#spoiler alert: it’s a pegasus

[lilislegacy]

percabeth daughter, to her friend: so this is my house. make yourself at home. luckily my older brothers aren’t home, so it’s actually peaceful for once

friend: that’s goo- oh my god! there are two people in your backyard trying to kill each other!

percabeth daughter: huh? oh, no those are my parents. they’re just sparring, don’t worry

friend: sparring? with… a giant knife and… a sword?

percabeth daughter: well they practice hand to hand combat too, but weapons practice is important

friend:

percabeth daughter: come on! let me show you my room

friend: alr- oh my god, is that a horse in your brother’s room?

percabeth daughter, rolling her eyes: ugh mom and dad told him to keep his window closed!

friend: wait, horses just… come into your house? through the second story window?

percabeth daughter: crazy right? they don’t even ask first. like, at least have some manners!

friend:

[shallowoak]

Design Chatter - MLP East Blue Crew!

>> Link to the art here! <<

I've seen some fellow MLP au artists talk through their design ideas, so I thought I'd share my two cents and ramble a bit! Fair warning this will be long and there will be spoilers!

I kept a few simple guidelines for myself in mind:

Keep it fun and surprising, in the spirit of the original!

I draw in the G4 style, but features from every gen and toy line are fair game

Anypony who appeared in the comics as a cameo is not immune and has been redesigned for my selfish needs

I love back card / blind bag style character blurbs. I live for crumbs of worldbuilding XD

I've purposefully not included cutie marks because I suck at drawing them and I'd never finish a piece if I had to draw them :v (maybe a post for another time?)

🌅 Luffy 🌅

In-universe:

"Friendship isn't so much magic but a mandate for those this pony captain likes! This joyful newbie idolises Shanks, a fellow flightless Pegasus pirate. Though rubber wings are useless for flight, his ultra-lightweight body means he is still adept at aerial combat- falling slower and flinging faster. He passes the time between islands gliding by the mast with the gulls."

Design:

I'll level with you all; I'm not huge on red and black ponies. It's nothing personal to anyone who uses the scheme; it's just not my bag. The contrast is a bit harsh on my eyes. (And that every brony in 2015 slammed ponies with the scheme, forever ingraining that bias into me)

Rather, Luffy's scheme is based on his shorts! Light blue and white evoke the shoreline and sky, two limitless places where he spends a lot of time. A softer scheme allows me to draw his vest and hat without them becoming lost on his fur, and I feel it gels better with his light n' bright attitude to life. There's no way he's edgy enough for red and black-!

The swirls on his wings (and hoof fluff) are from the G3 depiction of Pegasi. It's such a gosh darn cute way to draw wings. It's also a fun little nod to the pattern on his fruit and Gear 5 form later on. Ponies are always skirting around the idea of destiny. For him to be a Pegasus was an easy pick for me, the wings symbolising both freedom of movement and spirit!

💚 Zoro 💚

In-universe:

"This aloof Zebra spends all year saving for Apple cider season, where he promptly blows all his bits in under a week. He often unknowingly intimidates those he meets; a bias unaided by the three swords he wields with magnets embedded into his front hooves."

Design:

I'm weak. I couldn't resist the alliteration of Zebra Zoro. You can blame Zecora for starting that. You can also blame her for the parallel of people misunderstanding Zoro's personality based on first impressions. I Pinkie-promise he's a big softie really.

Before I'm bashed, I'm well aware Zoro is Asian. In this instance, you can view that his being a Zebra just connotes that his ancestry lies outside of the East Blue rather than drawing any real-world correlation.

It's the little things that make this version uniquely Zoro, though. His stripes are sword-shaped, come in threes and neatly avoid his back. Hoof magnets were a popular play feature of G3 ponies before kids kept eating them 😶 But I think it's a fun way for Zoro to retain that Earth Pony-adjacent strength whilst still being able to hold all three swords. His stance has always looked weird, anyway.

🍊 Nami 🍊

In-universe:

"A light-footed, citrus-scented Pegasus who gambles with the best in Klugetown. Nothing escapes her- not even the bits from your purse! After a decade of being on high alert, she's more in tune with the weather than even other Pegasi. The sight of rainbows stretching across the sky makes her think of home."

Design:

Honestly, it's nice that we don't know anything about Nami's birth family. When she was adopted, she was just a baby, even younger than Sanji. Belle-Mere (Mare…) and Nojiko shaped her entire life. To that end, I wanted her design to be free of speculation and to focus on what we know for sure.

Her being a Pegasus was influenced by a few things. In G4, Pegasi often have an affinity for the weather and sky. Like Luffy, her wings symbolise the emphasis on freedom in her story. Farming is traditionally an Earth Pony job, so it also shows the disconnect between her passions and current situation.

In this case, the clipping of her wings doesn't stop her from sailing away any more than it does in canon. But it adds to the feeling of control Arlong holds over her, another physical reminder of her duty and self-sacrifice.

Despite what the timeskip art style wants us to believe, Nami is pretty but also really... normal. Normal proportions, face, hair, profession. She's weird for an OP character in that way. To reflect that, I decided that her coat should reflect the colour of the maps she creates. Unique from the pastels around her, but not super stand out, much like her orange mane. The darkened ends of her fur walk the line between showing hard graft and dirtied hooves 🥲 I expanded her tattoo to be a full leg design- 'cuz why shouldn't she show off the symbol of her life truly beginning!?

🎱 Usopp 🎱

In-universe:

"A young, apprehensive Changeling who often lives disguised as a Pony. He uses his transformations to bring stories to life and dazzle those he meets! When danger arises, he shifts into the form of a smaller animal and hides..."

Design:

The choice to make Usopp a Changeling speaks to his insecurity. Why present yourself as a village foal when you could be a great pony of the sea? Or anyone else you could dream up? It also speaks to my own insecurity as an artist, not touching the idea of drawing his nose on a horse face with a 10-foot pole. It's not happening, nuh-uh. It's a horn now for a reason, trust me!

But it also allows for some very literal metamorphosis as he grows throughout the series. His horns grow larger and change shape as the slingshots he uses evolve. (Yes, he absolutely does use his horns to fire things from!) In Pony form, his cutie mark changes to reflect which part of himself he identifies with -or has the most faith in- at any one moment. As an artist, I bet he has great fun drawing up new marks to use.

Rather than becoming a muscly bug after the skip, his wings literally break out from his shell. It isn't the end of his development, but it signifies his change in outlook and newfound faith in himself. Followers of God Usopp view his Pony form as one they, as "common folk" can easily comprehend, rather than his true nature.

He's the only one I drew as his timeskip design, just because it was the most interesting to me. Hyperfixation does strange things to a man.

🍥 Sanji 🍥

In-universe:

"A hot-headed Unicorn who breaks expectations, he fights rude customers with kicks that match the strength of a true Earth Pony! His unusual tail is a hot topic of speculation for off-duty chefs at the Baratie- but he won't speak a word about his past. Maybe try asking about his specials instead?"

