#Conduit!Pit
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dreaming of a warden farm that shoots wardens up to the surface and well actually i think i'm reinventing the warden aquarium concept again because i do want someday to see a) if the conduit darkness effect glitch still works and b) what's the point of having a surface-level warden farm if you aren't going to make a menace of it to other people. unfortunately wardens float but now i'm thinking about hooking up a randomizer to a scaffolding-observer-water dispenser tower and playing plinko with them. why? i don't know. i think it would be funny. maybe you'd have to race them down without getting obliterated in your own separate water column. the possibilities are endless
#warden aquarium concepts#more testing needed bc i'm about 50% sure the conduit glitch is actually tied to full daylight exposure at low light levels#which. hm. maybe 'surface level' could just be a giant pit. much 2 consider
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!!
Hey guys, now that I’ve finished my semester (and college forever, hooray!) I can post the fun project I’ve been working on! My Inertia Fanzine!!! Hope y’all enjoy! It has references to @cryptocism’s Too Many Thads au & Frequency Fic, as well as an analysis post written by @dementedspeedster!
#really good summary of Thad's arc thru comics so far#and of the fumble of the century when it comes to his redemption arc#lazarus pit inclusion is v interesting to me afaik none of the speedsters in canon have really interacted with them#i wonder if it would have weird side-effects when used on a conduit of the speed-force
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god i just love heart. it's such a good episode. sam doesn't want madison to die because madison is an allegory for himself and sam does not want to die. he doesn't want to be a monster. he sees himself in madison and he desperately wants her to be good because if she is good then so too, maybe, is he. and killing madison is admitting that there's no hope for him and that he can't be saved.
what's particularly thrilling about this episode though is the way this allegory interacts with dean, and particularly the developing relationship between sam and dean.
namely, sam refuses to let dean be the one to kill madison. he takes up the mantle and expressly disallows dean from being there when the bullet is fired. throughout the episode, even, dean is sent on the wild goose chase while sam stays close to madison. and oftentimes, these chases are initiated by sam, who urges dean to follow the trail. it comes off, in the end, as if sam is trying to actively prevent dean from interfering with what he needs to do. which is, ultimately, to kill madison.
when sam begs dean not to be the one who kills madison, he is ultimately talking about himself. the message of the episode is that he doesn't want dean to kill him. this is a striking difference from playthings, where sam begged dean to kill him. sam spends much of this span of time between the two episodes grappling with the depth of dean's love and his fears of the inevitable (his own monstrosity). and the turning point of these episodes appears to be the direct midpoint between 2x11 and 2x17, born under a bad sign—it's where dean insists that he will save sam no matter what happens. and from then on, sam's fears turn from the inevitability of his monstrosity to the desperate hope that dean will, in fact, save him. his dependence on dean for stability and hope is growing, and he comes to trust in dean as the only person on earth who can save him from the promise of the monster.
madison is therefore a conduit through which this discussion about their fate is had: if dean is successful in killing madison, then it becomes a confirmation of sam's fears. if dean kills madison, he is killing sam. he's going back on his promise to sam. it's a betrayal of the highest degree, and sam must prevent that at any cost. and so he disarms dean and sends him away from madison, never lets him get too close. and in the end, when he realizes his efforts were futile, he kills madison himself. metaphorically, he kills himself before dean can do it for him, which is a subversion of fate in itself. he may not be able to prevent the monster, but he can destroy it with his own power, and destiny will be thwarted because dean's hands will be clean.
and as such, this is a microcosm, a foreshadowing, of swan song. where the metaphor becomes real and the monster inside of sam is indeed killed by sam's own hands, leaving dean's bloodless. more than anything, 2x17 heart insists, sam will not let fate run its course. if he can't prevent his own fate, then he will prevent dean's. so he kills madison; so he throws himself into the pit. it's the ultimate act in service of the brother and therefore the ultimate act against destiny. and well i just think that's neat.
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dol surnames
I've spent the past two years since I first discovered DOL painstakingly considering the surnames of the love interests and Bailey. I'm finally satisfied with what I've come up with and wanted to share:
John Avery
Now this one is not a surname. Avery is always male in my game. In my (currently on indefinite hiatus) fic Immaculance I wanted Avery to seem very imposing by being referred to as a name that's not really his name, a la Mr. Big from Sex and the City, so I decided he commonly goes by his surname. John is basic enough, one syllable and chic yet traditionally masculine sounding. Sounds good paired with Avery, rolls off the tongue nicely.
Alex Greene
This one is a little on the nose. Alex lives on a farm surrounded by nature, nature = green. But I also like that it feels fresh. Whenever I romance Alex and start staying out at the farm it feels like a fresh start for my PC, like they're starting over together. I can picture their mailbox out by the road with The Greene's written on it... I might've also been inspired by the Greene family farm from the Walking Dead 👀 I headcanon that all the farm workers call Alex 'Greeney' as a cute nickname.
Thomas Bailey
Another character that I think goes by their surname. I haven't decided on a feminine name because Bailey is also always male when I play, but I feel like it would be a strong name that could shorten to something masculine, like Wilhelmina or Bernadette being shortened to Wil / Bernie. Something long that feels a little stuffy, that fem Bailey would hate being called. Not necessarily because it's too girly but because it's a mouthful and Bailey doesn't have time to say all that. For male, I like Thomas because it's classic and gives me Victorian era vibes and even though the game has a modern setting PC is still an orphan and I want to pretend it's the 1800s.
Eden O'Connor
Still kind of up in the air about Eden, but I've settled on this for now. I just like how it sounds.
Kylar Fritz
Kylar was the hardest one to come up with. I was really set on it starting with a funky letter like G or F, and not being super common. I wanted it to feel a little strange when you say it. They could easily be bullied with this name. Fritz rhymes with pits. And everyone thinks Kylar stinks, so there you go.
Robin Davies
I feel like Davies is a quintessential English surname? Don't come at me, I'm American. I don't really have much to say for this one other than it just sounds pretty to me. Very boy/girl next door.
Sydney Spiegelman
Really, really had my heart set on this for some reason. It came to me straight away. According to House of Names, it's derived from the German word "spiegel" which means mirror, and also the Yiddish word "shpigl" which means to look or to see. I thought this was really fitting for Sydney who seems to be a conduit for the Ivory Wraith.
Whitney Clarke
Came up with this for my fic. Again, I just like it. I've posted about this before but I headcanon that their parents names are Robert and Elizabeth, and that male Whitney's middle name is Robert, and that he hates it. Fem Whitney also really hates her middle name - whatever it is - and never tells anyone what it is.
Let me know what your thoughts are, or comment if you have any name ideas yourself!
#dol#degrees of lewdity#avery the businessperson#alex the farmhand#bailey the caretaker#eden the hunter#kylar the loner#robin the orphan#sydney the fallen#sydney the faithful#whitney the bully
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if apex falls into a pit im officially adopting bloodhound and conduit fight me /j
Lmao same, if it ends up going to hell I’m reclaiming fusehound as my own and running lol (although joking aside I really hope it doesn’t have to come to that)
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Can we hear about the Guardians too? I forget if you've already talked about them, but what about their afterlife? Where'd they come from? What're their ideas about gender, culturally?
Anon you got me feeling like an elder telling stories to kits again lmao. All righty. Elder Bones gonna teach you a bit about the Guardians.
Troutfur and I are building out a rough draft for their language too so I'll give you a preview of that, too. Let's start there, in fact.
GUARDMEW
Is an SVO order language, just like English. We Cultivate Roses. Subject, Verb, Object. This is going to come up a lot in BB!ASC when Berryheart, the Evil Educator, critiques a ton of Sunbeam's grammar.
Unlike Clanmew with each verb morpheme being used in full to describe a past action and shortened for present tense (pabrpabrpabr vs pabrpabr) Guardmew uses suffixes, also just like English. Sunbeam picked up the habit from her mentor, and Berryheart HATES that she will say "Pabrpabryr" instead of "Pabrpabrpabr."
