#a eulogy of resurrection

[anastasiasyah]

You don't have to choose me but I will always choose myself

— "Our Story" from A Eulogy of Resurrection by anastasiasyah

[primofate]

Quick Kinich Brainrot.

Kinich sings the Ode of Resurrection a little louder and with a little more earnest when you're involved.

He doesn't notice it, but Mualani sure does. Kachina is none the wiser, she thinks Kinich treats everyone equally.

"Excited?" Mualani prods the said man on his side, grin as wide as ever, while waiting for the Ressurection to start.

"Huh?" Kinich asks.

Turns out he was none the wiser too. He thought he treated everyone equally.

"For Y/N to come back!" Mualani tries to hide the exasperation in her voice.

"...Isn't everyone?" Kinich simply says. Ajaw is surprisingly quiet.

Mualani has a retort at the tip of her tongue, but the ceremony starts. The eulogy is recited and the humming commences.

The ceremony is the same as it always is, and as the Pyro archon disappears into the Sacred Flame, people start to cheer and shout.

Kinich stays quiet. Eyes tacked on to the flame, shoulders tense, searching for the first sign of the Pyro Archon and you.

His mind doesn't quite register it when the Pyro Archon emerges from the flame carrying you in her arms.

The cheers continue, but when people start to notice that you're unconscious and asleep, the noise dwindles down.

Kinich masterfully swings himself over to meet the Pyro Archon, peering over at your face. "Is Y/N okay?"

"What's wrong with 'em? Psh. And here I thought they weren't one of the puny ones! Well at least it ain't a bag of bones!" Ajaw cackles, but constantly tries to circle around to catch a glimpse of your face.

"Trouble in the Night Kingdom," the archon replies. "They're fine, they just need a bit more rest to stabilize the Abyssal energy in them,"

Kinich steps back with a sigh.

The wave of panic that hit him settling down to ripples. Something similar had happened to Kachina before, in fact that time had been worse. Kinich hated to admit it, but he didn't feel half as scared back then than he did now.

What did that tell him?

He puts his hands forward "I'll take Y/N, archon. I'll take care of them," urgency and desperation mixed together in his voice.

The pyro archon had no doubt that he would, but shakes her head. "They'll have to stay here until the abyssal energy stabilizes, it could be dangerous to you as well,"

"But--" His response was automatic, and he had to stop himself from protesting.

Just take Y/N home. Don't let anyone else take them.

Repeated in his mind, over and over again. Home. You'll be safe there. He'll make sure of it. But he relents, and drops his arms to his sides. "...Okay,"

The pyro archon promises you'll be fine.

Kinich was a competent fighter. He was an ancient name bearer. He had fought so many battles and looked for many more.

But in this one simple and single moment, suddenly he wasn't so strong anymore.

His fear was bigger than his whole existence.

[kalinara]

One of my favorite recent Wolverine beats comes from the AXE Judgment Day event.

Sadly, I'm not at my primary computer and don't have a scan handy, but maybe I can dig one out later.

The thing that I love about Judgment Day is that I feel like real thought was put into the characters, how they'd pass or fail, or how they'd get around the judgments in question. Xavier failing, and not noticing, because the test took the form of David looking for help. That's chef's kiss. Steve Rogers failing because of his sense of guilt and responsibility is gorgeous. Scott Summers PASSING because, in spite of similar guilt and responsibility issues and a good dose of self-loathing, he denies the Progenitor's right to judge him at all (only ONE person can do that). Fucking exquisite.

And then there's Logan. Logan who stands there and gets judged and expects the worst. And he's told that he passes. And he begs the Progenitor to come back because that's not what was supposed to happen.

I feel like that really hits the core of the modern incarnation of Logan. Because while he is a man of genuine trauma and issues, I think he's also a man who's become very self-congratulatory about his own perceived damnation.

This is a man who, when teaming up with Captain America, will talk about how he's essentially Cap's dark equivalent. There to make the choices that Cap can't do.

And he's proud of that. Moreover, he tends to get bizarrely judgmental whenever someone doesn't decide to take the position he does. When he's not getting judgmental over how people have fallen off the pedestal that he's put them on.

(I particularly enjoyed that post-resurrection beat where Logan comes back, having skipped Rahne's funeral, covered in the blood of her murderers and attacks Scott for...honestly, I've never been sure WHAT that was about. Rahne had already LEFT the team when she was murdered.)

Logan's judgmental streak is a fascinating beat, because this is a man who, at least in theory, hates himself for everything he's done. He's certainly killed people when out of control and not in his right mind. And not all of those people pulled a Northstar and got better. He's certainly violent and willing to kill.

And he repeatedly suggests murder as a solution in a way that ends up, arguably, causing a great deal of the issues that plague the X-Men. House of M was a big fuck up all around, but would Pietro have freaked out and manipulated Wanda into altering reality if Logan, the AVENGER, wasn't arguing that they should kill her?

And don't get me started on AvX. Who exactly gave the Avengers faulty info and advocated killing a CHILD because he didn't like what the Utopian team was doing? (That one is particularly frustrating, because you could argue that Logan is the one X-character who came out of AvX firmly ahead. The entire mutant race is now at his school...at least until Scott decides that dying in prison isn't in his game plan after all. He's more respected by the Avengers than ever. And he's the one, of all people, giving Charles Xavier's EULOGY. Not Hank or Bobby, who were his first students. Not Kitty or Rogue, who were arguably much closer to him. LOGAN.)

And at the same time, as soon as the original five appear in present day, he's holding a claw to a CHILD's throat, and suggesting that they murder him to get Charles Xavier back. It'd be one thing if the adult Scott were there, because they do tend to go overboard in posturing against each other at this time, but he wasn't. This was ONLY about terrorizing a CHILD.

This probably sounds like an anti-Logan post, and it is and isn't. I find his judgmental tendencies incredibly frustrating as a reader, especially when they're pointed at my favorite character, but I also do think it's fascinating. It would just help if he LEARNED from his mistakes. Or if more people got to call him on it.

