#AND THE DISTORTION POTTERY

[that-sure-is-a-person]

Me after listening to episode 7 of the Magnus protocol

[bookiechu]

19th century pottery from Ramallah. Reference images of Palestinian pottery from The Palestinian Museum Digital Archive. Gouache on paper.

[strawberryflavoredvenum]

Creepypasta mental health hcs

Like always, I am completely disregarding the cannon(and my earlier hcs) ^⁠_⁠^

Also tw: mental illness (duh), self harm, psychosis, depersonalization. Idk tw everything.

Also I hope everyone knows that none of these disorders create these kinds of people. This is all fiction and 99% of people with these disorders don't even get close to this. Ik it sounds obvious but I still want to remind you. I have ptsd, asd, and persistent depression. I also have friends with some of these and they are all amazing people. I mean this for personality disorders/disorders with stigma like npd or bpd as well.

Toby

❤️ schizophrenia

He has an even mix negative and positive symptoms. He doesn't experience them all at the same time. The negative symptoms are more common throughout the day, but the positive ones are more severe. (negative or positive does not mean good or bad. They are terms used to describe whether or not a symptom adds or takes away something to someone's behavior/functioning. A positive symptom can be hallucinations, while a negative symptom may me impaired attention)

His negative symptoms include not taking care of himself, self isolation, alogia (made worse when people bullied him for his speech patterns/tourettes), and anhedonia.

Positive symptoms include scrambled speech (word salad), delusions of persecution, auditory and visual hallucinations. Auditory:voices, name calling, other proxies voices, crying and screaming. Visual: bugs, shadow people, Lyra, hands, visual distortion. He also feels paranoid and nihilistic thinking.

During episodes he is known to hide, lash out, extreme emotional outbursts of fear, paranoia, anger or sadness. He also displays agitation, poor hygiene, and a lack of social awareness.

❤️Pica

Idk but I've always head cannoned him to have this. He is kinda sneaky about it so other proxies watch him closely around objects he's been known to try. Things like paper, paint chips, parchment, or anything with a ceramic/clay pottery/glass like consistency.

❤️tourettes

It's not as severe in my hc as it is in cannon. Still noticeable though. If he could feel it, his neck would be in so much pain.

❤️cipa

This is self explanatory. He has to check himself over with a mirror so he doesn't accidentally leave an injury untended. He finds random bruises he didn't know about all the time. He has to take great care to make sure he doesn't forget about injuries, letting them get infected. He has many scars. Also a couple chunks bitten out of his cheek and tongue.

❤️ He needs more help than the other proxies but has learned to live with his disorders and hold a routine. Toby is willing accept help, but only from certain people that he trusts and cares for. He tries his best every day to be better than the next.

Nina

❤️ manic depression

She has horrible episodes of depression, with intense mood swings. She was originally diagnosed with bipolar. She'll either be in bed all day, flirting/obsessing over Jeff(who is not reciprocating) or getting into arguments and impulsively spending her money. She also struggles with self harm. She hides it behind sleeves or heavy bracelets. Jane worries and checks on her often to make sure she's okay. Bringing her food and trying to get her to take a walk when Nina is depressed. When Nina is manic, Jane tries to ground her and keep her on a routine. She feels very guilty afterwards. Her friends understand. They all have issues.

❤️ hypersexuality

She doesn't have a lot of sex but she has intense intrusive thoughts about it. Especially involving jeff. She doesn't like to open up about it because of the stigma. She doesn't want people to see her as a slut or something. Most of them would never think that of her or anyone with hypersexuality. They wouldn't care if she was a whore to begin with.

❤️ Erotomania

She is convinced that Jeff and her are meant to be. She finds random signs that Jeff is reciprocating in things that don't exist. Jeff doesn't like her very much. Other proxies feel uncomfortable about it and try to keep them separate. (Nina would never cross the line into predatory behavior. None of the proxies are like that.) It's gotten much better but she falls back into old thought patterns during episodes. Nina has learned to respect boundaries and respect Jeff's.

❤️ drug abuse

She's been known to abuse party drugs. They are hard to get as a proxy(and also banned in the house) so it's much less severe than before.

❤️ histrionic personality disorder

She feels much more intensely in every way. She believes that her friendships are closer than they are, her emotions have no middle ground, and she has strong opinions on everything. She has some attention seeking tendencies and feels bad when she doesn't receive the desired response. She isn't a liar but often exaggerates when she tells stories.

❤️Nina is pretty receptive to help as long as she isn't in an episode. Sometimes she feels hopeless and gives up but not for long. She watches a lot of online therapy videos since they can't get a therapist.

Jeff

❤️ Antisocial personality disorder

He struggles to have much care for other people or their feelings. He's incredibly impulsive and thrill seeking. This has made him both the best and worst proxy in the mansion. He doesn't see the moral issue with lying. Luckily he's pretty bad at it and can never keep his story straight. His mood throughout the day is either agitated or bored. Becoming a proxy has made his antisocial behavior worse because he is able to justify it in his mind. If you asked him, he would say that he doesn't love anyone. Though he doesn't care for anyone, he likes being around Liu. His brother is one of the only people he chooses to talk to outside of joking or missions.

❤️ trichotillomania

Skin picking was always something he did but it got much worse after the fire. He tends to pick at the area between burned, and normal skin. He does the same with his scars. Putting bandages on his arms can help prevent picking. He tries not to look in mirrors often. Not because he hates how he looks, but it makes him want to pick more.

❤️psychosis

It's how he became "Jeff the killer" in the first place. In the early stages, he becomes more paranoid, disorganized, and stops taking care of himself. During the episode, he becomes mistrustful, agitated, comes to random conclusions/assumptions, doesn't sleep for days, and becomes more hostile. The full episode can last from a week to a month.

❤️ insomnia

He stays up until he drops. He doesn't try to help his insomnia until someone else intervenes. It majorly exacerbates his other problems.

❤️ He's generally not open to change. he could have gotten better if his parents had caught/cared it sooner. Liu isn't going to give up on him though. He doesn't care how much Jeff complains or lashes out. Liu and Slenderman are the only ones able to get Jeff to cooperate or calm down.

Liu

❤️ptsd

He isn't upset at his brother. But he still survived a horrific ordeal because of him. Sometimes when helping Jeff through an episode, he'll accidentally trigger Liu. Liu is determined to help Jeff, even if his PTSD makes it hard. He has bad nightmares about waking up to see Jeff. He tries to isolate when it gets bad. Jeff doesn't notice when Liu is struggling but when he finds out, he tries to help in his own way. Usually giving him space since he knows Liu's PTSD is mostly from him. Liu feels guilty about it.

❤️ codependence

Liu doesn't feel that he has anything left after everything that's happened. Even if Jeff was the one to kill their parents, and almost him, he is all Liu has left. He doesn't like living here but he'll go anywhere his brother goes. He feels responsible. Jeff would never admit this but Liu knows Jeff still needs him.

❤️major depressive disorder

He's had it since he was a kid. He feels empty and his motivation to do anything goes down the drain. His appetite is one of the first things to go. Not because he isn't hungry, but he doesn't feel like leaving his room. He'll sit at his desk staring at the work he needs to do or lay in bed.

Helen

❤️ autism spectrum disorder

He's always felt different. Never really known how to interact with others. He mostly keeps to himself. You don't need to learn to talk to people if you never talk to them. He has a system for everything that makes it easier for him. He keeps most things about himself private because he can be sensitive. Before he became a proxy, he tried to mask but he doesn't care anymore.

❤️Social phobia

All the bullying wrecked his self esteem. He feels that everyone is judging him. The other proxies don't see him much. He would rather sit in his room doing art. He even got a mini fridge so he wouldn't have to leave as much. He has heart palpitations and feels nauseous when he has to interact with the more abrasive proxies(Jeff).

❤️ generalized anxiety

Even before the bullying, he's always been an anxious person. He fidgets and double checks everything around him to make sure nothing will go wrong.

❤️ paranoid personality disorder

He generally does not trust others. It's not completely inaccurate half the time. He feels that others are out to get him. Relationships are really hard because he doesn't believe anyone actually likes him.

❤️ He's neutral about recovery but he needs to let someone in. He won't get better unless he learns to rely on someone else but he's scared.

Jane

❤️ptsd

Like Liu, she also has ptsd after what Jeff put her through. Unlike Liu, she hates Jeff for what he did. She feels angry about it because she didn't deserve what happened to her. She has a hard time letting herself fall asleep and has had panic attacks. She doesn't remember most of what happened and that might be for the best.

