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thelightofthingshopedfor · 3 years

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lol okay so I dashed off most of this the day of and then kept not posting it because I kept thinking I needed to add stuff, but then I ended up adding more stuff mostly in reblogs instead (should all be under the “my meta” tag if anyone’s curious) and now episode 2 is technically coming out tomorrow night in my time zone so obviously I need to just post this. bullet points of disconnected thoughts, some of which are probably at least slightly outdated by now but whatever, here you go

seems very possible Mobius left the tape with him on purpose because he figured Loki wouldn’t be able to resist looking at it

would have to check the timing but I’m pretty sure he started looking terrified as soon as Thanos came onscreen without really knowing the context (aside from the very basic outline of “it’s been several years and he reconciled with Thor”), which at least underscores that they weren’t buddies--Loki knew something awful was about to happen the second Thanos showed up sadly this is not true, the clip he sees first is him trying to stab Thanos, so...yeah it stands to reason that he’d know it was about to end badly no matter what

other people have mentioned this but I love that we got to see Loki just like...existing?? like I know he’s never been the protagonist before and seeing him as the protagonist has always been one of the things that’s excited me most about the show, but now that it’s here I’m just kind of struck by how HE’S THE PROTAGONIST so we’re getting all these emotions and little gestures and moments when he’s alone that we only got in tiny, sadly easy-to-overlook snatches before (and it also occurred to me that I don’t think we’ve ever seen Loki eat anything, which is something else that might change)

also his projection is fascinating, and so is the fact that he explicitly turned it around on himself, which seems relevant to all the theories about a lot of his other statements (”freedom is life’s great lie,” most of what he said to Natasha, etc.) being things that were drummed into him on Sanctuary rather than stuff he just came up with on his own, so that seems to cover a lot of the stuff he says in Avengers and here

on the other hand it seems unlikely we’re ever going to get confirmation that Bad Stuff happened to him on Sanctuary aside from what we already saw in Avengers, which is frustrating, although to be fair I also wasn’t expecting to see Loki crying about his family in the first episode (and the most I’m really hoping for, still, is that nothing will explicitly contradict the idea, so...we’re good on that thus far, I guess)

so the first half of the episode was...ehhh, I don’t know, but the second half was amazing. I know some people didn’t like that part either, but I felt like...okay, I don’t love him being humiliated so I would’ve preferred different framing for some of this BUT a lot of casual viewers still see Loki as a cackling caricature without having picked up on any of the stuff that very clearly showed otherwise, and this show wants to treat Loki as a person, someone worthy of audience sympathy, so they kind of had to go in hard and fast on that aspect to get everyone up to speed. like, yes, fans who’ve been paying attention know that Loki’s a person, that he’s wounded, that he doesn’t hurt people just because it’s fun for him, that he feels things very deeply, that he loves his family, but somehow the mainstream perception of him has missed like 85% of that, and the show’s just not going to have much impact unless it gets everybody on board with those very basic ideas. in terms of story structure it probably doesn’t make sense for this to be his lowest point, but starting from the bottom and eventually getting somewhere better is fairly standard, so at this point I can imagine tons of ways things could improve for him

yeah I do hate the whole Sacred Timeline thing, see also my posts about how much I loved that Endgame canonically (I thought) established multiple timelines where everything was fine, so yeah I’m pissed about that because it means those timelines were canonically pruned

like I don’t...hate it as a storytelling device? I just hate it for fandom reasons, and I’ve hated it in other fandoms when canon did something that seemed to open things up to all this incredible possibility and then went “actually no, we’re boxing it up again into this one specific Way That Things Happened” and for fanwork purposes it doesn’t matter all that much, I don’t think it’s actually that much harder to do AUs or go “okay well in this universe the TVA doesn’t exist, whatever” (in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if AO3 quickly develops a new canonical “not TVA compliant” tag for basically all Loki fic), but it is annoying that it’s now like “canonically, every AU is Not Allowed”, and if that ends up sticking as the status quo with the TVA considered good guys or at least a necessary evil then yeah, I’m going to be annoyed

HOWEVER

I don’t think that’s inevitable for a variety of reasons

this whole show is going to deal with multiverse shenanigans and so will Dr. Strange 2, so it seems completely possible that the end result could be a status quo of “there’s a multiverse actually and that’s fine” (...although yes, I’ll be doubly annoyed if the end result of this show is a restored multiverse of some kind and the end result of Dr. Strange 2 is condensing it back down to a single timeline)

the multiverse is a long-running comics tradition, which still seems to be the case even after...whatever event it was that collided a bunch of them and tried for a Highlander thing, look I wasn’t really following it and I know some characters ended up in other universes from where they started but I’m pretty sure we still have a multiverse of some kind

almost all the recent Loki-centric comics have focused on questions of fate and agency

Agent of Asgard in particular was about Loki eventually going “fuck you I won’t do what you tell me” and forging a new path (and, okay, it does seem like runs other than AoA have been the most influential here but again we’ve only seen one episode)

Loki, specifically, is an agent of chaos and change, like that’s his whole thing going way back to mythology, because sometimes stagnancy is death and chaos is healthy, and of course myth!Loki (and earlier versions of comics!Loki) is always responsible for triggering Ragnarok, which isn’t just the end of the world but is also a natural, crucial part of a cycle of renewal, and yes the MCU already did Ragnarok but that doesn’t at all mean they can’t play more with those ideas

Tom Hiddleston has brought up this specific point several times in recent interviews, that sometimes chaos is the one thing that's really needed

also, on Jimmy Kimmel the day of the episode, he kind of...planted a seed about the TVA maybe not being uncomplicated good guys because seriously what gives them the right to make these decisions for literally everyone

so at the very least I think it’s completely possible that things aren’t quite what they seem, and that for instance we’re supposed to discover that Mobius is consciously manipulating him to turn him into the type of tool the TVA wants him to be

also “the timeline wants to break free” shows up on a lot of merch, which does seem to indicate a free will vs. predestination theme

I’m not at all familiar with comics!TVA, although I understand they’re considered villains (although to be fair, so were the Skrulls, and at least thus far that’s been inverted for the MCU), but their whole thing reminded me of a few other entities in a way that could be relevant:

the tape running out was like the Norns cutting the thread of somebody’s life

Those Who Sit Above In Shadow in AoA (and also maybe whatever was below the God Quarry in Infinity Wars although I’m less familiar with that)

the gods in Cabin In The Woods, who were also kind of audience proxies in that they really just cared about the sacrifice being entertaining, which kinda seems like the only logical reason for the Timekeepers to prefer any given series of events over another

my personal hope for the series: the Timekeepers are ultimately the Big Bad and the rogue Loki variant is ultimately right in trying to wipe out the TVA (because sure I realize it’s maybe dumb of me but I still don’t want any Loki to be completely a bad guy!!); the major named TVA characters realize they’re the baddies actually and team up with a whole army of Lokis to take them down and GIVE US BACK OUR MULTIVERSE

#meta #my meta #loki meta #loki spoilers #loki series spoilers #loki show spoilers #loki show #loki #marvel cinematic universe

