#but that’s true of immortal and mortal characters alike

[harbingerofsoup]

starting to think that iwtv fans don’t know what endgame means

like y’all know that just means a ship is together at the end of the series, right? right?

oh but i hear you cry out “they’re immortal so we can’t say they’ll be together forever”

so that’s actually true of mortal characters too, which is why, again, an endgame ship means that the characters are together by the end of a narrative

[owlghosts9]

I find that the idea of respect is something that is brought up a lot in PJO. So I made a list of the three types I see and the characters that mostly appear with them.

Parental respect. This is the most common one, that usually has an almost blind follower feel to it. My main example of this is Annabeth’s complete devotion to Athena, giving respect only to people who Athena respects, like Zeus, and not giving any respect to people Athena disrespects, like Ares and Medusa, or to people Athena doesn’t express much of an opinion on, like Hermes. This also can apply to Clarisse doing whatever she can to impress a father who clearly doesn’t like her, or Thalia fighting in the name of a father who turned her into a tree to “save her” when he could have truly saved her life. But I think the clearest version of this is with Ethan Namakura and the way that he is willing to give up an eye and fight for a titan just because Camp Half-Blood didn’t respect Nemesis. He sees his sacrifice as something small if it means that he will bring that respect to both his and his mother’s name.  

Respect by choice. This is something that is a very defining trait for Percy, especially in the TV show, and it is one of the main parallels he has with Luke. Percy chooses who he wants to give his respect to, and he decides who deserves it and when. He chooses to disrespect Zeus, Ares, and Poseidon, at least until his father earns it. He chooses to respect Medusa, despite the rivalry between her and Poseidon, in a way that Annabeth can’t seem to understand with her black-and-white sight of the world. This is where Luke comes in, because he too had Percy’s view of the gods, giving respect to only those he thought deserved it. He didn’t give any to Hermes, who abandoned his son and his son’s mother, and didn’t answer his “favourite child” when he called. He didn’t give any to Zeus, who rather than saving Luke’s first friend’s life, turned her into a tree. But, in a way, Luke also had Annabeth’s black-and-white thought process, in thinking that if things weren’t good now, they must have been good then, and choosing to respect someone worse than the gods, Kronos

The third and rarest version of respect is respect for none or all. We see this mostly in two people: Jason Grace and Percy Jackson. Percy and Jason are compared a lot by the narrative, and though they are very alike, it’s this that truly shows their differences. When Percy rejected immortality, it was seen as a rejection of the gods, which in a way is true. Percy found comfort in his mortality and his demigod-ness, giving more respect to his kind and less respect to theirs. He thought the best way to solve the problem was for the gods to honor their children so no more ended up like Luke. However, Jason thinks that what the gods need is more respect, and that if they receive more of it from demigods, they will be more likely to notice and help them, in the way you pay more attention to someone who pays more attention to you

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

ik youre not a lore blog but, for obvious reasons, you seem both well versed in both lore and fandom memes so you seem a decent person to ask. Do word bearers actually love or worship daemons like the memes say? Because the lore I've read states that the WB view daemons as beneath them, except maybe greater daemons, because the WB view themselves as the greatest and most true of the chaos gods followers. But such a prevalent view of them in the fandom must come from somwehere right?

So, while there is obviously differentiation between Word Bearer groups, the general way it works is that they worship, love and venerate the gods and the gods’ will above all else. They have no compunctions about enslaving, binding and/or generally mistreating daemons in order to further the agenda of chaos (and further their own agendas). The chaos gods are fine with this. In fact, the knowledge on how to imprison and utilise daemons largely comes from the gods. The gods are completely okay with their servants (mortal and immortal alike) fighting each other, because it all feeds them. Rarely will they not approve of it.

So, take all that information, and now add to it that the Word Bearers are a supremely cruel, elitist bunch, and you see that you will basically never find a Word Bearer who actually likes a daemon enough to even consider worshipping it.

Which is not to say that Word Bearers can’t appreciate or respect daemons of a certain level or character, of course, but it sure as shit isn’t commonplace. The gods alone are divine. Everything else is a stepping stone so that the Word Bearers might be closer to them.

[raptor-tooth]

Finally got my girl Lovita a ref (and thus a solid human design too!)

Some lore dumping below the cut!

Lovita is a mockerie like some of my other characters. A shapeshifter, a mimic, and a parasite that has to subsist on energy drained from other living things. Unlike most of them, Lovita in particular tries the hardest of my mockerie characters to retain her humanity.

Lovita Gosse, also known as Councilor Gosse or Madame Gosse, is a human born mockerie who was raised in poverty in the underbelly of Starwick. While mockeries there live in secret, only revealing their nature in the shadows and being hard to spot amongst the human population, Lovita was practically born into their fold. Her mother was a human in the employ of one of the older mockerie faction leaders and Lovita eventually followed in her mother's footsteps. Both her and her mother worked as servants for the nobility of the city, cleaners and nannies and such jobs, by day while acting as the eyes and ears of the mockerie in charge of the district they lived in secretly.

Long story short, Lovita climbed the ranks to get into the inner circle and took a grab for power where she saw it, giving up her humanity for the promise of wealth and power eventually. A decision partly out of selfishness, partly self-sacrifice to provide a better life for her mother as the woman aged and was no longer able to do the hard work she had always had to do to keep fed and housed. A decision she would be haunted with regret for the next few hundred years of her life as it simply dragged on, immortality being far more than she originally bargained for.

Lovita nowadays is the councilor of the lower seaside district of Starwick. She runs a brothel called the Oleander that is frequented by both sailors and nobility, visitors and those who have lived in the city their whole lives, immortals and mortal beings alike. It is presented as a tavern and inn, serving alcohol and food downstairs while the rooms upstairs can be rented by the hour. Plenty of rumors of exotic delights, something or someone for everyone's taste.

Its the most public and suspected mockerie nest in the city, the tales of people being devoured for disrespecting the women working there being plenty... but to most they're just stories. You would think that might be an obvious target for the hunters in the city... if the hunters weren't under the thumb of another council member and Lovita's estranged half-brother, Alandride. Sure, the hunters know of the Oleander being a nest... but going right there would be a death sentence. Proper preparation for an assault on the Oleander would require an amount of force that could not possibly stay a secret and take out far too many humans in the process. After all, Madame Gosse is the only faction leader to actively invite mortal beings into her fold and treat them as her own.

Whether the information the hunters have on her and her faction is true or an exaggeration by Alan to keep her safe, nobody really knows. How many mockeries reside in the lower seaside district is a well guarded secret and Lovita likes to keep it that way, training new mockerie spawn in secret until they are able to perfectly blend in.

Lovita herself is big in personality and size. A tall and well filled out woman, but also a mockerie with a true form near maximum size for the species at 20ft long from nose to tail. She's a flirtatious and loud woman who makes a show of her public appearance. In private its more of an act, showing a softer side toward her inner circle and the mortal beings she has under her protection. She feels as if she is a shepherd to a flock of lambs at times, most of her inner circle consisting of younger mortals and younger mockeries. Definitely a mom friend and a helicopter mom at that, even as she does need to send them out and put them in danger in order to maintain her spy network through the city.

Out of all the faction leaders, she has the most information and scope of the mortal world around them. She practically serves as a spymaster for the council with those under her being her eyes and ears as she once was for the council member she replaced.

Vivarium AU: This ref features her Vivarium casual outfit in particular, far more fitting of a fantasy adventurer than the dresses and jewelry she would normally have. Within Vivarium she's settled into as familiar of a role as she could manage: running a legitimate inn. There she runs the Warren as a low cost inn from a building she painstakingly rebuilt from a half burnt down old building in the ruins of some old village.

So far in Vivarium she's managed to get herself pretty attached to one or two mortals and immortals once again. Not quite as useful of an inner circle as back home but she's no less of a mom friend to them either.

With her lack of eyes and ears around, she keeps as much of an eye out on all sorts of public communication, rumors, gossip, and whatever information she can glean from anyone she runs into. She's become quite nosy without much to keep her busy.

[hollowayhqs]

CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: Maryam de'Vitari

Age: 397 (appears to be be 25) Gender: cis-woman Pronouns: she/her Species: fae Face claim: Naomi Scott Character Occupation: spy / Barrista Neighbourhood of residence: Amethyst Ridge Affiliation: Fae Court Length of stay in Holloway: appeared out of nowhere a week ago

Character summary

Maryam always heard that mankind had many stories about Fae. Fairy-godmothers who helped those in distress, wicked witches who stole innocent babies and tricked travelers that stumbled too close to their mounds. She knows, she herself belongs to the later kind.