❤️body dysmorphia

She had this since middle school but it got worse when she was burned. The fire and left her body burned and scarred. She tries not to think about it but she misses how she looked before. She covers up a lot because she doesn't like her burns being stared at. Also because the burns are sensitive.

❤️she is actually trying her best to get better. She reads books and does meditation.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[pseuddamntired]

Hmmm okay I have my shitty python script most of the way there. Basically, you know those stereographic projection sculptures Henry Segerman did? The 3d printed ones?

These:

https://youtu.be/lbUOScpu0ws?si=L0CtMawBZNWuzfdm

I want to do that with a lace sphere. Problem 1: map the intended shadow to a sphere.

Problem 2: project the spherical coordinates such that I can make the needlelace flat, with minimal distortion of the spherical image.

I got both of those figured out. So I can convert from the left photo below to the right photo below. Or. I can convert from a given photo to a maybe-not-too-distorted approximation of a flattened globe (I’m using an interrupted sinusoidal projection; if anyone even sees this and has suggestions for a better projection to use for this purpose, I would very much appreciate hearing about it. I got sick of reading about map projections very quickly).

The right image below would (hopefully, if I did it right) be the pattern that creates a sphere that will project the target image. It’s supposed to a tiling of abstract lotuses based on Greek pottery but. I don’t think they read very clearly. And they ended up upside down because I was checking that the coordinates were right by plotting them instead of converting them to an image. So. That’s a thing. I’ll fix it when I’m not tired of staring at my computer.

It will take forever to actually make a design I’m happy with and then execute it with thread, but I at least have the ability to make my computer do the projection for me now. Still have some things to work out regarding what maximum resolution i can use for the final image, but if need be I can fuss with the arguments until it’s a doable pattern.

[aishangotome]

Azel Radwan: Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Thank you @shatcey for providing the video for this chapter!

♡———♡

Azel: Good evening. I've been wanting to see you, you know?

When I came to, I was here again.

In this rose garden full of buds, there’s a man with an otherworldly appearance, resting his hand on an oak table.

I have a strange feeling like this has happened before, or maybe it hasn't.

(Somehow, only the presence of this Living God feels strangely vivid.)

Emma: ...A dream, right?

Azel: Oh? There's no way to prove which is the dream and which is reality.

Azel: Human wisdom hasn't progressed enough to unravel the mysteries of dreams.

Azel: It's possible that you being here is actually reality, and vice versa.

(I kind of understand, but I kind of don't.)

Azel: By the way, are you good at cooking?

Suddenly switching from a mystical topic to a realistic one, it took me a while to grasp the meaning.

Emma: I wouldn't say I'm good at it, but I can make decent food.

Azel: That's good. Actually, I've been interested in the local cuisine of Rhodolite.

Emma: ...Why are you suddenly bringing this up?

Azel: Because I know what will happen in the future.

Azel: When the time comes, you'll understand my intentions.

(It's hard to believe, but I guess that's how Gods are.)

Azel: By the way, I haven't had dinner today.

Emma: Eh? Are you feeling unwell?

Azel: No, it's due to various circumstances.

Azel: You're supposed to be a kind-hearted woman. You wouldn't do something cruel like leave a God on the verge of starvation, would you?

Emma: ...Rather than a prophecy, it feels like you're blatantly pressuring me to "come and cook for you."

Azel: Not at all, not at all. I'm just telling you that I prefer hearty meals to sweets, but I have no ulterior motives.

(I feel like there's nothing but ulterior motives.)

Azel: Besides, "you" over there hardly remembers what happened here.

Azel: There's no point in pressuring you, is there?

Prince Azel smiles mercifully – and the world begins to distort.

Azel: Ah, I'm looking forward to it.

Azel: –– ...I just happened to need a slave.

-

I woke up with a start, drawn by the light, and found myself in the guest room that had been given to me yesterday.

(I think I had another dream.)

(...It was a dream with the Living God in it.)

As usual, my memories crumbled away.

What remained today was the puzzling information "hearty meals, not sweets," and a chilling, inexplicable pounding of my heart.

(It wasn't a nightmare, but... how strange.)

-

Emma: There's something I've been wondering about...

Emma: Owner, what's that?

The city surrounding Tanzanite Castle was even more lively than Rhodolite.

The reason was obvious; everywhere I looked, there were tourists who seemed to have come from foreign countries.

Some people were enjoying food bought from stalls, while others were browsing souvenir shops selling pottery and textiles, which were local specialties. But what drew the most attention was the statue of the Living God, sitting majestically in the center of the city.

(I only passed by yesterday, so I couldn't get a good look at it...)

(Looking at it now, it's a spitting image of the real thing.)

Akatsuki: It's a tourist attraction. It's famous as a power spot where wishes come true.

Emma: Ah, that's why so many people are praying.

Akatsuki: You want to go too?

Emma: No... I'll pass.

(My wish is "to fall in love," so somehow I feel like I shouldn't pray to this statue.)

(...Really, it's just a feeling.)

Emma: So, what are we doing today?

Akatsuki: We're delivering an item that was requested.

Emma: So the Living God wasn't your only client?

Akatsuki: I have about 100 business partners in Tanzanite.

(That many...?)

Akatsuki: Sometimes I sell books, sometimes I exchange them for other books.

Akatsuki: Watch and learn.

Emma: Yes! I'll do my best to learn.

(This is completely different from looking after the shop. I have to work hard.)

Renewing my determination, I chased after the Owner's back as he walked ahead.

But I soon stopped in my tracks.

Akatsuki: ...Seems like something's happening.

Emma: ...!

The crowd gathered a short distance away was different from the others; they were buzzing with commotion.

Thanks to the Tanzanite soldiers, people were already starting to disperse, but through the thinning crowd, I could see a man with a swollen face.

Emma: He's badly injured. Was it a fight?

???: Something like that. It's been happening a lot lately.

(Ah, that voice...)

When I turned around, I saw Basil carrying a large amount of luggage, and Kamal, whose beauty, as always, was attracting attention.

Basil: I suspect a diviner misread the divine oracle.

Emma: What do you mean?

Basil: Divination in Tanzanite is considered to be the interpretation of the divine oracle, which reads the will of God from the stars.

Basil: Since Prince Azel is a God himself, his words directly become divine oracles...

Basil: Diviners are required to be skilled in how well they can interpret the will of God.

(Speaking of which...)

*flashback*

Azel: The basis of divination in our country is astrology.

Emma: Astrology...?

Azel: It's what you call astrology. What's popular here is unique to Tanzanite.

*back to present*

(Unique, so that's what he meant.)

Basil: However, it seems that many diviners have been misinterpreting the divine oracle lately...

Basil: Customers who are angry about the blasphemy against God sometimes lash out like that.

It was a logic I couldn't understand.

(I think divination is something that can be right sometimes and wrong sometimes.)

Emma: ...Are mistakes not allowed?

Basil: Well, divination is something that can change a person's life.

Basil: In this country, to call yourself a divinator, you need to have a certain level of resolution or preparedness.

(I guess I don't understand because I'm from another country.)

Basil: The idea that Prince Azel's thoughts are something that a mere divinator can read is preposterous.

I felt a shadow fall over Basil's face as he pushed up his glasses.

(Basil also has something on his mind, and that's dangerous!)

As he touched his glasses, the balance of his luggage was disrupted, and the Owner supported it with a speed invisible to the eye.

Basil: Oh dear, I'm so sorry! Thank you very much.

Akatsuki: Don't mind it. But, is this for a feast?

(I thought so too.)

The contents of Basil's luggage were a large quantity of groceries.

It was such an amount that it seemed difficult even to walk while looking ahead, and at least I wouldn't be able to carry it.

Basil: No, it's just an errand.

Basil: It certainly feels like there's more than usual, but I'm sure there's some noble reason for it.

("Noble reason" means it's an errand for Prince Azel, right?)

Only Basil was running the errand; Kamal was empty-handed.

When our eyes met, his long, beautiful fingers pulled out a letter.

The envelope was presented to the Owner.

Akatsuki: An additional order?

The Owner, who opened the seal on the spot, furrowed his brow at the letter he took out.

Emma: ...What's wrong?

Akatsuki: It says they found a clue to the book I was looking for.

Akatsuki: ...But it's suspicious.

Emma: Isn't that a good thing?

Akatsuki: If they were willing to tell me like this, they could have told me yesterday.

Akatsuki: Yet they deliberately contacted me later. And they're telling me to come and get the clue.

(...Indeed, I wonder if there's some intention behind it.)

Basil: Well, Prince Azel also apologized for that.

Basil: He said, "I accidentally forgot to tell you."

Akatsuki: .............

