#+1 epic class sword

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 1, Wave 1, Poll 8

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave here.

Renarin Kholin- The Stormlight Archive

Qualifications:

Renarin is canonically autistic and gay (or at least MLM).

He's canonically autistic + has epilepsy, and he's been confirmed to be gay and have a crush on a male character (which will.be explored more in future books)

Canonically gay as confirmed by word-of-god; canonically autistic and has anxiety.

Renarin is canonically autistic and gay.

Propaganda:

Renarin is one of few characters in epic fantasy literature who's canonically neurodivergent or queer - it's rare enough to just see one of those things! He is also the best, just all around. He is so reckless and has such a strong moral compass: like he ran to help fight a giant crab monster with no weapons, no armor, and no training; he jumped into a 4vs1 duel to help his brother, with no armor, no training, and a sword that deals him psychic damage anytime he holds it.

He's autistic and gay; disability is a big part of his story; he's so much of an outcast that he was the first person to join his world's extra-marginalized order of sinister-but-not-evil magic users; and while he's quiet and self-contained, he's full to the brim with suppressed rage. Sidelined second son and quasi-cursed prophet. I fully believe he can take this tournament by storm.

Renarin is autistic, epileptic, and queer as the day is long. As a kid, he struggled to win his dad's approval due to his inability to fight as well as his abled brother -- but these days his dad's wised up and realized that Renarin actually kicks ass. When Renarin gets magic powers, he isn't "cured"; he's still epileptic, he's still autistic, and he still has a crush on the strapping young alien lad in his squad. Not only does he break down class barriers by hanging out with ex-slave humans (he's the prince of a major kingdom), he breaks racial barriers by dating an alien who's entire race was, until recently, enslaved by humans. Overall, he's a complete badass who is getting more confident, more appreciated, and more gay with every book in the series.

Loam Arnault-Entropic Float

Qualifications:

she canonically has arthritis and chronic fatigue, and is canonically bisexual and omnigender (using all pronouns)

They're chronically disabled (dont remember their condition :() omnigender, and pan!

i don’t remember what it is (or if that’s even said) but his disability gives her trouble walking some days and on others makes it so they can’t get out of bed. bisexual &nonbinary omnigender!

Canonically disabled, nonbinary omnigender and bisexual

Propaganda:

listen. i love him. oh my god i love aer. their disability and queerness are both central to the narrative. due to it being disabled, she is not taken seriously where he comes from. xe has given up on insisting on its gender being respected - every time thon tries, its taken as a sign he is having a bad day symptoms wise, which in turn is taken as though she has never grown up past being eight years old. through the game proper, it hides hir disability most of the time. to ask for help is to let someone know. and throughout their entire life, everyone who knew has treated him as stupid - perhaps not always, but everyone has. this is why she doesnt really want to get out of the anomaly; this is the first time fae has had friends who dont know, and therefore dont have "a reason" to infantilize it. star hides everything behind a chipper demeanour. well, that demeanour isnt entirely a lie; she is really silly and pleasant - one of my favourite things he says in the entire game is "isnt blue super bad for computers? like blue balls of death or something?". upon being asked "where do you come from that computers have balls?", they respond "well, how do they reproduce if they dont?" in conclusion. Loam my beloved.

silly guy... oh he's a lil bit fucked up actually

:3

I’m disabled and queer and Loam makes me feel so seen. He’s an incredible character, I love her dearly, I need everyone to understand how incredible they are.

The qualifications and propaganda correspond, @prinxe-with-no-crown is the first submitter @mythologeekwriter is the fourth and there were two others.

#polls #poll #disabled characters #lgbtq characters #disability #lgbtq #lgbtq dcs round 1 #lgbtq dcs wave 1 #renarin kholin #the stormlight archive #loam arnault #entropic float

[hubristicassholefight]

Swordswoman Showdown Round 1 Part 2

Nana Daiba (Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight) vs Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess)

(Better here in a "preferred character" sense, not "who would win in a fight")

Propaganda below cut

Nana Daiba

She has a double Katana and I think out of all the revue starlight girlies she’s the coolest. I’m sure someone smarter can talk about the symbolism of her swords. Regardless of that tho, she’s so strong even if she doesn’t appear as a strong contender, she won a sword fight competition for 60 times in a row resulting her creating a time loop. If that isn’t cool enough she has an entire fight with epic music of her taking on her entire class and winning. Like a full 1vs 8 fight and she won and looked so cool doing it; She’s literally the messiest theatre lesbian I’ve ever seen and it shows in her sword fights. Like no one sane would win a sword competition in an underground stage over and over again every year only to use the “wish” to turn back time and repeat it again and again.

Well, she has two swords. BUT this is important cause in revstar, blade length signifies someone's brilliance as an actress. So this immediately means that Nana is overpowered compared to literally everyone else.(oh and she used the swords/brilliance to trap everyone in a time loop due to her childhood loneliness but I don't know how important this is to this poll)

Xena

Warrior Princess

She wields a sword and chakram. Just had to submit a biconic swordswoman.

i love her. she made me gay as a kid. Anyway, her weapon of choice is her sword, she is obviously very good with it

#nana daiba #daiba nana #revue starlight #shoujo kageki revue starlight #xena: warrior princess #xena #poll #official #round 1 #swordswoman showdown

[rui-drawsbox]

I’ve got so much work recently that the brain ain’t filled up yet but I have a couple ideas for the magical girl au :):):):) back on my usual bullshit lmao ✨✨✨

K so these mfers (Knights + Mika + Shu(eventually, give him time, a season two breakdown and a redemption arc) ) should go song karaoke together. They deserve it after all the horrors tbh. The little doll man should get to experience the epic highs and lows of awful greasy pizza at an establishment that isn’t a restaurant. Tsukasa, Izumi, and Shu should also be subjected to it tbh. Tsukasa might like it <3 Izumi and Shu however… malding, screaming and dying even.

Anyways it would be funny as hell if Shu also went to school with the knights. Cuz he’s the same age as Izumi and Leo anyways. Bruh, Arashi could just think that Shu is Mika’s crush 💀💀💀. On god that could make for some top tier comedic interactions. Mostly Arashi teasing Mika about his crush, and Mika frantically trying to assure her that it isn’t a crush cuz he wouldn’t be caught dead catching feelings for his boss. Meanwhile the idea that he could have a crush on his boss has been planted in the back of his mind and it’s only gonna keep growing. I feel like this would be funny for two reasons, one: hijinks, two: bigger emotional payoff when Mika does decide to leave him <<<333 break both of their hearts in one foul swoop.

also Leo being a menace to Shu. They should be in the same class. It would be funny.

Back on my fighting bullshit. I feel like Shu would never fight with his hands or with blades tbh. I feel like he would use a bunch of smaller dolls after losing Mika. Ones that he considers imperfect or something, idk man, something symbolic. + the dolls could almost look like they’re already falling apart and they deteriorate more and more as his mental state deteriorates (not as an in universe thing, just as a visual symbol for the audience to emphasize that Shu is breaking down lmao)

Also Shu and Mika should kiss. Arashi is the #1 wing woman tbh. I love her so much. She deserves to wear a pretty dress like in those super magical girl forms. Like madoka’s at the end of madoka magica when she does the thing, or any of the really powerful forms in precure.

also arashi should punch Shu in the face at one point. I’m thinking about him getting her sword away from her with dolls and being like “Hah! It seems as if you weren’t prepared for this eventuality girl! Kakakakaka! Now that I’ve disarmed you it’s impossible for you to defeat me! Now then, if you’ll excuse me I have more important matters to-” “AGHH!? You, you ignorant girl! You, you imbecile! Why I can’t believe you would-“ she raised her fist again so he finally shut the fuck up. He’s learning 🥰🥰🥰. Mika is probably upset about Shu getting punch tbh. Like he knows why Shu deserved it but he’s still a bit upset. He ain’t mad tho. Shu needed to have some sense beaten into him for once ✨✨✨.

