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2hoothoots · 11 months

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i was having a chuckle to myself last night about Gristol, and how his plans are basically:

Restore Ford Cruller's memory

Find Maligula

???

Profit

but then... of course they are, right? this is Gristol we're talking about. Fatherland Follies drives home again and again that he's still operating on a child's logic, a warped and reductive version of the world that he never bothered to grow out of. both of his memory vaults center on the images of his childhood, this idealized version of the past that he clings to no matter what. and that's still how he remembers Maligula, too - as this saviour figure, who rushes in to help him when he's in trouble.

[ID: Two slides from Gristol's memory vault, Glory to Grulovia! Left: Gristol clings to Maligula's back as she summons waves to sweep away his assailants. Right: Gristol and Maligula waving from a balcony as the people cheer. Gzar Theodore brandishes a dagger in the background.]

like so much else, Maligula represents a return to this idyllic childhood - to the peace and simplicity of his youth, when he was free from worries and responsibilities. in his mind, he doesn't need to make any further plans - once Maligula's back, everything will go back to normal. Maligula will make everything better.

...is what i thought, but then i remembered this line:

[Screenshot source. ID: Gristol, in Truman's body, bows on his hands and knees in front of the newly-awaked Maligula. The caption reads: "Yes, High Priestess! I am here to correct the mistakes made by my father!"]

and that's kind of interesting, right?

to be clear: this happens directly after Maligula sees Helmut-in-Gristol's-body, and recognises him. her line before this is:

"Little Gzesaravich! Have you come to pay for your father's sins?"

my first thought was that Gristol hadn't expected to still be in Truman's body by the time he managed to find Maligula, and this was him trying to placate her and buy some time until he could explain the situation. but watching the cutscene back, that's clearly not what's happening here. Gristol is answering as himself, and his response of throwing himself to his knees before her is, as far as i can tell, genuine.

so what is going on here?

in Fatherland Follies, there's this line in the ride narration that stuck out to me:

"Why didn't the Gzar help Maligula in her time of need? No one knows, but historians agree - it is Gzar Theodore's biggest failure."

other lines mention Gzar Theodore's "mistake", and it's wording Gristol himself echoes in the screencap above. evidently, he believes that his father abandoned Maligula, leaving her to her fate at the hands of the Psychonauts, and it was that mistake that lead to them being driven out of the country - that mistake which he seeks to correct. maybe he even feels like he has a debt to repay to her for his family turning their backs on her all those years ago.

the 'High Priestess' thing, though - that's kinda weird, and threw me for a loop the first time i played the game. it took me until my second playthrough to connect the dots, and remember how the room in the Lady Luctopus - Gristol's room - was full of Delugionist scribblings and symbols.

[Screenshot source. ID: left, the walls of the hidden backroom in Gristol's hotel suite, covered in scrawlings of eyeballs and Maligula's name. Right, the pinboard from the hidden backroom. On its surface are photographs and newspaper clippings connected by pieces of string.]

i mean, look at this stuff! he had a whole conspiracy board and everything!

we learn very little about the Delugionists and their beliefs as a whole during the game, but i think drawing the connection here suggests two important things. one: that Gristol was in deep with this stuff. i don't know how he linked up with them - maybe via old family connections, or just good old-fashioned digging (we know he's skilled at worming his way into peoples' good graces, after all) - but it seems likely that he's begun to internalise their ideas, maybe even warping his own memories of events. and two: the Delugionists themselves are, if you'll pardon the pun, pretty far off the deep end.

like... i understand why PN2 didn't go heavy on the "mass-murderer cult worship" aspect of things, in the end, but man this is such a tantalising glimpse into the wider mythos around Maligula. Gristol is proud and haughty and thinks himself above everyone else; the fact that his first reaction seeing Maligula is to throw himself to the ground at her feet says so much about the way he's come to see her. he's not just trying to bring back Maligula, his childhood bodyguard. he's trying to bring back Maligula, the High Priestess of the deluge, the semi-mythical figure whose supporters believe even death couldn't stop. he doesn't even flinch at the way she confronts him, and maybe it's because he's bought in so completely to this deified figurehead, this idea of Maligula; more a living force of nature than a person. and it all comes back to the same place: an abdication of responsibility, not just to the person who protected him when he was little but to this avatar of floods and destruction. Maligula will make everything better.

i'd write more about my thoughts on the Delugionists but that'd be taking a hard turn into speculation, and this is already kind of long and rambling so i'd better end it here. but what an unexpected and evocative line, right? it's some of the only stuff we have to go off of regarding the Delugionists as a whole, but i think it does such a good job of hinting at the wider story - at teasing another layer to the mythos surrounding Maligula, one whose ripples we see throughout the game but which never quite breaches the surface.

