#all i still see is love war and mushrooms so far

[thrandilf]

the S6 puzzles are gonna be fun!

[tiredeg]

People everywhere sense imminent danger all around. They sense that whatever just happened is the beginning of the savagery, not the end. People abandon their vehicles and begin to flee on foot. They exit buildings, run down stairs and out doors. People in subway trains and on busses, in halted elevator cars, work to pry open emergency exits and doors. They crawl, walk, and run for their lives. The most basic human instinct is to survive.—Annie Jacobsen, Nuclear War: A Scenario

They’re going to die, probably.  

“It was stupid of us to take the elevator,” Oscar says. 

Carlos manages an eye roll back at him. Oscar’s surprised the motion of his eyeballs doesn’t unbalance him, perched as he is on the railing around the edge of the elevator car, calves straining, reaching his phone up towards the emergency lighting strips. As high as possible, as if he can will the texts out of his phone, force the words out of the frozen elevator, up the shaft and out into the sky, send them floating through the air towards the recipients, soaring past the bombs coming the opposite way. 

Oscar’s no expert but he knows enough Spanish to be able to decipher the glimpses he’s managed of the screen. I will be ok. I love you all. Incongruous against the previous message in the thread, a picture of a scrappy white dog asleep on a couch. Oscar had watched Carlos add a heart react to it not two hours ago when they got back to the hotel after FP2. 

God, two hours ago. One hour and fifty minutes before someone told them to check their phones, before the awful silence as they watched the video. A farmer somewhere in California had put it on Facebook, a mushroom cloud blooming over a power plant. It was shared everywhere, Oscar had watched it with Kim, hunched over Twitter, or X, or whatever. The farmer is probably dead now. Facebook certainly is, anyway.

The bomb hit hundreds of miles away from their hotels in Vegas. Not far enough.

Finally, Carlos hops down, collapsing beside Oscar on the floor of the cab. The wall opposite them is a mirror, floor to ceiling, so Oscar doesn’t have to turn his head. It’s easier this way. 

“I think they have gone through,” Carlos blurts out, like he’d wanted to keep quiet but the words forced their way up his throat. “It has the two grey ticks. I think that means it's gone from my phone but I will not get blue ticks without signal.” 

It takes Oscar a second to catch his drift. There’s no way the messages went through. The signal’s been gone for a few minutes, Oscar reckons, about the same time the elevator stopped. Carlos isn’t an idiot, he must know. Oscar knows. 

“I think that’s right,” Oscar says. “They’ll have signal in Spain still, so they’ll have got it.” 

He feels Carlos sag a little at his words. They’re touching from shoulder to knee, something they wouldn’t have risked this morning. Doesn’t matter now. Probably shouldn’t have mattered at the time. 

“How would you go, if you could choose?” Carlos asks.  

Oscar shrugs. “Dunno, never really thought about it.” 

“Don’t be boring, think about it now.” Carlos shoves into him, puts his body weight behind it, but Oscar’s expecting it, can see him decide in the mirror. He braces himself, doesn’t move. Now they’re tangled. Now he can think. 

“I guess I read this book in school. It was nuclear stuff but not bombs, just radiation, so it was really slow. This one girl took her boyfriend’s good car out for one last drive, then floored it off a cliff in the end. I think I’d like that.” 

Carlos doesn’t say anything, just leans his head onto Oscar’s shoulder proper. If they stay like this too long Oscar won’t be able to feel his arm. Maybe that’s how he’d like to go, let Carlos lean on him limb by limb until he can’t feel anything anymore.  

“He was with her? The boyfriend?” Carlos mumbles. 

“Huh?” 

“In the nice car. Was she with her boyfriend?” 

“Oh, well not exactly, he was in a submarine I think, I don’t remember it all. They might not have been boyfriend and girlfriend actually, or maybe they were, I don’t know. They definitely loved each other.” 

“Oh,” Carlos says, “that’s nice.” 

“Yeah. What about you, what way would you go?” 

Oscar watches in the mirror as Carlos looks up at him.  

“I had a different answer but I like yours better, I think.” 

“Copycat. I suppose you can come along.” Oscar shifts, rearranging Carlos’s arms around him. 

“Who would drive?” Carlos asks. 

Oscar wants to be the one who wants to drive. He could take that role, let Carlos hold on as their imaginary car gets closer to the point of no return, make the decision to keep the car pointing forward, his foot to the floor. He could take the wheel, if he had to. 

In the mirror he can see Carlos is still looking at him. He meets his own eyes in the reflection, then lets his head turn, lets himself look for real. 

“I don’t want to drive,” Oscar whispers.

“Okay,” Carlos shrugs, easy. “I’ll do it.” 

The emergency strips go dark. Oscar doesn’t know what that means, why they worked when the power went out or why they’ve stopped now. He’s annoyed at how he expects his eyes to adjust, blinking hard when they don’t as if he can force the nonexistent light into his pupils.  

He can still feel. He’s shaking, he thinks. Carlos’s arms tighten around him, unsteady too. Oscar revises his previous answer, overwhelmingly glad of the elevator; they can’t get lost in here, it’s too small. He doesn’t really know the timeline on these things, maybe it’ll take a day, maybe a few seconds. They’re here for now. 

[skipppppy]

I still think the most tragic part about Betty’s character is she might’ve actually been able to save Simon and stay together if she hadn’t jumped into the future. We know that he only became the Ice King because he kept wearing the crown despite what it was doing to him. And for a good chunk of time he was so devastated about losing her that he didn’t value his own life enough to resist putting it on again. When PB and Marceline go into the labyrinth they learn that some people (like Santa) had only put on the crown once, gone a little crazy, but still retained most of their sanity and lived relatively normal lives. Even after a few years of wearing the Crown (in Simon and Marcy), he’s still mostly there, and only goes crazy when he puts it on. It STILL takes another 4-5 years of him wearing it for him to decide he’s too far gone to be around Marceline without hurting her. If Betty had stayed she might’ve convinced him to get rid of the crown after he wore it the first time and prevented any further suffering- he would’ve lived with the condition in its most manageable form. They could’ve been okay. They could’ve been happy. Her love for him, her need to save him might’ve been the very thing that ruined him in the first place.

But then they might’ve just died in the Mushroom war if that happened. Without his Ice Powers he wouldn’t have been able to protect young Marcy or himself. None of them would have made it. Which presents a really fucked up paradox. They all survived in the current canon, but at the worst possible price. I’m SO excited to see what Fionna and Cake does with their characters I just know it’s going to have me sobbing in a heap on the floor

[chillentertainer]

inspired by @searchingforserendipity25's amazing post, here are some of my silly ideas i banged out this fine snowy winter evening (shout out climate change because snow in texas!)

The one where the Pope discovers that magic is real and that Thomas Lawrence is a wizard. Except are you really a wizard if you haven't used magic for about half your life (the answer is yes because Lawrence uses it expertly to save Benitez's life)

The one where Bellini is down on his luck and in desperate need of money so he gets a sugar daddy. And that sugar daddy is Tedesco. They don’t discover the other’s true identities until decades later when they run into each other in Rome. 

