#Dim Hope

[izzydaninja]

Summary: "One moment, he’s on his own, debating on taking Rouge’s offer to join her and the others for Sonic’s birthday party, and then the next, the sky’s ripping open with some strange looking portal, and he’s being pulled in. Everything goes white, and when he comes to, he’s in a very familiar, long, metallic hallway."

*No stealing!* Thank you!

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 4: Dim Hope

Narrated by Lilibet.

Narrator: I bring Benjamin back and give him a new outfit and parts. The tricky thing about him, however, is that he needs a lead heart.

Narrator: The lead heart is a unique part of the toy guard. It's their heart, and every toy guard has one.

Narrator: And so I ask for the best, strongest guard to be brought to me.

Choose "You took a guard's lead heart?"

You: You took a guard's lead heart?

Narrator: He gave it to me of his volition after hearing my request.

Narrator: When a guard comes to me to inform me that their captain has gone missing, I'm examining Benjamin... now a changed man, by yours truly.

Narrator: Benjamin has changed beyond recognition. He's carrying himself tall in a sleek uniform, wearing a badge shining through the dark of the night.

Narrator: When the guard leaves on my command, Benjamin looks at me with a smile and lowers himself to plant a kiss on the back of my hand.

Benjamin: You saved my life, Your Highness! I'm yours and yours only now!

Lilibet: And just how exactly do you plan to repay me? I can't...

Narrator: I take a good look at him, from head to toe. Be it his uniform or parts, everything he has is a gift from me.

Lilibet: I can't see what I can possibly want from you.

Benjamin: You might recall that, back in the garden, I promised to tell you this museum's most precious secret.

Benjamin: There is an old bell tower in the depths of the Maze Woods, and in there you will be able to find the tunnel that leads to the outside world.

Benjamin: The tunnel will provide a fast and convenient choice if you would like to see Queen Lilith.

Choose either "Are you leaving the museum?" or "Are you going to see Lilith?"

If "museum," ...

You: You're leaving the museum? Where would you be able to go, though, if you leave here?

Narrator: This museum isn't home... to me, home is where Queen Lilith is.

If "Lilith," ...

You: You are going to see the Queen? But you don't even know when she'll be coming here next...

Narrator: I would definitely love to see her, but I don't have forever to wait for it to happen.

--

Narrator: Benjamin fixes me with a stare. He probably thought I'd be excited or happy hearing what he'd said... but no. On the contrary, I feel disappointed.

Lilibet: Was that all you had to tell me?

Narrator: He knows what I most crave, but it really is no big deal, because it is no secret that most of the toys at the museum miss their owners.

Narrator: But I have been at the museum long enough myself to have learned a few things about this place that might be unbeknownst to newcomers.

Lilibet: The bell tower does indeed lead to the outside world, but we as toys will be deprived of our ability to move the moment we've left the museum.

Lilibet: Tell me this: how am I supposed to go and see Queen Lilith if I can't move?

Benjamin: No, Your Highness. Your chance is just around the corner.

Benjamin: I was once left to rot in a corner of the museum, but that's also where I was fortunate enough to have learned some interesting information.

Narrator: I fix Benjamin with a firm stare and carefully observe his expression. Sure enough, I do see what just might pique my interest swimming under those fervent eyes of his.

Lilibet: I take that to mean that Queen Lilith will be coming to the museum soon?

Narrator: The smile on his face confirms my thought.

Benjamin: I would never dare lie to you, Your Highness. I think this would make for a great opportunity for you to leave the museum and go back to the Queen.

Benjamin: And I want to be someone you can rely on for solutions, Your Highness. Nothing stops me from serving you, if only you would allow me to serve you.

Choose either "Did you take him up on his suggestion?" or "Why was he trying to help you, though?"

If "take suggestion," ...

You: Did you take him up on his suggestion?

Narrator: I didn't... it's always been my plan anyway. He just so happened to say my plan out loud.

If "help you," ...

You: Why was he trying to help you, though?

Narrator: Why wouldn't he want to? I'm his queen, and the fact that I'd saved him is all the more reason he should help me.