#psychonauts #psychonauts 2 #bored waiting at the airport so you get more psychonauts meta from me #the delugionists have been on my mind recently (because i Might Just have an upcoming au lorepost about them and also cults are fun)#so tossing my thoughts up here because people seemed to like the last few times i did this #and also it's my blog and i like to talk :)#related vent i HATE drafting posts in the tumblr editor because if you hit crtl+z to try and undo a formatting change #it deletes like half the post you just typed out #(yes i did it again while i was writing this. yes i'm still salty. why do i even bother)#what else... this is just becoming a disconnected thoughts dump #but if you've seen my posts you knew what you were signing up for when you hit the button to expand the post tags #there's new art coming hopefully this weekend if i can get it finished! it's more mermaid au designs #i'm two and a half weeks late for mermay but it turns out starting a new job and moving house doesn't leave you with a ton of free time #but that's okay it's never too late for mermaids #omg and artfight's coming up next month too! geez #i gotta make refsheets for the fsau trio because i would LOVE to get art of them #and this year i don't have a thesis to crunch on so i might actually have time to participate #oh and then in august i'm having top surgery! will make a proper announcement post for it at some point #i say 'announcement'. it's just a life update but it's nice to share #i'm super excited about it :)#i might end up blogging the process and recovery but obviously it won't be going here lol. i'd put it on my main #idk if anyone would find it useful but when i first started looking into surgery i had like very little idea about the whole process #and it's only through joining a bunch of online support/discussion groups that i managed to find more info and resources #so hey it might be useful to share? we'll see #our flight doesn't land for another fifty minutes so now i'm just writing in the tags because i'm bored #alright i'll proofread this and then post it when i land and have signal again. peace out yall hope your pride month is going well

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sesamenom · 2 months

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Reverse Gondolin AU family portrait

#silm #silmarillion #idril #tuor #earendil #reverse gondolin au #is this baby earendil's first appearance in the au?#so I decided Idril & Tuor still get married in this au #mostly bc I want Earendil to exist.#i haven't figured out what I want to do with Lomion #but maybe he can be obsessed with tyelpe instead of idril bc they're friends in this au and idril showed up a lot later?#also c&c + celebrimbor moved to gondolin instead of nargothrond since Aredhel lives there #you may notice that tuor has a diff hairstyle & outfit in the au!#this is bc fashion trends in reverse gondolin are more influenced by aredhel's choices than turgons for obvious reasons #hence the white cloaks and shorter (but equally fancy) sleeves #also idril is lord of the mole in the au #my headcanon is that 'lord' as of the lords of gondolin is just the title regardless of gender for the specific role #'lady' is a different role with much less administrative stuff and more social/public-appearance type stuff #aredhel is the white lady of gondolin bc she does Not want to be a lord #so she does the occasional royalty-waves-and-smiles-from-a-tower type event when necessary #but other than that she doesnt have political duties #idril is the administrative/political leader of the Mole in the au hence she is a lord #shes also the lady of the wing bc she married tuor and is part of the house of the wing's nobility but doesn't do their political stuff #and tuor is the lady of the mole #reverse turgon after arrival has less of a interest in politics than canon turgon (the whole eol deal was rather traumatizing and he needs #time to recover)#so he's not one of the Lords but he is colloquially ar-feinion #his official title is some sort of prince #after he reaches a more stable emotional state he helps a lot w the political stuff when aredhel is out #so maeglin doesn't have todo everything himself

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petrichorium · 8 days

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the capitano breadwinner thing pluvi….i just could not picture him being okay with you leaving for long periods of time lol. plus i sort of imagine him living somewhere extremely isolated ? like a days journey into town at least. if you were a writer or an artist he’d be totally fine with that but anything that requires you to leave his home is sort of out of the question i fear

Yeah exactly exactly. It’s a classic nobility setup where u could take on the household responsibilities as the lady and manage the staff but only if u rlly want to, I think he’d actually rather u be the quiet eccentric type who largely keeps alone so preferring to write or paint or garden is the ideal for him. Also you having hobbies (and he does think of them as hobbies even if u think of them as a job) gives him more opportunity to shower u with gifts……. he just doesn’t want you out and about. Wait until he returns to take you out to that new shop with the nice paintbrushes, don’t go on your own.

