#i think i was looping epic

[diiambee]

she had a friend once

[madbard]

Once again thinking about ISAT watching Epic and how I think the ending of 600 Strike would initially make Loop think of the King, I think there'd also be a more subconscious part of them that's thinking of the Universe too...

"Look what you've turned me into / Look what we've become / All of the pain that I've been through / Haven't I suffered enough / You didn't stop when I begged you / Told me to close my heart"

Oh, absolutely! As much as the King was a driving and overpowering force, being the person who did the most damage to Loop and the party, the Universe was ultimately what trapped Loop. Even an attack on the King, after enough loops, is fueled so much by frustration and desperation to escape - lashing out at the King is the closest you can get to lashing out at the loops themselves, at the cold and uncaring universe that used Loop as a tool, nothing more. Loop’s relationship with the Universe and their belief is so fascinating to me. In a lot of ways, they were the sacrifice. They were the tool, the toy, the joke - used and discarded and forced to put on a happy face (made easier by the oh-so-convenient removal of their mouth) to guide Siffrin through and out of the loops, to fulfill a single, accidental wish. Odysseus got to attack the god that trapped and tortured him - he got to make that god suffer, as he suffered. (Was it satisfying? Or did it just leave him empty and sullied with blood?) Loop never got that chance and never will - I don’t know that the Universe is capable of presenting, of communicating, of even existing in a way that any person could comprehend. (Would it be satisfying to make someone or something suffer for what was done to them? Or would it leave them just as empty and disgusting as before?)

There’s such pain to Loop - such pain and frustration and grief and rage which must be directionless, because it was caused by the unfathomable (in?)(re?)actions of the Universe itself, and therefore cannot be focused on any single thing within that Universe. That lack of direction acts as yet another layer of entrapment; there is nowhere for the suffering to go, nothing it can be inflicted on or used as fuel to target, and in being so trapped it turns inwards. Odysseus’s suffering bred violence that he turned against his enemies, becoming a monster in a moment of blood-filled catharsis. (That’s not to say that Odysseus’ trauma was in any way purged by this action - the damage was done and cannot simply be released and passed onto the next person, leaving Odysseus empty and new. Still, he at least got the chance to respond to his torment with range, acquire some illusory(?) justice/payback for himself and his crew. Most importantly, he was able to come home and be recognized and loved by his family. This is what gave him the chance to move forward, not the destruction of the one that trapped him - destruction which, for Loop, is an unattainable goal.) Loop’s suffering bred violence that turned inwards, honed in on the painful reflection of their own failure, so that they literally and figuratively inflicted that violence on themself, the person who made the wish, the closest they could get to a form of vengeance, a means of escape. Even at the end, I maintain that their goal wasn’t to kill Siffrin, but was instead to destroy that reflection which they hated, to convince someone to put an end to this futile thrashing and desperation and suffering, gnawing off their own leg to escape a trap when the hunter has already thrown the net over them, knowing at their core that they cannot escape and clawing and biting all the more viciously for it.

“Haven’t I suffered enough?” Screaming at the sky. No one will ever respond, and if the Universe really is existence itself, then their continued suffering answers that question for them. There is no release, no vengeance, no justice. They can never escape that which hurt them to create a new life for themself, because the Universe which caused their suffering is existence and life itself. Nor can they return home. Any catharsis they find, any relief, must be of a different kind.

What relief is there for them?

[beneathsilverstars]

sometimes i think about writing a post-canon human loop who, by the time they rejoin the party a year or two later, has become terribly addicted to alcohol. but even though i'd probably find it satisfying to write i think it would be miserable to read lmao

[askblueandviolet]

Isnt there some way to i dunno dilute the immortality peach so its less "immortal" and more of a life extention medicine?

Ask Box is Open again! 4-6 slots as always :))) Until I reach that amount the box will remain open.

UPDATE: 7 hours have passed and unfortunately I have to close the box ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠´⁠∩⁠`⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡. Thank you to everyone who submitted something, I will answer them all soon :))).

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[stardust948]

Zuko's role in Epic AU

Jorge Rivera Herrans mentioned throughout the musical, Odysseus was learning how to become ruthless. I don't want to copy and paste Odysseus' personal journey onto Zuko who I believe would handle some events much differently.

