#fall of Zalesia

[emperorsfoot]

For the ask box game:

I want you to know that an older fic of yours about Evil-Lyn’s parents, Fall of Zalesia, had some of the most fascinating, meaningful, & sensible societal worldbuilding I have ever read.

The Ram & Shepardess roles as well as the customs between them & everything else about their community in the aftermath of war was something so richly made but with no equal that I have found before or since.

The polyamorous/polygamous(?) nature & rules of their relationships as well as the existence and acceptance of those who do not partake was…brilliant.

I do appreciate the portrayal of respect, concern for safety & consent, & devotion in sympathy with healthy open relationships the characters portray. It is written so well and conscientiously to the many perspectives therein. It’s so honest and refreshing.

((This next part is a bit tmi but, an ex admitted cheating on me & in the same sentence excused the action as stemming from polyam desires. I was blamed for not mending the situation by agreeing to an open relationship. The funny thing is that, before the fact, I would have been open to try & my ex knew that, but after…I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

I would never hold it against polyam ppl & their relationships but I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t made me sensitive to related topics. I have since moved on and hardly recall that past pain anymore when consuming content with polyam themes.))

Fall of Zalesia invokes an unmarred sense of wonder & curiosity to see & understand how others live & love that I had not fully felt since before I was hurt. Thank you for sharing your work so that I may indulge in this experience again. I feel like I have gotten a piece of myself back. :’))

You are a phenomenal writer. 🌻❤️🌻

(P.S.: I know there are many dark and serious themes in this story. I don’t mean to romanticize, I’m just in awe of how cool and thoughtful your writing is. Take care!)

Anon, your story is so moving, I am near tears. I stopped writing "Fall of Zalesia" because I thought I was the only one who was into it. I had no idea that someone else was not only enjoying it but being affected so deeply.

Yes, my headcanon of ancient Zalesia was a sex-positive society and part of sex-positivity is accepting those who don't want to participate in sexual acts, as well as accepting and making space for those who want to explore multiple partners. Rules are build into their society specifically for poly relationships.

The Shepherdess is the head of her household and hold authority over her husbands and sons, as well as he daughters until they achieve the age of adulthood and gain their own independence. If two or more people who do not have a formally recognized union want to sleep together, they must seek permission from the Shepherdess(es) that are the heads of their respective households. (This is why Maligna tells Nick that if he desires another Shepherdess he should tell her before the communion orgy so she can "negotiate" with the other woman and agree on the boundaries of their couplings.)

Before I stoped writing, I also had plans to explore gender identities within Zalesia. I don't recall if I even put it in or not, but in an earlier chapter when I explain that Nick's uncle was Ace I say something along the lines of "Bash-Or is a mischievous goddess and likes to put people in the wrong bodies". I was planning to have one of the younger Rams who returned from the war with Nick, now that the war is over and all the soldiers finally have time to consider other things besides just survival, that they would realize they're not really a Ram, they're a Shepherdess and Maligna would take her on as an apprentice.

I still think about this fic more often than you realize.

Now that I know someone else is interested and it means something to someone, I might try and go back to it. (I hope I can still find my notes.)

Thank you so much for sending this Ask. It really means a lot to me!

To anyone curious, this is the fic we're talking about:

[basenji18]

Massive Headcannon That I Like, Because the Writers Gave Us Nothing:

Nicholas Powers is a dude on future Eternia. He gets sent out on a mission in space, for *some* reason. His ship accidentally goes through a rift in time and space.

He lands on Preternia, just on the edge of written history, but when the planet has still been around long enough that there are artifacts which are already considered ancient, and which have stopped working. When the starman lands, they suddenly start again. Nick finds himself imbued with powers as well, like Superman from the yellow sun.

The largest ruling body on this planet, the UN Council of Eternia, the Council of Elders, traces the phenomena back to the crash site, and bring him in. They make him one of their members, counting on him to be a powerful ally. (Would love to see Nick being more slightly built and slim like his daughter, then going through a kind of permanent He-Man transformation himself.) They flatter and build him up, and tell him he has landed with exactly the right people on Eternia; lucky for him he didn't fall in with some of the others.

