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revchainsaw · 3 years

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The Crow (1994)

Alright Cult of Cult. Do I really need to introduce this one? Let's get all 90s and gothy and maybe brace ourselves for a bit of cringe, but like in a fun way. It's the Holy Grail of Hot Topic, 1994's the Crow Starring Brandon Lee.

Sermon

Apparently before the auto industry totally crashed Detroit was already a total fucked to death pile of burning shit, or at least that's what the crow would have you believe. Sorry Bruce Campbell, and other people from Detroit, but mostly Bruce Campbell. According to the Crow the city of Detroit is the kind of place where gangs of warlock anarchist arsonists will bomb buildings, and murder and rape whoever they feel like and then walk around bragging about it the next day with absolutely zero consequences. Funny then that if Detroit was so bad they had to go to film this movie in Wilmington North Carolina which is definitely a fucked to death pile of burning shit. I can say that, I'm from there and I got the fuck out. My brother is going to kill me if he ever reads this. (It's okay, these are all jokes people). Did you know they also filmed the Super Mario Bros movie there ... also cuz they needed a really shitty looking distopia. Moving on ...

The ludicrous criminality of the Crow's Detroit is particularly on display on Halloween. In Detroit (apparently) Halloween is known as Devils Night and it's legitimately just a night of pure lawlessness and chaos and kids aren't even safe to get candy, except later when we do see trick or treaters. Eric Draven, hunky goth rocker who sort of looks like he could be Bruce Lee's Kid and his fiance are murdered by a gang of vicious criminals. One year hence, Eric is resurrected by a mystical crow (that is actually a Raven), to exact his revenge on the gang that murdered him.

He paints his face like sad Alice Cooper and refuses to listen to Joy Division, just covers. He murders Tin Tin (a knife guy) just for his long gothy duster, he murders Fun Boy and forcibly ejects heroine from her arms and tells her "Go be a good mom now" which actually works. (have I told you about our Lord and Savior Sting? He gave me the strength to get off drugs), he blows T Bird up dick first, and then comes for Skab? Scraap? Scooby? in a meeting of all of Detroits villains and just about kills them all.

He is supported by the most 90s little girl to have ever graced the screen, and I am here for it, and Officer Albrecht, who's played by Ernie Hudson but I like to call him Zeddemore: The Most Underrated Ghostbuster. The leader of the bad guys, who I cannot beleive wasn't played by Brad Dourif or Tom Waits, is pretty interested in the occult. He keeps his witchy girlfriend around and she makes him fun dishes like smoked eyeballs, and her main use is that she knows that the Crow is the Crows weakness. They set Tony Fucking Todd on the bird, and I guess you just have to hurt the bird and not kill it, and Eric loses his healing factor and other macabre undead powers.

The Crow, Jimmy the Raven, pecks out Dr. Girlfriends eyeballs, I honestly forget how Tony Todd gets offed, and Top Dollar gets Gargoyled (that is impaled on a gargoyle). Funnily enough that is more Gargoyle related impaling on screen then in the actual movie Gargoyle: Wings of Darkness where a Gargoyle is supposed to have impaled a guy.

The Benediction

Best Feature: Injustice League

In the Crow we have not only a set of super memorable villains but they are played by the bad guy all stars. John Polito as the most lowly of the bad guys as a kind of sleazy pawn shop owner who buys ill gotten gains. Tony Todd, who's size is really on display here, the freaking Candy Man is in this movie. T Bird is the head of Top Dollars goons and is played by David Patrick Kelly, you might know as the "Warriors Come Out and Play!!" bottle guy from the Warriors, or as Jimmy Horne from Twin Peaks, and of course Top Dollar himself is played by Michael Wincott. Wincott is not a particularly celebrated actor but has played villains effectively in Robin Hood, the Three Musketeers, and Dead Man.

Best Set Piece: Detroit Style Hot Dogs

The Set design of the Crow is perhaps one of it's most fantastic features. It's very moody and ethereal. It's just real enough to not take you out of the film, but fantastic enough to set mood and theme above realism. From Eric Draven's apartment, to the church where the final battle occurs they are all fantastic. I think that's why I really wanted to shine the spot light on a very minor set piece that would get nary a mention but just as effectively represents the qualities I was just talking about and that is the Maxi Doggs Hot Dog Stand, where a lot of the films exposition for audience surrogates takes place.

Worst Effect: Freeze Frame

At a few points in the movie the film makers made a strange decision to do these freeze frame transitions. I only noticed it twice in the movie where it was particularly stupid. I'm sure the film makers at the time thought it was a moody and atmospheric choice that highlighted the suffering that Eric Draven was going through, but it didn't age well. If you don't have the sensibilities of a goth girl from 1994 then it's very very hard not to laugh at just how self involved the movie is about it's super sadness.

Worst Feature: Tragic Accident

Solely based on the film itself, it is that very gothic and dated sensibility that hurts the Crow. The little sarcastic dance he does when he flees the police, quoting Edgar Allen Poe, and bowing to Albrecht. These affected behaviors that I'm sure seemed snarky and right on to the target audience only serve to make Eric Draven seem like an unbearable neck beard edgelord and not the troubled dark soul he's supposed to be. I'm sure at the time it seemed unique and gothy but that shit went out of style for good reason, people could see through it. It's a shame that the Crow himself was some of the cringiest parts of this movie now that I'm seeing it as an adult and not a 13 year old middle class boy with no real problems.

This however is not the low point of the movie. It's not news now and if you're reading some dudes review of The Crow on Tumblr then you probably already know the story. The worst thing about The Crow is that Brandon Lee was horrifically killed on set while filming this movie due to some negligible prop malfunctions. A series of unfortunate events that lead to the actor spending 6 hours in surgery fighting for his life before eventually passing. It was not a quick or painless death and it's really impossible to watch the movie without an appreciation for the fact that this kind of fun dark adventure was going to be a vehicle for Brandon Lee's career wound up taking his life. He was 28. I really wish I could have just bitched about the goofy goth stuff and moved on, but that's not the world we live in.

Best Effect: The Gargoyling

Maybe I should have called this best kill. But I'm not sure which it is. The slaying of Top Dollar at the Climax of the film was just super effective. The pointed wings impaling his chest and that horn coming out of his mouth, it was morbid and excellent and just fit the tone of the movie perfectly. I mean how many other movies can you say Cause of Death: Impaled on a Gargoyle.

Best Bird: The Raven

I tried very hard to look up the name of the bird that primarily performed in this movie and could not find anything. There was a Raven once upon a time called Jimmy the Raven, but that was in the 50s and I don't think birds live that long. There was a team of Ravens performing as the crow, they were chosen over crows for their larger size, and more imposing silhouettes. I just think it's so wonderful to see these often maligned birds get a chance to show off their talents. Corvids of all kinds are incredibly intelligent creatures. Im a sucker for animals, if you haven't already figured that out. I really liked seeing the ravens hit their marks, particularly the one whos job it was to drop the wedding ring into Sarah's hand at the end of the film. You can see that greedy little bastard do his trick and then look of camera at his trainer like "treat please!". It's very cute.

Best Actor: Top Dollar Performance

I'd love to take this opportunity to just put praise upon Brandon Lee, he truly gave everything for this role, but unfortunately with what was put to film we actually have very few character moments with Eric Draven. Stuff happens to him, and he does killings and fights. There's definitely some personality, but I felt like I walked away knowing almost nothing about who Eric Draven was. He was clearly a good dude but that and a few hobbies and a relationship and you don't really have a character yet. He's unfortunately not given a lot of acting to do, instead just relegated to stunts and action sequences. That were notably cool.

The bad guys in the Crow have a lot more character and among this who's who of character actors, Michael Wincott takes the cake. Hell he was standing next to Candyman himself, Tony Todd and still stealing the scenes.

Best Character: A Few Good Apples

Is the best character in The Crow really going to be the cop? The commissioner Gordon stand in? yeah, it is. Not to be political, but I don't like cops, but I guess in a world with magical birds and eyeball smoking I can suspend my disbelief and let Ernie Hudson be #1 cop dad. His character is really the heart of the film, since all Eric can do is brood and fight, we have to care about someone in this movie.

Best Sequence: Halloween Party

The best sequence of the movie is of course the scene where Eric Draven busts in on the Devil's Night party planning commission. I think Top Dollar brought Scrappy Doo there just so he could lure out the crow, knowing the baddest assholes in all of Detroit would be gathered it was likely that somebody was going to kill the beast, or if they couldn't at least Top Dollar could get a feel for his enemy. It's a bullet flying action sequence with a ton of weight. I can't put my finger on this all to common weightless third act problem that big budget super hero and action flicks have nowadays, but whatever that issue is, the Crow does not have that issue. From this point on the Climax feels earned and I am invested. For that reason, The Crow is honestly better in spite of its awkwardness, than many of the super hero movies out today.

Worst Sequence: My Guitar Gently Weeps

Speaking of brooding or fighting. The best sequence was fighting, the worst is brooding. I get that Eric was in a band or something, but didn't he have shit to do. It seemed like it was a cool idea for a shot, but for like a whole seen, watching somebody play an 80s guitar solo, that stood out so brazenly from the choices of music in the rest of the movie was extra corny. It felt like someone's( dad trying to relate to their kid. Oh you like Music. The Dresden Dolls eh? Oh man, then you're going to love Slash's Snake Pit!

Summary

The Crow is dated. It is iconic but I wonder how many of the people that hang that poster on the wall have watched that movie since they were kids. It's interesting how what i've liked and disliked about this film have changed so much sense I was a kid. It's a cheeseball fiesta. If you have matured at all beyond thinking that being sad is the same as being deep then you're going to like it a little less than you did when you were younger, but it is still solid. There's not much to hate on. I'd watch it over and over again. I was really afraid it would not hold up at all, but returning to The Crow was a completely positive experience.

Overall Grade: B

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my-fanfic-library · 5 years

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Something Different {BBC Dracula x Reader} [2]

Masterlist

~^*^~

His wicked eyes were set on your form. You were trying hard not to quiver under his heated gaze. How had he managed to get out? Did he have to rip his way out of that cell or was he allowed to walk free for some unknown reason? Not that the answer to those questions even mattered. A 6’4” vampire who had openly discussed your influence on his appetite was standing before you.

Should you flee? How does one overpower a vampire, anyhow? You had read in the account and heard it right from his mouth that Dracula could turn into certain creatures. It would take one shift of him into the black, beastly wolf for him to hunt you down with ease. You’d never even make it back up the slipway.

Your mind pounded and the indication that your heart was doing summersalts came to your attention as Dracula audibly took in a breath. He hummed in satisfaction as he released your scent. He knew he had managed to catch you completely off guard.

Within your bag, your phone began to vibrate and Dracula looked accusingly down at it. You bit your lip, fingers delving in to grab the decode and quickly answer.

“[First]?” Zoe’s voice rang through your ear.

“Zo-Zoe...” your lips trembled and it had nothing to do with the cool sea breeze.

“They let him out. They let Dracula out!” Her voice was in a similar state of panic and you knew it was because she was one of the only other people in the world who knew of his capabilities.

“Zoe, I-“

“Apparently he has a lawyer! Can you believe it?! Anyway, you need to be careful. He seemed to take a liking to you during the time you spent with him today. Promise me you’ll look after yourself.”

“Zoe-“

“Promise me, [First]-“

“It’s a little bit too late for that...” you trailed off, eyes locking with the man’s towering above you.

“How do you-... Where are you?!”

You had no chance to reply as cool fingers brushed against your own. You watched in horror as Dracula snatched the device from you and lifted it to his own ear.

“Dr. Van Helsing, how nice to get into contact... yes I know... trust me, I know... I suppose you could say it is a curiosity of sorts. It’s mere curiosity... what am I doing it for? Something different. Don’t bother us again, we’re busy.”

You could hear Zoe’s desperate pleas on the other end of the phone but Dracula had already figured out how to end a phone call and that was that.

“Absolutely amazing...” he breathed, turning your phone through his fingers as he inspected it, “they gave me a larger one in the Foundation. Did you know you can do practically anything on these little things? And it must be enchanted, considering it can deliver your voice to someone else so far away.” The wonder held in his eyes as he spoke made him seem almost human. Almost.

“Yes, I knew that...” you began, voice slow and as steady as possible, “but it’s not enchanted, it’s electric.”

“Electric...? How curious...”

“What is it that you wanted, and don’t just repeat your answer.” You folded you arms, trying to remain composed but your mind was whirring with the thought that this may be your last moment or two alive. If he really had decided to choose you as his next meal...

He sighed, an agitation growing deep in his chest. One of the only things he had ever craved so deeply was company. Most humans that he had interacted with were dull, cardboard cutouts of one another. Over 500 years of the same specimen got old and fast. There had only ever been a handful of humans that satisfied his thirst for something other than blood - good company. And Jonathan Harker, Sister Agatha Van Helsing and her descendant Dr. Zoe Van Helsing had been the only ones to peak his curiosity. But hours ago, when you had come in with a front of iron, and a poorly hidden core nothing short of anxiety-ridden, you had peaked this curiosity once more.

The sea groaned away in the distance and the seagulls had decided on steering well away from the undead figure on the sand. It was much more quiet, much more intimate and grew much more darker with every passing moment. Dracula’s eyes seemed locked on you, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to read between the lines of your stoic gaze up at him.

“What would you like my answer to be, [First]?” He inquired softly.

“Truthful, for starters.”

“Alright. You see, after 5 centuries of the same old types of people, one becomes accustomed to those who flee and quiver at the mere sight of a beast such as myself. I will never forget the day I made my entrance at the nunery Sister Agatha resided at.” At the mention of this woman’s name, you noticed a tenderness fill his voice and a small smile threatened the corners of his lips. A spark of wonder lit up in your chest. Had a cold, ancient, blood drinking beast grown a soft spot for one of the only people to put him in his place? His eyes glazed over momentarily and he seemed to look right through you.

“You still haven’t answered the question and you’re about to drool at the thought of this Sister Agatha.” You rolled your eyes. He immediately snapped out of it and there was a low rumble emitting from his chest for a split second.