Zuko's journey would be about defiance.

He defies the Sky Fire god (Ozai) by sparing enemy's infant son.

He defies the Goddess of War (Azula) by sparing the Cyclops.

He defies the Ocean goddess (Hama) by using the wind bag to escape.

The only time Zuko did give into being cold and heartless was after seeing Iroh in the Spirit Realm, discovering he had died while Zuko was away, and learning of the prophecy of his wife Katara in the arms of another man (The Blue Spirit). Zuko then ordered his crew to merciless kill the sirens then sacrificed six of his crewmembers in the Lair of Koh.

After a mutiny lead by Sokka, the Sky Fire god returned when the sacred cattle were slaughtered and offered Zuko a choice. His death or his crew's death in exchanged for the cattle. He expected Zuko to choose his crew.

Zuko chose himself.

The Sky Fire god saw this as another act of rebellion. So, he scarred Zuko to teach him obedience then killed the rest of his crew.

But Zuko continued to deify fate.

He silently defies the Island goddess (Ty Lee) by never truly surrendering to her advances or losing hope of escape.

Zuko's defiance inspired others.

The Goddess of War, his friend and former mentor (and half-sister), rebelled against her father the Sky Fire god by fighting for Zuko's release.

His fallen friends and comrades escape the spirit realm and helped Zuko in his fight against the Ocean goddess.

In Zuko's last act of defiance, he forced the Ocean goddess to lift her storm so he can return home to his family in a matter very similar to the musical, echoing her own words against her.

[midnightwind]

(DAtV)-Music Shuffle Game

tagged by @pixiedurango, this should be Funny lmao

THE RULES: You gotta shuffle your 'on repeat' playlist on Spotify then post the first 10 songs.

I barely use Spotify anymore for, uh, reasons but youtube music has a similar playlist function! it's just 100 songs long so we're Gambling on how many from the Rook/fic playlist happen, but take my hand and let's see what happens (I'll try to spin it for the companions or story if it's a true random song lol)

(hey person reading this, does it sound fun? do you wanna take part?? you're tagged now, go, thrive)

Traveler's Song - Aviators (this one is just a bop, like all his songs honestly, but you could spin it pretty easy to apply to the Veilguard... hm)

Spite the bloodstains on these cobble streets A message to the gods to see us through Ever heard, yet rarely sung So raise your voice and praise the sun I call a new rebirth to keep us strong Countless souls along the path Lost to fiends and lords of wrath But we'll return to play our final song

Just Can't Win - 10 Years (this is a fic song!! this is Rook and Solas yelling at each other lmao)

We have lost All communication When words fall On deaf ears I'm starting to Feel a transformation How did I get here I don't Recognize My own reflection It's a ghost of What once was

Curses - The Crane Wives (this is partially a Rookanis song because Crow romance is Normal and never Messy, you can trust me on this- [I fucking Love a clarinet going for a walk])

Oh, ashes, ashes, dust to dust The devil's after both of us Ooh, lay my curses out to rest Make a mercy out of me All my aching bones are trembling And I may yet fall apart Won't you stay with me, my darling When the war starts in my heart?

Even If It Kills Me - Papa Roach (OH BABY it's my baby girl's de Riva anthem heyyo, she's so normal about her loyalty to Viago [and family in general, good luck Luca])

'Cause I hope that you know when you're broken, I'm broken too If you need me, I'll bleed for you Even if it kills me inside Even if you burn me alive I'd carry that pain that you don't need I'd carry that weight that you don't see

Are You Really Okay? - Sleep Token (we're on a fic streak, this is the last song on the playlist for both Lucanis and Rook because man... going home to the messy Crow politics after All That is going to be rough!)

