#her actions have consequences

[sillygoofyqueer]

*sprints up to you, taking a moment halfway to hunch over and gasp for breath before continuing, then grabs you by the shoulders* THEY ARE IN MY FUCKING BRAIN. THEY WON'T GET OUT. THEY'RE LIKE PARASITES, EATING AWAY AT EVERY OTHER PART THAT DOES NOT BENEFIT THEM AND I AM SCA- anyway, more mad scientist AU, anyone?

Wei Ying is covered in Wen Zhuliu's blood. He stands to face the Wen guards, so one of them basically immediately grabs Xue Yang and holds their blade to his neck so they can have a hostage against Wei Wuxian, who obviously drops Suibian when this happens because Xue Yang cannot be hurt. Xue Yang looks more than ready to fight his way out of this, but Wei Ying will not drag him down with him, and so he starts raving like a lunatic, making sure that it's obvious to these moronic guards that Xue Yang still has no idea about the lies of the Wen. He's grabbed by four guards, struggling and kicking around as he screams about how they are lying murderers, how much blood is on their hands and how they are literal monsters. Although he like, knows what he's doing, he is still in the throes of his qi deviation and this is more just not holding back his thoughts.

As he is dragged through the halls, the gore and blood still covering his hands, staining his robes and dripping from his hair and face, he doesn't even notice the people watching him go with many different expressions and sobs and screams. Xue Yang is trying to follow, a few guards needed to hold him back as he snarls out threats of death if they hurt Wei Ying - he can't hide the genuine panic in his voice, though. The terror. Xue Yang has above all always been that little street rat that Wei Ying found on the streets and picked up just because he saw something in him, and a street rat is not something that has many things that it can call its own. When it does have something, it can get possessive. Xue Yang is more than possessive with his few things, and Wei Ying is something that he sees as - not his, exactly, but someone that he is extremely loyal towards because Wei Ying loved and cared from him before he was useful. Now he is being taken away from him.

There is chaos and panic, Wen Ning and Wen Qing come sprinting to see what the fuck is happening, yanking Xue Yang back and gathering bits of information while trying to calm him down. Wen Qing is the only one allowed to go after Wei Wuxian as the resident doctor, sprinting through the halls to get to the throne rooms, where Wei Wuxian is still screaming. Of course, he's not coherent at this point, and any attempts to talk to him are unsuccessful - so, Wen Ruohan, being who he is, just immediately moves straight past the taunting and instead moves to the punishment, which is of course a beating so bad that Wei Wuxian passes out partway through it. This is Not Good for someone going through a qi deviation and Wen Qing is horrified by what's happening but she can't do anything because they won't let her. All she can do is stand there and watch as he is whipped and broken and beaten for finding out the truth that she had to keep from him.

After Wen Ruohan is satisfied with what he sees as payback for killing their best weapon, then comes the question of what to do with him. He's basically useless now, especially after finding out that he has been in contact with one of the fucking Nies for far too long now (another reason to put them at the top of the hit list), and he would not do anything for them no matter how they forced him. Xue Yang has been watching Wei Wuxian work, he would be a good replacement (as if Xue Yang understands the code Wei Wuxian scribbles away his personal notes in, as if he would ever help those that took his gege away), and so Wei Wuxian is quite literally unimportant. The sect leader looks over the information displayed in front of him and decides that the best course of action would be to get rid of the boy in a way that wouldn't allow him to return as a resentful spirit (the cleansing rituals were of course never done upon him, he worked with resentment for gods' sake).

So, they decide to let Wei Wuxian waste away in the biggest source of resentment in the Jianghu, a fitting end to a boy raised with the sole purpose of utilising and controlling the very same thing. Wen Qing knows that this is a death sentence for Wei Ying. She knows that there is nothing she can do to save him; even if he is conscious by the time he is thrown into the Burial Mounds, he is incredibly injured and will likely not even survive the fall, let alone the resentful spirits that will lunge upon him like the defenceless prey that he is. However, that does not mean she won't allow him to die without any respect. While everyone else is distracted with getting ready for the quick trip to the Burial Mounds - and dealing with Wen Chao's bitch fit over wanting to go along - Wen Qing is legging it across the palace, even ignoring Wen Ning and Xue Yang when they notice her and rush over to ask questions.

She slams into Wei Wuxian's experimenting rooms, ignoring the gore and just rushing around the room with a qiankun pouch that had been abandoned on one of the desks. She grabs random piles of notes and his favourite books, the ribbon that had belonged to his mother, the blanket that he claimed had been 'the best because Wen-popo made it for me!', and of course making sure to clean Suibian before it goes into the pouch again. Anything she can get her hands on that speak of who he was, an attempt at honouring who he was before his death. A vague nod towards traditional burial practices. Then she's sprinting back across the palace, skidding into the throne room and acting like she was just grabbing more needles to keep Wei Wuxian unconscious as she goes about examining him for 'medical purposes', slipping the qiankun pouch into his inner robes when she's certain nobody else is looking.