The one where there is some kind of natural disaster which traps Tedesco and Benitez in the same room for hours on end. By the end of it, at least three (3) kisses, two (2) orgasms, and one (1) blowjob has been exchanged. They’re still “enemies”. But now Tedesco is inexplicably Benitez’s #1 private supporter and nearly bit off a bishop’s head when they spoke ill of Innocent 

The one where they are exploring the final frontier on a starship and the captain suddenly dies. So now they must elect a new captain. Also this mysterious officer shows up out of nowhere and apparently he used to work with refugees from the Federation-Klingon war?

The one where Thomas Lawrence is a painter in the 1800s and struggling to find artistic inspiration when Vincent Benitez, a fellow painter, arrives in town. 

The one where Thomas Lawrence endures a string of assassination attempts that he hides with increasing difficulty from the Pope, until his car literally Blows Up, and a piece of shrapnel narrowly misses a vital organ. Benitez is Not Happy about this. Ray does a little investigating because he’s also Unhappy someone tried to blow up the only Englishman he likes and finds out that one of the Cardinals is still paranoid about the simony list… 

The one where they’re in a symphony and the conductor just died and now they need a new conductor. Lawrence plays first violin. Sometimes he wishes his hands literally fall off before he has to pick up the violin and play again. 

The one where the plane crashes a la Yellowjackets! 

During these two months, Lawrence will offer himself up as food five different times. Bellini will begin to wonder about his friend’s mental health. Tedesco is the only one who seriously does want to eat Lawrence. (He's a hungry bitch who went through food scarcity as a child, can you blame him?)

Lawrence and Benitez will stare at each other longingly over the campfire for four weeks. Ray will notice these gazes and be reminded of the time he went and saw Portrait of a Lady on Fire by himself after a close friend recommended it to him and that close friend died before Ray could ask why they told him, a Bishop of the Catholic Church, to see a period drama about lesbian French women. Now he understands. 

Bellini and Tedesco will argue and then fuck it out thrice. They will be secretive and nonchalant and everyone will know because Bellini is limping and Tedesco appears unusually happy. Also sound travels far in a quiet forest. 

Tremblay will take over certain survival tasks twice because he was a Boy Scout in his youth, only to accidentally almost poison the soup with hallucinogenic mushrooms. Benitez catches this mistake just in time, but Tedesco isn’t listening (he’s too busy scripting out the next fight between him and Bellini) and takes a bite. While he doesn’t die, he instead has a vivid dream where he and Bellini turn into slime and merge into a giant slime puddle. He wakes up with an erection. Death is preferable in his opinion. 

And finally, Lawrence’s mild fever will worsen considerably one night, to the point of fatality, and he will hold Vincent’s hands as he confesses all of his sins and love for Vincent, though he knows he shouldn’t feel this way, but he does he does he does, and please use my body to survive and continue God’s work, and Vincent tearfully agrees, only for Ray to shout aha! because he got the damn radio to work and contacted the rescuers.

[moiteneia]

Mentorship

Hypocrisy, war and empathy. Since we arrived in Purgatory, we have seen the birth of a group that has an almost family-like relationship. The red team or BOLAS treat each other with affection and emotional dependence. But, especially, for q!Philza.

— As always, I will do the analysis from q!Cell's POV, but know that I love this team and the relationship between all the members.

q!Cellbit had already participated in very similar games. Nothing the Great Eye says or urges is new to him. In the hunger games he needed to face much more than three big groups and he knows what it takes to survive in games like that.

The thing is, when he was thirteen, his mentor was cold. Although q!Cell had affection for him and everything they went through by each other's side, q!Bad never worried about him or the fact that at the end of the day his partner was just a child.

No. q!Bad believed and did everything so that his partner didn't care about what he had to do to survive, be it eating human flesh or killing another child his age or older. q!Cellbit grew up in an environment where killing and dying was routine and if q!Bad had mushroom soup for him, it was more than he deserved.

He grew up learning that he himself was a monster and that he had to live with this reality.

However, this is not the view of all the mentors he has had.

q!Philza understands that all members of his team are human, just like those on other teams. For him, what they are doing is terrible and far from what he believes is right.

And although he agrees to do whatever it takes to protect his own, he will go toe-to-toe with "his children" so they can still try to be fair and, most importantly, humane. He fought for q!Cell to return q!Bad's things. He always reassures them that it's okay if they lose or if something happens, always offering help, something that q!Cellbit never had.

Despite all the bad memories that q!Cell is reliving, in addition to the cruelty he is committing and suffering without many obstacles, q!Philza accepts him, sees him as a human and a precious member of his team that he always tries to understand and listen.

q!Cellbit doesn't feel so alone.

We don't know what will happen returning to the island. I would really like the Bolas to take with them the relationship they have built.

Although I really want the continuation of Murder Husbands and the murders of Federation employees, I would also like some of what q!Cellbit learned from q!Philza to continue with him. In addition to asking for help to deal with all the pain and confusion he feels after all the discoveries about his life.

The relationship between mentor and apprentice, father and son that q!Philza and q!Cellbit can become even more beautiful. For now, I'm very happy with the fruits of Purgatory.

[an-actual-attack-helicopter]

Book 6, Episode 2: Love, War, and Mushrooms Analysis/Commentary

"You certainly didn't go to any of my Crownguard Bonding Barbeque game Night Extravaganzas"

I am adamant that Soren mostly threw these hilariously named parties so Corvus would come. As far as I know, there are only two Crownguards it could be referring to. Or maybe he just made that name up in this scene to make a point. So actually I'm not quite as adamant as I suggested in the beginning of this paragraph lol

This scene follows one where Janai expresses frustration with the Six Horns' masks. She sees Karim in her crown's reflection; she's associates her crown with Karim's obsession with tradition. That's just my interpretation.

lol sorghum. apparently that is a type of plant. ig i can see how they got the words mixed up.

beep beep beep gaydar

Still waitin' on a explanation for Ezrans animal telepathy. We all know the dragon prince doesn't have such a soft magic system lol.

mushpal stimmies. seriously they are like the Autism Creature's cousin or something.

"no homo" my ass

No, I'm not transitioning to male, or female. I now identify as THIS ⬆️

Janai is down below her subjects in a small theatre while Karim is elevated far above.

Janai begins her speech by acknowledging the struggles and mistakes her and her people have made. She is humble and empathetic. Karim, however, speaks of violence, supremacy, and of course, faith. He's like the equivalent of an abusive priest, using faith to justify his actions. Meanwhile, Janai states that Karim uses doubt - or rather, fear - to his advantage. Just like how politicians will convince people to fear a demonized "other" to be seen as a messiah.

Bro really said "sure, more people disagree than agree with me, but like...I'm right." Bro just destroyed democracy with the power of Because I Said So.

Still trying to figure out this one. Guess he is rolling the Key of Aaravos and marking stuff. When it landed on Sky he marked Duren territory. The crown lookin thing is on Katolis, triangle for Southeast of Lux Aurea, rectangle for the Storm Spire, and circle for Umber Tor. Is this some sort of game I don't know?

[littlebetesofeverything]

Welcome to Night Vale Ep 27

Well, that was a weekend. But I'm revved up for the home stretch before Thanksgiving break. So let's hope I can do it before I go insane.

