#i think. maybe. we'll see if they make it that far.

[scaredexpert]

Ok so like. RIP Bobby and yes of course I hope it's a fake out and the writing was all over the place etc etc 😭 I'm side eyeing the whole thing. HOWEVER... I definitely don't see why the Buddies are dooming right now

One of the only things we know about the next episode is that Eddie, Buck and Tommy will all be at the same place and all grieving to some extent. I am confident that Tommy was in 8x15 for the purpose of it making sense for him to be in 8x16 too.

I personally think that the way he watched Buck break down, clearly sympathizing but also choosing not to go to him, will lead to him trying to find some way to help Buck. He still cares for him but the conversation from 8x11, as well as the several interactions that he must have had with Buddie to see Eddie as competition throughout their relationship, will still be in his mind. I have seen some spec that Tommy could be the one to call Eddie, idk how I feel about it but I wouldn't be surprised. IMHO there is NO way Tommy will see Buddie interact in 8x16 and think "you know maybe I SHOULD give it another shot". I think it will serve more as a way for the audience to be confronted directly with the differences between the relationships and what they can each offer Buck. Now, I won't say it's impossible for it to go the love triangle route or even another Bucktommy relationship, but if it does, it makes no sense for Tommy to initiate it based on 8x11 and even 8x6. What does that leave? A grieving Buck who is not in a state to make the most sound relationship decision, probably, and is likely to scramble for whatever connection he can find. It's possible, though, that we might see Buck acting more stable in an attempt to help everyone else grieve - in which case it makes sense for him to lean more into someone who he feels completely safe and vulnerable with, which is established over and over to be Eddie. I just don't see how this situation could ever lead to long-term Bucktommy.

Whatever happens, I am not sure s8 Buddie is a good idea if the death turns out to be real but that's no reason to doom (but I hope for some confirmation of feelings from either of them). I know it's hard to be patient and very hard to trust these wacky writers, but I've actually been pleased with their pacing of the Buddie storyline so far. I'm sad Eddie wasn't in this arc but I think that will serve a purpose of some kind. Guess we'll see but no dooming here 🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️

[kentuckywrites]

Imperium 4: Chapter 3

Fuga in ignotum. (Flight into the unknown.)

By the time Telethia lands, the sun’s crawled closer to the horizon’s edge, the sky transforming into a sherbet hue. Nessa’s familiar with the area - Telethia’s most common patrol route, the Divine Roost - but this high up, she can’t help but admire the view. The waterfall cascading into the heart of Noctilum behind them, the far-away lights of Sylvalum’s spores. Deep in the distance, the mountainous spires of Cocytios, a cacophony of frigid ice and ancient relics embedded into the ground. Even though they’re far away from the continent, Nessa suppresses a chill. She has good memories and bad memories of her time in Cocytios. The cold has a demanding presence, though, and it dominates her thoughts for a while.

Telethia’s head bows, staring at the vast ocean between Cocytios and Noctilum. Their stomach rumbles, and they make a sound akin to a bird chirping.

The corpse of Syriahnydra is beneath the waves, Mira translates. It is easier to see the ether flaring at night. That is how Solstice first discovered it.

Nessa leans down, peering at the waves. It’s hard to make anything out at first, the gentle ripples of the sea obscuring nearly everything. As she tracks them farther out, she starts to notice a trail of blue lights, faint but recognizable. They snake around Cocytios’s western border, extending far beyond Nessa’s sight. 

“Gods,” she breathes. “It’s fucking massive.”

Telethia nods solemnly. Syriahnydra is approximately five times larger than Corvhesperikon, Mira explains. I believe humanity has a word for its appearance: leviathan. It does not possess arms or claws like Corvhesperikon did, but it more than makes up for it with its maw.

