#i think the image speaks for itself tbh

[reactionimagesdaily]

[Image ID: An off-white chick on a green net-striped background with the text ‘Don't text your ex’ in all caps. /End ID]

[sarahsupastar]

no background version

[boingoingo]

nothing to say here tbh i think this image speaks for itself

[recreationalfanfics]

Yandere Two-Face x Gn! Reader drabble

Doll is used as a term of endearment but gn bc tbh, that's peak endearment ngl.

Harvey knows its wrong.

Harvey knows it won't end the way he wants it to, he wasn't even sure if he wanted you or if it was the pain of losing Gilda, but he knew it would only end up with you hurt. Maybe even worse. He tries to use the coin to figure out ways to get over you. Heads, he lifts weights at the court yard to try and get his mind off of you. Tails, he tries to strike up a conversation with some of the other loonies. Yeah, it hurt his head to hear them ramble and babble about who knows what, but it hurt even more having to think about you.

You, his favorite psychiatrist. One who would start off each session with a simple coin toss. Heads, you talk to Harvey first. Tails, you talk to Two-Face. He hates all the times you landed on tails, all the times that monster got to speak to you instead of him, all the times that no-good-gangster got to lavish in your attention and he didn't. However, it's what fate chose and he knew all to well that fate had it out for him, because if it wasn't then maybe you two could have met under different circumstances. He liked when you looked at him, he wasn't sure how to explain it, but he knew when you did. The way your eyes would soften along with his tone and mannerisms when he finally got to switch off with that bastard. It made him smile, almost shy perhaps. He missed it, he missed you, but he closed his eyes and groaned as his thoughts once more came back to you. Rubbing his face with his hands, he rolled over onto his back as his brain was at war with itself.

He needed to stop thinking about you. About you in his arms as you stare at him lovingly with those haunting (e/c) eyes, at images of him flipping a coin to decide if he should surprise you with breakfast in bed or by doing all the laundry, or at the idea of you no longer having to work and staying at home for him, your eyes lighting up as he walked through the door and running up to him excitedly with open arms. It won't come true, he knows it, but he wanted it to so badly.

Two-Face doesn't care.

Ever since your transfer to Iron Gate in Central City, he had become more unruly, more prone to violence and roughousing with other inmates and becoming an overall pain in the ass to all the staff. Harvey'll try and rationalize it for him, that you were a psychologist and that he was just another patient to you, but you can't rationalize with someone who isn't concerned reason and logic. Instead, Two-Face was more concerned that something of HIS was walking around the world, unchecked and unsupervised, and ANYONE could try and get their grubby little mitts all over you. The very idea got his fingers curling into a fist and his knuckles aching to be uppercutting some poor unsuspecting victim. He was mad at the other quacks who thought they could reach the same places you reached, he was mad at the prison warden for approving your transfer to Iron Heights, but he was mostly mad at you for going.

While Harvey skulked, Two-Face schemed. All he could think about were plans to escape Arkham, hunt you down, and drag you back to Gotham. Right where you belonged, beside him. At first, he was just becoming more prone to "disruptive outbursts" but all Arkham inmates get rowdy here and then, then he started becoming difficult during therapy sessions. Not that he wasn't in the first place but with you gone, he didn't want to talk to someone who had the audacity to sat where you sat, who tried to flip a coin and pretend to understand him like you did. Not that you were pretending, deep down, you did understand. You understood that deep down, Harvey Dent was still in there...but you also understood that at the end of the day, Two-Face was staying and never talked about him like he was some imaginary figure Harvey made up in his head that will be cured after a few sessions and a little surgery. It's what he liked most about you, you gave him due respect.

At least he thought you did until you left. It doesn't matter, though, because you're coming back home. Walking out of Arkham Asylum during another prison break, his boys were quick to pick up their boss and give him the run down on you, handing him candid photos of your new day-to-day life. You're just the sweetest when you're oblivious to danger, you know that?

"Should we really do this? I could be putting them in more danger, but maybe this also isn't a bad thing...No, it doesn't change the fact it's still wrong!"

"Quit your whining, Harvey. If you're so concerned about what we should do or not, flip for it."

He takes out his infamous coin. Heads; they change their mind and just drive back to base, another day, another crime in Gotham City. Tails; they prepare a pretty little cell for you and get ready for your little return to Gotham. He throws it up in the air, his eyes staring up at it. His eye on the right is pleading and anxious, waiting for the coin to tell him what to do so he could stop feeling so guilty about wanting to have you to himself. The left side was tense but also maliciously giddy as the coin then fell into the palm of his hand. His fingers curled around it like a fist and he's about to open it to reveal the result of their toss...but he never does.

Instead with a deep sigh, he pockets the coin and he gives his boy's orders on how to observe you, on how to get ready for your return.

"I'm sorry, (Y/n), but this is for your own good." Harvey apologizes, standing before your fearful form in your new apartment.

"No it ain't, you just belong to me. Simple as that, doll~" Two-Face boasts, grabbing you by the wrist and pulling you to his chest.

Harvey knows its wrong, Two-Face doesn't care. Yet, no matter how you flip it, you were doomed either way because that's just what cruel fate had in store for you.

[nekohime19]

Heart behind the lie # Magic System

Sooo, I think I never truly explained the magic system I use in HBL? Even if I mention some notions here and there in the story there are a lot of things that I don't breach.

Since there will be talks of magic in the coming chapters, I thought it was cool to share my system. It's a bit of a mess tbh 😅 and this is gonna be a long post but you got everything more or less takled here.

What is magic? 💫

Magic is the energy within oneself. It is not a life force, the body sustain itself. Magic is an energy we don’t use on a daily basis. It flows in the body similarly to blood and, very much like it, resplendish itself naturally once it's used. There are a lot of theories concerning the origins of this energy. The most common and approved states that magic is a waste of energy coming from the soul.

Every living beings has this energy, but the quantity and quality is unique to each individual.

By using this energy, it is possible to alterate the world and oneself. The use of magic is made through spells.

How to use magic? 💫

It is through spells that someone can use their magical energy.

To cast a spell you need three things : magical energy, a method of shaping and a method of casting. It is only be combining those three things that spells can exists.

Method of shaping :

Shaping magic is giving a shape to the raw magical energy existing within you through a type of visualization. There are two common methods of shaping :

🫀Through the heart : it is the use of feelings, the enhancement of a wish through emotions that will give shape to the magical energy.

Example : if you want to cast a destructive fire spell you will think of the feeling of fire. Of heat, burning, ashes, and you will fuel the spell with your own destructive emotions, like rage.

🧠Through the mind : it is the use of images, a clear mental representation of a wish that will give shape to the magical energy.

Example : if you want to cast a time spell you will have to clearly imagine what you want to do in a succession of mental images.

These two methods exist on a spectrum. Strictly speaking, you will always use a bit of your heart and a bit of your mind to cast a spell BUT, usually, depending on yourself and the type of magic you're casting you will lean heavily towards one side.

Some type of magic can have more affinity with one method of shaping. For example, Elemental Magic is more compatible with the heart due to its nature. It does not mean you cannot cast Elemental Magic with your mind but it will be harder.

