#Talisman lore time

[crepesuzette2023]

Only asking if you wanna and have time to do it. No worries if you don't but asking anyway because it would be so helpful. I find it a bit difficult because I'm new. Maybe you've done this before and can add linkto that. Please.

My ask is if you could make a list of McLennon fics on AO3.

A list of favorites. (fan favourites or popular fic writers in the fandom)

A list of finished fics with lots of smut.

A list of fics that is very realistic in the Beatle lore/quite possible/likely to have happend.

A list of uncanon/not likely/ John's still alive, reunion of the Beatles etc.

A list of your own and or own favorites.

Thank you!

Thanks for the ask, Anon!

I recommended some fics in the past, it’s true, but it’s been a while. This is a chance to mention some stories I read & loved since then. (I’ll also link to the older recs, so you can check them out as well.)

(This is long, so I'm editing this to insert a break)

But first there's this:

A list of favorites. (fan favourites or popular fic writers in the fandom)

I can’t speak for the fandom as a whole, because everyone’s taste is different. What I can do is name some stories I personally love, and that are also beloved by many others.

These fics have probably been recced many times, including by me—and for a reason: they’re excellent.

Also: all of these writers have many great fics. The stories below are just entry points to their work.

• On the Way to Work by @roundthatcorner. (Paul gets a job after Hamburg.)

• Lifting Latches/Sending Postcards by ThinkPink20. (Early Days. Paul and John swap clothes.)

• Now and then (there’s a fool such as I) by @stonedlennon. (The trip to Caversham.)

• Six hours in August by @stonedlennon. (John and Paul meet in NYC in 1976.)

• Bird Passing Through by @savageandwise. (John is tripping and visiting Paul after his moped accident.)

• I was a younger man then (now) (post hoc) by @fingersfallingupwards. (McLennon as The Time Traveller’s Wife.)

• baby, it’s all relative by @pauls1967moustache. (Early John and Paul and daddy issues.)

• but still they lead me back by @revollver. Paul remembers the moment when John asked him, do you like me?

• Double Fantasy by @javelinbk. John and Paul’s (modern) Flower Shop AU.

• The Same as it Ever Was by RedheadAmongWolves. John and Paul through the eyes of the newsagent.

• The First Year by candle_beck. Still feeling the reverberations of this one in my bones years after reading.

• Portrait of the Artist by @scurator. (John and Paul take sexy pictures…to sell them for money. For no other reason.)

• Kissing the Blarney by @zilabee. Paul is the Beatles’ talisman. (This is magical realism at its best.)

• Smutlets by @unchaineddaisychain. (Don’t let the flippant name deceive you: this is a massive collection of shorter and longer fics across many genres, eras, and themes. There’s something in there for everyone!)

• The Cat by @merseydreams. Post Beatles break-up. Paul thinks John has a new boyfriend. He has thoughts about this.

And, of course, my personal favorite of all time, my desert island, gold-disc-for-space, “printed it all to make sure I won’t lose it when The Internet™ is gone”: I Need You Darlin’ (So Come Go With Me) by @beatlessideblog. Omegaverse version of John and Paul’s love story (do not scroll away!), with Paul being the alpha. I keep saying this, but it’s fantastic how the writer combines omegaverse ideas with late 50’s/ early 60’s Liverpool. Novel length plus 9 extras, what can I say. We are all blessed.

A list of finished fics with lots of smut.

Here are some recent smutty favorites. (Below are links to older smutty recs!)

• Loops by @dailyhowl. Sgt. Pepper’s era. John and Paul create tape loops of themselves during sex.

• just to make me misbehave by @dykebeatles. 1967. Paul and John have sex before, during, and after the Sgt. Pepper’s launch party.

• Lonely Hearts Column by @unchaineddaisychain. Modern AU, middle-aged composer Paul and younger artist John, and a lovely night followed by the sweetest breakfast.

• Ask the Glass by @unchaineddaisychain: Young John and Paul, and two séances.

• Put A Spell on You by @eveepe. Help! Era. The size difference between Smaul and John works very well for both of them.

• monkey’s paw by @ameliepoulain. Repressed tension and catharsis during the Japan leg of the  ’66 tour.

• lift up your heart and sing you a song by @wronglennon. Sex during the making Magical Mystery Tour. Paul wears the white suit.

• it’s good to touch by @pondpossum. Smutty mclennon art!

• The Look of You by @ohjohnnysblog. Paul is fisting John.

• the chronicles of trying to keep quiet and almost getting caught by lazydaisychain. On tour, John and Paul are trying to make space for their love.

• Piston Engines (Shift to Overdrive) by SwishyNibblyNibbly. John and Paul join the Mile High club on the way to their first US visit. Also:

• NSFW favorites (Feb. 2024)

• What’s the most raunchiest, dirty, and just explicit Mclennon fic you’ve ever read? (March 28, 2024)

• Hi, I would love recs for mclennon fics dripping in sexual tension, like six hours in August by stonedlennon. It doesn't need to have explicit sexual content. Thank you! (March 6, 2024)

A list of fics that is very realistic in the Beatle lore/quite possible/likely to have happened.

I think that’s an interesting ask, to be honest. I’ll take this to mean stories that feel “in character” and are compliant with canon events as we know them—not stories presenting a plausible explanation/only possible version of events. (Subtle difference.)

Here are some fics I could think of that fit this description (more links at the end of this post, if interested) : Krankenstand by @savageandwise. John takes care of a sick Paul in Hamburg. Two Truths, and Two Lies by J_Deandra_j. John and Paul from 1965-67, based on four quotes.

the best of times, the worst of times by @crumblingcookies. John and Paul during the Beatles' 1964 visit to the British Embassy in Washington.

Someone Else Can Worry About Me... by @idontwanttospoiltheparty. Paul comforting, and being comforted, through the years.

in france, they kiss on main street by @orphanbeat. Paul is spiraling about John during their 1966 visit to Paris.

The Dream by monkberrymoon. Screenplay-format story centered on the Did you dream about me last night? scene in Get Back.

Transatlantic by @therealsaintscully. Don't let the incomplete chapter count distract you; the first two chapters each stand on their own. John and Paul are talking on the phone after the break-up.

and when i touch you by @forthlin. Early days. John and Paul notice the different size of their hands.

Huddersfield, 1963 by @dovetailjoints. The story behind the adorable 'boyfriends' photo.

The Sober Cannibal and the Drunken Christian (Anonymous). John and Paul wake up together in Paris.

(help me) get my feet back on the ground (ladeedahblue). The toboggan sandwich!

Unsaid in Studio Two by the Beatlefix. John and Paul yearn for each other as they work on Strawberry Fields Forever.

knows not where he's going to by @dovand. Liverpool days. Brian finds John in his office one morning.

See Us in the Real Life by RedHeadAmongWolves. Two EMI canteen workers observe the Beatles, and especially John and Paul, in the early days of their career.

Shooting Star by @pie-of-flames. Early days. John and Paul see a shooting star together.

Giving me the excitations by @backbenttulips. After the Pet Sounds listening party, Paul writes a song—while having sex with John.

Field-Boxing by @the-paper-apricot. Paul considers going back on tour.

all by design by @thegirlwiththeaxe. Early days. A smitten and determined Paul is plotting to sweep John off his feet at the fete.

A list of uncanon/not likely/ John's still alive, reunion of the Beatles etc.

Music save your mortal soul by @backbenttulips. (This writer is a specialist at middle-aged/old mclennon fix its! In this one, John persuades Paul, who he accuses of being a sell out, to go on a tour though the pubs...as The Nerk Twins.)

Leads Me To Your Door/The Four of Wands by @bluewater9. Gorgeous, real and warm two-parter about John and Paul in '89/'90: together, and on the brink of coming out...but not quite there yet.

And the fics listed here:

• Fics in which John is old and happy (Dec 8, 2024) ( this probably should have said middle-aged or old)

• mclennon fanfiction in which one or both of them is/are old (June 24, 2024)

• Old mclennon recommendations (2/2/2025)

A list of your own and/or own favorites.

Here are some Beatles fics I loved recently, with some space for non-mclennon.

John/Paul/Brian. Series (1963, 1967) by @scurator. Goes well with: Billet doux (Brian/Paul).

Paris, 1961 by whiteisthewarmestcolor. "A young Parisian woman meets two British musicians staying at the Montmartre hotel run by her family." I love this unusual outsider POV on John and Paul, and Beatles when they're famous...

cool about it by ohhamlet. After Hamburg. George and Jürgen, George and Paul.

a lesson in not caring by @javelinbk. John's thoughts and feelings during Paul's arrest in Japan. With a beautiful final chapter...

visionen christi by @dykebeatles. Hamburg. John has visions...Paul and George take care of him. The emergence of a tender trinity.

Lay, Lady, Lay by @aquarianshift. Paul and Jane, noble lady & stable hand role play.

love is a finder, always by @wronglennon. Instant all-time favorite. Hamburg: Paul and John and their demons are in love without knowing...until they do.

All Flesh is Weak by @thegirlwiththeaxe. 1967. Paul is a priest, John is a writer. They meet in grief, and make each other come alive. I love how warm and kind John is...!

She's not a girl who misses much by Anonymous. Yoko studies John and Paul.

half of what i say is meaningless, but i say it just to reach you by @pauls1967moustache. "CIA agent Tom Dawkins tries to decode Lennon/McCartney" — and finds himself. An awakening!

Oh Dear What Can I Do by @louiselux. 1966. John and Paul kiss on stage...and what happens after.

Your Song Will Fill the Air by Sminking: Strange days after Brian's death. India. And a happy ending? Unfinished, but hopefully finished soon. Dark and interesting.

i walked with you once upon a dream by @menlove. A Christmas Carol during he making of Magical Mystery Tour.

With a Little Help by @notgrungybitchin. 1967. John and Paul are such a couple during the Sgt. Pepper's photoshoot...

this boy would always feel the same by @adriennefrombrooklyn. 1975. Paul is divorced, and traveling to NYC with Robert Fraser. John, back with Yoko after the lost weekend, is jealous....

And finally:

• Here is a big blog post I made in December 2023 with my overall favorites in various categories at that point...

• Here are all my fic recs (many different asks) under the #fic recs tag on my blog

• Here are all my bookmarks on AO3

• And (since you asked) my own fics are here

Thanks again for asking, Anon, and I hope you find something in this huge mess of a post that you enjoy!