--

Narrator: Benjamin tells me everything he knows.

Benjamin: An insider told me that Queen Lilith would be coming to the museum for an inspection on Starsnow.

Benjamin: I'll help you escape Swan Castle on Starsnow Eve. You'll be able to make it out just fine if you make it through the skylight of the bell tower's roof before anyone catches us.

Benjamin: You shall be the most perfect of all to Queen Lilith, and I'm certain she'll bring you back home.

Lilibet: ...Will she really?

Benjamin: Of course.

Benjamin: And that's because you're no longer the same person you were. I'm sure you'll leave the Queen with a strong impression with your violin skills and rose fragrance.

Benjamin: And I'll rob the other toys of their abilities for you, so that the noisy robotic nightingale and Queen Erinka won't stand a chance against you.

Lilibet: You're a smart one. You know exactly what I'm thinking.

Narrator: Benjamin takes a deep bow to me. When he raises his head, I see his eyes burning with excitement and fervor.

Benjamin: I dare not venture a guess at your heart, Your Highness! But I just can't imagine such amazing abilities befitting anyone but you because you're our one and only Queen Lilibet.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 5

[huiyi07]

hey so do you guys ever think about how often Diluc is referred to as the ‘uncrowned king of Mondstadt’ since he’s like the only male heir to the noble families and like it or not, where Jean is the authority of the nation, he’s pretty much the symbolic face of Mondstadt and the values the nation projects— and despite his temperament, Diluc has learned to embrace it wholeheartedly. He’s charismatic, extremely righteous, and he blazes bright and gives the people of Mondstadt a fire that guides them in the dark, quite literally. Like he’s literally Bruce Wayne lmao

But he doesn’t want this, no, and here’s the proof- maybe he did, once upon a time, before everything happened— but he doesn’t really care about wine, he only cares about the winery because of the people in it and his father. He’s righteous but doesn’t give a damn about the rules and the knights of favonius. After what happened to him, he’s clearly a rebel at heart now, not some charming superhero who does everything expected of him, unlike before. In summary, Diluc was someone who was quite literally ready to become an (uncrowned) prince, pretty much royalty in every way except title- and on surface level, he still is, but he throws that mantle away in secret whenever he can.

And then look at Kaeya, his brother who’s always lived in his shadow. It’s easy to see that now, people don’t really project Mondstadt’s values onto Kaeya the same way they do onto Diluc, since lots of people hardly even remember that they’re brothers. And yeah people still think kaeya is reliable and nice, but also because of how Kaeya built his image after Diluc left— an excessively over the top personality that pretends to be sadistic, mean, and at the same time dripping with false charm. So despite that people still find him approachable and nice as expected of a knight, hardly anyone would call him befitting of a prince.

But Kaeya is actually so painfully and authentically ‘princely’ and kind, deep down— the way he deals with children, his fierce loyalty and willingness to protect people at all costs, his self sacrificial tendencies that most often appear for Diluc’s sake. Even the tidbits of lore we get about him scream aristocracy- his ‘ceremonial’ bladework, Alberich family secrets that reveal just how central they are to the kingdom of khaenriah. This is kinda obvious to any player who’s bothered to learn anything about kaeya, but to the characters in game, there are very few that know that side of him.

And whereas Diluc is forcibly projected the title of royalty and secretly rejects it, Kaeya was actually born into it- his family is very important to Khaenriah, and much like how he does with anything related to his past and heritage, he loudly and outwardly rejects anything to do with ‘royalty’. Diluc outwardly rejects what Kaeya shows (a darker, more ‘means justify the end’ nature), and Kaeya tries to hide what Diluc projects (a sophisticated and aristocratic upbringing).

Honestly? It’s as if they were swapped at birth. Kaeya’s real hidden nature, even after everything that happened to him, remains to be so unwavering and people-oriented, while Diluc’s true personality changed drastically over time. Not that Diluc isn’t unwavering or whatever, but Diluc mostly actively rejects relationships and prefers to do everything alone, obsessed with the idea that he doesn’t want anyone to get hurt, whereas Kaeya always, always yearns for companionship and for people to be by his side- solidarity.