But that's what makes the Judgment Day judgment so sweet. Logan seems to think that his right to judge comes from the fact that he's making this sacrifice for them. He's embraced damnation so they can't. They owe it to him to be better people, the way he needs them to be. So what does it mean, then, if he's not damned? If he's not really sacrificed anything at all?

Sadly, Logan isn't the sort of character to think about that. But for someone like me, who finds him both endearing and frustrating, it was oddly refreshing, nonetheless.

[scottfreed]

Orion & Scott should be friends if not awkward step brothers. The forced antagonism is lame.

I had an argument with two people about the way I characterized Orion and Scott in a fic a while back, and I wanted to make a big post to compile my canon basis for writing them as somewhat distant brothers who respect and defend each other. I particularly had one fan continuously say Tom King's characterization is gospel and completely consistent, and I was an "abuse apologist" for writing them in a positive way. I wanted to pay particular attention to the question of succession since that's the main source of conflict for them in MM '17.

Orion and Scott have had numerous character interactions that have predominantly ranged from generally amicable to warm and familiar with key exceptions. (Rough recount incoming)

MM '74

Their first interaction Orion literally saves Scott's life so he and Barda can get married.

Dude is actually the one who called for the wedding in the first place. And he was playing the Bouncer. And look at him on Barda's side of the alter. He's totally the Maid of Honor:

Super Powers '86

(This was the first comic I ever read with both characters just to disclose my bias.)

Short but fun lesser known title! But there's some interesting world building happening. And Orion and Scott paling around in their co-rulers era:

They're buddies and its great. Also look and Orion's drip.

Look at this! The bois are co-ruling Apokolips for a brief stint. The exact opposite of Orion trying to "steal the throne form scott", He literally called him up to help him manage his own!

This is such a great expression of both their characters. Scott's survivors guilt for being able to escape the Hell of his upbringing and Orion's driving fear of ending up a tyrant like his father.

And look at this "interview":

We need to bring back authors doing make-believe interviews with fictional characters. Simply outstanding. The idea that in the face of nature and nurture they both gravitated to the light is honestly fascinating.

"(still hushed) Thank you, thank you, my friend..."

^^^ like... there are hurt/comfort fics that aren't as tender as this action adventure comic from 1986 😭😭😭

The New Gods Vol 3

But whoa what's this?

Bickering? I guess they do just inherently have an antagonistic relationship... except look what's actually being said.

Orion and Lightray aren't pissed because they think Orion is so great that he should be in charge of everything and Scott's in the way Ala Tom King. (It's because this writer didn't want to write for Scott in this title and the crappy answer for this is to make Scott an annoying "80s era pacifist" which is pretty shameful in the context of world-ending stakes tbh.)

But again, Orion's not miffed because he wants Scott gone. If anything, He want's Scott to be more involved in the fight against evil. He wants him to remember his roots. He wants him to be a part of New genesis. He want's him to take on more power and responsibility.

Plus, idk I'm projecting but it's almost giving: "hey the family misses you, please call/visit more" to me at least.

JLA/I ('90)

My heart is aching look at this! Called him his brother, gave a beautiful eulogy, joined the JLA in his memory. It's wild how the writing in this arc went wildly back and forth between quality and pure nonsense 😭

JLA ('98) - #24

This is how you do clunky exposition about who tf these characters even are showing up in this title all of a sudden.

Is it perfect? No.

But it's still a heart to heart desire to understand. Underline everyone's characters and central motivation. Boom. We're in and we're out. Back to the Justice League.

MM Vol 3 (1996)

Okay, so weirdly aggressive, right???

But, not quite, it was indicated that his reaction here was due to Darksied having just been resurrected and was influencing him.

But also take a closer look at what's being said! It wasn't a result of Orion being covetous of Scott's power or even wishing harm on him or anything.

Quite the opposite, in fact. He's telling him he needs to better protect his own life as future king, even if it means sacrificing others.

It's almost giving concern tbh.

Far be it from trying to kill Scott to steal NG from him, even in this ooc moment, he's chastising him to stay safe so he can come into his throne.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World (1997)

We get a fight and Scott gets over whelmed casue he's fucking around. Barda is lowkey laughing at him. But what does Orion do?

Dude Pops off. Pops off so hard everyone is concerned.

And then this happens:

Look! He struck Scott! Tom King is a genius! haters btfo.....

But wait. this was actually how it was revealed that Orion was possessed by DeSaad, because this was so wildly out of character for him!

Literally this action, that Orion-haters seem to think is like their mundane default character interaction, was so off-putting and out of character to all the other New Gods that they immediately knew something was very wrong. And it was. He was possessed!

lol gross...

But what about when he's back in his mind again? Well...

(idk who's serving more cunt in this tbh)

And here not for the last time we se Orion supporting the idea of Scott as the ruler of Apokolips.

Orion ('01)

(d...did scott do blackface in this cosplay??? lol)

This is the classic. We all know it. We all love it.

Look at Scott meddling in his life. You're fucking up pretty bad when the "god of freedom" has to step in to stop you.

Also the contrast between their actions when dealing with Sirius is better than any hackney fist fight or argument.

And how interesting is it that Scott's unwillingness to kill isn't treated as admirable and pure in contrast to Orion's evil-bad violence.

Nope. He was a kid. He wasn't strong enough yet to do what had to be done. And IIRC it was to do with what he'd just gone through with the emergence of the anti-life equation. But Orion was! And Orion was the one to finally put the poor soul out of him misery.

I like in particular the way they are portrayed as the "god of war" and the "god of freedom" and how the way this is explored isn't a black and white dichotomy. Scott recognizes Orion is absolutely needed to oppose Darkseid. And the way the two of them are working behind the scenes to protect and help each other repeatedly is so perfect.

And the way Orion decides not to kill Metron to protect scott not because it's wrong or whatever but because time travel could prevent anyone else from following the same bread crumbs and coming to the same conclusions is so funny.

But he was fully ready to kill Metron to save the weird little circus man.

But yeah I think its very telling that at the end of this character arc, Orion, in coming to terms with himself, must come to terms with Scott and their respective places in the world.

