#and where it wasn't so difficult to remember all the lore

[demon-road-musings]

This is why I prefer demon road. I love SP but it's just overwhelming to read at this point. It feels like the series has to be a hobby in itself because it's so much work to remember everything. Every 2 chapters he's introducing new characters and it gets so muddled, plus half of them don't have personalities because it's impossible to create that many unique personalities. It feels like derek has a real passion for coming up with cool character names and cool powers and he's desperate to use them so he just introduces new characters as fast as possible just so he can have the fun of naming them and giving them powers.

I think, deep down, what Im enamored with as a Skulduggery Pleasant Fan, is not the actual written canon but the vibes.

I dont know when it started and how and why, but there was a shift at some point in which the silliness of the books was outweighed by reality.

And yeah. Thats fair, honestly. But Ive read Demon Road as well and it just.... It literally oozes fun. Its a short, contained thing. Its full of funky ideas that dont have to be perfectly explored because, oopsie daisy, we dont actually have the time. It says something about growing up, about gender and sex, about trauma and about magic and then its over.

Maybe the Skulduggery Pleasant Universe is just... its been too long. If you need to reset everything, if your scale goes from Ireland to global to godhood, from Mage to Grand Mage to Supreme Mage, from protagonist to hero to godcreature? Maybe its too big.

I really enjoyed Book 10 and 11 and even 12. But its not the same enjoyment I have of Book 1. Or 2. Or 3. Like... This whole rant was prompted by Valkyrie saying, ca. Two thirds into Book 12, that (this isnt an accurate quote) "At first, it was Elementals and Adepts. Now theres so much more. Neoterics and Mutations. I think its enough."

And thats kind of funny, isnt it. Because yeah. The world grows and grows and grows and we say goodbye to characters, we get invested in new ones, we worry about Omen and Auger and Never. Militsa, even. Oberon. We meet characters again and they're different and new now.

But maybe, and I love this series to death, maybe its enough. There is an expiration date on all ideas. You can only write so much.

I wish Landy would do something like Demon Road again. It was fun, it was fast, it had vibes. At the same time, I know theres Book 16 to 18 in production right now and... Do I read them? Will they be good? Or have I already said goodbye to this series and all the things I held dear about it.

I was so young when I read the first book. And all its ideas and all its contents have been living in my head, essentially rent free. It has inspired me. It has shaped my perception on urban fantasy. It made me want to become a writer.

... So what now, I suppose.

I have 2,5 books more to go. I have a few ideas for analysis left. At the same time, the characters I love and want to support arent really there anymore. And thats both good and bad. Development is good, moving forward is good, writing shouldnt necessarily be stagnant.

I feel like - and this will make no sense to anyone - the bard in "The Sims Medieval". I have traveled the world, I have gathered my inspirations. Time to retreat and write an epic.

Or something silly like that.

[fuiru]

A 44 year old man goes to a K-Pop Concert

I promised you a report on the K-pop concert that I, a 44-year-old accountant, went to a couple of weeks ago with my wife and daughter in Toronto. So here it is.

The band we saw were Ateez. They're my daughter's favourite band and my wife's second favourite. I know most of my mutuals are similarly aged like me and may not be familiar with them so let me give you a brief primer on Ateez.

Imagine the most attractive eight men you can think of, just unfathomably beautiful specimens of aesthetic perfection, and make them sing songs that somehow combine the subjects of 'dancing like nobody is watching' with 'we live in a dystopian hellscape that we must all work together to overthrow'. Give them an ongoing music video story lore that literally nobody - not even the band themselves - understand, so that online discussion of their visual motifs looks more like the fevered rantings of a conspiracy theorist, complete with speculation about alternate realities and time being a Moebius strip. There is also a giant sand timer, for some reason.

That's Ateez. That's what you need to know.

Now, K-pop concerts are very different to the gigs I've been going to for the last 28 (!) years. There's no support act, for a start. Also the band perform for like, three hours, with breaks for costume changes and interpretive dance. Furthermore, hanging above everything is the constant looming threat of mandatory military service.

So this being my first such concert, I wasn't sure what to expect. What happened was difficult to explain, but I will try as I am already six paragraphs into this write-up and I'm too invested to stop now. Here goes:

In his Wicked + Divine comics series, Kieron Gillen places modern pop icons as deities, feeding upon and gaining strength from the worship of their fans at the altar of musical performance. I thought I understood that metaphor. I thought I understood it AS a metaphor. I was wrong, because that night Ateez WERE Gods with a capital G and we were their worshippers, a crowd emanating adoration (in the religious and non-religious senses), bestowing strength upon them and gaining their strength in return.

If that sounds weird, it probably is. But as pointed out above, I have lived over four decades and never yet experienced anything like the overwhelming passion of that crowd, the utter abandon with which they conveyed their love for the band.

"But Fuiru, what of the actual music?" you ask. Thinking back, there was a moment in one of their songs - I can't remember which - where I watched the stage, and the people around me, taking it in, and I thought, "Man, I just love Music". But that doesn't answer your question, sorry.

Ateez's music is bloody great. As a tiresome indie/rock/metal kid I'm resisting the urge to add the usual tiresome indie/rock/metal caveat of "...for pop music" because honestly that does it a disservice. They have some genuinely amazing songs. Halazia is an absolute fucking masterpiece that descends into furious hardcore breakbeat. Bouncy is a big, brash racket that somehow is also a perfect pop song. Utopia, Wonderland, and Guerrilla are similarly superb. The obligatory boy band slow number is represented by Dancing Like Butterfly Wings which will make you cry because you will forever associate it with your twelve year old daughter being pointed to and waved at by her favourite Ateez member (Seonghwa) because of her Seonghwa-branded lightstick.

That might just be me, though.

So in summary: being a 44 year old dad at his first K-pop concert rules and you should endeavour to partake in the experience if the opportunity arises.

Finally, for any Atiny reading this: my bias would be San or Seonghwa but my wife and daughter said they were taken so it’s Mingi. My concert outfit (designed and created by my offspring) reflects this.

[sunderwight]

SV AU where, while Luo Binghe is supposed to be in the Abyss, Shen Qingqiu comes across a hellhound puppy.

Now, there is an arc in PIDW where Luo Binghe became a hellhound. But it happened like at least a century out from where they are in the timeline, after Binghe had come into his full demonic power, and involved him turning into a slavering beast that eventually become a slavering man-beast (werewolf, basically) who could only be cured by having a lot of very questionable sex with his wives. Shen Yuan wrote a rant about how yet another potentially interesting transformation arc was instead reduced to porn tropes, but it was one of several dozen such rants across many similar story arcs. Airplane barely even remembers writing it because he was having a pretty shit week and just wanted to get the chapters out.

So it doesn't really occur to either him or Shang Qinghua that finding a hellhound puppy might be suspicious. Unexpected, sure, but demons are turning up all over the place all the time, really. And it's years before Luo Binghe is even supposed to be out of the Abyss, like a century before his hellhound transformation story, and when Binghe did turn into a hellhound his two forms consisted of a fully-grown beast and a fully-grown man-beast. Not a puppy.

Of course: that hellhound puppy is definitely Luo Binghe.

He unwittingly triggered this subplot early, and because he's still a young adult, he gets stuck in a juvenile puppy form because hellhounds don't reach fully maturity until they're like fifty.

Anyway, this creates something of a pickle for Luo Binghe, because he's legitimately stuck in this form and can't figure out how to change back. This is not part of his plans. He's fleeing from Huan Hua Palace cultivators who are trying to kill him, which they might succeed at because his Heavenly Demon powers don't seem to be working.

He runs right into Shizun, who is on one of his "investigate stuff to forget the depression" field trips with Liu Qingge.

Luo Binghe is fully expecting his righteous Shizun to kill the demonic beast, and has a moment to think that at least that's better than being killed by Huan Hua, before Shizun rescues him instead.

Shen Qingqiu, meanwhile, is actually kind of excited. There was a lot of lore in PIDW about how hellhounds can actually make loyal companions if they're trained up from young enough of an age, but finding hellhound puppies would be difficult for anyone who wasn't a demonic nobleman, and most of the "trained" hellhounds just disappeared into the harem as gifts to various demon wives and were never seen or heard from again. No additional information, like the full extent of their abilities or what kind of companions they made beyond "loyal" or anything! A species of demon that could even potentially be domesticated by humans, and it was just left at that?!

Needless to say, Shen Qingqiu's not letting Huan Hua Palace kill this one. This is a rare chance for him to get a cool monster companion!

Although... such a creature might die when Luo Binghe comes to take his revenge.

Well, he'll deal with that when he has a chance. Maybe Shang Qinghua can take it to Mobei Jun or Shen Qingqiu can find another place for it before then. In the meanwhile, at least going back to Qing Jing Peak with him is better than being killed on the spot. He talks Liu Qingge into going along with it (Liu Qingge thinks he's insane but also folds like wet tissue paper), under stipulation that the hellhound's demonic energies are sealed and it gets muzzled before they bring it back with them.