#ask.🌧#saintshigaraki #also gets like. upset if u do stuff on your own like hemming ur clothes or making urself food #in a modern au this largely carries over but u might move around a little more between diff residences #canon au he still has a house in the city that he brings you out to not infrequently when he has to be at the palace #I think he’s more drawn to the quiet type but if u have friends he does………#not stop u from seeing them but. def doesn’t Encourage it #he likes…… having u as his own lil treasure ig. wants to keep u safe and hoard u away. even if he knows you’ll push back #forceful abt it only in the sense of a guiding hand not a striking one

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ecoamerica · 1 month

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youtube

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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momotonescreaming · 3 months

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lowkey obsessed with the domestic college stommy au that lives in my head

#stommy #momo.txt #no upside down au established stommy they leave hawkins together #go to college and get a shitty tiny 3 bedroom apartment in the city #that they share with robin and carol #because they cant go anywhere without their girls #and Tommy's already had his redemption he's trying to be nicer and do better #but his sharp edges are softening even more in the city #he gets to wake up in the morning in his boyfriends arms he gets to explore this side of himself #they watch bastball games together and hug and kiss and cheer whenever their team scores #he can slap steves ass when he's making breakfast and tommy comes up behind him #because theyre both still jocks #carol makes a chore chart and sticks it to the fridge so they can rotate through all the chores in the shared spaces #gives everyone baskets to keep in the bathroom to keep all their products separate (this is mostly for carol and steve)#robin is dating vickie and she wants what stommy has she wants to wake up in the morning to her gf but she can't just ask her to move in!!#tommy says yes you can suck it up and fucking ask her to move in next semester already #steve is a little nicer and reminds rob that vickie loves her and she'd never be mean about it if she wasnt ready to move in #but she totally is so thats a non issue #they all go to parties at frat houses and steve and tommy drink and dance and use the alcohol as an excuse to get all touchy in public #carol flirts and goes home with some hottie of the week #she's having fun being single and exploring herself and the dating world #robin dances and has fun but eventually just goes home with vickie #they have fun they build up this lil friend group and its everything and theyre free #they made it out of hawkins theyre away from their parents #im just!!!!!#aaaaaaaa #theyre fun to think about i love them #if anyone is reading this i love u

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softquietsteadylove · 1 month

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Hello birdie 🖤✨

I've got something for the Life Interrupted AU.

Thena isn't feeling well lately and is considering to go back into this hellhole where she's getting drugged to unconsciousness. She's packing her stuff when Gil shows up. He's trying to talk it out of her.

(And I definitely didn't had this Idea because I'm stuck in one of those hellholes, lol)

✨🖤Hugs an Love🖤✨

"Going somewhere?"

Thena sighed, setting down one of her shirts and staring down at her bed. "I was thinking about it."

Gil walked further into her room, having just arrived. "Druig texted me. Really surprised me to hear from him, but he said you've been acting weird--wants me to 'talk to some sense into you'."

Thena let out a humourless chuckle. "I'm surprised he decided to entrust you with that task."

"Gotta say, I am too," Gil agreed quietly until he was standing behind her. "I have to agree--you seem a little anxious lately."

She had been nervous, jumpy, and Gil knew it. They hadn't been able to go out on a date in weeks because she felt on the verge of a panic attack at the thought of having to navigate crowds or risk running into someone. "Maybe...maybe I should consider-"

"Don't," he whispered, placing his hand gently over hers. Her bag was already half full. "Don't say you're going back to that place."

Thena squeezed her eyes shut, tears already burning the insides of them. "Where should I go, Gil?"

