#or continuing to believe that it was the destiny of the Empire to conquer all | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ctrl-alt-tahu · 2 years

Text

Ctrl-Shift-Takutanuva

Takanuva stalked through the darkness--well, dimness, for you could not then call anywhere the Toa of Light stalked “dark” and came at last to a great cavern, and there, in true darkness where the Avohkii met its match, stood the titanic figure of well-built figure.

“The Makuta,” breathed Takanuva, more to himself than to the dark figure, though he continued. “You don’t look like a swirling vortex and a Matoran.”

“You don’t look like a Matoran now, either,” said the Makuta, “though you might still be a chaotic vortex of fears and insecurities.”

“I am not afraid,” said Takanuva, confidently enough, though not strictly truthfully. “I am here to fulfill my destiny: to defeat you and awaken the Great Spirit!”

“My brother shall not be awakened,” rumbled the Makuta, and the shadows about him deepened and he seemed to fill the entire space. “You cannot awaken the dead.” He paused, aware of the approach of the Toa Nuva, Turaga, and sundry Matoran. “An audience gathers for your final failure, Toa of Light. Did you summon them yourself?”

"Maybe they will not see me win today,” said Takanuva bravely, “but the matoran will go on, and someday they will triumph!”

“What is triumpt to a Matoran?” mused the Makuta. “Surely, your Mask cannot lead you actually believe I would let them return? Return to what? They will not leave a land of fertility and freedom to inhabit a dying, sunken world. Now I will protect Mata Nui from you.”

"Protect him?” Takanuva had no idea what the Makuta could mean. Wasn’t he Mata Nui’s foe, his opposite?

"Sleep spares him pain,” said the Makuta, almost quietly, almost speaking of himself. The world of Mata Nui, the world he had once thought to conquer, was gone, and whatever his Rahkshi had reported of the sunken lands beneath, it was dying. “Awake, he suffers.”

"You are not protecting him!” shouted Takanuva, in full conviction, launching himself at the Makuta, who laughed silently to himself. Of course he wasn’t protecting the Great Spirit! The Great Spirit’s domain had been cast down into the seas through his, Teridax’s, actions. It was his right to rule, to assert the will of the superior being over the minor ones, and the Cataclysm itself had not destroyed him, though it had destroyed the Matoran Empire.

The Makuta parried Takanuva’s attack easily. The Avohkii had transformed Takua’s strength and reflexes and given him weapons and skills he’d never dreamed of, but Takanuva was little more than a Matoran, so inexperienced was he, and with a single sweep of his staff, he knocked Takanuva to the ground and loomed over him, one great hand on his throat.

"My duty is to the Mask of Shadows!” he said softly. How else to tell a Toa--any Toa, but especially one transformed by a great Mask--that allegiance was ultimately only to oneself."

“Then let’s take a closer look, behind that mask!” Takanuva choked out the words, not trying to pry the Makuta’s arms off him, but tugging at the Kraahkan. His own Mask flared with power, and the Makura realised in that moment exactly what a Toa of Light was: his anti-self, not a being of greatness and diverse magics to confront him on his own turf, but a Matoran of pureness, with an elemental power distilled from those of all the Toa: energy purified beyond heat, waves beyond water, air beyond transparency, and the earth beyond solidity. Takanuva’s elemental power was reality and he had nothing beside it, but beside him the all the might, physical and mystical alike, of a Makuta had no power, but was truly shadow.

The Makuta knew in that moment that he could not achieve victory by force of arms, not though he was he was thrice Takanuva’s size, far more experienced, and pressing on his throat. Even if he choked off the life of the one who had been Takua, the Avohkii had been made, long ago, probably even during the ancient wars, specifically to render him mortal, to do what the Cataclysm had failed to do, to kill him.

But Takanuva did not know this. Probably, it was Teridax alone on the island of Mata Nui that did. He couldn’t defeat the Toa of Light, but he could suborn him.

Teridax released himself, surrendering--inviting the Avohkii to do work upon him, dissolving himself in a swirl as he had faced the Toa Mata only a few years before. Takanuva fell for it, letting his own power give chase, and they were dissolved together as the light expanded, mixing with the diffuse, swirling shadows.

The Toa Nuva arrived only a few minutes later, as the coalescing light and shadow had taken shape as one being: Teridax was completely limpid, allowing Takanuva full control, full knowledge, as shadow must give way to light, but this was his cunning, for the Toa of Light was still a Toa, an exalted Matoran, and he could not hold or comprehend all that the Makuta knew, and the flood of knowledge hid the specifics of Teridax’s plans and self.

You want to open the way to Metru Nui? Together, we can--nothing that hides below can face our conjoined might. What is Metru Nui?

Millennia of images raced through the part of Takutanuva’s mind that was still Takanuva, however grown, images of countless Matoran in a city that had been wiped from his own memories--or was it just blocked? Memories of Vakama and Jaller, escapades and adventures. There were Toa once: tall and shining and countless. Was that Vakama he saw last, flying through Ta-Metru, catching him off the very ground as the sky darkened and thundered? He clutched at Jaller, hauling him off the ground, nearly dragging Toa Vakama down before his jetpack stabilised.

“What is that?” it was the voice of Tahu Nuva, dragging Takutanuva’s attention back to the chamber below Kini Nui. Metru Nui, the thousands of forgotten memories, dragged him away from the present, but the giant being paused.

“Mata Nui…” swore Onewa.

“Light and shadow,” said Whenua. “They have become one.”

“Light has revealed the will of Mata Nui!” Teridax spoke in the joined being, easily nudging his other half in the direction he wanted: open the gate! Open the gate! Return to Metru Nui! “Our brother must be awakened.”

And with a crash of their great staff onto the ground, Takanuva’s power over the elements and the might of the Makuta opened a chasm, a hole in the floor of the chamber, a passage that went down, down below the island of Mata Nui. Not the winding crevices Teridax’s Rahkshi had scouted, but a straight passage down into the dome of Metru Nui.

Exhausted, even the great being that they were, Takutanuva sank to his knees, the Toa Nuva and others gathering around him. Exhausted, but not utterly exhausted. More was needed. Teridax noted Jaller’s Hau, still on the Ussanui

“Go!” Takutanuva commanded Macku, one of the Ta- and Ga-Matoran who had followed the Toa and Turaga. “Run! That mask...”

“Jaller’s mask!” Macku grasped his meaning, starting to run across the space, but Nuju chittered and with a twitch of his mask, yanked the golden Hau across the chamber. Takutanuva, wearily kneeling, one hand on the ground, caught it with the other.

“Needs life...”

The elements of earth and water swirled, the discarded material of the tunnel reshaping itself into mechanical parts and fleshly sinews, fire and air igniting life into the newly shaped body, and Takutanuva expended all the power he could muster to blast a beacon of light through the roof of the cavern. Outside it was night and the Red Star was overhead. Lightning cracked through the new-blasted shaft and struck the body even as Takutanuva placed the Hau on his face.

Takutanuva collapsed.

“My duty is done.”

Tahu Nuva looked down at the new-created body and saw looking up at him Jaller, Captain of the Ta-Koro Guard.

“Where is Vakama?” said Tahu in a voice of wonder, knowing the Turaga had been attending, well, Jaller’s body. “He must be told.”

“I will find him,” said Kopaka Nuva.

~*~*~*~

A few miles away, above a different hole in the dome of Metru Nui, Vakama and Hahli had just dropped Jaller’s corpse into the Cave.

#bionicle #alt-canon #alt-Mask of Light #Takutanuva #Makuta Teridax #Takanuva #Jaller?

13 notes · View notes

fic-art-blurbs · 3 years

Text

How “Lost In Thoughts All Alone” Connects To Each Route Of Three Houses

OKAY. SO RIGHT OUT THE GATE. I KNOW THIS SOUNDS MONUMENTALLY STUPID BUT HEAR ME OUT. I KNOW THERE IS 0% CHANCE OF THIS BEING INTENDED BECAUSE INTSYS IS INTSYS AND ALSO THESE ARE TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WORLDS BUT THESE VERSES ACTUALLY FIT SOMEWHAT AND IMMA TRY TO BREAK IT DOWN. FAIR WARNING THERE’S GONNA BE SO MUCH STRETCHING THAT YOU’RE GONNA THINK YOU’RE IN A YOGA CLASS.

You can listen to the song itself in its entirety here, I’ll be going by verses and talking about the routes/characters I think each fits. And I’ll be putting this under a read more because I know this is going to be long also @iturbide here’s the essay

Also spoilers

First Verse/Opening Verse - Byleth/Sothis

You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek Life beyond the shore just out of reach Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time The path is yours to climb

This one isn’t too difficult to talk about. This is the opening verse of the song, and the first verse Azura sings in Fates. This verse also plays in between almost all of the verses in the song - note I said almost. It also plays at the end of the song. This fits Byleth, and by extension Sothis rather well. Byleth is the driving force behind how each route, behind each character’s growth. They manipulate time, constantly going back in time over and over again, whether it’s to take another path, or to try and save a life. Byleth is the one with the power here, and no matter how many times they go back, no matter how they make time bend to their will, it always flows back - the “Golden Route” so many desire is always out of reach, no matter how many routes they play.

And yet no matter what, you keep going back. Byleth, though I guess at this point I’m talking about the player, is destined to continue trying to reach that happy ending, they’re destined to keep searching for a way to make that happy ending a reality.

The path is yours to climb indeed - as many choose to try and make one, unaware that the path they create is one treaded many times over.

Birthright’s Verse - Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd (Azure Moon)

In the white light, a hand reaches through A double-edged blade cuts your heart in two Waking dreams fade away, Embrace the brand-new day Sing with me a song of birthrights and love The light scatters to the sky above Dawn breaks through the gloom, white as a bone Lost in thoughts all alone

I imagine the white light being referred to here being the reunion scene, and the hand as being Byleth’s. Remember how Azure Moon’s reunion scene left Dimitri shrouded in the darkness, and Byleth in the light? The double-edged blade here could refer to Edelgard herself - he may have been happy to reunite with his step-sister, but it was the reveal of her being the Flame Emperor that “cut his heart in two”, breaking his heart and making him fall victim to his rage. His “waking dreams fading away” to “embrace the brand new day” may refer to his ghosts, how they grow quieter (not quite disappearing entirely, but fading away for now) in the wake of Rodrigue’s death and Byleth’s words finally reaching through to him.

“Sing me a song of birthrights and love” I think could refer to Dimitri’s mindset. He feels bound by his birthright as the future king of Faerghus, and the love he feels for both his family and his country. When Edelgard’s deception is revealed, a good chunk of the reason his breakdown is so bad is due to the fact she seemingly betrayed that love, betrayed the love that was shown to her by his father and her mother. He views it as her willingly betraying them and directly causing their deaths along with Glenn’s and the genocide of an entire country. He feels it is his birthright not only to right the wrongs committed by his country, but to avenge what happened to his loved ones.

The next two lines I think reflect his finally quelling his rage, no longer letting it consume him. That “white as a bone” line I can imagine talking about his path - his intentions may have been honorable at the beginning, but his path is no less gory than the one he wanted the head of.

And the final line? It describes Dimitri for a good portion of Azure Moon. He’s lost in his thoughts, all alone, pushing away his support because he believes himself unworthy.

Conquest’s Verse - Edelgard von Hresvelg (Crimson Flower)

Embrace the dark you call a home, Gaze upon an empty, white throne A legacy of lies, A familiar disguise Sing with me a song of conquest and fate The black pillar cracks beneath its weight Night breaks through the day, hard as a stone Lost in thoughts all alone

No I did NOT just pick this verse for Edelgard because of the conquest thing I PROMISE. I SWEAR THERE’S MORE TO THIS THAN JUST THE CONQUEST LINE I PROMISE

ANYWAY I imagined that first line referring to Edelgard marching home and assuming the throne. The Empire is far from a bright place, and she’s embracing it as she declares herself emperor in order to declare war on the church. The “empty white throne” line? It could mean one of two things, if not both. The first thing could be telling her to gaze upon Faerghus’s empty throne, the throne she made empty by killing her step-brother - even if she didn’t remember him being her brother. The second thing could be referring to Sothis’s empty throne, as she’s unknowingly following in the footsteps of Nemesis by killing the Goddess and her followers - first with the death of Seiros, and then the dissolution of Sothis’s crest stone (even if she didn’t directly play a part in the latter, Edelgard’s route is the only route where the crest stone disappears for good). If you stretch, you could also make it so that this refers to if you kill Claude, but the throne of Almyra wouldn’t be empty - it would just be angry and ready for war.

