#they were created by an alien species a long time ago then killed their masters and started roaming across the universe on a warpath

[yaut-jaknowit]

The Fight Of A Lifetime

Pairing: We'ar-ow (Female Yautja) x GN!Reader

Word Count: 5509

Summary: The week is up. In one last try, you throw yourself at her feet and pleads her to not do this. As much as you don't want to watch, you can't not be there. If she were to die, Dwainet will kill you, might as well make it swift. So you go. We'ar-ow looks magnific in her armor and adorned in weapons. The two arrive in grand style. You're decked out, head to toe in everything We'ar-ow has given you. The battle commences.

Author Note: It has finally arrived! This is the second to the last chapter planned for this series. The climax of it all. I hoped the fighting scenes are alright. I hate writing fighting scenes. They need to be quick, fast and I like to describe everything. So, it's the opposite to what I do.

Masterlist

Ao3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 17 | Part 18

Everyday since the challenge had been issued, We’ar-ow acted indifferent. Not a thing changed. She would take you to her throne room where she dealt with the dealings as the Monarch of her clan.

Well, besides the fact you admitted your love to the alien. Outside the safety of her quarters, We’ar-ow was the same Monarch everyone knew her as. Yet, inside those walls, specially when the night cycle fell upon the two of you, she would cuddle with you. Her eight foot and so frame was easily able to dwarf you. She’d scoop you to her torso and curl around you like some sort of brick wall. Imposing and immoveable.

It was impossible to nudge her even slightly to the side to get up when nature called. The lumbering giant female hugged you like a koala. There was little chance to escape unless you’ve threaten to piss in the bed or getting a UTI because you’re holding it for so long.

Besides the cuddling, that’s the only thing you’ve noticed. And that made you begin to think. The way she barely has changed her personality at first had you worried that she didn’t return your feelings. Then, you got to thinking.

If nothing had changed… maybe she has loved you from the beginning.

Then, to find you there, all those months ago, on the verge of crying couldn’t been fate. You don’t believe she had anything to do with Dwainet breaking up with you. It was the opportunity falling into her lap. We’ar-ow, the predator she is, took the chance to snatch you up before some other Yautja could. A lone pet without its master was a call for trouble.

Now, look where you are now. From the depths of food chain where Dwainet survived in as a newly blooded to the mate of the monarch. A clear glow up for yourself.

Including now; decked out in a finest of material Raunch designed for the day. You looked nothing less than a deity while standing in front of the mirror. The thin, see-through material flowing from around your neck and down your back was flowy. It attached at two points to your wrists. The brown easily complimenting the pink that made up the rest of your outfit Raunch threw you in.

His life must have been on the line when he created this because of how fabulous and stunning you looked in it. We’ar-ow wanted you nothing short of the deity she saw you as. You glanced at said Yautja through the mirror while she armored her up.

One creature soft, pliant, silky. The other rough, jig jagged, coarse. Two pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly against the other. Both complimenting each other.

You couldn’t help the gentle smile to upturn your lips at the thought before it dropped. The realization of what was about to occur hitting you straight in the gut. This could be the last time you saw each other alive. Despite her plentiful reassurances that the day would go as planned, you are only human. And humans fretted, a lot. Any little thing could go wrong. And boom, she’s dead.

The blood in your veins ran cold. Death wasn’t new to you. Not when you’re surrounded by a species that hunted and prided themselves over the bodies they brought home. Or when they duke it out over a challenge thrown down. But to lose We’ar-ow. You couldn’t fathom the heartbreak it would bring upon you.

Goosebumps clouded your skin. The soft flesh of your bottom lip worried on by dull teeth. We’ar-ow’s strong gaze flickered over at you. Instantly, you straightened and found anywhere else to look at. Then, you attempted to relax and act natural in the face of your mate. Said Yautja began to stalk towards you before halting just shy of your back.

Her form towered even more with the added armor decorating her. She downright looked like a beast ready for the hunt. Your breath got caught in your throat when your eyes raked up her body in the mirror. She was stunning and terrifying all in the same boat.

The heat of her body blanketed you in comfort and helped ease the tension holding your shoulders. We’ar-ow reached around you to cup your throat and tilted your head back. “I have told you, there is nothing to fret about. I will be victorious. Not for me but for you, little one,” she growled and tugged you flush against the muscles that lined her thick thighs.

As much as you wanted to believe a hundred percent, there was that constant nagging inside of your mind. The part that will always make you human. The part that whispered from the depths that she will fail, she will fall, she will die. Then, you will have no choice but to be handed over to Dwainet. Once more in the hands of a sheep in wolf’s clothing.

A part that We’ar-ow can never quell.

“I am only human,” you muttered, eyes drifting down to look at the two of you in the mirror. Her claws lightly bit into the soft flesh of the back of your neck. But, We’ar-ow is careful, mindful of your more fragile form in her presences.

A grumble sounded from the back of her throat. “And I am the monarch of this clan. I have never lost a challenge. I will not lose this one. Not when I have something to lose, someone important,” her voice softened towards the end. Then, the pink Yautja bent at the waist to nuzzle her mandibles into your hair carefully with the decorations adorning your head. In her eyes, you rivaled Paya with your deity status.

Your orbs snapped up to the pink Yautja at your back, expression softening. “We’ar-ow,” you whispered her name then heavily sighed, eyes closing. This is a weight you never expected to bare. Not a weight that was meant for a Yautja more than you yourself.

“What can I do to make you believe me?” she mumbled into your hair then peered over to look you deeply into your eyes. “What will be the tip in the scales?” If you didn’t know any better, you could say she was begging for you to believe in her.

And that hurt you. Guilt burned a hole in your stomach. It was your own demons causing this issue to worsen with each denial that passed your lips and reflected in your eyes.

“Win the fight,” is all you can do to answer her. That will be what will make you believe her. When she brings you the head of the fallen Yautjas who will bring upon a fight that will challenge We’ar-ow in every sense of the word.

Her gaze hardened, mandibles pulled tight towards her mouth. Then, the Yautja leaned down and pressed them against your forehead in a mock kiss. “That I will, little ooman. That I will. All in the name of you. That scum will fall at my feet from my hands. Then, you won’t have to worry no longer.”

That eased the majority of the tension coiling in your muscles. But not all of it. You could still feel its burn in the back of your throat like acid. A feeling that would never go away. Not until the problem had been dealt with at the source. You prayed to their god, Paya, for this day to go the way you wanted. To see We’ar-ow’s beautiful face at the end of the day.

In tandem, side by side, you left the safety of her quarters for the hallways of her ship. Whatever shield that place put over you washed away the moment you stepped into the hallway. Less doors to protect you from the hazards of being on a Yautja mothership. You walked with your shoulders squared and back. A stance of pride that was felt in each step you took.

The doors of the elevator opened to reveal a face you were relieved to see. Xilomere. Him and his goofy, alien smile was a sight for sore eyes. You almost ran up to him to give him a hug. Today is a day you needed all the support possible. Anything to get you through the events planned.

Next to him was someone you’ve only seen once before. One of We’ar-ow’s sister’s who is on her council team. You politely dipped your head at her with a closed lip smile. The last thing you wanted to do was piss off her. We’ar-ow had enough to deal with today. She doesn’t need to put herself into a problem you created. Well, another problem you created.

“Xilomere, I’m so glad to see you,” you spoke, your face spilt with a closed smile. Your eyes shined with your feelings.

The green male set his palm on your shoulder and gave a welcoming shake. “I wouldn’t miss today even if I was legless. Plus, someone needs to keep an eye out just encase Dwainet is gonna play games. Who knows if he’ll break some more rules today.” The helped more to ease your racing heart. He was going to protect you while We’ar-ow fought. Like he said, who knows if Dwainet may send one of his goons after you while We’ar-ow is distracted.

Her sister, a beautiful shade of tans, beiges, and browns, huffed at Xilo. “So will I,” she rumbled and looked down at you. “I will protect you from any harm. I promise both you and my sister this.” Your heart soften even more from her words. The two of them, barely knowing, are willing to put their lives on the line in case of an attack for you. It was probably mainly for We’ar-ow but still.

You dipped your head deeply. “Thank you. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate that. Truly, thank you.” They returned to motion themselves.

We’ar-ow stepped up behind you and held both of your shoulders. “It is time we go. Dunkot is escorting the prisoners as we speak,” the pink Yautja wormed her way into the conversation. Not that you minded. You tilted your head back, throat completely exposed, to look up at her. The monarch of this ship was willing to put her neck out for you. To keep you protected. Not even Dwainet had done that.

Clearly, you’ve found the one.

As if the four of you were marching like soldiers, you stepped in time with one another. We’ar-ow kept the pace slow enough for you to easily keep up. You march side by side with her. Xilomere and her sister watched your backs the entire time.

Instead of the normal pathing to the throne room you were used to, We’ar-ow led the four of you down a different set of hallways and elevators. Down to the kehrites. A section of the ship you barely have been down to. Not unless you were begging for trouble that is.

All four of your entered the kehrites. Your jaw dropped though. These weren’t the mediocre sized classroom kehrites. No, they had knocked down all of the walls somehow and put in a few risers.

Every available space was consumed by the hundreds of bodies squished into the open area. There was even young children and unbloodeds who were stationed at the front for the best possible view.

A section in the middle of everyone was open and set up with a stage. We’ar-ow wanted everyone to see her beat Dwainet into the ground like the way he deserves. The way needs to be put down like the asshole he is. He doesn’t deserve to breath the same air as you. You couldn’t wait for the end but at the same time, you didn’t even want the battle to start. Not with We’ar-ow’s life on the line.

Your head held up high, you followed We’ar-ow over to a designated section carved out for you and your bodyguards. A seat that resembled a throne had been set up. The perfect size for you. It wasn’t fancy like We’ar-ow’s in the throne room but it was more than enough to state your status. She motioned you to climb the three stairs and sit upon it.

The plush seat met your butt allowed you comfort. It gave you an additional height against the larger aliens that filled this room. You didn’t feel small. We’ar-ow looked at you. You looked at her.

Everything else didn’t matter. You reached out despite your brain screaming at you that it was a bad idea. We’ar-ow leaned in and allowed for your hand to cup her cheek. Her warmth raced up your fingertips to settle in your heart. You had found a way to love again and that too was threatened all over again. It burned you had no way to help or fix this problem you created. You could only trust We’ar-ow to overcome the challenge that stood in her way to having you strictly to herself.

Xilomere and We’ar-ow’s sister stood directly on either side of you. His usually goofy expression was replaced by a hardened look that would take years to perfect. A warrior born and raised for the fight. The sister had one as well. Both were armed to the teeth with weapons. Unlike you who was adorn with soft, plush cloth for a gentle figure, they were prepared to take down an army if it came down to that.

The softer texture of We’ar-ow’s face rubbed against your palm. You tugged her closer to you and pushed your forehead against hers. Screw whatever anyone might think about this. You didn’t care. Not when everything was on the line. Your livelihood, your love, the one person you’ve found comfort in.

“Win this. My heart is yours,” you stated firmly, nails biting into the skin behind her jaw before letting go and leaning back into the throne.

We’ar-ow returned to her full height. “Mine has been yours since the beginning.”

Shock filled your system. You opened your mouth to respond but the sound of marching feet interrupted you. We’ar-ow turned her back on you to face the oncoming fleet.

Your thoughts whirled around inside your head, knocking into each and causing chaos in the making. There was no time to reel them in either. The best you could do in the moment was to shove them into a box and close the lid. Because, the moment a familiar form stepped around the corner, you pulled on your stoic façade and stared the beast. The monster who caused all of this. All of this for his moment in the spotlight.

Duknot practically dragged the dishonorable male into the room. He wouldn’t allow for him to attempt to walk and forced him to stumble and flail. Humiliation. Two other males were secured in chains behind Dwainet. Their guards weren’t as demanding.

From their faces and low amount of scars, neither were high ranking. Three low ranks against a monarch. You were feeling a little better at the realization. Her chances of winning had increased.

All three of them were shoved onto the stage. Their chains didn’t allow for them to catch themselves. You bite at the inside of your cheek to prevent yourself from laughing outright when they fell on their faces. Dunkot’s expression cracked with a hint of smirk. Then, he hopped onto the stage with two other guards.

Dwainet was hauled up by Duknot’s strength alone and placed back onto his feet. A hardy glare was sent to the guard but it was simply brushed off. In unison, the chains crashed to the ground. The sound echoing throughout the room after everyone had gone quiet. You felt your heart stuttered at the fact the traitor had been freed.

At your sides stood your guards. At your front stood the first and last person who would fight until her dying breath for you. You were safe.

Now, on the platform, Dwainet stood tall and scanned the crowd before his sharp eyes landed on you. Yet, you acted no different. A neutral expression is all he was faced with. He could see you from over We’ar-ow’s shoulders. She corrected this by sidestepping and blocking his vision. All the attention on her now.

His companions climbed to their feet as well and rubbed at their sore risks. From the space, you couldn’t hear what their chittered to one another. The translator unable to pick up from that far.

This was it.

On We’ar-ow’s side, she unclipped her combi-stick and opened it up. With a mighty slam, a loud clang gathered everyone’s attention to her now.

“Thank you all for coming to this special occasion. A lot has occurred over these last few weeks. A lot of information circulating between everyone. I’ve come to quell this unrest once and for all. Dwainet will succumb to the crimes he’s completed,” We’ar-ow started off when she rallied the entire clan’s attention to her.

Her voice echoed throughout the expanded room. “From this moment on, he has been deemed as a bad blood. He’s attacked a defenseless, weaponless creature. My pet under my protection had been injured by him. A crime such like that has brought upon his fate as a bad blood.” You couldn’t help up internally flinching at the reminder. It still felt fresh after all this time. To have someone you once loved so much attempt to murder you.

Horrible laughter rung out from the platform. “Oh, monarch. You can’t even protect the worthless pet in your protection.” Dwainet scanned the surrounding area. “You are weak. You are fragile. I can’t wait to beat you into the bloody pulp since day one. The title as monarch will be mine and you will be dead,” Dwainet boomed and kept his gaze moving.

You could tell he was trying to rile the clan up. In the presence of their monarch, no one even said a sound. The tension and fear palpable in the air.

With her back to you, you could feel the smirk etching its way onto her face. She expanded her arms out at her sides. “No one agrees with you, Dwainet. They see the truth. I true with a mighty fist but I know how much strength to use. I know the limitations. I know what this clan needs.” You hoped that the truth. We’ar-ow was a once in a lifetime leader. One that is needed in every clan across the board. Dwainet, he was the opposite of what We’ar-ow stood for.

A snarl ripped through Dwainet throat, his claws flexing at his side. You smirked and sat up straighter in your throne. You were heavily proud of We’ar-ow.

“Now, are you going to keep bickering or are you going to face your fate? I’ve got plans after this,” We’ar-ow drawled and crossed her arms.

Dwainet glanced behind him where his helpers stood. One was clearly nervous at the upcoming battle. The other was attempting to hold it in. These were just newly bloods like Dwainet himself. They weren’t as skilled as We’ar-ow. What was Dwainet thinking?

His gaze returned to her. “You shouldn’t have. There is nothing for you after this except for meeting Cetanu,” he growled and stomped down a foot on the platform. You could feel the eyeroll coming from We’ar-ow without her even looking at you. One that Dwainet whole heartily deserved.

We’ar-ow glanced over her shoulder one last time before marching straight into battle. The muscles that lined her back rippled with each step. Where her heart resides was protected by her metal armor covered by a pelt she earned herself. Both on her chest and back.

You couldn’t help but peek at the two body guards standing at your sides. Xilomere held onto his Combistick, his gaze directly in front of him and scanned the area thoroughly. We’ar-ow’s sister brandished two dual swords while preforming the same action. Both were on high alert. You were grateful for them and their willingness to do this.

The comfort of We’ar-ow’s presences left you. It was your turn to hold down the fort and wait for her return. You gripped the arms of the throne, white knuckling it before glancing at the sister again.

A thought nagged at the back of your mind. You nervously flickered your gaze around before leaning towards her. “I’ve realized I never caught your name,” you whispered in the quiet space, mindful of how loud your voice could grow.

“T'ah'keiad,” she calmly states yet never looks down at you. That would compromise her job as a body guard. Your eyes widened at the interesting name, lips pressed together. “For your ooman mind to understand, you can call me Kei.” You were thankful she understood her name may be difficult at first to speak. Your head dipped in thanks.

Then, you returned to scene unfolding before your very eyes.

We’ar-ow simply stepped onto the platform and towered over the males that opposed her. “Duknot, relieve their weapons to them,” she rumbled but kept a keen eye on Dwainet. He was the only one she truly had to worry about. She knew his tactics and how sneak he really could be. The others, she may not know how they fight but they couldn’t be worse than Dwainet. He was a disdain on her clanship.

The skin of your bottom lip was worried away by dull teeth. You couldn’t help it. Not with her standing directly in front of Dwainet and allowing for them to have their weapons. They were already adorn in meek armor. Armor that is what many new bloods only have. They don’t have enough ‘street cred’ to get anything better from any of the merchants.

Not once did We’ar-ow turn her back to Dwainet or his two helpers. Instead, she backed up to the edge of the platform and waited.

Dunkot stood in the middle like a referee. Two of the guards produced said weapons and handed them over. They returned to the flat ground and stood off to the side. Dunkot stayed in the center.

“As requested by our Monarch We’ar-ow, this challenge will be a battle to the death. Whoever is last to stand will be proclaimed at the new monarch per our rules. May your hands be true!” His voice boomed out over the area. Roars echoed from the crowd afterwards, deafening. You clapped your hands over your ears to protect them from terrible sound. It barely saved your ear drums from exploding.

Then, he left the platform. A strange shimmer rolled down from the ceiling and surrounded the platform. It was a shield to protect the crowd. Smart.

Before you had a chance to contemplate all of this, a loud bell sounded. Instantly, you knew what that meant.

In your throne, you had a front row seat to watch the fight unfold your very worried eyes. Despite your brain desperately wanting for you turn away and cower like the prey everyone thought you as, you held unsteadily strong. You watched with baited breath when We’ar-ow lifted up a crossbow and shot off a bolt directly at Dwainet.

The young male is able to narrowly dodge the flying bolt by rolling to the side. But, his partners in crime aren’t as lucky. It strikes one directly in the shoulder and pushes him back against the invisible shield. He chokes on a grunt and grabs at the bolt. The wood was snapped off to leave just the head inside but the damage had been dealt.

Dwainet goes for offense. He’s swift to get into We’ar-ow’s personal space. Flurries of kicks and punches were all deflected in matter of seconds. His hits hard, mean, likely to leave a bruise later on.

One of the other Yautjas tries to attack from the back. We’ar-ow ducks a hit from Dwainet and sticks out a leg to trip the darker red Yautja behind her. They fumble then fall back.

Finally, the last Yautja, a lighter red comes in by launching himself into the air. He believed We’ar-ow was distracted. She grasped Dwainet’s throat then aimed her crossbow once more at the already injured male. A bolt flies. It strikes him square in the chest. He fumbles and smashes in the space in front of We’ar-ow. The pink Yautja slams Dwainet down and picks up a foot.

The light Yautja’s head is crushed below her heel like the insect he was. Green blood stains the ground and coats the shield. You gasped and overed your mouth.

A throwing knife sticks out of We’ar-ow’s side. She acts no different. Her hand squeezing the life out of Dwainet. More pierce her hide to the point she picked up Dwainet again and threw him into the red Yautja.

They collided harshly with each other before slamming into the shield and flopping to the ground a pile. We’ar-ow moves with purpose over to the two scrambling forms. The crossbow back on her hip. She swipes Dwainet off of the ground again by his throat and holds him up. Her foot presses into the vulnerable area of the downed Yautja. The rings protecting his skin barely able to hold against her weight.

Her only foot on the ground is swiped from underneath her. Dwainet is allowed to be let loose. She is able to roll onto her stomach as claws swiped for her torso. Your eyes widened at the sight of her blood staining the floor this time. You sat more forward in your chair and played with your hands.

Red gets on top of her and grabs harshly at her neatly braided tresses. He pulls. We’ar-ow yanks her head forward. You gasped. Loose dreads hang in his hands, bleeding at the roots. You knew that had to hurt a lot.

We’ar-ow rams her elbow into Red’s side and knocks the wind out of him. A foot flies towards her face. She narrowly dodges a bad blow and latches her fangs into flesh. Dwainet roars and yanks his ankle from her mouth. Blood dripping down from the new wound.

Rage is a wildfire in his eyes. You had to stop yourself from curling into yourself at the sight. He snatches an axe from his belt and swung high above his head. No! You covered your mouth with both of your hands, unable to do anything to stop it.

In a terrifying slowness, it came down. Here you were, stuck in your chair, with a shield blocking you from the love of your life. You were forced to watch as Dwainet brought down the axe.

Her name left you lips in a cry.

