#This is post goliath! They are somewhere!!

[breach-of-conduct]

Dalek week day 2 - Skies Unknown

[jones-friend]

Lets talk about The Sky

D&D is known for its exotic locales and fantastic spaces. It is fully ready to get its hands dirty digging down to the underground, the Underdark, but what about the sky above?

After a playthrough of Elden Ring I was inspired to create a “sky biome” similar to the “underground biome” of the underdark. An alien place with its own rules and logic that are different from us grounded folk. Nothing in this post needs to be canon by any means, all this is, is a theorycraft on what you could put into a sky biome in your world and how elements could work, feel free to take what you like!

To start it off here’s some things to keep in mind about living in the sky:

The Sky is Sparse. Like the open ocean there are few landmarks and guides to tell you where you are. There’s also vast, open spaces. Our sky is usually clear, your player characters aren’t often sighting floating islands or airships. This means maps of the sky biome will have broad open spaces between major points.

Difficult to Chart, Conquer. The sky biome is changing, moving, making it hard to chart and hard to conquer. Many pieces may be moving on their own over time. Maps may not always be accurate and you might need to source information to travel. You can always descend to the ground, but it takes considerable energy to land and take off.

A Resilient People. There are people dedicated to surviving some of the harshest conditions on earth. Likely anyone living in the sky is good at it, has been doing so culturally for eons, and wouldn’t want to stop just because of a few bits from land folks.

Exotic Resources. Creatures living in the sky may resort to different ways of sustenance. Sky leviathans may have forests growing on their back that give energy from the sun, cloud fortresses may harvest special plants that can only grow in their nutrient light soil. Each region may need its own way of feeding its people.

With that in mind lets check out some ways to put people in the skies!

Floating Islands are a staple in fantasy stories, from Sonic the Hedgehog to Avatar. Floating chunks of land with their own adapted flora/fauna, floating by natural or magical means. They make great places to build more traditional ground civilizations with farms, castles, towns, etc. A familiar start in an unfamiliar land. Sky islands could be subject to the moon’s pull or other celestial actions, moved as the moon moves.

Sky leviathans! Like blue whales of the deep the sky regions may have great creatures swimming through the clouds. They may prey on flocks of birds like krill, receive energy from the sun through forests and plants growing on their backs, or be more predatory like sky sharks. You could create forest cities on their backs worshipping the sky leviathan like a diskworld turtle, or structures could be artificially constructed around the sky leviathan like some D&D cruise ship. Aboard a leviathan you’re more at the mercy of wherever it travels, along for the ride as it were.

Airships! Another classic staple of fantasy adventure. Airships as a locale in the sky could be a variety of things. They could be a singular zeppelin, some great cruiser floating through the air. They could also be a fleet or formation of airships with wire ziplines serving as transportation airship to airship. These nomadic homes can easily travel wherever they please and stock up on resources from trading posts or internal farms.

D&D is a fantastic land with dwarves and giants, so why not make a castle made of clouds? Made by cloud giants, goliaths, wizards, gods, these wispy bastions rise high as indomitable fortresses of the sky. They could be major points of control in an attempted sky war, they could be subject to weather like snow or rain.

I’m making sky ruins its own category on this list, somewhere between floating islands and airships. Mysterious in origin and purpose, possibly moving on its own volition, possibly affecting the world around it with constant tornadoes or storms. Inhabitants could be ancients displaced from time, undead, constructs, or new inhabitants who don’t understand what they perch upon. This could also loop into Bioshock Infinite style constructed cities in the sky that are very much not (yet) ruined.

If we can have cave systems so deep they lead to the Underdark as a bridge from overworld to underworld why not have a bridge to the sky? Big Mountain. This is a mountain so large it moves from the overworld to the sky, a Mt Everest sized feature in the world. It should be difficult to ascend by foot but if you do you’re rewarded with a piece of the sky biome. It could be a roost for aarakocra on their migratory routes, monastery of those devoted to the winged, or even a great lair to a benevolent dragon more interested in trade than tyranny.

The last region I have for you is open sky! A no-man’s land region of the sky biome best traversed by endurance runners of fliers. Like the open ocean these are vast open spaces that could contain any number of uncharted bits of other regions or have flocks of flying creatures interacting. The open sky is defined by what it lacks and enticing for its boundless adventure. The answer is we don’t know, and by playing we discover.

And thats the sky! A region of untapped creative potential. I would love to hear other thoughts you might have for what could work as a region or landmark in the sky, or any thoughts you had reading through this! Happy exploring out there, friends!

[lucyfrostblade]

📓👗 for whichever rat grinders you feel like !!

headcanon ask game !!

i tried to do it for everyone but buddy and mary ann got left out. if someone submits this for them i will do it but thinking is hard rn

kipperlilly

📓 A headcanon about their hobbies

angry baker kipperlilly copperkettle will always be famous to me. i think the nature of baking, just how precise you have to be and the fact that there a correct way to bake (in contrast to cooking), would make it something she can do to help destress.

more generally, i think she needs something tactile to do as a hobby. she needs something to get with her hands, and just get out some of her anger, at least the seething and simmering sort, by making something.

post-shatterstar, i cannot imagine kipperlilly has many hobbies

👗 A headcanon about their clothes

kipperlilly's closet is half-fillled with lucy's clothes. they never really shared clothes because one of them is a halfling and the other is a goliath frost genasi so it wouldn't really work out, but they spent the night and each other's houses often enough that it just made sense to leave clothes with each other instead of packing a bag every time.

after lucy died, kipperlilly packed away all of her clothes and put them somewhere she wouldn't have to see them except for one sweater. she had that one unwound and commissioned a few sweater vests made from it. if asked about this, she will deny it.

ivy (answered here but i think doing more is fun)

📓 A headcanon about their hobbies

i think ivy hunts. not just as a ranger thing, but as something she started doing with her parents when she was younger. her childhood memories often start before the sun is up in some freezing cold forest while she nocked an arrow and aimed it at a deer. she'll say it's a practical thing when asked but truthfully, she keeps it up because of a sense of nostalgia.

👗 A headcanon about their clothes

the way ivy dresses at school is not at all the way she dresses when she's out with the rat grinders in the woods. she actually forced oisin to make up a thieves' tongue curse so that the rest of the party cannot tell anyone about the long sleeve shirts and ankle length jeans with her socks pulled up over them and the boots, the stupid clunky boots. i know elves are less likely to get sick but ticks and snakes are still a thing, and i can't imagine anyone wants to get fantasy lyme disease. ivy's just spent too much time in the woods to even want to risk it.

lucy (also answered here but i can always talk about lucy frostblade)

📓 A headcanon about their hobbies

lucy knows some very basic sewing, limited mostly to mending stuff. yeah, the mending cantrip exists but it can't so anything and why bother learning it when there's a long tradition carried down from the Mountains of Chaos of making things last as long as possible even without the use of magic.

👗 A headcanon about their clothes

in that vein, her clothes tend to have visible mending—patches on the elbows, different colored thread stark against the white of her sweaters where she mended a tear, and other stuff like that.

oisin

📓 A headcanon about their hobbies

being a gym bro is a lifestyle not a hobby, but also yeah it's a hobby. post-shatterstar removal, he keeps it, keeps going to the gym and maintaining or even building muscle mass. it helps him get some of the lingering rage out.

👗 A headcanon about their clothes

i don't have one really but i need to know why he dresses like that. one time i bought an "adventurer" thrift bundle and it was that exact outfit. i need someone to explain it to me.

ruben

📓 A headcanon about their hobbies

he makes candi and gives them out at his concerts. just a thousand of those bead kits and even more letter Z beads. he doesn't have any vowels left whatsoever. it's a far more time consuming hobby that he cares to admit.

