#the abundance the destruction and the hunt were not around at the time of the swarm disaster

[ohmeadows]

The joker of the deck: Aha the Elation (and some Swarm Disaster lore)

While reading through swarm disaster lore (again), Herta popped up during a moment discussing the disappearance of Oroboros the Voracity, noting that some entity was interfering with the simulation. Which got me thinking about Aha. Again.

Having played through Swarm Disaster’s entire story twice now, I can’t help but think that whatever role Aha the Elation has to play, is going to be incredibly important. Or at least entertaining.

Aha is the only self-aware Aeon in the Simulated Universe. Despite the team’s efforts to tamper down on it, Aha continues to be self-aware, toying with you and the creators each time they appear. It’s heavily implied that simulated Aha is actively interfering with Herta, Screwllum and Ruan Mei’s work to understand the Aeons, being present each time the Aeons schemed to destroy Tayzzyronth the Propagation.

Aha freely admits to infiltrating the Astral Express for a year just to find the perfect moment to blow the train up. Why? To mess with Akivili and their followers.

Aha is the Aeon closest involved with the ways of mortals, and while it lacks the magnitude of directly devastating powers such as the Destruction or the Hunt, it doesn’t lack for ability to turn fate on a whim — Aha has directly influenced or been involved in rebellions, government coups, deaths of Aeons and is one of the only (so far) Aeons confirmed to shapeshift to a human when it suits their needs.

In fact, it’s heavily implied Sampo is a follower of Aha (if not more?) and when you think about Sampo’s involvement in Belobog’s storyline, he shows up at precise moments, barely does anything, and yet alters some extremely pivotal details that changes everything, above all dragging Bronya down to see the truth of Belobog. At the end of the Belobog arc, Sampo reports to someone, nearly breaking the fourth wall. He did it for fun. Just a little gigglejoke. Why not change the course of Belobog if it makes for a spectacle?

Also: during the Phantylia fight, you can hear Aha laughing. At who? Us, or Phantylia? Something is in motion aboard the Luofu, involving the Destruction, the Abundance and the Hunt. It won’t be the first time Aha has brought together different Aeons for their own amusement.

In Swarm Disaster, it’s made clear Aha had some level of knowledge or perhaps even involvement in Ena the Order becoming Xipe the Harmony. You-as-Akivili, the role the Trailblazer inhabits while in Simulated Universe, feel uneasy watching Aha suck up to Xipe, which is interesting to note. Ena is the one who demands Qlipoth to act on the problem the Tayzzyronth poses, and yet they are absorbed by Xipe.

I’ll also note that in Swarm Disaster, it’s implied it was “chance” that caused the rise of the Propagation path and their ascension to Aeonhood. Now, I’m not saying Aha did it, but…

At the end of Swarm Disaster, Herta takes you through the simulation once more, pointing out three big details that bug her after having witnessed all they could divine from the past:

The destruction of the system the Propagation (once a mortal) originated from was not a natural occurrence. Something or someone instigated it. Herta isn’t sure who did it, suggesting Voracity, Order or Elation, but landing on not knowing. For now.

During the Propagation path wrecking havoc across the universe, Oroboros the Voracity and Ena the Order disappeared. How and why are not entirely clear, though we know Ena was absorbed into Xipe. Oroboros is interesting since the Voracity is an enemy of Qlipoth — perhaps even an Aeon Qliopth fears, to a degree. Herta’s exact quote is: “Oroboros and Ena vanished in the middle of this tale! Completely, silently, as if there was another story progressing along in the shadows underneath the main stage…”

The Aeons that came together — Equilibrium, Preservation, Trailblaze, Elation and Harmony — may have brought down the Propagation, but the path itself isn’t dead. There’s endless Swarm offsprings still alive in the universe. Herta suggests that the Propagation isn’t actually truly dead, and will rise again. And soon.

Leaving Swarm Disaster, it's hard not to feel a sense of unease about Aha. Herta herself states that the universe has gotten worse since Aha's laugh rang out across the universe for the first time. Whatever hand Aha is intending to play in the future will be very interesting.

#aha the elation #honkai star rail #honkai star rail lore #star railing.txt #aeons #interesting to note as well: #the abundance the destruction and the hunt were not around at the time of the swarm disaster #i've been wondering a lot about what THAT means

[otts-the-verminqueen]

SBG/Star Rail! Time to combine again!

Gonna think about which paths and types each of the kids would have.

~~~

Ashlyn

Path: Hunt

Hunt path characters tend to admire determination, ruthlessness and tenacity, and I feel like she fits at least two of those qualities. She's a very determined person (15 years without making friends, jeez) and she can be pretty ruthless (very blunt with her words).

Type: Physical

She just gives me the vibe that she'd be a physical type character, honestly. I don't think there's really any criteria for type for Star Rail characters anyway, so.

Logan

Path: Erudition

Erudition path characters admire thinking, logic, and strategy. Honestly, I feel like Logan fits all of those qualities pretty well.

Type: Imaginary or Quantum

I honestly think he would fit either of these types really well, though I lean more toward Imaginary for him.

Aiden

Path: Destruction

Destruction path characters admire recklessness, anger, and destructive behavior, and while Aiden doesn't really fit with anger, he is definitely a reckless person and I feel like he's participated in quite a few self-destructive behaviors before.

Type: Fire or Lightning

I lean more toward Fire for him, but I could also seem him being a Lightning character.

Ben

Path: Abundance

I would have listed Destruction as well, but Ben isn't really a reckless or destructive person in the story. He was, but he's not really like that anymore. Abundance path characters admire selflessness, altruism, and healing, and well, Ben is kind of the group's healer, so I think it fits for him.

Type: Physical

Could just be because Physical has a gray symbol and Ben wears a lot of gray, but he gives me the vibe of be Physical type.

Tyler

Path: Preservation

Preservation characters admire patience, sacrifice, and defensive behavior, and Tyler fits with the patience and sacrifice at least. I mean, he's really patient with Taylor, and he's patient with their mother, who still seems very lost in her grief. While he may not have the best of patience with a lot of other people, I see it with his family. And he basically sacrificed his whole childhood to make sure his sister and mother were taken care of.

Type: Fire

I think part of it is really just his temper, but he does give me the vibe of a Fire type character.

Taylor

Path: Harmony

Harmony path characters admire understanding, support, and cooperation. Taylor fits all of these in my opinion, so I feel like this is honestly the perfect path for her. She's very supportive of the group, and does her best to be cooperative herself and get others to cooperate as well. And she's shown on multiple occasions that she's a very understanding person.

Type: Lightning

I don't really know why she gives me the vibe of a Lightning type, but she just does, so I'll just go with it.

~~~

Let me know your thoughts! Do you agree with this, or would you list them under different paths or types?

I will get around to figuring out which Aeons I think each of them would follow. Not all of the Aeons are associated with a path, so there will be another Star Rail/SBG post later, but this is what I've got for now. This idea has been sitting in my head for a while and I needed to get it out.

#Honkai Star Rail #School Bus Graveyard #HSR #SBG #SBG Ashlyn #SBG Logan #SBG Aiden #SBG Ben #SBG Tyler #SBG Taylor

[bracketsoffear]

Gunpowder Tim (The Mechanisms) "Ignoring his present day role as an immortal murderous space pirate, roving through the galaxy having “fun, violence” his origin story ballad, Gunpowder Tim vs the Moon Kaiser is basically world war 1 on the moon, with an Achillean inspiration. Tim is in the place of Achilles in this story, and after his best friend is killed, descends into a violent rage, and to include some convincing lyrics: “We’ll murder all the Lunar Men with fury heaven sent/And we’ll carpet Lenny’s tunnels with the rounds that we have spent/they tried to shake our firm resolve but haven’t made a dent/and their blood will run like wine.” “Take no prisoners give no quarter/show them all the color of their entrails on the floor/the Kaiser’s men are cattle to the slaughter/and their blood will run like wine.” “Their existence is a mad disease there needs to be a cull/upon their rancid soldier flesh out bayonets will dull.” The statements of wine, while a literary reference, show the delight and almost decadence Tim is viewing violence with, wanting it to be as abundant as wine. A later description of him by the First Mate: “So Gunpowder Tim cut a bloody red path/Through cannon and through infantry, dealing out his wrath/Battalions were gathered/and charged with his destruction/but all of them fell to his maddened corruption.” And, as if the battlefield origins and enjoyment of brutality isn’t enough, he is also musically aligned, both in lyric, with “the brutal hymn of gunpowder” as his “favorite song” and the slightly meta piece of info, the pirate crew he’s in is in-universe, a band.

V1 (Ultrakill) "V1 is a robot fueled by blood, designed for war—though it was never put into mass production due to the end of wartime, it outlived its original purpose and the entirety of humanity. Fueled by a desire to satiate its hunger and to kill for itself rather than the good of humanity (making it more slaughter-inclined rather than hunt-inclined, as avatars of the Hunt take no joy in the kill), V1 breaches the gates of hell in search of more blood. Its inherent ferocity and deadliness during its rampage is enough to not only inspire other machines to follow (and compete against) it in its search for blood, but its appetite for slaughter also emboldens the Archangel Gabriel to break free of his own original purpose, inspiring him to kill the entire council he was a part of and show off the carnage to all of Heaven.

Additionally, though less notable, V1 seems to have an affinity for music as well. Though not built-in as part of its original purpose, it enjoys spending time around the terminals which offer advice and an opportunity to swap out and augment its stolen spoils of war (which, in the current build of the game, consist of a stolen shotgun and two stolen arms, in addition to a revolver, nailgun, and railcannon it found laying around in the depths of Hell) in addition to playing the remnants of humanity’s music. It is shown to be very practical and “exceptionally lethal” (as described by the dev of the game), and therefore probably wouldn’t stick around to listen to the music otherwise."

#slaughter poll #the magnus archives #the mechanisms #ultrakill #poll

[halos-top-alien-model]

Sangheili Bracket Round 1 Match 5

More info below:

Nizat 'Kvarosee:

Debuted in Halo: Silent Storm

Born August 23, 2470 on Suban - one of Sanghelios' moons - Nizat would join the Covenant military prior to the Human-Covenant war, claiming he had served around one hundred years before the war began in 2525 (sources seem contradictory on his age / service time). At the onset of the war, he was in command of the Pious Rampage and the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience, with the Minor Minister of Artifact Survey attached as a ceremonial magistrate. Tasked with the destruction of humanity, he would target numerous planets before March 2526, when he was contacted by the United Rebel Front for an alliance. While it was a divine order that humanity be wiped out, he nonetheless saw this as an opportunity to gain intel on more human worlds - especially as the human rebels informed him of and offered to help eliminate the Spartan-IIs. It had been Spartan-IIs that had destroyed two of his ships and they were now hoping to destroy the entirety of his fleet at Biko. Nizat would attack Biko with this in mind, but just as he was glassing the planet, Spartans that slipped away would destroy most of his fleet's supply convoy, stopping his fleet's advance in human space. Upon learning that the Spartans had obtained a Covenant star map, he correctly deduced that they would next target the Covenant supply world of Zhoist rather than the capital ship of High Charity. He would meet them there to hunt them down and stop their raid, with 'Szatulai being slain in the process. The Battle of Zhoist would end with the destruction of Zhoist's Ten Cities, the planet's Ring of Mighty Abundance, and the under-construction Hammer of Faith - all with the Spartans evading capture or demise, valuable intel on their abilities and armor becoming lost with further destruction across Nizat's fleet. The Minor Minister threatened Nizat over this defeat, resulting in his steward - Tam 'Lakosee - to kill him and Nizat to incinerate the body and lie to the Hierarchs about the cause of death to protect Tam.

