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7s3ven · 3 months

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can you please do poseidon/reader and she finds out luke is the lightning thief?

THE GRUDGE. luke (pjo)

( master list )

IN WHICH… Y/N L/N can’t forgive Luke for his crimes despite loving him more than she loves herself.

“I know in my heart hurt people, hurt people. And we both drew blood, but, man, those cuts were never equal.”

Warnings : spoilers, small angst (in my opinion lol. I’m more sensitive to family/friendship angst, not relationship angst), short(ish) oneshot

A/N : to any other writers, do you ever act out the situations you’re writing so you can write a better descriptions of reactions and then you realise that you’re actually a good actor?

Because I literally just acted out Y/N’s reaction and either I’m great at fake crying (which has been a talent of mine) … or my heart-wrenching sobs were real 😨. Also, the song one of us from the Lion King suits Luke perfectly.

—

The life of a half-blood wasn’t easy, especially not when you were a forbidden child. Y/N flipped through her fashion magazine, aimlessly swinging her legs as she lay on her front. “Y/N.” Luke called out, pushing the creaky door open. She lifted her head, staring at him curiously.

“Hey, Luke.” She smiled at him, clasping her hands together. He grinned back, slowly walking over to her side.

“You feeling okay?” He asked, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. With Percy, her half-brother gone, she was alone in her cabin. Again.

Y/N gazed at him through her lashes. “Yeah. I’m good. I’m fine.” She whispered, reaching out to grasp his wrist. Luke bit the inside of his cheek.

“I have your phone.” Luke uttered, handing Y/N her device. Phones weren’t allowed in camp but Luke found a way around that, much to Y/N’s happiness. She had spent far too long in the mortal world to give up scrolling through social media.

“Thanks, love.” Her pink-tinted lips curved into a soft smile. “You have no idea how much I need this now that Percy is gone on his quest. It’s so lonely here.”

Y/N always hated being in her own company. Her cabin got messy and she never had the motivation to clean it. She was thankful for Luke because he always helped her with the mundane task that should have been easy, but not for her.

“No problem, princess.” Luke lightly kissed her forehead while she laughed. “I can’t wait until Percy is back because I have a feeling that things are about to change.” Nothing good lasts for long. Y/N, more than anyone, knew that. She stalked through the thick vegetation, harbouring a heavy sword. She had heard rumours of Luke… and she needed to confirm it for herself, even if it meant endangering her safety.

“Luke.” She called out, her voice shaking. She didn’t want to believe the rumours but Luke was unpredictable. Ever since returning from his quest, he hadn’t been the same.

Y/N had been at Camp Half-Blood for longer than most and she had seen demigods come and go, desperately searching for glory but never finding enough of it.

“Luke.” She said again, repeating it like it was a mantra that would save him from the terrible fate he had chosen. She dragged her sword against the ground, her eyes scanning for the slightest bit of movement amongst the trees.

She sighed, thinking of returning to camp before she spotted a flicker of orange. "Luke?" She whispered, but he still heard her. She stepped towards him, breathing heavily.

"Luke... what... is it true? Did you..." Y/N couldn't find the right words. "What did you do, Luke?" She asked, grabbing him by the front of his shirt when she noticed how he avoided her gaze and how his eyes looked so guilty. "What did you do?!"

"I did what I had to, Y/N. The gods... they don't care about us." Luke stiffened as Y/N glowered at him, her eyes filled with so much rage and hate and sadness and everything in between.

"You're wrong, Luke!" She exclaimed, harshly shaking him.

"I'm not like you, Y/N! My father doesn't care about me. Yours might give a shit about you but that doesn't apply to anyone! Look around you. Poseidon ignored Percy for years while nurturing you. My father abandoned my mother and I when he could have helped us. Ares hates Clarisse for being a girl and forces her to train harder until she collapses. They try so hard to find every little flaw in us that they ignore what we've done for them."

"But why this, Luke? Why betray us? Me! You betrayed me, Luke! And all your friends and family! Hermes may not give a shit about you, but I do! I have loved you since we first met, Luke! I fucking love you and you betrayed me!" Y/N slammed her fists against his chest, screaming until tears welled up in her eyes. "What did you do to Percy?" She muttered, her voice barely even a whisper. "Tell me. Tell me now and I might spare you! Please… please.” She hiccuped, her hits growing weaker.

Luke wheezed as Y/N gripped his throat for a split second. "He'll be fine... he only got stung."

"I hate you." Y/N seethed, rage engulfing her soft heart until it spilled out and poisoned her body with its toxins. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you! Gods, I hate you, Luke! Fuck you! Fuck… you!” She screamed, the sound echoing around the empty trees.

But she still couldn't bring herself to stab him. "Get out of here, Luke. Go! Leave! I never want to see your face again!" Y/N's voice shook as she shoved Luke away from her.

Heart-wrenching sobs slipped past her lips as she pointed an accusing finger at Luke. "The gods have fucked up, Luke, but you are no different. Maybe you had the right idea at first... but you went with it the wrong way. And it cost you everything. Don't go near Percy again. Don’t you dare touch him ever again! You don’t deserve his kindness! Don't even look at him because I promise you, if you do, I will drive a stake through your heart!” Y/N's confident voice faltered for a moment. She shakily inhaled. "I hope you're happy with yourself." That fated day still haunted Y/N's mind. She often had nightmares about it, where things turned out different had she stabbed Luke. She always woke up with a loud gasp, covered in a light layer of sweat.

On her nightside table, her phone rang. She hadn't been using it much since Luke left. She slowly reached for it. Nobody had her phone number except her close friend, who lived in Tokyo, her cousin, and... Luke.

Her heart was beating unusually fast as she shakily turned the device over to peer at the screen. Her stomach churned and she dropped her phone in horror. Percy was in the infirmary, still recovering from the pit scorpion attack. She was somewhat thankful for that.

She let the phone ring, letting out a sigh of relief when it finally stopped. But it started again, and again. Until on the third ring, she finally clicked the green button.

She didn't say anything, flinching at the sound of Luke's voice. "Y/N? Y/N. Thank goodness you picked up! I knew you weren't going to answer my iris message so I was hoping your phone was working."

Y/N cut Luke off from his ranting. "Luke... don't call me again."

"Wait, Y/N. Please listen to me. I love"-

She hung up before he could finish. She stared at her phone, gripping it tightly. With a guttural scream, she threw it across the room. It landed safely on Percy's bed and a part of her was glad that it did. It was one of the only things she had left from Luke.

She didn't know if she could ever forgive Luke for betraying her trust. And the worst thing was that she still loved him from the bottom of her heart. "You good?" Y/N quietly walked towards Percy, helping him sit up. He groaned.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about Luke... I know how much he meant to you." Percy's eyes softened as he stared at Y/N, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"He, uh... tried calling me last night." Y/N pressed her lips into a thin line.

Percy tilted his head to the side. "So what'd you do?"

"I ignored him until the third time... then I hung up after I told him to stop contacting me."

"You don't have to be so tough all the time, Y/N." Percy uttered, pulling her into a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her waste and she sighed.

"I really want to scream, Percy. I just... can't believe he could do that so easily. I mean, leave us... leave me. I'm trying not to care and I'm trying to say I'm fine but I can't let it go." Tears welled up again, dripping down the red apples of her cheeks.

Y/N would be lying if she said she hadn’t tried to figure out why Luke did what he did. She tried to piece everything together but it only hurt her head and heart to think.

After ensuring Percy was comfortable, she stepped outside. The camp was in utter chaos after Luke’s betrayal and they were trying to find more spies amongst them. Most people suspected Y/N because she ran into the woods to confront Luke and she was closely associated with him, which didn’t help. But she loved her friends and she could never leave them as Luke had.

She wandered into a small clearing, dipping her hand into a cold river nearby to calm herself. She didn’t even notice someone was watching her from behind until they cleared their throat.

With a panicked gasp, Y/N looked over her shoulder. She was expecting a fellow camper, maybe even Luke, but not Hermes in all his glory. The pair stared at each other for a minute before Hermes finally broke the awkward silence.

“You’re Y/N, right?” He hesitatingly pointed at her, worried he had the wrong girl.

She nodded.

“I know I’m probably the last person you want to see after Luke left.” Hermes started off, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

“Luke is the last person I want to see.” Y/N retorted, “You’re second on that list.”

“He really did like you, you know."

“It wasn’t enough apparently.” Y/N shrugged, already accepting that she could tear Luke from his fate, “Maybe I deserved the betrayal… but not from Luke. He practically made me into the person I am. I guess he wanted to see how high he could build me before I fell. He had everything yet he still wanted more.”

“He cared about you. Dare I say, Y/N, he love”-

She cut him off just as she had cut Luke off. “Don’t say he loved me because if he did then he wouldn’t have done this! He… he wouldn’t have done all this!” Y/N choked on her words as she bit back a sob.

“He still loves you. Not loved. Not past-tense. Never past-tense. I’ve seen him, you know. He misses you and for a while, he tried to contact you in every way he could just so he could hear your voice. Even if you were screaming at him. I know that in another life, he wishes he didn’t have to leave you behind.”

“There shouldn’t be another life!” Y/N exclaimed. Getting angry at a god was dangerous but she was so frustrated and angry and hurt. Hermes didn’t seem to mind. He nodded his head, understanding her emotions. “Don’t you get it? You also have to take the blame. You’re part of the reason why he betrayed us!”

“He’ll forgive me eventually.”

Y/N shook her head. “No. You and every other deity thinks that your neglected child will forgive you but they might not. They might forgive but they will never forget. If I can’t even forgive the boy I love with all my heart, how do you think Luke will ever forgive you?” She furrowed her eyebrows.

“Forgiveness takes strength." Hermes whispered, barely loud enough for Y/N to hear. "Luke is much stronger than I originally thought and you, the mighty daughter of the sea god himself, are too.”

