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spacebarbarianweird · 3 months

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HC of Astarion x fem Elf Tav who’s a Druid, more specifically of the Circle of The Spores subclass. She wears skirts and dresses of dark teals and blacks with gold embroidery and legs round gold glasses, always travels with herbs and roots in her pockets and pouches, and is never afraid to raise an army of the fungal infested undead for the hell of it. Basically she’s the healer who puts on a neutral front but is begging for the chance to rightfully unleash chaos and destruction

Hi! Oh, this is a nice design of a character! And I am sucker for elf!Tav because they can live for many centuries. And Spore Circle is absolutely badass. It turned out to be weird, creepy and bittersweet and I hope you like it! I also tag @tolkien-fantasy since they love Spore Druids.

Astarion x Spore Circle Druid!Tav

There is a thing about Spore Druids.

Unlike your colleagues, you don't particularly hate the undead.

If anything, your magic is about death, too.

Mold and fungi transform lifeless material into something new and weird.

Death isn't the end, it's just a new stage.

The problem with the undead is that they often wish things would stay the same and never change.

Which is unnatural.

Life is about growth and death is about transformation.

You encourage Astarion to heal and grow.

The worst thing about his past was stability and the belief nothing was going to change.

But somehow he preserved his personality and now he slowly demonstrates his ability to "live" in his undeath.

Though, you scare him a bit.

You can resurrect the dead with spores, turning them into zombies, alive and dead, hungry and terrifying.

You infect the corpses and transform them into your loyal servants.

And you can use the same spores to make your enemies blind, deaf, or paralyzed.

Astarion calls you a walking hotbed of plague.

Though, of course, he is in awe - mostly because everything you do is between life and death, which is the stage he himself is stuck in.

But your magic is beautiful.

Mushrooms growing on dead bodies.

Mold desecrating the food.

Fungi bringing life to the most desolate places.

Post-game, Astarion doubts whether to go with you, but you assure him that the Spore Circle will accept him due to his ability to change.

You study the fungi to find answers to your questions and his problems.

The spores can make him more like a living person.

They can protect him from the sun, and they can let him eat normal food.

The prospect scares Astarion - he's seen the infected corpses. It's creepy.

And what if this magic fungi takes over his mind?

You don't insist. It's his choice, after all.

And you are an elf yourself, you have plenty of time.

But the life in the shadows and hunger take a toll on Astarion.

He doesn't want to be an undead. He wants to be alive.

And if his vampirism can't be cured, why not let nature change him?

At least, if you promise his personality won't be affected.

It won't, you are sure of that.

Astarion lets you infect him with the spores.

This transformation is nothing like becoming a vampire.

It's soft, gentle, warm.

Astarion feels like dreaming, sleeping in a warm bed.

The only thing he acknowledges is your presence. You check on him all the time sometimes meditating close to his "fungi grave".

It take almost a year for spores to finish their job, reconstructing his dead flesh.

A lonely year of being alone in your bed.

When Astarion wakes up, he doesn't feel the hunger anymore.

The sun doesn't burn him and he stays in the sunlight for hours before you come to take him home.

The symbiotic fungi has restored his organs to the point where they functioned as they are supposed to.

Astarion is scared to see himself in the mirror - but when he does he sees himself.

Though, there are some changes.

There are golden spots of spores in is eyes and barely visible cobwebs on his legs and arms.

And he is warm. He is so warm.

With his newfound "life", Astarion gets some new abilities, similar to the ones you have.

He can cast spores and rise up the dead, infecting them.

He can hear the fungi songs, connecting his mind with this ancient entity.

And he can feel you.

You know each other thoughts, each other intentions, and presence.

He always knows where you are. He feels your emotions, your sorrows and happiness and you feel him the same way.

You are more than thiramins, more than lovers.

But the best gift the spores gave to Astarion is mortality.

One day, the fungi will slowly take over his body and mind, transforming the flesh once again, bringing him mor, the final death.

And if you are still alive by this moment, you will let spores take over you so you can be together in this next stage of life and death.

--

Tag list

@tugoslovenka @marcynomercy @wintersire @vixstarria @not-so-lost-after-all @ashiro20 @theearthsfinalconfession @herstxrgirl @starlight-ipomoea @micropoe10 @astarion-imagine-archive @veillsar @elora-the-slutty-songstress @fayeriess @lumienyx @tallymonster @caitlincat-95 @tragedybunny @valeprati @lynnlovesthestars @marina-and-the-memes @waking-electric @ayselluna @connorsui @asterordinary @darkarchangel96 @locallegume @brainfullofhotsauce

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inspector-montoya-fox · 24 days

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let me hop onto this kinda underrated but definitely outdated post for a minute and ask: did Dr Michael PhD know about Clockwerk? it's not like i want the owl to be the ultimate catalyst in Sly's life - he was the end-all be-all for two games, it was time to move on for sure - but at the same time murdering an entire lineage of raccoons isn't um something you stumble upon everyday ?

i know how enticing it can be to want to connect all the dots when writing sequels and i'm so happy SP didn't pull a Roman Bridger told Billy Loomis to become Ghostface with Clockwerk and Dr Michael. actually, when you think about it, Sly 3 resists the urge to bring up Clockwerk in any way, which is very respectable. the way the game connects to the other two is through the aftermath of ClockLa (which is hardly mentioned) and returning villains as new gang members. if we removed those from the equation, Sly 3 could be a standalone entry. it's a very refreshing game after, again, two games that centre around Clockwerk and his subsequent resurrection but it's also a bit jarring to think that he is barely (or not at all?) mentioned during a game that involves two characters who worked for him as well as one who used his own tail feathers. at times it feels like the game is deliberately going out of its way to tiptoe around the subject.

personally, Honour Among Thieves left a lot to be desired, especially as the final episode not only of the game but of the series. more specifically, i love Dr Michael's conversation with Bentley so much but i feel like it was too little too late. i get that it acted as a climax for the 'Bentley wants to step out of Sly's shadow' storyline but the conversation gave birth to so many huge implications that it felt like we were just then getting to the juicy bits. why does Dr Michael have such vitriol for ConnEr Cooper? what happened between the gang members? was ConnEr truly a piece of shit or is it all Dr Michael's perspective? did every Cooper have a Bentley and Murray figure in their life?

whereas the player got to know Neyla through her various appearances throughout Sly 2, Dr Michael's character development is put on pause due to the fact that Sly 3's episodes aren't interconnected via the common thread of "a gang of villains". as a result, many questions arise in the final episode and never get answered. one of them being: what's his connection to Clockwerk? as highlighted in the paragraph above, there are other questions that are easily prioritised over this one because they are pointed at during the conversation with Bentley. that being said, it feels a bit bizarre for Dr Michael to not even bring up Clockwerk once. when he first sees Sly he thinks it's ConnEr, which raises the question 'does he even know about Clockwerk murdering ConnEr in the first place?' that's definitely one possibility. the gang dispersed and when ConnEr settled down as a family man, that's when Clockwerk came into the picture. ok! probable scenario...

