#(which is EXTREMELY unlikely but a wild idea all the same no?)

[descendant-of-truth]

Anyone else find it fascinating that whenever we're shown Roxas's feelings through Sora, it's just kind of melancholic and wistful, but the reverse scenario always feels like you just walked into a psychological horror?

Seriously, the way it's presented, it's like we're meant to see Roxas as an old friend that we miss talking to, but Sora - our original "old friend" that we would have reasons to miss - is hardly even shown as a person. The contents of his memories feel less important than the effect they're having on Roxas, which is usually Extreme Distress and/or physical pain.

And it's insane to me because KH1 was so whimsical! The memories that Roxas and Xion are experiencing are literal Disney magic! But the way they're shown, with the fuzzy filters and the glitch effects, sort of removes the emotions you associate with them and makes them come across as eerie and unsettling.

Not to mention, Sora's memories rarely prompt any feelings of happiness, the way Roxas's might make Sora extra fond of the Twilight Town crew... which might say more about how KH1 affected Sora's mental health than anything.

(I personally stand by the idea that the story revisits it so much as an analogy for how repeating events in your head over and over can alter your perception of them)

But like. how wild is it that this series found a way to take its cheerful protagonist, and without changing anything about him, turned him into this constant, unnerving presence that haunts the lives of two other characters?

And I think another reason Roxas doesn't feel like he haunts Sora in the same way is because no one really... treats Sora like a person while he's asleep. He's either a tool or an object of affection, and regardless of which you pick, his feelings are seen as secondary to the goal of waking him up. As a result, the narrative focuses entirely on Roxas and Xion's personhood, and unlike Sora, they never stop being treated like people once they're made inaccessible due to the plot.

It's probably a bit late in the story to bring it up by now, but I still wonder if we'll ever see Sora be upset with Riku for sacrificing people in his name. Sure, it worked out in the end, and I'm not sure if Sora's even aware of what happened (how likely is it that he's properly sifted through all of Roxas's memories at this point?) but there's a list of things he could still conceivably be mad at Riku about that he hasn't processed, and I want this to be one of them

[cynthiav06]

Can you see Percy Jackson as an environmental lawyer that advocates for emvironmental regularions and protections?

Cuz y'know, he cares for the environment. especially the sea life, Grover, his bsf, is passionate about it and I hc that he wants to actually keep up that thing w Pan where he asked them to keep on remaking the wild

Also, smartass, cunning, slightly manipulative Percy, who knows how to twist words and manipulate the law to his advantage like??? I can just see it?

This is such a good take, and while I always love the manipulative and cunning side of Percy, I really think he would hate being a lawyer.

An environmental activist? Sure. But while Percy with his crazy improvisations would find all sorts of loopholes in the law and he would definitely love dishing it out to people and corporations who are actively ruining the environment, I don't think he will pursue the lawyer side of it.

Law is extensive. Percy would have to bury himself in studies to get there. And while we know from ReadRiordan that Percy has gotten better grades than Annabeth and the fact that Percy speaks four languages which means he would definitely get it done easily if he feels like it, I just don't think he would enjoy it.

The amount of legal material he would need to get through would be overwhelming for his ADHD and dyslexia, but he just might get it done if it's to piss off and prove someone who said he couldn't do it, wrong. [Athena or Annabeth maybe]

Also a courtroom is an example of a heavily controlled environment. Everything from posture to pitch of voice, specific set of words, and certain professional language is all mandatory. Percy, out of all others, is the one who detests being controlled or restrained the most.

Then, we have his prior experiences with the law. Police, lawyers, other authority figures. Between him being a wanted criminal in at least 5 states and the whole Sally's misery over compiling a divorce file against Gabe in TLT, Percy has a lot of trouble with authorities. So it's unlikely for him to pursue such a problematic field and one which he has had such negative experiences with.

Even if environmental law is slightly different, it is still a part of a larger bureaucratic and more corrupt system that is inherently rigged against certain people. Percy, I think, would be very disgusted with certain law practices carried out or how heavy the impact of monetary channels are.

Assuming, however, that despite all this, he does choose to become a lawyer, I think he would be extremely bored by the whole thing. The long, tiring court proceedings, the dull testimonies, constantly clashing with the opposition.

But it's an excellent what if since Percy has a varied set of professions to choose from. I think if you could expand a bit more on this for me? Because I get the general idea, but I don't think we are visualizing the same scenarios, so I might be missing something. Loved the ask as I like exploring new theories regarding Percy or even other fandom theories. Also, I am sorry for the delay, but I would appreciate it if you could get back to me on this.

[bubbleddisasters]

So I just had this Idea

Malleus, Idia and Che’nya fighting all out.

Ok, before anyone starts glazing on Malleus and saying he’d win: Put who their twisted from into perspective:

Maleficent was the most powerful fae.

Hades is a god. One of the big 3, to be precise.

The Cheshire Cat is canonically the second most powerful being in wonderland, second to only the literal human form of time.

They are all God Tier in their respective lore.

Most people know the other two’s abilities, but incase you may not know :

Cheshire Cats Abilities, include:

Shapeshifting and Vocal/Visual/Physical Manipulation, Invisibility, Long Range Image Projection, Long Distance Teleportation, Flight, Gravity Manipulation on self, Minor Reality Manipulation, Portal creation, Walking through walls, Body and Limb controlled detachment, etc.

Hades abilities include:

General God Abilities, Raising the Dead, Smoke control, access to cursed objects, high heat tolerance, physical size manipulation, pretty much alot of shit, more then I can name since, y’know, god.

Maleficents abilities include:

Plant, Flame, Weather and Lightning manipulation, secondary form (Dragon), fatal long term curses, long distance teleportation, animal communication, long distance location monitoring, flight, eternally serving cunt, etc.

Now, obviously, their twisted versions are different, so what are the twisted versions KNOWN capabilities?

Mal’s strong suit seems to be mostly nature based abilities, Lightning, Fire, Briars, etc and Sleepy time shenanigans. However, he is also capable of turning into a Dragon, which gives him a huge physical buff, but makes him much easier to hit. All fae share the same fatal weakness of Anti-Magic, as Magic is canonically their life source. Thats Idias forte. Che’nya also has a mindset and skillset similar to Lilias, minus the experience and training. He also has rapid fire teleportation and invisibility, plus cat senses, making him extremely hard to strike with lightning.

Out of these 3 however, Malleus definitely has the most durability and Defense.

Idias strong suit is tech, which Mal is most definitely unfamiliar with, but also has access to extremely high tier ANTI MAGIC. Che’nya stands at an advantage of being able to go invisible, teleport, and likely having more creative and efficient methods of blocking vital sensors or heat signatures, but I unfortunately doubt Mal would think of that. Briar Valley is EXTREMELY low tech. Mal does have the intimidation factor on Idia, but if this situation somehow involves Ortho’s safety, that goes straight out the window, as seen in Book 7. We also nearly never see Idia use magic, so we don’t exactly have a good handle of what he’s capable of in that regard.

Unfortunately, Idia is a glass cannon due to his low physical abilities and stamina, leaving him likely needing a heavy defense system to not get tossed.

Che’nya is truly the wild card in this scenario, since unlike the other two, unless they bothered Trey or Riddle for information, the other two don’t know much about his abilities. Like Malleus, considering what we know (I wrote it somewhere on tumblr), he has extreme magical stamina and produces jack shit in blot (no magestone can be seen on his design too) while doing crazy ass shit, and as shown in the manga, since he was a kid too. Comparing that to Roros brother, and the bullshit Che’nya was pulling as a kid while still being alive, he’s most definitely some flavor of overpowered.

Given what we’ve seen and heard about him across the manga and game, this is a portion of what we can assume is in his skillset:

Rapid fire (and long distance) teleportation, Long term Invisibility, flexibility, flight, Gravity Manipulation (making himself near weightless without floating off into oblivion) Cat like senses, Limb and Body part controlled detachment, the ability to slip past NRC’s barrier like its an average Tuesday. The barrier that took several high powered shots from STYX to break. With little to no repercussions from what we’ve seen.

He’s also (likely) a creative and unpredictable fighter. I think mentioned/said somewhere by Riddle or someone else that they doesn’t believe invisibility is Chens UM.

Riddle, I love you babes, you were my first fully spell maxed card, but NO FUCKING SHIT DUDE.

Idias advantage is deadass: Cat knowledge. Is using partially genetic traits a low blow? Yea, but again, this is an All out 1v1 fight. Obviously not laser pointers or basic shit, but things like Sound Pitches. Theres also Heat Sensors and things like that to combat invisibility, but those can also be thwarted.

Mals advantage is experience with Lilia in terms of matching high speeds, and combating against tricks and sneak attacks, Dragon senses + his Defensive capabilities. However, as a more straight forward person, Mal may not think of the more creative strategies Chen (or Idia) may come up with. Even if he traps Chens leg or something in Briar, he could just pop his leg off and keep moving.

