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queen-lucy-the-valiant · 1 year

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On my last rewatch of Prince Caspian, I wondered what it would be like to be one of the Narnian’s in the battle planning scene; watching the supposed High King suggest what is essentially a suicide mission. The fight is really between the High King, the myth come to life, and Prince Caspian, the Telmarine prince they’ve accepted as the leader of their rebellion; both plans offer hope, both plans might work, but both plans also seem like a stretch; the most likely outcome is that they all die. But no one is saying that the most likely outcome is death, they’re all just dancing around it. Caspian and Peter are both saying their plan has the highest chance of success, but neither of them are saying that the rebellion might fail, that everyone in the How might die in a few short days.

And there has to be a disconnect here; how many of the Narnians were like Trumpkin when he first met the Pevensies, how many of them assumed these apparent children wouldn’t be able to help them. They accept them, of course they accept them, Caspian himself is a child, if an old one. So you have this apparent child, claiming to be the high king of legend, suggesting an insane plan, and even though he’s sure the plan will work, maybe you can’t get over the fact he’s young, maybe you can’t get over the fact young usually means inexperienced. And during all of this, his youngest sister, supposedly a queen in her own right, is casually sitting on the stone table itself, and maybe this angers you, because no one has dared to touch the stone table, the place where Aslan died and was born again, because to do so would be to disrespect him; but there she sits, silent until she challenges her brother, silent until she voices the thought everyone is thinking but no one dares to say; “That’s what I’m worried about,” she says after the first pledge of ‘or die trying’ has been made, “You’re all acting like there’s only two options. Dying here, or dying there” she says. “I’m not sure you’ve really been listening, Lu,” the high king says, a little patronizingly, a little dismissively; and it occurs to you that maybe he cannot see past the child to the woman she used to be, as you cannot see past the child he appears to the man he used to be. If he cannot, how can you? Maybe you expect her to back down, this is the high king after all, but she has already been brave enough to voice what everyone else didn’t dare. So she doesn't back down; “No, you’re not listening” she says emphatically, “or have you forgotten who really defeated the white witch, Peter,” and she refers to an event a thousand years past, one so wrapped up in legends and myth that maybe the truth really has been forgotten, maybe everyone in the How has also forgotten who really defeated the White Witch. Or maybe you simply do not expect her to call on Alsan, when she appears to be so casually disrespecting him. “I think we’ve waited for Aslan long enough” the high king says, and then walks away, ending the argument, after all, they’ve already decided to attack the castle, what’s the point in arguing about it more.

In this moment, Lucy is the only one thinking about Aslan, because everyone else agrees with Peter, they have waited for Aslan long enough, centuries of waiting while the Telmarines hunted them to near extinction, and now the kings and queens of old are here, surely sent in Aslan’s sted; they’ve decided it is time to act and the high king has offered a plan, something they can do, rather than continue to sit around and wait. He’s the high king, he’s so confident the plan will work, and it’s the only plan they have, so of course they do it, (and it seems like it might’ve worked if caspian understood that you can free people from the dungeons and execute miraz after you’ve managed to take the castle, but that’s not what this is about).

I don’t know, it just seems like this moment would be really strange to see as a bystander; the Pevensies haven’t even been there that long, maybe a couple of days, so even if everyone accepted them as the kings and queens of old, they still don’t really know them, let alone understand them; it’s doubtful that the Pevensies they know from the stories are anything like the real Pevensies that stand before them. They’ve suddenly been confronted with kings and queens of legend who appear in the bodies of children, who look like young ones but behave like old ones, who saw the history of a thousand years ago, who are the history of a thousand years ago. Even if they believed the Pevensies are the kings and queens of old, maybe they’re finding it hard to stop discounting them as children; and then they see the high king himself do it, in the same breath as dismissing Aslan. In this moment they see that the high king is just like them; he to is avoiding the inevitability of death, dancing around it with grand plans and heroic deeds, and he fully believes they will work, after all, he’s never lost a battle before; but he’s avoiding it all the same, casting off Aslan as the rest of them seem to be doing; not intentionally, of course not, but they’ve waited, and waited, and he hasn’t come, so they will follow the high king who acts in Aslan’s name. And maybe in this moment they begin to stop discounting Lucy, as the youngest of the kings and queens, because she has not lost her faith in Aslan, while so many of them have, she is willing to wait for him as the rest of them are not.

I feel like we don’t talk about the point of view of the caspian era narnians enough; we talk about how strange it would be for the Pevensies, to come home and have home be unrecognizable, but we don’t talk about how desperate the caspian era narnian’s must have been to accept that four humans were their kings and queens of old, even with the cave paintings; we see more detailed in Cornelius's office, but how many of the narnian’s would have had access to that art? They put their lives in the hands of the Pevensies, on the faith that they are who they claim to be, on the faith that these children have more experiences than anyone else, and maybe it’s during this scene that the faith begins to become belief. Then they fail and everything falls apart again before they pull it together one last time, but that’s not my point. My point is, how desperate would you have to be to believe four strangers are the heroes out of your myths come to save you; how hard would it be for you to believe it, truly believe it, instead of just following along, hoping they succeed because everyone else has failed you.

this is very disjointed, so I hope you actually made it to the end and I thank you if you did, hope you enjoyed my random mutterings.

#the chronicles of narnia #narnia #narnia meta #my writing #prince caspian movie #the pevensies #lucy pevensie #peter pevensie #susan pevensie #edmund pevensie

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rebuilding-the-garg · 1 year

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The Gargantuan Fossil

This post was from the beginning of my project, thus some information I’ve written here is outdated. Please read my recent posts to see up to date information.

The Gargantuan Fossil is one of the most recognizable parts of the mid-portion of Subnautica’s gameplay. Its sheer size strikes both terror and awe into the hearts of players who stumble upon it. It’s unfortunate that only a third of the creature’s fossilized remains can be seen. Even using the Freecam command to check under the map reveals that the rest of the skeleton remains unmodeled. This is all we have of the Leviathan.

“Gargantuan Fossil” is quite the accurate name, considering just a third of this creature’s skeleton measures 402 meters in length, with the creature’s total size being an estimated 1,100-1,500 meters. Just the skull itself is under 100 meters, and our human player character can nestle comfortably in even its smallest eye socket. I would’ve tried to show our human character’s model for a size comparison, but this thing is so large you wouldn’t even be able to see him.

There have been many different reconstructions of this behemoth of a fossil, the most popular being this commission piece made by Tapwing, for the YouTuber Anthomnia, shown below. And while it’s cool, it’s... not all that accurate.

In the past, I actually helped create a Gargantuan Leviathan mod based off Tapwing’s concept, working alongside other incredibly talented artists (who will remain anonymous, they can talk about their experiences as they please) and some... not so savory individuals. I don’t want to be associated with that old Garg. This reconstruction project is both a way for me to move on and make something better than what I had in the past, and to test my skills and knowledge in the various natural sciences.

Although there is a second specimen, the skull of a younger instance, this fossil holds no significant data outside of showing just how small these creatures start out as. As shown in the image below, despite being a much younger instance, our player character could still fit inside the Leviathan’s smallest eye socket, although it wouldn’t be as spacious as its adult counterpart.

The game’s PDA (Personal Data Assistant) states that the Gargantuan Fossil is approximately 3 million years old, which is INCREDIBLY RECENT. For reference, 3 million years ago we still shared the planet with multiple other hominid species like Australopithecus afarensis back in the mid Pliocene. The Subnautica we know today is a byproduct of a mass-extinction of megafauna, such as Leviathans. My guess as to how the Gargantuan got this big is a combination of deep-sea gigantism and an evolutionary arms race against the other megafauna alive during its time, with prey attempting to become larger than its predator to avoid predation, and the predator growing to continue this cycle. When this ancient ecosystem of leviathan-class super predators collapsed, likely because of the meteor that struck Planet 4546B, the Gargantuan Leviathan was out of a substantial food source and went extinct. It could be possible that these creatures even gave live birth due to their serpentine body and massive size, making them too large for life in the shallows, where laying eggs is easiest.

NOW. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE BONES!! It’s important to figure out if the Gargantuan Leviathan had a cartilaginous skeleton or a bony one, so let’s count the bones!!

There’s TWO WHOLE BONES!!! AND IF YOU LOOK NEXT TO IT!! THOSE RIBS ARE BONES TOO!!!! UWAA!!! SO MANY BONES!!!! How can we tell this is bones? It’s simple! Cartilage is rubbery and flexible, so it doesn't fossilize well, while bone is hard and rigid, perfect fossil material!! Cartilaginous skulls also tend to be made up of many little interlocking bones, with bony skulls being made up of only a small handful!

Another thing I found interesting about the Gargantuan Skull is that it seems to have a ball and socket joint? This could have just been a similar mishap to the top and bottom jaws being fused in the skull’s model, but I’m trying to keep things as close to the original anatomy as possible. The ball and socket joint probably evolved to help with the burden of such a massive and heavy skull and allowing for greater speed and range of motion. In a world full of Leviathan-class predators, being able to have a wide range of motion would be extremely beneficial in locating both potential predators and prey.

Despite its immense size pushing the claim this Leviathan was an apex predator, it sports a small pair of horns, which is unheard of in large apex predators here on Earth. The darker coloration leads me to believe that these aren’t just horn cores, but the entire horn. These horns were most likely used to assist in defending itself against predators while it’s still small and vulnerable. It could also be a possibility they were used for threat displays and territory fights though it seems unlikely due to their small size. Sexual displays are also unlikely since just about every creature in Subnautica seems capable of asexual reproduction, as noted in the PDA entry for eggs. Asexual reproduction seems to be a very ancient basal trait in Planet 4546B’s evolutionary lineage and was most likely evolved to help species persevere even with low numbers and harsh conditions, preventing the dangers of inbreeding.

Overall, the skull’s shape and tooth structure suggest a piscivorous diet (of course it eats fish, the planet’s 99% water), and its shape specifically is reminiscent of an Orca and Redondasaurus. The lack of nostrils stumps me, there’s no openings in the skull aside from its eye sockets, however there’s also no evidence for a gill apparatus. I’m... going to have to come back to that at a later date. Though I personally believe the Gargantuan Leviathan was an air breather due to the lack of evidence for gills.

OKOK, ENOUGH ABOUT THE SKULL ASRIEL, WHAT ABOUT THE RIBS?

WELL... THE RIBS ARE... SOMETHING.

Behold! My very poor photomash of the same two images to show the total approximate length of the Gargantuan Leviathan, and a bad edit to show off what I believe the whole skeletal system would look like! (skeleton image credit)

Despite the game’s PDA describing the Gargantuan Leviathan’s body as “eel-like,” its skeletal structure is more reminiscent of a snake. The ribs show no indication of limbs, so it probably had a dorsal fin similar to eels or sea kraits.

One thing I’ve noticed about the Gargantuan’s ribcage is the existence of what appear to be bony, avian-like uncinate processes, which help the trunk’s muscles pump in and air out of the body, adding onto the idea that this leviathan breathed air. These uncinate processes in diving birds are especially long, which help reinforce the body and musculature, allowing the animal to stay underwater for longer periods of time.

My hypothesis for the role the Gargantuan Leviathan played in its ecosystem is similar to the Sperm Whales of our world, taking in large amounts of air before diving into the depths to fetch their food.