At Fae Court Maryam filled many roles. Lady in Waiting, spy, assassin if needed. She lived a life far from peaceful close to the queen and she has sharpened her wits with every day.

But her life was not always like that. Maryam grew up on stories about the mortal world, similar to those told on the other side of the veil. But in the stories her mother, survivor of the very first witch hunts, told her and her younger brother every night before bed, mortals were the wicked ones, stealing babies and burning powerful women.

Her brother was fascinated with those stories, with the world on the other side of the veil. He dreamed of the day he could cross over, do a grande tour like so many before him, and explore a world full of wonders. Maryam still remembers the day she last spoke to him, the day he disappeared. An entire decade passed, the blink of an eye in the life of a fae and though many search parties returned with empty hands Maryam was sure of what had happened – her brother was taken by mortals, kidnapped to the other side of the veil.

Maryam had now reached the age of a fae teenager and when the opportunity arose to join the Wolf Guard, an elite group of warriors under the leadership of Matoc Mac Tíre she joined them without hesitation, travelling to the mortal world to hunt werewolves and witch hunters alike. And to find her brother in the process.

What Maryam found was true love, a mortal witch that held her heart in her hands of gentle strength, promising a new life of peace and prosperity. But the hunters were always after those with magic, and the guard now held her loyalty. So to save her lover from the fires Mari broke one of the greatest rule of fae: She taught her immortal magic.

Before her trespassing was found out the Queen of Fae closed the veil in 1666 and Maryam was now locked in the fae world with no chance to reach her lover or find her brother. But the Wolf Guard rose up in ranks swiftly and soon they were bodyguards and close companions to the queen. Her own reputation grew with that of her brother's in arms and she is now the nightmare fae mothers tell their children about.

As soon as the Queen told her of her plans to open the veil again Maryam volunteered to travel into the mortal world, not with the official group, but as a spy - always playing both sides. While the rest of the wolf guard stayed behind Maryam doned the mask of an innocent young girl and stepped foot into Holloway, searching for both the one she calls family as well as the other half of her torn up heart.

Now Maryam is ready to face whatever challenge this new world may offer her, determined to survive and find her brother she is ready to grow, to change like a snake shedding its skin. And her bite can be just as venomous. In her own world fellow fae have learned to fear her as a powerful war general, with even stronger magic. She can be ruthless, emotionless, calculating even. And she is not above hiding in the shadows to get what she wants and those mortals that dare stand in her way will soon learn that simple fact. Without balance, power is chaos and chaos is destruction.

[abookishdreamer]

Character Intro: Ersa (Kingdom of Ichor)

Nickname- Dewdrop by her parents

Age- 10 (immortal)

Location- Elis, Olympius

Personality- She has a strong sense of independence, often being the go-between her older & younger sisters. She's very sociable and views her friendships as important as her sibling relationships. There's a certain rebellious streak she tries to keep hidden.

She has the standard abilities of a goddess except shapeshifting. As the goddess of morning dew her other powers/abilities include limited lunakinesis (moonlight manipulation), limited dawn manipulation, limited umbrakinesis, and dew generation/manipulation. She's also able to see in total darkness.

Ersa lives in the state of Elis (which is about four hours away from New Olympus) with her steadily growing family at their breathtaking & secluded moonstone mansion estate- complete with their own farm of sheep! A few of the older children (including her) are lucky enough to have a room of their own.

Her bedroom is painted in pastel tones of lavender, silver, mint, & blue with large iridescent stickers of clouds, stars, and moons covering the walls & ceiling. There are sheer silver satin and silk curtains adorning the windows, her large ultra bouncy bed as well as her beloved humidifier. She also has an extensive collection of various stuffed plushies! She also has the glamour doll collectible of her mom.

A true middle child, Ersa is the oldest of the first set of identical triplets born to her parents Selene (Titaness of the moon) & Endymion (a mortal man). Ersa was first, followed by her sisters Helena (goddess of the eclipse) and Iola. The three of them are as close as any group of triplets. Of course as babies their mother used to dress them alike up until a few years ago when Ersa vocalized their need to establish their own separate identities by dressing differently.

As a gift for her seventh birthday she recieved a "dewdrop" style necklace from her mother which she always wears.

With the family being overrun by women & young girls (25 sisters so far...), Ersa sometimes feels overlooked by her parents and older sisters with being lost in the hustle. It would be fair to say that she feels closer to her identical siblings compared to the whole lot. Ersa thinks that her eldest sister Pandia (goddess of the full moon) takes the role of being the oldest far too seriously. She also feels as though she has to compete for any scrap of attention- especially from her father since he's often not present in the family, with a lot of the parental responsibilities falling onto her mother.

A go-to drink for her is a blueberry lychee boba tea. She also likes mint flavored sparkling water, ginger ale, lemon-lime soda, iced hibiscus tea (that her dad makes), blueberry juice, & pearl jasmine tea (that her father brews; served hot). She also likes the chocolate brownie milkshake from The Frozen Spoon.

Ersa is an early riser, almost always waking up around 4 in the morning. She enjoys the few hours of quiet to herself- brewing tea, spending some time with the sheep before catching up on some reading by climbing onto her mother's chariot (in storage) with a thick blanket.

She loves snacking on cucumber slices & blueberries!

Ersa's well aware of her esteemed familial background on her mother's side. Her grandparents are Hyperion (Titan god of heavenly light) and Theia (Titaness of sight & heavenly light). Her uncle is Helios (Titan god of the sun) & she always look forward to the visits from her aunt Eos (Titaness of dawn). She's aware of her cousins Phaethusa, Lampetia, and Circe (goddess of sorcery), but hasn't hung out with them enough to truly know them.

Her "Titi" Theia gave her an exquisite gift for the Summer Solstice- a pair of "dewdrop" style diamond earrings that she designed!

She's a fifth grader currently on break from school. Her best friends are Calleis (goddess of allurement), Eulabeia (goddess of caution), Melete (goddess of thought & meditation), and Aidos (goddess of shame, modesty, humility, & respect). Lunch, recess, afterschool, and sleepover are the opportunities for the friends to hang out. There's also the fourth grader Xenia (goddess of hospitality) that Ersa is friendly with as well as the third graders Myrízei (god of smell & gases), Caerus (god of opportunity & luck), Hebe (goddess of youth), Prophasis (goddess of excuses), Mneme (goddess of remembrance), Paidia (goddess of play & amusement), Aceso (goddess of healing), and Physis (goddess of nature).

Her favorite classes in school includes dance, literature, & science.

A notable experience for Ersa was when she hosted her first official slumber party a few weeks ago! All the girls wore color coordinating satin pajamas, they did homemade blueberry oatmeal face masks, pigged out on mushroom & black olive pizzas (her favorite toppings), caramel popcorn, and cookies n' cream sundaes & even took a ride on her mom's moon chariot before falling asleep under the brilliant light of the full moon in the backyard.

Ersa takes lessons for playing the flute, ballet, tap dancing as well as syrtaki and kathak styles of dancing (the latter being taught by her aunt).

She's excited about going to the upcoming wedding of her aunt and Astraeus (Titan god of dusk). Keeping the secrets of the engagement and wedding has been one of the hardest things she ever did!

In the pantheon Ersa instinctively dislikes the King of the Gods & Olympius, Zeus (god of the sky, thunder, & lightning), for what he did to her father.

She admires his daughter Artemis (goddess of the hunt & moon) as well as Thalia (muse of comedy), The Hyades, Urania (muse of astronomy), The Pleiades, and one of her mom's good friends Hesychia (goddess of quiet, stillness, rest, & silence).

A guilty pleasure for her are chicken nuggets from Olympic Chef. She'll usually get the 20 piece with sweet n' sour dipping sauces.

Even though she doesn't wear makeup, Ersa is a fan of rubbing shimmery pastel silver eyeshadow on her eyelids & glitter lip gloss on her lips.

Her favorite desserts include her dad's rizogalo, her Titi's malpua (with its tasty honey drizzle), her aunt's mangalore buns (banana puri), and her mom's jalebi.

In her free time Ersa enjoys a range of activities & hobbies like watching TV, swimming, archery, embroidery, going to the movies, reading, bike riding, football (soccer), knitting, horseback riding, pottery, and drawing.

Some of her favorite meals include her dad's pastitsio with potato salad & her mom's biryani with naan and tomato-chili chutney.

"Only stars can understand the depth of moonlight."

[arttrampbelle]

Ok huge vent ahead.

Cw:vent

If you dont wanna read vents or hear me being pissed at NRS and some fans. Plz scroll. Plz ignore. Thank you.

Srry your fave being edenian,a lover of that particular part of mk lore. Really don't make you special. In fact it makes you look like a haughty asshole.