But Nick is distraught. His spaceship is gone, and the technology to repair it doesn't even exist in this time, and he doesn't know how to build a new one even if it did. His home is gone, his family. He's a fish out of water and time.

Enter in a young queen (I saw one fanart call her "Mal-lyssa," which I get is another "evil" name joke, but I like Melissa, I think it's cute). Queen Melissa is ruler of Zalesia, a queendom of too much size and importance for the Council to ignore, but the queen is not a member of the Council, nor do Zalesia and the Council get along very well.

For one, most of the Council is made up of traditional patriarchies. The matriarchal nature of Zalesia doesn't always sit. For another, and much more dire, the Counsel sold Zalesia out to Hordak when he was around. When he split the planet into light and dark hemispheres, they left Zalesia out to dry. What was once lush forest land turned into permanight desert.

I imagine Zalesia survived under strong leaders with solid plans in place, because imagine if suddenly the world lost sunlight. That would affect every single life. What new crops are you going to grow? What food can your population live off of in the meantime? How will it affect travel and livestock and heating and and and and...?

Rulers who could pull a people through that would have major loyalty from their followers, and an understandably major chip on their shoulder at the people who let it happen.

So no, I don't think Zalesia has a great relationship with the Council to begin with. So I don't think Melissa takes too much notice of their rules when she comforts Nick. I believe the two genuinely fall in love and marry.

Enter fucking Hiss.

I still don't get why the Council is so willing to try and pacify every single would-be world dictator they come across. If there's a prophecy that a child of the Council will overthrow him, why are any of them using protection ever? Plus, I can kinda see this as being a bylaw they didn't tell Nick about until it was too late.

"Good news! I'm gonna be a daddy!"

"You WHAT?!?"

Again, I like the idea of a matriarchy which traces offspring through the mother. After all, in all those patriarchies, there's always going to be SOME question about the legitimacy of any heirs. If a woman has a kid, you know it's hers. So from the Zalesian standpoint, I think it would be a great cultural point if no one considered that Nick had broken the treaty, because under their laws, the child was the queen's.

(I also don't like her dying in childbirth, because it's overdone, and also how you gonna tell me this man controls gods and can't save his wife? That's a Queen Amadala-level copout. There's literal magic in this world, NO OTHER MotU character dies in childbirth, seriously. Try again.

What I really want to find a way to do is have Hiss set his sites on Zalesia, and instead of believing in the Council like her husband does, Melissa goes out to the desert to find help another way, and in some fashion or another becomes Shokoti. Anyhoo.)

The Faceless One transformation really pisses me off, and makes me discount the "good" guys of MotU. Because they could have killed him. They could have killed him, or let Hiss finish him off. Instead, the Council lets Zalesia be destroyed, LEAVES THE INFANT TO DIE IN A FIRE, but they don't kill Nick. Oh no. Because then their magical artifacts might stop working again, you see. So they make him immortal, and unable to ever leave. Trapped, and used as a not quite dead, not fully alive battery.

So what I wanna see is after Price of Deceit, Lyn joins up with He-Man, in full snarky and distrustful Lyn mode, they have to run from both Hiss and Skeletor, and He-Man's people who don't know what's going on. At some point He-Man as a personality is separated from Adam, which lets that go full enemies to lovers, and even though she doesn't do it like anybody else would have, Lyn does manage to fulfill the prophecy and bring down Hiss. She and He-Man go to the future, found New Zalesia, Adam is left to rule current Eternia, and Lyn goes Terminator and sends her own father back in time.

