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interstellarwizard2019 · 3 years ago

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Wonderitis Chapter 2

First off, I’m so sorry for the wait. 2021 hasn’t been kind anyone, but I promise that future chapters will be coming out a bit quicker from now on!

For now, Enjoy!

A strong gust of wind welcomed them both as they entered Windswept Plains, the familiar sight of it’s gusty windmill village put a smile on their faces. From the distance, they could see a group of Aero acrobats practicing their flying formation. True, they were a bit clumsy with their routine, but they looked like they were having fun though!

They walked through the flatlands, still watching the acrobats and their performance. There was a small group of costumes near a tent, one of them was a Laser Launcher who was looking intensely at the flying squadron. He was accompanied by three other costumes, a box fox duo, one who was tall with dark purple clothes and the other who was shorter with baby blue clothes and a rubber crystal around his neck, they were huddled near a radio and the two looked worried as they listened to a grey Soaring Sheep with a bell around her neck who was communicating with someone on the other end of a radio system.

"Bellwether to Open Skies, come in Open Skies, how are you guys holding up there? Over." The Soaring Sheep inquired. They could tell that she was probably talking to one of the Flying Acrobats above them, her tone of voice sounded a mix of sternness and concern.

"A lil' shaky today, but overall we're good, Motita! Over."

"I'm pretty sure 'A lil' shaky' is putting it generously, Wilbur! Feels like I just ate everyone's breakfast all by myself! Over."

"It feels like I'm being pulled down every time I try to go up! My wings hurt like crazy!...Oh! And over!"

The duo approached the group, but didn't engage in conversation not wanting to bother any of them, but still wanting to hear what she was talking about. However, the Laser Launcher abruptly turned to acknowledge them causing them to jump slightly.

"Hello! I am called: Ian." The Laser Launcher greeted in a monotonous yet cheery tone. He even waved his hand.

“Uh...Hello, Ian." The two awkwardly greeted the stoic robot. Suddenly, Ian's chest split open, the duo stood back assuming that he was preparing an attack, but they were surprised when instead he reached in and pulled out two lollipops.

“Have a lollipop!” Ian offered, extending his arms out with the candies. Leo and Emma cautiously grabbed one and meekly thanked him.

The tiny Box Fox came running towards them at fast speeds, only stopping when he turned into a small metal box and slid the rest of the way. Ian lifted his foot outwards and halted the young fox's short journey. When he made contact with his foot, the fox immediately turned back to his fluffy form. The fox smiled when he saw the humans.

“Hi, my name is Reynard! Nice to meet you! What’s your guy’s name? Do you guys know Haoyu? Or do you guys like planes? Cuz’ I like planes too! And chickens! And trains! What’s your favorite type of train?” Reynard asked and continued asking, it was apparent that this costume could hold a LOT of air in his lungs! Leo was at a loss at where to start answering, Emma however just awkwardly smiled and nodded castings quick glances at Leo hoping that he could start answering his questions. The taller fox sighed and approached him and rubbed his pointy hat down, blocking both of his eyes.

“Rey-Rey, you ragamuffin, these are Leo and Emma. They helped get rid of Worville.” The older fox explained to the younger one before they turned their attention back to the humans. “Speaking of which, I take it you’re both here to see our dear four-eyed Broccoli, correct?”

“Yeah! You guys know where he is?” Leo asked.

“My guess, probably cooped up in his shop tinkering on his new invention, something to do with a toaster and a PB & J dispenser.” The fox explained pulling their younger brother’s hat back up. “Name’s Umbra by the way.”

“Thanks! But what’s going on here? Is everything alright?” Emma asked, looking at the sheep handling the radio.

“Oh, us? Nah, we’re just ground control for these clowns.” Umbra pointed at the still struggling Acrobats. “Me and my brother are med-evac, I’m a nurse, he’s more of an emotional support fox. Ian helps measure altitude, wind resistance, and emotional support too. And lastly: Motita is our leader, she pretty much keeps everything from crashing and burning, we’d be absolutely boned without her.”

Emma looked at the tall fox with a mix of doubt and worry , she felt as if there was something that they were leaving out on purpose. She looked up at the group of bats, they were really having a hard time flying, like something was pulling them down, but they still persisted even though they looked exhausted.

“Yeeeeaaah, Motita noticed that some of them were struggling this morning, so she rounded up a few of them for a test flight. We’re still not sure why though, but we’re working on it.” Umbra continued, their gaze shifted away from the girl. “You twerps better get going, we’ve got our work cut out for us today.” They said before walking back to the tent with their tiny fox brother carried under their arm.

The human duo shuffled away from the group, waving goodbye to both Reynard and Ian. Then they began their trek up the spiraling hill to search for Haoyu. Both of them occasionally looked up at the flying group. Upon reaching the workshop atop the hill they could already hear the sound of power tools and light metallic banging coming from inside the building. Leo knocked on the hangar doors and the noise stopped. After a few seconds, the doors opened and a soot covered Haoyu came out. Leo almost burst out laughing when he took off his goggles, while Emma tried to hold in her laughter; she failed anyway. Haoyu rolled his eyes at the two.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm a mess." Haoyu sighed before messily wiping off as much filth as he could off of his face and goggles. He opened up both doors revealing the inside of his alternate-sanctum. They could see his ivory, man powered plane in the middle and in the corner of the hangar they could see the horrifically mangled remains of a toaster pointed upwards with a cake frosting knife propped up in the middle a few feet in the air, both sides were coated with peanut butter and jam.

"Hey, Haoyu, what, uh...what are you up to?" Leo asked, being caught completely off guard by the technological massacre in the hangar.

Haoyu beamed and pulled them both in by the arm. "Oh, you guys are gonna love it! I've been working on it for hours!" The quirky inventor grabbed two slices of bread in each hand and proudly held each up in the air before slamming both in the violated remains of the toaster and cranked down the lever, not noticing Leo scuttering over to his tool box.

“Get ready for: Haoyu’s automatic Jelly Sandwich maker!” He proudly announced as he eagerly waited for the toast to jump out.

After about 30 seconds of waiting in awkward silence, the toast jumped upwards, both sides on opposite ends of the frosting knife, two metallic sheets suddenly pressed both slices and knife together, it then slid off the knife. The sandwich fell down on a plastic plate on the ground. Haoyu cheered before he picked-up the sandwich from the ground and took a massive bite out of it. "TA-DAH!" He cheered in between mouthfuls.

Leo and Emma looked dumbfounded at the results, then at the colossal, complex airplane in the center of the room, the plane that Haoyu made from scratch and successfully took off the ground. They then looked back at what was basically just a toaster for lazy people. Leo looked at Haoyu who was trying his hardest to hold a forced, peanut butter and jelly smeared smile on his face; he knew it too.

“It’s…uh, it’s great!” Emma said politely, not wanting to upset the zany inventor.

“Yeah! It sure is…something!” Leo responded, pretending to have never left his spot.

Haoyu’s fake smile subsided with a sigh. “Yeah, it’s bad, I know. It’s just that, mom kinda…grounded me from flying for a bit.” He winced as he said that.

“Wait, really!? Why?” Emma inquired.

“Well, I…kinda almost blew up a classroom… a few days ago.”

“YOU WHAT!?” They both asked in simultaneous shock, Leo more so in near laughter.

“Hey, my mom actually said the same thing when my principal told her!” Haoyu said as he sauntered over to a blanket on the floor, it looked like it had a small animal hiding underneath. “But it was chemistry class, what did they expect to happen!? Well, at least I have this little guy to keep an eye on.”

The green-haired inventor pulled back the blanket and revealed a tiny purple Tim with rounded ears snuggled up in the blanket. The little bird-esc creature looked terrible! Instead of vibrant colored fluff, it’s fur was now somewhat pale, it even had a runny nose and bags under its eyes. Haoyu petted the top of its yellow dotted head and the Tim let out an adorable yet miserable little sneeze.

“Found this poor guy outside the hangar; he’s not looking too good.” Haoyu said as he carried the bundled up Tim to the table and turned on a desk lamp to give it warmth. The little fluff ball practically fell asleep the instant Haoyu turned on the light.

“Aww, Looks like Balan’s not the only one under the weather.” Emma cooed as she approached the Tim and gently patted his head.

Leo came next to her for a closer look, but found that he was having trouble looking over the table. Haoyu pulled out a tissue and cleaned its little beak. He readjusted the blanket before returning to his toolbox.

“While he’s sleeping, I'm gonna try and fix a few kinks in this machine. Sorry if I’m a bit busy toda-”

KABOOM!!!

The moment Haoyu opened his toolbox, he was immediately greeted by a powerful blast of confetti into his face! Leo burst out laughing, Haoyu glared at him before immediately giving chase the moment he wiped off the shredded paper from him. Leo dashed out of metal building putting every ounce of effort into running, even though Haoyu had a rather scrawny build, Leo was fully aware of how ridiculously fast he could run. It didn't help that he was having trouble running through the tall grass, constantly having to part through the greenery. Emma followed suit, trying to diffuse the situation whilst still having to pull her hair away from her eyes.

"Haoyu! Haoyu, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, man!" Leo cried out in-between fits of laughter. But Haoyu didn't respond, still putting everything he was worth into his sprint.

They continued running until Leo reached a hillside cliff. They all jumped off of this cliff before, it wasn't that high off of the ground below so it wasn't too dangerous. He was sure that Haoyu wouldn't follow him. After taking a leap of faith he quickly realized that the hill was a LOT higher than he remembered. The young boy screamed, flailing his arms as he realized his tragic miscalculation. Leo braced himself for the worst until…he landed on something soft and incredibly fluffy.

Leo was dazed for a moment before he looked down to see what broke his fall and saw a strange cotton vegetable that seemed to have teeny-tiny rainbows bouncing on it. Leo stood up and crawled out of the patch of vegetables and looked up only to see Emma land next to him. She was completely unfazed by the fall and immediately got up and got out of the vegetable patch unscathed. There was someone missing. Leo looked up, completely certain that Haoyu didn’t follow him, however…Haoyu did in fact try to follow him, but Instead of just falling and landing in the garden with them. Instead he simply just…FLOATED!

Haoyu was nimbly floating downwards with a mix of surprise and bewilderment on his face. The green-haired boy tried to run mid-air seemingly trying to speed up his descent. He continued to float down until he landed near Emma and all three of them looked at each other completely and utterly perplexed at what just happened. Haoyu slumped down still in shock. Leo was the first to break the silence.

“Dude, What…was…THAT!?” Leo practically screamed out, the other two reacted in the same manner.

"I-I-I don't know! I just jumped off and started floating out of nowhere!" Haoyu shrieked out, looking at his shaky hands with fear and confusion in his eyes.

“You actually floated!” Emma parroted out, still in shock at what she just witnessed.

Before anyone could say another word, an rusty gardening hoe was thrown in their direction impaling itself in the ground, it barely missed hitting the seat of Haoyu’s pants. The trio looked up and saw an old Soaring Sheep with long, curly horns and even greyer wool than Motita’s. Even though he wore a lovely sun hat, the old ram did not look pleased to see any of them.

“What are you little punks doing in my Cloudy Cauliflowers!?” The old billy goat bellowed out angrily, breathing mist out of his nose and making him appear a lot more intimidating.

“We’re so sorry, sir! We all jumped off the cliff and didn’t notice your garden!” Emma hastily explained as she stood up, trying her best not to step on any more vegetables. The other two jumped up and left also. This wasn’t good enough for the grumpy old goat who got on all fours and charged at them, ramming all three of them off the edge of the hill screaming, for this drop was more high up than the first one.

“WITH MY LAST BREATH I CURSE LANCE!!!” Leo wailed out as both he and Emma held onto Haoyu for dear life and all three braced themselves for the worst. But they were surprised and relieved when they all slowly fell instead. It was actually pretty peaceful up there, aside from the fact that they thought they were going to die of course.

The moment their feet made contact with the grass they immediately crumpled in relief. They finally made it somewhere safe. No cliffs, no vegetables, no angry soaring sheep gardeners! Just a clear view of the plains with a whole field of tiny blovers all gently blowing soothing zephyrs, causing the grass to create an undulating motion; it was relaxing. Leo let out a sigh of relief as he sat upright and brushed off chunks of Cloudy Cauliflowers from his clothes. Suddenly, he remembered something.

"Haoyu, what was that!? You can fly now!?" Leo interrogated, dramatically grabbing Haoyu by his shoulders.

The green-haired inventor looked at him with confusion and worry in his eyes, he exchanged a quick glance with Emma which she returned with a shrug.

“I…I don’t know guys. I. Don’t. KNOW.” Haoyu stood up, he felt...lighter, but he didn't feel like he was about to pass out. He jumped up a few times and watched how he nimbly came down every time. He tried sprinting and leaping which resulted in a really long jump, longer than what his legs would normally allow.

“It’s like you have super powers now!” Emma pipped up excitedly. Haoyu ran back to the duo, bouncing with every step and both he and Leo lit up with joy at the idea. “You're like a real-life superhero now!".

"A superhero!?" Leo and Haoyu beamed with excitement. Haoyu bounced in place and he softly floated down each time, his hands happily flapping with joy each time.

Suddenly, Haoyu gave a running start and began doing flips and cartwheels, his newfound ‘super powers’ slowing down his fall and giving him extra height for each bounce. He shouted with joy at every stunt, Leo and Emma cheered with every trick Haoyu did, they made sure to follow close behind while still giving him more than enough space to move, Leo found himself struggling to keep up with his friends, finding Emma a whole lot faster than normal. All of them were having a blast! Haoyu gave one more jump before gently landing on his back and lazily rested on the grass shortly before he was joined by his two friends. A nearby patch of blovers provided a cooling gust for them. Emma decided to break the silence.

“So…is anyone gonna ask how Haoyu got floaty powers?” Emma inquired as she sat up. She was still fighting with her hair as it still refused to be tucked away, it was as if it was intentionally trying to block her field of vision! “I wouldn’t mind having some superpowers too!”

“I think it’s because of how often I wore the Soaring Sheep costume recently. What if some of their powers rubbed off on me!” Haoyu explained, accidentally launching himself forward when he quickly sat upright, luckily he stumbled onto his feet.

“But I 've worn costumes for Hours! And I still can’t float, jump high, or walk on air!” Leo exclaimed, jumping up and down to emphasize.

“Maybe you got the powers of an Itsy-bitsy Elf and haven’t noticed yet!” Emma giggled out, using one hand to hold her hair back as she attempted to redo her pigtails.

