#and half a destruction thereof

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

Despite the fact that the Inspector claims to have witnessed the creation and destruction of the cosmos at least three times,

viewers have only seen one instance of each, both during the Revived Series.

[branwinged]

"dragons plant no trees" gets thrown around a lot as fact, but i think the veracity of that claim is still up for debate in the books. because dany (like bran and jon and many others) is a narrative symbol of hope and rebirth within the series because of her connection to dragons and fire, not in spite of it. this is because dragons in asoiaf have a much more expansive narrative function than simply 'nuke metaphor'. the 'exclusively weapons of war' image they have acquired breaks down immediately if you recall that the first thing dany does with them is begin dismantling an unjust status quo. she rallies the unsullied at the gates of astapor with cries of dracarys! dracarys! freedom! <- dragons as a symbol of hope and freedom for the persecuted. and obviously they've been built up as an oppositional force against the others. we're told when the last dragon died summers became shorter. in that respect the dragons, or more specifically, fire which is warmth which is passion—very much embodies life against the numbing, deadening threat of eternal winter that the others represent. but fire also consumes, which simultaneously makes dragons agents of destruction, or as adwd shows: the monsters who eat little girls and leave behind their bones. but when dany found herself chained to a false peace which effectively undid her cause in meereen, it was the dragon that rescued her and reignited her fire to fight back—which is to say that dragons represent a wealth of contradictions within the text and this is likely something grrm means to parallel with the others to some extent, by questioning their apparent narrative role as the one true evil. because i doubt the series is gearing up towards a spectacle-esque battle wherein our heroes get to practice righteous, easy violence on a monolithic army of monsters. that feels like it would undo a lot of asoiaf's preoccupation with investigating violence against socially acceptable targets, even if said target is ice sidhe. and this binary between a one true good and a one true evil, i.e. melisandre's philosophy ("if half an onion is black with rot, it is a rotten onion. a man is good or he is evil.") is not something the story takes as given.

instead there's this exchange between bran, jojen, and meera in asos: "but you just said you hated them." / "why can't it be both?" / because they're different. like night and day, or ice and fire." / "if ice can burn. then love and hate can mate."—and i think it's talking about reconciling two conflicting ideas. because the dream of an eternal summer is just as unsustainable as the threat of eternal winter. i think the battle for dawn is more about questions of seasonal harmony. the first line from agot's summary says, "long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance", so it's not totally out of question for the series to end with that seasonal balance restored once more. and that question of balance and how it can be achieved then works as a metaphor for a bunch of other things. because asoiaf at its core is very interested in exploring big contradictions, like love and duty? how do you keep all your oaths without betraying someone you love? how can one hope for a just, rightful ruler in a world where the systems in place can never allow such a thing? how do dragons plant trees?

you cannot frame dany's arc as a binary choice between planting trees or embracing (dragon)fire. because the fire is hers, it is a part of her, that's who she is. and her character has always existed outside of rigid dichotomies. at the end of agot she had two options, resign herself to a life of seclusion as a widow or die with the last of her family in that pyre, instead she performed a miracle. presently, i think grrm means to explore necessary, revolutionary violence with her arc because you cannot deal with institutional slavery by simply negotiating with slavers like she does in adwd. and the consequences thereof because she's also been set up to be more reckless with dragonfire in the future. but i think there will be an eventual reconciliation there, between her dreams "to plant trees and watch them grow." and her role as the mother of dragons, as a revolutionary figure. because if ice can burn, then maybe dragons can plant trees. they'll learn how to.

[chirpycloudyrobin]

Masterlist || START || Next

im just thinking abt an au where wwx actually did die at the burial mounds but him surviving long enough there and even pioneering a new branch of cultivation to do so was enough to punt his ghost straight up to wrath rank. however he is unaware that hes actually dead since hes too focused on his goal to absolutely decimate wen chao to pay attention to his bodily functions/needs or lack thereof.

everyone else gets this feeling that something is off with wwx but they figure its just heebie jeebies from the demonic cultivation. it's only until wwx went back to the burial mounds with the wen remnants that it sinks in that hes dead. but then he realises that if this gets out, the cultivation world will be hunting for his head more viciously so he keeps this very tightly under wraps. all this secret keeping and exhaustion and starvation just makes wwx a teensy bit more volatile but at least he has his own little family to keep him sane.

until shit starts to go downhill. and it just keeps on going. until everyone is gone and hes the only one left standing and he needs to destroy the stupid fucking seal and keep the others from discovering where he hid a-yuan so he takes his chances and pours his everything into destroying the seal. except this time hes a little more powerful than he wouldve been if he was mortal and he levels part of the burial mounds before he went. and thus was the last of wwx.

or was it ?

the world believes wwx to be dead ("good riddance") but actually hes still kicking and in a more incorporeal form. he had to retreat somewhere deep in the burial mounds to recover and thus was unable to see that lwj had come back and taken a severely feverish a-yuan with him. wwx thinks everyone is dead and gone and everything was all for naught so he stews in his mistakes and tries to repent while stitching himself back together.

sometime after, he ends up in mount tonglu which was reopened because the aftershocks of the destruction of the stygian tiger seal were strong enough to disturb mount tonglu's magma chamber of resentment basically. so for ~12 years wwx was in there fighting his way thru which was why he didnt answer to lwj's calls

wwx survives as the last standing ghost after the slaughter and stews in the kiln for another month and a half or so. this would be around the time mxy is preparing to summon wwx's ghost for the summoning.

so imagine wwx just came out of the thing as a newly minted supreme/ghost king and hes immediately yanked to where mxy is. wwx's soul isnt stuffed into mxy's newly-emptied physical body since hes a ghost king this time around. still, he helps mxy but in the shadows bc hes still not keen on getting yoinked just when he returned to the mortal world.

everything proceeds as canon, with wwx sharing mxy's body via possession at some points for the comedy gold and the bit (because he would !! let the man be silly)

after that he absolutely yanks mxy outta there after lwj arrives (just after he spends like 5 minutes staring at lwj's beauty of course) and decides hes gonna adopt this sad little wet cat and teach him the actual proper ways of cultivation and steer him away from demonic cultivation bc tbh it's just not worth it esp since mxy has a golden core and who knows how demonic cultivation will affect a golden core-

anyways

wwx decides to do a silly little makeover so he wouldnt be recognised by any of his old acquaintances. his new appearance ends up a weird lil mix between himself and mxy, enough to claim that theyre distant cousins and normal rogue cultivators just starting out. wwx plans on taking his new charge around the country and away from the sects after he learned the godawful way the lanling jin have treated mxy

"single parenthood will be hard, but this father will make sure you get the best life on the road, my sweet little loquat." "you barely look older than me to be my father, wei-qianbei" "shush let me have this"

their traveling is off to a good start. but then dafan mountain happens and holy shit wen ning is still alive(?? technically ??) and holy shit why the fuck is everyone from wwx's previous life gathering here and holy shit did he just insult his shijie's son and-

why the fuck are they going with the gusu lan cultivators

what the fuck just happened

what

anyways

wwx introduces himself as a golden core-less distant mo cousin ("had an unfortunate run-in with the core melting hand back then") who used to be a rogue cultivator back in the day and is now dabbling with the art of talisman making and definitely isnt practicing demonic cultivation no siree

somehow he and mxy end up separated as lwj and wwx go to investigate the severed arm together and mxy ends up going w the juniors with a lil encouragement from wwx

"youll have a better time socialising with people your age, little loquat" "wei-qianbei plz ,,, u just want to go w hanguang-jun alone dont u" "lmao hahahahah who said that"

wwx is absolutely having the time of his life roleplaying a damsel in distress while being completely oblivious to the bone chilling fear he induces in their undead opponents. he invents silly little talismans to help hanguang-jun in battle. hes a little perplexed at how much shit lwj is letting him get away with.

