#he acted so holier than thou constantly

[songbvrd]

the devil's plan on netflix is genuinely so good and so entertaining and so fascinating, but it's also so infuriating how everyone just decided that seok-jin, si-won and dong-jae were their enemies and all completely isolated/targeted them the whole time. it's especially apparent in the poker game, the way they all just treat seok-jin as though he isn't part of the community there. from game one, they acted as though that group were villainous for winning, and it was hard to watch. it made them hard to like, when they all acted like they were the 'good guys' with humanity, while targeting the hell out of the far smaller group for having the audacity to do well early on.

[wittlesissyb4by]

It was such a pathetic sight. Ryan was squishing in his chair, crinkling in his ridiculous diaper, and blowing raspberries between bites of mushy carrots.

I can’t believe how far he’s come, or, rather, how far he’s fallen. Ryan used to be a pompous, chauvinistic asshole who got a little too big for his own britches. If he wasn’t trying to  impress his holier than thou attitude upon anyone he could in public, he was doing it at home with me. I was beneath him. I was nothing but a 50’s housewife expected to cook, clean, and pick-up after him. Oh, and to be there to please his tiny dick for almost a full 30-seconds…

I was tired of it, sick of being nothing but a vending machine for him to call on, only to be left thankless and underappreciated. Things had to change.

So, I started off small, slipping various hormones and chemicals into the food I was ordered to cook for him every night. When he was sleeping, I’d put on a little hypnosis for him to listen to after I popped my earmuffs in. 

The effects were gradual at first. He started complaining about his nipples hurting. I’d find wet stains in his underwear, and he’d whimper and whine about the tiniest things (okay, maybe that wasn’t much different than before…). Soon I noticed him constantly needing to have something in his mouth. It started out with just his fingernails, then a toothpick, a plastic cap, and–when I started taking those away and he’d (literally) cry–he would resort to sucking his thumb.

He was actually giggling with delight when I brought home a pacifier. That was when things really started kicking in. He’d come home from work with wet underpants, and would wake up in soaking sheets. So, obviously, it was time for diapers. He protested at first, but soon I’d come into the living room to find him humping and crinkling on the floor, drooling all over his thumb. Where he used to bark at me to bring him a beer when he got home, he was now begging and pleading for a bottle of ‘milkies’ with his wittle baby voice.

He learned to address me as Mommy, to say ‘pweez’ and thank you for every little thing. He even agreed to let me bring home other guys. Real men for me to play with. There was a time where he’d try to act all macho in front of other men, now he’d get on his knees and suck their dick if I told him it was his ‘ba ba’ for the day.

He has no problem dressing like a girl, in fact, he kind of throws a fit if all his pink tutu’s and rompers are dirty and he has to wear a blue onesie. I used to let him hump his huggies as much as his little heart desired, I’d rather him pump his pitiful load into pampers instead of my pussy while I pretend to enjoy it–but then I took that away as well. He still whines and cries sometimes for me to let him out of his chastity cage for ‘cum cums’, but those are a thing of the past now.

It’s funny, he used to think he was so smart, he’d belittle everyone around him for not knowing the most random of facts. Now? He’s practically a braindead, bimbo baby. I mean, look at him. He’s blowing raspberries with muck in his mouth and drooling down his bib, smiling the whole time. He doesn’t seem to mind that he’s sitting in a heavily soiled diaper, in fact, he’s mushing around in it like a happy piggie playing in the mud.

I wonder if he understands that all of his money is now in my account. Sure, I’ll drop the hypnosis and send him out to work, only to make him snap back into it as soon as he’s home so I can tape him back in a diaper. Ryan–or Rylie–as she’s now called, is not even close to a man anymore. Her little dick is caged and diapered, right where it belongs. Now excuse me while I shovel more slop into her babbling mouth.

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This was a custom caption I did for one of my lovely supporters on SubStar! If you would like one of your very own, consider subscribing to the Silver tier or higher!

[magiturge]

an analysis of gabriel - ultrakill

there's a lot of things about this guy i just want to talk about. let's start in an almost consecutive order of information we learn about him.

ACT I. - INFINITE HYPERDEATH 1-4 clair de lune - mansion owner's diary and stained glass art

these are the first references / appearances of gabriel in game.

the mansion owner's diary refers to him as a friend, showing that despite being an angel, gabriel had the time and the forgiveness to grant sinners / husks some form of kindness. while it can be interpreted as this particular husks devotion to being faithful to angels in general with how they hold back from plunging deeper into hell, they constantly and mainly refer to gabriel.

the other interpretation could be that when the husk is referring to gabriel, they could be using the stained glass art of him as worship and there is the possibility that gabriel has not actually interacted with them in person, however later bits of information lean more on gabriel having actually met them in person. the lust renaissance and minos

as we come up on lust, the next bit of lore that we are met with is the story of the death of king minos.

from here, we learn that gabriel has killed minos and is the reason why there is a gigantic shambling corpse looking for sinners in the lust layer. we also learn that gabriel is not just any angel but the one that embodies or represents the will of god. in the name of god's will, he is willing to kill what we later learn is a beloved ruler who granted the sinners in lust a more forgiving place to spend eternity. in p-1, we are met with the flesh prison that ensnares minos' soul, created in an effort to prevent it from forming into a prime soul. a segment of his monologue from when he is released from the flesh prison : "O Gabriel... now dawns thy reckoning, and thy gore shall glisten before the temples of man!" it's quite clear from that that minos no longer remains a pacifist when it comes to taking revenge on the angel who pulled everything out from under him. now, to minos prime's terminal entry. it gives more context onto the overall lore of ultrakill itself but does contain information that is important later on. pictures of the terminal entries will come from the wiki page due to the in game terminal entries not fitting into one screen.

we learn that god has disappeared and due to this has thrown heaven into a panicked frenzy. this is important given that gabriel is an angel and how the disappearance of what would be described as his leader or figurehead to follow would do to him.

in the disappearance of god, a council has taken control of heaven and in the event of this, they have seen that minos has freed sinners from the punishment they were meant to serve. gabriel is sent to strike down minos and murdered him without listening to what minos had to say. we see just how deep rooted gabriel's faith in god is and how he answers to the council. he has killed a beloved ruler without mercy and from the text written from the perspective of a lust resident, he believes what he is doing is just.

3-2 in the flesh we now actually meet gabriel in the flesh after everything we have learned so far. as v1 leaves the first room, gabriel speaks. "Machine... turn back, now. The layers of this palace are not for your kind. Turn back, or you will be crossing the will of God." while he sounds as prideful as an angel would be, with a holier than thou tone of voice, the context of what he is saying is important combined with how he actually views v1 at this point. gabriel is warning v1 to go no further and to turn back while it still has the chance which is quite odd in the grand scheme of his actions. "a mere object." "an imperfection to be cleansed." not. even. mortal." "you are less than nothing." these are a portion of taunts that quite clearly display how he feels about v1, a machine. v1 is simply an object to him, plunging deeper into hell. in addition to this, hakita in the developer commentary stream states : "Gabriel is like, as soon as a machine gets too far downwards, he will like interrupt them and kill them. So to him, you are just one of like a hundred or thousand of whatever machines that he's encountered and tried to stop." despite this, gabriel grants the mercy of warning v1, giving them a chance to go back as they shouldn't be down here. it's a curious thing about gabriel, isn't it? up to this point, we know of gabriel striking down a beloved king but here he is merciful enough to warn what he sees as something that is not even mortal, a mere object. and seeing that v1 at this moment is nothing more than another machine to him, would it be odd to assume he had warned other like this as well? while not immediately important to this analysis, the eye in the arena focuses on gabriel. hakita in the developer commentary stream states that : "The eyes normally follow you, like they look at you when you're walking around but in this arena it's actually looking at Gabriel because he's the real point of interest."

this is more something that will be important to the lore regarding hell itself rather than gabriel himself, given it would be reasonable for hell to be more interested in a supreme angel than you, another machine.

moving on, we have gabriel's overall presentation and impression on us. he presents himself as holy, righteous, better than you. he at this point is unlikeable, we only know the sour side of him. when he loses to v1, he is bewildered by his loss, unable to believe he had just lost to what he sees as just an object. he's clearly angry with v1 and possibly, himself. before we go over the end of ACT I's story segment, we will go over what else we have learned from gabriel provided by the first terminal entry we recieve of him.

from here we learn his proper status up in heaven, a respected and feared archangel. he has a reputation of completing tasks quickly and that he is beloved among other angels moreso than the council.

it's also put that he has popular for his "radiant personality and active nature" which depending one what you prefer, could either be how he presents himself to you in 3-2 or different demeanor we have yet to see.

i’m inclined to believe the latter and we will get to that later, so keep that in mind.

we also learn that gabriel is a hardworker, a devoted angel to god that completes what is asked of him. this can be used as reference to how he has slain king minos prior as it seemed to be more of a task to complete rather than a personal attack fueled by his own emotions.

he’s a hard worker that did not question what was asked of himas long as he had it in his mind that his actions were to benefit someone he cared about, be it the people of heaven or god.