Akatsuki: In the first place, I don't have time to go get it for a while.

(I'm sure he has appointments to meet with his clients after this.)

(...But I think the information about the book is something the Owner desperately wants...)

(It might be rude to refuse the goodwill of a God.)

(Alright, this is where the assistant comes in.)

I raise my hand and volunteer to the Owner, who has a grim expression on his face.

Emma: Shall I go and get it?

-

Azel: My apologies… I am truly sorry.

Prince Azel warmly welcomed me when I visited his residence with Basil and Kamal, after parting ways with the Owner.

The way he emerged from the building with such perfect timing, as if he had foreseen everything, made me truly believe that he possesses some extraordinary power.

Azel: Thank you for your hard work, you two. Please bring the luggage inside.

Basil was frozen with his eyes sparkling, saying "H-huh..." Kamal grabbed him and pulled him inside.

(Now it's just the two of us.)

Emma: I've come on behalf of the Owner. I heard that you would give me a clue about the book...

Azel: Yes. I will give you a map.

Prince Azel turns his back to me and starts walking.

His eyes urge me to "follow me," so I follow him, but he's fast.

(Are his legs long, or is he just unusually fast...!)

I desperately chase after him, and as I follow Prince Azel through the uniquely shaped entrance---

Emma: ………… Huh?

I stop involuntarily, blink a few times, and pinch my cheeks.

It hurt like normal.

Azel: What's wrong?

Emma: No...

(Wh... what's going on here!?)

It was a shock, as if I had stepped into another world.

Unlike the weathered exterior walls, the interior was so neatly maintained that it didn't feel like it had 1000 years of history, and there was no sign of the precariousness that made it seem like it was about to collapse.

It's hard to say it was a brand new building, but the description of a "castle" truly suited it.

(I initially thought it was a solitary castle in the desert, and maybe I wasn't far off.)

Emma: The atmosphere is quite different from the exterior.

Azel: Of course, I can't just live in a 1000-year-old building as it is.

Azel: It's under major renovation right now.

Azel: The right side is mostly finished with renovations, so there's no problem, but the left side has partially collapsed.

Azel: If you happen to walk around here, never go to the left side.

Azel: If you do happen to enter it–

Emma: ...If I do?

Azel: Hehe.

(I'll be careful not to accidentally wander in there.)

Azel: Please be careful where you step.

Prince Azel goes up the stairs and proceeds to the right.

While chasing after him at a running pace, I casually glance to the left, and even though the sun should be directly overhead, it seems like a dim darkness lingers there.

(...I wonder if it's because the renovations aren't finished yet.)

After passing through the entrance hall, there's a corridor, which is also beautifully repaired.

At the end of the corridor where Prince Azel strode purposefully, there was a door.

Azel: Now, please come in.

Even though I was out of breath, I entered through the open door without a shred of suspicion... and found myself not in a guest room, but a kitchen.

(...Why?)

In the tidy room, the large amount of luggage that Basil had been carrying was carelessly placed. As I picked up a fruit that had rolled out of a bag, question marks popped up in my mind one after another.

Emma: Prince Azel... is the map in the kitchen?

Azel: Of course not, you idiot.

(!?)

(What? I just heard him speak like a different person...)

The door slams shut.

Prince Azel leaned against the closed door, blocking my escape route, and the corners of his mouth lifted.

Azel: Now, it's time for collection.

Emma: C-collection?

Azel: Here you go.

A letter, seemingly produced from thin air, is thrust in front of me.

Emma: This is...

I rub my eyes and look again.

No matter how many times I look at it, I can only read it as a "divination fee invoice."

Moreover, the numbers lined up on it were of an exorbitant amount that I had never seen before.

Emma: ...Is this addressed to me?

Azel: Yes, it's addressed to you.

Emma: I'm sorry, but I don't recall this.

Azel: Don't tell me you thought a God's divination was free?

Emma: ...Eh?

Azel: Wow, how rude. Don't underestimate me, okay?

(The divination from yesterday, it wasn't free!?)

I hurriedly pulled myself together as my senses started to fade.

Emma: But you said it was a thank you gift...!

Azel: There are many people who want to receive my divination but can't.

Azel: The thank you gift is the "right to receive divination."

Emma: You didn't say a word about that!

Azel: Well, it's common sense.

Emma: I don't know any such common sense!

Azel: Don't blame your ignorance on me.

(This is a scammer's tactic!?)

The me of yesterday, who thought he was a merciful and kind God – it seems I was seeing an illusion.

(Maybe this is his true nature.)

*flashback*

Clavis: But it's surprising. You're the current "Belle," and you're good at seeing through people's true nature, right?

Clavis: ...No, that's not right. Or rather, is it that impression precisely because you "saw through" it?

Clavis: Hmm, very interesting. I wonder if it's me who's seeing the illusion, or you.

*back to present*

(–That's what he meant. How pathetic of me, even though I'm Belle.)

Azel: Ah, but please rest assured. I'm not so cruel as to say "pay now."

Azel: We have two payment methods available: cash or labor.

(I can't feel assured at all.)

Azel: You don't seem to have any money, do you?

Azel: To repay this amount, you'll have to work like a slave...

Azel: Good luck.

His benevolent smile fueled my anger.

(Everyone's been deceived.)

(This person is not a merciful God at all. Rather...)

Emma: You, evil God!

Azel: Oh my, are those insults? As expected, a foreign girl is quite spirited.

Azel: But you see...

As I glared at him, Prince Azel grabbed my chin with his large hand–

Azel: Shall I show you what happens if you defy me?

.

.

.

Letter

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[cheshireliam]

Azel Radwan Main Story: Chapter 3

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting

Azel: Good evening. I wanted to see you. 

Before I knew it, I was back here again. 

In the rose garden filled with unbloomed roses, stood a man with an otherworldly presence leaning against an oak table. 

I had a strange feeling that this had happened before, or perhaps it hadn’t. 

(For some reason, the living god’s presence feels oddly vivid.) 

Emma: … This is a dream, right? 

Azel: Who knows? There are no means to prove whether it is a dream or reality. 

Azel: Human wisdom has not advanced nearly enough to uncover the mysteries of dreams. 

Azel: It could very well be that the version of you here is the real one, or it could be the opposite.

(I think I get it… but at the same time I don't.) 

Azel: By the way, are you good at cooking?

The sudden shift to such a mundane topic coming from someone with that mysterious aura left me puzzled for a moment. 

Emma: I wouldn't say I’m especially good at it, but I can make something decent. 

Azel: That would be sufficient.  Actually, I have always been curious about the local cuisine of Rhodolite. 

Emma: … Why mention that all of a sudden?

Azel: Because I know what will happen in your future.

Azel: You will naturally understand when the time comes.

(It’s hard to believe, but I guess that’s just how gods are.)

Azel: Incidentally, I have yet to have my dinner today. 

Emma: Are you feeling unwell?

Azel: No, there were simply quite a number of things I was caught up in. 

Azel: You are a kind-hearted lady. Surely you would not be so cruel as to leave a starving god in the lurch, would you?

Emma: … This feels more like you’re blatantly pressuring me by indirectly saying “come cook something for me”, instead of giving your prophecy. 

Azel: Oh no, not at all. I am only casually mentioning that I prefer hearty meals over dessert. No hidden motives here.

(You definitely have hidden motives.)

Azel: Besides, “the other you” will hardly remember anything that happens here.

Azel: It would be pointless to pressure you here, yes? 

Azel flashed a benevolent smile— and the world started to grow distorted.

Azel: Ahh, how I look forward to it.

Azel: —... I’ve been meaning to get myself a slave.

…

Drawn by the sunlight, I jolted awake and found myself in the guest room I was assigned yesterday. 

(I was dreaming again.) 

(... The living god appeared in my dream.) 

As usual, memories of the dream had long crumbled into incomprehensible fragments.

The only thing that remained today was a single piece of information that he “preferred hearty meals over desserts”, which I couldn't quite understand.

An inexplicable feeling of dread drained the blood from my face. 

(It wasn’t a nightmare, but something still feels… strange.) 

…

Emma: There’s something I’ve been curious about for a while…

Emma: Owner, what is that over there?

The town surrounding Tanzanite’s castle was livelier than the one in Rhodolite. 

The reason was obvious— wherever you looked, you’d see tourists visiting from foreign countries.

Some were enjoying snacks bought from street vendors, while others were browsing gift shops selling local specialties such as pottery and textiles. 

Standing prominently in the center of the town, drawing in the most people, was a statue of the living god.

(I only managed to catch a brief glimpse of it when passing by yesterday…)

(But now that I’ve gotten a closer look at it, it looks very lifelike.) 