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 5 years

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🏰⚔️DMODT- 6 full

Hanji knew nothing about magic, but that didn't stop the woman. Over the following month, he found himself being dragged all over the place as he "helped" the woman with her experiments. Sure, he'd learned a few things. Omegas were the only ones who could read the runes in the books of magic, and their alpha masters treated them like lackies because of it. Alphas were only really their in order to command the omegas over what not to do. He had no talent for healing. Not once did a healing spell work the way he wanted it to. He could stop the blood flowing... but he had better chance of healing an injury with traditional medicine. Hanji was practically useless. Yep, all that and that he'd accident upset the prince, who wasn't actually the prince at all. That was the biggest thing he'd learned from Hanji. For some stupid reason, Levi was only playing the part of Prince Erwin, or Erwin was playing the part of Levi's body guard. It had something to do with the way the King and Queen had died. The moment Hanji had let the secret slip, she'd used an alpha command to silence him over it. As it turned out, Hanji had nearly daily run ins with Erwin and Levi. It was so incredibly stupid, but each time they met, Eren secretly hoped for Levi to look at him. It depressed him to think that the prince didn't want him in the castle, and the only thing that came to mind as to why the man would be displeased was due to the apple tree incident. He'd apologised, and been brushed aside. Hanji had told him not to take it personally, but how could he not? He hadn't intended to cause any trouble at all, and he'd been much better at controlling his magic. Even when Hanji was finished with him, he'd head down to small woodland behind the training oval and practice until his nose bled. He couldn't form another tree, no matter how much he tried, but his battle magic had been getting better. He could now summon razor sharp winds... that had succeeded in cutting his arms to shreds, and not much else. He felt as if he'd had a real master, he would have been further in his studies. As the second visit by the Marley forces drew closer, Hanji had less time to spend training him. Armin had been full of enthusiasm over helping him, but even his friend had been drawn into helping around the castle. He could have turned to Mikasa, they'd often eat dinner together as Hanji at with the castle soldiers, but Mikasa had grown on his nerves. She wanted more from him than what he was prepared to give. She'd attempt to scent mark him every chance she got, claiming he didn't know the affect he had on the soldiers. The first time had really hurt him to hear that strangers only saw him as sex ok legs. When he'd returned to his room, he'd begun back on his homemade suppressants. He was omega, but he was also a person who'd sworn their life to Eldia. He didn't need to be a soldier to be strong. Not now that he could use his magic. He just needed to practice, and more herbs. Having been shopping with Hanji, Eren had learned that most places were happy to bill the castle for supplies. Dressed in his pants and tunic, Eren looked just like everyone else in the market place. Hanji had laughed at the impracticality of his robes, and insisted he wear pants. They weren't even the tight white pants of soldiers either, these were black and gave him a little more space to move. Plus, his bleeds or slicking didn't show. With a smile on his face, Eren took his time to savour the sights and sounds of the market row. Children played games in the street, carefree and ignorant of the world around them, or the lack of freedom the whole country was suffering. As he walked, he nodded to the various stall holders he'd met through Hanji. The store he wanted was the apothecary at the end of the road, so it wasn't technically part of the market row, but inside was just as chaotic as if it had been. Bundles of hundreds of herbs hung from the ceiling, their ground counterparts filling jars that barely seemed to hold them. If he hadn't had magic, he would have liked to be a stall holder. He would have liked to hear the stories of the hundreds of residents of capital city. But alas, he'd always be on the outside. Stopping off at his favourite fruit stall, the owner tossed him a fresh apple. With too many apples at the castle, they'd traded the stall owner for potatoes "Having a good day, Eren?" "Excellent. And you?" "Can't complain. Hey. Is it true those thugs from Marley are returning?" "I wouldn't call them thugs, but yes?" The man looked genuinely annoyed, ruining Eren's apple for him before he'd even bitten into it "Did something happen?" "Nah. Nothing you types would be interested in" "Types"? What type was that? He hadn't been born into royalty. It was only by luck that he was training at the castle "I'm plenty interested. What happened?" "Bunch of them stole from us before they took off. Couldn't do nothing to them, being honoured guests and all" That wasn't right or fair "Did you notify Prince Erwin?" "Kid's had a silver spoon in his mouth since he was born" "I've talked with Prince Erwin, I'm sure if you notified him, he'd repay you" "It's not worth the effort. Now get on with you. You're scaring my customers away" Eren nodded "Thanks for the apple" Continuing along the market, he ran into his second conversation of the day. Coming out with his arms loaded with fur L-Erwin could barely see over the pile. It was going to take him a while to get used to the farce being played out. Whenever he saw the big blond man, his mind jumped to Levi. And now he wasn't. When Erwin stumbled, Eren jogged over to him. Steadying the pile of furs as they carried it to the waiting cart. Loading them into the back, Erwin smiled down at him "Thanks for that. Are you out shopping?" "Yes, though not for quite as much as you are" "Prince Zeke wants fur cloaks for his entourage. These furs are being taken to be adjusted by our tailors" "Ugh. Of course he does" Pelts this soft would make such a nice blanket to sleep under on cold days "Yes. He's quite the handful. It feels like some time since we were able to last speak. How are things going with Hanji?" "She's no master of magic. That's for sure, but she tries" "Your magic is coming along, then?" "Slowly. I feel no bond with her though. Not like the one I'd expected. But I've found that dreams can be quite different to reality" "I'm sorry to hear that. I know how excited you were. Would you like a ride back to the castle?" "No. I'm alright. I still haven't visited the apothecary yet. I would have expected the castle to grow their own herbs, or at least have the ones I need" "Have you thought about growing them yourself?" "No. Yes. But after sprouting a tree by accident, I don't know how safe it would be to let me grow more" "We do have glass rooms set up for plant propagation. Compile a list of seeds, and I'll pass them on to the mages" "That would make things so much easier, thank you. This might seem rather bold, but I wouldn't mind attempting to grow them myself. I would like to try my magic on them, and not herbs that everyone in the castle depends upon" Levi might be the fake prince, but Erwin held the real power... "Do you have some idea where?" "Close to the woods by the training grounds, so as to be close without encroaching on the soldiers" "Very well. Draft up some idea, then I'll see that it gets to the prince" "Thank you, very much" "You're welcome. And thank you for the help with the furs. I'll leave you too it" Eren gave Erwin the best smile he could, before hurrying off towards the apothecary. Erwin seemed to still like him well enough, which meant he'd insulted Levi somehow... It confused him, then annoyed him, then pissed him right off. He hadn't done anything to Levi for him to be mad. It'd be one thing if he had, but the real prince of the kingdom wasn't mad at him. Entering the apothecary, the whole process only took a few minutes as he knew what he wanted and needed. A dozen herbs later, the cloud of depression around him lifted. Remembering he was sending the bill to the castle, he added a few more herbs to his own list as a jab at Levi. If the man was going to be mad, he might as make him really mad. Leaving the apothecary store, he found Erwin waiting for him "Weren't you returning to the castle?" "I am. I didn't feel right about leaving you here to walk back" Starting to walk towards the fur cart, Eren fell into step with him "I would have been just fine. I did walk down here myself" "I know you frequent the market with Hanji, but the market can be a dangerous place for an omega. Less desirable people make a game of hunting mages and magic users. You really shouldn't be down here by yourself" Why hadn't Erwin said that before? Had he missed something happening? Had Erwin needed to step in and save him? He hoped not "I'm sorry..." "No. It's not your fault. Since Marley came into the scene under this peace treaty, things have grown hard for the residents of the city. This is not your fault" "Why can't you do anything?" "Because Marley will cry war. Being on the main land, they have a number of allies. Unfortunately, Eldia suffers. The Prince doesn't like it, but... it's either people dying senseless deaths in war, or us trying to find some balance and protecting all we can" He didn't expect such a heavy answer. Maybe Erwin was more than a pretty face? "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to saddle you with this?" Eren shook his head quickly "I don't mind. I did come to the castle to be of use after I took my vow" "I shall keep that in mind. Would you like some help getting up?" Eren's face redden as his mind immediately went to sex with Erwin comment, instead of help into the wagon. Before he answered, Erwin lifted him like he weighed nothing, settling him on the front driver's seat, before climbing up beside him "There wasn't anything else you needed, was there?" "No, just the herbs. Thank you" * Erwin was taking too long for Levi's liking. Standing in the castle courtyard, the stump of the apple tree had been turned into the base of an anvil, a blacksmith working on a horseshoe as he stared down at it. It'd been a truly impressive tree, and he was almost sad to see it gone. It'd provided the keep with shade, and seemed to make the whole space less sticky and humid. But it also provided far too many shadows for would be assassins. Grumbling under his breath, he heard Erwin before he saw him. The alpha laughing heartedly as he drove the cart into the keep. Riding beside him was Eren, the teen laughing just as hard as Erwin pulled up near the service entrance just short of the walkway Levi was glaring at the world from. Jumping down, Erwin said something that Eren raising his hands in protest. It didn't stop Erwin from rounding the cart and lifting Eren down. The whole interaction pissed him off. Erwin had kept him waiting all damn morning, just so he could play hooky with Eren. Passing small wrapped parcels to Eren, lessened his annoyance. Erwin must have given the omega lift back to the castle. Though what Eren was doing out on his own, he didn't know. It wasn't safe for omegas to just be walking around, confirming his thoughts that kid was a naive brat. He'd already copped a lecture from squad leader Ackerman about it, and had an hour long "talk" with Hanji over Eren's progress. Hanji felt that because Eren didn't understand his powers, he wasn't able to tap into completely. Whatever. It wasn't his problem anyway. He had no reason for talking to the omega now that Zeke wasn't there. There was nothing between them, not even the pull of the bond formed on the altar. It was another few days of annoyance and upset routine, before he literally ran into Eren again. Rushing through the castle, the young omega hadn't been paying attention at all, as he ran straight into him. Bouncing back, Eren hit the floor with a thud, while Levi's hand had flown to his sword. Normally people paid much more attention, instead of being shitty idiots "Eren? Are you alright?" "I'm so sorry, sirs. I was supposed to meet with court mages this morning, but Hanji only just passed the message on" The woman was a damn menace. Reaching down, Erwin pulled Eren from the floor "You'd better get along then" "Yes. I'm so sorry" Both of them stepped aside, leaving a path for Eren between them. Levi drew his brow in concern as the scent coming off Eren. He didn't smell like himself, and he left the trace hints of blood behind. Taking two steps, Levi knelt down, reaching out to touch the place where Eren had landed. His finger tips coming back dry, apart from the tiny specks of blood "Is everything ok?" "Eren's bleeding" "Bleeding?" Rising, he showed his fingers to Erwin "That does seem to be blood. But it could be entirely natural" "It's not natural for male omegas to bleed... If he's sick, it could mean trouble" "And if he's not, you'll be embarrassing him" "Then have a word with the head healer. Have them make sure the kid hadn't contracted something contagious. His scent was wrong too" "You know his scent now?" "It smells of rain. Today, he smelt blank. If his magic flared again, he may just bring down the castle" Marley would be there in just a couple more days. Everything had been made perfect for Prince Pin-Dick's arrival "I'll see what can be done. But Levi, if Eren's powers are causing you so much worry, wouldn't it be better to send him from the castle?" Did he want to send Eren from the castle? Something inside him fiercely hated the thought... his alpha sore over him not wanting to pursue the omega, yet... He couldn't bring himself to dismiss Eren completely. Each time he caught a whiff of the omegas scent, or a caught a glance of him rushing through the castle... or even just the thought of Eren being under the same roof as him, he'd find himself scrambling to push the omega from his mind, then scrambling for excuses as to why Eren couldn't leave "No. He may fall into the hands of the enemy. Plus, Zeke may not be impressed at the lack of Eren being there" "Do you think he'd care about Eren, after this time apart?" "Probably. Because it's him and he just wants to be an arsehole. Their rooms are ready, correct?" "Yes. I've checked them myself. We've withstood Zeke before, and we will again" "And the entertainment?" "The finest musicians have been called to the castle. The mages have been given their orders, and they've promised a sky show to remember" "And you've got the updated hunting maps?" "Picked them up with the furs. Arrangements have been made for an extended hunting trip. Tents and camp organised for the forest to the south" He'd prefer not to hunt in the south, but Isabel and Farlan had found signs of illegal poaching, and thanks to shitty Marley messing with his schedule, he hadn't been able to ride out and check it. No doubt, Zeke was sure to blame his ineptness for the poachers "Very well. Everything must go smoothly" "You're worrying too much" Levi glared at Erwin "You're not worried enough. Go make sure Eren is alright, and make go check with Shitty Glasses about his training. If she can't bring his magic under control, we need to find someone more appropriate" "Hanji isn't going to like that" "Between her and the castle, I choose the castle" "Of course you do. Just don't forget you need to check in with the kitchen over the menu for Marley's stay, and you need to be there for gear inspection..." "I know. You take care of your job, and I'll take care of mine" * Eren was sure he was in trouble. Hanji had signed off on his small shopping trip, though asked that in future he went through her over the herbs he needed. That wasn't happening. He didn't want to be a burden on her, not when she had so much to do around the castle as it was. Not being a magic user, or master, Hanji didn't know about the classes some mages had access to. Eren didn't even know about it until he was summoned down to meet with one of the older omegas who was in charge of entertainment while Marley was there. Three or four masters had come together to train their omegas in broader magic uses, but perhaps more exciting than forcing his way into those classes was that he got to take part in the sky show being planned to wow Marley. It was so last moment, he didn't know how it'd happened, yet he was thrilled to be of some use. All his life, Eren had thought that complex magic spells were required for magic, yet the runes in the books were more ideas and suggestions. It was rather weird to read about spells, then have mental images stab at his brain over it. The clearer the mental image, the clearer the results from the spells. For all her ramblings and excitement, Hanji had never told him that. Instead it'd taken a few snarky comments from older mages, who had decided he was particularly useless because he couldn't create a shower of magical sparks like they could. Still. A strong imagination didn't mean a strong spell, necessarily. It was just the first step of the race, and Eren seemed to be on a completely different playing field. Spending hours with the mages, Eren was growing more and more frustrated. He could make a small shower of sparkles appear... around his fingers and that was that. He felt sick to his stomach, exhausted and uncomfortably hot. He didn't understand why it was so easy for everyone else. He'd taken his vows. He was taking his studies with an unusual and almost fanatical devotion, yet all he seemed to be able to do was produce small party tricks. When he closed his eyes, he could focus on what he wanted. A whole sky lit up bright in a shower of silver and blue. He'd done what he was told to do... which had to mean, he was the problem. Had he taken his vows too soon? Or was it because his magic had been useless for so long? Swaying on the spot, he dropped to his knees. Why couldn't he do what everyone else could do?! Left to sit where he'd fallen, one of the other masters took pity of him. Heaving him up by his arm, the man wrapped an arm around his waist as he gave a sniff. Slightly offended, Eren tried to stand alone, but his knees would support him "Stop it. You're liable to give yourself an aneurysm with all this straining" Glaring at the man, he seemed to tower over him, by at least a head "What would you know?" "I know you're learning nothing under Hanji" "Hanji is my master" "Is she?" Eren's scowl deepened "Don't be like that, I know you've suspected as much. The only one who can draw the magic out of you, is your master" Eren was sick of feeling insulted and sick of feeling sick. His head was starting to throb in time with his stomach, his tongue getting the better of him as he angrily hissed "And who are you?! How do you seem to magically know what's happening between Hanji and I?! She is my master!" "We both know you were mounted by a male alpha, not a female" "I..." He didn't remember the ritual. Once the blood of those in the cavern had been drunk, he couldn't remember anything that happened after it. Only a feeling of being right where he was supposed to be, and a feeling of being held warm and safe "Who are you?" "My name is Reiner. I am a master here, and have been since Marley signed the treaty with Eldia" So Reiner came from Marley? Why the fuck was he working as a master here then? Marley had their own mages... "Well, Reiner. Then I must be a magic user who's master regretted mounting me. Would you care to go ahead and laugh?" "I would never laugh. Instead, I shall give you a piece of advice. Seek out your true master, and whatever herbs you are taking for your... condition, stop. Being a magic user requires you to be in tune with yourself and your master. Your master gives you strength through the bonds formed each time you lay together" Eren pursed his lips. Reiner wasn't like he'd expected. The alpha hadn't been insulted by his snappy retorts "And how do you suppose I do that?" "You should feel it. When you're in the company of him, you shall feel it" "And what if I don't?" "Then there's always a spell. Employ the use of a scrying circle. Concentrate on the thought of your master and the answer should be revealed" "Why are you telling me this?" "Because you remind me of myself. Stuck with no way out, except to live up to someone else's expectations. That apple tree you rose, was just a small sliver of the power you have, and we all have high hopes for you" Mulling Reiner's words over in his mind, he let himself be helped back up to the castle. Parting with Reiner, Eren didn't know how he felt about the man. Everyone else had left him, yet Reiner had sought him out to tell him he needed to find his proper master. What happened when he did? Why had they turned their backs on him, and left him to Hanji? He knew he could be loud, but only because he so desperately wanted to be useful. Was that so wrong? And could he possibly solve his dilemma? If Hanji was lying to him, who else was? And why? Wrapping his arms around himself, he suddenly felt very much alone, and incredibly small. He'd thought he was making friends here... but maybe Armin and Mikasa were his only friends? He didn't really know the people of the castle. Even Erwin and Levi weren't who they said they were. How much of all of this was actually a lie?