"Anywhere else," he concluded. He pulled her hand away from packing up as if she were sailing off into the horizon. He moved slowly and gently until he could sit on the chair in the corner of her room and look up at her. "Please, Thena, just talk to me."

When he was seated lower, she had no excuse not to look at him. But she stared down at his hands, holding hers so, so gently. "Druig and Makkari have been looking at places again."

Gil raised his brows. "That...that's good...right?"

It was. It was what she wanted. She wanted their lives to continue on after the ugliness of the last year. She wanted her brother to feel free to settle down and marry the love of his life. And he could do that without worrying about his sister, she was determined.

"He keeps asking me to see them," she admitted quietly, as if Druig had his ear pressed against the door and would be wounded by overhearing her. "He keeps picking rooms that he says can be mine--if I so choose."

"So," Gil prompted, giving her hands a little squeeze, "what's so bad about that?"

Thena shook her head, looking up around the ceiling of her room to keep her tears from falling. "I'm not some child he has to drag around with him. He should be choosing a home to suit him and his wife, not worrying about his burdensome sister."

"Come on," Gil whispered, his eyes drifting downward from the sheer weight of Thena's discouragement. "You know he doesn't think of you like that."

Thena sighed, pulling her hands from Gil's and plopping herself on the corner of her bed. She pressed them to her head, trying to keep them from shaking. "I know he doesn't. That is exactly the problem."

"Okay, so you don't want him worrying about you," Gil shrugged, turning in the chair to face her head on again.

Thena stared down at her knees. She wasn't wearing her work dress and stockings with a tight ponytail. But she couldn't bring herself to wear soft sweatpants anymore, opting for athleisure leggings and a cardigan at even her most comfortable.

"What else?"

She toyed with her fingernails. "I don't want to live here alone."

Gil nodded again, leaning back in the chair.

She hunched over herself more, despite her sore back. "It's not about the cost, it's...I can't be here by myself, thinking all these...things."

"Okay, so we'll find somewhere else for you," Gil leapt at the opportunity to suggest an alternative. He leaned forward again, even scooching toward the edge of the seat. "I'll help you look."

She smiled, although she still wasn't feeling the intent behind the action. "Druig offered the same. Even Makkari--but that's not the point."

Gil seemed to understand what she was getting at. And of course he did, it was Gil. He was sweet, and understanding, and he always seemed to know what she was trying to say, even if she didn't have the words. "You want to find a place for yourself."

She sighed, looking at her hands again. "I don't seem capable of anything these days."

Gil took her hands in his again, rubbing his thumb over her skin. "You know that's not true."

She wasn't as sure as he was. She never was--never had his confidence, or positivity. It was something she both envied and admired about him. She loved it about him. "Maybe-"

"No!"

She blinked, taken aback by his outburst. He was always so soft spoken, especially with her. She had never heard him so much as raise his voice. The only things he did loudly were laughing and sneezing.

"Maybe nothing!" he pressed, standing from the chair. "That place never did you any good. I don't think it does anyone any good! And I will not let you go back to that misery!"

Thena's eyes fluttered, her back straightening. Her heart began to squeeze at the sheer volume of things, but this was Gil--she was safe with him.

"Thena," he finally quieted again, kneeling in front of her. "You never have to go back to that place, okay? I don't care if you have a nervous breakdown--I'll take care of you. I'll take better care of you than they ever would in there. Just--just promise me you won't go back there because you're worried about burdening people."

She blinked, those tears she was trying to hold back finally falling. It was completely dark outside, her small bedside lamp offering minimal lighting. But it caught Gil's features in just such a way that made him seem so beautiful. "I don't want to go back there."

"Good," he nodded, turning her hand so he could press his lips to it.

"But," she gasped, her lip wobbling. She clung to him. "But what if I'm not me, anymore?"

"You're exactly who you need to be," he said without a hint of doubt in his voice. "You're Thena."

So completely unwavering, her Gilgamesh.

"You're my Thena," he repeated, softer this time, kissing the back of her other hand before pulling her up to stand with him. His hands slipped around waist to rest at her back. "That's all you need to be."