I’m done for now ✨🥰✨🥰✨😎😎😎😎

I kind of want to write out a whole anime plot tbh. If I actually get around to finishing my current fic I might write an outline for this sometime tbh. If I get it done I’ll probably come drop it in your ask box unannounced. Or I’ll make a post and @you in it cuz that might be easier if it’s a whole ass outline.

I love ur ideas even though i forgot answer this ngl JSBDKS Drawings to compensate! It's the only i can do haha!

Anyways, this scene is definitely in the ending of the second season or an OVA about the 7 having daily adolescence adventures like they should had since the start lol

I feel like Leo would be an usual costumer in the karaoke, actually, this would be the group's hideout jsbfjs

Now, I love the idea of Mika staring too long to Shu in the corridors of the school and then Arashi notices and starts teasing him

Mika: no way i could possibly like my boss! He's just so cool and composed and smart and-

Shu, in his classroom:

And yes i think Shu and Mika should kiss, but i also think that Arashi and Mika should kiss, so my offer is:

Arashi: this is my boyfriend, Mika. And this Mika's boyfriend, Shu.

Basically, shumika=second chance trope, aramika=friends to lovers trope. And i love it

You know that i was thinking exactly the same about Shu's powers? He could never fight someone by himself, he would break before a finger lands on him jabfjsj

So yeah, i belive that he would have a dolls/mannequin army. In the first episodes he only uses Mika because he's the strongest, but when he loses him he would starts using unfinished dolls to fight, and with the pasta of episodes there would be more and more dolls but with a worse quality! Like Mika>Metal dolls>Wood dolls>Ceramic/industrial mannequins?. They would start being extremely fragile, like his mental stability😊!

You know Santa Clous from Chainsaw Man? Yeah i see Shu with a similar power but less OP ofc. Like he can control the movements/minds(?) of his artificial dolls but not people, Mika is the exception! Because Mika considered himself like Shu's doll! Once he starts making choices by himself he couldnt be controlled anymore!

Back to Arashi, im 100% sure that her powerup/god form has longer hair, following the more hair=more power formula. I also want to give the nerf or smth that have so much power she has to lose a lot of her humanity sense! She would become this "Justice God" or smth without emotions and the rest of her friends would have to fight/convince her back into normal!

Now. Yes. Arashi should punch people. Arashi should beat the shit out of people. Arashi should beat the shit out of Shu. I didn't gave her armor gloves for nothing.

Yes. Queen. Be scary. Be intimidating. Be your enemy's worst nightmare.

And you want to write the plot while i want to anímate the fucking fight scenes oUT OF MY HEAD I SWEAR IT WOULD LOOK SO COOL IF I KNEW HOW TO ANIMATE UGHH

I would love to read whatever you write about this au too! I'll read every ask you drop here even if i take forever to answer haha;;

#rui draw smth #ensemble stars #enstars #ensemble stars fanart #arashi narukami #mika kagehira #shu itsuki #(omg magical girl arashi) #leo tsukinaga #izumi sena #ritsu sakuma #tsukasa suou #if smth doesnt makes sense. it's 6:30AM i just came back from the carnavals in my city haha. #enstars magical knights au

[darthstitch]

History Class Cryptids: As The World Falls Down

1.  There's such a fooled heart beating so fast

Isabel calls it "kilig" and once Sarah Williams understood the definition of that particular Filipino word, she had to agree with her.  

It was a universally accepted fact amongst the students in the university that Professor Robert Gadling's boyfriend was ridiculously gorgeous.  And was the cause of many a "kilig" meltdown.  

Campus legends were a bit confused about the "first official sighting" of Murphy as one version had it that he'd first been seen in the background during a Zoom class held by the professor.  Another version said that he'd first appeared during one of Professor Gadling's infamous Shakespeare Rants and called him out on it, claiming that he was "jealous of dear Will."  

(That prompted another discussion about whether or not Professor Gadling was a secret immortal, but that was a story for another day.)  

There was also the class that witnessed the epic Marlowe vs Shakespeare Quote battle that the two had, which had been partially recorded by one enterprising student and it was now busy making the rounds on campus social media, because, "That Voice, OMFG."

The latest one was Murphy doing the Shakespeare reading in Calliope's class.  The common consensus among everyone once the video had made the campus rounds was:  "I AM DECEASED."

Sarah could commiserate.  She'd been there and she still wasn't over That Voice.

It had thrown Sarah for a loop when her flatmate admitted that "Oneiros" was her ex-husband. (Apparently, Thomas Murphy had some very interesting nicknames, but they suited him perfectly.) These days, Calliope and Murphy were now at the level of "very dear friends," which kind of explained the current ridiculousness that was unfolding.  

Today was the Lothlorien Faire, which was basically a LARP festival where, instead of just recreating the medieval or renaissance era, everyone could come as a character from some mystical universe or the other.  Obviously, there were a fair amount of hobbits, Elves and wizards running about, along with a few more characters from the various D&D-inspired RPGs.  She even recognized a Witcher with his Jaskier and whoever that guy was, he was almost a deadringer for Henry Cavill.  Nice.  

Conveniently, this also meant fewer complaints from the History Department.   That also meant that there was more room for creative anachronisms such as the "Shire Potaters" that someone was selling in one of the booths, to say nothing of the "Rivendell Lembas" which was actually the most delicious naan bread, sold in yet another stall.  

Sarah took a deep breath and sighed.  The air was fragrant with spices and cooking food.  She was definitely going to try some of the goodies later.  

She joined Calliope and the rest of her friends in the stands, as a "knightly tournament" was happening.  It was all the more entertaining as a few of the professors were actually very good at the whole sword-and-shield thing.  They all cheered at the bout between Professors Michael Percival and Nicholas Chevalier.  The cheers were even louder when it was Professor Duncan Macleod versus Professor Robert Gadling.  

"YEAAAAAHHHH KICK HIS ASS PROFESSOR G!!!" bellowed Dustin Henderson from the stand just above her.

Sarah wasn't the one to ask about any form of martial arts, but even to her untrained eyes, the two men fought with an odd sense of realism to it, no fancy Hollywood choreography involved.  It was just as if they'd both walked out of the wars of ancient history and straight into the present.  There were even a few dirty tricks included, which sent Professor Macleod swearing and Professor Gadling laughing at him for falling for it.  

"HE'S AN OLD SOLDIER, HIGHLANDER!  DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN FOR AN INSTANT!" yelled Professor Pierson, who was red-faced with laughter.  

"YOU MIGHT WANT TO DEFEND MINE HONOR, OLD MAN!" Professor Macleod yelled back.  He yelped as he narrowly escaped another well-timed strike from his opponent.  

A few moments later, Macleod had lost his sword and Gadling had his sword at his throat.  

"I yield, you bloody Sassenach,"  Macleod grumbled good-naturedly.  He looked over at a still laughing Professor Pierson.  "Oi!  Shouldn't you be avenging your lost love here?"

"Loser gets to buy the drinks, aye, Pierson?" Gadling called gleefully, sweaty and flushed with victory.    

"Well, if it's free beer..."  Professor Pierson said, going down the stands, to the cheers of the rest of the crowd.  

Beside her, Rose giggled.  "It looks like Uncle Dream's the one with the braincell today.  This is not gonna end well."  

"No?" Calliope murmured, all mischief.  "Will you be sending your knight off without a favor, Oneiros?"

Sarah blinked.  She's not sure when Murphy had joined them, but he was there right now, only he had his face buried in his hands, shaking his head.  