Look they are great. Dont get me wrong. But.....acting like they are the best,greatest shit since sliced bread is kinda irritating.

Especially recent iterations of that part of the lore. Urgh .

That was supposed to be a mysterious and not in the forefront of mk. The forefront being the tournament itself.

The realms are a minor background flavor.

And there is more realms than "eDeNia" a small part in outworld (which is huge and made up of other smaller realms btw) and earthrealm.

Plusno offence. Kitana isn't you special uwu princess. She is a warrior and heir to a kingdom first and foremost.

It isn't some dumb western biblical story. That pisses me off. Idgaf what nrs is feeding y'all.

To me i would rather take it more as eastern myths and legends n beliefs of heaven,the nine immortals,mythos,etc

Because im sick of y'all thinking eurocentric shit when it comes to asian cultures. Even fictional based ones.

Like idgaf if edenia isn't based on one group or is fictional. The fact y'all defult to Christian-europian type of religious imagery is disturbing.

Like if we dont get enough implications in canon that edenia was colonized.

Like srsly tho. I'm kinda sick of some peoples stupid hot takes on kitana. Like my girl is asian. Deal with it!!! Mileena is her cloned sister. Also asian.

Sindel? Asian. Shao kahn? Part Dragon AND ASIAN! Maybe Mongolian if you wanna be specific.

Hell even the shokan can be asian cultures based. They are part dragon. No not the "typical" western European dragon. (Sick of people thinking that thats the only kind)

Jade? A beautiful dark skinned Indian woman, WHICH IS ALSO ASIAN BTW!

Skarlet? She is half edenian,so part maybe part asian. Either way. I want edenia to be a hodgepodge of ALL asian cultures and based mythos. Because fuck you,we need more positive asian cultures representations thats why!

Nor is it palatable or likeable in a story. It's 3rd grade lvls of writing to a point where i find better shit on wattpad then in canon. some fans(not all) dont help the matter.

Like they could be done so much better. The characters within that part of mk could be done so much more justice. And make it less nauseatingly and eyerollingly typical.

I wont apologize for being pissed. Because it is a problem. And has always been a problem in mk. 30yrs and they continue to ignore it. Fans and game writers alike.

But like can't edenians be better? Like making them like elves or the "special people" isn't good writing nor is it likable.

It's boring and making them mary sues of mortal kombat isn't helping. Like nothing was corrupt before shao kahn? Bullshit. Yiy know damn well there was. They aint pretty perfect. So stop acting like they were or are. Its not realistic even for a FANTASY world! Like canon and fans alike do not write world buliding very well. I know,i know what you're gonna say. "But thats not the point of mortal kombat,its a fighting game" yes true. But it established lore and a story for years and then took a huge dump on it because $$$. And fans buy into it anyways because they dont actually wanna properly give a critique where it is needed. And if we are gonna actually call out the bullshit,and the bigotry,and the sexism. ACTUALLY CALL IT OUT WHERE IT IS. AND ACTUALLY ADDRESS THE ISSUES. you can still love mk,WHILE ALSO calling out the crap that the company nrs,boon,and the writers pull.

Look not all fans are like this. Most are great. But it grinds my gears when i meet or see a few that miss the fucking point of why 11's "interpretations" of the characters were so assbackwards. And why it pisses long time fans off

[legion1227]

Tekken 4: Game Review

With Tekken 8 dropping recently, let's look back at Tekken's legacy and one of its more forgotten entries.

When the first Tekken game was released in arcades and home consoles in 1994-95, who knew it would kick off one of the biggest fighting game franchises in the world. Upon Tekken's critical and commercial success, the game would help revolutionize 3D fighting mechanics, helping the fighting series stick out amongst its contemporaries like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. From there, Tekken would further cement itself as one of the best with its sequels, Tekken 2 and 3. Tekken 2 improved on virtually every aspect possible of its predecessor. It refined its visual style, supplied an excellent soundtrack, and added new characters like Jun Kazama, who wouldn't return for a mainline game until the latest entry, Tekken 8. And Tekken 3 managed to do everything Tekken 2 did but to higher levels. A true breakthrough for its time, genre, and series… very few fighting game competitors could match the heights it reached.

Tekken continued to astound with even more sequels and some spinoffs! 2005's Tekken 5 enhanced the gameplay, and the updated version, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, expanded the online experience. 2015's Tekken 7 utilized the power of 8th-generation consoles to make the battles and cutscenes in the story mode more gorgeous than ever. Tekken Tag Tournament 1 and 2 changed the formula by adding two fighters you can pick and switch out during fights, allowing players to fickle around with numerous combinations of teams to figure out what works best. The only dark horses of the Tekken franchise seem to be Tekken 6, with one of the weakest stories and overpowered final bosses in the series, and Tekken 4, the topic for today.

First released in arcades in 2001, then home consoles in 2002, Tekken 4 was not as well received as its predecessors or some of its sequels. What separated Tekken 4 from other entries was its dark, gritty tone in presentation and story. While the other games feature fantastical fighting stages like ancient temples or within a volcano, Tekken 4 leans more realistic with urban settings like a shopping mall or parking garage. Adding to the realism was the introduction of walled stages. In the previous entries, your character and opponent could wander endlessly without anything stopping you, but Tekken 4 introduced layouts and interactable scenery.

Tekken 4 is notable for bringing back multiple established characters like Kazuya, Heihachi, and Jin Kazama, among others, but even more so for its six new characters. These include Christie Monteiro, a friend of Eddy Gordo, also introduced in Tekken 3, who has a similar play style to him, Combot, a robot who can mimic other characters' fighting styles, Craig Marduk, a jacked Vale Tudo fighter, Miharu, a friend of Ling Xiaoyu who was also introduced in Tekken 3, boxer Steve Fox, and Tekken original Lee Choalan's alter-ego, Violet.

With new and old characters alike, the story is set. Two years after the events of Tekken 3, Heihachi Mishima and his team of scientists captured samples of blood and tissue from Ogre, the monster his grandson Jin Kazama killed years ago. The scientists and Heihachi wanted to splice Ogre's specimen with Heihachi's genome, hoping to make him immortal. Unfortunately for him, the experiment fails since Heihachi lacks the Devil Gene. Heihachi then concocts a plan to lure out Jin and Kazuya Mishima, the two harborers of the Devil Gene, by announcing the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 4. The plot works as Jin and Kazuya are successfully lured and ambushed by Heihachi's Tekken forces. Intersectional fights occur aplenty, as Heihachi fights his son, Kazuya, and his grandson, Jin, and even Jin and Kazuya battle each other. Ultimately, Heihachi fails to bring his plan to fruition despite all the familial infighting. Elsewhere, the rest of the Tekken cast are involved in their own endeavors, either comedic or dramatic. All characters' stories follow a similar format: you select your desired character, a gritty, sketchy art style appears which shows still images with text over as a narrator details what's happening with that exact character, you fight several opponents before facing final boss Heihachi only to receive more sketchy art without narration, and a final CG minute long ending sequence to show what happens with your selected character.

Through this style of storytelling, you get the full story between Heihachi, Kazuya, and Jin. With the other characters, you get entertaining sequences such as Steve Fox discovering Nina is his mother or Kuma the bear signing legal documents. Tekken's arcade storytelling was always one of the most engaging aspects of the franchise, and it's no different in this entry. It's actually one of the few ways Tekken 4 surpasses a superior game like Tekken 7, which lacked compelling single-player-focused stories on certain characters.

But while Tekken 4 doesn't lack too much in story, it does somewhat in gameplay. Where Tekken 5 or 7 has fast-paced action during fights, Tekken 4 feels much slower. Movements with each character feel more sluggish and clunky than its successors. As a 3D fighter, it's not a great sign if trying to sidestep, crouching, or even jumping, feeling a tad difficult to pull off.

I also want to note that Tekken 4 had a beat-em-up mode titled Tekken Force. Tekken Force was first a minigame introduced in Tekken 3 before reappearing in this iteration, where you control any character and fight through numerous soldiers in a few given stages before fighting a boss. It's a fun side mode different enough from the other modes in the game that's worth dabbling in a bit.

"Worth dabbling in a bit" is also how I would describe Tekken 4 as a whole. Going through each individual's story campaign was an entertaining romp. Every fighting game should have character endings akin to this. The Tekken Force mode is also fun for a small bit. The gameplay is only lacking in comparison to other games in the franchise, but on its own, it can still make for pleasant casual play amongst friends. It's a shame this 20+-year-old game is locked to the PS2, but if you can somehow get your hands on a version of the game, I recommend playing for at least a little bit to see how Tekken 8 has come such a long way.

3.5/5. It's one of the weaker Tekken entries, but it's still a decent fighting game.