... but idk i'm not really buying it. i don't want to be the tin foil hat girlie and i'm truly not, like in terms of narrative logic it makes total sense. but from a consistency standpoint, how can you create a character that is actually portrayed as more of an omnipresent, all-powerful entity, the literal embodiment of evil, to then just have him go *poof* ? Clockwerk is the stain on the Cooper legacy, the Cooper killer and Dr Michael, who prides himself on hating ConnEr so much, has no idea who he is? the evil scientist who is infatuated with the Coopers and creates animal hybrids doesn't know about the owl robot that survives on Cooper hate? mama what are the odds. again, i'm against trying to unnecessarily connect all the dots, but even a mention would suffice. cutscene appearance even. like what if Dr Michael acted as this Judas figure who approached Clockwerk post gang breakup and spilled on how to track down ConnEr or some sort of secret? it would also help flesh out Clockwerk's character posthumously, which i find so clever. this is something discussed on the new episode of Safehouse Chats btw (shameless plug-in sis), where we debate whether or not Clockwerk benefits from being shrouded in total mystery. as for my initial question? i think Dr Michael bottomed for Clockwerk. block me

#the Scream reference is the actual bottom behaviour here #sly cooper #what if Le Paradox was actually Dr M's son. that would also help flesh out Miss Decibel's character very nicely #god help me

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saintsenara · 7 months

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Hi, if you're still doing the ask game, may I inquire about your opinion on the following ships ? : Tomarrinny, Bartymort, Quirrellmort, Petermort and Tom Sr/Cecilia/Merope. Also, thoughts on MoD!Voldemort or on how a meeting between Snape and Petunia would have gone ? Thanks !

thank you very much, @take-the-unknow-road-now for this wonderful selection of unhinged things for me to talk about. i am always ready for asks which inspire chaos:

tomarrinny

when she's eleven, harry's twelve, and tom is an immortal shard of soul? no.

when she's thirty, harry's thirty-one, and tom is back from the dead for some reason? absolutely. after all, why shouldn't ginny be allowed two orphans, as a treat? and why shouldn't tom be allowed two people who are clearly less good-looking than him to pay him attention? plus, two quidditch players will definitely be willing to do all the work, allowing him to achieve his true form: undying pillow princess.

but - in reality - we all know which way the power dynamic actually lies: tom and ginny are both harry's subs. let's hope that their ability to jointly write a poem has improved since the 'his eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad' days.

bartymort

canon.

there has never been a man with a more flagrant daddy kink than barty crouch jr., and we all know that he threw himself onto lord voldemort's lap the second he arrived in his first death eater meeting. the dark lord advised him that he'd be physically chastised if this behaviour continued. unfortunately for him, that was exactly what barty wanted to happen.

the reason it burned out hard is because lord voldemort also has towering daddy issues. he is even forced to reveal what his real name and background is in an effort to make barty understand that sometimes he'd like to do something other than put on a double-breasted suit and pretend he's come home on time to attend a birthday party. (for example: 'hello son, i've come to pick you up from the orphanage' role-play.)

barty literally couldn't give less of a fuck. lord voldemort is not sorry when he gets turned into a soulless husk.

quirrellmort

lord voldemort - overcome with joy at being back in a human body after a decade - doesn't think through how awkward the aftermath of this will be, and spends the first night he's attached to quirrell's head directing him in a... let's just say... exploration of his anatomy.

quirrell is so pathetically suggestible that - from that point onwards - he can't get off unless the dark lord is talking dirty to him. but can you imagine how cringe trying to speak sexily to quirrell must be? (hey baby, what are you wearing? a turban which smells of garlic?)

voldemort simply pretends not to have heard when quirrell brings this up. unfortunately, all this does is make quirrell want to talk about his feelings.

lord voldemort is not sorry when harry kills him.

petermort

flopping. lord voldemort hates wormtail, because he betrayed a man to whom he would give his affections: james potter.

[seriously, he is a simp for james. there is no other explanation for why he insists that james fought him bravely when he turned up on halloween when we canonically know that what james actually did was run into the hall without his wand and then fall over.]

but don't worry. wormtail is getting some god-tier hate sex out of snape.

tom riddle sr./cecilia/merope gaunt

i'm going to answer this lightly, on the assumption that this triad is consensual.

tom sr. is getting thrown out of the bedroom within seconds. they're lesbians.

[he'll be fine. he goes for a little walk to sulk and ends up making out with frank bryce against a rose trellis. the four of them become bffs.]

and then our not-ship questions:

lord voldemort as the master of death

sounds like a lot of hard work, plus both of his parents keep appearing whenever he touches the resurrection stone to shout at him.

snape versus petunia

snape went round to speak to her about what a dick he thinks harry is (dumbledore told him to speak to her about the blood protection, he didn't want to.)

they fucked.

#asks answered #asenora's opinions on ships

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utilitycaster · 9 months

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I feel like every time there’s an episode that highlights the ways in which Laudna’s character is hollow, we get the opposite moment from Ashton.

Like, Laudna has explicit reason to be pro-god, she was resurrected by one, her rant disregards a large chunk of what’s happened in-game and tries to make a point that fully eludes her.

On the other hand, Ashton’s anti-god/ pro-faith rant makes sense for the character. It’s also wonderful ironic, with the meta-knowledge of the Luxon being a sliver of divinity.

And then there’s the other moment, where Laudna has a conversation with Imogen in which they circle the same topics as always and end undecided about what they want for themselves.

Whereas Ashton has a conversation with FCG that highlights how far both have come as characters and how much their relationship has changed and exactly what each of them is fighting for.

I don’t know. Over and over again, I look at Laudna and Ashton and see two high-concept, aesthetic characters, and one found a way to be rooted in the world, and the other just… didn’t.

How many new NPCs does Ashton’s backstory bring to the game? A dozen? More? And Laudna has… Pate? She just feels so ungrounded and disconnected from the reality of the world.

Yeah...for what it's worth: I don't mind that Laudna doesn't have a pro-god stance. While I do think it's fair to say the gods have in fact done something for her, she spent very little time with Pike and it might not be on her mind. It's just...why would Laudna feel strongly about this at all. Why is she talking. Like, part of what was interesting about her in Hearthdell is that it's easy to see an argument for her fully siding with the villagers (after all, she also had an external force come into town and start fucking things up, was also overthrown by a mostly external group and returned to those who originally led it) but her attitude was "why are we dealing with this stupid bullshit when there's far greater things to worry about." Which was fascinating! And then she was betrayed by a member of the Vanguard! And then she comes back and she's furious and angry and upset...and then it just vanishes and she starts taking the opposite position for no apparent reason, and like, I know this is improv but she kept talking after like 2 or 3 glaringly obvious buttons on the conversation.

It would make perfect sense for Laudna to have the same position as Ashton, is the thing. "People have done harm in the name of the gods (Hearthdell) and I don't know if they've ever listened to me or intervened in my suffering, but Ludinus is doing incalculable harm on a much grander scale right, and we need to be against that, and I am open to the gods making their position more clear to me." Literally that's it.

As for the two...honestly I think the fact that Laudna...isn't high concept is the problem. Like, you can build a character on an aesthetic as a starting point. That's fine! But Ashton is not just punk in looks, but also punk in attitude. Taliesin asked the question "what would punk look like in Exandria" from a philosophical standpoint, worked with Matt to create a chaotic barbarian class, thought pretty extensively through the backstory that led them to the point where we see them at the start, has played a consistent throughline, and so when Ashton takes a stand it feels earned. With Laudna...the things that finally started to build during the Issylra arc (actually expressing unhappiness and anger, being upset with people on both sides of this argument) just vanished, and again, it increasingly seems true that almost all the work done was to support the aesthetic without then going back and weaving it into the story.

I will also add: I don't think having a ton of NPCs is important or a good metric - in fact there was a really good D&D court in which someone had a ton of NPCs in their backstory that their DM had asked them to tone down. I can think of plenty of characters who don't have a ton of NPCs in their backstory, either created by them or by Matt, who are great. Like, actually, part of the issue is again that Laudna is supposed to have this incredibly lonely, empty backstory, and we don't actually feel it. It's been so much tell and very little show.

