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itsabouttimex2 · 7 months

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ooo if your not busy maybe Mei or Azure a gn! Reader who’s a descendant of the lady bone demon but said friend tries to hide that fact from them

(Thank you for sending such an interesting request! I ended up liking this scenario so much that I wrote out a few characters for it!)

Descendant of the Lady Bone Demon: Part One

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three)

Maybe they should’ve seen this coming. Maybe there were a few warning signs they didn’t pick up on. Looking back on it now, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? All those little things should’ve added up a long time ago.

The way the room grew silent and tense when you walked in, no matter how how exuberant it had been prior. How you manage to sneak up on everyone without even trying, as though you had no presence. The wide berth that strangers give you, even though they can’t explain why. That last one had been particularly strange for your friends. They hadn’t understood why people would treat you so coldly, not back then.

They understand now.

Mei Dragon thinks of you as one of her best friends, right alongside MK. Even in childhood were the two of you close, your company providing a brief break from her parents expectations and the crushing weight of living up to her family name. She grows up to think of you as a sibling, really. She’s a ride or die, rise to the challenge, thrill junkie sort of girl. And above all else, she’s fiercely loyal to her friends.

So Mei doesn’t believe a word that LBD has to say. She doesn’t care about destiny, about fate, about these so-called “invisible strings that guide us all through life”.

She lives her life as she pleases, doing what makes her and her friends happy! And she’s not gonna listen to a word that some wannabe world-destroyer has to say about it!

Until the Lady Bone Demon mentions you.

“Y/N bears my very own blood, thin though it has grown. In time, they will follow the very same path I have, to cleanse this world of pain and suffering.”

Now she’s listening. Her control over the Samadhi Fire slips, scorching a ring of death into the earth around her. The heat alone wilts the any flora that was spared outright combustion. “How…” The fire flickers, fizzles.

And then promptly reignites, blazing hotter than ever before. Immediately, the Lady Bone Demon cringes away from Mei’s sweltering power as oppressive heat waves bear down on her. She can only watch in fear and awe as the Samadhi Fire grows hotter and brighter, fueled by rage.

“How DARE you say that about my friend! Y/N would never do anything like that!” A blazing arc of black and red fire slices into the blue crystal formations created by the demon, melting them into sizzling puddles. Her anger builds with each lash of multicolored fire, reducing each and every spiked crystal around her to a mess of glowing goo.

That anger doesn’t fade even after the fight is over, not even after she gets to see the Lady Bone Demon shred apart and drift away. It’s cathartic to watch, but doesn’t make her any less angry about what she heard.

No, that anger only fades once she has you in her arms, hugging you as tightly to herself as possible. You don’t know about your lineage. No one else does either. Just Mei. Which leaves her with the worst dilemma of her life.

Does she tell you? Does she tell anyone?

She doesn’t want to be like Sun Wukong, hiding important information from even the people who would be affected by it the most. She was a victim of that, and it had hurt. She doesn’t want to hurt you. That’s the last thing she wants. But she also doesn’t want to cast any doubt on you, doesn’t want anyone to think you might end up a destructive foe that would one day need to be struck down.

The fear of losing you somehow outweighs the fear of you being angry at her for withholding information from you.

So she keeps quiet.

Mei rationalizes her silence on the matter by telling herself that she’ll tell you later. Yes, everything will work out, she’s sure of it! She’ll just… wait. Just a little bit. When everything calms down and everyone starts to move on from this disaster, she’ll speak up. Once everyone is in a better, happier mood, they’ll definitely be more receptive to the bad news, right? So she isn’t doing anything wrong. She isn’t acting like the Monkey King. She’s… just keeping you safe.

And she really hopes you won’t hate her for it.

———————————————————————

Tang has long pondered your place in this little group. It’s not that he doesn’t like having you here, nothing of the sort! Really, he sees you as family, the same way he sees everyone else in this ragtag group of misfits.

But you stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone else has a direct tie to the original pilgrims who once undertook a legendary journey to retrieve sacred texts.

Tang Sanzang for Tang. Zhu Baije for Pigsy. Sha Wujing for Sandy. Ao Lie for Mei. Sun Wukong for MK. Everyone had someone who their skills, appearance, or even personality harkened back to.

Everyone except for you. Tang had made several guesses before, wondering if there was someone you yourself were standing in the place of. But no one truly seems to fit. Rather than distancing himself from you over this disparity, he makes an effort to grow closer. “It must be lonely”, he reasons to himself, “being the odd man out.” He’s struggled with his own insecurities of being useless or weak, so he can relate to you on a personal level. After making that connection between the two of you, he starts to look out for you, trying to help guide you as you grow.

Tang probably sees himself as your father figure, just the way he sees himself as MK’s.

But, since you don’t have the support system that MK has, he tries to take a more involved role in your life. He’ll sit down with you to chat about any troubles or struggles you have, offering you a kind ear and a welcoming shoulder. And if you ever are struggling with something so bad that it breaks you down and leaves you in tears, he happily takes you into his arms and stays with you through the meltdown. If you fall asleep in his embrace after wearing yourself out, he enjoys it all the more.

He cherishes moments like that, actually.

Sure, he’s sympathetic to your feelings of loneliness and isolation. It’s true that he wants you to be happy. Sometimes he hates the world for hurting you the way it has.

But he loves that you trust him enough to break down in front of him, that you trust him to console and protect you in your weakest moments.

Even at a moment like this, where one of the greatest threats to humanity is bearing down on the two of you. For once, he doesn’t hide or cower. Not when your life is on the life. His golden shield encapsulates both of you, a fierce glare painting his face as he holds you close. You breath raggedly against his shoulder, barely able to support yourself. You had been wounded in the fight, nearly passing out after taking several blows for him and the others. Now, he holds you close, standing tall as you lean on him for support. He watches as the Lady Bone Demon throws attack after attack at the two of you, each blast of crystal and bone shattering and fading against his aureate shield.

The ancient demon glares down at him, a sneer curling her face. “You would fight your destiny? The great monk, Tang Sanzang-”

“I don’t care! Even if I am his reincarnation or his descendant… the choices I make are mine and mine alone! And I will always choose to protect my friends!”

“Even Y/N? Even the very one who bears my blood within them? Are you truly willing to risk saving them now, that they might follow my ways later?”

All the little pieces click into place for him. The mystery he had pondered the most was finally solved, and now he had to live with learning the answer.

“That- that doesn’t matter! Y/N is a person all their own, who will make their own decisions! And I trust them to stay by our side and fight for good! I won’t let you corrupt them!”

And he doesn’t. His resplendent barrier holds fast, shining brightly until all that is left of the demon has been scattered to the wind. He holds you gently, mustering the strength to carry you on his when everyone makes the trip back to Pigsy’s noodle shop. Someone like Sandy or Wukong would definitely better suited to the physical labor he was performing, but Tang couldn’t bear to separate himself from you yet.

Nor is he willing to let go once everyone has taken a seat. He props you up against himself, rubbing your back to keep you awake. “The kids eat first,” Pigsy says, carrying three hearty bowls of noodles. MK, then Mei, then you. Once all of you have your noodles, the chef goes back to the kitchen to start on another batch. Tang holds the bowl and the chopsticks, lifting the noodles to your mouth. Occasionally, he tips the bowl to your mouth so you can sip at the nourishing broth. On any other day, he would’ve swiped a few bites for himself while feeding you. Now, you’re all he can think of. He feeds you bite by bite, then guides you to lay your head in his lap once you’ve finished.

