#also religion is a solid character too

[adamprrishcycle]

For the people who were mad that declan lynch seemed to get an unrealistic easy fix to his childhood trauma in greywaren, I wrote this. A fic where I basically undo it all (but it’s ok it’s ok)

[rmbunnie]

I see so much of "is post-crisis Robin Jason an innocent little sweetie-pie or a mean aggro delinquent" and after reading through all of his batman and detective comic issues post-crisis I think i can safely say he's... an introverted and distrustful, but altogether friendly teen boy who has convinced himself to the deepest level that he is an Adult Man, and also does not hold a particularly good view of adults.

The sweet little babypie characterization falls a little short (assuming we aren't being too silly with it, there's plenty of that in the comedy issues of tec) because it disregards the part where he's a jaded teenager who is constantly going off and trying to take care of his own problems like "his own man" and reacts negatively to any breach of trust or move to take care of him. But negative doesn't mean "violent and rageful." The delinquent angle is incorrect because not only is his disposition peppy, silly, and agreeable most of the time, but assuming the problem upsetting him isn't a predator or the guy who killed his dad (and three out of four canon instances it is a predator to be clear) he reacts to emotional turmoil with Bruce by bedrotting, sulking, communicating through notes, and overall being avoidant. The only times he lashes out are when Bruce is calling him out or after Bruce told him to his face that he chose to look for the Joker over looking for him, and that case of "lashing out" is just getting a little snarky.

More than anything his main personality trait (besides being silly, a robin staple) is kinda coming into this parentified as fuck. Not that it's Catherine's fault, but it really shaped his character, like one of the first things he says to Bruce (after he promised not to turn Jason in to the foster system) is that he kept her fed and warm as long as he could like he wasn't her ten year old child when he started. It's why he views himself on the same level as adults and why he gets all closed off at any insinuation that he needs to be taken care of, both of which heavily inform his dynamic with Bruce. He's constantly checking in on Bruce's wellbeing, like half of Batman: the Cult is just him taking care of Bruce while he recuperates from being brainwashed. (Side note, he's also constantly asking Bruce stuff like "what's your relationship like with this woman or this rogue or the concept of religion, how did that play out, how do you feel about it?" he is Very chatty like that.) The first thing he does when Sheila tells him her (revised to exclude medical malpractice) life story is hold HER and try to affirm her struggle. After a while he starts to act more childish with Bruce (although he doesn't really stop trying to brush off attempts to care for him) but as soon as Bruce admits he prioritized crimefighting over Jason and didn't show up to look after Jason like Jason assumed he came there for, Jason snaps back to acting very independent and rejecting any attempts to be looked after on any terms other than some kind of "equals" thing, which he isn't, as he's a 15 year old boy. Like. He's very sweet to his former neighbor, but also he refers to being a homeless child and the sole provider in his condemned building living situation as "getting by" to her.

He's definitely not. some bloodthirsty delinquent, at least to anyone who's not an uber-misogynistic predator, and he like demonstrably is a pretty sweet kid. It's just that when people say he's a sweet kid they kinda just jump to "untraumatized eight-year-old who grew up in a loving family and just got a new puppy from Santa" instead of "good hearted and curious teenager who has trust issues and is deeply uncomfortable with being taken care of, so kinda just compromises by pretending his dad is a Friend Doing him a Solid and acts like his kid only when he has plausible deniability so he can't get the rug pulled out from under him." Of course. He does kinda get the rug pulled out from under him despite all that. So there's that.

[tamby-teeze]

Okay, so I know a solid 40% of the new Fantasy High was about Tracker "There's still deep attraction here" O'Shaughnessy, but HERE ME OUT

Gertie Bladeshield is the perfect woman for Kristen Applebees.

Cause, like, look, there was a lot of talk in episode 11 about impulsivity and chaos as an aspect of Kristen's character, mainly in how it's mirrored in Princess "Kristen if she had money" Naradriel, but it's also been a general focus this season, especially in how she often uses it to guard her emotions. Think back to "That's what you think", an incredible improv moment, but if you look at the big picture, Kristen's estranged parents make an incredibly inflammatory statement about her religion right after actively bullying her little brother, and instead of honoring any of the actual negative emotions she's being filled with in that moment, she pirouettes away. It's brought up in the adventuring party after this exact episode how Kristen is a cleric, a high-wisdom class that is naturally insightful, but uses these silly deflections to hold other people back from being insightful into her (hence Mac & Donna's lifetime insight disadvantage)

This isn't just limited to small moments, too. To take a broader look at the season so far, Kristen's chaotic, shrimp-jumping, wrangler-wearing, salsa-dipping, middle-school-campaigning, steel-workers-union-supporting bid for class president is often shown explicitly as a distraction from her existentially important job as the only cleric of Cassandra. Even when trying to earnestly apologize to Cassandra and prove to them that she's gonna prioritize her over class presidency, the only way she can articulate it is "You're the meat, mama." Her emotions are always guarded by some amount of chaos and impulsivity.

Now, how does that relate to Gertie "I've had a crush on you for a really long time" Bladeshield?

In both of the two scenes we've gotten of The Best D20 NPC (/j (but I do really like her)), Gertie has shown a pretty similar propensity for making bold, chaotic decisions in the heat of the moment. However, in my observation, these decisions do NOT come from a place of emotional suppression. Quite the opposite, actually.

Think back to her Grand Entrance into the narrative. Gertie, being one of the last people awake at Fabian's party, gifts her longtime-crush a jar of honey, something that connects directly to her passion/special-interest of beekeeping, in a homemade container designed as a pun on Kristen's last name. (in hindsight, the crush was very obvious) Then, in the middle of her infodumping to her about honey, Kristen's rich friend makes an incredibly dismissive remark about her good-natured gift. This obviously pisses her off, but unlike Kristen "That's what you think" Applebees, Gertie "I don't give a shit who's kid you are" Bladeshield lets herself feel those emotions very loudly, immediately starts a duel with possibly one of the most accomplished sword-fighters in the history of Aguefort, and declares him a life-long nemesis. She acts very brashly and impulsively, but in a way that doesn't hide her emotions, instead expressing them.

(I know there's a lot of talk about outbursts of anger being tied to Ankarna, but not only does the scene not really seem like foreshadowing to me, it's more interesting to see it through the lens of being Gertie's actual actions)

This trend continues with the 12th most noteworthy thing to have happened in episode 11 (which incredibly high acclaim), where after being explicitly asked to talk about bees by her crush, and being placed inches away from her face, kisses her on the lips. Now, excusing the albeit upsetting lack of consent, it once again shows Gertie acting very impulsively in a way that exposes her feelings to the people she likes. With these two instances of characterization being literally the only two scenes we get with her, it poses her as a very interesting parallel to Kristen, someone who shares in her willingness to make impulsive decisions, but differs wildly from her in the way she uses them to react to strong emotions.

However, does this really make Gertie the Autism to her ADHD?

(idk if Gertie really shows autistic traits, I just wanted to say that) Well, part of what Tracker a good companion for Kristen was that, as a fellow cleric, she naturally had very high wisdom, meaning she had enough insight to look past the layers of shrimp and salsa and engage with her on a deep level. However, clerics aren't the only class that cast spells with wisdom, so do rangers, including swarm-keeper rangers, which is a subclass that both has a good few abilities focused on spell-casting and was confirmed to be Gertie's subclass in an adventuring party. While her highest stat still could be dex (which, come to think of it, is a hilarious contrast to Kristen), there's no doubt that Gertie has a higher chance than most at being able to look past Kristen's barriers and see the complex hive of sweet, buzzing emotions underneath.

Hell, maybe that's where Gertie's crush comes from in the first place. Maybe, seeing this popular, proudly sapphic cleric be incredibly playful and chaotic on school grounds, she not only saw a bit of herself, but a little more. Perhaps, the type of mind that dedicates itself to allowing small, harmless critters to prosper even when no-one cares to join her club, is also the type of mind able to recognize when someone isn't allowing their truest emotions to prosper, making her wonder if they might have something to gain from sharing some of that chaos, using it not to hide, but to be free.

