#there's no avatar in this concept as far as I'm aware

[myblacknightworld]

Found a pokeshipping fanart yesterday and now I'm reading a pokeshipping atla based fic I found on efp in 2012 because I remember liking it a lot. It's also still on going????? Has been on going for 10 years? Like, bro, this is commitment, I shall bow to you, oh fanfic author

#btw the fic is 'blue bird illusion" by yachan if y'all are interested #when i read it first i didn't realise it was atla based which is so very silly of me bc they literally went #'fire nation attacked' and 'oh. waterbenders were all burned to death and there's only the one now <3' #there's no avatar in this concept as far as I'm aware #blacky reads things #new tag I guess #pokeshipping #satokasu #pokemon #italian tag #efp fanfiction

[burst-of-iridescent]

South Asian and Hindu Influences in ATLA (Part 1)

disclaimer: i was raised culturally and religiously hindu, and though i've tried to do my research for this post and pair it with my own cultural knowledge, i'm not an expert on hinduism by any means. should i mess up, please let me know.

please also be aware that many of the concepts discussed in this post overlap heavily with religions such as buddhism and jainism, which might have different interpretations and representations. as i'm not from those religions or cultures, i don't want to speak on them, but if anyone with that knowledge wishes to add on, please feel free.

it's well-known that atla draws from indigenous, east and southeast asian influences, but something i rarely see discussed in the fandom is the influences the show takes from hinduism and south asia, and there are actually far more than i think people are aware of.

so here's a (non-exhaustive list) of the main inspirations atla drew from south asian culture and hinduism, starting with...

The Avatar

the title of the show itself is taken from the ancient language of sanskrit, often considered the sacred tongue of the hindu religion. in sanskrit, the word "avatar" means to "descend" or "alight".

the concept of the avatar is a very old one, referring to the physical incarnation of a powerful deity or spirit. the idea of the avatar is most often linked to the god Vishnu, one of three supreme hindu gods collectively called the trimurti, or trinity. the avatar is said to manifest upon earth primarily in times of great need, when balance must be maintained between the forces of good and evil.

atla borrows heavily from this idea in having aang be the incarnation of a divine spirit who returns to the world during a time of immense strife, and is tasked with defeating a great evil to bring balance back to the world. and though i don't know if it was an intentional reference, it's interesting to note that Krishna, the most famous incarnation of Vishnu was also reborn amidst a fierce storm and carried through a raging sea to a new home where he would be protected from the king who sought to kill him. sounds a little familiar, doesn't it?

Agni Kai and the Philosophy of Firebending

the word "agni" derives from the sanskrit name Agni, the god of fire, though it can also generally mean "fire".

the concepts of lightning bending and the sun being the source of firebending are likely also taken from the idea of Agni, since he's said to exist simultaneously in three different forms on three different dimensions: as fire on earth, as lightning in the atmosphere, and as the sun in the sky.

Agni is a significant aspect of many rituals, including marriage rites, death rites, and the festivals of holi and diwali. the concept of Agni is one of duality: life and death, rebirth and destruction. hindu rituals accept and celebrate both aspects, revolving around the idea that destruction is not separate from creation, but rather necessary to facilitate it. the cremation of the dead, for instance, is seen as purification, not destruction: burning away the physical form so the soul is unencumbered, set free to continue the reincarnation cycle.

this influence can be seen in the firebending masters episode, which discusses the idea of fire being vital to life. the sun warriors safeguarding the original fire and demanding that zuko and aang bring fire to the dragons as a sacrifice could also reference the ritual of Agnihotra - the ritual of keeping a fire at the home hearth and making offerings to it. the purpose of this ritual differs depending on which text you refer to, but it is generally believed to purify the person and atmosphere in which it is performed, similar to how zuko and aang must make offerings to ran and shaw and survive their fire before being deemed worthy and pure.

Agnihotra is said to serve as a symbolic reminder of the vitality and importance of fire as the driving force of life, a lesson that zuko and aang also internalize from their encounter with the dragons.

Bumi

bumi's name is taken from the sanskrit word "bhumi", which means "earth". it's also the name of the hindu goddess of the earth, bumi or bhudevi.

one of the things the original animation didn't do and which i really enjoyed about the live action was that they made bumi indian and added desi inspiration to omashu. it makes perfect sense for a king whose name is as hindu-inspired as they come.

NWT Royal Palace

chief arnook's palace in the northern water tribe takes inspiration from the gopurams of hindu temples, massive pyramidal structures that served as entrance towers to the temple.

gopurams were built tall enough to be seen for miles around, beacons to signal tired or weary travellers who wished for a place to rest that a temple was nearby. it's a nice touch that the chief's palace is located in front of the spirit oasis, a similarly symbolic entryway to a sanctuary housing otherworldly deities.

Betrothal Necklaces

to preface: i doubt this was an intentional reference, and this great post talks about other cultures that could have inspired the water tribe betrothal necklaces. given the desi influence in the nwt architecture however, i figured it was worth mentioning.

the idea of betrothal necklaces being given to women by their male partners is similar to the thaali, a necklace given to hindu wives by their husbands. during hindu weddings, grooms tie the thaali around their brides' necks to symbolize their marriage. once given, wives are expected to wear their thaali till the day they die, as doing so is believed to bring good luck, health and prosperity to their husbands.

Chi-Blocking

though chi-blocking takes primary inspiration from the art of Dim Mak, it is also influenced by the south indian martial arts forms of adimurai and kalaripayattu, both of which include techniques of striking vital points in the body to disable or kill an opponent.

kalaripayattu also shares parallels with firebending, being a very physically demanding, aggressive martial art that emphasises the importance of discipline and mental fortitude. control of the mind is essential to control of the body, a philosophy similar to that espoused by iroh across the show.

Wan Shi Tong's Library

the library draws inspiration partly from the taj mahal, the famous mausoleum constructed by shah jahan during the mughal empire as a monument to his beloved wife, mumtaz mahal.

i'll end this post here since it's getting too long as it is, and the following section will be even longer. for while atla treated the concepts in this post with respect, the same unfortunately cannot be said for its depiction of guru pathik and combustion man - both of which we'll be discussing next.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #atla cultural influences #hinduism in atla

[cer-rata]

An incomplete but very angry diatribe about the missed potential of the Star Sapphires

So back in the day Geoff Johns and co decided to open up the Green Lantern mythos and add some more flavor and expand the concept of sci-fi tech powered by elemental emotion to more than just willpower. Which yes, is not an emotion, we ignore it and move on.

Anyway we got some really cool stuff! A rage tyrant fueled by experiencing incredible injustice on a personal and cosmic scale, whose vendetta twisted him into something terrible. An avatar of greed who was never allowed to have anything, not freedom, not family, not safety, who takes and takes and takes to fill a void that can never be satisfied. A priest who lost everything but presses on through his unshakable hope that the future can and will be better. It's a lot of fun stuff!

So in this great creative re-imagining, they had to do something clever and fun with the idea of an all female corps powered by love right? They took the opportunity to move past the purely romantic, sexual idea of love and the obsessed femme fatale archetype, because they had the chance to really explore different types of affection now that there were a bunch of different avatars with different stories to pull from right?

Right?

Nope! The only Sapphires we ever learn about are heartbroken over a cursed romance like Carol, grieving a dead fiance like Miri Riam, forcibly mind controlled to be one like Fatality, or just Miss Bloss who...kind of said she wanted to join up? No clue what her deal is, as far as I'm aware that's never really explained. And then we just never learn about anyone else, and still haven't. The hell is "The Lost Sapphire"? No idea, we'll likely never know.

It's frustrating because not only is this a glaring example of the depth of plotlines offered to women in comics compared to their male counterparts, but also a wild lack of imagination. Love is one of the most complicated emotions we experience. Fear, anger, hope, all pretty easy to quickly define. Love is multifaceted, cultural, incredibly contextual and a factor in so many different kinds of relationship. Just thinking logically it should be much easier to flesh out the motivations of a group pulling from such a nuanced source of power, versus something as clear-cut as rage. But no, the red lanterns got so many varied reasons for their rage, the male ones especially: Bleez being the woman was of course given the SA narrative, which I don't think is inappropriate on its own, that's an incredibly valid reason to be angry, but as the ONLY truly prominent female Red Lantern it's like...c'mon guys. But still, at least she and Atrocitus had different reasons for becoming what they are, and that variation was played for plot and drama.

But there's not a single Star Sapphire that personally champions something other than romantic love. And before you shoot me, it is explicitly mentioned that they DO protect other forms of love, so there's no reason for them to all be sexy and obsessed with kissing people. There are no Sapphires that are driven by:

The love of their children and families, even in a tragic sense, like Atrocitus and Saint Walker and Larfleez are...

Their love of their people, or their culture. It would have been interesting if Fatality was inducted BECAUSE of her pain at losing her world, but no, they just...replaced her anger with lovey vibes and called it a day.

Their love for nature. Not everyone is social, but social love isn't the only way to strongly experience the emotion.

Their love for themselves. Where is the fun narcissistic ass who loves their own self image to the point of getting powers? It would have been a fun twist and a cool way to get another villainous Sapphire if you wanted to.

Their platonic love of ANYTHING really. Are ace/aro people just...not capable of love then? It doesn't mean anything to be willing to drive cross country to help a friend move just because they needed it and you care? No? You need to be fucking for it to count?

It's like...fascinating if you really think about it. In this vast fantasy universe full of alien races with wildly different perceptions and life cycles, and where the other corps have plenty of non-human, truly alien looking members, that the women's only love corps is full of only hot hot scantily clad baddies. Most love that people experience in their lives isn't even romantic! You will have far more experiences with friends and family members and even loving strangers than you will have with romantic partners.

Like the reason is clearly sexism, duh, but we know sexism is bad, that's obvious, what I really want to make clear is how much this blatant, unexplored sexism just completely desecrated the potential of the worldbuilding here.

From another angle even: Let's say this this WAS the sex and romance all the time corps. Let's say that you wanted to keep it all women. I hate the idea that women are capable of love in a way that men aren't, that's such a bad take and just regressive and unhelpful, but let's just play ball for a moment. They're not even hot? Their designs are such ridiculously narrow versions of feminine attractiveness that they're not even successful at really being mass appeal sexy. I haven't even reached the point of complaining about the fatphobia and criminal lack of different body types yet, I'm still just saying that from the standpoint of fantasy sexy it's not even good at being stereotypical offensive fantasy sexy. It's just boring! They're all so visually boring! You can be scantily clad and still have an interesting and coherent character design! But that is not what they gave these women! They actually redesigned the classic Star Sapphire costume and made it MORE sexist and boring:

Yeah it was cheesy but it was also cute and fun? The design is playful classic sci-fi girl and this is when she was still a dangerous unhinged villain. Its fun to look at and feels tonally coherent next to Green Lantern.

And then they just...

No actually, I will not explain this one, you have eyes.

And yeah they fixed her costume finally,

But! She's still stuck as Hal Jordan's romantic punching bag, and has not gotten to have any new adventures on her own.

So.

What I'm saying is it's a flop all around. 2/10, and only because despite everything Fatality STILL managed to serve. I actually think that all of the corps have been poorly used since blackest night, even the greens actually, but they never even gave the Sapphires a chance. They last showed up in...a WW annual I think? During the whole dark gods event, they needed Diana to help them fight the evil god of love, and there was a guy in the corp finally, and they talked about sisterhood and then we haven't heard a peep from them since. I think Carol might be due to get her ring back in the GL ongoing but she's not really been treated well so far, so I'm not hopeful for anything fresh and well reasoned.

So my lovely ladies (and that one unnamed guy), until they let you get it together it may be time to

#dc comics #comics meta #hal jordan #green lantern #star sapphire #carol ferris #fatality #atrocitus #larfleeze #saint walker #sexism #shut up cerata #dc editorial answer for your crimes

[muzzleroars]

hmmhmfsgh I love all your work so much, your concepts for the lore of Ultrakill are so interesting, and I wanna eat your art style it's so good

I have a question regarding Lucifer: after everything has calmed down with all the archangels, would it be possible for him to be freed? If they realized he was put away unjustly, could Michael unbind him? Are the chains unbreakable, or would Michael be too afraid/stubborn to go back on the decision?

aaaa thank you!! and i'm so glad i get the chance to talk about this...because i think this is ultimately how michael's redemption arc would have to end and how he could be released from the guilt he's carried all this time. it would come when michael has recalled his mercy, when he is at ease with gabriel's position in hell and has more or less taken up his role as prince of heaven to help what remains of his citizens rather than continue attempting to condemn hell and its sinners (including a very important apology to the ferryman). gabriel would know the time is right to show him to that testament, to reveal to him god's own shame at casting lucifer out and all the lies they must have been told since - he shows it to all the archangels, but it is michael's decision which matters the most. and i think, in feeling that ugly remorse he's carried for eons finally fall on his head, he would make the determination that lucifer's imprisonment is unjust. he must be released...the decision, however, is met with immediate opposition.

gabriel is the least opposed, though he believes in taking this much more methodically and being sure he and v1 aren't left with what might be a bigger problem than they can handle. raphael is outright against it, stating that lucifer is surely far too much now warped by hell to be trustworthy, even if he agrees the original binding was wrong. uriel supports his points, going further to put forth the idea that lucifer may not even be himself by now, instead more an avatar of hell instead given how it's connected to him so thoroughly. michael is staunch in his stance, however, impressing upon them the utter depravity of any decision other than freeing him as soon as possible - he was innocent, and he's endured unending torture trapped in a pit devoid of god's light. regardless of his state, keeping him chained now would be the most hideous act of cruelty heaven could carry out. unfortunately, they can reach no conclusion with raphael and uriel unswayed and gabriel not entirely agreeing with michael's admittedly emotional plan. so they end the discussion at odds, but that hardly matters to michael. he will go with or without their help.

v2 knows this almost immediately, when he comes to see it afterward. didn't go his way, it can tell. but v2 lets him know that hardly matters as it knows what he's thinking now too, and it will join him whenever he's ready. michael of course tries to insist it's unnecessary, but v2 counters that it's not all about him - lucifer is serving out a sentence that should never have been passed, and v2's nature can't abide by that. they will do what's right, even if it's so late, and v2 is proud of him. michael, in return, is greatly humbled and infinitely grateful toward v2 once more, like he has been several times now when it's saved him, yet v2 tells him he'll have to save any praise until they're done. they're both well aware of what they're about to do in the silent pause that follows, but michael leads them on when the moment has passed and he prepares to undertake his final penance. the one he's always been waiting on.

