#gotta love that wizard hubris

[eff-plays]

He'll catch her like a cartoon animal catches a falling anvil.

[atoltia]

"we worship you! want to help you! we made something to help you win the war!"

'we stand beside you. we made a weapon that can do something that you cannot do.'

[emilykaldwen]

gotta say, i do wanna hear about your cult leader bard xD

So Kali was originally my Durge Bard Teethling from our Shattered Star Campaign (with @merbleberp!! and @rigbeesknees!!! and I cannot remember Anna's blogname oops) and I missed her so much I had to make her in BG3.

So Kali... boy, how do I start with Kali. So Kali was found by her archeologist parents - her mother was from a very heavy Cleric/Paladins of Sarenrae family and then her mom got caught up in some heavy demon shit, had a Div-Spawn baby, and Kali was abandoned at a temple where her archeologist Pathfinder Society parents found her.

Growing up was complicated. There were a lot of nasty things said about her parents, and while they really meant well, they didn't really understand Kali's brand of... messy headspace.

So Kali went off to school where her mom was teaching, met Meredith's half-orc Wizard, Roz, and went 'This is my new best friend/sister/life partner and she is everything to me'. And Roz was able to teach Kali how to friend properly and not use people.

But you see, Kali is still 'I need to make people want to be around me/love me'. Like she was into this guy, they went on one date that he noped out of, she convinced herself that they were dating, saw him with someone else, and then proceeded to burn his apartment down. She got kicked out of school for that.

So while in our sunday night game, Kali came to discover healing, Sheyln, and the power of friendship and how she doesn't really need to start her own cult/become some BBEG for friendship, it still lingers. (@merbleberp AU where Roz needs to be 100% enabled)

SO IN BG3, this is the world where Kali doesn't remember Roz, she never found the new friends in Fortune's Folly, and her guardian is in the guise of a familiar half-orc that she knows means a lot to her but can't quite place. And she is into her worst impulses but she's not full on bad guy either. She encourages Shadowheart to turn her back on Shar and she supports Astarion's bodily autonomy - she is NOT about being controlled.

And I absolutely thought she was gonna go for Astarion but Gale's Wizard Hubris spoke to the comforting familiarity inside of her and they enable each other.

So now she's off to destroy everyone in the Absolute's Cult because they dared fuck with her, and she will rebuild from the ashes

(no spoilers, pls! I JUST started Act III!)

[girugin]

Gotta love the one guy who actually read the interview compared to everyone who didn't and just saw "Gale is annoying and it's good he Dies." and decided they wanted that Writer's shins. God the internet still suffers with actually looking at sources. Imagine if people try to harass this writer cause they just followed the crowd on what was said instead of actually seeing what was actually said. 'They guy who seems like your typical annoying Hubris riddled wizard at first turns out to have the biggest heart of the cast.'

Or: How I felt about that interview.

Anyway--Professor Gale Dekarios of Blackstaff Academy living his best, relaxed life 💖

[echo-the-ghost]

hello lil ghost!!! my fav color is yellow and purple is a close second! I will wear a friendship bracelet on my funny little shell with pride lol.

also that cloak sounds rad as hell. I feel like I would always forget what was in there hahaha (terrible memory on this one, lads). but more power to you! get those pockets! shove in those blorbos!

and okay so my bard! he's really into reading and learning and is VERY curious by nature. he is decently good aligned, though might make some decisions that don't seem good at first. he's also kinda nosy lmao. I'm romancing Gale and at first I thought my bard would be a nice grounding presence for him. But Gale has such big, wistful, magical ideas and a lot of hubris, and he's REALLY good with words, so at some point my bard got fully sucked into the grand ideas. now they're kind of making each other worse haha. also in my head, my bard is like 5'3" (he's also trans because he's just like me fr). but I'm in act 3 now (final act)! so I'm excited to finish my first playthrough hehehe

-🐌

HECK YEAH yellow and purple are very nice <3 if I had little charms I'd put a snail and a little wizard hat on there perhaps tehehee

YEEE to be fair I would also completely forget what was in what pocket too lmao,, my wizard has the benefit of an 18 intelligence but I do Not. I put on regular two-pocketed coats and I'm like wow I completely forgot I had these things in here. *pulls out a random chain, a bubble wand, a petrified lemon*

OH YESS I love me some curious learned folks <3 Your bard seems cool already!! KSJFLhjslfjLHKJSH him tryna be a grounded presence for Gale but then getting indoctrinated into his dreams and beliefs.. SUCH A MOOD KJSKLFHJ. We love a couple that's a bit Bad for each other ahahahah <3 <3

you 🤝 amrynn 🤝 me being 5'3" and gender-not-normal ehehehehhee

For real I am SUCH a big supporter of giving OCs similar identities to yourself because <3 self care babeyyy kfjlhkdjfhdf. And me I have like 400 identities so I've gotta have 400 OCs.. (a slight exaggeration but still adfjhldf)

Oooooh I am CERTAINLY super excited for you for the ending! I hope it goes well and is satisfying!! Are you planning on doing another playthrough after that and if so are you gonna go for Halsin or Wyll perhaps 👀

[flovverworks]

"Are you like, really close to any of them in particular? The group you got flashbang pack-bonded with." They're peeling off their eyepatch as they ask the not-mirror their weird, clumsy inquiry: they haven't even truly asked who they even have in their assortment, haven't even checked to see if they have any different people (the possibility that maybe, someone doesn't exist, someone else is in their place, it plagues them like mold on six week old sliced bread). The cloth carefully removed, placed in their lap so softly as if it's a hair ribbon and not a covering for the aftermath of their own hubris, they turn to face their companion: other Akira, same name, slightly different meanings. Two-in-one, but not the same, like a set of earrings where the colors accidentally were mismatched. "I'm good friends with one of them, even if he complains. Probably wouldn't tell him directly, but I do think I like him more than just a friend. I'll tell you that much, so you don't gotta feel awkward now, okay?"