“I like good company. Sister Agatha was good company. She was inquisitive and intrusive of my routine. While she lost our personal battle, she most certainly won my attention.” He looked down at you and noticed goosebumps rising on your skin. The sky was darkening even more and the navy had stretched out and was almost kissing the horizon, “goodness it’s late for a mortal, isn’t it?” His eyes glossed over the North Sea that expanded far into the horizon.

“Count Dracula?” You spoke, “are you going to kill me - or are you waiting for me to submit myself to you?” You has to ask. You needed to know if your life had reached its expiration date.

“Hm? Oh, not at all.” He looked down and then back towards you, a most wicked and mischievous grin taking hold over his features, “whilst I do enjoy a little food play every now and again,” he stepped forward and his right hand came up to cup your face delicately, “I have no intention of feasting upon you. Not yet, at least. Your scent alone is intoxicating. But your wit, your strength and your character are making me so very interested in you, Miss [First].” He stepped forwards, beginning to close the already small gap between you, “no, I think I’m going to have to keep an eye on you, young lady.” He spoke gently, eyes now boring down into your own. His orbs glistened in the moonlight, “I want to see just what you’re capable of.” He whispered.

“Maybe another time.” You suggested. Your eyes flitted up to the moon and back to him, “if all of this vampire lore is real, surely you should be off to your Transylvanian Earth to protect yourself?”

“And why would I do that?” He scoffed.

“Because it’s a full moon and that means werewolves.”

At the mere notion, the Count could no suppress the deep and hearty chuckle that bubbled up from his stomach. His eyes crinkled and his laughter caused him to bare his white teeth, currently blunt and of no means a weapon brandished to hurt you. For a moment, disbelief struck you as his laughs echoed along the beach and he let go of your face to smooth over his jacket. It took another moment for him to gain composure.

“Werewolves - now you’re being ridiculous.” He smirked down at you. He shoved one hand into his pocket.

“So a 523 year old vampire from Transylvania who wants to befriend a human because they’re using scientifically proved tactics to not die as prey and wants to know if there is any more substance to that is totally just mormal but you draw the line at warewolves? The supposed arch-enemy of vampires?”

“It’s ridiculous, I mean, how on Earth would the first warewolf even be created?”

“Well how were you created?” You challenged.

“Well, when a man loves a woman-“ he smirked.

“If you continue to speak, I really will drive a stake right through your chest.” He groaned inwardly at your response.

“I must admit, I do like your flare. You are very much lively, aren’t you?” He cocked his head.

“Livelier than you.”

~^*^~

When you awoke the next morning, you knew that you were in for some serious trouble. Zoe had left you over 30 missed calls, along with a plethora of concerned text messages inquiring about your and Dracula’s whereabouts. Although you could no longer answer for the Count, you found yourself sending a snarky reply that you were currently in bed. This turned out to be a mistake as within 10 minutes, your front door had burst open and Zoe, along with five armed men appeared at the foot of your bed.

You should have known that Zoe of all people would have freaked out over your contact with Dracula - she had been chasing him her entire life. Now he had been found. Not only had he been found, he had somewhat been resurrected and was on the prowl again for food and destruction. And you were a prime target.

After checking your body for bite marks, she began to harass you for every single detail about your encounter with Dracula the previous evening. You told her about him finding warewolf lore ridiculous, the obvious obsession he seemed to have with Sister Agatha, and how he had most likely revealed just a little too much to you about his true intentions. He wanted good company and anyone who rose to challenge him or stand out from the usual screaming meals he usually dealt with was a possible target for his attention.

“I don’t get it... I mean, I kind of do, it must be lonely to have everyone be afraid of- no I don’t get it.” Zoe sighed, “he’s an unnatural predator. Everyone is meant to be scared of him. A lion would never go for a snake because the snake would never be afraid of a lion. It wouldn’t even pay the snake any attention whatsoever! It would go after a zebra or something. So why is Dracula so focused on the snakes...”

“Thank you for insinuating that I am a snake, Zo.” You rolled your eyes.

“Not just you, but it seemed Jonathan Harker was a snake in Dracula’s hunting ground as well as Sister Agatha... I am said to look just like her, and I take no bull crap from him either...” You could tell she was losing you as she drifted off into a train of thought, “you’re going to have to cater to Dracula. We need to know what makes him tick.”

“What? So you’re going to use me as bait to do your little experiments on him?” You frowned.

“You said yourself he doesn’t intend on harming you.”

“Yeah, because a vampire never lies, huh, Zoe?”

“Please, [First]. I promise you we will do everything to keep you safe.”

“You better have a whole S.W.A.T. styled team on my ass at all times, Zo.”

“Only the best for my favourite assosicate.” Your ease to obey her wishes and commands caused a smile to break out on her features.

~^*^~

Walking along the pier, you allowed the hot summer breeze to ruffle your hair and cool your hot skin a little. Looking to your right was the Abbey perched high on the cliffs. You could make out some forms of the last tourists enjoying their visit. The sun had yet again sunken well below the horizon and your heart thumped in your chest. You anticipated a certain undead male’s arrival at any moment. It wasn’t that you had invited him out, but you knew that if he had become attached to your scent, he’d find you.

It was only a matter of time before he did find you. And you dreaded that moment.

#probably sucks like the last one sorry but yall asked for it #also i kind of know where im going with this but not really #im just enjoying writing drac #dracula #bbc dracula #claes bang #dracula x reader #bbc dracula x reader #dolly wells

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monster-bcrn · 4 years

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I am diagnosing this grundy with Chungus Syndrome

@adrenalinesaint

Nah, that’s what we call a Tank. XD

(I swear if Grundy used his necromancy to resurrect an army of THESE THINGS I’d crap myself BIG TIME. Nothing scarier than seeing a Tank running at you like a baboon from Hell.)

(confession time: i fucking love this movie and had the biggest crush on Dr. Jekyll)

@the-arkham-librarian

I’m gonna be honest....I like the movie a little more than the actual comics. XD It’s super-campy and ridiculous but it was never meant to be anything more than insanely stupid anyways.

The ending though is my favorite bit. The Dante-Beast just looks BEASTLY and Hyde......not too big of a fan of the overall look, BUT the characterization was great. He was snarky, smart, a jackass but also showed charm.

Unlike the comic version where he was just freaking disgusting through and through (I’m not even going to comment on what he did to the Invisible Man in the comics.....only that the guy deserved it.)

#adrenalinesaint #the-arkham-librarian #Rave to the Grave (Out of Character)#I freaking love tanks XD #My all-time favorite zombie species variant #While Grundy is like my fave zombie overall

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extrasteps · 5 years

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Stacked Chapter 7

See previous photoset here.

Theo woke up with dread burning in his stomach. He just knew that taking that one amazing, perfect day with Liam was going to blow up in his face in a big way. He wasn’t allowed to be this happy - the universe wouldn’t allow it.

He got ready for the day with extreme reluctance, and Liam picked up on his mood immediately, wrapping his arms around him and pressing a kiss to the back of his neck.

“It’ll be fine,” he soothed.

It wouldn’t, but he appreciated that Liam was trying.

They were meant to meet Scott and the others at Scott’s place in an hour, and Theo told him he’d meet him there. He wanted to slip into his house and steal some more clothes. Liam meant well, letting Theo borrow some of his, but Theo was wider in the shoulders than Liam, and his shirts were uncomfortably tight. He gathered that that was the point though, with the way Liam’s eyes often drifted to his shoulders, gaze turning dark with lust.

Theo somehow managed to leave Liam behind as he drove to his house, pausing in front of his door and taking a deep breath before opening it.

It was like he’d known this was going to happen.

He stepped through the front door, head tilted to the side, listening.

There was no one home, no heartbeats. His fake parents had probably bailed after he hadn’t come home again, figuring it was safe to do so. It was. He had no intention of hunting them down. His cover was well and truly blown now.

Just as he’d managed to fill a bag full of clothes, he felt it. The hum of electricity. They were coming. There was no point in running. There was nowhere he could go that they wouldn’t find him.

Closing his bedroom door behind him, he made his way into the lounge room where they were waiting.

“What do you want?” He demanded.

On the coffee table there were three dossiers and he moved forward, swaggering with a confidence he didn’t feel as he scooped them up, flipping through them.

Three teenagers. Three new chimeras. Three new graves.

“Find them,” they intoned. “Train them.”

And then with a crackle they were gone.

“Just a brief visit then,” he muttered, plucking out the three photos and examining them with a sigh. He wasn’t sure if this was a good sign or not. Was he under suspicion? Were they testing him?

He picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. Looked like he had a few stops to make before he made it to Scott’s house.

***

Liam paced in Scott’s kitchen, wearing a track into the floor.

“Liam,” Mason said, sounding concerned.

“He’s coming,” Liam snapped, eyes fixed on the clock. Theo was almost half an hour late now. Stiles was already making snarky comments about how Theo had skipped town and the urge to throttle him was growing stronger by the second.

But it wasn’t because he was angry. It was because he was afraid.

What if it was true?

What if Theo really had left him?

He’d like to think that after the day they’d spent together yesterday that Theo could never do that, but how well did he know him really? Was their bond stronger than Theo’s fear? Liam wasn’t sure.

By the time an hour had passed, he was sitting on the couch between Mason and Scott, ignoring the conversation going on around him, staring down at his hands.

Before Theo had left earlier he’d used those same hands to cup his cheeks and kiss him, telling him he’d see him again soon. Surely that hadn’t been their last kiss. Surely fate wasn’t that cruel.

“Theo doing a bunk doesn’t change the facts,” Stiles was arguing, “these doctor guys are a serious threat. We have to do something.”

He’d come today despite his suspicion of Theo, which Liam appreciated, but he was also getting on his nerves, and he didn’t have many nerves to begin with. His IED was simmering in his chest, getting close to boiling point.

He looked at Mason. “I think I need to go,” he said quietly. “Mase-”

“Punching bag, got it,” Mason said, jumping to his feet. “Go out back. Me and Corey will bring it out.”

Ever since his diagnosis, Mason had been more than supportive. He had his boot filled with a large punching bag and gloves, kept it in there every single day despite the inconvenience, just so Liam would have something to hit that wasn’t a wall, or someone else’s face.

Liam stalked outside, ignoring the others calling after him. If he went back, he would do or say something he would regret.

Corey set up the bag on the nearest tree, and they left him to it, grunting as he took out his aggression on the bag, blood rushing in his ears, seeing red.

He punched the bag again and again and again, taking out all of his fear and frustration on it until his arms and shoulders were aching and he was panting for breath, his anger spent.

When he turned toward the house, exhausted and covered with sweat, his eyes fell upon Theo, sitting on the back step.

Theo looked concerned as he slowly rose to his feet.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

Liam shivered. “You didn’t leave,” he said, voice flat. He didn’t have any emotion left in his body. He was wrung out.

“I had to make a few pit stops,” Theo said with a sigh, walking towards him. “I’m sorry I didn’t text you.”

Liam considered him. There was nothing about the way Theo was looking at him that suggested he was lying, and Liam didn’t know what to think.

“I’m used to being on my own,” Theo continued when it was clear that Liam wasn’t going to say anything. “Mason chewed me out when I got here, told me off for worrying you. And he was right. It was a shitty thing to do. I’m sorry, Liam.”

Slowly, Liam nodded. “Okay,” he said.

He walked past Theo into the house, stripping off his gloves. His knuckles were red and sore. He hadn’t had time to strap them before the need to hit something had overwhelmed him. But they would heal.

Liam came to a stop at the kitchen door, looking at the three strangers with suspicion.

“Theo’s extra pit stops, I assume,” he said to Scott, continuing inside.

“Yeah,” Scott sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair. “The Dread Doctors are making more chimeras.”

Theo came to stand next to Liam, hesitantly placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Liam, meet my new chimera pack. Corey, Josh and Tracy.”

He looked between the three of them, a twinge of fear breaking through the numbness. The Dread Doctors were making more chimeras. What did that mean for Theo?

***

Theo felt like a complete asshole. Liam had had an attack, and it was all his fault. How had he not even considered sending him a text? In his own defence, he hadn’t realised that it would take so long to convince the three new chimeras to come with him, and they’d all demanded explanations from him about what was happening to them, but now he had them more or less on board, accepting him, somewhat reluctantly, as their leader.

It wasn’t that he was any more thrilled than them by this state of affairs. Not even two weeks ago he would have been ecstatic to have his own pack, but now it meant nothing to him. The only thing that mattered was Liam, and hopefully somehow being able to gain his freedom.

Liam walked away to go and clean up a bit in Scott’s bathroom, leaving Theo standing in the lounge room with Scott’s pack and his three new pack members all staring at him.

“What now?” Theo asked, looking at Scott.

“I think we need help,” Scott said. “We need more information about the Dread Doctors.”

Theo sighed. “You need the author.”

“McCammon?” Scott asked, looking at him intently.

“That’s not his real name,” he said. “It’s Valack.”

“He’s the one who it’s dedicated to,” Stiles pointed out, holding out a copy of the book, showing the relevant page.

Theo nodded. “He wrote it under a pseudonym. The book makes you remember them. The Dread Doctors. That’s why he wrote it.”

“If you know so much,” Stiles said, a sneer on his face as he stalked closer, “then why don’t you tell us everything there is to know about them.”

“He already has,” Scott said, voice terse. “He told me everything he knew.”

Stiles scoffed. “Sure he did.”

“I trust him,” Scott said, finality in his tone. “Liam trusts him.”

Stiles glowered but didn’t respond. Theo couldn’t even blame him. He’d come here with the intention of infiltrating their pack and destroying it, making it anew with him as the alpha. That wasn’t his goal anymore, but Stiles had been right not to trust him, then at least.

Now, it’d be nice if he would give Theo the benefit of the doubt.

“Okay,” Scott said, turning and looking around. “We have questions, let’s figure out exactly what we need to know before we decide who is going where.”

“Alright,” Stiles said, speaking up again now, glaring at Theo. “First question, what do the Dread Doctors want?”