Che’nya is more of a high speed self sufficient DPS but with the right weakness targeting he could be taken down.

I didn’t put Leona or Lilia on here because Lilia… Lets be real : Lilia would most definitely whoop all of their asses unless he gets hit with Anti Magic too many times.

The other is I’m sorry Leona, you’re a total badass and an amazing fighter, but you might be a tad out of league on alot of mostly circumstantial situations.

Starting off : Che’nya : He’s also a Cat, and nobody knows your genetic weaknesses like your own kind, plus Sand Blinding is great until bro disappears too.

Considering Leona is a pretty kickass fighter and strategist, plus can actually somewhat hold his own against Malleus, it’s going to be a decently tough fight, but in the end, I think Che’nya might secure the win sheerly due to being able to overcome Leonas UM in a few ways, even from a point blank standpoint.

A limb being turned to sand? Detach that shit, can’t spread further if it’s not attached anymore. He could also fly upwards out of the sandstorm but that ain’t as fun.

I’m just imagining Leona whipping up a sandstorm and going in to ambush Che’nya only for that mf to be GONE. (He’s right behind him bout to FNAF jumpscare this)

Theres a slim chance he may also lose to Idia sheerly because if its an all out scenario (i’m being nice and giving them all whatever requirements if they need it for atleast one use of their UM so its fair) , Idia can quite literally open the gates to hell and unlike the other two, Leona cannot fly without a broom, so uh, enjoy the drop?

Without that though, I do actually fully believe Leona might win, but with an Anti Magic nerf possibility on the field, its not exactly set in stone.

I don’t think I need to explain Malleus. So therefore I won’t.

Again, this is mostly just my thoughts, nothing is canon here, just me wondering about the possibilities! If theres any information that I missed let me know :D

(Leona fans please don’t hurt me I don’t hate him I promise I’m just going of logic from what I know.)

[writergirl2011]

9 and 26 for the writer ask!

Asks! Yay! From this post:

#9: Thoughts on cliffhangers.

In other words, am I eeeeevil? Or just a little evil?

I go with "just a little evil." I'll use a cliffhanger on occasion if I want to draw out a little bit of suspense--like in the Regency story, when I ended a chapter with Jaime at Brienne's bedroom door (although I was probably a little more evil there since the following chapter went back in time instead of picking up right after that). But I don't think a story should go overboard with cliffhangers--I try not to use more than one unless the story is very long.

#26: What would you describe as OOC?

Oooooh....this one's tricky, because everyone has their own idea of what constitutes OOC. Some people have a problem with a Jaime who's bisexual. Some think a sexually confident Brienne is wrong. (I've written both, and in the same fic, so obviously I have no issue with them, lol.)

I don't know how well I write Jaime and Brienne from an authenticity standpoint. Sometimes, I think I do well, especially with Brienne. She's complex and stubborn and judgmental and yet underneath it, soft and yearning for someone to love her. And when she loves someone, she can't hide it to save her life. That's not always the easiest to write, but it's fun. Jaime's trickier because he's something of a dick while having that vulnerability that he doesn't want the world to see, which he hides by being more of a dick. If I write him the wrong way, he's either too much of an asshole and unlikeable--or he's too soft and woobified. If I say "fuck it, I'm writing him however I want," then I try my best to give him some characteristics that at least make him recognizable as Jaime Lannister--someone who, when he falls in love, does so with everything he has in him and will go to extremes. (Not "throw a kid out of a tower window" extremes, but I've had him do some pretty wild things to prove how much he loves Brienne. Like dancing in a Valyrian maid costume while lip syncing to "Umbrella.")

I guess my answer to the question is that a character is OOC to me when they're not recognizable at all.

Thank you!!!

And anyone else who wants to ask me something, please do so!! 🥰

[alys0r]

A small analysis of the Moonvale characters.

I must say right away that the characters from Moonvale seem to me more realistic and lively, even despite the disgusting avatars with artificial intelligence. These are clearly more or less the same types of characters from Duskwood, but somewhat modified. Initially, I thought that I would be extremely disappointed if everything in Moonvale was exactly the same as in the previous Everbyte game, but no. It seems that everything repeats itself, but it repeats extremely well. This is not a copy, but a parallel. Moreover, there are still differences. But about everything in order.

ADAM

Our missing waif. And yet we interact with him directly. We're connected somehow, and it's not just about the envelope with our name on it. Was Adam on his way to give us the envelope? I doubt it very much, considering that the main character is obviously not privy to this. Is it all related to Duskwood? I'm pretty sure I'm not, and if I am, it's obviously not with Hannah. To be honest, I haven't looked at the theory of this game yet, and I don't know if anyone has voiced such a thought, but the cave is clearly similar to the mine where Jake and Richie were. Especially considering that, as Jake said, if I'm not mistaken, the mine stretches for many kilometers, and the actions of the current game take place not so far from Duskwood. Soooooo, returning to Adam, this whole situation with him is clearly very different from the situation with Hannah, which is good news. I can't get a good look at Adam himself, given that there is no clear information about him

ERIC

Eric is probably one of my favorites (apart from Jake, of course, heh) among all those created by Everbyte. He is a lively and interesting character. Of all the people I'm dealing with today, it's the hardest for me to compare Eric to anyone in particular. Maybe with Thomas, because it's the first time we've talked to him, but that's all. Eric clearly has some kind of sin in the past, as can be understood from his correspondence with Ash, and it seems to me that this will play an important role in the plot (it is not surprising that such attention is paid to this). He is completely calm even in a tense situation and knows how to think clearly enough. The fact that he went into the forest alone, strangely, is still explained by the fact that he is well-versed in the wild. Eric is proactive, but he still thinks first and then acts, thanks to him for that (although this may change in the next chapters). And, apart from Adam, this is the only character whose face we've seen. Separately, I want to note that the idea that Eric could have done something bad on the night of the Festival (given that people from nearby cities come to Duskwood during the festival) is quite interesting.

ASH

Lily, with her combative nature, is clearly visible here. But Ash is clearly more sarcastic. And she doesn't throw accusations right and left, preferring to find out at least something first (but not personal data (I still love Lily)). Unfortunately, it is difficult to say anything else about this, given that this is only the first chapter. But Ash is already making a positive impression.

CHARLIE

Richie is No. 2, but not the kidnapper. Charlie seems to be much more free and open than Richie, but we all know why Richie himself couldn't be like that. Charlie is clearly more active and impressionable. One of those people who can't sit still and like to get involved in something. And unlike Eric, he acts first. It still seems to me that something unpleasant will be revealed about Charlie (although perhaps this applies to everyone in general). But he is a very nice person.

VIOLET

It reminds me of Jesse, but it's hard to say for sure yet. I think, like Jesse, he will play a big role specifically for the main character.

ANONYMOUS

I think, like me, you also thought at first that it was Jake. I'm not going to build theories about personality yet, but chel clearly knows us as well as Adam. Whether he will play the same role as Jake is difficult to say. (It will certainly be very funny if they also make him a romantic interest, deciding to stupidly copy Jake….)

That's all for now. I'm wondering which of the Duskwood characters will still make themselves felt (except Jake, I think he will obviously still show up). Maybe it will be Allan. Although it seems to me that in any case it will be someone little expected by us. And maybe I will have correspondence with the main guys of Duskwood, but literally something one-time.

I'm sorry for the mistakes, I don't know English very well and I use a translator

[honourablejester]

I’m watching Pathfinder lore videos, because I just enjoy looking at other people’s worldbuilding, and a tiny little nugget stuck with me. I was watching this video on the demon lords of the Abyss, and it came to Angazhan, the great ape demon of jungles, apes and tyranny. And it just mentions that his realm, Ahvoth-Kor, is formed in a great ravine in the Abyss, with jungles on either wall, but gravity pulls towards the walls, so as you stand on the ‘ground’ in one jungle on one wall, you can see the other above you. Trees and rope bridges cross the gap, which must be fascinating as you cross the halfway point and gravity abruptly reverses itself. And I just. I mean, Angazhan doesn’t do much for me as himself, but his realm caught my attention the most in the entire video, just for that one detail. Because it’s so cool. He lives in a folded realm. You can climb a pillar to the sky and then fall up the top half of it to the ground on the far side.

And it just made me realise that I love the Abyss, or rather the potential of the Abyss, in both its D&D and Pathfinder incarnations. Because chaos gets all the cool world states. Because chaos feels free to break the rules and get weird, and therefore give you fantastic landscapes like Ahvoth-Kor. Which is actually quite normal, aside from the fact that it’s folded double on itself. You could go so much weirder.