hes also 90% sure lwj has figured out that hes a ghost and hes sweating like a sinner in church deep inside

i havent thought of much past this but heres some more tidbits of info that i thought about

at some point wwx is made aware of his infamy as the "Devil Flute Upon Graves". his self destruction at the burial mounds wiped out most of the vengeful ghosts in that area and, as mentioned before, shook mount tonglu w enough resentful energy to bust it open

wwx has an army of ghostly corvids that are essentially made of condensed resentful energy. they are also sort of empathetically connected to him ??? so theyre also chatty, yappy things who are extra fond of lwj and the junior ducklings

actually wwx's entire being post-supreme promotion is just condensed resentful/yin energy and being in his presence should be dangerous for regular ppl and cultivators alike but (a) he has mastered the art of keeping the effects contained within himself and (b) existing within the same space as lwj and doing their everyday means that their yin and yang energy are constantly balancing each other out to the point where it just naturally and passively happens. lwj literally dampens wwx's natural heebie jeebie vibes bc of good dick

because hes made up of yin energy, this does mean that it's ridiculously easy for him to switch back and forth between a male and female form. he usually ends up walking around in an androgynous form that leans towards a healthier, happier looking yiling laozu

VERY IMPORTANT ADDITION: yes ofc wwx gives lwj his ashes. it's in the form of an ornament. idk where to hang it tho. maybe wangji-guqin ? or his belt ? still debating on it for sure

the burial mounds are regarded in the ghost realm as his territory now and the ghost realm and heavenly court wait w baited breath to see what this new ghost king would do

the answer is he gallivants all over the damn continent with his new cultivator husband and their gaggle of children. wwx really dgaf about anything else really, he just wants to be Wife and Teacher

the wen remnants are given a second chance at life by wwx himself after the second siege of the burial mounds and they now live a happy afterlife at wwx's new ghost town where their old settlement used to be

he and hua cheng get along by virtue of being former street kids who just want to hang out w their godly spouses and their conversations together are just praise after praise for said godly spouses

wwx's birbs do eat hua cheng's butterflies and it's a frequent point of contention. no harm is done to the butterflies tho, the birbs just spit them out whole bc they taste absolutely nasty/poisonous

wwx 🤝 xie lian : little to no self-preservation instincts. they just want to help people okay !!

after the entire guanyin temple ordeal wwx ends up with a worshipped godly aspect whose primary place of worship is in yiling, who still remember the yiling laozu who just wanted to help his little family survive to the next day. to them, wwx became the god of innovation, ingenuity, and protection

he also becomes the patron god of street children ??? he just finds himself helping street kiddos and taking in vengeful ghost children because it was what he needed back when he was a kid okay ??? hes just using his powers for good, thats all

mxy is taken in by the gusu lan clan where he ends up become a promising candidate as a talisman master, thanks to wwx's encouragement and guidance

also !! it turns out more than a couple of other ppl ascended into the heavenly court, namely:

- jiang yanli ascended as the new water master, while jin zixuan became a martial god. shes a goddess of abundance, the home, and reconciliation. hes a god of wealth, fortune, and justice - nie mingjue also ascended to become a martial god after his spirit was laid to rest. he was supposed to ascend naturally but jin guangyao's bullshit derailed his fate. - wen qing ascended to become a medical master/goddess of medicine and sacrifice tho shes also kind of infamous for her friendship with devil flute upon graves. but nobody can say shit cz if they do say shit then they wld also be saying shit abt hualian and they dont want to deal with two calamities up their ass

thats all i can yap abt rn but i might add more we dunno

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Some Law-Related Vocabulary

for your next poem/story (pt. 4/4)

Ambulatory - capable of being altered

Attainder - the termination of the civil rights of a person upon a sentence of death or outlawry for treason or a felony

Bestiality - the crime of engaging in sexual relations with an animal

Blasphemy - the crime of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God or a religion and its doctrines and writings and especially God as perceived by Christianity and Christian doctrines and writings

Brownfield - a tract of land that has been developed for industrial purposes, polluted, and then abandoned

Clemency - willingness or ability to moderate the severity of a punishment (as a sentence); an act or instance of mercy, compassion, or forgiveness

Cold blood - a state of mind marked by premeditation and deliberateness—usually used in the phrase in cold blood

Concubinage - the relationship between persons who are cohabiting without the benefit of marriage

Days of grace - period of time beyond a scheduled date during which a required action (as payment of an obligation) may be taken without incurring the ordinarily resulting adverse consequences (as penalty or cancellation); also called "grace period"

Donation mortis causa - a donation that is to take effect on the donor's death and that is revocable

Ex maleficio - arising from wrongdoing; created by law in response to a wrongdoing

Exonerate - to relieve especially of a charge, obligation, or hardship; to clear from accusation or blame

Express malice - the knowledge that defamatory statements especially regarding a public figure are false

Extreme cruelty - behavior toward a spouse that involves physical violence or threats thereof, acts calculated to destroy the peace of mind or health of the spouse, or acts destructive of the purpose of the marriage

Floodgate - something serving to restrain an outburst (as of litigation)—usually used in pl.

Flotsam - floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo

Flying squad - a usually small standby group of people ready to move or act quickly; especially: a police unit formed to respond quickly in an emergency; called also "flying squadron"

Fourth degree - a grade given to less serious forms of crimes

Freedom of the seas - the right of a merchant ship to travel any waters except territorial waters either in peace or war

Golden parachute - an agreement providing for generous compensation to an executive upon dismissal

Great bodily injury - physical injury suffered by the victim of a violent crime that causes a substantial risk of death, extended loss or impairment of a body part or function, or permanent disfigurement; physical injury that is more serious than that ordinarily suffered in a battery

Indemnify - to secure against hurt, loss, or damage

Messuage - a dwelling house with the adjacent buildings and curtilage and other adjoining lands used in connection with the household

Moiety - half of something

Moot - deprived of practical significance; made abstract or purely academic

Next friend - a person appearing in or appointed by a court to act on behalf of a person (as a child) lacking legal capacity

Nunc pro tunc - now for then—used in reference to a judicial or procedural act that corrects an omission in the record, has effect as of an earlier date, or takes place after a deadline has expired

Primogeniture - the state of being the firstborn of the children of the same parents; exclusive right of inheritance

Prurient - marked by or arousing an unwholesome sexual interest or desire

Putative - thought, assumed, or alleged to be such or to exist

Sedition - the crime of creating a revolt, disturbance, or violence against lawful civil authority with the intent to cause its overthrow or destruction

Seriatim - in a series; individually in a sequence

Strictissimi juris - according to the strictest interpretation of the law

Wrongful death - a death caused by the negligent, willful, or wrongful act, neglect, omission, or default of another

Wrongful life - a malpractice claim brought by or on behalf of a child born with a birth defect alleging that he or she would never have been born if not for the negligent advice or treatment provided to the parents by a physician or health-care provider (Note: Wrongful life claims have usually been rejected by the courts. The injury is not the birth defect, but the life itself, and courts are reluctant to declare life an injury. A specific calculation of damages for wrongful life would entail affixing a monetary value to the difference between life in an impaired state and nonexistence. There is no legally established right not to be born.)

If any of these words make their way into your next poem/story, please tag me, or leave a link in the replies. I would love to read them!

More: Law-Related Words ⚜ Word Lists

[there-must-be-a-lock]

Clint Barton/Roy Harper ship manifesto and recs for @dc-marvel-crossovers Pool Noodle Party!

At this point I think more than half the fics in this tag were written either by me or for me, so I might be biased, but god do I love this precious little pool noodle. These two are so perfect together.

Not just the archery, but the self-esteem (or lack thereof) and self-destructiveness and big soft scarred hearts, and the stubbornness to keep fighting no matter what. They both deserve the kind of care and loyalty they’re always trying to give to others. I love them.

Taking ship name suggestions because I cannot keep calling this ArseEye.

Here, have some fics!

Hope It Leaves A Mark ch. 2 by @thepartyresponsible - every line of this ficlet is jam-packed with perfect characterization and gorgeously precise language. Features one of my favorite Clint/Roy parallels: their tendency to be underestimated because they look like hot messes. The juxtaposition of chaotic disaster and breathtaking competence is perfect.

