#i may or may not have cried just a little bit

[tgrailwar-zero]

hm... a story to spark the heart huh... I want to try something light and fluffed up a little bit... maybe a lot... (ahem)...

Not so long ago, there was an Emperor clad in black and magenta. He was fighting in a war, and had been given a mission to retrieve treasure from a God alone. On his way there a confused wraith appeared, scared and not knowing where they were! No one could see or hear their cries; but the noble man was different. His kind heart heard their panic and spoke to them. Once calmed, the Emperor invited the lost Wraith on his quest to find the treasure!

On the way to the temple, the Emperor told about the Wraith about the treasure he sought, a magical key that could grant its holder power, and soon they arrived at the foot of the God's lair! The God was good natured and joyful, but still sent one of her familiars - a dinosaur! - to attack the Emperor as a test of strength and skill! Swift on his feet he gallantly mounted the familiar and rode it all the way to the top of her temple!

The God's smile was like the sun itself, impressed by the Emperors boldness and speed, she offered him the key and two other gifts - a feather and pulque. The Wraith cheered for the Emperor's victory, and they celebrated by downing the pulque in one gulp! After the celebration the Wraith faded away- but promised they would return to quest with their new friend again some day.

You stand before the tank, and place your hand against it. Your magic scatters petals, and your voice speaks. Speaks of stories of the past, both recent and the far distant. Memories, fairy tales, legends, fables, and the blurred lines between them all. You speak of a humanity far, far away and of a humanity closer than one could imagine.

And you try to connect this warrior to where you currently reside.

The Solar Cell.

A fool's paradise. A paradise of fools. A paradise made by fools.

Home to a nascent species, born purely by chance, being given a chance at existence. A chance to exist in a manner that goes above their predecessors.

To magi, this place would be considered a miracle. A place where phantoms of the past and children of the future work together to create a new humanity.

And yet, conflict simmers.

Conflict driven by desperation.

Conflict driven by idealism.

Conflict driven by fate.

Conflict created by a clash of ideals.

Whatever is built will be destroyed. Whatever is destroyed will be rebuilt. A vicious cycle, as faction upon faction, individual upon individual, tries to proclaim that they are 'just', each one missing one fragment of the whole picture as they rush towards their preferred ending.

That's what people strive towards as they fight, an 'ending'. The final page, the 'game clear', a shout of 'congratulations'.

The ability to fight for an 'ending', that is one's right.

Good ends, bad ends, happy ends, sad ends.

Or, even that unattainable 'golden ending'.

That fantastical 'shining ending' for everyone.

...Of course, such a thing is only possible in fiction.

A consequence-free world is an impossible world. Reality does not work that way. For someone to win, someone else has to lose. Only in fairy tales does the knight slay the evil dragon and save the princess, and only in reality does one imagine what would happen if the dragon was truly slain, and what it would mean for the world.

However, for the sake of convenience, let's say that this world that you're observing is a 'story'.

Well, certainly the idea of a 'golden ending' would seem even more ridiculous. Consider this, dying to a heroine? Twice? A different would-be heroine both times? What kind of twisted tale is this?

Ah… that's right. This is a twisted tale.

You sit amongst the shattered remains of a 'bad end'.

The main players have been taken off the board, and so you have taken the reins in order to give this world-- this 'story'-- worth.

However, as broken as this world may be, that also means that this world can be fixed, as it's still being observed as a 'story'.

Therefore, those efforts you've made have not been for naught. Like the beating wings of a butterfly, each action has created an effect, and shaped the world in ways deeper than one could imagine.

And eventually, as those choices begin to pile behind you, you'll be faced with a question.

'What does your happy ending look like?'

…Though perhaps that's jumping the gun right now.

Perhaps it is too far away to be imagined.

Rather than the 'end', let's focus on the 'now'. The 'here and now', to be exact.

After all, to anyone, this place would be a miracle. A place where phantoms of the past and children of the future work together to create a new humanity in this place.

And you, as the vestiges of the 'present', have chosen to make your mark as well.