Called back to High Charity, Nizat makes an attempt to explain where he went wrong and what other shipmasters could learn from these encounters - most notably identifying ONI as the most dangerous asset of humanity and proposing a plan to trick and destroy them. However, his plan is rejected, so he steals the bait he needs for his plan and flees in his ship. Reaching the planet Netherop / N'ba, he soon learns that the Fleet of Swift Justice is after him and intends to pin him between themselves and a hostile human fleet nearby, but he out-maneuvers them and lands on the planet's surface. He engages the forces on the planet, facing difficulty in getting the humans to "steal" his tracking bait, all while Silent Shadow assassins and the same Spartans that bested him before are at his back. Unfortunately, the Silent Shadow would catch up with him, but they would end up only stripping him of his armor and leaving him and those loyal to him marooned on the planet. Sometime after this, Nizat would christen himself as "Worldmaster", stalking the similarly stranded Lieutenant Commander Amalea Petrov and claiming to his men that she was a gift from the gods. Meanwhile, off-world, the Prophet of Truth would cover up the true events that occurred on Netherop and declared the area cursed so that none would attempt to rescue Nizat. Additionally, orbital mines would be deployed around the planet.

For the next 33 years, Nizat would wage war against Petrov's forces (for some reason in contradiction to his previous views on her), discovering Precursor technology and using it to create Sanctum Hide and the Divine Hand, as well as other supplies to keep his followers alive. Among these followers were now also the Silent Shadow Meduz 'Ra'ashai, sent behind to enforce Nizat's exile. Over time, Nizat would grow more and more fanatical, while everyone else save for Tam grew more disillusioned with him and the harsh Netherop life. During these three decades, Nizat would prevent to separate UNSC rescue missions and lose a number of his followers until they were down to six by 2559. Then, things would change as the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam arrived in search of a weapon to end Cortana's new tyranny - Spartan Vale following behind him. Nizat would spare Thel's landing team but not Vale's, before he realized the lack of fighting between them. He would create a tunnel to capture the two human civilians Vale brought with her, but only succeeded in taking one. On the journey back, Thel and his remaining stranded allies would catch up and attempt to negotiate. Nizat would first hear him out, only to react in denial that the Covenant was a lie and the galaxy had changed, launching into hostiles. However, a sudden explosion would make him realize that Vale had used the Arbiter as a diversion to sneak past him and reach the Divine Hand. After he believed he had dealt with the Arbiter, he would retreat to go deal with the invading humans, only to have his numbers reduced to just himself and Tam - 'Ra'ashai defecting to the Arbiter's side - and a mandible torn off. Tam would negotiate with Thel and Vale, helping them with the Divine Hand in exchange for mercy for Nizat, but this would quickly go sideways as the Banished and Forerunner ships arrived. As the Arbiter attempted to deal with his enemies, Tam would take hold of the weapon and cause all of the ships in orbit be destroyed, with some Banished surviving to pose a threat to everyone stranded. Nizat and Tam would be abandoned in their temple as the Divine Hand was taken from them, with it the "blessings" turning to ruin. However, Nizat would not come to find this out, as Tam decided to put his dear leader and friend out of his misery.

Rtas 'Vadum:

Debuted in Halo 2

Born on Sept. 21, 2487, Rtas would explore his keep's shoreline as a child - nearly dying at ten years old in one exploration gone wrong - and graduated with honors from a top war college. By Sept. 2554, he would serve as a commander to all the SpecOps units in the Fleet of Particular Justice. During the Battle of Installation 04, he and a team that included his second in command - Bero 'Kusovai - would be sent to investigate a possible human boarding on the agricultural support ship Infinite Succor. However, they would not find humans there, but the Flood parasite. While the outbreak would be contained, Rtas would be the sole survivor - and lost left mandibles in the process. Following this, he would be reassigned to to command all SpecOps from High Charity.

A little time would pass before Rtas would be assigned to lead a mission against a heretic faction, his former Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee joining them as the newly appointed Arbiter. An attack against the base of operations would ensue, only for Rtas to once again detect the stench of the Flood. Complicating things further was that the Heretic Leader locked himself behind an unbreakable barrier while a harsh storm was on the horizon. The Arbiter would volunteer to conduct a risky plan to draw out the Heretic Leader solo, with Rtas deciding to leave with him his blade as help. The two would not see each other again until later at High Charity, where Rtas argued with the Prophet of Truth over the changing of the Honor Guard and the Prophet undermining Rtas' attempt to save the Prophet of Regret. Another reunion would take place on Installation 05 - specifically the Quarantine Zone - where Rtas and his SpecOps forces would aid the Arbiter in reaching the Sacred Icon necessary to activate the Halo. However, following this mission, the Hierarchs would order the execution of all Sangheili, beginning the Great Schism. As civil war erupted, Rtas would reunite with Thel once again and assist him in reaching a Scarab to break into the ring's control room, although Rtas would then split to achieve another goal - taking control of the Shadow of Intent. Now leading the fledgling Fleet of Retribution, Rtas would conduct a campaign to quarantine and sterilize the Flood-infected High Charity and Halo, only for a single cruiser to escape and head to Earth.

Rtas and parts of his fleet would follow it, joining the Battle of Voi in the process. Knowing more than anyone else the threat of the Flood spreading, he was prepared to glass all of Earth, but was talked into only glassing the portion of the continent the Flood had landed on. On his ship, he and other notable figures of the war would receive a message from Cortana warning that a Gravemind had taken over High Charity and was heading to Earth, with the Ark at the other side of Voi's portal being the only way to stop it. Rtas was eager to take his forces - alongside the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn - to go on the offensive against the Covenant and Flood at the Ark. His fleet would engage the Covenant in the skies, being confident despite being outnumbered three to one, declaring the iconic line: "Then it is an even fight." Unfortunately, while the battle was going well and Rtas prepared to destroy the Citadel, the Flood-infested High Charity appeared to knock his ship off course, temporarily taking it out of action. Once the threat of the Covenant activating the entire Halo Array was finished, Rtas would gather all the human and Sangheili forces and take them back to Earth, while the Arbiter, Master Chief, Sergeant Johnson, and 343 Guilty Spark stayed behind with the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn to finish off the Flood for good. Once the war was finally over, Rtas would return to Earth again to attend a memorial ceremony, although he would stay on his ship in orbit while the Arbiter attended in person. 

At some point later in the year 2553, Shadow of Intent would respond to a distress signal at Rahnelo. By this point, Rtas had recruited Bladmaster Vul 'Soran and Unggoy Ranger Stolt as his advisors, the former serving as his second in command. At Rahnelo, Rtas would learn of the existence of a Prelate intent on taking out the Sangheili and allow the female warrior Tul 'Juran to join in the hunt for him in defiance of tradition against female military service. They would pursue the Prelate to Duraan, only to fall into a trap and be boarded. After fending off the attack and capturing the Prelate, where he learned of greater plans forged by the Minister of Preparation as well as the Prelate's hatred of Rtas personally for supposedly causing the deaths of his family on High Charity. Rtas would still speak amicably with the Prelate, singing for him and theorizing that the Minister deceived the Prelate on when his family had died, sowing the seeds for the Prelate's later turn. Yet before that, when Rtas took a small team to confront the Minister and destroy his prototype Halo weapon, the Prelate would briefly betray them. This betrayal would be short-lived, as the Prelate would then sacrifice himself to take out both the Minister and the weapon while Rtas escaped alive. Once the mission was over, Rtas would speak with the Arbiter regarding changing the Swords of Sanghelios' restrictions on female enlistment due to Tul. Afterward, Rtas resolved to locate the survivors of the San'Shyuum species, in order to ensure the ones good-hearted like the Prelate would be treated fairly.

Shadow of Intent would be involved in a few events between the years of 2553 and 2558, including an operation against pirates in a Joint Occupation Zone and being stalked by three ONI prowlers that would then be destroyed under unclear circumstances. By Nov. 2559, Rtas would still be pursuing the San'Shyuum and therefore unable to assist the Arbiter in a trip to Netherop, but it is unclear if he was caught up in the Created conflict earlier and if his mission was known and allowed by Cortana.

#halo #sangheili #halo sangheili #halo aliens #halo elite #halo elites #halo fandom #halo tumblr #tumblr bracket #tumblr tournament #rtas vadum #rtas 'vadum #shipmaster rtas vadum #nizat kvarosee #nizat 'kvarosee

[romaritimeharbor]

On the top of Lan, I believe The Hunt is meant to act as a sort of... "filtration system", a means of making sure that things with the Abundance. Because take this into account, data entries seems to imply that Yaoshi is quite "charitable" when it comes to who they gift immortality upon. Obviously, not everyone is a paragon of virtue, so obviously there will be those who utilize their newfound eternal life for nefarious purpose, and so there needs to be something to counteract this sort issue. I have a theory that the Destruction was originally meant to act as a foil to keep the Propagation in check. Like, the timeline of when the Aeons all ascended is rather vague and a bit convoluted. But we know these things for certain:

Lan ascended a good amount of time after Yaoshi, sort of in response to the chaos weaved amongst the Xianzhou by the Mara.

And

Though they ascended within a very close period time, we know that Nanook ascended after Tayzzyronth. And they ascended because of the destruction of Advilun, their homeworld, at the hands of Tayzzyronth's own creation(s?): the Swarm disaster.

There's just one big difference between these two though. Yaoshi still exists, and eternally they are pursued by Lan yet, purging the horrors they (intentionally or unintentionally) leave in their wake. Tayzzyronth meanwhile was only an Aeon for a short time, until they were eventually cornered and brought down through the combined efforts of several other aeons. Now, the Swarm lacks any true cohesion it once had. And Nanook, now without the thing they were meant to counteract, terrorizes the universe, causing wanton destruction where ever they go.

Ooooh, Toast's OC planet idea is quite fascinating. I could definitely see Dan Heng's own biases regarding the Abundance (for some reason I nearly said "the Abyss" 💀), especially considering how his home... uh.... world? Ship? Was nearly destroyed when the power of the Abundance was used to revive an Emanator... well he's gonna be kinda... tense, don't'cha think? You (I refer to Toast) seem like you had a lotta fun coming up with this! And I can 100% relate (I've got couple of my own HSR planets :D. It's actually a super fun to work on!)

Oh, and one other thing!

Found this really cute video of someone animating that one scene with Shenhe during the Xianyun Companion Quest!

https://youtu.be/SACBEmxlV6w?si=mDp30XzcXZgnD5UF

that is very much true! as much as i bully lan, i know very well the purpose that they serve, the purpose their path serves, and i know their existence is.... existing to keep yaoshi in check. if they didn't, the universe would be crazy overrun by their creations. yaoshi is implied to be very. Uh. WILLING to throw around their blessings (which is so funny. this eldritch ass god is just like "you get immortality, you get immortality, everyone gets immortality!!!!!!" i love them). so lan's existence is pretty crucial in maintaining SOME kind of balance.

the destruction ascending to keep the propagation in check is SUCH a fascinating idea. we do, of course, know that nanook is the most recently ascended of the aeons, but we have NOOOO idea what "recently" means. it stands to reason, then, that nanook very well could have ascended to keep the propagation (I CAN'T SPELL THEIR NAME..........) in check. but of course, the other aeons took that matter into their own hands. something similar would probably happen to lan too if the other aeons... erm. Removed yaoshi. but they haven't, presumably because yaoshi does not misbehave THAT severely, and there is someone actively keeping them and their creations in check. anyways, assuming that nanook's purpose WAS that, then it sort of makes sense why they're just.... destroying senselessly now. but i can't help but wonder if a similar situation, like what happened with the propagation, will occur with them? when is it too much? when will, when might nanook become to great a risk to the universe? is there anything keeping them in check? we could say yaoshi, but we don't know enough about them to make that claim. they seem to live largely by their own agenda.

