mind, and Morning Sun. While it’s not a perfect set and it doesn’t protect against physical moves, it has been useful in the past, and has even completely stonewalled opponents from being able to do anything. It’s also a great pokemon to send out first, since it counters set up Pokemon, and so it can set up Calm Mind while the opponent is busy swapping out for a Pokemon that can actually do damage. If possible, it’s a really good Pokemon to Baton Pass out because if you can send it out with raised Defense stats, the Magic Bounce will protect it from moves like Roar, Whirlwind, and other moves that would normally destroy a set up playing style.

2nd - Alakazam 3rd - Gallade

FIGHTING - LUCARIO

Not gonna lie, this one is more of a favorite due to cool factor and awesome design, as Fighting is really not one of my favorite types, and I’ve only actually used this Pokemon a couple of times. It’s good, really very good, but it’s just not one I instinctively say “yes, this is a must have on any team”, so it doesn’t get used very much.

2nd - Breloom 3rd - Toxicroak

ROCK - AGGRON

Another Pokemon I can remember liking more for design, I remember working very long and hard to get one for Pokemon Emerald, and I just caught a wild Lairon on Victory Road and trained it until it evolved. I don’t have a deep emotional connection to it, but when I need a bulky tank with an earthy kind of type, this pokemon is always the first to pop into my mind.

2nd - Tyranitar 3rd - Aerodactyl

GROUND - SWAMPERT

My very first starter pokemon ever, Swampert has always had a place in my heart, and its role as a bulky tank that hits hard has endeared it greatly in my heart. Although it suffers from a 4x weakness to grass, in the original Ruby and Sapphire games, this really wasn’t an issue, since most trainers lacked grass-type pokemon.

2nd - Garchomp 3rd - Flygon

FLYING - TOGEKISS

This thing is a freaking nightmare. You get this little lady with Ancient Power, Air Slash, Flamethrower, and Dazzling Gleam, and you’re looking at a non-stop flinching and stat boosting villain. I have completely curbstomped players with one of these, I cannot stress how great this thing is. And if you don’t feel like running Ancient Power, Thunder Wave can be great for eliminating whatever competition it might possible have for speed. And Roost can make this thing all the more annoying to try and kill. This thing is just great all around.

2nd - Gliscor 3rd - Crobat

BUG - SCOLIOPEDE

I’m not a big fan of bug-types. Most of them suck, and even most bug type moves are complete crap, so I don’t really use the type very much. Still, I have run one of these in the past, and Protect + Swords Dance + Speed Boost can turn this thing into a high speed sniper. I definitely have fond memories of this thing. And because it can learn Baton Pass, it’s a great stat gatherer too.

2nd - Ribombe 3rd - Beautifly

POISON - ROSERADE

Another type I don’t really use very much, my favortism for Roserade is mostly due to loving Drew’s Roselia in the anime, and just loving it’s design as a beautiful rose. A solid Pokemon, I don’t really use one anymore, but for a casual playthrough, it works well enough.

2nd - Dragalgae 3rd - Toxipex

DARK - GRENINJA

Let’s be real, everybody loves this thing. We all know why we love this thing. It doesn’t need to be spelled out. Greninja is awesome. The internet collectively agrees. This thing rocks.

2nd - Hydreigon 3rd - Absol

GHOST - MIMIKYU

Talk about a broken ability. With its Disguise ability, Mimikyu effectively has a free turn to do whatever. Whether you want to use Swords Dance to strengthen yourself, or if you wanna get in a strong Super Effective attack, Mimikyu really is just a free turn, and who can argue with that?

2nd - Aegislash 3rd - Mismagius

ICE - WALREIN

Another type I don’t use very much, I can remember this thing being so hard to kill while fighting Glacia. This thing is an absolute wall, and it’s a shame it doesn’t have any healing moves because this thing would become an impregnable barrier.

2nd - Cloister 3rd - Frosslass

STEEL - METAGROSS

It’s an extremely overpowered pseudolegendary. Do I really have to say more? It’s a major fan favorite, and it’s a lot of people’s favorite steel type.

2nd - Steelix 3rd - Scizor

DRAGON - SALAMENCE

There are a lot of good dragons, but when I was a kid, this was the king dragon (except for Rayquaza), and you were the envy of every kid on the playground if you had one of these guys. So for that reason, this guy is forever in my heart as the best dragon.

2nd - Noivern 3rd - Goodra

FAIRY - GARDEVOIR

Let me tell you, this little lady right here is hands down my absolute favorite pokemon, and no not because of waifu art. This thing right here is hands down one of the strongest pokemon in the series, one of the most popular, and is also extremely beautiful. I thought very little of Ralts when I saw them, but when I saw my rival’s Gardevoir, i fell in love so fast I actually restarted the game from scratch to go back and get myself a Ralts. I do not play a game without this pokemon on my team. Period. End of Discussion. I absolutely adore this pokemon, and the mega evolution only made its carnage all the more destructive. 10/10, #1 favorite pokemon. Just amazing.

2nd - Sylveon 3rd - Clefairy

#favorite pokemon #pokemon

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duhragonball · 6 years ago

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (88/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous chapters conveniently available here.

[25 May, 234 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

There was a killer on Planet Saiya, a cold-blooded murderer who hunted Saiyans with a lethal, fast-acting poison. Zatte had taken her wife's star-yacht, the Emerald Eye in search of a way to stop this assassin once and for all.

Like all Dorluns, Zatte was a survivalist, and so she took every possible precaution for her journey. In particular, there was the possibility that the killer might learn of her investigation and sneak aboard the ship to kill her before she could uncover the the truth. In fact, Zatte somewhat hoped this would happen, as her entire investigation had been bait for a trap. She had learned that the killer's poison was derived from proteins found in Dorlun blood. As a Dorlun herself, Zatte would be naturally immune to its effects, which gave her an edge against the killer in the event of a confrontation. The killer was almost certainly Dorlun as well, and while Zatte couldn't be certain what other tricks he might have up his sleeve, she was certain that she could overpower him physically. She was married to the Super Saiyan after all, and years of training with Luffa had made Zatte into quite possibly the strongest Dorlun alive.

So if the killer had stowed away on the ship, Zatte would be pleased, but that didn't mean she would make it easy for him. One hour after leaving the Saiya system, Zatte sealed off the bridge from the rest of the ship, and ordered the ship's computer to run continuous scans for life signs on all decks. An hour later, she programmed the computer to depressurize various sections of the ship, while flooding others with pure nitrogen gas.

Every Dorlun was born with a unique ability. Zatte could manipulate energy, which she generally used for the purpose of camouflaging herself. Bending light waves around her body would make her invisible to the naked eye, as well as devices that relied on electromagnetic radiation. She could also do something similar with her own life energy, enabling her to use her ki without being detected by ki sensitive adepts. Not even Luffa's sharp ki senses could overcome this ability, although Luffa's keen sense of smell was much harder to fool. Theoretically, Zatte could hide herself aboard a starship for several days without being noticed by anyone, but she still needed air, water, and food. Another Dorlun might use different abilities to hide, but the same basic necessities would have to be addressed. Zatte hoped that by controlling the life support system, she could seize the initiative. If there was a stowaway on board, he would need air, and he would have to go to the parts of the ship where Zatte wanted him to go.

If he made it onto the bridge unseen and unheard, he would still have to breathe, and the ship's computer could measure the oxygen consumption in the room. Zatte had programmed it to alert her if the oxygen usage increased enough to indicate the presence of a second life form, no matter how small. Periodically, she walked around the deck, firing a plasma pistol set to produce a wide-dispersal stun ray. She would shoot at every surface on the deck, just in case her enemy might have some way to get around her other safeguards.

"Be careful," she chuckled as she finished her latest sweep with the pistol. Those had been Luffa's last words to her before she departed Planet Saiya. It was sweet of her wife to show such concern, but it was a silly thing to ask of a Dorlun. It was another reminder that they were truly alien to one another. Their marriage hadn't always gone well, but considering the cultural gap between them, it was probably impressive that they'd made things work for as long as they had.

She sat down in the captain's chair and ordered the computer to resume a playlist of music she had arranged for the trip. "Deep thule" had once been her preferred genre of music, but over the years she had acquired an appreciation for wave dyspro. It wasn't exactly toe-tapping fare, but she found the Dysprosium-style bands were good for background music while she read. She wasn't sure how that worked for concerts. Maybe their fans just stayed in their seats and read books during the show.

As she chewed on a ration bar, she glanced up at the main viewer occasionally. It was set to display a continuous readout on the sensor sweeps and life sign readings she had requested. In one hour, she would fire her pistol on the bridge again. Until then she hoped that she could knock out two more chapters of the novel she was reading.