“Hey, Tang.” Pigsy peers down at him, another bowl of noodles in his hands. He passes it to Tang. “What was that demon lady saying to ya anyways?”

Tang looks down at you, watching your chest rise and fall, looking more at peace than ever before. He can’t tell you. Not here. Not now. Maybe not ever. But he and Pigsy can both keep secrets, and more than that, you’ll have two targets to split your anger between, keeping Tang from catching the brunt of it if you ever do find out. So he asks:

“Do you think you can keep a secret, Pigsy?”

Red Son

He doesn’t know why he likes you. By all means, you’re just another peasant, another mortal working at the same noodle store that his arch-rival is. But there’s something different about you. Maybe it’s the way you never seem to flinch or cringe or even cower. Maybe it’s the cool head you keep. Maybe it’s the wide-eyed awe you stare at his creations with.

Even after you had been kidnapped.

“I thinks that it was very clever of you,” you softly admit, not fighting against your bonds. “The way you used the tri-toothed 1x2 plates. I don’t see many people use those.”

He shouldn’t be happy to hear you say that. He should scoff and huff and strike down your praise like it’s meaningless drivel. But it’s not. Not to him. He’s been waiting to hear something like that for a long time, actually. Now, if it only it had been from the mouth of his father…

He shakes himself from those thoughts. “Not that a PEASANT like you could ever comprehend just how truly clever my work is! In fact, the legs of this machine are held in place by a truly unique-” “Technic angular wheel,” you finish for him. “It was a smart choice. I bet finding one that could evenly bear the weight of four legs at once wasn’t easy.”

No… no, it hadn’t been. In fact, it had been very hard to source that component. But here you were… acknowledging him. Praising him. Giving weight to his accomplishments by recognizing them. Somewhere deep inside, he’s a little touched to have his efforts commended.

Not that your kindness inspires him to release you. The only thing that frees you is MK and Mei coming in and storming through, knocking him over the head and escaping with you in their clutch.

Still, he doesn’t… hate you, at least. Or maybe, he just hates you less now. It’s a surprisingly good start.

A start that you continue to build off of throughout your repeated interactions, to his surprise. Your praise wasn’t just a one-time thing, wasn’t a way to get him to drop his guard. It had been genuine, entirely sincere. You had truly thought of him as clever, and you still do.

His schemes become less destructive, but more frequent. MK starts sending you out to deal with him, and most of your “skirmishes” end without any true damage. The two of you talk tech, and then he “tactically retreats” from the fight. Eventually, he drops the act, just swinging by the noodle store to talk with you about mechs or vehicles or rare components and where to find them at reasonable prices.

It’s a strange sight for everyone, the two of you amicably chatting. Sometimes someone will try to butt in, usually MK, who tries to keep up with your conversations to no avail. Other times it’ll be Pigsy, making sure that one of his employees isn’t being threatened or endangered. If one of his new mechs has a Journey to the West inspiration, Tang will happily chime in on it.

But most often, it’s only the two of you, happily talking as equals. Not enemies. Not rivals. Just… actual friends, somehow.

Even if it meant fighting to defend them, these are the sorts of moments he doesn’t want to lose. He wants to protect these cherished hours he spends with you, sharing noodles and blueprints in the middle of a crowded but welcoming restaurant.

Even if it meant fighting a foe he had no chance of defeating. All he has to do is buy a little bit of time. Just enough for MK and his ragtag team of idiots and peasants to smash this osseous demon into pieces. He glares up at her, his hair and hands exploding into flame. It’s a mere display, a small threat to keep her occupied. If she focuses on him, then she can’t hurt you.

Not that she’s trying.

“Foolish child. Do you really think I can’t understand the game that you’re trying to play? You would stand in the way of a peaceful world, all in the name of protecting the heir of your enemy?”

He falls to the ground, clutching his head in pain as she taps into his mind to deliver her next words.

“But a meager resistance cannot hope to undo destiny. I will find Y/N, and add their power to my own. That is their destiny, and I will see it fulfilled.”

“You- you won’t! I wont allow it, you… you PEASANT! You can’t hope to beat all of us! The Demon Bull Family, Sun Wukong and his successor, and the Six-Eared Macaque! All of us will stand against you! If we stand together, there is no threat that can overcome us!”

It’s a little funny, almost. Once, he would’ve scoffed and mocked another for saying such a thing. They sound silly on his tongue, cheesy and overblown. It’s something more suited to MK and his band of goons, speeches of friendship and overcoming adversities together. But it’s true.

And her defeat is testament to the strength that loves brings.

He thinks he loves you. You’re what he imagines having a little sibling is like. He wonders if you could love yourself, if you knew the truth of your heritage. Maybe you could. Maybe you’d fall apart and refuse to trust yourself ever again.

He chats idly with MK as you rest your head on his lap. It brings a strange peace to his heart. You look almost happy, in spite of the bruises and cuts. You look happy, which is proof that you didn’t hear a word that the Lady Bone Demon said about your blood ties.

He doesn’t want to rob you of that happiness so quickly, not when you fought and bled for it.

He absentmindedly strokes your head, thinking of how he’d roast anyone who might try to harm so much as a single hair on it. He can’t let anyone hurt you. Not even himself.

So he keeps quiet, and prays that all will turn out well.

#Platonic Yandere #Yandere LMK #Yandere Lego Monkie Kid #Yandere Mei #Mei Dragon #Yandere Tang #Mr. Tang #Yandere Red Son #Red Son #sorry it took so long #I put a lot of effort into this one!#Crystal Heir

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fuckmyskywalker · 8 months

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"Breaking my will." — Darth Vader.

— CW: 18+, smut! Humiliation. Noncon. Free use. Mentions of possible orgy/gang bang. Brief fingering, dirty talk (1), mentions of noncon pet play. | Word count: 0.8k.

— a/n: This is technically part two of Day 6.

After the 22nd day, every hope of being rescued completely vanished from your body.

He watched you day after day being used, abused, and tortured. He stood there at the corner of the farthest cell inside the Star Destroyer, his ominous, loud breathing being the only sign of his presence. Darth Vader never spoke during these sessions or moved a muscle. Completely ignored your cries for help, your sobs, and your begging. This wasn't his decision, it was something that had to be done.

A message was required— a message to that filthy, rebel scum.

You just… happened to be collateral damage.

Day and night, the torture never ceased. Two droids were in charge of you: one who feeds you only the necessary for you to stay alive, and another one that bathes you every two days— in order to keep you clean and ready to be used again. And again. And again.

It was humiliating. Some days you could argue it was worse… than being dead.

Your throat was raw from the constant screaming and rough use. Your body was weak, trembling, probably underweight— but your morale, your spirit, your values— were entirely, and utterly shattered. Every time you saw your reflection on the metal tray where the droids served you food, the face that stared back at you wasn't a familiar one. Not anymore. Life was stolen from your eyes, no longer holding that fiery glow he hated.

The chains that kept you in the cold corn dangled softly when the doors slid open, causing you to open your eyes and move your arms to shield your tired eyes from the cold white lights of the halls. Adjusting to the uncomfortable lighting, eyes fluttering open to reveal the man— if he can even be called a man— who was responsible for all your suffering. Alone. It was odd for him to come alone. Unless he wanted more information— which by now was pretty much useless, and your exhausted, overworked brain began to invent new details that weren't exactly veracious; so, just like your intel, you were useless.

“Stand up,” he commands. You stare at him with an empty expression, not even scared at this point.