The next two lines could refer to the Agarthans. “A legacy of lies, a familiar disguise” could refer to Patricia and Arundel respectively. Edelgard’s mother was revealed by Cornelia to maybe having a hand in the Tragedy of Duscur and making that image of Patricia as a kind woman a lie - though this is in the Azure Moon route, so this could be handwaved. This line could instead refer to how Edelgard views Rhea and the church - they’ve passed on a “legacy of lies”, hiding the horrific truth behind the Relics and the Crests, claiming them to be gifts from the Goddess. The latter line, “a familiar disguise”, could be about Arundel. It’s revealed that Arundel is actually Thales in disguise, and Arundel is Edelgard’s uncle - someone she undoubtedly would’ve been familiar with.

“The black pillar cracks beneath its weight” could be talking about the weight of Edelgard’s war. Even if the game states that Crimson Flower had no consequences in the end, there are undoubtedly consequences scattered across the land. The newly “unified” Fodlan would be cracking under that weight, with new cracks appearing with every new rebellion, every new attack. Every instance that could tell Edelgard that perhaps declaring war so hastily might have been a mistake.

“Night breaks through the day” can very easily be equated to Edelgard’s war in conquering all of Fodlan. “Hard as a stone” would be her resolve - no matter what route you choose, Edelgard is steadfast in her belief that she is in the right. She never falters, never once wonders if she was wrong. Her only regret when you kill her in Azure Moon is wishing Byleth walked at her side - not regretting her war, regretting that Byleth was not on her side.

And of course, the final line. Edelgard is alone in her thoughts, even with Hubert seemingly knowing everything. She’s lost in her thoughts of conquest, and similar to Dimitri, vengeance. She may not be haunted by ghosts like he is, but she’s certainly haunted by her ticking clock and the deaths of her siblings as they fell in the experiments, one by one, until she stood alone. It could also refer to the ending of Crimson Flower - now that she’s won her war, what now? Stability would not come right away, and the increasing attacks and rebellions depending on certain choices could have Edelgard lost in her thoughts, perhaps wondering for the first time if she should have chosen differently.

((Fair warning, this is where most of the stretching begins - Revelations is strange in that it actually has 2 verses of its own - it has an opening to replace the “You are the ocean’s grey waves” verse, and a verse more similar to the other two routes.))

Revelation’s Verses - Claude von Riegan & Rhea/Seiros (Verdant Wind/Silver Snow)

The path you walk on belongs to destiny, just let it flow All of your joy and your pain will fall like the tide, let it flow Life is not just filled with happiness, or sorrow Even the thorn in your heart, in time it may become a rose

A burdened heart sinks into the ground A veil falls away without a sound Not day nor night, wrong nor right For truth and peace you fight Sing with me a song of silence and blood The rain falls, but can't wash away the mud Within my ancient heart dwells madness and pride Can no one hear my cry?

Again, there’s gonna be a LOT of stretching. I think that first verse might not actually be for Claude or Rhea exactly - that verse sounds a lot more like it’s meant for Byleth. Telling them to accept that they’ll not have their golden route, accept that life isn’t just happiness - but it isn’t just sorrow either. And yet Byleth persists.

The second verse though - the first half I think fits Claude more, and the second half fits Rhea more. Though you could argue those last two lines also fit Nemesis emerging from Shambala in Verdant Wind - I don’t think so, but it’s there.

Claude’s definitely got a burdened heart - he’s got so many trust issues that if you could build with them, you’d have a skyscraper. But it’s through his interactions with the Deer, and by extension Byleth, that the walls he put up to protect himself slowly fall away. The mask he put on of a carefree individual silently gets dropped, and by post timeskip, you can see that Claude trusts his Deer - and Byleth, if this is Verdant Wind - with everything. He’s the neutral route in this, he doesn’t choose to fight for either side, his fight isn’t for either side. He’s fighting to destroy the borders between lands, fighting for the truth (in that his route is the one where you learn everything), and for peace, equality. He may be the funny upside down meme to most, but he’s the only one of the three to actually fight for truth and peace, the real versions of both - you don’t get to learn the truth in Azure Moon, and in you only get to see what Edelgard believes is the truth in Crimson Flower.

Rhea’s the one who knows everything. She knows the truth behind the Relics, the Crest Stones, Crests, everything - and yet she stays silent. She stays silent, afraid that more would follow in the footsteps of Nemesis and bring more bloodshed - hence the “sing me a song of silence and blood”. The next line could refer to how no matter what she does, the darker parts of history wouldn’t be scrubbed away. Even if she did succeed in her attempts to bring back Sothis, in an attempt to wash away the dirt from their past, what then? Did she really think Sothis would welcome her back with open arms, with what she’d done to achieve her goal? And the last two lines...those are rather self-explanatory. Say what you will, for a time, Rhea did indeed go mad. She believed herself to be in the right, much like Edelgard did, and became furious when anyone said otherwise. That’s shown in her ruthless execution of those who opposed her, and her downward spiral in Crimson Flower. The final line, “can no one hear my cry?” may refer to how, even if one of her brothers and her niece were there by her side, neither knew what she had become. Neither ever knew what lengths she went to, nor did they know how much pain she was in to have driven her to madness, driven her to the belief that creating and killing at least twelve vessels in an attempt to create the perfect one for Sothis was right. Perhaps if someone had heard her cry, things would have been much different.

Interestingly, this is the only verse to not end with “lost in thoughts all alone”. If you think about it in the terms of Claude and Rhea, this may be for different reasons. Claude is remarkably well-adjusted for someone thrown into war - he gives a “power of friendship” speech during the final fight for crying out loud, if anything, he’s actually grown for the better. He’s not lost in thoughts all alone because he’s learned to actually lean on others for support. In Rhea’s case, her not being lost in her thoughts all alone would be for an entirely different reason - she isn’t lost in her thoughts. She’s not thinking clearly, but she isn’t lost like Dimitri or Edelgard. She isn’t so lost that she can’t command troops outside of “KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM”, nor does she question if she was in the wrong like Edelgard might’ve had the latter won her war at the cost of stability. To the very end, she doesn’t regret her decisions - she may not have made them with a clear mind, but she knows what she did, and she isn’t lost thinking of what might have been.

((TECHNICALLY there is one more verse, sung by Shigure in the Heirs of Fate DLC. The reason it’s not brought up? That one is much more context sensitive - the only line I can really think of fitting anywhere is “Endless dawn came but not without a price” possibly referring to the end of the war in every route, with “dawn” here referring to peace, and the price being the countless lives lost in the war. Then again, each route’s definition of “peace” is rather shaky, some more so than others, so it could refer to each individual leader’s goals being reached in their routes at the cost of a war.))

45 notes · View notes

starr-fall-knight-rise · 4 years

Text

Humans are Space Orcs, “Cowboy.”

Wanted to try something new. Aliens meet different ways of living. Was trying to really capture the small town farming feel in this one. Granted I grew up in and near places like this but was from the burbs technically, so, lol, hopefully I did it justice.

The sky over Jakar was a light violet purple.

Strings of long striated clouds cut across the sky at intervals looking like the ripples you see on the face of a sand dune. The Sun hadn’t yet risen hiding just below the distant horizon. The air around them was warm, but not tropical, rather moderate.

Standing on the loading ramp to the Harbinger and staring out over the strange moon, they could see for miles and miles onto the unbroken horizon. Under the purple sky, there were no trees or rocks, just acres and acres of evenly spaced crops gently rolling over minute hills and shallow divots in the earth. A gently wind blew up from their front rolling over the ground and bringing with it the cool moist scent of fertile dirt.

The sun inched upwards over the horizon, casting a honeyed yellow glow over an unbroken sea of green. With the engines of the ship off, and not a soul in sight, the scene before them was absolutely silent, almost surreal.

As they watched, a ripple of wind blew up from their right churning the green sea before them into a stormy sea. The plant stalks rolled in waves under the slow push of the wind, which, when it reached them, brought the subtle whisper of leaves brushing over each other.

All together, if they closed their eyes, they could almost imagine the sound of a distant sea.

Both Krill and sunny were riveted to that quiet morning in fascination.

They had never known a thing to be so beautiful, so quiet.

And even though the land was touched by man, the quiet serenity almost had them forgetting that fact.

They stood like that for many minutes, enjoying the silence until a distant sound rose up from the horizon.

Krill craned his neck and Sunny shaded her eyes.

It can in beats of four, a rhythmic thudding of…. something .

They were alerted by the dust cloud, brown tinged purple rising up from the right.

Looking a little longer,they watched as a very strange creature galloped towards them. The animal had four legs, a long snout, a thick neck, and streams of long hair flying from it’s head and rump. THe joints of its front legs faced the wrong direction.

Krill shifted back up the ramp a little ways.

The beats of the animal’s feet grew louder as it got closer, and only then was Krill able to see that, to his shock and dismay, there was a human riding astride it’s back, just casually sitting atop the one ton beast as if it was nothing bouncing up and down with the animal’s jostling movements.

He stared dumbstruck alongside Sunny as the human pulled to a stop gently tugging at the contraption which had been fixed around the animal’s head.

A familiar tawny, and black dog came chasing after her tail wagging, her ears perked.

Waffles skidded to a slow trot and began frantically sniffing through the nearby plot of plants.

Sunny and Krill stepped forward as the human, turned to look at them, restings his hands against his upper thighs as the beast lowered it’s head to sniff at the ground.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Sunny asked the commander.

“A better question is what the hell are you riding.” Krill could already tell this day was going to make him angry, “Aren't you well aware that falling off that thing could kill you, not to mention if it decided to cave your head in with its feet.”

Commander Vir pulled the patterned cloth triangle down from around his face, eyes mostly shadowed by the brim of the very dorky hat he was wearing. The shirt he had on was long sleeve and mid range blue in color with a collar, and matching jeans with a very strange set of heeled boots.

“Forgot you've never seen a horse before.”

He kicked one of his feet up over the top the back of the creature and let himself gently down onto the dirt.

The large animal turned it’s massive head, nudging him in the chest with it’s soft pink snout.

He smiled and rubbed it’s nose.

“A horse?”

“Yes, one of man’s greatest achievements.”

The horse threw its head up and down as if in agreement.

“A knobby kneed dog creature?”

“No a knobby kneed beast of burden, from the back of which humanity conquered the world. He patted it’s neck, “These guys are the reason humanity got as far as it did, at least one fo the reasons.

Krill stared at the ‘horse’ nervously staring into its wide dark eyes, sensing a hint of cunning intelligence that he did not particularly appreciate. Sunny stepped forward a bit, and the horse lifted it’s head, wide nostrils flaring menacingly.

It stepped back, and the commander held firm, “Woah, easy girl. It’s just sunny.”

The horse didn’t seem convinced, and Sunny stayed at a polite distance.

“Commander, I must insist, that beast could kick your head in if agitated.”

“Oh I know. Believe you me I know.”

The horse tossed it’s head.

“Can we get back to the important question of….. What the hell are you wearing?”

He looked down, “This, my fine friend is the historic gear of the Cowboy, and early symbol of the west, your rough and tumble man’s man who lived rough, worked hard, and is, arguably the symbol of human manifest destiny.”

“I have no idea what you just said.”

The commander sighed, “Look they were total badasses who rode horses, shot guns, and drank too much.”

“Badasses who wore heels?” Sunny wondered

“Yes, yes they were.”