The sickening sound of the axe sinking in will forever haunt your mind. You flinched away from the sight and covered your ears, unable to watch the final blow.

Dwainet roars. Pained. Confusion flooded your system. You picked up your head and looked back at the platform. Red was off of her back. Both of the male had been lifted up by their necks, forced to claw at her hands. The axe was imbedded into the metal floor besides were We’ar-ow’s head once was.

The pink female shoved both of the males against the shield directly in front of you. Her eyes pinned to your shaking form. You uncurled from your cowering position and looked up at her through blurry eyes. The sight of her alive form had your body sagging. She was okay. She was alive.

We’ar-ow dropped red then swiftly kicked one of his knees. A sickening crack echoing over the roars and cheers of the riled up clan. He dropped down where she knocked him down onto his back. In a similar fashion, she stomped down on his head, caving in his face. He too was dead.

You didn’t even flinch this time. Your eyes watched every move.

In her hand, Dwainet struggled and wriggled like a worm. His claws dug into her arms, anything to grant him release. He couldn’t get out of Dwainet fatal hold.

His feet dangled above the platform. We’ar-ow was able to hold him up without the aid of both arms or the shield. She snatched both of his wrists though and leaned forward. Your head tilted, brows furrowing on why she was making herself vulnerable for attack. Her mandibles twitched with words that your translator couldn’t pick up. You couldn’t only imagine what she was promising.

Then, he went soaring through the air and smashed into the ground and rolled before coming to a stop. He groaned while on his back. We’ar-ow unsheathed a machete from her waist band and brandished. The sharpened edge glinted from the overhead lights.

At her approach, Dwainet scrambled to his feet a moment to late. We’ar-ow swung and struck his forearm, just below his elbow. The blade sliced clean through muscle and bone alike. The injured Yautja choked on a cry and stumbled back and clutched at his profusely bleeding arm. You jerked your head back, eyes expanded at the terrifying sight before you.

His amputated arm flopped to the floor in a bloody, neon green heap. This when it finally hit you that this is where Dwainet was going to die. This was truly happening. Dwainet was about to be murdered right in front of you by your… mate. You just stayed sat and watched everything.

A snarl ripped from Dwainet’s throat. He glared daggers at We’ar-ow with a passion of hatred. With his only hand reminding, he brandished at  knife and raised it above his head. The blade came down. We’ar-ow meets the offending hand with her own weapon. The cut was clean through his wrist as well. Another cry croaked from his hoarse throat. He collapsed to his knees as blood spurted from his amputated hands.

He didn’t raise his head to look death in the eye. We’ar-ow used the tip of her machete to tip his head up. Something primal and deep rumbled from her chest. Dwainet’s entire body froze as if he saw Cetanu himself. She stepped behind his deer in headlights position and faced you.

Despite the distance, you met her gaze. The machete was clipped to her belt again. We’ar-ow grasped his tresses with one hand. The male grunts and folds his mandibles in tightly to his face. His expression neutral. He knew what was to come.

We’ar-ow’s muscles flexed. A sharp crack pierced through the air. Life still shone in Dwainet’s grey eyes. Then, a roar sounded from your mate. Flesh and muscles alike ripped in a grotesque sound. You had to stop yourself from throwing up your lunch, but neither could you look away.

Green, neon blood dripped down to pool on the platform. Cheers of triumph echoed throughout the modified stadium. You could feel the ground rumbling underneath you, but all was quiet. The dead eyes of your ex-mate staring directly into your soul. The finale had come to a close. We’ar-ow stands as the winner once and for all.

Sound floods back into your ears, deafening to the point they rung. The shimmer of the shield faded away and allowed We’ar-ow freedom. The pink Yautja was the only one to move. Her thick legs dropped down from the platform and marched straight towards you. As much as you wanted to leap out of your chair and ensnared her in a hug, the blood of her enemies painting her skin reframed you.

Her yellow eyes met yours for an infinity. One of her knees dropped to the floor causing a silence to steal the noise of everyone. All was quiet. You gasped, instantly knowing a monarch kneeling was trouble.

In her bloodied hands, she presented you the head of Dwainet. Your heart pounded in your ears.

Your name was boomed across the room. “Do you accept this trophy as a gift of courtship?” We’ar-ow asked and watched every little sign from your expressions. Your eyes nearly bulged out of your head. Gasps from the crowd could be heard. Chitters and clicks as the translator only focused on the Yautja in front of you.

She was asking for you to be her mate… in front of the clan. She was laying claim over you more than the mark etched into your skin.

A few seconds ticked by. You nodded rapidly and rushed forwards. The head was dodged. Your arms wrapped tightly around We’ar-ow’s neck in hold she wouldn’t dare try to get you off. The blood of four was rubbed into your skin, including the life essence dripping from her missing tresses. We’ar-ow was swift to return the gesture, understanding this meant ‘yes’ in human.

Bellows escaped from the crowd but it was a sound you could care less about. Today was the day that marked the new chapter in your life. A newfound freedom from the chains Dwainet had weighed down on you. You had power not even the highest Yautja aboard this ship besides the monarch has. From the bottom of the barrel to sitting on a throne, you’ve grown.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 17 | Part 18

[clanoffelidae]

I’ve decided to believe that Isaak is Rasputin in the TB universe because he’s already an immortal who has been said to be the real man behind many historical figures said to seek eternal life and mysticism, it has no impact on the plot whatsoever and hurts no one, and I get to imagine ‘Ra-Ra Rasputin’ playing during any scene he’s in so I’ve decided to incorporate it into my canon interpretation thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[rayveewrites]

So who wants to hear about my extremely weird Hermitcraft AU? Anyone? Too bad, I'm talking about it anyway and y'all can't stop me.

So, you know the fantasy trope of "an ancient super-advanced civilisation that disappeared off the face of the planet/went extinct due to hubris/got wiped out by a plague/etc"? Yeah. That.

...Let me explain.

In this case, the ancient civilisation was, in fact, Players. Players came in a variety of shapes, sizes, species, etc. Humans, Mob Hybrids, Werefolk, Cyborgs, Shapeshifters, assorted Halloween monsters, full-on robots, aliens, technically-not-aliens-but-basically-aliens... the list goes on. Now, what made someone a Player was never particularly well-defined due to sheer variety, but there were a few common threads. Players could break, pick up and place blocks, they could use chests, crafting tables and their own inventories, they could respawn in non-hardcore worlds, and they had a certain level of intelligence (about on par with, say, a human).

So, anyway. One of the most common threads were that Players- all Players- had access to magic. Typically this manifested in the form of inventories, crafting, being able to break/place solid 1m³ blocks, and, of course, enchanting, with Admin and Operator powers manifesting in various worlds for specific people. There were other forms of magic, of course, but learning those typically required (at minimum) a lot of study and/or a level of attunement to that particular branch of magic.

Players lived in communities, on worlds- in this AU, all the worlds were connected, but separated by the world borders. The various Hermitcraft worlds were some of these, as were 3rd Life and Legacy SMP and Hypixel and so on.

So, that's the worldbuilding preamble out of the way.

The worlds updated every now and then, and they added, tweaked and (occasionally) removed various mobs, blocks and mechanics. But this update, the Final Update... nobody's quite sure why, but it removed magic.

Not completely, of course. It set in slowly. Villagers no longer transformed when they were slain by zombies. The monsters of the night became less and less common. Portals became unreliable, until they eventually stopped working entirely. World borders started to fail (and I feel sorry for those unlucky enough to neighbour servers like 2b2t). Enchanting became more temperamental. Still, Players were adaptable. They could manage.

Until they couldn't. See, while Players had magic running through their systems, and had since the universe had existed, all of a sudden their children...didn't. The big problem was that most species- Hybrids, Werefolk, Spaeshifters, Aliens and not-exactly-aliens... their biology meant their children physically couldn't survive without magic. The one exception? Humans.

Already in the majority, humans were the only race who could still produce living children. But these children weren't Players. They had no inventories, no ability to use a crafting table or break a block with their bare fists like their forebears. They managed though, adapting and creating new ways to craft and smelt. And as time went on... they became the only ones left.

See, while Players were all long-lived, and capable of respawn, they did eventually experience the Final Death, from which there was no coming back (ignoring the occasional ghost, resurrection, or any necromancy-related shenanigans that were frankly extremely rare to begin with). And as time wore on, Players slowly died out, until all that were left were those who were Undying, and the Humans who weren't Players (it's worth mentioning that Immortals and Undying were two different peoples. Immortality was granted by the gods; when the gods faded, their gifts faded with them. Undying, on the other hand, were those who had experienced their Final Death but kept going. Undead beings, if you will). Undying could be killed, if their body was so badly maimed their soul had no choice to fly free, but not so badly they would just respawn; as Human societies developed, many Undead succumbed to this fate, either by choice or by force, acts done by fearful Humans.

Let's go forward, now.

It's been over two thousand years since the Players died out, and longer since the Final Update. There is only one world now, the world borders long forgotten. The Players are myths, legends; a mysterious race, now long gone, their builds crumbling to ruin. Nobody has encountered a zombie or creeper for millennia; the only spiders left are small and harmless, a far cry from the creatures once large enough for a skeleton to ride.

Archeologist study the ruins Players left behind. One city, Hermiton, was originally a camping ground for people to study the various ruins in the area; the crumbling remains of a vast monument, the stump of a tree larger than should ever have been possible, a gaping hole some claim leads to the centre of the Earth.

Near Hermiton lies a vast forest, beside the footprint of what had once been an immense mansion. The forest is a mixture of different species, most likely transplanted thousands of years ago. In that forest lives... something. A ghost? A spirit? a cryptid?

Whatever it is, it's not human. The locals claim she looks like a woman, with glowing eyes and long red hair. They call her the Green Lady, for the colour of her skin. They say her teeth are sharp, and that dark claws tip her fingers. They say her cheeks are hollow, her eyes are sunken- but that her gaze holds a fire no Human could hope to match. They say she lives in the forest, and that she is its guardian. They say that anyone who tries to chop down the trees, to clear the land, will face her wrath.

Outsiders will write this off as a modern-day folk tale, an urban myth. But believe it or not, there is something- someone- who dwells in the woods. Someone who brings those lost home. Someone who intercedes if there's danger. Someone who will run through the forest with a familiarity only born from centuries, millennia, of practice.

They don't know who she is. She's a guardian spirit. She's a ghost. Se's been there since the Ancients walked the land. They're not wrong about that last one. Once, she altered a sign planted by the one responsible for the enormous tree. Once, she had her arm sewn back on by the person who'd built the immense mansion. Once, she threatened the man who dug the vast hole, the one they say leads to the centre of the Earth.

She's a Player, the last one left. She's a zombie, the only one to still walk the Earth. She's alone. Once, she had a family, a home. She dwells near the ruins of that home, even now. Her kind, her kin; they're long gone. She's the only one to remain.

She waits for the day her family will return. It's written in the stars, in the fabric of the Universe. They will return. And she will be there, ready to greet them with open arms. For the Univers is kind. The Universe loves its Players.

Alone in the forest, ZombieCleo, Master of Puppets, the Undead and Undying, the Last Player, waits. She'll be there, when her family, her hermits, return.

Even if it takes another two thousand years.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Man’s Best Friend.”

Try not to bee too mad at me guys :) Sorry about the angst. 

It is a more than well known anomaly that humans will social bond with any species. This is not barring their danger levels, or factors of perceived cuteness; no matter the cost, humans will pack bond with any animal. They have even been known to bond with inanimate objects and houseplants. However, one of the greatest bonds man has ever created, is their bond with dogs. Thousands of years ago a man shared his food and his fire with a wolf: another social pack species. After years and years of careful breeding selection manipulated by humans, they ‘created’ an animal that protects loyally, forgives quickly, and loves unconditionally.

In my study of humans, I have found that the emotional bond with a dog can run deeper than an emotional bond with humans.  I am not entirely sure why a human would find it more displeasing to watch a movie where a dog dies than to watch a movie where a human dies, but I have some suspicion that it has to do with the innocence and unconditional friendship that dog has given man, a quality that man has never given himself.

***

Waffles: a 75lb 34kilo german shepherd shoved her head into an alien bush nose working furiously as she pawed through the strange purple plant. She came back up a moment later and sneezed violently sending up a cloud of delicate yellow polin.

Admiral Vir laughed and whistled, and turning on her heel she bounded back to him over open ground her ears straight up, her tail wagging furiously. She ran up to him and touched her nose to his hand as if tagging base before bounding off again to sniff the path before them.

Krill and Sunny walked with him, Krill staring at the brightly colored alien landscape with buzzing antenna.

Waffles leaped through another patch of wild blue grass sending up more white spores into the air, stopping only to sneeze again before continuing.

Sunny went up to walk beside the Admiral, “She looks happy.”

Adam nodded, “Yeah, I like bringing her down on occasion to get some fresh air. I know she does pretty well on the ship, but I feel bad keeping her cooped up so much.”

With another bound Waffles plowed through a shallow stream sending up droplets of water.

This planet was one the GA had been studying for some time, and, as it seemed, it was a relatively nice, habitable planet that they were readying for colonization for the Finnari, or perhaps, humans, or even both permitting everything went well.

Krill watched the dog as she plowed through the grass, rolling in the  weeds like she was having the time of her life.

Predators used to scare him, but the dog had proven herself to be docile at the Admiral’s command, and he could at least tolerate her if not like her…. Just a little.

Adam Grinned at his dog’s antics and charged into the grass after her.

The dog dropped her front paws, but and tail sticking up in the air, a nonverbal invitation for her master to play with her. He didn’t reject her offer and raced forward to play chasing her around the field, their legs swishing over the grass. She barked happily as they did.

Adam had now ran far ahead of the others towards another nearby forest path. Waffles was behind him just a little ways as he pulled to a halt panting.

It was then that he heard it, a sudden rustling of foliage turning into a swirling thunder of air.

He turned on the spot eyes wide in shock and surprise.

Surprise at the ravening beast charging directly towards him, its purple fur and white tusks glittering in the sun. he leapt out of the way, but the beast was quick, about waist height and angry. He was so startled he couldn't even scream his only reaction to try to kick at the creature and keep it back.

It squared off against him, and he tried backing away, but it charged again.

There was a sudden snarling noise, and waffles charged into the fight snarling and snapping.

She bit the creature hard on it’s back leg.

“WAFFLES!” Adam shouted 

The creature turned violently and whipped it’s tusks at waffles, who didn’t heed them as she charged in again, snapping at its face and throat forcing herself between Adam and his attacker.

It thrashed and she yelped in pain, but charged forward again, grabbing it by the leg and holding on for dear life as  it trampled into the bush dragging her along with it.

Another yelp came from the forest, high pitched and painful.

“WAFFLES!” It didn’t take a moment before Adam was chagrin into the bush after them pulling his sidearm as he did. He followed the sound just in time to see the creature whip it’s head around and catch waffles hard in the side picking her up and tossing her to the ground. Blood drenched her fur, while green icor drenched her muzzle.

He screamed in anger instead of fear this time as he leveled his sidearm and emptied his magazine at the creature. He wasn’t sure how many hit, but the creature was tough enough that it staggered off itne bush yowling. He ignored it for the time and ran, throwing himself to his knees at the side of waffles, who was lying on the ground breathing shallowly.

Sunny roared into the clearing just behind them, her spear raised, but the creature was already gone.

Adam reached out his hands which were trembling so badly he could barely function, “Waffles, waffles no no no no.”

He rested a hand on her side and she whimpered in pain, her muzzle resting on the ground her eyes half hooded.

A choked sob broke from his throat, “No. no…. You’re g-gonna be o-ok.” 

His hands fluttered uselessly over her body, covered in blood.

“KRILL! PLEASE Someone… h-help.”

Sunny stood back in shock and fear as Adam clawed at his hair, tears rolling down his face in uncontrolled streams.

Krill scuttled in not far after.

Adam turned to look at him his face twisted into a snarl, “Help her!” His voice cracked on demand and he turned back hands still shaking not knowing what to do. Being a doctor krill was well aware that the human’s anger was displaced and did not take it personally as he moved forward and took a look at the injured animal.

He lifted her front paw, and she whimpered piteously.

Off to the side Adam was still inconsolable, his hands in his hair threatening to rip out fistfulls with his clutching fingers. His agitations was actually getting in the way of Krill working.

“Adam, Adam just hold her head ok, help her stay calm.”

He nodded following orders stiffly, crawling over the ground to sit her head in his lap and tell her she was such a good girl and that she was going to be ok. Streams of continual tears rolled down his cheeks and onto her fur. Waffles licked his hand lethargically.

Sunny knelt next to him, hand on his shaking shoulder powerless as for what to do.

She had never seen him like this, ever.

Not that Adam was one to conceal his emotions completely, but he generally subscribed to silent tears if there were any at all. This, this was different, no holds barred uncontrollably sobbing, the kind where the human loses all functioning, eyes, nose, mouth and racking sobs that shook the body in aggressive, violent spasms.

Krill rolled waffles a little further onto her side spotting a deep gash from her chest and abdomen. He couldn't tell how deep it was, and didn’t want to look in this sort of environment.

“Sunny, call the shuttle!”

The urgency in his voice only served to secure Adam’s worst fears, “No… no, ou’re going to be o.”

“Adam, give me your jacket.”

He did without hesitation, ripping it off his body and offering it to krill as if it was the thing that was going to save her life.

Krill got Adam to help lift her onto the jacket and wrap her up, while he used some thing from his medical kit to staunch the bleeding. Waffles was still conscious, through her eyes were half lidded.

“Please be ok.” Adam begged, and despite all her injuries, her tail thudded against the ground at the sound of his voice and the touch of his hand. This only started his tears flowing even harder.

Overhead the sound of engines whirred, and touched down on the grass not far away.

“Ok, lift her gently.”

He did as ordered hugging her to his chest and practically racing towards the shuttle as it descended.

When the doors opened he practically bowled past the waiting marine who looked on in shock.

He gently lay Waffles on one of the seats all but yellin at one of the marines to make sure she stayed there before racing to the ront of the craft.

“Admiral are you sure…” The copilot began.

“Get out o my fucking way!” he snarled, and the ire in his voice was so that the man quickly leaped from his seat as Adam slid into the pilot’s seat. Krill was worried that the human was going to kill them all trying to pilot in that state, but what he witnessed next was a feat of pure talent and skill as he maneuvered them up through the clouds faster and steadier than krill would have thought possible.

Waffles whimpered softly in the background, held tight in Sunny’s arms now.

Their copilot sent out a medial call as soon as was feasible and very prudent.

By the time they made it inside, a crew was waiting with a stretcher.

Didn’t matter that it was waffles, but they treated her as they might any human with krill tagging long beside.

Adam ran after them until the doors to the med bay shut in his face and he was told to stay outside.

***

Sunny made her way quietly down the hall footsteps no more than a whisper over the metal floor. It was dark on the ship, the lights having been dimmed for the night. Up ahead she could see light filtering out into the hallway, and the rim lighting of a figure sitting in the dark.

She moved forward, and the mass of shadow coalesced from the darkness. Adam sat on the floor, knees pulled to his chest, head in his hands. Three pairs of bright yellow eyes looked up at her from the darkness. And Sunny tilted her head in surprise to see three Finnari curled up around Adam. One leaned against his left side, one leaned against his right side, and one rested against his legs.

The others raised their heads, though Adam remained curled up with his head in his hands.

Sunny nodded to them, “I can take it from here.” She said quietly

The Finnari looked between each other and then waddled to their feet. One of them patted Adam’s hair before joining the group and waddling off down the hall. Sunny knelt and then slowly sat next to Adam resting a hand on his back.They sat in the dark in silence for a long while before he looked up at her.

His cheeks were still wet, and she had no idea how he was still producing any, sure he would have dehydrated hours ago.

In response, she pulled the human closer using all four of her arms until he was curled up against her head resting against her chest.

“I….I can’t l-lose her s-sunny…. I I don’t know what I-I’d do.”

She rubbed his back gently with one of her lower hands, feeling as his body continued to spasm rhythmically with the beat of his grief. He covered his eyes with his right hand turning into her chest as if trying to hide his face. His teeth were gritted against quiet sobs.

But despite his attempts to stay quiet, he couldn’t.

It killed Sunny to watch.

He was completely debilitated. She had seen a human like this maybe once before under different circumstances. Neither war, nor kidnapping, or injury in the time she had known him had ever brought this man to his knees, and if it had it had been silently and alone where he dealt with it himself.

This was different.

He had snapped, broken right in half.

It surprised her almost how fragile humans were, after everything he could have gone through, and after everything he did, this is what hurt him.

His grief came in waves, one moment she thought he had finally calmed down, and then the next moment he was escalating again just as bad as before. It was exhausting to watch, and she had no idea what to do other than keep him company in the dimness of the hallway.

They were there for hours.

And then the door hissed open.

Adam shot to his feet as krill stepped out into the hall.

