#the joy of creation reborn

[jazzcoffeeartcafeofficial]

Yay!!! A new post!! 🧸🔥

Hello everyone, so sorry for the huge delay in art,my dog has just been taking the majority of my energy. Because she's been acting up pretty bad 😭... Just like how I had planned to play security breach yesterday but didn't 😔..

Anyway, this is a joke I came up with, so I'm just like, "Yeah Michael or you'll burn with the rest of them."

Oh yeah and sorry I don't draw Michael very well. 😆

Enjoy ~

#fnaf #the joy of creation #tjoc #fnaftjoc #tjocr #The Joy of Creation Reborn

[my-makeshift-masquerade]

What if Becca was actually born into the Afton Family? I wanna see how you draw William and CC/Evan, please!

I don’t know what’s more disturbing, the fact that Becca would probably be too young to remember what happened, William letting the nightmare animatronics still freely roam his house while there’s a literal infant inside, or that CC/Evan would absolutely panic about the nightmare animatronics eating his baby sister…

Yeah, someone call CPS. All is not well in this family…

#answers #into the breach #bound to imagination #fnaf #accidental joy of creation reborn reference? #william afton #evan afton #cc afton #nightmare foxy #plushbon #afton family #fnaf rebecca #fnaf rebecca harris afton

[smallgodseries]

Her portfolio serves no purpose beyond making people smile, and she’s perfectly content with that.  Let other gods control fate, or time, or love, or war, even down to its smallest attributes; she will conjure the laughter of children and the delight of lovers, the joy of gardeners and yes, even the fear of those whose automatonophobia has been stirred to terrible heights by unkind horror movies.  She delights in them all, for she is a joyful god, and she sees no reason to be anything other than who she is.

Sculpt a rabbit or a robot, and she’ll be standing gladly by your side, clapping her hands and exalting in your skill.  She has inspired her own Pygmalions, although she lacks the gifts of Aphrodite, to bring their glorious creations further into life than the green growth of their limbs, the healthy splendor of their branches.  She can inspire life.  She can shape life.  She can encourage life. She cannot give it, much as she might wish she could.

But she can, upon occasion, move it from one place unto another.  The starving child whose family has been lost to the wilds may find themselves reborn in growth and glory; the beloved dog whose people bring them beneath the branches to soothe their passing may find that they have not gone, simply relocated.  And Laurel finds her own joy in tears, on those occasions, in the pain she cannot prevent but can at least reduce a bit as the future moves forward, and carries, as always, a bright new spring.

For that is the one truth she carries above all others: that always, no matter what else happens, there will be another spring, and as long as the green endures, she will be there with it, glorying in the growth of that which lives for joy.

#small gods #lee moyer #seanan mcguire #smallgodseries #icons and stories

[heartfullofleeches]

I feel like Dea is one of the best cuddlers out there

Soft/cuddling/comforting headcannons w/ Dea please🥺?

*Or i will take away ten (10) of your leeches right from your heart*

(You leave my leeches alone or I swear to Dea I will come after you-)

Dea - [Yan Deity] Cuddle Hcs

"Ah - you'd like to cuddle with me, my grace? I am unsure if I'd be the best partner, but I would be a fool to refuse your touch."

• This is the farthest from the truth as Dea is the best cuddler of them all. Their robes are softer than air and their skin as silky as the morning sun. Your comfort has been, and always will be their top priority. Dea will raise or lower their body heat to best fit your liking. They will carry you around until you fall asleep, or smother you in bed until all your needs are met.

• Prefers being big spoon as it's easier to care for you - burns up because they're so flustered if the roles are switched. Dea does not need sleep, but they'll find themselves drifting away if you play with their hair or singing to them as no matter what your voice to you - it's the finest gift your creator had ever bestowed upon one of its creations.

• Always runs a wellness check before you get too comfortable. "Have you eaten today, my grace? It's okay if you don't want anything heavy, but maybe a little snack - for me?" "Would you like a bath? I found a scent I think you might like and washing your hair calms me." They're usually with you at all times, but it never hurts to ask once or twice as your strength is theirs.

• Gently eggs you into talking about things you enjoy. "I believe that one music group you like has released a new album, my grace. Ah - but I can't seem to remember their name. Could you please remind me?" They likely already know as much as if not more as you considering they invest themselves into every part of you - but it fills them with so much joy to hear you ramble on about the little things in life that make you happy. They only pray they can be another source of happiness for you for as long as you're willing to grace them with your light.

• One of their favorite things to point out the difference between you.

"Your hands are so much smaller/bigger than mine. I love it."

"Gods rarely have markings, but sometimes if we're reborn from another we carry their scars. I'm certain whatever divinity you stem from was as brilliant as you."

Their body mirrors the form, but it can never perfect the true beauty the individuality of humans has. Adores what seem like imperfections to you as one would the strokes of paint on a canvas. There will never be another like you and that's one of the many things that makes you divine in their eyes.

#yandere #yandere imagines #yandere headcanons #yandere x you #yandere blurb #yandere insert #yandere x reader #yandere scenarios #yandere oc #yandere god #soft yandere #yandere fluff #Dea my oc

[percahliaweek]

PERC’AHLIA WEEK 2023

September 24th-30th 

Day 1, Sept. 24th: DAWN / TREASURE 

Day 2, Sept. 25th: DARKNESS / LEGACY

Day 3, Sept. 26th: MASK / TRINKET 

Day 4, Sept. 27th: SHOOT / REBORN

Day 5, Sept. 28th: FAIRYTALE / CLASS

Day 6, Sept. 29th: YOURS / LATER

Day 7, Sept. 30th: FREE / RANDOM*

* For the Random prompt, we suggest rolling dice for loot/encounter tables/prompt lists or online prompt generators. See what inspires you! We can compile links if you need ideas ;3

A hearty welcome and thanks for your patience! 

Perc’ahlia week ‘23 is a fan-hosted event to celebrate Percy and Vex in all their smitten glory. From the depths of despair to the joys of parenthood, love certainly opened doors for them ;) The prompts are intended to be open-ended and inspiring creativity: is class a five-star event, a teaching moment, or a potential class swap AU? How about the infamous plague doctor mask, or does this remind you of them masking their feelings? The only limit is your creativity!

This event will be welcoming fans of Campaign 1 of Critical Role as well as those from The Legend of Vox Machina - we hope to foster an environment where spoilers can be avoided by either party and will request that campaign works tag themselves #cr1 spoilers so TLOVM fans can blacklist that tag. 

Why late September? Well. Friday the 29th is the anniversary of Campaign 1 Episode 69, ‘Passed Through Fire’. Or, you know, the episode where this happens:

(GIF credit @moiraineswife)

Tag any creations made for the event with #percahliaweek, or @ us here @percahliaweek, and we will reblog it. Or you can submit directly to the blog if you'd prefer!

We also have a Discord server - both to encourage eachother to work on WIPs and just hang out. You can find us HERE <3

Any questions? We have an FAQ up HERE - but please don't hesitate to send in an ask!

#percahliaweek #percahliaweek23 #critical role #the legend of vox machina #tlovm #cr 1 #percahlia #perc'ahlia #percy de rolo #vex'ahlia

[idololivine]

"Eiden and Quincy were far from the only trans people in the clan, but they were the only ones who had felt the need to get this specific surgery". i think the entire clan can be trans. As a treat. yakumo was a snake, the way he portrays himself can be seen as a choice. edmond's family is extremely wealthy so he got bougie gender affirming care from an early age. olivine's decent with magic which he could use to change his appearance + there's potential for some neat religious imagery of being reborn a new and/or further religious guilt. altho from what we know abt the church of klein tbh i want to believe there's no religiously motivated transphobia in klein

ANYWAY

kuya has canonically been shown to use illusions to portray himself as other people and even as a woman. garu and karu are like yakumo too, they were a wolf but transformed. blade doesnt know what gender is, but he can swap out his dick for a pussy module if he wants to. dante got free top surgery and hrt from the fire spirits. rei makes unethical diy hrt in his meth lab. They can all be transgender.... (smokes a fat blunt)

THEY CAN ALL BE TRANSGENDER... YOU UNDERSTAND ME...