Akatsuki: It’s a tourist attraction that’s known for making wishes come true. 

Emma: Ah, so that’s why so many people are praying to it.

Akatsuki: Want to give it a try too? 

Emma: No… I’ll pass. 

(My wish is to “experience love”, but something tells me that this statue isn't what I should be praying to for that reason.)

(... It’s really just a gut feeling, though.) 

Emma: That aside, what’s our itinerary for today? 

Akatsuki: We’re delivering goods we were commissioned to bring.

Emma: So the living god isn't your only client here.

Akatsuki: I have about a hundred business partners here in Tanzanite. 

(That's a lot…) 

Akatsuki: I sell books to some of them, and exchange mine for different ones with the others. 

Akatsuki: Watch and learn.

Emma: Got it! I’ll do my best to learn as much as possible.

(This is nothing like watching over the bookstore back home. I must work harder.)

Feeling determined, I adjusted my mindset and hurried after the Owner who was already walking ahead of me.

But he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Akatsuki: … Looks like something happened.

Emma: …

A crowd was gathered a short distance away from where we were standing. It was different from the ones in town. 

Due to the efforts of the Tanzanite soldiers, the crowd was already starting to split up. But through the decreasing number of people present, I caught a glimpse of a man with a swollen face.

Emma: That looks awful. Did a fight break out, perhaps?

???: Something similar. It's been a frequent occurrence lately. 

(Ah, this voice…) 

I turned around to see Basil carrying a large amount of baggage.

Kamal, looking as strikingly beautiful as ever, drew stares from everyone around her.

Basil: It’s most likely a case whereby that diviner misinterpreted a divine message. 

Emma: What do you mean? 

Basil: Divination in Tanzanite is considered an interpretation of God's will, performed by reading the stars and conveyed as divine messages.

Basil: Being god himself, His Holiness Azel speaks directly to the people and his words are considered divine messages. However… 

Basil: A diviner’s skill level depends on how accurately interpret God’s intentions. 

(Now that he mentioned it…)

[ Flashback ]

Azel: Reading the stars is the most fundamental part of divination in our country, after all.  

Emma: Reading the stars…?

Azel: So-called “astrology”. Although the popular method used here is one that is unique to Tanzanite.

[ Flashback End ]

(So that’s what he meant by “unique”.) 

Basil: But recently, there seem to be many diviners misinterpreting the divine messages…

Basil: And sometimes, angry clients who feel that it’s blasphemy lash out on them. 

It was a logic I couldn't quite understand.

(Divination can be sometimes right and sometimes wrong. Isn’t that how it works?) 

Emma: … Is there no room for mistakes at all?

Basil: Well, there’s a possibility that a divination could alter a person’s life. 

Basil: It requires a certain level of resolve to call oneself a diviner in this country. 

(Perhaps this concept is hard for me to understand because I’m from another country.) 

Basil: As if the views of His Holiness Azel could ever be so vulgar that an ordinary diviner can interpret them.

Basil’s facial expression seemed to darken ever so slightly as he adjusted his glasses.  

(Maybe Basil has his own opinions on his… look out!) 

The act of adjusting his glasses caused the balance of his baggage to shift, and the Owner moved at lightning speed to catch it. 

Basil: Oh dear, I’ve done it again! Thank you so much. 

Akatsuki: No worries. Is it for a banquet? 

(I thought so too.)

Basil’s baggage contained a large amount of food supplies, so much that he was struggling to walk straight. I definitely wouldn't have been able to carry that big of a load. 

Basil: No, I’m just running an errand. 

Basil: It looks like an unusually large amount of food, but I’m sure it’ll be used for a noble purpose. 

(If he says “for a noble purpose”, it must be an errand for Azel.) 

Basil was the only one running errands. Kamal, on the other hand, was carrying nothing at all. 

When our eyes met, she pulled out a single letter with her long and beautiful fingers.

Akatsuki: Is it a new order? 

The Owner unsealed the envelope on the spot, and his brows furrowed the moment he read the contents of the letter. 

Emma: … What’s wrong? 

Akatsuki: It says that there are clues leading to a book I’m looking for.

Akatsuki: … But something’s not right.

Emma: Isn’t that a good thing? 

Akatsuki: If he intended to tell me, he could’ve done so yesterday.

Akatsuki: And yet, he chose to send the message the next day and ask for me to go retrieve said clues. 

(... It does seem like there’s some sort of ulterior motive.) 

Basil: His Holiness extends his apologies for the blunder.

Basil: He says that he “carelessly forgot to mention it”.

Akatsuki: …

Akatsuki: Anyway, I won’t have the time to go collect it any time soon.

(He’s definitely scheduled to meet many clients after this.)

(... But knowing the Owner, he’d give anything to obtain information about books…)

(And it might come off as disrespectful to refuse a god’s act of goodwill.) 

(Alright, this is where I step in as his assistant.)

I raised my hand as the Owner’s expression remained stern.

Emma: Shall I go instead? 

…

Azel: I sincerely apologise for forgetting such important information. 

After parting ways with the Owner, I visited Azel’s dwelling along with Basil and Kamal, where I was warmly welcomed.

The timing at which he came out of the building as though he foresaw our arrival further reinforced my belief that he truly possessed mysterious powers.

Azel: Thank you for your efforts. Please bring the items inside. 

Basil’s eyes were sparkling and full of admiration… only for Kamal to roughly grab and drag him inside.

(Now it’s only the two of us.)

Emma: I’m here as a representative of the Owner. I was told that you have a clue about the book he’s looking for…

Azel: Indeed. I will give you a map. 

Azel turned his back to me and started walking.

He looked back at me with a glance that said “follow me”, and so I hurried to catch up.

(Are his legs just long or is he walking unusually fast…!?)

I scrambled to keep up with him, following Azel through the uniquely shaped entrance, and—

…

Emma: … Huh?

I stopped in my tracks, blinking several times and pinching my own cheek.

That hurt.

Azel: Is something wrong? 

Emma: No… 

(Wha… how was this even created!?) 

It was as if I had stepped into an entirely different world altogether.

Unlike the weathered exterior walls, the interior of the temple was in pristine condition. You couldn't tell that the structure was a thousand years old. 

It didn't look on the verge of collapsing at all.

Although it didn't exactly give off the impression of a newly built structure, calling it a “castle” would be perfectly fitting. 

(I thought this was just an isolated castle in the desert at first, and it looks like I wasn't entirely wrong.)

Emma: You have a nice place.

Azel: Right? Everyone worries about me, but the renovation works have made this place rather comfortable.

Azel: You have a good eye. I am impressed that your first impression was that this place looks nice.

(He seems quite happy about it.)

Azel: The right side of the building is newly renovated and has no problems, but the left side is partially collapsed.

Azel: If you ever want to have a look around, please refrain from going to the left side at all times.

Azel: If you do happen to go there by accident,—

Emma: … What happens then? 

Azel: Fufu. 

(I have to be extra careful not to wander over there by mistake.)

Azel: Watch your step. 

Azel started climbing the stairs, heading to the right. 

While hurrying after him, I took a quick glance to the left and noticed that the area was shrouded in faint darkness despite the sun being directly overhead. 

(... Perhaps the renovations on that side aren't complete yet.) 

Beyond the entrance hall that was also beautifully restored.

Azel walked briskly ahead of me and stopped in front of a door.

Azel: Please, come on in.

While still trying to catch my breath, I entered the room through the open doorway without a second thought…

…

What awaited me wasn't a guest room, but instead a kitchen.

(... Why?) 

The neatly arranged room was littered with the large amount of groceries Basil was carrying earlier on.

Questions began piling up in my mind as I picked up a fruit that rolled out of a bag. 

Emma: Your Holiness… is the map in the kitchen? 

Azel: Of course it isn't. Are you an idiot?

Emma: !?

(Wait, was that… someone else’s voice…?

Bang. The door slammed shut. 

Leaning on the door to block my escape, Azel smirked. 

Azel: Well then, it’s collection time.

Emma: C-collect… what…?

Azel: Take this. 

He pulled a letter out of who knows where and thrust it out at me.

Emma: This is… 

I rubbed my eyes and looked at it again.

No matter how many times I looked, the letter unmistakably stated “Invoice for Divination Services”. 

The numbers written on it were astronomical, a sum of money I never would've even dreamed of seeing in my entire lifetime. 

Emma: … Is this addressed to me?

Azel: Indeed it is. 

Emma: My apologies, but I have no clue what this is about.

Azel: Don't tell me you thought I performed the art of divination for free?

Emma: … What.

Azel: Wow, you’re unbelievably senseless. Don’t take me so lightly.

