Does anyone else remember this animated short film (like really short, max like 10 minutes) that came out a few years ago that was about frogs but it wasn’t really about frogs? Like it focused on these frogs (and other animals) that had taken over this big opulent mansion that had been left to the elements and it was just about them living their lives but there were environmental clues that something bad had happened to the people that lived there, like there were broken windows and the house was in disarray, but that was very much just a slightly unsettling backdrop to a cute video about animated frogs. Until the very last scene when a dead body floats to the surface of the pool and you piece together what the story was really about (I think it was implied some wealthy drug lord was murdered in a shootout but it’s been years so idk). I don’t remember what the story was called and I have no idea how to even begin searching for such a weird fucking video. But I think about it from time to time and wonder if it was real or if I just dreamed it.
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Forever mourning Miquella's unused dialogue.
Young seedling, young seedling.
Return to the bosom of earth.
But remember well,
Thou'rt mine.
So I shall give of myself. This is for thee.
Mine abundance, my drop of dew.
Quench thy thirst, throughout thy frame.
Blossom and burgeon, time and again.
Grow larger, stronger.
Until the day cometh.
When thou canst share in my dream.
Elden Ring, O Elden Ring.
Beget Order most elegant, from my tender reverie.
If thou covetest the throne,
Impress my vision upon thine heart.
In the new world of thy making,
all things will fluorish,
whether graceful or malign.
Like his canon dlc dialogue is so lame and so lazy compared to this. None of the poetic, royal oldish English, none of the intrigue, none of the character.
Oh anon you have absolutely no idea how much I adore this piece of cut dialogue 🥰😭 It was literally my lock screen along with a picture of Miq for the longest time, and I was hoping, praying that this poem would come back for the DLC because it is so wonderful and describes Miquellas character perfectly!
But no.
We got Promised Retcon Radahn instead 😒
I am literally in awe at how fromsoft fumbled Miq. They had crafted the golden bones of Miquella and his Abundance, his inseparable fate with Malenia, his love for Godwyn, his absolutely poetic and beautiful Age of Abundance. But then Fromsoft went fuck it, and ripped away all that buildup and elegant characterization and completely nuked Miquella so they could shoehorn Radahn into the story and I will die mad.
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War-Dead Catacombs
This is honestly an incredible dungeon, in terms of all the subtext.
For reference! It's the one hidden in the corner of Radahn's arena where spectral Cleanrot Knights make battle with equally bodiless Radahn soldiers--
There's a number of fascinating details in here:
Like all catacombs, the halls are littered with human remains. However, these are presumably older than those of the Battle of Aeonia (because the corpses in Radahn's arena, exposed to the elements (and his cannibalistic frenzy) still have tattered surcoats, waistcloths, et cetera. These bodies, however, are mere skeletons, bereft of any clothing). So far as I can find, there's not actually any of the Radahn and Malenian battle debris assets that litter Caelid inside here. Given how ubiquitous they are, this must have been intentional. None of the bodies entombed here belong to these soldiers.
Naturally, Radahn himself is simply too large to get inside, so this place isn't actually so much a tomb as the singular point of refuge in the Wailing Dunes.
So. They've lost their flesh by the time they entered, evidently--meaning their bodies are still outside, being gorged upon by Radahn.
These are spirits of, presumably, the same variety as the Headless Knights or Latenna; that is, they are the essence of their dying will--their continued animation(as opposed to the crestfallen one-sentence spirits elsewhere) is reflective of a degree of resolve and intention at their time of death.
The final moments of the Radahn and Malenian armies, then, was to make it to this location. There are no spirits roaming outside, after all. They tried to escape Radahn and preserve, if nothing else, their dignity in death... but failed, one and all. Tricky to outrun a man who would hold up the very stars, after all.
And, of course, this is one of the very few instances of AI factions actively fighting each other... and they were near-certainly concerned, primarily, with escaping Radahn when they died. Yet they fight on. So deep is the loathing between the Radahn and Malenian hosts that they'd forgive each-other not even in death, not even having their bodily dignity violated by both their lords. Whether this is borne of unshakeable faith or hatred is difficult to say, of course, but the item descriptions of their respective armor sets might shed light(the Cleanrot Knights knew full well what would happen to them but accepted it, whereas the Radahn knights struck their lord's crest from their hearts when everything fell apart, even though Radahn's frenzy wasn't necessarily his fault. Importantly, the reliability of lordsworn armor descriptions in general seems shaky at best, so I don't put huge coin to that exact conclusion).
The movesets all these guys use is, as far as I can tell, the same as their surviving counterparts. That is to say, the cited sources of their battle arts, skills, and abilities in item descriptions hold true to their spiritual essence. In other words: so intrinsic is the rot and disability to the Cleanrot Knights that they yet retain their limp, their wings, and the rotten acid they cough and heave upon their foes. So fundamental was the martial prowess of Radahn's men that they keep Artorias spinning and spamming combo attacks--they are not in the least phased by their own death. So unshakeable is the faith of Malenia's vassals in their two gods that they still cast Miquellan magics and proc the Malenian sword insignia effects.
