#and he will die immediately when its a dungeon

[blangkocharti]

it would be really funny and shocking for tubbo to get a piece of etoiles's lore while impersonating etoiles

[coldwind-shiningstars]

Dungeon Meshi is obviously primarily about food, eating, and crucially survival through eating, but it's also focused on other aspects of survival. Sleep, rest, social ties and social exclusion. There's even extensive commentary on things like personal grooming (Marcille’s hair, Toshiro becoming depressed and no longer shaving), clean bathrooms, and other things. When it comes to disability these things are referred to as instrumental activities of daily life (IADLs), which are more complex things like shopping, housework, and cooking, which people need to do to survive, and activities of daily life (ADLs) which are the basic bare bones needs: eating, toileting, etc. Dungeon Meshi is concerned with the logistics of living and finding joy in those logistics.

This is super related to disability! Yes, Laios is autistic, this has been apparent from the beginning. But what does being autistic mean for him and the story? Mostly, it means his desires, goals, and the ways he goes about achieving them are strange, foreign, or baffling. He has different priorities than other people and the way he expresses those priorities are strange. They affect how he socializes, how he eats…

So, it absolutely makes sense that there would be a minor sideplot about activities of daily living and what it's like to be out of sync with everyone else when it comes to prioritizing things. It's Mithrun Time (he's gonna mith all over the place) and I'm so SO interested in the interplay of disability, caregiving and the logistics thereof, and intersectionality & privilege. Who needs care? How do other people feel about them needing care? How do they receive that care? And who do we think is worthy of receiving care and how does that interact with all these other factors?

Bunch of manga and extras spoilers past the cut:

“So, what's wrong with you?”

I see a lot of people talking about Mithrun's non-eye disability as a depression allegory, which I think is true, but I think it's also metaphorically/symbolically both a traumatic brain injury and a trauma response to sexual assault. The sexual assault aspect is pretty clear if you look at any of the symbolism of the actual disabling event: just look at it.

Mithrun is lying in bed and the goat comes to him, lifts him up and puts its mouth on his abdomen and lower pelvis. The eating is sexually charged, as is the particular way he struggles and protests. It's intensely violating, and things that were once desirable are lost. And the dungeon lord group therapy session involves a lot of people talking about the demons like an abusive lover; Mithrun, even though he wanted to kill the demon so badly, still says that they're gentle.

As for the brain injury, chronic TBIs can cause a wide variety of symptoms. Some immediately relevant ones are anhedonia (lack of enjoyment), executive function issues, poor interoception (trouble understanding what's going on in your body), cognitive impairment affecting ability to reason/multitask/plan/solve problems, changes in behavior and personality, depression, agitation, and restlessness. We see… basically all of these, in Mithrun, as downstream effects of the loss of desires. He can't tell when he's hungry, tired, or out of mana; he can't perform ADLs consistently even if he knows he'll die without doing them and dying without doing them will interfere with his long-term goal, he had drastic personality changes, he oscillates between impatient and totally withdrawn.

Brain injuries can also affect more complex tasks and ability to sustain lengthy periods of complex cognitive work. A common example is losing the ability to read and process longer passages; maybe you can read the words but you can't read a paragraph, or maybe you can read paragraphs but now you get a migraine after 15 minutes. Mithrun's skill loss is not related to reading but the effect is similar – he is and was extremely skilled in a particular area of magic, but also disabled in ways that specifically hinder his skill in this area – to teleport things properly you need depth perception and a sense of direction, and he lacks both of these! And while he's still an incredibly effective fighter it seems like he pretty frequently makes those sorts of mistakes.

This is treated often as a gag and it is genuinely funny but it’s also very real, to no longer be as good at the thing you were good at before you became disabled. Kui takes several throwaway gags seriously later on, not just this one. Another ~gag that's not really elaborated on is the bathroom thing, but I appreciate its inclusion anyway, since even if it's presented humorously it doesn't feel meanspirited in a way a lot of “diaper jokes” do. I think people need to talk a lot more about bathroom issues in a wide variety of disabilities, and I think it's nice that a guy I can already picture the “poor little meow meow” posts about also has this issue, you know?

Preferences vs Desire

Even referencing PTSD and TBIs it's hard to really grasp what having no desires means, and the characters don't generally ask, while Mithrun explains it in vague terms. “Desires” is a very broad term and indeed he has lost access to a wide but related variety of things. Unfortunately this lead to him often being treated as nonagentic.

Mithrun does still have preferences, even if he doesn't express them and has no desire which would drive him to seek out pleasant things and avoid unpleasant ones. He'll comment on the taste and texture of foods, for example – sure seems like he has an opinion!

People treat it like his preferences don't matter since he doesn't usually bring them up unprompted, and he's often in situations where there aren't other options.

Kabru seems best at not doing this (and, noncoincidentally, also seems to be the best at actually caring for him; the Canaries have a lot more Resources theoretically than Kabru And Mithrun Eating Monsters And Kabru's A Bad Cook, but although they are loudly distressed by the two of them disappearing it seems to have positively affected Mithrun's general health)

But, uh, acknowledgement that someone has preferences at all is a really low bar to clear and Kabru also doesn't seem to fully understand how Mithrun's brain works. Mithrun’s caregivers want him to eat when they want him to eat. They want him to rest and drink when they want him to.

He lacks the desire for a number of mundane things but also seems to lack the ability to tell when he needs them. He can't explain why he faints; is “I am out of mana” considered a desire for more mana, one that can be eaten? He can't sleep on his own; it's not only that he lacks “the desire to go to bed” but he can't do anything with his own exhaustion, even if he notices it. He comments on the unpleasant taste and texture of several meals; he may be unable to want to not eat it, but he definitely can tell when he dislikes something. But he also seems to be unable to tell when he's hungry.

Kabru will acknowledge these preferences but there's not really other food options, and Everyone Must Eat. Kabru doesn't know the details of Mithrun's condition yet but you can see the immediate frustration here and the way he offers food to him like Mithrun's a child.

Sure, he won't directly communicate preferences, so that makes it extra hard, but you can always just ask, and if he tells you he tells you.

The pathway between opinion and taking actions about it may be lost in Mithrun but the dungeon forces other people into a similar position – it forces them to eat food they don't want to eat so that they can survive or accomplish other goals. We've seen this with Marcille from the beginning. It's difficult with Mithrun because it seems like there is always going to have to be some sort of someone else overriding his autonomy – yeah, he's not hungry but he still needs to eat or he'll faint. Yeah, he's lying about whether or not he's clean but he still needs to wash or he'll die. Yeah, he needs to take a rest instead of keeping moving or he'll faint. But he's not unique in being in a situation where he has to do nonpreferred things. The difference is more that he lacks the ability to independently do anything when it comes to ADLs, preferred or not, which makes it into someone else’s choice and responsibility.

There's also a theme in Dungeon Meshi that comes up a bit of people being pushy about ADLs but from a slightly different perspective, and they're usually right. You see this in Senshi most commonly; he pushes the residents of the Golden City to actually eat even if they don't need to and can't taste it, and while he's correct in that Yaad does get enjoyment from the food even without taste he's still not quite listening to Yaad. Similarly, Kabru is correct in that he can get Mithrun to sleep without a sleeping spell, but he also ignores the way Mithrun says several times that he doesn't expect massage to work. There's a few aspects to this – wild but expected that the elves would choose the “just knock him out with a spell” route, the “easy way” Senshi always talks about when it comes to magic, instead of actually paying attention to other solutions. But also, generally, people know their bodies best, and sometimes even if you're really sure you have the trick to help them you have to listen to what they tell you.

tvtropes dot org frontslash DisabilityTropes

This is going to be a harder section just because it's so subjective; it's nearly impossible to think about the ways in which disabled people are viewed by the people around them/wider society with any degree of objectivity just because there are so many factors that go into it. But I do think Mithrun is consistently treated as relatively nonagentic and there are several ways this can manifest: being treated as a doll/pet/child, being treated as a weapon, and being a surface for people to project onto.

He's framed or treated as childlike intermittently through the manga; scattered about, just a little vibe in the way he's drawn, like the "say aah" above and Pattadol and Cithis through the teleportation scroll :

That's a middle aged man! And he's framed like a toddler getting picked up or misbehaving.

Which doesn't mean they care about him any less; his squad is really fond of him for someone who's technically like their parole officer. How dare you do this to our captain! They love him dearly; this is obvious and he comments on it! They respect him, too, as the leader and as a strong fighter. But loving someone and thinking they're a skilled fighter doesn't mean you respect their autonomy fully.

There's also an element of everyone projecting their own issues onto him; Kabru with their shared Dungeon Trauma. The canaries all suggesting wacky, midlife-crisis desires. He doesn't ever express that he minds any of this, except when they try to stop him from making particular decisions. They also don't often understand why he'd be motivated to do a particular thing, and in fact some of these projections may actually be correct! But while noodles and pottery may be good later-on goals for him, I think it's striking that a) Kabru was the closest to correctly guessing what desire Mithrun might acquire now and he was still guessing the exact opposite (suggesting a desire to not eat Falin but to help Laios, vs Mithrun's actual desire, which was to eat Falin with no thought given to the promise he made at all) and b) it's a desire that actually makes perfect sense with what we know about him, not something totally new.

And, finally, he's a weapon: people are willing to caretake him because he's good at killing things dead. If his only desire is to kill demons dead, it's easy to start seeing that as who he is. I don't think he'd argue that “trying to kill demons” takes up the majority of his life (it's his only goal and he's obsessed with it) but even if there's only one thing that matters to him he has autonomy (in the sense that he can make his own choices about what to prioritize and formulate his own plans) and personhood.

Politics and privilege – who gets to access care?

One of the things we're first presented with when it comes to Mithrun is that he is intensely capable at handling dungeons. Yeah, there's the immediately visible prosthetic eye and the navigation issues, but the Canaries are built up as being incredibly dangerous and skilled, and he's their captain; they all immediately defer to him. He's intense, he curbstomps an entire room of guards, he's efficient, he's brutal, he's strong physically and magically.

In short: yeah, he's very disabled. He's also still very useful.

At the risk of oversimplification, even within his particular disability, he's much more disabled than Marcille is (she lost something relatively simple and easy to miss, she has no catatonia-moment) but less disabled than Thistle, who seems to still have at least one desire related to the king but is still primarily catatonic. It seems like Thistle is not unusual among ex-dungeon lords, even if there's enough noncatatonic dungeon lords to form a support group later. When Milsiril finds Mithrun, she immediately intends to mercy-kill him – this seems to be a condition the elves are familiar with but consider terminal, at least to the degree Mithrun is affected, and people seem unfamiliar what it means to keep living in this state because Mithrun is unusual in that he survives at all. And he's “allowed” to survive initially because he's not as disabled as he could have been (still has a desire) and that desire is useful. They aim him at the dungeons and off he goes. It takes twenty years for him to recover enough to do it, sure, but they're elves. They can wait. He can still be useful.

Relatedly, when he loses the ability to pursue his desire he's immediately much worse off than he was previously.

The no-desire catatonia is something that can recur and the elves continue to not know how to handle it. If Kabru wasn't there to problemsolve I think he'd have just… stayed there with his increasingly distressed squad.

Speaking of his squad, there's also a fascinating power dynamic going on with just the inherent structure of the Canaries; criminals are assigned as his caregivers. There's the inherent unfairness to the criminal Canaries about them being given extra duties, this strange rich noble guy who's now their Responsibility. There's so much possibility for resentment in normal caregiving relationships, much less being forced by your jailor into caregiving someone. But there's also an element of the power the prisoner Canaries now have over him and his most basic ADLs and needs. Assigning Cithis to his care is such a can of worms! The dynamics of the situation are frankly awful for both of them; of course she resents him initially. It would be strange for her not to. When Pattadol catches her making Mithrun do embarrassing things, she instantly reminds Cithis of her lower-status – she's forced to care for this nobleman and then forcibly reminded that she's beneath him.

She's responding to having menial, low-status tasks forced on her by trying to humiliate him, and although he doesn't have the ability to care enough to stop her it's still a deliberate removal of dignity. He's the instrument with which she is punished and she punishes him in return (until it's not fun anymore and she understands him a bit more.)

Mithrun is a long-lived race, who has structural power over the shorter lived races simply because of how long they live. The dwarves and elves try to actively keep certain knowledge from other races, restricting their access to technology, and other expressions of distance. Senshi spends nearly the whole first season not listening to Chilchuck trying to explain that he's an adult and treating him like a child, and Kabru repeatedly says that the elves do the same thing (and tbh we see them doing it). There's even the fact that it took him twenty years to recover enough to join the Canaries again; a shorter-lived race might have died from old age in this time, or become too old to work in this capacity, and then wasted away without the drive to return to the dungeons. But they're elves; the other elves can afford to wait, and he's not going to age out of dungeoneering any time soon. Being an elf probably contributes to his wealth in the same way skin color contributes to wealth inequality in the real world.

Dungeon Meshi doesn't really go into race in the sense of skin color much, and Kui is writing from a different cultural standpoint than I am. While tallmen are quite accurate when it comes to skin/hair color (yes, even Kabru and his blue eyes; it's rare but possible) and cultural references, the elves, uh, absolutely are not, both in the sense of “dark skin & pale hair and eyes trope” and sense of the royals having jet black skin.

Still, I feel like race is so connected to care and caregiving in the real-world west that I would be profoundly remiss not to mention it. Skin color might not matter to elves in the racism sense, but it matters to humans and humans are the ones writing and analyzing this story. (And I fully expect as the fandom grows with anime-onlies people will like Mithrun more because he's white (has white features) than they would if he had darker skin, because fandom is also baseline racist.)

