#the society dotd

[frogonamelon]

Hello! Hear me out: What if... Harding-Pencroft Academy au?

After their adventures in Gravity Falls, the Pines Twins found a club at their new school, Harding Pencroft Academy in order to discover, document, and study the strange. Over time, it grows and begins to lean otherworldly as others join the society.

I don't really have a linear story in mind for this, but I do see the twins eventually falling into a mentor role as upperclassmen. They've been around the block many times (returning to Gravity Falls every summer since) and are the oldest and founders of the club.

The original post if you're interested (with some other potential characters)

[seaweedstarshine]

Oh don't mind me. Just paging through A Brief History of the Time Lords thinking about “mad” actually a being a legal education clinical official term on Gallifrey, in the context of “madman with a box”…

[thevelaryons]

I’ve always found it interesting that of the lowborn/bastard women in the DotD, Marilda is the only one who doesn’t get slandered and insulted in the Westerosi history books.

Speaking specifically about the women who were rumored to have had affairs with noblemen, the women (Sara Snow/Alys Rivers/Nettles) in particular get derogatory descriptions for various reasons. The men they are linked to all either die or are unable to do anything about the rumors (Sara: her rumored lover Jace dies and her brother Cregan is far away in the North when those rumors become a thing in the South years later/Alys: her rumored lover Aemond dies and her son is obviously too young to do anything about the insults people are saying about his mother/Nettles: her rumored lover Daemon dies). Regardless of whether any of the rumors were true or not, it's still the women in the relationships who were described in a negative manner. Even men like Aemond or Daemon don't get as slandered, despite their more controversial actions.

Sara may or may not have existed (the fact that her existence alone is doubted speaks for itself) but in the history books she is described as an "unwashed" bastard. Even the fact she was a virgin at the time of her affair with Jace is called into question. Alys gets descriptors like "slattern" and "cow". She is reviled as a seductress and witch who would sacrifice her own children. Nettles gets insulted as well, both by characters around her and the maesters/septons recording the histories. Beyond the classism, there is also a racial angle to the insults with her skin colour always being at the forefront when she gets called "dirty" and "creature". It’s unfortunate but Westerosi society is unfair to women, especially those of a lower social class, and so they do often have to rely on the men in their lives, whether that’s a male lover/husband, their father, brother(s) or son(s) as a source of protection. Characters like Sara/Alys/Nettles don't get that protection.

Then you get to Marilda's descriptions in the book, and it's completely clean. Not a single insult is uttered against her despite her supposed involvement with two different Velaryon men. Whether her affair was with Corlys or Laenor, it occurred at the time when they were married men. Laenor is dead by the time when he's claimed to be the father of Marilda's sons. But Corlys is alive and well. Not to mention, he's a very well respected figure in Westerosi society. That being said, I can’t see Corlys doing any major PR control here since he does not have the means to do so.

Alyn, however, could ensure his mother did not get negative remarks. He's the one said to have fostered close ties to the Citadel and a positive relationship with the Faith. On more than one occasion, he was anointed by the High Septon himself, which is something that's typically reserved for the King or his Kingsguard. So I think Alyn might’ve used that influence to his favor.

While Alyn does seem like the type who doesn’t care much about what others think of him, he clearly respects his mother so I doubt he would want her to have a bad reputation. Even concerning the rumors of Alyn's potential affairs, the maesters are somewhat dismissive about them and call the rumors "unreliable". They don't give much credence to what third parties are saying on such matters. As for Alyn's mother, she is spoken of with nothing but respect and even flattery at times.

History is truly written by the victors.

[violettwrites]

daughter of the deadlands — 01

prologue | next

a/n: hi !! welcome to the official start of dotd !! i do have to admit that the first couple of chapters may be a bit boring, but it’s just a look into madeline’s relationships with everyone but i promise it’ll get better ! i hope :]

anywho ! if you’re enjoying this so far, please don’t hesitate to reblog, like, and/or comment ! i love it when you guys support me 🫶🏻 also should i do a tag list !? let me know in the comments if i should do that !

→ masterlist

→ ask box

MADELINE GRIMES sat on a log at the edge of the camp, her damp hair clinging to her back as the warm georgia sun beat down on her. she had just gotten back from the quarry that was just a short walks away which was her only option to clean herself. ever since society had fell and the dead rose, basic things like having a shower or washing her hair were extremely limited.

her gaze drifted to her younger brother, carl, sitting at a makeshift table with a math book in front of him. his brows were furrowed, and his tongue stuck out between his lips, and it almost made her laugh. he was good at math, but that didn’t stop him from protesting. after all, why did he have to do math when school wasn’t even a thing anymore? but her mother, lori, as always, just ignored his complaints and insisted he do his homework.

madeline was grateful to be sixteen—old enough to avoid sitting with the younger kids and doing homework. besides, she was a straight-A student before everything went to hell. top of her class in nearly every subject—except phys ed. she hated sports. but everything else? easy A’s. she didn’t need to be sitting with the kids and working on fractions.

lost in her thoughts, madeline didn’t hear shane approach from behind until his hand landed on her shoulder. shane had been in her life since she could remember, being her dad’s best friend and all. she jumped, immediately scowling as she turned to face him. she hadn’t liked shane since her dad died. he had this hero complex, always trying to step into rick’s shoes. he claimed he was just protecting their family, but madeline wasn’t stupid. she saw the way he acted around lori—the way they’d sneak off into the woods together. they acted like rick had never existed, and it made her sick.