But anyway, forget the setup we've got going for ASC. Let's just talk a little more about Guardmew.
It is in the same lingustic family as Clanmew, descending from Lakemew. Of all the living languages, Guardmew is closest to the ancestral form, since it was born directly from refugees fleeing eastward, from the tyranny of Holly Leaves.
They also have the concept of Threat Level, with pronouns built around skill for people, and benignness for everything else. That means, they have completely separate pronouns for cats, but classify plants and animals based on how they act on the environment.
For examples, their leader Spiresight shares the same pronouns as their "elders" and most experienced craftsmen. The building they live in will use the "respected object" pronoun. A plant with an infectious mold, or an invasive weed, will have a "malignant" pronoun.
CULTIVATION CULTURE
While Tribe cats encourage traveling, Guardians are the opposite. They believe in the value of setting down roots, and cultivating your homespace. If you go somewhere, they expect you to take care of it well.
The Church that Dovewing found is not the only place where Guardians live in that geographic region. They tend to name their groups after a major landmark-- she found the Guardians of the Spire.
They manage their land in a way that attracts wild animals, and then attempt to selectively hunt the animals that live on that range. In a way, it's like a carnivore's approach to agriculture.
If the Clans have a specialty in combat, and the Tribe has a specialty in hunting, Guardians can be considered to have a specialty in construction.
AFTERLIFE SYSTEM
If they have a Hell, it was made by Sol. But I'm not sure if they have one of those.
They DO have a heaven though-- they call it The Firmament.
The Firmament is the ground, but it's specifically your home soil. To Guardians, the more people who are buried somewhere, the more power that ground has. They believe that buried bones are proof that the soul still remains within the Firmament, and remains are NEVER to be disturbed.
They try to avoid the graveyards of humans and bury their prey neatly in "mass graves," pits dug neatly and only totally covered bi-weekly. Because there's such a strong taboo against disturbing remains, they are VERY careful about where Guardians are buried, and try to cover them with carefully arranged stones and woody plants so these graves are not disturbed.
After death, the flesh of the body must rot away into soil. They believe that this allows you to experience The Firmament TRULY, as a mole or an earthworm does. It becomes a new world, and you no longer see dirt, but the connections between everything.
You could describe this as "Monotheistic." They believe that when your flesh melts away, you join The Firmament. Your bones are like a conduit of the wishes you have for your loved ones still above the ground... but, these too will someday melt away! That's part of it too!
The Sky, in contrast, is a terrible, almost evil thing. In English we may say, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." A Guardian would say, "When the sky rains, the firmament grows mushrooms." Weather is something to be anticipated and handled, ESPECIALLY storms.
New spirits are made from what the mother eats of the Firmament. Berries feed the mice, mice feed the cats, cats return to the Firmament. A cycle, forever.
LEADER POWER
NOTE: I should rename this BB concept, "leader power." Not all cats with these unique abilities, given by an Afterlife System are political leaders-- they're spiritual ones.
One example of this is the Groundskeeper of the Guardians. They are thought to fully reincarnate, taking new bodies over and over. When a Groundskeeper dies, they are put into the same grave as their previous incarnation, and it is believed they gain more power with each death and rebirth.
But, they are not given political authority. They have CONSTRUCTIVE authority-- advising new projects and acting as a liasion between the Firmament and the living.
Cats who are identified as Groundskeeper change their name to their old incarnation. Spiresight is the leader of the Guardians of the Spire. They're identified on their birthday, so all Groundskeepers begin at exactly 1 year old, at least 1 year after the death of the old incarnation.
Spiresight is able to "see" the world as an interred skeleton does, he is in a permanent state between life and death in their eyes.
He can "feel" when something new enters his Firmament, gage it based on its paws, weight, movement. He can can tell when a plant is sick based on how strong its roots are, or if something is being pulled up. He knows where all the skeletons are, feels the worms in the dirt, and can tell the weather from the sway of the plants above.
He can tell if a plant is sick, but not animals. Because of this, the Groundskeeper is NOT INCLUDED IN MEDICAL PROCEDURES. He may point a doctor in the way of good herbs, but all Guardians are expected to know medical knowledge significantly beyond first aid.
The Groundskeeper leads religious ceremonies, funerals, and new projects. He is socially expected to not leave the center of the territory too often, especially during storms. That aside, the Groundskeeper is allowed to have a life and family of their own, including adopting kits and having mates.
OTHER THINGS
Time for a closing list of random facts.
An adult member of the Guardians, fully trained, is called a Gardener.
They have an extreme and severe taboo against other supernatural entities. They believe that they are "of the sky" and harshly reject anything "unnatural."
This is likely because of Holly Leaves, who tried to force a star-based religion upon their ancestors.
The Guardians, like all societies, have their problems too. They don't welcome cats who return after a wander and heavily discourage leaving.
If you're going to leave, leave permanently. A dandelion seed does not return on the wind.
So returning cats, traders, and repeat visitors are treated more coldly on subsequent visits. Not always hostile-- but the welcome is not gracious.
Cats who do have to leave on a quest or for some reason have a "quarantine" period when they return. A cleansing ritual.
Kittens are named by their families, usually after consulting with the Groundskeeper. Names are often reused through generations.
A name carries association with whoever had it last; it's not quite a reincarnation so much as it is a "continuation"
Because of this, there's very rarely any new names. A cat who enters the Guardians keeps their old name, and it is entered into their "list" after they die.
This is how they get some weird ones, like Boots and Cinnamon.
When a Guardian does something awful, they're buried beyond the Firmament and their name is no longer used.
I haven't worked out their gender systems yet.
#Now try to go back to canon where they don't actually have any of this lmaoooooo#Hate how they never build out other cat cultures because they have to make the clans The Correct Way To Live#And oooough its so amazing and perfect and nothing else can compare#Shut up. Touch Firmament.#The Guardians wc#Better bones au#Man I need a tag for Cultural Overhauls#Like for all the outside groups im overhauling#In line with the spirituality overhauls#Heartstar's Rise
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Papa’s Favorite Ghoul: Primo
Banner Credit Goes to @saradika-graphics! Word Count: 3281
Man, where do I even begin? I guess by stating that there’s two tropes I like: AUs where characters switch dynamics, and when characters or people go by titles that don’t traditionally align with their gender identity. Like woman kings or, in the case of Star vs the Forces of Evil, Jushtin the Boy Queen. Admittedly they’re more so applied to align with the importance placed on patriarchal and/or matriarchal power but we’re not getting into that. Nor are we getting into the kind of weird patriarchal traits of the Catholic Church the Church of Ghost keeps hold to — there are real-world explanations for them, I suppose, and this is fanfiction.
What we are getting into is my blending of the two aforementioned tropes to create this…Well, I guess it’s a series of sorts now because each character segment got too hefty to belong to one singular post. My bad. But I digress:
Somewhere out there, there is a universe where you were a part of the bloodline that has long reigned the Satanic Church as a dark papal dynasty. And now the title of Papa, for better or worse, has fallen upon you. You’ve trained your entire life for this — mephistophically, that is. But few things can prepare someone for dealing with ghouls more than actual exposure can. And now with the task of utilizing music to corrupt and recruit falling upon you, you’ll have plenty of time to become familiar with these literal hellions.
Don’t worry, though: If there’s one thing that has remained consistent throughout the millennia, it’s that a Papa almost always finds that one ghoul form whom they develop a fondness for . . .
You had not, in fact, been the one to summon the ghoul known around the Ministry as “Primo”.
He had been walking these unhallowed grounds since before you were born. A ghoul having an extended tenure topside wasn’t unheard of, but the implications set by his humanoid appearance of a very tall old man seemed to punctuate that point. Was he genuinely that old? Did he use a bit of ghoul magic to influence his appearance? You weren't going to ask.