“And where did you get that outfit exactly?”

He tugged at the shirt rather proudly, “My mother made it for me, you know because that is what she does for a living.”

“Do you often commission really dumb clothing from your mother.” Sunny continued to tease.

“I have an outfit for every major time period from here to to the early Byzantine empire.” He bragged, not that it meant anything.

Her continued teasing was cut off as more noises rose up from the distance, the sound of hooves and the shrill chatter of, what Sunny could only assume was the horses. A larger dust cloud was riding up this time, and as she watched, another group of human came riding down the track. At least three of them riding horseback and wearing outfits much the same as the commander now wore. Though one of them was riding on the front of a strange wooden vehicle pulled by the creatures.

And krill had thought current human technology was primitive.

The two men, and one woman came to a halt just to their side, and looking them over, Krill couldn't help but notice the strange nature of these humans, tanned dark by the sun, their skin tough and calloused, especially about the hands. Though it was early morning they were already covered in dust. One of them touched the brim of his hat upon seeing them and dismounted from his horse walking over to shake the commander’s hand.

“I’m gonna assume your Commander Vir.” He looked around, “Seeing as you’re the only human here.”

“Yes sir.”

His voice was deep, and rather slow with a sort of relaxing quality to it, though there was an edge of steel behind his voice, “Didn’t think you fancy space captains knew how to ride horses.”

“My father worked on one of the farming conglomerates when I was a boy. He made sure we knew how to ride.”

“Smart man.” The old human turned his steely brown eyes on them looking sunny and Krill up and down though he didn’t seem all that surprised. He held out a hand to sunny, “Looks like you’ve got plenty of hands to shake.”

She chirped a laugh and took his hand surprised at how strong he was, how rough his hands were.

Krill received a nod which was more than alright by him. He turned back and motioned to his companions, “Meet, Jack my son, and Liz y daughter. They volunteered to help out with our little problem.”

“Smugglers you were saying.”

“Yes. We think they are some of those Tesraki types using our fields as stop points. Wouldn’t mind it so much if they didn’t keep destroying the product. They tend to land where we plant the pink orbs-” He looked at sunny, “Think they are from your planet. A bitch to get to grow here, we have to cut the soil with imported volcanic ash to get them to grow, and every time those bastards show up we lose a yield.”

His daughter motioned at Sunny and Krill to climb up onto the strange wooden death machine with wheels. At first Krill refused, but sunny grabbed him and hauled him upwards, sitting on one of the wooden benches.

Krill reused to sit.

He could see splinters.

“They aren’t supposed to be in for another few days though.” The two men had mounted their horses and were riding side by side now as the ‘what krill learned to be a cart’ started up, rolling over the uneven ground and threatening to rattle his brains out of his head.

“Doesn’t this thing have shocks.” he moaned

The humans laughed, and the head human turned back to look at him, “Don’t need socks on a wagon…..” He paused, “This one ain’t mch for country livin’”

The commander snorted, “He isn’t much for anything new. Guess you could say he’s a big city surgeon. I don’t think his species has been without automated assistance for the past ten thousand years. But Sunny there probably gets it, her clan was mainly gatherer types.”

“Yeah, I heard about the Drev. Don’t live so differently from us all told.” beside them lines and lines of crops grew up in the distance, a never ending line broken up by nothing more than a distant building rising many stories above the fields. Massive silver constructions in cylinders with pointy tops.

“What are those?” Sunny asked, pointing.

The daughter looked “Those are silos. Once we harvest the produce, all the food goes in there for storage until we sell it.”

“So much food.” Sunny muttered

Krill didn’t like the look of them, they appeared dangerous. Up ahead of them, the dog, waffles seemed to be enjoying herself romping about over the dirt road and through the first few lines of plants her tongue lolling her ears up.

“Your Shepherd seems happy.” The man commented, “Better then being cooped up in a flying tin can.”

“Yeah , she doesn’t get to go outside much these days.”

Looking up into the distance, Krill could just make out a slow break on the horizon. They were trees as far as he could tell, which surprised him since they seemed far to big to be here, as unnatural a species as they were.

“Are those oak trees?” The Captain asked, incredulous.

“That they are, got them imported in one of those massive fraighters. Putting them in the ground was complete bullshit, but they took surprisingly well. We wanted the two to be a bit more cozy.

The closer they got to town the more people they could see. Children ran in and out of the crop lines chasing each other and laughing.

Women carried baskets with them plucking bright red berries from tall growths of plants turning to wave at them as they passed.

Horses loitered, tied up on the sides of the road next to large, elegant houses in a style Krill had never seen before.

“Wow.” The commander muttered, “This is…. Wow.”

The man smiled, “Much as I love earth, you can’t live like this any more. No more small towns. When I heard how cheep they were selling land up here for, I couldn’t resist. Worked for one of those corporations like your father, and that’s when I heard about the deal going on. Come up here, farm the land and get the property for free.” He motioned to the houses and the barns, “Built most of it with our own two hands. Machinery is a bitch to get out here, so most everything we make by ourselves.”

Krill and sunny stared on in complete fascination. The wooden buildings held together by nothing more than sharp metal spikes, still multiple stories tall and with glass windows. What little technology there was was overshadowed by just how provincial everything was. People carrying buckets of water with their own two hands, polishing boots, and sawing off planks of wood with manual blades.

And despite that, how much more difficult everything probably was, they seemed happy. The people themselves were rough, but well put together, tanned skin, and bright eyes over calloused hands and straight backed postures full of confidence and pride. As they rode past they received nothing but friendly smiles and waved greetings.

Adam was practically a pampered, prim little pretty boy in comparison to the rest, and he was a one eyed, peg legged, space captain for intents and purposes.

A pleasantly plump dark skinned woman waved at them from her porch, where she sat in a very strange looking chair, which instead of legs, had skids? And rocked when she shifted her weight. Which seemed to be the intention.

Sunny and Krill raised their hands back, not sure of what else to do.

The man at the front sighed, “Man you can’t live like this anymore, not on earth anyway.”

Commander vir was looking around with an appreciative smile, “it’s like going back in time. Dam…. it’s nice here.”

“Almost makes you want to get your feet back on solid dirt?” The man wondered

The commander laughed, “I don’t think so. Your town is great, but there is nothing like the majesty of waking up and seeing the rings of saturn outside our bedroom window, or a nebulae thousands of light years wide, or stepping out of the ship and just…. Floating weightless like nothing can hold you down ever again.”

The man shuttered, “Can’t imagine.”

“Can’t imagine but can’t forget.”

Adam’s horse tossed it’s head and he patted it on the neck.

The other human shook his head, “Cut from a different mold I guess. I’d like nothing more than an honest day’s work under the sun getting my hands dirty. None of that outer space politics.”

Adam laughed, “I suppose I forget about politics most of the time. Honestly consider myself more of an adventurer discovering new planets and new species bravely going where no man has gone before sort of thing.”

The two of them laughed together.

Krill wondered at the strangeness of humanity. Here were two men, one of them a ship captain venturing into the unknown on one of the most advanced pieces of human technology ever created flying shuttles, talking with aliens and traversing the galaxy, while there was another human a lover of dirt beneath his hands, with no desire to leave his home, or likely even go outside it’s farm’s radius, content with living the same day for the rest of his life, with the same people, building everything with his hands, living without what seemed to be the most basic of human technologies.

And here they were sitting together speaking and laughing.

Getting along despite being so different.

Because humans can just do that.

Humans understand.

#humans are insane #HUMANS ARE WERID #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #Earth is space Ausralia #earth is a deathworld

524 notes · View notes

askvectorprime · 3 years

Note

Can you tell us anything about the Nebulan Republic or the Quintesson Pan Galactic Co-Prosperity Sphere from the Malgus cluster?

Dear Political Pundit,

Though some Autobots would tell you otherwise, the Nebulan Republic is the youngest and most dynamic political union in the 22nd-century Milky Way galaxy, founded a mere one thousand years ago. Compared to the hegemonic, tightly-regulated Autobot Commonwealth, the Republic is a democratic alliance of equals where all member states receive a say in the day-to-day-running of their nation. Originally a three-way defense pact between the Nebulans of Nebulos, the Vespoids of Hive, and the Tarosians of Taros IV, this ad-hoc bargain evolved into the Treaty of Koraja: a lengthy charter of rights and freedoms that went on to shape the development of this fledgling star nation. These days, the Republic boasts twenty-five member-worlds and many more mining colonies and agri-worlds to feed trillions of mouths. Member worlds contribute a share of their resources to a combined navy and elect senators to represent their planet in the capital city of Koraja, where a billion sentients live and work within its glassy spires and towering arcologies.

Despite these advances, the Republic has not yet been able to truly unify under a single flag. Its representatives spend almost as much time squabbling with one another as they do cooperating, and more than a few fringe systems have accused the centralised Nebulan bureaucracy as the first steps toward the formation of a soft empire with Nebulos at the center. And, while the Autobots almost exclusively utilise space bridges to keep their far-flung empire together, the ships of the Republic still rely on inefficient hyperdrives—even the fastest ship in their navy would still take almost nine months to travel from Nalva to Urtusk, necessitating the construction of costly hyperspace bypasses to connect the outer systems to the core worlds.

The Quintesson Pan Galactic Co-Prosperity Sphere, on the other hand, is exceedingly old; although it officially advertises itself as “an independent union of free economic zones”, it is an empire in all but name, a collection of semi-autonomous “client planets” who have been conquered and forced to the will of the Quintesson collective. The process by which the Quintessons acquire new clients is as insidious as it is brutal—by first posing as beneficent traders, the Quintessons make first contact with pre-spaceflight cultures, ingratiate themselves into their society through gifts and trinkets, and then gradually begin acquiring local currency and property. Bit by bit, the Quintessons work their way into businesses, conglomerates, and corporations, then gradually buy out national governments—a process that continues, year by year, until all of the native sentients have been excised from the workings of their own government. Some fortunate planets like Taxxos or Prysmos might enjoy a degree of freedom; most, however, are reduced to poverty and ruin, ashen worlds littered with strip-mines and pollution-spewing factories, whose inhabitants now toil under the weight of impossible contracts and debts they and their descendants can never hope to repay.

Indeed, the Quintessons believed that they could manipulate the Autobots this way when the two races first made contact during the Age of Expansion—it is fortunate for my kind that the Cybertronians had come well-armed and willing to rebuff those who might have otherwise cheated them out of their destiny. In more recent years, the Quintessons have turned their attention to the green pastures that lie beyond their reach in the Nebulan Republic… and I fear for what the future might hold.

#ask vector prime #transformers animated #nebulan republic #nebulos #autobot commonwealth #hive #taros iv #koraja #nalva #urtusk #quintesson pan galactic co prosperity sphere #quintessons #taxxos #prysmos #Anonymous

24 notes · View notes

trainsinanime · 4 years

Text

Percy Jackson and Western Civilisation

Okay, I’m gonna do it. I know it’s a bad idea, but I’m gonna do it anyway, because someone has to and either nobody else is, or they’re hiding behind fandom-specific hashtags that I’m not familiar with. Basically my question is: What is up with the concept of "Western Civilisation" in the Percy Jackson books, and is it really as stupid as the first book makes it seem?

I know the correct answer is "read the rest of these Harry Potter wannabe books and find out for yourself, and then make a post about that or maybe a Youtube video essay or something", but I don’t care enough about the question to do that and I didn’t like the first book enough to want to. Also I don’t know how to make Youtube video essays. So if you think that my take is uninformed and not worth your time because of that… well, you’re probably right. That said, I think the question is still valid, and maybe this will prompt someone more knowledgable than me to make a Content™ about this or something.

To briefly sum up what this is about: In the Percy Jackson books, the ancient greek gods are real, are around, and keep having children with mortals, one of whom is our hero Percy. These kids get sent to a summer camp that is totally not Hogwarts because it’s a camp, not a school, you see. This summer camp is on Long Island, New York, USA. The gods themselves have moved to the US and live on a mystical 300th floor of the Empire State Building.

