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werewolfoverlord12 · 2 years ago

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Shadows in Crystal part 2

Tarkir, Kaladesh and Innistrad arrived soon after Eldraine.

Tarkir wore heavy furs and rough woven cloth, while a necklace of dragon teeth and scales hung around his neck; his long dark hair was tied away from his face with a leather string and a broken fang for a sultai naga. This Tarkir was still aware of the dragon-less world his plane once was, and while he approved of certain dragons, such as Ojutai and Dramoka, others like Silumgar made him ache for such a world once more.

Kaladesh was an older woman with dark tan skin and intricate gold jewelry, with bright red and purple cloth wrapped around her thin frame, her black hair hung down her back in a braid almost to her knees.

Innistrad was a tall, handsome man with a thin frame, dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail and a vampire's bearing; it was usually only when he smiled revealing a mouth full of wolf-like teeth you knew of his dual nature.

Tarkir and Kaldheim clasped arms, before pulling the other into a one armed hug, while Kaladesh embraced Kamigawa and Innistrad hugged Seraphina.

“I am so sorry.” Innistrad whispered.

Seraphina nodded, “I know. How's Elysia?”

Elysia was Innistrad's daughter with the plane's late protector, Avacyn; unable to protect or help the archangel due to ancient magics Nahiri unknowingly used that bound him to sleep as it brought Emrakul to the plane.

“Better. Still misses her mother, but at least the warping of the plane didn't affect her, even when she returned briefly.” Innistrad said.

“How much time do we have?” Tarkir asked.

Seraphina raised her hand and time sped up inside her world even further.

“Now? About... maybe ten or so months for every second outside.”

Her siblings raised their eyebrows at her; she shrugged,

“Better having too much time than not enough, right?” She said.

“Sometimes... although in this case it's nice to know we won't waste any time just trying to recover.” Kaladesh whispered.

“How bad?” Seraphina asked.

“My world was torn to pieces, so much so even the vampires, humans and werewolves started working together.” Innistrad said.

“The dragons were fighting against Phyrexian drakes. She's done her homework.” Tarkir said.

“Mercadia said the same thing,” Dominaria said, “Phyrexian airships were attacking theirs. How far and wide did this invasion plan go?”

“Far.”

They glanced over as Theros appeared in the room, stumbled over to a chair and collapsed into it,

“Gods. They'll compleat GODS, on my plane.” He said.

Theros appeared as handsome, brown haired satyr with a gentle disposition. He wore a white loincloth and sash across his shoulders.

“The oracles didn't see this?” Naya asked.

He shook his head, “They saw a horrible event, but not how bad it would be. Something was blinding them.”

“How could Gods become Compleat?” Tarkir asked.

“They compleated the believers, which corrupted the gods.” Theros said.

“Elesh Norn knows too much.” Ravnica said, “She must have spies everywhere and obviously has far more information than we do.”

“And she's been planning this for years.” Innistrad said, “She's ahead of us is so many ways...”

“Then we need to even the playing field, don't we?” Kamigawa said.

They glanced over at their brother; he was standing against the wall and his eyes glowed with an ethereal fire.

“What are you thinking?” Kaladesh asked.

“There's one preator whose brain is a goldmine of information, and who be the first to have and store such things.” Kamigawa said.

“Jin-gitaxias.” Ravnica said.

The idea spread through the others as they began murmuring to each other.

Seraphina met Kamigawa's gaze,

“I'll call and see if Urabrask is available.”

“So... let me get this straight,” the red dragonoid said, “you want to move ahead the plan to kidnap Jin-gitaxias from his lair on New Phyrexia, so I can break into his brain and download their plans instead, all before they notice?”

“Sanctuary was created from a piece of my plane,” Seraphina said, “it should have the same power over time mine does. You'll have to talk to my children, but it should be a simple enough process.”

Urabrask leaned back on his chair and stroked his chin; they were communicating through a crystal mirror that connected to one in Sanctuary.

“... can we grab the brain network that vedalken psychopath created too?” He asked.

Kamigawa smiled, “I can try, but my main focus is getting in, moving him to his old base on my plane, and... cutting him down to size for you.”

Urabrask grinned, “Send him my regards; I'll send a beacon you can attach to him that activates on contact with his skin. Then, I can grab him from anywhere, and put him straight into,” he turned the mirror to reveal a tall, cylindrical tank, one of four that reached floor to ceiling, “his new home.”

“That was fast.” Ravnica said.

It turned back to Urabrask, “We were set weeks ago, but just couldn't decide when we were going to do this. I'm going to see about the time thing now. Good luck.”

The glass went dark, and a thin, flexible disk of blue material appeared in Kamigawa's hand. Blinking, he glanced at Seraphina,

“How long has he been in control of Lab 1?”

“Six months or so?” Seraphina said.

“...Still.” Kamigawa said.

The screen flickered as her eldest son's face appeared, “Hey mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Amy still there?”

Amelia walked into frame, “What's up?”

He stepped back so that Jazal was also in frame,

“We're going to help Kamigawa deal with Jin.” Jazal said.

“We wanted to know if you were available to assist?” Alistair asked.

