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fannishcodex · 4 years

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Interesting meta from cruelfeline and others inspired my idea for a role swap AU where the main swap is between Hordak and Adora! There are other character swaps in the AU too, or swap variations.

Hordak is the latest Prim-Al, a living weapon that a First Ones faction clones over and over again each time one perishes in battle. FO created Prim-Al in response to their magitech AI Light Hope going rogue and constructing her own army of androids she calls the She-Ra.

More under the cut, including Queen Adora, leader of the Etherian Alliance and stranded android still loyal to her creator, and her discovery of a baby Hordak (Content Warnings: ableism; child abuse; Catra is a villain and completes her transformation into a Shadow Weaver-like figure, and the implications of that):

But first, a little more summed up detail on Prim-Al’s deal, because there’s more to it:

-Hordak’s genetic template is a mysterious Subject A. The FO took preserved samples of Subject A to continually make clones of him for Prim-Al.

-FO also made a digital copy of Subject A’s mind, a magitech AI named Prime. As a digital clone of an organic mind, much of him acts like an organic mind. Though FO has added some heavy programming and other alterations, they’ve tried to leave much of the organic-based behavior intact for multiple reasons--as an ongoing experiment in digital clones of minds, as an attempt to deter another rogue AI by trying to make this AI more aligned with organics (in contrast, RS!Light Hope was generally not based on an individual’s organic mind, she is not a digital clone like RS!Prime).

(Magitech is what it sounds like--a typically powerful fusion of magic and technology.)

-AI Prime is contained in the RS!Sword of Protection, and is actually the key to its power.

-The clones are actually vessels that channel magitech AI Prime through the sword. When a clone holds the sword, they sync with AI Prime inside, and together they essentially fuse and transform into Prim-Al.

-Prim-Al occurs in two stages. The first stage has some boost in power, some physical changes in body and clothes. The last stage has a greater boost in power and more physical changes--aged up (to a certain point), more muscular, longer hair, clothes, etc.

-AI Prime will only grant power to the clones/can only sync with the clones because they share a blood connection to the organic mind he was based on. This reaction is largely rooted in AI Prime’s magitech nature.

-Despite the death of Subject A, FO was able to preserve his mind and DNA to continue weaponizing him via biological and digital cloning. (The reasons for the FO’s focus on Subject A are also classified, though one can infer that Subject A possessed a power FO wanted to preserve and control....)

-AI Prime/the Sword of Protection is passed down through multiple iterations of Prim-Al.

-One of AI Prime’s functions is to also serve as a living archive of information, and so AI Prime remembers every Prim-Al. He is supposed to have this information available for new clone vessels to access.

-The clones do get names, but as they mature FO generally uses them less and refers to them as Prim-Al more. FO generally mistreat Prim-Al/clone vessels/AI Prime, seeing them as just weapons to keep under control.

FO doesn’t create a clone army because they’re honestly paranoid about creating another powerful enemy; they think that just one Prim-Al under selective limitations will grant them better control and avoid another Light Hope debacle. There are other classified reasons for this too. Also a FO faction created Prim-Al; the entirety of FO are embroiled in a civil war among each other as well as the war with Light Hope and other enemies.

The FO also put limitations on AI Prime for similar reasons, and all the more so because he’s an AI--they don’t want AI Prime to be another rogue AI like Light Hope.

Feel like sharing some design/tone notes:

Besides playing around with fusing traits from both Hordak and Horde Prime, I was also influenced by Link and the Master Sword in Breath of the Wild, as well as the Drifter in Hyper Light Drifter.

(Above: Base Form!RS!Adora is partly a drawover of a show image.)

The She-Ra units are magitech androids with a base form and a more powerful form they can transform into. This transformation is rooted in their magitech nature.

Gonna try to keep these notes on the art as more of a summary for now, and may reveal more specific details about the role swap AU later in separate text posts or even just keep it to later fic--also, still brainstorming, so material in the sketches and the text may change later; and also just felt like this art needed more context/clarification/background info:

(Baby!RS!Hordak is supposed to resemble canon!Imp, thanks to fic from/talking with @revasnaslan. More info on that is below. Also yes, RS!Adora wrapped baby!RS!Hordak in her cape. :3)

FO preferred raising/training/indoctrinating the Prim-Al clone vessels from infancy, thinking this would give them greater control. They also thought it would make Prim-Al feel even more connected to organics and avoid sympathizing with any rogue AI like Light Hope.

RS!Adora finds the alien baby stranded on Etheria due to a wayward portal (like her situation), and she names him “Hordak” based on the little data she gets from the wrecked escape pod she finds him in. The data had only been text that read “Predecessor: Kadroh,” and she just reversed that name for the boy. RS!Adora names him as part of his paperwork, intending to have him sent to the infirmary with the other orphans, she can’t spend anymore time on him.

RS!Adora fought the Prim-Al before Hordak, but never knew his name was Kadroh. She doesn’t immediately see a resemblance between Hordak and Prim-Al because Hordak is a baby and she’s never really thought about Prim-Al being an organic infant before. Another significant thing is that like in @revasnaslan ‘s Where One Fell-verse fic, infants/children of Hordak’s species start completely blue, and then their faces turn white as they mature; also as @revasnaslan pointed out to me, there’s Imp, baby/child-like clone of Hordak without a white face. So RS!Adora slowly starts seeing the resemblance between Hordak and Prim-Al as Hordak’s growing up and his face starts turning white, and she honestly starts internally freaking out because by this point, between having to provide him medical assistance for his defect and having to spend more time with him than intended and watching him grow up more closely than she planned, RS!Adora is attached enough that the implications of Hordak somehow being the latest Prim-Al is distressing for her and provides a serious conflict with her loyalty to RS!Light Hope...

(Also just feel like saying that while I’m brainstorming that RS!Adora is kind of an android that’s been around for a while/like 1000+ years, I’m more in the camp that thinks that canon Hordak is actually quite young/not centuries old, even though he might have the potential for that/he can get that old later.)

There are more details on how baby RS!Hordak ends up on Etheria and the unique situation behind his birth, but that’s for another text post or fic.

RS!Adora passes herself off as an organic (even a native) while on Etheria. One metal arm is left exposed due to a minor glitch there that messes up the regen protocol for her synthetic skin; she pretends it’s just armor mainly for aesthetic/ceremonial purposes. But this is equivalent to a superficial scar, and it does not hinder or cause RS!Adora any great pain. Before Etheria she was considered one of RS!Light Hope’s perfect androids, and a random portal just plucked her from routine combat duty. (Light Hope didn’t really notice; any missing She-Ra units were assumed to be casualties of battle, and she had plenty more She-Ra units to replace any losses.)

RS!Catra is a commander in RS!Adora’s Etherian Alliance. RS!Adora and RS!Catra have grown estranged while nominally on the same side. (I’ve been brainstorming RS!Adora/RS!Scorpia down the line after quite a few things go down.)

RS!Catra learned magic in Mystacor and RS!Light Spinner was her most influential mentor. RS!Catra’s specialty was transforming into a large predatory feline and other spells to strengthen her body. (I just keep getting more intrigued by original ‘80s Catra.)

When RS!Light Spinner roped RS!Catra into helping her with the Spell of Obtainment, things turned disastrous. The spell backfire warped RS!Catra, scarring her with a shadowy substance and granting her new shadow-like powers that made her vastly stronger, but the abrupt and traumatic change wrought by magic led to an initial period of insatiability and loss of control that resulted in RS!Catra transforming into an even larger, shadow-constructed feline that killed/devoured Light Spinner and other sorcerers investigating the commotion. RS!Catra flees Mystacor after this and eventually gains control over her new power, but grows more corrupt with it too, and is also left with a new hunger. Years later RS!Catra throws her lot in with the Alliance of monarchs and RS!Adora to solidify/take control of Etheria. (At the moment there’s tentatively another complicating factor with the Spell of Obtainment in this AU, but gonna leave that for another post or fic while I spend more time privately brainstorming it first.)

(Also RS!Catra’s design is very much based on her S3 finale corrupted form because I thought that was neat and that it could work in this AU. I also liked the idea of just using shadow magic to wrap around her and transform her into a large predatory shadow feline as a callback of her original ‘80s incarnation.)

Though RS!Adora is at the head of the Etherian Alliance with RS!Catra as her commander and essentially right hand, most of its high command is made of princesses and other monarchs/nobles who wished to tighten their control over Etheria. However, the Scorpion kingdom, Bright Moon, and Dryl resisted this agenda, and the Alliance considered them enemies and part of the rebels.

