#unlike in foundation/homeworlds

[novaursa]

Of Gods and Men

Albrion - planetary information

main list (where the story is)

This is Dune/GOT/HOTD/FAB/ASOIAF crossover AU that you've voted for. If you always wanted to see House Targaryen in space, I got you. Please note how some of the lore of both universes is bent to blend in both worlds. This is my original idea that I've been cooking for at least two years. Be gentle with my work, and enjoy the ride.

Albiron: The Targaryen Sanctuary

Albiron, the homeworld of the exiled House Targaryen, is a planet as mysterious and dangerous as the family that inhabits it. Hidden deep in the uncharted reaches of space, Albiron is a world of contrast and wonder, where lush jungles meet towering volcanic peaks and blood-red seas stretch beneath a crimson sky. The planet itself is a reflection of its inhabitants—powerful, untamed, and imbued with the potential for great destruction. Albiron’s flora, fauna, and mineral-rich atmosphere have shaped the Targaryen technology and culture, making the planet both a refuge and a fortress.

Geography and Atmosphere

Albiron is a large, terrestrial planet, primarily covered in dense, sprawling jungles. Its landmasses are divided by vast seas and rivers, though the overall topography is dominated by a chain of towering volcanoes and mountain ranges, many of which are dormant, but still brimming with geothermal activity beneath the surface. From space, Albiron is a striking sight, with a thick, blood-red atmosphere that gives the planet an eerie glow. The reddish hue is caused by the abundance of iron and other minerals suspended in the atmosphere, which also creates a rich, almost otherworldly sky that deepens in color as the twin suns set.

Atmospheric Composition: The atmosphere of Albiron is rich in mineral particulates, particularly iron and other trace metals, giving the air its unique red tint. While the planet's atmosphere is dense, it remains breathable for humans and supports a wide variety of life forms. The abundance of minerals in the atmosphere is not only responsible for the planet's red skies but also contributes to the unique properties of the flora and fauna, as well as the advanced technologies developed by the Targaryens. The air is warm and humid, thick with the scent of rich, metallic soils and exotic plant life, creating a distinctive environment unlike any other in the known galaxy.

Flora

The jungles of Albiron are ancient and teeming with life. The plant life on the planet is both beautiful and dangerous, having evolved in a mineral-rich environment that has altered their biology in strange and unpredictable ways. The flora here has developed unique adaptations to survive the intense volcanic activity and fluctuating mineral content in the soil and air.

Crimson Canopy Trees: The most iconic plant species on Albiron are the towering Crimson Canopy Trees. These trees stretch hundreds of feet into the air, their massive trunks glowing faintly with an internal bioluminescence. Their bark is a deep red, streaked with veins of minerals that shimmer in the dim light. The leaves of the trees are a dark amber, with deep red veins that carry the planet’s minerals throughout the tree. The canopy of these trees forms a thick layer above the jungle floor, casting much of the planet’s surface in perpetual shadow. The leaves also have a sharp, metallic edge, making it hazardous for those who attempt to climb them without the proper protection. These trees are revered by the Targaryens for their age and resilience, and their wood is occasionally harvested to create powerful artifacts and ceremonial items.

Glowmoss: Covering the forest floor and clinging to the trunks of trees is Glowmoss, a bioluminescent plant that emits a soft green and amber glow at night. This moss feeds on the rich minerals found in the soil and air, absorbing trace elements and converting them into light. The moss forms thick carpets across the jungle floor and is essential to the ecosystem, acting as a foundation for many smaller organisms. The Targaryens have also learned to harvest and cultivate the moss, using it to provide natural lighting in their cities and pyramids, particularly in the deep caverns where artificial light is impractical.

Spinevines: Intertwined with the Crimson Canopy Trees and other flora are Spinevines, predatory plants that have adapted to ensnare both fauna and careless travelers. These vines are covered in long, sharp spines that inject a paralytic toxin into their prey. Once ensnared, the vine slowly tightens its grip, drawing nutrients from its victim’s body over several days. The Targaryens have used extracts from the Spinevines in their own medical applications, refining the plant’s toxin into a highly effective paralytic agent used in both warfare and surgery.

Fauna

The fauna of Albiron are as fierce and resilient as the planet itself. The creatures that roam the jungles and skies have evolved to survive in a world dominated by volcanic activity and a mineral-rich ecosystem. Many of the species are larger and more aggressive than their counterparts on other planets, with thick hides and complex biological adaptations to the environment’s harsh conditions.

Albiron Serpents: One of the most feared predators in the jungles of Albiron is the Albiron Serpent. These massive, dragon-like reptiles grow up to 30 feet long and are covered in iridescent black and crimson scales. Their fangs drip with a potent venom that paralyzes their prey almost instantly. The Albiron Serpents are ambush predators, often lurking in the dense underbrush or near volcanic vents where the heat attracts smaller creatures. Their scales are nearly impervious to most natural elements, reflecting the planet’s mineral-rich environment, and their venom has been studied by Targaryen healers for its potent medical applications. Despite their size, these serpents are agile and deadly, able to strike with lightning speed and vanish into the jungle without a trace. The Targaryens respect the serpents for their fierce nature and have incorporated their likeness into various symbols of power and protection.

Firehorned Rocs: High above the jungle canopy soar the Firehorned Rocs, massive bird-like creatures with wingspans of up to 50 feet. These creatures are covered in dark, metallic feathers that shimmer in shades of bronze and red when they catch the light. The rocs get their name from the two fiery red horns that curve from their heads, which are believed to help them regulate body heat while flying through the thermals generated by the planet’s volcanic activity. The Firehorned Rocs are apex predators in the skies, diving at incredible speeds to snatch prey from the treetops or even from the surface of the Blood Seas. The Targaryens often use their feathers in ceremonial attire and for crafting arrow fletching for elite warriors.

Volcanic Stalkers: In the shadowed underbrush of the jungles roam the Volcanic Stalkers, large quadrupedal creatures with tough, rocky exoskeletons that camouflage them perfectly against the volcanic rocks and soil. These creatures have evolved to withstand extreme temperatures and live near the volcanic vents of Albiron. They are herbivores, feeding on mineral-rich plants, but are highly territorial and will attack any perceived threat with their powerful, clawed limbs. The Targaryens have domesticated some of these creatures, using them as pack animals or as guards for the more remote outposts on the planet.

Glowfish of the Blood Seas: The Blood Seas of Albiron, named for their deep crimson waters, are home to a wide variety of aquatic life, but none more remarkable than the Glowfish. These small, bioluminescent creatures emit a faint golden light as they swim through the blood-red waters. The Glowfish live in vast schools and are harmless, feeding on mineral deposits in the water. However, they are crucial to the ecosystem, as they provide sustenance for the larger aquatic predators that inhabit the Blood Seas. The Glowfish are also harvested by the Targaryens for use in both decoration and as a sustainable food source.

Mineral-Rich Environment and its Impact on Targaryen Technology

The mineral-rich atmosphere and soil of Albiron have had a profound impact on the development of Targaryen technology. The planet’s abundant deposits of rare metals, crystals, and other elements have allowed the Targaryens to craft advanced technologies and materials that are unavailable to the rest of the galaxy.

Drakaon Crystals: The most important discovery on Albiron was the drakaon crystals, which are found deep within the volcanic chains that crisscross the planet. These translucent, golden-hued crystals are a unique energy source, capable of powering both Targaryen starships and their advanced weapons systems. The crystals are formed under immense pressure and heat deep within the planet’s crust, making them a rare and highly valuable resource. The Targaryens use these crystals to fuel their technologies, including their starships, ornithopters, and energy weapons. The drakaon crystals have the ability to store and release energy in controlled bursts, making them the core of the Targaryen technological superiority.

Mineral-Laden Waters: The Blood Seas of Albiron are not only striking in appearance but also rich in dissolved minerals, including rare metals that are vital to Targaryen technological development. The Targaryens have constructed vast extraction facilities beneath the waters of these seas, harvesting the minerals to create advanced alloys and materials that are used in everything from starship construction to weaponry. The mineral content of the waters also plays a role in the health and vitality of the planet’s flora and fauna, contributing to the rich ecosystem.

Magnetic Fields and Geothermal Energy: Albiron’s powerful magnetic fields and geothermal activity provide another crucial resource—energy. The Targaryens have harnessed the planet’s geothermal energy to power many of their settlements and cities, particularly those built into the sides of volcanoes. The volcanic activity also creates vast reserves of heat that can be converted into energy, supplementing the power generated by the drakaon crystals. This combination of geothermal and crystalline energy allows the Targaryens to maintain a self-sustaining society, completely independent of external power sources.

Targaryen Cities and Settlements

The cities and settlements of Albiron are a testament to the Targaryen legacy, blending the ancient architectural styles of Valyria with the natural resources of their new home. The primary city, Val Anogar, is built around a massive dormant volcano, with grand pyramids rising from the jungle below. These pyramids, constructed from volcanic stone and reinforced with crystalline materials, serve as both fortresses and living spaces for the Targaryens and their vassal Houses.

Pyramid Architecture: The pyramids of Albiron are vast structures that house entire communities. Each pyramid is connected to the others via a network of suspended walkways, which run high above the jungle canopy. The walkways are illuminated by bioluminescent plants like Glowmoss, providing a natural source of light that blends seamlessly with the environment. Inside the pyramids, the walls are lined with drakaon crystals that pulse with a soft glow, providing both light and energy to the inhabitants.

Nexus of Pathways: Above the jungle, a complex nexus of elevated pathways connects the major settlements and military outposts of Albiron. These pathways, supported by tall, slender towers, allow for the quick transportation of goods, people, and information across the planet without disturbing the dense flora below. These pathways also serve as defensive measures, allowing the Targaryens to monitor the vast expanse of their world from above.

Cavern Hatcheries: Deep beneath the surface of Albiron, hidden within the volcanic mountains, lie the Targaryen hatcheries where their dragons are born and raised. These caverns are lined with veins of drakaon crystals that help maintain the optimal temperature and energy required for the dragons’ eggs to hatch. The caverns are sacred to the Targaryens, representing the rebirth of their House and the power they once wielded in Valyria.

[seyemvertisepra]

Up until relatively recently in its natural history, Centauri Prime was the homeworld of not one but two sapient species, close cousins who diverged around 550,000 earth years ago. This other species was referred to by Centauri ancestors as the Xon, a word whose meaning is lost to apocrypha. This is the origin of the Centauri species' original name for itself, "Ahnxon" or "Not Xon" as the ancients viewed themselves as weaker creatures living in a frightening world where their predatory cousins held dominion over their lives.

The average Xon male stood around 7 feet in height, a considerable advantage over the average male Centauri height of 5'7". Obligate carnivores, they possessed notable meat sheering dentition and the ability to unhinge their jaws, something still observed recessively in their modern Centauri descendants. Their skull structure was more readily compared to their crocodilian like ancestors, giving them the appearance of a slight reptile "snout."

Like most members of their family, males possessed the usual six prehensile reproductive organs. Unlike the Centauri, these were more highly developed, with an extra digit evolving on each. It is believed that Xon may have used their pachiri for manipulation and grasping far more often, which aided them as predators and in navigating their more heavily forested habitats. They are believed to have been used as a threat display on occasion. Xon crests were long and laid flat on their backs, with three or four sets of quilled hair in sections, giving them a tiered appearance.

Female Xon are mysterious, as nearly all written examples describe lone wandering males who occasionally joined together to execute pack hunts.

The only clue to their existence is the occasional discovery of incredibly small Xonoid remains found deep in the impenetrable forests of the western mainland. These individuals would have stood only three feet in height fully grown and are often attributed to Centauri mythology around Whisper Folk, strange tiny women who built Creche-cities in the forest and shied away from interaction with the outside world.

It is well known that male Xon frequently interacted with Centauri Claves and Creches, with Claves favored for pack hunting and hybrid instances existing in both. The modern Centauri population contains an average Xon admixture significantly greater than that seen in humans with Neanderthal ancestors, with the highest admixture existing in the Zapata culture and mainland Centauri coming in second.

The rapid acceleration of Centauri society and its ability to defend itself began to show damage to the Xon population as early as 1500 years ago, with the last full-blooded individuals living just prior to the foundation of the Republic 200 years ago. During this time, they were often treated as second class citizens when they did manage to interact with Centauri, believed to be less intelligent and naturally violent. Individuals were often held captive for research aimed at pushing them further towards the edge of extinction.

The last major Xon population center was wiped out in a single cataclysmic event; the launching of the first suborbital Mass Driver, which was aimed at their then-home in the western continent of Eachnke. This devastating attack tore the continent itself apart, and the newly founded Republic declared the Xon race to have been obliterated in the process. High content hybrids continued to live on the mainland for some time but were mostly eventually driven out or killed, the survivors settling on the ruptured Eachnke to form the Zapata culture.

The violence between the two species has left a permanent mar on the epigenetic health of modern Centauri and is thought by many to be the catalyst for their developing xenophobia and warlike attitudes. They retain many traits associated with prey animals, such as heightened fear responses; they have a tendency to sleep in groups and an intense instinctive fear of having the stomach exposed that can induce panic attacks for many.

[ospreyeamon]

The calendar of the Reconstituted Empire was instituted by the Sith Emperor during the first year of his reign on Dromund Kaas. It was derived from the calendar of the Old Empire, with most of the modifications serving to make its structure more regular. While the empires and hegemonies of the Sith Worlds have long had their major centres of industry and culture away from Korriban – the planet’s devastated biosphere can’t support a large population – the ancient homeworld’s solar calendar has always served as the unitary calendar for its colonies and their sphere of influence. Ziost, Rhelg, Khar Delba, and Krayiss have spent much of their collective history vying with each other politically, economically, and militarily – all too proud to ever willingly acknowledge one of the others’ planetary calendars as the space travel standard – so Korribani dates have always been used for interstellar trade and communication.

Individual worlds also observe their own planetary calendars. The variance of day-length between worlds means that attempting to enforce the sole use of the unitary calendar would ensure that most of the Empire’s population would be perpetually out of sync with the day-night cycle and their productivity would suffer because of it. All important dates are marked by where they fall on the unitary calendar, but only those on starships, space stations, and Korriban itself fully live by it.

Korriban has an unusually long year for an inhabited terrestrial world; seven-hundred and eighty local days of twenty-eight hours. For comparison, Dromund Kaas’ solar year contains only three-hundred and twelve local days of twenty-three hours; Korriban’s is nearly three times that length. Because of this, most administrative matters are run on a schedule of terciles rather than on an annual basis. Terciles are further divided into three trimesters containing three months.

Each of the twenty-seven months is four weeks long; each week has seven days. The names of the days of the week are derived from the names of the seven moons of Korriban (because every day is Monday when you’re in the Sith Empire). Aihzday is named after Aih the Jealous, Chonsday for Chenshu the Bright, Wodninday for Wodwêrninik the Tide-binder, Tsetuday for Tsotu the Misshapen, Ishazday for Ishat the Scriven, Erohday for Qerohoi the Unseen, and Kunday for Kun the Weeper.

Unlike the days of the week, months in the Reconstituted calendar do not have culturally or historically meaningful names. Instead they are numbered; the fifth to twelfth months are called the equivalents of Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, December, Undecember, and Duodecember.

Outside the months and weeks are the state holidays – twenty-four days in total. Most of the holidays are part of the three great festivals; the Days of Adoration, the Days of Foundation, and the Days of Ascension. Each great festival runs for six days and celebrates the achievements of the Sith Emperor.

The Days of Adoration mark the beginning of each new year. In the old calendar they were the New Year’s Festival; after the destruction of Ziost they become so again. Vitiate marked a new count of years beginning from when he proclaimed himself Emperor on Korriban. This break with the previous dating system provides an ongoing source of headaches for Imperial historians.

Originally the New Year’s festival was seven days long; it is unclear why it was shortened, but many people assume it was to fit the regularised structure of the new calendar. Some communities add an unofficial seventh day to their celebrations, reasoning that to cut the festival short might risk breaking the luck for the incoming year. Adoration co-opted many traditions from New Year’s; fireworks, gifting luck money to children, jewel biscuits, etc.

The Days of Foundation commemorate the establishment of the Reconstituted Sith Empire on Dromund Kaas. The Emperor’s fleet rediscovered the planet that they would make their new home after eight years of journeying after their flight from Korriban (twenty standard years by the Republic’s calendar). Each day of the festival is dedicated to the different series of Imperial institutions said to have been founded on that day, except for the first which celebrates the Empire as a whole.

The Days of Ascension supposedly mark the anniversary of the Sith Emperor’s ascent to immortality. The story goes that the then Lord of Medriaas immersed himself in ancient lore and modern science, delving deep into his inner self and the currents of the Force until he cultivated the absolute command and power that enabled him to extend his life perpetually. His final mediative seclusion ended not long after the news of the Galactic Republic’s invasion of the Sith worlds and the death of Ludo Kressh broke. Upon learning of those events, he gathered followers to perform a great ritual that would have destroyed the navies of the Republic and saved the Old Empire – but the Jedi and the Republic struck before the ritual could be completed, destroying Medriaas. Because he had already attained immortality the future emperor was the only survivor. He then returned to Korriban to warn the remaining Sith Lords of the Republic’s intentions, where he proclaimed himself Sith Emperor.

In addition to the great festivals, there are six other official imperial state holidays; Dancing Drones, Victory Day, Tomb Procession, the day of the Perfect Path, Sagas’ Chorus, and the hanging of the Ghost Chimes.

[bracketsoffear]

Not!propaganda for Vast Round 2 (except a few I want to address in separate posts):

SCP-3000/Anantashesha (SCP Foundation): SCP-3000 is a massive, aquatic, serpentine entity strongly resembling a giant moray eel (Gymnothorax javanicus). The full length of SCP-3000 is impossible to determine, but is hypothesized to be between 600 and 900 kilometers. The head of SCP-3000 measures roughly 2.5m in diameter, and sections of the body proper are as large as 10m in diameter. SCP-3000 is carnivorous, and despite its sedentary nature is capable of moving quickly to dispatch prey. SCP-3000 is a Class VIII cognitohazardous entity; direct observation of SCP-3000 may cause severe mental alterations in viewers. Individuals who directly observe SCP-3000, as well as any individuals within an uncertain distance of SCP-3000, experience inexplicable head pain, paranoia, general fear and panic, and memory loss or alteration. It's implied that looking at the eel makes one realize how insignificant their life is, and that they will return to inert matter and be forgotten in the span of the eternity, in which the eel will continue to live on forever. While it will readily snap up the humans offered to it, it does not digest them. Scans indicate that its insides are full of intact human bodies. Given what it does to peoples' minds, it is entirely possible every human it's eaten are trapped in some And I Must Scream phenomenon, still aware but otherwise with their minds destroyed entirely.

SCP 2669/Khevtuul 1 (SCP Foundation): SCP-2669 is a spacefaring probe created by the Foundation containing the mind of one of their researchers for the purpose of finding alien life. After traveling thousands of light-years away from Earth with no communication back or success in finding life, she eventually went mad and decided to go back to get her body. At 5.3 times the speed of light. Turns out being alone in space and finding nothing but dead, lifeless rocks isn't good for one's sanity.

Bubby (HLVRAI): He’s terrified of heights and open spaces but goes to space at the soonest available opportunity, citing it as a lifelong dream. However, here’s not actually any space to go to; presumably he hits a wall of stars and clips into infinite void. Despite this, when he returns safe and sound he wants to go back within minutes. He goes back to “space” by JUST GOING UP; no jump, no rocket, just UP.

Erodius (Kid Cosmic): A mysterious and indescribably gigantic alien entity that created the cosmic stones of power by destroying the homeworlds of aliens whose natural abilities match the powers bestowed by each stone. Once a sentient planet that healed people with its restorative crystals, it was destroyed by an asteroid, but its consciousness lingered and set out to reform itself; unfortunately, this meant ripping apart anything in its path in search of its last remaining piece. It consumes planets by generating a powerful gravity well around itself that rips them to pieces as it passes close by. This field also makes it difficult to approach as it disrupts any attempt at a controlled descent to the surface, making it unlikely to survive the resulting crash. It destroyed at least five planets to create the cosmic stones and the first season finale reveals there are thirteen stones in total implying his number is much higher than what's been seen and may be increasing with his return. As befitting an entity known as "The Planet Killer", Erodius is feared by all who know of it.

.

[true-blue-megamind]

Hi it’s not really a theory but it’s more of a discussion but it relates to two of the theories you wrote about- the minions suit one and how megamind is related to other movies. I think minions suit is small cause he likes it small maybe? His original orb was quite small so maybe it’s something about being confined? Idk tho. Anyway! I was literally watching monsters vs aliens like 2 minutes ago and I noticed galaxhar? Has the neck thing that goes high up? Idk what it’s called and his outfit is white and sparkly.. just like how megaminds parents wore so I thought that was interesting. You also mentioned how galaxhar might be a subservient race like minion and I noticed minion has that little Antenna coming out of his head and that’s a little messed up tbh but galaxhar doesn’t and so I actually think maybe he was just another species living along megaminds species or was another planet nearby and 3 planets were actually destroyed. I do tho these are just random thoughts I had 🤷🏼‍♀️

FAN THEORY THURSDAY - A Few Random Megamind Theories

Thank you to Mermaidsasss for this week's discussion! I respectfully have to disagree with you on one point, however: your suggestions are definitely worth a post.

Travel will prevent me from writing as long a Fan Theory post as usual, so this week will be a brief discussion of three possible theories related to the film Megamind. I promise I'll go back to boring you all to death with my verbose essays next week. Hahaha! In the meantime, let's get started.

Does Minion Prefer Small Spaces?

I have not been able to find any specific fan theories about this, but that doesn't mean the idea lacks merit. Indeed, Betta Fish are said to like smaller tanks, and according to Glaucus.org there are a variety of fish, such as Gobies and Bullheads, that live in small spaces between or under rocks, so it certainly isn't impossible for Minion to feel more comfortable in less open spaces.

Such an instinct might, potentially, even make evolutionary sense; Minion has sharp teeth, so he's clearly a predator, but he's relatively small, so his species is unlikely to have been apex predators on his home planet. As the henchfish does not appear to be built for speed, but does have small protrusions that may be similar to Angler Fish escae on the top of his head, a hunting method involving concealment, baiting, and a short ambush seems the most logical. That technique, in turn, could certainly be complimented by hiding in small spaces. All of this is far from conclusive, of course, but it does at least offer the foundation for a feasible supposition.

Is Galaxhar Connected with Megamind's Homeworld?

I won't spend a long on this one as I covered it reasonably thoroughly in Megamind's Connections Beyond the Film. It is, however, worth mentioning that there is a fan theory connecting Megamind with Monsters Versus Aliens, in which Galaxhar appears. In the aforementioned article, I explained that:

According to Fandom.com, Gallaxhar’s official backstory is that he “destroyed his home planet” for the implied reason that “he experienced bad childhood and unhappy marriage.” The fan theory is that that Gallaxhar’s planet was, in fact, Megamind’s home world, and that the former created or harnessed the black hole which destroyed it.

This is, of course, partially based on the similarities between Megamind and Galaxhar's appearance. While this does not necessarily mean that Galaxhar was from the same planet, it could be likely. His home world could have possibly been a third inhabitable planet in the Glaupunk Quadrant, although having so many inhabitable planets so close together would be highly unusual to say the least.

Why Does Minion Have an Antenna?

As far as why our favorite henchfish appears to have certain technological modifications--i.e. an antenna--the predominant fan theory is that he was partially biomedicially engineered by one of Megamind's parents to be their son's caretaker. Although some believe that Minion's species was already intelligent and sentient, others suggest that he was more like a pet before those alterations took place, which may explain the antenna. (You can read more about that in Megamind's Dad.)

The other major fan theory relating to Minion's antenna is that it could be how he controls his suit. We know that the robotic body appears to be a fully-integrated neuroprothsetic, and clearly there is nothing physically connecting him to it, so it seems logical that there would have to be some sort of wireless device allowing him to move his suit at will. Either supposition is feasible, and it's quite possible that both could be accurate.

And that's all for tonight! I hope you all enjoyed reading this! I will see you next week!

[threewaysdivided]

So I was on a wiki binge, went from reading up on fabric terminology to old DCU plotlines (as you do) and was reminded that, in the Teen Titans comics, Dick had already had a green-eyed, flying teen ally named Danny, who would later be called... Phantasm. That's about where the DP similarities end, of course. I never read much of the older Teen Titans stuff but I definitely recall Danny being an unlikable little turd. If I look up any old issues and anything interesting, I'll let you know? lol

As one does. Naturally. Eyes fic research folder containing notes on gorilla body language and steriod synthesis

That's quite the Coinkydink! If it wasn't for the fact that the wikis say he apparently first turned up in the late 80s, I'd almost wonder if that wasn't a crossover fan having some fun. Wouldn't be the first time fandom wiki hijinks have ensued.

Daniel 'Danny' Chase/ Phantasm

a metahuman with powerful telekinetic abilities and a near-photographic memory. Although Wolfman hoped the character would restore the "teen hero" feel to a group composed mostly of characters in their twenties, Danny was also intended as a comic foil for one of the group's foundational characters, Beast Boy.

Problematically, the character was often portrayed as an overly snide, egotistical brat. Conflicts with Beast Boy were one-sided, with Chase invariably delivering come-uppance. Meanwhile, other members of the team proved prone to commenting on how impressed they were by Chase's cleverness and capability. - Wikipedia

Yeah, he sounds like a right little prick. I think we got the superior Danno.

Although:

In the end, the character was redeemed somewhat when he willingly gave up his life to save Raven's homeworld of Azarath as he, Arella, and the disembodied souls of Azarath were all merged into a new entity that would also refer to itself as the Phantasm who wore the costume that Danny Chase was wearing.

Much to think about...

I'd be interested to hear what you find. Happy lore-hunting!

[askvectorprime]

Dear Vector Prime, are there any ideologies that prevent the Maximals from being just Autobots, and similarly, Predacons from Decepticons?

Dear Factional Friend,

In many universes, yes, although there do exist a number of realities where the Maximals and Predacons are indeed mere subsets of the Autobots and Decepticons. One that comes to mind is the world in which Thunder Mayhem's rampage resulted in the destruction of Cybertron. For the rest, in which the Maximals and Predacons grow to completely supplant their forebears, their ideologies are quite distinct—both from each other's, and from those of their precursors.

The Maximals arose from the Great War in a strong position—in complete control of Cybertron and those colonial worlds who had survived the war more-or-less unscathed—but the final battle reduced their once-proud homeworld to a ruined husk. As the Maximals worked to rebuild their world, the new High Council oversaw a new wave of colonization and industrialization, establishing a belt of offworld mines and foundries that would accelerate the process by funnelling raw materials back to their ailing homeworld. Although Cybertron once again glimmers with cities, starports, space elevators, and monorail lines, these early efforts laid the foundations for an expansionist, industrial culture of commerce underpinned by a series of robust economic policies aimed at expanding their off-world presence via a burgeoning fleet of transwarp-capable warships—quite unlike the pacifist Autobot regime from which the Maximals arose. And, of course, Maximal culture is one built upon personal sacrifice and censorship—the Elders made the early decision to hide public records of the Great War by stripping names, dates, and locations from the archives, burning all information relating to the conflict down to its most abstract, detached form in an effort to maintain the peace that had come at such a cost.

The Predacons, meanwhile, took longer to truly coalesce as a modern faction. Years after the ratification of the Pax Cybertronia, rogue Predacon elements maintained crumbling rump states on the galactic rim, little more than jumped-up interstellar pirates seeking to maintain some twisted parody of the old Decepticon Empire. But once the Tripredacus Council seized power, its agents either brought these holdouts into the fold or simply eliminated those who did not cooperate. Modern Predacon culture venerates the Decepticons as much is socially acceptable: its members respect martial prowess, ambition, and the value of the individual. Most Predacons, however grudgingly, honor the sacrifices of past warriors like Optimus Prime and Fortress Maximus, legendary figures who brought the war to the end… but those Predacons better acquainted with their heritage also venerate forbidden figures from the past, whispering tales of Megatron and Galvatron. Loosely regulated Predacon black markets specialize in contraband Decepticon imagery and relics—bits of old armor plating, rusted blades or copies of Megatron’s old manifestos—and the Tripredacus Council keeps a close eye on collectors of such memorabilia. The Council freely encourages sedition against the Maximals—indeed, its intelligence division gleefully abets and foils would-be coups and political schemes seemingly at random—but its news services, political pundits, and public faces are united in fomenting distrust and dissent towards the Maximals they share the planet with.

[ren-c-leyn]

Happy WBW Ren! 🎊 Since I've been focusing a lot on architecture, I would love to hear more about your world's architecture for any of your WIPs! 😄

Happy WBW to you as well, hyba =)

 I don’t have a monolithic architecture in any of my WIPs. Each culture has their own style and even within the same culture there’s some differences depending on the area, what’s available, and the local preferences. 

 As a rule of thumb, though, I think of wood & stone buildings for the human lands, mostly blocky in style. Though again it depends on the exact location. The colors of stone, what kinds of wood, how much stone to wood, and the sizes depend on the area. For example, the boarder near the wood elf territory will be made mostly out of wood, and most of this wood will be from the elven-hybrid trees, and likely have an unusual coloration compared to what other humans in that world, and probably even we, are used to seeing. While the towns closer to the sea or the dwarven lands will be more stone and evergreen wood.

 Wood elves live in cities in the trees, both built on the branches and within the trees themselves. They’re really big on living with their environment, as the trees are their sacred gift from the gods, so most of it is still living trees that they maintain and care for. They’ve woven branches and saplings together to have them grown into buildings over time and seal holes with loose wood from fallen trees and such. They probably started off very practical and simple, adding roofs to splits in the trunks or weaving some tangled branches of the ancient trees together to form a stable platform, but became more ornate and had patterns woven in as generations got the hang of the technique.

 High elves live on floating cities in the middle of bodies of water. Most of their land is swamp, rivers, lakes, and other waterways so there isn’t much in the way of solid ground so they’ve built the foundations of their cities on stone stilts. Some buildings are free floating in their lakes, but those are mostly special places maintained by water wizards to keep them afloat, such as the palace where the council members reside and govern things. Pretty much everything is decorative and fancy in High Elven lands. The armor, the buildings, I think they even lay their roads in fancy patterns and such. I imagine there’s a lot of fountains as well, cause why not? There’s water everywhere.

 Dark elves tend to live underground since the surface of their territory is harsh and unforgiving. They carve very complex and ornate housing tunnels. Each family has their own tunnel with their own symbols carved into the walls and such. There’s also housing for servants/slaves as well as guards and soldiers within the tunnels of the family they work for. These tunnels are mostly dimly lit, and that’s mostly done by the glowing mushrooms they cultivate.

 Moon elves, like High Elves, like things fancy. Statues, carvings, patterned roads, ect. However, they also like duller, more gray-scale colors, if that makes sense? Less saturated, more muted. I imagine they have lots of towers built out of the sharp, grey-blue/grey-purple stones that dot the landscape. They also have color changing stones, kind of like opals where it seems to change color as you look at it from different angles, that they use for decorative elements and status symbols. 

 Vampires I imagine have a style similar to old Victorian style architecture. And the higher in the ranking they are, the more fancy the mansion and it’s gardens are. They like color, but dark colors. Everything will be painted like that deep forest green, blood red, navy blue, but not black.

 Orcs also live underground, but they build up through the mountains they live. So, imagine walking up to this mountain, and there’s a globe shaped thing coming out of one of the peaks. There’s smoke stacks poking out of random spots of some of the slopes. There’s a thick, cloudy-glass window being held by the jagged face of a cliff, that sort of thing. And there’s a kind of colorful glow that always peaks out from these orc cities from the crystals that is their sacred gift from the gods. They use them to light things, decorate, worship, they’re in the middle of a lot of their life and thus tend to have a lot of decorations around them. There’s probably lots of carvings depicting great glories in hunts and battles as well as cautionary tales and just old folk tales in general scattered throughout the cities.

 Dwarves depends a lot on where they are. Lowland dwarves will typical live above grounds in sturdy stone homes. As you get higher up into the mountains, they begin to make their homes more and more under ground. Unlike the orcs, they leave as little signs of their underground homes as possible, and unlike dark elves they don’t confine themselves to designated tunnels. They carve empty space out between the buildings for easy travel, and there’s even enough room on their streets for their livestock and carts to go through without issue. The streets are roomy enough that humans could wander around comfortably, but the buildings are squat so it would be difficult for a human to enter one without hunching down. As such, foreign traders typically conduct business out on the street.

 Beastmen tend to be nomadic, so they don’t have an architecture style to speak of. Some set up wood cabins to trade with the handful of travelers that dare go that far north.

 No one in current times knows what fairy buildings look like, as most go mad or give up on trying to reach their settlements within three days of crossing the boarder down into their territory from the endless stream of complications, pranks, and magical mischief. There is nothing but rumor, speculation, and a few tattered journals that have conflicting reports.

 Goblins on the mainland don’t have a territory of their own, and thus tend to live in whatever accommodations that the native peoples have. The settlements they’ve made in the neutral territories, however, tend to consist of buildings made of thin, flexible woods that have been woven tightly together, sealed with clay or a sort of grout-like material on the inside to keep pests and weather out, and then insulated the best it can be. It’s not uncommon for these homes to have woven fences made of the same flexible woods with plants growing through them or thorny hedges for extra layers of protection from whatever dangers come. I’m still working on what the homeworlds of my sci-fi project look like as of now, I have a basic aesthetic in mind for most of them, but it’s probably going to be a bit foggy until I get to a part where it becomes relevant. 

 Thanks for stopping in, I hope you have a nice day =) 

[pernatius]

Lost in Space Part 7: Ch 1

Summary: After finding Syco, the duo finds an unsettling, new reality. 

Lost in Space on Tumblr

Lost in Space on ao3

Two heavenly bodies billions of light-years away from each other, known for their greenish-blue glow, were barely touched by substantially more advanced civilizations. For thousands of their years, they prospered because of the latter even as their dark histories grew in the background. Until one day what seemed like a fairytale was burned down and in the aftermath, lying between the ashes, millions of bodies, and hushed whispers that never got to be spoken out loud, was a hand. The hand that rose from this dark, thick, and infectious atmosphere was the hand of the post-apocalypse. Both planets were forcefully shoved into the middle of the first intergalactic war that neither of them started or wanted to be a part of. They shared many things right until the beginning of their ends. While both of their initial stories ended Earth began a new book. The same could not be done with Saamuki’s homeworld. 

From where we were it looked like coal, blacker, and rougher than the space around it even as two suns beat down on it. As the distance between us and it shrunk, I got chills down my spine. If the planet suddenly became a black hole even as I stared right at its unchanging, dead surface I wouldn’t question my eyes because I could feel a pull. I could feel the planet pulling me in, wanting to suffocate and embed its decades of heart-wrenching emotions into me. The planet wanted me to understand its pain because it’s been harboring this feeling for so long. So, I place the dagger over my chest and clutch it tightly and for a split second, I take a glance at Saamuki. She’s doing a lot better. Her face is stern and serious. Her eyes match this. I know who Saamuki is on the outside, but I barely got to know who she's like on the inside. I wish I knew what she was thinking. 

“Syco’s ship,” the fingers on her right type in rapid succession across the screen before her, “It’s on the other side. Thankfully he is, but I’m picking up another huge source of energy. Another Space Pirate ship. Weirdly enough neither of the ships are attacking the other.”

“It has to be Skeema’s old faction, right?”

“That’s what I thought too, but why would they be all the way out here, away from the war they started?”

“Maybe they separated? His old faction could be fighting as we speak and Syco is on the other side with some other faction.”

“Then, that begs the question of why? Why come to my homeworld out of the billions of others and the thousands that were lost to the first war?”

Looking down at the dagger, “I think we’re going to have to go and find out.”

Saamuki landed the ship. She reminded me to keep my guard up because if she saw the two ships then Syco’s and whatever other faction was with him definitely saw us too. A third weirdly enough is that they didn’t bother to attack us, the other faction specifically. Meaning, both were on her homeworld or their commanders were on here, too busy and far away from their crew to give orders. Still, they know we’re here and whatever the reason why they are here couldn’t be good. At least the atmosphere isn’t deadly anymore, which has been for the past five years, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t cause me to cough and have watery eyes. 

Unaffected by any of this, the air to the ashes between the cracks in the ground is Saamuki focused on the ship’s screen. I wouldn’t have thought that it could be removed, but the tech was made by aliens after all. In the first five minutes of our walk and hopefully not five minutes closer to our deaths, I nearly tripped on what was left of the foundation of someone’s home. By the fifteen minute mark, I got the hang of swerving and lifting my legs up to my torso. Half an hour into this I still haven’t properly digested what I was walking on, the improper resting places of hundreds, and the decay of thousands of memories. Saamuki notices this, but I didn’t notice I’ve been staring at her. “To tell you the truth, I had ideas about what it looked like, but never this. I got the sense during the last hours of our final attempt at fleeing,” she acknowledged my unspoken questions as her eyes remained on the screen that I now noticed had coordinated the other party’s positions with way too much math. 

I know it wouldn’t have done much and I’ve said it plenty to her during our vent session, but I say it to her again, “I’m sorry.”

“We’re about five minutes to where he should’ve landed,” Saamuki ignored me coldly. I know she didn’t mean to, but I know why she did. We’ve gone through the other steps together, and now all that’s left is her acceptance. 

Chests against a blackened, dusty, and cracked wall we try to look past it and the withered forest of vines towards a clearing without getting caught. In the clearing is a familiar figure and another that’s unfamiliar. Heart racing, I knew it was only a matter of time before they turned and ordered their factions to shoot at us and capture us. It was only a matter of time before they ripped us from our hiding and threw us before them. I kind of got a feel of what Syco is about, but not this figure. Maybe my assumptions are wrong, so they order their ships to fire at us. We and along with an immense portion of this deserted, broken planet would be sent to smithereens before either of us could realize. Until any of that can become a reality we’re forced to wait and listen.

A soldier from the other faction, who just like his commander, has glowing dreads with beads floating inside each with armor only protecting the outer edges of his chest, arms, thighs, and crotch. His skin color is a sickly yellow with hints of purple. Once the soldier places his left fist on his chest and the other behind his back, saluting his commander, his commander’s mouth with its four fangs that sprouted out of its corners opened. He speaks, “And what is the status, captain?”

Swiping his finger across his wristband, a holographic screen appears. I’m not able to read it. Unsurprisingly I’m not, but whatever it could be is getting a reaction out of Saamuki. She then proceeds to go back to her screen and types some things. I go back to focusing on the reason why we’re obligated to be sitting ducks. 

After waving off the captain and the captain’s second salute, the commander turns to Syco with both his hands behind his back. “Then, I would like to humbly apologize for my dismissal, Commander Syco.”

“No need, Commander Raubtier. All is forgiven because it is understandable. Believe me, I was once like you when the Commander of the Virmus faction came to me with this same, dishonorable, and unfortunate fact.”

“Then, if that is true the other thing you told me is true as well. Is it not?”

A snap of Syco’s fingers and two hidden Tauvoxes from behind us yank us up and throw us in front of Syco and Raubtier. “Yes.”

“A h-human? Out here?” The yellowish alien stepped back and two blades ejected from the armor on his wrists. He pointed them at us. 

“Relax, commander. The Watchers are nowhere near this planet.”

“But, Commander Syco,” he lowers his weapons, “why are you in contact with a human? I knew you-”

“That I am mad,” Syco shrugs, “Maybe a little. If you were keeping it a secret as long as I have you would too. Now as for the human in question she’s the example of what the combined efforts of Tauvox and Virmus innovation can do.” 

Midway through my grubbling for my dagger, Syco pulls me by my arm, and as Saamuki is struck by Raubtier right when she’s about to react, Syco crushes it. I scream and try to fight free, squirming in his grip. I was powerless as bone cracked and ripped right through my skin. White and red popped out and flowed down my arm. Somehow through it all, through the suffering, I free myself. It wasn’t without payment. The very arm Syco shattered now is dangling from its socket. Grunting with my eyes dead set on Syco while I hear Saamuki fighting her own battle, I can feel myself healing. 

I don’t look down, so I don’t see it, but the two commanders do. “Remarkable,“ Raubtier remarks. 

Dagger and spear out, I go straight after Syco even when I know it’s foolish, but my mind shuts it out. The adrenaline kicked in. It kicked in too much. He dodges my attacks with ease, swaying, and lowering when needed. 

“And the other one? Have the nanites been placed into her body as well?”

That’s why I’ve changed. Syco placed nanites into me. That also explains why Skeema was able to regain control for a moment and the extra code Sakhra found. Syco must’ve placed them into the others as well, but that doesn’t explain why I’m not an empty husk like them. 

“No,” Syco responds with his eyes still on me. He even dodges both my spear and a blast from Saaamuki. “Though the nanites should work just as well as the intriguing case before you.”

I’m panting. Sweat coaxed my skin, dripping off of it, or darkening my clothes. My body was telling me to stop, but my mind told me to keep going. Stopping would mean surrendering to Syco even when this outcome is nigh. The difference between giving up now and falling because of my exhaustion is time. Right now I’d rather do something even if it means being Syco’s toy, but that was then. That was just mere seconds ago because right now Syco stops. I dig the dagger into his chest. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me as they come to a halt. 

Syco, without making a face, pulls the dagger out of his chest. I’m not surprised by this, but what I am surprised by is him handing me back the now soaking dagger. As his blood drips off the blade, I look up at him. I take it back without much hesitation and point it at him. “As you have seen already, I don’t desire to kill. At least not anymore. Five times our paths have crossed, yet in all instances, I have yet to take your life. I have spared yours and many others’ lives, unlike the previous Tauvoxes’ commander, and because of his stubborn choice to remain traditional he has fallen. Although, I won’t be so clueless as to see it’s because of those beliefs it’s gotten our people this far. For years we’ve prospered, but after the war, we have stagnated.”

Looking into his eyes, I let out a snarky remark, “And yet you’ve started a second, Syco.” Could it have been me, or could’ve been the nanites acting up that gave me this bravery? I knew so little of what the nanites are capable of, after all. 

“An unfortunate outcome I was hoping to avoid. The other commanders aren’t like Commander Raubtier and the several other open-minded leaders. They didn’t listen to reason, so they instead listened to their bloodlust. No, correction, their fear.”

“Fear towards the Lords of the Universe I presume.”

“A conclusion that’s far from wrong.”

“Syco,” this time when I said his name I made sure it was venomous, “You can’t talk about being a pacifist when you let my homeworld be taken by the Lords.”

“You can’t even imagine the horrors that I’ve seen and had regrettably done throughout my time as second-in-command, but throughout that time I’ve learned a lot. To catch a serpent, you must first leave out fresh meat. Wait and then your predator becomes your prey.”

“Earth. My homeworld. My people. Humanity isn’t just some fresh meat.”

“They’re not going to die, human. I won’t let that happen.” I shut my mouth. He kneels, but he’s still taller. “We are equals in this war, human, whether you like it or not.” 

[goldenslowpoke]

Uncracked - Tales of the Pink Court Pt. 1 - Successor

It’s finally here! After a lot of false starts, waffling over how to do it, and a lot of drawing it’s finally come together! My first piece of writing for the Uncracked AU.

As I’m sure you’ve all noticed by now, I’ve been very intentionally avoiding using the phrase “Chapters” for this AU. And that’s because I’m very specifically not writing a 50 chapter fanfic in linear order my enjoyment be damned. Instead I’m just writing smaller self-contained works like Tales of the Pink Court here. It’s a three-parter that basically lays the foundations to this AU. Well, Steven’s foundations.

And so we set our scene. Homeworld, Pink Diamond’s Chambers....

Before we begin, there is one thing that must be eminently understood. Pink Diamond had spent 8000 years trying desperately to change, to atone for an act she had very nearly committed. This must be understood, or nothing that follows will seem marvelous. Though this tale may not be her’s, it remains the tale of her desire to change. A desire that led her to have a son, Steven Universe, who today was waking up in the private chambers of Pink Diamond.

This is, of course, because Steven Universe is Pink Diamond. The role he inherited from his Mother, the aforementioned Pink Diamond. Confusing? Even worse for the Gems of Homeworld. But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Let us begin by discussing the matter of Steven’s birth.

For you see, Gems do not normally have children. In fact, Pink Diamond was the first, for having Steven carried a terrible cost for her. Pink Diamond had to pass on her gem to Steven, the very core of a Gem’s being. Pink Diamond was gone now, and now Steven was Pink Diamond. I told you it was even more confusing for the Gems of Homeworld. Some of them still struggled with the idea that Steven was Pink Diamond, but not Pink Diamond.

It didn’t bother Steven that much, though. Steven didn't live on Homeworld,  he lived on Earth. In a nice beach house by an old Gem temple, or sometimes in the Moon Base his mother used to watch over the Earth from when it was still an ordinary Colony. Back before the great Gem War, but that’s also getting ahead of ourselves. There will be a time to talk about the Gem War, but now is the time to talk about Steven.

Steven very rarely came to Homeworld, and today’s reason was to attend a ball of all things. His first, and his first official presentation to Gems as a whole. And… he hated it. For a number of reasons, but top on his mind this… morning were the dreams. He only had the dreams when he stayed on Homeworld, and they were terrible dreams.  Locked in dark places, attacked by his aunts, the Diamonds White, Yellow, and Blue, or dreams of himself nearly hurting Peep, one of the Gems that took care of him since he was just a little kid.

And speaking of Peep, the pink-hued Pearl had been waiting by the chamber’s window, a window that stared out at the giant torso and head where White Diamond resided. Peep was still dressed the same as always, something Steven was sure to hear no end to. It was a bold and large outfit, that would look more befitting a Garnet than it would a Pearl. A dark pink skirt, stretching down to the Pearl’s ankles. Its sole redeeming features, for a Pearl anyway, were a sheer layer over top of it, and the fact it was open in the front to reveal similarly-colored leggings and brighter pink ballet slippers that one would have expected on any Pearl, along with the pink stars marking her court that dotted the inside of it. On top she looked much more like a normal Pearl, diamond cutout for her navel-set Pearl, the only flaw was the large puffy shoulders she sported.

Steven then turned his attention to the actual exit, where another Pearl stood watch. Unlike the Pink, and more Pink, Peep, this Pearl was like a black and white picture were it not for her side-swept peach hair. This was Akoya Pearl, and she made sure everyone knew she didn’t do cute nicknames like Peep had. She also was dressed uncommonly for a Pearl, wearing a black suit top with sheer white trim around the wrists and flaring out from the bottom, and a white ruffled shirt underneath. Her tights were black, and so were her shoes.

The two Pearls were the only ones that were with Steven right now, no matter how much he wanted other Gems there too. On Earth, nobody cared who lived with Steven, but on Homeworld? Here there were norms, here there were protocols. Peep was here because, in the eyes of Homeworld, she was still just “Pink Diamond’s Pearl,” and Steven was Pink Diamond, so she had to stay with him. A rogue Pearl was in serious danger on Homeworld still. Akoya, though? That he wasn't quite as sure of, his Mother for sure never owned Akoya, actually Steven didn’t know if anyone did. Even when he asked, Akoya never revealed anything about where she came from before his Mother. Still, Steven was glad to have her here.

Akoya had always been like a mother, or perhaps a nanny, to Steven. Other Gems came and went as they pleased, doing their part to keep Steven’s “colony” running, but Akoya had always been there. She taught  him “what a Diamond needed to know,” as she would always put it, even when most definitely not teaching him anything relevant to Diamond-hood, or instead just mothering the hybrid.

“Steven, you’re awake!” Akoya had been the first one to notice, too. It made sense, though, since Peep was staring out at the bright lights of Homeworld. Steven was probably the only thing on the planet that slept, so of course the walkways and geometrical buildings outside were always brightly lit and bustling.

“Oh! Steven! Thank goodness, White Diamond’s been asking for us for the last six hours now!” Peep finally realized he was awake, turning toward the simple square bed produced by the room for its owner. The exact length of time Peep mentioned was lost on Steven, given he’d just woken up and wanted little more than a little bathroom, but it wasn’t lost on Akoya.

“Six hours!? And why was I not informed of this?” She was practically ranting already, “I’m the one making out Steven’s schedule here.”

“You may be the one making his schedule, but I’m still ‘his Pearl,’” Peep almost sounded like she was taking pride in bringing it up, in twisting some kind of knife between the two of them, “Besides she just wanted to move up the Ball. You would have said no to her, too.”

“Move it up!? The Ball isn’t even supposed to start for another three hours. When did she want it to be?”

“Lets see, if I’m doing this right…. Right about now,” Peep started, before immediately adding on “Don’t worry, don't worry, I told her no. Besides, looking out there guests are only just now arriving, we’ll have a few hours before Steven is anything more than fashionably late” after seeing Akoya looking like she was about to go off on her.

“Now!?” Well, Akoya still went off, but she was too busy racing to Steven’s bag of clothes to do anything more than yell. Clothes sent flying as Akoya looked for the one specific outfit she had set aside for this exact moment, “We need to get Steven ready! We can't keep the other Diamonds waiting.”

“Come on Akoya, what’s the harm in letting White Diamond sit a while? You need to learn how to live a little rebelliously,” Peep teased, as a red shirt with a yellow star on it was throwing at her face. Truth be told, for how motherly Akoya was, Peep was quite the opposite. She was like… Steven’s cool aunt or something. The most rebellious Pearl Steven had ever met. And Steven liked that about her.

“You know what she could do, now why don’t you head down to the ballroom and make sure the other Diamonds know we’re coming?” Akoya asked, holding up a pair of pants while looking at Steven. Without even listening for a response, Akoya started to dig in the bag again.

“Yeah, fine, if it gets us back to the Earth faster. Hey Steven, when we get back do you want to take a trip to Funland?”

Steven wanted to say yes, well he actually wanted to say “boy would I” but Akoya was now throwing clothes at him. Incredibly soft, probably wool, they were something fancy that Akoya had prepared for events like this that much was for sure. He thought he heard Peep saying something, but by the time the clothes were all removed from his head, the pink Pearl was gone.

-

Once Steven was dressed, he and Akoya set off after Peep. Steven dressed in the clothes that Akoya had packed specially for him. Fancy black pants, tight shoes, light pink shirt with a darker pink cardigan over the top of it. His top cut perfectly to expose the Pink Diamond sitting in his gut.

And he did not like it, “Do I really need to wear this? Can’t I just wear my red shirt?”

“Absolutely not, Steven. At this ball you are Pink Diamond. And that means you need to wear Pink, the same way your court does,” Akoya explained, pointing down a number of branching paths in the complex that served as both a sort of castle, and as a large dock for Pink Diamond’s personal ship. Various Gems were shuffling around all of them wearing some sort of Pink, and all of them sporting a Pink Star on their outfit.

“Well maybe I don’t like everyone wearing pink here. They should be wearing whatever they want, like everyone does on Earth.”

“Steven, you know it doesn’t work like that. Earth and Homeworld are different. White, Yellow and Blue have different rules than—”

“Than Mom, I know,” Steven suddenly cut Akoya off as they passed by a large mural. A mural of his mother, sharp and blocky, every point from her dress to her hair was emphasized. And the gem was wrong, cut like Blue or Yellow’s Gem instead of her… his actual Gem. And cradled in her hands, being held up to the sky, was a single planet and moon, representing the Earth.

The Gem everyone on Homeworld thought Steven was, and everyone on Earth wanted Steven to be. It wasn't like he could just forget how different she was when it was shoved in his face constantly. The only Diamond to have a “Free Colony.” The only Diamond not to shatter her defective Gems. The only Diamond to take defects from other Courts. The perfect story for a perfect Diamond.

And Steven was expected to live up to all of that, just because he had his mother’s Gem.

“Exactly,” Steven was snapped out of his thoughts by Akoya continuing, “Don't worry this Ball won't take long. And if we take the Galaxy Warp instead of your ship we can be back on Earth before bed.”

“I hope so,” Steven muttered as the hallway shifted from Pink hues to yellows and browns.

“Now what happened to Peep? I swear I sent her ahead of us,” Akoya asked herself as the duo came up to a large doorway blocked by layers of curtains. Steven could hear the distant grinding of what passed for ballroom music on Homeworld.

“I sent her off for a bit,” another Gem’s voice said from behind Steven. He spun around to look at whoever was talking to him, but no one was there. Then Steven felt a tap on his shoulder, and heard Pearl yelp and jump. Spinning around again, he finally saw the culprit.

Two star-shaped pink pigtails was all Steven needed to see to know who it was. “Spinel!” he called out, hugging the Gem only about his size. Careful around her pointed shoulderpads, and of the heart-shaped gem on her chest.

After recovering from her scare, Akoya wasted no time inserting her arms between the two, pushing them apart, “Spinel are you saying you sent Peep away? I specifically sent her here to get ready for Steven’s entrance.”

“It’ll be fine,” Spinel stressed, stretching an arm around Akoya, “I just sent her to go check with Jasper and her security. Besides I didn't want her overhearing our little chat here.”

“Our chat? Spinel we’re on a very strict timetable here, and we’re already late,” Akoya snapped. “Then I’ll be even quicker about it. You both know Peep well, and you're a Pearl too, Akoya, so I need your opinion on this,” Spinel motored her way through, before pulling something out of her gem. A small, multicolored flower, made of crystal. Pinks, Reds, and Blues reflecting across the flower, that had a similarity to the hair buns on a certain Pink Pearl…

“You sent Peep away over a rose?” Akoya asked, a growing anger behind her voice. Thankfully, Steven butt in before she could get into any more arguments, “Oh wow that looks so beautiful. You got it for Peep?”

“A-huh,” Spinel proudly replied, flatly ignoring Akoya, “I’m gonna give it to Peep during the ball.”

“That sounds wonderful!” Steven had missed the point of Spinel’s gesture, but it still made her smile wide to hear.

“See No-Fun? Steven thinks it’s a good idea.”

“Yes well your good idea has one rather large flaw. None of us are to be part of this Ball. Peep and I will introduce Steven, and then we will wait for the Ball to end and him to join us,” Akoya pinched the bridge of her long nose, glancing past Spinel and silently hoping Peep would turn the corner and put an end to this.

“Well that’s fine, then. We’ll just hold our own Ball out here instead. And you won’t be invited to it, you can just stand over there like a ‘good Pearl’ should,” Spinel crossed her arms and stared Akoya down. Akoya wasn’t angered this time, just smiling wider until someone tapped Spinel on the shoulder.

And that Gem was Peep, startling Spinel so badly she almost dropped her crystal flower before scrambling to hide it back in her Gem. “Oh good, Steven you’re here too, I just got back from talking with Jasper. Security is as pointless on Homeworld as ever. But she did get Akoya’s orders about screening out Gems.”

“Screening Gems?” Steven asked, turning his head back toward Akoya, who he was fairly sure still hadn’t moved an inch since she first noticed Peep walking up. “Oh yes, about that. Do you remember how this Ball is going to work?

Steven sighed, this wasn’t the first time since they left Earth that Akoya had stressed this to him, “Yes. I’ll sit on Mom’s seat and Gems will come up to present themselves to me, or to request things of me, and you want me to just nod and wave them along.”

“Exactly. And so to go with that I made sure to tell Jasper to make sure that the only Gems that ask you for things are things we’re comfortable with just saying yes to. A pre-screening, if you will,” Akoya explained before the music coming from the ballroom stopped. Suddenly she straightened up, “Oh no, White knows we’re here. Okay ready everyone. Steven you’ll do fine, just smile and wave. Peep are you ready?”

“Yeah yeah I’m ready. Now Steven when you start getting bored, and trust me you will, just start yawning… or some other human thing. Pink would do that all the time when she was tired of Balls. The Diamonds will end things so fast if they think you’re going to break that perfect facade a diamond should have.”

Peep and Akoya then took up positions on each side of the curtain, leaving Steven to try and commit all the instructions to memory as it slowly was opened from within.

“Presenting the newest Diamond, lord of the Pink Court, Steven, Pink Diamond!”

[sailorsanghelios]

Halo for Beginners Part 2: The Covenant

Hey guys! So I’m sorry it took so long to do my second part, the past few months have been kind of rough, but I’m excited to continue my Halo for Beginners series. So now lets jump into some cool lore stuff

Please note the content warnings from the previous post are still in place, and also I will be talking about all factions from a non spoilery aspect that mostly focuses on the original Bungie trilogy.

Here’s a link to my first post in this series!

So I decided to begin talking about the factions in Halo with my favorite faction in the original Halo trilogy… the Covenant. These are the main guys you’re fighting against and shooting at.

So the Covenant is a religious conglomerate that worships the Forerunners, which is the now extinct (or so they say) alien species that created the Halo rings. The foundation of the Covenant religion is that the Forerunners are gods, and they achieved godhood by activating the Halo rings...meaning if the Covenant activates the rings, then they become gods too. If you remember me talking about the plot of Halo in the last part you can uhh...see the problem here.

The Covenant are at war with humanity because of us being the true Reclaimers, or heirs of the Forerunners, and they decided to exterminate us, because if anyone found out about our status their entire society would crumble.

The Covenant are made up of a lot of species, so I’m going to talk about them in order of their caste in the hierarchy, in the most spoiler free way possible.

So first up is the San ‘Shyuum, or as the humans call them, Prophets. They are the religious and political leaders of Covenant society. The human name for them “Prophet” is a bit of a misnomer, because that’s a religious title only some of them possess. The Covenant government is run by three High Prophets, who serve as both political and religious leaders (like think the President and the Pope as the same person). In the time of the first Halo trilogy, these Prophets are named the Prophet of Truth, the Prophet of Mercy and the Prophet of Regret, There's many minor Prophets that work under them, and of course there are Prophets who work in secular work too.

The Prophets in the Covenant are descendants of exiles from their home planet Janjur Qom, who left the planet after deciding to activate a Forerunner ship, while those that remained on the planet thought it was sacrilege. This ship, the Dreadnaught, now serves as the main power grid of the Covenant space station and capital, High Charity. Only a few hundred of them were among these exiles, and for this reason, Prophets have very tight regulations on reproduction, and many of them are banned from reproducing. It is believed that the Prophet homeworld was consumed by its star, and that the population on High Charity is the last of their kind. Because of their home world having a different form of gravity compared to High Charity, all Prophets need some sort of mobility aid, with the lower classes using a gravity belt, and the higher classes having gravity chairs. Because of their non combatant roles, Prophets first appear in Halo 2 when we get to see more of the Covenant outside of combat roles.

So up next is my personal favorite and the namesake of my blog.

The Sangheili! Or as they’re called in game, the Elites. They hail from the planet Sanghelios -points at username and winks-. They’re the second highest ranked species, and one of the two founding Covenant species, after they went to war with the Prophets in like…. 800 BCE or something like that. The two species realized they’d just annihilate each other so they ended up creating a joint society that evolved into the Covenant. They are the military backbone of the Covenant, making up most of their high ranking military officers. They’re a very proud and haughty species, who are fixated on honor and glory. They’re the creators of the Energy Sword (of Energy Sword Sunday fame) and the only ones legally allowed to use them.

Sangheili are very naturally intelligent but millennia of having been pigeonholed as “the warriors” of their society has stunted their non military achievements. To die in battle is the most honorable way a Sangheili can die, and they are often cold and callous to lower ranked species in their command, because they expect the same from them. Some miscellaneous facts about them are they hate doctors because they think they dishonorably draw blood from people. Some Sangheili would rather die then visit a doctor. They also don’t believe in dads raising children, (because they think it promotes nepotism)  and the male figures in their lives as kids tend to be their maternal uncles. Female Sangheili do not serve in the military, but they’re the ones basically running the show on Sanghelios and on their colonies.

So up next are the Jiralhanae, or as the humans call them, Brutes. They are the newest addition to the Covenant, having only been assimilated in about fifty years before the first game. They hail from the planet Doisac and at the time the Covenant found them they were recovering from nuclear war and were easy to absorb in.

The Brutes are probably the strongest of the Covenant species, and they quickly gained more and more social standing because of their might and also how eager they were to please the Prophets. Their society has a patriarchal and tribal basis, which is also reflected in their military units which are often led by a Chieftain. The Elites do not like them at all, and see them as a threat to their millennia long chokehold on being the best of the best fighters for the Covenant, Elite and Brute fleets are segregated, and you almost never see them serving in the same unit. For this reason Brutes don’t show up in game until Halo 2, since the only Covenant in the first game are from the Fleet of Particular Justice, which is an Elite fleet.

This is the Mgalekgolo, or as the humans call them Hunters. (This is the only species where I always call them by the human nickname because I can never remember the real name). These big boys are actually… a bunch of little boys! They might not look it in that big hefty armor, but they’re actually a mass of worms called Lekgolo that formed into one being. The Hunters were the first species the Prophets and Elites pacified and and join the Covenant...because they ate a bunch of Forerunner artifacts in their home planet Te. Because they’re metal eating worms.

The Hunters are very mysterious since they can’t talk the way other species do, and instead vibrate. When a Hunter is formed, it always ends up splitting into two Hunters, and these Hunters are called “bond brothers”. Hunters are deployed in combat more like a tank would be, as opposed to a soldier, and are always deployed with their bond brother. If a Hunter’s bind brother dies, they go into a giant frenzy, and will tear apart anything in its path in a suicidal rampage.

Okay so Kig-yar! Or Jackals as the humans call them. the Jackals come from the moon Eayn which orbits the planet Chu’ot ( and it’s a real life planet that we know of as “HD 69830 d” which is super cool!) Despite their nickname, Jackals are actually avian aliens. They have a large amount of genetic diversity, and have different subspecies, though all of them can breed with each other! Unlike most Covenant species, the Jackals are matriarchal and usually have female leaders. Their entire way of life is based in a history of piracy in their home planet, where they basically just fought each other until they figured out space flight.

The Jackals have a unique role in the Covenant, and they’re not particularly religious. Instead they’re more of mercenaries for hire, who are in a business arrangement with the Prophets.  They’re basically a race of space pirates, and when anything fishy and illegal is going on in Covenant space, it can often be traced back to them.

So the Yanme’e (or Drones as the humans call them) aren’t really focused on very much, and I actually don’t know a huge amount about them. They joined the Covenant sometime after the first millennium and hail from the planet Palamok, and they’re well...they’re bugs. They have a government format that’s similar to a bee hive, where a single female queen is in charge of a colony, and then she has her reproductive drones and her workers. The Queens made a deal with the Covenant to force lower ranked Drones into their service in exchange for...not destroying their planet I guess.

Within the Covenant, Drones are mostly used for mechanical engineering, but they have combat roles too. Like the Brutes and the Prophets, the Drones first appear in Halo 2, but unlike the former two there’s not really a lore reason for that. Maybe Bungie was just like “you know what’d be fun….bugs that shoot you”.

So the lowest on the totem pole is the poor little Unggoy...or the Grunts as humans call them. Yeah the name says it all, these little guys are karmic kickballs. They come from the planet Balaho and they’re the only Covenant species (and honestly known species in the galaxy) that doesn’t breathe oxygen, and instead they breathe methane, and have to wear gas masks. These little guys were absorbed into the Covenant in the 22nd century, and were almost instantly turned into slaves and canon fodder for the Covenant.

These will be the ones you’re shooting the most, and they’re usually quite cowardly and run away when they’re left to their own devices and their superiors fall. However they don’t exist just to be cute joke characters. They can be quite fierce when provoked, as the Covenant learned in the Great GruntRebellion during the 25th century. They’re also very intelligent in ways one wouldn’t expect, such as language acquisition and philosophy. So don’t totally underestimate them!

And last we have…

These are the Huragok, or as humans call them, the Engineers. The Engineers are considered more of...tools then anything and they aren’t technically alive! They’re a biological supercomputer created by the Forerunners and who were left behind and later found by the Covenant. They’re born from essentially multiple Engineers working together to collect pieces and make a new one (if you’ve ever seen that movie Robots from years ago with Robin Williams and how they literally had a “build your own baby kit”? That’s basically what the Engineers do). The most important thing when creating a new Engineer is to have the buoyancy correct so they  can breathe and float correctly. Engineers have unique names based on their initial buoyancy at birth such as “Lighter than Some” or “Drifts Aimlessly”

Engineers are very pacifist by nature, their only drive is to build and fix things. They have been known to help out humans, as they don’t truly see them as foes, and are basically only with the Covenant because they supply them with things to fix. They do like making friends and the very first causality in the war was actually caused by an Engineer defending his Grunt friend against a human during first contact. Also you’ll never actually encounter an Engineer in normal game play in the first three Halo games (they made their first in game appearence in Halo 3:ODST which is also included on the MCC), as they were cut late from development from the first game. However in the first PC release of Halo CE it was possible to mod them back in because the code was mostly finished before they were cut, and possibly this might be possible in the Steam release, if you wanna see squishy jellyfish friends.

So that’s it for my premier for the Covenant species. probably kind of a weird place to begin but it’s probably my favorite part of the Halo lore so I was excited to write it, Next time will be humans and I promise I will get it out quicker.

[lj-writes]

Kylo Ren is not a Dark Side villain

I’ve started to think the real conflict in the sequel trilogy might actually not be between the Light and Dark Sides of the Force. The former can be immoral and the latter can be moral, after all.

Pacifism in the face of injustice can be irresponsible cowardice, which is why people have criticized the “That’s how we win” line. Rationality in the face of others’ pain can be dismissive and callous, as we saw with Yoda toward Anakin.

On the other hand, violence to fight unjust violence is moral. That’s the entire foundation of the Rebellion and later Resistance. Anger and pain in the face of oppression, suffering with those who suffer, can be compassion.

No, I now think the real conflict in the sequel trilogy is between elitism and egalitarianism. Think about it. JJ has said that it’s very deliberate that Finn and Rey don’t have last names. We thought it was because they would get big reveals later on (or at least fandom, including me, thought that was true of Rey), but what if he meant something else entirely?

The third main hero in the new movies is Poe, who has a last name and known family but who was at best solidly midle class his whole life. In TLJ we got Rose, whose homeworld was destroyed by the First Order.

These heroes are arrayed against Kylo Ren, a son and nephew of famous heroes and a genetically powerful Force user, who had every advantage growing up and every reason to be the greatest force for good the galaxy had seen.

In a way, being told he is the ultimate good may be the very reason he went so very wrong. Kylo’s actor Adam Driver has said that Kylo has absolute conviction that he is right and that he is an elitist. What would that do to a person’s morality if he is told, implicitly or explicitly, that he can do no wrong by virtue of being a good guy and that he is a cut above everyone else?

Maybe this is why many people are still flummoxed by Kylo Ren’s character and insist that his motivations are lacking, that he is incomprehensible. Our template of the main antagonist in Star Wars is Darth Vader, who was indeed a Dark Side villain whose passion and fear ran amok, motivating him to murder and destruction. That’s why fans read abuse, brainwashing, or the loss of a loved one into Kylo Ren’s character, so we can fit him in the mold of the Dark Side.

But what if there is no Dark Side to be read into his character? What if there was no anger, fear, or loss that motivated him, at least not from legitimate loss or pain?

What if Kylo Ren’s brand of evil is far more mundane: Self-righteousness and arrogance?

In this frame, we can see why Rey misjudged him in The Last Jedi. Like the fandom, she thought Kylo Ren was driven by suffering and could be reached by a hand of friendship and understanding, like Luke had reached Vader. She learned to her surprise that Kylo didn’t hate the father he murdered, which should have made her rethink her approach. Luke himself who knew both Kylo and Vader warned her that she was dangerously misreading the situation.

And when Rey forgave Kylo Ren the pain he caused her, believed in him, stood by his side, and fought by his side--it had no effect on him at all. He had plenty of people believe in him, love him, and even forgive him after he did the unforgivable. That wasn’t what was wrong with him. It wasn’t the Dark Side that made him evil.

Rather he believed he was he ultimate good, that destroying the galaxy and remaking it in his image was the right thing to do. He thought Rey was nothing and had no place in the story because of her unremarkable birth, and only through him could she find meaning and worth.

The real evil in the sequel trilogy isn’t lashing out in hatred and suffering. It’s the belief that you are better than everyone else and are entitled to use others as a means to your ends. Such a belief may lead to suffering, such as rage at the fact that people aren’t treating you with the deference you believe you are due, but in that case you are not evil because you suffer; rather, your suffering stems from your evil belief.

This is the kind of evil the heroes of the sequel trilogy are standing against, and that their backgrounds and choices refute. Finn was kidnapped and enslaved to be a means for the glory of his leaders like Kylo, but he refused the role. He asserted his own individuality and self-worth and wanted to run far away from the First Order before he decided to fight with the Resistance.

Rey grew up in deprivation but never gave up hope, always longing for people who would love her and with whom she had a place. She projected her own pain onto Kylo, and that very nearly became her downfall.

Poe, like Kylo, was raised as one of the “good guys.” Unlike Kylo, however, he always remained open to questioning himself and whether he was doing the right thing. When he saw evidence of First Order activity as a Republic pilot, he didn’t dismiss it because he thought the Republic was always right. Instead he changed his entire life, leaving behind stability and certainty, to do the right thing. When a Stormtrooper offered to rescue him, Poe believed him and became his friend. In TLJ, though the execution was somewhat muddled, he again showed the humility to question his assumptions and admit when others were right.

Rose, like Finn, was one of the people Kylo deemed inferior and expendable. Like Finn she rejected that to fight back, and like Rey she knows she is more than her birth. Like Poe she showed a willingness to admit when she was wrong and to change her views.

These are the democratic and egalitarian heroes who will fight Kylo Ren despite the odds, who respond to his terrifyingly egocentric worldview with a resounding “no.” No, we are not fodder for your ambitions. No, we do not accept that we are less. No, the greater good is not in some Übermensch because good and evil lie in choices, not individuals or sides. No, we will not bow to you. No, we will not let you continue on this path of destruction. No. No. NO.

Kylo Ren is not evil because he is on the Dark Side of the Force, but because he believes himself to be the absolute good and the ultimate worth due to who he is. It is why he is a villain for our times and why he must be defeated by our heroes.

[e350tb]

Steven Universe: Marooned Together - Chapter Forty-Two

(special thanks to @real-fakedoors for proofreading!)

It didn’t take long for the forge to be established - a month, give or take.

And then, just as quickly, the Home Guard was being issued new weapons, straight from Bismuth’s hearth to their armouries. Bismuth wasn’t entirely on board with ‘guns’ - “They’re just not the same, y’know?” - but she was perfectly capable of making them and making them well. And for those Guards that preferred them, she soon had swords and spears and maces aplenty. One in particular took priority.

“Thought you could use this,” Bismuth had said, presenting Stevonnie with the new sword. It was slightly shorter than Rose’s, with a gold plated, star-shaped hilt.

“It’s perfect!” Stevonnie replied, stars in their eyes as they pulled the blacksmith into a hug.

Months went by, and there were no additional arrivals of drones on New Earth. Despite this, paranoia and unease ran rampant. Jeff was particularly concerned about how Homeworld had known where to send the first drone - was it sent by some regional commander? Or did Homeworld know of them? And if so, why not simply destroy them? Their defenses, even after the foundation of the Home Guard, were a joke and would make one hell of a punchline against Homeworld’s might, were they to attack. Homeworld technology could slice right through the repurposed vessels of the Human Resistance and crush them like ants.

This very real, but very terrifying, insecurity in New Earth’s approach of defense left them unacceptably vulnerable. There must be a contingency plan, Jeff had decided.

Weapons weren’t enough. They needed ships, and they needed them now. The bismuths and peridots were gathered, and Bismuth, Lenny, C and X were put in charge of designing and producing new warships to defend New Earth. Even Captain Franks was dragged out of obscurity to help. A permanent Council of War was set up to plan strategy.

It never sat easy with Jeff.

“It feels like I’m forming an army,” he lamented to Peedee.

“Well yeah,” nodded Peedee, “You kind of are? But that doesn’t mean you’re not  doing the right thing.”

A year passed. And then another, and another.

Shortly before the first new ship was finished, Captain Franks died, lonely and bitter. Doctor West retired as head doctor, replaced by a Ruby who went by Ceara. People born immediately after the destruction of Earth were now in their twenties. It was a time of change, where the new filled leadership roles as the old began to fade away.

Despite it all, Stevonnie held out hope that some echoes of their past may still be out there, somewhere in the vast cosmos.

They’d forgotten the old maxim - ‘be careful what you wish for.’

“We’ve found a hulk, and it belongs to Pink Diamond.”

The words hung over Jeff’s Penthouse, and for a few minutes there was dead silence.

“So… a wrecked ship?” asked Amethyst.

“No, a giant green man,” replied Jeff testily, “Yes, it’s a wrecked ship!”

Amethyst raised her eyebrows, and Jeff sighed.

“Sorry,” he sighed, “My leg’s acting up today.”

“Did you break it?” asked Stevonnie, concerned.

“Nah, it’s just… something that happens,” Jeff shrugged, “Think it’s just a ‘getting old’ thing.”

“How old are you again?” asked Lapis.

“Lapis, you’re not supposed to ask humans how old they are! It reminds them of the inevitability of death!” Peridot scolded.

Jeff smiled.

“It’s okay,” he replied, “I’m fifty-one.”

“Fifty-one?”

Stevonnie clutched their head.

“Oh my gosh, I completely lost track of… did I miss your birthday?” they exclaimed, “Do I need to…”

“Stevonnie, it’s fine,” interrupted Peedee, “It’s all good. We don’t really do birthdays anymore, anyway. They, uh, lose their charm after forty.”

“Can we get back to the hulk, Petey?” asked Lapis.

Peedee raised an eyebrow.

“Huh, that was actually pretty close,” he said, “Anyway, some kind of Pink Diamond ship is just floating around a few star systems from here. We want to see if there’s anything salvageable on it, but there could be security systems or gem-operated tech, so we need you guys to escort our salvage team.”

“Who’s on the team?” asked Amethyst.

“Jenny,” replied Jeff, “And a couple of Home Guards. It’ll be one of their first missions off New Earth, so don’t go too hard on them.”

“So I take it the inflight movie can’t be Alien, then…”

“Well, it can, but you’ve gotta cut out all the bits with the Alien,” Jeff shrugged.

He turned to Stevonnie.

“You gonna be okay with this?” he asked, “I mean, it did belong to your mom…”

Stevonnie swallowed and nodded.

“Yeah,” they said, “I’ll be fine.”

It was an odd-looking ship - a giant pink pyramid with smooth sides and a flat top, not unlike the prism where Steven had gone on one of his first missions long, long ago. For a derelict, the hull was in surprisingly good shape. The paint was still perfect, there was no dust - the only sign of anything amiss was the giant hole in one of the sides. According to Zircon, most of the ship still had oxygen.

Inside was a very different story.

Stevonnie trudged through the dark corridor, flashlight in their hand - Jenny and Lapis were right behind them, with the Home Guards, Amethyst and Peridot taking the rear. It was cold and nearly pitch black, the sides smooth and lifeless, the only sound the echoing of their footsteps. The boots of the three Home Guards clacked on the hard floor, and the inexperienced soldiers exchanged nervous glances. Even Amethyst and Peridot looked unsettled.

“I’ve seen creepy wrecks before,” whispered Amethyst, “But this might be the worst.”

“Then you gotta go on scavenging missions more,” replied Jenny, “This isn’t even in the top five scariest places I’ve been.”

“Or I could, y’know, not scavenge,” said Amethyst, “‘Cause, you know, I’d rather take on Homeworld then some monster with eighty legs and a thousand butts…”

“Lapis,” whispered Stevonnie, “Is there any water here?”

Lapis shook her head.

“I can’t sense any,” she replied.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” nodded Stevonnie.

“Well, it’s a hulk, right?” shrugged Lapis, “So there’s probably nothing-”

CLANG!

Lapis jumped, clutching Stevonnie’s arm as they swung around to the source of the sudden sound. There was a long, long silence.

“Uh… I tripped,” said one of the Home Guards (an orange Pearl) sheepishly, “Sorry.”

“Bloody hell, Orange, I nearly shat meself!” snapped another, “I’m on edge enough as it is without havin’ to worry about some kind a’ fuckin’ facehugger…”

“Alright, that’s enough Johnson,” the third Home Guard said, “Everybody stay focused.”

They walked in silence for some time. There was no change in scenery - Stevonnie would have been afraid of getting lost if the corridor hadn’t been perfectly straight. It seemed to lead somewhere, somewhere in the deepest, darkest depths of the ship - they wondered if they wanted to know what it was.

“See anything worth taking?” whispered Jenny.

“Nothing,” replied Peridot, “This design is wrong. The hull looks like a standard Type-72 Colony Ship, but this… I’ve never seen anything like this. It… it’s just a hallway. It doesn’t make sense. What would Pink Diamond do with a ship like this?”

“Don’t know,” replied Stevonnie.

They bit their lip.

“Don’t wanna know…”

What Stevonnie didn’t know was that they were by no means alone on the ship. On the other side of the vessel, in another corridor, another team was making their way to the centre of the ship.

“Captain Lars?” asked Left-Rutile, “How much further do you think we need to walk?”

“I dunno,” shrugged Lars, shining the flashlight ahead, “But there’s gotta be good salvage here, right?”

“How did Fluorite get out of this?” muttered Right-Rutile.

“She couldn’t fit in the hallway,” replied Lars.

“Keep quiet,” hissed Jasper, “We might not be alone.”

“Who else is gonna be on this wreck?” grunted Lars.

Before long, they found themselves approaching a door. Only half of it was closed - the other half was twisted and mangled, sparks raining down from the roof. The Rutiles nervously glanced at each other, and Lars swallowed.

“Good thing this ship has been wrecked for eons,” he said, “Or I’d be pretty freaked right now.”

Lars, the Rutiles and Padparadscha slipped through the doorway, Jasper taking up the rear. She halted, studying the warped door closely, hand on her chin.

“Hmm…”

Beyond the door was a small chamber, about the size of a modest house - at the centre of the room was a floating sphere that shone a marble white under Lars’ flashlight. It was completely dormant, perfectly, eerily still, and Lars found himself swallowing again.

“Hmm,” said Left-Rutile.

“Odd,” added Right-Rutile.

“What is it, twins?” asked Lars.

“It looks like an observation orb,” explained Left-Rutile.

“...but why would they build an entire ship just for this?” added Right-Rutile.

“I predict we’ll find an observation orb!” exclaimed Padparadscha.

“Yeah, thanks Paddy,” nodded Lars, “I…”

There was a metallic scraping, and Lars jumped. Swinging to the right, his eyes widened as he saw a door slowly being forced open.

“Shit, company,” he whispered, drawing his blaster, “Stay behind me, guys, I…”

What remained of the door was torn open.

“Shit! Contact!” somebody screamed.

“Hold it! It’s human! It’s just Lars!”

Lars raised an eyebrow as Jenny, Stevonnie and Lapis stepped out of the gloom.

“What do you mean, it’s just Lars?” he demanded, “I could take you guys!”

“Sure, whatever,” said Jenny flatly, “What’re you doing here?”

“Lookin’ for salvage,” replied Lars, “Never know what you might need. You?”

“Same,” replied Stevonnie.

They smiled.

“It’s good to see you again, Lars.”

“I… yeah, sure,” nodded Lars, “You too. So, did you find anything?”

Behind the trio, Amethyst, Peridot and the Home Guards emerged through the door. Amethyst looked up, shooting a skeptical look towards the giant orb.

“Nope,” replied Lapis, “Just a big hallway.”

“Captain.”

All eyes fell on Jasper.

“The dent in the door,” she said, “It’s new. Someone got here before us.”

“What?” demanded Lars, “I… how new?!”

“Captain!”

Padparadscha spoke up, her voice underlined with panic.

“What is it, Paddy?” asked Stevonnie.

“I’ve had a terrible prediction!” exclaimed Padparadscha, “We cannot go aboard this ship!”

“Uh… and why would that be?” asked Lars nervously. He noted his throat seemed to be somewhat dry.

“Because it’s not a Pink Diamond ship,” said Padparadscha, “It’s not a ship at all. It’s a trap.”

Zircon looked up from her seat on the bridge - her book was pretty interesting (she’d probably never own a ‘Camaro’, but it was a nice read) but she felt the need to check on the derelict every now and then. Just in case something happened.

Her jaw dropped.

The pink hull of the ship was changing colour; the paint seemed to bleach, getting brighter and brighter, until suddenly Zircon was staring at a great white pyramid.

...a great white pyramid.

Frantically, she reached for the communicator on her console.

“Captain Amethyst! You have to get out of there, now!”

There was a sudden crash above them, as if something were moving in a vent.

They had little time to consider this, however, as the orb suddenly lit up and bright light poured into the room. With a quick flicker of illusionary light as it poured into the surrounding walls, the room in which they stood seemed to coalesce into a blind plane, now little more than a large, grey chamber, the walls and floors almost totally featureless.

“It’s showing us something,” whispered Peridot.

“Yeah, no kiddin’, ‘Dot,” said Amethyst.

Lapis turned to Stevonnie, only to find them staring up, their face a deathly pale. Slowly, she followed their gaze up - the moment she saw it, she felt her proverbial stomach drop straight through the floor.

“Hello, Starlight.”

White Diamond towered above them, her arms outstretched, her face set into an easy smile. Lapis couldn’t help but shudder - she’d seen her in a dream, many, many years ago, but to see her in person… it was like inhaling poison instead of steady atmosphere, a raw, cataclysmic sense of bone-chilling terror clamped down hard on the column of her throat. It was a noose pulled taut, and she was standing on the edge, prepared to fall forward.  

“Are you enjoying our little game?” asked White Diamond, “I hear you’re having so much fun. Oh, and I’ve heard about your little… shall we say association with the Lapis Lazuli?”

Lapis felt her cheeks burn.

“Completely out of line, of course, we’ll have to fix that at some point,” White continued, “Oh, and all the heartbreak you’ve caused Blue and Yellow - they still think you were shattered!”

“What do you want?”

Stevonnie’s voice was uncharacteristically harsh.

“From you? Nothing,” replied White, “I was hoping to gather some of your little scavengers and pirates - getting you is just a nice bonus. And in any case, fighting a diamond will be an excellent shakedown for my new weapon.”

“New weapon?” demanded Amethyst, “What, another of your corpse drones?!”

White didn’t even seem to have heard her, instead keeping her focus on Stevonnie.

“Now, Starlight, I’d like you to give a warm welcome to Chrysalis.”

There was a reverberating clang, the shrill cry of metal on metal, and a vent subsequently tumbled down from the roof. A figure immediately leapt down, landing with a hollow clank on the hard floor.

The figure’s metal body was luminous beneath the harsh white light. It was short and humanoid - it had two legs; white thighs and feet and black shins. A yellow diamond was emblazoned on it’s white-painted chest, contrasted against a black torso. It had two arms, resembling limb enhancers; these too were black and white, black on top and white at the bottom, but the left arm, just below the shoulder, was broken by what appeared to be pale human flesh. A pair of black poles, almost like antenna, emerged from light blonde hair.

It lifted it’s head, and Lapis saw its face. Glowing eyes shone behind a yellow tinted visor, the only hint of artificiality to what was otherwise an entirely human face. She heard Stevonnie and Jenny gasp.

“Oh no,” whispered Stevonnie.

“What did you do to her?” demanded Jenny.

Lars stepped forward, visibly shaking. All of the bravado he affected in his captain’s persona had faded - he looked deeply vulnerable. Quietly, with a croaking voice, he finally spoke up.

“S… Suh… Sadie?”

Sadie narrowed her eyes.

“There is no Sadie,” she replied, her voice underlined by a mechanical reverb, “I am Project Chrysalis.”