the strategy tips that the terminal tells us that gabriel is an angel with a great deal of pride stating that his pride is what “stops him from attacking while taunting his opponent”. on top of this, his pride not only prevented him from attacking during taunts but from also using splendor is justice and justice is splendor in this fight as well. this is, again, important for later since how his behavior in 3-2 differs vastly from his behavior in ACT II. closing in on this segment, we end with gabriel's disbelief at his loss. "What? How can this be? Bested by this.. this thing? You insignificant FUCK! This is not over!" with the use of profanity, gabriel's front as a divine angel falls apart. his composure is lost and he is utterly confused, perfectly portrayed by his voice actor gianni matragano. everything that he has believed has been shattered here, as hakita explains in the developer commentary stream that a machine besting an angel is something that should be impossible. an angel being beaten by a human is absurd but for a child of mankind to best an angel is like that of an ant beating a human in a fight. it just does not make sense to gabriel and unfortunately, his account of his loss does not serve a stable argument to the holy council. ACT I. - INTERMISSION ( the ending cutscene is linked here as it is incredibly long. ) remember that gabriel is on of the brightest angels in heaven if not the brightest angel who works quickly, efficiently and is a beloved angel among the others? that status does not protect him here. we open in on gabriel being looked at with resentment by the council, speaking amongst one another on what to do with him. gabriel is listening to their bitter words, that sting being something that would cause more pain to ones not as strong as him. it continues in describing how gabriel believes that it is also impossible for a mere object to best him, he believes that he knows this as true. and it is not. so he rises to make an argument for himself, stating that he would never stray from the will of the father but a machine has bested him in battle. in this moment, i believe it is gabriel's attempt to warn the council that these "mere objects" are something not to take lightly. but they don't listen to him. now there is a very important line here that is often overlooked and in the video i have linked referring to this line is different which is most likely why it is overlooked or misinterpreted. "your failure will not be tolerated" was changed to "your treachery will not be tolerated." as seen here :

the council cannot grasp that an angel could have lost to a machine. so instead, they have concluded that gabriel has betrayed them and purposefully let it go further down. throughout this interaction between gabriel and the council, he is spoken over, not given a chance to properly explain himself or the situation at hand. his pleas were not heard and he is seen as a traitor, now to die within 24 hours with the time quickly dissolving. what could the severing of his holy light, the title of a traitor hanging over his head and the potential fear that the machines that were supposed to be beneath him do to his mental state at this point of the story? well, that is where this comes in.. ACT II. - IMPERFECT HATRED to recap what i've run through, we know that : • gabriel is one of heaven's brightest angels, a hard worker that is well loved and also feared by many as well as being quite skilled in combat. • he has killed the former judge of hell, a beloved king who believed that eternal torment for loving one another was too cruel a punishment, as ordered by the council. • at the moment, he's on a clock, the holy light having been severed from his body and he is seething with a supposed hatred to rid of you and to prove himself faithful to god.

4-1 slaves to power now this part comes from the terminal entry of the virtue that is first introduced in this level.

we learn about how lesser angels form as well as more information on how heaven itself works with a social hierarchy. we also learn how they relate in terms of being another angelic being in hell, next to gabriel. their role is to put the sinners who are not acting out their punishment in their place "in order to not waste gabriel's time with minor offences and fluctuations." so gabriel's role in hell generally does not include small offences like this, he works on a grander scale which we will see a bit later. 4-2 god damn the sun another terminal entry from a mini-boss introduced in this level, the sisyphean insurrectionist.

another act of pushing against heaven's control is met with death, a contrast to minos's pacifist approach. gabriel has killed another king in hell, king sisyphus as well as a fleet of other angels to aid him in this war. the details of gabriel and the angels actions show the brutality in their force, the response that rebellion is met with. it seems that gabriel was made responsible for these two deaths which implies that prior to being judge of hell, he had some role that was somewhat related to it since he's the one higher angel that is sent down for these tasks. i also have a creeping feeling that gabriel has had a larger presence in hell as well given there are murals of him seen in.. 4-3 a shot in the dark and 4-4 clair de soleil

these murals are a bit of a curious thing to explain since we don't have an exact time frame of when they were created or who created them. the first instance of them is seen in 4-3 a shot in the dark where it is smeared with blood painted in the word "traitor". it implies that at some point in the past, gabriel was much more tolerant or even a friendlier figure that had turned on them, be it during the war or sometime prior.

the next instance would be in 4-4 clair de soleil in which the two other murals are hidden within the tomb of sisyphus's corpse. perhaps they were erected as a show of power by the angels given their placement here next to his body. or it could simply be a curious room for the sawblade update, however i don't believe that that is all it is. some time in hell's history, gabriel was a friend yet he soon became a traitor. 5-2 waves of the starless sea now here is where we see what exactly gabriel values and is often where people's opinions on gabriel change a bit as we see more of his nature outside of bloodshed and arrogant behavior. the ferrymen we find the ferryman's cabin, empty save for the filth that spawns in alongside the idol present on the second floor. the ferryman's diary is found on the desk.

here is an excerpt from the ferryman's diary, the full passage found here as it is too long to be fit into a single picture. the diary details a time in which one of the ferrymen was going to sink deep under the waves of the now ocean styx as mankinds ultimate death led to the river overflowing.

yet instead of falling victim to the waves, this particular ferryman is saved by gabriel, who comforts them as they are ushered to safety. "Be not afraid, sinner. Your devotion to God shows goodness in you; plentiful indeed. The heart is willing but the body must rest, lest you squander one of the Lord's creations."

gabriel tells the ferryman that he recognizes their faith and devotion to god, seeing that despite their forms as husks in hell they are good people. he cares about the ferrymen's efforts to gain passage into heaven and does not let them sink deep into the ocean where that goodness will be wasted. he does not want for them to work themselves to death, to allow the hopelessness of hell to consume them. he doesn't want that. gabriel became a symbol of hope and light to the ferrymen. a statue of him can be found within the level as well. he continues to be their light as evident by the ending words of the ferryman's diary. in addition to this is the ferryman's theme, he is the light in my darkness which is coupled with artwork of gabriel and the ferryman drawn by francisxie.

another bit of information that pertains to gabriel is a segment from the ferryman's terminal data, where it is stated that gabriel is the only one who cares about their efforts.

what gabriel values is seen very clearly : he seeks those who truly care about god and those who are working to improve themselves to be granted passage into heaven. more evidence supports this with the introduction of.. the idols idols are actually demons that were carved into a form that can be mistaken as divine by those who don't know any better. their terminal entry states that having been in close proximity to the ferryman's holy cloth has allowed for the holy power within it to seep into them, allowing the chain of compassion to continue.

an important bit of information introduced here is that the only angel of heaven's higher order that watches over hell is gabriel. if the council were to find out about the existence of idols and what the ferrymen have done to them, they would be ordered to be destroyed. it implies that gabriel can see that the idols are not actually peversions of the divine form but can see that they are actually tributes to him and the angels that the ferrymen are devoted to. there is a stark difference in the way gabriel behaves when ordered by the council and when acting on his own judgement and accord. he really cares about the intentions of those he gives the time of day to pay attention to when it is his choice. in the instances of most of gabriel's crimes, it is an order from the council that he acts on. 5-3 ship of fools there isn't quite a lot of lore pertaining to gabriel here other than showing just how important gabriel is to the ferrymen with a statue of him seen inside of the ship, a hologram of him warm words playing on loop and a portrait of him seen in one of the first rooms of this level.

he is clearly incredibly important to them with these tributes to him found across the ferry.

5-4 leviathan here we find an instance of gabriel striking down the heart of the leviathan as the souls attempt to escape its body.

this is an act he chooses to do or an act ordered by the council where i feel it is one where gabriel is doing what he believes his role as the judge of hell asks of him.

we don't know what would have resulted in the souls being let free but judging based on what we know of him now, i assume that this act was done as a means to prevent the souls from being let free and so that they serve their punishment accordingly.

6-1 cry for the weeper we are met again with gabriel speaking to us.