I generally stick to the idea that there's no transphobia in Klein, religiously motivated or otherwise, same way there's no homophobia. I think it's in line with the setting and it's also just plain wish fulfillment tbh. my personal Oli hc is that he's non op and on fantasy testosterone, big naturals and cute little tdick. I also really like him in relation to the following quote

“As my friend Julian puts it, only half winkingly: “God blessed me by making me transsexual for the same reason God made wheat but not bread and fruit but not wine, so that humanity might share in the act of creation.” ― Daniel Mallory Ortberg, Something That May Shock and Discredit You

which I think is less official doctrine and more how he personally approaches gender and faith. if I were angling for angst maybe the church isn't overtly transphobic but there's a little bit of "be grateful for the body god gave you"... but I also like plain uncomplicated trans joy. but headcanon doesn't have to be consistent so I can have both depending on the mood.

I'm a believer of Kuya's ability to have whatever bits he pleases at whatever time. pussy, cock, whatever, magic lets him do anything. "if magic is so good why does surgery exist" you may ask. because gender affirming surgery is cool and sexy. and most people aren't ancient yokai with access to powerful magicks. and Quincy refused to be in Kuya's debt. anyway, Kuya does whatever he wants because gender is meaningless to a magic fox.

Blade hc is that he was born a ken doll, had a dick made for him in Saia because the sexbot investor guy demanded it (see: Rusted Nation), and asked Rei to make him a pussy module because the vagina-havers of the clan looked like they were having so much fun and he got curious. so he swaps them in and out as he pleases, depending on what the mood is that day.

Rei making his own diy hrt is extremely true and real. he also has the most insane homemade straps.

#asks #my posts #Anonymous #nu carnival

[daughterofsekhmet-bast]

Dua Re, lord of creation, father of all,

He who dies and is reborn each day,

The golden sun upon the horizon,

Who’s eye is Sekhmet-Bast;

As winter’s shadows grow longer,

And the shortest day approaches,

The people turn to you, oh Shining One.

Dua Re, be our light in winter’s darkness!

May Sekhmet, your Eye,

Turn her arrows of sickness away from us.

May Bastet, your Eye,

Protect us in the darkness.

May Hut-Hor, your Eye,

Bring us joy and revelry in your absence.

Dua Re! Dua Re! Dua Re!

#dua sekhmet-bast #dua bastet #dua sekhmet #dua het-hor #kemetic #kemetism #dua ra #dua re #pagan #paganism #winter #pagan poetry

[balladingbard]

Hermes and the Importance of Being Yourself

We’ve used a lot of words to describe Hermes.

Depressed. Isolated. Selfish. Hurting. Perhaps even cruel or cold. There’s a lot to say about the Ancient that became the rock thrown that started the Final Days, but amongst the many lessons we can glean from his story, I haven’t seen too much being said on a trait that seemed to be one of his biggest challenges: an inability to accept himself.

We see this trait on display both in game and in the Lodestone side story, “A Question of Life”. Hermes is an overseer who seems closer to his creations than coworkers, a man who even Emet-Selch says, “doesn’t belong here.” He’s a bit of an outcast, seeing the ugly truth of reality, but attempting to fix it by searching the stars.

In the side story, Hermes reaches out to peers while in Elpis to see if anyone else understands what he’s feeling. He’s met with false hopes and sympathy rather than empathy, and by the time he reaches Amaurot to take Fandaniel’s seat, he buries his true self, along with his questions and struggles, just so he can fit in with society and benefit the Star. “Tell them what they want to hear”, he says as his concerns fall on misunderstanding ears.

It’s a burden that weighs him down to the point of despair. “Am I the aberration?” he asks the Warrior of Light. To feel so different…so odd…so alien from everyone else? Hermes longs for change, yes, but deep down, he also just wants to feel…normal. Happy. At peace. And if he can’t find that at home, perhaps it’s in the stars. Perhaps the despair that plagues him on Etheirys will be relieved somewhere else in the Universe.

As we learn in Endwalker, the answer that Hermes was looking for had been in front of him the entire time. But I think the happiness Hermes was searching for could be found in more than just simple joys and finding friends. He also needed to be content with himself - who he was, different from society or no.

In an interview after Endwalker’s release, Yoshi P mentioned how Hermes’ tale would’ve been quite different had he been able to join Azem on their adventures in the Ancient world. But I think it’s more than just seeing the impact of helping others - had Hermes been able to be friends with Azem, he would’ve learned that it was okay to be different. That he wasn’t the only Ancient who saw problems in the world and wanted to fix them. That yes, sometimes being different doesn’t always make you fit in, but it can make you stand out, to be a voice for the voiceless and to show truth to a world living a lie.

Hermes wasn’t the only Ancient who marched to the beat of their own drum. Azem marched loud and clear, usually to the annoyance of others (cough cough looking at you, Lahabread), but also to the thankfulness of the countless lives they impacted for the better. But the difference between Azem and Hermes was that Azem believed in themselves - accepted that they were different and celebrated it. Hermes didn’t. Instead, he bemoaned the state of the world that wouldn’t conform to his ideals, trying to change it through outside forces. And, after arriving in Amaurot, he conformed to their ideals instead, imprinting misery so deeply into his soul that when he was reborn, he became twisted and crueler than his peers ever were.

It’s a tragic end for a man who held so much promise, but like any story, it’s a good lesson for us all. As we head into 2023, I encourage you - love yourself. Be kind to the gentle soul that you are. And even if you feel a little odd or different, just know that you’re not alone. There’s other “Azems” out there who may feel just like you. And who knows? Like Hermes, you may cross paths with that Azem one day and find a kindred spirit.

Just…er…don’t release any sad blue birds bent on destroying the universe to get their attention. ;)

Happy New Year, everyone! May your 2023 be as amazing as you.

#ffxiv #endwalker spoilers #final fantasy xiv #endwalker #Hermes #fandaniel #meteion #elpis #ffxiv ancients #amaurot #ffxiv spoilers #ffxiv lore

[ganzdraw]

Promised!Clara (TimeLine XI)

Clara Hill (17 years) is the eleventh returnee of Tamara's group and from timeline XI plays an important role as a guardian protecting Ebott Island and its people from Snowdyn.

At first she was a human with a normal life in the town of Snowdyn with her adoptive parents P!Dogamy and P!Dogaressa.

After the fall of the kingdom following the attack of Error! Sans, she fell into chaos and tragically lost her life, leaving her parents hurt by the loss of their beloved daughter. but at the moment of being reborn against her will by P!Emperor Gaster in the eleventh timeline that Tamara created, who tiredly ordered Clara to eliminate Tamara and the group of Revenants that once had power over them while he recovered from his previous failed fight to destroy Ebott Island because of of his niece Tamara in the tenth timeline. Therefore she saw Clara as a perfect candidate for possessing a soul with the trait of persistence to destroy her annoying rival and her former army that he once had control over. But knowing that at some point she would change her way of seeing things because of Tamara, Clara could redeem her if they were to interact, he subdued this poor young woman with more power, thus having a stronger revenant curse than the others, and to make present Since Gaster was not playing games, he ordered Clara to attack her beloved town where she grew up.

She causes chaos in the town of Snowdyn and her loved ones, including the parents she once loved.

But thanks to Tamara and her group, she was able to get her soul redeemed after almost destroying another soul. And between tears she thanked Tamara for having saved her life and that of her parents, which she almost destroyed because of Emperor Gaster and his madness, and now at the request of Tamara who wanted to help her, she accepted some time later to be the new guardian. Revenant of the island along with the others.

While she will have to learn her new form and her new skills that must be polished over time with the support of her parents who are part of the royal guard and her battle knowledge even if they were retired from her. They taught her the best techniques.

Like her mentor (P!Red who is part of P!Sans sentinels) and a close friend of P! Dogaressa, she asked him to train her daughter. So he accepted it from her and joined in to help her since he saw in her after seeing him that he thought about whether it was a good idea for her to have a disciple. But when he saw Clara one rainy night in the Waterfall forest, he saw how this girl was training even though it was cold and with her hands injured and full of blue blood from constantly hitting the same pine tree for at least the first 3 years when he met her and She was named the new guardian of Ebott Island, she saw something different from the other revenants in possessing a pure and persistent heart in times of tension and who dedicates herself 100% to improving for the better in protecting her loved ones such as her beloved family. .