Hello is a good place to start, you're right Cecil.

Awww, Carlos did start returning affection. "I'm not calling for personal reasons" is a great opener ngl.

This entire episode is not gonna be good for my heart, is it?

OHHHH First date!!! spill the tea, Cecil!!

aren't those crates from the episode about me? yep, they tick so that's definitely from that episode. Thoughts aren't crimes though.

See, other people use the word "ruminate". Take that my D&D group.

cecil, thank you for leaving us on a plot hook for another episode. I can't wait to find out what is inside those crates.

I'm sorry an entire for only one person, who is a millionare? And he is not gonna actually READ?? alright, get the pitchforks and torches, folks.

Why does a library need a helicopter? and who would maul a librarian? ohhhh, the librarian is doing the mauling, never mind.

Yes, date talk time! I want to know what a weekend lab coat looks like.

Italian is always a good first date spot. lol the applebee's actually has bees in Night Vale, ofc.

Awww Cecil, you are down so bad. But I would like to know how a portabella mushroom is bleeding??

Ah yes, the mini war still continues I guess. Good thing I already stomp everywhere. How do you walk around with your eyes closed all day?

Good, the Apache Tracker will be remembered in the best way possible for him.

What holiday is on Tuesday? how do you not know Cecil?

Yes, the news is boring stuff, I am only here for the tea after all.

Uhhh, I think you got scammed on the carrot cake, my dudes.

Night Vale certainly has recreational events. Love how Carlos is starting to fit in lol. He certainly is a skeptic when it comes to anything that lives in Night Vale.

Buddy, I also can't figure out if he felt you touch his cheek.

"when life seems dangerous and unmanageable it is. And you can't survive it forever." Damn another good quote.

Yes folks, photo and video editing affects how we appear and warps beauty. "full lips aren't as beautiful as a full laugh." two quotes back to back.

actually, I don't want to pull back my skin. I just had a whole year of anatomy and dissection, I do NOT want a repeat.

Yeah, this weather is pretty good. Not what I would choose, but I do like it.

Carlos works next to Rico's? Oof poor guy. that might explain a few things.

Ah yes, the awkward moment where -- I'm sorry you do what in Night Vale?

I love how Cecil just gets so tongue-tied and Carlos is trying to save the town with science.

Babe, Carlos, self-reliance only gets you so far.

WHATTTTT AHHHH THEY KISSSEDDDDD *o* YEAHHHHH

Awww, I do want to find love. Just maybe without that much violence.

AHHHHHH. The boys kissed!!!!! I love this episode so much. It just felt like such a diary entry and it was so sweet. Let this help me fall asleep to good dreams tonight. Now excuse me while I run around my home cheering for Carlos and Cecil.

[originallymarysue]

Avatar Peach AU Introductory Post 1

(UPDATED)

(Information that is crossed out is info that isn't my known to most/some other characters in the AU).

Since I've started making my crossover fic that includes my au I've been thinking that I probably need a explanation post of the au and it's characters, so here this is!

(Crossover Fanfic Below)

The Avatar Peach AU is an SMG4 AU which replaces Mario as the avatar with Peach, following her adventures as a royal princess.

In this AU's 'real world', The Mario Franchise never existed and is replaced with 'Princess Peach's Royal Duties', an open world task simulator that lets you play as Princess Peach herself, doing her daily duties, not being kidnapped, developing relationships etc.

Main Characters/Cast

Princess 'Peach' Toadstool

Peach is a childish, bratty and vain princess who only really thinks about herself. She constantly seeks to be the centre of attention all the time and doesn't understand when it's time to stop.

Even with all her flaws though, she does care about people though in her own way. She loves to shower the people she deems worthy with gifts and titles, with no thought what-so-ever. If she loves you though, your set for life. Money? Power? You name it, it's yours. You'll just have to hope you want her back.

With her being a princess though, she doesn't do her job very well and has two royal advisors to help her (or do her job for her).

Pear ? (aka SMG9)

Pear is one of Peach's Royal Advisors, working for her for the longest amount of time that he's even forgot. By working for her the longest, he knows her inside out and because of that, his other role (though unofficial) is being her babysitter. Pear can often been seen trying to keep her in check and doing her duties for her (that she neglects).

Due to all this work, he's become extremely tired, easily annoyed and serious all the time, not wanting to deal with Peach's antics 24/7. He's also very secretive and nothing is known about his life before Peach. If he isn't doing his job though, he is in his room, making memes doing something not even Peach knows about.

Though he's very reclusive, he's extremely polite to people who he cares about opinions of him (mainly other royalty).

Ochi Alternia

Ochi is Peach's newest Royal Advisor and is always ready to lend a hand. Though she's very shy and over-apologetic, she is a chatterbox and is extremely curious about the people around her.

Just over 19, she's had quite the life so far. Born and raised in Inkadia, she was a child soldier and engineer for King Octavio's Army. Until one day, she heard a special song while fighting a certain agent which freed her from her mind control.

After experiencing having to escape to the surface and fighting a AI telephone, she tried to find her place in the world and arrived at the Mushroom Kingdom. This was were she was given the job of becoming Peach's Royal Advisor by the Princess herself. Forever in debt to Peach, Ochi is much kinder to the Princess than Pear is.

Due to her life experience, she has a vast knowledge of geography and for some reason, machinery and warfare. If you ever want to pass the time, just ask her the history of war and you'll waste 5 hours in no time.

Mario Mario

Mario is the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom and the main target of affection from Peach. Though he doesn't any more hold romantic feelings for the princess anymore, he has just learned to accept that Peach might forever see him that way and just goes along with whatever she does.

He also still rescues Peach whenever she's kidnapped and still enjoys her company, being dragged along on adventures with her advisors most of the time.

He's also a man of many jobs, always one to help out someone in need. While being extremely friendly and supportive, he does struggle with a hero complex as he feels like he needs to be up to everybody's standard all the time and can be quite self-sacrificial.

He also sees the best in people, even villains, which doesn't help with the fact he's often oblivious to people who are clearly evil.

[atomic-crusader]

Godzilla Minus One thoughts (SPOILERS)

TLDW: Godzilla Minus One is easily one of the all time best films in the franchise so far. While it isn't my personal favorite, it absolutely deserves the praise fans and critics seem to be giving it. Outside from some personal nitpicks, I'd say this entry is worthy of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the best.

10/10

THOUGHTS AND SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!!! GO SEE IT!!!!!!

Boy does this movies come in swinging! Koichi setting up the main conflict of feeling like he is a coward (he's not, as the movie goes on to point out) and then the whiplash of GODZILLASAURUS

I know its just an unmutated Godzilla but HOLY FUCK the similarities are there and I love the design.

Personal nitpick #1: was hoping the movies would go more in depth with the origin of its Godzilla but the movies isn't really about what Godzilla is but rather what he does and represents to the story. As a result they don't really say what he is other than he is known to Odo Island's folklore. I like that, it gives him a mysterious vibe.

I gasped because I thought he ate a guy be then he yeeted him

Poor Koichi Can't Catch a Break the Movie

Noriko was great. It's clear she isn't used to being looked after and it shows.