[evilminji]

Ngl, I'm kinda really big on "Accidentally Fixing Things While I Was Off, Minding My Business/Indulging My Hyper Fixation"

With a side of "huh, why do I hear jaws music?" *Og!Protagonist Approach-ith*

Cause like? Who WOULDN'T want to play around with QI? Talismans? Get REAL deep into the esoteric Cultivation Lore??! What do you MEAN "boring", native to this universe!? This shit is MAGIC! We're literally playing with MAGIC here! I can write squiggles on a peice of paper and BEND REALITY! Concentrate REAL hard and have the universe around me just... shrug and OBEY!!!

That's SO COOL!

Sweet backflips and flying swords! Mythic animals! Forget being a wizard, this is WAY better! *cackles in glee*

Imagine if a SI-OC aims for a Peak that was never even brought up in Cannon! The Talismans and Artifacts (don't get them started. Yes, it's both two seperate fields. But somehow ALSO a spectrum? And can be both at once, depending on the age of the object? No one else is quite sure...) Peak. She finds her people.

First you study the general, then you specialize.

Everyone there can info-dump for HOURS on their niche field of study! Lots of cross Peak cooperation! Half of them are never ON Peak because they can't MOVE their objects of interest! Gotta study them at location! Which, yes, includes hidden realms! AND THE CREATION OF THEM.

Their last Peak lord? Fuckin DIED to Tianlang-jun's sealing. Their CURRENT Shizun? Hates the Old Palace Master with the fury of ten thousand suns. Bastard just... just DUMPED a project like "seal a Heavenly Fucking Demon Emperor" on everybody LAST MINUTE. And WIPED OUT an ENTIRE GENERATION of Masters.

If ANY of them work with ANYONE from Hau Haun? They are DEAD to him.

DEAD.

So like.... fuck those guys. It's the formal stance of her Peak. Fuck those guys forever. *spits*

Oc agrees. Cause wtf. That sounds like it was unreasonable and deeply fucked up. And that kid of demon? SUPER dangerous! Good thing there aren't any more of them! She says... having never read the book. Either one. Granted, things KINDA sound familiar? In that her brother used to talk about a series from overseas he was slowly moogle translating to read.

But like? It's the Multiverse. Not impossible odds. Maybe her soul just clung to a Cultivation Universe that VAGUELY sounded familiar, over the countless that DID NOT. Not like she knows how Reincarnation works...

Anyway~ Back to her projects!

She's industrious AF. Exceeds her Talisman goals. Constantly. Which means she gets to keep or sell the extra (it's motivation to work hard). She likes to give some to people who look like they need um. Like that miserable kid on Qing Jing. She sees him every time she stops by to hit up their, frankly, Gucci Library. VERY fancy.

Here, kid, have some warming and protection talismans. Perimeter alert ones. Kinda weird you go through so many, but meh, I don't know your life. Want one of my practice Qiankun pouches? It's ugly af. But since our peak makes them, I gotta practice.

The kid gives her snacks. They're pretty good, not gonna lie.

He IS... kinda creepy though. Very "you should skip school tomorrow" quite kid with too intense eye contact. You... uh... you GOOD, kiddo? Wanna talk? Should... should she, like, do something about this, or.....

No, no! He insists. With the flattest, fakest smile she's ever seen outside of a Serial Killer. He's Fine™! No need to worry about HIM!

......okay, but, see, when you SAY shit like that....

Creepy™ "probably gonna murder everyone on Qing Jing" kid aside? She has a GOAL! Wants to make a MEDICAL Hidden Realm! Yeah, that's right!! See, you can dictate the "rules" of reality (somewhat) inside the Realm you create, right? SO! It occurred to her! She should make a Realm?

That DOES NOT ALLOW QI DEVIATIONS!

Something that forces the Qi inside one's body to smooth and heal! Calm and rich! Like Ling Xi caves but for healing instead of breakthroughs! It could be a lifesaving realm, where one goes to ride out a Qi Deviation or face their heart demons! In an environment that will not ALLOW them to fatally spiral!

Of course, she needs to find a whole bunch of rare and soothing legendary flowers to plant. Trees, too. A couple rare beasts, known for their intensely soothing auras. Just... REALLY stack the odds. THEN off course, she'll have to lay the ground work of the realm itself. Find a good place to PUT it!

Maybe Qian Cao Peak? Or could she connect it to to the Ling Xi to take advantage of the natural Qi and protection the mountain itself gives? She would need permission either way... she should draft a consultation request...

All this? As the immortal conference gets closer and closer. Fate LOOMS.

Only to slide wildly off the rails, as she get approved by THE SECT LEADER to make her "Anti-Qi-Deviation Realm" in the Ling Xi Caves as her final project. Her Master Work as an Inner Disciple, as it were, Proof of studies and skill. All HE saw was "anti-Qi-deviation" and thought "this could totally help Xiao-Jiu". Immediately gave the go ahead.

(And as for Lui Qinggi? This is NOT a new idea of hers. She'd long gotten Mu Qingfang on board. What luck, for EVERONE involved, he was in the caves that day. Once again looking for a good place to anchor the realm, for a maximum effect to ease of access ratio.)

She anchors the Realm. Starts planting like mad. Transferring her legendary Soothing Plants and Soothing Trees. Constructing a few buildings in accordance to the feng shui MASTER she hunted down and consulted. Requests Shen-shibo himself come and be in charge of paintings and other decorations, as he IS the master of the scholars peak.

(And most at risk of a Lords or a Qi Deviation. So would be a splendid test case.)

(Is what she does not say...)

(But they are both aware of anyway.)

And? Shen Jiu? Has... never felt so calm and safe in his LIFE. Unnatural! Doesn't like it. Disgusting. What coddling nonsense! He's never going... going... to go... *stands at the entrance and glares, like the realm personally offended him* *carefully inches back inside like an abused cat*

He stops paying attention to his peak almost immediately. Yes, he does his job. But... his brain is no longer wrapped up in it. Obsessive over it. Constantly comparing and jealous and spiteful. Don't get him wrong! He's still a petty, spiteful, bitch of a man. But...

True, restful sleep? Changes a man. The complete lack of constant minor Qi Deviations, like mini-seizures, in the night. Throughout the day. Constantly wearing him down, tearing him down. Exhausting him and hurting. That... gentleness. Calm. Escape from pain, which he has lived with for so, so long.

What was he doing? Comparing himself to brats?

Being jealous of and competitive of tiny little IDIOTS. They're morons! He's a Peak Lord. He's WON.

He starts ignoring Bingge. Noticing things he'd overlooked before, in his exhaustion. Like the fact that his daughter is, apparently, very susceptible to rumor mongering and not AWARE she is just and ONLY his daughter. (Ying-er, sweetie, Baba loves you... but sometimes you make him very tired...) (also it will be a cold day in hell, when he allows to to marry that little cretin. Chose better.)

Oc? Getting SLOSHED with Mu-shibo! WOOOOO~☆ we DID IT!!! The Realm was a SUCCESS! We're GENIUSES! We can't wait to see how this develops!!! *celebrating noises*

Immortal Conference, happens. SI-OC? Just graduated. Missed it. Meh... it should be fine. Still... here, kiddos. Her backlog of Talismans and pouches. Never know when that might be useful! Oh, hey, Creepy I mean, that Kid from Qing Jing who thankfully hasn't killed anybody yet! Still got the Weirdly Intense Eye Contact, I see! You all packed?

....that's... a little light.

Here, Talismans and Pouches, just like the kids from her Peak. Stay safe, okay? There's food and water in there. Medicine too. Some emergency blankets. Flares and stuff. Don't hesitate to use um. They are made to be used. Everybody be good!

And remember! This conference isn't worth your life!

[♡Luo Binghe Will Remember This♡]

W...why do I hear jaws music? Hello? Helloooo?

Cause like? Shen Jiu? Doesn't throw him in. He's too busy saving students he Actually Cares About. You know... like a RESPONSIBLE Peak Lord. But does that STOP fate? Ha! No. Down Binghe goes! With a bunch of pouches he begged of Talisman Peak disciples who were dropping out. Since... they didn't need them... *puppy dog eyes* c-could he steal borrow them?

He ends up in the Abyss with a small warehouse of supplies. Which is GREAT! Will get him through this hellscape!

Assuming he can protect it.

Every meal. Every night of sleep where he DOESNT have to twitch at every sound, thanks to the talisman arrays. Every drop of clean water. Scrap of medicine. It's a reminder of the One(1) Sister who was nice to him at no cost. Didn't want to fuck him, use him, in some way. Have him a part, like some sort of emotional crutch. Was just... kind. For the sake of kindness.

Saw him, not the mask he wore, and recognized he'd be strong. (Why else would she look so wary?) And he wants and wants and Wants AND WANTS.

Aren't I strong, now, Shixiong? Aren't you so very proud of me? Look how powerful Luo Binghe has become! I came back for you. Brought back the things you gave me. A little stained, but that's okay. We can make new ones. Can finally move on. No more Cang Qiong. Isn't it great? Tell me it's GREAT, Shixiong.

Please stop running. Or I'll have to burn the mountain down.

@mayfay @legitimatesatanspawn @babbling-babull @hdgnj @spidori @leftnotright

[laserbobcat]

what is the relation between Narinder and the yellow cat ? If the yellow cat knows about Leshy, does he know about who is really Narinder ?

Ayoooo I ended up lore dumping HEAVILY about Morgan's entire backstory, so I'm masking it to avoid a lengthy post:

While not a disciple, Morgan is one of the oldest followers and knows quite a lot. He doesn't try and pry into the Lamb's business, but he ends up learning things from observation, or Thena, the Lamb and their spouses talking to him.

Morgan secretly hates gods, but is also entirely devoted to the Lamb. He has been since the moment they saved him from serving in the chaos cult, where his brother was killed. He tries his best being useful despite not sincerely praying for the One Who Waits, and feels guilty about what he considers is tricking his leader. He tries to make up for it by being extra kind and hard working. Morgan is the head tailor, and the one who created all of the Lamb's fleeces, that the lamb then enchants with a talisman. He's 100% on board with them killing gods, and hopes that maaaaaaybe they will cut their own in two eventually. No more gods, the dream.

