#i should bring that up to lumen maybe

[atthebell-moved]

qsmp fandom is leagues better than dsmp ever was in terms of not being stupid about lore and discourse but i do still consistently see pov brainrot that is like so limited to this genre of media and does in fact suck. still better than anything that came before i think though

[hopewriteszstuff]

Chapter 2: The Borrower and The Monster

First chapter here:

Tags: @the-ellia-west

I look up at the big human who found me, He can't be talking to me now, can he? Then I realize that there's nobody else but me and him.

The big human's name is Lumen, I think it's a weird name for a human, but it's also very nice.

The other human was really scary, and mean too.

Mr. Lumen's eyes were grey, like when the sky is cloudy before it rains, and also like cement, it makes me nervous that he is looking at me, But it also feels safe. Like someone was making sure I won't get hurt?

He looked weird, his face was wrapped, like a mummy, I don't remember anything but his eyes and face.

"Let's begin with something simple first, What's your name?"

His voice was all around me, I thought for a while if I should answer or not.

A borrower shouldn't reveal themselves, I already did but I shouldn't reveal more than that..right?

I don't trust you yet, you can't have my name.

I take steps away from the human, then I realize there is a wall behind me, so I hug myself and look away.

================

She is being uncooperative, I wonder what Arsen did to her.

I stand up and walk around the room, trying to get my thoughts in order, until I was able to figure out something.

Perhaps if I fed her, she might talk? The more I think about it the more I feel that I'm interrogating a mouse or a feral kitten.

Regardless, I don't have any better ideas, so I walk to the kitchen cabinet and rummage through it, seeing what I can find.

My hands hit a carton box, and the familiar, lovely noise of plastic wrappers crinkles under my grip.

Chocolate cookies, my beloved.

I snatch one packet from the back and try to hide the box again, Arsen will fume at the idea of bringing such an unhealthy, sugar-packed snack to our apartment, but I deserve to satisfy my sweet tooth now and then.

I walk back to the glass cage, and I open the packet.

The little one perked up immediately at the noise, so I take one cookie and break a small piece for her, emptying the rest of the packet into my mouth. I made sure that no crumbs fell or stayed on my fingers.

================

He..he ate the whole thing! Just like that!! His mouth is big..his teeth are so..sharp.. huge.

His fangs are as tall as me! Are all humans like that?! He...

He could eat me if he wanted to, I could fit right there and it won't take him a second.

I stay as far as I could from his hands.

He..did share with me though, he had so many chances to hurt me and he didn't, maybe he is just big like that? Maybe?

My heart and my brain are confused and are fighting, my brain says that I should run away or I will be hurt Or killed.

But my heart says that if he had this many chances to hurt me..eat me even..and he didn't, why would he now?

He also ate the whole thing, so it's probably not poisoned Or spoiled.

I take a mouthful of the thing he gave me.

Chocolate! I never get to eat it! The only time I ever had this was when papa brought it home once.

Mama..papa.

I miss them...

"May I have your name now, little miss?"

I look at him and I answer with my mouth full.

"Hmmm....Navarra!"

"Navarra?" He repeats.

"Yes! My name is Navarra!"

I see him smiling, a small smile but it's still a smile!

I did a good thing, right? He looks happy, so it means I did a good thing!

"You have a beautiful name, Navarra"

He said my name is beautiful! Maybe he IS a nice person if he is so polite to me.

"Where is your family? Your home?"

Oh..family.

I..I was with them this morning, and then..they came...they took away everyone.

My eyes hurt now, it hurts to remember, I want to cry, I shouldn't cry, I can't cry in front of a stranger..no..not now.

I try eating more, but I feel sick, And it hurts.

================

I should have not asked that, I should have stayed quiet, now the poor girl is crying because of me.

"Oh dear, I apologize if it's something you don't want to talk about."

But it was too late, she already broke into tears, what shall I do? What do I do?

I tap my foot as I think of how do I calm the borrower down. I don't want to get too close so I won't scare her.

But she is so small, and fragile, and the urge to just keep her close to my heart and protect her was overwhelming me. She surely must prefer being somewhere warm instead of being in a cold hamster cage, right?

I open the cage and reach inside it, leaving my palm open for the little one to climb on.

================

No!! No!! Stay away! Stay away from me!!

Wait...why isn't he grabbing me? His hand is just open.

He was wearing gloves, his hands were big, and his fingers were thin and long...Like spider legs. Creepy!

I look at his eyes, I forgot how nice they were, and he nods at me like he was telling me it's alright to get in, so I give him the crumb I was eating, and I climb too.

================

Here she is, in my hand, leaning on my thumb for support.

I finally understand what being gentle truly means, I have to be strong so I can offer safety to this little one, and be her protector and shelter.

I am holding a very precious creature, and I hope from the bottom of my unbeating heart that I am worthy of this little creature's trust.

As soon as I feel the impossibly tiny hands on my own, I smell blood from her. A powerful urge comes over me. At first, it was as if I wanted to hug the little one and absorb her.

Then it became more monstrous, thoughts that weren't my own. I try my best to ignore it as it pooled inside my guts.

If I can just, put the little creature in my mouth, and swallow her, she will never feel any of this pain again, and if I was as big as a house to her, then I should act as one, she is such a small creature that it wouldn't take a second. Come on, Lumen, you haven't eaten anything in a while, isn't she just so cute you could just scoop her and eat her? Don't you just want to keep her as close as you can? She already went through too much, she doesn't deserve to suffer more, she deserves for you to love her, make her a part of you, embrace her, and cherish her.

These blasted thoughts, that damned beast inside me, Shut it! Zip it!

I shake my head and try to ignore it, instead, I focus entirely on the girl in my hand, Navarra.

I bring her closer, and only silence was heard for a moment.

"Don't hesitate to tell me if you aren't comfortable or if you are scared."

I remind her, and she nods understandingly, although she refused to continue eating, only looking upwards at me.

I look into her innocent, trustful eyes. But I didn't dare to keep looking, I don't deserve to be looked at with such hope, the most innocent and hopeful look I have ever seen, it was...

..wrong.

"Dunno where my family is.." She breaks the silence.

"I think they are... far away now"

"Where am I anyways?"

"New York, A very big city"

"And this is me and my brother's apartment, it's where we live.. and for now, it will be where you live too."

The girl looked around her when she was told she will live there.

"But..but_"

"I know you would prefer to be home now, but like you just said, home is far away now."

"I promise I will try my best to bring you back home, or at least find you another."

She sulks and I can feel the weight of her emotions on me as she just refused to speak further. She lets out a sigh and lays down, to which I tense at first, but then I allowed myself to relax for her sake.

I still wonder why is she so comfortable with me, especially that she was frightened at first.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you."

"It's ok, don't be, it wasn't your fault."

A little hand is gently touching my fingers as if reassuring me.

Bless her, she has a beautiful heart.

"You seem unsure of what to do next." I try to start a conversation.

"I dunno what to do. I was always with my family, this is my first time being alone."

"And it hurts, it really hurts. I just wanna go home again."

I sigh deeply, I want to tell her that was nearly impossible to go back to her family. There was a lot I can't help but think about, like how I probably shouldn't be holding her in my hand like this.

But do I want her to go through that?

At the end of my thought stream, I finally decided that we will cross these bridges when we get to them and that for now, I should focus on learning more about her.

"You speak well, Navarra," I tell her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well.."

I shove the plastic wrapper that I promptly forgot about into my pocket, then I point at the book next to me.

"It says here that your kind speaks a language that humans can't hear, yet you can speak to me as I speak to you, in perfect, clear English."

"...Papa taught me to speak human."

"He said that we don't hate humans, we learn from them, we are a part of their lives just like they make our lives.."

"But humans won't get it..and it's why we hide from them."

She pauses a bit.

"..Mister, Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead, little one."

"Why..why do you and the other mister look different from other humans?"

"That is..not an easy question to answer."

Fuck, I knew this was coming, but it still hurts to hear her from her mouth.

This will be quite tricky to explain.

[bringerofdeathandtheapocolypse]

I just thought about this now but I can't recall Makarov and Ivan ever directly interacting with each other.

Like the closest we got was Makarov being unhappy with everything to do with Raven tail in the games.

Like Gajeel got to have a couple lines of dialogue with him and he was the spy. (Which side note, the fact we never see anything further from that aside from a mention and a flashback post Fantasia is missed potential)

But it's so bizarre that we never see either of them interact. We've never actually seen what them having a conversation is like because we've only ever heard stuff about it second hand through other characters talking.

We don't even know what exactly got Ivan kicked out of the guild. I don't think it's related to the dragon lacrima since Laxus was way younger when that happened. The most we know is Laxus was a teen but that's such a wide period of time that Ivan could have been exiled in. It also can't be lumen histore since Makarov clearly didn't know Ivan was aware of its existence until after his fight with Laxus.

Like I want to know what it was that Ivan did and why hardly anyone talks about him.