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marksburyscripts · 3 years

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Season 1, Episode 7-- Reappearance

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Content Warnings: -Past parental death -Cancer

[A local farm in Marksbury. Day.]

CHRISTINE

This place is nice.

VICTOR

Yeah. We used to take field trips here all the time when we were kids. Learn how to milk cows, how to plant seeds, all that stuff. If we came during the fall, we'd paint pumpkins. Elliot and I actually took horseback riding lessons here when we were eight.

CHRISTINE

Oh yeah?

VICTOR

Mhm. There was this one horse. Sierra was her name, if I remember correctly. She always gave everyone a hard time. Nothing dangerous, obviously, just not wanting to cooperate. Figure she must have been bored of a bunch of kids tugging on her reins all day. But Elliot, the moment he sat up there, it was like she'd known him her whole life.

CHRISTINE

He sounds wonderful.

VICTOR

He was.

CHRISTINE

Do you have a picture of him?

VICTOR

I… yeah. Here.

[There is a beat as he pulls up the photo]

CHRISTINE

And the one in the hockey shirt is Henry, I'm assuming?

VICTOR

Yeah. This was right after one of his games senior year of high school. They won.

CHRISTINE

He's wearing your sweatshirt.

VICTOR

Well-- Technically it's his. He let me keep it though, I…. I haven't really taken it off unless it was for laundry or to sleep, not since he…. [A breath]

CHRISTINE

No, I get it. You all look really happy.

VICTOR

...I still don't understand it, you know.

CHRISTINE

Understand what?

VICTOR

You. Clearly you're on… Erik's side, why bother with me?

CHRISTINE

I'm not on anyone's side. You know as well as I do that he has a tendency to get violent. If he decides that he wants to come after you, I might be the only person who can change his mind. It’s not a decision I made lightly, my fiance and I talked long and hard about it. Weighed all the pros and cons, the risks and benefits.

