#featuring daedalus

[rolitae]

💪 Enemies vanquished [cross-stitch pattern] Features Zagreus in his victory pose, which I adore!

I started this pattern last year, designing it in October and finally finishing the stitching this month. I had a hard time stitching in this dark canvas. It's a bit too malleable and it was difficult to keep the correct tension. Oh well!

The pattern comes with 2 bookmark designs, as well! One of the centaur heart, the other with Daedalus' hammer.

I sent out a newsletter today, with the usual discount. I didn't send out one last month because I've been busy with personal stuff, sorry about that!

As always, feedback is welcome. Let me know what you would like for me to create and stitch! 🧵 tip | comms | shop

[thespackster]

✨ POOLTOY - Remixes 🎈🐾 out NOW‼️

With remixes from: @daedalus-dog & Ryzhur ROCK! THAT! POOLTOY! Features playing from @twocookiesowo & Alottadogs Pooltoy spacks drawn by @560338

Click here to stream/download (it's free :3)

🎈 S Q R K❗

[letmeremindyouvn]

And here's the game I've been working on for Pirate Software's game jam!! :D

You work as a researcher for the mysterious Daedalus Laboratory. You send plants into different worlds to see how the worlds affecting them. However, recently you noticed that most of your coworkers have disappeared, including your lab supervisor.

Still, you have to keep working to prevent termination. Will you be able to balance work and communicating with the employees who remain?

[Warning: This game contains brief depictions of blood and gore. Viewer discretion is advised.]

This game is part of the Let Me Remind You series that I am working, which are games about art, nostalgia, guilt, and memory.

This game also features some new characters to the Let Me Remind You universe and...Zecharias in a new outfit? Hmm.

Due to the deadline, the game is a demo and has a few issues I need to fix. I will try to fix them in the next update. As it is, the game is completely playable, and I hope you will enjoy it. ^^

[localsharkcryptid]

I managed to do something pretty neat folks- and so as a break from the usually scheduled dragon programming I offer:

Personal C!Awesamdude design!

He of course is a creeper-taur based on my own interpretations of them, though he's not exactly normal by any means - even by creeper standards and they're well... Odd.

I do have an alternate design in mind for a medieval painting themed dragon-taur but for right now I'm really proud of this!!

There's a few extra silly Sam Notes/Headcanons of mine under the cut :)

Fun Notes/HCs:

He stands at roughly 8ft (2.4 meters) tall normally, though that can dramatically increase if he rears up on his back legs! Usually rearing is only something he does if he's really pissed off or for extra intimidation points.

His fur is more akin to moss than anything and will vary in color depending on how well he's doing - as well as sunlight exposure. His coloration gets superrrr dark during his time as The Warden, and during the Daedalus Arc, though at the start of the server he'd be far more vibrant.

Despite what you'd think Sam is a shockingly adept swimmer! That long tail is used for swimming much like the tails of several species of monitors and other semi aquatic lizards, thus is less prehensile but can still for sure be used as a whip-like weapon.

His front 'paws' are scaled, with the 'fur' stopping around the ankles so he has a look similar to those fancy pigeons!

This current body is Vers:5.6 of his clones and what Sam considers the best of the forms he's made, thus he's spent the most time with it, I'd say he's had this body in particular for at least a few years before the start of the SMP if not longer.

This body features DNA/Attributes from NUMEROUS creeper species - most notably the Tundra/Extreme Cold, Jungle & Cave Variants, alongside the base which is a Mangrove Swamp creeper (OG Sam or Sam Prime as I call him is simply a mangrove creeper). Due to this Sam's instinctive reactions and behaviors can be rather conflictive with one another, usually he's quite good at reigning everything in as to meld with society better - though now and again he slips or it affects him in other ways with his habits and reactions to certain things.

Sam has a shocking amount of nonverbal vocalizations he'll make now and again, these range from hisses and various growls to chuffs and almost purr like sounds.

[chirp-a-chirp]

Flickering Light

Fandom: Ikemen Prince • Character Pairing: Leon Dompteur X OC (OC Named Carla) • Other Characters: Gilbert Von Obsidian, Chevalier Michel • Tags: Established Relationship; Angst; Hurt and Comfort; Angst and Feels; Memory Flashbacks (if stories featuring physical fights/abuse trigger you, don’t read); PTSD; references of slavery and refugees; Leon route spoilers • Word Count: ~2950

Synopsis: The Sunshine prince battles darkness in Obsidian with the help of his fiancé Carla. A crumbling tower triggers childhood flashbacks for Leon he’s tried to forget.

Alternate Synopsis: With the amount of trauma associated with Leon’s childhood, coupled with an inability to discuss it out loud due to circumstance and *insert hero archetype tendencies to not easily admit weakness*, I’m convinced Leon would have some significant PTSD. And memories he’s suppressed. This is a story about how he might deal with that with a loved one.

Want to learn more about Carla and Leon? Check out these stores: Seeker and Simmer

Folks Who (Might?) Appreciate This Story: @reborn-elven-spirit @candied-boys @wistfulwanderingone @x-daedalus-x @ikeprinces-stuff @violettduchess @aide-falls @animehusbandharem @the-bird-and-the-flute @sh0jun @5mary5 @queengiuliettafirstlady @sonicsquid3000 @ikemenlibrary @eventinelysplayground @lorei-writes @dear-sciaphilia

…

“A rather bold request. I’d expect nothing less from his lioness.”  

Leon’s arm wrapped protectively around Carla at Gilbert’s needling. She and Leon, along with Yves and King Chevalier, were in an audience room within the Obsidian Castle, serving in Rholodite’s delegation finalizing a cooperative agreement with the nation of soldiers and steel. Carla stared unblinkingly back at the world-wide disaster. “Not really. Rhodolite is about to enter a peace agreement with Obsidian. That agreement is with the country, not just you.”

“But I am Obsidian.” Gilbert tapped his ebony cane on the floor to emphasize his point. “And so are you, little cub. You’re as much Obsidian as the half-mast mongrel there.” Gilbert did not bother to contain his disdain of Yves, whose cheeks flushed irritably. 

“Hey, leave my fiancé’s mother and Yves out of this. Your conversation is with me.”  Leon shot a challenging glance at Gilbert. “And by the way, it’s Carla. My fiancé’s name is Carla. Not little cub.”  

“Ah, so Rhodolite’s lion marks his territory.” The corner of Gilbert’s mouth quirked in amusement. “No need to roar at me.” 

“I can’t really help it. She’s like the sun that I stand beneath.” Leon asserted with pride, the tension in the room lifting temporarily as he looked fondly at Carla. He turned back to Gilbert, his voice warm but with a firm edge. “So, of course I’m gonna have an opinion on how you speak with her.”

“She’d have to stand on a pretty large chair to stand beneath her. Heehee.” Yves bristled at Gilbert’s words. Carla squeezed Leon’s hand reassuringly, refusing to appear ruffled.

“Our agreement allows Rhodolite to visit medical and military facilities. I don’t see how Leon and I touring your southern regions contradicts that agreement.” Carla was taking a risk in asking, but another opportunity to freely explore Obsidian—including areas near the underground network she led for refugees escaping into Rhodolite—would not happen again soon.  