Shen Qingqiu rides with it in a carriage, and feels so bad for the poor doggo looking miserable without his demon powers or even his mouth free that he secretly takes the muzzle back off while Liu Qingge isn't looking.

Luo Binghe is overwhelmed with the mixed sentiments of confusion (doesn't his shizun hate demons? is a Heavenly Demon really so especially repulsive to him?), happiness (he's going home! Shizun found him and is taking him home!), worry (Shizun please do not un-muzzle random demonic beasts just because they look sad!), and some rather embarrassing personal revelations about the appeal of being Shizun's pet. The latter situation worsens exponentially after the first time he gets good boy'd and petted for the first time.

Regardless, Shen Qingqiu does take him back to Qing Jing Peak and settles in to train and observe his new puppy. No one thinks this is precisely a good project but it is a project, and is not for instance "staring blankly into the distance while kneeling in front of a sword mound", so on balance everyone decides they'll just keep an eye on things and make sure the hellhound doesn't maul the peak lord. Lots of "just dropping in for a visits" by a rotating cast of peak lords (they have a schedule).

But the hellhound puppy is a fabulous pet! Actually, Shen Qingqiu thinks it's really remarkable how smart and readily tamed he is? Barely a few days in and he's obediently following Shizun's commands, except for "stay", which he seems to struggle with. He doesn't maul or threaten any of the disciples, only growls at Shang Qinghua sometimes and makes a few aggressive displays at Liu Qingge. The former case is just good taste, and as to the latter, well, clearly the hellhound is sensitive and intelligent, and has a more-than-rudamentary understanding of words spoken to him. He probably remembers that Liu Qingge wanted to kill him when they first met. Shen Qingqiu takes his time soothing his puppy and assuring him that he won't come to any harm, he's perfectly safe on Qing Jing Peak with Shen Qingqiu.

At least, for now.

Although actually, the more Shen Qingqiu thinks about it, the more convinced he becomes that Hellhound (sue him, he's not the best with names) would be a perfect companion for Luo Binghe once he gets out of the Abyss. The only difficulty would be in how to convince Binghe to accept him, and also how to keep his now-loyal hound from trying to defend his master when justice comes due. Shen Qingqiu figures he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it, and in the meanwhile takes some time to explain to Hellhound about his disciple, Luo Binghe, who is enduring a terrible trial in the Abyss, but who will return one day having become Emperor of the Demon Realms and could probably use a steadfast and intelligent companion who is interested in more than just his incredible amounts of power or irresistible good looks.

Luo Binghe Himself: ?!?!?!

[stitcherofchaos]

Kidnap Fam vs Earendil and Elwing controversy: Regarding the twins

Maybe I’m too practical-minded, but I see a lot of people either supporting or exaggerating kidnap fam, hating it with all their being, or ignoring the whole ‘love grew between them’ to translate into ‘emotional manipulation, hatred, resentment… etc (being anti-canon)’. I’ll respect opinions, frankly, I really could care less about them, but it does get irritating when people throw canon away for the drama (I certainly get annoyed when extreme pro-kidnap fams fans make it all sunshine and rainbows as if it wasn’t a difficult time or situation).

By the way, I can and will say that the twins can feel emotions, they are allowed to do that. Resentment and love can exist at the same time (for only a period of time) but one or the other must fade in order for the other the linger. One has to be consumed in order for the other to burn.

But just a thought, Elrond and Elros could love all of their parents equally, no more, no less than the others. One became a healer and the other, a king, I think they came to understand their foster father(s) and their bio-parents’ decisions.

(Ay maybe I just suck at emotions and all this feelings stuff and have no idea what I’m tolkien about)

And I’m not trying to call out or bash anyone!

I saw (and wanted to share) the quote,

“if your anger burns the furnace in your soul your whole life, you will be forever cold in the grave.”(I’m paraphrasing, I can’t remember the exact quote)

I cannot imagine Elrond or Elros being resentful to the point were they are vicious or unforgiving, whether it was towards Elwing, Eärendil, Maglor, or Maedhros (I really don’t think he was involved too much but if you swing that way).

I don’t want Elros to be cold in his grave, and I certainly don’t want Elrond's fëa to be burning for the rest of his immortal life.

Then I also had the thought, 'if the Fëanorians had never committed the third, worst, kinslaying, then Elwing would have never flown the Silmaril to her husband and they would have never gotten the help of the Valar.'

I personally headcanon that it was Eru’s work at hand to have Maglor raise Elrond and Elros. Think about it, what if they were spoiled in an alternate universe? What if something worse had happened to the twins? What if? What if?

What if they didn't become who they were meant to be if it wasn't for who they were raised by?

By the way, I read LOTR, I know Elrond refers to Eärendil publicly as his father and he makes no mention of Maglor. I analyzed this in three ways. 1.) Elrond must keep (the memory of) Maglor closed off, locked in his heart rather than talking about him more. 2.) It would've caused drama in his realm and in the counsel. 3.) Elrond really doesn't care, his father is his father, that's it. Zip. Maglor raised him, but Maglor is gone now. In a way, Eärendil is more present than Maglor in Elrond's life by the third age. Elrond can physically see the star, but he can't see Maglor.

I see it in the third way mostly. Eärendil is Elrond father, biologically, so why would he do this "My 'real' father" BS? It just seems like a waste of time. Tolkien probably didn't want to confuse anyone since the Silmarillion couldn't be published with LOTR.

Remind me of that quote from Yondu, "He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn't your daddy." But I really didn't want to refer to that quote considering Peter and Yondu's relationship is not the best example to compare this cluster of daddy issues to. Nevertheless, there is a point to be made in that statement. There is a difference between relation in regard to Nature vs Nurture, and the effects of it.

I guess the whole point of this post is, the fandom tends to take canon lore to the extreme or over analyze things to the point where they're just projecting. Trust me, I've been there, done that. I've learned my lesson (I think) and I wanted to share what I've learned.

Also (this is purely opinion) I don’t think Maglor was manipulative about anything, in the book, he just didn’t come off that way, for as little as he appeared, he actually seemed to be pretty optimistic (*regarding Eärendil) and honest (*the debate with Maedhros). He didn’t try to excuse himself or get the twins to pity him. Maglor raising the twins was out of pity/mercy, yes, but love grew (like what Tolkien said). He probably educated them on the facts and encouraged them to form their own opinions, whether that costed him their love or not. Maglor did have the more accurate moral compass compared to his brothers (in the end of the book!- Put down your pitchforks Maedhros stans!), especially if he knew that the Silmaril was better beyond their reach than where the enemy can also reach it. It was an accurate moral compass, although not a big one.

Argue, agree or disagree, or discuss with me! I want to hear different perspectives or opinions on this matter.

[casterousaudrey]

To have loved and lost

Word Count: 2k

Pairing: Astarion/Gender Neutral!Reader

Theme: very angsty, death of a lover, revenge.

Note: The people have spoken and I shall answer. I tried to make this as lore-accurate as I could while maintaining my main idea! Sorry if there are errors. I was initially going to write this as a hurt/comfort but angst was just calling my name 😪. I HIGHLY recommend listening to these songs while reading hehe.

Now playing: ※ Cover me in Roses - Holden Laurence ※ I want you - Mitski ※ No surprises - Radiohead ※ What was I made for - Billie Eilish ※ Video games - Lana Del Rey

It wasn't supposed to happen how it did. Beating Cazador was supposed to be easy, Astarion had you and your other companions to fight alongside him. The difficult part was supposed to be deciding whether he would take this power for himself or let it go along with the thousands of vampire spawns with it.

So why was he frozen in place with your lifeless body an arm away, as your other companions tried to keep Cazador and his other lackeys at bay. You were always the protective type, you cared- probably more than you should for other people. He never understood how you could be so kind to people you just met, he who tried to kill you when you first met, he who takes all your offers to drink your blood, and he whose only goal was to kill Cazador, that was before he got closer to you.

He wasn't used to affection that didn't have a price, after all the times he fed on you he didn't hear a single condition on what you should get in return, all he heard was "I'm just happy to be helping you" Or "I can see in your eyes that the hunt wasn't good today, just swing by my tent if you need me ok?". He was- confused, and albeit sickened, after what he experienced being that kind only made him weak and even made him into a slave for Cazador. At the same time he couldn't help what he was feeling, how could he deny how he felt calm when he was in your embrace after particularly hard days, your skin on his with pleasure he never felt before, your kisses felt like the touch of the sun bringing back warmth into his pale and cold body, and your eyes that held no disgust for him.

But in the end, he was right, your kindness made you take a blow from Cazador for him and you paid the price. The last thing he remembered was you running to the blast that was aimed at him, gaining multiple attacks from the numerous minions Cazador had. Astarion couldn't move, he was stuck in place by Cazador and he already accepted the blast that was coming his way but if he knew that you were going to stand between him and Cazador maybe he would've fought harder, maybe your body wouldn't have been facing him with your eyes only focused on his. The moment you got hit- he swore he saw a tear leave your eye. He still doesn't know if it was out of worry for him or fear for what would happen to you.