VICTOR

Hold on, you’re--

CHRISTINE

Mhm. He and I were childhood sweethearts. He proposed not long after I graduated.

VICTOR

Can’t imagine that went over well with your secret admirer.

CHRISTINE

No, it didn’t.

VICTOR

And so what? Your fiance is just… okay with you moving six hours away and keeping an eye on someone who’s basically a stranger so that your kidnapper doesn’t murder him?

CHRISTINE

In short? Yes. We trust the other can hold their own if things do go south. But honestly, I don’t think Raoul or I have to worry about Erik.

VICTOR

...So at the end of the day, you've decided that you're my bodyguard whether I like it or not.

CHRISTINE

It sounds better than "Friend with benefits".

VICTOR [He laughs]

Now you just sound like Henry.

CHRISTINE

Is that a good thing?

VICTOR

Yeah. Yeah, it is.

CHRISTINE

I'd love to meet him someday.

VICTOR

I’d have to check with him on that. Not sure he’d love the idea of….

CHRISTINE

My connections?

VICTOR

Exactly. It’s not that he’s a bad person or anything, he just--

[Very faintly, almost overlapping his words, there is a soft, nearly inaudible humming in the distance]

VICTOR (Cont.)

Did-- Did you hear that?

CHRISTINE

...Hear what?

VICTOR

...Nothing. Nothing, sorry.

CHRISTINE

...Are you okay?

VICTOR

I think we both know the answer to that.

CHRISTINE

You know what I mean.

VICTOR

...Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.

CHRISTINE

Can I ask you something?

VICTOR

I have a feeling you're going to find out the answer one way or another, so go for it.

CHRISTINE

What inspired you? What gave you the idea to--

VICTOR

To make a person, commit arson, and drop out of school?

CHRISTINE

A little more blunt than I was going for, but yes.

VICTOR

Yeah, no offense, but I'd rather not get into it.

[There are a few seconds of quiet as Victor debates whether or not to continue]

VICTOR (Cont.)

...My mom died. Cancer. I was seventeen, just a couple days out of high school. We'd always been close, so losing her, it… it was devastating. Not just for me, obviously. My dad, my sister…. My brother was five at the time, he didn't even really understand what was happening. That she was gone, that she wouldn't be coming back. Unless… she did. Unless she did come back. I'd always had the interest in the subject. I already had theories, but they'd always been just that. Theories, curiosity. "Is this the secret to piercing through the veil that separates life and death?" Little more than a hypothetical. But after she died, that's when I decided it. That this would be my life's work, that I wouldn't rest until I found a way to see her again. But it-- it wasn’t just for me, it was for everyone. The entire world. Elliot, he lost both of his parents when he was five. What if-- What if-- What no other child had to go through that again? Imagine death not as a finality, but as nothing more than an inconvenience, an-- an unfortunate circumstance equal to a car breaking down. Irritating, perhaps a bit stressful. But something that could be fixed, life continuing on as usual before long. That was the vision I had, the future I’d dreamed of. I'd already been accepted at Ingleside, I would have access to everything I needed there. Tools, chemicals, even cadavers. All that was left was the work, the dedication, and the perfect storm. Of course, I couldn't tell anyone what I was doing. They wouldn't have understood, they would have tried to stop me with talk of ethics and the dangers of playing God. That made the entire project difficult, not only having to get into the building undetected every night, but hiding my progress where it wouldn't be discovered. But I managed. ...You know, I think that was the last time I really ever felt excited about something. That night, thinking that this was the moment that would lead mankind into a new Golden Age of science. It-- It was like every dream I'd ever had was coming true right before my eyes. I walked into that lab expecting glory. And instead… I ended up like this.

CHRISTINE

...I think she’d be proud of you, you know. [Victor scoffs] I’m serious. You’ve been through a lot, but you keep going, no matter how hard it is. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. [Beat.] I lost my dad when I was eleven. We were close, too. Honestly, he was all I had, my mom died not long after I was born. We immigrated from Sweden when I was two, and it took everything he had just to keep us on our feet. Not exactly a huge market for violinists these days. But we were happy, even during the hardest times. It was just the two of us against the rest of the world. But then, all at once, there was just me. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how difficult it was. It still is sometimes. Some days, everything still reminds me of him. Are you religious, Victor?

VICTOR

No.

CHRISTINE

But you believe in something, I assume. Given your work.

VICTOR

...Yeah. Call it whatever you want, a… soul or whatever. There’s something, I’m just… not sure what it is. Or what happens to it after death. Even now, I… I have no idea.

CHRISTINE

Makes sense. Let’s look at it from a non-religious angle, then. Whatever that something is that you still can’t identify, that you know is there. That soul, or sense of being. It existed in her. Would you say it could be considered some sort of energy?

VICTOR

I guess…?

CHRISTINE

And what’s the First Law of Conservation?

VICTOR

...Energy cannot be created or destroyed.

CHRISTINE

You see what I’m getting at? Whatever that force is, whatever made her her, it’s no stretch of the imagination to say that it’s still out there. Maybe in a different form, but even so. ...I know it’s hard, Victor. There are gonna be days where it all comes rushing back, and you’re gonna feel like breaking down. You've gotta understand, that never really stops. Years from now, you're gonna see something that reminds you of her, and it's going to hurt, no matter how well you've healed. I wish I could say that eventually you'll just stop missing her, but I can't. But it will get easier. There's one main difference between you and me, I think. You're under the impression that your mom's death means that you're alone. I believe that with my father watching over me, I’ll never be alone again.

VICTOR

Poetic.

CHRISTINE

I try to be. But it’s true. And the same goes for the others, too. We love, we mourn. And in time, no matter how impossible it seems, we accept. All you can do is remember that, and hold onto the friends who are still here.

VICTOR

And... are you included in that category?

CHRISTINE

I’d like to be. If you’d let me. [She thinks for a moment] I have an idea. Maybe it will be a step in the right direction for you. What’s your work schedule look like the next few weeks?

VICTOR

...Why, what’re you thinking?

CHRISTINE

Well, if you’re comfortable with it, maybe the two of us could take a trip to- [There is the sound of a horse in the background, and we hear Victor’s breath begin to shake] Victor? You still with me?

VICTOR

We need to leave.

CHRISTINE

What? Why, is everything okay?

VICTOR

Just go, now!

[The pair get into the car, doors slamming behind them as Christine drives off, clearly shaken up]

CHRISTINE

Victor, what's wrong?

VICTOR

Did-- Did you see her?

CHRISTINE

See who?

VICTOR

Her, the-- the woman on the white horse in the field.

CHRISTINE

The one in the red sweatshirt? I didn't see her face, I--

VICTOR

Because she didn’t have one.

CHRISTINE

What?

VICTOR

Just-- Just keep driving. This is a long story.

NEXT EPISODE➝

#Season 1 #Episode 7 #Christine Daae #Victor Frankenstein

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karaclevelandca · 5 years

Text

What is Dabbing? By: Layke Hicks

What is Dabbing?

Dabbing is predicted to be the future of medicinal marijuana usage. Although, it will have to become even more inexpensive at the same time for everyone to get into it. From the concentrates themselves to the rigs they’re vaped in it’s a little expensive to have the best of the best shatter-rig (almost the same as a water bong) on your smoker’s table but there are also cheaper options that use the same basic technology, offering slightly less cool products in an assortment of colours.

The Dab

Welcome to the big world of concentrates. Weed-Deals has a selection of extremely high quality & potent shatters, distillate, vape cartridges, even kief and hash which can also be vapourized. This is undoubtedly the absolute cleanest way to ingest marijuana. If you’re tired of coughing from smoking or for whatever health reason(s). You cannot smoke joints or bongs than I’m speaking to you.

However, at high temperatures vapour can scorn your throat. Therefore it’s best to use lower temperatures that do not exceed 600 degrees. (500 is a good start) and in this article I’ll tell you how best to avoid any real possible dangers, so that you experience zero coughing. Shatter is known to cause the largest of coughs at medium-to-high temperatures but mostly that’s in full-lung hauls over a 20 second time period. If you’re a senior I’d imagine you’d only want to take a quick 1 second puff and that’s all you’d need for the next few hours.

Benefits Of Shatter

If you take small hits of a highly concentrated shatter vapour you wouldn’t cough at all. However you would enjoy the benefits of smoking 1-3 full joints – and that’s for an average user using 0.05g of shatter, a tiny piece. For a beginner it would open up their world to either being overly stoned or better yet, actually medicated with effects that can mirror a prescription drug’s strength and effectiveness.

A gigantic problem most people experience is pharmaceutical requirements when dealing with chronic pain. Imagine only needing to take half or less of that medicine. At the same time, you’ll remain more functional than you would’ve been on pills. Some people take so many meds they’ll slur their words. That isn’t how dabbing will make you feel, not even in the slightest.