She was not alone.

*******

[25 May, 234 Before Age. Planet Pflaume.]

Pflaume was an ice giant, a planet much larger than Saiya, or the other terrestrial worlds where humanoids typically lived. The only solid portion was at its core. Above this was a dense, superfluid mantle composed of ammonia, methane, and water. Above this lay a thick atmosphere of mostly hydrogen and helium, with clouds of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. To cope with this hostile environment, Pflaume City was constructed to remain aloft in the toxic atmosphere. It was more like a space station than a planetary settlement, but its residents took pride in living in such an inhospitable place, even if they were completely sheltered from its hazards.

Over the years, Pflaume City became an important port-of-call, and this economic importance eventually attracted the idle rich, who enjoyed the novelty of living in such a unique place. The higher levels of the city were reserved for its most elite residents, and the most prized real estate on the station lay upon its uppermost level. There, a great dome displayed a real-time image of the violet Pflaumian sky. It was like standing on a terrestrial planet, only to be surrounded by a vast storm far grander than anyone could imagine. There were municipal parks that allowed the public to enjoy the view, but to actually own property under the dome was ridiculously expensive. To rent a modest apartment under the dome cost more than the price of some entire planets.

The King of the Saiyans, Rehval III, owned an entire private villa on the dome level. He enjoyed showing it off to anyone he met.

Luffa was not impressed.

"You found the doorway," he said pleasantly. "I had a feeling you would."

Behind Luffa was a glowing magic portal about the size and shape of a door. Though she had only taken a single step to pass through it, she had somehow traveled trillions of miles from an underground facility on Planet Saiya. She glanced back and noticed that the passage had begun to shrink and fade away, but this didn't concern her, since she wouldn't need to go back anytime soon.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," Luffa said.

"Of course," Rehval said. The king was sitting on a stone bench, sipping tea from an expensive looking cup. As always he wore clothes of a particular shade of blue, which symbolized the royal line that had ruled the Saiyans for three generations. Usually, he dressed in a suit that resembled the sort of formal attire worn by alien diplomats and heads of state. Today, he looked more like some sort of monk. His tunic and pants were of a very simple, functional design, and he wore no shoes at all.

Standing behind the bench was a woman with rose-colored skin, although the hood of her blue silken robes obscured her face. Luffa thought she noticed some blue hair peeking out of the hood when the woman leaned forward to refill his cup. The tea was steaming hot, and yet she cradled the teapot with her bare hands without any sign of discomfort.

"I know you're excited to see Luffa in person, my dear," Rehval said, looking back to his companion, "but she and I have much to discuss first."

"We had an appointment this morning," Luffa said, struggling to contain her rage. "We were going to catch the Saiyan-killer today, remember?"

He let out an amused snort. "An appointment," he said. "I was hoping you'd call it a date. We're all alone out here, Luffa. You don't have to feel self-conscious about it."

"Knock that crap off," Luffa said. "You've been playing me from the start!"

"Like a fiddle," he admitted. "But some instruments just can't be tuned, no matter how gifted the musician is. Still, it was fun to try."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Luffa demanded.

"I'm talking about power, Luffa. Like most Saiyans, you equate power with physical strength. You think yourself to be the most powerful Saiyan because you're the strongest one, and your strength does make you powerful, but your power lacks scope. Strength is only one dimension of power. A man might be too weak to swim against the current of a mighty river, but if he swims at an angle, he can still manage to cross to the other side. And if he builds a water wheel along its banks to harness the river's power for his own ends? If he uses that power to build machines and uses them to change the very course of the river to suit his ends, is the man still weak? Is the river still mighty?"

"Is this going to be about how smart you are?" Luffa asked. "Because I get this kind of speech all the time. 'You may be strong, Super Saiyan, but my devious plan will blah blah blah' and maybe a death ray or something, and then I break every bone in their hands. If a man drowns in a river, no one cares how clever he was. If they think about him at all, they just call him "That Idiot Who Screwed Around With a River When He Should Have Known Better."

Rehval laughed. "You're right, I apologize," he said. "You've fought so many battles in your time, and all of your enemies probably felt very confident that they had an answer to your superior force. It must sound very cliche. I'll try to be more original."

Luffa shook her wrist, gesturing for him to get on with it.

"What I'm saying is that it's not just about being smart, or just being strong. It's about having options, so you can adapt to any situation. That's what my grandfather believed when he assumed the throne all those years ago. There were a lot of naysayers back then. Anti-monarchists-- like you and your mother-- who rejected the very idea of a Saiyan King. Saiyans who thought that the throne should be awarded in ritual combat. Saiyans who thought kings were only relevant in wartime. Rehval the First sought to change all that. He forged the Saiyan people into something resembling a real nation."

"And then he handed it off to his bastard son," Luffa said with a sneer. "Typical nepotism. You fools get a little bit of authority, and then you think it runs in the family."

"You're absolutely right," Rehval said. "My father didn't deserve the throne, but you shouldn't judge him too harshly. As a king, he carried on my grandfather's work, and he maintained order, more or less. He was more of a steward than a king, really. He was just keeping the throne warm for my brother."

"Your brother?" Luffa asked. For a moment, she was about to point out that he was an only child, but then she remembered the way she had learned this. In an effort to win her trust, Rehval had invited her to sift through his thoughts with her telepathic powers, and she had blithely assumed that any information she found would be genuine. Somehow, though, he had managed to lie to her in spite of this. Even now, when she knew that he had thwarted her mental abilities, it was still difficult to accept that she had been fed disinformation.

"My grandfather insisted that his line use a standard order of succession," Rehval said. "The oldest living male offspring becomes the next king. He was very high on bringing rule of law to the Saiyan race. No contests for leadership, no civil wars or usurpers. It worked well for so many alien governments, so why not us? That was why he made sure his grandchildren were educated off-planet. We went to some of the finest schools in the galaxy. What did your parents do for your schooling, Luffa? I'm guessing it was some run-of-the-mill computer software. I can promise you, you didn't miss anything. Two plus two is four no matter how much you pay someone to tell you that. The history of the Camelian Empire is the same no matter how far you travel. It's the little things that matter with education. The moments no one plans for, or the insights and opportunities that can't be written on a syllabus."

"And that's how you learned to resist mind-readers?" Luffa asked.

"You're getting ahead of me," Rehval said. "I studied alien histories because my father and grandfather thought they were important. My older brother was supposed to become king, not me. That was the rule of law. Even if I could have challenged him for the throne, I'd lose, because he was so much stronger. I was just the backup plan, in case he died unexpectedly. And that got me wondering about why he was born stronger. Why is one Saiyan naturally weaker than another? Why are some Saiyans born with great strength, while others have to work to achieve it? I trained very hard, Luffa, but my power never increased much at all, and I never came close to rivaling my brother."

"Maybe you should have tried harder," Luffa scoffed. "Instead of looking for excuses in the back of some textbook."

"I did both," Rehval said. "But the textbook was where I found the answer. We Saiyans have had a poor understanding of genetics. We think a child should be strong simply because its parents were strong, but it's much more complicated than that. Your parents were never Super Saiyans, yet here you are. My parents were strong, but my brother and I didn't inherit equal shares of that potential. Do you know why that is?"

"Who cares?" Luffa asked. "My father tried to game that system, Rehval. Remember him? He thought he could take my suffering and use it to increase his own strength."

"No, you don't understand," Rehval said. "I wasn't looking to steal someone else's abilities like your father. I wanted to bypass the game entirely. Fate made me the younger brother. Genetics left me at a disadvantage. Political theory wouldn't save me. If I usurped the throne, I would only be setting a precedent for others to usurp it from me. I needed options, so I found some. A classmate of mine told tales of magic-users who occasionally wandered through his home sector. Most of the students didn't listen to him, but I did. I asked him to tell me more. And from there..."

"You studied alchemy," Luffa said. "You told me it was your father's lab, that he was the one who spent all his free time trying to tinker with nature, but it was you all along, wasn't it?"

Rehval nodded. "I considered enrolling in the academy on Planet Gwarthos, but their record-keeping system is too meticulous, and I didn't want there to be any transcript of what I'd learned. Instead, I went to a remote asteroid and learned at the feet of an adept believed to have been dead for decades. My father and brother thought I was studying Camelian art theory, but when I returned to Planet Saiya, I brought with me the means to secure the throne for myself." He held up his hand and pretended to squeeze an imaginary eyedropper. "The next semester, I dosed my brother's food slowly, just enough to make him sick, but not enough to arouse suspicion. He and I were the only two Saiyans at that private school. It wasn't hard for me to switch places with him, and while I assumed his identity there, I worked on my plan to complete my disguise. Within a year, the true Rehval III was dead, and I, the pseudo-Rehval, took his name and his birthright."