His hair was disheveled -- even more so than usual-- his face was red and puffy, his eyes were ringed in bright red. The collar of his shirt was damp. 

Sunny rose to her feat as well.

“Is she-” he couldn't finish, choking up again.

“She’s alright, we were just waiting for her to wake up to make sure. But she’s going to be ok.”

This time the sound he made was a sob of relief rather than grief, “Can I see her?”

Krill paused but then nodded, motioning him back. He hurried after into the med bay.

At the end of the room, waffles lay curled up on one of the beds.

She was wrapped in bandages and an IV was held into her right front leg with pink gauze. Someone had managed to fashion a makeshift cone out of plastic shielding.

Adam rushed over.

Waffles blinked slowly at him, too tired to lift her head, but her tail began to whap happily against the covers of the bed. He smiled rubbing his hands through the soft fur of her face and ears, “Good girl…. You’re such a good girl.” tears were leaking down his face again, but he was smiling.

With great effort, waffles lifted her head, licking at his face with her long pink tongue, whipping the tears from his face the only way she knew how.

Krill walked over and paused by them, “She should be up and about by tomorrow, but she definitely needs to rest and recover.”

Adam looked up at Krill, “Can I stay here…. With her?”

Krill looked at him unsure, but the look on the human’s face was one the little alien certainly couldn't say no to , and he sighed, “Alright, you can stay.”

When Sunny left the room Adam was curled up on the bed with the dog resting with her back to his chest, the two of them fast asleep.

Thank the spirits Waffles was ok.

***

Ask a human, the vast majority of them find the sadness of grief or pain of a dog to be more poignant than that of a human -- unless the human is one they know--. This is why movies often employ dogs for emotional factors. Perhaps you cannot get an audience to cry for the pain of a human, but if you get a dog to wait at its owner's owners grave than you can have an entire audience in tears. As I said earlier. It's hard to watch the pain of someone who doesn't deserve that pain and never will.

Dogs are a reflection of the best parts of man 

[shadowofthelamp]

Partners

Swap Zim and Dib decide to work together. Technically a direct sequel to this thing that was posted a year and a half ago. Like, comments, and reblogs all super appreciated!

Wordcount: 1800

Warnings: Mentions of Dib experimenting on people, I guess?

Zim woke up strapped to a lab table that smelled so strongly of blood that he almost threw up. (Which was quite an accomplishment, considering it wasn’t like Zim was a stranger to animal test subjects, or even getting himself injured.) It took him a few seconds to remember why he was strapped to a bloody lab table, but hearing the familiar voice frantically muttering next to him helped.

“Come on, I need to kill him, but it’s Zim, I like Zim, I don’t want to kill him, but he’s a threat to the mission, I can’t upset my Tallest or the Professor, but maybe I could just wipe his memory...”

That voice was Dib. Dib, the stalker who had turned out to be a real live alien. Dib, the kid (was he a kid?) who must have strapped him to a table.

_____

It had started out pretty easy- he’d already known where Dib lived from the one time Dib had dragged him there when they’d both gotten caught in an explosion and he’d wanted to help patch Zim up. All Zim had to do was use a taser to short out the electric fence and some hacking to get in the front door once he found the security frequency they were using.

It was child’s play, although it wasn’t like it would be easy for anybody else. Zim was special. He was always special, always better than everyone else. Dib had seen that. As annoying as he got at times, Zim was glad that at least he was annoying because he liked Zim.

However, things had started to go south as soon as he got inside the front door. There was a chubby little pig perched right next to it, and it sniffed at him before its eyes lit up bright red.

“STATE YOUR BUSINESS.”

“You talk?” It looked like a regular pig to him, usually talking animals were a lot clunkier and more robotic-looking.

“IRRELEVANT. STATE YOUR BUSINESS, HUMAN.”

“Seeing Dib.”

“NONE MAY PASS.” The pig jolted up on two legs, and Zim noticed a small zipper on its belly only moments before the pig grasped at it, yanking it down and ripping off its- costume? It didn’t look like any fabric Zim had ever seen- to reveal a silvery robot with burning red eyes. A dozen weapons, mostly guns and knives, popped out from its head, and Zim couldn’t bite back a yelp as he fumbled in his backpack for his own laser gun.

“I know how to use this thing, you know!”

“ANY THREAT TO THE MISSION AND TO MASTER GAZ MUST BE ELIMINATED.” 

Zim squeezed the trigger, but the robot- okay, it moved way too fast for a robot that size, Zim’s tended to blow up if they tried any fancy acrobatics, but this one flipped out of the way, his laser blasting a hole in the wallpaper instead. 

He took half a second to breathe before squeezing the trigger again and swinging it around, burning a line through the wall and couch before hitting the robot and getting a metallic shriek out of it as it lunged for him, pinning him down by the shoulders and making him drop his laser.

“ELIMINATED. ELIMINATED. ELMINATED.”

“Release Zim!” Zim kicked up and heard a metallic crack before he rolled to the side, thankful for those self-defense classes he’d taken as the robot plunged about fifteen knives into the spot where his head had been half a second ago. The red eyes narrowed at him before activating rockets in its feet, and Zim ducked as it swung with a giant mallet from its head. He dropped to the floor, fumbling for the laser and swinging it around to take another shot at the thing. 

The gun managed to blast one of the arms off, but that sure as hell made it mad considering he didn’t have time to dodge the second swing of the mallet. He saw stars for half a second before there was nothing at all.

_____

“Dib,” Zim croaked, head feeling rather like it was full of rats that had thrown a dance party inside his skull and left a mess all over the cerebral cortex. 

“But this is a perfect opportunity for some experiments, you wanted that, didn’t you Dib- huh?” Dib looked up from muttering to himself.

Or rather, the alien did. It was still wearing Dib’s trademark goggles that looked heavy enough to weigh his head down with lenses too dark to see anything underneath, but its skin was an even darker shade of green, and it had a pair of twitchy antennae. No nose, no ears, and it had donned a full-on labcoat that was soaked in a whole lot of red and black stains. He’d always kind of figured aliens were real somewhere out there, but seeing it... it was like reality had tilted a little to the left. There were more pressing matters than a crisis about aliens existing anyhow, and Zim was pretty good at repressing things he didn’t like.

It sounded like Dib, though, and the way it fussed with its hands was the same with two fingers and one thumb on each, same as Dib. ‘Machine accident’, his ass. 

“You’re awake?”

“Y-yes, I’m awake. Could you let me go?” His voice came out sickly-sweet and polite, like he was talking to the counselor again to convince her that he was fine.

Dib-alien shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I really would like to, but you know too much. Protocol is pretty clear- dispose of or brainwash all witnesses when the planet is marked for conquest. But brainwashing knocks out a lot of the intelligence, and that would be such a waste, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, yes it would,” Zim agreed. “So let me off with a warning?”

Dib folded his arms. “Nope. But the fact that you actually held your own against a SIR unit for a full minute as a smeet- and one that I modified to be extra aggressive- just tells me that you’re still useful as a specimen.”

“Hey, I’m not a- a- smeeb!”

“Smeet, child, baby, whatever term it is you humans use.” Dib waved a dismissive hand, stalking closer and looming over Zim. His eyes were a deep, electric blue like an unsucked sour candy, and Zim squirmed under the restraints. “That table is where most of my previous experiments died, and I don’t want you to just be number thirty-six, you know?”

“Thirty-six? Thirty-six what?”

“Oh, this and that. Humans are good for experiments, they’re very determined to survive so you don’t have to use as many.”

“Well, so is Zim.” Zim tried to twist away, but something metallic erupted from Dib’s backpack like a dozen sharp insectoid legs, propelling him up onto the lab table before he dropped directly on Zim’s chest, driving the wind out of him.

“I’m well aware. You’re already a survivor, aren’t you?” He ticked off on his fingers, alien butt shifting on top of Zim a bit to get comfortable. “Barely any parental supervision, yet you create machines and work on biological experiments that are beyond the capability of most humans three times your age. You almost get blown up often and yet walk away from it. You’re an anomaly.” Dib leaned closer, and Zim could taste the sugar on his breath. “I like anomalies.”

Zim attempted to buck Dib off to no avail as he continued. “Find the exception and you’ll have found the thing of most interest, the thing that makes or breaks a species. The outlier the proves the rule, and you’re a human that behaves like an irken, showing just how far ahead of the rest of your species you are. According to my research, they’re going to burn when Gaz decides what to do with this place if they don’t destroy each other before she gets around to it, but I just might keep you as a pet.”

“Zim is no pet!” Even with little oxygen left in his lungs, Zim shouted, snarling up at Dib with his lip curled. “Earth may be terrible, but it’s mine, so back off!”

“Oh? So you agree that Earth is terrible?” Dib tilted his head to the side, one of those long antennae twitching, and Zim narrowed his eyes.

“You’re not very good at research, are you? Of course it is! But it’s mine, and I don’t want any buggy alien getting his sticky hands all over it!”

“It’s not exactly up to me,” Dib replied, hearing the wheeze in Zim’s voice and sliding off his chest to the table itself, and Zim sucked in a deep breath, feeling the air reinflate his squashed lungs. “Gaz is the one who’s actually invading, I’m just here to study the planet in case there’s anything useful. You’re a pre-contact planet, or at least that’s what’s logged, so this place is a treasure trove of undiscovered species. I’m trying to convince Gaz to at least set up a preserve so I can study some of them once she’s done with the invasion.”

“Are you even listening to me? I told you to bug off! Leave me and Earth alone!”

“I’m listening, but I told you, it’s not my call. Even if it was... you said it yourself, Earth is terrible. It would be far more useful to the Empire as a sugar-harvesting operation, or a zoo, or something else. Humans don’t really deserve to be in charge, they’re just going to blow themselves up eventually.” Dib shrugged.

“If I was in charge, you wouldn’t say that,” Zim muttered, and Dib’s antenna twitched again.

“What did you say?”

“I said, if I was in charge, you wouldn’t say that. I bet if everybody listened to me, you’d take that back. I’m a human and I know I could fix everything.”

Dib stared at him for a solid ten seconds, and Zim wasn’t sure he hadn’t spontaneously kicked the bucket. Did aliens do that? “You’re a genius. You’re a genius!” 

“Of course I am, but why?”

Dib smacked his hands on Zim’s cheeks, squishing his mouth in like a goldfish. “Of course, how didn’t I see it before? Your potential is stifled by the fact that you only have access to tools that you create, but if we worked together, you could help us because you have intimate knowledge of humanity, and I could help you by giving you limited access to my technology! We could be lab partners- I wouldn’t have to kill you, and you can help reshape your species for a better future!”

Zim blinked. “Does this mean you aren’t going to do horrible experiments on me?”

“I can’t promise that, but I’m not going to kill you right now.”

“Good enough for me!” Zim tried to shake Dib’s hand, before realizing that he was still restrained to the table. Dib leaned over, hitting a button just next to Zim’s head, and the restraints popped off. Zim rubbed his wrists for a moment as he sat up, mind still whirling.

This was a chance to fix everything, to make things the way that they should be.

“So, you won’t kill all humans, and you’ll give me access to cool tech.”

“I’ll consider your input on that, and I’ll give you access to cool tech.” Dib nodded, taking Zim’s hand, and a slow grin spread across Zim’s face.

“Then lead the way, Dib-thing.”

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

let me explain to you the plot of borderlands 4 (kidding. mostly)

tl;dr: the eridians are evil, or, worse, completely uncaring about the things going on in their little sandcastle. the guardians are salty bitches about it and need our help and/or are going to start slaughtering people and im gonna fuckING TAlk ABOUT IT mostly because i need to write this down bc its been bouncing around my head since the game (bl3, not 4. that’d be wild) came out. minor spoilers for Guns Love and Tentacles. mostly that side quest.

tl;dr: tl;dr: eridians bad, guardians mad, and we are caught in the middle of a war that’s about to go down between them. spoilers for GLaT

tl;dr: tl;dr: tl;dr: Fl4k was a warning. Spoilers.

i dont even know where to begin because FUCK THERE’S SO GODDAMN MUCH TO THIS STORY

so im just going to start listing facts or points (+) of this theory that i remember at this very moment and probably forget a lot of them alright i’ll elaborate on all of this i promise. okay? lets go

+the eridians made a bunch of vaults that hold monsters in them

+some of these monsters are clearly constructs. some of them are not

+those that are clearly constructs:

the warrior

the traveler

the sentinel

+those that are not clearly constructs:

the destroyer

the rampager

the serpent

(possibly) gythian

(possibly) graveward (more on this in a bit)

+those that are not accounted for:

the timekeeper (but do keep this bad boy in mind)

+the eridians made the guardians: biomechanical constructs that are somewhat sentient, gaining sentience, and are supposed to guard the Vaults

+we also know now that there are these things called proving grounds with a salty, sentient guardian named the Overseer:

“vault hunter, I thought you might show up sooner or later. so naughty your species, so curious. the vault of vaults has been opened and IT has been released. prove your worth and I will reveal why the masters made me wait for you”

“naughty humans have opened the vault of vaults but the masters will determine who is a fault. until next time, warrior”

“long ago there was a brief spark, the first vault was opened, a light in the dark. a riddle, yes? perhaps it will unravel next time, hunter”

“so, you’ve returned. persistent, yes. or stubborn? or both. are you so desperate to prove yourself?”

“we were created for one purpose by our masters- and we couldn’t even do that right (laughs). but don’t blame us! when a cog breaks, point your finger at the artificer, not the cog! are you a cog, Vault hunter, or an artificer? Or both? prove yourself worthy.”

“pity us not, though the world has been broken. those who sleep will soon be awoken. not long now, seeker.”

“the eridians were our masters, but we failed them. they gave the order then silence. they VANISHED. such is our fate, Vault Hunter. server to a master who has left the house so long ago. prove to me that you deserve an introduction.”

“we were supposed to guard the Great Jail. but no quarter for servants who fail. but servant, that is not quite right. ‘Prisoner’. that is what i am. Until next time, adventurer.”

“a final chance to prove yourself. but will your reward be what you desire? a prisoner in a cell staring out at the fathoms of a sleeping universe. after a time, how would you know if you were prisoner or master? consider this while you prove yourself one last time.”

“it has come to this. one last trial. but will your efforts be worthwhile? that is what we will determine next time, hero”

“I am a prisoner, but you, vault hunter? what are you? hunter, warrior, hero? no matter what name i use, you return to prove yourself time and time again. but prove it to whom, i wonder? perhaps you seek a greater audition”

“it is done and my masters have taken note. would you like to know what they told me right before they vanished? ‘beware the vault hunters, they will take your kind’s place’. now i am free, and you are chained. until next time, guardian”

“well done, but have they taken note? that is what I wonder.”

+ the entire thing about there being a Fallen Guardian we have to kill

+ how the entire thing of the trails are copies of the worlds we visited to open the Great Vault. either the eridians can see through time (TPS) or they built these recently

+how dark Maliwan is probably working together with the Guardians on Nekrotefeyo given the fact they’re working together in one of the trials

+oh and remember how i suggested Maruice’s ghostie goo (ectoplasm) is actually related to eridians and such? YEAH. turns out that was right.

+Nyriad, the unreliable narrator

+the fucking Forgetting

+how the eridians are NOT ACTUALLY GONE FOR GOOD

+the seraphs!!!

+how the guardians are all named after angels, sirens are tied to humanity’s religious imagery

+how tyreen literally only loosened the chains on the Destroyer and the destroyer is going to break free from pandora

+how animals and people like bloodwing, slag psychos, etc mutate due to the eridium on pandora

+the destroyer’s reaction to slag being injected into its eye is straight panic

+the vault monsters that are fleshy were probably science experiments by the Eridians to test eridium and/or the results of being locked in the vaults for ages

+humanity was probably created by the eridians as well (more on that later)

+the Watcher actually WANTS us to have more Vault Hunters, she warns us that war is coming. all we can assume right now is either the Watcher fucked up big time, or she WANTED all this to happen. More on that later.

+the guardians are preparing for war. the overseer seems especially salty about the cause of it.

+ graveward was killed at some point, so the guardians brought it back using the ships, so that they could use their souls to posses it (further proved by the loot: Grave, relic, and Ward, shield)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 alright holy fuck

that’s a lotta stuff to go over!!! Let’s do this thing.

Let’s start with the Eridians themselves

so. these bad boys. We never really knew much about them, but it was always kinda assumed they’ve been long gone bc of the destroyer, or just out of reach.

now that bl3 dropped we’re supposed to assume that they’re all officially dead bc of Nyriad/the Destroyer

and i am here to say that Nyriad is an unreliable fuckin narrator because she doesn’t know the whole story. in fact, she admits to not knowing everything!!

here’s what I actually think is going on, and yes, I believe 100% the eridians are shady motherfuckers who decided to play god:

the eridians are from a dimension that isn’t ours. we can assume this is a higher dimension, bc of all their weird space/time fuckery, especially the Vaults.

the eridians decided to do some science experiments. they make the vaults and use our dimension to store them and put all their experiments inside. they make guardians to guard their vaults, and they realize they can do better in the ‘making a fully conscious being’ department. they make humanity. they make sirens after experimenting with eridium. they decided to go big or go home, and they make giant monsters. after all that, they realize they fucked up, because there is one monster they cannot contain anymore, after all the shit they put it through

so the eridians realize they done fucked up and escape fully to our dimension, where they placed us and the guardians and all the science experiments they didn’t want to deal with at the moment. The Destroyer follows them

they land on nekrotefeyo, their ‘first landing’ in our dimension (hence the quote above). This, or the eridians had been in our dimension for a while now. Nyriad never says where the Eridians came from, just that they and humanity lived side-by-side, so it’s likely they’d been here for a bit, sending scientists back and forth, just doing their experiments all willy-nilly. And I would bet they created the Destroyer in that time frame.

“for their curiosity, they were rewarded with doom” i believe is a correct statement, but not in the way Nyriad thinks. I think the eridians created the destroyer to see if they could, to test the bounds of what was possible. and it backfired on them in the worst way.

Nyriad also says this, but I have a hard time believing her here

the most this is is speculation, because if none of the civilizations who met the Destroyer had nothing else to pass on, then humanity would not know of their existence. (I mean, she even says ‘SURELY it had different names’) Humanity has no record of other (intelligent) alien life in the universe, or their own civilizations being destroyed by the Destroyer*. It’s just the Eridians. 

*There is a reason for this, but let’s hold on for now.

So why tf do I think humanity was created by the Eridians? well, for one, I like the parallel to them having a god-complex. If they haven’t created humanity, then they definitely fucked with us to create Sirens. Sirens have a strong connection to Eridium and the Vaults (and other Sirens).

second, the murals in (most of) the vaults in bl3

show human-like figures hanging out with kids, and one touching something that seems oddly similar to a relic

like so

(on the left there)

there are also these really tall cloaked figures standing (t-posing) near the end of the mural

and most statues are depicted with robes on

a lot of the human figures in the mural are shown helping each other stand up, coming up from the ground like they’re being created, looking around (up at the sky at rays of light), and standing with a lot of eridian junk (there’s a vault symbol next to one). they’re also not shown to be wearing any sort of clothing, even tho extra steps were gone in to show the robed figures

it reminds me a lot of how a lot of religious texts describe humans as being molded from the earth or dirt or whathaveyou

long story short, it very much reminds of something like a creation myth, so i imagine humanity was, in fact, created by the eridians.

ESPECIALLY this smaller one reaching up to touch the relic

there’s no concrete proof for this, but its a hunch i have after studying this mural for a while. especially after Nyriad constantly questions why the Guardians were made to be on the brink of consciousness. humanity is Guardians 2, electric boogaloo. guardians were a mix of machine and bio goop, we are full bio goop. and that means we are curious, and have emotions, and are very naughty.

that or vice versa, eridians made humanity, realized we weren’t as subservient as they wanted and made the Guardians to fill that niche. Also, most importantly, the Guardians were literally made to be disposable. That’s their entire purpose. Their bodies will degrade, but then their souls will just eventually find another vessel. They’re trapped forever.

EITHER WAY

the Eridians created humanity and the guardians around the same time. enough that the guardians are likely vvvv salty about it.

humanity was made. Sirens came after that, through eridium experiments by the Eridians, explaining their connections to Eridium, as well as the other dimension (the one we are assuming Eridians are from) (think about the Lab Rats and Sirens and such)

so were the eridians preparing for something? war, maybe? possibly. they need firepower and obviously they wouldn’t sacrifice their own people when they have perfectly good constructs, so they’ll use their naughty meat slaves.

but the eridians need more than the sirens. they keep dying, and given the failsafe measures, its hard to keep track of them if one decides to let their powers go, despite the fact they added in, like, a siren gps for sirens to find other sirens and be drawn to them and shit

their big boy guardians, their constructs, aren’t doing enough to defeat their enemy

they start experimenting more with eridium. They learn it has the power to mutate things (mostly elementally, but also causes an increase in size, especially the longer/more they’re exposed to).

they create seraph crystals, condensed eridium, which mutate things at an increased rate. These become discarded eventually for reasons below

they begin finding other kinds of life and mutating the hell out of it using eridium/seraph crystals, in order to create their giant buttfuck squish monsters. These monsters are probably pissed the hell off bc they’re mutated and also probably being attacked by people. so they rampage, killing everything in their path.

the eridians need a way to store the big boys and also take them to the battlefields where they’ll annihilate the enemy, so they create the Traveler and the traveling Vault (which is why there was really nothing of substance in that Vault OKAY TAKE IT). Perhapeth the big flesh monsters mutate more due to being locked inside the Vaults and constantly exposed to eridium/whatever energy is in the other dimension.