#answered #Anonymous #cr tag

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soullessjack · 6 months

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something else about the soulless jack arc that rlly … peeved? me is that it gives us both Jack’s and the Winchesters/hunters’ perspectives, but fully plays out as if we the audience are unaware of what happened between jack and mary. it’s still very heartbreaking and gutting nonetheless, but it’s also very inconsistent with how it intertwines the two. following jack, we see him and mary argue and we see him melt down and kill her and we see him feel guilt and grief and fear for it. we know it was an accident and we know that he’s been driven to a point of instability by his own guilt and we know he wants to fix it and we even see jack make an effort to do so.

however, following TFW and Bobby and company, we see them argue about what could’ve happened. Cas suggests that Jack didn’t realize it was wrong (which also implies that everybody automatically assumed jack killed her purposefully, literally giving him no leeway here). Bobby declares that theres nothing left in jack but Lucifer with his human soul gone—that he’s an unstoppable monster who has to be put down just like any other MOTW. Sam and dean argue if Jack is even still Jack and how they should approach it from there. seeing Jack’s own family discuss if and how to stop him does give some tension, but there is zero suspense because —

1) sam and dean knew from Rowena that Jack was trying to resurrect mary; they saw him bring her body back and they saw the anguished look on his face when she didn’t wake up and they heard him say “it didn’t work,” —so that’s already a huge chunk missing, and —

2) we already know the answer to every question they’re posing. instead of suspense at wondering if Jack finally tipped over the edge, we’re dreading the eventual confrontation because we know what they don’t know, and what they do know concerning Rowena and Jack’s failed spell was left out of the entire conversation after it happened.

when jack is on tv and making headlines as a doomsday bringer and dropping bodies for sam and dean to trail, we can’t be in shock that he’s doing something so out of character because we saw Duma manipulate him, saw what she promised him, and we know he’s well-intentioned despite his horrific actions (also, having jack torture/murder ppl for the sake of his family is something he’s already done before, it’s just taken to a new level without his soul to hold him back). everyone is following the narrative that jack has finally gone awol or succumbed to his true nature or whatever, and that is very much played intentionally as the teetering “will he, won’t he” question hanging around jacks entire character. but again, we don’t feel any of the suspense that question typically carries in a story because it’s already answered for us.

you cannot reasonably expect the audience to be in awe and suspense and believe jack is full blown big bad now while repeatedly showing us that jack still has good intentions. Hell, even the scene where they confront jack to trick him into the Ma’lak box is frustrating, because while Jack’s dismissive blame-shifting demeanor about Mary’s death is a reasonable tipping point for sam and dean’s anger and subsequent actions, there’s also the fact that jack very bluntly says things like “I didn’t think I’d see you again / I really missed you guys / I just want everything to be back the way it was,” that purifying the world is “like hunting,” and further more he even agrees to be locked up because, soul or not, he genuinely doesn’t want to hurt anyone anymore; all which very glaringly points to him not being as far gone as we’re supposed to think and worry about.

again, it’s all still very painful and upsetting to watch, but most of the pain comes from the fact that we know the missing details that are creating the conflict and are helpless to do anything with it, rather than the conflict itself.

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the-fluffiest-trainer · 2 months

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[A video is embedded.]

[Twilight and Fluttershy stand at the lower floor exit from the aquarium building, looking out at the beach and Route 8. Twilight is wearing an orange scarf. She points ahead.]

There he is! With the orange hair.

Oh, wow. That's an impressive mane for a human.

I know, isn't it? Rarity would call it an abomination. Oh, I do hope she Falls in Kalos, if only to see what new styles she'd inflict on poor Lysandre.

[The two ponies step outside, and Lysandre of the orange mane comes over to greet them.]

Ah, hello again, young Miss Sparkle! Is this beach not simply beautiful?

It is! This is a nice meeting spot. Lys, this is my friend Fluttershy, who also Fell from my world. Fluttershy, this is Lysandre, the scientist I've been working with here. He's the leader of Team Flare.

Hello! Nice to meet you.

[Fluttershy turns to speak to Twilight alone.]

Team Flare is your research team? The guys who battled me in the cave?

Oh! Yes, sorry for the less than welcoming introduction back there. I asked for us not to be disturbed while we looked for fossils. If I'd known you were on your way I would have told them to keep an eye out and let you past.

The junior scientists do good work, and many are skilled pokemon handlers as well. If you have defeated some of them, Fluttershy, then you must be strong and clever yourself. I applaud your determination!

Thank you. They fought well, and I can't fault anyone for wanting a bit of privacy.

And humble too, I notice. She is as kind as you said, Twilight. Truly, you both are clearly chosen to help build a better future.

You read my report, right, Lys? Fluttershy, why don't you bring out Keseph?

[Fluttershy throws a pokeball, releasing Keseph the amaura onto the beach. Lysandre looks on with noticeable interest, almost blind to everything else.]

This is the resurrected pokemon? A true beauty, unburdened by all the weight of time, alive once more and yet untouched by the world's filth... Magnificent. This is a taste of eternal life! This is proof we are on the right track.

Listen, Fluttershy. It is vital that both our worlds become better places. Twilight and I, and the rest of Team Flare, work tirelessly to achieve this goal. Despite what an uphill battle it is. Would you join us, Fluttershy, and help look for and research the legendary Xerneas, pokemon god of life?

Um... I'm not much of a scientist, myself. That's really Twilight's area of expertise. I just work with and care for animals, or pokemon here. But I am doing the Gym Challenge, which will take me all around Kalos, so I can be on the lookout for this legendary pokemon or any information about it?

Wonderful! That is all I ask. Knowledge is power, after all.

Just... one question, if I may? Why... is it so important to find this particular pokemon? Why pursue eternal life?

I don't understand. It was my belief that you ponies, in particular above all others in this world, would see and know the necessity? That you would wish to save lives, and let beauty last forever? Given what happened...

Fluttershy... I've been kind of avoiding bringing this up, but I feel like it's time to clear up a few things. What exactly do you remember of our last day in Equestria? Of how we both got here, to this other world?

I don't know how we got here, but Professor Sycamore says all our friends are in this world somewhere? Or most, anyway?

Some more has come back to me by now, since finding you again... since that awful dream. I remember Tirek, and we were trapped, and you were fighting him… He destroyed the library and you kind of flipped out, and you went at him with more magic than I've ever even heard of anypony having. Both of you absolutely tearing up the land around you, punching holes in the mountains… I don't remember how it ended.

It ended in a draw. We could have kept going like that forever, until there was nothing left of Equestria to save from him. Instead, we made a deal… which he immediately broke.

[Twilight looks away, unable to meet Fluttershy's eyes any longer. A light wind across the beach ruffles her mane and hides her face further, and at the edge of the screen some tufts of orange fur from the cameramon also briefly come into view.]

A deal? For what?

There's no good way to say this, Fluttershy. I'm sorry. We got stabbed in the backs by a dishonorable tyrant. All six of us, and even Discord, though he's not here so far as I've heard – all of us, as far as Equestria is concerned, are extremely dead.

And so is everypony else too, probably, because I failed you all.

[Fluttershy looks like she's just been slapped.]

What?!

We all died, and we died so violently that our souls Fell out of the world. We landed here. But here, with Team Flare, we're doing research, uncovering the secrets of eternal life! The ability to overcome even time itself, and set things back to how they should be, forever!

Imagine it, Fluttershy. We can go back. We can return to Equestria, immortal, with the powers of all the pokemon we meet here by our sides, and Tirek will never know what hit him.

[Twilight stomps one hoof on the sand as she says these last few words. Fluttershy takes half a step back.]

…Twilight, you're kind of scaring me a little.

Also, didn't he absorb magic from anything you send at him and then copy it?

Yes, which is why we need two things: one, surprise, and two, to kill him in one shot.

Twilight…? This doesn't sound like you…

I know. I'm sorry, Fluttershy. Betrayal and brutal murder have a way of changing a pony. I'm not okay, and I don't think I can be until I know Tirek has been dealt with, and he won't ever be a threat to anypony again.

I am angry, Fluttershy. Aren't you?

I... I don't think I know, anymore.

The magic of friendship is strong. It can solve many problems, and it should always, always, be tried first. But the hardest lesson I've had to learn yet is that it cannot solve every problem. It took literally dying to learn that one. Sometimes, friendship alone is not enough, and as awful as it is, someone may leave you no other option but force.

[Lysandre kneels in front of Fluttershy, bringing the two of them nearer to the same eye level. Fluttershy looks at him, with the beginnings of tears visible in her eyes.]

If you can know the magnitude of the evil done to you and not think of revenge, then that is a depth of virtue far beyond what she or I can manage. You remind me of a younger self, in fact. I would not wish to damage that great kindness within you.

Come, let none of us trouble our minds further with talk of ugliness, decay, and death.

[Lysandre stands and turns away, toward the water, and he beckons for both the ponies to come stand at his side. Together, everyone looks out over the white sand and the ocean beyond.]

With Xerneas's power, there will be no such horrors in the world to come. Only life as it should be, without conflict, without pain... only peace, forever.

Peace and harmony across both our worlds. It won't be easy, spreading friendship never is... but we can do this.

[Fluttershy nods, still staring out over the water.]

[Video ends.]

#pokeblog rp #pokeblogging #pokemon irl #rotomblr #reunion arc #team flare shenanigans #cw post-apocalypse

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pastelcheckereddreams · 2 years

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Finally ready to talk about how Nie Huaisang’s revelation of his Sect’s immoral sacrifices to the Sword Spirit in Fatal Journey directly calls back to the main show’s overarching plot re: the vilification of the entire Wen clan, and the subsequent persecution of Wei Wuxian for attempting to stand up for the Dafan Wen sect.

Most notably, this parallel occurs as Nie Huaisang challenges his brother on why the Nie can heartlessly sacrifice human beings for the sake of controlling the sword spirit:

["This is not balance, but sacrificing flesh and blood."]

I don’t think I can even try to describe how this line so perfectly frames the ideological argument of the value of human life against some higher measure of worth. Especially as Zonghui tries to reason that:

["Those corpses belong to evil men."]

To the contrary, this only serves to strengthen Nie Huaisang’s conviction, because it doesn’t matter to him if they were good or evil. He looks straight into his older brother’s eyes as he counters:

["Aren't they human beings?"]

Consider the weight of the entire chronological plot of MDZS, of Wei Wuxian’s character arc, until this moment:

How, at this point in the main story’s time-skip, Nie Huaisang may still be grieving the loss of his friend and trying to reconcile his experience of Wei-xiong's character with the reputation of Yiling Laozu - and how that reputation was both built up and torn down by the very Sect leaders who remain in power: his brother included.

Consider how Nie Huaisang, in this moment, may remember that his dear friend stood up against everyone - again, the Nie included - when he dared speak out against this same polarised judgement of good and evil, and how Wei-xiong died for it.

And so now, here, Nie Huaisang finally dares to ask -

“Are you qualified for deciding their fate?”

Of course, at this point, we know that Nie Mingjue himself was a young leader newly minted by war, trying to balance the welfare of his clan against the will of the more powerful sects, and that (more pertinent to the plot of Fatal Journey) he is simply trying to maintain Nie tradition and carry out the role he has been taught to assume since childhood.

But just like his friend before him (and with a fair amount of desperation, considering this might very well be the moment Nie Huaisang fully comprehends the consequences of Dage’s illness - that he will eventually, and is already, sacrificing himself for the same end) Nie Huaisang dares to ask his brother, “Even if [our ancestors] are wrong, you would follow their lead?”

This scene is, of course, much more than an echo of past prejudices from the war against the Wen. It becomes a question of Nie Mingjue’s sanity - how much his illness is influencing his perception of reality, and how it not only perpetuates the prejudices from the war, but also actively harms the Nie by exposing the skewed morals at the core of their clan identity.

But that aside, it is this conflict of ideology that Nie Huaisang exposes which brings us right back to Wei Wuxian, and his stand against the main Sects and their systematic prejudice. In this moment, Nie Huaisang recognises that same flaw, and calls it out in his brother - not only for his current actions, but (with some internal, existential horror) for the crimes of their ancestors the Nie are built upon: sacrificing human beings in order to maintain a fallacy of harmony that is ultimately corrupt.

I wonder if Nie Huaisang would later think back on this moment and grieve in understanding for his friend.

I wonder if his choices from then on - from this moment of Fatal Journey to the resurrection of Wei Wuxian, and further - Nie Huaisang's actions were partially guided by the example of Wei Wuxian.

Am I thinking about a demonic cultivator Nie Huaisang now? Yes absolutely.

I could go on, but I’m gunna stop here. I’m just so full of feelings for the character growth of Nie Huaisang in Fatal Journey.

#nikkiwrites #character analysis #character parallels #nie huaisang #wei wuxian #cql meta #the untamed meta #character meta #nhs meta #nie clan #nie sect #qinghe nie #nie mingjue #sword sacrifice hall #xinglu ridge #nikkiwatches #the untamed: fatal journey #world building #fatal journey

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mashounen1945 · 7 months

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A question for Kirby of the Stars fans

How did Marx come back? Or rather, how is Marx supposed to have come back?

At the end of Milky Way Wishes in Kirby Super Star, Marx is defeated by Kirby and dies upon crashing into Galactic Nova (then he gets resurrected as a Soul boss in The True Arena of Super Star Ultra, but Kirby kills him again anyway). Years later, he comes back as a Dream Friend in Star Allies [*]. What even happened in that interim of 10 years (22 years if we count from Super Star, the original version)? How did he become good (or at least "not evil")?

This question was also pending an answer in Magolor's case. However, with the release of Kirby's Return to DreamLand Deluxe, the Magolor Epilogue (along with what's implied by Merry Magoland, an old interview with Shinya Kumazaki regarding Magolor in the Team Kirby Clash series, and some dialogue line in the Extra Mode of Return to DreamLand) finally revealed what happened to him after his defeat against Kirby & co. For other villains-turned-friends, that question kind of already got answered in the games where each of those characters debuted: both Taranza and Susie eventually helped Kirby defeat Sectonia and Star Dream respectively, and Triple Deluxe ended with Taranza pretty much reconciled with Kirby (while mourning the loss of his old friend), whereas Susie simply flew out of planet PopStar on the final cutscene of Planet Robobot and apparently kept on doing her own thing (according to some Japanese pause screens of Star Allies, the Haltmann Works Company under her direction was still forcefully mechanizing other planets just like before the events of Planet Robobot, so she didn't really become good and there's merely a "truce" of sorts between her and Kirby & co. [EDIT: I got it wrong; what I just said about Susie is from the English localization of Star Allies, whereas the Japanese version gives her the ostensibly nobler, more benevolent goal of "bringing happiness to families through the power of science"]).

[*: I heard that, among Magolor's additional dialogue lines in the Extra Mode of Return to DreamLand, there's one line where he says he had found someone who told him about Kirby before this game's events, with the implication that it was Marx, and there's also some confirmation of this later on; I'm trying to look that up right now]

What do you guys imagine that happened to Marx after Milky Way Wishes? What do you think led him to become one of Kirby's friends in Star Allies?

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[More thoughts on a related topic under the "Read more" cut]

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I wonder if there'll be a re-release of Super Star Ultra (or a re-re-release of the original Super Star, in any case) where Marx also gets his own "Marx Epilogue" someday. Shinya Kumazaki, the one currently in charge of everything related to Kirby of the Stars, is also the one who led the development of Super Star Ultra, where he came up with so much of what defines his era of this franchise. I doubt Kumazaki would want this Nintendo DS title to remain on "Dual Screen Hell" for eternity, while players have to either resort to emulation or settle for the old Super Nintendo version of Super Star repeatedly re-released on every new Nintendo console with no changes and no additional material.

So, while it's very likely there's already an entirely new mainline game currently in a very early stage of development, I'm pretty sure there are some plans for remaking an old mainline title at some point as well. If that's true, then I'm gonna bet Kumazaki's next remake project will be a Super Star Ultra remake: lots of people are already asking for some kind of home console re-releases of the DS and 3DS titles, which will require adapting them so they don't require dual screens or a touch screen whatsoever; however, it feels a bit too early yet for a full-on remake of any of the 3DS titles (Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot being the mainline ones) and it'd be pretty difficult to add new stuff to them, so the only option left is to give the "Deluxe treatment" to Super Star Ultra, a DS title that works pretty well as an introduction for new players (it starts with Spring Breeze, which is literally the very first game of the entire series) and where you can also find a way to add a little bit of new content. Knowing Kumazaki, he'll add new content by doing the same thing he did in Return to DreamLand Deluxe by inserting a "Marx Epilogue" game mode, which would be unlocked after doing something equivalent to beating the Story Mode at 100% in Return to DreamLand, such as... I dunno... beating Milky Way Wishes with all 19 Copy Essences Deluxe -including the secret one- collected and beating at 100% every other game mode required to unlock Milky Way Wishes (that is, completing everything from the original Super Star except The Arena).