"Then what's your real name?" Luffa asked.

"It doesn't matter," Rehval said. "Over the next few years, I learned to construct talismans that would bend others to my will. Eventually, I was able to drop my disguise entirely, and my father and anyone else who mattered believed that I had been the true Rehval III all along. The name my mother gave me became meaningless. The true power of alchemy lies in mystery, Luffa. When the great masters record their secrets, they use the names of other, more prominent figures to make their works seem more important. I have done the same."

"You're a disgrace!" Luffa snarled. "Where's your Saiyan pride?!"

"I swallowed it," Rehval said. "My birthname was a small price to pay for the chance to shape the future of our people. That was how I bypassed the system, Luffa. Your father tried to game the system, but I changed the rules. Did I ever tell you why I like elevators? I remember we talked about it one night, but I don't think I got around to explaining that."

"What does that have to do with--?!" Luffa began to protest.

"On most planets," Rehval went on, "the ones with cities and tall buildings, the ground floor would be the most expensive to rent. Rich people wouldn't want to take the stairs, and landlords would exploit that to their advantage, charging higher rent for lower floors. So a ground floor apartment would be seen as a sign of luxury and status, while the higher floors were left to the rabble. It doesn't make a lot of sense to people like us who can fly, I know, but take my word for it, it holds true on every planet with stairs. "But in every intelligent society, once the elevator is introduced, aha!" He snapped his fingers for effect, and Luffa winced with irritation. "Now, it's easy to move up and down a tall building. Overnight, the paradigm shifts. Now the rich demand to live on the top floors, where they can enjoy the view, or the satisfaction of being higher up than everyone else. Suddenly, what was once despised becomes important. That's the power of elevators, Luffa. That's the kind of power I crave. Not to make the rules, or to break them, but to redefine what rules are."

"You gave up your birthname so you could pretend to be the guy who invented elevators?" Luffa asked. It was a gross oversimplification of what he had said, but she couldn't resist the taunt.

"The Saiyan race had no future before my grandfather took control," Rehval said. "I learned that while I studied the history of other cultures. We Saiyans have no such history. Just a collection of superstitious folk tales passed down from mother to daughter. Everything else was lost and forgotten."

"Because those superstitious folk tales are all that really matter!" Luffa insisted. "They're all we need to know who we are and how we should live! But I guess your mother didn't get that message across! You won't even use the name she gave you!"

"I never said the old stories don't matter," Rehval said. "I'm saying that they're not all that matter. We can have more, but only if we unite as one people under one king and take responsibility for ourselves! It goes against our warrior nature, perhaps, but a strong ruler can force us all together. A strong dynasty can maintain that unity for however long it takes to forge the Saiyan race into a true culture!"

"And your damned sorcery lets you improve on what your grand-daddy started, is that it?" Luffa said. She turned her head and spit. "I've met half-breeds with more conviction than you, 'Rehval'. A true Saiyan doesn't look for shortcuts."

"Then I'm not a true Saiyan," Rehval said evenly. "I'm willing to sacrifice my identity to ensure the future of our species! It's a small price to pay. Tell me, Luffa, what are you willing to do for the Saiyan race? Lead by example? You'll just fight a series of empty wars until you die of old age."

A devious grin spread over Luffa's face. "That does sound like a pretty good life," she said.

"It does, doesn't it?" Rehval said. "I envy our ancestors, who could fight without a care in the world, but destiny has other plans for us, Luffa."

"That's what this is all about, isn't it?" she asked. "There never was a Saiyan killer. You arranged all those murders just so you could ask for my help. This whole time, you were scouting me for your stupid 'destiny plan'."

He sipped his tea and smiled. "You never cease to amaze me, Luffa. I wove a very complex web of deceit, and you still manage to cut straight to the heart of the matter. You're right, of course. I do need you. And since you haven't tried to kill me yet, I assume that you're willing to at least hear my proposal."

*******

[25 May 234 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

Stealing aboard the Emerald Eye was child's play. Avoiding its various security systems was mildly challenging, but she had experience with these matters, and it was no great obstacle for her. The loss of cabin pressure in certain parts of the ship was at most an inconvenience, but nothing she couldn't handle. The sections of the ship pressurized with nitrogen but no oxygen, on the other hand... Those were a different story: they didn't bother her at all.

All in all, it was a disappointing defense, but Zatte was setting a trap, not a fortification. It was only supposed to seem like a thorough defense, and so one had to admire the thoroughness of the ruse. An unsuspecting intruder would have been completely fooled.

The only hard part was entering the bridge without making any noise. Fortunately, Zatte had solved that problem by playing music loud enough to drown out the pneumatic mechanism that opened the door from the lift. One simply had to climb the lift shaft, cut power to the door, and open it manually, releasing the pressure on the pneumatics slowly enough to cut down on the noise.

This allowed her onto the bridge, directly behind the captain's chair. From there, it was just a matter of closing the door behind her, and waiting patiently for the right moment to strike. When she was ready, she stealthily crept up behind Zatte's chair, drew her knife, and...

Suddenly Zatte leaped out of her seat and fired a pistol. The beam was wide enough that it didn't hit her very hard, but it was enough to knock her off her feet. And when Zatte looked directly at her, she realized that her power had been disrupted as well.

Very nice, she thought as she rolled to her feet.

"What the hell are you?!" Zatte demanded.

The intruder smiled and pointed at herself. "plibortuN vehasS, zattE," she said cordially. "That's the special greeting, right? That's how we prove to each other we're really Dorluns, isn't it?"

"Computer!" Zatte shouted. "Identify intruder life readings!"

"No life readings detected," replied the ship's computer.

The woman laughed. "I love this part," she said. "Usually I kill the mark before they ever really get a handle on what they're dealing with, but you! Oh, you'll take a while, so you've got plenty of time to work this out."

Zatte never took her eye off the intruder, and backed away slowly. "Computer," she asked. "Calculate oxygen consumption on the bridge. Does the oxygen demand indicate the presence of a second life form?"

"Negative," the computer replied.

"You're not breathing," Zatte said. "That's how you managed to stow away on all those other ships before you got to Planet Saiya. You don't put off any life signs because you're...."

"Bingo," the intruder cheered. "You were pretty clever, figuring out the Dorlun connection, but then you got cocky, and assumed that your enemy would be just like a Dorlun. And I am Dorlun, mostly, except for one teensy thing: I'm dead."

Zatte pointed at the woman's face. "You don't look like any Dorlun corpse I've ever seen, lady," she said. "Red skin, blue hair? And you look exactly like me. You've even got an eyepatch like mine, even though it's on the wrong eye."

"I know, right?" the intruder said. She gestured to the eyepatch proudly. "It's pretty awesome, but not a lot of people would get the reference. Just you and your friends and your wife, I guess. How is Luffa, by the way?"

"You leave her out of this," Zatte said.

"Leave her out of it?" the intruder laughed. "I was created because of her! Do you think my master would have gone to all this trouble otherwise? Do you know how long it takes to build a homunculus template? To customize it? To imprint it with superficial memories of the original?"

"Homunculus?" Zatte asked.

"Right, I should probably explain that," the intruder said. "I said I was 'dead', but that sort of implies that I used to be alive, and that isn't true. You wouldn't call a rock 'dead', for instance. 'Nonliving' would be more appropriate, but I like the way 'dead' rolls off the tongue. Makes me sound badass. Do you think Luffa would like that?"

"Why did you kill all those Saiyans?" Zatte demanded.

"Because they sucked!" the intruder replied. She threw up her hands and laughed. "Why does anyone do anything, Zatte? I'm a Dorlun, only I'm not a Dorlun, you get it? I'm not alive, so survival doesn't mean much to me. Instead of keeping myself alive like some people in this room, I make sure other people end up dead. You and me, we're like polar opposites, you get it?"

"Then why are you here?" Zatte asked. "If you're telling me you aren't even alive, then why would you care if I exposed your identity? You could have hidden on Planet Saiya for as long as you wanted!"

The intruder laughed. "Oh, you really are clueless, aren't you? I hope I don't sound that dumb when I talk. See, you thought you were being so clever, trying to set a trap for me by investigating my murders. And I was supposed to take the bait to keep you from finding out who I am. Except I'm nobody, Zatte. If you want to give me a name, you can call me Pozet. That's what my master calls me, but it really makes no difference to me."

"Pozet?!" Zatte asked.

"You like it?" she asked. "In the Dorlun language, it means the opposite of your name."

