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Lunar Nights
Okay, so I'm done watching Arabian Nights--always a good read. Lots of transcribing to be done. At least I filled up many pages of my journal with notes! And it occurred to me while I was watching that it doesn't just fit for an AUish sort of Sailormoon story (Lunar Nights), but also an AE-period continuation/revelation story.
In the time of the Pharaohs, a great and powerful pharaoh stopped the greatest powers of evil and darkness from swallowing his land. The cost was many lives-- including his own. Though the world was saved, the land was left unstable, with the former High Priest Seto thrust into the role of Pharaoh. Though it was a position to be envied, and one his late father had always wanted for him, it was not one Seto was entirely comfortable with.
The late Pharaoh had been brave, mighty, just... and above all else, he turned out to be the last true family member that Seto never knew he had. Of those High Priests who had once served with him, guarding and guiding the late Pharaoh, only two -the Priest Shada and the Priestess Isis- remained. One priest's faithful apprentice -Mana- became a new Priestess, and so Egypt came under a new rule.
Alas, the only person who had ever understood Seto -perhaps even loved him, in some form- had died to save him, in the Great War against darkness that took many lives. This person was a young woman -an outcast with little memory and fewer friends or family to call her own. She was outcast from the rest of society because of her odd appearance -skin so pale it was the color of snow, and eyes and hair even bluer than the waters of the Nile. Worse, within her soul she possessed a fearsome spirit-- that of a mighty engine of destruction, a great dragon.
With her death, that dragon became part of Seto's own spirit, but nothing could quell his guilt and sadness. The country, though under new rule, was still unstable, and demanded that the new Pharaoh marry in order to establish peace. But Seto refused to trust anyone, let alone a woman he did not know. No one could replace the blue-eyed girl within his heart.
And so it was, for many months on end, and the unrest increased. One day, however, the palace brought in new servants. Among them were slaves, people whose families were so poor that they had been sold to any interested merchants. One particular slave girl, though dirty in appearance, was pure in mind and heart. Her hair was short and straggled --she spoke so freely and boldly to her masters that one cut her hair short and crooked, to the point where she nearly looked like a boy. However, time had passed and her hair had grown, but it was still matted, unclean, and crooked. But it was not her hair that caught the Pharaoh's attention-- it was her eyes.
Bluer than the waters of the Nile itself!
So the Pharaoh demanded that the girl be one of his many personal attendants. The girl was most unhappy with this arrangement, despite what all the other slaves and servant girls said. She spoke boldly and freely of her distaste to anyone who would listen-- but most chose to ignore her if it meant keeping their heads. So the girl did her duty and attended to the Pharaoh. He never spoke to her, and in fact, made no sign of even noticing her presence --until one day it was announced that she would no longer serve him, but become part of his royal harem.
This angered the girl so much that she dared to escape, but the Pharaoh's guards caught her and brought her back. The Pharaoh told the girl that she should be killed for her disrespect to the throne and to the Gods... but he would let her live if she married him. Seeing no way out, the girl became the new Queen, as unusual as it was. Still, no one dared question the whims of the Pharaoh, who had no blood relatives to marry, and would dare not marry the High Priestess Isis. Perhaps the poison of the mysterious Millennium Items had something to do with the Pharaoh's "madness," but again, no one dared say.
The new Queen had no mind to consummate her marriage with the Pharaoh and be thrown back into the harem, and so she tried to talk to him. At first, the Pharaoh was reticent, but after a fierce argument he admitted the truth about his past: his father had been a traitor to the previous Pharaoh, succumbed by the powers of Darkness. Seto had not even known that the other priest was even his father until close to his death-- and close to the previous Pharaoh's, as well. One force had saved them from sooner death --Kisara, that blue-eyed woman from before. The new Queen dared to ask if she was merely a replacement for Kisara, but Seto immediately responded that no one could replace Kisara, and that the Queen had more than proven herself on several occasions as being a woman of her own.
Still, Seto did not like being asked questions, and if his new Queen would not consummate their marriage, he would have her killed. But the new Queen was nothing if not intelligent and quick-witted, and she decided to distract the Pharaoh by telling him stories, night after night. She hoped that one day, the Pharaoh might grow to like her-- at least, enough to let her go, and possibly even return home to her friends and family --those that had not sold her out to slave merchants.
And the nights passed, even as darkness drew nearer to the new Pharaoh and his bride...