[fatekissed]

*    20 : 30．LOG ⵌ 02 :    21st of june, 2023.

CHARACTERS﹕verosika，aphrodite，& alaric．

WORDS﹕428 words，2627 character．

WARNINGS﹕none．

as the goddess of love，aphrodite radiated unparalleled beauty，captivating all those who gazed upon her．her love affairs with both mortals and gods alike were legendary，but none compared to the magical union that led to the birth of her demigod daughter．

in the idyllic city of santorini，nestled along the shores of a shimmering sea，aphrodite beheld alaric，a mortal poet whose verses stirred the hearts of all who heard them．enthralled by his talent and captivated by his soulful expression of love，aphrodite descended from mount olympus to meet alaric in person．

on a moonlit evening，aphrodite，veiled in mortal guise，encountered alaric as he recited his passionate verses by the water’s edge．their eyes met，and an electric connection sparked between them，fanning the flames of love and desire．

alaric，unaware of aphrodite’s true identity，was drawn to her ethereal beauty and the enchanting aura that surrounded her．they spent countless hours together，sharing thoughts，dreams，and the profound depths of their hearts．

as their love deepened，aphrodite revealed her divine nature to alaric，disclosing her identity as the goddess of love．overwhelmed yet entranced，alaric marveled at the immense privilege bestowed upon him—a mortal man，chosen by a goddess as her beloved．

their love blossomed，and in a moment of divine union，aphrodite and alaric conceived a child—a demigod daughter destined to embody the harmonious fusion of love，beauty，and poetic brilliance．

months passed，and the time for their daughter’s birth approached．aphrodite，accompanied by alaric，sought the guidance of the fates，the ancient weavers of destiny，to ensure the safety and prosperous future of their child．

in a secluded grove bathed in golden light，the fates wove their tapestry of destiny for the demigod child．they blessed her with the gifts of poetic inspiration，an ethereal beauty that would captivate all who beheld her，and an innate understanding of the power of love．

with the fates’ blessings，under the watchful eyes of the gods and with alaric by her side，aphrodite brought forth their daughter into the mortal realm．the air crackled with energy as the child emerged，her cry echoing through the heavens．the newborn child radiated a celestial light，her delicate features a reflection of aphrodite’s timeless beauty and alaric’s mortal grace．

the birth of verosika marked a union of mortal and divine，an embodiment of love’s power and the artistry of words．the island of santorini rejoiced，as did the gods，for a new demigod had entered the world，destined to leave her mark upon both mortal and immortal realms．

— to be continued

[thesorcererspen]

About Me

Hello,

I am TheSorcerer'sPen. Some just call me SP. Either is fine. Writing has always been a passion of mine since childhood. I graduated a few years ago with a degree in writing & rhetoric, but I've never been brave enough to share anything online. My fiance and best friend have both encouraged me to put myself out there more, so I wanted to start by introducing myself to the writing community here.

I am a lover of fantasy, sci-fi, mythology, and crime stories. I am also obsessed with manga/anime, especially HunterxHunter, Naruto, and Jujutsu Kaisen. My favorite book of all time is Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Game of Thrones and Dune are both in my top five favorite books of all time. I am not a huge fan of romance stories, but I love stories with well-written romance subplots. Action scenes are fun, but I am here for the great dialogue and character interactions. Internal conflict is seriously underrated.

I am a huge history and mythology buff, so much of my writing is inspired by these two things. I love writing dark fantasy stories and exploring themes of class, power structures, dysfunctional families, friendship, forbidden love, angst, etc. But, really, I just get such great joy from creating my worlds and creating characters that feel alive. My characters become like my imaginary friends.

I want to use this blog to showcase my writing and connect with other writers in the community!

I have two current WIPs listed below.

Traitors of the Nation

Genre: Urban Fantasy

In the nation of Astoria, the cold carves bone deep and its citizens are divided by blood—those with the golden blood type are called the magia, people with super abilities that manifest themselves when the user is thrust into dangerous situations. The noble elite wants to control this power with a class system that ranks its citizens based on the nobility of bloodlines and the usefulness of one’s abilities. Commoners with the golden blood type are forced into labor assignments, and the elite have created a device to suppress the abilities of an individual should they prove to be defiant.

Izan Ashida and Satoshi Nishimura are childhood friends who find themselves on opposite sides. Izan sits among the highest elites, serving as a bounty hunter who does the Crown's bidding, while Satoshi is placed in a lower class and branded a danger to society. War is brewing between the classes, and it has the royal family on edge. Revolution is coming. But when an elite military officer orders Satoshi be executed for treason Izan must confront a past he was desperate to leave behind and decide where his loyalties truly lie.

The Immortals' Gambit

Genre: High Fantasy/Mythos

Casimir Kozak has lived his life in hiding, afraid of being discovered as a cross-blood in a world where humans struggle as mere mortals and the vampiric hemomancers known as the Zegoshi reign as gods. But the nine immortals are not the only thing to fear.

The Watchers, a highly trained military faction of the Zegoshi, are everywhere. They are tasked with maintaining social order and executing any cross-bloods they encounter. Beyond the wall, there are dragons, violent beasts who are enemies to Zegoshi and humans alike. At least, that’s what he had always been told.

Tired of living within the confinements of the wall and wanting to escape his Zegoshi father, he runs away from home on his eighteenth birthday. But his venture outside the wall proves to be lethal when he has an encounter with a dragon, discovering that the beasts have been disguising themselves among humans.

A rogue Zegoshi intervenes, sweeping Casimir into a world of intrigue and danger. Forced into an alliance with an enigmatic young Watcher captain, the trio embarks on a mission to investigate the surging dragon threat in society. But as he begins to delve deeper into this world, he uncovers hidden truths about humanity’s history with the dragons, the true intentions of the gods, and a prophecy that reveals the role he must play in this deadly game of power and politics.

[merakiui]

Hi hi hi Mera!! I wanna share this one idea i had of the SAGAU that I think no one has written/published(?! I really havent seen anyone write this concept before so--)

Its basically where after the Reader is revealed as the true Creator/God, so everyone is begging for forgiveness and crying and begging and some have even instantly turned on the Imposter and attacked them and forced them onto their knees to make them bow before the true God and

Reader just looks at them, repulsed.

For months theyve been hunting them down like a pest, torturing and degrading them, and now just because a little bit of stardust in their blood they're falling over themselves trying to earn their favor and love? And how easily they turned on the Imposter to. At the very least, if they had remained consistent to the end they wouldnt feel so disgusted but no, they really just change at the drop of a hat. Its sickening. These arent the characters they fell in love with- just crazed syncophants in a cult.

So Reader cuts off their prayers and pleading and tells them that they shouldnt apologize. After all, "they" are not their god right? Just a filthy, sinful imposter who dares to wear their face and bear their name, right? And the one they just attacked and forced to the ground is their beloved "Creator", right?

So that Imposter should become the new god of Teyvat.

And as if some ancient, powerful spell had been spoken- Teyvat rumbles. The earth and the skies shake and the stardust in Reader's blood glows bright and hot like a heavenly glow before dimming to a light aura around their body while the Imposter screams. Screams as their body starts to age and wither and drain of life before they collapse to the ground as a barely breathing husk- more corpse than person as everyone becomes frenzied.

Reader disappears then, amongst the frenzied screams from immortals and mortals alike.

The month after the event leaves Teyvat shaken and spiritually broken and scared. The Archons had gotten on their hands and knees and prayed frantically for the Creator to return for an entire week straight, but when their prayers went unanswered they took the body of the false god and took it away somewhere. Some say to desecrate the Imposter, some say to figure out what the Creator's ominous last words meant.

It is exactly six months to the day later that everyone feels the first wave of consequences upon them.

Everyone awakens to a fractured grey sky, like someone had taken a picture of it and shattered it and hung the mismatched pieces to pretend nothing happened. The plants all start to wither as if they have been poorly treated despite the farmers best efforts otherwise. Plagues and pedtilence devastate the animals and meat becomes a luxury so expensive that only the absolute richest of the nation could afford.

The people clamor for answers and in turn the archons look to the oldest amongst them in confusion and desperation, and Zhongli ventures to Celestia for an answer.

The Celestial gates are open, but the heavenly palace is left bereft of anything. Only the God of Heavenly Principles is left, and she too looks weak and wretched. When Zhongli asks for answers, the Heavenly Principles coldly answers:

"Teyvat subsisted off the grace of the Creator. Now that they have abandoned us completely, and the life force of the Imposter has completely run dry, Teyvat will fall into nothing.

If you want this doomed world to continue, then you must sacrifice people in substantial amounts to even match a fraction of the Creator's power for Teyvat to subsist on. Otherwise, we can all face the collapse of this world together. For this is the judgement of the highest of the Heavens, and I will not allow any sinner to escape it."