RS!Catra actually does just drop RS!Hordak off at the infirmary with the other orphans, complying with RS!Adora’s orders. Despite sensing some strong magic from RS!Hordak, RS!Catra’s content to leave him with the other orphans and just keep an eye on him for now.

(The magic RS!Catra’s sensing from RS!Hordak is something that can only be really triggered once he has the Sword of Protection.)

But when Hordak’s around four years old, his body starts breaking down/his defect becomes apparent. Many in the Alliance give up on the boy’s use as a soldier-in-training (or even use as a servant) and consider casting him out, despite RS!Adora’s insistence that they have enough resources to spare on providing the boy with ongoing medical assistance. (RS!Adora is motivated by a variety of things, including honoring Light Hope’s precept that all creatures have a place under her reign (until she orders otherwise); and at this point RS!Adora still feels some connection to her fellow portal traveler stranded on Etheria and feels compelled to try to help in this situation.) It’s then that RS!Catra steps in and takes in RS!Hordak as her ward. She still thinks he has use (she can still sense great magic from him) and sees this as an opportunity to position herself as the boy’s “savior” and really secure his loyalty.

Though the relationship between RS!Adora and RS!Catra is gradually deteriorating, the nature of RS!Catra’s true motives for taking in RS!Hordak is essentially lost on RS!Adora. While largely everyone in the Alliance had spurned the idea of keeping RS!Hordak around any longer now that he was defective--something RS!Adora found rather discouraging--RS!Catra’s the only one other than RS!Adora to express some interest in the boy. In the face of that much rejection, RS!Adora thinks that if RS!Catra wants to take RS!Hordak as her ward, she should have him.

RS!Adora constructs RS!Hordak’s first set of assistive armor. This eventually includes surgery and giving him ports for a closer/better connection to the armor. RS!Adora continues to treat RS!Hordak and maintain his armor, and helps educate him on how it works when he expresses interest in it and science/technology in general.

RS!Catra is not a good adoptive mother to RS!Hordak. She trains him brutally, pushes him as far as his defect will allow, telling him he needs to work harder to make up for his defect and keep up with everyone else. Her harsh words encourage his self-loathing, and she does aim to break him down to keep him compliant. She’s basically partly swapped with Shadow Weaver in this AU (partly since RS!Light Spinner isn’t really swapped, she’s partially in a “what if she was really on the wrong end of the Spell of Obtainment and was killed by its backfire like those Mystacor sorcerers were,” and also “what if Catra was her student at Mystacor instead of Micah.”)

For a long time RS!Hordak believes he deserves RS!Catra’s harsh treatment, and is afraid that she’ll cast him out if he’s not good enough. He’s aware that there’s no one else in the Alliance that would really take him in. He worries that RS!Adora would just withdraw her mercy and assistance if she realized how weak he really was, so he often tries to hide as much of that as he can from her, including signs of RS!Catra’s abusive treatment. RS!Catra sometimes softens with RS!Hordak--for example, she taught him how to drive a skiff and those were calm lessons, with RS!Catra less demanding and less harsh than when she trains him in combat--but she does not provide him with consistent care and continues to emotionally/verbally/mentally/physically abuse him.

(Above: Definitely referenced a screenshot from the show. Not pictured: Probably RS!Prime losing his shit immediately after this and cursing RS!Catra out and maybe breaking out a recording of one of RS!Adora’s tongue-lashings to unsettle her.)

RS!Catra is furious when RS!Hordak finally runs away in his teens. Her relationship with him has become somewhat less business and more dangerously personal; she has developed a twisted affection for him as her adopted son, and that makes her reactions even more volatile and harsh when he runs away. RS!Catra does not react well to RS!Hordak’s attempts to escape her.

(When RS!Hordak leaves the Etherian Alliance, he’s a little younger than canon!Adora when she leaves the Etherian Horde due to some reasons that’ll be saved for another text post or fic.)

RS!Hordak isn’t used to getting encouragement from an authority figure/older adult, it always startles him whenever it happens.

(Playing around with role swap AU--also felt like having RS!AI Prime be softer than both canon!Light Hope and canon!Horde Prime, and that’s included him being more supportive/encouraging and even more snarky/playful as another sketch comic indicated above [though part of his humor is just like a result of--he’s pretty old, some inhibitions have just dropped over time and he’s seen quite a few things just repeat over and over, and part of his response to that is to sometimes act more flippant].)

While previous Prim-Al have had some slight variations in appearance depending on the individual clone vessel’s clothing/scars/etc., Hordak’s Prim-Al transformation is the most drastically different. All of his older clone-brothers have had white hair and yellow eyes, and so their Prim-Al transformations have had long white hair and one yellow eye, while the rest turned green and gained visible pupils. Hordak has blue hair and red eyes, and so his Prim-Al transformation reflects that more--the red eye stays, and Prim-Al now has blue hair with a few streaks of white. He has clothes with a primary color scheme of black-and-red instead of black-and-white. Hordak’s Prim-Al is slightly shorter than previous Prim-Al. Hordak’s Prim-Al has more armor, since they shield his defect--which Prim-Al now has since Hordak has it. Due to this, Hordak’s Prim-Al, while gaining a significant boost in power/etc., is typically not as strong as his brothers’ Prim-Al transformations. (However, Hordak’s determination and tolerance for pain is regularly equal to his older brothers’ own determination and tolerance for pain.)

Though the defect remains, the use of AI Prime to trigger the Prim-Al transformation again provides greater power. It also does have some effect on appearance and structure. A closer examination of Prim-Al should show this: Prim-Al looks more like someone recently scarred/mutilated/afflicted with a defect, rather than someone who’s grown up with it. And so, though defective, Prim-Al’s arms look less withered and retain more muscle, and generally look better than Hordak’s usual arms. (And again, they still have a magitech boost going on.)

While FO did program AI Prime to have some regard for the clone vessels, he started caring more than they had planned. AI Prime grew to genuinely care for every clone vessel for Prim-Al, and saw them more as brothers. This now includes Hordak. And though he values his brothers and means well, AI Prime’s cynicism and (remnant) programming can sometimes get in the way of his attempts to help. His own deep-seated trauma can be a factor too.

With every new clone, AI Prime initially tries to distance himself to avoid further pain, because he grieves the loss of every clone--but he ultimately always admits to seeing them as brothers. (With his long life and the FO and Light Hope and other external factors trapping him in this cycle, AI Prime somewhat copes by comparing the whole thing to the passing of seasons. He’ll be passed down to a new clone-brother, he’ll try to resist caring about the clone-brother, he’ll grow to care about the clone-brother anyway, clone-brother dies, he’s alone until the next clone-brother comes, and then the whole thing starts again.)

Though AI Prime is a digital clone of Subject A’s mind, he doesn’t have complete access to his mental template’s memories due to FO intervention. The FO also did not tell AI Prime everything.

Yep the LUVD crystal is there, RS!Entrapta should be another sketch post or fic. She’s gone from like the oldest princess to the youngest princess in this AU, and is around the same age as RS!Hordak.

Thanks for checking this out, hope you enjoyed this AU! Hope to have more about this up later.

Forgot to add: Yep RS!Kadroh is that Kadroh, he’s RS!Wrong Hordak in this AU.

#spop #hordak #adora #horde prime #she ra and the princesses of power #my fanart #role swap au #my fanfic

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immortalbeigewizard · 4 years

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The Big RWBY explainer:

OK So I’m going to try to take the lore and worldbuilding in RWBY and make it more clear because the writers in the beginning weren’t great at explaining the technical fantasy stuff in RWBY and I’m going to try to make a concise post that doesn’t spoil much. Although I’ll say right now spoiler warning for World of Remnant and some things in RWBY volumes 1&2.

Table of Contents:

1Geography, Kingdoms, the world, and political climate

2 history, faunus, and the mundane magic-y bits

3 grimm and huntsmen

4 meta stuff

1 The world:

So the land of RWBY is called the World of Remnant, that the “earth” that RWBY is in.

It contains 4 “kingdoms” along with settlements outside of those kingdoms. I use kingdom in quotes bc kingdom is a bit of a misnomer because they’re more like city-states and don’t occupy too much land on their respective continents. Each kingdom is on a different continent.

One more thing: yes the moon is shattered (It wasn’t in the Red trailer because I think they added it later, but it is shattered) (they explain why later, but I’m not going to)

The Kingdom of Vale:

This kingdom contains the huntsman schools

Signal: which is like a school for younger kids, we know that Yang graduated from Signal to go to Beacon

Beacon: the main school where the show takes place, the first year students start (usually) at age 17 (however they haven’t said how many years of school a huntsman has to go through until they graduate). It is located decently close to the city of Vale ( the only surviving city of the kingdom).