Both methods has their own flaws and avantages. Shaping through the heart is usually faster and your spell will be stronger, fueled by your emotions, yet it will also be harder to control. Shaping through the mind will allow you a huge degree of precision and control, but it will be slower to cast and, in terms of destructive powers, generally weaker.

Method of casting :

Casting magic is the release of your magical energy after the shaping, once your magic is casted it is called a spell. Now, if you cast your magic without shaping it beforehand then you will only release raw unshaped magical energy, the most it can do is push around the objects around you.

There are two commons methods of casting and an unconventional third only used for the crafting of artifacts :

🗣️ Incantation : it is the the method of imbuing your magic in your voice and releasing it with words (formulas, poems, orders, songs ect...).

🤌Conjuration : it is the method of imbuing your magic in a part of your body and releasing it with a gesture or a motion (hand signs, flick of wrist, flick of tail, snap, blink, blow ect...)

Both those methods has their own flaws and advantages depending on the situation. Conjuration are more often used in battles whereas incantations is prefered when the caster is incapacited (nowadays, incantations tends to be less used and the art of incantations is losing charm).

The last method of casting is used to create artifacts :

🛠️ Incarnation : it is the method of imbuing your magic in an external object to fuel it. For example, to use his lantern Macaque only had to give it raw magical energy, the lantern has seals inside that will transform the energy in the wanted spell.

It is only by combining shaping and casting that a spell can be born.

By analogy, you can consider that casting a spell is like doing an action. Shaping can be then considered thoughts and casting motions. You can only act if you think of an action beforehand, except in particular situations that triggers one of your instincts. But if you only think without doing any motions, then you're doing nothing.

Strictly speaking, this knowledge is enough for someone to cast any spells. Everything below is research on the nature of magic and its phenomenons.

Magical laws 💫

Magic as a whole has natural laws, no matter the type and the caster, that can only be broken by external means. Those laws are natural phenomenon characteristic to magic.

��� Magical loyalty : the law that states that magic cannot be controlled by anyone else but its master/caster (for example, when Wukong make a clone, no one but him can control that clone).

❤️ Magical affinity : the law that states that you're naturally more inclined towards some types of magic because of your personality and the state of your magical energy. For example, spells that require a large amount of magical energy will be more easily mastered by people with a large quantity of magical energy (like Wukong). Your personal likes, dislikes and fears will also heavily influence what you can and cannot do. Because shaping magic require your heart and your mind, if you have strong negative emotions towards a type of magic you will not be able to use it (people afraid of fire are unable to cast fire spells because their fear block the shaping).

🖤 Magical corruption/ or harmonization : The more you use a specific type of magic, the more your magical energy will tune with this type. It will become easier to use this specific type, but harder to use any other types. This phenomenon explain why most of the mages in LMK often use one/two types of magic (Red Son mainly use fire and sometimes transportation, Macaque mainly use shadows and sometimes transformation ect...). People who loathe this phenomenon call it corruption, while people who likes it call it harmonization.

💑 Magical compatibility : the law that state that some types of magic are naturally more compatible with others, and vice versa (for example, it is very hard to dual cast a water spell and a fire spell, the two spells naturally negate each other).

All those laws can be broken by external means, but the more powerful a caster is, the harder it is to break the natural laws of his magic.

Organization of Magics 💫

The different sorts of magics are divided in three levels :

1) Type (sources) : origins

2) Sub-type : derivation of a type

3) Sub-use : derivation of a sub-type

For example, Elemental Magic is a type, Fire Magic is a sub-type of Elemental Magic, Light Magic is a sub-use of Fire Magic.

It is commonly agreed that dividing magic more than three times is unnecessary and overcomplicate the understanding of magic.

Magics are commonly seen in two different ways. Those ways are nothing but an attempt at classifying and arranging the vast variety of spells in a common system.

🌳 Magical Tree (scientific name : magical arborescence) : The old-school phylosophy that organize the different sort of magics like a tree in which each type is a branch, each sub-type a sub-branch, each sub-use a twig and each spell a leaf.

This old-fashioned phylosophy was adopted in ancient times. But the more studies on the subject were created, the more scholars noticed that magic was not as clearly divided as they thought. In fact, a lot of spells and sub-uses shared common traits with different types ( For example, the magical tree isolate Shadow Magic from Transportation Magic, despite the shadow portal spell sharing a lot of common traits with Transportation Magic). As such, scholars adopted a new way of seeing magic that allowed for fusions.

🕸️Magical Web (scientific name : magical aranescence) : The modern phylosophy that organize magics as a spiderweb in which types are different webs that can intertwine with each other to create new magics.

A more big outlook of the web formed by all spells and magics mentioned/used in HBL and LMK :

(to make the web more readable, I did not include spells in it, contrary to the tree).

The magical web is nowadays closer to the real nature of magic than the magical tree.

Zoom on LMK/HBL magics and spells 💫

🏞️ Elemental Magic :

Elemental Magic is defined as the control of nature itself.

Shadow Magic is also closely linked to Elemental Magic as a fusion between different types.

In LMK the most known characters using Elemental Magic are : Red Son (fire), Mei (fire) PIF (wind), Macaque (shadows), LBD (ice).

MK and Wukong also uses a specific wind spell called "cloud call" to summon their clouds.

🪵Wood : control of wood

🔥Fire : control of fire

Common Spells :

Fireball - (used by Red Son)

Sub - uses :

🌞 Light

🌬️Wind

Common Spells :

Cloud Call- projection of voice or gestures in the wind to reach the clouds (used by MK, Wukong)

🌎 Earth : control of earth

⚔️Metal : control of metal

🌊 Water : control of water

Sub-uses :

❄️ice

Common Spells :

Frost- ice recovering an environnement (used by LBD)

Spikes- launching of ice spikes (used by LBD)

👥 Transformation Magic :

Transformation Magic is defined as the magic changing one appearances/nature to create something new.

Known characters using it : MK, Wukong, Macaque, Scorpion Queen

There are four known sub-types :

✨Illusions : covering object/person with a layer of magic to gives the illusion of change.

Common spell :

Glamors -illusions on a person (used by both monkeys to hide their scars),

Mirage-illusions on an environnement (used by Scorpion Queen in LMK to cover her castle)

💫 Reformation : bending the shape of an object/person without completely changing its appearances.

Common Spells :

Shrink- shortening the size of an object/person (used by MK and Wukong)

⭐Metamorphosis : changing the appearances of an object/person without changing its nature.

Common Spells :

72 transformations (used by MK, Macaque and Wukong)

Hair clones (used by MK and Wukong)

🌟Transmutation : changing one appearances and nature completely, creating a brand new person/object

Common Spells :

Mecha/Recreation (used by MK and Wukong)

🌃 Shadow Magic :

Shadow Magic is defined as the control of shadows.

Known character using it : Macaque

Common Spells :

Shadow manipulation

Shadow portal

Shadow clone

One aspect of shadow magic that is characteristic to it is the shadow realm.

The shadow realm is another dimension where all existing shadows collide together. You can enter the shadow realm by diving in a shadow or through a shadow portal. Shadows are more or less heavy depending on where they are from. The lightest shadows are from the earthly realm while the heaviest are from outer space.

Of course, the heavier a shadow is, the harder it is to control.

