#abomination vault

[charalysis]

Darksiders: Strife

As a third entry into my Darksiders series, let's discuss Strife!

Of the Four, so far, he's the one we know the least about, even with the inclusion of the book and comics as a source. What we do know, however, is that he's the funny one of the gang. He's snarky and cracking jokes, with some snark sprinkled in. He's essentially the rogue of the group, using ranged weapons (ie guns), as well as daggers for melee if needed.

Strife has also been shown to be a bit temperamental, following Fury in quickness of frustration. He's also straight to the point when he has to be and can even be rude. His rudeness and brashness is particularly noticed when interacting with Death in Abomination Vault, in which he points a gun at Death.

Its not the first time he's threatened his brother's either, having threatened to shoot War to death if he didn't calm down after a rampage, resulting in War's arm being cut off.

And finally, Strife is shown to be the most empathetic of the Four. He feels immense remorse for killing his fellow Nephalem, and he cares a great deal for humanity, wanting them saved and Fury to see them as more than what does at first.

Strife's certainly the most emotionally expressive of the Four, which balances out when paired with the brother he's closest to, War. The two often butt heads, especially around the Council and Nephalem, but they help each other very well. Strife listens to War's more thought out advice and Strife helps War learn to joke and relax a little.

He expresses grief and remorse far more often and easier than the others as well, finding the fact that their people were killed by their hands very distressing. It even angers him when War seems dismissive or detached about it. Connection and community actually seem to mean something to him, especially given he chooses to hide amongst humans on Earth.

He seems to have a great respect, even love for mankind, defending them to Fury (as Jones) and living amongst them in Ulthane's tree. He cares for them and wants them to survive the apocalypse deeply.

He may also be the most introspective of the Four.

War doesn't see passed his singular goal of preserving the Balance easily and needs significant guidance to see truths. He almost tries to not see the truth at times.

Fury is egotistical and hot headed, refusing to see her flaws and faults until she's been significantly beaten down. She's blind to her own fragility and weakness.

And Death, whos relationship with Strife I want to inspect more of here, can't see outside himself, his feelings, and how he wants to run things. Death can't conceptualize the future either, too lost in his past and grief.

Strife looks at himself to see where he's messed up and he acknowledges it. He tries to be better than he was and can recognize where he has to improve.

However, he can end up just as lost in the past as Death.

Like Death, he mourns their lost brethren. He regrets destroying them and he also regrets other deaths he caused. In Genesis, he finds an item in Mammon's Hoard that triggers what seems to be a panic response. We later learn the item is tied to his past and tells War there's a lot he's not told him about himself. Strife seems to be pretty impacted by his last, but is unwilling to share it, meaning its too difficult to bring up, or he's worried his brothers won't support him and help him. Its similar to Death's reaction to hearing about the discovery of the Grand Abominations and his need to handle things alone.

Strife also seems to hide these deeper feelings with humor, snark, and by amping up his personality to 100 so others just think he's an idiot or unaffected by things. His openness around War seems to be a product of their bond however, as War frequently tries his best to comfort Strife, specifically trying to reassure him that he isn't who he was and he can change for the better. Strife seems to take this to heart.

Also like Death, he wears a mask to hide himself. In Death's case, the symbolism of his mask his a bit different to Strife's, as Death's is a mask that helps him hide from others and keep him from being vulnerable. Death's mask is as much a piece of his past as the Nephalem.

Strife's mask covers a lot more of his head and face than Death's mask, and his armor completely covers his body too. We don't actually know even what Strife's skin color is. All we know is his eyes seem to be yellow based on the helmet's glow.

Strife's mask to me says, "You can't know me, I won't let you know me". It also shows a lack of trust in others, perhaps related to his past. And I genuinely believe he doesn't trust people. Perhaps he trusts War and Fury, but certainly not Death or the Council.

The Council is an obvious thing to mistrust, but Death... Death seems odd right? Well no.

Death has hidden a lot from his fellows and Strife is aware of that. Death has hidden world ending information from them for his own comfort and hasn't consulted his brothers about it, or even let them in on it so if shit comes up, they can be aware and not caught off guard. Death is also very prone to running off in his own without warning.

To Strife, its possible Death has proven himself to be a liar and very unreliable. His distaste for Death is further shown when Death is telling them to stay behind and let him handle the Abominations. He outright aims his gun at Death (despite knowing it'll do basically nothing) and threatens him and demands an explanation, one Death refuses to give.