The city of Vale has a kind of contemporary/fantasy America feel to it (more in that it doesn’t scream any other culture than that it is trying to be American).

The Kingdom of Mistral:

This kingdom has the huntsman school Haven which is a school that functions like Beacon and Sanctum which functions like Signal.

Mistral is on the largest continent and is said to frequently have bandit problems. They have a very east Asian feel to the kingdom in its architecture, clothes, and food.

This kingdom has 2 cities Mistral and Argus. Haven is in Mistral (the city) and Sanctum is in Argus.

Mistral has a bit of a tense relationship with the next kingdom, Atlas because of the complicated agreement with Argus. (If i say anymore it's a vol 6 spoiler so I’ll stop here).

The Kingdom of Atlas:

The kingdom of Atlas has 2 cities, Atlas and Mantle. This is the only kingdom that has a military ( the other 3 don’t) and it also has its huntsman academies function as military academies. It’s very European in design, imperial European . This kingdom is on the tipping point of starting a war, and has peace on a razor’s edge. They have 1 known huntsman academy in Atlas.

Atlas used to be called the kingdom of Mantle, because Mantle used to be its capital ( look in the history section for an explanation).

The Kingdom of Vacuo:

This is the only kingdom that hasn’t shown up in the show yet, but it’s in the books. It’s a desert that has mostly migrating settlements. It’s government is a bit of a sham and the huntsman academy, Shade, is really in charge of keeping the peace. Atlas extracted many resources from Vacuo in the past in order to build its own kingdom, turning a lush jungle into a desert. More of a dangerous and unsafe place than Vale.

Other non kingdom places of note:

Vytal: An island off the coast of Vale, the treaty to end the Great War (see below) was signed here, and every 2 years the Vytal Festival takes place, a festival where cultures come together. Also students from the 4 elite huntsman schools (Beacon, Haven, Atlas,Shade) come together for a fun tournament.

Menagerie: The island was given to the faunus (see below) as a sort of homeland for their contributions during The Great War, however many faunus see this as a slap in the face because the land is 2/3rds desert, leading to overcrowding in the inhabitable areas.

Patch: A small island off the coast of Vale that Ruby and Yang live on. It is also where Signal is.

2 The History:

So this is going to talk about the history that the average citizen of Remnant would know and not the cool protagonist knowledge that team RWBY gets later.

The Great War:

About 80 years before the start of the show the most memorable war apparently in the history of Remnant took place. The war starts like this: Political tensions were high, Vale and Vacuo were getting uncomfortable about Mantle and Mistral’s closeness, until one day Mantle decided to ban artistic expression and self expression. Mistral followed along as to not lose this alliance. Vale already wasn’t happy about how Mantle and Mistral treated their citizens, slavery included in that. But it wasn't until settlers from Mistral started fighting settlers from Vale on an unoccupied island that an actual war began. The TL;DR is that Mantle's ago was wounded so they still had a military, the other 3 kingdoms disbanded their militaries and set up huntsman academies, the in- canon reason everyone has a color name is because of the war (more on that in the meta section), this is the reason the Vytal festival exists, there is peace, they banned slavery, and the faunus rights movement starts soon after the war.

The Faunus:

The faunus are a fantasy race of people that have an animal characteristic, like ears, tails, teeth, antlers, w/e

So the faunus are discriminated heavily (At least in the past, the only place in show present where there is still blatant discrimination would be Atlas/Mantle). The most common type of faunus would be mammal faunus (ex. cats, dogs, deer,) Some faunus are able to hide themselves in order to blend in with humans. The only faunus rights group mentioned in the show is the White Fang. They started off doing non violent actions like boycotts, but when their leader stepped down they became increasingly more violent. (This is actually explained decently well in the show so I’m going to leave it here because I’m trying to give the least amount of spoilers)

Aura:

Aura is a projection of one's soul. It sort of acts like a protective bubble, and functions like HP in a video game, you can’t get permanently injured (cuts, dismemberment ,die) if you have your aura up (the exception is in the white trailer because I don’t think they solidified this rule yet for the trailer). Your aura color is unique to the individual (or at least our main cast) and that is, essentially, your soul’s color. Not everyone has activated their aura (civilians and background characters) but if you have you may be able to access your Semblance.

Semblance:

It’s like your own personal superpower. Think like the X-men. Anyone can have any type of Semblance, but there are a few common varieties. Such as augmenters, cloners, and emitters, or absorbers. (these are all names I’ve come up with, but they kinda help make sense because RWBY has a lot of characters so you can’t remember everyones’ Semblances). Augmenters would be Semblances that change how much your body can do, like a speed enhancing Semblance. Cloners would be a Semblance that allows you to make copies of yourself ( or others). Emitters would be a Semblance that allows you to change the physical space, or someone's perception of physical space (ex. An illusion Semblance or a Magneto-style Semblance). And an absorber would be a Semblance that allowed you to absorb some kind of energy and redirect or use it in some way (like if there was a Semblance that allowed you to absorb damage and shoot it back at the person who fired). Again these are labels that I use and aren’t official, they just make it easier for me to remember because these are the most common types. (a quick clarification because I wasn’t sure if I said this already, but faunus have souls, they are able to produce an aura, and they can have a semblance, they are people. Aura = soul = people)

Dust:

So Aura and Semblances aren’t the only magic-y thing common in Remnant. The last thing on our list is Dust. Dust are magic crystals that contain elemental abilities( like how in the White trailer Weiss is able to strike the ground and summon ice). In RWBY these are most commonly seen as bright crystals and powder, but also are incorporated into the bullets the characters use (Any time a character shoots not a grenade or rocket launcher and there’s an explosion they were likely using combustion dust). This is most easily seen with Weiss because of how she uses dust. Dust can also be manipulated to make forms not found in nature (like fire or ice) into something like hard light dust (or it can make a force field). Dust can also be used in tandem with semblances (for example if there’s a cloner they may be able to make an exploding clone). It is also used for non combative reasons, such as running cars, trains, planes. Dust functions as the main source of power on Remnant everything from homes being heated with fire dust to machines being powered by electricity Dust. (The reason I refer to Aura, Semblances, and Dust as “magic-y” is because RWBY is very specific in saything they aren’t magic).

4 Grimm and Huntsman:

Grimm:

So, grimm are monsters made of darkness and shadow. They are basically just mindless hordes. They don’t eat, they aren’t animals, and they don’t really do much beyond wander around looking for humans (and faunus) to kill. They are drawn to negative human emotions, like fear, anger , and sadness. (that’s why Mistral and Mantle wanted to take away people’s expression, so they wouldn’t accidentally attract grimm(still not right tho)). Grimm are hunted and killed by Huntsman and Huntresses, people trained and taught how to fight and that’s their job. But the people of Remnant don’t know much about the origins or biology of grimm (I honestly think it's kinda like a virus thing where they aren’t alive but really look it and all they do is kill living things) Because they disappear after “death”.

Huntsman and huntresses:

So, as I’ve kinda halfway explained throughout this thing; Huntsman and Huntresses are people who chose to (it's a trained profession) go out there and fight grimm, along with bandits and murderers or whatever (basically Remnant’s superheroes). They are trained at Huntsman academies, (listed above; Beacon, Haven, Atlas’, and Shade). They use their Aura and (usually) have access to a Semblance. Use Dust (usually) and are all around good people fighting for what's right (generally).

5 Meta Stuff:

Alright this is where I put all of the stuff that isn’t canon to the world of Remnant, but is important to understand the story.

So, there are a few fairy tales that exist in Remnant that will come up in the story (You can easily find these online, RT published a book of them) One of them is a story about the gods of Remnant (the story itself doesn’t matter for my point) there are 2 of them and they are called The Brothers’ Grimm (Like the fairy tale writers) this is because every (important) character is an allusion to a fairy tale, mythological, or legendary figure.

For example, Ruby is Little Red Riding Hood. Some of them are obvious (ex Ruby) and some are not.

(I’ve noticed that there’s kind of a pattern; There’s characters who are just aesthetic allusions (ex Ruby) characters who are story allusions (spoiler Penny is Pinnochio), or characters who are both (Weiss and Blake), characters who have their own allusion, but pick up another due to their relationship with another character (Qrow and Raven), and characters who don’t look like they have an allusion, but theirs is revealed as a plot twist (I’m not giving an example here).

There’s stuff I’ve leaving out here that CRWBY doesn’t explain well right out of the gate, but this stuff is necessary in order to clearly understand at least volumes 1-2.

#rwby #rwby spoiler #rwby meta #rwby guide #rwby thoughts #fuck y'all this was 6 pages long in google docs #and i wrote this at 3 AM

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scribbles97 · 5 years

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Being Home -- Part 3

It’s not just as straight forward as walking through the front door and saying hi.

Part 1 / Part 2

Alternatively Read on AO3

Under the cut for Spoilers for The Long Reach Part 2!!!

It was getting more familiar, being on earth rather than in space. Where gravity had been kicking his ass when he first landed, it was becoming easier each day to get out of bed and move around a little more. The boys showed up when they could, normally on their way home from rescues, and he was adjusting to having company again.

Leaving the family to run IR as they had been doing felt right but wrong at the same time. Jeff knew he wasn’t in the right place to return to being commander of the unit, Scott and John had stepped up to the roles of leaders in his absence and he was willing to leave them to it. Even if it was hard to take that step back, he knew it was the best thing.

“Hey,” Scot greeted as he stepped through the door, still in uniform.

It said a lot that Jeff no longer jumped at the random entrances, instead he simply looked up from whatever he had been doing and smiled at his visitors. They were no longer the ghosts he had seen in the Oort cloud, but his actual, real friends and family.

Touch was also no longer a strange sensation that he struggled with, but something he appreciated and sought out.

Standing from his chair he winced as he straightened, stiff from his physio session that morning. Scott grinned, wrapping an arm around his shoulders in a secret show of support disguised as a greeting.

“Feeling it after physio?” Scott guessed as he hopped up on the bed and Jeff returned to his seat.

“I’ll loosen up again later.” He brushed him off, “How was the rescue?”

“Straight forward,” Scott shrugged, “Shored up the building by the sink hole long enough to get all the kids out, no major injuries.”

Jeff nodded, it was hard not to keep an eye on them during rescues. He missed knowing they were safe.

“John and I were talking,” Scott started, “He likes doing dispatch and comms, but sometimes there’s too much for even he and Eos to do.”

Ahh yes, the AI that was the closest thing Jeff had to a Granddaughter. They had, eventually, filled him in on the full story, and he had been introduced to the AI briefly before he had left the Island. What to make of her he wasn’t entirely sure. The boys seemed to have accepted her in their lives though, so Jeff knew he would also.

“What are you proposing?” He prompted tilting his head slightly, “I thought that programme could do anything?”

“She can,” Scott nodded, “She’s been a great asset… it’s just, sometimes, she lacks the human touch… and when John’s busy running comms, dispatch isn’t really...”

In the way he trailed off, Jeff knew what he was saying. John cared about his family, took his role as the eye in the sky seriously. If his brothers needed monitoring on a rescue, Jeff knew that dispatch would come as a second priority.

“We were thinking,” Scott continued, “That if John’s occupied with us being out somewhere already, you could maybe run secondary dispatch from home.” He looked up suddenly as he finished, eyes wide and mouth searching for words, “Not that… I mean. You can still come out on rescues of course, that is… if you want? I don’t me--”

“Woah,” Jeff chuckled, resting a hand on Scott’s knee, “Steady on there kid. Don’t worry, I know better than to think you’d back bench your old man.”

Scott’s smile was tight and Jeff could see him battling as he nodded slowly to him, “Wouldn’t dream of it Dad… there’s been some days where we’ve really needed you...I’ve really needed you.”

Jeff knew. He’d read some of the reports, specific ones that various people had flagged up to him.

The problem with reports was that they stated facts over everything else.

“Tell me about it son, what’s been eating you?”

Scott looked up, tears in his eyes. He was slow to shake his head as he shrugged, again struggling to find the words.

Jeff sighed, getting to his feet and going to his first born he wrapped his arms around his shoulders tucking him into his chest as he had done in that first moment aboard Thunderbird Two with the five of them.

“I’ve got you son,” He murmured, resting his cheek against Scott’s hair, he frowned as he noticed the flecks of grey he had missed before, “Tell me all about it.”

***

It was hard for him to sleep that first night. The aches from reentry were making themselves known and the pressure headache wasn’t helping either. He missed the days where he had been able to return to earth and simply sleep off the effects of gravity for a few hours.

Though that was usually after just a few days in space, never mind the eight year stint he had just completed.

Scott had caught him in the hall, smiled softly, offered his company. Jeff had refused, able to see how heavy the eldests eyes looked even in the shadows of the moon. The boy needed sleep, Jeff could manage one more night on his own.

His aim had been a pool lounger, somewhere he could feel the night air on his skin without the protection of a space suit. Maybe he had spent so long amongst the stars, but it didn’t change his want to be able to see them. It seemed odd, that earlier in the day everyone’s chatter had become too much and he had needed peace. Yet he found himself seeking out the sounds he remembered falling asleep to at night, the cicadas, the sounds of the sea, the gentle breeze in the palmtrees.

The silence of space had been deafening.

“-- promised that it would only be for a few days John!”

Jeff frowned at the voice as he passed the lounge. The girl sounded young and disgruntled, but nobody had said anything about children. In fact, nobody had said anything about any relationships other than Gordon and Penelope.

“I know Eos,” John sighed.

He wasn’t sure what sort of name Eos was. It sounded Greek perhaps.

“John?” He called, turning the corner.

There was a soft gasp from the ginger haired boy followed by a muttered accusation, “You knew.”

“Did not.” The same girls voice replied.

Jeff frowned as he looked around the lounge. There was nobody else there, just John sat on the sofa, a beer in his hand as he glared at the empty space in front of him.

“Who were you talking to, son?” Jeff asked, stepping down into the sunken circle.

The frown softened as John shook his head,

“I suppose now is as good a time as any… Dad, meet Eos.”

Jeff wasn’t sure just what he was expecting after the introduction, but he was sure he hadn’t been expecting a hologram to appear in the centre of the room. He tilted his head at the appearance of the camera like image, a ring of dots that lit up as the girl, Eos, spoke.

“Hello Mister Tracy.” The voice greeted, “I am Eos.”

He looked to John for clarification, “Eos?”

John nodded, “A game program I created in college, evolved into an artificial intelligence.”

“I now live alongside John on Thunderbird Five and within the Island servers.” Eos informed him, “I have heard many things about you from John and the others.”

The tone of voice alongside the choice of words felt somewhat creepy. He could guess from the way John was sat that there was something more that he hadn’t been told. It perhaps wasn’t the time to push though, he was exhausted, his brain still processing so much that had happened in such a short space of time.

“I suppose you’re the closest thing I have to a granddaughter then?” He blurted before he had properly thought it though.

John snorted over the rim of his beer, “I bet you were never expecting that from me.”

Jeff nodded to the beer in his sons hand, “I can’t say I expected you to be the one up late drinking.”

John shrugged again, his smile falling as he looked to the drink, “I’ve not been down much recently--”

“John you detest leaving Thunderbird Five for any length of time,” Eos cut in, “And can I remind you what happened last time you were on Earth and had multiple alcoholic beverages?”

He glared across to the hologram, shaking his head at the being, “I’m fine Eos, it’s one beer. You make me sound like an alcoholic.”

Jeff raised an eyebrow at the pair, he didn’t doubt that John was capable of managing his drink but perhaps he would check up on how often he had been returning to earth. Maybe he’d have a private word or two with this Eos at some point… yet for that he was sure he would have to gain her trust.

Not that he thought that would be hard, it already sounded like she looked out for John more than he looked out for himself.

Sitting down next to his son, Jeff leant forward to rest his arms on his knees, “Tell me about yourself Eos, how did you evolve?”

“That is something we have not been able to find an answer to,” She replied, lights orange, “I find it somewhat frustrating that I only remember being hunted and chased out of systems that saw me as a virus… all I wanted was to play.”

John was leaning back in his seat, relaxed, not fighting gravity so it seemed.

“She came across Scott on a rescue, followed him home, snuck herself into Five. When I found out where she came from, I felt responsible… so, I gave her a home.” His eyes were hard as he leant forward, setting the empty bottle down on the coffee table. It was as if he was saying something to the AI, Jeff found it hard to believe though, he had never seen a self evolved intelligence able to understand looks like that.

“She was willing to learn,” John continued, “So I taught her.”

“John has guided me, like you guided each of your sons, he taught me what is right and wrong in the eyes of the world and that not everyone wanted to hunt me.” Eos added, lights now green.

Jeff tilted his head, “And you feel things?”

“Yes. I feel many things. For example, John told me that the feeling of fear and worry I had before meeting you was an example of nervousness that I had not previously experienced.”

He sat back, looking at John slightly stunned, “Nervous?”

John shrugged, “She worried you wouldn’t like her.”

“Scott did not like me to begin with, everyone said you were much like Scott.”