I don't think we can just not mention that Mithrun is pale-skinned and both Cithis and Kabru, his primary caregivers over the story, both have dark skin.

Racism means white people are more likely to get good medical care, the type you need to get diagnosed and prescribed caregiving. Racism means wealth distribution is uneven, favoring white people. Race affects immigrants taking on undesirable jobs like caregiving for low pay. Racism is a profound stressor which means it contributes to who becomes disabled in the first place in that it can worsen health outcomes.

Similarly to race, gender may not be very obvious when it comes to this subplot within the story but the gendered dynamics of caregiving in the real world are something I do want to touch on. There's an oft-cited statistic about how men are much more likely than women to divorce their partners when their partners are diagnosed with a serious condition; I don't like relying too much on those sorts of statistics because they can be so misleading but it does gesture at something very real, culturally. Even if men aren't supposed to be caretaken, women are supposed to be the caretakers. Certainly, it's not Mithrun's fault that he can't cook and can't do laundry and probably can't do most housework, but I do also think about all the posts passed around about “my boyfriend who won't do housework.”

Again, none of these privileges make him less disabled and less in need of and deserving of care, they're just worth talking about when we talk about caregiving in general.

It's Rotten Work, Even If It's You

People expect disabled people receiving care to be grateful, to accept anything, and to try and make it easier for the caregiver if they're able. Requiring care is an incredibly disadvantaged position, even as actually receiving it can be so tangled up in privilege. Caregiving is tremendously difficult work, it's true, but there's a particular vibe people want from disabled people – all those movies about not wanting to be seen as a burden. Never complaining. Being grateful.

And, uh, well…

Mithrun basically accepts anything his caregivers do, but he's not grateful at all! I appreciate that in a disability portrayal. He'll also lie to and ignore his caregivers, which is Annoying but is definitely an expression of autonomy even if he's probably not doing it specifically to express his autonomy. He's not going to thank you. He's not going to make it easy. He'll accept a lot of things considered “undignified,” and he's not mean or unpleasant in the sense that he's taking advantage or anything, but he's certainly not a model patient.

He's running off back into the dungeons just when you think you've finally gotten him somewhere safe.

There's always a strange tension in caregiving, I've found. It is incredibly intimate but a lot of it is done by total strangers. A number of caregiving tasks are viewed by the wider world as entitled but placing those tasks in the hands of strangers is a remarkably tough place to be in. As a disabled person, I've had to accept my bowel movements being discussed with my parents’ friends, all sorts of being physically moved places not against my will but without my permission, even my pubic hair being shaved off by a stranger (nurse) while I was unable to speak or move. When people are feeding you, making sure you use the toilet, rubbing your feet to make you sleep, helping you with hygiene – people are working so hard to help you. Are you supposed to just accept them doing whatever they want to you?

There's also a dynamic where people will say they don't mind caring for you, they're happy to do it, and then as the years go by and you continue to need care the resentment just builds up. Caregiving is hard work. It's often thankless. The goodness of people’s hearts can run dry, when it's been twenty years and you still can't bathe yourself.

Aaand I need to continue in reblogs, because I'm out of space for images. Please hold. edit: you can find part 2 here

[heliianth]

extremely bewildering to me that people think silva is like. a good dad. obviously due to the talk he and killua have about never betraying friends. and its like... people see that scene in isolation and think "wow killuas dad is such a gigachad" and never reevaluate this opinion based on information we get later

like almost immediately after silva freeing killua from the family dungeon we see him do a sinister laugh about how one day killua will return because, essentially, he knows him better than he knows himself. and then later we find out that silva was totally aware that killua was being magically brainwashed to abandon his friends in moments of mortal peril. all with the usual zoldyck family backdrop of brutal dehumanization and torture

and its like.... did you not catch any of that? am i going crazy? because silva is so deliberately using kikyos obsession with killua to play good cop/bad cop and weaponize his compassion so that when illumis needle eventually causes him to leave gon to die killua will feel so ashamed not only for doing that at all but also for breaking the promise he made to his dad whom he loves. and that broken promise will make him return, spirit broken, for atonement in the way killua has done many times on a smaller scale. but sure. i guess silva giving killua permission to leave his own house is a gigachad move

[rottenpumpkin13]

Zack gets AGSZC to play DND. What happens? Do they miraculously finish the campaign or does it go down in flames?

The DnD Game That Ended In Flames

Zack: Picture this—you’re all sent to survey a rundown reactor in the sleepy village of Nibelheim, and—

*Sephiroth raises his hand*

Zack: Yes, Sephiroth.

Sephiroth: Why would Shinra send three SOLDIERs and one infantryman to survey a rundown reactor?

Zack: …Uh… I don’t know. And you’re not SOLDIERs. You’re a fighter, Genesis is a wizard, Angeal is a Paladin, and Cloud is a Rogue.

Cloud: What are you supposed to be?

Zack: I’m the Dungeon Master. Anyway, so you have to hike up the mountain to—

Cloud: People have been known to go missing and die when they trek up Mt. Nibel. I wouldn't really recommend it.

Zack, ignoring him: As you begin your trek, you encounter a fork in the path. One trail looks—

*Sephiroth raises his hand*

Zack: What is it, Seph?

Sephiroth: Cloud doesn't recommend it.

Zack:

Sephiroth:

Zack, ignoring him: As you begin your trek, you encounter a fork in the path. One trail looks—

Sephiroth: What if we die—

Zack: PEOPLE DIE, SEPHIROTH.

Sephiroth:

Zack: One path leads through a dark forest while the other is a bit more dangerous, but climbs steeply up the mountain. What do you do?

Angeal: Obviously the path that climbs up the mountain.

*Everyone agrees*

Zack: Alright. As you climb up, the trail becomes treacherous! Rocks start to loosen beneath your feet—

Cloud: I told you so.

Zack: I'm going to yell at you and you won't like it.

Sephiroth: May I use my perception to scout ahead for dangerous spots?

Zack, rolling the dice: You spot a loose section of the trail and warn the others. But the path is still unstable!

Genesis: I cast a spell to help stabilize the rocks. You'll see, I'll save us all with my talent and sheer skill.

*Zack rolls the dice*

Zack: The spell causes the unstable rocks cause a landslide. You’re hit by a falling boulder.

Genesis: WHAT?

Angeal: How bad is it?

Zack, rolling the dice: The boulder hits Angeal with a fatal blow. He is now dead.

Angeal: HOW?

Sephiroth: Genesis killed him.

Zack: Yeahh…your path to the reactor just got a lot harder. You continue up the mountain, saddened after Angeal's death. Then you spot a Nibel dragon perched on the rocks. Its hungry eyes gleam as it notices you! Cloud, you’re up first!

Cloud: I’ll use my sneak attack and aim for the dragon’s weak spot.

Zack, rolling the dice: You deal significant damage. Sephiroth, your turn.

Sephiroth: I cast a fireball at the dragon.

Zack, rolling the dice: The fireball engulfs the dragon, hurting it. Genesis, you’re up.

Genesis: I taunt the dragon.

Angeal: HA! Like that'll help. Looks like you'll be joining me in death.

Zack, rolling the dice: The dragon is enraged and charges at you. Angeal, you die.

Angeal: I'M ALREADY DEAD.

Zack: Oops, sorry about that! *Zack rolls the dice* Genesis, the dragon is defeated and you live!

Genesis: Success.

Angeal: AKSJDGSJSKS

Zack: You finally reach the reactor. It looms before you, its structure old and decrepit—

Sephiroth: It’s typical of Shinra. Their greed causes them to neglect everything hidden from the public eye. What the public can't see, they do not care about.

Zack: A-ha! See? See why you need to survey the reactor? How do you proceed?

Sephiroth: We leave immediately and do not engage with the danger.

Zack:

Sephiroth:

Zack, ignoring him: You advance inside and notice something strange. On one of the doors near the core of the reactor, you see a name engraved: Jenova. Sephiroth's mother’s name!

Genesis: The plot thickens.

Sephiroth: What is this? Why would her name be here?

Cloud: What happens if we investigate the surrounding area?

Zack: The room is filled with strange machinery and pods containing…creatures. What do you do?

Sephiroth: I investigate the machinery and the pods. I need answers now.

Cloud: I’ll keep watch for any signs of danger.

Genesis: I'll sit quietly and eat an apple.

Zack: Angeal, what will you do?

Angeal:

Zack: Oh yeah, you're dead.

Zack: Anyway, as you investigate the pods, you discover grotesque, half-formed creatures floating in the mako. Suddenly Sephiroth finds a data log that reveals the horrifying truth: Jenova is not his mother, but an alien entity.

Sephiroth: I shall love her either way.

Genesis: That is the saddest thing I've ever heard you say.

Zack: Genesis, you have a choice here. You can either comfort Sephiroth in this moment of shock or make fun of him. What do you do?

Genesis: I choose to make fun of him.

Zack: Really? Damn.

Genesis: Well, well, Sephiroth. It appears mommy dearest is an alien. I can't say I'm surprised. After all, the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Zack, rolling the dice: This angers Sephiroth greatly. Genesis, you are now in mortal peril.

Genesis: WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION THAT BEFORE?

Sephiroth: I choose to murder Genesis.

Genesis: HUH?

Zack, rolling the dice: Yeah, you're dead man, sorry.

Cloud: This is why we don't make fun of people's mothers.

Genesis: She isn't even his mother! She's an alien!

Sephiroth: The more you insult my mother, the more I feel inclined to recreate our fictional game in real life.

Zack: The creatures in the pods start to twitch. It seems your discovery has triggered something. What do you do?

Cloud: We leave the reactor and head back to the inn.

Sephiroth: A sound choice. After all, it's only the two of us now.

Zack: You head back to the inn, but in the middle of the night, Sephiroth slips out and heads to the manor library, searching for answers.

*Sephiroth raises his hand*

Zack: Yes, Sephiroth?

Sephiroth: I’d never do that. I adhere strictly to protocol and my rank. I would not abandon my men.

Zack: You have no men. Only Cloud.

Sephiroth, turning to Cloud: He's insulting your masculinity.

Cloud: Not cool, man.

Zack: Hang on! You have the choice to either follow Sephiroth or stay put at the inn.

Cloud: He might need my help. I should follow him.

Zack: You go after Sephiroth at the manor. You reach the library door. But you feel as if once you go inside, you will never be the same again.

Cloud: Just let me go in.

Zack, rolling the dice: Angeal dies.

*Angeal flies at him, but Sephiroth holds him back*

Zack, unbothered: As you step inside, you see Sephiroth at a desk, reading over a thick book. He looks up as you approach, his eyes filled with a strange intensity, bags under his eyes spinning tales about his lack of sleep. He looks depressed, sullen, confused.

Genesis: That's just what you see when you open his office door on any regular day.

Zack: Sephiroth shows you the book, which contains detailed records of experiments involving Jenova. The more you read, the more you realize the horrifying truth about her origins and the experiments conducted by Shinra.

Sephiroth: This changes everything.

Zack: Sephiroth, you have a choice: you can either take out your anger on your surroundings in a fit of rage, or return to the inn with Cloud. What do you do?

Cloud: Well that's a fucking no-brainer. Clearly he comes back to the inn with me. Why would you even include that as an option?

Sephiroth: I choose to burn Nibelheim to the ground in a fit of rage.

Cloud: WHAT?

Sephiroth: Gaia needs to pay for the sins committed by her children.

Cloud: WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?

Zack: Sephiroth begins to channel his rage, summoning flames that spread quickly through the village! Nibelheim is engulfed in fire as villagers scream and flee!

Cloud: I have to stop him!

Sephiroth: You are too weak to save anyone.

Cloud: !?

Cloud: Zack, how do I stop the fire and save the people??

Zack: Hm, you can try.

*Zack rolls the dice*

Zack: In a shocking turn of events, the fire is contained and all but one person survives the fire.

Cloud: Who? Is it my mom?? Is it Tifa?? WHO DIED?

Zack: Angeal dies in the fire.

Angeal: I ALREADY FUCKING DIED YOU IDIOT

[lovehotelreservation]

⚔️ task force 141 in final fantasy 14 🔫

tfw i was only planning on writing out my thoughts/headcanons (which can be found below the cut !) to pair with the above graphic when the following piece clawed its way out of my mind palace 😭😭 how tf did this end up being 2000+ words--

There are days when you think about adventuring, but then there are nights when you think otherwise.

Much like this one.

Another evening working at the Drowning Wench had you serving ales to off-duty Yellowjackets, swarthy sailors fresh from spending the past few weeks crossing over from Kugane, a bookish group of students from the Arcanists' Guild, and of course--

"Welcome home!"

You did your best to fight back a giggle as four familiar, weary faces emerged through the lift doors:

Middle age and mutton chops were signature on the Highlander who stepped ahead of the quartet, his pronounced stance screaming leader, as did the lash of his tongue towards his shorter mohawked Miqo'te companion, whose flopped ears and a drooped tail spoke of his current mood. Following close behind was a mustached male Viera, who wore exasperation handsomely as he tried to mediate between the two. Then, lastly as always, was the looming Au Ra who trailed after the group, his face obscured by an iron helmet that bore a skull on its facade.

The fact that the Miqo'te was lugging around an axe while the Highlander sported four nouliths on his back told you everything: the classic clash between a headstrong, hot-blooded tank and a grumpy, jaded healer.