"I have never seen you this flushed, Oneiros.  Even your ears are red!" Calliope said in delight.  "It's adorable!"  

That finally got him to look at her, and both Sarah and Rose had to hold on to each other, as they were giggling so hard.  He tried to do his best to look properly affronted, despite the rather appealing blush on his cheeks.  Those unusual dark blue eyes were alight with amusement and some other emotion that Sarah couldn't identify.  "You are a minx, my dear Calliope.  I rue the day that I introduced the two of you."  

"HOLY SHIT, WHO KNEW WE HAD PROFESSORS WHO COULD KICK SERIOUS ASS AMIRITE?!!" That was from Dustin, again.  

Professor Pierson won the bout against Professor Gadling.  But it was just by a hair.  Professor Gadling didn't mind though, as he'd ended up being thoroughly kissed by his boyfriend (again, to more cheering from the peanut gallery) and the two of them ended up disappearing somewhere for quite some time.  

Sarah tried not to think too hard about that.  

========

Someone had put on some sort of suitably fantastical theme music.  It was beginning to get on Sarah's nerves.  

"Hold still," Max told her sternly, eyeliner pencil in hand.  "Not unless you want me to poke your eye out."  

"Sorry!"

"DUSTIN DON'T YOU DARE SPILL THAT FRAPP ON THE GOWN OR SO HELP ME -- "

Isabel was going through some vocal exercises.  Eleven was going through the scales with her.  Eddie was tuning his guitar, frowning as he tried out a few chords.  Jonathan and Robyn were practicing lines together.  Nancy was helping Will with his costume.   Mike and Lucas were bent over their laptops, sorting out the lighting and sound effects.  Iggy Pop was with some of the Drama Club kids, putting up the last bits of scenery. Steve was busy herding everyone and everything, in his capacity as the stage manager.  

Baby Daniel was in costume already and Jed and Erica were watching over him, making sure he wasn't going to end up in a sandpit somehow.  There weren't any in the general vicinity but the kid just had that weird ability to attract sand so nobody wanted to take any chances.  

It was hilarious that Daniel seemed to be the only baby who somehow understood that they were all just playing pretend and behaved beautifully for everyone involved.  Or maybe it was just due to Murphy and his near-magical baby whispering abilities.  Whatever it was, the little guy was happy to play the role of Sarah's stepbrother, who Sarah would need to rescue from the Prince of Stories.

Calliope was flitting here and there as the adviser of the entire production and somehow, all the chaos was slowly coming together into some sort of cohesive whole.  

"Professor Lyra, where's Murphy?  I haven't seen him since the tournament." Steve, of course, was slowly, but surely edging towards near panic.  

"Don't worry, Steven.  Oneiros gave his word and I have never known him to break it.  He will be here."  

Sarah fought down a giggle.  That one needed to be recorded for posterity.  They had needed someone for the role of the fey and magical "Prince of Stories" and it was a role that Rose Walker had clearly written with Murphy in mind.  

"Oh, you have no idea," Rose had said wryly, when she had been asked about it.  "I did promise him that I would be kinder to him in my next story."

It was Calliope who said she would take care of asking him to accept the role and Sarah was there to witness the whole thing.  For good measure, Calliope told Rose that they would need to bring Daniel along, after getting his mother's permission. Lyta Hall was a little weird whenever the subject of Murphy was brought up. Rose would just shake her head sadly and Sarah figured it wasn't her place to pry.

In any case, Calliope had planned this whole thing out like a seasoned general and Murphy's expression when he realized he was well and thoroughly ambushed was just priceless.

"You are a complete and utter menace," Murphy had said, even as his boyfriend was of no help at all, laughing silently in the background.  

"But you are going to say yes, are you not, Oneiros?" Calliope said archly.  "Surely you do not wish to disappoint the children?"

"Please, Uncle Dream?" Rose and Jed pleaded.  

Daniel made his own sounds, which sort of sounded like "Dweam," Sarah wasn't sure.  But he was already making valiant efforts to talk and that first word was probably going to be coming soon.  The baby also reached for Murphy, clearly wanting to be picked up by him.  

"So very diabolical," Murphy muttered, even as he took Daniel from Calliope and gave in to the little boy's demand for cuddles.  He sighed, looking very much put upon and long-suffering, but anyone who knew to look for it could see that he was, of course, rather pleased.  "Yes, I shall participate in this little performance."

"Promise, Uncle Dream?" Jed asked.

"No hiding behind Lucienne, Uncle Dream," Rose reminded. "I got Matthew on speed dial."

"My own subjects conspire against me," Murphy grumbled. "Yes, I give you my word. Does that satisfy you?"

Daniel crowed happily, joining Rose and Jed in their victory dance. Sarah tried not to laugh at Murphy hiding his smile in Daniel's curly hair.

Professor Gadling applauded and swept Calliope a courtly bow.  "Milady, that was magnificently well-played."  

She accepted the tribute with a regal nod and mischief sparkling in her eyes.  

"You were utterly useless; I hope you know that," Murphy told his boyfriend with mock severity.  

"Yes I do, love.  But it's not blasted Shakespeare and it's your niece, who's a better writer than he is, you mark my words."  

"Aww, thanks, Professor G."  

So yeah, that really happened, and hilarity ensued with Murphy at the rehearsals.  No, it wasn't that he'd put on any prima donna airs.  It was that he was surprisingly compliant, being easy to work with and kindly helping Sarah through any awkwardness when it came to the more intense scenes between her character and the Prince.  She regularly had to fight the urge to giggle and end up ruining a scene, when she'd discovered he had a knack for making hilariously deadpan asides.  Most of the time, he went meekly along with the stage directions, whenever he wasn't busy being adorable with Daniel.  

(All of them had a tacit agreement to take as many pictures as possible, for Professor G's sake.)

Now, Sarah was fighting down the butterflies in her stomach as she waited for her cue to come on stage.  Her parents and little brother were in the audience and while she wanted to smile at Toby, who clearly recognized her and called out her name, she had to stay in character.  

And then, it was time for Murphy to make his first appearance.  

There were audible gasps from the crowd as the spotlight fell on the Prince of Stories.  It was as if he stepped right out of Will Byers' artwork of the King of All Night's Dreaming,  a vision in robes of black and gold, with jewels sparkling in his hair.  A long earring with precious stones sparkled in one ear.  He looked completely ethereal and not quite of this world and when he spoke his first lines, everyone fell completely silent.  

Sarah was suddenly dead sure she was going to forget every line she'd learned but he'd slanted her a look and there was that familiar friendly kindness and humor in those eyes, which bolstered her courage.  

Sarah could do this.  And she fell into step with him, working through every scene, letting her character fall in love with the Prince of Stories, getting caught up in the magic and the mystery of the story that Rose had written.  

The audience was on its feet by curtain call.  Murphy had led Sarah by the hand to make their final bows and she'd forgone the usual floral bouquet because Toby was insisting on going to his big sister so she had an armful of toddler instead.

"Pretty!" He declared, making her laugh.  She'd put him down soon enough, because at three, Toby was getting a little bit too heavy to carry for long.  He happily held on to her skirts and at Murphy's gentle prompting, handed over the bouquet.  

Everything had been wonderful today.  

At least until the Faeries crashed the party.  

======

2.  There's such a sad love deep in your eyes

When Sarah had been a little girl, she used to make up stories about her adventures as a brave princess, together with a character she'd called the Goblin King.  

She had a beautiful old-fashioned doll, given to her by Grandma Amelia, with long curly dark hair glittering with sparkly stones and a white ballgown.  Of course, she pretended that she was that doll and she had let her imagination run wild, as "Princess Sarah" went through hardships unnumbered and dangers untold, to be with her beloved Goblin King.  