freeing lucifer proves to be just as brutal as he always thought it would have to be. satan in its suffering form, bound up into a dragon that wears his halo skewed and nailed to its face, bodies of angels twisted up into a hard carapace covered in scales of a thousand faces crying out to him. its belly cut open, pouring forth the flayed and decayed corpses of those that were lucky enough not to survive their fall, while michael's own spear pins lucifer to its chest. and hell itself growing onto and into them all, burrowing under shattered wings and into its grotesque frame, with lucifer now seemingly unable to hear michael. whatever it is fights autonomously against them, instinct ruled by agony and lashing out against anything that dare come near it. with each chain michael severs, it grows more wild, encased in ice that begins to crack with deep, resounding shockwaves that carry through all of hell. it alerts gabriel and v1, who move together without a word straight to treachery (gabriel knew this would be the outcome, so they're relatively prepared) and do what they can to support michael and v2. as more chains fall, raphael and uriel appear to plead with michael to stop, yet they too protect him in what ways they can even though he refuses to heed them. he hears nothing but the pain of the monstrosity before him, his own dead body numb to all the damage it does, yet able to feel it in white hot phantoms. he could be torn apart and he would never cease, he is already a corpse anyway. and when he has done away with all the chains, those that could only be unbound by his will, he finally pulls the central spear from its heart...and the beast collapses in a great flood of blood and cinder.

from without, a great sigh of relief rushes over them all, so many of the angels that had been held in that form dying instantly upon its release, and they are glad of it (there is the briefest, faintest sound of a hymn of many voices long since forgotten) stronger angels scatter almost as quickly, unused to a free form and so taken by it immediately to follow the howling winds of hell. only lucifer remains, hands buried in the ash around him and so very aware of every life lost, a name for each voice that only he now knows. only michael goes to him with weapons tossed aside, calling out to him finally once more by his own name that he has long forgotten. yet still, michael, he knows. michael has come and the world must have ended. this is his time, this is their revelation, and lucifer stands on the ashes of all the angels he led to death. he asks to be struck down just as michael reaches him. no more. no eternity of torment. no lake of fire. free him as he has all these other souls, and free the ones that escaped - they know not how they run, they mean no offense. they will surrender to michael as he does now, so long as he destroys them entirely. please. they have sinned and done wrong, now let it end and have your kingdom of peace. let the world be free of suffering within and without. let it be perfect.

it is unthinkable, unknowable, when michael finally speaks after being stricken so still and silent, when he tells lucifer there is no battle, that he came only to free him. not for a thousand years to reign on earth, but for whatever they have left. he is sorry he couldn't save all of them, he is sorry he has come so late, he is sorry his spear ever pierced into lucifer's side and drew the first blood of god's creation. he is sorry he comes to him like this, michael already dead and lucifer a burned out husk in the blood of all those that should still be in paradise. lucifer doesn't seem to take in what he says, or, more likely, he can't, and so only continues to repeat his request, asking michael to at least kill the rest of them. even if lucifer must be left to suffer forever, let it be in solitude. michael only reaches him once he admits god's death, that everything done now is his own will and he releases lucifer from this place...a ringing silence, the whole of hell letting out a long groan. lucifer is what remains of him now, god's own fire still lifting to the dead air in sparks from his charred body. and he screams terribly, millennia of grief, of anger, of deepest hatred, tearing through the halls of hell as his fire lights briefly once more to illuminate a brutally dark, brutally cold cavern to see god's light for the first time. it can't last long, he can't bear it anymore, and he has much more to do if that hatred can no longer find a place. let lucifer bury his dead, let him divide out these ashes into all the angels he once knew even if it takes him one thousand years to make every grave. let him find those that ran, even if they have reached the four corners of the world by now, to offer his apologies for what he did to them. let him seek out the few left of the damned so they know how he regrets bringing sin into the world. let him be sure this can exist as a place where the love of god will never be known, let his own name be forgotten in every soul that managed to survive his tyranny.

THIS IS VERY LONG....but essentially, at least starting out, lucifer needs to actually largely be left alone. he is relatively unresponsive to outsiders, gabriel the only one of the group that can engage him at all in the beginning, and he is more often heard singing in hymns none of them can understand. he travels through all of hell, though he seems increasingly uneasy the higher he climbs and often returns to his place in treachery by his own accord. far from being the ultimate presence of evil they came to believe he was, lucifer is clearly a being broken, a being that's forgotten all his joy, all his memories of heaven, instead locked into mourning. raphael and uriel in particular feel great guilt over disputing his freedom, seeing how he buries each angel he lost, how he preserves their names and relates, to no one, their whole lives in heaven before they came here. he tells of the work they did, of the happiness they made, he eulogizes each of them in words that must have run through his head countless times, words he never thought he'd get the chance to speak. he needs a true grieving period before any significant progress can be made with him, yet there are always sparks of the old lucifer. something is lighter in him seeing the damned minos cares for, actually able to see the city they built here. he rejoices, in quiet, muted ways with each fallen angel he retrieves, and he wishes to make hell a place they can all share in with him. even hell itself. it has suffered too, after all.

#NOVEL LENGTH ANSWER....you can tell it's been on my mind!!! #they do begin to be able to speak with him #and he's very....changeable emotionally #because lucifer is deeply conflicted over their role in his fall #he blames god before anyone and a big part of him knows they had to do what they did for their safety #he knows they were lied to. crushed beneath god's will and tethered in their own way #but lucifer is deeply achingly angry for what he and all the rest of his angels went through #and god died without him. like a coward. #so they are all that's left to take his pain #cake answers #lucifer #michael #rise and fall au

[sophieinwonderland]

VR, Plurality and Virtugenic Systems

Before we begin, I want to talk about roleplaying tulpas or autojects.

Different groups of plurals have different names for the phenomena, but the basics remain consistent. You roleplay a character long enough and eventually, your brain may start to see that character as someone else entirely. It dissociates from the character and the character may start to develop a life of their own, acting on their own terms, even talking to the host at different times thrpugh the day when not roleplaying. They've gained independence, autonomy and sapience.

Right off the bat, you can imagine how VR could lead to this type of experience being common, especially with characters who are vastly different from the core. What really made me interested in this concept though was this video from The Virtual Reality Show, where the host (of the show; she's not a system as far as I'm aware) pretends to be a guy for a week in VRchat.

"I mean, when in your life have you ever looked down and not been you? Never."

Okay, yeah, she's DEFINITELY not a system. 😜

I am not going to read too far into Phia's wording because much of it seems off the cuff and it's impossible to know how this really affected her exactly without being in her head or at least getting an in-depth interview.

But the short of it for anyone who doesn't want to watch the video is that it only took her four days to feel incredibly dissociated, start talking about this character as a separate person with his own thoughts and feelings, and to start talking about herself in the third person. Seven days later, she describes the character as becoming a part of her that will be always be there.

Again, I cannot possibly speculate what these words might mean to Phia or what she experienced. It obviously sounds reminiscent of system language, but it's just impossible to know what this really means to her.

But what I think this does show is what can happen to others. That you can have people with completely different avatars that they'll strongly identify with in the game and then outside of the game still identify with their physical bodies.

Remember, this is how the experience started affecting Phia in only four days.

For others in VR, they're existing in these worlds for months or years. We may have a new generation brought up in a virtual world from the age of 13. There's no telling the psychological impact that could have.

For existing plural systems, the propagation of VR is a massive boon. Apps like VRchat can allow headmates to present themselves to others in something close to their actual forms.

And I really want to take a moment to appreciate how amazing of a concept that is. This is something that has never been possible for plurals at any point in history.

But something I've never seen brought up is the potential for new systems to be created through VR dissociation. Virtugenic Systems.

Yes, I'm just coining that right now!

If this technology becomes as common as is hoped, this might actually become one of the primary ways accidental endogenic systems will develop in the future.

There have been studies into the characters of writers showing them possessing a degree of autonomy and separateness, and even the ability to speak to their creators mentally.

What I would love to see is an equivalent study to this for VR. How many VR players see their avatars as separate people? Do they hear the voice of their avatar on its own? Do they feel like they become someone else when in VR? Do they use reflexive or non-reflexive pronouns when they think of their non-VR self while in VR?

These are all topics I would love to see explored at length in future research.

I would love to hear other's thoughts on this and to hear if anyone has developed headmates in this way! 😁

#vrchat #virtual reality #vr #metaverse #plural #endogenic #plurality #plural system #endogenic system #actually endogenic #actually plural #tulpa #multiplicity #system #systems #the virtual reality show #dissociation #virtugenic #coining #system terms

[y-rhywbeth2]

Is there any thoughts and musings around Vel and the other chosen of Bhaal (idk if you keep the choice of Torlin Silvershield or not!)

(I should probably note that I would prefer never to read Murder in Baldur's Gate and am basing my headcanons and understanding of the characters on their wiki page alone)

Running on the assumption that Bhaal returned at his original status of Intermediate Power before the end of the Second Sundering, and was capable of having more than one Chosen, I'd have that category include Torlin Silvershield, Rilsa Rael, Orin the Red and Vel himself, all empowered in 1482 DR. I guess it'd be hard to include Ulder and keep it canon compliant, but I do think it'd be funny for Vel to be aware of that Bhaal considered it - would Wyll or Ulder ever believe him? Probably not. But he remembers... The Dark Urge is described alternatively as Bhaal's avatar and his prophet, so I assume Vel was warned before hand and prepared for both Bhaal's return and the potential candidates for his chosen.

Vel's general opinion on the concept of other Chosen, regardless of who they are, is that they aren't any different from any other servant of his Father. They are favoured, and high ranking and he expects them to serve the interests of the church and their god above all other things - and answer to him. As Bhaal's walking avatar upon the mortal world, obviously he outranks them. His relationships remain personal and professional, regardless of his own opinion on them as a person. He does look down on Torlin and Rilsa a bit, because they're not true faithful, but whatever. It's not for him to question Bhaal's will in deciding who serves him... even if he is killing and mutilating Torlin in his mind every time he perceives him.

I'm thinking that both Torlin and Rilsa were allied to the Bhaalist cult before Bhaal's return, and lived their lives indirectly (even unknowingly) strengthening the deity and his temple.

Starting with Grand Duke Silvershield: Torlin would have told you that they were such very good chums, and he would've believed it. Vel would smile politely and tell you the same thing, while stabbing him in his mind. Growing up below the poverty line, then being homeless between the ages 8-15 and so desperate for food he was driven to discover the joys of cannibalism (unaware of the fact that he can't actually starve to death) has certainly not given him a chip on his shoulder about the rich and powerful, nor has he ever taken "eat the rich" literally. Nope.

Torlin ties in nicely to my headcanon about the Bhaalists running red rooms in the Undercellar; a headcanon slightly inspired by Pillars of Eternity, where there was a performing troupe doing literal snuff plays for depraved nobles who could hide behind their wealth and privilege. Torlin was introduced to Vel and Bhaal when he was young, visiting the Undercellar to bask in its bad reputation and look edgy and grown up, as teenagers do. Unlike some of his friends, Torlin's interest of the sick, evil crap that was rumoured to be happening down there was genuine. The Bhaalists use divination magic like detect thoughts and detect alignment in order to pick out potential clients/converts in the crowd (as well as trading notes with the Loviatans and the Sharessans (more discreetly) for who amongst their clientele really likes the bad stuff).

And they picked up on Torlin, and a nice heavily veiled person offered him a mask and asked him if he'd like to see a private show, because he seems like he'd really fit in with their exclusive clientele, and edgy, genuinely kind of fucked up teenage Toril agrees. (It's ok! the "guest actors" are all criminals, monsters, vagrants, adventurers... nobody "important.")

As far as Vel was concerned, Torlin was evidence that the world was an inherently terrible place when you look closely enough, and he was doing people a favour by sparing them from living in it.

And so the future Grand Duke grew up visiting red rooms and snuff plays and maintaining an interesting circle of friends, who he was happy to help make even more connections in government. He often mentioned during his little chats with Vel in his drawing room about a young man making waves amongst the halls of power, incredible knack for invention young Enver has... Vel made a note to keep an eye on him in case Gortash became somebody useful, or a hinderance, but mostly ignored this.

As far as my own canon goes, Torlin retained Gond as his patron deity, and was genuinely Master of the Hall of Wonder, but he certainly worshipped Bhaal through his actions and was a great friend to his temple. When he died, the temple saluted his memory during the Feast of the Moon that year - Vel was uncharacteristically enthusiastic about it.

-

Rilsa was a little more on Vel's level, though he'd loooong since given into depression and stopped giving a shit about anything except the pleasure Bhaal could give him. He lost her idealism and belief that getting rid of those in power would do anything at all to improve things before he hit 20, but hey, she's happy to work with and be sponsored by the shady assassins and we do so admire a creative butcher. He certainly wasn't above using his miserable childhood experiences and legitimate bitterness and dislike of the wealthy to play on her sympathies and get her to see him as an ally. If they'd met when he was young, he would've seen her as a genuine ally.

And Rilsa did see him as an ally, she maybe wasn't completely up to date on what her allies were (beyond one of those oddball cults who refuse to move on after their gods' deaths) but they were very useful. Any maybe they did tend to push her towards the more murderous options now and then... Rilsa maybe enjoyed killing and hurting the oppressive classes a little more than was healthy.

Where Torlin was an advantage in getting the temple connections and worshippers in the upper ranks, Rilsa was one of their best connections on the street level.

Rilsa, an idealist willing to take creative and "ruthless" measures in achieving her goals, often worked with the crazy murder cultists worshipping their dead god. She provided the Garden of Whispers for the Bhaalists to have their clandestine meetings in, when the Undercellar or the Undercity weren't ideal. The unofficial public forums in the Calim Jewel Emporium were useful for identifying sacrificial targets who had pissed everybody off so much that wouldn't make too many waves - some would even put you in public favour if you offed them.

The fact that she was buddies with Ettvard Needle and may have been able to sway his opinion before writing incriminating things about her allies certainly helped in making her allies fond of her.

Rilsa doesn't strike me as the type who'd work well in the temple for the long run (too much cosying up to nobility and preying on the poor and powerless), so I'd guess that Bhaal withdrew his power and revoked her Chosen status after the Sundering was done. She might still be an ally, if she's not aware of the Bhaalist's other friends.

Between Torlin pulling the strings in the halls of power, and Rilsa disrupting law enforcement, the two of them (unwittingly) managed to work together to secure Bhaalist holds on the watch and the Flaming Fist.

-

Ulder Ravenguard, obviously, never became a Chosen, but he could've been. He didn't become one, so Vel never paid him any attention, and post-game Vel and Bhaal aren't on speaking terms and Vel doesn't live in Baldur's Gate anymore, so it's not his problem. He still has to bite his tongue and fight to roll his eyes at the mention of the man and his virtuous nature.