“They want to resurrect the Beast,” Theo told him. “For that, they need a genetic chimera.”

“Why didn’t they just use you?” Stiles asked, moving closer. “This all seems pretty convenient.”

“It didn’t work with me,” he said with a sigh. “Believe me, they tried.” For years, they’d experimented on him in every possible way while he was strapped to their gurney. He’d been pathetically grateful when the pain had finally stopped and they’d started using him in other ways instead. It had made sense to him. Hurt others so that they didn’t hurt him.

He knew better now.

“So they made more,” Scott hummed. “Why these three? What’s special about them?”

“It’s like Finch said the other day in class,” Theo explained. “Chimeras have more than one kind of DNA. Maybe it’s a transplant, a blood transfusion, whatever. I stole medical records for them a few months ago. They want young people, children and teenagers. They survive longer in their experiments, generally.”

“How old were you?” Liam asked quietly. He was standing at the door, rubbing a thumb over his red knuckles.

“When?” Theo turned towards him.

“The first time they experimented on you.”

His hand flew to his chest automatically, rubbing over the non-existent scar. “Eight,” he admitted.

“Next question,” Stiles interrupted, drawing Theo’s gaze. “What exactly is this beast?”

Theo shrugged. “Ask an Argent,” he said. “It’s something from their lore.”

Scott’s gaze dropped, his jaw clenching. Theo studied him, feeling a twinge of guilt. Of course Scott couldn’t ask Allison, she was gone.

But there was still her father. Although Theo wanted to stay far away from him. He had a feeling that the hunter was far more dangerous than any of Scott’s pack realised.

“Stiles and I will go to Eichen,” Lydia said, walking up to grasp Scott’s shoulder, squeezing it. “You should speak to Argent.”

“And Theo?” Stiles asked.

“He has his hands a bit full right now, don’t you think?” She asked gently, head tilting towards the new chimeras. Theo grimaced, following her gaze to where Corey, Tracy and Josh were all sitting on the couch, Mason hovering near them, looking uncertain.

Yeah, he had enough to deal with.

“I’ll stay with Theo and Mason and the others,” Liam said to Scott. “You guys go.”

Kira walked up and took Scott’s hand, leading him away, and Theo watched them go, feeling frustrated. Divide and conquer was a classic tactic. These idiots would have fallen right into his trap without so much as a blink. Why were they all so naive?

“Hey,” Liam said, nudging his shoulder. “Earth to Theo.”

He shook his head, pushing his frustration aside. They were paired up at least, and with Kira going with Scott to see Argent instead of to Eichen, the Dread Doctors wouldn’t be able to get to Valack.

“Don’t give him what he wants,” he said quietly to Lydia as she started to move past them.

She startled, looking at him. “What?”

“Valack. He’s dangerous. He’ll try to bargain with you, he’ll want something for his information. Don't give it to him.”

The intelligence shone in her eyes as she searched his face. “Why?”

“It’s in your best interest,” he said simply. “Valack’s known your family for a really long time. He used to work at Eichen.”

Her gaze sharpened further. “My grandmother,” she said, lips pressed tightly together.

Theo nodded. “Your grandmother. He’s a sick son of a bitch, and that’s coming from me. Don’t trust him. Don’t let your guard down.”

“Don’t worry,” Stiles said, his voice cold. “We won’t”

The implied message was clear. And we won’t trust you either.

But Lydia nodded, letting Stiles guide her out of the kitchen.

Liam stirred beside him. “The things you’ve done,” he asked, voice low. “How bad are we talking here?” He sounded nervous.

Theo looked at him, guilt making his borrowed heart twist in his chest. “It was them or me,” he said, voice level. “I chose me.”

“And now?” Liam asked.

“Freedom or death. It’s the same thing really,” Theo muttered, pushing past him and taking one of the free seats. Either he’d be free or he’d be dead. And he had to do everything in his power to ensure that he stayed alive.

The only thing he wouldn’t sacrifice was Liam.

He hoped he wouldn’t regret it.

***

Liam’s heart was troubled as he watched Theo.

Theo had opened up to him so much over the past week, but he was starting to realise that Theo didn’t really think he’d survive the Dread Doctors. There was a resignation to his gaze as he looked between the three chimeras and Mason. He didn’t have many answers for them, looking as lost as they were.

He wanted to help, he did, but he didn’t have much of an idea of what to do either. Most of the supernatural world still baffled him. Before Theo had come on the scene, he hadn’t even known that werewolves could be created on an operating table.

Let alone whatever these three were. According to the files Theo had shown him, Corey was a chameleon who could turn invisible, Josh was a raiju who could absorb and manipulate lightning, and Tracy was a kanima, a creepy lizard that could paralyse. All very powerful, and very scared.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Corey asked, looking at Theo after browsing through his own file. “They said to train us? For what?”

“Test your powers, see how strong you are,” Theo explained wearily. “They want to see if you’ll survive being the host.”

Josh scoffed, leaning back against the couch. “So what? We just wait around for them to find us? Fuck that.”

“No,” Liam agreed, stepping forward to stand in front of them. “Sticking your head in the sand won’t achieve anything. You need to fight.”

Corey visibly blanched. “I don’t know how to fight. I mean, look at me.”

“You’re stronger than you realise,” Liam assured him. “And I don’t mean that you need to run in all guns blazing. I just mean that you can’t give up. If we work together, we can defeat them.”

Tracy finally spoke up, looking at Liam with wide eyes. “How?”

And wasn’t that the million dollar question.

“We’ll figure it out. Together. Scott is a true alpha and our pack has faced down alpha packs, berserkers, hunters. We can beat a couple of scientists.”

The three of them look reassured, but Theo looked at him. His eyes said clearly that he wanted to believe Liam, but that he knew better.

“We’ve got this,” Mason said, speaking mostly to Corey, if Liam wasn’t mistaken. “Liam’s right. I know you’re all scared, but we’ll stick together and we’ll get through this.”

Corey smiled at Mason, and Liam looked away, biting back a smirk. He met Theo’s gaze, who waggled his eyebrows at him.

Liam felt relieved. The pack that they were building now was strong. They could do this.

They had to.

#thiam #liam dunbar #theo raeken #stacked

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wildtige429 · 5 years

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Height: 8 feet tall

Weight: 60 kg

About Him: He is an unknown Septarian who belongs to a tribe no one on Septarsis has heard off; Bloodtails, a tribe of vampiric Septarians with a huge taste for blood and is said to possesses a dangerous ability that comes into effect under a full moon.

Akatsuki happens to be a serial killer, lurking in the dark and preying on unsuspecting victims, draining them off their blood. He was called Hellraiser because he raises hell everywhere he goes. What makes him more infamous is that his sword, Bloodbringer, is forged from his OWN blood, making this despicable weapon a living, breathing, bloodthirsty beast of a sword that will go crazy every time it tastes the blood of those Akatsuki slashed.

Seth, admired by Akatsuki’s brutality and power, made him a Raider by hunting down a chimeric dinosaur called Dracullius that, like Akatsuki, seeks out blood every night.

Akatsuki’s death was unexpected when he was stabbed in the heart by a stake, a traditional and ancient way of killing a vampire. Upon its’ master’s death, Bloodbringer killed his killer and had to be restrained in chains after it was sheathed in the scabbard the moment the ancients secured it in the tomb

Strangely enough, Toshi and friends were startled and horrified when he rose out of his coffin like a mummy (he was wrapped in bandages), alive and well even though he’s dead. They, including Akatsuki, have no idea why he’s alive even though he’s undead, with Marco pointing out that vampires ARE undead. To clarify it, they have no idea how he got resurrected.

Personality: Sadistic, bloodthirsty, snarky, murderous, sly, cheeky

Description: Slick yet muscular body, blood red scales, two puncture scars on his neck, wears eagle skulls on his shoulders and knees, a dark red cloth tied around his waist to look like he has a waist cape, white slacks, black sandals, chains around his tail, black bandage wraps around his forearms, a dagger-shaped cross pendant, his hair is spiky and dark red-brown, eerie yellow eyes with the pupils slitted, large vampiric tusks, a stitch scar on his tail, a scar across his snout and he wields with sword, Bloodbringer, a longsword with a red blade and a green eye at the handle

*The puncture scars on his neck belongs to vampire who thought he was a normal monster, until it was too late and the vampire became his meal.

Bloodbringer, a beast of a sword, is tamed by Mint because her poison powers made it realize that she is a beast too.*

#septarianraider

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celticheartedfangirl · 6 years

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25 Fucking Stupid Writing Choices OUAT Made

This post is a snarky response to Adam and Eddy’s little humble brag article that came out today:

http://ew.com/tv/2018/05/14/once-upon-time-crazy-storylines/

This is meant to be snarky and critical and if you don’t like that -- don’t read it. (MY post, not the link above.)

Look, I am a OUAT fan an there are many things I love about the show. But there are many I just DON’T LOVE and I think they’re worth discussing. If you don’t like criticism, you won’t like this post. That’s fine.

Thank you for all the suggestions! I think I got quite a bit crammed in here.

Under the cut for length and so as not to upset those who only want to ‘think lovely thoughts’ . . . . .

25. Here’s a magic doohickey thingy we’ve never heard of before but NOW we’re using this thing.

Look, I’m not gonna list all the MacGuffins this show has used, I’d be here all day and there are worse things they’ve done, and this IS a show about magic after all.

But there’s also such a thing as overkill. And there was too much MacGuffin use that we didn’t know about before in this show. It was far too convenient and usually used as a cop out in lieu of – you know – actual STORY TELLING. THAT is my MacGuffin issue. Don’t use it to replace character development. We’re not here for that.

24. The Lost Boys/The Untold Stories and Other Dropped Plots

So the Lost Boys -- Did they get homes? Did they grow up? I don’t know! Do you? Of course not – we’ll never know!

What about all those Untold Stories folks? Weren’t there a bunch of them? Are they still meandering around in Storybrooke?

Edited to add: Maleficent and Lily. SO SORRY I forgot to initially include you in this one. My bad. You are missed, ladies!

Edited once more to add: Poor Gideon. Both parents dead and his extended family doesn’t give a shit about him. Or at least I assume so because we don’t know where he is. The child of Beauty and the Beast -- treated like a disposable plot device. Nice.

OUAT is great with creating and LOUSY with follow through. I know there are many others. But there shouldn’t be. There shouldn’t be that many dropped plots on this show. If you’re not going to follow through with a story line, why add the characters AT ALL? Speaking of that . . .

23. JFC, how many new characters do we NEED on this show???

Especially since you still haven’t figured out what to do with some of the ones that are CONTRACT PLAYERS on your show! Hey, didn’t Archie and Ruby used to be those? (Waves hi to Belle! Also the Charmings post S4. More on that later.)

22. You know – Rumple is Henry’s GRANDFATHER

He is! Really!

You’d never fucking KNOW IT, would you? The erasure of any sort of familial relationship with Henry/Rumple was a damned shame. And much of that, I believe, was because if they acknowledged THAT, they’d have to mention the character they want us to forget. More on that later.

21. The Shattered Sight Hype

Remember what a BIG DEAL the whole Shattered Sight thing was gonna be in S4? OMG people say what they REALLY FEEL about each other! It’s gonna be EPIC!!!

And then it – wasn’t. We basically got some Snowing/Evil Queen snark, Henry bitching at Hook, and Belle – well, Belle was asleep – what else is new?

I think of all the things that were PROMOTED as something amazing for this show – this is the one that was a big old dud and a whole lot of NOTHING.

20. Belle’s mom/Belle is written out of her own storyline in S6

In Family Business we met Belle’s Mom for about two minutes. Then she was dead. And Belle didn’t remember what happened. And then – we never heard about it again.

I don’t know about you, but I wanted to know what happened there. Why didn’t Belle remember? Did Moe get a roofie magic thingy from Arthur? Did Belle’s mom turn into an ogre and she killed her and blocked it out?

SO MANY possibilities there. But hey – it’s just Belle. Why write a story for HER?

In the same regard -- whatever your thoughts are on Rumbelle in S6 (MHO – it was garbage and an OOC shit fest, but that’s just me) – what happened with Gideon – Belle’s SON – was because of HER CHOICE. Choices have consequences. And in GOOD WRITING – the person that MADE the choice that caused the mess is supposed to be the person to help CLEAN IT UP.

But apparently – it was a better thing for ZELENA of all people to be the one to do that. And Emma and Hook too. Because why the hell not, right? That makes all the sense.

Yes, Rumple played his part too in the whole Gideon mess. And he did get to take part in the resolution. But that was something they should have done TOGETHER (what a concept!), and overall Belle was just – not part of it. Even in the last two minutes they sidelined her with a sprained ankle. Absolutely ridiculous. Which leads me to . . . .

19. Belle being sidelined since Season Two.

OUAT brought the lovely Emilie de Ravin onto the show as a regular cast member in Season Two, and had no fucking idea what to do with her character. So she gets fridged. She gets stuck in the hospital, left behind while the rest go to Neverland, she’s very fond of naps, she’s forgotten about in Camelot, not cared about while in a sleeping curse because the “heroes” care more about “stopping” her “evil” hubby (see #17) and written out of her own damn storyline in 6B (see #20) – and then she’s dead. (More on that later.)

I love Belle. I love Rumbelle. And I will forever be resentful that for the bulk of her time on the show, the character of Belle, one of my fictional heroes, was written as nothing but a plot device. She deserved so much better.

18. The Musical Episode

I mean – if this nonsense (and it WAS nonsense) had moved the story forward, I could maybe – MAYBE – let this one slide. But it didn’t. It just rehashed the same shit that we had been talking about for 6 seasons. And then Hook married Emma and her Stepford Wife conversion therapy was complete. (More on that later.) This episode WILL NOT HOLD UP in the future. Future generations will be “WTF-ing” all over the place with this one, mark my words.