The blast made your body fly to him as the impact knocked both you and Astarion to a nearby pillar. He was numb, even more than he was in all the years he served Cazador. After regaining his composure Astarion tried to take a glimpse at your body, but it only made him hold his breath and look away.

"Astarion are they ok? Say something!" He could hear Shadowheart screaming for him but there was still a distinct ringing in his head, he couldn't understand what was happening, he couldn't process what just happened. Shadowheart killed the remaining lackeys Cazador had while Karlach was able to kill most of them, Maybe they also saw what happened, and maybe they were also in rage. Who could blame them, You were the best of the group, and everyone's morale solely depended on you keeping it up.

He finally gained the courage to approach your body- crawling to where you were as he turned your body upright. He finally processed what had happened, you are dead, you sacrificed your life for a vampire spawn and he never felt sadness the way he did right now. Your eyes were closed, your chest not moving to breathe, this couldn't be the end. He loved you too much to let you go now, and he regretted not saying those three words earlier. "I love you" He whispered although now it didn't feel like what he imagined it would be, it felt meaningless.

In his grief he tried to find a solution, he racked his brain for any kind of answer, and in desperation, he found one. He'll turn you into a vampire, just like what happened to him when he died. Although he hoped this would happen in different circumstances he can't doubt himself now. "Hold on darling, okay? I got you. I'm here." He cradled your body in his arms as he wasted no time to bite your neck. In all his years as a spawn he has never experienced truly turning someone else, and why would he, the pain he remembered when he turned was not the pain he wanted on anyone else.

A bite and a drop of his blood was all that it should've taken. He bit his arm and had taken more than a drop of his blood in his mouth. He held your face as his blood made its way down your throat. For a moment he was glad, he knew it would work, this was how he turned! How could it not? But with the bite mark on your neck and the smell of his blood still lingering on your lips, you still weren't moving or responding at all. "What's the matter, love? Why isn't it working? I need you to live please!"

He cried and cried but through his tears, he wondered if maybe just biting you and giving you more blood would work. Frantic he started to remove the armor you had to gain access to more parts of your body.

Bite.

Your wrist, the same ones he remembers so tenderly to have kissed when you made love.

Bite.

Your leg, it would always tangle with his on nights that you found peace in each other's arms.

Bite.

Your thigh, what he would give to hold it tight once again as you sat on top of him.

Bite.

Your neck again, where he would bury his face, and suddenly all his problems would disappear.

He took in even more of his blood that once again made its way deep down your throat.

...

..

.

But nothing, it wouldn't work. He tried to reason with himself that maybe just maybe it would take a while for you to turn but he knew deep down that wasn't how it worked.

"You see boy, you are weak, you are nothing but a vampire spawn with no ability to protect anyone. Did I not teach you better than this?" Cazador who was already on his knees still managed to talk Astarion down.

Shock turned to grief and grief into rage.

"In all my problems and all the times I failed it was always you who was behind it..." Astarion made sure to put your body down gently whispering an 'I'll be back sweetheart' before standing up and striding towards Cazador and grabbing him by the back of his head "You just weren't satisfied with the years of pure shit you put me through were you?" Out of all the cruel things Cazador has done Astarion would argue that this is by far the most gut-wrenching thing he had ever experienced.

"Astarion, maybe if we bring them back to a church fast enough the clerics could-"

"The clerics can't do anything about this now!"

Karlach was quick to stop talking, normally she would not be easily swayed but she knew that he was right, You were as good as dead and in Astarions mind his world had also ended.

"You are a fool to believe that you could ever have a happy ending, Astarion. From the moment I turned you to the moment you lured your first victim you should've known that no Gods would ever take pity on your soul." The hand that was holding the back of Cazador's neck tightened. "You're right, No God would help me, but maybe your little contract can"

Astarion threw Cazador on the ground as the decision was set in his mind. "What do you think you're doing?" Finally, a hint of fear in Cazador's voice was what Astarion needed to continue what he was about to do. He needed to ascend to find another solution that his abilities as a spawn couldn't possibly find. "Karlach, I need your help- your eyes rather, to see the scars on my back. Use the parasite to connect to my mind so I can see the scars on my back and copy it onto his."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, but I would, years of trying to push me towards the edge and today... You finally did it and I applaud you" Astarion picks up the blade beside him ready to carve the contract onto his back.

"You know I can't let you do that" Karlach tries to reason as she sees how truly hurt Astarion is.

"That wasn't a question! All the power that he's lusted after will be mine"

"At the cost of a lot of lives. It's not worth it, Astarion" Shadowheart knows nothing could sway him now, not after what Cazador did.

"My darlings' life was worth more than thousands! I'm just trying to even out the score"

Karlach debates for a minute, If she lets Astarion do the ritual thousands would die but if she doesn't Cazador would surely find a way to ascend and hunt down Astarion. In the end, she lets Astarion see the scars on his back, she could feel the blade in his hand with a tight grip and his grief covered by the lust for power that he can obtain.

"Yes, yes I see it." Astarion smiles a wicked grin as he removes Cazador's top which reveals his bare back soon to be marked with a contract.

The moment the blade came in contact with Cazador's back it was followed by his blood-curdling screams with the sound of flesh being carved out rather brutally. Shadowheart had to look away until the screams came to an end and the contract was finally set on Cazador's back.

"Ungrateful child. Wretched child."

"It's time to take your place."

Astarion picked up Cazador's staff which gave him the power to place Cazador to where he would be sacrificed. He could feel it, the power was an inch away from his grasp. All he needed to do now was plow the staff into the ground to obtain all that power.

As he raised the staff with closed eyes all he could think of was you, the images of all the times you spent together flashed before his eyes, at first he was happy then enraged after realizing that he might never see your smile again. It was all he needed for him to plow the staff to the ground as a red aura emanated from the floor and to the spawns. He recited the chant for the ritual and finally, he felt stronger and even more powerful.

One by one they all died and Astarion could feel the power flowing through him, he was high on whatever power he just received and as Cazador died the ritual was complete. Shadowheart and Karlach could only look in concern and fear as Astarion smiled.

He was free at last, but how free could he be when the chains of your death still hold him hostage? He let go of the staff as it started floating on its own and started following him. He slowly walks towards your body, still no change, but he picks you up anyway and gives a small kiss on your forehead. "Come on sweetheart, I'll get you fixed up, I promise. I'll find a way."

He started to slowly walk out of the lair, not caring if the other two would follow or not. Your body cradled closely to his chest. He looked to your lips which would feel so tender against his- now unmoving, and your eyes- he was convinced had some sort of magic in it now closed. His head filled with thoughts of the endless power and control he could have and what that power could do to bring you back to life. He looked menacing just from the way he walked, anyone who stood in his way would be destroyed. In his mind, this is what grieving felt like, an emptiness to what should be full, the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the Gods laughing at his despair.

As he approaches the elevator, the gurs stand in alert ready to confront Astarion about what he's done but for their sake, he hopes they would stand down. For a grieving monster is more terrifying than they think.

[evilbihan]

Guys, wake up, the Lin Kuei brothers are canonically dead in the main timeline.

I don't even know how this happened and if they put any thought at all into this game and the content they put out there, but I just discovered the biggest plot hole in the whole story.

Remember when the game wasn't released yet and everyone was freaking out about the Kuai Liang and Harumi wedding scene from the Scorpion invasions mode story that got leaked? People were arguing back and forth about whether or not invasions mode events were canon.

Short answer, they are.

Now someone answer me this:

"It is no surprise that the Zaterrans chose to infiltrate the Shirai Ryu. That they dispatched Scorpion is a tragedy. Defend our realm and his honor by finishing this pretender."

Liu Kang confirmed that Kuai Liang was killed by the Zaterrans. We can also see that in the intro cinematic.

Keep in mind, Kuai Liang is only Scorpion in this one timeline Liu Kang created. Geras told him so in an intro and since intros are also canon, where does that leave us?

"Smoke's imposter mastered the original's use of stealth and misdirection. That alone makes him a difficult antagonist. Now add Zaterran savagery? Reptilian cunning? No doubt, your skills will be tested."

Smoke is also dead. As is Bi-Han.

"This false Sub-Zero copied Bi-Han to perfection. Months passed before the Lin Kuei realized he was among them. They want this pretender dead, but he must be interrogated. Capture. Do not kill."

So who exactly is fighting in the story dlc? The Zaterran copies of the brothers? It makes absolutely no sense and it's disappointing how little they care about keeping the lore coherent.