Design:

Classic Unicorns are calm, refined and beautiful. Everything that Sanji is... on the surface. I love how Sanji constantly plays with our expectations; who says a creative can't kick ass? Further to that, Sanji's magic skills are wholly unimpressive, with a grand repertoire of two spells. It helps separate him from Robin, the actual magic scholar on board. As an Earth Pony unable to teach him, Zeff has always felt guilty.

His blue coat reflects the shirts he often wears, sure, but blue feels so appropriate for someone who loves the sea so much. It also allows for his fluffy black socks to stand out, coining his epithet. (If horse Sanji wore pants, would he wear them like this? Or like t h i s?) Not naming any names, Luffy he's the only fighter sensible enough to wear horseshoes to protect his feet and often visits Farriers when they make port.

His tail isn't hairless, but is covered in a thin layer of fur like his body until it reaches the tip. It's useful for working in the kitchen as it's easy to wrestle into a hair net. In the Baratie, he's often seen with a red bow decorating it, warning customers that he'll kick if provoked. This style of tail is a largely lost trait of old Unicorns, now most commonly seen in nobility who care a little too much about bloodlines. It's not a feature he's proud of, especially when it calls into question the nature of his relationship to Zeff- a pony he otherwise closely resembles.

[certainobjecttyphoon]

🎉Yugioh duel monsters birthdays and zodiacs signs🎉:

Yugi muto: 4th of Juny (gemenis)

Yami Yugi/Pharaoh Atem: 27th of July (Leo)

Solomon muto: 4th of octuber (Libra)

Joey Wheeler: 25th of January (Aquarius)

Tea Garden: 18th of august (Leo)

Tristan Taylor: 19th of april (Aries)

Ryou Bakura/Yami Bakura: 02th of september (virgo)

The king bakura:27th of octuber (Scorpio)

Marik Ishtar/Yami Marik:23th of december (Capricorn)

Mahad:24th of december (Capricorn)

Seto kaiba:25th of octuber (Scorpio)

Mai Valentine:20th november (Scorpio)

Maxillion pegasus:08th of octuber (libra)

Duke delvin:28th of February (pisces)

Ishizu ishtar:05 of April (aries)

Spoiler alert: There are many Yugioh characters that are. scorpio 👀.

[devilstearsofficial]

"RED SWAN" is done!🦢

You can find the tutorial video on my YouTube channel.

So, which version of my artworks do you like more? Comment below!👇

Sorry for delay but these days I've been very busy and I'm working so hard so I'm very tired, very sleepy but I can't sleep now lool.😅

And if you like my artworks? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR ARTLOVER FOLLOW ME!🔥

[spectralarchers]

@crisis-response-specialist tagged me in a "Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ♥️"

so here goes:

"Nothing Burns like the Cold" is my absolute favorite fic that I've ever written. It's only about 45k long, but the journey of figuring out all the historical things for a fic which had a setting of "Hawkeye goes to Greeland with the Sirius Patrol to find Captain America" was such an incredible one. I love this fic so much too because the friendship between Steve Rogers and Clint Barton got really cemented in my head here. It's just such a wonderful, down to earth, fic and I wish I could make an actual comic book based on it because the illustrations of Greenland in my mind... *chef's kiss*

"Swallow Your Soul" is my second favourite fic I've written, and it's also the longest thing I've ever spit out, bonging out at 114k. I still have no idea how the hell that monster of a fic became so big as it was, I only remember thinking that I needed to write something set between Age of Ultron and Civil War with Ronin as a focus. One of my favorite characters in this story is actually Buck Chisholm, whom I pictured in the likeness of Woody Harrelson as I was writing, and Barney, of course.

"Five Times Clint Barton Spoke with Steve Rogers about Growing Old and the One Time He Didn't" is my third favourite thing I've ever written, and it's one of those short 6k fics I've written punctually. The reason why this fic means so damn much to me is because older Steve Rogers in the story is based so much on my own grandfather. I loved that man so very much, and his life was so full of anecdotes and experience, and I wrote this fic in May of 2019. My grandfather passed at the age of 93 in August of 2019, and even though I miss him every single day, whenever I read this fic again, I am reminded of how kind he was and how I apparently managed to transform some of my fondest memories of my grandfather into old man Steve Rogers.

"'til the skies bleed ashes" is my 2019 NaNoWriMo, which came out at a grand total of 84k words. It's what I imagined would have canonically happened after Infinity War, before Endgame came out and surprised all of it. I remember the kicker being "what if Clint became Director of SHIELD after Fury got dusted?" and then sprinkling some Ronin on top of that, and trying to make things work out. One of my absolute favourite scenes I've ever written is from this fic, and it's the one where Thor is given the heart-shaped herb from Ramonda and T'Challa and goes to his home in Bilskirnir and sees his family together before being brought back to the battlefield atop Sleipnir, flanked by Valkyrie on her Pegasus, Hela on Fenris and Carol Danvers glowing in the sky. Sending the personification of death from the MCU after Thanos made the most sense to me, since that's what he went after in the comics.

"a mausoleum fit for me" is my only non-Marvel fic on this list, but it is my second longest fic ever, at 104k. I remember watching The Old Guard in 2020 and being absolutely mesmerized by this sad, depressed French immortal, and thinking "I have to dissect how he came to be" and originally, the story was going to follow him throughout his life. Eventually, I decided to make a cut by (spoiler alert) Booker's first death in Russia and then continue the rest of the story post-immortality in another fic, which is how this monster of a fic happened. I had my entire living room plastered with post-its and dates and events and someone once told me that "they learned more about the French Revolution through this fic than they did at school" and that's about the greatest compliment anyone could ever give me.

I'm going to send some asks around, but if you feel like self-reccing based on this, consider yourselves tagged <3

[wild-ditto-appeared]

While Ditto was being dramatic, refusing to move and hiding in Fancy Friend's hair, everyone had already gotten ready and met downstairs for breakfast. Ditto was forced to accept its fate and blearily opened its eyes as it was set down on the table. Swablu--that is, Fluffy--was examining Ditto with a smile.

"You're little, like me!"

Mmm? Yes, Ditto was little. It nodded.

Fluffy hopped a couple times. "I like you. Are you one of the flock now?"

Flock? Ditto didn't know what that meant.

Pip patted Fluffy's head. "Don't get ahead of yourself, brother. Ditto is still a baby." Pip turned to Ditto and leaned forward, examining it as well as he could from a respectable distance. "Why so quiet, friend?"

Ditto covered its mouth in answer. It was mute, of course! It couldn't speak, even if it wanted to.

Pip tilted his head. "Can't talk?"

Ditto nodded.

Fluffy squawked, flapping his wings and getting curly feathers everywhere. "That's terrible! That means Ditto can't sing! Poor Ditto!"

Pip flinched away from the feathers. "Hey, watch it! And not everyone wants to sing, y'know!"

Ditto tilted its face, confused. Was singing special to them?

Sylvia brushed the white feathers off of the table idly. "Sorry for the mess," she mumbled softly.