17. Rumple is a Hero – no he’s a Villain – No wait he’s a hero, nope a villain, make up your DAMN MIND WRITERS!!!!!

I got whiplash trying to follow the trajectory of Rumple’s story, as many times as they changed his characterization. He’s a villain – then in 3A he’s a hero. Then he’s the victim of a molester and kidnapper and show doesn’t address that AT ALL. Oops he’s evil again. Except now he’s not – his heart is PURE! He pulled Excalibur out of the rock, he’s a HERO! Nah – he’s dark again. Bad Rumple! Oooh now he’s REALLY DARK and his fetus with no brain stem hates him and his wife is living on a boat with his sworn ENEMY while pregnant, so he traps here there (!!!!!) and he’s macking on the Evil Queen . . . come ON. Enough already.

Rumple is a complex character. You can’t just flip/flop willy nilly with a complex character. You have to know how to write them as nuanced, and CONSISTENLY complex but never falling fully into one camp or the other of ‘good’ or ‘evil.’

Rumple is played by Robert Carlyle, one of the best actors around. And the ONLY saving grace from the horrible writing of this character over the years is the fact that Bobby knew how to play him most of the time – even when the writers didn’t know how to WRITE HIM. Which was almost ALL the time.

16. Hook is a Dark One/Resurrecting Dead Hook/Hook the Gary Stu

I toyed with ranking the dark one higher on the list and as its own thing because really, this reveal caused the biggest MID EPISODE ratings drop in the history of the show up to that point. Nobody liked it. Nobody wanted it. And it ended up being a setup to the ‘Save Hook’ trajectory because of COURSE of all the characters in the history of the show, HE was the one that deserved saving THE MOST. But I think all of these things tie together.

What this moment did was solidify the fact that Hook was officially a “Stu” character. He definitely had Gary Stu tendencies up to this point, and was basically an irritant to anyone but CS/Hook fans, but from here on? That’s pretty much all he was and all he’d ever be until he was replaced (or should I say upgraded?) by his doppelganger.

I combined the DO/Save Hook/Stu thing because it was in the Underworld that Hook’s full Stu-pification took place. There wasn’t a line of people he had murdered wanting a word with him – as there SHOULD HAVE BEEN.

And Hook still got to keep all his murder trinkets when he got resurrected and made out with his girlfriend over Robin’s grave. What a guy.

15. Regina/The Evil Queen Stay Split

I’m just saying – wouldn’t it have been better character growth for Regina to have to live with her ‘evil’ half than to split it off? And no, the ‘heart mixing’ thing doesn’t count. I get that the whole thing was really fan service to the Outlaw Queen fandom. But that doesn’t make it good writing.

14. The Wish Realm

Oh, I could write a whole post about this (and I may do that at some point) but there are so many damn holes in the whole Wish Realm mess I wouldn’t even know where to start. But so many things about it just DO NOT line up in a sensible way. And even if you find one that DOES, it’ll create three things that DON’T line up.

I’d have bought a ‘parallel universe’ over the ‘wish realm’ stuff. They could have gone with that and it would have made much more sense. But you know – they wanted dead Belle, dead Baelfire, dead Snowing, no Emma and old Hook so – Wish realm it was. I just got to a point where I didn’t care anymore. But that doesn’t negate the stupid.

13. The Timeline

The timeline in OUAT made sense – and then it didn’t. And then they just stopped trying. And I stopped caring. But for paid, professional writers – just not cool. DO YOUR JOB!!!!!

12. Will Scarlett

Do I really need to say any more here? No? Didn’t think so. Moving on.

11. Neal’s Apartment in New York City

Have you ever been to NYC? Places of residence are at a premium there. There is no way in hell that an abandoned apartment wouldn’t have been emptied and taken over by a new resident in that much time. And I’m sorry, but odds are Neal did NOT pre-pay his rent for TWO YEARS out.

10. Belle and Hook – Best Friends Forever!*

You know – no woman with a brain in her head would befriend a man who straight up tried to murder her FOUR TIMES. So, either Belle doesn’t have a brain in her head, or that’s some crap writing right there. (My vote is with the latter if you’re wondering.)

It was bad enough when Belle was just handing over the dagger to “Hook” in S4 (yes, I know it was Rumple but details shmetails, Belle didn’t know that), but a PREGNANT BELLE going to live on a boat with Hook to be ‘safe’ – come on. Who does that? I get that Adam and Eddy wanted to wave the middle finger at the Rumbelle fandom, but they could have found a way to do that without making Belle look STUPID.

*Honorable mention to Belle/Zelena being friends which was equally as stupid

9. Zelena is Marian

Come ON – they pulled that one out of their asses halfway through S4 because they wanted to find a way to bring back Bex. There was NO INDICATION of that until the reveal. Because it didn’t EXIST until the reveal. Ridiculous.

8. Making the Charmings Supporting Players

Starting with S4, Snow and David basically became secondary characters. They had MOMENTS, but overall they were on the backburner and if they left the show at any point – would it have made a difference to ANY of the trajectory they were playing out? I’d say no.

I mean – how the hell did that happen? How do you run out of ideas with the couple that you touted as THE ‘main couple’ after only three seasons? I don’t get it.

7. Golden Queen

Just no. There was never anything romantic between these two characters. It was stupid and out of character for both of them. No.

6. Queer baiting 101

If you gender-swapped either Emma or Regina – made one of them a man – they’d be banging by S2 and by the end of the series they’d be married with at least two more kids and three break-ups/reunions between them. (Hey, I watch soaps, I know how this shit works.)

The chemistry between the actors is there. They share a kid. But they’re both women. And you know – family show -- #nohomo and all. Sure.

The writers KNEW that Swan Queen was popular. Now okay – if ABC didn’t want to go there, fine. I don’t agree with that, but fine.

But don’t keep freaking queer baiting your fans every chance you get! It never stopped. In fact, it got progressively WORSE as the show went on! That’s just bullshit right there. Either do it or drop it. Because what OUAT did with Emma and Regina and the baiting of their fans was just flat out shitty.

And if that weren’t bad enough, we got the whole queer baiting with Mulan/Aurora, and THEN in S5 we’re handed Dorothy/Ruby as a token olive branch to the LGBT community and then – we never see them again!

Okay, in S7 they got on the right track with Alice and Robin. I will give them that. But after six years of baiting, it kind of rang hollow for many, and rightly so.

5. Hey, Here’s a Person of Color – Let’s Kill Them!

One of the first warnings I give to any new OUAT is ‘don’t get attached to any POC’ and with good reason. They don’t last long on OUAT.

Now I don’t want to assume or accuse any of the OUAT writers of flat out racism but . . .. . you’ve gotta admit – they don’t have the best track record there.

It’s especially obvious when they bring on a character that is compelling and portrayed by a charismatic actor that the audience enjoys. Lancelot, Merlin, and Facilier are the three best examples of that. Okay, so Lance was resurrected but – where’d he go? Is he still trying to undo dead-Arthur’s roofie on Guinevere?

And then we have an amazing hero and a compelling villain in Merlin and Facilier, respectively. Both of these characters – and their actors – were bright spots in the show. So naturally – they needed to die. Without their storylines resolved.

But it was just a coincidence that they weren’t white. Of course it was.

4. The Death of Belle

Yeah, yeah, I know, Beauty was a beautifully written episode and Bobby and Emilie loved it and we got some great moments, blah blah blah . . . . . . but was it NECESSARY? Did they REALLY NEED to kill off Belle? You’re telling me that there’s absolutely, positively, not one plausible scenario for S7 wherein Belle is in Hyperion Heights and Rumple can find a way to rid himself of the darkness WITH HER THERE???? Really? They couldn’t write even one lousy full season of Rumbelle (hello BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) happy and in love with struggles but still beating the darkness in the end? Really??? There weren’t any options for that scenario AT ALL???? Give me a break.

3. The Stepford Swan

Over the course of seven years, many of the OUAT characters suffered with out- of-character moments. It’s not uncommon and I would even venture to say that this happens on occasion on MOST television shows. But on OUAT, it was a common occurrence from Season Four onward. And NONE of the characters experienced as much of an out of character de-evolution as Emma Swan.

When we first met Emma Swan she was a badass, intelligent, independent woman. Yes, she had her issues and her inner demons and we saw her work past those as the series progressed.

And then . . . . she got a boyfriend. And he became the center of her universe. And Emma – changed. The writers (and Jennifer Morrison) will swear up and down that it was an ‘evolution’ but I’m sorry – a character that starts OUT like this:

Does not END UP like this:

That’s not evolution. That’s a shell of a woman dependent on a man for her self-worth. That’s NOT who Emma Swan is. This was THE worst character assassination on the show, and I’d say it’d be up (down?) there in the top 10 (er, bottom 10?) of worst character assassinations in all of television. What a shame.

2. Rapists – rapists everywhere!

Once Upon a Time has always been marketed as a family show. For a family show – there’s sure a heck of a lot of rape in it.

The first CANON rapist we have is Regina and her 28+ year imprisonment and repeated sexual assault of Graham. Regina came a long way as a character in the show’s 7-year run – but it would have done great service to her if this had been addressed somehow. Now, I know that Jamie Dornan is all famous and off making money playing Christian Grey but – you know, in this particular case – I’d have been good with either a recast or at the VERY least an apologetic mention. But we never got that.

And that’s the problem with every rapey issue on this show – it’s never addressed for what it is. In fact – it’s really not addressed at all. Hook’s rape jokes in S2 are treated like ‘playful banter’ by the writers, cast, and viewers alike. Zelena’s ‘Hester the Molester’ stuff with Rumple in S3 doesn’t even warrant a discussion. Hook’s rapey innuendo in the CS movie is also waved off. Then we have Zelena raping Robin in S4, Arthur magic roofie-ing Guinevere and probably raping her in S5 (Is she still roofied? Who knows!), and Mother Gothel raping Nook in S7.

That’s a hell of a lot of rape for a “family show.” And aside from the off-handed comment from Robin about lack of consent with Zelena, none of it is addressed for what it is – RAPE.

1. The Death of Baelfire/Neal Cassidy

In Season One there were three main story line arcs driving the series: Regina’s war with Snow White, Emma as The Savior, and Rumpelstiltskin’s quest to reunite with his son, Baelfire. All three stories intertwined, and it only made sense that the trajectory of the show would be that in the end, all of these characters would somehow come together, as they all were tied to one character: Henry.

Unfortunately, the writers made the foolish decision in Season Three to execute one of the main (if not THE main) driving forces on the show. Baelfire/Neal was connected to all of the aforementioned people, and his loss was a blow to everyone. At least it should have been. But that’s not what we saw.

Not only was Neal/Baelfire killed off – he was flat out ERASED from the show. His name from the point of his death on was rarely brought up. We didn’t get to see anyone truly mourn or grieve him. (Okay Rumple, but BARELY – and anyone who has lost a child understands that it’s quite possibly the deepest type of grief imaginable. I’m told you never get over it.) As the show moved forward, you could literally spot the times when the writers made deliberate dialogue choices to avoid saying the name Neal/Baelfire in places where it not only made sense, it was WARRANTED.

Let’s be REAL here – we all know the “reason” Bae/Neal was written off the show. I don’t care what the writers say. I’m not an idiot and neither are you. And I’m sorry, but if the ONLY WAY you can think of to make a “romance” happen on a show is to kill off a character that would be forever “in the way” of said romance – you’re not a skilled enough writer to be writing a television show for a major network. I mean – it works in spiteful fanfic (which I am more than guilty of writing). But for a television show? The viewers deserve better than that. NEAL/BAELFIRE and every character that ever loved him deserved better than that.

I know I probably missed a bunch but I really did try to hit the highlights and put them in the order they deserved.

Thoughts? Comments? If you think I’m missing a tag for this (I’m doing my best) let me know and I’ll add it.

#ouat criticism #anti ouat writers #anti hook #anti cs #anti stepford swan #tw: rape #anti zelena #anti golden queen

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codynaomiswireart · 6 years

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“Gauze in the Wound” - Part 13

Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12

Wow, this story just keeps getting harder and harder to write! Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. Hopefully it's worth it though.

Also, bringing some more OC's into the mix! Usually, when writing fan fiction, I try not to add too many new characters that aren't canon, but with the way the story's going/will go, it just feels called for this time around.

Sabine and Pontus character descriptions for those who are curious - https://codynaomiswireart.tumblr.com/post/174347636560/tangled-the-series-ocs-sabine-and-pontus-have

Elsewhere, deep in one of the forests of the Seven Kingdoms, a bright white stag went bounding through the thickets as the elder eagle screed overhead, relating to the king of the wood the stirrings that were occurring at this very hour in the kingdom of Equis. Help was surely to be needed soon, destiny was at hand, and they must make all haste if they were to make it in time.

With a sweet, keening call, the stag announced his arrival at the cottage in the glen where a single lantern glowed dim in the dark shade of the moonlit canopy, marking the front gate to what appeared to be a meager, humble abode. A few seconds later, another glow came alight inside the thatched-roofed cottage, and a figure carrying the light could be seen dimly through the windows as they made their way to the front door.

“Oh, Pontus!” Sabine greeted the hart with a gentle, wrinkled hand in his bright white muzzle. “What is it old friend? What’s happened?”

With a few more grunts, gestures, and a trilling interjection from the elder eagle as he alighted by the door, Sabine was able to get enough of the message to understand.

“Great trouble in Equis. Must go immediately. We will lead you there.”

“Right-o then,” Sabine said as she beckoned her woodland comrades into her cottage. Such a sight would’ve been seen as counterintuitive to anyone who did not know the magic of that house, but in reality, there was almost no faster way to get around the forests of the Seven Kingdoms than via Sabine’s Safe House.

“To Equis then,” Sabine announced as she turned the dials and lit up the crystals on the old, enchanted astrolabe mounted to the back of the front door. The dark blue glasswork behind it shimmered with various constellations and planetary symbols as the device came alight, and the whole frame of that house vibrated and groaned like a rapidly growing tree before becoming completely still again moments later. This done, Sabine hurriedly grabbed a dark cloak, first-aid kit, and her trusty winding staff that sat waiting to the side of the door. Then she and her company stepped their way back out over the threshold and into a whole other part of the Seven Kingdoms, now within the territory of Equis.