He's obviously very happy with how things turned out, only one wooly god left whom he can actually trust. And the former god of death turned to just some dude is perfect, since the Lamb seems happy. And that's still one more god off the board. He just avoids him.

---

Now for Leshy, the Lamb killed him, so this new green guy has to be just another weird one like the witnesses right? The resemblance has to be a coincidence right? Let's be kind, he seems lost and on edge, and Morgan is good at putting people at ease.

When he realizes that Leshy is Leshy, he looses it and tries to straight up murder him. Huge serious bloody dangerous fight. The lamb stops both of them just before they tear each other appart, and takes Morgan aside to apologize. They should have known it would end up like this, since Morgan suffered so much in the chaos cult. But they were busy with Narinder losing his shit over his brother's presence and hoped Morgan wouldn't recognize him. They feel guilty about the whole thing, while Morgan is mortified that he lost control and ended up being a problem.

That's when the Lamb admits that they knew all along about Morgan not really praying and not being faithful to TowW, and admits to reading minds sometimes. They hoped he would just change his mind. And they genuinely like him. The reason why they started resurrecting him, is because they heard him think "Damn I hate gods so much, can't wait to stop pretending and tell TowW to go fuck himself when I die" and they freaked out. Narinder would 100% send him to hell. So they didn't let him spend more than a second in front of him and resurrected Morgan immediately. (I want to draw this as a fun comic)

They apologize for not talking about this sooner, since it let Morgan feel guilty all this time. But Morgan, far from being angry, is even more touched by the Lamb's kindness for caring about him all this time even though they knew the truth about his lack of faith.

This lifts a huge weight off of his shoulders, and he realizes he's not that angry anymore. He even start to help Leshy adapt, at first to take it off the Lamb's list of things to worry about, but ending up actually liking the idiot. Leshy says Morgan is the only fun person around and does everything he can to trigger him into figthing him. I already drew a lot of these in comics.

---

Cuts to way later in the timeline, when Leshy and Morgan start to really get along.

Morgan gets really pissed at Narinder when he has to break up a fight between him and Leshy. He's furious at both their lack of gratefulness for the Lamb's kindness, and that the brothers dared to fight while they're gone on a crusade and isn't there to stop them. Gods are giant moody, selfish toddlers. Narinder is extra offended to be talked down this hard by a mortal, and asks him disdainfully if he has a death wish. Morgan loses it pretty much the same way he did when first fighting Leshy, and tells him that bitch you're mortal too now. How does it feels? Need to compensate with a big knife on a stick? Death wish you say? It's funny because death wishes are none of your concern anymore. You're insignificant. I could wipe the floor with your face and shove your scythe up your ass. When Morgan gets angry, he gets really angry.

Narinder is obviously seeing red at this point but Leshy, of all people, de-escalate the situation by dragging Morgan away, fast, and playing the "Chill, Brother, your lil Lamb would not like one of his favorite followers being murdered" card. Narinder is left seething, but does not follow.

Funny enough, it's Leshy's turn to be legit angry. About Morgan making Narinder mad enough that he would try to kill him. And that, while Leshy likes to trigger his brother into fights for shit and giggles, and knows to backpedal when things get too serious, Morgan just loses control completely and goes for the throat. Morgan is so astonished at Leshy's anger that he completely calms down, and is curious as to why the hell does he care. Leshy insists that Morgan does not fuck with his brother ever again, and Morgan promises, just so he can ask him again why is he so serious about this all of a sudden. Leshy deflates a bit and admits that if Narinder hurts the cat, he will forget about "shit an giggles" and the Lamb's threats about behaving, and actually try to gut his brother for good this time. Morgan is left a bit speechless and Leshy flees awkwardly, which makes Morgan even more puzzled.

The day after, the lamb is back, and Morgan gives Narinder a very polite and very fake apology about being rude and disrespectful to his Leader's friend and promises it won't happen again. Narinder doesn't really know how to react, he's constantly surprised that his Lamb's favorite followers are all annoying crazy freaks. he's so done at this point. he understands better why his brother likes the cat.

Yooooooooooo i just. Full backstory dump. I was supposed to write this before, i guess it's done now! The asks really trigger the ramblings lol. You can't say one thing without explaining the whole shebang...

[gettingsoaked]

Saw a post on Twitter saying "Honestly, mormonism should probably be considered part of western esotericism moreso than it is considered part of protestantism." This is on the right track. I wouldn't consider Mormonism to be part of Protestantism, or even part of Christianity. I have said for a long time that I consider Mormonism to have Christian roots but not be Christian, the same way Christianity has Jewish roots but isn't Jewish.

Re: Mormonism and esotericism, magic was a big part of the early Mormon worldview - the young Joseph Smith's scrying and money-digging is well known. Oliver Cowdery and Heber C Kimble both used divining rods. Joseph carried a Jupiter talisman and Hyrum Smith owned a Mars dagger. Joseph Smith, his father, brother, and several other important early Mormon leaders were all Freemasons and Masonic lore and ritual had a direct influence on Latter-day Saint temple building and worship. Many older temples are decorated with Masonic symbols.

[bloopitynoot]

Reading TGCF: Chapter 77

For those who don't know, I am reading TGCF for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag Bloopitynoot reads TGCF. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read BUT if you followed along with my SVSSS read, the rules and vibe are the same.

Back on schedule tonight!

Meeting in the evenings are done for the week which means I can have normal reading and unwinding time for the next few days.

Tea tonight is lavender and lemongrass for a solid nights sleep.

Let's get into chapter 77!

This is what i'm saying about Jun Wu! Honestly Hua Cheng is the best judge of character. p89

LOL The bargain that HUa Cheng made to go with Xie Lian to Mount Tonglu. The heavenly officials not going to the ghost city until the next time the mountain opens- reasonable. The singing of Crimson Rain Sought Flower's praises for a year- petty. pp90-91

Hua Cheng "staining Xie Lian with his scent" . Please, I feel the A/B/O fics ready to be read in the vault. p93

Outfit change!! p93

The ghost lore in this series is incredible. The puppet master type; so creepy!! I love it pp98-98

"no one can touch the things I love" aaaaaaaah! You tell them Hua Cheng! p103

The art! I still can't get over how cute little Hua Cheng is :'3 p104

are they really believing this guy killed over 20 cultivators to get these talismans. I would have been so suspicious immediately. p109

OMG. SEE. The talismans really did just snipe all the ghosts! p109

Jesus christ. Yup. Our occasional reminder that Pei Ming is actually gross as hell. p112

LOOL Xie LIan brainstorming the ways to get ghost qi from Hua Cheng into his body...p115

I feel like this is going to get weirder

This arc has been a ride so far. I fully expect it to get very weird and then, because this is the cycle, super tragic. We will see what else Mount Tonglu brings! I just hate that Pei Ming is on this quest.

[assumptionprime]

I adore your take on DS2 and wanted to know what ur thoughts were on Elden Ring and/or DS 3!

(also I have been loving ur comics!!!)

First off: Thank you! Glad you like my comics! <3

I mentioned it briefly in the DS2 post, and it's been said by others, but Dark Souls 3 is about ending Dark Souls. And it does that very well. The "time and space is falling apart and that's why the geography is like that" that people sometimes say about DS2 is literally, textually true in 3. The Dreg Heap is a pile of other, older Dark Souls areas collapsing in on each other. This world has been going on and on, repeating and prolonging the Age of Fire that should have ended long ago, and it's just breaking down. You can't keep the same thing going forever, that's true in the universe of the story, and of a franchise of dark fantasy action RPGs.

It's kind of funny and also impressive that Miyazaki and the team hit that point, saying if they keep doing this it's going to fall apart, on game three of the franchise. There's so many series out there that will pump out game after game of the same stuff, to the point they stop numbering them and give them subtitles to hide the fact that they're on game 23 of this thing, and FromSoft said "three's our limit for this one" and gave us the greatest hits final bow before moving on to new different takes on their subgenre of games.

Enter Elden Ring! The game that got me into FromSoft games. Every time people talked about Dark Souls it was always about how hard they were, and the whole "git gud" mentality, which made them seem like they would 100% be not my kind of thing. But I am an absolute sucker for a fantasy open world, so I dipped my toes into Elden Ring, and really enjoyed it! Being able to just go exploring and do something else whenever I got stuck was a huge plus, as are spirit ash summons. The game is hard, for sure, but there's also a lot of ways to ease that difficulty (not eliminate it, but ease it (also there's no excuse to not have a pause button, that's stupid, don't @ me))

As far as lore and storytelling, Elden Ring has a lot of cool stuff (that's my wife Ranni, my cool witch wife Ranni) but I don't know that I have so definite a "take" on its story. It goes back to the Dark Souls 1 and 3 well of "some important shit happened, go kill this list of bosses about it" but I appreciate that you have a lot more choice in regards to your ending. It's not "link the fire or don't" it's "you're creating a new age, what do you want that age to be like?" with a few compelling choices and some evil bastard ones for fun.

Assorted side thoughts:

FP is better than spell uses. More convenient, more flexible, lets you focus on Mind to allow yourself to cast more spells.

All of my first playthroughs were sword and board, both because of caution going in and because I like the "knight with a sword and shield" aesthetic.

Related to the last point, Guard Counters are a great addition in ER, and the "Sekiro style block" crystal tear for the Physick in the DLC should have been a talisman or something permanent, to just make that a play style people can use.

The Alva Armor rules, 10/10 best fit in Dark Souls

I really like Shadow of the Erdtree, but it is the absolute limit on the current version of Souls-game mechanics. Not everyone is Let Me Solo Her, and between both the extremely punishing difficulty and the becoming more repetitive nature of a lot of the boss design, they need to change up the combat to keep things going. Sekiro seems to be a step in that direction from what I hear?

No boss fight in any video game has ever made me feel as cool as Slave Knight Gael in the DS3 DLC. It just worked for me on pretty much every level. The story, the music, the visuals, the difficulty. I can beat him, and it's hard but not a kind of hard that makes me angry at the game. Dodging in and out of his attacks, getting my own hits in, it felt like a kick ass dance of fantasy combat. It's peak.

[qwardivior]

DEMON BUSTERS!!— Tamayo and Yushiro

Next Part>>

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First Demon Busters post of 2025 !!!! WOOO! Sorry this took so long, I had to go on a training arc to draw this plus I got really into HSR for a while , but now it’s here!!! Before I get into it I just wanted to thank you guys for 100+ followers!! Y’all are the best! Ok I’m gonna stop yapping.