What is a Dab? The Definition

A dab is a small piece of concentrate, most commonly seen in forms as “shatter“, “distillate” and “terp sauce”. Shatter is a concentrate made completely from marijuana, most commonly extracted in one of two methods: heat pressing or synthetic butane wash.

“Dabbing” refers to a dab; a small piece of concentrated cannabis made from a variety of extraction methods. You don’t smoke it, you vape it! The difference is there’s no flame involved. It’s vaped by making contact with a heated element where it creates a vapor that is highly concentrated with THC. cannabinoids and terpenes from marijuana flowers and leaves and in some cases the entirety of a plant is used where it is firstly cryogenically frozen to preserve every bit of plant matter, especially the smell.

How To Dab

There’s a bunch of different ways to vape shatter but they range from terrible to crazy-awesome. The basics are: a metal heating element that does not produce a gaseous vapour. Titanium is used because of this or quartz glass heated by a hand-held torch. The old way of dabbing was using a quartz “nail” that would float inside of a quartz casing and you’d put the dab on that.

It had such a tiny surface area. It got old in like a week and then they started using simple quartz “bangers” (a proper bowl like a bong’s) with a blow-torch. You just heat the bottom/sides of the quartz nail up until it’s bright red and then let it cool for 30-40 seconds before dabbing. If you go below 30 seconds you will cough your brains out as the temperature is too hot.

Non-electric Dab Rigs

If you go towards 40 seconds you’ll get less thick smoke but have a tasty and splendid experience. The problem with non-electric dab rigs are that as soon as you put the shatter into the bowl. It will cool it immediately and the hit will not last as long, nor will it produce as much vapor. This is what keeps wasting your vital product.

How To Buy Shatter

Only buy from companies who are willing to admit that the shatter was from AA-trim etc because unless stated you don’t really know. However, 99% of the time you will get what you pay for. An extremely easy way to tell bad quality shatter apart from the killer ones is if it contains any weed leaves or remnants within it.

That’s low-grade stuff made from leaves and almost no flowers or even trim. If you shine an LED on a red-ambered shatter and it looks brighter & yellow than you’ve got a quality shatter. However if you do this to bad quality it won’t get brighter or yellow. It will also leave a clunky mess of black carbon in a quartz bowl. Quality shatter vapes away into nothing, leaving no residue. A problem to note is that with inconsistent dabbing temperatures you can still have the carbon effect from quality shatter.

High Quality Shatter

If it’s just straight up yellowy than it’s high quality shatter made from buds (cannabis flower). Per gram, expect to pay anywhere from $20-$70, depending on the quality you prefer. The Blueberry shatter provided by yours truly, is out-of-this-world for potency and a dreamy effect. Starting at only $50/2g.

How To Smoke Shatter

Shatter is completely dependent upon it being used on a large surface area while maintaining both a constant temperature and while blowing a stream of air at it to both thin it out while at the same time, the air itself will extract the vapour from the shatter. Another way it extracts vapour is through vacuum pressure.

After placing a dab into the bowl/nail most people will place a “carb cap” on the top of the quartz to not allow huge amounts of air in to cool it. Also, it will pressurize the inside of the quartz bowl. Most carb caps have small air holes in them to direct, some are made out of glass and are bubble-shaped so that you can sit it on top of the quartz bowl and just move it around.

What Are Weed Concentrates?

Concentrates are the strongest known form of marijuana that we have today. It doesn’t directly mean that the marijuana itself is stronger, we’ve just learned how to extract the THC concentrate out of its bud form to get up to even to 99% THC. Don’t let that scare you at all though. Effects from dabbing is actually quite a “pure” feeling compared to smoking flower.

On top of it being stronger it’s also free of any kind of harmful or uncomfortable side-effects that are given off from any strains. For Example, you’ll never find a shatter that gives you a headache. Things like this just don’t happen. You’ll never bother with leaves, seeds, being shorted by it being damp and underweight, you get a consistently easily-viewable, quality product, every single time where all you’re looking for is colour tonality. Most people think that the brighter it looks, the better quality.

Quality Concentrates

This is actually not entirely true because the darker certain darker shatters could provide a better taste. This gives users a perfect reason to turn their not-so-great looking flowers into harder-hitting concentrates. The great thing about concentrates is that you don’t need to waste AA grade weed on edibles. Instead, you can still turn that AA into incredible shatter.

Don’t waste your kush, just turn it in to concentrate! That AA/trim shatter is also more inexpensive for the market price. At the same time, it’s not going to hold as much potency as a AAA+ or AAAA weed strain but it’s still going to be packing a lot of THC.

A Medical Standpoint

Dabbing is the exciting new future of cannabis usage. In recent years it has been a big hit with both high-tolerance users and those who are really feeling the shit end of the stick from life with medical issues to the point where chemical drugs have stopped helping otherwise, you can’t function anymore. Remember, this is vaping. Something different that’s clean and free of crap you don’t want in your body. When smoking flowers, you’re inhaling burnt, carbonized materials and actual “smoke”. While the best flowers will go up to 30% THC, a pure THC distillate will see 85%+ THC on a bad day. The truth to this whole “concentrate” thing really isn’t what it looks like at first glance.

Besides being a very small piece of shatter, or oil, dabbing generally refers to the actual size of a hit or piece of shatter to vape so it depends on you. The rough size you’d want to start out with for shatter is approximately 1/3 to ½ the size of a grain of rice. Not much at all! Less is more with dabbing because vapour production is completely dependent upon the surface area the shatter is touching and not how thick the shatter is you’ve put on. Combined with how much air is hitting it, thinning out the heated and now-liquid shatter. When you’re experienced enough with it you may find yourself going for bigger hits.

Distillate

Distillate is generally known to be 100% pure way to smoke as everything is ripped out of the plant except the most pure thing, THC. Distillates are usually in the higher 90% for THC content and it always provides a very clear high. Absolutely nothing like you’d expect from vaping nearly 100% pure THC, it’s not “scary” in the slightest. It’s not overly strong, it’s just very uplifting & relaxing.

“Terp sauce” is “terpene sauce”. Terpenes are what gives the plant a scent and taste. The next-level stuff that dab-heads wish they had 24/7, it’s the most expensive at $70/g. It’s not even technically from marijuana plant: they synthesize “THCa” crystals that are grown in a petri dish and then they add those to terpene-sauce which is another pure extraction. This stuff is like creating dabs from absolute scratch, without the plant. This means you can get THCa crystals and it can be mixed with whatever-terpene flavour profile you prefer.

Electronic Dab Rig

People got tired of using butane hand-torches to heat their quartz (or titanium) bowls. Therefore they’ve designed these small-box controlled, wall plug-in heating elements that attach directly to your bowl. This helps maintain a consistent temperature. Quartz does not retain heat well at all meaning that, as soon as you put a piece of shatter into it, the bowl temperature will drop drastically.

When you’ve been hitting it for a while and the temperature drops, it’s no longer vaping. This is because, if you try to get it back up to vaping temps it will just turn that shatter into carbon. There’s major reason for this – air flow vs. surface area as well as a constant temperature. Titanium holds heat much better but some say it affects the taste (it’s dependent on the grade of titanium). Weed-Deals believes the perfect nail is a hybrid titanium-nail-deep dish-quartz bowl.

How to Clean Your Dab Rig Properly

Use 99.9%-100% isopropyl alcohol and give the rig a good shake. let it rest 3 minutes, give it a good shake again and then either dump it out or if you want to keep the left-overs (called “reclaim”) to vape again you will put this solution and all of its yellow bits that have fallen off the rig into a flat glass pan or a pyrex dish is best, make sure the bottom must be flat. Cover it with tin foil and wait a couple days until the alcohol has completely evaporated. Take a razor blade and scrape the bottom, you’ll collect a whole bunch of reusable shatter. The incorrect way is anything else! Don’t use less than 99% alcohol. You can use grain-alcohol but it’s best to have it all be evaporated away with 100% alcohol.

The post What is Dabbing? By: Layke Hicks appeared first on Weed Deals.

source https://weed-deals.ca/what-is-dabbing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-is-dabbing source https://weeddealsca.tumblr.com/post/187956762602

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jayloncormierca · 5 years

Text

What is Dabbing? By: Layke Hicks

What is Dabbing?

The Dab

Benefits Of Shatter

What is a Dab? The Definition

How To Dab

Non-electric Dab Rigs

How To Buy Shatter

High Quality Shatter

How To Smoke Shatter

What Are Weed Concentrates?

Quality Concentrates

A Medical Standpoint

Besides being a very small piece of shatter, or oil, dabbing generally refers to the actual size of a hit or piece of shatter to vape so it depends on you. The rough size you’d want to start out with for shatter is approximately 1/3 to 1/2 the size of a grain of rice. Not much at all! Less is more with dabbing because vapour production is completely dependent upon the surface area the shatter is touching and not how thick the shatter is you’ve put on. Combined with how much air is hitting it, thinning out the heated and now-liquid shatter. When you’re experienced enough with it you may find yourself going for bigger hits.