Did Liu Kang resurrect the brothers? It's not shown in the ending cinematic and I doubt he would do it since he keeps insisting that he wants everyone in his timeline to choose their own path. It would also open up the question why he didn't resurrect Sindel or the brothers' father as it would solve the story's main conflicts. In conclusion, that can only mean they're dead and that's impossible given that there will be a whole story expansion.

As a side note, I dedicate this to that one person who made a whole post a few months ago, trying to lecture me on the accuracy of MK lore and how I was "twisting it" to fit my own narrative.

Is this your sacred lore that should never be questioned?

MK lore is literally twisting itself. It's full of contradictions and plot holes. Some of you take this game so seriously when it doesn't even take itself seriously.

[yanderes-galore]

Hello, could I request a Platonic!Yandere (no romance) concept/scenario with Fluffy au Springbonnie/Springtrap. However, instead of the reader being human, they're a rabbit creature just like Springtrap.

Backstory could be that Springbonnie met them when the reader where recently created as a baby bunny. (For something to teach children about responsibility or something) However, things changed after the events of Golden Freddy and Springtrap. The story could be, (whichever you decide or change parts), that 1. reader, still a kit, was saved from Springtrap's massacre and taken to a different facility, returned to the old one after growing up a bit to find answers and finding Springtrap and him remembering them. Or 2. reader wasn't taken out in time and grew up in the abandoned facility, raised by Springtrap cause he remembered meeting them as Springbonnie when just born.

There aren't a lot of old stinky papa rabbit ( ´-ω-)

Ohhhh! I love this idea :D Here! This isn't part of main AU canon but I liked the idea so much I had to write it. While it is not part of main AU canon, there is a little bit of lore when it comes to the creations in this.

Lost Kit

Yandere! Platonic! Fluffy AU! Springbonnie/Springtrap Side Story (Not part of main AU canon)

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Attachment issues, Murder, Blood mention, manipulation implied, Isolation, Kidnapping, Monitoring, Violence, Brief drugging mention, Experimentation, Sadism mention, Dubious companionship.

The golden rabbit's nose twitches as he watches the scientists hold the small bundle in their arms. Inside was a young rabbit, fur soft and fluffy. The sight makes the lovable Springbonnie tilt his head.

What was this?

Even when he was introduced to the smaller rabbit, only just maturing from a kit, he was still confused. His caretaker told him their name and their purpose. This rabbit was meant to get Springbonnie used to children… 

This rabbit was you.

Soon you'd mature but giving you to Springbonnie as a kit was meant to help get him used to creatures younger than him. Plus, you gave him someone else to talk to other than Fredbear. As you grew they'd monitor results.

These anthro mascots created by Afton had exceptional growth rate. Within merely months experiments would hit maturity. Which meant getting results shouldn't be too hard between you two.

Wasn't long before the results rolled in.

Springbonnie, one of their first experiments, quickly took in the small kit. Cameras recorded each development no matter how small. Instinctively, Springbonnie cared for you as though he was a father.

The rabbit quickly sang tunes and played songs for the smaller rabbit. He kept you close to his soft chest and licked you to bathe you. In response you reciprocated the affection of the older rabbit.

You quickly imprinted on the golden rabbit, seeing him as your father.

As you matured, tests and results kept rolling in. They gave you both food and tested how well you both performed. You learned quite a lot from your father.

Caretakers even caught you singing along to tunes your father sang. They caught you copying movements and behaviors. It was clear your bond was strong.

However, as you matured it was soon time to separate you two. By the time this experiment began you had hit what scientists considered “teen” age. This usually occurs a couple months in.

It was difficult to part you from the older rabbit. You showed hesitance and Springbonnie even showed uncharacteristic aggression. As a result both rabbits had to be subdued, mostly Springbonnie as you were quickly compliant.

By the time things settled you had your own room. You even had your own caretaker that you slowly began to bond with. However… Springbonnie's reaction?

Newfound aggression. Springbonnie expressed uncharacteristic anxiety and aggression when you were not in sight. Occasionally you two were allowed to visit but all visits were overseen by your caretakers.

While visits helped… Springbonnie's mood soured. His bond with the kit appeared to be too strong. Now it was nearly impossible to continue training the golden rabbit.

Springbonnie began to resent his caretaker. They had given him a kit to raise, and for what? They took them away from him?

The thought makes Springbonnie grit his teeth. After that was he just expected to continue rolling over for them? No… he won't comply… not until he has his kit back.

If he doesn't have you back… he isn't sure what he will do.

—

By the time you're fully mature is when the facility falls into chaos. By this point you know most of the story, don't you? Sirens blaring… red light swallowing the hallways… blood paints the walls… the scent of decay settles in.

All of this was caused by Springtrap's infection and Golden Freddy's jailbreak.

Springtrap, no longer the sweet golden rabbit many knew, took pleasure in the hunt. All the rage pent up from the theft of his kit made him enjoy feeding his more sadistic side. All of this continued…

Right up until he saw you again.

In the middle of the chaos stood you. Springtrap recognized that familiar scent you had. Even with blood covering your fur… it was you.

Springtrap's bloodlust calms and his eyes dilate. You looked so scared. When your eyes snap to him… you shiver.

He's different now. His scent smells more like decay than the comforting scent he had during your short youth. The familiar scent smells so drowned… It hurts your nose.

Springtrap is concerningly quick when he rushes towards you. You let out a concerned squeal when he wraps himself around you. The older decaying rabbit chitters towards you lovingly, even as you try to kick away.

Oh… he's missed you. That scent you have is comforting even now. Springtrap doesn't care that he caused most of this mess… or if you're scared.

Daddy's home to comfort you, sweet kit.

Springtrap calms once he has you. He drags you back to his familiar room before curling around you. The older rabbit nuzzles into your fur… even if you twitch away.

He loves you no matter what… he'll raise you, even in this rotting wasteland of a facility.

….

He smiles when he recognizes your familiar fur and bright eyes as he holds you in his claws. How could he forget the bright red eyes you have? It's such a shame your white fur got stained with blood. In fact, the dried blood almost looks like a brown pattern on you.

In his eyes, it only adds to you.

You still look like the beautiful kit he had before he became a bloodthirsty monster.

Don't worry, dear kit… your father will teach you all he knows just like when you were young.

[dunedragon]

Finally played through all the BN games and 100% each one! I haven't had a chance to go complete the mirror versions yet, but I have finally experienced it all! Here's how I felt about each! (Opinion Ahead)

Battle Network 1: A very classic experience, great groundwork for lore, short, simple, and fun. To friends, I jokingly call it "Mt. Moon the video game" in terms of maps. If you aren't used to old RP dungeons then I can see this game getting irritating very quickly for people. I liked it a lot and want to revisit it again now that I've cleared the other games.

Battle Network 2: The most memorable experience due to how batshit the story was. Most of my "wild" BN examples come from this game, absolutely great. I remember absolutely NOTHING about the gameplay though. I do remember the cyberpunk background for the main town's internet and I'm sad they didn't do this in future games (or other areas in this game for that matter) it made the digital world feel like a world.

Battle Network 3 (Blue): My FAVORITE storyline game. This places it into the top game out of all 6 games for me. The post game has a lot of content, lots of lore, Hub REALLY gets to be apart of the story here, I love it. The downside is I found it the most difficult to 100% because it really challenges you up to where a lot of super post game time trials are just resetting for RNG. Not great.

Battle Network 4 (Red Sun): A SLOG. I think someone casually playing through the story and putting the game down would have a better time of it, but coming right after Battle Network 3, it was painful to play through once, let alone three times (or more for others who didn't have a google spreadsheet to help.) The upside is, the game is empty enough that 100% completing the game is pretty easy, just EXTREMELY time consuming and mindnumbing.

Battle Network 5 (Team Colonel): I didn't really like the darkchip storyline much, so that extended here as well. I found the story passable, much better than 4, but I wasn't really engaged. Gameplay wise though, I really enjoyed how the Liberation Missions challenged how I previously approached chip building. It really pushed me to learn how to build better decks, and since I was already familiar with tactic-style gameplay, I had a lot of fun. Tactics games aren't for everyone though, so I can definitely see how Liberation Missions alone can be a game ruiner for others.

Battle Network 6 (Gregar): Love the story. I love BN2's wild plot, but BN6's grounded plot is equally one of my favorites. What makes this game great is the gameplay is REALLY refined in this game. Every chip feels viable, there's so many ways to play. Fighting enemies feels great, though it can take a while for it to feel challenging. I love how every time I lost a fight, it didn't feel like I was cheated. I could see where I messed up and could try again to get better. While BN3 is my top story, this game has my top gameplay.

I think the biggest thing to note is I could feel a noticeable difference in tone between BN1-3 and BN4-6. While the last half of the games touched darker subjects, the tone felt lighter and and hopeful and the world was truly about Humans and Navis working together. The first 3 games told lighter stories, but the background world felt more dystopian through the lense of a 10 year old. There were small notes you'd catch a wiff of to tell the world isn't what it seemed, but in the dark there was a hopeful flicker of light for the future.