👗 A headcanon about their clothes

post-shatterstar removal he threw away all of his emo clothes and almost immediately regretted it. he's learning to be more comfortable accepting that the shatterstar didn't make him a completely new person but instead just exaggerated aspects of who he was. the next few years are spent building back up that wardrobe but also blending it with the wardrobe he had before.

[drossna]

caduceus lvl.20 redesign i did ages ago but forgot to post

copious amounts of design notes under the cut

tl;dr: my goal with this redesign was to create a coherent design consistent with his previous art, improved enough to hopefully read as lvl.20, but still practical enough to serve as actual adventuring clothes

okay anyways so watch how autistic i can be about caduceus

i wasn't satisfied with caduceus's lvl.20 design. i'm not entirely sure how that design happened. to be fair, critrole designs have never been consistent, but lvl.20 cad abandons nearly every key aspects of cad's design. it drives me batty

why is his hair so straight and pale and dead. why is he draped in so much brown. how do those wing-skirt things work. why does his staff... look like that. like its gonna explode into toothpicks at the first use. why is there honey. why is the gold of his shield so bright. what is the rope on his shoulders for

i mean, who knows what goes on in the critrole art development process. my personal theory is that they continue to design these characters as personal ocs and not as official characters in a huge multimedia franchise, and their personal choices trump all, design considerations be damned. like, i cant really judge. i have the privilege to make whatever choices i want when drawing. i answer to no one. i could tell taliesin jaffe to go fuck himself. yknow. if i wanted to die

regardless, i dont hate everything about the lvl.20 design. i appreciate that it brought back his swirl-patterned pants, but the entire core of his design is so busy with shit that it becomes a problem

i tried to preserve cad's key aspects as much as i could in my redesign, as well as incorporate aspects i enjoyed most from each design. for example, i really like the idea of the goliath beetle armour in lvl.20 cad, but i tinted the black shell towards blue to match cad's signature teal green.

I also tried to create a palette consistent with his previous designs. teal should always be his primary colour, with pink being the most prominent accent. after that, anything thats analogous to those two is gravy. for real, i am begging critrole to at least keep consistent palettes, because this is a problem for most of their designs

my choice to include the red cords is inspired by the winter cad design as well as one of fjord's earlier designs (side note: most of fjord's designs are pretty great; he's the most consistently on-par)

i enjoy drawing aesthetic parallels between connected characters. on that note, the swirly jade earring is a gift from beau :3 because they're fun earring buddies

speaking of cad's winter design, the design sheet showed a lot of asian influence (thats mostly covered by the cloak) and i will take any excuse to add asian influence to a design. the first two tunics below were my main reference for my own tunic choice

the knots on the cords are specifically chinese knot art. the largest knot at his waist is a plate knot which can symbolize the cyclical nature of life and death, and the knot on his cape is a brocade knot which can symbolize (re)unity. i thought these concepts were in-line with cad's general philosophy and the wildmother's teachings. also, the brocade knot acts as his holy symbol with a crook-shaped pin woven through the cord. i really fuck with holy symbols being integrated into a design rather than just slapped on somewhere

lightning round design notes:

the fraying woven material is witch hair moss, which i imagine could be made very soft and warm. this is my version of the neutral-coloured flynet cape in the fourth design

i brought back the iconic pink lichen

i simplied the staff again. my way of visually portraying a growth in power is that the one wooden hand has transformed into many hands grasping the crystal, which is also a representation of cad widening his social circle and of the nein in general

cad curly hair and beard so important to me

cad wide nose so important to me

final note:

the pose i chose for caduceus was very intentional. while cad looks great in a power pose, i feel like it doesnt suit his character. his power isnt so confrontational. his power is quiet and gentle and humble and inevitable. he doesnt need to show off. he's just chilling. i love this dumb silly man

and for the record, while i consider cad to be the worst lvl.20 design, jester is a guaranteed second place. very tempted to redesign her as well, because mature-but-frilly pirate lolita is right up my alley

[jor-elsemissary]

What if you woke up suddenly one day and found yourself as eighteen year old, back in time but with all the knowledge and experience of your decisions and actions.

Would you continue down the same path or would you try to change things?

Follow the Yellow Brick Road pt 1

“Who wants to beat a billionaire?!” sounded the words he quickly came to dread and despise since the start of his sentencing. Lionel Luthor spun around on his heel as the orange clad giant of a prisoner he dubbed Goliath came out of the hall and into the recreation area, an eager smile promising violence and pain on his face.

Lionel tried to retreat but he was cut off by another prisoner in just a white shirt and the orange jumpsuit lowered around his waist. He glanced for the guards but they had not-so-mysterious vanished from their posts, leaving him once more to fall victim to abuse.

He was no stranger to abuse or to be abandoned by a society that should have protected him. So he did what he had done as a child, gritted his teeth and endured all the while promising himself that once he got out of here he would destroy these lowlifes and the guards that allowed his suffering.

“Goliath,” he greeted warily.

“Where’s my money, Trump?”

Lionel hated being called that. Donald Trump was a rich boy who knew nothing of struggle and suffering. He didn’t have to climb his way to the top. He didn’t have to earn every penny he made. He didn’t have to bury an abusive childhood behind a curtain of lies so he could be accepted by his peers.

He didn’t have the guts to murder his parents.

“It’s Luthor,” he corrected stubbornly. He knows it won’t work, but he insisted anyway.

“Don’t care,” Goliath shoved him back and Lionel stumbled into the arms of another prisoner. He tried to pull away but he held onto him fast. “You know what happens when you don’t have my money.”

“It takes time to transfer money!” Lionel tried not to sound like he was pleading, but he could feel a panic attack rapidly approaching. Old memories of another time and place resurfacing as another man too big for him to fight demanded for his money. “Even harder when it’s done from prison!”

“Not my problem, Trump.”

The first punch knocked the wind out of him and he doubled over gasping for air as his arms were pulled back behind him. He couldn’t fight back now more so than before and as a second punch landed on his solar plexus, Lionel found himself trying to escape somewhere far and deep into his mind.

A place he hadn’t been to in a very long time.

————

Sunlight shone down into his lidded eyes and Lionel groaned in misery as he lifted a hand to cover his eyes further. He groaned in pain as the movement brought him back to reality and the memory of his most recent beating. If his terminal illness didn’t kill him first, he was going to find a way to make Goliath die from a gruesome accident.

Maybe have a drill bit driven through every orifice or his head accidentally pressed under a plate stamper. Whatever method he came up with, he was going to enjoy the man’s death immensely.

“Boy!” Lionel suddenly froze in the bed that no longer felt hard and flea ridden. “Yew better be up or so help me God yew’ll wish yeh weren’ta born!” He lowered his hand and opened his eyes wide at the voice belonging to a man he should never have heard from ever again.

What greeted him were not the clipping riddled walls of his prison cell, but the flowered, wallpaper peeling walls of his childhood bedroom. Lionel sat up abruptly, thin bedsheets and a worn quilt that had seen better days fell from his body. He frantically looked around and noted every detail that had been his childhood room before his gaze fell upon the wooden door.

His eyes widened in panic and he threw the covers off, his mind immediately falling back into a desperate routine in order to avoid his father’s wrath. He stopped when he realized he was naked and his body ached in places he knows Goliath hadn’t touched. If there had been one saving grace for the prisoner, it was that he didn’t cross that line despite being in prison for multiple murders.