Coupled with the way he carried himself, his presence commanded respect, something which the Clergy had been surprisingly willing to oblige despite his species.
Primo was, for all intents and purposes, the ideal ghoul: He had an intense work ethic, he was loyal, and he was tame enough to be of use while also posing a threat to anyone who did the same towards the Clergy.
Even something as simple as his horns seemed perfect for his position: The four horns of a Jacob sheep’s spiked warningly from his flesh, the perfect sort of horns for a ghoul of the Satanic Church to bear if there ever was any!
Even though his original summoner had long since passed, they never asked him if he wanted to return to the Pit. And, to their credit, Primo never expressed any desire to. It was that kind of dedication that endeared him so and kept him at the ready to be a conduit for the Old One’s message.
It was also probably the only reason why he’d involved himself in the “Ghost Project” you had recently proposed in a board meeting, even though he had made it extremely apparent that he did not see you as worthy of the title of Papa. If anything, he did so in order to keep an eye on you.
Primo had served many Papas in his time topside. Suffice it to say, you were nothing like any of them! Where your ancestors commanded their dark flock, Primo felt you merely timidly nudged them. Where the Papas of yore spat promises of the Dark One's ire and the rot of man, you seemed to more so focus on concepts of personal principle. Not entirely incorrect, but it certainly felt like a watered down method of leading.
Where was the damned soul made of brimstone and hellfire? Where was that penetrating glare that could freeze the doubters? All the old ghoul saw when you assumed the mitre was a soft-spoken slip of something or other that had fumbled their way through the bloodline. Had it not been for The Mark that paled your left eye, he might have more vehemently – more violently – questioned your ascension.
But the Clergy made no movements to dismiss or discard you, and Primo had never been one to take impulsive action. So here he began to find himself: Sitting at a drum set for rehearsals, battering away whilst his peers made fools of themselves as they writhed about, mimicking sexual proclivities or just plain goofing off.
But for as much as he would glower at them, his true poison was always fixated on you: You, who clearly just wanted the attention the Dark One was supposed to be receiving. You, who was just plain wasting his time – time that could be put to more use around the Ministry instead of spending hour upon hour listening to you warble the same cheesy lyrics, bastardizing unholy psalms passed down through millennia.
But he was nothing if not a professional, attending all rehearsal sessions, barely speaking unless it was to keep the more juvenile bandmates in line. Though more often than not, need only shoot them a sharp stare with those magma-red eyes of his and they would stop immediately.
That was all you needed when, surprised that he would pick something as raucous as the drums, you attempted to offer something not as physically demanding or requiring of too much movement.
You had meant nothing by it, of course. If anything, it was an attempt on your part to at least try and build a communication with one of the people (?) you would be working with indefinitely. Your peers and predecessors as a whole weren’t known for extending much kindness to the ghouls under their power; that was something you wanted to change during your reign. The rest of the ghouls, bandmates and Ministry-established alike, seemed to appreciate that well enough but Primo . . . Well . . .
Weren’t earth ghouls supposed to be less . . . intense? Stubborn and a twinge terse, perhaps, but usually they still had a bit of gentleness to them after a point. But then again, Primo was in a class of his own. Or maybe he’d just been a fire ghoul at some point? Might explain the eyes . . .
Really, though, the praise you’d heard regarding his dedication towards Papas past had yet to make any real appearance beyond him not taking you out. And perhaps volunteering to participate in your brain child, though you felt that was more so out of obligation to the Church rather than out of any real reverence.
Given how blatant he had made his dislike of you from the get-go, you decided to accept his (admittedly impeccable) drumming skills as the closest thing to respect you were going to ever get out of him. Much like the Clergy, you weren’t going to look this gift horse in the mouth too hard.
Your magnum opus couldn't afford it and for as confident as you were in the prospects of it, you knew you would need all the help you could get. Even if some of it came from an ancient earth ghoul who wished you would keel over so the next guy could take over.
If Primo could grit his teeth, then you sure as shit could to get the results you were looking for. Even if the results meant enduring painstakingly awkward rehearsals, right up until Ghost's very first performance.
Primo knew not to expect much in the way of venues. After all, bands that merely copied their principles never had an easy foothold in the world, never mind an actual band representing the Church. In the end, it did make the most sense to perform in lowly places, places inhabited by those most vulnerable and willing to lend an ear. Still: He had not anticipated this . . . “Whiskey a Go Go��� place to be your debut. Oh well. The crowd here clearly looked susceptible enough; he could handle it.
He didn’t approve of you donning your chasuble for such an event but at that point, what did it even matter? He just needed to literally play his part and get this over with. Maybe then this tomfoolery could be put to bed and you would be reprimanded for wasting the Ministry’s time and resources, sullying their trust.
At least, that had been the idea when the first song was signaled in.
But as the setlist progressed, Primo couldn’t help but note how his expectations weren't being met. In fact, quite the opposite was beginning to take hold. Like how the words sounded different even though they were the same ones he’d heard ad nauseum.
Snippets and verses clipped from corrupt hymns made themselves right at home in the measures, something he’d internally protested the first times he’d recognized their presence.
Rhythms sounded more coordinated against the acoustics of the venue, far different from the way they resonated in the makeshift practice room back at the Abbey. This was what they were meant to sound like? Not a tangled mess of notes and words struggling and biting and fighting for dominance, but actual music stretching to the rafters? Huh. Who would’ve thought?
And all the shenanigans his peers had participated in – back at the Ministry, it seemed so juvenile, so distracting. They weren’t taking this shameful display with any kind of seriousness. But in that moment, the jumping, the showboating, even the gyrating all seemed right at home on the stage.
But above all else, it was the response to it all: Audiences loved it. They loved the words, the chords, the riffs, the "ghouligan" behavior. And, perhaps most of all, they seemed to love you. Who you were, in this moment, was far from whom Primo had been seeing – whom he thought he saw – in the pulpit and at rehearsals.
All that had been apparent child's play. Or perhaps they were simply the wrong environment for your fullest potential. Here, on the stage, you positively bloomed, transforming into something radiant, something filled with infernal fervor. A little hell flower decked in infernal regalia, your chasuble catching the stage lights like petals collecting sunlight.
During the few times you would turn your back to the audience and faced him, he could see it even from his furthermost position in the back: That fire he thought you lacked, blazing from your every pore, brightening your eyes and casting long, dark shadows upon all before you.
Primo had been right: You truly were unlike any Papa he’d ever served before . . .
From then on, Primo was to decidedly keep a closer eye on you. No more having the rug pulled from beneath him. Clearly you were like a mystery seed: He had no idea what your potential truly was, having not quite encountered something like you before. As such, you needed to be . . . studied. If at a distance, for now.
However, it's a bit difficult to go unnoticed when you're a 6'1" ghoul with large horns when out of a glamour. Never mind that you had grown so used to his stare being fixed on you that you always knew when it had reappeared. Only, you couldn't help but feel that something about it was . . . different. Somehow.
It was normal enough to feel them during black mass because everyone's eyes were on you. But to feel them when you would go to the library to request old tomes even most Clergymen did not seek; when you slipped members of the Children's Ministry candy to perk them up after a particularly boring Latin Studies class with Bishop Malicion. Even in what should have been the sanctity of your office, you swore you could feel those red-hot eyes affixed to your person!
But the heat of them was gone now, and hadn't quite been there since the Whiskey a Go Go. Instead, they felt more curious. Maybe like a cat? Ghouls were often likened to cats above all other manner of beast but Primo had only resembled one in the way he composed himself. A trait like intrigue just seemed bizarre to picture him exhibiting, let alone so obviously.
However, you were still Papa throughout all this: Best not to dwell on it and instead keep focusing on keeping your project afloat. You would deal with whatever was going on with old Primo later.
(Though you couldn't stop yourself from feeling slightly giddy at the possible improvement. Having him give you the slightest hint of a nod while passing in the hallways was leagues better than having him radiate bloodlust or disdain!)