“So it’s like a huge snake,” Nessa says. “A huge, underwater snake.” She sits back up, blinking once. Then: “I think BLADE might’ve found its body a long time ago. There was this report going around about this aquatic indigen that destroyed a ton of equipment and killed a few Pathfinders. I didn’t think much of it, since so much of the oceans haven’t been explored yet, but…”

As Nessa trails off, Telethia rumbles again, shifting its posture. Nessa’s acutely aware of how perfectly she seems to fit on Telethia’s back. Though their scales appear hardened and rough, they’re soft beneath her touch, an unassuming armor. It’s deflected attacks time and time again. She knows its strength.

Still, she thinks, even though this feels natural, there’s always going to be something missing as long as Solstice is in this form.

The sunset grows deeper, splashes of fiery reds and oranges cascading across the sky. As the sunlight fades, Nessa takes out her comm device, using the fading light as an opportunity to catalogue Syriahnydra’s trail. She types Elma’s number in once she’s gotten enough pictures. Elma picks up quickly.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” Nessa starts.

“The bad news,” Elma responds. “Hang on. I’m putting you on speaker - I’m with the Commander and Secretary General. They’ll want to hear about what you’ve found.”

Nessa waits until she hears a recognizable beep; now, everyone with Elma will be able to hear her. “So,” she starts, “the bad news is that Syriahnydra is probably the largest ultrafauna we’ve ever dealt with. I’m going just based off visuals right now, because I’ve been put under orders that I can’t get any closer. But this thing looks like it’s wrapping around Cocytios, and possibly further.”

She promptly pulls the comm device back and sends Elma the pictures, hoping she can display them for her audience on the other side. “Good news is, I’m not seeing any movement aside from the lights. I’d definitely take it as an indicator that it’s awake, though.”

“Are you sure you’re not observing any movements?” Secretary Nagi’s voice echoes, a little further away than Elma’s voice sounded. 

“I’d have to get closer to double check,” Nessa says, prompting Telethia’s head to crane in her direction disapprovingly. “Its entire body is underwater, I’m not sure how deep.”

“We don’t want you gettin’ too close to it,” Commander Vandham says, his command echoing in much the same way as Nagi’s. “But we do want data on how big this thing is, and estimates on the ifs and whens of it waking up to play. We’re working with the Director General on a game plan now. If this thing stays underwater, we’re going to need to dedicate time and resources to developing more water resistant tech - time we may not have.”

“Right,” she responds. “Though, I do want to hear it from Elma.”

“Really, Nessa?” Elma asks.

“Hey, not my fault you know how to make orders sound sexy. Tell me where you want me.”

Telethia snorts, a small puff of condensed air forming around their nostrils. Nessa would be threatened by it if she wasn’t already so turned on.

“Do as the Commander says.” Nessa can practically hear Elma’s eyes rolling from across the comm device. “Send any pictures back to me. If you see Syriahnydra move at all, get out of there. After all, I won’t risk your utility for this.”

“My utility? Fancy way of saying I’m too pretty to die,” she smirks. “Got it, boss. Have fun with the rest of your meeting.”

She hangs up before Elma responds. She puts a hand on the back of Telethia’s neck, rubbing the scaled skin with her thumb. “You got all that, right? We’ve got work to do.”

Telethia exhales again, another puff of smoke leaving their nostrils. They want to know if you have always had a thing for non-humans, Mira says, exasperated.

“I have a thing for beautiful people - and beautiful Telethia,” Nessa winks. 

Telethia takes off again, the ascent kinder than it was in NLA. It doesn’t take long for them to hover over the ocean, following the trail of lights beneath the sea. Nessa hits record on her comm device, documenting video of how long the trail goes for. As the video saves, she keeps a cautious eye on the lights, trying to determine if they’re truly moving. The ocean’s more than capable of playing tricks on people. She doesn’t want to lose the game. Too much is at risk if she loses.

They wrap around Cocytios, and as Nessa surveys the landscape ahead, her eyes widen. The lights continue for far longer than she thought. It almost looks like the corpse circles back towards Primordia, even reaching as far as Oblivia. Fucking massive, she thinks again. Telethia continues, but she feels them pulse beneath her hands, a barely recognizable shudder.

By the time her comm device rings again, the sun’s nearly disappeared behind the horizon. Nessa pauses her recording to take the new call. Probably Elma asking for an update; how long do those fancy meetings at HQ go for? Gods, she could use a distraction if she’s still with the Commander and General.

But it’s not Elma. Pongo’s face appears on the screen, and he looks awful. Nessa clocks that this could be a panic attack - and Pongo isn’t good at handling those on his own, not yet. She tells him, “I’m on my way,” bringing up his coordinates on her comm device. “Solstice,” she says, “we’ve got to turn around. Pongo’s in trouble.”

Telethia chirps. Where is he, Mira asks.

“Divine Roost. Hurry,” Nessa pleads. “Pongo, hey, breathe. What happened?”

“Caves - the murals - so many dead -” Pongo tries to speak, but his words are sparse, inhibited by his quickened breaths. “It took L, and I just -”

Telethia turns quickly, making a beeline back towards the Divine Roost. As night claims the planet, Nessa can only make out the bright lights of Telethia’s ether feathers. She trusts that Solstice will get her to Pongo quickly, because there’s only so much she can do over the comm device. Still, she has to try.

“What do you mean, it took L?” She tries asking, her heart dropping into her stomach. “C’mon, Pon. I’m coming, I just need you to breathe. In and out.”

Pongo struggles to find a routine with his breathing, but by the time Telethia lands in the Divine Roost, he hasn’t made much progress. Nessa jumps down from Telethia’s back, landing on the ground below. She pinpoints Pongo’s location, hidden behind a rock, and darts over to kneel in front of him. She doesn’t even have the chance to speak before he’s surging forward, hugging her tightly. Nessa’s no stranger to physical contact, but Pongo’s hugs are something different, especially when they’re born of desperation. She hugs him back, and in the silence, his breathing grows deeper, steadier. 

When he pulls away, Pongo sniffles, biting back a sigh. “I am so -”

“Nope, none of that,” Nessa tells him. “You’re more important than my dinner date with Solstice, if that’s what you were about to apologize for.”

Pongo frowns, looking away. “We should go. It is not safe here.”

Nessa doesn’t question him about that. She nods to Telethia, who lowers one of their wings for her and Pongo to get back on board. Pongo hesitates, so Nessa goes ahead of him, embarking slowly so she can show him the right way about it. He’s slow to follow, cautious and somewhat clumsy. His foot slips off of Telethia’s wing at one point, but before Nessa can reach down and grab him, Telethia’s raised a claw to push him forward, helping him keep his balance. He smiles weakly to thank them. “Good to see you again, Solstice. I wish it was under different circumstances, but…”

Telethia purrs, waiting until Nessa and Pongo are both settled on top of them before taking off into the night sky. Pongo puts his arms around Nessa’s waist, startled by the sudden ascent, and Nessa can’t help but laugh. 

“Not funny,” Pongo pouts. 

“Extremely funny,” Nessa corrects. 

Telethia reaches a cruising altitude again, circling Noctilum as the siblings settle. Nessa maneuvers herself around so she’s backwards on Telethia’s body, a normally difficult feat that she finds easier than expected. She’s just that good at everything she does, she concludes. Unfortunately, she’s not the one in need of a confidence boost.

“Okay,” Nessa puts her hands on Pongo’s, keeping him steady. Even though he’s in a far better headspace than he was before, she can still feel him shaking, the remnants of anxiety flowing freely through his veins. “Walk me through it. Tell me what happened.”

Pongo closes his eyes, for a while. When he opens them again, he explains the details of the mission he’d accepted. How he’d been chased out by Ganglion the first time, brought L along for the second attempt. The murals. The hidden room. How L had been possessed, and how Pongo had escaped as hordes of dead Ganglion and F’lenla A’slegn tried to subdue him. At the end of it all, he slumps, exhaustion replacing his apprehension.

“So Syriahnydra’s alive,” Nessa says. The revelation sits horribly with her, especially considering the data she’d previously sent Elma. Solstice and I were tracking its body and trying to find signs of movement, but I guess that doesn’t mean anything anymore. Still, I wonder why it used its power to revive a bunch of dead people instead of…well, reviving itself.”

“I have a theory,” Pongo offers. “Yggraliths need to feed on ether to survive. That was why Corvhesperikon and Syriahnydra both came here - because Mira is rich with ether, and they fought for the right to devour it. Maybe Syriahnydra does not have enough ether to revive itself yet, but enough that it can control lesser lifeforms to do its bidding. Maybe to collect more ether, or maybe to…”

“To be its food source,” she finishes. “Dead people wouldn’t make sense for that. Sure, their bodies might have some residual ether, but not enough to fuel an entire yggralith.”

“Right. L’Cirufe is alive, though, and Syriahnydra possessed him first. Would he have enough ether to resurrect it?”

“On his own? Doubt it. Honestly, I think the more feasible theory is that Syriahnydra’s trying to use whatever it can to collect ether, whether it’s harvesting from corpses or by having said corpses do the dirty work for him.” 

Nessa swallows, gazing out into the distance. Telethia’s still circling Noctilum, but they’ve tilted so that she’s got a good view of Primordia - of NLA, its crystalline borders radiant under the starlight. “I’m going to say it’s the latter. I don’t think Syriahnydra would go through the trouble of reanimating dead bodies if its only wish was to take the remaining ether from them.”

“We need to warn BLADE,” Pongo says, quickly taking out his comm device. “Gods, if it attacks the city -”

“It might not,” Nessa interrupts. “It would want to target literally anything with ether, if it was smart. Most likely, that army will try to plow through some unlucky indigens before it even reaches NLA.”

“But it knows humanity poses a threat. That we will try to stop it.” A pause, then: “Or maybe it does not know that yet. Humans were not involved in the defeat of Corvhesperikon - or Starr, for that matter.”

“Excuse you,” Nessa raises a playful eyebrow. “Point taken, though. Elma told me about a time you had to give Mira your strength to reinforce Pharsis’s prison - did BLADE help with that?”

“Not much,” he admits. “They knew about the barrier weakening, but to them, Solstice came in and fortified the sphere without any human interference.”

“Good.” She smiles, relived that she’s picked out an advantage. “If Syriahnydra doesn’t know humanity’s a threat, we can use that against it. It’s not expecting an army to greet it when it’s got enough energy to come out of the ocean.”

“Still a good reason to let BLADE know.”

“One step ahead of you. Elma’s already with the higher-ups explaining the situation and petitioning them for resources. I was here with Solstice to do an initial survey and figure out what we’re working with as far as a timeline.”

Comforted, Pongo tries to relax. He’s grown accustomed to the shape of Solstice’s back, balancing himself easier as Telethia flies through the night sky. Nessa’s long since pulled her hands back, but she pinpoint his anxiety through the way he cradles his palms, wringing them in his lap. “We have to save L’Cirufe,” he says. “We have to go back for him. BLADE might be preparing resources, but L needs our help now.”

At long last, Telethia roars, an indication that they’d been listening since the beginning. Mira provides a quick translation. Solstice refuses to go back. 

“L is in danger -” Pongo protests, but gets interrupted by an even longer, louder roar.

It is too dangerous, Mira says. We still do not know how strong Syriahnydra has become. If Solstice bring you back, there is a chance it could use its power to control all of you. I refuse to entertain that possibility.

“I hate to say it, but I won’t entertain it either,” Nessa replies. “It’s probably a better idea to get back to NLA and explain our findings together. I promised Elma I’d send over details, but I know her. She’d want to see my beautiful face in person.”

I have a better idea, Mira offers, completely ignoring Nessa’s remarks. I think we should enlist other forms of help. Froyoyo and Vanala will want to know about Syriahnydra, if they do not already.

Whatever semblance of calm Pongo had found evaporates in an instant. He goes still, his face draining of color. Nessa doesn’t invade the silence that draws between them, utterly aware of how he feels towards revisiting the Desserta Caravan. The Nopon were his family, once, but Cocytios was not his home. It is a memorial of pain. Of faults and failures. Of screaming as the dawn breaks, knowing that he was once the very evil that scoured the frigid expanse. His hesitation makes perfect sense.

Yet when Pongo speaks next - after a long, drawn out sigh and a hard swallow - it’s to say, “Okay.”

“Wait,” Nessa backtracks, growing concerned. “You’re…Pon, we’ll have to go to Cocytios.”

“I know.”

“This is gonna sound weird, but I know you haven’t stepped foot in Cocytios since everything happened with Corvhesperikon. Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?”

“I have to be.” Pongo straightens his spine, attempting to reflect Nessa’s confidence. “Mira is right. Froyoyo and Vanala have fought Syriahnydra before. They would know about its weaknesses, and we can relay that information to BLADE. And if they know anything about how to free L…”

Nessa nods. “If it’s too much, I can stay with the caravan and Solstice can bring you back to the city. Just…don’t keep it all to yourself, okay?”

Pongo stares are her, but doesn’t respond. She’s asked an impossible thing of him. After all, he’s the first avatar of Mira. A protector. A hero. He was not built to be vulnerable, to concede to his weaknesses. 

Nessa wants to believe that if he’s brave enough to step foot in Cocytios, he’ll be brave enough to talk to her, if he needs. But there is always a limit to every person, a line that can’t be crossed. And despite their connection, she doesn’t know where he’s drawn that line.

So, instead of pressing for a promise, Nessa pats Solstice’s flank and asks, “Will you take us to Cocytios? We’ve got to pay our Nopon friends a visit.”

Solstice bellows, angling their body towards the south. When they stabilize again, Cocytios is on the horizon, its white landscape piercing through the darkness of the night. Nessa repositions herself so she’s not flying backwards anymore, eyes trained on the horizon. Every time she glances over her shoulder, she sees Pongo looking forward. But something in his expression is too calm, too still. 

He will be fine, Mira tells her. 

Nessa breathes. In, out. In, out. The old habits didn’t die with her, after all. 

~

Pongo is lucky to have Nessa, in this world. Their paths tend not to cross. Such is the praxis of infinity.

I met her, once. She bestowed unto me that which I could not define. 

It took me far too long to realize what she’d given me. And by the time I realized I’d never thanked her, she was dead. 

Here, she is alive. Soon, I will impart my gratitude.

[suntails]

stalemate

[atangledfate]

He honestly didn't trust Eggman as far as he could throw him, and the fact she was seeing him did worry him. But he couldn't deny Belle the right to see her father no matter his worries. He to had a difficult relationship with his own father so on some level he understood it. But in his heart of hearts he wanted to believe some part of Tinker still lived within Eggman. He hoped he was right and that this did not come back to haunt him at a later date.

Though at her question it did strike a cord in him that made him smile a little bit. So she was ready to travel? to see the world? To go off on her own and make her own way? He to understood that feeling as someone who refused to join restoration for that very reason. He could never stay in one place for long. He blamed his father... he blamed his cursed Demi-God blood.

" Heh... i think... you gotta follow your heart Belle. Gotta trust your instincts... and go where it tells you to go. If you believe in your heart of hearts that you are needed elsewhere then--- that's what you gotta do. After all just cause you are off finding yourself, doesn't mean folks can't contact you in times of need right? "

He reassured her as he gave her a thumbs up and a warm smile.

" I trust you'll do what you gotta do! and folks will have to understand that... your friends will always be your friends! all this... is just a bump in the read... it'll all be over before ya know it! "

" Although we should probably wait to see what GUN decides... i got no clue what they wanted with you anyway... but maybe disappearing for awhile is a good idea regardless..."

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

It was a sound plan, to pull both men from supporting one another and strike at them individually. By splitting them they wouldn't be able to share info or sway the other toward one goal or the other. This was probably there best shot at quelling this fire before it was a raging inferno. But no matter what happened they couldn't resort to violence in this time of duress and she had to make that absolutely clear to everyone. If they did then everything they fought for could fall apart in a flash!

" Right, then its Settled... We'll pull them apart and negotiate and end to this blockade. We must ensure that violence is avoided at all costs! We have nothing to hide, and no reason to fear there inquiries. I'll wait for miss Blaze to engage with the General and ill use my contacts to call this president and speak with him directly via a private line. "

She turned to Lanolin and Miles and gave them a stern look as she issued orders.

" We must not allow anyone of our people to get rattled and cause a scene... or worse fire unexpectedly. Let the Wisps know they aren't to allow any gunfire without express authorization or, imminent threat to our safety "

" As for Sonic... lets have him posted someplace the general can see him. His presence alone should be enough to deter any violence... let's make our move! call them before the time is up! that should catch them off guard! this is no longer a battle of strength but wits! and cunning! let us show them we are no fools to be trifled with! "

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

Meanwhile aboard the GUN command ship. The old Wolf was watching his monitor with a nervousness. He didn't like all the silence, or the lack of activity below. He wanted to know what they were up to and still favored a more direct approach. Still the President's plan was going forward without a hitch so far--- The real question on the old Wolfs mind was just what that princess was up to. He could predict the rest but she was a real wild card.

" Hmph--- I wonder... just how many moves ahead is that boy. Should i put my faith in one so young? Bah... to late go go back now... i suppose we'll see just how cunning he really is..."

The blue hero shifted his weight as Belle spoke to him. He couldn't help but remember how they met. How he was so convinced she was just another baddie. Funny how the world works, and how she had become such a staunch ally of his. How he felt like he could trust her with nearly anything. If Belle had any real super power it was this unique personality that people found trustworthy. He didn't know how Surge or Kit looked at her, but he hoped if nothing else they'd come to tolerate her and maybe even call her friend.

Though hearing her shift the conversation to what she'd be doing in private. Well it did make his quills stand on end at the thought of it all. It wasn't that he didn't get it, he very much did. But he was also worried about her, worried what Eggman would do and how he might lose a friend. Yet there was this little glimmer in his mind that she might somehow get through to the man that was tinker, and bring him back as he still believed that he made the right call that day.

" ... Not sure i'd say bad... i ... i get it, if i could see my mom again i'd go to the ends of the earth for that. I know what it's like to lose a parent... and to blame somehow for that lose. "

He sighed softly and rubbed his arm remembering the loss he suffered as a kid, and how he still struggled with that.

" Just... be careful... No matter what the old codger says he's a schemer... honestly i'd feel better if you at least took someone with you... but i trust your judgement. "

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

Jewel touched her chin as she to was somewhat concerned about this stranger. She wasn't sure if he was a friend or if there goals simply align in the moment. She wondered just who he was and yet she couldn't dwell on that right now. She had to quell this situation between GUN and Restoration before it exploded into an all out war between both sides. What she knew for sure was that neither of these two men could be trusted. She had to take every promise and request with a grain of salt.

" I can try to contact her though, i can't say if she'll respond. She's still a political figure in her kingdom. She may not even get the message in time... still i'll alert her to the situation. Hacking GUN's little communications block should be easy enough "

The beetle buzzed her wings and fluttered a bit up in the air so she was more eye level with the others. She was the director if anyone could fix this it had to be her correct? She had dealt with gangsters and mob bosses all her life! She was a Bijou after all and she wouldn't be bullied so easily! Delaying this conversation wasn't helping anyone--- it was time to put an end to this crisis!

" Putting this off won't do any of us any good. I think it's time i contact this president myself and have a direct conversation with him. Delaying it won't help any of us... and right now both sides are at a stalemate. He has to know an all out attack on us would be foolish--- So i don't intend to pretend otherwise. "

" I'll call and have a private conversation... i think it will be better if i separate this general from the president. A Private call is likely the best approach. At any rate... wish me luck... and i'll do my best to keep everyone safe! "

[gaymyboycole]

do you think flowers grow in the land of lost things or did Cole just find some lost bouquet just to surprise his boyfriend

[nattikay]

was trying to explain to my dad why a Na'vi character wouldn’t be considered a fursona, here’s how I think of the distinction for anyone who cares lol

A fursona is a furry character used to represent oneself in some way shape or form. Furry, in this context, is an umbrella term to describe anthropomorphized animal characters (and/or people who enjoy the concept of such characters).

Anthropomorphism exists on a scale of course, it can be as simple as giving a regular animal more humanized thoughts and feelings, or it can go all the way up to “this is basically a human, walking talking wearing clothes having a job etc, but with fur”.

But anyways, a furry character is an animal that has been given human characteristics that its species does not usually have (in other words, anthropomorphized). A talking cat, a wolf that walks on two legs, a lizard with a day job, etc. Granted, I suppose this line can get a bit blurred with fictional species—for example, are dragons innately sapient? idk it depends on the setting—but generally if the species is considered an animal by default, then it can qualify as furry.

The Na'vi—like other fantasy humanoids such as elves, dwarves, trolls, etc.—are not animals. They speak and walk upright and wear clothes etc. not because we’ve anthropomorphized/humanized them, but because that’s just how their species innately is. There is no regular “feral” version of the Na'vi who walk on four paws, can’t use language, aren’t sapient*, etc. like there would be with a regular cat or wolf. Therefore a Na'vi is not a furry, and therefore cannot be a fursona. There’s certainly an argument to consider them furry-adjacent given their feline-esque features, but they don’t fall under the direct category of furry.

Now, you can absolutely have a Na'vi character that represents you of course!! A Na'vi-sona, if you will. I have one! It just wouldn’t be a “fursona” by definition.

*reminder before someone objects here that sapience is not the same thing as sentience. Sentience is simply an awareness of oneself; most animals are sentient. Sapience, on the other hand, is human-level intelligence and, with it, the capacity for morality. Humans are the only known real-world sapient species; in fiction there are of course several more

[prince-raisins-art]

little guys :)

[thedevotionaltour]