A glance at the Viera's lance and the Au Ra's scythe elaborated that they probably had the time of their lives fending off mobs of dungeon demons as half of their party bickered.

You were already stepping over to the bar to prep mugs of ale--a show of compassion from your end, sure, but you knew drunken lips often had more interesting stories to share.

As you turned on your heel, you just barely caught the ears and the tail of the Miqo'te perking up at the sound of your voice and--with a quick glance to your direction--the flutter of your uniform dress's skirt.

A grin breaking onto his lips, he eagerly called out to you, causing your head to turn back towards his direction. "Bonnie! Glad tae be back! C'mere and give us a hug, yeah--?"

Before he could leap over to where you were, the hands of both the Highlander and the Viera immediately anchoring down on his shoulders, and even a grasp at his tail from the Au Ra stopped him in place.

However, what did end up making its way over to you was a tossed sack from the Highlander, whose tone shifted from vicious to kindly upon uttering your name.

You were glad that your hands were empty as the suddenness of the throw had you scrambling to catch the bag, especially with how weighty it was once it landed on your palms with a harsh jingle. Curiously, you tugged at the opening and peered inside, your eyes growing wide at a hefty sum of gil within.

As you glanced back up, the four were already taking their seats at the table closest to the bar, with the Highlander offering you a wink as he beckoned you over with his fingers.

"Had to cut some of the spoils with you, love. Now come over--we're celebrating tonight."

-------------------------------

anyway

further thots below

Price 👨

Tanking:

Gunbreaker for sure! Prior to eventually forming Free Company 141 (>:)) with the guys, Price was helping around with various resistance groups against the Garlean Empire's subjugation. Some time spent in Bozja lead him to eventually pick up GNB after befriending some of the Hrothgars part of the Bozjan Resistance.

If you're healing, he's definitely giving you hell with Superbolide for a laff 😩😩 (For context to non-FF14 players, Superbolide is a move for GNB that renders them impervious to attacks but also used to reduce their HP to 1 (ONE))

"My life's in your hands, darling. If I die, let me die in your arms and let me nuzzle that lovely bosom of yours, yeah?"

DPS:

Shock and awe, right 🤪🤪 For melee DPS, what's more shocking and aweing than the flashy moves of Viper? Though, these days he has to be a bit more mindful of rolling around, dashing and slashing in style because those aged knees of his aren't what they used to be !

For ranged DPS, Machinist is the job of choice 🙂‍↕️ It's what he started off with when he started carving a path for himself in Eorzea. Though the years may pass, that aim of his stays lethally accurate !

Healer:

This entire post exists purely because I thought about Price going "You broken?" while on healing duty as a Sage oml

But let me PLEAD MY CASE he'd be such a toxic healer 😭😭 especially if you're being reckless in a dungeon.

If you end up wiping against a boss, prepared to be scolded as he rezzes you--and afterwards all the way back home. However, despite the gruff "You broken?" he shoots you, the hand that's inspecting your face is gentle with its touch, all while his nouliths are rampaging in the back against the monster that clawed at you.

Relationship With You If You're the Warrior of Light:

Price is no stranger to sacrifice and he understands that with your role as the realm's savior, there always runs the risk that a goodbye shared with you could be the very last.

After all, in his previous relationships, he's used to being the one leaving, having hands cling to his arm as he's begged to not go out and fight (whether for mercenary work, an adventuring gig, or even a contract by the likes of the Scions or a citystate). To now be the one so reluctant to let you go, holding you fiercely, possessively even--an energy matched by the way he kisses you soon after--as he orders you to come back home to him in a growl, it's strange.

Oh to be so selfish for the most selfless person in the world 🥳

Gaz 🧢

Tanking:

Gaz is here to be your PALadin 🤝

The satisfaction, the DRAMA of him protecting you ! With a desperate rush of his feet on the ground, his shield ready and raised, eyes narrow and steely as the glowing wings of Passage of Arms emits from his body as he stands defensively in front of you, determined to not let so much as a hair of yours fall askew from an attack.

Taking up Paladin came up as a suggestion from Price as they first became acquainted with each other. "Healing's nice and all, but it'd be nice to avoid that as a whole if you just raise your arm a little, right mate?"

If all else fails, he's lobbing that shield at whoever the HELL without giving a single damn 😭

DPS:

It was upon deciding to continue his studies in the arts of Astrologian in Ishgard that Gaz was eventually introduced to the esteemed Dragoons of the Temple Knights.

With the Dragonsong War ongoing, he did commit his efforts as a healer to aid the wounded, but with the count of fatalities rising, the broken spirits of soldiers who survived but at a cost to their sanity, he was driven to take on a more active role by taking up the lance as a soon-to-be acclaimed DRG.

A job that perfectly balances Gaz's lethal skill, precision, and mobility as a Dragoon and his already overabundant magical prowess for healing--what else but Red Mage?

While FC 141 are brought on by the Warrior of Light to help with the liberation of Ala Mhigo and Doma. Squaring off with the mightiest of the Garlean Empire and just barely withstanding their fights has him immediately re-thinking over strategies on how to better retaliate while also keeping his comrades alive.

The answer comes in the form of watching members of the Ala Mhigan Resistance train at Rhalgr's Reach, where he and the guys are recovering from a recent skirmish. Seeing the techniques and skills of one of the RDMs brings forth the same inspiration that led him to take up DRG, so he was immediately compelled to take up the job.

this does mean that he is putting the bloody gloves ON to fight tho 🤪

Healer:

A student exchange program during his youth (good luck trying to pinpoint when exactly given the typical Viera lifespan !) had Gaz departing from Tural to take up studies in Old Sharlayan. It's during his time here that he became well acquainted in the arts of Astrologian.

Aside from the practical techniques in battle from being an AST, being able to do some card readings has become quite the fun skill to show off at parties and whatnot--especially to catch your attention !!!

You will always be his priority for buffs and heals !!! Sorry Soap, but you're not going to be punching as hard !!! Sorry Ghost, but you're going to have to tank that raidwide a bit more on your own !!! Sorry Price, but you're going to have to walk off that sprain a little longer !!!

If all else fails, he's lobbing that planisphere at whoever the FUCK without giving a single damn 😭

Relationship With You If You're the Warrior of Light:

A desire to see the world was what compelled Gaz to leave both Tural and Old Sharlayan. Witnessing the horrors of the Dragonsong War was what ignited his passion to help protect the world.

But when it comes to you? He would gladly cross any continent, any ocean, even soar to worlds beyond just to be by your side, to protect, defend and aid you as much as he possibly could.

After all, when you requested for the assistance of FC 141 to help with the Ala Mhigan Resistance's fight back against the Garlean Empire, he posed only one question to you, a grin on his lips: "So what're you gonna need from me, love: tanking, damage dealing or healing?"

Ghost 👻

Tanking:

Mans was made, built and CREATED to be a Dark Knight

Living out in the shadows of Ishgard and the tundra of Coerthas, Ghost for the longest has taken up the mantle of a phantom who stalks the night, bloodied greatsword dragging over frigid cobblestones and snow-strewn grounds as it lurks for its next victim

In reality, he's taken upon himself to serve justice against corrupted members of the Ishgard Orthodox Church, who use abuse their power to send innocent souls deemed as heretics to their demise at the inquisition trials.

If he's tanking, like he'll always lose it if you end up getting KO'd--regardless of what job you're maining--, but he'll especially be raging more at both himself and the enemy if you're on healing duty.

DPS:

It's Ghost, ofc he's going to deal damage as Reaper and Black Mage 😭😭

EDGY JOBS ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

idk if ghost is even gonna bother with summoning a voidsent as rpr when that mf already is a DEMON

as to be expected, he'll be a ley line menace--stressing you and everyone else out when he's enjoying a little camp out in his magic circle, flinging spells all while you and the rest of your party are backflipping around trying to avoid fire balls, lasers, and other dungeon nonsense 😩😩

Healer:

Ever since he heard that White Mages utilize something called a Blood Lily, he was all in to take that up for a healing job.

also he thought it would be funny to be trained in the arts of both Black Mage and White Mage

literally just for a laff

Relationship With You If You're the Warrior of Light:

When you're in the "Sacrifice Myself to Protect My Lover" contest and your opponent is Ghost--

He knows you're more than capable of defending yourself, but that still doesn't stop him from feeling protective of you, both in battle and watching you bear the great responsibility and burden of being Eorzea's champion.

It doesn't matter who asks for your aid--citystate leaders, key members of royalty, even Hydaelyn herself--he can't stand to watch the person he cherishes most to be reduced to a selfless pawn catering to the whims of others.

Soap 🧼

Tanking:

MONKEY FLIP WARRIOR GO

It's no secret that Soap can have quite the temper when pushed far enough. Hot-headed as he could be, he felt that he could channel this rage into something more productive.

Given that he's already so protective of everyone he cares for, wielding a greataxe to defend and withstand any punishing blow seemed like the most natural solution.

While he honors the skills and abilities of Warrior with great reverence at the power they give him, he's still gonna teasingly chain you up with Holmgang here and there--

DPS:

While he would get formal training for Monk later, Soap was just simply good, quick and menacing with the power of his fists alone while growing up. One can't last out on the Rhotano Sea and make a living as a sailor without having something to defend yourself with !!!

With the risk of running into pirates always nonzero, he eventually took up the bow and arrow as a Bard snipe at any pesky fiends trying to board and steal cargo.

Much like Gaz, if all else fails, he could also just start swinging his lute at some skulls--

If you and Soap are on DPS duty, expect some friendly competition on who can either clear through the most mobs of monsters or who can land the finishing blow the most.

Healer:

Some time spent working his way up the ranks of the Maelstrom was what brought him to taking up Scholar. He was already so fond of Carbuncles when learning the basics as an Arcanist, so the idea of having 2 little sparkly fairies to help protect and heal his dearest companions only solidified his choice!

Though he knows it is against their nature, he still made an honest attempt to get Eos and Selene to throw hands against enemies 😩😩 Along with trying to teach them how to cuss

The genuine surprise on Price's, Gaz's, and Ghost's face when Soap pulled out his SCH book for the first time--

ignore my visual for sch btw it's not my fault that square enix is allergic to depicting the meteor as a healer in any of the key visual cinematics !!!

Relationship With You If You're the Warrior of Light:

Your biggest supporter truly 🥺🥺 He doesn't need to imagine the levels of stress and feeling of obligation you feel as the Warrior of Light--he can feel it in your body whenever he's pulling you into a loving embrace, or the way you whimper in your sleep as you're clinging to him.

It's why he does all he can to help ease and soothe you, whether it's listening to you reflect on whether to lend your assistance to the imminent Rite of Succession in Tural or whisking you away to Costa del Sol for a getaway.

As reluctant as he is to let you go and fulfill your duty--especially ones ordained by Hydaelyn herself--he won't stop you.

But he WILL be adamant that he accompanies you--like hell he's going to just stand by while the love of his life takes on the dangers of the realm alone !!!

an aside but: as he's a miqo'te idk i feel like he'd go head over heels bananas over you if you're taller than him ????? viera + elezen wols wya your scottish monogamous nunh awaits !!!

i stand by my screenshot placements for his row btw 🙆‍♀️

[roosterforme]

Would you graciously give us a glimpse at what it was like the first time Maria invited Bob to her room ?

*loud screeching* *screeching intensifies*

Maddie, I would love nothing more. When Bob first moved in with Maria, he mostly kept to himself. Maria thought he was quiet and reserved, but not in a bad way. He had an adorable smile that he always seemed to bestow on her when they were in a room together, and he smelled good. Like really good. One evening, she found him sitting on the living room floor, his long limbs comically large compared to the sets of Dungeons & Dragons dice he was sorting into organized piles. She watched him from the doorway for a moment, a smile finding its way to her lips, before she made her presence known....

"Hey," she said casually, even though she wanted to moan when she walked close enough to be able to smell his shampoo. Or his laundry detergent. Or whatever it was that she liked so much.

"Maria," he replied, flumbling some of his dice as his cheeks turned a little pink. "Hi." He started to quickly sweep his dice into the tray near his knee with his big hand. "I was just... actually, there's really no cool cover story here. I'm sorting my dice by color like an absolute dork."

She laughed which made him smile as she waved him off like it was nothing to be embarrassed about. "Don't let me stop you. Actually... can I help? It looks kind of fun."

Five minutes later, they had opened a bottle of wine which was sitting on the table with two glasses, and Bob was telling her about his new character while she helped him organize his dice.

"I like this one the best," she said once the bottle of wine was empty. She was poking a sparkly orange d20 with her index finger, and for some reason, Bob leaned in a little closer and pushed a few strands of her hair back from her face.

"You can have it," he told her when her gaze snapped up to meet his. "Since you like it."

Her eyes were wide, and her lips were parted as her tongue darted out to wet them. "Thanks," she murmured softly, wrapping her fingers around the die and taking it to her bedroom with her for the night.

Bob was still thinking about how soft her skin was when he got home from work the next day. Maria was already there, opening her mail. "This one came for you," she told him with a smile, sliding a box across the coffee table.

Part of him was nervous to open it in front of her. She was going to think he had some sort of shopping addiction at this rate. When he unboxed another new dice set, he winced in her direction, but she just laughed in response.

"Should we go ahead and sort them into your collection?" she asked, holding out her hand to look at them. "We could open another bottle of wine."

Honestly, nothing sounded better to Bob. He poured two glasses once again, and they sat on the floor together. As soon as Maria added his new dice to the appropriate color pile where they left them on the living room shelf, she crawled back toward him.