Amelia glanced at her mother then her uncle, “I...”

“Hold on,” Kamigawa said, “I don't need help dealing with Jin. I can handle him by myself and I'm not going to put any of you in danger.”

“We know you can,” Alistair said, “but with more of us, it shouldn't take nearly as long, now should it?”

“That, and I finished my new arrows.” Jazal said, manifesting a single, green crystal arrow that crackled with green energy.

Seraphina stood up, “You figured it out?”

Jazal nodded, “Mmm-hmm. I tested it on a phyrexian husk and it worked perfectly.”

Kamigawa glanced at Seraphina, “What do those arrows do?”

“They restore the pain receptors in Phyrexians.” Seraphina said.

Kamigawa's eyes widened, and he glanced back at his nephews, “...Fine. I will concede you're correct on the time issue, but are you sure you need your sister's strength too? That seems a little like overkill to me.”

The brothers grinned in a very familiar way to their father,

“Faster still, then, huh?” Jazal said.

Amelia shook her head, “I appreciate the offer to crack carapace but--”

“Go.” Seraphina said, “I'll be fine. I have things I must do too, remember?”

Amelia looked at her mother for a long moment, before turning back to her brothers, “Okay. You'll probably need my help speeding up time there anyway.”

Kamigawa turned to his sister, “I promise I won't let anything happen to them. You have my word.”

“I trust you,” Seraphina said, “just don't lose it and kill him. Or damage his brain. We unfortunately need it.”

Kamigawa kissed her cheek, “Don't worry, I'll be too busy ripping off his limbs anyway.”

As soon as Amelia and Kamigawa had gone, Dominaria walked up to her,

“I'll help with Sheoldred. I have a place we can drop her, and I still have my Mask of Shadows which'll allow me to get into her stronghold unimpeded.”

Seraphina inhaled, “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I stopped by my plane before I came here and... corrected a few mistakes I allowed to happen.” She said.

“Jaya?” Seraphina asked.

“Jaya. Gave her some of what Joda has, so they'll be reincarnated and find each other faster. Right now, she's a little younger than she was when she died.” Dominaria said.

Seraphina smiled, “Of course you would bring back that spitfire.”

“She's my daughter, my actual, flesh and blood daughter. I could do no less.” Dominaria said.

“So... that leaves Vorinclex.” Seraphina said.

“He's mine.” Kaldheim said, eyes shifting to a wolf's for a mere second.

“... Fair enough. Have you been home yet?” Seraphina asked.

“Yes,” he said, his fierce expression melting into a smile, “Esika says hi.”

She nodded, “Okay. So...” she turned to Theros, “can you tell us who we'll need to save from Phyrexia?”

Theros sighed, “I can try.” Closing his eyes, he settled into his chair and slowed his breathing.

After several minutes of slow, even breathing, his eyes shot open and he inhaled deeply; his normally warm chocolate eyes were pure white and his voice deepened as he spoke,

“Ikoria shall lose her wayward son to temptation in the Hunters Maze, while Ravnica shall lose daughter and adoptive son to battle's haze; Zendikar's wild daughter shall raise the tree, while the daughter of stone perishes and rises to be; Kamigawa's daughter is lost in moonless night, while Alara's son continues to fight. From Glistening Oil they shall be saved, if in the soul of a shattered plane they be bathed.”

Theros' head lolled to the side, as a single trickle of blood ran from his nostril; he came to moments later as Kaladesh helped him sit forward and pressed a handkerchief to his nose.

“Ugh my head.” He said, “That was a lot harder than it should have been.”

“Of course Lukka would willing become compleat.” Ikoria said under her breathe, “I swear i'm going to knock some sense into that boy...”

Ravnica sat quietly as the message played in their mind, “Vraska and Jace... damn.”

“Zendikar already knows they lose Nissa, but Nahiri too? They're going to be devastated.” Kaladesh whispered.

“You said Ajani is still fighting. We already knew he was.” Naya said.

“He's still aware of what's happening. He's still fighting against it, but he's being suppressed by the Parasite they installed in him.” Theros said.

Naya sat down heavily, “He's aware? Does...does he feel pain?”

Theros glanced at her, “Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to, sis.”

Tarkir placed his hand on Naya's shoulder, before turning towards his brother, “Was there anything you saw before you had to pull away?”

Theros nodded, “Kaya, Keito and Tyvar were cornered by the compleated walkers and Elesh Norn at the Seed Core.”

“Tyvar survives?” Kaldheim asks.

Theros nodded, “He kills Tibalt, and frankly, Tibalt dies in a really pathetic manner too.”

“Good.” Kaldheim said.

“But why were they at the Seed Core?” Tarkir asked.

“Failed raid to destroy the tree. ” Theros said.

“A raid?” Several of them asked.

Theros nodded, “It goes as badly as it could: The Wanderer gets pulled away and the rest get separated and are turned one by one. After Jace succumbs, Elspeth teleports away with the Filigree Sylex to prevent the destruction of several planes, but that leaves them with... nothing to stop Phyrexia.”

Naya flinched, “I'm not surprised...”