Now wouldn't it be totally kick-ass if I brought it back to the present, where Malik has returned to Japan to tell Anzu about this... knowing Kaiba won't believe him, and Anzu is astonished to find that she was the Queen that married Seto, the High Priest-gone-Pharaoh, and actually had a role in Ancient Egypt?
Also, the Arabian Nights made-for-TV movie only included 5 stories:
* Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves
* The Murder of Jester Bakpak
* Aladdin
* A Pharaoh's Joke
* The Three Brothers
There are supposed to be several more (1001 total, I think). Some of the ones I've found:
* The Fisherman and the Genie
* The Old Man and the Hind
* The Old Man and the Black Dogs
* The Fisherman
* The Greek King
* The Husband and the Parrot
* The Vizier Who Was Punished...
etc. Anyone else remember some more? Of all the 1001 Arabian Nights, most are hero stories, but there are beautiful princesses, clever slave girls, and wicked queens, too. Any good Fairy Tales you'd like to recommend?
CONTEST!
Since I'm trying to get people to submit header images for Dragonfayth, I figure I might as well make a contest out of it. I'm looking for a colorful Seto x Anzu header image with the site name (Dragonfayth) and slogan (The Premiere Seto Kaiba x Anzu Mazaki Fanfiction Archive) on it. It should be around 600px wide at least.
I'm aiming for the header image to be used in a site like this one: http://www.pgsm-fanfiction.net/ (default skin is silhouette).
The winner will get to choose from one of the following:
* A commissioned piece of Seto x Anzu art from me (color)
* A commissioned fanfic (oneshot) of any het pairing or gen persuasion from the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom
* 15MB+ webspace on the seventh-star.net domain
* One volume of any Yu-Gi-Oh manga, English or Japanese (from the original series. Yu-Gi-Oh! R and the Gospel of Truth are incredibly hard to find, though).
GO FOR IT! (Oh, and do tell me if you're planning on entering. The winner will be determined by... originality, creativity, and extra special consideration will be given to people that request the CSS from me and alter the CSS to suit the image.)
Oh, yay for good news-- Dad finally called and it looks like that whenever I want to come back here (home) after Christmas, Dad and I (and possibly Kathleen, though I'm surprised he's still with her) are going to go to Palomar, where they have this GIANT astronomical observatory. ^^ It's been a while since I've done anything with Dad, and it sounds fun! And if Eva wants to go back before Dad does, Dad is willing to meet me down here, since he has to come and see Baba and Grandpa anyway.
In the time of the Pharaohs, a great and powerful pharaoh stopped the greatest powers of evil and darkness from swallowing his land. The cost was many lives-- including his own. Though the world was saved, the land was left unstable, with the former High Priest Seto thrust into the role of Pharaoh. Though it was a position to be envied, and one his late father had always wanted for him, it was not one Seto was entirely comfortable with.
The late Pharaoh had been brave, mighty, just... and above all else, he turned out to be the last true family member that Seto never knew he had. Of those High Priests who had once served with him, guarding and guiding the late Pharaoh, only two -the Priest Shada and the Priestess Isis- remained. One priest's faithful apprentice -Mana- became a new Priestess, and so Egypt came under a new rule.
Alas, the only person who had ever understood Seto -perhaps even loved him, in some form- had died to save him, in the Great War against darkness that took many lives. This person was a young woman -an outcast with little memory and fewer friends or family to call her own. She was outcast from the rest of society because of her odd appearance -skin so pale it was the color of snow, and eyes and hair even bluer than the waters of the Nile. Worse, within her soul she possessed a fearsome spirit-- that of a mighty engine of destruction, a great dragon.
With her death, that dragon became part of Seto's own spirit, but nothing could quell his guilt and sadness. The country, though under new rule, was still unstable, and demanded that the new Pharaoh marry in order to establish peace. But Seto refused to trust anyone, let alone a woman he did not know. No one could replace the blue-eyed girl within his heart.
And so it was, for many months on end, and the unrest increased. One day, however, the palace brought in new servants. Among them were slaves, people whose families were so poor that they had been sold to any interested merchants. One particular slave girl, though dirty in appearance, was pure in mind and heart. Her hair was short and straggled --she spoke so freely and boldly to her masters that one cut her hair short and crooked, to the point where she nearly looked like a boy. However, time had passed and her hair had grown, but it was still matted, unclean, and crooked. But it was not her hair that caught the Pharaoh's attention-- it was her eyes.
Bluer than the waters of the Nile itself!