“Yeah, well,” Y/N shrugged as she stood up, brushing the dirty off her pants. “I don’t think I’m quite there yet.”

“It takes time.” Hermes said, “Meanwhile, I would suggest answering that.” He pointed at her phone that was ringing in her hand. Y/N didn’t even notice with how distracted she was.

She briefly looked down at the screen and raised her head again, her lips parting when Hermes was nowhere to be seen.

She hesitatingly pressed the accept button and raised her phone to her ear. She heard him quietly gasp, surprised she even answered again. “Luke… hi.”

PJO TAG LIST : @lostinhisworld @julielightwood @outerbanks-stuff @jennapancake @csifandom @evrybodydies1 @kkrenae @s0ulsniper @annispamz @justanotherkpopstanlol @soraya-09 @simpforeveyone @papichulo120627 @corpsebridenightamare @lilacspider @prettylilsimp @urmomsbananabread @ur-lacol-dsylexic @hottiewifeyyyy @kamiliora @be-bap @finnickodaddy @th0tblckgrl @shoyofroyoyoyo @uniquely-her @imafrkinsimp @syraxesrevenge @ahh-chickens @dracoslovergirl @midnightstar-90 @8812-342 @liv1104 @krkiiz @arialikestea @ch16rles @lizziesliz @maryclx01 @lukecastellandefender @yuminako @coryoskywalker @julielightwood @crybabysbakery @jsbaby @liviessun @p3pperm1nttea @angie-esc @purplerose291 @prettylilsimp @10ava01 @froggiesstalks @happy-jj @czennieszn @gisellesprettylies @loveyava @csifandom @luvvfromme @mashiromochi @kamiliora @yorksyree @mqg125 @jamesmackreideswife @niktwazny303 @2hiigh2cry @user021099 @living-in-my-imagination88 @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx

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jennifer-jeong · 2 months

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Hi there :)

Can I request some headcanons about Xiao and Wanderer (separated) with an old s/o? Like, they've been together for decades, but reader is a mortal and they're not, therefore they don't have many years left to live now that they're in their 80s. I would like something sweet but feel free to add some angst in it.

HI ANON TY FOR YOUR ASK! Ok so I’m literally goiNG TO CRY because I actually purposely make my own self insert immortal because this makes me so depressed but dw I will make it a fluffy happy ending. I would be unwell if I didn’t make it a happy ending LMAO

[Fluff + Slight Angst] [Xiao/Wanderer x Reader] Mortals

CONTENT

Fluff, some angst, gender neutral reader, HAPPY ENDING WOO, CHARACTERS ARE 18+

XIAO has been alive for longer than he can genuinely remember and most of it was spent suffering alone. He’s scarred so deeply that even until the end of time, the marks will never fade. He can’t get rid of his past but you came along and he realized he could at least start to heal from the centuries of pain. Your time together has been the best years of his life and it makes his heart ache to think that you’re about to come and go before even living for a fraction of his life. He’s watched your mortal body age but he still thinks knows that you’re the prettiest thing he’ll ever encounter. Xiao has always treated his time with you like it was limited, even when you were younger. He’s been getting desperate recently though, your body has slowed down, and you’re well into your elderly years. He’s always wanted to ask you if he and Zhongli could help you with this, return you to your younger body and help you live forever. But, he thought it would hurt you. Immortality is more of a curse than a blessing and he of all people should know that. But as your health deteriorated, he started to plan how to ask you without pressuring you. Honestly, when he finally brought it up, you giggled at him and said “I didn’t even know you could do that.” He blinked as he realized how much time had passed and how he really had been avoiding it all these years. It was just somewhat unfathomable to a 2000 year old being that all these fun years with you had already been a few decades. He explains why he felt bad suggesting it, but you quickly comforted him and thanked him for even bringing it up. You said you needed some time to think about it but you knew that you wanted more time with your beloved. It’s near impossible for most people to find their soulmate and so since you found yours, you wanted to somewhat selfishly hold onto him as long as you could. Of course he secretly felt the same though. Your time together might end soon as the traveller discovers the underlying mysteries of the world or it could end millenia later. Either way, you knew you’d be able to face it, together.

WANDERER has been through so much over the past few centuries of his life and he’s believed his emotions have been so useless to him as he isn’t even human. His suffering, pain, and desire never made sense because he always lacked a heart. He thought he’d be doomed to this forever until he met you. You breathed life into his mechanical body and into his new anemo vision heart. He felt truly alive with you, it was like he was freshly born as a real man when you came into his life. He took a while to properly warm up to you before he could express himself in a healthy way but you always had the patience for him. The problem was that he couldn’t have the same patience, not because he wasn’t a healthy partner, but because your life had a definite end. He was impatient because he couldn’t lose you and he didn’t know what else to do. He consulted Nahida/his mom about it and she suggested using his body as a template to create a body for you. One that would last forever with him. He was immediately overjoyed to hear that there was hope and he almost forgot to consider that you might not want to live forever. He probably tries to gauge if you would want to by prodding you with small questions but you see straight through him. You know something’s up, and you tell him that you know there’s enough trust between you two for either of you to speak freely. So he does. You take some time to debate it and decide to do it because even if at some point you can’t take it, you’d talk to him about it and come up with a solution (but you doubt that'll come up <3). There was a lot going on in Teyvat at the moment but just knowing that you’d have more time gave both of you peace. He was worried that afterwards you might not be the same, and that you might become emotionally hollow. But you knew that with him there, you’d never feel any less alive. Even without your physical body, you both had your souls, and it was all you’d ever need.

Thank you for reading!

|| MASTERLIST <3 ||

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin fluff #genshin angst #genshin impact fluff #xiao x reader #xiao fluff #xiao angst #wanderer x reader #wanderer fluff #wanderer angst #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche fluff #scaramouche angst #my asks <3 #j's silly ramblings

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desertfangs · 4 months

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The paralells between Jesse and Daniel losing their connections to family as they pursue the supernatural in Queen of the Damned is really interesting.

It's ironic because Jesse is literally related to vampires and has spent time with them and noticed little oddities, though she does not realize what they are. But she becomes so engrossed in her confidential work at the Talamasca that visits with family become a holidays-or-when-they're-in-London thing, and she stops writing letters because she can't talk about what she's working on (it's Top Secret.)

Meanwhile, Daniel pursues vampires and finds Armand, who then pursues him, and gets so caught up in running around the world that he probably doesn't do much more than send the odd postcard home, maybe make the occasional phone call on holidays. We don't actually know how much contact he has with family during that time but I personally suspect it was not a lot. And once he and Armand get together, he's spending his nights being dragged all over the place, and his days sleeping it off. There's not exactly a lot of time to write long letters or make phone calls at normal waking hours.

We do know by the Night Island Era (1982? 1983?) he hasn't really had any contact with anyone from his previous life for a while:

"It had been years since Daniel had even thought of his family, of the friends he used to know. Checks went out to kin, of that he'd made certain, but they were just names now on a list."

Anyhow, it's just interesting that both Jesse and Daniel get so caught up in the pursuit of the supernatural that their mundane, mortal lives fall away and they lose those connections. Then both of them end up becoming vampires. Jesse, of course, gets to reconnect with her family and her "aunt" Maharet. Whether Daniel ever has contact with anyone in his family afterward is unknown but dubious and unlikely.

I guess the point is that you cannot pursue the supernatural and continue to live a normal life. Which is something we see play out in the series again and again.

#jesse reeves #daniel molloy #vc meta #also lol forever at maharet's reaction to jesse joining the talamasca #'they cannot do anything important i hope you tire of them'#she is amazing #maharet #queen of the damned #vc #vampire chronicles #vc quotes #tvc #the vampire chronicles #i also don't think daniel was super close to his family before all of this happened either #which didn't help the situation #but it is interesting to think about

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iamamythologicalcreature · 4 months

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Six Sentence Sunday/Creative Proof of Life

Thanks for the tags, @alexalexinii, @shrekgogurt, and @that-disabled-princess!

This WIP post is basically a proof of life statement. I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted Chapter 1 of the Haunting of Simon Snow. I'm so overdue for chapter 2, BUT... instead I finished writing the rough draft. I've been attempting to outline, because when I rough a draft, I really rough it up. Ahem.

So I have been working on it, even if there is zero evidence on AO3 as of yet.

How about some sentences? I haven't sliced up chapters yet, so not sure if this is from chapter two or three, but here's a snippet of Simon on the phone with Penny expressing some smooshy sentiments:

I curl up on the couch a bit more, maneuvering myself so my wings aren’t crushed. “I went flying last night,” I confess then, in quiet tones. Like someone might hear me. “You— Oh, but… You can’t! What if someone sees you?” I can actually hear her biting her lip. She wants to spell my problems away, and she can’t. “But I can,” I say, smiling a bit more. “There’s no one around for acres. No one will even willingly drive here on account of the house being haunted. It’s empty. And I’m flying at night.” I say flying in the present tense and realize I fully intend to fly again tonight.

Penny huffs. Her specialty. “I don’t like it.” “I do,” I say easily, warming up to explaining, hoping she’ll understand. “It’s so freeing, Pen. Like the weight of the world can’t hold me down, anymore. I feel… It’s like… It’s like I’m closer to the stars. Like I’m close to stirring up the milky way.” I let out a sigh, my eyes closing as I drop my head back, indulging in that recent memory. “I don’t hate it as much, when I’m up there. You know?” There’s a few seconds of silence, and I open my eyes again. “Pen?” “Hate what?” she asks quietly.

(just in case you were worried I wouldn't be including angst...)

Bit more info on my progress (maybe some whinging) and tags and hellos below the cut!