Wei Ying wakes up as they are hovering above the Burial Mounds, writhing with pain and stripped down to his inner robes because he does not get to wear the Wen colours anymore. Wen Chao, who got his way and is watching in excitement, tells him that this is what he gets for being an arrogant traitor, that he was always just a pathetic son of a servant pretending to be someone more than he actually was. Wei Ying looks upon him with indifference even through the agony he is in, and tells him that he pities him, the words slurred and eyes unfocused. This fucking infuriates Wen Chao, and he decides that he's bored of waiting, telling the Wen disciples holding Wei Wuxian to drop him, watching as the boy flails around in panic as he falls, the scream echoing before it is devoured by the Burial Mounds.

Wei Ying hits the ground, and takes his final breaths. Or, well, what should be his final breaths. However, the Burial Mounds notices this human, this boy, and can sense the resentful energy crawling through his body, somehow curling and flowing with the strong golden core spinning in his lower dantian. This boy is like It. The Burial Mounds cannot let a sentient being like Itself die, so It opens Its arms to him. It will not let him die. Does not. It will stitch him back together, just until the bright golden core can start its work and do it properly. It would keep the boy alive.

[symposiumlover]

[undeadlaudna]

Had a horrible thought -

What if - Imogen cannot maintain control. Predathos takes over completely. They have to fight their friend, their girlfriend. Its long. Its tough. Its hard. But they do it. Predathos goes down.

Imogen's body remains, cold, lifeless. They beg someone to heal her, resurrect her.

But no Gods answer their call. They just released something to destroy the Gods, so why would any God answer their pleas?

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girl found dead in a hidden room.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[theaologies]

Anyway one of my fave things about the Emily Wilde series is any time someone’s like “Emily is right” and Emily’s like “I know I am???” Like just completely matter of factly without any pretentiousness I love a woman who means zero harm but cannot read social cues to save her life (LITERALLY)

[kodzukay]

mene tame‎‎ 🤝 azul ashengrotto

their opinion of the‎ exceptional top student‎ who they envy going from "i‎ want to be u" to "I WANT YOU."

idk‎ who this bundle of sticks thinks he is….comparing himself to a butterfly even tho butterflies can actually get off the ground‎ and fly.,,.

original mv

[superbat-lmao]

Bruce Wayne dies, and like a prayer, Jason Todd returns to Gotham. Always too late.

He never followed his plans or became Red Hood, instead finishing his schooling and traveling for a while with Talia to stay in shape. He and Damian on and off text or call, but they both know the other is living the way they need to. They’ll always be there, but sometimes you need your own space to figure out what you really want.

When Dick takes up the mantle and Damian becomes Robin, Jason takes a posting at Gotham University and rents an apartment in the alley. Damian comes to visit and Jason tells him stories, as many as he can remember. The kid wanted to know his Dad, after all.

They don’t tell the others. Instead, grieving the loss of their Father together. When Jason came back to Gotham he expected anger. Now he just feels lost.

It’s completely on accident that Dick learns his identity. He gets a call one night from Damian, not panicked but alert. He’s calling for backup because Batman was shot.

Jason has the two of them in the back of a stolen car and makes it all the way past the security of the Batcave before he really comes to his senses. It’s a bit of a clusterfuck after that, between Alfred and Leslie trying to prioritize Dick while interrogating the imposter until they’re satisfied he’s just Jason. Their Jason.

And maybe it gets a little better. Jason has to go out as Batman until Dick’s back on his feet, so he and Damian patrol together and come home to Alfred and Dick. He goes to see Babs at the Clocktower and she introduces him to his sister, Cass, one of the few people Damian speaks highly of.

It’s different, and weird, and he and Dick have a couple of fights. But it could be worse. Slowly but surely, they figure things out. Try to move on.

And then Tim comes home and like a prayer, Bruce Wayne is alive again. Always too late.

[britcision]

So I’ve for sure mentioned this before but I have one rule when it comes to dnd that is applicable across all rpgs in general, and is it called the “Your Actions Will Have Consequences” rule

And the rule itself seems obvious:

A player wants to do something.

Maybe being silly, maybe being edgy, maybe just being a pain in the ass because they can… but because of what they’re doing/who they’re doing it to…

Well. It’s in the name.

This action will have consequences.

And I do not just tell them this ahead of time, because that did not work. No.

The player must Repeat Back To Me the key phrase: “This action will have consequences”. At least twice.