Distillate

Electronic Dab Rig

How to Clean Your Dab Rig Properly

The post What is Dabbing? By: Layke Hicks appeared first on Weed Deals.

source https://weed-deals.ca/what-is-dabbing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-is-dabbing source https://weeddeals.blogspot.com/2019/09/what-is-dabbing-by-layke-hicks.html

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rallis-fatalis · 6 years

Text

Five Days of Fatherhood-Pt.1

Adventurers might list monster killing as one of the more difficult and frustrating things they've done out in the field. Never knowing what to expect or what the beast will do next, it's quite unnerving. But what about monster babysitting? It can't be as hard as fighting, right? When Rallis needs to go away for a few days and has Adam babysit her adopted children, a certain adventurer learns just how difficult and frustrating it might be.

When Rallis had said she had a task of dire importance to be taken care of, Adam was not expecting that task to be babysitting. She was practically on the ground begging him to watch her adopted kids while she had to run off and do something. Something "up north" was all she said and he got no more answers than that.

"Don't you leave them alone normally when you go on adventures?" Adam asked, confused. "Why do you need someone to look after them this time?"

"My, well I guess you could call them roommate, watches over them when I'm gone normally, and even then I try to make a point to see them to bed. But unfortunately my roommate isn't here this time so they'll be left alone." She tried pleading with puppy eyes. "Can you pleeeeaaassseee look after them for me? Just for five days?"

Adam sighed. He'd heard a couple tales about her "children" and how they were a bunch of lost and found dragons. It sounded like trouble, but Rallis was his friend and she needed his help. "Alright," he conceded. "I'll look after them."

She jumped with joy and hugged the man. "Thank you thank you thank you sooooo much! I'll write up everything you need to do and explain everything, I promise!"

And with that it was settled. In a few days, Adam was going to be a parent for almost a week.

Three days later, Rallis returned to his doorstep in Hosidius, eager to show him how everything worked so he would be ready to go on his own. Adam had a pack full of things he'd need for the stay, excluding weapons Rallis was thankful to see. She didn't tell him much about the 'exoticness' of her home beforehand just in case he felt he'd need to bring such a thing (there was no need she would argue, her house was safe).

"So where do you live?" he asked. It dawned on him how little he knew about her life outside of adventuring.

"Technically, Yanille. But I guess Nowhere is more accurate." Adam looked at her bewilderedly. "Look it's not going to make much sense so just follow me."

"Not to Yanille, I hope! That's quite a distance."

She hastily shook her head. "No, no, we're actually almost there!" Adam opened his mouth to ask something else but Rallis quickly hushed him. "No, don't ask questions. It won't make sense so just don't ask yet!" They strolled a bit farther into Hosidius until they reached a pile of old machinery, scrapped and discarded by the locals from ages past up until recent time. Amidst the junk was an old crumbling circular stone frame with crudely carved steps leading up to it. Adam had seen it before and it had a kind of magical presence about it, but he couldn't figure it out. Rallis walked right up to it and unrolled a piece of cloth, holding it in front of the middle of the stone frame. She waved her other hand and commanded "Fosgail an doras!" The cloth shimmered as runes lit up along the stone frame in an eerie purple glow, and with a great deal of crackling and fizzling, the frame was filled with an otherworldly violet glow. Rallis rolled the cloth back up and stashed it away, looking back to her companion with a cheeky grin. "C'mon then!" she barked as she jumped through and vanished before he could even say 'wait.'

Adam gave the glowing stone frame a dubious glance. 'Yeah because this isn't abnormal and sketchy in any way.' He was accomplishing nothing standing around in the Hosidius junk pile. With cautious steps, he stepped through...

...and was greeted with the sight of a grand garden framed by the largest forest he had ever seen. He looked behind him and saw a similar purple shimmering, only this one was framed by intricately woven bronze and iron in the shape of vines. Back in front of him, two hulking stone statues of dragons covered in plant life greeted him, their front paws almost raised in salute. Rallis excitedly bounced in front of him with a massive grin. "Welcome to my home!"

As if on cue, a tropically colored wyvern flew overhead, screeching as it nearly clipped the top of Adam's head, causing him to duck out of the way, and disappeared into the forest beyond. Adam was in shock and awe. "What is this place?" he all but whispered.

"My home!" Rallis repeated. "Isn't it great? It's my own private world in here. And the best part is, no one can get in without me!"

"It sure is something," Adam muttered as he took in more of his surroundings. They were standing in a circular open area with a variety of different flowers. It looked like a rainbow was growing from the very ground! There was a large red one raised above the rest, almost calling to him. He only managed to take one step closer before Rallis roughly grabbed his arm, snapping him back to the moment at hand.

"Rafeillia!" Rallis angrily snapped. "This is our guest! Stop!" The flower opened its mouth in a hiss in response, three eyes coiling around to peer at the visitor. It grumbled before sinking into the ground, leaving no trace.

"Rallis," Adam started shakily. "What the hell is this place?"

"Come," she said. "We'll walk and talk."

Adam took one last look at the frame behind him before moving along. 'What exactly did I sign up for?'

They trekked through a dark dense forest, light hardly able to seep through the thick canopy. It was a winding foreboding passage, but Rallis knew the way like the back of her hand. She cheerfully answered his questions as they walked.

"My home," she started, "is in a place I like to call Nowhere. It isn't in Gielinor, no sir, but you can get to it from there, and apparently other places too! Using the right kind of magic and words, you can get here from any portal frame in the land, and there just so happens to be one by your house! Crazy right?!"

"How did you even find out about this place?" Adam asked.

Rallis shook her head. "Long story, not important. What IS important is understanding how this place works so you don't get lost or something." The forest started to clear a bit up ahead and soon disappeared completely to reveal a wide path carved out of a mountainside. "There is forest all around you," Rallis continued. "If you wander too far into it in any direction, you don't come back out. My children know not to go that far. You need to keep that in mind as well. Anything else that wanders through don't worry about though. You only have to worry about my ten."

Adam's mind was already racing with questions. 'You don't come back?' What did that mean? And what other wandering things? Things like that wyvern or the flower beast? Where did they come from? Where did they go?

Also TEN?!

They hiked up the mountain path and finally reached the grand entrance to Rallis' home. Well 'home' wasn't the appropriate term. Maybe 'castle' suited it better. Two stories of aging white stone sat atop the flat mountaintop, ivy, vines, and small buds and flowers crawled up the sides of the walls, pouring onto the roof above. Two marble dragons framed the entry way of the house. Rallis hauled the doors open and let her guest inside, heavy doors slamming shut behind them. She tugged Adam along through a small parlour room and out into a long rectangular beautifully kept garden with an odd rocky hole in the center.

She held her arms out and motioned to the plants and walls around her. "Welcome to my actual home! This is where you'll be staying and looking after everyone. You don't need to worry about all that outside here much."

All around the garden were rooms, open-faced and connected, all visible from the garden at the center. There was a kitchen, workshop, and was that a library? A shadow on the ground flickered a bit and a series of quorks and chirps echoed throughout the garden. Adam looked up to see the vines from outside crawling up the walls congregating into nest-like perches overhead, creating a somewhat makeshift roof but still allowing light to come in.

Adam gave one long careful look around. "I can't believe you live here," he mumbled, still in a bit of shock at it all.

"It's great, right?!" Rallis squealed and bounced. "It's the greatest place in the world. Err, well, out of the world! Here let me show you around so I can start explaining everything."

They explored the first floor with its garden and whatnot. It held mostly actively used rooms such as a kitchen and workshop, but was also used for a great deal of storage. Seeds, herbs, food, potions, and other related goods were stored neatly in their own separate rooms. Adam's gaze lingered on the stacks of fresh ranarr, warranting a bark and "don't even think about it" from Rallis. Upstairs were the more private rooms, such as bedrooms, a study, more of the library, and supposedly a whole hallway of sorted treasure. Every room was locked, physically and magically, save the guest bedroom Adam was to stay in. He put his pack down on the bed and took it all in, the place he was to live in for the next few days. The room he was in was simple enough, with bed, drawers, wardrobe, nightstand, and usual accompaniments of a bedroom, but everything was elegant, almost too elegant. The fireplace was made of marble, the rugs trimmed with gold leaf tassels, and the wood, all the wood, was rich dark mahogany. It was almost imposing, the sheer amount of fanciness. It was certainly a contrast from the overgrown plant covered exterior.

"I hope this is okay," Rallis said bashfully. "It's the only open room and I tried to make it nice over the years."

"Yeah of course! It's nice!" He took another glance around. "Really nice..." He rubbed the blanket of the bed between his fingers. "Where did you get all this?" he asked, motioning around the room.

"Oh, I built it!" she exclaimed with pride. "I made everything in here! Well, actually, I made everything in the whole house. But yeah!"