She wasn't sure who 'Thena' was, at times. At least, not as she knew herself before all this. Gil kept saying that the past year was a part of her, for better or worse. But she just wanted to leave it behind--to revert to the version of her that had existed before it all.

"Look," he whispered, still holding her so gently. "Maybe that's easy for me to say. I didn't know you before. But the Thena I know is pretty damn amazing."

She let another laugh, still not humoured in the least.

"She is," he chuckled, though, and he did mean it. He leaned closer, touching his forehead to hers. "She's this badass translator, works in a big, fancy office. She's actually pretty funny, if she's in a good mood. Kinda likes messing with me."

"I do not."

"Just a little," he contested, scrunching up his nose faintly. "But I think that side of her is cute. And she's tough--way tougher than she thinks she is. And she's an incredible sister, even when her brother is being a pain in our ass."

"Our?" she interrupted.

"Our," he confirmed, touching the tips of their noses together to silence her. "And I know he's just worried about you. That's why he keeps saying you can stay with them if you want. But I guess he doesn't really know it's stressing you out."

Thena sighed, dragged back into the depths of her problems like plunging into ice cold water. "How do I tell him?"

Gil skipped over that question, still busy holding her, almost swaying as his weight shifted from foot to foot. "So, this Thena--I mean, to me, she's the most incredible woman in the world."

"Gil," she sighed, trying to pull him from his reverent description of her.

But he nudged her head until he could kiss her lips, also gently. As gently as everything else about him. "She's the woman I love, plain and simple."

Oh, did she ever love him. She had gone from being someone who probably didn't really believe in love for herself at all to being head over heels for her sweet, gentle giant.

She sighed as she kissed him again, leaning up on her toes to loop her arms around his neck. Kissing Gil always made her feel more human--more grounded and real. It took away the buzzing in her head and replaced it with with a heavy and pleasant sedative that could spread through her veins.

Gil stayed close, his forehead against hers, lips still faintly puckered. "Better?"

"Hm," she sighed. She didn't need to explain herself--not to him. She ran her fingers gently through the hair at the back of his head. If only she never had to go to work, or take public transport, or go to house viewings where the realtor would look at her oddly. If only she could stay in Gil's arms every second of every day.

"Good," he sufficed to say, tapping his fingers against the back of her sweater. He moved his hand to her hip. "So, about this living situation-"

"Right," she sighed the heaviest she had yet (which was saying something).

"Hey," he nudged her gently, pulling her eyes up to him. "A unit in my building is going on the market for next month. It's the one above mine--sweet old guy is moving out to be closer to his grand kids."

Oh. Living that close to Gil--being neighbours?

"I can always ask him if he'd be open to a lease trade-off," Gil suggested, although he was unable to hide his excitement at the prospect in his smile. "What do you think?"

Being that close to Gil? Being his upstairs neighbour?

His smile wobbled faintly, turning sheepish as he looked away. "It's a little more modest than this place. But it's a one bedroom, and it's not a bad location. And-"

Thena stood on her toes, pressing her lips to his, even with a cliche 'mmwah' sound. He looked dazed after the firmer kiss, which made her smile genuinely for the first time that night. She leaned against him heavier, but he steadied her without a second thought. "I think that sounds perfect."

"Really?" he asked, beaming like a dog about to receive a treat with a wagging tail.

She took his cheeks in her hands, "it sounds wonderful, Gil."

"O-Okay," he laughed, sounding near hysteria. But he pulled her against his chest in his arms, even lifting her off the ground slightly as he spun them. "This'll be amazing, sweetie, I promise!"

He needed no promises. The thought of having him a mere flight of stairs away was already comforting, in a sense. And she had been to his flat plenty of times. He was right, it was in a good location, and it wasn't any further from her office than she was now, all things considered.

Gil set her on her feet once more. "I'll talk to him tonight."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," she advised gently. It wasn't often she was able to offer a calming voice of reason these days; it felt familiar, even soothing. She toyed with some some stray hairs of his. "I may have to apply, like everyone else."

"Peh," Gil waved in dismissal again (making her laugh, again). "The old guy loves me. And that's before I tell him some sob story about wanting my girlfriend to move in so we can be closer."