Like the kids I can believe since it's possible some if not most of them weren't at the guild when Ivan was exiled and Laxus also makes sense since he seems like the time to not want to bring things like that up. But why did we never hear a single mention of Ivan from anyone else before or after Fantasia.

I mean this is a guild with a decent amount of gossips in it. Surely someone would mention something about Ivan. Like a good moment to bring it up might be when Laxus is being an absolute ass. Maybe have one of the older members compare his behaviour to Ivan and voice concerns on Laxus becoming like his father.

I do like Ivan's proper introduction where he's talking to Gajeel which puts a seed of doubt in Gajeel's loyalty to Fairy tail for a bit. That was very cool and is an interesting set up.

Like in general, Ivan had such good potential for a villian. We've known of his existence for most of the series (I think his first mention was in Fantasia but I might be wrong, been a bit since I watched pre fantasia) and he had a relation with three of Fairy tail's members by the end of Fantasia, that being Laxus, Makarov and Gajeel.

I can kinda understand not seeing much from Laxus since he sorta just nopes out of existence for two months (which is why I can understand that some people don't mesh with his redemption since we don't really see it occur, it just kinda happens off screen and everyone forgives him which kinda also happens for Jellal which honestly, he did way worse than Laxus and he just sorta forgets it for a bit so again I can see why it doesn't mesh with some people) but we still have Makarov and Gajeel prominently.

Ivan should have been an underlying villian, have a few more scenes of Gajeel's spy work either with him talking to Ivan or Makarov and actually give us more information about Ivan and his past in Fairy tail. He doesn't need to be sympathetic, just give me a reason for his decisions and also you know, tell us what the fuck he did to get exciled.

And I've brought this up before but have him be way more prominent of a villian in GMG than he was. Have him try to fuck over Fairy tail in the games, even roping Gajeel into it with threats (like saying he's getting too attached for their plan and have him threaten someone in the guild like Team shadow gear or Lily for example) and have his members go after the mages in the night like they did with Wendy and Carla but in a way it can't be easily traced back to Raven tail's guild so like no magic use or purposely obscuring their faces (cause why don't the dragon slayer s try explaining that they're sure it was a raven tail member based on scent and have the council take something that exclusively 5 to 7 people in the country can do as proper evidence)

I also still stand by the fact that Gajeel should have gotten a repercussion for his spying. I personally go with a physical one but there are plenty of options. My personal favourite spot is right before the Ivan Vs Laxus fight, maybe even have Ivan use Gajeel as a way to get Laxus to listen to him by threatening to kill him and when Laxus tries to find a way around it to get Gajeel help (who would likely be drained of magic with Ivan's orders) Ivan instead severally injures Gajeel. That's just an option. There are tons.

Like Ivan is just so underutilized as a villian and it makes me sad because it's so interesting. He's one of three villains that have come from the Fairy tail guild. The other two being Hades (obviously) and Wraith(who died and lost his memories and also isn't even a true 'villian' just someone fighting on the opposite side to FT) and all three have vastly different reasons for becoming a villian/antagonist. But we just didn't really get much for him.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hmmmmmm what about games that give heavy-metal vibes. If that's too vague, maybe TTRPGs that have the same vibes of DOOM or Quake? Thanks for being an awesome Tumblr page, btw <3

THEME: Hellbusting Games

Thank you so much! I haven't played either of those games, but my roommate sure has! here's what I found.

Warrune, by CurseNightGames.

HELL IS TOTAL FUCKING WAR

WARRUNE is a brutal gridless tactical RPG inspired by Doom, God of War, and extreme metal. Play as badass warriors who have gone to hell to wage eternal war. Vikings vs. Space Marines vs. Demons. DOOM SHIT!

An eclectic system that combines aspects of tactical RPGs, story games, and board games that emulates the frantic combat chess of the latest Doom video games. Warrune is 42 pages, and comes in an easy to read black and white PDF, a red PDF for that old school metal zine feel, and a black and white booklet format to print your own zines at home.

You don’t have any stats in this game; you roll d666 for everything, and count the 6’s vs 1s. More 6’s? You succeed. More 1’s? You fail. Combat is for theatre of the mind but still tactical, with an armoury’s worth of weapons, equipment, and special powers that will help you absolutely obliterate your enemy.

If you want a solo or GM-less option, this game has it! Enemies can be fully automated, giving you a chance to dive into hell either by yourself or without a leader.

qvke borg, by Bird Silhouette Games.

"In a land dying a slow death at the hands of irrefutable prophecy, the thread of reality unravels. As the universe-that-was frays at the seams, more horrifying truths manifest.

Writhing with eldritch hatred is the QVKEMOTHER:

SHUB-NECHURATH reaches out across the cosmic void. Her infinite armies stand poised to bring this realm under her sway. She has heard rumours of the Two-Headed Basilisks and seeks to unseat their power, disprove their apocalypse and usher in one of her own."

QVKE BORG is an unofficial expansion compatible with MÖRK BORG. It’s inspired by the atmospheric, action-packed shooter videogames of the early 1990s. If you ever wanted to bring ROCKET LAUNCHERS into your bleak fantasy role-playing game, this is the book for you.

If you want to play this game you’re going to need MÖRK BORG as well, in order to know how the rules work. Immediately diving into this game will give you a bestiary, followed by character options and lore. This is directly inspired by the game Quake, so it should be able to easily replicate what you’re looking for! If you want an adventure to go along with this, the author has released one called Doorway to Blasphemy, about hunting a heathen down through a vile and overgrown keep.

Hell Grinders, by Bannerless Games.

Another beautiful day of brimstone, heat, fire, blood and guts. You and your buddies buckle your gear, and get ready to shred the forces of Hell’s faces off. 

HELL GRINDERS is a turbo-charged boomer shooter-inspired roleplaying game about killing demons and angels as the baddest bastards around. If you want to flashback to the '90s, ripping and tearing your way through hordes of hideous beasts with your besties while knee-deep in radioactive slime, all to the sounds of heavy metal and industrial guitar licks, this one’s for you.

LUMEN is such a good system for combat, especially if you want your power to feel powerful and competent. Even though there’s only 4 classes, you can mix and match skills and abilities to make a unique character who can kick ass in a way completely unlike your teammates - and LUMEN is also great for team synergy, setting each-other up for success. 

You can die in HELL GRINDERS but that doesn’t mean the fun stops for you - pick up another Grinder on your team and keep going, and hope you can finish the mission before all of your backup team members run out!

Aether Operations, by World Champ Game Co.

Traverse the realms in a forever struggle of imbalance, defeating powerful warlords and cleansing corrupted artifacts. Brutal and dangerous, even the most routine beasts spew damnation at the mere presence of you: the Manipulators. The unique denizens of each realm aspire to purge you in whatever malicious possible ways available in an effort to gain more power and bring the imbalance of reality towards a coming doom.

AeOps is for 2-5 players including a gamemaster with optional rules for gm-less play. Players, as Manipulators embodying Spirit, Brain, Bone, or Meat, use up to seven six-sided dice while the GM uses a diminishing Balance Die, downgrading from d12 to d4 with each stage representing further destabilization of the Realms and a quickly approaching reality cataclysm.

You’re fighting more than demons in this one, but they still want you dead. With GM-less options, this might be a good game to look at if you’re not sure who’s up to GM, or if everyone wants to be a player. Will you be able to prevent a cataclysm? Or will the realms come crashing down around you? You’ll have to play to find out.

HellGuts: Imp Scout Edition, by Mitchell Daily.

Hell is unleashing its demons through unholy rifts between our dimension and theirs. These demons exist only to torment, profane, and destroy human life. They are a powerful scourge that threatens to overwhelm the entire solar system and beyond should they not be stopped. 

Enter the Hellslayers, those exalted to the task of rending fiendish flesh and bathing in blasphemous blood. The Hellslayers are forces of nature standing above the easily slaughtered masses and taking the fight to Hell itself.

HELLGUTS is a gory romp through brutal hellscapes. Go kill some demons, Hellslayer. 

This game depends on dice pools of d12s, with action difficulties ranging from 2 -12. The more successes you get, the more bonuses you get, with your character attributes represented by three “organs: Muscle, Spine and Brain. This is a combat with abstract range and room for description, so your characters can describe how they brutally decimate the legions of hell. 

Right now HellGuts is in playtest, but it already has a couple of adventures, as well as character and enemy keeper resources linked on the page. Tack on some safety tools and you’re ready to go!

24XX Breach, by Adam Schwaninger.

Hyperspace is a back door through Hell, and still the desperate line up for the Company jumpships. You were one of them, back before Hell spat you back out. Now when a jump goes bad, you go in. Breach the derelict, identify the incursion, eliminate the threat, and hope to hell the money’s good.

With quick character generation and quick story generation, you know I gotta recommend a 24XX game. Your character doesn’t just have as specialty that bumps up their skills, they also get Blessings, that give you really cool abilities, such as control over fire, acidic blood, or the ability to teleport through hellspace. Pick up an interesting piece of backstory or two and jump into Hell, ready to kick demon ass and get out as many people as you can. Simple, and sweet, that’s 24XX Breach.