That became a story at the end im sorry i got too into it asdfgjklakgsha

- - -

:O that’s so interesting!!!! Your concepts never cease to amaze me. They’re always so creative!!

[lilmissbacon]

Why Jelsa is Ridiculously Stupid

Let me start off by saying that the idea of this ship was cute at first, I have nothing against it. In fact I have a few ships myself that have nothing to back them up. I am not making this to convince people to be anti, stop the ship itself, or spread any form of hate what so ever.

But this Jelsa fandom has gone too far. And when I say "jelsa shippers," of course I don't mean ALL of them, just about 80% of them.

In fact, I'm very appreciative of the few jelsa shippers who don't go around harassing others because "jelsa is life."

Also, allow me to correct you in saying that I'm not a jelsa hater, I'm a jelsa loather. There's a difference. Most jelsa haters, hate jelsa for the sake of hating it.

I genuinely hate it.

And don't go commenting about, "how do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it?" Because you see, that's where you're wrong. I did used to ship it, when I was 11. I was a child, I was new to the internet, I didn't know better. But I do now!

I am writing this so that some who may not know, will now understand why jelsa is bad and because I need to get all of this out of my system. I am slowly dieing inside.

First; I'm gonna go into how all the excuses to ship this are pointless. Next, I'll talk about just how these two would never work out as a couple. Then, will be what the toxicity has done to not just to the ship itself, but to the big four as well. And finally, I'll go into how uncreative the shippers are and just what horrible/stupid things they've done and are still doing.

1) Excuses are Pointless

Excuse #1: They have the same powers.

...Yeah, that's like saying you ship Lavagirl (Sharboy and Lavagirl) and Bolin (LoK) because they can both control lava. That's not a valid reason to ship anyone. There needs to be actual substance and I'll only say that once because that sentence applies to every excuse here.

Excuse #2: They look alike

🤦🤦🤦 First of all: that's also like saying you ship Tiana (Princess and the Frog) and Frozone (The Incredibles) because they're both black. Second of all: no they don't. It may be because I'm an artist so I notice small details, but here's how it is; Jack's hair is white, Elsa's is platinum blonde. Jack has a square chin, Elsa has a round face. Jack is much paler! THEIR EYES AREN'T EVEN THE SAME SHADE OF BLUE!!! Your excuse is null and void. Even so, if characters do look alike, then they're most likely to be related. Especially in animation.

Excuse #3: Jack can teach Elsa to have fun and Elsa can teach Jack to be serious

This clearly proves the point that jelsa shippers don't know these characters. The job of teaching Elsa how to be social and have fun is already taken by Anna. So if anything, Elsa will see Jack as a younger brother. And Jack wouldn't have been chosen to take on such a responsibility of guardianship if he didn't know when to quit. I don't know what it is about playful characters that make people think they're obnoxious. Jack is an immortal teenager with the heart of a child, that's what makes him a good guardian. But he's been alive for over 300 years, he bound to have the mind capacity of an adult and he does know better. He doesn't play when he's in battle, he's dead serious.

Excuse #4: They understand each other because they were both isolated for a long time

I don't know where you come from but people don't really "bond" over their trauma. Infact, if anything, that would make the relationship more unstable. Plus, Elsa isolated herself for 13 years because she was afraid of her powers. Jack was forced into isolation for 300 years! He has never been afraid of his powers and Elsa could still be seen throughout the day by parents and servants. They would never be able understand what the other went through.

Excuse #5: They both have a sister they love

SO WHAT?! At least half of the population have sisters. Simple as that. It's a horrible excuse.

Excuse #6: They both have an enemy in fear

Bruh, almost every fictional character has to deal with their fears, literal or mental. It's not at all unique to these two.

Excuse #7: Jack can teach Elsa to control her powers

She already has control of them by the end of the movie. And even if you mean prier to that, the reason she couldn't control them was because she feared them. I doubt that even if she could see him and if he showed her his powers, she's be irrational, believing that their powers were different.

Excuse #8: William Joyce says he ships it

Really, you're going to base the possibility of a ship because the writer of the 'books' that "inspired" rotg says he likes it. First: the books and movie are not the same worlds. Two: he most likely stated this in order for jelsa shippers to shut up to him about it. And three: his own canon with the books is a mess as it is. With him adding a bunch on random/unnecessary details on twitter that have no relevance or reference in the books. Even if he does ship it, everything that's going on with Jack's character in the books is weird enough as it is. Plus he's physically 14 in the books. I know age doesn't really matter but Elsa would definitely feel weird about dating someone who looks so young when she's currently 24 by the second movie.

Excuse #9: They could've met before the events of rotg

Not a reason to ship them but whatever 🙄 Even if their stories were based in the same world (which it isn't), Elsa never would've believed in fairy tales. Having to grow up so soon and all. She believes in magic, of course, but you need to believe in the individuals themselves in order to see them. Plus it is very clear in rotg that Jamie is Jack's first believer.

Excuse #10: Now that Frozen 2 is out, they are both spirits who followed the memories of their loved ones. They can live forever together!

Once AGAIN, how does this factor to them being a good couple? Plus the title of spirit is different in the Frozen-verse than the Guardian-verse. Guardian-verse; they are un-aging beings who keep the entire world in balance. Frozen-verse; never confirmed to be immortal (especially since 3 out of 5 spirits are inanimate objects), magical things that keep a single forest secure. The only reason the elements needed a fifth spirit was most likely because the one before Elsa died of old age. Plus the idea of Elsa outliving Anna goes against the theme of sisterly love that both movies strive on. This can be changed in fanfiction but I hate how people lie about her mortality for an excuse to ship.

Excuse #11: They're both single

So what? People ship characters who aren't single with other characters all the time. That's not a reason to ship them. Especially since your statement is false because Tooth is Jack's canon love interest.

It is true that jelsa haters will give reasons to not ship that I necessarily don't agree with.

•Like the age gap — Jack has the mental capacity of an adult, as I've said before. He's smart enough to make his own choices.

•Elsa not being immortal — that doesn't mean they can't still date, even if he outlives her. Plus you can change that in fanfiction.

•They come from different studios and will never be canon — Again, this is fanfiction, we can do whatever we want.

•Elsa is independent and shipping her with someone takes her independence away — for one: most of the world is bound to find love at some point in time. I would imagine that Elsa would want to find love like her sister. Two: Mulan, Pocahontas and Jasmine are very independent and they all still ended up with men. Three: she's not that independent to begin with. Independence isn't relationship status, it's your ability to make it on your own and Elsa is clearly, very dependant on Anna and her safety. Which is actually what pushes her to being a bad sister in Frozen 2. In fact it is because they made her more 'independant' in the sequel that Elsa clearly, no longer loves Anna as much as Anna loves her (you can check out Watso Videos' video on YouTube about how Elsa is a bad sister bc I'm not gonna go into it here).

My god that was ALL just part one. This is gonna take forever 😰

2) How they would never work out

For Elsa, she needs someone who is calm and collected. A rock for her to stand on when she's being irrational. Possibly even someone who is very stoic and straight to the point but with enough sense of humor to lighten the mood. And now that I'm thinking about it, Honeymaren fits that description to a tee. I'm not one to push LGBT+ in anyone's face, but I'm not gonna judge ships on characters assumed sexualities either. Even though Honeymaren didn't have much screen time, her personality still showed through and Elsamaren could very well work.

Jack on the other hand needs someone who would be able to keep up with his playful nature as well as be a rock for him to stand on when he's emotional. Tooth is a good suitor even though I don't really ship it myself. Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel could also fit in this description.

They don't have the ability to be each other's rocks. They can't be stable if they both need someone to keep them so. If they were to date, the relationship would crumble before it even began.

Plus Jack has to be a guardian and there are a lot of fanfics that go into this idea of Jack being the king of Arendalle? First off: I'm fairly certain that you can't marry into royalty to become king. At least in the real world. Second: Jack wouldn't be able to handle that responsibility with him already being a guardian. And he can't just leave guardianship either, it was what he always was and was ment to be. And Elsa has the responsibility of keeping a magical forest in check, she can't leave to become a guardian.

3) The Toxicity

Oh my God! The fanfiction! As I usually say, you can do whatever you want in fanfiction. But if you have to butcher all the characters so much in EVERY fanfic in order to make the ship work, then there's clearly something wrong here! In every fanfic I've ever seen, the characters are so out of character it's insane. Not just Jack and Elsa, every character.

Olaf for example, is practically in love with Jack first meeting, in every fanfic. If he were to actually meet Jack, he would be apprehensive of him.