still pisses me off johns took away any meaning from the parallax arc. such an interesting decline and change to hal's character and i think really just a great way to explore grief through an extreme metaphor of sorts but it's like no. nooooo it's just this damn entity. noooooo it wasn't hal at all nooooooo IT WAS STILL HAL. IM SO MAAAADDDDDDDD IM SO MAD WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT. i guess i just particularly hate it bc with my relationship to the story as a reader it comes from my personal experience of i have done terrible things to others and myself because of grief that i let pile up too high and fester in my mind and a lot of my own grief is as angry as it is devastatingly depressing so it's like one of those things where when it just hal of his own volition and grief fueled thinking that lead him to becoming parallax it is a story i then very deeply understand and relate to and hold tight because it's like man. we are all one bad day away from trying to rebuild coast city and to erase the tragedy. and by then switching it to The Entity and Not Of Hal's Own Thinking, it's like. well with the way characters treat it in story (i.e. guy saying, "that was parallax, not jordan") it's like any action on hal's end feels like. entirely erased. which is what i think i hate most. that hal is no longer part of it. i mention it in the tags bc i put those down before writing out my post but i'll say it here too it's like the way you could easily recover this is like. treating the entity then as like. a mental illness metaphor of sorts. but when other characters and even hal himself go None Of That Is Me It Was All The Entity, Parallax, it then like. starts to fail itself if that's the angle we wanna try to go for. because yeah. your depression influences you. but you still have some agency under it. and to deny any part of it then takes away so much. it takes away so much of what hal was meant to learn once he sacrificed himself as parallax for the earth. again. i know i really cannot say much i dont have much of a right bc i have skipped through well 20 damn issues of gl2005 thus far bc im reading For Kyle as opposed to reading it bc it's the gl title. but it's just. god. such a ball dropped. suffers from wattpad writing feeling. if you have to go this route i do in fact think there's a lot to be explored but johns is too stupid to do it in a way i'll care about. i just so greatly dislike it. i hate how this story of grief was taken away from being Grief and while i think as an entity parallax the bug can still be Grief the way i am reading it thus far it really is not Grief. this bug is not the Grief Of Mental Illness it's going nooo noooooo don't worry our hal (who has just been kind of miserable as a character for a while at the point gl90 was happening) is all okay and fine and good again and none of that bad stuff was him, it was all something else :) as if none of that couldnt be hal. as if hal isnt allowed to have his own character and flaws. god forbid he have some layers. god forbid those sour and dark parts of his person be his person. because we cant have that. we have to have this. instead. i guess. i knowim being harsh i know i am and i care too much about this especially for someone who really doesnt have the room to talk but it's like. euuuggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nabaath-areng]

I feel like a terrified animal on Bluesky and I just found out you can't make your profile private so WELP

[acaciapines]

on today's episode of 'acaica's background thoughts for the dess raises kris au': okay but lets be serious do dess and chara actually stay together in the end--

[crowleys-bentley-and-plants]

gonna treat this site more like a blog and give updates on my writings because i noticed that if i get so much as one 'this sounds interesting' or 'cant wait to read' my brain short-circuits and spits out words in an hour that wouldve taken me a week to write otherwise

and with that, welcome to my wip rants :)

because i havent come up with better titles they are called The Ring (second coming fic) and Only Human (Crowley has lost his memories fic) lol and the former is mostly done, it only needs some editing but im saving that till after my exams because i know it's gonna be time-consuming. The latter however is still in full plotting mode and today i outlined all of chapter 8 (except for the flashbacks lol im ignoring the flashbacks) which i think is very nice :)

[seaofreverie]

Wait so this means we're going to have the most Sparks-filled Sparkstember there's ever been, right???

[magicalgirl6]

Luchia and Kaito are such an awful couple btw I hate them for each other

[ace-fandom-dumbass]

Trying to come up with a decent overarching plot for rpg canpaing im going to be running with some friends and im short on ideas at the moment BUT! I have gotten overview/base drafts for several 1-2 session mini plots that could easily be made into steps of a larger campaign, and (this is what feels clever) because I've been struggling to figure out how to get the players to actually engage with some of these npcs more, ive divided them into 3 types of session so they can decide each time we meet what sort of session they feel like doing that week. Hopefully this will get them to do more rp at least occasionally and I can build up plot stuff (once i actually figure out what that is, argh) through npc interactions but also if at some point they just want to fight stuff well then it's fight session I guess. We'll see how well this actually works when I try to implement it but yk, I can hope!

(Three types of session are RP, Puzzle, and Combat, though some of the shorter things I've started drawing up can fit somewhat in two and of course choices made could always switch the category from intended (like if they decide to pick a fight during a rp route or attempt diplomacy during a combat route) but like, you know if they want a puzzle day then its puzzles and investigation time!)

[trraubensaft-png]

Designs for my Casey and April so far :]

[hopeless-astronaut]

As bad as things were, you were glad you had Qiu and Tamarack here with you.

Higher quality under the cut 💕

Also background is from the game, I did not draw that!!

Bonus version w/ diff mc hairstyle and w/o game background: