#*gestures frantically*

[imminent-danger-came]

So the intros take place at the sea of the cast out

[ndostairlyrium]

John Dombrow worked on Garrus and Javik??

Girl I'm in trouble

[serpentface]

A braithuvi horse at rest under the close protection and watchful, scary, pale-eyed gaze of her herd's guardian, a dírgrahdain. Both are landraces developed within the Highlands. The ancestors of braithuvi (and other Highlands native horses) were brought overseas by the ancestors of the Hill Tribes, while the dogs were obtained from native livestock guardian landraces used by proto-Wardi tribes. Each have become distinct over their centuries of living in the Highlands, and dírgrahdain are have a particularly unique place in the cultural schema.

Braithuvi are a woolly horse breed (and one of many, wool horses are widespread, second only to camala in value for textiles) that are also somewhat specialized for milk production. Their meat is relatively poor (other horses are preferred), but they produce high yields of milk and thick, continuous growths of wool.

Horses are not as culturally significant as cattle to most in the Highlands, but are still highly valued animals that are critical to subsistence. Few plant-based textiles can be produced in the Highlands, and almost all in the region are made with braithuvi wool. They can eat a greater variety of forage than cattle, more efficiently converting energy intake from pastures into milk and wool. Their milk is considered to be the very best of all livestock, and is usually what is used to make the prized murre beverage.

Dogs have a very small specific place in the cultures of the Hill Tribes as utilitarian working animals (specifically for livestock and occasionally as home/village guardians), and rarely ever fill other functions. The practice of keeping dogs purely for companionship is virtually nonexistent (though affectionate bonds between people and their herding or household guard dogs will be fairly common), and their meat is considered worthless. Most dogs are not elevated within the cultural schema, and tend to be merely appreciated as useful, loyal animals. Livestock guardian dogs are an exception to this, and tend to be of more significant cultural import. They are animals that exist to protect the herds on which all subsistence depends, and thus have an elevated cultural status and roles in religion and folklore as uniquely protective entities.

Dírgrahdain are the key livestock guardian dogs in the region, and the only natively developed LGD. Their name means 'lion dog', both in reference to their maned appearance and their ability to fend off and even kill the largest of predators. The dogs are characterized by tall, long-legged builds, deep chests, a curly tail, thick hair (and a thicker winter coat), and a shaggy mane. Their bodies tend to be thinner and lankier than their fur coat suggests, but still well-muscled and powerful. Their coloration can vary wildly, but a black mask with a brown or reddish body like this is most typical. Unnerving, pale eyes are prized in these dogs, with the belief that they not only intimidate predators but are uniquely potent at fending off malicious spirits.

The dog's exclusive function is to protect livestock. They are used primarily for the defense of horses, which are small and very vulnerable to predators (lions, hyenas, king hyena, wild dogs, jackals, nechoi, and even eagles can be threats), though some dogs will usually be posted up with cattle herds to deter raiders.

Pups are most commonly born in the field among their herds. They will be carried in their master's coat while still nursing, but will be allowed to join their mother in her duties from the moment they are strong enough to follow. Dírgrahdain live with their herds day and night. Most will never see the inside of a home, and most seem to prefer it that way. They form close and protective bonds with their charges, and will thoroughly integrate themselves into the social fabric of the herd.

These dogs are not human-oriented, and will usually only form bonds with people that they have imprinted on as puppies (and will merely be cool and polite to those met later in life). They are highly aggressive towards strangers, and introductions must be done incrementally and with great care. This is desirable, as this trait makes them an excellent line of defense against livestock raids. Their loud, booming barks can alert of intruders from a great distance, and they can often successfully intimidate khait, causing some mounted raids to end in humiliating failure. Dírgrahdain are often killed in raids, either to fend off the attacking dog or to silence it before its master can be alerted. This is not outright dishonorable, but not something one will be commended for. Cattle raiding culture here values swiftness, stealth, and strategy- such smash and grab tactics are seen as brutish (and will often result in harsher retribution).