I just think it's cool that they each saved each other's life twice in this series. Scott prevented Orion form falling too far with his black racer gambit. And reminding him of his purpose. And Orion Saves Scott from the parademons and Metron.

I can only dream of the paradise we'd be living in if this characterization continued on into the future.

Cherish it. It's all down hill from here...

Death of the New Gods ('05)

Okay so this series isn't great, but at least it's consistent with how these two interreact with each other and kind of keeps to Simonson's continuity... kind of.

Orion aggressively defends Scott’s claim yet again. He looked like he was gonna deck Clark when he suggested Scott was not fit. I’m talking bolded, italicized and pt.18 font text when he first suggested it. "WHAT?" He "begrudgingly" admits Scott's not "currently" fit. But still declines that position for himself.

And the two of them discussing the fate of their people like this almost harkens back to '86 with the co-ruling.

This story is weird, with the worst interpretation of the Anti-Life Equation I've seen. And I'd argue both are ooc in general, but even in this slopy story there is no succession crisis. and they are working together:

(lol at his face here. The bois are trying to discuss their family business and clark is just standing there gobsmaked. rude tbh...)

And here is Orion saving his ass again for good measure:

I hit my picture limit, but Scott goes on to try to kill Orion and Clark later in this series.

Up to this point. Orion might have shoved Scott once or twice in weird circumstances but Scott was the only one who seemed to actually make an actual attempt on his life. Which is why the post reboot characterization is so freaking weird to me.

Tom Kings MM (2017)

(This is where it officially falls apart)

Cliché toxic masculinity abusive stepbrother who exists only to make Scott an even bigger victim. Steals the throne, is weirdly aggressive and abusive for no fucking reason. Tries to kill him in jealousy, etc, etc.

And unfortunately this has seemingly become Orion's standard characterization in the minds of most fans.

(Now, in those post-n52 reboot GL books (sorry tbh I don't feel like tracking them down rn) he's not AS bad as he was in the WW and Tom King MM, but he's still portrayed as being far less intelligent and articulate for some reason??? The idea that he's the dumb jock of the NG and not basically a warrior poet. It's better to go more himbo than violent monster I guess but it's still a far cry from his proper characterization.) I wonder if it had to do with his awful portrayal in that Wonder Woman run??? Idk.

... Jack Kirby didn't deserve this.

DCeased(?)

Ripping off Tom king directly. I'm not just saying that since I don't like the characterization. I'm saying this because they ripped this stupid fucking scene off beat-for-beat, Seriously, Tom King should sue this dude for plagiarism.

And like a game of telephone their characters keep getting mangled more and more. This is the writing equivalent of a bad photo copy of a bad photocopy.

I just gotta pray it stops here and we can get back to a normal dynamic for these two again. But this story's existence doesn't bode well.

MM (2021)

Orion and Shilo seem to be on good terms! He still doesn’t speak right but it’s still an improvement!

Buuuut, no relationship or character interaction with Scott and Barda's daughter at all??? Like that's the main antagonist (for some fucking reason) and they just say nothing to each other? ok sure why not at this point.

Like that's High Father's granddaughter!

Highfather is probably the cornerstone of Orion's identity. Even if you don't consider Scott and Orion to be brothers, she's still his family through HF.

Anyway, I just wanted to add at the end here that I find some of the fans (and writer's) continuous characterization of Scott as the loser wife guy and a massive victim all the time, and Orion the violent psycho, who is power-hungry and ambitious is lame and sucks.

And just to be a little biased. I think the dynamic from 50 years ago is better and more relevant to people today than the MM '17 version.

Think about it. There are more blended and mixed families than ever. Awkward and somewhat distant step-brother is so much more compelling and interesting than the chirst vs. anti-christ thing they keep doing.

“What Is It They’ve Sent Us?” “Hope.”

Barda '24

This book seems to be getting us back on track from what I've been able to see so far! I've been unable to get my hands on it yet but everything I've seen and heard about it is really exciting for me as a fan. I'm both excited and fearful to see what comes next!!!

[hexedwinchester]

Supernatural S02E22 All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2

hmmm.. so Dean drinks straight outta the bottle, is angry and refuses to accept Sam's death. The look on Bobby's face translates to: I've seen this with John after Mary died. Don't you follow his footsteps.

I've seen a lot of posts that interpret Dean's monologue to Sam's dead body as creepy or cringey but to be honest it seems very normal. People tend to have eulogies during funerals but see with Sam and Dean, they don't have big families or friends to gather around for these things. It's always been just Sam and Dean, not even much of Bobby. So Dean talking to Sam's dead body is just that: a eulogy

It always bothered me why John or Dean didn't get ten years like the way demon deals go. Because they needed a righteous man to shed blood in Hell to break the first seal. Now assuming John spent at least ten months (so a century in Hell's time) in Hell and he didn't break. So the demon who made the deal gave Dean only a year. Now remember, Sam also tries to make a deal after Dean dies in S3 but not one demon is ready to do that. This bothered me too but of course later we find out he is supposed to be Lucifer's vessel. Ain't no way any demon is dumb enough to make that deal. Interestingly, this demon is also reluctant to make this deal with Dean. She says "she could be in a lot of trouble for this." Maybe she heard whispers about Dean being Michael's vessel? Not sure about this, it's just my speculation.

the horror on Bobby's face seeing Sam up and around. Bobby itching to give Dean a earful. Go Bobby! Knock some sense into that idjit

now see, I already didn't like Jake because he killed an unarmed Sam, stabbing him in the back like a coward but the fact that he decided to follow YED's end of the world plan for money? Really, Jake? So low? Imagine this guy being Lucifer's vessel.. the world would collapse instantly!!

Morals thrown outside the window but Sam emptying that entire clip in Jake was so satisfying!!

Interesting that demons can't resurrect people without a deal. Sounds like YED wanted Sam alive. Again for obvious reasons (I don't remember though if YED knows about Sam being Lucifer's vessel)

That shot at YED is so cinematic!! I still feel Sam should have gotten to end him. He killed Mary and Jess and John. But well!