Leo rolled his eyes as he walked over to Haoyu. He looked relatively normal! Appearance wise, there was nothing really different about him save for the fact that the tips of his dark green hair was now slightly flapping in the wind; he chalked it up to the breeze blowing through his hair. Suddenly, his brown eyes lit up with joy and gasped.

“Let’s go show Fiona! I bet she’d get a pretty good kick out of this!” Haoyu announced excitedly with stars in his eyes. His two friends agreed as well. “But first, we need to get off this island.”

The trio looked around to try and find a way down, either a path or a bridge that led back to the entrance. Instead they spotted something glittering in the sunlight; a key and a costume crystal containing an Aero Acrobat costume.

“Dibs!” Both Leo and Emma called out and they immediately dashed towards the key. Emma was the first to get the key, she then ran towards the crystal and when she inserted the key in and turned it…nothing happened. The three exchanged confused glances as Emma tried again to turn the key, but still it wouldn’t budge.

“That’s weird…” Emma grunted, still trying her hardest to open the crystal; it stubbornly refused to turn. Leo walked next to Emma when she released the key to grab her slightly blistered palm.

“Let me try!” Leo jumped up and tried to turn the key himself, he couldn’t turn it either! He even tried to jump downward to move it, but it still, nothing. Haoyu came behind them to try it himself.

“Maybe I can do it!” When Haoyu tried, still, nothing! Even when all three of them tried to turn the key at the same time, it would. Not. Budge! The three of them collapsed when the key spontaneously disappeared and reappeared back at its original location.

The crystal was gracefully floating in place, except now it had suddenly lost its luster and it lost its vibrant, ruby color. The keyhole had now transformed into a padlock.

“Okay, something’s really wrong here!” Leo said as he pushed Haoyu’s arm off of his face.

“Should…Should we go tell Balan?” Haoyu panted out as he stood upright.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. He’s pretty sick, Haoyu.” Emma said, pulling back her bangs yet again.

“Well then, who should we tell? Haoyu has floaty powers and this crystal is acting weird! If not Balan then who?” Leo asked.

They looked at each other waiting for a response, but none of them had an answer until suddenly an idea who they should go to emerged. They could immediately tell that the other had the same idea when they saw their faces grimace.

“Lance” They all croaked out in unison. Even though they’ve all moved on from what Lance (and admittedly Balan too) put them through, some of them still had their reservations about him, but they knew that there wasn’t anyone else to turn to so they reluctantly conceded to having to go to the maestro of tragedy and explain the situation.

“Lance it is then.” Leo sighed as he walked to the edge of the islet and looked down to where the entrance was. “We still need to find a way back down…”

Haoyu leapt into the air ecstatically and said “I got an idea!!” Before pointing to himself hopping up and slowly falling down. He then pointed towards the colossal flying whale that circled around Haoyu’s world. They all exchanged quick glances before Leo and Emma hopped onto Haoyu’s back and the inventor immediately sprinted to the edge of the island and jumped off when the whale got close enough.

They screamed as they slowly fell down, Haoyu tried to kick his feet in an attempt to move them all forwards just a little bit. Although futile, it didn’t matter as the whale was flying too fast for them to land on it. Instead, Haoyu only barely managed to catch one of its fins. Emma managed to climb Haoyu’s clothes with Leo holding on tightly to her jacket as all three of them were being flung around violently in the wind. She pulled Haoyu up the whale’s fin and all three crawled up to the center of the flying sea mammal’s back. They instantly grab onto one of the legs of the windmills to think of their next course of action.

“Okay, what now?” Emma asked practically shaking as she and her two companions wrapped their arms around the wooden beam.

“I have no idea!!!” Haoyu screamed out as he laughed maniacally. Whenever he got extremely hyped up, whether it be excitement, terror, ect, he would always break out into a fit of laughter; it was his way of calming himself down. “How about we wait till we get close enough to-“

Before Haoyu could finish his sentence, the sky whale suddenly jerked its back in an unnatural way, causing the windmill to sway side to side until finally the leg the trio anchored themselves to was ripped out of the soil, causing them to tumble down and off of the mammal. They screamed as they were flung off, but luckily Haoyu grabbed both his friends and held them tightly to close him.

They looked down and saw that they were landing near where the Aero ground control group had pitched up their tents. Emma looked back up at the whale and saw that it was still writhing in pain. She couldn’t quite make out what it was, but she could tell that something was wrong with its eye as it twitched in pain. After what seemed like an eternity they finally touched solid ground, Leo dropped to the ground and kissed it.

“SOLID GROUND!!!” He cried out grasping flakes of grass between his fingers. “I’ll never ever take you for granted again!!!”

Emma was still holding on to Haoyu for dear life, her nails digging into his shoulders as she trembled on his back, her eyes as wide as saucers and her mind still processing what had just happened. Both of her pigtails had come undone and her hair was a complete mess! Once she unclenched Haoyu, she collapsed to the grass, she shakily tried to pull her hair back, but whether or not it was her nerves or her locks, she was now finding it impossible to control her mop of hair.

The duo turned to look at Haoyu who stood there completely motionless, he was breathing heavily and wore a crazed smile on his face. He took a few shaky steps before dropping face-first to the ground.

They took a moment to calm themselves down before any of them spoke up. There was no denying that something was really, REALLY going on. Emma parted her hair one last time and tried to pull it into a sloppy braid with a spare hair tie she had in her pocket, after those two near-death experiences she couldn’t be bothered to properly do her hair. Once she parted her dreadful locks from her eyes, she saw something peculiar rolling in the grass.

There was a white, scaly ball clumsily rolling around every few inches. She carefully crawled over to the strange sphere to observe it. It had toppled over on its back and uncurled to reveal its soft center, a tiny black armadillo with yellow eyes trying to flip itself back on its legs. Emma pushed it back on its feet when it suddenly…

“Thank you, pet! Your kindness I will not forget!”

Before either she, Leo or Haoyu could respond, the sound of a loud siren blared through the plains and Motita’s voice could be heard speaking.

“WARNING! AERO CRASH LANDING PROTOCOL IS NOW ACTIVE. EVERYONE IS ORDERED TO EVACUATE FROM THE PLAINS AND SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER!”

The trio immediately stood up and tried to run, but they found themselves entangled in something long and strandy. None of them could go anywhere! They were completely stuck in place by whatever was holding them there. They immediately began to panic as the sirens still went off, suddenly all three of them were tightly smushed together, they looked up and saw…Ian!

The robot hugged them close and the two box foxes ran around him.

“Wuzzup, dorks?” Umbra instinctively transformed into a giant metal box. Their younger brother came in screaming and also transformed into a box as well, sandwiching all four of them between him and his sibling.

“Wait, what’s going on!? Why are we in a massive group hug?” Emma piped up after successfully moving her head to where she could see past her massive locks, but the only thing she could see was a metal box directly in front of her.

“Remain calm. Emergency protocol has been initiated by Captain Motita to assist you in your incapacitation. It is advised that you now engage in deep breathing exercises until further no-“

Clank!!!

Before Ian could finish his sentence, A sickening metallic clanging came from one of the box fox siblings. After about 10 minutes had passed, Ian released his grip and both foxes returned to normal. The children could see what caused the sound, there was an Aero Acrobat lying unconscious on the ground with a massive bump on his head. He was still alive, but he was in very rough shape. And he wasn’t the only one either. The entire group of Aero Acrobats that were flying above them a while ago had all crash landed all over the field. It was absolute madness!

Umbra pulled out a stretcher from their hat and spread it open on the ground, they and Ian carefully lifted the injured Acrobat and laid him on the stretcher and carried him off to the med tent. Reynard stayed behind trying to untangle the humans. He was chewing on the green rubber crystal tied around his neck as he tried to pull away Emma’s hair to free them all.

“Are you guys okay? That was a pretty cool trick you did up there!” The tiny box fox pulled out Leo first before returning to free Haoyu and then finally untangling Emma.

“Barely, but thanks for the assist, Rey!” Leo thanked Reynard, but he found himself being almost on the same eye-level as him. Reynard barely reached his sibling’s hip and now Leo was looking at the belt around his hat. Then the box fox gasped in excitement.

“I don’t believe it, I'M TALL!!!” Reynard squealed out. Umbra then called out for him.

“Rey-Rey! Bring ‘em over here! Those guys need to be checked out too!” Umbra called out peeking their head out of the tent.

Reynard quickly nodded and dragged each of them to the tent, once inside they could see four fidgety Aero Acrobats each on blankets draped on the ground. Even though all four of them just crashed, they all still seemed pretty happy! Amiably chatting away with each other while Ian and Umbra tended to their wounds. Motita knelt down and began writing their statements of what had occurred.

“I Can’t believe what just happened! I just lost control and couldn’t pull up in time!” The White Aero Acrobat with a yellow, upside down, heart-shaped nose squeaked out to Umbra as they bandaged up her bruised forearm with two splints, whether or not they were listening to what she was saying or simply tuning them all out was a mystery. The Aero Acrobat seemed completely unphased with what just happened to her, It was almost like it was a complete game to all of them.

Once Umbra finished, they turned their attention to the human group. Umbra immediately stopped walking when their eyes landed on Leo and Emma. Their face contorted from mellow and carefree to shock and terror. They immediately took off their hat and pulled out a large canister that had a long nozzle attached to it. Without any warning, they instantly sprayed the three of them with a mist of rubbing alcohol. All they could do was close their eyes as the fox continued to spray them.

“What was that for?!” Leo coughed out. The smell of rubbing alcohol overwhelmed him.

“Sorry, dude. But it’s protocol in case of infection!” Umbra explained as they then pulled out a flashlight and shined it into his eyes. “Did either of you play with any funky looking plants or costumes up there?”

“No, we just fell into some Cloudy Cauliflowers...and then we got rammed off the island by a crazy Soaring Sheep for that." Emma explained as Umbra examined her hair. They were careful not to actually touch it and instead use a stick on the ground to poke and prod at it. "Uh...Umbra? Is everything alright?"

"I'm just making sure you didn't contract anything serious." Umbra walked around the trio, now analyzing Haoyu. "Cuz' I'm pretty sure you two were gone for an hour and not three decades."

Emma was absolutely confused by their statement, she was about to walk towards them to ask for more clarification, but she soon found herself laying face down on the ground when she tripped on something tangled around her feet. She looked down to see what it was and saw...hair...it was HER hair. She kicked her feet in an attempt to free them, she still wouldn't believe that her hair had spontaneously grown at least five feet and was now coiled around her ankles. She was given a rude awakening when her head was violently yanked backwards.

"Whe-Where did all of this come from!?” Emma asked as she pulled a clump of hair away from her legs. She ran her hand from the top of her head to the tips of her hair; she confirmed that it was in fact hers.

Reynard saw her playing with her newly grown hair and decided that he wanted to help her, he pulled a brush from his hat and approached Emma. Before he could run the brush through her hair, Umbra tugged at his tail gently and pulled him away. He looked up and saw his sibling shaking their head with a concerned expression on their face.

“Can I at least give her the brush?” Rey asked, he dropped to the ground and crossed his arms, but not before sticking his green crystal in his mouth to gnaw on. Umbra rolled their eyes and slid the brush over to Emma with their foot.

Both Leo and Haoyu looked at Emma in complete horror as the girl tried to control her hair with the brush. How did they not notice it before!?… Although jumping on to a flying whale’s fin, free falling from the sky, and then finding themselves in the middle of a crash landing zone did distract them for a bit. But now they were left with one burning question: how and why did this happen?

Then Umbra pulled Leo to a height rod they pulled from their hat and stuck it in the ground. They ushered Leo underneath it and pushed a small plastic panel down on his head.

“What was your height, Leo?” They asked, analyzing the numbers carved into the rod

“Uh…4”8’ I think?” He responded.

“Looks like someone threw you in the wash; you shrunk down a bit!” Umbra explained. “Are you feeling anything weird, Haoyu?”

Haoyu jumped in place once to show them his newfound floating powers. Umbra rubbed the back of their head as they let out a heavy sigh and paced around the tent, one of the Aero Acrobats took Umbra’s distress as an opportunity to escape and quickly snuck out of the tent before they could notice, except Reynard was the only one who took notice and followed him outside.

“Motita, permission to contact nurse Delila for medical assistance?” Umbra asked through gritted teeth, still pacing around the tent. Upon seeing their distress, Motita nodded in agreement. With that, Umbra walked to the other side of the tent as they pulled out a massive phone booth from their hat. Leo looked at them absolutely dumbfounded as they walked inside the booth.

“Wait a sec, you guys could do that the whole time!?” He shouted in disbelief. But before he could get a response, Reynard popped his head back in and frantically called for everyone’s attention.

“Guys, I think we have a problem; come outside, quick!”

Motita and Ian dropped what they were doing and ran outside to investigate while Umbra stayed behind to finish their call. The other acrobats looked at each other with confusion before getting up one by one and hobbling to peek through the tarp. Finally the human trio braced themselves for the worst and awkwardly exited the tent to see what was going on.

Upon leaving the tent they were presented with an Aero Acrobat trying desperately to get off the ground, but even with all the effort he was putting in his lift, he ended up falling on his rump. He looked like he was going to burst into tears, the growing dread on his face signaled to everyone that something was very wrong.

“Orville, what’s wrong?” Motita inquired, inspecting him for any new injuries. This time her stoic expression slightly softened when she realized how absolutely terrified he was. She held out his hand for him and quietly counted. “Kid, come on, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths for me.”

Orville shakily reached for her hand and began taking deep breaths, with each breath he followed her counting even when she slowed down whenever she saw that his breathing started speeding up. Soon he’d calm down enough to form a complete sentence.

“My…My wings! I can’t fly! I CAN'T FLY, MOTITA!” The Aero Acrobat practically shouted, gripping the old sheep’s hand tightly.

Motita stood up and inspected his wings. From her Perspective, they looked to be perfectly normal, she gently bent one at the joint and she noticed that both of his forewings felt limp, her suspicions were proven correct when she pinched the tip of one of his wings and he didn’t react. The other Aero Acrobats heard his cries and quickly came out to investigate. Ian blocked their path by holding his arms out to his side.

"Orville? Orville, what's wrong with your wings, bro?!" An Aero Acrobat with oranges and black fur asked, still trying to look over Ian’s arms.

At that very moment the situation finally dawned on Orville when he tried to fly over to his brother…and couldn’t. The other two bats saw his struggle and they too checked if their wings were alright, unfortunately theirs too couldn’t lift them off the ground. Absolute panic swept over the wounded bats when they realized that they were all grounded! Motita calmly called for their attention.