Later, however, came quicker than you had prepared yourself for. In fact, it arrived one curtain call during the band’s slow creep towards notoriety.
In hindsight, the fact he willingly held your hand for the final bow should have been a sign that something about tonight was going to be different. Normally, if he had to join hands with anybody, he made sure to position himself at the very end so he need only spare one hand and with another ghoul. Being virtually in the middle with you would have required effort on his part.
But you were abuzz, the performance having gone splendidly with a highly receptive and interactive crowd. You were quite proud of yourself and your ghouls if you said so yourself. Maybe the energy that evening was just enough to make Primo feel less rigid than usual?
You’d only just risen up from your bow, ready to release his hand when you noticed that he himself was not letting go of your own. Odd, considering he’d done so with the other ghoul he'd been holding. You tried not to look perplexed when you spared him a glance; maybe something was wrong and he needed you to be on high alert? Though, no, that wound up not being the problem – in fact, there was no problem whatsoever.
He just needed to keep your hand in his so that he could raise the back of your hand to his mask – where his mouth would be.
It was a pantomime of a kiss, sure, but the gesture was still very evident. Screeches of delight erupted from the audience below as heterochromatic eyes widened against black paint, staring at scarlet ones peering through the eyeholes of a mask.
Suffice to say, what fans Ghost had already garnered had a field day. Soon, fanzines featuring the visage of their new favorite band's lead singer and drummer would appear in grungy coffee shops and to be swapped at both Ghost shows and shows of other bands. It wasn't Time Magazine but the marketing practically handled itself, and that was good enough for the Ministry to quietly applaud Primo's forwardness.
Clearly the Ministry's favorite ghoul knew what the people wanted and took it upon himself to stoke the flames to drum up further intrigue and popularity.
So surely it made sense to continue fostering this relationship, right? For the good of authenticity, of course.
It wasn’t long at all before you found yourself confiding in Primo, bouncing lyrics off of him. Lyrics turned into discussions, dissections of your faith’s principles and even a few misconceptions that most were too tired to correct at this point.
And he, in turn, used his many, many, many years of wisdom in his services to you.
Even divulging into his life before the Ministry, what little there was worth recounting. There was good reason he’d stayed up here so long after all: Life topside was just so different, so brightly-lit when compared to the Pit. Sure, he might’ve been built exactly for the life infernal, but that didn’t mean that a ghoul lacked a capacity for more.
The biggest example in his case was the garden he’d kept during his time here. It was almost funny: You’d walked these grounds for so long, so used to the presence of the greenhouse that sat towards the back of the garden. The brightness of the vegetation and bushes stood out from its darker, more gothic-leaning surroundings in an almost silly way.
Really, though, your only real interactions with that section of the Ministry could be boiled down to times spent in your office. The window there allowed just enough of a view of the little land below, one you couldn’t help but look at when the tensions in your poorly-postured back traveled into your skull, or when a delivery ghoul delivered more heaps of papers for you to look over and sign. (Suddenly, feeling Primo's intense gaze on you even when you thought you were alone made sense.)
Your path to the antipapacy was basically carved out for you, it ironically left very little room for extracurriculars such as gardening. But you could always count on catching a Sibling or earth ghoul or two, hauling heavy sacks of soil and carting that season’s harvest in a wheelbarrow.
Their decision to spend their time on such a long-term task that demanded constant attention and dedication was admirable to you. You could relate to focusing in on a project that would take time and focus.
And to see their efforts be rewarded with something brilliant and fortifying, something that caught the eye and could be used to nourish both the body and mind . . .
In way, perhaps seeing the hardships that produced flowers and fruit might have served as inspiration and motivation for your idea to entice the masses with music. Just a twinge.
To learn that the very things that refreshed you in your moments of exhaustion had grown under the same watch as the one that had once wished you ill initially amazed you. And amused you.
The idea of ever having been afraid of Primo seemed so silly now, you couldn’t even remember what the heat of his ire felt like. If anything, the pierce of Primo’s gaze had softened into something . . . Well, the proper words escaped you any time you tried to settle on one. "Passionate" mixed with "admiration", but still with its tenderness.
As it turned out, that warmth earth ghouls were often characterized with did exist in the old curmudgeon. It was exhibited as the years marched on and as you both grew closer.
It was there even in small moments such as this, with you kneeling in the soil, planting your umpteenth flower. You had learned under his watch years ago and no longer needed instruction, but it still felt lovely to share this type of thing together. Even after all this time.
A grunt escaped you as you wobblily stood back up from aching knees, another when you cracked your back.
“One of these days, Primo,” you sighed, “I’m gonna get down and not be able to get back up. You can just bury me here, then.”
It was a joke, of course, and you were totally prepared to not get a laugh from the old ghoul. Primo’s sense of humor, you’d long since learned, was as mysterious as it was strange. It was frankly a wild guess as to what would make him laugh on any given day. What you hadn’t prepared for, though, was the way the ghoul’s eyes stared back at you. You didn’t feel unsafe or anything, but you certainly felt . . . observed.
There was that curious cat vibe that had started it all from way back when. But, knowing Primo as you now did, you knew he was simply collecting thoughts. He would eventually reveal them to you in due time.
In the meantime, though, it served you better to shake it off. Supper would be served shortly, anyway.
“Remember to wash up,” you offered, standing as high on your toe tips as you could just to place a peck on the soft, weary flesh of his neck. To that, you received a quiet grunt typical of your partner.
As you left, though, Primo kept his eyes on you, tail thoughtfully swaying behind him. He remembered seeing you sparingly in your youth, which was impressive considering how unimportant you’d been back then. You weren’t Papa, you weren’t anything, really. You weren’t important to him.
But now, years later, here you stood: Wrinkles that weren’t there before were beginning to carve their permanence into your features, standing out even through your papal paints. Just the other month, you’d noted an increase in silver strands popping up in your hair. You sighed something about the stresses of dealing with the next projected tour or an onslaught of paperwork, but Primo knew that soon, more silver would come sprouting out at your temples. More than you’d probably bother dyeing, if he knew you. If he knew the people before you.
He'd seen this all happen before, many, many times. You may have been different from all other Papas he’d known, but all Papas were alike in this one way.
A heavy sigh broke him from his stagnation, and Primo began to trek back to your chambers to wash up. Before he even entered the building proper, his mind was made: If and when your time came, Primo would finally request to return back to the Pit.
#ghost band headcanons#the band ghost x reader#the band ghost fanfiction#papa emeritus x reader#primo x reader#papa emeritus#papa primo#papa emeritus i#primo emeritus#papa primo x reader#tf is this as long as it is fo?!#(judging by how the others’ installments are they’re only going to continue to be big honking fics i am so sorry i cannot learn to shut up)#i apologize for my crimes against the good people of the Ghost fandom for my contribution#. . . not enough to stop me from writing the other Papas as ghouls but like#turns out when you don't really write anything for over six months your writing muscle naturally atrophies!#haha Primo is the curmudgeon stuck in his ways and reader is the manic pixie dream Papa coronated to stir things up#(well more like the exhausted ghoulie work-dream Papa but still)#*drops post and runs to hide*#my junk
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The chapter of Royston Ellis meeting the Beatles is so wild.
He first hits on George at the Jacaranda. George responds to this with a casual “oh, you’d love my friends” and brings him to Gambier Terrace:
Also dropping into the Gambier Terrace pit was a special guest, Royston Ellis, “King of the Beatniks.” The bearded bard, who featured in TV documentaries and press articles whenever an offbeat teenage angle was needed, was in Liverpool to read his poetry at the university on June 24/25, and he swiftly found himself drawn into the Beatles’ company. The conduit was George, who (with nothing else to do while John, Stu and Paul were in school) was hanging around the Jac when the wandering coffee-bar poet traipsed in, drawn by hip radar to “the happening place.” Avowedly “trying everything,” Ellis was an active bisexual in this period of his life and he took an immediate fancy to George: “He looked fabulous with his long hair and matelot-style striped T-shirt, very modern, which is why I deliberately spoke to him. I was nineteen and he was seventeen and we clicked right away.”15
George took Ellis, his typewriter and his duffel bag back to Gambier Terrace to meet John and Stu. A rapport was quickly established and Ellis was invited to “crash” for a few days—yet another occupant for the filthy back room.