Curiosities:

1- The Being created by Empress Toriel makes her a distant relative of Toriel's daughters, only that when she created her she gave her the role of giving a family to P!Dogamy and P!Dogaressa since they had plans to have a family at some point in the future. But due to complications on P! Dogaressa's part she was not given the opportunity to have a puppy, so she created Clara to fulfill her wish to have a family, bringing enormous joy to this canine family.

2- The surname "Hill" was given since her parents are part of the highest hill in Snowdyn, meaning "hill."

3- Also, as her name indicates, "Clara" was given to her for having blue eyes like snow that melts and turns into crystal clear water in your hands (This is what her father P!Dogamy  tells her when she sees his eyes for the first time when he sees Clara as a baby in his arms when Empress Toriel gave her to him in front of her house)

4- The tattoo of her timeline creation "XI" is on the back of her neck but she covers it every moment with her hair.

5- The scar on his waist is an indication of how he lost his life after the fall of the kingdom, but this is not the only one. She has others scattered all over her body.

6- She is the tallest of Tamara's group but despite that she is the smallest in terms of age.

Stats: 

HP: 50 ATC: 300 Per hit with his "War Hammer"

Level: 5 Soul: Persistence Species: Human and (Revenant Alpha)

Art By: GanzDraw! 

#promisedtale #undertale au #digital art #promisedclara #undertaleau #artists on tumblr #dogamy and dogaressa

[scattered-irises]

Growing up as someone who was painfully shy and quiet, Yu-Gi-Oh! became something that I clung to. The messages of found family and befriending your rivals truly appealed to me as someone who found it difficult to form connections with others. I remember stumbling upon the original series on accident, watching it to pass the time at first and then growing inextricably close to it.

It is difficult for me to dedicate myself to things, because when I do, it almost always becomes a lifetime agreement of love. As I saw Yugi, a shy kid who was able to find friends that would follow him through thick and thin, I was given hope that one day, I too could be someone surrounded by good friends and rivals that would help me grow. To this day, I continue to cling to this hope.

I had religiously watched Saturday morning cartoons without fail, eager to see where Yugi’s adventures would take him next. Then I delved into Takahashi’s manga, watching the library shelves like a hawk in hopes that the next installment would arrive. After three years of waiting, hunting and borrowing, I had completely finished the original Duel Monsters manga.  At that point in my life, Takahashi’s characters felt like family to me. They filled my imagination, they followed me through tense situations and they encouraged me to speak up and try new things.  I fell in love once again when Zexal premiered, as it told a story similar to the original series’. I began to speak up more. I participated in theater. I volunteered to teach classes. I continued to write and tell stories, hoping that one day, I could create something that would give someone as much hope and joy that Yu-Gi-Oh had given to me. 

As a creator, Takahashi lives on as long as we continue to interact with his stories. Yu-Gi-Oh! is rich with soul and love, something so vivid and beautiful that continues to appeal itself to audiences today. From Takahashi’s elegant illustrations to his tales of friendship and enduring hope, he has touched and connected millions of hearts. In my eyes, this is the most noblest achievement a storyteller can have.

There is a point in a story’s creation where it takes on its own wings and begins to fly on its own. (To paraphrase one of my favorite musicians, ‘the story has let go of the gods’ and devils’ hands and now walks on its own’) This is what has happened to Yu-Gi-Oh. Takahashi has released a beautiful phoenix into this world, constantly being reborn with love and friendship at its core.  Until the day that the final person thinks of his stories, until the final reincarnation of his phoenix, Takahashi-sensei lives on. 

#yugioh #kazuki takahashi

[bestworstcase]

Loved your recent Light & Dark meta, but I am curious, how would you rationalize Dark's decision to fuck up the moon when he left, seemingly just to be a dick?

well it’s less about rationalizing (<- in the common sense of constructing a moral justification) than it is trying to tease out whether and to what degree dark may have intended for humankind to be reborn from the ashes—or in other words if he was primarily motivated by emotional reaction to salem/light/the rebellion or else playing the long game to get his brother to leave with him.

the… for lack of a better phrase, ‘lightest grey’ reading here is that dark let his brother curse salem, vaporized millions of people, and left the whole planet in flames behind him as a gambit to liberate humanity from himself and his brother, because he no longer believed that compromise was possible. that’s interesting from a character perspective but by no means does it make him ‘good’ or ‘right’—and in the broader sense of rationalization as simply explaining why he does things, it probably bears repeating again that dark is an emotional being who is clearly very, very fed up with the situation and it’s not contradictory for him to both have an agenda and act with petty cruelty while pursuing it.

with that being said, hinges OFF!

i’m gonna also tag in @lizarr7’s reply on the op because it’s salient to the topic and probably the best place to begin:

Light is afraid of change. I think that's the simplest and most distilled way of putting it.

Also I'm not convinced we've seen the last of Dark. After all, if the tree kicked them out on the terms that they couldn't return until they found unity or whatever, why would it let one brother in without the other, especially when the very reason he is returning is because they haven't? I don't think dark could ascend if he wanted to. I don't think the tree would let him.

as a point of clarification, while the tree makes the door for the brothers explicitly because their fight is harming the ever after, they are not exiled in the punitive sense and it is actually somewhat unclear whether they were made to leave as opposed to just being given the means to; more broadly it’s unclear to what extent the tree is an active force at all.

i don’t think the tree is entirely passive—the blacksmith is an aspect of the tree and obviously she is a thinking, feeling being with philosophical opinions!—but a core tenet of the blacksmith’s ideology is non-intervention. the joy of creating is “the not knowing [what the creations will become]” and balance is “an ecosystem, an organism, a living breathing thing” which “cannot be restored with force or calculation” because “true balance finds its own equilibrium.” that’s a pretty hard line against direct interference or management, and when ruby finds her in the tree, the blacksmith tells her “the only thing that can happen to you here is what you want to happen; the choice of what you become and where you end up is yours to make.” she offers ruby guidance because ruby isn’t able to articulate what she wants, but she can’t (or at least, won’t) make ruby’s choices for her. the red prince is an important data point here in that it’s demonstrably possible to ascend toward the worst version of yourself instead of the best, if you do choose. so i don’t think the tree would ever prohibit an ascension, for better or worse.

in any case, this is how the blacksmith recounts the brothers’ departure:

The Ever After could no longer bear the Brothers’ experiments. And so, the Tree built them a special doorway to a greater beyond where the Brothers could try creating worlds of their own. A doorway that would remain open for the Brothers’ return, and any of their creations. And what truly remarkable things they accomplished, whenever the Brothers’ creations have come to the Ever After.

i do not get the sense that the tree intended their exile as a punishment or imposed any restrictions on when or how they could return, beyond “if you’re going to fight, take it outside.” rather i think the brothers took this “greater beyond” as a place where they could resolve a vicious fight neither of them wanted to be having and reconcile with each other. before all of this happened they were constant companions who did everything together! they were always very different, but for a long time they found harmony in their differences, not conflict.

before they leave, dark glances at light and inclines his head as if to ask “ready?” and then waits for light to nod before he steps through. there’s some tension under the surface—dark is standing rather stiffly with his hands clenched into fists behind his back, he’s not super happy to be leaving—but a sense of camaraderie also. and of course the whole thing ultimately kicked off because the brothers wanted to try new things and see what else they could do. the tree kicked them out in the way that you’d tell roughhousing kids to go play outside. it’s a consequence of bad behavior but not a punishment.

hence my thinking is that the brothers themselves were deeply invested in negotiating a compromise and tried their absolute best to do so, but were stymied by their incompatible ideas about, fundamentally, the value of destruction and the place it should have in their world.

the narrative of ‘the two brothers’ is, i think, probably accurate in the essentials of what the conflict developed into:

Though they had distinct personalities and competing desires, they were still connected and did not feel whole unless they were together. Since they could not agree on where to go, they decided to create a world for themselves.

[…]

One day the God of Light approached his brother. “I have been trying to create a beautiful world for us, but your creations spoil it.”

“Your creations are almost as dull as the unending void was,” said the God of Darkness. “If this place is going to entertain us, we need to make things lively.” With that, the God of Darkness brought forth earthquakes and volcanoes that tore his brother’s continent apart into smaller lands, boiled the oceans, rained fire and ash, and wiped out all the living things.