[fantomette22]

What are some of your favorite Gehrman head-canons my friend? ^-^

Hiii !!!! Smiley Anon!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ (sorry I am doing too much?? 😅 always a pleasure to see you're still around friend ♥️ I don't remember if you have an account but don't hesitate again to come talk it wouldn't be a pb for me!)

Oh dear you shouldn't ask me about Gehrman's headcanons without being precise my brain is a constant brainrot of those ideas XD (and I can't choose)

Well I was gonna put a giant list but wait you ask about my favorites right??! i... don't know 😰 I'm really bad at choices 💀 But hey I'm gonna try! (+ had a giant list) I promise not real angsty or sad ones because I'm in the mood for happy things now! ✨

But first well I'm going to link my backstory headcanon for him and the last headcanons list I share for him in an ask game (it's going to be really similar that's why)

If I really had to choose one... well I would say he made the small hair ornament.

And that he made the mercy blade (it was his secondary weapon : in bloodborne we can wield 2 weapons and 2 firearms so...) and passed it down later to the first official hunter of hunter's.

Now here's some put randomly, hope you enjoy! :

He had a few class at Byrgenwerth, didn't go far in the studies but still and have a few classes with Laurence XD

Then he became Byrgenwerth's groundskeeper (employee #1)

he help Willem?/Laurence? to make the gold pendant by potentially making/finding the gold blood gems.

Specialist to hang out looking at the moon at 2am (I mean Caryll too. Byrgenwerth campus was a mess at times)

the big bro of the group!

Of course he love flowers and weapons too! He could speak about hours of it! he's not real social but really cultivate he compensate with his close friends.

With Maria (and a bit caryll & maybe Rom??) they were in charge of cultivate the first Lumen flowers they bring back from Loran.

Part of the siderite use for his weapon and badge came from a meteorite he found when he was little.

yes he knew quite some stuff in astronomy, anatomy & geology (because I say so)

he got inspired by the undead alive giant "arms" for the burial blade.

His name originated from you know the cut content cainhurst knight missing a leg with a spear on a monster horse (kinda look like the tree sentinel in elden ring)

he could had become knight for Cainhurst but he politely declined

About his scarf I fall in love with a friend's version : Maria give it to him as a present. Alternatively it was from his family.

Yeah he had way too much version of the "how to pick up fair maiden books" (the church had them first!) because a few person give it to him or the workshop or it was to other hunters lol. Maybe it's just cool action novels too

He know how to played cello

he make great tea. And good food too

Ok so when he was older (after Maria passed away/before the dream and all) he got a dog! A white female wolfhound that hunt alongside him for years.

+ Sewing :

Of course he had dolls and made clothes for some plushies when he was little. he couldn't do really detailed broderies but sew clothes wince he was young.

He sew back hunter's clothes who were damaged

He made hats for his friends for a Christmas or smt

Well he made the doll clothes but the one the doll wear or a precedent version of the made it for Maria. Or at least he made the red neckerchief!!

Probably design/made at least 1 church outfit or accessories

Of course the charred hunter set is from him??

This man can fix almost anything! (Like weapons)

He don’t need a lot of sleep it’s crazy but when he’s in deep sleep just talking doesn’t work you need to move and push him

His cane is a little trick weapon too. A simple yet cool and fancy sword cane.

Update : omg i forgot to said he made little wood animals figures for his friends! (And more complexe one too!)

And I think I should stop here. That's already a lot of ideas just put randomly here. I probably forget a few and it's the happy ones here mostly. Sorry if you wanted smt way simpler and shorter I got motivated wanting to share headcanons, thanks again and I hope you enjoyed 😅

[kittykat5090]

late night thoughts about gv2, since i haven't played any other game in the series beyond gv1 or gv3 in months, at minimum, and i apparently haven't started a save in gv2 on the switch? (or maybe the physical and digital copies having different data borked up the switch and now i have six save slots for both striker pack games >:) )

i hated the localization way more than i thought i would. i knew it wasn't going to be good going in, but actually playing the game and seeing the lines of dialogue for the first time in forever just felt wrong. 8-4's flavor of localization (at least for the gunvolt games, idk about the other stuff they've translated) did not sit right with me this time around, especially when it had to be stretched out to cover the midstage dialogue, plus the actual voice lines tend to go for way longer than the dialogue itself (which i don't think was 8-4's fault for the most part, but it still bugged me). although i didn't play a lot of the game, there were way too many moments where i went "wait, (character) wouldn't say/talk like that," and usually it was because they spoke way too casually than what i would've expected them to. i wouldn't say it was a dealbreaker, considering i can put up with gv3's story, but since it is a dialogue-heavy game i figured i should bring it up, especially since it was my biggest gripe this time around

gameplay's still fun, but i found myself having way more fun as copen than gunvolt. again. i should probably actually get good as gunvolt instead of just running through everything, even though i can and i'm good enough at EP management that it usually doesn't bite me in the ass lmao

i find it really funny that, as the series progressed, it got better and better at explaining its mechanics, despite the story requiring at least some knowledge of the previous game(s) to have a full grasp of what's going on. like, in the case of gv2, why lumen's hanging around gunvolt all of the time and being referred to as joule. i mean, i GUESS you could figure things out from the brief spoiler flashes when gunvolt runs into mytyl??

speaking of mytyl, i'm still sad about how joule was written in this. she feels more like an annoying sidekick than, well, joule, who sure as hell wasn't annoying. it also sucks that the secret ending stuff didn't lead anywhere, but tbh it's not like i've ever gotten it in the first place :/

(sorry if any of this is incoherent, it's currently 5 am and i haven't slept 🙃)

[detoxed-retox]

A leader unaware of his subordinates' crimes... It brings the young demons -- many of them terrified children that grew up too soon just to have a chance at life -- to hold their weapons tighter. Day just drinks from his mug.

He doesn't know this General. This isn't the same man he'd joke with and spar and help carry drunks home with. He's leader of the armies that killed families and stole children. No, murdered. Stolen children gives hope that they'll come back.

Day's twitch is minuscule enough that his command doesn't notice it. And with them behind him they can't see the brief flash of hope in his eyes only to be replaced with indifference when it's clear this familiar face only sees a stranger.

"...Why should I care? Aamon, Hanar, and Dantalion all had children. Of all of them, only one child lives. Maybe you'll finally care to know what your forces get up to now that you've got a taste."

Of course, there's quiet whispers among his forces -- he deliberately used names long since cast aside. Except Dantalion, who hates being just Dan or Lion almost as much as they hate Lumen. The children won't know who he means.

But Michael -- not this General wearing his face -- would know. He'd know the clingy angel that kept trying to bed him, only to finally give up with his arrangement. He'd know the firecracker that only seems sober drunk. He'd know the kind face that hides so much chaos that they were banned from getting near L- the prisoner and Mars when those two started drinking...

"Dead-- Never has my blade touched a child-! What in the seven hells are you talking about?!"

As if in response to the other's power, the golden flames re-manifest as wings upon his back. Michael hadn't complete control over them, but didn't pay much heed this time around. He was focused on this other person- just how did they know his rank? They looked... Familiar but-

"I haven't a clue why he decided here was the place to go, but I had asked him to aid in locating our prince who suddenly vanished without a trace!"

Mentioning Lumen probably would do more harm than good, especially if this person knew them already. Wait, if this one knew Tenebris- and somehow knew him as well... It-- couldn't hurt--

"The prince-- is the precious son of the River Guardian-! We have to find him, so please!"

[ceilingfan5]

Out of This World

congratulations to my 500 followers giveaway winner @terezis, who asked for “alien taako accidentally kidnaps kravitz”

and thanks to everyone who participated!!! 

“Where the hell are you going at this hour?” Kravitz’s roommate Sloane asks, looking up from the egregious snuggling she’s got going on with her girlfriend. On Kravitz’s couch, no less. 

“Didn’t you see that light? I have to go investigate! It could be- It could be any number of things! A meteor, a spatial anomaly, maybe even a-”

“Helicopter?” Sloane’s voice is dryer than the toast he had for dinner. Kravitz doesn’t let it dampen his mood. 

“It could be something truly mysterious, and I can’t abide letting well enough alone.”

“You never can,” she sighs. “Well, be safe out there. Don’t forget your keys.”

“Mhm,” Kravitz says, jamming his feet into mismatched shoes. “Don’t wait up for me.”

“Super won’t, so don’t die or get kidnapped or whatever.”

“I’ll be perfectly fine!” 

And Kravitz, who has no sense of predilection or self-preservation, thunders down the stairs and out into the streets with his fifty dollar flashlight and a passionately misplaced sense of adventure. 