His hand twitches when he grabs your arm with a brushing strength, forcing you to stand up and pushing you against the wall. Weak human arms try to protest, weak as butterfly wings punching his armor— which is useless again. With a flick of his fingers, your arms are glued to your sides thanks to that dreadful invisible force that sends a chill down your spine.

“You'll come with me.”

The strength of your body has left you completely, otherwise, you would have shaken your head and fought back. But what's the point in fighting a battle that was doomed to be against you since the very start?

He uses you, just like everyone has done these long, painful, and horrendous twenty-two days. His thick gloved fingers curl inside of you and deep down— that twisted spot inside your head that keeps the insanity alive is beyond grateful for the contact. It’s way better than another cock.

Darth Vader is seeking that pliant, manipulative state that he can only achieve after you have reached an orgasm. Witnessing beforehand many, many times how his men use you as a sex toy, he notices that you never reached those desirable peaks of pleasure; not even once.

The normally monotone breathing bounces off the metallic walls louder than usual, more obnoxious than what you are used to. But your tired mind keeps you from pondering about it, only focusing on how good it feels to be «taken care of», even if it's all because of the wrong reasons.

“You will come with me, follow my every command. You will be nothing more than a pathetic dog kneeling next to me,” Darth Vader’s modulated voice holds a weight that accelerates the waves of pleasure that threaten to wash over you.

“You will be nothing more than an animal. I'll show those stupid, worthless rebels what will happen to them if they continue defying the law of the true Galaxy— if they continue denying the greatness of the Empire.”

And he wishes he could believe the word he is speaking.

It doesn't matter how humiliating it will be for you to be reduced to nothing more than a dog— a mindless creature that will only serve their owner.

“You will not respond to anyone else except me. You will interact with no one else unless I want you to. Prepare to be what you truly are…” His fingers and their punishing pace send you over the edge. His leather glove glistens with your arousal, and you are half thankful it's only your release— and not the mixture of at least half a dozen clones.

Perhaps belonging to him doesn't sound too bad.

If that gets you out of this free-use mess.

“Do you understand, rebel whore?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

— 🐚 if you wish you be added to my taglist there's a google forms in the beginning of the post! There you can select which days you would like to be tagged in (or choose the option: all the above!). If you send me a DM or an ask I will tag you on every day! | some tags might not work due to your settings, so let me know!

#𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 anya writes!#𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 kinktober 2023!#darth vader #darth vader smut #dart vader x reader smut #darth vader x reader #darth vader x f!reader #darth vader x y/n #darth vader x reader smut #darth vader fanfic #darth vader x you #darth vader imagine

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henrytanael19 · 8 months

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Propatulus Aurora AU

In which Earth, the entire solar sytem and other planets is alive, a universe where the impossible is only an illusion, where monsters and gods are sometimes both and can be killed, living amongst their mortal kin, where the concept of Death is different for every planet or galaxy, but the solar system has a concept of death joined with the void, as inevitable as it is kind, the primordial darkness rejoicing of the life that dots it. And in which Humans are just vibing after being properly introduced to the Wider Galaxy Community, turning enemies into friends and the like. Also, Earth takes no shit from alien invaders and boots them out the moment they try to enter her atmosphere.

Except for the good ones, they can stay.

In this Au, Planets were vaguely sorted into three categories: Destroyer, Creator, and Protector. The likes of Primus, Eukaris, Devisiun, Petropia and numerous others were known as Creator-planets, due to being able to seed life from their own bodies. Whereas Unicron, Pyros, Appoplexia and the like were known as the Destroyer-planets, being known to destroy dead planets to make way for the new cycle. As the name suggested, Protector-planets were primarily concerned with the defense of their home system, protecting it both from Destroyers seeking to devour a still living planet and Creators from seeding other planets with parasites, but also has the fewest planets of the three, with Earth being counted among it alongside her siblings in the Solar System in the Milky Way. Arburia also counted as a Protector before it's destruction.

But for those lacking a Protector-planet to defend them, a Guardian and a Titan was the next best thing individual planets can have. Consisting of a planet's strongest children, they can be considered as gods in the view of others. E.g. Godzilla and Mothra of Earth are a textbook example of a Titan and Guardian pairing, despite the fact that Earth was a Protector-planet. Earth is their version of a cryptid to her fellow planets, appearing in other galaxies with no warnings.

Where humans have powers that is derived from their souls, some able to turn it tangible as their weapon of choice like a sword, or manifesting an entire armour made up of their soul or even performing them like the four elements. Due to this close connection with their own lifeforce they live somewhere in between the living and the spiritual world, otherwise called as the umbral, or fourth dimension. The denizens of the Umbral World consist of mythological or extinct creatures and primarily steeped in magic, invisible to the naked eye. And in honor of their mother-planet, they dedicated themselves to taking care of creatures trying to cause trouble in the mortal realm, whether by rehabilitation or execution, the primary group known for this is called the Titanslayers, led by June Darby and Cade Yeager.

All of this is done quietly in the shadows, considering almost none in the Wider Galaxy Community is aware of the Umbral Dimension. The Anur system are one of the few to also be able to interact with the Umbral Dimension, as well as the Null Dimension and Legerdomain by virtue of being attached to it.

Earth is steeped in magic, so humans have been able to mostly connect it seamlessly with technology and even science (E.g. Ben Tennyson being a World Shifter as well as a biologist in this AU). The primary examples are the Jaegers, metal machines operated by human pilots and the love child of science, technology and magic.

The Earth-Titans are also denizens of the Umbral Dimensions, so they are a visible example of creatures originating in the Umbral Dimension living in the Mortal Realm.

Also, Earth is as ancient as the other planets, consisting of those ages in trillions, but because she only settled into a planet after most planets already turned inactive in the case of the Creator-planets, the Galaxy widely believed she was only 4 billion years old, having only counted the years she was a planet rather than the active creature she was back then, having been the third to settle as a planet in their solar system.

Also, Earth's biodiversity came from the planets and creatures she has killed and eaten, once having been described as containing a black hole for a stomach, and with those biodiversity inherited by humans was born their nearly limitless ability to procreate with any sentient creature in the Galaxy. As long as they have the equivalent of a soul, they can carry a child of that alien species, double the effectiveness if they were just using their soul, as having just used it means their lifeforce is still closer to the surface of their physical body and made flexible enough to make procreation between two different species possible. (E.g. The Plumbers Kids/Amalgam Kids, Max McGrath, Kevin Levin, Others)

Hybrid children still aren't that common though, due to having to feed fragment bits of their own soul to sustain a half foreign onr. It can even prove taxing enough to require a third party stepping in just so both parent and offspring doesn't die.

Ancient creatures lurk in the background of the universe, taking the form of Suns, Black Holes and the like. Helios, the Sun of the Solar System, is one such example.

And as a bonus, this AU is primarily crack with eldritch horror, heartfelt feelings and interspecies romance mixed in.

In other words, welcome to the crackfest that is Propatulus Aurora, and enjoy your stay!

(PS. I'll be taking stuff from each canon and mashing them together to fit my perceptions and suits my purposes, and ignoring anything else that doesn't.)

#earth is a deathworld #earth is awesome #humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #transformers #godzilla #ben 10 #max steel #pacific rim #Propatulus Aurora #naelsthoughts #crossover #behold my magnum opus #*sarcasm*

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talonabraxas · 3 months

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Shiva Nataraja ॐ

Symbolism of Nataraja Nataraja as a symbol is a marvelous invention combining Shiva’s role as creator, preserver, and destroyer in a single image. Each of the elements in the image has a unique meaning to it.