“Lead on you two!” Sabine said as she mounted up onto Pontus’s back, and the stag and eagle rushed off towards the south and west where they could sense fateful battle was soon to be at hand.

“Varian!” Xavier yelped in surprise from the back of the crowd, having just recovered from the shock of seeing Varian, Queen Arianna, and a giant feral Ruddiger of all things standing between them and the separatists’ hideout. By now, the separatists themselves were scrambling to get back up from the ground, and were getting into a defensive formation as they readied their bows and blades to combat the new, unexpected threat that stood in their way.

“Xavier, are you all right?” Varian called back to him, his voice serious as both he and Arianna stood poised to strike with their weapons aimed at the crowd. Ruddiger’s throat vibrated with low warning growls, deterring any sudden movements or shots fired from the opposing side. As the beast flexed his huge muscles under his thick, leathery hide, it was clear to the archers that no arrows would be taking him down easily.

“Varian! Y-you shouldn’t be here!” Xavier exclaimed, his tone somewhere between frightened and livid. “And your majesty! What were you two thinking!? You should’ve stayed safe back at the castle! Don’t you realize what could happen if they got a hold of-!?”

“Eeeeeeeeeee! Ha ha ha!”

Suddenly, a sharp, screeching, completely unanticipated cry of delight shattered the tense atmosphere, and all eyes couldn’t help but stop and turn to its source.

“Oh my gosh brother, you were right!” the lady spy said as she clapped her hands together and bounced like a child on the balls of her feet, her eyes wide with wonder as they fixed on the shaggy behemoth that stood before them. “Ha ha ha! Look at him! Isn’t he just amazing? He he! And SO cute!”

Varian blinked a couple times, completely thrown for a few seconds by the randomness of having someone gush over Ruddiger in his giant beast form, and during such a time of crisis as this. Varian glanced bewilderedly back and forth between his gigantic, snarling guardian and the lady separatist who beamed up at him as if she’d just seen the most adorable of kittens playing with a ball of yarn on the carpet at home.

“Awwww, aren’t you just the best thing ever! C-can I pet him, please?”

“You stand back!” Varian yelled, and Ruddiger roared defensively in response to the urgency of his master’s voice. The Saporian agent let out another series of giggles as he did so, though she did step back a pace or two at their warning.

“Now, let’s try this again,” Varian began, and pausing as Queen Arianna now made to speak.

“In the name of King Frederic of Corona, and I, her majesty Queen Arianna, we demand that you release Xavier of Corona. If you fail to comply, you will taste the wrath of the crown and our allies, and suffer the consequences.”

“Never!” the commander shouted to the queen in reply. “How dare you make such a threat to Saporia, you Coronian scum! You have no authority here in Equis, and we outnumber you ten to one! All of you!” the commander called back to his comrades. “Ready your weapons, and attack on my signal!”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Varian said, his voice now turning astoundingly cool and confident, and his face even managing a small sneer as he reached into the pack at his hip and pulled out several glowing vials. Fanning them out between the fingers of his free hand, Varian tried to look as confident and intimidating as he could, given his age and current stature. Which, surprisingly, ended up begin quite a bit, especially given the stark contrast between light and shadow that was splashed across his features in the pale light of the full moon behind him, and the glowing vials he held at the ready.

“Unless you guys just really want to be run over by several hundred pounds worth of sheer muscle, feel the pain of several thousand pounds per square inch of jaw strength sink into your guts, and taste the cold steel and bitter chemicals of ancient alchemy, I suggest you all stand down, right now.”

Arianna’s eyes narrowed, and she had to struggle to withhold any words of annoyance at Varian’s deliberately leaving her out of his equation for their fighting force (not that this exclusion surprised her, given how obstinate he could be). And she also tried not to shudder at Varian’s drastic change in tone as he said those harsh words with such smugness, for it was very unnerving to see how quickly Varian could shift his apparent mood when he felt the need. Only minutes ago, he had been near to tears at seeing Ruddiger’s painful transformation, and had comforted the creature with words and gestures so tender that it was hard to believe he had been capable of any villainy at all. But now, Arianna felt a chill run down her spine as Varian re-donned that snarky, twisted, hostile demeanor that he had taken on that one fateful day, and that always left one with a moment of doubt upon witnessing it as to whether or not the boy had actually ever displayed any such tenderness before in his life.

The difference was truly night and day – a contrast as stark as the light and shadow that currently outlined his features.

“At least we’re on the same side this time,” Arianna thought to herself as she worked to hold her bow steady, and she felt her arms begin to ache with the effort to hold it taut before her. She really hoped this confrontation would end soon, and with their victory. …Somehow. “I hope you have a plan Varian.”

Meanwhile, Varian did his best to maintain his show of confident control as they faced the line of Saporian warriors, and he tried desperately to hide the fears growing behind the mask that was his smirking expression. While Varian’s original plans (the ones before factoring in a giant Ruddiger that is) had been to depend more on stealth and trickery rather than any direct confrontation in pulling off this mission (a tactic that had worked extremely well for him in the past), that option was no longer viable given the separatists’ proximity to their headquarters, and Ruddiger’s sudden new show of muscle. As such, the next best outcome was to avoid any physical conflict through intimidation of the Saporian forces, and simply get them to surrender Xavier back to them peaceably. For if there was one thing that Varian’s time as a rival to Rapunzel and Corona had taught him, it was that a display of power could do wonders for getting your enemies to cooperate with you, whether you actually had that power at your disposal or not.

True, Varian had actually been quite powerful back then. And with Ruddiger and a few tricks up Varian’s sleeves, it could be argued that he still had some power in a sense here and now.

But it wasn’t anything like what Varian had had before, and there were plenty of disadvantages and doubts to be factored in. But Varian couldn’t have afforded to have that show back then, and he couldn’t afford it now. It was all mind games really in the end, and Varian had to make sure that he didn’t lose this round. So, Varian dug deep and resurrected that part of himself that delighted (or seemed to delight) in such things as this, and did all he could to project that as he stood his ground, looking his enemies in the eyes.

But again, Varian found himself thrown for a moment as he threats were met not with the commander backing down, nor with the next likely response of a hailstorm of arrows sent their way. …But with a slow applause.

“Well played master alchemist!” the one whom the lady agent had referred to as “brother” now said as he took a couple steps forward, giving off a few slow claps as he did so. “Well played indeed! It appears things have come to an impasse now, wouldn’t you say?”

“Wha- …what are you talking about!?” the commander shouted at the male spy, looking as confused as Varian and Arianna – though with an added dash of anger – as he rounded on his comrade. “This is no time for exchanging pleasantries! Have you also gone mad tonight!? Ugh! Everyone else! If we rush them now we can take them! On my mark! All of you! Ready, ai- Gah!”

Varian’s eyes widened, and for a split second he’d thought that Queen Arianna had let fly one of her own arrows, and that Varian had somehow missed seeing it fly through the air. But as the commander fell forward, Varian realized the shocking truth.

He’d been hit from behind! By one of his own men!

“My apologies,” the male spy continued calmly as one of the larger agents came forward, slinging the limp body of the commander over his shoulder before retreating with him back behind the line of troops. “He is a rather short fuse I’m afraid, and it wouldn’t do at all to have him-”

“You…you monsters!” Arianna now cried out as she aimed her bow at the spy. “How-how could you kill one of your own like that!?”

“Hm? Oh, I see,” the male spy continued, not at all shaken by what had just transpired. “Now don’t go worrying your pretty royal head my dear. He’s merely unconscious. That would be a stun dart, not an arrow, that you would’ve seen sticking into his back.”

“But…but what about-?”

“When he wakes up? Tch! He won’t even remember the last few moments before he was hit. And when he does wake up, we’ll just tell him that you – our enemies – did it to him. Heh! Has worked several times before now, and he still doesn’t suspect a thing. Right lads?”

A series of snickers broke out from the rest of the troops at these words, and Varian and Arianna couldn’t help but exchange a fretful glance between themselves as they heard it. Had they all gone mad? And more still, if the Saporians had, did this make things easier or more dangerous for their own side?

“Enough of this!” Arianna tried again, feeling her queenly and motherly instincts for protection flare up inside of her as she once more aimed her arrow at the agent, who now seemed to have taken the lead as the commander was incapacitated. “This is your last warning! If you don’t return Xavier of Corona to our charge, we will have no choice but to attack!”

“No your majesty!” Xavier cried, but he was interrupted before he could say more.

“My dear, please, we do not want to fight,” the agent stated calmly as he put away his own weapon, and with the others all following suit. Varian and Arianna both frowned hard, neither one of them putting away their own weapons as heavy suspicion crept into both of their minds.

“Huh! Do you really expect us to believe that?” Queen Arianna retorted angrily. “You raided the forge, assaulted several of our citizens, kidnapped one of them, attempted to kidnap another, sabotaged our fleet, set fire to multiple buildings in our capital, and you still somehow expect us to believe you mean us no harm? Sorry, but we are not so foolish as that.”

“Oh, I didn’t say we didn’t mean you any harm my dear,” the agent continued to explain, both Varian and Arianna having to struggle to hide their confusion at this statement. “Mark my words your majesty, Saporia will rise again, and you, your king, and all your kindred will only be able to watch as we reclaim the land that was meant for our ancestors and their descendants.”

Varian thought this agent must either be incredibly brave, or else had a death wish like no other. Varian had never seen such steeliness in the queen’s eyes before, and it was a wonder to him that she didn’t let an arrow fly at the man here and now. But somehow, Arianna restrained herself, though her clenched jaw and furrowed brow testified to how close she was to delivering the first blow of a potential melee.

“But I do speak truly when I say that we do not want to fight. Not this night anyway.”

“Then hand Xavier over, and we can all go home,” Arianna growled through clenched teeth, the tip of her arrow glistening on the moonlight.

“Ha! Now you’re the one who is being rich, your majesty.” The male agent scoffed. “As I said before, we are currently at an impasse. And I see no reason why we should just hand the blacksmith back over to you without…some form of compensation for this action.”

“You wanna make a deal then? Well, I’ve got your deal,” Varian now made to interject before Arianna could reply again, and Arianna could feel her pulse quicken with anxiety as she wondered what Varian had in mind as he reached into his pack, letting the glowing vials drop back in, though still keeping the Demanitus steel sword pointed before him and his eyes looking forward at all times. After a second of shuffling about in his pack, Varian pulled out the book that contained the notes for creating Demanitus steel.

“Here’s the formula for creating Demanitus steel,” Varian said, not daring to glance at the looks of horror on Arianna or Xavier’s faces as he held it up for the agents to see. “The formula in exchange for Xavier. That’s my offer. Take it, or leave it.”

“NO VARIAN!” Xavier yelled. “Don’t give it to them! Not for me! My life isn’t worth endangering the lives of-!”

“Shut up you!” one of the burly agents guarding Xavier snapped at him. “Unless you want to be gagged or knocked out, you’ll shut your cakehole, see?”

Varian glared hard at the agent that yelled at Xavier, but quickly turned his attention back to their leader as he waited for his answer. He also tried to tune out Xavier’s desperate words against the action just now. Varian couldn’t afford to show any second-guessing. Not in this instance.

The male agent seemed to think hard for moment as he stroked a thoughtful hand across his goatee several times. He appeared to be genuinely considering the offer, and everyone waited with baited breath for his answer. After a moment, the agent gave a small nod. “You’ve got a deal, master alchemist.”

Varian couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of relief. “Right then,” he said as he made to step forward to make the trade, ignoring the feeling of Queen Arianna’s wide eyes on him as he moved forward. “Let’s get this over with.”

But just then, Varian was stopped as the agent raised a hand in signal for him to not come any closer.

“However,” the agent said in a tone that made Arianna and Xavier’s skin crawl, and Varian feel again on edge. “I would like to add another offer to our end of the deal, if quite agreeable to you of course.”

“Ugh, what is it?” Varian asked irritably, and tried hard not to show his growing sense of urgency, as he knew that it was only a matter of a few more minutes perhaps before Ruddiger resumed his normal, smaller form. If that happened, the impasse would no longer be held between the two sides. They didn’t have much more time, and Varian hated the idea of things stalling for too long.

Then, in response to Varian’s inquiry, the male spy brought his hand down from a “stop” signal…and instead held it out to Varian as if offering him a handshake, and his lips curled back into a smile.

“I offer for you, Varian, son of Quirin, the chance to join our ranks, to become one of our brethren, and to become part of the Separatists of Saporia.”

Varian couldn’t help but have his eyes go wide with surprise as he heard these words, and it was a whole couple seconds before he managed some sort of response. “What?” Varian asked the agent to repeat.

“I offer you a place among us, Varian,” the man repeated again, with his sister nodding enthusiastically behind him. “Join us, and be free of the shackles that is the kingdom of Corona!”

Arianna now began to feel her blood run cold, and she was forced to finally lower her bow a little as her arms began to shake, and her heart rate spiked in her chest. Arianna looked over at Varian, and though his expression was still stunned, and his eyebrows knit together in hard thought, she also detected a slight softening in his eyes as the man’s words began to sink in – their vocabulary obviously chosen very deliberately for Varian’s situation. And this was the final horror that made Arianna’s heart falter the most, as she detected the slightest lowering of Varian’s sword in response.

…He was actually considering it!

Xavier also detected this change in Varian’s countenance, and shook his head, trying to deny it, but not being able to do so honestly. “NO VARIAN, DON’T!” Xavier tried shouting again. “Don’t listen to him! He’s only trying to- mmpphfff!”

“I told you to keep quiet!” the burly agent standing next to him hissed as put a gag on Xavier.

“Hey! Leave him alone!” Varian yelled, his sword rising back up a few inches as he was momentarily snapped out of his thoughts at the sight of his mentor being handled so roughly. But before Varian could say any more to the effect, the male agent continued to speak.