Then Ellis hits it off with John and Stu and wants them as a backing band:
Ellis says he developed a particular rapport with John and Stuart and that they discussed poetry, art and London. When he left, they spoke of doing it again sometime: “We were talking about how I wanted a band to come to London and back me on my Rocketry performances, and they were thrilled at the idea.” Art school studies finished the following Friday, July 1, marking the end of Stu’s fourth year and John’s third and last because the college was waving him goodbye. The exam results, when they came through on August 1, were just as expected: John failed and was out, Stuart passed the NDD, for which he received a certificate. The option was there for him to do a fifth year and attain the highest available qualification, the Art Teacher’s Diploma (ATD), akin to a degree and entitling him to become a teacher … but both he and John were pondering a period as prospectors, and doing something again with Ellis was a definite possibility.
So much so, Ellis is responsible for the first* two mentions of the band in the newspaper:
As for Ellis, so much was he enthused by the possibility of appearing with them again that he soon got the Beatles their first mention in a music paper. It was the July 9 edition of Record and Show Mirror, where a supercilious little article about “the bearded sage of the coffee bars” ended “he’s thinking of bringing down to London a Liverpool group which he considers is most in accord with his poetry. Name of the group? ‘The Beetles’”
….A born publicist, Royston Ellis knew how to manipulate a follow-up, writing a letter for publication that clarified a point in the first. He expressed his intention to find a group that would join him on TV appearances with Bert Weedon and the Shadows, and reiterated, “For some time I have been searching for a group to use regularly, and I feel that the ‘Beetles’ (most of them are Liverpool ex-art students) fill the bill.”
John and Stu decide to go to London on their own to join Ellis…but then chicken out:
By July 10, at the end of his three-year art school vacation, John had arrived at a key decision in his life: he would try to earn his living from the guitar. “I became a professional musician the day I got a red letter from the art college saying ‘Don’t bother coming back next September,’ ” he later said.31 Cyn would remember, “John decided that this [music] was very definitely the life for him. All the ideas that everyone else had for him of making an impact on the art world faded into the back of beyond with incredible rapidity, and with almost no regret at all. Aunt Mimi was distraught. Her view of his future couldn’t have been blacker at that time.”32
These events coinciding, it seems John and Stu decided to head south and hang out with Royston Ellis. Allan Williams is emphatic on the matter: he says John and Stu “split the Beatles and went down to London.”33 Norman Chapman would remember Stu asking him for a lift through the Mersey Tunnel one day so he (or he and John) could hitchhike to London—“They wanted to go down to London and become involved in this poetry-music scene.” Beat poets led a nomadic life by definition. Ellis lived for periods in all sorts of places, but his main base was still his parents’ house, at 31 Clonard Way, Hatch End, Pinner, Middlesex, a pleasant detached villa with the name Denecroft. This was the address he gave John while staying at Gambier Terrace. When Ellis arrived home one day his mother said he’d missed a visit from his “beatnik friends from Liverpool.” He never knew how many or who had come, but—as insane as it appears—John and Stu (and/or as Ellis always thought—hoped—George) had hitched the best part of two hundred miles, taken the trouble of locating his house in leafy Metroland, not stayed or left a message and then gone home again, never returning or making further contact. It makes no sense, but there it sits, illogical and incomplete.
Allan Williams remembers them being “back in Liverpool within a week, because it didn’t work out,” at which point the Beatles “reformed” as if they’d never been away. With bookings only every Saturday, it’s conceivable they did all this without missing one, and perhaps that was always the intention. However, while three independent witnesses (Ellis, Williams and Chapman) all remember something happening, none of the Beatles ever mentioned it—though in their interviews they talked with candor about everything. So it must remain in doubt, an intriguing puzzle unlikely to be solved.
There are two additional curiosities that may or may not be incidental. One is that, in the last days of July, a group of Liverpool art school students, apparently including John and Stu, went to London (or tried to go) to see a Picasso exhibition at the Tate Gallery. Second, and most fascinatingly, a set of photographs taken at this very time (mid-July 1960) in Stu and John’s studio-bedroom-slum at 3 Gambier Terrace includes several people they knew but not John and Stu themselves—perhaps because they were on the Hatch End trip. It was published on July 24 in the national Sunday rag the People in a sensation-splash headlined THIS IS THE BEATNIK HORROR. It’s as if a man on a flaming pie was pointing down at Flat 3, Hillary Mansions, Gambier Terrace, Liverpool 1. In six months, three Beatles moved in and the fourth was hanging out, the nation’s best-known beat poet had come here to get them high, and now, when a Fleet Street journalist and photographer were looking to substantiate a load of old tosh about dirty beatniks—reportage that could have been cooked up anywhere in the country—they landed in Stu and John’s room.34
Though hugely amusing, the feature had one unfortunate side-effect: because the address was given (a “three-roomed flat in decaying Gambier Terrace in Liverpool”) and some of the occupants (“well-educated youngsters”) were named, the landlord gave the tenant, Rod Murray, notice to quit. On August 15, everyone—Rod, Diz, Ducky, Stuart, John and sundry other bodies who’d joined them—would be out on the street.
—Mark Lewisohn’s Tune In, Ch 15 (May 31–Aug 15, 1960)
And Lewisohn is just like yup nothing to see.
So what the hell happened here? Was it just a school trip? Or was it a deliberate split?
#royston ellis#beat poetry#beatniks#tune in#1960#early liverpool#bug mysteries#i think about this once a week and just found the bit again#mine#mark lewisohn#reading tune in#prebugs#*i think they may have found an earlier mention since tune in printing#i have a june newspaper clip date in my timeline#john and stu#young george#june 1960#queer bugs#reading riding so high#joe mentions the dates of royston’s liverpool university appearance#june 24 1960 and davies says the first beetles mention in the newspaper is june 11#so theres some conflict there when was the first#just learned royston ellis died earlier this year#but kerouac website writers reached him in 2020 and he still claimed they got the BEAT ideat in the name from him#theyve got a clipping from june 5 with silver beetles#but lewisohn references a june 2 clipping with the A (beatles)#so thats too early for royston maybe they were deciding and flipflopping he helped settle on one i can see that#lalala i cant read its first mention in a music paper rather than a general newspaper
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alright, TCU scenes in no particular order, but they’re all meant to communicate something about the humanity of the characters involved in relation to the act of creation and the appreciation of beauty or smthn idk-
Antarctic Empire has a very early scene in which we are shown Techno in his cell beneath the Pit, painstakingly enchanting his flimsy armor with scraps of stolen lapis and a pen he’s carved from a bone he took as a ‘trophy.’ This is juxtaposed with Phil’s introduction scene immediately prior, in which he is disguised as a young nobleman and is stealing things from partygoers while watching the fights. It’s revealed that he’s used the things he stole to enchant something to crack the spells on Techno’s cell. These scenes are used to show us that, while they may seem disparate, these two are actually extremely similar in skill set.
At the end of AE we get a similar scene to the one I just described: Phil darts his way through the camp before the final battle, grabbing supplies and food, only to join Techno in his tent and help him enchant their armor. The two sequences are shot nearly identically.
Somewhere in the retirement arc we have an entire sequence where Techno is embroidering and enchanting his cape using blaze powder, showing a clear connection between certain magical components and their effects.