And then I ask them. “Do you still wanna do it?”

And every single time so far. The answer has been yes.

And every single time so far. Without fail. There have been Consequences. And the player who repeated those words back to me has looked at me like ShockedPikachu.jpeg.

So far? It has been little things.

The changeling has been outed to one of the BBEGs that may/may not fight the party (depending on other Actions That Will Have Consequences).

(Player didn’t know this buuuuut he has True Sight and has always known she was a changeling so really it’s just that she knows that he knows now but oh BOY it made “guess what page of the Boyfriend Brochure he’s on” fun for a day)

(They have not yet identified him)

One of the rogues stope from an ancient silver dragon, who the party had to bribe with a new painting.

If it’s a big, story affecting thing, they’re gonna have to repeat it back to me four or five times.

And the purpose of this rule is not so that the players won’t do things I don’t want them to do! (It clearly does not work for this purpose.)

The purpose of this rule is that when the Consequences rear their lovely heads, and the players shock their pikachu, I look at them and I remind them:

“Repeat after me. My actions had a consequence.”

And then they remember exactly how and why this is happening and the fun thing they did to get there and we have a giggle and they decide if it was worth it.

It’s basically to cut off any “oh that’s not fair” or grumbling when Consequences ensue and it’s great fun.

[ryuki-draws]

They crash your graphic software and then give you this look

[odo-apologist]

Currently really into the specific category of sci-fi media about an isolated group of five people being put in Situations and really going through it

[teyrnacousland]

Okay, I'm going to talk about the Illario comment from the AMA. This one:

It frames Illario in a way that feels like he deserves everything that happened because he is Bad. Viago, Teia, and Lucanis (and Caterina????) are Good and Illario is Bad. Illario had to be kept in check, because he is Bad. Lucanis belittles Illario because he is Bad. Caterina never respected or cared for Illario because he is Bad.

The idea that the reason Illario was treated the way he was is because everyone around him could just tell he was just inherently Not As Good As Them in some way is an awful thing to suggest, but it's also a bad storytelling choice, because it's boring? Illario is a tragedy, he's not a kids' cartoon villain. He's a victim of his circumstances, a victim of favoritism, a victim of abuse. It doesn't absolve him of his own choices (crimes), but it does explain them. In a way that is way more interesting, and tragic, and satisfying than just "well he was Bad all along".

BUT ALSO Illario isn't even that bad? Before *this*, what is the worst thing Illario has ever done? His job?? Is his crime not developing an abundance of empathy and altruism in an environment that was literally intentionally designed to turn him into a ruthless killer?? He is pretty selfish and only cares about himself and his family (which is, again, exactly how he was raised to be), but just because he isn't "good" doesn't mean he's evil.

In The Wigmaker Job when Lucanis asks him to, he rounds up the slaves and gets them to safety even though he thinks they should kill them because they're witnesses. Lucanis says he trusts Illario, says he "may be a snob, but he's true to his word", and he IS! Illario could have just left them and made up some excuse, and the only consequence would have been Lucanis being mad/disappointed, but he didn't. Both Lucanis and Teia mention that he is the one who follows Lucanis and helps put out all the proverbial fires Lucanis starts. Illario doesn't have to put up with any of this. He chooses to follow Lucanis, and chooses to help people when Lucanis asks him to. He's not evil, he is very explicitly neutral.

Because while Illario doesn't have empathy for strangers (which is a survival thing! He can't feel empathy for people he has to kill them! Lucanis is an anomaly) he has an abundance of it for Lucanis. He worries about Lucanis, he cares about Lucanis! He resents Caterina's treatment of not only himself, but Lucanis too. He wouldn't send someone he loves out to die on dangerous missions, and part of him resents that Caterina does it to Lucanis. ("If I was in charge, you wouldn't have to do this anymore.")

And, genuinely, if Caterina had spontaneously decided to retire to some remote island somewhere after The Wigmaker Job and leave Illario in charge, what would happen? What horrible crimes would an "unchecked" Illario have unleashed upon the world that Caterina had to protect us all from? Firing Lucanis? Honestly probably not even that, since it's more likely he'd play up his own rashness in an attempt to convince Lucanis that he most definitely should not leave Illario unattended and should instead stay safe and sound by his side, since that's the tactic he uses to convinced Lucanis to join him in this note ("Would you truly leave me to my own devices? What would I do without you!")

Illario isn't a bad person, and Caterina wasn't "keeping him in check" oh my god.

[bigmoon-is-bigwife]

Ros wants to punch and hit people so bad and everyone is having to hold her back from going after Eloise because Eloise is low enough level there's concern she could accidentally kill her. There is a reason people say she's violent and kills low level people and it's genuinely funny that she can't understand why 😭

[fictionisthebetterreality]

Me: Yeah I like Mass Effect a normal amount.