Death and Strife are also pretty similar in their handling if grief and emotions. Bury it and hide behind a mask and snark/comedy. And so another reason Strife me be antagonistic with Death is he dislikes seeing the person he could be if he simply released his morals and was more self focused.

Strife genuinely seems to want Fury and War to grow as people, to be happy. And yet from what we have seen so far, he's not too interested in Death's personal growth or if Death is better.

Another thing to note is he seems to be the most progressive in terms of adaptability. This can be noted in his appearance and weapon use. Overall, Strife honestly looks a little out if place next to his armored, melee weapon brothers. He looks a bit more like he fits a bit into a stealth game set in the seminear future, rather than a hack and slash fantasy. Strife uses guns, much more modern weapons than that of a great sword, scythe, and whip. That's not yo say the weapons aren't as impressive as his brothers, oh no.

Mercy alone is fascinating, being a four-barrell, one handed shot gun with auto replenishing ammo (though the presence of shells on Strife's belts implies he can change ammo types).

Strife is also adept at using daggers, as we see in Genesis, though he does prefer his guns, seeming to prefer to maintain distance. From these things about his combat, and how dodgy he is around his past, we can infer Strife was possibly a scout at minimum, or an assassin, or possibly some kind of intelligence agent.

Overall, we know little canonically about Strife and his presentation in the canon is inconsistent at best. I hope to see a game focused on Strife in the future so we can better understand him.

[lorehellsing]

I recently acquired the Darksiders: The Abomination Vault book, and since my dear mother is interested in reading it, but she doesn't understand English and there's no Spanish edition, I'm translating it for her as a surprise gift.

I'm not a professional translator, but I'm doing my best so that she can enjoy this novel too. I hope she likes it 💜

[pandoras-proxy]

Just had to doodle Moira asking Ty to be her Valentine. ❤️

[warlordfelwinter]

give me the aux cable

[abominationvault]

Session Zero/Characters

We begin in Golarian, on the island of Kortos, The Starstone Isle; in a town called Otari.

Luna, Catfolk Hunter:

Sprocket, Poppet Summoner, and Augustus Clementine:

Joto'hiir, Catfolk Swashbuckler & all-around gentleman:

Hartvig, Fetchling Oracle:

Skabb, Goblin Witch, and Grabby-Cat:

Nadia, Half-elf Tiefling Gunslinger:

[peridarth]

Pathfinder night went well!

[skullsnpineapples]

People think ttrpgs are about epic quests for the fate of good and evil, but really they’re about realizing that you never planned for an undead party member which throws a wrench in all the healing feats you’ve invested in so mid battle you just have to frantically douse a pile of bones with oil and shake it like you’re dressing a salad so the bones will reconstitute into your party member and you hopefully won’t all die.

[proxis-shattered-expectations]

Darksiders Update!

Had a couple things going on such as my sister's wedding and other life changes, but just coming on and letting you guys know I'm alive and kicking...and finally got myself the abomination vault to officially read! IT WAS SO GOOD! Def solidifies my love for Darksiders, and especially after getting that teaser I am stoked to see what new stuff I can create. In the meantime, made a great display for the Horsemen pins and some pics with the book itself (photo quality is crappy, forgive)

Also have plenty of the Horsemen pins still available on my Ko-fi, feel free to check that out, the more I sell the more stuff I can make for this awesome fandom! Also for those that have bought the pins, feel free to Reblog and show me what/where you put the horsemen!

Proxi-Dreams Art Ko-fi shop

Been prepping for some local cons, but if you guys want to support, I have an Instagram for my official art stuff with all the latest updates. I just hit 500 followers there, so I am holding a Gievaway raffle, with the chance to win 1 DARKSIDERS PIN OF YOUR CHOICE or 25$ worth in stickers or prints! Go ahead and check it out to get a chance at a Free pin or merch!

Proxamina Instagram Giveaway

I'll still be here on Tumblr, no worries there, feel free to ask questions or dm me!

