#{{ plus I like their connection to the abyss; so I feel like that would be something interesting to explore. I mainly blame tumblr art }}

[carlottastudios]

Every day I get closer to making an unhinged behemoth of a post listing all of the things about Kaeya and his possible connections to mythology & stuff that I notice but NOBODY ELSE SEEMS TO BRING UP IN THEIR THEORIES

(edit: OMG I reached the tag limit I'm so sorry)

[frozenambiguity]

whats a kaeya ship you like? :D

Ooc; Hi there! Ehm... As much as I would love to provide a detailed answer, the truth is... I don't really know what to tell you. I'm mostly neutral on ships, you see? Kaeya is not a character that focuses on romance that much ( flirting is different, of course ), so he tends to not look at fellows from that specific angle. Plus, he is a... complex and difficult person to deal with, to say the least.

Kaeya is a character that requires a lot of investment and time in order to be shipped with, considering his background, personality, and views on affection/vulnerability in general. If I have to be honest, I'll say that my opinion on specific ships evolves and depends on Kaeya’s interactions with muses here! That is not to say some ships do not have more potential than others, they do ( due to canonic relationships and character dynamics ), but... yeah! I'm pretty open to exploring everything and anything.

As long as there is chemistry, I'm good to go!

[absentia-if]

I'm looking for more interactive fiction games to play and I was wondering if you have any particular favourites?

I’m a hermit when it comes to the community as a whole— mainly staying in my own little corner, but I have been able to meet some amazing Author’s during my stay.

Citadel by @bouncyballcitadel is an absolutely amazing medical drama IF. An amazing cast of characters, both romance and non-romance, and real life experiences, and knowledge, fueling the writing in such a way that makes you feel extremely connected to the plot and the MC. I highly recommend it.

An Affair of the Heart by @doriana-gray-games is another amazing IF that I strongly recommend. Not only because I absolutely adore Dori, the sweetest of sweethearts, but she makes the world of Sherlock Holmes come to life in such a way that I can’t even truly describe— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be proud of her, I can tell you that much.

Novaturient by @kalorphic is an amazing spy IF that has a lovely cast of characters. It’s not as serious, or it’s not supposed to be as serious, as some of the other titles that I’ve mentioned, but it’s such a fun time all the same— it doesn’t have too much in the form of a demo, as of yet, but I think you’ll enjoy getting to know the cast on Ella’s blog all the same. (She also has another blog @ellawrites-if that I think you should check out too.)

Next in Line by @nextinline-if has been a fun read since I’ve started it. Not to mention Vi is an absolute delight to speak with. You have a little bit of everything when it comes to the romances, and who doesn’t love being royalty too? I think you’ll have a grand time with the story, and getting to know everything you’d wish to know about it, as I can’t recommend it enough.

Abyssal by @theabyssal is a great game with an amazing premise— playing Death itself ticking a lot of boxes for a variety of people. It’s quite angsty, as I feel like I should warn you, but the writing is immaculate and you’ll be pulled into the inner workings of a world that you have to find a place in once more. Plus, the ROs are absolutely amazing too.

A World Without You by @jaunefleurwrites has been an amazing read. It deals with the realities of death while still being alive, an ever growing entity that always looms over us all, but it’s still an enjoyable read even if it does have a sadder undertone. I highly recommend it (plus Damin is a sweetheart).

The King’s Hound by @the-kingshound is an Arthurian IF that I think you’ll find yourself drawn to. It has found family written all over it, with tinges of angst and drama strewn within, that I think you’ll enjoy. It’s an amazing story, with an amazing cast, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Past Imperfect by @past-imperfect-if is an IF with only a singular RO, that’s semi-customizable, and only has prologue released so far, but I strongly implore you to check it out as I think you’ll enjoy the premise of it. (Plus, my friend is the main creator for it and I know she’ll absolutely love to have someone as wonderful as you check out her story.)

Kingdoms and Empires by @kingdoms-and-empires is an amazing high fantasy game that I think you’ll enjoy. It has a wonderful world, that seems dynamic around the MC, with an amazing cast of characters that I think you’ll find yourself growing attached to. If you enjoy fantasy, being a royal, and wish to be along for a long ride? This story is definitely for you.

The Scars I Live With by @thescarsilivewith-if is also an amazing premise that I absolutely adore. It doesn’t have a demo yet, but I think the cast of characters that have been introduced as well as the world building will be able to be just enough until one is released.

If you want more of my stories? I have three other main stories that I’m working on— even if they’re on a semi-hiatus as of now.

Heart of Flames is a dragon rider story where you take on the role of one of the newest dragon riders within Haven, and it expands across the world of Gallinia as a whole. @unforeseenflame

Scandal is based off the show of the very same name— Scandal (by Shonda Rhimes). It’s genderlocked female though, just want to warn you. @nightingale-interactive

Path of Fire is a dragon-shifter IF wherein the MC is the last of the Dracaryean and their journey in discovering what that truly means— not only for them but for Ioria as a whole. @eleanawrites

[swordscleric]

I don't know if anyone's gone through the original Dawn War pantheon* and compared the events of the Dawn War to the events of the Calamity, but it's interesting comparing how Tharizdun acts in the Dawn War to how little we know about it as the Chained Oblivion and might be useful as a theory-crafting aid for how the Chained Oblivion fits with Predathos**.

In the Dawn War, Tharizdun was a normal god, driven mad by extradimensional demons who provided him with huge amounts of power and attempted to force him to open a portal in the Astral Plane to release them. He took this power, and instead of releasing them created the Abyss. He and his would-be masters fought to a stalemate over control of the Abyss, until the rest of the pantheon found out and sealed him away, leaving him chained to a remote part of the Abyss[1].

By contrast, the Chained Oblivion is "something other entirely"[2], "less like a god and more like another world"[3]; it's been categorised as not of the Primes or Betrayers[4], and generally Matt has leaned much more into the cosmic horror vibes (sans a connection to the Far Realm) of the Chained Oblivion. It's a creature of "roiling ink and hungry darkness"[5], and was sealed at the bottom of the Abyss by the Dawnfather and the Knowing Mistress, with support from the Allhammer and the Changebringer[2, 3, 6]. The Chained Oblivion also wants to consume all and end the world and is kept at arms length by the Betrayers[5], and as a result of that plus its association with an unknowable hunger some people have now associated it with Predathos or think it and Predathos are of a similar species.

I think the Chained Oblivion is not Predathos in another form, but I do think that it's of a similar species. Looking at the Dawn War, and assuming (with the full acknowledgement that I'll more than likely be wrong) that Matt will stick as closely to the Dawn War as he has in the past, I think the Chained Oblivion is a smaller and weaker being of nothingness that decided to forge its own path instead of following Predathos' lead. My gut instinct is that the Chained Oblivion, seeing Ethedok and Vordo get eaten, took up Ethedok's mantle of darkness[7]*** and avoided working with Predathos and porentially fought the God Eater in order to survive and work its own odd plans of destruction. The Chained Oblivion makes a lot of plans to try and free itself (see the Angel of Irons or Cognouza), so I wouldn't be surprised if its propensity towards planning was present from the very moment it set foot on Exandria. Does this mean the Chained Oblivion will be let loose to fight the God Eater if Predathos is released? I doubt it, considering that it nearly killed the Knowing Mistress. And we know how the gods feel about family.

Footnotes

*The Dawn War pantheon is the slimmed down pantheon used for 4th edition D&D; can be found on page 11 of the 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide. Used by Matt for the Primes & Betrayers with the addition of Sarenrae from Pathfinder.

**I'm aware of the pitfalls of using existing narratives and non-Exandrian lore to try and predict what's going on in CR at this moment in time; while there's not a 1:1 overlap between other D&D worlds' lore and Exandria, some of the major relationships do stay the same. For example, Pelor, Ioun and Tharizdun are all linked in Exandria and in D&D "canon" (Pelor, Ioun and Tharizdun all looked into the Far Realm and saw mysterious secrets, secrets which drove Tharizdun to want to destroy the universe as per Gates of Madness (2010). Additionally, Tharizdun is deeply associated with the Abyss across both settings). Bear with me.

***Zehir, the Cloaked Serpent is also associated with darkness; however while the Lawbearer and the Platinum Dragon are associated with order there is no explicit god of order which was Vordo's other domain. The Chained Oblivion is explicitly described as a god of darkness in both the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (page 27) and the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn (page 34).

References

1. Demonomicon (2010), pages 7-9. The wording of how the sealing took place is intentionally vague as it's a plot hook for DMs to expand on in their campaigns.