The shadow realm is divided in four level of depth each made with shadows of different weight. The more you dive in the shadow realm, the more the shadows are heavy and the more you will be pressured by their weight.

Sometimes, lingering thoughts can swam in shadows, fragments of minds coming from the shadows' owners. Alone, those fragments cannot influence you. But considering that the shadow realm is a collection of all shadows, the fragments of minds also collide with each other, creating a sort of fragmented, chaotic hive-mind. This hive-mind can corrupt you with parasites thoughts that are not your own. The more you dive in the shadow realm, the more you are corrupted by the hive-mind.

No one came out of sound mind from the Abyssal Waters.

When you jump in a shadow, if you stay on the surface, you are in a safe space called "the poodle" that is not the shadow realm yet. That's why Macaque can stay on the surface of Wukong's shadow, but if he chose to dive in Wukong's shadow, he will enter the shadow realm Abyssal Waters.

👣 Transportation Magic :

Transportation Magic is defined as the control of space.

Known character using it : Tang, Red Son, Macaque

There are two known sub-types :

⭕Portal : creation of a passage to glue two different spaces together, reducing a thousands step to one.

Common spell :

Gate/transportation seal - (used by Red Son)

Shadow portal - (used by Macaque)

🚶Teleportation : the moving of bodies at high speed (used by Tang).

⌚Time Magic :

Time Magic is defined as the control of time.

There are two known sub-types :

🏞️ Zonal time : the control of time over an environnement

Common spells :

Zonal regression- turning back time over a specific zone

Zonal paralysis - the stopping of time over a specific zone

Zonal acceleration- the acceleration of time over a specific zone

👤 Corporal time : the control of time over a body/object

Common Spells :

Corporal regression-turning back time on a body/object

Corporal paralysis-the stopping of time over a body/object

Corporal acceleration-the acceleration of time over a body/object

Sub-use :

🩹 Healing Magic

Common Spells :

Rejuvenation

Resurrection

🧠 Spirit Magic

Spirit Magic is defined as the control of someone's spirit.

Known character using it : Mei (manifestation), LBD (possession)

There are tow sub-types :

Mind : the control over one's mind.

Common Spells :

Telekinesis

Telepathis

Manifestation : a very specific sub-type that enable someone to make their inner-spirit appear (for example, Mei and her spirit dragon).

❄️ LBD Magic

LBD has the most variety of spells in the entire cast of LMK. She use Ice, oblivion, possession and necromancy.

Oblivion : Spell that eradicate one existence from the world's memories.

Possession : Spell that break one's mind to better control it

Necromancy : Spell that break one's soul and creates a living-dead with it

Ice : the control of ice

So here is most of the magic system, I think I talked about mostly everything. Of course, some notions, like necromancy, will be further developed in the story in itself.

Hope it wasn't too tedious, I don't even know if it's understable 😅.

Thanks for reading until there!

Also, I wanted to mention that the word "aranescence" is an invention of mine. I based it on the word arborescence, and used the Latin word aranea (spiders).

[sonik-kun]

Reminder that WWX did use a homophobic slur (cutsleeve) before he found out he was, in fact, a "cutsleeve" himself.

I'd also argue that him taking advantage of MXY's body and the rumours associated with him by acting as a "stereotypical gay" to get out of situations was a form of homophobia in itself.

He assumed this was how crazy, gay people act - like sexual deviants. He used that stereotype on top of the rumours about MXY just to get out of sticky situations and avoid being captured.

Whilst this isn't aggressive homophobia, nor would I consider him a raging homophobe myself, he still took advantage of the world view he was raised in, which, in modern terms, was problematic in itself.

Think the harmful, stereotypical, predatory gay trope in anime that a lot of anime fans have taken issue with. That's the stereotype WWX was trying to perpetuate and brush off as a silly joke which is bordering that harmful stereotype territory mentioned above. And yet I don't see the moral "holier than thou" crowd talking about that in their analysis on "fictional characters in an ancient Chinese setting."

(Note before I get jumped on: I don't think WWX was being cruel or malicious when he did this. Nor do I think he purposely intended to sully poor MXY's image further. And I ofc don't think that WWX is a terrible person for doing so either. The guy was desperate and needed to pull tricks to avoid capture. But that still doesn't make things right by modern standards. Even if said stereotype was used to goad a load of "homophobes." Would also like to add that even after coming out, WWX didn't really challenge the societal standard or think ill of anyone who thought like that. It's not like he toured the CW with LWJ, promoting gay rights. He'd be very extraordinary for doing that and brave, too. But he didn't. Instead, he just got up to sexy times with his husband daily and lazed about living the good life. Which is valid of him, tbh, giving the shit he went through. But my point still stands. The social norm persists.)

Also, bare in mind, WWX was heavily in denial about his own sexuality at first and struggled to come to terms with it in the beginning due to the societal norms back then, anyway.

Homophobia was the norm. Stop denying that when you know most of the characters found it bizarre.

By their standards being gay was, unfortunate as it is, unusual and to them, perhaps even immoral in its own right.

By modern standards, we know now that it is wrong. And the moral consensus is that being gay is normal and should not be vilified (even then, not all cultures today have reached that consensus and LGBT rights still have a long way to go).

With this in mind and the notion of what morality meant to people back then, you mustn't hold the characters to modern standards because that was simply the world view. What was "right" back then.

You cannot say with certainty that you wouldn't be homophobic back then, in a world where people called it strange and immoral. As much as I'd like to believe that I would be one of the few who find it wrong to treat gay people poorly, most of us probably would find homosexuality strange because that was the moral consensus of that time. As such, it is unfair to hold characters like JC, JL, and JGY to modern standards for that reason. That's the point we've all been trying to make here.

(Even then, JC and JL both watched as WWX left with his hubby into the sunset and didn't speak illy of their relationship again, nor consider them social outcasts like the Jins and Mos treated MXY. It's almost as if people can change their world views entirely (or to some extent) after things become normalised. Hmm. 🧐

Furthermore, MXTX herself said that JC wasn't a bad person. She wouldn't say that if he's the "aggressive homophobe, incapable of change" like you all seem to imply he is.)

You all make this point about historical context when us JC fans criticise WWX for his clear breach of bodily autonomy with the core transfer and his own war crimes. You should apply that logic to the period typical homophobia too. Because as I have said before, you cannot say for certain that the characters would be homophobic had this taken place in a society where being gay was the norm whilst homophobia was frowned upon. Let's use some logic and context when talking about characters from an ancient time period, shall we?

[fuck-you-upmusicbracket]

Achilles Come Down (Gang of Youths)

The self is not so weightless, nor whole and unbroken/Remember the pact of our youth/Where you go, I’m going, so jump and I’m jumping/Since there is no me without you

How, the most dangerous thing is to love/How, you will heal and you'll rise above/Crowned by an overture bold and beyond/Ah, it's more courageous to overcome.

You may feel no purpose/Nor a point for existing/It's all just conjecture and gloom/And there may not be meaning/So find one and seize it/Do not waste your self on this roof

Soldier on, Achilles, Achilles, come down/Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?