Speaking of which, ALL the characters are wonderful. The Reiwa era looks like it is being defined by stronger human characters and stories and I am all here for that!

I'm actually surprised that the trailers (or at least the 2 I watched) didn't show to much Godzilla action. Or at least the final battle.

Godzilla REALLY has it out for folks in this movie. That lack of a clear origin helps actually. His attacks are sudden and brutal. He is REALLY visibly pissed off too.

SPEAKING OF BRUTAL HOLY FUCK!!! For as much damage Godzilla does to everyone, he gets FUCKED UP! Half his face blasted off! It's cool the see his regeneration ability realized in CG

Personal Nitpick #2: I do wish they had made Godzilla a more obviously tragic character. He is just as much a victim of war as he is a symbol of it. Again though, that isn't what this movie is about, and the ending does at least suggest a sequel isn't completely out of the question, so maybe we can still see why Godzilla decided that All Humans Are Bad.

His atomic breath is wild man. Creating mushroom clouds and massive creators is some nightmare fuel shit.

NORIKO NOOOOOOOOO :(

(dont worry she lives)

The plan to kill Godzilla was interesting. Explosive decompression is not really the first thing I would have thought up for a sea monster that brings up deep sea fish but the speed at which it happens is important.

KOICHI NOOOOOO (its okay he ejected)

Personal Nitpick #3:... I don't really like how they defeated Godzilla. I thought it was overkill. Like, yeah I get that Koichi needs to have is moment and all but blowing his head up I thought was a little much. and then he crumbles away? I guess he was frozen? Cool visual though. I imagine it was hell to convince Toho to have Godzilla die that way.

I heard Yamazaki was a big GMK fan, and the last scene really makes it obvious. I wonder if he isn't available for a sequel, Yamazaki would request Kaneko to direct...

Hey Noriko is alive!!!! Hey what's that on her neck? Why does it look like Godzilla's dorsal plate? Oh God Please Let Koichi Be Happy He Has Been Through Too Much.

The overall message of the movie is so goddamn moving, Live. That isn't a request, that's an order, a demand. Live, you should be happy to be alive. You may not think it, but people love you. People can forgive you. You don't deserve to die. Live and fight for the next generation so they don't make our mistakes. It is tough but you and people around you can make it better. You. Will. Live.

[cityandking]

psst 🧸🍔🎸🦵 for lira petra and daichi?

ty kite!! // miscellaneous symbol headcanons

🧸 - Does your muse own any sentimental objects from their past? What makes it/them so special?

LIRA — she kept the cousland family shield even though she doesn’t fight with one. marching all over ferelden lugging her dead family’s legacy along on her back. (she gets the laurels tattooed post-blight)

PETRA — has a few sentimental items from home in her weight allowance—things that had some importance even before leaving the galaxy but mean more now that they’re so far from home.

DAI — his holy symbol is a token he received from a soldier during the war

🍔 - What kind of food does your muse usually eat? Do they have a favorite food, or favorite style of food? Do they have allergies? Are they vegan, vegetarian, etc.?

LIRA — a lot of stews, slow-roasted meats, grain breads and many cheeses. I imagine ferelden cuisine is pretty closely reflective of traditional english cuisine; maybe she’s had a few marcher or even antiavan delicacies since higher is close to the waking sea. she likes warm, savory foods and fresh fruit.

PETRA — she’s not a super picky eater but she is lactose intolerant. this is largely fine because it’s difficult to get actual dairy products in space so it’s not a problem she runs into all that often. it’s also difficult to get fresh fish in space but she loves sushi (and seafood in general)

DAI — given that airedon a) is cold and mountainous and b) takes a lot of cues from renaissance france, I imagine it’s lot of dairy (esp goat milk/cheese), cured and smoked meats, dishes cooked in butter, hardy vegetables and a lot of bread. probably some foraged foods as well? also I imagine drow cuisine is very tubers-and-mushrooms oriented, and I think that comes through in what dai’s dad cooks (and what dai has subsequently learned how to make). he loves mushrooms (the non-hallucinogenic kind).

🎸 - Can your muse play any instruments? Do they play them often, or rarely? How actually skilled are they at playing them?

LIRA — she learned the lute or lyre or something as was befitting a young noble lady but she stopped when the blight happened and hasn’t really picked it back up again

PETRA — had a period of piano lessons as a kid that she didn’t super care for. she can still play and was sometimes cajoled into playing for her team in the Milky Way, but she’s pretty rusty

DAI — he never learned to play anything (I could see him picking up the guitar post-campaign in selto but he wouldn’t be too serious about it)

🦵 - Does your muse have any physical ailments? How do they live with them?

LIRA — she’s got a few scars that get all stiff and achy in the cold. she’s probably got some lotion or stretches to help with that, which she’s pretty on top of

PETRA — gets headaches from the SAM implant and the dying twice. SAM can help in the short-term by modulating some of the ocular intake and stabilizing inner ear functions, but that tends to make it worse later. usually she needs to take something and lie down in the dark for a few hours

DAI — I think he probably had a few achy joints and old twinges but those disappeared when he became a demigod

[the4rcanist]

Oooooh I wanna hear about Eagle-singer please!

Thank you for the ask! (And for the tag!)

Is a Davrin x my Rook Rowan Mercar, Assan and her eagle Revas. I don't have an exact place in the timeline to place this (as I've written it as a way to conceive a bit of my character's backstory and also for a bit of self indulgence what I can say I love Davrin sm lmao only that it's after Weisshaupt and that my two pookies have already talked through their differences.) Since in my headcannon I have two "Rooks" at the same time, I refer to Rowan as the "Knight".

"Eventually" Rowan unpacked the fried bread and cheese; The Dalish Heart Cake Davrin made when Adryn sequestered Lucanis for the evening; A warm forest fruit cobbler; The fried fish; A good handful of spiced jerky from the storage that both hunters made sure to keep well supplied; Ingredients for her mother's lentil soup recipe; Seasoned cabbages stuffed with meat and the Gurgut roast served with mushroom sauce. "I got tired of doing nothing and I ran away. If I had a second chance, why couldn't they?"

"How old were you?" Davrin asked, half laughing while finishing to light up the campfire. He offered her a hand, and she just noticed he had sit in a fallen tree log.

"Thirteen," She said, giggling, a bit embarrassed, and took his hand. "Can you imagine? A kid showing up at a Shadow Dragon fence shop asking 'Hey, can I kill some slavers for you? I can hold a sword, an axe even'"

The Warden couldn't hold his smile, feeling his heart warm a little. It was a bit silly, yes, but still…"Your heart was always in the right place". He was still holding her hand.

"I guess" She felt the intensity of his stare and focused on handing over the ingredients for the soup. "Cause they took me in"

Rowan heard a ruffle of feathers and turned her head to see Assan and Revas landing at the lake shore, playing catch. "Don't go far!" The woman barely managed to shout before the eagle launched herself into the air again and Assan followed her into the water.

