#It's all about death and rebirth and love

[deramin2]

Thinking about how Kentucky Route Zero's influence on Critical Role Campaign 3 has gotten even stronger the longer it's gone on. In a way that's non-obvious unless you played to the end of the game. (These thoughts are as vague as possible to avoid spoilers).

The love was there. All kinds of fondness being expressed person to person to get through the world. A journey where every step moved your perspective and each person expanded the aperture of insight. To find the end of the path we've been set on, even if it's just to deliver some antiques. To find some people that went missing. Just to try to understand.

The world was too big to take on. Everyone knew it. It was just about keeping each other going. Trying to make enough good choices to get through. The love was there but it couldn't save anyone.

The ordinary forces of the world are so big and so scary. No magical realism can outstrip the monsters of greed. We have to sell something when the bill comes due. Maybe our own futures.

When the rains consume us and floods come to wash it all away, we do what we can to save who we can. We honor what we couldn't do. Who we couldn't save. None of us will get out alive anyway because death is a natural part of being alive. It's the people whose lives we changed while we were there that carry us along. The communities we nurtured.

In the end you make decisions one by one. You see the world from many angles and you get far more questions than answers because there aren't answers. They don't exist. But you've got to keep asking anyway. Each step takes you somewhere you didn't know you wanted to go, maybe even feared, but it's your road and the journey meant everything. Not because it was predetermined but because every choice made it mean something. The world is forever in the process of death and rebirth. The things that keep living do so by feeding off others for their youth.

Sometimes I'm just going along with my day and suddenly just remember parts of Kentucky Route Zero and am just overwhelmed by its grief and its beauty. The way personal grief is contextualized between the grief of surviving an exploitive society.

Everything done wasn't enough, but it mattered, and it matters that collectively we drag forward trying to survive, propeled by the beauty and magic around us from nature and ordinary people and the inevitable destruction of the machines that eat people. None of us will get out of this alive. We're predestined to die. But we affected the world and people change the world through their memories of us.

We're only capable of seeing a stylized, simplified version of the world, piecing it together from the scraps we come across. From the conversations we initiate. The world around us we dare to observe. Really letting ourself stop and take in the world around us.

No goal, just to really let yourself be in the world. And weep.

[izelthewashbear]

Y'know what? Screw this, I just spent the past 2 hours studying for a test tomorrow, so have a random incoherent rant about why Rendog in Life series symbolizes rebirth, as well as his connections with the moon. Cuz why not. Featuring random things I learned during my myths and religions class. Bear in mind that I just finished studying and my brain might be slightly fried, so I might just be blabberin nonsense.

Right off the bat, the most important aspect - being beheaded and thus turning into the Red king. Quite obviously, he was literally reborn into this role - a role of protector of his own people and slayer of the ones who wanted to harm them.

Okay but first, let's go a little earlier than that. Ren's first death was forced upon him (no shit) by Grian's trap, being set off by Jimmy. Without that death, and being reborn as a yellow, he would probably never create 'the test' which resulted in his beheading - or either way, even if he died differently, I'd happen after his first death, so either way, after being reborn. Rebirth into a yellow made him realize the only way to beat his enemies (by that I mean the desert hippies) is to be like one of them - a red. And for that, he needed to be reborn as one.

But let's go a little further than that. One thing that came to my mind lately - many cultures and mythologies equate east with life and birth, and west with death. Quite obviously - the Sun, the thing that gives and symbolizes life, raises from the east and sets on the west. Where was Dogwarts located on the 3rd Life server? On the eastern side of the map, almost the furthest point east. And where was Monopoly mountain, the desert, their biggest enemies, located? Along the western end of the map. Monopoly Mountain is actually the furthest west point of interest on the 3rd Life server map.

Shadow Alliance and the way they speak about the Moon immediately made me think of lunar mythology - part of mythology all about obviously the moon, but also things like the moon phases, the ebb and flow of the sea, even menstrual cycles. The endless cycle (another mythology term). Repetition and rebirth.

In Double Life, him and Martyn want to take Pearl on their side through the Broken Hearts Club, because Ren perceives Pearl as someone powerful and worth having on their side. Although he does, indeed, speak about her more so like a threat that's better if it's on their side, rather than against them. And I don't think I even have to mention the obvious connection between Pearl and the moon, like cmon.