Fun facts about my ineffecient writing process:

I spent more than one or two hours clearing asterisks from my rough draft this morning. (Because discord has trained me to do *this* when I write instead of this.) Because I'm trying to listen to my draft via screen readers, but it keeps sounding like "asterisk-impossible-star-fuck me" (that's my favorite one honestly, it's supposed to read "Impossible. Fuck me.") which is really annoying (more often than amusing). ANYWAY… what this has revealed to me is that I use "Fuck" a lot, as well as "So good." Ahem. Take from that what you will.

BTW, I'm sure there's an easier way to do that than manually. Please don't tell me for at least a few days, or I might lose it. I am but a mortal being, with a tattered heart and patience worn thin. (Or something.)

OKAY. It's been awhile since I did one of these posts. Time really flies. Gonna give this list my best shot, but as always, open to any who want to participate! (Also adding some new names in for the new year so this is sort of my "Gee I hope this is cool with you" super long tag list. If you'd rather not be tagged, just drop me a missive to that effect!)

@leithillustration @prettygoododds @rimeswithpurple @artsyunderstudy @blackberrysummerblog @hushed-chorus @nightimedreamersworld @best--dress @whatevertheweather @ileadacharmedlife @scribble-tier @imagineacoolusername @brilla-brilla-estrellita @alleycat0306 @angelsfalling16 @fatalfangirl @erzbethluna @tender-ministrations @anxious-m3ss @ebbpettier @bubble-gumhead @facewithoutheart @bazzybelle @theimpossibledemon @aristocratic-otter @mooncello @cutestkilla @annabellelux @ic3-que3n @j-nipper-95 @letraspal @messofthejess @onepintobean @palimpsessed @raenestee @supercutedinosaurs @theearlgreymage @thewholelemon @wellbelesbian @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @youarenevertooold @bookish-bogwitch @martsonmars @orange-peony @mostlymaudlin @stardustasincocaine @confused-bi-queer

Lastly, quick note/question. Tumblr seems to be remiss in informing me when I've been tagged in other posts. Is this a common issue?

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darthstitch · 1 year

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That Goddamn Fishbowl

Let's talk about Dream and that "fishbowl."

From a story and plot perspective, Dream's imprisonment starts off his story arc. This is where we first get to meet the King of Dreams, an entity imprisoned by a greedy, avaricious man who just wanted power, prestige and wealth. The comics don't even give Roderick Burgess a conveniently dead son to humanize him. He's just an asshole who wants to get one up on Aleister Crowley, a real person who was pretty well known in occult circles as "the wickedest man in the world."

I've seen some fans like to rationalize this as Desire's attempt to get the stick out of Dream's arse, knock him down a few pegs, stop him from becoming a complete monster. That the fishbowl was a "timeout" that was "good" for Dream and led to his character growth. So Desire had a point, right? Maybe Desire wasn't so bad after all.

People still continued to dream, right? Maybe Dream wasn't really needed to perform his function. Desire is the stronger of the two, after all, at the end of the Sandman series, Dream breaks. Dream as Morpheus comes to realize that in order for him to change, he should just die. The universe doesn't need Morpheus - they needed a Dream who was young, still capable of hope, a clean slate - hence, the rise of Daniel Hall as Dream - a pure, literal white knight who could lead the Dreaming better than Morpheus ever could.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FUCK. NO.

The tragedy of Desire, to be honest, is this. Dream is the third eldest of the Endless for a reason. He is absolutely more powerful than Desire because dreams are where desires originate, where they are shaped and given form. It's not a coincidence that Destruction is fourth eldest after Dream, that just as Dream defines Reality, Destruction defines Creation, the logical next step when you're inspired to imagine and wonder. That's what Desire can't accept, because they're just as proud and as arrogant as Dream is, and ultimately, they're even more cruel and less self-aware.

If this was a bid for Dream's attention, then it's even more sad and pathetic. Dream loved Desire once and trusted them completely. And then Desire destroyed that love, affection and trust by messing around with Kilalla of the Glow and laughing in Dream's face about it. Was Kilalla a good match for Dream? Absolutely the hell not - she did not understand who Dream truly was, but she'd eagerly "traded up" when the star Sto-Oa courted her, dropping poor Dream like a hot potato. Could the relationship have developed better, given time and space to communicate? Maybe - they were still dating when all of this happened. We'll never know because Desire stomped all over that relationship and broke Dream's heart. It started off Dream's long string of disaster romances, where he could never trust and give into his desires in a healthy fashion, always afraid that his sibling was meddling and messing shit up.

The ironic thing is I can see that Alianora had to be Desire's attempt at a peace offering, but how would Dream accept that, knowing that this particular sibling just loved to fuck with his head? That he'd been manipulated and deceived before?

Dream is flawed but it's not impossible to talk to him. Death proves it when she points out how much of an asshole he had been to Nada. Death doesn't imprison Dream in a fishbowl to get him to calm his tits down and listen - instead, she literally helps him to make a friend in Hob Gadling. One mortal turned immortal - imagine that, you can actually drive home a point and make your little brother learn a lesson without emotional and physical abuse. Amazing!

There is nothing good about Dream's time in the fishbowl. The TV show only shows us the death of Jessamy - who absolutely did not deserve to die trying to save her lord - and Unity, who had spent her life in dreams and was actually raped and impregnated by Desire in a twisted plot to get Dream to spill family blood. The comics makes it clear that thousands of people died because of the sleepy sickness - little stories like the one of Ellie Marsden, Daniel Bustamonte and Stefan Wasserman. They didn't deserve this bullshit.

Ultimately, the Sandman is a tragic tale. Dream of the Endless attempts to change - to try and be a better ruler, a better friend, a better brother, lover, husband and parent. In the comics, many of his relationships and failings are repaired and fixed - Nada is freed from hell, Calliope is freed from Richard Madoc and closure is reached with her, Dream makes it to his meeting with Hob and calls him friend, Orpheus is finally set free from his living death. But it now has the sense of a person quietly closing out his affairs, having realized how terrible and unlovable and unworthy he is. That it's time to set down his crown and his powers and pass it on to someone worthy. It's a long suicide note, accomplished with the elegance and flair that Dream is known for, but it is suicide. Morpheus is dead. A wake is held for him. And his remains are set off in a Viking-style funeral - on a wooden boat set to sail straight into the heart of a star.

The last time we see Dream as Morpheus, he is with his brother Destruction, appearing one more time to Hob Gadling, in the same way dead loved ones appear to say a final farewell.

Where is Morpheus now? The text isn't clear, really. We are invited to imagine. Perhaps he is wandering between the stars and universes with his brother, free at last from function and duty. After all, there are many versions of Dream in the multiverse, and this version of Morpheus is just one of them. Perhaps he is now human, getting to grow old and creaky like the rest of us, living a mortal lifetime, ready to greet his sister when his time comes.

Maybe he's just some writer named Neil, grumpily answering inane asks in his Tumblr inbox.

#the sandman #dream of the endless #dream of the endless | morpheus #tw: suicide #meta #hob gadling #that goddamn fishbowl #death of the endless #desire of the endless #abuse isn't the way to get someone to change and grow #that's why it's fucking abuse

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moorishflower · 2 years

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see the thing about Dream is

the thing is

it's very tempting to look at Tom Sturridge and go ah yes my sad scrungly wet cat anthropomorphic personification, because he does have Those Eyes and That Hair, and then it is very tempting to look at some panels of Dream in the comics and go ah yes my depressed weird friend who lives in a void, except sometimes i feel that this is too humanizing, especially if you're talking about Dream pre-1300s

and i think in the comics in a lot of his pre-Hob Gadling interactions with mortals you can see that he is balls to the wall batshit insane

his track record with loving mortals is absolutely bonkers

>Nada, Queen of the First City, pursued Dream and then when she discovered who he was went "oh shit, humans loving the Endless is forbidden by my people, we definitely shouldn't" and Dream confronted by a mortal he couldn't have went grabby grabby hands, convinced her to fuck him anyways, and then condemned her to Hell afterwards because the sun nuked her city and Nada, grieving, said she didn't want to be Dream's Queen (on account of the sinning)

>Killala of the Glow, an alien lady precursor to the Green Lanterns who punches through to the Dreaming by accident and Dream falls in love instantly, he knows her for basically 3 months and invites her to a cosmic entities convention to show her off, does not tell her that all of these people are literal quasars and planets and shit. she freaks out understandably, seeks comfort in the arms of the sun of her world (encouraged by Desire), and Dream, seeing them embracing, just fuckin leaves her there "the sun'll get her home," he says, "they're going to the same place, i'm not crying YOU'RE crying"

>Alianora, who was sent by Desire to help Dream fuck up some old gods, was given her own private island and also one of the Dream-Stones (for show fans, the ruby is a Dream-Stone!). i sincerely believe the only reason that Dream lost interest in her is because she spent so long in the Dreaming that if she tried to wake up she would die, and Dream is absolutely fascinated by things that can change (prob because that's his tragic character flaw is he can never change himself quite enough)

he don't got a great track record with his non-mortal lovers either (Thessaly, An Witch, and Calliope, the Muse), but over and over again with mortals, brief and ephemeral and changing, Dream cannot regulate himself. he burns super hot, super bright, and then either gets sucked back into work, or the fact that he has 0 Chill puts his lover off entirely. he has no concept of compromise and he's unable to not throw himself wholeheartedly into love. having Dream love you must be like being loved by a hurricane or the core of the earth. can you imagine what that would be like? having the attention of something that huge and fathomless and ancient focused on you like a laser? it would be like being crushed under a mountain.

this is why i think Hob Gadling is such a fantastic foil to, and the Premier Ship Of, Dream. Hob Gadling also throws himself wholeheartedly and joyfully into every new thing, Hob is out there living his best life and telling stories and i think he mentions doing cocaine in like the 90s in one of the comics? but, point being, Hob doesn't ever let immortality go to his head. he is the most mortal mortal that ever mortaled, he just happens to have a concept of eternity that, no matter how infinitesimally, actually approaches what Dream is.