But, at the same time, I also hate the Abyss, just slightly. Because you can’t get weird, apparently, without also getting evil. Because, while I have seen the chaotic good and chaotic neutral planes mentioned, they don’t get anywhere near as much attention. How many people even know the names of the good-aligned chaotic planes? And, yes, Limbo and the Maelstrom are more of a thing, and the Maelstrom at least is fantastically cool, but they’re not focused on really either. Because they don’t have cool themed villains hanging out in them. Which is, granted, another excellent selling point of the Abyss. Demon lords are a lot more idiosyncratic than archdevils, more, again, weird and wonderful. On the D&D side, which I’m more familiar with, I do adore Juiblex, Zuggtmoy and Fraz-Urb’luu. When you are shaping your realm out of raw chaos to match your personality, it gives you a degree of wild customisation that more lawful, rigid planes just don’t allow. The demon lords are exciting, in a way archdevils just aren’t for me.

But. It means that if you want really cool fantastic landscapes and batshit world states, you have to go to an evil plane where everything is trying to kill slash torture you. The good aligned chaotic planes of the respective ttrpgs, Elysium and Arborea and the Beastlands, are to a large extent just ‘unchecked nature’, the extremely pastoral idea of untouched wilderness. If you want to see truly cool and alien and fantastic things, you have to get tortured for it.

Or, granted, try the Maelstrom in Pathfinder. The Maelstrom is really cool.

Like. If they’re both formed from raw chaos, why can’t good be equally as batshit? Why can’t you have, I don’t know, a chaotic good sea god whose ship sails upside down on the surface of a vast ocean of air, and whose sea sprite petitioners venture down in diving bells to marvel at the stars? (Sidenote: there could also be more good-aligned sea gods, just as a general note). Why isn’t there a heaven for the souls of subterranean travellers and explorers where they get to spend eternity spelunking absolutely mind-boggling and impossible caves that open out into the raw foam of chaos? Why couldn’t the chaotic good plane also be a nested stew of personalised bubble worlds shaped from raw fundament by strong-willed but mildly-to-majorly batshit themed entities, that are just in this case also friendly and unlikely to torture you out of hand?

Why is good so tame? Even at its wildest, it’s so tame compared to how batshit and weird evil gets to be. Like, yes, good means safety, but safe doesn’t have to mean ‘bounded’. It could mean ‘I will touch my grace upon you so we can witness wonders together’. It could mean ‘let me make a place where fire does not burn so I can turn a sun inside out and let you experience the strange geometries of its interior’.

I just. The Abyss is really, really cool, this strange bubble realm of nested psychoses written onto reality by larger than life beings. I do love it. But. You could have that, and not have it built on suffering. Not instead of, but as well. With equal weight.

Let good be weird too. Let chaos in general just be the place where both horrors and wonders beyond imagining are explored.

As another, related complaint, I know it's to do with game balance and player capabilities, but it's also a bummer that the outer planes in general are something most PCs will never experience first hand, owing to being in general fantastically lethal and/or hard to get to. I just wanna wander Zuggtmoy's fungal fields, and climb rope bridges across the gravity line in Ahvoth-Kor!

Anyway. Carry on.

[vesemirsexual]

Just thinking about how much the “ witcher gamer” community would HATE Ciri if there was a game with a book accurate version of her, she’s queer, shes fierce, wild and arrogant but becomes ruthless and a murder gremlin due to all her trauma, shes not traditionally attractive, has a huge disfiguring scar on her face

And she is the main character, even if she’s not the player character the entire narrative revolves around her

Oh yeah, it’s a thing on Reddit/FB groups where people often ask if Ciri is “sociopathic”/“psychopathic” or surprised that they find her very unlikable after reading the books, which is always kind of funny to me.

Throughout the series there’s a definite theme of girls/young women who experience a severe trauma and then fall into a hateful cycle, and only sometimes having a redemptive moment of realisation that they’re perpetuating the same cycle that enacted violence of them. I also think that this sometimes makes people extremely uncomfortable, because they really do fall far while in this cycle - Falka!Ciri is vicious and filled with hate and enraged. She’s traumatised, lost her childhood and has become a product of the awful things happening to and around her.

Even past that point in her story, people tend to give feedback that she’s bratty or overconfident or annoying and honestly. The entire series is from the ages of about 8-17 (I may be off by a few years here btw!!) for Ciri. Her entire formative years are marked by horrible and traumatising events. I think a lot of people fall into the idea of “good victims” - people who go through trauma and come out kind and sweet and helpful and that their experiences made them ultimately a better person. Which realistically…is not the case for most people.

I’ve also seen Reddit argue a lot that Ciri isn’t actually a bisexual/queer woman, based on the fact that her relationship with Mistle is abusive and often reads like Stockholm Syndrome. I don’t think Sapkowski has ever officially labelled her sexuality and has left it open to interpretation. For me, this feeds back into the points earlier: Ciri is heavily traumatised and she’s also extremely young when all of this is happening, so I can somewhat agree that a definitive read on her sexuality could be hard. However, despite the fact their relationship is extremely fucked up, Ciri does clearly develop feelings for Mistle, and actively mourns her as a lover and partner. Regardless of the start of that relationship, I think it’s naive to say that Ciri didn’t have very real feelings for her?

Also yeah, I can’t ever see Ciri being what is considered “traditionally” attractive. The scar across her face repeatedly is linked to being a giant ugly symbol of the loss of her innocence and childhood, and considering the timeline of care it receives, I don’t ever see it being a small thing even as she gets older. She also spends again, a considerable amount of her youth on the run, under extreme stress and in undesirable conditions, which isn’t exactly conducive to what most people consider attractiveness. Additionally, considering how she’s reduced repeatedly to a sexual object and objectified, I really can’t see Ciri running around with her chest out as per games.

Ciri is honestly such a fascinating and complex character and I do think it’s sad that you can’t really get all of that from the games due to the perspective + difficulties in portraying that through the given platform. I do always hope that more people read the books for Ciri alone, because I’m always excited for content that fleshes her out with that level of development ❤️

[himbopunk]

was thinking about how i interpret some of mavs fear demon stuff and it turned into a drabble so here. fighting off the demons of cringe so that i can write w/o feeling insane

short enough the full text can just go under a readmore ig.

Maverick runs their hand through their hair, trying to find the words to explain. For a moment it’s like being back in the Grand Necropolis, a dozen eyes gazing upon them like a bug caught beneath a glass, waiting expectantly for them to reason their existence to them. As if anyone, abomination or otherwise, understands themselves that intimately.

They glance at Emmrich, and as he often did then as well, he gives them a short nod of encouragement. A small gesture of his hands, barely noticeable except for the shift in how the firelight hits his grave gold, telling them ‘Go on, you know more than you realize.’

And unlike back in the Necropolis, Yuvan is here as well. Watching from where he sits, tucked away on the staircase above the kitchen area. Quiet, distant, but always supportive, always listening. Having two people support them on a subject that’s quite literally resulted in persecution in the past made things a bit easier.

“All right, consider it like this. Spirits like justice, compassion, curiosity… determination.” They glance to Lucanis, sitting beside Bellara at the table. “They’re malleable, subjective in a way. That’s why they can be shifted into what we’ve learned to understand as demons. You take this idea, bring it to its most extreme, or say, pursue them without a balancing counterpart, they turn into something ugly, festering, wild. But spirits aren’t used to the confines of our world, they don’t have the same differentiation in matter as we do. In the Fade, they don’t occupy a physical space, they simply are.”

“I mean, that’s why they possess dead stuff, right?” Bellara chimes in. “They don’t really understand the difference, a body is a body.”

“Precisely, Bellara!” Emmrich responds, and for a moment it really does feel like being back with the Watchers again. Maverick supposes being a teacher just never was something he could turn off. “And a body isn’t any different from an object or other receptacle either, for that matter. It is much more difficult to attach a spirit to something completely inanimate, but if they are guided there, it’s not entirely out of the ordinary.”

“Like some of the artifacts in Arlathan, a lot of those have spirits connected to them.” She adds.

“Or through using blood magic, you could do the same to a demon.” Lucanis chimes in as well. Maverick can’t quite decipher the look on his face, his brow furrowed and eyes distant, but they could feel the fear emanating from the man. Emmrich mentioned his experiences with Venatori, so they’re not entirely sure they want to be privy to whatever it was he was recalling.

“Exactly.” Maverick continues. “It’s much easier to guide a spirit, they can usually be more appealed to or reasoned with. And depending on what it represents, it might change how eager they are to cross the veil, which in turn can make it even easier to guide them. Demons aren’t technically much different, but they’re often confused. The feeling that rules them is so concentrated, compressed, all it wants is a way out, an anchor. So a demon is more likely to reach out to whatever it can find. So many young mages have more experience with demons because a demon is so willing to do what it must to find an anchor, and they don’t have the experience to realize this.”

“Is that what happened to you?” Lucanis asks.