Davrin squeezed her hand gently. Encouraging her to continue. "And then" she sighed "From administrative to courier, from courier to scout, from scout to the brawler. I had, as you said to me once, a "purpose", to make sense of all the hardships I faced, to make sense of all the days and nights I spent training, sharpening myself" the Knight moved, taking a bite on a few pieces of spiced jerky and offering a bit more to him before both of them started making the soup. "No warehouse was small enough to bust. No wound was terrible enough, not for me, not for War."

"The spirit."

"Yes" She uncorked their source of clear water and poured on the pot while catching a glimpse of the two birds playfully diving on one of the upside-down waterfalls. Davrin bumped her shoulder softly to call her attention back. "Sorry, I'm…hum…They started coming and going whenever I got myself into a fight, but I didn't knew it was them. I know you are weary of this, especially of Spite, but as someone who had been dealing with it for half of her life, I can at least say that Lucanis has better self-control than anyone else I've ever seen"

"I understand better now. After...after everything" He looked down, shaking his head, half laughing again "Damn. Now I'm just worried for him too"

"Aren't you for everyone, Hero?" she teased with the nickname her sister had given him and the Warden returned a smile so sweet that made yet another dent in her heart.

"How have you ended up with the Avvar?" Changing subject. She thought. He does this every time.

"Well, once..." Davrin added the rest of the ingredients and she started stirring the pot "They sent me to burst a warehouse at the frontier with Nevarra. Then, I was to cross the Silent Plains and bring the people to a large commercial outpost named Ashen Mammoth Hold where a contact in the Free Marches would take them in and find where they had been taken from or find them a new home."

"Doesn't ring a bell"

"Right?" Rowan pointed with her spoon. "It was a new settlement formed ten years ago when Inquisitor Lavellan exiled a Thane from Ferelden, armed and supplied his tribe. The place then flourished" she looked again and breathed in relief seeing both their children still playing in the water. "I did the job, but the slavers persecuted me through the sand. I was one of the few guards since this was supposed to be a covert operation"

"Was it bad?" The elf felt a hand on the back of her shoulder. By the Lady of the Skies, he was so effortlessly sweet.

"Enough that War took me over" She savored the warmth and let gaze wander far on the horizon, watching Revas dive into the water, grab a fish and throw it at Assan. "I woke up a few days later with the Augur fussing over me"

"the Augur?" He asked.

"The Hahren of their tribe. He was curious by the interest the spirit took in me"

"So you decided to stay with them? Had enough of the city?"

"Over the course of my recovery? Yes. It was easy, you know, having friends, a community, much like…much like now" She tasted the soup, and the face she made must have been terrible because the man immediately handed over the salt bag. "In the city, I had the other Dragons, I had Ash, but still it was so…lonely, stressful. Out in the plains, even when I was just out by myself scouting, with my toes freezing blue, I was so at peace..."

"I know the feeling" He smiled gently at her, again. Would it be so bad? To say yes and make him smile everyday? A thought passed. Somewhere. "Still want to know how this happened"

She shook her head "I… don't know? Mogran was the one that rescued me in the entrance amidst a pile of bodies, then he started dragging me into their dinners, then their celebrations, then their tests. The Augur asked me to accompany them to some rituals made to learn to control myself when under possession and, when I realized, I was asking for stories on the gods."

"He adopted you too" He pulled their bowls and spoons out when the water started boiling.

"I suppose. When I recovered, I didn't want to leave as much, so I asked to keep my job escorting the freed ones to the Free Marches"

"And how does her" Davrin pointed with his head to Revas, now back on the shore again, trying to pull a loose feather out of Assan's left wing while the gryphon stared at the floating water "Comes to picture?"

"It was another job, another that was angry enough to cross the desert" The Knight stirred the soup absent-mindedly "The "lord" came with them, surprisingly, with the ugliest set of clothing, carriage, everything, ugh.." She frowned "He also brought his favorite 'pets' with him. Among them an Arlathan Forest Eagle, still a fledgling"

"Revas" There was an edge of barely contained anger in his voice.

She nodded and smiled "I… I'll admit that I loved her at first sight" glancing back, she caught her eyes, and the eagle then called her back cheerfully "So I did my best to raise, teach and love her, like you're doing now with Assan"

"I…"

"You are, I won't let you fight me on this, Davrin" She heard a fluttering of wings again and noticed both of them coming back over the smell of the soup "For the other half of my life, she listened to me, was my eyes, my scout. When the Huntmaster got the ear of it, Movran gave me my first legend-mark, Rowan Eagle-singer" She filled one bowl and handed it over to him.

"Thank you" He held her raised hand and the woman hitched her breath. Gods. it would truly be so bad? "So that's where it comes from. You've led a pretty busy life, Rowan"

It would. It was easier, to keep distance, to try to not lose the few pieces she had left of her weary, terrified heart. Even thinking of losing him now made her eyes water and her skin crawl.

"Says the Halla Keeper, Monster Hunter and Grey Warden" Rowan blurted, blinking a few times, awfully aware of each one of his movements and trying to forget the fluster creeping into her cheeks. "But all of my adventures were nothing compared to what we're doing now, trust me. When Varric told me we're going after an elven god, I choked on my drink" she laughed bitterly "I still don't have any idea how he expects me to pull that off"

"Rowan I…" The Knight turned her head to him, expectantly "I don't think I've ever said that to you but I'm sorry, really, for what happened to him" he laid a comforting hand on her arm.

The woman went immediately to the side, going completely stiff "It's alright. I'm alright" she said, eyes dark and voice bleak, while giving him the most unnatural smile he'd ever seen. And the Warden thought he might had gone crazy for all of his instincts that recoiled from her in the strangest sense of danger he had never felt before, but she hadn't moved an inch from the log.

Rowan looked down to her feet, made a bowl for herself, and suddenly raised her head again "What were we talking about? Ah yes the soup"

[sephirthoughts]

1, 18, 23 😁

ooh another contender

What is the first fandom you were a part of?

ok, so. it was the Metal Gear Solid games. however, i didn't know fandom even was a thing, nor that i was doing a thing called writing fanfic, because i had never explored the idea. you see, i was already a professional editor with a master's degree and had always considered writing fiction for fun, and not proper publication, to be frivolous. i thought fiction had to have a purpose and philisophic merit, and blah blah blah etc.

then by chance i happened to pick up a metal gear game (read: saw my partner playing it, said ooh what's that, got hooked and stole the game). that was when that magnificent lunatic hideo kojima opened my eyes to the epiphany that you can literally write whatever you want.

it doesn't have to Have Something to Say. it doesn't have to be yet another gritty, ultra-realist, masturbatory journal about urban life from the perspective of yet another white man. it can be a cold-war era spy story but also with clones and giant bipedal robots, and a trick-shooting teenager and a guy covered in bees, and everyone is flamboyantly gay.

i know that sounds silly, but i had been trained for many years to take fiction so seriously, that it had literally never occurred to me that YOU CAN JUST HAVE FUN. i felt like i was seeing in colors i never knew existed. so the first thing i wrote was some metal gear fanfic which mushroomed into its own entire story universe and gave me the writing bug, forever. now i write a lot of fanfic for whatever strikes my fancy, and other things for publication.

thank you kojima-sensei, you are my hero forever.