"Machine, I know you're here. I can smell the insolent stench of your bloodstained hands. I await you down below. . . COME TO ME"

it doesn't take me explaining for it to be apparent that gabriel is furious.

he fully expects for v1 to plunge down deeper and to cross paths with him once again. he is waiting and he is livid. 6-2 aesthetics of hate

i'm pulling out all the stops and you're about to see why. the final level in ACT II in which we finally fight gabriel once again, but before that, we are met with gabriel speaking to both himself and to you. "Limbo. Lust. All gone. . . With Gluttony soon to follow. Your kind know nothing but hunger. Purged all life on the upper layers. And yet they remain unsatiated. . . As do you. You've taken everything from me, machine. And now all that remains is PERFECT, HATRED." we learn of what has been happening to hell itself as both v1 and other machines devastate what of it remains. gabriel tells us that we have taken everything from him, that the only thing he has left is the boiling anger and hate that he holds for us. to watch everything he's worked for crumble at the loss against a machine has left him in such a tense, angry and anguished state.

the presentation for this fight is beautifully done, perfectly encompassing the atmosphere needed to capture the tidal wave of emotions that are about to break through. this is gabriel's only attempt at redeeming himself in the eyes of the council, to prove himself not a traitor and that he has always been faithful to the father's will. "Machine, I will cut you down. Break you apart. Splay the gore of your profane form across the stars. I will grind you down until the very sparks cry for mercy. My hands shall RELISH ending you. HERE. AND. NOW." and so the dam breaks. gabriel has said what he swears to do to you, the venom in his words clear as day. an immediate difference in this fight is the use of his twin swords splendor is justice and justice is splendor as well as an immediate enraged state.

something of note is the use of those swords as it's stated here that pride stopped him from using them in the previous fight but things have become more personal. this is not the only time he has unsheathed his swords as he has used them in the war against sisyphus. an excerpt from sisyphus prime's terminal entry states : "He unsheathed his swords for the first time since time immemorial and beheaded Sisyphus, displaying his head for all to see." keep that in mind for later, it's important.

his movements are quicker and he hits much harder, the track the death of god's will playing as the fight continues.

in the first phase where he's enraged, his anger is palpable in his taunts : • you need. more. power! • is this what i lost to? • you're getting rusty machine! • i'll show you divine justice!

just to name a few. he's egging you on, to fight him. perhaps, in a way he doesn't want you to go easy on him, to purposefully let him win as it would be more than insulting. the arena is like that of the rest of heresy, dark murky and bathed in a red fog with water (or blood) filling the main part of it. that changes upon his phase change along with his behavior as well. "IS THAT THE BEST YOU'VE GOT!?"

this is something that is sometimes passed over since people are mostly focused on either dealing damage to gabriel, focused on where he is or staying away from him as they're unsure what to do. the lights of the arena are influenced by his phase change and his emotions. no longer is it bathed in red but in the beautiful blue and gold that represent his ecstasy and joy of struggle. his own brilliant light illuminating the arena. it could be said that gabriel's rage is the reason why heresy is a crimson red however i don't believe that's the case. i believe that gabriel's own light in this moment is so bright, so radiant that it's enough to light up the fight and overpower the dense crimson fog of heresy. his wings also change to match the gold and blue, as shown here to be labeled as ecstasy. in phase 2, gabriel is having fun, he's enjoying the struggle of a fight in which victory does not come to him so easily and it can be heard in the taunts that he switches to in this fight : • show me what you were made for! • come on machine, fight me like an animal! • come get some blood! • i'll show you true splendor! again, just to name a few. alongside some of these taunts, gabriel laughs. curiously, there is an unused taunt in which gabriel states "So this is what you see in bloodshed." you'll notice i boldened "i'll show you divine justice!" and "i'll show you true splendor!" call it a stretch but i feel like the specification on justice and splendor with each one being used for the phase 1 and phase 2 respectively is like the duality of his emotions and who he is, much like his twin swords. at first he seeks justice for himself and what he has lost to v1 but further in the fight, he relishes in the struggle of meeting someone that is equal to him if not better. the behavioral differences in his fighting are like that of his fight in 3-2 in the flesh in which he will mix up his attacks with a teleport in between. i interpret gabriel becoming more difficult in phase 2 is due to him truly enjoying himself, with a more clear mind that isn't filled to the brim with anger that has boiled over. he's having fun, he's struggling and he loves it. finally, we come to the end of the fight in which gabriel exclaims to himself ..

"Twice? Beaten by an object.. twice! I've only known the taste of victory, but this taste... Is- Is this my blood? Haha- I've never known such... such... relief? I-I need some time to think.. . We will meet again, machine." it's an interesting bit of dialogue, subverting most people's expectations. instead of gabriel descending into further madness, a spiral of emotions consuming him, this defeat gives him pause.

he's relieved at the sight of his own blood. why is that? there's a multitude of answers to this but i believe the reason why he's relieved at the sight of his own blood is that it's like a weight off of his shoulders, his conscious. angels bleed. the righteous hand of the father bleeds. his status as a supreme angel does not prevent him from being put in harms way and his blood is just about the same as any other being. whatever he is does not make him special. he bleeds just like anyone else and no status could ever protect him from that, only himself. his words here are also curious. while his previous defeat speech is filled with anger and confusion vowing that this battle is not over, in this speech gabriel states that they will meet again. it's less of a threat, a vow for revenge and more like coming back to v1 to speak with them further despite how one-sided this conversation may be. there's also a very apparent difference in the way that gabriel says "May your woes be many and your days few." the first one is threatening much like his defeat speech but this one? it's lighter, lower, less angry. he even chuckles slightly as he says it, possibly finding that the phrase is ridiculous to say when looking at the position that he's in. afterall, he doesn't even have a day left and perhaps even less than that should v1 finish him off before the holy light vanishes. just like that, he vanishes in a pillar of light.

his terminal data that comes with this encounter explains all of this clearly, he found something he wanted to do for himself. free will for an angel. ACT II. - INTERMISSION.

we're almost at the end. the ending cutscene opens to gabriel having teleported away to what we can assume is the first layer of heaven, the moon, as he gazes into a fire alone with his thoughts and revelations. the text that fills the screen describing gabriel's thoughts are filled with confusion, introspection and guilt. he realizes that his actions were not something that was always just, always right, finding that he not only embodied a holy figure to follow but also the cruelty that his actions left in his wake. his two defeats has turned his world view upside down, leaving him to try and piece together everything he believed he knew only to find that it never made sense to begin with.

gabriel realizes that the council he answers to masquerades god's name, intentionally or not, having their supposed fellow angels in a vice grip of fear. the angels still do what they believe is what god wants of them but they have not accepted that he has long since gone. believing is not enough, and he knows this now. this is a choice he makes with his own new found free will and he chose to do something drastic.

slaughtering the council, the group of angels that have brought a facade of stability to heaven. "The last councilor, now backed up to a wall, scrambles for words between panicked breaths as death approaches with measured steps." gabriel is calm, confident in his decision with contrasts with the behavior of the councilor that writhes in fear of his fate. he knows what he is doing as its a decision he made his own.

he speaks clearly, shutting down the argument that the last councilor has to offer. ". ..Our status forbids it! . .. We are the supreme authority, our law commands you!" interesting is it? that the council pleads with their status, their only "protection" of their life when gabriel's place as the will of god did not protect him at all, only his supposed prior betrayal representing who he was. and so he tells it to them, that their words hold no power over him. he has realized that the council dances around the father's name as a means to keep power and control over the other angels, their only defense in the face of danger is their fragile words. and so gabriel states that he will show his fellow angels that there is nothing to be afraid of for the council's reign will no longer hang over them. he says it flatly, that god is dead. the last thing that this councilor has to say to plead for his life is that he is the only way for gabriel to reconnect with the holy light, ultimately preventing him from dying. and all gabriel has to say, is that "i know." it's an interesting choice he's made since he ultimately could have forced the councilor to reconnect him, saving his life and then kill him. he could have taken that chance to rebuild heaven into a more peaceful place for the angels, afterall he is loved more than the council and it seems other angels would find more joy and peace in him as their leader. but he doesn't do that. he accepts his fate. he made that choice. the weight of his sins, his atrocities committed in the name of god and the guilt that comes with it. do you think he could have lived to bare those anymore, knowing that he was the cause for so much suffering? there was no going back from that, he had already done so much harm.

what could he have done to fix that? minos is dead and even if his prime soul lives on, there is nothing left as his failure to stop v1 has led to the disappearances of the upper layers of hell.

sisyphus is dead and just like minos, even if his prime soul lives on, the damage has been done. the sisyphean insurrectionists left with only the essential body parts to carry out their punishment, they will never know the peace that they had worked so hard for. what would gabriel remaining alive do to benefit anyone? to him, perhaps nothing. he failed to see through the wool pulled over his eyes and because of it, so much was lost. there is one thing left that he can do.

and that is to show the angels of heaven that there is nothing to be afraid of. you'll probably notice that his wings are like that of his phase 2 in 6-2 aesthetics of hate. i believe this is gabriel relishing in knowing that the people of heaven will see his last message, the wordless proclamation of their freedom. and even if death approaches him, he has done something that he has wanted for himself and for the rest of heaven. SO WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN? gabriel is a character whom we see the various sides to, the various faces that he shows to people in this story. you pick up the pieces to who he is, having experienced who he is face to face twice now and seeing him unravel. this story is about him and you, v1, the catalyst. he's someone often watered down an angel too in over his head that has the sense knocked into him, which isn't too far off when there is absolutely so much more to him. he's a kind, patient angel who is capable of committing atrocities and has done so under the belief that his actions benefit something, somebody he values or follows. gabriel believes in righting his wrongs, bringing justice in which things are even, balance, proper and when he finds that he was part of the problem, he willingly gives his life as it is trickling away to fix it. of course, he is still an angel, a prideful one that isn't innocent. he's guilty of so much but he ultimately seeks to make things better for those he believes are worthy of happiness, peace. he himself has numbed to the joys of struggle as reward comes easy to him, realizing that being met with a force that matches his own is exhilirating. that the ability to choose his own fate, make his own decisions instead of blindly following the council just as any other angel has made much more of a positive change than anything he's ever done. he's going to fade soon and he knows it. in other words, i think gabriel is pretty cool guys. EXTRA okay now here comes my little crazy shpeal when it comes to gabriel's motif of beheading. in the war against sisyphus, gabriel beheaded him as a means to break the morale of his army and in the end of ACT II he beheads the council member and presents the head to the crowd of angels to dissuade fear. alongside that is imagery of gabriel himself being beheaded which are found in 5-3 ship of fools.

both of these can be found when the ferry is flipped upside down and filled with water. it's just something interesting i noticed :] next, there's this little thought i had in which gabriel has become more "human" as the story progresses. in the testaments presented at the end of each secret level, we find that what we can assume is god refers to humans as a failure, their free will consuming them and causing things to grow closer to entropy. now what exactly does that mean for gabriel? well : his time is limited. he is mortal. he will die. he has gained his own free will, even in his dying moments, he chose to make a difference. even as the councilor scrambles for words, stating that their law commands him, it mirrors the first testament presented to us in the game in which it states : "mankind is a failure. free will is a flaw. let the evil of their lips consume them. then i shall begin again with my word as law." with each push, each struggle, gabriel grows more human than angel. now, finally. there is his motif of radiance and light and somebody else has written it more perfectly than i ever could and you can find it right here! please give it a read, it is what inspired me to go on this little analysis of gabriel.

anyway, that's all. just a little something. feel free to add your thoughts, i would love to read them and do correct me if there's something wrong.

[sciderman]

hi sci!! i love your art!! i was wondering how you come up with and work out your plot for ask spiderpool and like where you want it to go? I like writing and drawing but i'm really bad at coming up with and sticking to a plot yk?

hi anon!! thank you!!!

nothing starts off fully formed, anon! plot is difficult - even with my fics, there's often very little in the way of plot - there's just a starting point, and then you write, and you write, and you keep writing, and you gain momentum and it eventually goes somewhere. it's constantly shifting and evolving, and it very rarely sticks to a plan.

when i started i didn't have very much of a plan other than "they're roommates. but it would be cool if they kissed at some point." and everything else kind of just followed after. their personalities and flaws and quirks just started accumulating with every ask i answered - and with every ask i answered, it started becoming clearer and clearer that they probably weren't going to kiss any time soon.

i think when i write, absolutely everything is dictated by character - and sometimes that's the enemy of plot. you might have it in your head "these characters need to go here." but wait a second. one of the characters really doesn't want to go here, and that's where you have to put in the work. plot alone is so dull without characters actively resisting - characters having faults they need to overcome to GET from a to b.

for me, the plot should exist to force the character to overcome their flaws. if the plot exists and isn't in any way tied to the character and their flaws then... god. this is why so many marvel movies and current comics really fall flat for me. i really don't care about how elaborate your plot is, and all the twists and whatever - if it isn't personal, and doesn't serve your character at all, there's - there's... what's the point?

when i started the blog, it kind of became really clear the things wade and peter needed to overcome before they can love each other - so. one. peter needs to overcome his biases and holier-than-thou attitude over wade. and wade? wade's practically a doormat, and needs to realise peter isn't some unshakeable beacon of perfection. not only that, but wade's possessive. he's greedy, and wants ownership over peter.

so what to do. what to do to fix all of that.

peter needs to screw up, betray wade's trust.

wade needs to see peter get ugly.

wade needs a moment to be truly unselfish.

to prove himself a hero.

i think maybe the best way to build out a plot is bare-bones. step one. where do you want the characters to get to. what's the end game? for that first era of ask-spiderpool, i wanted wade and peter to get together. as a couple. okay. claps hands together. what is stopping that from happening right now. and what can i throw at them to get them to overcome that.

right now on ask-spiderpool, now that they're together - the end game is adopting ellie. what's stopping them? trauma. so much trauma. i have so many scripts about ellie ready, but when i came back i was hit with the brick wall of "oh. oh god. wade needs so much therapy first. so much therapy."

so basically, all the plot is to the ends of getting wade and peter to figure their shit out before they can have the thing they want. and ouugh, they act against me all the time. sometimes to the point where i get writers block - and then i go for a run, or a swim, and my mind is hacking away at how to solve those issues.

i guess my advice is... first! what's your end goal. where do you want these characters to be? why aren't they there already? how can you forcibly push them there, kicking and screaming? there you go.

[heartfullofleeches]

Quick descriptions of my milk cow hybrid yans since it's been a while-

Eggnog [They/them] - Seamstress who lives in the attic/walls of the old farmer's house reader lives in in majority of fics. Steals clothing reader no longer uses to make into outfits for their stuffed rabbit/use as pillow cases. Timid, afraid of loud noises. The tallest of the hybrids and most soft spoken mainly due to damage to their vocal cords. Sings to reader from the attic when they upset

Cotton Candy Milk [they/them] - Town Jester. Silly and carefree, but serious about their crafts. Creates paints with their milk they use to paint portraits of reader.

Screamsicle [they/them] - Formerly known as creamsicle, Screamsicle has a love for all these spooky (and reader). Wears a pumpkin mask they never take off after an incident with humans that resulted in injury. Carrie's around a skeleton with a different name every other week and tells it secrets they'd take to the grave

Rootbeer Milk [he/him] - Cowboy cow. Tries to impress with his sharp shooting, but his aim is rather dull due to needing glasses and refusing to wear them because he thinks they're for dorks (unless reader wears them). Related to Ginger Milk

Ginger Milk [she/her] - Mechanic and owner of the junkyard in town. Loud mouthed and hot tempered, but means well. Works daily in her shop on to impress/improve reader's life and only bugs half of them

Peach Milk [she/her] - Token mean girl, but loves to spoil reader regardless. Makes creams and body scrubs for herself and reader with her milk. Older twin sister to Apricot

Apricot [he/him] - Lifeguard and the sweetheart to his sister's bitterness. Spends all his time at the lake, writing love letters he'll never send. Younger Twin brother to Peach

Milk Tea [he/him] - Town Therapist few actually go to. Stickler for rules, life of the party when wasted. Insists most of reader's problems come from having so many people around them and that they should talk to him alone

Spice Milk [he/they] - Bar owner and the shoulder most go to cry on. Offers the same kindness to reader and prays they don't mind if he does the same.

Apple Milk [They/Them] - Town Doctor. Easily and constantly stressed with work who just wants to crawl into reader's bed and never leave

Mint Milk [They/Them] - Pothead. Makes edibles with their milk they dump off on reader and others. Laid back, though extremely possessive

Vanilla Milk [she/her] - Baker. Acts holier than thou, but a freak behind closed doors.

Cherry Milk [she/they] - Skater girl. Never removes her helmet and pads as she's constantly trying to one up previous stunts and to hide her broken horn. One of the weakest hybrids, but carries a spiked bat

Strawberry Milk [he/they] - Heavylifter and caretaker of the farm/crops. Refuses to let reader use their feet when he's around and carries them around on his shoulders

Chocolate Milk [he/him] - Sherriff. Stoic and easy to anger by everyone except reader. Working on a safe room/apartment for reader in his basement. Has never been milked and refuses to be so which is part of his problem

Licorice Milk [he/him] - Probably the reason there's a need for a sheriff in the first place. Also why many human tourists never make it to their final destination. Offers to cook for reader - they'd be wise not to even drink the water/milk he gives them. Rarely speaks unless it's over the phone. Leaves reader messages that range from slightly cute to cute but only through the eyes of a cannibal cowman

Banana [she/they] - Abrasive tech wiz. Hates being touched/bothered by others - reader being their only exception. Often fixes little kinks in Ginger Milk's machinery and replaces her spyware for their own. Wants to be more open with reader, but struggles to express herself

Oat Milk [she/her] - Nun/gardener. Most avoid her, Eggnog is terrified of her. The only hybrid without a tail or horns. Plants her crops outside reader's window. They smell so sweet and speak even sweeter during full moons

[moltensmusings]

I follow some people who talk about baldurs gate 3, and the way the fandom almost largely goes out of its way to babygirl everything astarion does while refusing to give the same leniency to the far less evil characters is baffling.

I feel like Gale, Wyll, and Lae'zel are the ones who often make this the most clear. Under the cut.

Whether it's because of the glitch pre console release or just a general refusal to engage with his story, people like to paint this picture of Gale being some Narcissistic abuser who is only ever power hungry. I've seen people try and justify mystra's actions. Now even if Gale was a young adult when Mystra came to him, Mystra is his goddess. She's in charge of the weave. She had so much more power over him, student/teacher and boss/underling relationships are so looked down upon because of that inherent power imbalance. And I think there's also an implication that this is relatively normal for all versions of mystra to do to younger men.

Elminster isn't free of criticism because he actively brought a young Gale to be groomed into becoming a pawn for Mystra. Gale gets discarded by mystra for his seeming ambition and wants to move on, but is also still desperate to please her in anyway he can, and she tells him to kill himself. I don't understand how people go through his plotline and see him believing the only way he's useful is dead and then just assume he's just power hungry. Is he a bit full if himself? Yes. He's a wizard. They're like that. But he's not the worst person in the world, and he's definitely not the one people should claim as the abuser in his relationship with Mystra.

People call Wyll boring, some paint this idea of him being holier than thou/looking down on everyone around him. Since he was 17 Wyll has given his whole life to protecting people and trying to be a hero. He's self sacrificial, thrown out by his father for making a pact he only made to save the city he adores. Wyll talks so much about baldurs gate. He wants to return.

Wyll has his body altered unwillingly for doing the right thing and yet he never once regrets it. He's made into a devil, the creatures so many of the npcs and companions loathe, for his kindness. He's constantly tricked and mocked by Mizora who we know from the game was sent by Zariel to corrupt a good hearted person. Even still, Wyll is a kind and honest man. He's charming and a bit cheesy but that's fine. Wyll can be incredibly self sacrificial and stubborn in his morals, but if you're running around doing mean things to impress Astarion, you can't blame Wyll for not liking your character and judging you. He's a hero of the people, of course he'd stand with them. We also need to remember he got so heavily redone that he has barely 6 hours of in-game content now. Which is abysmal compared to everyone else.

Lae'zel was raised by a cult, a cult that spans all her people where they're taught to bow and serve a lich queen who promises them glory if they're good enough. She can be harsh and unfriendly, but we need to remember she's the one most aware of what the tadpole can do and with that in mind we know she's very desperate to get things done and cure herself. Next to astarion she's the most evil aligned origins companion, and even still so much of that is due to being brainwashed into a certain belief.

Lae'zel in canon is the youngest companion, very early 20s and it often shows. She's a skilled warrior who doesn't see the need for statements that are already obvious. She's been beaten into shape and filled with ideas that unless she's perfect as the creche commands then she is worthless. She's scared and alone in act 1 with people who most likely don't care about it the same way she does. Lae'zel is imperfect like all the other companions, but if you're willing to accept that astarion is soft under all his bluster, why can't you do the same for Lae'zel?

I don't hate Astarion, I liked him a lot my first playthrough, he was my main romance. But the way the fandom ignores that he's definitely evil in act 1 and 2 because "I just don't see him that way", how people act like he's the only character in the cast who was abused when abuse and the cycles of it are the main theme of the game, how people willfully misunderstand his ascension ending and paint it as his good one when the writers state repeatedly it's not, the way the fandom will insult and demean other characters for jabbing at astarion's trauma but applaud him when he does the same exact thing, when they ignored his racism towards gnomes and gur (which is anti Romani racism repackaged). There's also a chance that in his time, Astarion was a corrupt politician, something making his death more complicated but also adding interest to it that a lot of his fans want to ignore to make him pure.

Astarion isn't perfect, none of the companions are. And they're not supposed to be. But his special treatment by fans is becoming so incredibly tiresome to see.

[ikamigami]

They shippers stepped up their game. Now anyone who tries to discuss concerns about the incest with the big names, even no matter how calm and reasonable and Nonconfrontationally, is immediately accused of harassment, blocked, and targetted for smear campaigns and anon harassment. Also they’re still claiming the gore anons harsssing non-incest-shippers are anti-SolarNexus trying to ruin their reputation.

I see..

You know what, dear anon?

I don't fucking believe them. Those big names. I know how awful they can be and then they try to play the victim.

And honestly. I won't shut up if VAs will hire that stupid you-know-who as a writer..

I swear this shit is annoying as fuck.

They're spewing some bullshitting nonsense about Sun.

Because he abandoned Eclipse when in fact nothing like that happened. And it doesn't give an excuse for Eclipse to act like a bitch.

But I know why are they're writing it like that so they would seem good.. cause you know that they project themselves on Eclipse?

BUT NO ONE FUCKING CARES!!

They had pain looking at my takes on Sun and I was the problem.

But when these folks spew some bullshit no one cares..

I'm not sure if I should be trying to push this topic so maybe someday someone would see that.. and by that I mean Davis.. cause he has an account here..

But I have serious mental issues and I'm sure that if I tried to oppose them just like I previously did.. they're actions will definitely trigger my paranoia and delusions.. and I may spiral once again..

But at the same time.. seeing such a bullshit that shouldn't have any place keeps happening.. it makes my blood boil.. this hypocrisy.. these cliques.. all of this disgusts me..

SHIP WHOEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT BUT DON'T SAY THAT INCEST ISN'T INCEST. DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE A'OKAY PERSON WHO ISN'T IN THE WRONG "CAUSE I DON'T SHIP INCEST" WHEN YOU FUCKING DO. YOU SHIP INCEST SO STOP PRETENDING YOU DON'T. IF YOU JUST STOP ACTING LIKE HOLIER THAN THOU MAYBE PEOPLE WILL LEAVE YOU ALONE.

Ofc I don't condone harassment.. but no one would brought up the topic of solarmoon being incest if they just stopped lying..

You know what? Maybe it's selfish of me to say that but I don't want Davis to hire that person also because no one batted an eye when TS, DCTCB and one of the mods (K) were awful towards me. This is also the reason why I dislike another mod (M who makes thumbnails) because they're friends with TS and DCTCB and they never told them anything because apparently I was the problem. And also this stupid thumbnail artist (D).. why the fuck he had to be so passive aggressive towards me as if he tried to tell me something but he had to beat around the bush.. which made my paranoia and delusions worse (he was also wrong about Sun but that's beside the point)..

Ughhhh but ofc Davis had to say that maybe something good will happen to that person.. which may or may not imply that they agree to that damn offer. I am mad.

For me they don't understand characters as much as those mfs say. Though well.. Davis said he likes those analysises.. so it's probably jover 🙄

Yes someone could say that if VAs like them then it's okay and all that.

But it's not okay actually. Because they try to shift the blame on Sun who was also a victim of Eclipse not the other way around, mind you. Because poor Eclipse poo poo who people can talk about constantly and can project themselves on him constantly on Discord and no one gives a damn..

But when I'm comparing my mental struggles with Sun's then it's projection and I should shut up and why I constantly talk about Sun..

This is so fucking annoying..

You know what.. I wish that Davis would say himself that I'm the problem because then I would know that he's just like those TS, DCTCB and their friends.. or that he just believed in this utter bullshitic lies those spread about me..

And now I'm just fucking stuck in assumptions and trying to don't think negatively.. that maybe Davis isn't biased because someone is a friend of someone who he's friends with.. and I'm trying to think positively that VAs just don't know whole truth because they don't have the time to read some stupid crap on Tumblr.. but it's tiring.. especially if you're paranoid and delusional..

I want to enjoy these shows.. but if they're hire A.. then idk.. I'm afraid that it would make the writing for shows worse.. not because they can't write.. but because they don't understand characters.. and what's important for me the most they don't understand Sun..

But hey.. maybe VAs will use their help only for some small stuff.. and A won't write anything actually..

I hope so. That if VAs will hire A they won't be a part of writing team.. but maybe they'll help with minor stuff.

Maybe I'm just too stupid and too optimistic and I have too much hope in VAs.. but idk.. maybe I'm just fucking dumb.. or maybe I'm actually the problem..

I won't use main tags for show cause I'm too afraid that I'll receive harassment.

Some of the things I said here are just me being paranoid.. so please forgive me and don't take it as me thinking that VAs are horrible.. I'm just afraid that they're actually laughing at me behind my back and such..

[hismercytomyjustice]

Am I the only one constantly yelling at the tv while watching X-Men ‘97???

Just. Get fucked, Charles.

Everyone there acting like Magneto is being unreasonable and “how could he hurt all those people” blah blah like he didn’t just save y’all’s asses from extermination via Prime Sentinel.

I’m sorry but I just cannot stand Charles and his borderline suicidal idealism. He comes across as way too much of a hypocrite to me with all the horrible fucking shit he puts Magneto through. Like, bruh, you are doing worse shit to your bff than he does to his most hated enemies but you constantly proclaim yourself to be the pinnacle of morality????

You????

Ngl, this episode I really wanted to see him crunch Charles’s head with his helmet. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Charles and his X-Men just gaslighting, gatekeeping, and gainsaying him ad infinitum.

I could maybe get behind their reasoning more if they didn’t constantly act like he’s overreacting and being completely unreasonable about everything. Like, at least make an effort to meet him halfway or even a quarter of the way. 0.5% of the way.

All this boundless compassion for non-mutants that goes out the window the second another mutant disagrees with them. It just comes across as the epitome of “we’re on the side of righteousness, so the ends justify the means.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m really enjoying the show! It’s fantastic! I just cannot stand the “holier than thou” attitude the X-Men and especially Charles keep exhibiting. At least Magneto doesn’t pretend like he’s an altruistic good guy. I find him so much more relatable/real as a result.

[wendytestabrat]

a subtle kyman moment no one talks about

ok i’ve talked abt this a lot before how cartman & kyle have A LOT more in common with each other and are more similar to each other than they are to stan with a lot of moments of those two either gaining up on stan together or selling him out some good examples are “all about mormons” when they made fun of stan for being friends with gary and made all those gay jokes (wow projecting much), the obvious betrayal in “you’re getting old” & “ass burgers” when kyle replaced stan with cartman, & ofc in the black friday trilogy when stan wanted to be on the ps4 side but cartman & kyle wanted xboxes. in fact stan was the first one to initiate not wanting to be friends anymore in “south parq vaccination special”, which goes to show imo that stan is the real outsider of the group at this point and doesn’t feel supported by the other boys in the dynamic. but what i wanna talk abt is that scene in “the pandemic special” where they’re at build a bear and stan has that breakdown and cries and shit bc that was lowkey a kyman moment too but ya’ll didn’t see it. what really stood out to me in that scene was how much cartman & kyle fucking gaslit stan and made him out to be crazy….for you know HAVING NORMAL HUMAN EMOTIONS ABOUT THE PANDEMIC. it pisses me off bc stan is way more rational than cartman & kyle are and he keeps his emotions in check way more often and then puts up with all of THEIR bullshit when they’re constantly acting out and throwing tantrums like a baby in every episode, so it’s like they couldn’t let stan have this ONE moment where he got to express his feelings and act out and do something bad??? even tho cartman & kyle do dumbass reckless immature shit and act on their emotions all the time???? they make him out to be the bad guy for going to a build-a-bear that’s closed and trying to stuff a bear for butters (even tho he was just projecting his own feelings abt the pandemic) with no employees there. like bitch please, i mean yeah breaking into a closed build a bear is a dumb thing to do but cartman & kyle shouldn’t be acting like they’re the saints here bc they’re not and they’ve done WAY worse shit lol. i mean that holier-than-thou attitude can be expected of kyle but it was surprising to see it from cartman too. and there are so many moments were stan goes along with their bullshit when they wanna do something that’s illegal or fucked up, but the one time stan gets the idea to do something fucked up they’re like “noooo that’s wrong”. the part tho where cartman is literally backing up KYLE and not stan and is like “stan you really need employee assistance for this” had me like

bc u would not expect that from cartman considering he’s a sociopathic maniac so if another boy gets an idea to do something fucked up and illegal he would be totally on board LOL like how he was willing to help stan steal the baby cows in s6 but at this point in the series you can see how the chemistry between cartman & kyle has grown so strong to the point that it’s like neither of those two give a shit about stan anymore and wanna support him on anything, when before stan was like the glue that kept the group together and it seemed like cartman & kyle wouldn’t even had been hanging out with each other if it wasn’t for their mutual friendship with stan. i think that goes to show that cartman has developed A LOT and he’s become more similar to kyle and values kyle’s opinion above the other boys when the dynamic used to be more of cartman getting stan & kenny to gain up against kyle. ESPECIALLY that scene in “bebe’s boobs destroy society” where cartman suggests they kick kyle out of the group or all those times when he’s like “ok guys i guess we just have to kill kyle” LOL

[quirkwizard]

Which teams and matchups would you have wanted to see in the Joint Training Arc?

I assume you mean whole teams and not individual, one on one match ups that could be interesting. The thing is though that there are a lot of characters and potential pairings. So for the sake of this, I'm only sticking to one matchup of eight students. And for this, I won't cover any matchups I talked about before, like Mina and Kamakiri.

So to me, my prefered match up would be Ibara, Manga, Awase, and Reiko versus Shoji, Momo, Kirishima, and Mina. And while I will talk about these like they are one on ones, there'd still be plrenty of crossover between the fighters. Like Reiko could get Awase to combine items, Momo could equip Shoji with new weapons, Mina could melt through what letters Manga makes, and so on and so forth.

Awase vs Kirishima: While I could think that you could stick Kirishima with a more direct fighter like Rin, Ken, or Kamakiri but I went with Awase because it's a different kind of fight for Kirishima. Kirishima could be up Awase, but that'd easily play into Awase's hands, piling on more and more items onto Kirishima. Inversely, Kirishima could use all that extra weight to smash straight into Awase.

Mina vs Reiko: I know these two fought in the original series, but I think that the dynamic could be interesting, both against each other and as characters. We've got the extroverted alien girl and the introverted ghost girl, but their powers clash as well. Reiko has a lot more range and control over so many small items, but Mina can erode away at anything Reiko tries to throw at her. It give Reiko a chance to shine and Mina a chance to show off more of her power.

Shoji vs Ibara: Ibara can spread her vines out over a wide range, able to constrict Shoji's mobility and ability to see stuff around him. On the other hand, Shoji can easily tear through whatever vines are around him with his greater strength, even as they keep coming all around him. And the holier-than-thou Ibara fighting against the monstrous, down-to-earth Shoji? It just writes itself, even giving the chance to explore Shoji before the Final War Arc.

Manga vs Momo: "Comic" is one of the most varied and interesting Quirks among any of the classes and it's a crime that Hori barely did anything with it. So pairing him up against Momo could give it a chance to shine. Not only could he fill a similar role to her, acting as support in interesting ways, but give Momo a real challenge with own abilities given the scale and power of what he can output. It'd almost be like the mythical shapeshifter battles, with each fighter constantly pulling out new forms to counter one another.

[antariies]

Late Winter in Divinity's Reach

Summary: Winter and Urlae are invited to celebrate the Lunar New Year's festival in Divinity's Reach.

Characters: Winterlayt, Urlae Summer, Lily Summer, Verdanzy

Notes: Winter's POV (2nd person); fluff; 1.2k words; this is my 2024 secret santa red envelope gift for @ruderubicante! happy new year!

—

The charr have this theory about humans, that they insist on being so noisy all the time to make up for their dull sense of hearing. You’re inclined to believe it. You’ve only just arrived in the Crown Pavilion and the cacophony of firecrackers and joyous shrieks bombards you from every angle, unrelenting. This was a bad idea.

“This was a bad idea,” Urlae remarks, echoing your thoughts. “We should leave.”

Well, now you obviously can’t leave. That would be letting him win.

“You can leave, if you’d like,” you offer, perfectly cordial. You even give him this sort of sympathetic look you’ve been practicing.

Urlae sees right through it. “You can drop the holier-than-thou act. I know you hate this racket just as much as I do.”

Your reply is as pleasant as spun sugar and just as substantial. “Hm? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A gaggle of human teenagers rush by, and for some reason, every single one of them feels the need to knock their bony elbows into your legs as they pass like you’re some Dragon Bash piñata. “Ow,” you intone with the same lofty cadence.

Urlae crosses his arms, unimpressed. “Winter, I can see your eye twitching.”

“You should get yours checked then, Doctor.”

“You’re acting like a huge prick right now.”

“And is that your personal or professional opinion—”

“Dad! You made it!” A new voice interrupts your bickering. Urlae turns faster than you, eyes scanning in the direction of the familiar shout until he spots a young charr squeezing her way out of a sea of humans. The tension bleeds from his shoulders as his daughter makes her way over to the pair of you.

“Oh,” he murmurs, a fond smile stretching across his face, “Lily, you look stunning.”

That, at least, you can agree on. Her hanbok is gorgeous in its simplicity, consisting of a pale green chima, an even paler yellow jeogori, and as she gets closer, you spy little white flowers embroidered on the goreum. Combined with her soft, well-brushed fur, she looks like the last frost before spring, in spite of her namesake.

Speaking of spring. Verdanzy is next out of the crowd, the blue-and-orange ribbons of their hanfu fluttering wildly behind them in their hurry. Their beizi is light and delicate, long sleeves billowing around their body like a cloud.

“Hi, Uncle! Hi, Dad!” they cry, and now it’s your turn to smile. Which, to everyone else, looks like an infinitesimal uptick of the corner of your mouth. It seems like a hassle for them, having to constantly dodge lanterns and paper dragons and the occasional stray sparkler because of their height, but when they skid to a halt in front of you, it’s clear that nothing short of an apocalypse could ruin this day for them.

“Wow, Uncle,” they start, breathless, “you look great!”

Pleased, Urlae gives them a short bow. He’s wearing an áo dài himself, a long-sleeved peach-colored tunic embroidered with matching blossoms over black trousers. The whole ensemble is made of silk, and the reflection of the warm lantern lights in the fabric creates an illusion of luminescence.

“Thank you, Verdanzy. I’m glad at least you two understand the importance of dressing well,” he says, shooting you a sidelong glance.

You look down at your extra lumpy sweater. It’s a thing of beauty—in your humble and unbiased opinion—made of eye-catching (though some would say eye-searing) red and yellow wool. “I’m told these are the traditional colors. Very auspicious.”

“But not traditional dress,” Urlae says, picking at a loose bit of yarn on your shoulder. You slap his hand away.

“When did you get here? Have you eaten? Just in case you haven’t, we got something for you!” Lily manages all in one breath. “Here!”

She shoves a paper carton under your noses. Yours, literal, and Urlae’s, figurative. The gentle reminder that you two can’t eat regular food dies on your tongue when you open the container.

“...Is it human custom to eat raw meat during this festival?” you ask instead, staring down at the chilled pile of—you sniff the meat—uncooked pork.

“Nope!” Verdanzy chimes in, “We just asked if we could have some of the, uh, what’s it called?”

“Bánh chưng,” Lily provides helpfully.

“That. We asked for some of the filling before they cooked it. They didn’t even charge us.”

“You’re kind to think of us,” you say, taking the small wooden skewer that Verdanzy holds out to you. The raw pork strips are soft and marbled with fat, yielding under your teeth with surprising ease. Seasoned well with salt and pepper, but unlikely to make you sick later. It’s not bad. Urlae gives you a knowing look as he chews slowly on his own meat skewer. It’s rare the two of you get the opportunity to actually enjoy the food you eat.

“Have you two been enjoying the festival?” Urlae asks after swallowing. 

“Yeah!” Verdanzy nods fervently. “We’ve been having lots of fun at the game tables. I think one of the dealers is using loaded dice, though. I lost a handful of silver there.”

You reach for your gun.

“Dad.”

“That was humor,” you clarify, holstering your pistol. What, did they think you were actually going to shoot someone for your kid? …Hm. Unconvincing even in your own thoughts.

“I liked your joke, Uncle Winter,” Lily reassures. “And you two are just in time for the lion dancers! They’re about to start, c’mon!”

You and Urlae are unceremoniously dragged through a throng of people and all the way to the front of the crowd. Some people glare up at Verdanzy, who can’t help their height, but quickly find other places to look after catching a glimpse of your glower. A crash of cymbals and rhythmic drumming pierces the air, and cheers erupt as costumed dancers bound into the middle of the circle.

They don’t look like any lions you’ve ever seen, but what do you know? Perhaps Canthan lions are much more friendly and colorful than their Elonian counterparts. Admittedly, they’re growing on you. The puppetry is impressive, and for most of the performance you even forget that it’s two human dancers under there, and not one giant, fuzzy beast.

A little ways to your right, Lily urges a reluctant Urlae to offer a cabbage to the lion. “Quick, Dad, he’s coming back around, hold it out! He’s not going to eat it if he can’t see it—”

The lion considers the offering for just long enough that you can see Urlae’s patience wearing thin, then takes the whole head of cabbage into its mouth, making a show of chewing the vegetable with great vigor. Abruptly, it stands up on its hind legs, opens its mouth—

“This is my favorite part,” Verdanzy whispers.

—and begins spitting cabbage leaves back into the crowd. Before you can move out of the way, Verdanzy holds their arm up above your head, protecting you from being pelted by the chewed-up cabbage. To your endless amusement, Urlae is not so lucky. As soon as he peels a cold, wet leaf off his face, he’s immediately hit with another one. And another one.

“It’s supposed to bring good fortune, apparently,” Verdanzy explains, grinning. They look down at you, eyes bright with unrestrained mirth. You would give the world for them to be this carefree all the time.

“Is that so?” you say instead of voicing that thought, “I suppose I am feeling rather fortunate right now.”

“Yeah? That’s good. Happy New Year’s, Dad.”

“Happy New Year’s.”

[greyfongschemmenti]

overall thoughts on tdp??? Now that you’re done watching, which season/story-line/character (besides our iconic queen General and Aunt Amaya 👑) was your fave? Any moments throughout that you really felt or really spoke to you?

The dynamic of characters in this show is so interesting. The theme throughout the whole show is something that resonates with me because it's how I live my life. Despite what you hear about a certain group of people you should have an open mind. This is just some of my thoughts and opinions on some of the characters. There might be spoilers so read at your own risk.

I love Seasons 1-3 and if it wasn’t for the wedding preparations and scenes with Amaya. I wouldn’t have watched season 4. I felt like the whole season was complete filler. The series could’ve ended at the 3rd season and be solid. Season 4 didn’t really get my attention compared to the previous seasons. I hope the story picks up in season 5. I just need more Amaya 😭 lol

Callum starting as a kid who doesn't know where he belongs because he isn't a fighter or have anything useful to help the kingdom. He is the stepson of the king. Turns out he is a mage and he instantly knows that he wants to be a good light mage and nothing like what his former crush, Claudia is. Speaks on his character and reminds me a lot of his mom.

Ezran, such a baby doll, is quirky and awkward. Has a difficulty talking to people and has a special connection with animals. He has a kind heart and sees the good in people. He doesn't allow outside comments deter his judgement on a person. He reminds me so much of Antonio from Encanto. He is a fave for sure. He is a type of King that I would love to see in the real world.One that rules with kind and compassion instead with a drive for power or holier than thou.

Rayla being a moonshadow assassin. While Rayla claims to despise humans, on the inside she doesn't truly hate them. She doesn't see them as lesser beings than herself, unlike the rest of the elves. It causes this inner turmoil on her belief as a moon shadow assassin verses her morals. She constantly checking her morals and doing better. Willing to put her life on the line to do the right thing.

Claudia, her development was scary, I know there's some good but she continues down this dark path, that its sad. I was so hoping that she would run away with Soren. I really hope there is some way she can redeem herself in the upcoming season but I feel like she's so far down the rabbit hole that it's too deep a hole for her to come out of. The reason why I say Claudia's development is scary s because she knows she is becoming darker. Each season she is at a point where she pushes that morality further. She crosses that limit and instead of realizing ok that's enough. She knows it's bad and accepts it with no regret. Only to surpass it again the next time. There is nothing that will stop her to get what she wants.

Soren, at first I didn't care about him because he was this jerk who constantly picked on Callum, but Soren definitely grew. The first season I feel like the creators wanted us to see Soren as this idiot jock that heavily relies on his physical strength. It also didn't help that Viren and Claudia also treated him as such. As the series goes on he is so much more than that. His development throughout the series is one of the best, imo. He has this emotional intelligence that came to a surprise. He does have silly moments where he acts first but then he realizes his mistakes and changes. When Soren realized how he was manipulated by his dad. He went against his dad. This is so hard to do. He loves his dad and his sister so for him to renounce his loyalty from his family and follow the crown. Then on top of that having to go to war and the person you're fighting is your own father and sister. That hits the heart in more ways than one. His redemption arc is honestly chef's kiss. Soren is a good boi.

Amaya, my my my Amaya. She is wife. Once she appeared on the screen I had heart eyes immediately. Like I was already shopping for rings! I think I have a thing for strong stoic types who are really big softies. She's both an immovable object and an unstoppable force in battle. Amaya is thoughtful, honorable, compassionate and smart. Brutal, driven and capable. Pragmatic and adaptable. Her character design and fight choreography is stylish af. I could watch her fight it's like watching a dance. Her shield is honestly really cool and interesting design. Even though she's a tough person that flips switches so fast once she's with her nephews. She turns into this big softy that is so adorable and honestly is why I fell hard for her. She has a heart of gold and isn't afraid to jump into the line of fire to protect the people she loves. Her nephews, Gren, Janai, her soldiers, her kingdom. I could go on about Amaya.

Bait, Bait is the best. I can't get over him. He has a range of emotions and is the bestest boi. He deserves all the tarts.

Bonus:

I can't get over the fact that Amaya threw Bait in a perfect spiral throw. Bait is beauty. Bait is grace.

[oddlyhale]

I need to ask hale since you analyze ironwood:

What do the fans hate ironwood’s prosthetics limbs?

Where did the hatred for it come from? It’s not even what ironwood did anymore, they are pointing out his flaws on his body and disgusting by it.

I just saw that recent post and I just wonder where is this hatred for prosthetics coming from?

I could understand the hate for ironwood (it is bad writing of course but I understand) but hating someone for synthetic limbs to help in society is bizarre?

I mean do they hate yang for having a metal arm? What about mercury and his metal legs?

I just… I don’t understand them and their unyielding hate for that.

I don't think they even care about Yang's prosthetic arm. She's just their token disabled character that happens to be their favourite blonde and white waifu, so they'll act gallant and think others are the "real ableists" because Yang is a trash character. They don't care about being progressive, they just want to have a one-up on characters they hate.

Yang is the thing that keeps their nonexistent scoreboard high, thinking they have an advantage to speak out against everybody else who is "bigoted" while believing they have the free pass to be as ableist, bigoted and racist as they want to be.

Ironwood is constantly targeted for his triple-amputated body, wishing characters like Ruby or Pyrrha would tear him apart and make fun of him for not being whole. He's not all flesh, much to their disgust, so they humiliate him.

It's also boasted by the stupid message that Miles said when he said Ironwood "lost his humanity" after losing his arm. Completely forgetting that Ironwood knew what he was doing and sacrificed his arm anyway to stop a villain. This still makes the scene afterward, where Team RWBY is acting holier than thou about Ironwood lying to bait in Watts, look stupid.

Full stop, Team RWBY would've happily let Watts continue to be a menace to both Atlas and Mantle if it meant saving their reputation. Ironwood didn't care about public reputation, as he's said openly.

By that logic, Yang is inhuman, but the fans will pitch a fit if you try to apply that. Because somehow that "logic" Miles put out there doesn't apply to their favourite waifu.

Same as people who don't really care about Blake being a minority. They'll make up edgy fantasies about murdering Adam and Emerald gruesomely but they'll say you're a "racist bigot" if you say one mean thing about their cat wife.

If there are progressives in the RWBY fandom, they sure do like being heavily bigoted at the same time, because I always have a hard time believing progressives exist in this fandom.

Then again, many of them are longtime Roosterteeth fans, and we all know how "woke" Roosterteeth "is" after all this time, hm?

[alterrune]

Emperors Abyss

Mission 2 of 6: Golden Handshake

Details: The Toppat Radical’s had just torn up a city just so they could eliminate one of the Toppat Clan’s High Ranking Leaders, Édouard Labarthe. The city has been reduced to nothing but a warzone, and GEOGRAM Personnel is attempting to keep Édouard safe. We need the full support of the Toppat Clan for this mission. Édouard is in an armored vehicle and we are attempting to extract him by the beach via air transport. We will need 2 members of the Colorstreak Battalion in Aircraft, another 2 in Ground Vehicles, and 1 with the VIP Édouard in his personal vehicle.

Complications:

Enemies Unmarked: The Toppat Radical’s has used jammers to block out satellite links. Because of this, all allies and enemies are marked as unknown and difficult to identify to due toe time of day being night, let alone the massive storm taking place. You must manually identify Toppat Clan Members (Friendly), GEOGRAM Personnel (Friendly), and Toppat Radicals (Enemy). This goes over to ground personnel, aircrafts, vehicles, and boats.

Defend VIP: Édouard is valuable for the operation against The Toppat Radicals, he must be protected at all costs. If he dies, the mission is a failure.

Enforcers: Terence has equipped his people with protective armor and weaponry, they’re not screwing around just trying to kill Édouard, be careful and do not let your guard down.

CHAPTER 3, ACT 6: THE ABYSS DEEPENS

(Alter and Vi are in the air, Henry and Ellie are on the ground, and I'm in the VIP car defending Édouward. We marked all members of GEOGRAM and the Toppat Clan as "Friendly" before we left. However, this man is very---)

Hey! Do not ignore me! Why are you just staying silent, huh? Explain zat, mon ami!

(---yeah, that. Annoying. Annoying the ever-loving piss out of me. He's constantly trying to belittle me. And I'm about one insult before I---)

Are you deaf, you stupid fool?! I asked you to explain yourself!!!

(---y'know what? FUCK. THIS. SHIT. I immediately slam the breaks on the vehicle and turn to him with my gun aimed dead-center at his forehead.)

Unless you want to meet your maker right here and now, I suggest you shut your fucking piehole before I shut it myself.

Meep.

That's what I thought. Now, do us all a favor and SHUT UP ALREADY.

(I immediately turn the vehicle back on, but it seems as though Terence's lackeys have caught up to us. However, it seems Alter and Vi have a way to get us out of this.)

Kyle! There's a tanker up ahead of the Radical's fleet!

Shoot at it and they should scatter.

(Me, Henry and Ellie all shoot at the tankers...which EXPLODE, taking out the Radicals' vehicles. Luckily, the armored vehicles withstand the explosion and continue moving.)

Oh man, I thought it was a WATER truck...

Was that a refrence to Captain America: Civil War, Vi?

Hey, you're not the only one who can pull pop-culture references outta their ass!

Okay, we should be reaching the extraction point now! How about we have a little fun in the sun before we go?

Don't have to tell me twice, Henry! Let's go!

(Whoo boy, that took a bit, but we did it! And I got to give that snooty, hoity-toity, holier-than-thou fuckface a reality check, too, so I feel like this was worth my time. Mission accomplished, bitches.)

CHAPTER 3, ACT 6 COMPLETE!

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "Beach Party"

DISPLAYING EPILOGUE...

What do you mean, "Édouward escaped"?!

Just what I said, sir.

You bloke. I oughta choke you out and fuckin' replace you with someone who can do better.

Jerry. Why am I not suprised you're with him...?

(As if by magic, Earl Grey appears, who wasn't expecting to see his brother working with Terence, but isn't terribly suprised by it.)

Earl, get out of my sight. I am not your brother anymore.

Oh, trust me, feeling's fucking mutual. After you betrayed GEOGRAM the way you did, I have a hard time considering we were EVER related.

What the hell are you---

(Earl holds up his hand as if to say "Silence, I'm still talking.")

But, I digress. I'm here to deliver this to Terence. A note, courtesy of the Colorstreak Battalion. The five of them have asked you all to go fuck yourselves. Goodbye, Jerry, you disgrace of a brother.

(Earl leaves as Terence unfolds the note.)

Hey, Terence! We're currently enjoying a day at the beach, sipping some beverages and enjoying some food here, celebrating YOUR latest loss at our hands. If you really think you can win this, then buckle up, motherfucker. Because this ride's about to get real bumpy.

Hope to see you in hell,

Kyle Gibbons ✍🏼

Alterrune 🔺

Violet Wolfsbane 💜

Henry Stickmin 🔵

Ellie Rose 💕

(Terence crumples up the note in anger, then tosses it in his jacket pocket.)

GODDAMNIT! Alright, c'mere, Jerry. You're gonna initate the next part of our plan.

But, sir, we don't exactly know what's ahead of us and---

DID I STUTTER, YA DAFT FUCKER?! GET OFF YA FUCKIN' DUFFS, GET ON YA FUCKIN' KNACKERS, AND GET TA FUCKIN' WORK!

YES SIR!!!

(Jerry hasn't seen Terence snap like that before. Whatever is going on is leaving Terence in a worse mood than usual...but just what could it be?)

I SAID---!

YES SIR, I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!

(Finding out what it is, however, will clearly have to wait until Terence is in a better mood.)

END OF EPILOGUE

[cannibalismyuri]

coming out as a passive jopper hater bc the insane level of capitalist pandering they did with s3 (with ERICA who is like. one of the worst, stereotyped portrayals of a black girl ive ever seen, bless her heart) was truly crazy. combine that with the copaganda and the general attitude of hopper in s3 which was played off as 'awkward loser guy doesnt know what to do with Feelings more at 8' was a bit .... Eh :/ to me. because it is so obviously a fictional character and show but like. disliking hopper/jopper bc of the ideals st is perpetuating and the fact that they arent compatible at All in s3 (to me, atleast) is valid. some ppl might just think that jopper is unhealthy and/or 'overrated'. because they do sort of pay a disproportionate amount of attention to jopper, compared to the other canon romantic ships (afaik, bc of the screen time counter) and that can be Weird, esp with the... how should i say this? balancer/savior role hopper takes in the relationship (we constantly see him placating joyce, sometimes even being slightly patronizing, and also they place a lot of importance on him saving joyce from a lot of stuff, which is cool and sick if it wasnt for the fact that it directly correlates with him being a cop, yk). and the general power imbalance bc he's a Cop and abuses his position of power constantly, and that is exactly Why anything that joyce does is seen as a #insane girlboss category 5 woman moment because she simply has the short stick in the power race and when she does manage to make an impact DESPITE her economic/social/'general uselessness in say in Major decision-making when it comes to authorities' shortcomings it is seen as an amazing win. hopper on his own is extremely fleshed out as well, because we get to see his arc play out with his relationships with his daughter and ex-wife and el and re-learning how to be a parent and how to not let love allude him, and that is lovely! it's so great to see the adults in the show being focused on! but joyce is absolutely disregarded and underdeveloped as a character of her own right outside of her relationships with hopper or her kids. we see that she is determined and a force to be reckoned with and that she cares very deeply for the people she loves and would go to insane lengths for them but all that doesn't Mean anything, because we never see a backstory for her. we never figure out who she is without her family or hopper, or what her motives and aspirations and emotional shortcomings and stumbles and mistakes are. for a character to be fully fleshed out, they need to be an interesting, refreshing and palatable character On Their Own without their relationships with other characters, and we just don't see that with joyce. like u have Thee winona ryder on ur show, and u forsake developing her character in favor of developing hopper's character with /not the best taste/ and causing her to be a blank slate of a mother, lover, woman and friend, but not a PERSON. all she's been reduced to is a Mother and Hopper's Girlfriend, and honestly, that's the worst decision they could've made in relation to her and her relationship with hopper.

anyway, all this to say; these are my thoughts on the matter, but i'm definitely not hating on people who enjoy jopper passively and DEFINITELY not any by/ler (the most predominant fandom im part of in the parent fandom of st) who enjoys them as a ship with their own dynamic separate from canon. because the by/ler fandom is NOT a monolith and nobody is obligated to agree with me or change their opinion if it doesn't align with mine or be forced to look at my opinion and feel bad for shipping anything. im not going to act Holier Than Thou for expressing my opinion and u should definitely continue shipping jopper if it makes u happy! as long everybody recognizes the copaganda and capitalist mindset grind propaganda shit in st (which is Pretty Obvious) and respects that while shipping what they want, i have no problem with it. all that is to say; peace and fucking love. can we (the by/ler fandom) stop fighting abt jopper we all have our own opinions this is bc we are Not a hivemind or a monolith and not obligated to have the same opinions relating to all aspects of st just because we happen to ship one thing. i am a hater and a lover

[tenaflyviper]

I am so done with conservatives/republicans trying to play the victim while being the problem.

"They were arrested for PRAYING!"

No, they were arrested for blocking others from accessing health care. Mind your own business, and this wouldn't happen.

"They were arrested for walking through the capitol!"

We've seen them on video beating a cop with the flag.

"Trump is being wrongfully prosecuted!"

Maybe he shouldn't have committed all that fraud. Or lied about his property values. Or stolen boxes of classified documents. Or committed treason. Or grabbed women by the crotch like he OPENLY ADMITTED TO.

"Christians are being persecuted!"

No, it's called "free speech", you dried turd. Whether it's a music video or criticism online, it's protected by the 1st Amendment.

There are more churches in America than hospitals. Consider that maybe people are sick of the literal "holier than thou" attitude so many of you exhibit, as well as the rampant bigotry, racism, and sexism. Also, christianity was spread using oppression and violence in the first place.

"The alphabet people and minorities already get special privileges! What rights don't they have??"

It disgusts me to no end that these people act like they're the victims of the marginalized groups they constantly harass, bully, and even assault just because those people are standing up for their rights. They whine about why they're not allowed to make others' lives miserable for reasons they didn't choose.