Things are going well, and the big flesh monsters help turn the tide of war in favor of the Eridians, until the other party is completely wiped out by what they dubbed the Destroyer. So the eridians decide ‘well, we had our fun, time to put the monsters in their cages and forget about the seraph crystals’.

and most of the big boys, creation and mutation alike, are shoved in their Vaults, guarded by the Guardians so they can’t be released bc of naughty humans. except for one, notably the uncontrollable Destroyer. because it wiped out their enemies, now it wants more, with its insatiable hunger, so it turns its eyes on the Eridians and Nekrotafeyo

sort of explaining why the planet looks like it fucking exploded

the destroyer began to give it the SUCC

but there’s more about that planet

cuz the inside is all glowy and green and you totally know where this is going because i told you im pretty sure the eridians created humanity along with the guardians

i think this is the giant storage unit for all the souls, including the Guardian souls. humanity is depicted being pulled up from the ground in the Vault murals.

lemme explain here

I think nekrotafeyo is where the Guardian souls are stored, like one bigass computer. That’s also, we can assume, where the Eridians got the spark for humanity as well. 

around the game, when u ‘kill’ guardians, you can watch their sparks leave (they’re the red glowy things), they fly upwards and disappear. You can also see blue/green versions of these floating around and not doing anything, notably outside the Rampager’s Vault. 

I am curious if these color differences indicate a difference in wisp type (guardian v human) or if the red means they found another vessel and blue means they chillin. It is interesting to note that the Rampager has the ability to succ the wisps, so its possible its also related to the Destroyer. I mean, its way smaller, but it does IMMEDIATELY start wrecking shit as soon as it leaves the Vault.

anyway there’s more to this, because now we get to talk about ~ghosts~

if u didn’t heed my warning earlier, there are spoilers for guns love and tentacles past this point!! 

DOES THIS LOOK FAMILIAR TO YOU?????

THIS IS JUST HANGIN GOUT IN THE CORNER OF THE ROOM BTW

LITERALLY NEKROTAFEYO

and let’s not forget the Halloween event that showed ghosts are a v real thing in the borderlands and not just on carpenter planet

like super real. and the ‘hecktoplasm’ we get fuels a portal to heck. literally another dimension. that BY THE WAY is powered by a Maliwan device. that BY THE WAY is filled with Maliwan troops.

cuz remember on Nekrotafeyo where there are a bunch of Maliwan soldiers, but they’ve all got the DARK prefix to their name? you know how in the proving ground the dark maliwan troops are fighting side by side with a bunch of Guardians?

something fucky is afoot.

reminds me a lot of the terror effect

ANYWAY

i believe nekrotafeyo is where the eridian stored the sparks for both humans and guardians, that’s where they are coming from, and when nyriad questions how tf the guardians got that spark (stolen like fire of the gods), its because they’re slowly gaining sentience over time, probably relating to how many times they’ve been killed (returned to the core and then back again). because i 100% believe the eridians created the guardians just as an endless, permanent workforce, and the guardians that have been disposed of time and time again are starting to realize that and get SALTY. the reason i do not say that the guardians are gaining sentience with regards to how long they’ve been around is bc there’s such a huge difference between the intelligence of The Watcher and just a normal-ass Guardian that I have to assume their developing sentience has a different trigger.

anyway back to the eridians getting the succ from the destroyer. the eridians realize they can’t just run away from it back to their home dimension, maybe bc its tied to that dimension due to the vault mutations (i vaguely remember typhon mentioning that the destroyer is a dimensional horror) so they have to imprison it somehow. How do they do that? well it is fucking terrified of eridium (when you inject the eye of the Destroyer in TPS, it panics and freaks out), probably due to all the fucked up experiments they did on it, so let’s imprison it using that. 

And once we do that, we should probably get the FUCK outta dodge, bc these science experiments are getting c r a z y, let’s remove ourselves from the experiment and observe from beyond

so what do they do?

they get one of their sirens to operate a Machine they built that will send them back home. all of them, at once. we’re going home, fuckers. seeya. and obviously they will not tell humanity, because humanity will want to come with, like a lost puppy. and they will constantly question the other dimension and pester the eridians about it. humanity is annoying and the eridians have 1 big regret, im sure. 

they’re also leaving the Guardians to do their dirty work for them, keep the vaults closed so that humanity won’t open them and send the Eridian’s pissed off creations after them. Also explains why there are no Guardians for the Vault of the Warrior (is an Eridian construct) and why the Traveler had Guardians inside it but not on the outside (to keep it running). The only Vault that made me do a big think is the Vault of Elpis. But more on that later.

so they tell this siren that the machine is going to kill them all, and use their energy to power to machine (lol) to close the Destroyer in Pandora, giving a perfectly good super powered monkey severe anxiety. 

they also (apparently) do this ‘Forgetting’ thing, which Nyriad mentions, which makes humanity forget that we lived side-by-side with the Eridians and also everything about the Destroyer. which is so DUMB of the Eridians. 

because SERIOUSLY people, if you don’t want your idiot children opening something, the one thing you don’t do is make them FORGET WHAT IS INSIDE OF IT SO THEIR CURIOSITY GETS THE BETTER OF THEM WHEN WHAT’S INSIDE OF IT IS LITERALLY ‘HEY, YOU’RE ALL GONNA DIE’. literally pandora’s box. LITERALLY- that’s half the reason I think this is all just one big experiment to them. They don’t give a FUCK about us, actually. they just want to see what will happen. they named the fucking planet Pandora ffs.

like YEAH some people would probably try to open it, to try to kill the Destroyer. but guess WHAT FUCKLENUTS we could have had humans working to keep pandora sealed instead just your cryptic ass guardians. CURIOSITY IS A DANGEROUS THING

and listen. there’s a lot of reasons i believe the machine actually sent the eridians home. even if they actually are just morons and thought the Forgetting was the best thing to do for humanity (scoff)

fdgdsffssfgfsg

all-home

there’s more to this

what are we up to? i stopped writing this like 3 days ago and just came back to it

you guys know the whole story now. im not saying my whole entire backstory is fully correct (like, a lot of it is major speculation) but i do firmly believe these few points:

the eridians are from a higher dimension than our own, and came here for science, or to escape the destroyer

nekrotafeyo is named “first landing”

they have an obvious connection to another dimension thru vaults, eridium, and sirens

the eridians either created or experimented with humanity, eventually leading to Sirens

sirens have this connection to both eridium, vaults, and the other dimension

they have similar powers to some Guardians

on Elpis there are ‘pseudo-Sirens’ created upon exposure to chemical sludge near the Vault

Sirens probably are the result of very exact experimentation, meanwhile these fake Sirens are not

The Leech is able to create ‘Anointed’ who have Siren-like powers and turn to eridium when killed

In bl2, the Lab Rats can see the other dimension when phaselocked by Maya after they were experimented on with eridium by Hyperion

unlike other enemies who only see ‘blue’

every vault monster is the way it is because of the eridians doing shit, including the destroyer

the reason the rampager is so angry and begins destroying everything right away? it was mutated by the eridians/being locked in the Vault. It was stuck in there with a bunch of Guardians, probably either conducting more experiments or there as ‘prison guards’

the destroyer appears frightened of slag in TPS when you inject it, but it also gains power from it- pretty similar to Sirens, and if eridium caused these mutations it could explain the fear

eridium causes LOTS of mutations as we can see throughout the history of the borderlands games. i’ve written 2-3 long-ass posts about this now, i think y’all get the idea lol

terry, badass wildlife, slag/burning psychos, etc

we don’t know how long the destroyer/rampager/etc was exposed to eridium. We’ve only seen (relatively) small doses/exposure times

the eridians lied to Nyriad and are in their home dimension right now, probably laughing at us. or at least like ‘holy shit quick write this down’. this is probably all an experiment to them

I just have this FEELING

so sudden, and new

but really tho

The Overseer basically TELLS us that the Eridians are still out there somewhere

she calls them her masters, talks about how they left the ‘house’, then talks as though they can still see us in the present

Actually you know what, let’s talk all about the Overseer’s lines now because they’re dummy important

copy and pasting this because i forgot...

“vault hunter, I thought you might show up sooner or later. so naughty your species, so curious. the vault of vaults has been opened and IT has been released. prove your worth and I will reveal why the masters made me wait for you”

so IT is most likely the Destroyer. i have the firm belief that Tyreen just ‘slipped its chains’, as Nyriad puts it in her log right before the fight

like r u seriously telling me the eater of worlds is the size of a single story house lmao

NO

bigg

‘why the masters made me wait for you’ “MADE ME” I get the feeling she is here against her will, until her mission is completed

and that mission is to see which humans can pass the trials/the execute the trials

why? we’ll get to that. but she even hints that the reward may not be what we want.

“naughty humans have opened the vault of vaults but the masters will determine who is at fault. until next time, warrior”

so the second time she references her ‘masters’

Vault of Vaults is the vault of the destroyer. which is interesting to me. I guess it makes sense, is a big vault with other, tinier vaults on the surface.

I really wish we got an explanation as to what the Vault of the Architects was. might even explain the pyramid key ;-; fuckin pyramid key

so when i first heard this i thought there was some sorta ‘the masters will determine who is at fault’ rift between humans (the calypso twins or the vault hunters)

but now after learning more i realize this is probably between humans and guardians

are humans at fault for being naughty, or are the guardians for failing their only purpose?

i get the feeling the eridians will blame the guardians. the less favorite child :(

“long ago there was a brief spark, the first vault was opened, a light in the dark. a riddle, yes? perhaps it will unravel next time, hunter”

sooo im pretty bad with riddles

either this takes place long before our recollection of events, or this takes place around when typhon opened the first vault on promethea

what i think this means is possibly the beginning of Guardians gaining sentience

nyriad describes the smarter guardians as ones having a ‘spark’. i believe this is what the Overseer is referencing here- their gaining consciousness

THAT, orrrrr the guardians saw themselves fail at their only task and began to realize they could do more with their lives

failure breeds success, after all

“so, you’ve returned. persistent, yes. or stubborn? or both? are you so desperate to prove yourself?”

the differences between humanity and the guardians. humanity has strong desires/emotions, the guardians don’t

or, at least, they didn’t.

“we were created for one purpose by our masters- and we couldn’t even do that right (laughs). but don’t blame us! when a cog breaks, point your finger at the artificer, not the cog! are you a cog, Vault hunter, or an artificer? Or both? prove yourself worthy.”

lots to digest here

one purpose - to keep the Vaults closed

the guardians recognize they are only cogs in a machine, that they’re only tools, and it seems that they’re becoming bitter

‘point your finger at the artificer’ obviously blame the Eridians, not the guardians

‘are you a cog... or an artificer. or both?” i think is very important. i think this is another hint that humanity was created by the eridians

‘or an artificer, or both’ showing that humanity can step out from the shadow of whatever the eridians planned for them and make their own choices/destinies. the guardians can’t. ... yet.

“pity us not, though the world has been broken. those who sleep will soon be awoken. not long now, seeker.”

‘though the world has been broken’ - either bc the Eridians left them/the Vaults have been opened

more importantly “those who sleep will soon be awoken”

what i think this means, personally:

Graveward is a vault monster that appeared deceased (already killed or just died of natural causes) when we got there

but it was combined with a bunch of ship parts

this is confirmed both by the art book and by just LOOKING AT HIM lmao

these ship parts are likely a way to resurrect him by allowing the guardians to posses him

guardians are biomechanical constructs, so it makes sense that they would begin scavenging ship parts from eden-6 to fit to graveward

so they can have a stronger body to pilot

something had to be pulling those ships in to crash

also, this means BALEX didn’t do anything wrong lol

when you get to the vault, tannis is confused, because there should be a vault monster, but there’s only guardians

that is, until you kill Grave and Ward

they (and a bunch of other Guardian souls) then possess Graveward, bringing him to life- or, awakening him

what i think this means: the guardians are going to start possessing more and more stuff

why this means ‘those who sleep will soon be awoken’ possibly vault monsters who are killed aren’t actually killed, they’re just put in a sleeping state and the guardians will be using their tech to control them with guardian souls

the guardians stuck in that big ol computy machine somewhere (god pls let it be nekrotefeyo) are ‘sleeping’ and by taking control of those vault monsties, they will be able to wake up and pilot their own bodies

that is, there are too many souls, too little bodies, so they need more vessels

tl;dr: MORE GUARDIANS

also can we talk about how Sirens can absorb guardian souls pls?? bc what the FUCK tannis

ugh how fuckin’ creepy would it be if the eridians made the fleshy Vault Monsters and used the guardian souls to puppeteer them

seriously though, Tannis absorbed a bunch of Guardian souls why are we not talking about this

how was that not an important plot point

is tannis going to be okay?? i love tannis. please don’t hurt her. are guardian souls just pure energy?? what does it mean??? GEARBOX-

“the eridians were our masters, but we failed them. they gave the order then silence. they VANISHED. such is our fate, Vault Hunter, server to a master who has left the house so long ago. prove to me that you deserve an introduction.”

i think its really important that the Overseer doesn’t say the Eridians are DEAD. instead, she says they just ‘vanished’ or ‘left the house’

i think this further proves they’re still out there somewhere. probably watching over us like creeps

literally from the new DLC... come on. COME ONNNN

also confirmation the eridians are the ‘masters’ the Overseer is referring to all the time

side note i have the game sitting open on my other screen and wainwright just asked someone to drink him under the table what the f-

it does sound like they’ve been forgotten as even servants to the Eridians because she specifically says “were” and “but we failed them” probably meaning the Eridians were their masters UNTIL the guardians failed to keep the Great Vault from being opened

though i do think “prove to me that you deserve an introduction” is interesting

like do we not deserve one yet? well, not until we complete the trials she’s supposed to test us with

“we were supposed to guard the Great Jail. but no quarter for servants who fail. but servant, that is not quite right. ‘Prisoner’. that is what i am. Until next time, adventurer.”

kinda repeating what we learned from the above quote

‘Great Jail’ they put the Destroyer in evil baby jail for his crimes

no quarter for servants who fail - yeah the eridians are like ‘wow you guys suck, fuck you guys’

‘prisoner, that is what i am’. the guardians are all stuck in their roles. they’re trapped here

“a final chance to prove yourself. but will your reward be what you desire? a prisoner in a cell staring out at the fathoms of a sleeping universe. after a time, how would you know if you were prisoner or master? consider this while you prove yourself one last time.”

‘will your reward be what you desire’? we learn that the reward is actually being a guardian, so... it’s not great, if our deductions hold any water

‘a prisoner in a cell staring out at the fathoms of a sleeping universe’ - what the Overseer probably sees her position as guardian of the trials as a prisoner- same with all the other guardians stuck watching over the Vaults

i do also think this may be in reference to the fact she’s stuck in this dimension with us while the eridians ran away

“I am a prisoner, but you, vault hunter? what are you? hunter, warrior, hero? no matter what name i use, you return to prove yourself time and time again. but prove it to whom, i wonder? perhaps you seek a greater audition”

‘hunter, warrior, hero’ note she calls us by a bunch of titles throughout her greetings/goodbyes. but we are not satisfied by any of them

clearly we’re not proving ourselves to HER, since she questions who we are trying to prove it to

‘greater audition’ is likely in front of the ‘masters’ who are the eridians. remember, we have to prove to her first that we are worthy of an audience

“it is done and my masters have taken note. would you like to know what they told me right before they vanished? ‘beware the vault hunters, they will take your kind’s place’. now i am free, and you are chained. until next time, guardian

the eridians know what we’ve done- now humanity takes the place of the guardians

“beware the Vault Hunters, they will take your kind’s place” seems like a pretty fucked up thing to say

but also, more proof the Eridians knew what the FUCK was up, kyle

humanity is just guardians 2: electric boogaloo

the trails were ultimately a test to see if we were up to the task

and now that humanity (or, at least, the Vault Hunters) has taken the place of the normal Guardians, the others are free to do... something

what... i wonder.

i do think it is interesting that the Overseer is pretty morally gray here. like, she’s trapped here to oversee the trials for however long the Eridians have been gone, to see if humans are truly the successors to the Guardians

she obviously doesn’t want to be here, calling herself a prisoner

she even warns us that the reward won’t be something we want- i imagine she might not exactly be able to tell us WHY we will not like it, she is being watched by her masters (the Eridians)

like, i get WHY she doesn’t tell us what’s going to happen. if i were trapped there, I’d do the same thing

but here’s the thing

since we are (we assume) fully squishy and not mechanical in any way, we still have our free will (unlike, we can assume, the guardians)

so we’re not literally trapped in one job forever- we can choose whatever we want to do

so WHAT exactly do i think the guardians are going to do? well, they’ve got an entire army’s worth of souls, they’re resurrecting dead Vault Monsters, and they can modify their bodies now to become more weapon-like

what do I think is happening? The Guardians are preparing for war with the Eridians- they want to destroy their creators, and with us becoming the new guardians, there’s this loophole that allows the old Guardians to finally, FINALLY do whatever they want

(Is Fl4k supposed to be foreshadowing for this? Yeah, I believe they are!!)

+ also before i forget: the entire thing about there being a literal Fallen Guardian we have to kill

i believe this has to do with the fact when you kill it, it drops money. since we can assume the trials are crafted/designed by the Eridians, we can assume the Fallen Guardians are apart of that design as well. It drops money, which probably shows how it’s become corrupted compared to the other guardians. it has desires (collecting wealth). Since the Guardians are inspired by angels (especially in TPS), it’s probably supposed to be a direct callback to that

alright so I think you all are probably like CRUDDY THE PRE-SEQUEL

and like, yeah, that’s what i’ve been building up to the whole time

The Watcher!!!

“War is coming, and you’re going to need all the Vault Hunters you can get”

Let’s just look at the Watcher’s actions throughout TPS and Tales (well, her inactions in Tales, as well as 3)

In tps, the Watcher brings Zarpedon to the Vault, allows her to see the future, and creates the Lost Legion

so we all assume that yes, she’s trying to stop the Elpis Vault (and, by extension, Pandora) from being opened

but here is the thing. the lil thing. the BIG thing actually.

she stops us from killing zarps in the BEGINNING of the game

in the middle-ish when we kill zarp for realsies, she is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. Zarp lets Jack know where the Vault actually is and little miss alien face IS NOWHERE AROUND

when you are inside eleseer, lilith mentions that the Guardians there actually let her through, like they WANTED her to be there

now let’s remember Lilith’s actions in tps (and remember that she is IN NO WAY at fault here. jack is a dickbag. you try to tell me this is lily’s fault and i’ll kick your shins into your asshole)

while jack is seeing the future about the Vault of the Warrior, she punches the treasure of Eleseer into his face. this cuts off the vision, so unlike Zarps all Jack sees is that he opens the Vault of the Warrior. Nothing about the Destroyer destroying everything.

and still, the Watcher is nowhere to be found.

So Jack opens the Vault of the Warrior, Lilith learns she can activate the Vault Map, the events of Tales happens, and Lilith has Athena tied up and is about to shoot her

WHEN FINALLY

FUCKING. FINALLY.

THE WATCHER SHOWS UP

and tells us that ‘we’re going to need all the vault hunters we can get’

now let’s TAKE A STEP BACK HERE

obviously. OBVIOUSLY.

this is pretty backwards from what the Guardians are actually meant to do: keep the Vaults closed. If she wanted us to NOT open the Vault of the Destroyer, she probably should’ve just come right out and told us what’s up. 

no, I think she 100% wanted the events to happen in the way they did.

Because remember, after this, SHE NEVER SHOWS UP AGAIN!!!

not in tales, where she could have stopped the Vault of the Traveler from opening (in fact she could have let Athena die and lowered the team’s chances of defeating the Vault Monster with whatever canon choices there are), not in 3 when she could have prevented the twins from doing any number of things they did, not to give advice to lily on sanc-iii, not during Commander Lily (even though she’s mentioned briefly) she did FUCK ALL

she did J A C K S H I T

it’s because she wanted this to happen. she WANTS the vaults open.

why? well, see above. The Guardians want the Vault Monsters all killed so they can resurrect them as big boy guardians

and that war she’s talking about? it wasn’t the war in bl3. That’s why she never shows her face. she’s talking about war with the Eridians. 