“Access goes through me. Paths to freedom are available because I allow them to be. Including those near the border.” A crimson eye narrowed slightly. “Things can always be worse. Networks…vanish.” Gilbert grinned, as if he hadn’t just hinted at knowing Carla’s secret.   

Who does Rhodolite belong to—the people that live there, those that wish to live there, or both?  That one question from Carla before they became a couple expanded Leon’s perspective. And without kingly trappings ensnaring him, Leon felt emboldened to lean into that perspective. Especially through the underground network he now helped Carla maintain. The fact that Chevalier, who sat at a nearby table surrounded by paperwork, had not interrupted thus far gave tacit leeway for Leon to continue. “The agreement is between our peoples. Carla and I should get to know your people. Including those outside the Castle. We can’t exactly do that cooped up here.” 

“And what is more important? Me or the people?” 

“The people.” Carla and Leon spoke in unison.   

“A pair as pure as ever. I just might puke.” Gilbert smirked. “A pity you wear black Prince Leon. White suits you and the little cub—ahem, I mean Lady Carla—more. Certainly, more than him.” Gilbert inclined his head towards Chevalier. “I see why you two gravitate towards one another.”

“We are like candles, each lighting the other.” Carla’s voice softened for the first time since talking with Gilbert. Leon’s hand curled towards her waist, pulling her close. “You’re pretty amazing yourself,” Leon whispered.     

“Ridiculous.” A deep sigh penetrated the air. “Can we get on with negotiations?” Chevalier lifted his eyes from the stack of papers.      

“Your beastly king censures you.” Gilbert sneered, tossing a rolled-up piece of parchment in Leon’s direction. “Here’s the map of our southern lands. And passes granting permission to travel there. I’m sure you’re both eager to get going.”

“Just like that?” Leon lifted an eyebrow, catching the parchment. 

“I have more fun things to play with here.” Gilbert gestured to Chevalier and Yves in poorly concealed amusement. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he offered a final comment to Leon. “But remember this: Obsidian is a land known for darkness—even the brightest candles can burn out from what they see.” 

…

A week had passed since Carla and Leon’s meeting with Prince Gilbert. They were well-beyond the neat and orderly confines of the capital. Towns and villages were scattered across the increasingly barren landscape, with poorly maintained roads connecting them. 

The pair traveled by foot on a dusty trail, a smattering of gnarled trees dotting one side of the trail. The path meandered over mostly open land, littered with dead brush and dry grasses matted down from perpetual wind. Carla opened the map as they trekked along, head buried in the folds of paper. With a sudden THUMP, Carla found herself walking straight into the broad back of Leon. 

“Oomph!” Carla rubbed her nose and took a step back. She folded the map, placing it in her travel pack. “You OK?” 

Leon stood in the middle of the trail, a solemn gravity emanating from him. His expression was faraway and dark. 

“Is anyone there?”

A tiny hand reached towards the sky. Blistered fingers grasped at the emptiness around him before curling into his dirty palm. His hand fell to his side, brushing against the immoveable boulder he was tasked to transport to the Lord’s tower. The boy’s back flinched in anticipation of the abuse his handler would reap for not moving the rock in time.    

“No,” the boy murmured. “Like that’s gonna happen.” A part of him wanted to scream, but why bother. 

The boy’s world tumbled into darkness. He would always be lost. Trapped. Alone. A piercing voice broke his train of thought, causing him to whip his head around.

“Leon?!”

Warm fingers grasped Leon’s hand, squeezing tightly. The faded blur of childhood memory scattered as Carla’s fingers twined with his, anchoring him to the present. The heavy, bleaker emotions associated with the memory lingered still—clear, distinct, and real.   

Carla’s eyes followed Leon as he stared intensely at the horizon. In the distance stood a dilapidated tower, crumbling with age and decay. Several sections of the tower were missing, sooty stones tossed about the ground. 

“That tower. I’ve…I’ve been there before.” Leon’s voice was quiet, barely a whisper that faded into the wind.  

Carla’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. They were in a part of Obsidian neither had explored previously in their rescue missions. Most Rhodolite royalty had not been in Obsidian for non-war or espionage related activities for years. There was no way in which Leon could have been near this place before, unless…

Unless as a child. A slave. Carla’s eyes widened, comprehension dawning in rapid alarm. Leon’s jaw clenched, tightly ticking in an attempt to swallow the emotions burning inside. She turned her body, placing herself in front of Leon as if she could block the barrage of horrendous thoughts assaulting him.  

“Leon? Leon!”

He did not hear her. Leon’s body stiffened, his free hand clinching the hem of his traveling cloak to the point that his knuckles turned white. The little boy in rags reaching towards the sky was a memory Leon’s heart refused to let go. It was an incomplete memory—one that had battered him inside for years even as he tried to shut it out. But with the tower in sight, Leon now recalled more. His eyes were distant, as if watching a scene only visible to him.  

“BOY!”

His handler came rushing from the work site, face ruddy, shaking with fury. The workman did not call him by name. A name implied worth and meaning. The boy had none. The boy tried to fix an impassive mask on his features. 

“I’m almost done. See? See!” The boy barely suppressed the rising warble in his voice. 

Don’t show fear. Don’t show weakness. Don’t feel it. Don’t. Don’t.  

The boy pushed with all his might against the boulder, his shoulders and back scraping painfully against hardened jagged edges. The rock, as if mocking him, moved a scant few inches forward before lurching back to its original spot.  

“I see.” His handler rasped, eyes gleaming. “I see a need for motivation.” A massive fist came barreling from the sky. 

Don’t cry out. That’ll make things worse. So, so much worse.     

The boy crouched in a ball, hands covering his face in a feeble attempt to block the blow.

“Leon! Talk to me. Please.”

Carla’s voice was distant, echoing in the far reaches of Leon’s mind. Leon was crouched up against a tree, one of his hands gripping the roots of his hair. Where was he? How did he get here? He shrank into a tighter coil, bracing against an invisible threat. Leon’s golden eyes were dilated, nearly replaced with orbs of black.

“We walked away from the tower. You’re on the outskirts of a nearby forest. You’re safe.” With difficulty, Carla got Leon to a sitting position on the ground, his back leaning against the tree. His shoulders remained hunched, as if trying to make himself a smaller target.   

This…this was not her Leon. Present Leon Carla corrected to herself. The charismatic hero with a ready smile carried darkness that dwelled deep in his mind. She had seen similar scenes play out before with others she had rescued from Obsidian. The most innocuous objects—teapots, riding crops, a lady’s red hat—could induce terror, pull people into harrowing pasts. Carla mentally added crumbling towers to clear blue skies, raw hide whips, and the smell of pine bark as triggers for Leon. 

Carla lowered herself so that she straddled Leon’s lap, her eyes the same level as his. Carla’s hands framed both sides of his face, stilling his movements so that all Leon saw was her. Leon blinked repeatedly, his shallow breathing eventually slowing, his glazed stare re-centering towards his beloved.   

“Carla…”

Her name fell from his lips, half despair, half hope. Not wanting to sink deeper into darkness, Leon reached out and crushed Carla to him. He wanted to drown in her, soak into her being. His hands grasped at her curves, seeking comfort and safety.   