(Yesterday's divination wasn't free!?) 

I quickly reeled in my fading consciousness.

Emma: But you said it was a token of gratitude…!

Azel: There are countless people who want to receive my divination but they can’t. 

Azel: The privilege of being given such an opportunity is the “token of gratitude”. 

Emma: You never said anything about that yesterday!

Azel: Because it's common knowledge.

Emma: It’s not common knowledge where I’m from! 

Azel: Your ignorance isn't my problem.

(This swindler!!) 

The kind and benevolent god I saw yesterday— seemed to have been nothing more than an illusion.

(Could this be the god’s true nature?) 

[ Flashback ] 

Clavis: But it surprised me. You’re the current “Belle” who’s supposedly adept at determining a person’s true nature. 

Clavis: … No, rather, perhaps it was precisely because you “saw through him” that you had that impression of him?

Clavis: Hmm, how fascinating. I wonder which of us is the one seeing an illusion.

[ Flashback End ]

(— So that’s what he meant. Some Belle I am.) 

Azel: Ah, but you don't have to worry. I’m not so cruel as to demand payment immediately.

Azel: I offer two payment options, either by cash or hard labour.

(Neither of those make me feel any better.)

Azel: You don't look like you have any money. Do you? 

Azel: You’d have to work like a slave to pay off a sum this hefty…

Azel: Do your best. 

Seeing that benevolent smile only made me all the more furious.

(Everyone's been fooled.) 

(This man is no compassionate god. If anything…)

Emma: You malicious god! 

Azel: Oh my. Insulting me now, are you? Foreign girls really have a different kind of boldness.

Azel: Well, I suppose that is true. 

As I shot him a glare, Azel grabbed my chin with his large hand— 

Azel: Shall I show you what happens when you defy me?  

[starsandwriting]

Celia saying at least they're not dealing with "tape recorders and manila folders", asking if they've ever tried a different sorting system, hilltop road, distortion pottery and other suspiciously familiar artifacts, a new organisation/hunters that seem to know how to handle the weird stuff, celia (almost amused) recognizing chester, sam receiving an email from "jon", gwen being "in". Episode 7 is just one punch to the face after another NO breaks

[scopostims]

michael distortion (tma) stimboard with kaleidoscopes, spirals, hand stims, and doors for anon :•]

[ID: A 3x3 stimboard of 9 GIFs.

GIF 1: A white person with long green hair flapping their hands and bouncing.

GIF 2: Blue and green footage of someone reaching for a door knob, then the camera suddenly zooming way out before back in.

GIF 3: An animation of a pale purple and blue geometric kaleidoscope pattern.

GIF 4: Purple and green footage of a glass top spinning along a spiral piece.

GIF 5 (center): A slightly-tapered glass cylinder with a green spiral inside being spun, the spiral appearing to shift up and down.

GIF 6: Purple and green footage of someone making a spiral design on a pottery wheel.

GIF 7: Purple and green footage of many shifting and zooming kaleidoscope patterns.

GIF 8: Purple and green footage of someone opening a hefty wooden door with a large key.

GIF 9: Someone in a green hoodie rocking back and forth and flapping their hands.

End ID]

[tunastime]

what if #6 for the spotify ask game?

hi em! number 6 is quite fun in my opinion :3

so because of one very specific submas animatic, I could not get Ingo Pokemon Arceus/Pokemon B/W out of my head. so I don't think you go here but I could not stop myself <3 I hope you enjoy anyway! (1063 words)

Ingo stretches his legs as he sits in the grass. Akari is perched on her heels beside him, staring off into the distance, squinting against the sun. Ingo runs his hand through the fescue sticking up beside him—he’s tired, warm from sitting in the sun, fighting sleep with every ounce of his body. He hadn’t been getting a lot of that lately, dealing with the Sneasel kits. From her place beside him, Akari hums, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Anything?” Ingo asks. Akari hums again, sounding frustrated.

“Nothing yet,” she says. “We’ll know it as soon as we see it.”

“And what exactly is it?” Ingo asks, more out of curiosity than anything else.

`“It,” Akari emphasizes, trying a sigh to keep the budding disappointment out of her voice. “Is a time dilation. It looks like someone took a huge dome and smacked it over a big piece of the landscape.”

Ingo hums, mouth twisting to the side as his eyes flick tiredly over the landscape. Like… like…

There’s a shimmer, meters off in the distance. Like a mirage, dancing over a wide patch of grass, disrupting a group of sleeping caterpie. Ingo watches them worm away.

“Like that?” he asks. Akari blinks, confused, her eyes following his gesture out into the field. There’s a brief pause, where the air seems to still around them, not by nature of the wind stopping, but as if time itself had begun to bend. Akari takes in a sharp, short breath.

“Yes,” she gasps. Then she grabs Ingo’s wrist, and tugs.

It takes a moment, far longer than Akari yanking him forward, for Ingo to get his feet properly under him. He stumbles down the hill, towed by the child in front of him. This sudden burst of energy seems to travel through them like a rogue static shock, bouncing up his held arm and through his chest, giving him enough startle forward, matching Akari’s pace before she can latch onto him again.

He balances himself as they reach the bottom of the hill, straightening his hat and coat as they wade through the ankle-deep grass. Ingo’s frown only deepens in concern as they continue toward the mirage of light in front of them, still a distance off despite the gap Akari is trying to rapidly close. He feels the air catch in his lungs as he tries his best to keep up.

“What is a time dilation, Akari?”

She throws her voice back at him, trying to catch her breath.

“It’s like—time changes in this one area, and pokemon like you’ve never seen flock to it. Like they were pulled out of some other place. Just like—”

Just like us.

Ingo stumbles, hand clasping Akari’s shoulder as he rightens. 

“Right,” he murmurs. 

Up close, the distortion of the ground around the purple-white swirls of air seems to come in and out of focus. He can’t see past the field’s reflective surface, but the air feels heavy, like liquid, like water, when he tries to press his hand through. Next to him, Akari takes his hand.

“I thought, maybe…” she starts, looking at him. Ingo swallows. “But maybe it’s a stupid idea.”

“You think it might jog my memory, right?”

Akari blinks, stammering:

“Or, maybe, like, maybe, at least, maybe fill in some gaps! Not… not necessarily fix anything. Just maybe make something… clearer. Like stilling the water, y’know?”

Ingo sighs, smiling ever so. It’s honestly not a bad idea.

As he presses through the glassy surface, Akari at his hip, it gives to a churning sensation through his stomach and a lightheadedness in his head. He stumbles as they righten on solid, hazy ground. 

The air around them feels much thicker than it is. Akari was right—the field ahead of them is full of pokemon from outside of Hisui—shapes Ingo barely recognizes, and some that aren’t familiar at all. The ground is littered in shards of pottery, or glass, all smooth and colorful as they crouch behind a sizeable rock outcrop. Ingo feels… mostly himself, as of current, but there’s something on the edge of his mind that tugs, that he can’t quite place. He frowns against it, and Akari gives his shoulder a nudge.

“Anything?” she asks. He hums quietly.

“I don’t know.”

She hums back.

“Okay—keep chasing that feeling,” she says, straightening. She peers around the side of the rock, eyeing the field ahead of her. Ingo blinks, startled all at once by Akari’s sudden movement.

“Wait—”

Before he can grab onto Akari’s sleeve, she bolts from beside him, and, at the same time, Ingo feels a sudden, violent wave of nausea pass over him. The world swims hazy grey, like the stone behind him, except the stone is gone, and the floor is solid under his back instead, and the floor is floor, not soft field grass. And light is bright, but not sun-bright, and certainly not the purpled fuzz of daylight through the dilation. Fluorescent bright. He tries to stand, but his strength escapes him, pain finding purchase at the base of his skull. There’s a voice calling out to him, far from his reach, far from the lungs that try unsuccessfully to breathe air and call back out. He tries anyway, even as the memory of a place he should know blurs at the edges.

Maybe he’s not lying down on the floor. Maybe he’s moving. Maybe he’s rocking, synced in time with the motion of the floor under him. Maybe he’s upright, sitting, standing, but the world around him looks like it’s through foggy glass. Like a dream he can’t quite hold onto properly, like an event misremembered. He tries to grab at the semblance of anything, of the memory he’s being forced to recollect, and it tastes so familiar. But it’s so far away.

He can’t remember any of the faces he’s trying to see, even this close. Even the one he’s supposed to remember. The one he knows is like his own.

Ingo forces his legs under him, even as the world bends. The edges of memory become the concrete sensations of rock and grass and the sound of Akari’s delight. And the violent spin of Ingo’s head as he stands upright.