"That's sick!" Zatte said.

"Thanks," Pozet said. "Anyway, like I was saying, you thought you were bait to trap me, but you had it backwards. I was the bait to trap you. And here we are. Just you and me, and no Super Saiyans around to get in our way." She reached for a second knife holstered to the leg of her pants and pointed it menacingly at Zatte. "So... are you as excited about this as I am?"

Zatte's eye was wide with horror, and her mouth hung open in shock, so she had no reply to offer, but Pozet chose to take that as a "yes".

*******

[25 May 234 Before Age. Planet Pflaume.]

"A homunculus," Rehval explained. I knew very little about your wife, but I did learn that Zatte was hospitalized on Planet Extraliga for a time, and it wasn't difficult to hire someone to infiltrate the nursing staff and obtain hair and blood samples. More than enough to imprint her characteristics upon an alchemical construct."

He gestured to the woman standing behind him, and she lifted her hood, revealing a face identical to Zatte's only with red skin and blue hair, rather than the blue skin and red hair typical of Dorluns.

"I call her 'Pozet', he said. She's not really alive, but she resembles Zatte closely enough to give me some insight into that aspect of your life. I needed to understand you, Luffa. Friend or foe, I needed to know as much as I could learn about how your mind works."

Luffa glared at the creature, who now smiled at her with mock affection. "It even has her ability," she said dispassionately. "I was trying to figure out how it could hold that teapot without burning its hands, but it's using energy manipulation. Keeping the tea hot for you."

"I customized the formula to replicate important aspects of Zatte, while reversing certain others," Rehval said. "The color swap was an aesthetic choice. Your wife is a survivor, my Pozet exists only to take life away. She's even taught me some Dorlun phrases."

"Mostly pillow talk," Pozet said. "If you'd like, I can teach you--"

Luffa raised her hand and fired an energy blast at Pozet's forehead. It passed through her quite harmlessly, and destroyed a hill several dozen yards behind her.

"Ooh, spicy!" Pozet said.

"I thought you would have realized by now, Luffa," Rehval said. "The two of us aren't actually here. You're speaking to a image being projected from elsewhere in the city."

"I'm well aware of your cowardice," Luffa said bitterly. "I was just hoping your creature was really standing here, since you seem to consider it expendable."

"Not expendable," Rehval said as he patted Pozet's wrist. "Renewable. Since Pozet isn't truly alive, I can impart her essence onto as many homunculi as I can create. Currently, I have three of them active right now. This one stays here on Pflaume City to attend my villa while I'm away. The second is still lurking around Planet Saiya, continuing to kill Saiyans until I give her the order to stop, and the third is on your ship, securing your wife for me."

"You manufactured this whole Saiyan-killer business, just to lure me here," Luffa said, and you're telling me it's still killing people?"

"Of course she's still killing people," Rehval said. "You and I still haven't caught her yet. It would arouse suspicion if the murders suddenly stopped without explanation. My hope is that you and I come to terms, and then we go back and capture the killer together, and the public will celebrate our successful partnership."

Luffa threw back her head and made a low, angry groan. "You've been deceiving me this entire time, and yet you actually think I'm going to help you lie to your own people? I'll give you this much, Rehval, you may not have any Saiyan pride, but you make up for it in sheer gall."

"Thank you," he said. "That actually means a lot to me, since bile is considered an important bodily humor in alchemical theory. It gives me hope, Luffa, that despite all that's happened between us, we can still work together."

"Then you're deceiving yourself," Luffa said. "I followed you here to kill you."

"Yes, I know," Rehval said. "And that is why I withdrew to Pflaume City, Luffa. On Saiya, there was always a chance you might destroy the planet and escape in your starship. But now, your ship is far from here, so if you do anything reckless here, you risk rupturing the hull of this city."

He pointed at the dome above them, which displayed the torrent of purple clouds raging around them from all sides. "There's no oxygen out there, Luffa. You might be strong enough to survive the winds, but the toxic gases would suffocate you, and even if you had a spacesuit, there would be nowhere for you to go."

She glanced up at the dome, and then back at him. "Cute," she said. "I don't sense any other life forms on the city, either. You must have killed them-- No, you arranged for them to evacuate the place. That way, they'd take all their ships with them. The only way out is that portal I stepped through, and I'm guessing you're the only one who can open it."

"That's right," Rehval said. Pozet chuckled triumphantly while he leaned forward and steepled his fingers. "The only way off this planet alive is through me, Luffa. So you may as well take the time to hear what I have to say."

NEXT: Saiyan and Super Saiyan

#dragon ball #fanfiction #super saiyan #luffa #lssjluffafic #zatte #pozet #rehval #pflaume #sorry to go so long between updates #just felt more motivated to write than edit #so i decided to swim with the current #and these next several chapters are important so i wanted to get everything right

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brinatsukinostarfleetmage · 7 years ago

Text

I have slightly more energy today

I feel a little less like I got hit by a truck today. I’m currently spending time catching up on some much needed leisure reading. I haven’t read Harry Potter in a while. But first, I think it’s time I introduced the rest of my spirits, and explained more about how the Celestial Spirit side of my magic works.

I’ve mentioned previously that Celestial Spirit magic is similar to requip magic in that it draws from a different dimensional plane. However, it’s a little more complicated. You see, each constellation, and even some individual stars, has a Spirit, and each of those spirits has a key. Some constellations have more than one of the same Spirit. Those are the more common spirits, and are attached to silver keys. They are generally the least powerful, and less useful in battle, but they each are very special and useful in their own ways. Crux, the Southern Cross, is one of these. As are Lyra, the Lyre, and Horologium, the Clock.

Some constellations only have one or two spirits, but they have multiple keys, and the spirits divide their time between their key holders. These are attached to jeweled silver keys. Much more rare, and generally powerful. These are generally better suited for combat, and take more power to summon, as well. Aquila the Eagle, and Orion the Huntsman both belong to this group. Many of these, particularly those who are animals like Aquila, can shift between shapes. Draco the Dragon is the most powerful of them, and he is on par with the Zodiac spirits.

I’ve already mentioned the Zodiacs. They are basically the leaders of the spirits, at least they have been for a long time. Leo is their leader. The Zodiacs only have one key, a golden key. Lucy and I are the only mages since ancient times to be able to summon more than two of these at once. Summoning them takes an extraordinary amount of power, which is why so many celestial spirit mages tend to stay in the background while their spirits fight. It’s also why most mages underestimate us.

The only spirits that take more power to summon than the Zodiacs are the platinum keys. These keys do not belong to constellations, but to individual stars. Generally either the brightest stars in the sky, or stars at the heart of another spirit, particularly the Zodiacs. They are very wary of humans, and it takes a great deal to gain their trust. Unless they deem you worthy, they’re impossible to summon at all. If you try to summon one without enough energy, unlike the others, you can’t stop. It will kill you. Luckily, after the first summoning, these spirits will use the their own power to fight. All the mage has to do is call. But they should only be used in the gravest of situations. We don’t know how many of these there are, because most of them have been missing for centuries, and some for over a thousand years. I’ve only found one so far: Regulus. The Heart of the Lion. When summoned together, Regulus and Leo are incredibly powerful. From what Regulus has said, he will be the easiest to convince and summon. Which is ominous, because he took a massive amount of power. I passed out the first time. Admittedly, I was mid-battle trying to stop someone else from stealing his key, but still.

There is one more Spirit. He doesn’t actually have a key. The Celestial Spirit King rules all the spirits. Only a mage capable of summoning three Zodiac spirits at once can summon him, and to do so they must sacrifice a golden key that they have a close bond with. Lucy had to do it with Aquarius, her oldest friend, a long time ago. The key eventually reappeared in the world, but it nearly broke Lucy. Luckily, the king is a friend to us both. He’s very kind, actually.

Now, about the individual spirits.

Silver keys:

Antlia- the air pump. She doesn’t actually look like a pump. She looks like a person. Has wind magic. Can be good at dealing with bad weather. Very shy.

Apus- the bird of paradise. Like several others, he’s good for passing messages. Great at causing distractions. He does fly, but he can’t really carry anything. Very full of himself.

Ara- the altar. Very intelligent and empathetic. Good for undercover work. Her main skill is actually puzzle solving.

Auriga- the chariot. One of the most useful silver keys. Auriga is perfect for very fast land transport. If you have an injured party member, or you need to lead someone on a chase, or a quick getaway, Auriga is very helpful. He’s also very respectful.

Bootes- the herdsman. Great with animals. There’s been a fair few monster attacks where I’ve used him to get animals out of the way, and he’s gotten them to actually help in some missions, like with bandits.