For anyone who’s new here, in this modern kny x ghostbusters inspired au people have been dying to demon attacks at alarming rates and the Demon Busters (updated and rebranded demon slayer corps) need a way to get more people to call them. So, they run ad campaigns! But this isn’t about that, this is about our favorite duo, Tamayo and Yushiro!

—-Lore Dump Incoming!! ——

Depicted above is the exact moment Yushiro tells Tamayo about Tanjirou and Nezuko.

In this au, Tamayo is a world renowned doctor and Yushiro is her assistant. They move from hospital to hospital not only to escape Muzan, but also to find a way to turn demons back human, and develop a drug to take down Muzan. They use the blood stored for transplants for sustenance so they don’t have to hurt humans, but they rarely need it.

Tamayo is well known for her vast medical knowledge and her ability to cure illnesses. She is also known for her beauty, but draws worried attention because she also appears to be sick. A doctor who can’t walk in the sun? How strange. And while Yushiro can disguise himself to look human, something seems off about him.

She is also the doctor that helped Tanjirou’s dad with his illness. Being an ex Hashira, he caught onto the fact they were demons pretty quickly. However, after some explanations he understood their situation (more on this later). She is also the first one to even mention the curse of the slayer mark, hypothesizing that it had something to do with Tanjuro’s illness.

Once Tanjirou becomes a Buster and Nezuko a demon, they run into her after an (unfortunate) altercation with Muzan, and recognize her as the doctor who tried to save their dad. Of course she is extremely concerned when the two reveal that Muzan attacked their town and vows to help them, leading to Tanjirou’s blood collection side quest (which is mentioned much more often). She tells them what she knows about the busters and about his dad as the previous sun Hashira. We also get the reveal that since sun breathing is very taxing on the body, Tanjirou is more prone to getting the slayer mark.

Yushiro also teaches Nezuko how to mask her appearance to be human, giving her one of his talismans to make the illusion more real. It works well for her since at the point of meeting them she has some sun tolerance.

Overall these two get much more screen time. As Nezuko’s condition progresses and as they make more progress on the anti-muzan drug and the demon reversal drug we get periodic check ins with them.

———

Thanks for reading! Again, sorry this took so long but I have the next parts planned. Next, we’ll FINALLY get to the Natagumo Mountain arc and the next ad campaign will be Shinobu! See you next time!!

[blender2902]

MARIKA NEVER ABANDONED MESSMER! (IN DEFENCE OF MARIKA PART 2)

Well it would be more accurate to say that they were seeing each other regularly until the shattering. I know I am not the first person to say this but I have not seen anyone make a dedicated lore post establishing a solid timeline with proper evidence so, I shall be the one to do it. My goal is to prove that Marika had contact with Messmer until she shattered the Elden ring.

Let’s first establish a general timeline of the events that are going to be relevant-

We know from gaius’s remembrance and Rellana’s lore that Messmer’s crusade must have begun sometime after 2nd Liurnian wars. The crusade must have begun before Radagon became elden lord as he removed all colosseum practices in his era as per the ritual sword talisman description and in the lands of shadow we find the dueling shield which says that these practices somehow remained in the shadow realm.

Now, whether the crusade took place before or after Godfrey’s banishment is unclear. I have seen many claim that Messmer knows what a tarnished is so the crusade must have begun after his banishment but then you are assuming that Marika abandoned Messmer as soon as she sent him there. If you believe that the YOU ARE DEAD WRONG! Two item descriptions refute this theory completely-

Black Knight Andreas spirit ash-

Focus on the line I have underlined, ‘flight from the Erdtree’. This description is straight up saying that during the crusade Messmer did go back home but then he was chased away

Don’t try to argue that the flight was the beginning of the crusade as it was commemorated which means that the crusade had the support of the erdtree at its beginning.

This means that the flight must have happened after the crusade began.

To further solidify this, the stone tablets at the specimen storehouse and the queen’s bedchambers are the exact same-

This is not a case of reused assets because these tablets are found nowhere else in the base game to my knowledge. Messmer must have brought these to Marika by himself. This also disproves the assumption that Marika wanted Messmer to be forgotten, since if she really did want that, she would have destroyed those stone tablets as well. Why does Marika want these tablets? Well, the answer doesn’t really matter but my personal headcannon is that Messmer found out that the jar innards are still alive and he told Marika so she started doing research in an attempt to cure them but it seems she was unsuccessful. Anyhow, what matters is that Messmer did return to her.

Here is how the timeline looks like now-

So now we know that the crusade must have started around the time Godfrey was banished but we still don’t know when the Messmer was sealed in the lands of shadow. Thus, we must look at another piece of lore from the dlc, the death knights of Godwyn. From what I have seen most people just ignore this part of the dlc lore, which is a shame, because this fundamentally changes our understanding of the timeline. The death knight armour says-

“Cadaver Surrogate” means a substitute for the corpse itself. What is this substitute? It must be what these death knights are guarding.

We don’t see this face in any other catacombs both in the dlc and in the base game. We find one of these faces in stormveil castle. Rogier straight up calls that thing a corpse-

All hints point towards those faces being the “Cadaver Surrogate.” This leads me to believe that the knights did not get to the realm of shadow through some ‘deathroot bulshit’ and got to the realm of shadow using those faces because these knights went there to specifically search for these. If they were transported to them, then it would make no sense to say that they went to search for them. Now, let’s look at some interesting enemies we find in these catacombs.

These guys belong to Messmer’s army. The black knights are right behind the fire knights when it comes to position in the army so it doesn’t make much sense that they would be here without orders. The shield those little guys drop literally says they are loyal to Messmer which means he must have ordered them-

We can argue that these guys are here just to protect the spirit ashes of Andreas and Huw respectively but there is one detail that goes against that, this stake of Marika here which is right before the Death knight boss-

Who could have placed this here? It must have been Messmer’s soldiers as I do not think the death knights would carry these around. Therefore, this heavily implies that Messmer sent these guys here to protect the death knights. The fact that these guys only appear in death knight catacombs but do not in any other mini dungeon further proves that. Now comes the question, why would Messmer send these guys here? His mission is to purge the hornsent not to help the death knights out right? Well, the only way we can make sense of this jumble is if Marika was the one to order Messmer to guard these knights. Remember, after Godwyn’s death, Marika is through with the golden order and has lost all faith in it. The golden order fanatics that hunt those who live in death use fundamentalist incantations which were created by Radagon not Marika which implies the stigma against them was Radagon’s doing not Marika’s. Therefore, it is well within Marika’s character to help these death knights out and send them to the shadow realm. Whether she was the one who came up with the idea of the “Cadaver Surrogate” I am not sure but that does not matter. What matters is that Marika let the death knights go to the shadow realm to accomplish their mission and asked Messmer to protect them. She might have thought that the death knights could revive Godwyn but that is a discussion for another day.

Even if you want to argue that the death knights placed this here, that still implies that Marika sent these guys there which means the Lands of shadow was not sealed yet.

This means that Marika had contact with Messmer AFTER THE NIGHT OF THE BLACK KNIVES which means Messmer was sealed AFTER GODWYN’S DEATH.

Here is the finished timeline-

To clear up some confusion about the sealing of the shadow realm and the timeline-

The shadow realm had two things happen to it-

The shadow land was veiled (the place was hidden but traveling there was possible): During Marika’s ascension to godhood she veiled the lands BUT THERE WAS STILL A WAY TO TRAVEL BETWEEN THE LAND OF SHADOWS AND THE LANDS BETWEEN which likely only she could access. The veiling must have happened before Messmer’s crusade because in the story trailer we see that Messmer is assaulting Belurat when the lands of shadow is veiled. Why do I think the place was veiled at Marika’s ascension? It is heavily implied that the Scadutree is responsible for the veil and the Scadutree avatar’s remembrance says-

The Scadutree is called the shadow of the Erdtree which along with the line from the story trailer ‘gold arose and shadow too was born’ implies that when the erdtree was born so too was the scadutree.

2. The shadow lands were sealed (all forms of travel were cut off): This, as I have proven in this post, happened after the knight of the black knives.

Many people have this notion that Marika shattered the Elden ring immediately after Godwyn died but according to Rogier’s dialogue, there was a period of time between the shattering and the night of the black knives. Messmer was sealed during this time.

Now there are several justifiable reasons I could give to Marika for sealing Messmer away but there is one that is supported the most. Messmer was sealed because in one of his visits the base serpent revealed itself somehow which caused the people to turn on him. Fearing for Messmer’s life, especially after losing Godwyn, she sealed him in the shadow realm where he would be safe.

Here is the evidence pointing towards this-

Let’s look at Andreas’s description again

Look at the part I underlined in yellow, Andreas somehow learned of Messmer’s serpentine nature. This serpentine nature has to be the base serpent and not the winged serpents for 2 reasons- 1) the winged serpents are visible on messmer at all times and 2) the winged serpents are depicted on the serpent crest shield so they must have been common knowledge. This implies that the base serpent was somehow able to reveal itself despite Marika’s seal

2. The Erdtree society hated serpents even before the crusade as we learn from the duelist helm description-

These colosseums existed during Godfrey’s era, when Messmer was living at Leyndell, which implies Messmer was never too popular among the upper echelons to begin with due to his winged serpents. The colosseum practices were removed by Radagon but the hatred for serpents must have persisted.

3.Correct me if I am wrong on this but the base serpent in the original Japanese description is called ‘malevolent serpent’ not base serpent. Either way it is called a piece of shit in every item description which implies that it is not necessarily impure but inherently evil which would only make people hate it more.

All this combined with the details about the timeline makes the set of events clear to me - After the night of the black knives, Messmer visited his mom again. During this visit, the base serpent somehow revealed itself to the public. This caused a massive uproar due the widespread hatred of serpents and the nature of the base serpent. All this pressure on top of the fact that Godwyn died made Marika fear for Messmer’s life, so she sealed him away in the shadow realm where he would be safe. Due to the widespread scorn for Messmer, the people would remove all traces of him from history. This would make for another motive for Marika shattering the Elden ring. This is just my speculation, so you can have your interpretation of events but I believe this is supported the most by facts and implications.