Maybe he really is Arsenal. Because he might seem to carry himself with all the strategic acumen of your average inebriated raccoon, but so far every move he’s made has been absolutely beautiful. Clint’s prepared to admit he’s a little charmed by that.

To Have (and to owe) by @sammialex - peak mopey sad-sack self-destructive boys throwing themselves into a fight because they don’t value their own lives. Gorgeous use of imagery. Very whumpy, but they bring each other a little sunshine and hope too. This sums the pair of them up all too well:

…it’d been so long since Roy had a mission he wanted to complete, instead of a mission he half hoped he’d die for.

Soft target by @bill-longbow - Ronin!Clint and a Roy who’s struggling with sobriety. Angsty but so sweet. Something about Roy seeing himself in Clint but taking better care of him/having more empathy for him than he ever would do/feel for himself — yeah, that hits me right in the feels. Also with podfic and art!

There's something familiar about him Roy can't catch, but it might as well be because Roy recognizes that look from the mirror. Try and hurt me, nothing you can throw at me is worse than what I do to myself.

The Beverage Comrade by @sishal01 - pure fluff and adorable awkward flirting. The cutest pair of dorks. Also with podfic!

Okay earth, he thinks, I’m ready now to be swallowed up, please. Any time would be good.

To Roy’s surprise the crinkles around the guy's eyes only grow deeper, his mouth falling into an easy lopsided smile.

disasterosity by @bittercape - could function as a primer on why these two are fucking perfect together. Spot-on banter and wit and chaotic humor with just enough self-deprecation to ring true to character. Funny as fuck.

“You fished me out of a dumpster like two hours ago, nobody’s into that.”

“Don’t diss the dumpster life,” Clint says reflexively, and Roy laughs, loud and surprised.

[whispersinthedawn]

Fluttering fireflies (Pt 1)

“You only have one tail,” Triton said in disappointment.

As the first words that his immortal brother could have said to him, it could have been a lot worse. In fact, if Percy considered all the ways it could have gone, Triton could have begun the conversation by picking out all the features that made him young, weak, an upstart god, and undeserving of existing let alone setting tail in the palace.

And so, Percy cheerfully pointed out, “Look on the bright side. At least I have two eyes.”

“Why does that matter?” the god asked blankly.

Well, it mattered because two eyes weren’t always a guarantee when one happened to be born the son of Poseidon and a mortal turned nature spirit. Then again, when the alternative was being a cyclops, Percy would have preferred being the ordinary merman he was pretending to be rather than one of Triton’s beloved two-tailed merpeople.

“He’s perfect the way he is,” Poseidon interrupted before Percy could open his mouth and let a quip fly.

“Of course,” Rhodes agreed. “I didn’t know you and mother were planning to have other kids though.”

Considering the number of children Poseidon had, Percy rather doubted any amount of planning had been involved, ever, but he held his tongue.

He wasn’t a son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, after all.

“Ah well,” Poseidon hedged.

“Not again,” Kymopoleia burst out, slamming her hands on the table. “Once again, you’ve gathered us here to celebrate your virility under the guise of celebrating a new addition to the family!”

Before Poseidon could do more than puff up in offense, Kymopoleia sneered, “Has it ever struck you that you keep having more kids but none of the old ones ever come to visit? Maybe if you put a halt on having more kids and focused on taking care of the ones you already have, you wouldn’t have to keep creating more to hide the fact that everyone but a newborn hates you?”

“Depends on the newborn,” Benthesikyme input judiciously. “Some of them are born with a startling degree of perspicacity.”

“So you have problems with him too?” Percy asked curiously.

That brought his arguing half-siblings to a stop.

“Too?” Kymopoleia inquired after a cautious pause.

Percy nodded.

“What did he do, promise you the world only to end up locking you up on an island?” Rhodes threw a jibe at Poseidon.

“Call you his prince and then treat you like a glorified errand boy?” Triton shot archly.

“Marry you off to a mortal and forget you exist?” Benthesikyme smiled.

“Or was it even worse?” Kymopoleia grinned with sharp teeth. “Create a being in his image only to retroactively realise that he’s really not all that and the kid’s just too destructive to have around his precious?”

“What are you anyway?” Rhodes followed up curiously. “A shark hybrid that has lungs instead of gills, a seaweed creature that requires meat to survive, a whale that can’t digest water? What problems has your parentage saddled you with?”

Percy tapped a finger on his chin, taken aback by the plethora of complaints. “Um,”

“He’s a god!” Poseidon input forcefully before Percy could come up with a palatable answer. “The newest one in the world, in fact.”

So new he was only eighteen years old. Practically infantile, really.

“What are you a god of?” Triton inquired, leaning back in his chair with an assessing gaze.

“Don’t know,” Percy answered uncomfortably. “I just make storms.”

And have disturbing dreams, create volcanic eruptions, and accidentally destroy bridges. Percy was destruction in a nutshell, really.

But even offering a watered-down version of his skillset or lack thereof didn’t stave off the outburst.

“So not only is there a new god in town, it’s also my replacement!” Kymopoleia shouted.

“I’m not a replacement!” Percy burst out, shaking his hands wildly. “I’m not even god of all storms or anything! Just hurricanes. On land.”

Kymopoleia stared at him incredulously. “Wow. You’re not even a subordinate. Just born, and you’re already halfway to dead.”

“Stop being so dramatic,” Poseidon commanded. “He’s a god, he’s your brother, and you’re going to include him while carrying out your duties.”

“So … you mean not only do I have a snot-nosed little brother, I have to babysit the kid now?” Rhodes concluded.

“Don’t take it personally,” Percy commiserated. “First I heard of this was when he came to my birthday, for the first time ever, and gave me a sand dollar and a tour around the palace with my family. Funnily, he never mentioned just who was going to be part of this family trip.”

Benthesikyme sighed. “He’s insensitive that way.”

“At least you’re all getting along, even if it’s about how much you resent me,” Poseidon said, sounding unsure whether he ought to be worried about that.

Percy dared to pat his father on the elbow. “Get used to it,” he advised. “That’s how all well-adjusted siblings bond.”

***

An AU where Percy is born the youngest god. Will be ultimately Perpollo but Apollo hasn't entered the scene yet.

Read on Ao3

Next

[cosmicjoke]

Levi seems like the person who wont open up to people easily but that scene with nifa comes back to me and I wonder why he suddenly wanted to talk, was it because of the context with kenny and everything maybe

I think definitely the situation was reminding Levi of his time with Kenny. Kenny taught Levi how to "survive" in the Underground, and we can sort of extrapolate from that that Kenny likely put Levi into situations similar to ones like the operation Levi and his squad were running, as a way to test his skill and the lessons he imparted. Levi mentions to Nifa, sort of off-handedly, that he was raised by Kenny the Ripper, and when Nifa dismisses it as a joke, Levi stops talking, but continues thinking about how Kenny influenced the way he thinks. Levi's entire plan for drawing out their enemies was likely something similar to what Kenny had trained him in, running that kind of reconnaissance, etc... It's why Kenny is able to anticipate Levi's plan and moves, because Levi's "plan" and "moves" were basically what Kenny had taught him as a child. Levi realizes that what he's seeing on the ground is very much like something that Kenny would have set up for him as a training exercise, basically, just a split second before Kenny sneaks up behind him and blasts Nifa's head off. If Levi hadn't realized it in that moment, he probably would have gotten his own head shot off too. As it was, he tried to warn Nifa, but he just didn't have enough time.

So I think he opens up to Nifa about Kenny in that moment because the situation and what he's seeing unfold on the ground reminds him of one of Kenny's lessons, and it takes him a moment to realize that it seems so familiar because it IS one of Kenny's lessons, only played out with genuine intent this time. He realizes Kenny means to kill him and his squad. It's basically like Kenny's sick idea of a test. If Levi passes, he gets to live, but if he fails, then he dies. That was Kenny playing for keeps. He's basically testing Levi to see how his little experiment with him turned out, to see if all the lessons he taught him stuck or not.