Anyway... until that happens, I guess we'll just have to keep "fan-theorizing".

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ro-botany · 10 months

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Today I was reminded that in Awakening, Validar gets revived by Grima in the game timeline. So like, does Validar get revived with a normal healthy body or is it some weird partial-risen stage? Does that mean that Grima can wholesale revive people and chooses zombies instead? It's just such a weird little detail that probably exists just for plot purposes, but it makes me wonder. Can't quite pin down what it is I feel for it to be true, but it has spawned Thoughts. Do you have any opinions?

Oooo, a very good question! I touched on Validar's condition very very briefly in a previous post about RKC and some possible reasons he exists, but to go into more detail... Largely behind a read more because Post Got Big(tm)...

Validar is a weird one. Within Awakening, he's the person who comes closest to getting a true and complete resurrection. And overall he's much more human-like in form and function than anyone else we've ever seen subjected to resurrection at Grima's hands.

But we know for a fact he isn't a Risen. He doesn't get the vocal distortion, speech difficulty, compulsion for violence, glowing eyes and general corpse-like appearance, or most other characteristics associated with Risen, which imo outright excludes him from the category.

BUT, critically, Grima is nowhere near full power at the moment they revive Validar. They're freshly weakened from time travel at that point! And given the apparent difficulty of any form of necromancy in FE, I'm hesitant to claim Grima could bring him back as fully human in their weakened state. It IS curious that they were able to get him that close, though.

There could be several reasons Validar's condition is even possible. It might have something to do with the blood pact; maybe it's just easier for Grima to resurrect people that have extremely close metaphysical connections to them. Or it might be that necromancy is something Grima is naturally talented at and they do objectively complex feats with it even when very weakened.

In either case, Grima—especially when at full strength—is capable of multiple tiers of resurrection, and very possibly even true revival into a fully human state. Risen appear to be on the easier end of the necromancy spectrum (Forneus managed to manually create some by himself, for one thing; and iirc one of Henry's supports has him conjure some Risen-like creatures accidentally?), and near-human deals like Validar are on the more challenging end. RKC is somewhere in between the two states.

The fact that Grima usually creates Risen instead of people when they're doing necromancy is, in my opinion, a conscious tactical decision. A monster that doesn't think for itself, and attacks people swiftly and indiscriminately, is a perfect tool if your aim is to spread chaos and destruction. Bringing back thinking people to be your soldiers may mean they can make more tactical decisions on their own, but it also comes with an amount of free will that may mean they fuck with your plans, especially if they weren't loyal to you to begin with. And besides, Grima already has the Grimleal to act as their commanders in the small scale. So it ultimately just isn't worth the extra effort to make their resurrected soldiers much more than violent automatons.

(Unless the soldier they're reviving is Chrom, of course. For him they will put in effort to preserve the soul. But notice how they don't make him anywhere close to human; which was absolutely on purpose, because we know based on Validar that they could've. I have FEELINGS about this.)

The decision to bring Validar back as close to human as he ended up being was also very tactical on their part. I can't imagine Grima likes the guy very much beyond liking how useful he makes himself. And they know exactly how critical his continued existence is to ensuring that the main timeline's Robin fulfills their destiny of becoming the fell dragon. They can't afford to let Validar die, nor can they get much use out of a garden variety Risen that looks like him, so as close to true resurrection as they can manage while running on fumes is what he gets.

---

As an aside, this aspect of Grima's powers always kinda makes me wonder about the time before they decided to raze the continent. When they were just around and being considered a god by the people of Plegia. Did they not do any necromancy in those days? Or were there circumstances that they DID use that power? Bring some human(s) back to life, either for some logical reason, or perhaps even as a favour granted to someone?

If they did I imagine that would've gotten them in shit with Naga, given the theories that powerful divine dragons are all capable of some form of necromancy but don't do it because it's deeply taboo...

But that's speculation outside of the scope of this post.

#fire emblem #fe13 #fire emblem awakening #validar #grima #grima studies #and also #risen king chrom #however briefly. because i am Obsessed lmao #i love when people ask me questions about awakening. hell YES i have thoughts and opinions and you WILL hear them #long post #at some point i gotta try and noodle out more grima backstory but thats so much time to cover. its very intimidating #robin backstory too that's moderately easier and seems quite fun

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livlepretre · 7 months

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I’m re-reading FE because I was really in a mood for this type of story by the way loved the update on chapter 62 can’t wait for the next one but I’m on chapter 39 right when Micheal explodes threw the front door of the abattoir and it’s right after the whole Hayley sacrifice and for the life of me I can’t remember if it’s mentioned after this because it’s bin so long

Is it mentioned about her resurrection or involvement with Klaus during the 3 year stint or do you plan on bringing her back possibly the make things a lil more complicated not the pregnancy part just the whole that maybe she got to be used by Klaus to make elena jelous or take out his frustration possibly by staying involved with Hayley to make himself feel better about her betrayal just curious knowing she would have hated it if she had found out

Also on another note I know you’ve mentioned before about not really using Kol to much in this story because your not used to writing with him as a character in general but you’ve bin mentioning him through the later chapters I was also curious if you planned on having him make an appearance possibly to help Elena albeit most likely not intentionally but to perhaps answer some of her questions of his journals and maybe cause a little miss tiff between them before he went to New Orleans Kol was the darker of them all all anger and misunderstanding just a thought in my head as I’m reading along sorry I rambled on but that’s what your writing does to me and most likely everyone lamellar is open up the possibilities of our deepest regrets of not getting to experience the full potential of these glorious characters on the actual show have a goon night hope all is well with you and your little one

"re-reading FE" jfaldjflakfjweoijhrasoihdfak THANK YOU

Literally Hayley has not come up in Elena's narrative thoughts since she participated in the sacrifice. I suppose it's fair to say, since Elena was taken out of the fray by Tyler and she has never thought to ask about Hayley's fate, that we actually don't know. Perhaps she rose a hybrid and perhaps she was destroyed by a witch's fireball during the battle before she awakened.

As for your question... I would say that while Klaus did like her on a personal level, his involvement with her was purely manipulative (of Hayley, but also of Elena). He doesn't even view what he was doing with Hayley as cheating on Elena the way he viewed her affair with Tyler as cheating, because in his mind, seducing her was just a means to an end. He wasn't going to offer her the turn because basically he is careless with the lives of those around him, and it didn't matter to him whether she lived or died. It just. didn't. matter. He only bothered to offer her the chance to survive because Elena interceded. Now, did he continue an affair with her during the 3 years? Personally, I don't think he did during the 3 years, because he had no intention of ever seeing Elena again, and Hayley herself would not bring him any solace. He would only use Hayley that way if it meant he could flaunt it in Elena's face. Instead, left to his own private devices, he returned to the comforting yet unsatisfying affair with Stefan and Rebekah.

That doesn't mean that Hayley might not come back into the story if she survived the battle in the Abattoir.

huh that's awkward if I said I didn't plan to include Kol (which: I might have. I have said so many things at this point), because he is definitely showing up in the next chapter, and I have definitely had that planned since around 2019 😂😂😂 (Did not understand it would take me this long to get here though) It was around that time that I realized that the fic had become an epic, of sorts, and that therefore I couldn't leave any stones unturned; Elijah would have to appear at the least, and as I worked on this plotline, I realized Kol did too, and Finn (but can you imagine if I had Finn get a special 2 chapter cameo and Kol just never showed up? if he had too much common sense to get involved at all?)

anyway, yes, Kol has a role in this fic. It's not a starring role, at this late turn, but it is a role.