The mirage flickers around him and through him as he stumbles backward out of the dome. As his feet hit the solid, familiar earth of the field behind them, Ingo collapses.

(send me a number between 1-100 and I'll try to write you a fic!)

[bat-luun]

(tags via @encryptidarchivist)

YESSSSS i love him very much hes my darling beloved!!! <33

(ramble below cut cuz this got so long oh my god lmao - cw: suicide mention)

The tma oc is actually an au version of 'Pai Rite' (he/she)! He's player character i made while co-DMing a Call of Cthulhu campaign. He's originally from 1982 Chicago and about 28 years old. Her og lore and backstory and what played out in the campaign is rather complicated so imma leave it out. (tho i'd happy to rant about it lol-)

For the tma version: She uses her full name more often than just her nickname/chosen name; Joshua 'Pyrite' Kerr (he/she). She was born in 1978 in LA, moved to England in 1997, and died 2010 at age 32.

She is marked by both The Vast and The Spiral! (in the same way Martin is a mix of The Eye and The Lonely)

Pyrite has a rocky relationship with his parents from the start, his father was killed/taken by The Vast when Pyrite was only 17. His mother was killed by The Spiral, which triggered Pyrites leave to England to study mathematics at the King's Collage in London.

(Idk if it would really work all that well in canon but I've taken The Vast in a less 'real' direction? Like making it less of a place of endless mist or whatever but making it more like a concept?) Pyrite's father was a mathematician and investigating/trying to figure out more of the pi number. The horror of the uncomprehendable powered my the Fear drove him to insanity and eventually suicide, leaving his family suddenly and without a word.

Her mother, turning even more hyper religious than before, turned to pseudoscience as a way to cope with the grief (buying crystals and crafted religious symbols/spells to protect her, and doing other low-key paranoid superstitious stuff).

She eventually got her hands on some colorful (sea)glass shards which she hung by the windows to catch the light and "ward off evil".

The glass is an artifact of The Spiral! It slowly multiplies in numbers in the given location, and starts changing colors/patterns of objects within it's line of sight (though the owner is the only one who can see it's effects).

The longer the artifact is a set location and affecting it's victim, the more intense the distortions get (pottery/dishes "melting" or changing shape, entire rooms becoming mirrored, objects switching places with each other, glass clinking sounds being heard from every room, ...). Eventually it moves from inanimate objects to people in the victims life.

Pyrite's hair got turned a purple/pink as a cause of the artifact. Panicked, Pyrite's mother took a hammer to the glass, breaking it untill there was nothing left but dust. Pyrite found her body later that day as it was being taken away by paramedics. He moved away after that, taking a single glass shard as a keepsake to remember her by, having no idea of it's effects.

He went on to study mathematics in London and found his fathers research notes, going down the same cursed rabbit hole he did.

She did become an avatar for The Spiral later on as the artifact went on to distort any research notes Pyrite made/found beyond recognition, essentially 'winning' and making her a Spiral avatar. Pyrite died in 2010 after Gertrude and Michael stopped the great twisting. Died mad and dazed and out of breath, trying to keep her grip on the only thing that was left of her mother, the destruction of the ritual making her take her own life.

me and my best friend(one of the other co-DMs) did art of Pai Rite and his gay boyfriend Revemine for valentines day!! :D

(also tagging @horrid-mothlegs for if you want more info for when our tma ocs can hang out >:])

[that-sure-is-a-person]

The Magnus protocol ep 7 thoughts as I go (spoilers ahead)

- Oh Celia is absolutly up to shit, she’s from og world she knows about smirks 14 and the tapes

- HILLTOP MENTIONED OH SHIT

- forgetting names you say

- fucking distortion pottery bastard

- HILLTOP IS ATTRACTING OLD ARTIFACTS FROM THE FEARS!!!!

- the sound design is amazing

- CELIA RECOGNISES THE VOICES, SHE KNOWS ITS JON

- SAM IS BEING CONTACTED BY JON, BOI YOU ARE ABOUT TO EXPERINCE THE HORRORS

- Colin is going off the deep end

- who was Lena talking to before gwen came in

- WHAT DID LENA DO TO KLAUS

- WHO IS HIGHRING THEM, GWEN WHY ARE YOU DIGGING IN TO THIS

- oooh a Bouchard being power hungry and getting into the conspiracy of it all.

- fuck that episode was good!!

[annon-guy2]

Guilty Gear X BlazBlue: BlazBlue Reactions to Bone Crushing Excitement

Here's what I think the BlazBlue cast would say in response to Faust's Bone Crushing Excitement Super in a hypothetical Guilty Gear X BlazBlue Game.

Ragna The Bloodedge

● "GOD DAMN IT!!!"

● "ARGH! YOU... FREAKING!!!"

● "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!!!"

Jin Kisaragi (His quotes a Japanese words for cold related terms)

● "YUKI!"

● "KORI!"

● "SHIMO!"

Noel Vermillion

● "OUCH!"

● "AHHHH!"

● "I ought to shoot you for that!"

Rachel Alucard

● "!?!" Nago: "The princess looks mad!"

● "You... rammed my...!?" Gii: "That looked like it hurt..."

● "You... fool...!" Nago: "Oh dear!" Gii: "Nice knowing you doctor..."

Taokaka

● "YIKESSSSSSSS!"

● "ME-OWWWWW!"

● "Tao's leg hurts neow!"

Iron Tager (Tager reads Mystery Novels and his quotes refer to authors of said novels)

● "LILIAN JACKSON!"

● "STEPHEN KING!"

● "CHARLAINE HARRIS!"

Litchi Faye-Ling (Litchi's a fellow doctor)

● "That's not how a wheelchair works!"

● "You're the one who pushed me!"

● "Is this how you lost you medical license!?"

Arakune (He has bugs. Self explanatory)

● "My bees! Crushed!"

● "My beloved leeches!"

● "Tartar... flee! FLEE!"

Carl Clover (Carl has chess piece like attacks and the last one is a reference to his 'Rhapsody of Memories' Distortion Drive)

● "WAHHHH!"

● "CHECKMATE!"

● "SYMPHONY!"

Bang Shishigami (His quotes are Ninja Commands in Japanese)

● "YAME!"

● "MATE!"

● "ASHI!"

Hakumen

● "Argh!"

● "I won't bend!"

● "This won't stop me!"

Nu-13

● "Damage to leg: Critical!"

● "You...! Will die!

● "Carry me... Ragna!"

Tsubaki Yayoi (Tsubaki likes historical dramas. Her quotes reference them.)

● "HIMIKO!"

● "NAGASAKI!

● "FUEFUKI!"

Hazama (The dude likes hard boiled eggs, so why not?"

● "SUNNYSIDE UP!"

● "DONE OVER EASY!"

● "DEVILED!"

Mu-12

● "Through the armor!?"

● "While I was down!?"

● "While caught off guard!?"

Makoto Nanaya (Makoto likes nuts.)

● "CHESTNUTS!"

● "WALNUTS!"

● "PEANUTS!"

Valkenhayn R. Hellsing

● "UNCOUTH!"

● "BARBARIAN!"

● "RAPSCALLION!"

Platinum The Trinity

● Luna: "LUNA'S LEG HURTS!"

● Sena: "Why'd you run our leg over!?"

● Trinity: "Doctor!? How could you!?"

Relius Clover (Relius enjoys the Opera, so Opera references away!)

● "CARMEN!"

● "FIGARO!"

● "OTELLO!"

Izayoi

● "This can't...!"

● "Argh! That... hurt!"

● "Ugh...! I won't yield!"

Amane Nishiki (His quotes reference Japanese Dance Groups)

● "ARASHI!"

● "TEMPURA KIDZ!"

● "7 MEN SAMURAI!"

Bullet

● "GAH! I'll get you for this!"

● "Why you...!?"

● "Erk! I break your shin in return!"

Azrael

● "That actually hurt!?"

● "To think I felt that!"

● "What's this... PAIN!?"

Kagura Mutsuki (His references are for Japanese Alcohol Brands)

● "SUNTORY!"

● "MIYAGIKYO!"

● "YAMAZAKI!"

Yuuki Terumi (Terumi likes Live Music, so why not?)

● "DEATH METAL!"

● "POWER BALLAD!"

● "HARDCORE TECHNO!"

Kokonoe (She's a scientist, hence her quotes are related to it)

● "CHEMISTRY!"

● "ASTRONOMY!"

● "MICROBIOLOGY!"

Celica A. Mercury (Minerva gets hit instead of Celica here.)

● "Minerva! Are you okay?!"