“Steady on now my boy, we won’t hurt him. I give you my word that whatever you decide tonight, the old man will be free to go once our negotiations are complete. But again, I ask you Varian, will you not join us in our campaign against Corona? It is no secret to us that the king has held you prisoner these last several months. And for what? For you taking measures that were only called for because he couldn’t do his job properly, and left his kingdom and its citizens to crumble in the cataclysm that had been unleashed by the mysterious black rocks? What sort of a king is that who would abandon his people in their time of need? But we Saporians aim to fix that – to make a new kingdom that will care about its citizens, and not let the elite hide away in their towers while everyone else must suffer. I’m sure it is no slip of fate that we are meeting here now, and the king and his guards are nowhere near here. Would you really be such a fool as to let this opportunity of escape from their tyranny pass you by? To join forces with us, and get the justice you’ve waited so long for?”

…Varian’s own heart was beating loud in his ears now, a whole storm of emotions was beginning to rage inside of him, and his thoughts were flying thick and fast across his mind and his heart. It was a real strain to try to keep his expression somewhat neutral as the seconds ticked on by.

…It felt as if a layer of his old wounds was being reopened again, the man’s tempting offer pulling at the gauze that had been applied there over the last several months…

…Varian’s sword point lowered a little more.

“Varian-!” Arianna tried to interject at his side, hoping that somehow she would know what to say to him, and realizing how terribly the situation was suddenly turning against them. But the man interrupted her again.

“Besides, what have any of these people ever done for you that you should continue to serve them, eh?” he said. “What have they ever done to make up for what happened to you and to Old Corona? Are you not still waiting for recompense, or even a simple apology? Are they still not inhabiting their lofty towers, and coming down only when one of their own is in trouble? When one is deemed worthy of their time and attention? Did they not attack you those months ago and lead you away prisoner from your own home? A home you were left alone to defend because of their neglect? Where is the justice in all that?”

Varian’s sword lowered even further, his eyebrows scrunching together hard.

Arianna’s brain was working rapidly, trying desperately to come up with something – anything! – to say that would steer Varian away from disaster, but she couldn’t think of what to say. Behind the two of them, Ruddiger gave a small whimper as he could detect the distress whirring within the two of them, and also inside Xavier as he continued to struggle against the gag and his bindings that held him back tight.

Varian now moved to tuck the book of Demantius steel loosely into his pouch as he made to grasp his sword with two hands, for he looked as if the sword had suddenly felt too heavy for him to hold up with just one. It all felt so heavy – everything. And Varian wasn’t sure he could bear it anymore! Hardly even thinking about it, Varian found himself taking deep breathes again as Xavier had taught him, trying hard to keep himself together, feeling as if he was coming near to a metaphorical precipice, and trying to decide whether or not he should take the plunge right off it.

“And why not?” he couldn’t help but think to himself, his sword beginning to lower again. “He is right after all. You’ve never even gotten a single apology from any of the royals in this whole thing! They never even tried to-!”

[“Varian, I’m SO sorry, I didn’t mean-”]

“Pfft! Yeah, and a fat lot of good those stupid words did you! It’s not like Rapunzel actually came down from her ivory tower and actually did anything for you anyway. None of them came down to help you for anythi-”

[“I’m coming with you…You need me to do this.”]

“Oh…Well…Y-yes, the queen is here. True. She did do that. B-but she only did that because of Xavier remember? He’s really the only reason why she’s out here at all. Not you. That would be the ‘one of their own’ bit, remember? Xavier counts, but you don’t. Not like that. Not to them. You never have. You’ve always just been the child menace, the dangerous alchemist. You weren’t ever worthy of their time and attention. Not in their eyes. You’ve only been a means to an end for them really, when they actually did need your talents. Even when Rapunzel first sought you out, it was only for what you could do for her. I mean, who would even want to bother to go out of their own way for you and-”

[“I want you to be my apprentice.”]

“Ah…um…yeah, there is that isn’t there. …ALL of that...”

[“…You didn’t have to do all this for me. Really. But you did...”]

And…a-and it was with his help you got the sword in the first place, right? To free Dad? And Friedborg helping you with Latin? And Pete and Stan? You were glad Stan wasn’t dead after he took that dart in the raid, remember? As he was trying to protect everyone? And you didn’t like decking Pete like that either yesterday. They aren’t…bad guys, are they? Not really. And the Captain? Well…Not sure about him honestly, but he was worried about you when it looked like you may have been sick. Or when you had that night terror. There’s no doubt it would come to blows with them again if you joined the Separatists to fight them. Those guys would definitely die before they saw Corona overrun.

“…Would I really want to fight them again? See them get hurt? Would that even be justice?

[“You could go on being their enemy. Though – if I may be so bold as to point out – you have tried that already. Has it really been all that you wanted?”]

“But…don’t I deserve justice!? Don’t I want to see justice!?

“…What is justice?”

“What is justice?”

The words left Varian’s mouth before he could even think to stop himself, and all eyes stared at him in response.

“Hm? Sorry, what?” the man asked him, apparently thrown by Varian’s response with a question of his own, and his sword tip halted in its descent.

“W-what is justice?” Varian repeated, the question hanging in the air for a moment, sounding like a large, strange, rhetorical statement.

“What is- ? What kind of a question is that!?” the man’s sister now spoke up. “Pfft! Boy, those Coronians really did do a number on your brains didn’t they?”

“Please sister,” her brother scolded her. “No need to be rude to our newest recruit.”

“Hey, I haven’t agreed to anything yet!” Varian said back, trying hard to ignore the cringe that flashed across the queen’s face as he said “yet”. “And-and you didn’t answer my question. What is justice?”

“Duh! Everyone knows that, little brother!” the lady agent replied. “It’s people getting what’s coming to ‘em, that’s what! It’s kicking bad guys’ butts, really sockin’ it to ‘em, and making sure they don’t cause trouble anymore for the good folk. It’s dishin’ out just desserts to the elite, making sure they aren’t holding back what’s rightfully someone else’s, and making sure the cosmic scales are equal my friend. You screw it up, you gotta face the music. You do wrong, and you gotta pay the price!”

“…Dad didn’t think so.” Varian said softly, and earning looks of surprise from everyone as he uttered those words.

[“…It would’ve been me you know…It should’ve been me. But Dad pushed me right out of the way before it happened, and now…”]

“If…if we all got what we deserve,” Varian continued, his voice shaky, and his knuckles turning white underneath his gloves as he gripped the handle of the sword harder, “If we all have to face what we did, I…I wouldn’t even be here right now. But Dad, he…he…”

It was all that Varian could do to hold back his tears again, though he felt as if he had no strength left to resist as Arianna slowly approached and placed a hand tentatively on his shoulder. She was very uncertain as she attempted this action. She didn’t know if it would infuriate Varian, or if he would just shrug her off in indignation. But he didn’t do either of those things. Instead, he just stood there, staring blankly down at his sword as the moonlight glinted off of it, seeming to be barely aware of Arianna’s touch.

“So, you’re saying you’re fine with everyone who wronged you getting off scot-free, is that it?” the man questioned harshly.

“NO! I don’t mean that! I mean…” Varian stammered. “I- I…I don’t…I don’t know. I don’t know what I want!”

“It appears things are even worse than I thought,” the man said, pinching the bridge of his nose as both Varian and Arianna looking up sharply at him. “They’ve made you both spineless and heartless. Figures. That’s what they do to everyone who listens to them. Tell me, boy, why are you here now and not in Old Corona trying to free your father at this very hour?”

Varian’s blood simultaneously ran cold and boiled as he listened to these words. “Wh-what do you mean?” Varian asked tersely.

“Just seems strange to me,” the man continued on with a casual shrug. “If you love your father as much as you claim to, why did you not make all haste to Old Corona when you had the chance instead of coming here to rescue an old man you’ve known for but a couple of months?”

“HOW DARE YOU!?” Arianna shouted, lifting her hand from Varian’s shoulder and setting it to her bow again, standing so that she was now between Varian and the Saporian agent with Varian having to look over her shoulder to see what was happening. “You have no right to say such things to him!”

“Perhaps you are right about that, your majesty” the Saporian agent replied calmly, crossing his arms in front of him. “But I suppose it’s only natural for someone to feel concerned when they see someone get so brainwashed as to neglect the wellbeing of his own kindred in favor of those whose only kind deed to him was to give him tea and cookies for a few weeks.”

“A whole lot you care!” Varian now growled from behind Arianna, though still feeling a cold jab of doubt as the thought began to sink in further, cutting into his tender wounds like a cold, steel knife. “B-besides, Old Corona is under tight guard. If I had gone alone, I-I would never have been able to-”

“Oh, don’t try to give that excuse boy. If you were confident enough to believe you could take on us with your brains and bag of tricks, surely you would’ve been able to get through the guards at Old Corona and to your father without any trouble. But why didn’t you? I’ll tell you why. It was because you’d barely even thought of that being an option up until now, haven’t you? Your captors have got you so on their lead and into their way of thinking that you can’t even think for yourself anymore. And what would your father think if he knew? What would he think if he knew you had the means to free him, but you didn’t? How disgraceful! Instead of saving him, you went running in a totally different direction, leaving him longer to die because you-”

But the agent had said too much this time, and the scales tipped rapidly in the other direction.

“YOU SHUT UP!” Varian now cried, pushing passed Arianna (now standing side-by-side with her again) and pointing his sword hard at the agent. “What do you know anyway, huh!? You don’t know my dad! You don’t know anything! He…” Varian swallowed hard, remembering again that feeling of his father shoving him out of the way as the amber crystals shot out towards him, and the way he’d looked at Varian as he told him to stand back as they encased his form.

“…He wouldn’t have wanted me to abandon Xavier!” Varian continued boldly, aware now that for the first time since Dad’s encasement, he was actually considering what Dad would’ve really wanted of him – remembering back to his dad being a village leader, of being selfless, of being a hero. “If he w-were here, he’d probably have come himself. And-and it’s not like you’re any better than everyone else you know! I would’ve already been to Old Corona and have tried freeing him by now if you hadn’t attacked, taken Xavier, and ruined everything!” Varian now couldn’t stop the tears as they streamed down his cheeks at the thought, but he didn’t stop yelling as he felt them fall. “You don’t care. You just want to use me too like everyone else, don’t you!? How do I know I won’t be the next one you stab in the back once I’m useless to you!?”

Here, a couple of the agents tried to shift themselves in front of the unconscious body of the commander. Varian quickly swiped a hand across his face to clear his vision.

“I refuse to be played by you anymore, and I’m done talking. I don’t know what I gotta do for justice, but I know it’s gonna be nothing to do with you. I…I have others who can help me with that.” Here Varian risked a quick glance at Xavier before fixing his eyes back on the male agent. “Now, hand over Xavier like we agreed, and I’ll give you the formula. We’re done here.”

Arianna was just about as stunned at Varian’s whole outburst as everyone else. It had been clear that Varian had found the offer of joining a rebel faction and enacting justice on Corona to be very tempting, and Arianna was certain that if he had been presented with the offer not too long ago, he wouldn’t have thought twice about taking it. But now? Well…apparently, things were different now, and Arianna would be sure to have a long talk with Frederic about it once they got back home.

Taking her own steadying breath, Arianna now made to step forward. “This really will be your last chance. Hand over Xavier, now.”

Here, the male agent only let out a long sigh through his nose, eyes shut, appearing to be holding in an outburst of temper. But finally, a small smile crept its way back onto his face, and he looked back up again to face the queen, Varian, and Ruddiger, all waiting for his response.

“I am sorry boy,” he began again. “But I’m afraid the formula on its own would be useless to us for some time before we could understand it, and we cannot pass up the opportunity of having our own master weapons manufacturer and Corona’s own lady queen as our prisoners.” The male agent now shouted over his shoulder to the others. “To the ready now, all of you!”

At this, all the agents now unsheathed and held up their weapons again, and Arianna and Varian both started back in alarm, with Ruddiger letting off a loud growl from behind them.

“What!? But you said-!” Arianna gasped as she held out an arm protectively in front of Varian.

“Oh please, this is war your majesty! Did you honestly expect us to back down nicely? And dear boy, I am sorry about this. Truly. We had hoped you would see obvious sense and come to our side willingly, but it appears you’ve spent too much time in the enemy’s camp. But don’t worry. You’ll come round soon enough once we put you to work in our campaign. Oh, and your attack animal? I do know that he only has so much time before he turns defenseless again. I knew if I couldn’t convince you to join us, I could at least stall for time and strengthen our odds of winning a fight. I’d suspect he has about a minute left before he turns back again, wouldn’t you say?”

Varian clenched his teeth hard, and his blood boiled within him. “You…you SCUMBAG!” Varian shouted, infuriated at being toyed with and outsmarted by the man, and feeling personally violated at having his emotions and motives being used for that purpose so insensitively like that.

“I am sorry. But you played your own cards well Varian. I’m impressed. It was truly a delight to have you as an opponent. But no more. All of you! Attack!”

“NOW!” Varian shouted his own command as he quickly swiped a handful of vials from his pack, chucking them hard forward as Arianna also let fly an arrow from her bow, and Ruddiger dashed forward with a great, loud roar of rage.

The battle had begun, and there was no turning back now.

For those of you who caught it, congratulations! Sabine's Safe House was largely inspired by Howl's Moving Castle! Other details about her house (and her magic) will be further explored later on in following chapters, so stay tuned!

Some of the dialogue in this chapter was also inspired by the song "Where is the Justice?" from the Death Note musical (sung by Jeremy Jordan, Varian's English voice actor!), and from the confrontation scene between Diggory and Queen Jadis from 'The Magician's Nephew' by C. S. Lewis. (Hopefully the idea of his characters' dialogue influencing fan fiction isn't causing Mr. Lewis to spin too much in his grave, and hopefully I "did it justice". :D ...I'll see myself out.)

"Where is the Justice?" song (Warning for younger readers: some mild profanity in the lyrics) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL2f44geLz4

#tts #rta #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #fan fiction #gauze in the wound #long post #varian #xavier the blacksmith #queen arianna #ruddiger #rudiger #battle!ruddiger #beast!ruddiger #the separatists of saporia

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friendshipcampaign · 7 years

Text

Session Recap 9/16/17

In the cave on the mountain, Rooster noticed the beam of light shooting up from the castle. Simultaneously, she heard Aidther gasp from behind her in the cavern, causing her to turn around and see that Bramble had awoken. The girl quickly went to embrace her sister, once she’d gotten her bearings and Rooster explained what had happened. Rooster then told everyone else in the cave to stay put and stay hidden, handing Bramble a crowbar to defend herself with, and started heading down the mountain in search of the others.