“ATTENTION ACROBATS!” Motita commanded, flaring her nostrils in frustration. “I’ll tell you what we’re not going to do, alright? We are NOT going to panic, we are NOT going scream, and we are NOT going to jump to conclusions! If I have to repeat myself, so help me I’ll make you all eat steamed Nimbulli for the next three weeks, understand!?”

At that last statement, the frightened bats became silent and froze on the spot, the thought of being forced to eat nothing but Nimbulli for a month was far more terrifying than not being able to fly. Leo and his companions looked at each other in confusion. When the bats finally calmed down and the visitors approached to inquire about the situation, a door materialized in the fields swinging open and slamming into one of the Acrobats. Out stepped Delila, the Floaty Flower that tended to Balan. Umbra let out a sigh of relief when they saw her, but Delila still wore a worried expression which became absolute shock when she saw the situation at hand.

“Oh my word, it’s worse than I thought!” Delila exclaimed, stepping out of the magic doorway and assessing the closest patient to her, which was the Aero Acrobat she accidentally slammed the door on. “Poor boy, are you alright?”

“Chillax, D, these guys hit their heads enough times that they forget about what hurt them. For example….” Umbra turned their attention to the Mint green Acrobat with long ears, drenched in water, lying on the floor, nursing his nose. After a few seconds, he shot upright to greet the flower nurse, completely forgetting why he was on the ground in the first place.

“Good morning, nurse Delila!” Sully greeted cheerfully, he smiled as a stream of red oozed down his nose and across his cheek. Delila gasped, then approached the unphased Bat, but something else caught her attention.

Delila saw Balan’s guests standing next to some of the bats, Reynard was on all fours pointing at the group with his nose. Haoyu meekly greeted her as Emma finally managed to tie her hair into a long, yet proper braid, Leo layed on the ground in a fetal position, he was still in shock about his new height. Surprisingly, Delila’s face mellowed when she saw them, but then quickly returned to looking extremely concerned.

“Hi, Delila!” Reynard turned his attention away from his pointing pose. “Okay So, Orville and Wilbur crashed in the fields, Sully landed in the lake, Amelia got eaten by crabs!”

“I’m right here, Rey!” The yellow-nosed Acrobat piped up with a smile. “I just hit the sky whale by accident!”

“Oh my! How long have all of you been like this?” Delila asked, repeating the same procedure as Umbra save for getting sprayed down with rubbing alcohol. Emma was the only one willing to respond.

“I think like…a few…hours?”

Upon hearing her response; her simple little response, Delila put her hand to her mouth and let out the most shocked gasp any of them have ever heard and undoubtedly the longest one too, since it lasted for about ten seconds until she was interrupted by Umbra when they softly punched her arm.

“Dearest Maestros, may you please have mercy on these poor youthful souls!” Delila wailed, draping herself on the purple clad fox’s arms. All the costumes looked at her performance in absolute bewilderment. “For they have all contracted…BALANITIS!”

Everyone gasped at her announcement, everyone except Umbra looked at her in complete horror, they looked rather confused with a dash of disappointment at the dramatic flower nurse.

“Balan…itis? Yeeeeeaaaah, that can’t be real, D. That sounds like a load of phony pony bolo-'' Before they could finish, Delila, still in their arms, pulled out a pink card from her sleeve and held it in a way that only they could see. Umbra squinted their eyes when reading the card, muttering the contents of the tiny parchment to themselves. They then gasped too, dropping Delila in the process. “Oh! Oh yeah! Balanitis! That… totally explains everything!”

Once again, they grabbed their hat and pulled out a yellow roll of tape and tied up all three of the children.

“Uh…is this really necessary?” Haoyu asked as he pulled down a strip that covered his eyes.

“Beloved children, Adventurous bats, be brave!” Delila proudly exclaimed, cupping both of Haoyu’s cheeks tightly. “Tell me, little loves, when you all were atop the hill, did you see anything of concern?”

“Well, I found a sick Tim up near my workshop.” Haoyu responded, he was a bit miffed that she completely glazed over his question. At that moment, Motita joined the conversation.

“Kid, where’s that Tim now?” Motita asked. Ian carried all four of the bats in his arms, none of them argued and just let themselves be carried back inside the tent.

“He’s in my shop sleeping in some blankets, why?” The old bellwether ran into the tent and a few minutes later returned wearing a hazmat suit with Ian in toe.

“Umbra, Rey, stay here and help Delila in anything she asks, Ian and I will go look for that Tim and quarantine the area.”

Rey saluted and nodded and stayed next to the nurse while their older sibling continued to wrap the infinite yellow tape around the camp even after the sheep and robot left. Leo grew frustrated and finally shouted: “What is going on!? What the heck’s ‘Balanitis’?

Delila bent down to his level, she finally calmed down enough and started to explain. “My ‘little’ brother, I’m afraid that all of you have contracted a most terrible ailment. Balanitis is a terrible sickness that affects anyone from Wonderworld. Consumes, humans, Tims, no one is safe! When someone gets sick, the theater enters a magic lockdown to prevent it from spreading.”

“So…no one can leave!?” Emma asked as she freed herself from the dreaded yellow tape. Delila nodded.

“Correct, sister. None can leave and you can’t acquire costumes either for the same magic affects the costume crystals too.” The flower nurse continued explaining, helping remove the tape from all three of them.

Needless to say, they were quite frightened. It didn’t help at all that the nurse did not fully explain what Balanitis truly is. However, they couldn’t really do much now since Umbra completely sealed the camp. Delila stood up and walked in the tent alongside Umbra to properly treat the Acrobats. Reynard, overheard them while playing with some shredded tape.

“But…how did a Tim get sick anyways? They're kinda immune to almost everything!” The little fox innocently asked. Everyone looked at each other for a moment trying to look for an answer. They thought hard before Emma remembered something.

“Balan got sick earlier when we were having a picnic and he ended up sneezing on us and some Tims. I guess they caught it from him!” She exclaimed. After a brief pause, her heart sank as she realized something awful. “The purple Tim…wasn’t the only one Balan sneezed on!”

Haoyu and Leo looked at each other in confusion before the shrunken boy gasped when he realized it too. “I think there were almost half a dozen of ‘em near the blanket!”

The group panicked, Haoyu joined them when he realized that there were more sick Tims roaming Wonderworld. They continued talking about their next course of action, not realizing that Reynard was listening attentively to their conversation. They discussed amongst themselves about what to do now “What are we gonna do!? Could everyone else be in danger!?”

“Want me to tell Delila or Umbra you’re going to head out?” The tiny fox asked, he somehow managed to get tangled up in the short strip of tape and was now trying to free himself from it.

“I don’t know, Rey.” Leo said. “They put the whole camp on lockdown, I’m not sure if it’s okay for us to suddenly leave.”

“But what if the Tims get someone sick?" Emma asked. "They’re harmless, but who knows what could happen to them!"

“Hey, let’s just tell them that! Then maybe they’ll let us go!” Haoyu exclaimed, triumphantly bouncing into the air, this time his descent was slower than before.

The little fox literally slid through conversation by turning into a box and colliding with tiny Leo, this not only knocked the wind out of him, but also launched him a few feet away from the group, none of them could react fast enough to move him out of the way. Reynard slid until it reached the entrance of the tent where he finally reverted back to a jolly fox. He flashed a quick thumbs up before disappearing into the tent. A few seconds later, Delila swiftly exited and quickly approached them with a serious look on her face.

"Miss Delila, You need to let us lea-" Before Emma could finish her sentence. The Floaty Flower interrupted her and pulled out a doorknob from her med bag.

“Don’t fret, love. Rey explained everything to me!”

Emma looked at her in disbelief and then at Reynard, who was just as confused as she was. He was about to say something but a pair of hands, presumably Umbra’s hands, covered his mouth and pulled him inside.

“And yes, if what he said is true, then you can go, but ONLY on my conditions!” Delila exclaimed, making sure everyone heard her. “ You can go out to fetch the sick Tims and return them here for...examination!"

As she was explaining her terms, She prodded the interior of the knob before she handed it over to Emma. It was made of silver but had a checkered pattern imprinted on it, different tiny flower decals painted on the lighter squares and plate, the plate had what appeared to be a Paladin Puncher with his arms out to his sides and mellow eyes.

"This doorknob will allow you to travel in between stages of the same clutch of inhabitants. I changed a few things in it that shall take you to the safest area of the stage. simply hold it outwards, say the stage name of the person you wish to see and give it a twist. Simple!" Delila exclaimed.

"Awesome! Where should we go first?" Leo wheezed out as he crawled over to Emma. Haoyu ended up picking him up and bouncing over to her.

"Maybe we should go to Fiona's stage. Some Tims like to go there to explore the ruins in her world!" Haoyu cried out, holding Leo under his arm.

Emma nodded and held the doorknob at arms length and said. "Take us to Seagazer's world!"

At That moment, a glowing rectangle surrounded the knob emanating a blinding light that lasted a few seconds. Afterwards, a tall door appeared. It was covered in waves colored with different glittery shades of blue, different sea creatures, mostly dolphins, made from carved wood were stuck onto it, all of them surrounding a painting of Fiona who wore a relaxed expression on her face as if she was floating in water. Everyone was aghast at the door, Haoyu accidentally dropped Leo, Delila decided to get their attention again.

"The Maestros sometimes give certain costumes magic passageways for us to travel to other stages at a moment's notice, mostly in case of emergencies." Delila said. "I'm letting you borrow it for today. Once you finish, I ask that you please return it to me."

After a few moments of silence, Emma took a deep breath before turning to the knob and pushing the door open. They were immediately greeted by a cool, salty breeze. As expected, through the door were the Submerged Ruins.

Emma cautiously tapped the other side with her foot and when her toes made contact with the rough architecture, she hopped over the door frame, her hair brushing against the ground. She turned around and called for her friends to follow her. Haoyu practically glided through the door.

Leo caught his breath and looked through the doorway, he was about to run through when he suddenly felt that he was being watched. He looked around, Delila already returned to treating patients, his friends were waiting for him from the ruins. Something was staring straight through his very core, then he saw it…

The tree Umbra used to close off the camp had a purple owl resting on a branch, it was staring directly at Leo with its wide blue eyes. The bird of prey was unmoving, even with the powerful zephyrs of the plains. He slowly inched his way to the doorway, never breaking eye contact with the strange bird. Emma swiftly closed the door without a second thought.

#balan wonderworld #balan #Leo Craig #Emma Cole #haoyu chang #fanfic #fanfiction #owl #armadillo #box fox #soaring sheep #aero acrobat #tims #wonderworld

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swtorpadawan · 5 years ago

Text

It Could Always Be Worse

Author’s Notes: The following story takes place sometime between Chapters 9 and 15 of Knights of the Fallen Empire.

It could always be worse. Gann thought to himself grudgingly.

Gann Vondern, a section head of Balmorran Arms, experienced the feeling as he stepped out of the hover-taxi, paid the driver, then turned to make his way back to his apartment complex after what had been a long day at the office.

If he were honest with himself, most of his days at the office had been running long for quite some time, now.

As he made his way up the walkway, he couldn’t help but look up at the horizon, his eyes inevitably drawn to what seemed to be the primary source of most of his problems these days.

The Zakuulan Star Fortress hung in low orbit over Balmorra, where it had been hovering for the past four years. With its looming presence, it was nearly impossible to transport anything of significant size either on or off the planet without the Eternal Empire’s official approval. That hadn’t stopped the corporate executives from trying, of course. But their overall sales these days – both their ‘approved’ shipments to the Republic and their black-market trade – were a fraction of what they once were. The Fortress periodically repositioned itself to center its attention (and its advanced observation capabilities) on the heart of Balmorran industrial might, the Sundari Flatlands. Sundari was the home to the famous Balmorran Arms Factory as well as more than a dozen other production and research facilities. Gann hadn’t been there at the time, but he’d heard that the battles for the flatlands – the most defensible position on all Balmorra with its trenches and natural fortifications – fought between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic had once represented the decisive clashes not only for the planet, but for the entire galaxy.

The Star Fortress could have annihilated the entire valley along with all of its vaunted defenses and all of its inhabitants with a single blast of its main cannon.

Under the threat of that sort of pressure, all Balmorra had suffered. Economically and otherwise.

It hadn’t always been such. This world had once seemed a golden land of opportunity to Gann.

After years of suffering under Imperial rule, Balmorra had been liberated during the last war and had enjoyed a few precious years of prosperity with Republic credits pouring in and Balmorra’s weapons factories working almost non-stop to produce as much material as possible for the war effort, with everything from battle droids to blaster rifles to capital ship weapons coming off the assembly line. The devastated planet had been rebuilding rapidly; indeed, the ultra-modern apartment complex where Gann, his wife and daughter lived at the edge of the Flatlands was one such legacy of that ‘golden’ era. They had moved to Balmorra during these prosperous times, with Gann’s obvious talent in the fields of robotics and cybernetics quickly netting him a plum position at Balmorran Arms. Within two years, despite being an émigré – and possessing a slightly nervous social demeanor – he’d been promoted to section head of Research and Development of Cybernetic Projects. Talera, his wife and a skilled biochemist in her own right, soon gained a position advising the planetary government in the restoration of Balmorra’s devastated agriculture. His daughter Darial began attending a prestigious local school and was soon earning top marks. The rest of the galaxy may have been at war, but here on Balmorra, with their thriving military industry and newfound optimism, times had been good.

Then the Eternal Empire had attacked.

More war should have been good for a planet where the primary export was military weaponry, but that simple economic model depended upon the war being ‘ongoing’. Balmorra may have been spared another invasion, but it had nevertheless been subjugated by the blockade of ships from the Eternal Fleet.

Within a year of the initial attacks, both the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire had effectively surrendered, forced to sign unfavorable treaties. Worse still for Balmorra, they had been forced to accept crippling restrictions to their respective militaries. Orders of equipment had been slashed dramatically. Times had grown lean for Balmorra and its illustrious defense industries as the planet had depended upon military exports for much of its gross domestic product. Even accounting for the Republic discreetly ‘cheating’ the system where it could get away with it, and the various black-market projects the company was engaging in, there had been budget cuts. Two of the younger engineers on Gann’s staff had already been laid off despite his protests. He knew that he was lucky to have kept his own position after everything that had happened, but the stress had been getting to him as of late. Talera, supportive as always, had always complained that he worked too much, but these days it was even worse. Even when he was at home, he could be listless and distracted. He was even starting to fear that his wife would leave him.

It could always be worse. Gann reminded himself again.