One more note for Ren and the moon - he's half dog. Some people interpret him as a werewolf. And of course there is a connection between the moon and werewolves - the transformation, the change, one would even say being reborn into something new. Damn, I should make my Ren design into a werewolf-

You could say "Okay but Ren is gone in Limited Life and the cycle of rebirth is still there"- is it? I'd go as far to say that for the sake of this comparison, deaths in Limited Life do not even have to count as actual deaths. People do not automatically go to different colored lives. In session 3, when Grian is AFK, there isn't even the death screen as someone dies - it's like the death doesn't matter, you're just put right back in, losing some of your time. But dying by running out of time? That's a whole different beast. It's coming for you. You can't stop it, no matter how well you play, how many times you die in the meantime. And once it reaches you, there is no rebirth. Without Ren, there is no rebirth.

Honestly I've got nothin' for Secret Life, maybe you see something but nnnnnah

Martren. Like. Martren. C'mon. The idea that your loved one dies, so you take a part of them and you become something else. Like c'mon. What else is there to say.

If you have any of your own ideas drop them here, I might add them (and credit you ofc)

[bisupergirl]

jobs i find acceptable for kara:

professional artist: art is something she has a great deal of interest in considering she nearly joined the artists guild on new krypton (supergirl (2005) #43)! i think it'd be fun if she painted landscapes of krypton from her memory (jewel mountains, firefalls, etc.), or like. huge murals depicting everyday life on krypton, kryptonian deities, flora/fauna, etc etc. and she wouldn't just be a painter, i think she would dabble in many different artistic mediums—like when she sculpted the entire planet of krypton to show chris where different landmarks were located at in superman annual 13:

(cont.) this would work well for a version of kara that doesn't have a secret identity! and it's not like a typical 9-to-5 job where she has to be at a specific location at a specific time, so it would mesh well with her superhero responsibilities.

actress: this job is more self-indulgent (for her), but she's allowed to be self-indulgent imo! she gives her all when protecting earth, let her have some fun! in pre-crisis she was mainly a screen actress (starring in two movies and a soap opera!), but i think it'd be fun for her to act on stage for broadway or something. in supergirl vol 1 she played juliet and medusa on stage while enrolled at vandyre university (supergirl (1972) #3 and #8) so it'd be cool if she could go back to something like that:

(cont.) kara having to juggle being a famous actress in her human identity while also being well known as supergirl is something that i think can be really interesting and fun :)

historian: specifically for kryptonian history! her love for history was established in supergirl (2016) annual 2 (and kind of touched upon in superman: knight terrors #2):

(cont.) as one of the only survivors of krypton's destruction with an actual lived experience on the planet (and prior interest in her peoples history), i think it'd be incredibly important to her to keep krypton's history alive (not that it wouldn't be as important to clark, but i think kara would have a stronger emotional attachment to it). she could study the historical information on the sunstone crystals in the fortress and publish academic journals or what have you on different eras in kryptonian history, kryptonian folklore, etc etc.

and now for jobs i really don't care for:

scientist: she obviously has a lot of scientific understanding because of her upbringing, but i love that she has always preferred things like art and history to science. she'll always use her scientific ability when the need arises, but it's just not something she has ever been super passionate about -> "I enjoy science, too. Just… not as much as history." - supergirl (2016) annual 2

journalist: while i understand the idea of her becoming a journalist as a reaction to her experience on krypton (because of how the science council silenced any voices talking about krypton's impending destruction, thus causing the deaths of nearly everybody on krypton—and as a journalist she'd be able to alert people to things of that nature), this will always come off as trying to make her too much like clark to me! i loved it at the end of her adventure comics run (issue 424) when she quit her job at a news station because she found it to be exploitative:

government agent: just awful. kara working for the DEO will never make sense to me. leave this in supergirl rebirth / cw supergirl where it belongs !!

[altocat]

fave female ff7 character

You can't make me choose one asdfghjgfdsadfghfds (tifa) that wouldn't be fair to the other candidates (tifa) and besides my tastes are varied (tifa).

Lol jk. I'll talk about the others that I love too.

Aerith is great. Aerith literally moves the plot forward. Much like Tifa, the entire story would fall apart if you took her out of the equation. But that's not the only reason why I love her. Aerith is spunky, occasionally mischievous, and ultimately selfless. She's a very refreshing take on the "pure-hearted princess-y" girl trope. She has darker shades to her, of course. But she's ultimately a character that loves very strongly and shapes that love into action.