Trauma. It was more visible to Carla than usual. Leon claimed he felt nothing when he reflected on his pre-palace childhood. But Carla had never truly believed he was as numb to those experiences as he acted. His eyes had always clouded over, shadows flickering, with each person she and he helped through their underground network. Especially children. The mightier the hero, the greater the fall. Carla’s eyes watered as she sniffled loudly. Leon stopped his movements, his eyes widening at her expression. 

“Leon…” She pressed her lips against his shoulder, caressing a scar so faded it was nearly invisible. Her hands grazed the contours of his upper back, fingers tracing muscles previously lanced with marks of a whip. “I’m here sweetheart.” 

Emotions beyond language’s ability to express them filled Leon as he clung to her. Carla could feel the thrum of Leon’s pulse against her skin, her lips connected to him in an act as spiritual as it was physical. Her presence was life giving—to the prince he was now and the boy he was then. Carla sighed softly and leaned slightly back. She wrapped her fingers through Leon’s wind-blown locks, attempting to coax him. “Do you want to talk?”

“Of course. It’s you.” 

There was sincerity in Leon’s words. “Don’t worry about me. I was just thinking earlier. That’s all.” His voice was casual, nearly dismissive. Dismissive of himself and the need to unburden his mind. 

“I’m your fiancé. It’s my job to worry about you. You don’t do it enough yourself.” 

The rebuttal that flitted to Leon’s lips vanished under the directness of her gaze. His eyes wavered with emotion. “I’m sorr—”

“If you say I’m sorry for the gift of knowing you—ALL of you—I’m going to have words.” Carla’s vivid blue eyes pierced straight into his soul. A wounded soul that did not know whether it was safe to reveal itself yet. “Your heart cries out even if your eyes don’t.”

Don’t cry out. It’ll be over soon.

The boy uttered not a sound, even as clinched fists and hardened boots collided against his arms and aching ribs. His handler had done this before. He knew it would happen again.

Nothing. He willed himself to feel nothing.      

“You hold back. Let it out.” Leon flinched reflexively as fingers grazed his ribs. But these touches were light, soothing, did not batter and bash. They lingered on him, as if trying to lance away the pain he held onto.  

Pain. He learned to live with it. Numbness and resilience intersecting into a blur. A blur that had him drowning on dry land. But now he sought air.

Leon let out a shaky breath. “I…I was here.” Another breath. “I looked at the sky. I couldn’t move a rock.” Another breath. “And then…fists came down.” 

Love—an emotion so sweet yet fragile. Something to protect and be protective over. Driven by the force of that emotion, Carla threw her arms around Leon, cradling his head to her as he shook uncontrollably. 

He felt everything. Everything he had suppressed most of his life. Words tumbled out of him, nightmarish memories crowding his mind as rapid fire as fists from the sky. 

“Please. Please. PLEASE. STOP!”

He screamed—for all the times he had not. 

“STOP!” Leon screamed repeatedly into Carla’s shoulder, raw, sharply piercing. The roar of a wounded beast and a terrified boy tangled into one. Leon winced repeatedly, as if struck by repeated blows. Carla curled herself around him, clinging tightly over him, her body shielding him from his handler, the looming tower, everything. He shuddered for what seemed like an eternity, gasping for breath, voice cracking. “STOP…stop…please.” 

And then, startling silence. 

The boy laid down in the mud. The air was empty, devoid of the faintest warmth. The taste of iron trickled down his cheek from a gash near his temple. His handler was gone, having made his point. 

Ache. His body ached. His heart throbbed, whether with pain or resignation he did not know. A loneliness surrounded him that ached even more. 

Another slave, trained in rudimentary medics, eventually came by to treat the boy’s wounds. The boy remained face down in the mud, barely moving.  

“Some people scream so loud anyone can hear’em. Wail like babies even.”  A glob of ointment, thick and gloopy, was roughly rubbed on the boy’s shoulders. “You kid? You scream in silence.”

To know another’s pain, to be allowed to see it and witness its vulnerability was a humbling experience. The air was still, as if recognizing the significance of the moment.

“It’s not OK what happened to you. All of it.” 

A painful pressure squeezed the breath from Leon’s lungs and then released at Carla’s words. He had never heard that—an acknowledgement of what he went through, the wrongness of it all. His brothers now knew of his past, but it was never spoken of—a buried truth, an unofficial price for maintaining his status as fourth prince. The silence of it all was too much. 

The boy was too tired to scream. 

And yet. A faint flicker within his heart refused to die out.

 He lifted his head from the mud.   

“If I were in trouble, what would you do?” The words were barely audible, mumbled into Carla’s shoulder. Leon slowly raised his head. I don’t need fixing his golden eyes seemed to plead; I need…I need…

“I’d help you.”

Understanding. “Regardless of who I am?” He hadn’t meant to say it aloud, but the words escaped him.  

“I love you. All of you: past and present; pauper and prince; perfect and pained.” Her voice flowed with understanding and affection. “You speak as if the boy you were before should be gone, forever erased. The echo of him remains, buried inside, guiding you. And I am grateful that boy is still there wanting to be seen and heard.”

Carla cupped a hand to Leon’s cheek, gently encouraging him to look at her. “That boy has made you who you are. You are a man who has witnessed darkness but carries light for Rhodolite. You have walked out of fire but come back with water for those that are still in flames, seeking help within our underground network. You show compassion because that boy knows what is like to have had none.” 

Her words seeped into his being. Love touched every fractured piece of Leon, mending him back together. “So yes, I’d help you. Because I adore you. And because you’ve looked pain in the eye, and you’ve stared back with love—love for your country, your brothers, your people.”

“And you.” Leon was filled with searing warmth. “Especially you. More than anything.” Amber eyes radiated hope again. 

“I would hope so, considering we’re engaged.” Carla smiled slightly. 

His heart squeezed at her words. “You move me so much Carla, it’s almost absurd.” He clasped her to his chest, clinging tight. “Thank you.”

A hand reached for the sky. 

Is anyone there? 

“You’re not alone.” Carla’s hand was steady as Leon reached for it. Her fingers grasped his, twining together.

“We are candles, each lighting the other.” Carla repeated the words she had spoken to Gilbert. “And I will light your way through the dark.”