Caelum- the chisel. Caelum is basically a glorified weapon to most. He can switch between a sword form and cannon form. He’s actually quite good at helping to build things when given the chance though.

Camelopardalis- the giraffe. I call her Cami at her request. She can actually change her height as needed. Good for reaching high places if there’s not enough space for a different spirit to fly. Very boisterous.

Canes Venatici- the hunting dogs. As their name suggests, they’re very good hunters and trackers and very fast.

Canis Minor- the little dog. Also called Nikora as a species. Does not look like a dog. Most celestial spirit mages keep them basically as pets. Very loyal and sweet. Lucy’s is named Plue. Mine is Nala (no, it wasn’t a lion king reference. I named her before the lion king, or even Disney, was a concept).

Cetus- the whale. Needs water to be summoned. I’ve used Cetus to stop a tsunami before. Very intelligent. A little overpowered for a normal water fight though.

Chamaeleon- the chameleon. Master of disguise, very good at sneaking and getting me into places.

Circinus- the compass. Not that compass. The kind that makes a circle. Circinus is a good puzzle-solver, and is very good at math. He’s kind of a downer sometimes, but we love him anyway.

Columba- the dove. A peacemaker. Columba can calm heightened emotions to a certain point and make it easier to come to a resolution. Also delivers messages, especially over long distances.

Coma Berenice’s- Berenice’s hair. I still don’t understand this legend. This one is meant to be summoned with another, generally female, to increase agility and speed.

Corona Australis- the southern crown. Summoned with a southern constellation to increase strength and endurance.

Corona Borealis- the northern crown. Does the same, but with northern constellations.

Corvus- the crow. Messenger, but is also good for distractions and quick getaways, because his special ability is to cause instant darkness for his opponent in a certain area.

Crater- the cup. Crater can actually brew potions, of which there are many, with many uses. He produces them in a tenth of the normal brewing time.

Crux- the southern cross. He’s the keeper of the library in the Celestial Spirit world. He’s the go-to for research and questions and analysis of data.

Cygnus- the swan. Cygnus actually is a fighter, though his endurance is lacking. He’s fast and graceful though.

Delphinus- the dolphin. Great for a water fight, very fast and strong. And a total sweetheart.

Dorado- the swordfish. Works well with Delphinus. Unlike Delphinus, he can fight out of the water, but he still has to be near water, or on a boat.

Equuleus- the little horse. He’s adorable. He can’t really carry people, but he can carry equipment. He’s a little clumsy, but he’s got great stamina.

Eridanus- the river. One of the strongest silver keys, he has incredible control over water. But he can’t control salt water. Only fresh water.

Fornax- the furnace. Some control over fire. Very good in cold climates.

Grus- the crane. His balance is extraordinary. He’s a fighter, and a protegee of Libra.

Horologium- the clock. Not just for telling time. In times of extreme danger, Horologium can place the endangered person inside himself and protect them. He’s nearly invincible, but he can’t actually fight.

Hydrus- the water snake. Very sneaky and fast. When summoned with Hydra, it makes Hydra much stronger. Has poison.

Indus- the Indian. He showed up much later in my life than some of them. It was not a fun time in Earth’s history. He’s a good fighter, and very in-tune with nature. He can communicate with it and even manipulate it, plants and animals alike. But he’s very sad.

Lacerta- the lizard. Sneaky little bugger. Can regrow limbs to a point. Can shift between humanoid and lizard forms.

Leo Minor- the little lion. We call him Luke. He’s. Well. In my first life, Loke and I were kind of together. We’re not anymore, though we’re still best friends, but. Um. Let’s just say Luke was born as half-Spirit and decided to become a full spirit later.

Lepus- the rabbit. Very quick. A little jittery. Good messenger, good at making and undoing traps, ironically enough.

Lynx- the lynx. A fighter. Very fast. Very strong.

Lyra- the harp. She’s a musician, obviously. She’s good at finding just the right song for a situation. She’s actually quite smart, too.

Mensa- the table. Intelligent. Good planner. Good at strategy. Literally is a table though.

Microscopium- the microscope. Good at noticing the small details that I might miss. Very smart. Often assists Crux in analysis.

Musca- the fly. A great spy. That’s literally his main job.

Norma- the surveyor’s level. Is a builder. Humanoid. Works with several other spirits to repair and build just about anything.

Octans- the octant. Navigation expert. Works with Pyxis to plot a course to just about anywhere.

Pavo- the peacock. Actually a fighter. Uses his feathers as projectiles.

Pictor- the easel. Similar magic to Reedus. Works with Norma to build things. Pictor paints the parts needed into life.

Pyxis- the ship’s compass. Works with Octans, and literally looks like a penguin with a compass on his head.

Reticulum- the net. Actually like a telescope eyepiece. Good at seeing very far distances. Helpful in long range battles.

Sagitta- the arrow. Similar use to Caelum on his own, but when used with Sagittarius, the strength of both is increased.

Sculptor- the sculptor. Also works with Norma and Pictor to build and repair.

Scutum- the shield. Very helpful, especially when I need to fight and defend someone else at the same time.

Serpens- the serpent. Similar to Hydrus. Strengthens the magic of Ophiuchus the snake charmer.

Sextans- the sextant. Works with Octans and Pyxis. Very good at knowing exact location.

Telescopium- the telescope. Stronger with Reticulum. Can also work with Reti and Sagitta to aim long distance.

Triangulum- the triangle. Works with the other builders. Allows me to calculate angles instantly when I have to do really reckless things like jumping near, onto, or off of cliffs.

Triangulum Australe- the southern triangle. Does basically the same thing. Stronger in the Southern Hemisphere. They work well together.

Tucana- the toucan. Mimics voices. Can make it seem like a group is bigger than it is. Trickster. Helpful in carrying out an ambush of a dark guild.

Ursa Minor- the little bear. Unique. Stronger with Ursa Major, but not a fighter. Ursa Minor is one of the strongest silver spirits because he can create a bridge. Like a rainbow bridge from one place to another. Allows for instant transport of larger groups.

Volans- the flying fish. Actually flies and swims. Very versatile. Can allow others to breathe underwater.

Vulpecula- the little fox. Incredibly sneaky. She’s great for blending in. Humanoid form. Good tracker and hunter. A massive flirt.

Now for the jeweled silver keys. Bear with me. Not many more to go. I’ve already talked about the Zodiacs, after all. Many of these are strengthened by the stars they contain.

Andromeda- the princess. Only one of her, three keys total. Stronger with Perseus. Her chains can bind a mage’s magic. Contains the Andromeda galaxy and four other galaxies.

Argo- the ship. Is now split into three constellations, but is still one Spirit. Can only be summoned a few times a year. Can travel vast distances in a much shorter time. With effort, it could likely encompass and transport the entire Enterprise.

Aquila- the eagle. A fighter. Switches between humanoid and eagle shape. Has saved many from falling to death. Myself included. Contains the star Altair, of the Summer Triangle, who is a platinum key. Stronger in the summer.

Canis Major- the big dog. Incredibly strong and fast. Would be much stronger if I could find Sirius’ key.

Cassiopeia and Cepheus- the king and queen. They come as a pair. They won’t form a contract unless the key holder possesses both. Cassiopeia uses fortune-telling magic and can see the future. Cepheus uses what she sees to fight.

Centaurus- the centaur. An incredible fighter with both the sword and the bow. Incredibly fast. Contains Alpha Centauri, a platinum key.

Draco- the Dragon. Contains the platinum star Etamin. Can switch between dragon and humanoid form. The strongest of the jeweled keys.

Hercules- the hero. I don’t think he needs an explanation.

Hydra- the serpent. Cut off one head, two more will take its place.

Lupus- the wolf. Also switches forms. Became stronger when the Romans were strong.

Monoceros- the unicorn. Incredibly powerful protection magic.

Orion- the hunter. Fighter, hunter, and tracker. Stronger with the hunting dogs. Contains one confirmed platinum key- Betelgeuse. It also contains unconfirmed platinums Bellatrix and Rigel.

Pegasus- the flying horse. Strengthens Hercules. Incredibly fast.

Perseus- the Medusa killer. Strengthened by Andromeda. A legend. Contains the star Mirphak. Unknown if platinum or not.

Phoenix- the fire bird. Incredibly powerful. Can use fire, and can heal any wound as long as the key holder has enough power.

Piscis Austrinus- the southern fish. Used to be much stronger. A fighter, specializing in aquatic climates. Contains the confirmed platinum star Fomalhaut.

Ursa Major- the great bear. She’s very protective, and very strong.