"I'm sure you'll get other submissions for this one. I have no idea who this band even are outside of this song but it fucks me up like it does everyone else. It's the tragic love of it all. The desperation of trying to save your loved one from themselves. Or are the narrators of the song Achilles' own conscience representing his indecision on whether to kill himself or not? It can mean so many things and SO many parts of the lyrics are very poetic and powerful. (also again for me this makes me cry over a Specific Blorbo in this case Dimitri Blaiddyd but that doesnt matter)"

"The cellos in the background, the lyrics, telling the story of Achilles, the fact that it's fucking 7min long, it's beautiful, it breaks me to then pull me back together, it gave me hope in a moment where I wasn't in the best mental space, it's like getting undressed to your very soul only to be cover up with a weighted blanket afterwards and be told "it'll be alright." It's like that image with the guy that's like "this is cinema" but with a song, god I love this song so much"

"Ohhhg my god. It’s so. It’s a fucking heartbreaking song but it gives hope (^^see abovw lyrics. there may not be meaning so find one and seize it gets me the most). I can’t say anymore about it but yeah"

"Achilles is about to jump off the roof, his lover is trying to convince him not to. the vibe of this song itself is so unique, the violin and the segments of French reading really grip at your soul. Towards the end there are two voices seemingly arguing. One voice is Achilles’s inner monologue and the other is his lover trying to yell over it. This part is my favorite, especially if you’re envisioning your blorbo. Tbh in my darkest times I would fall asleep to the ten hour loop every night. It felt like laying on a rooftop and looking out at the stars and the street lights. I think maybe it kept me from doing things I would regret."

What Would I Do? (Falsettos)

What would I do if I had not seen you/Who would I feast my eyes on/Once I was told that good men get better with age/We're just gonna skip that stage

"So basically Whizzer is now dead due to AIDS and marvin (his lover) is speaking to his spirit. and the fact that they’ve gone through so much shit just to end in heartache but HE DOESN’T REGRET IT AT ALL. that’s how powerful love is!!! they deserved more time though!!!!!!!"

[superconductivebean]

#1286

Ok I couldn't sit on it for too long @the-magiarcheologist!!

Although we don’t know much about the Minoan civilisation as of today (little to no written texts survived), archeologists based their suggestions on the architecture and everything else they found (murals, figurines, weapons, evidence trace left in other cultures' history; tbh, if the history of Carthage could be restored, the Minoans will be, too, one day).

Minoan people likely had a goddess as their primary deity.

Her priests and her were associated with snakes, and there was a suggestion made that either the goddess had priestess (the same ones would behead sacred bulls with a double-edged axe called labrys, in and on itself a sacred weapon), or she could have a son.

Given that magic is canon to the world – the depiction of our world – in the Wizworld’s universe, I began to believe Salazаr Slythеrin is an heir to a surviving bloodline of said priests-the-sons of the Minoan Snake Goddess cult.

The bas-relief depicts Her I believe; and if She was a real person that ‘continued to live’ through snakes (which also aligns with the role of the snake as a symbol of rejuvenation/renewal), also a sacred animal to the Minoans, she needed someone to speak with the laity left.

It also implies not only her ‘sons’ but also her ‘daughters’ could speak to snakes. Did the daughters survive the turmoil at the end of the Bronze age — the Sea Peoples and others — remains a mystery.

Link to the figurine's image; it has BOOBIES and I know how tumblr thinks about boobies. Let's not anger tumblr.

I think it's also important to note:

Minoans predate the shift in the mythological image of the snake. When these people were alive, snakes weren't typically seen as evil or bad omens.

[bellepeppergirl]

An Investigation of the Impaler's Catacombs

So, with the DLC being announced and us getting some info about it and its characters, one thing we learn is, of course, Messmer the Impaler. Some people were quick to point out that there is a location in the base game called Impaler's Catacombs. "Impaler's" is singular, meaning it belonged to AN impaler, not a group of impalers, which would be impalers'.

Interestingly, the Impaler's Catacombs are also located on the Weeping Peninsula. I say this is interesting because a couple reasons;

1. The Weeping Peninsula is home to a spirit next to a church who speaks of an unwanted child of Marika's. Many people assumed this had something to do with the headless demigod in the Walking Mausoleums, but we are now inclined to believe it could be Messmer. That being said, there could be some relation to the headless demigod and Messmer, as we do seem to see more knights similar to Mausoleum Knights in the trailer and images. And with Messmer's seeming fondness for blasphemous things; he has dragon eyes, he has a snake, he wields fire and what looks like the thorns of the guilty, I think this could be related to why he would be unwanted. He's a little shit.

2. The Weeping Peninsula does not have a demigod or shardbearer. Every other region of the game has some kind of big boss that is important to the main story, while the Peninsula has... a Leonine Misbegotten... sure, this boss is interesting with the story of Castle Morne and it having the sword, but it is interesting that this is the only region without one and just so happens to also have this dungeon and a spirit talking about an unwanted child.

So, onto the actual dungeon.

For starters, we have a giant pit near the beginning of the dungeon.

Is this important? Probably not since I'm pretty sure other dungeons have this kind of entrance area, but one think I don't think is typical of dungeons is this:

There are bars over the tombs. Now, I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this does not happen in other dungeons, at least not very many. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is odd.

And this appears to be in multiple areas, not just this hall, though admittedly not every one of these corpse storage things are like this.

But now we have the impaling part of the Impaler's Catacombs; a classic trap of step on it, get pushed up into a bunch of spikes. Oh look at that, you've been impaled.

I think this could imply that, if this is related to Messmer, that he would be a very cruel person. I mean, you would probably have to be cruel to impale someone regardless, but to do so through a not-so-fun funhouse trap is probably a bit more sadistic.

Underneath this is the sewers. These sewers still have tombs here, which is a pretty shitty place to be laid to rest. Does this have any meaning? Well, it could add to the theme of unwantedness. If you don't want someone, you likely don't respect them, and if don't respect them, put them with the poop. And if he somehow had a hand in making this one, it could be that this tomb was for people just like that.

Is there anything interesting about the sewers? Well, it's full of Putrid Corpses. According the item description of the Putrid Corpse Ashes:

Does this mean anything? Tbh, I'm not sure. There could be something we could out these enemies essentially being meat shields or distractions though, but may I am reaching again.

The other interesting thing we find here is a prattling prate! Specifically...

"Please Help." Oop. I think the name speaks for itself, but the shape of this prate, all of which are intended to be heads, looks very squished. Almost like the person who has pleaded for help has had their head stepped on, which is something I'm sure many Messmer fans wish could happen to them.

Next up we have more barred over tombs next to the lever. This will add more to my theory at the end.

We've got this window that leads back to the boss room. Does this mean anything? Probably not, but you better believe that I'm gonna pull something out of it at the end. Plus it's kind of a neat way to loop back around!

Speaking of the boss, our boss is a Burial Watchdog. Pretty standard. But what isn't standard is that this one is accompanied by four imps.

Once again, very cruel. Mostly to use, the player, but still. It will go into the fuel pile for my theory.

And for beating this boss, we get the Demihuman Ashes.

Can I get anything out of this? Well, the Demi-Humans are a pretty oppressed group, like many of the inhabitants of the Lands Between who weren't born as the Golden Order or its enforcers would want you to be.

So, what is my theory? Well, as you could probably tell...