When it came down to it, it was a miracle that he was even alive and living here with his family in relative comfort. After all, if the Balmorrans ever discovered who Gann really was, they would lynch him and his family on the spot.

Once upon a time, years ago and in another life, Gann had been a talented cyberneticist on Dromund Kaas, the capital of the Sith Empire. Between designing enhancements for the Sith and producing prosthetics for injured Imperial soldiers, his future had appeared secured. Then he’d been abducted and enslaved by one Sith Lord only to catch the eye of a second Sith who had then sent a third Sith to extort him for one of his creations all so they could assassinate a fourth Sith. After that, he’d become a loose end. A liability in Sith internal politics. He’d grabbed his wife and daughter at the first chance and had fled the Empire.

All four Sith he’d encountered had proven to have been powerful individuals and highly placed within their Order. Gann even heard that the Twi’lek apprentice who’d taken his device had eventually ascended to a seat on the Dark Council. That apprentice – the future Darth Nox – may have spared him from a grisly execution on the spot, but he held no illusions beyond that. She’d outright told him he’d be dead if he ever re-emerged. Years later, word had trickled to him that Nox herself had ultimately been killed during some battle or another on Yavin, but Gann knew he could never be too safe. Regardless of his official legal status with the Sith Empire, his name would always be on someone’s list. They said that a Sith could hold a grudge forever, and having witnessed Lord Grathan’s cruelty first-hand, he believed it.

(To this day, what Grathan had forced Gann to do to those captured Imperial soldiers during the siege of Grathan’s estate gave him nightmares more than anything else he had ever experienced.)

Now, he’d been living on Balmorra for eight years. The identities of Gann and his family – secured years ago with the assistance of a skilled Anomid forger he’d contacted on Nar Shaddaa – had proven as solid as money could buy. The whole family had long since disguised their Kaasi accents, even while speaking alone at their apartment. Talera and Darial had ultimately thrived, acclimating to Balmorra even more fully than Gann himself. They had made only a few friends, but nevertheless, it had still been enough.

They had made Balmorra a home.

It hadn’t been a life without challenges, of course. As an off-worlder living on a planet that had been occupied for so long, a certain level of suspicion from Gann’s peers was natural, but by and large, his obvious talents – combined with his passion and dedication to his work – had convinced his colleagues of his veracity. Gann’s only recent concern was having drawn the attention of Balmorran Arms’ new director of security, Zenith. A local Twi’lek and a former leader in the planetary resistance, Zenith went about his work with great zeal, and had already managed to rub most of the firm’s employees the wrong way. As a transplant who had risen to the rank of section head, Gann had naturally drawn the security chief’s interest. Gann’s only consolation was that the paranoid Zenith seemed to suspect almost everyone of being an Imperial spy, so his concerns had thus far been undercut with their respective superiors, much to the engineer’s relief.

Gann knew he could never go back to the Empire, even if he had wanted to. And his dedication and commitment to Balmorra was completely sincere. If the planet were ever conquered by the Sith again, they would surely discover him. What they’d do to Gann and his family didn’t bare thinking about.

He couldn’t allow that.

Balmorra had to remain free from that fate, even if that freedom was a lie in light of Zakuul’s oppressive grip over their off-world trade.

For the moment, however, Gann’s more immediate concern was making apologies to Talera for coming home late… for the third time this week. Between Zenith’s security interviews and Gann’s quarreling with the other department heads over dwindling resources, his hours were getting worse all the time. He was dreading having to disappoint his wife again.

“I don’t know why she puts up with me.” He murmured, finally reaching the gate to his apartment complex.

Just as Gann was about to insert his security key card to enter the facility, he suddenly felt an object pressed to the back of his neck.

“Don’t move.” A brusque voice demanded.

Gann’s blood froze as he recognized the sensation of a blaster barrel pointed against his skin. Before he could react, a hand reached out and snatched away the key card from Gann’s outstretched fingers. Whether out of fear or simple self-preservation, he forced himself not to move.

“Please don’t hurt me.” He stammered nervously. “I’m low on credits, but it’s all in my jacket. Just take whatever you want.”

“I’m not here to rob you, Mister Dorotsech.” The voice answered. It was masculine, firm, and Gann’s sharp ears could pick up just a faint trace of an Imperial accent. “I’m here to talk to you.”

The usage of his old name – Dorotsech – a name that he hadn’t heard, much less answered to in years –caused all of Gann’s anxiety to come flooding back with a vengeance, the memories of that past life coming to the fore.

A bizarre sensation of acceptance came over Gann in that moment, and his breath caught in his throat.

“If you’re going to kill me, do it quick.” Gann said quietly in resignation. “Just… please spare my family. They didn’t ask for this. They don’t have anything to do with this.”

The man behind him – Gann hoped it was just one – seemed to cluck his tongue reproachingly.

“Quite the fatalist, aren’t you?” a free hand reached out and ran up and down the shoulders of his corporate jacket – adorned with the Balmorran Arms logo - and trousers, briskly frisking him. Gann and his family lived in a safe neighborhood. He carried no weapons; just a portable holopad and a wrist communicator. These were quickly (and professionally) confiscated. The strong hand grasped his shoulder firmly. “Take a breath. We’re stepping around the corner. For privacy, you understand.”

Gann felt the barrel of the weapon behind him withdraw from the back of his neck, only to then press against his back. His shoulders sagged in defeat, his body acquiescing. He knew the security monitors at his complex should have picked up the intruder by now. In theory, a pair of guards should now be rushing to his aid, with law enforcement alerted and on the way. No doubt his captor had anticipated and accounted for all of that. As they turned the corner of the building, a realization dawned on him; this was all to avoid eyewitnesses. The pit of his stomach continued to build. He just knew he was doomed. His captor was clearly not Sith themselves – Sith had little use for blasters, and most didn’t care about privacy for their executions – but there could be no doubt that this individual was in service to a Sith. Most likely this was an assassin from Sith Intelligence, the successor to the feared Imperial Intelligence service Gann had avoided since escaping Grathan.

Gann and the unknown man came to a sudden stop.

“Good. Now turn around. Nice and slow.” His captor said.

Gann took some solace in the fact that he would at least see the face of his killer before he died. Taking a deep breath, he turned.

The man he faced was human; no surprise there. His face was fairly nondescript by Gann’s estimation, aside from some heavy scarring on the left side of his right cheek, clearly the result of an old injury from an explosion. Gann was immediately drawn to the cybernetic cranial implant around his eye just above the scars; by his estimation, it appeared to be a modified version of the standard Imperial device used by operatives of the Sith Empire. The man wore tactical body armor over an athletic build, and with a glance Gann could recognize numerous enhancements and modifications had been made. He carried a broken-down sniper rifle on his back, a model that could snap to the ready in a single motion.

Gann had feared this moment. He’d dreaded it for years. He’d even had nightmares about it. He’d spent the first forty-five years of his life terrified that he would somehow displease the wrong Sith and be killed on a whim, and had spent the last nine years since then terrified that either the Sith would find him for what he had done on Dromund Kaas or that someone on Balmorra would discover his identity and his entire life would come apart.

And with the realization that this moment had finally come, he had a crystal moment of clarity.

Talera and Darial… were his life. Not his position at Balmorran Arms. Not all his troubles and worries. Not even his cybernetic creations, which had been his passion for as long as he could remember.

His wife and daughter were all that mattered.

Exhaling the breath he had taken, Gann finally nodded. He’d dreaded this moment for years, but now that it had finally come, he didn’t care. His life was over. He knew that. The Sith Empire had found him. Zenith’s suspicions, the budget cuts at work, the constant threat of both the Sith and the Eternal Empires, Talera’s protestations that he worked too much… all his troubles seemed to melt away. None of them mattered, anymore.

It was strangely liberating. For the first time in years, he felt free of his troubles. All he felt was blissful acceptance.

“I’m ready.” Gann said to the assassin.

The operative, showing no change of expression, merely holstered his weapon.

“Good. Because someone wants a word with you.”

He reached down to his belt and pulled out a portable holo-transmitter, holding it out towards Gann. The device activated and a moment later an image appeared hovering above it.

It was a human female of medium height, clad in a dark tunic and body armor with durasteel shoulder pauldrons. She held herself with an impressive posture despite standing at ease with her hands tucked behind her confidently. Her blonde hair was cut short, and even without the lightsaber clipped to her belt, Gann would have marked her as an experienced combatant. Most important, when he studied her eyes, he could tell even through the blue tint of the projection that the irises were yellow; a tell-tale trait of the Sith.

Whatever faint hope of survival Gann had built back up at the operative’s apparent hesitation quickly faded.

“Mister Dorotsech, I presume.” The Sith gave him a cool and professional smile. Her accent was Imperial; Kaasi even. “I apologize if we’ve alarmed you. My associate and I have gone to a great deal of trouble to arrange for this meeting.” Her tone, like her expression, was crisp and professional. Authoritative, but not overbearing.

A velvet glove concealing an iron fist. Gann thought to himself, cynically. Having expected an immediate order of execution, he eyed the woman with suspicion.

“You needn’t be coy, my lord.” There was a bitter acceptance in his voice as he stood up straight. He could at least die on his feet. “I know full well how the Empire deals with ‘loose ends’ like myself.”

The Sith merely raised a withering eyebrow at that.

“Please, Mister Dorotsech. Neither I, nor my associate here, serve the Sith Empire any longer. Yes, we do know who you are and what you’ve done. And to be completely candid with you, no one has cared about the details of Darth Skotia’s death in years.”

Gann blinked. He’d heard that some Sith liked to ‘play with their food’, so to speak, and after his experiences with Grathan, he found those tales most credible. But for just a moment, he entertained the notion that he might somehow survive all of this.

“Please… call me Gann Vondern.” The cyberneticist spoke in a low voice, surprising himself at his own boldness. Sith could be vicious in the face of anything resembling impertinence. But he’d been afraid for so long, it felt good to say something asserting himself. “My name is not just a mask I wear. It is the existence – the life – I’ve made for myself.”

“Mister Vondern, then.” The Sith acquiesced, giving him a slight nod. “We require your assistance with a matter you seem to be uniquely well-suited for.”

Gann felt his body relax just a bit but wondered if his talents were again about to be ‘co-opted’ by yet another Sith.

“Several years ago, you produced a device called a ‘cyber neutralizer’ for Lord Zu'fanda, the future Darth Nox.” The Sith Lord began speaking matter-of-factly. “A device capable of crippling individuals who were equipped with cybernetic enhancements. We are interested in whether you could produce a similar device now, assuming that it fits our needs. Lord Grathan’s records mention you designing the neutralizer, and we know about what happened to Skotia, but there were no schematics included in the files we recovered.”

Gann swallowed in contemplation, licking his lips. Almost against his will, his mind, honed by his years of experience as an engineer, was already trying to tackle the problem. He’d always been like that – if only all the problems in his life were as easy to solve as an engineering challenge.

“Well. That would depend on how much of the target were still human.”

The Sith frowned in consideration.

“To the best of our knowledge, the target’s sole cybernetic enhancement is a prosthetic left arm, apparently severed above the elbow but beneath the shoulder.” she answered precisely. “He may have other hidden enhancements, but nothing visible to the eye.”

Gann shook his head.

“Nowhere near enough. The neutralizer I designed works on most droids… and cyborgs who are at least fifty percent machine.”

Gann stopped himself as he finished, remembering how most Sith tended to react to bad news.

The woman in the projection merely furrowed her brow as her frown deepened.

“Why hasn’t Balmorran Arms been producing your device? You surely could have recreated it with their resources.”

“It’s cost-prohibitive.” Gann sighed. The realities of developing cost-effective technologies had always frustrated him. “It’s a one-time use device. After that, the circuits burn out. Producing even a single unit costs a fortune in time, money and power. The Republic wouldn’t have been interested in such a weapon, and it wouldn’t have been worth the company’s trouble marketing it to its… less savory clientele.”

The Sith turned to the operative, who had been standing silently through all of this.

“Your thoughts… agent?”

The cyberneticist noted the hesitation in the Sith’s question. He realized she didn’t want to give the engineer anything that would allow him to identify either of them. That was good. It made it much more likely that they hadn’t made the decision to eliminate him yet.

“Unfortunately, this seems like a dead end, Minister.” The operative answered, brusquely. “Even if we could re-produce the device, it wouldn’t work on our primary target.”

Gann’s ears perked up at the title of ‘Minister’ directed towards the Sith. Had they been deceiving him about their connection to the Sith Empire?

The woman’s eyes flickered in irritation, but she quickly pressed on.

“I agree. Pity. It could have given the Commander an edge against Arcann.”

Realization dawn on Gann at the mention of the name ‘Arcann’.

“Wait. Arcann? As in Emperor Arcann??? You’re opposing the Zakuulans?” He was incredulous. The Eternal Empire had completely run over every enemy that had dared resist them in the past five years, commanded by their despotic Emperor. “Are you mad?”

The Sith turned towards the engineer again, once again with a raised eyebrow.

“I trust that isn’t something you plan on repeating to anyone, Mister Vondern?”

Gann could sense the implied threat in her voice. He wondered if she could Force-choke him by holo?

“Its not that.” He started to tremble. “I just…”

“What, then?”

Gann’s mind was in turmoil. He couldn’t offer these people his neutralizer design. But they were actually willing to stand up to the Eternal Empire. If they’d found him – while the Sith Empire hadn’t – maybe they were capable enough to do what they dared?

“Take me with you.” Gann said the words before he knew what he was doing.

The Sith in the projection blinked in surprise. The operative merely chuckled.

“Why would you want to join us?” the woman said after a moment. “You don’t even know who we are.”

Gann struggled to regain his footing, taking in a deep breath and trying to find his compass. He’d hardly taken a brave move in his life, aside from proposing to Talera. But today he felt different.

“I know enough.” He said. “I know you’re challenging the Eternal Empire. I know no one else has had the courage to even think about doing that in years. I know the Zakuulans are slowly choking the spirit out of Balmorra, and they could simply wipe us out at any moment. I know they’ve done exactly that elsewhere.”

“I want to be a part of stopping that.”

The Sith took it in slowly, then turned to her operative, who looked back at her but said nothing. She finally turned to Gann again.

“What about your life here? Our reports said you had a family.”

Was this how my life works, now? Gann wondered. I have to leave the things I care most about in order to protect them?

He found his answer.

“My wife has her own career.” he swallowed. “My daughter is about to start attending the University in Sobrik. They don’t need me anymore. Not as I am. Who knows, maybe I’ve been holding them back all this time. I just… I know I can’t continue with what I’ve been doing. I don’t want to live in fear anymore.”