Professor Oak merely laughed. "It looks like your Pokemon and Ditto are making friends!"

Sylvia nodded, a small smile forming on her face. "Y-yeah. I'm glad they can get along. Ditto isn't exactly saying... well, anything, though. I was actually curious about that..."

It wasn't long before they gave the waitress their orders and awaited their meals.

wild-ditto-appeared​:

Ditto didn’t want to wake up. It stayed a rock, but scooted closer to Fancy Friend. No. It’s still sleepy time.

But the distant beeps of a very loud Swablu were persistent and persuasive, forcing Ditto out of its smooth stone form. It planted its face in Fancy Friend’s chest and hid behind his hair. Make it stopppp…

Thankfully, it did. A few minutes after, there was a knock on the door. The muffled voice of Professor Oak could be heard. “Rise and shine! We have a lot of ground to cover today! We’ll save a seat for you downstairs, so make sure you’re ready!”

Footsteps indicated Professor Oak was leaving, but the small, panicked voice of Sylvia still presented itself. “I–I’m so sorry about Fluffy’s behavior… He does this every morning. I should’ve been more responsible and I deeply apologize for the rude awakening…” Her footsteps hurried along after Professor Oak, leaving after that.

Ditto slumped against Fancy Friend. It didn’t want to move or wake up. It refused to move. It had no bones. No bones means no movement. This was Ditto’s excuse. Playing boneless was the best way to get what you want.

And right now, Ditto wanted sleep. Sleep.

Pegasus coudln’t help but chuckle as Ditto slumped against him in his hands. “I’m sure you’ll be more awake once we get breakfast. And we shouldn’t keep Professor Oak and Ms. Reviar waiting.”

“No worries!” Leon called to Sylvia as she left. “Pegasus and I will join you soon!”

Pegasus and Leon got dressed and went to join Professor Oak and Sylvia for breakfast, and Pegasus carried Ditto all the way there. Leon couldn’t help but chuckle at how Ditto refused to move at all in Pegasus’ arms. 

“Aww….does Ditto do it often when it doesn’t want to get up?”

Pegasus nodded. “Sometimes, yes….”

[quijotine]

PIGELLA CAN STEP ON ME ANY TIME OF THE WEEK.

OK BUT THE MIRACUCLASS WAS SO CUTE IN THIS

Mari goes like "who's dora? another one of your imaginary friends like in the 6th grade"

Rose explains Dora is the last name of the dr. that keeps up with her headaches

MARI PUNSSSS

"Send a kiss to mary from me... To the infirMARY"

Hawkmoth akumatizes Juleka basically on the same grounds that had Mari breaking down at the beginning of the seaason and I-

ADRIEN FLUSTERS A LIL BIT AND I--

Adrinette interaction before finding juleka

Mari apologizes for being a clutz and says that she's really worried about juleka and that's why she's all spacey

Adrien says that the things Mari says not always make sense, but they're never cruel, so he understands

The strategies Mari and Adrien use to handle crisis are SO different and SO interesting and I'm def gonna be ranting abt this.

So as you all can tell, Rose used to have a bad illness when she was younger and Juleka is scared that she might fall ill again. She doesn't want the others to treat her differently and so the miracuclass promises they'll keep their cool

Spoiler alert, THEY DON'T, lol

Adrien tells Juleka that he understands why she kept the secret but that it is not necessary to do it anymore because it's better to talk about these things instead of dealing with them alone (SUPER ROUGH TRANSLATION)

That's when mari says "That's what friends are for"

Also the miracuclass just having absolutely no chill ahahahaha THEY ARE SO CUTE THEY GIVE ME SO MUCH LIFEEEE

GUYS ROSE DOESN'T NEED THAT MANY APPLESSSS

Also the WAY Rose is literally MEANT to be a miraculous holder ahfakfhakjdagh

Rose says that Juleka shouldn't feel guilty, it's her fault she kept the secret. So she says she will clear everything out so that everyone stops treating her like she's made of glass

"I never told you because it's not the problems that matter, it's (how you overcome them). I always want to be that Rose, I want to be able to joke with you guys. I don't want you to worry about me because there's no one happier than me, alright?"

"See? I told you everything would be alright"

THE WAY ADRIEN IS TRYING TO KEEP EVERYONE UNDER CONTROL WHILE MARINETTE IS THE ONE INCITING EVERYONE AHAHAH

Mrs. Mendeleiev really said "I'm a science teacher, not a super hero" lol lady WHO HURT YOU.

Ivan: Everyone was captured because of me

Nino: I CAN'T HELP MY BEST FRIEND CONFRONT HIS FATHER

EXCUSE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Chat: Oh, Nino.... This is all our fault. If we had defeated Shadowmoth already they wouldn't be here.

LB: Oh no, this can't be happening

Chat: Cataclysm :))))

BOY R EALLY WAS GONNA KILL HIMSELFFF HELPPPP

Lb: You are right we couldn't defeat such a powerful akuma and sentimonster alone

Rose: This was all my fault, I shouldn't have told Juleka, I am a bad friend... No. I shouldn't think this way. It's good that I told her, they are my friends.

LB @ CN: Chat Noir think positive! You're the best partner anyone could have!

CN: You really think so?

LB: Yes! I know I don't always say it, but I could never do the things I do without you! Besides, it would be a lot less fun to be Ladybug without you!

CN: That's meowrvelus m'lady! I have to say you are also perfect, m'lady.

Rose has the power of joy/positivity

OF COURSE SHE DOES SHE IS THE BESTTTT

PIGELLA COULD STEP ON ME AND I'D CRY OF JOY

The power word is "Gift" and Juleka's biggest wish is to see everyone treat Rose normally

sgjkahgakj I AM CRY

IGHAG I NEED A FUCKING MOMENT OK

CN: Aren't you going to follow her to get the miraculous back, m'lady?

LB: She already did

CN: That girl is amazing!

LB: She didn't need a miraculous to be a heroine

Marinette: You're going to get your cushion for your birthday, you'll have to wait like everyone else. What? she's not made of glass.

Rose: Oh no, this is going to make me faint, can someone take me to the infirmary??

Chloe: Why does no one laugh when I complain?/when i insult (something like this)

Adrien: Because in your case, you always mean it

Chloe: true.

WE LOVE A SASSY KINGGG AOHFAHGAIHGIA @sugarcube-stinkysock @pegasus-anarchy @sketchy-panda @thesquipproject @inimoo @unreliable-trash @sparklylovegiverYOU ARE SERVED MY QUEENS

AND I AM AN IDIOT BC I POSTED THIS ON THE WRONG BLOG

[13leaguestories]

Hey so I was playing Winter in Rivali and I really enjoyed it! So the topic of having an heir/children came up during one of the scenes so it got me wondering, I found an old ask about the Dragons have surrogates coming forward to make sure a proper heir is born when the ruler is in a same sex relationship, but how does that work exactly? Will magic be involved? Will the children still be chimera in Phoenix’s case?