Now his jaw dropped. "No way."

"Sure did!" she said as she rolled out the cloth she had with her earlier. Getting a better look at it, it wasn't just some cloth. It was a cape! And on it there was a symbol of a saw cutting through a log stitched on the back. "I'm a master carpenter, and this says so!"

Adam was impressed. He had seen her carve and build things before, sure, but master carpenter? That was not a talent he was expecting. Rallis grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along. "Alright, now we gotta introduce you to everyone and what you need to do!"

She raced down the stairs, yanking her companion along, trying to keep up and not trip, and pulled him back into the garden on the ground floor. She sprinted over to the stone hole in the center and hopped in, calling him down after. It was dark inside, the only light coming from mounted glowing stones on the walls' sides. Rallis grabbed Adam's hand again and pulled him along in the dark. Speckles of light started to break through until soon they were at an opening in the cave. The opening looked out over a lake below, tucked away in the center of the forest. Down below, Adam could see a bunch of odd looking creatures relaxing by the water's edge. Rallis whistled and screech-sang something as loud as she could, noise echoing off the walls of the cave. At once, happy chirruping and the heavy sound of wings could be heard from outside. Red blurs zipped through the hole in the wall and tackled Rallis to the ground. Adam jumped back reflexively, readying a stance, but Rallis just giggled under the seven small red dragons piling on top of her and licking her face.

She shoved them off and lined them up. "Well, here's seven of them!" she panted breathless. She introduced them one by one. "This is Manelgar." The biggest stepped forward. "This is Garold." He staggered over with a limp. There was a scar on one of his legs and was missing a toe. "This is Xavier." He slunk forward, giving their guest a wary eye. A smaller one trailed after him. "And that's Anton. Those are all the boys." One of the three left, the only one with black crests under its eyes, decided to walk away with as much attitude as it could muster. "That's Caroline. Don't take it personally if she doesn't warm up to you." The smallest one left hissed at Adam. "Oh shush you! This is Octavia." The last one, barely larger than Octavia, was hiding behind Rallis as best she could. "And this is Natalie. She's a bit shy." Rallis gave her a pat on the head. "Those are the girls! They all sleep down here together. They're old enough where you won't need to worry about feeding them, they can hunt, but they do need to be put to bed. You'll stay with them until they fall asleep, then you can leave them be. That's about it for them. Honestly they're pretty independent now. Oh! But don't let them near my herbs! They know why."

"O-okay," Adam stammered, trying to process everything at once. "How exactly do you tell them apart?" Standing still and side by side, he could kind of see the differences in them, but now that they moved around, he couldn't tell who was who.

"They don't look or act the same! You'll figure it out." Adam didn't look convinced. "Fine, I'll write their names down or something for you," she grumbled.

Rallis led Adam back aboveground to meet the last three he would be looking after. Upon re-entering the garden, the loudest shrillest screech sounded from above. "What the hell is that?!" Adam shouted.

Rallis smiled. "That would be Twist! Seems he wants to come down now." Rallis showed her guest up to the roof. The stairs opened up onto the flat vine covered walk of the roof if one deigned to climb that high. Up on the roof, the whole world was visible. The lake, forests, and flower field were all minuscule from up on the vine perch. The tangled mess hanging over the open center of the castle hosted a variety of what looked like nests. Some of the vines crawled up a tower at the far end of the roof, no entry point visible. A few bright green and red feathers were in a nearby nest, left behind from a former resident, and a few holds housed sleeping piles of something he couldn't properly see.

That same shrill screech sounded again, this time incredibly louder. It was coming from something sitting in one of the hanging nests. Why, it looked to be...

"A cockatrice!" Adam yelled as he averted his gaze. "Why do you have a cockatrice?!"

"Why wouldn't I have one?" she retorted. She saw him covering his eyes and not looking at the beast. "Oh stop that nonsense," she reprimanded. "He won't turn you to stone or anything like that. He's almost blind."

He cautiously uncovered his eyes. "Blind?"

Rallis nodded. "Not completely, but he has really bad eyesight. I think that's why he can't paralyze anyone. Anyway, this is Twist my cockatrice. He screams when he needs help doing something." Rallis walked across the tangled tightrope mess of vines and out to the nest where Twist sat. She scratched him under the chin and cooed as she helped him get up and lead him to the more solid part of the roof.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Adam called after her as she walked across the vines. "That doesn't look stable!"

She strode back to the roof, cockatrice in tow, resting its head on her shoulder as she walked. "It's safe, stop worrying! If it can safely hold a Forokururu, I'd be a bit shocked if a small dragon and a human were what made it break!"

"What's a-- You know what, never mind. So what's the deal with this one?"

"Twist can't see very well so he'll call for you when he needs help getting around. He'll rest his head on your shoulder as you lead him around," Rallis demonstrated as she led them down the stairs to the ground floor. "You might be a bit tall though so I guess you can let him rest his head in your hand and walk with him behind you. He gets up really early, and don't worry, you'll know when." She snickered at that part. She carried on to the kitchen. "He eats in here," she continued. "He gets fruit in the morning and limpwurt roots before bed. You'll find both in here. Here's his bowl." She reached up onto a shelf to pull down a bright red bowl covered in peck marks and chuckled as she pulled it down. "Well I guess I found where you've decided to hide today!" she said to the bowl and pulled out what looked like a small green snake with fire red webbed wings. It yawned and squeaked as she picked it up. It was a void torcher.

Adam gasped and reached for a weapon that wasn't there. "RALLIS THAT'S A VOID MONSTER! Why do you have that?!"

She held the little creature away from him and hissed. "That's my son," she growled. "He's no monster!"

"Do you have any idea what that thing is," he said accusatorily. "What it can do?"

Rallis waved her hand in the air. "Yeah, yeah, you and a whole order seem to fear these things, never mind the fact that they're just like anything else in the world. Skorch is no menace to society or destroyer of worlds. He's a runt who can't even breathe fire and can barely fly. Do you understand? A torcher that can't torch."

"That's not the point!" he argued. "Just by existing they can ruin everything! And smuggling one onto the mainland, do you have any idea how illegal that is?!"

"He. Isn't. Dangerous!" she growled menacingly, actually startling the man. She sounded like an enraged animal. "Humans need to stop being scared of and trying to kill what they don't understand. And in case you haven't noticed, we aren't on the mainland. We're in my house in the middle of Nowhere. There are none of your ridiculous human laws here and no danger to be in with Skorch."

Adam still seemed dubious about the whole affair, giving the thing a glare. As if on cue, it yawned and smiled at him in response.

"Can you handle doing this?" Rallis asked. "I know the rest of the world isn't too keen with my kids, with different, but I thought you would at least understand it."

"No, it's fine," he said hastily. "I already said yes too, and I'm not about to back out from a promise." He eyed the torcher again. "How long have you had that thing?"

"Skorch isn't a thing!" she snapped and gave it a pat. "And a few years. Longer than I've known most people. He's not dangerous, I promise."

Adam sighed and grumbled, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was taking care of a Void monster and that was that. "So what's the routine with this one then?"

"You only really have to worry about him at night," she said. "He's clingy so he sleeps with me in the bed. And since I'll be gone, that means he stays with you. Other than that, you don't need to worry about anything else. He doesn't leave the house and is usually hiding in the kitchen and getting into the food or hanging with Twist. I guess just make sure he doesn't eat too many cookies." She gave Skorch a playful glare, who buried his face into her hand embarrassedly.

Adam inwardly groaned. Going to bed with a Void monster? There was no way. 'Guess I'm not sleeping then!' Rallis put Skorch down on the counter, watching him slither into a pot left out. "That's nine," Adam said. "Who is number ten?"

"That would be Nago!" Rallis said with a smile. "He's an herbiboar. Small, brown, herbs growing off his back. He can look like the garden so watch your step! He seems to be hiding right now, but you don't need to worry about him much either. He's usually wandering around the garden eating pests or digging holes outside. Just leave a few guam leaves out on the kitchen floor every morning and they're sure to be gone!" Rallis ran through a mental checklist. "That should be everything. Just make sure everyone eats and keep an eye on them in case something should happen. You're welcome to any food in the kitchen for yourself. There shouldn't be a reason you'd need to leave the house, but if you want to see the lake or something, go right ahead. Just be careful of what might roam down there. Do you have any questions?"

He ran through everything in his head. 'Feed everyone, guide the bird, tuck in the dragons, sleep with the torcher.' A chill went up his spine at the last one. 'Think that's it.'

"I think I've got it," he told her. "Should be an easy five days!" he said with confidence.