The Sith seemed impressed by his declaration.

“Where you’ll be operating, it might be some time before you can contact your family.” The Sith warned him. “We can probably arrange something eventually, but I can’t promise that.”

Gann swallowed sadly.

“I understand.”

The Sith eyed him severely. He was reminded of a particularly harsh schoolteacher he had had as a child.

“Your assessment, agent?”

“Well.” The unnamed man regarded Gann for a moment. “He’s held up reasonably well for an engineer, and there’s nothing I imagine he’ll face with us that he hasn’t already faced in the last five minutes. And it would mean I hadn’t made this trip for nothing. Plus, our science division is always recruiting, and I’m sure Oggurobb will find something productive for him to do.”

That was another name Gann recognized.

“Doctor Juvard Illip Oggurobb is working with you?” he was even more impressed. The Hutt was renowned throughout the galaxy for his accomplishments in droid engineering and was the only five-time recipient of the Bao-Dur Science Prize. Gann had been an admirer of his work for decades.

“He does.” The Sith answered, scrutinizing Gann again.

After a long moment, she finally nodded.

“Very well. Mister Vondern, my name is Lana Beniko. On behalf of the Alliance, I welcome you into our ranks. Our agent here will see to your transportation and orientation.”

She concluded with a somewhat reassuring smile.

“We hope to see you here soon.”

With that, the transmission ended, the holoprojection vanishing.

The operative turned to Gann with a grim smile.

“Our window is short, I’m afraid. We’ll remain undetected by the Star Fortress for only so long. Ah.” The operative – Beniko had merely called him agent – paused. “Here are your things, by the way.” He handed Gann back his keycard, datapad and communicator.

“Uhm. Thank you.” Gann stammered, fumbling a bit as he took back his possessions. “But what do I call you?”

“Oh, you can just call me Cipher Nine.”

Gann felt his face to turn pale in shock. The Cipher agents had been the top operatives of the old Imperial Intelligence. In an Empire of powerful Force-users and super soldiers, they had been ghosts; assassinating dissidents and disappearing into the shadows. He had always assumed that if the Empire ever did find him, it would be a Cipher agent.

The operative’s grin just widened.

“Like you, my name represents the life I’ve built for myself.” He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. “Docking Bay 94 at the Sobrik Spaceport. We lift off in one hour. Don’t be late.”

Without another word to Gann, the man turned and started walking off. He observed him as the cipher agent raised his own wrist communicator to his lips.

“Kaliyo, we’re green. Be back at the Phantom in forty-five minutes. We’ll have one passenger joining us…”

Even as he spoke, a personal stealth field activated. The man flickered and suddenly disappeared from sight, seemingly without a trace of having ever been there in the first place.

Gann checked his chrono. The entire encounter had lasted less than five minutes. Five minutes that had changed his life forever. He exhaled slowly, overwhelmed by what had just taken place.

There was so much to do. He could transmit his resignation to his bosses at B.A. for all he cared about his career at this point, but far more important, he would have to tell Talera. He doubted she’d be thrilled with this turn of events. His daughter… she would miss him, but he was confident she would be fine. His little girl had grown up. He’d be able to leave them with more than enough money and Talera’s position with the government should ensure they would not face significant scrutiny.

She would be angry. She might even leave him. He wouldn’t blame her if she did.

But maybe he’d be able to look at himself in the mirror again. Maybe his wife would understand.

As he used his key card to enter his complex, he felt a renewed sense of hope. Like a new dawn.

He’d been right. It could be worse.

Only now, it could eventually get better.

Author’s Notes: For the record, Talera winds up being supportive of Gann’s decision in the end. She will worry, and she absolutely isn’t thrilled that it is all last minute. But in the end, she understands.

I have a fondness for taking very minor characters from the game and writing stories from their perspective. Dorotsech appears in the Sith Inquisitor story on Dromund Kaas, with the ‘default’ choice being to kill him. Zu'fanda was a dark-sider, but she wound up sparing him, since she thought she might need him later. That doesn’t come to pass, but I brought him back here.

Cipher Nine, the former Gahraath Vaiken, is the Imperial Agent in my Halcyon Legacy. He called Lana ‘Minister’ in front of Gann just to annoy her. The two respect each other but aren’t exactly friendly. See if you can figure out why he gave different times to Gann that he did to Kaliyo. Gahraath is technically a sniper, not an operative, but… meh. I can give him the abilities that i like in my head-canon.

I know Balmorra isn’t one of the Star Fortress planets in the actual game, but since its implied that most major planets have one, I feel comfortable saying that one is there. (It does get taken out, however, much to Gann’s relief.)

Zenith gets a cameo mention here because he fits the role of the over-zealous security officer too well. (A paranoid clock is right twice a day.) I also threw in a reference to Dretcher, that ‘old friend’ of Gault’s you meet during Knights of the Fallen Empire.

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gaad · 5 years ago

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“The State as apparatus of capture has a power of appropriation; but this power does not consist solely in capturing all that it can, all that is possible, of a matter defined as phylum. The apparatus of capture also appropriates the war machine, the instruments of polarization, and the anticipation prevention mechanisms. This is to say, conversely, that anticipation prevention mechanisms have a high power of transference (...)”. “(...) (W)ar machines have a power of metamorphosis, which of course allows them to be captured by States, but also to resist that capture and rise up again in other forms, with other “objects” besides war (revolution?). Each power is a force of deterritorialization that can go along with the others or go against them (...). Each process can switch over to other powers, but also subordinate other processes to its own power.” (1) “The idea of a constitution (...) involves not only the idea of hierarchy of authority or power but also that of a hierarchy of rules or laws, where those possessing a higher degree of generality and proceeding from a superior authority control the contents of the more specific laws that are passed by a delegated authority.” (2) It is time for a new humanism. Time to set a place, a forum able to stage the powers of today. Time to call up the ancient, dispose them, squeez them, twist them to reassess todays world. We have lost the meaning of natural proportions, let us look at godly excess. Monotheic religion castrated our apprehension of the world, seeing things either good or bad. The polytheic family encompasses the world and beyond, spinning around our prosaic flatland. A figure founded on intricated concepts is a powerfull constellation naviguating above polysemic ambiguities. As the grand daughter of the Philantropist eponym Elisabeth Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch feels the will to engage her vision in the public debat. Since her childhood she was confronted to a rigourous, competitive, mostly manly world. Inspired by her grandmother she cultivated a spiritual friendship with greek feminin characters. Grew up with them. Now her interest does not lie in presenting her various personal relations with them but to stage them. “(...)(A)dvertising, news, publicity, periodical literature.” This is Elisabeth's inherited background. “(...) They work to a single end: to give the stamp of authenticity and value to the style of life that emanates from the metropolis.They establish the national brand: they attempt to control the national market: they create a picture of a unified, homogeneous, completely standardized population that bears, in fact, no relation to the actual regional sub stratum—although in the course of time it partly succeeds in producing the thing it has imagined.” Take Paris for example: “(...) the Champs Elysées, become the goals of vulgar ambition (and a)dvertisement becomes the “spiritual power” of this new regime.” (3)

“This is the moment when the masterpieces of ancient sculpture are about to appear in all their glory in front of the eyes of France (...) (they) have chosen to live amongst the French, and are to be adored in their living images. Ah! Who would be able to step into the temple of these divinities without saying to himself: these masterpieces, these gods had ceased to be gods for us; the cult of Antiquity had been forgotten; who would believe it?(...); it is Vien, it is David, who then made themselves into their apostles and ministers; it is through them that this great revolution, which has at least given us the hope of creating gods ourselves, has taken place in the arts.” (4)

The time of revolution is now back but as Foucault said : “il faut avoir une méfiance absolue et totale à l'égard de tout ce qui se présente comme un retour. L'une des raisons de cette méfiance est logique : il n'y a jamais, en fait, de retour.”(5) Therefore the story of Elisabeth's friends will intentionally follow the unfaithfull path. In Momus from Alberti “the extended climax (of the seventh book) occurs in an urban theater where the gods act as their own effigies(, Alberti) repeatedly uses the word persona (and so will we) (“mask” or “personality'') to underline the false, theatrical behavior of his characters.” (6) “Or, as is the case now, the mask assures the erection, the construction of the (new) face (of Elisabeth), the fascialization of the head and the body: the mask is now the face itself, the abstraction or operation of the face. The inhumanity of the face.” (1) So be it. Let them be the masked actors of a twisted tragedy, trapped in their performance, speculating above our heads, fertilizing our ground. A spectacle of a new kind. Let them play, individually, together, contradict each other, themselves. Let them work as technologies, systems, embedded in concepts and rituals. “They (a)re living geometry, lines and curves of color, entwined into a coalescing whole yet maintaining distinct identities.” (7)

Three personas. Pandora, Circe, Metis. Not the ones we usually know. Their Alter Ego. The ones who stand up, do not apologize. This is Elisabeth's Friends. Pandora has inherited a box, a jarre which contains unspeakable truth. She knows now how to sort things, pick up elements, unleash others. Circe masters metamorphosis by exploring with drugs and potions. She learned to articulate her recipes and to play with the right parameters and Metis is renowned for his wiseness and cunning, making problems no longer valid. As a constellation, they are powerful. As a unity, they can deal with the plenty, transform it. As an unfaithful story, it accesses the realm of discussion. As statuses, they need a sophisticated territory from which to operate, a palace. Three Faces where “(i)t is not the individuality of (each) face that counts but the efficacy of the ciphering it makes possible, and in what cases it makes it possible.(...) The face is a surface, (...) the face is a map.” (1 ) “How disappointing this answer seems to be! We asked what was the origin of Ideas and where problems come from: in reply we invoke throws of the dice, imperatives and questions of chance instead of an apodictic principle; an aleatory point at which everything becomes ungrounded instead of a solid ground.” (8)

“For each genre, now, the problem will be to decide whether its audience is such as to demand utility or delight or both, and what brand of either of these will be acceptable to it.” (9) To anchor ourselves we will now deepen our reflexion in space with Alberti and Vitruve. But keep in mind : “The mathematics that is needed here is of a new brand.” (10) Their concept and ideas of proportions being a fertile ground from which we should elevate. This palace will be a theater, a circus and a amphitheater, simultaneously, as the temple of our time, able to adapt to change, suitable to glorify the unknown. If we follow Alberti and Vitruve who compare the three typologies as such: “(...) (W)e will describe both manners of spectacles. In the first, which is for the delight of peaceful times, are introduced the poets, musicians, and actors. In the second, which regard the studies of war, are performed different kinds of duels and contests having to do with bodily strength and dexterity.To the former is dedicated the theatre, a name which means both ‘spectacle’ and ‘a place to watch’.To the latter, which are spectacles of agility and dexterity such as running or jumping, is dedicated the circus. To events such as assaults and fights against animals or men is dedicated the amphitheatre. There are some things that are proper to all of these spectacles: first, that they are horn shaped and curved; next, that they have an open space in the middle; and finally, that they have steps all around and raised places where people can sit and watch.” (11) “But then they differ as to the Form of the aforesaid Area; for those which have this Area in the Shape of a Moon in its Decrease are called Theatres, but when the Horns are protracted a great Way forwards, they are called Circusses, because in them the Chariots make a Circle about the Goal.” (12) So if we follow them and we free this typologies from their form, we can imagine a place which could embody the spectacle. The Palace of Spectacle. This Palace will be entered through a garden where a fountain lies at its very center. Heron's Fountain one could claim. Another form of spectacle.

1) Deleuze Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus 2) Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty 3) Mumford, The Culture of Cities 4) Harrison Wood Gaiger, Art in Theory 1648 1815 5) Foucault, Le savoir, le pouvoir et l'espace 6) Alberti, Momus (Preface) 7) Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology 8) Deleuze, Difference and Repetition 9) Weinberg, A History of Literary Criticism in the Italian Renaissance 1 10) Ayache, The Blank Swan 11) Williams, Daniele Barbaros Vitruvius of 1567 12) Alberti, 10 books of architecture 1755

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Further quotes:

Vitruve

these vessels - ( poor vessels) large jars made of clay, but similarly resonant

THE plan of the theatre itself is to be constructed as follows. Having fixed upon the principal centre, draw a line of circumference equivalent to what is to be the perimeter at the bottom, and in it inscribe four equilateral triangles, at equal distances apart and touching the boundary line of the circle, as the astrologers do in a figure of the twelve signs of the zodiac, when they are making computations from the musical harmony of the stars. Taking that one of these triangles whose side is nearest to the scaena, let the front of the scaena be determined by the line where that side cuts off a segment of the circle (A B), and draw, through the centre, a parallel line (C D) set off from that position, to separate the platform of the stage from the space of the orchestra.

The circus was based, so it is said, on the heavens

Unlike that of the amphitheater, the central area of a circus was not empty, nor was it filled with a stage, like that of a theater --------------------------------------------------------------- Alberti

We have dealt with the theater; next we shall discuss the circus and amphitheater.All buildings of this type are derived from the theater: a circus is nothing but a theater with its wings extended along parallel lines, although its nature does not require the addition of a portico; an amphitheater, meanwhile, consists of two theaters, their tiers linked into a continuous circle.They differ in that the theater is a form of semiamphitheater; another difference is that the central area of the amphitheater is quite empty and free of any stage. In every other respect they are similar, especially in their tiers, porticoes, passages, and so on. The amphitheater, we think, was built originally for the hunt; this was why they decided to make it round, so that the wild beast, trapped there and baited, with no corner into which to retreat, would be easier for the hunters to provoke.

The rest of the ornament is taken from the temple

The theater takes the lineament of its area from the hoofprint of a horse.Once this is done, the uppermost portico is built on top. The facade and colonnade of this portico do not receive light from outside, as those we have described below it do, but face instead toward the central area of the theater, as we have mentioned already. This work prevents sound from escaping, and compresses and fortifies it; we shall therefore call the work the circumvallation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------- Perrault (on Vitruvius)

And the Paintings represented three sorts of Buildings, which made three sorts of Scenes, viz. The Tragick by Magnificent Pallaces, the Comick by Private Houses, the Satyrical (i. e. the Pastoral) by Fields and Groves.The Parascenium or Postscenium was the hinder part of the Theater, and the place whither the Actors retired and dressed themselves, and had their Rehearsals, and where the Machines were kept.Near the Theaters, were Publick Walks, in length a Stadium, which is about 90 Perches. There were Trees planted

#gaadc #text

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gamebunny-advance · 5 years ago

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Explaining This Whole Quadangle (Draft)

It would have been a square if not for all this other stuff happening around it, but I don’t feel like making a new visual. Olimar isn’t included in this discussion.