Some counterpoints I want to refute-

Why do Messmer’s armies in the lands of shadow ask Marika for a sign to end the crusade? Would that not imply that she said nothing to Messmer? -

Well, Messmer could simply have chosen to keep that business a secret and continue the crusade. When his armies got mad, he let them decapitate Marika’s statues instead of telling them the truth as then his secret would be known by even more people causing more rebellions, which he did not want as that would result in him killing more of his comrades.

2.Why does Messmer’s armor say that Marika wanted him to take the blame for the crusade? -

If this is what you think the armor description says then I have a lot to tell you my friend.

Let’s look at what it is actually saying-

What does this tell us for a fact? It tells us that Marika wished for Messmer to purge the hornsent. Now for some reason people think the ‘direct thy maledictions, thine ire, and thy grief towards me alone’ part means Messmer took the blame for the crusade. With all due respect, this take is just terrible for many reasons-

Why would he need to take the blame for the crusade? The only reason I have seen people throw around is that the crusade ‘became too violent’ which is stupid for 2 reasons- 1) the Land of Shadows (LOS in short) was veiled during the crusade as we can see in the story trailer so how in the almighty name of fuck would anybody know it was violent? ’Oh someone could have travelled to LOS and seen the crusade.’ Marika is the only person capable of allowing travel between the realms, why would she allow a random noble to go to the LOS which is literally the place where all manners of death wash up. Why would any noble want to wander into the LOS anyway like they would know that is the place where the hornsent reside, you know the race of people racist to everyone without horns. 2) Even if it was violent why would the people of the erdtree mind it? Like they are fine with butchering omen babies and stick their horns on a cleaver and all the fucked up bulshit happening to albunaurics at volcano manor (we do see tortured albunaurics at Leynedell right before the entrance to the sewers). If they are fine with these practices, why would they take issue with the race of horned people who made the lives of all those living without horns miserable? It’s just stupid, Messmer would not have to take the blame for anything.

Let’s translate what those last lines mean into simple english-

"Direct thy maledictions, thine ire, and thy grief towards me alone" means:

"Send all your curses, anger, and sorrow to me only."

If we were to consider that Messmer is speaking to the erdtree people then the first two words make sense, curses and anger, but then comes sorrow. What would the erdtree people be sorrowful of? Nothing! They lose nothing from the purge of the hornsent. Don’t say that ‘Oh they lost their sons who became fire knights’ They did not, they shunned them after scorning Messmer as the fire knights were chased due to their allegiance to Messmer.

This means they had no reason for being sorrowful before shunning Messmer. It is logically impossible for Messmer to be addressing the erdtree people here.

Who is he addressing then? The hornsent. He is asking them to curse him and not Marika. Why is that? Well, there is the dialogue of the hornsent grandam cursing Marika with ‘an omen’ which has some heavy implications which I will have to elaborate on in a future post but nonetheless Messmer is talking to the hornsent here not the erdtree people according to logic and evidence.

3. Let’s question the fact that it is Messmer saying those lines. We can clearly see the hornsent still curse Marika to hell. We can also see that Messmer’s armies have started to resent her and cut the heads off of her statues, which is in a way cursing her. Even Messmer himself curses her when he dies due to the influence of the base serpent. Nobody besides the hornsent is cursing Messmer in the game. All this suggests that Marika wishes for Messmer and his armies to direct their curses and grievances towards her and not towards Messmer. She is the more significant character of the two so this is very much a valid interpretation. You can disagree with this third point but I fell the first two are quite solid.

Ok that should do it for this talking point. If you are somehow still convinced Messmer took the blame for the crusade from the erdtree people then I am willing to hear you out though I think that is simply impossible.

3. Why does Messmer curse Marika with his dying breath? This would imply that she abandoned him, right? –

No. He curses her due to the influence of the base serpent. Messmer knew why he was sealed and was perfectly fine with it. However, when the Elden Ring was shattered, it was seen as a sign of wrath according to the wrath from afar description.

This would make Messmer have doubts which would turn into resentment. This resentment however, is overshadowed by his loyalty and love towards his mother as shown by him having only love and reverence when he speaks of her; her statue in his room is the only one with its head intact. He only curses her when the base serpent takes over. That thing is stated to be evil in multiple item descriptions as I have said earlier so it is not much of a stretch to assume that it would amplify any negative feelings Messmer would have once it takes over. I have also seen some people say that in the Japanese lines Messmer says ‘I curse you’, but the kanji of you he says is the most respectful one which suggests that he was fighting the base serpent for control. I could be wrong about the kanji but either way, what we gather is that 1) Messmer shows nothing but sheer reverence towards Marika before letting the base serpent take over him and 2) that the base serpent is called evil in all item descriptions which implies that it amplifies all negative emotions. This means Messmer was fine with being sealed until the Elden ring was shattered which caused him to have some amount of resentment. When he removed the seal, these feelings were amplified and he cursed his mother.

Other Interpretations I would like to refute-

Marika always planned to abandon Messmer because he was a threat to the Erdtree in one way or another- Impossible, as he returned home and was sealed after the night of the black knives. If she saw him as a threat, he would have been sealed right from the get go.

Marika abandoned him because the crusade got too violent- I’ll copy/paste my points from earlier, 1) the LOS was veiled during the crusade as we can see in the story trailer so how in the almighty name of fuck would anybody know it was violent? ’Oh someone could have travelled to LOS and seen the crusade.’ Marika is the only person capable of allowing travel between the realms, why would she allow a random noble to go to the LOS which is literally the place where all manners of death wash up. Why would any noble want to wander into the LOS anyway like they would know that is the place where the hornsent reside, you know the race of people racist to everyone without horns. 2) Even if it was violent why would the people of the erdtree mind it? Like they are fine with butchering omen babies and stick their horns on a cleaver and all the fucked up bulshit happening to albunaurics at volcano manor (we do see tortured albunaurics at Leynedell right before the entrance to the sewers). If they are fine with these practices, why would they take issue with the race of horned people who made the lives of all those living without horns miserable?

And that is the end of my post. If you disagree with anything feel free to argue. Do present your arguments pointwise

[yanagikou]

Love Hunt (part 1 of 2)

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT my work but a short (smutty) warhammer 30k fic written for me by my husband (apparently he likes me or sth... ). It takes place at the early stages of the Great Crusade, shortly after Magnus' rediscovery (somewhat relevant to a tiny portion of the fic) and is pure indulgence. So please, don't try to reconcile this with actual lore, and just enjoy the hunt :)

pairing: Leman Russ x Rei'ke (OC) // m x f

Warnings: blood (? idk), otherwise none for this part

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Rei’ke leaned against a frost-covered tree, her breath curling in the frigid air as she waited for that wild creature of a Primarch, Leman Russ. A beast in both form and temperament. Not only was he insufferably arrogant, but he reveled in his uncivilized ways, as if flaunting them was a badge of honour. She let out a sigh, yet even as she scolded herself for entertaining any fond thoughts about him, she couldn't deny that something about him called to her.

His wild, piercing eyes. His wolfish grin, as if he were constantly in on some joke she had yet to understand. His raw, untamed presence, a force of nature in itself. It was both infuriating and... intoxicating.

No! He was rude, overbearing, and completely full of himself. The so-called son of the Emperor needed a lesson in humility, not admiration.

Shaking her head, Rei’ke forced her gaze outward over the frozen landscape. Snow-covered fields stretched below her, interwoven with dark forests clinging to the hillsides like silent sentinels. Fenris was as wild and untamed as its ruler—

And yet...

Why had he asked her to join him on this hunt? Was it truly just a means to solidify the alliance between their worlds? Or was there something more behind his invitation? A warm flush crept up her neck at the thought, and she quickly shook it off, pacing to distract herself. She played with the protective sigil hanging from the chain around her neck, rolling it absentmindedly between her fingers for comfort.

Should she have worn her full armour? She had considered it, but hunting demanded speed and precision, not the cumbersome weight of battle gear. Her spear, resting against the tree beside her, was far more suited for this task. Forged by one of her warrior-sisters, the weapon allowed her to channel her psychic abilities safely, much like the sigils and talismans she adorned herself with. The Warp was not to be wielded carelessly, and though some accused her of being overcautious, she took pride in her discipline.

Russ, on the other hand, had compared her to that red-skinned giant he called a brother. What was his name? Magnut? Magnus? Whatever—

The crunch of heavy footfalls in the snow snapped her from her thoughts. She turned just as Russ emerged from the trees, his imposing frame draped in thick furs, his signature smirk playing on his lips. His eyes, sharp and assessing, seemed to pierce right through her.

‘Ah, I see you're at least on time,’ he greeted. His voice low and rumbling, tinged with amusement.

Rei’ke crossed her arms, meeting his gaze without flinching. "Yes. I do not know these lands as you do, Lord Russ. As such, I would rather be early than late."

A flicker of something crossed his expression—approval, perhaps. "What will we be hunting?" she asked.

Russ waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, nothing much. Something many hunt for sport, a test of worth."

Ah. So that was his intent. To test her.

Rei’ke only smiled, refusing to rise to the bait. "What can you tell me about this beast? Even those tested on my world are given some knowledge of their quarry."

Russ chuckled, clearly entertained by her response. "You are right." He reached over his shoulder, drawing his fur cloak around him, revealing the massive beast’s head that served as its hood.

Rei’ke’s interest sharpened. The creature was massive, its skull thick and ridged, its fangs still wickedly curved even in death. A mighty predator of Fenris, a frost drake.

This hulking beast roamed the frozen wilderness of Fenris, its hide thick as armour, its breath believed to be carrying the frost of the world itself. They were known for their cunning, their ability to stalk prey unseen despite their size, and their near-impossible resilience. To slay one was a feat few could claim.

Russ studied her reaction, his sharp gaze noting the way her lips parted slightly, her eyes gleaming with interest rather than fear. She was intrigued. Perhaps even eager. The realization made something primal stir within him.

"Shall we begin then?" Russ grinned, baring his sharp teeth like a wolf scenting blood.

Rei’ke returned the grin, a wicked glint in her eye. "I think so."

Before Russ could move, she was already in motion. With a fluid grace, she turned and leapt from the cliff’s edge, her spear igniting with psychic energy as she used it to slow her descent into the snowy abyss below.

Russ let out a low chuckle, watching her disappear into the snowy expanse below. A worthy hunt indeed.

Rei’ke reached the bottom and looked up, her heart pounding with excitement and adrenaline. "What are you waiting for, Leman Russ? Lord of Fenris?" she called, a playful challenge in her voice.