It's curious, the way they phrase it. Picking favorites wasn't something Akira was willing to do (with the exception of Riquet's hopeful eyes that one time), the time ticking by already leaving an uncomfortable feeling in their chest. How do you choose between your children, how do you choose between all the cats in the world, how do you choose between the people you love—but that's not what they're asked. Closeness is something they forced. In the guise of wishing the Sage after them to have an easier time adapting, to ensure the wizards didn't have to explain their dislike for certain situations year after year. It must've been uncomfortable, sharing your life with someone you just met. They hoped it to become useful one day—and that's not what they were asked either.

The curiosity (or maybe it's fear for what happened to only one of them) about their eye takes the backseat, their love for love stronger than their current habit of asking questions too personal. How romantic (how painful) to fall for someone in the world you were whisked to, like words straight out of a drama. Was it difficult to meet the him in this place? Or were they different so it didn't matter? (They didn't dare to consider that their wizards weren't the same.)

"I'm happy for you", they start, their interest in wishing to know more about it obvious. "Um, I mean, I'm sure it's very difficult. I don't have anyone like that, but thinking that I have to leave here one day..." for a moment the awe dies. "So if I was in love with any of them...I think I'd feel 'this is unfair'", a tragic romance, voiced with care. It hadn't been here, but their own heart had spoken those words before. Love wasn't easy, and even so they stayed so utterly enamored. "I hope you can tell him someday. It's a miracle you and I met, so maybe it'll work out! If you need any advice I'd love it if you asked me", and so the excitement returns, hoping that they'd eventually find out more about the wizard they didn't mention by name.

"As for me..." they do pause, searching their feelings to make sure, when in reality they already knew the moment the words left their mouth. "...Cain", ah, they had spoken of their affection for most of them in front or to them, and yet, doing it like this, had them feeling shy. Like the two of them were sharing secrets rather than curious questions. "When I first got here he was the one who listened to me", had the two of them shared the same start? Or did things already diverge back there. "He has this way of always making me feel like things will work out no matter what, I know he has a lot of things burdening him that he doesn't speak about, but I'm very grateful for him", they don't look at the other, instead holding their gaze slightly to the side while reminiscing all the times Cain had been looking out for them, and hoping they could repay even a fraction of that. "I don't know how close we are, but I think if I knew someone like him back in my world, life would be a bit more bearable."

[theroofcat]

I posted 821 times in 2022

32 posts created (4%)

789 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@temtv

@snowylynxx

@yummygummysouls

@wolfythewitch

@gallusrostromegalus

I tagged 128 of my posts in 2022

#art reference - 10 posts

#roof rambles - 6 posts

#art tutorial - 5 posts

#tw death - 4 posts

#unreality - 3 posts

#technoblade - 3 posts

#tw food - 3 posts

#pokemon violet - 2 posts

#spoilers - 2 posts

#pre tags - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#sqh and mbj bouncing ideas off each other while sqq points out potential plot holes and lbh makes notes on how character would react

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Going into Turnabout goodbyes with my only decisive spoiler and clue being that Phoenix cross examined a parrot.

4 notes - Posted July 15, 2022

#4

Fuck it, petition to tell every Dream SMP cc that they are loved because no one got to tell Techno

Fucking spam all their tts, we need to tell them

They are loved

And would not be forgotten

6 notes - Posted June 30, 2022

#3

https://chng.it/hbbJ8zSPfd

Let's make him immortal in the game he loved <3

12 notes - Posted July 3, 2022

#2

When you have to recon almost all of your story because new lore dropped and YOU DIDN’T REALIZE THAT THE OTHER PART OF THE OTP WAS AN ASSHOLE. BITCH I THOUGH ESPRESSO WAS SIMPLY CONCISE LIKE WIZARD. NO, THE MOTHERFUCKER IS AN ASSHOLE, I JUST DIDN’T REALIZE IT BECAUSE I WAS SO FOCUSED ON HOW MADELEINE WAS AN ASSHOLE. BITCH BOTH HAVE TO HAVE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, I THOUGH I WAS ONLY DOING MADELEINE BUT GOD DAMN IT I GOTTA DO BOTH.

31 notes - Posted January 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Loopzoop fic idea, where Zenigata is helping Interpol officers with a case about a crime lord. He has his hands in drugs, weapons thief and potentially an entire cash of information for several human traffic rings. Zenigata was asked to join on the idea that he has the most experiences regarding thieves so he could make a plan to break into the crimelords house.

The crime lord works with Interpol, completely in his own hubris of not being able to be touched and mocking them by giving them information they normal would not have been able to get. The main detective for the crime lord wrangling is a gruff older woman with two agents, someone that Zenigata knew in his earlier career who asked him to come as a favor to finally nail down some human traffickers that Zenigata encountered on a Lupin case and was happy to help her get the information, even if it was a little illegal.

The heist goes off and the the detective thanks Zenigata only for the crime lord to come in, absolutely pissed asking how the help the detective got his most valuable card out from under his nose. Zenigata steps in and the crime lord stops in his tracks, although probably not for the reasons that Zenigata wanted.

Because that crime lord takes a step back and looks at pops, who was in a good suit because this was right after the heist at the crime lords party, who has broad shoulders, build like a house, has a handsome voice and just stood up to him. The crime lord is gone, hit in the heart with the most infatuation in the world. Because frankly, Zenigata is handsome and very much eye candy, he just does his job very well.

So the confrontation ends and everything is back to normal.

Except Zenigata keeps getting gifts of varying usefulness, expensive meals being paid for him, good hotels rooms. His wardrobe was replace with formfitting, well tailored, suits that allowed Zenigata good movement. The Lupin case squad was having a crisis and the Interpol interns where having a time watching Interpol officers do a doubt take at Zenigata. Even Fujiko and Lupin both took a double take at the inspector, Lupin more so than Fujiko floored at how Pops looked. Zenigata is a little bit embarrassed that moment with Lupins gangs jaws on the floor gave him the biggest confidence boost.