In the castle dungeons, Sister Calma began her interrogation of Ditto, asking who she was working for and why she had meddled with the forces contained in the tower. Ditto managed to somewhat turn the tables on her, saying she’d only give her information if she could prove that she could trust her, because as things stood, Sister Calma had made biased and hurtful decisions (particularly, the fact that she had used Stelly as a scapegoat). As Ditto pressed for information on what was going on, Calma explained she was surprised the light and portals hadn’t already wreaked havoc on Soreth, telling the story of another town that she’d been in at one point in time that had been destroyed when a portal opened up in it and unleashed a Balor. Sister Calma pushed back, again looking for information from Ditto, and Ditto responded by laying out some of the reasons Sister Calma shouldn’t trust Lord Edward so blindly, and told her that she should go up to check on the “ill” Lady Coila. When she did so and saw that the lady wasn’t present, she demanded to know what had happened to her, but didn’t quite seem to accept that she’d been lied to. Eventually, she left the dungeons and told a nearby guard to let her know when Ditto was willing to cooperate.

Once Ditto was alone in her cell, the previously-invisible Nighttooth manifested inside. They were a bit snarky about the “tour” they were getting, but Ditto ultimately persuaded them to deliver a message to the rest of the party about what had happened, telling Nighttooth about the cave in the mountains. The imp flew off to find them.

Rooster ran into everyone else on her way down the mountain and asked them if they’d seen Ditto; she explained what had happened at the castle and when the others responded that they hadn’t, everyone realized something must have happened to her. When Rooster accidentally let slip that they were still in contact with Erwyn, she asked Lady Coila if she knew where they could find a diamond for the resurrection ritual. Coila offered her her wedding ring, which she clearly attached no sentimentality to. With the lady anxious to see her girls, everyone headed up the mountain.

There was a joyful reunion between Lady Coila, Rose, and Bramble at the cave. Voski pulled Tavra aside, asking her what she thought of the light shooting up from the castle and inquiring if there was another location everyone could move to should their location in the cave be compromised.

Kriv went over to Lady Coila to ask her what she knew about what was going on, and the lady launched into an explanation of her side of the story. It came to light that she was Lord Edward’s third wife, and the deaths of his first two were suspicious in light of how his attitude towards her had changed when she bore no children. She described the gryphon-creature the party was now familiar with coming to her and telling her to eat a flower growing in the center of the castle courtyard. She didn’t listen to the warning to only eat one, and when she found two there she ate both -- the source of her two girls. She also revealed that Rose had actually been born a dragon, and it was Edie’s magic, enhanced by the magic in the center of the castle courtyard, that had kept her hidden as a human with a polymorph spell. With this revealed, Edie was able to un-dragon Rose, though it seemed like she would retain the ability to change between her two forms at will.

At this point, Nighttooth showed up and informed everyone what had happened to Ditto. When the imp explained that it had come from the Nine Hells, specifically a portal that Ditto had opened, Erwyn in particular was very alarmed, and mentioned the fact that portals can sometimes spontaneously open due to high concentrations of magic. Everyone discussed how they were going to rescue Ditto briefly, eventually deciding to send Nighttooth back to get more information.

As Nighttooth turned invisible and flew off, Kriv failed to notice as the imp slipped the ring of mind-shielding off his hand and took it with it. Voski cast locate object in an attempt to find the ring and they noted it was headed in the direction of the castle, but aside from Rooster drawing her crossbow to wait for the imp’s possible return, no one felt there was anything they could do.

In the air, Erwyn spoke up and tried to bargain with the imp, offering up the diamond they’d been planning on using for his resurrection ritual, but the imp seemed to have something more in mind. It flew on and back into the castle dungeons, where it told Ditto what the party wanted to hear from her -- remaining invisible so as not to reveal the ring.

Not trusting the imp entirely, Ditto wrote down the answers to their questions on a piece of paper, which she then rolled up and handed to the imp, saying to return it to them without reading. The imp refused to promise this. Ditto offered to bargain with it, saying she could do something magic for it once she was free, but the imp started goading her to do it within the castle walls. After this had gone on for some time, Erwyn, growing desperate, used Minor Illusion to make the word “HELP” appear in mid-air. This alerted Ditto that something was up, and she offered the imp a magic ring from her parents -- upon which the imp revealed that it had seen what she was writing and was asking for something magic because it wanted her to open another portal to the Nine Hells and let loose its friends, opening the door to the cell as it did so to let her into the courtyard. The imp then blinked briefly into visibility, and Ditto recognized the ring of mind-shielding, and Nighttooth threatened to fly off with the ring forever if she didn’t go into the courtyard and cast spells to open another portal. Erwyn then cast another Minor Illusion that read “DON’T DO IT” -- in the process alerting Ditto to where the imp was and allowing her to grab its tail. She was successful in snatching the ring from its arm. After that, Nighttooth vanished.

Given her experience with magic earlier, Ditto asked Erwyn if he’d felt anything different when he cast his Minor Illusions, which lead him to confide that usually they didn’t work that well. The two of them set about planning their escape -- because it turned out that Nighttooth had left the door ajar. Ditto snuck out and used her forest gnome ability to speak with small beasts to ask some rats about directions up to the courtyard. But Erwyn then suggested that they get out through the secret tunnel that lead through the field outside the castle, suggesting that he could cast another illusion to distract a guard over there for them to sneak past (since his magic didn’t seem to be activating the same response that Ditto’s had).

They tried this stunt and managed to make it down the corridor under the castle that held all the doors to the different abandoned rooms, and as Ditto rounded the corner she was startled by Daisy, who had been coming down there to rescue her. Daisy ran off to get something to carry Ditto out in, and Ditto dashed into one of the rooms. Light was now shining through cracks in the walls, and when she peered through them she saw the floor that had contained all the mirrors, where the light was expanding in a rolling, boiling mass.

Daisy returned with her laundry basket and carried Ditto out of the dungeons and up into the castle, where she lead her to a back wall with a window. Ditto, very hesitantly, tried to cast Misty Step to escape the castle, but ended up casting Dimension Door. From outside the castle where she teleported to, she and Erwyn could see a massive portal open inside the beam of light and a ship shaped like a nautilus shell come crashing through into the castle courtyard.

#session recap

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diddlesanddoodles · 8 years

Text

DEAD WALLS RISE

DUMPLING SIDE STORY

Warning: Angsty Kings, snarky weepy orphans, and pipe smoking. And a bunch of dead people. Lots of context and back story to Dumpling.

pt.1

The chill in the air was a welcomed feeling across the nape of his neck and the hefty weight of the crossbow in his hands grounded him in the moment. The fog was thick and the previous night’s rain left the ground swollen and muddy. A piss poor time for a hunt. Any tracks would be washed away. However, bringing down a beast was not entirely the reason why he and his man were out in moors. No, he needed to clear his mind. He needed a peaceful place to sort through the chaos of the previous week and to come to terms with the impossible that had come to pass.

He was King now.

He was never meant to be King. Thadeus was suppose to take the thrown after their father. Strong willed, talented at sword and bow, and possessing all the charms and intellect needed to thrive as a ruler. But he was dead now. As was Druden, Baelen, and Mourin. His brothers. His dear, beloved brothers. All dead. Fallen in battle and bringing with their deaths great glory to their house.

Or so people told him.

But where was the glory in a merciless genocide? His brothers had picked up the mantle of war when their father called for every Silvaaran to die. For killing Thadeus. They sold their virtuous and kindhearted natures for blood lust and vengeance against a people who could not truly defend themselves against the Vhasshalan armies. A people who may very well be completely innocent of the accusations of regicide. No one who knew what truly transpired that day was alive to tell the tale. All that was known was that the Vhasshalan crowned Prince was found dead with several Silvaaran soldiers strewn about. Some in pieces. There had been a battle, of that there was no doubt. A battle for which no one seemed to have won.

War was declared. Blood retribution demanded.

One Silvaaran soldier against one Vhasshalan soldier was no fight. It was a slaughter. There were not enough mages or talented magic users left in Silvaara to make much difference against the sheer might and size, both body and number, of Vhasshal. Silvaara never stood a chance. Silvaarans were human after all. Small and frail bodied, a fraction of the size of a Vhasshalan. A full grown human male would only just reach the height of a Vhasshalan’s knee. But they could be courageous and strong with the proper leadership. Of which they had and more in their King, A man named Haeral. During peacetime, the human King had been a highly respected monarch, known for his brilliant tactical prowess and wisdom and descended from the single oldest bloodline of any kingdom. How terrible that it should have been struck down so uselessly.

The War of Blood and Fire had been a terrible one.

It left Silvaara destroyed. Its King dead. His family slaughtered. Most of them had been children, no threat at all. But it was their blood that made them a target. By no fault of their own. By the mere fact of being born Silvaaran royalty. His father, so named The Blood King, had done it himself. Crushed their little bodies one by one. Their blood colored the stone floor of the great hall, bathing everything in horrible red.

“The blood of my sons’ shall be repaid by the flesh of yours,” his father told the mortally wounded human King as he lay on the cold ground, gasping for air and weeping for mercy. For his children and scores of grandchildren. But the Blood King’s rage demanded satisfaction. “You will die drowning in their screams...”

And he did.

It was that single greatest act of cruelty of the war. And that act would doom his father to his fate. The war had been going on for too long. It was turning their people into monsters and not entirely through their own choice. Two years of failed crops. The people were starving and so much of their resources went to aide in the war. So why then would a desperate farmer allow his family to starve when he could go set traps or he and several others go and raid a Silvaaran refugee caravan? They would have fresh meat for weeks and their King’s praise. It use to be normal for Vhasshalans to prey upon human beings, thousands of years ago. His father had resurrected the practice.

But there was something deeply wrong with what was happening. It needed to stop. Thadeus had been avenged ten fold. His other brothers had fallen through their own foolishness. The war had to end or they would all drown in it.

So the last Prince orchestrated his own father’s murder.

There was no sense in hiding behind words. He had his father killed. He was a murderer. He alone was guilty of regicide. For the good of his people, he told himself. Some people cheered the Blood King’s death, the end of the war, and there was a celebration. There were a few who resisted the take over and fought back, but it was for naught. They won in the end. But the Prince who would be King was heavy with grief. His family was now dead. Every last one of them. Even his eldest sister, married off to the Prince of a distant kingdom years ago, has passed away. Not from war, but sickness. Struck with the red reap as she labored to bring into the world a new life. She and the tiny prince passed quickly. And now he was truly alone. Too young to feel so old. World wary before the true work had even begun. He had never been groomed for the role of King. How could he take the wastes of his lands and give his people back a Kingdom?

His first act as King had been a goodwill gesture. The few Silvaarans that had been awaiting execution in the dungeon were released and turned out into the wilds to try and find any scrap left of their lives. Only one requested to remain, much to the surprise of many, including the new King. But he allowed it. The human was an old man, but not without worth. He had been captured because of his previous role as the head archivist of Silvaara. It was his knowledge of the inner workings of Silvaara that allowed his father to plan the attack on their castle keep. To kill the human King. His children. And their children. The elderly man had requested he be allowed to record and archive for the new Vhasshal King. To hide away in shame and grief amongst books and ink.

The human reminded the king so much of the magician. The one found chained in the tower. Both were men of knowledge, now worn down and wounded by the horrors of war and the terrible things their knowledge and skill wrought. The king made a mental note to introduce the pair.

“History is worth writing down as it happens,” the old man told the freshly named King. “I have dedicated my life to the art. History is all we leave our children once we’re dust. Best they have a proper grasp of it. Even the secrets we dearly wish to hide. Most importantly those. The ballads and poems that will be written of these times will not tell the truth. And what else is there but the truth?”

What else is there but the truth? The truth was the once great kingdom of Silvaara was gone. Their King was dead as was the deep roots of his bloodline. The famed Fire of Silvaara had been doused, the flower crushed. And it was only through one more murder that Vhasshal was kept from joining them in oblivion. His people were calling him the Gold King. After some words an old invalid spouted in the throws of some madness. Prophecies were worthless and dangerous. Gold King indeed. Perhaps the Tin King would have been more apt.

Vhasshal was penniless and struggling. A mild winter was the only reason the people were not starving. The harvest season lasted longer this year. Paltry stores of grains and the over abundance of freshwater eels was enough to keep the kingdom holding on.

Spring could not come fast enough.

“You look lost in there, Sire,” said his man, a ranger in dressed in a blue coat, as he tapped a finger against his temple. The ranger’s fierce green eyes focused on the young monarch before offering out a small leather pouch to him, pulled forth from an inner pocket of his long coat.

The King raised an eyebrow.

“Won’t the smell alert any game to our presence?” he asked the man who just shrugged in response.

“We both know we ain’t out here to hunt.”

Keral always was overly observant. He was truly wasted in the ranks of the rangers.

“Fair enough, my friend. Fair enough,” the King replied and took the pouch, reaching into his own coat and pulling out his favorite pipe. It had been a gift from Baelen, a few weeks prior to his death. His brother had been a bit of a snob when it came to smoking. It had always annoyed him when he was younger, but now he longed for just one more long conversation of the virtues of Ibronian tobacco.

Pressing a pinch of the shredded material into the bowl, he stuffed it down before striking a match to light it. After a moment, he was puffing at the end of the piece, his mouth around the familiar feel of whale bone. He breathed out a cloud of fragrant smoke and watched it join the vast expanse of fog. “How the fuck am I going to fix this mess, Keral?”

Puffing on his own pipe, the blue clad ranger shrugged, scratching his chin.

“No fixing this shit,” the ranger replied bluntly, slipping the pouch back into his satchel rather than his pocket. “My advice? Don’t even try.”

The ranger received an incredulous glare in response.