The Damaru Shiva holds in his upper right hand is said to make the first sound of creation, the heartbeat of the universe, the Maya, the divine fire (Agni) on the upper left hand signifies the holocaust, with his lower right hand he makes Abhayamudra; the gesture that calms all the fear and the left-hand makes the gesture of Gaja hasta, the symbol of salvation and liberation.

Nataraja - Cosmic Dance His right foot stamps on the dwarf figure, Apasmara Purusha, represent illusion and ignorance, leading humanity away from the truth. The matted hair spread during the dance. His energy and wilderness disperse; his lock contains a skull, a datura blossom, and a crescent moon depicting that Shiva is always present though he is invisible.

Ganga, the holy river, resides in his hair, which signifies creation and destruction. The two eyes portray the sun and the moon, and the third eye defines knowledge and insights. Together they symbolize an equilibrium of three Gunas- Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.

In his Nataraja form, Shiva dances within a flaming halo (Prabha Mandala) that symbolizes time and is presented in a circle as it is cyclical and never-ending. Though the cosmic dance releases energy, passion, and wilderness, Shiva has a smiling face.

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courtneyraeblogs1221 · 1 year

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The 100 Recommendations

Smut *

Bellamy Blake

Knife Threats*

Last Night*

All Mine*

Invisible String*

Just Friends

John Murphy

You Weren’t There*

Survival Strategies*

Faking It*

New Outlook*

Say*

Bellamy x Clarke

Destroyer Of Worlds*

Save Water, Shower With A Friend*

Checkmate*

Power Play*

Sex Education*

Threesoms

The Sky Boy And The Grounder* (Bellamy x Raven x OC)

Puddle* (Bellamy x Murphy x OC)

#the 100 #bellamy blake #bellamy blake x reader #fluff #smut tw #smut oneshot #clarke griffin #bellamy x clarke #john murphy #john murphy x reader

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dcbinges · 6 months

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Showcase #23 (1959) by John Broome & Gil Kane

#hal jordan #green lantern #the invisible destroyer #invisible destroyer #martin phillips #john broome #gil kane #showcase #dc #dc comics #comics #50s #50s comics

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prototypelq · 6 months

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Divinity Original Sin 2 has spoiled me

I’ve played my fair share of this wonderful game before, but this year’s BG3 hype had my interest pique again, so I’ve given it another go (this time with mods, which I’ve definitely spent too much time learning how to install and make work together). And boy, oh boy, this game might just have spoiled the RPG’s for me forever.

First of all, this game has no class system. While the character creator offers you some options to choose from, those are just pretty suggestions for the beginning of the game, and even those beginner’s setups are very creative. For example, the Inquisitor preset offers you options from the Necromancy and Warfrare skilltrees (Warfare is focused on dealing physical damage, and the Necromancer has an array of ranged magic and skills to stay alive in battle longer), or a Shadowblade preset, which offers you skills from Scoundrel and Polymorph trees (Scoundrel is your rogue build skills focused on backstabbing, and Polymorph offers you abilities to morph your body into different animal-themed parts, like Chamelon Skin spell which will, predictably, make you invisible). You also, obviously, have more typical options like Enchanter (lightning abilities from Aerotheurge tree and water spells from Hydrosophist) or a Fighter (Warfrare plus armour buffs from Geomancer tree), and they are no less effective than the previously mentioned more exotic combinations.

The character-building, combined with clever enemy AI in this game makes the build-creation process extremely robust. For example, the standard Tank-Healer-DamageDealer holy triad is completely useless in this game, as the AI is clever enough to ignore the characters with the most HP and go for the low-health targets first. This simple change completely breaks the standard mould, and now the best strategy you can have is either outdamage your enemies, or dictate your own rules over the battlefield to control them.

The diversity in building is only intensified by the skills inside different trees, because almost every skilltree in this game will have its own abilities for healing, crowd control and movement. Huntsman (the ranged bow skilltree) tree has Tactical Retreat, Warfrare has Phoenix Dive, Aerotheurge has Teleport, Polymorph has Wings – all of these abilities serve the same function of assuming a better position for your character on the battlefield (which is critical in this game). This means that specializing into any skilltree will also grant you access to a lot of self-sustaining abilities and options. Plus, levelling up any skilltree will grant you additional perks, like levelling up Necromancer will give you bonus % of healing from all the damage you deal (which is an awesome trait for ANY character build really), levelling Hydrosophist will give you a bonus to all the healing and magic armour restoration you receive, or the Huntsman levels give you a damage bonus if you're on the high ground, which is great for ranged units of any kind, so there is incentive to spend some levels on those skilltrees even if you aren’t really using any skills from them. Which destroyes the rpg-triad even further.

(my mage gets shamed by the party, because she is the only one without points in Polymorph for the Wings ability, she makes do with the Huntsman's Tactical Retreat instead, because she needs the high ground damage boost)

For example, the Warfrare tree, which is crucial for any close-range build, has a lot of abilities to control your enemies, because they can Knock Down enemies with their first-level skills from the get-go, and this means the enemy loses their turn on that round of combat. Now your typical damage-warrior is actually your second-best source of crowd control abilities, and not just a monkey with a club. While your ranged-mage builds will be controlling one, two at best character from their range, your properly positioned melee fighter can make an entire crowd of enemies lose their turn. And getting your enemies to lose a turn is the only thing better than doing massive damage to them, in time you will learn how to do both and it’s great fun.

Speaking of what works wonderfully in this game, it’s time to mention the elemental system! I don’t think I’ve played Big RPG Game with an elemental system as robust as the one DOS2 has. I believe someone on the Noclip Podcast mentioned how, each battle in this game feels like it’s not just a battle against different enemies and their damage numbers, but it is also a battle for the terrain that you control. So I guess, this makes DOS2 a Splatoon predecessor?...Moving on.

For example, in the first act of the game you will stumble upon an ambush from a bunch of skeletons, problem is – there are Poison puddles all over the place. And DOS2 skeletons have ‘reverse’ healing mechanic, which means they will get damaged by normal healing spells, but they do receive healing from poison. It means that fighting skeletons with a party of not-undead/living characters can be much fun, as you can constantly cast chain healing, or Bless a big water surface to heal your party, and if the spell jumps to the undead they will be damaged constantly. The Rain spell is, arguably, the most important spell in the entire game, and it is crucial to keeping control of the elemental battlefield.

Rain will create a big water surface, and which you can use to your advantage – freeze it with Global Cooling and isolate your enemies, because walking on Icy surface can and will make them (and you) slip and fall if they try to move, and they will lose their turn.

You’re playing Lone Wolf (=solo buffed character, without companions) and YOU’RE the undead? Cast Rain and Contamination and convert the entire battlefield into a poisonous swamp that will heal you.

You’re not undead? Well, blow that poison basin with any Pyrokinetic skill and watch everything standing in it get converted into ash by the resulting explosion! The battlefield is already on fire? Add some more by creating an Oily surface with Geomancer skills to have it instantly blow up in your enemy’s face. Having trouble with your battlefield Constantly Being On Fire and losing heath fast? Reset the battlefield with Rain and create a cover for everyone, as the resulting Smoke will make it impossible to target anything farther than touch-range skills.

Blood is also a surface in this game, and extremely powerful at that. Every attack that damages the character’s health directly (meaning it bypasses their physical and/or magic armor or they have none left) creates a blood puddle under them, which you can also use.