In her child's imagination, she'd pictured the Goblin King to be tall and fair, fey and mysterious, with beautiful mismatched eyes, one brown and the other blue.  She even used to draw him in her school notebooks, and she could still wryly trace the evolution of her own artistic skills from her childish scribbles to the more mature work she produced today.  

She wasn't that little girl anymore and the Goblin King was just a fond childhood memory.  

So when she first saw the Faeries, Sarah really thought that they were just another bunch of LARP-ers, crashing the perfomance.  

She didn't recognize any of them from the Hellfire Club or the Drama Club.  She had to admire the artistry of their costumes though.  Some of the creatures seemed so very real - whoever built them was some kind of special effects wizard.  

But then, she saw the strangely familiar figure leading them, and she stifled a gasp.  She knew him, as if he'd simply stepped out of her childhood memories.  

"Hello, Sarah," the Goblin King greeted her, inclining his head regally.  "I thought you had forgotten me.  But I see you still remember."  

Toby whimpered softly and somehow, she just knew she didn't want her baby brother to catch this man...no, this being's attention.  She carefully shielded the small boy behind her skirts.  Apparently, Murphy had the same idea because he stepped forward protectively, subtly making sure he was between the two of them.

"You are not welcome here, Goblin King."

That imperious tone was not any kind of acting whatsoever. Neither was the expression on Murphy's face or how it seemed to Sarah's eyes, he was no longer Profesor Gadling's secretly dorky and adorable Goth boyfriend in a beautiful costume, but truly the Prince of Stories.

"Hail, Lord Morpheus," The Goblin King intoned.  "Forgive my little lapse in manners - the mortal girl is dear to me, so I was overhasty in my eagerness to greet her."

"You dare."  

The Goblin King affected shock, a ruffled hand going to his chest.  "Where is your courtesy, O Prince of Stories?  I was invited to your little revelry."  

"You were most certainly not."  This time, it was Calliope gliding regally on stage, eyes blazing. "I am the one hosting this gathering and I most certainly did not invite you."  

"It was your mortal pets who summoned me thus," answered the Goblin King and gestured to a group of Drama Club kids who were watching everything with wide eyes.

"I thought that book of spells was just a joke!" said one of them in a small voice.  

"Oh for fuck's sake," Dustin Henderson was heard to say.  "Rule 10 in the Great List of Terrible Ideas is 'Don't Mess Around With Books of Magic If You Don't Know What You're Doing!'  What were you guys thinking?"

 "You are so very selfish, Lord Morpheus and Lady Calliope, to keep all these mortal pets to yourself.   And it is so unfair, that you've taken on one so dear to my own heart as your new mortal lover.  But I shall be gracious in defeat and simply wish you both every happiness."

"You speak foolishness, Lord Jareth," Murphy... no.... Morpheus said coldly.  The audience was just watching, thinking it was all part of the show, but Sarah could just feel it, the sense of power and otherworldliness that seemed to emanate from both Morpheus and Calliope.  

The Goblin King smiled at Sarah and she felt chilled.  "She seems uncertain.  Perhaps her heart is not yet given to you fully?  Perhaps I have yet a chance?"  

"I thought I just dreamed you up," were the first words Sarah finally managed to say.  "I thought you weren't real."

He laughed.  "You keep company with the Lord of Dreams, sweet Sarah.  He should teach you better about the nature of reality and dreams."  

"I -- " Sarah began.  

Morpheus shook his head at her.  "Do not speak to him, Sarah.  The Fair Folk are not to be trusted.  He will seek to trick you, with your own words."  

"Even an invitation may be taken back if one is unwelcome.  And once more, you are not welcome here, Jareth of the Labyrinth.  Begone!" Calliope commanded.  

"Very well.  If courtesy has deserted you entirely, we of the Labyrinth still offer our own hospitality.  We extend our invitation to your beloved and the child that she so cherishes."  Jareth blew a kiss in Sarah's direction.  "I shall see you soon, my sweet Sarah."  

Toby suddenly disappeared.  

Sarah screamed.  

======

3.  But I'll be there for you as the world falls down

Hob Gadling had seen some fairly strange things in his 600-odd years of living, thank you very much.  And that was before he ended up falling arse over teakettle for one broody, mercurial Lord of Dreams and Nightmares.  

(Fine, he would modify that to before he finally admitted to himself that he was arse over teakettle for one broody, mercurial Dream Lord.  It only took him 200 years to figure that one out and a hundred more to get over the sheer panic of ohshit-why-the-everlasting-fuck-did-I-have-to-go-and-fall-in-love-with-my-best-mate.  It was worth it in the end, though.)  

Ending up as a hostage of the Unseelie Court was a little bit new.  

Although the look of consternation on the bloody Goblin King's face was worth the price of admission.  

"I was expecting the Dream Lord's beloved to be in my presence," said the Goblin King, looking him up and down with an air of disdain.  "You are his mortal friend.  How did you come to be here?"

"Mate," said Hob carefully, eyeing the frightened little boy currently sitting at the Goblin King's feet.  He was already calculating how quickly he could snatch up the kid and get both of them out of there.  "The last time I checked, I'm currently immortal, unless His Darkness' sister decides to change her mind about me.  And also..."

Hob didn't tend to use the old youkai tricks that he'd picked up from his friend Kenshin in Japan, but considering the company, now was the best time to use them.  So he did.  

It took the work of seconds to knock down the Goblin King's formidable guards and he'd blessed whatever instinct that had told him to keep the sword that he'd been using during the tournament and not put it away.  He had the blade at the King's throat in moments, even as Toby toddled over to his side, with a whimper.  He spared a moment to run a gentle hand over the little boy's head, feeling small fists cling to the fabric of his trousers.  

"As I was saying," Hob Gadling said steadily.  "I'm the Dream Lord's 'beloved.'  Took a while to get to this point, but we did."

"What."

"I know," Hob commiserated with him, bringing the point of the blade just a little bit closer to the King's throat.  He smiled as it made the Goblin King draw just a little bit back, his chin lifting up, mismatched eyes meeting Hob's own with considerable annoyance and just a little touch of fear.  "Very interesting story, unfortunately, I haven't the time to tell you all about it as this little chap and I are going to be leaving."

"No.  You will not."  Faerie dust blew into his eyes and Hob felt himself fall.  

Bollocks. He always tended to forget the magical faerie dust, blast it.

=====

"Hob Gadling."

"Impudence such as yours does not deserve to be rewarded."  The soft press of lips against his own belied those words and Hob was only happy to slide his hands into raven black hair and deepen that kiss for a few more moments.  The two of them swayed for an eternity, lost in a dance just for them.

There was only one person in the entire universe who could call him by his full name and still make it sound like an endearment.  He'd follow that voice to the ends of time and beyond if he had to.

Hob opened his eyes.  "You could've kissed me awake, y'know.  I mean, if I had to do this whole Sleeping Beauty business, kisses are expected."

"Myne owne hertis rote," Hob murmured against those lips just as Dream drew back again, cheeks sweetly flushed.  He couldn't help it.  The endearments just tripped out of his lips sometimes and usually in the tongue he'd been born speaking.  

Dream usually answered him in the same language but the response this time had Hob do a double take.  "Did I just hear you call me husband?"

"We still need to get the children safely back to the waking world."

Nope, Hob was not letting his darling get away with his ridiculousness.  He tugged at Dream's hands, looked right into eyes that had gone dark and starry with emotion.  "Dream."

"Is it truly so objectionable?"

"You know damn well it isn't, love.  I want that - " Hob's breath caught.  "More than anything."  