Nobody knows what is going on, least of all Zenigata, until it finally culminates into Zenigata having to go to a high society party to stop Lupin and the crime lord side tracks him with a dance and a deal.

Come home with the crime lord and he’ll make sure Lupin isn’t a problem.

Now, ignoring the fact that completely insults everything Pops prides himself on as a detective, the crime lord was clearly not talking about putting Lupin in jail. Zenigata obviously refuses, saying that he would never stop chasing Lupin. The crime lord is fairly quick to connect the dots about Zenigata loving Lupin, lets him chase after him.

Afterwards Zenigata can’t seem to stop running into the crime lord, at this point understand what the crime lord wants after the fifth time asking him to dinner. Mean while Lupin is not quite throwing a hissy fit at Pops attention being taken away from him, while Jigen, and Fujiko are genuinely starting to get worried at the crime lords harassment of Pops even thought he’s said no several times.

It gets to the point where the crime lord kidnaps Zenigata, leaving nothing behind to point to where he went, and this was right after a heist by Lupin so no one noticed until Yata tried to call him. Que the task force looking everywhere before giving in a calling the Lupin gang to see if they have Pops. The Lupin gang are on it, checking with the interpol team as they both try to find the detective. Its not until Yata hears an intern talk off hand about how Zenigata helped get the crime lord files that it clicks.

Yata books it back to the room the task force and Lupins gang had been sharing, holding up a tablet article about the crime lord hosting a party, boasting about being the riches man in the world. The crime lord is stand in font of a paint that if you didn’t know it would look like a random mans silhouette.

They had found Zenigata.

They started to set up a plan, with Yata and the Interpol team being the main distraction while the gang stole back Zenigata along with enough evidence to put the crime lord in jail and Yata not so subtly asking them to take all of the crime lords money too.

They get to the party and split up, Fujiko and Jigen finding the money while Goemon found the evidence. Yata and the Interpol group are causing enough of a ruckus, with the paparazzi capturing the drama.

And here Lupin finally finds Zenigata, with his back to him bathed in moonlight and a purple dress shirt with black dress pants that fit him right. Lupin at this point knows he loves Zenigata and finds his breath taken away at Zenigata.

It crushes him when Zenigata looks horrified that he was here, the pot in his stomach growing as Zenitgata told him to run, that the crime lord would kill him.

 Que the crime lord showing up with a gun, talking about how Lupin took Zenigata away from him. Lupin roaring back that Zenigata is his own person, not something for him to steal away. Yata with a gun saves the day and everyone come out of it happy. With the task force shipping the crime lord off to jail and looking the other way as the lupin gang takes off.

Fujiko and Jigen manage to find and take almost all of the money, a good 30 billion in total with all the land, paintings, jewels and liquid cash. They both sent Pops a billion each without the other knowing or the gang so they where very flustered when Pops confronted them about it and how Yata forces him to use the money to have good service when on cases.

And after all of this, Zenigata and Lupin meet again, bathed in moonlight and loving each other quietly and without the larger gifts and such.

They all retire with the sotry ending with Zenitgata and Lupin sleeping under the moonlight.

feel free to write this!!! just tag me so I can cheer you on!!

53 notes - Posted May 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[bosstoaster]

You know what? I'll do it. I'll write the silly essay.

We the voters have had the responsibility and the honor of choosing the framework for each of these rounds, and I have greatly enjoyed seeing that framework change each round. But let's go through a few options, shall we?

Wizard Hubris Essek certainly has hubris. We know this and love him for it. He believed he could manipulate Trent Ikythong and his Charlies Angles wannabes, and he believed he knew better than The Bright Queen and the Monster Mash Brigade. All wonderful. But Essek is young, still. His scope is limited. It is... terrestrial. The Architect Arcane Laerryn Coramar-Seelie has had much more time to develop much more hubris. She hails from the Age of Aracanum, a time of unchecked arrogance among all arcane users. And yet. AND YET. Laerryn's hubris stands among them all. She saw herself as more intelligent, more powerful, more insightful than the entire Ring of Gold. Than the Ring of Brass, her own friends. Than every mortal that walked the lands of Exandria. Than the gods themselves. "[...]you're really going to blame me for not caring about the dumb things we do to appease the idiots that walk across the city that can't think about what could be. Just what is." Laerryn's goal was to travel the planes, to the lands of the divine, because her belief wasn't just that it would make them equal to those beings. It was that they were already better, that she was already better. They just needed the resources to prove it. Laerryn's hubris is what invited the Calamity. Her refusal to give up on her plan to rewrite the magical tides of Exandria is what eventually lead to the destruction of the Tree of Names, and therefore left the world up to destruction. Essek serves The Bright Queen. Laerryn IS the Blight Queen. Step UP.

Wizard Audacity Now, I already mentioned Laerryn's plan, but not the AUDACITY of it. That she, in secret, chose to completely alter the internal mechanisms of Avalir, that she conducted experiments on full object plane travel, that she discovered how to rewrite entire lay lines. AND IT WORKED. IT WORKED PERFECTLY. The only issue was one she couldn't predict - that a secret mechanism within the city was accidentally interfering with her plans. Then, the manipulations come forward. The trap snaps into place. The Father of Lies is back in the world. The city is about to unleash a magical burst that will free two titans and kill every mortal on Exandria. Who steps up? Who says she can, in mere minutes, totally undo that plan to kill those titans once and for all - something the GODS could not do? Who says she, and she alone, can give this world a fighting chance? Who SUCCEEDS? Architect Arcane Hierophant Abjura LAERRYN CORAMAR-SEELIE, that's who!