"I kind of wish there were more to put away," she told him. "Hanging out with you is fun."

She looked and sounded sincere. He wanted to touch her again. But this time she beat him to it, crawling right into his lap, letting her fingers brush through his hair.

Maria kissed him, and she tasted like the wine. Her body was soft and warm against his, and when his hands made their way to her hips, she encouraged him to keep going. When he touched the bare skin of her lower back, she stroked his tongue with hers.

"I have an idea," she whispered, nipping at his lips while the combination of her voice and the wine started going to his head. "Why don't you come to my room and see where I put that orange die. It's very close to my bed," she told him as she pulled her shirt over her head.

He was on his feet, helping her up immediately. Maria and Bob stumbled down the hallway to her bed, making out and leaving a trail of clothing along the way. It was a few hours before he took the time to locate the d20 on her nightstand.

The Bradley Bunch

[dunmeshi-darlings]

this might be a really like niche thing if you are doing requests of course but what about a tiger beastman reader with marcille it can be sfw or nsfw either or its all good!

Nobody knew you were a beastkin at first, it was something you held in secret. After all, Beastmen are viewed in not the most pleasant of lights. When the party had seen your tiger tail they had assumed you were a beastkin like izutsumi, which you quickly said was the case. You weren't ready to tell them the truth yet, yes they treated izutsumi perfectly fine it was just...you were scared, beast man are viewed as either criminals that were punished or dangerous people that did this to themselves. you were planning on telling them just...just when you thought the time was right.

However that decision was made for you one day, The group had been travelling and had been ambushed by a particularly fierce monster. You all were fighting it as best you could but you watched it knock laios aside and charge Marcille. You knew you had to do something, you couldnt let her die...you couldnt let her get hurt. she had been so kind to you since you joined, always willing to help when you needed it. Talking to you about magic and how she could tell you had potential with magic she could feel it (she could sense the beastman magic but didnt realize it). You couldnt let anything happen to her.

You sprinted at the charging monster as you began to take your form, Bones shifting and popping into place, skin stretching and pulsing as it shifted, Your jaw extending as your teeth grew and pushed forward into fangs, nails extending into long sharp claws. Everyone's eyes were on the monster so nobody saw you at first, too focused on the monster that was about to attack marcille. However their attention was immediately drawn when a deep guttural roar rang out through the dungeon as a large figure slammed into the side of the monster which was only a mere few feet from marcille. The monster and this new being thrown to the other side of the dungeons room from the sheer force of this mystery attackers launch.

The fight may have only lasted a short moment, but that moment was a bloody and visceral one. Swinging claws and gnashing teeth, Blood, fur, scales, and viscera splattered in every direction around this violent brawl. Eventually the mysterious figure flipped the monster onto its back and sank its massive fangs into the monsters throat, it let out gurgling hisses as it tried to fight back, but the figure bit down harder and a muffled cracking was heard. The monster continued to fight even though the party could see it was slowing down its movements, however the figure gave on hard yank of its head and a loud snapping was heard and the monster fell limp in this beings jaws. It shook its head a few more times, smaller cracking noises resounded as it made sure its target was killed before it slowly let go of its throat and stood up, staring at the party who looked on in shock.

Standing before the rest of Laios party, Its muzzle dripping blood and scraps of flesh stood a massive humanoid tiger. Its Muscles rippling under its dense orange fur, twitching every few seconds, Like springs ready to launch this behemoth of claws and fur at its next target. But the being simply wiped the blood off its mouth as it began to speak. "i....im sorry...i wanted to tell you all...i promise i did..i just...i didnt know when it would be right." You spoke, slowly shifting back into your normal form as you prepared yourself for the worst. you expected them to berate you and be upset that you hid this from them and say they dont want you around. But it was izutsumi who spoke up first. "i knew you smelled like a cat." Catching you and everyone off guard as they couldnt help but chuckled.

Laios was perhaps the most excited of them all, He had stars in his eyes as he asked you question after question about your tiger form, asking how you got it and what its like. Chilchuck simply shrugged and said he didnt blame you for not talking about it, that it was a private matter and how he isnt the most forthcoming person either. Senshi scratched his chin, making comments about needing to adjust your portions of food since you have a much bulkier frame you need to keep fed hidden away. However it was marcilles reaction that had you the most curious, she had a blush on her face as she thanked you for saving her and she looked almost...nervous?

You tell her that its ok, that you couldnt just sit by and let her get hurt or worse. And that even if you got kicked out of the party, you had to make sure she was ok. This caused the elf to blush more, the tips of her pointy ears a crimson hue as they wiggled, her awkwardly giggling and saying thanks again. Of course she quickly shouted about your injuries, Sure your thick fur protected from alot of the attacks but some of them definitely got through and it was only now you were starting to feel the stings of various gouges and bite marks.

Marcille began tending to your wounds, using her magic to heal your wounds and make sure you were ok. Normally her healing magic, while fast, hurts almost as much as the wounds. But she was being particularly gentle this time, using the magic slowly and it felt almost like healing magic from the gnome school of magic. You asked her why she was doing it this way and another blush crossed her face, she smiled softly "well...i dont want to see you hurt either..so im taking my time with this and making sure it doesnt hurt to much...i just....ive been thinking about you lately, and especially after what you did earlier...risking yourself and exposing your identity like that to protect me...you mean alot to me." She says taking one of her hands and placing it softly onto your cheek, using her magic to heal a cut that had crossed your cheek all the way back to your ear. You felt the wound heal quickly as it was a shallow cut...but she didnt move her hand, it sat there for awhile. It felt like she didnt want to move her hand away, like she was treasuring this moment. And so you took a breath and put your hand over hers, tilting your head into her hand. Commenting how she means alot to you as well. The two of you staring lovingly into each others eyes for a moment before chilchucks voice quickly makes you two separate.

As night fell you began to settle in, making your cot as you got ready for sleep. However you stopped when marcille walked up with her pillow. "hey, do you mind if i sleep with you tonight?" she asked softly, a grin across her face as you grinned back and motioned for her to nestle in as she did so. You wrapped your arms around the elf woman and pulled her into a soft hug, she hummed softly and happily in your arms as you two lay together. "you know how chilchuck feels about in party relationships." you say jokingly causing the elf woman to roll her eyes. "oh that grump can deal with it, besides. Ill just say im sleeping here to make sure your wounds have healed properly thats all." She says with a wink, the two of you smiling as you nestled in for the night. Perhaps you could get used to this whole, being open and honest thing.

[enden-k]

Sir...

You can't just drop a new oc, have the tag "the himbo prince" AND NOT TELL US ANYTHING ELSE!?!?!?

Im joking, but if you'd like, please introduce us to this fine gentleman, i promise i won't bite (ok maybe a little)

well, the story hes from is veeeeery crack-turning-serious and goes like this:

the protagonist is a high elf named vindrael, short vin, whos very short and bland looking than the average beautiful tall elf. bc of this he gets overlooked since his birth and developed quite the inferiority complex. to make up for all this, he dedicates his life to the art of summoning and studies hard until he becomes one of the greatest summoners his age

the king of the land notices vins magical powers and intelligence and takes him in to become the court summoner and serve one of his two sons. vin develops a crush on the king (since he noticed and believed in him) and chooses the younger son, prince titus, so he can stay at the court and near the king instead of the older son, prince aris, who travels the lands with his guild and slays monsters. years later, aris and his warriors die in a dungeon and it affects the king and his mental health greatly. he favored his eldest and neglected titus bc titus isnt the smartest and brightest and it brought shame to his father

from then the king changed greatly and years later he sends his remaining son off to "slay a dragon"; giving vin the choice to stay at court or go with him. vin ofc goes with titus bc he still feels extremely guilty over aris death and how it made him feel relieved he didnt choose him back then; he decided he would follow titus everywhere even if it was death, trying to overcome his fears

it then turns out the dungeon they were sent to was a trap meant to kill titus and his warriors, using their lives as an offering to that residing dragon to bring back aris from the dead. the king wasnt aware tho that the dragon king is unable to use his ancient powers bc hes missing a horn and thus cant turn into his true form so titus strikes a deal with the mysterious dragon dude right then and there - to vins horror - to free him if he lets him go and pretend he died in that dungeon. titus wants to grow strong like "a true king" to prove himself and find out what his father is truly up to and stop him bc its clear its smth evil

sorry for the ramble ahhh

anw prince titus is one of the protags. hes extremely strong but very dumb and naive. his father always neglected him bc of that and favored his older brother. he considers vin his best friend and admires him bc hes so smart. when the dragon joins their little group, he immediately trusts him to vins horror and listens to anything he teaches him, even if its naughty or useless stuff hes not aware of (the dragon is a shameless bastard who loves teasing and trolling ppl, esp vin). titus has a pure heart; he is very optimistic, always happy and always believes in the good of ppl despite his dad betraying and sacrificing him. on their journey he matures and becomes wiser from their experiences and everything shows how hes gonna become a truly great king

hes also lit the definition of a himbo. there is nothing going on in his head (sometimes it makes him a bit sad) but his respect and good behavior is out of this world akjbscjk

i cant offer any existing doodles of him other than my old ones from when i drew this comic years ago. the last one i posted is bc i recently started redrawing it for my sister since its her favorite story of mine and i wanted to redraw and make it physical as a christmas gift for her kjabjck i didnt get to make more new sketches of the cast bc i got busy with amygdala weeee

[roses-and-revolutions]

Almost finished reading Dungeon Meshi and I got an idea

So in Dungeon Meshi or Delicious in Dungeon, there are these... dungeons.

And from what I have gathered dungeons can be made naturally or artificially but both types have the same few things in common.

They are made to contain demons

They attract adventures

The dungeons have lords who manage/control the dungeon and are given the power to do so by the demons

I know that I'm skimming over some important bits, but long story short, the demons come from an alternate dimension called 'The Infinite Realm' and feed off of people's desires, the Lord of the Dungeon's specifically.

That being said... (incoming dp x dc prompt)

Beings from the Infinite Realms aren't ghosts but demons. And while they do still have obsessions, they lack desires. And so, they've become something they hunger for.

Danny learns this the hard way when he accidentally eats his parents' desire to hunt 'ghosts'.

When the endless, all-consuming hunger, that had been growing inside himself became just a bit satisfied by the action, he got scared. He ran to Clockwork, who immediately explained everything to him.

From there he became terrified. He didn't want to eat people's desires, especially considering that he had some of his own. But CW explained that while other demons will most likely never be satisfied no matter how many desires they consume, because of Danny's halfa status he may be able to. (Also it would be a bad thing if the baby starves itself. No one wants the baby to starve!)

To test out this theory, CW pulls (more than) a couple of strings, and soon his dungeon was set up in Gotham City in the DC universe.

He felt a bit bad since he had to set up shop in another ghost's/demon's territory, but Lady Gotham seemed to have taken a liking to him.

Danny takes his time searching for the most desperate person he can find, (Lady Gotham is leading him to some of the most desperate people in her city, aka the Batfam.), and appears to one of them as a fawn (signifying his hunger and current 'lack' of power). He then looks deep into their mind and offers them the power to fulfill all their desires.

The Batfam? They should be better than this, but damn they were in a tight spot and the city is going to shit because the rouges have been more active than ever, and their family is on the verge of crumbling!... And the answer to fix it all was right there, just within their reach.

They held the fawn in their arms gently. Its ivory wings, coat of starlight, and piercing Lazurus green eyes. Gotham began to change.

A few years later, some members of the JL and the JLD are once again trying their hand at clearing the dungeon but are a bit discouraged because last time their team was wiped out completely.

It was inconvenient how their powers were nullified whenever they were inside the dungeon, but they had yet to find a spell to counteract it.

In an attempt to get past the third floor, they teamed with a team called Team Phantom, which comprised two young adult siblings, their 12-year-old sister, and a few teenagers.

Morally, they were against this. No one this young should be trying to clear the dungeon! But on the other hand, this team was the closest to getting to the fourth floor.

Sucking it up, they teamed up with the young dungeon dwellers and quickly found out why they were so close to getting to the third floor.

These kids were skilled. These kids were powerful. These kids were trained. On top of that, they didn't care about their lives! Because these kids? They wouldn't- no! They couldn't die, and they were using it to their advantage.

The JL/JLD now had much more to worry about than clearing the dungeon.

[eldritch-spouse]

Okay... I have an idea

Icons walking into their Queen in the Dungeon while she is crushing a prisoners head with her heels. When she notices them she just smiles with flowers and shit while a her clothes have minor (major in her heels case) blood stains.

Bonus if its because the Queen is short and someone teased her about it so she is releasing her rage by watching a prisoner die because they were under her.

TW: Gore.

Vesper asks what you're doing in the dungeons. It's hardly a pretty place for someone like you, you're above that. Although, seeing the pleasure written all over your features, if he's failed to bring enough violence into the bedroom, you simply only needed to tell Vesper. He'll make sure things are a lot more to your tastes next time! Now, can he have the absolute delight of licking you clean?

Rinx sighs in relief. He doesn't like his possession treasure out of sight. If you wanted to play around here, why not tell him? He flicks whatever bits of gore clings to your upper body away and shakes his great head. The prisoners have nothing you can take from them except their lives. If you wish to steal away their last moments alive, then do so by all means, just warn him of where you are next time.

Vorticia snickers. That's a waste of perfectly good slop for the pets, you know? In fact, some of the dungeon guards delight in feeding prisoners to each other as torture. So really, she's volunteering to help you find some other skulls to bash. But first, the Queen's grabbing that gory mess you made and sliding it down her gullet. Come on, you clearly need more stimulus, you remind her of her teenage kids.