[dragonthunders01]

The sapience can come in different forms, different types of bodies, and in different sizes, although at the beginning and for a while on the galactic era of the Clorns these sapients tended to be of medium to large size, only with some species quite small if one would compare it with an adult human being, although these weren't extreme minuscule, as might be said about the size of the small birds of the earth. Although they experimented for some time on species of tiny sizes but capable of great brain development, they did not have many expectations of the evolution of a natural minuscule sapient species, just considering that they either wouldn't be able to develop a high advance civilization or could probably arise as some eusocial species and with cooperation could achieve it as clorns have witnessed. However and as a surprise, the next species that would join their republic would be an unlikely minuscule creature. Around 590 m.y. ago in a very warm with a dense atmosphere planet and dominated by a supercontinent called Setogy, amid the canyons of basalt stone sculpted by rain and erosion that was full of hanging flora, small flying creatures had managed to develop their first civilization after millions of years of having controlled the fire and refined their skills to create tools and structures, eventually launching into space since the foundation of societies in a period of only 5000 years, and reaching new solar systems in a short time getting to contact with other civilizations of the republic before developing hyperluminal transport. Although contact limitation and concealment were maintained by certain rules in a first contact, eventually this civilization reached the necessary development and joined the galactic society, being recognized by them as the Fleugani. These small hairy and rounde flying ones could be considered the smallest sapient species that has appeared in the galaxy during the Clorn era and evolved naturally, with a body length of 12 to 14 cm excluding limbs, and a wing span of almost 40 cm. They evolved from a very prolific group of small active flying organisms, similar to earth bats, being part of a more expanded clade of invertebrate-like creatures that lack an ossified skeleton, and instead possess a cartilage endoskeleton around the body and parts of the head, which is reinforced by a scale armor. Its great intelligence is due to its complez nervous system, which is a system of ganglia that were located around the head and neck, divided into 3 parts which together make up a fairly efficient brain. In their basic appearance, these were characterized by having spherical bodies from which four digitigrade limbs protruded, being used to perch when resting or walking, in addition to a pair of semi-rigid partially hairless membranous wings which were derived from a third paird of limb, although these are structured with several folds in a way that let the wing be totally folded into the body without problem like the wings of an insect, being covered by the part closest to the body; in the back part of its body protrude small feather like parts that acted as flukes and also huge appendages like tentacles that ended with small manipulatory organs. The head of these was short, with four retractable eyes capable of perceiving colors and UV, with a double jaw system, which consisted of a small radial proboscis with a small beak formed by six mouthparts, which were covered by a larger lower jaw that covered it, these have had a very specific diet based in rich energetic food including in lipids, proteins and sugars. They at the beginning of developing their interstellar civilization had a fairly extraordinary growth in the number of colonized solar systems compared to the clorns and Baramuts without the use of hyperluminal transport, this is probably due to the mass difference of their transports that was quite outstanding , being their spaceships much more compact and less heavy, in addition to giving them more space for conventional fuels allowing them to reach much closer speeds of light, and after they discovered the hyperluminic transports their distribution exploted in just a blink of an eye in the galactic scale, being able to colonize thousands of planets, being the favorite worlds similar to their homeworld. Interestingly, a tendency arose in several populations that lived in worlds alike to the conditions of their native planet, since through generations and selective variations they modified their morphologies and anatomies according to their needs, adapting to certain conditions and modifying their original form in different and unique classes and species in several million years. This species to integrate into the extragalactic society turned out to be quite talented and skilled technological engineers, being quite delicate and accurate in the manipulation of minuscule components as in the development of apparatus and special objects, which made this species related to the development of devices and quite characteristic systems that only the other races could do with special machinery. For at least 120 million years most of the Fleugani kind helped the republic in the technological fields, until their demise alongside them during the great cataclism of 470 m.y. ago, which drive most of them into extinction, even though there are evidence some groups of its kind survived and thrived in the aftermath of the cataclism, but never reaching its galactic or interstellar level of civilization.

[ruler-of-scientists]

Questions- Part 1

“Come in.”

The voice was clear, but quiet, somewhat unemotive in its vocalising; nontheless it was loud enough to be heard by Larzen, who promptly opened the door seperating him from the voice’s owner.

The Dome’s underground facilities- the ‘true’ foundations and workings of the overall structure- were quite extensive, to the point where even the mighty Dome itself could be said to merely be the tip of the iceberg. Navigation was thankfully easy, and given Larzen had been here multiple times on his Grimwere-related investigations, finding Elphas’ lab was no real trouble. Entering the lab in question, he had to blink at the bright white light present, eyes adjusting quickly enough as he cast his gaze about the place.

It wasn’t your traditional kind of lab, for despite the clinical lighting, the lab utensils weren’t so much for inspecting as they were for some....other, purpose. Lots of pylons and a strange, circular metal frame on one end of the room, monitoring and recording devices on the other. Larzen knew what it was all for- it was no secret that Elphas made regular trips to the world of his own mind, and occasionally that of others, all in the name of researching that mysterious mind-borne world called ‘Magicant’.

The Magicant researcher himself moved around slowly around the monitoring area, methodically checking every monitor with a blank, unblinking neutral stare. His movements seemed almost unnaturally precise and measured, the way he moved from console to console with a near-mechanical grace suggestive of the idea that he may in fact be some kind of machine.

Larzen knew better, however. Those eyes didn’t blink for a reason, and Elphas’ movements were the result of a man naturally attuned to his surroundings without the use of sight. Psionics and cybernetics both worked to provide the blind Arkan with a means of identifying his environment, and of reading the data the consoles fed to him on his research.

Like Larzen himself, Elphas was an Arkan affected with some kind of debilitation but who’s usefulness to the overall Collective meant he was viewed as an asset rather than a hindrance. Of course, unlike Larzen, Elphas’ condition had been a somewhat more recent development- the side effect of his first trip into Magicant while lacking the know-how he possessed today, unfortunately. 

“Larzen,” the other Arkan spoke, not moving his blank gaze from the console, acknowledging the leader of Homeworld Security only with his voice; “What brings you here? Surely you are not interested in my discoveries.” “I am,” Larzen assured, taking a few steps forward but remaining at a respectable distance from Elphas, crossing his arms and tilting his head a little; “Interested, I mean. But it’s not why I’m here. It’s...about the Starman attack of a few weeks ago. Do you know of it?”

“The incident where a Starman attempted to suicide bomb one of the leadership, yes,” Elphas nodded, tapping away at a monitor now which displayed the holographic model of what looked like a door. “Why would that incident bring you here? To me? I hope I haven’t been unknowingly involved in something distasteful...”

“My people identified the ID of the offending Starman from its remains,” Larzen explained, head righting from its tilt as he noted how Elphas’ ears perked at this statement; he finished, “The ID belonged to one of your contingent, who so happens to have gone missing. You can see where I’m going with this.”

“....I see,” Elphas murmured after a short pause, before finally standing straight from his monitors and turning to ‘look’ straight at Larzen, a small frown present on his face. 

“You wish to ask me some questions. Very well then, let’s sit...”

[sepublic]

Venom’s Symbiote Homeworld...

I’m honestly really intrigued by the idea of Venom’s home- The Symbiote Homeworld, as one might call it. From what little pieces of information we can glance, among my own personal ideas, I’ve decided to post some speculative headcanons on the nature of the Symbiote Homeworld, how the Symbiotes came to be, and what their society may have been like.

I imagine that in this continuity, the Symbiotes weren’t specifically made bio-weapons designed to kill space gods, unlike the comics. And I honestly hope not, because I prefer the take of them being alien monsters whose freakish abilities were a natural result of having to survive in some horrific environment, rather than what was mentioned. And seeing as how this Sony Spiderverse probably won’t include Celestials, seeing as how the MCU has taken them, this might be the case.

Anyhow, so onto my little headcanon on the Symbiote Homeworld. Imagine a very harsh, hostile environment, teeming with vicious predators that you can only imagine of in the nightmares and acid trips, and worse. The ancestors to the Symbiotes were actually pretty low on the food chain, all things considered- They were probably unevolved masses of slime, some kind of amoeba creatures, that invaded a host’s body and fed off of them.

In other words, they were basically gelatinous parasites. But, somewhere along the way, their preferred hosts were beginning to die out. Perhaps the predators of their hosts were getting too strong, or the environment too hostile. The Symbiote ancestors’ livelihood is being threatened, and in order to survive, they evolve over time to help defend their food source by strengthening it, turning the relationship from parasitism, to commensalism, and finally mutualism.

This is all so that their preferred hosts can survive better and defend themselves and reproduce into a self-sustainable food source. Time goes on, and evolution proves that a Symbiote ancestor that can provide its host greater strength, also gets a host that can feed itself more reliably- And thus, a host with more nutrition to provide.

So then comes the next few stages of this evolutionary pathway, as the Symbiotes evolve to become more pronounced in the ways they influence and upgrade their hosts. Along the way, the Symbiotes evolve to be more adaptable, to be able to infect an even wider multitude of organisms- And soon, they evolve to learn from a host’s memory, even control them if they so desire.

This made the Symbiotes particularly dangerous and unruly, so naturally the ecosystem produced a natural predator or two to curb the population. Probably something that could emit a loud, intense noise around 440 Hz frequency. Perhaps an elephant-like creature with a trunk to produce a powerful sound? Regardless, it wasn’t enough. The Symbiotes were too adaptable, and soon they grew to be the top predator in the entire planet’s food chain, like humans.

And also like us humans, their appetite was too voracious, and they began to devour everything else until the planet was mostly barren. There was still some life to feed off of, the occasional trace that Symbiotes would then pounce on and devour. The weaker Symbiotes would only get the table scraps, if anything- And Venom was one of them.

Venom described himself as a loser. Chances were, he was a runt-of-the-litter symbiote- one too weak, too slow, and overall not ruthless enough to eat. Always the last in line for the meal, chewing on the Symbiotes’ leftovers, trying to push past his eating brethren but never getting a bite of the meal. Venom was definitely looked down upon for being small and weak, and a comparatively gentle soul among the Symbiotes.

And, with dwindling food, it makes sense that as losers and outcasts emerge, so do champions and leaders. Riot is what one would call an Alpha of the pack, the kind of male Lion that takes control of the pride and proves himself by providing meat to the table. One way or another, the Symbiote species comes to the unanimous conclusion that if they want to keep themselves full, they need to find new planets- And drain those dry.

Riot is described by Venom as a team leader, and it shows. Already well-regarded, and well-feared, by his fellow Symbiotes, Riot sees this as a chance to build an even bigger pack, an opportunity to prove himself as the strongest Symbiote of all. And to do so, he needs to win the others’ loyalty, and most importantly, their stomachs.

Riot in this scenario would be like a male lion who leads a few of his own to find food in a dying desert, in the hopes of not only feeding himself, but also making himself the new leader that everyone follows in the process. He who feeds, calls most of the shots.

So while the entire Symbiote species is competing with one another to find other planets full of food, and maybe gain some glory along the way, Riot announces his own campaign and asks who will come to help him. The Yellow and Blue symbiotes were likely fellow respected pack-mates and trusted lieutenants of sorts, who volunteered.

And Venom... well, Venom was the special case who raised his hand to come along. He was mostly just in it for the food, and maybe the hopes of getting some respect from his fellow Symbiotes. Of course Venom was laughed at for volunteering, but Riot was in a good mood, and he figured his team could use some expendable cannon fodder. Venom was like that guy who was kept on the team, only to be shot in the leg so the others could get away while HE got eaten.

Venom knew this, but it was... fine, mostly. He was used to it, anyway.

Riot leads his strike-team of Symbiote colonists onto an asteroid, and they get caught by our human astronauts, led by John Jameson. Riot is particularly powerful and manages to latch onto a human, enough to understand the mechanics of their ship, and other data on human life, before letting said human go and letting himself be captured.

If Riot’s mercy seemed suspicious, the astronauts had no choice. I mean, he was alien life- They just HAD to take him with them! And so they did, and as they reentered Earth’s atmosphere, Riot used his special weapon-manifesting abilities to break free and sabotage the space craft. And as it careened into oblivion, he latched onto John Jameson with a plan to escape and scout out this new, abundant planet of food and resources. 

The fact that the other three Symbiotes were captured didn’t matter too much to Riot, as he always thought highly of himself anyway. To him, everyone else was usually dumb and needed a leader to guide him, and who better than Riot? Riot would scout out Earth. He’d deem it as exactly what the Symbiotes needed, and then make his way back to the Homeworld to invite everyone to a huge feast, gaining lots of support, favor, and loyalty among his kind. 

As for the others... Perhaps it was fate that Riot didn’t succeed in launching his desired Symbiote invasion. It does seem like fate, after all, that the only Symbiote who could sympathize with the humans, Venom, was the one to be paired with Maria- Maria, who had memories of the kindness of Eddie, who would later infiltrate the Life Foundation. Eddie, who Venom likely deduced from her memories, was a former top dog who had fallen, but instead of being bitter about it, just tried to survive, and even sympathized with and made friends with the other losers. This was likely a very profound and moving realization to Venom, and likely part of the reason why he didn’t just devour Eddie and move on to the next host, like Riot.

Because he saw from Maria’s experience, that Eddie was like him. He saw that this planet had plenty of people like him, and that compared to his ‘home’, the losers of society had a chance of sticking with one another and surviving. And that was the catalyst to Riot’s downfall.