Just as an aside, it really bugs me when I see people dismiss this as some expression of love on Kenny's part, or as if it's some sort of gesture of respect on Kenny's part. No, Kenny meant to kill Levi, and he was okay with killing Levi if Levi failed to display the hardened, killer instincts that Kenny had pounded into him as a child. That tells us so much about just how fucked up Kenny's treatment of Levi as a child was, and what Levi himself would have taken from those lessons. He essentially was telling Levi that if he wasn't "strong", meaning if he wasn't willing and able to kill other people, then he himself didn't deserve to live, and we see that philosophy of Kenny's being tested ON Levi in this scene. Kenny isn't holding back. He's genuinely trying to murder his own nephew. People don't really seem to stop to consider the psychological damage this had to have had on Levi growing up. This idea that, if he wasn't able to fight back, his own life was worthless. We see the consequence of that on Levi during the Battle of Heaven and Earth, when Levi expresses this belief that if he doesn't get up and fight, despite being half-dead, everyone else will just forget he even exists. That's Levi expressing that he considers his own life worthless if he isn't able to "be strong" like Kenny taught him. The great heartbreak in that is, Levi only applies that standard to himself. He doesn't feel that way about other people's lives. To Levi, everyone else's lives are precious, whether they're strong or not. And in that, we see Levi able to overcome and cast off Kenny's destructive lessons about life's worth, or lack thereof. Unlike Kenny, Levi doesn't judge any life to be worth less if the person it belongs to isn't able to reach a certain standard of strength. It's only himself that he lets that standard apply to, which is deeply tragic, I think.

[brokenstarwishes]

Colors of the Shadows

At request of Dela- here's a little snippet from whats going on while an unconcious birb and sadness are out of comission in a certain rp thread~ TW for mentions of self-harm, self-destruction, and general self-talk.

If yall want more of these tidbits that talk more about Sol, Dela, and their universe I guess let us know???

Mentions of a handful of folks from a server we're in, including @novafollowstheuniverse

Well…Ripping the whole soul out of your chest wasn't what you expected. You couldn't get up even if you wanted to- both your body and the soul itself being so weak, so exhausted after the last month or so of events both in the sketchbook and in general. But that doesn't mean you were entirely unconscious. Just…somewhere else. Somewhere where life and death meet, somewhere where the whispers of the silent can become heard once more. Somewhere…where you could both talk, freely.

"Stars, that hurt." You groaned, a hand on what you…figure was your forehead. Your memories were returning, slowly, just enough for you to know that you were definitely in trouble later. You were dizzy- Stars above were you dizzy- but you could just about make out the…area?…you were in. You weren't…quite sure where you were. Shades of all types danced across your vision, yet formed no shapes- just endless amounts of…colors. It made your head hurt. Just as you were about to get up to question what had truly happened, another groan caught you off guard- jolting a little before turning towards the voice. ( "You aren't the one who had to tear your blinding body apart, shut it." ) Delaisser… Your saddness that had formed more recently from your newer traumas, of scars that still hadn't fully healed- and eventually did take over. Right… in its own grief, it had torn you out of your body. "A little dramatic, aren't we?" That earned you a pointed glare from the shadow, causing a little snicker from your form. In the colored light, you could see it for what it truly was… And…Stars- they looked like a little kid. Hunched over, with half of your soul… baby blue, just a few shades muted. Scars were already starting to form in the tears it had created across his chest, painted a deep red as a result of the broken Wishcraft dagger that had been used. Half…of you.

You…slowly sat down next to them. This wasn't the first time confronting yourself- so this time you weren't nearly as frantic, nearly as horrified. You look down to yourself- half shaded in, with your own half of a soul- bright baby blue. You barely looked present- just barely clinging on to what you had left. You figured if Dela had spent any longer in your body…if you hadn't woken up, you would've been lost entirely. As Delaisser sat up themselves, you glance back over to them…Its bright eyes staring into your softer ones. They looked scared…so scared, so nervous. One of you needed to talk first…so…you guess…

"Guess we know what that knife felt like for It, huh?" You joked, a half smile on your face. You felt the swift bap on your head, causing a laugh. ( "That's not funny, Stars!! You're really messed up, you know that?!" ) "I know…" You sigh, running a hand over your face. Or…lack thereof? You couldn't tell, your brain just outright would not process shapes…let alone features. Dela watched your movement and looked away itself. ( "What was the point of going through all of this again?" ) They asked you, looking at what you figured was the floor. You pause at that…After all, what could you even say to that? "… I guess I just…didn't want to lose anyone else. I lost my partners, my family, my friends, so many times… I couldn't bear to deal with it again- to the point I was willing to throw everything away…just to keep it from happening." You eventually respond, sheepishly. ( "Not that I was much help with that…" ) It admitted, with just as much pensiveness. You laid down, staring at the infinite everything. In this moment- you were…apart of it all. You...guess you had time to kill. Silence fell between you both, for a short time, before you decided to speak again. "Can I ask you something, Del? Can....Can I call you Del?" ( "Not that it's going to matter much, but sure." ) "...What was the point of all of this? The impulsive thoughts, the violent urges, the self loathing-- all of it?" You turned your head slightly, looking at your shadow from the corner of your eye. It seemed to shift a little in discomfort. ( "...I was just saying what you were saying to yourself. Over, and over, and over again. What you wanted to do, over and over again. It's not my fault you have no sense of emotional regulation, Solaris." ) "I-" You pout a little at that last remark, but decide to let it slide for the time being. Besides...it had a point. Everything in Dormont, everything before, and even now- you still didn't know how to contain all your intense emotions without them just...exploding out of you inevitably! "...You're right... I don't. And it ends up often hurting those I want to protect. Even when I have good intentions, or when I think I'm doing things for their benefit- it often just...hurts them." ( "Pyxis, Mal, Nova, Ben, Yourself... You've hurt alot of people- not just by your actions, but by your own assumptions of how they percieve you and how you assume they'll behave." ) You...couldn't argue with that. Tears well up in your eyes, but...you don't cry. You're not even sure if you could, anymore. ( "You have to ask yourself; does that make you a monster? Or does that make you someone who...just needs someone who will work with them?" ) You sat up a little at that. What...what exactly did it mean by that? As if reading your mind, Dela continues. ( "What happened in the aftermath of your huge meltdown in the House? Your family was there for you- even if they were still irritated with you. They understood you aren't a lost cause- just someone who needs time and help. What happened when Mal saw you try to off yourself for the first time? They still eventually forgave you...and even felt guilty themselves about the whole ordeal." ) You listened to it explain, looking away... those were, in fact, things you had done- whether you liked it or not. You still felt the sting of the dagger, felt the exhaustion of all the craft you used- though both could be also be due from practically pulling the same damned stunt a second time... and this time, you weren't sure if you would get a second chance to make it right.

( "My point is- even when you have been at your worst...the people who do truly care about you WOULD be there for you, if you're willing to LET THEM actually be there for you." ) "But...I don't understand... WHY?! I've done so many bad things- things that most people would HATE ME for doing..." ( "Does it matter?" ) "Huh?" ( "Does it really, truly matter why?" ) "Well, yeah but-" ( "They're still going to care about you whether or not you know why they do. It's not going to change how they act- and by doing worse and worse things to try and get that sort of reaction you expect from them you'll just end up pushing them away!" ) "..." ( "Is that what you want?! To be alone again, after everything you went through to get here!?" ) "...No..." You sigh, and admit defeat in that regard. You lay back down, staring at the sky. The colors...they were all so pretty... "But... Don't I deserve it?" ( "Do you?" ) "Stars above, could you give a straight answer for once?!" ( "I'm you, you know the answer to that." ) You groan as Dela lets out a cheeky little laugh. You could just make out the cat-like grin on their features, although it was all blurry- like the watercolor pages of Her sketchbook.

"Isn't this supposed to normally go the opposite way?" You remark, after a beat. Dela gives another laugh- it's a bit rougher than yours, hoarse and exhausted- before it responds. ( "Probably. But I'm also apart of you. Part of you that wants to help..." ) "Yeah, good job at that." ( "Your impulse control is garbage!" ) It pouts at that, crossing its arms (you think) and looking away. You laugh again, and sigh. "...Is any of this going to matter? I mean... you kinda did destroy my body- better or worse. Which, THANKS by the way." ( "Hey it's not my fault you were basically beating on my chest from the inside out! And....And..." ) For the first time since you two had started talking, it didn't seem to have an answer. After a good moment of hesitation, it sighs. ( "...I don't know. That place wasn't exactly relegated by any of the Aspects. It's entirely possible that by doing that we're..." ) You both fall silent.

( "I do get the feeling Nova wouldn't let us die so easily, though..." ) Dela reminds you, and you give a soft laugh and a small nod. "Let's hope she has any idea what she's doing..."

( "You didn't answer your own question, by the way." ) You...pause. You had forgotten the question already, hadn't you? You look away sheepishly, and Dela laughs. ( "Do you deserve to suffer for your actions? Do you deserve to be alone again after all you've done?" ) You sat there for a moment. You...didn't know the answer to that. You wanted to say yes, of course, but that was also because it was you. So...what would Mirabelle say? What would Odile say? What would... What would Isabeau say?

"...No one deserves to suffer the same way I put myself through. Actions do need to have consequences, yes, and that's...that's something I believe in... but the way I go about it is... ineffective at best." ( "-And self destructive at worst." ) Dela finished for you, nodding in agreement. ( "I think its from one of your memories...one of the ones thats faded away, anyway. Something with your family...but you tend to push 'punishment' way past the point of being equal to the crime you've supposedly comitted. It's...it's hurting you, and everyone you care about." ) "But...but what can I even DO about that?!" You remark, frustrated, hiding your head in your hands, "What can I DO about these feelings that are too much- the need to be punished in a way that FEELS equal to what I deserve?! Why can't I just-!?" You were tearing up again, and you...simply sigh. You can't feel the way the tears roll down your cheeks.

"Why can't I just let myself be happy?!"

For a good few minutes, there was silence...after all, what could another half of you say that you didn't already know? Dela thought it over for that time, clearly deep in thought, before eventually giving a shrug. ( "If you're struggling with regulating your self-destructive tendencies...struggling with the need for an equal- fitting- punishment, why not ask those around you? Or do something you actively know is healthy but avoid?" ) "Huh?" ( "I'm not saying shove all of our mental health responsibilities onto them, but maybe asking around for a few ideas might...help. Or at least bring some insight into someone who is more emotionally regulated." ) You...thought about that. And gave a small nod...at the very least- it was worth a shot. More than what you have been doing before.

( "As for why you can't let yourself be happy... It all comes down to a sense of confidence, Solaris. I don't... WE don't know what it is...but something growing up made us believe that we'll always be responsible for the things happening around us. Isn't it time you let that go?... Let the past go, so that you can face the brighter future?" ) "It's....It's not that simple-" ( "I know... Stars, I know it's not easy. But it's gotta be better than not trying at all--" ) "I AM TRYING!" You exclaimed in frustration, barely feeling the little drips onto your leg, "I've BEEN TRYING to become a better person and STARS ABOVE IT'S SO EXHAUSTING! I try to be the better person, to be the person that can actually HELP people- but people only ever just--!! JUST--!!!" You yell into your hands, just to get the frustration out of your body. Your body- or soul, in this state?- was glowing that bright red color... The same color as broken wishcraft. So...was this anger, then? You'd think about it later- if there even was a 'later' to go to. You wanted to kick SOMETHING, but there was...NOTHING in this weird colored void. So you settled for angrily punching the air a few good times until the glow settled back down. Dela watched your tantrum for a good moment, before sighing and looking down. ( "I... I know you've been trying. The road to getting better isn't linear, remember? Odile told you as much... But, you can't give up yet- yeah? Even just knowing how to move forward is better than not moving forward at all. Eventually, it'll become easier...eventually, it'll become second nature to you. To us." ) "...Why are you helping me, Dels?" You ask, rubbing some of the wetness off your face- tastes like salt?? Why are you able to taste from your hand-- nevermind. ( "Because I don't want to be a monster. Just like you. I just...want to protect us. Protect you, if you'll let me. I just want to move forward. But that's something you have to choose to do- rather than just saying it and moving on." ) Dela gives a small sigh, and looks outward. ( "That's all I've been ever trying to do. Trying to protect us, by going with what you intrinsically think is right... but, obviously, I've realized you aren't exactly the best teacher in protecting yourself." )"Rude." Though, still true. You fall quiet again, for a moment, scooting a bit closer to lean towards the shadow. They sigh, and put a vague motion of their arm over your shoulder in comfort. Weirdly, it felt nice...not quite warm, like the snuggles you were still getting used to- not quite cold like death itself... but something else. Something you couldn't describe. But it was comforting in a way...

If... if this was how things would end for you two, you don't think you'd mind as much. At the very least, you'd finally get some rest.

( "Promise me something, Solaris?" ) You turned to the shadow, it's eye just barely visible even this close. ( "If we get through this... if we somehow don't just keel over entirely... Please. Let others in. Let them help you, let them care about you...let yourself be happy. Please?" ) You...weren't sure if you could promise that. You felt you were still a far ways off from being anywhere close to better...but... "I'll...I'll try. For everyone. I don't know if I can promise to do so for myself, not yet...but I can do so for others sakes. So they won't have to bury a loved one... I can promise that much." Dela smiles at you, and offers a hand. You feel something form as you grab it in turn, a more solid feeling. Your vision seems to finally focus a bit better, just able to makeout Delaisser's face. A small smile, with... way too many teeth for what is definitely a small smile. Your expression softens. You may not be better yet, but you...want to try. You want to try, to make others proud. To make yourself proud. You'll try, and try, and try again if you have to. But you'll do it... if to see that smile. [ You got Memory of Shadows! You'll try to always remember this. ] "If even your own shadow can believe in you, you have to have some hope still, right?"

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Cast Your Cares on the Lord (2 Samuel 17:15-29)

1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; And hide not thyself from my supplication.

2 Attend unto me, and answer me: I am restless in my complaint, and moan,

3 Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; For they cast iniquity upon me, And in anger they persecute me.

4 My heart is sore pained within me: And the terrors of death are fallen upon me.

5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, And horror hath overwhelmed me.

6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then would I fly away, and be at rest.

7 Lo, then would I wander far off, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah

8 I would haste me to a shelter From the stormy wind and tempest.

9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongue; For I have seen violence and strife in the city.

10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: Iniquity also and mischief are in the midst of it.

11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof: Oppression and guile depart not from its streets.

12 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; Then I could have borne it: Neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; Then I would have hid myself from him:

13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, My companion, and my familiar friend.

14 We took sweet counsel together; We walked in the house of God with the throng.

15 Let death come suddenly upon them, Let them go down alive into Sheol; For wickedness is in their dwelling, in the midst of them.

