#elemental council

[scribbled-dream]

I’ve finished Elemental Council, the newest T’au book by Noah Van Nyugen—and I love the ending. Spoilers follow.

For those who aren’t familiar, the book follows a crack team of T’au specialists pulled together by Ethereal Yor’i, to create a council of specialists to deal with a Human rebellion on the newly conquered world of Cao Quo.

This revolt is led by the Space Marine Artamax, and complicated by further matters—A growing sect of T’au supremacists called the Syra, who consider humanity to be a blight upon the Empire.

Throughout the book, the question is asked: Are Humanity worthy of being in the T’au empire? Are they more than they seem, ignorant and brutal?

We see this through the viewpoints of several T’au, all of who come to slowly see their pity, indifference, hatred and guilt over humanity and the actions they’ve done in service to the Tau Empire against the Human rebels as flawed, and that they need to give Humanity the same chance they were given by Yor’i.

We see this clearly through Yor’i himself—he has a Gue’vesa bodyguard, one of exceedingly high status to be guarding the ranking Ethereal on the planet. Yor’i views his bodyguard, Jules, with gratitude, but acknowledges that he is not T’au. He will never be as close to them as the Ethereal is.

Jules, too, is a complicated man, serving the T’au as a former Scion, turned by another Ethereal who he formed a close friendship with. He knows his place in the Empire is distinct, and the other characters often look at his position with confusion or scorn—confused as to why an Ethereal would have a Human to guard his life.

They soon see why, as Jules dies against Artamax—giving his life for the Greater Good to save the Fireblade protagonist, who voices continual confusion at his devotion.

A Gue’vesa backtalking a Space Marine? An anomaly.

And yet, we see again. The Humans given a second chance by the T’au repeat this behavior, with the Gue’vesa Fleet Admiral Hillar, unsure of who to support between the rebels and the T’au. Hillar wants to support the rebels, and ideologically disagrees with Artamax’s methods, desiring peace.

Hillar defies Artamax, and dies for it. The young Earth Caste Engineer, Ke, initially confused by Human independence and defiance, and exceedingly desirous of peace, learns to empathize with the life she failed to save.

All of this leads us to the ending. The twist. The group takes a Kroot into their entourage, Ghodeh—who only wants to feast on the Marine, absorb his knowledge.

Through his scent, he finds that Yor’i is not who he seems, instead a Callidus Assasin in disguise. It is barely perceptible—unless one pays attention to Yor’i’s sharp twists in mood toward the Humans, and Jules in particular.

Yor’i is initially stoic and silent about his connection to Jules, but is found by the Fireblade Swordlight to be kind and understanding of Jules, vouching for him—after he dies, there is a stark shift in his behavior.

Yor’i goes from loyalty and kindness to Humanity, to hatred, indifference, and cold apathy.

And then, we learn the twist—it doesn’t make sense, because it’s not meant to. This is NOT Yor’i—rather, a foul thing wearing his skin, a Callidus skinwalker.

The real Yor’i is taken in by a Human family—and cared for, protected. This is the true nature of humanity—a kind one.

The Callidus is slain much like the Marine—by the lowest of the low—the Earth Caste engineer. And although Ghodeh does not get to taste the Marine’s sacred flesh, he learns to accept that he can control his hunger—out of respect.

Then, we come to the ending. The T’au garrison at Cao Quo is consumed by violence and fire, rioting fills the streets, falling into ignorance and fear just like the Imperium. This is where the average 40k fan would say it should end, because there can be no peace among the stars—

but the fic proves everyone wrong.

There can be peace. There can be unity, and empathy. It is hard to reach for, even harder to name—but it is THERE.

[gaypyro]

I have been reading and rereading the new 40K Book, Elemental Council and the one thought that keeps going through my mind is: "Ostracized Autistic Girl Accidentally Invents Melee T'au".

Ke's not even my favorite character (That's Orr, the Water Caste guy), I just keep going back to that idea.