So, another question comes forth. What will this story become?

Will it be a comedy?

A tragedy?

A 'good end' or a 'bad end'?

A 'dead end' or a 'golden end'?

Regardless…

These stories, these tales of fate, all share a common thread. And thus, as the story begins its third cycle, perhaps it should follow tradition.

And thus, we find ourselves back within the laboratory.

You place your hand against the tube as the mechanism is released, and you speak. You recount. You connect.

The mechanism is released, and the figure drops to the ground, his posture placing him into a kneel as he catches himself, the color beginning to return to his form.

The back of your hand begins to burn. A sharp, scorching pain as emblems are emblazoned upon it.

And yet, this pain feels right.

This pain means you succeeded.

Your mana surges, a feeling that you have not felt for what feels like ages.

You look upon him.

A swordsman, strong-shouldered, clear-eyed, and regal in stature stands before you amongst the scattered petals. You've seen many Servants in your time, each one different than the last. The great variations found within the consistent patterns of history and stories.

This knight, with shining armor and proud bearing says--

"I ask of you…"

"...Are you my Master?"

[grasshopperdoingdogpaddle]

Out of the 4 monks, can you rank them from most to least emotional?

I think all the monks are extremely emotional, and basically equally so. They just express it differently.

They're kids on the cusp of puberty with this major power and responsibility that they're struggling to handle as they're coming of age. All four of them have very little emotional intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence. (Clay shoves his many emotions into a jar-- this is not emotional intelligence, though it may resemble it.)

Fung's genuine, mature stoicism is meant to be a contrast to all of them. (Though Fung initially lacked interpersonal intelligence.)

For example, despite her temper being what Kimiko's known for, there are a lot of times when Omi and Raimundo's tempers are just as sensitive and explosive as Kimiko's, if not way moreso. And the boys are honestly worse at reigning it in than Kimiko, who actually wants to temper it, while Omi and Raimundo take lashing out during their fits of anger farther than Kimiko ever does. So I wouldn't even call Kimiko the angriest monk. Clay takes way longer to push to the tipping point and rarely lets anger take the wheel, but that's not because he doesn't get mad; he definitely does.

Omi cries the most throughout the series out of the monks, but Raimundo cries quite a bit as well and probably comes in second, and comes very close to crying a lot of times too. Kimiko comes in third because tears aren't her automatic emotional response like anger is. Omi's the most prone to tears, but not the most easily saddened. (He just gets traumatized the most out of the four.)

And of course, they monks are all pretty uproarious in their moment of joy. Omi's the most excitable due to his latent hyperactivity, but they share their joys.

Clay's very emotional as well, he's just extremely repressed. He feels a burst of anger or sadness or elation coming, he hits behind the brim of his hat or changes the subject. He's just good at reading himself and knows when to suppress, but he visibly suppresses a lot, and actively suppressed or hidden emotional responses are still emotional responses.

Though if you want an example of the character I'd rank as the most emotional in the series, I'd say Dojo.

[asimpleslothy]

went to see six for the second time today and i have SO many things to say about the all you wanna do choreo

[gwenmontrose]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share a little "Golden Love moment" that happened in real life.

Last night, Italy won the Olympic gold medal in the women's team épée. One of the athletes of the team, Rossella Fiamingo, is the girlfriend of an Italian swimmer, Gregorio Paltrinieri, who had his 800-meter freestyle final at the exact same time she was competing for the gold. He finished in third place, earning his fourth Olympic medal.

(By the way, fun fact: I was mainly inspired by him for my James in Golden Love. Ngl, he's a bit of a hero for me, one of my favourite swimmers ever, gold medallist in Rio 2016. Also: very, VERY good looking, lol)

Neither of them was able to watch the other's competition, but at the end of the day, they posted a photo together on Instagram with their medals.

That's it. I love them ❤

(Also, all this Olympic talking is making me think about Golden Love and maybe a sequel...? Idk, let's see if I can write down something quick!)