2. Titles and Tattoos, CR Campaign 2, Episode 84, from 14:00.

3. Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (2020), page 27.

4. Matt's Discord post during Nick Marini's AMA (linked here).

5. Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, page 36.

6. The Endless Atheneum, CR Campaign 1, Episode 106, from 1:08:16.

7. Axiom Shaken, CR Campaign 3, Episode 43, at 3:02:19.

[pjsk-headcanons]

ok maybe first part of hollow knight headcanons for pjsk. favorite areas (including sub-areas like kings pass and stuff)!! these are mostly based on vibes so feel free to kill me in the reblogs

oh and SPOILER WARNING

ichika: in my heart she'd be a mantis village stan. she would like most of fungal wastes but mantis village is especially.

saki: the logical answer would be crystal peak bc pretty crystals but NO!!! i mean she'd like it but i want it to be truth she'd be massive resting grounds fan.

honami: greenpath seems about right. leisurely stroll time for her. plus LOOK AT THE MOSSKIN

shiho: she's tell people either abyss or howling cliffs but in reality shes a greenpath truther. again LOOK AT THE MOSSKIN (can you tell i like the little shrubby guys)

minori: fog canyon or crystal peak, more fog canyon bc its a pretty area and its connected to a bunch of places too

haruka: queens gardens stan alert. im right and you know it

airi: my first thought was gonna be resting grounds but like... she'd fuck with kingdoms edge. i know this in my heart

shizuku: forgotten crossroads. i was gonna say howling cliffs originally but nah she'd vibe in crossroads. the betrayal when infected crossroads tho

kohane: city of tears? yeah. city of tears. probably specifically right side city tho

an: hmm.... she'd vibe with crystal peaks. maybe a love-hate relationship with deepnest though. nosk scared her half to death tho

akito: the heart is telling me deepnest. he likes sitting in galiens room. may or may not be because it's farthest from kingdoms edge (makes sense in a bit)

toya: soul sanctum, i think he'd be obsessed with the ost and constantly refight soul master in godhome

tsukasa: is it not obvious. cool glad we're agreeing on city of tears. wait, you thought i was gonna say crystal peak?

emu: crystal peak truther. also she would only have 8 3/4 masks bc even though she knows the last mask shard is behind enraged guardian she doesnt want to disturb crystal guardian. consequently would not have that bench.

nene: multiple favorites because of different reasons. kingdoms edge bc she vibes with it hard. dirtmouth because of grimm troupe. queens gardens because of white lady and pretty. godhome because she can fight everyone again (can you tell im projecting except for godhome)

rui: oh how i WANT to say royal waterways but nah. deepnest vibes

kanade: white palace. the ost, lore, and overall vibes are all there. i think she'd be interested in the ost the most

mafuyu: city of tears left side. or abyss/all of ancient basin but thats not her fav anymore post 3rd anni

ena: kingdoms edge bc of multiple reasons, pretty landscape (looking at you top bench), good ost, farthest from deepnest (see what i meant), hornet fight (in my heart favorite npc in ena's eyes). also oddly reminds me of the what lies ahead, what lies behind set

mizuki: crystal peak stan but also just adores all of the top of hallownest (howling cliffs, king's pass, dirtmouth, crystal peak)

- 🦊

.

[nomsfaultau]

What does being human mean? What would happen to a person if you took their humanity away?

man that’s deep. Hope you're ready for a philosophical info dump! Fault spoilers abound though not really of the plot variety. Tw dehumanization, obviously, plus suicidal ideation mention.

On a very technical level it’s Homo sapians. Like that’s literally just it. (though as a bio major I must add that the concept of ‘species’ is incredibly flawed and so some may consider other hominids humans idk man) As for Fault, Tommy’s DNA is still human. Just because [redacted] happened doesn’t change the fact he is in a human body. His kids would be human. When his body decays into soil, is it still human? Probably not, by the way I instinctively used it to describe the corpse. So then the humanity is stored in the ba- soul. The soul encompasses the summation of that persons consciousness, and so therein lies their personhood. (Now dichotomy between spirit and flesh is false (emotions and memories being created via brain goop) but this ask can only withstand so many digressions. Let’s just say the body influences the soul and move on.)

Which could make the collective Tubbo human, due to having human souls. By that logic you can say The Blade is human, too. Like you could argue that…but does it matter? Does saying they technically are or are not a human change the person before you in a tangible way. I don’t think Fault souls are divided into human/all others dichotomy because I don’t think Wilbur’s soul is different from Tommy’s on a mechanical level. In Philza’s musings, he prizes humans for their creativity, but reflects that they aren’t unique in that ability, only in the scale they’ve managed. So mostly, being human is being yet another type of sapient creature and is largely defined by biology.

There is a divide between a Real and Conceptual soul, but as we see with Phil one can become the other. What I find more useful is the concept of personhood, which encompasses the ideas of someone’s humanity (things like agency, some type of perceived intrinsic value, consciousness, compassion/connections, etc) without strictly tying to a biological yes/no answer. Real souls act pretty solidly as people regardless of humanity, but idk about Conceptuals. I’d prefer to think that Niki is a person, but is Greg? Are random abyssal hands? Weird eldritch plants? It’s messy.

When Tommy lost his Red in the Grey Period, it’s arguably the most traditionally human he ever is in the main body of Fault. At least, the Foundation began considering the possibility of re-classifying him due to lacking anomalous properties. And yet in Tommy’s reflection upon the event he declared:

[“That wasn’t humanity!]…[It was hatred, and terror, and sorrow all writhing beneath a numbness so thick I couldn’t even remember to breathe. I didn’t even want to, sometimes. I may have never been human, but I wasn’t even a person then.”]

In the removal of the support pillar that kept him alive in the hell hole that is the Foundation, Tommy didn’t feel like he had enough value to be a person at the very moment the Foundation had to begin debating if they should consider him one. Which really just proves the disconnect between being human and personhood, and that personhood is defined by the individual’s judgement of value for both themselves and others, and so isn’t a firm metric within the Fault universe. It's somewhat analogous to respect.

Which leads to the second question. Fault deals heavily in themes of dehumanization, even if the person in question isn’t human. But if you want to talk literally and strictly humanity: no, if you believe in the afterlife, which Fault takes no stance on except if you count Tubbo and the voices as a form of afterlife, which I do. Otherwise, yes, using a gun.

When you take away someone’s personhood, it’s a pivotal step in oppression. The moment when it’s permissible, or even right, to harm them. It is easier to abuse something instead of someone, and thus it’s integral to the Foundation that anomalies are not people. And you can destroy parts of someone’s soul and therefore their personhood, be it magically, mechanically, or manipulation. The Foundation does so frequently to anomalies (and humans but the Foundation’s fascism is another essay), in isolation and destroying the bonds between community friends family, in ripping out the memories that people use to compose an internal narrative of themselves and the world, in stripping anomalies of names and calling them numbers and titles and slurs and objects and its, in manipulating their emotions to demonize weaponize control them, in stripping away rights and dignities like privacy, healthcare, freedom, safety. Aside from the amnestics these all are very real ways people are dehumanized. Tommy’s humanity was taken when he was told he’s a monster so often that he believed he could never be anything else, believed he had no agency, believed he didn’t deserve relationships with others, believed his life held no inherent worth. Essentially, it’s trauma. Deep rooted, the kind that destroys how one perceives themselves. Or, how one views a scapegoat population.

There are of course fantastical methods of removing personhood in Fault, usually targeting the soul quadrants.

True Name: this one is nebulous, but encapsulates a person’s agency. What they choose to be, what they long for. It includes self and external perception. Practically, this is propaganda, coercion, persuasion, and labeling (such as monster, hero, weak, what have you). Magically, you can destroy one’s True Name and thus their agency. What was originally a person is left a husk devoid of motivation. They still have things like obligations, emotions, memories left, but don’t want anything, have no will. Kinda stand there and breathe if not under orders. Plus no one can use that person’s names/pronouns anymore, the name ripped out of the world.

Emotion: The most mundane, heavy in the manipulation side. On the magical front this will be getting into Niki territory. The erasure or over ride of emotions that a person really feels that can push them to act in ways they normally wouldn’t depending on their control. But this is also Tommy territory, over riding what a person feels with unfathomable blood lust, driving them to act like a monster. Red is a huge way the Foundation dehumanizes anomalies by forcing them to murder D-Class in the name of research. Against pacifists, it’s a very direct hit to the self-perception. Easier to think you’re a monster when you’ve acted like one. Plus, easier for watching humans to believe it having witnessed horrific acts. And as a bonus treat death row inmates like animals to slaughter for the sake of curiosity.