[luuxxart]

wanted to do one of those deviantart sonic form memes for old times sakes 🦔

(form explanations in the tags)

[fabuloustrash05]

Personally I like the space arc of TMNT 2012 more than the farmhouse arc and while not everyone will agree I think space arc’s strongest attribute is how they have a more prominent cast of recurring characters for the series.

Space arc introduced Fugitoid, Mona Lisa, Sal Commander, Chompy, Bishop and the Utroms, the Triceratons, Lord Dregg, Armaggon, etc. All recurring characters in the arc and/or came back after the space arc was over.

Farmhouse arc gave us the Punk Frogs, Bigfoot, The Creep, Dream Beavers, Speed Demon, April's "Mom", Dr Cluckingsworth MD, etc. All great characters but sadly only two of these characters ever came back/appeared in more than one ep, the rest were cursed with being a one ep only character sadly.

I think this is one of the reasons I personal prefer the space arc more than the farmhouse arc. I still adore the farmhouse arc, I just got more of a soft spot for the space arc mainly cause they had more lovable and notable characters.

[robot-roadtrip-rants]

I’ve been burning The Elemental Council and it’s great! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good Tau book, or just a good Xenos book in general. Extra double bonus points for a rare portrayal of the Imperium through alien eyes!

There’s just one problem. One, teensy-tiny little problem.

Since it’s a Tau book, the Greater Good comes up a lot. There’s discussions about what it is, how it’s defined, people swear by it, people use it to justify themselves and encourage others…you get the gist. So over and over I’m reading, The Greater Good, The Greater Good, The Greater Good…it…it’s starting to sound like—well—

Every time I see the phrase. Every damn time.

[slugterra-twisted-ends]

With 2023 at an end and 2024 here now, it's time to reveal the working cover for the next big fan fiction to come after Twisted Ends.

Introducing; Slugterra Northbound

Hopefully the first chapter will be out some time during January!

(Slugterra Logo was drawn by @bluestarrcreations)

[cnl0400]

Idk I'm still not invested in the SF storyline, like I said before in another post, RAD always feels so barren because the lack of another "normal" students, you have the student council and the exchange students. The only "normal" student we have Is technically Mephistopheles, and since all of them are friends, there's really not a lot of conflict you can have without it feeling pointless. We know that since we have 7 wishes, every brother Is going to win a wish... I don't want to see Diavolo lose 7 times lmao

The next week we are going to the Celestial Realm (suposely, I don't think God will let them enter lol) so this lesson feels pretty much filler for the next week lesson, that *might* be more interesing idk

[inamindfarfaraway]

Team Chaotix in Sonic Prime

My headcanons for what Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee are like in the Shatterspaces.

New Yoke City

Vector’s variant is called Missile (a missile is a vector, having direction and magnitude). He embodies Vector’s responsibility, practicality and seriousness. He was trying to make a difference as a teenage detective when the dystopian city appeared around him four years ago and it became clear that, with the Chaos Council’s control of the new justice system and law enforcement, the person he aspired to be would never make it. Of course he wants to fight, but the Council is brutal and their absolute power seems impossible to overthrow. He soon ended up with two children in his care, one only a toddler. If he got arrested, killed or roboticized, what would happen to them? If the three of them had the Council’s protection, on the other hand, as per the contract of an exclusive, specialized detective agency who would do whatever dirty work they were ordered to… he knows that those tyrants are the reason his kids have nobody else. He knows that the vast majority of people he leads the robotic police to don’t deserve any punishment, and none of them could deserve the cruel horrors they get. He knows that he isn’t a hero - that he may even be the exact opposite. And he hates it. But any money that keeps his family alive is money worth having, he’s regretfully decided. Big concepts like good and evil are none of his concern. He’s just trying to pay the rent. It’s too late to back out now, anyway. Now that the people are rebelling en masse and the Council is busy exploring the Shatterverse, he’s desperately waiting for things to stabilize and daring to hope against hope that some positive change occurs. And that the citizens don’t recognize the collaborateurs in their midst and turn on them.