Wizard Fireball power Maybe that's not doing it for you. Maybe you don't feel like the pizzazz, the sheer GALL, are the way to determine a winner. Maybe you believe it should be based on pure wizard power. Well, baby, I gotta tell you. If these two throws down? It's not Essek who is getting back up. Laerryn is a TANK of a wizard. She would BODY him. She would crack his spine like a glow stick, shake him up, and hand deliver him back to his semi-boyfriend. Laerryn isn't just more powerful. She doesn't just come from a simply more magical time, with more magical resources. She doesn't just outclass him in sheer technical knowledge. Laerryn is also a BRAT. She WANTS it more. She wants to WIN and she will turn Essek into purple glitter dust while he's still trying to raise up his noodle arms in defense. Easy money.

Wizard Big Naturals As we learned recently, and as we know from our time on Tumblr, there's one final criteria that is essential to a good wizard. Essek is a washboard. Essek is made of cardboard. Essek can be used as a plank in times of great need. Laerryn enchanted and kept the eyes of Loquatius FUCKING Seelie, a man of discerning taste of aesthetic if there ever was one. The power of her sheer draw was enough to pull him from the Courts and keep him there to DIE with her. She is the most beautiful woman this man, who can become ANYONE, has ever known. Laerryn Coromar-Seelie has great fucking tits, and don't you dare say otherwise.

Essek may be part of the Mighty Nine, but Laerryn is a straight goddamn 10.

(In my own wizard hubris and audacity: @quiddie)

Unstoppable force meets... Immovable Object?

You know, like the... like the dunamancy spell—you get it. Moving on.

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Shadowhand Essek Thelyss

dunamancy prodigy

traitor to the dynasty

friend to the mighty nein

[potatoesandsunshine]

i just.... vess derogna wanted to kill gods or whatever but delilah briarwood literally brought one back into some possibility of being.... 

[figurative-critter]

Ok so like I know we're all just starting to settle down again, but I just gotta say:

The calamity officially began the moment Vespin Chloris attempted the ritual. The betrayers had already been released from their prison by the time episode one began. The Lord of the Hells had already created his puppets and sent them throughout Exandria; it was only a matter of time.

We don't know what would have happened in a timeline where Laerynn didn't cast blight in an instinctual and desperate attempt to save the ones she loved. Or in a timeline where Zerxus wasn't fooled by the god of lies' honeyed words. We don't know what would have happened in a timeline where the ring of brass had decided to take the night off and look the other way, allowing the city to land normally, yet still dooming the world. But it's still very likely in all situations that once that ritual occurred, Calamity was inevitable.

The Calamity was the result of the Age of Arcanum, an age dedicated to a bunch of know-it-all wizards fucking around and finding out, certain they could avoid consequence. If not Vespin, Aeor had already begun creating weapons intended to kill gods and Avalir had created their response in the form of the taxmen. That much wizard hubris was going to cause a catastrophic event at some point or another.

So, in this context, none of the PC's mistakes mattered. Laerynn blighting the tree of names meant nothing except expediency, same as Zerxus.

What did matter, however, was their other choices. Cerrit's choice to walk away, to ensure his children's safety. Nydas choosing to make sure that the skyships were available to the populace, to save the children at the sorcerer's university. Patia's choice to use her teleport to preserve not herself, but her knowledge, in the hopes that the new generation could do with it what she could not. Loquatius' decision to stay behind on the material plane, with the woman he loved, to protect her with all he had, down to his last healing word. Zerxus' choice to stick with his beliefs and redeem Vespin for but a moment, a moment enough to give them all the time they needed to see things through. And Laerynn's choice to ensure a future for Exandria, by using her life's work to do not what she intended it for, but for what it needed to do in that moment.

Even in the darkest of ages, when catastrophic failure seemed to be the cause of all of that pain and suffering and loss, it was not, in fact, failure that defined those people's lives. It was their decision to continue on despite their failure and despite their odds that gave the world it's last bit of hope.

Calamity was inevitable. But the choices made in those moments saved the future, far more than their mistakes had doomed them.

[honourablejester]

Just on the subject of Laerryn and her life’s work and her now having the last thing she needed for it, I’m just putting some pieces together. Things she has:

Her life’s work, a flying city’s massive battery engines, which appear to hoover up and store masses of magical energy over a seven year circuit around the world (?) and that are currently pretty much at capacity, main and auxillary

A seven-year ritual called the Replenishment which seems to involve earthing a huge chunk, if not most, of that energy back into the ley lines, either in one shot or over the course of a month, which typically results in a surge of energy through the leys, enough to cause continental crop abundance and a wave of sorcerous kids to be born

An apogee solstice, a once-in-an-elven-lifetime moment where the planes are in alignment, the leys are coursing with energy, it is entirely possible to reshape the ley lines and possibly the material plane, and the barriers between planes are paper thin

And, now, a tuning fork of celestial gold tied to the celestial planes, in the form of a solar’s bow, which was the last thing she needed

So, to sum up from that, she has a flying city’s worth of magical energy that she’s spent her life designing an engine to collect, she has a ritual location and time where she can pour all that energy into a continent sized power grid in a single surge, she has a cosmic event to supercharge said power grid and provide her with a once-in-a-lifetime window of opportunity to access beyond the material plane, and now she has basically a targeting mechanism.

… Vespin Chloras who? Laerryn. Honey. What are you doing?

On top of this, according to Patia’s history check on Ghor Dranas, the location of the Replenishment, the mountain that became Avalir and Cathmoira, is sitting directly on top of the prison of two of the primordials from the Schism. I don’t know if that’s also going to have an effect, but at the very least their location has likely always been supercharged to some extent.

Adding on some more things: Vespin Chloras, or whatever is directing Vespin Chloras, specifically wanted to be on Avalir. I don’t think it’s an accident that it picked Avalir during the Replenishment to get picked up by. Because, I’m just guessing, Avalir’s been pumping bigger and bigger surges due to Laerryn’s engines, but if it’s been doing the Replenishment since it first took to the skies under Patia’s grandfather, then it’s been essentially power-cycling the continent’s ley lines every seven years for centuries. Which, I’m just guessing, might have weakened some things? Like, maybe, locks on prisons?