[sarsaparilla-star]

playing fallout 3 for the first time means oscillating between "this is a really fun game and is reminding me why i love fallout" and "this is the worst thing anybody has ever written"

[darkdemeter]

DARK FEATHERS TEASER 3

・@screechinginthevoid another little teaser for Dark Feathers, more centered around reader and Crowdad's relationship. A lot of hurt comfort and some angst in this and more so focused on Death in particular・

There again is that horrible feeling that swells in your chest. A dark and growing pit of utter anguish and betrayal. Your fingers close around the feather and pull it close to your heart, hoping that maybe, you can reach out to Dust. That you can find him and therefore, Death. 

You miss them. You need your Horsemen to save you. But they’re not here this time to do that. You find yourself back in that attic, huddled up with your books and graphic novels, dreaming of your adventurous escape away from a life you now consider distant and not yours.

Legs beginning to quiver, trembling from the loss of will to keep standing, you fight in vain to hold yourself strong. 

“You’re stronger than this,” you keep muttering yourself in a whispered mantra. “Be stronger than this. Be stronger… strong—stronger…”

The feather in your grasp bristles, a sudden death coming over it and like ashes of its remains, it disintegrates before your very eyes. Vivid and sharply cutting into and out of your vision, you see him. Tall pale standing alongside his steed, a hand clasped around the elongated hilt of harvester as it too stands beside him. 

Tears fall steadily down your cheeks and you cannot bring yourself to keep them caged any longer. Your chest feels as if it’s ready to burst from the onslaught of how much you want to scream.

Please… 

Please… come back to me…

Your chest feels as if it’s ready to burst from the onslaught of how much you want to scream.

Come back to me…

Please?

You want to scream out to him. As a mirror shatters into a thousand, useless shards, the vision is lost and the sound finally breaks free; but you’re too late. 

“PLEASE!”

Your breath becomes raggedly and tight in your lungs, forcing you to whimper and gasp aloud. Your strength is defeated yet again and you fall forward, catching yourself with the grazing of your palms against the ground. 

When you raise your head to stare upwards, the moon glowers at you with that similar pale and you want to scream out in anger, to curse it for taunting you so. The bellow of a frosty wind blows through, reminding you of him as you think you can smell the faintest catch of his scent. 

“Why… does everyone leave me behind like this?” 

“I never did,” says your father from behind. The croak of his octave evidently giving away just how tired he had become these past few centuries alone. Your head turns rapidly, a short gasp in your throat as you’re caught red-handed. 

But he doesn’t look down on you with that iron glare, reprimanding you in your grief. His gaze is soft to regard with sympathy, the way his long, ratty and white brows slope down and the creased wrinkle softening in his features. Despite his age, he bends down low and takes hold of your hand that you reach out towards him, only to reconsider and instead throw yourself at him to embrace him. 

His hands move to catch you and take hold, never once faltering and giving you a chance to think he’ll leave you. Not here, not now — not ever. 

“Hush,” he croones lowly as you begin to tremble, crying, “Hush now, my child… I’m here.”

To know that your father is here, right before your very eyes where you’re able to see, touch and know he’s really here is comforting enough. He banishes the horrors of your nightmares and of your sorrows. Just a little, he manages to make that void disappear and make you forget all but the time when it was just the two of you. There were no Horsemen, none of these… feelings that made your heart beat faster and your stomach turn and flutter. It was just you and your father, attending the quietness of the archives together as you learn all there is about inscribing and learning how to communicate with the crows. 

As his hand moves in slow strokes to run through your hair, he remembers the evenings where you would be face down in an opened tome, breath silent and peaceful and sound asleep. He’d brush the strays of your hair from your face, gentle as to not wake you. How lucky he was to have you as his heir; his darling child. How honoured he feels every waking moment when he hears your voice call him ‘Dad’ not as a formality, but because he is the father you needed in your life. Someone you could count on to protect you no matter what, to cheer you up and to assure you that all would be well. 

Your shuddering begins to wane and your cries grow quiet after sometime, reduced into a muted choir of sniffles and stuttered breaths. His hand continues to brush and comb through your hair with tender abandon, the act second nature to him by now. With a final prod that lifts a frame of hair out of your eyes, your gaze meets his and that warm, wrinkled smile. 

“I know you are young and still in love,” he begins, his hand held under your chin and thumb wiping a stray tear, “But never forget that first and most, I will be the one who loves you through. I am the one who will never turn on you.”

You pull yourself closer to him again and your hands hold tightly to him. He chuckles at this, noting just how badly you needed the closeness of someone you love; someone you can trust. 

And you do. Your father has never once turned his back on you. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t see it before, Dad.” Your sigh is remorseful. You’d been so consumed in the blindness of your love that you forgot that your father had been there all along. Watchful over you but silent, like a ghost in the background, awaiting only for when he saw that when all else failed you, you needed him to raise you back up. 

“Love is… dangerous in the way it causes such blindness. But despite the storm in your eyes, I knew that the blizzard would blow over soon and you would see me again.”

Your eyes momentarily meet and the ever faint glisten in his eyes is a secret. You don’t bring any notice to it, but you acknowledge that on the inside, he encounters a battle all his own as he too does battle with the amulet’s influence. But by bit, your father grows weary and a piece of his sanity is stolen. 

“I see you, Dad. You’re the one that’s here for me now.” 

There is a gnawing fear that he too will become lost to you, but with hope, you cling to him like nothing else in this life can keep you afloat. He tuts at you with a shake of his head, pulling you once more into his arms.

“I always shall be, child. Always.”

In the muffle of his cloaked robes, a smile befalls over your lips as you’re held close, so secure and safe. Not another thought turns back towards the shadow of your past whilst you’re here. Your father is all you need in the end. You see that now as he beckons you to follow with him, together you walk out of the aviary and bid the crows a farewell as they all filter out through the aviary’s top and into the realm’s night to scourge secrets.

You feel that the world is finally coming back into order. The world as you know it. The one where it’s just you and him. But like everything good in your life, it comes to a swift execution. Your father stumbles forward slightly and with a shocked gasp, caught unawares, you steep yourself to catch hold of him and to support him. 

“Dad,” you say, eyes tracing him worriedly but he only brushes off your concern with a forced, tired smile that reaches his eyes too harshly. The look of an elderly man who disintegrates before your eyes like the feather in your palms. 

“I am… fine.” His attempt to assure you does little to actually succeed but nevertheless, you help him back through the winding corridors, retreating inside the walls of your dark castle, surrounded by the force of your solitude. 

Death paces the balance of Harvest in his grip with a feverish irate, impatience pronounced in every passing pat that meets his shoulder. He’s stared on for what feels like eons towards the icy fortress, locked inside the lover he left behind.

[lucdrawsthings]

honse

[caardvark]

The player characters from a game of Abomination Vaults I'm running in PF2e! I'll be adding colours to their art soon but for now here's the black and white versions!

We have a Half Orc Laughing Shadow Magus, Ghoran Scoundrel Rogue, Human Pistolero Gunslinger, and a Ghoran Wild Patron Witch! They're all a bunch of fun to GM for, excited to see where the story takes them!

Also if you want art of your own player characters, npcs, or any other things you might want, my commissions are wide open, feel free to get in touch! See below for my prices

[averageghost-art]

Pathfinder character Reynard Velox the kitsune psychic.

[warlordfelwinter]

our wizard, walking into a room full of ghosts: i ain't afraid of no ghost!

wizard: *immediately fails his will save and becomes frightened*

wizard: maybe i am afraid!

[doodlesdreaming]

Heya Doodles! Got a wholesome idea for Death. Do ya think he'd be like how Little Creek is for Spirit when it comes to giving affection and playing with Despair? Also I'd like to see Death giving some affection to Dust too. After all, a proper mage cares for and loves their familiars like they would a pet. The novel even showcases how Death would kill anyone who dared to even aim at Dust. Meanwhile, he also checked over Despair as best he could after his first run in with Hadrimon on the bridge. Just figured it might be a wholesome subject.

Even more reason why Death isn't a complete a**hole. XD

I don't know about being playful, but I gave no doubt that Death spends quality time with both Despair and Dust. I can see him having private conversations with Despair to let loose what's on his mind, and Dust is...well, you know how some people talk things over to themselves to get their thoughts together? Yeah, Dust is his thought processor. XP

[merziggy-printworks]

Part One of PF2e Campaign Player Character portraits I've done recently.

These dorks are my Abomination Vaults group:

- Vira (she/her): Vanara Inventer

- Boots (he/they): Poppet Psychic

- Kasner (he/him): Gnome Cleric

- Zomah (he/him): Fetchling Magus

- Ggreg (he/they): Conrasu Barbarian

I'm getting more comfy/finding a groove with Clip Studio Paint, though I fully admit if any digital artist watched me work they'd have an aneurysm with how wrong I do it.