Dream huffed, a soft sound of derision.  "I have gone and taken leave of my senses.  These things never end well. Not for me or the one I care for."

"We've been over this, love.  Me:  Immortal.   I suspect that sister of yours knew what she was about, what with your rules and things - "

"These 'rules' - as you well know, Hob Gadling, are not 'things' we may set aside at our convenience - "

"Dream.  Did you or did you not just beat Lucifer Morningstar in the oldest game using hope?"  Hob cradled that beloved face in his hands.  "Will you not keep any hope for yourself?"

The world around them shattered like glass and once more Hob Gadling was falling.  But he wasn't afraid as he'd held on to his love who was kissing him over and over again, stars in his eyes and smiling brightly like the dawn.  

They weren't falling anymore.  

“One half of me is yours, the other half is yours, Mine own, I would say; but if mine, then yours, And so all yours.” Hob murmured between those kisses.  

"Hob Gadling, did I just hear Shakespeare fall from your lips?"

"Well, the bloody prat ought to be good for something!"

====

4.  I'll paint you mornings of gold

It ends as all good stories do.

It ends well.

Sarah Williams faces down the Goblin King but this time, her mind is clear and her heart is set on one thing.  She's not a giddy, naive girl to be seduced and charmed by mystery and cool aloofness.  This being, this creature who claimed to be in "love" with her, had her baby brother.  And Sarah was not going to forgive that.  

Sarah knows her stories and her tropes and hell, she had the actual Prince of Stories to guide her.

As well as the rest of the Hellfire Club who insisted on coming along.  

"You need people of intelligence to come along on this quest... thing!" Dustin said brightly.

Everyone stared at him.

"What?  If there was ever a time to quote Tolkien and Pete Jackson, it's definitely now!"  

They all had the obligatory argument as to whether or not they should come, but in the end about half of the Club came along, because the others all had to do damage control and convince the audience that everything was still part of an even more elaborate show.  

Morpheus was not thrilled with this, but he had to admit Calliope had a point.  Also, he was not about to waste time on further argument, not when Professor Gadling had also been taken.

Apparently, that was a mistake on the Goblin King's part, as Sarah had been the intended hostage. Yeah, no, Sarah did not find this ridiculousness romantic in the very least.

Sarah would have all the time in the world to have the obligatory freakout about her flatmate being the Muse from Greek mythology, that their club's DM was the actual Lord of Dreams and Nightmares, to say nothing about their ridiculous Shakespeare-hating history professor being a real immortal.  She'd have all the time, much later, for the Hellfire Club to tell her about their favorite cryptids and how they figured it out for themselves.

Right now, she had to save Toby.

 I have fought my way here to the Castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child you have stolen.  For my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great.

You have no power over me.  

You have no power over me!

Sarah shatters Jareth's illusions and his tricks and his pretty, pretty lies. When it's done, she has Toby back and she's faced with the pitiable figure of a boy her age, mismatched eyes filled with tears, crumpled on the floor, weeping heartbrokenly.  

Suddenly, she wants to go to him, because from the tales that Morpheus had told her, Jareth was in fact, just like Toby.  A human child stolen from the Waking World.  Only that the attempt at his rescue had ended in failure.  

And she could never truly forget those wondrous days, when she had been Princess Sarah and daydreamed her adventures with him.

Toby buries his little face in her shoulder.  "Want to go home, Sarah."  

Do not trust the Fair Folk, Sarah Williams.  Morpheus' warning rings through her mind again.  

"Jareth," Sarah suddenly says.  And at his name, the Goblin King looks up at her.  "If you really claim that you love me, then come find me again.  No tricks, no illusions, no lies."  She took a breath.  

"I don't want this to be my last memory of you."

And she walks out of the Castle, Toby in her arms, back to her friends and to the end of this tale.  

-end-

Footnote the First:   Little Daniel was quite put out that he wasn't allowed to come on this particular adventure, but Aunt Calliope told him that he would have plenty of time for such things once he was much older.  No, Daniel, hitting your first birthday and learning to walk would not be a free license to run off on adventures of your own.

Footnote the Second:  The grimoire that the Drama Club kids had inadvertently stumbled on was promptly confiscated by Calliope and handed off to Dream, who, of course, made sure that it was tucked safely away in the Library of the Dreaming.  As a punishment, the Drama Club kids were promptly lectured on the Great List of Terrible Ideas, as delivered by Steve Harrington.  There was a 50 point quiz on it too.  

Footnote the Third:  Daniel Hall's first word, obviously, was "Mama."  That being said, his mother was ruefully unsurprised that his second word was "Dream."  Surprisingly, his third word was "Birdie!" and Matthew was insufferable about that for ages.

Footnote the Fourth:  A new student joined the university the following semester, a tall, fair-haired, thin fellow, with a penchant for music.  He and Sarah ended up being good friends.  If there was to be anything more, well, that was still to be decided.  

#the sandman #dream of the endless #hob gadling #dreamling #dream/hob #calliope #daniel hall #rose walker #sarah williams #jareth the goblin king #i crack what i want #shhh nobody tell neil #the highlander #methos #duncan macleod

[lanaevyssmoved]

helloooo Afhiri sounds SO lovely. can you tell me more about how they feel at the start of act 1 about her predicament with the tadpoles, her companions, etc etc if you want!!

it might be cruel to say that they're pretty damn simple . actually no its not ive decided theyre pretty damn simple. literally wakes up and has a panic attack because where is flute?? where flute?? WHERE. FLU TE? flute was no where to be seen (depression). a very sad clown exploring this ship literally with minimum interest because flute :( flute :( this is a child who has lost their autistic hyperfixation toy.

lae'zel is hot. the sword scene is hot. hiri has immediate gay panic and forgets flute for 2 whole seconds. asks lae'zel if seen flute. lae'zel doesn't even know what a flute is.. smh. sticks around because was told to. does whats told (for now........ ominous.) so to start lae'zel is literally party lead this clown is NOT a protagonist (for now...... no im not making that joke twice)

SHADOWHEART IS HOT... absolutely ignores lae'zel to free shadowheart. literally dumbass tries to pull the door off. lae'zel ends up being the one like "maybe u should look around if u INSIST on saving this HALF ELF." frees shadowheart :) oh my god you have an autistic hyperfixation too?? your rock is so cool!!!!!!!

the flute is not rescued. please F's in chat for the lost flute of afhiri's childhood. her father made her that flute and it's DEAD. AND THERE WASN'T EVEN TIME FOR A FUNERAL.

the first thing they do after hoarding all of the fish on the beach like a little goblin creature is find gale's portal. shiny. Oh My God is that an arm without a body? that is Soooo cool...... high fives. they free him of course!!! used bard Magicks to calm that shit down and free the silly man. she finds him SOOO silly. he is such a silly little guy. his lil expressions and hand movements are SO funny. she wants to get acting classes from him so she can be just as funny and then she'll rank up in Clown. she's sure of it. (he is a clown to her. a truly excellent clown. there's real talent..........)

after that she gets knife throat by astarion :( not very nice of you :( i would have given you money if u wanted :( oh not a robbery? OH WE'RE WORM BUDDIES? friendship acquired :) they genuinely don't have any more thoughts rly at the start because he is mean and she doesn't understand its mean and looks at him stupidly like a dog who cannot understand the new word u just said. tilts head :)

their friendship stat is SO high all of a sudden. this clown has had NO friends their entire damn life (weirdo coded) and suddenly they've got SOOO many best friends oh my god they're so excited for the campfire stories hehee :)

next is oh my godd its the hot. gi..gi... Girlfriend? :) no its gith u stupid clown. get pied. ANYWAY tells the tieflings some absolute BULLSHITERY. this clown is So good at lying (this is a positive. their moral code is kinda messy.) and frees lae'zel :) shadowheart doesn't trust lae'zel but how can you Not when she's Also Green? I'm Green? You're Green? Da Ba Dee

after that its oh my god is that A GOBLIN? never seen a goblin before. finds them extremely cute. they're also kind of green (positive). and A WARG? can i PET IT? No? It'll eat me? bite off my hand? chew up my suit? this is supreme sadness. wait- flute still gone. that's supreme sadness. ALSO WYLL IS FUN!!!! wyll gives her fairytale hero prince vibes and is absolutely fascinated and thinks as a bard should sing of his tale because hes so cool (please don't trust them. they will make him sound like a fool.)