Next week, I’ll be doing more research into the skeleton and possibly beginning work on fleshing the Garg out! If there are any sciencey folks out on Tumblr who want to add their own input, feel free!! I want information!! Correct me if I got anything wrong!!

#long post #VERY long post #speculative biology #speculative paleobiology #paleontology #marine biology #fictional biology #subnautica #character analysis #monster biology #leviathan #gargantuan leviathan #essay

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greenerteacups · 3 months

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I’m not sure if you’ve specifically answered this before, but how long did it take you to outline, research, and prepare the foundational meat of Lionheart since it’s such a sprawling saga with threads for so many characters? Did you have it all mapped out before you started writing? What about shorter pieces like The Climb and the latest, delightful The Death Eater Diaries?

The series outline for Lionheart I wrote on one bleary, rabbit-hole of a day in the summer of 2022 when I was definitely supposed to be doing something else, and after that, each book took me between 3 days and 2 weeks to outline completely. The later books have taken longer because of their length and the number of threads — the series has a way of getting wider as well as longer, and for the last two books, I sometimes got a bit grumbly about how many characters pop up in every novel. As for research, most of that will happen before or during the outlining process; I'll have a copy of the book on-hand to check plot details, but for the most part I try to work without flipping back to the text, to avoid copying beats or stylistic choices unless I have a thematic reason to. I also use HP Lexicon and fanwikis while I'm editing for content, though when I'm drafting I make a real effort not to switch out of the tab for any reason, because it breaks flow. I'm sure I have missed some details despite my references, but c'est la vie; JKR had to do continuity edits in subsequent edition releases for several books, so at least I'm not alone.

For The Climb, I wrote the first chapter in the raw, then went through and blocked out the second two in an outline at the bottom of the document. Very very broad strokes there — TC is different from Lionheart because it's a slice-of-life tone piece, so there's not as much plot to be done. It's a novella conceived for the sole purpose of exploring one particular relationship, so the plot came secondary to the things I wanted to highlight about how that dynamic worked. It's a character-forward piece, to borrow culinary terminology, and outlining for character is a lot easier than outlining for plot. (For me.)

The Death Eater Diaries emerged almost fully-formed from a Tumblr post I made joking about the sort of ludicrously awful decade Narcissa experiences. The hardest part of outlining was nailing down canonical dates. Stuff like how old Andromeda was when she got pregnant, when Bellatrix got married, when the members of the previous generation died, all that's unspecified — but it's also all functionally constrained to a narrow window of time, if you take in where the characters are at certain other parts of the story, so you can't just say anything. It was very fun to write, though. Doing so also stressed how hilariously short the timeline on the Black family collapse actually is. Between 1971 and 1981, they go from a two-branch family with an heir, a spare, and three healthy daughters -> completely extinct in the male line, two of its descendants disinherited, two imprisoned, one missing, presumed dead, and Draco Malfoy's mom.

#I didn't even MENTION alphard getting burned off the tree because to be honest i straight up forgot dog existed #but if I had that'd just drive the point home #tfw your uncle disinherits your other uncle from sheer rage for giving money to your cash-poor disinherited cousin #I also like to think — as the fic implies — that the wall is literally not official/magical at all #Orion just gets pissy and writes people out of the will sometimes and then his dramatic wife goes to stab a cigarette in their portrait #which makes it all the funnier that sirius in the movies does this dramatic 'gaze upon my works ye mighty' thing about it

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goneahead · 11 months

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I got tagged by @demeter1111 back when wattieza forests were still a thing. sorry for being a disorganized noodle!

15 questions and 15 mutuals:

Were you named after anyone? When was the last time you cried? Do you have kids? Do you use sarcasm a lot? What's the first thing you notice about people? What's your eye colorScary movies or happy endings? Any special talents? Where were you born? What are your hobbies? Have any pets? What sports do you play/have played? How tall are you? Favorite subiect in school? Dream job?

KNIGHTS! NEW QUESTIONS! (obligatory obscure Monty Python reference)

What famous person, alive or dead, would you want beside you during a zombie apocalypse?

Hanibal of Carthage. He is super smart, a great fighter—and he comes with elephants. Lets be honest, elephants would be super cool in a zombie apocalypse. Especially zombie ones😁

If they made a movie about you, what would your theme song be?

since I’m a nomad, The Great Divide by National Park Radio😉

Which muppet character would you be willing to go on a date with?

Gonzo—as long as Gonzo sets up the date. Cuz you know Gonzo would set up a wild date😆

What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?

I was served whale blubber at a party once. Do NOT recommend🤢

What is the weirdest thing you still eat?

I really love peanut butter on my crepes😋

You can have any extinct or fantasy animal as a pet. What would you choose?

The enormous pteradactyl, Quetzalcoatlus. With a handy riding harness. And maybe some water ballons…😏

List a very boring fact about yourself.

I am an American mutt. My parents were from very different parts of the country, but all four of my grandparents came from families that settled in the U.S. in the timespan 1630–1730.

You are granted a wish to have any food you want—but the catch is you will have to eat it twice a day for the rest of your life. What do you choose?

**ponders** popcorn or freshly baked cookies or popcorn or freshly baked cookies or popcorn or—

You can choose any singer or band to play at your funeral. Who do you pick?

Nat King Cole. Everyone can roll up the rugs, and dance the night away!

What line of poetry or doggerel is forever stuck in your brain?

Charge of the Light Brigade: “Into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of hell/Rode the six hundred.” I used to quote this at work, usually when we were getting overrun. For some reason, my bosses were never amused. Then again. they also didnt appreciate it when I would tell them ‘I would like to inform you that the barbarians are at the gates.”😂😂😂

You can bring back an item of clothing that has fallen out of style. What would it be?

We really need to bring back the clothing of the Han Chinese. Imagine if we could all walk around in loose, flowing comfortable clothes. Also, wearing hanfu means long flowing belts—which means we could turn all the cool stuff we currently put on our key chains into belt decorations. With tassles. Cuz modern clothing haz a serious lack of tassles. Just saying…

You are granted the gift of being a were creature. What animal would you choose to change into?

Definitely were-otter. Much scampering, much floating—and lots of fish. Also, I wouldnt have to worry about villagers and pitchforks, cuz seriously, who is gonna be scared of a were-otter?

What is the most useless fact you know?

The last person to collect a Civil War pension was Irene Triplett. She passed away in 2020. Also, in 1916 the U.S. Postal Service changed the rules, and you can no longer mail more than 200 pounds/90 kilos in a single day. Why? Some guy was building a bank in Utah and realized he could save on freight charges by just having the bricks mailed. Yes, ALL of the bricks😂😂😂

You are going to be locked, all alone, in a place for 24 hours. Which place do you choose?

Um, tie. The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art or the Gilcrease Museum😍

What is the superpower you want and whats the superpower you DONT want?

Best superpower? Making quarters appear wherever I want. No, seriously. Think about how much fun you could have, in a super sneaky way. College kid walks by—put a few extra quarters in their pocket. Seniors sitting on a park bench—now there are handfuls of quarters in the bottom of their purses. Tip jar at the coffee shop—add another layer of quarters. Also easiest superhero name ever. Just stick a pencil behind your ear and call yourself ‘Drawn and Quartered’🤣🤣🤣

The worst superpower? Anything to do with ice and snow. Nope nope nope!

ok tagging @distilled-prose @cowandcalf @teruel-a-witch @ellena-asg @wordrummager @torrentialmonsoon @sherrylephotography @ends-2-beginnings @itwoodbeprefect @alex-a-roman @mikefrawley @firstfullmoon @gracebriarwoodwrites @maureen2musings @stephmcx and cuz I changed the questions @demeter1111 also tagging @neil-gaiman cuz I know he wont answer, but I am super curious about his answer to question one😂😂😂

#answered #new questions #zombie elephants

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funkyfenderbender · 7 months

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things that are making me go absolutely rabid during my tma relisten (im currently on season 4 so this is mostly focused on that but references the series as a whole):

- MAG 65 - Binary is one that i keep thinking about. i know it was intended to be the spiral but the way it hints at the extinction is really hitting me this time around. i think its the comparison to it and mag 144 - decrypted. the image of technology as a piece of humanity’s fall (but not the main player!!) has me Thinking many Thoughts.

- honestly the extinction as a whole. the idea of the fears not being set, structured identities but ones that can change and blend and separate as humanity progresses. humanity is not static and neither are the things we fear

- the tunnels, the prison, and how the whole panopticon thing was set up. the tunnels are a blind spot, something that gained more meaning as the series went on but it shows that the the watchers crown was always destined to fail oh my god

- the rituals keep failing but people keep trying, convinced each time that This will be the time it works and it just. doesnt. even the Change was gonna eventually fail

- the web. everything about it. in mag 147 one of the first things annabelle says in the letter is “can i call you john” which is obv a very common phrase but also the parallel to nikolas whole “can i call you elias” thing…something something identity…something something the web…something something its all connected…

- addiction as a form of control. john saying he doesn’t smoke when he first gets the lighter, but leaving leitner to smoke a cigarette (allowing elias to brutal pipe murder him). john bringing the lighter everywhere to the point where multiple people bring it up but despite overanalyzing everything in his life he never thinks about it. IT BEING PRESENT FOR MORE THAN ONE EVENT WHERE JOHN IS MARKED BY DIFFERENT ENTITIES ??? the web truly controlled everything. annabelle cane i fear you like a god.

#will probably add more later #tma #the magnus archives #brainrot absolute brainrot #ryn rambles

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neonsheepe · 7 months

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Introducing: Kayami Tamano! This feisty lil fella has more chips on his shoulder than a plate of nachos and more baggage than a hull of an Airbus A380. He feels his emotions strongly, loves hard, and Won’t Hesitate bitch™️

This is my Naruto OC who I originally made when I was a wee baby naruto weeaboo 17 years ago. Over the past few years I’ve finally given him a proper backstory and full design! (big shoutout to @lycheefreeze for being my sounding board and helping me develop Kayami over the years. He wouldn’t be where he is today without you <3 ). I also had a ton of fun giving him a naruto-style reference sheet, I’m such a sucker for them.

Character profile below the cut!

Name: Kayami

Clan: Tamano (extinct)

Age: 19-20 (during Shippuden)

Height: 162cm / 5’4”

Gender ID: Trans male, he/him pronouns

Birthday: unknown

Birthplace: Aitsukiyama (current pop.: 0)

Weapons of choice: reinforced rope (tied around his waist for easy access (and fashion!)), kyoketsu-shoge

Kekkei Genkai: Chakra Crystals! Unique to those with Tamano lineage who carry the recessive gene, it is the ability to form crystal-like structures from one’s own cells that contain condensed amounts of chakra. They are extremely hard, quite heavy and can be used to replenish a person’s chakra (think a battery). Chakra crystals are mainly found in nature, usually in geodes found within the mountains, formed over hundreds of years from minerals and the ambient chakra of the surrounding earth. They were once a highly sought after resource until most known locations were mined dry for their use as fuel in conflicts and war. Kayami was told at a young age about his crystal’s coveted status, along with tales of warning of what lengths some people would go to attain them. This led to Kayami developing anxiety and paranoia over using his crystals in public view, leading to an under-development of his abilities for most of his early life.