He startles a few street cats, coos at a racoon, trips over trash, and just past the apartment complex, he spots it again. That powerful blue glow. It’s in the wrong direction for some kind of event or party--it’s closer to the farms at the edge of town than it is anything that ought to be blue in the middle of the night. And then, as Kravitz gets closer, he hears a hum, a soft, thrumming, nearly musical hum, and he sees it, he fucking sees it-

A spaceship. 

He cackles in unbridled validated glee and then slaps his hands over his mouth, dropping his fancy flashlight with all the lumens money can buy, reflecting on its way to the ground in three pairs of glowing gold eyes and a mouthful of sharp, sharp teeth. 

Something like a cross between static electricity and cement-hard water from doing a belly flop hits him, and he doesn’t see it anymore. 

  He wakes up in a space so white that it’s blue, searing his eyes with the brightness. His whole body is sore, but in a heavy way that almost feels nice. He blinks slowly, his eyelids sticking like windshield wipers on an old car during the first snow of the season, and something--someone? humanoid appears in his hazy vision. They have four arms and a long, golden brown tail, gilded with a smattering of freckles that reflect in the light like the bottom of a river untouched for centuries, and then, those six frightening, beautiful eyes, staring right into Kravitz’s soul, blinking asymmetrically, and twice. A nictitating membrane. Bafflingly cool. Kravitz tries to sit up and his head protests dramatically, and the figure swears--in English. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, what am I going to- how am I going to explain this- shit, shit, shit- Don’t do that, lay down, stupid adorable creature...” Two of those four hands gently press on his chest and he lays back down, mouth hanging open. 

“Who are you?” he asks, even though he could have opened with any number of questions, perhaps namely what do you want with me? 

“Oh, fuck, is my translator working? That’s a bonus. Oh, ancient skies, what a fucking mess...I can’t believe I- I’m going to be in so much trouble-”

“Because I saw you?”

“Well- yes, and also because I stunned you, and brought you aboard, which, believe it or not, has exacerbated- that’s a weird word, why is your language like this?--It’s made shit so much worse, because I’m dumb as hell and twice as fired. If not executed.” 

“Can I look around?”

“Babe, your listening comprehension isn’t great, is it? I’m gonna be in so much trouble for you even catching a glimpse of this- motherfucker, I should have stuck to cows, cows are classic, can’t go wrong with cows-” The alien, because, that’s- this person has to be an alien, there’s no other way, the set is too expensive and complete, the technology glittering at the edge of his vision is too complex, the makeup team would have to be intense?? The alien wrings two of their hands, and then the other two, fidgeting nervously. They pick grass off of Kravitz in a way that’s almost affectionate, and Kravitz has a hard time compiling all the facts, here.

“What’s your name?”  

“Taako,” Taako says, absolutely miserable. “But you shouldn’t know that. I should put you back--or kill you--but I don’t know if I can, I mean, look at you! Four little limbs and two little eyes! And you’re so curious and...cute.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Kravitz can’t help it. He’s always wanted to kiss an alien, and, presented with the road to that opportunity, he finds himself taking it with no hesitation. “What can I do to get you to not kill me today?”

“I could wipe your memory, I guess...”

"Not ideal."

"Not ideal, no, it does sort of tangle all your business up there a little." Taako frowns, which is a very strange thing to see a person with six eyes do. His lips are purple and they look...incredibly kissable, even drawn up in a frustrated little bow. Kravitz had probably better focused on not getting lobotomized, but he's as gay as he is a nerd, so he always would have been fucked in a situation like this. 

"Maybe, uh, maybe," he says, casting about for a solution, any solution. "Um, what, why are you here? What's going on with the, the cows?" 

"Well, we're studying your planet, obviously?" Taako walks away from Kravitz, pacing anxiously, and Kravitz takes the chance to sit up. It makes his mouth go dry and his head even more cottony, but he blinks blearily at Taako and smiles a little. "We're trying to learn how things work, how your society works, you know, see if you guys can handle the real shit, see if- You've got these incredible bonds, and I mean, my home sort of has those, but it's not the same, and- it would be real powerful if we could bring that kind of thing home."

"Guess you're not finding those bonds in cows, huh?" Kravitz has his out, and it's a good one. He can't stop grinning. He hopes Taako doesn't think it's a threat display. "Well, if I promise not to tell anyone about you, and you promise not to tell anyone about me, I could tell you some hot Earth facts, anything you want to know?" 

Taako bites his lip, folding both pairs of arms and pausing his pacing, and he looks at Kravitz, incredibly tempted.

"Anything?" 

"Anything. And if I don't know it, I'll look it up." Kravitz holds up his phone, and the reflection of it glints in Taako’s huge, hungry eyes. He grabs it and turns it on. 

"Oh this is good, this is very, very good. But-" 

"But you wanted to know about bonds, right?" 

"Right. And I promise I'm not trying to pry, but you keep thinking about kissing? And I want to know what that is." 

Kravitz swallow hard, knocked on his ass twofold. Taako can read his thoughts? Taako wants to kiss him???

"I can show you how, if you want," Kravitz says, embarrassed but also thrilled beyond all recognition. "Unless you think you're, you know, poisonous to me, or something-"

"It's probably fine?"

"It's probably fine!!" 

Taako walks over to him, tail flicking anxiously behind him. He's beautiful. Kravitz has finally met an alien, and he's beautiful. 

"We just- with our mouths?" 

"Exactly, just. Do what feels right." 

"Okay, I can, I can do that. And nobody is going to know, nobody will find out, it's fine-" 

Kravitz kisses him and Taako kisses back, sloppy and awkward and wonderful and Kravitz grabs the lapels of his uniform and pulls him closer and Taako makes a happy little trill and all six of his eyes flutter closed. 

They pull back to breathe, Taako panting a little, and he looks at Kravitz and nods. 

"I'm not going to kill you. Or. Scramble you, or whatever." 

"Nice," Kravitz says, grinning like an absolute idiot. "Can I tell you all the cool things I know about Earth?" 

"Maybe one more kiss. Or five. Can I have ten? Ten seems like a good number. Fuck, this is way better than cows!"

"I should hope so!" Kravitz laughs. 

[moonlightreal]

Deep Dive: Diaspro! Season eight

Diaspro’s most confusing season!

Diaspro shows up in episode 14, the beginning of the second season-of-a-season, and she’s lurking in the Eraklyon royal palace spying on Sky.  I think we can assume she’s back to her job helping Queen Samara.  Just how she escaped from getting arrested for that… there is no canon explanation so I’m going to assume she managed to convince the adults that she was trying to restore Bloom’s powers and all attempted murder was just a misunderstanding on Sky and Daphne’s part.  They were under stress in a Fire Eater attack and Bloom being so sick after all; it’d be easy to misinterpret stuff.

Diaspro orders Sky to come with her on a top secret mission to find “the lost locket of Eraklyon, one of the most powerful items in our kingdom!”  She says it’s a mission from king Erendor, but really Diaspro made up the mission, locket and all.  She takes Sky all over the place and I wonder if she planned the itinerary beforehand.  None of the places look very romantic.

You’d think Sky would know to double-check things like this.  You’d think Sky would see through Diaspro’s excuses and know she tried to murderize Bloom!  

From the start of the mission Sky makes it abundantly clear that he doesn’t want to spend time with Diaspro.  He gives her zero encouragement.  Even the densest and most lovestruck girl would have trouble fooling herself into thinking he actually likes her.  So why is she still chasing him?  Why does she want someone who doesn’t want her?

Also while Sky hides this mission from Bloom he tells the boys about it and this conversation happens:

Brandon: “Diaspro? That crazy girl who won’t give up on you?”

Sky: “Yes Brandon, that’s the one.”  

Brandon: “Come on Sky, the Specialists aren’t afraid of anyone, even broody aristocratic girls from Eraklyon.”

So that’s how the boys talk about Diaspro, and how the writers of season 8 want us to see her.  Crazy girl.  Broody aristocratic girl. Not villainess.  The writers are back to Disa as a mean girl and rival for Sky’s affections.

During their quest for the locket Bloom calls Sky on his phone and Diaspro throws herself off a cliff to distract Sky.  I’m not sure if this is a sign of mad obsession, being willing to put herself in danger to get attention, or… not.  Sky did catch her, and this is Sky, he’s a good guy.  He’d probably catch Icy if she was falling off a cliff.  And Diaspro has a jetpack, but this brings up another development of season eight:

Diaspro doesn’t transform.  She transformed in season six.  In season eight she has a flying jetpack thing like the specialists use so she does fly, but not as a fairy.  Did she lose her magic?  Did the adults catch her after season six after all, and take her magic in punishment just like happened to the Trix a time or two?  It’s never mentioned, but that’s another option for your headcanon.

Also Diaspro has a map that she consults on this whole journey with Sky, but when we the viewers see the map it’s just emojis of her and Sky in a heart.  Which made me laugh when I saw it but from a Watsonian perspective, Diaspro made this poster-sized image and carries it around even though if Sky sees it he’ll know their whole mission is a fake… I’m trying to see Diaspro as a person with a coherent personality but I keep having to fall back on “she’s obsessed and therefor not thinking clearly” which really is just “she’s badly written.”  Or maybe we can say the map isn’t really there, it’s a device to show us the viewer what Diaspro’s plan is and when Sky sees it that’s just him coming to a realization.  That’s another way to make it make sense.

And then we get to the land of flying unicorns.  Diaspro tries to cozy up to Sky by asking him to carry her as they fly in their flying suits. I don’t think there’s any in-universe reason she decided to look for the imaginary locket here, since Diaspro is scared of the flying unicorns.  A very unscary animal to be afraid of.

They get ambushed by lumens, Sky sees the ‘map’ and Diaspro admits she made the whole thing up.  Sky rants at her for a bit as he figures out she took advantage of him having a fight with his father so he wouldn’t ask Erendor about the mission and that she’s been dragging him all over the magic dimension.

This is interrupted by an attack from a black winged unicorn with a broken horn.  Sky parks Diaspro on a floating island and leads the angry unicorn away.  When the Winx find Disa she doesn’t tell them sky is in mortal peril.  So she’d rather have him unicorned to death than get rescued by Bloom?

Everybody ends up back on the ground and the other unicorns de-evilize the black one, whose name is Aryo.  A lumen says he’s not evil, just unfriendly because the last person he trusted broke his horn.

And then Aryo bonds with Diaspro.  Just out of nowhere walks up to her and licks her face.  Diaspro has doubts about a ‘winged animal’ but then realizes the unicorn can take her back to Eraklyon because “nobody appreciates me here!” But as they fly off Diaspro calls back to Sky that she can’t wait for their next mission together.  And that’s their exit from the story and Diaspro’s last appearance so far.

But it’s a big deal!  Diaspro bonded!  She has something she’s never had all this time: a friend.  Ar a pet?  Or an evil minion.  She wasn’t thrilled with Aryo, so I’m not sure how much ‘bonding’ really means.  If Aryo is a friend or a pet, having someone truly care about her could help Diaspro understand that Sky doesn’t care about her and she should spend her time with people and creatures who do.  But if the writers go the evil minion path Diaspro now has a pet who can shoot fire out of his horn.  Why should she go back to Eraklyon and keep chasing Sky?  She can go anywhere she wants!

So in this season Diaspro hatches a plan to spend time with Sky and make him fall for her, doesn’t seem to notice how uninterested he is, leaves him to get magic blasted by a unicorn, then bonds with that unicorn and flies off declaring her intention to try again.

[vraelgard]

"Please, lend us your aid."

Princess Lilliana stands, her hands clasped as if in prayer, in front of the Ciemnica clan witch princess, Cica. Cica's orange eyes flicker over the princess, still in her armor, to Moonlight, Ivory, and Ebony beside her; and the whole myriad of foreigners behind her. 

Some of them look a little worse for wear, others hardly more than ruffled. They've brought with them the ingredients required to restore Tenebrae. All that's left is the mirror of the Ciemnica witches. 

Moonlight steps forward, stopping next to Princess Lilliana. 

"We have gathered the proper ingredients--and now we must combine them into a potion and spread it on the surface of the mirror. Then, we must reflect the light of the moon onto Tenebrae...and the spell petrifying him will be broken," Moonlight says. 

"Yes. I'm aware of what the rumors say about that spell," Cica says shortly. "But you must understand where I'm coming from." 

She reaches into her pocket, pulling out a small compact from her pocket, embellished with a moon design. 

"This mirror is imbued with the power of the moon itself. It has been passed down from one Ciemnica witch princess to the next. From my grandmother, to my mother, to me. It is a precious heirloom and I cannot trust it with just anyone."

Cica pauses, turning the compact over in her hands, silent for a long moment. 

"However... Tenebrae is our patron–the sage with whom we have formed a pact. I fear that if he is not restored soon...the witches of my clan will continue to suffer."

She turns, almost subconsciously, to look in the direction of the Ciemnica Witches Commune. Considering how badly those whose powers came from Tenebrae were faring, it was a safe bet that the Ciemnica witches weren't any better off. 

"Very well, Princess. I entrust my mirror to you," Cica says softly, holding out the mirror for Lilliana to take. "Bring back Tenebrae. And put an end to this eternal night."

* * * * *

Now, Lilliana stands, mirror in hand, everyone gathered once again behind her--this time in front of Tenebrae. Or rather, the statue that was once him. 

"The potion is ready," Moonlight says quietly. 

Lilliana nods, holding out the mirror for Moonlight to carefully spread the potion over. It gives the mirror a peculiar shine, somewhere between silver and purple. 

"The moon is at its apex...it's now or never," Lilliana whispers to herself. 

She lifts the mirror above her head, catching the light of the moon that shines through the roof of the temple. The light then reflects off, hitting Tenebrae with its beam. 

As the light strikes the statue, it begins to spread, covering Tenebrae in moonlight. After a moment, the light becomes unbearable to look at directly, and Lilliana instinctively lifts an arm to cover her eyes. When she lowers it, the Sage of Dark, Tenebrae is standing in front of them, no longer a statue. 

"Princess--Moonlight--Count and Lady Blackgrove," Tenebrae says, his voice soft. He looks stunned at the congregation that's gathered in his temple, and his gaze lingers for a moment on those who he acts as the Patron to. "You...saved me. You have my sincerest gratitude."

"Yeah, um, that's great and all, but would you mind doing something about this...eternal night situation?" Ebony pipes up, and Lilliana can't resist elbowing her. 

"Yes, of course," Tenebrae says. It seems he's long been accustomed to Ebony's lax nature. He lifts his hands, seeming to concentrate before light slowly begins to fade back into the sky. As if sunrise had finally come.

"What about the moonstone?" Moonlight asks. 

"We haven't recovered it," Lilliana admits. "I...apologize. I don't...know who took it or where they've gone."

Tenebrae shakes his head, offering Lilliana a small smile.

"I understand. We will recover it eventually. I have no worries. As long as Lumen's sunstone is safe."

Lilliana nods, and turns to those who accompanied her. For those who chose not to, they would receive a quick video message on their phones stating the exact same thing. 

"Those from worlds far beyond, I must continue to ask for your aid. Some of you will be receiving Travel Visas. Those with Travel Visas may now travel to the Blackgrove area--and should you find yourself here, please take caution when fighting any lingering monsters...with any luck we will be able to drive the remainder out of our country. I thank you greatly for your service to Vraelgard."

Lilliana bows to those in attendance, and for those receiving the message, it ends after that. It's not often the princess bows her head before those below her station. But it seems as though she is truly grateful, more than her words can express. 

* * * * *

Those wandering the Blackgrove forest would likely stumble across a certain woman with bubblegum pink hair and cat ears, holding dual swords. Accompanying her is a man who looks permanently exhausted, one eye hidden beneath an eyepatch. It seems he has no problems with aim, wielding a rapier with ease. 

The woman is doing quite a few impressive moves when she suddenly freezes. She turns to look at the foreigners who are staring at them, and she nudges her partner. 

"Will...they're staring at us."

"That's impossible," he says, turning to look at them. "We're invisible. Also I told you not to--"

"William, I'm serious! Look!" she emphasizes, pointing at the people staring at them. 

"What the fu--" before William can finish, the woman tosses her swords into the air, where they seem to vanish. 

She takes a step towards the foreigners, a strained smile on her face. 

"Hey there! So it appears the infinite night bullshit is over with, but uhh...I think Tenebrae made a teensy weensy screw up. Can you pretend you didn't see us, pretty please?" she says, giving the closest person a wink.

"Kino, I don't think that's going to work," William says with a sigh. He steps forward to join her, making a motion as if sheathing his rapier, but instead it too disappears. "...Alright. You've seen us. And you better not die if you don't want to see us again."

"Will--" Kino scolds, slapping his shoulder.

"We're reapers, Kino!"

"Yeah, and we made a promise to the princess that we wouldn't appear before people unless we were bringing them back?? Can't I just wipe their memories? Please? Pretty please??" Kino asks. 

"You would have to rip their souls out. I.E. Kill them. And then put them back in. I.E. The way resurrections work," William says, giving Kino a flat look. 

"Fiiiine," Kino says, rolling her eyes. She points at the foreigners who are still staring at them with wide eyes. "You all? Try not to die, okay? Because I thiiiink you're gonna remember it. And as someone who remembers her death? ...It sucks. See ya!"

With that, Kino waves and turns around, leaving the group with William. After a few feet, they seemingly vanish--whether into the forest or going to a new plane of existence, who can tell?

* * * * *

A mysterious figure stands high in a tree on the edge of Blackgrove, looking over the monsters that linger, and the damage that has been done. 

A smile creeps onto his face, and in the blink of an eye...he's gone. 

MIDNIGHT: END. 

CONCLUSION SUMMARY:

What’s new in Vraelgard?