1. A dragon surrogate will always come forward unless the spouse is the same dragon. Traditionally speaking.

2. Same sex couples can have children together using magic, that's what Ozara's mothers did as they are both her birth mothers. This article covers information on that.

3. If Ruben and Phoenix had children then yes they would be chimeras. Again, like Ozara's mother, if they use the ritual for a 'proper heir' (spoiler alert, they don't) then they could use most of Ruben's genes to make a dragon as Ozara is pure pegasus.

I think I answered all your questions *squints*

[doodlefoxart]

Miorine! Time for her au info lol:

- A born alicorn who lacks wings (as well as other things), due to her father being a controlling and manipulative jackass he has done everything in his power to keep her under his hoof. As such she has been told by him since she was a filly that all alicorns must “earn” their wings, but she eventually found out that he placed a “spell” (read: curse) on her that both heavily dampens her magic and prevents her wings and feathers from growing in, with no idea of how to break his spell. Despite this and all the other bs he throws at her she, like in show, is determined to run away and live her own life, going to be a bit harder to do that with a certain Pegasus as a groom though...

- She is shamed for her cutiemark and special talent; gardening, despite the sneers and jabs she finds joy in getting her hooves dirty, preening vegetables and flowers alike and all the works of running a garden. But due to her position as dellings daughter she studies in the management strategy department, she doesn’t particularly hate it but she’d certainly like it a lot more if she wasn’t forced to take those classes.

Also her cutiemark is a tomato plant not because of suletta (sorry guys lol) but because of her mother’s tomato’s that i imagine sparked her love for gardening

Anyways i was gonna do guel next (spoiler alert hes a dragon) but because of the most recent episode i think elan deserves to be next, both elans that is (and im not gonna do as many pose sketches for these next ones sorry again)

[magicaththedemigod]

an extensive analysis of “the song of achilles” by madeline miller

Or: things I noticed and couldn't keep to myself.

Because I just finished reading it and have many feelings about it, I've decided to compile all of them into a very lengthy Tumblr post.

This will be broken up into three parts:

1. Foreshadowing

2. Dramatic (and regular) Irony

3. Fatal Flaws

1. Foreshadowing

Miller does such a delightful job with foreshadowing. The number of quotes I could be spitting at you right now... but I digress. The main job of foreshadowing, especially in a tragedy like "The Song of Achilles," is to set the characters up for their tragedy.

What I like most about how Miller goes about it in this book is that she doesn't attempt to pull a shocking twist out of nowhere; instead, she takes an approach which allows the reader to fully marinate in their despair.

For example, this quote:

Achilles shook his head, impatiently. "But this was a greater punishment for her. It was not fair of them." "There is no law that gods must be fair, Achilles," Chiron said. "And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Do you think?"

Let's take a moment and unpack some of this. For context, this is a conversation between Patroclus, Achilles, and their mentor Chiron. They're discussing the tale of Heracles, who's driven to madness and ends up killing his own wife and kids.

From reading the book, (SPOILER ALERT) you know that Achilles' own pride and honor end up forcing Patroclus to impersonate him in order to save the Greek army, and in doing so is killed by Hector. The fact that Chiron directs this question, "And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Do you think?" to Achilles, who is left behind after Patroclus' death is such delightful foreshadowing that I almost threw the book across the room when I first read it.

Achilles slumps into such a depression after Patroclus dies (really, after he kills Patroclus with his own fatal flaw), that he even loses the ability to care about his fame or honor anymore. He feels the greater grief, so to speak.

Even after he dies, Patroclus is left behind, unable to rest properly because they never put his name on the tomb. In that sense, Patroclus is then the one left behind, experiencing loneliness and grief.

The book is full of little hints like this, and that's part of why it's almost torture to read as someone who knows how the Iliad goes. As I said before: the foreshadowing in this book is meant to have the reader in pain from the beginning because you know nothing is going to work out in the end.

2. Dramatic (and regular) Irony

Yes, that's right. I'm about to rip into your soul.

Probably one of the biggest parts of classical Greek myths is dramatic irony (the audience knowing something the characters don't). In plays, the ending is almost always announced before the play begins. In fact, the audience most likely already knows the story from previous tellings or just general knowledge. It makes sense that it would be one of the biggest players in "The Song of Achilles."

As usual, let's start with a quote:

His eyes opened. "Name one hero who was happy." I considered. Heracles went mad and killed his family; Theseus lost his bride and father; Jason's children and new wife were murdered by his old; Bellerophon killed the Chimera but was crippled by the fall from Pegasus' back. "You can't." He was sitting up now, leaning forward. "I can't." "I know. They never let you be famous and happy." He lifted an eyebrow. "I'll tell you a secret." "Tell me." I loved it when he was like this. "I'm going to be the first." He took my palm and held it to his. "Swear it." "Why me?" "Because you're the reason. Swear it." "I swear it," I said, lost in the high color of his cheeks, the flame in his eyes. "I swear it," he echoed. We sat like that a moment, hands touching. He grinned. "I feel like I could eat the world raw."

First of all: cute. Second of all: wow, so much pain.

As you know, Achilles is the opposite of happy at the end of the book (well, maybe after they die, but we'll get to that later). Though he swears it here with Patroclus, the two of them make decisions that ultimately lead to their downfall: Achilles decides to abandon the Greeks after they slighted his honor, Patroclus decides to help them even if it means risking his life, and Achilles lets him do it.

So let's talk about dramatic irony. The irony here is that you know, maybe just from this exchange alone, that Achilles isn't going to be the first happy hero. You know there is a war coming, know that Achilles and his famous heel will get himself killed. You might also know at this point that Patroclus will die first and send Achilles spiraling into grief before that happens.

It's painful, truly. Achilles spends his last days in utter agony, wanting to die but unable to kill himself, and Patroclus can only watch on as a ghost (spirit?). Even when Achilles does die and his ashes are put into their urn (seriously, how did any scholar ever think they weren't lovers?), they still have to wait to be reunited.

But there's still more. Consider these lines:

Hector's eyes are wide, but he will run no longer. He says, "Grant me this. Give my body to my family, when you have killed me." Achilles makes a sound like choking. "There are no bargains between lions and men. I will kill you and eat you raw."

Sound familiar? That's right: "I will kill you and eat you raw" sounds an awful lot like "I feel like I could eat the world raw," doesn't it? Another parallel from Miller: one from a time of happiness, the other from a time of extreme grief. However painful it is, I really live for connections like that.

And I've got one more for you:

Achilles shook his head. "Never. He is brave and strong, but that is all. He would break against Hector like water on a rock. So. It is me, or no one." "You will not do it." I tried not to let it sound like begging. "No." He was quiet a moment. "But I can see it. That's the strange thing. Like in a dream. I can see myself throwing the spear, see him fall. I walk up to the body and stand over it." Dread rose in my chest. I took a breath, forced it away. "And then what?" "That's the strangest of all. I look down at his blood and know my death is coming. But in the dream I do not mind. What I feel, most of all, is relief." "Do you think it can be prophecy?" The questions seemed to make him self-conscious. He shook his head. "No. I think it is nothing at all. A daydream." I forced my voice to match his in lightness. "I'm sure you're right. After all, Hector hasn't done anything to you."