“Not sure the exchange was worth it.” Ravnica said.

“It would have destroyed the Compleated Walkers as well.” Naya said.

“And you think they'd prefer the alternative? If they're all aware, than they'd prefer death over serving Phyrexia.” Ravnica said.

“Don't project. It doesn't suit you.” Naya said.

“Look, I am just as willing to fight for my Walkers as you are; I am here aren't I? But I am also not willing to sacrifice everyone else to save a few who are well aware of the risks.”

“Risks WE made them take!” Kaladesh said, “Chandra wouldn't have more than a blip on Baraal's radar if it weren't for her spark increasing her powers! Vraska wouldn't have attracted that predatory dragon if she were a normal gorgon and Jace wouldn't have been a pawn of Alhamaret had his mental powers not been what they are. If you're trying to distance yourself from them in case you have to make a 'difficult decision' then perhaps you shouldn't be here after all.”

“Enough!” Tarkir shouted, his voice carrying a dragon-like roar; in the silence that followed flame sparked from his nose, “We are a group of damaged adults trying our best to help a group of our adoptive children survive in a multiverse with various dangers that our own issues have created. Now, we have to deal with something that threatens everything we care for and are and the last thing we need is to be at each other's throats.”

He turned his harsh glare on Ravnica, “Difficult decisions are made by those without the power to make others. We don't have that problem, now do we? We are Spark Givers, we have the power to change our planes and our fates if we so wish, and we have a duty to our walkers!”

Ravnica began to speak, but the truth of their elder brother's words crushed any argument they had, “...I was trying to prepare us for the time when we can't save them. Gideon wasn't able to survive the war--”

“He chose that path,” Theros said, “and if you think I was going to stop him from doing something inherent in his soul, than I wouldn't be doing my job as his adoptive father, would I? He's happy, he's with his adoptive family, and he's given Liliana a second chance. He stopped Bolas by saving another; he couldn't have asked for more.”

Ravnica glanced between their siblings, “... what if we can't save them?”

“We aren't alone,” Kaldheim said, “not now. If you doubt your ability, say so. We will help you save them. Just like you would help us if we needed it.”

Ravnica scoffed, “I couldn't keep my plane from dividing itself into eleven factions, and the damn guilds were making everyone's lives a living hell before Bolas showed up. They're still working together only because Niv is far too clever for his own good and if they try to one up each other, he WILL burn them to a crisp. I haven't done much except cause trouble for the rest of you; how could I help?”

Seraphina stepped forward, and gently turned Ravnica around; every piece of furniture in the room was floating several feet above the ground, surrounded by an aura of pale blue. Ravnica glanced down at their hands to see the same aura around them. Without a word, they set the furniture down, before taking a deep breath,

“Okay. Okay... what now?”

“Now,” Seraphina said, “we wait for a Jin to get shoved into a glass bottle.”

#fractured pride #Magic the Gathering #Fanfic #Holy crap when i get on a roll i get on a roll

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rosiecow · 1 year ago

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Magic nerd moment but Ulamog is generally referred to using he/him pronouns, Emrakul is the eldrazi titan that usually uses she/her, and I don't remember if this is the case in canon, but I'm deciding that Kozilek is mainly referred to using they/them, to round out the pronoun brigade.

Granted those are purely based on how mortals refer to the eldrazi titans, they have never commented on the issue, and they likely possess sexes and genders far beyond our mortal comprehension. Especially considering that they are self replicating, and each have their own special varieties of spawn.

Also they might be a different gender than their true form? As the titans are described as being extraplanar projections of much larger beings from beyond even the boundaries of the blind infinities. The analogy used to describe it is that the mortal realm is like a lake, and the eldrazi titans are the hands of beings from outside the lake reaching into it. So it kinda depends on if the titans are also only partial fragments of the personalities/identities of their true forms, or if they just complete extensions of their outside will.

The idea of the magic card "Swords to plowshares" is essentially that target creature rejects the way of the sword and becomes a farmer instead, hence you lose them as a combatant but gain the health from their farming.

This is really fuckin funny in conjunction with a lot of potential targets for that card. Can you just imagine you're an average farmer in an MTG plane, have a normal-ass day, and all of a sudden you look to the east, and stretching up past the clouds you see Ulamog, the despoiler, one of the infamous eldrazi titans, a creature that corrupts all that is good by its mere presence. And all the enormous bastard is doing is using their massive fuckin tendrils to plow the land and plant potatos, and tend to their flocks of eldrazi spawn, and then it turns its eyeless head thats the size of several cities at you and tips its wide brimmed straw hat at you and continues going about its worm.

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t-girlprowess · 2 years ago

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FNM!!!!!!

Round 1: Fought against Rakdos midrange and killed them. Lost game 2 due to really bad hands, but killed on turn 4 game 3 to take it home!

Round 2: fought merfolk, and had enough removal to kill them super dead.

Round 3: fought a goryos vengeance emrakul list. Flusterstorm won me game 2 after the first one being forcibly discarded.

Round 4: killed amulet titan in the most stressful game as my opponent has all the setup and no payoff. Then game 2 my opponent mulliganed to 4 while I went to 5 and I killed them

#mtg #fnm #4-0 #lets gooooo!