[ohbo-ohno]

thinking greek mythology au thoughts

orpheus/eurydice au with soap/reader where soap manages to successfully bring you back from the dead but he becomes so petrified of losing you again that he never lets you leave his sight. and then he never lets you leave your house. and then your room :( and you beg and beg for him to let you go anywhere, even just let you see the sky again, but he nearly breaks down into sobs and tells you that he can't lose you again, that he can't fathom your death (you two end up dying together somehow - you starve because he refuses to leave to feed you, you get sick and he kills himself, or he commits a murder suicide because he knows you'll only truly be together forever in death)

icarus ghoap, featuring icarus soap (daedalus graves) and hades ghost. ghost only sees soap because he sees all the particularly important or unique deaths, and the crumpled man with wax burns down his torso, gilded wings drooping from his back, is a hell of a sight. he decides to keep him as his own pet bird

alternatively - sisyphus ghoap. soap spends his entire life avoiding death, making a mockery of ghost's kingdom and everything he rules over, and ghost is ecstatic when he finds the man has died from natural causes. he makes him an offer - push a boulder to the top of the hill, or become his cupbearer (and oh soap sneers at the thought, becoming a servant to a god he spent his whole life rejecting. and he can read between the lines, they all know a god's personal cupbearer does far more than keep his glass full). so every day soap pushes the boulder, and every day it falls back down. no matter how hard he works, how long he pushes, how strong he gets, it never reaches the top of the hill. ghost stops by sometimes to taunt him from the sidelines, to show him visions of the luxury he'll have as a cupbearer, tell him all the things he'll receive. they both know that soap will give in one day, will take his offer, it's just a matter of time

[dr-futbol-blog]

The Long Goodbye, Pt. 2

The team have returned to Atlantis with one of the pods but they are not on their own, as Caldwell likewise has taken up temporary residence. We are told that the Daedalus is making repairs while taking a wide orbit around the solar system, and Caldwell had decided to make use of the time to "do a little repair work" of his own in the city, meaning that he feels like he needs to make amends for recent events, thinking that his possession by the Goa'uld has damaged his relations with the senior staff. It is not a coincidence that his character is featured in the episode because it not only connects heavily back to Conversion (S02E08) but also plays with the theme of possession, the body being forced to do things while the mind is held prisoner, and although he is not the only one, Caldwell has a very recent experience of this very thing.

Beckett: Doctor Weir. Oh! Colonel Caldwell! Welcome back! Caldwell: Thank you, Doctor. Sheppard: Colonel. Caldwell: What have we got? Sheppard: We think it's a life pod of some kind.

Needing to do some repairing of relations of her own, Weir has invited Caldwell to join them as they attempt to crack open the pod. They arrive together to the lab where McKay is hard at work while everyone else seems to be watching him work, Beckett keeping an eye on the life-signs. We note that McKay is kneeling under the pod with his hand feeling up its underside and as the scene begins, Sheppard is walking up from where he had been standing -- which was behind McKay. He seems to have been watching McKay work from over his shoulder (not for the first time) between the wall and the pod but is now walking around it, and we may note that he is still remarkably quiet around a working McKay compared to his usual self. It had been Zelenka that had told him to stop talking, please in Grace Under Pressure (S02E14), not McKay, but just like we saw in the previous episode, Sheppard is still trying to keep quiet while McKay tinkers, possibly thinking that he is helping him when it is actually him talking to McKay that is helpful for him. Listening to Sheppard talk helps him focus.

Also make note of this: while Caldwell asks them a general question (What have we got?), Sheppard's answer (We think...) is not general but he is actually reporting what McKay thinks as what the two of them think -- and he very notably does the same thing at the end of the episode, the two of them seeming to share one mind between them. They think this is a life pod. In this instance, and we may again raise the question of just what kind of a connection the people who have the Ancient gene have, he may even be referring to all three of them gathered around the pod, himself, McKay and Beckett. They think it is a life pod. This thought is shared between the three of them.

Regardless, Sheppard goes around the pod and parks himself so that the pod is now between himself and McKay, and it is quite possible that he has spent sufficient time watching McKay's bent back and the man kneeling in front of him making noises that he started needing that security barrier between them, since it does not seem like McKay is wanting to take a break any time soon, if you catch the meaning. But as soon as he notices Caldwell and Weir come in -- and this may be caused by either one or both of them -- Sheppard folds his arms in a defensive gesture, even leaning away from them. His pelvis he keeps pointing at McKay however, in case it was unclear where his focus is in the room.

Beckett: It appears to be designed solely for the purposes of maintaining a single human life in stasis. This one's a female. Sheppard: There's another one in a decaying orbit but we could only fit one inside the jumper. Weir: I've already sent Lorne in Jumper Six to recover the second pod. Ronon and Teyla went along to help them locate it.

One of McKay's guys -- or a crew member of the Daedalus, given his jumpsuit -- brings something to another one of McKay's guys in the background, a scientist wearing a blue shirt working off to the side. This seems to interest Sheppard, as we see him crane his neck trying to see what is happening behind Caldwell. Now, it is possible that he is merely curious. He is interested in what the scientists do, what McKay is doing, and these guys are very likely helping McKay accomplish what he is trying to do in some small way. What ever the guy had been fetching and bringing in, likely he had been doing it at McKay's behest, whether directly or indirectly.

However, it could also be simple caution. We have seen that Sheppard does not take chances with McKay's safety, and given that the man is in a vulnerable position kneeling down on the floor, it is also possible Sheppard makes a quick sweep with his eyes at what the guy was doing to make sure McKay is secure. He is staying on top of what is happening in the room while McKay is entirely oblivious to anything and everything that is happening around him, as we see next. And it is precisely because McKay would not notice a bomb going off while he is focusing that Sheppard conversely seems hyper-aware of their surroundings, the two of them working as a team. Also note the way Sheppard's body does not turn when Beckett walks past him because his body is not tethered to just anyone with the gene, it is McKay that is the magnet pulling him. He keeps on orienting his body toward McKay.

The mention of Jumper Six is curious here, as that was the one McKay had gone down in only two episodes ago. Because of Caldwell's presence, this episode necessarily takes place after Critical Mass (S02E13), and since McKay said it was the first time they had taken Jumper Six out since it had been shot down, it also has to be after Grace Under Pressure (S02E14). However, the front compartment of the jumper had imploded so even if they had been able to rescue the jumper after the events of the episode, it would be unlikely that McKay could have done anything to repair it and even if he had, they have other jumpers to choose form, so it would make little sense for Lorne's team to take that particular jumper out for a spin. This suggests that they have brought in at least one new jumper with them from the planet of The Tower (S02E15), and now either this new jumper (that they have provided with new energy) had been named Jumper Six or one of the old jumpers had been re-named with this designation. What ever the case, they sure seem to like running Jumper Six specifically.

McKay: OK! I'm ready to crack her open. Hey. Caldwell: Hello, Doctor. McKay: Hmm.

McKay pops up from behind the pod like a Jack-in-the-box, very obviously excited about having solved the mechanism, having figured out how this thing works. It is impressive, given that this technology is completely alien to them, they have never come across this civilization before. There is a woman from the science team standing behind him who is joined by the same man in the jumpsuit that had come in earlier, and they both turn to look at him as he prepares to do what ever they were going to do, people on Atlantis seeming to have learned to take stock of what ever McKay is doing. McKay appears to be referring to the pod as "her" here but given that Beckett had just mentioned that there is a female human inside, "cracking her open" makes McKay come across as unintentionally insensitive, even though he very clearly had not heard a word Beckett had said and obviously was not referring to the human inside. In fact, as he gets up McKay seems to be met with a completely different scene as what ever had been in the room before he had gone down to work on it, and he is well and truly blind-sided by Caldwell suddenly standing in front of him. This tells us that the tone in which he says the first thing was meant for Sheppard.