Zizz wonders why you left the bed to do this. You must be really upset. A mind without proper rest is unstable, you wouldn't be playing in muck if you were well. Zizz is at least happy that you seem to know your way around the dungeons. He'll ask what has you so upset even as he starts readying a bath for you.

Cero groans. Really? He can't leave you alone for two seconds you're already getting grime all over your heels? Sincerely, you're like a child. He drags you away by the arm and has you change clothes, that set is being trashed immediately now that it's been dirtied with peasant gore. You can explain you were defending your pride, which will at least make the King understand your ire, but he's still mostly upset about the damage to your outfit.

Livius joins in. No questions no problems, just lands a hit to that prisoner with tenfold the force of yours, reducing them to a pulp. That was fun! You're so angry! What's happening! He's angry too, why not check the other cells?

Kalymir is thanking whatever cosmic power is out there to allow him this view. It's one he's currently burning into the forefront of his brain and furiously pumping his cock to. He doesn't even stop when you look at him, just motions to the prisoner with his free hand as if you aren't quite done yet. At some point, the King moves closer, panting against the top of your head, inhaling the gore, your fury- You're quickly dragged into the next cell.

[dungeon-strugglers]

✨New item!✨ Wishbone  Wondrous item, very rare

This goose furcula has been enchanted and engraved with powerful runes of fate. As an action, two creatures may each pull one side of the wishbone to break it in two. The creature that breaks away the larger portion of bone is granted one use of the wish spell. The other creature immediately dies, and its soul is consumed when the wish is used. To determine which creature dies and which gets the wish, they must choose evens or odds before breaking the wishbone, and then roll a die. Once the wishbone is broken, it loses its magic.

Henrietta ran home, taking a narrow deer path that wove through brambles and under grasping branches. It was long past dusk. Her mother was certainly going to be cross with her for playing in the forest after dark.  Nevertheless, little Henrietta was grinning broadly. She had made friends with a strange woman in the woods who gave her a gift: a wishbone! The small forked bone was grasped in her hand, proof that she hadn’t imagined the encounter. According to the old lady, she would need to break the bone with another person before she could make her wish.  Luckily, her brother Henry was outside gathering kindling when Henrietta arrived. He didn’t believe her story about the ugly green woman or the wish, but eventually agreed to participate. She was going to wish for a pet dog, one that could talk and dance, or maybe fly, she hadn’t decided yet. Henry said he would wish for endless kindling, so he could be done with his chores already. They each grabbed one end of the wishbone and pulled-

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📜 Credit. Art and design by us: the Dungeon Strugglers. Please credit us if you repost elsewhere.

[ruanbaijie]

During the Republican Era, Shen Zhiheng, a member of the Tianjin gentry who happened to be a vampire, offended the Japanese and became the target of an assassination attempt. He was saved by a blind young lady, Mi Lan, and his best friend Situ Weilian. When he went to repay Mi Lan for saving him, he discovered the terrible family situation that Mi Lan was in, and so began to pay more attention to her. Meanwhile, Shen Zhiheng’s plan to take revenge on Li Yingliang, the mastermind behind his assassination, fell short of success thanks to Li Yingliang’s Japanese superior, raising suspicions about his identity. Since then, Li Yingliang and the Japanese were in hot pursuit of Shen Zhiheng, determined to dig out the truth about his secret.

Please do not repost this anywhere else or retranslate it!

MAIN DIRECTORY ☾ READ ON AO3 ☾ PREVIOUS CHAPTER

The journey from Tianjin to Nanjing, and then from Nanjing to Shanghai, was to Shen Zhiheng, like a chaotic nightmare.

Mi Lan continued to burn with a high fever in his arms. Occasionally, she would be clear-headed for a short while. She neither ate nor drank, and didn't even ask where she was. When Shen Zhiheng asked how she felt, she only said that it did not hurt. By the time the train arrived in Nanjing, her throat was so hoarse that she could not even say the three words “it doesn’t hurt”.

In his arms was Mi Lan, who despite being on the verge of death, still had to comfort him by saying “it doesn’t hurt”, while beside him was Situ Weilian, who was grinning as if nothing had happened. He only felt like everything had been turned upside down, as if he were in a dream; Mi Lan who was alive was about to die, while the Weilian before him was no longer Weilian.

Late at night on that same day, Shen Zhiheng reached his house in Shanghai.

Before reaching, he had first sent Mi Lan to the hospital. Mi Lan’s wound had already worsened and was festering, and her forehead was burning hot. Without enough time to make any other choice, after getting off the train, he had hugged Mi Lan, and like a drowning man grasping at straws, he had rushed to the nearest hospital. Fortunately, this hospital was not small and was not some subpar hospital. The doctors were also zealous, and had immediately arranged an operation for Mi Lan. 

After learning that Mi Lan had escaped from the jaws of death, Shen Zhiheng had dragged the large tail that was Situ Weilian and had hastily returned home. His house here was located in the French concession zone. In Shanghai, the Japanese did not have that much influence yet. In addition, the French concession zone was the territory of the French, so compared to the dangerous circumstances in Tianjin, it could be said that Shen Zhiheng was now doubly protected.

The house was a small two-story Western-style house. It was new, and since its doors and windows were usually closed tight, it contained neither dust nor human life. After entering, Shen Zhiheng first turned on the light. The light was a large luxurious crystal chandelier, shining so radiantly that every corner was filled with brilliant light and vibrant colours, truly painting an atmosphere of cold and cheerless wealth. This atmosphere was originally one that Shen Zhiheng had grown used to and had even grown tired of. These recent years, he had lived so swimmingly, his social circles all filled with the likes of politicians, plutocrats, investors, and even the wealthy literati who had both fame and fortune; he had almost believed that his life would forever be filled with peace and splendour.

However, as he looked around his surroundings now, he suddenly felt strangely disoriented, as if he had fallen into another dream. The dungeon, the massacre, the rainy night, the pursuit… different scenes took turns to flash before his eyes. He did not know if his peace and splendour could still continue, he only knew that Mi Lan was in the hospital, clinging on to life, and he also knew that Situ Weilian…

When his thoughts touched upon Situ Weilian, it felt as if his fingertips had touched fire. He shivered, as if his entire soul had been scalded. He turned around slowly to face Situ Weilian, seeing the dishevelled youth before him, with his bloodless face and two hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, his greasy curls plastered to his scalp. His expression, however, was one of light-heartedness. When he saw Shen Zhiheng look at him, he smiled back at him with half-closed eyes.

Situ Weilian was smiling, but he was not. Under his heavy black eyebrows, his gaze only held a speck of cold light.

Shen Zhiheng was playing a waiting game, so after the two of them stared at each other for a while, in the end, it was Situ Weilian who could not continue smiling and had to admit defeat.

“What? Do you want to settle the final score with me? I’m not scared of settling, it’s not like I bear you any ill will. But before settling the final score, I suggest that we both take a bath. If not, we’ll disgust each other with our stench and won’t be able to talk.”

Shen Zhiheng admitted that what Situ Weilian had just said was reasonable. He really ought to wash himself up, or with such a dishevelled appearance, he wouldn’t have the confidence to negotiate with Situ Weilian.

“Go,” he said. “Then wait in the study for me.”

Situ Weilian was familiar with the location of the bathroom. He made a sound of agreement, and jogged the short distance there. Turning his head to look at his receding figure, Shen Zhiheng realised for the first time that he really lacked humanity.

Originally, he had believed that this young brat was merely thoughtless.

He strode up the stairs, where there was another bathroom. He was used to being decent, and now that he sniffed the stench on his body, he also felt that he could no longer endure it.

After taking a bath, Situ Weilian found a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of long pants and put them on, and then walked to the study.

The study was located at the end of the corridor on the first floor. On a pleasant day when the sun was shining, when the windows were opened, there would be flowers and trees outside, and the atmosphere would probably be quite good. Situ Weilian stuffed both of his hands into the pockets of his pants, looking at the large bookshelf that covered the entire wall. Not finding any interesting book, he walked to the back of the desk and sat himself down onto the black leather sofa chair there. It felt quite comfortable, but that was just about it.

Everything was quite interesting, and everything was also “just about it”. Everyone had a passion they were obsessed with, while he did not. He always had a three minute passion [1] for everything , but he did always quite like money. He always extended his hand to Shen Zhiheng asking for it, but, actually, neither was he very passionate about money. When he received it, he would spend it, never accumulating it. When he spent it, he would ask for it again, and if he did not receive it, he would feel suffocated.

Besides money, what else would allow him to grow a long-lasting love? Ah, there was a beautiful woman, he had loved her one-sidedly for a very long time. Now, that flame of love was still burning; she was the beautiful Second Young Mistress Jin. The second he thought of Second Young Mistress Jin’s affecting frowns and smiles, a smile bubbled onto his face, as if she were sitting right before his eyes.

However, the room door opened, and the person who walked in front of his eyes was Shen Zhiheng.

Shen Zhiheng was dressed in a dark changshan, his hair meticulously combed.

Situ Weilian did not get up, sneering at him from behind the desk, “Shen-xiong, from now on, should I call you ‘da-ge’ [2] instead? Today, the two of us brothers have recognised and acknowledged one another. Aren’t you happy?”

Although he knew that Shen Zhiheng wanted to “settle the final score” with him, he was truly quite happy. In the past, he had planned about the timing to come clean to Shen Zhiheng about his identity, but the more he planned, he could never quite figure out a good day, and now that the truth had finally been revealed, it actually saved him the trouble of planning it. After getting along for three years, he was fairly satisfied with this older brother. He had both status and wealth, and was qualified enough to be his older brother.

While Situ Weilian sneered, Shen Zhiheng said, “Why did you lie to me?”

Situ Weilian lifted his hand and caught his curly hair. “At the beginning, I didn’t know if you were a good or bad person, and I wanted to study you first. In the end, once I started studying you… I lost track of time… but in my heart, I’ve long acknowledged you as my older brother.” At this point, he looked at Shen Zhiheng gleefully. “These three years, you’re the one who has treated me the best.”

Shen Zhiheng stared at him fixedly. “You clearly knew that I’ve always been looking for you. I’ve been looking for you for not just three years; I started looking for you a very long time ago. I’ve gone far and wide just to look for you. You knew all of this, but yet you didn’t say anything. You hid it from me.”

He nodded at Situ Weilian. “If not for how you want to stop me from seeking revenge this time, you would continue hiding it from me, continue watching as I look for you everywhere, wouldn’t you?”

The rims of his eyes were red, which surprised Situ Weilian. As he stared vacantly at Shen Zhiheng, he still didn’t think that he had done anything wrong.

“Da-ge, don’t be like this. I have my difficulties as well. Firstly, I thought that it was a little fun this way. Secondly… I was afraid that you would hate my mother and me, so I never dared to tell the truth. What if you wanted to find me so that you could take revenge? I like you, I just want to be brothers with you. If I can’t be brothers with you, then it’s also okay if we’re friends. In any case, I don’t want to become enemies with you…”

The more he spoke, the smaller his voice became. In the end, Shen Zhiheng cut off his mumbling, “At the juncture between life and death, you were still unwilling to tell me, right?”

“Juncture between life and death? When you saved me and Mi Lan?” Situ Weilian was truly puzzled. “I didn’t know that was a juncture between life and death! I thought you would be able to do it by yourself, so I waited for you together with Mi Lan.”

Shen Zhiheng walked towards the front step by step, circling around the desk, and stopping in front of Situ Weilian.

“You didn’t know?” he asked in a low voice. “Or did you want to continue hiding your identity, and simply didn’t want to take action?”

Situ Weilian gave a forced smile, lifting his hand and holding Shen Zhiheng’s arm. “Da-ge, I–”

Shen Zhiheng flipped his hand around and gripped his wrist tightly. “Weilian, on this earth, I have neither family nor friends. You are the only one whom I dare to trust, and whom I dare to rely on. Before jumping off the train, I once thought, that if I could only save one person between the two of you, I would save you. If I died, it wouldn’t matter. I’ve already signed the documents with the lawyer, you will be my only heir, I have left all of my assets to you.”

He lowered his body slightly, staring at Situ Weilian straight in the eye. “These are my feelings for you.”

Hearing him speak till this point, Situ Weilian finally felt the gravity and seriousness of the situation. But before he could open his mouth, Shen Zhiheng suddenly released his hand, letting go of his wrist.

“Our feelings will end here. From now on, you walk your broad and sunny road, I’ll cross my single-log bridge [3] .” Straightening, he cleared the way, “Take care, I won’t see you off.”

Situ Weilian stood up slowly. “I lied to you and I hid from you, I’m the one who’s wrong. But other than that, I’ve never done anything to let you down. Why do I keep going to Keats Hospital to dawdle all day long? Isn’t it for you? That night when you were assassinated by Li Yingliang’s people, when you were nearly dead, do you know how much trouble I had to go through to find blood for you? Do you think that the hospital has so much blood to supply you? I very rarely kill people, but those days, I didn’t even sleep at night, I was going about finding live people for you. That weasel demon, that was me!” He extended his hand and knocked Shen Zhiheng in the front. “Just think about it yourself, I have not let you down.”

Shen Zhiheng grasped his hand and shoved it away.

“No,” he said to Situ Weilian. “I have not kept anything from you. If you wanted to understand me, you wouldn’t have needed three years. I think you were just watching me like you were watching a show. Because I am a monster created by you and your mother, you just like to watch me being kept in the dark, watch me going around in circles. Watching me being this ignorant and helpless, in your eyes, don’t you feel it’s very interesting and very funny?”