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manascrwd · 2 years ago

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From Jund Phoenix to Cephalid Breakfast: My 2022 MTG Deck Adventures

Well, it's been quite a Magic year for me. I've dabbled in Legacy, Modern, Pioneer and even a bit of Pauper. I've played with my trusty Phoenixes of course but also Twiddle Storm, Jeskai Ascendany and Turbo Fog. What a year!

I registered this monstrosity for #mtgvintage #mtg #oathofdruids @emjatieternalweekend and finished in top4… out of 7 😜 Went 🦖☠️🦖 pic.twitter.com/z64GJOw3vl

— pierre-henri (@phulkor) August 13, 2022

My biggest highlight was playing Vintage with Oath of Druid. I don't own Power but the deck has legs! It was a blast to play and it was fun to bring back Emrakul against my opponents on any board state.

Pioneer top4 @demospel, let's go! #mtg #mtgpioneer #jeskaiascendancy pic.twitter.com/JpYOM2spvE

— pierre-henri (@phulkor) October 25, 2022

Pioneer was fun but I'll put it aside for now.

Looking back at the results I recorded, it's not very consistent. When I play combo like Cephalid or Omnitell, wins are free. On the other hand I bring some janks and builds I do not know well. This has two downsides: you die to your deck but also to your mistakes! In general my records in Modern were really poor and I didn't have that many chances to play the format.

First match of our Top8 seasonal @demospel #MTGLegacy. Sending a message! #emrakul #flyinspaghettimonster #skypasta pic.twitter.com/1Jg2RysTWC

— pierre-henri (@phulkor) August 6, 2022

I also play a lot of formats. I like them all but it's difficult to master them. I managed to make top 8 at FNM seasonal for Legacy and Pioneer. The Pioneer top 8 still needs to be played but in Legacy I didn't quite come out victorious.

Last sunday was #magicmastersmol and I controlled a "stock" #mtglegacy cephalid breakfast list to a 🍣🦑🦑🦑🍣🦑 finish. Good for a 10th place, not too shabby! ?-2 delver 2-0 doomsday 2-0 naya depths 2-1 goblins 0-2 8-cast 2-0 delver pic.twitter.com/lkAlmnNSQr

— pierre-henri (@phulkor) December 12, 2022

My best performance of the year was 10th place at Magicmastersmol with Cephalid Breakfast. This deck was my go-to deck for most of the second part of the year. I'm glad I decided to acquire it with all the buzz it's getting lately. Right now it's well positioned in the format.

Overall, I've had a pretty even win-loss record, but the important thing is I've kept on playing and experimenting with different decks. I participated in many tournaments and learned a lot from it.

One of my goals for last year was to keep a record sheet, but I didn't keep up with that. It's not too late, and I will make sure to keep up with it this year. I would also like to be a little be more consistent on FNM but my 2 first deckchoices are already in the bad direction so I'll have to work on that! Finally I want to produce art again. It's time to make those custom tokens that are in all my sketchbooks.

First match of our Top8 seasonal @demospel #MTGLegacy. Sending a message! #emrakul #flyinspaghettimonster #skypasta pic.twitter.com/1Jg2RysTWC

— pierre-henri (@phulkor) August 6, 2022

I want to thank all the people that make playing at demospel great as it's always a moment of fresh air to be able to relax, jam some cards and win or lose some games

#MTG Legacy Modern Pauper Vintage MagicMastersmol MTGTournament MTGCommunity

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talestobetold · 2 years ago

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I posted 9,907 times in 2022

That's 2,978 more posts than 2021!

143 posts created (1%)

9,764 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@transmechanicus

@drtanner

@vang0bus

@honeytuesday

@splittheeadam

I tagged 1,378 of my posts in 2022

#cats - 194 posts

#myPost - 99 posts

#laugh tag - 75 posts

#the mechanisms - 65 posts

#goncharov - 50 posts

#horror writing - 49 posts

#the mechs - 44 posts

#frankenstein - 36 posts

#tumblr moment - 35 posts

#birds - 35 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#20 year old me spending hours messing with resume formatting 🤝 seven year old me spending hours making powerpoints about types of rocks etc

My Top Posts in 2022:

The concept of a “real version” of internet content is so interesting to me.

irl museums feel special. Your “This is the real Starry Night” moment feels significant, certainly more significant than just googling the Starry Night and finding the first thing off Google. You already know what the Starry Night looks like before seeing it in the museum. But there’s a certain power to knowing this is the original. Van Gogh crafted *this* with his own hands and people have been admiring *this* for hundreds of years. It’s just special.

It’s the same kind of feeling with World Heritage tumblr posts. Comments like “This is a legendary post, I’ve only seen this in screenshots” are very common. It feels more real than just seeing it screenshotted or copied. It feels like a real piece of tumblr history. It’s wild to realize the original version of the post is still kicking around the internet in its original form.