See where I'm going with this? I don't think I need to explain this one.

3. Fatal Flaws

That's right, one of the most essential pieces for a tragedy: hamartia. For those who might not know, hamartia is the fatal flaw that ultimately leads to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine. In every single piece of classical greek writing, if the story is a tragedy, the main character will have a fatal flaw that makes it so.

Take Achilles:

I looked at the stone of his face, and despaired. “If you love me-”

“No!” His face was stiff with tension. “I cannot! If I yield, Agamemnon can dishonor me whenever he wishes. The kings will not respect me, nor the men!” He was breathless, as though he had run far. “Do you think I wish them all to die? But I cannot. I cannot! I will not let them take this from me!”

You probably already know what his fatal flaw is: pride. He needs the fame, needs the glorious memory of his deeds to live on forever, so badly that he is willing to sacrifice his life and what might’ve been a fulfilling and long life with Patroclus out of the limelight. His fatal flaw is what spurs each of his actions in the later half of the book, including the moment where he decides to leave the Greeks to their deaths for slandering him.

Even Patroclus has a fatal flaw: his love for Achilles.

That night I lay in bed beside Achilles. His face is innocent, sleep-smoothed and sweetly boyish. I love to see it. This is his truest self, earnest and guileless, full of mischief but without malice. He is lost in Agamemnon and Odysseus’ wily double meanings, their lies and games of power. They have confounded him, tied him to a stake and baited him. I stroke the soft skin of his forehead. I would untie him if I could. If he would let me.

Though riding into the center of the fighting, especially dressed as Achilles, will make Patroclus the prime target, he decides to do it anyway. And not out of fear for Achilles’s life; he knows how important his pride and reputation is to him, and out of desperation will do anything to keep Achilles from being devastated when it doesn’t work out for him.

(Honestly, this is the part where I start to hate Achilles for doing this to Patroclus... it’s like he doesn’t even consider Patroclus his equal and does everything without consulting him.)

Of course, Agamemnon has a fatal flaw as well. He is like the mirror image of Achilles, so proud and stubborn, righteous and arrogant. However, he is the darker image, the one that revels in taking things by force and, of course, raping women like Briseis. He serves as a poignant foil for Achilles, highlighting all the ways the traits they share can easily become corrupted. It’s part of why this novel works so well.

I hope you all enjoyed this book as much as I did. Truthfully, I did have a few problems with it, but I wanted to trying picking it apart anyway. And if you haven’t read the song of achilles... what are you doing reading these spoilers?? 

[awthredestim]

Commission for Triple Sharp.

Name: Triple Sharp / "Trip"

Age: 27

Species: Pegasus Pony

Sex: Male

Residence: Reino, Neighvada

Occupation: Independent Songwriter / Composer

Proficiencies: Electric guitar, bass guitar, some drums, some vocals, audio mixing, writing harmonies

Deficiencies: Writing melodies, writing lyrics, meeting deadlines, messy workflow, troubleshooting DAW issues

Family: Mother, stepdad, several sisters, several nieces and nephews

Personality: Introverted, makes liberal use of "colorful" language, tends to ramble and go on tangents, dark sense of humor, jaded, existential dread

Misc.: "Everything aches constantly", slow/short-distance flier, prone to accidental spoonerisms, restless legs, borderline thalassophobia

Likes: Heavy/fast/experimental music, polyrhythms, atypical time signatures, liquor, greasy food, sweets, other music nerds, ladylike mares and "tomcolts" alike

Dislikes: Pop/dance/overly happy music, noisy neighbors, moralizers, censorship, authoritarianism, self-entitlement, excuse making, blind conformity, wannabes, pompadours

"Want in one hoof and shit in the other, see which one fills up first. Spoiler alert, that's gonna be the shit-hoof...but at least you have a perfectly good turd to fling at a well deserving target!"

· - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · This one was drawn quite a while ago, as I finally figured out how to properly shade ref. sheets. Very, very lightly. Another Friday, another Ref. Sheet. You can check the Making of Post right here. I hope you guys enjoy the picture! Please, let me know what you think of it in the comments. I appreciate and every single one I receive. Thank you!

[aiyaar]

Moments that I liked in Tower of Nero (mostly solangelo moments)

SPOILER ALERT

Pt.1

‘The son of Hades, cavern-runners’ friend,

Must show the secret way unto the throne.

On Nero’s own your lives do now depend.’

Because it's a prophecy about Nico and it made my heart skip a beat

You know that meme with the honey bear and the caption honey, he gay ? Yes, I created that. And in Ganymede’s case, it was hardly news.

This was hilarious. And Rick is finally using the word "gay"

My beautiful son, with his kind eyes, his healer’s hands, his sun-warm demeanour.

Because this is exactly how you describe Will Solace

His boyfriend, Nico di Angelo, hovered at the edge of our reunion – observing, keeping to the shadows, as children of Hades tend to do. His dark hair had grown longer. He was barefoot, in tattered jeans and a black version of the camp’s standard T-shirt, with a skeletal pegasus on the front above the words CABIN 13 .

Nico's Camp Half-blood t-shirt gives me live. Where can I get one?

He didn’t look angry, exactly. He looked as if he’d been hit in the gut not just once but so many times over the course of so many years that he was beginning to lose perspective on what it meant to be in pain. He swayed on his feet. He blinked. Then he flinched, jerking his hands away from Meg’s as if he’d just remembered his own touch was poison.

Heartbreak. Once again.

‘I …’ he faltered. ‘Scusatemi .’

‘He only slips into Italian when he’s really upset.’

My headcanon that Nico slips to Italian when feeling very emotional is a canon now

My son Will emerged from the bathroom in a billow of steam, his blond hair dripping wet and a towel around his waist. On his left pectoral was a stylized sun tattoo, which seemed unnecessary to me – as if he could be mistaken for anything but a child of the sun god.

Will fresh from the shower. Water dripping from his hair. He has a tattoo. I think I just had a heart attack.

‘Yeah,’ Will agreed, his face drawn with worry. ‘They’ve been eating most meals together, though Nico doesn’t eat much these days. Nico has been having … I guess you’d call it post-traumatic stress disorder. He gets flashbacks. He has waking dreams. Dionysus is trying to help him make sense of it all. The worst part is the voices.’

Nico's PTSD is canon.

‘Nico won’t tell me much. Just … someone in Tartarus keeps calling his name. Someone needs his help. It’s been all I could do to stop him from storming down into the Underworld by himself. I told him: talk to Dionysus first. Figure out what’s real and what’s not. Then, if he has to go … we’ll go together.’

Hints to Nico and Will's novel

Will sat next to Nico and put an apple on his empty plate. ‘Eat something.’

‘Hmph,’ Nico said, though he leaned into Will ever so slightly.

Will caring about Nico will never get old. Also I headcanon that nico has an eating disorder along with PTSD. How he's eating is not healthy.