18. All-time favorite fanfic?

The Aeneid (The Iliad fandom) by prolific big-name fan Virgil

23. Age when you started reading fanfic?

like six months after i started writing it. this was post-grad school, so you can supplement my age yourself. i ain't tellin.

at that point i had still never posted anything before, and hadn't read anyone else's (i didn't even know where to look, or that such sites existed). as enlightened as i had become about writing, i was still unwilling to READ fandom works, because i liked having my own little stories and ideas.

then i became an editor for a fan zine and had to read a lot of fanfic, at which point i realized that a whole lot of it was far better than most of the horseshit books my publishing house made me edit for actual publication. like. what the hell where are all these talents coming from? why do they do it FOR FREE?? later, someone in the zine told me about ao3 and how to make an account and it was all history.

i love you fandom readers and writers and other creators, you give me life and hope for humanity

thanks for the ask i will be revenged! 🖤

[jakesuit0]

Video Makers Review

“Video Makers” is probably Adventure Time’s most effective use of its side characters thus far. Pretty much every main and secondary character besides Ice King and Gunter show up. All of Finn and Jake’s closest friends are at movie club: Marceline, BMO, Princess Bubblegum, Lady Rainicorn, Tree Trunks, Lumpy Space Princess, and Shelby. While several of these characters were also in the opening scene of “Power Animal”, this is much more intimate. It’s really cool how each guest gets a unique drink that fits their character. Princess Bubblegum has a sentient candy drink. She uses candy biomass to control her age. This must be how she maintains the body of an eighteen year old despite being about 835 in this episode. I also love her rocking a casual outfit this time. I mentioned in my “Go With Me” review that Finn’s friendships with Marceline and Bubblegum caused them to see each other more frequently. Even though they are sitting apart and not seen chatting, it’s interesting that they both attend a small, weekly get together. Marceline actually gets a couple of lines, making it her only speaking cameo in the first four and a half seasons. 

It’s funny how worried Finn is about adhering to the copyright warning. It totally fits Finn’s character, but obviously it isn’t referring to showing the movie to a few friends. And Jake is right that those laws aren’t in effect anymore. We get our first mention of The Great Mushroom War, another example of significant lore being dropped so casually. It was pretty obvious already that Ooo was post-apocalyptic, especially from “Business Time”, but this was further confirmation for people who hadn’t pieced it together yet. 

I love all the scenes of Finn, Jake, and BMO filming Ooo. It feels like they are making an art movie or a documentary. It does a terrific job capturing the beauty and weirdness of the mundanity in everyday Ooo. Despite Finn and Jake calling it “random junk”, I’d totally watch it. They basically filmed Adventure Time season six. Finn and Jake try to film more structured scenes. The scenes don’t play out the way Finn and Jake intend, causing them to argue over what genre they want their film to be. The way the actors go off script is much more funny and entertaining. Finn and Jake should take their movie less seriously, and just go with the flow. We get appearances from more recurring characters: Slime Princess, Cinnamon Bun, Mr Cupcake, and Peppermint Butler. This episode is a real milestone in Adventure Time’s worldbuilding, showing off a structured world with various established elements they can naturally pull from. Shelby also says his iconic catchphrase, “check please”, for the first time. 

The ending of the episode is fantastic. BMO’s reaction to Finn and Jake feels like a child reacting uncomfortably to their parents arguing. BMO’s song is very touching. In addition to BMO finally getting to tag along with Finn and Jake for an entire episode, it provides his first truly impactful scene, which still holds up as one of his best moments. I like how quickly it causes Finn and Jake to make up, who of course wouldn’t stay mad about this long. Lumpy Space Princess’s intense reactions to all of this are also really funny. She’s eating this drama up. 

Grade: A-

[nevesmose]

Can I be a huge nerd about a piece of writing that has had a very big influence on my own style?

It's from an alternate history timeline called Protect and Survive that was posted between 2010 and 2013 which can be viewed chapter by chapter here. In summary, it deals with the before during and after of nuclear war breaking out in 1984 with a focus on what happens in the UK but some diversions to the US and Europe as well.

It's a very bleak story inspired by Threads which is something I've yapped about many times and, stylistically, by David Peace's novel GB84. But that's not super important really - I hadn't read anything by David Peace before I read Protect and Survive so, to me, it feels emotionally like the origin point of a lot of the tools it uses.

I recommend the whole thing but what I want to focus on is the fifth chapter in which the nuclear attack actually happens. It's not that long so give it a read if you'd like to but then come back because I have lots of things to say about how it tells its story.

Back yet? Good. Depressed yet? Yeah. There's so much worse.

Anyway, to begin at the beginning:

The Fire Brigade may not be able to reach you.

Each main chapter title and opening line comes from the real life Protect and Survive publications that would have been distributed in the lead-up to nuclear war. So they're the framework for the story and almost always used in a way that illustrates how optimistic and/or deliberately deceptive each piece the advice is. For example here we've already been shown in an earlier chapter that all the emergency services have been withdrawn from likely target areas in order to preserve them for the aftermath. The Fire Brigade is not coming, ever. You really think the government would do that, just go out and tell people lies? 🤔

The Constable didn't see the mushroom cloud. He'd made for a shop's cellar the second he heard the siren. He had pushed people out of his way to get there. When it hit, he wet himself.

The Shopkeeper didn't see the mushroom cloud. He'd been down in the shelter since the siren went - his wife had frozen up, the silly bitch, but he'd got her into the shelter.

The County Controller didn't see the mushroom cloud. When the warning came in he thought of his grandchildren and burst into tears. When the bomb shook the very foundations of his basement bunker, he hit his head and passed out.

The Old Man and his Wife didn't see the mushroom cloud. They saw the flash, though. They never saw anything ever again.

I love love love the rhythmic list-like format here that is telling us what the various POV characters we've met so far are doing at the moment the bomb hits. There's a regular beat all beginning with the same phrase and all telling us what the various characters are doing with the use of the most relevant details to give us insight into their character through their thoughts and actions.

The Constable is a very scared young man far out of his depth and behaving accordingly. The Shopkeeper was in the shelter and although he made sure his wife got in too he still thinks of her as a silly bitch for freezing up which is indicative of his ruthlessness. The County Controller who is supposed to be safe in a bunker, exerting control over everyone else, is still just a individual person whose thoughts are of his own family and, in any case, ends up having his "safety" completely subverted when it KOs him at the vital moment.

And then, speaking of subversion, we get to the last paragraph which plays the kind of bait-and-switch I will never ever stop using because it always works to throw off the reader and make them feel, however unconsciously, unsettled by what's being described because the pattern has been broken which is jarring on a very instinctual level.

They saw the flash, though. That itself is further unsettling because it's phrased like a helpful, positive kind of conversational interjection when the descriptions of the others have been much more clinical and functional. And what it's describing is anything but positive.

They never saw anything ever again. And so we have another quick change not just of tone, going from a statement about what they did see to what they won't ever again, but also in terms of scale. In the space between sentences we've zoomed out from a description of one single event that did happen to literally the entirety of time in which something will never happen.