I’m just wondering, is all, if Avalir as a concept was maybe influenced at all. There’s a whole theme going on about the Age of Arcanum and the hubris of wizards and the fatal arrogance of thinking you’re better and beyond the influence of gods. Everyone wants to become a god, like the Raven Queen, or they’re trying to prove that they’re beyond that (hi Patia), and it’s just …

And I’m wondering too if the Raven Queen is the one who’s picking up on things, noticing Vespin Chloras and the possible link to the betrayer gods, not just because she’s the goddess of death and there’s a big potential death looming, but also because she is still ‘one of us’ and of all the gods she has the best sense to tell when mortal hubris is about to bring the universe clattering down on their heads. Her own hubris lead to her becoming a god and immediately destabilising things, and she noticed and about-faced, and maybe that means she’s better at noticing when, for example, a city-sized battery is about to plug itself directly into the world’s magical mainframe and do something. Possibly under the influence of a betrayer god.

And Laerryn’s just gone running into the heart of Avalir with her targeting mechanism and four potentially possessed constructs.

You gotta love wizards. You just gotta.

[absynthe--minded]

Forgive me if you've already done something like this before, but do you have any recommendations for fiction books that are really really About Religion, whether IRL or in fantasy settings where it's more tangible, in a way where it's not treated negatively but also not like, so uncritical or straightforward it's to the point of boringness.

okay so this is a question I had to think long and hard about, because what I want from a story about religion (or at least with prominent and central religious themes) is somewhat hard to find

if the author is a member of a particular faith, and advocating for that faith in some way, the story doesn’t suffer for it (characters are imperfect and don’t conform absolutely, there are fleshed out and three-dimensional characters who have different opinions and all get along, the story doesn’t exist to be a tool for proselytization, and it’s enjoyable to engage with if you’re not a member of the author’s religion)

the characters who are religious actually take their religion seriously, and are challenged by it, and are forced to grow over the course of the story somehow

nonreligious characters don’t belittle or condescend or mock the religious characters in ways that are meant to make the audience feel superior for being secular or different

no bigotry of any kind, or if there is bigotry portrayed it’s not bigotry that the narrative condones or enacts

that being said, I’ve got a very short list, sadly, but here’s what I can give you. I will also say that while I will try and recommend properties that are I think enjoyable to anyone of any faith, there are elements of my personal preferences that skew towards specifically Christian worldviews due to my own religious beliefs.

honestly there are a couple of TV shows that do this better than books do - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine really shines here, both because there are multiple major characters who are religious and because there are a lot of ways those characters engage with their religion. You’ve got someone who goes out to win a battle for the sake of his deceased spouse so that said spouse will be reunited with him in the afterlife, you’ve got a conversation between a group of friends about how a pair of them who are dating have conflicting religious beliefs and how that causes stress because the secular one wishes he could engage with that aspect of the religious one’s life, you’ve got a man wrestling with the fact that literal gods have called him to be a spiritual leader. This show isn’t perfect, but it manages to depict religious life as a normal aspect of existence in the future, in ways that impact the plot significantly, and I’ll always like it for that reason. Simoun is an anime from 2009 that has many, many flaws in how it deals with gender/gender identity/gender presentation and a couple of hefty trigger warning lists, but it is undeniably about religion as it deals with a war between two religious countries and the priestesses who are called to act as soldiers. I feel obligated to say that this show is one I love despite knowing it’s very problematic; its themes are relevant to me despite a couple of serious flaws, and there are lesbians.

in terms of short stories, I’m sure you’ve had Flannery O’Connor recommended to you; she’s Catholic, so her works specifically deal with Catholic themes and theology and worldview, but they’re not aimed solely at a Catholic audience or meant to be allegorical or proselytizing. She wrote a number of stories that are usually published together in a single edition. I also have to give a shoutout to ‘The War Prayer’ by Mark Twain, published after his death and written in 1905 (full text at the link) because I really don’t like people who use religious fervor to justify bloodshed and this short story is very much about that.

Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce, book three of her Immortals quartet, is a story about many things but primarily about a goddess who has been shunned by her formerly beloved worshiper, and how she gets her revenge. It’s here because of a scene where Daine, the protagonist, talks about how people need worship, they need to pray, and denying them that right out of greed or arrogance or hubris isn’t right. It’s also here because “vengeful ex-patron goddess wrecks your shit because you turned your back on her” is just. Good shit.

Young Wizards by Diane Duane is not a story about religion exactly. It’s a very well-written secular fantasy series about young children who get called to become wizards and fight entropy in the service of life itself, but I include it because the way that the series handles being a wizard - the responsibilities it entails, and the things it calls different people to do, and the way that these people interact with wizardry and magic and being in the service of something greater, is extremely resonant to me personally. Religion is work, and not just blind faith, and sometimes it’s a lot of work chasing a spiritual calling you can’t be sure will ever pay off, but all you can do is your best while hoping you’ve helped someone. YW captures a lot of that vibe for me.

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo is probably a standard on all these lists, but it’s important to note that Hugo himself was not particularly devout. I also just love the Brick and will recommend it to anyone who asks? But. Read it. It’s good. And it does deal with a lot of heavy themes, especially involving personal responsibility and morality; one of the major moral conflicts of the story involves Jean Valjean trying to choose between what he knows is best for his soul and what would be best for his community and the people around him. Whether or not you think he chose right, you can’t deny that it’s a compelling concept.

on a similar note, specifically the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is worth bringing up because it engages with religious themes that are distinct from Hugo’s own work. It’s not perfect in the slightest, and every criticism that it’s garnered is a completely legitimate one, but you do get multiple characters engaging with religion in a religious society, as well as layers of metaphor that the film itself creates to deepen already existing religious themes.

gotta give a shoutout to all those Greek classics, but particularly the Odyssey, because while the story does actually have gods in it, it’s also about religious humans and how they exist while being religious, and how that impacts their lives. A story where a failure to properly honor the gods gets you fucked over is at least worth examining, especially since how the ancient Greeks did religion is so different from how many of us here and now do religion today.

if any of my followers have other recommendations, please add them on - I’m not familiar enough with all varieties of religious literature to make a comprehensive survey, and I’d love to get recommendations that aren’t specifically Western and more or less Christian/from a culturally Christian environment beyond Simoun.