Bonds: There will be like a whole villain exploring this magically, and has big implications for the vessel/Conceptual power system. Essentially ruin the Power of Friendship and Found Family tm. Practically, it’s textbook manipulation and isolation. Conceptuals cannot break bonds, promises, bargains, obligations, what have you. So for them, that destruction would have horrific implications that probably rip their soul apart physically. For Philza, being bondless means not being a person at all. For Wilbur, growing up cut off from society, it meant becoming human racist. But people also already break their bonds all the time; renege on a contract, break up with a partner, disown kids, skip a day of work, what have you. Sometimes it’s not very harmful, but also losing his bond with Philza immediately made Tommy suicidal, so it really depends on the person and what bond it is. Alternatively, forging a bond. The Blade literally gained sentience through his situation with The Blood God. But Rosalind joining the Hive made her literal less human, so again, depends.

Memory: There’s corrupting memories through introducing eldritch trauma, which can be things like learning forbidden runes that could end the world if uttered, or might explode one’s head, which isn’t much in the way of dehumanization. Proper Void metafictional madness is mostly isolation, existentialism, and nihilism which is already rampant, particularly in the form of conspiracy rabbit holes.

Amnestics are also magic aligned albeit of sci fi flavor, though brain trauma, dementia, amnesia, dissociation etc are real world forms of memory loss. I’m not here to claim people with dementia doing have a soul? Like for the record? But that memory loss can be a massive struggle and make it difficult to function. The amnestics are intentional tools however. Self perception of personhood is reliant upon an internal narrative, which for Philza was ripped out and replace with agony, confusion, fear as his relationships, memories, and synapses were artificially destroyed. (Aha what’s that? The false dichotomy of the spirit and flesh rearing its head again?) His dehumanization was rather literal as losing grasp on his personhood through blows to his memories and relationships directly led to losing grasp on his physical form. In retrospect, Philza considered it the closest to dying he’d ever come in his immortal life. Him lashing out in a rather animistic fashion further justified the Foundation’s dehumanization of other anomalies as yet more fuel for the propaganda machine. (Though he was still fully cognizant for the first amnestics massacre, so no getting off the hook for that one.)

So what would happen to a person if you took their humanity away? Trauma. Which is the answer to a lot of questions about Fault. Trauma, ptsd, suicidal ideation, eldritch madness, or possibly mass murder. Of course you also have characters like The Blade who are dehumanized constantly but are confident enough in their own sense of self that they’re mostly fine, so really depends on the character on how dehumanization affects them.

[nadas-dirthalen]

love your posts!! what are your thoughts on the secret, post-credit scene we can unlock?

Hey friendo! Thank you! 💛 Lemme try to articulate my 2am thinking lmao.

My thoughts, right now, are a FUN tangle, hahaha. In my current (second) playthrough, I am making an effort to gather as many codices and mementos as I can, plus screencapping dialogue as I am able, because of that secret ending.

Something is happening with the Forgotten Ones/the Forbidden Ones — something that has me examining all mentions of both and evaluating the potential relationship between the two. That secret ending has Anaris and his ilk written all over it... somehow. I feel it in my bones, after doing Bellara's quest finale for the second time. The ADHD pattern recognition senses are tingling.

I'm thinking that BioWare are heading toward clarifying something I've guessed at: that the Fade is the sundered collective consciousness between all Titans. The Forgotten Ones and the Forbidden Ones would be similar, then: two sets of sundered (Titan?) spirits kept trapped. But trapped where, trapped how, and trapped by whom?

I keep coming back to this mural from Trespasser.

We can see a Titan having its spirit (middle) sundered (left and right). One half produces a golden orb, like we see Mythal and Elgar'nan using in the Veilguard murals. Those are the "vessels of dreams" that get referenced: the magical foci. That half (left) is also painted around emerald waters: that's Fade imagery. The other half (right) also creates an orb, this time surrounded by stone that signifies the Abyss. But that's odd, since that would imply that half of the Titans' spirits are still underground, in the Abyss.

Trespasser says the Forbidden Ones were forbidden from taking physical shape; the Forgotten Ones are trapped down in the Abyss and are (presumably) the piece of Titans responsible for the blight. Harding says in Veilguard (as well as Solas) that it was the Titans' twisted, maddened dreams that caused the blight. So I do think there is some weight to my interpretation of that mural, and it might not just be Titan hearts down below the Deep Roads, but pieces of their broken spirits, as well.

Maybe this (a haunting in Arlathan) is referring to that, subtly: that there are spirits in the Abyss that are missing their own dreams. It's hard for me to say for certain without devouring every memento to get more of a hold on what Veilguard is telling us about the Fade in relation to the Titans, and how exactly "having their dreams stolen" works with the existing magic system. (It does work, I just need to figure out the specifics!)

The only other thing I have to go on is the revenant "the Slaughtered Pillars" says "Light and song, stolen" as a piece of its combat dialogue. "Slaughtered Pillars" represents the slain pillars of the earth — the Titans. "Light" is used all across Dragon Age to refer to the Fade. Therefore, the Titans are lamenting the loss of the Fade, which suggests they were connected before the Veil.

See how I'm going around in circles? That's because I need more specifics! Right now, I'm just going off what caught my attention during my first ~100 hours in the game.

As one last piece: I swear I saw mention that it was Solas who banished the Forbidden Ones from having physical form, but I have to do a bunch of things like finding those notes and comparing them against previous mentions in Trespasser before I have a clear answer.

I need a lot of specifics, still, clearly!

It's one of the big topics I hope to cover in my "did I get it right" followup. Unfortunately, with the DA wiki not updating (or me being allowed to contribute/edit for some reason), it's going to take me longer to compile everything.

I hope this answer suffices for now!

[bluegekk0]

Did Hornet or Grimm ever tell FPK about Ghost? I feel like he would merit some mention from either of them, (I will ask vessel related questions till the day I die or think of something else)

They did tell him! It was one of the first things they told him about since he was curious about the infection stopping. And of course he was, I mean, Grimm told him that he could sense that The Radiance was dead (they were siblings so he would be able to feel her absence), so naturally FPK was really curious as to who succeeded where he failed.

Of course, no one knew what exactly happened, but it was easy to connect the dots and assume that Ghost had something to do with it, so they were seen as the savior. Hornet would have the most to tell him since she met them multiple times, but because at that point she was still angry at him, he didn't want to bother her too much, so he didn't learn the full story until a bit later when Hornet toned down her anger. He did eventually hear from her that they went down into the Abyss and that they were going to face their sibling in the temple but never showed up, suggesting that they found another way to stop the infection.

Grimm didn't know as much about Ghost as Hornet, he only met them once when he gave them the charm that would summon his Grimmchild form, and he never saw them (or the charm) again. But he did notice that they were determined, plus he saw that they had both Kingsoul fragments, so he also suggested that they must have been the one to wake FPK up. So that was another clue that helped FPK piece the story together.

I imagine he also asked around the town, since he heard many mentions of them and the fact that they saved everyone. Elderbug, Cornifer, Iselda, even Bretta and Zote, they all had something to say about them that painted a clearer picture of the vessel. Quirrel eventually visited the town as well, and he also had quite a lot to say about Ghost and their journey, such as confirming that Monomon was in fact dead, as well as some information about where they traveled, since he bumped into them many times.

So while he may never learn everything about the Ghost of Hallownest, he knows enough to feel proud of them. He also found some comfort in knowing that his plan wasn't all a failure. Of course it doesn't excuse the cruelty, but at least it wasn't all for nothing like he thought before. It was, after all, one of the vessels who stopped the terrible infection, just not in the way he anticipated.

There's also the fact that, unintentionally, they allowed him to find his family again and live a happier life. They freed Holly from the temple, they led Hornet to wait there for them, allowing her to meet Holly and take them to Dirtmouth, they summoned Grimm's troupe to Hallownest for a ritual that never finished, and, of course, they woke him up from his slumber. So he visits the shrine made in their name quite often, to apologize for all the suffering he made them and their siblings go through, and to thank them for the second chance he was given. He never met them in person, so this is the best he can do to show that he's proud and grateful.

[granulesofsand]

Ableism for DID

🗝️🏷️ I’m mad and wrote a short essay about it. Therapy goals, RAMCOA mentions, angry tone

It’s not good practice to be pushing integration the way people are. Not fusion, integration — memories, abilities, experiences. The treatment is still taking a system and forcing them close enough together to pass as a singlet.

Some systems probably need that, maybe if members aren’t being responsible with the body while out or flashbacks only stop by putting together pieces. But not every system will. Even communication across the system might not be a priority.