OWWWJSJSHSJSH I LOVE THAT SCENE!!!!! SHE IS SUCH AN EMOTIONAL MOTHER!!!!!

#✧— aphe's letters from wyrm.

[ac-liveblogs]

tbf the xianzhou luofu kinda Needs good ppl in charge bc like........the preceptors ain't SHIT lmfao (like I hope we'll get a luofu continuation in which we just. Oust everyone. bc godamn the high elder succession and the exuviation charm were MESSED UP (and that's all without getting onto dan heng raised in prison and bailu's tail shackle) but yeah I get what you mean. Even bright, trying-their-best charas like Asta had their moments! as I was laughing at the tizzy Asta worked herself into, I thought (huh, she never even thought "what's Arlan's problem", she immediately went for "I must have done something wrong") That says a lot about her character! Or the faith she has in Arlan. Maybe both.

.............I don't think I have the brain juice ATM to unpack why the shipping thing surprised me lmao. Maybe it's bc I got introduced to hsr late through izabellwit's fic and I joined knowing Dan Heng doesn't consider himself Dan Feng, immediately killing any relationship he once had with Blade. besides, yknow, blade hunting him down and killing everything around Dan Heng, which Is Not a basis I like for a ship lmao

But then again, I don't think I like his ship w Dan Feng either. That guy had a Lot going on, last thing he needed was trying to figure out a romantic relationship when he was already struggling with like. basic human empathy and emotion (genuinely, I'm wondering if the shattering of his powers into destruction/abundance also killed the alien dragon brain, bc again, What The Fuck.)

Haha, you're not wrong - it is just soooooo incredibly boring!!! Theoretically, you'd want to engage with all the fucked up shit you mentioned, bc... you know.... one of the main characters is a former Vidyadhara High Elder something something everyone hates Dan Feng (...but...), something something Bailu... but you kinda don't. You kinda just go "wow that's messed up! moving on, sorry about the assassination attempts???" while at the same time, Jing Yuan is just so smart and right and moral and cool and gets WAY more screentime. I don't want to focus on Jing Yuan and how cool he is, can we go and punch the dragon-elf elders instead?! This is Dan Heng's homeworld, why is that all that stuff directly relevant to him so weirdly out of focus?! We spent more time talking to dragon ghosts!

Tbh XL's greatest sin is, imo, always focusing on the exact wrong thing. The High Cloud Quintet isn't explained until way after the fact, we learn what Dan Feng did too late and why that mattered too late… BLADE… etc. etc. We did get a lot of focus on the Hunt vs the Abundance, but I kinda wish Dan Feng's sin had been tied into that more solidly than it was... seriously, why am I spending all this time with the Divination Commission. This is just filler, isn't it. Dan Heng's storyline is just running around trying to catch up and nothing interesting happens til the end except for Luocha's mystery. God damn.

I loved the Asta-Arlan quest's punchline. "…it's for Herta." god hyv does have a sense of humour

I'm pretty sure we probably will get a Luofu continuation, if only because we never got a Trailblazer path for it and judging by Preservation Trailblazer we probably should?

Fair re; the ship. I'm not jazzed about them either. It's impossible for me to care about Blade and Dan Heng's gaping pit of a dynamic as they are NOW let alone their past lives, a potential reconciliation(?), conclusion(?) or anything else theoretically bouncing around with them. I don't care about bios or loredumps, I care about what actually happens on-screen... And mostly I just find it hilarious that Blade keeps ending up in weirdly controlling relationships with hyper-violent women. It was the endless death loop with Jingliu and then the hypnotism/brainwashing with Kafka, that's two now, I think he's got a type (this is a joke this is a joke-)

Unfortunately, in terms of meaty interpersonal character writing, this is somehow currently the best there is? Kafka and Trailblazer is ~future stuff~ and. Welt and Luocha? I don't know, I didn't play HI3? Luocha isn't the same guy from HI3 so it doesn't count??? Eh??

penacony save me. penacony please save me

Dan Feng sounds like a hilarious clusterfuck. Dan Heng being screwed over by his actions being a purely backstory event kind of sucks, honestly. Jing Yuan let him go pretty easy all things considered. And, you know, we barely see shit re; him and Blade. I know why Blade exists (material consequence of Dan Feng's Masterful Fuckup) but like. The way he's written right now. Why does Blade exist.

#replies #ac plays hsr

[krawlernyannyan]

HSR 9-13-23

Starting late today because I had to take a trip to the Underworld Doctor's office today.

Only four golds from Cavern runs today, and only one Healing relic.

Fought Cocolia as my second Echo of War run for the week, managed to kill her with the giant robot fist which is always the MOST satisfying feeling in the world.

10x Aether Calyx rounds.

A round of Swarm Disaster after my dailies were taken care of. Two big goals are just entering four different types of domain in a row, and trying to get exactly 0 on the countdown when I fight the True Sting.

Trying to do both goals at once cuts off Remembrance, Nihility, and Destruction (since I need multiple different domains) and also cuts off Abundance (since I need the count to go down). That only leaves Preservation, Hunt, and Elation and I'm not clowning with Aha so I'm trying Hunt today.

Wound up getting a lot of my support blessings in the first plane but still got the Path Resonance unlocked by the end. Fought the fire sword bot as the first boss so the Swarm would have Wind weakness by the end (I'm running Sampo + it might help with Spores since I got one of those blessings early on).

That plane was enough to wrap up the "different domains" goal, for a big boost to my Elation progress! Only goal left now is hitting Boss: Swarm at 0 on the clock.

Second plane went great, rolled a ton of the "jump to any space" options on the die and plowed through Trotter on almost every space. Got two Path Resonance upgrades plus a ton of extra bonuses (including another Spore-inflicting gold blessing and a Nihility blessing to inflict Suspicion to make the spores even worse). I was real afraid going into the boss because it was either Gepard or The Deer, neither of which I've had good luck fighting, but The Deer wound up being a pretty breezy fight thanks to constant spores and Resonance raining arrows constantly.

After that I got an audience with Aha! And also the Harmony, who I didn't realize was around back in the Swarm Disaster days. Apparently Tayzzyronth's plague brought her, Aha, and Akivili together so that'll be interesting if that amounts to anything once we start the Penacony plot.

With the third plane I'd been saving my one Cheat use on the ability to go to whichever plane I wanted...but I was exactly one off, and got into the Boss domain at -1. Incredibly frustrating, but at the least the bugs went down without even getting to activate Onslaught's charging state.

I'll have to worry about that goal some other time but at least it's the only one on the table for now. Two more chapters before I'm done with Swarm Disaster's story.

Five-Star Fund: 106/180

#EZ: HSR #Daily Blogging #once i'm done with the story i ought to try and put all the lore bits together into something #with previous knowledge for a more coherent timeline

[libramonthlyhoroscope1]

What does it mean to dream about mice

1. Vigilance And Vengeance

What does but mean when you dream about mice or rats? First are you the mouse/rat or are you watching the little creature? (How) are you interacting with the rodent? Are you scared of it or is it scared of you? Maybe both? Are you protecting the mouse or trying to destroy it?

Mice are seen as tiny, timid, or terrifying, depending on your perspective. Some even see mice as cuddly or cute. If you dream of feeding pinkie mice to pets, maybe your pet food stash is running low. But if you’re feeding them to predators, you might be an unconscious bully.​

What does it mean to dream about mice

2. Personal Perception

Your dreams about mice could be a clue to how you see yourself, the people you interact with, or life in general. Let’s focus on the example above and look into variations in its interpretation. If you’re the mouse, you’re probably intimidated by something or someone.

You feel hunted and trapped, so the dream may be warning you to keep your guard up and figure out how to protect yourself. If you have mixed feelings while feeding your pet, you may have an emotional dilemma in the offing. If you’re enjoying the session, you might be sadist.

3. Danger Is Coming!

As humans, we often project our thoughts and feelings onto pets, wildlife, and even inanimate objects. Because mice have tiny bodies, miniature paws, and twitchy noses, we assume they’re nervous and frail. What does it mean when you dream of mice being chased?

If the chaser is a snake or wild cat, you may be afraid of some unexpected threat. If the chaser is a cat or a dog – especially one you recognize – it could mean the oncoming danger is from something or someone that you know, value, or love, just like your beloved pet.

4. Time To Change Your Behaviour?

What if it’s the other way around? What if in the dream, you were the one chasing the mouse? This time, the feeling is more important than the action. Were you excited hunting the mouse? Did you feel powerful, righteous, vindictive, cruel, conflicted, or just hungry?

In a work scenario, your actions may be harming the younger, less confident, or less experienced members of your team. The office mice. Reflect on your emotional state during the dream so see whether you want to change and be a more cooperative colleague. It helps!

5. Loss Of Control

Mice are tiny and often seem helpless. (Though we do love triumph stories about them scaring lions and elephants.) So if you’re dreaming that you’re a mouse stuck in a tricky situation, it may signal a sense of inadequacy and fear, whether you’re aware of it or not.

Of course, this could be a more contemporary dream. For instance, what does it mean when you dream about mice (or are they mouses) on a computer that won’t work? Maybe you feel out of control in your work life. Or you’re a grandparent that got gadgets for Christmas!​

6. Love And Betrayal

Suppose you work in a lab or a pet store. So your typical day involves feeding, looking after, or sometimes experimenting on rodents. Mice and rats will regularly feature in your dreams simply because you deal with them so often. But what color are the mice in your dreams?

Black mice may warn you about a backstabbing buddy that doesn’t have your next interests at heart, even as you tend and nurture them. White mice might promise true love and pure devotion. Of course, if either of the mice is sick or dying, that’s not a good sign for you!

7. Dabs Of Destruction?

Here’s another scenario. Maybe you’re still a lab staffer. Or you might be an exterminator. You might even be casually walking through the mall and you peep into a ruined pet store window. What are the mice doing in these dreams? Are they running around chewing things?

Are they nibbling furniture and leaving their droppings everywhere? Are you giggling over this abundance of mice or overwhelmed by the damage they’re doing? The mice in this dream represent tiny habits, attitudes, feelings, and decisions that are piling up, and fast!

8. Competitive Forces

What does it mean when you dream about mice fighting you? This doesn’t necessarily refer to an army of ballet mice. You might be dreaming that you’re wrangling mice that are loose in the store or dealing with an infestation in the barn. Who’s winning – you or the rodents!

This kind of a dream probably means tons of tiny worries are weighing you down. These could be bills, credit card debt, endless exam materials to review, or a million tasks in your office in-tray. So if the dream mice are pummelling you, hire assistants or get a study buddy!