[sieben9]

“and they lived…” impressions

{Quick request to anyone reading: I’m watching OUaT for the first time, and I want to avoid spoilers. So, if you want to discuss something spoilery, I’d be grateful if you could start a new post for that. Thank you!}

You know. Season finales tend to do a number on me. Show finales, turns out, are even worse.

Or better. Depends on how you want to look at it.

Shouting of various kinds under the cut. And spoilers of various kinds. Also, everybody should watch Wonderland, it’s straight-up excellent.

Ho. Ly. Crap.

This was fantastic. Like, I didn’t have much time to watch this episode, and I thought “well, maybe I can watch ten minutes now to take off the edge of the cliffhanger and watch the rest tomorrow” and nope, I absolutely could not. I mean… how do I love this finale. Let me count the ways:

We have symmetrical storytelling.

We have a thematically appropriate defeat of the villain.

and with a Disney mythology gag thrown in there, as well

We have some tragedy…

…but not pointless tragedy.

We have True Love’s Kiss!

<TLK>

And we have all the Happily Ever After.

Just all of it. This is so good. In thirteen episodes, these characters have been through so much bullshit, and now their story ends in what I’d almost call a “maximally happy” way. (With one exception. I’m getting to that later.)

Apart from all that, we had a zombie army, grand speeches, hilarious banter, and some quality Rabbit Family content. I love it. It’s wonderful. Absolutely no pun intended.

“And this is where Cyrus’s spleen fell out!” —actual dialogue, no joke necessary

Alright, since I could spend the entire evening gushing about this show, I’ll try and narrow it down a bit to maybe two or three things that were The Best:

Amara’s swan song and the defeat of Jafar, the conclusion to Ana’s and Will’s story, and the Happilogue, which is absolutely a word and you cannot convince me otherwise.

Amara’s part in the finale was both awesome and heartbreaking. Because she knew, right from the first moment, that she was going to die soon. If they said it oud loud, I must have missed it, but it was still pretty clear that the moment she returned the water to the well, she’d die herself. (And Cyrus seemed to suspect something, at least. Him grabbing her hand wasn’t “no, what are you doing”, it was more “wait, I’m not ready to let you go” and yes, I cried.) She knew she wouldn’t live to actually be Alice’s mother-in-law, and she was trying to find out as much as possible about this woman her son wanted to spend his life with. And she clearly liked what she saw. (Which proves she has functioning eyes, but never mind that.) Like I said. It was sweet.

Some special love to the resurrection scene. Mostly because of Mrs. Rabbit’s “Well, if you’re going to do it that way…”, because that’s honestly some good composure when someone is violating the laws of reality on your living room floor.

And, of course, there was the whole scene at the well.

is it just me or is there an awful lot of water imagery in this show?

::sad noises:: Look, I knew it was coming, but that doesn’t mean I was happy about it. Still, the way they defeated Jafar was pretty amazing. Not only was it a clever plan that utilised Jafar’s own hubris/overconfidence, it also contained a nice little Disney-mythology nod (Jafar becoming a genie) and had Alice at her most badass, even though—or maybe especially because—she wasn’t hitting people with a sharp thing at a time.

facing the realms’ most powerful wizard with nothing but a cocky grin. Will would be so proud.

Although, in maybe one of the better instances of having your penny and your bun, Alice still got to do the dramatic Speech to the Troops™, neatly juxtaposed with Jafar’s. I’m not complaining, mind. “Alice the Action Hero” is an important facet of her character, and comparing her and Jafar this directly made for good groundwork before going into the final act.

And when they came back to the palace and Cyrus’s brother asked if it had been “all for nothing” and he replied “no, it was for everything”? Dead. I was dead. If the rest of the episode hadn’t slain me, that would have been the moment. Goodbye, cruel world, and all that.

So, what was the bit that actually murdered me, you ask?

Well, take a wild guess.

God. These two. Just… everything about them, especially this episode, because even after the big damn kiss last episode, there was still some amazing emotional payoff to be had.

The whole Scarlet Queen sequence, I have to say, kind of stole the show from Alice’s earlier defiant declaration that not even Jafar changing the past could ever destroy her love for Cyrus, maybe because it… didn’t happen. If there’s one thing I can fault this episode for (well, one other thing; please see below), it’s that Jafar never went through with his threat, instead just turning to Ana for answers.

Oh, this also answers my question: yup, Jafar does just like to see people in pain. Especially Will, for some bizarre reason, though I suppose that’s just because Will is completely at his mercy and can’t really fight back

Still, enough complaining, because overall, I loved this storyline. And Will got to summarise their relationship in this beautiful, earnest, and completely heartbroken speech.

“You had real love once, and you know it’s not that simple. Love is messy. It means arguing and making up and laughing and crying and struggling, and sometimes it doesn’t seem worth it. But it is. And at the end, when you’re in love, no matter what happens, you forgive each other. I forgive you, Ana, for what you did to me. Because I love you. And if there’s any part of you that has a shred of love left for me, then please, help us.”

And more than just summarising their relationship, it’s also one of the best “takes” on True Love this show has ever provided, as well as a short version of Will’s own arc. He was rightfully angry at Ana for what she did to him, and he was just as right in forgiving her. And he knows that. I also love how this little speech is set up, because Will tries to distract Ana with some ridiculous and very transparent trick before, and when it doesn’t work, he immediately starts pouring his heart out. And obviously part of that is because he has a heart to pour out, but I think a larger aspect is that… well, the worst thing possible has already happened to him. He’s seen Ana die and wasn’t able to save her. No point beating around the bush, is there?

And that little “yup, she’s back” on his part was all kinds of adorable.