Espio’s variant is called Trace. He embodies Espio’s stoicism and pragmatism. His ninja training was cut short - and his village razed and everyone he knew killed or taken prisoner - when the Chaos Council remade the world in their image. But he’s gained plenty of experience in stealth, deception, infiltration, espionage and combat working in the Chaos Detective Agency. Dishonour means nothing to a ninja. That’s what he tells himself, at least. On the outside, he’s reserved and aloof, a cold, ruthless foe. He will only show his family the slightest show of emotion. Internally, however, his repressed grief for his old family, community, home and life; guilt, shame and self-loathing due to his service to the Council; and years of accumulated trauma are brewing into a storm that he barely keeps contained under the surface. He’s afraid of his feelings burdening his teammates and distracting them from what’s most important: survival.

Charmy’s variant is called Sting. He embodies Charmy’s eagerness to be helpful and fighting spirit. He can’t remember anything except New Yoke and doesn’t understand much of how his society works, but he knows that his family’s work is very important to them being alive and wants to be a part of it. He does notice their stress and the general unpleasantness everywhere and can infer that circumstances could be improved. But their work being dangerous is all the more reason he should help! Teamwork makes the dream work, right? Danger just adds to the fun of stopping ‘bad guys’. He’s also terrified that if they leave him behind, they might not come back. So he kept breaking out and running away when Missile and Trace went on missions until they agreed to train him and let him join them. He revels in the thrill of action and finds people getting hurt amusing the way a six-year-old boy can, not emotionally connecting to anyone he’s told they need to catch and earnestly believing that their enemies must be in the wrong. He often imitates Missile when trying to be tough and intimidating.

Boscage Maze

Vector’s variant is called Reed. He embodies Vector’s optimism, lightheartedness and musical side, and tends to have his coarser manners too. He, the other two and Cream and Vanilla’s variants are in a different small tribe to the Scavengers and haven’t yet met them, so Thorn Rose didn’t banish them to the emergent layer; they are nomadic and moving toward the Scavengers’ territory. He’s cheerful and generous, always ready to raise the tribe’s morale. He can be immature and irresponsible at times, more focused on enjoying life and entertaining his companions than applying maximum effort to practical tasks. He’s highly resourceful when it comes to instruments and has invented drums and a reed flute. He loves to play them and sing. He’s also bold enough to flirt with Vanilla’s variant and the casual first stage of a romance is budding between them.

Espio’s variant is called Berry. He embodies Espio’s caution, wisdom and love of art and culture. Yes, that’s in this dimension. The tribe took him in after they crossed paths when he was eight, him having previously been surviving on his own for as long as he can remember. He’s mature beyond his years, highly knowledgeable about the forest’s flora and fauna, wary and prepared to defend his tribe from any threat using his carved flint blades and hand-to-hand skills. He used to find it difficult to relax, but has learned to unwind through playing a shamisen-esque string instrument Reed built for him and painting with plant pigments. While acutely aware of nature’s hazards, he can still appreciate its wonder and majesty and respects it.

Charmy’s variant is called Honey. He embodies Charmy’s innocent kindness, friendliness and trusting nature. He and Cream’s variant are best friends and adoptive siblings, since his parents entrusted her mother with him when they left on an exploratory expedition in his infancy. They didn’t return. But Honey doesn’t mind. He has everything he needs right here. The one thing he can think of that would make his life better is a friend who can fly like he can.

No Place

Vector’s variant is called Bullion (because of precious metal and a male crocodile is a bull). He embodies Vector’s sharp intelligence, charisma, greed and courage. He left his home island in a modest but sturdy vessel, dubbed the Treasure Trove, to seek his fortune and established himself as a travelling merchant. Cunning, socially savvy and theatrical, he is willing to (if you insist on using such accusatory language) ‘scam’ customers and has an endless supply of get-rich-quick schemes. He and his crew live in a fiercely competitive, unpredictable environment full of pirates! Material wealth is essential! That being said, he isn’t all talk. He will brave high seas and stormy weather, chart uncharted waters and do business with anyone to obtain the best goods and things no other merchant is selling, and the genuine quality and rarity of a lot of his stock keep people endeared to him despite his rough edges and occasional bad deal. He takes pride in his competence as a salesman and seafarer and part of him is more fulfilled by honest work. Not that he’ll admit that. He’s very attached to his swashbuckling rogue self-image.

Espio’s variant is called Fathom (a measure of water depth and a verb for contemplative thought and understanding). He embodies Espio’s firm sense of morality and diligence. He met Bullion when the crocodile docked at his home island and, struck with wanderlust and needing a job to get by, Fathom offered to manage his finances with his advanced mathematical ability and do some manual labour. Bullion agreed, but it didn’t take Fathom long to figure out that he was both running a con and a broke mess. A weirdly likeable broke mess. In the aftermath of Fathom exposing the con, the customers angrily demanding refunds and the Treasure Trove being hastily undocked, they made a deal to support and protect each other, with Fathom promising to follow his boss’s lead on the strict condition that Bullion stayed on the straight and narrow. He’s a dutiful hard worker, patient and polite. He tries to remain calm and be civil to everyone no matter how wild things get. He grounds his crewmates, restraining their more energetic, eccentric and, most frustratingly for him, selfish and amoral behaviour. He knows they can be better. And when they are, it’s extremely rewarding. But they certainly test him - though he won’t deny that the motley crew all truly care about each other and would stick together through anything.

Charmy’s variant is called Dodger. He embodies Charmy’s mischievous, irreverent side. He was born to pirates and left at an orphanage on one of the larger islands, but could never follow the rules or be satisfied with a simple, mundane life in one place. He wanted excitement, and made his own by causing trouble and playing tricks. He totally wasn’t lonely. One day he stowed away on a ship. His plan was to steal all the stuff he could carry on him and fly off. Bullion and Fathom, the sailors who caught him, took a liking to him and were hesitant to send him back to his boring, miserable old home once he explained his life before. They were nice and cool and made him feel wanted and like he belonged more than anyone else ever had, so he hung around. Bullion makes him do chores, but respects his pranking prowess and nerve. Fathom is a great listener and playmate, albeit sometimes a killjoy.

[moongo101]

Just learned something… HAPPY ELEMENTS DID WHAT TO THE NINJA ASSOCIATION!??!??!

[roadstomagicseries]

Daily Focus; Study of Affinities

The study of magic has always been something people have obsessed over in the realm of Roads To Magic, or RTM as i've affectionately been calling it. Even before the Cataclysm split the planet into three (Which i will get to the Cataclysm another day). The original understanding was that Magic, at its core, was sustained by balance. Equal parts Light and Dark, with the huge variety of different magics in the middle being the transition from one to the other.

With the Cataclysm shattering the world, and taking all of their information with it, the newly appointed Aerotion High Council were quick to come to the understand that the balance their world once had no long existed. Thus, began the seemingly endless Study Of Affinities.

Though previously mentioned before, there have been hundreds of thousands of studies to try and figure out the foundation and bases of magic. Only one theory so far has been able avoid being disproven.

Miles Lovell, often referred to as the Progenitor of the Wolshi alongside his daughter Olive Lovell, has written an alarming paper based on the theory that Magic, since the Cataclysm, is based off of Chaos.

His proof, is simply that with the belief in this foundation, he has been able to achieve many things that most mages are incapable of doing without the understand that Magic, in and of itself, isn't meant to be understood. Whether the rest of the Aerotion Society can get on board with idea, remains to be seen.

So far, magic has been able to be split into a series of vague categories that can be described in a few words at a time. Although most often the specifics of the power are far more complicated, this is a rough categorization they've managed to build thus far.

Creation Affinities

This one can easily be mistaken for Elemental Manipulation, but in reality its far more. Complicated than that. Creation Affinities are more. Popular than most would think, as it often covers a wide range of abilities that requires the user to be creating something from nothing. The extent of the "something" is, most often, strange, unusual, and typically an object. Though this isn't always the case.