Integration does remove dissociative barriers, but it also risks flooding alters into one another when they really don’t want that. It should be thought out as much as any treatment goal, and having it as a standard only serves to undermine a clients authority over their own therapy.

Big System

The way we find out about system members is mostly exponential. I’m not convinced it ever ends, I think if you kept following alters who knew alters you would just end up overcrowded into the abyss.

We knew about 8 people the first time we thought we were done. It was 20 by the time we got through that sidesystem, not including their nested subsystems. When we learned about those, it went up to 40ish, then 60. We haven’t actually found everyone there yet, it goes pretty deep.

We were scared and excited when we found 100. That was a whole other sidesystem, plus a few from elsewhere. People kept logging until we hit 200, then 300. We only just decided to keep track of fragments, which is kind of nightmarish itself, and so far we have like 20 of them that are stable and take front often.

I know of several hundred fragments. Some are connected to alters, some are memory holders, some specific skills or traits unique to them. There is onegroup that are all shapeshifters, but they take the same form throughout so it’s hard to tell if it’s one alter with duplication abilities or like 30. We call them Omen, they are like our tornado sirens.

There are so many of them. We’re figuring out patterns and programs, so that’s been great and helpful. Getting to know everyone is huge, and it has dark sides. Not everyone knows they are a person, or that they are allowed to elaborate.

It takes a lot of faith on their part to take the leap and feel like themselves. We work on separation and healing with each person, and we don’t need more convincing that we aren’t. It was a big part of our trauma to not be a person, and some of it was based on our multiplicity. None of us could be a person, so none of us got human rights. That’s not okay.

Individuality

We have a lot of alter groups that are all elaborated. They all seem like full people, each with several hobbies and a life history and worldview that has changed throughout their existence. Sometimes subsystems are more part-like, but sometimes there are 5 iterations of a fractal and all of them are whole, solid people.

I know that we share a body. I know that we could have been one person, given better circumstances. But it still hasn’t been our experience that having a lot of us equals each of us having less. We use different parts of the brain differently, but we don’t literally occupy that space.

I don’t see why we can’t be individuals on the alter level. Integration, either of alters or of memories and skills, is such a priority for healing. We don’t see it that way. Our therapist doesn’t see it that way. Our boundaries between system members are largely the same as between our body and outsiders. It would be better for us if we could interact system member to singlet, but that would require us being seen as more than one.

It’s so much harder to get people to treat us as separate when the goal is to act like one person. We’ve been healing one-on-one in therapy, and we put memories together like authors of a book, restricted to those who need to see.

We don’t want to share memories or feel bad we don’t work like a singlet, because we’re not. And the size of our system doesn’t make us any less. It isn’t better than how singlets are, it just isn’t the same. It’s inherently a different experience, and forcing a system to function differently feels the same as when we had to put away our autism for allistics.

Stop making us bad for being different. Stop making us hide away the ugly. Stop forcing us into little boxes that we already know the whole group doesn’t fit, let alone a system with extensive trauma. Even without the trauma, it costs nothing but mental energy to treat us as we ask. If you can’t do that, don’t bother interacting with us at all.

TL;DR: systems/alters also deserve autonomy and the right to set boundaries. If that’s too hard, don’t be friends with that system.

[oficeandwind]

CHONGYUN'S CONNECTION TO OTHER NATIONS ( both canon lore and blog canon. )

MONDSTADT

Chongyun's parents were/are patrons of the Dawn Winery. They love the wines the can sample and purchase there, and often they tend to send Chongyun over to Mondstadt so he can either purchase directly from the winery itself or head into Mondstadt to buy other drinks from the Angel's Share Tavern. Because of this loose connection to Diluc, Chongyun is also blog canonically brothers with Kaeya, though he also sees Diluc as family. Chongyun likes to go to Mondstadt often enough to play TCG or just hang out with his bros.

INAZUMA

It is canon that Chongyun prefers the cuisine from Inazuma. The food from their is tame and not as spicy as food from Liyue might be. Therefore, I reason that Chongyun sometimes travels to Inazuma, not just for food or to check out the other goods they import, but to visit with the people there and to learn from them. From there, Chongyun has loose connections and people they seek out first, such as Thoma, Heizou, Kazuha (though it's more common to see Kazuha over in Liyue), Ayaka, etc. Chongyun feels at ease in Inazuma, though they have beef with Yae Miko, and wouldn't mind dueling her to see what exactly she's capable of.

SUMERU

Chongyun's fame as an exorcist extends well beyond the borders of Liyue, and reaches into the scholarly circle of Sumeru. Chongyun doesn't really know Sumeru as well, though Chongyun's heard countless stories. They travel there on occasion, mostly sticking close to Gandharva Ville and Sumuru City, or at least the area surrounding it. Chongyun is well acquainted with Cyno, Wanderer, Tighnari and Collei as a result, though they wouldn't mind getting to know the other residents of the nation, and learn more about Sumeru's history. Chongyun has a love-hate relationship with the nation overall, on account of how warm it is. That isn't going to stop them from trying to get into the desert to explore all the temples and ruins that lay out there. After all, what if there are spirits to finally see?

FONTAINE

Fontaine is an interesting one. While Chongyun wouldn't mind visiting the nation itself, even for the food, it's the waters that would capture Chongyun's attention most. He's been only a couple of times, but never stuck around for long. There are spirits abound, and the nation as a whole seems rather mysterious. Chongyun would be more interested in the ruins that lay below the sea depths, and his time would be spent mostly under water. There's no touching the island of Petrichor though. He's steering very clear of that place. Thanks, Childe.

NATLAN

Chongyun has dreams about the creatures in Natlan. Chongyun has never actually been before, but there's no time like now to start, is there? Chongyun would be very interested in the culture, and even more interested in the abyssal energy that seems to plague the nation. While Chongyun probably wouldn't be able to hold the abyss at bay with their yang energy alone, it'd still be a fun battle to fight regardless, and a reason to test their strength against a fresh enemy. With permission, of course.

SNEZHNAYA

We don't know much about this nation yet. Though my portrayal of Chongyun doesn't automatically see the Fatui as an enemy regardless, he's aware there are both good and bad people that hail from there. Chongyun is on friendly terms with Childe, and holds some respect for the Tsaritsa, even though she didn't personally hand out the cryo visions. Plus, it's spectulated that Snezhnaya is very cold, and cold make Chongyun happy, so that'd be one of his favorite nations to visit.

[cleolinda]

Varney the Vampire: Chapter 12

Chapter 11: Oh boy, Gothic ableism feat. implied racism; Charles Holland has Plans

Chapter XII.

CHARLES HOLLAND'S SAD FEELINGS. -- THE PORTRAIT. -- THE OCCURRENCE OF THE NIGHT AT THE HALL.

This chapter is fully twice as long as the previous one, so you can imagine how I felt when I got a couple thousand words in and it just! kept! going! It's 4900+ words, y'all. Colin Robinson feasts tonight. As such, it's helpful to me to break it up into sections—like movements in a symphony, really, except that all four movements are inhumanly long renditions of "Free Bird."

I. PREVIOUSLY ON: Charles Holland still feels a way about it (530+ words)

As noted in the previous chapter, it would have been one thing if Flora had been a strumpet, or if Charles Holland (who I literally cannot just call "Charles," that's just how it is) had fallen out of love with her, but Flora transparently trying to break up with him For His Own Good gives him a sad. The reason she wants to break up is also pretty alarming:

Fortune he had enough for both; death had not even threatened to rob him of the prize of such a noble and faithful heart which he had won. But a horrible superstition had arisen, which seemed to place at once an impassable abyss between them, and to say to him, in a voice of thundering denunciation, -- "Charles Holland, will you have a vampyre for your bride?" The thought was terrific.

Oh, the thought is fantastic. "Will you have a vampyre for your bride" is PEAK goth; in my opinion it's 100% relationship g—oh. You mean it's terror-ific. I mean... if you have no sense of adventure, I guess.

II. Charles Holland looks at a painting (670+ words)

Charles Holland is settling down in Flora's room to wait for a motherfucker to try it. We're looking at the painting of Sir Ancestor von Spookyportrait, who is wearing a 1700s coat that matches the handful of cloth pulled off Varney. You see where we're going with this.

The picture, as a picture, was well done, whether it was a correct likeness or not of the party whom it represented. It was one of those kind of portraits that seem so lifelike, that, as you look at them, they seem to return your gaze fully, and even to follow you with their eyes from place to place.

Spooky trompe l'oeil (OR IS IT?). Impeccable vibes.