I think Messmer is an asshole. A very cruel asshole. Assuming he is related to this dungeon, I think that this dungeon was maybe meant more for punishment than normal burial.

The tombs being barred over? Only those with clean shots to the exit are. Perhaps Messmer would have people entombed alive and they would be locked behind these bars, unable to escape and forced either to starve to death, or simply suffer forever since death was removed.

Those tombs that aren't barred over? Well, they're all right on our fun little deathtrap. Sure, you don't have bars. You can get out of your tomb, but the moment you do, your driven through with metal spikes. And below is the sewers, which is full of putrid corpses and a prate asking for help.

Perhaps others were shoved down here to live in the filth, unable to get up to the top. The time of being trapped down here had them begging for help, begs that went unanswered, and they were corrupted by the filth into these putrid beings.

As for the boss? Well, let's start with the window down to it. Your only choice would be to head down into the sewers, or out this window. This window doesn't harm us, but we have protagonist powers. Any normal person would probably shatter their legs. Next, the boss' drop. The Demi-Human ashes. Again, an oppressed and hated group. Perfect for being trapped here as a punishment, no?

And the boss itself is a large group. You get past the bars, you get past the death trap, you get out of the sewers, make it down the window without being too badly hurt, and what you have is four Imps and a Watchdog waiting to make sure you NEVER make it out.

I think Messmer may have watched over the Weeping Peninsula and may have made this tomb not for the dead, but for the living. To trap them; make them suffer and never be able to get out.

And as a little bonus; the pit at the beginning. A funny thing about this pit is that there are messages down here. You can survive the drop! But uh... good luck getting out. You physically can't unless you have beaten the dungeon and fast travel, or use one of the items that return you to a Site of Grace. This could add to the theme of you're trapped and never leaving. Once the rest of the tomb is full, they bring you in, drop you in a whole, you break your everything, and are trapped. But this assumes this was intentional, but tbh, it probs wasn't.

BUT HEY, THAT'S JUST A THEORY. A GAME THEORY. Thanks for reading. Is any of this true? Maybe. Only time will tell. I'd love to hear your thoughts and thank you to everyone who made it this far in the post.

[annawayne]

Heeeello Anna! :3 I'm back to pester you in the inbox!

You may not have seen this, but this artist ask game... I've got questions for you!

1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 14, 15, 21, 34, 35

(ahahaha... That's a lot.... Ahaha.... Welp ....?)

But! No hurries, and I'm sorry if this eats at your precious time but I'd be happy to hear you talk more about your art! (Can never get enough tbh :3)

Hope you're doing a bit better now, Anna, please take care and you're loved!

Oh, Moon T^T

Hello, and you're right, I didn't even see this artist ask game (maybe, some time ago, so I don't even remember...), and thank you so much for thinking about me and for asking all this stuff T_T I have a lot of fun answering it, and it really distracted me from everything else going on in life since last weeks are quite difficult. But I'll be fine, and thank you for all of these questions, I appreciate you and your attention so much!

1 what medium do you use most (if applicable, what software)?

As I'm drawing now digitally, so I draw in Adobe Photoshop. I'm familiar with this software since my early teens, so it's very comfortable for me :D

When I was drawing traditionally, I primarily worked with pencils. I tried watercolour a few times, too. I have a very soft spot for oil - and I hope to develop this one day, too.

3 your favorite piece(s)?

Oh, what a question... I guess, for now, these ones:

4 piece you wish got more love?

All of them :D

I guess, these ones:

5 how would you describe your art style?

(I really want to joke and just refer to 21 question but well, let's take it seriously :D)

I guess, I can call it "cinematic poetry" - there's a very long way to go to really match the title, but this is what I aim for.

6 favorite thing to draw?

Oh, good question, Moon! As for the sketch stage, I really love to draw clothes, and when it comes to the stage of rendering - faces (primarily, eyes and hair, but I love the whole process and always try to improve my face renders skills...) and backgrounds!

8 thing you struggle to draw?

I think, when it comes to the rendering - HANDS. I think, my sketches of hands are not bad, but when I render them, oh boi, here comes the struggle. As a result, it seems fine, I suppose, but it's always a product of a lot of swearing and redrawing :D

14 whats your favorite thing about drawing?

Telling stories though different dimension. I like to combine in drawing both cinematography and literature, and it sounds a bit funny, because it's two different art directions, but still, I want to tell stories though a lot of things which combine these arts: details, emotions, lighting, and as if when you look at the art - you can hear all the vivid noises around the characters of life going one around and of characters themselves speaking, but then, as if they were caught in a moment, and then, I try to show this moment in my drawings. Or, when it's more of conceptual art, it also can tell a story, but differently - not like a frozen mundane life moment, but rather like a whole story behind it, and instead of these frozen ordinary life moments where the story is also told, here, the story told through not so evident details, starting from the pose to the colour palette itself.

I know I have a long way to go with it, but this is what I'm trying to improve and this is what I always aimed for.

15 least favorite thing about drawing?

Hm, very good question, to be honest. I thought about it for a while, since I can't really grasp if I can name such thing, but I think that it's both good and bad thing - that it's a lifetime commitment, that you should accept that you will study the whole life. From one side, it's wonderful and it's the whole fascinating journey, on the other hand - it can be really frustrating and draining not to be able to transfer your ideas from your head into the actual image, and while a lot of artists realize it, it doesn't make it easier to get disappointed sometimes. So, I would say, it's both good and bad thing, and how we look at it - depends on us :D

21 what do you think your artstyle would taste like?

I won't lie, this question sent me into a great reflection, and then I ended up questioning my art style in general, ha-ha-ha... But alright, hm, I think, croissant with orange jam? Don't ask. Just... Croissant. That's it.

34 whats something you still like from your old art?

Oh... Hm, I think from the beginning, they had great composition. I try to improve it now, of course, but I guess it was from the beginning a very great composition and "camera" shot. So this, this for sure!

35 if you had one piece of advice to give your younger artist self, what would it be?

Come, and do it, you're much stronger and braver than you think you are. It counts for many things, to be honest, and not only art, but yes, I would just hug my past self and tell myself that you're much more than you think you are.

Thank you so much, Moon, for all of it - for these questions, for your thoughts to ask me this in the first place and for your interest and support T_T It's priceless, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

P.s. I learned with this post that the post has a limited amount of images you can add... I didn't know we could add only 10 images... Woah...

[mezzy303]

Ok laddies time for this week's theory time (do I need to make a masterpost of my theories? This is getting a little ridiculous lol)

Spoilers for One Piece chapter 1115 spoilers under the cut

The way I jumped and threwwww my kindle (onto pillows) when Vegapunk confirmed all the Atlantis theories!!!!!!! I made the mistake of reading it right before bed and I was wide awake for like another two hours talking to a friend and just thinking about it 😅

I honestly was ready to scrap my theory from ch 1113 about there being whole continents 800 years ago before a great flood happened, and I'm still reeling on how it all turned out to be true besides the natural phenomenon part (here's my theory from ch 1114). And Oda once again proves how fucking genius he is bc I never expected 200 meters?????? Omg???? That's over 650ft for my fellow US folks. Here's an image going around Twitter from a YouTube video that shows what are own world would look like if sea levels rose 200m

Insanity

These recent chapters have had me really questioning the mechanics of the One Piece world lol. Tbh I think we all just assumed that the world was just Like That and mainly functioned to drive the plot forward. But there are actual reasons behind it?? With this revelation, I started thinking about how the sinking of land could have been intentional on the Allies' part, beyond the destruction of the Great Kingdom and erasing it from history. The way the world is now, with the Red Line going all the way around and the Calm Belts running perpendicular to it, it's incredibly hard to travel between the different Seas. The islands are also fairly isolated from each other, especially on the Grand Line. It makes it hard for information to travel around, and the only way to get world news is through a heavily vetted newspaper. To me, it all seems purposeful to further subjugate the world by physically dividing the people, making them easier to control and rule over.