But it’s not. It’s just a server sharing a copy of the original data and your screen rendering it for you. Same process as if you looked it up yourself. Nearly the same process as if you found a screenshot. It might not even be stored on the same physical server as the original upload, depending on how they’ve done maintenance over the years and how many backups they store. The version in front of you is no more real than the screenshots you’ve seen.

Except isn’t it??

326 notes - Posted August 13, 2022

“Those clothed in the leather of their fallen friends, for nothing went to waste amongst the Saxons”

I know this is meant to highlight the brutal conditions the Saxons lived under, but this could be a darkly beautiful facet of culture under the right lens.

Cultural values about the circle of life and the beauty of nothing going to waste. Funerals focused on how their soul now leaves Annwn for somewhere more peaceful, while their body returns to their community. Communities fed by cookware made of the bones of the elders that raised them.

Given the biker aesthetic HNOC hints at, leather jackets have a lot of potential as well. “She fell to the poison of the sun a few months back. Now she protects me from the elements with her very skin.” Leather jackets passed down across generations, providing a practical link to your ancestors and their loved ones. Rather than belonging being found in the biker gang patch on your back, it’s found in the people who loved you so much they left their very body to you.

It’s grim. There’s no getting around that. Life in Annwn is grim. But that doesn’t mean there can’t be beauty in their survival.

341 notes - Posted September 26, 2022

i love you cthulhu i love you azathoth i love you emrakul i love you kozilek i love you ulamog i love you yog’sothoth i love you yog’sothoth i l’v’ou yog’sothoth i’y’ou yog’sothoth y’i yog’sothoth y’ai yog’sothoth y’ai ng’ngah yog’sothoth y’ai ng’ngah yog’sothoth h’ee-l’geb f’ai throdog uahh ogthrod ai’f geb’l-ee’h yog’sothoth n’gah n’g-ai’zhro y’ai ng’ngah yog’sothoth h’ee-l’geb f’ai throdog uahh ogthrod ai’f geb’l-ee’h yog’sothoth n’gah n’g-ai’zhro Y’AII NG’NGAH YOG’SOTHOTH H’EE-L’GEB F’AI THRODOG UAHH OGTHROD AI’F GEB’L-EE’H YOG’SOTHOTH N’GAH N’G-AI’ZHRO

Ȳ̶̧̡̗̱͙��̠͈͎̭̓̊͜’̴͚̺̬̌̾̃͗̕A̸̮̭͊̈́̿̎̆Ǐ̷̝̤͓̲͆̚͝ͅĮ̷̨̳͇̜͆̎̋̌̆̋̒̕

Y̶̡̥̥̻̞̣̺̯̙̏̓͐̔͋̈́̀̅’̷̖̣̣̬͈͙͚̻̗̯͑̈̈́̒̕͠A̴̢̅̓̂̐͆́̅̾͗͝I̵̡̘̮̰̩͉͐̂͗̈̔̀̇̈́̚͝Ì̷̖͉͈͚̠̼̖̖͔̙̀͑̅

Y̸͎̣̯̖̻̋̀̄̊̃͆̈́̀̚͝’̴̲̭͕͕̥̜̝͆̈͛̋͊̀͆͛̈́̑Â̵͚̫̄I̵̹̘͙̞̻̲̾̔I̴͇̗͆͘I̶̥̥̹̣̥͊̿̈́̍͐̈́̕̕͝͠I̴̡̝̱̳̜̲̘̐̅̅̓̒͘

Y’AI YOG’SOTHOTH

509 notes - Posted August 10, 2022

seven years ago I got on tumblr and the exposure to different perspectives gave me the space to go from center-right to proper-left politically. now my mom is doing the same thing on tiktok. we called yesterday and she apologized for a lot of the ways she messed up with raising me, and it’s clear she’s like center-left now instead of proper-right. cool that tiktok is fixing my relationship with my mom but is this just how social change happens now? from a bunch of teenagers making mildly funny short-form political commentary? that’s kinda terrifying

1,130 notes - Posted July 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

thinking about that post about how at work, “sick” is a category constructed as a temporary condition with the assumption that when not sick, you’re fully well and at maximum productivity. when i got covid people were very sympathetic. for three days. then they started getting frustrated that i wasn’t keeping up with all my work remotely. now i’m back but i seem to have lasting fatigue. why does “don’t worry about it, your health matters and you need your rest” only apply for three days? i’m literally doing nothing at home, just trying to recover before the next day of work. but because it’s a persistent condition, i’m just supposed to deal with it. it’s not even that they want me to push through, it’s this assumption that if you’re not sick, you’re basically well, so you ought to be performing. this weird idea that a condition can either be debilitating or persistent but not both. and this is less than two weeks after a disease that my workplace fully recognizes as serious. i can’t imagine having a chronic condition that takes some explaining. if someone implied i wasn’t trying just because i wasn’t up to “well” standards i think i’d throw hands

4,756 notes - Posted July 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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s1g4 · 1 year ago

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Story time:

In 2018 I was brand-new to Commander, but had been playing MTG for 2 years at that point. I had really been enjoying the casual atmosphere at my LGS, but had kind of gotten bored of playing the only commander deck I owned (a birthday gift from a friend). I didn't have enough money yet for a second, so while I was saving up I'd sometimes borrow somebody else's deck.