BAM. *mic drop*

[gyaldhart]

A Long time Ago... When Keldor and Hordak joined forces and Eternia was facing perilous times, Primus got the powers of Grayskull, but that wasn't enough to fight the threat falling upon his land, he had to make alliances with the tribal leaders of Eternia, a new friendship was at hand. Soon, leaders, warriors, chiefs, and wizards like Vikor, Tytus, Hans Hammerhand, Sorceress Illumina, Queen Xerza, Ashielda, among others, sided with him in an effort to protect Eternia and the magical powers of Castle Grayskull. Among these allies, tribal leader Sharella I managed to attain the powers of the Goddess and become something else entirely, even people from distant lands, such as She La from Etheria and protector of Crystal Castle rallied to fight with Primus, because she knew that if Castle Grayskull was to fall, so would  the Crystal Castle sooner or later since the root of those powers laid upon Grayskull. Wizard Eldor soon proved to be a valuable ally as well, he became Primus' advisor. Wundar, the cosmic guardian joined the fight as well to follow in the footsteps of his mentor Zodac, and even the great Granamyr, the oldest and wisest of all dragons provided his help to resist the forces of Hordak. The war was fierce, many warriors, kings and queens perished, high prices were paid in all sides, but at the end Hordak was forced to run, and Skeletor (formerly known as Keldor) was imprisoned. In the last battle, Primus was mortally wounded while protecting Grayskull, and with his dying breath his spirit and powers trascended into his magic swords, waiting for someone worthy of wielding it again someday. Sorceress Veena, his wife, was broken hearted, and once the threat on Eternia was vanquished, she made a young villager called Teela Na the new Sorceress of Castle Grayskull and guardian of the 2 swords of power and honor. Teela Na had to pay a high price as well, she was in love with young eternian captain Duncan, and they were expecting a child. After the birth of their child, Duncan took his own daughter to raise her in the royal palace, while the Sorceress remained as the guardian of Castle Grayskull, watching her daughter Teela grow from the distance, and waiting for the day in which she would be able to tell her that she is truly her mother, and the heiress of a great power... Featuring the art of talented Eric Marshall smg.photobucket.com/user/gbago…

#allfather #barbarian #castle #cosmic #dragon #eldor #empress #eternia #fantasy #guardians #heman #illumina #king #motu #oola #oracle #primus #queen #saga #scifi #shela #shera #sorceress #torak #tytus #veena #warriors #wizard #granamyr #hammerhand #zalesia #vikor #wundar #sharella #ashielda #veridas #empyreana #80scartoons #80snostalgia #mastersoftheuniverse #saturdaymorning #castlegrayskull

[emperorsfoot]

re: your writing prompt post; Danger Noodle takes up knitting or sewing, struggles a little bc of his snake hands, makes his dads Dare handmade gifts

Noodle was having the absolute damndest time!

He way trying to learn a yarn craft. Danger Noodle started off with knitting, but when that proved too difficult he switched to crochet; but crochet was shaping up to be too difficult too!

It wasn't that Noodle didn't understand the concept of looping the yarn and pulling the thread through. It was that his body was not built for this very human (and humanoid) craft.

Danger Noodle was a Snakeman. He stood and walked upright like a humanoid, but he was a snake and so did not have arms. Instead, he had four extra serpentine necks that ended in equally serpentine mouths. He did not have hands or fingers to hold the yarn and crochet hook with.

One of his adopted fathers, Tri-Klops made prosthetic hands for him. They were an attachment of his armor. Metal plated sleeves that hugged his extra snake-necks together on either side to give him the silhouette of arms, and both 'arms' ended in three toggle-like fingers that Noodle could manipulate mechanically with the mouths of his snakeheads inside the sleeves.

But the toggle-like fingers did not serve well for something that required fine motor skills like knitting.

Crochet he thought would be easier, you were just pulling the yarn through the loop to make another loop. Much simpler than knitting. But even crochet was proving to be difficult.

In his frustration, Noodle pried his armor off to try and hold the hook and yarn with his snake mouths. But now the yarn was getting caught on his fangs!

Noodle just wanted to make handmade gifts for his dads and his secret-boyfriend, Prince Dare.