[sketchbook-of-shadows]

Life was good before the ending of Still Wakes the Deep

[lordofthesoups]

AHHHHH THEY ARRIVED!!

Honestly this comic means so much to me I’m so glad i was able to support its transformation into books form!!

If you havent read the glass scientists you are missing out!

A little ramble about how much i love this comic and what it means to me if you are interested:

I started reading this comic in november 2021. I read the original book when i was 13 and proceeded to hyperfixate on it and read lots of other Victorian horror literature, going so far as to later steal my name from a side character from the portrait of Dorian Gray. So when via scrolling on Pinterest i found images of the comic, i was instantly hooked and read it all in one. On the first of January my dad walked out on me and my mum. My self being a very confused and angry teenager spent a lot of the first months of 2022 feeling utterly rejected and a mess, throw in the fact that i was struggling with constant pain from migraines caused by long covid, back issues and crippling dysphoria i was not the most well put together person. I barely made it through the first few months with-ought breaking into tears once a week. Thats where the glass scientists came in:

I loved this comic (still do). It became the highlight of my week and motivated me to get through school and general life because i knew i would have it waiting for me on a Monday afternoon. Im honestly just so thankful to Sadge and for this comics existence it kept me going through a really tough time in my life and im just so so grateful it exists and also really really exited to get my hands on a physical copy!!!

Ramble over: READ THE GLASS SCIENTISTS!!! (Please)

[apricote]

farewell cutie. 💔

[unadventurousjulie]

so few, so proud, so emotional

hello, clancy

[zemnarihah]

pretty sure i have a kidney infection but i think everything is gonna be okay

[okkennymay]

JFC TIMING BODY PLEASE-

I really, really should’ve seen that one coming.

Now I hope to heavens I haven’t just jinxed myself for tomorrow, but MAN I’M IN JUST SUCH A GOOD MOOD- I GOT THROUGH MY DANGER DAYS WITH MINIMAL BULLSHIT 👏👏👏 When you got a chronic illness (or illness’s), you gotta take the victories where yah can ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

[orcelito]

Little Tally has been plodding around and she was trying to get into a box earlier and she later came up to me and stared at me expectantly then later tried to eat my plants again and just now she came up to sit next to me purring again and leaning into my pets

The medicine really is making her feel better I think. And it's really highlighting how bad she Has been feeling. Bc these are all very basic things, but she hasn't been doing it. Even up to her little walk, the plodding sounds of her footsteps... before today, she was moving so stiffly, an awkward little shamble, so I couldn't even really hear her when she got up (which was nowhere near as much as normal). Something as simple as hearing her drinking water is making me emotional. If she starts yowling tonight when I go to bed I really might just cry.

I really hope this keeps up... she's got just one more day of meds, but maybe it'll be enough... I hope so...

[lestrodamus]

Going to commit some atrocious crimes. I thought i was home alone so i was rambling about how much i love cold popcorn, hot showers, homestuck and mcr and then i turn around to walk into the bathroom and my parental unit is standing there looking at me like this.

[one-blaze-of--glory]

I'm too aplatonic to get friendship but also i think friendship is just what Ally Beardsley and Grant O'Brien have. like that's what it should look like

[sssssaarn]

Cringe culture really did kill a lot more of the otherkin community than I think some people might think... KFF definitely played a huge role in the downward spiral, but I don't see people also point out how damaging cringe culture was to otherkins specifically. And that even if KFF never came around, there may still be beings who remain silent or quiet about being otherkin for fear of 'cringe'.

[starsburnout]

me before playing spider-man miles morales 2020: i love miles morales and everyone who thinks he's not a good spider-man or whatever are stupid

me after playing spider-man miles morales 2020: I LOVE MILES MORALES AND EVERYONE WHO THINKS HE'S NOT A VALID SPIDER-MAN CAN STEP ON LEGOS FOREVER

[welcometogrouchland]

I will feel so tired that it's like my atoms are coming undone and I'm being made unreal...and then I will have a little chocolate treat and for 15 minutes I am whole and present again. Then the horrors