16 As for me, I will call upon God; And Jehovah will save me.

17 Evening, and morning, and at noonday, will I complain, and moan; And he will hear my voice.

18 He hath redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me; For they were many that strove with me.

19 God will hear, and answer them, Even he that abideth of old, Selah The men who have no changes, And who fear not God.

20 He hath put forth his hands against such as were at peace with him: He hath profaned his covenant.

21 His mouth was smooth as butter, But his heart was war: His words were softer than oil, Yet were they drawn swords.

22 Cast thy burden upon Jehovah, and he will sustain thee: He will never suffer the righteous to be moved.

23 But thou, O God, wilt bring them down into the pit of destruction: Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in thee. — Psalm 55 | American Standard Version (ASV) The American Standard Version Bible is in the public domain Cross References: Genesis 11:9; Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 33:27; 1 Samuel 1:16; 2 Samuel 16:7-8; Job 15:32; Job 19:19; Psalm 5:9; Psalm 10:1; Psalm 12:2; Psalm 12:8; Psalm 41:9; Psalm 42:4; Psalm 57:2-3; Psalm 103:4; Psalm 116:3; Isaiah 4:6; Isaiah 21:4; Jeremiah 9:2; Jeremiah 48:28; Acts 3:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:3; 1 Peter 5:7

[todaysdocument]

Memorial of the inhabitants of Nauvoo in Illinois, praying redress for injuries to the persons and property by lawless proceedings of citizens of Missouri (Joseph Smith, et al)

Record Group 46: Records of the U.S. SenateSeries: Committee Papers of the Committee on the JudiciaryFile Unit: Petitions and Memorials Referred to the Judiciary Commiteee Relating to Various Subjects in the 28th Congress

To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives [large and bolded] of the United States in Congress assembled The Memorial of the undersigned inhabitants of Hancock County in the State of Illinois respectfully sheweth: That they belong to the Society of Latter Day Saints, commonly called Mormons, that a portion of our people commenced settling in Jackson County Missouri in the Summer of 1831, where they purchased lands and settled upon them with the intention and expectation of becoming permanent citizens in Common with others. From a very early period after the Settlement began, a very unfriendly feeling was manifested by the neighboring people; and as the Society increased, this unfriendly Spirit also increased until it--- degenerated into a cruel and unrelenting persecution and the Society was at last compelled to leave the county. An account of these unprovoked persecutions has been published to the world, yet we deem it not improper to embody a few of the most prominent items in this memorial and lay them before your honorable body. On the 20th of July 1833, a mob collected at Independence, a deputation or Committee from which, called upon a few members of our Church there, and stated to them that the Store, Printing Office, and all Mechanic Shops belonging to our people must be closed forthwith, and the Society leave the county immediately. These conditions were so unexpected and so hard, that a short time was asked for to consider on the subject before an answer could be given, which was refused, and when some of our men answered that they could not consent to comply with such propositions, the work of destruction--- commenced. The Printing Office, a valuable two story brick building was destroyed by the mob and with it much valuable property; they next went to the Store for the same purpose, but one of the owners thereof, agreeing to close it, they abandoned their design. A series of outrages was then commenced by the mob upon individual numbers of our Society; Bishop Partridge was dragged from his house and family where he was first partially stripped of his clothes and then tarred and feathered from head to foot. A man by the name of Allan was also tarred at the same time. Three days afterwards the Mob assembled in great numbers, bearing a red flag, and proclaiming that, unless the Society would leave "en masse" [underlined], every man of them should be killed. Being in a defenceless situation, to avoid a general massacre, a treaty was entered into and ratified, by which it was agreed that one half of the Society should leave the county by the first of January, and the remainder by the first of April following. In October, while our people were gathering their crops and otherwise preparing to fulfill their part of the treaty, the mob again collected without any provocation, shot at some of our people, whipped others, threw down their houses, and committed many other depredations; the members of the Society were for some time harassed, both day and night, their houses assailed and broken open, and their women and children insulted and abused. [Full transcription at link]

[carabas]

Finally finished BG3, brief rambling under the cut -

Completely charmed by the dead smuggler sisters and that unexpected little 'they didn't deserve this' banter that triggers if you bring Droralias's teddy bear to her corpse - just the fact that there's absolutely nothing prompting you to do that in terms of quests or rewards, no one asked you to deliver her teddy bear to her, but the game devs knew if they put this teddy bear in the game then some of the players were going to do that and they wrote a little companion banter just for this ;_;

I'd gotten used to Tav's half-ilithid look over act three, so I was not prepared for the sheer relief when Tav got his face back at the end - I'm even more happy with the half-illithid path now, it makes for such a visible weight lifted, even more so than the destruction raining from the sky, proof that not just the general tadpoles but your specific tadpole is really dead, it's really over, just by having a before/after sequence -

Ending the game by getting visibly healed!!

Also kind of pleasantly baffled that trusting the Emperor had no other negative consequences aside from that one semi-unwilling appearance change. I was really expecting him to push harder for Tav to go full mind flayer at the end, but there wasn't even a dice roll for it! Even after all these ominous hints about Stelmane, that clear warning not to trust him! He tells you he still has feelings even as a mind flayer, and then you go through his old letters and find his writing about not feeling his feelings anymore now that he's a mind flayer! (The whole backstory with Ansur was cute ;_;) Surely, I thought as I watched him suck Orpheus's brains out, this is going to come back to bite me when I get some kind of evil ending! And yet!! No, nothing. Thanks for the cool powers and tentacle sex and saving the world, dear sweet thrall master who spends the whole game leaching off a captive in this story that's all about freedom and the lack thereof.

I am also completely charmed by how everyone in the epilogue wants to catch up on Tav's epic friendship with Karlach over and above anything else, they are so glad Tav and Karlach have each other, Karlach's smiles brighten the skies of hell, this is the most important relationship to talk about here (romanced Wyll who has also spent the past six months in hell is standing right there, guys. He's the one who pleaded for Karlach to come with us!! I left the choice up to her!!) For a minute I thought there was a bug and I was getting Karlach romance dialogue, but no, some of them did specifically refer to it as friendship, Karlach is just that central to Tav's life. As is right.

[gunkbaby]

do you think Tsukiyama is a vrigin

I’ll answer this quickly because an unwarranted overanalysis about Shuu and sex is coming I fear - which was not the question!

Personally, in general: no.

When I read him, when I write him, I don’t see him as a virgin. I actually have a oneshot related to his ‘first time’ sitting half-baked in my drafts, relating it to ‘ghoul hood’ and people eating - it’s maybe a bit Bones And All coded lol - I might post it idk. My main project with him has sex as a sort of key theme - using it to express passion that isn’t understood, ferality, and forms of self-destruction - I bring that up to say that maybe I don’t think Shuu is a virgin because I have been writing this thing too long, and maybe it’s swayed my answer/opinion of him. Maybe also worth noting that I headcanon Shuu as having BPD and I have BPD, and that can affect how you act sexually and I also find that the way I myself think about sex and the like can also be a bit odd. So in short: maybe I’m utterly wrong, and am horrendously projecting my experiences alone in my opinion! You tell me!

In canon though, I’m like 99% sure he has eaten sexual organs - and I don’t doubt there’s more off-screen meals he’s done like that. So maybe that adds a bit of credence to Shuu not being a virgin - if you associate the way ghouls eat with their sexuality. I certainly wouldn’t call him a prude, regardless.

I think Shuu’s virginity or lack thereof can be approached it in different ways - I feel like Shuu could be read as a virgin also. If someone said that I wouldn’t argue heavily against it, unless it was used to like. Make fun of him, or something - because mocking virginity is just really lame to me. But I don’t think him being a virgin is mischaracterisation or whatever.

Maybe virginity isn’t that big of a deal for ghouls - they eat people and I imagine they don’t differ Down There much from humans, so maybe they just think of sex differently. Maybe they experience it differently, feel it differently. I think that’s an interesting thought - how ghoulhood might affect their sexuality - something to chew on, I like that.

If I do allow myself one tangential point here about Shuu and sex in general, I would argue against is the idea that Shuu is like. A horny sex pest. I’ve seen that interpretation before, mostly on the TG Reddit - shocking to no one. Worth noting that TG Reddit is where most of the straight men in this fandom are, and that particular interpretation of Shuu feels very much like a straight man’s comprehension of pining. Like I’ve seen art of him with kinda foot fetish intentions from him and it feels so…Like people weren’t understanding why Shuu is a bit. Peculiar about the Kaneki handkerchief - i don’t read it as a fetish or anything for him, i read it as him being hyper-focused on something and needing every part of it - something like that. He might be getting a bit randy in those scenes, but I feel like it’s not in the way ppl have made out - Shuu doesn’t feel like a ‘male gaze man’ to me, and that interpretation does feel like that to me.

Sorry. I allowed myself one long tangent lmao. Maybe I’ll sound off about Shuu and sex in the reblogs - but I kinda wanna rethink my ideas of it anyways, so sorry if in like. Three days I reblog this with excess Shuu waffle. Thank you for the ask anon!