Was that so much to ask?

Since he wanted it to be a surprise, Noodle couldn't ask his dads for advice. Tri-Klops might be able to think of a solution for the issue of fine motor control with his prosthetic fingers, but then Tri-Klops would know. Tri-Klops and Trap Jaw told each other everything, and so if Noodle told Tri-Klops, then Trap Jaw would know too and the surprise would be spoiled for both dads. Noodle had to ask someone else.

Beastman knew how to crochet, and knit. Both. He made baby blankets for both Danger Noodle and Prince Malkyn when they were still babies. Noodle could ask Beastman for advice on how to do the craft. But Beastman was also not known for his description and might carelessly blab to Noodle's dads. As helpful as Beastman might be, Noodle couldn't go to him either.

There was only one other person Noodle could think of that might be able to help him.

Danger Noodle went to Zalesia.

Zalesia was a ruin far to the south of Snake Mountain. At one time it was thriving metropolis, but now it was a labyrinthine warren hurried under the sand. The only part of the once great city that remained on the surface was the giant stone sculpture of a ram skull, the head of Zalesia's Goddess, Bash-Or. The massive ram skull also served as the entrance that lead into the cavernous ruins bellow.

Inside the ruins, Noodle was met by the Faceless One.

The Faceless One had been the last King of Zalesia, the one who oversaw the city's fall. For his failure to protect his city, the Faceless One was cursed with immortality. He was confined to the ruins of the city he could not protect and spent the last 1000 years being its caretaker. He must have picked up some skills in that time. If for no other way than to pass the time.

"I don't usually see you here without my grandson." Commented the Faceless One.

That was true, Noodle's best friend, Prince Malkyn, was the Faceless One's grandson. Noodle only knew the Faceless One because Malkyn brought Noodle with him when he visited Zalesia. Sometimes, when they were younger and the adults had Evil Warrior missions that were dangerous, all the adults sent their kids to Zalesia with Malkyn to be watched over by the Faceless One while their parents fought. All of the New Evil Warriors knew the Faceless One.

But they didn't usually come to Zalesia without Malkyn.

Noodle held up his incomplete and misshapen crochet project. It was supposed to be a cap for Trap Jaw to wear under his helmet. But it looked like a lumpy wide-net sack. Something to catch fish with, not something to be worn on a head.

"I'm trying to learn a new skill." Noodle explained. "But-"

He held two of his long serpent necks out so the Faceless One could see that he had mouths instead of hands at the ends of them.

"I'm having trouble just holding to hook and the yarn." He finished.

The Faceless One was hard to read. True to his name, he did not have a face, and so there was no expression on his sanded smooth head for Noodle to read.

Noodle stood with bated breath and slightly apprehensive.

Another reason he did not usually visit Zalesia without Malkyn was because Noodle was afraid the Faceless One did not like him.

Danger Noodle might have been adopted and raised by Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops, but his biological father was King Hiss. A thousand years ago, it was the very same King Hiss who razed Zalesia. Noodle was the son of the man who destroyed the Faceless One's city. The Faceless One was an immortal ghost because of Noodle's father.

Noodle tried to give the Faceless One his space.

It was impossible to say exactly what the Faceless One was looking at since he had no eyes. But he did tilt his head down at the incomplete and lumpy crochet cap, then lifted it to look at Noodle's face.

"What tool are you using?" Asked the Faceless One.

Noodle pulled out his crochet hook.

The Faceless One shook his bare head. "That is shaped for a human hand. You need a hook adapted for a hand with no fingers."

The Faceless One trend around and started drifting down a corridor.

Was Noodle supposed to follow him?

Noodle did follow the Faceless One. In his 1000 years of haunting, the Faceless One had cleared the passages of debris, excavated some of the buildings, restored some parts of the ruins, and started using some chambers as storage for artifacts while he cleared out the places they were supposed to go.

It was one of these storage rooms the Faceless One led Noodle too.