Like most LGDs, they primarily defend their herds by displays of aggression and power, using their loud bark, fearsome growl, and powerful bodies to chase and intimidate predators away without physical contact. Even so, it is necessary for all working dírgrahdain to be willing and able to physically confront predators when necessary. A well-trained, well-bonded dog will defend their herds with their very life, and is often effective in combat against even very large wild predators. Their dense ‘manes’ offer a degree of protection from wounds to the throat, and may be supplemented with spiked collars.

If a mother dog kills a predator, it is often customary to open the carcass and lead her puppies to feed on it. This is thought to teach the pups to be fearless against their enemies, and that they will grow up to be uniquely powerful and brave adults. Pups are given names upon reaching adult size, and ones who have consumed the flesh of predators will get unique names related to their mother's kill, or epithets as supplements to a given name (the exact details of this practice culturally varies). One might encounter dogs in the Highlands named things like Lionsbane, Hyena-killer, She Who Bites Jackals, Lion-Fed Shaggy (Lion-Fed being the honorable epithet, Shaggy being the dog's name, possibly given by a very small child)

The mere gaze of a dírgrahdain is said to fend off malicious spirits, and their thundering bark can scare away even the most dangerous of mountain devils. Their shed hair is needle felted into little dolls (usually into the form of dogs themselves) and placed into the cradles of infants and worn as charms by children to protect them from harm (both mundane and supernatural). Manes taken from dead dírgrahdain have uses among some of the Hill Tribes, and are typically only allowed to be used by their masters (unless recieved as a gift). The most prominent usages are being worn to fend off evil spirits and predators while traveling alone, and some traditions involve placing the manes around the necks or across the bellies of women in labor as a means of spiritual protection for mother and child during birth.

The Hill Tribes and Wardi both identify the same constellation along the ecliptic as a dog. In the case of the former, this stellar dog is identified as Mak-Urudain, a gigantic dírgrahdain with fur the color of flame and eyes as bright as stars, who is the eternal guardian of the Celestial Fields. He allows the souls of the worthy dead to pass into the afterlife and for esteemed ancestors to descend back to the land to guide the living, while preventing malicious spirits, devils, and the dishonored dead from entry.

One Bernike tale describes her attempting to fly into the Celestial Fields to steal the heavenly cattle who graze there. She took the form of a golden eagle, pretending to be an ancestor returning from a sojourn to the world of the living in order to get past the guardian hound. Mak-Urudain was not fooled for long, and led her on a long chase through the night sky before capturing her and hurling her out of the Celestial Fields.

She was never able to even touch the ground of the Fields (much less take any cattle), but had just enough time to take a single seed of heavenly grass in her beak. She returned to her mountain (missing most of her tail feathers and much of her pride) and planted the grass in her then-barren slopes. This is why the grass on Bernike's mountain is so tall and abundant and why cattle there grow so fat and healthy, like all cattle will in the afterlife. The howling winds heard from the mountaintops are playfully suggested to be the barks and howls of Mak-Urudain, calling down from the heavens to keep the witch grounded in the world of the living.

[suntails]

the general’s son

[saintundying]

'I am half sick of shadows,' said

       The Lady of Shalott.

[terminalkisser]

id like to know how you, the terminal kisser, think about the new terminal designs?

I Thhhink theyre .cool .!

[ghostsessioned]

everything's fine, they're fine

[rosetta-j-stone]

red underlining = Live Kris Reaction

blue underlining = someone else in the band stepping in to do some damage control

[aroacewxs]

Black Hole Fantasy - Rui's Acceptance Towards Change (Character & Lyric Analysis)

Hello! This came to me in a vision. I'm either factually correct or just deranged to the point where every single song reads as Rui to me, but oh well!! I love the Crane Wives, I love this song, this album so so much. And I like Rui. So this is your sign to listen to Beyond, Beyond, Beyond in its entirety from beginning to end as intended. For me. (Please. It's also for your own good.)