(NB: the creations light refers to are the moon, deserts, mountains, canyons, and grimm. humans do not exist for the grimm to prey on yet so this is wholly a quarrel over aesthetics; light wants everything to be lush and tranquil, dark wants a world in endless motion. note how the main point of contention here is just “plate tectonics, yes or no?”)

[…]

“Brother,” said the God of Light one day. “Why do you take pleasure in torturing and destroying my creations?”

The God of Darkness smiled. “You take so much joy in their creation, I merely want you to be able to do more of it.”

[…]

The God of Light wanted his brother to see the world as he did, to comprehend the responsibility that came with their immense power. And so, he made a bold proposal:

“What if we create a new form of life together, one more capable and fascinating than the animals and insects? We can make them aware of what they are, and empower them to control and shape their world.”

The God of Darkness was intrigued. “If they can think and communicate as we do, they won’t be as predictable as the things you’ve made before.”

“There is one condition, Brother,” said the God of Light. “If we create these beings together, then we must share in any decisions about their fate. You must promise not to wipe them out on a whim; they must have the chance to find their own destiny and rule or ruin this world we have made for them.”

[…]

For a time, the brothers were satisfied with what they had made together and they watched Humanity adapt and flourish. People spread across the planet, and if the God of Darkness occasionally tossed adversity their way in the form of natural disasters like a flood or tornado, the God of Light then blessed them with bountiful harvests and fair weather.

The God of Darkness was interested in testing the Humans’ limits and admired their resourcefulness. Following a devastating earthquake, rather than give in to despair and accept failure, Humans rebuilt their homes—stronger than before, so they would survive the next quake. And though they grieved their lost loved ones, they picked up and pressed on. The God of Light underestimated the Humans, overprotective of their creations, but the God of Darkness saw how they thrived in facing challenges and grew in overcoming them.

[…]

“Your abominations [grimm] are killing the Humans,” the God of Light told his brother. “Get rid of them.”

“You protested whenever I wiped out your creations, but now you want to do the same to mine?” the God of Darkness snapped.

“Your creatures are not alive. They are crafted from malice and hate, with the sole purpose of destroying all that is good in the world.”

The God of Darkness scowled. “Is that what you think of me, Brother? Never forget: You and I are the same.”

with the context provided by 9.10 it is very easy to trace the lines of this conflict all the way back to its source: dark ate and light did not. dark understands destruction as a natural and essential part of life that brings healing, nourishment, and revival; light misunderstands it as something his brother did to get rid of bad things and he cannot wrap his head around why dark refused to get rid of jabber (a bad thing) OR why dark keeps adding destructive things into their new world (which, having been created ex nihilo, does not have a primordial wilderness for dark to clear).

to him this seems arbitrary, pointless, and cruel; meanwhile dark looks at light’s creative efforts and sees an egg that could hatch into something wonderful if only the shell would crack. and then once he’s added a beak here and some talons there and has the newly-hatched chick cradled in his hands, light accuses him of ruining the egg and he can no more understand why his brother is so upset about that than light can understand why dark keeps doing this.

the cherry on top of the irreconcilable differences sundae is that light thinks erasing jabber or the grimm from existence is exactly the same as, say, breaking up the planetary crust before spinning the world like a top. but to dark these are profoundly different—one is death, the other a renewal. a forest burnt to the ground by wildfire erupts with new life again; a town flattened by a terrible earthquake is rebuilt stronger and with more care, to survive the next quake unscathed. this is ascension! this is the pattern they have known and cherished all their lives, adapted for a different environment; an old song in a new key!

and the longer this fundamental difference in perspective goes unresolved the more impossible it becomes to find any common ground at all in the conflict arising from it. when we meet them in 6.3 they have been in the trenches of this ideological stalemate for so long that it’s devolved to dark spitting that creation is his nature just as it is light’s and light responding flatly that no it isn’t. it’s gotten to the point of “you don’t own creation, you don’t own humans, and you don’t own me” and the answer being, basically, “well i’m right, you’re wrong, and that human tricked you into breaking the rules because she’s bad and needs to be punished.”

it’s gone on for so long and grown so large that in a very real way it’s mutated into a fight about whether or not dark is an evil monster who needs to be restrained lest his malice bring the world to ruin, and while i don’t think light would describe it that way it seems very clear to me that dark has grasped this. as i said in the original post, resurrecting a virtuous hero who died in the prime of his life, at the request of his devastated, grieving lover, without any conditions at all, for no other reason than because it pleased him to be kind, is as clear and unambiguous a proof of the value dark sees in life, in love, and in creation itself as dark could ever make—and it changes nothing. it completes the circle and the original fight begins again, exactly as before. dark recognizes this as it happens and immediately capitulates, immediately takes full responsibility, apologizes, and corrects his ‘mistake’—and it changes nothing. light still lunges at salem, to punish her for what dark did.

so, either dark lashed out at salem in a petty rage because he believed light’s insinuation that she sought to manipulate him (which does not, in retrospect, make sense, because it’s preceded by dark folding into himself, getting very quiet, and apologizing to his brother, at whom he was screaming furiously not a minute before; he doesn’t seem outraged or indignant, and he really has no reason to take light at his word)—or, he saw what was happening and backed down so as to prevent light from trying to solve the problem by killing salem, a la jabber.

only that didn’t work, because nothing dark does actually matters anymore. dark can bring a legendary hero back to life as an act of kindness toward his bereaved lover and his brother will see only an abomination in need of stern correction; he can bow his head, humbly apologize, assume full responsibility, and undo the act that provoked his brother, and light will still condemn the innocent mortal caught in the middle.

there’s nothing dark can do, at this point. he can bash his head against an unsolvable conflict for the rest of forever while his brother flatly refuses to move a single nanometer away from his original position that destruction is acceptable only within a very narrow, strictly-defined set of parameters (clearing away the primordial wilderness of the ever after to set the stage for light’s design) but aberrant and unworthy to exist in any other context because it incites change and change is anathema; or he can walk away and be free.

except he can’t walk away, because this world and humans in particular are very dear to him. light is cold and unyielding and punitive enough as it is; how much worse would he become without dark around to keep the world changing and growing? look at what light did to salem in retaliation for dark merely granting her request and then walking it back to appease his brother!—how dire might the consequences be for humankind if dark chose to upend the balance by leaving?

these are rhetorical questions; the answer is that light resorts to demanding absolute obedience or else he’ll vaporize the planet. because that’s the ultimatum he gives ozma, without dark.

so dark, if his goal is to leave remnant, has to make sure that light leaves too. how?

(tin hats on!)

here’s something sticky i’ve been chewing on: light bites jabber and shatters him and then the blacksmith skips ahead to their departure, right. we don’t see dark putting jabber back together again, but we do know he ultimately was left alive, and we can infer that dark fixed him up one last time before they left.

light bites salem, too. the sound cuts out and the screen cuts to black for a couple seconds. then she jolts awake, unharmed, falling from the sky above light’s domain. absent the jabber parallel, it made intuitive sense to conclude that light snapped her up without actually harming her, flashed back to his domain, and then dropped her.

but the jabber parallel underscores the physicality of light’s violence: he rends jabber to pieces with his claws, he shatters jabber with a snap of his jaws. (beware the jabberwock, my son!/the jaws that bite, the claws that catch!) lunging down to bite is one of the ways light executed jabber—so when he lunges down to bite salem…?

dark is cut completely out of frame throughout the whole sequence of salem’s reaction to losing ozma for the third time. he breathes a blast of fire to engulf them and then we do not see him again until after salem is made immortal. this is a very overt implication that light made his choice to retaliate unilaterally; and given that only a minute prior, dark makes a deliberate point of leaving salem unharmed, it seems self-evident that dark did not want to kill her.

and of course this occurs mere minutes after it’s established that dark can bring people back even when light is the one who killed them.

and,

“If we create these beings together, then we must share in any decisions about their fate. You must promise not to wipe them out on a whim; they must have the chance to find their own destiny and rule or ruin this world we have made for them.”

if ‘the two brothers’ is accurate in the essentials of what “the rules we agreed upon” entailed, and light killed salem without consulting dark, and dark did not retroactively approve that decision, then light violated the rules and dark has every right to demand that salem be revived and allowed to decide her fate. if light insists upon punishment, it must be a punishment dark will agree to.