It's horrifying in not only that, but jelsa shippers will add Rapunzel a lot, just in spite of Jackunzel. They turn Rapunzel into a needy ex-girlfriend of Jack's when in reality, she's a very sweet and kind soul. Even if she and Jack had dated, they would've split on good terms and stayed friends after. There have also been cases where they do the same but with Tooth. Sometimes even both and it's honestly sick.

And let's talk about the sexism as well HAHA! I swear to God, they will rewrite Frozen but where Jack will save Elsa instead of Anna. They write Elsa as a hormonal teenage girl who falls in love with Jack within seconds.

This is from an actual jelsa shipper, my dude. WTF!!! They make Jack super dominant as well as a douche who cheats on Elsa half the time. Jack is not that dominant, he's a very emotional guy. And he'd be the most faithful boyfriend on the planet. He was alone for 300 years! If anything, he'd be clingy but not too clingy because he also understands personal space.

And if you like angsty fanfiction where a character cheats on the other, there are literally no fanfics where Elsa cheats on Jack. As if a woman couldn't possibly cheat. This is very sexist towards men and women and is toxic as hell.

If anything, Elsa would cheat on Jack, she's not exactly trustworthy in keeping promises or being loyal.

I swear, half of the jelsa shippers has never even seen rotg and just go by what they read in others fanfiction.

Jelsa shippers have gotten so bad about this ship that they've low-key harassed people for not shipping it, as well as start shipping wars within the big four fandom. That's the reason the fandom truly shrunk after 2013. I've seen posts about people admitting to leaving the fandom because it got so bad.

4) The Shippers

Jelsa shippers have literally threatened lives, not just to other fans but even to the creators of the movies. Literally threatening them into making the ship canon. They've made patitions to make it canon as if that would work. They've even harassed a lot of recent shippers to Elsamaren because "jelsa is canon."

Oh look at that, they're homophobic too...

...

...

...

... That's great 🙃

Isn't it a bigger sin to love a celestial being though? Therefore the fact that you –as a toxic christian– ship Elsa with a spirit it worse.

THEY'RE DELUSIONAL!!! So many of them have shipped jelsa so long that legit think it's canon!

Not only all that mess but there are literally more jelsa games on the internet then there are Merida games. I'm specifying this for personal reasons (aka Merida is my fave Disney princess)

And let's continue on with what really aggravates me as an artist. Jelsa shippers, stealing artwork, mostly from Jackunzel. This is not just a rumor, it's very much real.

And it doesn't help when all of their actual original fanart is just them taking scenes from Frozen and adding Jack. Then to add more salt on the wound is that almost all the fanfiction is the same, whether it'd be based during Frozen, rotg or in a highschool au.

There's literally nothing original about or going on with this ship, even after Frozen 2 came out, the shippers and fanfiction haven't changed. If anything it made the shippers spike up again.

The only thing that could say is original about jelsa is the frost daughter fanon. Oh boy! What we have to unpack here.

This is something that I recently heard about...

...

I am mortified.

Frost daughters is this little thing that jelsa shippers came up with, believing Jack and Elsa (if they could get pregnant) would have nothing but girls. What's scary about it is they're designs. Like they're trying to be original... But it's not really going great.

Most of them are just young!Elsa copies, some are edits of Elsa with Jack's hair color.

For example:

This is fine, this follows genetrical rules. I'm fine with this.

But what has me low-key petrified are some of the other designs.

Like... WTF IS ALL OF THIS!!! Where are this colors coming from?!! I don't understand 😭 You can see in the screen shots that these are literally titled as daughters of jelsa.

The white haired ones are fine. The ginger is understandable. Got it from Elsa's dad's genes. That's okay. A few are wearing pink? They can wear what ever they want. But wtf I'd going on with Nevada? Why is she black? Jack and Elsa the pastiest of white! And you cannot tell me that she got it from Elsa's mom because this was made BEFORE Frozen 2 and her mother is still white as an adult.

Where tf does the blue and pink hair come from? None of these make sense!

I want to kill myself, just looking at these!

That's gonna be the end of this rant

Now I'll say it again, I really have nothing against the ship itself. I too have casual ships that make no sense. But with ALL the fanfiction and fanart being so unoriginal and most jelsa shippers low-key being dangerous, it's hard for me respect people's opinions about it.

I try, trust me, I do! But it's become so murky in my brain that I can't tell the difference anymore and I'm also just not a fan of Elsa's character in general. And I like ships that actually make sense.

And being that I'm an equalist... it's really hard for me to look at this stuff and not get pissed off. I'm sorry if all of this comes off as aggressive because it kinda is.

I'm just very passionate, okay?

I hope you understand where I'm coming from. None of the pictures I used are mine. And I hope you have a good day?

[phantaloon-books]

(some) Riordanverse characters (bc I never read TKC) and which Hogwarts House I think they would be in

Warning: this is a long one

Nico: the dude is definitely Gryffindor without a doubt. Like Sorting isn't about some traits and some characteristics, it's about core personality. He may have gone through some of the roughest stuff when he was 10-12, and he was resentful and bitter, but he was brave and bold af throughout everything he did. From learning about his powers, to using them relentlessly despite knowing how exhausted he is afterwards, to his willingness to do whatever is necessary to do what has to be done, because it has to be done. You can't change my mind that he's Gryffindor lol.

Grover: Do I even need to explain why he's Gryffindor? He's a satyr, and even if we're shown strong satyrs, they're not really supposed to be brave fighters. Yet he is one of the strongest, bravest nature spirits we've ever encountered in the Riordanverse, and one of the bravest in general. Like he's so passionate about doing what is good, he's a hero, and the only thing he doesn't match with common Gryffindors is that he's humble and as far from arrogant as could be possible, but it doesn't take his courage away.

Hazel: She's Gryffindor, and core personality-wise, she and Nico are very much alike. They don't ever think about themselves, like Hazel really always does what has to be done, no matter the cost, I mean she literally died preventing Gaea to rise the first time, and she freed Thanatos while believing he would take her back to the Underworld. She's brave af, and she has one of the most strong willpower we've seen in the Riordanverse. She's a passionate hero, and she's the closest thing to a real knight in shining armor.

Lester: I'm gonna place him in Gryffindor because I don't think he fits in in the other houses lmao. That said, as Apollo he's very shitty, but as Lester, he's one of the most courageous people. He's grown so much, he's so willing to actually do stuff now, and sacrifice everything to do what's right, including his life, even if he doesn't know he's gonna survive. Hell, he really went most of TTT with an incredibly painful wound that nearly turned him undead, and he cared more for the future of Camp Jupiter than his own life. Additionally, he's a bit arrogant and cocky, but he truly means well, I love Lester so much.

Clarisse: Look look, all I have to say is that no one could have pulled off less than half the stuff Clarisse has done, she's so Gryffindor it hurts. She's reckless and impulsive, but she's driven by her passion to do good, even if she's the daughter of war, and was bullied by her own father. She's daring, she's bold and she is the hero. She's also arrogant and thinks she can solve everything by herself, something characteristic more of the canon Gryffindors in the books, rather than what the fans have shaped. In fact, she's very much like Gryffindors in the books, who are actually very rude to other houses and think they're the best. Still, at heart, she's in this house.

Alex: I'm in a huge dilemma about where to put them, but I reckon they'd fit pretty fine in Gryffindor. Not only are they daring and courageous, they're proud of who they are, but not in a too full of themselves kind of way, rather in a 'I am who I am, and if you can't accept me, fuck off' kind of way. They can get carried away rather easily though, and very arrogant, thinking they don't need anyone else, when they do in fact need some company. They are one of the kindest and at the same time most ambitious characters we've met, but they are brave beyond understanding in a very personal way, thus, Gryffindor.

Percy: I think it's fair to say he'd be Hufflepuff, because loyalty is literally his fucking fatal flaw, and he is the kindest sweetheart to all those who deserve it, he goes out of his way to help those who need help, whether that be mortals, halfbloods, gods, magical creatures or even his own enemies. He's too good for this world, and even if he's grown a bit bitter, he always looks to fight justly for what is right, and never loses faith in others. That, and the fact that he turned down immortality so that the olympians were more inclusive of minor gods, and their children were treated better. He's just a lovely soul, he's like 80% Hufflepuff so that's enough for me. All that and he's stubborn as hell.