Characters like Scarlet are a lot of fun. Love me a good femme fatale character. Kind of wish she had more screentime. Elmyra does not deserve HALF the shit she goes through in the plot and she deserves some love. Ifalna's death scene in Rebirth made me cry because I love selfless mother characters, plus seeing baby Aerith that upset really got to me.

Jenova is a pretty cool unseen villain. Yes, I know technically Jenova isn't female but I'll add her anyway. I like the idea of some dark, eldritch cosmic horror entity that we NEVER see. We just get spooky vibes of them. Really eerie. Alissa is a good addition in association to her.

Cissnei is cute. I really love that she's now taking charge in Gongaga. That was a Compilation story thread that made me genuinely happy, AND made a lot of sense.

Lucia is a snarky queen and I wish she had more of a role in the wider narrative. Watching her trash Glenn's ass is super fun.

Lucrecia is interesting and complex. I know she's an extremely polarizing character but her story is genuinely interesting and I think her relationship (or lack thereof) with Sephiroth is extremely tragic.

Yuffie...honestly I'm really not a fan of Yuffie but she definitely has a great character arc and her character is very well-written. There are a lot of reasons to love her.

Did I miss anyone? Idk they're all really great in their own ways.

[windsweptinred]

Hear me out, here me out…

“And that it was from Chaos that the first three primordial gods sprang forth: Gaea (Earth), Tartarus (the Underworld), and Eros (Love) - Hesiod's Theogony

Gaea/Earth: Ariadne 

Tartarus/The Underworld: Eurydice

Eros/Love: Caeneus

Purely me headcanoning my heart little away. But I love how in a sense they all represent the three eternal beings ‘of chaos’ that make up creation incarnate. 

Ariadne: Who is now the ‘Mother of her people and her land’ as president. A representation of feminine power. Life

Eurydice: The first person to return from the Underworld and essentially, conquer/master death. Death 

Caeneus: Sweet, sweet Caeneus who embodies love, the driving force of creation. Love

They don't embody the return to Chaos per say, rather the power that sprang from it. The necessary cycle of death and rebirth, destruction and creation that Zeus has selfishly stalled. That they, as a trio will restart.

[poisonousquinzel]

thinking about just how likely it is that Batman was the only person Harley told about having suicidal thoughts whilst in Arkham in Detective Comics #831

"I was seriously considering hanging sheets from the light in my cell and doing the maximum checkout when I heard this voice..."

Detective Comics #831

and how he knew when she strapped that bomb to herself in Batman (2016) #100 that he had to go after her because she was going let herself die in an attempt to end Joker's rampage for good but that she refused to physically do it because he didn't want to her Kill him and he told her that so she's found a middle ground

"We don't need to end it this way. He needs to be locked back up."

that she'd rather die than keep living with his presence in the world haunting her, haunting Them.

That if he did choose Joker, she wasn't going to disarm the bomb herself.

"Honey. You're talking to the wrong girl if you think he's not dangerous locked up in Arkham. It's like I said. That's not good enough for me. Not anymore."

the way he yells for her as she leaves.

"You're only going to get to one of us in time, Bats. Who's it going to be?"

"Harley!"

the way the two men stare at each other in the way they have so many times before, in those moments when Joker stayed or prioritized their fight over her. the way he knew Joker loved the thrill of it all and thought it was funny, thought there was No way Batman would leave him and that this game had to end as according to the rules. And that Batman would do so, he would follow the rules and save him. The way he immediately assumed Batman would choose him, choose his life and choose to stay and disarm the bomb.

And how Batman didn't do that. How Batman walked away from him, leaving him to die or escape or whatever, because He was choosing Harley and her safety and prioritizing her life over him.

The way he stared him in the eyes before choosing the woman Joker had always left to die over him. The way that it was always Him, it was never a question if he would choose Batman over her, but when faced with that type of scenario, Joker is the one that gets left behind to die.

The way she literally woke up in the hospital instead of them having a scene just outside after he removed it. because she didn't intend to live in one of the two options. the way the bomb probably did go off to some capacity because you don't just end up in the hospital knocked out for a week.

Him saying that he's glad she's okay, after everything they've been through, this war and Everything else. and the way he didn't brush off her concern

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Are you?"