Also Me: Did EDI know that she was going to die? Did she see the possibility, one of a thousand simulations, subroutines running like dreams in the back of her mind? Did she tell Jeff? Or did she feel the Crucible wave catching up to the ship as it was happening, feel its hungry claws reaching for her synthetic synapses, her circuitboard heart? Did they get to say goodbye? Was there time for her to give him a message? Say Thank You, Jeff, I'll always remember you, Jeff, Jeff, I love you- Or did he look over, start calling her name, only to see the blank shell of what used to be his love? Did they hold a funeral for her? Bury her body in the foreign earth of a planet scorched by the heat of their crashing ship (her true form)? Did he ask Shepard afterwards? Did he ask her if she knew, knew what would happen when she made that choice? Did she reply? Did she tell the truth, or lie, her tongue burning like a thousand suns because she is too far broken, too cracked with guilt and grief, to force herself to risk another? Kaiden, Ashley, Mordin, Thane, Miranda, Anderson, EDI - surely another would destroy her beyond repair, so does she lie? Does she crush yet more bodies beneath her boots, saying No Jeff, I would never-

[kestrel-of-herran]

i don't think having both markhelly and markgemma or a throuple can ever be a narratively satisfying resolution btw. there's no perfect everyone gets their cake ending that isn't flat. everything needs to have a price in narrative to be grounded (realistic in terms of plot logic), and the price of severing to deal with gemma's loss is (shocker) dealing with gemma's loss.

[swordscleric]

I think as a result of their indecision, general dithering on every possible decision and inability to provide a single sliver of rationale behind the actions they have taken, I personally don't think we can judge Bell's Hells on whether or not their decisions are moral or not. Have they wishy-washily and passively avoided every hard question that could have been asked of them? Yes; but that speaks to a lack of interesting ideas and a lack of curiosity on their collective behalf in dealing with the scenarios set before them. I think if we judge them on anything it is the consequences of their actions (or inaction). Realistically, I reckon (depending on how releasing Predathos goes) they will be treated in a similar way to how someone like Vespin Chloras was treated by history - a damned fool whose actions lead to the annihilation of civilisations, the destruction of millions of lives and as such has been (rightfully!) condemned by Exandrian history as one of its greatest villains. Our softening of our view as a fandom on Vespin comes from his editing of Zerxus' pact to save the world from the rage of the Primordials. I think his actions, typical of the Age of Arcanum, echo Ludinus' fatal ideological folly in assuming that they would lead to prosperity due to a change in the divine structures of Exandria; Bell's Hells, having followed Ludinus' plan to the letter, now risk becoming as big of villains as Vespin Chloras for even worse reasons - a total lack of imagination and a deep unwillingness to engage with any hard question that would force them to face their lack of interiority as a party.

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Imagine you're Mr. Wu and your weird gay daughter runs away in tears after destroying some unespecified object while yelling about you ruining her life. Because you told her you'd be moving to another state. This is the last time you see your daughter in half a year, and when she comes back, she comes back... wrong. She's wearing a light leather armor, a fur-lined cape, and a green flower crown. She has two long scars, one alongside her spine and the other along her chest, the tissue around them covered in burn scars. Doctors say she shouldn't have survived. Doctors say she didn't. Yet she's right here, in front of you, hospital gown clinging to her small, fragile, trembling frame. She fidgets with her hands. Getting her to stay still has always been difficult, but now it seems impossible. She won't let go of her phone. She's always texting her two friends. When you take it away, she gets anxious. You always knew those damn phones cause kids to act weird, but your kid having a panic attack seems too extreme, even for her. Then again, she's always been odd. Nowadays, she wakes up crying and screaming almost every night, and you realize she's been stealing her phone from your bedside drawer every night to text her friends, returning it before you wake up. You catch her once and decide to give her that damn phone back. It's the only thing that calms her down, as if she were a baby with a pacifier. She spends her last weeks in LA clinging to her friends, having sleepovers and playing her weird board games with them. Everytime they drop her back at her house, there's an excessive amount of hugs and tears. But the moments when they call her, or when she leaves to meet with them, or when they show up at their door to pick her up... those are the only moments in which you see her happy. One of her friends, the rude and disobedient one, came back with a big scar on her face. She's been acting a lot nicer, though. The other one too. She acts a great deal more adult now. You doesn't know what happened or where your daughter went. She won't tell you. But you can tell this friendship is the only thing keeping her afloat right now. Maybe you know, deep down, that no one else would understand.

And then you decide to move anyway because fuck her amirite