Glad you asked! For those who are Commoner rank or higher, Blackgrove will now be available as a location for threads and housing! Yes, you can now move to Blackgrove! You can find the updated locations list HERE or through the masterlist! If you are not of Commoner rank or higher, you will still find that strange fog lingering over Blackgrove, so any attempts to go out there will be met with utter failure. Hope you didn’t lose anything while you were gathering components! 

What’s happened with Tenebrae and people whose Patron Sage is Tenebrae?

Thanks to your hard work, Tenebrae is now back to normal! He may occasionally be in his temple, but he’ll probably need some time alone to deal with the horrifying experience of being turned into a statue. For those whose Patron is Tenebrae, you’ll find yourselves completely back to normal--better, even! You’ll also find that you feel great during the night, so let’s hope you’re nocturnal to burn off all that energy. Or maybe it’ll just let you always have a good night’s sleep?

Can we continue threads after the event is over?

Yes! If you have an unfinished thread, go ahead and feel free to continue it. However, you cannot start new threads.

Can we now rank up?

Of course! Please send rank up requests to @kingdomshall, where they will be processed. Make sure your event threads are linked on your rank up page, as well as your threads with their word counts. Now that there are other apartments available to you, you can put in a request for a housing change if you qualify, too!

What’s with the reapers, what??

If you have died in Vraelgard, you will find a location in Blackgrove where the Reapers hang out. They’re the ones responsible for putting your souls back into your bodies if you die, so do try to be nice to them. This does, of course, mean that you will also now remember your death, and everything after it. Painful! 

[roxannepolice]

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the latest leaks where Palpatine possesses Kylo and Rey has to kill him. What are your thoughts?

Oddly enough, I'm not much bothered by the concept of Rey having to kill Ben, probably because I've always felt the SKB duel ended in a to be continued way and said Rey needs to commit a major f*ck up she'll be shown to regret. I know that many reylos hate the concept and discuss it from characters' perspectives but idk, I guess I'm too dead inside to not see them as non-existent characters serving as my katharsis tools.

But I do have oh so many qualms with this leak/theory in many other ways! For one, if executed poorly, this will look like a pointless plot overcomplication for the sake of pure angst and symbols. I know that a lot of people compare the concept to Red Vision, which was also a bit of overcomplication for angst's sake but done very right, but the problem is, Red Vision was one of multiple character subplots in one of four (at least) action subplots in Infinity War - not the supposed climax of two main characters' arcs. Additionally, the RV scene is what it is because a whole hour, in fact the reason why the whole battle in Wakanda even takes place, is to keep Vision alive - and then he doesn't come back.

Secondly, ugh, ffs, don't even get me started on Palps can't possess Rey because her lumens are just 2 much 4 him. This is bs.

And lastly, and I think no-one pointed it out yet I'm sure this would be the main criticism in retrospect - the supposed Matt Smith/Dark Side Acolyte character. Let me get this straight: a (supposedly played by a popular and rather young actor) character we'll have no time to grow to hate gets possessed by Palpatine and then gets killed by our righteous heroine and redeemed bad boy - but, y'know, Star Wars is about saving all lives, that's why Rey wouldn't kill Ben - only for Palps to pop out of him and horcrux into Ben. This is an Armitagesque counterintentional underdog villain fan darling material. His only purpose is to be Ben's plot armour for most of the movie. I guarantee that people would be asking why didn't Rey bring him back rather than Ben. And guess what, they'll have a point since maybe 1/9th of the trilogy spent in free mind could never be enough to produce an expendable level hate sufficient to override this moral hypocrisy posing as moral paragon.

So yeah, I'm sceptical towards the leak but for completely different reasons than most reylos. If anything, I think it should be The Exorcist type situation where Ben wilfully lets Palps possess him rather than DSA - a sacrifice of compassion, not universal necessity - then really can't kill himself and only then asks Rey to do this.

[wolfieonatypewriter]

Echoes Across Time And Space

Summary:

Bayonetta was very much ready to have a great and relaxing birthday in the company of Jeanne and a ton of free time when one of her gifts turns out to be more than what she bargained for.

The Remembrance of Time of the day she was born that their absent god had sent her way could prove to be too much, even for her.

Word count: 2.6k

A/N: Golem the discount store siamese is Jeanne's cat that she finds as a stray and he's pretty consistent across my fic universes

“Golem, I swear to fucking God that I will boil you in a big witchy caldron if I go back there and see anything broken!” She had opened the door to their swanky Manhattan high rise to the cute delivery girl for some of her birthday parcels but there was a distinct ruckus of someone breaking things. “I'm sorry, it's the cat you know.”

The other lady laughed and tucked in her signing machine underneath her arm, handing her the parcel emblazoned with ‘From: Luka Redgrave’ in swirly, obnoxiously composed handwriting. “This one is fragile, so maybe do keep it out of reach.”

Cereza carted the box back to her kitchen and to the source of the disturbance, only to find the balcony door wide open to the snow storm and Golem meowing in displeasure from the other side of the room.

“You shouldn't have opened this then, you butthole.” He pinned his ears back and harrumphed out with an upturned tail, showcasing such a body part right at her as he trotted away most imperiously.

“About as charming as your owner.” She mumbled to herself, rubbing her bare arms and crossing the expansive kitchen to shut the balcony doors before the blizzard parkered itself on their home.

The wind must have been truly hazardous to have slammed the door open. She spared a thought to Jeanne, out and about in the city probably getting some private party favours for a little birthday one on one fun. She loved her toys and not even the dreadful weather had dissuaded her, especially considering those had been a backed up special order that had been ready at just the right time.

With a graceful pivot, she hummed her way back to the kitchen island, her favorite marble monstrosity, when a twinge of magic rippled in the back of her head. She turned, looking around for what might have caused it. If angels decided to rain down on her for her birthday, she would march straight to Paradiso and punch Jubileus in the face.

Odd, there was nothing out of the ordinary and the flick had since passed with no hint that it had ever happened. With a shrug, she turned back to her parcel on the marble countertop.

Luka had promised something good and she had no doubt he would deliver. What could it be, he was very tight lipped about it but had sworn up and down she was going to love it.

When she looked again, the brown box was no longer anywhere to be found and in its place rested a single blue card.

Aesir.

Cereza jumped into action, looking around wildly and turning her living room around searching for any clues on where he might be. The apartment was as she had left it, everything undisturbed, not even Golem was around to make a mess of things.

“Come on, little one! You can't just drop by like this.” She called out, walking back to the kitchen island once more. Spotting a note that wasn't on her fridge before, she snatched it. “At least show up for a chat…”

Hey, Bayonetta! I got you a little something I do think you'll enjoy. I still don't think you look like a Cereza but after hearing about it, I could be convinced.

Cereza huffed, rolling her eyes. Couldn't anyone in her life not be a dramatic ho with a flair for the theatrical? The simple sheet did not reveal any other tricks so she pinned the damn thing back to the fridge.

The card rested face down and another cursory look revealed that the box Luka had sent was resting on Jeanne's favorite chair. A sense of exhilarating anticipation itched in her chest, a feeling she hadn't gotten since she asked Jeanne to move in with her. As soon as her fingertips touched the card, a rebound of energy coursed through her arm.

With a flick of her wrist, the card was now facing up and a picture of her mummy and Balder appeared. It was stylized in the same way as Loki's old cards, her parents back to back with their hands clasped together.

It was a beautiful figure, bold in it's intent but sad given all that she knew had transpired between them.

“Sentimental, little one.” She was about to grab it to stash it somewhere safe when it lit with a surge of incomprehensible power. The world around her turned to gold and blue, her living room ending up looking like it had been ran with a bad photo filter.

She was about to move when the distant cry of a baby started up. Bayonetta looked around her apartment for any clues, bringing forth her guns from her summoning pocket.

The sound was seemingly everywhere at once but no images materialized. In between whimpers and bouts of crying, a voice sounded over it.

‘My most precious starshine, it's your first morning. What has you ever so displeased?’ The man had a rich baritone, so loving and emotional that something stabbed through her heart at the realization. He wasn't speaking English, it sounded like something of a cross between Portuguese and Galician which could only be Vigridian. Cereza was astounded she could still understand it.

This was a remembrance of time and that was… ‘She’s so Umbra but reacts so well to your magic.’ A woman chimed in, voice low and somewhat hoarse. Tired but content and Bayonetta wasn't dumb enough to miss why. All in all, she had to thank Rosa for a job so well done.

‘Daddy loves his little girl so, he can hardly stand to part with her.’ The rustle of cloth followed his statement and she strained to try and picture what could be happening. Was he holding her? Passing her over to Rosa? ‘Mummy has food, tasty and delicious. Is that what you want?’

After a few seconds, the unmistakable sound of a baby nursing filled the silence. In that time, Bayonetta came crashing down to earth on what she was seeing and hearing. Her parents, her very own parents were there in echo on what seemed to be the day she was born. Balder sounded so soft, so in awe of what had happened. His tender tone was ripped right out of a fairy tale, of parents not filled with grief, not confined to the back of an annulment cell. Of all the things she knew of him, distorted and fragmented as they were, this facet was the hardest to swallow. Father Balder had been dramatic and violent, his younger self has been angry and hurting. In neither of those had there been any space for the loving care she was hearing.