Russ smirked, eyes glinting. "Just you wait, whelp!" With a powerful leap, he jumped. Horror flashed across Rei’ke’s face as she realized he was plummeting straight toward her. She dove out of the way just in time, rolling in the snow as Russ landed heavily beside her, his boots sinking deep into the frost. He stood, shaking off the impact, wild and unkempt, all pretence of noble decorum gone.

"You had your time to get ahead. Now, we are on equal terms," Russ said, his voice thick with amusement.

Rei’ke scoffed. "I might be several heads smaller, but I am quite quick."

"Maybe for a psyker," Russ grinned wolfishly. "But believe me, a warrior always has an edge over some tome-kissers."

He laughed, but when he turned back to her, she had vanished. His smile faltered for a moment as he scanned the area. Then, he caught sight of her sprinting into the forest, and his grin returned. Once again, she surprised him. He loathed psykers—their arrogance, their know-it-all attitudes—but she seemed different. He liked that.

Rei’ke revelled in the rush of the chase. The cold wind stung her cheeks, the snow crunched beneath her feet, and she found herself smiling. She was not going to lose. Spear in hand, she sent a psychic pulse through her talismans, reaching out into the world around her. A tingling sensation answered, pulling her northward. Trusting her instincts, she followed.

But she was no longer certain where Russ was. He had been close, his presence a steady force behind her, but now he had vanished. The hunt was truly on.

She reached the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vast chasm filled with glacial ice. Below, her quarry lay in wait—a massive frost drake, curled upon an outcropping of ice. Its sheer size sent a thrill through her veins. Seventy feet? Perhaps more. Was it too large? Maybe. But it was the only one she had found.

She had to use the moment wisely. Channelling her energy, her spear's blade thrummed with psychic power. Strapping the weapon to her back, she gripped the ice and began her descent.

From above, Russ watched her. Once again, she left him stunned. There was no hesitation, no fear—only determination. She was climbing down, alone, to challenge a frost drake. Even for some of his sons it would be a dangerous fight.

His amusement faded. He had meant to test her, to push her, but now...

Russ straightened, his expression hardening as he turned his attention to the horizon. The wind carried a sharp sting, and he recognised the warning it held. A storm was coming, fast and brutal. He narrowed his eyes. If she didn’t get out soon, she wouldn’t just be fighting the drake—she’d be battling the fury of Fenris itself.

Without wasting another second, Russ broke into a run, intent on reaching her before she sealed her fate.

Rei’ke slowed her breathing, pressing herself against the cold stone wall, her pulse hammering in her ears as she gazed down at the slumbering drake. The memory of Russ’s cloak flashed through her mind—she had seen where the old wounds had been, the weak points in the beast’s armour. Her sharp eyes honed in on the intersection of two thick plates at the creature’s neck. Calculating the height, she gripped her spear and exhaled slowly, steadying herself.

Without hesitation, she leapt. Her body cut through the icy air, spear gripped tightly between both hands, the tip angled downward. The weapon struck first, its psychic-enhanced edge sliding between the armoured plates, piercing the soft flesh beneath. She felt resistance as muscle and sinew gave way, but to her horror, the cut was shallow.

She landed hard, feet digging into the frost, just as the drake jerked awake. With a violent shake, it tried to throw off its attacker. Rei’ke held on, cursing under her breath—losing her spear now meant losing the fight. Desperately, she twisted the weapon, trying to widen the wound, but the beast thrashed too wildly. She had no choice—she wrenched her weapon free just as she was thrown through the air.

The hard surface of the glacier hit her back with a brutal impact, ice and small stones dug into her palms as she struggled to rise. A sharp gasp escaped her lips, but she quickly realized she had been fortunate—better to land here than plummet into the abyss below.

Pushing herself around into a sitting position, she saw the drake pivot, its yellow eyes locking onto her. It charged.

She barely dodged in time. The beast crashed into the wall of the ravine, the force shaking the entire cliff side. Above, snow and ice trembled. Russ, climbing swiftly, cursed under his breath—he had underestimated the situation.

He lifted his head, nostrils flaring. The air had changed. The cold had sharpened. His keen eyes caught sight of the approaching blizzard—like a wall of white death, it consumed the horizon. A Fenrisian storm was not just cold—it was suffocating, slicing through flesh with razor-sharp ice shards, inside and outside a human body.

He didn’t hesitate. Time was against them. He let go, free-falling, trusting his body’s resilience to absorb the impact. When he landed, the shock reverberated through his legs, but he barely noticed. His focus was entirely on the scene before him—Rei’ke against the cavern wall, her chest rising and falling, her spear clutched tightly, and the drake, rearing back for another charge.

Above them, something cracked.

Russ’s sharp instincts flared—stalactites and ice spikes, loosened by the impact, teetered above them. Dangerous.

Rei’ke tensed, gripping her weapon, forcing her body to move. She needed to stand. She needed to finish the fight.

Then, the world around her shook as jagged ice rained down.

But before she could act, a shadow fell over her and a hot liquid dripped onto her face.

Blinking away the shock, Rei’ke realized the stalactites had fallen—shattered around her. She looked up and saw Russ, standing tall, his powerful frame outlined by the dim light filtering in. His breath came in steady puffs of mist, his axe gleaming with fresh blood. Behind him, the drake’s head lay severed on the cavern floor, its lifeless body twitching a few more steps before collapsing.

Russ turned, his smile wolfish. “It seems the kill is mine.”

Rei’ke exhaled sharply, half in relief, half in frustration. “I had it—before you decided to jump in.”

Russ chuckled, his golden eyes gleaming with mischief, but there was something more in his gaze—. He looked like a god of old, carved from the ice and tempered in battle. She felt her heart race, her body responding in a way she hadn’t anticipated. “I had it,” she repeated, but her voice lacked its previous confidence.

Russ stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. The scent of blood, sweat, and something distinctly him filled the air between them. “We need to move,” he said, voice husky. “A storm’s coming. Even you won’t survive it.”

She swallowed, forcing herself to break eye contact. The moment shattered as she looked out toward the sky. He was right. The storm loomed, ominous and deadly.

But then she saw the red on her hand.

Her breath hitched. Blood.

She turned sharply, eyes scanning Russ. Only then did she notice his stance—his usually fluid movement had a stiffness to it. Her gaze dropped lower, catching sight of the wound. An ice spike had pierced his side. He was bleeding.

“Lord Russ,” she murmured, stepping forward.

He leaned slightly, gripping the shard embedded in his flesh. With a grunt, he pulled it free. The wound was deep, but his expression remained unreadable—until he caught the concern in her face. That made him pause.

“Are you alright?” she asked, her voice softer now, lacking its usual sharp edge.

He blinked at her, as if uncertain how to react. He had fought through countless battles, endured wounds far worse. But the way she looked at him, the way she pushed past his guard to examine the injury—it unsettled him. He was a warrior. Wounds were nothing. Yet, this woman… she cared.

He wasn’t sure what to do with that.

“I’m fine,” he said, but the hesitation in his voice betrayed him.

Rei’ke frowned. “Can you move?”

“Yes.” He exhaled, regaining his composure. “We need to get to shelter. There’s one nearby.”

She nodded, but her eyes remained on the wound. Ignoring his usual bravado, she reached into a small pouch, pulling out dried herbs. Without hesitation, she chewed them, creating a makeshift salve.

Russ watched her in silence, intrigued by her efficiency, by the way her fingers worked with careful precision. When she pressed the mixture onto his wound, a sharp sting shot through him, but he said nothing.

“This will stop the bleeding,” she murmured, glancing up.

Their eyes met. His golden irises burned into hers, and for a moment, neither moved. The air between them thickened. He loomed over her, his size a stark contrast to hers, yet she felt something coil deep inside—something dangerous, exhilarating. Her breath caught, her cheeks flushing despite the cold.

Russ hesitated. He could tell her his body would heal quickly, that her efforts were unnecessary. But the softness of her hands against his skin, the way she looked up at him with that mix of concern and something else—it made him stay silent.

“Follow me,” he finally said, voice low, rough.

Rei’ke swallowed, stepping back. “Yes—” she stammered, her heartbeat wild. That glance had lasted just a second too long. And she couldn’t help but wonder… had he noticed her blush?

[arkturmists]

Ideas for a SatBK remaster (if it ever happens):

Camelot Castle and Nimue's Lake as hub worlds! Nimue can provide her challenges of Chivalry (the missions she sends Sonic on), and the bonus stages (unlocked after defeating Merlina), while the extra challenges could be given by the villagers in Camelot Castle. Connections to Arthurian legend can be accessed through dialogue at Nimue's, while SatBK specific lore can be accessed with the villagers in Camelot Castle, changing at different parts of the game (them talking about Arthur's corruption, how grateful they are to Sonic, and when Lancelot/Percival/Gawain, how they react to each knight). Plus, it would provide easy access to the Blacksmith, unlocking titles, and exchanging items.

FIXED CONTROLS. NO MORE DELAY. It's admittedly part of the charm (for me), but I would LOVE to have them fixed so the delay isn't as bad.

Camelot's treasury as an ACTUAL room (like Shadow's room in Generations). This can showcase the different items that are found, different talismans or potions made at the blacksmith's, and even showcasing the Sacred Swords. You could also view found concept are and replay cutscenes here.

A way to access Battle Mode in the game. Like, walk through one gate, and a prompt comes up asking if you want to enter Battle Mode/Multiplayer. This would let the player choose what character they want to play as, and also allow them to battle against a CPU opponent.

Some way to access the map at all times. With the original theme for the level selection playing while it's pulled up. For levels, you'd still have the ability to choose which knight you play as before entering a level, and the ability to equip items/talismans from the Blacksmith's Shop. (Maybe Merlina's magic allowed Sonic to instantly memorize the map or something.)

Last, but DEFINITELY not least:

GALAHAD AND LAMORAK IN THE GAME. PLEASE. SEGA, I'M BEGGING YOU.

[rippleberries]

(Jeffrey teased this at Star Trek San Francisco)

Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Anna Lore, Nikki Hahn, and Anna Camp behind the scenes of HYSTERIA! (Photo courtesy Barbara Crampton)

[x]

HYSTERIA! Reunites RE-ANIMATOR Duo Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs

Surprise! The legendary genre pair turn up to add some ’80s cred to Peacock’s new Satanic Panic series.