Reference:

Green: Familial Relations

Gray: Antagonistic Relations

Red: Romantic Relations

Since I’m not confident enough in my writing skills yet to post fanfic and it takes me forever to finish anything I draw, I figured it might be easier to just explain some of the heavy relationship stuff so I can just refer to this when I want to make a point about something.

What Happened in the Subspace Emissary

I think for long stays of this blog, y’all know that R.O.B. & Watch kind of happened on accident, but I’ve but a bit of thought into it up to this point.

They first meet after the Halberd has been seized by the Subspace Army. Originally Mr. Game and Watch’s orders were to use the airship to transport the R.O.B.s and subspace bombs across the world of trophies and begin pulling the world into Subspace. As a natural extension of this order, Mr. Game & Watch is also tasked with protecting the Master Robot to ensure that the Subspace Bombs can be activated without fail. At this point R.O.B. (now the Ancient Minister) is highly resentful of the Subspace Army and all of those associated with it, so he doesn’t socialize with GW very much during their flights on the Halberd. Likewise, GW is only following his orders and isn’t too concerned with anyone else’s well being. Over time though, GW does become curious about why the lesser R.O.B.s are so loyal to the Minister when they know that they are being sent to die. From these small talks, he becomes interested in learning more about the Minister and seeing the “kind and capable leader” that the other R.O.B.s are so dedicated to. During this time, GW’s loyalties also start to shift as he becomes more concerned with the fate of the R.O.B.s. When the infiltrators on Halberd prove to be too capable, GW implores the R.O.B.s to continue the mission without him since he fears that greater harm would come to them if the Halberd was recaptured, so they part ways.

After GW is defeated by the infiltrators and joins up with the hero party, the Isle of the Ancients also falls causing R.O.B. to also join up with the other hero party. When everyone reconnects, they both become the main sources of information on the enemy where the plan to enter Subspace and destroy it at its core is devised.

After Tabuu’s defeat and all return to the world, R.O.B. is left without a proper place in the world. Although repentant for his actions, he does resolve to “disappear” to atone for his crimes, but the other fighters aren’t having any of that and convince R.O.B. to keep living in that world as a means of keeping the memory of the other ROBs alive. Alongside this, GW stays with ROB as his own form of repentance since he believes the only way he can do “good” to be “useful”. Even though ROB accepts this offer, he’s still highly resentful of GW, but after getting to know each other a lot better, they form a mutual friendship and later romance.

Expanding Mr. Game & Watch: “I Don’t Care If It’s Right or Wrong, As Long As It’s Something Only I Can Do”

A huge part of Mr. Game & Watch’s character for me is his crushing feeling of inadequacy.

The only thing he can do is copy others, and in a world where everyone is defined by the one thing they excel at, this made him feel like he didn’t really have a reason to be around. He could imitate anyone flawlessly, but he had nothing to truly call his own. Many tried to help him find something that he could do, but it mostly amounted to filling in when someone else wasn’t able to do their jobs. As soon as they were better, GW would be left with nothing again. When he was elected to represent Flatland in Smash, he was excited to finally “become somebody”. He was given his first real name by Master Hand, “Mr. Game & Watch” and his job would be to fight in the name of his homeland.

When he entered the Smash universe and met the other fighters he was very interested in learning about everyone else’s “jobs”, but he learned that they were a lot like the folks back home: they were all known for the one thing that they did. They were heroes, villains, even just animals, but they all had something special about them back in their homelands, while he was still nobody. Although he got along with most of the other fighters, he still felt like he was beneath all of them. When the tournaments closed, he returned home feeling worse than when he’d left it, resulting in an inferiority complex.

When he returned for the Brawl tournaments, GW went seeking Master Hand for further guidance, but instead he was found by Tabuu who immediately recognizes GW’s worth as a generator for the Subspace army. To take advantage of this, Tabuu hones in GW’s emotional vulnerability and convinces him to work for the army by convincing GW that he’s the only one that can ever understand him. He “proves” this by showing GW how to produce his shadow bugs and how to use them, something GW never knew he could do. Tabuu is also able to convince GW that the other fighters also don’t see him as a “person” because they couldn’t possibly understand why this power is so special. From then on, GW allows himself to be used by Tabuu who keeps him in check by both lowering GW’s self worth while making him feel like he can only depend on Tabuu.

Over the course of this service, GW is introduced to the ROBs. Although initially very cold to them (a reflection of how Tabuu has been treating him), his curiosity causes him to become very interested in the robots, especially the Anicent Minister. Mostly he wonders how the lesser ROBs can be so at peace with their eventual demise.

This eventually culminates when GW (as Duon) is defeated and accepted onto the hero’s team by Peach who says that they’ve always seen him as their friend. As small a gesture as this was, GW’s earlier abuse makes him completely moved by these words. From this point his allegiance is firmly changed, but this in turn causes a violent change in Tabuu (that we’ll get to later).

After Subspace is wrapped up, GW decides to give himself up to R.O.B. as a means of apologizing for his wrong doings. Although GW has accepted that the others do actually like him, his self worth is still in shambles and he still believes that he’s still a nobody unless he’s being useful to someone else. At this point ROB is still very on edge about GW, but allows this servitude partially out of spite (if GW wants to punish himself for his crimes, then who is he to stop him) but with the acknowledgement that GW’s at least trying to make up for what happened. Over the course of this arrangement, ROB starts picking up on GW’s issues and begins to recognize the extent of Tabuu’s manipulation on him which changes ROB’s perception of him from being someone who “willingly assisted evil acts” to someone who “was strung along without realizing it”, which causes ROB to ease up on him a little bit. At some point GW also becomes aware of his own feelings and realizes that what he’s really wanted all this time was to be important to someone. (In other words, to be loved by someone. It just feels so cheesy writing it out like that, but that’s what it is.)

Expanding R.O.B.: “No One Lives Without Suffering”

When Tabuu first sent the army to invade the island, he used Master Hand as his proxy as he’d done to most of the other recruits, but R.O.B. (the Master Robot) easily saw through the disguise since he was especially close with Master Hand and had become concerned when he’d stopped responding to their weekly correspondence calls. Seeing no need to keep up the ruse when he was already found out, revealed his identity (though not his true form) to the ROBs and made it very clear that he would not hesitate to kill off the ROBs one by one until they complied with his demands. The Master Robot was forced into making a choice: cooperate with the army and only lose a handful of ROBs or get all of them killed trying to defend the island from their invaders.

Regretfully the Master Robot surrendered himself and his forces to the army on the terms that no further direct harm would come to the remaining ROBs. So with those terms agreed upon, the island was quickly overrun with Subspace soldiers and was converted from a research facility into a factory for subspace bombs and other weaponry.

One of the major pillars of my headcanons is that Master Hand had a hand in creating Tabuu, R.O.B., and Mr. Game & Watch. Tabuu was given his current form by Master Hand as a means of saving his life, R.O.B. was created by Master Hand flat out, and Mr. Game & Watch was inadvertently created by Master Hand’s shadow bugs fusing with a Flatlander. It’s that common element that gives them all the same internal conflict: “What am I supposed to be?”

#personal post #text #this one is looong #but it's still incomplete #also kinda just sad #this is not a feel good episode fellas

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s-p-o-d-e · 6 years ago

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Map of My Fanfic Multiverse 1st Dimension:

A plane of existence consisting of infinite amounts of one-dimensional lines never touching one another. Infinite lines, housing infinite one dimensional citizens ranging from a point to a line with a certain amount of length, all going in either the outward direction of the positive axis of Reality or inward into the negative axis of Dream.

2nd Dimension:

Above the simple one-dimensional world lies the two-dimensional flatland. Denizens of a world who could only perceive their own world through a one-dimensional line of sight, thus have no capabilities of interacting or seeing the dimension above it. It is however home to one Bill Cipher, a dream demon from this flatland who have somehow able to break free of its two-dimensional membrane, the same brane his fellow citizens are stuck on thus making him capable of traveling and interacting between spatial dimensions with a unique but limited type of omnipotence. Bill of course answers to bigger fish in the cosmic hierarchy like the Axolotl or Lord Dream. Of the two, the latter is one who exists infinite dimensions above all of creation, to a point where it’s questionable if Bill even knows he is a slave to this one powerful Lord. It is said that the only reason Bill was capable of running rampant with his Evil is because Dream allowed it.

3rd Dimension:

Here we reach the three-dimensional world most mortals are familiar with in one universe or another. Infinite number of little bubble universes, vibrating at different frequencies, while still under the authority of the same all-encompassing three-dimensional bulk. Let’s take a little tour now, shall we?

o Prime Universe: Home to the Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz that you know and love from the canon show itself. With the destruction of this universe’s magic dimension and the cleaving of Earth and Mewni, the world has set off a shockwave, fluttering like a butterfly, vibrating across the multiverse itself, creating unforeseen consequences beyond time and space.

o Universe #49: A close neighboring universe to the Prime Universe, an alternate world where the two planets Mewni and Earth never got cleaved together. Thus, creating something unexpected, birthing two new God Worlds, New Earth and New Mewni. Two God Worlds that sent its true essence into a plane of existence outside of the traditional time and space, leaving their three-dimensional versions lifeless but nigh indestructible husks that will continue to exist unless decreed by Fate otherwise.

o Quasar Universe: The universe that is home to Princess Quasar Caterpillar and her Magic Bell. This realm houses Hannah, Shmarmo, their robot friend Skackie, and the nigh omnipresent god Indexia, an avatar of Glossaryck’s true form. This realm was once visited by Ludo Avarius.

o Universe #63: An alternate reality housing genderbent versions of many of the SVTFOE characters we know and love. It’s difficult to find any difference in the timeline (other than the gender swap) compared to Prime Universe. Thus is the nature of the multiverse. Some universes are so similar, you could spend a lifetime searching for a difference only to die knowing there is little to none, while others so different, it defies comprehension.

o MonStar Universe #1112: One of many alternate realities where Star grew up with Toffee, a monster as her father instead of River. She faces many difficult challenges being a half monster, thus sympathizing with the monster race to a degree other Star Butterflys from other universes would find hard to comprehend.

o Cat Star Universe: An alternate universe where all Mewmans and humans are cats. Lord Dream is a mischievous one, thus sometimes he likes to Dream up wacky impossible worlds that exist for the sake of existing.

o Foreign Multiversal Bulk: Housing nigh infinite amounts of alternate realms in a place far, far away. Owned by a vast number of gods and creators (i.e. other fanfic/AU authors/artists). It is by the decree of Dream and Fate that these universes are not to be disturbed.

o Infinity Train Prime Universe: Home to the canon timeline of the main Infinity Train continuity. Home to a mysterious train that seems to go on forever, housing many strange pocket dimensions and beings of unique powers.

o Bad Boy Universe #6: One of many alternate realities where Marco is a bad boy who befriends a prissy princess Star Butterfly.

Limbo:

A three-dimensional space existing separate from the main three-dimensional bulk. A space where non-canon storylines that contradict too much with Prime Universes go when they threaten the destruction of the timelines.

o Infinity Train Universe #0: A bizarre universe that somehow came into existence even before the Prime Universe came to be. A mystery many gods of the lower realities struggle to comprehend. The universe is home to three nigh omnipotent Godheads, one with two faces acting as one, the other with infinite faces, and another with no face. It is a story of a rivalry between a flower and a robot, on a train to a realm called the Infinite Beyond. It exists outside of time and space in a separate plane of existence with its own unique temporal field capable of smashing hundreds of years into mere seconds.

o Universe #35: A unique timeline home to a different version of Eclipsa Butterfly, one granddaughter to Solaria Butterfly. One who is friend and companion to a demon older than time itself, a blind demon who can wield magic like no other. A demon who taught her many things through time and space itself. The timeline was later reset, several times. But this version of Eclipsa is still incredibly powerful, as is with her best friend the immortal demon who in other realities is none other than the one known as Globgor being painted on the tapestry. But here, the demon is different, an old creature, willing to have his name, his reputation be cursed to help his friend Eclipsa on her quest for the betterment of Mewman and monster kind.

o Universe #3543: A universe far from here, little is known of this place. All that is really known is the never-ending battle between Good (forces built by Glossaryck) and Evil (forces built by Toffee) in an eternal cycle, everlasting. Toffee begrudgingly plays this game of good vs evil with Glossaryck, because it is necessary.

o Universe #805: A universe that barely even exists. Very little is known of this universe. Only that it is home to Tulip, a girl who enjoys playing video games at the arcades with a friend of hers, Mason. She talks of him to her best friend Mikayla, and would later meet up with a devilish cat on the Infinity Train, a powerful pan dimensional cat who makes a deal with Tulip, offering her a way off the train. It is said the only thing scarier than a deal with the devil is a deal with an angel. The specifics of the deal are unknown.

4th Dimension:

The spatial bulk that lies directly above the conventional three-dimensional space. Home to an uncountable host of gods bigger and heavier than everything in the third dimension. Here are some of them.

o Father Time: Keeper of the four-dimensional time, capable of traveling through to any point in history of everything. He cannot control time, bend time, break time, only travel through it. As his wheel gets pulled forward by his hamsters, so does the time stream. It is said that he can view all time as one, past, present, future, all the same. To him, the three-dimensional temporal field looks like a novel, or even a picture book, or a comic book. He can turn the pages forward to the end of the story, or backwards to the beginning, all one, but different, and the three-dimensional beings below wouldn’t even notice.

o The Stump: An all-powerful entity that has its roots deep into every plant life form across the multiverse. It is mother nature in its purest form. Cruel, uncaring, blind and angry at those who would dare harm the green. One of its most powerful avatars appeared on Mewni long ago to shield the first settlers from the deadly blizzards they had to endure. Thus, from that day forth, the Stump is worshiped greatly every year when the snow falls.

o Santa Claus: A powerful deity who is the living embodiment of the spirit of giving. Capable of delivering presents to every child in every universe in the dimensions below, delivering every year on the night of the 24th of December. On that same night, he also likes to go to Apokolips in the External Foreign Multiversal Bulk to give Darkseid a piece of coal. Some people theorize St. Nick’s source of immortality is the same as that of Abraham Lincoln’s, former King of Mars. Santa does not like the Stump. The two hate each other as business competitors. He wants to find a better marketing strategy to muscle his way into Mewni.

o Tavern at the End of the Multiverse: As a four-dimensional avatar, the Hekapoo of Prime Universe can only comprehend reality as this single bubble limited to the avatar’s line of sight. Thus, the tavern does not actually lie at the edge of everything and at the start of complete non-existence like Hekapoo claimed. Instead, it sits just barely touching the entrance into the fifth dimension. People just can’t see it because they’re in a lower reality, thus they conclude the fifth dimension must be nothingness, when in truth it is not.