“What I mean is this: Don’t waste your time and energy and everyone else’s trying to find what was lost. The old Vhasshal is gone. Move on. Build on the bones of the old. Make somethin’ better than what was before and let the dead be. Be better than your father and the shit he left you and the rest a’ us.”

“And just abandon all that we were? All our history?”

“History doesn’t move, lad. The present does. All that we once were is still there, gatherin’ dust and mold in them old tomes and in our minds. Looks pretty rosey from up here, sure, but it’s not real. Not anymore. It’s not who we are now. Who you are now. Or who you’ll become if, y’know... ya don’t end up drowning in all the shit.”

“That’s why I got you, right?” the King smiled weakly.

“Aye, s’why ya got me,” Keral replied, returning the weak smile with a grim one. “Got to make sure the Gold King lives up to the name, eh?”

The King growled. How he hated the name being forced onto him. “I’m going to murder that old moldy git if I ever find him.”

“What? Don’t care fer having grand prophecies about ya being thrown around?”

“Not when they saddle me with stupid titles.”

“I thought it was rather regal soundin’.”

“You would.”

“Oh come now, what better way to start a dynasty on the right foot than with a good ol’ prophecy? Gives people hope and all that bullshit.”

“There are plenty of prophecies that never come true. Words are cheap, anyone can spout that nonsense,” he replied bitterly. After a moment, he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Gods...I was never meant to be here, Keral...”

“Hm. I’m sure that’s what Thadeus thought right before those little bastards gutted ‘im,” Keral replied, taking a deep draw of his own pipe. “Words are cheap for a reason, Warren. But cheap’s what I got.”

Keral was the only person to ever actually call him by his name anymore. The ranger was the closest thing to a true friend the new King had and one he sorely needed. He was more blunt and direct and real than any royal advisers. Those same advisers who had promoted and paraded his father’s path to genocide. Keral had been in the running for Captain of the Guard. But at the outset of the war, he declined. Instead, taking a minor and almost insulting role as a ranger, effectively undoing years of ladder climbing and work.

“Good, because Gods know I haven’t the coin to afford anything else. War is expensive,” Warren quipped, the ghost of a smile on his lips. After a long pause, he said, “I’m gonna dismiss the war council.”

“Aye. No need for a council with no war,” Keral replied. “They might be expecting some sort of promotion, though. Fer their years of good service and the like.”

“They’ll be stripped of their titles,” Warren replied, anger seeping in. “And sent away. If they want to keep their heads, that is. They’ll poison any reforms I attempt. They’re already angry with me for allowing Barnaby to live, let alone stay in the castle. I’ve already posted guards around the poor man, just to make sure they don’t try anything foolish.”

His proclamation would have met with disbelief by anyone else. They would have tried to tell him he was being cruel. The advisers were only doing their job, after all. Advising. They were high born men of great titles and strong bloodlines. Dependable men of the great Vhasshal court. But not Keral. The ranger’s face broke out into a grim smile, his brow narrowed.

“Let the fuckers burn,” he sneered. “I lost a lot of good friends to their fucked up ideas. Noticed non of ‘em sent their sons or friends to war.”

“Their focus should have been to reign in my Father’s anger when the war turned to slaughter,” the King said. “They could have stopped so much death. My brothers might be alive. The northern campaign was their idea. They designed the whole thing. Even having the gall to call it a campaign instead of the genocide it was.”

“No use wishing fer things that never were,” Keral added, stepping ahead into the damp grass. “They had their own selfish reasons and they used the blood of our kin, mine and yours, to do it. I don’t see them being missed by anyone worth keeping around.”

Together, the two old friends walked further into to depths of the moors, letting the fog curl around them, not longer under the guise of a hunt. They just walked. Reveling in a single pleasure that only a few days ago would have been impossible. For a few hours, they could pretend that all was well. But it was a facade that would not last.

It was close to an hour of walking when they came across the first body.

It was a human, a young woman. She’d been dead for a few hours at least. Her eyes were open wide, her last moments of terror forever frozen.

“Curious,” Keral remarked, crouched over the small being, sweeping her hair back from her eyes carefully with one finger. Her eyes were a dull blue and her hair dark brown, almost black. Silvaaran, but not a noblewoman. A peasant. “No blood. No wounds. Don’t look like she was crushed or nothin’.”

“Let’s move on,” Warren replied quietly as though afraid to disturb the dead woman’s forever sleep. “I have a feeling she’s not the only one out here.”

Sure enough, there were more. Many more.

Gathered around a small pond was a group of humans, all of them dead. Their ragged clothes decried their lot in life. Peasants, poor villagers. All of their eyes were a dull blue, their hair almost black. Fleeing the ruins of the Silvaaran countryside in all likelihood. Their worldly possessions were strewn about them. Men were curled up with their wives, small children pressed to their mother’s breasts. It was a sad sight. A grim reminder of the reach of a powerful man’s rage even after death.

“Poisoned,” Warren said, gesturing to the small pool. Several of the small bodies were still clutching their small wooden cups.

“Aye,” Keral agreed. He looked around his feet and snarled. “Damn shame. Had I had know they were here I could have had my boys take ‘em to the border with the others weeks ago. They must’ve been hiding out in the hills.”

A noise drew their focus and they turned towards an upturned wagon just in time to see a pair of small feet disappear underneath. Keral gestured for Warren to stay still. He reached into a boot and pulled out a dagger and with careful and silent steps, slowly made his way closer, easily stepping over and around the dead, and crouching beside the overturned cart and the dead beast still shackled to it. He placed a hand on the wagon’s side and pushed it up. The wood groaned and cracked, but the only thing underneath was a few bundles of clothes and a few baskets. One of which was upside down. A perfect hiding spot for a scared little human.

Keral tipped the basket over with the push of a single finger. A small boy, dressed in clothes far too big for him, sat in the mud, looking up into Keral’s face with the same look of utter terror forever plastered on the faces of his dead fellows. However, unlike his fellows, this boy was very much alive. Before Keral could say anything, the boy was on his feet and running.

“Oi now! Just where do ya think yer goin’ my lil’lad?” Keral laughed, almost in relief, with his country accent leaking through. He dropped the wagon with a crash and reached out for the fleeing youth. Keral caught the boy easily enough, just as the little thing darted between his boots. He snagged him awkwardly in one hand with the boy’s lower half dangling over the edge of his palm. As the ranger stood back to full height, he slipped his dagger back into his boot and brought his now free hand up to support the boy’s flailing feet, cupping both hands together. The young human had curled in on himself, wrapping his arms over his head. A high pitched whimper escaped the child and Keral could feel the little body in his grip tremble. He chortled and bounced the boy lightly in his hands as a devious grin spread across his face.

“Now, what are we gonna do this one, eh?” Keral asked, bringing the boy closer to his face. “Little scrawny to be a proper snack. Might have to fatten ‘im up some first...”

“No!” cried the boy, pushing back against the ranger’s fingers and swinging one of his feet out. Keral reared his head back with just as the small muddy shoe missed his nose.

“Keral,” Warren said with a slight warning to he voice as he stepped up to his friend, but an amused smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth and he rolled his eyes. Keral never could resist a good teasing. “Don’t. The poor lad’s scared enough without worrying about your notorious appetite.”

“Ah, wasn’t gonna do nothin’,” Keral replied, still grinning, and eyeing the human with amusement. “Oi, pup. Yer not hurt, so stop yer sobbin’. What would yer Father say to see ya weeping like a wee babe?”

The human looked up with wet blue eyes, sharp, accusing, and hurt. “HE’D TELL YOU TO FUCK OFF!”

Both Vhasshalans were silent, struck dumb by the loud and, frankly, absurd reply from the human. The boy could not have been much older than seven or so. Keral broke from his stupor first, laughing loudly and the sound bounced and echoed through the quiet moors. Warren felt his face crack into a smile and then a grin wide enough to make his face hurt. The first genuine smile he had experienced in ages. Gods it felt amazing...

“Now that’s an honest answer if I ever heard one!” Keral bellowed, shifting his hands so he held the human in one hand around his chest and middle, allowing the rest of him to dangle from the gloved hand. When Keral spoke next, the amusement was gone from his tone and replaced with a more serious curiosity. “So then. Why don’t ya tell us what happened here, laddy?”

“I don’t know,” replied the boy, a pained and anguished lilt to his voice. He looked down from the giant’s grip and seeing everyone laying so deathly still, brought a fresh wave of tears. “I was asleep and when I woke up everyone was dead...”

The human’s eyes darted all around, picking out the faces of the dead, and with each one he seemed to recognize and see the people he had known. People he had loved. All dead.

“You didn’t drink from the pond?” Warren asked gently.

“No...” The human was shivering, appearing confused and desperate. His little hands clenched against Keral’s hand.

“Well, that’s good,” Keral said offhandedly. “Otherwise we’d have one more useless corpse.”

“How is any of this good?!” the boy cried, angry flaring far above the fear. He began to flail and kick with renewed vigor, tinged with desperation. “I’d rather die with my family than be eaten by a giant!”

“Hm? And who said anything about eatin’ ya?” Keral asked, frowning and poking at the boy’s dangling feet.

The boy, despite the very obvious fear, somehow managed to find enough inside himself to snark back, “You did!”

“Ah, s’pose I did say that. Didn’t mean it in actuality,” Keral shrugged and then patting his belly. “Not gonna gobble ya up, pup. Yer safe with us.”

“Liars,” mumbled the boy acidly, fat droplets falling from his cheeks. “You have no honor...you’re murderers. All of you...”

Keral frown deepened and there was a hard edge to his eyes. “Careful now, pup. Yer throwin’ around some big rocks there...”

“Murderers,” the boy spat back, a little louder, eyes defiant.

“If ya miss ya folks that much m’lad,” Keral sneered, voice low and threatening. “I might be able to oblige ya there.”

The boy blanched at the non-too-veiled threat and shrank further into the giant’s grip. The boy’s momentary bout of bravery seemed to have fled him.

“Keral, enough,” Warren said, stepping up to place a hand on the ranger’s shoulder and gestured with his other. “Hand me the boy.”

Keral surrendered the human and took a step back. Warren watched his old friend’s face, seeing with some surprise at how the small human’s words had struck something in the ranger. Keral was a man who had sacrificed so much to distance himself from the real murderers and to be called as such by one of the very people he had been, up until a week ago, essentially committing treason to help...well. It was down right insulting for the man. From the mouth of babes, as it were.

But the boy did not know Keral’s history.

He had probably fled his home like so many others in search of someplace safe. Dragging what remained of their lives with them in bundles and baskets. Meager possessions. Only to find death as they stop for a rest and something to drink. The small human’s world lay in pieces at his feet. He was alone, scared, hurt, and confused.

Warren knew those emotions all too well.

Raising the boy so he could get a proper look at him, Warren watched him squirm under the close study. The hard and defiant eyes wavered, the fear came back, and the boy struggled to meet the King’s calm and steady stare. His breath became uneven and short. He was panicking.

“Please don’t hurt me,” the boy sobbed.

“What is your name?” Warren asked calmly.

“J-Jae...” replied the boy with a voice so heavy with grief and fear that it was barely a whisper.

Keral barked a laugh. “That’s a letter, boy. Not a name.”

“That IS my name...”

“My name is Warren,” he said, ignoring Keral. When he had Jae’s full attention, he continued. “I am the new King of Vhasshal.”

Warren had expected the look of panic and the tears and the barely audible plea for mercy. The boy appeared so fragile, it seemed as though he could shatter at any moment.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Jae,” he said gently, bringing his other hand to softly pet the boy on the head. He meant it as a reassuring gesture, but Jae jerked and yelped as though he were about to be crushed. The poor thing seemed utterly perplexed by the gentle touch atop his head. “You truly have nothing to fear from us. The war is over now. Your people are free.”

“All gone. Never free,” Jae mumbled, scrubbing at his eyes. “Too much pain...”

There was a world of truth to those broken words. Far beyond the years the little human could have seen. Warren found himself smiling sadly, thinking again of his beloved brothers and of happier times.

“Aye,” he agreed. “There’s a lot of pain. Much to atone for. So much anger. Too much to say and too little of it with any real meaning.”

A notion struck him then. A curious one, a selfish one, and one that he could not shake. He remembered the old human archivists, Barnaby, who had made his home in the library. A man who had no longer had a place in the world, but had found a place in Vhasshal. A very unexpected place. Warren looked down at the little boy and felt a sickening tug at his heart.

He could see his inner self made real, materialized in the form of a lost little boy.

After a moment of heavy thought, Warren sighed deeply and brought Jae to his coat pocket. He slipped the small boy inside, ignoring the startled cry. The large breast pocket was just big enough for the boy to curl up comfortably with his head poking out the top. With one hand to his pocket to steady the human, Warren bent down to retrieve his crossbow that leaned against his boot. Straightening, he looked to Keral who was watching him with an intense gaze, puffing at his pipe.

“Let’s go home,” Warren told his friend, voice tired. “There’s a lot to do. And I need a strong drink or two.. or three. We’ll need a good plan on how to deal with the council’s dismissal tomorrow. Have some guards at the ready in case things becomes rough.”

Keral nodded and gestured towards his pocket. “And the pup?”

Warren looked down at Jae, who was peeking up from the pocket with a bewildered expression. Warren ran a finger across the boy’s head. Jae didn’t jerk back this time, only regarding Warren with a confused and pleading look. Warren smiled warmly, patting the small body in his pocket. “He’s coming too.”

The King of Vhasshal pulled his long coat around him to further help shield himself and his small charge from the lingering chill and the three made their way back.

End of part one.

This is a side story to Dumpling, taking place about nine years prior to Dumpling. Here we learn the King of Vhasshal’s actual name (Warren) and we’re introduced to little Jae and Keral (pronounced Carol). I love Keral so much. He’s sooo fun to write. As is Jae.

#DUMPLING #side story #dead walls rise #Jae #KING OF VHASSHAL #Warren #Keral #ranger #gt #g/t story #g/t #giant #tiny #orphan boy #Look at all these trauma babies

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