As soon as McKay notes Caldwell's presence, his demeanour changes entirely. He is obviously taken aback and stiffens up, his eyes seem wild and, after a pause, he gives a stilted "Hey" in acknowledgement of the Colonel. Although it is probably not his intention, he is being very obviously rude but the question is -- why? The easy answer is that it is the Goa'uld that is making McKay feel cautious. He may intellectually know that Caldwell is no longer hosting a parasite and that he had not been aware that he had been possessed by an alien parasite the last time they had been interacting with each other, and so he does not quite know how to act normally around the man now. Caldwell himself seemed to think he had some bridges to mend on account of how he had behaved while he had been possessed. But it is also entirely possible that McKay does not even remember that about him, given that his attention at the time had been taken up by the approaching wraith and the overloading ZPM, and he barely had bandwidth left for the whole whodunnit of it all. But the other thing that might have made McKay suddenly tense up is that no one had told him -- them -- that Caldwell was suddenly in the city, and Caldwell's presence means something for them, for himself and Sheppard.

When it is Caldwell and not Sheppard that is the highest ranking officer on base, it means that they have to be extra cautious. It means there are things that they do not get to do while he is around, just to be on the safe side. While Caldwell is in Atlantis, McKay does not get invited into Sheppard's quarters -- like we were explicitly shown in Trinity (S02E06). While Caldwell is standing next to him, Sheppard is going to act extra professional toward him, less familiar, and always at least a little bit defensive. Caldwell's presence changes things for himself and Sheppard, and hence it would be nice to get a little warning and a heads up, not just have the Colonel sprung up on him like that. It clearly takes McKay a whole moment to adjust himself to this new information. But just as soon as he makes the mental adjustment, he is ready to pop open this piñata. And we may note that just as the space opens between himself and Sheppard and the barrier between them is taken away as the cover slides open, Sheppard's hands come unfolded. It is not the old half-dead woman that is revealed which makes his body relax, it is McKay standing in front of him.

Beckett: She's alive -- barely. It appears we found her very near the end. All the major organs are shutting down. Weir: How long was she out there? Beckett: There's no way to tell for certain. Weir: So she could be an Ancient? McKay: The pod design makes me doubt that. Weir: It's a shame she can't speak with us. Just imagine what she could tell us about her people and about what happened to her. McKay: Elizabeth! Beckett: Medical team to Lab Three, stat!

And so we watch an elderly woman who had been kept alive by the stasis pod enter "the big sleep," her death initiated by the opening of the pod. This scene is somewhat reminiscent of Before I Sleep (S01E15), where they had similarly opened a stasis pod to find an elderly woman inside, and likely all of them bar Caldwell, who had not been there, are remembering that time, encountering the 10,000 year old Weir at the end of her life. And it is because the last such elderly woman had been Weir herself that she now steps closer to the pod, perhaps desiring the same kind of closeness as she had felt to herself then. They had suspected her of being an Ancient initially too, and so she speculates on this possibility even though McKay can immediately tell her that the technology is not Ancient. But Weir is curious, and it is curiosity that once again gets the cat as she is suddenly rendered unconscious by the pod that, unbeknownst to them, transfers the woman's consciousness into her.

Beckett had made the observation that the life sign inside was female and since McKay and Weir are both standing close to the pod, it is possible the pod chooses Weir for this specific reason -- and it is lucky for everyone that it does, as if it had chosen McKay, they might not have survived this ordeal. And it is not an arbitrary thing that both McKay and Weir are standing on either side of the pod here because it is precisely because Phoebus makes this choice and not the other that allows Sheppard and McKay to save the city from her. If she had chosen McKay to play against Thalan and Sheppard's combined pools of expertise, it is possible the solar system would not have survived their war against each other. And this is important: while she may later choose Sheppard as the avatar for Thalan, she did not choose Sheppard's significant other for her own. She is not looking for a lover, she is looking for someone to kill.

A few minor things to note: when Beckett tells them that she is barely alive, he is looking at his life signs detector, indicating that he can see Phoebus's faint life signs there, and we then see Sheppard try to look over his shoulder at the read out. This is not necessarily because he is interested in her life sign but may be because he is interested to see what faint life signs look like -- for future reference. This is information he files in his memory in case there ever is a case in which he needs to use the monitor to find someone barely alive. We hardly need point out who it is that he is concerned for. The second thing is that as Weir faints, it is naturally Caldwell who takes on most of her weight as she was standing closest to him. Given that he is no longer a strapping young lad Sheppard does help him with this but he then quickly moves back to give Beckett space to work. It seems as though McKay actually notices what is happening to her before Sheppard, and it is only after he shouts "Elizabeth!" that Sheppard snaps out of his reverie and into action. Sheppard cares about her but she is not and never has been his number one priority. In fact, even here he makes sure that he is not trapped by her body in case he needs to quickly get to someone else in the room that might faint since they have no idea what this technology can do.

Later on, we find them in the infirmary where McKay seems to be freaking out and Sheppard is trying to calm him down, and although McKay is generally reluctant to take blame for anything (last seen in the jumper when his last words to Griffin had been that it was not his fault the jumper had gone down), the thing that might be causing him additional anxiety about this is that his mother seems to have died from a protracted illness that likely means he had spent more than a while by her bedside in a hospital watching her die as a boy, possibly blaming himself for it through some convoluted child logic. Whether or not Sheppard knows this about him he does know McKay, and hence we find him trying to soothe his worry. We may note that the men stand facing each other here, and the exchange between them is intimate in spite of Caldwell standing right there. This is not a team leader managing his subordinate.

McKay: Okay, this? Is not my fault. Sheppard: We were all there, relax. Beckett: She's coming around.

McKay seems anxious in a way that is not explained by what had happened or his relationship with Weir, and he does care about her, as seen for example during The Eye (S01E11) when he tried to keep her safe at a risk to his own life. But the tightness in his voice suggests that there is more here, and Sheppard seems to be able to hear it as well. Although they are all gathered by her hospital bed and are worried about her, note that Sheppard's body is entirely angled toward McKay here because it is McKay that he is worried about. And just reading the dialogue does not do it justice here because his words could be interpreted as communicating "Get over it" or "Stop whining" or any number of things simply meant to make McKay reign in his histrionics, but that is not what Sheppard is doing here, that is not the tone of his words. He is actually trying to get McKay to relax, to calm down.

McKay steps closer to him but he seems to make himself stop before he gets too close because the look Sheppard gives him seems to have a warning in it, what with a superior officer almost literally breathing down his neck. And you are of course naturally free to interpret Sheppard having angled his body away from Weir and her hospital bed and even blocking her off with his shoulder because he is just so very, very worried for her that in his mental anguish he can barely stand to look at her, but that is just not what his body language has communicated during the season and a half of the show where we consistently find him needing to face McKay, needing to see his face when they talk, focusing his attention on McKay, talking about McKay when he is not talking with him. Even here, as Beckett tells them that she is waking up, it is McKay who is more quickly at her bedside and steps closer to her.

The two of them seem to move at exactly the same time, again showing us this obvious physical connection between them. And sure, Sheppard could be keeping a distance because he is just so overwhelmed with emotion that he needs to stay back, but let us make a note of how unhappy McKay looks here. This is tough on him, and because this is tough on him Sheppard is being comforting toward him, even if there is only so much he can do in front of his superior officer. It is not that he does not want to reach out because we see him look briefly down, likely at McKay's hands that must be moving in that self-soothing way of his, like he wants to take his hand but is of course unable to do that now. But Sheppard is very much trying to be there for McKay here which is an interesting choice at someone else's bedside.