Or maybe it's just cause her last name has "bees" in it, idk.

[cosmerelists]

Cosmere Villains Who Would Be The BEST Picks For Your Zombie-Fighting Team

Recently I explored which Cosmere protagonists would be the worst picks for your Zombie Apocalypse Survival Team. Naturally, that begs the parallel question: which Cosmere villains should you choose to be on your team? The following characters will give you the best odds of surviving & thriving!

1. Moash

I mean, this won't work if you're a blue-eyed Rich Person, but if you're someone Moash would want on his team, then you're golden! Moash will teach you how to fight (see: Moash with the freed Singers) and will be very good at mowing down zombies left and right. Plus, if some dear friend and teammate is zombified, Moash will NOT hesitate to cut off that person's head. And that is a strong positive in the zombie apocalypse!

2. Taravangian

Listen...this will only work if you yourself are a bit ruthless, but hear me out. Will Taravangian sacrifice that other, rival fort over there to the zombie hordes? Yes. Is he working on a plan to save the planet that coincidentally means allowing 90% of the population to be infected? Well...yes. But will YOUR small team be absolutely protected by Taravangian's convoluted scheme? Yeah! So, I mean...that's something, right?

3. Bleeder

If there is one thing Bleeder hates, it's people whose free will has been taken away. And what does Bleeder do to solve this problem? Murder! That's a strong resume for her being on your zombie-fighting team. Zombies are people whose free will and sentience has been taken away, and now they are trapped as a shambling herd of hunger. I bet Bleeder would be all for killing ever single last zombie and for bringing down the one responsible if it's that kind of zombie apocalypse.

4. Crow

Crow is an excellent fighter...and killer. Also quite an effective leader in times of crisis. Now, will Crow force you and the other members of her team to do something horrible to promote group bonding? Yeah, probably. I'm thinking--tricking you all into cannibalism or something. BUT after your shared crime has given your group cohesion, THEN you'll be a well-oiled zombie-fighting MACHINE! Plus, Crow definitely nails headshots like 99.9% of the time.

5. Dilaf

What does Dilaf hate? Elantrians. What are Elantrians? Zombies. QED.

6. Hrathen

Hrathen is also a villain whose target was Elantrians (=zombies), so that's a good resume. And unlike Dilaf, he's not 100% unhinged! His general stance is "it is better that a population be spared than it be decimated" which is a solid zombie apocalypse stance. Now, you WILL have to convert to his religion, but I think you can mostly just pretend to do that.

7. Raboniel

Raboniel would be great to have on your team because you KNOW she's working on a cure for zombiism. Now...is she working on a cure because her daughter has been zombified? Yes. Is the strange banging and growilng you hear from that box actually her daughter whom Raboniel is keeping IN the fort thus endangering the whole team? Yeah. But she's REALLY smart and REALLY motivated so I think it's worth the risk!

(Let's just hope Navani is there too...)

[rentumblsstuff]

Back to the NPMD x Monster High AU, a couple more things:

I would like to rescind my Werecat Brenda in favor of Nighthawk Harpy Brenda. Yes, I know I made Kyle a werewolf to parallel Brenda being a werecat but I also have a better offer for Kyle too: Yeti, which is why he still holds a grudge against Max for wrecking his dad’s ski-doo.

I have so many thoughts on Vampire Grace. She was born a normie and is a recently turned vampire (maybe even a vampire hunter that failed on an outing and was turned by her prey). She’s having trouble coping with her religion now that she’s a monster and constantly wears turtlenecks like the one she wears in Perky’s Buds to cover up her bite marks. She tried still wearing her cross necklace as a show of rejecting this new form, trying to embrace the pain of having the cross so close because she thought that loving Jesus even when she’s a form of half-demon would make herself better than other Christians, but it hurt way too badly for her to handle so now she just says she wears it underneath her sweater. Jason was born a vampire and wants to help her through her dysphoria but Grace won’t accept anyone treating her like she’s a vampire (even though she is). She does like the part about eating flesh and drinking blood- it’s what Jesus says to do with himself, so in a way, she’s making everyone she eats a little more Christ-like. That’s her thought process, at least. She also still pretends to be human around her parents and normie best friend Gabe. Gabe may or may not know that she’s a vampire though and wants to seduce her so she can turn him too.

In High School is Killing Me, the lyric is now changed to “Fuck you, biteology.”

Max’s Jekyll form is human (Max), but his Hyde form looks like his ghost (The Jagerman).

Stachie is soooo canon because Richie loves swimming but as a werecat Stacy refuses to get in the water and they feel like their romance is especially forbidden because of it. If Richie didn’t love the water so much, he’d wish he was a werecat too because he also wants to be a pretty little kitty meow meow

Ethan, Lex, and Hannah also went there obviously and Ethan was a ghost á la Jonny Spirit and Lex and Hannah are both spider people. You know tf why lol

Ruth is a lot like Frankie Stein in that she flirts with a lot of people but they Do. Not. Flirt. Back. Rather than solid stripes, her sweater looks more like lightning bolts and the mushroom design is a little creepier than just an Amanita.

A lot of the smoke club are also nighthawk harpies (because they like eating the weed) (including Deb) and so a lot of people assume Brenda is also in the smoke club. She isn’t. Monster high typical speciesism mixed with Hatchetfield High typical bullying regardless of social hierarchy.

The Woodwards are flytraps and that’s why Alice doesn’t smoke- plants don’t do that to other plants. This is often a point of contention between Deb and Alice even though they try to pretend it isn’t an issue

Steph’s secretly embarrassed about her decay so she always makes sure her wraps are FRESH, but the rest of her outfit is always her jagged hand-cut crop tops and ripped jeans. Her decay spread to her scalp and forehead and everyone knows better than to say something about the wraps on her forehead or how she always wears a beanie but Pete accidentally tells her he thinks it makes her look even cooler. Swooning ensues because nobody dares address her flaws, much less say she’s cooler for having them.

Steph secretly wishes Pete had a corporeal form because her love language is physical touch and she’s sad she’ll never be able to hold him. (Kind of like how Cleo is sad she’ll never get to look Deuce in the eyes).

Sophia/Spitfire as a background character fire elemental is a MUST.

The janitor is a crazy man who lives in the catacombs under the school and is possessed by what the student body can only assume is a goat demon and Peter Geist feels weirdly like he knows him.

Rosary as Claire Rosary as Claire Rosary as Claire-

Pete has also died recently as one of The Jagerman’s attacks when he was out of control, and he’s new to the school along with Grace. He’s stuck in this dorky outfit he wore so he wouldn’t get bullied and can never change clothes, but at least he’s impossible to punch unless if another spirit tried to attack him. As opposed to Grace in life, he was very interested in the supernatural (one of his special interests) so he knows quite a bit about monster types but is always hungry to learn more about the new world he found himself un-living in

[zsakuva]

Hello, saku! Please ignore this if it's too much of a political question. I would assume Andrew is not religious. When and what age do you think he started to question god? and... Do any of the other characters believe in a supernatural higher power?

Thank you!

You are right, Andrew is not religious anymore. I think he started to question his beliefs when his brother started to. They were both brought up with strict morals and values, and learnt teachings of the Catholic faith. They celebrated holy days, were baptised, and attended mass every Sunday without fail.

But when his brother rebelled, Andrew believed it was his duty to help. Even though their parents didn't discipline them physically, they made remarks of the twin submitting to sin, and how the purity of their family was becoming tainted because of it. The parents were more concerned with how others perceived them, and they enjoyed the ego boost, particularly when it came to Andrew.

And both brothers could see it. They would secretly talk about religion, and his twin would point out its flaws and contradictions. His twin would also research into other religions and compare them, noting similarities and differences between them all due to the way his friends would live. As his brother was not placed under the same scrutiny, he was free to absorb other perspectives quicker. Andrew's faith was solid with minor questionings here and there, but his brother inspired him to dive deeper.

And through life, with whatever experience Andrew had, he questioned it. Through observation, he realised that their parents were vain, egotistical and callous, and their devotion to Catholicism was a veneer to garner compliments and convince themselves they were bound for Heaven. He noticed how they used him and disregarded his brother. God held his hand, and the Devil held his brother's. But he knew that was wrong. So in his mind, if that wasn't true, then what else would be false?