Forming the crystals happens within Kayami’s inner chakra system and exit through his skin. This process, due to Kayami’s lack of experience and practice, causes the skin to rip a tear and can be quite painful. This adds to the reasons why Kayami doesn’t often use his abilities, unless necessary. People with this kekkei genkai have a high metabolism and accelerated healing

Clan History:

Kayami was born in Aitsukiyama, a small village formed by the Tamano clan, nestled in a valley within the mountains between the Land of Fire and Land of Hot Springs. The Tamano clan was mainly known for two things: their beautiful indigo dye-work and as the protectors and caretakers of the mountains which were a rich natural source of chakra crystals. Up until Aitsukiyama’s destruction during the third shinobi war, they were close allies and partners with the Uchiha Clan (one can easily see the Tamano’s indigo in a lot of Uchiha clothing). This alliance was built as the Tamano were originally a branch off the Uchiha over a century ago. There is one source that say that Tamano were formed when an Uchiha and a person from the (now extinct) Kaguya Clan partnered, but as most records have been lost or destroyed over time, this fact cannot be confirmed. The only evidence to support this tie to the Kaguya Clan is the dual moons seen on the Tamano crest.

Backstory: Kayami escaped the massacre of his village when he was 2, his mother having given him to one of the legendary sannin for protection. Unfortunately, Orochimaru had different ideas and placed Kayami into an orphanage in the land of Rice until he was ready to collect him for experimentation/add to his kekkei genkai collections. Kayami spent his years under the sannin’s hand until he was 17, where after having his curse mark sealed (a shoddy job at best) defected from the Sound. He didn’t last well on his own, eventually being found a malnourished, emotional mess by Sasori who offered him shelter in return for Kayami’s services (also a big “F U” to Orochimaru tbh). Since that day, Kayami has been living under Sasori (along with Deidara) as his apprentice.

#naruto oc #naruto OC reference #oc reference #character sheet #original character #oc art #naruto #Kayami tamano #sheepe art #shinobi OC #ninja oc #alt text needed

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halfbakedspuds · 14 days

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Thanks so much to @honeybewrites for the tag!

WIP Questionnaire tag

Ya know what? Let's do this for 11 Past Midnight.

What's the first part of your WIP you created?

Actually the setting itself. 11 Past Midnight takes place in the same universe as Children of the Stars, just several centuries earlier (before humanity got its collective shit together). Originally the 'Fall of Earth' as this period is referred to was just meant to be a fun little worldbuilding thing, but then I realised the story potential it holds.

And boy, 11 Past Midnight is shaping up to tell the story of a very important part of the lore.

If your story was a TV show, what would the intro be?

'Wherever I may roam' by Metallica would both have some symbolic value to it, and would fit the whole 'Heavy Metal Apocalypse' vibe of the setting.

Alternatively: 'Odyssey' by The Flight could also work quite nicely given that it's a song Kat actually plays in the story from time to time and that holds some significance to her.

What are your favourite characters you have made and why?

Yekatarina 'Kat' Mezhova has definitely been the most fun to write purely because she's (and excuse my wording) FUCKING UNHINGED.

I've never really written a protagonist like this before so I'm definitely having a lot of fun just writing the crazy things she gets up to by being herself.

What other pieces of media do you think your fanbase would share?

I think any fans of Mad Max and the first two Metro games would probably like 11 Past Midnight.

Actually some Star Trek and Star Trek: NG fans might be drawn to the whole 'show up, find x, help, and leave' setup of the series as Kat and Artur find holdouts of humanity in the wasteland and try to help them for whatever reason.

What has been the biggest struggle with you WIP?

Research. The majority of the story takes place across Siberia, and figuring out what life is like there and what their cultures are so I can extrapolate for a setting that's both post nuclear and post total ecological collapse has been... interesting, to put it lightly.

Also actually having to put my knowledge of geographic systems to use to figure out the climate of this brave and hellish new world.

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Actually that's a major part of the setting: humanity's mistakes killed off everything. In many places you can't even breathe the air unless you've found a little pocket where plants have somehow survived the collapse, and the only things left in the wasteland are the hardiest things: Humans, Roaches, and Tartigrades.

In about ten years, the Empire will be formed, and in a century a madwoman by the name of Doctor Kalmyk Balkhyr will create the Eden project to clean up Earth and will resurrect about 80% of the species that went extinct during the Fall, but for the time being: Earth is dead.

I mean by some metrics, Artur can be considered an animal (given that he gets mistaken for a mutant) but that's a bit iffy of a statement to make.

How do your characters travel/get around?

Kat is a driver for an old Supply Rig that saw action in the Ruso-Siberian war just before the world ended. Although she's not nearly old enough to have fought in that conflict, her grandfather did, and she inherited the Rig from her mother who inherited it from him.

The Rig can best be described as a truck designed to slog it through snow, mud, and those weird sub-terranean ice-sheets of northern Siberia and provide a living space for two or three people for months at a time, as well being decently defendable if attacked.

Most of the story takes place either in the rig while on the road, or trying to get the rig back on the road, so it's the most common source of transport by far for our protagonists

What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

'Episode' one (idk if it's still called that in a written medium), basically just establishing why Kat and Artur are travelling across the Siberian wasteland and why they're sticking together.

What aspects/tropes do you think will draw your audience in?

Probably the trope of an Odyssey, maybe even a stranger in a strange place.

What are your hopes for your WIP?

Mostly just that people will read it. I'll probably just post the parts on Tumblr because it's not really set up to be written as a publishable book

Open tag for anyone that wants it!

#writeblr #writing #wip #writer tag #wip questionnaire

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lividria · 21 days

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Pikmin Theory: The Sparkly Wraith

⚠️CONTENT WARNING: HEY! PIKMIN⚠️

This post is huge, so I'm just putting the entire thing under the cut.

Preamble

So, during my Pikmin hyperfixation, which I can't even tell if it's over or not, really, I was getting really into trying to solve Pikmin lore, and never really got to put the pieces together. The reason? I watched DazzReviews' decade-old video about Umibozu Theory. No offense to the guy, I used to watch his other videos, but that fucking theory gave me one of the worst headaches of my life with how horrible it was and how little sense the points made. It made me feel physical pain. So, naturally, when I saw references to the theory start popping up in the wild, I just... Gave up. I've been avoiding Pikmin lore theorizing like the plague ever since, because, like, I don't want that to happen again. But then I realized I can't escape it, even if I tried, and I know that because I just saw it brought up in passing. Again. I know there's modern updates of the theory to get it up to date to Pikmin 4, but I'm not checking them to see if they hurt my head too.

Meanwhile, I brought this up in a previous post, but one of my friends around this time started making terrible Nintendo game ideas as part of a long-term troll him, me and another friend have been planning for a while now, and I... Got way too into the Pikmin ideas for it. I was trying to come up with really dumb lore, using all the dumb trivia I've learned, and instead via divine revelation was given this theory. I thought I got myself out, but this has pulled me back in. I probably could've left all of this out, but it's a funny story, so...

I have at least one other big theory for Pikmin lore, so I may type that up some time, too.

Part 1: Prerequisite Knowledge/Assumptions

This is assuming you're at least familiar with all 5 Pikmin games and what happens in them. In other words, spoilers. But you've had years to figure this all out, I don't need to say that.

I don't know yet if this will be all too relevant, but I'm working under the assumption that the timeline is 1 -> 2 -> 4 -> 3 -> Hey!. The Koppai food crisis is mentioned to be incoming in 4, and the Treasure Catalog entries for the music box treasure with Pikmin 3's title theme imply that the game's events haven't happened yet, especially Olimar's. In Pikmin 3, Hocotate Freight's almost bankrupt again, Olimar's using the Hocotate Ship, and the S.S. Dolphin's seemingly been sold... Again (They probably bought it back in-between Pikmin 2 & 4 with the newfound company wealth), and Olimar mentions wanting to buy it again, and then he has the S.S. Dolphin II in Hey!, where he also recognizes the Pikmin 3 Pikmin, meaning it's either after 4 or 3, so there you go. No, I don't have an explanation for how Pikmin 2's globes imply PNF-404 looks like present-day Earth, when Pikmin 3 has Pangaea Proxima, or a couple other inconsistencies (The Voyage Logs do seem to be non-chronological, iirc the "I'm so very tired..." log with a picture of Hero's Hideaway appears before Olimar goes there, and Olimar was keeping logs in Pikmin 1 & 2 that we may also be seeing to explain why he's seemingly unfamiliar with things like Pikmin & Onions, so like... Other stuff besides those), you'll have to figure that out for yourself.

Speaking of Pangaea Proxima, yea, if you look at the map in Pikmin 3's area select, you'll see it's actually based on a speculative map of what the world will look like in roughly 300 million years, and it's named Pangaea Proxima... I think there was another name, Pangaea Ultima or something, but I prefer Proxima. The only difference is the Formidable Oak's placement, when it's not supposed to be there in the actual map. So that gives us a time placement for when the games are taking place, and humans went extinct... At some point. No, I don't know why Hero's Hideaway indicates recent habitation, or how all of the treasures are perfectly preserved, you'll have to figure that out for yourself. Or, more accurately, for me.

Anyways, Sparklium. A bizarre material that doesn't have mass, but is found in... Basically every object you can think of? All of the treasures in Pikmin 4 & Hey! Pikmin, but are primarily found in metallic objects. It also seems to manifest as gold nuggets, though it can also be red, rainbow, or an acorn... Wait, how can it be an object if it has no mass? Anyways, it can be used as fuel, and doesn't seem to ever run out, as you don't spend it in either game, you keep it all, and there's a ship part called a Sparklium Converter that... Converts Sparklium to usable fuel, I guess, and for some reason when it's lodged into the Leech Hydroe, that makes it incredibly angry. The solidified Sparklium primarily appears in Sparklium Springs, lakes of water with an inexplicable rainbow aura shooting up into the sky where Sparklium nuggets will periodically spill everywhere.

We don't know if those are on PNF-404, but they're definitely on the Hey! Pikmin planet, which was also home to a human civilization comparable to our own that is also gone now... Which doesn't make sense, if we're talking space colonization, but whatever. I've named this planet Heihei, because... Hey!, and also it's a word for Chicken in another language, which is funny. Heihei also shares wildlife with PNF-404, for some reason, somehow including Pikmin when you can assume that if Leafling dogs can't leave the planet, Pikmin shouldn't be able to either, but that's for you to figure out for yourself.

Also, someone did the math on all of the people who have crashed on PNF-404 because of the asteroids around it, and it's over 20 crashes. The only people who have gotten there without interruption have been Olimar & the President returning for Louie in Pikmin 2, Olimar and Louie returning to PNF-404 for more treasure in Olimar's Assignment and again to fix the Hocotate Ship in Olimar's Comeback, and Pom (Is it common knowledge that's the community name for the Pikmin 4 protagonist? Just in case, that's who Pom is.) coming to save the Rescue Corps (and everyone else).

Speaking of the Rescue Corps, you can unlock diary entries from the past that imply the little people are descendants of humanity after some sort of apocalypse drove them underground:

"The surface! We made it at last! Finally, we can begin making a fresh start here on this planet. Of course, it will take many long months and years before what we've built here will be anything like what we once had. But we won't be alone. Our beloved dogs will be by our side as we walk this long, difficult road."