BY

PHIL NOBILE JR.

OCTOBER 18, 2024 6:00 AM

By now you’re aware of Peacock’s Hysteria!, and that it features Bruce Campbell, who’s been promoted heavily in the marketing of the new show (which dropped today). But turns out he’s not the only genre icon appearing on the series.

Early viewers of Hysteria! have been excited to spot among its ensemble cast none other than Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs, playing a bit against type as suburban parents. Speaking to FANGORIA, Crampton says that “showrunner/creator Matthew Scott Kane is a big Re-Animator fan, and it was his idea to reunite Jeff and myself for the first time since 1995!”

The duo have of course appeared in various unassailable horror classics over the years, beginning with Stuart Gordon’s aforementioned Re-Animator and its follow-up, From Beyond. Placing the pair in an ’80s-set, moral panic horror comedy made all the sense in the world to Kane.

“I'm a very devoted genre fan. All of Barbara and Jeff’s work with Stuart Gordon is so near and dear to my heart that, when these two roles came up, they were the first people that came to mind,” Kane says. “It was kind of a pipe dream. It was like, ‘Wouldn't it be nice if?’ I never thought they would pick up the phone.” To his surprise, the pair agreed, and their devotion to their relatively brief appearance surprised the showrunner.

“We all got dinner with each other, and Barbara and Jeffrey were asking me, ‘What's my motivation here?’ and ‘Here's what I'm thinking for this guy.’ Keep in mind, they’re in one scene — a pivotal scene, one which sets up the entire series — but they're really drilling it into me in ways that no other member of our cast did,” Kane shares. “The night before we were shooting the scene, I got a text from Barbara that could have easily filled a column in your magazine,” he laughs. “It was enormous, and it was brilliant. She was bringing so much — not just to the character, but she was so intelligent in terms of checking out the entire script, understanding what the themes of the show are, and understanding how she could fit into that.”

The series focuses on a struggling teen band called Dethkrunch who, in the wake of their high school quarterback’s disappearance, rebrand themselves as “Satanic” to ride the wave of moral panic sweeping their town. It works until it doesn’t, and they soon find themselves the target of a literal witch hunt. The project, which also boasts Julie Bowen, Anna Camp, Garret Dillahunt, Emjay Anthony and Milly Shapiro among its cast, was instantly alluring to Crampton. “I read the first three scripts of Hysteria! when I was cast and they were all fantastic,” Crampton says. “Fun, spooky, dark and thrilling.” For Crampton, the gig offered other pleasures. “We were giddy with excitement for our parts… and costumes!” (Anyone who’s seen the sartorial choices in Jakob’s Wife or The Last Stop in Yuma County knows Crampton loves a bold wardrobe choice.)

Her co-star Combs was also easily sold, calling the project “a lovely experience… short but sweet.” Like Crampton, Combs was drawn to the quality of the material. “Matthew is a very gifted writer,” he says. “I was thrilled to be part of this, and it would be a delight to work with him again.”

Though the pair both appeared in last year’s Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Crampton and Combs shared no scenes together in that film, making this their first onscreen appearance together since 1995’s Castle Freak (where they also played a married couple). “It was an absolute joy to work on screen with Jeffrey again,” Crampton exclaims. “We play the parents to an important character on this show (you’ll have to watch to see which one!) and this lady is amazing. I just adore her!”

Casting the iconic performers, even for just one episode, meant a lot to Kane. “We wanted Barbara and Jeff there for a reason. We wanted them there because we're all huge fans, but also because we know they're great actors and that they can come in and deliver something awesome so that, if we get a second season, they can come into the fold and be more regular characters. If there's a reason to get us a season two, it's to get Jeff Combs and Barbara Crampton back on the screen together for more than just five minutes.”

As to what happens over the course of the series, Crampton is as excited to find out as we are. “I’ve viewed the first episode and it’s a blast,” she shares. “I’ll be watching and posting about all the episodes and enjoying the show along with you all!”

All episodes of Hysteria! are now streaming on Peacock.

[pericardium-and-glass]

Tis the season of the spooky! I recently delved into a rabbit hole about the 僵尸 (Jiangshi) and 湘西赶尸人 (Xiangxi necromancer), both Chinese folklores regarding the undead. These are very underrated topics so I’ve found some fun info to share under the cut!

僵尸 (Jiangshi) directly translates to ‘rigid corpse’ (corpse with rigor mortis), but it’s better known as the Chinese vampire in pop culture. 

Jiangshi is an undead that sustains itself by consuming the energy of the living, and moves about by hopping (cause rigor mortis).

湘西赶尸人 translates directly to the corpse herder of Xiangxi. It is considered as a traditional witchcraft practice of the Xiangxi area, and thought of as ‘good magic’. According to traditional lore, families hire these necromancers so that their loved ones (usually people who died in war) could be returned and buried in their homeland, so to encourage the spirit to pass on properly. 

The stereotype of the undead in Qing dynasty officials garb was made popular by horror films and pop culture of the 80s. In traditional folklore, the dead are often clothed in black death shrouds or otherwise have their face covered by large hats. The yellow talisman in movies are depicted to render the undead docile. Here, it is said to be used to keep the spirit within the vessel of the body during transport (I read cinnabar is also used for this purpose).

The necromancer guides the dead with a bell. They would rest during daylight in lodgings specifically made to accommodate this, and only travel at night. This is to avoid frightening the living during day time. 

Of course, there is no verifiable proof for this profession, though it is speculated that some sort of performative corpse transportation existed in history that helped to generate this fascinating legend. The usual portrayal of raising the dead in pop culture is often seen as evil and malicious, so it’s a lovely change of pace to see necromancy depicted in a positive manner. 

[wangxianficrecs]

Confusion by Vrishchika

🔒 Confusion

by Vrishchika (@vrishchikawrites)

Not rated, 4k, Wangxian

Summary: Wei Wuxian wakes up in a strange place. Eight hundred years didn't teach Lan Wangji patience. Kay's comments: A short story of what would have happened if Wei Wuxian hadn't returned after thirteen years but instead thrown eight hundred years into the future. In that time, Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng amongst others have gained immortality and the world has long since changed its opinions about Wei Wuxian's cultivation and his role as the Yiling Patriach. I really loved that and I also really loved the lore the story wrote for golden cores and how immortality works. Excerpt: "Looks?" She glances at him, "Tall, decidedly underweight, pale, grey eyes, unreasonably long hair like in those period dramas. He asked me if my phone was a. talisman." Wei Wuxian mouths the new word, intrigued by it. "Er, yeah, actually," She says, "Pretty serious." She goes on to list his injuries again, "He was unconscious for a while. Healing will take months. He's on a significant dose of painkillers right now but seems pretty active and coherent- uh, sure I'll ask." She turns to him, "Tell me something only Lan Wangji would know?" Wei Wuxian arches a brow at the strange question and thinks back before his lips twitch into a wide grin, "He bit me out of frustration while we were trapped in Xuanwu's Cave." Lan-guniang looks very skeptical as she conveys that information. The faint voice coming from the phone changes and the maiden's expression changes as well. She glances at him with wide eyes and then nods quickly, "Yes, of course. Yes, he's in no danger. The most concerning thing is a surgical scar and the absence of his Golden Core, we wondered if trafficking-" She frowns and his eyes widen, "Yes… yes, I'm sure." Wei Wuxian waves his hand frantically only to wince when his sore body protests, "Guniang, wait! Don't tell-"

pov wei wuxian, canon divergence, time travel, fix-it, future fic, immortal lan wangji, immortal jiang cheng, post-canon, golden core reveal, golden core fix-it, love confessions, friends to lovers, wei wuxian has a new golden core, immortal wei wuxian, first time, first kiss, no jiang cheng & wei wuxian reconcilation, happy ending

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[emeraldspiral]

Something I wish they did more was having Dib try to combat Zim using magic instead of science. He did try summoning a demon to steal his soul in Mortos and in Mopiness of Doom he attempts to use a talisman from a wizard store in the mall, (which led to him giving up on trying to defeat Zim altogether). But we never really got to see Zim actually try to grapple with magic being used against him.

Normally Zim's knowledge and resources dwarf's Dib's when it's a battle of science vs science, perhaps no better illustrated than in The Wettening. But Zim doesn't know dick about magic or the supernatural, so he'd be way out of his depth trying to combat Dib if he ever found something actually effective he could use against him. You could have Dib use a protection spell that prevents Zim from harming him, or a curse that makes Zim unable to lie, recruit a ghost to harass him in his own home, take control of him with a voodoo doll, or magically summon fire and shoot it out of his hands. Lots of possibilities to keep him on even footing with Zim as their conflicts escalate.

I kinda like the idea of Dib becoming a super powerful warlock who still somehow can't get anything done because of how overwhelmingly corrupt and ineffectual the world around him is and who's also still desperate for approval that he never receives despite how outrageously accomplished and OP he gets. In a way, becoming even more like Zim, who absolutely has the resources to destroy the world, but has no idea how to use them effectively and constantly wastes them on petty skoolyard bullshit.

Either that or everything Dib finds that he thinks he can weaponize against Zim always comes with a serious design flaw or drawback that makes it functionally as useless as the Megadoomer's cloaking device. He studies mystic lore, learns spells, and collects ancient relics, building up this huge knowledge base and arsenal that's almost entirely useless bullshit. Over time he becomes super jaded about magic not living up to the hype. Like, not so jaded he loses the curiosity and enchantment that keeps him pursuing paranormal investigation, but he definitely stops getting excited about the latest source of "untold power" he hears about and approaches the legends with a lot more skepticism about what it can actually do.

[amplexadversary]

Something fucked-up just occurred to me.

Downfall, being a flashback, needed to have resolved in a way that lined up with the present. That means Ioun needed to be alive at the end of it, and Aeor needed to be swatted out of the sky.

I think that this tells the audience something about Asmodeus/Milo that no-one in-universe is privy to, barring the devil himself. His little scheme of trapping the Knowing Mistress in the crosshairs of the Factorum Malleus would have been written with a contingency to it, for both lore and character reasons.

Asmodeus wanted to test the Primes' commitment to their family, whether they'd *actually* save one of the Betrayers if they were threatened. He figured that the party would assume that anyone targeted by the FM would be a Betrayer, after Cassidia had told them about the safeguard against targeting the Primes. So he crammed Arcadia/Ioun into a talisman, took her place, and waited.

