#EXCEPT IN FRAGMENTS

[bronzebtch]

something something abt rhea actually being lowkey insane bc she would find the thought of getting the attention of any targaryen thrilling, getting their attention when they're angry? even better.

[serpentface]

Retconned Wardi firearms- a basic handgun, a highly decorative ceremonial handgun (belonging to Faiza), and a lance-gun.

Gun tech has officially been nerfed down to hand cannons (press F) (this has been a long time coming but I'd been fallacy of sunk costs-ing myself out of retconning).

Handguns are held similarly to a shotgun, with the butt pressed into the user's shoulder, one hand gripping under the barrel, and the other free to ignite the gunpowder. These represent the most advanced firearms in contemporary usage, both in make and in their use of uniform iron projectiles built to match the gun's bore for greater range and efficiency. Lance-guns are the more basal form, usually larger and mounted with the pole held over the shoulder, and are most effectively used by two people (one to hold and aim, one to light the gunpowder).

The spread of firearms is currently mostly limited to the Eastern Inner Seaway peoples (with some additional distribution via overland trade), and actual manufacture of hand cannons and gunpowder at Significant scale is limited to the region's core powers.

The reason for this limited spread is partially due to specific elements of the technology's history. Gunpowder was first synthesized by Burri alchemists and considered to be the discovery of the legendary divine weapon + solar fire of the deity Inanariya, and its formula (along with techniques for ideally refining its components) remained a closely guarded state secret. It was used predominantly in priestly contexts to generate flame and explosive sounds (in conjunction with earlier practices of generating multicolored flames with use of other chemicals), then integrated into combustible weaponry in the forms of fire lances, which would eventually develop into early handcannons.

The treatment of gunpowder as a guarded sacred or semi-sacred substance continued with Wardi adoption, where knowledge of its making is considered a closed rite. It's name (inya tsatsul or just tsatsul, a derived adoption of the Burri iñazatsūya) still reflects a divine solar association (the Burri word means 'sun's thunder', the Wardi 'inya' invokes the sun, 'tsatsul' is an adapted loanword and has no meaning independent of the substance itself), though its priestly use is now predominantly associated with the firearm'ed Odonii (rather than priests of the solar Face Inyamache). The composition of gunpowder can no longer be regarded as a Secret by any means, though efforts to obscure the methods of its creation are still moderately successful and has kept knowledge of gunpowder manufacture more limited than the total sphere of firearm usage itself.

The actual strongest limiting factor of firearm usage is the rarity of natural saltpeter deposits necessary for making gunpowder. The practice of actively producing saltpeter via nitraries has not been developed anywhere in the setting, and all is instead obtained via natural sources. These sources are rare and limited within the current spread of firearm technology, and result in gunpowder being a limited and expensive substance to produce. The weapons themselves are also very expensive to manufacture (a good quality steel SWORD is far too material-cost prohibitive for most people to own), particularly high quality firearms designed for use with standardized ammunition.

These guns are also very basal, and logistical difficulties in their use (weight, very slow loading and firing speed, high visibility) along with the restrictive cost of production has kept firearms far from rendering conventional weaponry, armor, and projectiles obsolete (even within the societies that have access to them). They are still, however, very devastating in use within their contemporary context, particularly in that high quality guns have a longer range than the best arrow-based projectiles, and negate most contemporary forms of armor that at close range.

[amitiagailec]

Wowie what's this? Me active in Tumblr (and Discord again??)

I am still uncertain how I want to go with this but I am motivated by the idea of making an AU in CRK. Look if you want content you gotta make em yourself.

Not much is decided but here's the idea so far:

Fragment!AU. SM is named Ternate Milk Cookie/Fragment!SM

•Inspired from how a part of WL (or WL herself now) "survived"/stayed lingering despite DE, I just decided maybe the Beasts will have a manifestation of their own, be it just remnants/manifestations of them that continues to walk Earthbread despite their true selves being sealed.

Just as how the soul jams can kinda imitate and preserve the will of their holders it seemed, I think they'd be somewhat like that in that regard, in the middle of the Darkness and Light of the Virtues.

•TM Cookie as manifestation of SM is often at Ghost City and Blueberry Yogurt Academy, because of connection to his past, a continuation of what he started as the Virtue, and the source of power/dimension of this place.