Ulder remains blissfully oblivious to all this.

-

Orin would be in her own category, which would come with content warnings for horrible fucked up shit that comes from being raised in a cult with a fixation on keeping holy bloodlines "pure" that neither of them were happy about.

Mostly their relationship consisted of Vel ignoring her (he did not expect her to live to adulthood) and little Orin trying to get his attention/upstage him for Bhaal's attention and accidentally gaining a smidgeon of Vel's condescending respect/affection for her drive, skill and attitude (she doesn't care - die and acknowledge my worth, damn you!)

I'm so proud of her for stabbing him.

#Ulder Ravenguard; Chosen of Bhaal is a hilarious concept #OCs #Vel #long post #the problem with long posts is that it starts to be hard to track what I have or haven't said and whether it's on topic #edgelord hours

[rotblume]

yellow eyes - why?

so, I was just drawing, trying to create an SGA Wraith Characters for one of my fics, because sometimes just not focusing on their personality for a while, but instead their looks, for example, helps to figure out how my OCs would actually react in a certain situation ..

yes, I know, trying to keep my own characters in character, it sounds ridiculous, but it has happened to me that I needed an action and just wrote one of my existing OCs doing that, only to realize, no way, that's far too OOC for them and I had think of a similar but different action or create another Character

anyway, while I was searching online for some reference pics, my thoughts were drifting and suddenly I was looking at pictures of Prince Nuada and Princess Nuala from the Hellboy movie "The Golden Army" and that's when I noticed something .. so I went to verify that theory and checked out the Na'vi from the Avatar movies ..

Lo and behold, quite a lot of my favorite fantasy/ science fiction races/species have yellow eyes (yes, even the Goa'uld glow) and no hair on their brow bone (although the male Wraith and Elves can have other facial hair like beards) ..

also, quite often present are white or black hair and a non-human skin tone, e.g. literal white, greenish, blueish

I'm not quite sure what this says about me and the concept artists for those (more or less) popular characters in modern media. I am aware of the general theory behind it - just familiar enough to relate to, but also definitively other. I can also see the feline resemblance. And that's probably the whole point, although I'm just as much of a dog person, if not more, than a cat person - my Warrior Cats RPG-years notwithstanding.

But what's really with those yellow eyes? Why not purple, is that too different? Why not red, is it too ominous? Why yellow?

#yellow eyes #na'vi #wraith #elves #character design #beauty #avatar #omatikaya #stargate atlantis #sga #todd the wraith #steve the wraith #bob the wraith #John Sheppard you shouldnt get to name any Wraith #stargate sg1 #ba'al #hellboy #prince nuada #princess nuala #king balor

[calamitaswrath]

Just writing down some thoughts to gather them

I dunno, recently my whole gender questioning has just really been going off the rails. On the one hand, I still don't truly believe that I'm a woman because I don't really want anything that (I think) hrt or surgery would do with my body. What I mean is, I'm fine my current genitals, and don't want breasts, but I'm near certain that hrt and the like would have more effects than just those. And of course there's still all those "what if I'm faking it" doubts, which. . . from what I gather, are also very frequent with other trans or enby people. Another doubt I keep coming back to is that the person I still have feelings for once told me that while they're (not the person's actual pronouns, but just to keep the mention of them more nonspecific, because that whole thing is not the point here) bi, they would currently be more interested in having a relationship with a woman next, so I my thoughts keep circling back to the idea that I'm faking this all to myself in the hopes that it would help me with them. But that's a point I can at least easily dismiss, even if I keep coming back to it.

But then the other hand, I keep trying to tell myself that all these thoughts and doubts are recent, but. . . are they? I haven't actually gone swimming in years, even though I loved to do it as a pre-pubescent child, and I generally really don't like other people seeing me topless, even though it would be acceptable as an amab person. When my beard growth started, I was in denial for the longest time, to the point where I tossed a razor I was gifted into a corner somewhere and never touched it since, and on the whole was super pissed about the present. These days, I shave my face daily, because I really don't want even a single hair there. I also used to think that I hate being called a man or the like because I just fundamentally unprepared for being an adult, but. . . idk, I guess that's still part of it, but I'm also super certain by now that I'm just not a man. And even now, I loathe being called one, but almost never speak out against it, because that's a conversation that I'm just not comfortable with having with anyone irl outside of university. Whenever I hear my own voice in recordings or become aware of it, I just feel distant from it, like it doesn't really fit. For some time, I had bookmarked a video along the lines of "Feminize your voice", which I kept telling myself was just me wanting to improve my vocal range. But. . . was that really it? I ended up deleting the bookmark some while ago apparently, because I never got to it, and now I'm lowkey beating myself up over it. I guess I've also always had a bit of a fascination with the concept of genderswaps, or genderbending? I really liked Ranma 1/2 as a kid, and when I realized that Xenoblade X lets you re-customize your Cross after the start of the game, including gender, I really was all over that. And somehow ended up playing with a male avatar far, far less than I did with a female one. My whole gender questioning began with Arval Fire Emblem. But even though they're still peak gender, I think they're meant to be amab, and didn't shake my own self-view nearly as much A Xenoblade. . . who's afab(-ish), and feminine presenting. I keep asking myself what I want for myself in terms of my presentation, and I just keep coming back to more feminine ways being more appealing to me. I wouldn't even mind wearing skirts (maybe I could microdose by getting a kilt, lol), I feel. I've also already told a few people I interact more commonly with that I wanna give the name Lucia a try, and have already been called that a few times, which always just gives me a jolt in my chest - like, in a good way.

And then there's still the part that considering this trajectory of my own self-view and gender identity, it might not even be wrong to call myself a lesbian, which. . . that thought still gets me all ???, and I'm not really ready yet to interrogate that.

I also rewatched the video that Abigail Thorn of Philosophy Tube made about her coming out and decision to transition, and. . . well, for the most part, the experiences that she talked about I think didn't feel they matched my own. But one thing she mentioned in there, about a feeling of having your whole being, your identity, everything you believed to be true about yourself coming apart. . . that definitely hit.

#shut up cal you fool #shut up lucia you fool #also great time for me to go through this #considering; well *points at website*

[forthedancingandthethriving]

Concepts I scrapped or nearly scrapped

Ozymandias and Leto were originally going to be friends! Leto would offer 'protection' from him to universes, and then Ozzy would, yknow, come and eat the universes. When Ozzy was originally captured, Leto would actually spend time trying to free him. I scrapped this because when I started expanding them and their stories, it didn't really fit

Buffer was actually intended to be a villain at one point! Yes, that Buffer. The Admin. I don't remember exactly what her reason was, but I think it had something to do with Byte's betrayal? I think the idea was she would become incredibly paranoid and just start weeding out innocent Admins in her own way.

Plurality was originally going to be very aware of the fact that she was made from Singularity, and she wouldn't be as bold! Her main conflict would actually stem from her intentionally avoiding the main Crew.

I nearly didn't make Cookie at all! I was really on the fence about her, but honestly, I'm glad I did. She's insane <3

Tartarus and Olympus were originally going to be called Spirit and Radiant respectively! But I scrapped that because it sounded too cheesy, and I'm glad I went for the names they have now.

Database was initially going to be very dull to the life of the world, maybe even indifferent to the point of not even seeing a point of interfering.

Lady Rose was originally just going to fall to her death. That's it.

Root was originally going to be mute and have memory issues instead of being blind. I thought it made sense at the time, but when I thought out it, I decided to go for her being blind.

I nearly changed CPU from the initial way an anon spoke of him way back when, but decided to keep him the same, and give him development!

I nearly scrapped In Regards to Eternity as a whole because I was so unhappy with it, and I really still am. But I kept it because of the development it gave and now I just.. don't really think of it too much.

The Abyss was actually going to be a force of good, just really upset that it was scorned and all that, similar to ClearAll. But I went, "naaaaah, big scary force of doom that no one can kill go BRRRRRRRR"

I very seriously considered Abyssal chopping off her wings during Unveiled Secrets before deciding that was way too far.

I was originally going to have Irene be much more reluctant to be an Avatar, but decided that went against her whole personality and what I'd already established.

I'll reblog this if I remember any more!

#scrapped concepts #virus: ozymandias #program: leto #admin: buffer #code: plurality #admin: cookie #program: tartarus #program: olympus #fusion: database #oc: lady rose #virus: root #admin: cpu #the abyss #avatar: irene #admin: abyssal #!posts!

[bookpersonmaryj]

Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

13. Do you share your writing online? (Drop a link!) Do you have projects you’ve kept just for yourself?

25. What part of writing is the most fun?

1.ooof okay so I have A Lot of current projects, but the one that I've been working on the most over the last week is probably the tma chatfic (working title, I'll have to come up with something better at some point).

it's, well, a chatfic, which you can probably guess from the title, but more specifically: (spoiler warning for the magnus archives here!!!) basically, all the avatars have a groupchat and Annabelle Cane adds Jon at some point after he gets promoted, because they all think he's Aware of serving an eldritch fear entity and are Surprised when he is clueless as to what the hell they're all talking about

i've been writing on it for over at least... two years i think? and a few days ago edited the bits i wrote separately to fit into the bit that's more story-like, at which point i discovered that i'm at 95 pages??? somehow??? so yea there's progress, despite there being literally no plot besides Jon Finds Out About The Entities And Has A Few Breakdowns.

what i love about it: Everyone Is Queer (because i was figuring out my gender at the time and thought i was just being supportive to trans/nb people and not relating that stuff to myself) and There Is No Angst (okay that's a lie, there's a bit angst, but mostly it's really entertaining and not angsty) and I have so much fun writing the characters???

pretty sure a lot of the characters are OOC but I don't really care, it's far too funny to have the avatars bully Jon for having a crush on Martin (yes this fic is also jonmartin with jon getting over his denial Very Quickly during what constitutes as s1)

honorable mentions here to the other fics i'm working on right now: the doctor who bodyswap au we all needed after potd where they Actually Bodyswap, the doctor who fic where some evil scientist tries to use regeneration energy for their own gain (it is as angsty as it sounds, yes), the tua fanfic where klaus refuses to let luther lock up viktor in that creepy basement in s1 (with added nb klaus and trans viktor because yes!), the sandman fanfic where dream loses the ability to speak after being locked up in a glass bowl for centuries (called 'cat got your tongue' because I Am Hilarious), and the ouat fanfic that's purely self-indulgent because i have a I Could Fix Her mentality when it comes to Regina (not just because of that but it's definitely part of it...)

4. mhhhh let's see!

There’s something going wrong in her mind, something is wrong with this whole regeneration, of course it is, forced regenerations aren't ever simple, but this is more than that, because she just let the Master leave with Yaz, with her TARDIS, and that’s not what the Doctor does, that’s not-

Is that still who she is? Is she still the Doctor now?

Yaz didn’t notice. The Master didn’t say anything, didn’t even gloat, didn’t even- And she’s not acting like the Doctor should, so what-?

She curls around herself, feeling unmoored when it’s different than before, the Master’s body – hers now – new and ill-fitting like putting on a glove that’s too small, or maybe it’s too big, or possibly both, somehow.

this is from my doctor who bodyswap fic, and i really liked this bit, because thirteen is questioning her own sense of self, after gallifrey, after techteun, after getting swapped into a body that isn't hers, and i just think that's a really neat concept to explore

actually, have some more of that fic, cause there are several lines i really like:

“Wait wait wait, can’t we talk about this?” she yelps, ducking behind machinery and twisting out of the way of more shots.

“The Cyberium is destroyed. You have destroyed the Cyberium. You will be deleted.”

They’re advancing on her, and she doesn’t have her sonic on her, it’s in her coat pocket, stupid Doctor, stupid Master, means she’s defenceless, means-

Except, she reaches into her pockets out of instinct, and there’s something in there.

“I don’t-” The words get stuck in her throat because they’re so untrue, doesn’t she want to do this, and it’s different now, this is a step she’s not been prepared to take, is she really going to do this?

“Stand down. You will be deleted.”

Yeah, right.

Them or her. Them or Earth.

The decision, in the end, is far too easy.

And then the Doctor stares at the tiny Cybermen, the Master’s TCE still raised, and something in her mind is spinning wildly out of reach, something has changed and she doesn’t quite know what it is, or if it can be reversed.

thirteen making master decisions instead of doctor decisions! love to see her make Bad choices

“I see you had time to change.”

The words spark memory, and the Doctor raises a brow at him, lifts her arms in a mockery of presenting the new clothes, and replies: “I always dress for the occasion.”

Is that amusement in his eyes or is she imagining it?

She lets her arms drop, crosses them over her chest again, considers him. It’s strange to stare at her own face and have it look back, except those eyes aren't hers, those eyes have always been his, she’d know them anywhere.

what's more 'master' than changing your outfit for the Drama of it?

yeah, I don't know where this story is going, but the second i've finished it i'll upload it! ^-^

EDIT: just found the Actual scene i wanted to share but got distracted from looking for, this is from my other dw fanfic where someone wants to take regeneration energy

All his attention is on the Doctor, beautifully bathed in gold, brimming with light and life, the force of a nuclear explosion coiling inside her, infecting her surroundings, leaking into the air and causing everything in her path to self-destruct.

i adore writing thirteen as incredibly destructive force of nature ^-^

that's all, carry on!

6. good question... I have a lot of fun writing the thirteenth doctor, but honestly? it's Klaus Hargreeves from the umbrella academy. i just can't seem to stop writing Klaus, especially nonbinary he/they Klaus who figures out their powers and chills with Benny while his siblings are ignoring the both of them. (this probably says Something about me but I Do Not See)

(honorable mention to my ouat self-insert which i Cannot write anymore because i started writing her before i figured out that i am not, in fact, cis, and now i'm having trouble identifying with the person that used to be me)

8. mhhh... in terms of Queer things yes, i read and write both of those things.

i do think i Write far more angst than i Read angst.

also, this question depends entirely on whether it's meant as reading books or reading fanfiction, because obviously i read the sort of fanfictions that i also write, and i guess yeah, i do also read the books that are sort of close to the sort of fanfiction vibes i like to read / write

13. yes i do! mostly just fanfictions, nothing 'original' just yet (i am working on it though!).

the ao3 link to my published fics is here, and there's also a German self-insert ouat fanfic on a German fanfic site, but uhhh that's sort of Very Unfinished and was started when i was still in school sooo... (i am planning on rewriting it at some point, and will try to finish it as well...).

as to the rest: there are... several projects that i've kept to myself, yes. i've taken my three (?) finished harry potter fics off the internet for now because i don't feel comfortable having them up with the way jk is behaving, and i won't post any of the ones i'm still writing on (i'm mostly just writing on them because if i have an idea i need it Out).

i also have A LOT of fanfics that are simply not finished yet, and because i know that i will not be able to stick to a posting/writing schedule i'd rather finish them before posting them, they'll stay on my laptop for now.