“Well. That’s where things get a bit different. Fear demons don’t entirely operate by some of the rules we’ve applied to other spirits, really. Part of that is because we’re trying to categorize something that operates on a completely different reality than anything we could possibly understand. Most spirits and demons are reflections of what we feel or understand on this side of the veil to varying degrees, but fear is primal, it lives in the base instincts of every living thing. Fear of death, of conflict, of starvation, of sickness, of the judgement of our peers, of the loss of what we love, of the dark… By the Chantry’s definition, fear can only ever be a demon, or at the very least nobody seems to agree on its inverse. In reality, it is both the reflection and its corruption. It never shifts, it doesn’t change into something new, it only grows out of control. Because some fear is necessary, it’s what drives our survival. Without fear, we rush into the mouths of our destroyers, we die out. Anxiety, phobias, nightmares, horrors that haunt our every waking thought, that’s what fear becomes when it festers. But at its root, it never really changed.”

“Well put, Maverick.”

“Thanks, Professor– uh. Emmrich.” Maverick smiles a bit. It still felt weird calling him by his first name, but they’d get over it.

“Yeah, I never really thought about it like that, but you’re right.” Bellara comments. She’d been lightly tapping her knees with her hands, so Maverick had half wondered if she tuned them out, but maybe that’s just how she stays focused.

“And what about your fear demon, then?” Lucanis asks. “Isn’t that more of a concern, that the demon could grow forever into something worse? Aren’t you worried it might overtake you someday?”

“I… well, it’s…” Maverick had answered the question a thousand times, but never liked what came next. It made it worse coming from him, too. He wasn’t just asking for Mav’s experience, he was scared for himself as well. They were supposed to help him, weren’t they? What if the answer wasn’t something he wanted to hear, even if it was their truth?

But before they can gather their words, Emmrich steps in. “Maverick’s relationship with the demon inhabiting them is fairly complicated, as the Watch has learned a long time ago. The answer to that question may be a bit more than we have time for right now, but I’ve known them since they were fairly young. Trust me when I say they won’t do you harm.”

“Well isn’t that the whole point of this? For us to understand each other, to learn how to control the possession?” Lucanis sounded a bit agitated. Yuvan shifted in his seat, clearly ready to add his thoughts, but Maverick spoke before he or Emmrich could interject again on their behalf.

“Look, it’s a long story, but the fear demon and I are kind of one and the same at this point. It’s not just an agreement, or a deal, like most mages would make with the spirit or demon possessing them. It’s more like…a symbiosis? Both parts are necessary for the whole to function. Like needing your heart, or your stomach. So I guess, no, I'm not really worried about it like that, because I've made my peace with it, it's a part of me.”

“Wait, so do you like… eat fear or something?” Taash asks from the back of the room. They’d been quiet the whole time, Maverick honestly forgot they were there.

“Taash!” Emmrich exclaims.

“What? I’m just asking.”

He just sighs in response. Lucanis turns back to address them. “Why are you even here, Taash? You hate Emmrich’s spirit talk.”

“Well they’re not Emmrich, I wanted to see how they’d say it different. Plus, I was hungry.” They take a bite of the sandwich in their hand. “And bored.” They say with their mouth full.

Lucanis rolls his eyes and sighs to himself, sitting back forward in his chair. Mav can’t help but laugh a bit. Distantly, as if muffled by a wall between them, they hear Spite make a comment about how strange Fear looks when they talk. Maverick holds back another laugh, but their eyes meet Lucanis as they do.

“Am I to assume you can hear him as well, like Emmrich?”

“Usually, yeah. I don't mind it, though.”

Lucanis sighs. “Still, I apologize.”

“It’s okay. And by the way, no, I don’t eat fear. I can sense it though, usually. Sometimes just the vague sense of it, sometimes specifics if it's loud enough. I can also impose a sense of dread on others, give them nightmares. Stuff like that.”

“Oh. That’s creepy.” Taash replies. Maverick laughs.

“I get that a lot.”

“Spite just gives Lucanis wings.” They add. “And makes weird bone platforms from the fade, sometimes.”

“Tradeoff for sleepless nights, I suppose. I have my own uh…benefits, sometimes. Anyways… Most spirits have balances that keep them in check. Wisdom needs a sense of benevolence or justice to keep it from becoming pride, or so says the Chantry.”

“You disagree?” Lucanis asks.

“Not necessarily. I think they like to make things simple, which is good enough for religion, but bad for understanding. I think, though, by their definitions, fear can have any balance to keep it in check, really. That's the tradeoff. People use many things to quell their anxieties, to reason with fear when necessary, to quiet it down. Maybe that helped me reach symbiosis with my demon.” Maverick shrugs. “Nobody really knows, honestly, but it’s somewhere to start.”

“So, what, you want me to find the spirit opposite of Spite? I don’t think I need any more spirits in here, thank you.”

“More like, you need to find your own balance with Spite. Lots of ways to get there, but having that in mind is good to start with.”

“Hm. Perhaps. I'll…have to think about it, but I appreciate you trying to help. Thank you, Maverick.”

“You can just call me Mav, and of course. Even if it doesn't help right away, I've been dealing with this since I was like… 12? Right, Emmrich?”

“About that age, I believe, yes. You were very precocious when you arrived to the Necropolis. Though I didn't teach you until a few years later, I do remember once, before you were in my classes, where Hezenkoss had been all but screeching in the halls because you filled her desk with spiders.” 

“Nice.” Taash adds. 

Yuvan snorts, Lucanis and Bellara are both smiling, holding back laughter. Maverick loudly clears their throat in an attempt to move on.

[dolphinrostrums]

Hello! If you do not mind me asking, how did you come to be human, and how do you plan on returning to the water? :)

we do not know precisely when or how, but when we were a calf, we were taken from (our pod? our dolphin mother? both, likely) the ocean by humans, and our form was twisted into what they wanted out of us: a human shape (the logistics of such escapes us, but it happened, and we're not the only ones it happened to). we don't doubt other experiments were done on us, but since we don't have any memories of that time period, we cannot say for absolute certain; we don't know whether or not we wish we did have them, since while it would be nice to be certain, we're still dealing with the consequences of past digging for trauma (which is unrelated).

we're only one of a handful of cetaceans who seem to have been through this, although i don't think it's all one cohesive group of humans doing it, considering the inconsistencies in what and when our respective scientists decide our purpose is as "humans"--if we're made with any purpose at all*.

we don't consider ourselves human in any manner, although we may look it (at least to most humans); it's simply a visual trick. later on in elementary ages, we were made by a--more than likely entirely separate--group of humans into a werecaniform to be used for their own purposes. we do think and have thought for a long time that someone who doesn't simply believe their eyes about what is real (eg., someone well versed in spirituality, magic, etc; that is, someone who isn't solely beholden to "objective reality" and its most culturally accepted offshoots) would be able to see (maybe not visually, but in some other manner--understand is probably a better word) maybe not exactly what we are, but the general gist: an animal, a beast, forced into an ill-fitting costume it can't take off.

we don't have a set plan in place, in part because we'd most prefer to go to the ocean. others (most notably Kala) have devised suits they could use to live in the water. we'd worry that a suit like that wouldn't hold up in wild waters. our hope, of course, would be to find some way to undo what humans did to us; technology is advancing every day, after all. we understand it's... unlikely, to say the least, but we think it would be our most definite path to going back to the ocean.

in the meantime, we have ideas/hopes/plans for adjusting the human appearance to look more dolphin-like. we've discussed ("atypical") bottom surgery in the past, and once realizing it was an option thanks to Sonar (we knew it was possible--we just didn't realize it would be possible for us), when we get top surgery, we'll likely get it without nipple grafts. we have some ideas for tattoos, namely stripes on our arms to help simulate the stripes going to our flippers, and once we gain the motivation, we'd like to make custom swimwear for ourselves that have the markings of a striped dolphin. we've also been thinking about learning makeup so that, in (hopeful) future accepting company, we'd be able to have stripes around our eyes and such. lately, we've also been (finally!) gaining our falsetto/head voice back (albeit very slowly), which we largely lost a few months after testosterone, so we've been trying to practice dolphin squeaks when we're alone :}

* we aren't convinced that we were made into a human with any purpose for us to fulfill in mind. if we were, then we were either forgotten or abandoned, as we've not experienced the same pressure from humans that others have. if we were abandoned, it was likely in the same timeframe that we were made into a werecaniform, thanks to related circumstances. we're also just extremely shitty at being a human and have many complications, mental and physical, that make it near impossible to try and force us to do anything--most notable of which being our general hatred and disdain towards (perceived) authority figures.

[teenidleadultgirl]

anyways reading that long ass post i forgot to talk about the joe aspect of it all but honestly i was thinking about how everytime something happens in the taylor dating universe, there are like the same 4 types of posts I see being made about taylor swift and honestly its like okay

i feel this getting rambly so like okay the reason people care about taylor's dating life is because taylor uses her dating life to her advantage. Even that famous quote of hers about the different language prescribed to different genders betrays a truth about her business practices that is obvious to anyone who paid attention during 2023 to her dating life and the truth of the matter is, taylor swift has and always will use her dating life to her advantage.

since folklore, starting with seven, taylor has voiced a story arc of her learning to accept her desire for attention. famous people want to be famous for a reason and that reason at its base level is attention or money, usually both. taylor's music pre-pandemic is very good girl era of her and post-pandemic, she has been slowly making music that is more and more disagreeable with the general public. she is more and more willing to portray herself as the villain because after 9 or 10 failed relationships, you have to start doing serious introspection.

it's extremely unlikely that anyone would be the perfect victim whose only problem was that "they loved too earnestly" in every single relationship they've ever been in. and ttpd exposes a lot of what most of the fandom knows to be true but doesn't want to accept for some reason and that is that taylor swift DOES use her dating life to her advantage. i personally dont see anything wrong with that because like duh, so does literally every other famous person out there? so many musicians sing solely about their dating lives and its only a problem when women accept that this is how they stay relevant in the media.

and like a consequence of taylor using her dating life to her advantage is that those people become public discourse. I think there is a reason why she doesnt say much of anything about her relationship with joe on any of these albums but especially ttpd because i do think that although taylor uses her love life to her advantage, she doesnt do so maliciously and has serious conversations with people about how much they care about being private with their love life.

the way she treats the joe relationship has stayed pretty consistent and she has only ever touched upon what in that relationship made her emotionally cheat and then date ratty in ttpd and thats probably all she will ever be comfortable doing because she knows she doesnt have joe's consent for their relationship to be used for her business purposes. i can see part of the reason why we only really get songs about them falling in love on every album is because that's a generic enough type of song that it doesnt say much beyond basic details of how they met and how he made her feel supported.

and so much of this album is taylor trying to come to terms with the fact that SHE chose her life with joe just as much as he did with her, which is why she ends up at "we both did nothing wrong" and "we just didnt know how to love each other correctly" several times on the record because SHE is just as much to blame for choosing to change herself for love. SHE made the decision to change her strategy when it comes to romance to hold onto the idea of what she thought it'd be like to be with joe.

and it's just wild to me to expect the fandom to not have opinions on quotes given to the public from the figures themselves about their feelings on the matter. like, i cannot make it any clearer that if a celebrity doesnt want you to know something, you wouldn't.

[dustedmagazine]

Chris Corsano — The Key (Became the Important Thing [and Then Just Faded Away​]​) (Drag City)

Chris Corsano is one of experimental music’s best drummers, an improvisatory powerhouse alongside jazz icons like Paul Flaherty and Joe McPhee and indie rock stars like Thurston Moore and Bjork.  He reacts, in the most fluid and incendiary way, to whatever other musicians throw at him; it’s exciting to watch like a high wire act. 

And yet, while Corsano is definitely a primo improviser, he also has ideas about song structure, riff and even melody.  In a PopMatters interview with the three principals of Rangda in 2012, Ben Chasny remarked “Chris is a master of improvisation, which I always knew, but especially with this last Rangda record, his sense of composition is pretty mind-boggling. He has very good ideas, as opposed to just free playing.”

All of which is a long way of saying that The Key has some monster improvised drumming on it, but it is also extremely musical.  If you’ve been holding off on this one because, you know, solo drumming, you should reconsider.  It is that and a lot more. 

Corsano’s main compositional tool here is a string drum set up, in which he stretches a silicone string over a bridge (like a guitar bridge) on top of a snare drum.  If you find this hard to picture (I did), a video on Facebook illustrates the concept.  Corsano hits the string with a stick, and the string makes a banjo-like tonal sound, while also vibrating against the snare.  The note that emerges then is partly a whack and partly a ping, and its pitch can be altered depending on where along the string the stick strikes. 

You can hear this sound in its purest form in “Low Experience,” a succession of string drum beats interspersed with cymbal.  The string drum notes vibrate, leaving a contrail of shivering sound behind them, and they shift along a continuum from low to higher notes.  There’s not much here besides the string drum, so you get a good chance to focus on it and get comfortable with what it is. 

That cut leads without interruption into the much busier “Unlike an Empty Box,” where the same succession of tones accelerates to blur speed and incorporates wild fills and accents on the other elements of the kit—toms, kick drum and cymbals.  It is a bravura performance, physically demanding and fired by imagination.  You can hear the music bubbling under it, frenetic as it is. 

A couple of tracks bring the melody forward, augmenting Corsano’s dense, free-ranging stick play with rock band arrangements.  “I Don’t Have Missions” grounds complex string drum flurries with a steady cadence of bass drum.  Guitar and bass enter after a little bit, turning a fiery beat into vamping, corruscating blues, in the same general universe as Jonathan Kane’s work.  “The Full-Measure Washdown” comes the closest to a full-band rock song, chaotic guitar stabs jutting out of a sinuous spy-movie groove.   

These two songs build on Corsano’s string drum ideas in a rich and engrossing way, but there’s also something riveting about the purity of the all-drums tracks.  Corsano is working out his art with a variety of tools, but the language is the same, and it speaks powerfully throughout. 

Jennifer Kelly

[dysiver]

The grandma (This has some stuff you guys already know and some new stuff, lemme know if this helps or not)

Adriene

Age: Oldest being alive next to Daxon.

Status: True God of Death.

Family: Dys (son)

Adriene became aware of themselves at the same time as Daxon. The two came to exist in a realm different from the one they created. They weren’t sure how they came to be but they were aware of the fact that no one created them and they manifested as a necessity in the realms. Adriene’s powers manifested at the same time as Daxon’s. The second Daxon created life, Adriene became aware of the fact that they were able to take it and consume it. 

The more life Daxon created the stronger Adriene became and in return, the more lives Adriene took, the stronger Daxon became, making the two equal in strength and power over living beings. It was how they realized that a fundamental rule needed to be followed if they wanted to continue growing, and that was that all living beings must eventually meet their end, just as they are born they also needed to die. 

Adriene unlike Daxon became quite interested in the creatures Daxon was able to create. While Daxon was indifferent to his creations, Adriene found them quite interesting and cute. It wasn’t long before Adriene started asking Daxon to create beings based on whatever they had in mind, whether it was an animal, a creature, a monster, or even beings that resembled them physically. It wasn’t until Adriene started to ask these things from him that Daxon started to enjoy creation and found it fun to entertain Adriene with whatever they wished to create. 

It was how Adriene started to write stories that Daxon took an interest in and found fun. The wild tales Adriene would write would go from heroes saving a princess to complicated worlds with powerful beings that watched over them. The worlds Adriene wrote were sometimes complicated and sometimes quite simple, but Daxon carefully read every tale. He kept asking for more and as Adriene read the stories to him, Daxon found himself leaning on Adriene to create worlds and life outside what he could imagine. It was unknown to Adriene but the reason why Daxon couldn’t create worlds like Adriene was that Daxon only had eyes for Adriene so death was all he saw and wished for, which made him unable to imagine life even with the power to create it. 

The two of them stayed together for thousands of years, creating universes, multiple realms, and sometimes simple worlds. Through those years of creation, they developed beings that resembled their powers, this was done due to Adriene’s tales and also the need to keep an eye on all the creations they made. They were given the title of Gods, and later on became known as the Original Gods. The Gods they created lived longer lives than any of their other creations, they were pretty much considered immortal even though they weren’t, at least not yet. 

The Original Gods, unlike their creators, experienced more complicated emotions and desires. They were after all made with the idea of conflict in mind and a tale that developed a plot with twists and turns. They were all stories that came from Adriene and those stories were not perfect, at least in Daxon’s and Adriene’s eyes they weren’t, for most of their conflict seemed like petty games for the True creators. 

The Original Gods feeling inferior to their creators, started to fear them. The power they owned was nothing compared to them, on top of it, they were destined to die and meet their end with Adriene once their tale was finished. They didn’t want to die, they didn’t want to disappear and they also didn’t want their tales to come to an end just to be replaced by new ones once Daxon and Adriene got bored with them. 

The Gods plotted against their creators and their target became Daxon. Even though the Gods didn’t speak to him all that much, they were aware of how extremely naive their creator was, almost to a flawed level. Adriene was the one that seemed to understand them the most, which made sense since they were the ones that made them as they were, therefore they could read the Gods easily, like the palm of their hand. What Adriene didn’t anticipate was for the Gods to be crafty enough to even fool them. It was one thing for you to know your creation and for another for your creation to exceed your expectations, and that’s exactly what Daxon and Adriene faced. 

The Gods started to spread fear in their worlds and realms. The fear of decay, death, aging, everything that made life a cycle of enjoyment turned into sorrow, a curse and something to be feared. This created fear in living beings, and eventually, they were starting to be born with that fear from the very beginning. This caught Daxon’s attention, he noticed the shift right away, unlike Adriene. That same fear confused him and made him feel at a loss, for he couldn’t understand why anybody would be afraid of death, of Adriene. 

It was then that Gods started to get closer to Daxon, explaining their issues and fear of Adriene. They blamed Adriene and how life was so much more beautiful than death. Death meant the end, it meant that everything they did, everything they worked so hard to achieve was for nothing. Death was hollow, pointless, and depressing. It was what every living being feared the most, including the Gods. 