One night, I borrowed a Phenax mill deck. It was walls, only walls, with basically nothing else in it. It got down to me and one other guy. I had been saving a removal spell in my hand for whatever big chungus he was going to cast, and lo and behold he cast one: Emrakul, the Promised End. I went "Oh, that's annoying. Well turn-stealing isn't that bad so I'll be fine."

He targeted me. He took my turn, played another wall so Phenax was a creature, then exiled it with the removal spell in my hand. He didn't zone Phenax. I was left with a pile of 2 cent walls against a 7.5.

To this day, I still build most of my decks in such a way that it can either play through it's own interaction or can't interact with itself at all. Just in case. I haven't been Emrakul'd since.

#Magic: The Gathering #commander #edh #MTG #Cardboard Crack

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toffee-hammer · 4 years ago

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Got the Eldrazi deck out for the first time in forever to play some Xmas day MTG with the brother. Thought I’d take a picture of the big boys (plus momma Emrakul).

#magic: the gathering #they lost but I'm still proud of them #annihilator 4 still makes me laugh #someday...#someday I'll get my hands on that illegal Emrakul and the set will be complete

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wielderofmysteries · 3 years ago

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Why is Jace Beleren my favorite character? (An essay on Jace’s character development)

Okay what started out as a response that was slightly too long for a Tumblr ask turned into several thousands of words of character analysis that gets progressively more emotional and less coherent as it does on, but I think this does a pretty good job of explaining why Jace is my favorite character.

There are a lot of people who hate Jace because they've only seen early Flavor Text Jace and have a third or fourth-hand knowledge of Magic Story, so they think he's only a smartass jerk who thinks he's better than other people and destroys minds without hesitation. But there are also a lot of people who like Jace because they've basically only read Ixalan block, so they think that Flavor Text Jace was always wrong and that Jace is actually a soft little cinnamon roll baby who has never done anything wrong. These are both incorrect.

He’s my favorite because they’re the same Jace.

The truth is that Jace is a nuanced character, and his character arc from Origins to Agents of Artifice to Ixalan spans like 14 years of his fictional character lifetime, and was written across 9 years of IRL time by several different writers.

What I like about Jace is that across all these different stories and writers, he's still one Jace. It's all true. It’s all Jace. And when you look at the bigger picture, combining everything Jace has done and said and been through, you see this wonderfully complex character whose flaws and wrongdoings make his triumphs and moments of positive growth so much sweeter.

My name is Jace Beleren.

So there was something in there, waiting for him to dig it out.

And who is Jace Beleren? Is he a good man? Is he kind?

He willed away the shape and sat, alone, farther from home than he’d even known was possible.

He’d have to wait and see.

(Jace’s Origin: Absent Minds)

This part from the very ending of Jace’s story in Origins is one of my favorite character moments for him, and it really sets the guiding question for analyzing Jace. Jace’s story is all about The Self, and because he’s lived half of his life with amnesia, he has to ask himself, Who is Jace Beleren? Is he a good man? Is he kind?

Jace was created to be the archetypal mono-Blue Planeswalker, but I would say that unlike the other members of the original 5 Gatewatch, for example, his primary motivation, on a surface level, actually isn’t that easy to understand right away. This contrast is shown in the difference between Jace’s Gatewatch oath and the others.

Gideon: “For justice and peace, I will keep watch.”

Chandra: “If it means that people can live in freedom, yeah, I’ll keep watch.”

Nissa: “For the life of every plane, I will keep watch.”

Liliana: “I’ll keep watch. Happy now?”

While every other Gatewatch member is a complex character as well, you could get a very oversimplified, but not incorrect idea of what they value and what their motivation is, even if you had no idea who these characters are. Just from the shortened flavor text versions of their oaths, you can see that Gideon is mono-White and fights for justice; Chandra is mono-Red and fights for freedom; Nissa is mono-Green and fights for nature; and Liliana is mono-Black and she’s just there to get what she wants.

The full version of Jace’s oath says this:

Jace returned her smile. "Fine. I've seen..." His brow furrowed and the smile faded from his lips. "I have seen a greater danger than I could have imagined. The Eldrazi don't threaten just Zendikar. If we leave here, if we leave them alone, they could consume plane after plane until even Ravnica is laid waste. At this moment, Emrakul could be drifting through the Blind Eternities, looking for another plane to devour."

[...]

Jace nodded decisively. "Never again. For the sake of the Multiverse, I will keep watch."

(Oath of the Gatewatch)

But “For the sake of the Multiverse” doesn’t really say anything about Jace’s personal values or his values as a mono-Blue planeswalker. He doesn’t say he wants to defend the Multiverse because of its endless possibilities or the knowledge within it, like you might think a Blue planeswalker would say. Instead, he speaks of the unimaginable danger that threatens the Multiverse. To understand what Jace values and what motivates him, you actually need to read what he says right before he formally took his oath.