"Many years have passed since we first began to make this land our new home. Still, we need more time to complete our environmental adaptations. In the meantime, we must survive so that, one day, we can pass down this new history to our children, and pass down the ways we've learned to rescue and protect everyone. One day we will live here in peace."

""Beyond the sky itself there lies a beautiful blue planet." Those words have been passed down from captain to captain, calling to each of us. I can't imagine what sort of place this blue planet might be, but it's said to be home to even more dogs and folks that we have here. One day, I hope to fly beyond the sky...and into space."

I'm probably forgetting something, I'll figure it out as I write out the actual theory.

Part 2: The Shining Demon

Humanity somehow went extinct on at least two different planets, and Sparklium is also absolutely everywhere on those two planets. The Sparklium Springs' rainbow aura is... Uh... Strange, that's not how things work, it looks otherworldly, and Sparklium is inexplicably spilling out of it, and they all have water. We already know about some otherworldly being associated with water: The Water Wraith. Them and a couple other instances (Glow Pikmin, the Smoky Progg and Gloom are the first things that come to mind) show that there's some esoteric unexplainable property of the Pikmin universe allowing for strange, almost paranormal things to occur.

I don't have a clean transition into this, but hear me out: There's a supernatural entity of some sort that I'm naming the Shining Demon, that somehow threatened humanity on all of it's planets, so the people got together and broke it apart into Sparklium, and sealed all of it away in the Sparklium Springs of Heihei, probably in some sort of extradimensional space (Fun fact, there's a random reference to the "Master of Dimension X" in a Pikmin 2 sales pitch that goes unexplained, so I'll refer to this as Dimension X from now on just to use the name), with that rainbow aura over the water being the magic seal. However, over time, the seal began to fade, and the Sparklium began to spill out, and integrate into all of the objects around the planet, probably spreading to PNF-404 when people went from one planet to the other, or there's unseen PNF-404 Sparklium Springs, either or.

It's safe to assume that the Sparklium Converter has Sparklium in it, and you know what it does to the Leech Hydroe. That thing was so aggressive, it was the final boss, and one of two bosses that give you any semblance of challenge in Hey! Pikmin. It's also shown to be in living (or previously living) treasures such as fruit, meat and fossils, and just about any other kind of object you can think of, so the Sparklium could've either gotten into animals & plants to make them aggressive towards humans, or gotten directly into humans to kill them from the inside, or something.

Now, where else could it go from there? You know how it's primarily in metal objects, especially in Hey! Pikmin? What object has strange properties in the Pikmin series that's made of tons of metal? THE ASTEROIDS. And if the Pikmin people are descendants of the humanity that the Shining Demon hated so much it drove to extinction, and it's in control of the things it's inside, AND Sparklium is used as a fuel source and is thus also in the spaceships, then you can put two and two together and assume that it's crashing people to get them stuck in it's territory where it can kill them to finish the job.

But, if it was originally a living being, if you were to put enough Sparklium together in one place, could it not form together once again? That's exactly what it did.

Part 3: Fool's Gold

The Plasm Wraith is a fragment of the Shining Demon. I mean, come on. Not only does it look like gold, it's Elemental Plasms are based on Cubic Pyrite. Fool's Gold. Olimar is demonstrated to be a fool, having been scammed multiple times if you read the Pikmin 1 Ship Part descriptions, and thinks that the Plasm Wraith is gold, which is why he goes to collect it, even when Louie is apprehensive, because he enjoys treasure hunting a foolish amount now.

In the Pikmin 3 Deluxe Piklopedia, Olimar speculates that the hole in the Plasm Wraith's face is a "manifested psychic wound". If it was torn apart and sealed in the Sparklium Springs, then magic or esoteric shit of some sort was already involved, so that could've been from when people were trying to kill it directly. Also, it makes sense that the psychic wound is where it's "head" is.

Remember in Part 1 where I mentioned 3 out of the 4 times people were allowed to come to PNF-404 without being attacked were Olimar? At this point, I think the Plasm Wraith, or more accurately the Sparkly Wraith, piece of the Shining Demon, recognizes that for whatever reason Olimar keeps coming back and putting a ton of Sparklium in one place, so it's just... Letting him come so that it can keep taking shots at him, and he literally walks right up to it. Why wouldn't it want him to put all of the Sparklium in one place? It'd help it form into another Plasm Wraith. It hasn't done that yet, I guess because he never gets enough together, but still, it's possible.

Also, you know how the Plasm Wraith seems to be caressing Olimar when the Koppaites arrive at the Formidable Oak? Two possibilities:

It likes him now, because it views him as an instrument it can manipulate to get back in one piece, so it just kinda... "Takes care of him". I don't know what it was planning to do, since Olimar was there, for like, at least a week.

It wants to figure out how to get into him like it might've gotten into the humans and all the other objects. Olimar's sealed up in a spacesuit, which it might view as foreign, so it's really curious about him... And wants to learn how to penetrate the suit, so that it can kill/control the current descendants of humanity. Speaking of...

If you check the Pikmin 3 Deluxe Piklopedia, Louie ate the Plasm Wraith. And a lot of other stuff, including the animals we know the Shining Demon might be in control of because of the Leech Hydroe, treasure in Pikmin 4 which I've established has Sparklium in it... Whoopsie. That'd explain why he progressively starts talking less, as Olimar mentions in Pikmin 3, and starts lashing out more and more... Then again, that unused cutscene has Louie reveal he believed he was kidnapped by the Koppaites, so, I don't know. Is that still canon if it was removed? Whatever.

Side tangent here, Louie wasn't controlling the Titan Dweevil, because if he was, he would've been able to control the Scornet Maestro to stop it from eating/attacking/kidnapping him, because that's also a bug. The Titan Dweevil probably just liked Louie's antenna, or something, as it likes shiny objects, and Louie's sociopathy and uncaring demeanor towards animals (He eats EVERYTHING which requires killing everything) rubs off on it when Olimar comes back, plus potential feelings of betrayal or anger or whatever, because the Volatile Dweevils mimic the behavior of the objects they carry so the Titan Dweevil might to, but all of that influence would've been accidental, as he's unconscious. He did, however, use the Ancient Sirehound to lash out intentionally, even after hearing Olimar's voice. Got it? Got it.

By the way, you know how in Pikmin 4 the Pikmin 3 fruits return, and have Sparklium in them? And the Koppaites bring all of that back home to eat? Shit. (I stole this from the Umibozu Theory video I complained about earlier, and I'm not sorry.)

I don't have a good conclusion here, just like how I didn't have a good start. Just... Deal with it.

Part 4: TL;DR

Sparklium is actually a fragment of an esoteric entity I've named the Shining Demon that tried to kill off humanity, that was sealed away in the Sparklium Springs by humanity, only for the seals to gradually begin fading and begin releasing Sparklium that then infects all sorts of objects and creatures, which it then used to kill humanity. However, some humans survived, escaped underground, and evolved into the small people we see in Pikmin over 300 million years, and are constantly attacked by the asteroids around PNF-404 and the Hey! Pikmin planet that have Sparklium in them, in an attempt to get them into it's territory to kill them off and finish the job.

The Plasm Wraith is a lot of this Sparklium fused together into a living being, much weaker than the Shining Demon, and Olimar's idiocy directly benefits it by hoarding tons of Sparklium, so it captures him and either wants to use him to further it's own goals or wants to figure out how to break through his spacesuit so it can kill everyone it can via it's Sparklium infection, and it's also potentially infected Louie due to him consuming Sparklium, as well as the Koppaite trio and potentially the rest of Koppai.

I don't know where the Water Wraith fits in here, but it may have some connection to the Sparklium Springs, I guess.

#pikmin #plasm wraith #pikmin theory #pikmin lore #this entire post is a mess

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wyrmfedgrave · 5 months

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Pics:

1 & 2. The original poem that we're discussing, in the Brown U archives.

3 thru 5. Lovecraftian towns, enough said!

6. The real horror here is the racist hatred that drove most of HPL's tales.

1913: Output.

Intro: What lingers, from reading Lovecraft's tales, is a feeling of rapt captivity & blind fear.

But, what 'hurts' is the fact that it was Howard's own racism that empowers most his works.

While it's true that readers can't really separate an author's life experiences influencing their works, 1 can enjoy their fiction without liking the writer him or herself.

Though HPL was a bit rabid in his hateful thoughts, I still enjoy his take on cosmic horrors.

I'd gladly be chased thru time & space, 'projecting' myself back to Arkham in the early 1900s.

Or, slip thru the dimensions out to the Great Australian Desert. And then, plunge down into the depths of the Pacific Ocean!!

I'll even play the part of a lonely & scared academic who learns too much to survive any longer.

But, I won't act like some blind bigot. I'm not a racist & have friends of all kinds & sexes.

Hey! Watch where you put that sinful tentacle...

Plot: We start out with "New-England losing (its) original inhabitants¹ & agricultural atmosphere²."

"Being now the seat of... industries (run) by southern Europeans & West Asiatic immigrants of low grade³..."

"(Their) squalid, nosy village (now) asleep. Dusk & quiet hide a monstrous mill⁴... (now belonging to) alien serfs."

"Tainted air for (a) moment clears the ruin wrought by evil years⁵ & (my) tortured mind is lightened of its pain."

Suddenly "ancestral spirits reign anew & old New-England... lives again."

But, this only lasts for a moment.

The poem now focuses on describing "an empty green⁶, ancient structures rotting (away & a) temple spire (that) ascends no higher (due to) the Popish cross⁷."

Then, the poem asks "where dwells that race... whose rule is benign⁸?"

Suddenly, we get a twist!!

"From the woes which blend in modern times, new blessings emerge⁹!"

Yet, the poem ends with a final sad prediction, "contemplation mourns New England's end¹⁰ (for) draped in sack-cloth¹¹, 'She' (=s New England) chants her country's dirge¹²."

Notes:

1. At 1st, it sounds as if Howard's writing about the aboriginal American 'Indians' but, we know better!

If he were, he would be sadly correct. There's few of the aboriginal nations left - but, they're not extinct.

Not even in New England...

2. Wrong again.

Today, New England farms provide 50% of the dairy & 40% of the veggies consumed in the region.

Even though farms only make up 7% of the modern land use!!

Cheer on our modern practices.

3. Howard again ranks minorities as being of low quality as a whole.

Due, no doubt, to the then current pseudo-scientific 'thinking.'

But, Lovecraft liked to obsess on most things & didn't like 'change' at all.

The only type of changes that he allowed himself, were on scientific advances.

As even we are finding out, science is always changing. Usually by advances that are 'unexpected'.

Look at the amazing findings of the James Webb telescope, to see what I mean.

But, HPL couldn't seem to master his racial fears - whose origins still remain largely unknown...

4. This seems to refer to Howard's preference to water powered grind- stones & his 'hate' of coal powered mills.

I'd have to agree with him on this point.

5. Hmm... Methinks we can see the slow growth of Lovecraft's Mythos vocabulary in moments like this.

6. Dude, come on. Your poem takes place at night...

If someone (of any color) was there, it wouldn't be for romantic reasons.

7. Howard (the atheist) taking a pot- shot at Christianity while upholding a Protestant past.

8. In some fantasy realm? No 'rule' - especially a royal one - is ever 100% perfect.

Not even democratic 'rule'...