It makes sense, each half of the series has its own production story and lead writer. It's very interesting to look into. I can't say which is better, I think it really just depends on a person's tastes. It's interesting to see how many people differ on which game is their favorite, but I feel like a lot of it is because each game really brings something different to the table. I'm really thankful the Legacy Collection gave me a chance to get into these games.

[justlarkin]

Hi! Sorry for bothering you. But I'm writing my own fanfiction of housamo, the whole game in fact, but I'm having complications on understanding the reasons why most of the exiles were banished according to their worlds rules... I'm not very smart and wiki information is incomplete or too difficult to get... could you please help me by sharing a simple explanation....?

No bother. I don't get some of the lore stuff in housamo either, so don't feel dumb about it.

So the general reason they were exiled is because the rebelled against the worlds' system in some way and had to be removed to protect their systems. Not all of the exiles' rules and backstories have been revealed yet, so I'm not sure about all of them currently.

-Takamagahara's system tosses away anything undesirable and works with Amaterasu exposing everyone's sins with her light and reflecting their shame back at them to keep them in line. Susanoo felt zero shame and therefore couldn't be controlled that way, so he was eventually sent away due to his behavior.

-The World of the Old Ones exists within Azathoth's dream, so invading one's dream without consent is considered very taboo and is forbidden. Cthulhu's ability allowed him to invade other's dreams whenever, which of course violated that big rule.

-Hourai's system runs on the belief of letting nature run it's course and not interfering, but Nüwa would constantly interfere by causing and trying to prevent wars and disasters.

-The Oceanic Realm's system is the belief that in the end everything and everyone will sink to the bottom of the ocean for eternity. From what little we learned from Gurangatch, the Rainbow Serpent would rise from the depths again and again, so while everything else would sink forever, they wouldn't.

-Great Spirit's system is the belief in unity with everyone being one with Wakan Tanka. Heyoka's eccentric behavior caused him to become a social pariah and an outcast, separating him from Wakan Tanka and the rest of Great Spirit, so he was exiled.

-Olympus' system relies heavily on everyone's connection to the world representative, Zeus, most importantly the familial and sexual bonds. Eurynome's rule allowed her to rend bloodlines and anything that stemmed from said bloodline such as curses, so the Olympians would've been screwed with most of them, especially the key players, being related to Zeus in some way. Also, Eurynome's relationship with Zeus isn't known yet, so there could've been more there. Another thought I've seen is that Eurynome might've rejected Zeus, which is unheard of with the way his power works, on top of the bloodline thing.

-Varuna-Kamadeva and Asura were essentially exiled for the opposite reasons. Shangri La's system is the belief that one should let go of all of their attachments to achieve enlightenment. A situation happened where one of Smokey God's other friends did something to Asura's daughter and he became enraged and attacked them. Unable to let go of his anger and wanting to continue fighting, he was exiled. Either Asura himself or a part of himself that he cut off went to Deva Loka and became known as Varuna.

I can't remember the exact way Deva Loka functions, but Varuna was the omnipotent world representative who would gift parts of his power to others. He would continue doing this until he was left with nothing but love and desire and became known as Varuna-Kamadeva. That's when the others decided that he wasn't fit to be world representative anymore and wanted him to relinquish that role to Shiva by making him fall for Parvati. And obviously Shiva blasted him once Varuna shot him with an arrow, exiling him. So since he became unworthy of the role of world representative once he lost his attachments, I guess the belief focuses on holding onto one's attachments.

-Yggdrasil holds the belief that the world will eventually experience Ragnarok and the era of gods will end, making way for the era of humanity. This of course never happened since Loki confined Yggdrasil within a wall that causes the world to loop post Ragnarok the same way Tokyo's wall functions. It's a world of those destined to fall, but Freyr couldn't be defeated as long as he had the power to rend through defeat, so he had to go. There's also just the fact that Freyr seemed to be opposed to meaningless sacrifice like what the gods intended to do for humanity.

-Kitezh's system is belief of diffusion, so pretty much just combining and spreading into other sources to achieve power. Maybe it's more parasitic or infectious in nature. Like if they were to be attacked by invaders, Perun could mix himself into their memories to mess with and dominate them for example. Perun lived heavily by this belief, but the ultimate goal of diffusion is complete assimilation, to be combined everyone, so you're no longer identifiable to one location. He attempted to do this by removing all documented traces of himself, but the problem was Veles existed. Veles' rules, his words, allowed him to separate and isolate things, so he was potentially able to untangle everything achieved through diffusion. Ofc Perun wasn't the one who wanted him to go, but he still violated the belief of the world.

Those are the ones I could think of rn, some of them haven't been revealed clearly or I'm just blanking rn.

[miquellaluciscaelum]

Apparently publishing posts is like a form of therapy for me and a way to deal with the emotions from the dlc.

The topic of Miquella in no way leaves me, it literally rents free in my mind 24/7 and I keep going through all the options, trying to find some meanings hidden and not, and come to terms with what we got.

It would certainly be a lot easier if people weren't screaming from every corner about how Miquella is evil, Griffith, "it was clear from the beginning", "justice, apologies for Mogh and Radanh" and all of that.

I think it would make me feel better in a way if I spell out how I feel about Miquella, his plot, and the denouement. The first thought is, of course, disappointment. And it is still significantly present. It is difficult to describe in a short and concise way what exactly I am not satisfied with, so I will write what I missed and what I would have preferred to see instead of what we got.

✨Miquella is essentially a central figure in the story and narrative, but there is very little content directly related to him. In the main game we had that one direct phrase (presumably) from him in the description of the Golden Epitaph, a sword that again (presumably) was created by him and got his Unalloyed gold needle but that was the main game. In the DLC, he's literally the plot, the driver of all events, the main mystery we've come to solve. And he wasn't enough. We have his crosses plastered all over the map that give us phrases about renouncing the flesh, but it's literally the same sentence repeated in different ways. It doesn't give any lore other than that Miquella is renouncing himself for the sake of divinity. There's not much to investigate. It would have been enough to add at least one more sentence each slightly more revealing of Miquella's inner world and his feelings as he cuts off parts of himself somewhere on the edge of the world with an unknown future looming ahead. Something along the lines of "Here I renounce my flesh and blood. My heritage that has always weighed on my shoulders and the sins that have stained my soul." or "Here I renounce my heart. The love for those who have been forgotten and abandoned is still hidden deep within." Or add some dungees, maybe at least one legacy dungeon, like a castle or a fort, centered on Miquella, with a boss at the end that would add lore to it. The only bosses we get lore about him from are Radann and Saint Trina with her boss and I'm not happy with that.

✨I also generally missed the interaction between the Shadow world and Miquella. In terms of the fact, outside of interacting with NPCs, that are related to Miquella, his presence in the world is absolutely not felt. This applies to literally everything. Some of his crosses are located in plot significant locations with other bosses or npcs, that are not related to the main plot, but are related to the Shadow world, and Miquella softly speaking very much affects the Shadow world with his presence, but there is no mention of him. The only one I immediately can remember who mentions him is Count Ymir. This doesn't mean I demand that the whole story and world focus on him, but in terms of depth of immersion and elaboration of the world it breaks the unity of the setting, as if everything that happens is two parallel universes.

✨The denouement itself is not satisfying. The game does not treat Miquella as a full-fledged antagonist (as it is with Radagon, Radanh, Rykard or any other boss in the main game), giving us a bossfight with him, where a unique atmosphere of the character would be created, his lore would be given due credit and most importantly - THERE WOULD BE A CLEAR REASON WHY WE ARE FIGHTING HIM. We literally do not even get rune for Elden ring from Miquella, what is there to talk about.

And game also doesn't make him a "friendly" ally - companion - nps like Melina or Ranni, giving the player no choice or variation at all in the terms of ending. Apparently there was supposed to be another ending along the lines of Ranni's ending, given Miquella's vow in the cut content, but for some reason that was cut. What's the point of it? Miquella's story would have been much better told in quest form, where we could talk to him as a companion, have direct dialog. What we have in the game is not a quest, but an exploration of the world with an extra lore mystery to boot.

✨I don't like the way the game deals with facts. And there are two main reasons for that. First, the game has almost no appeal to facts from the main game. If it was announced that dlc game was about some original characters in the world of elden ring, that's one thing. There would have been new lore introduced about the new characters that would not conflict with the lore of the main game, but complement it. But a character with an already written and fairly elaborate lore from the main game was taken as the basis, whose story is framed within it. And when for the entire game there are no references at all to that lore, fundamental to the character, and the new lore, conflicts with much of what was in the main game, that well, doesn't speak well of the game. It's not even about Malenia or Godwynn. I could also mention the mystery of Miquella's blood, the events of the Shattering, his beef with Outer gods, the connection to Ranni and Melina through the ring and summoning bell.