9. Health And Food Matters

If you have an agricultural background, you might dream about mice attacking grains in a granary. If you’re more of an urbanite, the mice in your dreams may be nibbling the food in your pantry, fridge, or food store. They might even be in your wardrobe, attic, or bookshelf.

When you dream of mice messing with your food, clothes, books, or other treasures, it could be a warning of some financial problem. Probably something small and seemingly harmless that you’ve been ignoring. It could be a neglected area of your income or health under threat.

10. Friends … And Frenemies

Beyond your feelings towards the mice in your dreams, it can be helpful to see how you interact with them. Do you generally like mice or do they horrify you? And regardless of how you view them, are the rodents in your dreams friendly and playful or mean and scheming?

For those who think mice are cute and cuddly, playing with mice in a dream could mean you’re about to make some interesting friends in your waking life. But if the mice scare you – no matter how genial they’re being, it means you’ll view any new acquaintances with fear.

11. Hidden Anxiety

Have you watched a mouse? When they scurry around or use their tiny paws to groom their twitchy noses, you can’t help thinking of them as shy and skittish. It may be why we associate mic with guilt and anxiety. Plus, mice are tiny, largely unobtrusive, and are prolific breeders.

So a mouse in your dream could mean you have a hidden fear that isn’t in your conscious awareness. And just like baby mice, you could soon be stuck with seventy! If you’re dreaming about mice, make a conscious effort to identify those closeted concerns before they multiply!

12. Time To Declutter

Most of us associate rats and mice with dirt and destruction. They just seem … messy. You might be toying with Marie Kondo or procrastinating that post-holiday spring clean. Or maybe you’ve been under the weather and haven’t gotten round to vacuuming for a while.

Dreaming about mice could be a psychological cue. No, your house isn’t cluttered enough to attract mice. But something in your psyche is panicking! So what does it mean when you dream about mice? You may need to hire some help, buy a lot of soap, or cleanse your mind!

13. Step Up

Sometimes, the messages from our higher helpers can be quite specific. Maybe you dream of elephants and mice. If you’re the mouse in the dream, it means you’re stronger than you think and you should be more confident. If you’re the elephant, beware of small enemies!

These could be rivals you’re underestimating or bad habits you’re dismissing. Address your negative traits and resolve them. Soon! But what if you dream someone gives you a mouse as a pet? Then your nurturing, protective instinct is needed. Find the weak soul that needs you!

[delimeful]

how easy you are to need (redux) (1)

the first chapter of my HEYATN rewrite! find the original here!

warnings: panic attacks, fear, hypervigilance, paranoia, mentions of freezing/starving

-

The first sign of the humans had been the smoke.

The scent had caught Virgil’s attention from the moment he woke, the light grey plumes curling over the tips of the trees in the distance. There’d been no recent storm to strike a flame, which meant that human hands had crafted it.

It wasn’t the first time. His forest was wide and sprawling, and it was near enough to a few well-worn traveling paths that humans thought it a fair place to set up camp for a night or two. The otherworldly aura of the forest itself tended to dissuade any longer stays.

(Eerie howling in the night also tended to do the trick.)

Virgil still had to check it out, of course, both as his home’s protector and to soothe his own agitation at the sight. It didn’t matter that they were almost always peaceful travelers, the presence of humans put him on edge every time.

And if the sensation of being watched drove the intruders away quicker? All the better.

He headed down the hillside, winding his way through the edges of his normal patrol route as he went. Nothing was amiss there, the wildlife scampering away at the sight of him, the natural magic of the area still abundant and thriving.

The source of the smoke was closer than he’d anticipated, though. It was rare that any were bold enough to camp any further than the edges of his territory, and yet here he was in the middle of the forest, the smell rapidly growing stronger.

He slowed, close enough now that the smoketrail was hidden by the long branches overhead. This was a familiar spot, there was a clearing up ahead, and—

Virgil stopped dead at the edge of the trees, staring at the abandoned cabin that had sat quietly in this clearing since he’d first stumbled into his forest.

There was smoke rising from the chimney.

He could smell the humans now, tracks and scent trails to and from the apparently formerly abandoned cabin. They must have trekked through a good quarter of his territory to get here, and he’d slept through the intrusion like an idiot. He paced back and forth agitatedly, circling around the clearing and remaining carefully out of sight as he did.

He’d been in that cabin before. How could he not have? Alone in these woods, there wasn’t much to do for fun except explore. Once he’d gotten past his initial skittishness, he’d been determined to investigate every inch of the dusty old place.

And then he’d realized it was a former den for hunters. He’d spent weeks on the other side of the woods, slowly working his way through the panic that had risen up in him at the simple thought: what if they return?

Even so, as time passed, he’d only grown more sure that the place was well and truly harmless. Nobody had been in there for years prior to Virgil’s arrival in the woods. Whatever use its hunters might have had for it, it had clearly been long abandoned and left to rot.

Of course, now there was smoke in the chimney, and the windows had been carefully pushed open, and there was a horse, grazing mildly.

Virgil took a deep breath, pausing his pacing to try and calm his racing heart. He couldn’t jump to conclusions.

Just because it was an old hunters’ den didn’t mean the new occupants were hunters. It might have been a simple act of opportunity, like a vole taking up an abandoned burrow.

The back door swung open, and Virgil went still, watching as a human donned in red strode over to the horse, patting its snout and murmuring softly to it. He offered it a handful of some sort of grain, which it seemed to enjoy, and then made his way to the center of the clearing and drew a sword from the sheathe at his hip.

Even from here, Virgil felt his skin prickle at the way the blade sang, radiating protective magics as the human moved through blocks and attacks against an invisible enemy. It had to be pure silver, and likely warded as thoroughly as possible against creatures like him. One didn’t simply obtain a weapon like that without knowing what it was, what it was meant for.

He backed away slowly, fading into the underbrush, until he was absolutely certain that he was free from the human— the hunter’s range of sight.

Then, mind full of white noise, he turned and bolted.

—-

He lost a day and a half to the blinding panic, cycling between fear-anger-exhaustion-terror until he’d finally burnt all the emotions out and collapsed.

It was an awful decision. He’d kept as far as possible from the cabin, even in his haze, and now he had no idea what the humans had done in his absence. If they knew he was there— if they’d set up traps— it would only take one slip and everything would be over.

No, if he was going to get rid of them, he needed to be as prepared as they no doubt were.

He spent sleepless nights scouring the forest, searching for any traces of them-- searching for their patrol routes, their traps, the damage to the forest they left in their wake.

But there was none. Not even a faded scent trail to suggest they’d ever been through at all. It seemed they were sticking close to the cabin.

For the first time, Virgil wondered if they’d really come for him. He hadn’t been seen by humans in years, often sticking to the shadows to scare off travelers that had overextended their stays. It was possible that they didn’t even know a shifter lived in the forest, let alone a werewolf. He couldn’t bet on it, but it was possible.

Whether he wanted to find out what they were doing here or just know what human tricks he’d be facing, he had to return to the cabin. He spent less time sleeping so that he could continue patrolling through his woods and also keep a wary eye on the humans when they roused.

The hunter was the easiest to spy on. He spent most of his time outdoors, running through a series of daily tasks that ranged from caring for the horse to gathering firewood to hauling water from the well. He practiced drills with that sword less frequently than Virgil would have expected, but when he did, he moved with the well-balanced motions and sure strikes of someone who knew their way around a weapon.

The other two were more difficult to get a read on. They didn’t seem like hunters in physique or manner, and they spent significantly more time indoors.

One had hands that carried the sharp, chemical smell of ink, and only made regular excursions from the house to mess with a plot of upturned land he’d had the hunter help him fence in. It was a garden, Virgil was fairly sure, though it looked nothing like the ones he’d planted, all careful rows and even spacing.

The other spent most of his time indoors, though he was anything but stagnant. Where the hunter focused on heavy labor and maintaining the exterior of the home, this one seemed to focus his attention on the interior care. Virgil often caught glimpses of him opening windows to air out dusty old linen or set sweet-smelling baked items along the sill.

Most interesting of all were the ways the three of them intersected.

The baker would bring simple food and drink to the scholar when he spent longer than usual wrist-deep in the dirt, and sneak the horse treats while the hunter wasn’t looking, completely unrepentant whenever he was caught.

The scholar would sit and watch the hunter run through drills, occasionally calling out an imaginary attack for him to counter, or share quiet conversation with the baker as dusk fell and the lantern bugs began to emerge.

Even the hunter was gentle, presenting freshly-plucked berries to the baker with a dramatic bow and excited smile, or crouching in the garden to listen as the scholar excitedly explained how well the new sprouts were doing.

It wasn’t like anything he’d ever seen from humans before.

He eventually decided they couldn’t know he was there; any hunter worth their salt would know that encroaching on a pack’s territory was tantamount to declaring war. The other two didn’t even seem to be combatants. If Virgil was anything other than an undersized, scrappy outlier, he could have killed all three of them at any point.

He probably still could, now that he knew when they slept and was well familiar with the ins and outs of that cabin. Unless they’d set up new defenses, or sealed off the secret passages, or randomly deviated from their normal sleeping schedule. Unless, unless, unless.

The forest had been as uneasy as him at first, but surprisingly enough, these new residents worked hard to avoid wreaking the casual destruction humans were known for. They didn’t clear swaths of land of all life or hunt the new season’s young.

As the days passed, they continued to just… exist there, long enough that deer passed through the clearing with barely the flick of an ear at the voices from inside the house.

Over time, the forest’s reluctance turned to ambivalence, and then to amusement at Virgil’s expense. He was the only one who seemed to be taking the threat seriously anymore, much to his annoyance. Sure, they hadn’t done anything yet, but the key word there was ‘yet’.

It was well into the moon’s cycle that his patience in watching the human’s was rewarded with witnessing a change in their routine. As dusk fell, the three of them left the clearing entirely, trekking into the woods with careful steps. Virgil followed at a safe distance, feeling suspicious about their uncharacteristic silence.

The hunter led the way with a glowing lantern, wary but with no sword at his hip. The baker walked behind him, carrying a wrapped, slightly bulky package in his arms, and the scholar brought up the rear with a lantern of his own. Every so often, the scholar would pause and then murmur directions.

It took Virgil an embarrassingly long time to realize they were following a leyline, and sure enough, once they reached an intersection point, they stopped and set up a brightly colored cloth, a few wooden dishes, and bound, dried herbs from the garden.

An offering, the forest seemed to croon around him, pleased with the cuts of meat and burnt herbs. Virgil couldn’t hear what the scholar said, the words quiet and slow, but with the forest present in the back of his mind, he got the general idea.

Reciprocity. Giving for what they had taken, a declaration of their intent.

The forest accepted the claim as it had accepted his offer years ago, the sound of it in the buzzing of the insects and the breeze rustling the leaves. The humans returned home, as much residents of these woods as Virgil was, now.

---

Between the forest’s new fondness and their own persistent harmlessness, Virgil couldn’t justify getting rid of the humans.

So instead, he stayed well away from them, only venturing out of his corner of the forest to supervise the offering trips they made into the heart of the woods on every half-moon, both waxing and waning. If the humans noticed either the forest's fond touch in the brush of its greenery against them or the weight of his narrow-eyed gaze upon them, they didn't show it.

The season shifted slowly, and then all at once. The forest grew quiet again, its greenery fading away as it and many of its inhabitants dropped into snowsleep. Virgil wished his own winter could pass so simply.