Thena blushed softly, toying with the hem of her cardigan. Sometimes she had to remind herself that Gil wasn't just 'someone she was seeing', and actually the man she had known for more than half a year and had been dating for more than half that time, now.

"It'll be great," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "We can carpool to work, I'll be right downstairs if you ever wanna talk--or cuddle."

"Gil," she admonished, but it came out as a light and air whisper as he kissed her cheek again, his five o'clock shadow against her skin.

He stopped nuzzling her just to look at her more solemnly. "You should tell Druig."

"It was your idea."

"Exactly," Gil made a face, shrinking somewhat. "He'll kill me."

Thena rolled her eyes, her spirits lifting by the moment. "It's not as if you're offering to shack up with me yourself."

He didn't laugh at her joke. He didn't even seem to realise it was a joke, just shrugged one shoulder. "I mean they're both only one bedroom units. Plus, I imagine you want some space for yourself for a little. Feel like you have some more control?"

Well, he was exactly right about that, as always. Although she hadn't expected his rebuttal to be that they would need a larger space if they were to live together. She just blinked, "precisely."

"So it's decided," he grinned again, and gave her another kiss for good measure. "I'll go talk to Karun, you talk to Druig. He really is worried about you."

"I know," she mumbled, feeling properly chastised. She unlinked her hands from behind his head and squeezed his forearms. "I'm sure he was desperate to call you."

"And I'm suggesting you move into my building instead of in with him?--he's gonna have my head."

Thena laughed genuinely for the first time that night. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from him."

Gil stared at her in a way that made her toes curl. He bent his head down to sneak into the crook of her neck under her jaw. "I know you will."

She shivered as he left a kiss on her pulse point.

But he left it at that, pulling away and standing to his full height again. It left her feeling chilly, needing to pull her cardigan tighter around herself. "Okay."

Thena nodded, letting him take her by the hand. She did have to talk to Druig--about everything. About moving and also about how she would be okay without him hovering over her shoulder. She would be okay without that hell hole and its medication and she would be okay even if she felt like this different version of herself, possibly forever.

Gil grasped the doorknob with his other hand, the door not fully closed and letting in just a sliver of light from the rest of the house. He held her other hand, giving it a squeeze. "Ready?"

She nodded, holding his hand tighter, just in case she needed it. But she smiled, "ready."

#Thenamesh Life Interrupted AU #I love this au!#and we love you Love!#Thena is feeling worse and worse about Druig moving out before proposing #he's all stressed about her staying with them #but stressed because she doesn't want him to stress #it's a lot going on #so Thena gets more withdrawn thinking about all this #and eventually Druig does the unthinkable #he texts his sister's boyfriend and tells him to get his ass down here and talk to her #they come out of her room #They're holding hands and Thena looks oh so besotted #Druig sits up from the couch holding Makkari like I already don't like this #Thena tells Druig listen she appreciates his concern and she'll come and visit all the time #but she's going to move into Gil's place #and Druig loses his everloving mind #he blows up about how it's too soon and they barely know each other and he doesn't trust Gil enough to let them shack up #and Thena lets him get it all out of his system before finishing saying: Gil's apartment........complex #Makkari: lol #Druig totally loses his steam and just goes oh...well I guess that's not so bad #because Thena knows how to break bad news to her little brother #Druig is still a little wary of it and he still tells Gil that if he ever thinks Thena is upset because of him #he's got a whole lot of hell comin' his way #but he's also a good brother and tells her he'll help her move and he's not going anywhere until she's settled #they haven't settled on a house yet anyway and he won't actually leave until Thena is settled #if she called and said I don't like it here Druig is like okay we're living in the townhouse forever #meanwhile Thena actually wants him to leave the nest so she and Gil can be cutesy flirty neighbours and carpool and have sleepovers

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providencehq · 1 year

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going insane about holding back at posting wips so here is one that will never go any further. Slightish?? ? au of the powerhouse au where tucker and sam also have some powers due to dealing with ghosts a lot and kinda being ghostly/liminal. They all stop fighting ghosts or more so tucker and sam do while they go into college. When the JL looks back trying to figure out who the fuck phantom is they manage to find old reports of him with two other metas who have been off the board for years now. now the jl is questioning not only did they miss one meta, are they missing two others who can go against them like phantom can. ANYWAYS its more so an excuse to draw potential meta tucker and sam alongside meta phantom so yea yea yea

also i don't think i will ever really expand much of the powerhouse au past when danny is captured since its super fun seeing all the different directions ppl have taken it and they're all better than what i had in mind so i will only ever focus on the before capture aspect. also just like, enjoy a wip a sketchly lil doodle ya know??? ?