We got work to do!

[elfieafterdark]

So, John's grand strategy has been revealed... At least on the surface. We allegedly know why he wanted new Lyctors, why he wanted to increase their number.

He hoped to fight the beasts.

I'm sure seeing 1 and 1/2 new children is a eulogy to his instrumental failure. He meant for eight and got less than two.

With one of those killing Cytherea herself. So all in all he's up half a Lyctor. Not a great plan, shithead.

I'll be quite plain, I don't like John Gaius. He strikes me as a kindly man who makes all the wrong decisions for all the wrong reasons.

His Empire is crumbling while he tries to expand it, the revenants of actual planets want to eat him and his friends.

He, willingly or not, led approximately 16 people to their deaths. He isolated his immortal friends from himself and each other, he made them pay the ultimate price. I think Cytherea was never the same after she lost Loveday, and none of her "siblings" noticed.

They were too busy being pretentious dicks, I imagine it would be a side effect of hanging out with a man who calls himself God. Which he knows is a sin by the way. I'm sure he does.

So his plan was to bolster his numbers by at most eight, then fight things that have caused the deaths of and or killed all but three Lyctors, far older and more experienced than the infants?

Folly. Stupidity.

Let's be fair, they can't win against the Resurrection beasts. Not in a fair fight. John has doomed everyone, he's doomed the entire universe because of his arrogance.

I don't like God on a good day, let alone when he's an admittedly quite likeable buffoon.

[tabithatwo]

i humbly request some of your jackienat thoughts at this time

I am humbly providing many many days after you asked!

Jackienat in canon: god I’ve talked about them at length before but there two as individuals are my little sweetie snookums lovebug angels (I love all the yellowjackets but god god god I love them); they are the two girls who I believe are the most invested in the team as a whole. I think they would’ve been amazing co-captains side note (not me suddenly considering writing a short little au something about them being captains together GOD). I think that it’s been said very well by many people, but they are so tethered. They want what’s best for all the girls, they love hard, and they do NOT get that energy in return enough. I don’t really understand why people come to the conclusion that they hated each other. I DEFINITELY don’t get why people come to the conclusion that they hated each other PRE crash, because there’s nothing negative show between them when we DO see other girls be bitchy to Nat and make fun of Jackie’s earnestness, but it’s never these two against each other. Nat is very vocally anti freeze her out, everyone knows innately that Jackie would be without even asking. I’ve spoken about their fight at length before, so without getting too far into that I will just say I think the way it escalates and gets so emotional and personal is very very telling. I don’t think they’ve fought before, Nat is clearly more emotional than when the other girls are cruel to her which I think means she didn’t expect it from Jackie, Nat hits back with a threat/fights back instead of brushing it off like she usually does. I think it’s fucking tragic that they fought and never got to reconcile, because they both are the type to hold guilt and sadness over that shit. Them teaming up at doomcoming against the crazy, the way Jackie would’ve lived if Nat were home for her and Shauna’s fight, the eulogy Nat gives Jackie when she takes her bones to the plane. They are just tragic and beautiful and we’re robbed of the chance to be truly close friends, because I really do think that’s the trajectory they were on.

Jackienat platonically: oh GOD do I love them. I can’t wait to explore their dynamic in we practice resurrection every night. I talked a lot about how I think they’d be close above but I also heavily hc that jackienat and shaunalottie each made out at least one party in high school respectively. They are so special to me. Sweet girls with huge hearts and very curated protective exteriors beloved beloved beloved.

Jackienat romantically: I love it so much. I am a jackieshauna and lottienat at heart (clearly lmao) but I LOVE them as a stop on the way to those endgames. I think they’d be surprisingly soft and sweet as a pairing and I think that they’d be able to help each other through the ummmm tougher times of shauna and lottie’s less than ideal behaviors lol. (I LOVE BOTH SHAUNA AND LOTTIE DEEPLY but they have some very rough tendencies that would be hard as their partner and I think some commitment issues/stumbling blocks to get to a healthy (healthy for yj) relationship status, just objectively lmao). Jackienat is hot and fun and kind and loving and the type of young dyke relationship that leads to really close lifelong friendship no one can ever change my mind on that <3 they should kiss <3

[anastasiasyah]

Oh, time was so cruel it united us then tore us apart. It baptized us with the torment of living and cradled us to the eternal sleep.

— "Afterlife" from A Eulogy of Resurrection by anastasiasyah

[kuugetsu]

@suzukiblu

Cassie and Tim described remembering him like holding onto a dream. They remembered the major parts of their lives together. But that the little details slipped away.

They remembered founding the team, but they couldn’t remember his favorite show or color. To his horror he learned they didn’t even remember Greta or Anita. Erased by the capricious nature of this universe.

Clark in comparison was a blank slate. He had looked at his S and apologized profusely that he couldn’t remember him. Like he should have been immune to some mad men rewriting the universe.

“W-What was I to you?” He asked tentatively. His child—not Chris—not Cir-El—but a new one slept unaware in his lap. He should probably take it as a good sign that he trusted him. Or at the very least trusted Tim’s opinion of him.

That was a hard question.

Summarizing their relationship was difficult. His adopted sorta brother turned biological father had always been difficult to to describe. Kara, Chris…even Mae and Linda—another pair of casualties erased from this world had always been closer to him. Clark had tried more when he resurrected. He had even read his eulogy of him.

“Losing him felt like I lost a son.”

Even in death, Clark still put walls up in their relationship. When he was resurrected, Pa’s death had been too fresh. Like he was betraying his memory by asking him. And then this stupid universe reset without him.

But in this world he didn’t have Pa or Ma. They had died when this Superman graduated high school. He had googled that before he visited. He didn’t have anyone but the man before him. Who couldn’t even remember him like the rest of this dammed universe.

“Conner?”

Everything was gone. He was just a extra puzzle piece that didn’t belong in the box. And he was just supposed to take it?

Fuck that and fuck this universe. If it won’t give him what he had. He’ll take what he wanted.

“You were my dad.”