Jason: Hufflepuff. Just, undoubtedly Hufflepuff. Like he seems to be this cold and self centered hero with a superiority complex (bc of all the son of Jupiter stuff) but he's the softest guy there is. Not only is he hardworking, open minded and kind, he appreciates justice but he doesn't seek for revenge or anything, he makes sure people are treated fairly and wants everyone to be accepted. Proof of that is how he continued Percy's job of including more gods, and made sure Nico felt comfortable with who he was. He truly has a heart of gold. (He deserved better btw)

Meg: God I can't decide between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, but I think I'll go with the former. She's so strong, my baby, she's faced so much wrong, but she's still so kind and understanding of others, especially those who deserve kindness. She puts up such a hard facade, but she's so patient and warm and inclusive. She's brave and strong (as strong as the big three kids, if not stronger), but she's also so loyal to her beliefs despite how she was forced someone else's beliefs for years, so I'll keep her in Hufflepuff. Also, she's stubborn af, and she can be lazy, so that settles it.

Will: I KNOW some people will say Will could be in other houses that are not Hufflepuff, BUT I won't have it any other way. Will is literally the warmest person ever. He is kind and sympathetic and enthusiastic and patient and inclusive. Like Helga Hufflepuff would take one look at him and lose her shit screaming "mine". He's the guy who saw the son of Hades so many people were scared of and immediately grabbed his hand and transfered him some warmth and didn't let him go ahead and get himself killed. He's also the one who everyone loves and likes, so much that Clarisse gets along with him and he can calm her down. He's the ideal Hufflepuff, you can't change my mind.

Magnus: I mean, what else can you expect from the son of the god of summer? He's literally a guy who heals others with warmth. He's also the guy who spent years on the street with the most difficult situations, and accepts every single person the way they are. He's inclusive af, and tolerant of everything. He's the guy who's closest include a deaf elf, a Muslim valkyrie, and a black dwarf, and he's dating a genderfluid person. Yes he's brave, and he's kinda smart, and he's ambitious, BUT none of those qualities overpower his Hufflepuff nature.

Piper: Kinda debated whether Gryffindor or Ravenclaw fits more, but in the end I went with Ravenclaw. Even though she isn't a fighter, she's very very brave, yet her bravery isn't compared to her wits. Like others in the PJOverse, she wins her fights by outsmarting her opponents, but unlike others that's one of her strongest traits. She's witty and creative and a little on the negative side, she really struggled to work in a group rather than by herself. On another note, she's able to keep calm in crazy situations and come up with the craziest most unthinkable solutions (I'm talking borderline ridiculous) that always somehow work. She's not booksmart, but she knows so much about everything, and she's lifesmart you know?

Reyna: Why are some of these so hard? Deeply debating whether she'd be Ravenclaw or Slytherin. In the end I'd go more for Ravenclaw though. Reyna's smart as hell, she's strong and sharp, and she always sees the best way out of a situation. She's witty and observant, being able to keep her cool in battle and lead others in the best direction. She's always looking to grow, and she prefers to do things on her own, but she's a great leader. She has some Slytherin qualities, and she's not learning as learning oriented as others, but she's definitely Ravenclaw.

Sam: Let's face it, Sam has the only active neurons in all of MCGA, she's definitely Ravenclaw. I'm gonna be honest though, I've only read MCGA once, so I can't remember much of their personalities, but Sam is witty and clever, pretty much the only one who can come up with competent plans, while the others rely mostly on luck and whatever plan they can cook up in 5 seconds. She's loyal and true to who she is, and she's extremely courageous and proud of who she is, but her sharpness is what she stands out for me, which is why I put her in Ravenclaw.

Annabeth: I know the obvious option is Ravenclaw, but I genuinely think she's also Slytherin. Yes she is booksmart and wise like Ravenclaw, but her personality matches Slytherins' ambitious, cunning and resourceful nature. She's smart as fuck, but she's calculative, she always finds a way to end up winning, and while she does so by outsmarting her opponents, she wouldn't need to outsmart them if she weren't so competitive. I feel like there's this 40/60 odds on Slytherin rather than Ravenclaw, but it's that small difference that counts. Plus her leadership skills are so powerful that people don't ask, they just know she's the boss.

(Also just picture the sweet and loyal Hufflepuff boy with the strong and cunning Slytherin girl, like it should be as opposite as it is with Poseidon and Athena, but they're so cute)

Leo: Idk what you can expect that's not Slytherin. This boy is the embodiment of ambition and determination. Reminder that not all Slytherins are bad btw (I'm slytherin myself), but like he's life smart and cunning, and he can analyze situations faster than anyone else. He's charismatic and talented, and there's no one to stop him from triumphing. I don't have much to say, I just know he'd be in Slytherin.

Rachel: She's kinda a difficult one, and I struggle between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and tbh I'm still not sure. But I think I'd place her in Slytherin, because even if she's brave af (especially since she was a mortal fighting in a war out of her power), her main trait is her determination. When she's set on something, she gets it done. You can't tell her she can't do something, because she will find a way to do it. She's kind, and she's only a mortal, but she still has incredible power unlike any other. I don't think I can really name it, but I think she'd be put on Slytherin with much difficulty from the Sorting Hat.

Luke: Where else could Luke possibly go? On the meaner side Slytherins have created themselves, Luke would be part of those misled by who preceded them, by those who want to take advantage of their mistreatment (bc let's face it, Slytherins are mistreated by both students and Hogwarts staff), and turn them cold and bitter. Luke is ambitious and manipulative, being manipulated himself, and it comes easily because of his natural charisma and talent. He's very freaking determined and cunning too. He'd fit right into Slytherin, but he'd be viewed as one of the rotten lot.

Thalia: I don't have much to say about this, but Thalia is the girl whose fatal flaw is their desire for power (or smth along those lines), just like most Slytherins. She's ambitious, she's smart, she's truly talented, she stands out between the rest, and she knows it, and she actually kinda likes it.

(Also I put Annabeth, Thalia and Luke in the same house because they're all kinda similar, even if their beliefs and postures are different.

Frank: Ngl I'm having more difficulty with Frank than anyone else. I'm kinda torn between Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. I literally can't choose. He'd fit perfectly in any of them lmao, I just can't decide where he'd go. You decide this one yourself.

Please keep in mind, this is my personal opinion and my take on the characters, and not all of you will agree, and that's fine! You can let me know what you think (kindly please, don't come at me), and if you want to, send me an ask on a character you want me to do the same as these (as long as it's not TKC, I'M SORRY I haven't read those) go ahead, don't be shy!

[eligos-venator]

Iapetus - Is your character afraid of their own mortality?

Eligos's main drive has always been the fear of death. That supposed fearlessness that he has staring down angry beasts and man alike with a weapon in hand? It isn't courage that pushes him forward into the fray. It's fear. He fears the slow death of starvation, and by extension, becoming so feeble he cannot care for himself and then subsequently starve. He needs to win to earn money to avoid this, and so faced with that fear constantly nipping at his heels, he charges forward to put distance between it and him as he searches for a solution to escape it.

As a result, Eligos has long sought what he sees as a true immortality, or rather, a combination of eternal life, youth, and regeneration of the body so that he doesn't condemn himself to an eternity of torment if he's severely injured after the fact.

Having exhausted his search in finding an answer in the sciences, Eligos is now looking at the void and what it may contain in hopes of that if science has no solution, perhaps magic might have the answers sought, or those of the void itself might lead to an answer, with how they themselves seemingly can last for eternity.

Thank you for the ask @vazaymir !

[windwake-me-up-inside]

For the micro story: 33?

In which a former mechanist once again sees the fabric of space and time, and panics about it.

{Hopefully you don’t mind I used an original setting / character for this}

[I ALSO REALIZED I GRABBED THE WRONG. PROMPT FOR THIS. Consider this a bonus, as I will be writing the correct prompt tomorrow! this is originally ‘Trembling Hands’]

Ouranos’s hands started to tremble.

He was alone in the bar he owned, the Transdimensional Raven, as he usually was if he was not in Voxwell, the capital of the Winter Court of the Dreamkin. In this bar, he could travel anywhere in Sylan and even traverse into different dimensions; however, this night, what haunted him could not be run from. He’d see it no matter where he went.

He had been used to the endless gears and machinery of the plane of Mechanicron, the sprawling and mostly empty machine-city, growing up. His mother had, alongside the lessons of a normal childhood, taught him how to handle Mechanicron, and how to weave the tapestry of Time and Space with the physical machine. But seeing what Mechanicron only modeled... seeing the true machine of the universe always filled Ouranos with dread.

His mother Cella, and his father Ybris, could see the true machinery of the universe too. Ouranos couldn’t remember if they had told him when they started to perceive the cosmos as it truly was. He knew, though, that asking them how they coped with that knowledge was pointless. They didn’t cope with it - just as people in the material Sylan didn’t ‘cope’ with the fact the sky was blue or that mountains exist. It’s just how things were.