Rallis grinned. "Hopefully!" She looked to the sky. "Well, more like four now." It was starting to get dark, the sun setting in the distance. "I need to get going ASAP but if you forget something, there's notes on the counter in the kitchen." She pulled out a small square stone with a purple 'A' drawn on one side out of a small pack she'd been carrying around. "Good luck, see you later, have fun, and all that!" She slammed the stone onto the ground, splitting it in two, and disappeared in a burst of light and puff of smoke. Adam was left alone in the kitchen with some notes, a torcher in a pot, and a half blind cockatrice trying to find its way outside.

"Let's get to it then!"

Adam spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting more of a feel for the layout of the place. It was simple enough, just two hollow rectangles stacked atop each other, and everything was laid out well. Even all the supply rooms were sorted and labeled. "Organization wasn't exactly something I expected from you, Rallis!" he laughed to himself.

It was almost completely dark now, only the faintest hint of red sunset illuminating the stone walls. Adam clapped his hands together and walked toward the stone hole in the garden. "Ok! Dragons first!" He crawled down to find five of them rolling around and play fighting while one sat on a large round slightly raised platform, watching Adam carefully. The seventh was nowhere to be found. "Who is missing?" He looked at a note he was given with all the dragons' name and the easiest way to identify them. He saw a big one, two small ones, and two who wouldn't leave each other alone, and the one glaring at him had a crest of black scales under its eyes. There was a distinct lack of a scarred one. "Aha! So Garold is missing! Where is your brother, everyone?"

The five stopped playing around, one of the smallest ones hiding behind the other small one who hissed in response. The largest one growled and snorted and pointed his head in the direction of the hole they fly in and out from. "Thank you, uh, Manelgar!" he said stiffly. It felt weird addressing them like people. The dragon grunted and nuzzled his brothers and sisters up to a platform. Adam scanned the horizon from the hole, looking for a red speck in the distance, but found nothing.

"Garold!" he shouted. "Garold! Time to come home!"

He heard wingbeats in the distance signaling something flying his way. He stepped out of the way as a dragon flew in, clumsily flopping to the floor. The dragon had a log in his mouth, tongue lolling out to the side underneath it. He looked up at Adam with a dopey smile and presented its treasure. "That's... very nice," Adam tried. "Why don't you put that down and join everyone else?"

The dragon chirped and flew back out the hole, vanishing into the darkness. "I meant put it down in here!" Adam called after it. He received no response. Some time later, he flew back, mud coated all over his paws and nose, tongue still lolling out like a happy dog. The dragon tracked muddy footsteps into the cave as it went to join its family. Adam shook his head and sighed. "Oh you're going to be a problem child, aren't you?"

Eventually, the mud was cleaned, the dragons were together, and life could move on. The seven of them laid together on the elevated platform and waited expectantly. Adam stood around, unsure of what to do. He shuffled and looked around, kicking at the stone floor. "I'm just uh... supposed to stay here until you fall asleep, right?" One of the dragons angrily lashed its tail while two others hollered whines of disapproval.

"Ok, guess not." He thought to himself. 'When she said to stay with them until they fell asleep, I sure hope she didn't mean sleep with them until they fell asleep.' The red dragons were all looking at him, as if waiting for something. 'No, that's exactly what she meant. It's Rallis. Of course she sleeps with the dragons.'

"Alright," he groaned as he crawled up to join them. Some of them weren't too happy with that. They didn't want this stranger, they wanted their mom. He sat down and was surprised to find it warm, almost hot, up on the stone bed. "Heated stone? Well aren't you all lucky? Must be nice and comfy," he played, trying to get them to lay down. A couple did, but most just stared at him. "Well what else do you want, warm milk and a story?" he growled sarcastically. At once, all seven of them sat at attention. "What, you want a bedtime story?" They crept closer. Adam rolled his eyes with a smile. "Alright. But I won't start until everyone lays down." They sunk to the warm floor immediately.

"What would a good story be?" he thought aloud. Then he snapped his fingers as he got an idea. "I know! How about I tell you about the time I met your mom?"

Adam didn't even get a quarter of the way into the tale. The dragons were sound asleep on the ground, and on him for the matter. He grunted as he wriggled his way out from under the pile of beasts, careful to not wake them. In the distance, he heard the faint screech of the cockatrice. "You now, huh?"

He climbed out of the hole and into the garden to find the cockatrice standing in the kitchen, screeching at its bowl. "Food, yes, okay, I hear you!" Adam rushed over and hurriedly dropped a bowl full of limpwurt roots down for the bird, not wanting it to scream any more. He heard a metallic clang as the torcher runt crawled down from who knows where, slinking over to the man with a smile. Adam started to grow nervous by the thing's mere presence. "Hello, torcher," he growled. "What do you want?" It flicked out its tongue like a snake and fluttered onto Twist's back. The cockatrice was done eating now and tried to rest its head on Adam's shoulder, but it couldn't reach. He held a hand out to it and helped guide it up to the roof. "C'mon buddy. Time to sleep."

Leading the bird across the tightrope mess of the vines was unnerving to say the least, but Rallis hadn't been lying. They were incredibly stable. The cockatrice sunk down into its nest and folded in on itself, tucking its head under its wing. The torcher was fluttering in front of Adam now, abandoning its post on the cockatrice's back. It tried to land on Adam's head but the man backed away every time. It sadly squeaked in protest as it started to descend, not being able to stay airborne for long. Adam groaned and cautiously held his hands out to catch it. It sank down and coiled into a ball, glad it no longer had to flap about in the air. The mere act of holding the small serpent sent shivers up Adam's spine. 'A torcher. A bloody torcher. Out of all the monsters she could call her own, she picked a Void monster!'

He held Skorch away from him as he made his way to his room, fretting the whole way. 'I'm going to get sick touching that thing, aren't I? I'm putting this thing down and rinsing this filth off. Out of all the possible things in the world, why did she have to have a pest?' He continued his mental complaining as he opened the door to his room and walked inside. Skorch chirped happily and fluttered from his hands and onto the plush bed. Adam stared at the thing, unsure of what to do. "That's my bed," he told it. "I sleep there, not you." The torcher made a confused chirp and tilted its head. "You better be off it by the time I get back," he commanded with an accusatory finger point.

He left to change into his nightwear and otherwise prepare for bed (including rinsing the 'pest filth' off) and came back into the room sporting a fluffy cow pajama set and fuzzy rainbow slippers. With as much intimidation as he could muster in the ridiculous cartoony suit, he glared at the torcher who was still on the bed. "My. Bed. Not. Yours." Adam pushed the creature off the blanket, careful to not actually touch it, and onto an extra pillow off to the side. He quickly turned the light off and dove under the covers before it could move back. Skorch sadly cried in protest as it tried to wiggle off the pillow and over to Adam to go to sleep. The man pushed the creature away. "No. Nuh-uh. You stay on that side of the bed on your pillow. You're not touching me."

The torcher whined and sadly sunk down on the pillow. All was quiet now and Adam tried to fall asleep, trying his best not to think about what was a foot or two from his face. But as time went on, whining and crying broke through the silent darkness and it didn't stop. Adam groaned and sighed and shifted and covered his ears with a pillow. It didn't stop. He shot up and growled. "Fine!" he snapped. "Sleep where you want! Just stop whining." Skorch happily cried out and slithered over, curling right up next to his chest and falling asleep. Adam grumbled into a pillow. "I'm not going to get any sleep tonight..."

His premonition came true. He had hardly slept a wink all night, feeling like if he took his eyes off the torcher, something would happen. He didn't know what! But something! He was exhausted and more than ready to pass out. As his eyes started to involuntarily fall shut, a shrill horrid screech shook him awake. He jolted out of bed, waking up Skorch in the process, and looked around the dark room. Just as he thought he had imagined the noise, it sounded again, louder than before. Adam dragged a hand down his face. "Right. The cockatrice."

He shuffled out of bed and out onto the roof, not even bothering to change or worry about the torcher following close behind. There Twist was, head pointed to the sky as the sun started to peek through, screeching its heart out. The noise drilled into his ears like nails on a chalkboard. It was way too early for that kind of noise. "Yes! I hear you!" he shouted. "Stop that now."

Twist tilted his head in Adam's direction, waiting for his helper to come closer. He led the bird across the roof and down the stairs and finally to the kitchen below. There was someone else waiting for him as well, a small boar with what looked like plants growing out of its back. It snorted as the man came closer. "You must be Nago," Adam mumbled with a yawn. "I'll feed you too, don't worry." Through sifting through the drawers, Adam found everything he needed to feed them all breakfast. Nago happily gobbled up the guam before scurrying back to the garden, Twist pecked at some fresh fruit (and the ground with aim gone awry), and Skorch was nibbling on some sort of cookie he found in a cabinet.

"Ok, everyone is good now?" he asked. No one squawked in complaint so he took it as a yes. "Good," he grumbled. "I'm going to actually sleep then." He checked on the red dragons underground before heading back to his room. They were all still asleep, piled on their heated rock. Adam crashed to the bed, undisturbed by an unnerving guest curled next to him, and fell asleep.

#oc tag #my writes #runescape

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