Note: This is more of a middle school/main story Rui analysis but it applies to so many more of his focuses as well : ) I just didn't want to include everything or else it would end up too messy and long!

Aren't you tired of going through the motions? Is the daily grind meant to dull the mind? I sense a window somewhere closing Somewhere in the world that I just have to find

We start off by looking through the window of a depressed teenager, roughly fourteen or fifteen, slowly wearing his heart and mind away. Every day is the exact same: he wakes up, goes to school (whether he actually sits through class is a whole other story), he keeps his head down, his presence small and tiny. He melts into the background and becomes nothing more but an idea, a rumour. There is no place for him here; all he can do is watch from a safe enough distance.

And Rui knows, he knows that happiness exists. He knows it's there, but it's not here. Not for him. Maybe, in another pocket of the universe where he didn't have to eat lunch alone, but rewriting his story this way, well, that just wouldn't be his story anymore, would it?

The days blur together I watch the ceiling buckle, the walls are closing in There's a black hole in the living-room floor I keep trying to ignore, but it's growing

And even though he can try all he wants, remaining apathetic to the life he was given, he can't ignore how much it eats away at him. It's leaving holes in his chest, holes much too big for a simple fix. He'll take them with him wherever he goes, even as he leaves the rooftop, graduates, leaves the school, leaves the next one.

Even after he cuts his hair, transfers to Kamiyama, and carries on with his guerilla gigs like usual, he doesn't feel whole.

Why? Why won't it go away?

If love is just a chemical reaction Is there a pill to take? Something to quell this ache? Is this the real thing or a distraction? Is it worth the risk? My life would detonate

My knuckles hesitate an inch away from the door What happens when it opens?

It doesn't go away when Tsukasa approaches him with a generous invite, either. He's honoured, of course, but it brings him more fear and dread if anything. There's no way, he tells himself. Life has taught him that no matter how much love he has to give to the world, the world is simply not as loving. He can't take this chance, not again.

And even if it was good enough to be true, just enough good for someone like him, there's no way it would last. It's only a matter of time before they look at him like everybody else did, and all that would be left for Rui is to watch the world from above like he always did, revelling in the fact that he was proven right once more.

Even in my fantasy, I can't commit to believing That I'll get what I want, I'm afraid of what I want Even in my fantasy, I keep the car running In case I need to take off

The months blur together I watch the ceiling buckle, I wonder when it's caving in There's a black hole in the living-room floor I keep standing on the edge and looking in

After all, it's better this way! It's better this way: barely within arm's reach, always a few feet from the door, bags packed from the very beginning, ready to leave when it becomes clear to him that he is probably not welcome anymore.

All Rui needs is complete and utter freedom to make the shows he wants to make. He's convinced himself that he doesn't need other people. People are people, I am me. It's as simple as that, and there is no use in hoping for anything more.

But, deep deep down, he knows it's not true. He's known forever now that something was missing, something he can't place a finger on. This wasn't enough, it will never be enough, but he can't spit those words out himself. Admitting to the truth means accepting that you are unhappy, not like this, not forever, who are you trying to fool, you need more, YOU NEED MORE. However, for someone like Rui who has been taught to believe that he is a selfish person, a cruel, heartless thing who would do whatever it takes to get what he wants, it was easier settling with the little he had.

This is how it should be, Rui tells himself and to nobody else.

But a small, small part of him, something he left years ago in an empty room, cried for someone else to be there with him too.

And on the other side is another life A version of me with a spark in her eyes That I don't have And now she's laughing And it's killing me that I cannot see What's making her laugh From where I'm standing And I have to know So, I'm going in I'm going in

I don't exactly have a perfect way to segue this into the last verse but I just really love the imagery of a younger, sadder Rui, watching his future self from a distance, and he's laughing, smiling, and he's so full of life. Who did he meet that he could let loose and just simply be? Who is making his face crinkle up into the smile he can't even muster anymore? Who is putting the shine in his eyes, the love in his heart? He wants to turn away, it's not real, it's not true. There's nothing like that for him. Not in this life. But the more he watches the more he hurts and the more he hurts the more he feels until all he can do is take that first step forward, reach his hand towards the light, and pray that something catches him.