I'll give you a little spoiler here too when I say that this is also foreshadowing that will come back to haunt us later. We aren't being lied to or anything, it's just that the only specific information being given to us here is that they never saw anything ever again. It means exactly what it says, no more and no less, but coming to it for the first time it's easy to read it as just a roundabout way of saying "they died". This is a very effective trick to mess with people.

As it happened, the fears of a 'four-minute warning' were unfounded. From detection to impact, the first missile to hit the UK took just over five and a half minutes. Airbursting near RAF Scampton, this burning cloud marks the start of the Russian attempt to neutralise Britain's bomber fleet through short - range submarine launched missile attacks. Although the EMP arising from such attacks plays havoc with air-traffic control and navigation, it is not enough to stop the V-Bombers. These crews have trained for thirty years so that these few moments are survivable. The Vulcans and Victors are already off the ground. They have their orders. The 'go' order (Britain's submarines are launching, too) was not issued by the Prime Minister - she will be dead within two minutes of the Scampton attack. In fact, two separate 'go' orders are relayed. The Deputy Prime Minister (already deep underground in CHANTICLEER) is a 'Nuclear Deputy' - he gives the order almost before the tearful radio operator finishes his dispatch. The Air Chief Marshall, steaming around an undisclosed location on HMY Britannia, gives the same order some thirty-five seconds later. This is academic however; by this point, flight suits have sprinted across tarmac and are checking their aircraft as if in fast-motion. Beneath the waves, the 'doomsday letter', handwritten by the PM, has already been opened with shaking hands. It consists simply of two words - 'Strike Back.' We do.

Look how much this section is a big, solid wall of text compared to what's come before. It's the kind of detached factual description you'd get in a Tom Clancy novel with lots of acronyms and technical terms being thrown around in long, detailed sentences with lots of different clauses, hopping quickly from idea to idea, person to person, and place to place as a large number of different things happen all at once. The fact that RAF Scampton has actually been hit, with all of the suffering that entails, is kind of lost in the middle of the big flurry of activity happening.

My favourite part is "these crews have trained for thirty years so that these few moments are survivable" - once again we have a zoom effect but it's a zoom in this time, collapsing down from thirty years into the very short, busy space of time that this section is conveying to us.

I also find this part really interesting:

The 'go' order (Britain's submarines are launching, too) was not issued by the Prime Minister - she will be dead within two minutes of the Scampton attack.

Like I mentioned before, this section is portraying so many things happening all at once, so much so that the tone starts to get almost breathless as what the submarines are doing has to get compressed into brackets within a larger sentence.

And then we get some more little meaningful word choices, like sometimes it's a lot more effective to describe what isn't happening rather than what is. "The 'go' order was not issued by the Prime Minister" is a really effective way of communicating the idea "something is going wrong here and things are not as they should be" and then in the next bit of the sentence we find out why - "she will be dead within two minutes of the Scampton attack." Not only is it another indicator of how quickly the different events are all piling on each other but saying "she will be dead" brings in a feeling of inevitability, of events being outside anyone's control.

For comparison, you could convey much the same information by saying something like "the 'go' order was given by the Deputy Prime Minister, underground at CHANTICLEER, since the Prime Minister died within two minutes of the Scampton attack." But I feel like it loses so much of the sense of chaos and events blurring together, in flux but coalescing inevitably towards an end point that will happen soon.

No-one is quite sure what's going on with Her Majesty.

Communications across the UK are severely disrupted by the first bomb. And the second. And the third.

The panic, the vomit

The dust and the screaming

The big bombs hit the cities.

London gets ten.

In isolation this part looks almost like a poem doesn't it? Things are suddenly very disjointed and staccato compared to the long sentences we just had. The repetition of "the first bomb, and the second, and the third" is good here, piling one upon the other.

And as it goes on even the word choices reflect how much things are breaking down - "the big bombs hit the cities" and "London gets ten" are both infantile ways of describing it. Like the events have robbed everyone of any control they have, turning them into powerless babies panicking and vomiting and screaming as things happen that they can barely comprehend. There are no more highly trained people rushing around doing well-prepared things like we just had. And I like the almost embarrassed tone of "no-one is quite sure what's going on with Her Majesty" as though this was the comically belated last rational thought someone had before the end. We do find out eventually by the way.

I'm not going to go through the whole thing in this level of detail but the first sections of the chapter are doing a huge amount of work very effectively and I wanted to make sure I talked about all the things I noticed.

Newcastle is 'spared' a direct hit - the megaton with its name on it undershoots, airbursting over a chip shop in Heddon, a few miles to the South-East.

I cannot over-emphasise how important it is that it mentions the bomb hitting a chip shop. I've been to Newcastle once in my entire life and I have never heard of Heddon so as a reader I don't have a very strong mental image of either place.

But I can imagine a chip shop, a mental image that comes ready-made with a long list of related memories and sensory inputs that I, as the reader, am doing all the work of remembering, connecting it to what I'm reading and making it feel real. I can remember the smell of the fryers and the taste of salt and vinegar on hot, fresh chips and I can see the tiny white drifts of spilled salt on the counter. And so when I read about the nuclear apocalypse hitting a chip shop I can form a very strong image of what that's like. And all this just from the choice to say that it happened to "a chip shop in Heddon" which is a really big impact from so few words.

The Central European front is now silent, save for the crackle of flames and the cries of young men - something of a ceasefire occurs, as there is no-one left to fight.

🚨"Something of an X" alert🚨 since I know this phrase and others like it are ones that I use very very often. Saying a thing is "something of a whatever" is a fantastic way to be ironic, funny, sarcastic, sad etc. A very useful tool. Like for example "the clown smooshing a pie into my face during my job interview was something of a surprise" or as in this case where it's not really any kind of ceasefire at all. It's just death.

First to go was his hair - it caught fire. His scalp melted and his teeth burst. His clothes became his skin and his skin became his clothes, and then both slid off his bones.

This is one of the scenes that has stuck with me ever since I first read it. One of the best, most effective ways of getting under people's skin (lol) with gory scenes is to mention specific things that everyone tends to find personal/intimate/vulnerable. Hair is good for this, as we can see here, but I have always been a big fan of mentioning teeth since it can make the reader think about something that unsettles them and more importantly have a kind of physical reaction to it right there as they're still reading. For example:

His teeth burst. Something I don't like makes my teeth itch. I had a dream where someone replaced all my teeth with marshmallows. All of her front teeth were broken during the crash.

I would be willing to bet the 12p of pocket change currently in my possession that at least one of those phrases made you just a little bit more conscious of your own teeth. Maybe you even poked at them with your tongue or something. Everyone can relate to bad things happening to teeth.

"His clothes became his skin and his skin became his clothes" is also a really evocative way of presenting it. The idea being conveyed is just "his skin and his clothes melted together" which is already pretty bad, but framing it as this cyclical exchange of each object transmutationally becoming the other makes it seem so much more drawn-out and torturous.

A screaming skeleton, caught burning in mid-air, the Cadet's last words are unintelligible, for his tongue has burned out. Although all this has occured in a fraction of an instant, relief still registers in the boy's brain as the coup de grace comes - the blastwave bursting his smouldering scarecrow like a locomotive through a snowman. His remains float up to meet the mushroom cloud like a letter up a chimney. No-one will ever speak about, or think about the Cadet from now until the end of time.