“hey, maddie,” shane said, sitting down next to her. she dropped her gaze to her shoes—her beloved converse. at least she’d gotten them for christmas before everything fell apart. “you doin’ okay?” he asked, his brown eyes full of concern for the girl, but she never believed it was genuine. there was just something different about him now. far from the shane she used to know.

madeline wanted to ignore him, but she knew better. her mom would just get mad and remind her to be polite—he was “uncle shane” after all. that didn’t stop the uncomfortable feeling in her gut. “i’m fine,” she muttered, inspecting her nails. she really didn’t care how they looked; she just hoped shane would leave her alone. that’s all she wanted nowadays; to be left alone.

he sighed, and she had to fight back a smile. she knew she got under his skin when she barely spoke to him. it was one of the few small joys she had left: annoying shane.

“you eaten today, kid?” he asked, removing his cap to run a hand through his hair before putting it back on. madeline nodded, a small ‘yep’ coming from her lips, keeping her answers short. she hoped he’d take the hint and leave, and, after a moment, he did. “alright, well… let me know if you need anything, ‘kay?” with that, he got up and walked back toward the camp.

her gaze lingered on him for a moment as he walked back towards the rest of the group, specifically her mother. the cocky swagger in his step was prominent, but you could also tell he was stressed. everyone was. and she did feel bad, but he just tried way too hard in her eyes– making himself the self proclaimed leader of the group, and everyone seemed to go along with it just because he had been a cop.

since learning about rick’s shooting, and the beginning of the apocalypse, madeline had withdrawn from everyone. she would constantly replay those moments in her mind; her mother sitting at the kitchen counter in their house, waiting for her eldest child to come home from school to break the news to her sixteen year old that her father was in a coma, and they didn’t know if he would wake up. and then she remembers a few weeks, maybe a month, later when lori had come into her room, telling her to pack her stuff because they were leaving now— without her dad. it had felt like a punch to the gut. shane had gone back to the hospital during that time too, later “confirming” rick’s death, claiming he’d checked for a heartbeat and found nothing. ever since then, madeline barely spoke to anyone.

it wasn’t just their family and shane at the atlanta camp either. other survivors had joined them. there were the peltiers—ed, carol, and their daughter sophia, who was close in age to carl. then the morales family: morales, miranda, and their two kids, eliza and louis jr. the harrisons— with andrea and amy. t-dog and jacquie, known as the douglas family, were there too.

glenn, dale, and the dixons also made up the group. madeline liked glenn; he was always kind, and they bonded over movies. he was a little older than her, only in his early twenties. dale let her borrow books from his rv—though most of them were boring, she appreciated the gesture from the older male.

as for the dixons, lori and shane didn’t want her or carl speaking to them. not that she was planning on it. merle pissed her off the most, especially when he called her “girlie.” daryl, on the other hand, wasn’t so bad. he didn’t talk much anyway.

deciding she’d had enough of the sun, madeline stood and made her way toward the rv to find a new book, considering she had finished the copy of ‘to kill a mocking bird’. most of dale’s books were old classics she had already read, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. once she was halfway there, she heard the c.b. radio crackle to life.

“hello. hello. can anybody hear my voice?”

it was a man’s voice, but the static made it hard to understand. madeline watched as amy, dropping the sticks she was carrying, scrambled to grab the mic. she knew finding other survivors was important, but why bother? it was just going to turn to shit for them in the long run.

if there was a long run.

she furrowed her brows at the commotion but kept walking. dale had given her free rein to the rv, and she appreciated the quiet escape it offered. once inside, she looked through the stacks of books and grabbed a copy of the catcher in the rye— another classic she had already read, but she didn’t mind it.

as she stepped back outside, book in hand, she spotted shane now trying to respond through the radio.

“hello, hello. is the person who called still on the air? this is officer shane walsh broadcasting to person unknown. please respond.”

madeline rolled her eyes. shane’s insistence on clinging to his cop identity annoyed her. it was like he craved the authority— the respect. and it worked on everyone else but her.

she used to be kind to him— hell, she used to love him, she really did. sometimes he’d pick her up from school in the patrol car when her parents had to go to the school for carl, or he’d always make sure to pick up a new barbie doll for her, every single birthday, but things were different now. and she resented him.

“he’s gone,” shane said, glancing up at the group gathered around him—lori, carl, dale, amy, and a few others.