Every known form of government has had some kind of problem(s) during its existence.

9. Hmm... "The woes which blend?"

("Whatchu talking about, Willis?!")

I don't think this is sarcasm aimed at "race mixing."

Perhaps, it's a poetic way to say that America has a lot of problems.

Well, I'd match our problems with yours anytime, bro.

Though HPL would probably like the Big Orange Rump! Lovecraft was always attracted to 'royalty.'

10. Quite wrong again.

As stated before, New England is still in white hands & in no danger of being overrun by minorities - we just don't have the money to live there...

11. Sack-cloth were 'clothes' woven out of goat or camel hair! It was the proper garment to be worn during times of mourning.

In English, it also describes "coarsely woven fabrics made from flax, hemp or cotton."

12. Still wrong!!

We've certainly come close to extinction - several times! But, the U.S. is still here...

Right now, we're still fighting off the greedy power lust of an ex-prez who wants to become 'king.'

The kind of person that Lovecraft would like - at 1st sight!

But, HPL could change his mind!

As he did with Hitler, once Howard understood what kind of a danger Adolph posed - to HPL's beloved England!

Criticism: Not really much written on "Village." So, I'll add some quick notes after the 1 comment that I could find...

The National Amateur said, "Lovecraft chants a dirge (death song) over the New England of American history... discovering that the New England of their dreams is not the New England of today."

Notes:

1. You could think of this poem as part three of Howard's "Racist Trio" for 1913!

The more racist poems being the already examined "Providence in 2000 AD" & "New-England Fallen."

2. But, if this is true, this poem is a toned down version of the other two poems' hateful bigotry! Because, for HPL, this poem is a minor exercise in Racism Lite...

Still, all such works hurt somebody.

#hpl bio #history #racist lit #poetry #adult lovecraft

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translationandbetrayals · 7 months

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. My favorite series of the moment

The story created by Koyoharu Gotoge, was published in 2016 and since its first season it captivated many with its surprising story.

The series was published in 2019 and so far has four seasons.

In this story we are shown a world where demons exist and they devour humans in their favor, and to combat them there are demon hunters or slayers who, through the art of the sword, manage to eliminate them and seek their total extinction.

Being an action shonen it has a lot to tell, full of epic battles, emotional moments and raw and dark scenes. The events take place during the Taisho era, which lasted from 1912 to 1926. The protagonist is Tanjiro Kamado, a boy who, to support his family, sells coal in the town near his home in the mountains. One day his whole life changes after returning from his usual sale, where he finds a horrible scenario in his home and has no choice but to become a demon hunter to help his sister Nezuko.

Personally, it is my favorite series of recent times. It is very easy to connect with Tanjiro, the main character, and the events he experiences. He is a young man with a pure heart and open to others that we can even see that he cares about demons, aware that they were once humans like him.

In addition to the elaborate story and its characters, the animation is extraordinary, the movements and range of colors and lights are perfectly worked with a very remarkable and beautiful handling of the action scenes that captivates and surprises anyone.

This quality can also be seen in their characters and how they complement each other.

The four main characters delight us with their different personalities that bring different colors and flavor to the series. Simply put; Tanjiro with his honest kindness, cunning and unbreakable spirit, Nezuco with his tenderness, skill and dexterity, which reflects a feminine strength rarely seen in contemporary manga and anime, Zenitsu with his inevitable comic contribution and his surprise and finally Inosuke with his adrenaline, fury and inexhaustible energy, all of these aspects being the perfect recipe that the series and our main character need on the hero's journey.

Aspects of Japanese culture are also very present in the series and the same sword fighting techniques that work through what are known as “postures” of the different “breaths” in the series refer to terms and concepts from Japanese folklore. , as well as accessories, food, architecture, among many other things that can be seen.

We can say that the series has a little of everything, which is why it has had a resounding success, surpassing even the famous Studio Ghibli film “Spirited Away” in profits, becoming one of the main anime of the moment, so If you don't want to be left behind in anime conversation and you want to enjoy a good shonen, I can tell you that this is your series.

- Martin Peñaloza Guazzoni.

#Anime #Japan

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darudedogestorm · 9 months

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Ok maybe i will make an intro/reference post for some of my primary OCs

doesn't contain their full info as for a few of them that would be a bit Too much... feel free to ask me more about them tho i would be so happy

also now realizing these are like. entirely pokemon ocs. oopsie

sorry if the formatting is strange and offputting its because tumblr doesnt like me that much

avi

guy who found meaning in life thru aminals :) (pokemon) basically struggled a lot, felt pretty worthless, volunteering at the local pokemon center kind of turned his life around

if pokemon werent real he’d be a dog guy. but he’s a cyndaquil guy

projects an image of a casually tough guy

works at a pokemon center :) current vet tech student (or well the equivalent of a vet tech in pokemon)

basically works with the system that rehomes/releases surrendered pokemon. like if you’ve ever ‘released’ a pokemon into the wild, he’s part of the group of people who handles 1. can it even Be released into the wilderness (for example it might be too habituated to life with humans to be rereleased safely), and 2. depending on the answer to question 1, where is that thing going

i have a whole system for this but it’s not entirely finished

2 beautiful babies (his quilava), little red and big bea

they are from a puppy mill situation :( brought into the center as part of aforementioned shelter/release program

^ the reason little red is a shiny

also the reason he found meaning in life <3

#fosterfailures

wurmple kid/skipper

one time i had this dream that i was lance’s (yes the indigo league champion lance) kid who was like super obsessed with wurmples and dgaf about dragon types and he was lowkey disappointed in me about it. and this became my oc

literally like 8 years old

obsessed with wurmples (based off of me in elementary school who was obsessed with dogs)

he likes other bug types by extension but NOTHING will beat wurmple. nothing.

assumes he’ll one day grow up to be a wurmple. it’s his dream

non wurmple related fact: retreats into his beautiful mind palace during times of stress and if he cannot do so he will explode. the wurmple obsession may be a manifestation of this. just like me fr

puzzle enjoyer :)

i wrote up a thing for one of those 50 question ‘tell me about your oc’ things for him but it would be too long to put here LMAO

in a nutshell:

arachne

spawned from my mono bugtype run of pokemon platinum

girl who is basically a bug

views herself as the general of an army of bugs with which she will one day RULE THE WORLD

engages in mithradatism (consumes the poison of her bugs in hopes that she will grow immune)

it has landed her in the hospital once but like that’s whatever. all that hospital trip taught her was that she should be more careful with her doses as opposed to not dosing herself at all

her starter was a spinarak (spinnerrella) who she used to wear on her back, like a backpack

spinnerrella evolved into a ariados so now she just wears one of her shedded exoskeletons from when she was still a spinarak. one day when she’s taller and stronger she’ll let spinnerrella on her back again but for now they must be apart

connie

i dont even know where to start

spawned from a pokemon roleplay with a friend. 10 page google document

works in conservation/ecology

where she got her name (she is #epic transgender) (and #fail bad at names)

current project is dealing with the slowpoke in azalea; after the team rocket poaching incident, there was an increase in naturally tailless slowpoke (“natural” selection, those without tails weren’t poached and were more likely to reproduce before dying). it’s her job to figure out if this is a problem that needs attention, as well as study any other effects the population may be experiencing

being blackmailed out of doing her actual Dream project, which is working to reintroduce the johto starters back into their natural habitats, which they are extinct in

blackmailed by a certain business man for whom this would not bode

has the most insane fucked up family in the world and doesnt even know about it

has a baby teddiursa that she takes care of :) don’t ask her how she got it

if i wrote Everything i had about her here this would be way too long. as it is an introduction rather than a story recap

i have art of her :)

#low pitched finite woofing #oc talk

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octerminal · 3 years

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Avoiding the ME1 LI Romances

...And also what to do if you’ve already triggered them.

This is a post I’ve been wanting to remake forever, and with the remaster around the corner I thought now was a good time to finally get on it.

A few things first: I say “avoiding the ME1 LI romances”, but in reality this is mostly going to be about Kaidan and Ashley. While there are a few ways around Liara’s romance I’ve discovered, I have never been able to find a simple way to avoid triggering it. (I’ll get to that later.)

This post will be split into three sections: Kaidan, Ashley, and Liara. Kaidan and Ashley’s sections specifically will go over how to avoid triggering their romances entirely, and then the dialogue choices you need to take if you want to end the romance if it’s already been triggered. I have also included a few bonus things for the both of them, such as avoiding the flirting during the scenic view cutscene in the Citadel Wards. For Kaidan specifically, I have also included content about his mechanics in ME3.

Please note that most of these have been accomplished on console. I have gotten several PC users who do attest that, at the very least, Kaidan’s portion works for them. But on the off-chance that platform influences other parts of Kaidan’s, or Ashley and Liara’s, I thought it was worth mentioning. It should also be said that, obviously, these are all using the original games as a basis, though I am not expecting MELE to change any of this.

I will also be using both my Kaidan transcript and Ashley transcript as reference for their dialogue. I recommend following along there if you find Tumblr’s formatting confusing.

Final note before we begin: this post is not an open invitation to hate on any of these characters. ME1 is turning 14 this year and ME3 recently turned 9. Anything you have to say about these characters and their romance mechanics has already been beaten to death, brought back to life, and beaten to death again. No one wants to hear it, least of all me. Please keep your comments to yourself and be civil.

KAIDAN

“I WANT TO AVOID TRIGGERING IT ENTIRELY, WHAT DO I DO?”

Kaidan’s romance can be triggered after the first main mission has been completed. For many players, I imagine this is Therum, but it really doesn’t matter which mission it is.

Kaidan will prompt the conversation, as he will for every other post-main mission conversation so long as his romance remains active. This conversation will be about his time at Brain Camp. You can read the conversation in his transcript if you find it easier to follow along, though I have done my best to format this post as cleanly as possible.

KAIDAN: Commander, do you have a minute?

SHEPARD: (You can choose whatever dialogue option you want. It makes no difference yet.)

KAIDAN: Off the record, I think there’s something wrong here. This Saren is looking for records on some kind of galactic extinction, but we can’t get backup from the Council? Sorry, Commander. There’s writing on the wall here, but someone isn’t reading it.

SHEPARD: (Again, you may choose whatever dialogue option you want. It still makes no difference yet.)

>FIRST CHANCE TO AVOID THE ROMANCE<

KAIDAN: I hear ya. It - It just seems like a group that’s been around as long as the Council should see this coming. It’s funny. We finally get out here and the final frontier was already settled. And the residents don’t even seem impressed by the view...or the dangers.

SHEPARD (Renegade - Zip it, Lieutenant.): I’m sure your letters home are very poignant. Just keep this kind of sentimentality out of the CIC.

KAIDAN: Yes, ma’am. Sorry to have wasted your time. I’m right about the mission, though. I know it. (The conversation will end here and his romance will not trigger.)

>SECOND CHANCE TO AVOID THE ROMANCE<

SHEPARD (Paragon - Cute way to look at it./Neutral - An old-fashioned view.): Well, well. You’re a romantic. Did you sign on “for the dream,” Alenko? Secure man’s future in space?

KAIDAN: Heh, yeah, I read a lot of those books when I was a kid. Where the hero goes to space to prove himself worthy of a woman he loves. Or, you know. For justice. Maybe I was a romantic in the beginning. But I thought about it after Brain Camp - ah, sorry, “Biotic Acclimation and Temperance training.” I’m not looking for “the dream.” I just want to do some good. See what’s out here. Sorry if I got too informal. Protocol wasn’t a big focus back in BAaT.