And are you really okay? Are you really okay? You woke me up one night Dripping crimson on the carpet I saw it in your eyes Cutting deeper than the scars could run

I Want Blood - Dance with the Dead (BANGER ALERT I like this song a normal amount, anyways this is for Lucanis while Rook is in Regret Jail) hi I can't find the lyrics so we're doing it from scratch lmao

I want blood If I can't have love It's never ever gonna be enough Blood, I want blood and to love is to die

Nightmare (The Devil) - Fame on Fire (alright somehow shuffle toggled off between songs, but funny because this is for Rook while trapped in Regret Prison)

I'm in the middle of a nightmare And it's not going away I'm buried under the broken dreams I don't know who to blame I'm in a never ending nightmare I know I'm going insane And when I'm under the curtain call There's nothing left to save

My Demons - Starset (ANOTHER BANGER this is just one of my top songs in general because I fucking love Starset a normal amount, but honestly? it's a solid Rookanis song for obvious reasons below)

I cannot stop this sickness taking over It takes control and drags me into nowhere I need your help, I can't fight this forever I know you're watching I can feel you out there Take me high and I'll sing Oh, you make everything okay, okay, okay (okay, okay, okay) We are one in the same Oh, you take all of the pain away, away, away (away, away, away) Save me if I become My demons

Don't Fight It - 10 Years (this is The Rookanis song for me, it's so good for them)

Memories stuck in my head All the things I should have said If I fall back into you Don't fight it, Don't fight it Gone are all of the days this was easy Tomorrow can't hold onto yesterday If you come right back to me I won't fight it, I won't fight it Show me what you need from me Don't hide it, Don't hide it

Pick Me Up - Saint Motel (I've only listened to the new album twice, but okay youtube lmao I think you could apply this to Rookanis where one or both of them is Having A Day tho)

And I could use a little pick me up Something that is heavy like a brick Yeah, I could use a little pick me up So, hit me with a little fire Yeah, I could use a little pick me up Something kinda stiff will do thе trick Well, I could use a little pick mе up So, pick me up a little higher

alright I tried to get artist variety in there, but it rolled two of the 10 Years songs on the playlist and I wasn't gonna skip any from the actual playlist lol... honestly impressed we got so many from the it! thank you for the tag, and I hope you guys liked the genre hopping lmao (but seriously, look into Aviators, he makes good music in all kinds of genres and does a lot of Soulsborne fan songs)

[sobredunia]

Thank you, infinite squirrel glitch

[meowkol]

odyseuss stuck in a timeloop au??

i thought of this idea when i was listening to my playlist on shuffle and since i have epic songs in my playlist Charybdis starts playing and at the end when poseidon shows up odysseus screams "NO" and it gets cut off right? and what song plays next after that? The Horse and The Infant.

you see my vision right?? right???

what if ody gets stuck in a loop and it resets back to the siege of troy everytime he is getting close to ithaca or something.....god this man cant catch a break even from me

[wren-kitchens]

how long has it been?

1218 words

despite it all, however, i will not claim that there is anything more akin to a child than the wonder for the world, and the terror for the unknown. gods have little that is unknown to them, undoubtedly due to how easily they may procure information from mortals or prophets or other immortals, and so most of their childish nature tends to stem from awe. but what could be more unknown to an immortal than death?

hi i saw this art by @nikoisme and wrote this in like an hour

cw: discussions of grief and death!

there is nothing childish about the gods—it is almost entirely against their nature, after all. hermes was thieving cattle mere hours after his birth, as artemis made demands of what she wished to rule over in her first years of life. athena never even had a childhood; born fully grown and armoured from zeus' skull, ready to become the goddess of wisdom and war. the first gods, of course, were born and subsequently eaten in very short succession, and so when they once again emerged from kronos' guts, they were adults in all respects. 

and yet, there is something so incredibly childlike about how the immortals traverse through the world—creating mortals for their amusement only to throw tantrums once they are not exactly as they wished them to be; singlemindedly pursuing something one moment, and once they have been satisfied, they forget it the next. the demands of offerings and prayers and respect, lest the unfortunate mortals meet the wrath of whomever they have insulted with their lack of devotion- or sometimes their misguided devotion to a rival god.

despite it all, however, i will not claim that there is anything more akin to a child than the wonder for the world, and the terror for the unknown. gods have little that is unknown to them, undoubtedly due to how easily they may procure information from mortals or prophets or other immortals, and so most of their childish nature tends to stem from awe. 

but what could be more unknown to an immortal than death?