Bayonetta didn't know what to do with that information but she didn't have much time to chew it over as Rosa started speaking again.

‘She is so small… felt much larger a couple of hours ago though.’ They shared a chuckle and a the sound of a couple of soft kisses reached her ears, the rawness of their affection was obvious even without visuals. Young spouses, newly minted parents with their whole world suckling peacefully in front of them. 'Well then, what will our daughter be called?’

'I think Cereza is a perfect match.’ he supplied, words reverent and Rosa laughed in reply, so joyful and unfettered like Bayonetta only heard a scant few times in her life. ‘And may her life always be bathed in the summer sun.’

There it was, oh there it was. A name that was a blessing of the highest calibre coming from her Lumen father. A prayer that had fallen on deaf ears.

‘She was born in the dead of winter, Balder. Might I add, exactly as a good little Umbra should.'

A small sob escaped her throat and before she knew it, a couple of stray tears made their way down her face. This wasn’t...it wasn’t fair and Bayonetta had no clue on how to process the turbulent tide of her overwhelming sadness, her unconfronted grief or even just the unfairness of her misplaced anger at her parents and their decisions.

“Cereza!” The rapid staccato of heels pounded across their foyer and Jeanne sprinted into the kitchen only to halt immediately at the scene that greeted her harried entrance. “What is…”

‘That’s precisely why she needs a summer blessing. To balance it out!’

That voice brought back a flood of memories and she raised her guns, teeth gnashed and all of her was ready to summon Madama Styx right then and there but when she noticed there were no threats at their gates, she uncoiled enough to take a good look around.

Her most beloved was crying, their kitchen felt like an hub of undetermined energy zapping through her whole soul and Jeanne, brightest witch in an age and Elder of the Umbra Witches, had no clue what was going on. So she did the first thing that came to mind. Envelop Cereza in a hug.

‘The daughter of the night and day, an auspicious portent. Though many would disagree.' Rosa's voice continued to sound in their spacious kitchen, gaining a harder edge and at some point Jeanne realized that it came from the card on their table. Oh no, a remembrance of time. ‘ How long do you figure this safehouse will hold? A month?’

She hugged back, burying her face on Jeanne's shoulder and biting her lower lip to keep from shedding more tears while the memory kept going like a stuck tape on a broken recorder.

'At best, yes.’ All of a sudden he sounded very tired and they heard a sigh. ‘For now, we can all rest. This is as isolated as isolation can be, it seems the legends about Fimbulventr are not as true as they seem.’

‘For now as well, the people's whispers are too loud to ignore.’

Bayonetta lifted her head from Jeanne’s shoulder and furrowed her brow at those words, turning to her. They had taken refuge on the Holy Mountain and somehow had been taken in with warmth. Her personal experience told her acutely that being received kindly in there was next to impossible.

A thousand and one questions burned inside her head but none more intense than the age old query: Had their absent God interfered? Had he taken pity in his own Eyes, harbouring the Left and Right facets of creation and their precious bundle of the apocalypse in his own domain?

Little whimpers broke up their strategy meeting and rustling cloth sounded up again. ‘You’re daddy's girl already and you barely know what a daddy is, moonstone.’

Balder chuckled at her words, whimpers growing louder. ‘Why do I think it's not a me she likes best. You might be right, she pays attention to my magic but it's not working now.’

A string of lilting bird calls, like one would expect from a songbird, followed his statement and Jeanne just held her close, commenting “Lumen sages are keen on their bird natures, it's part of their communication.”

‘See, she likes that.’ Rosa’s voice had a hint of smugness that sounded so very characteristically Bayonetta in its execution. However, despite having quietened down a touch, little Cereza still made her discomfort known.

‘Not enough to soothe her it seems.’ He replied, chirping a little more but without any further success. A rumbling purr broke through and that Bayonetta knew what it was.

Somewhere in the back of her memories, she remembered her mummy purring at her, as close as she could through the thick bars of her cell. Her chest rattled and rumbled and her little tiny self would bask in the comforting certainty of it all.

The lack of visuals was both infuriating and a boon, as they could only guess at Cereza’s adorable fussiness from the squirming sounds she was making.

But it also meant Bayonetta couldn't see the love in her parents’ eyes, couldn't see their weariness and their bone aching tiredness tinged with overwhelming relief of having found shelter just in time for their little one to be born.

Couldn't see all she had missed.

‘Fly me to the moon…’ Their perfect harmonizing jarred her from her thoughts like a vengeful poltergeist.

‘And let me play among the stars’ the song was perfect in it's execution, a performance born of repetition. ‘In other words, please be true.’ Of singing it many times together.

‘In other words…’ No fussiness could be heard anymore, only the well polished lullaby in the unique duet version Bayonetta had never even guessed could exist.

‘I love you…’

The magic faded slowly after the last bar like a record player winding down and the last she heard was the faint noise of another soft kiss.

At that time, she had stopped caring about the tears streaming down her face or the fact that she was hanging on for dear life on Jeanne. It was embarrassing and heavy but at the same time a part of it felt…

Good.

A soft purr vibrated near her cheek, breaking the uncomfortable silence of their apartment and Jeanne held her closer. The purr picked up, higher pitched and softer than her mother's great big tiger purr, causing her to scrunch her eyes shut for a second.

“In other words.” Jeanne started, her words vibrating through her rib cage.”I love you…” Cereza felt a kiss to her hair and she sniffed, wiping her stray tears with the back of her hand.

She lifted her head and Jeanne smiled, kind and caring and loving and all just for her. She replied with a watery smile, disentangling from her lover and taking off her glasses to rub at her eyes.

The card was facing up near them on the countertop, Rosa and Balder with clasped hands staring back at them, defiant. And wasn’t that the foundation of their life, a relationship forged out of defiance. A daughter born out of love.

“Please tell me you didn't get me an emotional gift as well.”

Jeanne chuckled, snaking her arms around her waist and kissing her lips softly. “I have some things you'll like in my bag of tricks but it's mostly earthly pleasures, I promise.”

Cereza was exceptionally hard to shop for so she just got her luxury spa days and shopping trips. She had gotten her a pair of heels her most beloved had commented she had her eyes on for Valentine's and Cereza had replied the fun was in the going. Going out shopping with her was always an event that had even the most upper brow places at the beck and call of Cereza’s inexorable charms.

With a tentative touch of her fingertips on the card, Bayonetta snagged it from the kitchen island and stashed it on her summon void. She hoped beyond hope it didn’t start up again, another tongue lashing of emotions and past trauma would surely leave her soul even more raw than what it currently was.

That would take time to process and she was sure to either yank little one’s ears when she next saw their absent God or thank him for giving her such a thing, she wasn’t sure which one yet. In any case, that was an issue for future her because for now…

“Earthly pleasures you say?” The flip to predatory was so fast that Jeanne didn't even have time to react before a nip to her neck dragged an embarrassing moan out of her. Cereza had snagged her up with feline proficiency, the back of her thighs bumping against the countertop and Jeanne found herself at the complete mercy of Cereza’s hungry grin “Did you find what you went out for.”

Oh yes, she had and she was more than ready to see how it worked.

“Yes.”

Golem wouldn’t even complain.

[kayla1993-world]

Why thousands of city street lights are turning purple

There's disagreement about what hue the street lights currently are in parts of downtown Vancouver, but they're definitely not white. Perhaps "light blue," "definitely purple,'' or "black light-ish" — all depending on who you ask while walking under their glow on Davie Street, near Richards. While out on walks, Nancy and Sebastian Schlote have been puzzling about the new street light color and have come up with their own theories. "I thought they were experimenting with something, like energy savings," Nancy theorized. Sebastian was looking at it from a safe angle. "Maybe easier to see people crossing," he said. The issue of the odd-colored lights hasn't only arisen in Vancouver. BC's Ministry of Transportation says it has had to replace around two dozen lights on Vancouver Island so far. And Manitoba Hydro says it has so far replaced close to 1,000 defective street lights in that province, with another 750 likely needing replacement. The purple glow has also been seen all over the United States, in places like Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Kansas. While the indigo lights have also spawned theories online about everything from vampires to vaccines, the City of Vancouver says the LED street lights now shining purple are the result of a manufacturing defect. "There is a coating on these fixtures that has failed," said Eric Mital, with the City of Vancouver's engineering department. Vancouver is working to replace the more than 100 purple lights reported since the lights started changing color last year. The fixtures were all installed between 2017 and 2019 and remain under warranty, the city said, so replacing them will not cost taxpayers. Staff are planning to replace all 350 lights installed during that time to prevent any others from turning to the dark side, and the city has been told this problem shouldn't happen again. "Our understanding is that they have identified and addressed the issue," Mital said. "We are not expecting to see this problem come up with the more recently installed new generation of lights." It turns out the LED's true colour is what is shining through. David Beron is president and CEO of RAB Design Lighting in Etobicoke, Ont., which manufactures a wide variety of LED fixtures, though not street lights. But Beron says that at their base, no LEDs are ever just white. They only get that way once an egg yolk-coloured coating called phosphor gets painted on. "Behind the white light, there is a blue or sort of purplish color, and they put this phosphor over it, and this phosphor then glows white." Beron claims that LED technology provides a lower-maintenance and more energy-efficient lighting system that continues to improve. "The difference between a traditional street light and an LED is what they call lumen maintenance," he said. "The stability of the colour and the light coming out should be significantly more stable and more consistent over their lifetime than one of the traditional light sources," he said. The City of Vancouver is working to replace all 55,000 of its outdoor lights with LEDs, starting with approximately 44,000 of the street ones in the next four years. The city estimates that once all the lights are converted, it will save $1.65 million on energy and another $650,000 in labor costs annually. While cities across the continent work to bring back the white lights, not everyone minds the current look. Christina James was not bothered by the light while out walking her dog. "I do actually like the look," she said. "I like it when things glow different colors," she said. "I would actually be a little disappointed; I kind of like the vibe." Cool vibe or not, the City of Vancouver says the Halloween hues can't stay.