I also want to reiterate how easy it would've been to erase the Great Kingdom from history and collective memory when the Allies/World Government had the capabilities of mass destruction that could cause sea levels to rise hundreds of meters. Not only does it make the original land inaccessible, the amount of people that died was probably immense. And with the death of a large number of people comes the loss of knowledge. Those that survived likely wouldn't have wanted to pass down information on the Great Kingdom from both the trauma of the event and the fear of retribution by the World Govt (I assume the laws forbidding research on the Void Century was immediate). So potentially after just one generation, knowledge on the Great Kingdom and how the world used to be would've disappeared. Iirc only the Minks and the Kozuki family passed down info on the kingdom's existence, and their lands are largely isolated from the rest of the world. (Speaking of which, they both are in locations where further rising sea levels wouldn't affect them)

Looking into it further, the way the geography of the world also seems like it's trying to prevent (or at least discourage) people from getting into or leaving the Grand Line and also travel between islands. Just trying to get to that sea is dangerous because it requires a person to either sail through Reverse Mountain, where many pirates canonically have died because of the crazy currents and storms and end up crashing into the mountain, or going through the Calm Belt, which is current and wind free and infested with Sea Kings. And once you're in the Grand Line, the waters itself are extremely difficult to navigate. Now what's in the Grand Line that the Allies may have wanted to prevent people from getting to? Laugh Tale.

For a little while now, I've been playing around with the idea on how the magnetic fields on each island may have been created to specifically help a pirate/sailor get to Laugh Tale. We've already seen Kidd using his awakened devil fruit powers to change the polarity of different objects, what if it's possible to change the polarity of an entire island? With those powers, a person could have created the seven paths of the Grand Line. I'm still trying to decide if this was done outside the Allies' control, or if it was an order from the Allies and the person was secretly loyal to the Great Kingdom.

And don't think I missed that little detail Vegapunk said about the Allies using ancient weapons!!!!!!! Literally each chapter has been teasing the reveal of the Elders having Uranus!!!! ｡゜(｀Д´)゜｡ It seems like the Lulusia attack really was just a taste of what their weapon can do. I can't imagine how big an attack (or how many attacks in succession?) it would take to cause 200m sea level change???

[sarahsupastar]

aroace flag background version

[theboarsbride]

Hehehehe ok ok ok. Sir John and Bear Wife. What if- now hear me out. What if she holds him close in the night time hours. Teeth on some piece or part of him, claws along his back, head pressed to the scruff of her neck and bosom. At first it frightens him. How she clings to him in the night, the threat that she would pull him apart and rend him asunder should he ever think to leave. But sooner or later… he finds a cold comfort in it. The way her claws sink just a little deeper. The way her teeth always leave marks on him… and even the fear itself seems home to him eventually. It’s what he’s owed…

OH EM GEE OK OKOOKOKOK OK YEAHYEAHYEH OK SO IMMA YAP🐻‍❄🩸

Dude yeah Sir John is terrified by the IDEA of being held by bear wife, an abomination that is indecent and crude. There is an erotic element to her horror, and its that eroticism and female sexuality, being embraced by that, that makes him go "oh, ew, no :(" ("*insert "well mark me down as scared AND horny"*)

But you're right!! He does find comfort in her holding him because touch-starved (BECAUSE I SAY SO!!) and he's cold and he doesn't trust his own crew and fellow captains for companionship, comfort, and warmth (womp womp he did this to himself lmfao, we know this)... he'd sooner take comfort in being embraced by what is essentially the manifestation of his greatest anxieties than his own men, and it only grows worse and worse as he becomes sleep-deprived, his optimism and wonder is fading, etc.

I also have images in my head of how she loves cradling his throat between her teeth and hfhgshghghgrehghsgshgfhfdghd yeah.......yeah..... the inherent monstrosity of female carnal desire tbh....

AND!! The fact he grows so close and 'in-love' with bear wife's touch is important to his arc in my 'Sir John lives long enough to engage in cannibalism AU' heehee...

SO!! He lives just long enough to engage in cannibalism, and the moment human meat goes down his throat bear wife's visage becomes completely human, and she's silent, she stares at him, she doesn't touch him, she just stands and watches him, silently and unblinking. And THAT is when she is the most horrifying to him. Bear wife, as a bear-lady, was always playful, would speak to him (granted, most of the time she was mocking him, but because the way he sees her is influenced by his love for his wife there were sprinklings of affections in her mockery), and would hold him. As a human, she says nothing and does nothing but watch him in silence, and it's so horrifying because he's lost his sole source of comfort and it forces him to reflect, essentially making him realize that it never mattered if he were alive or dead as a captain because either way his men perish. It shows to him how inadequate of a leader he is, that he really is useless, and that just because he has some badges and a title doesn’t make him impervious to sin and downfall and loss of humanity, it doesn't make him any different than the men he would look down upon and disrespect.

JUST EYYEEEYEYEYEYYEYEEEEHEHEHEEEEE..... need to eat that old man...need to be reason his self image begins to warp heehejhjhjfghjfhjgh......... BUT THANK U FOR LETTING ME YAP RAAAAGH!!!!!!💖

[cheetothunderstorm]

THE RESURRECTION OF CASS MONTHLY DEV POST 1

hey paisanos! it's my birthday today so i felt like talking about cass. TROC is still in its infancy at the moment, so unfortunately there isn't much to show off. however, what i CAN show you is very fun! i've been stirring up concepts for the game left and right and now i can confidently say when it's finished, it's gonna be a pretty unique game, or at least it should be. above is a snippet one of the songs for the game, Spooks of a Purple Hue, the default overworld theme, if you're interested first off, huge shoutout to @sproutian for sacrificing itself and offering to do programming assistance for the project! she's been very lovely to work with so far and i'm incredibly excited to have her on. second off, the game has gotten just a bit prettier since last time i showed it off. here's a glimpse at the dialogue system and hud, as well as an enemy design. the first room is fully decorated with finalized tiles, but the room itself will probably go unused lol

also, the dialogue system will probably be remade because it is not very good tbh. but yeah! i'm really happy with how it's coming along so far. the little stained glass cass in the corner will update depending on if you're in a battle or not, so be on the lookout for that. hey, speaking of battles, how are those gonna work? well, i have a couple ideas. while cass can move freely in overworld segments, battles will instead be locked to a grid and will happen live in whatever room it happens to take place in. if you like crude concept art then have i got the image for you!

this secondary image will show off a system that happens in battles, just to make the game a little bit spookier lol. the guy wearing purple (NOT THE PURPLE GUY) is the game's main antagonist. his name is secret but just know he's a pretty nasty dude.

alright, i think that about does it for this month's post! this game will hopefully be super cool when it's done and i hope you all will enjoy playing it. don't forget to like and subscribe for more ghosts

[blackjackkent]

Rakha and the others trail behind as Lae'zel makes a beeline for the githyanki officer and the enormous dragon flanking him.