"In Zalesia, sometimes, people would be born with their fingers fused together." Explained the Faceless One. "Or someone might lose one or more fingers to accident or violence. The Shepherdesses redesigned tools so that people who didn't have all five fingers could still do things."

From out of a trunk, the Faceless One pulled out a bulbous handle that looked like a fat teardrop shaped from wood, and coming out of the tapered end of the teardrop was a metal hook, like a crochet hook.

"Try using this." Suggested the Faceless One.

Noodle accepted the adapted crochet hook and had to admit that, yet, the thicker shaper was more comfortable to hold in one of his hand-mouths. He tried doing one stitch as an experiment. Now that it was more comfortable to hold, Noodle found that he also had better control over the yarn too.

"This one is an antique." Said the Faceless One. "If you are willing to wait, I shall made a reproduction for you out of new materials that you can take with you back to Snake Mountain."

-

A better tool was not the sole fix, but it did set Noodle in the right direction. Now that it was comfortable for him to make stitches, and had better control over the yarn, all it took was some more practice and Noodle became proficient enough at crochet that he was able to make grifts for both his dads and his secret boyfriend in time for Lifeday.

A cap for Trap Jaw to wear under his helmet.

A cozy to put around his visor when he wasn't wearing it for Tri-Klops.

For Dare, Noodle made a scarf and gave Dare very clear instructions not to wear it to the battlefield. If any of Noodle's friends saw it, they would recognize it, and then their secret relationship would be exposed.

And, Noodle also made cap for the Faceless One. He didn't need it, the Faceless One did not get cold. It was not a practical gift for the undead sorcerer. But Noodle wanted to thank the Faceless One for the adapted crochet hook, and also show him how much better he'd gotten.

Noodle liked to think the Faceless One liked his gift. He was wearing it the next time Malkyn brought him to the ruins.

Noodle didn't mention it and neither did the Faceless One, but Noodle liked to think they understood each other.

END

[emperorsfoot]

If you look closely on Horde Empire map you will see Garius Asteroid Belt which is all that remains of Garius the original homeplanet of the Gars. The destruction was caused by a artificial blackhole that Marlena Glenn used to travel to Eternia. The surviving Gars ended up caught in a time back loop to Preternia and made their new home on Anwat Gar. And apparently no one knows of this accident through time and history not even Queen Marlena herself. You can even see on Subternia map their ship.

Honestly and truly, Masters of the Universe has so much lore!

MotU has as much lore as Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's middle-Earth. Yet Mattel never takes the time to explore it and show it. They just keep remaking and rebooting stories about Adam. Adam, Adam, Adam! They've said everything there is to say about Adam. I get it. He's a pure-hearted and noble hero. A worthy successor to the heroes that came before him. The true Champion destined to wield the Power Sword. Okay. We get it.

May we please have a full length series about literally anything other than Adam now? Can we have a show about He-Ro fighting the Snakemen and/or the Horde in the Preternia era? How about a show taking place immediately after the Great Separation and all the various peoples of Eternia adjusting to the cataclysmic change? How about a the decline and fall of Zalesia? Or a saga about the line of Sorceresses? Maybe a mythic tale of the Goddesses? Obviously you all already know I'm thirsty for a series taking place during the Great Unrest and focusing on Keldor and Randor.

Or, how about a show about the Gar and how they escaped the destruction of their home and landed on Preternia!

C'mon Mattel Creative! Can you stop stroking Adam long enough to give some attention to literally any other part of your wide and diverse lore?

Sorry this Ask sort of became more of a rant.

Anyway, I've never seen the map of Pretenia. Are you able to share?

[emperorsfoot]

For the WIP procrastination ask thing, #2 and #9!

2.) Describe your WIP using the format ___+___=___, Days of Our Lives + Divorce Court = I don't understand how this game works

9.) What's a story you'd love to write but haven't started yet? Oh, so many...