I won’t discuss the Zodiacs here, as I’ve said. But there are several other platinum keys I haven’t mentioned. We know very little about most of them.

Sirius- Canis Major; Arcturus- Bootes; Alpha Centauri- Centaurus; Vega- Lyra; Rigel (?)- Orion; Procyon- Canis Minor; Betelgeuse- Orion; Altair- Aquila; Fomalhaut- Piscis Austrinus; Deneb- Cygnus; Bellatrix (?)- Orion; Mirphak- Perseus; Dubhe (?)- Ursa Major; Polaris- Ursa Minor; Alphard- Hydra; Alpharatz- Andromeda; Etamin- Draco

All of the Zodiacs have a platinum counterpart except Ophiuchus.

Hamal- Aries; Situla- Aquarius; Tegmen- Cancer; Algieba (?)- Leo; Regulus- Leo; Aldebaran- Taurus; Spica- Virgo; Antares- Scorpio; Castor and Pollux- Gemini; Alshat- Capricorn; Brachium- Libra; Terebellum- Sagittarius; Alrisha- Pisces.

There may be other individual stars we don’t know about yet. There are even spirits for other mythologies. Like the Chinese Zodiac. But we stay away from those because having the two groups interact can be very dangerous.

I’ve been told that Sirius is waiting for me. That’s who I’m looking for now. No sign yet, but hopefully one day soon.

#my spirits #spirits in general #celestial spirit magic #different keys

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antisocialxconstruct · 7 years ago

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god i love connie and she's changed so much!!! would you ever write out a full summary for everything she's been through? even entirely going through her tag i feel like there are gaps missing :'o

Thank you! It’s true, she’s changed a TON both as a character and in-fiction as a person. I’ve been working snippets of her backstory into Trip Switch (which admittedly has been on hold for a while), but never just written out a comprehensive summary. Soooo, why not now? Under a cut because it’sss gonna get wordy. (SERIOUSLY it’s like 2k words I’m so sorry)

Conlaeth awoke from the dream back in 1310, (making her around 20 at present day.) She was a talented elementalist but never really took to any of the roles that opened up for her in the Grove, and was only there for a short time before all the talk of adventure and finding her destiny made her restless and eager to travel.

Her first stop was Lion’s Arch, and she immediately fell in love with the ocean air and the feeling of life and constant change in the city. Eventually she fell in with a fellow named Forrest Kincaid, who finagled her a position aboard the Splitblade, a pirate ship (named for its captain, Tydus Splitblade) on which he was the first mate. Conlaeth earned her place but was always a bit of an outsider, as the crew was acutely aware she was only there because Kincaid had taken a liking to her. This divide was worsened after Captain Splitblade was killed in combat and Kincaid took his place, naming Conlaeth as his second in command and elevating her past the ship’s quartermaster, Indira Sulaman, who everyone agreed was the obvious best choice. Kincaid very quickly proved to have been a better yes-man than he was a captain, and Conlaeth became increasingly frustrated with having to answer to someone she felt was incapable of leading when it seemed so obvious to her how to do better.

Shortly after, in the chaos of a particularly bad storm at sea, Kincaid was struck by an improperly fastened canon and knocked overboard–Conlaeth was the only one to witness this, and by the time she sent up the call for help, he had been swept too far out to sea to be rescued. Once they were safely back in port, there was a lot of debate over whether she should be allowed to take command, and more importantly whether she had intentionally let Kincaid die. (To this day, Conlaeth has never definitively answered this question.) In an effort to set right his first and worst misstep, she asked Indira to endorse her as captain in exchange for a position as her right hand, and requested six months to prove she could turn the Splitblade’s career around. Indira reluctantly agreed, and the two worked together over that time–through a combination business both over and under the table–to redefine trade routes and establish solid relations with the other pirate factions along the coast, essentially turning the Splitblade from a renegade pirate ship into the flagship of a robust smuggling ring. Her main opposition at the time was the Defiant, captained by another, more cutthroat and dangerous ex-Lionguard pirate named Su Qinhe. In an effort to remove her from the equation, Conlaeth quietly sowed disquiet amongst Su’s crew before miraculously coming to their aid when Su’s first mate staged a mutiny, during which Su was mortally wounded and then abandoned on the coast of Southsun. Unfortunately no one else amongst Su Qinhe’s crew had the capacity to command such a large company, and the Defiant faded into obscurity, giving Conlaeth free reign of the Sea of Sorrows. (This is important later.)

And everything would have been GREAT, if not for those pesky elder dragons. In 1321, while rendezvousing with another vessel off the coast of Orr, the Splitblade was attacked unexpectedly by an Orrian bone ship backed up by one of Zhaitan’s dragon champions. Both living ships were devastated, and Conlaeth made it out with only a dozen survivors from her crew. While scavenging the wreckage they found that much of the other ship’s cargo had been taken by the risen, but Conlaeth discovered an amulet amongst the ruins that resonated with magical energy, and which she felt compelled to keep for reasons she couldn’t explain. She would continue to carry it with her as a memento, but beyond that she thought little of it. (This is also important later.) When the survivors returned to Lion’s Arch, rumors abound about what had happened to the Splitblade. Many suspected misconduct or incompetence on Conlaeth’s part, and not knowing how to handle such a grievous hit to her reputation, Conlaeth abandoned what remained of her crew and her operation and fled to Divinity’s Reach. There she caught wind of a fledgling military organization being built to fight the elder dragons, and with no solid career direction and a deep-seeded resentment for Zhaitan, who she personally blamed for the loss of her ship, joining the Vigil seemed like the perfect next step.

She didn’t take to the military life immediately, but once she was able to swallow her pride long enough to play the game and work her way through the ranks, she was able to prove herself as an adept and strategic leader, and easily secured a position as warmaster of a squadron dedicated to pushing back against Zhaitan specifically. After leading both the defense and the retaking of Claw Island, she was put forward to fill the role of Commander in the freshly forged Pact, and while there were some concerns about her character, her leadership and past experience in the Sea of Sorrows couldn’t be denied.

Her final year-long battle against Zhaitan proceeds more or less in-line with the personal story, with one notable exception. In the course of their campaign the Pact discovered that Zhaitan gained energy by consuming magical artifacts, which it sent its servants into the world to collect. Suddenly, Conlaeth had an answer to a five year old mystery: why the risen had attacked her ship and left none of the cargo in their wake. Outraged at the revelation that the Splitblade had been little more than collateral damage, she insisted on personally leading the assault on the Mouth of Zhaitan; he knew it would not vindicate her, but it would be intensely satisfying. When they found the Mouth beneath Kitah Mans it was surrounded by a vast collection of magical artifacts, which might not have been noteworthy except for the peculiar reaction it triggered in the amulet she had carried with her since the Splitblade’s destruction–when the Mouth overpowered her and her elemental magic failed her, she tapped into some other energy she did not understand, tearing a rift in reality itself that decimated the Mouth.

This was understandably jarring, but she was never able to replicate the event, and eventually pushed it to the back of her mind as an unrepeatable quirk of circumstances. Zhaitan was defeated, and with nothing else quite as dire on the horizon, she turned her attention to less single-minded business helping to organize the Pact as a general military presence across Tyria.

Admittedly the period surrounding LS season 1 and 2 is a bit fuzzy, as I wasn’t playing the game regularly at the time so I don’t have as firm a grasp on the story (as such some of the details here might still be tweaked in the future). I’m inclined to think she was peripherally involved in those events but wasn’t the star player, so most of her familiarity with DE2.0 came toward the end. What I DO know is that she was on the ground coordinating during the assault on Lion’s Arch, and that when the Breachmaker struck the leyline and threw everything into chaos, she felt it. It was the same force she had tapped into against the Mouth of Zhaitan, but on a level that was now overwhelming and all around her. She had to remove herself from the battlefield before inadvertently hurting someone, but after the initial wave it ebbed enough for her to collect herself. Afterward, with the Pact already moving in to aid Lion’s Arch, she stepped in to assist the ensuing investigation into Scarlet, hoping somewhere along the way she’d get some answers to her own questions. What she eventually surmised was that the amulet she had taken from Orr reacted violently to especially high concentrations of magic, which was becoming an increasingly present risk. However, even without fully understanding it, over time she was able to gain some control over it, utilizing it as a new combat skill.

It wasn’t until Rytlock’s triumphant return out in Maguuma, and the striking similarity between his new-found abilities and the ones she had cultivated, that she got some clue to what she was actually doing. Her best guess was that the amulet itself had some seed of magic that weakened the divide between Tyria and the Mists, and that with enough energy it could cause that division to fracture (the truth is that it was designed to open portals, but she was using it wrong which is why she was getting violent momentary rifts instead. I’m not sure she ever actually figured this out for herself.)