What actually happened in-game, where the the Archeart/SILAHA saved the targeted deity, gave Selena the opportunity to tragically seal the city's doom, forcing the Primes to ensure the destruction of the city. Asmodeus didn't have to do anything at that point.

From a straightforward point of view, this is the result Asmodeus would have wanted, though it's possible that he was hoping the Primes wouldn't have intervened so that he could further justify his resentment and hostility.

But if SILAHA had chosen to counterspell Selena instead? The FM would have targeted the deity in the talisman, and Asmodeus would have his "proof" that the Primes no longer cared for them.

This is probably not the outcome that Asmodeus truly wanted, but he may have been hoping for it, to validate his pain and justify inflicting more in return.

Since the Betrayers' entire stance is that the gods come before mortals every time, it's questionable whether Asmodeus would have intentionally endangered Ioun. Given both his motivation and the out-of-game need for the flashback to make sense, I think that Asmodeus was either relying on the safeguard to work, or had set up some contingency to release Arcadia before the FM fired.

Either way, had the party failed to "save" her, he could come in, lambast them over how little he now knows they care, and try to drive the Primes against each other to hurt them.

And, of course, ensure the destruction of Aeor, because fuck your beloved little mortals, traitors.

[corviisquire]

I’ve read the comments on my post abt soulsborne sleep token thing! Here’s some concept art I tried. More is on the way just… HW ew. Tagging people who were interested/encouraging this idea: @sleep-token @wingedinsect @moonchild-in-blue @foundationsofdecay @madsthenightowl @a-s-levynn

Undercut is me mindlessly rambling about what’s going on in my brain about this. Don’t read unless you like torturing yourself with reading.

I guess to start, I have only played Elden Ring (crucible knight more like crucible kill yours-IM JOKING), I’ve watched some lore videos on Elden Ring Bloodborne and DS1, haven’t played DS1 yet, and have all the art books except DS2 (cause nobody likes DS2). I’ve played very limited DND games. I’ve read lots of weaponry wiki pages but I have bad memory. If any information I say below is incorrect (like I say this sword is two-handed but it’s not or I misspell spauldor… spalder? Spauldron?) please correct me. I’m just using information I know and I’m always open to suggestions and feedback!

Random Lore Bits: Sleep and the Whale lived in peace but Sleep was always the higher deity. It created all that lives on the land and the TMBTE creatures. Sleep had many worhsippers but Vessel and the rest stood out. They were appointed as the highest knights of sleep. Vessel always had Sleep’s favor and therefore became Sleep’s vessel. Confusing I’m aware lmao. Sleep and Whale became enemies somehow and Sleep injured the whale, causing it to die. This time period before the Whale’s death was called Eden. NPCs speak of Eden all the time about how, “Peace and day has never been restored since Eden” “Eden is over” “If the whale were here, Eden would still be here”. All followers of Sleep become corrupt.

Bosses: Once killed, all bosses turn into statues and have branches grow out of them. They aren’t dead, just dormant. You can fight them again but returning to their fight area and making an offering of a certain amount of tokens. Once defeated again they return to being dormant. If you defeat all resurrected bosses (fought each one twice) you get smth called a Talisman of Blood (important later).

Regular enemies: Idk skeletons???? Giant birds??? Snakes???? Giant insectoids Idk bro???

Location: Like Elden Ring lands between, it’s called Fields of Elation. The capital city is either Nazareth or Jericho. I’ll try to incorporate Calcutta somehow. Geography is a mix of frigid coast, deep dark forest, large cavernous cave strictures, old ruined castles with mysterious rusty machinery inside, sparatic temples to sleep (all whale temples were destroyed), and the remnants of towns. Large trade road that goes through the entirety of the land is called the Path of Reason??? Idk bro I’m spitballing.

Currency: Tokens. Killing enemies and bosses earns you large amounts of tokens and like how runes work, you can level up you and your armaments with them.

Waypoints: Sites of grace, bonfires, more like RITUALS (I am not funny). I think calling waypoints rituals makes sense.

Flasks HP/FP: Estus Flask, Flask of Crimson/Cruelean Tears…. How about Flssk of H I G H W A T E R. Nah I’m kidding. No idea! Suggestions are open! I’m reading lyrics and nothings jumping out.

Incantations/Spells: Can be equipped to magic armaments and weapons! Kinda like you can choose between spell sword or just being a wizard.

Player Character: Tarnished, undead, hunter…. No idea what to call them. Robes and garments Very inspired by TPWBYT. Thinking the whale was an ancient god defeated by Sleep. Player Character is gifted with a certain power of the whale and was resurrected to defeat Sleep. Game opens with epic cutscene and player charter emerges from a cavern (TLYW) and goes through it before finding themselves on the coast of a freezing raging sea and an inviting forest. There’s probably one class you play as cause I’m lazy and you just collect armor and new weapons on the journey. TLYW style robes with greaves, hood, and gauntlets. Basic longsword.

Vessel: I’ve read the feedback and I agree that staff needs to stay. Live laugh staff. I’ve seen a few Elden ring builds where it’s right armament is staff for casting the long range stuff and left armament is a short sword, miséricorde (mercy dagger), scimitar(?), or other various short weapons. I like the image of this because I imagine him having somewhat light armor so if you’re far away, he spell. If you’re close, he stab. Spells are gonna be red. Change my mind. I like the Elden Ring boss Maliketh’s magic attacks so I imagine something like that. I imagine his boss fight starts with epic cut scene with him kneeled in a big arching cathedral temple type place and he’s like, “you seek to defeat the vessel of Sleep, foolish warrior? I have not known defeat against those of the sea nor those of Sleep” or some crazy bs like that. Half health, hands of Sleep show up and swipe and grab and Player Character. Just giant spindly hands that appear and float around. Attempts to break away form Sleep control but fails so that why he evil >:}

II: Dual wielding… what? No idea. I want him to dual wild some sort of straight weapon cause like drumsticks but honestly… sickles are so badass… Med. to light armor so he can move around a lot. Some sort of helmet with feather Mohawk. Boss area is probably in a fort outside of the main city. Just you and this guy. Get ready for a stamina check.

III: I’m torn between frenzied flame/black flame style magic user or spell sword. If magic, light armor. If spell sword, med. armor. Boss fight in a large old temple, candlelit and torn tapestries everywhere. Better have some fire immunity talismans on you.

IV: Halbert. All the way. Heavy armor my guy. Idk not much to say. Thinking banished knight ornstein inspo?? Boss fight Outside the gates to Vessel/Sleep’s castle. Vigor check time!!!

Chokehold: large dark cavern with webs strung about. It appears from above like, “A traitor to Sleep, hm? Pity. You seemed like you would be a good asset to the Vessel’s artillery.” Big axe time. High HP high strength boss. Vulnerable spot is probably its stomach area. Gives you armor, weapon, talisman, and incantation “Branches in a Flood” (roots sprout from the ground and entangle enemy).

The Summoning: Player probably stumbles upon the fight after meeting Aqua Regia and Granite. Mean killing machine. Idk what else to say erm… maybe player interacts with a sleep token symbol on a pillar with runes and it summons (pun intended) the summoning creature??? Stonehenge lookin boss area. Armor, weapons, talisman, and incantations are dropped.

Granite: Relatively peaceful NPC. Dialogue options are cool and it probably raises stats and alters your armaments. Quest line ends with Granite maybe just becoming dormant or it becomes a member of sleep again and sad boss fight initiates. Drops its armor, axes, root/weed talisman that increases stamina and immunity.

Aqua Regia: Chill and never ends in boss fight. Probably lets you summon them during other boss fights. Spear and sword. Gifts you new armor and talismans. Quest line maybe ends with them becoming too weak to keep battling and becomes dormsnt. You get their armor, spear, sword, rose talisman that raises FP, and a spell/incantation that shoots gold acid rays called Gold Rush or smth similar (Like Aqua Regia? Get it?)

Vore: Awesome boss. Inflicts poison damage for sure. I think we can all imagine how fighting Vore would be. In a poison lake haha it wants you to suffer. Armor, weapons, talisman, and incantations are dropped.

Ascensionism: Swords swords swords. Pulls a Starscourge Radahn and turns a meteor and player has to dodge lmao (cause yk ascending). Boss area is probably in a giant colosseum that’s old and crumbling. Armor, weapons, talisman, and incantations are dropped.

Are You Really Okay?: Player character pulls a stupid and decides to touch and inspect the strange incubator with a fetus inside and AYRO appears and is like “DONT TOUCH MY CHILD” initiate boss fight. Small castle is the boss fight area. Armor, weapons, talisman, and incantations are dropped.

The Apparition: Big guy, big hammer. Boss fight is somewhere in a forest clearing. No other ideas for it. Drops weapons, armor, talisman, incantations like everyone else.

DYWTYLM: Chokehold but with tiny dagger and looks like a giant engine. Probably shoots fire from the pipes on its body? Chokehold is PISSED if you defeat this guy first. Brothers fr fr. Boss fight in an old building filled with machinery. Speed is low but HP is super high. Drops armor, weapons, incantations, and talisman.

Rain: Your magic immunity better be HIGH. Renala style fight: Crazy hits, bad defense. Probably drops some crazy cool incantations, armor (really bad armor), and a talisman of fire immunity and raises your FP. Boss fight area is in a shiny crystaly forest area surrounded by weeping willow/wisteria like trees.

Take Me Back To Eden: The last boss before Vessel. Killer fight. Armor is also fire??? Difficult but probably super dope. Boss fight is in a SUPER large hallway in the castle of Sleep. Drops weapons, armor, talisman of resistance against airborne attacks.

Euclid: NPC that’s probably cranky and hesitant to befriend you at first. Still a follower of Sleep but respects the players fate to defeat the sleepmiester (I’m so tired bro—). Might fight you idk.Once dormant, drops and old mask of Vessel, a few incantations, and armor.

Endings: Endings one: You defeat vessel, sleep becomes dormant and no gods rule over the land. Creatures and vessels are resurrected. Endings 2: You defeat vessel and become the new Vessel of Sleep. No difference from first ending, you just chose if ya wanna be evil or not. Endings 3: If you acquire the Talisman of Blood, Sleep sees you worthy to fight them without using a vessel. Radagon Elden Beast situation. When you defeat sleep, the whale is resurrected.