[latenightsgunfights]

Wolfwood! Centric Fic Recs

'cuz the only thing I love more than fanfic is scouring Ao3 for works about a specific character 🔫🔫

Looking for something I can’t have - tucuxi

G, Implied Vashwood, 5,549, Fin

"Wait—“ a look of exaggerated confusion dawns on Meryl's face, like sunrise through a sandstorm. “How old are you?”

A chance discussion of memorable meteorological events seventeen years ago draws attention to Wolfwood's age, and sparks memories of his childhood (and lack thereof).

Promise I'm Alive - honorarybimbo

M, Vashwood, Violence, 7,795, Fin

Wolfwood has callouses on his hands. Rough fingertips, smoothened by the rub of leather and the kiss of metal, by curling around weapons of mass destruction or pressing as tightly into a cold glass as his skin will allow him to [...]

half your life you've been hooked on death - procrastinatingbookworm

M, Vashwood, Violence, 4,125, Fin

Wolfwood is cornered in an alleyway. Things get worse before they get better.

The way you slam your body into mine reminds me I'm alive, but monsters are always hungry, darling - Copikat

E, Vashwood, Creator Chose Not To Use Warning, 10,317, In Progress

So here’s a fact about Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Sometimes, after having sex, or maybe even in the middle of it, he would start crying. And he couldn't stop.

[or the one in which I give Wolfwood pcd (post coital dysphoria) and make Vash deal with it]

Backseat Drowning - honorarybimbo

M, Vashwood, Violence, 2,750 Fin

He doesn’t ask him what he’s scared of.

Nicholas wouldn’t know how to answer, anyway.

chipping knife - saintsblade

T, Meryl/Wolfwood, 4,016, Fin

“What’s this?” She suddenly asks, pulling her hand out of his jacket pocket. His blood freezes. The wooden carving he’d been working on now sits innocently in her palm, a rough and unfinished effigy of a bird. “Why do you have junk in your pockets? Do you chew on this, or something?”

A chip carving knife is a short-bladed knife used to make triangular shaped cuts to create intricate designs in wood.

Weight - honorarybimbo

M, Vashwood, 1,661, Fin

There’s a hand on his arm and Vash’s comforting weight is gone and Wolfwood hunches his shoulders, pulls them up and his head along with it, stares into everything and nothing all at once, tries to discern how much of it is real and how much of it obviously is, how there’s no difference between reality and a nightmare anymore, how the only thing to never feel real is him.

It’s not a flinch, because Wolfwood has stopped requesting the luxury of those the moment he’d become the kind of person who made others flinch.

tell me where the light is - lacking

M, Mashwood, 13,757, In Progress

He wanted to look down at Vash’s prosthetic hand resting on the seat between them, already imagining the soft curl of his glass-like fingers, the invitation of an upturned palm. He wouldn’t reach out, but he liked entertaining the thought that he could, wondering if Vash’s hand would be smooth against his own, if it would be warm or cold.

He wanted to look, just look –but he couldn’t open his eyes.

After being kidnapped by bounty hunters and stranded in the desert, Wolfwood, Vash, and Meryl are left to rely on each other.

Or: Wolfwood contends with guilt and forgiveness and doesn't know how to have friends.

[onwesterlywinds]

PROMPT #3: Tempest

Some deep and instinctual part of her had expected a tempest, but at least this sight would be the last one to fill her eyes in this life. A follow-up to Prompt #3, Scale, from #FFXIVWrite 2021. Content warning for implied suicide.

The annals would make note that the hurricane over the southern seas had delayed Emperor Xande's arrival to the Meracydian front. Official imperial records aside, the news of this temporary forestallment somehow traveled to all corners of the great Allagan army in record time, bearing with it the sobering reminder that not even the greatest ruler the star had ever seen was exempt from the whims of nature. Any other man might have been expected to wait for a few days, perhaps in the comfort of an estate; instead, the emperor stood at his flagship's top deck for the better part of a week without rest, grinding his teeth as the storm's static knocked out instruments, scrambled readings, or battered the hull with lightning. All the while, he retained his unerring focus on the coast to the south, heeding not even the whispers of his chief technologist.

But the emperor did not lead his troops to the site of his most recent victory over the dragons, outside of commanding a small contingent of elite fighters and their pacted voidsent to proceed deeper into the heart of the mainland. He marched with his retinue up and along a coastal road, paying no heed to the Meracydian smallfolk cowering from the ruins of their burned villages. More than once, he instructed his soldiers to cut through whole forests of dense underbrush, the better to follow the coast by quitting the main road outright.

At last, at sunset on the fifth day of such travel, the emperor's party emerged into a small clearing that gave way to a cabin and then a cliff. The sound and smell of the ocean's rush was close at hand, closer now than at any point throughout their strange journey.

Inside the cabin, the hearth sat cold, the home in disarray - not the mindless destruction of looting, but the cumulative work of neglect and inaction. A thick layer of dust covered the shrine to the Goddess, a selection of fruits had given way to purple and white mold, and a faint crack in one of the windows permitted a thin, wispy whistle of wind from without.

Perhaps the only detail given any deliberate care or intentionality within the entire cabin was the corpse of the woman in the rocking chair, and the accoutrements she had been bestowed: a faded Meracydian uniform tucked into her lap, the knife in her hand, and the heavy stain of blood covering it all. The woman's corpse was already flyblown, decomposed to the extent of appearing tortured, though Xande knew intimately that such observations had no bearing on the deceased's peace or lack thereof.

Amon met him outside, at the very edge of the cliff and the bygone fate that awaited him below. The second corpse would scarcely have reached half the size of his hypertuned body; exposed to the elements in death, she was smaller still.

And Xande II could see, in the blood that yet covered her own arms up to the elbows, that the storm had not landed this far to the east. If it had, the tides would surely have dislodged her body from the merciless shallows, or else brought forth the rain to clean her for her eventual burial at sea.

"Come, try to remember," the mage invited him. "You have witnessed such a sight before - have you not, my lord? Wherever, whenever could it have been?"

If he had, such memories would have been the province of his predecessor. Certainly the mage knew this as well as he.

Xande raised his great, clenched fist, and the broken girl's red hair rippled in the gusting wind as he summoned his companion from the void. The Cloud of Darkness emerged so fluidly from the sudden dark rend in the sun-shot sky that half his own retinue screamed. The deity needed no instruction, no guidance for what followed: they inhaled and drew the cabin into them - from the dead woman and the uniform she carried, to the fragments of Sophia's altar, down to the house's aged foundations and the stone well beyond it. It was over in mere seconds, with only a patch of barren earth to demonstrate that a family had ever eked a home from the remote cliffside.

The Cloud of Darkness disappeared, then reemerged over Xande's shoulder in a blink. As they made to absorb the body far below them, the emperor lifted his hand again, and their connection to the world from the void was severed.

Amon merely chuckled beside him, and his mirth gave way to outright laughter as they left the girl to decompose - as they began their long trek back to the Meracydian front in earnest.

[potatoeofwisdom]

Minecraft rottmnt au?? Oh please tell more

-☆staranon☆

Ok now that I’m actually confronted with the task of putting my thoughts to print I’m drawing a bit of a blank, but I’ll try and ramble about some of it here! (thank you so much for the ask!!!)

The gist is, through mystic mishap (Mikey trying to save him from the prison dimension) Leo is sent hurtling through dimensions to Minecraft. It’s a silly little doodle au I made up after playing Minecraft a few days too many.

Leo, once thrown into the world, is left injured and alone without any means of escaping. So he’s forced to travel aimlessly, searching for any information as to how to get home. He finds strange structures that sometimes contain more information about the world and what had happened before. (Kraang invasion)

This all takes place hundreds of years after the kraang had been evicted from the world so we’re following Leo as he discovers the after-effects of wide scale kraang takeover on a world that defeated them.

Creepers are actually the last surviving “kraang” left on Minecraft, save for a few exceptions we’re still ironing out. They are both self destructive and green due to a fungus based bioweapon the “old ones” (those who fought the Kraang before) used in the war.