•There's also SM's territory in Beast Yeast. But he doesn't always do so.

•This decreased after PV inherited the Light of Truth, but not completely.

•Every headmaster of the academy is aware of TM. From every predecessor to a new one he is to be regarded as a "guest" providing him things when he needed it, and only be cautious when he is displaying...tendencies. Every once in a while, some professors would find an unknown Cookie wandering the school and disappearing before they could find him. Most times they'd forget but the quiet rumor of a ghost lingers from time to time.

•Students when familiar are very much warned when they were found to have seen or interacted with him for there have been a few cases of...luring.

•Despite the wariness, TM still provides support every once in awhile. Correcting formulas for spells and potions by professors, returning books to the library when someone forgot and often arranging them, making suggestions to the headmasters themselves, and teaching young cookies when they passed by him. The last one be how he will bond with a certain Cookie.

•As a manifestation, TM cannot interact with anything in his surroundings unless he puts his effort into it, drawing from what energy and magic he can, another reason why the place is important. Appearing alone draws a lot from him if he were anywhere else.

•He can recall what knowledge he still has from before, but anything related to Beast Yeast, his comrades, and his own deeds are always blocked from his mind. Any trigger makes him uncomfortable. He'd eventually forget that happened.

•TM is still connected to his real self SM, who would often show when his attitude changes. Just another way of SM to interact and spectate outside of his prison, mostly showing when his expression darkens. What TM forgets, SM remembers very well.

[broken-clover]

It's eternally a little funny whenever I see someone say something along the lines of 'everyone in Strive is so happy now! Everyone's stories are getting resolved! It'll be hard to make a new game when everyone's retired and living peacefully and resolved their problems' and then there's a haunted semi-sentient mecha corpse in the corner constantly screaming from being trapped in limbo

[kagooleo]

@ultra-zine digital orders are now up, go get em now!!!1!1!!!

here’s my piece for vol. 3! my piece was on haruki and zett, styled like the access card used in the z-riser!

chant their names!! <o/

[kiisuuumii]

Dorothea Lasky, "Love Poem," Awe

[mournfulroses]

Kōtarō Takamura, tr. by Hiroaki Sato, from Chieko & Other Poems; "The Snow Has Piled White,"

[nigesakis]

finally watching BoB

[ww2yaoi]

i’m very liebgott minded with webster like I can’t call him david THAT’S WEB his ass is named web who the hell’s david

[ghostdrinkssoup]

idk how controversial this is but I’m actually such a big fan of s3a. it’s the exact kind of phantasmagorical bullshit that makes me kick my feet and grin like a fool. the whole show goes haywire and completely abandons the generic structure of the police procedural, and it totally gets away with it because at this point the narrative has unravelled so much that the show can safely let go of whatever conformity it was barely hanging onto in s2b. and on a metafictional level the shift in external genre strangely parallels the progression of the two main characters: just as will and hannibal have changed each other, the show too has revealed its true nature

[hungrydolphin91]

Talestober day 23: Eggbear/Gentleman

So there's this easter egg enemy in Tales of Vesperia... may I present to you the secret third Scion of Lorelei 😂

[soultiio]

day 2: timeloop au + see you in hell

"there's nothing you can do about it. you will kill me over and over until you have to do it again. you can't wipe my blood in your hands, in your mouth. it's yours now, too. see you in hell"

[darewolfcreates]

WIZARD BABYYYY!!!!

[awhoreintheory]

Done with no redemption

Lance heard him before he saw Keith, not because he was loud or anything, but because Lance was expecting him. His footsteps have always been annoyingly light like a ninja. Lance tensed, a sour frown taking over his previously good mood. 

“Lance, I—” Lance rolled his eyes, turning around with the fakest smile in his arsenal. 

“You what, Keith?” Lance asked pleasantly, cocking his head to the side. Keith paused for another moment, his eyes awkwardly averted to the ground as he fidgeted. 

“I ran away from you.” Keith sighed, hands dropping and finally looking Lance in the eyes. Lance felt it wasn’t adequately remorseful enough. 

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, and, yeah. You were right.” 