5th Dimension:

The spatial bulk that exists even higher than the fourth dimensional bulk. Housing even bigger gods, infinitely more powerful than every god and entity in the lower dimension. Entities and gods who were already infinite in power in their own rights.

o Omnitraxus Prime: An agent of Dream himself. Thus, he is given authority over all of fifth dimensional space itself. His existence is inexplicably tied to the space of the positive axis of Reality. Thus, if his true form were to ever die, all of space would go along with him. His avatars are much more limited in power and can even be destroyed by a formidable opponent, which alone would cause Dream endless headaches, trying to find a replacement.

o Rhombulus’s Field of Indestructible Spatial Crystal: This is the glue that binds the universe together. Much like the four fundamental forces of nature, it is what allows Omnitraxus to effectively contain the multiverse in his crystal field of interwoven continuum. Much like Omnitraxus, if Rhombulus’s true form were to be destroyed, then the universe would be undone, because there’s nothing to hold it together. The crystals are indestructible. Nothing short of a decree from Dream or Fate themselves could destroy them.

o Reynaldo’s Temporal Boat: The Ferryman of the River of Time. Much like Father Time, Reynaldo is capable of traveling through the stream of time. Unlike Father Time however, Reynaldo can bend time to his will, and can even destroy it if he wishes (this is however forbidden by Fate). He can create new rivers traveling to a brand-new destination or bend the flow of the water into a different direction. He sees Father Time’s temporal field much like how Father Time sees the dimensions below him. If Father Time or his wheel were to be destroyed, time would be temporarily stopped, but a new one may take its place. If Reynaldo were to be destroyed on the other hand, then the Reality of the lower Dimension will go along with him.

6th Dimension:

One of the biggest bulks in all of existence. Housing even more powerful deities, creatures, and even foreign bulks from other multiverses. This is home to two of the most important God Worlds in all of creation. Alongside other massive structures spanning the multiverse itself.

o New Mewni: A massive planet the size of multiverses. It is the paradise of the New Mewman Pantheon of the Metaphysics, home to countless Meta Gods, all infinitely more powerful than anything in the lower dimensions. Gods so big and heavy their presence alone could bend time, warp space. The Golden Butterfly City, supported by a massive space elevator, is the dwelling place of Republic, Deliverance, Science, Resurrection, Delivering Truth, Mercy, Loyalty, Peaceful Death and the Five Houses of Representatives among infinite godly citizens, all living in this heaven rich with soil, fertility and inextinguishable god flames. The planet is surrounded by a complex network powered by an artificial intelligence named Cloudy, designed by Star (Republic) and Janna (Science) to be a planetary defense system, capable of storing nigh infinite amounts of data. Janna rides around the Golden city on this hoverboard-like oval shaped vehicle that closely resembles the old Cloudy to keep watch over the city, maintaining the system as she flies.

o New Earth: Literally Hell on Earth. The barren dying wasteland of this place is filled with flesh and scraps. Ruled by one wicked, ruthless and massive Marco the God of Evil who sits on his Nthian Throne above a mountain of dying corpses and scrap metal. Nthian metal is one of the most powerful metal in existence, considered an Unobtainium in all of the lower dimensions, this metal is powered by the Platonic idea/form of the formula n+1, with ‘n’ representing multiple things, power, durability, etc. And sitting at the top, is the Nthian metal’s full strength, always +1 above anything else. It is virtually indestructible, and all powerful. Born from pure thought and Dream. This impossible metal is a precious energy source to the countless factories across the entire planet. Polluting the planet to the point of making the ground people walk on literally toxic. Stepping foot on this planet would be ill-advised, that is if one hasn’t already caught the virus of Evil. Marco is cruel, unrelenting, treating his own pantheon as nothing but slaves. A massive pantheon consisting of Voiceful Ruby – God of Propaganda. Mina, God of Revenge. Kelly, God of Betrayal and many other members of his Court of Orochi, all slaves, and all under the influence and rule of Evil.

o The Infinity Train Ouroboros: A train that goes on forever, encompassing the multiverse like a snake. A train so large if one were to take one septillion Earths and put them up in a straight line, the line would barely be able to reach half the length of a single car. The train houses ideas, worlds, mysterious cars. Cars made of crystal, cars containing a world of corgis, turtle cars, cars full of sand, and even a version of Atlantis itself. The train sends out smaller three-dimensional avatars to the lower reality to encompass several universes for mysterious reasons. With its true form outside in this plane of existence traveling at infinite speeds to the Infinite Beyond – a place outside of creation itself.

o Magic Source: The source to all SVTFOE universes’ magical dimensions. Turns out when we say the ‘magic has been destroyed’ what we really mean is that the magic of one singular universe has been ‘destroyed’. Magic Source is a fundamental force of the universe, and according to the laws of thermodynamics, energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred from one form to another. The magic is an infinite pool of energy flowing from one Sir Glossaryck of Terms, who has long abandoned his post under the decree of Fate to take on a new role – the Meta God of Freedom.

o Hecate’s Ancient Dimensional Scissors: The Platonic form of the idea of travel itself. The scissors are every door in existence, every pathway, every street. It is the Meridian Gate, the Gateway of India, just as it is equally Wall Street of New York, Rue Plumet of Les Miserables, the Rainbow Bridge Bifrost of Asgard, or even just some random door or random street somewhere. With it you can travel to everywhere in existence and even non-existence.

o Lord Dream: He is not actually from the sixth dimension. He is an omniversal titan who exists infinite layers, infinite dimensions above creation. He has existed since the beginning of time just like his sister Fate. And like Fate, he will continue to exist for eternity. He’s mischievous and likes to visit lower dimensions to observe the affairs of mortals and lower gods.

External Foreign Multiversal Bulk:

A massive bulk that consists of God Worlds from many different places far from here. It is difficult to see how big the bulk is. But from here one can see three God Worlds closing on the border of our multiverse – Apokolips, New Genesis and Skyland.

o Apokolips: Here is the fire pits ruled with an iron fist by the God of Tyrannical Evil Darkseid. A multiversal god hellbent on the conquest and enslavement of the entire universe. Under him is a host of New Gods all equally vicious and vile such as the torturer Desaad, Granny Goodness the wicked abusing parent, Glorious Godfrey, Kalibak, Kanto, the Furies and so on so forth.

o New Genesis: This is the proud and beautiful home of the New Genesian, consisting of various New Gods dwelling in a beautiful kingdom ruled by the benevolent Highfather Izaya, his adopted son Orion, among many other gentle folks such as Lightray (God of Light), Big Barda and her lover Scott Free, aka Mister Miracle, (God of Escape and Freedom), the Forever People and many others.

o Skyland: This realm is a collection of various pantheons. Many Old Gods – Asgard (ruled by the Aesirs such as Odin, Thor, Frigg, Baldur, etc.), Olympus (home to Zeus, the King of Gods among others like Atlas, Ares, Hermes, Heracles, etc.), the Egyptian Pantheon, the Divine Bureaucracy of China, the Mayans, the Celtic Gods and infinite number of pantheons, each with a realm to keep watch over.

The Infinite Beyond: A place beyond time, beyond space, beyond thoughts, beyond stories, beyond ideas, beyond creation itself. Above all eleven dimensions and the infinite layers above that. It sits above everything, a destination for the Infinity Train Ouroboros. It is everything and nothing at the same time. Even Dream himself admits he has not been that far out and that he does not know everything about this mysterious place. NOTE: Maybe updated later.

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adamsdoyle · 6 years ago

Photo

My girlfriend asked me to make her a list of works of fantasy and science fiction so should could feel keyed into references when they come up in conversation. She wanted to feel more grounded in these genres, which she likes, but hasnt made the effort to be on top of everything.

I was happy to compile the most important names, but told her it couldn’t be a short list because recognizing the works of today means honoring their origins, which goes way back into our past.

What’s below is my best effort to include what I assess to be the most culturally relevant becoming, tempering my favorites, and trying to keep it from being totally overwhelming. I’ve left off works from the past five to ten years because it can take a span of time before we're aware the effects new ideas may have. Felt like sharing here in case you or your friends want a crash course on the bedrock of our imagined landscape. I do try to be globally aware, however this list will reflect my bias as a white, straight, male who grew up in the States. And as this is an ongoing conversation between her and myself, I wanted to be able to vouch for the contents.

-Key-

(Wiki) Read up for cultural significance * Personal Favorite + Hugely influential ^ Non-Essential but worth listing

-Literature-

8,000 BC Aboriginal mythology (pre written language)

2,300 BC Egyptian & Chinese myths+

1,000 BC The Old Testament+

900 BC Greek myths, fables, and all the rest

300 BC - 1800 AD Folk and fairy tales+

1000 AD Beowulf (Wiki)

1100s Legend of King Arthur+ 1200s Norse mythology+

1300s The Inferno - Dante Alighieri+

1500s A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Shakespeare

1600s Paradise Lost*

1700s Gulliver’s Travels The Arabian Nights (Wiki)

1800s Faust Frankenstein* - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly+ Grimm’s fairy tales+ (Wiki brothers, who collected folktales) The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde* Dracula - Bram Stoker+ Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll+ Flatland The Time Machine & War of the Worlds - HG Wells+ (godfather of SF) Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne+ The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe+

1900s Peter Pan - JM Barry The Comet - WEB Dubois Little Nemo in Slumberland - Winsor McCay The Book of Wonder - Lord Dunsany (less known now, he was highly influential in his time for fantasy & mythos) The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka+ (Einstein’s Theory of Relativity) The Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum+ John Carter of Mars - (Wiki) Call of Cthulhu or The Outsider - HP Lovecraft+ Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (Teacher of Orwell https://bit.ly/2xayA23) 1984 - George Orwell+ Amazing Stories magazine - John Campbell+ (writer & editor)

After 1950 Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien+ Chronicles of Narnia* - CS Lewis I Am Legend - Richard Matheson (The first real zombie story. Also wrote for Twilight Zone) Childhood’s End - Arthur C Clarke+ I, Robot - Isaac Asimov+ Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury Funes the Memorious or The Garden of Forking Paths - Borges+ Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut Wizard of Earthsea or The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula LeGuin Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein Dune Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak The Neverending Story* ^The Man in the High Castle Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - (inspired Bladerunner) Philip K Dick+ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy A Wrinkle in Time The Stand - Stephen King+

After 1980 Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino Xanth series* Communion - (True account of alien abduction) Neuromancer - William Gibson+ Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton+ Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson Ender’s Game* - Orson Scott Card Parable of the Sower - Octavia Butler A Song of Ice & Fire - George RR Martin ^Hunger Games Harry Potter - JK Rowling+ Who Fears Death

-Comics/Superheroes-

-DC Comics- Superman (Wiki how he came to be) Wonder Woman (Wiki how she came to be or watch Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. Very interesting) Batman (and Joker) The Sandman - Neil Gaiman Watchmen* - Alan Moore+

-Marvel Comics- Spiderman* (Wiki how he came to be) X Men* Avengers (the hugely popular films all started with decades of comics) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* Hellboy*

-Games- Dungeons & Dragons+ Magic the Gathering Netrunner

-Artists & Illustrators-

1100-1200 Anonymous monk’s illuminated manuscript creatures - https://bit.ly/2Ynytf7

1400s Hieronomous Bosch+ Leonardo DaVinci Michelangelo+ 1500s Arcimboldo

1800s Gustav Doré+ Howard Pyle JW Waterhouse

1900s Maxfield Parish NC Wyeth+ Sir John Tenniel Windsor McCay+ Arthur Rackham - fairy tales Jack Kirby - superhero comics Margaret Brundage - Weird Tales covers Picasso - Cubism Chesley Bonestell - space travel, integral to NASA Frank Frazetta MC Escher Heinrich Kley Sun Ra - Afrofuturist musician

After 1980 Jeff Easley - D&D Jim Lee - X Men Michael Whelan H.R. Giger - Alien films Brian Froud Syd Mead - design of Bladerunner & other films Roger Dean - album covers Jean Giraud aka Moebius Bill Waterson - Calvin & Hobbes Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon James Gurney - Dinotopia Alan Lee - Lord of the Rings Alex Ross - superheroes Chris Van Allsburg Mike Mignola - Hellboy Mary GrandPré - Harry Potter

-Radio-

1930s -1950s Flash Gordon War of the Worlds (Wiki Orson Welles’ radio hoax) Buck Rogers The Shadow and much more in the ensuing years, including adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide

-TV Shows-

After 1950s Twilight Zone - Rod Serling Lost in Space Star Trek - (Wiki) Gene Roddenberry Dr Who (Wiki) The Jetsons (Wiki) Cosmos - Carl Sagan+ (Science fact)

After 1980s Transformers Quantum Leap Twin Peaks - David Lynch (not really either genre but impact has been undeniable) Buffy the Vampire Slayer* - Joss Whedon X Files* Neon Genesis Evangelion

After 2000 Firefly - Joss Whedon Lost* - JJ Abrams Battlestar Galactica Black Mirror* Game of Thrones Westworld* - reboot of Michael Crichton 1970s film

-Films-

1900s King Kong (Wiki) The Wizard of Oz+ Fantasia- Disney+ Monster movies- Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein (Wiki)

After 1950 Godzilla+ (Wiki) Seven Samurai or Hidden Fortress - Akira Kurosawa+ (Not SF or fantasy but influential) The 7th Voyage of Sinbad - Special effects by Ray Harryhausen (Wiki) Invasion of the Body Snatchers 2001 A Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick+ (Wiki) Planet of the Apes Night of the Living Dead+ (Wiki) Superman #Star Wars Trilogy - George Lucas (owing to Joseph Campbell’s monomyth)+

After 1980 Bladerunner* - Ridley Scott ^Legend Mad Max series Alien or sequel Aliens Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind - Steven Spielberg+ ET Star Trek series Back to the Future Brazil - Terry Gilliam+ Tron+ Ghostbusters* Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure* The Princess Bride* Labyrinth* The Terminator & Terminator 2* - James Cameron+ Akira The Fifth Element Robocop Beetlejuice ^Nightmare Before Xmas* Jurassic Park - Steven Spielberg+ The City of Lost Children* The Iron Giant* 12 Monkeys Groundhog Day* The Sixth Sense Ghost in the Shell (1995 anime) Gattaca* Donnie Darko* Starship Troopers (tongue in cheek adaptation of Heinlein’s classic) The Matrix*

After 2000 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon My Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away - Hayao Miyazaki ^Underworld Minority Report Lord of the Rings Primer ^The Incredibles Shaun of the Dead* Pan’s Labyrinth - Guillermo del Toro Moon* Marvel Cinematic Universe ^Idiocracy Inception* &/or Interseller - Christopher Nolan+

#scifi #fantasy #essential #list #stories #collection #visionary #narratives #homework #crashcourse #genre #bestof

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flight2806 · 6 years ago

Note

19, 23, 27, 30

HANK YOU SO MUCH ERIC I LOVE YOU i rambled a lot sowwy

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

OH MAN UMMM...I guess my OC Posey Pollock? (Haha PP…) He was one of the first ever OCs I was actually proud of and a lot of people didn’t really like him so I’m very attached. He lives in New Jersey with his pals and works at his grandparent’s burger shop in the middle of those weird Jersey flatlands! His grandpa uses the shop as a cover to find people to murder and Posey has to help with cleanup and stuff. Yikes! Ummm that sounds corny but I don’t know I love him! He jokes around a lot and his hair is dyed like a giraffe and he likes tiny gold chains and hopping up and down. He always tries to make the best out of everything, even though he’s literally living in hell and I think about him a lot. Posey I hope you’re doing okay…. I only have this art of him on hand!