2. As for characters who believe in a higher power, I think the only ones would be Cevyk, Asirel, Dontis, and Zaros.

[fictionadventurer]

American Girl Rankings As A Kid:

Josefina: She was Catholic and spoke Spanish, which made her the coolest, even though my library didn't have the whole series.

Kirsten: I was a Little House on the Prairie kid. I had to love the pioneer girl.

Samantha: Her story was great, her supporting cast was amazing, and she was pretty.

Addy: Amazing stories, but sad.

Molly: I loved the birthday ones, the more modern elements were fun, but maybe a bit too modern and the stories felt a bit lacking

Felicity: I just couldn't get into her stories. Maybe her time period was too early for my tastes.

American Girl Rankings As An Adult

Kit: She's a writer who lives in this amazing attic bedroom and her family runs a boarding house and she's got an amazing side cast of characters, and her deal-hunting aunt is a literary masterpiece. If my school library had had this series as a kid, she would have been one of my faves.

Samantha: As an adult, I've got an even better appreciation for how solid her stories are.

Josefina: I'm not too impressed with the thinness of the storyline about grief, but the religion is handled with surprising respect, and the cultural details are interesting. Also, I appreciate that the quiet girl gets some appreciation.

Addy: I've got a better appreciation for the stories, and I'm better able to handle the sad elements

Melody: Her stories have surprisingly solid writing and characters, though I can't say I'm a fan of the two-novel series structure compared to the six short stories, and some of the attitudes in the second book feel anachronistic and preachy.

Cecile and Marie-Grace: The setting is AMAZING and Cecile is one of the most fascinating characters in the franchise and for that, it would be at least one more spot up the list. Marie-Grace is nowhere near as strong as a character, though, and the structure works against the story. I feel like with a good rewrite, this could be a lot better, but for now, the story's a bit lacking. Also, there's some good Catholic representation alongside some whopping mistakes.

Kirsten: The stories I've reread as an adult seem much thinner than I remember

Molly: I can appreciate her story better, but not enough to move her up the list.

Felicity: Ditto. Also, as a kid I never got far enough into the series to learn that her grandfather was a slaveowner. On the one hand, kudos to committing to historical accuracy, but on the other hand, if you aren't going to dig into the issue, this is something it would have been better to gloss over.

[monstersinthecosmos]

There's a million clues about how Lestat & Marius are similar characters, like father & son, and I wish so much that we had more content about Marius in his first couple centuries when he was still a fledgling. As much as VC assigned mortal age to your temperament, there's still some clues to Marius's emotional dysregulation in his years with Pandora, even leading to their breakup.

But he lapses into the same fits of despair as Lestat and struggles with his nature. I'm thinking about this part in B&G when he has to slaughter the first group of cultists and has a meltdown realizing this is what it's going to be like forever:

But though deeply touched by their mishmash of Christian and Persian ideas, of their wild notions, and by their curious appearance of innocence, I was also horrified by the fact that this was a new religion among the blood drinkers, and they spoke of other adherents. They spoke of a cult. The human in me was revolted; and the rational Roman was more confused and alarmed than I can express. It was Pandora who quickly brought me to my senses and gave me to know that we must slaughter the whole band. Were we to let them go, others would come to us, and soon the Mother and Father might fall into their hands. I, who had slain old pagan blood drinkers with ease, seemed somehow unable to obey her, perhaps because I realized for the first time that if we remained in Antioch, if we maintained our household and our lives, more and more blood drinkers would come and there would be no end to killing them in order to protect our fine secret. And my soul suddenly could not endure this possibility. Indeed I thought once more of death for myself and even for Those Who Must Be Kept We slaughtered the zealots. It was a simple thing to do for they were so young. It took only moments with torches and with our swords. We burnt them to ashes and then scattered those ashes as, I'm sure you know, must be done. But after it was over, I lapsed into a terrible silence and for months would not leave the shrine. I abandoned Pandora for my own suffering. I couldn't explain to her that I had foreseen a grim future, and when she had gone out to hunt the city or to do whatever amused her, I went to Akasha.

And as much as mortal age gives vampires perspective on humans, gives them perhaps more respect for mortality, gives them solid foundation for understanding the price of immortality, there's still something to be said by their literal age and how they've maybe ripened or calmed down. Lestat is absolutely a unique mess, but how will he mature in 2,000 years? It just makes me wonder about the overlap in their personalities, and how much will change and how much will stay the same, and if Marius is simply a little more chill because he's old as fuck. (There's also the lore that most vampires don't live through their first century anyway, so there's something here about the innate personalities of the ones who last longer and their potential or ability to adapt.)

I've been thinking too about how Marius is prone to big sleeps, and although we're told it's part of the vampire lore and that other vampires do it, a significant portion of the main cast don't. We think it's normal because Marius told Lestat it's normal. Marius saw this struggling young vampire who reminds him of himself and thought "Of course, yes, sometimes we get overwhelmed and need a break", and although he comments on the fact that most vampires as young as Lestat don't yet need to, we also know he was having these despondent fits, hiding in the shrine for months at a time, in his first couple centuries.

[bestiarium]

The Stikini [Native American mythology; Seminole/Passamaquoddy mythology]

Owls inspire a certain sense of awe with their highly efficient nocturnal hunts, so it comes as no surprise that they have a role in some myths and folktales from around the world. In the religion of the Native American Muscogee and Seminole peoples, a Stikini was a malicious owl-like monster. The Muscogee people had a special dance called the StikinobAnga to ward off the evil Stikini, but they could also be fought with special ‘Stikini arrows’ which were equipped with owl feathers and featured grooves filled with medicinal herbs. Stikini used to be humans in life, but are now undead owl-creatures due to dabbling in witchcraft. I noticed they are sometimes translated as ‘witches’.

I found very few Native American descriptions of the exact nature and appearance of these monsters, but McElroy’s encyclopedia claims that the Stikini look like regular people during the day. When night falls, they vomit out their own entrails before hanging them in trees and transforming into horrible owl monsters. They then set out to hunt, and exclusively eat still-beating human hearts. If they ever go a full night without consuming at least one heart, they die. At dawn, they ingest their entrails to transform back into humans.

An often-cited interview with Lucinda Davis, a former slave from a Muscogee owner, claimed that the Native American Muscogee people associated owls with death and often perceived the birds as deathly omens. Whenever someone heard the noises of a screech owl, it was thought that somebody among them would soon perish. Supposedly, these owls could often be heard during funerals.

The Stikini is related to this belief, and the word ‘Stikini’ was also used to refer to screech owls.

Interestingly, it is believed that African folklore influenced the Muscogee story of the Stikini. The Passamaquoddy people, too, knew a version of this creature that they called the Chebelakw (or Cipelahq). And old Passamaquoddy song describes how the monster, along with the spirits of the land and the water would cease their doings to listen to the sound of the singer’s drum.

The powerful wind spirit k’Cheebellock is also related to this creature: he has long legs, mighty wings, and a head but no body. In one Passamaquoddy story, k’Cheebellock takes a liking to two young girls who were taking a walk. He grabs them and lifts them high into the air to carry them to his world, which is a strange place even above the sky. But the girls soon became homesick and cried to be returned to their world. Eventually, k’Cheebellock gave in and took the two back to the world below. But the forest where he landed was vast, and his wings were too large to reach the ground through the thick canopy. So he left the girls on a hemlock. The girls noticed Leux, a local folk character, and begged him to help them. He replied that he was far too busy and left them to their fates.

Later, though, Leux came by once more and the girls called out to him again. Leux agreed to help them down, but on the condition that one of the girls would become his wife. But the girls were clever and tied a hairband to the tree. Once back on solid ground, they demanded that Leux took the hair band back if one of them was to marry him. He tried, but the girls had tied a very tight knot so it took him a long time to collect the hair band.

When at last he climbed down from the tree, the girls had finished their preparations and blinded him. They then called out to him to follow them, and so tricked him to walk right into a river. After climbing back on dry land, Leux heared the voices of the girls again and follows them, only to step on a trap made of porcupine quills. He then tried to rest, but when he awoke he found that the girls were nowhere to be found.