Nico caught my gaze across the table. His dark eyes swam with anger and worry. On his plate, the apple started to wither.

Will squeezed his hand. ‘Hey, stop.’

Will being Nico's emotional support. It just makes my heart melt.

He was deceptively quiet. He appeared anaemic and frail. He kept himself on the periphery. But Will was right about how much Nico had been through. He had been born in Mussolini’s Italy. He had survived decades in the time-warp reality of the Lotus Casino. He’d emerged in modern times disoriented and culture-shocked, arrived at Camp Half-Blood, and promptly lost his sister Bianca to a dangerous quest. He had wandered the Labyrinth in self-imposed exile, being tortured and brainwashed by a malevolent ghost. He’d overcome everyone’s distrust and emerged from the Battle of Manhattan as a hero. He’d been captured by giants during the rise of Gaia. He’d wandered Tartarus alone and somehow managed to come out alive. And, through it all, he’d struggled with his upbringing as a conservative Catholic Italian male from the 1930s and finally learned to accept himself as a young gay man.

All the pain that Nico has been through just breaks my heart. I want to protect him so much. Hope he'll be happy.

Like I might take you out for pizza this weekend,’ Will offered, ‘if you’re not too annoying.’

‘Exactly.’ Nico’s smile was a bit of winter sun breaking between snow flurries.

Solangelo flirting shamelessly. I want to write the fanfic about they date now.

‘William Andrew Solace,’ Nico said, ‘do you have something to confess?’

Will's full name, guys. Nico calling Will by his full name. It's just perfect.

[ask-wiggles]

-kicks down the door- FOR YOUR DND NAME THING- A BIG NERDY PROFFESSOR CALLED THEO SAURUS

that is a GOOD ONE

also related to this: last session (tuesday), i used almost ALL your fuggin name suggestions all at once because of ONE PUZZLE

there’s a locked door that requires a password!! what’s the password? there’s a gallery with 10 paintings on it on each side and spoiler alert, the trick was that there were two identical portraits at the very end of the first Captain and her name was the password.

these motherfuckers made me go down every single portrait and give the name and physical description of the horses in them. they were like *LARGE SMIRKS* SO WHAT’S ON THE NAME PLAQUE OF THE FIRST ONE, DM BAD-AT-NAMES and i was like ha HA time to RATTLE OFF 8 UNIQUE NAMES AND DESCRIPTIONS because i actually PREPARED this time YOU ASSHOLES 

it was one of those classic “dm screams internally because the players are WAY overthinking this very simple puzzle” moments, love ‘em

“let’s take the first letters of each name” “wait what color was the third portrait on the left??”  “you said the seventh one was a non-binary pegasus, right??”

me: *immediately has forgotten every single horse i made up on the spot* yup you got it

[uniarycode]

Digimon Adventure Episode 32

My little pony edition?  (spoilers I guess.)

-        Pretty short recap this time.

-        Has Patamon ever run before, as opposed to being carried or flying?

-        Patamon digivole toooo…fatigue mon

-        Good pup bodies naughty pup

-        Yamato being a good big bro?

-        Mimi has the best offscreen adventures

-        And Jou just Jous

-        Let’s trust Gomamon, not like Jou’s one of the important characters anyway.

-        Urgent alert, people are telling lies online.

-        Lopmon is a jedi

-        So Pata-Tail are the last real holy Digimon? Is that’s what’s happening?

-        Lopmon has shown at least as much power as Patamon, so what are the holy Digimon’s real strengths?

-        Learning to Digivolve is like learning to swim: sometimes your brother just throws you into the deep end and you either learn or you die.

-        That’s Cerberumon, he could be a threat, so long as we don’t bust out Wargreymon.

-        It’s a good thing Fangmon bit a flesh arm this time, less people will complain about greymon feeling pain.

-        Komondomon the real mvp

-        This would also be a good time for Wargreymon, guess Taichi is just not feeling brave enough

-        Oh so now explosions can hurt kids, but Taichi can ride a missile into a tree sixty feet of the ground and it does nothing.

-        Is the implication here, after nominally winning the ancient war, Seraphimon got captured, submerged in the miasma for eons, (the miasma that burned metalgreymon to the touch and was even able to weaken El Dradimon), and was able to endure it all based on the pure thought he might meet Takeru someday?  Talk about the embodiment of hope

-        Yes I noticed the slight shift to Shadowseraphimon before he rejected it and devolved.

-        This feels more impactful than the mega evolution

-        Also more courageous, Takeru is clearly scared, Sora tells him to run, Patamon can’t take on one Fangmon, let alone a pack and Cerberumon but they still press on.

-        Dang, they didn’t go patamon Soaring mode ☹

-        You may thing Pegasus mon looks bigger, but no, Reboot Takeru’s just that small.

-        Did Pegasmon deal with those fangmon easier than Garudamon-Metalgreymon?

-        Those aerial summersaults

-        “Aim for the mouth.” Works 100% of the time, 60% of the time.

-        How is Takeru not sick?  Stomach of cast iron that one.

-        Can’t even let Pegasmon beat the Monster of the week in his one debut /s

-        Komondomon has 8 legs, so I guess they are norse puppies.

-        “The Hikari of Dawn” is a terrible title, “The Light of Dawn” is only moderately better.     

[whitecrownsblackthrones-archived]

Verses I’ve considered Making but Haven’t made up my Mind Yet

Pretty Tower Princess Ann 『v!PTPA』 Revamp

Nothing super serious, just a rebooted version of an existing verse, just so it suits the ‘Magical Girl’ theme, seeing as the first one doesn’t suit what the verse tag implies. Which probably means some new fcs & a new plot line

Of course this requires a lot more thinking, considering how difficult reboots around here have been, ex: finishing the new plotline first

Goddess 『v!Goddess』 Expansion

An expansion on an existing verse, to include other Chosens & make this more like a godly pantheon, rather then just two goddesses existing on their own. This could be made into a whole different sort of verse in itself, since just the verse as is allows of things like ’divide champions’, priests & priestesses to come & exist.

The House of 20 Royals 『v!House of 20 Royals』 Inspired by: Barbie & the 12 Dancing Princesses

At some point I randomly decided to go back & watch a bunch of different movies that I really enjoyed as a child(spoiler alert: a lot of them were Barbie movies & I have no shame in that). This particular one was one of my favorites.

The way it goes is, there is this particular kingdom(for sanity’s sake, let’s just say it’s Camellia for now), who is known for their royal family for being very, very large(due to the 20 royal children[not just daughters exclusive either]), as well as having a wide & strange variety of special abilities. This family, while not completely divided, do get into spats often, as they all wish to be the next king/queen of the kingdom & try to sabotage each other’s chances for that(by assuring that no one gets married, as to be in line for succession requires them to be married). Slowly, these 20 royal children, must get over their differences & disagreences, to over come a common enemy & save their slowly dying father.