Jace took a step forward, looking at Chandra. "Gideon's right," he said. "The four of us have extraordinary power. We have a unique opportunity—a responsibility, even—to use that power against threats like this. The Eldrazi, yes, but there are other threats that go beyond a single plane. I've heard it said that a Planeswalker is someone who can always run from danger. But we are also the ones who can choose to stay."

(Oath of the Gatewatch)

Jace’s Blue philosophy is focused on self-improvement and the choices we make with our free will. It was partially Jace’s fault that the Eldrazi were feed, and he wants to take responsibility for his actions because he’s seen how his irresponsibility and inaction have led to people getting hurt on a scale he’d previously never considered.

But I wouldn’t love Jace this much if he were just a good guy. I love Jace because he’s all about choosing to become a better person even though it’s not easy.

Jace’s moral journey has had a lot of ups and downs. He’s chosen many times to be a coward, and has knowingly chosen to do wrong. Jace struggled for a long time with his rage and resentment, and how cathartic it felt to give in to those feelings.

In Jace’s origin story, he threatens a classmate who bullied him, and Alhammarret foreshadows the dark path Jace would later find himself on.

He looked Tuck in the eyes. “And if you harm my family, I’ll take your mind apart, one squalid little memory at a time.”

Tuck flinched.

[...]

“That was unkind,” said Alhammarret.

Jace winced.

“You…?” He stopped. Alhammarret hadn’t given him leave to speak normally and, in any case, the wind made spoken conversation impossible. “You heard that?”

[...]

“I was just trying to scare him.”

“Tread that path carefully,” said the sphinx. “In time, you will become more terrifying than you can imagine. And fear, once inspired, can seldom be eased.”

(Jace’s Origin: Absent Minds)

After his spark ignited, Jace spent his young adult years on Ravnica as a criminal with no memories and no past. In Agents of Artifice, Jace spirals downward into apathy and darkness, struggling to keep his morals and compassion as his life becomes a living hell. He joins the Infinite Consortium to become Tezzeret’s apprentice, but Tezzeret tortures and abuses Jace to get him to use his powers to harm others and alter their minds-- a line Jace was previously unwilling to cross.

Jace found himself shaking, and he felt the first stirring of bile rising up the back of his throat.

“Don’t just read his thoughts!” Tezzeret urged, so close now that Jace could feel the artificer’s breath on his neck. “Control them! He lies unconscious, but you hold his mind in yours!”

“No …”

“This is what power over the mind truly means, Beleren! Reading thoughts? That’s child’s play, a feeble game for the man who can control thoughts! You can make him move as you wish. You can shape his memories!”

“No!”

Jace staggered away, his eyes flying open, and allowed all contact with the limp form before him to lapse. He spun on Tezzeret, fists clenched.

“No?” Tezzeret asked, his voice deceptively mild.

Could he make Tezzeret understand? Could he possibly explain how revolting a notion it was, the thought of reaching into someone’s thoughts and stirring them like a pot of soup? Could he make Tezzeret understand just how horrifying Jace found the idea of losing his will to another? How filthy it made him feel, to the depths of his soul, to contemplate doing it to someone else?

(Agents of Artifice)

Disgusted by the person he’s become, Jace leaves the Consortium to escape Tezzeret, and he tries for as long as he can to run away instead of fighting, but so much damage had already been done. Through Tezzeret’s abuse and Liliana’s manipulation, Jace goes from wanting to vomit at the mere thought of hurting another person to carelessly breaking minds and torturing others with the very same knife Tezzeret had used to torture him.

There was no finesse, no care, only power and purpose. Jace slashed through thoughts and memories like underbrush, leaving a wake of devastation behind him. The unconscious fellow twitched and shuddered as entire swathes of his life were frayed. He wouldn’t die of this. Jace had no taste for killing, not with memories of the Lurias marketplace fresh in his mind. But neither would he leave one of Semner’s thugs behind, unpunished for his sins. The result was a drooling imbecile, a man who might be trusted to push carts or carry boxes in exchange for food and shelter. A grim life, but a life nonetheless, and perhaps more than the bastard deserved.

Deeper Jace delved, without sympathy or compunction; he cared about one thing only, held to but one objective. Yet no matter how thoroughly he sifted through the shreds of what had lately been a sentient mind, he couldn’t find it. Eventually he had to concede that it was never there.

(Agents of Artifice)

In the end, Jace is able to defeat Tezzeret, destroying his mind and sawing off his etherium arm to take as a trophy. It’s cathartic, but it doesn’t feel good. There is no real triumph for Jace, because he was only able to free himself from the forces that abused him through the brutality and violence that Tezzeret taught him-- by becoming the unfeeling weapon they wanted him to be. And a part of Jace liked it.

Taking an unwholesome glee in every mental scream, allowing Tezzeret a full awareness of what he was doing, Jace reached out and crushed the artificer’s mind.

(Agents of Artifice)

In the aftermath of Agents of Artifice, Jace is left broken-- but not completely.

Something I admire about Jace is that despite all his trauma, despite how horrible he knew he had been, he refused to let his experiences harden his heart. It would have been easy for him to continue on that path of darkness, but he instead chose to start rebuilding himself.