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

AUDREY LEVI-VERRET. DUDE….OKAY SO she was like the second OC I ever made and so I projected a lot of my own feelings that I didn’t understand onto her including my trans feelings. So originally she was like a c*s d*de that liked WoW and said kek and was overall kind of an asshole but still cared abt pals and stuff (one time in a Danganronpa RP she got crushed to death by a giant robot minotaur and I cried for 3 days). And then one day I was thinking about her and why she was so fucking angry all the time at other people and herself and her body and I was like wait what the fuck….she’s trans. So now she’s a trans ladie and is infinitely better than her original character. We don’t talk about kek Audrey. Also she used to have a very normal storyline except for the copious amounts of trauma I projected onto her (trying to take some of that away because Jesus Christ was I coping). Now she can see spirits and contact the dead and stuff! She made friends with a kickass lesbian ghost that died from falling out the window after headbanging too hard and an old lady that uses Audrey to contact her dead friend! Here’s some really bad old art of her with her BFF Lyra and her idol in the back.

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song?

Literally yes but I straight up can’t remember any right now I’m so sorry. The only thing I can think of is that I have an OC named Judas because of the Lady Gaga song. He’s a fucking wreck he’s being mind-controlled by his dad because I was obsessed with MK Ultra and Monarch Programming when I made him and so I just fucked him up so hard. He’s used to spy on other test subjects and it’s so funny because his disguise is just pulling off the bandana he uses to hold up his bangs so they go over his eyes. And because it’s my world no one ever notices that their friend’s stalker looks exactly like their other bright ass haired friend. Also he wears a ton of mood jewelry because his eyebrows are always covered and he thinks they’ll actually show his moods!

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection?

JOU TANIGAWA IDK if I have any art of him but he’s a high schooler in 2013 Utah and he’s just out here living his life, honestly. He’s dating a tall ass basketball player and gets bullied sometimes but it’s cool because his bullies are literally idiot losers. He really likes ska music and his friends never want him to drive them places because Ska makes him drive like a bastard. (10 trumpets going ham while a Jeep down the street hits a curb and 4 people scream). He would definitely have a secret collection of hmmm probably frog plushies!

#THANK YOUUU #i lov saying words #ask meme #mail #fordcortinamkiii

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thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 7 years ago

Note

What other fandoms are you familiar enough with to use as an AU prompt? Pokemon Trainer AU? Homestuck AU (they'd still probably die but at least there are lots of ways to come back to life)?

I’m not that familiar with Homestuck, definitely not enough to do an AU. I read the novelizations of the Pokemon show as a kid but never saw the show or played any of the video games. I did play the super-obscure Pokemon board game, but most of my trading cards were printed in Japanese (I had a strange childhood), so my experience there is, uh, probably not quite overlapping with everyone else’s.

Anyway, if you want list of all my fandoms… Boy howdy. I don’t think I can come up with them all. However, I can list everything that comes to mind between now and ~20 minutes from now when I have to end my procrastination break and go back to dissertating. So here it is, below the cut:

Okay, there is no way in hell I’ll be able to make an exhaustive list. But off the top of my head, the fandoms I’m most familiar/comfortable with are as follows:

Authors (as in, I’ve read all or most of their books)

Patricia Briggs

Megan Whalen Turner

Michael Crichton

Marge Piercy

Stephenie Meyer

Dean Koontz

Stephen King

Neil Gaiman

K.A. Applegate

Ernest Hemingway

Tamora Pierce

Roald Dahl

Short Stories/Anthologies

A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O’Connor

The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka

I Am Legend, Richard Matheson

Dubliners, James Joyce

Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes

Who Goes There? John W. Campbell

The Man Who Bridged the Mist, Kij Johnson

Flatland, Edwin Abbott

I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream, Harlan Ellison

To Build a Fire, Jack London

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Ambrose Bier

At the Mountains of Madness/Cthulu mythos, H.P. Lovecraft

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle

The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving

The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury

Close Range: Wyoming Stories, E. Annie Proulx

The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

Bartleby the Scrivener (and a bunch of others), Herman Melville

Books (Classics)

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neal Hurston

The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Secret Garden, Francis Hodgson Burnett

Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

The Secret Annex, Anne Frank

Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison

Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut

The Stranger, Albert Camus

The Call of the Wild, Jack London

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

Lord of the Flies, William Golding

Atonement, Ian McEwan

1984, George Orwell

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith

The Iliad/The Odyssey, Homer

Metamorphoses, Ovid

Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne

The Time-Machine, H.G. Wells

The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Hamlet, MacBeth, Othello, and The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Thomas Stoppard

Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett

Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

Books (YA SF)

Young Wizards series, Diane Duane

Redwall, Brian Jaques

The Dark is Rising sequence, Susan Cooper

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Diana Wynne Jones

The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis

Abhorsen trilogy, Garth Nix

The Giver series, Lois Lowry

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Uglies series, Scott Westerfeld

Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt

A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin

Song of the Lioness, Tamora Pierce

A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle

Unwind, Neal Shusterman

The Maze Runner series, James Dashner

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Patricia C. Wrede

Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Louis Sachar

Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine

Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card

The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster

Coraline, Neil Gaiman

Among the Hidden, Margaret Peterson Haddix

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Avi

Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice

Poppy series, Avi

The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd

Tithe, Holly Black

Life as We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfeffer

Blood and Chocolate, Annette Curtis Klause

Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

Haunted, Gregory Maguire

Weetzie Bat, Francesca Lia Block

Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White

East, Edith Pattou

Z for Zachariah, Robert C. O’Brien

The Looking-Glass Wars, Frank Beddor

The Egypt Game, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

Homecoming, Cynthia Voigt

Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll

The Landry News, Andrew Clements

Fever 1793, Laurie Halse Anderson

Bloody Jack, L.A. Meyer

The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Chandler Warner

A Certain Slant of Light, Laura Whitcomb

Generation Dead, Daniel Waters

Pendragon series, D.J. MacHale

Silverwing, Kenneth Oppel

Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Define Normal, Julie Anne Peters

Hawksong, Ameila Atwater Rhodes

Heir Apparent, Vivian Vande Velde

Running Out of Time, Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Keys to the Kingdom series, Garth Nix

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Joan Aiken

The Seer and the Sword, Victoria Hanley

My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George

Daughters of the Moon series, Lynne Ewing

The Midwife’s Apprentice, Karen Cushman

Island of the Aunts, Eva Ibbotson

The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, Nancy Farmer

A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray

A School for Sorcery, E. Rose Sabin

The House with a Clock in Its Walls, John Bellairs

The Edge Chronicles, Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

Hope was Here, Joan Bauer

Bunnicula, James Howe

Wise Child, Monica Furlong

Silent to the Bone, E.L. Konigsburg

The Twenty-One Balloons, William Pene du Bois

Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters, Gail Giles

The Supernaturalist, Eoin Colfer

Blue is for Nightmares, Laurie Faria Stolarz

Mystery of the Blue Gowned Ghost, Linda Wirkner

Wait Till Helen Comes, Mary Downing Hahn

I was a Teenage Fairy, Francesca Lia Block

City of the Beasts series, Isabelle Allende

Summerland, Michael Chabon

The Geography Club, Brent Hartinger

The Last Safe Place on Earth, Richard Peck

Liar, Justine Larbalestier

The Doll People, Ann M. Martin

The Lost Years of Merlin, T.A. Barron

Matilda Bone, Karen Cushman

Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger

The Tiger Rising, Kate DiCamillo

The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

In the Forests of the Night, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

My Teacher is an Alien, Bruce Coville

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, Julie Andrews Edwards

Storytime, Edward Bloor

Magic Shop series, Bruce Coville

A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket

Veritas Project series, Frank Peretti

The Once and Future King, T.H. White

Raven’s Strike, Patricia Briggs

What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy, Gregory Maguire

The Wind Singer, William Nicholson

Sweetblood, Pete Hautman

The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White

Half Magic, Edward Eager

A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L'Engle

The Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan

Maximum Ride series, James Patterson

The Edge on the Sword, Rebecca Tingle

World War Z, Max Brooks

Adaline Falling Star, Mary Pope Osborne

Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo

Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi

Parable of the Sower series, Octavia Butler

I, Robot, Isaac Asimov

Neuomancer, William Gibson

Dune, Frank Herbert

The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Emily M. Danforth

The Martian, Andy Weir

Skeleton Man, Joseph Bruchac

Comics/Manga

Marvel 616 (most of the major titles)

Marvel 1610/Ultimates

Persepolis

This One Summer

Nimona

Death Note

Ouran High School Host Club

Vampire Knight

Emily Carroll comics

Watchmen

Fun Home

From Hell

American Born Chinese

Smile

The Eternal Smile

The Sandman

Calvin and Hobbes

The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For

TV Shows

Fullmetal Alchemist

Avatar the Last Airbender

Teen Titans (2003)

Luke Cage/Jessica Jones/Iron Fist/Defenders/Daredevil/The Punisher

Agents of SHIELD/Agent Carter

Supernatural

Sherlock

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Angel/Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Firefly

American Horror Story

Ouran High School Host Club

Orange is the New Black

Black Sails

Stranger Things

Westworld

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Movies

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Jurassic Park/Lost World/Jurassic World/Lost Park?

The Breakfast Club

Cloverfield/10 Cloverfield Lane/The Cloverfield Paradox

Attack the Block

The Prestige

Moon

Ferris Bueler’s Day Off

Django Unchained/Kill Bill/Inglourious Basterds/Hateful 8/Pulp Fiction/etcetera

Primer

THX 1138/Akira/How I Live Now/Lost World/[anything I’ve named a fic after]

Star Wars

The Meg

A Quiet Place

Baby Driver

Mother!

Alien/Aliens/Prometheus

X-Men (et al.)

10 Things I Hate About You

The Lost Boys

Teen Wolf

Juno

Pirates of the Caribbean (et al.)

Die Hard

Most Disney classics: Toy Story, Mulan, Treasure Planet, Emperor’s New Groove, etc.

Most Pixar classics: Up, Wall-E, The Incredibles

The Matrix

Dark Knight trilogy

Halloween

Friday the 13th

A Nightmare on Elm Street

The Descent

Ghostbusters

Ocean’s Eight/11/12/13

King Kong

The Conjuring

Fantastic Four

Minority Report/Blade Runner/Adjustment Bureau/Total Recall

Fight Club

Spirited Away

Disturbing Behavior

The Faculty

Poets

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Marge Piercy

Thomas Hardy

Sigfried Sassoon

W. B. Yeats

Edgar Allan Poe

Ogden Nash

Margaret Atwood

Maya Angelou

Emily Dickinson

Matthew Dickman

Karen Skolfield

Kwame Alexander

Ellen Hopkins

Shel Silverstein

Musicals/Stage Plays

Les Miserables

Repo: The Genetic Opera

The Lion King

The Phantom of the Opera

Rent

The Prince of Egypt

Pippin

Into the Woods

A Chorus Line

Hairspray

Evita

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Fiddler on the Roof

Annie

Fun Home

Spring Awakening

Chicago

Cabaret

The Miser

The Importance of Being Earnest

South Pacific

Godspell

Wicked

The Wiz

The Wizard of Oz

Man of La Mancha

The Sound of Music

West Side Story

Matilda

Sweeney Todd

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Nunsense

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown/Snoopy

1776

Something Rotten

A Very Potter Musical

Babes in Toyland

Carrie: The Musical

Amadeus

Annie Get Your Gun

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The Final Battle

Rock of Ages

Cinderella

Moulin Rouge

Honk

Labyrinth

The Secret Garden

Reefer Madness

Bang Bang You’re Dead

NSFW

War Horse

Peter Pan

Suessical

Sister Act

The Secret Annex

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Disclaimer 1: Like a lot of people who went to high school in the American South, my education in literature is pretty shamefully lacking in a lot of areas. (As in, during our African American History unit in ninth grade we read To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn… and that was it. As in, our twelfth-grade US History class, I shit you not, covered Gone With the Wind.) There were a lot of good teachers in with the *ahem* Less Woke ones (how I read Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Bluest Eye) and college definitely set me on the path to trying to find books written/published outside the WASP-ier parts of the U.S., but the overall list is still embarrassingly hegemonic.

Disclaimer 2: There are a crapton of errors — typos, misspelled names, misattributions, questionable genre classifications, etc. — in here. If you genuinely have no idea what a title is supposed to be, ask me. Otherwise, please don’t bother letting me know about my mistakes.

Disclaimer 3: I am not looking for recommendations. My Goodreads “To Read” list is already a good 700 items long, and people telling me “if you like X, then you’ll love Y!” genuinely stresses me the fuck out.

Disclaimer 4: There are no unproblematic faves on this list. I love Supernatural, and I know that Supernatural is hella misogynistic. On the flip side: I don’t love The Lord of the Rings at all, partially because LOTR is hella misogynistic, but I also don’t think that should stop anyone else from loving LOTR if they’re willing to love it and also acknowledge its flaws.

#literature #fandom #booklist #about the blogger #long post #long ass post #books #nothing to do with animorphs #Anonymous #asks

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