Situ Weilian sighed, “Are you crazy?”

Watching his resigned yet innocent expression, Shen Zhiheng felt that this person was simply innocent to the point of shamelessness. A sudden surge of violence engulfed him without any warning, and he grabbed Situ Weilian’s collar with both of his hands, lifting him and about to hurl him at the glass window. Situ Weilian’s feet left the ground, but nearly at once, he dropped onto the ground with a sharp struggle, pulling Shen Zhiheng’s hands aside. Without waiting for Shen Zhiheng to take action again, he held Shen Zhiheng’s neck in a vise, turning around and pressing him down.

When Situ Weilian really demonstrated his power with no holds barred, even Shen Zhiheng was not his match. As he involuntarily staggered a step backwards and raised his head, his back crashed against the desk. Particularly dissatisfied, he lifted his two legs, which had been dragging on the floor, in an attempt to exert some force, but Situ Weilian violently pressed down onto his throat, knocking the back of his head into the desk as well.

“You dare to fight me,” Situ Weilian said softly, a little breathlessly. “You’ve really got guts now huh! When I speak nicely to you, you don’t listen, do you really just have to force me to speak the truth? Let me tell you, you’re nothing but an inheritance that my mother left for me. To us, you are a lowly mixed breed that got transformed from a human! It’s your honour that I’m willing to recognise you as my older brother!”

Speaking till this point, he slowly let go, letting Shen Zhiheng straighten and sit up bit by bit. But when Shen Zhiheng got up to a halfway point, he suddenly moved, pressing Shen Zhiheng down again and knocking the back of his head against the desk with a dull thump.

Lowering his eyes to look at Shen Zhiheng, he said, “I still think that there’s a misunderstanding between us. If not, I don’t harbour any ill intentions towards you, but why must you treat me like a bad person? Let’s sit down and talk, okay?”

  With his throat restrained by Situ Weilian, Shen Zhiheng could neither make a sound nor nod his head, and could only close his eyes heavily at him. Seeing his expression, Situ Weilian immediately smiled radiantly, holding his collar and pulling him up.

“Let’s go to the dining room, and also find something to eat. I’m hungry.”

In the dining room, the two of them sat across the dining table, facing one another.

A glass of tap water sat in front of Shen Zhiheng, while Situ Weilian had found a tin of biscuits. He had bought these biscuits when he had come here with Shen Zhiheng in the beginning of the year to take refuge. Fortunately, he had not opened it, and the biscuits were still crisp and dry, and had yet to go bad.

Stuffing his mouth with biscuits, he chewed messily, ignoring Shen Zhiheng’s stare that was directed straight at him.

He said, “We are not the same. I can eat a little of everything, and can live more easily than you. And you? Do you want a cigar? If you do, I’ll get one for you.”

“There’s no need. You know everything about me, now talk about yourself!”

“Me?” Situ Weilian bent forward and took that glass of water in front of Shen Zhiheng, raising his head and taking a gulp. “That year, the Shen family wanted to burn my mother and me to death, do you remember?”

“How could I forget?”

Situ Weilian smiled again. “My mother only liked our father, it was not like she was a fool, how could she have not realised the Shen family’s plans? That night, she had already sent me to the woodshed and asked me to wait for her. I waited and waited, and she finally came, but she had already been burned by the fire, in such a bad state that I nearly couldn’t recognise her. She carried me and escaped from your Shen family, running so fast it was as if she were flying.”

At this point, he looked upwards, his posture one of hard thought. “After that… after that we stayed in a dilapidated house. There was nothing outside, it was a barren ground, and there was also nothing inside, and it was so cold during the winter. Mother cried everyday, crying and crying, so much that her skin, fingers, eyelids, and lips seemed to grow out, and yet she kept crying everyday. She didn’t care about what I ate or drank, and only cried. At first, I thought she was in pain. It was only when I grew up that I knew that she had been heartbroken.”

His smile vanished, and he shrugged at Shen Zhiheng. “It turns out that to be so heartbroken you would eat your heart out is no exaggeration. In the end, she really cried herself to death. Creatures like us can’t be killed, but we can cry ourselves to death, how strange.”

“It’s not strange.” Shen Zhiheng stared straight at Situ Weilian. “When I found out that you had been lying to me for three years, I was also heartbroken, and also wanted to eat my heart out.”

Situ Weilian stuffed another biscuit into his mouth. “Then let me apologise to you in advance, because after hearing this next part, you might be even more heartbroken.”

“Go ahead.”

“When my mother cried herself to death, I was twelve. I told her that I would take revenge on the Shen family, but she said that this revenge was one that she had already taken. The people who should die were already dead, and those who did not die, she had left for me. I think she still hated the Shen family, and so she wanted the children of the Shen family to serve her own child.”

Listening to this point, Shen Zhiheng also remembered the large fire that night.

The woman had dashed out of the fire like a crazed demon, running around the entire Shen mansion. The first person she had caught was him. He had been scared stiff by that woman’s horrific condition, and when her teeth had just pressed against his neck, he had lost consciousness. When he had woken up, the masters of the Shen mansion had been either dead or injured, with not a single person spared.

His neck had been left with teeth marks of mangled blood and flesh, and there had been a few people who had been bitten like him, including his father. Merciless Old Lady Shen had been, on the contrary, safe and sound. Everyone had said that the old lady had been fortunate, and even the evilest of demons had not dared to get close to her. But, eventually, everyone had realised that this evil had been no ordinary evil; she had particularly left Old Lady Shen unharmed so that she could hold funerals for her descendants.

Those who had been bitten all developed high fevers after waking up. That high fever had burned harshly, and some people had not even managed to last through the first day and had drawn their last breath. Biased, Old Lady Shen had realised that her descendants could not be saved, and so she had only taken care of her most beloved eldest son and eldest grandson. Master Shen had endured for three days before passing away, which had already been quite a long time. Shen Zhiheng had been the only one who had displayed signs of the fever receding after three days, but when Old Lady Shen had personally wiped his head and face, he had, with his eyes closed, turned his head and bitten her wrist. Old Lady Shen had shivered in pain, but she had held on without a sound, and as her fresh blood had flooded into her eldest grandson’s mouth, she had watched as he had drunk desperately for his life, and she had held her hand there without pulling it back.

That was the first time he had drunk blood.

His grandmother’s fresh blood had helped him to stabilise, and during that period of chaotic upheaval and ceaseless death, Old Lady Shen had concealed the truth from everyone, killing chickens and ducks for their fresh blood so that her beloved favourite grandson could get better day by day. When the wound on Shen Zhiheng’s neck had completely healed, and when all the funerals had mostly been completed, relatives of the Shen family from all walks of life had flocked to them, eyeing this elderly old lady and her sickly grandson. They had each played to their own strengths, swearing to plunder some spoils from this Shen family that was on the brink of being wiped out.

Given the unreasonable and stubborn old married woman that she was, Old Lady Shen should not have had let these random people take advantage of them, but in the face of the Shen family’s tragic condition, and thanks to the psychological burden from worrying over her eldest grandson, she had finally been completely exhausted, and could no longer fend them off no matter how formidable she had been.

Shen Zhiheng could not remember the things after that clearly, he only remembered that he and his grandmother had moved in with a distant uncle. By this point of time, Old Lady Shen had no longer been obsessed with driving out evil spirits, and her nerves had been highly strung all day long, finding blood for her grandson to drink while having to keep his secret. She had become nervous to such an extent that she would panic over the smallest matters, seemingly on the verge of going insane.

Fortunately, such days had only lasted for a year. A year later, in spring, she had suddenly suffered a stroke, and besides Shen Zhiheng, no one else had been willing to accompany her to the hospital for treatment. Right before her death, she was paralysed and could not say a single word. She had stared straight at Shen Zhiheng, thousands of unspoken words held back in her eyes, to the point that her eyeballs had bulged out. Eventually, when she had passed away, she had died bearing unspoken grievances and had not gone in peace.

Old Lady Shen had been extremely selfish and arrogant her entire life, and all the wives and concubines in the Shen family had been bullied so much by her that they had not dared to even breathe. When her son had brought a concubine home, she had been like an ant in her eyes, and she could easily crush her to death with a finger. The ant had curly hair and large eyes, a slender waist and long legs, and had been the very picture of a flirtatious female Western devil [4] . She had already been an eyesore to the old lady, and later, with her shady comings and goings and the accumulating suspicious points about her, she had seemed very much like a demon or monster, and that old lady had become even more determined to put her to death.

Old Lady Shen had never thought that this ant would have had the ability to wipe her entire Shen family out.

After the old lady’s death, Shen Zhiheng had been left behind with his distant uncle to hit it off together. When the distant uncle had inherited the assets that Old Lady Shen had left behind, he had immediately thought of chasing Shen Zhiheng away. Meanwhile, hiding such a large secret and without the protection that his grandmother had once given him, as long as his distant uncle did not speak a word, Shen Zhiheng had also made up his mind to leave.

To a normal person, events of the past were like wine; the more time passed, the mellower the aftertaste. Yet, although Shen Zhiheng’s past had a history of more than a hundred years, after recalling them over and over again countless times, they had all faded, and they could no longer emotionally move him. He actually very much preferred if he could completely forget these events of the past. As a person who believed in pragmatism and who was only focused on looking forward, he did not like to linger in those blood-soaked memories.

“I,” he asked Situ Weilian, “was something she had left behind for you?”

Situ Weilian nodded. “Yes, all of us always do this.”

“All of you?”

Shen Zhiheng rested his elbows on the surface of the desk, propping up his chin with a hand as if he had suddenly become interested, although his gaze remained cold and stern. “Just what are ‘all of you’?”

Situ Weilian lifted his sleeves and wiped the biscuit crumbs on his lips. “We are not gods.”

“I can see that.”

“Neither are we ghosts or humans. People of our kind exist all around the world. Some families are large and illustrious, with extraordinary power, while others are like me, wandering around alone. Humans have given us many names, one of them is the one you hate the most, called ‘vampire’. But I don’t care, I naturally do not bother about trifles.”

Shen Zhiheng nodded once, “Mm.”

“We need blood, human blood is the best, but we can make do with other blood. We are not like you. It is easy for us to live, if not, we would have been hunted to extinction by humans a long time ago. Unfortunately, we’re not great at reproduction. Although we can have children naturally, and can have children with humans, my mother told me that births are rare. We don’t know why either.”

Shen Zhiheng continued nodding, “Mm.”

“I don’t know my mother’s origin, and I don’t know why she came to China. In any case, just like how I fell in love with Second Young Mistress Jin, she had fallen in love with our father. Sigh, I’ve even forgotten what our father looked like. Do you remember?”

“The old man’s appearance is more or less like mine.”

“Ah, no wonder I immediately felt close to you when I saw you for the first time. It turns out that seeing you is like seeing my birth father.”

“I don’t deserve the honour. Please continue talking.”

“Where have I talked until? Having children? Oh, right, I’ve talked until our relationship. My mother said that those in the Shen family who did not die were the ones she had left behind for me. She probably never guessed that the people of the Shen family would be so weak, and you were the only one who survived. But you’re very good, one of you is like ten other people, and I’m very satisfied to have one of you.”

“She left me behind for you… to do what?”

“To be my–”

Situ Weilian paused, swallowing the last word that he had wanted to say. Then, he replaced this with a gentle smile to Shen Zhiheng, “If I say that she left you behind for me to be my slave, you will definitely be angry again. But I’ve never treated you like my slave, and we’re in the civilised age now, everyone is equal, and no one can enslave anyone, isn’t it? I understand this principle, I’ve been to university before.”

Shen Zhiheng could not help but sneer, “Just where did you mother and son get the self-confidence to believe that I would willingly be your slave?”

A blank look appeared on Situ Weilian’s face, as if Shen Zhiheng’s question had made him stupid. “Why? Of course that’s because you need something from me!”

“What do I need from you? All these years, aren’t you the one who has always depended on me?”

Situ Weilian snickered, “Really?”

He tilted his head, smiling and asking again, as if wanting to force an answer out of Shen Zhiheng, “Really?”

Shen Zhiheng felt that between his smile and his question, was hidden a kind of innocent yet sinister peril that was simply impossible to defend against. On the surface, Situ Weilian definitely relied on him; he had so much wealth and influence, while Situ Weilian was only a little doctor with neither future nor ambition.

On the surface, indeed, it was like that.

Out of some instinct of self-preservation, Shen Zhiheng stopped his thinking only at this surface, and was unwilling to think any deeper, preferring instead to let Situ Weilian say the truth himself. 

Meanwhile, Situ Weilian examined his expression while saying softly, “The purer our bloodline, the better. My father was human, and my bloodline cannot already be considered as pure. But compared to you, I still have many advantages. For example, my lifespan is longer and I’m stronger. In particular, I am complete and my body is sound, and will never lose control. When you lose control, I can still subdue you, save you.”

Shen Zhiheng suddenly recalled the dungeon in the Yokoyama mansion. Yes, he had indeed lost control in the past, and he who had lost control had been like a demon, unthinking and emotionless, unable to even tell friend from foe, blindly thinking of nothing but killing.

“Da-ge, we have always been like this, finding outstanding humans to cooperate with. I’ll give you strength and let you live long, while you will be responsible for providing for me, protecting me. It is mutually beneficial for us and we can cooperate happily, isn’t that good?”

“I don’t want to cooperate with you now. Can we end this relationship?”