He shows his sense of responsibility in stopping Ravnica’s destruction by the Supreme Verdict at the end of the Implicit Maze. He shows it by accepting being forced into his responsibilities as the Living Guildpact. He shows it by joining the Gatewatch to save Zendikar. He shows it in the way he’s willing to face Nicol Bolas head-on, for the good of the Multiverse.

He shows his sense of compassion by defying Ugin, telling him that Zendikar is worth saving because it’s someone’s home, and people are fighting for their lives. He shows it by inviting the Gatewatch to live in his home, sharing it with them because he cares. He shows it in the way he uses his telepathy to help Nissa with her sensory overloads.

Jace gritted his teeth. Enough of this. Enough.

"You're speaking in abstractions," he said.

He fired off a counterspell to tear through Ugin's illusion, and sent up a few of his own. Sea Gate at its height, when Jace had visited it shortly after the Eldrazi rose. The survivors' camp when he'd been there weeks ago, where the same scholars, now diminished in number and in hope, huddled around campfires. Gideon, standing tall, inspiring people. Nissa communing with the land.

"Zendikar isn't a puzzle to be solved," said Jace. "It's a place. It's somebody's home. And those people are out there, right now, fighting for their world and wondering if anybody's going to help them kill what's killing them."

He showed scenes of suffering, then—of families mourning the lost, of landscapes ravaged by Ulamog, of even the skies and seas teeming with the Eldrazi menace.

(Revelation at the Eye)

Throughout this new chapter of Jace’s life, he continues to make mistakes. And the reason he makes mistakes is because he’s not perfect. Being good doesn’t come easily to him, but he’s trying his best. He gets frustrated by feelings of inadequacy and he wants to prove to others that he’s competent and can be trusted.

This vision appeared whenever the man was struggling at a task.

His shoulders were broad, and his olive skin had a sheen of sweat underneath the shine of his armor. The hallucination was looking over the man's shoulder as he tried to carve a fishing hook.

"Listen, you aren't really suited to this task. Let me handle it." The vision's voice was gruff but friendly.

It came off as condescending.

The man was annoyed.

"I can do it myself."

The hallucination sighed. "You and I both know you're not suited to this. Let me handle it, you go philosophize on the other end of the beach."

"I said I can do it myself." The man let his irritation reach his voice.

"No, you can't. I call the shots and execute, you stand to the side. That's how this works."

The man responded by throwing his hook at the hallucination. It went straight through the figure's eye and landed behind him on the sand.

(Jace, Alone)

The part of himself that carries his rage and resentment and his desire to lash out still shows itself. I understand what it’s like to have those feelings, and wath it’s like to enjoy indulging in them. And it’s okay to have those feelings, because Jace believes that no matter what you do, you have to forgive yourself in order to make the choice to be a better person. That change doesn’t happen all at once. Be better today than you were yesterday. Be better tomorrow than you were today.

On Ixalan, when Jace has amnesia again and is free of his trauma and his insecurities, he’s able to fully express his philosophy.

Jace chose his words carefully.

"Existence is adaptation to changing circumstances. The self is an accumulation of what one has learned from those changing circumstances . . . Our agency gives us the means to alter our own path. You are who you decide to be. And who you will become depends only on how you choose to adapt."

Jace realized Vraska had been looking at him.

His face felt flushed, and he was thankful his blush did not show in the starlight.

The waves lapped against the side of the ship.

"Is your past truly that unimportant?" she asked.

Jace shrugged to himself. "It has to be. If I can do what I think I can, I've hurt a lot of people. But it's the future that makes me who I am, because my choices will influence who I become."

(Something Else Entirely)

When Jace’s memories return, he finally lets go of his fears and insecurities because he sees how his trauma has poisoned and warped him. He feels like this free Jace is the real Jace. He’s more confident than ever, and his conscience and morals have become stronger.

He used to enter and alter people’s minds without hesitation, but he now stays out of Vraska’s mind unless given consent, and recoils in disgust at the thought of changing her memories, even with her explicit permission to do so. Previously, he would allow his allies to kill as long as he wasn’t the one doing the killing, but he stops Vraska from killing Azor and chooses mercy, using his power as the Living Guildpact to exile him instead.

So when we come back to those guiding questions -- Who is Jace Beleren? Is he a good man? Is he kind? -- we can see that Jace Beleren is always trying his best.

Jace’s character development in Ixalan would not be nearly as impactful without the stories that came before it, and that’s the reason I love all of Jace. Jace is my favorite because he’s a character who has been wrong and has enjoyed revenge and hurting and intimidating others, and has grown and changed for the better. It makes him feel a lot more human and relatable to me. I love the fearful, violent, depressed, and insecure Jace just as much as I love the brave, merciful, happy, and confident Jace. He wasn’t created just to be a good guy or a bad guy. He’s been both a hero and a villain in his own story. Basically, Jace is my favorite because he’s so much more complex than most people give him credit for. He is so flawed and so perfect.

I don’t have a proper conclusion for all this because it’s uh, almost 3am at the time I’m posting this. I love Jace Beleren. He is an autistic bisexual trans man and that’s epic.

#mtg #jace beleren #analysis #my posts

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