“there are others,” lori said softly, “it’s not just us.”

from the doorway of the rv, madeline watched. she didn’t care much for the conversation anyway. instead, she turned back inside to sit at the small table and opened her book, letting her head rest on her hand as she read.

lost in her own little world as she read the angsty words of holden caulfield, she hadn’t noticed carl make his way into the rv until he was interrupting her.

“maddie?” carl was one of the only ones that called her maddie— besides her parents of course. usually, she preferred ‘mads’, only because growing up she had been bullied by a girl called maddie, but she didn’t really care anymore. the other maddie was probably dead now, anyway.

“hey, buddy. what’s up?” she asked, folding the corner of her page and closing the book. she probably shouldn’t fold the pages of other people’s books, but she didn’t have a bookmark.

“mom’s mad at shane,” he whispered, sliding into the seat across from her, his chin resting in his hands as he pouted at her. “she wanted to put signs up on the highway to warn people about the city, but shane won’t let her.”

madeline sighed, nodding as she stood up. she could care less if their mom was mad at shane. if it kept him away from her, let her be mad. “c’mon, let’s check on her,” she said, ruffling carl’s hair before following him to their tent. she noticed the tension between her mom and shane. she had noticed it ever since she had realised that shane had a thing for her mom, but she never said anything, because lori had never acted on it. not until now, that was.

“mom?” carl called as they approached, and when shane stepped out of the tent, madeline almost scoffed.

“what’s up, bud? she’s inside. go on,” shane said, ruffling carl’s hair before walking past them, his gaze lingering on madeline.

making her way to the opening of the tent, lori smiled at them both. she knelt in front of carl, holding his hands. “don’t worry, your mama’s not going anywhere, okay?” her voice was soothing, playful even, like when madeline was younger. she nodded reassuringly at carl. “yeah—yeah?” she smiled as carl nodded back. “good, now go finish your chores.”

madeline stood silently, arms crossed, watching her brother run off. then she turned to her mother. “so, you’re sneaking around with uncle shane now?” she narrowed her eyes, seeing the guilt wash over lori’s face. “real classy, mom.”

“madeline, it’s not what you—” but madeline wasn’t listening. before lori could finish, she turned on her heel and stormed off toward the quarry, arms crossed tightly over her chest.

the gravel crunched under her shoes as she hastily made her way towards the quarry, her arms still tightly crossed over her chest, jaw clenched as she fought the growing knot in her stomach. she could hear footsteps behind her but she didn’t slow down—she already knew it was lori.

“madeline, please! wait!” lori called out, but madeline ignored her, making her way to the edge of the quarry. she stopped by the water, staring out over the still surface, her back stiff and unyielding. she just wished she could keep storming off, wanting to just keep walking until she dropped dead, but the water in front of her prevented that.

lori finally caught up, her breathing labored as she approached. “maddie, you can’t just walk off like that.”

madeline didn’t turn around. her voice was cold, distant. “what’s the point in staying? so i can watch you and shane pretend like dad never existed?”

lori’s face crumpled, the words hitting hard. “that’s not what we’re doing,” she whispered, trying to hold on to her composure. “you don’t understand… this world isn’t the same anymore. he’s—” her voice cracked. “he’s gone, maddie.”

“yeah, and you just moved on, didn’t you?” madeline spat, turning on her heel to face her mother. “dad wasn’t even dead before you started playing house with shane. how could you do that to him?” she knew she was being harsh, but she was speaking nothing but the truth. and if the truth hurt, then so be it. lori needed to know.

lori’s eyes glistened with tears, guilt etched into every line of her face. “maddie, shane was just trying to help—”

“help?” madeline’s voice rose, anger spilling out in every word. she wasn’t one to get mad like this, not at her mom anyway. but she had been on edge since everything happened. she was finally bursting at the seams. “he’s not helping us. he’s helping you. you’re both acting like dad never existed, like he never mattered!”

“that’s not true,” lori said, stepping closer, her voice trembling. “your dad mattered. he mattered more than anything, but we didn’t have a choice. we had to survive.”

madeline scoffed, turning away again. “survive? by running off into the woods together? that’s how you survive?”

lori shook her head, her own anger mixing with grief. “it wasn’t like that, mads. you don’t know what it’s been like for me, for us. i had to make decisions. i had to keep you and carl safe—”

“safe?” madeline snapped, cutting her off. “don’t pretend this is about me and carl. this is about you not wanting to be alone. you didn’t even try to hold on. you didn’t wait. you just gave up.” she knew she was being mean, but she couldn’t help it. madeline had given up, herself.

lori’s breath hitched, tears slipping down her cheeks. “i never gave up on your father,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “i loved him—i still love him. but he’s gone, madeline. what was i supposed to do?”

madeline’s eyes filled with tears she refused to let fall. it hurt her, listening to how she was making her mom cry, but madeline was angry. “you were supposed to remember him. you were supposed to wait,” she said, her voice breaking.

the silence between them was thick, suffocating. lori took a tentative step forward, reaching out to touch her daughter’s arm, but madeline flinched away, pulling her arms around her body, as if trying to protect the pieces of herself that still ached.