This surface-elemental madness can also be improved upon with mods made by the community, the most noticeable example here would be Odinblade’s skilltree reworks, which rebalance the original skills a lot and add a lot of very fun additional ones. For example, the Aerotheurge tree gets an additional Conductive debuff to place on your enemies, which will increase all the lightning damage they get and will spread any electric damage to enemies around them, or the Necromancy tree gets a Hex bonus damage dealt to any enemy if their magic armour is gone. Etc, etc, please install Odinblade’s mods they level up the gameplay to new hights.

I’ll also admit here that, while I’ve spent a lot of hours in this game, and was quite invested in the story of my companions and the main quest, it’s…not the best way to play the game. Don’t play this game for story. The story is very good when it gets going, but it will be spread like extremely uneven butter of maybe 2-3 final hours over a 20+ hours of each Act as your bread. Play this game for the extremely versatile gameplay and the amazing systemic nature of it, then exploit the game to hell and back.

Sneak into an arena of magic golems and pickpocket their energy cores, so they die immediately. Use Surface transmutation to move a bunch of lava to a boss arena and place it under his feet to kill it instantly. Talk to a turtle in a dungeon, to learn that she is in love with her neighbor – a rat, and find a way to bring them together. Equip a new ring, only to find out it’s cursed, it sets debuffs on you, you cannot unequip it as it became smaller around the finger and search for a solution.

This game is about finding clever and funny ways to solve problems/quests, and that is super fun to do in DOS2. Also, really, the elemental and class-less rpg system of this game spoiled me so hard, I think I might have some trouble in the future adapting to another class-based rpg game after this xD. Anyway, talk to animals, upgrade your persuasion and take Beast into your party, he is hilarious.

#wheeeeee finally done this post #like I have games i want to play but instead i suddenly spent what around 70 hours into dos2???#no regrets #guys i love the magic system of dos2 so much #seriously dos2 is great check it out if rpgs interest you in any way shape or form #(gently holds your hand) isometric view is not that bad I will guide you through to acclimate to it easier let's go #im super glad i revisited it with mods too! modding my beloved I will shape the game to highlight my favourite parts in it #this is not my code but the game is my copy and my playground xD #dos2 #divinity original sin 2 #beast is the best companion i take no criticism #sebille is second best she's a great murder elf bff #lohse is the top player character pick her lines Rule #larian studios

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al-hekima-madara-blog · 1 year

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Madara & hindu cosmology

It's a thought I had following this post here

It's interesting that Madara never wished to resurrect his loved ones contrary to Obito. It seems that Izuna's death but more precisely the valley of the end’s defeat marked for him a definitive rupture with "this world". He was not interested anymore about his own desires. If you think about it, he was not supposed to be part of this collective dream that could have longed an eternity from the perception of those inside the dream. If everything had gone according to his plan, he would be just there alone watching people slowly dying in their cocoons.

Actually, I’ve realized recently that from my western perspective, I didn't pay attention to the Buddhist cultural aspect and in some instances the hindu cosmology. There is between both religions cultural bridges that we can't really see in the West shaped in judeo-christian background but from an asian/japanese audience it's implicit. In hinduism there is this idea that the material world is but a creative dream from the imagination of a god. He manifests himself in a sort of trinity:

Brahma the creator

Vishnu the protector

Shiva the destroyer (in order to recreate a new world) and note that Shiva is also associated as the Lord of dance. Shiva Nataraja destroys the cosmos, each steps is creating movement in the dissolution of the universe. It's a doomsdays to end a cycle and allow a new one to be born.

Shiva Nataraja, Lord of dance and destruction

Madara's plan is a way to attain this godhood state, to annihilate the world and recreate it again. We first met him during the apex of the 4th shinobi war, impersonating in a way Shiva, he destroyed the current shinobi world. From his perspective it's a failed world, or should I say a dream who turned into a nightmare, created by another god Hagoromo and perpetuated by his spiritual heirs Hashirama/Naruto. Obito in creating the Akatsuki and collecting the Bijuus, was incarnating one of Shiva's steps. He was preparing the dissolution of the world by perverting the shinobi system and hastening the apparition of the true "Shiva".

Madara’s Brahma phase can be paralleled with him being the second Sage Rikudou and having access to all the chakra on Earth and opening his third eye which represents in hinduism and buddhism the invisible one who brings mystical illumination and visions in the realm of high consciousness. If his plan would have succeeded he would have been a type of Vishnu protecting the new world. Alone, but keeping safe humanity inside his dream.

And as odditiesinnaruto said, time in a dream can be infinite. If Izumi was able to have a whole life with Itachi and "dying old", Madara must have been capable of putting someone in a dream where they exist and continue their life through their imaginary descendants for generations and generations, for centuries and millions of years which represents few seconds in real life. He would have literally created a Madaraverse inside the zombified Narutoverse (it sounds really like the movie Inception). And in his dream, somewhere the Uchiha clan and the whole world will "exist" in peace forever. It gives me vertigo!

#Madara #madara uchiha #uchiha madara #naruto #naruto shippuden #madara meta #naruto meta #hindu mythology #hindu cosmology

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numinousmysteries · 5 months

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Dancing the Tandava (5/10)

[on Ao3] @today-in-fic

Long Island, NY 1993

They fly as far as a small airport in Islip, near the middle of Long Island, but still have to drive another hour and a half to reach Montauk.

Scully’s been quiet on the flight over, no doubt digesting the news from the phone call he received earlier in their office. He has to admit, the idea of the two of them one day having a son who’s visiting them from the future is a little far-fetched, but he’s heard the lore about Camp Hero and is eager to see it for himself.

“You were a Navy brat, Scully,” he says, breaking the silence. “Have you ever heard about the Philadelphia experiment?”

“I’ve heard about the cream cheese,” she says, absentmindedly gazing out the passenger window.

“Well,” he goes on, “in 1943 a Navy destroyer, the USS Eldridge, disappeared from a Philadelphia shipyard. It reappeared in Norfolk, Virginia, more than 200 miles away with no evidence of how it got there. The crew members weren’t as lucky—some were never found and others were discovered physically fused to the walls of the ship. It’s suspected that the Navy was testing out extraterrestrial technology, possibly stolen from the Nazis, that could make ships invisible to radar detection. Of course, the Navy maintains no such experiment was ever conducted, and no living crew members have any recollection of the event.”

“You think that has something to do with this case?” she asks.

“Apparently, the military continued experiments using this same technology at Camp Hero. I’ve heard stories of a foot of snow falling in the middle of a hot, August afternoon in Montauk, or residents experiencing episodes of mass mind control with dozens of unrelated people feeling sudden surges of anger or sadness simultaneously. Plus, there are reports of a time tunnel in Camp Hero that researchers have used to go forward or backward in time.”

Scully turns to face him. “And that’s where you think this guy came from?”

“I guess we’ll see.” Mulder shrugs, cracking a sunflower seed in his teeth. “Do you ever think about having children, Scully?” He chews hard, hoping the personal question hasn’t crossed a boundary.

“Well, sure,” she hesitates, staring at her hands in her lap. “But I’d like to be further along in my career and, well, with a significant other. What about you?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “In an ideal world, I think it would be nice to have a family, but I didn’t have a great childhood myself and I’m not sure I had the best parenting models. Besides, the instability of this job isn’t conducive to settling down. I think you’d be a great mom, though.”

Scully laughs.

“I’m serious, Scully. You’re patient, caring, and you’ve kept me out of trouble so far which is no easy feat.”

“I suppose being your partner is pretty good practice for parenting,” she says.