"Rider! My time is short!" she bursts out. "Lead me to--"

"Shhhh-sh-shh..." The kith'rak puts up a hand, clicks his tongue sharply. "Such a familiar tone," he growls curtly. "Were I not merciful, I would slice the skin clean from your meat. Yet you are not bleeding - for I am *nothing* if not merciful. Your name, child!"

Rakha can see how Lae'zel is struck by these words as if by a whip. She goes completely still, ramrod straight, eyes widening. Rakha herself feels a surge of anger on the other woman's behalf, anger the beast in her mind immediately clings onto. How dare he--

Images flash through her - of this officer's head severed from his body and fed into his red dragon's gullet. She sets her jaw, pushes the thoughts back and keeps silent through a force of tremendous will.

Nod to Laezel. Go ahead.

(A/N: We get a specifically [HALF-ORC] option here to insist on speaking on Lae'zel's behalf. I can think of some types of characters who would demand to take the lead here, but neither Hector nor Rakha are the type to claim it. Hector because he was a good dude who trusted his friends and Rakha because she has zero confidence that she knows better about the right path through any given conversation.)

"Lae'zel," Lae'zel says crisply, her eyes staring past the officer's left shoulder.

The man looks her over thoughtfully, then nods. "Lae'zel," he echoes curtly. "Proud. Regal, even. You will call me Jhe'stil Kith'rak."

The githyanki words mean nothing to Rakha, but Lae'zel clearly recognizes them and their implication; her head dips deferentially. All of the dominant confidence which she has brought to their battles thus far seems for a moment lost; she is subordinate to this man, instantly and entirely.

"Voss. Knight Supreme," she says respectfully. "The queen's silver. The queen's sword."

"I am who you say," Voss answers coolly. "A ghaik vessel has fallen from the sky, Lae'zel. Thieves aboard have taken a weapon most precious. It is polyhedric in shape, and inscribed with the sacred runes of our people."

It is perhaps a good thing that he is focused on Lae'zel, because Rakha's eyebrows shoot up. She realizes what he is talking about half a moment before the tadpole connection burns suddenly in her brain.

Narrator: You feel Shadowheart's anxiety. The weapon that Voss seeks is the same one the Absolute's followers are hunting. It's the artifact that she carries. Her mind focuses - the giths' suspicion cannot be aroused. They cannot discover that the weapon they seek is right within their grasp.

Well. This is an interesting development.

The Absolutists' hunt for the artifact made sense enough - a weapon that prevented their god from speaking would need to be destroyed. But the gith, it seems, are searching for a more personal reason - Voss's words suggest that the artifact itself is gith in origin.

This makes some sense, as Rakha's brain chews through the available information. Lae'zel has told her that her people have fought illithids for eons, and that the cleansing they seek at the nearby creche is designed to purge a tadpole infection. It is not surprising, then, that a weapon of gith design might also interfere with this cult of the Absolute, since it operates with the use of modified mind flayer parasites.

Voss is still speaking. "Take word to your creche," he instructs Lae'zel firmly. "You are to join our search."

And Lae'zel, whom Rakha has never seen flinch from anything, hesitates.

"Speak up, child!" Voss commands. "Affirm your mandate."

(A/N: TBH Rakha's instinct here is actually to just hand over the artifact. She thinks that the worms will stop being an issue because obviously the zaith'isk is going to work, and if it's a gith artifact why shouldn't it go back to the gith? Gesture of good faith and all that.

Surprisingly, if you do this, Lae'zel gets SUPER pissed and yells at you (and then yells again after the fight), and I'm honestly not entirely sure why? And then Voss just assumes you were the thief in the first place and tells Baretha to kill you anyway. I straight-up can't figure out how to rationalize Lae'zel being so angry, because she doesn't think Voss is a traitor until later in the conversation, and once you get to the creche she gets mad if you DON'T turn over the artifact to W'wargaz.

However, we have another option which still works for Rakha's thought process so we'll just stick with that rather than turn my brain into a pretzel trying to make the other one work.)

Rakha can feel Lae'zel's sudden nervousness through the tadpole connection, an uncertainty that is very unlike her. What is she waiting for? She has said from the very beginning that their best chance of safety was to reach out to her people, to inform them of their plight and obtain their help. Why does she wait?

Mouth a silent command to Lae'zel: 'Truth.'

Lae'zel straightens sharply. "My mandate, Jhe'stil Kith'rak," she says crisply, "is to locate this creche. I was infected aboard a ghaik ship and need to be purified. Your mandate is to aid me!"

Rakha waits for the kith'rak's expected agreement, for him to direct them to the creche and the salvation that awaits there. But he does not move. His eyes narrow and he peers at Lae'zel with sudden attentive interest - and dismay. "Purified?" he says disdainfully. "Soon your skin will go grey and your blood will run silver. You will shed your skin to become ghaik. Only in death are the infected cleansed."

Lae'zel stiffens. Her eyes widen so far that Rakha can see the whites in them.

"Shit," she hears Wyll mutter under his breath.

"Baretha!" The kith'rak lifts a hand, directing his underling forward. His eyes don't leave Lae'zel; he seems to be memorizing her face, her bearing, everything about her. "See that her skull is split and the tadpole crushed! Then examine her corpse. I will take word to the Undying Queen - our search continues."

He pivots sharply, backpedaling as the other soldiers come forward. As he does, his eyes cross Rakha's line of sight and lock there for a moment, and a chill shoots through her, mixed with a flare of rage from the beast.

He is lying.

Narrator: A current of deception carries Voss's words. Wherever he flies - it is not to Vlaakith.

Her mind whirls. This doesn't make sense. The kith'rak has heard Lae'zel's request and denied the purification that she claims is standard procedure - and wants them dead instead. He says he travels to the queen and goes elsewhere. Why?

"Wait--" she starts to snap, but it is cut off into a cry of pain as Baretha's sword sinks into her arm. And then she has no further time to think of anything as the beast insists on revenge.

(A/N: And then I struggled for like an hour to complete this fight without cheesing it, and then I gave up and cheesed it. XD )

----

The githyanki are perhaps the fiercest enemies Rakha has yet fought in the time she has memory of. They move in lockstep, completely in sync, attacking so rapidly that it is hard to keep track of. But even they are no match for Rakha's mad, wild magic that bit by bit tears their regimented battle apart.

Baretha is the last to fall, shredded apart by a cloud of daggers summoned from Rakha's palms, and Rakha's mind slowly clears as she stands over the mutilated corpse and breathes in the scent of its blood.

Emptiness follows the blood-rage, and a distinct note of fear. Now what?

She looks towards Lae'zel. Her gith companion is vibrating with rage and disbelief; her skin is flushed a dark olive and her eyes are narrowed almost to slits.

"Dammit all!" she roars, lashing out with a sharp kick against the head of one of the fallen officers. "A kith'rak demanded my head! He'd deny me a cure!"