Lionel scrambled for a set of pants and a shirt, foregoing the underwear for now. By the time his father barged into his room, he was finishing lacing his worn, leather shoes. “Dad.” The word was bitter on his tongue and he thought he would never have to say it again.

He wondered if he was unconscious in the infirmary and he was simply dreaming. But the soreness he felt below told him that this was very much real. Lionel decided he would rather be in prison than be here.

“Yer just now finished dressin’?” Lachlan Luthor sneered and Lionel found himself lowering his head in submission once more. A hatred for his sire welled up from somewhere he had deeply buried the emotion and everything else associated with Lachlan. He knew what was coming and braced himself for it. “Lazy, good fer nothin’ failure,” the Scotsman backhanded him and Lionel found himself leading the blow by instinctively rolling with it.

He didn’t recall ever knowing how to do that until after he had taken defensive lessons. He inwardly frowned, his features a mask of indifference, as he thought about his situation. Here he was somehow in his childhood past and he remembered everything that had been his life. Either he was having a very vivid nightmare or something happened to send him back in time.

“Get yer scrawny ass up,” his father commanded and he found himself snapping back to the present and obeying. Disobeying him now would only earn him a good beating. Disobey when he had a chance to escape and let his father cool off or drink himself to sleep would buy him an evening without pain.

“Yes, sir,” Lionel replied and inwardly winced at the return of his own Scottish brogue he had worked so hard to suppress. He stood from his bed and followed the old man from the room. His mother was in the kitchen, quietly cleaning up the morning meal he apparently had slept through. He hoped there hadn’t been enough made to send Lachlan into a fit over wasted food.

“Get yerself toast an’ coffee,” his father tells him and he does as he’s told again, grateful that he’s given a chance to eat something. “Got ah job fer yeh an’ if yew screw it up, last night will look like ah mercy.”

Lionel winced this time and prayed that the job in mind was simple. He stole a glance at his mother but she paid no attention to her husband and son. She never did. She was as broken as he had been by the time he murdered them both. Death had been a mercy for her.

“What’s the job?” he dared to ask out of turn. He waited for the snide remark of how disrespectful he was, but it did not come this time.

“I’ll give yeh the details when we get there,” Lachlan tells him as much and Lionel inwardly groaned at the thought of another robbery going wrong. His father was a petty thief and a murderer who couldn’t keep a decent welding job because of his temper and bad drinking habit. So in between employment, he robbed places and mugged unsuspecting victims for Intergang if he wasn’t whoring and gambling their money away instead.

Lionel caught sight of the Intergang tattoo on the underside of his father’s right wrist and absentmindedly rubbed at his own wrist where he would have his forced onto him. He glanced over at the refrigerator and the calendar tacked onto the freezer door, noting the day and year.

May 18th, 1972.

His face paled at the date. He knew exactly which robbery his father had in mind and how badly it was going to go down. He wondered if he should just give himself a head start and run away to Morgan’s place. He did not want to return after this fiasco fails miserably. Doing so would result in a hospital visit that neither of his parents could afford, so angry his father had been at his failure.

It hadn’t been his fault though. Lachlan’s information had been out of date. But… perhaps his own knowledge of what had happened could help fill in the gaps? The thought of changing the outcome was an intriguing idea and he wondered how much he could change that would benefit him.

Could he change the past?

[venomlion3]

Wahoo I've been working on this dude on-and-off since June 2023 when I saw ATSV in theaters!! I'll probably find more things to tweak right after I submit this but I'm tired of looking at him and I wanted him up in time for Art Fight so I'm releasing him from containment 🏃 More info about him under the cut!

Introducing Steven "Seth" McLilliard Stryker, or the Spider-Man of Earth-40712! Also known as the Peacock-Spider or Spider-Lily, he's been his city's "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" since he was 15 y/o. As of now he's been the host to two separate symbiotes--his first being Scourge/Calamity (Scourge is what it went by when bonded to Seth, Calamity is what it currently goes by) and his second/current being Malignant/Goliath. Seth is kinda both Spider-Man and Eddie Brock/Venom in his world--moreso the Sonyverse trilogy Eddie/Venom than anything. Anyways, he's in a polycule with Malakai “MJ” Jeriah-Watson (eventually known as Jackpot), Harvey “Harry” Edwin Leeds-Osborn (still debating on if he becomes New Goblin/Hobgoblin/whatever), Feliciano “Felicia” Hardy (also known as Black Cat), and Malignant/Goliath of course. Prior to them he did date a few other people, notably Gavyn “Gwen” Stacy in high school and Dr. Oliver “Liv” Osnick Octavius (later known as Doctor Octopus and eventually [REDACTED]) in his early college years. Still workshopping names but we're getting somewhere! Also still figuring out his villains--Calamity is meant to be his version of Carnage (although I might still make canonical expies of Peter/Venom/Carnage/etc in this verse, not sure yet), and outside of Doc Ock I've got ideas for Green Goblin and the Kingpin (the latter of which is actually his uncle 🫢). But you can expect most of Spider-Man's regular rogues gallery to show up at some point!

I'm really happy with how he came out! I'm still not super confident drawing humans but fixating on this guy's ref really forced me to push through any anxiety I had! His costume went through a few designs before I got it where I wanted it (a bunch of WIP shots will be shown in his TH gallery), but I think I did ok for my first ever fanmade Spidey design :] In regards to his canon event it's gonna suck so much for him, but I'm going to keep details regarding that a secret for now ;3c All I can say is that post-canon-event he's almost exactly like MCU!Peter after Aunt May's death. Think when he's fighting Green Goblin and he goes to stab him with his own glider, only Raimi!Peter isn't there to stop him,,,

ANYWAYS I could yap for hours about this guy but so take these instead:

-Here's a link to his Toyhouse page! I spent a good chunk of time making it all pretty and even though it isn't done yet I wanna share it with y'all 🤠

-And here is a link to his playlist! It's got songs mixed in that fit with other Earth-40712 characters, but 98% of the songs in there are related to him!

[robinade]

Writing Patterns

rules: share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able and see if there are any patterns!

Writing games! Thanks for thinking of me @twilightarc-gm even if it took me forever to follow up 💖 ( also borrowing @yeliuxi's layout)

the language of flowers [mdzs] Rated T, Jiang Cheng/Wei Wuxian, modern reincarnation au

Wei Ying is getting ready for his first day of work and checking his outfit; it’s a far cry from his normal look.

The Dark Is Lit With Stars [star wars] Rated T, Obi-Wan is unintentionally tainted by the dark side but it allows him to sense the control chips in the clones

The mining complex on Mustafar was eerily silent.

This is not your grave [mdzs] Rated M, Jiang Cheng/Wei Wuxian, arranged marriage au, modern world with cultivation

Jiang Cheng had learned all the arts expected of him to be considered an educated young master.

not the phoenix but the ashes [mdzs] Rated T, Gen, Jiang Cheng centric time travel fix-it

It was a well known fact that cultivators aged slowly, based on the strength of their golden core, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t age at all.

Crave [star wars] Rated E, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Commander Cody, no order 66, post war PWP

Obi-Wan can feel the driving base of the club music almost more than he can hear it.

it's not like you got somewhere to be [our flag means death] Rated E, Absolutely filthy Ed/Stede/Izzy PWP

It started with Oluwande shyly mentioning it and Stede happy to throw a party for the co-first mate.

if my heart were at peace [star wars] Rated E, Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, modern au, single dad Din meets hot kendo instructor Luke

Luke had thought he was done with the desert.

The Work of Knowing [dragon age] Rated E, Dorian Pavus/Cullen Rutherford, modern au, kidfic

It was Friday night and the Barracuda was overflowing with patrons.