It was how the Gods then asked Daxon, what was he going to do when death came for him? When Adriene decided that it was his time to die as well. The thought itself made Daxon laugh, as there was no existence in the world where he could be without Adriene and Adriene couldn’t be without him, yet, he could feel and taste the fear with every new creation. It was a poison that was spreading throughout him even without him noticing it. It became even more evident when Adriene took the life of the Gods that had been with them for so many years. They took those lives without a second thought and a smile. 

Daxon started to become afraid of Adriene and that fear caused him to side with the Original Gods. 

It was peaceful at first, with Daxon simply asking Adriene to stop taking the God’s lives, something that Adriene promptly denied right away, reminding Daxon that the cycle of life needed to be kept in balance, which means everything that is given birth has to die when its time came. But Daxon knew Adriene well and if there was one thing Adriene had always wanted to do was to create something of their own, to give birth to something like Daxon was able to and so Daxon made a trade with Adriene. He would allow Adriene to create something of their own with Daxon’s powers and their own, and in return, Adriene would turn a blind eye towards the Gods. 

At first, Adriene refused but the idea of being able to give birth to someone, to be able to finally call a creation their own was what they always wanted. They eventually agreed and so Adriene was finally able to give birth to a creation of their own, a son. They were so thrilled that they decided to indulge in their own selfishness for once and turn a blind eye towards the gods. They were now Daxon’s responsibility and Adriene, they were far too happy with their own creation to care. It was a small mistake like this that started an avalanche of issues. 

After the Gods were freed from death, they became greedier and unstable. Even though they didn’t have to fear death anymore they still wanted it gone, as if it was a threat that they couldn’t move past and so they started plotting again. The Gods knew that the balance of life and Death was what kept Adriene’s and Daxon’s powers under control. Which meant that if the balance was broken then one would overpower the other. To break this balance, the Gods started wars left and right, in every world, universe, and realm. 

The wars were endless, ruthless, and void of life. Even as the Gods sacrificed all of their people, they didn’t care at all, for it was a means to an end to accomplish their goal. The Gods that were similar to Daxon and were in charge of creating life stopped their tasks, leaving Daxon by himself and forcing him to handle everything on his own. At the same time, Adriene was quickly overwhelmed by the number of deaths and souls that kept happening all around them. They couldn't control the large amount of energy being fed to them by the large toll of victims in these wars. 

Adriene lost control then. They lost control of themselves and their powers, turning them into a void of death that was consuming everything around them. Daxon was called then, informed by the Gods of what was happening. He was the one who intervened and stopped Adriene but the only way he was able to do it was by sealing Adriene away and their powers. The seal ended up binding Adriene’s vision and voice, making them unable to reach anyone or see any of the other realms or worlds. They were locked away in a void with nothing but their task to fill the time and the son they never let go of. 

In the never-ending void, Adriene wasn’t able to do anything. Without the power of creation, they couldn’t make worlds around them, or anything that resembled life, so instead they started to use souls, snatching them away and forcing them to take shape into whatever Adriene wished. Even if they were sealed away, their task as the one True God of Death continued. After their realm started to resemble a shadow of the life they once had, they were able to be somewhat at peace. 

That peace didn’t last long. Even though Adriene was able to bring their son with them, they quickly realized that without Daxon’s direct influence, their son was far too fragile. No, it was more like, their body couldn’t contain their power because they hadn’t reached a point of maturity yet and so, he was dying. The last thing Adriene had that belonged to them was dying, and there was nothing they could do. It shouldn’t make them sad, it shouldn’t make them angry, as the True God of Death they should just accept it, but they couldn't. Adriene shattered their son’s body, leaving only his soul and then forced it to reincarnate right away, leaving Adriene all alone.

For hundreds of thousands of years, Adriene was sealed away, with nothing but the souls that came through their realm to tell them how the world was changing and how things were different. It was also how they kept meeting their son, as once he died his soul would come back and quickly be reincarnated again instead of letting it rest. This was due to the fear Adriene had of Daxon noticing their son’s soul and getting rid of it…although it was greatly damaging Adriene’s son’s soul. 

Every time their son died, he would reincarnate faster and then faster, and faster. Until one day, that son died when he was only a teen, with a rope around his neck. It was then that Adriene couldn’t watch him suffer anymore and instead of reincarnating him, they used souls to create the closest resemble of a body that they could master. Adriene put a piece of their soul as well, sealing it away within her son’s body to keep his body from breaking apart. This time there was no reincarnation, just her son waking up alive again and feeling better. It worked, and maybe this time Adriene could watch him grow old again instead of dying young. 

At least that’s what Adriene wished until Dys was kidnapped by the child of a star. 

Beel who was seeking a new Death God to use as a vessel for his father, took notice of Dys in another world. He noticed Dys’ odd constitution and confused it for the same characteristics of a newborn Death God. This went along with his plan and so he kidnapped him and tricked him until he finally revealed who they were and forced Dys into a ritual that would strengthen his body to be able to withstand being possessed by Beel’s father. The ritual was a success but unbeknown to Beel, after fortifying Dys’ body with souls, he also caused the connection between Adriene and Dys to grow stronger. This made Adriene able to see the world through Dys’ right eye and be able to control his body if so they wished. 

After Lucifer took control of Dys’ body, he was promptly kicked out by Adriene who fought for control over Dys’ body until they won. Beel not understanding what happened was killed by Adriene possessing Dys’ body, or at least that rendition of him was killed. 

Adriene took Dys’ to another world and returned the curses back to their original state while also returning the hellions to their original form. They took a few of the hellions with them so they could protect Dys while leaving a note for the rest to keep in contact with them. It was after everything was back in order, or at least most of it, that they gave Dys control of his body again. 

It was also how Adriene was able to see the world again and experience new Adventures with Dys and the rest of the hellions, at least until they were forced to face Daxon and Noah together. The memories of what Daxon did to them, and how many years they were left alone and abandoned finally reminded them of how much they had grown to hate him. 

Adriene wanted to get revenge. They wanted Daxon to suffer as much as they did and in their rage and anger, they ended up taking over Dys’ body against his will again, not only that but they ended up using him to harvest souls to fight on equal ground with Noah and even harm Daxon. They just needed to take more souls, they needed to get stronger. They kept fighting and taking lives to get stronger until Dys made them snap out of it. If they kept going like this, not only were they going to destroy Dys’ body, but they were going to continue to kill innocent lives that had nothing to do with the wars between Gods. 

Adriene stopped fighting and Noah took this chance to seal the connection between Dys and Adriene. It was the last time Adriene saw their son, but they knew he was alive, as Adriene kept Dys’ body and soul together through the years of torture and death he faced against Noah. Their connection was only truly re-opened hundreds of years later just for Adriene to realize that Dys had gone berserk and it was too late to stop him. They were gladly absorbed by their son, becoming one with them this time, instead of doing the opposite like so many times before. Adriene with the last of their powers, helped Dys keep his memories and sense of self, in a last attempt to keep him from making the same mistake they did. 

Adriene was later brought back to life by Dys. He was able to do this with the help of a newly reincarnated Narah who became a God of Life in her new world. She took whatever parts of Adriene that were left inside Dys and made a new body for them. 

Adriene is now as powerful as a regular God and can still shapeshift and has control over souls, however, they are not a Death God anymore and are free to roam the world and experience it as a regular person and not as a writer telling tales for creation. 

Personality: Adriene is a bit of an airhead but for the most part it is because they are always distracted and thinking of new plot ideas for new tales. They are, however, very snarky and tend to be extremely sarcastic. They are quick-witted and quick to say whatever is on their mind even if it might hurt someone’s feelings, although they have gotten better at not doing that. They see death as something normal and part of living so they have no sympathy for dead people or for people that might be mourning someone. 

They are the type to kick someone when they are down, but that’s mostly due to their cynical nature. However, that isn’t present when it involves their son as they tend to be friendlier and nicer to them, to the point that they feel like a completely different person. 

Due to Daxon’s betrayal, they have heavy trust issues and are a bit too overprotective of Dys. They are also quite violent and to some point extremely hostile but if they like someone they tend to give them cute nicknames or cheer for them. They are also the type to think with the mentality of the glass being half empty instead of half full.

For the most part, they can be very mature and seem to know what to do at all times, this is because they are the ones who wrote all the tales Dys is living through or at least were the ones to create the original characters, which makes them sort of a walking Wikipedia.  

Random Facts: 

Adriene isn’t fond of animals much, however, they love sea creatures and their realm resembles a fancy large aquarium. 

Being a writer, they tend to get lost in thoughts a lot before being seen scribbling away new ideas or thoughts that they are afraid they might lose. 

They are addicted to technology and social media. Dys has to time their phone time or else he ends up with sore eyes. That is no longer a problem once Adriene gets their own body. 

Adriene loves the hellions and is always dotting on them, much to Dys’ frustration as the hellions developed a thing for snitching on Dys when he doesn’t do what they want him to.