and light’s rigid absolutism demands that he obey the rules, too. he might stretch his interpretation of them to rationalize doing things that are not in the spirit of the rules, but he won’t break them.

so, who dropped salem into the fountain life and creation? here’s some pernicious little oddities that have been taunting me for a year that now seem… suggestive:

number one: after salem finishes coughing up water and realizes where she is, she sits up and, while light chides her for being selfish and arrogant, turns her head away from him to stare at dark. she is looking at dark, not light, when she asks “what did you do to me?”

number two: this fucking split screen. light is above his brother at the top of the shot but dark is ascendant, and once their relative positions have reversed dark’s half rapidly fades out to reveal salem (and both of them are shown whole, so their heads overlap light as well). the symbolism here couldn’t be louder if you gave it a bullhorn; salem’s immortality is the ending of light’s divine rule but a victory for dark, who rises (ascends!) from his inferior position beneath light and promptly vanishes, leaving salem to take his place.

number three: before the split screen, when salem is on the ground, the tree is center frame. after the split screen, she stands up, which—because she was sprawled perpendicular to the camera, so to be clear this is not an animation error—moves her a little to the left, which in turn has the effect of moving the tree off-center as the camera moves with her. look. LOOK at how this changes the composition of the shot!

centered. symmetrical. salem lies at the roots of the tree and the brothers are both sheltered by its crown but apart from it. (you can also see how her head is turned toward dark here)

off-center. lopsided. salem is still under the roots but her prominence in the shot is much greater; she completely fills the space between the brothers and they now seem small by comparison. the tree has moved away from light, who is now fully alienated from it—no part of him touches it—and dark has moved toward it and into it. his apparent ‘movement’ from the previous shot to this one is a descent from the high branches, following the trunk down, toward the bottom. (afterans ascend by diving to the roots of the tree and then rising up to blossom from its crown.)

these two shots bracket the split screen and directly reiterate that symbolism: light is removed from the seat of his power (and symbolically alienated from the cosmic tree) and dark gains the advantage, but salem has become a formidable barrier between them which, with the context v9 supplies, gives dark what he needs to be able to return to the tree.

and as a final point of interest, light tells salem that she must learn the importance of life and death before she can rest, and, well, that’s an eyebrow-raising turn of phrase, isn’t it:

“I will give them knowledge of themselves and their world,” said the God of Darkness. “So they can comprehend life and death, and thus they will also know fear.”

The God of Light said, “And I will give them free will, the power to decide what to do with that knowledge and choose their own place in the world.”

do you see? do you SEE? dark used light’s desire for retribution to guide him to this outcome, and he made salem immortal to make salem his heir.

more opaque is the question of to what degree dark anticipated salem going as far as she did, but i do think his characterization in ‘the two brothers’ is elucidating here:

The God of Darkness was interested in testing the Humans’ limits and admired their resourcefulness. Following a devastating earthquake, rather than give in to despair and accept failure, Humans rebuilt their homes—stronger than before, so they would survive the next quake. And though they grieved their lost loved ones, they picked up and pressed on. […] the God of Darkness saw how they thrived in facing challenges and grew in overcoming them.

dark sees in humans a cycle of growth and continual refinement through adversity. he delights in this and is “endlessly fascinated” by the human will to adapt and survive. he doesn’t allow hardships to befall humans to be cruel, but rather to galvanize them to achieve their full potential—and so where light curses salem with eternal pain as retribution for her “arrogance,” dark likely intended immortality as the furnace that would forge her into what he hoped she could become.

“the gods hoped that salem would learn from her eternal curse, and she did. she learned that the hearts of men are easily swayed.” she learned that the gods are fallible. she learned that light is cruel. she learned that humans do not need the brothers and that the brothers do not own them. she learned that humans, too, have a claim on the powers of creation and a choice in their own fate.

dark gave humans knowledge.

one of the brothers wanted salem to learn her lesson and return humbled and contrite; the other wanted to disabuse her of her faith in them and provoke defiance, and he got what he wanted in spades.

“my own gift to them, used against me.” / “you thought there was no greater punishment we could bestow upon you?” / “still demanding things of your creators.” these are the last things dark says to salem—his parting words—and it’s you cannot overcome us with the weapon i lent to you. you cannot overestimate our cruelty. you failed because you expected us to solve your problems for you. is he mocking her inferiority or is he telling her DO IT YOURSELF FOR THE WORLD IS YOURS

and then he shatters the moon and fire rains down, and he freezes the debris forever so that the violence of his departure will never, ever be forgotten. salem curses the gods and the universe and everything but herself as she wanders the planet waiting for a death that would never come—passively suffering in the last helpless vestiges of her faith—until fate leads her back to the land of darkness and she takes fate into her own hands.

look at this. LOOK at what dark did to the moon,

and look what it became after salem hurled herself through its reflection into the pool of grimm!

it isn’t mended but it’s been made whole. by salem when she rejected the fate inflicted upon her and recreated herself.

“it created a being of infinite life with a desire for pure destruction, and in time, she would find her adversary.” and it’s not ozma, and it’s not ruby standing behind ozma, and it’s not weiss or yang or blake revealed by ozma’s aimless wander through the white void. it’s light, who breaks the silence by saying ozma’s name and reveals himself like this:

i can’t add a screenshot because i’ve hit the image limit but the way light is positioned here directly repeats and exaggerates the serpentine motion of his lunge at salem and these are the only two shots in the lost fable where his draconic head is shown from the front rather than in profile.

and note the repetition here of this composition.

light delivers his ultimatum alone, standing in the place of the tree, against a backdrop of the white emptiness beneath the ever after. in the absence of his brother he maintains the circle alone, re-enacting their conflict and creation of the world by himself, unchanging, forever. remember how i said that nothing dark did actually mattered anymore? this is the proof.

dark is GONE, and light carries on trying to win their fight millions of years after his brother washed his hands of it and walked away.

“in our absence, i would like to offer you a chance to return” / “creation, destruction, choice and knowledge were the ideals upon which humanity was made. now, i leave them behind with the hope that you can learn to remake yourselves.” he tells ozma that if brought together, “these relics will summon my brother and me back to your world, and mankind will be judged.”—but he makes it explicitly clear that he is acting alone. he says i, not we, leave these relics behind. i, not we, have chosen you. dark has no part in this.

if dark still exists as before, then light is violating his own rules by acting unilaterally—and he has no reason to believe that dark will answer the relics’ summons or participate in a day of judgment he did not agree to and may not even know about.

if, on the other hand, dark left remnant and ascended…

well. um.

Finally, overcome with loneliness, the dragon decided to create a companion with whom he could share the cosmos and eternity—an equal, fashioned in his own image. Because even an all-powerful god cannot make something from nothing, the dragon divided himself and all his magic into two halves.

However, he destroyed himself in the act of creation. The old god was no more; in his place were two brothers, a dragon of pure light, and his shadow, a dragon of unfathomable darkness. They were new gods with shared memories and complementary abilities.

we have hard confirmation now that this part of ‘the two brothers’ is not literal truth, so where did it come from and why is it here?

the dragon divides himself and his power into new gods with shared memories of complementary abilities. something cannot come from nothing, and so in order to create himself in this new form, equals fashioned in his own image, he must destroy himself. this is a description of ascension which introduces the possibility of a god destroying himself in order to be reborn as multiple new beings.

dark is gone. he left remnant behind and we have not seen him since; light delivers his ultimatum alone.

there are four relics now, each inhabited by one of the spirits of destruction, creation, knowledge, and choice—the four qualities that defined the brothers and defined humanity in turn.

these spirits are shackled and wrapped in chains. the two we’ve met so far palpably dislike ozma.

and light, who has never ascended, who does not understand the role destruction plays in creation, who abhors change, believes that when these relics are united, his brother will return.

they’re the dragon divided. into four, not two, because dark understood that balance is not two forces locked in eternal conflict and understood his own nature to be more than a false dichotomy.