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 110

Oh no. Sam's in the mask again. He's a cat ... gods help us ... fuck ... the cat's in HEAT?!!! Suddenly Robbie is VERY AFRAID ... O.O ... a litter? It's getting worse ... who else is this? they're trouble, clearly ... Ashley: "Why are you doing this?" Sam Cat: "I think you know the answer. I'm a cat." Oh boy ...

Ah! Blood vomit! Always a nice place to start ...

Dad jokes ... great ... don't encourage him ...

Oh yeah ... Laudna's just letting it AAAAAAAALLLL hang out ... XD ... not that Imogen minds, I'm sure ...

Ahhhh ... the "Suck List" ... yeah ...

Yeah, it's so good to hear that Laudna truly is now entirely FREE of the curse that was that heinous bitch.

Ashton: "How WAS the Gwar concert?" Laudna: "Front row seats!"

Skyships! Ooooooooh ... what memories this brings back ... it's a little maudlin in a nostaglic way, if I'm honest.

Random D20 roll? "For the hell of it"? WHY, Matthew? Don't toy with our nerves this way ... 13? Hmmmm ... I hope that's good ...

A Message to Keyleth ... Allura's at the Platinum Sactuary? Okay, then ...

Awwww, Imogen ... SHENANIGANS!!! LOL

What ... try Speak With the Dead on the Titan? O.O ... not sure THAT would be the smartest idea ...

The Communal Death God Mask ... hmmmm ...

Imogen sends a Message to Liliana? Interesting ... I wonder how THIS is gonna go ... "I love you ... and I trust you ..." Okay ... A RESPONSE!!! Phew ... sounds like she's in a very fraught place ... trying her best but VERy alone in her resistance right now ...

To the Platinum Sactuary, then ... and EVERYBODY is tense ... the mood is ... fractious ... preparations for the coming battles ...busy busy busy ...

Oh, who's this? HOLY SHIT!!! Captain Xandis! Oh my god you sweet tiefling! Yay! I'm sorry ... Keybane? He has A TITLE now? Oh, that's cool ... Oh my, it sounds like he had quite the adventure ... but he lucked out, clearly ... a new ship? The Key Breaker! Cool ...

Yes, they have indeed been to the Moon!

Oh yeah, Xandis is definitely still VERY DUTCH. XD ... I love it.

Naming the Titan's butthole ... yeah ... LOL

Ah ... yeah ... FCG ... that's right, he doesn't know ... kind words, though. That's sweet.

"Smiley day" indeed ... :3

A temple of Asmodeus? Oh no, I really don't think there would be, no ... but yes, Fearne's got a point, might be a good idea to get the opinion of at least ONE Betrayer god ...

The thread! That's right, Dorian touched a thread! That's gotta have some bearing right there, that ...

Oh ... yeah ... Opal ...

Goodbyes? Yeah ... I mean, of course ... Orym has a point ... wht they're going into, there's no guaranteeing everybody's gonna make it through this ...

Preemptive eulogies? Intriguing idea ...

More jokes about the Titan's browneye ...

Allura! Hi!

Summoning Coriolis ... yeah ...

Wait ... CAN Braius speak to horses? Oh, so ... Speak With Animals? Hmmmm ... WHY does Matt make this fancy sky horse seem SO unsettlingly creepy like the more ODD horses do? And yeah ... OF COURSE that didn't work, Braius you DUMBASS ... LOL

So yeah ... WITH LUCK the Unseelie won't be an issue ...

I love how even now, after all these years, Allura's STILL the mom friend. XD ... it's so very reliable of her ... and she's so NOSTANGLIC too ... but then she has been the common thread throughout ALL THREE campaigns now ...

The state of play ... yeah ... O.O

So we all need to move SOON, then ... so not much time left for shenanigans ... hmmmmmm ...

THE MIGHTY NEIN?!!! Oh boy ... O.O

Making solid plans, then ... okay ...

Ah yeah, the classic Bag of Holding ... oooooooh! Goodies! Potions, lovely ... yeah, always good to have some Healing Potions to hand ...

Is Chetney really trying to EXTORT ALLURA FUCKING VYSORAN for cash? Yeah, no GEMS is what you need, dumbass! Diamonds and such! Stones! Maybe even one or two that COULD come in useful for Resurrections ...

Flamespeaker Cerkonus? Hmmmm ...

Oh gods ... slipping into New York New York ... did Matt do that on purpose just to trap them?

Yes. Go shopping for BIG diamonds ... that's exactly what the doctor ordered, folks. Get on that shit ...

Team Purchase and Team Titan? Cute ...

Where's Rome? I wasn't aware of any Exandrian city of THAT name, Chetney ...

So CHETNEY'S the big miser of this party, then ... I shoulc have known ...

Dorian casts Charm Peron on Chetney? Oh boy ... THIS is gonna be fun ... NICE. XD ... oh yeah, this is already adorable ... Dorian, you're a genius ... and now Chetney's being unusually GENEROUS ...

Team Shopping, then ... a Perception check? Why, Matthew? O.O ... oh gods ... that's not good ... are they already cleaned out? That's problematic ...

Cidrick's Shines & Keepsakes? Interesting ... why does Cidrick remind me of "Beardo" the tailor in Deapool & Wolverine? He's out? Hmmm ... oh, Braius is onto him ... YEAH, I figured as much ... his "bling"? Hmmmmm ...

PERFECT assist there, Chetney ... XD

"Weird forgery machinery"? Oh boy ...

Brewing supplies ... oh, does he make potions too? Yeah, definitely sounds like it ... anything else they can find that might be useful here?

More Whispers? Hmmmmmmm ...

SPICE?!!! Seriously? Come on, guys ...

Wow ... 200 gold for the half batch, then ... CHETNEY BUYS DRUGS ... great rolemodelling there, Travis! XD

Yeah, definitely sounds like Cidrick's dead and that guy was TOTALLY selling all his stuff ... O.O

Dorian's off on his own, just drinking it all in ... By Popular Demand? Hmmmmm ... oh, so he's doing the wandering minstrel thing ... awwww ... :3

Oh my gods DORIAN IS SINGING THE BALLADS OF BELLS HELLS!!! That's so sweet ... :3

Wow ... this particular piece of background music is SO FUCKING UNBELIEVABLY WELL TIMED!!! O.O

You'e a hell of a bard, Dorian ...