Obviously the question here is what the gods are doing there. Is this situation similar to Neil Gaiman's amazing book "American Gods", where local versions of the gods appeared because their worshippers are here? Are there versions of the gods everywhere? Turns out no, they’re just in the US. They moved here because they are bound to a mystical concept known as "the heart of western civilisation", also sometimes called "the flame". This used to be in Ancient Greece, but then moved to Rome, then around Europe for a bit and eventually settled in New York.

Depending on your point of view, you could describe this as either a neat solution, or as an intriguing piece of world building, or as what the fuck is this shit. I’m in the latter camp, if you can’t tell. Because while it seems neat and simple on the surface, it actually presupposes a lot of things and raises a lot of questions, like:

What even is western civilisation?

What languages does western civilisation speak? What alphabet does it use to write them?

Which stories and myths do all of western civilisation share?

Since western civilisation has a center, it seems logical to assume that it must also have limits; things that are not western civilisation, but something else. Which of these "something else" exist? Presumably at least one "eastern civilisation", I guess, but how many and what else?

What parts of the world are and are not part of western civilisation? For example, is the middle east part of the western civilisation? I mean, islamic tradition played a huge part in preserving ancient greek texts, and their reintroduction to Europe during the Reconquista of Spain is what triggered the Renaissance and is a big part of why we care about Ancient Greece today at all.

What, if any, are the religions of western civilisation? Apparently Greek Gods are one of them, okay. What about Christianity, what about Judaism, what about Islam?

What is the philosophy of western civilisation, if any?

It is established that Roman Gods and Greek Gods are actually identical, as the Romans claimed, even though that's historically wrong. Okay, fine, that's a choice. What about the Norse gods or those of ancient Egypt? The Romans did the same with them.

What happens with immigrants into western civilisation, and with people who were conquered by it? Are Chinese immigrants to the US part of Western Civilisation? Are Native Americans? Why or why not?

Was Rome part of Western Civilisation before they took over Ancient Greece?

When did Western Civilisation move to the US, and why then?

Again: What exactly is Western Civilisation and how do you determine where it goes next? Is it based on followers of a religion, or is it about culture, or mythology, or language? Because trying to paint a continuous line along any of these axises is at least somewhat problematic.

That’s just a small selection. I could go on, but the book doesn’t even acknowledge that these questions are real, much less try to provide any sort of answer. And from what I heard when I asked around, it seems like the later books in the series don’t either.

All these questions ultimately center around one key concept: The book assumes that there is such a thing as Western Civilisation, that it is clearly definable, and that it follows a neat line from Greece to Rome to Europe to the US. This is an assumption that is incredibly easy to poke holes into on every single level, so for me the really interesting question is really why the book even makes it at all.

I’m kidding, I know perfectly well why the book does this. This mental model of a single western civilisation that starts with ancient Greece and has found its modern form in the modern US is old and super popular. This continuinity is a story we in the western world tell ourselves. This story is the reason why most buildings in Washington DC look like greek temples. And most importantly, this version of history, or a related one that mostly just stops in Europe, is what is told in high school history books all across, well, "Western Civilisation". And, oh yes, author Rick Riordan used to be a high school history teacher.

"Western civilisation moved around a bunch and is now home in New York city" is not the start of the world building here, it appears to be the end of it. You could just as well say, "The greek gods are here because of what you read in your history text book, and you're really smart for remembering it."

I could say something about how this is problematic™ actually, because it supports the same world view that was the underpinning of Manifest Destiny, and how it supports the toxic view of American Exceptionalism. But honestly, I don’t think the book intends to do anything like that. It seems genuinely disinterested in dealing with any questions like that. Likewise, there is a hypothetical version of this where "Western civilisation" is defined by people believing they are in "Western civilisation" and perpetuating that story, which would be interesting on a meta-level (well, it would be yet another American Gods, but there's nothing wrong with that, that was an amazing book). But again, that seems deeper than Percy Jackson wants to go.

"Western civilisation" is just a tool to move the setting from a wild, scary, unimaginably remote place like… modern Greece, I guess, to the mundane, familiar, safe and kind of boring setting of modern-day New York City. Making New York City and its surroundings feel boring and mundane is definitely an unusual choice, but the book really commits to it.

(Random aside: Is there any cross-US road trip story ever where the hero travels from the west coast to the east coast?)

At least as presented in the first book, "Western Civilisation" is just a tool to make sure that the book's fictional universe does not become too interesting. And it reuses an old and popular but also clearly incomplete, problematic and in many ways just plain wrong narrative to do so, because it assumes its readers know and believe that story. It’s not the only part of the book I dislike, but it’s one that really stuck with me.

Or maybe I’m completely misinterpreting all this because I didn’t read any of the subsequent books. If you have, then please, I genuinely would like to know what you think about this!

#Percy jackson #sorry for uninformed rambling

13 notes · View notes

valkyriewarriors · 4 years

Text

| Goddess of the Hearth | IV

masterlist

word count: 1.5k

The fire crackled as Nesta stood before the hearth, its towering height loomed over her. Yet, Nesta was not afraid, ever since she was a little girl fire was always a source of light and warmth. But now, she couldn’t tell if Vesta blessed her with a grand fire over the news of her engagement or if she was telling her to run.

But Nesta was angry and if her glare were ice, the fire would be extinguished and frozen into brilliant sculpture.

It wasn’t long before she was in the gardens. The moonlight was the only thing that illuminated through the trees. Tonight would be her last night in these gardens, a place growing freely and wildly as it willed. The untouched soil underneath her feet was cool in the night. There were no birds to be heard leaving an eerie silence. Above her through the canopy, the moon was full and brighter than the stars in the sky.

As she shifted through the trees towards the only clearing, there he was again, the soldier from before. He lied on his back, arms behind his head and eyes closed. In the moonlight, he was almost glowing. Perhaps he didn’t sense her there yet.

“Do you always wonder about this late at night, Priestess?” He cracked an eye open tilting his head to get a better look at her.

She narrowed her eyes as he slipped on a smug smile. “These are my gardens.”

He simply shrugged. “Anyone can climb those walls. I’d say it’s quite dangerous around here at night.”

“I don't see how my safety is your concern.”

He scoffed and sat up, looking straight at her. “You don’t think protecting a sacred priestess of the Empire is any of my concern?”

She pointed her stare at him, “I would think conquests were of more importance.”

His face faltered a bit at her words. “Conquests are orders of the Empire. But you priestess…” Nesta saw his gaze flicker to her face, his tone softened. “There are no greater treasures than someone blessed from the gods.” There was that glazed look again and it warmed something within Nesta.

“Being blessed can sometimes be a curse.” Nesta countered a bit harshly as she sat beside him, all too aware of his gaze following her.

“Oh.. do you feel cursed, Priestess?” His voice was much closer than she was used to. The velvet of his voice sent a few chills down her spine.

As she pondered his question her hands absentmindedly sifted through the grass beside her legs, accidentally grazing his thigh. Immediately she withdrew her hands into her lap. It was the slightest graze but he felt so warm.

“Cursed? No… doomed? Yes.” She said as she clasped her palms in her lap.

He raised his eyebrows as she continued, “It’s the fates that have my yarn of destiny,” almost solemnly.

“And you believe your destiny is doomed? Maintaining the gardens by the sea until you have a hand in marriage?” Cassian gaze broke hers as he gazed into the night sky where stars were scattered like paint plopped onto its surface.

She huffed throwing an icy glare, “And what about you? Being sent across the seas, fighting the unknown until-“

“Until I meet my demise on foreign land? Forgotten to the sands of time?” He interjected. His gaze now on hers, an eyebrow raised. There was that spark between them again.

“So we’re both doomed,” Nesta said as she held his gaze.

“Yes, we’re doomed, Priestess.” He gave her a toothy grin. She watched his gaze shift towards her silver armband. Underneath the moonlight, it was glittering. When his hazel eyes rose Nesta watched a flicker of emotion cross his face.

“Guess the fates decided your doom before mine.”

Nesta’s jaw clenched and she snatched her gaze away but she could still feel his gaze on her.

In the corner of her eye, she could see his right bicep where the gash once was. But now it was a mere scar, with no signs of infection at all. Instinctively she brought her hand to trace it gently. But Nesta heard his sharp intake of breath and pulled her hand away.

“It healed.” She said, almost not believing it herself.

“The morning after I put it on.” He said, “I’m indebted to you Priestess.” She knew he was gazing at her, with those fiery eyes that stirred something in her but she couldn’t meet his gaze.

She shook her head. “I lied the other day,” her voice was low and took a handful of dark soil as if she needed something to grip on but it fell apart in her hands.

“The herbs didn’t come from the Eastern Plains. They came from the healers of the Germanic tribes up north.”

Cassian froze. She looked back once again at him, her eyes now a steely gaze.

“Before the war, the healers of those tribes had an intricate network of distributing rare herbs throughout the Roman Empire,” she explained as she shifted her gaze to his scar.

“And then the Roman Legion wiped them out.”

Cassian felt his stomach turn. He remembered the invasions of the Germanic tribes, it was one of his first deployments as part of the Legion. They outnumbered the tribes by far and easily found the flaws in their strategies, they conquered within a week. Afterward, the soldiers pillaged and burned down villages, it was a sight Cassian wanted to forget.

“All the networks fell apart,” her voice softer now. “that vial contained some of the last of their herbs.”

“Why give it to me then?” He asked incredulously, the salve was something Cassian could never repay her.

There was no hesitation in her voice, “It’s my role as a priestess to the Roman Empire, to ensure blessings for its people, even the Legion.”

“You would give this to any Legion soldier?”

Now there was silence between them. Cassian looked at her as she stared far distances out into the night sky. She looked so fragile with her slender figure but he could feel her strength, her power from miles away.

“No, I wouldn’t,” she spoke softly, finally looking at him. Cassian immediately felt a shift in the air, her gaze was intense on his. “You’re different from the rest.”

“I’m just a measly bastard, priestess,” Cassian said disgruntledly. He was told he was different all his life but only in cruel ways.

“You can’t possibly think that.” The priestess’ eyes narrowed.

He sighed as he turned to gaze at the empty and dark garden. “There’s an order to this empire, priestess. I’m just trying to make the best of it.”

“Orders don’t always have to be followed.”

“That’s how you get killed.”

“It’s how you evolve.” She countered. “You didn’t get to where you are by succumbing to what others thought of you.”

Cassian didn’t know how it was possible for her to strip him down in a matter of seconds. He could feel his heart burning in her words. There was not one hint of disgust in them, but rather what she genuinely believed was the truth.

“And what about you, Priestess? How will you evolve?” He asked softly. The silver armband flashed once more underneath the moonlight. He knew what it meant and there was a sudden urge to take the flimsy thing and throw it into the ocean.

She sighed deeply, looking around her. “Do you know why I love this garden so much?”

When he said nothing she continued, “because even this garden can flourish within these walls. Even when I’m gone, their rain will fall from the sky and the sun will shine another day. It will still grow until these walls will perish.”

“I feel sorry for whatever walls will surround you, Priestess.” He said with a smile on his face, no smugness, in his eyes were pure hope. Once again Nesta envied his easiness, his joy, his smile, his warmth in the cold night, his glowing skin under the moonlight. She stopped her thoughts as she felt a blush creep up her neck.

And then for the first time in a while, her lips tugged up a bit. “Me too.”

She heard his throat clear before he got up again, “It’s getting pretty late, Priestess, should I walk you back to the temple?” He extended a hand out towards her. She looked at his calloused palms and took them in hers. Her hands were so small compared to his and despite their warmth, she felt chills.

“That’s fine soldier, I can walk back on my own.” She turned towards the gates before he heard him once more.

“Cassian.”

“Sorry?” Nesta called back.

“My name is Cassian, Priestess.”

“Cassian…” She said, almost as if she was tasting a softly textured wine. “Until next time Cassian.” All Nesta knew she would never see the man again in her life. When she got to her bed, she wanted to dream of the simple life a boy like Cassian and a girl like Nesta could have.