"I had to bury my father again today. I did it with my family."

i just, i can't,,,,, i cant

[beingnotseeming]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron) Characters: Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Additional Tags: here is a fic my tumblr followers have been losing it over for months., since i wrote the first two parts in october and the last part literally last night., So., hope yall like 💀💀 i think its a good one!!, also i just checked i lied i started this in november not october oops, Anyways, Established Relationship, Pre-Relationship, you'll see - Freeform, Complicated Relationships, Miscommunication, but not in the cringe annoying way promise, Insecurity, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Angst, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Soft Keith/Lance (Voltron), Soft Keith (Voltron), Whipped Keith (Voltron), he loves lance so bad yall, although in his defense....., if i spent two years constantly watching visions of my future self falling in love with someone, i would be insane about them too, Pining Lance (Voltron), Voltron: Legendary Defender Season/Series 07 Fix-It, Autistic Lance (Voltron), Tall Keith (Voltron), Brown-Eyed Lance (Voltron), for once this isnt explicit.....but as you know it is true, Team as Family, but there is tension, anyways enjoy Series: Part 1 of s7 fix it Summary:

“Mm-what,�� he mumbles, muffled into his roughed shoulder pads, words smushed together.

Keith sighs instead of answering. For half a second Lance tenses. But Keith only shifts again, not pushing Lance off but moving so Lance is pressed closer to him, and then the heat of his breath tickles the shell of Lance’s ear, and he tenses for a whole different reason.

And then there is, inexplicably, the feeling of what must be Keith’s lips, pressed to the side of Lance’s skull, gentle and lingering, and Lance thinks clearly to himself: what the fresh actual and genuine fuck.

“‘M sorry,” says Keith, so quiet it would be impossible to hear were his mouth not one single inch away from Lance’s ear. He kisses again, and he almost sags into the motion, into Lance. “I shouldn’t have been so dismissive of you earlier. I was stressed. I missed you, too.”

Lance opens his mouth. He muffles a choking sound with all of his strength.

“All good in the hood,” he finally manages, and then wants to strangle himself. “We’re — tight, Keithalicious.” --- OR: Somebody lied to Keith, and now he thinks he and Lance are...lovers, of some kind. They are not.

Lance struggles to correct him.

[ballpitbee]

I absolutely love your streetlamp city stuff and how you can just look at all your toontown characters and make a whole new world for them. It's like that one post with how au art of mlp characters eventually evolved into their own characters with separate lore and names. It's so cool

THANK YOU!! I realised that aphter a while I was having more phun doing my own thing with my own rules and world building - so I yoinked those phellas away and put them in my new place!

(Course, I still LOOOOVE toontown- but nothing theres nothing I love better than going wild with ideas and whatnot X3)

[bericas]

cuts and bruises, baby

[july-19th-club]

love season 2. i'm concussions! and i'm psychic visions! the headache brothers

[frogatz]

monthly calypsoworld tag ramble :]

[thirdtimed]

unfortunately if i ever developed the lifeseries orv au in my head in earnest i would in no capacity whatsoever manage to be normal about it at all and like. i mean it

[saints-who-never-existed]

“Death has an opposite, but the opposite is not mere living. 

It is not courage or faith or human will. 

The opposite of death is love. 

How had I missed that? How does anyone miss that? 

Love is our only weapon. 

Only love can turn mere life into a miracle, and draw precious meaning from suffering and fear. 

For a brief, magical moment, all my fears lifted, and I knew that I would not let death control me. I would walk through the godforsaken country that separated me from my home with love and hope in my heart. 

I would walk until I had walked all the life out of me, and when I fell I would die that much closer to my father.”

- Nando Parrado, Miracle in the Andes, 2006. 

[impossible-rat-babies]

1.0 making Direct Eye Contact and breathing heavily while [redacted] makes a giant mess of her house like

[reinemichele]

Translation here

Like gathering stardust in a decaying world, I'll compose this song until I scatter to dust. Even beautiful flowers in full bloom Will turn to grains of sand in the passage of time, Silently trickling into their final resting place: The glittering starry sky filling the silver hourglass. Surrendering myself to suffering, With unwavering faith in the cycle of death and rebirth I'll wear a smile as I go...  Because "I have lived."

[With disgust conflicting with heartbreak] Isn't that stupid? Isn't that so stupid...?

Actually I realized I can post this and not worry about proprietary so much

Does that, um, convey...

[heartevent]

i will say something i did NOT expect in the SLIGHTEST was how much of a theme pregnancy and birth is in adventure time