SHEPARD (Renegade - Just be ready.): I trust you won’t have any questions when whatever’s coming hits the fan?

KAIDAN: None. I’m not questioning the mission. I’m just concerned. Sorry to have wasted your time, ma’am. It won’t happen again. (The conversation will end here and his romance will not trigger.)

The final chance to cut off Kaidan’s romance before it triggers happens after Shepard asks him about Brain Camp. This opens up a lot of investigation options and you may exhaust all of them. If you want to avoid hearing Kaidan imply that he thinks your Shepard is attractive, avoid the “Time to talk, then./Time to “get physical,” then.” investigation options. Once Kaidan is done speaking about Brain Camp, you will get one final chance to avoid his romance.

>THIRD CHANCE TO AVOID THE ROMANCE<

KAIDAN: Anyway. This was supposed to be a casual debrief, not a bull session about stuff that happened years ago.

SHEPARD (Renegade - You’re right.): I pretty much gave up waiting for the good part.

KAIDAN: Bad habit, ma’am. I do tend to run off at the mouth. I will work on it for my next review. Sorry to have wasted your time, ma’am. It won’t happen again. (The conversation ends and his romance does not trigger.)

You will notice all of these are renegade options. There is literally no way around this if you want to avoid triggering Kaidan’s romance. You don’t get any renegade points from them, and Kaidan does not treat you negatively in the ensuing post-main mission talks.

Here is an easy way to tell if Kaidan’s romance remains active. Conversations between him and Shepard will end like this:

SHEPARD: We’ll talk later, Kaidan.

KAIDAN: I’d like that.

“I’VE ALREADY TRIGGERED IT, HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS?”

The good news is that getting out of the romance is fairly simple. The game gives you a lot of opportunities before it triggers the love triangle with Liara (assuming her romance has also been triggered, anyway).

If Kaidan’s romance was triggered, you will have an opportunity at the beginning of his second and third post-main mission talks. These are a bit more complex to transcribe, so I really recommend just reading them in my transcription if you need the exact dialogue options to understand.

But the gist: You can’t go wrong with choosing the renegade dialogue options. This is always the dialogue option that will end his romance. You are almost never going to end his romance with a paragon or neutral dialogue option. He will always prompt this conversation by wondering if he’s gotten his signals mixed up, if there’s someone else you’d rather spend time with, if he’s being too casual, etc. Once he does this, just shoot him down with a renegade dialogue option.

Again: you get no renegade points from this. He will not treat you negatively in the ensuing post-main mission talks.

Here is an example. This one occurs in his second post-main mission talk if Liara’s romance hasn’t been triggered:

KAIDAN: I’m just saying...try to leave yourself a way out. I’ve seen what cutting corners can do and I’d hate to have that happen to you, Shepard. Commander.

SHEPARD (Renegade - I don’t need approval.): I’m your commanding officer, Alenko. Are you questioning the way I handle things?

KAIDAN: No, Commander. Just concerned about the reception of the brass if things go sour. I apologize for bringing it up. I know we’re getting the job done.

SHEPARD: (You can choose whatever response you like; they all lead to the romance ending.)

If you have repeatedly not broken off the romance with Kaidan after a certain point and Liara’s romance is also active, it will trigger the love triangle scene. This is one of the last points you have to break off Kaidan’s romance, but it will lock you into Liara’s romance instead. If you are wanting a no-romance run, I recommend choosing one of the other options instead.

There is also a separate way to end the romance outside these three opportunities. In the third post-main mission talk, you must pick the dialogue option that triggers the argument that can “renegade” Kaidan’s opinion on the Council. You must not choose the charm or intimidate option here, and you must then pick the renegade dialogue options. The conversation should go like this:

KAIDAN: So yeah, I hated that turian. But he wasn’t “a turian” to me. He was Vyrnnus.

SHEPARD (Renegade - All turians are the same.): You can’t deny the turians are imperialists. And the asari, the salarians - they’re manipulators.

KAIDAN: Shepard, I outgrew the blame game years ago. If the Alliance is missing its chance, it’s because of men like Udina. Not the rest of the galaxy holding it back.

SHEPARD (Renegade - I’m not so sure.): When anyone out here listens to us, the Council starts up with their treaties and heel-dragging. We can only rely on ourselves.

KAIDAN: We’re not doing the galaxy any favors if we try to force our way into a seat at the grown-up table. They aren’t - malicious. They’re just slow to change. My story doesn’t get any better if Vyrnnus is a good guy.

SHEPARD (Renegade - Whose side are you on?): I don’t need you kissing the Council’s asses, too.

KAIDAN: Look, Shepard. You’re in command, and we’ll all follow your lead. But don’t ream me out for having an opinion. I thought we respected each other more than that.

SHEPARD (Renegade - I can’t respect this.): I can’t believe you’d side with aliens over your own kind. I think we’re done here.

KAIDAN: Yeah, I think we are. It’s--It’s too bad we...It’s just too bad, Commander.

This argument will end his romance. He will also not be renegaded. This is obviously a much more convoluted way to end his romance, but I’m throwing the option out there because it’s 1) hilarious, and 2) way more dramatic, if you want to roleplay ending the romance for whatever reason.

MISCELLANEOUS

Depending on the dialogue options you take for the scenic view on the Citadel, Kaidan will always flirt with you. This does not lock you into, or even trigger, his romance. It is entirely possible to not have him flirt with you at all in this scene, and still initiate the romance later. But if you do not want him to flirt with you, simply do this:

[image ID: ME1’s subtitles showing Ashley saying “Or maybe they just don’t like humans.” with the dialogue wheel below it giving the following dialogue choices, starting from the top: “What’s not to like?”, “Let’s move out.”, and “That’s enough, you two.” end ID]

When you get to this part of the scenic view cutscene, choose any dialogue option but the top “What’s not to like?” one.

Also, even if you’ve already avoided or shut down Kaidan’s romance, Liara will still ask if there’s something between the two of you if her romance is active. Tell her that there isn’t (because there isn’t). Her saying this does not re-trigger Kaidan’s romance.

Congratulations, you have now survived ME1’s romance mechanics. Enjoy experiencing unromanced Kaidan for the rest of the game.

ME3 BONUS: “OKAY, WHAT ABOUT HIM FLIRTING WITH ME IN THE HOSPITAL THOUGH?”

I have tested both of these personally multiple times and they have always worked for me, but again: see my warning about different platforms at the beginning of this post. If it doesn’t work for you, please let me know.

If you have not romanced Kaidan previously: don’t buy him the alcohol as a present. That’s it.

If you have romanced Kaidan previously: on Mars, tell him your relationship is over. It is a renegade dialogue option, but it is necessary to avoid the flirtation in the hospital. This route also means that you can buy him the alcohol and he will still not flirt with you.

Please note that going renegade on Mars does not lock you out of his romance. It merely prevents him from assuming you’re interested during your hospital visit.

ME3 BONUS: “OKAY, WHAT ABOUT HIS APOLLO’S PROPOSITION THOUGH?”

This only happens if you have not locked in your romance with your preferred love interest first. For Garrus, this is the bottle shooting date. For Tali and Traynor, it’s inviting her up to your cabin. For Liara and Miranda, it’s her Presidium date. So on and so forth.

This means there is no way around it if you romanced Jacob or Thane and do not want to pursue a different romance after them. If you do get this scene: again, just turn him down. It is never brought up again. He does not act like he’s in love with you going forth. You will get his unromanced date in the Citadel DLC, as well as his unromanced London goodbye.

ASHLEY

“I WANT TO AVOID TRIGGERING IT ENTIRELY, WHAT DO I DO?”

Ashley’s romance can be triggered after the first main mission has been completed. For many players, I imagine this is Therum, but it really doesn’t matter which mission it is.

Ashley will prompt the conversation, as she will for every other post-main mission conversation so long as her romance remains active. This conversation will be about her concerns about the aliens aboard the Normandy.

Note: Ashley has one less opportunity to avoid triggering her romance in the first post-main mission talk compared to Kaidan. You may also read the conversation in her transcript if you find it easier to follow along, though I have done my best to format this post as cleanly as possible.

ASHLEY: Commander. You have a minute to talk?

SHEPARD: (You can choose whatever dialogue option you want. It makes no difference yet.)

ASHLEY: I know things are different aboard the Normandy, but - I'm concerned about the aliens. Vakarian and Wrex. With all due respect, Commander, should they have full access to the ship?

SHEPARD: (Again, you can choose whatever dialogue option you want. It still makes no difference yet.)

>FIRST CHANCE TO AVOID THE ROMANCE<

ASHLEY: This is the most advanced ship in the Alliance Navy. I don't think we should give them free reign to poke around the vital systems. Engines. Sensors. Weapons.

SHEPARD (Side - You're out of line!): That's enough, Chief. You always second-guess your superiors?

ASHLEY: Sir! No, sir! I'm sorry. I was out of line. I'll get back to my duties, Commander. (The conversation will end and her romance will not trigger.)

If you do not pick the above option, Ashley will elaborate her stance further until you get to the dialogue wheel with the second (and final) chance to avoid her romance.

>SECOND CHANCE TO AVOID THE ROMANCE<

ASHLEY: My family's defended the Alliance since it was founded. My father, my grandfather, my great-grandmother - they all picked up a rifle and swore the Oath of Service. I guess we just tend to think of Earth's interests as our own.

SHEPARD (Renegade - Just shut up.): I expect you to keep your family politics to yourself, Chief. The mission will be difficult enough without you picking fights with aliens.

ASHLEY: Aye, aye, Commander. (The conversation will end and her romance will not trigger.)

Note: You can still pick the investigation dialogue options that discusses her service and family history. You just have to pick the renegade dialogue option outlined above afterward, instead of any other option.

Like with Kaidan, you do not get any renegade points for picking this option and Ashley does not treat you negatively in the ensuing post-main mission talks.

Here is an easy way to tell if Ashley’s romance remains active. Conversations between her and Shepard will end with the following:

SHEPARD: We'll talk later, Williams.

ASHLEY: Looking forward to it, sir.

“I’VE ALREADY TRIGGERED IT, HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS?”

Admittedly, you have fewer easy opportunities to end Ashley’s romance than you do Kaidan’s, and most of the early game ones require Liara’s romance also being active. You are still offered multiple different opportunities out before the game ends, however.

If Ashley and Liara’s romances are both triggered, you will have an opportunity at the beginning of Ashley’s second and third post-main mission talks to end the romance. The gist is the same as Kaidan’s: You can’t go wrong with choosing the renegade dialogue options. This is always the dialogue option that will end her romance. You are almost never going to end her romance with a paragon or neutral dialogue option. She will always prompt this conversation by bringing up your relationship with Liara. Once she does this, just shoot her down.

Again: you get no renegade points from this. She will not treat you negatively in the ensuing post-main mission talks.

In both the second and third post-main mission talks, the conversation will go something like:

ASHLEY: Surprised to see you here, sir. Thought you’d be chatting up what’s-her-name. T’Soni.

SHEPARD: (Pick the neutral or renegade dialogue option here; they both lead to the same dialogue branch.)