A/N: Hi I’m so sorry this took a while to update and also I hope you all are healthy and keeping safe! x

#nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #nessian ff #nessian fanfic #nessian fanfiction #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #acotar fanfic #acotar fanfiction

46 notes · View notes

supernova1us · 4 years

Text

My finalized Bionicle series idea

after bringing together a lot of my bionicle ideas and fine tuning what i like, this is my final full idea for a bionicle series

The world of the endless ocean contains many islands, populated by biomechanical beings, primarily the matoran. The capital is the massive island city of Metru Nui and from there, two great beings; Mata nui, the spirit of light and Makuta, the spirit of darkness, emerge by the power of the mythical mask of life. Both are formed from the energy of their elements, encased in powerful protodermis armor. They coexist and rule together for a time, though makuta realizes that mata nui is more loved and revered by the matoran than he is. Shunned and jealous, makuta develops a hatred for his brother which explodes into a life or death battle between the two. Empowered by his creation, the mask of shadows, makuta triumphs over mata nui, casting him down.

With the end of mata nui heralding a series of natural disasters, the toa team of metru nui put all of the matoran into a deep slumber to protect them. Makuta confronts them, but having been wounded by mata nui and at risk of losing the battle, offers a bargain. He will rule the island and the toa are free to resist him, but neither he nor the toa will directly confront each other, but he will not directly threaten the matoran either; the toa reluctantly accept. 100 years pass, and the matoran finally awaken to metru nui in ruins and overrun by nature, and their toa protectors aged into frail turaga elders. The Turaga rename the island mata nui in honor of the spirit of light and the tribes migrate away from the darkened city to settle in the wilds of their regions. From the islands center, makuta sends out his corrupted rahi beasts and evil warriors to torment and keep the matoran in a state of fear and control.

This continues for another 900 years until finally the energy of mata nui spirit reawakens. Guiding the rogue matoran takua, he sets in motion the creation of legendary heroes. After his journey and apparent self-sacrifice, the energy of mata nui is released and merges with the elements of the island themselves and births 6 new toa heroes. These toa heroes must discover who they are, their elemental powers, how to work as a team and embrace their destiny in defeating makuta and restoring mata nui.

Toa

Nikila-Toa of energy. She has power over lightning, electricity and any form of raw energy. She is the leader of the toa mata, and is the most mature, brave and heroic, with a tendency towards over confidence. Her tools are her lightning swords and she wears the mask of wisdom.

Malum-toa of fire. The largest, strongest and most hot-headed of the group. He is arrogant, prideful and violent but has a surprising kinship with the wild rahi. He tends to clash with Nikilas leadership the most. His tools are his flame claws and he wears the mask of endurance.

Hahli-toa of water. Generally kind and gentle while sometimes shy, she quickly gains self-confidence and is the most intelligent and spiritual of the team. Her tools are a trident and protosteel talons/fins and she wears the mask of translation.

Pohatu-toa of Earth. He was the most focused and unwavering of the toa, though somewhat distant. He is wise and friendly when comfortable, but as fierce and unbreakable as nature when pushed. His tools are his enhancing foot attachments and his ruble shovels and he wears the mask of strength.

Matau-toa of air. The most free-spirited and easy going of the toa, he always went with the flow like his element; A joker and explorer who was only serious when the situation was at its most dire. His tools are his storm-o-rangs, which double as wings and he wears the mask of speed.

Zaria-toa of metal. The most creative and sporadic toa, creating weapons, armor and anything new was his passion. He was the free thinker and craftsman of the team. His tool is his giant meta-hammer and he wears the mask of shaping.

Takua-toa of light. Originally a matoran on mata nui from the lost tribe of light/shadow, he was well known and popular amongst the population. After he was chosen by mata nui, he seemingly perished to summon the toa. He was however transformed into a toa and returned much later but lost his memories in the process. He is ever inquisitive and fascinated by the world around him. His weapon is his sun staff and he wears the mask of light.

Other Characters

Mata Nui-the spirit of light, born from the worlds core along with his brother makuta. He is benevolent and loving but prideful and oblivious. After he is betrayed by a jealous makuta, he is rendered as an incorporeal spirit, who after 1000 years chooses takua as his champion to summon the toa and reawaken him and free the world of darkness.

Matoran-the largest and most numerous race of the world of the endless ocean; they are small but brave spirited, creative and peaceful people. They are separated by the elemental tribes of fire, water, air, earth, energy, and metal on mata nui. Notable matoran are jaller, Nuparu, macku and hewkii.

Turaga(kopaka, Lhikan, gali, lewa, onua, matoro)-the leaders of each of the elemental villages on mata nui. Each is wise and steadfast in their leadership. They were originally toa who stood with mata nui and witnessed his defeat and protected the matoran from makuta for 1000 years, with age having long caught up with them.

Keetongu-an ancient being of nature who watches over all rahi on mata nui and occasionally aids the toa. He is accompanied by the massive Tahtorak beast.

Strakk-a brutal icy warrior who claims mata nui’s frozen peaks as his territory and will fiercely battle any who trespass on it.

Ekimu the mask maker-a wise and ancient turaga who has mastered the crafting of powerful masks. He crafts special new masks for any matoran who prove themselves worthy.

Krakua- a mysterious toa of Sound, he is never quiet or still for too long and was fascinated with all the sounds the world made. He is very fond of music and was akin to a wandering bard on mata nui. He possessed super hearing, could create sonic booms and wore the mask of stealth.

Krika-a warrior of an unknown race, he is a cold but long serving and trusted agent of makuta but his conscience forces him to aid the toa. His armor was altered to make him able to morph into an insectoid form to move freely about the visorak horde.

Umbra-the cold and emotionless yet dedicated eternal guardian of the mask of life. He will only grant access to the relic by being defeated in battle, but refuses to fight matoran. Anyone who proves capable of gaining the mask he swears an oath of loyalty to and protects with his life.

The order of mata nui-a radical militia of warriors of varied races who fight a guerrilla war against makutas forces through any means necessary. They are led by the extremist Helryx, the first ever toa, who is the one who broke the mask of time after using its full power to stop her from aging. She comes into conflict with the more traditional views of the toa.

VILLAINS

Makuta-the spirit of darkness and the antithesis to his eternal brother, mata nui. Self-centered, ruthless and power hungry, he will go to any length to achieve greatness in the eyes of the matoran and be seen for the god he knows himself to be. He forged and wears the mask of shadows to which his spirit and power are always connected. He has spent years building an empire though exuding control over many islands.

Roodaka-a part serpentine creature and advisor to makuta. While appearing calm and charismatic, she is in fact cruel, cunning and a deadly warrior. She is completely loyal to and in love with makuta and devoted to achieving his goals and remaining at his side. She often manipulates makutas other agents to fit her designs.

Icarax-the leader of the vampiric phantoka race, he is a fierce and brutal warrior and makutas general. He is arrogant and strongly believes he is better agent of darkness then makuta and his schemes. Though he needs no help at being confrontational, he is often goaded by roodaka.

Sidorak-the oafish but tyrannical king of the industrial island of stelt. He is fiercely loyal to makuta and is always seeking his approval but is often made a fool or manipulated by roodaka.

Nidhiki – an insectoid warrior who act as makutas goon, muscle and enforcer, often menacing the toa in their quests.

Tuyet-a murderous former toa who has allied with makuta and often partnered with nidhiki.

Tridax-an alchemist, mad scientist and inventor, he is the brains behind many workings in makutas network of evil, working closely with sidorak and has considerable brawn to back up his brains.

Nocturn-a hideous aquatic creature, he is loyal to makuta but slowwitted, quick to anger and easy to manipulate or intimidate. He primarily acts as makutas messenger to his other agents.

Rahkshi-the main military force of makuta, they are deadly, fear-inducing armor suits built on stelt and possessed by shadow leeches makuta has summoned from the depths of the abyss. They number at 5000 and are all yellow in color.

Akmou-toa of shadow. A fellow matoran of the light/shadow tribe; a self-interested and shifty individual, he believes takua is responsible for all his problems rather than his own misdeeds. Though he has been an agent of makuta on mata nui for many years, after becoming a toa, he is unsure of his loyalty to darkness, wanting only to prove his superiority over takua.

Tuma-a battle hardened skrall warlord from bara magna, he leads his fearsome race in their attempts to conquer their homeland with makutas aid and provide theirs when he needs it. His loyalty lies solely on his people, keeping him skeptical of if the alliance is in their best interest.

Umarak the dark hunter-a relentless and ancient hunter and mercenary who peruses many bounties and prey and periodically works for makuta

Bahrag-the monstrous queen of the isle of the insectoids. She maintains a loose alliance with makuta with the promise that his rule will grant them passage to infest other islands.

Barraki(the drowned)-a trio of aquatic warlords who menace a group of sub-aquatic matoran and reluctantly aid makuta in the construction of his titan form.

Obviously there are many similarities to g1, but there are many intended differences as well.

-the change to the toa mata members and element line up

-like the glatortian, the toa will have armor that will represent or be based on their elements

-a mask with a similar ability doesn’t exactly mean the mask matches the look of its G1 counterpart

-there have been other toa, but this special group are the first with elemental powers

-like g2, matoran are uniform in design and masks beside element colors and rare mask exceptions

-there would not be multiple future toa teams, only a few special cases

-Romance would be canon, but not a large focus; macku and hewkii mostly with a few possible other cases(but not the main toa team)

Story Arks

1.With shadow creatures and rahi controlled by makuta having menaced the matoran for 1000 years, mata nui reaches out to the wandering matoran takua. Guided, takua sets off on an odyssey across the island to find the fragmented key to the kini nui temple. He has many adventures, aiding each of the matoran tribes and avoiding makutas threats. He finally unlocks the temple, releasing the power and summoning the toa, though apparently at the cost of his life.

2.The newly born toa, who must discover who they are, defend the matoran, and learn how to work as a team, and finally fend off makutas horde of wild rahi. Finally they travel into a sacred temple and do battle with makuta himself, triumphing.

3. The toa set out to find the mask of time, and must race against umarak, the dark hunter, to find it. They use its power to view the past to see the beginning of the brothers war and how the island became what it is. The island is then attacked on two fronts: a bridge of web allows swarms of insectoids from another island to attack while makuta summons undead skull warriors from beneath the earth.

4. Makuta, still weak, sets his rahkshi hoard loose to menace the island. The toa travel through the ruins of metru nui, which still stands at the islands center. They face many threats lurking in it as they make their way to makutas lair to confront him. They learn that makuta seeks the mask of life to regain his former strength and that it can revive mata nui as well. As the toa cannot defeat makuta, takua returns, transformed into a toa of light by mata nui, who defeats makuta, almost killing him.

5. Takua is left to guard the island and matoran while the toa sail to Voya Nui, but are trapped in the underwater realm of the barraki. When free, they make it to voya nui and must fight both makutas allies and Umbra, the mask’s guardian. After winning and receiving the mask, they return to mata nui to use it but makuta intervenes. Mata nui is nearly revived but the mask of life is shattered, the force of which destroys both spirits and scatters the fragments of the mask across the world. Makutas mask survives and he flees and has a new armor built for him.

6. With mata nuis spirit lost and only able to be restored by the mask of life, the 7 toa must search the numerous islands, leaving umbra to guard mata nui. They set sail and split up, each with a beast mount and new adaptive armor, to explore their separate islands to retrieve the mask fragments while battling makuta or other enemy forces on each one. After their separate adventures, each toa finds a fragment, which becomes a golden mask for them. Malum is seriously injured and in the fear that he may die, transfers some of his power to his matoran companion, jallar, who becomes a toa. In this time, makuta begins to realize his grand designs, while also dealing with a coup by his general icarax and also kills umbra.