“You were right.” That single sentence seemed to just echo in Lance’s brain. Because— because his Keith didn’t just come out and admit something like that. Ever. You had to fight him tooth and nail for a half confession. (And Lance had evidence. He had to throw down with Keith just to get an answer to Lance’s real life, actual, love confession. Stubborn prick.) To say Lance was too shocked to speak would be an understatement. The shock gave way to an odd mix of amusement and seething hot anger.

“I was just running because I was afraid to face my feelings— actually, no. I was afraid of you.” Keith gnawed on his lip, thinking his words through. (Good, he’s learned his damn lesson about that.) “Because I tell you things I can’t even tell myself. Around you? My… walls are about as effective as paper is to fire.”

“Is that so?” Lance hummed, turning around and going back to folding his laundry. “Glad you’ve had some time for self discovery in the past 11 months that you’ve ghosted the team.” —and me, went unsaid, but the message was just as clear as though he had. 

“I’m proud— really! Congratulations, dude!” Lance's grin only got bigger, throwing one of Keith’s t-shirts at him. He caught it and unfolded it with a hurt expression. 

“Lance, please—” Keith’s eyebrows creased, like they always do when he’s hurt or confused. 

“Don’t “Lance, please” me, Kogane. It’s not like you ever listened to a single please from me. In fact, I don’t even think it ever even made you pause.” Lance calmly stated, wrapping up doing his laundry and storing it in Red. On the trip back to Earth with minimal supplies, Lance barely had any supplies— no moisturizer or anything! But he was making do in these trifling times.  

Keith was silent for a long moment as Lance continued cleaning up his Lion, throwing trash away and clearing out things he didn’t need as though Keith weren’t there in the first place. 

“...Is this not fixable?” It was a quiet, feeble question. 

“It was.” Was Lance’s simple response. It ignited a hope in Keith, but left him feeling uneasy. 

“..Was?” 

Lance straightened up, standing chest to chest with Keith, leaning in as though he were whispering a secret. “”I just don’t want to be stuck here for eternity with Lance.”” 

“From— from the game show? Seriously?” Keith asked incredulously, eyebrows now furrowing in anger and confusion. 

“Hmmm…” Lance tapped his finger to his chin contemplating. “Yep! From the game show. You and the team made it quite clear how you felt about me, ya’know?” 

Lance spun on his heel, plopping down and grabbing his armor to polish. “So, on that note; I need you to be civil until I leave the team.” 

“Leave the team?” 

“Yes, that’s what I just said.” 

“You can’t just— you can’t just leave, Lance! What about Voltron? What about us?” Keith’s temper was steadily rising, stomping towards Lance before he stopped and recollected himself. 

“One, yes, I can. Why would I stay somewhere I’m clearly not welcomed or appreciated? I’m going home after this shit-show. Two, there's six paladins, Keith. Simple math, even I can do it. Since, ya’know, I’m too stupid and should just leave something that complex to Pidge. Shiro can take Black back, you never wanted the position anyway, right?” Lance’s sugary sweet words were practically dripping in anger, Lance’s grin starting to annoy Keith. He knew just how hard he was hitting, and if he was honest? Lance was amused. 

“Of course we want you here! And— and, um…” Keith’s shoulders slumped, he was too flustered! He couldn’t think of an argument, yeah. He just didn’t see this coming— Lance was just confused! Keith reached for Lance’s wrist, brows furrowed and eyes oddly wet. 

“You can’t leave us, please. We need you.” 

“Well I don’t.” Lance yanked his wrist back with a disgusted turn of the lips. 

“Now get out of my lion.”

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

One hope I have for S3 of Rings of Power is the writers really start to streamline all the major plot threads. Although it has its charms, I do think the Stranger/Nori plot is something that should be incorporated into one of the other plots next season or just cut altogether. It feels like something that is there more out of obligation than anything else, that this is Tolkien so there needs to be hobbits and wizards somewhere, and while I don't really have an issue with that on principle, the fact is they haven't really found a way to work it into the show well and now it just seem to take screentime away from more important plot threads, namely Númenor. That one has really suffered this season, not getting the focus it really needs despite being far more important to the overall story being told. I also feel like the Southlands plot has run its course, but I think they've stranded Isildur there to set the stage for the founding of Gondor.

[thegreatyin]

two of them,,