the goddess of war and strategy knows of death. she knows that many soldiers must be lost to win a battle, no matter how one tries to minimise the damage; she knows the carelessness of mortals so often leads to loss where loss did not have to be; she knows that look of blankness that passes over faces when the spear finds its target, or when the healing does not work. athena knows death.

she did not.. know grief. 

she didn’t know how often she would think of something to say to him, only to remember he was long gone; she didn’t know the way it never truly felt like it actually transpired- like she would turn around and see him waking up the hill to greet her; she didn't know how.. lost she would feel. as if someone had hidden a part of her just out of reach, just out of view. 

it had to come, eventually—athena knew this in the rational way everyone knows of death. it never felt as though it would.

the second hermes arrived, she knew. he was solemn in the way he only is when he accompanies souls into the land of the dead, looking at her with that dreadful knowledge in his eyes, and a kind of apprehension that she did not truly understand until long after. he had seen her furious, and joyous, and frustrated, and pleased. he had never seen her in the kind of agony that odysseus' death had brought. 

without so much as a word between them, ares took on some of the most pressing responsibilities of athena's. by then, she hadn't even had time to neglect them before he stepped in. she supposes now that he has been in her position before—whilst she is the goddess of strategy, he takes on the brunt of war. death is not an unusual sight for him, and neither must be grief. 

telemachus had long since sailed to egypt, but began his journey back once hermes visited him with the terrible news. athena could not bring herself to say it aloud, for fear of making it permanent—not that she told hermes this. regardless, she's fairly certain he knew anyway. penelope passed not so long after, and athena has never felt more guilt than how little support she was able to offer telemachus in those first few days in the empty palace.

for reasons she neither knows nor bothers to find out, apollo made a brief visit to telemachus. he told him.. he was living in the world where the best outcomes had come to pass, and that he would find solace in the years he was able to spend with his father and mother, as they truly were—whatever that was supposed to indicate. athena found no hope in those words, but telemachus seemed to at least. perhaps he had seen something athena had not. 

a year passed. and then another. telemachus settled into his new role as king of ithaca, flanked by his husband—they just so happened to meet under an olive tree. athena would like to claim credit, but in truth, she had no sway over the situation. she has since decided it is that foolish thing mortals call 'fate'. they have a child- a young girl with all of odysseus and telemachus' wildness and love of adventure, and penelope's levelheaded stubbornness, and those brains that athena still cannot tell from who they come. she loves archery, and the sea, and she visits the graves of her grandparents almost every day, along with her fathers.

athena continues to sit above them, in the olive tree telemachus planted, as an owl. she wants to pretend that telemachus has no idea it is her, and that her disguise remains infallible, but he talks of when they first met and how, even though they have not spoken for a decade since he set sail for egypt, the wisdom goddess still guides him every day. he gives the owl a smile every time he departs, and athena wishes she had the strength to speak to him. 

"he is not lost." hermes says one day, perching precariously below her on a spindly little branch that, if he were not a god, would undoubtedly snap beneath his weight. 

athena doesn’t speak. she isn't quite sure what she would even say—if he is not lost, she is scylla. 

hermes seems to understand what her silence indicates. "souls never leave, you see. the underworld feels impenetrable for us who will never leave this realm, but.. he is still there."

"i see no point to this visit." athena says shortly, and hermes looks sickeningly sympathetic. "i know this already."

a beat. the leaves rustle softly as a light breeze sweeps across the landscape. 

"i see him sometimes." hermes finally says, a touch of melancholy to his tone. "i am not to visit too often, but. i see him."

it's as if athena's breath is caught in her throat. "and?"

hermes smiles. "he is happy. i have told him of telemachus and his new family, and he is proud." he pauses, as if considering what next to say—which is truly a novel experience for the trickster god. "he says he has one regret."

"i would imagine he has many more." athena says to the gravestone, ever so slightly humorous.

"that is exactly what i told him." hermes grins. "no, he said very specifically. all his men, he has seen once more. his mother, penelope, even telemachus will not be lost to him." hermes looks at athena. "he says he misses you."

for a moment, athena forgets how to breathe. "i miss him too." it's a whisper of a sentence, almost lost entirely to the gentle breeze. but hermes hears. 

"i will let him know."