Her warm smile encourages him to test the limits even more. “I know we’ve only been working together for a few months, but I think we have a good rapport. I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility that one day our friendship evolves into something more and that we have a child together.”

Scully doesn’t respond and he regrets his words. It’s a step too far. She probably doesn’t consider him as anything more than a coworker and, to be honest, he’s only now realizing he sees her as a friend. When she first walked into his office, she was a curiosity to him—a spy with the confidence to rewrite Einstein; the intestinal fortitude to dissect a corpse, handle its oozing organs, and walk away hungry for lunch; and constellations of freckles on her cheeks that she hides under makeup but that delight him whenever he catches a glimpse of them.

He tried to keep his guard up around her, but he’s slowly learning to trust her loyalty. At first, he didn’t expect her to last long on the X-Files but recently he’s been hoping she sticks around.

“Sorry,” he says after another beat of silence on her end. “I didn’t mean to imply or insinuate anything. I’m sure if you do have children one day it’ll be with some hotshot surgeon or the future head of the FBI, not your crackpot partner.”

“I assume there have been worse cases of Stockholm Syndrome,” she says, grinning at him.

“Stockholm Syndrome? Really, Scully?” He smiles back at her in relief that she’s playfully teasing him and isn’t totally repelled by his comments.

“I’m kidding,” she replies. “I enjoy working with you, Mulder. In just a few months I’ve seen things that have tested my beliefs in concepts I’ve considered to be invariables, and you’ve taught me the power of maintaining an open mind—even if our theories don’t always align. And sure, it’s not possible to say where we'll be a decade from now, but it’s also not possible to travel backwards in time. This is just someone playing a prank on us.”

He nods and turns his attention back to the road unfolding in front of them. As they get closer, the highway narrows to two lanes lined with bare trees. Finally, they turn off onto a dirt road, eventually reaching a tall, barbed wire fence with a guardpost outside. In the distance, he can see the radar tower from his file.

A uniformed officer leans out of the post to inspect their vehicle. “Can I help you?” he asks.

“Agents Mulder and Scully with the FBI,” Mulder says as he shows his badge. “We received a phone call that there’s a young man here asking to speak with us.”

“One moment,” he says.

As the guard goes back inside his post and picks up a phone, Mulder turns to Scully. “Doesn’t seem so decommissioned after all?” he asks with a smile.

Before she can respond, the guard turns his attention back to them. “They’re bringing him out now.”

“We can’t enter the base?” Mulder asks.

“No sir,” the guard says. “This area is restricted to authorized personnel only. The person who asked for you, we would have arrested him ourselves for trespassing if the bureau wasn’t taking care of it.”

Mulder doesn’t add that the FBI hasn’t sanctioned any of the day’s activity. He convinced Scully to claim they were responding to a missing person report when they requested their travel expenses, but they didn’t elaborate on where this person had gone missing from—or who he claimed to be.

“We can’t come in and take a look around?” Mulder presses. “We’ve been told this man has appeared under mysterious circumstances and it would assist with our investigation.”

The guard shakes his head gruffly. On the other side of the gate, another military officer approaches escorting a younger man in handcuffs. As they get closer, Mulder feels a shock of recognition. The handcuffed man could pass for him in his Oxford days. They share the same long, lean frame, bulbous nose, and angular jawline. He feels Scully turning toward him but he can’t take his eyes off this young man. Once they reach the gate, the guard enters the post and presses a button to open it just wide enough for the office and the young man to pass through. The military officer pushes the handcuffed man in front of him towards Mulder and Scully’s rental car.

“You want him cuffed?” he asks.

“Um, no,” Scully says absently, her mind working to process what she sees.

The young man is smiling at them now as if he recognizes them. In his eyes, Mulder sees Scully’s bright blue irises.

“Whatever,” the officer says. He unlocks the handcuffs and guides the young man into the backseat of the car. “Now you all need to get out of here. Authorized personnel only.”

“We’ve heard,” Mulder says, although he’s looking at the young man’s face in the rear view mirror and not at the officer. He’s cataloging his features, assigning some to Scully and some to himself. The resemblance is uncanny.

As Mulder turns the car around and starts pulling away their passenger exclaims, “This is crazy! You guys look so young!”

“I’m sorry,” Scully says. “Do we know you?”

“Mom, it’s me, it’s William,” he says, confused. “Oh shit, it’s 1993. I don’t exist yet. But listen, it’s me, William, your son. Mom, you’re a doctor, you have two brothers, Bill and Charlie, and had—have—a sister, Melissa. Your mom’s name is Maggie and your father’s name is Bill. Dad, you had a sister Samantha who went missing when you were a kid. Your parents are Teena and Bill. You two used to—well I guess, as of now, still do—work at the FBI investigating paranormal cases in the X-Files department.”

“This is all public information,” Scully says, although Mulder can hear the doubt creeping into her usually confident delivery. “You could have researched us. We don’t have a child together.”

“No, not yet you don’t,” he says. “I’m not surprised you don’t believe me. But I can prove it. You can do a DNA test, right? Wait, can you do a DNA test in 1993?”

“Yes, I can do that. And I’m confident that the results will prove that you’re lying.”

“Look, I have pictures of the three of us together on my phone. Shit, I don’t have my phone with me.”

“You have pictures on a phone?” Scully asks doubtfully.

William falls quiet in the backseat. Mulder catches his sad eyes in the mirror.

“Let’s go somewhere we can talk and figure this out,” Mulder says.

Back on the highway, they find a chrome-sided diner. Mulder and Scully secure a booth while William excuses himself to use the bathroom.

Mulder can only sit and grin dumbfoundedly at Scully.

“What?” Scully asks, exacerbated.

“You see it, don’t you?” He asks. “You have to admit the resemblance is undeniable.”

“It’s the power of suggestion,” she counters angrily. “We were told he was our son, so we’re looking for similarities. If anything, this could be a setup. Maybe someone found this guy, who looks a little bit like both of us, and is using him to lure us into something.”

“That doesn’t add up. They’d have to be assuming we would believe in this whole time travel angle as well.”

“Mulder,” she sighs. “You do believe William, or whoever he is, traveled back in time.”

“I’m not ready to rule it out,” he replies. “You’ll do the DNA test. That’ll give us some answers. Let’s hear what he has to say in the meantime.”

From across the diner Mulder sees William emerging from the restroom. “Your parents are right down at that end, hun,” a waitress tells him, pointing in their general direction.

Mulder glances at Scully and she rolls her eyes.

William slides into the booth across from them, still smiling wide, with Scully’s blue eyes lit up on his face.

“I can’t believe this,” he says with excitement in this voice. “You guys used to tell me about going to all these random diners while you were on the road for cases and now I’m getting to see it myself. How long have you two been working together now? Did you find Tooms yet? That was one of your first cases, right?”

“Slow down,” Scully says. “We need you to tell us who you are and where you came from.”

William laughs. “I feel like I should be the one asking you two that,” he says playfully.

“Give us the benefit of the doubt here, William,” Mulder says.

“Okay, well, where do I start? I’m your son, William Scully Mulder, I was born on May 20, 2001. I’m currently a research intern at CERN in Geneva. You two were actually supposed to come visit me today—well, 2023 today. I was assisting this physicist with an experiment on the large hadron collider when all of a sudden things got hazy and I came to in some sort of tunnel at that military base you picked me up from.”

“The large what?” Mulder asks.

“The large hadron collider,” Scully answers. “It’s a particle accelerator but it doesn’t exist. International scientists have proposed plans for its development, but right now the only particle accelerator at CERN is the large electron–positron collider.”

