#Colm was so fun to design

[abovesn4kes]

Sadie and some bad folk

[chameleonsallinvermillion]

Nobody look directly at me but I've latched onto @elodieunderglass's Killie like a barnacle and I've been rotating him in my mind. Now that I know he and his siblings did have access to ponies growing up, but probably not one each, I've been experimentally putting these terrible siblings into childhood scenarios based on my own life growing up in the horse world. Non-canon Killie & Siblings(tm) childhood vignettes coming up.

--

Killie and Charlie avoiding people after a huge family row by climbing up onto a stack of haylage bales to hide out. Maybe onto the roof of a barn.

--

All four siblings taking the shared pony out, switching out who gets to ride. The rest follow on bikes with their helmets dangling from the handlebars, because not wearing a helmet on a horse is unthinkable but wearing one on a bike is "silly". Bickering over whose turn is next. Constantly accusing Colm of slowing them down.

--

Killie riding as fast as he can to get help on the shared pony whilst Colm lies groaning on the ground, too badly hurt for even Ciara to think it’s a smart idea to shove him back on the pony and carry him home that way. He’s been sent because he’s fast, brave, and – most importantly – utterly useless if he sticks around. Charlie is sympathetic to Colm’s suffering. Ciara is not.

--

Charlie standing barefoot on the back of the pony whilst it placidly chews hay in its stable so that he can peep into the nest of house martins up in the far corner and see the new-born chicks

--

I imagine the terrible mother to be a lot like the wealthier horse mothers I used to know and therefore to have a box of old Pullein-Thompson and similar pony books tucked away somewhere from her childhood, covers falling off and pages dog-eared, that if not she then her parents will pass on to Ciara at some point. Killie doesn’t really get them (no imagination). Charlie likes the ones where they protect foreign princes from assassins through the power of being horse-children. Colm likes the ones where everyone is nice to each other and organises a gymkhana or something.

--

Teachers at school trying to separate the twins because they think it’s healthier for them to grow apart (also, most of them still can’t tell which is which and it annoys them that Charlie will just lie about it). Both twins doing everything in their power to prevent this.

--

Killie getting hauled up to the headmaster’s office for biting another child.

--

Charlie getting hauled up to the headmaster’s office for biting another child because he didn’t want Killie to be stuck in the isolation room alone and, besides, that child deserved it for making fun of Killie losing his temper.

--

Killie taking a bad fall and riding home with a broken ankle as a child, sitting side-saddle because it hurts less, totally oblivious to the fact that his bones are pointing the wrong way.

--

Getting up in the dark to help do the stable chores before school on a freezing cold winter's morning. Killie and Charlie working together, trading the sledgehammer back and forth, to break the ice on the water trough. Shards of ice flying up and into their eyes. Heaving the broken ice (inches thick) out with sopping wet gloves and numb fingers.

--

Getting taken to the races as children. Having to be on their absolute best behaviour at all times because this is Work. These are your future employers and coworkers. You must impress them. It doesn’t matter that you’re only six years old. You are representing the Family.

--

Charlie, not on a horse, insisting that Killie let him up behind to give him a lift through the river / over the ford / over marshy ground because these are new shoes, Killie, and they’re not meant for that sort of thing, no it’s not silly to have shoes that aren’t designing to wade through mud, most shoes aren’t designed for that, just let him up

--

Having to go such a long way from home just to get to the bus stop to go to secondary school that they ride their bikes and then throw those bikes in a bush to pick up later in the day

--

Collecting conkers by climbing up into the chestnut trees using a horse as a ladder. Getting the smallest person up there to shake the branches whilst everyone else stands underneath with buckets.

--

Eating horse feed as children because someone has decided that they shouldn’t eat between meals but they got hungry and it’s oats, humans can eat oats. Or what? A salt lick? That’s delicious. It’s like a lollipop. Nettles? Nettles are a real food. Sugar beat? That’s basically a snack, right?  

--

Sitting around on a rainy evening (Colm has to sit on the floor, exiled for taking up too much sofa space) watching a horse racing movie (Racing Stripes, National Velvet, etc.) and critiquing it heavily for accuracy

--

Standing on the muck heaps on bitter winter days because the heat from the fermenting manure provides the most wonderful warmth to thaw out your frozen toes

--

Colic nights. Kids in wellington boots and coats hastily thrown on over pyjamas, walking a horse round and round in the rain whilst Pa bullies the vet out of bed to come down at once. Stumbling indoors in the watery dawn light, soaking wet and frozen to the core, with just time enough to grab a mouthful to eat and throw on school uniform before heading out again.

--

Colm dressed in his brothers’ hand-me-downs, until he ends up taller than them and then they get dressed in his hand-me-downs. Waste not, want not.

--

Killie volunteering to go out and do everyone’s least favourite chores on special occasions (Christmas, family birthdays, etc.) in order to get away from any guests or general hubbub in the home

--

The day the farrier comes round to shoe the horses. There are a lot of them at the stables – it’s a full day event. All staff need to be on hand to manage it, children too. It’s a working party. People bring cake. People are getting drunk the longer the day drags on. Watching the farrier at work with his portable forge. I imagine Colm, in particular, is drawn to the idea of being a farrier and blacksmith, though of course he knows that isn’t his role. He watches in awe, though, as a young child, before any tendency towards wonder or whimsy is fully trained out of him. Each of the children getting to keep one of the old shoes – dirty, encrusted with mud, with old nails still sticking out – for luck, but you’re not allowed to nail it to a door because that’s twee and you’re better than that.

--

Watching a horse be put down for the first time. Gruff instructions not to look away, that this is important, that this is part of the job. Different reactions from each of them to seeing their mother do it. No sentimental goodbyes. Ciara mocks Colm for shedding a tear. There is no grave.

--

Thank you for indulging me in this.

[herenvibing]

i’ve been very negative lately so i do actually wanna lay out some of the things i did actually enjoy about cr3

– the art was wonderful, both for the characters and for the fanart reel, shoutout to @/agarthanguide and everyone whose are was featured

– wonderful miniatures and battlemaps with superb camerawork, they’ve really improved in this regard

– s/o to Colm McGuinness, I was really worried that whatever break music was composed wouldn’t be as good Welcome to Wildemount, and while I don’t think it quite surpassed it, Welcome to Marquet is genuinely a fantastic piece of music that sells the setting beautifully.

– Yios is really cool

– First all queer party with numerous genderqueer characters, you love to see it

– It was fun to see Duasad Keef

– I did like the inclusion of characters from previous campaigns, it did a lot to sell the sense of an approaching doomsday even if it was greatly undercut later on

– always nice to see my queen Lieve’tel and to know she’s as horny as ever

– Ballsy to kill off a player character a few episodes in, but I do think it was very effective

– The initial fight with Otohan Thull was terrifying and the stakes and consequences were very real at the time. Laudna’s death and the roundabout way they needed to resurrect her were really emotional and impactful, especially on the part of Laura

– Fearne quokka :3 that was nice

– I’ve said it before but it cannot be said enough times, Robbie Daymond is a fantastic addition to the cast in every way and I sincerely hope he continues to work with CRP in the future

– The initial Dusk reveal was very cool

– I enjoyed hearing Dani Carr screaming in the background at multiple reveals

– FCG’s death was fantastically executed despite the circumstances surrounding it, one of the most beautiful and meaningful moments in the campaign before it was undercut by the flippancy of the characters

– Some great voices and accents this go around, a special shout out to Marisha’s work as Laudna, it’s by far the biggest departure from her own voice in a main campaign and she nailed it.

– The initial moon reveal through the telescope was sick as shit

– It was great going back to Uthodurn!

– Bor’dor Dog’son, great character design and one of the more interesting members of the Ruby Vanguard

– “The worst thing to ever happen to me has already happened” and the, at least concept of someone who is dead and okay with it even if it was, again, totally undermined

– Christian Navarro was a welcome addition to the table and really brought a lot of emotion to his role as FRIDA

– FCG and FRIDA’s existence being a consequence of Devexian’s awakening in CR2 was a really neat piece of worldbuilding and an excellent example of what we mean when we talk about consequences

– Genuinely was so stoked to return to Aeor, it was one of my favorite locales in CR2 and it was such a treat to return

– It was great seeing Essek again, especially from the perspective of people who he doesn’t really care about or value very much. It was a great way to show that he’s fundamentally gotten a lot kinder as a baseline, while still maintaining that pristine bitchiness that was kind of lost from the character towards the end of CR2.

– The new set is really cool, was really nice seeing them branch out with new technology and set dressing. I enjoyed the behind the scenes info we got before the campaign started.

– “Are you dead? What the fuck is up with that?” and “Pussy” still slay me to this day, fantastic delivery from Sam

[qhoaaaa]

Milo with piercings and other features I imagine he has (and some hcs with Sweetheart hebehebeeheb)

Piercings!!/jewelry

He has them Dahlia piercings (lol) look them up they’re so cool

Has piercings on his ears, a few studs as well as a nose ring

Definitely buys different kinds of earrings and stuff to decorate his ears depending on the event

Brow piercing, especially on the right brow UGHH

They’re all gold colored, he also has some regular silver and black, has a few green colored studs as well

He’s gotta own a few gold chains (as a gold chain haver myself lmao), he keeps them in good condition

Sweetheart got him one as a gift and he teared up, kept asking them how much it was and they only said for him to not worry about it(it was expensive) - he wears it everyday and night and even in the shower

His neck sometimes gets nipped by the metal and when Sweetheart sees him bring a hand to rub at it, they ask, "Why don't you take it off?" And he says, "Eh, I don't wanna... it's from you, sure as hell I'm not gonna take it off."

Features:

Symmetrical beauty marks under his eyes (Sweetheart absolutely LOVESSS them, kisses his eyes a lot because of them), and on his cheeks too (genetics are INSANEEE)

Sharp canines,,, yesssss

Few patterned beauty marks on his shoulders

Most of his skin is just bare and smooth but Sweetheart loves when they see his beauty marks on his shoulders or his face when he’s taking a shirt off or resting

His back has a few long scars from sparring with the other wolves when he was younger, he didn’t want them healed fully, let them scar as a learning experience, Milo lets Sweetheart massage them or put a balm on them so the tissue doesn’t get weird, he feels all mushy (in a good way) when Sweetheart unexpectedly kisses down his scars (he makes sure to tell him it feels good too AWGWGW)

Really REALLY soft hands

Light chest hair (HSBSHS WORK WITH ME OKAY LET ME COOK)

Chest tattoo, it’s a singular design he made up himself (drew it and everything), it’s probably a symbol that’s important to him/his mother and his way to honor her, he has accompanying designs on his fingers

Tattoo of Sweetheart’s name on his nape (tell me that this wouldn’t look nice,, I’ll wait)

(Off topic but I saw a post where Marie and Colm have tattoos of Milo’s first paw prints of when he shifted for the first time and he would def do the same if he and Sweetheart have kids)

He and Sweetheart get ring tattoos on their ring fingers when discussing getting rings (I love that audio), they wear the actual rings on their thumbs

My personal opinion but he would not have grills ❌❌ (never liked those but to each their own !)

He has golden eyes (all wolves do and it’s just a variety of shades but his are golden golden and they’re so pretty, he wears brown contacts/Unempowereds see brown to cover the color)

Sweetheart has smile lines, they popped up after meeting and getting with Milo, Milo ADORES them

They used to hide their smile before meeting Milo, needless to say, they smile widely now, teeth and all and its the cutest to him, seeing that smile is how Milo knows that they're comfortable and relaxed and having fun

Theyre at least 6'3 , buff and curves THEY GOT IT ALL

Sweetheart works out at the gym semi regularly and Milo practically drools when he sees them and their muscles , they have long legs(LEG MUSCLES TOO) and he's all over them

Sweetheart loves his arms, no reason, they just do

They like to feel up and down his upper arms and his shoulders, he likes the touch

He has super curly black hair, got it from his mom (we love you Mama Greer) while most of his sisters have straight/wavy hair like their dad, no facial hair

He’s just reaaaaaalllllyyyty hot in general ouughhhhh 🫣🫣🫣

[olliethecat13]

I NEVER POSTED MY WARRIOR CATIFIED RDR2 DESIGNS. OR SPOKE ABOUT MY FIC FOR THEM 💀

Dutch, Arthur, John

Molly, Hosea, Sean

the unnamed johnigail daughter, Jack, and abigail/sadie (I merged them)

Annabelle (Jewel), Isaac, Eliza

Micah, Colm, Mary

There's a lot more to come but I just haven't gotten around to them lol. I've been making a little uhh... fic surrounding them I changed a TON of stuff. The plot obviously, kind of warrior catified it and some changes just came along. Charles will be next & the rest of the supporting gang members will be drawn... eventually.

Notable changes:

Redrabbit & Harepoppy (Sean & Molly) are siblings! And Red/Sean is older than Stag/Arthur. Was his mentor.

Sadie and Abigail are merged, as Addergale (get it. Adler-gail). Nothing against either of them I love them dearly but I felt it'd be fun to have a character who could be John/Wolf's love interest but also Stag/Arthur's best friend.

Stag/Arthur has lung cancer instead of TB. I had this idea that instead of the Downes & the bank robbery which kills Hosea, there's going to be a huge fight with the 'pinkertons' (Skyclan) & the 'o'driscolls' (Windclan) join in as a show stopper. Theres a lighting strike which sets the battlefield on fire, which gives WC & SKC the upper hand, taking Slate/Hosea hostage & giving Badger/Dutch a chance to back down- He hesitates, and they kill Slate/Hosea 😋

To show how Dutch/Badger always preached "Revenge was a fool's game", yet didn't follow it & taught this to his sons, Stag/Arthur bolts after the killer of Slate/Hosea, who goes down a Windclan tunnel or a rabbit hole (have not decided) which has been filled with smoke from the fire. Stag/Arthur kills him, and in turn signs his death warrent.

There's a lot more, but you'll have to read the full fic to find out :] Have so much planned. It's called Warriors: Severance (meaning the severing of a relationship... I wonder what that could entail.) and it's posted on my other blog (warriorsseverance) or on ao3. I try 2 post every 2 weeks!

AO3 LINK

[pycth]

I know it’s been a week, but I’d love to hear about this fun Family Therapy WIP you’re working on! I hope you’re having a grand day! 💕

-Lexi Sun ☀️

I’ve been excited to answer this one 👀 Thank youu, Lexi, and I hope you are too<33

So Family Therapy is actually gonna be my designs for some of the parents in the Redactedverse. The more mainly known ones that is, the ones mentioned more often— Marie & Colm, Gabe, Sofia, Huxley’s moms (I know I already kinda did them, but I mean like an actual concept this time). I’m gonna try my hand at Lasko’s parents too, I’ve got a specific headcanon in the works for the Moore’s.

I’ll also be showing the older brother of both my Coworker and Baaabe in their respective stories, Scott.

(I’ll probably put out a poll when the time comes on these to see who y’all would want first)

[kittycat0419]

New Story Time!!!

I’m working on a new story!! Here is some basic Information on it!! (this was on twit but it’s a shit show so it’s getting moved over here lol)

It’s going to be called The World of Fae, more info below. If you have questions, please ask!!

The basic story overview for The World of Fae, everything natural in this world is run by the fae in the background, so small and quick most humans can't see them. To make sure things get done in a timely manner, a head for each kind of fae was assigned early on in their time on this planet. The head fae will have group meetings at certain intervals, usually a week or so before season change, to make sure that everyone sticks to their tasks and will have their underlings do the same. Not all head fae have to come to every season meeting, for example, Neve and Oighear only need to come to the winter and spring meetings and aren't required in the summer and fall ones unless they wish to come. The head fae have 2 different forms, one is a small classic fairy while the other is closer to a human (designs below). The head fae will often interact with eachother outside of the meetings as well, either to do their job or just for fun. All head faes, minus Flann and Kira, are poly and will date the other faes (minus a few exceptions such as the cases of siblings).

basic information on the head fae

the head of the heads and leader of the sky fae Name: Neven  Gender: non-binary Pronouns: they/them Height: 5'9 Pet: a dove named Colm Body age: 30's

The head of the cloud fae Name: Neil Gender: male Pronouns: he/him  Height: 6'9 Pet: a rabbit named Coinín Body age: 28-31

Head of the star fae Name: Kira Gender: female Pronouns: she/her Height: 6'2 Pet: a galaxy cat named Réaltra Body age: early 20's

Head of the rain fae Name: Brennan Gender: male Pronouns: he/they  Height: 5'9 Pet: a crow named Préachán Body age: 23

Head of the snow fae Name: Neve Gender: non-binary Pronouns: they/them Height: 4'7 Pet: a polar bear named Bán Body age: 18

Head of the wind fae Name: Bebhail Gender: female Pronouns: she/her Height: 5'7 Pet: a wood thrush named Adhmaid Body age: 20

Head of the plant fae Name: Dara Gender: non-binary Pronouns: she/they Height: 4'9 Pet: an owl named Ulchabhán Body age: mid 20's

Head of the animal fae Name: Phelan Gender: male Pronouns: he/she Height: 6'5 Pet: a wolf named Búraló Body age: mid 20's-early 30's

Head of the water fae Name: Braon Gender: male Pronouns: he/him Height: 5'8 Pet: a fox named Sionnach  Body age: 30's

Head of the rock fae Name: Callen Gender: female Pronouns: she/her  Height: 6'4.5 Pet: a lion named Leon Body age: 18

Head of the iron fae Name: Eirnin Gender: female Pronouns: she/her Height: 6'4 Pet: a dragon named Dragan Body age: 32

Head of the fire fae Name: Ruaidhri Gender: male Pronouns: he/him Height: 6'0 Pet: a ram named Caoirigh Body age: mid 20's

Head of the ice fae Name: Oighear Gender: non-binary Pronouns: they/them Height: 5'0 Pet: a penguin named Piongain Body age: mid 30's

Head of the lava fae Name: Laibhe Gender: non-binary Pronouns: they/them Height: 5'4 Pet: a tiger salamander named Tíogair Body age: early 30's

Head of the rainbow fae Name: Keeva Gender: non-binary Pronouns: any Height: 5'7 Pet: a peacock named Péacóg Body age: anywhere from early 20's to mid 40's

Head of the sun fae Name: Aine Gender: female Pronouns: she/her Height: 5'10 Pet: a swan named Eala Body age: late 30's early 40's

Head of the moon fae Name: Aisling Gender: male Pronouns: he/him Height: 5'10 Pet: raven named Fitheach Body age: late 30's to early 40's

Head of the lightning fae Name: Mellan Gender: non-binary Pronouns: they/she Height: 5'9 Pet: a pheonix named Feinics Body age: 18-20

Head of the flower fae Name: Róisín Gender: non-binary Pronouns: any Height: 4'6 Pet: ladybug named Banbhóg Body age: 30's

Head of the sea fae Name: Muirin Gender: non-binary Pronouns: they/them Height: 5'9 Pet: a manatee named Muirmil Body age: 20-30

Head of the blood fae Name: Flann Gender: non-binary Pronouns: they/them Height: 5'7 Pet: a hummingbird named Colmán Body age: early 20's

Head of the death fae Name: Morrigan Height: 5'5 Gender: non-binary Pronouns: they/them Pet: a hyena named Hiena Body age: early 20's

Head of the life fae Name: Aksana Gender: male Pronouns: he/him Height: 4'7 Pet: snake named Ouroboros Body age: mid 20's

Head of the mushroom fae Name: Kinoko Gender: non-binary Pronouns: they/them Height: 5'11 Pet: a vulture named Deascadóir Body age: 20's

[starlingsrps]

lt. roman joseph murphy, twenty eight, flight engineer

the only person who hates the english more despite being surrounded by them is sidney halstead but roman has generational trauma on his side.

roman is first generation irish-american. his parents, colm and kathleen, both came over with their families as teenagers to settle in new york city. they lived a block over from each other in chelsea and met when colm was tutoring kathleen’s idiot brother joe in history.

joe still isn’t sure who alexander hamilton is but colm and kathy have been married for thirty years, so at least some good came out of it. colm teaches history at collegiate and kathy does alterations and tailoring out of what was roman’s room.

roman and his older brother, robert, were raised among family in chelsea and tagged along with their father to collegiate. the free tuition for faculty members meant that they got great educations and low tolerance for fancy bullshit. roman’s always been decent at faking it to keep peace but he’ll be damned if he was going to be best friends with someone named chauncey.

rob prefers to work with his hands and now works as a supervisor at hudson yards. he lost his left pinky in ‘36, is 4F, and sends lovely brotherly letters about how it sucks to be roman. david hatcher is not impressive to roman in terms of womanizing because he knows rob.

roman has always had a curious mind and while he enjoyed history for the stories, his brain was more mechanical and if he could take it apart and put it back together, he was happy as a clam. after collegiate, he studied mechanical engineering at rutgers and went to work for the city of new york after graduation. he fully expected to spend his life climbing the ladder of bureaucracy and designing bridges but here he is instead!

like every other man he knew - except rob who said he’d comfort the ladies while they were gone - roman enlisted in the army when the war started. after basic, he went through more specialized training and discovered that what he really loves is airplanes. he’s fresh off six months at ridgewell as crew chief - the bigger the bird, the bigger the challenge, and the more he enjoys it. he was transferred to thorpe abbotts to be flight engineer for the jackal’s nest and, while the name does not make sense to him, he’s having the time of his life.

minus the stress and daily life or death situations but details!

roman was born to be a jackal: he’s a yapper, he’s a loverboy, he’s a hater, his last words will probably be “hold my beer”. he fits in fine but there are times when he still feels like a new kid. he figures he’ll catch up eventually.

roman is a sentimentalist - things mean a lot to him. he takes his friendships and relationships seriously and is a dedicated and loyal friend. he saves everything - he takes pictures and saves letters because those memories mean a lot. obviously, it’s all in his head too but he likes to have pieces and evidence. he thinks highly of the people he loves to the point of maybe idealizing them a bit too much but he’s also very ride or die. like whose car are they gonna take?

to sandwich the passionate energy, he is steady and trustworthy. he has a logical mind, even if it can lean towards looking like a bag of cats. it’ll all make sense eventually. when they’re on a mission, roman’s mind is fully focused and he takes keeping them in the air as seriously as a heart attack. he kind of has to. he does actually know when he’s supposed to behave.

and then he can also be a being of pure chaos. roman is pretty mischievous in that he likes to joke and have fun. if there’s a bet going on, he wants in or if there’s a prank, he wants to know about it. while he takes his work seriously, time away from the plane is time for him. he has a lot of ideas and the mechanical knowledge to see what the hell happens if he puts them in action.

yapper. hater. chaos goblin. now someone just needs to love him so he can have all the jackal traits.

[averysexyleon]

12, 13 & 30 for the asks!

12, 13 & 30

Favorite music genres-- Oh boy uhhh. This is a hard one. Genres? I listen to a lot of soundtracks, I love Hans Zimmer. I also love Akira Yamaoka and Nobou Uematsu. I listen to what you could call downbeat EDM or dystopian music…really chill stuff like Lorn, and rock-based like Gunship. One of my favorites in that genre is "the test" by the chemical brothers. Aaaaaand last, I will include 'folk' music from all places. Wardruna is a big fave, so is Garmarna, but more or less if it's folk, I will listen. To both Eastern and Western. I'm like that scene in True Blood where Bill is in the car listening to Tuvan throat singing and Sookie is just staring at him. LOOOLL. Been listening to Dead can Dance for 20 years and they kind of fill the gap, mixing a lot of sounds you don't hear together otherwise. Actually a lot of WATB was written listening to Colm McGuinness' covers of folk songs because his deep voice reminds me of Karl. Dream place to visit-- Probably the Faroe Islands. I should have gone when I was younger and traveling the world since things are so expensive now that's the only thing holding me back, but I'll go one day I'm sure. Hobbies-- Well, I write (lol) and that's about the only one I've been doing with any fervor in a year. I also paint though, I love painting facial expressions so mostly I do portraits. I also perform and create costumes for Wasteland, as I'm VERYYYYYY into the apocalypse. So a lot of leather, metal, rust, dirt, blood. My spouse and I have a post apoc car as well, it's a beetle and it's amazing, its name is Ymir and it's a convertible covered in rust that barely looks like a VW anymore hahaha. I love costuming and most of all, costume design. Sometimes making the actual outfits is way less fun than the concept art LOL. I guess you'd call mycology a hobby since I've been very into that for years, as well as studying the brain and neuroscience. I will be in my third year of electrical school this year, wahoo! and I love studying the science behind all of that. You can see why I like writing Karl.

As always thank you for asking!

[four-loose-screws]

FE8 Novelization Translation: Book 2 - Front Cover & Other Introductory Pages

Yup, you read that right! It’s time for book 2 already!

And here’s the big announcement - I recalculated the number of parts I’m going to split the chapters into, so I don’t have to take a break in-between books 1 and 2! Some chapters have more scene breaks than others, so it was an easy thing to do without compromising pacing at all.

Let’s get started!!

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Book 2

Written by TAKASE Mie

Illustrated by SUZUKI Rika

Published by Square Enix

(inside flap)

Author

TAKASE Mie

TAKASE Mie was born on July 31st in Tokyo. She graduated from Waseda University. Her recent hobby is the cello, which she was inspired to start learning after watching a certain sailing movie. Though she has dreams of one day being able to play Bach’s cello suites, she still has a hard time with even basic scales.

Cover and Obi Design: atelier THiRD

Princess Eirika vowed to rebuild her home country of Renais, gained the help of their ally nation Frelia, and started to fight back. As her army marches, she crosses paths with all sorts of people, and grows her group of allies. Finally, they make it to Renvall Castle, a critical strategic location for the Grado Army, and attack it. During the battle, she succeeds in reuniting with her elder twin brother Ephraim, who disappeared on the front lines. However, after having only a moment to confirm each other’s safety, Ephraim states that he will march to Grado Castle. Eirika volunteers to travel to the Theocracy of Rausten to support him, but then...

(inside flap)

Illustrator

SUZUKI Rika

SUZUKI Rika currently lives in Yokohama. She is a freelance illustrator who has contributed to titles such as the Monster Collection TCG (published by Fujimi Shobo) and Angels of Dawn (written by KAYATA Sunako and published by Chuokoron-Shinsha, Inc.). She also created the manga Tableau Gate - Volumes 1 & 2 (published by Kadokawa Shoten).

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Book 1

Written by TAKASE Mie

Illustrated by SUZUKI Rika

Table of Contents

Chapter 11: Caer Pelyn                                                                                           

Chapter 12: The Wyvern Rider’s Wrath

Chapter 13: The Desert Palace

Chapter 14: Reunion

Chapter 15: The Day the Empire Fell

Chapter 16: Repatriation

Chapter 17: The Demon King’s Shadow

Chapter 18: Encroaching Trap

Chapter 19: Night in Rausten

Chapter 20: The Lord of the Darkling Woods

Chapter 21: The Continent’s Wrath

Character Introductions    

Eirika

The Princess of Renais. She is kind, and does not like war itself, but still dedicated herself to the current war without hesitation to retake her country, a goal entrusted to her by her father, the king.

Fado

The king of the Kingdom of Renais. In his youth, he was renowned for his military prowess, and he is adored by his people as an honest statesman.

Seth

Though he is the youngest of all Renais’ generals, his loyalty and superb skills in both combat and discernment make him the ideal image of a knight.

Franz

He may have just only become a full-fledged knight, but he has a very serious and earnest personality, and is skilled in combat as well, ensuring him a promising future.

Valter

A general of the Grado Empire also known as the Moonstone. He was discharged from the army for the crime of massacring ordinary citizens for fun. However...

Gilliam

A devoted knight of Frelia with a long history as a fearless soldier. He is a man of few words, but his power is known throughout the entire Frelian Army.

Tana

The princess of the Kingdom of Frelia. In contrast to her friendly personality that is beloved by all of her retainers and servants, she also has military experience, and is an active member of the pegasus knight unit.

Hayden

The king of the Kingdom of Frelia. His resourcefulness is unparalleled, and has earned him the title “The Wise King.” He is a long time friend of Fado’s and spares no effort in aiding Eirika and her allies.

Vanessa

An outstanding knight, even among the prided Frelian pegasus knights. She is very serious, but kind.

Moulder

A priest. Within his calm appearance lies a very intelligent mind. He can not only heal with staves, but is also knowledgeable in medicine.

Selena

A mage general of Grado, also known as the Fluorspar. One of the empire’s three generals. She has vowed her undying loyalty to Emperor Vigarde.

Ross

A boy living in Ide Village in Renais. He is saved by Eirika and her allies when his home is attacked by bandits.

Garcia

Ross’ father. A former troop commander in the Renais’ army known for his dauntless courage. When his wife passed away, he retired from the army to raise his son.

Neimi

A girl born in Lark Village in Renais. Her home was burned down by bandits. She cries easily, but undoubtedly inherited her grandfather’s famous skills with a bow.

Colm

Neimi’s childhood friend. They were the only two to survive the bandit attack on their hometown. He has sticky fingers, but is kind to Neimi.

Artur

He meets Eirika and the others while carrying out the orders given to him by his monastery to purge the lands of monsters. He has a deep love of learning and is a devoted monk.

Lute

Artur’s childhood friend. Though it is true that she is an exceptionally skilled mage, the words and actions she chooses as a result of her confidence in that fact are a bit detached from reality.

L’Arachel

A young woman with a strong sense of justice on a continuing journey to take out the monsters roaming the lands. She actually appears to be of noble standing based upon the way her companions talk to and act around her.

Dozla

A warrior traveling with L’Arachel. He cannot hide the fact that he is her loyal retainer, though perhaps it is more accurate to say that he is not really trying. He’s not one to sweat the small stuff.

Rennac

He is actually a master thief, and just under contract with L’Arachel, but all she does is drag him around everywhere.

Natasha

A cleric being pursued by the Grado Army because she was deemed a traitor. She asks to travel with Eirika so she can spread the word to other nations about the strange things occurring within the empire. 

Joshua

A skilled mercenary who loves to gamble above all else. He becomes Eirika’s ally after losing a bet with Natasha.

Ephraim

The prince of Renais and Eirika’s older twin brother. He is blessed with a strong sense of justice and decisiveness. He also excels in spearmanship, and his skills are highly respected by the cavalier unit.

Kyle

A loyal retainer who has served Ephraim ever since he joined the cavalier unit. An exceptional knight who’s skilled in serving as a guard.

Forde

Like Kyle, he serves Ephraim as both a guard and close confidant. He and Kyle have been rivals since they were young. He is also Franz’s older brother.

Orson

The commanding officer of the Renais cavalier unit. He is a devoted cavalier who has served the royal family for years, and that King Fado trusts deeply, however...

Innes

The prince of The Kingdom of Frelia. He always has a strong sense of duty towards his role as a member of the royal family. He is extremely confident in himself, and has the strength and abilities to back it up.

Myrrh

A girl who is neither human nor monster, but a member of the dragon tribe. She leaves The Darkling Woods to tell the humans about the abnormalities occurring across the continent.

Amelia

A girl who became a soldier because of her respect for General Duessel. However, she feels lost when she learns that he opposes the war.

Gerik

The brave leader of a band of mercenaries. He joins Eirika’s army because Prince Innes hired him as his guard.

Tethys

A dancer whose bewitching dances attract the soldiers around her and heighten their morale. Once she joined Gerik’s Mercenaries, she became an indispensable member of the group.

Marisa

A female mercenary is rare enough, but her beauty and skills make her even more of a diamond in the rough. She is registered in the guild as a member of the same mercenary group as Gerik.

Ewan

Tethys’ little brother. He aspires to become a mage, and convinced a renowned sage to become his teacher. He is at the age where he cannot help but want to be treated as his own person.

Saleh

The sage of Caer Pelyn, and the only person of this age to associate with those of the dragon tribe. His abilities are very widely known. He is also Ewan’s teacher.

Glen

A general of the Grado Empire who is also known as the Sunstone. One of the empire’s three generals. He also questions the current war…

Cormag

A dragon knight of Grado. Glen’s younger brother. He trusts and respects his brother completely, but after a certain event happens, he leaves the Grado Army.

Lyon

The prince of the Grado Empire. He has been a friend of Eirika and Ephraim’s for many  years. His research into dark magic has made him even more knowledgeable in magic than the palace mages.

Ismaire

The beautiful queen of the Kingdom of Jehanna, known as “The Queen of White Dunes.” She has gained the overwhelming support of the people for her accomplishments in running the country since her husband’s passing.

Duessel

A general of the Grado Empire with the title “Obsidian.” One of the Three Imperial Generals. Though he has been accused of being a traitor, he is working together with Ephraim to warn the emperor of the error of his ways.

Knoll

A palace mage of the Grado Empire who studied dark magic alongside Lyon. He is one of the few people who knows the reason why the emperor, once known for his virtue, changed so drastically.

Caellach

A general of Grado known as the “Tiger Eye.” He started out as a mere mercenary, and rose up to his current position, but he is an ambitious person who wishes to rise even higher.

Vigarde

The emperor of the Grado Empire. He is beloved for his virtuous ways, including opening up the national treasury to the people in times of disaster. However, ever since that fateful day, his personality has changed completely, and he began the invasion all of the countries across the continent of Magvel...

Syrene

The commander of Frelia’s third unit of pegasus knights. She is Vanessa’s elder sister by blood, but Tana also looks up to her like an elder sister.

Mansel

The Pontifex who rules over the Theocracy of Rausten. Known for being highly educated and devoted to his beliefs, he is worshiped by the deeply devoted people as the representative of the gods.

Riev

A mage general of the Grado Empire known as the “Blood Beryl.” Ever since he learned the reason for the emperor’s change, he has served the emperor to support his dark ambitions.

[thegreaterlink]

Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S1E6 "Lonely Among Us"

Haha amogus yes haha memes.

Now that's out of the way, let's get on with the review.

THE PREMISE

The Enterprise is transporting the Selay and Antican delegates to an interplanetary conference.

After encountering a mysterious energy cloud, one-by-one each of the crew begin acting strangely and experiencing memory blackouts as an unknown energy passes between them. The ship's engines suddenly cease to function, and it's determined that the cause was sabotage.

But who is responsible? And what is causing the crew to act so strangely? The game's afoot!

MY REVIEW

The Selay and Anticans are a definite step-up in alien design from the Betazoids, although that's a very low bar to clear. The Selay (basically humanoid snake people) are definitely the standouts from a visual standpoint. However, the delegates don't really do anything aside from bickering with the crew and occasionally bringing up their strange cultures.

Like "The Last Outpost", the concept is interesting but the episode is bogged down by a slow pace and some scenes which don't seem to serve any purpose aside from padding the runtime. If you want to see a Star Trek whodunnit, then I'd recommend The Undiscovered Country instead.

Interestingly, this episode was written by DC Fontana, responsible for working on a number of excellent TOS episodes such as “Charlie X”, “This Side of Paradise” and even "The City on the Edge of Forever." Unfortunately her writing isn’t nearly as strong here.

This episode is at least noteworthy for featuring the second Trek appearance of Colm Meaney, credited here as ‘First Security Officer’, who would go on to play Miles O’Brien in future episodes of TNG and later as a regular character on Deep Space Nine.

Probably the most interesting character in this episode is Data, who starts acting like Sherlock Holmes in an effort to better solve the mystery, something which I'm told will come back later. Brent Spiner has fun puffing away at a pipe and spouting deductions (that'll come back later), although the mystery’s actual resolution is pretty anticlimactic.

If it sounds like I’m struggling to find things to talk about in this episode, it’s because I am - this episode is just forgettable, to be honest. Even Wesley Crusher doesn’t really do anything to irritate me, aside from looking ridiculous sitting on the bridge in his cardigan.

5/10 - Doesn’t leave much of an impact.

Previous Episode | TNG Masterpost | Next Episode

[carbootsoul]

erika+ephriam+lyon for ask game 👀? and a witch hat character of your choosing if you like as well :3v

omg clint you're spoiling me :) also this is mostly unrelated but i was listening to kat flint today and a) her music is so good thank u for introducing it to me years ago and b) VERY witch hat atelier vibes which was fun. im putting my answers under a cut bc i am sooo verbose about characters

eirika: a song that reminds me of them: this is just the first that came to mind but oh what a world by rufus wainwright! oh what a world my parents gave me / always traveling but not in love. the rly interesting mix of idealism and pragmatism that she embodies- both being in awe of and in love with the world and the people in it but also not hesitating to accept that they are in a war and the tragedies that come with it what they smell like: i think for most of the game she smells like sweat and dirt an otp: eirika and l'arachel is actually the best ship in the whole entire world they're sooo funny. they keep meeting and every time eirika is like ???? and l'arachel is just falling head over heels in love a notp: eirika and lyon romance honestly very textually relevant in the game and adds to the story and whatever but they're both so absolutely homosexual that i can't conceptualize it favorite platonic/familial relationships: eirika and ephraim 🥺🥺 but also eirika and seth he's such a good big brother figure!! but also eirika and colm and eirika and tana and eirika and lyon. it's like.. rag tag army as family.. a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that i disagree with: there are like two posts about her on tumblr dot com but her fire emblem heroes characterization makes me insane shut up about your brother shut up about your brother the position they sleep in: on her side one leg curled to her chest

ephraim a song that reminds me of them: omg lies by marina abt his relationship with lyon. you're too proud to say that you made a mistake / you're a coward till the end i really wish we had been able to see more of ephraims reaction to the true story of what happened with lyon, since he obviously forgives him but also seems to be angry about it and that's such a good dynamic. also oc can't let you go / i just want it to be perfect / to believe it's all been worth the fight. they make me... ugh what they smell like: he has also been living in tents for months so he probably also smells like horses and sweat an otp: ephraim and lyon do get to me... 🥺 also he and innes as a like teenage fling is hilarious to me they're so funny to each other i can't believe they don't have supports a notp: if i ever see another incest joke i'm killing someone favorite platonic/familial relationships: he and his sister are so good!! they're so siblings! a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that i disagree with: again i have never rly interacted with the fe fandom but something from canon i disagree with is the assignment of the sun to him and the moon to his sister he is so obviously the lunar twin im furious abt this the position they sleep in: absolutely sprawled out. he takes up as much space as is given to him

lyon a song that reminds me of them: ache with me by against me just happened to be playing rn but it's very him. do you share the same sense of defeat / have you realized all the things you'll never be / ideals turn to resentment, open minds close up with cynicism / i've got no judgement for you / come on and ache with me. what they smell like: roses but in a fucked up revolutionary girl utena way like the roses symbolize something sinister an otp: lyon and ephraim.. admittedly lyon is kind of carrying why this ship is compelling with his tragic backstory but ephraim is such a boy so he's important too a notp: see eirika :/ favorite platonic/familial relationships: he and eirika and ephraim as a unit are so important to me they are so [unintelligible] a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that i disagree with: i haven't rly seen this much but i guess any tendency to soft-boy him bc of his character design like this guy sucks a lot and he has a lot of flaws that almost ended the world :/ the position they sleep in: hugging a pillow

and for the wha character.. agott bc she's so girl :) a song that reminds me of them: pretty little things by the crane wives! but trust is now something i make people earn / so i'm not inclined to just give it away / to a pair of blue eyes with some nice things to say what they smell like: grass in the best way possible! an otp: she and coco are SO !! im in love with them. sasunaru dynamic but better in every way. all the panels of coco hugging or complimenting agott and agott blushing furiously are the new wonders of the world. shipping kids in media always feels a little weird but i think they're a rly cute like first crush dynamic a notp: i dont think she's been shipped with anyone else lol favorite platonic/familial relationships: agott and olruggio are rly interesting to me! i've probably just drawn lines between them because they're both grumpy but i could definitely see agott becoming for coco what olruggio is for qifrey and i love when children are friends with their adult narrative foil it's about helping the younger generation overcome the things that they couldn't! it's also about olruggio being able to connect with agott because they're both grumpy :) a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that i disagree with: not a headcanon bc again the fandom is tiny but so much of her tag is ppl being mean to her about what she did in the second (?) volume like yeah that was mean but she's like 12! 12 year olds do fucked up stuff all the time they're still learning what interpersonal relationships are the position they sleep in: on her stomach clutching her pillow a crossover au i’d love to see them in: anything that would allow her to say swear words my favorite outfit they’ve ever worn: the like single panel where tetia is getting mad at her about not liking wearing costumes and it shows her dressed as a prince! she looks so good

djskflj i feel like i wrote a novel about each of them and tbh i do not know if u will make any sense out of it but thank u for sending this it was super fun to think about them for a while!!!

[slumberinglabyrinth]

A fun game to play is asking “How many main/secondary characters from a given fire emblem game can you remove (redistributing their role(s)/action(s) to other characters if needed) before the game’s plot either diverges too heavily from what it was, becomes needlessly contrived, or can’t happen at all” because it gives insight into the roles they play and into the overall narrative design process (since adding characters is a deliberate change on a order of magnitude greater than just assigning those roles to existing characters)

There are some obvious choices like Echoes’ original characters, but let’s look at Seth as an example.

Seth is a secondary/supporting character. He’s present during the entire game, is Eirika’s babysitter, but most of the things he does are minor.

Probably the most notable Seth Action that could be cut out without changing the plot would be helping Eirika escape Renais. Him taking a blow from Valter, it just being the two of them for the prologue and the start of Chapter 1, and them barely escaping on time adds to the tension of earlygame, but is there anything stopping Eirika from escaping on her own? If she grabbed a random horse to flee, narrowly dodged Valter’s attack, and lost her horse during the prologue map because it’s not one she’s used to (and one that’s not used to her), would the sequence of events be any different aside from it lacking Seth and some narrative tension (which is made up for by her being Completely Alone)? Valter could (and would!) decide to mess with Eirika and not pursue because he’s absolutely the kind of villain who would want to toy with his prey, the horse would explain how Eirika covers enough distance in enough time to actually escape, and her losing the unfamiliar horse because it freaked out isn’t outside of the realm of possibility and would also serve to explain why she’s unmounted and increase the tension of that sequence.

The only thing that’s even remotely contrived about that alternative sequence is Valter not landing a hit, but even that could be chalked up to Valter wanting to ‘have fun’. If we choose to have him land a hit instead and she takes damage during that cutscene, in-game it could say he’s wielding like. an iron lance or some other weaksauce weapon, which he’s, again, using to toy with her (incidentally, this could which in turn could be used for Eirika to springboard into telling the player about the weapon triangle (”I had trouble with that Lance user, but I should fare better against these Axe users!”) should and having her be the Heal Your Units before they die tutorial instead of Seth).

Similar minor changes can be used to explain away the other things he had done.

Eirika wasn’t willing to hunt down Colm after he stole her bracelet thing because saving her brother came first. You could have her choose to pursue upon learning from the locals that there’s a whole group of bandits in the area (which was the tipping point for her in the original game; Seth had simply been the one to ask the locals, not Eirika or Franz or whoever) or from Neimi’s appeal to save her childhood “friend” who went to the bandits’ hideout to fight them or steal stuff or whatever (and happens to be the person who stole her bracelet).

Seth provides tactical advice to Eirika at several points. Gilliam (among others) could easily fill this role instead.

When Orson tries to trick Eirika into handing over The Bracelet, she already begins to express doubt (’Your reasoning is sound, and yet-’) before Seth goes full detective mode on Orson. It’s already within the realm of possibility that Eirika would back Orson into a corner and force him to reveal himself (which isn’t even needed: all she needs to do is ask enough questions like “okay but why didn’t you let Ephraim escape?” until Tirado comes over and destroys the bridge, shattering Orson’s ruse), but while I don’t think that she would have in Seth’s absence, for the sake of argument, what if she had surrendered it to Orson?

Orson wouldn’t hold onto it because he genuinely doesn’t care about it, so he’d hand it off to Tirado and they’d they could recover it from him once he’s defeated.

If Lyon teleports in, grabs it, and teleports out (creating the plot hole of “why didn’t he deal with the twins?”, but let’s ignore that for the moment), the fate of the world wouldn’t be at risk because both bracelets are needed to do anything, and it would just necessitate them recovering at some point in the future (Lyon’s visit to Orson before the twins retake Renais would be a prime opportunity for him to hand it off to him so they both have it, and would want to uncover the stone so Lyon will then have access to it; alternately, Vigarde could be holding onto it and regardless of the outcome of that battle, both bracelets will be together (an ideal situation for Lyon, and one that doesn’t potentially reveal his hand like leaving it with Orson would)).

But! Seth also does one thing that nobody else could do: inform The Twins of how to access Renais’ Sacred Stone. Orson mentions The Bracelets being needed, but it’s not until Renais is retaken that Seth reveals the words Fado entrusted him with, and until then nobody else knows how to access Renais’ Stone.

So why does it have to be Seth that he tells?

It can’t be anyone outside of Renais because that defeats the point of having such a convoluted security system in place: the moment that information leaves Renais it’s out of his control who knows it, and people who are loyal to other countries are ultimately not loyal to the interests of Renais.

There are a dozen potential reasons why Grado finds out the bracelets are important anyway (mostly involving anybody using any amount of deductive reasoning, probably either Orson through “oh hey he gave The Twins these bracelets out of the blue, they’re probably important” or Lyon through The Twins mentioning whatever little their dad had told them about the bracelets being important pre-posession (not realizing that it was an Important Secret because their dad didn’t tell them)), but the game makes a point out of Seth being the only person who knows how to use them, and Grado making basically no attempt to take them back (or stop the Twins from retaking Renais beyond the token resistance put up by Grado’s soldiers during because Lyon wanted/needed to keep up the ruse of “My Dad Isn’t Dead”) during act two all but spells out that they intended for the twins to uncover the stone on their own because they didn’t know how to do it themselves, just that the bracelets were involved.

Anywho

Grado strikes quick and Renais had no real time to prepare. Fado was probably expecting to share the truth of the bracelets with Eirika and Ephraim on his deathbed, since he had no real reason to expect to need them to know any sooner than that. Ephraim, Kyle, Forde, and Orson are off on a field trip, so even if Fado would have told them, has no means doing so.

If she was the only person available, Fado probably would have told Eirika, but! If Eirika knew the danger Ephraim was in, she’d probably choose to forgo heading to Freila to regroup once she met up with Franz, Gilliam, and Tana in order to warn Ephraim of the danger.

By doing this, we (among other things):

skip the establishing scenes for Riev (and by extension ‘new’ Grado) and Selena (and by extension ‘old’ Grado)

skip several scenes that establish that Renais has gone to hell (which includes the introduction of Neimi, Colm, Ross, and Garcia)

skip the scenes that establish that monsters walk the land (and that they shouldn’t)

skip the scenes that establish Freila as an entity that is willing to/going to aid Renais

Have Eirika rush straight back into the jaws of a beast that is chasing her, a beast that only stopped its pursuit when she entered Freila and it couldn’t continue to keep track of her

Most of those are relatively inconsequential in terms of altering the plot (she’s taking a different route through Renais, but there’s nothing that says you can’t move those events from the old route onto the new one), but that last one could and would conceivably result in her directly running into one of Grado’s Imperial Generals, which would alter the plot. Eirika isn’t equipped to beat any of them at this stage in the game, but regarding specific encounters:

Eirika encounters Valter again. Amused by her apparent death wish, he fights her seriously this time and wins. She is either captured or dies, which results in a different sequence of events.

Eirika encounters Caellach. He fights her seriously because his sole goal is to rise in the ranks and gain power. She is either captured or dies (probably the latter).

Eirika directly encounters Riev. Riev, knowing the importance of The Bracelets, would aim to capture her and use her as a lure for Ephraim, who is also sorely unequipped to beat Grado’s main army if they actually tried. He succeeds because Eirika wouldn’t be able to beat him.

Eirika encounters Duessel. Duessel hasn’t started to have major misgivings yet, but an encounter with Eirika could (and would) ignite those feelings due to her ways of appealing to emotion. Duessel would either defect immediately or return to Grado to consult with Vigarde about the validity of this war, where he will likely be executed for treason (or at least thrown in a dungeon) by Lyon using Vigarde as a proxy because he 1) let Eirika escape and 2) questioned the judgement of The King. Oops.

Eirika encounters Glen. Like in the main game, Glen is persuaded by Eirika to stop this nonsense. He’d pursue the same options as Duessel, and if he joins Eirika he’d survive (a departure from the original plot). If he returns to Grado, he’d be executed/thrown in dungeon, and since Vigarde(/Lyon) don’t care for subterfuge in the same ways that Valter does, they’d make no attempt to conceal what happened to him. Cormag finds out, rejects the rule of Vigarde, is captured by Grado and suffers the same fate. Since they either both survive (and are recused by Ephraim after he fights Vigarde, perhaps) or both die in this scenerio, it departs from the established events of the game.

Eirika encounters Selena. While her circumstances are different this time around (Duessel and Glen are still alive and part of Grado, placing less pressure on her), she’d be likely to fight Eirika and (of course) beat her. However, in the event that she is swayed by Eirika’s chivalry, she’d be more liable than not to join Eirika than Glen/Duessel due to her steadfast loyalty to the king making her more liable to question if Vigarde is really the same man he used to be.

So it can’t be Eirika. Franz remains a possibility, but given the choice between him -a relatively recent recruit- and Eirika -his own flesh and blood-, why wouldn’t Fado go with Eirika?

So it has to be Seth, and from this we learn what Seth contributes to the narrative: acting as a voice of reason that prevents Eirika from (probably) getting herself killed, and he tells her and Ephraim what The Bracelets do.

Okay.

Maybe we already knew that.

I’ve neglected to address one thing, which is that I’ve made up most of the “facts” that I’ve used to support my “argument”. But that’s okay. It’s a big, ultimately inconsequential game of ‘what if’ since the game already came out and its not going to change. The end goal is less of having a clear-cut, unshakable thesis or proving some point to the world and more of the actual reasoning that goes into reaching whatever your conclusion is, and that’s what makes it fun.

[weerd1]

Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1909.03: Missions Reviewed, “Blaze of Glory,” Empok Nor,” “In the Cards,” and “Call to Arms.”

“Blaze of Glory” has Sisko receive a coded message intercepted by the Klingons sent from the Badlands.  It would seem to be a last ditch effort by the Maquis. The message is meant for “Michael” whom Sisko believes to be Michael Eddington, and talks about a missile strike launched as a last ditch effort against Cardassia. Sisko goes to Eddington’s prison, and brings him along to find out the story of the missiles. 

 Eddington tells him he has no real desire to cooperate, and after all, they would need to go to the launch site to stop them. Sisko convinces them to take him there, and after some tense close calls with the Jem’Hadar, they get to the base. They find out the Dominion is already there.  Slowly infiltrating in, they initially find a group of Maquis corpses, but in the main launch room about a dozen survivors, including Eddington’s wife Rebecca. 

The entire set up was a code to allow the Maquis to escape, playing on the fact Sisko would bring Eddington along. He agrees to evacuate the survivors, but they are ambushed on the way out.  Eddington stays back holding off the Jem’Hadar so the others can escape dying a hero.

I don’t like Michael Eddington, and I’m glad he’s dead.  There I said it. I’ve been waiting for him to go since he showed up to take Odo’s job.  I didn’t like him when we were supposed to like him. Good riddance.  This does though bring some closure to the Maquis storyline.  They won’t really come up again aside from Voyager, though they missed a bet in their finally when they sidestepped the question of how their Maquis crew would be received back into the Federation.  As a larger point, it is time to let the Maquis go though, as worse things are gathering on the horizon.

“Empok Nor” has a crew visit another abandoned Cardassian station, a sister design to DS9 (Terok Nor) by that name.  O’Brien, Nog, and four victim…uh, engineers go with Garak to the station to gather parts to make some much needed repairs to DS9.  

Garak is there to deal with all the booby traps the Cardassians have doubtlessly left in place.  What no one is expecting is two Cardassian special forces operatives left in stasis, woken up by the team’s arrival.  Neither does anyone expect they are juiced on a powerful psychotropic drug to make them more violent…and Garak has been affected as well.  The Soldiers take out three Starfleet officers before Garak takes each of them out, and then he takes out another officer.  

He kidnaps Nog and begins a game of cat and mouse with O’Brien, which O’Brien only wins by engineering a booby trap of his own. Back on DS9, Garak is recovering, but also mortified by what he has done. He and O’Brien reach an understanding that both of them have violent pasts…perhaps best left in the past.

This episode is written by Bryan Fuller who will later go on to write “Hannibal” and create the outlines for the first season of “Star Trek: Discovery.” Indeed there are similarities between this episode and the Disco episode “Context is for Kings” and Garak as he becomes more manipulative feels like a proto-Hannibal.  The whole episode is filmed, effectively, like a horror movie, and it is bold to actually have Garak, under the influence or not, actually kill one of the officers. Andrew Robinson is of course fantastic here, as is Colm Meaney.  Aron Eisenberg’s Rom has been used to great effect this season as the cadet, and continues to shine here.  Perhaps a stand alone diversion from the larger plot, but a worthwhile one.

“In the Cards” starts with the single most morose officers’ mess in the history of Star Trek. Sisko has his whole senior crew over for dinner, but negative news about the Dominion has everyone down. Worse, Sisko finds out Kai Winn is coming to the station to meet with Weyoun and discuss a non-aggression pact between Bajor and The Dominion.  Meanwhile Jake and Nog find Quark is auctioning off a bunch of crap, but among the useless items is a Willie Mays rookie card from the 1950s. Trying to buy it at auction as a gift to Sisko, the lot instead goes to a mysterious Doctor Geiger, whom they find is trying to build an immortality machine, and being chased (supposedly) by the “soulless minions of orthodoxy.”  

Though they think he’s crazy, he wants a list of things for his work which are harmless, and he is willing to trade the card. To get the items needed, Jake and Nog begin helping out the crew in trade.  Meanwhile Winn asks Sisko as Emissary what she should do and he recommends stalling the Dominion talks by referring the treaty to the Bajoran council of ministers. Weyoun hears the machine Geiger is working on and investigates, and believes Jake and Nog are involved in some plot against him.

 When he learns the truth, he let’s them take the card and listens intently to Geiger. Jake gives the card to his dad who notes the crew has cheered immensely, due to the help Jake and Nog provided for their assistance.

A fun episode, well crafted in its layering, and light hearted enough to miss the fact that Winn is basically negotiating Bajor into the Dominion’s hands.  This comes into play next episode, but here we get a good Jake/Nog buddy episode, as they work their way through the station in pursuit of their goal.  I almost wonder if Weyoun took Dr. Geiger with him into Dominion custody to continue his research?

In “Call to Arms,” the situation with the Dominion has come to a head. Reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant have been flooding into Cardassia through the wormhole, and the Federation wants it stopped. Sisko tells everyone that they can’t get new Starfleet reinforcements right now, but he wants to mine the wormhole.  O’Brien, Dax, and Rom design cloaked, self-replicating mines but it will take some time to deploy them, during which time the Defiant will be vulnerable; they know there is no way the Dominion will let them try it without an attack on the station.  Sisko advises Bajor to sign the non-aggression pact, and then starts laying mines, and evacuating Bajoran personnel.  Along the we, before she evacuates, Leeta and Rom get married under Sisko’s command. 

The Dominion fleet however is on its way, and Dukat and Damar plan to take DS9 and then Bajor; Weyoun tells them they WILL follow the Dominion’s treaty with Bajor, and first…they need to actually capture DS9. The minefield is almost in place when the fleet arrives, and DS9 and General Martok have to work to defend them. They hold off the Dominion fleet as the Defiant completes the minefield, cutting off the Gamma Quadrant. With the Dominion regrouping, Sisko bids the Bajoran crew farewell, telling them he will return to this place “where he belongs.” He also tells them that Starfleet could not send more reinforcements because while the Dominion was engaged here, a joint Federation/Klingon fleet attacked Dominion ship-building facilities in Cardassian space.  The war between the Federation and the Dominion has begun.  As the Rotarran (Martok’s BoP) and Defiant cloak and escape, Dukat lands on DS9, welcomed by Kira, Quark, and Odo.  Sisko however has booby trapped the station himself, leaving it barely functioning, much as when Cardassia handed it over five years before. 

Rom goes back to work for Quark, but to act as a spy for the Federation, and he finds Jake has stayed on the station as a correspondent for the Federation News Service. Dukat goes into Sisko’s office to find he has left the baseball on his desk. Weyoun is puzzled, but Dukat knows it is a message that Sisko plans to return. The season ends as the Defiant and Rotarran take their place among hundreds of ships in the joint Federation and Klingon fleet. The Alpha Quadrant is at war.

Again, you needed those lighter episodes leading up to this to get things going to hell here.  The war is on, Starfleet has lost DS9, Bajor is if not allied, at least in treaty with the Dominion.  Things are grim, and this is not the way one expects a Star Trek show to go.  It is incredibly compelling though, and for those who might still throw up the argument that DS9 isn’t “Star Trek” because Roddenberry’s Trek was about a bright future, I would counter that GR never truly shied away from conflict in the future (just ask Spock and McCoy) and he often had flawed humans struggling with one another in order to examine the human condition. As sad as it may be, there is no way to truly turn a magnifying glass on humanity without talking about humans at war.  Even Kirk said, “we can admit that we’re killers, but we will not kill today; that’s all it takes.” (“A Taste of Armageddon.”) Starting with TNG, Star Trek shied away from examining humankind at war except perhaps with little glimpses: “The Wounded” and “Chains of Command” on TNG.  The Klingon war that was mostly elsewhere on DS9. Now though with the Dominion War, Trek is going to look our darker nature right in the eye, pick up a mirror and hold it up to our violence. It’s going to make for some of the most compelling television ever filmed; it’s also going to make sure we get a good look at us when we don’t decide “not to kill today.”

NEXT MISSION: Season six opens with the war going poorly for the Federation allies, and Sisko decides it’s “A Time to Stand.”

[olliethecat13]

I NEVER POSTED MY WARRIOR CATIFIED RDR2 DESIGNS. OR SPOKE ABOUT MY FIC FOR THEM 💀

Dutch, Arthur, John

Molly, Hosea, Sean

the unnamed johnigail daughter, Jack, and abigail/sadie (I merged them)

Annabelle (Jewel), Isaac, Eliza

Micah, Colm, Mary

There's a lot more to come but I just haven't gotten around to them lol. I've been making a little uhh... fic surrounding them I changed a TON of stuff. The plot obviously, kind of warrior catified it and some changes just came along. Charles will be next & the rest of the supporting gang members will be drawn... eventually.

Notable changes:

Redrabbit & Harepoppy (Sean & Molly) are siblings! And Red/Sean is older than Stag/Arthur. Was his mentor.

Sadie and Abigail are merged, as Addergale (get it. Adler-gail). Nothing against either of them I love them dearly but I felt it'd be fun to have a character who could be John/Wolf's love interest but also Stag/Arthur's best friend.

Stag/Arthur has lung cancer instead of TB. I had this idea that instead of the Downes & the bank robbery which kills Hosea, there's going to be a huge fight with the 'pinkertons' (Skyclan) & the 'o'driscolls' (Windclan) join in as a show stopper. Theres a lighting strike which sets the battlefield on fire, which gives WC & SKC the upper hand, taking Slate/Hosea hostage & giving Badger/Dutch a chance to back down- He hesitates, and they kill Slate/Hosea 😋

To show how Dutch/Badger always preached "Revenge was a fool's game", yet didn't follow it & taught this to his sons, Stag/Arthur bolts after the killer of Slate/Hosea, who goes down a Windclan tunnel or a rabbit hole (have not decided) which has been filled with smoke from the fire. Stag/Arthur kills him, and in turn signs his death warrent.

There's a lot more, but you'll have to read the full fic to find out :] Have so much planned. It's called Warriors: Severance (meaning the severing of a relationship... I wonder what that could entail.) and it's posted on my other blog (warriorsseverance) or on ao3. I try 2 post every 2 weeks!

AO3 LINK

[greensparty]

Movie Reviews: Marlowe / Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

This week I got to review not one but two new releases...both very different.

Marlowe

Raymond Chandler’s character Philip Marlowe was a private eye in his short stories and books in the 1930s on. Pretty soon Hollywood was adapting Marlowe stories into radio, television and films in the 1940s onward. Some of the Marlowe films I watched in my college History of Film class included Murder, My Sweet and The Big Sleep. Now Neil Jordan has adapted a 2014 Marlowe story written by John Banville into the new crime thriller Marlowe opening in theaters this week after some 2022 film festivals. 

movie poster

In 1940s Los Angeles, hardboiled private eye Marlowe (played by Liam Neeson in his 100th performance according to much press) is hired by a rich heiress Clare (Diane Kruger) to find her ex. The movie star mother (played by Jessica Lange) soon gets entangled. That’s about all I can say without getting into spoilers.

Neeson as Marlowe

Director Neil Jordan has made some great movies in the past. I actually worked for a short time in the Construction Department on his 2007 movie The Brave One. That movie wasn’t perfect by any means, but it had its moments. But his films The Crying Game (he received Oscar nominations for directing and for writing), Interview with a Vampire, and The Butcher Boy really showed his range as a director in terms of excelling in various genres. This is a terrific cast, and I was excited to see Colm Meaney and Ian Hart, both of whom were in Monument Ave (which I worked on) in small supporting roles. The production design was big and lavish. But the problem is: I wanted to like this more than I did. I think the issue is that since the Marlowe films of the 40s, there’s been so many film noir classics and this story (even with a script from William Monahan, which wrote The Departed) it felt derivative of so many other film noirs. Between the character of Marlowe, Neil Jordan and this cast there was something so much better that could’ve been.

For info on Marlowe: https://www.marlowemovie.com/

2 out of 5 stars

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Marvel Cinematic Universe is hit or miss. Some elitist have said it’s not cinema (Martin Scorsese) or it’s too bad that they are the only types of movies getting made these days (Quentin Tarantino). But hardcore fans have pushed back on that. I fall somewhere in the middle of the fans and the haters. When the movies are good they are really good. When they are bad, they are a let down. Then you have some that are just somewhere in the middle: a fun ride, but nothing I need to see again or buy on blu-ray. In 2015′s Ant-Man, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang tries to get back to a normal life after getting out of prison and finds himself getting mixed up with a shrinking technology. The first 10-15 minutes of that felt like it was aspiring to so much more than a MCU movie: a guy trying to move on with his life but society won’t let him since he’s an ex-con. Then it just became another super hero movie. It had some fun parts, but it could’ve been so much more, even with a screenplay co-written by Rudd, Edgar Wright and Adam McKay. In 2016′s Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man gets recruited by Capt. America and became an Avenger. In 2018′s Ant-Man and the Wasp, it was fun to see the shrinking / growing fights in San Francisco, but again it felt like there was a better movie waiting to get out. Ant-Man re-joined the Avengers in 2019′s Avengers: Endgame. Now the third Lang movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opens this week.

movie poster

In this one Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her scientist father Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) now have mother/wife Janet (Michelle Pfieffer) back from the Quantum Realm...even if she is reluctant to talk about this world she was in for 30 years. Lang’s daughter Cassie (now much older and played by Kathryn Newton) is working on a signal to the Quantum Realm, but it thrusts them all into this world, where they get separated. Janet is the most familiar with this world, but even she is fearful of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), who makes a deal with Ant-Man...and things go awry.

Rudd, Newton and Lilly in the Quantum Realm

I actually like this better than the first two Ant-Man movies mainly because of Kang the Conqueror, one of the best Marvel villains we’ve had in a while, and the relationship Lang now has with his grown daughter Cassie. The idea of shrinking is nothing new, we’ve seen it in Fantastic Voyage, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and Innerspace just to name a few, but with this one instead of reminding me of Marvel movies, it reminded me more of classic Star Trek episodes and sci-fi movies of the 50s and 60s. Returning director Peyton Reed has mixed it up with movies like Bring It On and episodes of The Mandalorian, but what first got my attention about him was the behind-the-scenes special on Back to the Future trilogy that aired on TV in 1990 and then he directed the live-action segments on the BTTF animated series. If he never directs anything else, he has my thumbs up for his contribution to the BTTF universe! But what lifts the sail of all the Ant-Man movies is Paul Rudd. He has a charm and a charisma that has served him well in romances and comedies (notably David Wain and Judd Apatow comedies), but here he’s the protective father on a grand scale. Did I mention I really dug the reference to Welcome Back Kotter too?

For info on A-M&TW:Q: https://www.marvel.com/movies/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania

3 out of 5 stars