Manipulation Affinities

This one is also easily mistaken, as most people tend to assume its the ability to manipulate materials and elements. In reality, its far, far different.

Manipulation Affinities instead focus on a type of control and manipulation of the mind and body, the most well known example being Wyatt Morgan, with his affinity to manipulate an aura around himself that forces all within it to fear him, with no exceptions. Much of the Morgan family has similar abilities, often ranging to different emotions, however.

This said, Manipulation Affinities are not tied to the Morgan Family, and a large range of manipulation affinities often cover both physical, mental, and emotional states. Whether or not this category affinities can go as far as spiritual and even to manipulating the affinities themselves, remains to be seen.

Elemental Affinities

Finally, we come to elemental affinities. This category often covers the largest range of diverse affinities to date, as many users often cover not only the four basic elements (being earth, air, fire, and water) but also, in light of the last three hundred years, the scientific table as well.

While these affinities is rare to come across in general, never before have scientists and researchers come across two people with the same affinity, though there are umbrella categories for each of the basic elements and what their combinations are.

Draconic Affinities

This one is the newest Affinity discovered to date. It is so rare, that there are only 2 person in existence with this affinity. The limitations of this affinity are still under review, and as of now, they are considered one of the most powerful people in Aerotion Earth.

Old Magic

The Inheritance - before the war there used to be a thread of magic that allowed people on their deathbeds to name an inheritor of their power, often either boosting the original Affinity or creating a brand new one when the 2 magics combine. The one giving the affinity must be dying for this magic to work though. This is used to explain why there's such a massive diversity of affinities an magics.

[stormvanari]

my own take on epilogue!adrian graye (tho he doesn’t get this outfit until a few months after the epilogue when he and Terra escape from the Dungeons): being the dramatic ass he is, the former head of the illusions coven wants everyone to see him as mysterious and grim and gritty and sinister and—

look come on adrian, we know it’s you.

[vv-ispy]

rgu vision thoughts

Utena anemo/Anthy cryo/Akio electro as discussed

Saionji, electro — not only his theme being eternity, but he's kinda the odd one out of the student council. He may be more inverse electro actually, where he has no hidden power or identity and constantly chasing after Touga and doesn't understand anything, until he loops around so hard he's electro again. This makes sense to me

Touga — genuinely no idea. I tried so hard. I can't fit him in anything. He's just an asshole. Maybe he gets geo for Persistently Asshole. Is there an element for calling yourself a feminist when you're a playboy that emotionally manipulates two lesbians apart

Miki - Hydro. Sure he doesn't really have a sense of right/wrong or justice but he's got that weird thing with purity going on and a duality in how he sees his sister and Anthy he's trying to reconcile that's arguably a twisted version of right/wrong

Juri - Pyro. She's the only one there with a visibly strong drive, even if the drive is 'I will prove miracles don't exist'. She models she games she fences she's so talented to suppress how gay she is. Maybe this makes her anemo instead

Nanami - Cryo. Anthy's foil. Plus her theme is adoration. But also she's got that duality thing going on, she's from a family with a name she's adopted she's Touga's beloved sister he treats her like a toy she's the top of the pecking order of her girl posse she may be a literal animal????

Shoutout to Wakaba "Special people may as well live in a different world" for being visionless surrounded by people with a vision until she breaks down in an elevator and is given a delusion which she'll immediately use for murder. That she rightfully deserves.

[esta-elavaris]

I remember writing the Brethren Court scene for CTW and wanting to die, and now I'm writing the Council of Elrond and missing those golden rosy days.

Edit:

Snapshot of the thrilling evening lolol

[isaacathom]

ive entered a new era of weird hobby, which is now im taking photos of street signs.

[nervouswreckhere]

merlok remembers fondly the time wanda was shorter than him. although those times were not always better than the present...

[robot-roadtrip-rants]

Hey did I mention that The Elemental Council is a great depiction of occupation and colonialism? Because The Elemental Council is a great depiction of occupation and colonialism.