[redwidow616]

I think I've only listened to epic this whole week

[anipwrites]

Me, literally just doing anything, literally just existing:

My brain: tHIS IS THE SON OF NONE OTHER THAN TROY’S VERY OWN

PRINCE

HECTORRR

[madbard]

Putting this in your askbox cuz I know you're also an Epic the Musical fan but yknow I think if Loop saw that musical they'd get very emotional about Would You Fall In Love With Me Again, just in the context of thinking of their old party... :'>

Oh, a thousand times, yes.

I’ve been thinking about Epic and ISAT a lot recently, and honestly I think the entire musical would be such an intense experience for the entire party, but especially Siffrin and Loop. After all, Epic is, at its core, the story of someone who loses himself while desperately trying to return home.

(I know you were talking about ‘Would You Fall In Love With Me Again’ specifically, but this is about to get really out of hand. Also, I’m going to frame Epic as a musical that Loop, Siffrin and the post-canon party (likely sans Bonnie considering some of the subject material) are watching.)

Starting off with the Troy Saga, we have some striking similarities between Odysseus and Loop and Sif already - we know he’s been away from his home island for years, and so badly wants to see his family again. The homesickness here would resonate with them, I think, but the situation is also very different since Odysseus has such strong memories of his home and his family, and his home still very much exists. So that creates a little bit of distance as they are watching. ‘Open Arms’ would probably hit pretty hard though - I could see Polites’ encouragements reminding them of the party trying to help them after the loops. (Note for ‘Warrior of the Mind’ - I think this song would start some of the party off on the wrong foot with Athena. I think Mirabelle and Isabeau at least would be put off by the line “I see you changing from how I’ve designed you” as a bad thing. Here we have this character trying to change for the better, and another character is telling him that that’s a bad thing and he should stay the same? Yeah, they might not be the biggest Athena fans at this point.)

But then… oh, the Cyclops Saga is going to be uh… interesting. I wonder when any members of the party might have encountered a giant… led a fight against said giant… tried to barter with the giant to find a nonviolent solution for everyone… thought for a moment that they had succeeded… realized they had failed in a terrifying moment when they were told they would be the final one to die… witnessed helplessly as that giant brutally crushed one of the people they love most in the world as that person called out their name in agony… (The first time I listened to Epic after finishing Act 3 I had to pause it for a minute because I kept visualizing Bonnie during ‘Survive’ and it was doing psychic damage.) As much as I like to imagine the party watching Epic, I can’t imagine Siffrin watching that scene without having a panic attack. After that I doubt they are finishing the musical. (Now, we do have a fair bit to go and fascinating songs to think about so for the sake of this post maybe they were somehow all distracted during that scene? I don’t know, for whatever reason they keep watching.) If the party didn’t like Athena before, they definitely don’t like her after she abandons Odysseus - though I could see Odile giving her a little more grace in that regard, as she might see a bit of herself in Athena’s intelligence, the age difference between her and Odysseus and her clear difficulties with friendship and emotions.

The Ocean Saga is called than the Cyclops Saga. I could see Siffrin and Loop exchanging some looks at the “you rely on wit and people die on it” line but while there are some parallels between that song and their own discussion post Act 3, the similarities are ultimately far outweighed by the differences. Then we have the ultimate paranoia/insomnia/exhaustion/homesickness anthem in ‘Keep Your Friends Close,’ which I could see Siffrin and Loop getting pretty invested in.

As much as I love the Circe Saga, I’m not sure the party is getting much from it aside from enjoying the story and music.

Then we have the Underworld Saga and STARS. Loop is NOT going to be handling this well. ‘The Underworld’ is an absolute nightmare - gotta love being haunted by the screams of your friends that you couldn’t protect, tee-hee! Odysseus’ mom dying while waiting for him to come home is also an intense scene considering how little Loop and Siffrin know about what might’ve happened to their own parents when the island disappeared, but that scene is also just generally heartbreaking. ‘No Longer You’ is where things become viscerally painful for Loop - after all, there is a reason there are at least two full length Loop-centric animatics of that song. I want to ramble about this one but… “we’ve suffered and sailed through the toughest of hells, now you tell us our effort’s for nothing” and “I see a man who gets to make it home alive, but it’s no longer you” speak for themselves. The universe doesn’t care how much you suffered - someone is going to get that happy ending that you fought and died and bled for, but it’s not you. Not anymore. Then we reach ‘Monster’ and Odysseus has reached a state of self-loathing and dehumanization that Siffrin and Loop are far too familiar with. The death of diplomacy in exchange for brutality matches with post-Act 3 Siffrin, but it also aligns with Loop, and their willingness to do whatever it takes to help Siffrin escape the loops, even if that means sacrificing the party. And of course the perceived loss of humanity is very applicable to Loop, always.