Continued in Pt.

[sarafangirlart]

So because i am not so interested in watching the kaos series. Can you describe how Ariadne and Dionysus are portrayed there?

Dionysus isn’t a drunkard (thank god) but he’s a lot meeker here than he is in mythology, like you’ve seen before, it’s like he’s repeating his arc from mythology all over again except worse, Zeus is physically abusive to him (which tbf is accurate to how he treats his children) Hera bullies him which I feel is a bit ooc bc she’s perfectly capable of moving on from her anger and bury the hatchet, she’s done it with both Heracles and Dionysus. However Dionysus being annoyed at Zeus for calling Hera his mother is pretty in character I think. He has weirdly homoerotic chemistry with Orpheus which is hilarious since I’m pretty sure the maenads killed him in mythology. He carries a kitten around which is adorable, then Zeus kills it to prove a point ig. Don’t the Maenads tear animals to shreds tho? I guess this traumatized Dionysus bc he genuinely liked that cat.

Ok now Ariadne, they make her Glaucus’s twin, for some reason the “Minotaur” isn’t Asterion. Minos tells Ariadne and Pasiphae that as babies, Ariadne fell asleep on top of Glaucus and suffocated him to death. Which obviously traumatized them. Idk why they did that, ig it’s to ease her mind bc she has a prophecy that she would kill her brother? Minos later says it’s to make her stronger which like… ok ig.

Glaucus for some reason isn’t actually a Minotaur but a feral man. Y’know it pisses me off bc making Ariadne and Asterion twins could be hella interesting bc imagine them being linked like real twins and for her to FEEL him getting killed in the Labyrinth by Theseus, that juicy juicy angst. Pasiphae forces Daedalus to make wax figures of her son that she thinks is dead, and makes Ariadne stand in as reference, then complains that Glaucus doesn’t have a big nose like Ariadne, I imagine some girls out there can relate to having mothers being overly critical of their daughters ethnic features (not me tho my mom is great).

She’s in her thirties and helps her father maintain his dictatorship (idk much about modern Greek history but I have to imagine it might be insensitive since Greece was under a dictatorship in the past) but she believes that it’s for good and asks her dad to make Crete a democracy like Athens and that ppl would vote for him bc they love him, obviously Minos shoots this idea down. The Trojans low key feel like stand ins for modern MENA refugees which is HELLA insensitive for a multitude of reasons but the one that stood out to me the most is that they use yt British and American actors for the Trojans which really rubs me the wrong way, to use poc suffering for entertainment. Theseus is Astyanax’s bf (but you already knew that) and sides with the Trojans and he “tricks” Ariadne into coming to “Troy Town” (argh which is segregated btw) and they corner her and ask her to free their Trojan prisoners, otherwise they’d keep her as a hostage, which she does then she has the audacity to be mad at Theseus for this when he is completely justified in what he did. Imagine making Theseus more right than Ariadne lol

I don’t understand making Theseus a bodyguard/ rebel spy and removing him from the context of Athens, and why would you write him as supporting Trojans? Didn’t his sons fight against Troy in the Trojan war? Also I think Theseus was killed by the Minotaur? Idk only 7 corpses were shown and he was supposed to be the eighth of this group but he doesn’t show up again.

[jackhkeynes]

Wings Afire

notes in translation on the opera Wings Afire (Ale in Fiamme).

Al Igne es un melodram compos par y Venijan Chiarina Bruno e preu parformað nell'Arena de Verona d'an 1824. Wings Afire is an opera written by Venisian Chiarina Bruno and first performed in the Verona Arena in 1824.

Caye l'ouvr primer scenað nell'Arena de Verona posc i dene closið con y sounç dy Var Teudesc Dovem. It was the first work staged in the Verona Arena since it was shuttered at the outbreak of the Second German War.

Y melodram es un renarranç dy legend d'Icar oc loy fignt cos enter apres dy cainç ny mythos, ant soumoin jait vars Icar mort ny collocq. The opera is a retelling of the legend of Icarus which takes place entirely after the events of the myth, with references to the dead Icarus in the dialogue.

Entarn scey y matron d'un vessonman acconnosc ayent a Dædal gemiscent; i l'aïð a y gavisc d'orðenjar redescovrir. It follows the matron of a clothiery who meets a grieving Daedalus; she helps him to rediscover the joy of invention.

Y music dy melodram es abrangent dy melody mogn e dolorous dy viol cemtir des cont a pouvr Borallesc; rumorað es ig Bruno au parol oïð den de sy fraðr Jacomo. The opera's music features the low-pitched mournful melodies of the graveyard fiddlers from Borlish folklore; Bruno is said to have heard of them from her brother Jacomo.

[yalegraphicdesign]

Featuring the work of 2024 MFA GD candidates  Simon Charwey, Julio Correa Estrada, Davy Dai, Sara Duell,Kayla Hawkins, Darnell Henderson, Junyan Hu, Claire Hungerford, Kaming Lee, Siri Lee,Daedalus Guoning Li, Lobbin Liu, Xinyi Liu, Neeta Patel, Orlando Porras, June Lihua Yu, Qiang Wang, and Ken Wenrui Zhao.

[bestiarium]

Rostron’s Sea Serpent [modern cryptid/urban legend]

One day when the Cunard Line ship Campania sailed into Queenstown, on what was to be an uneventful Friday evening, one of its crewmembers noticed something unusual in the water. Arthur Rostron - a future ship's captain who would later become famous for rescuing many survivors of the HMS Titanic - spotted what he would later describe as a 'sea serpent'.

The creature had a neck of about 12 inch thick and held its head roughly 8 feet above the water's surface. Rostron, along with a junior officer who also sighted the strange creature, reported their unusual find to the captain, who assumed the junior officer must have been drunk.

Rostron would never see the alleged sea serpent again, but the next Monday he came upon a newspaper article of a witness who claimed to have seen such a creature in the Bristol Channel. The man, whose name is not revealed, was supposedly attacked by the creature on Saturday (the day after Rostron's sighting) and fought it off with an oar. Given the time and location, Rostron assumed this beast to be the very same he had encountered.

The drawing that Rostron made after seeing the beast appears to have been lost to time, and I found no illustrations or other descriptions of the supposed sea monster.

However, I found that the incident is often compared to a similar story that happened a few decades earlier. In 1848, captain M'Quhae of the English frigate Daedalus saw a monster somewhere between St. Helena and the Cape of Good Hope. He had more luck than Rostron, in that several other crewmembers also saw the creature and could back up his account. The animal was described as follows:

Its body was about 60 feet in length, with an additional (estimated) 30 or 40 feet remaining underwater.

The creature's dark brown serpentine body was roughly 16 inch in diameter and its head was raised 4 feet over the surface of the water.

The head was equipped with jaws large enough to swallow an adult man, and fitted with many jagged teeth. The head was, he insisted, definitely that of a snake, and with a yellow-white throat. A seaweed-like mane protruded from its back, but no fins could be discerned.

Lieutenant Drummond would later back up the story of his captain in ‘Zoologist’, though he added a few details: the creature had a dorsal fin and its head was long (about 10 feet) and pointy with a flattened top.