“Yeah,” William nods. “But the LEP was dismantled like 20 years ago to make room for the LHC, which is magnitudes more powerful. Mom, you’ll love this. They discovered the Higgs boson in 2012.”

He’s interrupted by the waitress who comes to take their order.

Scully starts to speak but William reaches out his hand to stop her.

“Watch,” he says. “I know what you want. Mom, you probably think the crispy chicken sandwich sounds good but you’ll order the Greek salad, no feta cheese, with dressing on the side. Dad, you’re going to get the Reuben with fries. And two black coffees.”

Mulder turns to glance at Scully, befuddled.

“Sounds like your kid’s got you down pat,” the waitress says. “And what about you, young man?”

“Um, I’ll have the crispy chicken sandwich—you can have a bite, mom—and an iced tea.”

As the waitress walks away, William asks, “Do you believe me now? Dad, you probably have a bag of sunflower seeds in your pocket that you’ll snack on before the food comes.”

Mulder laughs, pulling out an opened bag of seeds. William reaches over and takes one, opening the shell with his teeth, mirroring the movement Mulder knows he does himself.

“Well, before we eat, I’d like to take a sample of your saliva for a DNA test,” says Scully. “You can take a lucky guess on our lunch orders but genetics don’t lie.”

As she opens her briefcase to get testing swabs and evidence bags, Mulder sees a look of resigned disappointment flash across William’s face. It’s as if he’s sad Scully won’t believe him, but also not surprised.

“May I?” Scully asks, pointing an elongated Q-tip in William’s direction. “Just a cheek swab.”

He nods and opens his mouth, letting Scully get a sample of his saliva and zip it into an evidence bag. She does the same for Mulder, and then herself, before packing all three plastic bags into her briefcase.

“I can drop these off at the nearest field office and have them start sequencing the DNA.”

“Why don’t you tell us how you think you got here,” Mulder says.

“I told you,” William starts impatiently. “I was working on the collider with Dr. Bellona—wait, shit, it must have been Dr. Bellona.”

Mulder and Scully stare at him in confusion.

“He’s a physicist at CERN,” William continues. “His office is next door to Dr. Farber who I actually work for, but he called me in last night to assist on a project. That’s kind of weird, for an intern to work directly on the LHC, but it’s not even the weirdest part. Dad, you’re going to love this.”

Mulder leans in across the table. He can’t help but feel drawn to William’s energy.

“When I was coming back from work yesterday it was just getting dark and I saw Dr. Bellona outside this statue near my apartment. It’s a big statue of the Hindu god Shiva. And Bellona wasn’t alone. He was with about a dozen other people and leading them in a chant. I couldn’t make out any of the words but I also saw he was scattering something on the ground as he chanted. And I kind of stopped to look because it seemed so odd, and then Bellona saw me and he gave me this ice-cold stare. It was kind of creepy, actually. Then, just a couple of hours later, he calls me in to assist on an LHC run. That’s strange, right?”

Mulder looks over at Scully, her brow furrowed as she tries to make sense of the story.

“Did you tell anyone what you saw?” Mulder asks.

“Just Hannah, but she wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“Who’s Hannah?” Scully asks.

William’s about to answer when the waitress comes and sets their plates down in front of them. He waits for her to walk away to continue.

“She’s, um, my friend, and my roommate. We went to MIT together and we both got internships at CERN. She’s the best. You guys met her last summer, and you really liked her. And like I said, she didn’t tell anyone about the Bellona thing. We were together the whole time in between me seeing him and when he called.”

“So you suspect this Dr. Bellona caught you witnessing something you weren’t supposed to see and then, to keep you quiet, sent you back in time?” Scully asks hesitantly.

“It’s possible,” he says.

“It’s really not,” Scully responds wearily.

WIlliam shrugs and takes a sip of his iced tea. “I know it sounds crazy, but dad, back me up here. You must’ve heard about something like this happening before. Maybe in one of your cases?”

“Physicists have theorized about wormholes and time loops—” Mulder starts.

“Yeah, of course, like Stephen Hawking,” William interrupts. “He said the possibility of time travel was more likely than the existence of God. And mom, didn’t you even write about it in your senior thesis?”

Mulder smiles and turns toward Scully. “That’s what I said, mom,” he says.

“Well, as I explained to Agent Mulder, time travel is only a theory, and even if it were somehow possible, the human body wouldn’t be able to withstand the extreme forces and temperatures that would be required to create a transversable wormhole and manipulate space-time.”

“And yet, here I am.”

Mulder makes eye contact with William from across the table. William flashes a smirk at him that, if it didn’t come from a face with Scully’s eyes, could be like looking in a mirror.

“How old is this Dr. Bellona?” he asks William.

“I don’t know,” he says in between bites of his sandwich. “Probably around your age, 60-something.”

Scully stifles a laugh.

“Well,” says Mulder. “Then he must be around our age now, too. Maybe we can track him down and see if he plans on creating a time machine thirty years from now. Any idea where he might be in 1993?”

“I don’t know,” William says. “He’s American, which narrows it down a little. I know that’s not much, but it’s not all that common at CERN so at least we’ll be sticking within your jurisdiction.”

He holds out his half-eaten sandwich to Scully. “It’s really good, mom. You sure you don’t want a bite?”

Mulder watches as she squints at William, then slowly reaches out to take the sandwich. He winks at William who smiles back.

#xfiles #txf #xf fanfic #msr #xfiles fanfic #x files #the x files

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the-crimson · 1 year

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Ok update on my theory about what happened today after reading up more on Jaiden’s pov.

I still think it was the federation that assassinated Pomme. It makes no sense with the previously established binary entities behavior for it to change so drastically.

Yes, it got its ass beat the other day but it did when it was targeting Dapper as well. Bbh 100% out played the binary entity’s attack against Dapper and it learned/adapted. During its second and successful attack against dapper, it adapted via breaking the waystone, ambushing the players while they were building/distracted and on a precarious terrain, and placing lava to both cut down everyone’s health as well as making it even more difficult to run away. These adaptions make 100% sense after the first failed attack. These are logical leaps adaptions based on direct experience from previous failed attacks.

The jump in ability and drastic change in strategy the entity showed today is insane and makes no sense from a storytelling pov. But it makes a whole lot of sense if the entity was NOT the binary entity but was trying to frame the binary entity.

Now to Jaiden, Roier, and Cucorucho. The apple thing was one hell of a coincidence XD like it’s such a coincidence that I almost think irl Jaiden knew her character was going to be framed by Pomme’s death and intentionally tossed it out for good measure - but that’s just a crack conspiracy theory and is like 99% not true lol

Jaiden told cucorucho that she wants Bobby back and to protect all of the eggs. It is VERY possible cucorucho only listened to the first part, wanting Bobby back, and traded one of Pomme’s lives for it without telling Jaiden. Only time will tell.

Also, bbh clarified that he doesn’t suspect Jaiden of making a deal to sacrifice Pomme or anything, he thinks she is being used/framed by the federation.

Why the Federation would assassinate Pomme is a big question mark tho. The only reason I could think of would be to revive Bobby for Jaiden some how or perhaps to push the players to look to the federation for protection against the binary entities.

In that case - the binary entities have been attacking for weeks but the players have remained independent from the federation, seeking to protect the eggs themselves. However, Pomme’s assassination shows that there is literally nothing the players can do to save their children. The binary entities are trying to threaten the players so they leave and until now have been fallible. They can be outsmarted and killed via outside forces (fall damage and iron golems/mobs bbh mvp XD) Pomme’s assassination showed a completely different tune. What ever attacked Pomme was invis and one shoted all of them. This isn’t a threat to leave. This is a destroyer of hope.

The entity blindsided Philza and Pomme while Cucorucho is being so helpful to Jaiden and helping to protect the eggs somehow. Cucorucho is reach out trying to “help” the exact same time this invincible being kills Pomme.

The thing that gets me is why was the being invisible. It didn’t need to be. It could have teleported behind Phil and one shot him before moving onto the helpless Pomme to kill her and being visibile would have changed nothing. The only reason would be to hide the beings appearance. Why would they hide its appearance? Because it wasn’t the binary entity. It was able to disguise its “name” to frame the binary entity hoping no one would think too hard about all the differences in the attack patterns.

I suppose only time will tell but for now I refuse to believe this was the binary entity lol there is too much evidence pointing otherwise.

#qsmp #im not affronted of being proven wrong tho #I’d just like to see their justification for the code going super sain lmao #I will be very disappointed if this death is reversed #there is no reason for it #bbh looked at Forevers stream and Pomme was already down when he opened the camera #he would t have had time even if he wasn’t kicked #only time will tell tho #:p #crimson speaks

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monstersdownthepath · 1 year

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Monster Spotlight: Grendel

CR 19/MR 7

Chaotic Evil Large Monstrous Humanoid

Bestiary 4, pg. 145

Hideous, terrible, and almost unstoppable, Grendel is described by the book as less of a creature and more of a force of nature, but a quick look at his lore block (especially his 2e one) reveals this not to be the case. If he were a force of nature, he would be an impartial destroyer! Instead, though, he specifically targets locations where joy runs high and celebrations ring out into the wilderness, seeking to crush as much happiness as possible with his every foray into civilization. Despising the sounds of happiness and revelry, Grendel attacks such settings with all the brutality of a tornado and the spiteful fury of a demon... After he sneaks, ever so quietly despite his bulk, into the settlement to murder its greatest warriors while they sleep so that no survivors could ever come close to opposing him. He does not seek a fair fight. He’s not even in it for the thrill of battle; he exists to cause pain, spread misery, and remind humanity that death is the only constant in life. Little else brings him more joy than watching the aftermath of his own carnage from afar, seeing the survivors sob over the broken and shredded bodies of their loved ones.

If you’re wondering just how a lumbering goliath like him can be sneaky, look no further than Mythic Skill Focus (Stealth), which allows Grendel to take 10s and 20s on his Stealth checks even while under duress. Without rolling a single dice, Grendel can have a flat 34 to Stealth no matter what the situation, making him all but invisible to the societies he preys upon as he slips behind houses, between shadows, and even across rooftops with no more noise than the wind. If he’s not in any particular hurry, that’s a 44 to Stealth instead, letting him scout out his prey in advance with little risk of being detected. A civilization may be be visited by this horror for many days before he decides to strike the moment they’re at their weakest, slaughtering as many warriors as he can under the cover of night before roaring in rampage to scatter the rest like roaches caught in the sunlight. Unfortunately for him, he NEEDS to be sneaky, because he has only meager resistances (10 each of Cold, Acid, and Fire), no resistances or immunities to any status ailments, and low saves for his Hit Dice.

Against non-Mythic targets, Grendel can certainly feel like a force of nature. He rolls all Fortitude and Will saves against the abilities of non-Mythic foes twice and picks which result he wishes to use, and he has 7 charges of Mythic Surge to use each day as he sees fit to add +1d10 to any d20 roll he feels like. While saving throws are nice and all, Grendel is built to attack, and his Brutal Surge ability emphasizes that better than any: Whenever he Surges on an attack roll, the 1d10 is added to the damage roll as well. He ALREADY has Mythic Power Attack, allowing him to take a -6 penalty to his attack rolls for +18 to damage, so his Surge has a decent chance of negating the penalty altogether and letting him pile sky-high damage... if he doesn’t just opt to spend a Surge point to eliminate the attack penalty completely for 1 whole minute, letting him tack +18 damage to his Full-Attack without worry.

Grendel’s sole means of offense is his raw, physical power: His gigantic claws and his gnashing jaws. Unusually, his jaws are less dangerous than his claws, dealing only 4d8+6 damage compared to 3d10+13 (these are just base numbers; remember he tends to have 18 extra damage!). Those nails also have a critical range of 19-20, and he’s got Bleeding and Exhausting Critical waiting to ruin a melee fighter’s chance of hurting him at all. His claws also Grab onto anything they manage to strike, and more than just about any monster in any book, staying free of Grendel’s grapple should be your highest possible priority. If you don’t have Freedom of Movement or couldn’t cast it before he dropped in and ambushed your party, the casters need to put it on whoever he’s closest to as swiftly as they possibly can, because anyone who remains in his grip when his turn rolls around again is subject to very literally being torn limb from limb.

There is no saving throw a victim can make to prevent their Gruesome Dismemberment, ONLY breaking out of his grapple or not being grappled in the first place can avoid it. Otherwise, Grendel can spend a Surge point to immediately and unavoidably tear off one of the victim’s arms or legs, potentially robbing them of their weapons or shields if they’re a martial character, their somatic spells if they’re a caster, or their mobility if they’re... anything that doesn’t want to be anywhere near Grendel, which should be everything. The agonizing pain inflicts the sickened condition and the cruel tearing deals 2d6 extra bleed damage, both of which last until magical healing is applied, but of course healing the damage is meaningless if the victim can’t break free of Grendel’s grip, because then he can just do it again.

While your options for reattaching severed limbs are plentiful by the time you can expect to fight something like Grendel, your options for doing it mid-combat are basically next to nothing. Regenerate takes 3 rounds to cast, Trollskin Tourniquets take 24 hours to work, and Rings of Regeneration (alongside the regenerative Ioun Stones) take hours or days to restore lost limbs, so none of those options in particular do much to undo the damage the lumbering sadist does. The party’s frontliners are one failed grapple check away from becoming dead weight, and while Grendel is no genius by any stretch of the imagination, he’s smart and wise enough to recognize two-handed weapons or two-weapon fighters, and cautious enough to scout the party ahead of time for priority targets like casters who need both their arms for somatic components, mobile midliners who he can pluck the legs from, and--again--frontliners whose builds rely on them having all their limbs.

Not that those builds would have done much good, anyway; the legends say that Grendel cannot be slain by any weapon or spell, and they’re right. He’s not only Unstoppable, able to expend Surge points to shrug off an enormous list of status ailments (and can do so even if those ailments would have kept him from acting), but he flat out cannot be killed by weapon attacks! Is this a unique ability or power he has?

Nope!

It’s Regeneration 10. Humble Regen 10, which can only be suppressed if Grendel is attacked by a natural weapon or unarmed attack. Depending on your party composition (mainly whether or not there’s a Monk or Brawler present), you’ll either be howling in frustration as the beast refuses to die and slinks back into the swamplands to heal after tearing your arms off, or you won’t notice he even has Regeneration. While this may seem like a pretty glaring weakness, and you may think to yourself ‘so all we have to do is slap him really hard to suppress his healing?’ you’re falling into a terrible trap. Grendel’s DR 10 can only be bypassed by an Epic-quality weapon, so unless you can throw a punch with the force of a greataxe rolling max damage, this is a job for Monks, Brawlers, Wild Shaped Druids, and Animal Companions. Y’know, provided he hasn’t torn off their limbs.

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#Monster Spotlight #CR 16 to 20 #mythic monster #Pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons

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