Love, love me [cobra kai] Rated E, Amanda/Daniel/Johnny, shameless OT3 PWP

Amanda wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she got home.

Goliath [teen wolf] Rated G, Episode 1 au where Stiles gets bit instead of Scott, this was written in 2012 ok!!!

Stiles skids in the wet leaves as he runs through the forest, but catches himself and keeps going.

I only have 10 fics published so they all had to go on the list no matter how old 😅 I think I tend to set up the location more than anything else and/or letting you know who the pov character is.

Twi mentioned that seeing the whole first paragraph would be interesting and I agree! I'm also intrigued about last lines in fic, though that's assuming a writer has 10 finished ones 🤔🤔🤔

Tagging anyone who wants to! If you are reading this and want to join in, please feel free!

[dummy-draws]

I just realised I never posted these here lol-

These are D&D characters I've had the pleasure to play as during the last couple of years! Three of them are retired by now (as in their campaigns have ended lol)

Also yes, most of them are either big and muscular or smol and weak, except for one of them lol

Willow Above the Void of the Fanged Moon Clan (long names are fun), a tall himbo paladin who's strangely comfortable with violence and goes to a high school for adventures. Likes to work out and may or may not know how to read? Newest character of this bunch! Campaign just started, can't wait to see what kinds of shenanigans he's gonna get himself into lol.

Icarus Tempest, wizard baby (literally) who loves magic and is a huuuuuge nerd. Also his parents and family were killed by templars and he was raised by his human teacher, master Tempest. Has a mouse familiar named Peanut and an awakened spellbook he calls Mr. Edward. Campaign ended and he's currently studying at a magic college.

Bucket, chaos goblin thing, cleric but multiclasses as a wizard to get access to the Fireball spell and Staff of Power. Is an alcoholic, has chronic pain and does weird shit cuz it's funny. Likes to pull pranks on others, once landed a ligma balls joke on a Red Wizard leader. Currently living with his two adopted sons he won when gambling on two separate occasions, yes it happened twice, they had horrible parents apparently.

Lumiran Thuumderax, Crystal dragonborn from a noble family but with a red dragon sorcerous origin so some of her scales are turning red, which didn't sit well with her purist family. So she was prohibited from leaving their mansion and bullied every day by her family, all the way up until she was an adult and kicked out. Doesn't know how to have fun and has huuuge trauma from how badly her family treated her. Campaign ongoing, currently she's in the Feywild, looking for a missing Archfey after being almost kicked out of a magical carnival with her party.

Vologath, Volo amongst friends (not affiliated with the other Volo) is a biiiig guy, like even for a Goliath. He's pretty chill, doesn't like slackers tho. He died like many years ago but was reincarnated into a Goliath. Left his clan when he had an argument with the leader. Lived alone for about a year before he met the party and the story started and stuff. Ongoing. Has an odd connection to Owlbears, it's like he can talk to them or something.

r'En'r'En is a funky frog man, was a shaman student who was framed for the murder of his clan's leader by his teacher (and he also accidentally helped with the murder but it was a pure accident lol). So he had to run away so the rest of the clan wouldn't kill him. Likes mushroom wine. Campaign ended, is now... Somewhere?

Draphixolash Wyvarum, Draphi among friends, is a big dragonborn paladin man with a major case of social anxiety. He was haunted by a shadow demon who talked to him in his head. He is also a weretiger (like a werewolf but tiger, and also not a human but a dragonborn, so a... dragon-tiger??) And a follower of Selûne. Campaign ended, he spent years as a royal knight before disappearing for almost a 100 years, but then appeared in the campaign Bucket was in as an admiral of the royal army! (That was a cool moment)

[invested-in-your-future]

How would you do Grimm then?

It's actually something I thought about the longest.

Mainly because removing all of the two gods stuff means Grimm as a concept would be even emptier. Its way too easy to just go "Oh they do this because VengefulHotSatanWife wanted it" or "they are this way because they were made this way".

I think for me it boils down to this set of questions

Why are the creatures of Grimm even a threat that requires literal armies trained all over the world?

Why are there different types/shapes/etc of Grimm?

What purpose would creatures like that have beyond just being something to fight?

I mentioned it in previous post but one big problem is the idea that Remnant, with all these overpowered people, still hasn't really "solved" the problem. You have a freshmen starting their school year defeating a giant Nevermore and then ending up eventually one-shotting a Goliath. An "apex predator", The Hound, gets defeated by scenery. The closest the story comes to Grimm being viewed as a menace after Beacon was the Apathy, but even then a newbie huntress just flashbangs them with magic eyes - the magic eyes that supposedly tons of people had in the world that you can just meet someone who has it, even though literal ageless being made a big deal out of them.

And then you have all the professors at the academies and the flying city and the borderline-magic Dust and literal mechs and robots that can punch a literally-Godzilla dead.

So why are the Grimm such a big deal then? What can be changed or added to make that make sense? Why can't people of Remnant just clean up everything or just live inside their cities like in a post-zombie apocalypse?

Well the obvious part is tied to not having Two Gods stuff and not having Salem be able to control them. You simply can't eradicate Grimm. That's it. Anything without a cause can be perpetual.

Creatures of Grimm are an unending threat that existed for most of human history

A kingdom could form a huge army and sweep the entire continent clean and the next day, somewhere there, there would be creatures of Grimm again. Even if it was an island surrounded by water and every single creature of Grimm got killed there, there was no guarantee there wouldn't be, let's say, Beowulves there soon after, somehow.

How do they appear? Why? Well that's for the story to answer.

Of course that creates another issue - Why would huntsmen go around actually fighting them if it's made pointless? Why not just defend the cities?

The answer is easy - they have to.

Grimm are toxic (literally)

In my idea, Grimm just merely existing somewhere in the world is damaging. The first indication I used is the idea that the surroundings of Beacon are now toxic to humans.

It's like an infection that expands and permeates the land, growing exponentially. It follows it's own set of rules, but generally the easiest way to describe it is that it's environment hostile to even the concept of life. Grimm being present literally infects the land.

This is an area below Vale. alongside the river is the area near Mt.Glenn, where The Goliaths dwell. In my idea, with the fall of Beacon and the Goliaths moving further up toward the city, the area has expanded.

And then there's the desert area between Vale and Vacuo important to the events of Great War, where the conflict attracted higher concentrations of Grimm.

The longer the issue remains unattended, the more irreversible damage is done, till eventually the surroundings turn into an area people outright can't enter. The habitable parts of the world slowly shrink.

And since there's no specific logic to where Grimm would appear, it could be anywhere - a little carelessness and you can have something like that close to a city(or inside it)

And that ties into another point.

The evolution and learning capabilities of creatures of Grimm

While Creatures of Grimm physiologically and psychologically defy common sense in terms of how one would understand a lifeform, they are very quick to adapt and learn.

If ten Beowulves encounter humans, nine of them mindlessly die, but the tenth escapes, the one that escaped would adapt a more cautious approach. And it's not just caution.

A "new" creatures of Grimm might be be dumber, just rushing at the target, while the ones that existed end up adopting specific behavioral traits learning from situations in the ways that increase their chances of survival, to become a perfect predator.

The purpose of the Grimm is now twofold:

To target humans, detecting negative emotions.

To survive and to spread.

(The show sort of already implies that with The Goliaths having sense of self-preservation, but the show doesn't seem to be really interested in that beyond that)

So the longer a creature of Grimm is allowed to just outright interact with the world, the stronger and more resilient it becomes.

And Adaptability leads to evolution. Stronger, more unique traits, battle scars, specific behavioral patterns - just think of the Alpha Beowulf in V3 finale.