Which is probably bl4.

alright im tired. eridians bad. guardians okay-ish. they might try to kill us all and use our bodies as vessels, who knows.

anywaY this was all an elaborate plan for me to explain the backstory of h2o au and why magic is real in the borderlands universe and why they decide to FIGHT- [gets dragged off computer by a cane]

wow this is a 36 page document, why can’t i be this enthusiastic about school??

[tyrantisterror]

Godzilla Gang Revised: The Dorats

Today on the Godzilla Gang Revised, we look at some asshole dragons from outer space!

King Ghidorah: Perhaps the most notorious monster in the Galaxy, King Ghidorah’s reign of destruction and terror has left many marks on history.  Like all dorats, Ghidorah was a genetically engineered organism designed by a malevolent alien race with the sole purpose of destroying the ecosystems of other inhabitable planets.  The ploy he was made for was particularly insidious - the vicious space dragon began life as three adorable and sweet creatures that his creators sold to the inhabitants of Venus as “the perfect pets.”  At a certain time, the three dorats would fuse in a violent explosion, becoming a powerful monster capable of wiping out the Venusian civilization.  Unfortunately, Ghidorah’s masters didn’t take into account the psychic powers of the Venusians, who in a last ditch effort united to bombard Ghidorah with the most intense negative emotions they could muster in hopes of making the unstoppable creature catatonic.  Instead, it turned Ghidorah’s animal ferocity into something more cruel and sadistic, with instinctive aggression warping into an insatiable lust for death.  Ghidorah destroyed Venus.  Then, when his master came to reclaim him, he attacked them, flying back home to destroy the civilization that created him.  With that task done, Ghidorah roamed aimlessly, killing all life he came across.  And now he turns his six eyes to Earth...

Tricephalon: Sent to Earth at the same time Ghidorah was sent to Venus, Tricephalon had no need of deception, as there was no civilized life yet for him to trick.  Instead the horrid beast was formed in an atomic blast and set loose on the wildlife, trying to bring an early end to life on Earth.  The combined forces of Inagos, Dagojira, Mesuzala, and Jikanryu managed to destroy the monster, but two of his severed heads survived the battle and slithered away to grow new bodies of their own.  It should be noted that “Tricephalon” isn’t a name so much as a title - the first civilization to record the myth of Inagos’s fight with the space monster was fearful that invoking his name could bring him back, and so he was referred to with the title of “the Three Headed One,” with Tricephalon being but one of many translations of the ancient moniker.  (Based on Tricephalon from an old Godzilla board game, The Stranger and an unnamed Space Hydra concept from Dark Horse’s Godzilla comics, and just a dash of Cretaceous Ghidorah.)

Orochidorah: aka Ten Thousand Year Dragon Orochidorah, this monster was one of two heads of Tricephalon that survived being severed and grew into a new monster of their own.  Orochidorah was initially a villainous creature, killing and wreaking havoc as dorats are often wont to do.  However, a great hero managed to defeat the monster, bringing it very near the brink of death.  Rather than finish it off, however, the hero forced Orochidorah to repent his wicked ways, cursing the creature to toil for ten thousand years before its full power would be restored.  Orochidorah then committed its life to the protection of others, or so the legends go.  (Based on the Orochi from IDW’s Godzilla comics and more than a bit of GMK King Ghidorah and the Godzilla/Evangelion theme park ride King Ghidorah.)

Death Geedra: The other head of Tricephalon that survived, Death Geedra was just as ruthless and cruel as his predecessor, putting the slovenly villainy of Orochidorah to shame by torching entire countries with his demonic fire.  Only the combined might of the daughters of Mothra stopped him, with Leopirax sealing the dark dragon away beneath the earth.  But old seals eventually fade, and it is only a matter of time before Death Geedra roams the earth once more.

Allergidra: A “lesser” Dorat, Allergidra was built to aid veteran Dorats in the conquest of planets civilized enough to have decent defenses.  Though bristling with spikes, horns, and claws, Allergidra’s most potent weapon is its noxious spittle and phlegm, which can spread through the air and afflict every creature nearby with a vicious respiratory infection.  While not always lethal, the coughing fits Allergidra inflicts upon others are generally strong enough to incapacitate them, allowing the dorat to finish the job with its hooked hands.

Batragon: Another lesser Dorat, Batragon serves as a scout of sorts, roaming the void of space in search of life for its masters to destroy.  Or, rather, it did back when they were alive.  With the masters gone, Batragon now journeys from planet to planet as a nomadic predator, wreaking a little havoc before moving on to the next adventure.

Bagora: Like Batragon, Bagora was meant to be a scout for his masters, and similarly has gone rogue since their destruction.  He hasn’t taken to it as well as Batragon, though - no masters means no routine feedings, and as a result Bagora starved for a long time before learning to feed himself.  The desperation of those lean and hungry days left a scar on the dorat’s mind, and Bagora is now a voracious hunter, always seeking out stronger game in hopes of being sated for good.

Monster X: Haruo Sakaki bore an extreme grudge against kaiju-kind, and Godzilla in particular, to the point that he quit G-Force when he felt the organization was going too soft.  He was quickly recruited by the newly resurrected Red Bamboo, who used him for a particularly horrid experiment: creating a human/Ghidorah hybrid.  Fusing the man with the severed central head of King Ghidorah, two rotting heads that Leopirax severed from Death Geedra millenia ago, and the fossilized skull of Tricephalon, they created a monster to end all monsters.  However, even the Red Bamboo couldn’t have forseen how it would play out...

Keizer Ghidorah:  The scientist mastermind behind the Monster X project was not truly loyal to the Red Bamboo - or, indeed, to humanity, for Dr. Metphies was in fact an alien infiltrator.  His species, the Xiliens, worshiped King Ghidorah as a god from the day he ravaged their planet, and had spent millions of years following in the monster’s wake, living off of whatever they could scavenge from the worlds he destroyed.  The “death” of King Ghidorah on earth was a great blow to them, but Metphies, their current leader, was a clever man, and exploited humanity’s worst tendencies to bring Ghidorah back from the dead.  Where King Ghidorah had fallen, Keizer Ghidorah would rise, for none could stop the Golden Demise!

NEXT TIME ON THE GODZILLA GANG REVISED: Monsters of Myth and Legend!

[mysecondsecretaccount]

Media Theory Analysis - Steven Universe

Steven Universe is an animated children’s TV show from Cartoon Network.  The show had 5 seasons from 2013 to 2019, and was followed up by a 2019 movie and 2019 epilogue series entitled “Steven Universe Future” that ran until 2020.  The series was created by Rebecca Sugar, notable for being the network’s first bisexual non-binary women to run a show.  Steven Universe follows the titular Steven, who lives with his human father and Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, who are gems, humanoid aliens with a variety of fantastical powers, including the ability for two gems to fuse into one gem, essentially two people becoming one for an amount of time.  Steven is half-gem, and his Mom, the gem Rose Quartz, gave up her physical form to become Steven, essentially dying in the process.  Much of the show centers around Steven coming into his own: dealing with his identity as half-gem, figuring his relationship to his dead mother, and fighting with the responsibilities and assumptions placed on him by Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, who simultaneously view him as just a little kid, and the next Rose Quartz.  As the show progresses, we learn that the Gems have a caste system based on function, which is run by the tyrannical Diamond Authority.

Power distance

As mentioned above, the show has a caste system based on function, which reflects our current system in many ways.  In the episode “Too Far”, the character Peridot shed some light on how the caste system works (shown at 3:12 in the video below)

As Peridot says “Pearl is a pearl, Garnet is a fusion,  [and Amethyst is] the only Crystal Gem, that's actually a Gem!”  There’s very clearly a power structure implied here, with Pearls and Fusions being seen as second-class citizens.  With this in mind, let’s start to look at the parallels to our real life caste system.

First, let’s talk about Pearls.  Pearls are essentially a slave race of personal servants, owned by nobility and forced to do work similar to secretary work, all while expected to look nice and fancy.  Throughout the show we see Pearl, the character (characters have the same name as their type of gem), being passed off as “just a pearl”, or “a feisty pearl”, and it’s a huge deal that she’s “a pearl that belongs to no one”.

“A Pearl who belonged to no one”

As you may be able to tell, the way Pearls are treated is allegorical for how women are treated in society.  Though views of women as second-class citizens aren’t exactly common in today’s world, backwards views like this still exist in many parts of the world.  There are still places where women are essentially bound to their husbands, in the same way that Pearls are bound to their masters.  And though it isn’t common now, the time when women mainly did secretary work was not that long ago in the grand scheme of things.

Next, there’s fusions.  In the show, fusions between the same types of gem are normal and common, though they are only used for military purposes and unfuse immediately after battle.

Three rubies fusing 

But fusions between different gem types are relatively unheard of, and are heavily shunned by gem society.  The first time two different gems fused, onlookers were horrified, and both particular gems were ordered to be shattered (killed).

Now it’s important to note that fusions, being the physical embodiment to two character’s feelings towards each other, are often used to represent romantic relationships.  And since all Gems are female (or at least, female-coded, I’ll get into that later), all relationships are necessarily queer.  And by viewing fusions through a queer framework, the hatred and contempt felt towards fusions becomes an obvious allegory for homophobia.  And though it may seem like most people are accepting of the queer community, especially seeing how gay marriage is legal in the united states, that’s simply not the case, especially seeing as a major political party in the U.S. is explicitly against gay marriage.

“Garnet? Does that call herself a Garnet? Haha! What would you have her do? Enter with the Demantoids? The Hessonites, the Pyropes?”

This degradation is embodied in the show.  When two gems become one, the gem that they become is one that would be higher rank than the two composing gems.  However, the rulers of gem society do not recognize the status of fusions, and find the very idea laughable, as shown above.  This only further shows how much of a second class citizen fusions are in this society.

 Let’s return to that Peridot quote from earlier: Amethyst is higher status than both Pearl and Garnet.  The thing is, Amethysts are lowly soldiers, so the fact that she could be the leader of the group, despite being the youngest, and despite the fact that Garnet should be a high-ranking military commander is frankly astonishing, and really speaks to the backwards nature of their society, which can, in turn make us reflect on the many absurd contradictions of our society.

Uncertainty avoidance

Newness and uncertainty are heavy themes in Steven Universe, even being built into the show’s very premise.  You see, Steven is a half human, haf gem hybrid, and that’s something that’s completely new in this universe.  

“There's never been anything or anyone like Steven.”

This is at the heart of one of the show’s central conflicts: how Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl view Steven.  Steven is something new, and that’s confusing and scary to the gems, because they frankly have no idea what to do with him.  But, over time, they learn that they have to accept Steven as a member of their team.  And this message of accepting the new and uncomfortable comes through with one of the show’s main mechanics: fusion.

“Something entirely new”

As shown in the video above, when the first fusion between two gems occurs, it’s portrayed as “Something entirely new”, and the show makes sure to emphasize. how special and unique that is.

“I still can't believe it. Only on Earth, don't you think? Only on Earth where anything can happen. A fusion of two completely different Gems! Can all Gems do that? How have I never heard of this?! I've only ever heard that it's unheard of.”

Furthermore, in the episode “Alone Together”, Steven fuses with his best friend Connie, creating Stevonnie, the first human/gem hybrid fusion.  At first, Pearl is perplexed and uncomfortable, calling it “inappropriate”, but Garnet, who’s portrayed as the wisest of the group, don’t ask questions or make assumptions, instead only telling them to “Go have fun!”

Finally, it's important to note that trying new things is at the crux of the plot, at least in season one.  You see, the show starts with Steven and the Crystal Gems going around and capturing corrupted gems, who are animalistic in nature.  For most interactions with these creatures, the Crystal Gems just fight them.  But Steven is irked by this, and proposes nonviolent solutions.  Ultimately, it’s only through these new solutions that progress is made.  Just as in real life, progress can only be made by accepting new and uncertain solutions.

Finally, it's important to note that trying new things is at the crux of the plot, at least in season one.  You see, the show starts with Steven and the Crystal Gems going around and capturing corrupted gems, who are animalistic in nature.  For most interactions with these creatures, the Crystal Gems just fight them.  But Steven is irked by this, and proposes nonviolent solutions.  Ultimately, it’s only through these new solutions that progress is made.  Just as in real life, progress can only be made by accepting new and uncertain solutions.

First of all, the entire Gem race is female (or female presenting rather, I’ll get to that in a minute), except for Steven, who’s half-gem and identifies as male (he/him).  This is notable, because many mainstream franchises have casts that are almost entirely male, usually save for one token female (see: the smurfette principle).  Steven universe is unique for having an entire race designed specifically to subvert this.

But what’s interesting that none of the Gems are actually female, they’re all nonbinary.  According to the show’s creator (who herself is a nonbinary women), all the gems are sexless and agendered, an alien species that don’t have a gender binary.  However, they all present female and use she/her pronouns (with a couple exceptions I’ll get to in a moment).  This is unique as nearly every character in every piece of media falls within the gender binary, and though the gems may lean to one side of it, they still fall strictly outside the gender binary.

 Masculinity vs femininity

Steven Universe is notable for defying gender expectations in several unique and groundbreaking ways.

First of all, the entire Gem race is female (or female presenting rather, I’ll get to that in a minute), except for Steven, who’s half-gem and identifies as male (he/him).  This is notable, because many mainstream franchises have casts that are almost entirely male, usually save for one token female (see: the Smurfette principle).  Steven Universe is unique for having an entire race designed specifically to subvert this.

But what’s interesting that none of the Gems are actually female, they’re all nonbinary.  According to the show’s creator (who herself is a nonbinary women), all the gems are sexless and agendered, an alien species that don’t have a gender binary.  However, they all present female and use she/her pronouns (with a couple exceptions I’ll get to in a moment).  This is unique as nearly every character in every piece of media falls within the gender binary, and though the gems may lean to one side of it, they still fall strictly outside the gender binary.

Some characters go even further in being non-binary, not leaning to either side and using they/them pronouns.  Specifically, we have Stevonnie, who is the fusion of Steven (male) and Connie (female).  Stevonnie is romanticized by the show as a true human experience, which also serves as a validation and confirmation of nonbinary identities.

Stevonnie being awesome.

All of the other fusions that include steven use they/them pronouns, including: Smoky Quartz (they/them), Rainbow Quartz 2.0 (They/Them & He/Him), Sunstone (They/Them & She/Her) and Obsidian (They/Them & She/Her).

It’s also worth noting that in Steven Universe Future, we get to briefly meet a nonbinary character named Shep, proving once and for all, that you don’t have to be a half-alien gem fusion to be nonbinary.

They 

Another gender standard that Steven Universe rebukes is that of traditional female beauty.  Though most Gems are female-presenting, they all present their femininity in different ways.  

Taken from a Contrapoints video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bbINLWtMKI)  

As you can clearly see, even though all of these characters use she/her pronouns, they all present their femininity in radically different ways, not being afraid to stray into nontraditional femininity.

Then there’s the subversive masculinity of Steven Universe.

The video above basically says everything I wanted to say on this topic in a manner infinitely better than I could ever do, and I don’t want to just limply restate its arguments, so just go watch the video for yourself.  All I have to add is that Steven is not at all afraid to wear traditionally feminine clothing, or act in a traditionally feminine manner, as shown below:

Individualism vs. collectivism

Throughout the show, the Crystal Gems are constantly fighting as a team.  They’re always working together, and there’s an assumed promotion of the value of teamwork throughout the show.  All major problems are only ever solved through cooperation.

What’s more interesting is how fusion plays into this topic.  Fusion is an allegory for relationships, of all different shapes, sizes and kinds.  So naturally, some fusions represent teamwork, specifically Alexandrite and Obsidian, the fusion of Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl and the fusion of Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Steven respectively.  These fusions only exist as long as the contributing members are willing to cooperate, and have trouble staying together when the members aren’t working well together.

Alexandrite coming apart after her components start bickering

We also see the smaller, two-gem type fusions being used to represent teamwork and collective power.  The philosophy behind fusions is that they are greater than the sum of their parts, and as such are extremely useful for completing tasks.  Throughout the show we see characters fusing to do things like lift up a drill, destroy a tall structure, babysit, or even just to fight.  Recurring is known for lamenting the fact that she’s always beaten by fusion, even resorting to fusing with an uneasy ally to win a battle, twice (it works neither time).  The message is clear: teamwork creates synergy.

Pearl and Amethyst fuse to lift a drill

But what makes this truly interesting is how Steven Universe also champions individuality.  The show features plenty of characters who have arcs of self discovery, eventually coming into their own as a unique person, most notably Steven Universe himself.  Though you may think that these themes of individuality and collectivism may contradict each other, Steven Universe finds a way to escape that binary and champion both.

In episode “The Question”, the idea of differentiation is explored.  Differentiation is the idea that members of a couple need solid individual identities to work together as a couple.  And this idea can be applied to many other fusions throughout the show.  For example, in the episode “Mindful Education”, Stevonnie starts hallucinating when one of their components, Connie, is having trouble at school.  In said episode, Garnet explains that for fusions to stay fused, there has to be balance, and all participants have to be stable.  

“For a fusion to work, there needs to be balance. An imbalance can cause your fusion to...fall apart. That is to say, if one of you is falling apart, your fusion will as well. To find balance, you must understand your feelings.”

Ultimately, Steven Universe conveys a complex but important message: “Teamwork and cooperation are vital in making societal progress, but individual identity is crucial and cannot be ignored”

Indulgence vs restraint

While Some critics of the show have posited that in the first season, Steven has everything he wants.  And while that may be true from a physical statement (he eats what he wants, he gets to play video games all the time, he lives extremely close to both an arcade and an amusement park), his emotional needs, his need to be accepted by his family, his need to feel like he’s a valued member of the team, his need to be not be seen in the shadow of his mother, taken entire seasons to be meet, and some of those needs are frankly never met.

In the end, Steven Universe proves to be a subversive masterpiece, defying traditional expectations of gender and power structure, while providing new ways forward through uncertainty and the combination of individuality and collectivism.  To matter what framework you view the show through, it will always have something to learn from. 

[spirit-science-blog]

The Dark Crystal

So I know this series is called Hidden Spirituality but as many of you in the comments have pointed out… At some point we have to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that especially with some of these movies, we really ought to name it “Obvious Spirituality”, and the Dark Crystal is definitely one of those kinds of films.

Also - let it be known that this episode will specifically be exploring the original film of The Dark Crystal, we are not going to be getting into the Netflix Prequel Series at this time, although I’m certain that it would make for some great content. And to that end, Spoiler Warning, but you knew that already, didn’t you?

So in essence, The Dark Crystal is basically an hour and a half long magical adventure through a world of mysticism, alchemy, and astrology - in a world entirely different from our own, and yet a beautiful reflection of our own inner consciousness.

The story begins by describing that a thousand years ago, there was planetary conjunction that brought about great change. The narrator describes that the great Crystal cracked, and a single shard was lost, creating chaos. This is a spiritual reference to our own collective consciousness and our relationship with the eternal oneness, in the sense that we ourselves have been disconnected from the greater whole. It also seems to be subtly relating to the fall of Lucifer or the idea of a fallen consciousness. In the Bible, Lucifer was said to fall from heaven, becoming separate from the Oneness and creating evil in the world. It is when the great crystal cracks and the shard is separated, that the Oneness becomes fragmented, and two races appear, the Skeksis, and the Urru, but the film simply refers to them as Mystics.

When this happened, the evil Skeksis took control of the crystal castle, and this is also related to us today in that there are those in power today who wield it for evil or selfish purposes, which is the nature of the Skeksis. We also hear the line that the Crystal hangs above a chasm of Air and Fire, both of which are alchemical forces relating to spiritual and mental energy, there is no water or emotional energy where the Skeksis are. There are - however, Sacred Geometry and other Alchemy symbols all over the crystal castle.

Now, it is only at the end it is revealed that the Skeksis and Mystics were originally one species, the UrSkek, these wise alien superbeings, who created a symbiotic relationship with the crystal, but that in their arrogance they unwittingly caused the crystal to crack, splitting themselves into two lesser states, the Skeksis, and the Mystics.

This is a Qabalistic lesson in the Tree of Life too - for the Urskek represent the path of harmony, aligned in the middle of the tree, and who made a mistake on the journey, causing them to polarize to an extreme on the left and right-hand path. The path of severity, and the path of mercy.

The Skeksis become the path of severity, being cruel, intense, sharp, and violent. The Mystics become the path of Mercy, who lives in a dream of natural peace, rehearsing the old rituals with forgetfulness, and the ancient wisdom is almost lost.

Another way of looking at these races, however, is as two aspects of our selves. The Skeksis are our lower self, the survival-based fear-driven mentality that compels us to act in selfish and cruel ways to one another, where the mystics are our higher selves, but who are often so gentle and soft that it’s nearly impossible to hear or understand what’s really going on with them. Thus, when they are harmonized as the UrSkek, they describe a unified being, the higher and lower selves united in the heart.