Sources: Layman, M. M., 1989, Utilization of Traditional Health Care Systems by the Native Population of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, a thesis submitted to the faculty of graduate studies and research in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Native Studies, University of Saskatchewan. No author listed, 1890, A Story of Leux, The Journal of American Folklore 3(9), p.270-270. Pasierowska, R.L., 2017, “Screech Owls Allus Holler ‘round the House before Death”: Birds and the Souls of Black Folk in the 1930s American South, Journal of Social History, 51(1), p. 27-46. McElroy, D.R., 2020, Superstitions: A Handbook of Folklore, Myths and Legends from around the World, Bok Sales, p. 91, 192 pp. Prince, J.D., 2021, Passamaquoddy Texts: Volume X, Publications of the American Ethnological Society, Drugulin, Germany. (image source 1: Audre ‘Charamath’ Schutte. You can buy a print of this artwork or browse the artist’s other works on charamath.com) (image source 2: Kim Declercq on Artstation)

[spotsupstuff]

can i have a summary of your AU? it seems like something different and ORIGINAL for once, focusing on the benefactors and not demonizing them to hell and back like everybody else does

Philosophy Sessions gets its name from an idea for a comic of Moon (while Survivor is still visiting) addressing her relationship with the Anemons (the "Ancients"' species name here) and her own faults like tolerating harm for too long. By herself, she comes to the conclusion that though the relationship/s she had with them were once good, they eventually became rotten and bad for her. She has a session philosophising about it all.

The AU's happenings keep the theme.

The main things happen in a different Iterator group (The Children of Eo/group Epsilon) from the one in-game (Wish for Tomorrow/group Tau, though sometimes it'll be nice for them to pop up and I'm not against making something for them from time to time either), during the time the Anemons still lived. Through characters, I aim to explore the spiritual/religious, philosophical, psychological and sociological aspects of their world.

It's meant to be more of a think-piece than a story, tool for exploration the complexities of anger, sex, attachment, relationship with being alive at all and coping with being terribly hurt.

Currently I mainly work on the worldbuilding through info posts so I have a solid ground to put these softer things on, along with some goofing off with the characters since knowing them is vital for these themes.

If served in a story format, I divide it into four "books": • The Polar War • Biography of a Sparrow • The Ending Chime • Transfiguration

The Polar War is about a war confict between group Epsilon and a group north from them, Rho/Frost's Promise.

It revolves around a "society" vs "society", the reason for the conflict is unclear, the main questions are ,,Why and how can a society preaching these spiritual values get into a war? How far are they willing to go?" with secondary questions of ,,How would the Iterators do in a large violent situation? How would a war conflict work for this world where death is... not really a thing?"

Biography of a Sparrow is about a low karma Anemon in the golden age, from the low castes, Three Sparrows on a Wire. This is the oldest part conceptualized, most developed, with Sparrows being my first Anemon character.

She lands herself a spot in a school for Iterator mechanics, an incredibly demanding job that ends up misplacing her into the high caste. She's also very bad at the spiritual things, the job puts a strain on her relationships with family and her priorities, her Iterator charge falls in love with her complicating things tremendously and her past lives are rather dark, loud in her dreams.

The goal is exploration of the Anemons' social structures and the spiritual concepts as she eventually begins confronting her faults and learning better.

The Ending Chime has a 16 year old high karma Anemon boy, real name secret for now and nicknamed Preacher, for protagonist.

The story takes place during the last months of the Anemons' existence. Preacher is faithful to the spirituality, but despises the religion that has gone corrupt. He was sold to the religious command of the community as a toddler in exchange for his parents being pardoned for having sex with a resulting accidental child. The caretakers, with an actual preacher as a sort of leader, have mistreated him and other given up children. The broken tooth and lip scar he has are from a bad slap from the preacher for questioning the religion when he was 10. That kind of stuff.

During one night of doubt and resentment on the kid's part, Théta, the highest yet forgotten god, contacts him and supports his decision to run away to join a rebelion against all of this. During his journeys we get to know how the society has changed since Sparrows, we get to see spiritual creatures, old corrupt gods and echoes of the past, while also getting to meet more Iterators and getting some lessons from them.

We all already know that Preacher won't get to win, though.

Transfiguration is about Théta stepping down into physical existence as the Saint to free the Iterators from their suffering, specifically about those in group Epsilon. Here, he is joined by the Iterator Biting Notos who lives more as an overseer at this point than the whole bio-computer thing.

They travel together, discussing the ages past, Notos' regrets and conflictions about helping the Saint do its quest and listening to the dying Iterators' last thoughts, last philosophy sessions.

[alyjojo]

Yearly Tarot Reading 2025 🎏 - Pisces Sun/Rising

Meditation: “Under the surface” of the ocean lies a vast and beautiful underwater city, with my giant Cthulhu on the wall as a real character, ruling over this city. Benevolent. Responsible. Buuuut, threaten their city and they’re a scary mfer. On my wall it’s The Hierophant, it may be relating to a parent, spouse, teacher, doctor, the government or “system”, a guide, a priest - or even God/religion. He’s guarding his city, that I didn’t even see was there until this, I’m just obsessed with Cthulhu fr 🐙 You could also be connecting with a Taurus. Favorite vision 💚

General: The Star ⭐️

Work: The Hanged Man

Love: Death

You are on the correct path, though it may not be easy or always rewarding. Death isn’t easy and it’s here twice. The Oracle of Death is shown with Capricorn rev, I’m getting this being Devil energy from the last year - you defeated a Devil last year 🥳 Maybe it was addiction, a relationship, a bad habit, a toxic mindset or behavior, a terrible job, toxic family, something not good; it kept you stuck, trapped, and bound. This year is more about the after effects of that, The Star ⭐️ comes after The Tower for a reason, you’ve probably been through it recently. Towers are out of our control, they come as a shock or a sudden event that changes the entire perception or direction of something we thought was solid - but it isn’t. That’s also reflected in your work, same sentiment. Distractions and Start are also carried over from last year, you knew what you had to do then - you’re doing it now. Off and on, sorta, whatever these distractions are will be a reoccurring thing this year too - I’m hearing that’s just you. You can’t always be “on,” sometimes you want to stay “off.” Healing is the most important thing this year.

Work is work. You’re not happy with it, though you stick around and wait for a perspective shift, wait to out-mood your current mood when you wanna just leave and never come back…see you tomorrow. Relatable 😆 If you’ve ended a relationship, work is where you go to heal and not think about that - though you’re probably thinking about it constantly let’s be real. When you’re busy you’re good, and you may try to keep busy a lot, but it’s nothing important. Distractions. Some of you are incorporating hobbies into work somehow as well, like another method of keeping busy or feeling “useful” in some way. You may dream of making a hobby your career, I’m seeing crochet 🧶, but you don’t know how to do it properly or “officially,” it’s like you don’t even have faith at the start so there’s no action taken to make it real. You could be battling a lot of negative self talk. Interestingly enough, though the North Node is moving into your sign, you’re actually connecting more with Virgo from what I can see. Self-critical, critical in general, not happy with things as they are and more of a focus on the negative than what’s possible, or optimism as a whole, more focused on work than “the meaning” of things - pass. That’s not very Pisces of you, and the message of this whole reading is The Star, your path, your purpose, your whole life direction…which is the North Node, all of it is connected and showing you the way. Because you’re feeling more connected with South Node, things will have to end/change/Death in order to move towards your true path - if you’re not already on it, for some this has already happened. Maybe two things. Two Death cards.

You may have recently lost a job or quit one, if so this was a basket you had all of your eggs in, 10 Pentacles. Set for life, this is the thing I’m doing forever. That could be the Tower you didn’t see coming. It could also be something within your job, the management or people, there could’ve been massive layoffs and you miss literally everyone wtf - it’s not the same anymore, you don’t even want to be here now. Or you’re doing what you have to do, but you know that long-term it’s not for you, I’m seeing something “mindless” with no real meaning for you, it brings no joy, which is why The Star is here showing your North Node. What does? That’s the path you should be moving towards, as soon as that voice in your head (or noise from the tv?) shuts up so you can Start.