● "I'm sure he didn't mean it!"

● "P-Please don't be mad with the doctor!"

Lambda-11

● "Damage to knee joints!"

● "Excruciating!"

● "Ragna... help...."

Hibiki Kohaku (Hibiki's quotes are in reference to Pottery)

● "EARTHENWARE!"

● "STONEWARE!"

● "PORCELAIN!"

Naoto Kurogane

● "MY LEG!" (I couldn't resist 😂)

● "NOT AGAIN!"

● "YOU COULDN'T HIT THE PROSTHETIC LEG?!"

Nine The Phantom

● "FIREY!"

● "BURNING!"

● "BLAZING!"

Izanami

● "Transcendence!"

● "Enlightening!"

● "Awakening!"

Susano'o

● "BLASPHEMOUS!!!"

● "ETERNAL DAMNATION!!!"

● "ABOMINATION!!!"

Es

● "Blue lights...?"

● "Nobody...?"

● "Crystal in my chest...?"

Mai Natsume (Mai likes reptiles, hence her quotes.)

● "CHAMELEON!"

● "SUNGAZER!"

● "SNAKE!" (Not a Metal Gear Solid reference 😂)

Jubei

● "Smart move!"

● "Clever trick!"

● "Decent gamble!"

==============================================================================

Hope you all enjoyed this!

[deusexlachina]

Wannabe Warden Part 16: Become the Ultimate Darkspawn Slayer

In which I do everything possible to become the deadliest possible enemy of darkspawn. Short of becoming a Grey Warden.

(And, to do it, I use the ultimate weapon of the Grey Wardens: Math.)

It is now Act 3. This is the peak of Aveline's journey. This is when her story comes to a close, when her companions finish their arcs, and, most importantly, when her build is finished. Is she a deadly striker? A flexible battlefield controller? But there is only one true path for Aveline.

I build her to kill darkspawn as efficiently as possible.

Nothing says "as efficiently as possible" as the Primeval Lyrium Rune, so this is the first step in my darkspawn-slaying aspiration. I get this as a reward for doing a quest dealing with the fallout of the deadly red lyrium, which induced Bartrand to betray his brother, broke his mind, and now a mere fragment of it is making a haunted house, with floating pottery and everything, which is a feat because there's not even a ghost story here, just a really nasty rock.

As we venture deeper into the house, Varric becomes increasingly desperate to find the red lyrium shard, being uncharacteristically rough with a survivor. His mind is already beginning to be distorted by the unholy thing, but he insists on keeping the shard - he needs it to find a way to save his brother! But that's more the shard talking, so I take it from him, which he later thanks me for. I dispose of the exceedingly dangerous shard in the safest way possible: by giving the shard, which can make dwarves evil, to Sandal, who lives in my house and can make explosives.

He then makes it into a rune. That's the Primeval Lyrium Rune. I've taken it away for Varric just to use it for myself as a weapon. This is exactly what Knight-Commander Meredith does, an act that leads to her becoming increasingly evil and then a rock. But Bartrand, Varric and Knight-Commander Meredith don't have the strength of a Grey Warden. Neither do I, but that's a technicality. I just decide not to be corrupted. I'm Merrilling the red lyrium.

But I can only use the Primeval Lyrium Rune once, so the next step is to find the perfect anti-darkspawn weapon. Darkspawn have two weaknesses - spirit, because they're unholy creatures, and nature, because uh poison fucks them up I guess. My only Nature option is Desdemona's Blade, which is largely obsolete. I don't feel bad for it. It's had more than enough glory for one blade. That leaves the best spirit weapons - the Celebrant and the Edge of Night.

Most would say the Celebrant is the better of these. (Many would say Bloom, the ice axe, is better than either of these, or anything else, but they're wrong because cold damage is not the most efficient way to kill darkspawn, my true enemy). But after the Arishok fight, I'm feeling especially skeptical - not to mention spiteful - of conventional wisdom. I tanked the Arishok that you supposedly can't tank, and melted him with a one-hander, which supposedly might as well be safety scissors. So I do a few tests of my own.

I do some math and the Edge of Night is better than the Celebrant. With each equipped with the red lyrium, the Edge is just over 15% faster, which is fantastic if you're a Berserker and do lots of damage per hit. Wait! I am that thing! The Celebrant deals slightly more damage per hit...but the difference is miniscule compared to my overall damage, whereas the attack speed difference is much larger and scales better.

I need to test it in practice, and I find the perfect unwilling research participant: a High Dragon has killed everyone working at the mine, which it always does regardless of what you do, whether you save the miners from three other threats or don't even induce them to come back to the mine in the first place. I feel like there must be some kind of moral here, but the best I can think of is the dangers of unaccompanied miners.

But this is just me being scientific. Of course the Edge is better. I just mathed it out. So I confidently stride out to slay the High Dragon and die horribly to hordes and hordes of its shitty babies. I try again, in case that time was a fluke, and die horribly again and again. I'm...just not killing them fast enough. But...but the math! Did the math let me down, just like Other Aveline? The High Dragon is laughing at me so hard that its jaw dislocates.

I try with the Celebrant, and said babies aren't even a problem. I start to wonder if the consensus is a consensus for a reason. But I'm stubborn. I'm determined to prove that a one-hander can be the ultimate darkspawn slayer. I practice more, and find that - while the AOE is much smaller than for a 2-hander, with some fancy footwork, I can manipulate enemies into my small arc, hitting more of them at the same time than it looks like I should be able to with my tiny swings - swings noticeably faster than a 2-hander. I also try a different set of talents, this time taking Perception so enemies get no advantage from being behind me. They're hitting my exposed back but, uh, they aren't. Skill issue. This does a lot to help with survivability.

I also try out Adrenaline, which trades stamina for damage. This is the same thing as Berserk but even more. The tactical depth here is stunning, though not as stunning as the fact that some Berserkers don't use it. Including me, until now. Even the Mach-5 Massacre guide, probably the best build that has survived the purge of the Bioware forums, says jury's out on Adrenaline. I don't know who bribed this jury, because as soon as I fully upgrade it and start spamming it, in conjunction with my usual Vanguard, Berserker and Reaver tricks, I'm killing dragon babies so fast that I risk long-term ecological devastation. Guys I'm starting to think adding 8% to all your damage per cast with no cooldown over 8 seconds might be a little broken.

This is representative damage without any Adrenaline. I would show you damage with Adrenaline, but it's a little tricky to get a screenshot of that, because the enemies die too quickly. The High Dragon can take it, but he's so big that my damage doesn't always display, which is not a big deal at all unless you're doing some kind of damage experiment.

Seething with bloodlust, adrenaline and, most intoxicating of all, the sensation of proving other people wrong, I hack my way through dragon after dragon until the High Dragon runs out of babies to throw at me. I slay it without caring how I got up on its head, why I didn't lead with that, or what my shield is doing floating several inches from my body.

I am victorious, not only against the High Dragon, but against everyone who said one-handers were bad. With its blood, I make a rune of valiance for my gloves and a rune of devastation to make the Edge of Night even deadlier.

I am now ready to slay darkspawn so quickly that the Wardens can no longer deny my prowess. I will reunite with Bethany and avenge Carver. All I need now is the perfect chance to show off my might...

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 10/26/2024

Uzumaki EP#01: Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend Shuichi Saito live in the small, quiet Japanese town of Kurouzu-cho, which is enveloped by supernatural events involving spirals. Shuichi tells Kirie that he is concerned about the recent increase of spirals and that it is beginning to affect his father, Toshio, who has abandoned his job to obsess over them. When Kirie arrives home, she finds Toshio talking to her father about commissioning spiral pattern pottery. Later at school, Kirie and fellow classmate Azami Kurotani discuss the latter's crescent-shaped forehead scar which seems to have the ability to attract boys with whom she has crushes for. After class, Kirie introduces Azami to Shuichi at the local railway station. Shuichi becomes startled and takes Kirie away, telling her that he senses the spiral curse on the girl. Later, Kirie delivers her father's finished pottery to Toshio, who declines it as he is now interested in becoming a spiral himself. Toshio scares Kirie off by forming a spiral with his own tongue. Meanwhile, Shuichi runs into Azami who attempts to confess her feelings towards him and shows him her scar, which has now turned into a spiral. Shuichi warns Azami to leave town before she is infected by the curse. Some time later, Toshio dies and is cremated, with the cover story being that he fell down a flight of stairs. Shuichi reveals to Kirie that in actuality him and his mother discovered his body contorted into a spiral inside a drum container back at home, which crushed his bones and killed him. The crowd in attendance for the cremation become startled as Toshio's ashes rise up into the air and form a spiral and his own face. Shuichi's mother Yukie goes insane upon witnessing this and is admitted to the hospital. Back at school, another one of Kirie's classmates, a slow-moving boy named Tokuo Katayama, arrives late during a rainy day. He is bullied after gym glass by Kazuki Tsumura, who strips him naked and pulls him out into a hallway where Kirie happens to be passing by. It is revealed that there's a spiral on the boy's back. At the hospital, Yukie's mental health continues to deteriorate as she begins to fear spirals to the point where she shaved her hair and cut off her own finger and toe prints in order to avoid seeing them. Later that night, Azami tricks a classmate boy who has a crush on her named Okada into bringing Shuichi to the park so she could meet with him. Okada, feeling betrayed by Azami's promise go out on a date with him for doing this favor, rips off her hat and it is revealed that her spiral scar has now completely enveloped her head as a vortex. Okada becomes shocked upon seeing this and gets closer to her before being sucked into it. Kirie arrives as Shuichi warns her that Azami's body is starting to be consumed by her scar, which immediately proceeds to completely devour her.