However, we must also acknowledge then that since they are two sides of the greater whole, there are qualities of Skeksis that are not actually bad. Qualities like sharpness, passionate intensity, or generally being opportunists, are qualities that do value in the world, such as mental sharpness, or passionately being engaged in something meaningful - however, the challenge with the Skeksis is that these qualities are all paired with cruelty.

And likewise with the Mystics, while we look at them as the good guys, and certainly, they are - they are slow and forgetful, they don’t care much for anything other than just doing their old rituals even though they have mostly forgotten them. There’s a beautiful lesson here is that Truth and Wisdom come when the darkness and the light dissolve into One.

Now, The Dark Crystal also speaks to us in another way, reminding us of our place in the world and society right now, in that we are in a time of great change. The narrator explains at the beginning that the time of testing has come, for it is time for the world to heal, or to pass into a neverending realm of darkness. This is explored by the nature of prophecy, and how prophecy comes about at all.

You see, the Dark Crystal explores the idea that the astrological movements of the celestial bodies have an energetic effect on the world, just as we today understand that the gravity of the moon has an effect on our emotional states. The Dark Crystal explains that by understanding the movements of the celestial bodies, they could see patterns and cycles that reflect events that take place on the planet, and that a thousand years ago there was a conjunction of the 3 suns, and that when it happened again in another thousand years, we would either pass into a time of healing or neverending darkness, depending on the outcome of the events.

We see this elaborated further by Aughra, who explains that the conjunction simply means a time of change, sometimes things get better, sometimes things get worse. It’s not that the Astrology determines these things, simply that it is a reflection of the times of transformation, cycles, and these changes happen in the microcosm as well. Aughra says that it’s the end of the world, or the beginning, end, and beginning - same thing. I swear, she was probably this close to saying “As Above, So Below” before the beetle-borg rush in...  That’s what they’re called, right?

Now, on another level, this movie is just riddled with truth bombs in just the best way, and sometimes these lines are so fast that you only catch them if you’re already attentively aware of what’s going on. For example, when Jen first meets Aughra, she asks “ “Who sent you?” “My master” “where is he? Somewhere around here?” “he’s dead” “Hm could be anywhere then”.

Honestly, it’s such a funny line, yet it really aligns with so many ancient wisdom teachings that say when we die, our consciousness, the energy of our being merges with everything, and can move freely throughout existence.

But the best, deepest truth bomb in this movie, and honestly is in the running for the deepest truth bomb in ANY movie EVER- is this one!

*Oming at their face scene*

Maybe laugh about it.  

Now, of course, this movie revolves around the characters Jen and Kira, who go on the adventure to restore the shard to the dark crystal. We discover that when they touch, they engage in a telepathic connection of sharing their memories, which they call dream fasting. While their experience was very intense and visual, we do see this happening in subtle ways on earth, when two people who share a deep soul connection meet - they feel as though they have known each other all their lives, or have this deep intuitive and seemingly psychic connection with each other.

Now, throughout the film, there’s a bunch of adventure and drama and what have you but lets a laser in on the ending for a moment. Jen restores the crystal, and the mystics and skeksis merge together. However, Kira has been killed in the process, and as she lay there fallen in Jen's arms, we have yet another deep and profound truth-bomb.

The newly restored Urkeks say to Jen: Hold her too you, she is part of you as we are all apart of each other. BOOM! I mean, does that even need elaboration? Well, in case it does - scientifically today we actually can identify that all of us are apart of the same quantum energy field that makes up all things and that our energy is intimately intertwined and connected, and at this energetic level, there is no separation between us, even if we feel that there is. Further, this scene demonstrates the power of love to create and build those connections, because it is through the wisdom of the Urskeks and the Love of Jen that restores Kira to live.

Finally, our last truth bomb - The urskeks leave us with the restored Crystal of Truth, and remind us clearly, to make your world in its light. This is a powerful lesson and reminder for us all, that we must learn to embody the light of truth and to make the world with the wisdom we gain from its glory.

[kaablooie]

Before the Exclusion Zone

(Back to the beginning: Part 1)

Part 10 - A throw back

50 000 years before the first pyramids were built, there were the Madari. A highly advanced and technological race, they were amongst the first of the civilized species to master interstellar travel. Millennia passed as they traversed the stars exploring and searching for answers they didn’t know the questions to. Gathering together the other advanced civilizations they found, they organized and created the Galactic Consortium - a new, intergalactic organization governing and enabling a level of cooperation never before achieved. Technology and goods traded freely and everyone prospered. A true golden age of enlightenment and peace took hold of the known galaxy. 

Thousands of years later, the Madari exploration vessel, Star Rider, happened upon an exquisite planet on the edge of the galaxy absolutely bursting with life. Enough life that you could see it growing on the land and shimmering in the water, even from space. A huge planet, it was surprising to the crew of the Star Rider that it was even capable of any life at all. A truly surprising and remarkable find. Commander Ratrek didn’t want to waste any time learning all of this planet’s secrets.

“Atmospheric composition report,” he demanded from the bridge.

“One moment,” the surface analyst, Cordu, responded. “I’m getting some odd readings that have to be an instrument error. We’re re-calibrating and scanning again.”

“Sir, the gravity of this planet is 2.6. We’ll have to use the gravity modulators if we want to survive down there without being crushed or suffocating,” the analyst sitting next to Cordu offered.

“2.6! Zentic, have we ever encountered life before on a planet with that much gravity?” Ratrek inquired.

“Technically, yes, but never with anything larger than microscopic life on it. Initial scans indicate that there is a wide variety of massive fauna and huge animal lifeforms,” analyst Zentic replied. Next to him, Cordu finished reassessing his equipment and ran his scan of the atmosphere.

“This is impossible,” muttered Cordu. “Commander, my analysis is showing that this entire atmosphere has an abundance of Oxygen in it!”

“What?” Ratrek skittered up behind Cordu so he could look at the output himself. “That can’t be right. You’re sure your instruments aren’t getting interference from something? Look at the life on this planet! You’re telling me these creatures are not only alive but thriving in this oxygen rich atmosphere?”

“It would seem so, sir.” Cordu couldn’t quite believe it himself. Of all of the planets the Madari had cataloged over the long history of their race, he had never heard of one quite like this before. “Any expedition team will have to use full atmospheric hazard suits to go to the surface. Obviously.”

“Incredible. Let’s get down there then. Cordu, scan those creatures and we’ll see if the largest of them has any intelligence. We’ll start there.”

“Sir, the largest creatures on this planet seem to be aquatic in nature and can only be found in those vast oceans.. they... they are almost as large as our entire ship...,” Cordu trailed off.

“Fine fine, find me the largest terrestrial creature then. Zentic, you’re with me.” Ratrek pushed the com button on the wall. “Ordos and Rados, gear up, full atmo suits, grav modifers, and sed guns. Meet us at the shuttle.” 

As the four Madari stepped off the back of their gravity controlled shuttle, the soft whirl of their gravity mods could be heard kicking in. The readout in their suits was telling them it was cold. So cold, in fact, that the water in the air had somehow frozen on the ground, but not as ice as you’d expect. It was.. fluffy. Fluffy ice? How the lifeforms survived in such frigid temperatures was beyond Ratrek’s ability to imagine. It was just another wonderfully curious question to be answered by the planetary researchers back on his ship. Cordu had given them coordinates to put them just within sight of a group of what had to be the apex predator of this world. Using the enhanced visors in their helmets, they were able to zoom in on their targets. These things were HUGE. Hairy, four legged behemoths, maybe five legs if you included the one coming from its face but didn’t seem to be used for locomotion. They had long, curved protrusions from what had to be their mouths as white as the stuff on the ground. The diminutive Madari, the tallest of them at 2′ 3″, wouldn’t even reach the lowest joint on their legs. Everything around the intrepid foursome, dwarfed them. Even when they lifted off their front two legs to balance on the rear two, they were relatively minuscule. It was quite humbling. If it wasn’t for their superiour tech, it would have been terrifying. 

With their sed guns loaded with the most potent of their sedatives, they began their approach to the massive aliens - and was immediately interrupted from the tree above. A sleek, golden coloured vessel of terror had landed on Ordos and was ripping him to pieces. Five times his size and with curved fangs as long as his arm, it crunched through his suit before anyone could even yell an alarm. Ordos was gone and the remaining party were unloading on it. It took longer to take down than it should have, but there were no other casualties. Likely due to it’s size, the engineered viral sedatives used would have taken longer to work through such a sheer volume of mass.

After lamenting their loss and gathering a tissue sample of the unconscious cat, it was decided they would continue with the mission. They had no special death rites, having outgrown such cultural necessities eons ago. They did, however, take the time to strip Ordos of his tech. They couldn’t leave it for the locals to find and there wasn’t much of Ordos left to do anything with anyway. So not wanting Ordos’ sacrifice to be in vain, they started heading back in the direction of the herd and resumed their march. Within normal visual range of the beasts, they noticed they were following tracks larger than theirs, but considerably smaller than those of their quarry. The animal that created these also seem to only have two legs, or they were walking with only two at least. How strange. They seemed fresh and headed in the same direction as them, directly towards these towers of hair and flesh.

“Commander, look,” Rados pointed towards the grazing creatures.  No, he pointed to just the side of them. Something much smaller was shifting in the snow. With a shrill cry, a small band of bi pedaled creatures maybe 2-3 times the height of the Madari emerged from the ground brandishing crud weapon and wearing what looked like the skin of their prey. Their antics frightened off the herd but they managed to isolate one of the beasts and were using an obviously coordinated maneuver to attack and tire the creature. Maybe these giants of this planet weren’t the apex predator of this world after all. 

Watching the battle from the shelter of a few sparse trees, the trio re-evaluated their situation. A number of the humans had sustained massive injuries and Ratrek assumed them to be dead. No being could recover from such injuries, even with the wildly powerful new regen medications the galaxy was in such a tizzy over lately. No, those Terrans were certainly dead. Until they weren’t. The beast, bloody and dying, gave off a thunderous and final trumpet. Ratrek could feel the vibrations of it’s fall through his feet. Then the victorious Terrans began going around to their fallen comrades and helping them up. They were clearly grievously injured with that odd red blood everywhere, stark against the white of the snow, but they were walking, albeit with assistance in many cases. While the humans didn’t look half as ferocious as the creature they took down, they were terrifying in their tenacity and made of sterner stuff than they appeared. 

“We should go back to the shuttle,” a visibly upset Zentic commented. And who wouldn’t be upset by the violence they had witnessed in such a short trip. A team member was dead, literally torn to pieces before their eyes, and the largest and most intimidating life-form any of them had ever head of had been essentially beaten into submission by other vicious creatures a fraction of its size. They were in an atmosphere that would kill them and was already likely degrading the integrity of their suits, not to mention if anything happened to their grav mods they would be flattened like a crew tech under a landing strut. 

Leaving, at least for now, was looking like an excellent idea. “Weapons up and watch those trees. Let’s head back.” Commander Ratrek reluctantly gave the order. He wanted to see more of this world, but was wise enough to know when a larger and better armed force was necessary. They would return after more extensive scans.

-------------------

If you’ve liked what you’ve read, please consider joining me on my Patreon page where you can get early access to each chapter. https://www.patreon.com/roman_williams

-------------------

Next: Part 11

Other parts:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12 (On Patreon) 

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

Trying to compile all my AA Star Wars AU thoughts so far into one location, but there is so much, so this is just the uh.... the Original Trilogy. the AA OT.

---

The Fey clan are a group of Dathomirian Witches. They rarely leave Dathomir, and after clan mother Misty and her elder daughter Mia left and never came back, travel was even further discouraged. How and why Misty disappeared was unknown, but Mia was found alone and taken in by the Jedi due to her prestigious Force powers. As a Jedi Knight, Mia returned to Dathomir, reuniting with her younger sister and trying to create an alliance between her clan and the Jedi. Her aunt, Morgan, the new clan mother, who was more and more tapping into dark side powers, refused such an alliance, and Mia’s death put an end to her own attempts; her padawan, Phoenix, however, would eventually come to Dathomir himself and help Maya vanquish Morgan’s rule of the clan.

As a Jedi, Mia became close with another knight, Diego, and together they sought to investigate corruption in the Galactic Senate. At the same time, Mia’s return trips to Dathomir had angered one of her cousins, the Nightsister Dahlia, who worked as a Sith assassin. She ambushed Diego and trapped him in carbonite, intending to find some later use for her prisoner; however, Mia’s continued hunt for her caused Dahlia to abandon her prisoner so that Mia could not recuse him, and it was only years later that Diego was found and released.

After being knighted, Mia took a padawan, the human Phoenix, and she trained him until her death. Phoenix, on avenging her death, was made a Jedi Knight, and as soon as he was off assignment and able to, he traveled to Dathomir to bring news of Mia’s death to her home and her family. After the clan mother Morgan was driven into exile by Phoenix and Maya, Maya took her younger cousin Pearl, Morgan’s daughter, and left Dathomir with Phoenix to assist him in whatever way they could, as thanks. He trained them in some of the Jedi’s ways, but most of their strength they still drew from the ways of the witches.

Together with them, Phoenix took up the mantle of Mia’s investigations into the corruption of the Senate, focusing on Galactic Senator von Karma, who always seemed to Phoenix to be one large disturbance in the Force. They gained help from a Republic soldier and Senate guard, the Wookiee “Gumshoe”, and the group soon learned that Phoenix’s Force-premonitions were correct, as they were assailed by two separate Sith assassins who were tasked with protecting von Karma - Franziska, the Senator’s own daughter, and Miles, who Phoenix knew once when they were Jedi younglings together. In one of their altercations, Gumshoe ends up captured by Miles; Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl fret over it and launch a desperate campaign to get him back, but it turned out that he in about two minutes endeared himself to Miles and ends up working with Miles as he attempts to work his way back to the Light. Together, the five of them expose Senator von Karma’s corruption, but burdened by guilt for his actions and not sure how he can possibly seek redemption, Miles disappears soon after.  Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl try to track him down, alternatively clashing and working together with Franziska, and Gumshoe who has now joined forces with her. Along the way, they clash with all manner of pirates, bounty hunters, and other general villainy.

Meanwhile, some traders stumble across a man frozen in carbonite and release him. Diego, who had already had trouble following the Jedi Code - especially the part about attachments, when it came to Mia - and was already teetering on the edge of falling, falls entirely to the Dark Side when he finds out how much time he lost and that Mia is dead. The Galactic Senate has only gotten more corrupt, the galaxy hangs on the edge of war, the Sith and the Nightsisters are still out there, and it’s really enough to push anyone toward falling. Diego never recovers from his carbonite blindness, and directionless, having learned about Mia’s padawan, he sets out to assess him in the absolute worst way possible, which is just ambushing him in several duels and like, if Phoenix dies he dies. What’s Diego care?

Ultimately, Diego, forcefully dragged back to be vaguely on the side of the Light, joins forces with Phoenix and his hodge-podge gang of two witches, a Wookiee, and two former Dark Side assassins, to hunt down Morgan and Dahlia once and for all. Misty reemerges after her long disappearance, under the guise of a bounty hunter who has been traveling with the smuggler Larry, who was once a drug dealer selling deathsticks on the lowest levels of Coruscant, who Phoenix mind-tricked into rethinking his life, and Larry rethought it in the worst way possible and became a higher-level spice smuggler. Also somehow really good at painting. His ship looks different every time they run into each other. Morgan and Dahlia are both finally killed, with help of Misty and Dahlia’s twin sister Iris, but Misty is also killed in the confrontation.

Phoenix brings Miles back into the Jedi ranks, and they welcome Franziska as well. Gumshoe becomes a guard at the Jedi Temple, and Maya and Pearl return to Dathomir. Diego refuses the offer to return to the Jedi, and sets out alone into the galaxy to seek his own redemption, with encouragement from Mia’s Force ghost. Iris goes to neither Dathomir nor the Jedi, nor with Diego, and returns to the planet that she spent the past several years hiding out, having chosen that the life of least adventure is the one she desires. 

But in the time that they’ve been careening around the Mid and Outer Rims, their attention turned away from the Senate, dark forces and political power games have been brewing, and it won’t be long before the Jedi bear the brunt of it.

Miles attempts to return his attentions to the Senate, and in his investigations net him a strange group of allies: Kay, a petty thief from the depths of Coruscant who in her attempts to get something shiny to pawn for food money ends up with state secrets in her hands; Lang, a Senator only by virtue of that position being hereditary for members of his family who aren’t the royal rulers of the planet, but honestly he’d rather be shooting things than sitting in Senate negotiations; Justine, a stern and serious Senator with little fondness for the Jedi, and Sebastian, the junior Senator of the same planet, working with her; and Ray, a former Jedi Knight who left the Order after his master was killed investigating Senator von Karma twenty years ago, and only now is returning to the fold, with a lot of resentment for Miles.

----

Species breakdown:

Dathomirians: all the Feys

human: Phoenix

Wookiee: Gumshoe

and everyone else in the OT I don’t have super strong feelings on. I am opening this up to suggestions. Should Miles and Franziska be human? What’s Diego? Sebastian? Lang obviously has to be some sort of wolfman alien, which there are in fact in Star Wars as I see from Wookieepedia and its “canine sentient species” category, but none of them really have significant enough characters as members of their species for me to actually pick one to decree Lang as.

[multifandom-panda]

HOW CHIBNALL PISSED ME OFF

I have been away from Tumblr for years, but here I am now. The reason for my return is simple: Chibnall pissed me off and Facebook is not the right place for a a rant like the one you are going to read. Posting it on twitter would make more sense, you say? Probably. But I have no time to count words. I will start with why I had high expectantions on Chibanl and then I will explain how he shuttered every single one of them. 

1. When I heard Chibnall was coming after Moffat I was happy. I have always had that twisted relationship with Doctor Who where I loved the adventures, the adrenaline, the jokes, the discoveries, the aliens, but I also loved the feels and angst that came with the Companions and the Master. I had seen Broadchurch, so I “knew” Chibnall, I was sure enough he would not mess around. I was so wrong

2. Female!Doctor. Not a fan. Nu-uh. I have never felt the need for a female Doctor. There were plenty of great female characters in Doctor Who, both in the Classic era and the New era. Every single one of them had their own personality, their own skills and flaws. It was great, because they were actually people. Doctor Who was the first show that I watched where I didn’t get annoyed by female characters. They were strong in their own ways, and that didn’t mean being a super killing machine without special fighting skills. They were real and they were fundamental. Without them the Doctor lost his moral compass and we saw that more than once. So no, I didn’t need a female Doctor, I was alreay represented by amazing women in the show who were not less important than him. Moreover, I have no problem feeling represented by a man, I mean... men are still people, they have feelings and I am capable of understanding that. It’s called empathy. I am not so stupid that I cannot relate to a character only because they don’t have my genitalia. 

3. Lack of imagination. Another problem I have with a female Doctor is the same I have when authors remake characters, when they change gender or ethnicity to a character to give people representation. It’s insulting. You are basically saying that you are not capable of creating a new character for that minority (being women, an ethnic group or disabled people) without using a pre-existing character. It means that in your head, to detach yourself from the negative stereotypes, you need a white male model because you are not able to imagine a minority character without those flaws on your own.

4. Companions: Graham was fun compared to Ryan and Yaz, but if we compare the Companions to the older ones, the new ones lose. And lose real bad. They left me nothing. They characterization is non-existent, they follow the Doctor and that’s it. Ryan should have disability but it appears only when the screenwriter remembers. Meh. I don’t have much to say about them, they really didn’t left any impression on me. I was not fond of Martha and I can list reasons why, I couldn’t stand Clara and I can go on 30 minutes saying why. These new ones are just... meh.

5. The Doctor. I didn’t see him... her... them. Let’s start with a note: I saw Jodie in Broadchurch and I didn’t like her there, so when I found out she was going to be the new Doctor, I was not amazed. If it had to be a woman, I would have preferred someone else, but anyway. This Doctor didn’t have any special features, it just looked like an hyped 10 or 11, but without their depth. Kind is an adjective, not a character trait. I feel that her character was not studied enough, she didn’t have enough depth. It got better with the beginning of this new season but honestly? You can’t be able to write a character properly only when they face their nemesis. 

6. The episodes. Oh. My. God. The first season of this new Doctor was a series of episodes that looked like they jumped out of the 60s. Teaching people through an entertainment show doesn’t mean you have to take the show, make an episode on whatever the problem you want to discuss is and make some sort of documentary about it. It means you try to explain to people through fun, adventures, analogies... those who watch DW now are not 6 years old. They know that if you show them a genocide on another planet with segregation, spaceships etc, you are telling them not to be racist assholes. They do not need Rosa Parks to give them a lecture. Episode in which appears a villain with an unkown objective and we don’t see ever again, but ok. 