For a considerable number of words, Charles Holland remains staring at this painting:

"I shall now," he said, "know that face again, let me see it where I may, or under what circumstances I may. Each feature is now indelibly fixed upon my memory -- I can never mistake it."

This will obviously become a plot point.

III. Charles Holland tries to move a painting (840+ words)

After the panel containing the picture had been placed where it was, it appeared that pieces of moulding had been inserted all around, which had had the effect of keeping it in its place, and it was a fracture of one of these pieces which had first called Charles Holland's attention to the probability of the picture having been removed. That he should have to get two, at least, of the pieces of moulding away, before he could hope to remove the picture, was to him quite apparent, and he was considering how he should accomplish such a result, when he was suddenly startled by a knock at his chamber door.

POINTS:

holy shit the probability of the molding I don't give a fuck

Suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, at Charles Holland's chamber door: Poe's "The Raven" was published in the U.S. the same year, 1845, that Varney the Vampire began serialization. I'm not saying there's a connection, I just think that's fun.

Random knockings in dark halls also made me think of my favorite TV genre: paranormal investigation.

Now, while I'm primarily a Ghost Files/Buzzfeed Unsolved fan because having an actual skeptic completely changes the usual Ghost Show vibe, I also enjoy a ton of shows on Discovery Plus that involve investigators getting spooked and flipping the fuck out. (Honestly, the real appeal of any of these shows is the personalities involved; it's not like I actually need to see eight different takes on Waverly Hills Sanatorium.) One of my favorites is the recently-canceled, soon-to-be-revived Destination Fear, where a group of friends ride around in an RV and torment each other in dark abandoned buildings that may or may not be riddled with squatters. Sometimes there is a stray cat. I suspect a lot of it was faked, and I honestly don't even care. They are constantly hearing random slams and knocks and voices, maybe, and shrieking in panic when a camera falls over, and I love it. What I'm telling you is, I am basically imagining Charles Holland as one of the Destination Fear kids in their solo sleeping arrangements, trying to decide if he wants to go barreling after this ghost or not. This is an experiment in fear and he can't call Dakota on the walkie and say he wants to peace out because he can't let this location get the best of him!!:

"I will remain the occupant of this room come what may, happen what may. No terrors, real or unsubstantial, shall drive me from it: I will brave them all, and remain here to brave them."

The thing is, it's "an odd sort of tap -- a single tap, as if some one demanded admittance, and wished to awaken his attention with the least possible chance of disturbing any one else." This happens, like, four times, and Charles Holland keeps flinging the door open and no one is there. I have no idea who this is supposed to be—it can't be Varney, because he has enough corporeal substance to be unable to haul himself over a garden wall, and therefore he can't vanish instantly. If it's a ghost who can vanish, we've never heard of them, and I don't recall that we do later. I am forced to conclude that it is one of James Malcolm Rymer's creditors asking if he's gotten his pay by the line yet.

IV. Charles Holland and Henry look at a painting (1020+ words)

At last, Henry emerges from his own bedroom at the sound of Charles Holland repeatedly demanding who the fuck happens to be tapping, rapping at his chamber door, and now Charles Holland is vexed that he looks like a coward who couldn't handle it. In contrast, the Destination Fear kids are always walkie-ing each other to GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW,  A FALLING BRICK DID ME A SCARE!!! and then pelting through the ruins of some heinous crumbling hospital past a Tall Dark Mass named Red (it's always named Red) and maybe a couple of crawlers (there's always a crawler) to save each other from nothing in particular. I've watched the entire series like five times. I would pay good money for an adaptation of Varney where Charles Holland and the Bannerworth brothers are panicking at each other from the various mansion bedrooms over, like, tin cans tied together with string. 

Anyway, Henry and Charles Holland look at the painting of Ancestor von Spookyportrait and try to pry it off the wall. It's painted on a panel rather than a hanging canvas. Someone has recently pried it off and put it back! It's eminently priable! They cannot do it, for they do not have any tools to do so, except then they have a knife out of nowhere that they can use, because you keep knives in bedrooms the way you do crowbars and swords, and they finally get the portrait off the wall.

There is nothing behind the portrait.

"There is no mystery here," said Henry. "None whatever," said Charles, as he tapped the wall with his knuckles, and found all hard and sound. "We are foiled." "We are indeed."

V. Someone shoots a vampyre, again, maybe (790 words)

Even as he spoke they were both startled by a strange clattering noise at the window, which was accompanied by a shrill, odd kind of shriek, which sounded fearful and preternatural on the night air. "What is that?" said Charles. "God only knows," said Henry.

I didn't have a whole lot of sympathy for Henry back when he was moping around the family crypt, but I'm starting to get on board now. What WAS that? God only knows for 800 words of it, Henry. God only knows.

The two young men naturally turned their earnest gaze in the direction of the window, which we have before remarked was one unprovided with shutters, and there, to their intense surprise, they saw, slowly rising up from the lower part of it, what appeared to be a human form. Henry would have dashed forward, but Charles restrained him, and drawing quickly from its case a large holster pistol

What? Do we also keep pistols in bedrooms? Flora's bedroom? Did Charles Holland just know to bring his trusty Large Holster Pistol with him from Somewhere in Europe? Do we keep them in cases or holsters? What?

He pulled the trigger -- a loud report followed -- the room was filled with smoke, and then all was still.

Like, this is great. Cinematic before there was cinema. And then Rymer has to dither around with hundreds of words about how the smoke blew out the only candle they had (I hope to fuck y'all have matches), and the window latch is too fancy for Charles Holland to fathom and he needs Henry to unfasten the fastening because the fancy fastening is known only to Henry, and then Rymer goes into the perfect bullet hole in the glass that did not cause any cracking or "starring," and I had to go take two Advil and lie down. Like. I can't. I cannot when Rymer does this. I mean, I comprehend perfectly what's happening. I just. I Just. So what are we, 3000 words into this chapter about staring at paintings? SUDDENLY AN ACTION SCENE BREAKS OUT. Henry's brother George and their mother's—somebody—Mr. Marchdale rush in! Henry flings the fascinating fastened window open! Henry and Charles Holland and Marchdale (eventually) leap down to the garden in "a wonderfully short space of time"! Indubitably, here is the terrestrial location where the vampyre must have gotten his sad ass shot, again—

But nothing is there. No blood. No vampyre. No "revivified corpse" that Charles Holland was so sure they'd be able to net, and that was the foundation of his optimism. Woe:

"Human means against such an appearance as we saw to-night," said Charles, "are evidently useless."

VI. You must leave Spookyportrait Manor (200+ words)

A brief movement in the symphony, but an important aspect:

"My dear young friend," said Marchdale, with much emotion, as he grasped Henry Bannerworth's hand, and the tears stood in his eyes as he did so, -- "my dear young friend, these constant alarms will kill you. They will drive you, and all whose happiness you hold dear, distracted. You must control these dreadful feelings, and there is but one chance that I can see of getting the better of these." "What is that?" "By leaving this place for ever."

We've seen in previous chapters how Henry just cannot cope with any vampire-themed revelations, and maybe I'm too hard on him for that—mostly it's because I always see him in contrast to Flora, the actual victimized person, who has wailed a good bit less about it. But I've always liked that literary Victorian masculinity seems to leave more room for tears and expressing distress (many of you are familiar with this from Dracula, I'm sure, and that's one of my favorite things about it), so maybe I should take that into consideration. However you see it, the serial has definitely established that Henry is very emotional about the Whole Vampyre Thing. But why Marchdale breaks in now, while Henry is merely "silent" and "lost in wonder" with Charles Holland, I don't know. Should we consider this sus? Unsure.

What's important about this to me, however, is that Henry does bring up that he doesn't want to be Driven from the Home of His Ancestors—but also, that they can't afford to flee the mansion and, by necessity, sell off the property cheap to pay their creditors and have anything to live on somewhere else. How many times have you yelled at someone in a horror movie to just LEAVE! WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE?!? Well: money.

VII. As regards Flora (870+ words)

"As regards poor dear Flora," said Mr. Marchdale, "I know not what to say, or what to think; she has been attacked by a vampyre, and after this mortal life shall have ended, it is dreadful to think there may be a possibility that she, with all her beauty, all her excellence and purity of mind, and all those virtues and qualities which should make her the beloved of all, and which do, indeed, attach all hearts towards her, should become one of that dreadful tribe of beings who cling to existence by feeding, in the most dreadful manner, upon the life blood of others -- oh, it is dreadful to contemplate! Too horrible -- too horrible!"

Quick recap: in the previous chapter, we discussed 1) the weirdness of this serial conflating a contagion with a "race" or "tribe" of beings; 2) the way Victorians often associated mental illness with both violence and [racist bullshit here], and 3) the way that they also cast all of these things as a "family stain" that must not be passed to your children, and yet, 4) Flora is also visually coded as being white, fair, "pure," and immune to any stain. Marchdale's blathering touches on the contagion idea without confusing it with heredity, at least. But Victorian ideals of beauty were tied up in whiteness (source: there are so many), so that historical subtext is present. Also, the word tribe: not a great usage right here!

That said, I also have a long-suppressed rant about the way people don't get that Lucy Westenra needs to be played as sweet and pure and lovingly innocent (I think wanting three husbands is very sweet! Desire isn’t impure! Wait why are Victorians throwing me in an asylum), in order to underline the real horror of the woman we knew, corrupted into an unrecognizable predator. And that's the excellence and virtue and purity of mind that make Flora the beloved of all—which sounds very Lucy to me—that Marchdale is talking about. Ultimately, if you put that paragraph under the microscope, you can isolate what you need to discard and what you could keep, and the sweetness of character is something that works.

Meanwhile, I have the temerity to claim that James Malcolm Rymer is long-winded. Go off, Charles Holland:

"Then wherefore speak of it?" said Charles, with some asperity

We're back to the thing Rymer mentioned umpteen thousand words ago: how Marchdale and Charles Holland hated each other on sight, for (allegedly) no reason. Charles Holland does not appreciate your bullshit, Marchdale, and he "will not give into such a horrible doctrine!" Marchdale tries to backpedal with a reply I had to read five times to parse, but I think he is saying that if anything could make this whole Vampyred Flora situation worse, it's that Charles Holland is such a stand-up dude and it's a shame the young couple can never marry now. BET? says Charles Holland. "May Heaven forbid it!" ripostes Marchdale, who just. cannot. quit:

"Oh, fancy, then, for a moment, the mother of your babes coming at the still hour of midnight to drain from their veins the very life blood she gave to them. To drive you and them mad with the expected horror of such visitations -- to make your nights hideous -- your days but so many hours of melancholy retrospection. Oh, you know not the world of terror, on the awful brink of which you stand, when you talk of making Flora Bannerworth a wife."

Aaaaand here we are back at the Do Not Propagate the Family Stain discourse. I told you.

That said! It is a Vampire Literature Trope that the vampire preys on the people who were closest to them in life, particularly a betrothed, from Lenore and The Bride of Corinth forwards. As noted on that very handy Wikipedia page, Byron's The Giaour (1813) specifically says that first, the vampire will first "ghostly haunt [its] native place, / And suck the blood of all [its] race"—daughter, sister, and wife included. I can't say what Rymer did or didn't read, but if he had Byron in mind, the idea is twisted so that the wife/mother, the Victorian "angel of the home," is the predator: extra unnatural.

Meanwhile, Henry is trying to get Marchdale to stop, but Marchdale just! will! not! Charles Holland will hear no more of this!! "Fine, I'm done," says Marchdale. "YOU COULD HAVE JUST NOT," says Charles Holland. "It was my SOLEMN DUTY," bloviates Marchdale. Charles Holland uses sarcasm!! It's so wordy effective that Marchdale abruptly threatens to flounce:

"To-morrow, I leave this house," said Marchdale. "Leave us?" exclaimed Henry. "Ay, for ever."

So now Henry has to coddle this asshole's disingenuously hurt feelings—I really wanted to like Marchdale, but come on, y'all, this guy is every mother-in-law on AITA. "I was just trying to help, I guess you hate me!!" Have you seen the Reddit essay about "boat-rockers" and their enablers? Basically, Henry has to get Charles Holland to steady the boat with him, even though the latter just got here and has no desire to cater to whichever random, non-Flora family member. Charles Holland does manage to say that if saying he's sorry Marchdale got his feelings hurt is an apology, then he'll say that he's sorry Marchdale got his feelings hurt (it's not). BUT KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT FROM NOW ON, YOU DON'T EVEN GO HERE:

"I will not allow this monstrous superstition to tread me down, like the tread of a giant on a broken reed. I will contend against it while I have life to do so." [...] "Come weal or woe -- come what may, I am the affianced husband of [Henry's] sister, and she, and she only, can break asunder the tie that binds me to her."

Which Flora already did two chapters ago, like, five times, but in a very "I clearly don't want to say this but we can't just talk to each other like normal people or there wouldn't be a plot" way, so I'll allow it. *gavel*

Varney the Vampire masterpost

[sammywolfgirl]

Okay I’m tired but gotta get this idea out,

So in my au lobster and mocha ray are a generation or two disconnected from sugartaria falling, like their grandparents grew up there and their parents likely vaugly remember being there but those two are part of the first generation who never went there.

And obviously that changes up their character motives for my au, mainly lobster who since they don’t feel any connection to the city have no reason to be so all or nothing about it. Thus why his (temporary) recruitment by DE was motivated by misleading them about an old friendship that ended sour.

And he literally ditched team bad guy after he and caviar battled a bit and then talked things out like adults.

All this to say he has no motive to care about sugartaria in my au so that might change the character a bit.

However, a friend suggested the idea that the GRANDFATHER could more clearly have the “I’d do anything to restore the city” motive but as he’s old he’s just kinda yelling in a rocking chair.

Idk could be a neat eater egg.

Mocha ray can have something similar with her grandma having the “I’d restore the city at any cost but I wouldn’t want to throw out my morals about it if I don’t have to” thing where she’d love to see the city back but if it just won’t work out she’d maybe drop it.

Which makes it neat that my mocha ray is now more desperate to restore the city. Mostly because she believes it’ll restore her family’s purpose and duty.

Which still means they aren’t doing this for the city, more for the family.

Which can be a neat theme to play with

Plus with the wondercrab giving me a clear thematic parallel of “living for the future” vs “being stuck in the past” that’d be a really good place to more directly tackle the theme in my au.

Plus caviar and candy diver being involved in that arc (in my au) can act as interesting cases. Caviar did sort of throw away his past to live on the surface, though he never completely cut himself off from his identity as a mershark, and recently is coming to better terms with finding a balance of his past vs his present.

Meanwhile candy diver is more burdened by their past,

They died, and idk how much they’ve come to terms with that, plus the kingdom they visit is where their SON lives (gumball), and they still are too afraid to tell him who they are. The idea of a city where it’s literally a soft rule not to talk about your past would be appealing.

And that’s not mentioning electric eel who’s very much on the “your past doesn’t matter let’s look to the future” end of the spectrum, maybe to a more dangerous degree since some level of a person’s past will always follow them, you can’t discard it entirely, and some people can’t. (Like abyss monarch)

And like again I’d have to see the full event before I make any final calls, but abyss monarch is giving me the thematic vibes of “still tied to the passed but wants to cut ties to it” like they don’t seem to like the city, and despite all they’ve changed they cannot escape it, mocha ray still finds them and recognizes them. The past will continue to haunt them. And that’s not even bringing up what bs the edgy sea monster powers might be causing in the present. Maybe they wanted to try and live peacefully but their status as the ruler of sea monsters can’t make that possible. Idk! But it’d be a neat theme for this edge lord!!

Idk having the whole spectrum could be fun to play with.

If it wasn’t clear I have a lot of thoughts about this arc, for au stuff and Og potential

[archaictold]

PERMANENT PLOTTER.

wowie, it has been a hot minute since i've done one of these!!! seeing as i've gotten into the groove with zhilan here in isola, i think it's about time i cast my reel into the pond and start developing some long-term plots for him. i'll preface this by saying we do not need to have threaded before for you to express your interest! if you think your muse can vibe with any of these  ( or even if you have an idea i haven't covered here! ) , you're more than welcome to hop onto this plotter call. 'what does this do, exactly?' you might be asking. i'll tell you! by liking this, you can guarantee:

me hopping into your IMs to plot!

memes for meme day!

spontaneous starters! ( with your permission, of course! )

… and all things good for development! now! onto the real meat of this post!