They actually respawn, when they finally manage to "kill" one another. Indeed, none of these people were equipped to kill the bodiless. So they'll keep fighting, again and again and forevermore, until true death do them part--if ever, even, it finds its way to their forgotten Tartarus.
Basically! After the player finally defeats Radahn and offers a small measure of closure to the Shattering, they're allowed to see what war does to the everyman's very soul.
These gods were family, once.
These soldiers, beholden to the private affairs of strangers, were comrades. Many were probably friends.
It all begs the question--was Ranni's scheme to begin the Age of Stars worth it? Is the era she'll usher in, should she even succeed, of greater meaning than how the people of the Lands Between were molested, body and soul?
Well, maybe. It's hard to say. Impossible, really.
But we might imagine what the dead would answer, if they'd not been robbed their chance to speak.
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Last Line Tag Game
Thanks for tagging me @teejaystumbles ! A really nice surprise!! :D
I am indeed contemplating writing two Dead Boy Detectives fic right now, but they're both in the very early 'being-outlined-in-my-head' stage, haha. They both revolve around post-s1 Edwin pining for Charles, one where Edwin takes matters into his own hands and one where he decides to have a chat with the Cat King about it. Not sure if they'll ever be written but they're intriguing!
But for the sake of the tag game, here's a lengthy bit from a Dreamling wip I've slowly been chipping away at for a few months!
A scene from Every Little Thing (Working Title)—
In which Morpheus is a figure drawing professor who has just been fired from a film production based on his comics, and Hob does part-time figure modeling and is determined befriend the aforementioned professor.
Morpheus picks his class schedules wisely— he runs two first year general figure drawing classes, at 8 a.m. and at noon on Mondays and Thursdays. He helps the uni’s live figure workshop club on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6 p.m., and meets his sister for lunch on Wednesdays. All other free time was dedicated for his industry work.
That wouldn’t be a concern anymore, would it.
By the time Morpheus unlocks the door to the studio, sets his bag down by his desk, and starts fiddling with the ceiling studio lights pointed at the model stand, all of Morpheus’ thoughts have reduced to pure spite. Fine, maybe the big studios don’t want him. They don’t deserve him, then, their loss. His portfolio and repertoire are infamous in the industry, they’ll be crawling back to him in no time. Too bad, maybe he would have started his own production studio and he’ll end up with the next ground-breaking animated film. Maybe—
Morpheus’ thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door.
He shakes himself out of it, calling, “Come in.” A glance at his watch tells him it’s only 7:48, perhaps it’s an overeager student here early. It’s only the second week of the semester, they grab every opportunity to prove themselves with a spirited step that Morpheus might be slightly envious of.
“Hello, Morpheus Endeles?”
Hearing his full name startles Morpheus, and he turns from the lighting settings to the door. “Yes?”
The man who steps into view can only be described as radiant.
He can’t be much older than Morpheus, not much taller either but wider in the shoulders. His hair is cropped just above his shoulders and he sports a neatly kept beard. Morpheus registers this all first simply because of his profession but— he gets caught on the man’s brilliant smile and deep brown eyes. There’s something there that knocks all thoughts clear out of Morpheus’ head. The stranger smiles warmly, smiles like he already cares.
“I’m here to model for the morning and noon figure classes?” The man says.
Morpheus clears his throat and steps forward, “Yes, this is the right studio.” He extends a hand, “Robert Gadling, I presume?”
The man takes his hand— god, he’s so warm— and shakes it steadily, “Please, call me Hob! All my friends do.”
I'm a sucker for the 'Morpheus catalogues Hob's appearance during their first meeting' trope in most Dreamling human AU fics, I couldn't not do it too :]
Besides this, I've also got a Dreamling Velvet Goldmine-ish AU fic that I want to get done this summer. I'm a very slow and ruminative writer so let's see if I can commit to any of these fics now that I've posted about them lol!
No pressure tags! I have no idea who's been tagged recently so-- lol. @hardly-an-escape @valeriianz @moorishflower @amielot :)
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ESO's housing system is extremely fun because you can do such unhinged things as "visualize your fic version of a place from a 2006 entry of the same game franchise"
anyways here's a remodel of The Fort Farragut Lucien Nook(tm) - Dear Brother Edition as interpreted with ESO items
"there's a lot of Dunmer stuff in there for an Imperial fort" YES SO Cheydinhal, the Valus region, all that, I imagine as having a lot more Morrowind influence than we got to see in Oblivion. ADDITIONALLY I'm going with the idea that this is the same exact Farragut as Farragut Keep in the 2nd Era, aka an important stronghold for the Ebonheart Pact. So a lot of stuff in here is either scavenged and fixed up from the ruins, or sourced from Cheydinhal or Stonefalls.
That Bosmer corner is all Zath's doing though, that's his private floor nap zone
yes those are poisoned apples on his alchemy desk. let him *cook.
*do not under any circumstances let either of these men cook, one of them will put people in the damn sauce and the other one smells like deadly nightshade for a reason
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