For this particular verse, it is recommended that participates are one(or more depending on how many characters you wanna involve) of the 20 royal children, or a servant to the royal family to get the full experience, they can also have a single magical ability of their choosing(if they don’t already have one[they would just have to check it over with me so we can make sure it ain’t op or something]). Many royals from the main world will also be shoved into this verse for the sake of saving myself hours looking for fcs.

The Princess & the Oblivion Scepter 『v!Oblivion Scepter』 Inspired by: Barbie & the Magic of Pegasus & the existing PTPA story

Another verse taken from the inspiration from a childhood favorite, as well as twisting an existing story of mine.

The Princess Annalise never knew what life outside the castle walls were like, until one day, she snuck out to see the world for what it was, only to discover a dark secret her family had been hiding from her. Or rather, that she was the secret her family had been trying to keep from someone. Soon after, a curse is cast upon the kingdom & she disappears from her home completely. It’s up to you to find the missing princess & bring her home, as well as break the kingdom’s curse.

For this story, participates can be anyone, from a member of the royal family, to a servant, to a mere commoner, however, you will have a pre-mandated relationship with one character: the Magician of the Royal Court.

Modern AU 『v!High Schooler』

Nothing particularly special about this one, just an AU where Ann & Sue are turned into completely normal high school girls. Probably be good for the people who aren’t into all this ‘royalty’ stuff... which appears to be a lot of folks.

Swapped Chosens 『v!Swapped Chosens』

Also pretty much what it sounds like, what would happen is Suzanne had been Yang’s Chosen, & Ann would have been Ying’s Chosen. It’s had to say whether or not is their personalities would change to an extremity, though there certainly would be some changes there, & it would definitely require a change in fcs for them both.

Maid AU『v!Servants』

Again, one of those things where it is exactly what it sounds like, making Ann & Sue the servants to the royalty in which participates are likely to be the royals/nobles they serve. I guess this could TECHICALLY include a maid café au as well, but that one will only go so far.

Mermaid AU 『v!Mermaid』 Inspired by: Mermaid Melody

Stop getting me into fandoms I don’t belong in.

‘The Pure Pearl Voice’ & ‘The Dark Pearl Voice’, both very young & considered to be extremely unusual as far as mermaids go, as they are usually ‘colored’, where as Ann & Sue are simply white & black. It’s unclear why they are not colored, it’s possible this is because they are not fully grown, & thus their powers are not fully grown, or if this is a sign that they are some how stronger then your standard mermaid. The fact they are unable to transform into a human guise would suggest the former.

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1 Finale Easter Eggs & References

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This Star Trek: Lower Decks article contains MAJOR spoilers for the Season 1 finale.

In terms of references, if “No Small Parts” was the only episode of Star Trek you’d ever seen, you would have been given a crash course on the entire franchise. Seriously, if you wanted to explain to someone, very quickly, what Star Trek was about, it would probably be easier to just have them watch the 26-minutes of the Star Trek: Lower Decks finale, “No Small Parts.” The Easter eggs and references start with The Original Series and end up with a big shout-out to the TNG movies, the infamous Enterprise finale, and one officially licensed Star Trek toy that is somehow now canon.

Beta III and Landru 

The episode opens with the USS Cerritos in orbit of Beta III, the planet from the TOS episode “The Return of the Archons.” In that episode, people all worshiped a bizarre god called Landru, but Kirk and Spock determined that Landru was a computer. Landru encouraged people to go nuts once a day during something called “The Red Hour,” which is kind of like the Trek version of The Purge. Ben Stiller also named his production company “The Red Hour,” a fact which he discussed at length in the first episode of the new Star Trek podcast, The Pod Directive, which is co-hosted by Tawny Newsome, better known to Lower Decks fans as the voice of Beckett Mariner. 

Wondering about the word “return” in the episode “Return of the Archons?” Well, the titular Archons were actually humans from an Earth ship called the Archon. The people of Beta III were actually waiting for “the return of the Archons,” meaning, humans from Earth. So, with the Cerritos back at this planet, this is the third time the “Archons” have returned. 

Kirk and Spock from TAS 

On Ransom’s padd, when he’s talking about Kirk and Spock figuring out that Landru “was a computer,” we see an image of Kirk and Spock, exactly as they appeared in Star Trek: The Animated Series in 1973 and 1974. This is the first time that exact animated series depictions of Trek characters have appeared in another Trek series.

Don’t make me paradox you into destroying yourself!

Captain Freeman’s threat to Landru references one of Kirk’s famous talking-a-computer-to-death speeches at the end of the same episode, “Return of the Archons.” Kirk also famously talked other AIs to death in “The Changeling” and “I, Mudd.” 

“TOS Era”

Ransom says it’s “always weird visiting planets from the TOS era.” Freeman naturally questions him on this, and he explains it’s what he calls the 2260s because it was filled with “Those Old Scientists,” or TOS. Obviously, the joke here is that “TOS” is what fans have been calling Star Trek: The Original Series, since, well, there’s been a Next Generation or TNG. 

“A Gamester of Triskelion or whatever” 

Freeman says she never wants people to get taken advantage of by “a gamester of triskelion.” This references the TOS episode “The Gamesters of Triskelion,” who are revealed to be talking brains who make bets using a currency known as “quatloos.” 

Captain Freeman Day

Boimler mentions that the Cerritos has a “Captain Freeman Day,” which references Captain Picard Day from the TNG episode, “The Pegasus.” This is the third time in 2020 that a new Trek series has referenced Captain Picard Day. In the first episode of Picard — “Remembrance” — Jean-Luc revisited the Captain Picard Day banner. And, in Episode 5 of Lower Decks, Captain Picard Day was also referenced outright.

Exocomp

The robot named Peanut Hamper is an Excocomp, a type of sentient artificial life first seen in the TNG episode “The Quality of Life.” In that episode, the Exocomps were recognized as being sentient in 2369. Lower Decks happens in 2380, so it seems like a lot has happened since then. “The Quality of Life” was also directed by Jonathan Frakes, who, spoiler alert, appears in this episode of Lower Decks. 

Wesley Crusher worked with his mom!

Mariner tries to deflect accusations of nepotism by pointing out that “Wesley Crusher worked with his mom!” This is true! In TNG, Wesley Crusher became an acting ensign on the Enterprise while his mother was a member of the senior staff. Both Crushers were often in staff meetings together! Notably, this episode also ends with Riker and Troi and the USS Titan. Riker and Troi are married and serve together as Captain and ship’s Counselor. 

Wolf 359 was an inside job

Mariner’s bad one-time-date tells her “Wolf 359 was an inside job.” This joke is hilarious, but you can also kind of see why people in Starfleet might believe it. After all, the guy who destroyed most of the Starfleet ships at Wolf 359 was Picard, who had been assimilated by the Borg in “The Best of Both Worlds.” Semantically, because the Borg stole knowledge from Picard’s mind and used him to take down Starfleet, they had inside information. 

As he’s leaving, Conspiracy Theory Guy says “Changelings aren’t real, the Dominion War didn’t happen!” This references the Dominion War in Deep Space Nine, which was mostly perpetrated by the shape-shifting race of aliens called The Founders but more commonly called, Changelings. 