Cutting out Distractions and focusing on making clear decisions, or analyzing yourself and what you want, how to xyz, reality - that’s where you’re like mrrrrrrgrrrrl and it’s back into your comfort blanket - turned “off.” Not receptive to the deep stuff, not optimistic, everyone hates me I’m going to eat worms - there will be days of pity parties and chocolate 🍫, it happens to the best of us. Healing. Cuz whatever it is fucking hurts or you hate it 🪱 It’s part of The Star, these moments/feelings, and picking yourself back up. TrY tO bE pOsItIvE 😆 I’m not laughing at you, that’s how I heard it. Sarcastic af. What you want to do for work will probably change, Exhaustion shows you feeling this isn’t worth it, whatever it is. For some, there’s a ridiculous commute involved. You could feel like something with work is going downhill and there’s no hope for success, advancement, or profit - maybe as a company or a career path as a whole. Or that’s why they’re/you’re making Tower decisions. You’re being encouraged to Start moving towards whatever is your new dream, once you figure out what that is - and heal from the disappointment of whatever wasn’t. The North Node on your side makes this both meant to be and inevitable, wherever you’re going, whatever hasn’t worked out, or isn’t now, and you’re being validated for that. Work could be going under or something going on regarding secrets or secret agendas backfiring - it’s unknown to you and the regular folks, but it’s a big deal up the chain and y’all are none the wiser, for now.

For love, Death is the end, game over. A marriage could end, someone may have lost (or lose) a spouse, parent, or grandparent (Hierophant), could be you or your person dealing with that. I don’t wish that on anyone 💯 but if you have, I’m sending you big hugs, love, and condolences. There’s no time limit on this stuff, healing heals when it heals. You may have just gone through a breakup recently-ish, single energy is the strongest. This could also be someone graduating, retiring, ending one career for another would affect love too, it’s the end of a major structure that’s been in your/their life, or someone close to you - probably close family if not you. If there’s a job loss, a whole family is affected, or a whole group, a branch of the company, etc.

If you’re single, then you’re very straightforward in letting people know what you’re after and what you’re not - which is either a deeper commitment or it’s very much not, depends on you. Whichever one you want, you’re not settling for/with the other. Partying and 5 Wands shows you dating multiple people most likely, maybe even stirring up some drama between them, or they’re doing that on their own. Someone may try future faking or some ish, promising some sort of commitment that isn’t coming or not what they want, but it’s that or leave - Death is done. You could be either person. I’m seeing “ultimatum” and it’s done - you could be done with anyone giving you an ultimatum or trying to tell you shit about shit, a partner isn’t a ruler, parent, or God. Your romantic life could see drama with someone else’s parents/family/beliefs as well. If you’re interested in a married person, that’s ending, or someone you’re into could get married…there could be drama with that too. There’s no lack of interest in others that I can tell, if anything it’s you, you don’t feel committed to anything - you’re just having a good time guys/girls 🥳

One Day with The Star shows the hope for something lasting, meaningful, and real, a dream relationship - but I don’t see you having high hopes for any particular relationship. A Twin Flame connection may start and separate quickly, meeting them for the first time, or could already be in separation, if you have one. If you don’t know, don’t worry about it, Death ‘em 😈 and you’re on the right page - I’m not getting a reunion. There could be issues with someone’s will as well, 5 Wands could show people in conflict or competition over someone’s stuff, family conflicts - heavy Taurus/Scorpio shows what’s mine vs what’s yours/ours, and you’re in this somehow.

For the most part, your reading is the most chill, humble, and flexible. You’ll date. You’ll coast. You’ll show up and do the thing. You’ll reconsider why you’re doing what you’re doing, and dream of what could be - but ultimately you’re just trying to have a GOOD TIME GUYS/GIRLS. Drama free 😌 as much as possible, probably because there is some, and Partying is the escape or reason, it is right next to Distractions. Have fun, and also keep one foot on the ground, like The Star, and take practical efforts towards your dreams, however small that effort is. Don’t get so lost in living in the moment or having a good time, that you forget what’s really important to you. You’re like the deep person amongst clowns 🤡 but those clowns are fun…for a day. Then get rid of the hangover and the person that crashed on your couch and - back to the dream, making it real, or figuring it out. You could have some intense dreams, and you’ll probably be daydreaming a lot, but idk a Pisces that doesn’t on any day. Saturn leaving your sign (yassss) and moving into Aries will probably be the motivation you need to really start working on your career and what you want from that, as you should, that change happens on May 25th. Omens shows you’ll be receiving signs every step of the way 💚 And Spirit is saying “even when you’re wrong,” which indicates you will probably be wrong at some point and should pay attention 👓

Zodiac Signs: Heavy Taurus, Pisces, Libra, Scorpio & Aquarius

Numbers: 80, 31, 8, 56, and 18

444 is here with Omens, Death, and 4 Swords rev showing you’re okay. It’s going to be okay, you’re healing and that takes time, but Spirit is sending you all of the signs and synchronicities you’ll need to feel secure in whatever is happening or will.

8888 is here with Go Deeper, The Star, Death, and 8 Wands. 8’s are about Strength, hard work, doing whatever needs to be done to receive the outcome we want - yours is a dream or a whole life shift. Some of you may feel like a dream has died, your motivation for it or some other thing, maybe you need a new dream, or you already have one and that’s why Death is here, some are choosing this and some are having it happen to them/others. Go Deeper shows to check in with yourself and your reasons for doing things, deeper meaning is what you’re after. Your dream 💯 Not initially perhaps. But for some it’s the dream itself that’s changed or will, and you/your surroundings right along with it. The North Node is blessing whatever dream you have, and The Star shows this inner calling that’s directing you towards your path - if you’re not already on it. You’re supposed to. The Hierophant is God/your fav diety, you can’t find more meaning than this.

[namtanlovesfilm]

1st quarter of 2024 shows ranked

n° of shows watched from january 1st to march 31st: 13

1. analog squad: 9/10

I deeply regret not watching this one in 2023 when it was released bc it would've been my number one favorite show of that year ;_; it's such an original and touching show with one of my favorite tropes (found family) and some of the best characters I've ever seen. definitely already an all-time favorite and a comfort show for years to come <3

2. cooking crush: 8,5/10

y'all know how much I love offgun, and while this was no not me or theory of love, this show really brought me back to my early days of watching thai dramas and freaking out over any cute interaction on my screen & I love it for that! while this show has a lot of flaws, most of them are easily forgettable when faced with such great characters & one of the cutest relationships ever! I truly thought offgun's chemistry had reached its peak in not me but I was wrong, these two never cease to amaze me they really can play any role to perfection <3

3. ready set love: 8,5/10

this show really surprised with how pretty much flawless its execution is! it's hilarious but also deals with very deep & interesting topics well, and day might be one of my favorite female leads ever! a super solid show that is honestly gonna become a classic for me, I can feel it :)

4. love for love's sake: 8,5/10

this was a super sweet show that's very well done, I was dubitative of the plot at first but it really managed to pull me in & make it worth my while! one of the best kbls out there :)

5. the believers: 8,5/10

this is definitely one of the most innovative thai shows out there, dealing with a topic (religion) that I didn't think anyone would dare touch. the story had me hooked all 9 episodes & the acting performances were amazing, however I have to say this didn't pack as much of a punch as I expected it would. it's a very good show, but it stays a little surface level & doesn't explore its characters enough for me...

6. sing my crush: 7,5/10

this was very much adorable, however two things bothered me: 1) I didn't like the time jump from ep 1 to ep 2, I wish we could've seen the friendship between the characters developed more, and 2) I feel like them not revealing their feelings for each other felt a little forced & random. apart from that it's a very cute show!

7. intern in my heart: 7,5/10

this was a really enjoyable romantic comedy that I had a lot of fun in front of :) is it much more than that? not really. pretty basic but with charismatic performances that carried the show well!

8. perfect propose: 7,5/10

really sweet show that I wish was more developed & gave me more, but a good time nonetheless!