hearing about the spooky scary teeth-ling from wyll is super!! exciting!!!! a devil?? fought in devil war?? fire?? death?? epic story . we must find out more (not to kill. to talk to. must have some REALLY COOL STORIES!!!) very easy to convince wyll not to kil- OH MY GOD HOT?? HOT? ?? literally hot. this is the most Supreme Gay Panic. afhiri never thought about girls (or boys) like this before. none of the Lads give the Panik.. but these girls are a little too much (fainting vibes) also karlach is so fun :) daydreams about karlach throwing her like a javelin into battle

the tadpole though :/ they don't know!! everyone keeps saying. bad! evil! bad! removal! death! kill! and they're like :/ idk guys.. worms are kinda cute. u ever seen a worm do a lil wiggle on some mud? its so cool.. i wish i was a worm..... everyone is concerned. do not trust them with decisions (they trust them with decisions. they are All stupid.) they name the worm. the worm is named little buddy. it's not creative. it's not a name. but this is Little Buddy and she talks to her little buddy sometimes. she even wrote it a song. (she doesn't consume more little buddies. that's weird.. this is HER little buddy and those are OTHER little buddies. there's only one little buddy for her....)

extra: GUARDIAN. oooohhhhh my god .. never seen someone soooooo CLOWN. (this is false. guardian looks nothing like a clown. theyre projecting HARD. guardian plays along because this is clearly going to work better than being Hot and Mysterious). trust them explicitly (reminder: not smart), treats like another Best Friend like the squad. gets sad they don't ever join them in camp for her performances. does private performances sometimes :)

DOUBLE EXTRA: the possession.. of Flute 2.

a daring tale of (gale takes some of the squads money and buys them a flute. cannot bare to see the sad puppy dog eyes any longer.) AN INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE OF PERIL AND DANGER... THERE WAS GNOLLS AND GOBLINS AND MAYBE A BEHOLDER!!!!! gale.. an incredibly brave adventurer.. this is going in his next song

#ask #astarien #need yall to know i try so hard to get across their Vibe in how i type LMFAOOO #i am so excited about clown :) #i hope u enjoy clown!!!!!!! #she/they #oc afhiri

[sevilemar]

Remember a few days ago, when I told you about the gift a fellow player gave me in DnD? Well, I've been thinking. And researching. And exchanging tons of epic messages with my GM and the other player. And we came up with a really interesting build for my angelic vampire. Vampiric angel? Whatever, see for yourself.

Mechanically, she is now a Fallen Aasimar, with a modified version of the Dhampyr's Bloodlust feature from the Adventurer's Almanac. She will be so emotionally destroyed when her Necrotic Shroud comes out for the first time, and instead of the beautiful, brightly coloured celestial wings she could have ascended to as a Flametouched, she now has these skeletal abominations on her back that can't even get her in the air.

But fear not, hope and reconciliation is already build into her class, for at lvl 14 of the Divine Soul Sorcerer, she will get her angelic wings, whatever form they may then take.

She is also no longer a Noble Icon*, and once she realises she can't tap into the collective unconscious anymore, she is going to feel so, so alone. But hey, at least she now has a mentor instead, right? What could go wrong with a guy she just tried to kill an hour ago, who actually did kill her, and then denied her soul eternal peace in the Silver Flame?

It also means 'Bye bye psionics!' and 'Hello Pact Magic, Metamagic, and the combined cleric and sorcerer spell lists!' for my poor little meow meow. Yes, I made her a multiclass Divine Soul Sorcerer 3/Soulborn Warlock** 1, sue me.

Sorcerer made sense for me, since the class places a lot of focus on bloodlines and where you come from. With an original bloodline descending from the celestial Couatl (basically earth-based gods), and the blood of the Realm of Eternal Night now running through her veins as well, I chose her spells as a lesson in contrast. Guiding Bolt and Sacred Flame for their radiance, Inflict Wounds and Toll the Dead for their necrotic connection to Mabar.

But I also needed her to not die instantly, and I really did not want her to wear armour. So I looked around for a class that had a feature that was similar to what she had as a Noble Icon, and my GM suggested the Soulborn. His level one feature lets her add both her Dex and her Charisma modifiers as long as she wears no armour, and she can still use a shield if she wants to. It is a perfect fit for Selise, and as I found out later, also has pretty nice synergy with the sorcerer. Win win.

And as if that wasn't enough already, she was not only born into a war in the first place, but now she is also reborn on the grounds of a war manifestation zone. I chose to honour that by giving her lots of blade themed spells, like Sword Burst, Green-Flame Blade, and a nifty little homebrew Cantrip called Decaying Blade.

How fortunate that she had already picked up what is basically a war scythe before they got here (a Sharrash, usually used by the Halflings of the Talenta Plains***). Maybe it was kismet all along.

Anyway, now I play a vampire angel in brightly coloured and bloody clothes with skeletal wings, wielding a life-stealing scythe. Oh, the magic of roleplaying games!

Though I do think I will burn the clothes and the bow at some point, and shave off my colourful dreadlocks as well. Selise is a dramatic bitch of a teenager, so why not lean into it.

*An Eberron-specific psionic class with a different mechanic. It can be found in Psion's Primer.

** Soulbound Warlock is a martial type Warlock similar to the Hexblade, with a focus on grace and charisma over armour for their protection. It can be found in the Adventurer's Almanac.

***It's in Morgrave Miscellany.

#dnd #d&d #dungeons & dragons #dungens and dragons #roleplay #eberron

[whatthecrowtold]

#unhallowedarts - Castles, Swords and Nimble Wits. Hal Foster's Prince Valiant as Demon.

“For the sake of fair Ilene Val dares pit his nimble wit against the might of the Ogre of Sinstar Wood and all his followers.”

Maybe drawing ladies’ underwear for catalogues is not the worst job a young graphic artist can land. It was the first steady creative work young Harold from Halifax did. Back in 1912, for the Hudson Bay Company. And after moving on from drawers to drawing the Lord of the Apes, finally, in the early 1930, Hal Foster had a chance to prove what he dab hand he was in narrating stories with pictures. With a friend, he cycled the 1,000 miles from Canada to Chicago, to take art classes, studied the Great Ones from the Golden Age of Illustration and especially the American masters did it to him. With something close to his contemporary Leyendecker’s aesthetics, it were Maxfield Parrish and especially N.C. Wyeth who proved to be a major influence on one of the milestones of the development of graphic novels into a serious artistic medium: Hal Foster’s “Prince Valiant”. What looked like quite the adaption from Wyeth’s take on the rich imagery of “Le Morte d’Arthur” by Thomas Malory, published some 15 years before as “The Boy’s King Arthur”, Foster’s masterpiece of depicting a narrative was first published in the “New Orleans Picayune” in February 1937. And no one less than press tsar Randolph Hearst himself recognised the potential of Foster’s talent and tale and granted him full creative control and regular publication of what was to become the story of “Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur”. For the next 30 years, until Foster finally left the project in 1971.