I'm currently in the Superman (and family) fandom and would love to write a fic where Earth is Krypton. Its not even all that far off from some more obscure canons. But, like, think about it: dying world, scientist warn of impending doom and outline steps to prevent it, the ruling body ignores the warnings in favor of short term gains. That's literally us, right now. We are witnessing the fall of Krypton IRL in real time.

I'd also like to do some more lighthearted ship fics for Tim/Kon. I have no other detail beyond that. They need more love and attention.

And, at some point, I'd like to return to my Masters of the Universe AU, "Horned Princess" in which Evil-Lyn and the people of Zalesia were not human and Lyn is a goat-like creature (different from the Goatmen which are already a race in MotU). This would make Tri-Klops the only human member of Keldor|Skeletor's forces, which would really highlight the disparity between the Evil Warriors and the Masters (whom are almost entirely human with the exception of 2).

[emperorsfoot]

Short update is short, but I wanted to get something up mostly to prove to myself that I was going to continue this fic.

Fall of Zalesia

Now that the planting season has begun, its time to till the fields. But Nick quickly realizes that the connection between ritual and land is more important than he thought.

[emperorsfoot]

"Fall of Zalesia"

I'm not expecting this fic to be very popular. Its about Evil-Lyn's parents, takes place in the Preternia Era shortly after the Spell of Separation, and half the cast are all OCs.

Before its fall, Zalesia was a city in decline...

[emperorsfoot]

Continuing the Fall of Zalesia.

Nick tries to be a good First Ram and make sure his men know the important parts of their culture that they missed while they were away at war. But Nick also refuses to participate in one of the most important rituals of Zalesia.

warnings for: Public Nudity, naked dancing, Ritualized Sex, Public Masturbation, imagery similar to beastiality, and mentions of orgies.

[emperorsfoot]

Okay, hold up, that says “god beasts” with a plural, right? I didn't misread that. 

The Faceless One is powerful enough to control all the gods of Eternia! 

Holy hell! I mean, like, holy hell! Evil-Lyn’s dad is super OP! 

In context, they’re speaking specifically of the Snakemen’s god, Serpos. But the Sorceress’ patron, Zoar, is also a god beast. As is Hordak’s patron, Horokoth. Is Nick Powers/the Faceless One saying he can control them all? That he’s some kind of “god tamer”? 

Holy hell!

[emperorsfoot]

Inspired by Anon, I've decided to double-down on the weird headcanons.

So, here's a sequel to the one-shot I co-authored with @basenji18 that was basically just porn of King Hiss and the Faceless One having gay monster sex. Well, what happens when people have sex? They lay an egg!

King Hiss has laid an egg and the Faceless One is the father!

A custody battle ensues.

The worst custody battle in history.

A custody battle that destroys a civilization!

[emperorsfoot]

This is an appreciation post for Nikolas Powers/the Faceless One’s massive titties. 

[emperorsfoot]

What is Skeleteens real name?

According to his page on He-Man.org, his name is "Malkyn of the House of Keldor" (surnames in Eternia just being "House of [you father]")

This name never appears in canon, however, and so I'm not sure where it comes from. It's possible that it was a name suggested for him in one of the many concept stages of the character.

There's also an UNOFFICIAL character book that has his real name listed as "Keldyn".

I don't like this name, however, as its just his parent's names spliced together. Which is not really the naming style on Eternia. There aren't any other characters who are named after their parents. The name "Keldyn" just feels out of place for the setting.

[emperorsfoot]

I like to imagine Skeleteen's natural hair is white like his mom and he dyes his hair green.

Awesome! I love it! Yes!

I also headcanon Skeleteen's hair as white like his mother's. Although, he keeps it stuffed up under his helmet all the time no one ever sees it. He could be adding all kind of colors to it for all we know. Maybe he does multiple colors. Maybe he's got his hair dyed the Pride flag of whatever identity he identifies as. With naturally white hair he can have hair of any color, or every color that you want!

(wanna see my fan art of him?)