#TLDR HE BROKE THE MOON SO SALEM COULD FIX IT #SEE ALSO ‘GIFT OF THE MOON’

[jazzcoffeeartcafeofficial]

I finished it last night and I am so proud of it! It's not exactly how I petted him but close enough. 🥹💕

I wish I had this dream again tbh.💕

I had a dream he was in front of me in some school place(though I thought it was a doctor's place cause I got my temperature checked, and he was in front of me at a table and I petted him and he made the sounds like in the game, though it was calmly. 🥹

#fnaf #fnaftjocr #the joy of creation reborn #the joy of creation #fnaftjoc #tjoc #five nights at freddy's

[marine-indie-gal]

Rati

The Hindu Goddess of Love, Lust, Sexual Pleasure, Carnal Desire, Lust, and Passion. Both the Female Counterpart and Wife of Kamadeva "Kama". The Mother of Harsha and Yashas.

She is usually depicted as a Maiden with the Power of Enchanted Love and is usually seen with her Husband in Paintings. She is also known as "Mayavati" when her Husband is Reborn as "Pradyumma". The Name "Rati" comes from a root word, "Ram" or "Sanskrit" meaning either "Joy" or "Delight" (but it's more usually referred to sexual love as she represents the lustful pleasure of Women that does not refer to Motherhood). She also rides a Horse that is very Beautiful as she is and like her Husband, she is associated with Parrots.

After the creation of the 10 Prajapatis, Creation Deity (Brahma) creates Kamadeva from his mind as Kama was given the task to spread love in the world by his own Flower Arrows. When Kama shoot one of his arrows against Brahma and the Prajapatis to fall in love with Brahma's Daughter (Sandhya) which made Shiva laugh so hard but it also embarrassed Brahma and the Prajapatis with tremble and sweat that causes one of the Prajapatis (Daksha) to drip a drop of his sweat (thus, Rati) was born, giving Kama his own Bride/Wife. However, seeing on how Brahma was instantly humiliated by one of Kama's tricks, he cursed him into being turned into Ashes by Shiva until that He and his Wife would soon be Reincarnated.  

In a second version of her birth, The Brahma Vaivarta Purana tells that Sandhya took her own life and became Rati when Vishnu resurrects her into Rati and became Kama's wife, after when Bruma lusted Sandhya. Though some versions do keep the Sweat birth thing. However, Another version states that Shiva is Rati's Father.

In the Myth of Rati and Kamadeva's reincarnation, when Shiva's prophecy was said that he was going to have a child in order to stop the Demon (Tarakasura) from destroying the universe, Kama was given the task to make Shiva fall in love with someone to have an Heir. As The Two Love Gods went up to Shiva (who was in his own meditation), Kama took the form of a Breeze and shot Shiva with one of his Arrows which caused Shiva to burn Rati's Beloved Husband into Ashes by his Third Eye which caused Rati to have a mental heartbreak of her Husband's death. 

When her Husband was reborn as Pradyumma as the Son of Krishna, the Demon King found out that Rati's Husband was reborn, he threw the Child Pradyumma into the ocean where the Newborn would be swallowed as a fish but when a Couple found Baby Pradyumma under the fish's belly, they decide to raise the Rebirth Kama. Rati then took the form of a Woman under the name, "Mayavati" who would then serve as both a Nanny and later Wife to Pradyumma. After when Pradyumma slayed the Demon King, Kama and Rati return their own previous forms and return back to Dwarka.

SBSP Universe

Rati is very well pleasant, sweet, kind-hearted, a bit sly, and devoted with such desires of love as She and her Husband (Kama) are Partners who help each other out to spread the love throughout the world. Although despite the fact that she does look very seductive compare to Aphrodite and Venus, she can understand others' love for her but she would never cheat on her Beloved Husband. She's also a well caring and gentle Mother to their Sons (Harsha and Yashas).

However, if she saw that one lover turn out to be either abusive or selfish to their own significant other, she would tend to curse the live of a Toxic Partner for being so cruel towards their own partner if one must ever dare to tick her off with Anti-Love. She also happens to have her own Two Pets (A Parrot and even a Mare).

Given on how that Brahma saw that Kama felt so lonely that he desired a consort for himself, Rati was sent by Brahma to meet Kamadeva in a Beautiful Forest. Curious as she was around in the forest searching for him, they accidentality bump into each other and had a warm feeling of Love. Thus, it was Love at first sight for how the Love God admired the Love Goddess' Beauty for Rati seemed as although he started to like him after introducing themselves to each other. Rati seduced Kama with all of her might and beauty as she teased him with such love to get his own attention and then later Wed themselves where they were blessed with Two Sons.

During the day when Kama tricked Shiva into falling in love with Parvati through one of his arrows, Rati was curious on what was going on so she decided to help her Husband out to convince Parvati about Shiva that he's not a bad man and that he can be very a Faithful Loving Husband towards her as Parvati trusted the Two Love Gods as she married Shiva.

Although during the Days of Shiva and Parvati's family, Rati was given the task to become both a Nanny and an Aunt Figure to Shiva and Parvati's Sons (Kartikeya & Ganesha) as she would often tend to spoil the Young Gods. Not only that, she's also like as if she's almost a Mother Figure to everyone who treats her with respect.

She's also BFFs with both Aphrodite and Venus as they do love to chat about things that Goddesses would usually brag about as she's part of the Love Goddess Squad (alongside with Freya and Hathor). She also doesn't mind either King Neptune nor King Poseidon.

SpongeBob SquarePants (c) Stephen Hillenburg Rati (c) Hindu Mythology

#gods in spongebob #spongebob squarepants #hindu mythology #rati #love goddess #hinduism #hindu goddess

[clara-eternal]

@ncthinghurts asked: "So the art of making daisy chains, is that not sacrilegious to you? Wouldn't Silvanus or Mielikki frown at the idea of you just plucking the little flowers to make crowns out of them?" Thean teased with a broad smile, taking residence in the vacant spot beside Clarian. Thean didn't care for such practices, but it brought his friend some joy, so as a friend, he felt it was his duty to tease her over it.

As Clara wove the delicate wildflowers into a crown, her fingers moved with practiced ease, intertwining stems and petals into a harmonious design. The vibrant colors of the blooms seemed to come alive in her hands, her magic adding its own unique touch to the creation. The air around their campsite was filled with the sweet scent of blossoms and a simmering meal.

Her gaze drifted to Thean, the half-elf she had come to care for deeply during their travels. "You love animals, but you still eat them," Clara remarked, as she finished the flower crown.

Clara gently placed it atop Thean's head, a tender smile gracing her lips. The sunlight filtered through the canopy above, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow across their makeshift camp.

"Flowers grow back even after they are stepped on," Clara continued, her fingers idly tracing the delicate petals. "Wildflowers are especially hardy. They'll spread and grow even in the most impossible of soils. Silvanus and Mielikki understand that with life there is also death."

She paused, her gaze meeting Thean's as she conveyed her thoughts with a quiet intensity. "But perhaps there is beauty in that cycle – in the way life gives way to death, only to be reborn again. Perhaps that's what makes every moment precious, knowing that it's fleeting yet part of something greater."

With a gentle sigh, Clara leaned back against a tree, content to bask in the tranquility of their surroundings. "You look every bit the role of a woodland prince," she remarked, her tone affectionate. "I'd say that's my best flower crown yet. Now, hand me a couple of those blue flowers so I can make one for our wizard."

#ncthinghurts #answered 💌 #m; clarian oswin #v; bg3 #t; act one #s; flower crowns

[aidoftheservant]

deity!Shang Qinghua

I'm posting this introduction chapter I had finished (and liked) for a longer work that I (hehe) may never actually complete? Ta~daah!

Shang Qinghua was a god. 

He didn’t consider himself one, or the people around him, as such, but he knew that in the eyes of his current beholders, he would be considered one now. 

However, he and his people were creators, and this much was true. People around him would speak their wishes into reality through poetry. These were joys and sorrows and curses and declarations of love and bondages. The creations were endless, and their destruction also. 

Shang Qinghua wasn’t powerful compared to his peers, seniors, or even his juniors. So, to cultivate some protection and love from them, he tried to entertain them with his creation. The more he wrote, the more he lost his originality and his principles to the whims of his audience. It made him bitter, but the result was in his favour. He was mostly safe. 