The humans’ arrival had dragged his attention away from his usual preparations, and he had enough difficulties hunting alone without adding new complications to the mix. As it stood, he had barely any body fat to speak of, and even his winter coat felt pitiful against the cutting winds and heavy snow.

Whenever he wasn’t hunting, he was curled up in his cave, wishing for the warmth of a pack to surround him. He usually ran warm, enough that even the night’s chill didn’t bother him, but it was a different story in this weather. Shifting wasn’t an option either— His human form could barely withstand minutes in the cold, let alone hours.

Looking back, he wasn’t sure whether he’d drifted towards the cabin on purpose or simply subconsciously followed the smell of smoke. The result had been the same either way.

The house had looked unbearably warm against the bleak landscape, and Virgil had spent ages arguing with himself before slinking towards the abode, unable to bear another sleepless night having any scrap of heat leached away. Honestly, he’d been half-surprised to wake up this morning.

He slunk around the edges of the building, his heart pounding at the muffled voices inside. They had no reason to believe a werewolf resided here. He was small enough to resemble a normal wolf if they caught him. He might simply be earning himself a quicker death, put down like a simple wild animal, but he felt too numb to care.

The cabin’s foundation was solid, but Virgil had spent a fair amount of time exploring the human den as a pup, telling himself he was conquering his fear. It was certainly a hunter’s hideout; he’d found a staggering number of secret passages and hidey-holes built into it for easy escape. With a little prying, they could also be used for easy entrance.

The boarded up entrance to the crawl space was just where he remembered it, faded defensive runes carved into the wood. The enchantments were long defunct, the boards old and rotted, and he’d wriggled through the crawl space enough as a kid to know that there were no lingering traps in wait.

He braced himself, and then shifted with low cracks of bone and flesh. This close to the full moon, it ached like sore muscles, but not as bad as the cold stung at his now-human body. Gritting his teeth, he quickly dug his nails into the wood, able to pry the planks free even with half-frozen fingers. Task done, he shifted back as quick as he could and waited for an agonizing moment, listening for any signs that he’d been heard.

Nothing. The distant voices carried on without a pause.

He hesitated again, but in mere seconds, meager warmth began trickling out from the opening, baiting him more effectively than any supernatural lure. He ducked his head and crawled into the passage, which was more cramped than he’d recalled but still manageable. Step by silent step, he crept through the crawl space, letting the growing heat sink into him until the biting cold was barely more than a memory.

He hadn’t realized just how far under the cabin he’d ventured until a voice rang out directly above him, the actual words lost in the rush of panic he felt, crouched and vulnerable with a human was only meters away.

He wasn’t sure how long he spent like that, tremors vibrating through him as old memories came rushing back. It was small things that brought him back; the smell of ink, the crackling of a hearth, shared laughter. He’d had none of those, back then, but they were here now. He was here now.

The humans continued to chatter casually, none of them aware that there was a beast lying in wait just under the floorboards. They didn’t know he was there. He was safely hidden away.

Slowly, inch by inch, Virgil relaxed, head tucked against his paws, adjusting bit by bit until even the creaks of the humans moving about over his head didn’t register as a threat.

Finally warm, he dropped into sleep between one exhale and the next.

#sanders sides #sanders sides fic #werewolf au #ts virgil #ts roman #ts patton #ts logan #heyatnr #heyatn rewrite #how easy you are to need redux #my writing #writing #im sorry this is so late i got caught up with work #this part is pretty close to the original so im sure its familiar #but i hope you all enjoy anyhow!

[tribbetherium]

The Middle Glaciocene: 115 million years + 3000 years post-establishment

Alone Again, Naturally: An Unlikely Friendship

She was an endling.

She was the last living thorhorn, a species that once roamed the plains of Gestaltia in vast, spectacular herds. Once upon a time the ground thundered beneath their mighty hooves as they made their way across the nigh-endless grassland, feasting on the bounty of the abundant saberleaf and rumbling gently to one another as they placidly wallowed in the mud to fend off the itching heat of the double suns.

But those times were no more.

She was the matriarch of her herd, the oldest female, who watched over the calves and led her herd to new grazing land. She had made it her duty to protect her herd, her family, from the many dangers of the plains. And she had failed.

Her family had been lost to the small, wicked things, the things of fire and smoke that appeared one day. She alone was the survivor. Perhaps she was far too strong, far too stubborn for the creatures, but her herd was not as fortunate.

It was not in the thorhorns' nature to be alone, social and empathetic creatures as they were. But she had no choice. And for the longest time, she would roam the far north, near the temperate forests of Gestaltia that the vicious hordes had not yet reached, in total solitude.

And then, she would meet another endling.

She too was the last of her kind. One more complex than the thorhorns, but one who shared their sorrow. She was a splintster, the last splintster, who too, had fallen victim to the invaders.

Her race was so young, so hopeful, so full of a great potential that never was. Alas, it was never meant to be. Her kind had been slain by demons, demons who wrought fire and destruction, who spoke in twisted tongues of shrieks and screams and lived for the thrill of the kill. She was a mother, and she had lost her only pup to the monsters. She had a partner, but now her mate was gone-- the last she would see of him was his severed head, eyes dulled in death, paraded mockingly upon a spear by the evil things to further torment her misery as she fled in terror to an uncertain future.

She too, had been alone for so long. And now she was astounded to find herself in the presence of a living thorhorn. The thorhorns were long gone by the time she was born, and she never had hoped she would ever see one, alive and breathing, a thing of beauty and power she thought was forever lost to the world.

And thus would begin an unusual friendship, of two endlings, two lost souls who had felt the same grief.

It was a friendship unlike any other, with no clear parallel. It wasn't quite a friendship in the traditional sense, as the thorhorn was simply a highly intelligent animal, as opposed to the splintster, a full sophont creature capable of deep reflection and awareness. Yet it was neither a relationship of master and pet, as it was a mutual bond of each viewing the other as an equal, on their own terms without one controlling the other.

And after so long a time alone, their company was very much welcome.

The last splintster bore a name, incomprehensible-sounding to human ears, but in their trumpeting language, roughly translated to "Last Bloom": for she had been one of the final pups born when the invaders first came. It was a name she would never again hear someone call her by. But, she thought, it would only be fair to give her gigantic new companion a name as well. And she would affectionately come to call her, in her own tongue, "Boulder", for being big, immovable, and very, very stubborn.

At first, Boulder would see Last Bloom with wariness and hostility. She, after all, had a long tail, and walked on two legs, and carried a stick, like the things that had hunted her herd. But slowly, she began to realize Last Bloom was something different: she posed no threat, and soon paid little attention to the small creature scurrying around at her feet. In time, she began to develop a protective affection to the little thing, like she would have to a calf of her own, and it was not long until she would imprint onto the lone splintster, who would gladly return her affection, both from loneliness, and from feeling so fortunate at having been lucky enough to behold, let alone befriend, such a remarkable creature, and feeling obligated to protect this treasure that was all that remained of her kind.

The unlikely pair would make a home near the same region where they first met. In the mornings Boulder grazed in the grasslands with Last Bloom sticking close by, foraging on fruit or spear-fishing in the rivers that snaked across the plains. Initially, they would attempt to offer each other food, but would come to the realization that they were very disparate creatures with vastly different diets, and leave it at that, mutually enjoying their respective meal of choice, and at night settling down to sleep, Boulder being a big, warm pillow for her tiny friend whose fluffy touch was oddly comforting, and both occasionally stirring from slumber and keeping watch in the darkness for the telltale orange glow of fire that both had learned to fear.

And one day, there was smoke in the distance, and both knew, Boulder by instinct and Last Bloom by deduction, that their home was no longer safe.

They began to flee further northward, in search of sanctuary, in the direction away from the flames that streaked faintly in the distance. Perhaps it was just a bushfire. Perhaps it was just lightning that had ignited dry vegetation. But they decided not to stick around long enough to find out. There was nothing good that awaited them there.

They would trek further into the temperate forests, Last Bloom urging her enormous companion onward. There was a safe place far from the fiery devils, awaiting them, just a little further, or so she had hoped. Boulder, in turn, trusted this "strange calf" enough, to come along on the journey, toward a biome the thorhorns naturally would never venture.

And at last, after many days of walking, they found a sparse, grassy woodland beyond the forest, a place free from the creatures, where they could settle for the time being. A place that, for now, was a refuge from the ever-growing legions that, in the eyes of simpler beings, was an incomprehensible swarm slowly consuming their world.

Boulder was a simple creature. She thought not of the future, of the existential horror of what was to come. She only thought of the here and now. She only thought of keeping herself alive and in good health, and protecting and guiding this "strange calf" which she found under her care, by any means she could. Extinction meant little to an animal concerned only with the scale of the present.

Last Bloom was a more sophisticated being, and alas, could suffer more. For she knew she would never see another of her kind, and Boulder was all she had left: a being who would never understand the things she knew. For she knew that the stories they told and the songs they sung, of the names and voices of the past, would be lost forever. She knew that she would one day, like all living things, would someday breathe her last, and with her death, she would take the brief history of her entire people to her grave, and they would all fade away like they never were.

But at the same time, Last Bloom believed in justice. She, like her people before her, believed that good was repaid to those who did good, but evil only sowed more evil and reaped it in return. And, she hoped, and knew deep down, that the white-marked devils who laid ruin to their land would eventually be punished by the consequences of their own works.

And that they, too, will someday be no more.

▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪

#speculative evolution #speculative biology #spec evo #speculative zoology #hamster's paradise

[on-a-lucky-tide]

Oooo for the kissing prompts - 19 or 16 and Gerskel? Pretty please? 💜🐺

19. Desperate kiss / “I thought I’d lost you”

This was also requested by Purple Heart Anon and @ideen-elster

CW: spoilers for Lady of the Lake and Witcher 1 and 3 (Games)

I thought I'd lost you.

The first words that Eskel said to Geralt when his eyes opened after his second trial. Eskel looked as bad as Geralt felt; his eyes sunken, his hands shaking as he lifted a skin of water to Geralt's lips. They kissed desperately moments later. It was neither skilled, nor passionate, but it communicated all they needed. Thank you. Thank you for coming back to me. Eskel climbed into Geralt's bunk, only leaving when one of the instructors removed him bodily to attend training. Geralt could see the fear in Eskel's eyes as he was hauled from the dormitory; he was still frightened that Geralt would pass away while he was gone. It wasn't unheard of and Eskel would be damned before he allowed Geralt, the light of his life, to slip away in the darkness, alone. But Geralt survived. They would always survive for each other.

I thought I'd lost you.

Geralt said to Eskel when he awoke from a week-long coma. Glevissig had done what she could to repair the damage to Eskel's face, but Geralt had done the rest, sewing up the torn flesh under Vesemir's careful guidance. The tears that fell from Eskel's eyes burned the wounds and Geralt did his best to soothe the pain. In the weeks that followed, Geralt held Eskel whenever he needed. When Eskel tried to eat with broken teeth and the soup poured out of his torn lips; when he tried to talk and all the words slurred through spittle; when he thrashed and tried to roar in frustration, only to cause himself greater agony as the stitches pulled and the nerves spasmed. It was always a kiss from Geralt - on the forehead, on the cheek, on those very same scars when Eskel softly voiced his worry that Geralt would never love him looking like this - that pulled Eskel through.

I thought I'd lost you.