it's just that the dynamic you get now, with a mortal who understands the true concept of endlessness, is "Hob I have brought to you a brooch forged from the heart of a dying star, pearls harvested from oysters that have never seen the sun and never will, sapphires infused with the waters of Eden"

"oh that's gorgeous dear how thoughtful I'll put it on the shelf with the Polished Sphere of Crystallized Auroras and Hope"

and then Dream fucks off to do his job for like 8 years and Hob isn't too fussed because he spent like 6 centuries waiting for this weird wet cat of a man to fuckin introduce himself, he can wait a few years for them to meet up for dinner again

anyways i wrote all of these as a partial explanation as to why Dream is so fuckin weird and turbo in Husbands, and it's because he's a sad scrungly pathetic cat man AND he's also an enormous endless eldritch creature that has no concept of emotional regulation but also a terminal fascination with the changeability and fragility of mortals that translates into absolute fucking insane love

#the sandman #the sandman meta #dreamling #dream of the endless/hob gadling #dream/hob #the sandman (2022)

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checkoutmybookshelf · 7 months

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Harry Dresden Does Not Handle Exes Well

If Storm Front was the general introduction to the world, Fool Moon to werewolves, and Grave Peril to the Vampire Courts, then Summer Knight is where we meet the Fae Courts, and they are unequivocably the most dangerous of the factions Dresden has interacted with so far. Harry's actions and interactions with the Queens and Ladies in this book echo into the rest of the series, and have consequences all the way through Peace Talks and Battle Ground. That said, this book is also weirdly bifurcated in terms of Harry's personal character arc--he had man pain and girl trouble--and the plot-y, political stuff with the council and fae courts. Let's talk Summer Knight.

As per usual, FULL SERIES SPOILERS below the break, so be warned.

Harry opens this book hardcore wallowing in guilt and self-loathing over Susan's abortive transformation, exodus from his life, and his own inability to reverse the change. He hasn't showered or shaved in way too long, he's about to be evicted from everywhere, and all his friends are trying and failing to stage interventions.

Then the high school sweetheart he low-key thought he might have accidentally murdered after she betrayed him to their abusive foster father/teacher (who Harry killed in a duel) quite literally knocks on his front door.

And this is on top of Murphy--who has fully shifted into BFF territory at this point--struggling with psychic scars that Harry also blames himself for. Being a mortal woman in Harry Dresden's orbit honestly sounds EXHAUSTING because this man has exactly zero sense of the balance required to actually help someone. Harry gets lost in his own man pain and how he somehow "should" be able to throw raw power at a problem and fix it, and the next thing you know, the women who are reasonably dealing with their own trauma suddenly have to drag Harry's ass out of his pain over their pain. There is a reason flight attendants tell you to put on your own mask before assisting others. Hell, even Elaine says it to Harry at the end of the book:

Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Harry. [...] I understand that there's something you're blaming yourself for. I'm just guessing at the details, but its pretty clear you were driving yourself into the ground because of it. Get over it. You aren't going to do her any good as a living mildew collection. Stop thinking about how bad you feel--because if she cares about you at all, it would tear her up to see you like I saw you a few days ago.

This is not the last time someone calls Harry out for not helping, but it honestly isn't until about Skin Game that the Susan stuff and its aftermath get fully resolved. Not to get too TMI on main, but honestly Harry reminds me of a college boyfriend I had who just could not handle my health stuff. And that's not a judgment thing, not everyone can handle everything, but where Harry falls down on the goddamn job here is not knowing where his own weaknesses are and compensating for them. His pattern of "but muh man pain" holds all the way through the series, literally up to and including Battle Ground.

So suffice it to say that I'm not a huge fan of Harry Dresden Goes to Peices over Both His Ex-Griflriends. So what did I like about this book?

Couple things.

I loved that Harry finally brought Murphy fully into the supernatural world fold. I don't love his sexist bullshit with her, but I spent a lot of the series ignoring that because the rest of their dynamic is really damn good. And Murphy handing the Chlorofiend its own ass is never not awesome.

I also really, really enjoyed the introduction of the fae courts. Butcher really did take just a massive double handful of fairy myth threads and weave them into something magical (if perpetually horny in a way that gets really complicated and more than a little contradictory later). Summer and Winter more or less seem to map onto the Seelie and Unseelie courts, and the power structures more or less steal from the maiden (lady)/mother (queen)/crone (mother) structure of triple goddesses across the world. Not to mention that we get folkloric and fantasy creatures from trolls and centaurs to red caps and Jenny Greenteeth throughout the courts. We even get things like changelings and Victorian Era-inspired small folk. We also get the dangers of fairy bargains, food, and glamor. I would be hard-pressed to point to a fairytale/fae folk tradition that doesn't get some level of wink-and-nod at some point in the series. Hell, we even get a cheeky final line from Shakespeare's fairy play, at which point you've officially ticked every box.

Overall, I would have to say that the worldbuilding and the fae courts were what really kept me reading this book. I loved the synthesis of lore and myth in creating them, and the little bait and switch we get with Winter being the straight shooting court and Summer being absofuckingloutely terrifying in its duplicity is a nice touch that honestly I didn't appreciate on earlier reads.

#the dresden files #summer knight #jim butcher #harry dresden #urban fantasy #Dresden files #karrin murphy #elaine mallory #queen of air and darkness #winter court #summer court #books & libraries #books and reading #books and novels #books #book recommendations

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the-gayest-sky-kid · 1 year

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Elaborating on before actually I would like to talk about how Dainsleif hasn't actually said anything bad about Venti (and Nahida now), meanwhile he has taken a more passive agressive tone in Zhongli's and actually calls out Ei in their collected miscellanies. I'd say that with Nahida it's understandable because she hasn't had any involvement, including now that she's taken Rukkhadevata's place, but with Venti it's a bit more confusing.

Dainsleif: A huge statue, a grandiose Cathedral... The people of Mondstadt clearly spent a great deal of resources and energy to construct them.

Dainsleif: But how aware of this was the Anemo Archon on receiving this gift, and how much did he give back in return?

Paimon: Faith doesn't ask for anything in return though, does it?

Dainsleif: Hmph, as long as the gods have a clear conscience about it all, there's nothing I can say about it.

And I have to note that, at least in the english dub, Dainsleifs voice doesn't imply any malice towards the Anemo Archon. In fact it sounds a lot softer until after Paimon's response. ( Video 31:06 to 31:34)

Dainsleif: Correct, and just as our little friend said... I might say something bad about the Church at any time.

Dainsleif: When a non-believer steps onto holy ground, the result is never pretty.

Dainsleif: I have never received the favor of the gods in the past. I don't see any reason I would need it now or in the future, either.

After that bit of dialogue he says this about him not wanting to enter the church, which I find interesting! He says the church, rather than just the anemo archon. Usually this would be one in the same but in Mondstadt's case it's important, because the church as a whole has *nothing* to do with Barbatos (which is a whole 'nother subject that would be fun to discuss). Barbatos for the church is essentially just a name they place their faith in, because no one has seen him for 1000 years. He also doesn't single out Barbatos in his comment afterwards, or in any comments about the seven afterwards.

Dain's comments on Venti in his collected miscellany are also interesting.

"As we all know, poetry and language flow like the wind... Venti captures this spirit in his ballads. Flora and fauna he sings seem to have a life of their own, and transport us to the moon and the stars. This self-proclaimed "Best Bard of the Mortal World" gets his strength, his unwithering inspiration, from the wind. But what Venti seeks in life, is not eternal fame for his ballads. Rather he'd be happy with a cup of wine and a lyre to sing the marvelous stories of the world. Yes, that would make Venti the Bard very content indeed."

(Thank you to the person who wrote all these down by the way)

He doesn't even take the opportunity to insult the anemo archon the entire miscellany!!!! In fact the closest he gets to that is his comment about Mondstadt not seeing him for 1000 years earlier, but that's only because he's making a comment about how Venti appeared during the cataclysm by saying for him it's "only been half that time". Later on in Ei's miscellany he makes a point about the archons being born arrogant, but for Venti's he points out the reason Venti sings isn't for the fame, but to share the stories of the world.

Meanwhile in Zhongli's collected miscellany:

"While Liyue Harbor grows restless on the eve of disaster, as the host of the rite of parting, Zhongli still calmly goes about his work. The world around him may be descending into chaos, yet he remains unperturbed, sipping his tea and watching a good show. Quite the fascinating character. As Liyue faces the turbulence of change, does he believe it is none of his business? Or is he also a player of this game, acting behind the scenes? It may be some time before the answers finally emerge... But no matter, for time is not something I lack."

Here he comments about Zhongli's decisions, and taking into account his tone of voice... not the fondest.

The Raiden Shoguns collected miscellany:

"Neighbouring the Dark Sea, Inazuma has witnessed many a war. For the pursuit of Eternity and the prosperity of Inazuma, the Raiden Shogun stuck stubbornly to her path, but what let some bloom, made others wither. There is no gain without the pain of loss. When facing their fears, Archons and mortals are all the same, yet Archons are born arrogant — by attempting to grasp the heavenly principles, she brought a disaster upon mortals. Perhaps, some may say I'm overstating what happened, but... I'm just speaking from experience after all."

Here in Ei's he just goes and talks about her decisions and the results they had.

And then in Nahida's miscellany we get this:

"Humans often place gods on a pedestal, awestruck by their unfathomable power. Very few ever come to the realization that gods are not the rulers of Teyvat, but merely another form of living being in this world. A god who lacks strength may have little to no advantage, even over mere mortals. Even I have no spiteful words to say about a god such as this. I will leave her be. Perhaps the God of Dendro will continue to propagate herself for as long as Irminsul continues to exist. As for the significance of Irminsul to the whole of Teyvat... I will leave that for those not under this world's control to discover for themselves."

This is the one other time Dainsleif is nice about a god, though with his comments here he actually says it aloud.

On another note, Dain says that "A god who lacks strength may have little to no advantage, even over mere mortals. Even I have no spiteful words to say about a god such as this". I have to wonder if this has anything to do with Venti's statement about being the weakest among the seven, and if that's why he continues to stay neutral with his comments on Venti (even if Venti's word isn't the most reliable here).

Anyway, the question is why Dainsleif maintains this neutral/somewhat positive? stance towards the anemo archon (other than the possibility above). He has every opportunity to comment on his absence or choices, but doesn't. We still don't know much about Venti's actions during the cataclysm but we know he was there in Khaenri'ah. I wonder what exactly went on...

#longer post #long post #if you want to be funny about it nahida and venti both have ties to branches and possibly irminsul lmaoooooo #maybe dainsleif just likes tree archons because he's the bough keeper lmao #i copied nahidas quote from the miscellany are you proud of me #theory time w/ aether #genshin impact #genshin lore

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bisexy-legend · 1 year

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Also I have a theory about Ava in the other dimension. When Michael arrived he was a little boy and Reya probably had no use for a little boy so she let him age, she trained him, groomed him as a soldier.

But Ava? She’s already a soldier (or as much of one as Reya needs). She already has the halo, she’s strong in her youth. I think Reya would probably keep her that way, regardless of how much time had passed, because she needs Ava for the war that’s coming. So emotionally yes the years apart might be difficult for Ava- we don’t know. But physically I think she could still be the same Ava even if she spent decades apart from Beatrice.

I don't think Michael was trained as a soldier at all, the poor guy was sending flying around like a crumpled up paper plane all the time lol 😂. But I agree with you that Reya had a purpose for him, not a soldier but just as a bomb, the thing is that I don't think that Reya is the devour of worlds, bear with me cause I will have to explain my theory on the holy war but I swear it rounds up on yours about Ava's aging, so when Adriel is fighting Ava he says that if he fails it will fall to Ava to stop the devour, he says that he needs to imprison God (Reya) to have enough power, my theory is that Adriel was Reya's champion to help her defend her realm against the Devour using the Halo (part of her own power), but he became too power hungry and ran away, seeking all the power for himself. I think that Michael was sent back not as a soldier to defeat Adriel but as bomb to hurt Ava and damage Adriel (it didn't kill him but created enough distraction for Ava's back up plan to work). I think that Reya's main goal was to get the Halo bearer on her realm to be her new champion, she can't fight the war alone, and that's why she didn't kill or take the Halo from Areala but instead gave her a weapon to imprison Adriel, but to do so Areala ended up dead, I think that maybe the plan was actually putting the crown on Adriel and both of them going to the other realm maybe? But to put the crown of thorns on him she had to sacrifice herself and then the lineage of warrior nuns began. I feel like the terasks main goal is not to kill the Halo Bearer but take her to the other realm, even Ava said when she put on the crown that they were gatekeepers. I think Reya wanted to hurt Ava because she knew that the Halo Bearer would never go willingly, but she would if she was mortally wounded and it was the only way to heal her (Reya reactivated the Ark and it worked the exact amount of time it took to get Ava inside).

So if my theory is even slightly correct, Ava is Reya's new champion against the Devour of Worlds Adriel warned about, which means she's already fighting the Holy War on the other side. I don't think she will age at all, I think being the Halo Bearer and therefore Reya's champion won't allow her to physically age (as Adriel didn't age on earth). But I think that she will spend a lot of time there maybe even a whole lifetime (70 years would be the equivalent more or less for a month away on earth) and either she won or lost the war on that side, having spent that many years without Beatrice and the OCS sisters will definitely take a huge emotional toll on Ava. I don't think they will age Ava either way, 'cause that would mean losing Alba, but if my theory is wrong and Reya is actually the big bad they will have to face, we can only hope Ava doesn't stay there long enough for her to completely corrupt her mind. (but Dark!Ava fighting everyone would be pretty cool and oh the angst we would get)

Oh, and I just remembered that when Ava kisses Bea goodbye she says "In the next", making Ava spend 60+ years (a month in real time) in there would make her line even more powerful because when they meet again, for her, that will really be the next life.

#I'm sorry i ranted again but i just have so much theories #but i totally agree with you they won't age ava physically but im anxious for her emotional status #warrior nun #avatrice

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thebibliomancer · 6 days

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Essential Avengers: Avengers #315: DOOMSDAY PLUS ONE!

March, 1990

Guest-starring the Amazing SPIDER-MAN! The enemy REVEALED -- WHILE A UNIVERSE TREMBLES!

Is Nebula auditioning for a Bond movie poster? What's with the ass shot?

Also, we're still really slapping SPIDER-MAN prominently on the cover. I wonder if this story arc got a sales boost. Because it really is trying for one.

And not to nitpick but "the enemy revealed" when we already know Nebula's flimsy grasp of science was behind the universe vanishing. And how can a universe trembles when the universe has vanished?

Dammit, cover text! Get your story straight!

So, last times in Avengers: the Avengers were cleaning up after Acts of Vengeance when bouts of photo-negativity kept hitting the universe. While Iron Man and Vision went to investigate a weird call from Starfox, Thor and Spider-Man came into the Avengers Subbasement just in time for a series of photo-negativity strikes. Sersi used her Eternal powers to shield the room from the effects. Then, the Avengers discovered that everything outside of that one room had ceased to exist.

Captain America: "The whole universe has... vanished!!" Thor: "Say it is not so, Avenger! The son of Odin in his time hath stood upon the very brink of Ragnarok but ne'er hath such dark words been said!" Captain America: "See for yourself, Thor! This long range scanner shows the area of deep space immediately beyond Earth's Moon... At least, that's what it usually shows. Now there's... nothing!"

I wonder what DOOMSDAY PLUS ONE means in this context. Plus one what? Plus another doomsday? Plus another day?

I also wonder how all the instruments of the room are working without being connected to the greater sub-basement. Were the scanners and cameras located just within this square chunk of room? There wasn't anything on the surface? That doesn't make sense for an underground base...

I wouldn't bother thinking about it except the fact that the heroes only have the oxygen in this very specific room and no more invites one to think about the logistics of this.

A neat little touch is that endless nothingness isn't actually a white void. That's just the best man-made mechanisms can do at showing nothing.

The Avengers are feeling pretty defeatist in the face of the entire universe being gone. Understandably enough.

Captain America: "I've spent all my life surviving, first as a boy growing up in New York's lower east side, then as America's first and only super-soldier battling the Nazis in World War Two... finally as a member of the Avengers. But this... I don't want to sound like a quitter, but I have no idea how to deal with this!" Thor: "Nor have I, brave Captain -- and Thor hath lived a thousand times beyond thy mortal lifetime..."

Then, very special guest star, Spider-Man, gets a brilliant idea. He's the very special guest star so obviously, he's got to be pulling his weight.

Spidey knows a thing or two about cameras and Cap said the long range scanners weren't showing anything. What if they were missing something closer?

So he adjusts the depth of focus and zooms out (how do the scanners do this?) to see if there was something they just couldn't see because of how close it was.

"The way dust doesn't register on a normal camera lens..."

And bingo bango Bob's your mother's brother, another chunk of something floating in the endless void. A building floating about where New Jersey was labelled PolyDyne Industries.

Cap goes to check PolyDyne in the computer banks but ruh roh the computers aren't in this floating cube of Avengers Subbasement.

Sersi recovers from the strain of protecting the cube and suggests she can telepathically scan the PolyDyne sphere and find out if anyone is over there.

She tries to warn Cap that there could be danger to doing this but Cap insists. At this point, they have no choice but to try anything!

Sersi scans and then yells NO-OHHH!! and curls into the fetal position.

So her psychic abilities are about as useful as Jean in the 90s X-Men show. Zing.

Thor points out that a similar thing happened when she scanned the Negative Zone in Avengers #304. So basically, how do we keep an overpowered Eternal character like Sersi balanced?

This, I guess.

She's so ruffled that she forgets English so can't even warn the Avengers that she sensed a great EVIL at the center of the emptiness.

I guess that Thor knowing Allspeak hasn't been established yet. Or has been forgotten.

Thor can speak and understand every language. He gets Cipher's entire mutant power as a racial bonus

Ain't it sad, Cipher?

Jarvis, the most humany person here, notes that the air is getting stale.

Cap apparently has a "super-efficient bio-system" so he's better at breathing than a normal person. But even he can tell that the air is getting heavy on carbon dioxide.

This room only has this room's amount of air in it. It doesn't have extra air tanks or a carbon dioxide scrubber installed. Why would it? Under what circumstances would just this one communications room of the Avengers Subbasement get launched into an airless void??

I mean, except these circumstances. These are a bit unprecedented though.

But now that there's Something the Avengers can do, Cap isn't giving up.

Captain America: "If I've learned nothing else in my years of battle, I've learned the absolute truth of one old saying: While there's life, there's hope!"

Over at PolyDyne, everybody floats around in unconscious poses.

Nebula regains her wits first and marvels at the power contained in the compressor.

Nebula: "The power! Never in my wildest dreams have I anticipated such power! It crackles still about the compressor! It surges through my flesh like a thing alive! Even mighty gravity seems twisted by it!"

She tries to contact Gunthar the Rigellian on her mothership but he's not responding.

Then she looks outside the window and sees only the VOID.

Bit of a nitpick but after the explanation that the empty white void is the best human instruments could do to show absolute nothingness, I was hoping that seeing it with eyeballs would have a different effect.

Eyes lie to the brain, y'know.

Ah, well.

The story already settled on empty white void and its made for some striking splash pages.

Nebula floats over and starts yelling at Professor Harker to EXPLAIN.

Professor Harker: "It can only be a genesis pulse! There was always a danger of this, but it seemed so remote as to be beyond the need for considering! What my compressor does is concentrate the force of a one megaton nuclear explosion into an area smaller than the nucleus of an atom! In theory, this should release a vast quantity of usable energy. However, there was a small chance it might duplicate the effect of the Big Bang... create a new universe in the midst of the old..."

How small a chance is too big a risk that a science project might destroy the world? Just based on Mr. Destroy The Universe's project, I might say a non-zero chance but we've had a lot of particle acceleration since this was published and the universe seems fine.

Nebula slaps him and yells that obviously that thing he just described would destroy both the new universe and the original! Now she has PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER at her fingertips and no universe to become absolute ruler of!

ALSO, SOME AVENGERS JUST BUSTED IN SO SHE'S ALSO ANGRY ABOUT THAT NOW!

I have to say... The Avengers (and Spider-Man) had no idea they'd be busting into the PolyDyne building right where the baddie was so this isn't an "Ultron, we would have words with thee" badass entrance. They just kinda blow their way in, glue the Avengers communications room in place so it doesn't drift, and then go 'oh hey Nebula is here, now this makes sense.'

Although, Spider-Man hasn't run into Nebula so mistakes her for Andromeda. Do all blue ladies look alike to you, Spidey?

Thor asks how Nebula managed to escape that time vortex she fell into with Dr Druid, as seen in issue 297.

And Nebula's answer?

She has no fucking idea what he's talking about. She thinks he's making up nonsense just to distract her.

Ah, so, the retcon goes even this far back.

While Captain America and Thor are safe thanks to their shield and spinning Mjolnir respectively, Spider-Man has to dodge and jump around in zero gravity while Nebula shoots ray blasts at the Avengers and Spider-Man.

Captain America throws his mighty shield... which Nebula easily deflects. BUT IT WAS A FEINT. While she was doing that, Thor spins harder and kicks up a wind which blows Nebula into a bulkhead.

She manages to peel herself and blast Thor off-balance. Spider-Man gunks up her wrist-mounted ray blasters and tries to grapple her but she tosses him away.

And while Spider-Man is distracting Nebula by being his usual charming and/or irritating self, Captain America and Thor wander off to examine the compressor.

Cap is guessing that the big, glowing energy thing is what made the universe go away. But he doesn't have the science brain to know what to do about it.

He asks Thor to try to dissipate the energy in the compressor but it's just too much for the god of thunder.

Thor has to release the energies or else explode "as would a mighty oak struck low by lightning."

Meanwhile, Professor Harker crawls out from behind a chunk of dislodged lab equipment and tells Spider-Man the heroes have the wrong idea.

But before he can explain to the Avengers how to deactivate the compressor, Nebula blows him up.

Okay, but why?

Nebula, did you firmly clutch the villain ball in hand? Do you want the universe to not exist? Shouldn't you want this problem to be fixed too?

Idiot.

And weirdly a pointless death.

Captain America just switches to talking to the next nearest dude, a PolyDyne employee with red hair and a beard. And this random guy, who I don't think even has a name, is able to deliver the same exposition as Professor Harker.

It's not like it's played for tension. Professor Harker blows up and then on the same page Cap is like 'hey you' to the beard guy.

So I don't really get the point of killing Professor Harker. Nebula should want to restore the universe as much as anyone. And killing the guy didn't stop the relevant exposition from getting delivered immediately.

Weird. Weird writing choice.

Random Guy tells Cap that the compressor will be self-sustaining once it reaches 100% efficiency but until then, it's reliant on power from generators in the sub-basement.

But its crazy to try to unplug it! There's such an intense electromagnetic field around the compressor!

Guy: "There's no force on Earth that could break that connection!" Captain America: "Maybe not... but we're not on Earth any more!"

That's... That's a weird argument to make, Cap.

Granted, he also argues that they've got no other choice but to try.

Cap gets as close to the compressor as he can, even as the field makes him feel like he's got ants crawling around inside him. He can only hope that the super-soldier serum will protect him long enough to get the job done. But he's sure if he comes out of this alive, he'll be lucky if all this exposure to a powerful magnetic field doesn't permanently damage him.

He reeeeaches but he just can't get to the giant power cable.

Luckily, Spider-Man saw what he was doing and comes over to ask what the hell he's doing.

When Cap explains that they need to pull the plug ASAP, Spider-Man decides this looks like a guest starring role for Spider-Man.

His webbing is non-organic and non-conductive, thanks to tangling with Electro so often.

He thwipppts a webline on the giant cable and

PULLS

HARD

CAN

Like lift heavy thing except with pulling.

Spider-Man's specialty.

So thanks to Spider-Man pulling something really, really hard, the universe is back.

... I wonder if the Avengers Communications Room is still webbed to the side of the PolyDyne building. I honestly hope so.

So with everything restored to normal, Captain America does his best to put a logical explanation on this.

Captain America: "Apparently, the... ah... 'genesis pulse' had only thrown the universe into a state of complete neutrality. It needed to reach maximum power to completely annihilate everything."

How did you reach that conclusion, Cap?

Anyway, Sersi has recovered from holding the communications room together and then scanning the void. She's telepathically scanned the entire world and determined no time passed while they were in the white void.

The whole story happened between two ticks of the clock.

Spider-Man's take-away is that they just saved the world and nobody will ever know!

(Jarvis says, hey, we'll know! Jarvis is a good guy.)

Apparently, Nebula vanished while everyone was distracted by the universe and gravity being back.

But Captain America remembers that Iron Man and Vision went to investigate her ship and thinks she's going to be in for a nasty surprise when she gets there.

So, apparently this saga still continues. The next issue is teased as "SPIDERS and STARS" so I'll bet next time has "Guest-starring the Amazing Spider-Man" slapped prominently on the cover.

But before that, we switch back over to Avengers West Coast to continue the Wanda Is Evil And Crazy story.

yay.

Follow @essential-avengers because this issue was actually pretty fun. Like, reblog, comment, or dance like nobody is watching.

#avengers #essential avengers #Nebula #the complete lack of any universe #Captain America #Thor #Sersi #Edwin Jarvis #Spider Man #Professor Harker #not a lot of other people #because the universe ceased to be

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titanicfreija · 18 days

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Campfire Stories

The next server bank was a bust, completely ruined by bombs, raiders, weather and time; but Freija decided it was late enough to stop. The bombed out ruin of city held little to look for.

"You actually camp? In a tent?" Thomas watched Freija tie her hammock tent into the exposed ceiling joists with an incredulous brow raised.

The second floor of the office building gave them a good view of the area without being too obvious, and smelled mostly of dust. Even the bugs ran out of food here.

"I was about to ask what you did," Freija chuckled. "You'll sooner go back to orbit, won't you?"

"I try to divide my activities into tasks so I can get parts done and stop, instead of being caught in the open in the dark," the Warlock replied. "I should have said something when we got done in the last one."

"I wouldn't have stopped anyway." The chipper grin had a feral undertone that Thomas could appreciate. "I have a backup tent, if you want. They're not meant to be shared or I would." She knelt in place as a pack materialized on the ground in front of her and the harmony between her and her Ghost stung Thomas again. "Or you can go to orbit and we can ping you down with coordinates."

He couldn't decide if she was teasing or patronizing. "I'll try and tough it out, I'm a big boy." Freija offered the folded tent, and he untangled it to examine. If she'd asked him to build a shelter in a forest, he'd have a full cabin in an hour, but this 'survival gear' of the spoiled Tower-dwellers worked just as well and embarrassed him with his inexperience. "Don't help and don't watch if you can't keep that look off your face. I can do it, I just can't make it look easy." He narrowed his amber eyes at her and she grinned as she ducked her head between her shoulders.

"Alright, then I'm gonna go establish perimeters," she declared, placing her M5 across her back and picking up Polaris Lance. "Don't die."

He did fine and Freija didn't come across any active threats, so the evening wound down pleasantly. This chunk of world saw a cool breeze come in with sundown, batting down the growing humidity. The Guardians spent a while studying a Golden Age map of computer network from a telecommunications company that went bust before the Exodus program.

After the sun's last color faded and the night truly set in, with the only lights coming from the Ghosts and Freija, the pair took their boots off and settled into their hammock-tents.

"What did you do before the Vanguard?" asked Freija. "Like, all Guardians, not just you, but also just you."

"The same thing any super-powered immortal would do-- we went to war. Thus the title Warlords. Gathered little groups of normal people, got them to feed us with promises to protect them from the rest of us." He picked at his teeth. "I'm not certain I'm ready to tell you about my longer history."

"Why not?"

"I'm not better than anyone else." The warlock didn't squirm, but he fixed his eyes to the dark for several moments before he shook himself. "I'm not proud of it."

"I've crushed Ghosts," Freija pointed out. "Killed refugees. I'm still ashamed of ever having set foot on the Tangled Shore, and I was a baby back then. I haven't had a long time to be a monster, but I'm still a monster."

Thomas rocked his head and frowned with thought. "You're such a bleeding heart, it's hard to think."

The Titan cocked her head curiously. "Were you a Warlord? I know I'd have been one. Probably with the best intentions, at least at first. I know how I get."

Thomas chortled and picked at his teeth again. "You'd start a whole country, getting bored and traveling between three or four settlements." He stuck a leg down to swing. "I wouldn't have called me a Warlord, but I'm sure the mortals I kept with me would have," he eventually admitted.

Freija's curious brow creased further and Thomas looked skyward to shed the scrutiny. "I didn't mean to start the collection, they followed me because I was Risen and because they didn't have anything else. I'd happen on bands while I wandered, they'd join me, and we would wander together. I thought of them as equals, but they saw me as something like a god. I didn't feel the rift until one of them died. I did my best to do right. I kept them as safe as I could. I also killed... a lot of people in the process. I didn't try very hard to find a way around it, but even if I had... killing normal humans is... too easy. Even hand-fighting." He took a long, slow breath and blew it through pursed lips, finally lowering his eyes to his companion. "So, to answer your question more directly, yes. I don't feel like I was, but by pretty much any standard of the definition, I was."

The gleaming silver ironically hid any real expression. "I always wondered," she said eventually. "Not-hyphen-warlord. Funny to think about you, though."

He snorted another soft laugh. "Yeah. Rex misses those days. I don't."

"You kept a band of humans?"

"Got followed," Thomas corrected, irritated with remembering any of it. He didn't remember any lines, any discussions, but he did remember feeling forced to take these people under his protection, because anything else was abandoning them to die. "But because they were following me, I felt like I needed to protect them." His breath hitched and he rolled. "During hungry times, I let myself starve, giving them my share of the food. Rex tried to heal me through it, because the damage could be healed-- he'd restore the muscle and fill the bone, he could even put my fat back. But the hunger couldn't be healed away. Stomach stays empty, no matter how fat you are. I had them execute me when it hurt just to start over. Kept me strong enough to help hunt."

He didn't look at the expression on the Titan's face, but he could still see more light than usual from her eyes. Thomas turned his view away and tried to speak, but he couldn't get his voice above a whisper. "And that still wasn't as bad as failing to save Til."

Freija sucked another breath, but he heard sympathy in this one, not surprise. "Yeah. That part sucks," she said. "It's only happened a few times. I can't imagine it being someone I know."

He did know that. She liked finding strays and helping them find homes. And more than a few times, she'd lost one in the process. "Yeah." He rolled back over and saw Freija watching the dark instead of him, which made him feel better. "Yeah. It made me so.... Fucking... Jealous when I saw what Titans could do. That would have been perfect."

Freija offered a non-committal, "uh huh," but he could tell she hurt for him.

Thomas swung lightly in the hammock, kicking his leg to get going. "I rose about the time the Iron Lords were founded, so I didn't have too many Warlords to deal with. Most of the threats were nature and other independent humans troops and Fallen. Eliksni. When the Iron Lords found me, I was quick to declare myself Risen, not Warlord, and they took my people in with their own, and I joined in to help out. Spent time with them and wandering. Got to help with the Tower foundations, that was a whole big thing. Worked for a long time in salvage. I liked the chance to settle. Didn't get into the Ahamkara hunts, but only because I knew I didn't have the power, and I worried I would wish on accident. Last thing we need to find out is if I could become a Titan by dying and rising again."

Freija snickered. "Yeah, I can see that. So that's the wanna-be-a-Titan thing? How often did that kind of thing happen?"

Thomas swatted the air passively. "It's more than that, but at the same time, it's even simpler. A barricade would have been infinitely more useful than my rift the entire Dark Age. I don't know if we're actually physically weaker or if it's just me. I'm just not that great with my Light. I don't think my jump would be better but I would get more mercy for it if I could get my Light under my feet."

Freija hummed with thought. "I wish I had a rift sometimes. Takes forever to get safe enough for Sunny, sometimes, leaves me to hide and bleed out. But-- just so you know, the jump is more like it's pushing from my hips, not my feet. Legs are for steering. Hunters are the ones that use their feet. What do you guys use? You all fly like you have wings, like it's a pull up from your shoulders instead of a push from beneath."

Thomas watched the shining eyes and shimmering skin in the darkness. "You're so weird," he told her, not for the first time.

She kicked irritably and fell back into the tent, out of view. "Sarah was smarter than me. Sometimes it shows when things are quiet and still enough. She had an eye for details, patterns. You always say that when I say something that isn't stupid."

"It's not about stupid or smart, it's just what I expect from history, what you say, and what you showed me. You say you don't notice detail and you're bad at puzzles. You say you can't keep track of what's going on in combat. You say you struggle with conversations, your armor and weapon mods, your aim. I have seen, personally, every single one of these things. You're impatient and foolhardy and insensitive and there's been a lot of times where I think you forgot to even look at your mods when you swapped kits.

"And yet you talk scared people out of fighting without speaking their language. You start fires with Polaris Lance at distances that require spotters and bullet trajectory math. You predict enemy crucible tactics with what looks like cheating or clairvoyance. You made an offhand joke at a puzzle that turned out to be a truth that helped me finish it. And you tell me, by looking, how each class uses their Light to move through the air."

Thomas couldn't watch her as the tent swung with her weight. "Sarah could do it. Sunny says it's because it's too much effort to move as fast and hard as I do and think like she did at the same time. She put it like, I have a max capacity. I can split it up to wherever but putting half the effort into thinking means half the effort going to running and shooting."

Thomas gave her a sound of acknowledgement. "Something else," he said again, closing off his tent.

Request

Communication

The Database

Something Else

Campfire Stories

Jealousy

Bickering

Revealed

#destiny 2 #d2 #ocs #writing #freija #scribble #thomas #drama #guardian history #who was i

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cringecompanionapologist · 9 months

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Enlightenment Novelization 3: The Mind of a Turlough (as interpreted by an Eternal)

I think this last bit says more about the Eternals/Captain Wrack than it does about Turlough, at least in some ways. It can also mainly apply to the televised version of the story, though I'm using the novelization as a point of reference.

Enlightenment does a lot of exploring of the mindset of the Eternals and how they interact with everyone else. This is most clear through Tegan's subplot, getting creeped on by Marriner, who wants to understand her human mind. But, both companions are sort of paired up with an Eternal who tries to study them at some point. Marriner and the other of Team Edwardian Racing Yacht are the lesser of two evils. They don't give a shit about Ephemeral lives, for the most part, but they're not actively malicious to the extent that Wrack is. All the Eternals treat humans like toys, but while the Edwardian Eternals don't care if their toys break, Wrack actively enjoys breaking them.

This is clear in how the two most curious Eternals interact with the companions. Marriner is very creepy with Tegan, but he doesn't threaten her. He doesn't want to hurt her and even sees her as Not Like the Other Ephemerals. He finds her mind interesting, so he follows her around, not understanding why that scares her, since he isn't threatening her. Wrack notices that Turlough's mind is Not Like Other Ephemerals in some way and she also wants to study that, but she's threatening from the very beginning. When she admits that she has trouble reading Turlough's mind, she expresses her curiosity as a desire to break him:

Neither Marriner nor Wrack succeed in understanding their Ephemerals. I think it's because mere mortals feel emotions that the Eternals don't. As for Turlough, I think Wrack doesn't really understand what motivates Turlough because she doesn't really understand fear.

The Eternals clearly know that fear is a thing. Marriner asks why Turlough is afraid around him and can sense when Turlough is afraid as well. He can name the emotion correctly. If Marriner knows what fear is, than Wrack probably does too. She's probably spent as much time around Ephemerals as Marriner has. She seems like to type to enjoy being feared even.

So, what do I mean by Wrack not understanding fear? Well, think about it. The Eternals are immortal. They can't die. They can't be hurt. They can control pretty much everything around them. There's nothing for them to be truly afraid of. They don't want to be bored and sort of fear that, but that's no more than a minor setback for them. Fear is an Ephemeral emotion, something that comes from knowing that your life is limited, that you can't control the world around you, you can't know what's going to happen.

So, a being with no reason to feel fear meets someone who is always afraid. She knows what fear is, so she can sort of recognize it, but recognition isn't understanding.

This is getting a little long so here's a divide.

Anyway, we can actually see Wrack's lack of understanding of Turlough's emotional state almost immediately. She wants to know why Turlough wanted passage aboard her ship. He didn't, as far as we know. He threw himself overboard the ship he was on with no intent of seeking out another ship. Wrack and her team chose to rescue him. He threw himself overboard in the first place because the Black Guardian's threats and demands had overwhelmed him. He felt that he'd rather die than keep dealing with all of that. He immediately regrets this decision, so he's thankful to be saved, but he knew next to nothing about Wrack and barely understood what the whole race was about anyway. He wasn't seeking her out.

But, Wrack's not going to believe that and she can't seem to find it in his mind. Turlough's mind is a mess. He's scared, confused, not sure what's going on, not sure what side he's on, not sure what he really wants. Wrack probably perceives his thoughts as contradictory. She decides on "devious", as if the confusion was somewhat deliberate. How a mind can get to this state, she has no idea.

Then there's Turlough's investment in winning Enlightenment. He barely knows what that means and most of what he knows comes from Wrack herself.

Enlightenment doesn't mean enlightenment in the typical spiritual sense. The Eternals call it that because that's what they want, in a way. The prize for winning the race is basically Your Heart's Desire. The Eternals primarily all desire the same thing. Thus, Enlightenment.

Turlough, still trying to figure out wtf is going on, asks a somewhat revealing question. Turlough will later be offered power in the form of that diamond. Diamond = Wealth = Power = Never Needing to Be Scared of Anyone Ever Again. Of course, it's a bit deeper than that, but not even Turlough himself knows that at this point. When it comes to Enlightenment as knowledge, Turlough will learn that what he thinks he wants isn't what he really wants, which is why is mind is so divided and confused. In reality, his Heart's Desire is do not be so confused. He wanted a chance to make the choice between the Black Guardian and the Doctor, revealing another layer of "what he thinks he wants" vs. "what he really wants".

But, in Wrack's eventual decision to end their fake alliance, she reads his mind and comes to a conclusion that doesn't quite add up:

Turlough literally just learned what the prize was and had no idea he'd be involved in the race in the first place. There's no sign that he truly understands what Enlightenment means in this context. I think this "greed" was something Wrack misinterpreted. It was probably something more like desperation combined with Turlough's belief that he wants power, possibly through wealth, to transcend his fear. In all the chaos, he clearly wants something, but "want" isn't the same thing as "greed". Wrack might be projecting a bit here. She already has power. She has no need to be afraid of anyone. She isn't even afraid of the Black Guardian, since she's been convinced that she's the one in control there. She wants Enlightenment and is willing to cheat and kill for it. That's a sort of "want" that leans more towards "greed", since she's already more powerful than most beings can comprehend and is still willing to kill for more.