As mature as they are, they tend to be very irresponsible with some things, like leaving glaring plot holes that make some Gods too powerful, or writing creatures that are difficult to deal with.

Their favorite thing to eat is a peanut butter and honey sandwich, but that’s cuz they don’t know how to cook. 

They are addicted to any sort of Dramas, especially the ones with love triangles. 

They want to get better at drawing but cannot draw at all. 

Adriene loves to fangirl over what they like, even getting Dys to buy merch of some shows they are addicted to or cosplay while they control his body. 

One of their dreams is to write a new story and have merch of it, but not merch with religious symbols, they are tired of those. 

They really dislike Baal/Albert. 

After they were reborn they went on adventures on their own and made new friends, but they still came back to visit their son and keep him company. 

If someone is wrong, they'll argue non-stop with them.

They suck at drawing but they make up for it by being an excellent musician.

[hrodvitnon]

Hello again, back on my “what would x kaiju be like in Abraxasverse” bullshit, and I’ve got like, nearly half a dozen so I’m just gonna get right into it.

Ebirah: One of the few earth based kaiju with an extremely fast healing factor (to the point of being able to regrow entire claws within weeks/months), Ebirah is just, well, kind of a little shit. He’s long made the water surrounding Leichi Island his home, but he’s always desperate for a little more territory. While acknowledging Godzilla’s status as the king, he does his best to stay under the radar and try to gain more territory without alerting the “big players”. However, he is nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is, and he’s gotten himself into trouble with Godzilla more than once over his blatant territorial fuckery. He’s also one of the few people on Mothra’s permanent shit list for attempting to attack an island she had long ago called home. When push comes to shove, he’ll help defend earth from threats, but he’s always scheming in the background and he’s not exactly liked or trusted by the other Titans. Hes kind of a “starscream” archetype.

Kumonga: Queen of Solgell Island, Kumonga is ancient and perhaps amongst the crankiest of all the titans. She’s content with her small island home, even if she does somewhat get into conflict with Kamacuras and his brood. However, she’s not very pleasant to be around, basically being the equivalent of a nagging senior to the other titans, constantly complaining and insulting them. She has respect for Goji however, and is more than happy to help him when called upon. Also likes to mess with Ladon, so that he’ll “respect his elders”. Think, “jerk with a heart of gold”.

Kamacurus: a Titan which by pure dumb luck, managed to survive when most of his species died relatively young, as food for other titans. Due to this, he managed to grow much larger than others of his species tended to, and came, like Kumonga, to call Solgell Island his home. He is fairly content with his abode, aside from the occasional spat with Kumonga. However, he absolutely hates humans, and while usually pretty amiable to other titans, he will attempt to outright murder any humans he sees in his territory, leading to conflicts with other titans such as Ladon and Goji. Recently, he’s discovered a small nest of eggs that seem to be others of his kind. He will protect them with his life.

Oodako: “The scavenger” Titan of the sea, Oodako isn’t one to normally engage with other Titans, preferring to sift through what remains after a battle or attack human settlements in remote areas with no fellow Titan presence. Unlike other titans who have more positive or negative ideas about humans, Oodako is indifferent, simply seeing them as a particularly tasty form of sustenance at best. He does his best to avoid the likes of Goji, but did accidentally make an enemy of Kong when he mistakenly wondered into Skull Island’s shores and attempted to devour an Iwi camp. He also has begun to form a rivalry of sorts with Baragon, after thinking the young Titan dead and attempting to devour her. He’s basically a giant coward who knows he’s out of his league and does his best to stay under the radar.

Megaguirus: Queen of the Megnula swarm, she is the ancient enemy of Rodan’s species, much in the same way the MUTO’s were to Godzilla. Cruel, vicious, and utterly deranged, she is a complete and utter wild card in Earth’s Titan ecosystem. She often prefers to have her subjects do most of the “dirty work” for her, with her staying in their hive and only coming out when a particularly appealing opponent presents themselves. Her and Rodan bitterly hate eachother, with her attack on their home being what led to his parents demise centuries ago. While most of Earth’s titans will at the very least reluctantly follow Godzilla and Mothra when push comes to shove, Megaguirus only allegiance is to herself and her brood.

Hope this wasn’t too much rambling, just some thoughts I’ve had and thought I’d share. Hope you’re doing well and having a good 2024 so far!

No worries, these headcanons are fun, and happy 2024! I like the idea that some Titans are just Little Shits, it helps them stand out; plus Rodan and Megaguirus being foes is a neat spin – not everyone can have a grudge match with Godzilla.

[cafeleningrad]

Alright this is probably a very unsympathetic reply that likely goes against your point but I've made enough personal experience with new age and alt-spiritualist movements with family members and workplaces that I don't feel like being too sympathetic to the beliefs such people subscribe to. To be more precise, how complacent they are to such beliefs.

There are many intelligent, and very kind people in these circles. And yes, these circles are extremely quick to rope new people in with their cosmology. They often operate on principles of pseudo-science, distrust against science, ethereal repackaging of bio-essentialism, and ethnonationalism, and racist hierachy beliefs. These groups are extremely permeable to right wing-occultism. In fact a lot of these beliefs have their roots in racist thought schools like theosophy à la Balvatsky or Magré, or a just spontaneously made up bullshit (like Steiner wrote some his lectures the evening before even though he didn't have any intimate knowledge about, say agriculture). Hence why esoteric, new-age spiritualist groups are ever so often roped in with varying degrees of intense conspiracy theories, working against medical treatment, forming anti-state groups. Again, anecdotal, however there was this pattern that in different countries, family members, authority figures, or colleagues tried to convince me either how 9/11 was an inside job, or told me outrageously false stuff about autism (in Steiner philosophy), or how cancer is caused by negative events in a patient's life.

I agree with you OP. Alt-spiritual beliefs, esoteric beliefs do fill the cracks society can not fill, even fails to fill. Spiritual rituals give people a sense of agency. Blaming terrible stuff like cancer on bad life events might make sense of an overwhelming situation. Homeopathy has such a success because, unlike hospital staff, or doctors the payment model of homeopathic practitioners allows them to have time to listen (and the patient doesn't have to go through a grinding process of check-up at different experts); it's one address were all worries can be worked with, seemingly. Heck, the Steiner-model place for people with disabilities really was a greatly inclusive community model for everyone living there. I get why it appeals to people. We are living in deeply insecure times which attract many people to such movements promising miracle cures, simple principles to make sense of the world, a spiritual direction in life, little trinkets for coping. But I really would like to implore people to familiarize themselves with empirical evidence, the history of certain movement and beliefs. Even more so the history, life style, and politics (!) of their spiritual mentors/models. So many of so-called "old beliefs" are, for the most part, actually wild ideas of made-up 19th century spiritualism, adapted and altered for nationalist narratives which then got propagandized (lunar phases by example, adapting Greek astrology falsely to fit into a Germanic belief).

Another insidious mode that I did notice in such communities (again, I use a generalizing term mostly for the sake of frequent overlap), is that they quickly cultivate a sense of being right, over the arduous process of scientific evidence. The complacency of comfort is strongly alluring.

Yeah, I really did enjoy my time at care work, a really caring, community-oriented place but my boss believing that disabilities are result of karmic results, that was also part of Steiner's cosmology. Not to say how absolutely dangerous that is for the people we wanted to help.

By no means is astrology an entry drug but for Pete's sake, if one's world view functions under the same cosmological principles of binary "male energy" and "female energy", "divine feminine making the womb sacred", female archetypes based on absolutely made up ideas of womanhood through history, and this view is shared by spiritual anti-vaxx groups, and tradwives - there should be principles of one's autonomy as a woman, and anti-racist beliefs etc. that should ring alarm bells. And judging from how astrology booms all over social media, especially tik tok, many astro-fans are unconciously sharing a lot of that rhetoric.

Perhaps people aren't dumb, these movements are predatory and quick, but these movements are darn comfortable. Yes, people are tired, yes people are confused, yes people are insecure. But a life outside these groups doesn't have to be frighting, or insecure, or lonely. The comfort such groups promises are often based on denying uncomfortable truths, reinventing strict social hierarchies, culturally appropriating and misrepresenting various religions, blaming medical issues on the patients, and spinning conspiracy theories that are often just refurbished "replacement theories" which are especially comfortable for these groups which are predominantly white. There is a comfort in a simplified world, not needing to argue why one's life is right. So people aren't dumb but they should be hella careful with what cosmologies they comfort themselves with.

Plenty of highly intelligent people end up getting sucked in to cults because they just wanted people to hang out with. There are antivaxxer nurses. Your ability to act on empirical reason breaks down fast if your social and emotional needs aren't being met.

[naturalfarma-blog]

How to Start a Plant-Based Diet, Step by Step

Switching to a plant-based diet can seem daunting, especially for someone who’s been eating meat for most of their life. However, the transition doesn’t need to be drastic. It can begin with small changes — such as adding more vegetables and plant-based proteins to meals while gradually cutting back on animal products.