ASHLEY: Scuttlebutt says you’ve got a bit of a thing for her. I could understand why. The crew’s off-limits, with the regs against fraternization. And at least she looks like a woman.

SHEPARD: (Pick the neutral or renegade dialogue option here. They both end the romance.)

One of the easier exceptions to this that doesn't require Liara’s romance being active is in the second post-main mission talk when Ashley gets Sarah’s vid-mail. It will go like this:

SARAH: - Oh, before I go. You said you’re serving with Commander Shepard now? We saw him on the news here. He’s cute! Later, sis.

ASHLEY: Tell me you didn’t hear that.

SHEPARD (Renegade - That’s unprofessional.): I don’t need to tell you it’s inappropriate to gossip about how “cute” your commanding officer is.

ASHLEY: No, sir. You don’t. Sorry about that. It won’t happen again. (Conversation and romance ends.)

Please note, however, that this will lock you out of the remainder of the conversation and you will not learn about Ashley’s family.

If you have repeatedly not broken off the romance with Ashley after a certain point and Liara’s romance is also active, it will trigger the love triangle scene. This is one of the last points you have to break off Ashley’s romance, but it will lock you into Liara’s romance instead. If you are wanting a no-romance run, I recommend choosing one of the other options instead.

There is also a separate way to end the romance outside these three opportunities. In the third post-main mission talk, you must pick the dialogue option that triggers the argument that can “paragon” Ashley’s opinion on the Council. You must not choose the charm or intimidate option here, and you must then pick the renegade dialogue options. The conversation should go something like this:

ASHLEY: But hey, once we save the galaxy, maybe the Alliance will get its act together. Start acting like an actual government.

SHEPARD (Paragon - The Alliance is all right.): The Alliance isn’t perfect, but it does well enough.

ASHLEY: Have to disagree with you there, skipper. Giving aliens the run of our most advanced ship? Kowtowing to the Council?

SHEPARD (Paragon - It’s not like that.): The Alliance should be able to stand on is own. We can’t. Yet. Why not learn from the races that have been standing for the last thousand years?

ASHLEY: How can you say that, given everything we’ve seen out here? They’re already acting like Saren is our problem. Already siccing us on the bear. The Council races will always think of themselves first. It’s - human nature. We can’t afford to trust them. Not if the survival of humanity is on the line.

SHEPARD (Renegade - I’ve heard enough.): Whatever feelings I might have for you, we have to work with the Council. I can’t let you second-guess our superiors.

ASHLEY: Shepard, I’m a soldier. You’re my commander. If you give me an order, I’ll follow it. I don’t expect you to treat me differently from anyone else under your command. And if you have been - quit it. I thought you knew me better than that.

SHEPARD (Renegade - Do I?): Seems like every time we run up against aliens, you whip out the “Earth first” card. I can’t have my authority undermined.

ASHLEY: I never intended to “undermine” you, Shepard. I believe in you. I wish you’d believe in anyone but yourself. With your permission, sir, I’ll return to my duties.

This argument will end her romance. She will also not be paragoned. This is obviously a much more convoluted way to end her romance, but I’m throwing the option out there because it’s 1) hilarious (that final line, oof), and 2) way more dramatic, if you want to roleplay ending the romance for whatever reason.

MISCELLANEOUS

Like with Kaidan, depending on the dialogue options you take for the scenic view on the Citadel, Ashley will always flirt with you. This does not lock you into, or even trigger, her romance. It is entirely possible to not have her flirt with you at all in this scene, and still initiate the romance later. But if you do not want her to flirt with you, simply do this:

When you get to this part of the scenic view cutscene, choose any dialogue option but the top “What’s not to like?” one.

Also like with Kaidan, even if you’ve already avoided or shut down Ashley’s romance, Liara will still ask if there’s something between the two of you if her romance is active. Tell her that there isn’t (because there isn’t). Her saying this does not re-trigger Ashley’s romance.

Congratulations, you have now survived ME1’s romance mechanics. Enjoy experiencing unromanced Ashley for the rest of the game.

LIARA

“I WANT TO AVOID TRIGGERING IT ENTIRELY, WHAT DO I DO?”

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I have found no easy way around Liara’s romance. If anyone else has, I genuinely mean it when I say I would absolutely be open to you telling me, because I would love to know.

The only way to avoid triggering Liara’s romance that I have found are the following:

Simply not talking to her for most of the game (not ideal)

Completing Therum only after you’ve done at least two main missions (also not ideal since it will require Noveria being completed without her)

Completing Therum only after all the other main missions have been completed (again not ideal, though every player should at least do this once if only for the unique content you get from it)

Okay, so what if you want to complete Therum first but still avoid Liara’s romance? I have found one way to accomplish this, but it requires you to be in a romance with Kaidan (or presumably Ashley, but I have only tested this with Kaidan).

After you recruit Liara, you may check up on her in the med-bay but do not initiate conversation after that. If she prompts you by saying, “I get the feeling you want to ask me something, Commander,” do not pick the yellowed dialogue option:

[image ID: ME1′s subtitles showing Liara saying, “I get the feeling you want to ask me something, Commander.” with the dialogue wheel showing the following options: “Investigate”, a yellowed option above “Investigate” labeled “I’d like to talk about you.”, and “Goodbye.” end ID.]

After you complete another main mission, you can check back in with Liara and speak to her normally. This conversation should be the one you’d normally get after Therum, where you learn about why she likes archaeology and how she finds Shepard fascinating.

After you complete another main mission, you must talk to Kaidan or Ashley first. To clarify: at this point you should be at the post-third main mission mark. For Kaidan, you will be getting the “Vyrnnus and Rahna” talk that you can read in his transcript; for Ashley, you will be getting the “Williams Curse” talk that you can read in her transcript.

After you speak with Kaidan or Ashley, you may speak with Liara as normal. This conversation should be picking up on where you left off last time. Liara will talk about how she’s looked into Shepard’s history and Shepard can press her for why she’s so interested in them. Liara should then say something like the following lines:

LIARA: I admit, your connection to the Protheans had something to do with my initial interest. But it has grown beyond that. My interest in you, however, is strictly professional. I want to make that clear. It is obvious you and Lt. Alenko already have some type of relationship. I would not want to come between you.

Her romance will not trigger for the rest of the game.

Please note: Again, I have only tested this with Kaidan. But it should, in theory, work the exact same for Ashley considering many of hers and Kaidan’s other romance mechanics are identical.

“THAT’S NICE, BUT HOW DO I END HER ROMANCE IF IT’S ALREADY TRIGGERED?”

You will follow the same steps as in Kaidan and Ashley’s portions. When she prompts you with whether or not there’s anything between the two of you, you must turn her down. You can never go wrong with the renegade dialogue options here. Again: you get no renegade points for it, and Liara treats you no differently going forth.

She will also usually bring up Kaidan or Ashley depending on what Shepard you are playing, and mention that it seems like there’s something between the two of you even when you do not have their romance active. If you aren’t romancing the VS, just tell her that she’s got it wrong, because...she does. It does not re-trigger either of their romances.

YES I AM ALMOST DONE TALKING

The game really does give you ample opportunities to avoid or end the romances (which is only fair considering how easy they are to trip), so hopefully I have outlined at least one you are comfortable taking.

There are other ways to end both Kaidan and Ashley’s romance that I did not mention (such as during the locker scene, or if you try to un-paragon/renegade) - the point of no return you mainly have to worry about is en route to Ilos. I imagine most players will have their romances sorted out by then, though, so I’m not sure it’s worth mentioning unless you’re wanting to do it purely for roleplay reasons. (In which case: you may read those in their respective transcripts if you’re curious.)

I cannot say I have tested every single romance cut-off, but I have tested most of the important ones players are most likely to take. I am assuming the romances are cut off based on the fact Shepard and the VS’ farewells will change depending on their romanced status (as I outlined in their respective sections), which I do feel is a safe bet. But if you try one of these and find that it did not end the romance: I’m sorry, and please do let me know (and also what platform you play on).

If you read all of this: thank you for your time, and I hope you find this guide useful!

#mass effect #kaidan alenko #ashley williams #liara t'soni #shenko #shepley #shiara #okay perhaps this post will show up in the tags eventually but it certainly is not for now #which makes this post utterly pointless but whatever hopefully it still gets spread around #edit: this post is showing up in the tags now thanks everyone who reblogged!

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le0watch · 3 years

Text

i cant get this out of my mind so imma just type it out:

god au where the main characters of sk8 are sort of their own pantheon.

-Masai, Goddess of Fertility and the Stars. she gave birth to reki similar to the ways the old gods of north and greek mythology did- in unconventional ways. reki was born from a star, after masai touched its surface with her finger. reki formed inside, forming and being "born" just as the earth was created, and the sun came from the remenants of his formation. she wears a crown of tiny stars, and the edges of her cloak are dotted with the stars as well.

Children of Masai, lesser gods(still powerful beyond belief, however):

-Reki, God of the Sun and Warmth. reki is the embodiment of the sun, as well as the controller of warmth and heat. he controls the sun, similar to apollo, and makes sure that the earth revolves around every day. he is also the creator of fire, creating it while he was playing with the sun's surface. when people were formed, he gave fire to them as a gift. this helped people evolve drastically. he is constantly surrounded by a bright, godly glow, his eyes holding every color of heat and warmth. he has a halo of light over his head, created by his mother from the light of stars as a gift. he wears it proudly. he gives off a constant heat, proof that is was born from the star known as the sun.

-Koyomi, Goddess of Spring. she was born from a white cloud, warmed by her mother's touch. she came up with the idea of the first season on earth: spring. this was before the other seasons were created, and so many reptilians evolved rapidly under her touch. she is often found wearing green and pink robes, as well as a crown similar to that of reki's.

-Nanaka and Chihiro, Twin Goddesses of Summer. They were born from the petals of a flower, held gently in their mother's hands. They were small at first, tiny as a pair of seeds, and still have yet to grow into their full goddesshood. but that didn't stop them from "copying" their older sister's idea of a season, and they wound up creating summer, a season of heat and more heat. they asked their eldest sibling, reki, to help with the creation, and he gave in, but ended up sending a bit too much heat. reptilians continued to thrive beneath the sun's strong waves. they wear a matching pair of sun like crowns, gifted to them from reki, as well as robes of orange and red.

Nanako, Goddess of Space and Kindness. nanako was the first god or goddess to ever be born, and was brought to life along with the existence of space. she is the eldest of the gods, yet she is also the most kind and gentle. she existed alone in the void, until a nearby spark lit up, before bursting outwards, and masai came into existence with the stars. they worked together to create planets. nanako grew jealous of masai as she gave birth to children, but it was impossible for her to do it similarly, since she is not the goddess of fertility. she begged for masai to make her fertile for at least one child, and was told she could only give birth with the help of a mortal man. this is how she met and chose oliver, a mortal from the time just before the ice age, who was blessed with the most intelligence and wisdom over any other, recognizing her and treating her kindly. this is how langa was conceived. she too wears a crown created by masai, and wears a cloak as dark and unconceivable as the void of space, dark matter rising from it like smoke. despite her choice of wardrobe, she radiates kindness and love.