On to the Thunder Saga, and Odysseus’ rage in ‘Different Beast’ is his own personal Memory of Sadnesses moment. This saga is just… tough to listen to for the entire party I think. The way Odysseus and Eurylochus’ friendship falls apart - that still hurts so much every time I listen and I’m sure it would be painful for them as well. (I could probably elaborate more but this post is already far longer than I had expected and I’m starting to run out of steam so I’ll leave it here.)

The party has made it to the Wisdom Saga! Odd opinion incoming, but I think ‘Legendary’ would resonate with Isabeau a lot - a song about this young, less-than-intimidating guy who desperately wants to be bigger, braver, stronger, the kind of person that can protect the people he cares about. Also, I could see Telemachus activating some protective instincts in the party, considering how some of his eagerness and fighting attitude are mirrored in Bonnie as well. ‘Little Wolf’ and ‘We’ll Be Fine’ would cause a massive shift in Mirabelle and Isabeau’s opinion of Athena - the character who opposed change at the beginning has changed for the better! Athena’s regret in ‘We’ll Be Fine’ would also hit really close to home for Odile, I think - “maybe if I’d made a different call, maybe if I hadn’t missed it all, maybe he’d be fine” aligns so painfully well with her own guilt and regret for not being able to figure out the loops and help Siffrin sooner. I think ‘Love In Paradise’ would be a surprisingly tough listen for Loop and Siffrin. The context is so different, but this song contains lyrics like “under my spell we’re stuck in paradise, no one can come or go - not til the end of time, there is no way, you’re mine, all mine.” Calypso is so scared of being alone that she traps Odysseus on the island with her for years - meanwhile, Odysseus is slowly broken down by his grief and his desperation to go home. For Loop and Siffrin, there’s an uncomfortable understanding of both characters, I think. (The entire party loves Athena after ‘God Games,’ I don’t make the rules.)

Next up, Vengeance Saga. This is where things start to get intense. As one might guess from the fact that I made a Loop-centric lyric comic for ‘Not Sorry For Loving You,’ I think they would relate to this song on a visceral level. “Someone came by today, they said they’re taking you away, that you’re not mine to save, and sooner I won’t get to see your face” - this so perfectly fits with Loop’s realizing Siffrin won their happy ending and is going to be leaving Dormont with THEIR family. Not theirs to save. Not anymore. “I spent my whole life here, was cast away when I was young, alone for a hundred years, I had no friends but the sky and sun” - this is literally an exaggerated description of their own life, washing up on the shore of Vaugarde as a teenager, completely alone with no memory of ever having been known or loved. “So when you washed ashore, I thought for sure that you were my dream come true - I thought I knew” - Loop/Siffrin being so desperately lonely when they met the party and bonding with them so deeply and desperately, starved for love and connection to the point where they clung TOO hard, loved TOO defensively. And then we reach the final lines of the song and I honestly think the comic explains better than I could exactly how perfect those lyrics are for Loop. At the end of this song, Calypso is left sobbing on a beach, watching as Odysseus sails into a future without her in it, with people that love him, so desperately lonely and full of the knowledge that nobody will ever, ever love her again. Yeah… I think this song might mess with Loop a bit. And then, of course, we have ‘Six Hundred Strike.’ This is another song that I imagine Siffrin for - specifically Act 5 Siffrin fighting the King. “How does it feel to be helpless? How does it feel to know pain? I watched my friends die in horror - watching as they were all slain!” Honestly, this song is a big Act 5 moment for Odysseus - except that he actually defeats Poseidon. I can’t imagine that this song wouldn’t cause at least a shudder in Siffrin and Loop.