[theselfdoubtdiaries]

16th of July 2022

Dear Fran,

I really do hope you’re feeling better and on the mend. Speaking from experience, covid can be a very frustrating time, yet also a welcome rest. Which is sometimes just what we need! But often, like with many things, life gets in the way and we prioritise tasks and forget to take time and space to reflect.

I really enjoyed my last visit to CBR, despite everything that was going on. Your lumen printing was so interesting and I raved a bit about it to Jo when i was helping her install at Incinerator Space! I had some ideas of how you could use it with her ashes/bones work she’s been doing....maybe you two should collab? Maybe i’ll get a space and get you two together to collab and create these visions I see in my head...

I guess that brings me to this photo. It’s from the install at Incinerator Art Space, and I like it because a) my legs look amazing and b) its me doing something I love, in action with work I actually love. It’s no secret that I love Jo’s work, partially because she lets me play with it and give her suggestions and isn’t offended when I tell her something she said is silly or naff. This day was something I ultimately ended up looking forward to and it was nice to get hands on again with artwork, especially after missing half the deinstall at the Biennale due to dad’s death and funeral arrangements etc. 

It is certainly weird and a little harrowing, rereading what I wrote last. So optimistic and full of naive hope! Everything that happened before he died feels like something from a different lifetime, a different person’s story now. I don’t think I will ever be able to be the same person again. I’m not trying to be dramatic or anything, but its like there was a period of time that was me before he died and there’s time now. Its like a frozen, untouchable shard of ice or glass. I find it really hard to describe and I don’t think I’ll have all the words or ability for a while yet. It was only a month on Tuesday last week since it all happened. Not that long really, after all that.

But I have been wanting to write on here for a while now, so I’m glad I finally got the courage to sit down and read what you wrote and that last post. I just feel incredibly odd, because outside of the grief, I am feeling the happiest and most mentally healthy I have felt in years and years! Like I’m optimistic, and actually able to talk myself down before things escalate into a panic attack(!!!) and enjoy my days, and be confident at work, and ask for the time to do things I actually enjoy and that help me self soothe. It’s very strange, but aside from the sporadic attacks of the sads and the fact that hugs make me cry, I’m actually really good! I feel good. I just miss my dad and that little shard in my heart is constantly threatening to shatter. 

I will give you a heads up and say, I am mildly dreading this install now at ANCA given then content of the show. I also wont have much capacity to be patient with people’s egos. Maybe lets chat about it soon?I do hope you’re feeling better and have been able to ease yourself back into the studio. 

Much love xxxxx

Zoe

[aeohn]

Anonymous so you're an umbra, lumen and... ? your moms birth caused a lot of shit, your birth should of split the universe

HE’S     silent for a moment. then he shrugs his shoulder. “ i have no clue why it didn’t happen. the world is full of mysteries. maybe one day i’ll tell you. ” he raises his hands up. ren starts to walk away, waving at the stranger. “ perhaps that part i do not know of brings some balance. chalas. ”

[saruteku]

Overthinking Video Games: Bayonetta 3 Theories

I usually don’t try and overanalize something unless I have something to work with, but being a Bayonetta fanboy that dispite being platinum stared, gay as fuck would let her have my way with me I decided to use all of my knowlege of the first two as well as what I saw in the Trailer to try and guess how this new game can go down. Spoilers for the first two games are expected.

First thing is first, I have no idea where this game is in comparison to the other ones. I didn’t expect a third one because Bayonetta 1 and 2 made a loop. In Bayonetta 1 she defeats the last Lumen Sage after awakening the Left Eye, and in Bayonetta 2 she defeats the Last Lumen Sage, yet again, after losing the Left Eye. The reason it made a Loop is because if Balder was not pulled into the future in Bayonetta 2 he would have never of had Aesir , the god of Chaos, trapped in him which made him powerhungry enough to try and summon Jubileus in Bayonetta 1. Granted, in this not all of the information feels like it lines up meaning there is a chance there is an alternate timeline. For one they showed Balder leading the army against the Umbran Witches at the start of the Witch Hunts. Balder in Bayonetta 2 was chasing after his wife’s Killer while the story in Bayonetta 1 makes it seem like he was crazy way before then. There is also the question of why Balder didn’t have any abnormal powers in Bayonetta 1 if he not only technically has both eyes of the world, but a god trapped in him.

This creates the first theory for the placement of the third game. It is After Bayonetta 2.....Technically......More, it is Bayonetta 1 with an altered timeline due to Bayonetta 2. Rosa met her daughter as an adult, Balder is more powerful, as a Lumen Sage with the powers of a god and both eyes of the world, and Aesir is fighting hard to be freed. This also means the enemy shown is probably, once again, Balder. I don’t think I would like that much since HOW MANY TIMES DO WE NEED TO KICK YOUR ASS OLD MAN!!! But it does explain a few things, like why Bayonetta’s design in the trailor is similar, but differant from the Bayonetta in Bayonetta 1. She has the exact same look as in bayonetta 1, but her guns are called Wittingham Fair instead of Scarborough Fair, Same, but Altered, Alternate Timeline with small changes. 

Another thing I found interesting, and this is probably all speculation, is that there was one symbol that repeated in the Trailer. If you never paid attention small details were major hints in past Trailers, so when I noticed something was split in half 4 times (Bayonetta’s Hair Ribbon, The Enemy had a line down the middle right before Bayonetta being split in half and then her Emblem being split in half by the 3) It kinda made me a little excited. Anyone that knows my drawings and stories well should know I love Duality Characters, and lets not forget Bayonetta is a Duality Character. She is the child of a Lumen Sage and a Umbran Witch. If this third game was after Bayonetta 2 then I would have guessed Bayonetta was always “Locked” as a Umbran Witch because she is the Left Eye, the eye that belonged to the Witches and without it her other side can come out. Or maybe even if this is in Bayonetta 1′s time, since that Balder may have both eyes she doesn’t have it, and she is a Duality anyway. Lets not forget that Bayonetta’s Demons have betrayed her.  Gomorrah is the first demon “Not counting Madam Butterfly’s arms and legs) we are shown and if it wasn’t for him Bayonetta wouldn’t have been half as invested in the second game as she was, as that is what lead Jeanne to die and Bayonetta to meet Loki. It never really explained the rebellion, but there was a weird spiritual imbalance even then, The angels in Bayonetta 1 did say they were sacrificing themselves to make Bayo more powerful and there was really no reason for the Angels to attack so suddenly, especally since the goddess of Paradiso was gone. Bayonetta herself was technically the last with Lumen Blood, and the demons don’t really like the Lumens.

There are a couple of other potential foes Bayonetta can face. The Goddess of Inferno, Queen Sheba, has not been seen since she helped defeat Jubileus. She seemed friendly enough, but she was called to help defeat someone that could be seen as her mortal enemy, the Goddess of Inferno defeating the Goddess of Paradiso, but if Queen Sheba is the ruler of Inferno then she should be mad at Bayonetta by now. Not only did Bayonetta break into Inferno, and broke a witch out of her pact, but Bayonetta also aided Rodin, who is an Angel by the way, defeat a high level demon and turn her into a weapon. Though given the nature of Inferno she may not mind the weak being used by the strong. Bringing up Rodin we have him as another potential for. Along with Bayonetta and Balder Robin also has a strange Duality nature to him, being both Demonic and Angelic. He is also another godly being as it is said he was created during the split of realities as an angel of Creation, that means he was created about the same time as the Gods themselves (Not counting Aesir, the “True God”)

Everything down I guess I am leaning more twords the Altered Bayonetta 1 theory, but the split can easilly be explored since Purple seems to be the main color (The Left eye was red and the Right eye was Blue. Add those together and you get Purple)