And second, the game is very noticeably vaguely ambiguous. Especially in key events that define our point of view of the character. I can directly see Miyazaki asking the writers to make all the events so murky and full of white holes that the community just fights each other over lore. Like they say if you want to piss someone off in Souls fandom, tell them they got the plot wrong and you'll never hear the end of it. There's a very simple example with Mogh. We get it, yes, he's the main poor battered boy who no one loved, everyone used him. He just built something of his own, his cute little bloody cult, kidnapping people and glorifying pain, wounds and offering bloody sacrifices to a very peaceful harmless outer god, you get the picture. Miquella came in, bewitched everyone, ruined everything, and seems apparently made Tarnished to kill Mogh too. He took full advantage of the situation. But then what about the kidnapping? Didn't we literally see the place where Miquella's body was ripped from in the Haligtree? Or are you saying that Miquella, who had long planned to merge with the tree, grow it with his blood, did so, spent some time in the tree (his own wooden body literally had time to form there) and suddenly changed his mind. By telepathic communication made Mogh come and steal him? How does that even work? Or the Shapeless Mother? Was she on her lunch break while Miquella was bewitching her darling son and his entire flock? How on earth could Miquella have such a strong influence on someone who was already under the influence of an outer god? What about Radan? Was the oath mutual? Was it an oath at all, rather than a naive child promise that later turned into a commitment? The original Japanese text of Miquella's memory gives a very strange and potentially unhealthy context to this whole pact between them? I'm not asking Miyazaki to write me a hundred-page essay explaining the plot and character motivations, but this ambiguity that generates a huge amount of speculation and debate is not personally appealing to me.

✨Saint Trina is conceptually very controversial to me. I never liked the Marika/Radagon allegory in the context of Miquella, and when it started to be theorized that Trina like Radagon could be a more antagonistic part of Miquella, opposing him in his plans, well.... I've always been more sympathetic to the idea that she was just another guise of Miquella, more of a disguise than a separate entity. In the context of the dlc, I don't see her as anything other than a remnant of kindness, love, and spirit of Miquella gaining a body and asking us to "fix" his mistakes. This for me falls in line with our motivation. We fight Miquella because he himself asked us to kill him because at some point he realized he was on the wrong path but already couldn't stop. Let me believe in something good please(

✨The whole "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" plot. Honestly I expected more. It was the most obvious  way to develop the story far ago, when Miquella was compared to Griffith before the game came out, and now that we have the final product in front of us, it looks even more cheap and second-rate. I realize that Miyazaki is apparently allergic to happiness, hope, and good endings, but he could have come up with something better. What to say, Honkai Star Rail update came out a couple months ago where a neutral-positive character with a desire for a better world at the end turned out to be an antagonist who wanted to plunge everyone into eternal dreams to save them from the pain and hopelessness of the real world🤣 Not a popular plot at all. Endless Tsukiyomi was invented a couple decades ago, it's time to move on.

I won't say it's bad writing, but honestly, I don't compare the end of the dlc and Miquella's plot to anything other than the ending of Attack of Titans and Eren Yeager or S8 Game of Thrones and Daenerys. And such comparisons don't mean anything good.

I agree that the plot adds depth to Miquella's character, through self-denial, through comparisons to Marika, etc. But this should not be done at the expense of alienating its core lore. I can recognize some merit in such a plot, but it's a situation where you as a fan just simply has no choice, where you choose the lesser of two evils between just completely deny the whole plot or adapt it and flip for myself, but actually whatever you choose you still choose evil in the end. Miquella's plot is like making all the wrong choices. And you realize how you got here and accept it, but you can't help but regret the lost potential of other paths.

Please, if you've already played the game and have thoughts different from mine, especially backed up by specific facts from dlc, I'd love to hear them. I haven't gotten through dlc yet, I'm having a very hard time morally overcoming my disappointment in it, and I'm clearly still somewhere in the denial-bargaining stage.

[officialdaydreamer00]

Doomsday Device

(overblot!irene lovejoy lore)

Description: Every type of magic has its own consequences. Except for the type that has been plaguing her family for generations in the past. a so-called "unbreakable death sentence" set the moment the user learn their first spell...

CW: Irene's descent into madness, use of black matter for blood, violence

Tags: @azulashengrottospiano @identity-theft-101 @xen-blank @siren-serenity @cookiesandbiscuits @dove-da-birb @krenenbaker @ferris-the-wheel @edith-is-a-cat @axvwriter @ameleii @loser-jpg @taruruchi @thehollowwriter @escha-evenstar @cyanide-latte

Inspiration: Doomsday by Derivakat

The long awaited lore!! As always, remember to comment and reblog if you enjoy my work!! ^-^

"Today couldn't possibly get worse..."

It was a rather gloomy day at NRC. Unusually so.

Classes seemed more difficult than normal, it was unbearable and hard to breathe. And there was just something lingering in the atmosphere that sent the student body on edge. Something sinister.

Grim didn't hold his usual confident attitude and kept darting his eyes around nervously. Moreover, he attended classes with only Ace and Deuce since the Prefect was not with them.

... The Prefect was never seen without them.

The duo had been worried the entire morning. They didn't see her anywhere, either. In fact, no one did.

Where is the Prefect?

That sent everyone on a search for the missing prefect, by the order from the headmage and the housewardens. They search high and low, from every classroom to the dorms, but still no Prefect.

Unknown to them, the wind blew harsher than before, picking up the dust and sand like a theatre's curtain.

"That wasn't me..." They heard Housewarden Kingscholar muttered. Looks of confusion were thrown around, then who did that?

As the dust dissipated, their bleary eyes darted around, coughing from having inhaled the dust while they searched desperately for the missing Prefect.

"Prefect!"

"Prefect, where are you!?"

"Myah!! Where did the water come from!?" Grim jolted. He frantically tried to paw off the water on his face, only to freeze up as a sharp metallic smell hit his nose and pulled his paw back. All he saw was black.

Ace turned towards Grim at the cat monster's sudden stop, his face paled once he saw the viscous black liquid smeared on his face.

"Shit- Grim... That's not water—!!"

Suddenly, loud gasps were heard from the student body. Some pointed their fingers, looking up at something, or rather, someone.

And someone familiar, indeed. There on top of the castle they called their school, a black clad silhouette stood. Black smoke rolling from the hem of her floor length skirt as her cloak billowed in the wind.

And flying ominously above her head, murders of crows circled into a black cloud looming over the silent castle, much to the students' growing horror. Their caws all melted into a cacophony, horrible and deafening, bringing shivers down their spines.

Several sharp eyes caught a glint of metal shimmering under what little light going through the shifting cloud of crows. A long, slender blade clasped tight in her hand.

And with one final caw in unison, the crows above scattered around her, staring down at the people below. A large pair of wings as dark as the clothes she wore unfurled from her back, flapping a few times before they settled comfortably behind her. The cleared area of sky shined down on her figure like a halo, as if she was an angel of death sent from above.

"Prefect...?" Deuce muttered in worry. Gloved hand tightened around the magic pen, he did not want to hurt his friend, even if she had turned.

"What's the meaning of this!?" Headmage Crowley finally arrived at the scene, infuriatingly insufferable as always. "Ah, there you are, Irene! What are you even doing up there!?"

She stayed silent, staring down at Crowley with an unreadable look. Then, a snort escaped her, a giggle, which soon turned into a full blown laugh. She sighed, petting a crow that was sitting on her shoulder as she looked down at Crowley with a crazed grin.

"Why, the crows are demaning bloodshed, of course." She answered, her smile widened even more, if it was even possible. The same black liquid dripped down her chin, staining the collar of her pristine white shirt. "And who am I to deny them such entertainment?"

Another round of caws echoed in unison, hundred of crows scattered over the sky, cawing endlessly as waves of shadow extended from under her feet, gradually swallowing the entire campus in eternal darkness.

"Down with NRC, boys. It's was never meant to be..."

It was a bad omen. Not as a threat, but an inevitable promise of total destruction.

[murmuringbug]

Ahh, my favorite pastime. Analyzing characters and figuring out how people work.

(Obligatory this is all characters, I just didn't wanna put a q in front of all the names :3)

I really do try to see everyone's side, and I do not think anyone here is necessarily in the wrong.  Nothing is black and white of course, but I wanted to specifically focus on bads pov here. I think alot of people kinda forget all the lore leading up to this point. Especially anyone who wasn't here.

Bad is a very tragic character and his lore has kinda been put on hold since everything that has happened.

But if we are to assume we are picking up about where we last left off, bad doesn't remember lullah. (In fact he doesn't really remember anyone on the island). Only the interactions hes had with them after he got back. He found out that hes a special person in lullah's life a little bit after he got back but he cant reciprocate those feelings. He just doesn't know her. But all the while He is being forced into this position where lullah needs old bad but old bad literally physicaly died.

Heres this guy who just woke up from being dead stressed and alone. Finding out hes trapped on an island and missing his best friend. Being thrusted into the roll of tio. He said to foolish that he doesn't think he could be a parent and that being a tio was stressful enough so its not like this is an easy roll for him to fit into.