Diluc is the poster image of royalty, but his brother who hides in the shadows is a real king. They complete each other, balance each other out, represent the parts that the other hides. I don’t know if hoyoverse always meant them to be that way, but damn they basically represent each other’s parts of themselves that they lost. Yin and Yang, two halves of the same whole.

[seonghwacore]

SEONGHWACORE 1.1K CELEBRATION @hwanswerland requested: a sparkly inception seonghwa!

[cadexiety]

"maybe in another universe-"

"why not this one?"

[romancantthinkofausername]

nsh ponders existence while they're mere centimeters away from slipping off and dying

[metal-district]

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[sunderedstar]

good books of 2024

according to meeee.

there is no order here, at least one of these was published ages ago, I'm just working my way through my 2024 timeline, godspeed spiderman. 🫡

Metal from Heaven

surprise hit of 2024. top of the charts. stunning, spectacular. gorgeous. Metal from Heaven FUCKS. almost every single main character is an explicit spicy toxic hot mess of a lesbian committing literal highway/train robbery, the bad guy is literally named Industry, leading to such peak sentences as "I am going to kill Industry." the prose is synesthetic in a way that most writers cannot sustain for a full novel but which here culminates in a moment of pure blissful Neon Genesis Evangelion that I will not elaborate on due to spoilers. the author pulls out the FUNNIEST lines, and also the most abrupt and heartbreaking tragedies. we're not here to be subtle, we're here to put the pedal to the metal until the engine explodes. such a damning, whip smart condemnation of industry, capitalism, power. all in the form of Lesbians. also the phrase 'clown orgy' is mentioned. this shit is like gideon the ninth with CRUNCH. NSFW.

but don't take my word for it. take amal el-mohtar's.

Absolution

Absolution is a hard book. requires thought and rigor at all times to absorb what's going on - and also a reread of the entire trilogy beforehand, because there's time travel nuance involved, which makes it next to impossible to sum up the plot coherently on its own without spoiling things. jeff vandermeer described it partially as 'fuck that alligator from the movie' and - valid. the first 60% had me; the later section...swapped gears drastically, which meant it took a while to hit its stride (aka until it reached Area X again). in hindsight I was just not prepared for one of the POVs to be the Freudian, violently stoned, unreliable narrator love-child of Karkat and Dave Strider whose perception/conception of the heart of the Southern Reach is extremely phallic. and then suddenly cannibalism happens. I liked Annihilation and Acceptance better, but damn. it almost feels like this should be the set up to another trilogy. much 2 think about.

Yield Under Great Persuasion

I don't know why I didn't hear anything about this one before it came out! (instead, I only saw posts about rowland's other book released this year, running close to the wind - which sadly did not hit for me at all). Yield Under Great Persuasion is just ridiculous enough to be fantastic. stubborn little gremlin man, big mad about Pumpkingate years after the original inciting incident that set him at odds with his love interest, attempts to pack his little rucksack and run away from all his self-inflicted gay problems, fails, is forced to deal with said personal problems by direct goddess-intervention. you know it's gonna be good when the guys are hate-banging by page 2. a short, delightful mix of (extremely silly and low-stakes) enemies to lovers and hurt/comfort and working out your emotional and communication issues on page style comfort food. self-indulgent in a fanfic way that is rowland's trademark in a taste of gold and iron (which was also fantastic and probably deserves a reread now.) NSFW.

The Spellshop

between this and yield under great persuasion there's an odd cozy fantasy pairing here. a self-isolated shut-in spellbook librarian who lives for her work escapes the fall of her city and sets up shop back in her old hometown on a severely magic-deprived island. there's some internalized trauma being worked through, against a simply charming backdrop of community and solidarity and magic spells. really. I was. charmed. which is a rare reaction on my part.