Kalla system and the Pakleds

The faked distress call in this episode comes from the Kalla system. This references the TNG episode “Firstborn,” in which the Kalla system is mentioned as a place the Pakleds hang out. 

However, the Pakleds themselves only appeared in one TNG episode ever, “The Samaritan Snare.” As Boimler and Freeman point out, people thought they were a joke back then, too, but it turns out, they’re not anymore!

Apparently, people eat salmon on First Contact Day

Ransom says the Pakled ship is carving up the Cerritos like a “First Contact Day salmon.” First Contact Day references the First Contact, where the Vulcans first formally landed on Earth and met humans. Why would people eat salmon on First Contact Day? Well, First Contact happened in Montana, so maybe, just maybe, there were salmon there? 

Mariner’s contraband

We knew in Lower Decks episode 1, that Mariner had hidden various outlawed items throughout the ship. But, in this scene, we see way more of it. Here’s a breakdown of Mariner’s stuff.

A Tribble from “The Trouble With Tribbles” et al. Mariner later says she uses it for “personal reasons.”

A fencing foil. This references Sulu fighting with a sword like this in “The Naked Time.” It also references Mariner telling Boimler that he could become a “sword guy” in the first Lower Decks episode, “Second Contact.”

A bottle of Klingon Bloodwine

A Klingon Bat’leth

And…a “Spock” helmet. This helmet is based on a toy from the ‘70s produced by AHI. For years, fans have pointed out the helmet has nothing to do with Spock or Star Trek, despite the fact that it was sold as a real Star Trek toy. Ethan Peck jokingly unboxed one of these vintage Spock helmets in December 2019 on StarTrek.com. The fact that Marnier has one of these helmets as “contraband,” seems to imply the Spock helmet is canon. Other than Xon, this Easter egg might be Lower Deck’s deepest, deepest cut. 

Peanut Hamper’s Refusal to Help

When Peanut Hamper the Exocomp says she’ll “pass” on helping save the ship, Tendi says “What about the needs of the many?” This references Spock’s famous axiom from The Wrath of Khan: “The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few…or the one.”

USS Titan entrance

Although Riker’s USS Titan has been referenced several times on Lower Decks, and one officer even found himself transferred there in Episode 6, this is the first time we actually get to see Riker’s Luna-class starship in action. The way the Titan looks matches with its appearance on the covers of non-canon novels, as does its register number: NCC-80102. In 2379, Riker became the captain of the Titan and Troi, the ship’s counselor.

RED ALERT!

Riker says RED ALERT twice in these Titan scenes. Once when the ship makes its big entrance, and again when he says “We’re still at Red Alert!” This references Riker’s habit for saying “RED ALERT” really, really loud on TNG.

Riker’s first officer seems to be the same species as Linus from Star Trek: Discovery

The alien in the First Officer’s chair looks very much like the Saurian (lizard person) Linus from Star Trek: Discovery. In theory, “Saurians” have been in canon for a long time — Bones and Kirk drank Saurian brandy in TOS, and a Saurian was a prominent background character in The Motion Picture.

Romulan Ale

Mariner says that Riker is “flush with Romulan Ale.” Although Lower Decks referenced Romulan Whiskey in its first episode, this is the first reference to Romulan Ale. In Nemesis, Riker and Troi had Romulan Ale served at their wedding. So, Troi saying “We’ll talk about this,” might reference the idea that she had assumed that all the Romulan Ale had already been drunk.

Starship refit

Captain Freeman insists that she doesn’t want the Cerritos to have cosmetic changes, saying “I hate it when a ship gets repaired and comes out looking all-Sovereign-class.” This references the idea that the original TOS Enterprise looked very different after its refit in The Motion Picture. But, more specifically, it references the Sovereign-class USS Enterprise-E, the ship that replaced the Enterprise-D in Star Trek: First Contact.

Jax’s Death

Jax is the security chief of the USS Cerritos and unexpectedly dies in the first season of a new Star Trek show. This could reference Tasha Yar — the security chief of the Enterprise — who died in the first season of TNG. Jax’s funeral echo’s Spock’s funeral in The Wrath of Khan, but also, Airiam’s funeral in the Star Trek: Discovery episode “The Red Angel.”

Riker calls Carol Freeman his cha’dich

Like Mariner calling Boimler his “cha’dich,” in “Second Contact,” Riker calls Freeman — Mariner’s mom — the same thing. “Cha’dich” is a Klingon term that means someone is basically someone’s loyal assistant, who does their fighting for them. Picard was Worf’s “cha’dich” in the TNG episode “Sins of the Father.”

We don’t use money anymore

Riker tells Mariner “Why don’t you buy me a drink!” Mariner replies “We don’t use money anymore.” This references the fact that most people in the Federation don’t use money. Kirk says something very similar in The Voyage Home when Dr. Taylor says: “Don’t tell me you don’t use money in the 23rd century,” to which Kirk replies, “Well, we don’t!”

Tulgana IV

The planet the Titan is headed for at the very end of the episode is Tulgana IV. This is the same planet Boimler and Mariner visited in the second Lower Decks episode, “Envoys.” 

Boimler has a picture of Jack Ransom in his new quarters?

It really looks like that Boimler has a round photo of Ransom in a place of honor in his new quarters. This is hilarious and weird. Does Boimler think Ransom actually was his friend?

Armus 

Mariner is so angry that Boimler left the ship without telling her that she says: “I’m going to feed you to an Armus!” This references the oil-slick alien Armus from the TNG episode “Skin of Evil.” Again, this is the creature who killed Tasha Yar.

Riker is still obsessed with the NX-01 Enterprise

Riker says he is late to the bridge because “I was watching the first Enterprise on the holodeck, You know Archer and those guys.” This references the infamous finale of Enterprise called “These Are the Voyages…” which is framed as Riker interacting in a holodeck simulation that recreates the final mission of the NX-01 Enterprise. 

Little Risa and the Little Horga’hn

Riker and Troi talk about visiting “Little Risa” on Tulgana IV, which prompts Troi to ask if “we should bring the little Horga’hn.” This references a statue called the Horga’hn which you’re supposed to display openly on Risa if you want to well…get busy. In TNG’s “Captain’s Holiday,” Riker tricked Picard into picking up a statue.

Oh the Jazz

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Riker’s warp speed catchphrase is: “Give me warp in the factor of 5, 6, 7, 8!” He snaps and counts down to this like he’s getting ready to play jazz. Troi says “Oh the Jazz,” which seems to reference her annoyance with this obsession. In “Second Chances,” Troi mocks Riker for being unable to play a certain trombone solo correctly on a song called “Nightbird.” Riker’s interest in playing jazz, specifically the trombone, started with the episode “11001001.” Most recently, Riker was listening to jazz in the Picard episode “Nepenthe,” when Jean-Luc showed up at his house. And now that Lower Decks has put Boimler on the USS Titan, it seems very, very likely that we’ll be hearing more of Riker’s jazz trombone playing in season 2. Hit it!

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