“Prince Valiant” is, taken all its high artistic value for granted, Foster’s brilliant use of chiaroscuro and highly detailed, cinematic illustrations, as historical as a typical Hollywood history flick. Which means: not in the least. The 5th century late- and post-Roman world in Foster’s imagination is populated by Vikings, Muslims, Knights from the Late Middle Ages, Renaissance tech and what not. And we do have a historical date. Young Val witnesses the murder of Flavius Aëtius in Rome in September 454AD. That witches and wizards and dino-like swamp monsters disappeared from the story during the 1940s is hardly noticeable in Foster’s heap of broken historical images. But that usually doesn’t spoil a good story. At least if the hypocrite lecteur is not a true-blue historian who had archived his own sense of wonder somewhere in a deep cellar where spiders and dust bunnies nest and the ghosts of heroic epics walk the night. And as ahistorical as Foster narrates Val’s story, imagery and ideas remain brilliant, especially when his hero uses his brains instead of the magic “Singing Sword”, a downright loveable and inspiring trademark feature of the story.

One memorable take was published early on, already in August 1937. Young Val, still Sir Gawain’s squire, sets forth to wrest the castle of Maid Ilene’s parents from the clutches of a robber baron, appetisingly known as “The Ogre of Sinstar Wood”. And what sounds like the typical onset of a chivalric hero quest, climaxing in blood and thunder, is solved in an Ann Radcliffe-style Gothic charade. Making a devil’s mask from the skin of a captured goose and using his black cloak as something that looks like bat wings, Val invades the castle at night, doing quite the aerial acrobatic routine with a rope on the side, scares the Ogre to death and drives his henchmen from the castle by haunting the place for days in his demon guise. Mission accomplished, without a sword being drawn. And no one of his numerous successors in drawing chivalric – or other – adventure stories managed the same tongue-in-cheek humour and innovation in their take on epics than Foster did. While only few rival his artistic talent.       

For a quick glimpse into Hal Foster's art and Prince Valiant's tale - below is a medium quality online edition of the first volume from 1937 - 1939

#unhallowedarts #dark art #dark aesthetic #graphic novel #hal foster #prince valiant #gothic aesthetic

[teneguine]

Sword-Step

A traveling instructor has arrived at Garreg Mach, ready to teach any willing listeners how to practice the delicate and graceful art of sword dancing. It’s optional for, well, everyone but your class. You’ll need to choreograph and memorize an original routine to fulfill the requirements to move into the next level of sword mastery and this is your last chance before the term officially changes. Grab a partner, watch those feet and try not to stab anyone this time? [Grants Sword +1]

“Lady Lyn, is that you?”

Spotting a familiar face, Owain puts to rest the choreography he’d been working on to help himself to a bit of conversation. With his sword--the legendary Missiletainn--slung over his shoulder, he approaches his ally of another world. It’s been nearly a month since they fought together in Eden, but to Owain, it feels like it was only yesterday. An unlikely comrade in the chaotic woes of war, she and the rest of the crew have a special place in his heart. Never will he forget squaring down Melanthios alongside his fated allies of epic proportions. 

“What sort of mythical adventure have you gotten yourself wrapped up in this time? Wait--don’t tell me!” Arm flies out in front of him, waving over Lyn’s face and trying to null out whatever dialogue she’d respond with, “You’re here to learn the sacred art of Dance Swording! Hah! I knew you would make for a heroic pupil.” 

It’s pretty clear where he’s going with this.

The blade on his shoulder comes to rest at his side, ready to be wielded with style. He smirks, too, legs now widening in stance has he prepares both his confidence and body to show Lyn a thing or two. “Fate has smiled upon you, friend, for the world-renowned Dance Sworder stands in your presence: Oberon Dark, The Darkfooted Dance Debonair!” Pause for dramatic effect, and an awe-inspiring pose. His free hand opens and thrusts out mere inches in front of her face, while the opposite holds the point of his beloved sword up at the heavens. Not a moment’s reprieve is given, not a single opportunity to react. He just keeps going, adding more and more tomfoolery until it becomes so impossibly unclear what Lyn is meant to respond to and what is supposed to be theatrical filler.

“What say you to a quick lesson from a cosmic master? I have enough special dances to last a thousand thousand lifetimes, and each comes with an epic name. How do you fancy Blitzing Sparkshock? Or March of the Damned? Perhaps Rose-Garden of Flamingos catches your attention, or maybe Nightingale's Dark Waltz! If you hunger for challenge even half as much as I, my advanced techniques call your name! Behold: Twirl of Ice and Snow: Spring’s Redux! Oh, oh! And The Torrential Bachata of Arid Starsurge! And Stone-Co-” 

It doesn’t seem like he’ll run out of names (or breath) any time soon.

//starter for @sacaeblade

#IC #THREAD NO. 12 LYN (SWORD-STEP) #SACAEBLADE #//don't worry lyn they're all equally as bad

[animekissingblog]

Finished my Epic Seven S/I! Information below cut(its a lot lol):

Weapon: Staff/Scythe

Class: Soul Weaver - transformation 

Self imprint: attack %

Group imprint: health %

Abandoned at a young age Lillian grew up helping those she could to do what wasn’t done for her. When her loved ones are threatened she transforms into a more aggressive and energetic version of herself. She seeks to find out who her true family is, Lily is currently traveling the land in search of them.

On her journey she runs into Taeyou who is on a destructive path to collect all four seasons' swords. Almost fighting due to his nature she stops him to see if he needs help which he repeatedly tells her no. Feeling like his path can only end in ruin Lily follows alongside a reluctant Taeyou on his journey, postponing her own to help him.

Skills:

Lillian

Skill 1: Lillian attacks with her staff. This heals the ally with the lowest HP and boosts the combat readiness of the same ally by 15%. This skill scales off the casters attack. This skill provides one Focus. 

Skill 2: Lilian uses her magic to protect her allies. This skill cleanses 1 debuff before providing all allies with a barrier for 2 turns and provides hearts warmth for 2 turns. Hearts warmth increases the users damage by 10% and allows the user to heal based off damage dealt. This skill generates two focus. 

Skill 3: This skill is only usable at max (5) focus. Lillian’s magic becomes overwhelming causing her to transform into Kitty Lillian. This heals Kitty Lillian to max HP and grants an additional turn. 

Magical Cat Lilian

Skill 1: Magical Cat Lillian attacks an enemy with her scythe.  If any ally has ‘hearts warmth’ this skill attacks twice more. This skill heals the lowest health ally proportional to the damage dealt and increases their combat readiness by 10%. Consumes 1 focus. soulburn 20 souls This skill attacks twice more. 

Skill 2: Magical Cat Lillian attacks all enemies with her scythe. For each ally that has ‘hearts warmth’ this skill penetrates the enemies defense by 10%. Additionally heals all allies proportional to damage dealt. Consumes 2 focus. 

Skill 3: Magical Cat Lillian consumes the rest of her focus to change back to Lillian and triggering an effect based off the amount of focus consumed. 

5 focus consumed - Cleanses allies of all debuffs and fully heals the two allies with the lowest HP.

4 focus consumed - Attacks all enemies setting their combat readiness to zero. Ignores effective resistance if more than one ally has ‘hearts warmth’. Additionally penetrate the enemies defense by 20%.

3 focus consumed - Attacks a single enemy penetrating their defense by 80%. If this kills an enemy grant an additional turn.

#lillian e7 #self insert #self ship #s/i #my art

[hubristicassholefight]

Preliminary Round: Revue Starlight

Propaganda below cut

Hikaru

Battle girlfriends with Karen Aijo. Competes in sword fights to decide who is the “top star.” Also sings during these sword fights. Commonly uses swords as props in plays.