Uzumaki EP#02: Katayama arrives to school late again and is noticed to have swelling from where the spiral is on his back. Elsewhere, teenage lovers Kazunori Nishiki and Yoriko Endo are hiding from their parents in an abandoned rowhouse. Following the incident at Toshio's funeral and others, Kurouzu-cho has outlawed cremation and restarted whole-body inhumations. After school in the town cemetery, Kirie and her friend Shiho Ishikawa are ambush pranked by Mitsuru Yamaguchi, nicknamed 'Jack-In-The-Box' for his trademark pop-up surprises on everyone. Yamaguchi confesses his feelings for Kirie, to which she rejects and the girls walk away. After departing from her friend, Kirie witnesses Yoriko's family assaulting Kazunori for spending time with her. Kazunori tells Kirie that their families hate each other, and as a result won't let the two come into contact. He also tells Kirie that the two are planning to run away from town soon. Later, Kirie discovers that her hair is becoming long and distorted into curls. After the class witnesses Katayama on the school's windows crawling around as a snail person, Kirie runs away during the chaos to a barber where she requests to get her hair cut. Before the barber can cut it, the hair reacts in a hostile manner in order to stop them. Kirie's hair becomes even more distorted and soon becomes the center of attention with people, which makes her friend Kyoko Sekino become jealous. Later, Yamaguchi presents Kirie with a present, to which she rejects. In an attempt to impress her, Yamaguchi runs onto the street to try and make a car stop but it instead runs over and kills him. The next day at school, everyone discovers that Tsumura has also become a snail person and they place him in the school's chicken coup with Katayama. Kyoko arrives to confront Kirie, now also with the same curled hair, in an attempt to win over classmates' attention. Shuichi arrives and stops both hairs from attacking each other, proceeding to cut all of Kirie's off. Kyoko declares herself the winner and walks off into town where her hair consumes all her energy. Tsumura and Katayama escape the coup and the two lay eggs on a local pathway. Kirie and Shuichi discover school teacher Mr. Yokota destroying the eggs before running off to see that Kazunori and Yoriko leave town safely. They meet up with the couple at the train station, but they tell them that their parents spotted them and are actively chasing them. Shuichi suggest they cut through to the beach and all four run off. Both Nishiki and Yoriko's families spot them and catch up on the beach. Refusing to be separated once again, the couple twist their bodies to intertwin with each other and crawl off into the ocean. Some time later, Kirie encounters townspeople walking in endless circles. Rumors catch on about the town lighthouse's recent reactivation at school where everyone discovers that Mr. Yokota has also turned into a snail person. Traveling home after school, Kirie's brother Mitsuo convinces her to go to the lighthouse with him as a boat had crashed into nearby rocks, with the crew having walked in circles. Mitsuo and his friends travel up into the lighthouse and Kirie follows him in. Walking up the lighthouse's stairs, Kirie discovers the corpses of men who were assigned with investigating the lighthouse's reactivation and encounter two of Mitsuo's friends who didn't go up any further upon seeing them. Kirie reaches the top where her brother and his friend are and discovers the tower's light is severely melted, realizing it becomes extremely hot when it turns on. She warns them to run back down and as they do the light goes on at sundown, burning Mitsuo's friend who failed to escape in time and injuring Kirie.

Uzumaki EP#03: Kirie is admitted to the town's hospital for her burns. Multiple pregnant women are also admitted after complaining of being sick from mosquito bites. Kirie's pregnant cousin, Keiko Nakayama, arrives and shares the same room as her due to overcrowding in the maternity ward. The next day, three patients are found dead in the hospital and appear to be completely drained of their blood. The following night, Kirie wakes up and discovers that the pregnant women are roaming the hospital and using manual hand drills to drain and suck the blood of patients. The women spot Kirie and attempt to kill her but she uses Shuichi's mosquito repellant to disperse them. Meanwhile, Yukie continues to mentally deteriorate, with her husband telling her there's a spiral in her ear during hallucinations. Fearing them, she uses a scissors to stab herself in the ear and ultimately succumbs to the injury. Some time later, Kirie and Shuichi walk the hospital hallways, seeing the newly born babies growing spiral-patterned placentas and then discovering in the doctor's surgical room that Keiko's baby has been put back into her womb. Keiko demands blood and the doctor attempts to use Kirie as a sacrifice but she dodges, killing the doctor instead. The two immediately leave the room. Kirie's family welcomes her back home from the hospital with a celebratory dinner along with Shuichi, who becomes startled after discovering her father, Yasuo Goshima, has been making spiral-patterned pottery. Shuichi breaks Yasuo's kiln, as he hears his deceased parents from within. The pottery inside disperses and the shed it's located in catches fire. Later, a typhoon descends upon the town and the eye rests over Dragonfly Pond, calling out to Kirie. She and Shuichi attempt to escape the eye but it sucks them up and drags them near the pond before dispersing. Due to damage the Goshima's household took from the storm, they move into one of the town's rowhouse. One of the neighboring tenants dies from an unknown disease. Another tenant, Mr. Wakabayashi, catches the same disease and attempts to attack Kirie outside but is hit by a tree log from another storm. Yamaguchi's corpse randomly appears, jumping thanks to the car suspension spring inside his torso.

Uzumaki EP#04 Finale

-Toonami Rewind Shows-

Sailor Moon EP#36 - The Usagi's Confusion: Is Tuxedo Mask Evil?: Minako takes a depressed Usagi to the hairdresser to cheer her up. There they are attacked by a monster who is convinced that Minako is Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask appears, alive and whole, but addresses himself as Endymion and appeared to be fighting for the Dark Kingdom.

Sailor Moon EP#37 - Let's Become a Princess: Usagi's Bizarre Training: Usagi daydreams of her past and enrolls in a special seminar to become more like a princess. Kunzite and the evil Endymion argue about which is more important: obtaining the Silver Crystal or killing Sailor Moon.

[sea-lanterns]

tbh, angey, with how long and slim your fingers are, I think you'd be pretty good at pottery

better than me with my short & chubby fingers that is

-🦖

you have no idea how many times I messed up a pot cuz my fingers were too short, and my hand was too chubby to fit without distorting the pot...

I have like…no artistic talent (especially with sculpting and pottery) but I would love to give it a try someday. It seems like a really good date exercise with you and your lover, so perhaps I’ll find a girlfriend to make pottery with as my first time <3

[legendsobsessions]

(@wingsofachampion) Hiya! What's anthropology? -Tropius

It's the study of people! There are four main sub-fields:

-Archaeology (most common sub-field, my own area of expertise though every anthropologist dabbles at least a little) is the study of people from the past via their material remains. "Material remains" can be anything from bones to pottery, the sort of things you'd expect to find at a digsite—anything that provides insight into how those who came before us lived.

-Cultural anthropology is the study of culture more broadly. It aims to describe and understand differences in culture, like how some regions have more cultural emphasis on battling than others.

-Physical/biological anthropology is the study of human biology and how it affects us. Why are knees so prone to being terrible? What in distortion is going on with people who are sensitive to aura? Questions that have to do with genetics, how we are—that's physical anthropology. (Or biological anthropology—both terms for the field are commonly used.)

-Linguistic anthropology is the smallest sub-field (one of my professors jokingly said a long time ago that having a linguistic anthropologist on the university staff was a luxury item, and the older I get the less I think he was actually joking) and has to do with how language affects culture.

While anthropologists tend to specialize in one field, all of them work in conjunction. For example, material remains from an ancient culture might be written in a script that only a few people still speak, necessitating archaeologists and linguistic anthropologists to work together.