#fairytale ending #anonymous

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theindescribable1 · 8 months

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Saw that one anon about a creepy dream a little while ago, and wanted to pitch in with a little retelling of my own, prologued by how the morning afterward went. Sorry if any of it sounds a little off—I’m not exactly an author, but I’ll do my best.

3:19 AM I woke up, slick with sweat. And I’m not talking about wet in the pits or wet in the brow. I’m talking scalp wet, sheet wet, and at that hour, an hour already lost in a new year—shivering wet. I’m so cold my temples hurt but before I can really focus on the question of temperature I realize I’ve remembered my first dream.

Only later after I find some candles, stomp around my room, splash water on the old face, micturate, light a sterno can and put the kettle on, only then can I respond to my cold head and my general physical misery, which I do, relishing every bit of it in fact. Anything is better than that unexpected and awful dream, made all the more unsettling because now for some reason I can recall it. Nor do I have an inkling why. I cannot imagine what has changed in my life to bring this thing to the surface.

My guns sure as hell were useless, instantly confiscated at sleep’s border, even if I did manage to pick up the Weatherby before my credit ran out.

An hour passes. I’m blinking in the light, boiling more water for more coffee, ramming my head into another wool hat, sneezing again though all I can see is the fucking dream, torn straight out of the old raphé nuclei care of the very brainstem I thought had been soundly severed.

This is how it starts:

I’m deep in the hull of some enormous vessel, wandering its narrow passages of black steel and rust. Something tells me I’ve been here a long time, endlessly descending into dead ends, turning around to find other ways which in the end lead only to still more ends. This, however, does not bother me. Memories seem to suggest I’ve at one point lingered in the engine room, the container holds, scrambled up a ladder to find myself alone in a deserted kitchen, the only place still shimmering in the mirror magic of stainless steel. But those visits took place many years ago, and even though I could go back there at any time, I choose instead to wander these cramped routes which in spite of their ability to lose me still retain in every turn an almost indiscreet sense of familiarity. It’s as if I know the way perfectly but I walk them to forget.

And then something changes. Suddenly I sense for the first time ever, the presence of another. I quicken my pace, npt quite running but close. I am either glad, startled or terrified, but before I can figure out which I complete two quick turns and there he is, this drunken frat boy wearing a plum-colored Topha Beta sweatshirt, carrying the lid of a garbage can in his right hand and a large fireman’s ax in his left. I’m scared alright but I’m also confused. “Excuse me, mind explaining why you’re coming after me?” which I actually try to say except the words don’t come out right. More like grunts and clouds, big clouds of steam.

That’s when I notice my hands. They look melted, as if they were made of plastic and had been dipped in boiling oil, only they’re not plastic, they’re the thin effects of skin which have in fact been dipped in boiling oil. I know this and I even know tje story. I’m just unable to resurrect it there in my dream. Stiff hair sprouts up all over the fingers and around the long, yellow fingernails. Even worse, this awful scarring doesn’t end at my wrists, but continues down my arms, making the scars I know I have when I’m not dreaming seem childish in comparison. These ones reach over my shoulders, down my back, extend even across my chest, where I know ribs still protrude like violet bows.

When I touch my face, I can instantly tell there’s something wrong there too. I feel plenty of hair covering strange lumps of flesh on m chin, my nose and along the ridge of my cheeks. On my forehead there’s an enormous bulge harder than stone. And even though I have no idea how I got to be so deformed, I do know. And this knowledge comes suddenly. I’m here because I am deformed, because when I speak my words come out in cracks and groans, and what’s more Ive been put here by an old man, a dead man, by one who called me son even though he was not my father.

Which is when this frat boy, swaying back and forth before me like an idiot, raises his ax even higher above his head. His plan I see is not too complicated: he intends to drive that heavy blade into my skull, across the bridge of my nose, cleave the roof of my mouth, thr core of my brain, split apart the very vertebrae in my neck, and he won’t stop there either. He’ll hack my hands from my wrists, my thighs from my knees, pry out my sternum into tiny fragments. He’ll do the same to my toes and my fingers and he’ll even pop my eyes with the butt of the handle and then with the heal of the blade attempt to crush my teeth, despite the fact that they’re long, serrated and unusually strong. At least in this effort, he will fail; give up finally; collect a few. Where my internal organs are concerned, these too he’ll treat with the same respect, hewing, smashing adn slicing until he’s too tired and covered with blood to finish, even though of course he really finished awhile ago, and then he’ll slouch exhausted, panting like some stupid dog, drunk on his beer, this killing, this victory, while I lie strewn about that bleak place, der absolute Zerrissenheit. I’m awful at German, I don’t know why I bother even putting it here. Anyway back to the dream, me chopped up into tiny pieces, spread and splattered in the bowels of that ship, and all at the hands of a drunken frat boy who upon beholding his heroic deed pukes all over what’s left of me. Except before he achieves any of this, I realize that now, for some reason, for the first time, I have a choice: I don’t have to die, I can kill him instead. Not only are my teeth and nails long, sharp and stromg, I too am strong, remarkably strong and remarkably fast. I can rip that fucking ax out of his hands before he even swings it once, shatter it with one jerk of my wrist, and then I can watch the terror deep into his eyes as I grab him by the throat, carve out his insides and tear him to pieces.

But as I take a step forward, everything changes. The frat boy I realize is not the frat boy anymore but someone else. At first I think it’s my first crush Kyrie, until I realize it’s not Kyrie but Ashley, which is when I realize it’s neither Kyrie or Ashley but Simone, though something tells me that even that’s not exactly right. Either way, her face glows with adoration and warmth and her eyes communicate in a blink an understanding of all the gestures I’ve ever made, all the thoughts I’ve ever had. So extroardinary is this gaze, in fact, that I suddenly realize I’m unable to move. I just stand there, every sinew and nerve easing me into a world of relief, my breath slowing, arms dangling at my sides, my jaw slack, legs melting me into ancient waters, until suddenly my eyes on their own accord, commanded by instincts darker and older than empathy or anything resembling emotional need, dart from her beautiful and strangely familiar face to the ax she still holds, the ax she is now lifting, the smile she is still making even as she starts to shake, suddenly swinging the axe down on me, at my head, though she will miss my head, barely, the ax floating down instead toward my sholder, finally cutting into the bone and lodging there, producing shrieks of blood, so much blood, and pain, so much pain, and instantly I understand Im dying, though I’m not dead yet, even if I am beyond repair, and she has started to cry, even as she dislodges the ax and raises it again, to swing again, again at my head, though she is crying hardwr and she is much weaker than I thought, and she needs more time than I thought, to get ready, to swing again, while I’m bleeding and dying, which now doesn’t compare to the feeling inside, also so familiar, as the atriums of my heart on their own accord suddenly rupture, like my father’s ruptured. So this, I suddenly muse in a peculiarly detatched way, was this how he felt?

I’ve made a terrible mistake, but it’s too late and I’m now full of fury & hate to do anything but look up as the blade slices down with appalling force, this time the right arc, not too far left, not too far right, but right center, descending forever it seems, though it’s not forever, not even close, and I realize with a shade of citric joy, that at least, at last, it will put an end to the far more terrible ache inside me, born decades ago, long before I finally beheld a dream the face and meaning of my horror.

And then, well, I woke up. 3:19 AM, sweaty and cold, yadda yadda yadda. I still think about that night sometimes, housing one of the few dreams I can actually recall with any sense of clarity, though I wish it had been something more pleasant. Though I guess we all wish for that kind of thing, eh?

Ok I'm just gonna say this took so long to read..

I won't spoil this post, its lkke a whole horror movie. No spoilers or a summary, read it yourself guys! HAHA! Pure evil.

#Damn...