Karen

There are so many other Revue Starlight characters I could submit because so many of them have swords (one even has two!) but Karen is the main character and has a sword so I think she deserves this personally. Her sword is, depending on your translation, called either Possibility of Puberty (which I find funnier) or Possibility of Youth (which I prefer but it's also so much less silly)

Nana

She has a double Katana and I think out of all the revue starlight girlies she’s the coolest. I’m sure someone smarter can talk about the symbolism of her swords. Regardless of that tho, she’s so strong even if she doesn’t appear as a strong contender, she won a sword fight competition for 60 times in a row resulting her creating a time loop. If that isn’t cool enough she has an entire fight with epic music of her taking on her entire class and winning. Like a full 1vs 8 fight and she won and looked so cool doing it; She’s literally the messiest theatre lesbian I’ve ever seen and it shows in her sword fights. Like no one sane would win a sword competition in an underground stage over and over again every year only to use the “wish” to turn back time and repeat it again and again.

Well, she has two swords. BUT this is important cause in revstar, blade length signifies someone's brilliance as an actress. So this immediately means that Nana is overpowered compared to literally everyone else.(oh and she used the swords/brilliance to trap everyone in a time loop due to her childhood loneliness but I don't know how important this is to this poll)

Maya

maya wields a rapier with a white gem, as coordinated to her image colour, for a pommel, named odette the mavericks. the sword is eponymous to its name and significant as to her major motifs—the rapier is forged with a long, slender blade, as well as a golden grip assembled with the shape of a swan’s wings. whilst there are a number of swordswomen within revue starlight, maya undoubtedly takes position zero when it comes to the effortlessness and swiftness of swordsmanship within the revues—effectively winning against a wide majority of her opponents and cutting them down effortlessly, all whilst putting on the greatest performance. https://youtu.be/SX8-exfskeo https://youtu.be/c3rrQpwKwPI (yes, she loses in this one, but her PERFORMANCE is outstanding). a few notable moments of maya’s swordswomanship throughout the revues are, The LIVE #1, in which, during a revue against saijou claudine, she uses mavericks to stab her in the shoulder and cut down the button of her pelisse jacket, achieving position zero and winning said revue. https://ibb.co/kSWjvFX Starry Diamond, in which, during a revue teamed with daiba nana, she effectively cut down her opponents and decided to further cut down nana as to further achieve position zero on her own—cutting into both of nana’s arms before soon removing the button from her pelisse jacket, as well. https://streamable.com/fx1edd The LIVE #3, in which she is set against three separate opponents, each with varying weapons—longsword, axe, bow and arrow—and continued to best all three of them simultaneously. https://streamable.com/gp430d https://streamable.com/n8tucw https://streamable.com/c7roo1 https://streamable.com/syno6z . . . and, again, everything about THIS revue. https://youtu.be/c3rrQpwKwPI

Claudine

A simple design, the handle a gold. Someone has stated that it looks like a Lego sword if you shrunk it and I think that's funny. Saijo Claudine throws her sword in one episode to help another character get higher and I think that's cool; She's french and is aligned with silver and her rival is always first place but Claudine is also really good and her sword deserves more attention 🤙🤙

#shoujo kageki revue starlight #revue starlight #hikari kagura #karen aijou #nana daiba #maya tendou #claudine saijou #official #poll #swordswoman showdown #prelims

[ghostofnibelheim]

♕ - one Muse gestures wildly and smacks another passing by :>

Telling the story of how you got your scars is a warrior's proudest past times, or so people say.

However, if one where to ask Sephiroth "When was the last time someone made you bleed?", his story would be far from an epic tale. This did happen in the war, nor on any memorable battlefield amidst the chaos of bullets and clashing swords.

It all happened on a very mundane day, on floor 49 of the ShinRa building. The SOLDIER floor.

When the untimely choice to turn around a corner and brush shoulders with one (1) Zack Fair costed him the integrity of his nasal septum. Angeal's apprentice was distracted, and manic as ever, telling some vivid story to his Third Class friend.

One armor-gloved hand movement too far high and... smack!

Sephiroth's steps on the floor came to a halt, his hand reaching gingerly to feel his own face. Strangely enough, the warmth and wetness of his own blood registered in his mind way sooner than any pain did.

"..."

The First Class stared at the red smear on his glove with a blink while everyone around them seemed to have turned into statues of salt. For a moment, the only noise in the lounge was the faint plink... plink... of more hemoglobin dripping at his feet.

#00j || that's what they said. [asked & answered] #mezzomorendo #cw: blood

[kimothyroll]

Day 4

Day total: +6 practical, +2 Theoretical, -1 on next exam (theoretical)

Nine of Swords

The first class of the day was combat. I wasn't sure I was ready after yesterday's epic duel with Oberon. I'm still reeling from the win.

At least today we're focusing on theory. Namely, magical barriers. We are tasked with creating our own. Delving into the intricacies of magical barriers, I consider how I can utilise invisibility, or at least something similar. I applied my skills to create a formidable "Aegis of Twilight." This barrier, inspired by the mystical qualities of the twilight hour, combines both defensive and illusionary elements. It cloaks me in a shimmering, semi-translucent shield that not only deflects incoming magical attacks but also distorts the perception of my exact position.

+1 Practical

The Chariot

Impressed with myself that I actually came up with something semi-decent that worked how I designed it to I decide to take a wander round the court to calm myself down from the high, I remember there was a little hidden path that I walked past whilst strolling the other evening. I didn't end up going down it as I was distracted with taking everything in, but this morning I head back in that direction, and as I start to make my way down I begin to notice some unusual marking on the cobblestones.

There's something familiar about them and I realise that they are runes, but there's something a little…different…about them. I set about deciphering the cryptic runic symbols, and unveil a hidden sequence that, when correctly navigated, triggers a subtle but enchanting transformation in the surrounding environment. There's something really familiar about it, I swear I recognise some of the flowers from the community garden back home. I wonder if it's different for everyone? I'll have to bring Celestia back here.

+2 Practical

Six of Wands

Eager to share my discovery with Celestia I seek her out before our lesson, but before I get a chance I'm interrupted by our professor announcing today's instructions- duelling practice! This isn't even combat class. Nonetheless, path quickly forgotten, I set about thinking what I will do as we're informed we will each have a turn against the professor!  Determined to catch him off guard, I seize the opportunity to showcase my newly devised barrier.

 the Aegis of Twilight is cast flawlessly, enveloping me in its shimmering, semi-translucent shield. The unexpected move surprises the professor, demonstrating the effectiveness of my creative fusion of defensive and illusionary magic in a real combat scenario. He commends me for my quick thinking, strategic use of defensive magic, and the seamless integration of illusionary elements- I don't think they realise how simple it actually is to cast- but I won't be sharing that information just yet!

+2 Practical

The Hierophant

At the end of the lesson, we're given our first homework of the semester:  "Exploring the Intersection of Ancient Traditions and Modern Magical Practices."

I take some time to complete it over lunch because I know I will never start it otherwise. As I delve into the ancient traditions of magical practices, I unearth valuable insights into the roots of mystical arts. However, I also discover techniques that, while once revered, are considered outdated in the contemporary magical landscape. These antiquated methods include intricate rituals, overly complex spellcasting gestures, and cumbersome incantations that, although rich in historical significance, have been surpassed by more streamlined and efficient approaches developed over the years.

+2 Theoretical, -1 on next exam

Ace of Swords

Following on from the theme of this morning, we are learning some of the more unknown protective spells. As I successfully master an obscure protective spell, a profound sense of accomplishment and empowerment envelops me. The seamless execution of incantations and gestures instills confidence and connection to mystical energies. Casting the spell provides a tangible feeling of security and responsibility, adding a significant layer to my magical skills and bridging the realms of past and present knowledge.

 +1 Practical