“maddie…” lori’s voice was soft, desperate. “i’m trying. i’m just trying to hold this family together.”

madeline’s eyes burned with unshed tears as she turned to face her mother. “you’re not holding us together. you’re replacing him. and you don’t even care.”

lori’s face crumpled, her heart breaking at the accusation. “i do care,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “i think about him every day. i miss him every day.”

madeline looked away, back to the water. her voice was softer now, but the hurt was still there, raw and exposed. “you don’t act like it.”

lori swallowed hard, wiping at her tears. “i can’t bring him back, maddie. i wish to god i could, but he’s gone. and we’re still here. we have to keep going, even if it hurts.”

madeline’s silence stretched on, the only sound the soft ripple of the quarry. she didn’t respond, her face set in that same defiant expression that had become her shield since her father’s death.

lori took a deep breath, realizing she wasn’t going to get through to her, at least not today. “i’m here, maddie,” she said quietly, her voice full of emotion. “whenever you want to talk, i’m here.”

madeline’s eyes stayed locked on the water, her expression unreadable. “you can go back to shane now,” she muttered bitterly.

lori opened her mouth to say something more, but the weight of madeline’s words silenced her. she turned slowly and began to walk back toward camp, her footsteps heavy as she left madeline standing alone by the quarry, lost in her anger and grief.

[emerald-cloud23]

eugh, ive got this one very vague au idea from a year ago that wont leave me be.

its evil lloyd & morro in the role of the green ninja. morro is still the master of wind, lloyd is still the master of energy (the energy meant for the green ninja). everyone (the ninja at least) is 17-19 years old and morro and lloyd live at the same time. lloyd is actually doing really good at darkleys in terms of his grades and stuff and as a result some people prefer to hang around him because they hope theyll be safe near the kid of the worst man alive (ppl like brad tudabone and gene). lloyd is absolutely ruthless and a total menace to society. during the events of s1 lloyd and his little group unleashed the hypnobrai without being spotted/found by the ninja but theyll encounter each other when the fangpyre are at ed n ednas junkyard. wu obviously didnt bother telling his students about the fact that his brother had a wife and kid and, even worse, none of them (including wu) knew he also had elemental powers.

but like thats all i have for it :( i cant come up with more because as much as i looove the idea of lloyd being evil (i got another au where hes evil but its against his will (mind controlled)) i just suck at actually making him bad. i tend to fall back into my oc aus and the fluffy cute stuff he has with them :(( tho one of those three aus has lloyd and an oc (criminal) not getting along at first and theyre just yelling at each other and fighting every single encounter but thats the most i can do for that one nfngnngngkgk im sorryyy (to myself) hes just such a baby that i want to protect from more harm..

okay okay, i do have another au but its during dotd where morro (ghost) sticks around and lloyd gets so angered by pythor that he turns into an oni and cant turn back.. yeah thats about it for that one too hdnfnf its an idea i got while listening to sleep token last year im sorry (no im not sorry) and at the end of the song he finally breaks out of it (but also mildly injures himself in the process)

how do you do evil lloyd aus without feeling bad about it, i dont want to feel like this, i wanna make an au where hes the batshit insane one for once

[medievalsmithy]

ALRIGHT HOTD FINALE AND OMGGG here are my tHouGHtS and spoilers ahead ofcc

❗️❗️❗️❗️

• I mean it wasn't as shocking for me coz I've read the book so I obviously knew what was about to go down but with that being said

• Emma D'Arcy I love you so much . Their acting as Rhaneyra was outstanding, life changing , freaking amazing and I am in absolute awe. The shot of Rhaneyra at the end as Daemon informs her about Luce's demise , and she turns around and just by looking at her you sense her pain and rage and how the real dotd is gonna start and shit will go down was goosebump inducing . I mean I'm by no means an expert in acting but Holy SHRIMP THAT WAS POWERFUL . WHAT A STELLAR PERFORMANCE , ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS ! AND IF THEY DONT GET AN EMMY I WILL GO APESHIT BECUASE WHAT THE FUCK?

• Rhaneyra's coronation was by far my favourite scene in the episode along with Daemon singing to vermithor , absolutely beautiful and you bet I'm learning that song

• speaking of lucerys

• MY BOY

• I was dreading this moment ever since episode one and it was just all around heartbreaking , despite knowing what will happen the scene still made me sit at the edge of my bed and tense up . We will miss you king 😔

• Otto hightower , this bitch in itself is a warning

• fuck him that is all I can say

• also the fact that Alicent kept that page Rhaneyra tore and kept it safe , it even has creases in it , meaning that she opened it multiple times whenever she missed her best friend ... *screams* they were both victims of the patriarchal society they were born to and this is something I will always stand by .