Here we are, then ... the Titan ...

Honestly, it sounds like quite a homely place actually, up close ... I could get used to a place like this ... and THIS is where we take a break? Okay, then ...

So ... a strange kinship for Ashton ... sounds about right ...

Laudna ... you KNOW you don't have a way with kids ...

The Shanks Cantina? Is THAT what the arse tavern's called? Oh, MORE Whispers ... hmmm ...

A toll? Oh they have NO IDEA who they're messing with ... oh here we go ... Laudna pulls a Beetlejuice on them ... XD ... yeah, I saw that coming ...

Oh my fucking gods, this is gonna be a LONG CLIMB, you sure you guys are up to it?

Yeah ... okay, this place is starting to seem a bit more ... ramshackle, maybe, now we're seeing it up close ... hmmm ... yeah, as I thought, it's definitely a rougher neighbourhood here ... but then I guess these are definitely more OUR people, so ...

Somethings inherently FAMILIAR here then, Ashton? Interesting ...

Oh, wow .. little pockets of genuine natural BEAUTY scattered throughout ... that's quite poetic ...

Abjuration wards ... oh, so they're about KEEPING this big buggar nice and fully DEAD ... yeah ...

Big open space? Oh, here we go ...

Laudna full-on Spiderclimbs onto the ceiling looking for a geode or too ... ooh, that's some pretty rubbish treasure-hunting there, Dead Girl.

So here, in the Heart, is better for what they want? Okay then ... settling in for a bit, with a fire ...

Ashton tries "feeling his way" into the ground without thinking about it too much ... and his hand is SINKING IN now ... okay ... oh, now his WHOLE ARM'S in this thing ... this is getting a bit trippy ...

Oh, full titan form? All right then ... in he goes, then ...

Interesting ... so he's NOT ACTUALLY DOING THIS, it just FEELS LIKE he is ... that's kind of FASCINATING ... boy's on like some weird elemental vision quest ...

Whoa ... so the Titan IS still kind of in there with him? O.O

And now he's talking with it ... okay ... so it's not just ONE entity, then ... more like some weird elemental hivemind ... hmmmm ...

"Lost"? Oh man ... this doesn't sound too promising ...

He's being crushed by a humongous fist ... great ... oh ... okay, this is has some potential ... "We are lost ... you are NOT ..." Interesting ...

Memories? Oh ... that's good, right?

Ashton: "Not broken, just ... in motion." Hmmmm ...

The Titan: "Remake yourself. Never ... stop ... changing ..."

And now he's awake again ... okay ...

"A talk with Exandria"? Trippy shit ... Laudna: "Exandria's a SHE?!!! I knew it!"

Trust Ashley to make it sound vaguely sexual ... XD

Go to Shank's? Okay, then ... a drink would be good ...

Shank's is a tiny dive bar ... OF COURSE it is ... this asshole is very tight, clearly ... XD

Laudna gets an impatient head-call from Imogen ... oh, that's embarrassing ... but also kind of adorable ...

Oh my gods the booze sounds AWFUL ... holy shit, that's gotta be the worst moonshine I've ever heard of ... 2 bottles? 2 and a half gold? Hmmmmm ...

Okay, Fearne's trying to negotiate ... if anybody could it's her ... maybe you should flirt with him, Calloway ...

5 silver and he has them all sign the wall? Weird ...

Matthew Mercer you have a filthy mind ...

Meeting up at the Silver Talon's Reach, then ... so a Short Rest and some fine crafting from Chetney and Braius while they wait ...

Braius: "Did you just have sex with somebody?" Dorian: "I had MUSICAL sex!"

Prime crystal magic materials, then ... nice ...

Kryn Dynasty soldiers? Interesting ... what's this about, then? Oh ... a female golblin? Hmmmmm ... she sounds very fancy and venerable ... must be a big deal, whoever she is ... oh yeah, this is definitely for us, then ...

A gift from the Dynasty? Okay then ... oh, so Chetney's the LEADER now, is he? Imogen audibly scoffs, as she should ...

Crystal vials? Hmmmm ... and an orb ... okay ...

Identify, then ... go for it, Fearne ...

2 Potions of Possibility and ... ooooooh, a card! So the sphere is something FANCY ... Sphere of Dunamantic Restoration? Cool ... so it's like a dunamis grenade, then ...

Allura again ... sweet ... oh ... potential goodbyes, then? Oof ... give the old girl a hug, guys! :3

Leeta? Cool! And Maeve! Also cool. Yes, nice, reunions then. And Orym catches up with home ...

Oh! Going through a tree, then? Yeah, smart ... oh yeah, Fearne's gonna have to learn THAT trick sometime ...

Dense forest, a bit warmer ... yup ... back at the lake, then ...

So, preparations have been made, meanwhile the others are on the way ... okay ... time to wait, then ...

Laudna hunts for Ropey ... :3

The boat! And the rope! Yay!

Orym's family really are the best, at least HE got to have the right homelife growing up. He deserves ALL THE HUGS ...

Now he gets Imogen to send him mum a Message ... awwww ... and she sends one right back. Yay! Pie heals all wounds, I swear ... :3

Orym: "Imogen Temult, I appreciate you." Imogen: "I appreciate you too, Orym."

And finally Imogen sends one to her father ... oh man ...

Yay! Butthole booze!

Braius pulls Dorian away for a private talk ... ah, advice, yes ... set this idiot straight, Dorian. PLEASE ... and WOW ... what advice it is ... O.O ... yeah ... IS Braius being honest right now or is he just twisting Dorian right round his little finger? He's too good a liar, we just can't tell ...

Yes, that's the trick. Dorian's got it ... Braius needs to learn it's "US", not him and "them" ...

Oh yeah ... yeah, it'll use up another spell slot, but Imogen and Laudna SHOULD say goodbye to Zhudanna ... which will PROBABLY give the old girl a heart attack ... oh boy ... yeah, maybe not, then ... O.O

Ashton makes up with Dorian ... which he maybe doesn't really NEED to do ... hmmmm ... I mean Blue Boy's pretty chill, after all ... and now they're discussing Opal ... oh boy ... just rip my guts out, why don't you ...

Oh! New arrivals? Hmmmm ... is this good or bad?

There's SEVEN of them ... okay ... cue chaos as they try to work out how they're going to greet them ... wow ... they're really not very good at this ... you're all such dorks, I love it ... XD

Oh wow ... so Matt's having THEM tell what the Nein see? Cool ... and we hear them all doing the original voices ... NICE ... oh wow! Nott's back! Sweet!

Fuck, I am in HEAVEN right now ... :3

Holy shit ... Fearne meeting Jester is THE BEST THING to have happened so far this campaign, I swear ... LOL

Matt's busy geeking out when he calls it a night and I can't balem him ... the next episode's going to be a FUCKING TRIP, I swear ...

[2nd-mushroom-circle]

just watched a production of much ado where verges was dogberry’s sock puppet. highlights include:

- verges sneaking up and startling the Watch on his lines

- dogberry frequently shushing the sock puppet, who was much louder than him

- making the last point funnier, dogberry was very obviously the one speaking for all their lines. no attempt at ventriloquism

- dogberry, about his sock puppet: “an old man, sir, and his wits are not so blunt as, god help, i would desire they were, but in faith, honest as the skin between his brows” leonato: … sure.

- ursula just. stared at them for a second. when she came to call leonato in to the wedding

- in the trial scene, verges wore a little judge’s wig. no one else, including the judge, wore a wig

- when he called Dogberry an ass, conrad ripped the sock puppet off his hand

- the “i am a wise fellow, and what is more an officer” speech morphed into a eulogy for the verges puppet (“and one that hath had losses!”)

- the puppet was resurrected by the end of the scene

- don pedro: “constable -” dogberry, whispering: “constables. two of us”

- when leonato thanked them at the end of the play, and says “there’s for thy pains,” he tied his handkerchief around verges like a babushka

also bonus:

- borachio being so drunk he started acting as one of the watchmen and shepherding conrad around

[pigswithwings]

trick or- heugh. HACK. COUGH. COUGH... staggers forwards, bleh. X_X

You Received: 1 Funeral, 4 Bouquets, 2 Eulogies (1 Tearful, 1 Sullen), 19 Relatives Fighting Over Your Last Will and Testament, 1 Resurrection (Failed), 1 Resurrection (Successful), 1 Resurrection (Wait Fuck There's Your Skeleton and Your Ghost Form Now What the Fuck)

[agracefulfall]

Funeral in my Brain

A series of little childhood griefs and their eulogies.

"And then a Plank in Reason, broke, and I dropped down, and down — and hit a World, at every plunge, and Finished knowing — then."

1. Touch. 2. Memory. 3. Body. 4. Identity.

---------

Liquid Love

A series of recovered passenger gems and little resurrections.

"I'm taking back all the pieces of me that were taken unwillingly. Offering myself up to the heavens. I'm ready to love what I've been given."

1. Heart. 2. Movement. 3. Dreams.

[theloverstomb]

In their foundational 1896 research paper, "A Study of Dolls," A. Caswell Ellis and G. Stanley Hall describe how one doll player seriously remembers her doll's burial as a "melancholy procession" complete with a "touching eulogy," after which they lay the doll to rest "beside the late rooster." As in Dromgoole's poem and in Gatty's story, dolls often manage to find their way back to the living. One doll player confides, "We read a chapter in the Bible, said a prayer and buried the doll in a box. I went into the house crying and could not be comforted but dug her up in an hour or two." This habit of resurrecting dead dolls leads in at least one case to a rebirth into new identity: "We had a regular graveyard at the end of the garden where we buried pets and dolls. When dolly had lain there a few days we dug her up and played she was a new baby." The doll players often grieve, and deeply so, but they may also choose to cut short their mourning at any time.

Brianna Beehler, from her essay “Charlotte Brontë's Paper Dolls”

[itsdablazewolf]

If the universe permitted, I would give you a long overdue hug. It’d be one tight squeeze for all the laughs you gave. I’d tell you that you mattered in this world and that your friends and I would do anything to have you back. Unfortunately, resurrection spells aren’t a reality. And we are back to where we are, reminiscing the dazzling colors left by a bright flash of light.

Rest easy, Raiizn. I’ll see your light in the stars of the night.

Except from a eulogy I wrote for a good friend.

[taiblogcomics]

Taking the "Fun" Back Out of Funeral

Hey there, knit caps. Are ya ready for some more dang-ass Countdown? Lemme tell ya, as bad as this comic is, at least it won't scare someone's dog or set off someone's PTSD, unlike other things you could be doing tonight~

Here's the cover:

Okay, the costumes I understand, secret identities are a thing, even among the cape crowd themselves. But, like, Mia, did you have to bring your bow to the funeral? Like, unless you and the other archer heroes are doing some variety of 21 gun salute, you coulda left it in the car or at home or whatever. Or even just put it over your shoulder, it doesn't need to be in your hand right now. Like, everything else about this cover is pretty good, it's moody, it's framed well. But Speedy having her bow out just strikes me as so dumb in, I dunno. Did they think we wouldn't recognise her without it? Is Mia Dearden the DC equivalent of Tony Hawk~?

So, the recap. Former Teen Titan Duela Dent is murdered by a Monitor, and former Titans Donna Troy and Jason Todd are investigating it. Future Titans auditionee Jimmy Olsen is developing superpowers. Mary Marvel, related to Titans member Captain Marvel Jr, also got new superpowers. Holly Robinson, no relation to the Titans, is in an Amazon women's shelter. Karate Kid, who knows someone from Saturn's moon Titan, is in the past for mysterious reasons. And Trickster and Pied Piper, participants in murder of Teen Titans member Kid Flash, are on the run. We join our heroes at Kid Flash's funeral, already in progress.

So we open with Jimmy Olsen narrating about Keystone City and how much they love the Flash. Like, Metropolis is very fond of Superman, and the relationship between Batman and Gotham is contentious at best (and toxic at worst). But Keystone flipping loves the Flash. There's a whole Flash Museum, if you didn't know. But it's closed today, in favour of all the Flash-themed bars. Because their beloved hero has died. It's only, like, the third time this has happened! You'd think they'd be used to this after Wally, if not Barry. Just saying, this happens to the Flash a lot.

Jimmy's here in a role of official photographer, and he's not having a great time at this, the funeral for a fun-loving aged-up kid. Anyway, Jay Garrick, the golden-age Flash (too often the last Flash left), starts the proceedings. He introduces everyone to Bart Allen's secret identity, since he figures everyone deserves to know the name of the guy who was protecting their fair city. Bart, in case you didn't know or couldn't tell, is also the grandson of Barry Allen, who's still referred to as the Greatest Flash Ever. Geez, and they haven't even resurrected him yet. Give it a year, guys~

So while Jay continues eulogising, we cut over to Jason Todd, Donna Troy, and their Monitor pal. He thinks this is a waste of their time, and I hate to tell you, pal, but this whole series is a waste of time. This might be one of the better issues, in fact. And while he thinks this is a waste of time, Jason thinks his whole proposal to run off and start another tie-in miniseries to go searching the multiverse for Ray Palmer is also a waste of time. Donna tells them both to shut up, since she was actually a Teen Titan herself and wants to pay respects to Bart.

Cyborg comes up to eulogise next, and really, I invite you to read these yourself. Coz it's just a lot of nice things being said about Bart, who was always one of my favourite characters. Whether in his solo series or in Young Justice as Impulse, or in the Teen Titans as Kid Flash. Even the 13 issues they let him be the Flash to lead up to this were… Well, something, to be sure. Anyways, after Cyborg is Wonder Girl/Cassie Sandsmark, and she takes an unusual tack during her eulogy by vowing Bart's murderers will rot in hell. I tell you, no one vowed someone would rot in hell at my grandma's funeral.

So this declaration gets a couple folks in the crowd spooked. In the stupidest possible decision, Pied Piper and Trickster are actually in attendance at the funeral. Guilt, I guess! After Cassie's big rant, the pair of them leave in a hurry, figuring it was dumb to even come. Best they can do is hope some world-ending event makes everyone forget about this. And, I mean, technically that is what happened! After Final Crisis happened, everyone immediately forgot about Countdown--including the writers, even though this series was meant to be leading up to that one~

Piper and Trickster make their exit, but not cleanly enough. Once out in the parking lot, before the pair can go their separate ways, they're ambushed. But not by any of the heroes attending the funeral, including Jay Garrick, who distinctly shoots them a dirty look as they hastily exit. No, who shows up to stop them is C-list Firestorm foe Multiplex. Given his other associate, Deadshot, I'm guessing he was a member of the Suicide Squad at the time. The pair of them take out Trickster and Piper, with Deadshot declaring them to be the dumbest criminals he's ever seen. Yeah, no arguments from me, pal.

We eat up a couple pages still talking about Monarch and Forerunner, who need to move onto their own spinoff where we can really not care about them. Then we join Holly Robinson in her storyline. Athena shows her the amenities, which Holly makes snarky remarks about, but helps herself to regardless. Later on, while she's relaxing in one of those single-seater spa pools, another girl brings her some tea. She tries to shoot the breeze, but Holly blows her off, not interested in building comraderie through shared trauma. But then the other girl remembers to introduce herself. Her name's Harleen Quinzel. Yeah, she's in this too~

Back at the Flash Funeral, we've got Tim Drake giving a eulogy now. I wouldn't want to be the one following Cassie's "rot in hell" speech, but here we are. I kid, but this must really suck for Tim, coz Connor Kent/Superboy just died back in Infinite Crisis, and now he's the only original Young Justice member left. In fact, speaking of, he recalls "the last time it was this bad", a day when something bad happened to Donna. And if you know anything about DC Comics, especially Titans storylines, he's talking about Graduation Day, a comic only better than this series because it was shorter.

Anyways, right around the time the 2003 Titans started up, Bart had just heard of video wills. He had one made eventually, and the Titans have agreed that the whole people of Keystone deserve to see it. In the video, Bart's just recovered from being shot by Deathstroke, which was the first time he'd ever really confronted his mortality, and was the genesis for advancing his identity from Impulse to Kid Flash. And he's also reflecting on the Graduation Day incident. So he's ready to give this Titans thing his most serious try. And he'll be lucky if he goes out even half as cool as his grandpa Barry. Alas, Bart, you were not so lucky.

So while the video will is playing, Jimmy notices something odd about up in the rafters and goes to take a look. But Jason, Donna, and their Monitor fly away before he can get up the fire escape. Jimmy resolves to try and be a hero like Bart, now that he has powers. Meanwhile, the reason why they flew off so quickly is that both Jason and somehow the Monitor are being immature jackasses to each other, so Donna flew them away to straighten them out. Get ready for this to continue to be a recurring theme. So they resolve to finally go looking for Ray Palmer, who will solve all their problems for sure. And the comic ends on another page of Monarch and Forerunner that I just don't care about. Go be in your own spinoff already! I know you have one!

I'll be honest, this is actually one of the better issues of Countdown. Which is sad, because it's still dead depressing. Like, the main parts are well-written, and the sucky bits are all the things that tie it to the greater story of Countdown (Holly Robinson, Jason and Donna, Monarch). But I still think it sucks that they killed off Bart Allen for this storyline. (Both Bart and Superboy would return in the aftermath of Final Crisis, so they didn't even stay dead that long.) Like, if I haven't ranted to you enough already in stuff like Heroes in Crisis about how often DC loves to kill off members of the Teen TItans, here's another reminder. What a load.

And you know what, even though he didn't technically die in this series, I'm putting Bart on the list with Duela, Lightray, and Sleez, because his death was the direct result of Countdown and its plotlines. His funeral's in this series, so it's as good as.