The key to a healthy and balanced plant-based diet is variety. At every meal, it’s important to include different types of plant foods, always tailored to individual preferences and nutritional needs.

🔸 Plant-based proteins Legumes (such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas), soy products (like tofu, tempeh, edamame, and soy milk), seitan, nuts, and seeds are all excellent sources of plant protein. These foods don’t just provide protein — they’re also rich in fibre, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and beneficial plant compounds.

Simple meal ideas include: a lentil and walnut loaf, a hearty vegetable and bean stew, tofu sautéed with mushrooms and rice, or even a classic almond butter and jam sandwich.

🔸 Whole grains Barley, wild rice, Kamut, and other whole grains should be regular features in the daily diet. Unlike refined grains, whole grains retain all their components — bran, germ, and endosperm — and preserve their nutritional value. They are high in fibre, help regulate blood sugar levels, and promote a lasting feeling of fullness. Ideally, about six portions of grains should be consumed each day, with at least half being whole grains.

🔸 Vegetables A variety of colourful vegetables — such as spinach, carrots, courgettes, tomatoes, and asparagus — are essential in any plant-based eating plan. Packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre, and phytochemicals, they should form the foundation of every plate. Aim for two to three cups per day.

🔸 Fruits Fruits like mangoes, grapes, berries, pears, and cherries are naturally sweet and full of fibre, antioxidants, and vitamins. The natural sugars in whole fruits are not linked to the same health risks as added sugars, which are associated with diabetes and heart disease. The recommended intake is between 1.5 to 2 cups per day.

🔸 Healthy plant fats Fats from plant sources — such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds — are vital for heart health. These include both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Including a daily serving of these whole foods, whether raw or used in cooking, helps meet the recommended fat intake of 20% to 35% of total daily calories.

Adopting a plant-based diet doesn’t have to be complicated or extreme. With small, consistent choices, anyone can move towards a healthier lifestyle and enjoy the long-term health benefits it brings.

[jennelikejennay]

This is great!

I often think of how much we don't know about Tarsus.

We don't know if Kirk was marked to live or die—and obviously it makes a massive difference in how he felt about it. 4000 lived, 4000 died, but only nine were eyewitnesses. So was he an eyewitness because he was supposed to die, or was he not supposed to be there at all but looked on?

We don't know how they were killed. We don't know how Kodos managed to pull it off—did he hide the truth of what was happening from everyone, or did people sit by and let it happen? Forcing four thousand people to their deaths would take a lot of manpower. So did he have a huge army, or was it trickery? I've written it two ways: in one, he locked everyone in a warehouse and set it on fire (explaining Leighton) and in another, he simply arranged everyone's food supply and poisoned the groups he didn't want (backing up Spock's account more).

We don't know if AOS Jim went. I like to think he didn't and that's why he's taller than TOS Jim. After all, his whole childhood was different. Young adult TOS Kirk was "positively grim" whereas young adult AOS Kirk is wild and careless. Could it partly be that?

We don't know if anybody actually went hungry! After all, they had 3 months of food left and the ships came sooner than that. (It would make no sense to kill people after they're out of food.) So they wouldn't have run out. But perhaps they are on very short rations to make it last that long. It would certainly be even more morally abhorrent if they weren't on extremely short rations, because that would imply they could have stretched them further.

Which kind of raises the question of just how evil Kodos was. Was he actually trying to save more people, or was that just an excuse to implement his eugenic ideas? In some fics, he engineered the whole fungus.

What life was on that planet besides the crops they brought? I like the idea that maybe it was all inedible to humans—from a biochemistry standpoint, that's not unlikely and would explain why they couldn't just forage. And maybe that's why the fungus killed the crops, they just weren't that fit for the biosphere.

Tons of unknowns! Which means lots to make up fics about. Most writers seem to follow the same basic pattern, so it has the potential to give the impression that that's canon and they all have to be written that way. But really, you have almost complete freedom here to explore what happened.

what happened on tarsus iv?

this is my attempt at creating a definitive list of information on what kirk experienced on tarsus iv for fic writers and other fans who want to know wtf is up with kirk's backstory.

(I have a longer, more general post on tos kirk's backstory here.)

"Kodos the Executioner, summary. Governor of Tarsus Four twenty Earth years ago. Invoked martial law. Slaughtered fifty percent of population Earth colony, that planet. Burned body found when Earth forces arrived. No positive identification. Case closed."

let's start with this quote from spock, detailing the information he found on their ship's computer.

first of all: at its core, this episode is tos's take on the nazis who escaped capture. adolf eichmann was only found in 1960, and would certainly have been in the public memory as a high profile nazi who managed to make a new life under an assumed name. he was not the only one to have escaped capture, and I don't think I need to explain which conspiracy theory the circumstances of kodos's faked death call to mind.

this episode was an exploration of what form cruelty and authoritarianism might take in star trek's universe, with a huge amount of influence from shakespeare's work. the two together make up this central dilemma: is it kodos? might kirk be condemning an innocent man? if it is kodos, does kirk have the right to act as judge, jury, and executioner? is it possible for someone who carried out terrible acts to live a new life somewhere else, and not have the violence follow?

SPOCK: According to our library banks, it started on the Earth colony of Tarsus IV, when the food supply was attacked by an exotic fungus and largely destroyed. There were over eight thousand colonists and virtually no food. And that was when Governor Kodos seized full power and declared emergency martial law.

MCCOY: I've heard of it.

SPOCK: You may not have heard it all. Kodos began to separate the colonists. Some would live, be rationed whatever food was left. The remainder would be immediately put to death. Apparently he had his own theories of eugenics.

MCCOY: Unfortunately, he wasn't the first.

SPOCK: Perhaps not. But he was certainly among the most ruthless, to decide arbitrarily who would survive and who would not, using his own personal standards, and then to implement his decision without mercy. Children watching their parents die. Whole families destroyed. Over four thousand people. They died quickly, without pain, but they died. Relief arrived, but too late to prevent the executions. And Kodos? There never was a positive identification of his body.

the thing is, this introduces a number of inconsistencies. it could easily be chalked up to confusion between multiple drafts of the script, but if you want to look deeper and see where the information comes from, you'll notice the two survivors have very different stories than the official starfleet record.

specifically, spock says that they died quickly and painlessly, and though he is sure that karidian is kodos, he does not seem to treat him as a legitimate threat to anyone's safety. we don't know if kodos ever directly killed anyone, or if he only gave the orders. but kirk and leighton seem to agree on the violence: leighton refers to his own injury as "the bloody thing (kodos) did", and kirk recalls kodos "blasting" others out of existence. it's possible kirk was saying it to confuse kodos, so kodos might say "that's not how it happened" and give himself away. it's also possible that leighton sustained his injury at a different time than the massacre. it seems likeliest to me in any case that the information on the ship's computer is not the entire truth.

which also means you can headcanon whatever you want and nobody can tell you definitively that you're wrong. be free with your tarsus iv headcanons.

exploring the tarsus iv lore (or lack of it) has led me to this sort of consensus in the fandom that kirk was looking after a group of children. I think it's a very cool way of exploring how central it is to his character that he has to be in control, protecting people, and fighting back, and I've read and enjoyed some absolutely fantastic fics with that premise. even william shatner seems to agree. in his novel collision course (which gives kirk and spock a sort of alternate first meeting as teenagers and gives some great insights into how shatner viewed kirk's backstory), kirk ().

the ship's computer specifies the number of survivors later in the episode as nine, and lists them as

Kirk, J., Leighton, T., Moulton, E., Riley, K., Eames, D.

before kirk cuts it off. once leighton dies, the last two surviving are kirk and riley.

the novelization by james blish names a couple more characters, and in order of age: Leighton, T., Molson, E., Kirk, J., Wiegand, R., Eames, S., and Daiken, R., which was what they called the role of kevin riley initially. he is specified as being five years old at the time, and kirk is not a child or teen but a midshipman.

and collision course names still more characters. edith zaglada, an eight year old girl who kirk saw killed. donny, tay, and billy are named as other survivors. this novel doesn't get into kodos's motivations or kirk's circumstances, but it gives us two new characters, griffyn and matthew, who are teenagers employed by kodos as bounty hunters for escapees of the initial massacre. starfleet arrives just as edith is shot and griffyn is trying to convince matthew to shoot kirk. we don't really know if kirk knew any of the other survivors, but he mentions edith's name specifically a few times as a death that affected him a lot. it's heartbreaking to watch city on the edge of forever with that in mind. I also can't find a source for anyone calling him JT, but collision course does call him jimmy during the flashback chapters.

crucially, the novel isn't technically canon. so you can have your gang of children led by JT, or you can have jimmy stick with a couple of people, or you could do something totally your own. none of these are wrong! do whatever your heart desires.

if you want some practical details, there's a great post here by @spirk-trek and pt 1, pt 2, and pt 3 of a great post by @pywren. I may make my own tarsus iv headcanon post if anyone is interested, and if I do I'll link it here.