Her role against Mordremoth is also fairly in-line with canon, although I think in spite of her doing her best to keep both herself and her small team together, she struggled significantly with the dragon’s influence, and tended to confide in Canach (and Caithe when she made herself present) to the exclusion of anyone else. This bred a bit of mistrust for her amongst the remains of the Pact, and when she managed to defeat Mordremoth but returned with Caladbolg and no Marshal, their suspicions became more solid. The parallels with her rise to power aboard the Splitblade were not lost on those familiar with her history, and it was decided that she could not be rewarded for killing Trahearne by being given his command. She was “encouraged” to retire from the Pact so that no one would have to explain why the Commander was being discharged after killing two elder dragons, and she was once again a free agent.

Just before the events of season 3, she was visited by a familiar face: Su Qinhe, who had been trapped at the edges of the Mists for years obsessing over the role Conlaeth had played in her death and the destruction of her reputation and legacy. With how turbulent the magical atmosphere of Tyria had become, she’d been able to cross back over the threshold, motivated by a wholly single-minded desire for revenge. She cornered Conlaeth in Lion’s Arch, incapacitated her and took the amulet, and nearly killed her right there in the street. Conlaeth was only saved by the intervention of Somheirle (an old contact she’s kept in touch with, he’s always been around I just haven’t mentioned him). Conlaeth was deeply shaken by the encounter, and by the fact that her injuries and the loss of the amulet not only robbed her of her rift abilities, but the elemental magic she could have fallen back on. She was still recovering when she got called out to Hoelbrak for Eir’s memorial and subsequently got swept up in the hunt for Caudecus. In Bloodstone Fen she came into possession of a gauntlet inlaid with bloodstone shards (looted from a White Mantle corpse), which seemed to have similar qualities to the amulet she lost. She turned its abilities on the White Mantle and Caudecus without a second thought, having a very convenient blind spot for the implications of the bloodstone-poisoned forces she encountered along the way. As the threat of “Lazarus” and the active elder dragons compounded with her ever-present fear of another encounter with Su, Conlaeth was forced to lean more and more on the bloodstone’s influence, never realizing or admitting that it was slowly poisoning her–after all, if it let her protect Aurene, stop a crazed Caudecus, and even face down the hounds of Balthazar, it must be worth it. She eventually chased a lead on Balthazar into Orr, only to discover it was false information planted by Su in order to lure her into a final confrontation. This time Conlaeth was more than equipped for the fight, but her attempt to stop Su once and for all resulted in the bloodstone infection nearly consuming her as well–once again she was saved by Somheirle, who had recognized the threat of corruption and been working behind the scenes to find a way to stop it. Disoriented, Conlaeth turned on her allies, and had to be restrained so the bloodstone infection could be cut away before it spread, which cost her the entirety of her left forearm.

She eventually came back to herself as she recovered, but once again she had been brought low by the consequences of her own choices, and it put her in a fairly dark headspace. She was already questioning whether she was fit to carry on in her role when news reached her of Balthazar moving into Elona, but she chose to view it as a chance to redeem herself.

#and then Elona destroyed her lmao #Anonymous #LT says things #text #Conlaeth

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january-warlock · 7 years ago

Text

Here’s the second commission I’ve done for oblivianrose, and it’s entirely Alistair X Warden.

Pairing: Alistair/Warden

Summary: Neria and Alistair’s Calling is approaching, the Wardens are in turmoil, and trouble brews in the Imperium. A cure for the Blight will give them the leeway they need, but only if it works.

Here it was. The moment she’d been waiting for since Alistair first informed her of the Calling, and her thirty years to live. All of her research, her time with the Inquisition, slaying high dragons for their blood-it all led up to this one moment.

She was certain it would work-her tests on blighted soil sent straight from Lothering, on those cysts she found in dragons, and when her cure worked, she knew she had to test it. If she did this, perhaps the Grey Wardens could come back together and seal the rift, and, just as importantly to her, she’d cure Alistair and herself and prevent them from having to go on the Calling.

And Alistair wasn’t all. Thedas was ripping itself apart once more-they couldn’t go a decade without some catastrophe breaking out. First, the Blight and the civil war in Fereldan. Then the Mage-Templar War and the War of the Lions in Orlais. And Kirkwall still hadn’t fully recovered from either the Qunari Invasion, the Mage-Templar War, or the damage done to the veil by the Breach.

And now this Solas, and the Grey Wardens were tearing themselves apart, and they feared a war among them.

Inquisitor Trevelyan had sent word to her and Hawke, and while she, Hawke, Anders, and Alistair would eventually make their way to the Imperium to fight this Solas and whatever he was planning, right now, the Wardens needed them, Neria especially.

She turned to her lover of ten years-Alistair. The years had caught up to him. Lines around his eyes and mouth,

Her cure was primarily made of high dragon blood; she’d long ago been convinced that that was the key, but it took reading some forbidden texts from the First Blight that had to be translated; the notes of Arch-Mages from long ago that were doing research into the same matter. That had taken a few months, and then, she’d gone as far as the Forbidden Oasis for dragonthorn. Then it was back to Orzammar for lyrium.

The process hadn’t been easy; after months of failure (she’d tried just straight dragon blood at first, only to find that it quickly overwhelmed and killed the plants, so she’d not try that on Alistair). She needed something that would dilute the blood just enough, and tried dragonthorn. Then just a touch of lyrium so the two would not overpower each other. Then there were weeks of testing; and when the results were consistent and what she wanted, and with Alistair and several other Wardens getting worse and worse, she knew it was time.

“Love, it’ll be fine.” Alistair must’ve seen the worry lines on her face. “You’re the smartest woman in Thedas, it will work.”

“It had better.” Neria’s own time was running short; thirty years. That is what Alistair had told her all that time ago at camp during the Blight. They’d have thirty years to live, and back then, that was preferable to dying in the Circle because at least as a Warden she would’ve lived at all. But now, she had Alistair, friends, a real life, something to live for, and she wanted her time back.

Her alchemical setup was impressive; plants hung from the air and climbed up the walls. The air smelled like itchweed, felandris, a mix of poisons and potions, with the slight burning sugar smell of lyrium. Her notes were sprawled all over the tables, and her book piles were taller than she was.

“It’s ready?”

Neria nodded, biting on her lip. She lit the burner, saw the flask heat up, and the mixture went from blue to a dark red. “It is.”

Alistair smiled, and she knew he was trying to put her at ease. “It’ll work.” He said, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Neria took a deep breath, trying to slow her heart down. With a chill of ice magic to cool down the bottle, she tried to hand it to Alistair. When he reached for it, she flinched and pulled it away.

“What is it?” He asked. “Neria, you’ve done the work. This will cure me.”

“I should be doing it too.”

“And what, risk us both?”

“So, you’re saying it won’t work?” Neria’s voice cracked and her eyes were starting to sting. “If this kills you, then I’ll go too.”

“No, you won’t.” He took her hands, setting the concoction to the side. “Neria, you’re the Hero of Ferelden. You’re brilliant, and the world needs you. If this doesn’t work, it can’t take you too. Somebody has to deal with the mess with the other Wardens, and they’ll listen to you more than me.”

Neria sighed. “Okay.”

She handed him her cure, and tried to turn her to nerves to steel and prepare herself for what happened next. Alistair smiled at her, and she hoped that that wouldn’t be the last time.

But she couldn’t prepare herself for what happened next.

Once Alistair had thrown back what was in the bottle, it was like her Joining all over again.

He fell to the ground, writhing and convulsing. His eyes went all white, and she shrieked, and she could’ve sworn she had seen Davith for a split second. He thrashed on the ground for a few minutes more, until he finally stopped moving.

When she was sure he was done, she put two fingers to his throat, and nearly jumped when she felt a pulse. The relief didn’t stop the sweat on her forehead, but she picked him up, threw him onto her shoulders, and carried him to the infirmary.

The medic wasn’t much help, but there wasn’t much she could do except put him on the bed with his head propped up. No one had ever done this before, and there was nothing to be done except wait, and hoped he woke up. But after the Joining, the amount of time a new Warden spent unconscious varied; the longest case was two days. But hopefully, he would wake up.

She grabbed a chair, and put herself next to him. She didn’t care how little she would sleep tonight; it wasn’t going to be anymore than usual anyway.

She drummed her fingers on the windowsill, trying to not cry in front of the medics or other patients. All she could think about was all the time they had together. The Blight, while not a perfect meeting and a rather shit time to be alive, pushed them together. She remembered his rose that she kept preserved, all his jokes...and now, the Calling was coming to take him away, if she hadn’t just succeeded in killing him first.