So he has this expectation that he is being held too which is pretty unrealistic. Let alone that fact that he simply now doesn't know how to deal with children, it's not a skill he has anymore.

Then, with pomme and dapper being gone the only egg he has even gotten close to after he died is richas. Then combine that with his very clingy personality. No wonder he plays favorites.

Not to mention alot of his issues with communication and such are very autistic/adhd coded. I feel like so many people aren't really agnologing that. <_<

But now from lullah and richas's perspective it's also awful.

They are still  literal children who has gone through so much.

Im not a philza watcher so I dont know lullah alot but we can kinda tell Lullah has issues with abandonment, and she has already lost bad once before. She wants the tio bad back she knew the one who she has spent so much time with and has known her whole eggie life. But he isn't going to be back anytime soon. She probably wants some sort of consistency. Let alone the fact emotions are a difficult thing to begin with.

its a difficult situation for everyone involved. And its understandable to feel upset because that's what stories do! A good story should make you feel emotions but if you are angry, or sad at the actual people you need to take a step back for your own well being. <3

[starry-teacup]

Because of some cool art you made I want to dip my toe into the Mechanisms.

where do I find the story?

So I don't know how much you know about them, but the basics are:

The Mechanisms is a band in which each member has a persona. They are a crew of immortal space pirates, roaming the galaxy in search of violence, fun, and stories to tell. Each persona character can be referred to as a mechanism, as in a member of the crew, but they each also have a mechanism, a clockwork prosthetic of some sort that was installed after they each had their own tragic story and made them immortal.

When they find a good, long, juicy tragedy, they turn it into an album. They also have two anthology albums, with some songs connecting to the wider stories and some completely independent of them, and a couple containing mechanisms lore. Their last album is from the live show of their final performance.

All of these albums stand on their own, and there is no particular order you need to listen to them in. They each contain characters and places from classic stories, putting unique sci-fi spins on them all and following queer narratives. I'd say bury your gays, but honestly, it's more like bury your gays and the entire planet they lived on, along with everything they ever held dear.

here's a summary of each, stolen from the mechs blurbs themselves:

Once Upon a Time (In Space)-

This tale tells of those embroiled in the rebellion against the tyrant of New Constantinople, Old King Cole. It tells of the love of Cinders for her captured Rose, of the treatment of Rose at the hands of Cole's genetic scientists, and of the bold but savage leadership of the rebel General Snow. And it tells of the final fates of all of these.

fairy tale but make it a rebellion. their first album, contains many of their most popular songs. solid. not personally one of my favorites, but the one I'm most likely to be listening to a song from on any given day. our boy jack and pump shanty are excellent.

High Noon Over Camelot-

A tale of hope and despair aboard the Fort Galfridian, long lost to the outside world, where the chaos of centuries of solitude has been brought in check at last by the guns of the Pendragon Gang. But the visions of the mad prophet Galahad, and the schemes of the Pendragons' lieutenants Mordred and Gawain, threaten to cast the station back into anarchy. And all the while, the Sun grows hotter...

arthurian legend has just become a space westerner in which everyone rides motorcycles and a fiery death threatens them all. haven't listened to it yet, but I've heard great things. Blood and Whiskey is a banger, and Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere are in a polycule, something I didn't know I needed until I heard it suggested.

Ulysses Dies At Dawn-

Ulysses Dies at Dawn. That's the word on the street, at any rate, if you talk to anyone who saw what went down at Calypso's Bar the other night. Who is behind the thuggish band known as the Suits - Heracles, Ariadne and the others? What is Ulysses's secret? And what is hidden within the security of the Vault?

I'm going to be completely honest with you. I think this is no-contest their best album. It's greek mythology in noir film style, with heavy usage of blues and rock. I don't even like blues, but I love each and every song. This one is also a little easier to follow than the others. I'd recommend starting here.

The Bifrost Incident-

The Bifrost Incident. Any schoolchild could tell you about it. The fall of the old order; two hundred years of Asgardian hubris come together in a single epoch-defining event. The maiden voyage of a train through the stars, vanished without a trace...

Remember how I think the last one was the best one? Well, this is still my favorite. Norse mythology framed as a mystery on a train, with a twist completely out of left field that leaves you reeling. Thus, it is probably the most difficult to follow, or at least, it was for me. The art you liked-which wasn't mine, unfortunately, credit to the artists is on the post if you want to check those blogs out-featured variations of the narrator from this album. let's just say I'm. not so normal about them.

well. ANYWAYS. this was...probably longer than what you wanted. Or than what I should have given. I don't get asks a lot and an excuse to talk about the mechanisms is always something I am willing to abuse.

If you do end up listening to any of their music, please tell me what you think! I'd love to hear it, and it's always nice to talk about them with someone else :)

[slashthrashandcrash]

Okay, I had to go see what JedMEg was for myself and now I'm hooked. Can you talk more about them? Like does Meg ever find out the truth and how she reacts, for example?

I had to go digging for the last ask (here) about them just to remember where I left off in my insane ramblings lmao

So my original idea for this AU was that there is no fog, meaning once the Jed Olsen cover is purposely blown as per the lore, then it's totally game over, there's no Entity to whisk Danny away from the fall out. But that's part of the problem, isn't it? He's gone and gotten himself a little too attached to what was supposed to be a fake girlfriend, a girlfriend who's in love with a man that doesn't exist rather than the actor playing him.

Normally when he would snag himself a partner to accompany whatever persona he was putting on, Danny would kill them just before he skipped down. That satisfying moment of betrayal in their eyes, the soul crushing realization that everything was a facade, a convenience, that he never even liked them enough to give them a quick death no matter how many sweet "I love you"s he told them prior. As well as just another "fuck you" to the cops and community for how close under their noses he had been all along.

But he can't do that with Meg. He has no idea why, it was never this difficult before, but he's also never felt this way about any partner in general either. Fucking hell, he's really gone and gotten a crush on a pretty little redhead, huh? It doesn't matter, Jed Olsen was never someone who was meant to be around long term, and it's about high time he moves on since eyes are starting to shift towards him a bit. As much as it weirdly twists his heart to abandon Meg and leave her behind with the awful truth of who he really is to come out to the public afterwards, he knows it's for the best. Well...best for himself, anyways. And maybe for her, too, so that she's not entirely caught up in the shitstorm (of course, being the very public girlfriend of the now most wanted suspect in an ongoing murder case isn't going to be an easy ride...)

And Meg is beyond horrified to say the least. She still can't comprehend the entirety of the betrayal, that not only would her boyfriend leave her without a word, but that he would leave her because he was the very same murderer who had been harassing her for weeks! The one he was closely reporting on, the one whose ass Meg would try to kick every time he broke into her home, the one who used to threaten her "boyfriend" when they were in fact the same person. Everything she ever knew about him was a lie while she unfairly shared her whole heart to him. Not only that, but it's near impossible for her to try and imagine sweet, dorky, shy Jed being anything remotely close to a coldhearted killer. He couldn't even open a sauce jar half the time!! And you're telling her he can easily overpower multiple victims and haul their bodies around for sick poses???

Now Jed (?) is still out there, still on the loose, and Meg has no idea what to do. Reporters are hounding her for a statement. Police want to wring her dry for any clues or information that might help. People stare and spread rumors about just how "involved" she might have been from the start. And what if he decides to come back in the end, to tie up the loose end he left behind for whatever reason, is she even safe here anymore? Well, not for long, because that stupid ache in Danny's chest still hasn't subsided...it almost feels like it's gotten worse. It's not remorse or guilt, it's longing. He wants his bunny back, he liked how she felt sleeping in his bed and holding his hand and smiling so perfectly for a candid shot when she wasn't looking.

The dirty laundry has already been aired. They could start fresh, in theory. Whether she wanted to or not.

Although again, this was only the original idea I had when I first started making brainrot. There are so so so many new paths I've ended up concocting for them...if Meg found out Jed was a killer right before he left by catching him in the act or fitting in too many pieces herself...if Meg refused to believe Jed was the killer and was instead framed by Ghostface who she now has to hunt down for answers about Jed's real whereabouts...if they got taken into the fog shortly after that anyways per canon with Meg either not knowing or not believing that Jed is Danny/Ghostface while he keeps up the ruse to avoid her truly hating him (plus the outcome for when Meg does find out the truth while they're stuck in this hellhole)...if they were taken into the fog while he was still Jed and then him having to painfully confess why he was put into the killer camp and having to live with the heartbreak he's trapped her with...

[elionwriter]

Sherlock Holmes the Awakened: a Review

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

Sorry, sorry, sorry, but I just NEED to talk about this game! I have been a Frogwares Holmes fan since the very beginning and 'The Awakened' was always among my favourite titles. Not to mention one of the games that had scared the wits out of me. So I have to speak about the Remake now.