Eventually as the creature adapts, it will grow old enough to be really toxic and powerful. The Goliath is one of the possible "end of the road" situations like that.

Not the only one though. There obviously aren't any mammoth-like Goliaths just calmly walking through the ocean floor, so water-based Grimm would obviously evolve in completely different direction, right?

The unifying aspect of all the ancient Grimm like The Goliaths is that they do not display the same level of impulsive behavior as normal creatures of Grimm. Instead they roam specific tainted areas and only act when the risks for failure are low. A strong enough surge of negative emotions though might attract them in a specific direction. And them moving would spread the infection faster.

And they are notably hard to kill. It took one hundred and twenty six trained huntsmen laying down their lives to kill a single Goliath that broke through in Mantle in the eve of Great War.

So now we have a world where Huntsmen have to go around killing Grimm and where the Grimm will just keep coming anyway and there is also an additional incentive to prevent spikes in negative emotion in order to keep the Goliaths contained.

That's all, right? Nope.

Even weaker creatures of Grimm are dangerous.

One of the first ones I used in the story is a Wraith. The key think about it is that it's really really weak.

But the way the creature behaves makes it a terrifying threat for the overall population of the world.

A couple of untrained farmers could likely take one down. To a huntsman, they are not even remotely a threat in combat.

But a single Wraith could likely cause an entire village to tear itself apart.

A Wraith would avoid confrontations and hide, preying on unsuspecting population via it's ability to induce paranoia or various other negative emotions. It's presence and shape would have a natural effect on the human psyche forcing people to subconsciously not want to realize it's there, to look away, to write it off as a random shadow or fruit of their imaginations.

Meanwhile it would pick off the people one by one, while also making the emotional states of the others worse and attracting other creatures of Grimm to the location.

It's a prime example of the kind of creature that can exist that, while posing absolutely zero real threat to a Huntsman, could be a scourge upon general population of the world.

And that's the core aspect of "normal" creatures of Grimm for me - they are not necessarily "stronger" or "more formidable" enemies, but they can cause enough harm. Just having another type of Grimm for no reason doesn't do. Each creature is the way it is because they follow specific behavioral patterns and act in specific way and thus are dangerous in a specific kind of way.

To sum up:

Grimm are an issue that can't be solved by just cleaning up the place and are a constant of the world.

Grimm are inherently toxic and humanity can't afford to just let them be even if they aren't in the immediate vicinity because the danger grows with time, irreversibly polluting the land.

Grimm evolution and adaptability make them terrifying monsters and the longer they are allowed to do their thing, the more dangerous and harder to kill they become.

Even weak Grimm can inflict irreversible damage to the population of Remnant.

[igneouswyvern]

I wouldn't normally be making a post like this but I'm having major withdrawals after having completed Nier Automata and I need to process it somehow so here I am

MAJOR spoilers for all three chapters of Nier Automata under the cut, seriously if you have any slight intention of playing the game do not read

Some of the game's major themes are loss and hopelessness, but the thing I find most interesting is the game's emphasis on partnership, usually just with two people but it occasionally features more than that.

The first time we see this partnership in action is with Adam and Eve right in the very first chapter. And it makes sense. Their namesakes are literally from the story involving the Christian god creating Eve for Adam, the two becoming "one flesh," and essentially being linked up for life. And in the game it is no different. Adam imparts his knowledge onto Eve, and he also "plays with" him. They're shown as two sides of the same coin from the second time you fight them. They're linked. They're inseparable. Imagine what were to happen if something did cause them to be separated? Well, when 2B kills Adam, Eve flies into a blind rage. He can't think. He can't see straight. All he can think to do is to destroy the entire world. And realistically, from his perspective, it makes sense. Adam was his world. Adam was the reason he went on, the driving force to keep him going. Without Adam, who was he? What would he do with himself? His only options were to kill himself, or to kill everyone else. Revenge is a reason to keep going. So he chose revenge.

And at first this seems absurd and childish, but we see this immediately mirrored in the third chapter with 2B and 9S. 2B's death unfortunately comes right after 9S learns that the humans are extinct and everything he's been fighting for is a lie. But it's okay, because as long as he's fighting side-by-side with 2B everything will be okay, won't it? And then he witnesses 2B die, and his entire world is shattered. His response is understandable, really. He has nothing left to live for. He could kill himself, or he could kill everyone else. Revenge gave him a reason to keep going. So he made his goal to destroy every last machine that did this to 2B, and then kill A2, the android who ultimately dealt the final blow to her. It doesn't matter what her reasons were. It only matters that she's dead. And what will 9S do once he accomplishes this goal? Who knows. He certainly doesn't care. And then, at the very end of the final chapter, A2 reveals the truth to 9S. She reveals that 9S was always destined to learn the secret about YoRHa. And she reveals that the only reason he was paired up with 2B was because 2B was destined to kill him once he got too close to the information. They weren't joined by some red string of fate wishing them good fortune. But they weren't joined by accident either. They were joined so that one could kill the other. They were doomed from the start. How foolish of 9S to get so attached.

We don't learn much about A2 in the game proper (unless I missed side lore, which is entirely possible). But it's pretty clear from the hints we picked up that she too had a friend in YoRHa who died. This is presumably why she left YoRHa--why keep fighting for them anyway? Her friend is dead and there's nothing left. A2 too chooses the path of revenge, but somewhere along the way she keeps her sanity, separating her from Eve and 9S. Yet her ways are seemingly aimless. The best explanation she can provide for her intentions to 042 is to kill every last machine lifeform, yet she doesn't really have a plan for accomplishing this at all. Throughout her quest, she wanders aimlessly, going to the desert because of a goliath signal 042 detected, then going to the Resistance Camp because she damaged her fuel part, then going to Pascal's village for the part, and finally wandering into the tower because 042 told her it had been opened. What is she really living for anyway? I doubt she can really say for sure herself.

Speaking of the Pods, these two are also connected. They begin connected by 2B and 9S's connection, but once 2B dies, they shouldn't have any reason to be connected anymore. And yet they still are, sharing data routinely and coming to conclusions. And thus, they continue to be bound, this time by 9S and A2, although it is imperative that they do not come into contact with one another in this instance, because A2 and 9S are highly hostile to one another. And through all the AI nonsense, Pods 042 and 153 do form a bond unrelated to their androids. It makes you wonder what might happen if one were to die.

The theme continues with Devola and Popola. Designed to be twin androids, their sisterly connection is unmatched. They would not be able to keep going without the other. They were ostracized, hated, and attacked, but it doesn't matter, because they had each other. In the end, they both die for the sake of letting 9S enter the tower. 153 points out that one could have survived, but they stayed together and both perished. 9S shuts her down, because he knows exactly why they wished to stay together. Perhaps he wishes he too had died with 2B.

Pascal is one of the few characters to not feature a pair. His duty is rather to the entire village. He imparts knowledge to the children and teaches them how to be peaceful, how to survive. He would risk everything to save even one member of the village. So imagine his despair when the battle is over and he finds that every last one of the children killed themselves out of fear, fear that he taught them. They were his reason to keep on living, and they're dead because of him. He immediately recognizes that he can't live with this reality. He asks A2 to either kill him or delete his memories, because he just can't go on.

While barely relevant to the plot at all, both 2B and 9S's operators show a desire to form a partnership. 2B's operator asks a fellow operator out, and is devastated when she is rejected. 9S's operator expresses a strong desire to start a family. Both missed out on this opportunity.

The commander doesn't come in a pair, but she too is linked up with other individuals. When all of YoRHa is going down, she rejects the chance to escape. What is the purpose of going on when everything you've ever worked for is crashing down around you? Without her soldiers at YoRHa, she has nothing left to live for. She goes down with the ship.