9. sukiyanen kedo do yaro ka: 7/10

this show got me, lost me then got me once again lol. I thought the chemistry for an established relationship was some of the best for a jbl, and the story was simple but endearing. but tbh something was kinda lacking for me, which made this ultimately very forgettable imo.

10. the outing: 7/10

I was SO looking forward to this show without much expectation but it still managed to disappoint me lol. the acting was very solid but there's too many characters that get introduced too late & I failed to really understand what the point or purpose of the show was. it seems to me as if this show took all of the worst points from remember 15 (the sex, the chaos, the betrayals & annoying characters), without the substance that remember 15 actually had. it's not a terrible show, and I was intrigued during it, but tbh it could've been so so much better.

11. love class season 2: 7/10

this had some of the strongest and most interesting ships I've seen in a kbl, however the writing & execution of the show was very frustrating. early on the characters barely get introduced & we struggle to understand how they're all linked together, leading to a lot of confusion on my part. it's sad bc it had a very solid story but bad execution imo :(

12. chaser game w: power harassment: 7/10

this had me very excited but sadly didn't deliver at all for me. the story is kinda all over the place & while the chemistry was really good and it's important to have japanese characters clearly labeled as lesbians, I found the acting kinda over the top as well... but it's a start for gl I guess 🥲

13. sahara sensei to toki-kun: 6/10

this is the kind of show that I managed to watch until the end... for whatever reason. but the age gap icked me out & I found that the main ship didn't have much chemistry. overall this story is very empty & didn't add anything for me, but I really liked the character of toki & would've loved to see him in a better show & ship.

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders Viewers' Choice #26: Nrvnqsr Chaos

today on Grailfinders, I’d say we’re due for a big ol’ storm of chaos! Nrvnqsr Chaos specifically, though you’ll have to forgive me if I simply call him Nero throughout the build- I’m not going to remember that alphabet soup of a name.

anyway, our dear friend Keysmash Chaos is an Aberrant Mind Sorcerer to pick up some spicier summons and some flexibility, as well as a Shepherd Druid for summoned beasts out the wazoo that can really pack a punch. check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Ancestry & Background

Nero was a human but now he’s chaos, which is a bunch of animals grafted together in a semi-humanoid shape. you could go Simic Hybrid here if you love the smell of fish, but since there’s no way in hell I’ll find another chance for this I’m going to make him a Plasmoid instead. that gives him +2 Charisma and +1 Constitution, as well as an Amorphous body type that lets you squeeze through small spaces and get advantage on making and escaping grapples. you also get Darkvision up to 60’, and can Hold Breath for up to an hour with no negative consequences. you’ve got 666 pairs of lungs, I’m sure it’ll all work out. your unique body plan also gives you a Natural Resistance against acid and poison damage as well as the poison condition, and you can Shape Self as an action to add or remove limbs and a head from your general shape, or use a bonus action to send a bit of you up to 10’ away in a little cord that can manipulate lightweight objects. chaos doesn’t keep a solid form, go figure.

you used to be part of a reclusive bunch of mages that threw themselves out of normal reality, so calling you a Hermit is pretty spot on. you get proficiency in Medicine and Arcana instead of religion bc I said so, and the Wandering Sea is definitely more about science/magic than gods. I’d argue your backround’s flavor feat Discovery is also pretty in-character for once since it gives you a reason you became goo to begin with, but it’s not totally necessary.

Ability Scores

nero’s highest score is his Charisma. his magic comes from inside, and I mean that literally. next is Wisdom, animals tend to have a high wisdom score, and you are animals. also, mind-controlling you is probably pretty hard given how many you have. third is Constitution, because you don’t die til your beasts do, and your beasts don’t die til you do. a real catch-666 here. this does make your Dexterity a little lower than I’m 100% comfortable giving a caster, but with a healing factor like yours getting out of the way isn’t an issue. your Intelligence is only average- you were smart, and probably still are, but your brain’s been getting eaten by wolves the last millennium, I wouldn’t bet too much on it. that means we’re dumping Strength, which feels weird for a super strong vampire, but we can patch that up with magic better than most other abilities.

Class Levels

1. Sorcerer 1: starting off as a sorcerer gets you proficiency with Constitution and Charisma saves. you can survive the eyes of death perception, which is definitely a high save DC for one of those. you also get proficiency in Intimidation and Insight checks. you have 600+ beasts inside you- that’s a lot of growling and a lot of eyes.

at level one your Aberrant Mind lets you use Telepathic Speech, linking up with a nearby creature for a couple minutes so you can speak with just your minds. you also gain Psionic Spells, which are kind of like a regular extended spell list, but you can swap these out with other divination or enchantment spells as you go. if we do that, we’ll be sure to bring it up.

speaking of, at level one you get Arms of Hadar and Mind Sliver which we’re keeping, but we’re swapping out Dissonant Whispers for Identify. you��ve been around a while, you know what magic is. you also get regular spells this level- Mage Hand lets you send out a lil bird to carry something light for you, Sword Burst flings claws everywhere for some cheap damage, Chill Touch deals damage and blocks healing, and Blade Ward lets you goop up to block the worst of incoming physical damage. for your leveled spells, Mage Armor is practically a necessity since it gives you an extra +3 to AC, and Catapult is nice too, letting you fling a nearby object at a creature, possibly damaging both in the process.

2. Sorcerer 2: second level sorcerers are a Font of Magic, which right now just means you can cast an extra 1st level spell each day by doing some rigamarole. a 1st level spell like Feather Fall perhaps. you’ve got a lot of birds in you, I’m sure they can help break your fall.

3. Sorcerer 3: at third level your font of magic actually becomes interesting, because you can use your sorcery points from that to make Metamagic, altering the effects of your spells to your liking. most of your summons are literally you pulling something out of you, so they’re pretty Subtle. subtle spells don’t require somatic or verbal components, so they’re a lot harder to counterspell too!  speaking of, those summons are basically animals when they’re not in you, so they last a while- an Extended spell can help with that, doubling the duration of whatever you cast.

you also get second level spells now! we’re swapping out Calm Emotions for Hold Person for your weak shitty eyes of enchantment, and Detect Thoughts. mortal mages can do that, and you’ve been around ten times as long, so I can’t imagine it’s that difficult for you. you also get Enhance Ability, giving you advantage on one kind of skill check for up to an hour. and all the options are flavored after animals, score!

4. Sorcerer 4: fourth level sorcerers get their first Ability Score Improvement, so bump up that Charisma for stronger spell, like the cantrip Infestation to sic bugs on people and Shatter to break shit! I think adding a swarm of poisonous insects to your chaos would probably bump you up to at least 6,666 beasts but I’ll allow them to all count as one.

5. Sorcerer 5: at fifth level, everything just kind of goes right for you thanks to your Magical Guidance- spend a sorcery point, re-roll a failed check. you’re a villain, so you have plot armor right up to the end of the story.

you also get third level spells- Haste lets you move fast enough to keep up with arcueid (probably), and your freebies Hunger of Hadar and Sending let you blast some goo to slow down enemies and chaos them to death, or use a cell phone. you were born in the 900s, an iphone might as well be magic to you.

6. Sorcerer 6: a sixth level weirdo gets Psionic Sorcery, so any of your psionic spells can now be cast purely through sorcery points, and doing so makes it subtle as well as allowing you to ignore material components unless they are spent by the spell. that’s important for later.

you also get Psychic Defenses, giving you resistance to psychic damage as well as charms and spooks. you have a lot of brains in there, it’s going to be hard to freak all of them out at once. which is good bc the rabbit one is always freaked out.

also you can finally eat people now! with Vampiric Touch, you can touch people and drain their life force, regaining half the damage you deal as HP!

7. Sorcerer 7: seventh level of a spellcaster means fourth level spells! as for nero, it’s Polymorphin’ time! now you can turn into a beast with a CR equal to your level or less for up to an hour, changing all your stats and basically giving you a big beast-shaped shield to your HP. you also get your new psionic spells, Evard’s Black Tentacles and Summon Aberration! the former’s basically hunger of hadar but again, and the latter’s our very first summoning spell for phantasmals! yeah it took a while to get going, but if putting animals in people was easy everyone’d be a furry already. don’t worry, we’ll speed things up next level.

8. Druid 1: bouncing over to druid gives you more Spells that you cast and prepare using your Wisdom. multiclassing spellcasters gets a lil complicated, so check the PHB to see what spell slots you have at any given time.

the important thing is you get Primal Savagery and Shillelagh, giving you more melee options to avoid having to punch people with your puny caster hands. you can further enhance your physicality with spells like Jump and Longstrider, or drag people into your chaos with Entangle. you even learn druidic! it’s a language!

9. Druid 2: at second level you get to enter the Circle of the Shepherd, which teaches you the Speech of the Woods. not only does it teach you Sylvan, famous for being a language, but you can talk to beasts now as well!

more excitingly, you can summon a Spirit Totem as a bonus action, bringing a phantasmal to the battlefield for up to a minute per short rest. you can pick between three options- the bear giving creatures you choose extra HP and advantage on strength checks and saves, the Hawk letting you grant advantage on an attack as a reaction and giving advantage freely to perception checks, and the Unicorn gives advantage on checks to find creatures and extra HP from healing spells.

to get even beastlier, you can now Wild Shape twice per short rest to turn into a beast without using a spell slot. the CR for this one is a lot more limited, but free HP is free HP. alternatively, you can do the more in-character thing and summon a Wild Companion, letting you spend a wild shape use to cast Find Familiar without materials. it’s not that strong, but a flying spy camera can be pretty useful.

10. Druid 3: if you need a long-distance helper, you can always use Animal Messenger or Beast Sense instead. the former will fursonally deliver a message to someone you describe, while the latter lets you see and hear through a beast for up to an hour, but without any control over what it does.

you can also Summon Beast which is nice. we’re still a ways away from mass chaos, but it’s a cheaper summon option.  hell, it’s honestly the better option for a fourth level spell slot anyway, unless you’re hyped about having a regenerating chaos.

11. Druid 4: at fourth level you can turn into CR 1 creatures that can swim thanks to your Wild Shape Improvement, and you can also use this ASI to bump up your Charisma and Wisdom to max out the former and set up the latter for later.

you also get another cantrip, so I say weaponize that pseudopod of yours with a Thorn Whip. it whips! it thorns!

12. Druid 5: the real reason we’re here is third level spells, and the only one I care about here is Conjure Animals. by using a third level spell slot, you can summon a single beast of CR 2, or twice as many by halving the CR, all the way to 8 CR ¼ beasts. it says the DM has the stats for whatever you summon, but tbh if you’re going to summon eight extra fighters every combat you should probably just bookmark your own PHB to help out.

13. Druid 6: one last pit stop before we head back to sorcerer- at level six shepherd druids become Mighty Summoners, adding an extra 2 HP per hit die to your summoned beasts/fey, and giving them magical attacks to boot.

14. Sorcerer 8: another ASI, this time you’re Resilient in Wisdom saves, giving you advantage and also rounding up your wisdom score for a cool plus 1 to all your spells and such.

also you can summon a Spirit of Death now, which lets you track whatever it’s zero’d in on anywhere in the material plane.

15. Sorcerer 9: with fifth level spells, it’s time for things to get real spicy. your freebies this level are Scrying to send out a spy bird with none of the fuss (esp. since you can use psionic casting to get around the 1000 gold casting cost) and Telekinesis to lift stuff like the big strong man you’re supposed to be. you can also Summon Draconic Spirits now, giving you access to the most powerful phantasmals available. not only can it deal adequate damage with breath attacks, but it also protects you from elemental damage to boot!

16. Sorcerer 10: now that you’ve spent some time vamping it up, your magic can now be Empowered, forcing disadvantage on one person trying to save themselves from it. you also get the Message cantrip bc I’m running out of good cantrips to give you, and the Enervation spell for a more chaos-flavored way of consuming your prey. you slap a target with a tentacle, and if they fail their first save it latches on, letting you drain their health each turn for up to a minute.

17. Sorcerer 11: I’ll be honest I’m kind of on the fence as to whether Tasha’s Otherworldly Guise should be called your 999th beast or not. on one hand it makes you look more demonic and gives you all kinds of cool abilities, but tbh I think turning into a T rex makes you a lot tougher for less magic cost. either way, you definitely have it now.

18. Sorcerer 12: use your last ASI to bump up your Dexterity to not die as much. yeah you’ve got plenty of spare lives, but it’s a pain to use them, y’know?

19. Sorcerer 13: our final spell of the day is the Finger of Death, which is a big single-target attack that can even turn a person into part of your chaos if it kills a humanoid target. really your whole body is Of Death, but a finger works too I guess.

20. Sorcerer 14: our capstone ability makes you a Revelation in Flesh, letting you transform yourself as a bonus action for ten minutes. for each sorcery point spent to transform, you get one of the four available bonuses. the first lets you see invisible creatures, the second gives you a flying speed, and the third lets you swim and breathe underwater. the last and both most- and least-important turns you into chaos good, letting you and anything you’re wearing move through a 1-inch space, or spend 5’ to break any grapple. it’s technically something you could’ve done already, but now you can do it without getting naked.

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

you have pretty good health for a caster, but it gets even better when you include all the extra health you can get from your uses of Polymorph, Wild Shape, and of course your vampiric spells. unless they can rush you down, you can cling to life in a fight for a good long while.

your spells are also very flexible, as are you. yes, you can summon 32 wolves or transform into a T Rex to cause havoc, but you can also summon or become smaller creatures for the sake of stealth or reconnaissance. and of course while using these spells on just yourself is in-character, a lot of them can be used on teammates as well to help them out.

you’re hard to deal with, magically speaking. you have solid saves in two of the big three saves, and you resist some common status effects really freaking well, so other mages can have a hard time taking out your HP faster than you can regrow it.

Cons:

your AC isn’t great, so melee fighters can still carve you up pretty easily. and if one of those happen to get creative with their mystic eyes of death perception you’ll definitely still be in trouble.

also, almost all of your summons are super weak compared to other spells of the same level. Conjure Animals is great for area denial or dealing with large groups of weak enemies, but using a ninth level spell for 32 wolves that’ll survive all of one turn before being fireballed to death just feels bad. the extra health from Mighty Summons is nice, but you’re getting at most 14 extra HP from that if you’re making CR 2 beasts, and that won’t last long at higher levels.

you yourself isn’t that strong either- while you don’t have to worry much about getting grappled, but you’re still easy to push around or fall into a magical strength-save spell.

[mllemaenad]

Spent a bit of time redesigning Melissa, because I'm finally starting to learn a bit about her. Not a big difference – I didn't miraculously become adept with the character creator, but I'm working on it.

The broken horn is from infancy, when her adoptive mother had the bright idea of attempting to remove her newly adopted daughter's horns in the hope of better passing her off as human. In her mother's defence (in terms of logic, not morality; there's no defence of the latter), there's less difference between babies of any people than between full grown adults, and Mel's complexion was not quite so distinct then.

Her father intervened and prevented the loss of her second horn. It caused a significant rift in the family for a time. They reconciled eventually. It's ... complicated. Mel remembers none of this, of course; only that she's always been closer to her father than her mother. She doesn't think her mother would try to cut her horns off now ... but she's also not sure she completely understands why she was wrong to do it at all.

I desperately wanted horns with one broken, and the other with the same decorations she had before. But if there is one like that, I could not find it.

As a child, she was largely educated at home. Attempts to socialise were ... let's say not great. She has scars on her face and body from rocks thrown at her by other children during an ill-advised attempt to join in a game. So she turned out precocious and bookish. Little Melissa, working of whatever random old books her parents had, would tell people she was a Kossith, not a Qunari; Qunari was the religion. She was quite proud of knowing this, from some obscure and ancient military texts, when no one else did. Only much later, at the Circle, did she find out that the proper word was Vashoth.

And her magic ... oh, her magic. That should have been such a coup for her family! A daughter from a military household with magic! Instant status boost. Except ... she's Vashoth, and could barely walk the streets without getting mobbed by angry citizens, let along expect a promotion to high office.