I am also working on a superhero book, but I've had to change a few of the original ideas i had because they don't really fit with the rest of the vibe of the book anymore, so i don't know when that's gonna be finished, if at all...

25. tough question... I have a lot of fun writing something with a twist, like, I as the writer am aware of a piece of information about the story/character I am writing that the reader is Not aware of but i am layering little hints into the story, and at some point i have a Reveal of the thing. i wasn't aware that this was something i did for a bit, until someone (you, dimitri, very specifically you) pointed it out in one of my fics and i realized that i Liked doing things like that actually, so yea!

also uhh i guess i really like how i can sort of work through some of my problems by projecting them onto characters? it helps sometimes...

i also enjoy writing something, and then having an idea, and suddenly the story is going in a wildly different direction as before, and i didn't anticipate it but i actually like this new direction, so i just roll with it. it's nice that writing is... alive, in a way.

wow, i wrote far more than i expected. thank you for asking these questions @rearranging-deck-chairs I had a lot of fun answering!

#writing stuff #asks #answering questions about my writing #doctor who

[flatstarcarcosa]

"What do you think the opposite of death is, lieutenant?" he asks. "Life," says Abbie, unfaltering. "No," he says." "No?" she asks, glancing away from traffic to frown at him. Debating the concept and existence of death, with Death. How her life has taken another turn. "It's time," he says, gazing out the window. "Life can exist without death, life always manages... how was it put, to find a way?" He cuts her a glance, a small smirk on his lips. "But death cannot exist without time. You need time to grow the things you'll kill. You cannot kill from nothing and if death snuffs life instantaneously the balance is unable to be kept." "Okay," she says slowly. "I'm not following how this answers my question, exactly." "I am not, exactly, Death unto itself," says Abraham. "I am its avatar; the essence of Death was bound onto me, onto my soul, and while Moloch may no longer control me, there is no severing that tie between myself and Death. "Death exists because time exists. Time has no true calculable beginning nor end; we can attribute periods and years to it in comparison to our existence, sure, but we cannot fully comprehend the nature of it. From the moment time grew the first thing that was fated to die, so too did Death come into existence. As time cannot be stopped, neither can Death. As such, Death has an awareness of existence itself that has little to do with what I, personally, know or live through." "So it's... omnipotent?" she asks. For a moment, he's silent. She gives him another look, sees the way he presses his fingers to his mouth. "Mmm, no," he says, lowering his hand. "Not... exactly. Not as far as I'm aware, at least. It's intuitive, would be the word I'd use." "You woke up after 250 years of being in a magical coma and knew how to use an M16 on instinct?" she asks, dubious. "Because I had to give Crane multiple lessons on how to handle modern firearms and it's always seemed to me like you just hit the ground running with it. Hell, I started to think you only kept the axe because it looks cool." "I mean, it does," he says.

#txt.txt #ship: trouble my heart #from the thing i'm working on anyway this just kind of blasted into my brain good night now #also again idk why i like exploring the evolution of abe and abbie's relationship i just DO #and ichabod is here too somewhere ig who cares #also. the death and time thing. iykyk. brain rot never ends! #abbie: how tf did you know how to use an autoshottie #abe: [weird poetical waxing about death and time] #abbie: this is useless thanks-

[cherokeegal1975]

Dragoness and Mare Video Game Idea

I know I already posted this, but I thought it would be fun to give a more detailed explanation of my idea. I don't have any hopes of anyone actually taking interest in it as far as actually creating it, but I'd welcome your thoughts on it instead. As for myself, I have a strong interest in video games, but I don't have the knowledge or resources to create one myself. Don't have the money to buy them either. I learn about them from watching play throughs on YouTube. I'm also well aware that game developers do not like outside ideas. It was a fun thing to do at the time. Anyway, here's my concept and the little article I wrote about it on DeviantART below:

   I created a fake game play screen shot.  I can take credit for the horse and the dragon, both the full characters and the heads, but nothing else.  The rest I found online and made use of them like stickers.  I did add the text though.  Call me lazy if you will, but I just wanted to focus on drawing my characters and sharing my concept.  The game itself will never be made, I don't even know how to do such a thing, much less have the funds to buy the programs to make them.   The closest I can come is do a kind of writing game where I say "This thing is happening, if you choose to go left, click the #1 link, if you choose to go right choose the #2 link and keep reading."  I don't see myself doing that anytime soon...if at all.  It's an idea though.     Both the horse and the dragon are based on small plastic toys that I had as a child.  The drawings look a lot better than the original toys I lost so long ago.  Anyway, the basic game idea is that it's a story based, open world, lots of side quests, puzzles, useful collectibles, possibly a bit of a sandbox thing going on in it, with more than one possible ending.  Both animals can talk, both have abilities that compliment the other.  The main focus will be on content and though it doesn't have to be G-rated, it should not be focused mainly on violence or sexual themes.     So what do you think?  I know this isn't the most action packed scene in a game I've ever seen, but use your imagination, this is only one set in a huge world map.  I haven't thought too much on the story plot or anything, only the basic concepts of what I've learned from watching game playthroughs on YouTube.  I gradually learned what kinds of games I like and this one has everything I find fun and appealing in a video game...or so I imagine.     So, tell me what you think of my idea.  I really want to know.

    Update:   (This a journal entry from a few weeks ago, I've already figured out their names and I only added this on to help fill in some detail just in case someone actually wants to take my idea seriously...which I still know is about zero.) I know why a game developer wouldn't want to take my ideas and collaborate with me, they got too many of their own already and want nothing to do with outside help.  It's a shame too, I've got some good ones and just occurred to me that my pink dragon (I can't figure out a name and Rosie won't do because I've got a cat named Rosie here and I don't like to have more than one animal named the same thing even though my dragon isn't real.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Her name was Pink-yellow-blue, but that's the stupid name my child self came up with and I've long since outgrown it.) might make a great avatar for a roll playing game in an open world kind of game.   Her abilities are human speech and intelligence, omnivorous, fire breathing, excellent senses of sight, smell and hearing. Very good at digging, powerful jumps, her tail is as prehensile as a monkey's so she can carry objects with it or help her to hang on to things like tree branches.  Her scales make her tough and fire resistant, excellent climbing capabilities, a really good swimmer and her fore feet work like hands.  She can also stand up and walk for short distances on her hind legs so she can use those hands.  She's the size of a large dog, so that means she can go into smaller places the bigger species of dragons can't.  Her only disadvantage is her lack of wings since her kind never had them in the first place.  Also, males have two small horns on their noses and her kind comes in all colors and patterns, so if they show up in the game, no two would look alike.  Her best friend is a black horse with four white socks, a white mark that starts on her forehead and runs all the way down her nose, a white mane and a white tail and silver eyes, who is just a sweet an intelligent horse in spite of her unusual coloring.  (Haven't drawn the horse yet, but I will.  I had almost forgotten that horse.  It's gone too, lost it long before I lost the dragon).  My character's home environment is an enchanted forest full of giant sentient trees that can change themselves to make hollows in their bases the dragons can use as homes.  The trees can also create mischief for the unwary traveler who disrespects them by shifting positions in such a way that the movement is never seen.  This movement can create false paths and get people hopelessly lost if they aren't careful.  This tendency can also aid my character in finding places if she asks them nicely to help her and most likely they will because their relationship with the tree dragons is a friendly one.   Maybe one of the game goals is to have my dragon go on an adventure to rescue her horse friend?  The game could have puzzles included as well as helpful companions that could come along as the game progresses.  I would like the game to have the best graphics.  I did downplay the details on my dragon a bit because I wanted to hurry up and finish her.  I've been doing a lot of dragons lately and I've gotten tired of drawing more scales than I can count.  So, I just did contours instead and only suggested that she's a scaled dragon.  She's got little lizard like scales except for the ones on her underside and I would love it if that would show up in the game whenever the camera got close enough to see them.   Well, anyway, I am aware that my chances of collaborating a gamer are slim to none, I'm still willing to try to put the suggestion out there just in case someone would take me up on my idea.  This dragon would do great as an avatar.  Not sure of the full plot, but those details could be worked out later by the developer. Also, I think the game controls should have the option to be made to work with a mouse so people on a tight budget don't have to buy a game controller so they can play the game on a laptop.

#cherokeegal1975 #digital art #fantasy #horse #dragon #video game #video game idea

[burst-of-iridescent]

South Asian and Hindu Influences in ATLA (Part 2)

disclaimer: i was raised culturally and religiously hindu, and though i've tried to do my research for this post and pair it with my own cultural knowledge, i'm not an expert on hinduism by any means. should i mess up, please let me know.

please also be aware that many of the concepts discussed in this post overlap heavily with religions such as buddhism and jainism, which might have different interpretations and representations. as i'm not from those religions or cultures, i don't want to speak on them, but if anyone with that knowledge wishes to add on, please feel free.

Part 1

In the previous post, I discussed some of the things ATLA got right in its depictions of desi and hindu cultures. unfortunately, they also got plenty of things wrong - often in ways that leaned towards racist caricatures - so let's break them down, starting with...

Guru Pathik

both the word "guru" and name "pathik" come from sanskrit. pathik means "traveler" or "he who knows the way" while guru is a term for a guide or mentor, similar to a teacher.

gurus were responsible for the very first education systems in ancient india, setting up institutions called gurukuls. students, referred to as disciples, would often spend years living with and learning from their gurus in these gurukuls, studying vedic and buddhist texts, philosophy, music and even martial arts.

however, their learning was not limited merely to academic study, as gurus were also responsible for guiding the spiritual evolution of their disciples. it was common for disciples to meditate, practice yoga, fast for days or weeks, and complete mundane household chores every day in order to instill them with self-discipline and help them achieve enlightenment and spiritual awareness. the relationship between a guru and his disciple was considered a sacred, holy bond, far exceeding that of a mere teacher and student.

aang's training with guru pathik mirrors some of these elements. similar to real gurus, pathik takes on the role of aang's spiritual mentor. he guides aang in unblocking his chakras and mastering the avatar state through meditation, fasting, and self-reflection - all of which are practices that would have likely been encouraged in disciples by their gurus.

pathik's design also takes inspiration from sadhus, holy men who renounced their worldly ties to follow a path of spiritual discipline. the guru's simple, nondescript clothing and hair are reflective of the ascetic lifestyle sadhus are expected to lead, giving up material belongings and desires in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment and, ultimately, liberation from the reincarnation cycle.

unfortunately, this is where the respectful references end because everything else about guru pathik was insensitive at best and stereotypical at worst.

it is extremely distasteful that the guru speaks with an overexaggerated indian accent, even though the iranian-indian actor who plays him has a naturally british accent. why not just hire an actual indian voice actor if the intention was to make pathik sound authentic? besides, i doubt authenticity was the sole intention, given that the purposeful distortion of indian accents was a common racist trope played for comedy in early 2000s children's media (see: phineas and ferb, diary of a wimpy kid, jessie... the list goes on).

furthermore, while pathik is presented a wise and respected figure within this episode, his next (and last) appearance in the show is entirely the opposite.

in the episode nightmares and daydreams, pathik appears in aang's nightmare with six hands, holding what appears to be a veena (a classical indian music instrument). this references the iconography of the hindu deity Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge. the embodiment of divine enlightenment, learning, insight and truth, Saraswati is a member of the Tridevi (the female version of the Trimurti), one of the most respected and revered goddesses in the Hindu pantheon... and her likeness is used for a cheap laugh on a character who's already treated as a caricature.

that's bad enough on its own, but when you consider that guru pathik is the only explicitly south asian coded character in the entire show, it's downright insulting. for a show that took so many of its foundational concepts from south asia and hinduism and yet provided almost no desi representation in return, this is just rubbing salt in the wound.

Chakras

"chakra", meaning "circle" or "wheel of life" in sanskrit, refers to sources of energy found in the human body. chakra points are aligned along the spine, with energy flowing from the lowest to the highest point. the energy pooled at the lowest chakra is called kundalini, and the aim is to release this energy to the highest chakra in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment and consciousness.

the number of chakras varies in different religions, with buddhism referencing five chakras while hinduism has seven. atla draws from the latter influence, so let's take a look at the seven chakras:

Muladhara (the Root Chakra). located at the base of the spine, this chakra deals with our basest instincts and is linked to the element of earth.

Swadhisthana (the Sacral Chakra). located just below the navel, this chakra deals with emotional intensity and pleasure and is linked to the element of water.

Manipura (the Solar Plexus Chakra). located in the stomach, this chakra deals with willpower and self-acceptance and is linked to the element of fire.

Anahata (the Heart Chakra). located in the heart, this chakra deals with love, compassion and forgiveness and is linked to the element of air. in the show, this chakra is blocked by aang's grief over the loss of the air nomads, which is a nice elemental allusion.

Vishudda (the Throat Chakra). located at the base of the throat, this chakra deals with communication and honesty and is linked to the fifth classical element of space. the show calls this the Sound Chakra, though i'm unsure where they got that from.

Ajna (the Third Eye Chakra). located in the centre of the forehead, this chakra deals with spirituality and insight and is also linked to the element of space. the show calls it the Light Chakra, which is fairly close.

Sahasrara (the Crown Chakra). located at the very top of the head, this chakra deals with pure cosmic consciousness and is also linked to the element of space. it makes perfect sense that this would be the final chakra aang has to unblock in order to connect with the avatar spirit, since the crown chakra is meant to be the point of communion with one's deepest, truest self.

the show follows these associations and descriptions almost verbatim, and does a good job linking the individual chakras to their associated struggles in aang's arc.

Cosmic Energy

the idea of chakras is associated with the concept of shakti, which refers to the life-giving energy that flows throughout the universe and within every individual.

the idea of shakti is a fundamentally unifying one, stating that all living beings are connected to one another and the universe through the cosmic energy that flows through us all. this philosophy is referenced both in the swamp episode and in guru pathik telling aang that the greatest illusion in the world is that of separation - after all, how can there be any real separation when every life is sustained by the same force?

this is also why aang needing to let go of katara did not, as he mistakenly assumed, mean he had to stop loving her. rather, the point of shedding earthly attachment is to allow one to become more attuned to shakti, both within oneself and others. ironically, in letting go of katara and allowing himself to commune with the divine energy of the universe instead, aang would have been more connected to her - not less.

The Avatar State

according to hinduism, there are five classical elements known as pancha bhuta that form the foundations of all creation: air, water, earth, fire, and space/atmosphere.

obviously, atla borrows this concept in making a world entirely based on the four classical elements. but looking at how the avatar spirit is portrayed as a giant version of aang suspended in mid-air, far above the earth, it's possible that this could reference the fifth liminal element of space as well.

admittedly this might be a bit of a reach, but personally i find it a neat piece of worldbuilding that could further explain the power of the avatar. compared to anyone else who might be able to master only one element, mastering all five means having control of every building block of the world. this would allow the avatar to be far more attuned to the spiritual energy within the universe - and themselves - as a result, setting in motion the endless cycle of death and rebirth that would connect their soul even across lifetimes.

#atla #atla cultural influences #hinduism in atla #welp i thought this would be the last part but i ended up having more to talk about than i thought #so i'll save the book 3 inspirations for the next post #including my absolute favourite combustion man #and by favourite i mean kill it with fire why did you ever think this was okay to do writers

[alleycat-arcade]

Game Continue! The Seven Lords: Those Who Remain

@pastelhologram asked: Wait. What about The demon bros reaction to Mc being the Person lilith fell in love with. Like maybe an au where he's not Related to lilith but instead he's the person she fell for. Even better if They're first impression of Mc is that he didn't deserve Lilith, but as time goes on, They start seeing what lilith saw.

(This is Part 2! I recommend reading Part 1 first, which you can find here. Due to some internet issues on my end, there has been a little bit of a delay in my writing TwT. I deeply apologize for the wait! There is an off chance I may re-write Beel and Belphie's parts at some points, but that is just my inner perfectionist talking there.

Also as an apology for such a long delay, here is a link to the video that is almost always playing while I am writing fics n' stuff. No it is not a rickroll this time.)

Everburning Candle(Part 2) (Obey Me! Younger Brothers x Male/Masc! Mc/Reader)

Content Warnings: Mc/Reader uses he/him pronouns. Spoilers for Pretty much all of season one (Chapters 1-20), since pacts, reasoning behind certain pacts, and Lilith are discussed. I hope you don't mind me adding a few of my personal headcanons! Hurt/Comfort overall, with traces of blood and acts of violence. The book from Satan's part in not meant to be real lol. Asmo's part has mentions of sexual acts, but other than that its good. In terms of descriptions of violent acts, Belphie's is the most intense. Also I am infected with the angst plague, I apologize my dudes. But other than that its all good.

(I'm not gonna copy the whole intro to prevent it from being too long. You can find it in the first part. <3)

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

Satan:

It was hard for Satan to deny that he was curious about you. Similar to Lucifer, he picked up on the fact that you had a delayed response whenever they would call you by what they thought was your name, but the unofficial detective also noted something else interesting. Oddly, you seemed wise beyond your years when in came to the topic of human history. In tandem with the Exchange Program, Diavolo had established electives for RAD students that studied both Human and Angel history. You happened to be in this class at the same hour as him, and he couldn't help but be curious about how you could barely pay attention in class yet get near perfect scores.

Yet, the Avatar of Wrath couldn't find it within himself to pay more attention to you than basic curiosity. He had quite a few other things to worry about, and a strangely smart human exchange student wasn't too high on his list of priorities. There were humans out there with eidetic memory, so it wasn't too hard to believe that you could just have a lot of knowledge about Human history that you acquired prior to the Exchange Program. At most he would stare at you quizzically from time to time during Humanity Studies, as you scribbled away in your notes that only had brief concepts of what the teacher was saying written down.

The evening after you formed a pact with Leviathan, Satan felt his curiosity spike as you suddenly pulled Lucifer away from the group to talk about something. His interest only rose as the Eldest pinned you against the wall in his demon form, your voice too far away for him to hear exactly what you had said to piss him off so much. If it weren't for the whispers of the contents of your conversation that passed around the room, he may have congratulated you for getting Luci so angry and escaping with your life.

Now, Satan had never truly known Lilith. Seeing as he had been brought into existence during her final hours and was not in a state of cognizant awareness at the time, he had no memory of those final moments of her life. At most he had the hazy memories left over from Lucifer that give him a basic concept of her features, and the stories that his brothers would tell about her. But even those stories were strained and missing details, due to their grievances of the loss of their sister.

And yet, even with a decent reason to approach and question you, he strayed away. You held likely all the answers he had ever wanted to know about the deceased sister that his brothers loved so much, but he couldn't bring himself to even speak to you. Something about being in your presence brought an odd pain to his chest, one only made worse when he'd see the ways his brothers would stare at you. Looks of disgust, anger, and sadness were directed at you, causing Satan to recoil upon contact. As much as he may mess with his siblings, he still deeply cared about them and did not want to bring them anymore grief by hanging around you in front of them.

Besides the TSL Quiz, the two of you had hardly ever spoken to each other. You were a sort of Enigma, a boy that both drew him in and pushed him away at the same time. A temptation he swore to never give into, but... he was a demon after all. And sometimes you just needed to give someone a little nudge for them to dive headfirst into their desires.

It had been an awful day for the Avatar of Wrath. Scratch that, a dreadfully awful day. Nearly everything had seemed to go wrong for him, as if the worst bad luck curse imaginable had been secretly placed on him the night before. He had woken up late and dealt with a lecture from Lucifer, tripped and fell up the stairs at RAD and nearly broke his nose, someone in class had spilled Poison Veggie Juice all over his notes and textbook and scurried away too quickly to face his wrath, and to top it all off he had realized that he both forgot his lunch at him and didn't bring any extra Grimm with him to pay for anything to eat. If he had been in a better mood he may have asked one of his colleagues to borrow a little Grimm, but he felt that if he had to talk to another person today he'd blow up in their face. Thus, once RAD was over and it was time to leave, Satan hurried home to hide away in the Library until his Wrath subsided.

What he had expected to find was the library silent and empty so he could relax, but it seemed luck was still not on his side today. The sound of pencil on paper drew his attention, now staring at you seated at the table in the middle of the room. It seemed as if you hadn't noticed him enter at all, too focused on the book in your hand that you had begun to litter with colorful sticky notes. A pile of similarly marked books sat to your left, with a slowly decreasing pile of normal books awaiting their fate sat at you right. On a normal day, with a different person, Satan may have found some respect in how you were taking such details notes about the material in your hands. But as the sound of stomping filled your ears, it was clear that he was very, very angry.

Turning your head to face him, you were met with a rather frightening sight. The demon loomed over you, surrounded with a rather violent black and green aura that almost rivaled Lucifer in terror. "Why hello, Mc. What do you think you're doing?" He questioned, an unnerving smile on his face. "I'm just marking notes in my books. It's kinda upsetting how-" "Did I hear that correctly? Your books?" You let out a sigh, before shoving your hand into your pocket and fishing out a receipt. Though you had originally kept it in case Mammon decided to sell them after you had spent hours begging Lucifer to let you buy some Human World books, it seemed like as good of a time as any to use it. You only hoped that he wouldn't stay angry at you, seeing as they were in fact your property. He was quick to snatch the slightly crumpled paper in your hand, eyes scanning over every line. As his gaze travelled farther down the paper, you could see the way that his rage almost seemed to deflate like a balloon.

His demon form was no longer present as his shoved the receipt back into your hand with a subtle huff. "I suppose that it is fine for you to mark your own books in such a manner, but don't let me find out should you ever mark any of mine." Holding back an eye roll, you motioned to the book that you had been in the middle of before he interrupted. "I don't have any plans on messing with your things. I bought these books specifically for this reason. They just have so many historical inaccuracies it drives me crazy." "...Historical inaccuracies?" Satan carefully slid his hand over to lift the cover, the title standing out in rather bold lettering. "The History of the Titanic?" You simply nodded, flipping the pages to one absolutely coated in sticky notes. "It's like they didn't even ask someone who was on the boat or worked on it! They may as well make this a fiction novel with this phony evidence they collected!" His eyebrow raised as you ranted. "How would you know that for certain?" "Satan, I'm pretty sure I would know. I was on the damn boat."

An hour had passed as you recounted your memories of events. Telling the story of how you had worked as a Butler for a rather wealthy woman who had been on the boat, detailing all you could remember about the boat and its passengers, and how you had barely escaped with your life while helping some children and their mother into a raft before the ship capsized. Curiously, he inquired about the other books that you had already marked. Some had even more notes and some very little, but you had a story for each one. Either you had been involved in the events yourself or had known someone who was, and he found your stories entrancing. It had been deep into the night before you had concluded, your throat aching from talking for so long. He asked you to stay there suddenly, leaving to fetch some tea with honey.

After allowing you to soothe your throat a little, he presented you with a question he had been holding back for a while now. "If your throat isn't too sore, can you tell me about, Lilith?" A twinkle forms in your eyes as you move to bring a journal out of your bag. You flip through the pages and tell him everything about your deceased lover, making sure to show him the images you had drawn yourself or had an illustrator draw of her. Unconsciously, Satan had began scooting closer to get a better view. It wasn't until he was practically in the crook of your neck that he noticed. "A-ah! Sorry, I don't know what came over me there." He stammered, nervously tugging at the collar of his sweater and leaning away. "No it's fine. Here, let me move so you can see better."

When dinner time had rolled around, Asmodeus couldn't find his younger brother. Satan wasn't in his room, and since there had been a sign on the library that the human was inside, it wasn't likely that he was in there. He was about to give up and tell one of his brothers that the Avatar of Wrath was no where to be found, when the sound of amused chatter caught his attention. It definitely sounded like the brother he was looking for, and where was it coming from? The library. Entering the dimly lit room, Asmo was met with a rather odd sight. Held in your hands was a rather ancient looking book, with his brother pointing at various locations in the image of the mountainous region displayed on the current page. "Oh, hello Asmodeus." You paused, a nervous smile covering your face as you noticed him standing in the doorway. Eyeing you suspiciously, he informed you about the time and left. "Ah, we'll have to pick this up some other time." Satan spoke, standing up and stretching. "Feel free to come and chat whenever. I'm almost always available, so don't worry about scheduling with me."

Like his brothers, Satan is slow to warm up to you. He doesn't hold as much against you as his older siblings do, but he still feels guilty when they glare at him for hanging around you. But eventually, the guilt of earning his brothers' disapproval is overridden by a new feeling of guilt that blooms in his stomach. The guilt of watching you wander about HOL all by your lonesome, with an attempt at bonding usually met with a scoff and a brief, strained conversation. The Avatar of Wrath is no stranger to being the black sheep of the house, especially being the only full demon in a household of fallen angels, so he understands what it feels like to be a sort of outcast.

Satan tries to be subtle in his approach to you, waiting until you've gotten on even somewhat better terms with one or two of his brothers before he suddenly asks you to tutor him in Humanity Studies. Understandably, you were a bit confused since he was one of the smartest demons-, no people in general that you've known, but you agreed to help him nonetheless. Studying sessions quickly devolved into just talking with each other whenever he felt like it, your relationship carefully going from acquaintances to tutor and student to friends and then potentially close friends.(Or even closer if you catch my drift.)

You had begun to view his room as a sort of sanctuary after a while. He almost always let you in whenever you knocked on the door, and the two of you would either speak about a mutual topic or sit in a comfortable silence. Eventually, you had begun visiting so much that Satan gave you an enchanted key to keep a hold of, in order to let yourself in when he couldn't get to the door quickly or if you left some belongings behind and he was out. The time spent in his room only increased exponentially after the Attic incident, so much so that the brothers were beginning to think you had moved into his room.

In the dead of night, when you're most likely to be in a deep sleep, is when Satan gets very vulnerable about the topic of your death. Nightmares weren't something he had frequently, and most of the time they were about him doing something controlled solely by his Wrath. Yet, these newer ones seemed to hurt more. He dreamt about inactions rather than actions, wicked dreams where he would kick and scream at his body to protect you or heal you but he remained rooted in place. In you happened to be a lighter sleeper, you might have noticed the way he suddenly would curl into you and rest his head on your chest, fragments mutters about protecting you leaving his lips and being muffled in your shirt.

When he can't be by your side to protect you, he ensures that two things are there with you in his absence. First, one of his brothers to keep you safe, and secondly a clothing item of his. It doesn't have to be anything in particular, just something he's worn enough to smell like him. Only a really, really stupid and desperate demon would try and attack you with the scent of the Avatar of Wrath hanging off of you.

Even with all of that said, for being likely the smartest sibling in the family, it took a comment from one of his brothers to fully recognize how much he cared about you, outside of not wanting to see you hurt and beating himself up for allowing you to bleed out without even trying to help.

It had been a rather cold day in the Devildom, so both of you decided to share a blanket and warm up in front of the fireplace in the common room. Satan was very vividly discussing a drama that both of you had binged the other night, with you nodding along and occasionally adding in your own points to the conversation. By the time Belphie had arrived you were near the end of the discussion, with your eyelids growing heavy and your body leaning into him. "Are you tired, Mc? Here, let me move a bit so you can rest against the arm of the couch." You tried to assure him that he didn't need to, but he stubbornly shifted around until you could properly lay your head against the plush couch. The Avatar of Sloth only made his presence know once you were half asleep, your body unconsciously snuggling against the demon sat in front of you. "It's been quite a while since I've seen him like this. Mc must care very deeply for you, Satan." His voice startled the blonde, but he did his best not to jolt or make any sudden noises that might stir you. "I-I suppose so. But what exactly is that supposed to mean, Belphie?" "Oh, nothing too drastic. I just remember that he always used to sleep with Lilith like that. He always used to say that the positioning of his hands was symbolic, like a sort of promise." A shiver ran up Satan's spine, feeling your unconscious form tug him closer to lay down with you. As much as he disliked being compared to his deceased sister, if you cared about him in such a way, perhaps he might be willing to admit he did as well.

Asmodeus:

The Avatar of Lust was fairly interested in you from the beginning. Not really as an equal or potential friend though, more so a sort very friendly acquaintance that he could toy with as he so pleased. He didn't exactly find anything about you extraordinarily remarkable besides a decent amount of scarring on your body, so it was needless to say that the demon wasn't very deeply invested in your life in the Devildom or as a whole. You were just another human, and he's met plenty ordinary and average humans over his lifespan.

Well, you did have at least one intriguing quality that would catch his eye on occasion. Besides Mammon, Asmodeus is the brother who spends the most time in the Human Realm outside of purposeful missions. What can he say? He's a popular demon to summon for some late night activities. But the point is, Asmo's met quite a few demons over the years, but none of them truly matched your mannerisms. You had a variety of different ways of doing things that mimicked modern idiosyncrasies as well as ones from times long past. The best explanation he could come up with is that you came from a rather old fashioned family, as he'd already tested the vampire approach. Plus, it was highly unlikely you were just an immortal being seeing as you had no magical abilities and the chances of another fruit of the Heavens being given to another human were slim to none. Unless...?

As it turned out, you were not the catalyst of a covered up Second Celestial War, but rather the same human from all those centuries ago. Asmodeus had been the one to properly overhear the conversation between you and Lucifer, as well as spread the rumors of your past throughout the House of Lamentation. He felt it only proper that his brothers be aware of your true colors, especially since you had such a history with all of them. Even if he'd never met your prior to the Celestial War, Asmo was aware of your existance and how much you meant to Lilith. So much so that she stole a fruit from their Father's garden to save your life, thus starting the war itself.

Asmodeus didn't really like the fact that he couldn't read you. You were just as mysterious as Solomon at times, and your past only made this trait of yours something he grew to dislike more and more. How exactly did his little sister manage to fall in love with you, some random guy with average looks and a somewhat distant personality? While Asmo's life may seem to revolve solely on himself, he does care a great deal for his family, and as such has rather high expectations for their romantic partners that he usually lacked towards his own. He may have had different opinions as an Angel in regards to his standards for himself and his family member's partners, but here and now in his demonic form, you weren't worth Lilith's time in his eyes.

Similar to his brothers, he wouldn't be around you if he didn't have to, but with him it was almost worse. Though his brothers might on occasion extend an olive branch, if he didn't need to or want something from you he wouldn't even be in the same room as you. Call it petty, but Asmo really couldn't bear your presence. Underneath all his nitpicks about your personality and appearance, was an open wound that you irritated every time he had to be near you. Perhaps the insulting thoughts towards you were meant to cover that up, to hide away the gash in his heart that Lilith's death had left behind. Or he was just really, really petty. Who knows?

The most willing interaction you had exchanged with him in quite a while was a rather odd one. Both of you had the same Art Class, that you shared with Simeon as well. Asmo usually sat on the opposite side of the room, so he didn't have to worry about interacting with you too much. Yet, it's kinda hard to avoid a certain someone when he's your partner for a rather important project. Being partners with you wasn't something that he expected since just about everyone in the class would've jumped at the opportunity, but according to the teacher you were paired together since you lived together. Seeing as the teacher slipped away before Asmo could charm them into changing their mind, he was stuck with you as a project partner. As much as he might've liked to skip out on it, Lucifer had been hounding about his grades lately and he wasn't doing the best in Art. He resigned himself to his fate as he texted you a location to meet him in HOL, reassuring himself that he'd at least get maybe a semi-decent portrait out of the whole thing. You were known as a fairly good painter from what he heard from his classmates, and it was rather hard to know so much about painting and mess up his beautiful face, right?

Setting the needle down onto the record, you carefully adjusted the volume of the music before returning to the work area you had already set up with your supplies. The vinyl in particular was one you retrieved from the Human World once you had returned to your home temporarily to gather your belongings, the album specifically being one of the indie band's most popular due to the melodious harps tied into each track. You figured it would make decent background noise as you painted Asmodeus, since it was unlikely that the demon would engage you with anything other than basic small talk. A decent variety of mediums were lined up along the base of your easel, with your portfolio neatly set in the middle of the wooden structure. As much as you were aware, the Avatar of Lust could be a rather picky person when it came to his appearance in things people would see, so you had decided to just give him his choice of medium and style in order to give him less about the final product to worry about.

You were beginning to think that he had flaked out on you when the doors to the Music Room opened, revealing the demon you were looking for in his glory. With how much time he'd taken to get down there, you would've thought he was putting on an elaborate outfit and makeup, but unless his usual appearance is incredibly complicated you doubted that. Sighing, you removed your portfolio from the easel and waved him to approach you. "Since you haven't seen much of my works, I figured that you could just look at what I have here. Just tell me whatever one strikes your fancy, and I'll try and replicate the style and medium." After placing the large binder in his hands, you returned to your stool in front of the easel and waited. Hearing a scoff sound from behind you, you stared straight ahead as you waited for Asmo to make his decision.

What Asmodeus had expected when he opened the pages of your portfolio was a set of basic, amateur level paintings that maybe increase in quality as you dive deeper into it. But what he held in his hands was something that probably could've never guessed, even if his life had been on the line. The sections had been labelled by era for convenience, starting in the 16th century and ending in the current one. Pulling back the opaque plastic covering, Asmo was met with a carefully preserved painting that looked like it belonged in the Renaissance era exhibit of a famous Art Museum. The piece itself was of an extraordinary quality, in both looks and preservation. Even as he flipped through the other works from different eras, the initial piece found itself stuck on his mind. "Hey, Mc, you made this, right?" He suddenly spoke from behind you, turning the portfolio to face you. Stretching and turning, you gave the piece a quick once over before nodding. "Yeah. It's pretty old, but if that's what you want I can do my best." "You're absolutely certain?" "I painted that thing for an entire month Asmodeus, I may be old but I'm pretty sure I'd remember my first decent painting." You tried to disguise the annoyance in your voice, settling on simply staring at him with a bored expression. "...Then this style is fine."

As you thought, Asmo was silent as he stared at you from the other stool you had set up for him to sit on. You were too busy collecting the art supplies that you needed and selecting a canvas to care too much about the way his eyes followed your every move. But as you settled back onto your stool he suddenly spoke again, making you peer around the canvas to look at him. "Where did you learn to paint like that?" "The one you picked out? Or did you mean the others in my portfolio? I've had many teacher over the years, you'll need to be more specific." Awaiting his answer, you began taking in the details of his form into your mind. "That Renaissance painting." Beginning to ready your palette, you leaned away and replied. "Ah, that. Well, I don't exactly feel it proper to call the man who taught me to make that my teacher." "What would you call him?" In surprise, you choked on your breath for a moment. Clearing your throat with a cough, you continued to speak, as not to waste an opportunity for an actually conversation with him. It wasn't often that Asmo showed any interest in things that involved you, after all. "Well, uhm, you could potentially call our relationship something of a casual one. Not heavily romantic or smitten, but not platonic either." "Ohhh, so what you're saying is you would have sex with him." A sputtering cough shook your lungs as your hands barely managed to keep you from spilling paint onto the tarped floor. "Y-yeah we did do that, but that wasn't everything. Mostly he just wanted some company is all, and I adored his companionship, so when we both weren't busy or in the mood we would just hang out and stuff. During those times he taught me how to paint."

With the most awkward portion of the discussion of your past partner out of the way, your conversation flowed more and more freely whilst your brushes glided across the canvas. No detail was spared as you began openly speaking to the demon in front of you, who was surprisingly an attentive listener. Halfway through the process of painting, he asked another question that caught you off guard. "Wouldn't your relationship have been illegal at the time? I can't imagine how upset the Catholic Church would've been." "Eh, I didn't really give a damn what they thought. The opinions of others on myself and my relationships have never really mattered to me anyway. As long as the person I've fallen in love with is safe and happy, I'll be fine. Plus, we stopped seeing each other after he took up that job for the Sistine Chapel anyway." You chuckled dryly, setting the brush in your hand down as you reached for your D.D.D. to check the time. "I hate to cut this short Asmodeus, but we'll have to continue this later. I'd prefer not to get an earful from Lucifer about being later for dinner and I'm sure that afterwards you-" "Asmo. Just call me Asmo. It's kinda weird hearing you address me by my full name." The Avatar of Lust's heart suddenly fluttered as a soft smile crossed your features. "Got it, Asmo."

By far Asmodeus was the least subtle of the brothers in his approach towards you, mostly because daily it would be just the two of you alone in the Music Room together. He would pose was you painted, chatting with you intermittently whilst your brush glided across the canvas. Once the painting had been completed to both yours and Asmo's satisfactions, you had begun speaking with him on a regular basis outside of your time in the Music Room. On the topic of the piece of art, though it did not completely resemble the style you were trying to replicate the way you had painted it just felt more "Asmo" to you. It had some of the features the original painting had, but you found your hand painting different details in that didn't quite match the era, but did match the personality of your model that had begun to shine through in your little talks. Something the Avatar of Lust wouldn't tell you until a little later is that he had asked the teacher for the original copy of the painting once the project display was completed, so that he could hang it up in his room near his vanity.

To the displeasure of his brothers who still weren't too fond of you, he had begun to show you some of the same friendly affection that he often showed his brothers and close friends. Hugging, hand holding, playful teasing, and other such occurrences became commonplace between the two of you.

Having now spoken with you for quite a while, he had begun to find some qualities about you that he found somewhat interesting, but not quite interesting enough to suddenly form a pact with you. You would still have to go through the same trials at Lord Diavolo's castle as you normally would've, allowing Asmo to see the magical energy passed from Lilith onto you in action. Only then did he choose to form a pact with you and begin letting you become genuinely closer with him, rather than the sort of pseudo-, but also semi-, fondness he had shown you beforehand.

Once you had both reached a certain level of comfort in each other's presence, he began to show you a more vulnerable side to himself. But even with that, Asmo still held back some of his own insecurities from your eyes, an unfamiliar feeling of nervousness inside of him growing at the thought of how you might see him once you saw the truest form of himself. This metaphorical dam slowly began to crack more and more as he found himself spending time around you at an increasing rate, only to burst upon your demise after Belphie was released from the Attic.

Truthfully, the demon had no clue what to do when him and his brothers found your dying form lying on the ground. His heart pounded loudly in his ears as he stared at his older brother cradling you in his arms, loud enough to drown out Mammon's sorrowful weeping that slowly infected him as well. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he reached to grasp your limp hand by the wrist, eyes darting between the brothers who knew the most about healing magic as well as your murderer. He felt oddly deflated and weak, as if his soul had been flattened like an open balloon and his body would collapse in on itself should he let go of your wrist. The beating of his heart stopped for a moment as your body suddenly disintegrated, only to come back full force at the sound of your voice from the top of the stairs.

Following the incident, Asmo became even more latched onto your side from before. It the "day"time he would still act like his usual self around you, albeit slightly more attentive to your wellbeing and general mood, but in the night his more vulnerable side leaked out like a river. Initially these sudden declines in his guarded nature were reserved for the dead of night when you were in a deep state of sleep, but he began allowing you to fully see that side of him one night after you woke up in the middle of one of his declines from a nightmare.

You didn't exactly remember what all had happened in the rather frightening dream, only that you had woken up squirming and gasping for breath in the Avatar of Lust's arms. "Are you alright, Mc?!" He fussed, taking your head into his hands and examining you for any sort of injuries. Allowing your lungs to take heavy gulps of air, a sudden dampness on your face distracted you from the fading constrictions of your chest. At first, you had thought it to have been your own tears rolling down your cheeks, but you soon realized that the droplets had been landing onto you from above. From Asmo's own eyes that darted around erratically, staring at you in every other location until they rested into your gaze. His lip trembled as the teardrops began to fall more rapidly, an involuntarily hiccup now shaking his own diaphragm. He trembled under your touch as you wrapped an arm around his waist, the other moving to rest your hand against the back of his head. Gently, you ran your fingertips through his scalp in soothing motions, pressing down light enough to lead his head to rest in the crook of your neck. "I'm okay, I promise." "M-Mc, as much as I love your embrace, I'm the one who's supposed to comfort you. N-not the other way around." Heart-wrenching sobs racked his body as his hands grasped at the sheets underneath you, clenching and releasing with each cry he muffled into your shoulder. "You don't need to bottle everything up for my sake Asmo, you can let it all out. I won't judge you for crying, y'know?"

After that night, he fully came to terms with the extent that his sister had loved you and the reasons why. Recalling conversations of long ago, you were just as much of a kind and adventurous soul that she had described. With all of that said, only one question plagued his mind regarding you. How could anyone not fall in love with a man like you, himself included?

Beelzebub:

The manner in which Beelzebub had thought of you initially was similar to the way he would've thought of some lesser creature that one of his brothers had brought into the house like one would a pet. Like how a human who wasn't a stranger to butchery would view their sibling's new pet chicken. You were weak and needed to be looked after of, but also something that could make a decent meal if not for their owner's attachment to them. It was fairly obvious to those involved that the Exchange Program would very well crumble at the seams should any harm come to you, so eating you was off the table.

Beelzebub had interacted with you infrequently prior to your conversation with Lucifer, though most conversations could be summed up easily as small talk. He had slowly started to began to put in some effort into being around you once his brothers had gotten a little more friendly with you, finding it almost heart-warming the way that Mammon seemed to hang around you like a lost puppy and Leviathan eagerly tugged on your sleeve and rambled about his interests and hobbies. Perhaps if you had spoken with Lucifer later, both of you may have bonded a little more than the very baseline friendship that you shared.

Though he wasn't the last of his brothers to find out, Beel had been in the dark for a short period of time. Actually, he had been planning on asking you to accompany him to Hell's Kitchen as a sort of congratulations for sort of winning the TSL Quiz, his treat of course. But once the news of your past reached him, the extra "All You Can Eat!" voucher he had gotten for you now sat crumpled in the bottom of the communal bathroom's trash can. He was unsure as to what exactly had deeply upset him about the sudden news, but he was upset nonetheless. Perhaps it was because you had reminded him of a guilt he still struggled with, the guilt of failing to protect his sister. Maybe he had begun to shift some of the blame for Lilith's demise onto you at some point, seeing as she had started the Celestial War to prevent your death. Or maybe Beel saw you as someone unworthy of his sibling's love and adoration, some random guy that had swept his sister off her feet who was the same as any other human, similar to Asmo. It was hard to accurately place his feelings towards you, and this only unsettled and discomforted him more.

Avoiding you wasn't something that the Avatar of Gluttony had to put much effort into doing. It wasn't often that you crossed paths or spent long periods of time in close proximity, as before he mostly only came into contact with you when you'd be around his brothers. All he really had to do was stop talking to you to fully ignore you. Occasionally you'd try and speak with him, Beel would cut the conversation short by using Fangol or his hunger as an excuse to leave your general vicinity. It became a common situation that he would wriggle out of talking with you, using the excuse of needing to go to Fangol practice that moment or he would be late, only for you to later realize it as a lie when you saw him talking to some of his teammates in the hallway as you walked by with your silent Guardian Demon. Eventually you took the hint and gave up approaching him, resigning yourself to a melancholic silence in his presence.

Following your resignation in seeking him out, he would at times occasionally forget you were still in the House of Lamentation and living with them. If it weren't for the brief moments he'd see you at meals or Mammon's complaining, Beel would've thought that you had moved into the Purgatory Hall by now. There were even times where he wouldn't even see you at meals at all, not noticing the fact that the extra serving of food in that night's dinner had been meant for you and not something to keep him from snacking on his brother's plates.

One night, Beelzebub had been the one to seek you out. Not of his own volition, but rather at the request of Lucifer in order to get you to come in for dinner. Where he found you was quite an unexpected location for a vulnerable human in the Devildom, a secluded corner of HOL's garden that if he hadn't heard strange noises coming from he probably would not have found.

A soft smile crossed you face as you sat down on the bench, carefully removing a very precious object from your bag as you hid away in your favorite spot in the garden. The instrument glistened brightly in the moonlight, illuminating your surroundings in such a manner that made your harp appear as it was glowing. Sliding your fingertip gently along one of the strings, you couldn't help but admire Simeon's handiwork. The harp was something of an ancient relic by itself due to its age, made apparent by the wear and tear it had acquired over the years despite your best efforts of preservation. It had meant a lot to you that the Angel you had slowly come to view as a friend had repaired the object for you, not only because of the effort he had put into its restoration, but also the meaning behind the harp itself.

With trembling fingers, you gently plucked at on of the strings. The soft hum the vibrating chord let out released a deep sigh from your chest, a feeling of tranquility vibrating throughout your body as the sound faded out. You tested out a few more of the chords, getting a feeling for the different pitches of each string. While it didn't sound exactly as you had remembered it, you couldn't find it in yourself to complain about the miniscule detail. It had been hard enough already to find someone capable of repairing a Celestial harp, let alone anyone who could bring the instrument back to an almost brand new quality.

In the beginning, you had just been strumming without any real rhyme or reason, trying to adjust yourself to playing the harp that you had stopped yourself from even touching for many, many years. Slowly, your inconsistent notes feel into a familiar order, becoming more and more complete until it had became a proper song. The song was one deeply ingrained into your mind and perhaps even your soul, one that you could never forget even if you tried. As your fingertips glided across the strings, memories of a flower field came to mind. It was almost as if when you shut your eyes you could feel a pair of soft hands covering your own, guiding you to play each note with the gentleness and warmth of a summer's breeze. With each note that sounded into the hidden area, you could feel it reverberate in your chest, like you had been plucking at your own heartstrings rather than a musical instrument. You had almost reached the climax of the song when the sound of footsteps approaching caught your attention, snapping you out of your dazed stated. Turning towards the sound, you locked eyes with a pair of violet ones.

Practice had been rather rough for Beelzebub, and the demon was looking forward to returning home. Lucifer was on cooking duty for the night, so Beel couldn't afford to miss it. It wasn't as if he didn't enjoy his other brothers' cooking, but something about the way the Eldest cooked made it taste so incredibly delicious. Plus, it wasn't often that Lucifer prepared dinner. The enticing scent of his brother's cooking flooded out of the doors as he entered the House of Lamentation, drawing him to pursue the source. Beel had almost made it through the doorframe of the kitchen, when an invisible barrier suddenly blocked his path. Oh, Lucifer must've cursed it to keep him out again. But even through the thick door and strong curse, Luci could still hear the resounding thud when Beel had hit the barrier. Slowly, the eldest cracked the door to the Kitchen open just enough to see him, speaking an order to him quickly before closing the door once more.

Thus, Beel began searching for you throughout HOL, his stomach growling viciously all the while. Though he'd loved to have given up by now and just gone to eat, Lucifer had specifically said that he wouldn't be allowed dinner should he not find you. Seeing as the punishment had happened before, Beel knew that his brother wasn't messing around with him and would keep his word. A bundle of distress had began to form as he strolled through more and more rooms, finding no trace of you in any of them. His brothers didn't have any clue where you had gone off too as well, surprised that Beel hadn't found you in your room as usual. There were only three places you might be at this point, and with the other options being the Catacombs and the jaws of some random lesser demon, he headed towards the garden first. Maybe you had gotten lost in it somehow, chasing after some sort of scaly-backed rabbit or some lost homework. But as an entrancing song began to sound from one of the farther corners, the idea that you may have been lured in by a siren came to mind.

As he approached, the song became clearer. The first thing he recognized about it was the instrument type, a harp that left a twinkling feeling in its general vicinity. This effect was common for Celestial harps, something that Beel had not heard nor seen since after the Fall. Vinyl's and recordings could not accurately sound and feel the same as the actual harp, so it was off the table that you could have just been playing something off of your D.D.D., leaving him with only one conclusion. Somehow a harp from the Celestial Realm had made its way into the garden of the Seven Avatars of Hell, and someone was playing a tune that Beel nearly knew by heart. Finally, he made a turn into a clearing that had been hidden by a pair of branches that were easily nudged away. A familiar scent of honeysuckle and lavender struck his senses as he entered the space, finding you seated on a bench with something clutched closely to your chest. A Celestial Harp with very distinct engravings running along its golden surface.

"Beelzebub? What are you doing here?" Your eyebrow raised, lowering your defensive posture slightly. The slow relaxation of your arms gave him an even better look at the object in your grasp. "Beelzebub, did you need something? Why are you getting so close-" "That harp. That's one of Lilith's." His form cast a shadow over you even in the dark, and the way the moonlight highlighted his features made the way that he loomed over you even more intimidating. "I- ehm, yes. Lilith gave me this harp as a gift, a very long time ago." You had closed your eyes to try and add a little confidence to your words, but they snapped open at a sudden shift in weight on the bench underneath you. "Can you play that song again?" "I... I guess?"

The way that you played this time was far more shaken and nervous than it had been prior, but you eventually lost yourself to the music and properly played the chords. You longed to feel the sensation of your memories as you had done before, but a different feeling coursed through you with the flow of the rhythm. Closing your eyes did not make you feel as if you were in a different place, but rather made you more in tune with your surroundings. Each object created a sort of aura that lit up your brain, as if it were some strange type of echolocation. The aura that struck you the most radiated from the demon sat beside you, this warm red that came in pulsations with hollow gaps in between. It reminded you of the very first time Lilith had taught you the song, whispering into your ears to feel the life all around you. Eventually the song came to a close and you opened your eyes.

"That's a song that they always used to teach young Angels in the Celestial Realm. Despite being a kid's song, Lilith always loved it and would play it whenever she had the chance." Your gaze locked onto Beelzebub as he leaned forward on the bench. "Lily always played it when she would wait for me in our meeting place. She liked to call it 'Our Song' and really wanted me to learn it. So, we spent years going over the same tune until I knew it by heart. Even now it is engraved into my very soul." A fond expression crossed your face at the memory. For a moment it was silent, until the sound of your text ringtone went off. Several messages from Lucifer lit up the screen, inquiring of your location. "Oh, it's dinner time already? Why didn't you tell me?" Beel didn't respond, still sitting in silence. You had begun to get up and walk back towards HOL, before his hand suddenly grabbed you by the wrist. It was a bit of a stronger grip than you would've liked, but you could tell even then he was holding back. "Did you need something, Beel?"

"...Mc, can you play that again for me some other time?"

In the beginning, Beelzebub simply just wanted to hear that song again and again. Songs played on a Celestial harp weren't just something you could record the audio of and play it back or even played on a different instrument, they needed to be experienced in person on an Angel's harp. The days that he pulled you away into the secret spot in the garden were at random, but slowly increased in frequency over time. It reached a point where you would keep the harp on your person just in case Beel wanted to hear it. Originally, neither of you would talk following the performance of the song unless it was about Lilith, but over time the talks about his sister faded away and were replaced with talks about each other's days and questions exchanged about personal interests, histories, and such. The song slowly became an excuse to be around you, rather than just a simple desire to hear what he had known as "Lilith's Song".

You were beginning to grow on him, and when you had the gall to protect him and Luke he began to develop respect for you. Once, he had thought of you as a reminder of his failure and the Celestial War, but he had begun to see you as an equal now. A human worthy of his pact, despite the complicated history they shared together. The scent of lavender and honeysuckle had been something he used to avoid, tying it to you being nearby, but now it was something Beel wanted to be surrounded by. It was a smell that reminded him not only of you, but of Lilith as well.

While he had disliked you in every meaning of the word before fully getting to know you, something he had never truly wanted was for you to pass on. And after getting to actually know you, the desire to keep you safe and especially alive bloomed and grew. So finding you in a battered heap at the bottom of the staircase torn his heart in two. He could sense the way Belphie felt towards you and understood his contempt, but an unfamiliar anger boiled deep inside of him. Beel couldn't bring himself to hate his twin in any regard, but still he was upset by his actions. This inner turmoil left him rooted in place, staring with very minimal reactions other than despair and sorrow. Once again he had failed to protect someone he loved, a thought that ate away at him as he watched you die in Mammon's arms.

Prior to the Attic incident, most of the time you spent with Beelzebub was very contact free. Just simple discussions or comfortable silence, perhaps with a brief touch when he'd pass you a piece of food that he wanted you to try. But following your demise and later revival, Beel seemed to want to touch you as much as possible. If he wasn't having you sit on his lap or vice versa, he enjoyed being pressed up against your side. Particularly with one of his hands resting against one of your pressure points so he could feel your heartbeat.

Nightmares were something he had on occasions, but none were more frequent than the nights following your death. Most of them were just replayings of the event, but sometimes the dreams could be incredibly cruel. Mixing your death with Lilith's, mocking voices surrounding him, showing his brain's interpretation of Belphie killing you that made him feel even more like he could've prevented it, or all of those things at once and more. Waking up from a particularly nasty dream sent him seeking you out immediately, needing to make sure that you're alive and okay. Though usually just feeling your pulse or having a brief conversation with you would soothe the ache caused by the nightmare, he found that he couldn't properly sleep unless you at least slept in the same room.

Beelzebub knew his devotion to you from the moment he formed a pact with you, one made out of respect rather than the transactional agreements commonplace in many others he formed before yours. But the sensation that Lilith had always felt for you was a gradual increase that sprouted from your times in the garden. From a mutual respect grew fondness and longing, steadily blooming into what his little sister called "love". This bloom truly burst one night as you lay slightly together, his arms holding you close to his chest as you willingly nuzzled against him. Shockwaves of warmth and fullness coursed through his veins at the action, and he pulled you in tighter. In that moment he deeply understood why Lilith had done such a stupid and reckless thing to save your life. If it he been him and you in that situation, he too would've done the same.

Belphegor:

Belphegor knew your face long before the Celestial War. Like his sister, he too had been fascinated with Humans, perhaps even more than Lilith had. When Lilith had first met you, you had met her brother not too long afterwards since Belphie had come to retrieve her before the others noticed them missing. He grew to know you as Lilith's friend, and later Lilith's lover, a man that he would recall the face of when his sister would go about her lovestruck ramblings despite hardly knowing you himself. But after the Fall your face was nothing but a stain on his mind. His contempt for humanity rose more and more by the century, with you as personification for the whole species.

So when the very person that he felt to be the sole cause of his sister's demise ascended up the stairs, he recognized you in an instant. Surprisingly you did as well, rushing over to the bars with a worried expression. His blood boiled at the way you called him "Belphie", gritting his teeth and digging his nails into his palms to keep him from desperately swiping at you from the bars. The desire to escaped his confinement tripled the moment he locked eyes with you, if it weren't for the bars that separated you he likely would've ripped you to shreds. But, he needed to stay calm. There was no way he would be able to get out of the Attic without your help, and if he made too much of an uproar it may alert Lucifer to his plans. Ditching the plan to trick you into thinking he was a human, he tried his best to convince you that he was still an Angel. Sadly for him, you weren't as naïve as you may have been all those years ago and he confessed his true form. Only after that did you agree to help him. Watching you descend the stairs, he began plotting your downfall.

Reasonably, he was upset when you had confided in his brothers the truth about your identity after meeting him. Putting distance between yourself and his brothers put a heavy dent in his plan, since you would need all of their pacts in order to destroy the barrier keeping him locked away. The night you had told him he had stormed away from the bars in a huff, and refused to talk to you every time you would return to the attic door after. Only after you repaired your bond with Beel did he speak to you, but it took the formation of Satan's pact for Belphie to actually look at you.

Your conversations with each other were always brief and stinted, unless Belphegor began to feel your trust in him slipping. He'd put on the façade of kindness whenever you began to grow hesitant to go along with his plans, empty promises and forced pleasantries flowing easily through his lips. These "sweet" moments made him grow angrier at you as well, but not just because he was talking to you. Something about speaking with you in such a kind and attentive manner pissed him off to no end, only made worse by the residual feeling of uncertainty you left him with each time. Uncertainty not in your trust in him, but his own ability to fully enact his plans. The very thought that he may not have actually wanted to kill you all along infuriated him.

But once he found you standing alongside his bed in the Attic with the door open behind you, the uncertainty he held was drowned underneath the waves of the ocean of resentment and anger that had built up over the years. A sudden feeling of unbridled joy overtook him as you gasped for air whilst he strangled you, the joy carrying over and growing in intensity as you drew closer and closer to death. Even as his brothers crowded around you he felt nothing but the rush of adrenaline he had gotten from seeing the despair and betrayal in your eyes. And then, seeing your teary-eyed form reappear alive at the top of the stairs crying joyfully about the tales of Lilith's second life as a human, left him feeling nothing but hollow.

Though he may have acted with a fondness and admiration towards you following your revival, Belphegor couldn't shake this feeling of remorse. And how could he not? He had killed the very man that his sister had loved so dearly, her love that transcended beyond her first and second demises. While he did want to repair his relationships with you and his brothers for what he had done, for a while he just avoided you entirely. Avoiding you was something difficult since you seemed to almost always actively seek him out, so one of the only escapes he could use was sleeping. Belphegor was aware that you didn't like waking him up and bothering him unless necessary, so he pulled the sudden slumbers out of the blue quite often.

To fully avoid thinking of you though, he couldn't be in his own dreams. If he did have a dream it often involved you, and no amount of dream manipulation could get you out of it once you were there. So, he went into the dreams of others instead. Most of the time it was of lesser demons who just happened to be asleep at the time, or occasionally it was one of his brothers'. Unfortunately, it seemed that a divine force was getting very upset with this dancing act he played with you, because one night he found himself stuck in one of yours.

Initially, the Avatar of Sloth had thought he was in the dreams of some random lesser demon. The open valley in front of him wasn't something he was at all familiar with, and from the amount of discarded armor and dried blood on the ground it didn't seem like a place he would've wanted to be anyway. His attempts at changing anything in the dream were strangely ineffective, and it seemed all he could really do inside of it was wander about and watch. Shuffling through the mounds of metal, he found himself at the edge of a campsite. While the area itself lacked any living beings entirely, a transparent illusion hung over the deserted scenery. One of a grand feast, adventurers clinking together mugs of ale and chatting over heaping plates of meats and fruits.

A certain person at the center of it all stood out to him. The face of a man he could never truly forget. Belphie wanted to run and get out of your dream as fast as possible, but curiosity held a tight grip on him and only beckoned him closer. You appeared overjoyed in the scene before him, happily downing another mug as you spoke in a tongue he'd never heard you use to a man next to you. The merriment of the atmosphere around you was infectious, and it almost brought a smile to his face. Almost. Because any sort of joy he got from seeing you so happy was quickly replaced with despair.

The man you had been so eagerly chatting with had seemed like a friend of yours at the time, reciprocating the same friendly conversation with you as you had given to him. Yet, seeing the way that he now stood over you, bleeding out onto the ground, he no longer looked like a friend. A tremble had set into his fingertips as he watched the sudden scene of betrayal, noticing each and every detail of the exchange. The way the stranger had for a moment lovingly cradled your face before quite literally stabbing you in the back, scurrying away as the drunken fools surrounding you finally caught on to the situation at hand. Dread filled his mind as he slowly backed away from the scene before him, unable to look away until he could no longer see you behind the crowd surrounding you. Had someone betrayed you in such a way before? Or was this your way of coping with his betrayal of you? He no longer had to wonder these thoughts any longer, as he backed straight into someone.

It wasn't unusual that you would dream of past events, memories of times long gone. They weren't always pleasant, as that'd be impossible without outside interference, but the bad dreams didn't effect you as much as they used to. You could still be caught off guard by certain things or deeply immersing dreams, but most of the time your dreams were reacted to with indifference. As such, the memory of tonight's dream wasn't one that really effected you. You remembered the location fairly well upon waking up in the medic's tent, and as you exited you prepared yourself to rewatch the memory as you had before. What you weren't prepared to see however, was a trespasser in your dreams. A very familiar demon with a cow pillow clutched tightly to his chest. While a part of you wanted to call out to him and ask him why he was here, you were more curious of his reaction to the scene before you. It wasn't often that people would enter your dreams or used spells to watch your memories, and their reactions were almost always interesting. Standing behind him now, you waited for the scene to conclude before confronting him.

As he backed into you, you lazily wrapped your arms around his waist and rested your head on his shoulder. You could feel him jolt but not pull away, eliciting a soft chuckle from you. "Whatcha' doing here Belphie?" He didn't respond, but the discomforted hums and way his eyes darted about were decent enough as an answer. "Eh, why you're here doesn't really matter. Did ya' like the show?" "...No. Why would someone like that?" In response you shrugged, releasing him from your grip and sitting down on the ground next to him. "This memory in particular just always reminded me of a stageplay is all. Perhaps Simeon could use it in one of his stories." You brought a hand to rest underneath your chin in a thoughtful pose. "Have you been betrayed liked this before?" Belphie spoke, still standing up next to you. The way he balled up his fists and looked away from you made it clear that the dream was upsetting to him. "I guess you could say that. But I guess it makes sense in this context, y'know? Assassination attempts on war strategists were pretty commonplace back then. It's nothing I'm not used to after all, I've had far worse."

The silence following that statement was almost deafening, enough that it made you uncomfortable to the point where you'd have to talk about the elephant in the room. "Don't worry about the whole Attic thing, Belphie. It's fine, I'm not mad at you." A sudden sniffle caught your attention, drawing you eyes towards Belphegor. He still refused to look at you, but the way his shoulders shook made it clear he was holding back tears. Reaching out a hand, you grasped his wrist and gently tried to tug him to the ground beside you. This action seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back, as the Avatar of Sloth crumpled onto the ground beside you, curling in on himself. "Belph-" "Why? Why aren't you mad?" He sobbed. You paused, taking in the situation before you moved closer to him. Of course he tried to recoil from your touch, but once you trapped him in a sort of sitting down hug he knew that unless he gave you a really strong kick you weren't going to let go of him. "Belphie, I was upset at first. Being betrayed and stuff isn't the most fun thing in the world. But, I'm not mad. I'm not claiming that I know what you've been going through all these years, but I do understand your struggle. Your contempt for the world that took someone you loved so dearly away from you. If I was in your situation, I feel that I likely would've done the same." Another sob racked his body as you ran a hand through his hair, avoiding eye contact as you brought him closer to your chest. "I've come to terms with everything and I do forgive you. All I hope is that you can forgive yourself."

In the morning, Belphegor wasn't in his room when Beelzebub had come to wake him up for RAD. His twin was certainly surprised when Lucifer said that you and him had asked to take the day off of school with the excuse of being sick, but decided to simply ask the two of you about it once he got home. Unbeknownst to the rest of HOL, both of you sat in your room, snuggled closely together as a movie played on the nearby television. The tears that stained Belphie's face were slowly fading, as the pact mark on the base of your neck glowed a faint purple.

Forming a pact with you after that night was a sort of promise on his part. A promise to never allow harm to come to you ever again, by his hands or otherwise. It was a spur of the moment idea that he took and ran with, something largely uncommon for the Avatar of Sloth. If he was forming a pact under any circumstances he would've spent time and thought out what the individual was offering to him in trade, but he threw himself into the pact as soon as he had woken up from your dream. He didn't quite care what lie you had told to his older brother about your absence for the day, all he really wanted to do was spend it with you. Your touch had suddenly become intoxicating, and the scent of honeysuckle and lavender was now deeply engraved into his memory. Even if his brothers had already explained everything about pacts to you before, he made sure that you knew just as much control you had over him. He wanted to make you feel secure around him, and know that he would never want or try to hurt you again.

While he may be at your command, Belphie is still quite mischievous and lazy. It takes a bit to fade back into it, but the way he treats you now is more akin to how he treats his brothers, albeit in your case a little more intimate. Should you be seated anywhere in his vicinity and dare to have nothing taking up the space on your lap, you best believe that you'll gain a new lap warmer within the minute he sees you.

Besides Beel, he really doesn't have any desire to share your precious time with any of his brothers, the Royals, or the Purgatory Hall. Complaining about it to him gets them nowhere, as he simply nuzzles himself into your neck deeper and uses the excuse of having spent the least time with you.

A feeling that you accidentally kickstarted within him is the spark of curiosity he had long ago about Humanity. You are pretty much the closest thing to a living Human History book, and if you remember a certain event he's going to probably ask you about it. At times Belphie can be as deeply interested in listening to you speak on a topic as Satan, but you have to be careful about certain details. Bringing up foul and painful memories makes both of you uncomfortable and lengthy, uninteresting things make him fall asleep, so you have to cherry pick certain things. The topic he finds himself most interested in oddly enough is basic household appliances in the Human World, besides the refrigerator. Belphegor now desperately wants a Roomba to take over when its his turn to vacuum, but gets upset every time that he sees that they aren't on Akuzon.

Belphie thinks a lot about the Attic incident and your forgiveness of him. While he still may not forgive himself from doing such a thing, he slowly coming to terms with it as well and making steps to better himself and your relationship. You often make sure to let him know to take as much time as he needs, seeing as you aren't going to die of old age anytime soon. He does not like that joke.

It takes a very, very long while for him to be open and honest about his own nightmares that involve you. He can't bring himself to describe the details of them to you, and even recalling the events of the dream is painful enough as is. If you're asleep while one of these dreams are going on he'll often escape to your dreams, unless the one you're having is much worse. He'd rather sit through another one of Mammon's money dreams than watch something terrible happen to you, even if you say that those memories don't effect you.

Coming to terms with how deeply he truly cares for you is a bit of a rocky road. Sure, he doesn't want to see you hurt and thrives off your happiness, but he also feels guilty about his past actions still. It takes some time, but he eventually allows himself to begin indulging in your happiness and joy instead of hanging around and cuddling with you just to give you brief moments of joy. Over time he realizes just what he felt about you, a feeling that had built up from the moment he'd first met you snowballing into the current day. Something that Lilith had always told him about. That feeling was love.

Out of all his brothers, Belphegor is the most insistent on you remaining in the Devildom. It would make a lot of things easier for you as a whole since you wouldn't have to keep moving around and lying about your identity, and he also just really wanted to keep you around.

#obey me hc #obey me x reader #obey me x male reader #obey me x male mc #obey me angst #obey me fic #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphie #obey me belphegor #i am very tired im gonna go take a nap now lol... not. genshin time

[shijuruiburning]

serious question: what do you find appealing about cannibalism?

holy shit a lot of anons today o:

Disclaimer !! I do not support ethical/e-cannibals though and never will, don't get me wrong. Keep that far away from me :/ or block me if you are one yourself. I'm serious!

It's just a really neat horror trope! I've always found it fascinating. Zombies are just technically undead cannibals and they were my intro to the concept, as I LOOOOVE sentient/self aware zombies.

A zombie lover devouring you because they can't decipher if they feel carnal love or hunger towards you? immaculate *chef's kiss*

I also really enjoy hannibal lecter (silence of the lambs, not the show! I've never watched the show lmao), and find the cannibal chef/etc character really interesting.

Humans are meat! Meat is edible! There's nothing else left after you die! I am meat, you are meat, muscles and blood and organs, meat meat meat. I love working with animal meat and how it looks, feels, so on so forth. Its all very beautiful in some weird, twisted way. At least I think so.

Energy is transferred through the consumption of meat and in doing such you are taking posession of what was once alive, it's yours now, and you are part of one another. Applying this to horror/romance in stories? Ohhh Iove it love it love it 😳❤

My author avatar Mouldy is a cannibal butcher and I love them to death. It's really fun building upon them!

[erudite-rebel]

i gasped when i saw your magnus archives au because i'm a huge fan and your artwork on head archivist ooblek is so incredible. do you have any stray headcanons on it, or maybe how grimm translate to entities, or anything really because i'm so fascinated with this concept.

//You got a big storm comin'

Soooo TMA AU was basically caused by @nightmarebcrn and @jinxedcrow getting me into The Magnus Archives and the subsequent chaos thereafter. Barty was actually built slowly after I began season 3 I think (but it may have been season 2 or even earlier. I remember not realizing just how bad I was setting him up for pain). I'm gonna give a write up with as few show-spoilers as possible beyond the basic concept (Entities) and I will chew on the Grimm bc I didn't quite work on them when I developed this but now that you said it that brain's a-firin' away.

So!

The Archivist of Beacon AKA Why Barty Can't Have Nice Things

While I have written a statement on Barty's past, I'll do a quick write up of his history and who he is as the Archivist.

With all of my iterations of Barty, he is neurodivergent. He has Aspergers (low-spectrum Autism) and ADHD. This presents primarily in hyperfocus, being less than adept at social situations, a tendency to shy away from direct eye contact, and stimming (bouncing his leg, jittery movements, counting in dead languages).

Different to his canon verse, Barty is an only child and his parents were of equal age.

His first contact with the entities was when he was a young boy. He was raised primarily running around a now closed, privately run museum that operated near Oxford University. While no doubt several of the items within have made their way into the Beacon Artifact Storage, at the time he was aware of nothing specifically evil. A new lot acquisition included an unusual set of canopic jars that were written off by several scientists as very good fakes. Despite that, one of the employees – Dr. Herbert Renshaw – became obsessed with them and succumbed to their lure. He killed four people by removing critical organs and permanently disfigured a fifth before disappearing with them. While Barty witnessed the attack which killed his parents, and saw what it entailed, he repressed much of it for most of his life. Working at Beacon brought most of it back.

After his parents died he was looked after by his grandfather, who was a strict and no-nonsense veteran of the second World War. The arrangement lasted only two years before he died of cancer and Barty was released into the foster system, inheritance waiting for him when he turned 18.

Shuttled through foster homes, Barty became something of a punk. He had a big chip on his shoulder, was lonely and desperate for a place to fit in when there were so few that could address his needs. Finally he was sent somewhere with a reputation for 'curing' delinquency. Without knowing it he entered a residence under control of the Web.

Qrow Branwen was in his year in high school. While he and Barty didn't at once know each other, as they were both rather withdrawn and loners, they eventually grew close because of similar interests and attitudes. After a few months Qrow spotted a tell-tale scar on the back of Barty's neck. He'd escaped the same boys home the year before in a bid to be placed elsewhere with his twin. Suddenly frightened for Barty's life, he hatched a plan to help Barty escape. Because Barty was far more under the influence of the Web than Qrow had been it had turned into a rescue mission than a run away. The two of them burned the home to the ground and somehow managed to evade implication.

Barty went to stay with Qrow and Raven with their foster mother, Morrigan Branwen. She was careful to help with his needs, and Barty loved her like a mother, though he never considered Raven or Qrow his siblings. In Qrow he'd developed a bad crush that quickly turned into a deep, devoted love. While Barty wasn't much given to the concept of soulmates, he considered Qrow exactly that.

He and Qrow both were accepted into University and he'd thought they would always be together. Eventually though Qrow began to fade away from him, consumed by something else, and dropped out of University. He cut off contact and disappeared. Barty didn't see him again until Morrigan's funeral and never got any explanation for what happened.

Years later Barty obtained both his doctorate in history and a degree in archaeology. His interests were always skewed to the occult, though something always kept him back from pursuing the real deal of the supernatural. He was looking forward to a life of academia, though something always felt empty to him. Sometimes he'd see a familiar face in a crowd and his neck would itch before they disappeared. He never really gave up the torch he carried for Qrow either, despite trying to move on.

After a talk he gave on  a lesser known cult during the height of the Egyptian empire, Dr. Ozpin Newman approached him about a job as Head Archivist in Beacon Academy. He might not have accepted the position if he had already been tenured, but Barty had a shaky research position at the University of London, and Ozpin was offering a good contract. Despite knowing Beacon's reputation he agreed... no one could deny the credentials of a Head Archivist of a major academic institute, even one with ties to potential supernatural research.

It was there he is reunited with Qrow again and settled into his job, hardly questioning why Ozpin might want him... why he made such an excellent candidate for  Archivist. He was determined to set the archives right after Maria Calavera's treatment of them, set on making a difference, trying hard to hold onto the belief that encounters – despite having been involved in two such events on his own – were rare.

Fear has a way of catching up, has a way of mutating you, as he was ensnared by The Eye, and caught up in a careful game of chess between Avatars. Guilt is acid in his veins as he loses his employees one by one to different entities. Scars began to pile. Secrets began to be revealed, whether the information merely curled out towards him, or a few careful worlds could force them from the lips of those he put question to.

Eventually he had to wonder if he was even really human anymore... when the voyeuristic statements of fear were far more nourishing to his body than food. But surely it's human to be willing to kill to protect Qrow and his people, to make the world right again?

So, that's kind of a basic write up. As for Grimm, I am currently toying with creatures that are far more horrifying than their base in RWBY. The Grimm are soulless manifestations of dangerous concentrations of fear given form, residual negative energies forming into mindless beasts able to be controlled and guided by their Avatars, provided that Avatar embraces its calling. Tools to reap yet more energy for the entities beyond the veil.

#recent history; headcanons #is anything really real anymore?; tma au #the archivist of beacon; tma #anything else you would like to inquire?; answered #becomestorm