And now, finally, the Ithaca Saga. (Which is what you were actually talking about. This got extremely out of hand.) I’ve mentioned the party would feel protective of Telemachus. They are not handling ‘Hold Them Down’ well. ‘Odysseus’ is interesting to think about actually, because for whatever reason this has become such an Act 5 Isabeau loops AU song to me. I imagine that an Isabeau loops AU would involve him undergoing a change that mirrors Odysseus a lot, becoming steadily colder rather than becoming manic like Siffrin does. I think he’d cope with the loops by essentially shutting down his emotions, using his intellect to be a truly terrifying force in combat. Under it all though I think there’d still be a core protective rage - “my mercy has long since drowned” vibes. He’s going to protect his family, even if it means becoming a monster. Alright, AU talk aside, the fact that the suitors literally refer to Telemachus as “the kid” in this song (as they’re planning to maim him to control Odysseus) is going to mess with Loop and Siffrin at least a little bit. Moving onto ‘I Can’t Help But Wonder,’ for whatever reason this song makes me think of Bonnie and Nille. I actually have a half-sketched lyric comic with this song set to their reunion, but only time will tell if I ever actually get around to finishing it.

Alright. We’ve made to the song this ask was actually talking about.

‘Would You Fall In Love With Me Again’ is a beautifully painful song to think about in connection with Loop because it is such a cruel inversion of what actually happens. Odysseus returns home, changed and certain Penelope won’t love him anymore, convinced that when she looks at him she will see a monster. But when she sees him again, she sees her husband. She sees him, she recognizes him, she tells him she still loves him, that he is still the same person, that she will fall in love with him over and over. She tells him everything Loop wishes they could hear from their own party. In reality, the party didn’t recognize Loop, because they aren’t the same person anymore. In canon, Loop never gets the confirmation that the party loves them still. They know the party is grateful, but that’s only because they were able to help them find Siffrin. Siffrin thought the party loved him after he helped each of them during the friend quests, and it’s only after Act 5 that they realize that the party loved them already, and will continue to love them even if they mess up. Loop never gets that confirmation. As they fade back into the Universe, they do so knowing the party will not grieve them.

Part of my love for post-canon Loop content stems from my desire to see Loop asking, in their own way, without even realizing it, if the party would fall in love with them again.

The answer is yes. No matter how long it’s been, and how much Loop has changed, I believe that the answer is yes.

[puffpawstries]

I been on the art grind I think I'll post osomatsu san related art fights here then my main I got like 6 inked one in coloring stage and the other 5 gotta be colored

[thydungeongal]

I think there might be sort of an unfortunate feedback loop between people wanting to pour all of their D&D prep into one epic setpiece encounter per day and people then feeling that combat drags. As I have said before, D&D isn't necessarily suited to a single epic boss monster per day type of structure: it's a game of resource management and attrition, so the actual gameplay lies in rationing resources throughout an adventure and making meaningful decisions about whether or not to engage or to retreat.

Pouring all of one's energy into prepping a single epic boss encounter means a single longer combat. Since dealing a lot of damage immediately is the right play all of the time, characters have no incentive to conserve resources. This often leads to GMs artificially inflating monster HP (either beforehand or on the fly) which then leads to combats that feel like a slog.

Not every combat in a D&D adventure needs to feel like an epic setpiece and in fact D&D regardless of edition kind of relies on there being a slow drip of stuff that drains the party's strength throughout an adventure. By front loading all of your prep into a single encounter you are teaching players to disengage from the resource management part of the game and by artificially inflating enemy HP you are effectively punishing system mastery!

Now, admittedly, WotC editions of D&D (3e, 4e, 5e) do have noticeably slower combat than TSR editions: the increased amount of tactical choices comes at the cost of individual actions and rounds taking longer to resolve. It's a tradeoff. If you find 5e style combat too slow, my personal recommendation is to look at pre-WotC editions and their clones. Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a good one imo, as is FORGE.

[foldingfittedsheets]

Hands down one of my worst experiences in high school was when the seniors decided to extort the entire school by using tactics that were banned by the UN to get them to pay for the senior party! If that sounds like a wild sentiment stay tuned because this shit got crazy.