Situ Weilian looked at him. After looking at him for quite a while, finally, as if he could not help but laugh, he shook his head and smiled, “That’s not possible. There’s no way for you to regain a human body. It’s either you continue living like that or you kill yourself, but judging based on the condition of your body, your suicide won’t necessarily be successful!”

“Then I’ll just continue living like that by myself, I don’t necessarily have to cooperate with you.”

“That’s still not possible, your condition will keep worsening. Remember when we just met, you could still eat some fruits or something, but now, you can’t even drink a cup of light tea. Li Yingliang said that you had gone on a killing spree in the Japanese prison and had killed a lot of people. I think, given your brains, even if the Japanese had forced you into a corner, you shouldn’t have killed so indiscriminately without any rhyme or reason. So, when you had been killing people, you had actually been unconscious and unfeeling, right? My mother once told me that people like you are called the turned. You can only continue living on fresh blood, and the older you get, the stronger you get, and the easier it is to lose control. Without me taking care of you, sooner or later, you will go crazy one day, perhaps you might even run onto the streets to bite people and suck their blood. At that time, the police will be activated, and the newspaper reporters will also be present, they’ll catch up and even take pictures of you. Other people will stand by the sides and ask, ‘Isn’t that Mr. Shen? Why has he become a monster?’. Tell me, how humiliating would that be? How would you dare to face anyone in the future?”

Speaking to this point, he stood up, “I’ve spoken so much I’ve grown thirsty. Do you have any soda in your house?”

Shen Zhiheng stared fixedly at him, not replying.

Situ Weilian looked around and did not find any soda, and so he returned to Shen Zhiheng’s side.

“Da-ge, don’t be angry with me. For you, I was caught by Li Yingliang and became a hostage for a few days. I even got shot three times, but I don’t bear any grudge against you. I know that you still can’t get your head around this, so just now, you wanted to sever ties with me and drive me away. Fine, I can go and leave you alone to calm down. But I don’t have a single coin on me, and I don’t even dare to return to Tianjin now. If I leave the house now, wouldn’t I starve to death?”

He extended a hand towards Shen Zhiheng. “I know that you have money here too. Give me five hundred dollars, I will go and stay in a hotel, I swear I won’t be an eyesore to you.”

Shen Zhiheng still remained unmoving. After waiting a while, Situ Weilian could no longer wait, and patted the pockets of his pants through his changpao. 

“Do you have any cash? A cheque is fine too, I have enough time to go to the bank tomorrow morning to exchange it for money.”

Shen Zhiheng grasped his hand and shoved it away.

Then, he stood up and faced him, saying, “Situ Weilian, I have always treated you like my best friend, but you betrayed my trust, and the friendship between us no longer exists. If you must insist that the relationship between us is one of so-called ‘cooperation’, then I’ll declare now that I withdraw from this cooperation.”

He extended an arm in the direction of the door, “Please.”

Situ Weilian frowned, “Da-ge, do you know what you’re saying? You can’t leave me, you need me, and you will only need me increasingly. I said, your body is not sound!”

Shen Zhiheng’s thin lips moved, spitting out two words lightly, “Get lost.”

SItu Weilian let out a long sigh, “I can get lost, then you have to give me five hundred dollars.”

“The two of us have severed ties, I am no longer obligated to give you money.”

Situ Weilian glared at Shen Zhiheng, and after glaring for a while, he flicked his hand, turned his head, and left. Shen Zhiheng thought that he had grown a backbone, but the honking of a car horn quickly came from the back of the building; the little rascal had actually found the car key, and had driven the car out of the garage without permission.

------------------------------------------------------------

A passion that does not last long.

As a reminder, 大哥 (dà gē) means “older brother”.

Basically “you do you, I’ll do me”. I just left it as a close to literal translation as a little treat for the MDZS fans.

The term used here is 洋毛子 (yáng máo zi). 洋 refers to Westerners, while 毛子 is a slur against Russians, although it literally just means “fur”.

[luvvs-1820]

a headcannon ive had for a while:

What if mcyt members with limited lives bleed and ones who can die endlessly dont

Take tubbo on the qsmp for example, he made a silly joke and now has 2 lives, like an egg. So when he lost his first life, he bled while being attacked in that dungeon. Like he gets hit and sees blood and is immediately like “thats not good”

And when richas kills him, he bleeds and richas is like “hes just being silly” and the other eggs are like “wtf”. Tubbo swipes at richas and he gets cut a lil and bleeds, all eggs do. Because they only have 2 lives, players dont bleed because they have unlimited lives.

Fit starts getting concerned when tubbo screams to stop, it wasnt a normal “noooo plz” its like a “PLEASE NO I DONT WANNA DIE” typa scream. Fit is more concerned and a little scared now because he can see blood.

And then tubbo is dead.

He doesn’t respawn.

And the pieces fall into place;

When tilin died, there was blood.

When juanaflippa died, there was blood.

When trump died, there was blood.

When bobby died, there was blood.

When tubbo died,

There was blood.

[nyxshadowhawk]

I Read The Silmarillion So You Don't Have To, Part Eight

Previous part.

Picking up right where we left off...

Chapter 19: Of Beren and Lúthien, Part Two The greatest love story ever told, cont.

Back in Sauron’s prison, only Beren and Finrod are left. All of their companions have been killed. Sauron intentionally left Finrod alive, because he knows just from looking at him that he is a powerful prince of the Noldor, even if he doesn’t know which one. The wolf comes to eat Beren, but Finrod has had enough. He wrestles a werewolf into submission with his bare hands, like fucking Heracles!

Finrod vs. the wolf by @maglorious

Finrod kills the werewolf with his bare hands and teeth. Despite this unrivaled badassery, his wounds are too severe. He bleeds out in the dungeon of the tower that he himself built. He has just enough time to say goodbye to Beren, knowing that by the time he reincarnates in Valinor, Beren will be long gone.

Thus King Finrod Felagund, fairest and most beloved of the house of Finwë, redeemed his oath; but Beren mourned beside him in despair.

Beren and Finrod by yi tiao zhi xian chong

Not gonna lie, I’m so sad. I love Finrod! He’s one of the only Noldor who’s not a hot mess, and I’m gonna miss him. At least he’s the first of the Noldor to be reincarnated; Mandos (the Vala of death/purgatory) forgives him before the Curse is officially lifted at the end of the First Age, and the Lay of Leithian says that he joins his wife Amárië and his father Finarfin in Valinor. When Galadriel finally crosses the sea at the end of the Third Age, she sees her brother again for the first time in thousands of years.

I’m gonna cry. We need to move on!

Right then, Lúthien and Huan arrived at the tower gates. Lúthien sings a song that causes the walls themselves to shake.

Beren hears her singing, and sings back a song about the Big Dipper, which (in Elven lore) represents a sickle that was placed in the sky by Varda as a direct challenge to Morgoth. It represents hope and the promise of Morgoth’s defeat. Then he faints.

Sauron hears them singing back and forth to each other, and smiles. He’s already salivating over the reward he’ll get for turning Lúthien, the beautiful daughter of a Maia, into one of Morgoth’s slaves. He sends werewolves out to intercept Huan and Lúthien as they cross the bridge to the tower. Huan easily kills every single one of the werewolves, until Sauron sends Draugluin, the oldest and greatest of werewolves.

Lúthien and Huan in in Tol-in Gaurhoth by Randy Vargas

After a long and bloody fight, Draugluin flees, drags himself back to Saruon’s feet, and dies. Sauron knows that Huan is prophesized to die after killing the biggest and baddest wolf, and that was Draugluin. So, that menas that now Huan can die. Sauron wants to do the job himself, so he turns himself into an even bigger and badder wolf to kill them.

Upon encountering wolf!Sauron, Lúthien immediately faints, because his eyes are terrible and his breath is worse. (That’s a bit damsel-y of her, but I can’t judge her too hard — it’s literally Sauron.) As she falls, she somehow manages to throw a corner of her enchanted cloak in his face, and its magic makes him momentarily drowsy. That’s enough for Huan to strike. Huan pins Sauron down by the throat. Then we get another old mythic trope of Sauron shapeshifting into multiple forms while Huan holds him fast — he becomes a snake and then a “monster,” and finally his usual humanoid shape.

Lúthien stands triumphantly over Sauron, and threatens to strip him of his body and send his incorporeal form running back to Morgoth with his tail between his legs, unless he surrenders the tower. Sauron surrenders, and Huan lets him go. As soon as he’s free, Sauron takes the form of a vampire (which in this context I’d take to be some kind of bloodsucking bat thing?) and flies off.

With her magical voice, Lúthien declares that she is now the lady of the isle, and all of Sauron’s captives and thralls go free. All, that is, except Beren. Huan and Lúthien desperately search for him, and find him still lying, catatonic, by Finrod’s body. Lúthien assumes he’s already dead, and cradles his head. Beren wakes up in Lúthien’s arms, and they gaze at each other. Cue The Sun! The evil fortress crumbles as the dawn comes, just like in a Castlevania game.

But the story’s far from over. Sauron was only the Disc One Final Boss. Beren and Lúthien still need to do what they set out to do in the first place — steal a Silmaril from Morgoth.

Huan goes back to Nargothrond, and finds it in chaos. All the prisoners that Lúthien set free had gone there, and told the people of Nargothrond what really happened to their king. The elves immediately turn against Celegorm and Curufin. The mighty sons of Fëanor don’t have the balls to face Sauron, but Lúthien, a girl, took him down! The elves once again appoint Orodreth their leader, but Orodreth won’t have the brothers executed for their treachery. Kinslaying was the whole reason why the Noldor were cursed in the first place. So the brothers are banished from Nargothrond. Celegorm loudly declares enmity, while Curufin just gives that unsettling smile.

No one goes with them, not even Curufin’s son Celebrimbor, because all of them can see how bad of an idea that is. Only Huan follows them; Celegorm is still his master.

Beren and Lúthien bury Finrod on the highest point of the island. (It was his island first, after all.) Then they spend some time catching up with each other before planning their next steps. They wander as far as the Forest of Brethil, Beren wants to bring Lúthien safely home to Doriath before setting out again, but Lúthien tells him there’s no chance of that. She’s not about to wait in some treehouse while he goes and gets himself captured again. Wherever he goes, she will go with him, and if they die, they’ll die together. Their options are either to wander the earth as exiles, or to try to claim the Silmaril.

Before they can formally resolve to pursue the Silmaril, Celegorm and Curufin just happen across them as they’re fleeing Nargothrond. Curufin scoops Lúthien up and into his saddle. Enraged, Beren flings himself onto to the horse (this is so famous that it’s known as the “Leap of Beren”). He grabs Curufin around the throat and drags him off the horse. The horse rears, and Lúthien goes flying. Beren tries to choke Curufin to death, but Celegorm charges at him, on horseback, with a spear.

At that moment, Huan decides that he’s more loyal to Beren and Lúthien than to Celegorm, even though he’s spent literal millennia as Celegorm’s pet. Huan launches himself at Celegorm, so that his horse swerves, too afraid of the giant dog to approach Beren. Beren raises his knife (which is cool enough to have a name, Angrist) to kill Curufin, but Lúthien tells him to let him go. Reluctantly, he does. He tells Curufin to go do something useful with his life, and keeps the horse for Lúthien, so Curufin has to ride back sitting behind his brother. Curufin curses Beren to die “a swift and bitter death.” As the brothers ride away, Curufin, like the spiteful little ass he is, shoots an arrow at Lúthien. Beren jumps in front of it, and it hits him square in the chest.

Curufin by @bohemianweasel

But don’t worry, Beren’s the protagonist! He’s not gonna die that easily. Huan fetches some healing herbs (probably athelas), and Luthien uses them and her own magic to heal Beren. After that, Beren has a case of “I’m the protagonist so I must do everything alone to protect my loved ones”-syndrome; he leaves Lúthien in the middle of the night, trusting Huan to take care of her. He takes Curufin’s horse and rides to the far north, until he sees the peaks of the Thangorodrim. At the threshold of Morgoth’s realm, he assumes that he’s never going to see Lúthien or see the sun and moon again, so he sings the “Song of Parting.” In his song, he says that even if the world were to crumble into the abyss from which it was formed, it’s all worth it just because Lúthien can exist for a brief moment.

Of course, Lúthien set right off after Beren as soon as she found out he was gone, just like Sam insisting that he’s going to Mordor with Frodo. Lúthien already saved Beren once, and she can do it again! She again rides on Huan’s back. They stop at Sauron’s fortress and put on disguises. Huan disguises himself as the werewolf he killed, Draugluin, and Lúthien disguises herself as a vampiress named Thuringwethil, who is one of Sauron’s messengers. (Did you know there were vampires and werewolves in Tolkien?) They look so scary, that none of the monsters in the Forest under Nightshade bother them. When they catch up to Beren, he initially thinks that Sauron’s minions are pursuing him, and that he must have hallucinated hearing Lúthien’s voice, until she reveals herself.

Beren is really regretting that he promised Thingol a Silmaril. It’s starting to sink in just how impossible of a task that is. He thinks it would have been better for Thingol to kill him than to take Lúthien into Angband. Though I understand the impulse to want to keep your true love safe, I think Beren is underestimating Lúthien a little bit. She’s more capable than he gives her credit for. Huan speaks for the second time to offer ominous advice: Beren still has the option to turn back, but that would mean that he and Lúthien become exiles. Lúthien has already become mortal by choosing to stick with Beren, so, she’ll die no matter what he does. Either she’ll die alone after Beren’s life ends, or they can risk facing Morgoth. It’s kind of a lose-lose situation, unless by some miracle they manage to get a Silmaril. (And even if they do get a Silmaril, then they’ll still have to deal with the sons of Fëanor and that whole mess.) Huan tells them that he can go no further, but he hopes they’ll meet again.