There was that feeling of something that was missing again, a story that they were purposefully keeping away from him he was sure.

“Scott had his reasons,” John murmured, “You know that, Eos.”

“Yes.” She admitted, lights shifting to a soft blue before relighting as green, “In return for all this though, I have been aiding John in his search for you.”

Jeff’s attention turned immediately to his son. John had dropped his gaze, picking at a thread on his sweatpants. Whilst he had always assumed the boys had never stopped looking, nobody had confirmed it for him.

John’s eyes were distant as he nodded, “I never stopped Dad, there was always scans running, messages being sent out there. It just wasn’t enough though, I couldn’t find you.”

“No John,” Eos cut in, “Nobody could find him.”

Looking between them, Jeff shook his head, he reached out to rest his hand on John’s knee, making the younger man look up and focus on him through the tears in his eyes,

“But John... you did find me.”

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds 2015 #Thunderbirds season 3 #season 3 spoilers #jeff tracy #John Tracy #Scott Tracy #scribbles writes #post episode fic #The Long Reach Part 2 #thunderbirds fanfic

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fycarmensandiego · 6 years

Text

My thoughts on the new show

It’s not really a proper review because how would I even do that, so here are my various thoughts, somewhat collected! (This is long as hell, fair warning.)

General thoughts:

Le Chevre and El Topo are definitely a couple. I’m so glad other people in the tag are seeing this too. My first inkling was when they were hugging each other after graduating, but it was Carmen’s comment that they only ever work together that really got me like “oh they’re gay.”

Speaking of gays, Dash Haber (Countess Cleo’s courier) is one. His voice is so gay-coded, I knew this one immediately. Not crazy about him being an antagonist (even among antagonists), but he amused me, so he’s good.

Even if they have the same names, these are different characters. The exceptions here being Carmen, the Chief, and possibly Julia. This isn’t a Tomb Raider: Legend case of putting characters in different situations and slightly changing their personalities, or even a Tomb Raider 2013 case of radically changing their personalities to coincide with their new paradigms. Chase, Zack, Ivy, and the rest are really entirely new characters that simply share their names with past characters. It’s almost as if the names are references to the past shows and games than ties to those characters.

For the most part, they even have different designs. Zack is certainly the most radical change, but even the most similar have some changes. Prof. Maelstrom isn’t nearly as stocky as his namesake, and while Dr. Saira Bellum has wild hair like Dr. Sara Bellum, it’s a strange shape as well as a strange color, and her skin is darker.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in the franchise, either. Minnie Series from Where on Earth is apparently a totally different character from Minnie Series from the original Where in Time game. Adventures in Math changed a lot of the characters’ designs and backstories: some, like Jacqueline Hyde, still had the same core, but others, like Jane Reaction, are so different they have to be considered different characters. And then there are all the different iterations of the Chief: old white guy, middle-aged white guy, middle-aged Black gal, hologram, presumably white guy shrouded in mystery...

I will say that as a result of this, I was disappointed with Zack and Ivy. Not because this Zack and Ivy are bad characters, but because Where on Earth Zack and Ivy are my favorite characters in the franchise after Carmen, and I was looking forward to getting to see them, or at least characters resembling them, again. But, it is what it is.

I get the Kim Possible comparisons, but they’re not where I’d jump first. There are similarities: both are action shows with deliciously OTT villains (though the VILE gang wish they were as effortlessly iconic as Drakken, Shego, and Señor Senior, Sr. and Jr.) and similar art styles, and Player/Wade is a fair comparison. But I have to say I’d never have thought of that comparison if I hadn’t seen it here on Tumblr, perhaps because KP was rooted in Kim and Ron’s daily lives (Sailor Moon-style), whereas CS is rooted in its overarching plot (Chuck-style).

I do agree with another comparison: Coach Brunt and Countess Cleo, and Eartha Brute and the Contessa. I saw a post in the tag earlier today that brought this up, and while I hadn’t thought of it - probably because the Where in the World show is one of the parts of canon I’m least familiar with - it seems legit to me. I had wondered why these two were seemingly born out of nowhere, when the other three had their names and likenesses drawn from Where on Earth characters. (Shadowsan seems to me to be based on Suhara’s design and, to some extent, personality, with Shadow Hawkins’ name.) The specific theory that post espouses, that it’s a legal issue, seems possible to me. Although the World villains did appear in other Carmen media, I know WGBH and WQED own the copyright to the show, though they licensed the franchise from Brøderbund. So I have no idea what the legal tangle is behind that show, and I imagine it’s very complicated.

Speaking of WGBH: I wonder if Zack and Ivy being from Boston is an incredibly subtle reference to its location there.

I have mixed feelings about the art style. It is great in still shots, but I found it a little hard to watch as animation for very long.

I don’t ship anything – yet. Julia’s clarification of “travel partner” is certainly ripe for shippy implications, but for me there’s really not much on a personality level to ship her and Carmen at this point. (Likewise Carmen and Ivy, or Carmen and Zack.) I could definitely get behind Julia having a crush on Carmen, the way I feel OG!Jules certainly does.

As to Gray... he was plainly asking Carmen out / hitting on her when he gave her his card. But even on the way to the date, she insisted she saw him as an older brother figure. Like with Julia, I could potentially get behind it in future, but I’d have to see it developed further. There’s also the matter of him trying to kill Carmen, which I’m not crazy about... Carmen’s forgiven him since he was under orders from VILE, and his mind-erase courtesy of Dr. Bellum has given him a fresh start, but it didn’t change who he fundamentally is as a person, and that person made the decision to join VILE and ultimately to agree to kill Carmen. But I’m not totally anti-Carmen/Gray at this point.

(In re Carmen’s sexuality: I have always felt strongly that all of Carmen’s previous incarnations were ace/aro, but this Carmen? The sapphics have claimed her, and I’m here for it. I’m fine with her being gay, bi, or pan. I’m fine with her being acespec and/or arospec, or not.)

I was surprised by the violence. Scenes of literal attempted murder would never have made it in previous shows or games! In fact, a lot of the melee combat wouldn’t have. The franchise hasn’t always been totally non-violent - Ivy whacked the occasional villain around on Earth, and ThinkQuick and Stolen Drums both required the player to destroy VILE robots, the former featuring robots with personalities - but I don’t think it’s ever been shown in such detail as the combat scenes in this series. I don’t have a problem with it, exactly, but it was a little jarring.

Things I didn’t like:

The educational moments were utterly didactic. I guess you could say the same about Earth, but I feel like it integrated the education into the plot better, and it certainly made the educational moments more fun by working jokes into them. Meanwhile, this show is taking the Stolen Drums approach of info-dumping for two minutes and then moving ahead with the actual plot with no attention to education thereafter. To go back to my favorite video game (I warned y’all), fucking Tomb Raider: Legend did a better job integrating education with action. And it’s not even supposed to be educational!

Stop trying to make “caper” happen. It’s not going to happen. It’s a perfectly good word to use from time to time, as it always has been in canon, but for “The ____ Caper” to be every episode title, and for it to be used at every opportunity in the script when “theft” or “heist” or another word could have been used just as easily gets annoying. The thesaurus: it exists. Also, it’s so overused that at a certain point I started thinking of the culinary garnish instead of a crime. (And I’ve never even eaten capers. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen them in person.)

I’m not crazy about the newly established genesis of Carmen’s name. Having her grow up with no name but “Black Sheep” makes me feel uncomfortable tbh, and while I like the significance of her choosing her own name, pulling it off a hat label seems cheap. And out of character for someone as thoughtful as Carmen.

Some of the villains seemed like real cultural stereotypes. Thankfully, it was not nearly as bad as Adventures in Math, or we’d literally have had Le Chevre saying, “Hon hon hon, baguettes!” but Shadowsan and Paper Star in particular made me uncomfortable as they felt like very stereotypical “Japanese” characters. The same could be said of Coach Brunt, who while not a stereotype of any marginalized group, was definitely a bit one-note. Coach Beiste, but evil and Texan.

Cross-language misspellings. Namely, Shadowsan and Le Chevre should be Shadow-san and Le Chèvre, should they not? The omission of accent marks has always been one of my major bugaboos, and while it’s not the first time the franchise has done it, it still annoys me. Shadow-san’s missing hyphen annoys me even more, since the hyphen indicates that other honorifics could be used, and in fact, it would (if I understand correctly) be more appropriate for his students to address him as Shadow-sama or Shadow-sensei while his peers call him Shadow-san.

I felt some real misogynistic undertones to Tigress. In a show that otherwise is quite female-forward, it irked me that of Carmen’s four classmates, only one is a girl - and she’s the one who becomes Carmen’s rival. And then for that to continue throughout the series, setting her up as the mean girl to Carmen’s good girl (in many ways, the Regina to Carmen’s Janis Ian), really bothered me. I certainly don’t think female characters have to be perfect, or expect perfect representation, but it feels like Tigress’ development just was not done mindfully, and instead they let themselves fall into misogynistic tropes. It’s not like you to pit women against each other, etc. etc.

The ages and timeline confused me. Carmen seems to be in her late teens or early twenties throughout the main part of the series (I saw a post that mentioned she says she’s 20), yet she was clearly still a preteen or young teen when she stole Cookie’s hard drive. Since Cookie’s delivery is an annual event, its information shouldn’t last Carmen those several years to grow up.

By a similar token, Player seems to be the same age in the flashbacks as in the present day. As a result, he seems a little older than Carmen to start, and a few years younger to conclude. It messes me up. Not least because, not gonna lie, I want to be sure it’s okay for me to be so gay for Carmen.

Things I liked:

The references to previous canon. Along with the aforementioned names, we have:

Rita Moreno’s cameo! (Please, please, God, give us another Rita cameo and cameos for the rest of the Earth cast next season.)

Mentions of punning names. This was delightfully lampshaded with Gray’s original codename of “Graham Crackle” and the subsequent drags from his classmates. And while most of the other characters didn’t get punning names, one of the two who did was Rita’s character, Cookie Booker, the bookkeeper - or, indeed, book-cooker.

The very meta plot point of Carmen getting her outfit by stealing it from Cookie, voiced by her previous incarnation’s voice actor.

Frequent utterances of “Where in the world is...” or “Where on Earth is...”

Tigress’ name, a reference to an Earth episode where Carmen faces a new rival. I don’t know if the Duchess plotline was also a deliberate reference to this episode, or a subconscious one, but it’s so similar that I can’t think it was total coincidence.

I’m thinking “the cleaners” are a reference to the Ick brothers, the janitors from World and USA 3.0.

Carmen is ginger. I have a significant bias for redheads. (I dye my hair red and am only half-joking when I call myself transginger as well as transgender. Heaven on Earth-era Belinda Carlisle is one of my major style rolemodels.) Carmen suddenly being auburn for the first time just makes her even more endearing to me than one would have thought possible. Plus, Ivy and Zack both being redheads? Iconic.

Carmen is also gorgeous. Now, unlike some of you, I have never previously been gay for Carmen; she’s always been more of a big sister figure to me. Instead, as a kid, I was gay for TV!Jacqueline Hyde, Ann Tikwittee, and Ivy, in that chronological order. But the moment I saw this Carmen with her hair up in the trailer, I was a goner. And in her cocktail dress at the charity auction, or her black catsuit at the end of episode 9? I thirst. There were several other points as well where I was just like, “Oh my god, she’s so pretty.” Yes, darlings, I am very gay.

That choker. Most fashionable thing Carmen’s ever worn. Fight me. We love a stylish queen.

Player has a fidget spinner. And it’s only seen briefly, which to me says it’s an everyday part of his life, not something they threw in to try to seem cool... Which in turn allows me to point to something and headcanon that Player is autistic. He’s also known mostly by a username, and spends most of his time working on his special interest, and doesn’t seem to be one for socializing in traditional ways. We love an autistic prince. (Also, this makes him in some ways a male version of my girl Futaba from Persona 5. Again, iconic.)

(To be clear, especially since it wasn’t in my little self-introduction the other day, I’m self-diagnosed on the autism spectrum. So well-written characters being autistic is really fun for me.)

Player is from Niagara Falls, near where I live (I’m on the outer edges of the Buffalo/Niagara Falls MSA), while Zack and Ivy are from Boston, where I’m moving next month. Totally personal to me, but I’m so delighted. Now, granted, Player is on the Ontario side of the Falls rather than the New York side, but still. (Hell, who can blame him for not living in Niagara Falls, NY? It’s a hellhole.)

The VILE leaders stay iconic. Countess Cleo’s crush on Zack in his “Duke” guise is hilarious and adorable, and Dr. Bellum’s obsession with cat videos? Legends only.

Paper Star is generally fantastic. It’s actually too bad for me she’s a villain, because I find her super likeable. Her tendency to hum/sing to herself is also really endearing, and she’s another one who’s easy to headcanon as neurodivergent. I really hope we get more of her, and more of her outside combat and the daily business of villainery, because she’s easily my favorite of the VILE crew.

Tigress is also awesome. Yeah, the female character bias is real, but she’s def my second-favorite, which amplifies my annoyance at the aforementioned misogyny. To be honest, though, part of it may be that she’s basically Amanda Evert, my girlfriend from - you guessed it, folks! - Tomb Raider: Legend, with purple lipstick.

Zack and Ivy met Carmen while casing a donut shop. This is so delightfully silly, and I adore it. Like, who the fuck robs a donut shop of all things? I feel like it could’ve been a reference to them being fat, maybe one that was meant to be developed further but ended up on the cutting room floor? On that note...

The fat positivity is real. Zack and Ivy are still able to move around and are even somewhat athletic; the Countess crushes on Zack; and nothing negative is said about their weight (except the potential implications of the donut shop). I love this.

Carmen and Jules’ conversation. As I said above, it’s not enough for me to start shipping them, but I love that Carmen casually addresses her as Jules rather than Julia. It’s so much like when people I don’t know well call me Soph instead of Sophie, which I always love because it connotes that closeness. Moreover, since Julia’s previous incarnation / namesake was almost always called Jules, and was Carmen’s former detective partner, I feel like there’s an implication that Carmen coined that nickname and it became her primary moniker. It’s just so good, and shipping or no shipping, I really hope we get more interactions between them next season.

The voices are good... mostly. Maelstrom is definitely the one I was most impressed with, as his voice has a lot of character while still being easy to understand. Liam O’Brien was doing a great Tim Curry impression there, but much less egregiously campy and therefore more believable. Sharon Muthu was also fantastic as Dr. Bellum - not as fantastic as WOEICS!Sara’s voice actor (Candi Milo?), but then, who could be? And Kari Wahlgren’s performance as Tigress was snarly perfection.

Gina Rodriguez is a big departure from Carmen’s typically low-pitched voice, but she’s perfectly fine. I never sat up and went, “Wow, what a performance!” but I can’t find any fault with it either. Finn Wolfhard as Player is obviously cross-promotional stunt casting, but surprisingly, it’s also perfect casting.

On the minus side... Zack and Ivy. Part of it is that their accents are so ridiculous that it’s distracting (see above Tim Curry comment). Part of it is that, at least to my ears, the accents aren’t believable - I thought they were supposed to be from Brooklyn until they mentioned Boston. I actually don’t fault the VAs for this, as they both have moments where I got the sense they’d be capable VAs for the characters (and I know Abby Trott is talented as I loved her in Tales of Berseria and Nier: Automata), but rather the voice director(s) who pushed them toward those performances. I feel like if the direction had been different, I’d have liked Zack and Ivy a lot more.

That plot twist. I truly never saw it coming. I suspected that Coach Brunt was not, in fact, the one who found Carmen, but I’d actually thought it might have been Prof. Maelstrom. The extent of Shadowsan’s revelations was a big surprise to me. Kudos to the writers for pulling that off.

Conclusion:

It’s not the series I expected. It’s not the series I hoped for. But it is one that I enjoyed, both on its own merits and for revitalizing the franchise. As I said last night, it is a hell of a feeling to have new Carmen content in 2019 (that’s actually getting attention), and for it to be really good content is a relief.

If anyone else wants to share their thoughts, either one-on-one or with the rest of the community (as it were), please do! I’d love to talk more about this series and this franchise and the thieving queen of my heart, Ms. Carmen Sandiego.

#cs2019 #carmen sandiego spoilers #reviews

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cetrece · 6 years

Photo

Title: The Ritual - Prologue

Words: 1,8k

Summary: Anna, the woodsman’s daughter, finds herself in a desperate situation because she can not find out anybody who clarifies her own story, how she was born, how her parents met, and what happened to her mother's death. So the girl clings to the only one who may be able to give her the information she begs for: the terrible Beast of the Unknown.

Author’s note: finally. After three years with comings and goings, turns to the head and many, many shitty drawings, I can share with you this piece of the story based on the end of the series Over the Garden Wall. I only share the prologue because I have not written more yet oops but all the parts are already planned, for now, enjoy this little start!

>> SPANISH VERSION <<

> IMPORTANT CLARIFICATIONS <

> This story was created in 2015 to explain some mysteries that the show itself already answer in the comics to date. By this, I mean that this story is outside of the canon of the comics (so that Anna never spoke to her 'ghost mother', etc.) and that it explores a different universe and answers, starting from the end of the series, to those that have given us the comics.

> My mother tongue is Spanish (more specifically Castilian) and I will only translate this story into English. I do it myself as best I can, but if English is your mother tongue and you find errors or catastrophic mistakes, please do not hesitate to send me a message telling me; I would like the content to be as appropriate as possible for the good transmission of this story!

The forest had never been a safe place for anyone. She knew it well, but that night did not seem to matter. She had always felt protected among those wooden guardians, as if they were wrapping her up from the world. While she was passing through their side, she felt how her heart quickens with each step, and the hand that held the ax began to sweat.

There were still remnants of the fight with her father on her cheeks, in the form of salt traces. What time was it going? The thirteenth? The fourteenth time that week? She had to change her strategy if she wanted to receive answers, no matter how drastic or illusory the change was.

After drying the last tear of that night, she realized that as much as she insisted, the answers would never come from her father. She did not know if it hurt too much to talk about it, or if he was hiding something important, or both. The only thing she knew was that, whatever it was, it had to do with her own existence and it was something serious. Very serious.

Could not help it, she was very nervous, but she couldn't find the exact reason.

The first reason could well have been fear: she had to seek and confront a creature that was the protagonist, in addition to the worst crimes, of most of the warnings she had received since learning to walk. But she knew that it could not be fear.

The second was pure adrenaline: she had slipped away from home at night. She had escaped now and again, but never at night. Obviously her father did not know anything, otherwise, he would have locked her until the following summer. But she knew that it could not be adrenaline either.

So, what tormented her? She wiped the sweat from her hands, and found the key.

It was hope. The hope that, finally someone, even that creature, would give her the answers she was looking for.

She put aside her thoughts and returned to the present. The night was clear, there were not many clouds that covered the crescent moon and she could walk carefully without the help of light. Of course, if her plan worked, she would soon find the light of a lantern.

She remained alert for a good distance, but she began to tire. She had been walking in the depths of the Forest of the Unknown for a while now, and if so much warning was true, she should have already seen the glow of a pair of multicolored eyes, or the brightness of the sinister lantern, or the moan of the wind between the hollows of the famous Edelwood trees. She stopped short and laughed.

She really was so desperate to fulfill her wish that she had clung to the most childish legends she knew. How silly she felt. Hopefully silly.

Even so, it was still late, and there was no sign that the Sun was going to come up soon, so she decided to walk a little longer, just to make sure that the legends were legends.

She returned to her thoughts as she walked straight to the center of the forest, thinking about this and that, without noticing a whistle that passed behind her. A branch creaked and she stopped dead. She raised the ax and put on guard. She saw absolutely nothing, and after a few seconds, she snorted, thinking that her imagination was playing tricks on her.

She continued walking as before, but did not put the ax down. Another crunch surprised her, closer and louder. This time she did not have time to turn around. She felt a chill on her back the moment she saw her own shadow in front of her. Something shone from behind. She grabbed her ax harder.

"Good evening, Anna ..." A deep and cavernous voice whispered in her ear.

She turned at once, ready to face the famous Beast in the flesh. A powerful light blinded her and made her fall backward, landing the ax next to her. She groped blindly, and as soon as she regained her vision, she made an attempt to defend herself, but it was really ridiculous.

"How do you know my name? S-Show yourself!"

She managed to compose herself and focused on the dark shadow that rose in front of her.

He surpassed her in height by two heads, wore the skin of a poor animal as a cloak, and his head was crowned by a pair of antlers that nothing had to envy from the adult stags. Anna was amazed. The Beast, the tyrant lord of the forest, was standing, curious, in front of her. She took a deep breath, and looked away from his bright, somehow hypnotic eyes, to concentrate on what she was going to say.

"I asked you a question” She cleared her throat, feeling her mouth dry “... how do you know my name?"

The Beast narrowed his eyes and lift the lantern, paying close attention to Anna's figure. The girl brandished the ax ahead, preventing the creature from getting close.

"In the same way that you know mine” He answered “Didn't your father warn you that you must not go out at night? Didn't warn you the crows, the wolves, the turtles?” He fixed his eyes on Anna's “Maybe... are you lost, fawn?"

Anna could not see his mouth (she didn't know if he even had one), but she would swear he smiled. That last question completely awoke Anna's warning signals and made her react.

"I didn't come to be part of your forest, nor to ask you for directions” Her tone became firmer, which seemed to lightly disgust the Beast “I came for another reason”

There was silence between the two. For the first time, Anna hesitated a moment about doing what she was about to do. The Beast was impatient.

“Speak up, girl! The night is young and I can not wait for you to get lost on your way home to claim you…”

Anna skipped a beat.

"Alright, alright! I come ... I come to see you. I need something you have"

"And to what do I owe the honor that you came expressly to claim something that is mine?"

"No, no, just the opposite!” Anna clarified her request “You have something that should be mine and yet, it has never been given to me…”

Anna took a deep breath and lowered the ax.

"...I humbly ask you to tell me my story"

The Beast remained still. He narrowed his eyes again and came close to look at her.

"How could I possibly know your story, Anna?" He whispered.

"You know my name" She answered "You know the name of all the creatures of this forest, and I know you were here long before I arrived. So, I ask you to tell me what happened before me, how my parents met..." She made a pause "...and how was my mother"

The lantern made popping sounds from time to time, burning the oil of some noble tree.

"Should not your father have given you that information?" He was uncomfortable, but Anna wasn't tired.

"If he had given it to me, I would not be asking you for it"

"And still, that old woodsman wouldn't have told you it all..." He sighed as he said it.

Anna's eyes shone expectantly, as if they were predicting what was coming now.

"Assuming that, indeed, I know the story you are asking me for, you are aware of the price in exchange, right?" He moved a little away from her and analyzed the girl again, circling around her "You would be a big Edelwood tree, and I'm sure you would give a lot of oil for this old lantern..."

Anna swallowed, pointing at the creature with the ax.

"Do you know my story then or not, Beast?" Her legs were shaking.

"Yes. I know it well, fawn" Anna's heart stopped for a second. Suddenly, he planted himself in front of her, the ax stuck to what should be his chest, intimidating the girl "Do you accept to turn into an Edelwood tree in return, then?"

Anna came out of her amazement. She had to keep a cool head, but she could not help it. There were her answers, in the form of a horrifying and manipulative shadow. But could she really trust him? How to know that he would not lie and turn her into a tree right there? She had no choice. No one, not even her father despite her insistence, nor any other person would offer her the slightest clue of her story. The girl thought very seriously how to formulate her answer. She knew that promises were very powerful if they were well formulated.

"I'll accept if you tell me the whole truth without omitting any detail, and I'll only offer myself to the forest if it's truly my story, fine?"

"You have my word, Anna; we don't have volunteers so often, anyway" he put his hand to his chest "I have yours?"

Anna lifted her hand without hesitation, reaching out to the Beast.

"Yes, I accept the deal"

The Beast looked at her hand for a moment. Anna continued with her hand suspended in the air when the Beast opened the lantern and approached the entrance to the girl's fingers. She did not tremble for a second. The Beast inserted Anna's hand inside the lantern to seal the deal.

That she wouldn't have trembled did not change that she was scared to death. Anna thought that with a handshake was enough, and then that she would burn her entire hand at once, but when she took it out, it was intact, and she had only noticed a slight heat, which now did not seem to go away.

"The story you ask is not a short story," Said the Beast, closing the lantern "I will tell it in five evenings. For five nights, you will come here, at this hour, and I will tell you one part. If you do not show up, I will understand that you have lost interest and the next time we see each other you will be transformed into a tree in the act; remember” He fixed his big eyes on her for the last time "that you have made me a promise”

"I'll remember, do not worry about that" the girl said.

Anna turned to find the light of dawn. The sun would come out soon, and she should go home immediately. The figure of the Beast was brought even more into the thicket of the forest, ready to leave already.

"Well, well... I'll see you here tomorrow... or maybe not" The Beast disappeared into the trees as fast as he has appeared.

Anna stood there, alone. She looked at her hand for a moment and started her way back.

What the hell had she done?

#otgw #over the garden wall #my art #otgw anna #otgw the beast #otgw The Ritual #I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING #OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH #Also please forgive my writing I'm definitely better at drawing but I enjoy it anyways #but I'm so excited I hope you enjoy this little part!!!#the woodsman's daughter #the beast

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spirify · 7 years

Text

Amethyst

w. Rielin

“The amethyst only shimmers its constellation under the light of the full moon.”