First and foremost, I think it needs to be reiterated that this game was made DURING THE FU****G INVASION OF UKRAINE! During such dark times, the team kept working on this. I would have supported this game even just for this reason alone.

Now, let's be honest: Frogwares never had the most marvelous graphics nor the most polished of gameplays and this entry is not an exception. I still feel the map system is a bit difficult to navigate (I may be an idiot, but I had the same issue with Chapter 1) but I really appreciated the added help the game gives you when you're recreating a scene, letting you know which passage you got wrong. Last game I found myself changing everything trying to hit the right combination so I really liked this fix.

This needs to be said: the game doesn't feel under any shape or form a product for a new fan. Everything from dialogues to game mechanics sort of take for granted that you've at least played 'chapter one'. Honestly? I'm ok with this, I hate having to always go through nearly identical tutorial stages for games I know inside out (like Pokémon) and I believe that most of not all people who are going to get this game ARE old fans!

I wasn't originally a big fan of the new Holmes and Watson models when the last game came out but....I dunno, they have grown on me. I find myself liking them now for, I suppose, no other reason than 'they are very expressive' and 'I've gotten used to them'. I think it's gotten to the point that these might be my favourite models of the two to date. Please ignore how fickle I am! (In honesty, just to draw a similar parallel, when Roger Craig Smith was first announced as Sonic's voice I hated it and now he's my fav Sonic v. actor)

This game has something.....compared to its predecessor, that makes it less scary. I can't really put my finger on it, but I distinctly remember the feeling of claustrophobia building in me when I was in the Black Edelweiss. Or the sheer jumpscare I got when the sacrificed American detective on the altar had tentacles coming out of it and severing his head making it roll to the ground. I remember almost not wanting to paddle the rowboat under the tree of hanging men in the Bayou. I remember how viscerally sick I felt at the lighthouse by all the gore and blood depicted. This time round.....I just didn't. I'm honestly not sure why this didn't hit me nearly as hard as its 2006 predecessor did!

And talking about comparisons, one thing I'm a bit disappointed they didn't grab the chance to do in this remake was fix the loose ends that were left hanging in the 2006 version. I mean....they still abandoned completely the search for that one Maori servant, what happened to all the people they managed to rescue? Who hired the private American detective that was killed? Why give out the cheap pendants? I know I'm a bit dumb and need extra explaining than what is necessarily needed but...I can't be the only one right? Sometimes you want to be told just a bit more.

Now, getting into the really good bits, that make all of it worth it!

'Chapter One' acted as a 'de facto' reboot of the Frogwares Holmes series, and I honestly think that was for the best. I don't really see where they could have gone with things after 'Devil's Daughter' and their Holmes had changed too much to be the same guy from 'The Silver Earring'...let alone Watson. But like this? They have a fresh, clean slate to start off from and they can rebuild the two mains' relashionship and lore from the ground up in a more strictly consequential manner. And the way they are doing it? I think it's state of the art!

The fact that they poke fun at themselves on certain points like Watson stating: "What about when you used to roll up only one of your sleeves? Did you get bored halfway through?!" I think the Devs themselves realized this was a cringe design choice and I like that they said so out loud.

The meta-conversation they wrote in towards the end, 'because yes, this HAS Happened before and the story still has the same outcome', is brilliant. I don't think I've ever seen another remake that acknowledges that it is a remake, and in the general madness that is mounting in the narrative this makes perfect sense! It adds one more layer of horror and inexplicable to the tale. The villain's warning 'that the Final Problem is coming and Sherlock will fall in the abyss too' is such a powerful way to use Canon. The prophecy is only made more real and dreadful by the fact that this person is aware of what has already happen in a similar but different scenario!

Also, not them using that one quote from 'The Valley of Fear' novel which happens to be one of my all time favourites!

I say, Watson,’ he whispered, ‘would you be afraid to sleep in the same room as a lunatic, a man with softening of the brain, an idiot whose mind has lost its grip?’ ‘Not in the least,’ I answered in astonishment. 'Ah, that’s lucky,’ he said, and not another word would he utter.

I think the thing that has most benefited from the Remake is Watson's character. Compared to the 2006 version, this Watson is a truly compelling character in his own right and this time round he's not just along for the ride. In this version, you simply cannot imagine how Holmes would have done it on his own. Watson was in every way a key component to the solution of the problem and the reason why Holmes didn't drown in madness. That point is driven home by Rochester asking 'How did you defeat me?' and Holmes answering 'I made a friend!'

Much of the narrative in the game was focused on Holmes truly learning to accept Watson's friendship and him as a person when he was still clinging so much to his old imaginary friend. You can see how, at first, Holmes refuses to be honest with the Doctor about what he thinks and feels and it's only as they move forward in the adventure that they both open up to each other. You can see as the adventure progresses that Holmes shifts his desperate cries from 'Jon' to 'Watson' to 'John' and the Doctor goes more and more often from 'Holmes' to 'Sherlock'. Mycroft also points this out when he says that Sherlock 'went from one Jon to another'. But this one, John Watson, is real and there to stay. In the context of a story that happens mostly in the detective's mind, Watson's friendship is really what turns the situation around!

I could add of little tid bits which were so random and on the nose that somehow worked, like the possessed 'Heidi' doll or the fact that you had to actually 'Kill Holmes' with the booby traps instead of avoiding them.

Also, "The director Guygax was randomly killed.....by a doll?!????!?!?! Yeah, let's just walk out of here no questions asked. That's too deep a wormhole even for this f***d up Adventure to go down. I'm sure nobody is gonna ask us questions, suspect or stop us as we go out the main doors!" 😃 -Holmes, probably.

So, yeah, I loved this game despite it not being perfect and my love and support goes to Frogwares more that ever!

[luthinks]

Lack of nuanced conversation around Rafayel

(Bit of a rant, which i posted on reddit, but wanted to share here as well 🙈)

This is just sort of a rant incoming, might contain some spoilers for Rafayel's myths, anecdotes and main story appearance, so please proceed at your discretion ...

Recently I feel like the conversation around Rafayel has gone from him being "bratty" to him being a "murderer" ... The thing that pesters me is, it's always one or the other with these discussions ...

This is just my opinion but I don't think that either of those "personas" are fake. I don't think he's being silly to hide that he has murdered people in the past or that he has some other sinister plans for the future. As I see it, when he is genuinely happy, the silly part of his personality comes out ... The whimsical way he approaches life, he isn't faking that either. Those emotions are also genuine, his dedication towards art all of those are a part of his personality ... Him acting cute and clingy for affection is also not a front because he actually yearns for MC's affection ...

And when it comes to how he has murdered people, I think a lot of nuance is omitted while mentioning that. He isn't going around killing people for the fun of it ... The underlying pain and the years of harm endured by lemurians at the hands of people he goes after aren't talked about enough ... Sure killing humans is messed up, but he has to, for protecting his people who he has failed multiple times who are still being attacked by the said humans ...

"He hates humans". Sure, he says so. But as we have seen, from his anecdotes, he genuinely appreciates his students while he was teaching. Gives inputs that would actually help them. From his cards, he repairs sculpture that means so much to a village. Is definitely cordial to most of the people he comes across... The only time he shows negative emotions towards regular humans is when he talks about their greed or taking for granted the things he finds fascinating ... At his core he's an inquisitive child, who is just fascinated with everything around him ...

Can you imagine a Rafayel, if he wasn't traumatised with everything he had to go through, how he would be, like a ray of sunshine going around experiencing the wonders of human world. Which he was so eager to explore as a child, raising his hand over ocean surface half scared, going around collecting human trinkets ...

Thing is Rafayel is a very layered character. It isn't one or the other with him, all his character traits co-exist. Bitter lemurian who is cynical about how humans are "bad", whimsical lemurians who gets excited by experiencing rain. Is scared or cats, calls them monsters ... Gets attached to one, takes care of it and calls her heartless when she forgets him after getting adopted ... Full of contradictions, this guy, but that's the beauty of him ... And getting to know him ...

And also it is very understated how difficult of a choice he has to make every single time when he choses to save MC's life over lemurians ... I guess the gravity of it can be explained by placing yourself at his position where you have to kill your lover or your entire family, everyone you have known since you were born, dies. I don't know how one recovers from that... And he had to make that decision multiple times ... How hard must it be for him to face the lemurians who are alive but being hunted for their life ... Or how after everything, the one who he mad the sacrifice for, doesn't even remember him ... He knows it's not her fault, but still how can you not hold a grudge after that ... It's all just contradictions with this guy

Well, that's about it. I was just a bit (maybe a lot 😅) bothered about the lack of context when it comes to these discussions. I have seen his lore being dismissed as something "not as painful" as the others and that's simply not just true ... Yeah he gets to be with MC (dubiously unfinished myth says) but at what cost!

Okay I'm done now 🙈

P.S. Cute Rafayel and Serious "Serial Killer" Rafayel both co-exist, neither is more real than the other.