She could feel her heart breaking. Alistair wasn’t just her lover, he was her first love, her best friend, one of the reasons she kept going, and she might have killed him. But he was breathing-had a pulse, a decent color. All she had to do was wait and hope that he would eventually wake up.

She shifted herself, and prepared to wait for quite a while if the need arose.

It was a full night and half a day before Alistair woke up.

Neria was half-asleep against the window, the sun heating the glass to the point where it was threatening to cook her skin.

Alistair, groggy and with a head that felt like it was full of rocks and metal, managed to say, “Neria?”

And she was awake, just like that. Another thing about the Blight; having to sleep in an unfortified camp with just a tent to protect you from brigands, slyvans, wolves, and darkspawn made you a very light sleeper, especially after shrieks attacked your camp. “Alistair!”

He pulled himself up, and she threw her arms around him. He winced when the light shone in his eyes, but managed a weak laugh and hugged her back. “Hey, I’m alright, I’m alright.”

“You’re alive.” Neria didn’t even try to hide the tears; she didn’t care who was watching. “I thought I’d killed you.”

“Well, you didn’t. Morrigan is sure to be disappointed.”

“When we see her in the Imperium, I’ll tell her.” She took him by the jawline, trying to be as gentle as possible as she examined him. “How do you feel?”

“I feel like that time the that genlock cracked me over the head.” Alistair said, rubbing his temples.

He looked just as old, but less pale, and more like himself. His voice was sounding stronger and stronger by the minute. He didn’t seem to have any problems breathing that she could see. She handed him a glass of water, and his grip was strong, just like pulse.

“Did it work?” He asked.

“You’re not dead, but I’m not sure it took the Blight out of you.” Neria bit her lip. “I guess there’s one way to go see.”

“Fight some darkspawn?”

“Not now. As you can walk.”

It was a few days of Neria constantly checking his temperature, his demeanor, paranoid as ever and waiting obsessively for some sign that he wasn’t well which never came. When Alistair could walk, then run, then raise his sword and shield, they packed their bags with food and other supplies and headed down to the closest Deep Roads entrance that they could find.

Neria’s magic had grown stronger after being freed of the Circle, but it was her ability to sense the darkspawn that gave her an edge against them. And while if Alistair’s loss of that ability meant that her cure had worked, it almost meant...he lost that edge, and maybe crawling down into a darkspawn-filled tunnel with just the two of them might not have been the best idea.

They slipped inside the cave, finding themselves in a long stone corridor that reminded Neria of Orzammar, except it lacked political machinations and people trying to kill them for supporting the “wrong king.” No, down here, it was just...darkspawn.

And it was a few more minutes of silence before Neria could feel darkspawn shifting positions and coming near them.

“Can you feel that?” She asked.

“Feel what?”

Before she could exclaim that he couldn’t sense the darkspawn, she realized that no, he couldn’t sense darkspawn and she put up their barriers, and not a moment too soon. Soon, hemlocks and genlocks ambushed them, arrows flying past them and fireballs scorching the ground a few feet away from them.

Fortunately, Alistair, while ten years did make him older, they didn’t make him slower. Neria shielded them with her magic, and Alistair cut down a few with his sword, and raised his shield to block incoming blows.

“Cover me!” Neria shouted, running to get distance.

She could feel her hair start sticking up when static filled the air; clouds formed overhead, with ominous flashes of lighting, before bolts struck. Some hit the ground, leaving black marks, others hit the darkspawn, taking out a fraction of them.

Alistair cut down a few more, with either decapitations or his sword through the heart.

With enough darkspawn dead and the roads and walls stained black with their blood, Neria, hair mussed and splattered with innards, yelled, “Let’s go! We got what we needed!”

Alistair nodded, slipping his sword back into its sheath, and they made tracks in the dirt, and with enough distance between them and the survivors, Neria pressed her staff to the wall, and with some force magic, it caved, sending boulders down, and sealing the entrance.

Standing outside and trying to catch their breath, Neria’s smile hurt her own face. Alistair had barely gotten his footing when she threw her arms around him, kissing him with the same fervor as the first time.

“We did it! We did it!” She shrieked.

Alistair smiled, and laughed back, swinging her around well above his head. “You did it. I just helped.” and she would swear to any and all higher powers, for a moment there, she could see the years melt right off him, the lines fade from his face, and some of the sadness he carried fade. She felt like a great weight that had been crushing her was finally gone, and that hole in her soul was filled. It was like they were ten years younger, and in a world that hadn’t been determined to break them the moment they were born.

Alistair set her down, but her face was still flushed. Neria cleared her throat, trying to speak without screaming. “We have it. Our cure. Maybe this bring the Wardens back together.”

Alistair frowned. She knew how much he had idolized the Wardens, and seeing them being divided was tearing him upside. “Or at least call for a truce.”

“Solas is on the move in the Imperium, and he will destroy Thedas if he gets the chance.” And at this point, she’d put too much into this godsforaken world to let some wannabe deity come and end it because it didn’t suite him. “We need to make sure we don’t get thrown into a civil war, and then, we’re going down there to help the Inquisitor and whatever rag-tag group they’ve assembled now.”

“That bright, it is?” Alistair grimaced. “Nothing’s changed. It’s always just yesterday’s problems in new forms. So, we get some leeway into our own problems, and then march down to the Imperium to face more before some bald lunatic destroys us all?”

“That’s the sum of it.” She sighed, already feeling the aches in her back that would come from whatever occurred later. “Let’s get back. I need to put into writing what I want to say, but first, help anyone who’s close to their Calling.”

The walk back was hopeful, but heavy. They silently held each others hands, Alistair’s grip as tight as ever. She wondered what the others were doing; she’d have to get a hold of Zevran. They would need his skills in the upcoming battle. Wynne...Wynne was gone, but she left Neria her talents as a spirit healer. Sten was Arishok, and the Qunari had renewed their attacks on Tevinter, but if that kept Tevinter soldiers distracted while they focused on Solas…

Oghren was a fellow Warden, and she knew his time was coming. Leliana was Divine now, but the Chantry had its supporters, and Orlais had recovered, and they were owed favors in Ferelden.

She had to start thinking about a retirement. If cured of the Calling left one unable to serve as a Warden, and with no templars or Circles to worry about, perhaps the time to find some quaint place in the wilderness, far away from people, had come. After whatever was going down in Tevinter with Solas was solved. Because once again, failure was not an option, because failure meant the world being destroyed, and once again, she was going to fight to see the next day.

And now, that was retirement with Alistair. Sleeping in well into the mornings, a rushing river, catching their own food. Sitting in front of a warm, lit fireplace with the dogs at their feet every night…

But that would have to wait.

Once they had gotten back to Weisshaupt, Neria immediately went to her study. She got her ink and quill, and drafted a speech.

My fellow Wardens,

Since our conception as an order, we’ve been succumbing to the Calling, the fate every Grey Warden has suffered when the Blight takes us fully, and we must go to the Deep Roads to die with honor. But no more. My long-time companion Alistair and I have finally found a cure.

Made of high dragon blood, lyrium, and other components, we cured Alistair of the Blight. While this leaves him without his Warden capabilities, it also means that he will not die young, and neither must any Warden, ever again.

She stopped, putting her quill next to the paper. Maybe it was too soon to announce the cure; experiments meant having to watch for side effects, but it wasn’t just the lives she was saving that she was concerned about; it was also the oncoming conflict within their own order that had stirred since Adamant.

She sighed, and went to the next sheet of paper.

My fellow Wardens,

Ever since the events at Adamant, we’ve been splintering. What should our direction be? What place do we have in the world? Do we even have one anymore?

As the last one to slay the Archdemon, I can tell you that the world still needs us. Another Blight will arise eventually. Not in our lifetimes, but some day, and should the world forget again what we do for the people in it, next time, it will be far more devastating.

Alistair came over and slipped his hand over hers. “Neria, you have to rest. Any problems we have won’t get solved tonight.” She knew he was right. The problems with the Wardens wouldn’t be solved in a few weeks, let alone a day or night. He kissed the side of her head. “Come get some sleep. Real sleep, not those two-hours-at-your-desk that you’ve been doing for the past how many months.”

Suddenly, she felt the lack of sleep catching up with her. She couldn’t lift her head, and then even her eyelids. Alistair picked her up in his arms, and carried her over to the bed that they had been sharing. Neria was asleep first, and she didn’t stir when he laid her across him, and pulled the blanket over them, finally getting a real night’s sleep.

#alistair x warden #dragon age #alistair theirin

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