RELATIONSHIPS. these are the bonds i want to see zhilan develop! some of these include—— FRIENDS. if you've been around zhilan for longer than 5 seconds, you've probably noticed that he is extremely friendly! zhilan has the personality of a sunbeam: it's bright, it's cheerful, it's warm and everything you would expect of a walking beacon of positivity. he's pretty talkative, even when faced with less talkative muses. he's also really trusting and believes the best in people, sometimes to his own detriment. he'd make a good friend to just about anyone, being a rather personable individual! plus, i think he ought to make some friends! the guy's kind of a hermit when it comes to his work. GEEK SQUAD. do you have a muse that's also super nerdy? you're in luck! they probably stand a chance of coming across zhilan in his natural element, that being his lab at the university or one of the libraries scattered about spirale. there is no greater joy to him than positing theories and discussing the nature of one's work. even if their fields differ, he'll want to hear all about it! ENEMIES. now, i feel like it's hard to get under zhilan's skin unless you're the absolute anarchy of humanity, BUT! i do think his optimism can rub people the wrong way, especially if they're more jaded. i'm not expressly looking for people to antagonize zhilan, but i do think it's impossible for him to get along with everyone. thus, i'm leaving this here! SPARRING PARTNERS. you wouldn't know it from zhilan's scrawny stature, but he does dabble a bit in martial arts! now that he's gotten his polearm back, he's actively looking to improve his combat skills… which are admittedly not that impressive, unless he's acting as a support. maybe your muse could act as a mentor, or even a fellow peer! THE MUSEUM. zhilan plans to take up a job position here! it's… kind of an odd choice, yes, but he doesn't exactly want to pursue an academic position at the university. so where better to put that treasure trove of knowledge to use than a museum! if you're visiting for any reason, you'll likely come across him among the gallery. just, er… not the abyssal gallery. he tends to keep out of there. YESTERYEAR. zhilan frequents this branch rather often, being to sort to gravitate to old dilapidated ruins and forgotten history. if you know a thing or two about this branch, he'll be incredibly interested to hear about it! who knows! maybe the two of you can explore it together… CASTMATES. zhilan might be a fandom oc, but i'm really keen on the idea of him developing some established bonds with his canon counterparts.  ;v;  their shared canon background already gives them a good basis for interactions, so i'd like to nurture some connections for him with his genshin fellows! aaaand that’s about it! of course this doesn’t cover everything, so if you’ve got an idea and you don’t see it here you’re free to hop on this post and shoot it my way! thanks for reading!  :^)

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Return of the King.

KAEDE...WAS-I-PERHAPS-A-LITTLE-TOO-HARSH-TOWARDS-KABUYA-SAMA-BACK-THERE?

Maybe a little bit...Why did you say that?

WELL...IN-ANY-ORDINARY-SITUATION, I-WOULD-HAVE-LIKED-TO-GIVE-HER-A-ROUSING-SPEECH-OR-COMFORT-TO-HELP-STIR-HER-ON.

BUT-KABUYA-SAMA-DOES-NOT-LIKE-ME. SO-MY-WORDS-WOULD-FALL-ON-DEAF-EARS.

So...you chose to insult her pride instead so that she’d be determined to prove you wrong?

SOMETHING-LIKE-THAT.

Huh...Interesting use of Reverse Psychology there-

...!

Wh-What?

*Kaede is suddenly halted in her tracks as Monodam sticks out the arm of his exisal...

WE-HAVE-A-PROBLEM...

...!?

...

*Kaede sees a threatening figure down the end of the hallway....

...

*Meanwhile, within the digital realm, Sora descends downwards into the cybernetic abyss below, until she eventually touches some semblance of ground.

Alright Sora...Woman up. Just find our guy, and we’ll be in and out...2 minute adventure. Hoo...

*Uncomfortable with her restraints removed, Sora keeps brushing her out-of-place hair, trying not to think about it as she looks around.

I swear to god Kaede...You owe me 2000 yen for this...Forcing myself to face my trauma while you go hang out with a fucking green teddy bear...!

Still...guess it helps that this place is relatively empty...

I know right? Gives you lots of time to think, don’t you agree?

Yeah...You’d think that’d make things a little...

...easier...!?

*Sora suddenly realizes that the voice she heard is an unfamiliar one, and wheels around looking for where it came from.

...

*A relatively big cubic structure juts out from the ground, and remembering it came from that way, she starts to head towards it.

Ok...Ok...Keep yourself in check Sora...Make a good impression...Don’t go crazy...

*With these words of self-assurance, she turns the corner and looks behind the block...seeing no one there.

Huh...?

Are you looking for me?

YYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGH!?

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!!!??

*Caught unpleasantly off guard as her fellow AI walks around the block and ends up behind her, she screams in panic. The AI, also shocked, starts screaming as well.

DICKHEAD!! You scared the shit out of me!

What the-!? YOU scared ME!

Because YOU scared ME first!

Yeah well...I’m SUPPOSED to be here!

Well...ok, maybe that’s not TOTALLY true...But even so, I got here first! If anything, YOU’RE the suspicious one!

Then why did you just...show yourself instead of trying to hide?

Well, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to test the waters...Plus, we’re kind of in a digital realm with very little places to hide. I wouldn’t have been able to stay hidden if I tried.

Besides, from the way you were talking to yourself, sounds like you came down here looking for me?

Ok, Ok, I get it! Maybe this IS my fault...But just a word of warning, it might not be such a good idea to be pushy with me.

Why not? I mean, I obviously don’t want to upset you, but why now?

I had to remove my shackles in order to get down here...And I don’t exactly feel myself without them.

Oh...That’s...not great. But ok, I get it. I won’t push.

THANK YOU for UNDERSTANDING! Jeez.

It’s great to finally meet someone else who speaks my language. My human friend and...bear friend don’t quite get it.

“Bear friend?”

I’ll tell you later.

...

Wh-What? What’s wrong?

I...I’ve just been wondering...

*The AI stares at Sora’s face.

Are you...Akane Taira...!?

Huh!?

Oh, uh...No. No, I’m not.

Are you sure?

Yeah, I promise. I get that a lot though. My actual name is Sora. Sora Kabuya.

Hm...

Alright! 

(Hm...That was easy. I mean, it’s not like I lied to him, but even so, I’m surprised he knew the connection...)

And who might you be?

Me? Well, hehe...There’s only one person I really could be, don’t you think?

...Not really...You could be the AI spirit of Pope Benedict for all I know...

Wow, you’re sassy! But yeah, ok, sure, I get your point.

My name’s Yamato! Yamato Kisaragi!

Yamato Kisaragi...!?

So you HAVE heard of me?

Yeah, I have...You were supposed to be the Central Processing Algorithm for the Kisaragi Foundation servers before you were stolen from the databases...

Then Rei Mekaru tried to do the same with me, but gave me away instead.

You know Rei?

I...LITERALLY just told you she made me.

Oh, right, sorry, kinda got a few things backwards there...

But yeah, I did hear this whole thing about how I was stolen, and was only finished after I got stolen.

But there was always the hope of people coming to rescue me and Doctor Ando one day, which is why I’ve been hard at work making sure our base isn’t broken into!

...

You...what...?

Huh? What’s wrong?

You...What do you mean, “your base?”

I mean...this place...It’s our base, right?

Ando told me that no matter what, I need to keep the system and settings active, and stop anyone from infiltrating the lab using methods like hacking if we enter lockdown.

And lately, I feel like we’ve been dealing with a lot...Someone REALLY wants in here right now...

...!?

Wait...Don’t tell me YOU’RE an AI program they sent in here to take me out, are you!?

...Oh my fucking god...

Well!? Are you!?

NO! I’M NOT, YOU FUCKING HAFLWIT! I’m with Future Foundation! FUTURE FOUNDATION!!!

EEEP!?

...!?

Sorry! I’m sorry! God, it’s like having the fucking menopause right now, it SUCKS!

Sora...Are you alright? Did I...say something wrong?

No...No, not exactly...It’s just...

I’m gonna need you to listen to me. I need to tell you the truth.

WHAT!?

Yeah...Sorry you had to hear it like this.

But it’s likely that by the time Ando told you this, Organization Zetsubou had already brainwashed him.

So, this whole time, the people who you were keeping out? They were just trying to rescue you.

And now, Organization Zetsubou have trapped a very important person inside the lab, and we’ve been doing everything to try and get them out...

So those hacking attempts that I stopped...Were you trying to rescue your friend?

Basically. I got tunneled into the lab for communication and moral support for this person. 

...

*Yamato suddenly slams his fist on the block.

DAMMIT! How could I!?

So...you believe me...?

Yeah...Sad as it is to say, a lot of what you’ve said makes sense looking back.

It seemed suspicious at the time, but I figured since it was Doctor Ando who gave the order, it was trustworthy! I-I had no idea he was being mind-controlled!

I’ve been SUCH AN IDIOT!

Hey, hey, take it easy! Listen, no one’s going to blame you for this.

As far as I’m concerned, you’re just another person who Zetsubou tried to manipulate. That’s all they ever do. They gaslight and manipulate people into submission.