Beren and Lúthien resolve to face Morgoth. They basically don’t have a choice at this point. They put on magical disguises again, Beren as Draugluin the werewolf and and Lúthien as Thuringwethil the batlike vampire. They arrive at the gate of Angband, which is so huge and terrifying that it makes the Tower of Cirith Ungol look like a vacation destination. At the gate is a huge and terrifying wolf called Carcharoth. Morgoth also heard the prophecy about Huan’s death after defeating the greatest of wolves, so he personally nurtured this werewolf into the biggest and baddest of them all by feeding him corpses of Men and Elves. Carcharoth sees Draugluin arrive at the Gate, but he knows that Draugluin is dead. He doesn’t trust the strange vampire and werewolf, and denies them entry. Then, through some deus ex machina, Lúthien is suddenly filled with divine power and commands Carcharoth to go to sleep. Okay then. That was easy.

Then Beren and Lúthien went through the Gate, and down the labyrinthine stairs; and together wrought the greatest deed that has been dared by Elves or Men. For they came to the seat of Morgoth in his nethermost hall, that was upheld by horror, lit by fire, and filled with weapons of dread and torment.

They basically walk straight into Hell. Welp, there’s got to be a descent into Hell in every great hero story! Katabasis, yaaaaay.

Beren maintains his disguise, but Morgoth immediately dispels Lúthien’s disguise. She looks straight into his terrifying face. (Remember, Sauron kept an aura of fear about him to make everyone in his vicinity cower in terror. If that’s Sauron, then imagine how scary Morgoth is.) She tells him that she’s a minstrel, and that she’s come to sing and dance for him. Because, y’know… Morgoth regularly has bards casually wander into his fortress looking for work. But Morgoth, like literally every other man in this story, immediately lusts after Lúthien. Tolkien says that he conceives of “a design more dark than any that had yet come into his heart since he fled from Valinor,” which is saying a hell of a lot.

Luthien and Melkor by Pete Amachree

Lúthien begins singing and dancing before Morgoth’s throne, and of course, her song is magical. She sings a song that’s so beautiful, it temporarily blinds Morgoth, and all of the evil creatures in his court — wolves, orcs, even Balrogs — fall to sleep. The Silmarils burn with white fire. Remember, the Silmarils are blessed so that nothing evil can touch them, and being surrounded by good magic makes them really weigh on Morgoth’s head. Lúthien opens her magic cloak, flies up to Morgoth’s face, and throws her cloak in his eyes, putting him to sleep. Morgoth literally falls out of his throne, crashing into the ground like a falling tree. Kind of undignified for the Dark Lord. Beren takes his knife, Angrist, and cuts a Silmaril out of Morgoth’s crown. The quest is complete!

Lúthien singing a song of enchantment by Pete Amachree

I love how Lúthien does most of the work. I love how proactive she is! Tolkien doesn’t write many women, but the women he writes are badass!

The Silmaril shines through Beren’s hand. Because he’s a good person, it doesn’t burn him. He figures that he may as well take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity and claim all three Silmarils, but his knife snaps, and a shard of it hits Morgoth in the cheek. He doesn’t wake up, but Beren and Lúthien realize that they need to get the hell out of there before they run out of luck.

When they make it to the Gate, Carcharoth has woken up, and he pounces on them. Lúthien is out of magic and can’t do whatever thing she did before, but Beren holds aloft the Silmaril. It shines in the wolf’s face, but Carcharoth bites off Beren’s hand. (I bet this is a reference to Fenrir biting off Tyr’s hand in Norse mythology.) Unfortunately for Carcharoth, swallowing the Silmaril is like swallowing a live ember. He runs around madly, howling, terrorizing northern Beleriand and causing a lot of damage to both good and evil creatures alike. Tolkien says that this is one of the worst things to come out of Angband (which is saying a lot, considering the Battle of Sudden Flame happened, and there are dragons still to come).

Carcharoth by Xavier Collette.

Beren faints, because the wolf’s fangs are poisonous (and also because it must be pretty damn painful to lose your hand). Lúthien sucks out the poison and dresses the wound, but they haven’t made it much further than the Gate, and Morgoth has woken up. Time is running out.

It would be bitterly ironic for Beren and Lúthien to succeed at getting a Silmaril away from Morgoth only for it to be swallowed by a wolf. But then a miracle happens. Guess what? Guess what it is? What does Tolkien do to get his characters out of every impossible scrape? That’s right, it’s the Eagles, baby! It’s not random, though — Huan tipped them off.

Beren and Lúthien are flown to safety by Ted Nasmith

Thorondor and co. swoop down and pick up Beren and Lúthien, flying them to safety. As they leave Angband, storms rage and volcanoes erupt, but Morgoth can’t do anything. They pass over Gondolin as they fly (what a way to find out where Gondolin is). Eventually, they reach the border of Doriath. Huan is there, and he and Lúthien both tend to Beren. It takes a while for Beren to recover, but he eventually does. He gains the epithet Erchamion, “one-handed.” (He’s in good company with Maedhros.)

After all of that, Beren and Lúthien still don’t have a Silmaril. But at least they’re both alive, and they wander in the woods like old times. Lúthien doesn’t mind going into exile with Beren, but Beren doesn’t think it’s right for a princess to live that way. He takes her home, still Silmaril-less and having eaten his words.

Meanwhile, Doriath is in a bad state. Everyone thinks Lúthien is dead, and has fallen into despair. Daeron has got depression. Thingol went to Melian for advice, but she tells him that he made his bed and now has to lie in it. Thingol gets a (now very outdated) message from Celegorm saying that Finrod and Beren were both dead, and that Celegorm would marry Lúthien in Nargothrond. Thingol decides that this means war, but his spies inform him that Lúthien is gone and Celegorm and Curufin are exiles.

Finally, Carcharoth the mad wolf breaches the magic wall of Doriath, because the power of the Silmaril is stronger than Melian’s magic. It’s the first real threat to assail Doriath in centuries, and all of the woodland Elves are terrified. Just as it seems like things can’t get any worse, Beren and Lúthien return to Menegroth. And there was much rejoicing. Thingol is amazed that Beren is still alive, but still hates him, and blames him for every bad thing that happened. He asks to see the Silmaril. Beren uses a bit of clever wordplay and says that the Silmaril is “in my hand,” i.e. the hand that was cut off and in the wolf’s belly. Thingol actually accepts this, and laughs. He finally, finally realizes that Beren isn’t just any Man. He seats Beren on his left, and Lúthien on his right, and they tell the whole court the epic story of the Quest. Thingol finally gives his blessing, and Beren and Lúthien are married. It’s about time!

But the Quest isn’t done yet. There’s still a mad wolf terrorizing Doriath, who conveniently brought the Silmaril right to Thingol’s doorstep. Beren, Huan, and a bunch of Elves (including Thingol) go hunting. Lúthien stays behind, but has a bad feeling about it. Carcharoth bites Beren in the chest with his venomous fangs, and Huan attacks him. The dog of Valinor and the dog of Morgoth fight each other, and Huan succeeds in killing Carcharoth, but not without suffering a mortal wound himself. Carcharoth was the greatest of wolves, and it’s time for Huan to die. He speaks for the third and final time, telling Beren goodbye. The king’s captain of the guard, Mablung, cuts the Silmaril from the wolf’s belly. He puts it in Beren’s other hand, and it gives Beren just enough strength to hold it aloft and declare the quest fulfilled. Then, Beren and Huan both die on the forest floor.

The quest fulfilled by Anke Eißmann

So, that’s that. There’s no happily ever after to this love story. The minute the quest is fulfilled, Beren dies. Hope it was worth it, Thingol.

Lúthien embraces Beren’s body when he’s brought back to Menegroth. She tells him to wait for her upon the Western Sea. Beren’s soul hangs around in the Halls of Mandos, even though Men don’t stay in Valinor after they die, because he doesn’t want to leave Middle-earth without seeing Lúthien again. Lúthien dies of despair a little while later. When her soul arrives in Valinor, she sings for Mandos. If she could sing for Morgoth, she can sing for Mandos, too. Like Orpheus singing for Hades, she sings a song so beautiful and sad that Mandos is moved to tears. (It’s the first and only time that Mandos has ever been moved.)

Namó Mandos by Elena Kukanova

Mandos goes to Manwë to consult with him about what to do in this very exceptional circumstance, since only Manwë knows the will of Eru Ilúvatar. Manwë gives Lúthien a choice. She could live for eternity amongst the Valar in bliss, and forget Beren, or she could reincarnate with Beren, but become truly mortal, and pass from Middle-earth upon death.

It’s obvious what Lúthien chooses.

Until Arwen (who’s just an expy of Lúthien), Lúthien was the only one of the Elves to truly die, and to have left Arda permanently. But in having made that choice, she creates a line of descendants with both human and Elvish ancestry, uniting both races of Children of Ilúvatar. Middle-earth is better for it.

Fate of Beren and Lúthien, by breath-art

[jrwi-autistic-swag]

Round 5/Final Poll!

Pictures and propaganda are under the cut!

Spoiler warnings for Riptide episodes 106/107 in the propaganda!

Gillion Tidestrider (Riptide)

HE IS LITERALLY. THE AUTISM CREATURE EVER. HAVE YOU SEEN HIM

Dude do I really need to say anything and ALSO ITS NOT JUST AN UNDERSEA THING WE SAW CASPIAN AND EDYN he didn’t want to tell his crew he’s autistic because he was scared and the elders were TOTALLY ableist Ty

IT IS MY DESTINY

he is autism

Lack of understanding of social cues, special interest in birds, trouble communicating and understanding emotions

he is so autistic to me. he loves birds. he doesn’t know how to process 90% of his emotions. he’s just. so autistic to me ok he’s awesome

I'm too tired for coherentness but. Fish man. Autism. Thank you.

He's literally the POSTER child for autism!! Literal fish out of water. He literally gets so excited on Loffinlot because he finally understands social cues. He has a high sense of honor, and a pretty much black and white perception of right and wrong, but with SOME actual gray areas, which is much more realistic to actual autistic people. I hate it here.

he

TWO WORDS: AUTISTIC. FISH. NEED I SAY MORE.

Literally look at him Just look at him

He gives of the vibe, also he reacts the same way as I do in most social situations. Also he is literally a fish out of water, and at least in the beginning had practically 0 knowledge of "proper social cues" and that lead to people misunderstanding what he thought would be the correct reaction. This is an example from a rather recent episode so SPOILER WARNING!! But when he heard crying in the dungeon his immediate thought was that someone was scared or hurt not that someone could be luring him into a trap

Peter Sqloint (Apotheosis)

LOOK AT HIM. LOOK AT HIS BIG BROWN AUTISTIC EYES. LOOK AT HIM SILLY LITTLE EXISTENCE. HE LITERALLY IS THE "me and the bitch I pulled by being autistic" WITH RUMI. HE IS SO SILLY

His special interest is rocks, he named his pet lizard lizard, he pulled quite possibly THE BADDEST bitch…like?!

I mean just look at him, he’s just a little goober and like yippee as hell

listen. listen. listen. there is no other character more autistic than peter sqloint. his special interest is rocks and lizards. he used unfathomable otherworldly power to duplicate his lizard. half the campaign was spent talking about rocks and trying to find a good log for his lizard. he is the most autistic autist and i’ve ever seen in my life. he canonically has trouble maintaining eye contact and making eye contact in general. listen to me. he is autism incarnate. i would die for him

have you seen his rock collection? or his missing of social cues and norms? and also the fact he is a charlie slimecicle character? literally nobody more autism than him

Have you seen him? He is the definition of the meme “me and the bad bitch I pulled by being autistic”

[vintagerpg]

Escape the Dark Castle (2017) is so goooooood. After one play, it immediately joined our regular rotation of board games. It essentially takes the idea of an adventure gamebook like Fighting Fantasy, but tears the spine off and randomizes the story. You and your friends (it’s co-op) escape the dungeon and proceed, card by card, through fifteen rooms in hope of finding a way out. In those rooms are all manner of monsters, traps, mysterious strangers and other challenges to overcome, mostly through rolling special dice. Should everyone get through the regular rooms in one piece, all that remains between the players and egress is a terrifying boss monster. Should any character die, the game is lost. Shuffle the cards, pick fifteen new ones and try again.

Items give small advantages and healing. Expansions add wrinkles (like the curses and plagues, which make things harder, or flaws, which, despite the name, are beneficial, single-use special powers). There’s even a moody dungeonsynth soundtrack on vinyl and cassette. All of that stuff enhances a game that is already great. It is exciting to play, fast paced and keeps player’s attention even when all seems lost — like Return to Dark Tower, fortunes can turn rapidly. Escape the Dark Castle is harder though — we’ve only won two times out of probably close to 30 plays [edit: our average has improved since writing this, but not by a large margin].

A huge amount of the game’s appeal rests on the shoulders of the art of Alex Crispin that decorates all the cards. He captures something of the vibe of the early 80s UK RPG scene — the art is black and white and scratchy, its subjects a mix of gross, brutish, gloomy and silly — but also feels modern and un-nostalgic (as much as the art reminds me of Fighting Fantasy, it also reminds me of Marc Rude’s art for Earth A.D. and the pointy illustrations that cover black metal records). The result is an excess of delightfully grim atmosphere. Who’d have thought dying would be so much fun?