7. The cherry on top. The timeless children. What. The. Actual. Fuck. So Chibnall just decided to take 60 years of TV show and toss it into the garbage can, right? That was the purpose, right? Because otherwise I don’t see it. So the Doctor is a creature from another planet, not Gallifrey, who can regenerate. The Gallifreyan see them, think “oh nice” and go all Frankenstein on them. Noice. I have just a teeny tiny itsy bitsy problem with that. And for one I mean so many that they are more than the leaves on the trees in the Amazon forest. You are nullifying “End of time”, “This is Gallifrey”, the 50th anniversary... moreover Clara saw their past, she would have seen that something was off. They can’t remember? Fine. But it’s still there, it’s not like they transplanted their brain. 

8. The name of the Doctor. The big secret. The name that must never be spoken. The name that was keeping the universe together... and they revealed it like that. Brendan? Really? The name of the Doctor was a legend, you were not supposed to name them for real! Brendan? SERIOUSLY?

9. Doctor and Master. They were friends since they were kids. They grew up together. They studied together. They went on adventures together. They lost friends together. They grew apart and they kept fighting each other... but they were best enemies. Ok, a couple of times one really killed/let the other die, but go back to the beginning and count those times. They were two faces of the same coin, getting on each other nerves and saving each other over and over again. For the Doctor, the Master was the only other Time Lord in the universe for so long he was willing to pardon a genocide to save him (more than once). Their relationship was based on the fact that in a way they were complementary: the Master has no restraints, while the Doctor tries to be good when they both have done so many terrible things (including genocide, eh Doctor? You are not so innocent, honey). Their relationship was beautiful and painful. And it went down the drain. You are telling me that the Doctor is a superior being, they are not equals anymore, they are not two faces of the same coin, they are not even the same species so what are we talking about? And the coldness of the Doctor while she lets him die? Who the hell are you?

TL;DR Chibnall took a character I loved from a show I loved and torn it apart. The season and the characters were not written as I expected, I mean that they were 2D version of themselves, no depth there. Nothing interesting. I think he tried too much all at once: female Doctor, 3 companions, one shot episodes. Man, pick one thing you want to change and stick with it. You already have to run a show you have never run before, so you have to understand how to make it work. 4 characters are difficult to handle all at once and at the same time give them all the right space, depth and characterization in seasons that have less than 15 episodes each.

I am so pissed. I didn’t appreciate Jodie, but in a little corner of my mind I had always tought I would come back to Doctor Who once she was gone, but that’s not possible anymore. Funny thing is, this show made me meet the majority of my friends, the people with whom I started hanging our 6 years ago. We would have never met without DW probably. I kind of feel robbed now.

[rodimusprime2017]

MCU WIKI

Real Name: Holden Price Goldstein

Alias(es): Holden Goldstein, Uni-X, The Bat, King Of The Monsters, The Equalizer, Mike Lowry, The Shapeshifter, Detective Goldstein, The Living Nightmare, True Alpha, Earth's Greatest Defender, Bravo 0-6.

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: 3rd July 2002

Affiliation: S.H.I.E.L.D, Avengers, S.W.O.R.D.

Status: Alive.

————

Portrayed by: Mitchell Hope.

Appearances: Captain America: The Winter Soldier(Mentioned), Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man Homecoming, Black Panther(Cameo), Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man Far From Home(Cameo) Black Widow(Mentioned).

"Those circus freaks brought the war to us four years ago. Jesus dad, count the dead, tens. What's next? Thousands? How many good guys are left? I'm gonna stay that way."

- Holden Goldstein to Dean Goldstein

Holden Price Goldstein, also known as Uni-X is a Palisades Charter High School student, an Avenger, and the leader of Goldstein pack in Los Angeles. He was raised alongside his sister, Tessa by his father, Dean and his mother, Samantha who unfortunately died during the battle of New York. Causing Holden to have a hatred towards the Avengers.

In 2013, while Holden was on a school trip to Cairo, Egypt with his best friend; Blake Williams, a magnitude eight earthquake struck, levelling the city as the two teenagers were among some of the survivors. The earthquake also caused a massive sinkhole to open, causing Holden to stumble across Ahmanet's tomb and the Universatrix. Using his new found powers, Holden went against the Forever Knights and Albedo as he tried to terroform Earth.

Over the next two years, Holden used the Universatrix's aliens, dinosaurs, monsters and Transformers to fight evil while gaining new forms, new enemies and new allies. In 2015, during the Ultron Offensive on Sokovia, Holden was on-site as he was helping civilians before witnessing the Avengers' destruction first hand. Due to that, Holden begins his one-man war against the Avengers and created the bat legend of Chicago.

When the Sokovia Accords was announced, Holden travelled to London to help stop a terrorist attack on Piccadilly Circus and attended Peggy Carter's funeral to enlist help tracking down stolen chemical gases. He finally got his revenge by defeating nearly all of the Avengers before travelling with Sharon Carter to Russia, and with the help of Nikolai, captured Helmut Zemo who was responsible for the Avengers Civil War, the stolen chemical gases and the attack on Piccadilly Circus.

Holden then travels to New York where h encounters illegal activities of the Vulture, who was attempting to sell his Chitauri  based weapons onto the black market. He then proceeds to help Spiderman on two occasions, at the Washington Monument and the Ferry. After Tony Stark takes his suit, Holden makes Peter Parker a new one before helping him with Liz Toomes. Eventually, Holden discovers the Vulture is Liz's father as he has a brawl with Frenzy, an alien assassin sent to kill him. Peter turns down Holden's offer to become a SHIELD agent as Holden leaves for home.

Holden then encounters Professor Timeline who recruits him for an important mission. After explaining that the dreams were in fact visions of the near future, Timeline sends him back in time to 1995.

Not long after Holden arrives, Carol Danvers arrives on Earth and began recalling her past, with help from him, Nick Fury and Maria Rambeau. Danvers had then also discovered that Yon-Rogg and the Kree Empire had been manipulating her for years, learning from Tslos that the Skrulls were merely seeking to find a new home. With this information, Danvers unlocked her true powers and defeated the Kree invasion on Earth that was being led by Ronan The Accuser, before setting off out to the far reaches of the galaxy to finish what her late mentor Mar-Vell had previously started while Holden returned back to his timeline.

Holden gets pulled into the Avengers conflict when Thanos and his forces mobilize to collect the six Infinity Stones. Finally, putting past aside, he helps Earth's Mightiest Heroes by spearheading the battle codenamed Operation Warlock. Despite Iron Man and his team failing on Titan, it was Holden who was the real as he outsmarted and defeated the mad titan, the Black Order, and his armies. This proved Holden worthy as he became the bearer of the Ultimate Biomnitrix.

Holden is now a member of the Avengers and operates out of Los Angeles to protect his city and world from threats the Avengers can't deal with.

<------>

ABILITIES

"Your powers and your suit doesn't make you an Avenger. It's how you use them with creativity that matters."

- Holden to Peter Parker.

Expert in Hand-To-Hand Combat - Holden is highly experienced in every form of hand-to-hand combat known to mankind. It comes in handy when he has to get his hands dirty as Holden is able to switch hand-to-hand combat styles quicker then his opponent can adapt.

Ace Pilot - Holden's experience with his flying forms and military aircraft has made him one of the best pilots in the world. He can fly aircraft including Quinjets, Helicopters, Cargo Planes and Fighter Jets.

Tactician - Holden is an excellent strategist thanks to Optimus Prime and Megatron. He is able to formulate battle strategies and his brilliant tactical sense allows him to alter near any strategy to fit the changing needs of the situation.

Expert Engineer - Holden is extremely talented and prolific engineer who is able to fix stuff without the use of an instruction manual. He's also known to create stuff for his forms including nanotechnology for Ultimate Optimus Prime and a vibranium shield for Killmonger.

Expert Marksman - Holden can throw and shoot with deadly accuracy and is well-versed in the use of weapons including guns, missiles and projectiles. Holden also has knowledge of a vast array of US Military weaponry.

Master Spy - Aside from being one of the strongest heroes in the universe, Holden is skilled in espionage, intelligence gathering, stealth, infiltration and sabotage.

Master Acrobat - Holden's training and experience has made him a very skilled acrobat, and has shown expertise in utilizing parkour and air attacks.

Detective - Thanks to his experience as Killmonger(Yautja) and his time at the Los Angeles Police Department, Holden has become one of the best detectives in the world who specialises in all kinds of crime including murder and attacks.

EQUIPMENT

"What did I tell you? Never come empty handed."

- Holden to Sharon Carter.

Universatrix - Holden gained the Universatrix after opening Ahmanet's sarcophagus and bonded with his DNA. Over four year, it evolved from a gauntlet to a metallic watch. It helps Holden fight evil and crime in Los Angeles. After the Battle of Earth, the Universatrix would later then be taken by Azmuth after passing the test.

Ultimate Biomnitrix - The Ultimate Biomnitrix is a more powerful version of the Universatrix with the Ultimatrix included. Holden gains it after defeating Thanos in which he gains more forms but also has the ability to fuse two forms together. Holden now uses it to defend Earth.

Grappling Gun - With his genius in engineering and inspiration from Batman, Holden creates a gas-powered grappling gun to help him disappear quickly and reach very high places. After getting the Ultimate Biomnitrix, Holden integrates the same grappling technology into the Ultimatrix.

WEAPONS

Cybertronian Gun - A sword and gun weapon held in Lockdown's armoury. When Holden and Blake to go rescue Carol Danvers from the bounty hunter, Holden steals one of his guns as it bullets can hurt Lockdown, Kree, even Thanos got a taste of cybertronian bullets. Holden has since made modifications including laser sight and scope.

ACR - After completing his SHIELD training, Holden uses the ACR when he can't transform or for stealth missions. Holden upgrades it with a scope, laser sight, grenade launcher, long barrel, and extended magazine for all kinds of stealth missions.

<------>

FACILITIES

"Los Angeles. California. Home of celebrities, beaches and Arkham Asylum. Not the one from DC Comics. But think of Los Angeles as our very own Gotham. Something like that."

- Holden to Gamora.

Goldstein Residence - The Goldstein Residence is the home to Dean, Tessa and Holden. When Dean moved from London, he chose this house in Burbank. Holden gets visits from cousins, friends and some members of the the Avengers even turn up at his door. Holden uses his room as his base of operations.

Palisades Charter High School - Holden, Blake Williams and Sophia Petrova go to Palisades Charter near Santa Monica in Los Angeles as students. It also had a Lacrosse team which is led by Holden as captain and coached by Coach Shiba.

Los Angeles Police Department - Dean Goldstein's workplace. Holden comes by every so often to during investigations to bring lunch on weekends.

[princehec-tor-kur]

Necessary Expenses

《{[Nebula Cluster: Despandos]}》

《{[Horde Warship: Catrax]}》

《{[5 Yyrtz to: The Stranding]}》

"We're running out of oxygen!" The man was short, Hordak noted. His skin a painfully bright white, with blue patterns on his face, which was not covered up by a helmet. Which was against the code. The engineer was an elixian. If Hordak remembered the events right, he conquered their planet two yyrtz ago, back at the Gemineye system. A pathetic species, weak, pasifistic and... peaceful. It took barely a maruum to conquer the unsuspecting world, three wyvz and five dunz to be precise.

Why the head-engineer was making a huff about the situation and panicing in Hordak's presence he did not know. He was surprised to hear that oxygen was a molecule present on the ship. He had no idea what oxygen could be useful for. Combustion? To heat the energy substances, what were they called... ah yes 'food'. Food... food. Strange word. Surely there would be an alternate way to create combustion, this problem can be solved without bothering him. Besides what else can oxygen be utilisted for, fueling plants? Ha... good one. Still got the humour. Hordak can barely remember what a plant looks like, pesky little earth parisites.

Everything outside The Sanctum seemed so rabid, so untamed. Fine. Let Mother Nature kill and feed itself piece by piece in her space at her leashure. Hordak wanted nothing to do with it. So chaotic. Too chaotic. Too rabid. But not in here. Not him. Never him. Never again.

"So. This quiry does not concern me." The lord of darkness waves the alien off. He half looked at the shorter conversationalist, it was clear they were getting angry, angryer.

"So, the human troops! Your human troops need oxygen to breath! Which is a process they need to live!"

"..."

"So that they can work."

Hordak sighed, he understands the conandrum now. He almost forgot how weak and dependent the humans were. He supposed the weak stuck together as he glanced at the engineer once again. He seemed even more pathetic this time.

"I see the point."

"Oh do ya'?!" Raising a voice at his master, a very poor choice of expression. Best way to express is to carve out your enemies on the battlefield. Hordak estimated the man had about two mortz left to live, his own outburats. "We need more oxygen! Fast! But the we need oxygen for welding, cleaning, water generation, heating food. We can't just pull it from esential sectors and divide it in such a small amount."

Logical, "Of course it would be horrid to undermine superior soldiers just because of a human inconvinence." Survival of the fittest, also of the most useful, efficent. "Cut the oxygen to the human sectors. Problem solved."

"What?! No that's not what I meant!"

"That's what I meant."

"I came to you- for help- y- you're supposed to be a scientist! I thought you'd resolve the problem with your extensive knowle-"

"Flattery won't save you. I've solved the problem. I was going to use them as canon fotter on the next enemy colony anyhow, so it doesn't matter. I'll simply send the Snakemen instead. Remove yourself from my presence."

"...I've served you for two yyrtz, as the head-engineer, because I was the best! I worked harder than anyone for what remained of my familly! My wife! My baby girl! Gone! Because of you! We even surrendered, like we were told! They were killed by a misfire! And for two long agonising yyrtz I've been working by backside off for the man, no monster, that killed my family! I'm going to tell the humans! They deserve to know! You destroyed my world! If my wife was here she'd s-"

CRRAACKKKZZZT!

The elixian fell to the ground, the dead body jolting with crackles of green electricity, searing smoke rising from the burned skin. The lightning burned right through the body leaving multiple gashes and holes. Hordak's fingertips sizzled with the same electricity. A high-voltage engine built into Hordak's forearm, current directed through the fingers to help aim.

"Grizzlor, dispose of the corpse. That is all... oh actually. Could you record them dying as oxygen leaves their lungs, the humans that is."

"Of course, my lord. There is no rebellion. There is no magic. There is no hope. There is only the Horde. All Hail Th-"

"Yes, yes, no need to recall the entire oath I'm well aware of it, I wrote it. Get a move on." Hordak gestured with his finger, the body was swipped up and no trace remained of it. The Hordeman continued own the corridor he was stopped in. He had no idea how the man manage to get past the guards, perhaps they should be the ones executed for their failure. No one, but him and his respected ones should have access to the quarentined zones. He might acidentally get contaminated by one of the lesser beings.

Shame. The elixian was abaquite at his job. They will have to be replaced. Hordak only wished that the next world would have a worthy alien species for the position of head-engineer.

The next world, what was it?

...Etheria.

[evilincarnatemoon]

Character Profile

+1 to be graced by the beauty of Dr.Sofen ꧁ ❦ | · Karla Sofen · | ❦ ꧂

【 Biodata 】 Name: Karla Sofen Aliases: Dr Sofen, Moonstone, Kate Sorenson,  Meteorite,  Ms. Marvel Sex:  Female Age:  Late twenties to early thirties Species: Human Mutate Race: American Relationship Status: Single Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual Occupation: Psychiatrist, SHIELD consultant,  Initiative psychology teacher, Thief Education :  Medical Doctorate and Psychiatry Doctorate, Masters in Psychology [Undergraduate] UC-DAVIS California, USA Place of Creation: Captain America (1968) #192 » ━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━ « 【 Physical Specifics 】 Hair: Blonde Eyes: Blue Height: 5’11 Weight: 130 Ilbs (59 kg) » ━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━ « 【 Relations 】 ❦ Karl Sofen    Relation: Father    Status: Deceased ❦ Marion Sofen    Relation: Mother    Status: Deceased   » ━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━ « 【 Quotes 】 “Wh-what are you doing to me? I’m – I’m Moonstone again? I’ve been ‘reality-punched?’ That’s the stupidest @#%* thing I’ve ever heard of .” ”It always amuses me how people so ready to do the Devil’s work fall into asking for God’s help when things don’t play out as planned ” ” It’s hard to confront the deep truths about ourselves. Naturally you flee them at first  ” » ━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━ « 【 Personality 】 Dr. Sofen defines herself by her intelligence. And she is defined by a bitter, vengeful desire for social revenge and showing the world who’s the boss and who’s the bitch. She’s a user and a predator, desiring to be as independent and high-status as possible, through both money and influence.Sofen is proud of having neither morals nor ethics. She sees those as yet another set of constraints that only applies to suckers with a less prodigious IQ than her own. She regrets nothing and stops at nothing. Her only goal is to make it big. She’s greedy, and very open about it.But she is also smart and disciplined enough than it doesn’t constitute an Irrational Attraction in game terms. It was a while before she began to want to change. Or before she admitted it to herself, anyway. She seemed to initially stay with the others for the safety of numbers. The desire to redeem herself was so different from her normal way of being and thinking that it took a long time, and intervention by an alien intelligence, to make her understand that she actually wanted it. She never quite got the being a hero part though. Karla constantly questioned herself about whether she was simply doing what others wanted her to. Her superiority and need for independence make it difficult for her to ask others for help.  She developed a big-sisterly affection for Jolt, and romantic feelings towards Hawkeye, both of which could have influenced her path.Indeed, she worried it was Hawkeye’s influence in particular which had guided her down this path. This doubt may have stopped her being as committed to the relationship as she might otherwise have been. » ━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━ « 【 Background History 】 Karla grew up in the mansion of a Hollywood producer, the child of a butler. After her father died, her mother worked three jobs to put her daughter through college, and Karla vowed never to end up like her mother, to never put another’s needs before her own. Despite building a successful psychological practice, Karla so disliked being dependent on her patients for income that she entered the super-criminal world as an aide to Doctor Faustus. Learning of Moonstone (Lloyd Bloch), she became his psychologist and manipulated him into rejecting the source of his powers, an extraterrestrial gem of considerable power, which she then absorbed to gain the powers of Moonstone. Karla worked briefly for the Corporation, controlling the Hulk and manipulating General “Thunderbolt” Ross into a nervous breakdown. She continued to pursue greater power, stealing Curt Connors’ Enervator and searching the moon’s surface for further moonstone fragments. First Egghead and then Baron Zemo recruited Moonstone for their Masters of Evil, and she aided each against the Avengers. After the last of these fights, she decided to serve out her prison term and give up her criminal life. However, when Zemo formed a group of villains to masquerade as heroes, he broke Moonstone out of the Vault and she returned to villainy as the Thunderbolt Meteorite. Upon encountering a young victim of Arnim Zola’s genetic manipulations, a youngster by the name of Jolt, Moonstone nudged Zemo into accepting her in the team. She soon became a mother figure to Jolt and used her enthusiasm to create a power-base inside the team, rallying the others behind her. Zemo exposed the true nature of the team, but Moonstone opposed him, followed by MACH-1, Songbird, and Jolt. Zemo had brainwashed the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, but the small team of Thunderbolts, with the help of Iron Man, was able to defeat Zemo and Techno, his ally. After the battle the Thunderbolts had decided to pay for their crimes, but they were unwittingly teleported to an alternate dimension. In this world, known as Kosmos, Moonstone led the team to safety from the Kosmosian army and eventually executed the Kosmosian Primotur to ensure their return to Earth. Inspired by Jolt, she made the Thunderbolts see that it would be preferable to work for their redemption as heroes, rather than to be in jail. After gaining fake identities for the team, she led them away from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Lightning Rods, and she managed to defeat Graviton using her psychological skills, making him see that he did not truly have a goal, that he lacked vision . However, the Thunderbolts disagreed with her, for she merely thought of the present and did not care for the future consequences of her actions. When the former Avenger known as Hawkeye joined the team, claiming they would be pardoned if they followed him, she stepped down as leader and allowed him to get the position. Soon after the Thunderbolts fought the new Masters of Evil, a veritable army of supervillains, and Moonstone decided to betray the team. But something inside of her snapped, and she defeated Crimson Cowl and returned to the team. Weeks after, Graviton returned, having pondered the words of Karla. He took over the city of San Francisco, turning it into an island in the skies. Thunderbolts attempted to stop him, but they were captured. Graviton offered Moonstone a place at his side, as his queen, but she laughed in his face. As the youngest members of the team saved them, Moonstone wondered why she didn’t take Graviton’s offer. During a mission against the Secret Empire, she become romantically involved with Hawkeye. But as time went by, she became haunted by nightmares of an ancient alien warrior woman, who whispered in her thoughts. Soon after, the team was targeted by Scourge, who killed Jolt. The death of the youngster hit Karla deeply. Subsequently, Citizen V asked for help against her own team, the V-Battalion, and the Thunderbolts agreed to do so, engaging the V-Battalion’s operatives in battle. Karla was torn about fighting them, for they were heroes. She released a surge of her powers to stop the fight, making them all intangible, and fled, trying to find out what was wrong with her. Her first stop was Attilan, but the Inhumans were gone. She then searched the Fantastic Four’s computers and found the answer she was looking for. She flew under her own power to the Blue Area of the Moon, where she sought the Kree Supreme Intelligence and demanded the truth. The Supreme Intelligence revealed to her that the fragment she referred to as the “Moonstone” was part of a Kree Lifestone, which used to empower the Guardians of the Galaxy centuries ago. The alien warrior woman that haunted her dreams was the previous owner of the moonstone, whose memory was etched into it, and kept steering Karla into the path of heroism. The Thunderbolts managed to catch up with her, and so did Captain Marvel, who offered her help. Led by Captain Marvel, the Thunderbolts went to Titan, where Mentor and ISAAC attempted to remove the moonstone from Karla’s body. After a serious discussion about Karla’s potential to do good, Mentor allowed her to keep the gem but erased the memory of the previous owner, leaving Karla’s mind, and by consequence, her decisions, to herself. The team returned to Earth, only to find Jolt alive. She exposed Hawkeye, revealing the pardons Hawkeye promised would not be honored. Soon, the Thunderbolts chased Scourge, who was being manipulated by Henry Peter Gyrich. Thunderbolts fought the V-Battalion’s Redeemers but eventually teamed up with them to defeat Gyrich, who was being manipulated as well. Valerie Cooper offered the Thunderbolts pardon for saving the world from her own people, with the condition that they would hang up their heroic identities forever. Karla Sofen was soon contacted by Graviton, who hired her as a tutor. In the following weeks Karla helped Graviton understand and control his powers in ways he had not even dreamed, making him fall in love with her. Graviton soon attacked the Redeemers, slaughtering the team. He also managed to keep many of Earth’s heroes unmoving in the sky, as he lifted hundreds of cities all over the world as well, for he wanted to reshape the face of Earth into a semblance of his face. The Thunderbolts re-formed to stop him, only to find Karla at his side. In the end, she hesitated fighting them and helped them stop Graviton. However, his power imploded, sending most of the Thunderbolts to Counter-Earth. While trapped on Counter-Earth, the Thunderbolts became true heroes at last, rescuing thousands in their flying city, Attilan. Karla was given the task of reshaping the minds of the world’s leaders, creating a new way of thought to ensure the survival of all. Soon after, Karla removed a second moonstone from that world’s Lloyd Bloch (known there as the Phantom Eagle), dramatically increasing her own powers. The Thunderbolts eventually returned to Earth, leaving Jolt and the Young Allies to complete their task of saving Counter-Earth. When the Avengers later interfered in the Thunderbolts’ plan to control the world’s “transnormal energy”, a failsafe was triggered– a device that Karla had planted in her private plot against Zemo. The stolen energy was funneled into her moonstones, further increasing her powers. Karla attempted to use this energy to flee, but the Thunderbolts and Avengers combined forces to stop her. In the end, Zemo ended up in possession of both moonstones and Karla was left comatose. After recovering, Karla reunited with the Thunderbolts first with Zemo then under the leadership of Norman Osborn. Eventually she took the mantle of Ms. Marvel when Osborn created his version of the Avengers. Once that venture failed miserably, after the siege of Asgard, Karla found herself back in the Raft prison, but again she was allowed to participate in the Thunderbolts program now led by Luke Cage. » ━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━ « 【 Abilities 】 The Moonstone embedded in Karla’s body works through manipulation of gravity, and gives her a large toolbox of powers. She has high level super strength, speed, and durability. She is able to manipulate her density and the density of objects around her, allowing her to become intangible and phase through objects and attacks. She can manipulate gravity directly, using it to bend light (making her invisible), increase the gravitational pull of things around her, absorb energy, and even teleport. She can project beams of light as powerful lasers or simply emit bright light to blind opponents. She is a brilliant psychologist and uses her insight and way with words to get into the minds of her opponents in the middle of fights and effectively manipulate them Along with this ability, Karla also has perfect control over her voice. She can alter her pitch and modulation to varying degrees to literally drive a man crazy, as shown with what she did to Red-Hulk.. She is a skilled fighter and can fly at high speeds. She can generate and alter her costume at will, and can regenerate from wounds at a heightened rate. » ━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━ « 【 Themes 】 ❦ A Beautiful Lie [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kvd-uquuhI ] ❦ Pray 【https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLwKCdxN9vk 】 » ━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━۵━ « [| Admin’s introduction |] [| Hello, I see you’ve stumbled unto this other account of mine, whereby I roleplay as the human mutate who happens to be a hero/ villain  Karla . Karla is an intricate villainous woman who I shall portray to the best of my ability and these are things you can expect to find here |] ~ Things related to the Marvel Universe ~ Quotes and edits on Moonstone ~ Roleplays ~ Admin posts/ shitposting for those moments when I feel so uninspired [[ And these are just some of the things  I wish to lay down  ]] 1) I wish to emphasize  when I’m speaking in character, I shall be using ❝ ❞ and for ooc character interactions , I shall be using [[ ]] or the dashes. 2) I’m a fairly nice person (despite the nature of the character I am rping as) so don’t be afraid to ask me if you wish to rp. My replies varies on how many lines one could reply with or if I’m feeling rather inspired during such moment so don’t worry if you think if your reply is too short or too long. Also if I seem to be taking too long on a rp, it’s either I  forgot or I got busy. 3 ) No starting any sort of  unnecessary drama on my account please for I wish to get along with everyone. With that said, if you have a problem with something I said or posted, don’t be afraid to talk to me about it so we can solve the issue.