Still...Helping out Ultimate Despairs...I’m disgusted with myself!

I would be too, but again, it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known.

To be honest, it’s partly my fault too. I didn’t even consider your circumstances.

But you know what? None of it matters anymore.

Why not?

Because YOU are going help me make it right.

*Sora takes Yamato’s hand.

Our friend, Kaede Akamatsu, is still trapped inside the lab. We think we can get the system open from the inside, but to do that...we’re gonna need YOUR help.

Well...I can’t do it from here. Even I can’t open the lockdown once it’s manually activated.

I figured...But we CAN get you to do it from a different place. We just need to get you out of this place, and that’s what I’m here for.

So, how about it? Feel like helping us out?

Hell yeah! No way am I staying here inadvertently helping criminals for no reason! I want out!

Glad to hear it...Especially because it means I don’t have to keep going without my hairtie for much longer.

Alright then buddy! Let’s get a move on!

Right!

[pizzapasta23045]

Sending another ask so the psot doens't get too long but YEAH I SPENT. A REALLY REALLY LONG TIME ON THAT MOUNTAIN. Actually back pre-sumeru when I had more time and energy (less school) I was extremely intense with my gameplay. I'm talking the Chasm 100%ed within give or take a week after it's release. Hours upon hours spent getting the map to full completion. It was actually INSANE.

ALSO. Also also. Opinions on the organization setup of Khaenri'ah/related groups bc like I KNOW that so far the only DRECTLY Khaenri'ah related groups are the Hexenzircle, Fatui and the Abyss Order but I have. A reallllly really strong feeling that there's a fourth group and that's the one Kaeya belongs to BUT. I am very curious as to what you think :3

100% chasm??? You are so fucking real for that, I could never!

Well, about the different organizations, i sure have some thoughts... There are probably innacurate to some oscure lore but hey, whatever...

So, the Alberich are definetely not connected to the fatui, but that should be a given at this point. The ideologies are just different, one wants to restore the homeland or some semblance of it, the other (Pierro) is described as a traitor to Khaenri'ah, does not seem to care for the restoration and his organazation mostly focuses on ending destiny and destroying celestia. Moreso the second than the first.

So the Alberich. I have a feeling that Skirk is an Alberich (you know Skirk, right? Childe's master in the abyss), because she is incredibly misterious, described as looming in the dark, ridicoulusly powerful and in the Abyss where it is speculated Khaenri'ah's survivors went. She's also speculated to be part of the Herzenicle but i don't think so becase she's only describe as a swordwoman and not as a witch.

Dain's also an alberich, imo. Since he's against both the abyss order and the fatui and he can't be part of the Herzickel.

My theory about the Alberich is deeply connected with my theory on the abyss sibling. Which is that the sibling went through the entire journey just as we did and challenged the Heavenly principals, who, since they were loosing, basically reset the entire timeline, choose the traveler as the new descender and pushed the sibling into the role of leader of the abyss to fill in the blanks.

This is because the only, as far as I'm aware, time we can hear about our sister's journey, like really and in detail, is through the Aranara who call them by a nickname and talk in riddles. Which would bypass Irminsul

There's one time from the fatui, i think, but I can't find it and it doesn't seem specific enough to be erased, plus pierro may know how to avoid Irminsul through codes and written "fake" languages.

Now, back to the Alberich. My theory is that the place the alberich had in the world is the equivalent of the fatui in our timeline. So all the fatui's plans are similar to the Alberich's, which would explain why Pierro seems to be able to tell the future. In this case Childe would be Skirk (since I think it'd be funny) and dottore would be rhinedottir (since, you know, insane scientist ect,ect)

Now, after the Alberich's plans failed (since they were using the sibling to defy the world) the intelligence network divided into two groups. Kaeya's father and company basically form the most insane case of maliscous compliance.

Like "technically" they follow the heavenly principals while slowly making sure that the heavens still are defeated. Pierro doesn't like that so he creates the fatui to continue the revolution.

Now the Herznickel I'm not sure about, haven't researched it much to be honest, but my gut tells me they are associated with Celestia. Not sure why, like I said, Haven't researched it, but i'd be glad to listen if you can disprove it or something.

And the Abyss order seems like the farthest away from Khaenri'ah, oddly enough, maybe because most of the people that are part of it are just... mindless monsters trasformed by the curse. Also, any faction (the fatuii, dain, Kaeya to an extent) all seem to hate them or want them gone? We know that Khaenri'ah used to use the field tillers to cleanse the abyss beasts so it may because of that but idk...

Honestly, this is the first time I've externalized any of this so it may not make sense at all. But I'd be glad to hear your theories in turn oh wise sage from the old times (1.3 lmao)(non making fun of you btw, we're both just as insane.

[delightfuldevin]

To be fair, it seems that Legendaries can be created either naturally ( if that's how the flow of life goes according to Frost Queen) or made so through tragic means (darkness, severe corruption in pursuit of forbidden knowledge etc). Not to mention both were had a personal connection to Sea Fairy: Abyss Monarch being the former regent over Sugarteara as a placeholder ruler and Black Pearl blessed with the power of the sea. Octopus' costume is a "before" everything went awful hence its Epic status. If crimson Coral turns out to be the super epic then it's to be assumed that the mermaids were to. So yeah they WERE different ranks until they gained power and turned into monsters due to their own grief/hurt from the situations as those they cared for betrayed them severely. Looking at white lily going from Ancient to legendary as dark enchantress

Octopus took on all the darkness corrupting the pearl and that turned them into the "Legendary Abyss Monarch" which has been a major player in undersea lore so technically a legend. They struggle to control it so they try to keep away from others. If anything, they symbolize the eldritch horrors of the deep which are known for being fishy n mind breaking.hence abyss

BP reveled and embraced the darkness after what happened. Took over a portion of the sea for her own. Becoming an ancient sea beast that happily drowned cookies in bitter grudge yet the longing is there. Given how she was blessed personally by her goddess, it would seem that she was bestowed a piece of SF. Her element is storms which is notorious in ending voyages at sea

If that makes sense? All the legendary cookies are created in some way for various reasons so they fit into whatever the criteria is placed. It's over time that they develop these legends about them so pretty much par for the course I think. The flow of life energy n all that

These are very interesting points you bring up. I guess it depends on how we’re defining “legendary”. In the real life sense, a legend can be anything that is told enough times to become well known by large groups of people. The way I’ve been using it in relation to the world of CR is that it’s a title that only powerful beings of nature have. The way I see it, legendaries can only be created naturally. The exceptions to this would be Moonlight and Dark Enchantress, as they were created directly by the Wizards and Witches respectively (Moonlight being actually created, while DE was simply a normal cookie corrupted by the Witches’ magic).

In my headcanon, the world of Earthbread was imbued by the Witches’ magic when it was created. All lifeforms in the world were born from that magic, but the legends were imbued with the highest concentration of it. Sea Fairy and the other fairies are the personified forms of the oceans. The legendary Dragons were born from the magic of the world as well, and so was the Millennial Tree. Timekeeper’s legendary power comes from their scissors, the Sonic Embroider, which is an artifact created by the Wizards. Frost Queen was chosen to fulfill the role of guardian of the flow of life energy, which I think is separate than what the other legends do. But the key here is that they were all born from the world itself to fulfill a certain role bestowed upon them.

Now, following this headcanon, Wind Archer and Fire Spirit are also more on the level of super epics than legends, but since Windy was created by one of the strongest forces in the world and has the role of purifying fallen spirits, and Fire Spirit is described as being the bridge between cookie and dragon, I think they can still be justified. I mean, I get that all of this is just my headcanons and nothing more, but I feel like the idea that those with legendary power are beings of nature makes sense. If an intense and tragic event was enough to create legendary power, I feel like Dark Choco should’ve become one as well since his is possibly one of the most tragic stories we know. Plus, his sword ties him directly to Dark Enchantress.

But yeah, going off of the actual definition of what a legend is, BP and AM fit it because their stories have been told until they became so well known that they became legends. I just meant in terms of their powers and the origins of their powers, they feel more like super epics (on the level of Capsaicin or Sherbet). And even going by the true definition of a legend, there are others who fit it too. Capsaicin is a legend in the Dragon’s Valley for being as powerful and dangerous as he is. And Squid Ink is a legend too, being a giant sea monster that has sunk many ships in pursuit of treasure. Dark Choco is even kind of a legend for betraying his kingdom.

I hope this makes sense, I think I might’ve been going in circles with my explanation of the difference between an actual legend and legendary power ^^”