Child of Nanako, a lesser god:

Langa, God of Snow and Growth. though it may sound confusing as to why langa, god of the snow, also contains the ability of growth, it is not the growth of plants, since most die from his chilling touch. he is the god of growth in people and their abilities, helping to shape them and give them inspiration in whatever they chose to do. he is one of the gods that blessed mortals the most after his mother, blessing them with natural ability and adaptative personalities. he is also the creator of winter, somehow snuffing out the sun's heat from affecting the earth as much, creating snow and ice in the process. he has not yet met reki the sun god, and does not of his transgression, but the third season was created, causing the ice age the extinction of 90% of the earth's population. he is also the youngest of the gods, the others being born prior to the creation of men. he made himself a crown of ice, that is also snowing across his blue hair. he also wears a large coat, snow cascading from the shoulders like the fur of a wolf (he asked miya for the favor of creating wolves, and he stills owes a favor to miya in return). most of his wardrobe are blues, whites and greys.

Miya, God of Animals and Mischief. miya is the creator of every single animal that roams the earth. he started with the bacteria before he grew bored, and then created evolution, helping the animals to change into different variations of themselves, dropping different creations during the time before humans. he helped to make dinosaurs and birds and mammals and fish and bugs, until he grew bored of unintelligent creatures. he made human from the first monkey he saw, touching it with intelligence and watching it grow. he also loves to tease and prank the other gods and goddesses, throwing them for loops. his best friend, though he won't admit it, is the sun god himself, who enjoys partaking in his play every now and again. he has a wardrobe made entirely of the pelts of various unknown animals to humans, which are in the colors of purple and pink and green. he also likes to make a tail for himself. miya prefers to not wear a crown, but when he has to, it is a crown of bronze.

Kojiro, God of Strength and Wisdom. kojiro is the definition of brain and brawn, helping the animals miya made have both strength and the minor wisdom they needed to survive. when miya created humans, he asked kojiro to give the humans more wisdom along with the intelligence he gave them. kojiro agreed, intruged by miya's newest creation. he visits with mortals often, granting them strength and wisdom, or one or the other. he doesn't wear a shirt, much to kaoru's chagrin, but luckily, he does wear a pair of pants that are as soft as a cloud. kojiro wears a silver crown.

Kaoru, God of Art and Creation: every god mentioned above has at one point or another created something. this is the doing of kaoru, allowing them the idea of creating anything. he gifted it to each of the gods- some more than others (kojiro was given the least amount, as well as anoisuke), and brought art to the humans in their early stages, helping them reach their full potential of wisdom and creation. this led to humans becoming the dominant species on earth. kaoru was the one to create miya from the oil of one of his paintings alongside kojiro, and thus miya refers to them as his parents, much to kaoru's annoyance. he wears robes similar to the kimonos in japan, and he favors the japanese over most other humans, giving them many gifts of art and creation. he wears a golden crown atop his head.

because of this, kojiro and kaoru are often depicated together, and they are referred to as the patron gods of techonolgy, humanity's greatest show of creation with their wisdom. occasionally, miya is also depicted with them both, and they are recognized as the patrons of family.

Hiromi, God of Plants and Life. hiromi was the one that made miya and kojiro's ideas of life on earth possible. he created the first life on earth ever: a tiny, pre-tree plant. he gave it life, making it grow and breathe until the earth was inhabitable for the creatures kojiro and miya desired to create. his favorite creation of all is that of flowers. he made those with love and care, nurturing the first flowers to life with his hands rather than his godly power. he has a crown of flower petals, as well as a robe made mostly of flowers.

Anoisuke, God of Death and Despair. anoiskue has a long and twisted history with the other gods, and as such, was locked and chained to the underworld, where he could still properly preform his job of taking those who were meant to go. he is still a heavy subject among the pantheon, as well the mortals below. it is said that he terrorized the others of the pantheon before he was locked away, and even tried to kill the sun god reki, before the god of snow stopped him, freezing him in place. anoisuke had been planning to kill the sun god to put out the sun and throw the mortals into utmost despair, so he could drag them all to the depths of the underworld below. he also had a particular interest in the snow god, believing that with his power over cold, they could freeze the entire planet over, making it unhabital for any mortal. langa outright refused.

this was how the snow god and the god of the sun met, and eventually fell in love. the mixture of their heat and cold created the final season, fall, which presides on its own without the control of a god. one would think that they could be around one another often due to their opposing temperatures, but they would be wrong. langa is so cold that he could never experience heat, while reki is so hot he could never experience cold. when they are together, the mortals consider them the patron gods of love, and they are often depicted together, with the sun and moon merged together.

Minor gods (not apart of the main pantheon):

Oka, God of Trust. oka is the god of trust, making him popular among the true believers of the human race. he helps them to root out the toxic people in their lives, as well as those they can trust the most. he is also called upon to solidify promises that can never be broken, until the promise is fulfilled.

Tadashi, God of Servitude. tadashi is the patron god of past slaves, servants, and the blue collar workers of the human population. they pray to him to lower their work, and help them get through a long day. depictions of him are a lot of the time that of a black labrador retriever, the symbol of obidience in their world. as such, he obidiently retrieves the souls of the dead to bring to his master, the god of the dead. he is also known as the god of soul reaping due to this.

due to tadashi and anoisuke's close relationship, they are often depicted together as a warning to those working, as a warning to not be too submissive, or you will be undoubtedly taken advantage of. when a person wants ward off possible bosses who force them into an unfair working situation, they will wear a pendant of tadashi and anoisuke's combined symbols- that of a skeleton holding the chain of a dog.

???, God of Youth. this is a god that everyone has forgotten the name of, but refer to as Youthian. no one has a solid depiction of they, nor entirely what they truly are a patron of, but most believe them to be that of youth and the protection of children. this god is rumored to have once been the close friend of the sun god reki, before they suddenly vanished from the pantheon.

#oops this got out of hand #just created a whole story and world with lore #oops #wow i talk #sk8 #sk8 the infinity #snowgear #renga #langa hasegawa #reki kyan #miya chinen #kaoru sakurayashiki #kojiro nanjo #sk8 shadow #sk8 oka #if you know who i'm hinting at with the last god #you get a cookie

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idigitpodcast · 3 years

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IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN ARCHAEOLOGY: GEORGE MCJUNKIN

Alright everyone, in honor of Juneteenth, I would like to tell you the story of Mr. George McJunkin, an African American Cowboy and archaeologist!

McJunkin was born into slavery on a ranch in Texas in 1851. His father worked on that same ranch as a blacksmith after he purchased his own freedom; and no sources online can seem to provide any information on his mother.

Growing up, McJunkin learned many skills as a ranch hand and he also frequently interacted with Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) who taught him how to handle horses.

On a night in 1867 he packed up some food, an extra pair of pants, took a mule from his master’s ranch, and set out to become a cowboy. McJunkin had many jobs as a horse and cattle wrangler as well as a manager of various ranches in both South and West Texas, Northeastern New Mexico, and in Northwestern Oklahoma.

It was during this time that he learned how to read and write from other cowboys; but he also picked up quite a bit on his own. He taught himself how to speak fluent Spanish, and how to play the fiddle. He was also very interested in science and history, and educated himself in archaeology.

In the early 1900s McJunkin was offered a job as the foreman on the Crowfoot Ranch near Folsom, New Mexico (yeah THAT Folsom, New Mexico my fellow Prehistoric North American archaeology nerds).

Then, on August 27th, 1908 Folsom was hit with a harsh and heavy rainstorm which ended up causing massive flooding. McJunkin and a friend Bill Gordon were surveying damage to fences along the Dry Cimarron River, and it was in the Wild Horse Arroyo that McJunkin noticed huge bones sitting in the newly exposed sediment.

McJunkin’s life experience allowed him to recognize these bones were not from any modern day cattle or buffalo species, and therefore were probably a significant archaeological discovery. He tried to get the scientific community interested in the site with no luck.

George McJunkin passed away in 1922 at the age of 71 without having known just how significant this discovery was going to be.*

While the realms of American anthropology and archaeology have made significant progress and improvements in the past 100 years (though they still have a long way to go), the disciplines during the early 1900s were inundated with racism and prejudice. Scientific authorities at the time were hard-set in their understanding that Indigenous prehistory only extended approximately 3,000 years B.P. (before the present). This relatively young date range helped to justify academic views at the time that Indigneous peoples were ‘savage’ and ‘uncivilized’, and therefore inferior white western culture.

Several months after McJunkin’s death in 1922 a team of amateur archaeologists ended up excavating the arroyo site and discovered more bones and associated projectile points (projectile point is the general term to refer to spear or arrow heads).

Then, in 1926 the director of the Colorado Museum of Natural History (now the Denver Museum of Nature and Science) J.D. Figgins was shown bones from the site and he proceeded with formal excavations in that same year.

The Folsom site is monumental for how it changed the way western academics understood North American prehistory. These excavations turned up approximately 30 individual skeletons from the extinct bison species Bison antiquus. This is a species that dates from 10,000 to 18,000 years ago.

In the following year, 1927, a skeleton was found with a spear point lodged in situ (in place/in context) between the bison’s ribs (what is known as a Folsom Point). This find meant that prehistoric people existed within the North American continent at least 11,000 years B.P.

Again, there is no way to overstate how significant this site is, and how frankly cool it is that a Black cowboy and former slave was the one to initially find it. Though, I would also like to note that The Denver Museum of Nature and Science does not mention George McJunkin and his association with the Folsom archaeology site that made them well-known; and if the information is present it is not easily accessible.

There are no doubt countless unsung brilliant anthropologists and archaeologists throughout American history, people who have made incredible contributions to these disciplines without ever knowing the true impact they would have.

George McJunkin is certainly one of these people, but as time goes on I am hopeful that his story and importance will be taught alongside all the big names in American anthropology, because his life is certainly one that deserves to be celebrated.

*Brief aside from the author: the word ‘discovery’ never really feels appropriate to me when discussing prehistoric Indigenous sites. I don’t know about anyone else, but to me the idea of ‘Discovering’ seems to imply that Indigenous people didn’t already know a site was there. I am sure many nations did/do know the location of important cultural sites but may not want to disturb them for various reasons. Anyway if you stuck through this mini-soapbox thank you, please continue on with your regularly scheduled reading.*

Refs

“George McJunkin and the Discovery That Changed American Archaeology.” Archaeology Southwest, 20 Oct. 2020, www.archaeologysouthwest.org/2015/02/23/george-mcjunkin-and-the-discovery-that-changed-american-archaeology/.

“George McJunkin: Standing at the Intersection of Black History and American Archaeology.” Archaeology Southwest, 5 Mar. 2021, www.archaeologysouthwest.org/2021/03/04/george-mcjunkin-standing-at-the-intersection-of-black-history-and-american-archaeology/.

Matt Doherty, Matt. “George McJunkin – Black Cowboy & History Changing Amateur Archaeologist.” Legends of America, www.legendsofamerica.com/george-mcjunkin/.

Peterson, Heather. “George McJunkin (1851-1922) •.” BlackPast, 25 Feb. 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mcjunkin-george-1851-1922/.

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About the podcast: The I Dig It Podcast was created by Alyssa and Michaela in March of 2020. Our goal for this podcast was to provide archaeology enthusiasts with insight into the student perspective of navigating the world of academia and the job market for archaeology and anthropology. Guests on the podcast include people from all different parts of their career, including highschool, undergrad, grad school, post doc, and early career!

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