(Zombies are also an unintended side affect of this)

They kinda plague Leo specifically because I feel like it would be funny (traumatising). They’re pretty rare normally but he seems to attract them for some reason.

There’s a bunch of other stuff we created as well, like the kinda history of the villager and illagers (the villagers live in a kind of isolated cult society) and the political connections between the different old-one societies and why each of them individually fell to the Kraang or joined together.

In all honesty I’m bad at writing story elements, or character writing. likelyhood is I’m not gonna do much with this au aside from doodles maybe every now and then.

If I was to outline a kind of story it’d be how he goes from structure to structure discovering more about the stories of those who all died during the war against the kraang whilst trying to track down more information about “the portal”.

Obviously there’s several portals in minecraft so he gets mislead into believing a portal to the nether could be a portal home, and that could lead to a certain amount of angst.

He would eventually find a way home, probably after defeating the ender dragon (it’s corrupted by the kraang)

Some facts about the dragon and the endermen:

The endermen have a kind of cryptid, assumed benevolent vibe to them in this. No one really knows their objectives aside from them trying to save(?) the dragon, which is a kind of god in this world.

The endermen are revered as a kind of holy figure due to their connections to the dragon.

The dragon works like a kind of phoenix but nobody knows this, unless the endermen do but no one knows what the endermen know or don’t know.

The dragons breath is literally the dragon dying kraang style™️ it’s great 👍

The dragon is stuck in a kind of half-death because of the kraang so it’s eternally suffering lol

Also the villagers mistakenly believe Leo to be some kind of enderman equivalent due to his portalling, and worship him accordingly, as seen in this post here

Some other facts:

A lot of the old ones religions were focused heavily on life and death and the cycle of decay (the purity or lack thereof depending on the culture) due to the fact skeletons have always just. Existed.

There is more lore about the specific beliefs of each about the life and death thing but I’ve forgotten them and will have to ask my sibling about it again

Skeletons were able to become passive but only due to religious practices of one of the old-one societies (the desert peoples)

All of them added the dragon somewhere in these religions but how exactly the dragon played a role in them was different depending on the religion and was subject to many debates (+ wars)

High-tech-kinda Machinery and magic exist. The ins and outs of both are unclear (Each society were more or less involved in the practices of either )

The underwater temples (and the underwater peoples) were extremely technologically advanced. Arguably the most advanced of all the old ones. They didn’t believe in the standard respect for the cycles of life and death and the practices surrounding the skeletons but they had their own beliefs and culture separate to the rest of the old ones.

The underwater ppl did body modding with copper and technology. Think underwater steampunk. You get me. Their zombies reflect this.

Mushroom islands are like nuclear wastelands but from mushroom bio weaponry

Mooshrooms are the only things that can survive on those islands anymore

They are like the zombies but better (somehow managed to reach complete symbiosis with the fungus. Unclear how exactly??)

Oh yea the dragon lives on the moon but the moon has an atmosphere so it’s fine

The kraang were all eviscerated by a machine created by the old ones. The only remaining kraang are those who were too far altered to be recognised as fully kraang anymore (creepers) and therefore managed to avoid whatever the old ones machine did, or were protected by plot (the dragon corruption).

The deep dark has lore and Leo is definitely gonna explore it in his search to find a way home.

[kazeofthemagun]

It's a mortal thing to regret, and we all do at our core. Whether small or catastrophic, we all have things we ache about whenever we remember. Now imagine being keenly aware things could never have gone any differently, that everything was seemingly predetermined from the start. No, Kaze does not believe in destiny, even if he appreciates the symbolism of it - especially in poetry. He does not truly believe the universe railroads one's actions, simply because it's an excuse not to take responsibility and turn a blind eye to one's own conscience.

Despite his inescapable curse, Kaze is a creature of agency, and one of the worst fears of his is the loss thereof. Like back when he used his soul to fashion the seal of Chaos and lost his mind in the process. The experience still haunts him terribly, especially the fallout of it. While he thought he was fully conscious and in control, the year he spent hunting Kumo was but a fruit of insidious manipulation and a thorough brainwashing.

Having spent his first years of life helpless and purely at the mercy of fate, he refuses to simply relinquish his will to its tides ever again. It's a paradox, in a way - considering he is a part of Bahamut through his link to the Magun, and the two are inseparable. A man and a Weapon in one, he's simultaneously a living being and an abstract concept. A mortal and an immortal executor of the universe's design. One can argue divinity is not a choice. That it's merely a form of programming, and Bahamut himself is as a machine fulfilling his mission. That is a part of his nature that Kaze cannot escape, but he is also not willing to.

That is not resignation, however. That is strength.

The sole reason he is the Unlimited of the Magun is because his will is the perfect match to that of Bahamut. Were he to resist the Beast, their wills would have been incompatible from the beginning. As it stands, Kaze consciously shoulders the burden of his existence, wholly aware of what it entails, and thus retains his agency. All his choices are his. He is not being forced to enact his role. And that is precisely why he is the chosen vessel of Bahamut.

Life cannot exist without Destruction. Life is constant growth, evolution, a struggle driven by the strife which grants it meaning. Conflict is inherent in nature, and all that which remains unchanging is static and devoid of meaning. In a sense, Bahamut's half of the universal order is chaos, which is a form of structure in itself. If Destruction is inevitable and cyclical with rebirth, it can be argued it is order in its purest form.

The Chaos that the Unlimited combat is a juxtaposition to that of Bahamut. Where Bahamut is a repetitive pattern, returning souls to the cycle of nature to prevent stagnation, Chaos is entropy itself. Breaking down the existing order to fashion its own and farm negativity off of living things. Chaos corrupts, Chaos imprisons and warps the natural cycle. Chaos is unsustainable, seeking always more power, more energy and worlds to add into Wonderland. In the end, Chaos will return the all to the nothing.

Chaos' brand of destruction is not the same as the cleansing kind that Bahamut governs. Nor is it the same as Omega's, a god-adjacent creature whose very nature is shattered and destabilized into that of a wandering calamity.

Chaos takes joy in the suffering of others. Omega wallows in its own suffering. Bahamut is purely cosmic logic, without a reason to cause unnecessary pain. That, of course, does not mean his actions do not cause it. As his vessel, Kaze emphasizes with those his purpose may harm, and yet he is not allowed remorse, because he would always do it all over again. To regret, in this case, would be hypocrisy. To try and backpedal from one's purpose would be to discard the meaning from the sacrifice of those who came before.

Remorse implies a willingness to change or, if theoretically possible, undo one's wrongs. The true tragedy of being half man half force is the realization there is no inherent wrongness in the kind of Destruction perpetuated by Bahamut and thus, no capacity for redemption, no matter how much hurt is born from it. Right or wrong is mostly gauged by mortal morals, something a cosmic Weapon exists outside of. The universe may call for Destruction to cleanse stagnation or undo spiritual rot - a nest of negativity that feeds Chaos. When called to his purpose, Kaze will fulfill it without remorse, even if he very much feels mortal emotion.

A state of being where one is exposed to, and chosen to uphold, certain immutable, eldritch truths of the world with full agency and yet, simultaneously, understanding any other choice would be infinitely worse in the grand scheme of things is the pinnacle of cosmic horror. Whether being the only one capable of consistently making the tough decisions reduces one to a tool devoid of agency is a philosophical question, and not one that is really possible to answer. And yet, if said choices are only possible through the existence of strong willpower, and the basic quality of a tool is the facts it lacks any kind of will in the first place brings us back to the very nature of Kaze and Magun's relationship.

Bahamut has no interest in a weak vessel who submits. Those who did were swiftly devoured and discarded. It was only through the undying determination of one cursed by the world itself that the Unlimited of Destruction could truly exist, a counterpart to the Unlimited of Salvation. Though the two vessels are irrevocably linked, their philosophies often clash and conflict is built into their very nature.

Despite that, they are both integral concepts of the universe and cannot exist without one another. It is through the existence of Destruction, after all, that Salvation can be found at the end of the tunnel.