Phil’s crows are at first assumed to be normal nonsentient animals, but there are plot beats (assumed to be plot holes) in AE that only make sense on a rewatch after Covenant’s reveal that they, similarly to Phil, are conduits of Death and capable of communication crime and conspiracy. Specifically, Phil knows where an ambush will be that Techno doesn’t expect while their relationship is still really rocky, techno ignores his advice, and Phil has to haul tail to save him.
We see Techno crafting the emerald earrings in an end-credits scene in AE. It’s a few long continuous shots and a lot of close-ups that obscure what he’s working on. He’s singing to himself as well. Considering the end of the film moments prior was The Throne Scene with the coronation (Kinda dark, violence was involved) it’s a an odd tonal shift. Phil calls to him from the other room, saying they’re gonna be ‘late for petitioner’s hour’ and Techno jokes that ‘he’s the emperor, he can cancel petitioner hour if he pleases’ but he drops his work and leaves, grabbing the crown as he goes. We get one last shot of the unfinished earrings before cut-to-black.
During Pogtopia, we have a long scene where Tommy and Tubbo (after the execution, before the Pit) are shaken and trying to rest in Tommy’s room. There’s no dialogue. They’re sitting on Tommy’s cot, slightly leaning on one another, in dead empty silence. Tubbo is shaking slightly. Without warning, Tommy’s patience clearly runs out and he gets up, puts a song on his record player, and pulls Tubbo into a dance. (I’m thinking something kinda jazzy and tinny? An old recording, like Beyond the Sea.) They manage a few shaky turns before Tubbo’s iron facade cracks and they both burst into tears, holding one another. We rotate to see that Tommy’s face is burning with fury. The Pit immediately follows this.
Tubbo, Ranboo, Tommy, Techno, Phil, Niki, Puffy, and Jack are all shown in various background scenes in the first trilogy to know how to knit, sew, weave, and/or crochet. In fact, the only character who cannot and is never shown trying to learn to work a fiber craft is Icarus Craft. The irony is rather obvious.
Phil has a medieval architect setup in his basement with a classic plaster drawing table (this is how the cathedrals were planned. The architect would pour plaster into a very thin layer on a tabletop, let it dry, and then use heavy metal compasses and tools to make thin precise lines in the plaster for their designs. They’d then fill the lines with charcoal or graphite and transfer the designs from there so the masons could access them easily) we see him using it once or twice, and at some point near the end of the whole series we see him teaching Tubbo how to use it.
Tommy picks flowers while out on a scouting mission with Techno (post- Welcome Home, Theseus) he’s carrying them in the bg for most of the scene and we see them in a jar on the kitchen table after Tommy’s betrayal.
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Some Kirkwall specific writing prompts
Some Kirkwall specific prompts that I may one day get round to writing short fics for:
Hidden Horrors: In the depths of Kirkwall's sewers, the group stumbles upon a forgotten chamber filled with ancient Tevinter artifacts. But as they delve deeper, they uncover a dark secret that threatens to unleash a new wave of chaos upon the city.
Cursed Legacy: Generations after the fall of Emerius, a descendant of the Krayvan family returns to Kirkwall seeking redemption for their ancestors' sins. With them they bring ancient knowledge of Kirkwalls dark past.
Mystery Illness: When a mysterious illness spreads through Kirkwall's streets, Hawke is tasked with uncovering its origins. As they delve into the city's dark past, Hawke discovers sentries old secrets in the catacombs below the city, ancient magics that someone has inadvertently activated.
A bad investment: after gaining part ownership of the Bone Pit Hawke learns that the mines have been exploiting the refugee population of Kirkwall, trapping people in a never ending cycle of indentured servitude.
Spring cleaning: After regaining the Amell Estate Hawke wanted to clear it out as a surprise for her mother. She invited her new friends round to help, but they discover some unpleasant things left by the slavers who had temporarily being using the building.
Emerius: Hawke's investigations into the Band of Three's notes lead them to uncover a series of hidden chambers scattered throughout Kirkwall, each containing clues to the city's dark secrets. As they piece together the puzzle left behind by the enigmatic scholars, Hawke realizes that the fate of Kirkwall may rest in their hands alone.
City Planning: While investigating reports of strange phenomena in Kirkwall, Hawke discovers that the city's layout mirrors intricate magical symbols and glyphs. Determined to uncover the truth behind Kirkwall's mysterious design, Hawke delves into the city's dark history discovering that the city was designed to be a conduit for an ancient ritual.
Conspiracy theories: After witnessing a series of inexplicable events in Kirkwall, Hawke begins to suspect that the city itself is alive with dark energy. The more Hawke discovered the more everyone else starts to feel that they have fallen into a paranoid conspiracy theory, their companions start to worry about Hawke, but eventually Hawke is proven right.
These were written for my DADWC prompt list, but feel free to use them yourself if they appeal.
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"Jesus loved everyone, but the insects loved me more..."
ANM №: ANM-627
Identification: Hive Man
Danger Level: Snit 🟡 | Contained ⭕️
Lead Researcher: Dr. Öctavio Kalev
Type of Anomaly: Human, insectoid, historical, military
Containment:
ANM-627 must be housed in a temperature-controlled containment chamber in Department-05, designed for insect-based anomalies, with an internal temperature maintained between 22-26°C and humidity levels between 50-60%. The chamber must be equipped with an air filtration system to prevent the escape of any insects from the subject. All personnel interacting with ANM-627 must wear full-body protective suits to avoid insect infestation. The chamber should be regularly inspected for structural integrity to ensure no cracks or gaps allow for a potential breach.
ANM-627 should be fed nutrient paste through an intravenous tube once every 48 hours. Interaction with ANM-627 is restricted to research personnel with Level 3 clearance or higher. No personnel should physically contact ANM-627 without prior approval. Any abnormal behavior or changes in insect population density must be reported immediately.
In the event of a containment breach, Subject P personnel armed with flamethrowers will be mobilized to neutralize all escaping entities. Recontainment efforts will focus on incapacitating ANM-627 using high-frequency ultrasonic devices to disrupt communication with the insects.
Description:
ANM-627, known as "Colony Man," is a humanoid male (formerly known as █████ ████), approximately 1.7 meters tall and weighing around 25 kg due to the skeletal state of his body. ANM-627 is in a constant state of decay, having undergone a remarkable and anomalous transformation wherein his body has become a living hive for insects, currently housing thousands of insect species, primarily beetles, ants, and wasps. Despite the extreme decomposition and mutilation, ANM-627 remains alive, though in a state of severe physical deterioration.
ANM-627's body is largely devoid of skin, muscle tissue, and internal organs. Most of his organs have been consumed by the insects inhabiting him, except for the brain, eyes, and a significant portion of the nervous system, which remain intact, though heavily deteriorated. What remains of his body is calcified bone, with the structure appearing fossilized and coated by a brittle, spiny substance similar to an exoskeleton secreted by the insects. Pockets of insect colonies are embedded within ANM-627's skeletal structure, notably in the ribcage, pelvis, and femur bones.
ANM-627’s mouth, now perpetually open, serves as the primary point of entry and exit for many insects, and his nasal cavity has similarly been hollowed out and repurposed as a conduit for insects. His appearance is deeply disturbing, especially to individuals with trypophobia (fear of holes or pitted surfaces) due to the numerous openings and cavities in his body where insects are constantly seen entering and exiting. Additionally, ANM-627’s insect-infested exterior is a source of extreme discomfort for those with entomophobia (fear of insects).
ANM-627 was first discovered in ████, Cuba, living in an improvised shelter within a garbage dump, subsisting in a semi-immobile state. Local reports indicated that ANM-627 had been seen wandering near urban waste disposal sites for years, but attempts to approach him failed due to the overwhelming swarm of insects that constantly surrounded him. Task force "Sewer Worms" was dispatched to handle ANM-627's retrieval after local authorities failed to relocate him safely, resulting in multiple fatalities caused by insect swarms.