So the Pharaoh demanded that the girl be one of his many personal attendants. The girl was most unhappy with this arrangement, despite what all the other slaves and servant girls said. She spoke boldly and freely of her distaste to anyone who would listen-- but most chose to ignore her if it meant keeping their heads. So the girl did her duty and attended to the Pharaoh. He never spoke to her, and in fact, made no sign of even noticing her presence --until one day it was announced that she would no longer serve him, but become part of his royal harem.
This angered the girl so much that she dared to escape, but the Pharaoh's guards caught her and brought her back. The Pharaoh told the girl that she should be killed for her disrespect to the throne and to the Gods... but he would let her live if she married him. Seeing no way out, the girl became the new Queen, as unusual as it was. Still, no one dared question the whims of the Pharaoh, who had no blood relatives to marry, and would dare not marry the High Priestess Isis. Perhaps the poison of the mysterious Millennium Items had something to do with the Pharaoh's "madness," but again, no one dared say.
The new Queen had no mind to consummate her marriage with the Pharaoh and be thrown back into the harem, and so she tried to talk to him. At first, the Pharaoh was reticent, but after a fierce argument he admitted the truth about his past: his father had been a traitor to the previous Pharaoh, succumbed by the powers of Darkness. Seto had not even known that the other priest was even his father until close to his death-- and close to the previous Pharaoh's, as well. One force had saved them from sooner death --Kisara, that blue-eyed woman from before. The new Queen dared to ask if she was merely a replacement for Kisara, but Seto immediately responded that no one could replace Kisara, and that the Queen had more than proven herself on several occasions as being a woman of her own.
Still, Seto did not like being asked questions, and if his new Queen would not consummate their marriage, he would have her killed. But the new Queen was nothing if not intelligent and quick-witted, and she decided to distract the Pharaoh by telling him stories, night after night. She hoped that one day, the Pharaoh might grow to like her-- at least, enough to let her go, and possibly even return home to her friends and family --those that had not sold her out to slave merchants.
And the nights passed, even as darkness drew nearer to the new Pharaoh and his bride...
Now wouldn't it be totally kick-ass if I brought it back to the present, where Malik has returned to Japan to tell Anzu about this... knowing Kaiba won't believe him, and Anzu is astonished to find that she was the Queen that married Seto, the High Priest-gone-Pharaoh, and actually had a role in Ancient Egypt?
Also, the Arabian Nights made-for-TV movie only included 5 stories:
* Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves
* The Murder of Jester Bakpak
* Aladdin
* A Pharaoh's Joke
* The Three Brothers
There are supposed to be several more (1001 total, I think). Some of the ones I've found:
* The Fisherman and the Genie
* The Old Man and the Hind
* The Old Man and the Black Dogs
* The Fisherman
* The Greek King
* The Husband and the Parrot
* The Vizier Who Was Punished...
etc. Anyone else remember some more? Of all the 1001 Arabian Nights, most are hero stories, but there are beautiful princesses, clever slave girls, and wicked queens, too. Any good Fairy Tales you'd like to recommend?
CONTEST!
Since I'm trying to get people to submit header images for Dragonfayth, I figure I might as well make a contest out of it. I'm looking for a colorful Seto x Anzu header image with the site name (Dragonfayth) and slogan (The Premiere Seto Kaiba x Anzu Mazaki Fanfiction Archive) on it. It should be around 600px wide at least.
I'm aiming for the header image to be used in a site like this one: http://www.pgsm-fanfiction.net/ (default skin is silhouette).
The winner will get to choose from one of the following:
* A commissioned piece of Seto x Anzu art from me (color)
* A commissioned fanfic (oneshot) of any het pairing or gen persuasion from the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom
* 15MB+ webspace on the seventh-star.net domain
* One volume of any Yu-Gi-Oh manga, English or Japanese (from the original series. Yu-Gi-Oh! R and the Gospel of Truth are incredibly hard to find, though).
GO FOR IT! (Oh, and do tell me if you're planning on entering. The winner will be determined by... originality, creativity, and extra special consideration will be given to people that request the CSS from me and alter the CSS to suit the image.)
Oh, yay for good news-- Dad finally called and it looks like that whenever I want to come back here (home) after Christmas, Dad and I (and possibly Kathleen, though I'm surprised he's still with her) are going to go to Palomar, where they have this GIANT astronomical observatory. ^^ It's been a while since I've done anything with Dad, and it sounds fun! And if Eva wants to go back before Dad does, Dad is willing to meet me down here, since he has to come and see Baba and Grandpa anyway.