#mine #wip #my art #non shrike au #power house au #au #i am making more shrike art while i take a break between requests since ahhh im stressed with packing and moving

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thunderboltfire · 30 days

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I've seen "draw Your character as a villain" used on various sites as a fun character design excercise, but when I've deeply considered the turn of events needed for Igna to become a villain it turned out that a) I've avoided it narrowly b) I've ended up with an AU that's very interesting, but also it's so dark I'd feel miserable if I had to actually write it in heavy detail.

For it to happen, the only prerequisite would be that Argo would fail to get her out of inprisonment, which could easily happen for example if he'd keep his original promise to her and would keep his mouth shut about the fact she's a spellbreaker. As much as Igna is only a pawn and at times treated like a highly valued but ultimately expendable soldier, it would result in a catastrophic cascade of events.

No help gained in a trial to break her out -> no expedition intending to do it, and in a result the Covenant wouldn't form a spellbreaking unit either. Theria wouldn't get an ultimatum preventing her from being executed. The main problem with Igna remaining at Yrreth's mercy is that Yrreth's perfectly aware of the nature of her talents and a part of his original plan for her was to use her for his cause. Igna isn't very susceptible to blackmail, but considering Yrreth's dabbled in the manipulation of living beings' live magic, with unlimited time on his hands he would find a way to break her, either with torture or with specialised spells meddling with the target's perception and free will (possibly both used in concert). Maintaining a permanent mind control spell would cost him a lot, but he'd probably deem it worth the price anyway.

A few months pass, and the Covenant's troops become a subject of immensely precise, harrying attacks targeting especially magic defenses and battle mages' units. They are always accompanied by the reports of a warrior clad in a black, rune-inscribed armor that seems to be completely impervious to magical attacks.

As rumours spread, something piques Argo's suspicion. Perhaps it's the fact that Aquila (who's still alive, proving that her rider still lives) immediately perks up mere minutes before the attack, or the fact that the description of the abilites match perfectly, he manages to cross Igna's path on the battlefield. Surviving the encounter by the hair's breadth, he realises she acts against her will. Feeling guilty for being unable to help her while he should've and still having an unpaid life debt to her, he decides to try and pull her back from under Yrreth's influence. The process would be long, arduous and deadly while Igna would remain on Yrreth's leash, and if he'd manage to get any help in it, the Covenant would sooner see her dead than captured.

But even assuming he'd be successful, that each curse binding Igna to Yrreth would be broken, she'd still be considered a traitor - even if she acted under a magical influence, at this point she's killed dozens, and has done enough damage that even if she isn't executed on the spot, the Wanderers won't ever take her back in due to her reputation. Hunted by Yrreth from one side, rejected by the other, her honor stained and her future ruined, she has nothing to come back to and no aspirations left. Except maybe a burning, animalistic need for retribution for how much has been taken from her.

#Isaldi #villain AU #doodles #non-canon #It's very much a “time traveller moves a chair” type of situation #though here we're talking about strategic oathbreaking - if Argo was much more preoccupied with his trustworthiness #vs deciding he'll sort it out later we'd end up with this #an interesting exploration though Igna is enough of a punching bag as it is #and the idea of her crossing blades with Argo sort-of makes me sick to my stomach #as much of a good fencer he is he would be at a significant disadvantage - worse armor and much less leverage provided by a weapon #If she wouldn't come to her senses it'd put him through the hoops just not to get killed #essentially this AU would result in a flipped script where Igna does the same function on the other side of the barricade #bc of this doodle I've needed to think about Yrreth's house emblem #winged 8-figure ouroboros it is #in a detailed version it's a snake eating its own shedding skin -#mountain elves' coats of arms often come not from actual heraldry but from ancestors' professions #they've had way more dynamic politics than lowland elves #digital sketch #thunderboltfire's art

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