Now, I’m not 100% happy with Ana’s second resurrection, mostly because Nyx giving out the water wasn’t on-screen. It’s emphatically not a deus-ex-machina, because the properties of the water were well-established, and we’d seen the wrong use of it already bring down punishment twice, so showing the stuff work as intended was only fair. But it still felt a little out of nowhere and could have easily been fixed with a thirty-second extra scene. I suppose it was a time-issue, and it didn’t really hurt the story, so I’m hardly going to complain, though. These two have suffered enough. They certainly deserve an “easy” out for once.

One thing was left unresolved, though, and it will just bug me to the end of time.

Hey. Hey, writers. Writers? You gotta get her out of there. Listen. Listen. You can’t just leave her there! She wanted to be free! She wanted to stop being a monster, how can you just leave her there?

Somebody fix this, or so help me, I’m gonna do it myself.

Leaving the unhappy monster behind… the Happilogue!

OK. Look. I’m… ambivalent on big, cheesy weddings, for several reasons, but I will freely admit that this one was set up well, and executed in a way I can absolutely get behind. Because while Alice and Cyrus never complained about their unquiet life of adventure—after all, they were together, so what more could they want?—it was established early on that Alice never wanted anything so much as a stable home where she was welcome and loved. They always wanted to settle down, and now, after being through hell together (as the Rabbit very aptly noted), they finally get to do that. It’s good! I like it! And I love  that the wedding was as weird as you would expect from two people who came from two completely different worlds, fell in love in a third, fought to protect that world and came out of the whole thing with lifelong friends everywhere.

And all in all, I am very glad the show took the time to show all of the characters in this happy moment. They’ve been through a lot, and so has the viewer, and watching them like this is like a chance to exhale. It’s good now. They made it.

Oh, and for some more crying:

OK, I wasn’t completely sure about this one at first, because Alice’s father realising that his dream was so much more than that could have been such an amazing on-screen moment, but I also get the need to keep up momentum (generally speaking, the defeat of the bad guy, reconciliation with the relationship character, achieving the story goal, and bringing down the curtain should happen in as quick a succession as possible), and this was still a beautiful moment. Not only that they’ve reconciled, but also that Alice’s father still recognises how badly he fucked up, and how much effort it was for Alice to forgive him. The “it was all a dream” reveal was an excellent bit of storytelling, and could have used its own conflict resolution, but I still adore this little scene for showing the result of their reconciliation.

And then there were the goodbyes.

so many tears. and in the show, too.

I don’t even have that much to say, except that I loved to see how cordial they all were with each other, how Ana made clear that this wasn’t forever, and they would see each other again, soon, and…

“Hold on to your heart this time.” “You hold on to yours” —these two goobers, clearly not talking about the hearts in their chests

This. So much this. From the first perfunctory “alright, goodbye then” hug to Alice running after Will and barrelling into him, because they are one of the most important people in each other’s lives, and they’ve been through so much together, and just… ::happy sigh:: Have I mentioned that I adore their friendship? Because it’s really, really good.

The actual epilogue was very sweet, but almost unnecessary. We already knew these two would live happily, and possibly ever after, but seeing what became of Will and Ana, and that Alice really does still visit Wonderland from time to time, was a nice bonus. Also worth it for this precious little bean:

It’s weird. On the one hand I can’t believe this show is over, because I really don’t want it to be, but on the other, it’s been such a wonderfully concise, well-crafted storyline that I also absolutely can believe it. So, just as a closing note, thanks to everyone who got me into watching this. It was (pun fully intended) wonderful.

[gallusrostromegalus]

Question 1! Can animals be wizards? Question 2! If so, which species? (My own list of potential candidates: Great apes, elephants, cetaceans (esp. Delphinidae, particularly orcas), parrots, corvids, octopi.)

(For those of you just tuning in, Seattle Bites is an original Novel I’m writing about vampires and other monsters living in a slightly-to-the-left version of the modern world.  It’s a Queer Romance, Comedic swashbuckler so far, and you can read more and see a lot of inspo posts in my #seattle bites tag)

So About Magic in the SB-verse:

Anyone/anything with sufficient mental capacity to observe natural phenomena and learn about them, and the physical aptitude to manipulate the world around them can use magic.  This includes all the species you listed, plus pigs, raccons, dogs, ‘lower’ primates, beavers and one particularly outstanding cow named “Miss Daisy, Vile Lich of the Damned” from just outside of Edmonton, Alberta.

HOWEVER:

It’s a real Pain In The Ass to work with.

Magic’s like everything else, there’s no getting something for nothing with it- It takes just as much energy to do something with Magic as it does by more conventional means.  Energy that you have to artificially supply- channeled lightning, a water mill, blood sacrifice, etc- or that comes directly out of your body.  You COULD spend weeks learning how to enchant needles to knit socks for you and take the minor calorie drain as you’re off doing something else... OR you could just learn to knit and take it with you.  You COULD make a yearly virgin sacrifice to ask for reliable rains for crops without flooding... OR you could build a dam/resivoir.

It’s also poorly understood (at least by humans but we’ll get to that in a minute) except for a few weird academics that you don’t really want to talk to anyway, and unlike a lot of other forces of nature there isn’t a lot of technology that runs off it to warrant it’s widespread use and study.  Much like electricity prior to the industrial revolution, for instance.

The real advantages to using Magic are as follows:

1. It does do SOME things we don’t have technology for (yet).  Like talking to animals and messing with spacetime, if you’re feeling particulalry full of Hubris.2. Becuase it’s poolry understood, it’s largely unprosecutable. So if you need to be particularly sneaky about doing something not totally legal, magic might be harder to trace than Conventional means.3. If Conventional Means are inacessible to you, Magic might be less effort overall.

HENCE, most magic is used:1. To Do Really Dumb Shit 2. For Crimes.3. By Nonhuman* Persons.  