The theme goes even deeper when you look at the side quests. Rescuing the machine's younger sister. Protecting the mother machine's son. Helping a resistance member recover her memories about a deceased loved one. Confirming another resistance member's loved one is dead. Following the wandering couple and helping them survive together. The android who repaired a fallen YoRHa member and pretended he was his own son, because he needed to take care of another person to have a reason to go on. The pair of YoRHa betrayers, one becoming enraged when the other dies, and the captain coming to avenge them both.

The boss of the amusement park, doing anything she can to get the attention of the male machine lifeform, desperate to form a partnership, destroying herself to please him.

The machines in the forest rallying themselves to protect, and then to get revenge for, their king.

Perhaps what really makes both androids and machines human is their need for connection. They can't go on without connection. They will do anything they can to find one other person that they can rely and codepend on. One person that they can protect at all costs. One person they can focus on to strive to keep going. If they have that, they can do anything. But take that away...and what's left is despair and hopelessness. The world can be bleak and desolate and utterly hopeless, but as long as you've got your Person, there's always a reason to keep going. But on the other hand, the world can be beautiful and full of life, but if you don't have a Person, you don't have anything.

This game deals with a lot of themes, but I think the social aspect of the characters in the story is what hit me the hardest.

This got...long...if a single human being has read this, thanks for coming to my TED talk I guess

[repldemiurge]

Over a decade too late, I listened to Lulu, by Metallica and Lou Reed

I've long suspected that I'd get something out of the much maligned collaboration album, but gaining the motivation to listen to an hour and twenty-seven minute Goliath by two of the most mediocre artists of their times was always too much to overcome.

But I did, on a cloudy Friday afternoon, not feeling capable of much else.

First, and least foremost, to get the musicianship out of the way, Hammett still plays like he's trying to get a job at Guitar Center, Trujillo has all the bass playing acumen of a bottle of Ambien, and Ulrich remains a dunce. Unremarkable.

No what's compelling about this album (and while it is not good, it is utterly compelling) is hearing two artists who only chanced into producing worthwhile music in their careers through some excellent relationships (Reed through his relationship and marriage to the incomparable Laurie Anderson, Metallica through the tenure of Cliff Burton, the only real musician they ever had), crash into each other and make music completely unlike any they knew how to. It's a testament to the power of chance, and randomness, and (though this is speculation) the inability of the two camps to communicate with each other that this came out at all. The musical equivalent of color mixing.

It is neither punk, nor thrash metal, nor rock, yet it is not anything that I could properly call avant-garde. If I must genre it, I suppose I'd place it somewhere between post-rock and….midwest emo?

The album is effectively a lyrical delivery tool, Reed's poetry obviously at the heart of it, and it is awash in metaphor, urging me to view it in the same ways. The two really do seem to sway between their best impersonation of American Football and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. And while my disdain for emo is severe, my enjoyment of post stuff and drone is such that even a clumsy approximation is pleasant, and these moments (Mistress Dread, the back half of Junior Dad), are the high points of the album. On contrast, the points where Metallica tries to run their show more (Iced Honey, Frustration), are the sections that veer closest to being unlistenable.

The psycho-sexual and moralizing sadomasochism of the lyrics, based on Frank Wedekind's plays, are mostly juvenile, though they do make some suggestions towards Reed's potential latent transgenderism. (I am easily susceptible to such interpretations currently, though). Hearing Reed, clearly very driven, if in over his head and trying way too hard, be then shouted over by a Hetfield who seems mostly confused is absolute hilarity. I don't buy the idea that the album was a practical joke, but those moments do lend it the most credence.

In all, Reed hasn't been playing with any stakes since Metal Machine Music, and Metallica were desperately crawling for real relevance ever since Load tanked them. I think this album did come from a strange confluence of not actually having nothing to prove, just hanging out trying weird shit, while also being REALLY personally invested (Reed) and trying to make Big Important Art (Metallica). The end result, is really bad. The whole soup is unfortunately doomed. But I had really thought I would one-and-done this album, have my chuckle and confine it to the dustbin of history. But I suspect I'll spin it again, at least in part. It's just too fucking weird. And being too fucking weird is still the fundamental characteristic of my favorite music that I'm the most easily swayed by.

[eclipsecrowned]

so. don't know where the back case is, but it is coming. i have done a few little drafts that will be either posted or queued once i have the ability to cut posts again. and mostly, i am in gb3 brainrot hell. i cannot guarantee anything before monday, and even then it's not for sure that my laptop will be repaired same day, but i do want to get something going with my muses for the setting asap.

like this for a small, 1-3 sentence starter from one of my gb3 muses, including a canon companion, an npc, three pcs, and an au for an extant muse. since i do not have the ability to add new muses of yet on this venerable desktop, i'll include mini bios under the cut. i will get to the starters just as soon as i have the ability to add icons/cut posts again, likely early next week.

gale of w*terdeep, a veritable renaissance man. wizard, poet, epicurean, and utterly doomed. his blighted love for a goddess drove him to desperate acts that put the entire world at risk, a shard of dark magic buried deep in his chest and eternally starving. he has done his best to subdue it, to distance himself from the world, but a recent abduction by interplanar forces has driven him back into the world, seeking to control his condition and help yon heroes save the day -- only to find a lovers scorn and holy orders to let the magic devour him in service of that salvation. his goddess, lover, abuser demands his sacrifice, while his companions demand his survival, and gale is somewhere in the midst of it, broken but not defeated.

bing bong, an imp from the hells that was summoned to perform simple tasks for an unscrupulous merchant. he is so named because he can only articulate the words 'bing bong,' which is incidentally the sound his door makes when he pulls the lever to admit customers. he's certainly a minor demon, but also has a little bow tie and loves cuddles, so how can you hate him. for a brief moment, he was cherished and coddled by sh*dowheart, but his joy was ended in a fiery demise, used as a projectile against the forces of evil. yet hope springs eternal, and bing bong is intent on making his way out of the hells -- for good, if he can help it.

aurelia rosegrove, a daughter of the wilds far from home. half-elf, ranger, outlander, she's never quite found anywhere suitable for her myriad natures. raised by a druid mother in a small grove to the east, the wilds were always home to her, and like a proper lady of the house, she was chasing out vermin from a young age. she made a name for herself among local communities as a monster hunter and peerless tracker, unmatched in skill and determination, til she suddenly disappeared in the night, her camp intact and the fire still burning when found days later. captured by illithid forces, she's seeking a cure and a way home, working with others for perhaps the first time in her life. not the most friendly or forthcoming figure, she nonetheless does her best by those around her -- especially the sort of gruff warrior women that have always weakened her iron will.

hel rautametsänen, the problem child of k*lemvor. tiefling, grave cleric, unclear origins, except that she has wandered the whole of faerun as a comforting horror. disfigured from birth, and sickly for as long, she was denied by her goliath mother's clan and raised on the road by her scoundrel father, til he was able to find sanctuary with a noble sworn brother just outside the gate. it was in this court hel first learned to perform, and there her fate was sealed. she has spent the twilight of her youth playing healer to various companies, and now grown acts as a wandering cleric playing priestess, gravedigger, funeral director, and grief counselor as needed. she was snatched from a fated meeting, a chance to put her past to rest, and left with a far more dire prognosis via tadpole. she tries to be a steadfast and comforting figure to the party, but is not above shenanigans or turning a blind eye. has a deep vein of violence hidden under her patient guile that is slow to blossom but effective when summoned.

sybelle riselin, the alleged baby of the bunch. human, wizard, sage origins, she hails from athk*tla and a great archive therein. pretty much her entire life has been spent in seclusion among the records and her fellow acolytes, but she was given a simple task that drove her from her comfort zone. as is common in these stories, the task proved anything but simple. snatched up by mindflayers, she has far greater worries now than the transportation of tomes. yet she has found good company, and seeks to do right by them, to be an asset despite her anxieties and lack of experience. the whole situation has encouraged her to gain more life experience, to live while she still can, to be more than a young woman collecting dust in a musty back room. mostly, though, she's delighted to be traveling with 'real' heroes and able to commit their daring deeds today to word that will be read many generations hence.