The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low

the curveball of the list, The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low is a translated (gay) Korean web novel, and it's the perfect intersection of a decent translator meeting an author who knows what they're doing. notorious tumblr user @spockandawe has a write up of the plot and its major themes here, but in essence it hooked me with its hunter/super-hero meets Pacific Rim setting, its themes of gifted kid burnout and unacknowledged trauma with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the fact that the author clearly plotted out all of this in advance, with minor details from the opening chapter being extremely plot relevant a hundred chapters later. also, the characters are FUN! the relationship compels me. clownery abounds in all the best ways, while the world-ending stakes are also scarily sky high. its translation is currently incomplete as far as I'm aware, which is literally this story's only downside right now, since you can read it online for free - but so much of the main story is up and translated already that it's hard to imagine how much higher the stakes can go, and I'm dying to know if these two make it through and get the happy ending they deserve. a delicious repast.

Apostles of Mercy

I'm gonna rant here. this is the story of a series that got the redemption arc it deserved.

if you don't know, axiom's end is lindsay ellis's blatant Bayverse Transformers female lead alternate history fic. period. she has openly admitted this. you can easily and clearly pick out the Optimus/Megatron/Starscream expies. and that first book was GOOD. it understood the assignment. loved it.

then...truth of the divine happened. book two of the series. was frankly. god awful. it was like twilight's new moon, where the main character's depression saturates and therefore stagnates the entire narrative, in this case to its detriment. it dragged. the entire appeal of first book of the series is the bond between the main character and her new definitely-not-a-Transformer life partner, and book two managed to both sideline that - the entire point!!! the main thing you're reading it for! the alien time! - and introduce the most skeevy and (for me) unpleasant to read human hetero romance of all time. it was so unpleasant I actually forgot how bad it was.

somehow. somehow. palpatine returned. after I spent three years mourning what could have been. book three saved it. Apostles of Mercy addresses the whole damn skeevy toxic mess that was book two and refocuses on what matters - the alien love interest and a LESBIAN love interest. yes. it's true. once again the sapphics won. we now have a book where the main character is reliving lesbian sex memories as an alien-robot-insect-definitely-not-a-Transformer mindmelds with her so I mean. good job team? her love interest also acquires an alien life partner of her own to expand this into potential alien foursome range? the assignment is once again UNDERSTOOD. in terms of the action scenes, to quote myself while reading it, "I can't believe I'm saying this but you needed to channel far more Bayverse" [for book 2], and doing so for book 3 has produced a work of art. I would say skip book 2 entirely and thank me later, but experiencing how bad the series got at its darkest point is part of what made book 3 such an exhilarating high in comparison. possibly that was the goal all along, impossible to appreciate until now. I just need lindsay ellis to get the contract to write the currently-in-publication-limbo books 4 and 5. because the series deserves it. it only just got good again! NSFWish because I can't remember currently how explicit they got all these months later, forgive me.

The Deep Sky

yume kitasei is new to me, but this book hit some interesting notes as a sci fi debut. it too is about gifted kid burnout and imposter syndrome, funnily enough, in a thoughtful take on the standard sci fi concept of 'a bunch of rigorously trained young adults are sent out into deep space as an ark to save a dying humanity' that actually does discuss how fucked up that is as a concept, both for the kids as they grow up under enormous pressure to win a spot on the mission and for all those people being left behind, in what might just end up being an overhyped waste of resources, since civilization sure is still kicking when they leave. the summary on the book is somewhat misleading - asuka, the main character, doesn't fall under suspicion until wayyyy late in the book, and spends the majority of it in a pseudo-detective role that is absolutely sanctioned by those in charge. she's not 'an immediate suspect' like the book blurb insists. go figure. it didn't knock me out of the park like most of the books above, but it was an engaging little read.

The Bees

a weird one from 2014, picked up on a whim - it's literally about bees! fictionalized bees! with personalities and priesthoods and caste politics and everything! I cried about it to be honest. very plotty, somehow all of it neatly taking place within the Lifecycle of A Bee™️, which takes some real craftsmanship to pull off and make compelling as a narrative. since I'm an unrepentant Raksura fan, I was like 'wow...how Raksura coded...' knowing full well that Raksura are dragon bee people, not the other way around. also the Raksura could never be as toxic (complimentary) as these bees are. 😂 it's just good literature your honor.

honorable mentions:

Heavenly Tyrant

has not come out yet. but let's be real. it's on the list in anticipation. it's what she deserves.