• JACAERYS MY BELOVED , He was all around the best this episode , the way he confronted Daemon and stood up for his mother was so pure, and it makes me so sad thinking about what will happen to him in the end . He was too good for the world of ice and fire .

• speaking of ice and fire , I'm really excited to see my beloved the Starks and winterfell next season , the pact of ice and fire and the theory of dragon eggs being in the crypts always intrigued me

• Daemon .. I am honestly surprised most of yall were shocked , like literally everyone of the characters in hotd and in asoiaf are unhinged and need counselling. If you are looking for right vs wrong you've come to the wrong place 😭😭😭😭 wait till you read f&b 😭😭😭

• the black council scenes in which Rhaneyra constantly reminds everyone that she has a duty to preserve the realm and keep it safe from bloodshed and that her ambition isn't the only thing that matters further proves to me that she would have been an great ruler

• Even Rhaenys admits to Corlys that Rhaneyra is holding it all together and keeping the realm from dissolving into madness and destruction .

• And I think the show was good when it came to Rhaenys portrayal as well , she too was a capable intelligent woman who was robbed of her deserving position.

• overall , there are some issues I do have , but regardless of that I am so excited for season 2 , this really did heal the wounds that I have from got season 8 and hotd really brought back the once epic Game of Thrones calibre of acting , dialouge and plot . Squeezing 20+ years of storyline into 10 episodes is hard for any production I think, and they executed it so smoothly .

• the costumes and cinematography and overall attention to detail was such a delight to see , so refreshing and it really showed you how much thought and effort they put into this spinoff, unlike the shitstorm that game of thrones became from season 5 onwards . Asoiaf franchise was practically dead with the end of game of thrones , I remember how everyone pretend the finale didn't even happen and people on tumblr removed game of thrones hashtags from their profiles , twitter was fuming and the reddit page for asoiaf turned into a fan page for lotr😭😭😭😭 like everyone was thaT fed upp

• hotd Sundays are over now and the fact that I have go wait for two years ( I think) to see my psychotic war criminals again is killing me 😭

• PHEW WHAT A SEASON . ILL BE WAITING FOR THE NEXT ONE 🤌😌

SORRY FOR ANY TYPOS BESTIES

[hibiwibi]

A dragon I actually based off a misinterpretation of an image on one of my placemats. its interesting on how ideas can come from little things like that. Originally they were going to be lily based, having one on their tail and a different kind of hair petlas, but I ended up liking the flowy petals I have now, so I sort of scrapped that idea. Other than that... There isn't much I can share about this character without spoiling parts of P.O.T. He sets off a cascade of events that lead to the main story. I can tell you though that he is the replacement for Malefor, who had a very, very different story compared to TLOS, which is another reason on why I wanted to go the original story route as opposed to keeping it in the TLOS universe. Trust me when I say, I ended up making a.... disconnected? au from the main lore that didn't really share much from the original source besides a few characters, crystals, the moons, and refering to the ancestors. I'm very happy on how his design came out, he has a sort of naturally armored vibe to him. Originally I wanted to try doing the sort of crown motif that malefor originally had, but horn placement would be too similar to both the DOTD and original Krome design. Malefor has a surprisingly unique design! I didn't realize it until I was trying to make this guy. someday i'll probably draw up his corrupted form, the one he is most known for in society.

[roseverdict]

Hold up i wanna know more about your Frozen Earth AU homeboy -kg ninjago

👀👀👀

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE @kg-ninjago

OK SO

Basically my thought process went a little something like

"what if cole never got un-ghosted? maybe dotd happens, maybe not, but for whatever reason he's still a spooky boi"

and then i was thinking about the zane needs a hug fic (for those who don't wanna dig it up, basically "post-season 11 ZANGST")

and they got slammed together into one idea that i shall now copypaste from my notes app

〜〜〜〜〜〜

what if cole…stayed a ghost?

day of the departed still happens, but cole doesn't make it through the rift in time. everyone's Super-Bummed, but they've got cole's back and will stop at nothing to try and get him back to normal, or at the very least, get him stable enough to Not Fade Away.

they succeed on that second part, but not so much the first.

so cole's a ghost for the hands of time, the SOG, hunted, the rise of the oni, and the forbidden spinjitzu seasons. even prime empire!

and during those seasons he keeps learning more about what he can do. he gets better at floating, even learning to fly. he gets good enough at vanishing to make others vanish with him. stuff like that.

basically im channeling my love for danny phantom into "everybody knows cole's a ghost and they're still on his side while he learns what he can do"

maybe he even gets good enough at ghosting to form a human disguise a la "i'm going ghost!"

〜〜〜〜〜〜

and then i really got thinking.

hey, zane's a nindroid who can physically deal with big honkin' time gaps

if cole's a ghost, he can also physically deal with big honkin' time gaps

WHAT IF I JUST-

〜〜〜〜〜〜

"You sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes, Cole." Zane chuckled and waved him off. "You go find us some supplies, I'll be doing repairs on the mech the whole time. If either of us should be worried, it should be me!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going, ya tin can!" Cole snorted, heading for the opening of their cavern. "I'll let you know if I find anybody!"

Zane's laughter followed him outside, and with a spring in his step, Cole took to the skies.

So far, he hadn't seen much in the way of other people, but that's what he'd thought in the First Realm. If a barren desert could support a thriving society of hunters and dragons, who was to say a frozen forest couldn't?

Below him, wildlife teemed, predators and prey working together. The sight made him smile. Maybe this realm wasn't quite as hostile as the First Realm…

As he watched, a hawk and a deer flashed with light, and when the light cleared, two people stood in their places, happily chatting about something.

If Cole hadn't had time to get used to flight, he might've fallen from the sky right then and there.

"Holy-! I gotta tell Zane!" Cole gasped, whirling around and shooting back over the treetops at top speed.

The cavern rose in his vision, and he'd barely landed before charging inside. "Zane, you're not gonna believe-!"

The cavern was silent.

"-this…?"

Cole stumbled to a stop, slowly spinning to take in the sight of the Zane-less cave. "Zane, this isn't funny!"

No reply.

"…c'mon, man, cut it out!"

The Scroll was missing, too.

"…Zane…?"

There was a loose cable on the floor beside the computer terminal.

Cole warily approached it, jolting as a video played on the computer screen.

"Greetings, Friend. If you have found this recording, then I am no longer here. My name is Zane. I'm a stranger in this land, trying to find my way home."

Cole froze.

"It's difficult to keep track of the days in this place. It feels like I've been here a long time. But I refuse to give up hope. I am attempting to repair the mech."

"Oh, Zane, tell me you didn't…"

"Unfortunately, the processing unit is damaged. In order to fix it, I must connect myself to the mech and run a system diagnostic. If anything were to interrupt the diagnostic, it could cause my operating system to reboot."

The ground shuddered, deadly-sharp stalagmites jutting out from beneath Cole's feet in all directions, save that of the computer.

"Cole, if you're watching this, know I would never risk such a thing unless I felt I had no other choice. I knew you would try to talk me out of it, so I waited until you left for your search. If all goes well, I'll simply delete this video and face your worried scolding upon your return."

Cole felt a lump rise in his throat.

"But, just in case something goes wrong, this is the last recording of Zane, Master of Ice. Son of Doctor Julien. Student of Master Wu. I was built to protect those who cannot protect themselves and I have tried to fulfill this purpose. Goodbye to my friends…and…to Pixal, I love you."

The recording ended there.

Cole didn't react for a moment.

Then the mountainside shook, and Cole collapsed.

〜〜〜〜〜〜

"Hey there, buddy. I assume you've already seen Zane's recording? So did I. I'm from the same realm he is, and I just came back to find him gone and his final message playing. If you're watching this, then I assume I'm not hanging around here anymore.

"My name is Cole, and I refuse to find a way home without Zane. After I record this, I'm going to leave this cavern to search for him. He had run the diagnostic, which, by the way, Zane, if you're watching this, you could've at least waited for me to get back, but someone from this realm interrupted it and kidnapped Zane. I don't know if he'll even remember me, but I have to try.

"If I don't succeed, then I suppose this'll be my last message, too. I'm Cole, Master of Earth. Son of Lou, of the Royal Blacksmiths. Student of Master Wu. I may not be a nindroid, but Zane is my brother, and ninja never quit, not even when faced with impossible odds. I'm gonna get him back.

"…well, uh, see ya on the other side, I guess."

[tendervulture]

Y’ALL WANT SOME LADIES? Meet Livyatan and Breyze, my headcanons for the former Water and Wind Guardians. They are both very trans, very autistic, and very in love with each other. They disappeared before Spyro shows up, but don’t worry, he finds them (and they find each other) again.

Heacanons about Water and Wind Dragons and character notes below cut.

Character notes I wrote on my phone:

Livyatan

“Liv” (Yes, I made her name that so I could have Breyze make an “Oh Great, It’s Liv” joke.

They/She

Based off Livyatan melvelli and Leopard Seals

Has power of Foresight/can use Pool of Visions

Big Foreboding

Wicked with a harpoon

The teeth around her neck are from a sea monster even bigger and scarier than she is. They have the aethercrest carved into them to represent her guardianship.

Disappeared with the rest of her tribe under the sea once it was obvious that the war against the Dark Armies was not going in the Dragons’ favor and after Breyze “died”. Liv almost left before that, after Spyro’s egg was laid, as most Water Dragons Do Not like Purple Dragons after Malefor.

Livyatan and Breyze knew each other before they became Guardians, as Oceanic Wind Dragons and Oceanic Water Dragons have a lot of cross-cultural contact and have overlapping territory. Water Dragon society rarely interacts with land dragon cultures, aside from sending Guardians and other diplomats and trading.

When Spyro finally meets her, she does not trust him at all because he is a Purple Dragon. She actually serious considers killing him to prevent him becoming another Malefor. She warms up to him after he helps kill a sea monster that is threatening an underwater Water Dragon City.

She refuses to teach him the Water Element though-at least, until she reunites with Breyze.

Their reunion is messy, to say the least. They are both extremely powerful, and they fight over what to do about Spyro. They are both very passionate and extremely angry with each other, and their battle nearly tears an entire bay apart. This is a very important lesson for Spyro, as it shows him exactly what elemental powers used recklessly can do.

Breyze

Ey/em

Demiromantic Bisexual

Transfemine

Completely Unhinged

Sillay

Selected as a Guardian later in life, after having three daughters: Cyclonis, Oxyn, and Tumulus

Can play the banjo and loves to sing.

Sneezes with gale-force winds

ADHD/Autistic

Disaster Ornithologist

Based off a Fork-tailed Storm Petrel

Small, even for a Wind Dragon

Erratic flight pattern

The only ABA ey supports is the Avalarian Birding Association

Disappeared after being shot down by the Dark Armies

Fought Cynder as the Terror of The Skies and survived

Very friendly and kind towards Spyro and Cynder, and gleefully teaches them the element of Wind

Very angry at Livyatan for abandoning the other Guardians and for even considering killing Spyro. He’s a child, for the Ancestor’s sakes!

Ey challenges Liv to a duel: If Breyze wins, Liv has to come back with them.

Their battle ends in a draw, and there’s a tender making-up scene with lots of face-touching and ugly crying.

They do make up by the time DOTD rolls around, and get a Crowning Moment of Awesome during the battle against the Destroyer when they perform their signature move-The Hurricane. By working together, they can create a miniature hurricane or waterspout, depending on what they feel like that day. Their hurricane becomes even more powerful with help from Cynder, Spyro, and Breyze’s daughters.

Songs for The Ladies(tm):

Love Is War-Lollia-Their fight scene at the bay

Sea Song (You Waded Out)-Apocalyptica

Rock You Like A Hurricane-The Veronicas-Their CMOA Song.

Historical Wind and Water Dragons

There are several types of Wind Dragons-The inland, “Tall Plains” type, who usually live in mountainous, high altitude areas, or in prairie or plains areas with lots of wind, and the oceanic type, who can be found anywhere with a good sea breeze. Both types can easily fly for days, and typically land only to raise their families or trade with other cultures. Oceanic Wind Dragons are culturally closest to Water and Electricity Dragons, while Mountain Wind Dragons are culturally closest to Ice and Earth Dragons. Oceanic Wind Dragons historically could find employ on Skavenger ships. 

Water Dragons have both freshwater and saltwater types, although there is considerable overlap between the two types, and several subcultures in both varieties. Water Dragons show the most diversity of any elemental flight. There are swamp, lake, river, coastal, pelagic, cold-water, and warm-water varieties, to name a few. Before the war, any body of water was likely to have at least one type of Water Dragon willing to inhabit it. They are culturally closest to Wind, Ice, and Earth Dragons, and also had historical connections with seagoing Ape and Skavenger populations. They have a historical rivalry with Sea Serpents. 

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Idk if you've answered this before, but why is Rhaegar still so revered by the people of Westeros? Yes, he was the perfect prince with the harp and skill and whatnot, but regardless of what actually happened between him and Lyanna, it's more or less agreed upon that he kidnapped her. How are people like Kevan, Cersei, Barristan and Jaime ignoring this? Robert takes it too far, but even the others seem to think nothing of the fact that it was an official kidnapping, almost to the point of denial.

First of all, please consider the sources here. The Lannisters were Targaryen loyalists up until Rhaegar’s death. (Well, Tywin was fence-sitting, and only nominally loyal at that point anyway, but still he wasn’t officially part of the rebels until he began the Sack of King’s Landing; and Jaime was loyal until the middle of the Sack.) Barristan went down at the Battle of the Trident fighting for Rhaegar and Aerys… and he never truly lost his loyalty to the Targaryens, in his heart, despite Robert’s generous pardon. Jaime knows it was right to kill Aerys because of his crimes, though he’s haunted by guilt for it anyway, but he’s literally haunted for failing Rhaegar. Cersei dreamed of marrying Rhaegar, and still believes the wrong man came back from the Trident. If you asked any of them, they’d say it was Aerys’s crimes that brought down House Targaryen, not Rhaegar’s.

Secondly, for just about everyone except Robert and the Starks, Rhaegar’s kidnapping of Lyanna is framed as something romantic, done out of passionate love for her. And when I say romantic, I mean chivalric romance, courtly love. Think Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Isolde – both of which are stories of adultery, yet where the cheating lovers are held almost blameless by the narrative because of the pureness of their love, because of their destiny to be together, etc. (Though of course they’re also grand tragedies where almost everyone dies.) The people of Westeros are no more immune to the power of romantic stories than we are… less so, in fact. (Consider TWOIAF and GRRM’s DotD novellas, how often the maesters Yandel and Gyldayn keep ranting about how the singers have gotten history so wrong.) And Rhaegar presenting Lyanna with the rose crown of the Queen of Love and Beauty, choosing her above all other beautiful women (including his wife) at the grandest tourney in Westeros, is remembered as a deeply romantic moment. (Further on this topic, consider the romantic connotation of the word “ravishment”, as opposed to “rape” or “kidnapping”; and note the distinction is not all that modern, especially in chivalric romance.)