Captain M'Quhae claimed that the creature came so close to the ship that if it had been a human acquaintance of his, he would have easily recognized their features. The creature was swimming to the south west in a relatively straight line. When I searched for M’Quhae’s story, I found some reproductions of the images that were originally published in the Illustrated London News.

Sources: Rostron, A.H., 1931, Home from the Sea, Cassel & Company Ltd., London, p.49-51. 'The Great Sea-Serpent' in Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, Vol.3 No.1, July 3 1852 Edwards, A., 1990, Fish and Fisheries of Saint Helena Island, Centre for Tropical Coastal Management Studies, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 152pp, p.14-17. (images 1 and 3: Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, image is a reproduction of an illustration in Illustrated London News) (image 2: Fish and Fisheries of Saint Helena Island, image is a reproduction of an earlier illustration in Illustrated London News)

[cdroloisms]

my dsmp hot take is that while yes c!dream was a villain and a bad guy (tho i'd argue he's morally dark grey rather than pure evil) his personality was not often the ultra crazy over the top anime esq villain some of the fandom paints him to be

Like everything from his line delivery to his mannerisms and tone made him seem like just some guy? Like just a actual seemingly normal dude who'd I'd say is unsettlingly casual a lot of the time about the things he does and says, which is what makes c!Dream and ccDream's performance of the character rather compelling and interesting to watch... imo at least. This is not to say that c!dream never has his big obvious villain moments but to me those moments truly stand out because of how he often is played so human and passing for almost normal most of the time

Anyways I really love c!dream, he's one of my favorite characters of all time because of how understated and human he is a lot of the time until the moments you remember why he's a threat in the first place.....it's just...aaaaaa he's so interesting and cool I wanna analyze him under a microscope

I ... am not sure if I'm following your argument but that's probably a me problem. It's true, c!Dream's actual personality isn't only the overdramatic villain act that somehow overshadowed like, everything about him to a large portion of the fandom. That being said, I would definitely argue that a large portion if not a majority of c!Dream's most overtly villainous moments and actions definitely didn't read as casual to me? tbh "casual" and "normal" are hard words re: c!Dream because the guy ... kind of fails at having any chill literally ever LMAO like even his more faux chill moments (such as the front he keeps up in Daedalus) are very hard for me to describe as casual--though that's just me, and might be a more subjective matter of how we define things lol. That being said, a lot of how c!Dream wields people's perception of him is absolutely about using the villain deal as a shield and smokescreen, which usually meant going full throttle with acting like a Disney movie villain (see: Spirit Speech, Green Festival, Doomsday, Staged Finale, etc.) to intimidate people. Of course, there's an argument for c!Dream acting 'casual' during Exile in mannerisms compared to his more ... overtly villainous acting in the aforementioned scenes, but even then basically every moment we see from his character from the second he betrays Pogtopia for the book (and goes on his whole For Chaos spiel to c!Tommy which had c!Tommy very visibly like ???? bro what the fuck) is so. Different from how this guy acted earlier on in the server that 'casual' as it means between the time period of November 2020 - January 2021 for c!Dream is a whole different ballpark from casual in summer 2020, you feel? Like, though they were definitely wrong, there's a reason why literal demon possession became such a prevalent theory around that time, because bro what the fuck.

It depends on how you look at it, I guess, but I really don't think being underestimated as a villain is like. Ever something that really features in this guy's story, at least from an in-universe perspective--people are primed to think the worst of him from quite early on in the story and the influence of that sticks as he keeps spiraling worse until the prison. Even when he "passes as normal" to the audience bc he's not playing up the villain show to convince people he's too much of a threat to handle, c!Dream-as-the-final-boss c!Dream-as-villain are ideas that very much precede the moments that are most obviously c!Dream wearing the villain title as a mask (which, makes sense--he's not the originator of c!Dream-as-villain as a concept, it's just something he uses to his advantage when the server has already decided that this is Who He Is and then eventually internalizes and attaches to his identity). I think that the big twist for a lot of people, audience and in-universe, comes from poking through the image crafted for him and by him to recognize the just-some-guy behind the villain's mantle -- which is part of why [gestures at the prison arc] like, all of that -- because for a lot of people, regardless of the humanity that c!Dream was literally always played with or even the literal history of the server preserved in vods that many of them had watched live, the power of the story established during the Revolution in and out of canon meant that every problem came him (stated by c!Quackity around the time of Dethronement, objectively untrue at the time) and everything he said was manipulation (gestures at Quackity's chat the day of Mexican L'manburg negotiations) and anything that humanized him was falling for his tricks (poor Bubbles' tumblr post 😭😭😭). It's true that there's no shortage of "just some guy" c!Dream moments to choose from--it's also true, imo, that what really governs c!Dream's story from start to finish is the mask of the villain that he is given and wears and becomes and then the dismantling of it.

[bellybiologist]

Next Old art! A 2020 Comic about Titus' (very illegal in the state of California) pet snapping turtle, Daedalus, featuring Oscar and Maria. This was back when Quarantine first started and after Animal Crossing released. But also! in the midst of the eggocalypse easter event that PLAGUED us ALL.

Chose this one today because today is my mom's birthday, and its the reason October always brings me a lot of complicated feelings despite it being my own birthmonth (mine comes 3 days later!).

Titus' mom, Maria, is an amalgam of traits from myself and also a lot of the traits that I admire from my own mother. Heck, she is even named after the name she would've chose for me if I was AFAB. It's a big reason that once I transition socially, I plan on taking Maria as my own first name (while also keeping pretty much every bit of my original name anyway. Cuz I can just do that.😌 )

[letmeremindyouvn]

Welcome!!

This is the official blog for my game series Let Me Remind You. They're a series of games featuring a strange man named Zecharias. He's only found in abandoned places and is always looking for a muse to inspire his art. Most people who meet him are never seen again.

Zecharias is the love interest and antagonist of most of the games, and a straight up antagonist in some of them. He is obsessive towards his love interests and his art, and can be described as a yandere.

My games can be found on itch.io: https://batter-sempai.itch.io/

My main blog: https://batter-sempai.tumblr.com/

Current available games:

A Date with Denial (You wake up to find yourself on a date with a mysterious man, you don't remember how you got here.)

Be My Muse (demo) (At an exhibition in a local art museum, you try to get away from the crowd and bump into a strange man who, for some reason, really wants to paint a portrait of you.)

Why Is This Weird Guy Letting Me Touch His Chest (noncanon) (An intentionally bad game where you enter a weird host club just touch Zecharias' chest. That's about it. :> )

Lovely Pressed Flowers (demo) (You work as a researcher for the mysterious Daedalus Laboratory. Recently you noticed that most of your coworkers have disappeared, including your lab supervisor.)

Protocol L0V3D (demo) (You play as Clark, a researcher tasked with studying the phenomenon known as the Backrooms and the entities in it. But what would you do if one of your coworkers falls in love with one of the entities?)

Feel free to send me asks about my games and characters. ^^ I have a long backlog of asks but I will get to them soon.