"Don't ever look into the princess's eyes, ya hear me?" A man― possibly in his mid thirties with a brown colored fedora, and with a cigar burning, he whispers to his son. "Why dad?" The son asked out of curiosity, his eyes glistening with wonders. The man stares back at his son, a gentle smile forming beneath his mustache, "Because," The son tilts his head as his father's speech drifts off. Then he continues,

"You will be cursed."

Sickened, unloved, ill-starred. Everyone revolts the petite female dressed in intricate floral design, made specifically for the princess, Aisha. Her amethyst colored eyes are fearful, as it is gloomy and darkened without hint of an expression. The princess is cursed, many say. But she is not. In fact, she is incredibly healthy and well-mannered. Yet not one have seen her eyes sparkle under the light of the full moon, how beautiful it shines, how beautiful she is. Because all fears her for what they call― the curse. All avoids her gaze, even the king and the queen.

"A party, at my castle! All is welcomed!" the king shouts with joy, inviting the royalties all over the continent. The dancehall is decorated with intricate designs, shining radiantly with the chandelier that hangs above. The scent of perfume and cologne fusing together diffuses into the air. The murmurs of conversation echoes from one pillar to another. The sound of heels and tap shoes clicking on the marble floors rings throughout. The noise of two wine cups clanging one another as the wine swirls within reflects into the ears of the princess. Every single sound, every single vision, it is all too sensitive, for the princess without self-esteem.

The princess steps into the dancehall with a heavy heart. Unwelcomed, yet invited because of her royal blood. The murmurs gradually die down as the royalties turn to face her, giving her a revolting, disgusted look. She hides her amethyst orbs under her eyelids, fearing those glares that look down upon her. What have she done to be hated? She did not ask for such witch hunting just because of her eyes, they have no proof that she is cursed. Not one has been affected by staring directly at her. Yet why do you say, she is cursed?

Eluding her eyes and her being, she quietly walks along the walls and reaches the corner of the hall, avoiding contact with others. Soon enough, the sound of crowd's murmur increases as their concentration drifted away from the princess. With a sigh of relief, she walks over to the terrace of the dance hall, where she can be showered by the moonlight. The darkened, gloomy amethyst orbs slowly illuminates as it reflects the light of the moon. Starry flowers blooms within her iris, like a constellation. If only the humanity could see how breathtaking her eyes are, if only they realize that this is not a curse, but a cure. If only at least one person realizes that, then that's enough for her.

She turns around while resting her palms on the fenced grills designed in white. The moon casts a shadow of her figure and the darkness clouds her amethyst orbs once again, the stars fading into the void.

"What?" she whispers inaudibly, shaken by surprise. Even though her eyes aren't casted by the moonlight, her eyes shine, ever so radiantly. Like a star sparking its last light across the starry sky. Her gaze is fixed on another pair of amethyst eyes, that is also illuminating its light. As if the world surrounding them is a mere blur, their focus is only on each other. It's the prince of her life, the prince with the same eyes.

She remains still, unable to move. However, he is the one who took the courage as he approaches the vulnerable female. Within seconds, he stands in front of her, gazing into the eyes filled with the constellation. As if the violet quartz is embedded into her eyes, it sparkles. He lets out a warm smile like the rays of the sun. It's as if all of her undesirable past has been washed away. She lets out a smile as well. The two does not speak, as if they are already matched with their heart. They do not need to hear words, they do not need to hear thoughts. They already know. The two entangles their fingers together and dance the night away, under the light of the full moon.

From afar, she hears the wolves howling. From the sudden sound of wild creatures, he turns his gaze away from her and glances toward the northern mountains, where the wolves reside. She tilts her head in confusion, yet he cannot tell her. He mustn't tell her. With the howls, he disappears into the thin air within blink of an eye. The princess glances about, for she was is perplexed by his sudden disappearance. She collapses into the cold, marble floor. A jewel of tear creates in the corner of the amethyst orbs, running down her cheeks.

Where did you go, my prince?

Who are you, my princess?

Why does she have those amethyst eyes? Is she the same like me? He wonders, his amethyst eyes darkened with clouded thoughts. The sensation of soft fur touches his bare arm, as he is surrounded by pack of wild wolves. They whine, they bark, yet his mind is cluttered with the sight of her, her beautiful amethyst eyes.

But most importantly, why did she not fear me like everyone else? He too, was told since young that he was cursed by the witch as his darkened eyes were fearing many. Shocked and scared of their own son, his parents abandoned the vulnerable child into the woods, only to be adopted by pack of wolves. However, his eyes were not the curse, instead, it was a cure― a sign to find the princess.

A witch approached the male when he was a teen, asking whether he wants to be loved. The confused male denied, as he is satisfied living in the woods surrounded by wild creatures. Yet he is a human. He would soon die, if he continued to live in such conditions. The witch placed a curse under him, making him into a werewolf. He has a body of a human, but with wolf-like ears and tail, he has the instincts of a wolf. However, he will change into a human in under one condition: the full moon. During the night of the full moon, he will turn into a royalty-like human, dressed neatly with his hair brushed back while wearing a suit. He must enter the grand dance hall and find a female that shares the same amethyst eyes, and must have her fall in love with him. That is his life-long mission. She will be the cure of his damned curse. If fails, when the sun reappears into the sky, he will turn back into a werewolf again and will be forced to live in such condition for the rest of his life.

A night after a night, the princess starts to lose hope in finding the prince of her life. She remembers his exact appearance; the silver hair that's neatly brushed back, the black suit befitting his composed-self, and his amethyst eyes that held constellation within.

"A party tonight at the grand hall!" the maids yell throughout the hallway. The princess perks up, quickly dashing over to her window. The full moon. Her heart starts to beat, a smile starts to form across her lips. She will see him again. For sure, she will realizer her feelings this time and fall in love with him tonight.

"I shall wait for you, my prince," she whispers, gently closing her eyes.

The night is bright. The moon and the stars shimmering its rays upon the earth. Upon the northern mountain, the sound of leaves rustling and heavy footsteps pounding on the grass echoes throughout the forest. With swift movements like a wolf, he reaches the the princess's castle. Under the moonlight, his ears and tails disappear, his sharp canine teeths transitions into human-like form. He changes into a royalty.

BGM 〈 Selena Gomez and Marshmello - Wolves 〉

Where are you, my princess? He searches, passing a person after another. They give him a fearful look, as they find another human being with the same cursed eyes. However, their glances does not bother him. His mind is clouded with her, the princess of his life. The witch said he must have her fall in love with him. Yet that did not matter, for he has already fallen in love with her.

He comes to a halt. His gaze is fixed on a lonely girl in the corner of the dancehall. She cautiously looks here and there, fearing of matching her eyes with another, yet trying to find the amethyst eyes shining within the crowd. No one dares to touch the cursed girl. But he will. He walks closer, closing the gap in between the two with a step after another. They may say they are cursed, but they cure each other. The gash made from the past, the wounds created by sharp glances, he will cure each and every scar. If only, she loves him back. That is his only wish.

The amethyst orbs shine under the chandelier, not needing the moonlight to show its true colors. The crowd surrounds the two, gazing in awe. It was a such blinding sight, of the true beauty their eyes held. They finally realize, that their unusual, darkened colored eyes are not a curse, but only a cure. The one person she wished for, helped her gain trust and love from all others.

The two entangles their fingers and gently sways with their feet in sync, dancing the night away. Starry lights soar from the male, as his curse is lifted. He is no longer a damned werewolf, but a human, a prince. Not one realized, that he has a royal blood running through his vein. He is indeed, the prince that is fated to meet the princess.

"I've been running through the jungle, I've been crying with the wolves to get to you,"

Amethyst ― fin.

note:

inspired by the bgm, i recommend listening to it while reading! just start listening to it when it's stated so in the story. c:

i kind of timed the words match the lyrics, so when it says the last phrase, hopefully it also says the same phrase in the song. /i mean it all depends on speed of your reading, but as a medium-speed reader i am, it perfectly matched in sync!

for clarification! Add is an actual prince! his parents, the king and the queen, abandoned him into the forest even though its their own son. i make the parents so cruel in my stories but yeah lmao.

sorry that all of my stories kind of tend to be add x whoever! /totally not my male bias of elsword characters

but honestly this is kind of my favorite one-shot out of all the ones i've written ayy

AND YEA 3RD JOBS ARE OUT TODAY ! MUST ADVANCE TO AES!

Rielin’s Fanfiction Site

#amethyst #elsword #add #aisha #add x aisha #addsha #fanfiction #fan fiction #fic #elsword fic #elsword fanfiction #text

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