[paladin-andric]

The Creation Legend: Kobolds

Ahh, the second of the series! How many more will there be? I’m not sure, these two were the only ones I really had in mind when I came up with the idea.

Last time we learned of the pseudodragons, a species born of love, peace and kindness, utterly incorruptible souls of selfless purity. This time however, we see quite a different origin for these beings. Rather than loyalty to goodness, they find only loyalty to their master...but how will that loyalty be used?

Deistoul felt the power of the world coursing through his body as the spell came to its end.

Long ago, he came to the conclusion that this world, and everything in it, was so...boring.

Ages before the rise of man, the world was an empty and barren place, devoid of life. Here, dragons roamed this massive expanse of nothingness, ruling over it as they saw fit.

Not that there was much to rule over. There were animals to devour and lairs to guard, but that was really it. If one didn’t get intimate with their neighbors, there were only really two things to stave off the insanity born of boredom.

One could duel and battle their neighbors instead. While dragons might form pairs and have children, they could also name rivals and do battle with them. An interesting choice to be sure. A life of war and glory...though often short-lived.

It was strange, sometimes rivals fought simply because there was little else to do, and slowly...some of them began respecting one another. Deistoul even noted a pair of nearby dragons that fought for glory’s sake who began to enjoy each other’s company so much that they became close, stopping when they had the upper hand, healing one another with magic, and then joyfully recounting the battle once it was over.

Ah, but the final choice in these sparse lands was to pursue magic. Not simply learn and use it like most dragons, but seclude yourself in constant study. Harness it. Master it. Command total control over it. Have the secrets of the world at your claws.

This was what Deistoul had decided to do. He spent so long mastering the art of magic, and creation in particular...but magic for magic’s sake is, once again, boring.

What was the point? Greater healing power? Bigger waves of magical beams? Why spend decades refining your skills in such a way? Was all the time training worth that?

No. Not to Deistoul. He spent this time for another reason.

To bring forth new life into this world. To shake things up. To make this bland and tasteless existence more interesting.

The years of training and practice had borne fruit. After a few...failures, he was ready.

This time it would go to plan.

The beasts he was bringing forth into existence were...to be honest, quite pathetic. They were so tiny, so very frail, and their minds were as weak as their bodies. There was little redemption in them, to be quite fair...

But that wasn’t the point. Deistoul didn’t WANT powerful beasts.

He wanted something that could never touch his glory and greatness...so that his hold over them was absolute.

Along with their weak wills and minuscule strength, they would be implanted with a deep, all-encompassing awe of dragonkind. It was only proper that the creations served their betters.

Their weakness did not make them truly worthless, though. Have enough ants, and they could kill a lion.

Ah, but their combat prowess was also not his intention for creating these creatures. He was bored. He wanted little things to watch, and be entertained by. Nothing more.

Now he was in his mountain-cave, incantation deep and booming. The green dragon waved his talons about as the end came near. With a final roar and an explosion of magical power, it happened.

In the dirt beneath him, they began to take form.

Little more than outlines at first, more and more of them came to be, until all of them was woven into the world.

There were many of them, and they all looked pitiful. They were hunched over on the floor, still coming into their persons. Soon, a few of them jolted, and then slowly rose to their feet.

Out of the barren darkness, small, unseen creatures began to awaken. Their minds switched on, and soon they realized that they were people...people who existed, thanks to the great and powerful behemoth before them.

They were partially created of the dragon’s own image. Reptilian, sharp claws on their hands and feet, tails, horns...though even though they stood upright and he didn’t, they came nowhere near his height.

Indeed, they were to him what insects would be to humans in due time.

Of course, along with their size, their spirits couldn’t hope to hold a candle to the dragon’s greatness either.

Their eyes widened as their lives began, and as soon as they rose, they were dropping back to their knees. They quivered and cast their eyes down, unable to handle his glory.

This amused him greatly, and he inspected his creations with vested interest.

He was almost disgusted by how pitiful they were, but...such was the way of the dragon. Anything that could not match them was theirs to decide the fate of...and he had a cave filled with such creatures now. Finally, he could decide fates, change the world and alter the path of history.

He had...minions. Something no other dragon had, apart from the rare instance one dragon subjugated another. It took exceptional circumstance to break the near unending pride of a dragon, though.

None could boast an army. He could rule the world with this kind of power!

Coming back to his creations, he felt immense pride despite their feebleness. Though...did he make them TOO weak of mind? Were they little more than beasts? They showed little in the way of awareness...

“Creations,” he spoke deeply, “Speak.”

Ever so slowly, their heads rose, and they looked to their creator. Their eyes widened again, and each of them seemed utterly overwhelmed.

There was a long period of silence as they stared in reverent awe.

Deistoul grimaced. “I said speak!”

That did it. Though they wanted to, it seemed they lacked the courage. One of them managed. The beast had trouble, but he did it.

“M...master...”

A weak and trembling voice. So fragile. So timid. Lacking grace and dignity.

“That is right. I am your master. Your creator. Your salvation. You serve me, and nothing else. I, your lord and ruler, hereby proclaim this to be true.”

“Y-yes, master...”

All of the little beasts continued kneeling, dropping even closer to the ground. It appeared they were prostrating themselves before him, reinforcing his complete and utter dominion over them.

Good. That was good. That was what he wanted.

“You will live your lives here, in my lair. I permit you this great honor, to live beside my immense greatness. Am I not a gracious and benevolent master?“

There were hurried nods. He could see them trembling, nearly unable to contain their joy at such a prospect.

It made sense. They WERE programmed to be unwaveringly obedient and dependent on him.

“Very good. I can see you wish this dearly. I shall be merciful and grant you your greatest wish. You are permitted to stay here with your master. Go on and explore your home. Begin doing what you will to become situated. Perhaps you wish for the comforts of a soft pile of hay to lay on while you sleep? Some recreational activities? I will grant you these things, so great and just of a lord as I am. Such is the way of the great Deistoul.”

One of the creatures finally mustered the courage to speak in his presence. “M-master Deistoul! I live to serve you!”

This caused a chain reaction. Realizing they could speak their innermost feelings to him, a surge of shrill voices cried out, all screaming his name in joyous rapture.

“Master Deistoul! Master Deistoul!”

The dragon nearly burst out laughing. All was going to plan. Soon their little society would begin to take form. How would they behave? What would they find fun? How would they interact with one another?

At last, things had finally gotten interesting.

One of the creatures carefully approached, mind running wild with questions but her immense awe of the dragon making it difficult.

As the small lizards began to split up, some beginning to explore as master suggested and some sticking close to the dragon, she finally reached him.

She looked up at the dragon and swallowed. “M-master?”

“Yes?”

“What...what am I?”

Deistoul grinned manically as he craned his neck down, the beast quivering as his face neared hers. His answer only furthered her anxiousness.

“Why...you are mine, of course.”

She nodded hurriedly. “O-of, course...”

“Ah, but that is not what you meant, was it?”

“No, my lord.”

His grin widened. “Of course, I was only drawing out a reaction. What ARE you, indeed? A creation, a fabrication. You were not formed over the span of eons, but of my whims. You, in a way, are me. You carry me in your own existence.”

What could even be said to that? She averted her gaze and bowed deeply.

“J-just as I am you...I am yours to command.”

“I am gladdened by your acceptance...but once again, not quite what you are seeking, is it?” the dragon scratched as his chin as he thought it over.

“W-well...I care only as far as...knowing when I am being called, Master Deistoul.”

“Of course...a name...a name...” he looked down and nodded. “I have come to a conclusion. Names shall come later. For now...I name your people. You...are the kobolds, servants of dragonkind, but I above all of course.”

The member of the newly named species nodded. “Y-yes, of course. It’s perfect, master. We are yours, my lord. I-I will serve.”

“Indeed you shall.”

So began the life of these new beings. They spent the rest of their lives with him, their master. During this time, much changed.

It quickly became apparent that they were quite alien to Deistoul. Though he made them, he put their minds on a different path, and left that path to be formed on its own. They did not find the same things interesting, or even live in a similar fashion.

But that was the point.

Deistoul now had something truly unique. A new race given form, utterly one of a kind...even if their existence clung to his in turn.

The following decades were just as he had wished. He tried to speak with them, but they were so thoroughly in awe of him...they could not speak to him as an equal. They shivered and kneeled, cried thanks and bordered on worshiping him.

To be expected. He had a way of seeing them acting normally, though.

Spying.

He used his magic to hide himself, and observed the minions carrying on in their daily activities. THIS was where the interesting things happened.

He sat concealed in the shadows with a grin as they talked, played games, argued, sang, and eventually even started finding love.

Interesting. So very interesting, to see an entirely new culture begin to take form. To see history begin here, with these few. He was witnessing the birth of a new civilization, and Deistoul was joyous over it all.

Soon, he too was changed by these things. While at first he saw them as little more than a novelty, a bunch of cattle to treat how he saw fit...something changed.

Seeing the tribe begin to use instruments, dance and sing, and live in perfect harmony affected all of this. Deistoul soon found his heart softening.

There was much pride in them. Though they were so different, they were wondrous in their own way, and they pledged their lives to him so selflessly...

They were their own people. They had their own lives, their own dreams, they chased skills and ambitions as they wished...but if master ordered them to throw it all away, they would.

It nearly brought tears to Deistoul’s eyes, now that he considered this.

In the blink of an eye, they were gone. After decades, they passed on from old age. Deistoul was nearly shattered when it happened. His own wonderful creations were gone. Their lives snuffed out in under a century from their own limitations.

But not all was lost. They had left behind something special for their master.

Children. Their children. HIS children.

And soon enough, they too had their own children.

His creations...the originals were gone, but their people would live on for all time. He would never be without his new children, who he now couldn’t imagine living without.

They were eccentric, over the top...and such great company. How did Deistoul manage before them?! Life was so very dull...this life brought color to the lair.

Eventually their numbers grew so massive they spilled out into the surface, the cave unable to support this enormous city.

Soon, Deistoul decided it was time. There were too many, but lives would not be squashed under this turn of events.

It was time to go forth and forge their destinies.

Deistoul ordered groups to move out and find new homes of their own.

It hurt everyone involved. The kobolds wept. Deistoul’s heart ached, even if there were too many to remember by name.

But despite that, it had to happen.

“I will not allow overcrowding to bring down the standards of living for you,” he explained, “I insist you live the greatest lives possible for yourselves. Do not weep, children...within yourselves, you carry my image. I am always with you, even if we are separated physically. I will ALWAYS be with you, wherever you go.”

It began. Every few years, more would pack up and leave. They traveled miles, setting up small tribes of their own. They traveled farther and farther as their numbers grew.

Soon they were all over the lands, and a few even approached other dragons. Soon enough, they were utterly common.

Live moved on. Generations came and went, each time wounding Deistoul on the way out...but he had grown to accept it now. He understood the meaning of mortality, so exposed to it as he was.

Millennia passed. The dragon slowly forgot of his grand visions of world conquest. Why would he want to? He had a family. Everything he wanted was right here.

At the same time...there was something new. Strange creatures of flesh that stood upright, lived in colonies and worked together, just like his children...

The humans had emerged. They wore strange fabrics, used sharp weapons of bronze, and also had their strange quirks...the dragon was glad he had lived long enough to see yet another civilization come to fruition.

As the thousands of years passed, he grew. The massive behemoth couldn’t even fit in his own cave anymore, wrapping himself around the mountain it was formed in.

As his life reached the mark of five-thousand years, it became apparent something was different. Where before his power was unmatched, where he could lift mountains and quake the earth, now there was nothing.

He lay motionless all day, every day. His vigor left him. His scales dulled. His voice grew weak.

Deistoul was dying.

It was the natural way of things. Millennia of living in bliss, his entire life used to the fullest...he couldn’t be upset.

The kobolds were different now. Where there was carefree joy, now they seemed sullen. They knew it too.

And at last, the day came.

He called them all to the mountaintop, where his head lay on the dirt. His eyes. His breathing...he was so tired.

“My children...we have spoken of this day, have we not?”

The countless figures watched, their fears affirmed.

“It it time. I must leave you.”

The chorus of screams made his head hurt.

“Please...silence. I have not the strength to shout anymore.”

They grew quiet again, though their tears told him all he needed to know.

“I know it hurts. Every time a generation would pass...I too felt this pain. It is a fact of life. It is something you must learn to accept.”

“B-but master,” one of the called out, “W-we...we need you!”

“I would stay if I had a choice in the matter,” Deistoul said bitterly, “You know this. Please...do not wound me. I cannot help this.”

As silence born of shame settled over them, Deistoul felt his heart grow warm. “I...I never imagined all of you would live. When I first created your ancestors, I thought them to be a brief flash in the passage of time...and while they were, they did not go without forging you first. You, you proud servants of the dragon...you shall be eternal, in a way. You must promise me something. Never stop. Grow your numbers. Spread far and wide. Bring my image to every corner of the world. Will you do this?”

“YES!” “YES, MASTER DEISTOUL!” “WE SWEAR!”

The entire crowd roared their acceptance.

“Good...that is good.”

Deistoul winced as a deep pain filled him. His already spent strength was fading away, and he could feel his body begin to shut down.

“It...it is time. I...I go...”

The crowd stared at him, each of them shocked.

“B-but...you can’t!”

One of them walked up to the dying dragon.

“Master...what...what do you want us to do? What...what happens to you, after you are gone?”

Deistoul thought for a moment.

“Hah...I tell you...live! That is all...though if it strengthens your hearts...spread my bones throughout the mountain.”

“Master?!”

“Indeed,” he spoke softly, “Bury my bones within the lair. Around the mountain. On the summit. This way...you live with me. Let this place became sacred ground for you. Each step you take, every place you go...I shall be right there, with you. I shall live with you forever.”

“Forever...”

The pair grew. His vision grew dark. This was it.

“You have given me something no other could. Joy. I will never forget these moments. Farewell, my children. Farewell...”

His eyes closed. His breathing ceased shortly afterwards.

He was gone.

The crowds wailed. The screams echoed. The despair was absolute.

All around his body, in a horde, thousands wept. For days, they cried. For weeks, they stared at him. For months, they mourned.

But no matter how many years passed, the pain never truly faded.

They knew he wasn’t going to live forever, but they never imagined their generation would have to witness such a thing.

True to their promise, life went on. They kept going. They kept growing. They survived in this now much darker reality.

They indeed took the master’s suggestion. After much time they split up his bones, burying them all around the mountain and in it. Every inch of ground had a bone of his underneath.

He really was with them, forever.

It became as sacred as could be. Even the others, having gone on to distant lands, learned of what had happened. No matter how far away, they traveled back to pray at the mountain.

Thus, Deistoul Mountain was born. A sacred place where each should come once in their lives. Here, the kobolds would pay their respects to their creator. Even as time marched on, this tradition was never forgotten. Though some didn’t bother to make the journey, thousands of kobolds would come every few years to visit the grave of their ancestors, and the tomb of their creator. It crossed all paths of life. Even the ones who had forsaken their people to live with humans or others would come. The dragon was kind, benevolent, their reason for existing, the one who accepted them for what they were.

It would not do to ignore such truths.

The kobolds became divided without their master. Each picked different dragons to serve. Some even rejected servitude altogether. Some lived lives of great evil, while some would strive to make the world a better place.

Even righteous holy warriors would kneel beside tribal raiders. Here in the mountain, bloodshed was forbidden. In this brief moment, there was peace, tranquility and understanding.

Here, only respect for the great dragon mattered.

Soon, they would leave, and all would go back to normal. Tribes fought, others defected for different people, and faith and culture clashed.

But in these precious moments, all kobolds were one. Together, in the caves, each would pay their due to Deistoul the Creator.

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