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msfcatlover · 9 months

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OKAY THIS IS A BIG ONE, just answer the ones you want to :D

DC (preferably Batman or Green Arrow or Superfam but actually everything) - games, comics, movies, books, fandom

what is your (can be more than one each category):

favourite fan AU

favourite headcanon

favourite female character

favourite male character

favourite comic

favourite canon AU (you know all these Future State and Kingdom Come and Injustice and Arkham verse and all that!!!)

favourite ship (IF you have one, otherwise the ones you can tolerate)

favourite death (if the character died more than in one universe or more than once, specify which death)

favourite powerset

favourite resurrection (LOL, same with #8)

favourite AU villain/antagonist (those who aren't villains but you imagine would be cool villains in your opinion)

favourite canon villan/antagonist (if characters like Jason or Talia then specify which plotlines/comics)

favourite DC loser.

sorry for bad English!!!! have a good day/night

Oh boy, that’s… that’s actually really hard for me. I have a hard time picking favorites, because I generally love things for very different reasons. I know much more clearly what I dislike when I see it; enjoying things is sorta my default state, y’know?

Like, take the AU question. I’d be hard pressed to tell you whether a good Reverse Robins setup was something I liked better than, say, @jube-art’s Superfam/Batfam role-swap (which, if you haven’t seen it, go check it out!)

I’m also working my way through canon chronologically, and am still in the early/mid-90s, so there’s a lot of characters I haven’t officially gotten to, and a lot of stories I haven’t gotten the chance to really dig into yet. (I made it to Knightfall, realized I hadn’t put any of the buildup to that arc in my comic library, and decided to go back and read Barbara’s time with the Suicide Squad instead.) I don’t feel comfortable planting a flag on this until… oh, at least until ~2006, probably. (Which, given just how many books/characters suddenly got added in the 90s, will probably take a while.)

(There are also lots of characters who have so much potential in their backstory/power set, but who never got to use them to their full potential. Or who only had the cool parts of their backstory tacked on as an obvious retcon in the process of writing them out of the story, because the fans were vocally upset about them, meaning they never got the exploration any of those story ideas deserved.) (I have a special level of ire for power sets that are really cool on a surface level, but where the creators added just one power too many to stop them from being fully interesting. For example, Menagerie’s bugs having mind control properties overcomplicates her too much, in my opinion. Or—if you’ll let me hop over to Marvel—a character like Alpha who has all the “standard” superpowers, but only one at a time? What makes that interesting is having to choose between being super-strong or invulnerable or super-fast (etc.) therefore this character should not have ranged attack options built into said power set; it disincentivizes him from ever getting up-close with enemies, forcing the writer to choose between having the character be stupid or having the character never use the interesting elements of their powers. (…I mean, Alpha being stupid is kinda the point of his plot, but you see what I’m getting at, right?))

I will say, I adored Jason’s post-Crisis Robin run (in both Batman series, though for very different reasons) and so far very little has brought me as much joy as reading DC’s Detective Comics from that time period! And those few pages of Dan Mora’s B&W cyberpunk short that went around recently had me absolutely frothing with excitement for the possibilities that verse holds. And Jason being Tim’s Robin brings me endless joy, which neither canon nor jerkfaces will take from me.

(Aaaaaaaand while shipping isn’t the catharsis I come to comics for (thank gods, basically every canon ship I’ve witnessed thus far has been awful in motion even when their potential is off the charts,) I can actually blame DCEU SuperBat for getting me into this whole mess in the first place. Blame @susiecarter, whose fics I found immediately after watching someone do a deep-dive analysis of everything that went wrong with BvS, which I paused when I thought, “Huh, these are actually all really good points… I bet fanfiction has done this exact story, but with much better execution, recognizable characterization, and probably a hell of a lot gayer. Let’s go check.”)

#my life #mine #dc comics #questions #trust-and-jump #//#This doesn’t answer almost any of your questions #Sorry

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bananahoneycomb · 6 months

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Other signs Eddie may return in S5: Eddie has a lot of Jesus parallels

tw: christian religious talk

I think they could bring Eddie back and it would work beautifully with the narrative of both the show and book.

I do enjoy the Kas theory, but there are other compelling things that may point to him coming back.

I am not religious currently, but I used to very much be and some things just jump out to me: I see a lot of Jesus parallels with Eddie.

From the recent book and the show we know Eddie has been persecuted by by the town in general and in particular as part of the Satanic Panic. However, Eddie demonstrates far more moral fiber and kindness than any of those who wield a cross as a weapon against him. Now, Eddie being good and a far better than those who hate him by itself isn't a clue but when I add it to the other things I see it becomes one.

The metaphor of his 'sheepies'. This one is a big one for me because of how often Jesus is referred to as a shepherd and how many parables he gives of taking care of his sheep.

He dies willingly to save one of his sheep

When the bats get him he is spread out on the grown, not in an exact crucifixion position, but very close with his arms laid wide. He hasn't had anything in his hair until this battle started and now there is the bandana like a crown (of thorns).

The injury that is implied to kill Eddie is the bats biting on the side of his abdomen/flank. The placement is the same as the spear Longinus which was the killing wound to Jesus on the cross. A spear was also the weapon he carried.

Eddie making Dustin promise to look after the sheep is reminiscent of Jesus's talk with Peter, the rock of the church

He is literally forsaken by his father. (Father, why have you forsaken me?)

Has alternative father figure in Wayne akin to St. Joseph

Skull Rock is sort of a temptation of Jesus on the mountain in which he is asked if he wants to stay or go forward and he chooses to go forward

I need to double check this, but 3 people when asked about about Eddie/Hellfire pretend not know Eddie or be associated with Hellfire: Lucas when asked by Jason and the basketball team; Dustin, Max, and Lucas when questioned by the Sheriff in front of their parents (and Erica) after they are caught by Lover's Lake; This reminds me of Jesus being denied 3 times (even if that was 1 person for Jesus).

This is not religious symbolism but I'd like to point out that Jason foreshadowed his death with 'first hangover makes you feel like you're going to split in two'. I think Eddie foreshadows his death and resurrection when he pretends to die and fall on the ground when he meets Chrissy in the woods.

The irony of the character being hunted by zealots in the Satanic Panic being Jesus coded is so satisfying to me, particularly because I know someone who was hit by the Satanic panic and was so so much kinder of a person than any of the assholes wagging their tongues and backbiting him.

Anyway, it's been a while for the religious stuff for me but it's still in there, hope you find it interesting. I think it makes for an interesting 'Eddie gets resurrected' build up alternative to Kas. Although, with popular vampire mythos the Jesus tie works with vampire!Eddie too.

#stranger things s5 theory #eddie munson #tw christian symbolism as it relates to the show #stranger things theory #stranger things #eddie munson returns theory #my ST theories

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thelittlestspider · 5 months

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For the character questions: 🪄, 💋 (vice-versa works, too, as far as I am concerned), 🪡, 🦷

This is about the prequel cast because I literally never talk about them.

cw: suicide mention, demonic possession mention.

🪄 - has your character ever tried to use magic to fix their problems? did it take something from them in exchange? hurt them? drive them mad with power? kill someone they loved?

So originally, James died, and his cousin David made a deal with Chaos to bring him back to life in exchange for one of his children. And I had it as David escaped up north, and somehow the Ranch found him? Then stole Joe away. But I think it's 1000 times more fucked up if David just hands him off to Chaos willingly to spare his other kids. So I might do that.

💋 - has your character ever been betrayed by a lover? was it a bloody end sealed with a kiss?

I feel like when James killed himself, he kissed Julian/Six and tried to stab him so they would die together. Julian survived, though.

🪡 - has your character ever tried to change their fate? what did it cost them?