Subsequent investigations revealed that ANM-627 is the former Cuban revolutionary █████ ████, a guerrilla fighter who assisted Che Guevara during the Cuban Revolution. Historical records indicate that ANM-627 was captured by Batista’s forces during the revolution, subjected to brutal torture, and used as a living host for insect-based torment over several months. His captors reportedly introduced colonies of carnivorous beetles, larvae, and other insects into his body as a form of enhanced torture. However, after a mass escape orchestrated by revolutionary forces, ANM-627 escaped captivity.
It is believed that ANM-627, severely disfigured and traumatized by months of insect-induced torture, developed anomalous abilities that allowed him to survive despite his grievous injuries. These abilities appear to be directly linked to the insects infesting his body, which now sustain his vital functions, using his skeletal remains as a hive.
Although ANM-627 exhibits constant physical pain, as evidenced by his hollow groans and occasional erratic muscle spasms, he has largely become desensitized to his suffering over time. ANM-627 is capable of limited speech and appears to have some degree of control over the insect colonies residing in his body. He has been observed giving subtle vocal or physical signals to the insects, which then respond by adjusting their behavior, including forming defensive swarms or retreating into ANM-627’s body cavities.
ANM-627’s ability to communicate with the insect colonies is still under investigation, but preliminary research suggests a form of neurochemical signaling or pheromone-based interaction. ANM-627 can also release insect swarms as a defense mechanism, overwhelming any perceived threats with sheer numbers.
Despite his grotesque physical state, ANM-627 has demonstrated a high level of cognition and retains fragmented memories of his life before the transformation. ANM-627 has referred to the insects inhabiting his body as "companions" and expressed a reluctant acceptance of his current state, claiming that the insects "saved" him and allowed him to continue the fight, though his understanding of the passage of time seems distorted.
Addendum 627-1: Interview Log
Interviewer: Dr. Ortega
Interviewee: ANM-627
Dr. Ortega: Can you tell us your name?
ANM-627: (in a distorted, raspy voice) ...█████... I was... that... once.
Dr. Ortega: Do you know what happened to you?
ANM-627: (pauses) The insects... they kept me alive. I didn’t want... but I needed them. They made me one of them... hollowed me out. Now I’m... a hive.
Dr. Ortega: Why did they choose you?
ANM-627: (shaking) I... fought. They tortured me... insects, crawling inside... eating me from within... but I fought... I got out. They stayed with me. (groaning in pain) Always with me.
Dr. Ortega: Do you control the insects?
ANM-627: (slowly, deliberately) They listen... they hear me. I... ask. They do what I need. They... protect me... they need me.
Dr. Ortega: Do you feel pain?
ANM-627: (long pause) Yes... but now it’s mine... we live with it. Together.
Dr. Ortega: One last question: Do you remember the revolution? Che Guevara?
ANM-627: (shaking, coughing) ...Che... we fought... for something... but now... all I fight for is them... and the silence. I know Che was killed... we failed... all together...
[End of Interview]
Addendum 627-2: Incident Report 627-A
On ██/██/20██, ANM-627 exhibited unusual behavior, with a significant increase in the insect population within his containment chamber. Several species of predatory wasps, not previously observed in ANM-627’s colony, emerged from his body and began attacking research personnel. After the initial swarm, ANM-627 was observed vocalizing loudly, causing the insects to retreat. This event raised concerns about the long-term stability of ANM-627’s containment.
Final Note: ANM-627 represents a unique and disturbing anomaly, merging human suffering and insect adaptation into a singular entity. Although the subject remains contained, further research is necessary to understand the full extent of ANM-627’s control over the insect colonies and how this relationship has allowed him to survive in his current state. The remains of a rebel may not want to attack, but his insects do. We hope they continue to obey him; we do not want another infestation issue like we had with ANM-284.
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Heroes & Villains The DC Animated Universe - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles
Tala
Tala was a powerful sorceress and a former protégé of Felix Faust. She worked as a member of Project Cadmus, acting as an advisor on magical matters for Cadmus’ inner circle.
After Felix Faust’s soul was banished to the Pits of Tartarus, Tala was able to extract his essence into a magical mirror. Through this mirror Tala could continue learning from her former mentor. Yet Faust betrayed her and tricked Tala into transferring her own essence into the mirror whilst Faust’s soul was supplanted into the Annihilator armor. The animated armor was ultimately destroyed by The Justice League, resulting in Faust being sent back to Tartarus; yet Tala remained trapped in the mirror.
At some point thereafter, Tala was released from her prison by Gorilla Grodd. As thanks, Tala gladly joined Grodd's Legion of Doom and placed her magical talents at his disposal. And yet when Grodd was deposed by Lex Luthor who then took over control of the Legion, Tala quickly changed her allegiance and pledged herself to him. As such Tala assisted Luthor in his obsessive pursuit to regain the powers of Brainiac.
Spurred over Luthor’s inattentiveness toward her, Tala chose to free Grodd, resulting in a tremendous battle wherein the Legion of Doom fought amongst themselves. Luthor’s faction ultimately won out and Grodd was killed. Luther then used Tala as a conduit to revive Brainiac. Tala pleaded with Luthor, warned him that he was going to unleash ruin. Yet it was to no avail and Tala perished. In the end, Luthor had succeeded not reviving Brainiac but rather resurrecting the dread lord Darkseid.
Actress Juliet Landau provided the voice for Tala with the tragic sorceress first appearing in the third episode of the second season of Justice League Unlimited, ‘The Doomsday Sanction.’
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Class Feature Friday: Earth School (Wizard Elementalist School)
(art by Indigojrps on DeviantArt)
And it’s time for yet another elemental school, this time going into the element of earth!
There’s something… odd about imagining your stereotypical wizard being a geomancer. We tend to think of most wizards being frail, feeble, and weak of body while their minds can bend reality itself. That visual language does not lend itself well to a character that invokes the raw might and resilience of earth.
Of course, that assumption is based both on the belief that a person has to reflect their abilities (which while useful and fun, is not necessary) and also the belief that a mage has to be physically weak, but there’s nothing stopping you from having an above-average strength score as a mage.
In any case, the element of earth covers all earthly materials, from the dirt beneath your feet to the stone and minerals of the rocky strata, and the geometric perfection of crystal and the potential of raw ore. It is the element of resilience and immovability, slow to act and patient, but absolutely unstoppable on the path to a goal once it starts moving. And while it is possible to shatter stone, it takes great effort, and even then, the shards left behind retain much of their former strength in their own right, and sport an edge that can prove dangerous to foes.
Earth is also an element of potential and crafting, as it’s many minerals have a myriad of uses both physical and chemical, so it is not surprising to see it be favored by elementalists who seek to create great works, particularly of stone, gems, or even metal, though obviously the latter is favored more by the spreading elemental tradition of metal.
Naturally, earth as an element is opposed by air in the western style, and by wood in the eastern cycle style.
The earth element lends itself well to defensive magic, but also offensive, and as such, such mages make for excellent allies in a siege, with their ability to create and tear down fortifications. However, they can also be found practicing more benevolent magic such as building great public works like bridges and buildings or crafting wondrous items using the magical properties of crystals, and so on, to say nothing of their expertise concerning natural geological formations for the purposes of delving and/or mining.
The earth elemental spell list has the old general staples concerning summoning or polymorphing into elementals, but it also has a lot of focus on conjuring or shaping masses of earthen material, which can range from creating walls, showing foes with rubble, to more esoteric uses like conjuring molten obsidian or tar or even clouds of toxic gasses such as those leaked from underground. Transmutation to or from stone is also a part of their arsenal, and they also gain plenty of offensive and defensive acid spells, since acid is associated with earth in First Edition thanks to the number of caustic minerals that exist in the earth. And who could forget all the various extradimensional pit spells?
Like many earth elementals, these mages derive strength from the ground beneath their feet, being supernaturally hard to make stumble or forcibly move. What’s more, their attacks hit harder and surer when both they and their foes are in contact with the ground. Finally, the most powerful geomancers can use the earth as a conduit for their magic as easily as the open air, meaning that earth and stone no longer block their spells, though obviously they still cannot see through it without other magic.