One of the first things that strikes me here is that there are quite a lot of hissing "S" sounds in play. It makes me think of something hissing away in a frying pan which is appropriate, considering. We also have another negative description of what isn't happening in the mention of his last words being unintelligible, and another use of a very large scale kind of zoom out when it says no one will ever think of him "from now until the end of time" just to illustrate the magnitude of how much both the Cadet and the world in which he lives are being destroyed, as though not only is he gone but so is everyone else who would ever be able to preserve his memory.

And the similes! Sometimes a very brutal, alien event needs a very brutal, alien comparison to fulfil the purpose of illustrating what is going on without offering any comfort to the reader. It's like if you say "the roasted xargbulox meat tasted like chicken" that gives familiarity to something strange and also brings in a little bit of the "chip shop" trick where you're using whatever real-life impressions and memories people have of what chicken tastes like to support the fictional thing being described.

Whereas I feel like "a locomotive through a snowman" gives illustration without comfort, instead of falling back on the reader's existing ideas it makes them put in the effort of getting out the metaphorical Lego set and combining locomotive + snowman to arrive at the desired mental image.

That's about all I've got so thanks for sticking with it if you did! There are lots more nifty stylistic bits as the story goes on. Bleak, though. Very bleak.

[jgmartin]

THERE ARE NO SONGS AT THE END

Life is funny.

It’s here until it isn’t. Sometimes it wastes away over the course of years. Other times, it’s instantaneous. It’s a spark, or an ember, igniting in one moment and then dying in the next. It happens so fast that you wonder if it was ever there at all.

Hello! Goodbye!

I think that’s what you can expect your life to be. A quick thing. Here today, gone tomorrow. Up in flames, dead in a flash. It’s a bold claim and I’m not calling myself a fortune-teller, but I am saying I'm privy to some details that aren’t terribly fortunate— for you or me.

Politics. It always comes down to politics, doesn’t it? Strings. They pull them, we jerk and dance, praying that somebody somewhere has our best interests at heart. Once upon a time, I was that somebody.

Honest, I was.

I began working in government three decades ago. Back then I was still a wide-eyed and ambitious intern with big ideas about improving the human experience. I wanted to help. Deep down, I think that maybe I still do. But I can’t. Nobody can.

Here’s the thing, the big secret that they don’t want you to know: this is a game. All of it. But I’ve read the rules, and I’ve seen the state of the board, and for you and I— for the world at large, the match is rigged. We’re playing at a disadvantage.

Soon, we won’t be playing at all.

The strange thing, or maybe the depressing thing, is that it isn’t even about us. Not really. It’s not about them either— the shadow brokers at the top, making deals with the devil and trying to leverage our fate. It’s about something greater. It’s about the pretext to human existence and the destiny we’ve been afforded.

The truth is, we’re not alone in this universe. Never have been. There are things out there vaster than stars and more violent than war. Things that have been biding their time. We’ve been fed a steady diet of chaos and fury, of love and pleasure, all in an attempt to fill our insatiable hunger to feel. All in an attempt to ripen us. For Them.

Once, some force that has long since vanished, dealt with Them— the ancient terrors beyond the veil. It subdued them. Defeated them. In order to do so, it harnessed the power of creation itself: the Big Bang.

We've determined the origin of our universe was not a product of chance, but rather an attack of desperation. It was a gamble to overcome titans too horrible to comprehend. And it worked.

For a while.

Now those Beings are awakening again. Slowly, one by one, they’re lurching up from their slumbers and turning their eyes to the rarest, most empowering energy in the universe: human emotion. Intangible and infinite, forged in the kiln of our souls.

We cannot stop them. We cannot contain them. Some of us are even working to help them, bombarding the masses with multimedia, grooming our thoughts and poisoning our minds. Anything for a reaction.

If that sounds hopeless, then just know that it is. You and I are fuel for abominations. Calories for the cosmos.

Our harvest is coming, and when it arrives there will be no resistance and there will be no songs of our passing. Our spirits will be cremated in the stomachs of ancient things. The fabric of our beings will be scattered far and wide, lost and mutilated, less than a memory.

But there’s another way.

See, the people at the top have a plan, and it’s a plan we’ve been inching closer toward year by year. Soon, you'll see it spring into action. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But soon.

It begins with a panic, and the long drone of sirens in the street. The world stops. Nobody knows what to do, but that's okay because this part doesn't last long.

Soon after, there's a crack of thunder. And screaming. So much screaming. It's terrible and awful, but it's quickly drowned by the low bass of infinity and the rush of a hurricane. Windows shatter. Bones tremble and skin sears. The horizon erupts into smoke and flame. A thousand mushroom clouds ascend into heaven carrying a billion cauterized souls.

Of course, there will be survivors. The unlucky few. Fret not. In the hours following, the sky will split and bleed black, irradiating their flesh and exorcising them of their destiny.

Finally! We will be free-- all of us.

It's frightening, I know. Ultimately though, what choice do we have? Some people won't want me telling you this. They'll be afraid of the shockwaves and what it could do to upset society, but as human beings I think we're owed an explanation.

So make your peace. Say your goodbyes. I don't know exactly when the end will come. I just know that when it does, I recommend a front row seat.

Don't wait for the rain.

[glapplebloom]

So answering the questions I couldn't put into comics below...

Nice to see a Fionna and Cake review. And honestly I like Adventure Time’s answer to the multiverse then others. I mean having each universe based on alternate decisions is interesting, but it has been done so many times that it becomes boring. Especially when they don’t give a good reason too. Having each universe being a wish someone made with Prismo is far more creative and give writers more freedom. ~ @warsmithzodiacragnarok

Thing is, it is pretty much based on alternate decisions. Farmworld is a world where Simon used the powers to prevent the Mushroom War. Vampire World is a world where Simon was unable to raise Marceline. Extinct World is where everyone died suddenly. Having it be done by a wish is still because of an Alternate Decision.

So have you seen Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix? Great show and Bullfrog MVP. ~ @warsmithzodiacragnarok

I have not seen it outside clips.

We know that Bill Cipher defeated Discord but... What about 'Him'? We can guess that Bill could have no chance against it, right? ~ Anonymous

I'm answering this question as honestly as I can. If I made HIM answer it he'll say he wins and based on my own version I would make HIM win. But in a legit Death Battle, sadly I think Bill Cipher wins for the same reason he beaten Discord: that Soul Regen. While I could argue HIM being able to feed off people's evil would make him stronger, unless I can prove he can regen his Soul better than Bill that would be a big key factor.

After all, while Discord has continually shown to not take things seriously until it could have been too late (as seen against Soundwave or when the Evil Alliance stole his power), HIM likes to torture people so Bill will have plenty of opportunities to go for a kill as soon as he can. I would love to be proven wrong, so Craig if you can show HIM's soul being destroyed and reformed in your reboot I would highly appreciate it.

So how will the end of Them's Fightin' Herds affect your story? ~ Anonymous

Honestly, not that much. In fact, them ending it means technically their world is destroyed. And they wouldn't be the first characters I took from a dying Universe.