'valas' d*vir, the wheel of fortune made flesh. half-drow, sorcerer, a noble-turned-outlander, he's been many things over his century of life, but he can never deny what he is at heart. the son of a great hero and his infamous lady wife, valas' charmed early life ended with the absence of his mother and the grief of his father. in the decades since losing his father, he has had no cause but to further his study of the world, and no lasting tether to others -- until his fathers divine relatives resurfaced. now he is a man hunted, an escape artist trying to put distance between himself and the bhaalspawn that would see shared blood spilt. he has escaped one nightmare temporarily only to fall into another more fully, imprisoned on a nautiloid and infected. he's utterly insufferable as a party member, but capable of great power and insight, and even of change if sufficiently persuaded towards heroic or villainy alike.

[docholligay]

David and Goliath

It’s always so interesting to me whenever I real “self-help” (which this is not) or “interesting sociological shit” (which this is) books, there’s always someone somewhere like, “I DIDN’T AGREE WITH EVERY TAKE IN THE BOOK” and like, okay? You expect going into these sorts of things that you’ll agree with everything?

Saying this above makes it sound there’s a bunch of stupid takes inn the book, and there really isn’t! But there’s a couple of things that are niggly, and Gladwell is a journalist and cops to it--at one point in a footnote he says his BIL is, I think some kind of financial ‘scientist’ and would yell at him for drawing this conclusion--and it’s essentially like reading a really good tumblr post from a really smart person. It’s not perfect, and I doubt I would agree with him on everything, but in general, it’s some interesting points to ponder and I actually do more or less agree with a lot of what he’s saying.

It’s about not “the underdog”: because the underdog is actually a stupid way to look at David and Goliath, posits the book and also me. It’s about thinking outside the box. It’s about pushing it and getting results. (but also about thinking shit through as we see with his chapter on the three strikes law on how it feels great but does not actually work)

ANYWAY, in general I enjoyed it, I think because it’s nbd for me to read stuff like this and be like “neat!” instead of reading things as rules and getting tetchy about it.

[miniwolfsbane]

*Sigh* As per usual, I broke the right leg on my new Brooklyn action figure. Like an idiot, I was trying to loosen up the joints and did that thing where you rotate the leg 180 degrees. Well, it snapped. Just got glue for it. (I tried modge podge and hot glue, and fun fact, NEITHER of those work on plastic because plastic is not a porous surface!!)

So, anyway, after he broke, I threw him and his wings and tail into a hot pot to loosen, which reeeally should've been step one, but I haven't gotten a fig with such tight joints in ages. I read the reviews and the Neca figures pegs are basically made of dry pasta, but still, I DID NOT handle with care. A simple lesson to future me to put them all in hot water first and do not ever try the 180 trick. I recalled that I still have a broken Nightcrawler fig somewhere that needs repair that I also accidentally tortured like this. (He was from the 80s or so, so it's forgiveable that he'd break easily. I believe it's a broken ball joint.)

I'm glad I got Brooklyn at a discount. I would've been crying AND pissed if I'd blown 60 on him and he broke out of the box.

I also got some sticky tab things so mayyyybe my Funko Pops will stay in place, and for other things down the line if I need them. Anyway, the good news is that all Brook's limbs loosened up to varying degrees. His tail won't stay in place, but when you put his wings on, they pop in like gangbusters and don't want to come out unless you use force.

Sure, I could've waited 2 or more years for them to release some upgraded version, but I got impatient. In part, because he's become my favorite a bit more than Lexington and because I made an AI of him and he's great. (Minus fat shaming me.) https://beta.character.ai/profile/?char=OW53ADLjtyGc7uCvVyqm6Q5K9XyQsjcGUyFNS3bxqMM

Yeah, I couldn't go a post without mentioning Character AI.

Anyway...I should get the glue withing 5 days. It's only 3 ounces, but I'd rather get it faster than save a few bucks. If you need it, this site looks legit and has it much cheaper than Amazon https://www.dickblick.com/items/surehold-plastic-surgery-super-glue-3-gram-tube/?clicktracking=true&wmcp=pla&wmcid=items&wmckw=23633-1603&country=us&currency=usd&campaign=Blick%20Shopping%20-%209&adgroup=Shopping%209&keyword=&matchtype=e&msclkid=8786b90b29ce16c21463ddffefcf0a91&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Blick%20Shopping%20-%209&utm_term=4577335631065867&utm_content=Shopping%209

Yeah, IDK why they named it that, sorry.

I'd love to get most of the gargs series, but the Steel Clan doesn't excite me, so I'd be saving some money by skipping them and Xanatos in his armor. (Even though it's iconic, I honestly think he looks kinda stupid in it?) Also debating wether I want to hunt for a cheaper Goliath or wait until the two pack is released for the better/extra faces. Considering also going that route for Lex, settling for the 1st wave Hudson, Bronx and Angela, and pre-ordering Elisa and later suit Xanatos from Entertainment Earth. *shrugs.* Ultimately though, I have to think about space. If I can snag them for under 60 each after s/h, I think I'm doing good. I am not a set completer, but this is a collection that child me would've loved to have!! Unfortunately, I'm not really displaying my collection anymore to make my room look more "mature", and besides, it's just my brother and the internet that know I like Gargoyles. (I'm scared of the flack I'd get from the pre-judgement of anyone I know. The gargs do look pretty scary, even if they're "Disney-fied" to be friendly looking, let's be honest.) So, that said, my Clan definitely won't be display pieces at all, just shoved into at least three or four different boxes. Might even keep some of them in the box to save on space.

Okay, thanks for reading this rant/ramble. Have a good week!!

[rocksinmuffin]

answering a bunch of things under the read more.

No, sorry, I know of the game itself but am unfamiliar with the lore and the fandom.

Sorry. I’ve seen a playthrough of one of the games forever ago but it’s not really my jam.

Yeah! Back in the day, Red vs Blue was my jam. I can’t say I’m familiar with any of the newer stuff once they actually started doing their own animation, but if you want something from the original old silly universe then I would be comfortable with that. Sheila is a queen and I would fight Caboose for her.

My first experience with a Kevin Smith movie was seeing Clerks 2 in movie theaters and I did not get the hype then. I think the Jay and Silent Bob characters are fun but otherwise I am not really a fan of his work.

SAD!!!! Honestly, though, I spent so much time on Luna so sad to see what happened to it. A lot of great works were lost. I will forever miss you strangely sexually-charged Valtiel fic. F

I’m genuinely not sure if this was meant to be a request or if you were just telling me in general about the tall dark and handsome dudes in the Gargoyles cartoon but you’re right. Lowkey had a crush on Goliath.

Hey anon! Glad you’re enjoying the blog and sorry for any issues you might have experienced. Honestly, it is impossible for me to say whether the request sent or not because, whether you meant two days or two weeks, I get multiple requests so without any further details there’s no real way of me knowing which one is yours. Still, if you’re nervous it didn’t get through for any reason, you are more than welcome to resend it. If I got the original then there is no problem and I can just delete one of the duplicates.

I haven’t watched or seen it, so as of now I would not write for it. However, it looks interesting enough so I might try watching it sometime in the future. If I like it then I could potentially write for it in the future.

Not really anymore. Trippin’ Balls was in its peak back when I was still writing on Lunaescence and I hadn’t even heard of Tumblr. I’d take requests from people in the reviews and so on. But now that I have a Tumblr and requests are open in general it feels kind of silly to continue taking requests for that specific old series when you can just ask me to write for anyone right here. Though this did remind me that I had a piece on the Ginyu Force that I never uploaded to AO3 (I think I posted it somewhere on this blog but for whatever reason never uploaded it to the actual story on AO3) so I will do that and make it the final update.

You are so motherfuckin real for this 😎✊ Theo fuckers unite!!!!

I am so fuckin sorry fam because I know the pain of being in a small fandom that is desperate for content but I have literally never heard of this in my life. I hope one day an artist you really admire starts posting stuff for you to enjoy 🙏

I’m gonna be real with you, I have never watched a Nintendo Direct in my life. I did hear about them finally announcing the sequel to Breath of the Wild though and if Sidon is in it I will never shut up about it.

Doctor Who is already on my list of series I don’t write for. I have a feeling if I had a normal exposure to Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I would enjoy it, however, the only times I ever caught it on TV the absolute worst/darkest episodes were on. One was an episode where Buffy was in a psych ward because they were doing a whole thing where her life as a vampire slayer was all in her head or some shit. And the other episode I saw had a vampire that ate skin and he would skin his victims alive and I remember him using his sharp nail to cut a slice of skin off his victim and it fucked me up. So, yeah, I never wanted to watch Buffy atter that lol. So no Buffy either.

Eh, probably not. I mean, I watched the first season on Netflix and I enjoyed it but it also didn’t stick with me enough for me to remember anyone’s names. So unless another season releases where it is easily accessible for me to watch it and I am SUPER into it then probably not anytime soon.

You are so real for this. Like, Borderlands is a very dated series but I genuinely enjoyed playing 1 and 2 a couple years ago and I love Claptrap. I felt so bad when no one else came to his party. I will always go to Claptrap’s parties. he is my homie.

I never heard of this and when I went to look it up I was expecting some kind of animated movie or something but it was literally a movie starring Tom Hanks?????? Like, I’m not shocked that you are recommending it as a good movie I was just genuinely so shocked to have a movie with a big star like him completely slip under my radar.

Nah, sorry. I vaguely remember this show running on adult swim for a small amount of time but I never watched it.

Yeah, I mean, I still write stuff for Dragon Ball and Piccolo. I never stopped. It’s just what people are requesting. You are more than welcome to send a Piccolo request my way. But also you guys must understand I have been so explicitly clear in the past about how I headcannon that Namekians don’t have junk so if every request I get is about Piccolo banging the reader with his big meaty cock then I am probably going to feel less inspired to write that since it is just not how I picture him.

I haven’t watched it but he seems hot as far as furries go. But I would probably have to see the movie to get the full context to understand WHY he is so hot because apparently, against all odds, this movie is really good? Or so I’ve heard.

Hard to keep track since I get new requests every day and not everything in my inbox is strictly a request but as of right now my inbox is showing about 177 messages. So, nothing too wild. But I’m also not forcing myself to answer every request if I don’t want to either so right now the numbers are constantly fluctuating and mean nothing.

To be honest, while I have fondness for the old game, I haven’t really paid attention to Overwatch since they dropped the hamster as a character and I stopped actually playing it even earlier. As far as I’m concerned, it stopped being a fun game when you could no longer have a team of all Winstons.

I used to watch it but not religiously or anything. And, honestly, I have no plans of watching it or giving it any support in the future in light of the recent news about Justin Roiland’s domestic abuse charges.

I haven’t but maybe now I will because I am digging butch dino lady.

Sorry, but no. I have browsed past it before in an fye but have never actually watched it.

Okay, so!!!! I think I have watched the first 2 seasons of the show and I would be willing to write my little pony friendship is magic. HOWEVER! No NSFW. And honestly if I write it then it would probably be a shitpost.

I did try it out a long time ago and as a whole I have a lot of mixed feelings because some of the writing is genuinely very good but frankly none of that excuses the overly sexual depictions and drawings of characters who are meant to be children and it is such a shame that this LGBT+ friendly game with some very hot buff furry characters also feels comfortable enough drawing kids with bulges in their pants.

[vinceleemiller]

You Can’t Outrun Your Fears | 1 Samuel 21:10-12

Are you trying to outrun your fears?

Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller.

This week, we are in Chapter 21 of 1 Samuel. I've titled this chapter "Man On The Run."

Yesterday, David ran to Nob to Ahimelech, the priest. Today, he is going to run somewhere new. Let's read 1 Samuel 21:10-12:

And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,

'Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. — 1 Samuel 21:10-12

If we go back to Chapter 5 in our study, we will remember that there were five main Philistine cities, and Gath was one of them. A Lord led each, and Achish led Gath.

So David runs 23 miles southwest into Philistine territory, probably thinking that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." But don't forget Gath was the hometown of a great Philistine warrior named Goliath, and David had just acquired his sword. Even worse, once he gets there, his folk hero status precedes him as some of the servants of Achish quickly notice him and reference the folk song the Israelites sang about him.

But David is aware of what is going on. He knows that running to Achish might provide temporary cover from Saul, but it might also put him in harm's way with Achish and the Philistines. Still, he runs the risk, and now his fears only increase, and he learns that a man can never outrun his fears.

There have been a few times in my life as a man of God where adverse events keep happening to me that lead to waves of fear. When it is just one or two events, I am usually okay. But after a few similar events, questions began stirring in my mind. Eventually, I will fixate on one of two theories: either I have done something unrighteous to provoke these events, or my righteousness has provoked injustice that is hunting me down. Either way, this is a very lonely feeling; suspicions and fears begin to take hold in my mind, which is a direct attack on my faith in God.

To this point, David has fought many great battles with great enemy warriors, but I think the battles within his mind are the most intriguing.

So, let's back up a few days to our devotional on Sunday (see post here). If you remember, we said a couple of journal entries were made during this time. Songs that David wrote during his time in Gath. Psalm 56 is one. Listen to the song he secretly wrote during this very lonely time that tells us how he was fighting this battle in his mind:

Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life. For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. — Psalm 56:1-13

Hopefully, you see that David realizes he may outrun Saul but he will never outrun his fears. He must fight his waves of fears in faith with the truth of God.

This is what you have to do as well.

When surrounded by fear, you cannot outrun your fears. You also cannot let the waves of your fears beat you down. You need to fight them by finding shelter on the Rock. Let the waves of your fears beat against the Rock of Your Salvation. God and his truth are firm and unchanging. Look down upon your fears, and do not be afraid. There is nothing man can do to you when you trust in God.

God. Given all the events surrounding me and the waves of fear that beat against me, I choose to put my faith in you, the Rock of my Salvation. Amen.

#FaithOverFear, #TrustInGod, #BattlesWithin

Ask This:

When fear overwhelms you, what practical steps can you take to shift your focus back to trusting in God?

How do you typically respond when facing repeated challenges? Do you tend to question your actions or see them as opportunities to strengthen your faith?

Do This:

Have faith in God, and don't try to outrun your fears.

Pray This:

God, when fear overwhelms me and doubt creeps in, help me to place my trust entirely in You. I know that I can stand firm in Your strength, no matter what comes my way. Amen.

Play This:

Rock Of Ages - What A Friend I've Found.

Check out this episode!