7. The toa reunite and make their way to Karda Nui to reform the mask of life and revive mata nui, fighting past makuta and his minions, who steal Jallers’ mask fragment. The toa use the fragments they have and mata nui is revived, but only as a mortal toa, since the mask was incomplete and the toa had absorbed some of its power while using the fragments. Malum is healed and Krika, a former servant of makuta, betrays him and aids the toa.

8. The toa sail for a secluded island fortress of makuta on Krikas guidance but before they arrive, the island is shattered by a giant robot body that has risen from beneath the sea. Krika says its construction was makutas grand plan. Makuta has used his mask piece to fuse his spirit to the body and has trapped all the matoran within it. As makuta rules the matoran within his body, he decimates the other islands one by one. After witnessing the doomed last stand of the order of mata nui, the toa make their way to the ruined mata nui to find a way to enter the robot. On their way, the toa a briefly drawn into the mythical red star, where the spirits of the dead go, and both the toa and mata nui find revelations there. They also pass through the demonic netherworld, ruled by the insane Karzahni.

9. On mata nui, where makuta now stands guard, they are confronted by an army of enemy forces. They are joined by the allies they have made on their journeys and a massive war erupts. Krika shows the toa the way to enter the robot before returning to aid in the fight. The toa manage to enter makutas body, who is distracted watching the war. They fight their way through rahkshi, body defenses and a mutated and empowered roodaka. Takua is forced to return a large portion of his light energy to mata nui, who sends the toa away to ensure the safety of the matoran. The toa lead the matoran out and rally them to battle, turning the tide of the war. Mata nui reaches the core, where makuta reconstitutes his normal form and they battle. Makuta is the stronger but mata nui is able to recover the final mask piece and is restored to his full form. They are to evenly matched, so mata nui fuses the two of them together, killing both but creating a new spirit of light and darkness, who possesses the titan. With his power he restores mata nui and creates bridges connecting all the other now restored islands. Presenting the toa with the mask of destiny, a fusion of the masks of life and shadow, the new god vanishes into the stars. All the beings come together and begin rebuilding mata nui into a new city paradise.

#bionicle #toa #Makuta #mata nui

27 notes · View notes

wishingupontheskyandstars · 4 years

Text

Yes I’m late but I really had fun writing this fanfic and yeah I definitely wrote more than I originally had in mind so *shrug* :)

Reylo Week 2020

Day 2: Fairytales

Title: A Fairytale of Butterflies, Love, and Dragons Rated: M (Mild Violence)

Summary: "Where two are one of spirit, will be the time Mortis is seen, at last, with refined sight. Believe and follow the ones with blue wings that will lead where two suns meet and they will see dragons from old flying above and will help against a regime, when in need."

Click Here For AO3 Link

Once upon a time... In a land where power tried to triumph over peace, an upcoming unique union would see myth and destiny be forever intertwined, diminishing powerful darkness.

In an isolated and almost abandoned village, Jakku, there lived a young woman who had raised herself since she could remember. She didn't know any other land. Her days were as miserable as the work she did to survive. She was known as the Scavenger; she retrieved weapons and machinery of old from the last battle that occurred there, for little coin and food. Sunset was her favorite time of the day as the air was cooler. She would find a secluded place to eat her supper, looking up at the stars wishing to earn enough coin to leave the village so her life could begin.

Days away from Jakku was the lovely town, Naboo. It was known for its waterfalls, meadows, and peaceful folk. In the Royal Palace, lived House Skywalker where Queen Leia reigned. Her husband was a famous equestrian and former soldier, Han Solo. Decades past, when the war between House Skywalker and House Palpatine occurred, Han was a soldier from another village and became the princess' bodyguard. As the war progressed they became each other's bodyguards and fell in love. House Skywalker conquered House Palpatine near Jakku. The night of victory for Naboo was the night Leia's and Han's son, Ben, was born, promising a new era of hope.

Prince Ben of House Skywalker was studious, always practicing his calligraphy. He was a master swordsman, learning from the most skilled and helped to train Naboo's soldiers. He loved spending time with his family. His grandmother Padme always shined his visits with picnics at the meadow, eating exotic foods, and giving him a fashionable wardrobe. His grandfather Anakin was a man he barely knew as he passed when Ben was still an infant. Throughout the years he would hear tales of the infamous Anakin Skywalker, the Hero with no fear was the best swordsman there was, beating the power-hungry Sheev Palpatine who would have brought endless destruction through the empire he was creating.

Ben grew up wanting to be like his mother and father. Throughout the years he observed his mother through her diplomacy, kindness, and sharp wit. Ben would go with his father all across the kingdom, overseeing the lands, villages, and the wellbeing of the people. At a young age, Ben was taught how to use a crossbow with the help of Han's best friend, Chewie.

For three decades, there was peace, until one afternoon at the beginning of Spring. In the Palace's council room, Leia received a letter, recognizing the fast and sloppy handwriting to be her husband's. She closed her eyes and fell in her chair.

"My Queen!"

"What is it?"

"Are you okay?"

Voices rang in the room, but Leia did not hear. She opened her eyes and told her advisors, "There has been an ambush on Han and others." She looked to her brother, Luke, a former monk and healer for the Palace. "Please tell Ben," she said in a hoarse tone.

Luke knocked on Ben's door, then opened the door revealing his nephew practicing his calligraphy. He looked up in concern. "What is it, Uncle?"

Luke sighed in disbelief. "Your father and others were ambushed in the outskirts of Naboo. It seems they were lured in that area by House Palpatine."

"How could that be? Palpatine is dead," Ben said with furrowed brows.

Luke nodded. "Yes, but the ashes of what Palpatine tried to achieve—his army, lives on. They're calling themselves the New Empire and they are rising in numbers, threatening to have revenge and destroy peace as we know it!" Luke sat across from Ben, staring at his calligraphy.

Ben tossed his quill, stood up, and walked to his large window, overlooking the grounds. He had his hands in front of him. His stance reminded Luke of his father, Anakin. "Where is my father?" Ben asked.

Luke sighed again, unsure of how to respond. "We're assuming they're on their way back. He was able to write a letter and give it a fast riding messenger so..."

Ben didn't respond. He continued to look out at the lush greenery in front of him. His expression said everything he couldn't. His eyes were watery, his mouth moving to one side then to the other, then partially open, unable to say anything.

Later that evening, the gates to the Palace were abruptly opened, letting in a badly wounded Han, Chewie, and others. Ben was dressing into a white tunic and black trousers when he received word that all the attackers were dead and his father had returned home. Ben ran down the hallway and two flights of stairs to the great hall. He helped take his father to his parent's chambers, with Leia walking at their side.

Han was placed on the large bed. His eyes were closed; he was barely breathing. Luke attended to Han first, felt his pulse, and put his hand on his blood-stained forehead. He looked at Leia and shook his head. Luke left Ben and Leia alone with Han and attended to the others.

"Han, darling? Please, wake up." Leia said softly. She held on to one hand, sitting on the bed with her husband. Ben held his father's other hand on Han's other side, his knees on the floor.

Hearing Leia's voice, Han opened his eyes slowly. "Sweetheart," he whispered. He and Leia shared a knowing look as she pressed her lips to his ever so softly. "It wasn't all bad, was it?" Han tried to smile.

"It was better," she assured him, laying her head near his.

Ben gazed at his parents in awe, wanting to leave so they had their last moments together, but he too wanted to say goodbye. "Dad," he whispered, gently squeezing his hand.

Han turned and tried harder to smile. "Kid," he said lovingly. He squeezed his son's hand back.

Ben's eyes were glassy. "Dad, I—"

"I know." Han gave his son one last half-smile before he looked at Leia, taking his last breath and closing his eyes, in peace.

Leia's guarded face she wore well as Queen crumpled into despair as she leaned into her husband, holding him. "Han," she said in a raspy tone.

Ben felt the loss of warmth from his father's hand almost instantly. He carefully guided his hand with his other, on top of his mother's. He went around the bed, sat near his mother, looking at his parents together one last time. Tears started to stream down his cheek.

The next evening funeral pyres were set up for Han and others that didn't make it through the night. Chewie, the beloved family friend, was gravely wounded but would take time to recuperate Luke thought.

Feet away from Han's pyre were Leia, Luke, Padme, and Ben. Everyone was dressed in black cloth and each held a torch. Leia closed her eyes, seeing Han's smile hearing him call her, "Princess." She opened her eyes, looked at her family, nodded, and they each set their torches at the bottom of a pyre. Leia put her hand over Han's one last time before setting her torch at the base. She stepped away and instantly felt Ben's hand holding hers. She leaned into him as he held her close.

The same night in the village of Jakuu, the young woman known as the Scavenger wrapped herself with one blanket, laying her head on a pile of hay, looking up at the night sky filled with stars. She felt great sorrow but did not know why. She reached next to her and felt for her sword with the unique jeweled hilt. Once she felt it, she sighed with relief, hoping the next day would be better than the last.

Leia sat at the head of the table, listening to her different advisors about the recent man that defected from the New Empire. They heard this man's—Finn's story from himself just an hour ago. His knowledge of the New Empire was valuable, revealing that the Supreme Leader was a young man named Armitage Hux and with his father's help he was able to rebuild a vast army to take down kingdoms, steal infants and children from villages and brainwash them to be soldiers. Finn was one of those children that will never know his real family. This plan of revenge for House Palpatine has been in motion for years, in unknown areas that are months away travel from Naboo and neighboring Kingdoms. Finn was a part of a group that was looking for young children and babies to steal. He knew that the big Army was weeks away from striking. The ones that ambushed Han and his group he figured were scouting the kingdoms, before reporting back to the New Empire.

"I believe what Finn was saying," Ben said. Others nodded in agreement. "We have received word now that the army is getting closer to our neighbors and us. We have to make sure we have all the help we can muster—"

"I found it!" Luke yelled, entering the room with everyone staring at him with looks of confusion.

"Luke?" Leia asked, needing to know what he found.

Luke stood next to Leia's chair and placed a vintage scroll in front of her. "I had not read this prophecy for decades but knew it was still out there once we heard about the New Empire Army and it took me a while to find it, but here it is."

Leia opened the scroll and read out loud, "Where two are one of spirit, will be the time Mortis is seen, at last, with refined sight. Believe and follow the ones with blue wings that will lead where two suns meet and they will see dragons from old flying above and will help against a regime, when in need." She finished reading and set down the scroll.

"Mortis?"

"Dragons? I thought they were a myth?"

"No one has seen dragons for centuries, my Queen.

"Prophecies are dangerous to depend upon."

Loud voices were talking over each other and all Leia had to do was raise her hand and the squabbling ceased. She handed the scroll to Ben.

He picked it up and at once felt a certain energy in his fingers. He didn't know why. He furrowed his brow, reading the scroll. Since he was a boy, he had read myths about Mortis and dragons. What if he wondered. He looked at his mother who was staring at him, with a knowing look. He knew she believed and he trusted her judgment.

In the Queen's outside courtyard, Leia, Padme, Ben, and Luke sat around a wood table eating their supper.

"I remember this prophecy when I was a little girl. I believe it to be true," Padme said.

"Why didn't father ever look for this place—Mortis?" Leia asked.

Padme, in her exquisitely designed black dress for mourning, leaned back in her chair. "House Palpatine and their army were not as big and Ani—" She smiled, letting his nickname slip out, which she did once in a while. "Your father wasn't sure this prophecy pertained to him." She shrugged. She looked at Ben. "You, my boy, I know what you're thinking and I agree."

Ben finished eating a boiled potato, put down his fork, and nodded at his grandmother. "I will leave tomorrow."

"You're going alone? I can't let you do that Ben—" Leia started to say.

"Mother, I think with the skepticism from the council, we shouldn't tell many of this plan. We can't let the enemy know of this prophecy, whether it is true or not, but I think...I believe it." He stopped and looked at his mother, "The New Empire is threatening to strike anytime. I need to get to Mortis as soon as possible. I will ride out this evening."

Luke nodded. "You should take that soldier that defected. He might know where other armies are along your journey."

Leia agreed. "You will take him, Poe, Rose, and a few soldiers for protection, okay?"