Before Julian became Six, he was sold by his family to Agony (a vampire living in the Bellam city slums) to be vampire food basically. Instead, Agony decides to make him one of his brides, where Agony basically tortures him for his own amusement. He also meets Chaos, Agony's lover, who is this really creepy shadow demon guy who's obsessed with him. (Stay with me. This becomes relevant, I promise)

So Julian runs off to one of the towns outside the city limits, and ends up boarding in the same house as these three guys, one of whom he becomes like unhealthily obsessed with (his name is James and he's really fucked up. He also looks a lot like Julian, which feeds into this weird, self-obsessed, fucked up, doppelganger, borderline faux incestous attraction Julian has for him.)

Anyway, so Julian ends up hooking up with James' grandfather, this rich guy who owns basically the whole town. He's also got his weird, hate sex thing going on with James. In Julian's world everything is great.

But then everything goes to hell.

So here are the basic points of what happens:

- Julian marries James' grandfather and poisons him to get all his money.

- He finds out Chaos has a major foothold in the town and that he has some kind of evil plan for it.

- James is killed. (Then resurrected and came back wrong.)

- James' mom and uncle kidnap Julian and torture him

- Anthony is possessed

- James' mom reveals to Julian that she is the head of an illegal experiment to create human weapons for the rich and powerful. And that he and the rest of the town are their prisoners. She also reveals that Chaos inspired her.

- Chaos proposes to Julian. Julian agrees in exchange for revenge on Sylvia, power and riches, and being head of the program (so he can lord it over Sylvia).

(Sorry Sylvia is James' mom)

🦷 - has your character ever worshipped something they thought was god, but turned out to be something more sinister?

Anthony (one of Julian's housemates) like goes to this church where they think they're worshipping god, but it's really just Chaos feeding off the pain and fear he causes the town. He eventually ends up being possessed by Chaos and being made to watch while he does fucked up stuff.

#vickythestrange #kimi replies #prequel wip tag #i think the prequel is the most gothic thing i've thought of #too gothic tbh

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aecholapis · 5 months

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Secret for Sparkattack?

That's a good one! Sparky's secret is an important plot point for Exopulse's and Monochromator's story. More under the cut.

Secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

Sparky wants to save lives. He wants to save lives soooo bad, he's willing to resort to unethical methods to keep his patients alive and well. Yet for some reason the few patients with fatal injuries don't make it.

He is dead set on experimenting with lifeless frames to reverse their status quo so he does just that. But in secret. He has asked Rossum a couple of times if such a thing was possible and his mentor didn't give him a definite answer. Which was enough to give him hope that it is, but then An Accident happened and Rossum was put into medically induced stasis.

Sparkattack had to take over the Orbiter's med bay as the new acting medic with no license, lots of incomplete theoretical knowledge and minimal training. When Venator took over as his new mentor, Sparky asked him for permission to start his experiment but Venator declined. He was banned from the lab indefinitely.

This did not stop him from sneaking in and dissecting the most damaged frames they had lying around. He learned to navigate its complicated structure by trial and error, until he was ready to conduct his first resurrection attempt.

Monochromator came back Wrong. He didn't recognize his body anymore and also didn't feel like himself. There was something missing, though he didn't know what it was. Exopulse was lucky. He came back normal and it didn't dawn on him that he shouldn't be alive until he remembered that he and Mono had pierced each other's sparks.

Sparky didn't tell them that they had been dead for a long time. He didn't tell them what he had done to bring them back. Venator didn't know about it either and thought a miracle had occurred. Mono spends a good chunk of their story trying to figure out why everything feels wrong with Exo as moral support (he's mocking him about being a shoddy Autobot construct and that his Decepticon frame has a much better quality), until the two of them confront Sparky.

That's when he tells everyone about his secret experiment and it's not a secret anymore :-)

It did take the crew a while to notice that every one of them was killed and no, they didn't notice the very obvious pattern earlier because the circumstances under which their bodies were found were vastly different. Exo and Mono don't really believe this at first and they conspire that the Orbiter's crew's processors must have been tampered with by the perpetrator.

Pondering the orb (a spark)

Unrelated to the question but when someone finds out that the strange deaths that keep happening every century must be linked in a way, Venator wants to reopen the investigations on the cases that have been put on ice while Sparkattack tries to find a way to peer into the victims' damaged frames. It's impossible to salvage memories with a cortical psychic patch when there is no head to extract the memories from. This doesn't deter him from trying, however.

But that's just a theory :-)

In truth, Triator was just hungry and the resident ancient eldritch grandpa can't consume anything other than dreaming processors every other century to remain functioning. After the ghost ship stuff happens, Azimuth and Ambulon join them, Rossum is healed and Triator is captured, Sparky will use his newfound knowledge to come up with a plan to help Triator.

His secret struggles weren't for naught.

#cyber streak 2 asks #thanks for the ask!#he is so baby i can't help it #he wants to save everyone at all costs #oc stuff #my ocs #i didn't have time to do proper lineart i hope it's okay

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felixantares · 6 months

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7 please!!

Hi LT! (I knew you would be here with shrines questions eventually 😂❤️)

7. Where did the title come from?

OH I love this question!! All my titles come from Lord Huron’s Strange Trails album. I went back and forth on giving titles for the future fics, but I’m gonna bc i don’t care about spoilers and also i put too much work into my titles to let them go unheard lmao because who knows how long it’ll take me to finally write all 5 of these.

the series title, build me no shrines, sing me no songs, comes from Way Out There. Specifically this chunk of lyrics: “I belong bodily to the earth / I'm just wearing old bones from those that came first / There are many more flames when mine is gone / They will build me no shrines and sing me no songs” (but honestly the whole song is perfect for the series). The title and the original idea seed sort of came together, but it’s grown into it’s title as I’ve outlined I think. Harry’s doesn’t want to be a saviour. He’s just a kid fighting his hardest in a war that he didn’t start. Also the ‘wearing old bones’ bit is a fun reference to future arthurian shenanigans 👀

the title for the first fic/year three, a sign in the midnight sky, and the second, the heavens collide, both come from Until the Night Turns (“I had a visitor come from the great beyond / Telling me our time in the world is done / And to watch for a sign in the midnight sky” and “I had a vision tonight that the world was ending / And the sky was falling and time was bending / I watched the heavens collide right before my eyes). I won’t say much about the first because I know i said I don’t care about spoilers but that was a bit of a lie, that one’s a very big spoiler lmao but it’s basically just like beginnings and Harry’s world changing. the heavens collide though is Sirius and Regulus!!! they don’t really interact at all in the first fic and finally meet again at the start of the second fic so it’s all about their relationship. plus Harry starts getting visions, so that part is maybe a little on the nose…

into the endless night came from these lyrics from Meet Me in the Woods “I have seen what the darkness does / Say goodbye to who I was / I ain't never been away so long / Don't look back, them days are gone / Follow me into the endless night” which year 5 is a major turning point. It’s really for both Harry and Tom, how they’re both changed by the resurrection, and how there’s no way to undo what’s been done up to this point. Plus it’s a lot of Harry embracing the changes he’s been fighting the last two years.

the year 6 fic, darkness brings evil things, I used The Yawning Grave lyrics “Oh, you fool, there are rules I am coming for you / Darkness brings evil things, oh, the reckoning begins / I tried to warn you when you were a child / I told you not to get lost in the wild / I sent omens and all kinds of signs / I taught you melodies, poems, and rhymes”. I think in my outline this is one of the lowest points in the fic. A betrayal comes to light, the Order is losing, and Harry starts wondering if they’re all going to make it out of the war intact. Also lots more visions this year, so that’s the whole other chunk of lyrics.

the last fic I’ve got planned in the series is tear through the night, and the title comes from The World Ender (“The fair and the brave and the good must die / I seen the other side of living, I know heaven's a lie / I'll tear through the night, and I'll raise some hell / 'Cause I'm the World Ender, baby and I'm back from the dead”) which. just… yeah. I feel like this one explains itself honestly, and I’m not spoiling anything else lmao

That was probably a lot more than you meant when you sent that ask 😅 you stumbled into my secret Shrines title lore, sorry!

ask me things about my fic!

#bmns(smns)#felix talks #ask game

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