Eskel sobbed into Geralt's shirt when he woke without memories. Rivia had been the end. Eskel had come to terms with that, had mourned and lost himself at the bottom of a bottle. But now Geralt was back, not all of him had returned. The pain on Eskel's face when Geralt asked who he was would haunt Geralt until the end of his days. Even then it was enough to make him scramble through the amorphous, disconnected images in his head to try and find the man that looked at him with such a heady mix of pain and love. For a while, Eskel feared he had lost Geralt for good. His Geralt, who remembered their childhood together and the love they had shared for decades. But, as with the trials, Geralt fought his way back to Eskel's side. The first time he touched Eskel's face, his memories restored, he whispered, "found you," against his lips, and lapped Eskel's tears of relief from his cheeks.

I thought I'd lost you.

The words puffed in a cloud before Geralt's lips as he pulled Eskel into a one-armed hug. They were shaken from the loss of Vesemir, the destruction of their home, the raw grief palpable in the air around them. Caranthir would have crushed Eskel. He'd already made a good start; broken ribs, cracked eye socket, bruises in abundance. Geralt shook against Eskel and Eskel clutched him tightly. Be strong, Wolf. Be strong for Ciri. They turned their faces into each other's necks and breathed in the warm, familiar scent. They kissed in the cold aftermath of the battle for their home, with their mentor dead and their futures uncertain. They had won, but it felt like they had lost so much. Eskel could barely stand letting Geralt go to face the Wild Hunt at Ciri's side without him, but what use was a wounded Witcher in the face of destiny?

No more getting lost.

Eskel murmured into the side of Geralt's neck as they sat together beneath a thick wool blanket, the stars of the Toussaint night sky glittering above them. Geralt hummed in contentment and offered Eskel a sip of wine before downing the rest in several satisfying gulps. Eskel and Geralt had lost many friends as the decades had gone by, and almost lost each other more times than they could count. They had wandered far on the Path, their lives a world apart, but they had always found their way back. Now, they never had to worry again.

Now, there was no more losing.

#rawrkinwrites #kissing prompts #Eskel #Geralt #Gerskel

[thr-333]

Drastic Measures- Part 15

@daminette-december2019-2020

~Cats~

Did I set up a whole pet store b plot? Yes. could I have easily used it for this promt? Yes. but I live to be unpredictable~

Also I’m gonna give you all fair warning I’m starting to foster kittens tomorrow(huh cats good timing) so if I miss an update it is all their fault.

Ao3

First < Previous

--------------

“So was this how you did it?” Damian asks, leaving the plane on autopilot.

“No, it was a lot less private jets and a lot more magic portals,” Marinette hands him a drink because oh yeah there's a fridge on this plane stocked to the brim, “Won’t he figure out where we are?”

“No this is a card Jason gave me he says Father never caught him so he won't catch me,” Damian sits down across from her, a sea of clouds out the window, “He actually had a whole box full I’m a little concerned,”

“Well you know as long as he doesn't do anything drastic, like buy a plane,” Marinette scoffs gazing out the window. She feels Damian's eyes on her but he doesn't say anything so she lets it be.

“How did I never realize you were Ladybug?” He’s looking at her like she's the world, a look she never gets out of the mask it feels undeserved.

“How did I never realize you were Robin?” Marinette snarks back, anything not to feel that knot in her chest, “I mean the way you tried to kill me was so reminiscent,”

“... I tried to kill you,” Damian seems stricken by the realization.

“Twice,”

“I am very sorry,” 

“... Wow,” And dammit he does look sincere, and she was ready to forgive him on his half-baked apology before how was she meant to stand up to this?

“What?”

“Oh no I was just expecting to hear your brothers scream or something,” Marinette shrugs, Damian rolls his eyes but relaxes, “You actually apologized,”

“Yes surprisingly I understand the concept,” Damian snaps not looking directly at her.

“Now you’re back,” Marinette smiles, letting herself relax.

“About what happened,” Damian breaks the silence again, “The whole soul mate ordeal, does that actually exist?”

“In a way, usually not the way people think,” Marinette faces him turning on more of her Ladybug confidence, “The universe is all about balance, that's the whole point of the miraculous, like the creation of the Ladybug miraculous has to be balanced by the destruction of the Cat miraculous, if it’s not, the world is out of balance, you get things like Hawkmoth,”

“So that’ll happen to us?” Damian leans forward with rapt attention.

“No, miraculous are powerful examples but balance applies to people too, soul mates balance each other out if one dies then the other person is off-balance,” Marinette makes vague gestures to support her explanation, “Sometimes the effects are minimal sometimes they are extreme, it all depends on how well you know your soulmate and if you have a miraculous,”

“What happens if they have a miraculous?”

“Well miraculous have more power and if you wear them long enough that power becomes part of you, if only one person has that power than the bond is off-balance, so usually the guardians try to pair up soulmates to hold the miraculous,”

“So you-”

“Extenuating circumstances,” Marinette waves off before it can be mulled over, “Master- the guardian that chose me feared it might have negative effects on you but I guess being… everything balanced it out a bit more,”

“So you said it’s not romantic,” Damian's blushing now, Marinette holds her breath, “Does that mean-”

They are thrown to the side, alarms start blaring and they are losing altitude quickly.

“What's going on?!” Marinette stands up shakily, using the seat to pull herself up.

“We’ve been shot,” Damian's running to the cockpit, “We’re going down,”

“Damian!” Marinette grabs him, the ground is visible now and they are quickly approaching the forest. 

There's no miraculous to protect them. Marinette grabs the parachutes passing one to Damian they shrug them on before opening the door.

“Ever done this before!?” Damian shouts over the wind.

“Nope!” and with that Marinette jumps out of the crashing plane.

She stops the fall by deploying her parachute, drifting down as the plane crashing into the rain forest. She gets tangled in the canopy trees, getting out of the parachute Marinette makes her way down to the forest floor far from the crash here and no Damian insight.

“Hey, Damian! Where are you!” Marinette shouts meeting silence, running through the jungle, “Are you alright!? Answer me!”

“Define alright,” Marinette looks up above her and there Damian is, hanging from the branches like a ragdoll, “do not laugh,”

“I’m not laughing,” Marinette is definitely laughing, “No I’m just checking my phone up high like I always do, ignore that sound pretty sure it’s just a bird,”

“Marinette stop taking pictures and get me down,”

“Alright, alright,”

She does with some trouble eventually getting Damian down safely.

“So whereabouts are we?” Marinette peers through the trees.

“Jungle, far from our target,” Damian has his specialized GPS out, “We’ll have to find the nearest town and get transport,”

“Right, town,” She whistles,  “There seems to be an abundance of those around,”

“There's one a few days walk from here,”

“Perfect,” Marinette rolls her eyes, following Damian's lead, “Who shot us down anyway?”

“Could be the military, wouldn’t put anything past Father, there may be a villain base nearby,” Damian lists, “Or perhaps, it was some poachers,”

“What Damian you didn’t spring for the armored jet?”

“I would have if I didn’t-” He stops looking at her despondently, “You’re messing with me,”

“Yep, but the fact you fell for it is very revealing,” Marinette pats him on the shoulder walking forward. She gets the distinct feeling of being watched and looks around casually as possible, spotting the source,  “In other news have you seen that mushroom over there,”

“We’re being followed,” Damian whispers to where she was pointing near the hunter.

“Amazing deduction, if only someone had pointed you in that direction,” Damian smirks before Marinette asks, “Who could it be, Batman? Assassins?”

“Or the people that shot us down, or both,”

They both watch cautiously taking a step forward, then they get attacked. Marinette and Damian dodge to the side in time. And no it’s not Batman or a villain or anyone else its-

“Big kitty!” Marinette squeals the tiger prowling towards her. Marinette reaches out with her magic trying to soothe them.

“Marinette stand back,” Damian warns, forced to the opposite side.

 “Please Damian this thing looks so starved I could speed walk away from it and it wouldn't catch up,” Marinette reaches out, cautiously despite her flippant attitude. The tiger sniffs her hand before bumping against it harmlessly, her creation magic soothing it, “Come on let's help her out,”

“How on earth did you pull me into adopting a tiger?” Damian asks as they stalk through the forest tiger in tow.

“Please, I’d probably have to hold you back from adopting it,” Damian doesn't deny it, “We’re just making sure she gets some food,”

“And how are we not turning into that food?” Damian asks, backing up as the Tiger stalks closer to him.

“Miraculous magic, animals tend to love me,”

“Especially cats,” Damian says a weird pinch to his tone.

“Sure, cats, ladybugs… oh,” She stops, looking back at him.

“You said miraculous holders should be soul mates,” Damian's talking to the ground.

“Yeah but Adrien's not my soul mate,” Marinette puts her hands on his shoulders, “You are,”

“So you two arent?”

“Not at all,” Marinette smiles, Damian relaxes and they keep walking.

“That's good,”

“Good?” 

“I didn’t say that,” He’s blushing now and Marinette’s not above teasing.

“Yes you did~”

“Marinette shhh, we’re trying to hunt here,” Damian shushes her still in a teasing tone. Marinette laughs, running to catch up.

 ---

 The hunt goes well. Well enough that Marinette should be more worried the tiger is about to adopt Damian not the other way around. They are carrying the kill for the tiger back to the den. She goes inside while they set the food down outside.

“Do you think she has babies!?” Marinette is also not above using her magic to pat tiger cubs.

“I’d say by the empty den no,” Damian backs up from his peeking when she stalks out, pacing around the area.

“I’d say by her distress and these footprints that yes,” Marinette glares in the direction the footprints go, “And that this isn’t good,”

“Follow me, I’ll track them,” Damian runs forward, closely followed.

“Another hunt, goodie,”

“You know a problem with your sarcasm Marinette is that I don’t know when you’re being genuine,”

“Oh, Damian I always use genuine sarcasm,”

Damian holds back whatever comeback he has, instead, running faster. They track the footprints through the rain forest. It isn’t far until they find the poachers. And it takes considerably less time for Ladybug and the former Robin to take them down.

“There you go sweetheart,” Marinette hands the two cubs back to their mother, not before getting in a quick pat.

“Yeah considering this man's arm that's not accurate,” Damian begrudgingly bandages the guy's arm, not with the best bedside manner.

“Yes it is~” Marinette coos at the mother fretting over the babies, “I suppose we have to take them to the hospital,”

“Right in the main city, and we should use their truck,” Damian grins evilly, Marinette matches it.

“There are closer-”

“Hush you,” Marinette gags the poachers for good measure, all of them bound.

“We’re taking a job at the Royal palace, you can be sure that we’ll mention you,” Damian glared coldly down at the men, “I would recommend not making your review any more unflattering,”

---------

no taglist :P

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug fic #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #MLB #ML #ml fic #Marinette #miraculous marinette #badass marinette #maribat #daminette #marinette x damian

[yel-halansu]

Pre-Reform Vulcan isn't what you think it is

So I've seen a lot of confusion in the fandom regarding Vulcan history, which is a shame because it's really detailed and interesting! I've compiled this summary of the main eras and events in Vulcan history which I hope you will find informative and useful (just as a note, all dates will be given in standard Earth years and centuries for clarity). Let's begin!

THE TIME OF THE BEGINNING

Life was seeded in Vulcan by a preserver race around 6 million years ago, which explains the similarities with other kinds of humanoid life in the galaxy. Evolution took its natural course, and by 600,000 BCE, a humanoid species had developed from a feline ancestor.