Thirdly, Westeros is a very patriarchal, misogynist society, highly prone to victim-blaming. (Not unlike our own.) Dany was told by Viserys growing up that if only she had been born earlier Rhaegar would not have needed to marry Elia, he would have been happy with no need to find another wife. (Blaming Elia for making Rhaegar cheat and guilting Dany for not being born, at the same time – heck of a job, Vissy.) Dany even asks Barristan if it’s true that Elia treated Rhaegar so badly, for him to seek out another. Cersei, Kevan, Jon Connington – they all blame Elia for not being “worthy of Rhaegar”. And when they’re not blaming Elia, they’re blaming Lyanna and her “wild beauty” for making Rhaegar stray. (And it’s not just the characters doing this – I still remember this c.2012 Tourney at Harrenhal fanfic where Lyanna is this seductive little temptress viciously reveling in her power over Rhaegar… ffs, she was fourteen.) But either way, it’s never the man’s fault – it’s the other woman that’s the homewrecker, or it’s the fault of the unworthy shrewish wife that drove him away.

And lastly, as you say, Rhaegar was the perfect prince, handsome and noble and valiant and talented. Little things called facts aren’t going to change this rose-colored vision for the people who saw him that way. “Almost to the point of denial”, heh… it’s not just almost. Just look at how these characters view the incident: “Rhaegar battling the Usurper in the bloody waters of the Trident and dying for the woman he loved”, “[he] stole her away from her betrothed”, “If he loved you, he would come and carry you off at swordpoint, as Rhaegar carried off his northern girl,” “Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna,” and so on. So for these people, Rhaegar didn’t kidnap Lyanna – he took her away (from her unworthy betrothed), carried her off, because he was in love. He was tempted by beauty, he was lost to passion… but it’s not his fault, it doesn’t make him wrong or bad. (Though it is interesting to note that while there is a constant refrain that Rhaegar loved Lyanna, none ever say how Lyanna felt about it.) If they even acknowledge that it was a crime, then it was a crime of passion, a crime of love (“the things I do for love”)… and love forgives all.

So… I hope this helps you understand. And again, note it’s not just the characters of Westeros who feel this way about Rhaegar – because of how GRRM has framed the story of Rhaegar and Lyanna, because of the general romantic inclination of fantasy fans, it’s no wonder that the tendency to romanticize and forgive Rhaegar is prevalent in the fandom as well. (There’s so much beautiful romantic R/L fanart. So much.) So even if the truth turns out to be far more complicated, I’m sure there will still be people overlooking Rhaegar’s actual genuine problems for this idealized romantic view. (Though for me, Rhaegar just makes me feel disappointed and sad, and I don’t expect GRRM will tell me anything that’ll change that.)

[frogonamelon]

Daughter of the Deep HPA Crossover

What if various Disney children/ characters went to Harding Pencroft Academy? It's like a Hogwarts Au for HPA? What house would they be in? What would their dynamics with other character be like? Would their stories change from having this different experience and background?

Following this I would like to present to you: The ___ Society (I'm waffling between 'Horizon' and 'Axolotl' or possibly something else)

Dipper and Mabel Pines, following the remarkable events of their summer in Gravity Falls, found a club once they arrive at HPA.

Dipper, a cephalopod, and Mabel, an orca, soon find others that relate to (or will soon relate to) their remarkable adventures.

They could become the fun upper classmen who the others can go to for advice. Some impossible happenings on? Congrats you have the king and queen of impossible in your corner!

My most solid roster for The Society is...

Marco (and later Star) from Star vs The Forces of Evil, who are both sharks

Anne, Sasha, and Marcy from Amphibia who are orca, shark, and cephalopod respectively

And Luz (and later Vee), who are a dolphin and orca

Other ideas I had:

Hailey and Scott from Hailey's On It as a cephalopod and dolphin respectively but we don't know much about them yet

Milo, Melissa, and Zack from Milo Murphy's Law as a cephalopod, dolphin, and orca respectively

I could also see Lunella from Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, other Rick Riordan characters like Percy Jackson or the Kanes, characters from The Ghost and Molly McGee, etc. The Horizon is literally the limit here!

Luz as a pirate after the events of season 1? Marcy building submarines so that amphibian kind can explore the depths of the ocean for the first time (you know... salt water and all)? Star developing many nautical based spells and overall becoming more tactically minded and disciplined after essentially military training? Anne absolutely hating scrubbing the frog tank before the music box incident and overall having a better sense for farm care?