Monthly schedule:

[Character profiles and info still WIP]

[ask--eggman]

Doctor, did you just indirectly confirm that you're a half-blood (demigod) with how you said you had grey-blue irises? Those are actually a very prominent feature in children of Athena, and it would not be too much of a stretch to say that you are a child of Athena (or Hephaestus for that matter).

Daedalus was also a child of Athena, so that just backs it up even more.

I'm sorry for how weird and unhinged this rambling is, I've just started studying mythology a lot lately to figure out if any of the people I look up to are half-bloods.

Heheh, how interesting. I of course have done plenty of research on god-like beings but somehow I've never heard of that. I'll keep that in mind and perhaps look more into those names...

Well, I've always known I was the higher power with how I'm superior to all and I quite like the title of god! Yet at the same time, I feel that I'm beyond god. Like my power and glory cannot truly be emphasized enough by just a single important status and title, so I'll have to go by them all!

[tsarstroganoff]

Well, while I’m stuck in traffic, I can talk about all my OCs lmao.

I saw a TikTok a few weeks ago of someone sharing all their OCs for the content they intake and enjoy. The caption was “I am cringe but I am free.” And, honestly, felt.

So, it’s my turn to be cringe and share my OCs and you have to deal with it lol.

- Arcane

I don’t actually have a name for him, tbh. I have just been calling him “Gale” which will make sense as I explain. He grew up a Zaunite working in the mines and his health was slowly deteriorating from constant exposure to the gray and hazardous conditions. When given the chance to escape the mines and the undercity as a whole. He takes it. He’d die if he didn’t and he needs to fight to survive. Managing to escape and take some time to begin recovering his health, he takes inspiration for the tales of Janna and begins researching the science of wind and air. Eventually he returns to Zaun (potentially some time after season 1) with his new tech that allows him to manipulate air currents and blow away toxic fumes within the undercity. He’d probably end up joining up with the firelights later, or something, to start working towards bringing clean air to Zaun. He’s my most recent so I’m still working out the kinks with him.

- Persona

Specifically he fits into the Persona 5 framework. His name is Daichi and his codename is “Artifice.” He’s exactly what the people of shujin accuse Joker of being: “A convicted felon.” He’s the type of person who looks and acts unapproachable. He did a stint in juvie for something (I don’t know lol) and is now at Shujin to serve some sort of rehabilitation like Joker is. He has become a social outcast and is commonly seen practically running from the school when classes end. Where you’d usually find him is at a repair shop where he tends to work on all manner of mechanical or electronic device. Building and repairing them. But, no coding. He can do hardware, not software. Eventually something something something he gets pulled into the metaverse and awakens to his persona, Daedalus, and takes up the mantle of Artifice. From there Joker and the other thieves get to see that his “strong-but-silent” exterior is a result of an antisocial nature and he’s actually very talkative to the people he considers friends. He’s got a dry with and a hell if a lot of sarcasm. Usually it’s Ryuji or Ann dragging him out to places “against his will” (he loves them and enjoys spending time with them. Don’t lie to yourself) But he does get along well with Haru as they both favor the heavier weapons and more aggressive aspect of fighting. He fights with a pair of gauntlets that allows him to both punch and grapple enemies to his hearts content.

- My Hero/BNHA

I gotta get better at giving these characters actual names and not just WIP names or code names/titles. Here is the Rhythm Hero: Melodist. Quirk: Rhythm. Anyone ever played guitar hero or rock band? Maybe DDR? Thats his quirk. If he is listening to or playing music and performs an action in time with the notes being played, he gets a boost to whatever physical action it is. Running in time with the down beat of a song lets him run faster for longer. If he throws a punch or kick with a cymbal crash it hits harder. Etc. He operates in a similar manner to Presentation Michael or Jirou in he is both a performer and a hero. His defining feature is his combat guitar support gear. Because, c’mon, laying out a nasty power chord them slamming the guitar over some chump’s head is just cool.

- One Piece

This one I technically have two. But, one is a DnD character for a one piece based campaign me and my friends are playing. The first (again, with no actual name) I just call “the Captain.” (Real original, tsar) He’s not too fleshed out beyond how I would expect him in combat. I’ve dual wields a cutlas and pistol/blunderbuss in a very fluid kinda watery grace. If you’ve played Hyrule warriors and have seen Tetra’s move-set, that’s what I’m basing this off of. That’s about it. He’s got the traditional pirate aesthetic of the tricorn hat and his captains coat being worn off his shoulders like is commonplace in one piece. And he’s got a bandana around his neck. (I need to do more work for this guy lol)

- Legend of Zelda

The sheikah are followers of the blood of the goddess. Chosen to be aids and advisors and even sometimes guardians for those who bear the blood of the goddess. Usually this takes the form of Impa and her various lives’ relationships with their select Zelda’s. But, they go all the way back to being in the service of the actual goddess herself, as shown from both Skyward Sword and things seen in the Hyrule Historia. My thought was to have a character from that time period be basically an everlasting archive of the history of Hyrule. A sheikah honored with the boon of being a reliquary of hyrule’s stories and the stories of its great heroes. Never really getting involved and always in the outskirts of everything. But, he will step in to offer aid and guidance from the past where he can to the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero. He’d stand in a similar regard to the likes of the Deku Tree, Jabun, Levias, the ocean king, the various dragons, etc. a timeless individual who is a whole host of knowledge that is willing to grant that knowledge if you know what to ask for. Predictably, no name for him, either. (Get your shit together, Tsar)

- Marvel Comics

Specifically the comics. I fell out of love with the MCU a bit before infinity war came out. The guy is kinda blending of the hulk/Bruce banner and Wally west from DC. Wally/kid-flash/the third flash saw what Barry Allen was able to accomplish and figured out how to replicate the incident that gave him his powers, getting some for his own and becoming the first kid-flash before inheriting the mantle of the scarlet speedster for himself. That’s the same general framework for my guy. He saw what banner did and was capable of as hulk and set out to try and replicate it (just, y’know, minus the setting off and getting caught in the blast radius of what basically amounts to a turbo-nuclear bomb). Boom! Another member to be added to the hulk family. Of course he wouldn’t have the same skillset/power set as the hulk. But, certainly similar. Each hulk has their own general schtick that helps set them off from the green Goliath. Even Hulk has different capabilities based on what run there is (Worldbreaker, Professor Hulk, Joe Fixit, etc). So, my guy’s schtick was kinda a half-inverse fusion of red hulk and abomination. As red hulk gets angrier, he gets hotter. The energy welling up inside of him and quite literally burning through his skin. So the inverse of that is getting colder. More frosty. An endothermic reaction rather than exothermic. Then add in some amphibious/aquatic traits like abomination has and you get my guy. A hulk situated for frozen tundras and the deep sea. No name for him beyond “blue hulk guy.”

Basically every other character I would have either has roots as a DnD character who has been manipulated to fit other franchises or is just a self insert for a franchise that has no definitive characterization for the main character. Oh, my farmer in stardew valley is just me but slightly to the left and in a different font? Tell me more. Here’s a real old DnD character of mine who never really saw the light. Let’s change maybe three words in his backstory. That’ll make him fit right in in X-franchise.

Anyways, I could go more in depth with the tropes and character stories I have thought up for each of them, but I won’t.

I am cringe but I am free