Proto-Vulcan humanoids were a peaceful people with an aptitude for logic. They lived mostly in the plains and kept away from mountain areas due to the danger posed by volcanic eruptions. They learnt to use fire early, and the abundance of metals made for a short Stone Age as they quickly developed rudimentary metallurgy and agricultural techniques. They soon started to domesticate animals and developed other basic technologies such as weaving. During this time period, strong solar flares and increased volcanic activity desertified the planet. The lack of resources such as water and fertile land that ensued would mark Vulcan history for thousands of years to come.

THE AGE OF ANTIQUITY

By 2,700 BCE, society was organized around tribal lines in clans that banded together for protection. Most tribes were nomadic, crossing the desert in search of water and following the migrating herds of the animals they hunted. It is theorized that groups were female-dominated, with the clan matriarchs overseeing most aspects of life.

Around that time, however, settlements had also started to develop across the territory, mostly near the shorelines of the small seas of Vulcan and by protective rock formations near oases, in order to utilise these precious resources and guard them from outsiders. These settlements eventually developed into fortified city-states. Conflicts over water and arable land became common as the cities fought to monopolise them, and technological development quickly stagnated as they fought for survival, ushering in a dark age. Political intrigue and violence were rife, with the warlords of the city-states securing alliances through arranged marriages and concocting elaborate plots of betrayal.

It is also thought that it was around this period of time that Vulcans as a species started to develop psychionic abilities, with members of the population who displayed these abilities being highly sought after and respected. As early as 2,500 BCE, some isolated Vulcans appear to have began to mentally train themselves to suppress their emotions, noticing that doing so resulted in a heightened control of their telepathic abilities.

The Age of Antiquity lasted thousands of years, but due to the uncontrolled destruction of the environment during the wars that were about to ensue, little archaeological evidence remains of it. Most accounts about this period are now shrouded in legend.

THE AGE OF EXPANSION

Eventually, an arms race began as the Vulcan city-states, locked in constant skirmishes, rushed to overpower their neighbours and defend their scarce resources. Technological advancement, which had up to that point been slow, quickly sped up and focused on weaponry, until Vulcans came to create weapons of mass destruction such as atomic and neutron bombs. The wars that ensued ravaged the surface of the planet, permanently distorting a region of its magnetic field, and leading to frequent energy discharges in the red sands.

By the 9th century BCE, Vulcans were capable of space travel, though they did not yet possess warp capability. Legend states that the first spacecraft was built by the warlord D'Vir in 855 BCE. At the time not many species were warp-capable, and so the Vulcans did not come into contact with other civilizations. They quickly landed on Vulcan's sister planet, T'Khut, and started mining it for resources.

Wars were now worsened due to the shifting balances of power caused by the destabilizing factors of the discovery of new off-world territories to colonise and the new incoming resources taken from T'Khut, the nearby asteroid belts, and other neighbouring planets. The wars in Vulcan continued for centuries.

SUDOC'S HEGEMONY

The landscape suffered greatly, and the Vulcans came close to extinction just around the 3rd century CE. It was around this time that a warlord called Sudoc took power in the city of Jaleyl by assassinating the previous ruler. His psichionic abilities were renowned and he used this power to control his followers through mind-melds and telepathic torture. He cultivated a close circle of ardent brainwashed followers. He quickly became very popular in Jaleyl by appealing to the majority of the populace with propaganda techniques, and began to expand his kingdom quickly and violently. Initially, other neighbouring city-states resisted, but Sudoc fought them mercilessly and invaded them. He is said to have slaughtered entire cities except for a single survivor, who would then be sent to the next town with the following message: “Your rulers are responsible. They would rather see you dead than out of their control.” This would cause neighbouring city-states to either surrender or be torn apart by internal conflict, as the leaders would be overthrown by their fearful citizens. For over a century, Sudoc's armies advanced across the planet.

THE TIME OF AWAKENING

Surak was born to a general in Shi'Kahr just as the city was entering in conflict with Sudoc's expanding kingdom. As a well-off youth, he was spared the horrors of the war and was not drafted into the army as most common citizens were. Instead, he spent his youth reading, studying and discussing philosophy with his friends at the sumptuous feasts of the upper class. The turning point in his life came when his entire family was assassinated by Sudoc's agents. Surak was spared as he was at a party that evening. Many other influential families were killed in this coordinated attack, including that of Surak's closest friend, Senet. Senet was consumed by rage, and immediately joined the front lines of the army, wishing to get his revenge on Sudoc. He was promptly killed.

This event changed Surak permanently, and he began to write. He theorised that all the problems of the Vulcan people stemmed from their excess of emotion. He started to develop his discipline of logic, which he believed was the only thing that could temper emotion and allow Vulcan society to develop past the horrible struggles of war. Many of his former friends deserted him during this time, but others stayed as he developed a close circle of faithful followers. Surak surrounded himself with masters of all disciplines, such as law, calligraphy and mathematics, who would in time go on to apply his principles of logic into these disciplines.

Surak faced great opposition at the beginning, as he was perceived by the population of Shi'Kahr as a spoiled kid who knew little of the horrors of the war. Sensing their apprehension, Surak and his followers started crossing the enemy lines and teaching their philosophy of peace among the armies of Sudoc. Many warriors began to desert the army, and propagated his teachings in turn as they travelled through the desert, fleeing the conflict.

From that point on, Surak's teachings gained popularity and sparked unrest in many of the territories of Sudoc's kingdom, which soon rebelled against the warlord. By this time, Sudoc had grown old, and in 331 CE, he died in a telepathic accident during melding session with his inner circle. His empire collapsed quickly after that and the war came to an abrupt end. The Vulcan people were still fractured into various groups while Surak spread his message, but in the vacuum left by Sudoc, many more Vulcans found comfort and hope in Surak's teachings.

THE SUNDERING

Even though Surak's teachings were extremely popular, not all Vulcans felt inclined to follow them. A group of Sudoc's most ardent supporters, led by a warrior named Tellus, found themselves increasingly disturbed by the new philosophy that was sweeping the planet. They would come to be called the "those who marched beneath the Raptor's wings". After attempting to start a new war against the followers of Surak, they saw themselves forced to leave the planet.

In 369 CE, hundreds of thousands of Tellus' followers took to space in the rudimentary crafts available at the time, looking for a new planet to call their homeworld. They would eventually arrive to a distant planet named Romulus and their culture would develop to become the Romulans we know today. It is a mystery how they managed to survive in space and travel that far a distance in non-warp ships, and it has been suggested that they may have accidentally entered a wormhole or been aided by some poweful interstellar entity.

With the exodus of the proto-Romulans, Vulcan was left mostly unified in thought and belief. However, Surak always considered the societal rift responsible for the Sundering to be one of his greatest failures. Surak died of radiation poisoning on Mount Seleya in 481. Selok, one of his disciples, took to the task of building a new system of government that would align with the new philosophy of pacifism and planetary unification, emotional supression and logic.

THE GOLDEN AGE

With a renewed spirit of unity and cooperation, Vulcans ushered in a new age of technological development. Within the space of a few years, Vulcans mapped the geothermic activity of their planet to contain its destructive force and harness its power, and used this new energy source to construct desalinisation plants and supply water to the cities and the cropfields. For the first time in Vulcan history, resources were plentiful and the constant threat of famine was erradicated. Science progressed quickly, with the Vulcan Science Academy being founded in 399 CE. Psichionic techniques also developped faster under the discipline of logic, and by the 6th century they had become cemented in the population as the new techiniques of meditation and self-control developed in their mainstream culture.

THE ROMULAN WAR

The Golden Age came to an abrupt end in 1270, when mysterious spacecrafts entered Vulcan aerospace and attacked their planet. These were, in fact, the Romulans, who has returned to their homeworld with the intention of conquering it. Both civilizations lacked warp drive capability at the time, and it is theorised that the Romulans were using an unstable wormhole to travel between the two worlds when permitted. Because of this, the timing of the incursions was unpredictable, and sometimes long periods of time would pass between attacks. The war lasted around 100 years in total. Romulan strategy dictated that their vessels must self-destruct rather than being captured, and because of this, the Vulcans never understood who was attacking them or why. However, they defended themselves with tenacity and avoided being conquered, until the wormhole closed permanently, putting a stop to the war.

SPACE EXPLORATION

The Romulan war drove technological advancements in many fields, including aeronautics, and after many years of avoiding space travel, the Vulcans took to the stars once again. Initially motivated by the potential discovery of their enemies in the recent war, they developed warp-drive capable starships. However, as they were still weary of other civilizations due the recent conflict, they avoided first contact with other races, preferring studying them from afar until they had gathered sufficient data to judge whether they posed a threat. First contact with Earth took place on 2063, and by that point they had already had encounters with the Tellarites and the Andorians, among others.

THE REFORMATION

Relations between Vulcan and Andoria were always tense, and by the 22nd century they had reached a boiling point when the Andorians sacked the Vulcan monastery of P'Jem, believing it to be an undercover spying operation. In the political fallout that ensued, the Vulcan High Council came under the control of Administrator V'Las, an undercover Romulan agent who was working to instigate the Vulcan invasion of Andoria.

In 2137, a Vulcan named Syrran created the Syrrannite movement, with the goal of returning Vulcan to the true path of pacifism and logic laid out by Surak. The increased militarism of the Vulcan High Council did not go unnoticed, and the Syrranites stood in stark oposition. The Council, weary of their influence, commenced a long campaign of persecution and slander against them.

In 2154, V'Las attempted to bomb the Terran Embassy in Shi'Kahr and blame the Syrranite movement, now led by T'Pau. However, his plans were foiled when T'Pau uncovered the Kir'Shara, an ancient artifact containing some writings of Surak that had been lost for centuries.

As a result of this discovery, the government of Vulcan was reformed and restored to a less militaristic democratic government in 2155. T'Pau stood for election and was elected as First Minister, and during her term she became one of the most influential Vulcan politicians of all time.

THE FEDERATION

The Federation was founded in 2161, with First Minister T'Pau as one of the signatories. Vulcan was proposed as capital, but the more conservative elements of government rejected the idea as it seemed culturally dangerous. Instead, Earth became the capital, though Vulcan remained a core member in spite of the warnings from conservative Vulcans that too much involvement in the affairs of other worlds was illogical and could be contrary to the philosophies of autonomy and peace that guide Surakian thought. In 2241, T'Pau refused a seat at the Federation Council, the only person to ever do so, and Suvok volunteered in her stead. This reticence to become overly involved in offworld affairs extended to Starfleet, as many saw the paramilitary organisation as having the potential to become violent. While enlisting in Starfleet was not forbidden, and many Vulcans did indeed choose this career path, it was mostly frowned upon in Vulcan society.

Though the majority of Vulcans support the Federation, the growing influence of Terra and other alien worlds in the affairs of Vulcan crystallised the radicalisation of more xenophobic elements of society, such as the Logic Extremists. During the 23rd century, this terrorist group bombed the Vulcan Learning Center to kill young Spock and Michael, the children of the mixed family of Ambassador Sarek. In the following years, they went on to sabotage several diplomatic missions until they were disbanded. In 2370, the Vulcan Isolationist Movement, the spiritual successor to the Logic Extremists, was discovered and also disbanded.

