#What does Tarak does to me

[luxshine]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: రంగస్థలం | Rangasthalam (2018), జై లవకుశ | Jai Lava Kusa (2017), RRR (2022) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Chelluboina Chitti Babu/Jai Kumar | Raavana, Chelluboina Chitti Babu/Kusa Kumar, Chelluboina Kumar Babu/Kasi, Chelluboina Chitti Babu/Lava Kumar Characters: Chelluboina Chitti Babu, Jai Kumar | Raavana, Kusa Kumar, Chelluboina Kumar Babu, Kasi (Rangashtalam), Lava Kumar Additional Tags: Dragons, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Dragon shifters, Soulmates, Soulmarks, Chitti Babu is a Water Dragon, Canon-Typical Violence, Deaf Character Summary:

After the events of Jai, Lava, Kusa, Jai survived but he and his brothers need a peaceful place to rebuild their relationship and get away from the darkness. Kasi, one of Jai's underlings, suggests the town of Rangasthalam, where he grew up. What the triplets didn't expect was to call the attention of the Water Dragon who watched over Rangasthalam.

[sepublic]

I can't remember if I've already said it, I don't think I have... But I can see the parallels to Bill and King, with the first and most obvious ones being their appearances; Specifically, Bill's 'costume' and King's natural look. They're both pretenders that way, Bill intentionally, while King was accidental when it came to his past.

They're scrawny little guys with delusions of grandeur, and they rely a lot on the bigger, taller people around them to help out; Such as Tarak and the other Titan Trappers, but even the Archivists. Likewise, King in S1 often had to resort to calling upon Luz or Eda to destroy his enemies for him.

And indeed, that obsession with destroying others to prove their strength is there; But Bill took it genuinely seriously, and because of that is a factor into King being an orphan, the last of his kind. But most of it can be attributed to the Archivists, whom I theorize made Bill immortal, which is why he's still alive even after all these years.

There's their relationships with one Archivist in particular, the Collector: Bill's is insincere and remote, he's using the kid for his own purposes not unlike Belos with the Titan, and also like Belos period. King doesn't do that, but had he met the Collector a lot earlier, he could've! He very well could've. The Collector even mentions Bill as one of the people they felt used and betrayed by, and they mistook King for another in their paranoia and cycle of being hurt.

And what intrigues me is that based on the murals we see, there might've been a giant Titan Trapper that helped the Archivists kill the Titans; Of course, this could be more of a visual metaphor for the group as a whole. But a part of me wonders if this was meant to be Bill in his youth, and that's why Tarak holds him in such high regard. Obviously he's a puny wimp now, but considering it's been probably millions of years since those times, Bill is technically looking great for his prehistoric age.

I can see the parallels between this and the stylized depictions of King's 'original' form as the King of Demons. They're both giant monsters who slay their enemies and have followers, although by the present-day Bill's an actual example of someone past his prime; All of the other Trappers are presumably descendants, because they've never seen a living Titan themselves.

This makes Bill the last of his generation, his 'kind' in a sense; And so is King. Because of Bill and the Archivists; Likewise, Bill can only be the last survivor because of the Archivists, per my speculations. Him, the Collector, and King had their worlds rocked by the Archivists in different ways, as I wonder if Bill wasn't even able to successfully hunt Titans until his 'Grand Huntsmen' came along.

But now he's ruling over people who can only dream of that fame, and King ruled over toys and plushes and the like. The Titan Trappers are fake; They wear fake costumes, they call themselves that despite only one having actually had that experience, it's a delusional dream. And King was also fake, a kid who misunderstood the world around him and was admittedly encouraged to by his mother. Of course, the way Eda feeds into King's dreams is different than how Bill does his younger Trappers.

I dunno; Maybe the Archivists are the older, powerful, magical beings like Eda; Bill and King, as I've explained; And the Collector and Luz, who have their own magic. But Bill's relationship with the Collector is so parasitic and insincere, whereas King looks up to Luz as his big sister and his worst lies to her have been merely kiddish (because he's a kid).

Makes it all the more fitting that King and Bill have a pseudo-confrontation in the finale... Maybe not exactly, because it's ambiguous as to how conscious Bill actually was in his puppet state. You can't help but wonder what happened to Bill and the other Trappers; If him and Tarak were turned into puppets, they must've either arrived at the isles during the two-month time skip, or the Collector's spies scoured the entire planet.

I wonder if the Collector recognizes Bill pre-imprisonment? If he worked with the Archivists, they might've seen him... If they didn't then, they did when Bill needed a new Archivist after the adults ditched him. Oh to see that scene of Bill trying to take his 'rightful place' next to the Collector, only to see an actual Titan there, and King has all the power to destroy this dude. But after all of his self-reflection, and not wanting to enable this behavior from a kid he's trying to make reasonable, King just settles for "These guys make me uncomfortable, puppet them" and that's it.

But afterwards... Did the Collector free them too? And the Titan Trappers were sentenced to community service like Kikimora? Did everyone agree to turn a blind eye to Bill at least, and he's trapped as a puppet somewhere in the depths of the Archives, or somewhere else, to be forgotten forever...

Okay that last bit sounds too dark for the protagonists and the lessons they're trying to impart to the Collector but man. To be a broken record, I have to wonder if we would've gotten more conflict and a proper resolution between King and Bill. To see him realize from the nightmare sequence or something else that Bill contributed towards and probably killed some of King’s older siblings, the ones he mourned and wanted so badly as well!!! To have King WEH Bill in the face and destroy his mask; Maybe it’s a second death for that one sibling of King’s, but like their dad (augh) it at least keeps their body from being desecrated and misused any further, and exposes Bill for the liar he is!!!

[hag-lad]

RANKED: MY TOP TEN FAVORITE NANDAMURI TARAKA RAMA RAO JR LOOKS

Us Jr NTR fans are blessed to have quite the chameleon oosaravelli as our fave, because there are so many glorious looks to keep us entertained over his illustrious 30-film career. It was SO GODDAM HARD to choose just ten, but here they are! Gun to my head! His ten finest looks!

10. Krishna's pink shirt in Brindavanam

I remember when these "fcuk" shirts were all the rage, but nobody ever wore it quite like Krishna! He looks sooooo good in pink! What a little hottie. With the earrings too?!!?! Goddam it. Just. Goddam this man.

9. Kusa's mullet for Doschestha

Styling wise, I feel nothing towards this, except maybe a spark of delight to see Tarak in pink yet again. But look, Kusa does not know how to dress, and I love that for him. This look is all about THE HAIR!!!! We never see Tarak with hair this long, but it's so fucking GOOD!!!!!! The little ponytail!!!!!!!! How could one not fall in love?!

8. Simhadri's fishnet vest for Chinnadamme Cheekulu

Oh go OFF, King!!!!!!!! Look at the sheer, unfiltered ATTITUDE he's serving! Absolutely no one on Earth looks good in light-dark wash jeans (the true blight of the 2000's) but this son of a bitch pulls it off!!!! How does he do it?!

7. Munna's saffron headband in Andhrawala

Okay, so conceptually, this is the same thing as Simhadri (headband, open shirt, slutty vest, jeans) but I prefer these colors! I also prefer Munna's facial hair; it's a little more grown out, and I love Tarak most when he is FURRY. And FAT! I think Munna's got a couple pounds on Simhadri? Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't care. I love them both so much.

6. Jai's Swing Zara ensemble in Jai Lava Kusa

God, Jai is such a fucking peacock, isn't he? A total queen, the last of the old school gays. I have so much respect for his drip. Jai would never, ever, in a million years, let mortal eyes witness him looking anything less than spectacular. His beard is groomed, his hair is moussed, every stitch of clothing on his body is tailored and professionally pressed, and you know what? I think that goes for his underwear too. Or idk, maybe he's freeballin' it. He can do whatever he wants, quite frankly.

5. Tarak's Academy Awards ensemble

Who on earth would dare deny how positively GORGEOUS Tarak looked on this night!? Head to toe, so exquisite, so dashing. The bejeweled tiger! The rich black velvet! The eye makeup! The natural hair! Everything to love.

4. Tony's baby face in Oosaravelli

I want to just grab his widdol cheeks and squish them!!! He looks like an angel! A cherub!!!! This is so obviously the cutest Tarak has ever looked, but he's still so fucking sexy and alluring??!?! HOW DOES HE DO IT???!!?!! I also love that liiiiiitle bit of edge he's giving with the earrings and the neck tattoo... even if it is just his own name, lmfao.

3. Ramakrishna's tank top in Rakhee

Look at this fucking BEAR!!!!!!!! I'm not gonna sugarcoat this, kids. Ramakrishna is fluffy and hot and sweaty and I bet he smells salty and I want to HUFF him so fucking bad. The lil beads of sweat take me out, god I love how raw and sexy and manly he is. Absolute HUNK, I fucking cannot say it any other way. This is a gay pornstar. I beat my meat.

2. Young Yama in Yamadonga

Oh COME ONNNN!!!! THIS is how His Majesty Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr. was meant to walk the earth: Clad in gold, dripping with jewels, eyeliner on fleek (or, as my mother would say, "on flique") just taking up ALL THE SPACE and commanding ALL THE ATTENTION. He wears regality so very well, so naturally, I become a bootlicking monarchist just looking at him!!! Drag me to hell, Young Yama!!!

1. Komuram Bheem's langoti in RRR.

Hey, you knew Bheema had to be number one!!!! I've never seen a human being look hotter than this, this is just PEAK. The body hair!!!! The nosering!!!!! The muscles!!!!!! He is fucking CUT, Tarak had to work so goddam hard for so long to look like this, I genuinely hope he never does anything like this again, but MY GOD the art is worth it. Shoutout to Rajamouli for not whitewashing him so we could behold the beauty and majesty of his real skin color!!!!! With his natural hair too!!?!?!? SEXIEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED, case closed, no argument, go home, we're done. Bheem is hot. Ram's a lucky man.

[pianostrings]

Rebel Moon: The Scargiver Novelization!!

Contains spoilers for Rebel Moon Part II: The Scargiver under the cut:

Opens with Noble being revived. Cassius is informed of a list of approved "bio-enhancements" that will change his "biology on a molecular level". Cassius ponders whether he has chosen the right person to throw his lot behind (spoiler alert: he has not).

Kora and Gunnar's sex scene is expanded on 😌

(This is also super nit-picky but the tense in the sex scene changes from past to present and it really bothers me haha)

Flashbacks to Kora's time at court. Word of Balisarius's butchery as a general reaches the king and the king chews him out with Kora present. Rather than punishing him, the King makes him a senator instead.

Balisarius invites Kora to his villa, which is apparently filled with only pictures of himself in various suits of armor in battle (this is so on brand, I’m crying). He calls her Kora, which I thought was odd, since she was re-named Arthelais? Not sure whether this is a typo or not.

Kora watches Balisarius perform his first speech as a senator. It's a passionate anti-immigration speech ❤️ goes over really well with everyone except the King and Queen. Kora is initially concerned about his use of wording: "darkness" from "the outer worlds" but then she thinks, hey it's cool! I'm not from one of those ugly places anymore.

In the palace gardens, Balisarius reveals he will be Regent Militarium one day and Kora will replace the princess. She is much concerned. She and Issa have a cute smiling moment, which is sweet, because I’m sure nothing bad will happen to her.

Something bad happens to her. Kora has no clue the assassination is taking place until everyone is being stabbed. Princess Issa gets a moment to sass Balisarius but Kora does, unfortunately, still shoot her.

THE KALI ARE EXPLAINED. At the core of every dreadnought, an ancient female humanoid is kept in a half-conscious state, bodies hardwired to the ship to drain them of their energy. They are fed the organic matter of conquered worlds, which is what is shovelled into the furnaces (not magical space coal).

Cassius recalls how Noble's first campaign out of the Academy was disastrous and that he would never have come back from it if he wasn’t from a military family from Moa.

LIVE REACTION FROM DEN as Kora and Gunnar take the walk of shame together. He is CRESTALLEN, friends. Tarak and Titus giggle like schoolboys at Kora and Gunnar's appearance (why was this not left in the film? Incredible team building stuff).

Tarak has the audacity to claim bundling grain is "women's work". Oh you precious royal boy. He has a love interest, Hervor, and she is a MILF. Good for them both.

Eljun is Nemesis's biggest fanboy as the kids argue over which of the rebels is the strongest. Eljun is confident in Nemesis. This is so sweet. I’m sure nothing bad will happen to her either!

Kora likes Gunnar more than any of the lovers she'd taken on other campaigns because he makes her laugh. Oh. 🥹

Aris speaks to Cassius via transmission. Aris quotes a concerning motivational line he attributes to Cassius: "every child screaming... every mother crying..." ⁉️ Cassius tells him that line originates from Balisarius, actually (of course it fucking does.)

In the background, Noble has clued on that Aris has betrayed them and wishes he killed him along with his sisters. They wait for information from the Hawkshaws.

At dinner, Milius and Hagen have a sweet moment where they talk about their own past, in a similar village.

ARIS KISSES SAM 💋

The team have their backstories moment. There’s a tad more detail in Titus and Milius’s backstories

Noble has a flashback after his failed campaign, which is upseting because 1) Cassius wasn't with him and 2) his father, Dominic, is pissed. He is sent to the Vori, a gangster planet, where he remains as a guest, shadowing the warlord, Gregor. He passes a test where he kills a Motherworld noble and is given the tattoo near his eye. He also meets the twins for the first time. Deep lore here. Deep deep lore.

Tarak hooks up with Hervor the MILF. This r-rated cut is just going to be everyone going at eachother.

Jimmy kills the Hawkshaws, just as they're about to tell Cassius about Kora's dropship.

We get some backstory about the Hawkshaws. They are the Anuran species and their home planet is Anura. When the Imperium attacked their world, they put up a good fight and the Admiral in charge of the invasion offered an alliance, by offering their skills to the Imperium.

Kora gets to sass Noble a bit before the battle

R.I.P. Den. Gone too soon. Noble’s bio-enhancements come in handy during this fight.

There's so much swearing during the battle—Milius tells a soldier to 'fuck right off, motherfucker—it’s poetry and I really hope this is all in the R version.

The Kali speaks to Kora!!! It forgives her, like Issa, because it knows one day she will "wake [her] sisters and their wrath will be [the Kali's] vengeance. Yesss queens 👏🏼 it’s giving inter-galactic feminism

Kora kills the gunnery crew and redirects the turrets to the conning tower where Noble and Cassius are. Noble legs it for the elevator and abandons the crew. Cassius is right behind him but Noble 😮 shoots him in the face.

Nemesis gifts her daughter's pendant to Eljun as she dies. Her death is a "final act of love and comfort." 😢

Aris joins in the battle and kills a guard, avenging his family.

Kora blows up the engines and beheads Noble. No further resurrections for Ed Skrein, it appears.

Gunnar and Kora 🥹

"[Kora] looked back up to the burning fields of Veldt and the rising smoke. The cost of rebellion is always loss. The legacy is freedom and dignity."

The team assemble! Devra apologies to Kora for arriving late and says that her “brother was right” (assuming this is a throwback to Darrian wanting to take the rebellion more public)

A young Veldtian girl sings a ballad at the funeral pyre

The last scene is of Balisarius being dressed. We finally get the "I do love this part" line from the trailer. He is told of the destruction of The King's Gaze and surmises it was Kora's doing. Hundreds of thousands of Imperium soldiers chant his name as he prepares to hunt her down.

Additional Notes:

Ok more thoughts now I’ve had time to reflect on the text:

- I can see why this novelization release was pushed back. I don’t know what the deadline was like for the author but it felt very rushed and the writing is… not great… at times. The romance was, in particular, pretty cringe.

- Aris and Devra Bloodaxe felt very sidelined here. I thought Aris would at least have an unpacking his past moment with someone? Devra just turns up and we don’t learn anything about where she’s been or the Base One she returns to at the end of part 1? I also thought we might get more Darrian (or how the Bloodaxes operate) through Milius’s flashbacks.

- I don’t love the characterisation of any of the villains. Balisarius comes across cartoonishly evil and it’s hard to pinpoint any kind of affection Kora has for him in her flashbacks, other than maybe loyalty through self-preservation. Noble veers a little too close into bumbling idiot territory. Cassius’s POVis baffling and he spends way too much time worrying about Noble trying to challenge Balisarius, which doesn’t seem remotely believable

- I kind of thought Milius and Tarak were going to end up together? Or that they at least had some kind of friendship, but they seem to barely interact. In fact, it feels like we see the least of Milius out of the rebels

- Hagen and Kora should have had more moments TBH. Feel like she needed that positive comparative father figure

- The ending makes it sound like Kora is completely done with Veldt and she’s ready to move on now that there’s nothing there for her. I guess this works if the team are now off on a quest across the galaxy to save the princess but it also seems a bit… blunt

[nailamoonsi]

Blue Horizon and Japanese-style pronouns (for fun)

I wanted to do a reversal of English-style pronouns (he/she/they)! In Bangla we don't gender our pronouns in comparison.

In Japan personal pronouns are gendered! However, I'll admit that I'm not versed in Japanese any longer. I was worried "what if I come off too anime or clueless" but then I remembered the characters are anime in my head! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ I hope it's not too strange to think of it in a "Western way" (how I might see Texan girls and boys and nonbinary people referring to themselves).

When I was in Japan as a child I used "atashi."

(I also saw that in the Japanese version of ATLA Katara uses "boku," so maybe people in Japan see Western work a certain way too?)

If Japanese people have other opinions after reading the first book or just from the character's vibes already, feel free to mention (one day...not extremely soon as it is unreleased).

~*~

Main 6 + some friends' pronouns via my very basic ideas that might not fit well as a Western person. Their world also has a magic system that influences their ideas about gender (think Iron Widow or Simoun).

Antonio and Alejandro would start using "ore" very early in their teens. Raj and Fernando use "ore" too, but Raj sometimes uses "boku" around his brothers and a particular [mystery] friend until he's older. (A part of me thinks Antonio would switch to "watashi" very quickly in adulthood but a part of me is shrug.)

Alia uses "watashi." She would use "boku" around other girls partly because she's used to being around Layla.

Layla would use "atashi" unless she felt very serious (switches to watashi) as well as "jibun"! Around girls and sometimes other people she can use "boku." Around Antonio, her brother of many thousands of years, she would sometimes use "ore" even in public. (She can do so around Alia too.) Everyone ignores this.

(In my head Layla stays very "young"/casual in their diction for a long time but also doesn't like gendering. They're also intense + cold in mentality and shows that mostly around Alia and Antonio.)

Khaleel and Leo use "ore" until they're older.

Mario uses "boku" when young; unsure when older--he's trans masc but likes theatrical flair. Probably "ore" still. Maria uses "atashi" for a long time. Jasmin uses "atashi" no matter what. Konna uses "boku." (She's pictured above with Raj and Fernando.)

Keya and Biju both use "boku." Priya uses "watashi." Posh Hat uses "jibun."

(Picrews.)

Ranvir and Armando's generation:

Ranvir and Armando would use "ore." (When they're older adults they use "watashi.")

Rajani uses both "watashi" and "atashi" until older. Nikiruka uses "watashi."

Lana uses "boku." Liliana uses "watashi."

Yunuen uses "boku" for a very long time until he's an adult. He switches to "watashi" by then. Tarak uses "ore" and so does Héctor.

(Picrews. Yunuen is the "mystery character" back when I wanted to hide more of the characters in the book.)

~*~

If I come off too clueless about anything, just ignore it and use your own headcanons! In my head I thought of it as "Texan people using Japanese" but maybe it's still very odd. I dunno! Hope it can be written off as clueless, anime or "Texan" in any case. (Genuinely I don't need this to be "canon.")

Edit: Currently my main worry is whether giving Layla multiple personal pronouns is "odd." Thus and thus.

[veteran-fanperson]

Jeelakarra Bellam

Continuing my bodyguard!Charak saga. This goes to the point where our two first meet.

Read on AO3 here.

Read the previous work here.

If you want to be on a taglist for this series, just let me know!

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

“How about this one?” His assistant Raju slides another profile at him across the teak coffee table. “Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. 32 years old and Ex-Indian Army. Actually won the Vishisht Seva Medal before his release from the army five years ago. He was working with Pranav’s security detail previously, so great references too.” Raju continued. 

Charan picked it up, scanning the document. Two years older than him, yet such a different life. 

“Do you want to try him out for a while?” Raju persisted. “I asked around, he doesn’t have a creepy vibe. We could always go back to the agency after a month if you guys aren’t gelling well.” 

Sudhakar, Charan’s last bodyguard had been organised, quick and fun to hang out with and Charan would have been happy to hold on to him forever until he caught the man groping one of the young volunteers assigned to their entourage at a music release function. The sight of the girl’s tearful expression had prompted an instant dismissal from Charan, along with a change of their usual security agency. After their lacklustre reaction to his reason for breaking Sudhakar’s contract, Charan was sure of one thing at least - he did not want to hire any more of their people. 

“Why is the emergency contact section blank?” Charan asked him. 

Raju grimaced. “Yeah that threw me off too, and I called them up to ask if they’d just forgotten to put the information in. But no, turns out his father was absent. He was raised by his mother and she died five years ago. No siblings. I guess he’s a bit of a lone wolf, but the agency did make extensive enquiries. He showed incredible bravery saving civilians and fellow Jawans in a terrorist attack in Kashmir, hence the award. I interviewed him too and he was perfectly candid about things, just said he had a difficult couple of years and was still adjusting to life after. ”

“I guess it’s not a crime to have no close connections… but still, to not even list an old colleague or a neighbour?” Charan wondered, looking down at the page again, wondering what it was like to be this man. To be alone, day after day, month after month. What did he do after work? What did his phone look like? He looked at the picture, at the unsmiling face of a young man with short clipped hair and precise moustache. The eyes were blank, telling him nothing. 

“Let’s try him out,” he said finally. “But at the first sign of anything strange, he goes.”    

“Absolutely.” 

*****

A sharp knock sounded at his office door the next Monday morning and Charan looked up from the script with a start. 

“Come in,” he called out, and the door swung open.

“Hi there, I’m Tarak.” 

Charan gaped. The man who entered was only about as tall as Charan, but he walked with an energy and force that naturally drew the eye to him. He was simply dressed in a grey shirt and jeans, with plain sneakers on his feet. His hair was much longer than Charan anticipated, a mess of wild curls that stood around his head like a halo. His beard looked just as unruly as his hair. His shoulders were very broad, and he had thick muscly arms that were barely concealed by his shirt. The hand he extended out to Charan was large as well, a simple bracelet made with wooden beads adorning his wrist.  

“Hello?” prompted Tarak. “I was told you were expecting me.”

Charan continued to gape, registering with a shiver Tarak’s low, deep voice. His eyes were large and intensely dark, and Charan found it hard to look away from their hypnotising depths. “You don’t look anything like your picture.” He blurted out at last, mentally kicking himself a moment later because that was definitely not what he wanted to say. 

“Does your contract involve me being clean shaven, cutting my hair and keeping it regulation length?” Tarak asked him, withdrawing his hand. His voice was bland, but his eyes were not amused. 

Charan flushed. “Sorry I just - I don’t need anything like that - you don’t need to look a certain way - I mean unless you want to. It’s up to you.” he mumbled, looking down at his desk and quickly holding out his own hand. He felt the other man take it in a firm grip, shaking it quickly before letting go. There was a long, awkward pause as Charan studied the wavy lines of the wood in his desk. 

“May I sit down while we go over your schedule and general expectations or do you want me to come back later?” Tarak asked him finally. 

“Oh, no. Now is - now is fine. Just great. And yes, let me draw you a chair - hang on -” Charan babbled as he pushed his own chair back and stood up. He grabbed a chair and dragged it to the opposite side of the desk before returning to his own. He pushed the script pages aside, opening his desk drawers to find a copy of his schedule for the next month. 

“This month is mostly empty,” he said, pushing the schedule across to Tarak. “I just finished shooting the previous movie, it’s in post production now. Couple of dubbing bits left though. But I haven’t got - I don’t know exactly when. There are a few parties next month that I need to make an appearance at but this month is just - wardrobe fittings for the next movie starting up in six weeks time. Just got the script for it. I hope this one goes well because the last one - I don’t think it was very good, I think it’s going to bomb in the theatres - I did think it wasn’t a good idea but -” Stop talking. Stop talking. Stop talking.

“When would you like me to report each morning?” Tarak asked him, thankfully cutting off Charan’s rambling speech. “I’ll need a copy of this sent through to my phone.”

“I’ll ask Raju to do that. And I go to the gym early five mornings a week, like about four thirty. Two mornings I go riding. When I’m in town that is. Is that okay?”

“You make the hours.” Tarak said quietly. 

“I do have a small home gym but I enjoy working out with other people and my gym is fantastic. You can join me if you want, it’s a lot of fun.” Charan said, feeling a slight pang. Sudhakar was a fantastic gym buddy, he kept Charan motivated and kept unwanted company away. 

“Okay, and afterwards?” Tarak asked him, after another long pause filled with Charan brooding. 

“Oh.” Charan shook himself. “Afterwards I go home and have breakfast. Then a quick shower and I start for wherever I’m supposed to go by seven. To this office or shooting or whatever is on the schedule. I generally work till five unless it’s a shoot which can go on till ten. Most evenings I get off, I try to stay at home but there are sometimes functions I have to attend or people I have to have dinner with. Sometimes I meet my family or friends. That’s pretty much it.” He finished rather lamely, realising it did not sound very clear at all.

“Alright, sounds pretty straightforward.” Tarak said crisply, folding the schedule up and pulling out his phone. “I can start today if you want. Here’s my number, I already have yours. Just call or text me ten minutes before you need to leave and I’ll join you in the lobby. Is there anything you’d like to ask me?”  

“No. I mean, okay.” Charan said, grabbing his own phone.

“Yes?” Tarak asked politely.

“What?”

“You wanted to ask me something?”

“Oh.” Charan fumbled with his phone and it slipped out of his hands. “No, I mean. Not really. Sorry.”  

“That’s great then. See you later sir.” Tarak said, standing up and pushing his chair back.

“Just Charan is fine.” Charan replied, blushing slightly as he held out his hand. “And it is nice having you here - onboard I mean.”

“Likewise.” Tarak said, smiling slightly as he shook Charan’s hand again. His hand was warm and calloused. Charan shivered involuntarily at the touch, his heart picking up. His own hand felt clammy and cold. He wished he had wiped it before he shook Tarak’s hand. The tips of his fingers touched the cool wood of the beaded bracelet on Tarak’s hand, and he wondered if some girlfriend had given it to him. The thought of Tarak having a girlfriend suddenly made him feel a little sick. 

“I’ll let you get on with your reading?” Tarak’s voice broke through again and Charan dropped his hand like he’d had an electric shock. 

“Yes of course, let me see you out.” He pushed his chair aside hastily and headed to the door, catching his foot on his laptop cable. Charan made an undignified squeak as he pitched forward, straight into Tarak’s chest as the other man leaped forward to catch him. Charan’s laptop thudded on to the carpeted floor behind him. 

“Easy, easy.” Tarak’s low voice whispered to him, like he was trying to soothe a nervous horse. He smelled like sandalwood and starch and sunlight, a woodsy, earthy smell that reminded Charan of the countryside surrounding their Bangalore estate. He felt his face flame up in embarrassment - he was a dancer, an equestrian, a runner - all things that needed excellent hand-eye coordination. Ten minutes with this magnificent man and he had turned into a ditzy feather headed idiot. 

“They’re hard to see, these cables.” Tarak said, tugging Charan back into his seat and picking up his laptop. “I’ve tripped over them so many times myself.” He plugged it back in and smiled at Charan, his eyes lighting up for the first time since he had entered the room. His tone was kind and easy, and Charan found himself smiling back despite his embarrassment. “I’ll see myself out, don’t worry. Need to catch up with Ravi anyway.”

He walked to the door and glanced back. “See you later Charan.”

“Bye.” Charan whispered, and when the door clicked shut buried his face in his hands. 

‘You’ll like him, Charan. There’s something about him.’ Ravi had said. Well there certainly was something about Tarak. Just his luck that he had to end up with the hottest man he had ever seen in his life as his fucking bodyguard. Someone he had to talk to and travel with every single day. Someone he needed to see in the gym. He wondered what Tarak looked like under his shirt. He had certainly felt like a brickhouse when Charan had laid against his chest.  

Charan groaned and pulled at his hair. He was screwed.    

[hhoneyglasss]

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐈 — 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰

☼ 𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙴𝚂 ☼

LMAOAOAOA it's been like. nearly a month since the last chapter. mY BADDDD

also i got to use one of my favorite words in this one—reconnaissance. it's a good day y'all

꩜ 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 ꩜

2.2k

꩜ 𝚊𝚘𝟹 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚔 ꩜

linky

꩜ 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 ꩜

existential terror & dread, incoming/looming threat that poses extreme danger to characters.

꩜ 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 ꩜

linky

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘳 𝘷 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 !!! 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 !!!

When I woke up the following morning, too much light poured in from the entrance of the den. I sat up in a huff, worried that I’d be late for training when my mother stepped in front of me. 

“Training is canceled today, Tarak,” she said, “I let you sleep in. You seemed like you needed it.” 

“What?” I asked, my breathing heavy from my wave of panic, “Training? Canceled? Why?” 

“I’m not sure. Your father and the other Ruling House members didn’t specify.” 

I looked behind her at her and my father’s shared nest. His side looked untouched. 

“Did he come home last night?” 

She looked away. “No.” 

I didn’t respond and turned towards the exit of the den. “I’m going to find Juno. Maybe she knows more.” 

“Alright,” she said, “Be careful.” 

I ran out of the den but stopped when I didn’t feel the warmth of sunlight through my fur. I looked up at the sky–it was completely overcast, not a single shred of blue visible through the thick sheet of clouds blocking the Sun. Everything was smothered in a pale, gray overtone, and the warm breeze that blew by was heavy, feverish. The air was thick and humid, making it difficult to breathe as I walked through the plaza. 

It was never overcast. 

For as long as I’d been alive, never once had I looked up in the sky and not been able to see the Sun. Even a mere cloud was rare, but overcast? Unheard of. 

I walked slowly, made nervous by the silence that passed through the plaza. Gone were the playful yips of pups and barks of strict guards—instead, all that was left was the wind. Suffocating wind. 

I caught the scent of another wolf from my right and turned to see them leaving the Ruling House den. It was my father’s second-in-command, or Kahn’sôja, Sabik. She appeared to be heading towards the exit from the plaza, her gait quick, yet steady. 

But when I trotted after her and called out to her, she didn’t respond. She kept walking, head straightened forward, focused on whatever path she was following. 

Strange, I thought and followed after her when she disappeared behind the outline of another den. 

While tracking her scent, I felt the unease trickle into my core. What could be wrong? I thought, trying to think of the possibilities, Daemons and demons haven’t been a problem, nor have sunbound vampires… What could have the Ruling House so distressed that we can’t even talk to them? Who could it be? 

My thoughts were interrupted when I picked up the scent of other wolves mixing with Sabik’s. Ahead, I saw she was now speaking to two new wolves—one of them was Mahsati, another Ruling House member, and the other was… 

Juno. 

Her voice was muffled and echoey from afar, but I could hear the anger in it. She stomped her paw against the ground when she finished, looking between them both, her eyes searching for answers. 

I trotted closer to hear Mahsati’s response. “This matter doesn’t concern you, Juno. If I had answers you should be aware of, I would provide them.” 

“No, it does concern me and you do have answers,” she said, her voice laced with a growl, “When I first came over here, you wouldn’t even talk to me. You ignored me, ignored my questions, ignored my request for answers! We deserve answers, Mahsati-kahn!” 

Sabik spoke next and I saw her, Mahsati, and Juno’s ears twitch. They knew I was here. 

She said to Juno, “Go back to your family’s den. The matters being discussed here do not pertain to you or any other wolf not a member of the Ruling House.” 

Juno looked around them to see me and jerked her head in my direction. “Fine! If they don’t pertain to me, some ‘random’ wolf, then maybe they’ll pertain to the Kahn’méja’s child.” 

I walked to stand next to her—Sabik glared down at me. “I thought ignoring you was enough of a hint, Tarak-mé, but it appears not.”

I lifted my head to look at her. “My apologies, Sabik-sôja, but what do you expect me to do when the Ruling House mysteriously cancels training? Then, you and Mahsati-kahn refuse to answer Juno and me? None of it makes any sense and no one is offering an explanation.” 

I looked up. “Have you seen the sky today? It’s gray, Sabik-sôja. The Sun’s blocked from any wolf’s view—it’s frightening. Fear is in the air. You can smell it. 

“All we want is an explanation. We’re afraid—everybody’s afraid.” 

Both Mahsati and Sabik took a deep breath, glanced at one another, then looked back at us. Sabik spoke first. 

“The Kahn’méja is supposed to make a formal announcement tonight at dusk. He, along with all Ruling House members, will explain what’s happening.” 

Her gaze was softer when she asked, “Does that help you both at all?” 

I nodded. Juno thanked her. 

Mahsati said, his voice less stern and scathing now, “Let the other wolves know and spread the word–we want to make sure every wolf is there to listen.”

“We will,” I promised, “Thank you again, Sabik-sôja. Mahsati-kahn.” 

Juno and I bowed before leaving to return to the village plaza. I could feel the waves of dread emanating from her core, albeit less intense than they were before. 

She didn’t look at me when she broke the silence. “I hope everything’s gonna be okay, Tarak. This has all got me really freaked out.” 

“I get it,” I replied, “It’ll be fine, though. Especially after my father talks tonight, I’m sure it’s not a big deal.” 

I barely believed my own words—Juno could tell. “I don’t know,” she murmured as she looked up at the sky, “We can’t even see the Sun.” 

She looked back down, her head hanging low. “We can always see the Sun.” 

I saw that her right paw began to tremble while we were walking—something she always did when she was nervous. I laid my tail over it. “Maybe it’s just having an off day,” I joked and lightly bumped her side. 

Her quiet laughter echoed in my head, but the amused sparkle didn’t glint in her eyes like it usually did. I pulled her closer with my tail and brushed my fur against hers. 

She leaned into me. “The warmth coming from you might just rival the Sun. Are you coming down with something or what?” 

I chuckled. “Maybe that’s why it didn’t want to come out today. I’ve got it beat.” 

“Next thing I know, we’ll toss you in the sky and swear the actual Sun’s shining,” she quipped, her tail wrapping around mine, “Try not to blind me, okay?” 

“I will,” I said, my head nudging hers, “Promise.” 

~ 

The hours of the overcast day seemed to drag on into oblivion before dusk finally reached us. Juno and I’s paws were tired from visiting each den in the village and letting them know about tonight’s meeting, and the insistence for more answers had our heads aching. 

We both bet that this was how Mahsati and Sabik felt when we wouldn’t leave them alone—we swore to apologize to them later. 

All of the wolves had gathered in the center of the plaza, anxious whispers caught in the wind. Juno and I were standing with Marici while my mother and hers, Aruna, were talking, Anatoly huddling under my mother’s legs. 

Juno’s right paw had begun to quiver again, a nervous fervor that tap-tap-tapped against the ground. I laid my paw on top of it–it slowed until it finally stopped. 

She turned to look up at Marici. “Were you able to find out anything from the other trainers?” 

“No,” she answered, “They’re keeping this all under wraps, Ju, but Rasalhague-méja will be out soon. I’m sure everything’s alright.” 

“Yes,” I agreed, “Maybe it’s just a Ruling House matter they couldn’t talk about until now, like some new treaty that’s been passed with the vampires, daemons, or demons. It’s happened before.” 

Juno met neither of our eyes. “I hope you guys are right.” 

Before either of us could respond, the powerful footsteps of the Ruling House pounded against the ground. Juno flicked my tail as she walked away with Marici towards her family, who were under the House of Pisces. I followed my mother and brother to the opposite side of the clearing where my father was talking. A few of our distant relatives joined us. 

Sabik called for silence before my father began. “Wolves,” he started, “I and the rest of the Ruling House thank you for your continued patience throughout this uneasy day. We apologize for the distress we have caused you, and all will be explained in due time.” 

He paused when irritated growls vibrated from the crowd. “Order, please. … Thank you. … The Ruling House and I have called you here to inform you of a disturbance detected near the far-Southern border before dawn this morning. Training was canceled to ensure no trainers or their wolves traveled farther than the South wall before our guards identified the cause of the disturbance. 

“We have identified the disturbance as Shades.” 

The reveal caused howls to erupt from all Houses, frightened cries from young wolves sounding as they hid behind their parents. Numerous Ruling House members had to call for silence before my father could be heard over the noise again. 

Shades? I thought, perplexed, The trainers always made it sound like they were a creation of legend, a myth–the vengeful dead crawling their way back to life just to take it from others? It sounds like something out of a nightmare. 

I turned to my left and made eye contact with Juno. 

Her right paw was barely touching the ground with how fast it was shaking. 

My father continued. “Five Shades were detected at the Southern border, and the Ruling House has concluded that they traveled from a Northeast direction according to their scent trails. The five spotted were slain and their remains were properly disposed of—however, we remain unsure if this is simply a single occurrence or now a consistent threat. 

“Strongholds have been built over the past day on both the Southern border and South wall to ensure maximum security and we require that all wolves do not, by any means, leave their dens through the night unless it is an emergency. This is a safety precaution while we continue to investigate this matter. Training will also be canceled indefinitely.” 

He took a deep breath. “Are there any questions?” 

I winced when every wolf seemed to shout at him, the sound making my head split. My ears flattened against my skull and I cowered, my eyes narrowed as I glanced up at my father. He remained calm as he requested for one wolf from the House of Aries, to ask their question. 

“How do you expect us to be able to sleep tonight when you and the Ruling House have barely figured out the problem? My family is scared, Rasalhague-méja, they’re terrified!” The wolf cried. 

“I promise you that we’re doing everything we can and the problem will be solved as soon as possible. You and your family will be safe, the Ruling House and I will make sure of it,” my father replied. 

The wolf didn’t seem satisfied with his response as he stalked away. 

Another wolf howled over the others, “Simple strongholds will do nothing to keep Shades from attacking us! You might as well give them directions straight to the plaza!” 

My father called for Mahsati to respond to the wolf’s statement. “My guards and I have placed illusionary scent trails to lead any possible Shades away from the village. A second battalion of guards will be dispatched later this evening to refresh the trails and strongholds throughout the night.” 

The same wolf howled with frustration before disappearing into the crowd. 

Dozens more questions were thrown onto the Ruling House—by the end of it, the entire meeting was reduced to chasing tails in circles over and over again. 

The Ruling House finally ended the meeting with another promise that we would all remain safe and an order to retreat to our dens for the night. The reconnaissance battalion assigned to the Southern border led by Mahsati left as well. 

Before my mother dragged me and Anatoly back to our den, I ran over to Juno. 

“I’m going to see you tomorrow, okay?” I said, my eyes meeting hers, “We’ll go to the lake we visited yesterday, and maybe we can swim if the Sun isn’t too scared of me again.” 

I felt the amusement illuminate her core—I let out a sigh of relief. “Okay,” she said, “Try to give it a break, will you? I would actually like to see it tomorrow.” 

“I will, I swear,” I promised and brushed my head against hers, “Sleep well. Good night, Juno.” 

I didn’t head back to my den until I watched her disappear into hers. “‘Night, Tarak! I’ll see you and the Sun tomorrow.” 

I felt a chuckle within me, but it disappeared when I looked up at the sky–not a single star was visible beside the cold, unforgiving blanket of gray hanging above me.

[rylliejay]

Okay, do not take this as a negative. I really really enjoyed the movie. THAT said, i feel it could have been better, it could have been great.

So. Here's how I'd have edited Rebel Moon, if Zack Snyder had asked.

1) id have opened en media rez. Played like ten seconds of the scene from kora's flashback when she's charging across the dusty battlefield. She plants the flag. Hard cut to the silence of her plowing the field.

2) when the old man is asking her why she can't settle down, "i can't take a lover (buzz word) it means something different to me. I'm not made like that. -" im a child of war etc....

3) instead of kora telling Gunnar unprompted her entire life story, she mostly stops after describing her planets demise, saying the only reason she survived is because they took her to be a soldier

4) everything's the same except when Gunnar says he knows when the bloodaxes are hiding makes the scene when noble tortures the informant redundant. Either Gunnar doesn't tell the audience or some lackey comes up to noble and tells him "we've found where the bloodaxes are" we already know he's willing to torture, we already know where they are, the only thing this scene tells us is how the nail guns work. But we can figure that out on our own. It's a nail gun .

5) tarak's introduction left a lot to desire. The way everyone came in and started asking about everything, i feel since everyone else is talking about their damage it would have followed the im world logic for him to say something about "my only crime to the motherland is to exist. But their crime against me is great and worthy of retribution. Except I'm stuck here." Or some such. Idk i feel it was muddy

6) having kora tell Gunnar about the princess being hope personified was redundant since Jimmy and sam already had the same conversation. Idk what else she'd say here, but i feel it could be distinguished a bit more. Maybe since the OTHER scene that it's copying (other flashback) is shortened then that would help this one stand on it's own?

7) kai standing around evil monologuing to the trapped heroes and then IMMEDIATELY noble standing around evil monologuing to the trapped heroes is extremely redundant. Also, this is now a big reveal that kora was adopted by what's his face. The regent. Everyone turns to look upon her in mixes of horror and wonder.

8) the line "i never really liked the pilot" should have been said while walking past his body and kicking it or something. He was a major character who was killed. He should be treated like a main character. It literally only takes showing his body when that line is said and holding off the pan out by 2 seconds.

9) I'd also have Kora slowly go from saying "we need to save Gunner's home" to "we need to save my home" because i spent most of them movie thinking she'd completed her whole arc in the first however many minutes before she slaughtered the soldiers things protect sam. But she DOES have an arc, as shown by the lines "sometime something i want to live" talking to the old man vs. " It is (a good place to die)" at the end. That she wants to spend her whole life here until she dies. That she found something worth dying for. But she never takes about it . She should talk about it more. We should see it

PLEASE don't take this as me not liking the movie, if I didn't like it i wouldn't have cared enough to write this out. It was a BEAUTIFUL movie with interesting characters who i am excited to see more of. My list is under 10 points, that's pretty good. Can't wait for part 2 to come out!!

[hezzabeth]

“When a maternity droid is purchased and a fetus is put inside, they get a barcode stamped on the side,” Sugafana explained. “Why? I don’t think you can return a baby to a shop,” Jay asked. “No, they register it so they know what hospital to take the droid to in case it breaks down,” Sugafana replied. “So no barcode means no owner, correct?” Jay asked, and Sugafana nodded. “If Baba Tarik is willing to pay a fortune for an android, imagine what he would pay for this,” Jay laughed, and before Sugafana could stop him, he stood up and kicked one of the snow buckets over. “I know you’re excited, but you just kicked over a hundred credits,” Sugafana sighed wearily.

"I know! I'm just like a rich person! Destroying money for no reason” laughed Jay.

“Let’s just head back to camp” Sugafana replied.

Camp.

When Chakawrari Hairdryer the First declared all humans slaves, many people bolted. The rich sped off to other moons, and the poor ran toward death. Sugafana, on the other hand, waited. She waited with her students whose parents never arrived. She waited until the school burned, and she found herself running to the volcano belt.

Camp wasn't technically a camp at all. Instead, it was a series of tunnels located in a volcano right between the border of Mangalrajya and New Singapore. It was the sort of place for people like Sugafana, those who couldn't return but didn't have enough fortune to move on. Still, a maternity Android could change all of that.

The Android was sitting up on the back seat of Sugafana's transportation pod, its head swaying from side to side.

"She's very pretty for an Android. You know who she reminds me of?" Jay asked Sugafana as they slowly drove toward the camp's entrance behind a row of vehicles.

"Your mother?" Sugafana replied.

"Hah, no, she looks like the lost princess, doesn't she? Same long nose and pointy chin," Jay said.

"I'm not surprised; her face is plastered over every dinner plate on the planet," Sugafana replied. The lost princess wasn't technically lost at all. She had fled to the European moon belt at the beginning of the war and married the king of Sicily.

"We should go in together when we make the deal with Bappa," Jay said.

"Good idea," Sugafana replied with a firm nod.

"Will you be wearing your protective hood in his office?" Jay asked curiously.

"Of course not, don't be silly," Sugafana replied.

"Does that mean I'll finally get to see your face?" he asked, and Sugafana's grip on her steering wheel tightened.

"I suppose so," she replied casually.

"I bet your face is beautiful," Jay sang, and Sugafana rolled her eyes

"And I bet your face is wonderfully ordinary; funny men often look normal," Sugafana replied as they slowly drew to a stop at the camp's checkpoint.

"True, we can't all be as pretty as pregnant androids," he replied as the gatekeeper, dressed in a stained brown hood, stared down at them.

"Bringing in more snow?" The gatekeeper asked, glancing at the back of Sugafana's pod.

"Nope, not today," Sugafana said firmly.

"Is that a robot?" the guard asked suspiciously.

"Yes, we found it on our plot, and we declare scavenger rights," Jay said firmly.

"It's not AI, is it?" The guard asked.

"Of course not! I don't think it's even working; Bappi will scrap it for parts," Sugafana said firmly. The android made a faint chirping sound, and its stomach began to glow a deep pink.

The guard jumped, holding up his stun prod, and Sugafana sighed.

"Pay the man, Jay," she ordered.

"Pay him, with what?" Jay asked, and the guard lowered the prod.

"Well, my boy's birthday is next week, and we haven't found a snow vendor yet," he said waving them inside,.

“"Fine, grab a bag of ice," Sugafana said.

"Two bags," the guard replied before waving them through.

Bapa Tarak was the sort of person who loved living in the center of things. Before the war, everyone said he ran a business selling emotional manipulation perfumes. Everyone whispered that he lived in a penthouse with walls carved from solid Smokey quartz. Everyone screamed that he was responsible for the epidemic of silver salt snorting. His "office" was located in the bruised red and sandstone dead heart of the volcano. Over time he had managed to cover the scorch marks with stolen tapestries. The place, however, reeked of sulphur. Sugafana carefully walked down the slope heading to the office, pushing the android ahead of her in a tarp-covered trolley. Other snow farmers, scavengers, and thieves waited in corridors, each holding stone tiles with numbers etched on them. One of the men close to the front was leaning against the wall holding a tattered plastic flower. The man looked different than Sugafana expected. Scrawnier, with a trimmed indigo beard and a long broken nose. His brown skin covered in darker freckles. Carefully, Sugafana pulled off her protective gear and hood, placing it on top of the trolley.

"I’m assuming you’re Jay," Sugafana said, and Jay smiled, a brief friendly smile with a gap between the front teeth.

"And you’re Sugafana," he said, looking faintly pleased.

"I thought you were joking when you said you would bring a flower," Sugafana remarked.

"Why would I joke about that? You know you’re not what I expected," Jay replied, glancing at Sugafana up and down.

Dressing well during an apocalypse was rather difficult. Most refugees stuck to whatever they could find abandoned in the smoking ruins. Sugafana, on the other hand, had standards. Sugafana only looted the best stores and spent time cleaning dirt and blood off everything.

"Really? What were you expecting?" Sugafana asked, gesturing to her emerald green and turquoise pants and magenta blouse.

"I always saw you dressing like one of those lady assassin types, covered in swooping black with hoods like that Sinister Whisper person," Jay remarked as Sugafana parked the trolley next to him.

"The Sinister Whisper lacks imagination fashion-wise, dressing in black all the time is so noticeable! She should try dressing like everyone else," Sugafana remarked.

The Sinister Whisper was, of course, an infamous urban legend. Movies and musicals had been made about her exploits. Some colonies even sold fashion dolls with knife boots to little girls.

"I wouldn’t say that too loud, I heard whispers in the dormitories that she’s currently on Mars," Jay said, and Sugafana sniffed, folding her arms.

Jay, who was bad with money, lived in the dormitories, a series of old sleep pods stacked upon each other in one of the bigger tunnels. Sugafana, on the other hand, eyed every credit she had with laser-eye scrutiny and managed to live in a small cave with only one roommate.

"The dormitories are always full of silly rumors. Last month you said someone told you Organic Chia was going to come and save us all," Sugafana pointed out, referring to the solar system's most famous television star.

"Tian, who sleeps two pods over, said she was spotted on the edge of New Geylang by his third cousin. They said she was hired to un-alive the lost princess," Jay insisted.

"Chakravati hairdryer hired an assassin to murder the princess? They must be getting desperate," Sugafana said. The line moved slightly forward. The Chakravati hairdryer had, of course, tried to un-alive the lost princess at least a dozen times; memorably, once the hairdryer had even ordered a fleet of clothes cleaning pods to infiltrate her exiled palace and poison her underwear. The hairdryer never succeeded.

"Tian said his cousin, who knows the bartender, overheard the deal. It wasn’t the Chakravati’s contract! The Sinister Whisper was hired by the princess's husband," Jay said melodramatically. Sugafana merely shrugged before placing her hands back on the trolley.

"What does it matter? It’s not as if the princess has ever tried to stop the appliances! She isn’t even a member of the North Resistance," Sugafana pointed out, and someone coughed behind them. It was little old Lavyana, the Sikh lady who ran the food kitchens.

"You should use the word 'was,' dear. Whispers say the Sinister Whisper succeeded," Lavyana said, and Sugafana shivered.

"Just whispers?" Sugafana asked, and Lavyana leaned forward, patting her hand in a brief, distracted way.

"I’m trading my spices and then tracking through the desert to Harris Park. You and your husband should do the same! It’s best to run before whispers turn into screams," Lavyana said firmly, and Sugafana gently moved her hand away.

"He’s not my husband; he's my business partner," Sugafana explained, and Lavyana's eyes flickered briefly onto Jay.

"Even better! Run together! Harris Park could do with another snow cube shop," Lavyana said, and Jay chuckled as if finding the idea of marrying Sugafana hilarious.

"Number six hundred and forty-seven," a tinny speaker crackled.

"That’s us! Let’s go, my lady," Jay said, handing Sugafana the plastic flower.

Sugafana handed the flower to Lavyana. "Best of luck on your journey, Auntie," she said as Lavyana tucked the flower into the end of her braid.

"Miss Sugafana! My favorite snow cube dealer, I wasn’t expecting you until Friday," Bapa’s voice crowed as they entered his office. Calling Bapa’s room an "office" was rather generous; rather, it was a mish-mash shop filled with piles of abandoned half-broken items. Bapa himself, short and wiry, was lounging inside what appeared to be an old bathtub, dressed in a bright red leotard.

"Favorite snow cube dealer?" Jay asked curiously as he helped push the trolley inside.

"Bapa is in love with me; how else do you think I get such good prices?" Sugafana remarked, rolling her eyes.

"The day you rejected my marriage proposal was the worst day of my life," Bapa groaned dramatically.

"I have no interest in marrying business associates," Sugafana said, and Bapa rolled to one side before peering over the edge of the bathtub directly at Jay.

"Is this the man you’ve chosen to marry then? I assume you’ve come here to ask for my blessing," Bapa said, and Jay snorted with laughter again.

"I’m her snow-digging partner," Jay corrected him.

"The one who rants on about conspiracy theories and their lost sock collection?" Bapa asked curiously, cocking his head to one side.

"You told him about that?" Jay asked Sugafana.

"Only vaguely! Bapa insists upon making deals over tea and conversation," Sugafana said, and Bapa climbed out of the tub, heading towards a table stacked

Certainly, here's the passage with spelling and grammar fixed:

"I’m a teacher, Bapa, not an idiot. This is an A-grade maternity droid in near-mint condition! Fifty thousand credits and passage on your next ship to Hoxton Park,” Sugafana said firmly.

"Fifty thousand?" Jay gasped.

"It’s a good deal! Before the war, they sold for 80,000,” Sugafana said.

"Fine, fifty thousand and passage for you and your partner, but only if you throw the baby in,” Bapa said.

“Baby? What baby? The droid isn’t registered,” Sugafana asked, and Bapa stroked the droid's stomach.

“The stomach is glowing pink; that means there is a full-term baby inside,” he said before reaching upwards to press the droid's eyes.

With a whoosh of steam, the droid's pink stomach vanished, and there was a faint mewing cry. It was the sort of cry Sugafana hadn't heard in almost five years.

“See, a healthy ready-to-go newborn! Prime cloning material if we get it on ice quickly enough,” Bapa said. As the vapor cleared, Sugafana found herself staring at a tiny helpless creature. It squirmed as if searching for something terrible, something lost, and began to cry.

“You can't just freeze the baby and use it for cloning material,” Jay protested.

“Why not? You found it locked inside an Android abandoned! It won’t last the night,” Bapa said.

“Because I’m keeping the baby, scavenger rights,” Sugafana said firmly, scooping the screaming baby up.

“You're keeping the baby? What are you going to feed it with? Snow cube ice?” Bapa asked.

“I’ll figure it out,” Sugafana growled back.

An unregistered maternity droid hidden under the snow. The mother of the baby must have been desperate.

“Fine, forty thousand credits if you choose to keep the baby,” Bapa said, and Sugafana snorted.

“Forty thousand, and I also keep the droid's life support system,” Sugafana said, gesturing to the glowing pink lump attached to the baby's bellybutton. Bapa waved his hands.

“Fine, what does it matter? With the way things are heading, your credits will be worthless in a week,” he replied.

“What did he mean about our credits being worthless in a week?” Jay asked as they walked briskly down the corridor.

“It doesn’t matter, I don’t need a week,” Sugafana said.

“You don’t need a week? What is going on? Did you just adopt a baby?” Jay hissed at Sugafana.

“No, technically, I’m just keeping an eye on her until I find her parents.”

“And how will you do that?” Jay pointed out as Sugafana balanced the baby against her chest. The life support system kicked into gear, slowly feeding the baby nutrients with a constant hum.

“I’ll have to head into the city and use one of the genetic marker healing pods near the hospital,” Sugafana said, patting the baby's head.

“The city is currently on fire! The people who live there are forced to spend eight hours a day running for the machines, or their oxygen gets cut off,” Jay pointed out.

[silent-dragon]

Happy Birthday Jesh!

1/11 marks the birthday of this hardworking money loving wolf. He has stopped by to enjoy a birthday party in his honor! Looking dashing in his vampire like cape...but what happened to his shirt? Oh well he is here regardless.

🪙🐺💚

Feel free to wish him well or give him a gift via sending a ask and he will reply to thank you.

Birthday Voicelines Below

🪙

Summon

"A day where I'm the one being treated? How nice!"

"Kinda forgot what day it was. Glad you reminded me."

🪙

Groovification

"Thanks for remembering my birthday truly."

🪙

Set to Home Screen

"This cape isn't tail friendly….what you staring at?"

🪙

Home Transition 1

"Tarak brought me a lot of stuff from the lost & found that never was claimed. There was some cool stuff in there I can resell for sure. Heh…"

🪙

Home Transition 2

"I'm sure Lustre thinks it's funny to give me a bath set as a gift. Why did he get me something he would want and use? Bad enough the scent just says clean..what does that even smell like?"

🪙

Home Transition 3

"When I went to eat breakfast I thought I had done something because a banner with my name on it was hanging. I was about to take off but was reminded of what today is…kinda embarrassing."

🪙

Home,after Login

"A party sounds like money was spent..on me? Was that your idea? I am questioning why?"

🪙

Home Transition,Groovification

"I really have to outdo my own birthday when it's time for yours huh?"

🪙

Tap Home 1

"Some co-workers at the hotel gave me lunch yesterday as a gift. It was as sweet of them as all could do as we're always so busy with guests and room issues."

🪙

Tap Home 2

"Huh?...Where's my shirt? Hahaha..good question! I have no clue…I had one but was getting a tad hot. How did I completely lose the thing?"

🪙

Tap Home 3

"Sin gave me quite the gift; it was a whole live turkey! We chased it for hours. I love running around so chasing something is always a good workout. Turkey is fine and sleeping day away now."

🪙

Tap Home 4

"I'm a bit worried about something so I may leave before nightfall. I hope that is ok."

🪙

Tap Home 5

"My dad was so silly when I visited him earlier he asked why I looked like a prince. Guess I kinda did look like one but imagine a wild man like me..a prince..so dumb.."

🪙

Tap Home,Groovification

"Wish I could take breaks like this more. Not like my birthday again, just a rest day. I sadly have to get back home so I can go to work tomorrow..such a shame."

🪙

Duo Magic

Tarak: "Happy Birthday Jesh!"

Jesh: "Thanks lil pup."

[luxshine]

Clone!Verse Pairings and info.

As I am almost finishing the first say, season of the Drrragon!Verse, I started other three fics because my brain and muses won. I kept saying I was NOT going to do it, but... well, I did it. One of them is the one I teased, with Ram being raised by the Buxtons, having a lot of internalized racism inside and Bheem having to help him find himself, that is on A03, and is named The Earth, the Trees, the Tribe. The other two are sort of crossovers because see, I fell in love with RRR, and with Charan and Tarak, and then some lovely people invited me to a discord about RRR and well, next thing I know, I have watched like 10 of their movies and trying to find more.

And then... @ririsasy said in one of the discord servers that it'd be fun if all the different roles of Charan and Tarak were clones and... uhm... a new verse was born in my head.

IT DOES COUNT as an RRR Fic, see, because all of the Charan characters I'm including (7, from 5 different movies as in two of them he plays two characters) are clones of our dear Rama Raju, made by a British lab because of course the British can't leave Rama Raju alone. And while I still haven't said what the deal is with the Tarak Characters (Also 7, from 5 different movies, as in one of them, he plays three characters), they at the very least have dreams of Bheem's life, so yeah, basically, the Universe saw that in modern times there were Seven New Rama Rajus, so it went OOOPS, we need Seven New Bheems to balance. Because yes, obviously, the Rama Rajus are in love with the Bheems. Or well, they will be, as soon as they meet.

(They even have designated pairings. It's not just first come, first served. They have to find their specific Ram or Bheem. The Universe doesn't play around)

Now, I know some of us, specially in the English-speaking side of fandom, haven't watched all of Charan and Tarak's movies, so I am going to be making some posts about the pairings in question, so you guys can get a taste... and WATCH the movies in question!

So let's start with Clone one of the Rams. Chelluboina Chitti Babu, whom you might have seen in my dash before with his beloved chicken, Chicken. Now, Chicken is not that important in the movie Chitti is from, but he became a fan favorite because he's so cute, so in the fic, he's Chitti's pet.

We also have Chitti to thank for Charan now liking lungi more than pants. Just for that, Chitti should be named a national hero.

Anyway, he is from the movie Rangashtalam, which you can watch legally as far as I know in Einthusan in telugu. And it's a movie you NEED to watch. Seriously, anything I say about it (Except that Chicken is only in it for like, two seconds) is a spoiler that will make the experience of watching it for the first time less epic.

Also, Chitti here is half-deaf, and part of the plot is a lot about how he has a lot of inner ableism and the acting of Charan is amazing.

Anyway, he is paired in my fic with this Bheem clone, Anand.

Anand is an environmentalist who, after his uncle panics a bit for a fight he had with some goons, ends up joining a garage, Janatha's Garage (lit. The People's Garage) where they fix... EVERYTHING. And that includes your problems. I know it's a bad summary, but it's again a movie you seriously need to watch. I also adore the music on this one. ALL of the music, but specially the titular Janatha's Garage song.

I also found this one in Einthusan, although I believe Amazon Prime has it in some areas.

They are the very first ones that appear on the fic, so if you have watched them? You can start reading it! (hint hint, nudge nudge)

[sepublic]

I hope King got to reclaim the bones of his siblings. After reclaiming his mother’s body from further exploitation and misrepresentation for power and genocide by Belos, it’d have been nice to see him do the same with the Titan Trappers’ gross misuse of his siblings’ bodies. The fact that King fell for the intended purpose of this misuse and almost died because of it…

Between the nightmare sequence and the Collector learning what death is, and the Titan Trappers being incapacitated by them? It’d have been really great to see King and the Collector clear the deal; That the ‘Grand Huntsman’ does not approve of Bill’s lies, and anyhow they will reclaim these remains by force if necessary.

Given the setup for Tarak and the other Trappers to realize Bill is a liar, plus their Grand Huntsman revealing they were misused in a similar way by Belos, whose reign they at least understood was faulty? I could see a shift in them renouncing these ways, esp since they never actually killed a Titan, we had Tarak’s guilt over having to sacrifice King, etc. It’s easy to advocate for the genocide of a dehumanized ‘evil’ race until you actually encounter one of them and realize, Oh! That’s a real person!

Tbh given the parallels between Bill and Belos? I can see Tarak, possibly the entire Titan Trapper community, being akin to Caleb; We already have Tarak’s previous bonding with King, which led to some hesitation! Dana confirmed Caleb and Evelyn initially met one another under the guise of Evelyn being human, so I wonder if Caleb had a similar moment to Tarak in EotW, where he was gung-ho about killing witches, realized this friend of his was a witch, hesitated… But unlike Tarak, didn’t go through with it and even defied the group.

Maybe Tarak eventually does this during the timeskip, at least for the practical reason of realizing Bill is a liar. Of course, Tarak still tried and King is a child to him, unlike peers Caleb and Evelyn; So I don’t expect King to forgive and accept Tarak as family the way Evelyn did Caleb. Who knows…

Regardless; The mother was laid to proper rest and no longer had her grave desecrated. Given King got closure and even revenge over that, it’d be wonderful to see him get the same for his siblings, since brotherhood with Luz is just as important as his parental figure in Eda, the two other main characters of the show! King already got back at Bill by destroying his teleportation gate, and with the Collector ‘collecting’ him and King not doing much to stop it? He could always go further…

Just, man; I have to mourn the siblings. We know the Titan at least, people revere her. But who were the siblings? Only King and his family will mourn them. What were they like? Were they like King with Eda, in their relationship with their biological mother? Were they artists, goofballs? Bill at least confirms similarities in being big tyrants with appetites who go WEH! How young were they when the Archivists and Trappers killed them, before their mother, in grief, had to escape? Did they cry out for their father, were they murdered in front of him?

It just really gets me man. One genocide may have been averted, but another has not been fully avenged or prevented with the Archivists still out there, and there was simply no room to address that with everything else. And King learned all of this, just when he actually began to consider the idea that he has other siblings he doesn’t know about, and begins to miss (and then mourn) them too…!

[hag-lad]

RATING NANDAMURI TARAKA RAMA RAO JR’S MANSPREADS ON A SCALE OF 1 - 10

Aw jeez, this one is trying very hard to go for the gold! He’s staring straight into my soul, with that little shitty smirk, who the hell does he think he is?! I almost want to give this a low rating just to piss him off! I’m soooo annoyed by this image, it is so fucking stupid and funny and awkward and cringe! The three-piece suit!!! The oversized pin-tuck leather chair! The William T. Riker level of Sitting Wrong On Purpose!!!!! Shoes on the arm rests??!! Where are you manners?! This picture is comedy gold.

Let’s be perfectly honest though: As far as manspreads go, this is top tier. This is truly OBNOXIOUS in the way any great manspread ought to be. You may not like it, but this is what peak male performance looks like.

I will knock off points for the following: No visible tension lines in the fabric of his trousers, no visible crotch seam, no aggressive edge, unconvincing aura of masculine ego. This is an act! I can tell he isn’t sincere. I prefer when Tarak put his whole cock & balls into a manspread. This is a joke to him. And to me!

FINAL VERDICT: 8/10

[guthrie-odonto]

Since we won’t be seeing him or the demon realm again until next year, let me give some speculation as to what kind of titan King will be physically, as well as some insight into titans as a whole:

So King is/displays

Both mammalian (hair; heterodonty—he has canines and molars) and reptilian (hatched from an egg; lack of auricles, the external ear flaps seen in mammals) traits

Is a member of a species with unimaginable power, to the point where even their blood is enough to rip the barriers between worlds

Has a powerful attack that comes out of his mouth (it’s a sonic attack now, but it could develop into a Godzilla-style breath weapon “breathing fire”, if you will?)

Artwork seen on Titan Trapper Island and Tarak’s disguise hints to some titans having four legs and two wings. Given that King’s arms don’t look like they’ll develop into wings like those we see on the titan piñata we saw in Edge of the World, it’s likely that if he does get wings, he’ll be a hexapodal animal—four legs and two wings

There are entire communities hellbent on hunting down titans, with everyone in there fancying themselves as a St. George type figure.

With all that in mind, it seems like titans, and especially King, could be a creature seen across all mythologies in all kinds of shapes that, as Overly Sarcastic Productions put it, is universally defined by its great power, a creature that has never had any notable appearance in the show to my knowledge (unless you count Kikimora’s pet and that one DBZ reference): the one they call…

DRAGON

(King specifically being designed after the traditional European dragon, fitting of the Bosch-inspired setting of the Boiling Isles, but like dragons, titans can have many different morphologies, thus explaining the differences we see from King to the more humanoid titan corpse that forms the boiling isles to the various titan skeletons seen on Titan Trapper Island, including the island itself)

[lampmanliveblogs]

Edge of the World

Follow-up post

Better late than never, as they say.

There were quite a few things I glanced over or didn’t talk about that I want to bring up

As per usual, I rewatched the episode and here are few things I missed or didn’t talk about the first time through.

•In King’s dream sequence at the start of the episode, he asks the King of Dads if they can play catch; he later asks Tarak the same thing. •The mural in King’s tower that depicted what I (and King) thought was his father fighting some monster was actually showing a Titan Trapper fighting a Titan. •Titan Trapper Island is the remains of a Titan’s hand. A hand with five fingers. Ymir has four (I think) and King only has three. •One small clue that the Titan Trappers weren’t related to King is that we never saw any of them walk on all fours, like King sometimes does. In fact, their clothing was unsuitable for quadrupedal walking. •According to Tarak, Bill has met the Grand Huntsman, a.k.a The Collector. Is this true? If so, how? When? I was under the impression The Collector has been buried beneath so many thousand tons of bones for so many thousands of years. Then again, during the sacrifice ritual, they had a black tablet that looked similar to the mirror Philip used to contact The Collector. So Bill probably communicated with The Collector through that. •Another clue towards the Titan Trappers’ true identities: During the little bonding montage, they have King smash a  piñata… a piñata with a familiar skull. •On the other hand, not one of them thought it was a bit weird when King used his voice powers on that big horn to blow a griffin from the sky? ”By the Huntsman, that kid has some powerful lungs!” •Here’s an obvious thing I totally missed: Bill says he saw the last living Titan. But it can’t have been King he’s talking about. So… what of that one? What happened to it after it disappeared? Was it King’s father? How long ago was this? •As someone pointed out to me, the Titan skulls in Bill’s shrine are fairly small, about King’s size, maybe a few are a bit bigger. Implying that those skulls came from babies or children. •The stars in the Grand Huntsman snowglobe and that can be seen when King lights the dark tablet on fire look like the magic stars the wizard in an old Bamse cartoon shoots from his magic wand. •This extremely cursed image of Hooty

(Note: We here at Lamp Entertainment will not be held accountable for any actual curses caused by prolonged viewing of this image. Why were you so easy to curse?)

In addition to these short points, there are a few things I didn’t discuss that I feel deserve a bit more talking about. So I’m going to do that now.

Last Son of the Boiling Isles The King of Tomorrow

Like I said, as I was getting towards the end of my liveblog, it was late and I was rushing to get it done. So I didn’t do every scene justice. Especially when it came to the tragedy King went through.

King spent a good portion of the episode thinking that he had FINALLY found out where he came from. Not only that, but his people immediately accepted him as one of their own. They even said they would help defeat Belos. He didn’t have all the answers yet; no one knew who his father was and they didn’t recognize the symbol from the tower, but surely, those questions would be answered eventually. After all, he had his newfound family to help him.

Tarak especially became like an adoptive uncle or father figure to King in the short time he got to know him. As I pointed out above, in the dream sequence at the very start of the episode, King asks King of Dads to play catch. He later asks Tarak the same, very clearly showing how King came to view him like a fatherly figure. And ever since the events of Echoes of the Past unlocked the memory of his father calling out for him, King has been on this search for his father, longing for that father figure.

Even as the strange ceremony became weirder and weirder and you could see King becoming unsure and confused, he still continued going along with it. Because he wanted so much to believe that he had finally gotten the answers he was looking for.

Then it was all torn away from him. In the span of a minute, he is told that he is a Titan, that his newfound family is trying to kill him, and then it’s confirmed that his newfound family don’t just want to kill him, but they are responsible* for wiping out is actual family.

(*well, the older generations of Titan Trappers anyway)

This is all to say that our skull dog Titan boy is going to be big sad for a bit now.

If we try and look on the bright side though: We are slightly closer to learning the truth. Not quite there yet though; there are still a lot of unanswered questions. For example…

Who are King’s parents? And what happened to them? Bill says he met the last living Titan and that obviously wasn’t King, so it must’ve his father then, right? Perhaps King’s father fled from the Titan Trappers and hid King’s egg in the tower off the coast of the Boiling Isles. But then what happened to him? Is he still out there somewhere or is he dead?

Then again… Bill’s poster referred to King as ”The Last Son of the Boiling Isles,” implying that King is maybe the progeny of Ymir itself?

What’s the deal with the symbol in the egg room? What’s the deal with the guardians protecting the tower?

The Lord of the Fireflies a.k.a. The Collector a.k.a. The Grand Huntsman, god of the Titan Trappers

Back when the world was new

This planet of ours was down on its luck

And everywhere gigantic brutes called Titans ran amok

Oh, it was a nasty place

There was a mess wherever you stepped

Where chaos reigned and earthquakes and volcanoes never slept

And then along came The Collector!

Before I go into all the questions and speculation I should bring up something I was told in a comment. I was told that The Collector goes by he/him, they/them (which was stated by Dana Terrace herself, as I found when I looked it up). So if you were confused in the liveblog as to why I seemed to switch pronouns for The Collector, that’s why. I just kinda goes with whatever pronouns sounds better in my head for any given sentence. And my head works in mysterious ways, as should have been demonstrated to you ample times by now.

With that established, let’s talk a bit about what was learned about the enigmatic Collector in this episode.

The Collector, if that is his real name, goes by another alias. The Grand Huntsman, the god of the Titan Trappers. My first reaction upon learning this was to think that The Collector was simply posing as a god in order to get the Titan Trappers to free him from his prison beneath Ymir’s corpse. But then I thought a bit about and… that might not be the case.

It’s not entirely clear just yet what it is exactly that The Collector collects. But my theory is that he’s collecting all the green, red, and blue rocks for his master, Mothman who… wait, no, I’m thinking of Kapten Svea again. Uhh…

It’s not entirely clear just yet what it is exactly that The Collector collects. But my best guess is that it’s strange and exotic beasts or monsters. And with a hobby like that, the epithet ”The Grand Huntsman” makes a lot of sense. So yeah, The Collector may very well be a straight-up god of the Titan Trappers, just going under another name. And gods having multiple names or titles is not unheard of either.

My current theory is that at some point in the murky mists of the distant past, The Collector was a very powerful magical entity that came into conflict with the Titans. God or no god, The Collector wasn’t powerful enough to take on literal giants. At least not all of them. So he founded a warrior clan called The Titan Trappers and became their deity

At some point, The Collector was trapped beneath the body of the Titan I’ve been calling Ymir (more on that in a bit). I wanna say this was at least a thousand years ago, but I can’t know for sure just yet. It has been mentioned before that the Boiling Isles has been around for at least a few thousand years, so if Ymir was the one who trapped The Collector in some sacrifice, then The Collector has been trapped for as long as the Isles has existed. That being since the death of Ymir.

Their contact and influence over the outside world severely limited, The Collector has nonetheless managed to contact at least two people in the last few hundred years who may be able to free them from their imprisonment. Those being Philip Wittebane and Bill of the Titan Trappers.

I have another little theory which there isn’t a whole lot of evidence for, but that I think is pretty cool. Recall I was surprised when it turned out that the Titan Trappers could use magic. That’s because I figured that since they didn’t live or grow up on the Boiling Isles, they wouldn’t be able to use magic since magic comes from the Titan.

Now, there are a few different explanations for this. They do (well, did) have that nifty portal to take them to the Boiling Isles and we did see Tarak visiting the Isles. He even had a penstagram scroll. So maybe they visit the Isles often and long enough to soak up some of that magic juice and that’s how.

Now, my idea that I had in my brainplace is this: What if The Collector gave the Titan Trappers the ability to use magic? What if, long, long ago, during the great war waged between the Grand Huntsman and the terrifying Titans, when the first group of Titan Trappers was founded, The Collector gave them the ability to draw upon the magic of the world and use it to fight the giants? I think that would be pretty cool, it kinda places The Collector as a sorta parallel to Ymir, in that they would both be a source of power for groups of people that worship them.

(and lets face, ain’t no way the Titan Trappers of the old felled some of the bigger, island-sized Titans with just some spears. They didn’t even have any maneuver gears for crying out loud! How do you expect anyone to take on a titan without vertical maneuver equipment?)

A lot of my theories on The Collector are based on speculation and conjecture drawn from small  nuggets of information; there is a literal ginnungagap* of information. This enigmatic character is in most ways a mystery and I’m looking forward to finding out more about then, as I’m sure I will in coming episodes. Much like Loki** from stories of old, I’m sure this mischievous god will make his grand return  during the Day of Unity, right as the world is about to come to and end.

(*continue reading and you will learn what that means and why that is a hilarious pun)

(**Loki was, of course, a trickster god from norse mythology. In one story, he tricked another god into killing the universally beloved Balder. As punishment for his crimes, the other gods tied him up deep within the underground to be trapped and tortured. There he remained until Ragnarök, the end of the world, when he broke free and joined the battle. You can see the similarities. And speaking of norse mythology…)

Of Fire and Ice

Once upon a time…

I wanted to take a moment to talk about something. That being my chosen nickname for The Titan which makes up The Boiling Isles: Ymir.

I believe that the very first time I mentioned that name was back in Adventures in the Elements in season one. I also brought it up when I showcased my Conspiracy Corner (which has been due for an update, hint, hint). Now, in the past, I’ve mostly just brought it up because I wanted to talk a little about norse mythology.

In the last liveblog however, I started referring to The Titan almost exclusively as Ymir. This is because in the past, The Titan was the only Titan I knew about. But now I know there were multiple other Titans once upon a time. So it might get confusing when talking about the Titans and The Titan. So a nickname for that individual Titan was needed. I could’ve gone with something like the ”Boiling Isles Titan.” But that is longer to type, doesn’t roll of the tongue the same way and is just kinda lame.

Ymir on the other hand is a short name, easy to type and read. But more importantly, it is a name that has history and meaning behind it. There may have been many Titans in the past of different species and sizes, but The Titan on which the Boiling Isles is based is still a very important individual amongst them. So it deserves a fitting nickname, and I believe that Ymir is just that.

If you’ll indulge me, I would like to tell you a story…

In the beginning, before the world existed, before there were humans or gods—there was just Fire, ice and the nothing. To the south there was the fiery Muspelheim, the land of heat, light, and chaos. To the north, covered in thick mists was Nifelheim, the land of darkness and the eternal cold Between them opened up the bottomless abyss Ginnungagap.

From a well at Nifelheim’s heart ran eleven poisonous rivers down into the abyss. Over time, the mists from the rivers formed frost and a layer of snow grew over the part of Ginnunagagap leading to Muspelheim Meanwhile, fire and sparks flew from Muspelheim. In the middle of the eternal abyss, where fire and ice met, the first living being was born from the meltwater. This was the horrible primordial giant Ymir.

While the giant slowly came to life, another creature appeared from the mists: the cow Audhumbla. From her teats flowed four rivers of milk, which the giant ravenously drank from. Once the giant was satisfied, he fell asleep and started sweating. Within his dark and damp armpits were born a man and a woman. At the same time, his legs beget a strange son, a monstrous figure with six heads. From this being descended the giants. These malevolent monsters soon started spreading throughout the young cosmos.

Audhumbla sustained herself by licking salt rocks in the ice. As she licked them, a male figure started appearing. This man was Bure and he had a son named Bor, Bor married the giantess Bestla and she gave birth to three sons—Odin, Vile, and Ve. They were the first gods.

The descendants of the primordial being, the giants and the gods, hated each other. And when Odin, Vile, and Ve came of age, they set out to end the giants’ reign and create order in the cosmos. And so they killed Ymir and made from his body the world.

From Ymir’s bones they made the mountains, from his flesh the earth, and his teeth they ground into gravel and stone. His hair became the forests and his beard grass. His blood became the lakes and seas and from his cranium the vault of the heavens.

(based in large part on Johan Egerkrans’ retelling of the story from his book on nordic gods that I bought in a moment of weakness the other day, alongside his book on dragons)

That’s the basic gist of that creation myth. There’s a lot of details I skipped over but you get the point. The world was made from the body of a primordial giant. You can see how I made the connection between Ymir and The Boiling Isles Titan.

All in all, I think Ymir is a fitting name for the Boiling Isles Titan. It was very necessary for me to retell the story for you to understand this. I’m totally not just in a mood to talk about norse mythology after I bought a new book about it, no, not at all. That’s just a coincidence.

In Conclusion

This is where I normally talk a little about my overall thoughts on the episode.

I liked it. There were, of course, a lot of lore and the revelation of King’s true heritage. The tragedy of King thinking he had found his lost family only to have it ripped away from him was good. Well, good story stuff, not so good for our skull dog son who is actually the last living member of a race of god-like giants. He’s probably a bit upset by it all. Add it to the pile of trauma our heroes are going through. Said pile is growing at an alarming rate.

I really liked the build-up to the reveal. The episode did a very good job of establishing that hope-spot, especially coming after Hollow Mind where everything went wrong. King found his family, and said family was a capable warrior clan that promised to lend their help in defeating Belos; it was almost too good to be true. Which it was.

Now, I was kinda expecting everything to go wrong, because I was explicitly told that every episode after episode 15 was sad. But still, even I was fooled for a little while into thinking that maybe we could have some nice things. For a little while.

Then we have the reveal itself. I think my reaction in the liveblog itself speaks for itself how I felt in the moment. And then they hit me with a double whammy with the reveal that the Titan Trappers’ god was actually The Collector. That was a cool reveal in and of itself and helped establish The Collector further as a serious player on the grand scale who is totally going to Do Stuff. I don’t know what he’s going to do, but it’s going to be something.

I think I talked a bit in my Mid-Season Intermission about how I thought that the origin of Bat-Queen might be tied into King’s origin in some way. My main reasoning for this was that tying several plot threads together like this makes for very neat storytelling. It means our attention isn’t drawn in several different directions at once. And having multiple story lines converge in one spot means that if, say, your company were to cut the story short, you can hopefully tie it up somewhat neatly even given very little time.

Ahem.

The point I’m trying to make here is that tying The Collector into King’s backstory was a good move.

So yeah, those are some of my thoughts on this episode. This post took about a week longer to make than it should have. Next up, I’ve got a bunch of asks that need answering and a completely overhauled Conspiracy Corner that I need to show off before I get into the next episode. So it’ll be a little while longer before I can get into the next episode. Until then though, take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!

<--Previous Episode: Hollow Mind

Masterlist

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[hhoneyglasss]

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 — 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' & 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈 — 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐜𝐡

☼ 𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙴𝚂 ☼

it's finally here !!! i'm so excited i finally get to share this w however many ppl it gets to !!! so, i figured i'd put the prologue and chapter into one conjoined post since the prologue is fairly short, but the rest of the chapters will be released one by one. my posting schedule for this series specifically will be on mondays and fridays at 17:00 EST.

i also want to mention that this series will be in first person pov from tank/darlin's perspective. tank/darlin does have a canon arian name in this series; it's "tarak," which is a male sanskrit name. however, tarak does not have any canon gender or sex (it doesn't matter nor does it affect the story), and their appearance will not be described unless very, very vague. therefore, you can either insert yourself into the role of tarak, or view them as their own person/character. it's ur decision !!

꩜ 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 ꩜

prologue is 137 words & chapter I is 1.5k words

꩜ 𝚊𝚘𝟹 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚔 ꩜

link

꩜ 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 ꩜

none !!

꩜ 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 ꩜

link

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 !!! 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 !!!

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 — 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧'

There is no moon where the sunbound wolves lie, but there are stars. Millions of stars light up the sky, splatters of luminance cast upon the dark Arian night. You can only see them for a few short hours, but they’re always there, just like the beloved sun. 

But as you stare at the Arian sky tonight, it seems to shake, quiver, and the view ahead of you becomes blurry. After a few tense, worried moments, it finally begins to clear, and you can now see two skies in front of you—one Arian, and the other Elegian. 

There’s one similarity you notice between the two, a light so soft you can barely see it–but it’s shining, a beautiful golden hue that sets it apart from the others. 

So tell me, reader… 

“Can you see their star now?”

☼☼☼

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈 — 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐜𝐡

“Tarak! Tarak! Taraaaak!” 

I had barely woken up when I felt Juno throw herself into my side, and I growled. Her paw was digging into the side of my snout. 

“Wake up, sleepyhead!” 

I pushed her off of me. “I’m already awake! Thanks to you…” 

I shook the brambles caught in my fur as Juno rolled away in the sand, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth. 

She tilted her head as she stared up at me. “Someone’s grumpy today.” 

“I wonder why…” 

Juno sat up with my response, her ears perked. “I know why!” 

“Why, Juno?” 

She nudged my paw with hers. “It’s because you’ve missed me so much!” 

A snarl left my throat as I turned and walked away, but she wasn’t far behind. She brushed her tail against my side as her amused yips filled the clear air. We began walking along the side of the shore, the shallow lake now reflecting the pale lavender of the day’s sky. Ripples fluttered along the surface from the warm breeze. 

“Ugh, it feels like I haven’t seen you in forever!” Juno exclaimed. 

I stared straight ahead. “It’s only been a couple of weeks.” 

“Feels like millennia,” she said, “I guess we’ve both been pretty busy, huh?” 

“Busy’s one word for it.” 

She looked at me, her light green eyes curious. 

I looked back. “Exhausted is another.” 

“Aw, cheer up,” she said, her maw opening in a slight smile, “Our training will be over before you know it!” 

I snorted. “Yeah, in six long, excruciating months.” 

“Don’t be such a—what do Elegians call it?—Oh, such a ‘negative nelly’!” 

I stopped walking and stared at her. I could almost hear the gears turning in her head. 

“… What about a ‘Debby downer’?” 

“You’re getting colder.” 

“… Party pooper?” 

I shook my head and continued walking. “How did they manage to get worse as you kept going?” 

“They didn’t get worse!” She retorted, “They evolved.” 

“More like devolved.” 

A high-pitched growl reverberated from her. “Tarak, you are such a—”

“Use another Elegian turn-of-phrase and I might just explode.”

Her tail slapped my side. “What’s your problem with Elegians anyway?” 

“I don’t have a problem with them,” I said, “I just think they’re—”

“Annoying?” 

“No—” 

“Crazy?” 

“Not necessarily—”

“Stupid?” 

I narrowed my eyes on her. “Boring, but all o’ what you said could work too.” 

She whined, “Oh, c’mon, no they aren’t! They’re adorable, you just don’t want to admit it.” 

I stared at her, deadpan. “They also stink, Juno.” 

“Only the moonbound wolves,” she stressed, “The rest of them smell just fine.” 

“Nuh-uh,” I said, “Have you heard what some of the elders have said about their Earth elementals? Apparently, some of them don’t bathe themselves because they believe it ‘goes against nature’.” 

Juno’s nose wrinkled. “…Okay, I don’t think I have a defense against that one.” 

“Exactly,” I replied, “Which happens to prove my point that—”

“No, a single point has yet to be proven,” she argued, “Personally, I think Elegians are kitsch.” 

“You think they’re what?” I asked. 

“Kitsch!” 

I paused. “… I don’t think you’re using that word right, Juno.” 

“Yes, I am!” She insisted, “I heard Arpina say it the other day.” 

“Just because your healing teacher’s using it doesn’t mean it’s right,” I said. 

“Fine, then what about… Camp! Elegians are camp!” 

I resisted another snort. “Not quite right either.” 

She huffed. “You are a ‘buzzkill’, Tarak.” 

“Tarak-explosion commencing in three, two, one…” 

Before I had time to react, she tackled me to the ground, her paws on either side of me. I growled and nipped her, and her voice hissed, a ringing noise left in my head from the sound. 

“Hey, that hurt!” She whined. 

I looked up at her. “Yeah, it was supposed to.” 

She nipped me back before getting off of me, and I sat up. “What was all that for?” 

“It was to make sure you don’t explode,” she said. 

“Uh-huh…” I started, “I guess you won’t let me escape that easily.” 

“Nope!” She yipped, “You’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not.” 

“Oh, whatever will I do…” 

The sound of barking and paws scuffing the ground grew louder as we walked into the main village, the evening sun continuing to dip lower and lower toward the horizon. The glittering orb of the Jo’mele’ban floated in the center of the ring of dens, its watery surface reflecting the smeared colors of the tired sky. Its core shone brighter than usual, something both Juno and I noticed. 

“Hey, didn’t Atlas just get his immortality?” She asked as she tilted her head towards it. 

“Mhm,” I replied, “My dad was talking about it yesterday. I think he’s still asleep in one of the healers’ dens.” 

Juno shivered. “In certain ways, I’m excited for when we can get ours, but in other ways…” 

I finished her sentence. “It’s gonna suck at first.” 

“Right!” She agreed, “Do you know all of the horror stories I’ve heard about people getting their immortality? I mean, Marici didn’t wake up for six days after getting hers, and she could barely walk when she finally did…” 

Marici, Juno’s sister, was one of the trainers for our village—she specialized in healing and electro energy. She taught me when I was still in primary schooling—she was the reason I made my first spark. 

I remember when she got her immortality—it was years ago now, but I remember how once four days passed, most wolves thought she wasn’t ever gonna wake up. 

“I’ve heard recovery from it depends on the size of your core,” I said as we both sat and continued looking at the Jo’mele’ban, “So… larger core, longer recovery. Maybe Marici’s just incredibly strong or something.” 

Juno’s laughter echoed in my head. “That means I’ll be passed out for, like, a millennia after I get mine. Just you wait, Tarak.” 

“Sure, Juno.” 

“I’m serious!” She said, “You’re gonna miss me so bad… ‘Parting will be such sweet sorrow’—”

“Shut. Up.” 

“What? You’re not a fan of ‘Romeo and Juliet’?” She giggled. 

“You could say that.” 

“You’re a hater.” 

“Maybe.” 

We got up and kept walking through the village, weaving through the pups playing before their parents called them into their dens. 

“You know, I think it’s funny that you hate English class so much, yet yours is way better than mine,” Juno quipped. 

“Tch,” I grunted, “You can hate something and still be good at it.” 

“Well, pardon me, Tarak, I forget you’re a natural-born genius. My apologies.” 

I wacked her with my tail, and she chuckled. We kept walking until we arrived at my family’s den, and I turned to her. 

“I’m gonna head in for the night,” I said, a yawn escaping my maw, “I’ll see you…?” 

“Tomorrow,” she finished, “My classes end early, so I’ll be free for the afternoon.” 

She began to trot away. “Good night, Tarak!” 

“G’night, Juno.”  

I walked into the den, the long day finally getting to me as I felt sleepiness pull at my mind and muscles. My mom, Solana, was in the corner with my younger brother, Anatoly. Both of their furs were soaked. 

I went over to them. “What happened to you two?” 

Anatoly perked up, his tail wagging, but Solana answered first. “Your brother thought it was a good idea to jump into the lake when I wasn’t looking.” 

I sat down next to them and looked down at him. “Did you forget that you can’t swim?” 

“No! I just… wanted to try it! You and Mom make it look so easy…” 

“Probably because we actually know how to do it, idiot.” 

“Hey!” She said, “Don’t call your brother that.” 

“But he—” I stopped when she looked up at me. 

I swallowed. “Sorry, Anatoly.” 

His mischievous snickers had me wanting to throw him back into that lake, but I resisted. I laid down next to them. 

“How was your day, Tarak?” 

“Fine. Long. Too long,” I answered as I laid my head down on top of my paws. 

She laughed. “Your training will be over before you know it. You should try to enjoy it while you still can.” 

“That’s what Juno always says.” 

“Then maybe you should believe her.”

I looked up at her, still skeptical. She continued, “I mean it. You’ll miss your trainee days when they’re over.” 

“Do you miss yours?” I asked. 

“All the time,” she replied, “You’d be surprised by how often I miss having homework.” 

“You miss having homework? Why?” 

“It was the only thing I had to worry about at the time,” she said. 

“It still sucks, though.” 

“Agreed,” she laughed. 

A few minutes of silence passed us by, and I looked out of our den. The sun had fully set, the sky now a deep blue as stars began to appear. My father, Rasalhague, still wasn’t home. 

“Where’s Dad?”

Solana carried Anatoly over to his nest before she looked over at me. “He had to work late today. He’ll be home later.”

She walked over and nudged me. “You, on the other hand, should be getting some rest, and I’m sure the floor isn’t where you’d like to fall asleep.” 

I got up, trudged to my own nest, and lay down. She rested her head atop my own as she said, “Good night. Sleep well, Tarak.” 

“Good night, Mom.”