Turlough's entire motivation, outside of the most shallow layer of wealth/power is something an Eternal can't comprehend. Turlough wants a lot, but that isn't greed. He doesn't really want to possess anything for it's own sake. It's more about what those things might represent. He thinks he wants power to not be afraid of anyone. In a way, he wants to be like the Eternals. They're not afraid of anyone and they don't care about anyone but themselves. He thinks that's what he wants. But, as I said in the last installment, in reality, he wants to be cared about and care about other people in return, but is convinced that he can't. If he gets close to someone, they might betray him or be used against him. He might lose them. He cared about his family and what happened to them? Now, he's started to care about the Doctor and realize that the Doctor cares about him, something he can't quite believe at first. But, he's enlightened and given a chance to make the choice. He can choose what he really wants.

#vislor turlough #enlightenment #the eternals #captain wrack #character study #sort of #also sort of rambling #tw: suicide attempt #turlough tries to kill himself in this story #if you're reading this i'd assume you'd already know #but you can never be too careful

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lautakwah · 2 months

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omg jing yuan !! as soon as i met him i knew he was gonna be a fav of mine, and his deal with the finches just sold it. i really love his cn va. he was also really fun to play as for that little stint he was part of your party, i got the awakened dan heng card Right before that final battle which felt perfect and now they have this guy and im like i NEED him his mechanic lags my entire laptop. the xianzhou luofu has been very fun to get to know so far, i do love what dan heng/dan feng and jing yuan have going on, and i guess blade is part of that? i love edgy characters but ironically he's felt like the most boring of the cast so far... but that means i still have two of the quintet yet to meet i think! i cannot guess who theyd be right now. the timelines theyre working with are so funny to me like i guess dan hengs supposed to be 700 years old but also still a teenager? being eternally 17 sounds like some horrific curse. which im still not entirely sure of what he did but that seems undeserved. speaking of which reincarnating (?) and then ending up befriending someone who looks more than passingly like your old life's old friend (the trailblazer and jing yuan's visual similarities are a coincidence im sure but its funny to me) is such a neat concept i hope they touch on. + SEELE AND BRONYA!! they were an amazing part of that storyline i want them on my team so bad. I just got the missions to go back and see whats up with them so i'll have to check it out... when i first continued the story to get to the xianzhou seele was visiting and i thought the game would make her disappear after the warp but she was still there... i was like we've taken this kid 500 million light years away from her home planet we've committed a crime here. ANYWAY this is a mile long i hope u have a good weekend nd get rest o7

yeaaahhh jing yuan's va is so good!! i love playing on cn tbh the other dubs dont hit the same idk... i dont have him tho (f) and both times his banner was on i didnt have enough jade to pull for him 😭 first time bc i spent everything on seele, second time bc of sparkle KHFDKJGFDG literally my roster is almost all the girls (not you topaz. and silver wolf was bc i lost 50/50 💀) and barely any guys (i have dhil and luocha and dr ratio bc he was free... all the others i skipped and im gonna skip aventurine as well LOL) can u tell im a lesbian :'))

and i thought dan heng was like in his early 20s??? but none of it rly gets explained so KFDJKDG we do know viyadhara when they reincarnate become children again and then age up before they go through the whole egg-reincarnating thing again. but like in his prev life he was several decades old and looked the same anyway, yet blade/yingxing at the time was like. an old man (the only "mortal" among them 😭). and then baiheng and jingliu were around the same age as jing yuan? wait actually jingliu is older since she's his master but yeah. it IS interesting to see how their dynamic has shifted tho but you'll see (if you havent gotten to that part yet in any case, i think if you finished the tingyun/emanator of destruction part you should've already known abt most of this due to companion quests!)

also YEAH KDFJHKJFDGD it's so funny that characters from different planets can visit the astral express even when they're not on/near their home planet like oh... i guess we kinda abducted you, lol. although, hey, look at it like this: you can show them entire fields of grass or something which they don't have on their home world...! (and obvi you can just take them back to their home world in a snap 😌)

also my weekend was great!! went to a film festival and talked to friends and had a good time overall fdkjghfkjdg idk if i already said this but saw zhu yilong on screen twice (!!) and also met the director of the movie he was in it was super fun <3 def needed that lol

#answered #hsr anon #<- ur tag hehe

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lilpunkrock · 1 year

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Hi Lou! I don't know why I just remembered this given who Love is but Valentine's just passed! For bonus content, how does Love operate on Valentine's? Does she bring Dream with her now or does he see her role amplified based on the dreams that day/night? I think it would be cute to see him follow her that day because he's curious how powerful she gets on a day dedicated to love. Happy late Valentine's! I hope you're doing well!

Hey, Ice!! Funny you ask, I actually wanted to do a Valentine-themed drabble on Valentine’s Day depicting Love’s function on this day, but I didn’t have time. 🥲 Love’s function is DEFINITELY amplified on this day! Think, humming-like-a-tuning-fork amplified. In the past, she would have woken up to heaps of paper assignments at her door and spent the day flitting across the world at a break-neck pace, fostering attachment after attachment! Now that she has preemptively fostered every eros, philia, and agape attachment for the remainder of time, her day is a little less hectic. She enjoys working with Dream to place ideas for romantic gestures in lovers’ dreams in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. 😌 Even though she doesn’t technically have to, she still visits as many mortals as she can on the day of, imbuing attachments with a little extra warmth, joy, and love than normal! I definitely foresee her inviting Dream to hop across the world with her for the day and can picture him contentedly observing her impassioned work with thinly veiled pride. 😌 At the end of the long day, I can see him surprising her with a romantic gesture of his own, like a midnight walk to the Dreaming’s beach to paint her stories from the stars in the sky.

“Dream, you really didn’t have to do all of this. I wasn’t expecting anything special.”

“I must be honest with you, I originally had no special plans. Why celebrate you only today when you should be celebrated every day? However, Lucienne advised that it would be most meaningful to respect your customs by executing a grand gesture. After more thought, I agreed with her. A grand gesture today does not mean I cannot bestow you with another tomorrow.”

“Soo, what I’m hearing is that we’ll be doing this more often?”

“If that is what you wish, love? Then every day.”

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ttrpgbrackets · 6 months

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Propaganda Below

Inhabit 3: Claim the Shell

The wraith may enter a relic [ghostly] or a Skinlands [mortal world] object and use it as a surrogate body. He has full control over all its functions and can move parts on their own, though he can't make it do anything else outside its own capabilities. For example, a wraith possessing a revolver can cock the hammer, pull the trigger, and swing out the cylinder and eject spent shell casings, but he can't levitate or aim the gun, nor grasp and load fresh ammunition. His senses function normally, though they're spread across the object's entire surface. If a Skinlands object ie destroyed while the wraith inhabits it, he may bring it across the shroud as a relic (though creating a relic from a container doesn't also create relics from its contents). System: the player spends 3 Pathos and rolls Strength+Inhabit (difficulty of the local Shroud, or 8 in the Tempest [part of the ghostly world behind the veil]). The number of successes required for success depend on the item's size:

1 success Handheld: tablet or notebook computer, handgun,power tool, book 2 successes Two-handed: small appliance, greatsword, web server 3 successes Human-sized: motorcycle, crew-served heavy weapon, office furniture 4 successes Vehicular: speedboat, garage workbench, assembly line laser wielding robot 5 successes Industrial: locomotive, marine diesel engine, newspaper printing press 6+ successes Structural: House, airliner, ship

Claim the Shell lasts for one scene. If the object is destroyed while the wraith is within it, his shadow [evil alter ego] gains 1 temporary Angst per success required to Claim it. However, he may convert the item into a relic by spending 1 Willpower, plus 1 Corpus per success required to claim it.

What makes it cool?

If you read that list of examples and don't get it I don't know what to tell you, but I'll try… This is an ability dripping with flavour. It takes a classic ghost trope, the possessed object, systematises it with just enough limitations to be interesting, considers how it would feel to be that ghost with the sensory description, which is great for a gm, and provides a list to spark your imagination. From an in-game perspective, ghosts can't normally interact with the material world, so getting something like this isn't just incredibly exciting, it basically writes its own stories for at least a couple of sessions as you play around with it. Oh, and you can get (Rare, valuable) relic objects even if the person you're trying to kill with a battleship somehow defeats you! This ability alone makes me want to play wraith every time I read it.

Argent Trickster's Rook

Flashing a wicked grin as she rolls the dice or turns over her cards, the Lunar claims faces unwisely wagered against her. She performs a sacred hunt by challenging a human to dice, cards, or a similar game of chance, convincing him to stake his shape as his wager. She needn’t convince him that she can actually take his form, and may convince him through vague language, metaphor, or half-truth. Her own wager must be one that her target would consider equal in value to the theft of his shape. If the Lunar wins — including by cheating, as long as she isn’t caught — she concludes the sacred hunt and claims her target’s form. Her target must be genuinely playing to win. If the Lunar’s target wins or catches her cheating, the sacred hunt fails, and she can’t take his shape through this Charm until next story. She may still attempt sacred hunts against him by other means.

What makes it cool?

This is literally a way for a shapeshifter character to win your form in a gambling game. The "normal" way for a Lunar to take something's form is a literal ritual hunt, which ends with eating part of the target, and this is one of a few ways to steal a human's form without killing them. There's just something really fucking cool and evocative about winning someone's face in a game of cards.

#indie ttrpg #ttrpg design #tumblr bracket #ttrpg community #round 2

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