#we are sentient trash here who are you fooling

[enberlight]

The bots aren't even *trying* right now. I'm getting more follow notifs every day than regular notes. And it's all titty banners with OF links (presumably). No posts. No nothing. Just over and over and over

Look I'll give blank newb accounts a brief pass but these are clearly not that. They have Real People type names. Not a single inanimate object among them. They can't mask worth crap XD

[viviane-lefay]

Source

Nice to see there is another person to consider this as well.

I absolutely don’t understand how people can see him as a two-dimensional villain after having this background information about him, especially.

Have you guys read up about it!? Arkanian society and history – especially concerning science and medical ethics, as well as the attitude towards sentient life. Like, holy sh*t - Dr. Mengele sends his regards!

To live in such a social system as one of the offshoots, regarded and treated as human trash, truly must have been a nightmare – and it obviously doesn’t leave you unaffected. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was one of the causes of his displayed prideful attitude and behaviour – likely as a reactive response of some sorts.

That there is another side to him, his true self, as well, is also an undeniable fact. Of course he has got to have some really endearing and noble qualities, aside from what we were shown.

Otherwise Santari wouldn't have such faith in him, and this woman is no fool. She knows her man, as well as this side of him better than anyone else, this is why she proclaims her conviction with such confidence (in the force echo after the fight in the forrest array).

If anything, these facts are adding to his already great potential of being a complex and fascinating character, who could have been so much more than what he ended up being in the videogame.

But that is definitely something you can blame on the writers, their laziness and disregard.

Imho, aside from the mantis crew (and a few other examples), the writing and treatment of characters was absolutely abysmal, to put mildly.

As for Santari and Dagan - both the characters in their individual characterization, as well as their relationship were done a huge disservice.

There were just too many remaining questions and logical inconsistencies, as things were left far too vague, hinted at but then just casually dismissed, and weren't dealt with properly for everything to truly make sense.

As for what the writers did to Dagan ... ugh, I really HATED it!

You can definitely tell that they didn’t really care for this character more than him being a mere plot device and tool for Cal’s development, which is really an absolute shame!

That he was just lazily discarded after that makes me fucking furious!

-

P.S.:

I have written a bit about how I imagine his backstory to be like, based on the canonical information (offshoots + Arkania) mentioned above.

If you want to take a look, you can find it here.

[constellaj]

just ran into your art today and. would you like to elaborate on your gay lucky in love rewrite 👀

boy would i

as always shoutouts to @crystalfloe for pitching + workshopping w me on this, ESPECIALLY on this one since it was mostly her idea!

we open up with a shot of shadow circling through amity park, looking in the windows of various citizens. danny is face-down, fast asleep; valerie is repairing some gear; tucker is being a gamer; sam is watching a horror movie; paulina is also watching a horror movie. shadow passes by all these houses and gets more and more annoyed, until he peeks the window of a large, elaborate house:

dash has drawn the curtains, turned the lights off, turned a fan up. this is his deep dark secret. he’s sitting on his bed, face lit by the dim rose glow of his laptop. the volume is turned down so low but the viewer still sees and hears him whisper along to the movie: “but we could never be together, jessica...” “but... I love you...” he’s watching a HORRIBLY cheesy hallmark romcom.

but of course nobody can KNOW he’s into chickflicks and romcoms! he’s a tough football man and it would trash his rep if anyone knew he secretly craved those deep but silly romantic stories... the tenderness, the love...

shadow has specifically been looking for a romantic.

shadow slips in and ‘possesses’ dash. possesses in quotes, because, well, even though dash is dumb and therefore easy to possess, shadow is ultimately a glorified dog, and not a fully sentient ghost; he doesn’t have any total agency in dash, and the most he can do is mess around with his emotional and hormonal balance. shadow is DISMAYED, upon entering, that dash’s deep romanticism is so repressed, and so immediately gets to work digging it out of the recesses of his brain, putting it in the forefront.

(see, what danny and the audience will learn later is, shadow is a ghost that subsists off of love. romantic love especially. he first found a ‘host’ in johnny (before he died!) because johnny and kitty were madly, ridiculously in love, and johnny especially admired kitty beyond words. they still do love each other, of course! but like all healthy relationships, they’ve learned to take breaks, and they have a ‘break week’ once every few months.)

(this, naturally, drives shadow up a WALL; after a certain level, displays of romance become like dog treats, and shadow has been downright spoiled by the overabundance of love between the two. when they take a BREAK WEEK and aren’t constantly showering each other (and therefore him!) with affection, he needs to go find another host, because clearly they do not love him and have forsaken him. they kick miette.)

since shadow’s prime host for so long has been johnny, his understanding of a few... norms... are bleeding over. dash shows up to school with a leather jacket and a motorcycle (his family’s rich, of course he’s had one). his hair is slicked back and the cologne is overpowering. while danny and others think it’s just another asshole stage of dash, kwan (as well as the popular kids, but kwan especially) notices something’s wrong. it’s not quite... dash. 

yeah, he’s happy-- well, he’s also strangely flirty with everyone (shadow is testing the waters, trying to find out who is the best match). and kwan LOVES that he’s happy. but he’s a little too daydreamy, he laughs a little too long. he is having horrible luck all day, but he just keeps taking it in stride. dash is concerned with appearances, but this is the first time he’s put in effort like it was for other people to see. he’s a little too suave. his eyes reflect just a little too much light.

and then-- luck of luck-- shadow finds the big name repressed crush.

fenton! of course!

danny did NOT want to deal with dash towering over him and slamming him into the wall, but he didn’t KNOW how to deal with dash leaning over him and telling him he looked cute. danny’s flustered! of course he is! well, yeah, dash is an asshole, he knows that, yeah he’s a stuck up rich kid, YES SAM, he knows this (sam is not fooled by a little hair gel and some high heeled leather boots), but you can’t deny he’s, well, built. and he’s weirdly suave? and nice. he’s actually being really nice. what no of course DANNY hasn’t had a crush on DASH this whole time or anything. shut up.

the fact that dash asks him to meet him in the woods at lunch (because sam, jazz, and even tucker are increasingly concerned with dash just making moves on danny, afraid it’s some new form of abuse; and lancer keeps perceiving it as bullying since that’s their dynamic and breaking it up) and he GOES is just. well. that’s unrelated isn’t it.

they kiss and danny is starting to maybe think dash just had a homophobic middle school experience like everyone else when- his GHOST SENSE GOES OFF. RIGHT HERE? RIGHT NOW??? (gee what could be causing it?) dash cracks a joke about him using too many breath mints and danny panics, bullshits an excuse, and runs off to transform and find the ghost.

dash thinks he’s been rejected and almost shakes out shadow’s possession from the sheer dismay, but shadow doubles down. no, no, we can find another crush. somewhere.

...oh hey! the ghost boy!

time to double down on the ghost aesthetics.

danny’s just finished fighting kitty (”where’s your boyfriend” “that’s none of your BUSINESS!”) when there’s a motorcycle rev underneath him. there’s... dash, again, but.... something feels very, very wrong.

danny lands, cautious. “hey phantom... you into biker dudes?” “don’t you have... a boyfriend...” “heee sorta dumped me in the woods”. and then danny gets close enough for his ghost sense to go off. and it clicks.

“dash, you’re possessed”

this is the ONE THING that shadow can’t have. this could be the perfect romance, and THIS GHOSTCHILD thinks he knows more about ROMANCE than SHADOW??? PSH. cue fight scene! dash of course is grappling with both not wanting to hurt phantom, but wanting this ghost out of his system, because of COURSE he’s possessed geez why else would he want to kiss FENTON of all people-- but shadow REFUSES to leave, slowly building more and more monstrous elements onto dash, darker eyes and claws, erasing his legs until it’s not dash as much as it is a large shadow monstrosity with dash at the center.

danny eventually realizes he needs a new strategy and runs for it. after a decent amount of bickering with sam/tuck, they realize that the only ones who would know how to tame shadow are.... kitty and johnny.

turns out, when shadow went missing, kitty NOTICED. (johnny didn’t! he was having a fun alone time working on his bike with loud music.) this is bad. why? well, johnny is NOT a very powerful ghost. in fact, he’s sort of the opposite. he and shadow have a symbiotic relationship of sorts; it’s shadow’s residence in him that gives him any powers at all, like the basic healing factor a ghost has, or phasing, or flying. without shadow he’s essentially a zombie, who can still be hurt in the ghost zone. NATURALLY, kitty decided to run off and retrieve shadow (because this isn’t the first time he’s run away on break week, always throwing a tantrum) before anything horrible could happen to Johnny; this is what she was doing in Amity in the first place

this is the part of the story where i reveal that the ending isnt fully fleshed out yet. in the rough conversation right it ended up with kitty and johnny trying to FORCE shadow back into johnny, and they’re getting annoyed by it, and kitty goes “well this wouldn’t be a problem if YOU weren’t so LOVING AND SENSITIVE” and johnny goes “well i wouldn’t LOVE YOU so much if you weren’t BRILLIANT and BEAUTIFUL” and they have a whole argument like that. its very funny. and shadow ends up still running away and possessing dash again.

ah, in typing this out, i have figured out an ending!

the above fight and run away happens, and there’s two endings: one where shadow possesses dash, and one where shadow possesses danny. in both, of course, the other party realizes the only way to get shadow out is through making shadow feel safe enough to leave, aka... flooding the room with romance. if dash is possessed, danny and co. realize that danny’s the prime candidate to... be the suave lil boy. if DANNY is possessed, sam and tucker begrudgingly explain that, uh, yeah, phantom might have a crush on you, he’s just really controlling of his emotions. (also kwan! kwan definitely plays a part if dash is possessed, maybe even in saying “uh... he has a bigger crush on Fenton. can you guys get him instead?” and danny. explodes)

blahlbahblah luring shadow out by being gay happens and shadow gets scooped back up by the 13s. as much as the previous argument is funny it might also be very funny if johnny literally noticed none of this, and kitty shows up like ‘you lost this’ and johnny is like. ‘...shadow? when did you leave’. anywho.

that’s the concept! the MAIN difference is that johnny and kitty actually have a very healthy and sweet relationship, and the conflict, ironically, comes from the fact that they love each other TOO much. i do love ‘dash finds out’ reveals but as far as an episodic romp goes, this might not be the best ep for him to discover the secret in. however in a oneshot or something of course you could slot that in there excellently i believe.

[heuristicallyinclined]

Nobody Knows

Chapter 2: Ah, here we go again

Part 2/? (Word count: 1,841 | Rated T | Past MSPA Reader x Mallek Adalov,  MSPA Reader x Mallek Adalov, Past MSPA Reader x Polypa Goezee, Background DaveKat)

AO3 Links: Part One  | Part Two  (This) | Part Three

Chapter Summary: MSPA Reader wakes up in an unfamiliar, terrifying place with unfamiliar, terrifying people. But what else is new?

Notes: Thanks for all of the support from the first chapter! I was really blown away by all of it. Enjoy some set-up before the inevitable angst.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

The first thing you notice when you come to is the chittering of machinery. Earth tech hums when it runs, maybe you hear a fan or two. Alternian tech chitters. Sometimes it even makes a soft screeching sound. You prefer not to think too hard about it. The next thing you notice is the headache you have. Your forehead is throbbing and when you open your eyes the room is moving. Damn, you have had your fair share of concussions, but this is new. In your infinite intelligence, you finally realize that this is because you are getting carried like a sack of potatoes over the shoulder of a stranger. Well, fuck.

Slowly and carefully, you crane your head back to get a glimpse of whoever is holding you. You see large horns extending horizontally and curving towards their face. Their uniform having some intricate repeating bronze pattern. Realizing this is an adult, you become very conscious of your breathing. Just extremely slow and even. Oh God. You have never seen this troll before in your life. You continue to glance around and notice you are on some sort of vessel. A door opens and your captor joins another bronze troll. A new stranger, maybe a friend? You stop yourself from introducing yourself so you can hear what they say. Now is not the time to be horny for platonic connections.

“So ! nearly tr!pped over th!s sh!t on my back from do!ng !nventory !n the cargo bay. Do you have any !dea what the fuck th!s !s?” Your captor asks with an excited lit, swinging you off of his shoulder and holding you by the back of the hood. You remain still, motionless, having perfected the art of playing dead to fool drones into not culling you. Not your most dignified skill, but definitely one of your more useful ones. Something thuds as it is set down to your right.

“()h gr()ss, d()n’t t()uch it with y()ur fr()nds.” Your captor chuckles while their colleague sighs in exasperated disgust. Ah yes, you didn’t miss this. Alternia has made you super self-conscious about your body in the weirdest ways just about as much as it has made you fear for your life. But one of those things is temporary. You know you’re cute, friendly, are incredibly resourceful and optimistic. You have nice legs! The clown pope said so! But you can still hear the sneer in her voice, “It pr()bably just wandered ()n b()ard during the last rest()ck and the change in gravity culled it ()r s()mething, I d()n’t kn()w.” She sounds a little pissed now, “Etiv()r just st()p playing with it and dr()p it in with the rest ()f the trash s() y()u can help me get the rest ()f the requisiti()ns delivered.”

Etivor shakes you a bit in front of her. She doesn’t react. “F!ne Yleeda,” he draws her name out and huffs, clearly disappointed, “!’ll be back.” You get thrown back over his shoulder and you can hear a light growl come from him. She apparently does too, and mockingly chitters at him, dropping another box onto her pile. “Wait, what if that thing i-,” she starts, but Etivor isn’t having it and picked up to pace and is already gone. Bold move.

He slows down after a while and walks and as he does you pass by a window. You look for telltale moon colors, but you seem to be in the middle of nowhere with nothing particularly familiar in sight. On a spaceship. Full of adults. Neat. Well, mortal peril is always a solid way of getting out of your head.

He continues onward and you hear other trolls pass by you, all of them caught up in their own work or conversations, none of the spare you two too much of a glace. A door slides open and he sets you on the ground. You hear him step away from you and fiddle with the settings on what you think is the trash, and you'd rather not get immolated today, no thank you. It begins to clunkily whir to life before settling on a scratchy, chittery sound. Luckily, you notice you didn’t hear the door close. You get up slowly, quietly, and slink over to the door, the machine helping to obscure any sounds you were making. You don’t need to be stealthy for too long, just enough to get the door and you can just abs- and he is looking right at you.

You try to match the familiar look of wide-eyed "what in the actual fuck is that" that trolls have often graced you with when meeting you for the first time. His pupil skits widen slightly and his mouth is set in a hard, straight line. You both remain frozen and are locked in a staring contest. You stay like that together for a good ten seconds and you become intimately aware of how long ten seconds in total silence is. He blinks and as he starts to reach for you, you do the only thing you think to do. Blurt out some dumb shit and stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.

Were you also getting a pitch vibe off of that or was that just me, because I know you need to be professional, working here and all but I feel like if I wasn’t there you two would definitely have gotten into an argument? Are you two like a thing or have something going on there or…? You wiggle your hands noncommittally.

If you weren't terrified, you would be laughing at the look he is giving you. He immediately pulls his hand back and holds it to himself, aghast. His mouth opens and shuts as he struggles to figure out what to say before settling into a concerned frown. He steps back in confusion with an expression betraying he was clearly not prepared for you to be alive, or sentient, or fluent in Alternian, or immediately asking him about his love life. He is very clearly trying to unpack a lot and you are just trying to put some space between you and someone who easily has two feet on you and a lot of muscle, hopefully gained from things other than hauling aliens into fiery dumpsters.

“Uh. What. ! mean maybe? But ! don't, wa!t th-“

Because I feel like you were definitely trying to piss her off a little bit, like not enough to ruin her night or anything and fuck up her work, but like she'll be thinking about it, so I think that's smart, kinda leaving the ball in her court as you left.

He gives you the smallest, tightest smile as he uncomfortably, slightly nods, locked in place. He looks like he is trying to smile after biting a lemon. This man is deeply fucking uncomfortable which you can deal with much better rather than hostile. You need to keep this shit up. Fuck, WWGD?

What would Gorgor do? You think back to his tricks and techniques that you learned from being his partner. How to maintain control over a situation without dominating it completely or else a highblood could easily feel like you were overstepping and at best, get defensive and shut you down and choose another teal. You don't want to think about the worst case scenario. But you are not Tagora Gorjek and have not been playing four dimensional mental chess with people since hatching. Also death is more of a temporary roadblock at this point, so really, there is no sweep like the sweep you’re fucking in since you couldn’t escape it even if you wanted to.

You already overstepped by making this about quads so you just need to keep talking confidently long enough to fluster him into answering so that you can try to run off. An alien coming back from the dead out of concern for his personal life is probably doing it well enough.

Do you two have like a history from before this or did it start when you got your assignments here?

You are trying to convey an authority you don't fucking have. But as someone once taught you, image is everything and to fake it until you make it. You don't need to have your shit together, god no, but if religiously following a nineteen step east Alternian skin care regimen or parroting back bullshit you've heard like you're a goddamn relationship wizard makes people think you do, then bitch you better roll with it.

"We started working together l!ke a few wipes ago, but k!nda just started talk!ng," he says slowly and unsure, staring at you. You hum knowingly at him and he squints at you, perturbed. You place a hand on your chin and shift your stance to that of one in thoughtful consideration, the fact that you are closer to door thanks to it is not relevant. You look like you do this all the time, which you do. He glances around the room and pales.

God, he must be panicking worse than you are. He is answering. This is probably ideal. Okay plan time, so he and the other lady, Yleeda, are the only ones who saw you here. Wherever here is, and she thinks you’re dead so really you just need to have him be incredibly cool and then run into literally no other person on board the ship while exploring it, figure out where you are, and how you got here. Easy if you don’t think about it.

You were trying to get to Mallek and he is neither of these people so maybe he is on board somewhere on whatever place they restocked at. Maybe he does get to work with tech and he got to hole up somewhere with access to energy drinks that would kill anyone gold and below. This could mean you will never find him. Okay, you need to deal with one thing at a time.

Oh, so when you got started working on this ship? Is Yleeda doing anything to irk you back?

You ask this while stepping to look cool and relaxed against a wall, like all normal, cool guys do. Guys who are calm and not worried at all about incineration. Guys just trying to get a feel for where others are at so that they can give appropriate advice in appropriate situations that they are in. Those guys. You are them.

Your back finally makes contact with a wall. Or at least you thought it was a wall based off of how solid it was. You look up when you feel something grab your shoulder. The sound of the machinery that you thought would mask your footsteps definitely masked Yleeda’s entering the room. She stares down at you and then back up at Etivor, her gloved hand holding you firm.

Oh.

So that plan didn't work.

Notes: How quickly can one person get attached to fantrolls made up on the spot to act as plot devices? One author finds out.

[vorthosjay]

Let’s Talk About The Arbiter of Law Left Chaos In His Wake

I’m convinced the Creative Team is lengthening these titles to troll me :P

Today’s article is AWESOME. Check it out here. This one took a little extra long to write. Let’s go!

The Immortal Sun by Kieran Yanner

"You and the pirate drift on similar currents," Tishana said cryptically. "What do you see when you glimpse beyond our veil?"

"My chain in your face!" yelled Angrath from under the dinosaur's foot. Huatli flicked her wrist and her dinosaur shoved him deeper into the dirt.

Angrath is still the best. He has really gotten the short end of the stick on Ixalan.

The tower ahead seemed to be staining the sky an inky black. Huatli gasped as she saw a body start to fall from the top of the tower.

Okay, so CONTEXT CLUES. This segment takes place at the same time as the beginning of The Flood.

A siren flew overhead, a familiar woman clinging to an armful of weathered canvas charged below, and in front was a scraggly and mad-looking goblin. The goblin waved a sword longer than himself in the air. He screeched with abandon as he charged. "WE WANT SUN! WE WANT SUN!"

Breeches!

There it was, inlaid in the glittering gold of the floor, as real as ever; the disk could only be the Immortal Sun.

Note how they keep referring to it as a disk? The Immortal Sun is DEFINITELY the thing from Nissa’s vision in The Hand That Moves.

It was a man's voice singing, melodic and soft.

Male sirens!

There, just handspans away from the open window, was a feathered siren, the pirate from the Belligerent, and clinging to his neck was a manic-looking goblin.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Huatli realized what was about to happen. The goblin leaped forward onto Vona's face.

"VIOLENCE!" he yelled.

The song stopped, and the siren cheered. "Go for the eyes, Breeches!" 

The goblin was clawing and scratching at the vampire woman's face, laughing all the while.

Breeches remains the most relatable character in Magic: the Gathering.

Huatli recognized the smell of burnt meat just as the minotaur casually tossed her the charred head of the dinosaur she had assigned to stand on top of him. The head hit the ground with a meaty slap.

"You are AWFUL!" Huatli screamed at Angrath.

“YOU MADE YOUR DINOSAUR STAND ON TOP OF ME!" he howled back before setting his sights on the conquistador with the goblin on her face.

Let’s dissect this for a second.

Huatli is mind controlling dinosaurs, and putting them in harms way. And she calls ANGRATH awful? After he was betrayed by someone who he thought an ally just moments before?

The Elder Dinosaurs have awoken, Huatli thought, and a tear ran down her cheek. The tale of the Elder Dinosaurs had taken the longest to memorize, an agonizing two years to lock in her mind in its entirety.

If you haven’t read Elders of the Multiverse, she’s probably referring to Zacama being the inspiration for the Threefold Sun. There isn’t actually two years worth of elder lore to memories, as cool as that would be, they’re ultimately minor figures in this story.

Now, though, as she kept her fear at bay by trying to locate the source of the pervasive smell of cats in the room (a shabby-looking nest of fabric and straw in the corner, which left no doubt that Azor had been in this room for a very long time), Vraska found herself thinking that the only good sphinx was a sphinx frozen in stone at the entrance to a library.

Azor for the last thousand years.

"If you are not here with a prisoner, then I assume you are here for this," Azor said. "The lock of my prison, my finest creation."

IXALAN IS A PRISON. CHECK!

"You will refer to her as Captain!" Jace asserted.

*Vraska starts getting sweaty, heart beating fast*

The sphinx crossed his paws in annoyance. "Because Ravnica was one of many, and I left when I was finished." He flicked his wings, trying another tactic. "You are talented, Living Guildpact. Have you upheld your responsibilities well at home?"

Oh yes. Yeeeessssss. We are tackling Oldwalkers.

"Azor, you built an incredibly intricate system with magic more complex than any one person could readily understand, and yet you made your failsafe a living mortal. Even if I had a gift for governance, I would not be able to accomplish the task I have been burdened with." 

This sphinx may have lived a thousand lifetimes longer than her, but he was a fool, a cruel patriarch. Azor was entirely unaware of the consequences of his interference. Vraska's fists were balled at her sides. "I don't think you have the authority to speak of flaws when you manipulated planes that were not yours only to abandon them when you wanted to move on to the next!" 

If any of you wonder why I love the character Jodah so much, it’s because he said this kind of thing to Oldwalkers back when they had god-like powers.

"As caretaker and arbiter of law for the entirety of the Multiverse, it was my duty to collaborate for the greater good. The Immortal Sun was built to imprison one specific enemy. It amplifies the magical abilities of whoever touches it, and it prevents planeswalkers from leaving a plane. The perfect cage for a diabolical Planeswalker! I gave up my spark to help create the Immortal Sun, the lock of my prison, my greatest gift to all living things." 

Azor growled. "He was my friend. He was supposed to help me get back my spark after our plan worked, which it did not—"

"He was to lure our foe to a faraway plane and I was to use the Immortal Sun to enhance my hieromancy and summon that foe here, to Ixalan. But I never received the signal to activate the Immortal Sun. I do not know my associate's fate," Azor said with a flick of his tail. "We devised the plan over a thousand years ago, and I came to Ixalan a little over a hundred years after that. He failed. I do not know what happened, but my execution was perfect—"

Azor continued rambling. "I did not want anything to do with the Immortal Sun. It was a reminder of my friend's failure, so I decided to give the gift of governance to this plane. Ixalan was to be ruled by whoever possessed the Immortal Sun, and I initially gifted it to a monastery in the east, in Torrezon. But they were not worthy, so I took it back, and gifted it to others. The Sun Empire was not worthy. The River Heralds, as evidenced by the awakening of Orazca, were not worthy. Only I am worthy, and so I must work further to perfect this system." 

Azor sputtered through his pain, "Our intention was to imprison Nicol Bolas—" 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH. A PARTNEEEEEER!

Who is depicted in a stylized for all over the plane? There’s really only one character that makes sense. Here are some things I thought up months ago in The Mysteries of Ixalan:

The timeline matches up, and others have noted that Ugin's involvement with Ixalan might have been why Nicol Bolas tried to kill him, finally explaining their battle in Fate Reforged.

What if Ugin planted something subconscious in Jace in case he did something as stupid as confronting Bolas? We know they exist, and there's really no other reason for why Jace would suddenly forget about his experience with Ugin. So if that's the case, where would you send a dangerous young man like Jace if he risked revealing your secrets to your greatest foe? If you were Ugin and prefer imprisoning over killing, you'd send him someplace he couldn't leave. 

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon by Raymond Swanland.

Here’s the timeline of events.

Over 1,280 years ago, Ugin and Azor cooked up this plan to imprison Bolas.

Azor goes to Ixalan to trigger the trap, while Ugin goes to lure Bolas.

Bolas catches wind of the plan, and snaps Ugin’s neck on Tarkir in a pitched battle.

Azor is left, for centuries, alone. He abandons the Immortal Sun with the people of Ixalan because it reminds him of what he once was.

Also telling is that Azor expected to get his spark back.

Then Ugin reawakened, and found that Bolas had trashed his other project: the Eldrazi.

Ugin sent Jace to Ixalan, either in the hopes that Bolas would follow, or to get Jace to meet Azor.

Now Bolas wants the Immortal Sun, and has been planning on acquiring it with the Planar Bridge. But for what purpose? Let’s look again at a key line:

He was to lure our foe to a faraway plane and I was to use the Immortal Sun to enhance my hieromancy and summon that foe here, to Ixalan.

What faraway plane would Ugin be able to A) lure Bolas to, and B) would allow  Azor to use his hieromancy to summon Bolas? I legitimately don’t know. Ravnica was still protected by a barrier of its own. Zendikar? Bolas needed a strong confluence of leylines to anchor himself to a plane at the time, and the Hedron network was already used to lure the Eldrazi to Zendikar, most likely by simulating a leyline pattern that attracted them.

The Immortal Sun by Kieran Yanner

Also, note how the Immortal Sun has stylized Ugin horns at the top, and a stylized A at the bottom. The two of these guys co-signed it. The whole thing is brimming with Ugin’s wispy vapor trails, too.

Vraska knelt next to Azor. "The wars of this plane are on your head, and the prison where I suffered needlessly on Ravnica, where my people were subjugated, was ultimately of your making." 

"The Living Guildpact maintains balance between the guilds of Ravnica. You, Azor, parun of the Azorius, are an inherent part of Ravnica, and have caused imbalance not just on my home, but on countless other planes." 

"You will be the master and caretaker of Useless Island. You will not be able to leave, and you will never meddle in the lives of sentient beings ever again. Leave the Immortal Sun here and depart with your life. As Living Guildpact, that is my decree." 

This is so good on so many levels. First of all it’s great to see an oldwalker get their comeuppance for once. They pulled this kind of thing all the time, and no one had the power to stop them.

It’s also great because Azor’s own magic is what does him in. It’s Jace’s power as the Living Guildpact that enables him to influence Azor like this. If you look back, that might also be how he got Azor to finally refer to Vraska as captain.

Last it’s great because despite Test of Metal’s dubious canonical status, it’s funny because both sphinx planeswalkers are now trapped on islands by Magic of their own making. Crucius on the etherium island pocket plane, and Azor on Ixalan by the Guildpact magic.

“Why does Nicol Bolas want an artifact that imprisons Planeswalkers?" she asked in hushed fear.

Jace's lips were a stern line, and he looked at her with dread.

"Vraska," he said, his voice wavering, "you need to know who you're working for."

Oh my god, if we got this level of info dump today, IMAGINE WHAT WE GET NEXT WEEK!

[draconicpenartastic]

So I spent the whole week obsessing over @careamorran​‘s evil!Outlaws idea, and I couldn’t function well with it just sitting in my head. So instead I wrote something about it. It’s currently 1am and I am close to passing out so just go and check her out! This girl is amazing artist and an even more amazing person.

 Possibly more to come

The moonless night made warehouse both dark and cold. No one in their right mind would come here at such time, when the slightest touch of metal walls made skin freeze. Not even rats lived in places like this. But well. This is Gotham.

“-6 busted cars, and all the cargo. We had moved 2 labs after our men told us which information the Bat took from them, though the biggest one still got taken by the GCPD-“ Read a man standing behind his boss.

In Gotham on nights such like this crime Lords and Ladies gathered in  warehouses as cold as this one to meet, plan and trade. It is not often that a such a big meeting happened. The fear of the bat and general dislike for each other meant that having such meets more often would end up in blood and high bullet bills.

Now that they gathered, they sat together at a round table in the light of lamps, heating the place with their strong light.

Lords of Crime discussing future of their Kingdom. There was no trust between them, but a common enemy that needs to be slayed. So they gathered, to plan.

“Enough!” Screamed one of them, a bald male clad in a grey suit under his jacket. His features were twisted in anger, fury. There was a loud sound as his fist hit the table and resonated through the furniture. “The Bat is at us again, now that Joker is in Arkham! Again!”

And to complain about certain bat themed heroes.

“Not just that” said another “his brats are back in town as well. They are equally bothersome and expensive. Especially the pretty one, however he calls himself now. Batwing?”

“Nightwing, sir.”

„Whatever. He and the rabid robin took down more of my men than the rest combined. Me best lieutenant landed up in bed for months!”

“Sir, the staff said that Ms. Mercedes might never wake up.”

“She better wake up. It's always hell to find good people.”

Another Lord of Crime looked up and spoke. This one in leather jacket, black as charcoal. “Yeah, yeah, the bat is upon us. So what? He was upon us from the start. How many years was it already? 15? And yet we are still here!”

“‘So what?’ Just wait Jessie. Maybe your business is still kicking, but they will get to you eventually! We will see how you will talk then, when you lay in a cell, with no one to bail you!” Paul pointed at Jessie before his hand struck down. Another punch hit the table. “We are losing money here! Because of this fucking Bat, our businesses are going down. So if you aren’t going to cooperate then at least-”

“You aren’t losing money because of heroes. You are losing money because you are weak.” Said the calmest voice in the warehouse. “Money as well as Power.” Everyone looked up, at the dark corner it came from, henchmen instinctively raising their weapons at the spot.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Asked Jessie, his men ready to shoot at a command. The crime Lord fast regretted his words as the figure became illuminated by light. The light was like that of a star, the figure bathing in it, short of a deity.

Just one look at the woman was enough for Jessie to start shaking with fear. Not the normal fear of the Bat, that meant few months in a hospital before his contacts got him out. This was something worse. Much worse. The gorgeous woman before them meant chaos and death and pain. He has only heard rumours, as she, like a Goddess, only showed before ones she had chosen to fulfill her will, or to punish ones who crossed her. If she was merciful, the death would be quick. Otherwise… Jessie started shaking even more, remembering all the stories he has heard.

“Supernova”, said someone, the shock, like a spell, breaking from humans. The henchmen lowered their weapons, fast. The bosses looked at her, sweat trailing down their temples, trying to hide their fear.

The dark skinned being floated down from the corner, her red hair trailing behind, illuminating everything around like the sheer essence of the stars. She was clad in a purple suit that showed the perfection of her body. Perfection no human could ever hope to achieve.

Supernova looked down at them, her eyes green as kryptonite and so much more deadly. “So you know who I am. Good. It will spare me some time.” She smiled, it being more that of satisfaction than happiness. “Now then,” she clasped her hands together “let us go through the important points meeting.” The Goddess's voice cut through the silence. It rippled like a wave, washing over, before the silence came back. No one dared to speak up, to interrupt.

“You all are trapped, between batman and black mask. They both advance faster than you fools can or are willing to react. You had years to take out either, but instead you just sat and let them take more and more from you.” She spread her arms, palms up “Your chance is long gone. Now you all are working for me. Obey and you will be rewarded. Cross me and you will be wishing for death when the bat will lie down at my feet.” Her smile broadened. “Gotham will be ours before end of the year.” She let the words sink into their heads as they looked at each other, many emotions and thoughts passing in between them.

“What about Red Hood?” Asked a small voice, voicing the question they all had. “He will kill us if he finds out.”

“There is no need to worry about him,” she answered “Red Hood is working for me.” The Court looked between each other, failing at discrecy, a single thought shared by them all ‘Shit’. “You are to follow his orders as well as mine.”

“You all will be contacted with instructions shortly,” She turned around “Meanwhile, this meeting has not happened. If I hear even a rumour, I will find the responsible.” With that, she left, rising into the darkness.

There was silence for some time as the Court of Crime made sure that their new Goddess left.

“The bitch is fucking terrifying” Breathed Jessie.

Koriand’r left the warehouse clad in a black cloak that hid her alien features. No matter how many strings were pulled to clear this area from any sentient life, it’s better to be safe than sorry for unwanted attention that will end up in additional cleaning. “Red would surely enjoy the cleaning, driving around and taking out the trash.” She smiled at the thought of him.

The cloak would also hide her from the rain when the Gotham sky decided to let go of every single drop and rain for days or even weeks. Nova looked up at the sky. Not that she could see much in between the roofs, so close to each other, they sometimes seemed to move, closing over pedestrians. The small belt of sky was dark grey instead of the cosmic black, illuminated by lights of the city, hiding even the brightest stars behind clouds and pollution. One could say that the night sky showed the true nature of its city.

Closing to the exit from the alley, Kory reached into her pocket, to take out a small device. It was metallic, with a red red button. She pressed it. And waited.

There was a tap-tap of feet on pavement, closing onto her. Not a pattern that seemed familiar. There was though sound of an engine so-

BAM     clink

Supernova straightened before she looked at the bullet rolling at her feet, the metallic glint barely visible in the dark alley. Her eyes found the shooter. A big bald man with a handgun shaking slightly between his hands, as his victim turned around instead of falling down, dead. The Goddess smiled cruelly at him, her hands alight in purple energy, illuminating the dark alley. A single pair of brown eyes gouged out in terror as he got her full attention. There was a Crack of energy and the shooter was flying back, away from the circle of light and the Goddess’ extended hand. It came to a stop with a dull Thud, it’s legs still visible. She turned around, extinguishing her bolts, darkness swallowing both the body and growing pool of liquid around it.

“I’m afraid you will have to do the kind of cleaning you find ‘unfun’.”

Red Hood didn’t stopped walking, “Nothing like having your own personal clean-up squad, right?” He hauled the body up, red dripping on his black jacket. “If I got a dollar for every body that I had to haul, I could probably pay for someone's college.” Kori smiled at him, “Your experience in the cleaning area is appreciated my friend.” “Streets of Gotham sure teach a lot of useful skills. Like how to steal and hide bodies. Other skills like math and reading are of course unnecessary. Why would anyone need them?” sarcasm seeping in his words, Red Hood turned to Supernova, nodding towards the exit of the alley. “Let us go. I can’t guarantee that someone won’t hijack our transport, and then there will be either more corpses or some citizen will unhappily find their car at the bottom of the bay. Corpses are both more probable and satisfying.” They moved out of the alley, to a beaten, rusty silver car. Or rather grey. It might have been silver once, when it got out of a factory, before it was screwed up by the world it was created in and sent to a place where it could be turned into parts before someone would say ‘I can karate and ninAAAAGH’. Could explain why Red Hood found such a bond with it.

“I see you took Wendy today.” She said, voice disturbed by the THUd of a corpse being thrown into the trunk.

“Yes,” he answered, gloved hands wiping off the fresh blood on a towel he took out from somewhere. “Last time I took Celty. Can’t discriminate. They all need time and care and joyrides.”

They sat into the car, tinted glass hiding them from the world outside. In the relative safety of her own skin and the dark windows, she took of the hood. Koriand’r, the Princess of Tamarean didn’t liked to hide, even if it was necessary.

The engine roared to life, the whole vehicle accelerating forward, as Jason released it’s power with one violent push of his foot. Jason didn’t need to take off his helmet for Kori to know that he was smiling like a madman, enjoying the sound, the speed, the company. He might even start laughing if they suddenly got attacked and got out, riding so fast they posed more danger to themselves than the attackers. ‘It’s the adrenaline Kori.’ Jason tried to explain it to her once. ‘It’s released when humans pull dangerous and deadly stunts. Some people like the feeling so much, they seek out danger. We call it ‘Adrenaline High’.’ According to Jason this ‘adrenaline high’ is why superhero community exists in the first place.

“How is our guest Jason?” She broke the comfortable silence, unfazed by another sharp turn, sure to leave tire marks on the asphalt. Jason flipped a switch on the dashboard, not looking away from the road. A feed from camera started projecting on the glass in front of her. “Another effect of insomnia and his sheer love for Wendy”, she assumed.

“Still asleep.I made sure of it.” True to his words, their guest was very asleep. It was a good thing, as according to the her knowledge on humans (as confirmed by Jason), their specie healed and regenerated faster when asleep. Something about body not having to prioritise other functions. And X’hal knew that he needed it, if all the alien medical equipment he was connected to was any clue.

Kori nodded “Good” She watched a little longer before flipping the switch, feed cutting off. More sharp turns, more rubber grated off.

“Was your ‘stake out’ successful?”

“Oh yes! This time I visited the right people. It still surprises me how much a good reputation, and a loaded gun can help with shopping. In a few days I will have to visit them again to get the new parts for the girls. Or threaten some more. I hate slow reception, especially when I got relatively good ideas for them.”

“What kind of ideas and upgrades made you so excited?”

“Well, for first I was thinking about putting a giant laser pointer on the back so I can blind whoever is chasing me. Then I came to conclusion that I don’t want to have an army of angry cats following me. Dogs, we could hire someone to train and make an army out of them. No one would expect that. But cats? That would be impossible.”

“Don’t act like you would not try to keep them.”

“They would hypnotize me and make me do stuff like feeding and petting them after being violently woken up. Can’t let such dangerous creatures roam our place.”

“These cat beasts always seem to be awfully attracted to you.”

“Probably can smell the death on me.”

The sensations came one after another. Softness on his skin. Lightness of lying down. Dry cotton in his mouth. Killing headache. Scratch it. Killing everywhereache. Killing everywhereache, especially on his cheek, right arm and leg, And this annoying beep beep Beep Beep BEEP.

The man opened his eyes. Then blinked. Again. Nope, still dark and blurry. He closed them, inhaled and tried to remember how co-

Your name is ROY HARPER. A former SUPERHERO turned MERCENARY. You have NO IDEA where you are, why are you STILL ALIVE. Last thing you remember is FIGHTING WITH THE OUTLAWS, a duo of very skilled and dangerous CRIMINALS.

Ah yes. He was probably rescued by someone. A friend? Or some bad guy who finds him more useful alive?

...

Who is he kidding. With his luck it was surely the second thing. Someone kidnapped him to torture him slowly, or to get revenge, or some information that he won’t have. Roy groaned, pulling against something inside his hands, as he raised them to cover his face, as he imagined all the possible scenarios. All of them ended in his death or disfigurement. So who is it? Competition? Someone who was pissed by his existence? Someone having a thing for redheads? “Anyway, it’s better to get these things out”, he decided, grasping to pull out the thin tubes in his arms.

...

…”What?” Came to mind as instead he hoisted himself up and looked around, feeling of disbelief filling him, pushing away the pain from moving his leg. It was dark, the only lighting being a couple of small lights in the ceiling, and light from outside. Even in the weak light the room didn’t looked like a criminal's dungeon or a hospital room, or house of anyone who cared about him (because there are no people like this). It looked more like an hotel room. He let go of the tubes and focused on the interior.

The room was… spacious. And pretty barren, with only the basic furniture. The redhead recognised a desk and a chair on the wall opposite of the bed, right under a pair of light, with the wardrobe on the left. On the right was an entrance. Probably closed. Around the bed there was all the medical machinery he was connected to, giving a weak glow of whatever was inserted into him and multiple graphs and numbers, like his stable pulse (Beep, Beep, Beep). The walls were a combination of grey and darker grey. So the situation didn’t looked so dire. Especially combined with the sight outside GIANT WINDOWS on the left wall. There were three of them, all higher than Roy himself. All showing the same thing. A city covered in lights and life.

...Maybe this time he got taken by someone nice. Or at least okay with leaving all the body parts in place.

The doors opened, letting someone in. Click. The light turned on, making Roy squint and hiss. “Oh good, you're not asleep anymore.”

Roy turned his head, squinting at the newcomer. He couldn’t see details with his eyes adjusting.

“Hello Roy. My name is Jason. I’ve been taking care of you for the last few days so you would not die. Can I sit here with you?”

The voice was that of a guy, very nice and soothing. Roy nodded slowly as the guy- Jason, sat at the edge of the bed, flipping through a clipboard he took out from under his arm. Neither said anything as Roy’s eyes made their blinking party, til he could keep them open for more than half a second. Finally, he looked at the person. Then blinked. And blinked again. It really was a guy. Very tall, with nicely tanned skin, broad shoulders and hair black as the purest coffee, with a poof of milk white hair between his eyes. He was wearing a dark brown T-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans that showed off his defined abs and thighs. “He could probably crush my skull between them��� came a thought.

“So, how are you feeling Roy?” Jason asked, smiling kindly, if not a bit mischievous, his defined cheeks pronounced by it. His eyebrows were bend questioningly, highlighting his beautiful green eyes. Roy blinked. Then felt heat on his cheeks. “Oh no. He’s hot.”, his genius brain supplied.

“Uuuuh...”

[junker-town]

We drafted basketball teams made up of ‘Star Wars’ characters. Which is best?

Was the Force with any of us as we made our picks?

A short time ago in a galaxy very close to here, the Skywalker saga reached its conclusion with the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Episode IX maybe the finale of the series’ third movie trilogy, but it’s far from the end of Star Wars as we know it, thanks to the limitless runway Disney+ offers and the overwhelming desire for nostalgia that is Hollywood today. (Give it a decade before we get the beginning of another movie trilogy). But it still marks a pivotal turning point for those of us invested in the saga.

So to celebrate, five diehard sports and Star Wars fans came together to do something (long pause) truly special: draft a five-man basketball team to take down a crew of alien ballers hiding out in the Unknown Regions.

There will be a substantial reward for the team who defeats these invaders. Managers were free to use any draft methods necessary, but we want this to be a fair fight. No superteams.

So, we laid out some important ground rules:

Only one Force-wielder — i.e. Jedi, Sith, etc — per team.

Only one droid per team. (Though one of the teams doesn’t have a droid).

Each team must possess at least one sentient alien. Unlike the Empire, who looked down on non-humans, we don’t discriminate.

All Star Wars canon can be considered, and by all, we mean all. (No Legends canon, though). Because of that, we made use of lots of characters from the many animated shows, The Mandalorian, and other side projects. We took this very seriously.

We’re building an actual basketball team, so chemistry matters. As the old basketball saying goes, there’s only one thermal detonator.

Those guidelines — particularly the one limiting everyone to just one force user— made for a fascinating draft. Here’s how it played out.

Allow everyone to explain themselves.

The Slamdoshans (Tyson Whiting)

PG: Ahsoka Tano (Force user) SG: L3-37 (droid) SF: General Grievous PF: Bossk (alien) C: Sarlacc COACH: General Armitage Hux

With the guidelines in place for the draft, I wanted to make sure I picked a team with players who would bend the rules as much as possible.

Some might find it “unfair” that I have two lightsaber-wielding players on my team. To be clear, Grievous may have lightsabers, but he is not a Force user. Plus, though he is mostly machine, he is technically of the Kaleesh race, therefore making him an alien pick. (My masters degree in Star Wars is already paying off). His four arms and ability to turn into a weird spider thing has the potential to surprise opposing players.

I was criticized at the time for choosing Ahsoka Tano over a Skywalker as my Force user, but she was trained by Anakin Skywalker, so she knows all his moves. She’s a great leader and showed her craftiness in tight situations during the Clone Wars.

L3-37 and Bossk are my sleeper picks of chaos. L3 will-trash talk you into submission, though I might have a problem with her on Twitter. I picked up Bossk’s nasty 7-foot-tall ass because he will walk through you, hissing and spitting while he does. I also assume he has incredible ball control with those three-finger hands.

So the Sarlacc. I know what you’re thinking: yes, I AM a genius. Sure, he (it?) can’t move, set a pick, or really leave the ground in any way. But stick this bad boy under the net and you’ll never surrender a layup or rebound EVER AGAIN.

Also Coach Hux will hit you so hard with those pregame speeches that you’ll have no choice but to win.

Tosche Station Power Converters (Caroline Darney)

PG: Cassian Andor SG: Lando Calrissian SF: The Mandalorian PF: Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Force user) C: Chewbacca (alien) COACH: Orson Krennic

Look at this perfect squad. Getting Chewbacca with my first-round pick (No. 2 overall) was clutch, and his big frame will dominate in this league. Anakin/Vader was a steal in the fourth round, and this is Rogue One peak-condition Darth Vader. His rage may lead to some bad fouls, but he’s been instructed not to force choke the refs.

I decided to lock down a pair of sharpshooters on the wings in the form of Lando Calrissian (Solo’s Donald Glover version) and the Mandalorian (affectionately known as Mando). They can run off of screens set by either big man (seriously, the screens are going to be so beautiful), and are both catch-and-shoot players. Mando’s inability to take his helmet off could get in the way at times, but his support of Baby Yoda makes it all worth it. Also, imagine the fits Lando will wear walking into the arena before the game. The capes! So many capes and furs!

To bring it all together, I needed the ultimate team player running the point. Enter Rogue One’s Cassian Andor. Quick, resourceful, and full of the intangibles coaches love, Andor is the perfect distributor for this squad. He doesn’t care about personal stats, but he will come through in the clutch if he has to get a last-minute bucket.

I know there may be questions about Director Krennic running the squad, but he’s here solely for the perfect quotes. Just imagine: when the defense is lacking, Krennic can hit them with “Are we blind? Deploy the garrison!” When my team wins the title, you can already hear him saying, “As we stand here amidst MY achievements.” Or, if his job is in question, hitting ownership with “your concerns are hardly warranted.”

But let’s be real. Vader is the player-coach of this team.

Dooku Blue Devils (James Dator)

PG: Yoda (Force user) SG: Greedo (alien) SF: Boba Fett PF: K2-SO (droid) C: Rathtar COACH: Watto

How did they sleep on this roster? The fools. The intergalactic fools. I’ve got Yoda running the point as my Muggsy Bogues-esque hero and distributor. I wanted my Force user touching the ball every single possession, and this was the best way to do it.

From there, I wanted to lock down the paint. I have some big basketball beasts as my enforcers. K2-SO is 7’1, and Rathtar has as astonishing 20-foot wingspan thanks to its tentacles, which will be too much for most teams to overcome.

The secret to my team is Greedo. I needed offense, and everyone knows his love of shooting first. (Editor’s Note: Please strike the end of that sentence from the record). If he needs to be kept in line, I have complete faith in Boba Fett’s “game respect game” bounty hunter familiarity.

Finally, I picked Watto to be my coach because I want a merciless cheater.

Project Harvester (Mike Prada)

PG: Bo-Katan Kryze SG: Sheev Palpatine (Force user) SF: IG-88 (droid) PF: Captain Phasma C: Jabba The Hutt (alien) COACH: Grand Admiral Thrawn

My toughest decision came in the first round. Do I wait on picking my Force user and build up the rest of the team, or do I just bite the bullet and take the most powerful being in the galaxy, personality issues and all? In the end, I gave in to my hate. Talent trumps character.

After that, I couldn’t take any good guys because there’d be obvious philosophical clashes. Jabba’s ego makes him a risky pick, but I’m gambling that he’ll be fine protecting the paint if Palpatine gives him a few post touches. IG-88 and Phasma are quality 3-and-D wings that’ll take on the tough assignments, and Thrawn is a master tactician who has the star’s trust. Point guard was tricky, but Bo-Katan has the versatility to play a secondary role while not being afraid to challenge the star if he steps slightly too far out of line. (I hope she has more respect for Palpatine than she did for Maul in Clone Wars).

Palpatine will take all the shots, which isn’t ideal. But hey, it works for the Rockets.

The Bombads (Russ Oates)

PG: R2-D2 (droid) SG: Rey (Force user) SF: Jar Jar Binks (alien) PF: Cara Dune C: Wampa COACH: Admiral Ackbar R2-D2 is the true hero of the Star Wars saga and always knows what to do in a tight spot. He’d be an excellent floor general on the court. While she is new to the Force, Rey keeps picking up points and has been able to disrupt the First Order’s offense. Cara Dune is a former New Republic shock trooper, so yeah, she’s going to grab all the rebounds. Better watch out for the claws on the Wampa, or you’ll be sorry. Admiral Ackbar can spot a trap by the opposing team.

Y’all can hate on the Jar Jar Binks pick if you want. I’ll accept the creative destruction he will cause on the court.

Which team are you taking to address this looming threat in the Unknown Regions? Vote in the poll below. The winner gets the full bounty. The loser is stuck with a bunch of useless tracking fabs. (Click here if you can’t see the poll).

[amunetred]

Black and Blue

A/N: I’m writing my Leorai week in the form of an ongoing short story.  Be sure to read Black and Blue chapters 1-4.  #blackandblue

Water, our blood.

Air, our breath.

Earth, our body.

And fire, our spirit.

-Unknown

Chapter 5

Fire & Water

An audible snarl ripped me from my memory, our story, like an unwanted page torn from a book.  “That’s not how it happened!”

I peered at him, across the fire between us, the flames dancing in his eyes. The cool blue waters that I’d once gazed in for hours these were hardened like stone.  “It is,” I said. “That was our first date.  I’d remember.  I was there.”

He kicked a log, upsetting the rest, sending a rush of red into the air so high I lost sight of him for a second.

A split second too long, for when the flames quelled, he was gone.

It was stupid of me to close my eyes, to search inward and reach out, to feel him, to know the echo of him was still there.  The Leonardo I knew lived in the shadows, but he was made of light. In this respect Dark Leo and my Leo, were the same yet different.  This shell of him crept into the darkness, away from the dim light of the fire.  His voice taunted me from his hiding place.  “It’s not how the story goes, of the tortoise and the snake.”

A chill settled over my shoulders.  I shivered, rubbing my hands over my arms for warmth… as I sat by a fire.  Internally I groaned.  This is what our lives had come to.  Heatless flames, pools of blue, sunless skies, torn in two.  Moonless nights, blood drenched hands, a city of ashes and no hero to be had.  I exhaled a resigning breath.  “Then tell me how it goes, because it was you that told it to me in the first place.”

The shift in the air behind me was slight, but I felt it. Then the tip of his dagger was against my spine, his mouth to my hair.  “That’s not how the story ends.  The sentient being that granted Xuanwu his divine organs, cast us to the mountains like trash. A price had to be paid for ridding Xuanwu of us.  And we were the ones to pay it.  Demons indeed. After they cast us aside, I burned cities to the ground and you bound twice as many in sheets of ice.  They deserved our wrath, and oh, but our vengeance was glorious—”

He inhaled deep, let out an eerie laugh as he dug the tip in.  I commanded myself to be still as my flesh buckled beneath the pressure.  Would he kill me now?  What madness was he going on about? I wouldn’t ask and didn’t have to as he was more than ready to share. “Then Xuanwu returned to destroy us.”  He withdrew the blade, shifting so the cold metal pressed against the cut he’d given me earlier.  “You were so quick to beg his forgiveness, calling him Father.  But I had a thirst for battle, a hunger to satiate.  For you I feigned my apology.  It worked out well when Xuanwu accepted our repentance, and trained us.  Mmm, and my bloodlust was fulfilled.  We’d earned our place by his side, one we should’ve never been forced to leave.”

His breath became shaky, the blade slipping into the groove of the cut.  My body tensed, as I prepared to lose my arm.  “We’d ascended to the highest honor, stars to shine in an immortal sky, our bodies woven together like a lock and key, guarding the north for eternity.” He applied pressure, the blade lifting the flesh as I sucked in a breath.  “The damn sentient returned though, used that psychic and ripped us apart.  She tossed you to the Light and left me here in the Dark.  And you left me there!  Left me!” He lifted the blade, snatching me up and spinning me around to face him.

His eyes were wild, manic, his teeth bared.  “You left me and you don’t remember! You don’t remember who you are, or the truth, our truth!  You left me and never came back.  And without you I rot.  Still I rot.  And yet—” He lowered the blade to my throat.  “I can’t bring myself to kill you.”

I swallowed, feeling the steel against my windpipe.  “I’m not from your world.  And my Leo, though he destroyed your body and you possessed his, he’s not from your world either.  I don’t know where your version of me is. I never met her, assumed she was dead.  I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His nostrils flared.  “It’s not a myth.  It’s a truth.” His brow furrowed, he shook his head.  “What you call fact, where I’m from, my plane, my reality, is the beginning of all things.  She separated us there, and cast you here.  And you stayed.  Then she had the psychic and ripped through the veil, separating our souls.  My world, our world, your true home, has been dying since you left.  I’ve been dying a slow death that will never come because I’M IMMORTAL!”

I couldn’t breathe.  I could hardly form thoughts.  He was crazy.  My Leo gone, consumed by some demonic version of himself.  I was a fool.  To think I could save him when I was only— But I wasn’t only human.  I was part serpent.

He took a step back, lowering his dagger.  “Do you remember?”

This was madness.