And these are the main periods in Vulcan history so far! In spite of their rapid advances in technology, Vulcan remains respectful of its traditions, ever logical and reserved, ever holding the violence that plagued it for centuries as a reminder of the past they wish to distance themselves from and the bright future that lays ahead.

Sources: VLI: Planet Vulcan History, The Way of Kolinahr: The Vulcans, Memory Alpha, Memory Beta.

#I always tag pre-Surak stuff as pre-reform Vulcan because that's what people are going to search #but it's technically incorrect #vulcan history #star trek vulcan #history of vulcan #history of the planet vulcan #pre-reform Vulcan #pre reform vulcan #pre-reform #pre reform #pre-Surak vulcan #pre-surak #surak #surak's life #the sundering #sundering #long post #text post #reference #vulcan technology #wars #terrorism #vulcan #vulcans

[xilienmultiverse-archived]

King of Winter

@thegnardians0fchildh00d​ wanted to do a thread! Impmon loved winter. Oh, not for any of the gag-worthy traditions like Christmas- Though the candy was definitely a plus around this time- No, he liked it for entirely different reasons. See, with all the snow abundant around the usual places he likes to stalk, it awakened the true prankster within. Snow was very versatile in it’s uses, you know? Sure, one could just make a Snowman or a Snowball, but that’s just barely scratching the surface! With his Badachill, too, he could make some truly devilish traps. Ice Puddles hidden by snow that, when one steps through the snow veneer, will make them slip! Or, perhaps, he hid within a local snowman and when the time was right- He’d burst from it and start pelting the local populace with Badachills or Snowballs! Yes, winter was great for these kinds of pranks. He was, in his own mind, the Unofficial King of Winter. It was a normal day in the park. Kids were having fun, Adults were doing their own thing... It was perfect hunting season for the Imp. While the kids were having a snowball fight, Impmon’s first act was to freeze the Park Benches with a blast of his Badachill. While it didn’t seem like the adults noticed at first, they definitely noticed when they couldn’t stand up anymore. Their backs and butts were now frozen on the bench! The Digimon let out boisterous laughter at their attempts to get up, before he turned his attention to the kids. Looking at them have fun... It reminded him of them. 

“Noisy li’l shits...!” Impmon growled, before he smirked. Time to teach the kids a lesson. Conjuring a Badaboom in his hand, he’d hide in some nearby bushes, waiting for the perfect time to pounce. After a kid would finish creating a decent looking snowman, the Imp zeroed in on it. Baseball pitching the fireball in hand, it struck true, hitting the snowman in the center, causing it to explode and melt into slush. While all the kids were surprised and probably saddened by the destruction of their work, the Imp only let out another round of boisterous laughter. Though he couldn’t help but feel like there was someone watching him. Conjuring another fireball in hand, he’d pause, not sure if that feeling was just that or if it was justified.

#[Badaboom] - Impmon #[Reports from the front lines] - IC #[Mobilizing] - Starter #[A new foe it seems] - thegnardians0fchildh00d #xilieninvasion #((though this is may seem targeted towards jack frost)) #((honestly you can use any muse you want))

[chiefladylightyay]

The Four Dragons of Vytal

The rewrite of my craptacular RWBY AU oneshot. Finally have a Ghat Damned Name for the Thing!

In Which Love Transcends Time and possibly space

In the beginning the four Dragons arrive from another realm, exiled for reasons unknown.

Their names are as follows

Andracca, The Great Black One, oldest and ostensibly most powerful, creator of earth and stone, wood and water, master of fire and smoke.

Reirsyphys, The Gentle-hearted, sister of Andracca, mistress of life, healing and compassion.

Skie, The Blue One of Arrogance, he who lingers, master of skies, clouds and storms.

Errier, The Impatient One, she who comes first, fastest of all, mistress of beasts, laughter and wild things.

The four travel through the Great Void, in search of others like them, but fail. After a lengthy debate, the four set about creating the world of Vytal, intent on ruling it as Gods.

Andracca, flexing his incredible power, creates the globe to his liking.

Reirsyphys, true to her gentle nature, adjusts Andracca’s globe so it may support life.

Skie creates the Skies, Moon and all the winds, from the gentlest breeze to typhoons and hurricanes without equal.

Andracca creates the deeps of the sea, and everything that is unknown.

Errier, with speed unrivaled, breathes life into the world of Vytal, to the great annoyance of Andracca who desired to do so himself.

Andracca, in response to the abundant life created by Errier, creates the Grimm.

Seeing the devastation brought by the Grimm, Andracca and Reirsyphys create humanity, possessed of gifts of knowledge, creation, destruction and choice, humans truly are the mightiest of all living beings. With their magic, humans keep the grimm at bay.

Down on Vytal a young lord rescues a princess from a group of raiders, acquiring fame, fortune, and glory. They fall in love, and eventually have a baby girl whom they name Salem.

Salem is a happy child, curious about the world, and mighty in the art of magic. One day, she meets Ozma, her soulmate. The two quickly hit it off, begin courting, and eventually get married.

After a long life together, hunting Grimm, Ozma unfortunately falls in battle.

Devastated by the loss of her love, Salem asks a boon of Skie, the only dragon who actually visits Remnant in dragon form. Skie, pleased with the arrogance shown by Salem, brings her to the other dragons. This marks the first and only time a mortal has ever ridden a dragon.

Brought before the Dragons, Salem asks them to bring her dead love Ozma back to life.

Reirsyphys is quick to agree, wanting to ease Salem’s pain.

Andracca thinks for what to Salem feels like an eternity before he speaks. What he said to Salem that day, only Salem knows.

Regardless, Salem did get her wish. And she got it again. And again. And again. And she will continue to get her wish, so long as the world of Vytal remains.

For Salem and Ozma are forever bound together through the love they shared in life, and bonds of such power, are unbreakable.

Even to the likes of godlike Dragons.

And for a time, it was good. But humanity's so-called civil societies soon fell victim to vanity, decadence and corruption.

Thus did Humanity’s first incarnation seal their doom, for such was their decadence and corruption, they unwittingly called from beyond the Void a being much like the four dragons, but infinitely worse in every way.

Dezenym, the Voiceless One. The Great Enemy. The Corrupter. They, who above all else... desire POWER.

As like a falling star, Dezenym descended upon Remnant, shattering the moon and breaking the tallest mountains, disrupting the great oceans, drowning swathes of the surface of the world.

One by one Dezenym slaughtered the great human nations, breaking the survivors to Their will. Such was the wanton slaughter, even the Grimm bowed before Them.

But there were some, who resisted. The followers of Salem and Ozma gathered what forces they had, and together with the four creator dragons they fought the much larger Cult of Dezenym to a standstill. Victory seemed near, but Dezenym was not yet undone. In a last act of spite, Dezenym cast a final spell, rendering all of humanity as motes upon the winds.

Such was the indelible rage of the four dragons at the loss of their most prized creation they unleashed fury the likes the world had never seen, nor would ever see again.

For an eternity the War of Wrath raged between the Four and Dezenym until, finally, Andracca smote Dezenym to ruin deep into the earths crust at the southernmost point of Vytal.

There the remains of Dezenym lie to this day, seeping Their terrible corruption...

With the task of ridding the world of Dezenym seemingly completed, Andracca and his companions set about restoring Vytal to its former glory. But things would never again be the same, too many things were lost. Still, they tried their best. And after three and a half thousand years, the world started to brighten once more, animals returned to life, slowly at first but soon the world was bustling.

Errier, however, was not satisfied with mere beasts, as much as she loved them. Impatient with the progress on the next iteration of humanity, she in secret set about creating her own.

Thus came the first Faunus, being like Humans, but diffrent. Adorned with beastly traits that Errier so loved, they were faster, more agile and sometimes stronger than humanity had ever been.

Skie was the first to see the new creation of Errier’s and when he did, his pleasure at her arrogance was so great he laughed up a storm. This brought Andracca and his sister Reirsyphys, who wondered what could possibly be funny.

Seeing the Faunus, they were confused, and concerned. How could Humanity be the firstborn when Faunus were already there? So they all debated back and forth, until finally it was decided: Faunus would sleep until Humanity could return.

With her impatience stilled for now, Errier set uppon her given tasks with gusto until finally, the return of humanity was nigh.

It was determined by Andracca and Skie that Magic was what had brought Dezenym to Vytal, thus the next iteration could not have that gift, save in rare cases. In magics stead they were given the gift of Aura, to protect and heal them in times of need.

And so, Reirsyphys breathed to life the first of the new Humans. Seeing the humans hale and hearty Andracca was pleased, and so he breathed new life into Salem and Ozma, who alone out of everyone on Vytal retains the old gifts of Magic. With Humanity finally returned, Errier woke the Faunus to join them.

And for a time it was good. But as Humans and Faunus spread around the world, they forgot their shared origins and saw only differences between each other.

#rwby au #my writing #fanfic #this is terrible #dragons #fix fic #sort of #rwby salem #rwby ozma #salem #ozma #creation myth #please leave a like and a reblog :P #dragons of vytal #dragons of vytal au #rwby

[peashooter85]

Why do you think CWD is spreading so radidly? It's a very new disease that didn't exist until now so where did it come from?

I’m not a wildlife biologist so I really don’t know. CWD was first documented in the 1950′s and exploded in the 2000′s. I have a theory based on a historical perspective but again I’m not an expert in animal biology and conservation so take it for what it’s worth.  So my theory goes like this; the current deer population is artificially high due to a lack of predation and an abundance of food.  In natural environments deer populations are not anywhere near as high as what they are now.  In pre-Columbian North America there were populations of wolves and big cats that kept the deer population in check.  In addition there were Native American tribes who were hunter gathers or agricultural societies who supplemented their diet with hunting. These were people who didn’t just hunt once a year but all year long as a source of staple food. So the deer, elk, and other four legged animal population was always low and kept low. Believe it or not there are more deer in North America now than there probably were in 1492.  Then of course when Europeans settled deer and most other four legged animals were driven to near extinction due to commercial hunting and habitat destruction.  In my state of Pennsylvania deer had to be imported from other states for the population to recover because they were nearly driven to extinction. By 1900 most virgin timber east of the Mississippi was gone and much of the virgin timber in the west was depleted.  So deer habitats were mostly gone.  Predator species like wolves and big cats were driven to near extinction.

The 20th century saw the introduction of game management and wildlife management.  Commercial hunting was outlawed and replaced with yearly seasons and bag limits.  Deer herds are now managed by state game commissions which gradually allowed the expansion of populations. In the 1930′s the Civilian Conservation Corps planted billions of trees, leading to a recovery of forest land.  So you have a situation where forests are back, there’s little to no predation, the only exception being annual hunting seasons which are short periods of time throughout the year.  With mass agriculture food is easy to come by as farmers can’t look after their fields 24/7 making for easy grazing. More and more people are actually feeding the deer with feeders or even devoting land to feed lots specifically for deer.  The result is you have a large artificial deer population, much larger than what nature can normally sustain on it’s own. As a result of this large population, diseases spread much more easily. CWD probably was always around, but it just didn’t spread easily because there was a much smaller population with a constant turnover as deer were killed by predators (both animal and human) and the herd was continuously being culled. 

So the answer, cut down the forests and kill all the deer.  No just kidding, IDK what the answer is.  Anyway that’s just my theory and like I said I’m not an expert, would love to hear from some experts what they think of my theory and if its accurate or totally off base.

#Anonymous