As a basic attack, these mages can conjure clouds of acidic gas, the fumes of which also debilitate those that inhale them.
Later on, they learn the art of earth gliding, able to swim through the ground the way earth elementals do. However, they can only do so for a limited time.
While no wizard is going to be winning any wrestling matches without magical aid, these elementalists can prove able to hold their own when foes try to inhibit them up close, plus the ability to earth glide means they can get out of nasty scrapes relatively easily. That being said, the real draw of this school is their focus on spells that control the battlefield, set up defenses, and of course generate all sorts of lingering damage. If that sounds appealing, a geomancer might be the right choice for you, but don’t forget to expand your magical arsenal to diversify as well.
I have to imagine that geomancers are a lot like geologists, and while they spend a bit more time mastering magic to manipulate their chosen element, they are likely very passionate about the many different times of stone and rock, and of course the composition and uses of various minerals.
Using arts stolen from dwarven enclaves they infiltrated over the years, the reptoid colony of Vaaskuta is built deep underground from the magically-terraformed rock, and these geomancers protect it still, preventing outsiders from learning of the city or of their plans.
The great underground lake of Banu-Nur is a place where the elements of water and earth meet, and there exists a rivalry between the elementalists that harness both elements. This has most recently come to head with a competition to see who could best retrieve rare crystals from the bottom of the lake. While the hydromancers may at first seem to have the advantage, their earthbound associates know the best conditions in which the crystals grow, and both will be relying on the bathysphere jellyfish of the lake to do their exploration and work.
Though long since worn by erosion and geological action, Mt. Minog is no natural formation. Indeed, it was crafted by elemental god of earth to be the seat of his power on the material realm. As such, it is something of a sacred site for geomancers who wish to learn greater secrets of earth and stone.
#pathfinder#archetype#wizard#school#earth#elemental school#reptoid#dwarf#bathysphere jellyfish#Advanced Players Guide
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Given that Harvey just wants to kill Dick right now in your BruHarv fic, it'd be really interesting to see what would be happening if it took place when Jason was Robin instead or if he'd already died and befriended Harv as Red Hood. Like, maybe he'd be trying to kill Tim instead and/or sharing gossip and doubts with Jason, not realizing that he's talking with another one of Bruce's kids? What do you think the dynamic would be?
HELP, SORRY, the way you opened up with Harvey wanting to just fucking kill Dick made me giggle a bit, lmao. Things with Dick are going to get a bit complicated, I promise...
Anyway.
See, I was actually thinking of making the fic a sort of sequel, but, like, not required reading, obviously. A very loose sequel, if you will, because the Bruharvey fic is definitely a certain... genre, that is not for everyone, while a Jason-Harvey fic would decidedly be very different, lmao.
And OMG, I think the idea of Harvey babbling on about the Batfam to Jason - not knowing he was a Robin and was affiliated with Bruce - would be interesting.
He'd definitely be more open, I think. More visceral and blunt. At least Two-Face would anyway. Initially, I think Jason would play along with this because his rage and hurt would still be fresh. They'd bond in hatred.
But then the more Harvey talks, the more Jason gets quiet. He decides to listen more than contribute to the conversation, because whether he likes it or not, a part of him is still thankful for Bruce. And Harvey would obviously pick up on this because he's NOT a dumbass; he's very intuitive and observant.
But then, of course, you'd have to have the reveal that - *gasp* - Jason was a batkid all along! Would Harvey feel betrayed by this?
No, I really don't think so.
I think he'd fall into a pit of guilt and confusion. Robin, Red Hood - more duality stuff that would fuck with his head. Why is this guy, who he was initially was very brutal to, whose father he killed, lending him an ear and cooperating? Jason is more like Bruce than he thinks.
So many conduits... but the fic I have planned is mostly character-driven and explores how I, personally, think a Harvey-Jason dynamic would work.
So that means themes of duality, the trauma that binds, sharing a common enemy (but is it really?), and of course the 'villain takes in the morally questionable/troubled son of the hero who the villain once loved/was friends with' thing... but also exploring how a character's past lives in their present, and how it infects them.
Sorry for rambling, I just wrote this as I was thinking, lmao.
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From Mistress to Servant
Salem: (bows head in supplication) Master, I am here as summoned.
Jaune: I have someone to introduce to you. Then you will report everything you know and have discovered.
Salem: Of course.
Jaune: Meet my bride...
Salem stumbled back away from the pit of grimm slime that had been converted to act as a conduit to her new master.
Salem: Bride?
(Images generated by perchance ai text-to-image)
Velvet: Is there a problem?
Salem: T... there is no problem Mistress! (bows head in supplication)
Velvet: You were right dear husband. She knows her place.
Jaune: Now to see if she can continue to serve ... speak of what you know.
Salem: (lifts her head) I have contacted all my agents, and consulted every resource I have...
Velvet: And?
Salem: The relics are the only threat to you. Legend speaks that if they are combined the brother gods will return...
Jaune: (Laughs) Brother gods... worthless upstart twats.
Velvet: Continue.
Salem: Yes, Master, Mistress. The relics are said to be trapped in vaults below each Academy, but that information is old, and the only confirmation I have is through Lionheart who I cowed to my will before you're arrival...
Jaune: And where is this Lionheart?
Salem: Haven... he is the headmaster.
Jaune: Let's use retire for the evening my love... we visit Haven and this... Lionheart on tomorrow's evening.
Salem: Master my I inquire...
Jaune: Ask...
Salem: What will become of Lionheart? He is... was important to my plans...
Jaune: You plans are no longer valid. You serve our will.. as for Lionheart... my bride?
Velvet: We have no need of him... after we seize the relic...
Salem: But... my plans... my salvation... then of my curse!
Jaune: They are of no concern. You serve our will... or would you like a reminder?
Salem: (Bows her head in supplication) No Master.
Salem's grew wide with utter terror as the "bride" stepped out of the grimm pool...
Velvet: Too Late.
--== Master List ==--
#jaune arc#velvet scarlatina#rwby#demonic rabbits#demonic bunnies#corruption#possession#dreamscapes#sweet dreams au#salem
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Recent events in the State of Washington pit environmentalists against the voting public.
Doomberg
Nov 13, 2024
“Don't pay any attention to the critics—don't even ignore them.” – Samuel Goldwyn
By nearly all the measures that matter, the State of Washington’s energy mix is about as green as it gets. Leveraging the powerful flows of the Columbia River, Washington generates approximately 60% of its electricity from hydroelectric dams. The Grand Coulee Dam is by far the largest hydroelectricity producer in the US and ranks among the top ten globally, generating more than 20 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) per year. The state is also home to the Northwest’s only commercial nuclear energy facility—the Columbia Generating Station—which provides a further 8% of annual supply to the grid, about as much as is currently delivered by wind turbines. The balance of Washington’s generation comes from clean-burning natural gas, and the last of its large coal furnaces is set to close in 2025. Set it and forget it | Getty
A similar story emerges when analyzing how residents in Washington heat their homes. More than 58% use electricity, and state leaders are actively pushing heat pumps as a replacement for traditional resistive heating options. Only a third of households rely on natural gas, while the remaining 9% rely on a mix of propane, wood, and other sources.
Although Washington produces almost no oil or natural gas within its borders, it has positioned itself shrewdly in both markets. The state is home to five refineries, ranks fifth in the US by total refining capacity, and is a net exporter of petroleum products. Washington is also a major conduit of natural gas produced in British Columbia and Alberta, home to some of the lowest-cost supply in the world. The Gas Transmission Northwest pipeline is capable of flowing 2.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) as it passes into the state from Idaho on its way to Oregon. The Northwest Pipeline has a peak capacity of 3.8 bcf/d and enters Washington in Sumas, southeast of Vancouver, facilitating gas supply for Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado.
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