I was living in Arizona at the time and I was a freshman. Our campus was largely open air, with walks between class room buildings and some covered outdoor tables. Our event began with a morning announcement. The seniors were collecting donations for the senior party, and when they reached their goal, their fundraising method would stop.

Their fundraising method:

To pipe the entire schools speakers with "If You're Happy and You Know It" on loop. To this day, I cannot hear this song without experiencing a degree of rage and madness that is frankly alarming. One of the worst parts of the entire thing was that the recording they chose had the female singer do a little clap and say "Yay-ha-hey," at the end. So it wasn't just the song, it was this awful little cooldown stinger at the end.

If this sounds a lot like psychological torture you'd be extremely correct! This practice has been banned in some countries, but the good old US hasn't ruled it a human rights violation, and what a fun silly way to raise money, that definitely wasn't damaging to adolescent psyches!

Every morning for 15 minutes before school began, every passing period, every lunch, and after school for another 15 minutes they blasted that fucking song on unceasing repeat through every speaker in the school. Everyone found different ways of coping with this and mine was to observe my classmates descent into madness and categorize the stages.

The first stage was almost completely consistent, and it was a smug almost exasperated eye rolling phase. Often accompanied by derisive comments about the song or the tactic, this phase was extremely mildly annoyed. Most people figured it would blow over soon, and no one anticipated this continuing for a week and a half, creating a miasma of fraught tension.

The second phase was elevated annoyance, starting to snap and be less amused characterized this level of irritation. People would try to cover their ears or put on headphones, humming aggressively to block out the syrupy repulsive children's performer with her loathsome little clap. This phase had people picking their absolute least favorite part of the song. Her inflection on certain words, her timing between verses. I think it's pretty clear already which part I hated most.

The next phase was a bounce back out to absurdity. It became funny how annoying it was and people would sing along as if to challenge the song's authority over their psyche. This paired exceptionally poorly with people in phase two as they'd often lash out at the people giving more voice to their hell.

The fourth phase was a dead-eyed madness. People would stare straight ahead and their lips would silently mouth the familiar words. The song had pounded its way into their very soul and was inextricably linked to auditory output. They often didn't even realize if they began chanting along.

The fifth and final phase was pure uncut pubescent rage. Kids would scream, attack each other, and in a truly epic end to the event hurl a cafeteria chair with such force at the speaker in the cafeteria to irreparably damage the sound system.

The seniors got funding for a party, but some of it had to go to repair the damages, which were substantial.

[clownzaf]

I want more fics of the JL meeting the Batfam via prank war.

The whole family—Even Barbara on a wheelchair— sneak into the watchtower and start causing chaos and annoying the justice league.

Barry: Ok, who THE FUCK glued all the spoons of the watchtower in my bed?????

Harper and Cullen , in the vents, with 2 spoons and bat-superglue:

Hal: I SWEAR TO GOD, I WAS WALKING DOWN THE HALL AND I SAW TWO KIDS HOLDING HANDS AND CHANTING, GUYS. IM NOT CRAZY. I REALLY SAW IT.

Jl: mmm, sure Hal.

There was, in fact, two kids holding hands and chanting. The kids were Maps and Damian.

Oliver: WHO STOLE MY ARROWS AND REPLACED THEM WITH PURPLE ONES????

Helena and Steph with two cans of Purple bat-paint and a lot of new (and beautiful) arrows for Huntress: 🫸🫷

The prank to J’onn was putting him in front of nightwing for two seconds and letting him read his mind. He was screaming and crying in one.

Day 2 Started with Open Arms from Epic the musical blasting on loop on the speakers and NOBODY. Could. Turn. It. Off. (Thanks to Barbara)

Clark who has been having a conversation with the silent moving shadow in the corner thinking it was Bruce: And then Kon said-

Bruce: Who are you talking with?

Clark looking back and forth between the corner and the real Bruce.

Duke in the shadows: *Giggles and escapes*

Diana: why are all the chairs upside down?

Hal: I SWEAR TO GOD DIANA IT WAS THE GHOSTS!

Diana: sure, Hal, sure.

It was Cass

Arthur: Who replaced all the food in the fridge with Grape Zesti?

Dinah: CAN SOMEONE TURN OFF THAT PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AUDIOBOOK????