His father Ybris would always rebuke him for caring too much about the material. He’d always say that the beings and the places and all that made up the land of Sylan did not matter outside of the fact that they were the moving parts of a grand, cosmic machine. “Why do you care about the gears so much, my son? They are working perfectly fine.” He’d ask. Ouranos didn’t understand how his father could be so cold and callous about the lives and existences of those 'gears’. Him and his father would have row after row about the subject, and Ouranos’s identical twin brother would usually get involved, though usually to take their father’s side.

Ouranos’s mother agreed with Ouranos, though she often approached the conversation with Ouranos as a conversation of detached philosophy. While he didn’t understand his mother’s seeming distance from the subject at the time, Ouranos felt like he understood her now. She had always approached the weaving of Time and Space, and the fates of all those who lived in Sylan, with the utmost care. To Ouranos, it felt like she believed she had to be distant; her lifespan was the immortality of a God, so getting too attached wouldn’t end well.

Ouranos’s hands started to shake worse than they were a couple of minutes ago. Whatever particular mixture he had taken of whatever was behind the bar, as well as a dosage of dreamgrass, to try in vain to stop himself from seeing glimpses of the True Machine had only made the situation worse. It was all he could really see, now, as he shakily reached for the wood of the bar to stabilize himself.

His mother and his father could live with the very knowledge that made Ouranos panic and shake with existential dread, and that was one of the things that was a particularly sore spot with him; if they could deal with it happily, why couldn’t he? His brother, who had taken to calling himself David, would tease him for it every time they crossed paths. “Oh, little brother mechanic, you’re scared so much by the machine you’d run away, and yet you constantly fondle the gears and stick your dick in them,” he’d taunt. Ouranos was sure that David was just jealous about the fact that Ouranos had seen the True Machine and David hadn’t yet, hence the taunting and snide comments that would always leave David’s mouth when they saw each other.

The first time Ouranos had seen the Machine, it had been his last night in Mechanicron, the place of his childhood. He, being a very young man at the time, was filled with overwhelming dread upon seeing it. He shut himself in his personal room and screamed in terror, then sobbed in pure fear. If it had been his mother, Ouranos thought, it probably would have turned out better; she knew how to calm her children’s fears. However, it was his father Ybris who arrived first, annoyed at the ruckus that Ouranos was making. He told him, coldly and angrily, to get over it and move on, brushing aside Ouranos’s terror as irrational and very, very stupid. Ouranos had already had a shaky relationship with his father and the brother who listed to every word that came out of their father’s mouth, and that night was the last nail in the coffin of him ever getting along with Ybris in any sort of polite capacity.

Even the words of Cella, his kind mother, couldn’t convince him to come back to the gear-halls of Mechanicron after that night, though she did keep in constant contact.

Ouranos had disguised himself for 4,000 years as a Dreamkin in the Court of Winter, disguising his time and space magic as ice, snow, and dreamkin magic; and had gotten involved in the affairs of both dreamkin and mortal alike. He had used the Transdimensional Raven as a way to travel across the multiverse as a cover for the fact he was bending space and time to travel as he did. But now, because of Ybris’s disappearance and the necessity of his hand as a mechanic of Mechanicron now that his father wasn’t at the helm, he had to admit to everyone of his true nature, of a family he had distanced himself from.

Ouranos looked down at his hands that were shaking the bar and making the drinks sway. His shaking hands were starting to freeze and be engulfed by icy gauntlets; the first signs of his mind switching to the Huntsman’s. Ouranos closed his eyes and steadily worked to calm himself from the state of panic and dread that was coursing through his body, and after a few minutes the ice around his knuckles melted. He looked up, and only saw his bar and not the machine of the universe. A heavy sigh escaped his lips, then a chuckle.

Tomorrow, he’d have to face David and Mechanicron. But tonight, he could point a few aimless wanderers to the right places, and make sure that all his children were still doing all right. The gears of the True Machine could be pondered and panicked over tomorrow.

[fuckyeahisawthat]

the old guard: loneliness, connection and immortality

APPARENTLY I am writing a thing about The Old Guard today.

(Bear in mind that I haven’t read the graphic novel, although I’m eager to now, so this is solely based on the movie and some things I’ve read about the comic in articles about the movie.)

Under the cut for spoilers, although the discussion is fairly general.

The Old Guard is an interesting take on immortality for a whole bunch of reasons. The immortals aren’t invulnerable. They feel pain; they can be injured and experience dying. They just know they’ll come back. (Until they don’t, which is another interesting twist.) They have super-fast healing and regenerative powers, but they don’t really have any other superpowers, so they still experience all the needs and vulnerabilities of regular humans. Which is a very interesting twist, and made me realize just how often I’d seen fast healing paired with super strength or other superpowers. But these characters, other than not being able to die, are basically just humans with a lot of combat experience--hundreds or thousands of years’ worth. This might make them more skilled than most mortal humans, but in a fight they don’t have any advantages of superhuman strength or speed, which makes the fights feel a lot more interesting and grounded than your standard superhero fare. (I love that the older immortals all fight with bladed weapons as well as guns, and in some cases prefer them, because they’ve been using those weapons way longer than guns, but writing about the action style in The Old Guard is a whole other post.)

A lot of the things The Old Guard is meditating on are about the price of immortality--about watching the whole sweep of human history and not knowing if anything you’re doing has had meaning, in terms of making the world a better place. It manages to be a lot more existentially melancholy than your standard mainstream superhero fare, but without slipping into completely dour grimdark territory, and I think a lot of that has to do with how much it has to say about human connection and loneliness.

There’s the inherent isolation of immortality: any mortal you have a relationship with will eventually realize that you’re not aging, and every time, you know they will eventually grow old and die, while you will not. There’s the isolation of keeping your secret, since the film makes clear the many ways immortality can get you in trouble. And there’s the psychological isolation of just knowing you will live your life on a profoundly different time scale than everyone else around you.

In this context, the few connections that are possible, with other immortals, become desperately important. (They literally dream of each other, even before they know each other’s identities, and even when physically separated for a long time.)

When death is off the table as an option, it’s clear that isolation is the worst punishment an immortal can face. “She was alone for a long time,” another character says of Andy, and it’s clear that that was terrible. Quynh’s fate (alone, trapped, and suffering indefinitely) is a horrific extreme version of this, and it’s clear Andy still feels guilty, hundreds of years later, that she stopped looking for her. Dying together, even painfully, is something they can have a dark laugh about, but being separated is a trauma that haunts the whole group.

It’s notable to me that of all the immortals, Nicky and Joe are the ones who seem most well-adjusted and at peace with their relationship to life, death and humanity. Still in love after something like 900 years, they can banter about relaxing in Malta even while held prisoner in a medical lab, with a confidence in their shared future that doesn’t feel fake. (And boy am I glad the narrative reinforces that confidence.) And it’s notable that in the heat of the moment, none of them is willing to leave Booker behind in the lab, even though he betrayed them and led them into the one thing they’ve said they try to avoid at all costs, captivity. Even Booker’s betrayal comes from a desire to make them less alone, although he certainly picked the absolute worst way to go about it.

Nile’s arc is all about her integration into her new found family of immortals--even more, I think, than it’s about realizing and gaining mastery over her superpower, in the way that most superhero origin stories are. She is given the choice to leave, and chooses to go back because she thinks Andy, specifically, might be in danger. (The whole arc of her relationship with Andy is great and deserves its own post.) But it’s clear that severing her ties with her biological family is painful to her; the other immortals understand this, and the narrative doesn’t treat it lightly. Booker’s loss of his children; Copley’s loss of his wife (which is planted in literally the first scene we see him in)--family and human connection are all over the motives of protagonists and antagonists alike. (Even Merrick--it’s his obsession with profit over human life that distinguishes him as the narrative’s true villain and makes other characters turn against him.)

Given all this, Booker’s punishment at the end of the film seems particularly cruel and like the kind of narrative device set up to backfire. It seems obvious that the final scene is setting up Booker and Quynh as the antagonists of a sequel, which I hope we get to see. Booker is wounded and not handling it well; Quynh, I’d imagine, has an extremely understandable desire for some revenge. Given how much we know of their backstories, they could make an extremely sympathetic pair of antagonists.

I don’t know what a potential sequel would bring and if/how it might diverge from the plot of the comic. But what I would love to see is some ending that re-integrates Quynh and Booker into the family (and probably unites them against some new threat in part 3; it’s purportedly a trilogy). It’s the only ending I can think of that wouldn’t be unimaginably cruel to both Quynh and Andy. Even if they’re never explicitly portrayed as being romantically involved (although...I would certainly not complain if they were), I really want to see a resolution to their relationship arc that doesn’t leave them as the unspoken tragic parallel to Nicky and Joe, and doesn’t involve one of them killing the other. It seems like this would be the most thematically resonant option too. I suppose one can hope. (And if not, that’s what fic is for.)