Ben nodded. Padme patted her grandson's hand with assurance. "The question is, which way will you go?"

"Ben has always had good instincts. If he believes, he will start to see certain wings," Leia said with a nod.

Ben shared a smile with his mother, knowing he was meant to do this. He believed it.

"Kylo?" Ben looked ahead. "Kylo?" "Kylo! Hey...Prince," Rose whispered as she brought her horse to walk along with Ben's.

Ben looked at Rose with an apologetic expression. "Sorry, Rose. I suppose an alias name is something to get used to."

"What does Kylo stand for, anyway? It seems pretty unique."

Ben nodded. "I combined both of my last names, Solo and Skywalker."

Rose raised her brows and grinned. "Clever." She adjusted her cape then asked, "It's been a couple of days since we left—You haven't seen another one of those butterflies?"

Ben shook his head. "That sole one, the evening we left, that nobody else apparently can see but me, was it." He looked around at the sparsely wooded area around them as they kept progressing on this path. "We're heading towards the graveyard—Jakku," Ben noted.

"Indeed." She looked at the empty fields of banners and rusted machinery. "It's near dusk. Should we set up camp in Jakku?" she asked, with distaste.

"We're going to have to." Ben sighed, not wanting to sleep where so many perished but they would have to, just for the night.

"I'll go tell the others." Rose rode with her horse a few yards back to Finn, Poe, and the few soldiers.

The sun had just started to set as Poe and another soldier prepared food. Finn and Rose were sitting next to each other by the campfire. They were in an area where few dry trees and bushes were surrounding them. It looked like the best spot in the whole village. Ben was feet away, sitting on a rock, looking up at the stars. He took off his dark cape and used it as a pillow, slowly closing his eyes.

A minute later he felt the tip of a sword barely touch his neck, along with, "Who are you?" Ben opened his eyes and saw a young woman standing over him, in trousers and a fitted top, both sand-colored. She wore her hair in a triple bun hairstyle. She looked at him with a fierce expression and the first thought that came to his mind was that she was beautiful, even with a blade at his throat.

"Sir!"

"Kylo!" Poe yelled out as he and others drew their swords.

Ben lifted his hand like his mother would do to stop their actions. "Good evening, my lady." He stared at the young woman and saw she had lovely hazel eyes. There was something about her that captivated him; he couldn't understand it.

"Your name is Kylo?" The girl asked, this time in a gentler tone. She started to lower her weapon.

For some reason, he couldn't lie to her and he wouldn't. "My name is Ben and I'm from House Skywalker."

"You shouldn't say your name...Sire. She could be a spy!" Poe said in frustration.

Ben shook his head. "No, I don't believe she is. Please, all of you put down your weapons." The soldiers, Poe, Finn, and Rose lowered their swords but continued to stare at the two of them.

The young woman's eyes enlarged as she immediately put down her sword and said, "You're Royalty. I apologize--I shouldn't have—"

"It's fine."

"It's just this is the area I usually reside for the night." She fidgeted with her hands in front of her.

Ben furrowed his brow, looking around the area, again. "You sleep on a rock?" He looked at her in confusion.

The woman looked anywhere but at him, feeling her cheeks warm up.

Ben immediately regretted his words. "I didn't mean anything by it." He changed the course of their conversation. "May I ask, what is your name?"

She looked back at him and raised her chin. "I'm Rey."

"What house are you from?"

"I..." Rey hesitated but truthfully said, "The house of nobody." She wasn't ashamed she came from nothing. "I don't have any family--It's just me."

Ben looked at her with compassion. "You've lived by yourself."

"Ever since I can remember." Rey pointed towards the graveyard where the battle took place decades ago. They could view the sight from the rock they were both on. "Collecting from the old is how I survive." She gave him a hopeful look. "But, I'll make enough coin to leave this place, someday." She said with a small smile. She believed it.

Ben was moved by her story. He looked down then up and saw she was staring past his shoulder. He looked behind him and saw them. This time, two blue-colored butterflies swarmed around each other and moved farther away toward the pathway, fluttering about. He looked back to Rey and saw her head tilt in question. "You see them?" He asked, breathing fast.

"The blue butterflies? Yes," she said, almost in a daze, as she continued to stare at them. "It's something I've never seen before. It feels...magical," she said at last. She finally looked at Ben. "Doesn't it feel like that?"

Ben nodded. He was glad he had someone to share this with. "It seems nobody can see them, but us."

Rey looked down at the others and saw they were still looking at her. She saw the two butterflies were swarming around them but they made no movement or gave any recognition they saw them. "You're right." She looked back at Ben, amazed. "Whoa! What does this mean?"

Ben, feeling more hope now than when he started this journey, gave Rey a half-smile. "I'll fill you in on everything, Rey."

The next morning, Rey rode on a gray horse, next to Ben's, similar in color. Two soldiers rode ahead of them. Rey looked back and saw Finn, Poe, and Rose riding together and talking amongst themselves, smiling and laughing. She smiled at them before looking back at Ben more closely in the light, seeing his dark locks and strong nose, his lips--He caught her stare and she felt her cheeks warm again. She looked away with a small smile. He gulped before asking, "How does it feel to finally be away from Jakku?"

"A relief." She made sure the dark gray cape Rose had given her was on correctly before continuing. "I've always wanted to go on an adventure but seeking dragons of old is much more than I expected."

Ben nodded. "I feel the same."

They rode on a path near the sea, into the village of Ahch-To. All around them were green-leaved trees, rocky terrain, and green grass. They rode higher and higher up a hill.

By sunset, they made camp. As Finn and Poe prepared the supper, Rose and Rey sparred enthusiastically.

Rose put her arm up and saw Rey put down her sword. They both had to catch their breath. "You're excellent, Rey! Who taught you to fight?"

"Me."

"Amazing." Rose drank water from her flask then offered it to Rey.

"Thank you," Rey whispered as she drank the cool water, feeling instantly refreshed.

"How about you and I practice, Rey?" She turned around and saw Ben with his well fitted black trousers, without a tunic. She starred at his well-defined naked torso and saw his skin was wet, as was his hair.

She licked her lips without meaning to before looking down, feeling flustered. "Shouldn't you wear a tunic or something?"

Ben shook his head. "Nah, this is how I usually train. Come on," he said, raising his long sword.

Rey nodded and raised hers and they sparred, moving together in sync as if they practiced these movements before. Minutes later they both yielded, out of breath, looking at each other, with intense stares. Rey stared at his torso again and saw it glisten with sweat. She wondered for a few seconds what it would be like to run her fingers across his chest and touch--She shook her head, trying to rid her absurd thoughts. She sighed, looking back at Ben and saw his look of awe and amazement, towards her. It made her feel butterflies in her stomach.

Later, as the other slept, Rey and Ben were near the smoldering campfire, inches apart, sitting next to each other, looking up at the stars. "It's a beautiful evening," Rey remarked.

"It is." Ben looked at Rey's sword hilt again, viewing the jewels. "Can I ask where you received that sword?"

She grabbed her sword and handed it to Ben. He looked at it more closely. Rey said all she knew about it. "Years ago, I saw it covered by shields and dirt and kept it with me ever since."

"If you had sold it, you would have made enough coin to leave Jakku ages ago."

Rey shrugged. "Yes, but for some reason, I wanted to keep this for myself. I don’t know why. It's like it called to me." She scoffed. "You might think me foolish."

"No." He ran his fingers over the hilt. He had heard tales of this sword and seeing it in person was a majestic sight. "After my grandfather defeated Palpatine, he came across one of his followers, Dooku, and that man fought with everything he had. He even cut off my grandfather's arm that carried the sword." He looked at Rey's astonished face. "If it wasn't for his best friend, Kenobi, he would have died on the battlefield." Ben looked at the sword again, feeling the hilt. "They never found his sword." He handed it back to Rey. "It seems that it was found by the right person, though."

Rey's eyes widened, looking at her sword. "This is your grandfather's?!"

Ben smiled slowly and put his hand over hers. They both felt a warmth and energy, as they stared at one another, intently. "It was and belongs to you."

"Thank you, Ben." She interlocked her fingers with his. Ben stared at their hands and felt at ease, smiling at this closeness, with the fire in front of them. It was—

All of a sudden, there moment of intimacy was interrupted, by screams and men in guarded armor, running towards the camp, with weapons raised.

"First Empire! First Empire!" They chanted as they ran. "For our Supreme Leader!"

The fire and moonlight was their only light as Rey and Ben raised their weapons and fought with all their might. Dozens of soldiers ran towards them.

Poe, Finn, Rose, and the Naboo soldiers woke up, alarmed, but grabbed their weapons and fought with ease against the First Empire soldiers.

Rey and Ben were back to back, fighting each soldier with expertise, seeing the soldiers lacked skill. Rey looked back and ran her sword through a soldier's gut, who was prepared to strike at Ben. Ben nodded at Rey and fought with fierce strength. At one point, Rey felt for Ben's thigh, using his bent back for leverage, and with her foot pushed a soldier in the stomach, knocking him down hard. Ben gulped but shook his head and kept his mind on fighting the enemy.

A voice rang out, "I see we have the mighty Prince Ben of House Skywalker. Wonderful, indeed." A man with red hair and in black attire, had his arms behind his back, looking at the battle before him.

"Don't let him distract you, Ben!" Rey yelled as she and he got separated and were fighting by themselves against two and three soldiers at a time.

Ben kept his mind on the enemies before him, took a few seconds to strategize, but then heard Rey yell out in pain. He looked ahead and saw a sword pierce and scar her right arm. He needed to get to her but had to defeat these soldiers first. He took a deep breath and fought brutally, piercing his sword through a stomach, punching a man in the face as he swung his other hand with the sword, decapitating. "Ahh!" He yelled, fighting others coming towards him.

"Kill, Prince Ben!" The man with ginger hair yelled. "Bring his head to me, your Supreme Leader, now!"

Armitage Hux Ben thought as he easily killed another solider in the heart. The Supreme Leader was just yards away. He figured he could reach him.

"And bring the traitor to me!" Hux said with menace.

Finn, fighting his own, looked at Hux, sneered at his former tormenter, and continued to fight alongside Rose and Poe.

Rey gave all her strength but with that pierce to her arm, she made sure not to be weakened by it. "Ahh!" She yelled as she swung at two soldiers. They were moving towards a large circular area, filled with moss all around. Rey ran towards it, looking down and seeing water below. It looked like a cave in there. Before she could look further she turned and stabbed a soldier, seeing more come her way. She saw Ben, still fighting. For one second their eyes met until Rey felt a blow to her head and she fell into the hole. The last thing she recalled was hearing Ben call her name, as her eyes closed, hitting the freezing water.

Hux and a couple of soldiers looked down the hole and smiled. The sound of fighting could still be heard in the background. They had their backs to the battle.

One soldier pointed down the hole. "Supreme Leader, do you want us to go find the Prince?"

Hux shook his head. "No. That fall killed him. I know it. Just kill—" He stopped as he felt a stab to his back. His eyes were wide with shock as he heard in his ear. "Your senseless bloodshed ends now."

In the dark cave, Ben gently retrieved Rey from the icy waters. He placed her on the rocky ground, in front of what looked like a mirror. "Rey?" He shivered, feeling the effects of the water. He felt for her pulse at her wrist and neck; it was weak but there. Like him, they needed to be warm. He knew what he had to do and hopefully it would help both of them. He took off his clothes quickly and hers. He looked away from her intimate parts and just focused on getting her warm, pulling her to him. Her hair, loose from her buns, was placed over her shoulder as he rubbed her back and arms, making sure she was receiving warmth. He pulled her close and laid his head near hers, closing his eyes.

A while later, Rey opened her eyes and instead of the cold, she thought she would feel, she felt incredible soothing warmth. She moaned and especially felt the warmth behind her. She then realized she wasn't wearing clothing. Her eyes widened as she saw her bare breasts stomach, and... She gulped as she turned and saw Ben sleeping. She then knew what he did and was grateful to him. He kept them both alive. She felt her breasts touch his strong chest. She liked the feeling as she finally ran her fingers through his dark locks, tracing a finger down his nose, to his full lips and strong chin. The gentle tickle of her finger woke him.