She was educated at one of the smaller Circles, with little prestige, and can relate quite heavily to Neve: like her, she's a working class mage, who earns her living but using her skills. And she ended up with the Shadow Dragons at least in part because no one else would have her.

Elves suffer most from enslavement in Tevinter, undeniably – but she's very aware of how lucky she was, in her circumstances. Few Qunari children fall into Tevinter hands, but the outcome for those that do is not usually good. It gives her something concrete to fight for. And if it was a matter of necessity at first, she knows enough former slaves of all races now to believe the institution must be destroyed.

She's curious about her heritage, of course. She's curious about the Qun, too, but ... as a mage she's keenly aware that they would not want her. Not as she is. But she does read every scrap she can get. This business with the Antaam is infuriating for her: a lifetime of the regret that she can't investigate the culture of her birth because of her magic and now these idiots are in league with Blighted mages who call themselves gods? Are they kidding her?

Otherwise, she's a solid daughter of Minrathous: occasionally a little bit superior about her magic, nominally Chantry faithful but not hugely committed (she could submit a paper to her old Circle about the whole "the Blight didn't actually come from ancient magisters!" thing if her source wasn't "the weird elven trickster god who lives in my dreams"), absolutely certain that their food is better than everyone else's, really tired of hearing about the bullshit politics in the Magesterium.

"Rook" was initially just "rookie"; for a long time she was the newest member of the Shadow Dragons – at least the newest that lasted more than a week. It's changed over time, though. Although I haven't got all the details out of her yet.

We're going on a walk with Davrin and Assan now.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Here's a collection of Trigun Stampede thoughts and observations I had from someone who has only seen this series, since big long posts rarely go over well lol. I'm really intrigued to contrast with the manga later and see if I get similar takeaways... I'm eagerly willing to expand on any of these if anyone is interested but for now they will exist as loose point forms! Hopefully this is coherent!

Firstly: Vash my beloved... please be nicer to yourself... please... you are so kind...

Meryl and Knives are the lead active/driving forces of the show, in contrast to most everyone else's passivity and Vash's reactivity

Meryl's influence on Roberto over the course of the story - she actually has him taking a pretty firm stance later on (which is likely the opinion he held all along, he just buried it), which brings me to the next point-

Conrad and Knives claim to be looking to the future but ignore the present - Roberto dismisses this because those who won't even save a life in front of them in the present moment won't save anyone (this is more in keeping with what Vash does)

The juxtaposition between Conrad and Luida's methods are great and I hope we return to that in the next season

I love Meryl. This is not an observation or analysis it is merely a statement of fact. :)

I wonder if we'll get more Zazie and Meryl interactions. Zazie seems to find Meryl intriguing at the very least. I also just like Zazie and think this could be a really interesting dynamic.

I would also like to see more of Rem, hopefully outside of the biased recollections of Vash and Nai... I still don't feel like I know anything about her :(

Ideals in the service of people (Vash) vs people in the service of ideals (Knives)

Most of the children in the series literally age too quickly. There's a lot to examine there.

Given the attempts to create Independent-like humans by Conrad and the rapid aging of these children... is the serum created from Plants?

Vash 🤝 Me: "Wolfwood" 🥺 (I'm kidding, I'm kidding... mostly.)

Vash and Wolfwood are not fundamentally different, as they first appear to be, but are actually quite similar in their drives (protection of others at personal cost) - the difference in their perspectives comes down to the scope of what they swore to protect (with Wolfwood's being far more limited, thus there are outsiders) and propensity to hope (Vash will act on hope without solid proof, while Wolfwood needs the proof but will jump on it if he sees it - interesting for someone who is associated with religion and faith)

Wolfwood's version of mercy is an unfortunate form of projection (aka Legato is a fucking idiot for thinking removing Wolfwood's attachments would lead him to be solely devoted to Knives. my dude, I am pretty sure that attachment plus raw survival instinct is the only thing keeping him going)

Vash: allows himself to get shot and reveals his scars / Wolfwood: >:O !!! / also Wolfwood: repeatedly takes hits either shielding people or just plain not dodging when he 100% could / Me: 😐

I wish we'd gotten some breathing room in the series. That's my number one gripe about it. Specifically, I wanted a little more time with Wolfwood to get to know him in the present before we got into him having the worst life of his fucking life in the span of two episodes... I also wanted to see a little more of this world that Vash cares about so much! I understand the manga and 98 series do this a little better so I'm excited to see that. Meryl's arc was great though!

Loved the really clever way the flashbacks are done!!! Nai is barely focused on at first, then as his character is slowly revealed, he gets the camera focus and childish behaviours more and more!!!

Huge themes of autonomy and choice. I think they're actually more the point than the whole morality aspect. It's not as important that Vash be perfectly moral and right than it is that his philosophy allows people the chance to choose and change for themselves - Knives' doesn't grant anyone that choice, and in fact, he and the people under him actively remove free will (breaking Vash's mind, the experimentation on Rollo, Wolfwood and Livio, what he did to... the Plants... etc.)

Vash is genuinely angry at Nai in a way he doesn't seem to be with anyone else. I do think a part of him can't forgive what happened to Rem or the emotional strain that comes with watching someone you love repeatedly do horrible things. I don't know if humanity could hurt him the way Nai has. The worst part is that I don't think Nai fully comprehends how badly he has hurt Vash. He looked so confused and hurt when Vash trained the gun on him for the first time. The "ominous piano playing" probably isn't meant to be ominous at all, once we see they used to play that piece together. Nai's been playing it on loop for so long. He wants his brother to come home. :(

The twins treat each other like an extension of themselves for a lot of the story, which is somewhat ironic for a couple of Independents. Vash blames himself and seeks to atone for his brother's actions, Nai thinks any differing opinion his brother has is a result of corruption instead of him being his own person. That is why it is a triumph when Vash finally asserts his identity away from Knives in episode 12, declaring himself his own person. That is why it is a tragedy when Nai would rather let his old self die, figuratively and literally, than accept that.

Nai did not want Rem dead. I stand by this strongly. His anger at her is I believe in part to justify her death in his mind.

Nai wants to return to a time of safety more than anything (the higher dimension is like an "egg", the ship's dome around the two as children, the quietness of the tree, etc.).

Tesla 🤝 Livio: products of human experimentation who really ought to be dead but apparently... aren't??? I am putting them both in my pocket and running away

[kbookblurbs]

The Sunlit Man - Brandon Sanderson

4.25/5 - Classic hero epic, Sanderson manages his ambition, fun but with a sizeable amount of depression sprinkled in

SPOILERS BELOW!

I'll admit, I was shocked to read this book and not have it end in the usual pace-disaster. But that's a plus in my book! I also felt that this was a step up from Sanderson's earlier standalones, in that he is far less ambitious (positive) and is thus able to deliver a solid plotline with meaningful characters beats and interesting worldbuilding without overextending himself on any of the aforementioned. In my opinion, both Elantris and Warbreaker suffer in some degree because they're standalones. To me, Sanderson is meant to write epics. He's one of the few authors that make me go "pick the pen back up, we're not done here." Too frequently, authors overwrite and I feel the need to ask them to put the pen down. Close the laptop, if you will.

I liked the return of the Threnodites and their fun names (Adonalsium-Will-Remember-Our Plight-Eventually is just hilarious to me), and their sense of faith is something that stands out in this book. As always, I think that Sanderson's plays on religion, devotion, and being the object of devotion is something that's just so fun to read because he has slightly different takes on it every time.

The detractor for this book is that I spent the entire time slightly distracted from the actual plot trying to figure out when everything happened. I knew Nomad/Zellion had to be someone from Bridge Four early on, but then figuring out how he had the time for this extensive backstory stuck in the back of my mind and piped up every time Zellion reflected on his past (which was frequent).

That said, Zellion has a delightfully realistic character journey. He's gone through a lot at this point and it made more sense for him to be unable to fully overcome his trauma (though he tried his hardest!) in just a few days with these people. Some very healing scenes, hoping and praying for Kaladin to please also be less depressed in the future.