As an example of each:

1.  Sometimes you gotta do something for which technology and Conventional Means has come up short, like incinerating an entire house in under 40 seconds, and “The Magic of Blowing Everythin Up Tae Fuck” is a well-distributed and much-loved Scottish Grimoire.  However, sometimes technology doesn’t exist for a REASON, Trevor.  This is also why anyone who goes around calling themselves a Wizard is generally met with an extremely suspicious side-eye if not outright public scorn.  Your friends set a few rivers on fire and you get a reputation by extention.  

2.  Sometimes the massive energy drain for a large-scale spell is worth it.  You COULD try bribing several thousand government officals to keep thier noses out of the lives of the Crypt Community, with all the cash, falibility of human nature and suspicious conspiracy theorists that brings... OR you could use the lightning spires on top of every skyscraper in Crypt-occupied cities to make a magical shielding device for every member of the community willing to get a rune cut into them.  

3.  When you’re totally aquatic, have no hands and are rougly the size of a bus, most human technology is pretty much useless to you. Hence, Orca Whlaes are some of the most skilled practitioners of Magic in the world.  The use it mostly to combat enviornmental destruction, and are too annoyed with humans to share any secrets.  J2 is an adept enough witch that even the dragon in Mt. Rainier leaves Seattle alone out of respect for her.

*the term “Nonhuman” in Crypt Culture approximately means “Not approximately shaped like a stick figure.” and is mostly used to complain about living in a world that was designed for land-dwelling bipeds with opposable tumbs but those that don’t have those features.**

**there’s A LOT of complaining and discourse in the Crypt Community, even about the name “Crypt Community”

***Nobody likes Trevor though.  That’s not even an asterisk.  It’s like the one thing they all agree on.

[ponett]

welp, i did it. i finished mlp season 7. maybe now i can catch up on those first few episodes of season 8 and finally be current with this show again???

some scattered thoughts on season 7, largely copy and pasted from my twitter ramblings late last night:

the finale was, okay. it was cool to finally actually do something with starswirl the bearded and delve into some of the lore a bit more, and i liked the resolution, but the whole premise felt a bit forced

the "seasonal arc" this time around was based around these five legendary ponies from folklore that are seemingly just like, random stories in a few episodes? but then nope, the season finale says they were actually more or less the original elements of harmony alongside starswirl, and the plot stuff from back in season 4 with the tree and twilight’s castle and all that started with them. so sunburst randomly finds a book that belonged to starswirl and finds out he and the other five disappeared when they banished a villain a long time ago, and twilight for some reason decides to try to bring them back. i get why twilight would want to try to bring back this legendary wizard (and the others) but this plot development comes at them very very quickly and you can immediately see from a mile away that it will also free the villain. but twilight does it anyway

the second episode has the mane six, starlight, and spike, PLUS sunburst, starswirl, and the other five legendary ponies, so there are FIFTEEN characters in the "party" here and every scene feels full to bursting with characters. a lot of it also revolves around starswirl kinda being a dick and talking down to twilight, which i... get? he’s supposed to be like the best wizard ever and he’s never met twilight, and the story was largely about his hubris was the cause of the problem in the first place. but it wasn’t particularly fun to watch

BUT, i did like where they took it. starlight reminds twilight that the villain here was just some dude who TURNED evil after a falling out with starswirl and co., and that they should try solving the problem with friendship instead of banishing him. it was nice to have starlight go “hey, if you believe in giving people second chances and solving conflicts by talking them out, twilight, you gotta stick to that.” and i mean, villains never stay banished in this series anyway. so yeah, that was nice

(the best part of the finale though was when applejack called starswirl “Mr. The Bearded”)

so, overall, the finale was... okay. some good ideas, with pretty iffy execution. not a highlight of the season for me, but not terrible. the rest of the season was pretty solid, though! there were very few episodes i particularly disliked this time around, and a lot i enjoyed

the WORST ep of the season for me was probably "not asking for trouble," with pinkie and the yaks, because i am SO sick of stories in this show where the the other cultures in this world are in like shambles because they suck at friendship and the ponies have to fix them

the episode with rainbow dash's parents also bugged me A LOT because like, while i do like them showing how scootaloo desperately needs encouragement from parental figures, they used that to invalidate rainbow's complaints about her parents constantly breathing down her neck. like “oh you should totally be cool with your parents totally ignoring your personal boundaries even as an adult, because some people don’t HAVE parents to support them.” fucking lame

the one where big mac gets a gf was also hard to watch because he was such an idiot before he learned the lesson of the episode, but they at least TRIED to do something good with it, and i’ll give them credit for introducing a boy band lookin pony named Feather Bangs

in terms of good ones:

the season opener for s7 was actually not a two part adventure, but rather two standalone episodes about starlight, both of which i really liked. the two-parters on this show are often such a mixed bag that i was honestly kinda glad they just jumped right into the character driven stuff this time. the episode about starlight literally bottling up her frustration with trixie was a basic premise with an obvious visual metaphor, but i think it's also good for a kids' show to be like "hey you can be upset with someone and still love them. it doesn’t make you a bad friend. you gotta talk about that shit though." (this episode is also hilarious because it's the one where they keep cutting back and forth between the mane six singing the most over-the-top cheesy friendship song ever and starlight going "oh my fucking god i'm gonna kill trixie.”) the one where she helped out celestia and luna was also GREAT, and i liked the one where she becomes friends with maud of all characters. starlight continues to be one of my favorite parts of the show

i also loved the episode where they finally told the backstory of the apple family parents (and seemingly confirmed that yes, they did pass away). that one was really sweet and emotional. the one where spike forgets he told both ember and thorax he'd spend time with them on the same day and has to juggle them is also a very trite premise but they pulled it off SUPER WELL because ember and thorax were amazing in that episode and it was hilarious. just so i don't keep rambling forever, some other eps i particularly liked this season were "marks and recreation," "fluttershy leans in," "fame and misfortune," "to change a changeling," and "it isn't the mane thing about you" (the punk rarity episode)

so yeah. it didn't have a big two-parter to open the season and the "arc" was kinda whatever, but there was a lot to like in all the one-off episodes in season 7. solid season imho

here are some more highlights