"You're awake," Ben whispered as he slowly opened his eyes.

"You saved us."

Ben put his arm around Rey's waist, pulling her close. "We've known each other for such a short while but that's just enough to know that..."

Rey raised a brow and asked, "Know what?"

"I love you, Rey." He stared into her eyes, not caring if she said it back. He wanted her to know of his true feelings towards her.

Rey felt a certain warmth in her heart as a single tear rain down her right cheek. She felt a happiness she thought she would never feel as she said, with all her heart. "Ben, I love you, too." She leaned forward, their lips inches from touching, and in a second she touched her lips with his, feeling an intimacy she had never felt in all her life. She felt him respond and she smiled against his lips, kissing him deeper.

Ben pulled Rey to be on top of him, breaking their kiss. He looked up and saw the woman he was in love with and he sighed in relief as she leaned down and kissed him again. He caressed her scar on her arm and felt a part of him awaken and she must have felt it as well as she looked at him intently with her hazel eyes and breathed just as hard as he was. She kissed him again and again. He rubbed her back lovingly as he felt they instantly became one, moaning together, their breaths mingled as they continued to share their love, together.

Later, dressed back in their clothing, Rey and Ben held hands, their swords held by their free hands, as they followed more blue butterflies through the cave, toward the opening revealing a beach.

"We made it out, Ben!" She squeezed his hand and felt him squeeze back. He looked at her, with a gentle smile, leaning down and kissing her soft lips. They were heavenly. She smiled and caressed his cheek.

They both looked around and together saw others running towards them.

"Do you see—" He started to say.

"Yes, I see—Rose and—" They walked in their direction. "Poe, Finn, and the New Empire soldiers?" She turned to Ben and gave him a quizzical look.

Ben's brows furrowed, knowing Poe and Rose wouldn't betray him and Naboo.

Rose had her arms raised as she hugged Rey, breaking Rey's hold on Ben's hand. "You are both safe!" She turned to Ben. "We thought we lost you two. We walked back and forth on these shores three times. She looked towards the rocks. "How did you get out?"

Rey pointed towards the entrance that was now covered in rock. "Ben? Do you see what I see?"

Ben nodded, mystified. He looked towards the water, seeing the gentle waves roll in. He looked back at the crowd coming towards them. "Where's Hux?"

Rose crossed her arms. "Finn killed him and he was amazing." She smiled toward Finn and Poe, as they finally made it to her, Rey, and Ben.

"Finn, I'm grateful for what you did," Ben said with a nod.

Finn nodded towards him and explained, "There are generals just like him, with dark ambition. One of them will be the new Supreme Leader." He turned and put his arm out toward the New Empire soldiers. "After I killed Hux, I called out to the remaining soldiers that they didn't have to keep being brainwashed in fighting a senseless war. They could be better and live a new life," He said that last part as he looked at Poe and Rose with a smile.

"We stopped because what Finn says is right. We're not going to fight for power," a young woman said as she walked a few steps toward Ben. "My name is Jannah, Sire..." She started to bow but stopped once she heard his voice.

"We're in this together, Jannah, and that means equally helping each other." He looked at Rey and saw her smile. He looked back at all the soldiers. "You must all know where we're heading to. We ask that you join us, to help and stop the New Empire. Will you help?"

More soldiers walked behind and beside Jannah. One soldier ripped the cloak that held the New Empire's symbol and he stepped on it, with meaning. Jannah looked around at her friends and said, "We will."

The day passed on as they walked along the shore and that's when Rey and Ben both saw in front of them, more blue butterflies. They followed down the shore until everyone saw the binary suns and nearby were the dragons, flying above, as they just appeared out of nowhere.

Everyone looked in awe, seeing eight dragons, of large size, soar above them, calling out to each other.

"Mortis," Rey whispered. She took Ben's hand in hers and smiled.

Ben squeezed her hand, feeling her squeeze right back, as he continued to look above. "Beautiful," he said, simply.

In minutes, the dragons circled them. Ben and Rey walked toward one that looked dark gray. They raised a hand and the dragon moved forward, it's snout touching their hands. It made a cooing sound. "We'll ride this one," Ben said. He looked at everyone else. "Remember our plan, everyone. See if they will come on our side first but if they attack..."

"The dragons will do the rest," Rey said with a nod. Everyone nodded and cheered.

"Let's do this!" Jannah said to her fellow soldiers.

"We are the spark that will burn down the New Empire," Poe said with determination.

Ben nodded toward his friend as he and Rey easily climbed on their dragon. Everyone else did the same with the remaining dragons, some with four on a back.

"Ready?" Ben whispered in Rey's ear, as she sat before him holding onto the dragon as he had a hand on her stomach, keeping her close to him.

Rey looked back and kissed Ben, their lips moving in sync. She smiled and said, "Ready." Then at once, they were in the air, ready to fight a regime and restore peace for all the lands, and afterward, live happily ever after.

~The End~

#reylo #reylo fanfic #fanfic #ao3 #reylo week 2020 #writing for fun #this one was soothing to write #rey x ben #fairytales #yup I love dragons so :)#fluff #romance #<3

19 notes · View notes

glitchrpgmain · 4 years

Photo

congratulations SARAH! you have been accepted into underworldfm. the role of SAPPHIRE will be portrayed by CHRISTOPHER LE CHEVALIER. SEBASTIAN STAN is now taken. please submit your blog within the next 24 hours & be sure to follow the guidelines outlined in our checklist.

ic.

character. Sapphire

occupation. Head Leecher

species. Lycan

faction. Liberation

name. Christopher Le Chevalier

age. 898 (Looks 38)

gender & pronouns. cis man, He/Him

faceclaim. Sebastian Stan

BIO.

but can’t you see the sanity in my epiphany

Christopher has been a peasant, a lord, a knight, a warrior, and a prisoner. He’s seen unlikely empires rise and fall. He’d outlived great men and monsters. He’d fought beside the winners and the losers. He’d seen Notre Dame built and burned–more than once. He’d seen and lived through too much. The only thing he learned after all those years was that there was one constant: death. Everyone was supposed and everything was supposed to end, and Alexander’s time was coming. It was a matter of time, and what was a few hundred years for someone like Christopher.

It’s strange what the mind chooses to remember after years of life. To Christopher, his memories are fragments tied together with fragile silk thread. A line leading from when he was human to Lycan and then dissolved and distorted in the centuries that followed. A thread soaked in fresh blood; human, vampire and Lycan.

12th Century

– oh power, power. a hero calls. from the bottom of a bottle. watch him fall.

Christopher was born a peasant–that was more fact than memory–destined to work the land until it ate him alive. But destiny had other plans for Christopher. He was young when armored men raised his village to the ground. He must have been no older than ten when his mother carried him out of their home, lungs filled with black smoke. Ten when he watched a knight drive his sword through her heart. Ten when he watched the same fate befall his father and siblings. Ten when that same knight assumed Christopher was dead. He’d been a sickly child, frail and unassuming. Even though life did not want Christopher, he would survive. He crawled his way back to life away from where he lay on the banks of the river Styx.

He lived to adulthood by wanting it more than others, by evading sickness and death. Christopher became what he feared. With puberty came a strength reserved for those who made surviving their vengeance for an unjust world. He stole, he fought and he killed.

But death came for Christopher. He’d died. He was sure he had. He’d finally pissed off the wrong people and his life caught up to him. It had been so cold and wet. He’d felt his soul escape his body and yet, he’d woken up. Christopher found himself in a bed far too luxurious it had to be divine. In a way it was. A Lycan bishop had saved Christopher’s life, turned him.

The bishop had needed warriors, a special unit to protect Richard the First. The church educated Christopher, both in letters and in sword. He understood his role now. And when Queen Eleanor rallied her sons against their father, King Henry II, Christopher took up arms and marched with Richard. Soon, he became the personal guard of the young duke. Despite being blind to the existence of Lycans, they helped Richard earn the reputation as a great fighter and military leader. Christopher was happy to remain in the shadows.

Richard was not a good man and an even worse king. Having a front-row seat to all the debauchery of Richard I did not endear him to Christopher. He was a monster, surrounded by worse monsters. Christopher was assigned to escort Richard’s fiancee, Berengaria, and his sister, Joan, home from Messina, but a shipwreck provided an opportunity to escape for Christopher. He faked his death and disappeared into Cyprus. Years of being a peasant made it so that Christopher knew how to fade into obscurity, to become unassuming. Faking death proved to be a lot easier than surviving it. Christopher’s desertion did not save him from participating in The Crusades. He found himself among the Christian forces. His story with war continued. Christopher was once again fighting not for honor but for survival.

15th Century

– I’ll never forget that you showed me to make art. and I know the love you showed me. came from a pure and noble heart

It’s the Renaissance and Christopher experiences yet another rebirth of his own. His hands dripping with the blood of others, Christopher discovers art and love. Italy was the place to be and Florence bloomed with life. Years of war and conquering left Christopher rich in gold if nothing else, while the rest of Western Europe lay in recession. But in Florence, bankers ruled and gold meant power. Christopher no longer had to hide.

He founded a bank and bought space for himself amongst the Medici family. But Christopher had been alive for far too long to follow the advice of Machiavelli. Christopher learned to be kind, learned to be human for the first time. He became a patron of art and hosted lavish parties. He wanted to capture something that he’d been denied. He understood that the only way to live multiple lives is to reinvent yourself.

17th Century

– whispered words start revolutions. weary souls break constitutions

As the reality of immortality stood, Christopher could not remain in one location for too long. He never married or bore children, knowing that he would never again want to outlive his kin. In 1660, Christopher sailed to the new land, as though land did not exist prior to being colonized. But the world was full of atrocities and Christopher was learning to navigate despite them, learning how to find hope in the fragility of circumstances. He distanced himself from humans, knowing that there lay only heartache. He became more involved in Lycan factions, rising in leadership. He fought when they needed him to fight, protecting his people. Christopher will not bow down to a vampire.

21st Century

– all the children are insane. waiting for the summer rain. there’s danger on the edge of town

A new millennium and Christopher’s age creeps towards the 4 digit mark, yet nothing has changed. War rages between humans, between vampires, and between Lycan. Countless of Lycan are butchered in the name of what? Vampire power. They bathe in Lycan blood, enforcing oppressive law in the name of prejudice, a punishment for actions taken thousands of years ago. Christopher holds the remains of his own faction together. But this is not an end. As long as he is still breathing as long as the moon calls his name and blood runs in his veins, Christopher will not abandon the Lycan cause. It might be what finally ends him, but he will happily lie down his life for a cause he truly believes in.

This is the end, beautiful friend This is the end, my only friend The end

Personality:

Pretty face and a mean bite.

People want to see a kindness in Christopher. He has soft eyes and a sweet smile. But those characteristics are more a wish than a reality. Christopher believes in reason and in humanity. Believes that people, human and Lycan– maybe even vampire, deserve a fair shot at existence. But he does not live in a world that allows space for kindness. It’s a fallacy albeit one that Christopher continues to strive toward.

Being alive for so long hasn’t made Christopher any more aware of who he is. The frictions and abrasions of time, war, and death have not shaped him into a beautiful piece of sea-glass, but rather have left him jagged, weary, and cynical. Christopher holds strongly to what remains of his sanity and focuses it on making the world a better place, if not for everyone then for the North American Lycans. Christopher is tired, a tiredness so deep he doesn’t remember a time he has not felt it. He hides it under a gruff exterior and determination. He shows himself as the leader they need him to.

please detail any potential plots you have in mind for your character or, conversely, expand on the connections we provided in the skeleton. What do these connections mean to your character? what can you see coming out of it? use this section as a way of showing us where you are going to take this character and showcase their interactions.

#uwfmaccepted

2 notes · View notes