She takes a sharp few steps back and forth in agitated pacing. "Bah," She mutters harshly, taking a grip on herself with brutal discipline and coming to a halt dead still. "This is a distraction. The kith'rak deserves the whole of my scorn. How *dare* he speak my queen's name! How *dare* he dishonor her child!"

Rakha listens silently, waiting for the flow of words to stop before speaking.

Lae'zel is furious - but beneath the anger Rakha thinks she detects a hint of something else. Fear. Puzzlement. This has not gone as Lae'zel expected and she is afraid. There is more going on here than Rakha is able to understand, except that Lae'zel - her companion, her... friend - is more rattled than Rakha has ever seen her.

(A/N: I'm 90% sure this dialog has been updated since I played through this with Hector. There are a few more dialog options all expressing more clearly than I recall before that Lae'zel believes Voss is a traitor to Vlaakith because he denied the SOP of purification. In the particular state of things between Rakha and Lae'zel, however, I find one of them particularly interesting. >:) )

She thinks for a moment, and remembers a moment from the previous night with Wyll on the beach. There had been confusion, awkwardness between them, and he reached out a hand and rested it on her arm and held it there for just a moment. Soothing. Comforting.

Lae'zel needs comforting now.

She tilts her head pensively, then reaches out towards Lae'zel's arm cautiously.

Reach out to comfort her.

"SHKA'KETH!" Lae'zel roars. She bursts backwards away from Rakha, knocking the offered touch aside as if deflecting an enemy weapon. The tension that has sat between them for weeks now suddenly explodes, and Rakha realizes too late that she has seen the gesture as mocking given the abrupt ending of their physical relationship.

"I will remove the parasite," Lae'zel goes on, snarling like a wounded animal. "I will see the kith'rak dead and present his corpse to Vlaaktih herself!" She rips her greatsword from its sheathe and turns the point towards Rakha's throat in a quick, spasmodic movement. "Show me pity again and I will present *your* corpse instead!"

KILL, roars the beast in Rakha's head and for a moment she feels her control slip. Were Lae'zel to make another movement, perhaps the beast would take over after all, and Rakha would find her hands around her friend's throat and everything over between them in one great fountain of blood and pain.

But neither of them moves. The two of them - all four of them - are still as statues amid the corpses around them. Rakha is dimly conscious that Wyll has a hand on his sword hilt and an eldritch blast held in the opposite palm, ready to strike - at who she doesn't know.

Lae'zel's eyes search Rakha's, and in that gaze Rakha sees a depth of pain and fear in the other woman that she had not known existed until this moment. She does not understand it, not entirely - except that somehow it is partially her fault. Partially her, and partially this kith'rak who has turned his back on the foundations of Lae'zel's life.

She says nothing, but nods slowly in acknowledgment. And equally slowly, the point of Lae'zel's sword dips, until it falls back to her side.

"A creche is near. That much is certain," she mutters. "We follow the path forward and seek signs of githyanki settlers. No one - not even the ignoble Jhe'stil Kith'rak, will keep me from my purification."

[neodreamgirl]

~Manifesting Seunghan's Return~

I am writing this post so that I can manifest Seunghan's return. Do I think it will work? Absolutely not LMAO however, I do think it is worth trying. For God's sake I just want to see my boy back with his 6 goofy friends ripping stages and making history.

Now, I don't follow any specific template or rules when I want to manifest something. I don't do crystals or do tarot readings for this. I literally put it into the universe by speaking or writing it down and put my trust into all the things I PERSONALLY BELIEVE IN to make things happen. What exactly do I say or write? My gut feelings, hopes and thoughts. That's it.

Mmkay...I shall begin

-Recently a former member of NCT made a comeback that no one was expecting or even wanting...with the exception of his fans. I'm not sure why, but something tells me to expect something similar in the case of Seunghan. There are many people that think he (Seunghan) is going to get kicked out of RIIZE after going quiet for probably as long as the former NCT member. Because SM is...SM, I can understand why some people would believe that and honestly, I don't see why I should throw that option out the door because quite honestly, I don't know what the fuck goes on behind it.

-HOWEVER, in Seunghan's case, if he were to make a comeback and return to our precious RIIZE, I strongly believe it will be after RIIZE has established itself as a group. My gut is telling me that it is likely that he returns after they drop their mini album, however, it isn't clear. My gut is telling me that their management is taking this very seriously because they invested a lot in RIIZE and are hoping that they are the next big group in SM. Also, I am not too sure what my gut means exactly when it says that Seunghan is likely to come back after RIIZE establishes itself as a group. I don't know if it means winning a specific award or what exactly.

-If his comeback is RIIZE's next comeback, which I believe will be their mini album, then we should expect to see random sightings of him, which have already started. Two people claimed to have spotted him shopping in Hongdae in late February. Literally today (Marh 06) an article was released that confirmed RIIZE will have a comeback next month, and in this article they mentioned all 7 members. Then, the article was updated to not mention him... Suddenly his name is making noise again.

-I feel like his team genuinely does not want him to be removed from RIIZE, though. I think many of them believe that the backlash he received was insane and unfair.

-When he comes back, there will 100% be a song about regret

-I think there is a huge likelihood that he will return to us because his scandals were not crimes or morally wrong. I'm mad they're even called scandals tbh but anyway

-I have two images in my head: a twitter post about seunghan in a couple of years praising him for his hard work and remembering the nonsense he was put through in his early debut days. The post praises him for overcoming obstacles that he faced and for becoming one of the most celebrated idols....the second one is another twitter post that feels very sad. The person that wrote the post feels like Seunghan was wronged and is disappointed...The post is also in the future, years from now.

-I don't feel the second post as strongly as the first.

-Idk I keep seeing these images in my head that feel like relief, praise, and bittersweet. Compilation videos of the RIIZE members looking at Seunghan fondly

Okay...Enough about my thoughts and gut feelings...

I hope that Seunghan returns to us very soon. I hope the people around him acknowledge how unnecessary this "hiatus" is. I understand that they probably felt like hiding him because they didn't want to tarnish the group's image (whatever), but it has been far too long. I think they kept him locked away because they realized RIIZE was riding a high wave and they didn't want any scandal to interrupt them.

Actually now that I think about it...What if my gut feeling of them waiting for RIIZE to be more established is actually them waiting for the right time for them to garner enough fans and anticipation to release theirr first mini album? RIIZE has established itself as a pretty powerful rookie group despite all the "backlash" they received (using the word backlash very loosely here btw). They have the entire industry waiting on their mini album so what if now is when Seunghan returns?!

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but right now would be a good time to bring him up IF what I am saying is true... Anyway,

I hope that Seunghan is able to return to practice with his friends. I wish for him to be locked in and focused in the studio making music with his friends. I want Seunghan to tell the world how cute he thinks Sohee is, how Shotaro is actually the real maknae, I want to see him play around with Eunseok. I want to see him dance with Shotaro and Wonbin. I want him to joke around with Anton. I need to see him talking to Sungchan. I hope that all of these things can be done soon, on camera, for the entire world to see. I want the world to see Seunghan as a member of RIIZE. RIIZE has to promote as a 7 member group.

RIIZE is a 7 member group.

7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7.

Seunghan will return.

7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7.

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