He had a soft spot for one of his peers who raged at him for being better than what he put out. At least one person saw that he had lowered his standards to a startling degree, and the thought was liberating. Made every word he put out there a little bit more worth it if only to hear the insults and fury of one anonymous Peerless Cucumber whom he’d never met. 

Sure, it was upsetting. His Cucumber Bro definitely stung Shang Qinghua where it hurt. He still looked forward to reading his criticism. It also meant he could live another moment with some comfort because Cucumber Bro showered him with both hate and the provisions that Shang Qinghua dearly needed. 

This Cucumber Bro was weird, but Shang Qinghua would under no circumstances want him away from his project. (So maybe he had somewhat inadvertently doomed Peerless Cucumber to the fate they found themselves in. Oops?)

One day Shang Qinghua found himself entangled with a current of (usually controlled!) lightning he brought upon himself by accident, and died. 

Death wasn’t entirely uncommon for Shang Qinghua’s people. Some died. Some came back when they didn’t like being dead, while others stayed dead - apparently quite content. Some were reborn without their memories, and some with their memories. It was mildly interesting at most.

All in all, death wasn’t strange or particularly terrifying. 

But Shang Qinghua didn’t die the way he was supposed to. No, he managed to die so freakishly that he ended up being utterly destroyed. That was unheard of. And yet, his Cucumber Bro had ended up in quite a similar state, too. Which was crazy to think about, and Shang Qinghua only thought of one being he could blame. 

The System was something that Shang Qinghua had no knowledge of. He didn’t know if it was an avatar of more powerful people, someone’s creation, or a separate existence entirely. (Was it their creator? Shang Qinghua only entertained the thought for a moment. It didn’t matter). 

Shang Qinghua woke up an infant in the arms of beings he took too long to recognise as the humans he created for his world. 

His senses were shot. He could barely see, let alone colours, rarely anything smelled good and every texture was an atrocity. He felt too much and in despair, he wept often with great abandon. 

The less he thought or spoke about the humans that birthed him (his human form), the better it was for him. Shang Qinghua - not yet named such at the time - found himself filling in the role of an ambitious human, a treacherous spy, he wrote into existence.

【Please ensure 「SHANG QINGHUA」 becomes a disciple of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect and rises to rank 「PEAK LORD OF AN DING」. This is a mandatory plot point.】

Such was one of the most intense instructions of the many that blared inside Shang Qinghua’s head. 

He hated the thing and the punishments that it beat him down with until Shang Qinghua submitted to its designs. 

Shang Qinghua used to be ridiculed where he came from, but he had been free to walk and roam a bit. Now he was on a leash he could only get to extend by obeying the System's directions and achieving missions it placed on his path. 

Even so, it didn’t seem like the System had much will in itself. It had something that could be considered a personality, sure. It could mock a little, and to an extent, it could be reasoned or bargained with. But overall it was alien to Shang Qinghua. It was nothing he had ever known or thought to create. 

He was still forced to live alongside it. 

And so he found himself as a young boy, not even a decade old, battered and famished at the feet of Cang Qiong Mountain.

It was as beautiful as Shang Qinghua had created it. Though, he felt it was somehow beyond what he had hoped for. He did consider himself fortunate to be born human and not some beast. Because of this, he could experience his world with the senses he specifically designed for that purpose. 

Shang Qinghua clapped his hands and giggled for the first time since his birth in this world. He loved this mountain with its odd peaks that he knew to be filled with mighty (and less mighty) cultivators. 

For once, he was happy to be here. Most of his creations had, sometimes unintentionally, sought to cause him pain. This environment, in contrast to his earlier abodes, was blameless and welcoming, almost as if it was aware and knew him. Perhaps it was even grateful?

Ha! Finally, one of his designs knew how to treat him properly!

Shang Qinghua happily hiked upwards, looking for where a guest was supposed to announce themselves, and to whom.

He found a severe-looking disciple first, who looked at him with a mixture of confusion and apprehension. The disciple spun in place, trying to ascertain that he was still within the protective barrier of his sect, and then stared at the boy in bafflement. 

This was normal, really. 

Shang Qinghua seemed to have that effect on most humans. Something about him was off to these creations, something that this human body and the System's meddling hadn't been able to entirely alleviate.

It had been a source of anguish and rage for so long that Shang Qinghua had to stop caring about it lest he loses his mind. 

Shang Qinghua, knowing proper conduct very well because he designed it (thank you very much!), politely introduced himself to the disciple and requested to meet someone he could discuss his application with.

The request was met with such surprise and subsequent suspicion, that maybe Shang Qinghua should have paid closer attention to how he had designed human children to act. 

The only children he had paid close attention to had been (his King!) Mobei-jun, Shen Jiu, Yue Qingyuan, and Luo Binghe. And, ah right, on second thought, maybe none of these were ideal representations of how children should act. After all, even gentle White Lotus Luo Binghe already had an inclination towards the demonic in his youth. 

Ah! How his audience had been surprised when Shang Qinghua presented others’ perspectives on the boy! They had assumed the child was perfectly charming to all humans, but, in the end, this was a skill Luo Binghe had cultivated on his own post-darkening all along! 

So, in retrospect, Shang Qinghua shouldn’t have tried to imitate his protagonist too much. He should have gone for Yue Qingyuan? Even if he had been impulsive as a child, he had plenty of charisma. 

I messed that up, didn’t I?

For the next few days, Shang Qinghua only ever saw whom he assumed to be the Peak Lords of the generation before those of the main setting of his world. They asked a lot of questions about Shang Qinghua’s (human) origins. These questions he could, of course, answer perfectly. 

He was also examined closely by the Qian Cao Peak Lord specifically. 

Shang Qinghua was even tasked with unsheathing a sword his tiny body shouldn’t even be able to lift and, as was to be expected, failed to do so. (He later remembered what the sword’s purpose had been, and he laughed for quite a while once he had). 

Baffled, but unable to determine anything specific, the Sect Leader allowed one of the Lords to take him as a disciple, as Shang Qinghua had requested. 

While waiting between the investigations, Shang Qinghua had been given books to entertain himself with. Shang Qinghua had always liked to be pampered, even if he rarely was, and it seemed normal for children to need a lot of attention. A win! 

However, apparently, his literacy levels were beyond his years, so that did upset the Peak Lords a bit. How could Shang Qinghua have known? 

In the end, he was placed with Qing Jing Peak. 

Upon hearing the news, Shang Qinghua yelped in terror. 

Dearest System! He pleaded to the blue screen that was visible only to him. Don’t punish me just yet, I can fix this! 

But there had been no message, nor was the punishment protocol initiated. 

The System did not detect a deviation from the mandatory plot point. 

Now, the original Shang Qinghua never had his origins laid out entirely. He was a minor character, and even his death had been but a side note. (To his Cucumber Bro’s extreme dissatisfaction!) So, maybe this was fine? 

Not quite a moment after his anguished cry, Shang Qinghua immediately bowed and properly showed his appreciation with a genuine smile. 

The Peak Lord looked at him like he was a puzzle to solve. No, actually, the Lord looked at Shang Qinghua like the child was an unstable chemical concoction he was tasked with to safely neutralise.  

When Shang Qinghua finally met Shen Jiu he was so excited he forgot he made him the Scum Villain. Shang Qinghua had so many drafts on Shen Jiu that no one had ever seen and he was anxious to meet him in the flesh. 

Shen Jiu immediately levelled him with the vilest expression Shang Qinghua had ever seen (and he had received quite a number). Of course, Shen Jiu had only recently been allowed on Cang Qiong Mountain. Considering his circumstances, especially with how tense things were between him and Yue Qingyuan, his usual hostility had to be temporarily boosted! 

Delighted by such an in-character reaction, Shang Qinghua nervously laughed at Shen Jiu. 

True, that was a mistake. Shen Jiu loathed him within an instant. But who could blame Shang Qinghua for his enthusiasm? Shang Qinghua saw Shen Jiu his misfortunate and intolerant child first before he acknowledged him as an individual. 

He tried hard to curb the habit, but Shang Qinghua was thrilled to meet anyone he had named and eager to see how they acted now that they had their free will. So inevitably, the first moment whenever he met one of his children, he did something that set them off or at least weirded them out. 

Shang Qinghua would stare a bit too long. He’d perk up without meaning to. Or, like just now, he’d laugh in their faces because they were just so exciting to him he couldn’t control what came out of his mouth. 

But, as it turned out, Shen Jiu was repulsed by everyone. So, as Shang Qinghua was the only one on Qing Jing Peak willing to interact with him much, Shang Qinghua ended up being paired with him quite often during classes or with cultivation practice anyway. 

Not to misunderstand, Shang Qinghua was plenty terrified of the Scum Villain! The man was volatile, disagreeable and venomous. Shang Qinghua also just really wanted to see him often. 

That wasn’t a contradiction, System! Leave me alone! 

“Shen-shixiong, truly this shidi means no offence, but he fears the scroll may catch on fire if - W-Wait, shixiong, don’t be hasty!”

Shen Jiu aborted a motion that would have been a slap against his head, but the man - barely an adolescent, really - held himself back with a tremendous effort of restraint. “Be silent!”

“Right! Shen-shixiong knows what he’s doing, haha. This shidi is just being a nuisance. I’ll be over there, uh, copying my text. Right.” Shang Qinghua retreated with his figurative tail between his legs and sat at an appropriate distance away from Shen Jiu. 

Even Shang Qinghua's attempt at respectfully addressing his sibling was for nought, wasn't it?

Shen Jiu was difficult to deal with no matter what.

(Did OG!Shang Qinghua put up with this for so long that he ended up especially cruel towards Shen Qingqiu's disciples during the Conference in petty retribution for the slight? Now, none of that seemed to be right!)

On top of that, Shang Qinghua's timid disposition didn't mellow Shen Jiu out one bit!

Shang Qinghua masked a sigh. He really hadn’t meant to upset him, okay?! He just noticed that Shen Jiu was doing something wrong and wanted to gently guide him. Shen Jiu was still at a high risk of qi deviation at this stage of his life; (he always would be at some level of risk to be entirely truthful); so any slight in cultivating should be corrected as soon as possible. He was trying to be a good martial sibling! 

Of course, Shang Qinghua wasn’t supposed to know of his martial sibling’s poor health. He only knew because, well, yeah, he designed it to be that way. So what if he maybe felt a little bit guilty about it! 

Even so, Shen Jiu rejected every outstretched hand offered to him. He would bite if it didn’t retract quickly enough, too!

Interacting with Shen Jiu was like walking on shards of broken glass. Standing still was painful, walking even more so, and what even possessed you to willingly stand on shards of glass in the first place? 

Ah, but Shang Qinghua knew all too well why his child was this way. He had made it so Shen Jiu was his own worst enemy when it came to healing from the abuse and trauma he suffered time and time again. Shen Jiu would thus end up perpetuating the cycle of abuse on Luo Binghe. And, eventually, he would end up as a scum villain with a horrific, torturous end. 

Shang Qinghua gazed at Shen Jiu from underneath his lashes and all he saw was an angry and frustrated young man. He sighed again, forgetting to mask it. 

Shen Jiu glared at him again. 

“Sorry, shixiong!” Shang Qinghua squeaked, and he focussed back on his own task. 

Shang Qinghua was good at the four arts (perks of being the creator, he supposed) and actually found most activities enjoyable. Knowing that his future was one to be extremely busy with hardly a moment of rest, he tried to find time for the arts (actual hobbies to him!) while he still could. 

But, while being an accomplished (in skill, not in any other way) disciple of Qing Jing Peak, he was abysmal when it came to cultivation. Oh. Well. He was abysmal compared to his peers, who would ascend to become esteemed Peak Lords themselves. Shang Qinghua was still good enough to form a Golden Core and eventually become an Immortal Master. 

Immortality, being able to perform inedia, even cultivating in general, were no small feats! For humans they weren’t, he had to reluctantly specify. 

In his previous world, immortality wasn’t really a concept because decline to the point of permanent destruction just simply didn’t happen. The closest to such a thing was a state change. Like being dead. Which isn't permanent. Unless someone wanted it to be. And then still they might come back one day!

So, when Shang Qinghua created a world where death was largely permanent, quite some people were appalled. A greater number found it very fascinating! (“So Liu Qingge actually won’t ever appear because he was killed? He’s just gone forever? Wow!”) 

Now that Shang Qinghua tasted the feeling of being destroyed (and then remade rather than changed from one state of being to another) he quite feared how the beings of his world experienced death. 

He’d never experienced or even heard about a life just ending, so he had never specified in his texts or drafts what it would be like. How would Shang Qinghua describe the absence of life? He didn’t know and hadn’t done it. 

Very mysterious, isn’t it, my dear readers? 

【Indeed.】

Right. Quite mysterious. System, don’t just speak at such ominous times! 

Shang Qinghua would put effort into avoiding that state for a very long time, thank you!

But, despite said best efforts, and despite being the creator of the world, the bare minimum of acquiring immortality was the most he would be able to amount to. 

【For now.】

… Shang Qinghua chose to ignore this.

As he tried (and failed) to focus on the text he was supposed to copy, Shang Qinghua could only ponder about how much weaker he was than those who were supposed to be his peers. He did not like to think about how the damage in his youth had permanently altered his chances. 

He was quite like Shen Jiu, in that regard. The original Shang Qinghua had subsequently been extremely ambitious and willing to work his way up through underhanded tactics. 

Shen Jiu, in contrast, had wanted to claw at everyone he envied and keep them prone on the ground. The problem was that Shen Jiu harmed the protagonist of all people, so his punishment had been the most severe. And celebrated by the readers. 

The original Shang Qinghua’s end had been much more private. His treacherous and backstabbing schemes were dealt with by Mobei-jun, who thought highly of loyalty and had dearly wanted it in his life (but wouldn’t ever get it). 

It seemed like a fitting end, to him, the author. 

Shang Qinghua didn’t want to die like that. 

“Shen-shixiong, this shidi apologises sincerely. Shixiong may ignore his presence, but please note these words for now. The flow of your qi is a bit off, please correct it for your sake.”

Shen Jiu, who had been visibly frustrated at his lack of progress, slammed the scroll down on the stone table in front of him. With deep breaths, he looked at Shang Qinghua with a wave of anger that Shang Qinghua knew intimately but couldn’t ever truly understand. 

“Um. Maybe shixiong could perhaps copy this shidi for a moment? Like this.”

To his surprise, Shen Jiu did so. He did better for it, too, and then promptly ignored Shang Qinghua for the remainder of the day. Once he seemingly had had enough, Shen Jiu stood, took his manuscripts, and left without a word. 

Shang Qinghua breathed a sigh of relief. And with a bit of regret. He already felt lonely again. 

In this world, with how odd he was, Shang Qinghua didn’t fit in. It really was like all humans just instinctively knew he was different! And in his own world, he hadn’t been socially apt either. 

Truly, Shang Qinghua was a bit sad. It would be better to live through the plot of his world, change enough so he wouldn’t be destroyed, and then settle somewhere he had enjoyed creating. There were plenty of beautiful places Luo Binghe had taken some of his wives to (and had taken them as well), and Shang Qinghua longed to visit. 

Most of the flora and fauna, like Cang Qiong Mountain itself, greeted Shang Qinghua with delight. Their recognition of his otherworldliness was that of a devotee meeting their God! 

Shang Qinghua felt they were as content with him as much as he had loved designing them (even if quite a great deal of them were very dangerous to his weak form). It was nice. 

He just wished he could connect with his humans (and his demons, specifically Mobei-jun! They were his children, too!) in the same way. 

#svsss fanfiction #deity shang qinghua #shang qinghua fanfiction #*mine's: fanfic #word count: 3k #not a character study this is fanfic aka reimagination #indeed! an au #if i do end up finishing ill post it but for now

[liquid-geodes]

IM WATCHING MARK'S "JOY OF CREATION: REBORN" PLAYLIST AND I GOT TO THE HALLOWEEN EDITION EPISODE AND HIS INTO WAS JUST AN ANIMATRONIC SHAMBLING TOWARDS THE SCREEN AND I LEGIT WENT "Spingtap?? No... you can't just assume everything is Springtrap" AND THEN THE JUMPSCARE HAPPENED AND IT WAS THE FUCKING SPRINGTRAP JUMPSCARE NOISE I AM A GOD I CAN DETECT WILLIAM AFTON FROM ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE OH MY GOD

#dave posting