The City in Glass

I love nghi vo's work, have read and adored all of the singing hills cycle novellas. it took a month for my library hold on this book to be available. and then I promptly got distracted by metal from heaven and the hunter's gonna lay low 😂 I will read it!!! the first eight pages were good! vitrine's voice is very good! I've just had a very busy end of the year interrupting my everything. (update: I read two more pages and it immediately and promptly popped off. whoops. guess I'm reading that next. whenever I have free time again...)

[dilf-in-peril]

We'll be able to tell when HBK hands NXT over to Phil because suddenly all the kids stop doing the HBK bouncy sells and start selling like sluts.

[amagnificentobsession]

I’ve noticed many, many, of the people I used to see posting, in RP and out, that I interacted with in all my *forms 😉* are no longer participating on the site.

We all know assuming can get you into trouble, but because of the timeframe of certain situations, combined with the actual pain of realizing there may be no beautiful closure for our beloved Ineffables, I can only assume they coincide.

If you are taking a break, good on you knowing you need it, whatever the reason may be. But please don’t assume you are not missed. You are.

*But I’m only 1 person, no one will miss me.* Multiply that by 10 and you could be 1 of 10 people in another’s GO Tumblr life that may have needed to walk away.

You are missed. Truly missed. 💔

I thank Someone everyday for the artists, poets, storytellers on Tumblr, Reddit, AO3. They continue to create, inspire, and love this fandom. They know this fandom belongs to US.

TO US. WE are the ones who fraternize, deeply love, find a connection to a beautiful pair of humans that have come to live in ours hearts and will forever be Crowley and Aziraphale.

From both of our hearts: AMagnificentObsession

@muriel-not-the-dim-one

♥️🔥✨

[mintjeru]

i love him already, your honor

open for better quality | no reposts

[annt-i]

I start school up in TWO DAYS ,, but anyways; hit this request when you can or when you want, anyway.

We need more Alex Rider in School, he’s always in school which end up in bad situations in the series.

I NEED HIM WHIPPING UP THE MOST JUICY PAINTING OF ONE OF HIS MISSIONS, ASAP !!!!

I hope this is what you meant dawg, I've got Alex painting that scene from Point Blanc where Greif was telling him he is going to be dissected. I also hope school's been alright for you so far.

[dim20-stims]

Could you please make a Stimboard for Kipperlilly Copperkettle?

"It's really nice how charmed everyone is by how little you fucking care."

x x x - x 🗳️ x - x x x

[morsmortish]

Hi! Just slipping in for a second to say that in a Modern Au, Walburga is just like any Chinese mother in a sense that she wants her children to marry Chinese people and they just don't 😀

(totally not projecting)

Okay have a nice day! :))

sirius swans off with a tall awkward white kid who doesn’t know how to use chopsticks or what oyster sauce even is whilst regulus has a swarm of respectable chinese men and women after him but regards them all with utter disdain and disgust. walburga spends her final days ripping her hair out.

[dimmestmorn13]

(read L <-- R)

🌹🎼vs SEED!🍎

(click for better quality) (very loosely inspired by this twt)

tumblr gets the nicer version bc dim is an idiot and rushed posting last night... (〒▽〒) so embarrassing diff versions under the cut

[corpsentry]

i know this happened a while ago but i haven't seen u say anything abt it so i rly wanted to watch sarus crane but missed it. i remember you said smth about making it available so i wanted to ask how far along you are and where i could possibly watch it when you publish it?

thank you for reminding me op i forgor to post it on tumblr but it is done! it is done. it was hell on earth to navigate fuckass premiere pro (used it because i had a month's subscription left with the college) and i would strongly recommend setting the volume low and then raising it as opposed to starting loud but between the ungodly, confused, and miserable amount of audio editing and the subtitles i think the dialogue And the taiko drums are more or less both audible now

it's still crazy to think that we pulled this off, three months later. i'm very proud of it. credits to my dancers as well as everyone else who helped make this possible are in the video description

here is the digital program; i recommend reading the note from the choreographer before watching the show. and here is sarus crane, do you miss home. please enjoy