Let's try this again I'm on my way to your house, guided by the stars I'm pulling in the driveway, I'm turning off the car I'm running to your porch, I'm sprinting up the stairs The door swings open and you're standing there You're beaming down at me, you're reaching out for me And pull me in your arms, and I feel your heart pounding I take a step back to catch my breath And we look at each other and double over and laugh, and laugh, and laugh

And years later, it hits him. That smile, that laugh he saw, was truly only possible due to the fact HE took that first step. It was Rui who "turned off the car," he's not running away anymore, he's moving forward. It was Rui who kept his arm outstretched, Rui who carried the courage to change, Rui who decided to grow closer with Wonderlands x Showtime, his classmates, and ultimately, with true friends outside of his troupe. Had he kept his heart closed away, cold from the wind on the school rooftop, everything would have stayed the same. Rui accepted change with himself first. Rui's change started with Rui.

And, by god, how good does it feel! How amazing is that breath of fresh air, the ache in his ribs from laughing too hard, the sores in his face from smiling too wide? How astonishing is the realization that oh, this is still you! It's still you! Despite everything, all the hurt, the loss, every sliver of joy in your life, it's still you! Maybe not quite anymore, but every part of you, at least a remnant, a memory, lives on in you alone. The Rui smiling with his friends today is the same Rui who believed that there was nothing in this world left for him. He's the same Rui as the Rui three, five, ten years ago, in the smallest of ways. And he carries every single part of him wherever he goes, close to his heart. And that really means something to me.

[eleneressea]

@dragonridersofficer-fiammag replied to your post “bored and annoyed in class someone distract me...”:

Or another classic: the possible repercusions of Aredhel never going into Nan Emloth in the first place/ she got out when Maeglin was still only Lómion and a baby at that/she got out on the side leading to Himlad.

Celegorm and Aredhel, staring at baby Lómion: what do we do with it

Curufin: I know you know how to take care of babies, Turko

Celebrimbor, vibrating: (baby brother acquired)

[pilferingapples]

I think it’s probably a weird liminal space situation where you share an apartment and neither of you suffers any kind of physical consequence like disease for being exposed to the other one but when you leave the apartment it’s 2024 and when he leaves it’s 1832 and then every day you get to return home and compare notes

omg this is beautiful From his POV he's just taken lodgings in a bafflingly comfortable house run by a nice, if eccentric, married working class American couple (I am assuming we're at my place bc we gotta pick a setting and this is the one with flush toilets yk)

from my POV reality has just gone absolute pretzels

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS : - can he still bring other people into the place? -do we magically understand each other in the apartment or am I trying to ' les pommes sont rouges' my way to explaining what happens in 1832

[aphel1on]

I MUST NOT EDIT ALREADY-POSTED FIC. EDITING ALREADY-POSTED FIC IS THE MIND-KILLER. EDITING ALREADY-POSTED FIC IS THE LITTLE-DEATH THAT BRINGS TOTAL OBLITERATION

[jackshiccup]

associating i guess by mitski to otnwas hijack has done irreparable emotional damage to my psyche btw bc how does it perfectly describe jack in ch 43 just before That Scene happens — like the entire second verse but especially ‘i would keep just this quiet after you / it’s still as a pond i am staring into’ pleaseee do not play with me right now i need to go recuperate for 7 business days...

[heartvisor]

[myuminji]

MAN....

[pikkish]

Crack headcanon: the UAC in Eternal was never pro demons, they just made ridiculous propaganda to turn people away from it but it backfired on them spectacularly

Hayden when his ad campaign fails so bad that his employees open an uncontrolled portal to hell and the Doom Slayer wakes up from his millenia long imprisonment to come beat him up: