#is a known collector of human organs

[nortess]

CHOOSE YOUR ◼️◼️◼️◼️◼️◼️

[dyns33]

Firefly

I can't explain why but I like The Collector movies a lot, Asa Emory was a weird character, and so I needed to write something about him at least once

Y/N had met Asa Emory in college.

He already had this strange look and this fascination for insects, which explained his choice of studies. She had never met anyone who wanted to become an entomologist.

The other students were a little afraid of him, when they noticed him, because Asa was very discreet.

Y/N had noticed him, and she hadn’t been afraid of him. She had sat next to him in the library while he read a book about spiders. Her questions had initially seemed to irritate him, he was obviously not used to being spoken to, then he had been intrigued.

For a time, Asa had looked at her as if she were one of the insects he collected, but also as if she were trying to make fun of him. Yet he answered all her questions, adding more and more details and information.

He had no one in his life. No one to share your passion with. He didn't tell her all the details, but he had lost his parents and siblings when he was young.

This loneliness didn't seem to be a problem for him, but over time he got used to Y/N's presence, he looked forward to her questions, and he eventually grew attached.

“My firefly.” He greeted her as soon as he saw her, with a shy smile.

“Why a firefly ?” she asked, laughing softly.

“Because you are a light in my life.”

Y/N might have taken offense saying that a firefly was a tiny, fragile light that would die quickly, but knowing Asa's love of insects, she knew he wasn't going to compare her to a sun or stars. It was even a nice compliment on his part that he deigned to compare her to a Lampyris noctiluca.

Even when insulting people, he never used insect names. That would be an insult to the insects and he couldn't do that.

As with everything else in their relationship, it was Y/N who invited him on their first date. He accepted without seeming to understand what that meant.

The poor man seemed lost when she kissed him. But not necessarily disgusted.

“My firefly, you are the only human being who matters.” he admitted when she asked him if he ever thought about marriage, after more than two years together. "There are only a few insects that practice monogamy, but most die quickly, sometimes during the act of reproduction. But you know how much I hate anthropomorphism. I will be happy to spend my life with you."

Life with Asa was calm. Perfectly organized, structured, like its classification of all arthropod species.

After obtaining his diploma, he had no difficulty in being hired in the largest natural science museum in the city. His name quickly became known in his field.

His frequent nighttime outings and other prolonged outings could have been frightening for Y/N, but he always warned her in advance, preparing his schedule according to the pace of life of the insects he was looking for.

"Rumors are circulating about an unknown species of grasshoppers in a forest. I will probably be gone all weekend."

"Oh. You won't be here for my cousin's birthday ?"

"I forgot. Forgive me, my firefly."

“It doesn’t matter… It’s for your work, it’s important.”

He promised to better note the dates that were important to her, because even though he was very diligent in his work, Asa was a good husband. He didn't care at all about other humans, and therefore her family, but he always tried to please her when he could.

Even though he had a true admiration for spiders, Y/N saw him more as an ant. He worked hard, he never seemed tired, and he often brought home gifts to make up for when he missed an appointment, or simply because he wanted to see her smile.

"Ants don't bring back gifts for the queen, they do this to feed the colony. Plus they work in groups, I work alone."

“I didn’t compare myself to a queen.”

"You could, it was you who worked to create our home. There is no colony without a queen, and there would not be our home without you."

Their house was perfect, but empty. They didn't talk about having children. The subject didn't seem to appeal to Asa. After all this time, he did not talk about his family, visibly traumatized by their disappearance, and his aversion to others, in addition to his complicated schedule, were not compatible with the role of father.

There were his dogs. Perfectly trained hunting dogs, who were only adorable with their master and his wife. But especially with Y/N, who loved to cuddle them.

“My firefly, they have already eaten and they are not allowed to be inside.”

"Oh, Asa, please ! It's cold outside, and they were very good !"

“You mustn’t get them used to it or they will become fat and lazy.”

“Only for tonight, please !”

His colleagues said he was tough. A cold, distant, almost mean man. It was quickly decided that he would no longer participate in school visits, because he did not know how to talk to children or teachers.

But with Y/N, he was gentle. He refused her nothing. The dogs stayed inside, and not just that evening.

The times Asa told her no, it wasn't his fault. The excuses he found always contained the words 'I would like to, but the museum, my colleagues, the insects…'.

No, she couldn't accompany him on his hunts. She wouldn't like it anyway. It was cold, there was almost no time to sleep, and she might be bored.

“I’ll be with you, that’s the most important thing.”

".. .It's always a joy to be with you. That's also why it's better if you don't come. Then I have a reason to come home."

And he always came home, tired, but satisfied with his work, placing a kiss on Y/N's forehead like a ritual, before caressing her cheek while looking at her as if seeing her for the first time, his eyes wide blacks seeming to devour her entirely.

Then came the night when he came home late, very late, with strange injuries and terribly angry. Growling like an animal, he slammed the door so hard that it woke his wife. She found him trying to stitch himself up, mumbling and shaking.

She had never seen him like this. Asa was always calm.

Hesitantly, Y/N asked him if he was okay, and when he looked at her, she was scared for the first time since they met. For a moment, he looked like he didn't recognize her, and was ready to jump on her. Then he took on the features of her husband.

"… My firefly." he sighed, getting up with difficulty to kiss her. "I woke you up. I scared you. Forgive me. There was an incident. I lost several very precious, unique species. But it's my fault, you don't have to suffer my bad mood."

“Shouldn’t you go to the hospital ?”

"It's okay, I promise. Scratches, nothing I can't fix myself. Go back to bed, I'll be with you right away."

Nothing forced her to obey. Y/N could have insisted, asked questions, called an ambulance, but she returned to the room, staring at the wall unable to sleep. She didn't move when Asa came to her, holding her close, his face against her neck, whispering that he loved her.

They talked about the incident in the neighboring town the next day on television. An abandoned factory was ravaged by flames. But that wasn't the worst. It was the lair of a serial killer, whom they called the Collector.

The survivors spoke of horrible things. Of torture, of strange experiences. According to police, the man had died in the fire along with his guard dogs and most of the evidence there was nothing left to fear.

Y/N didn’t ask Asa where the dogs were. She tried not to think about it.

If he was waiting for her to ask him about it, he didn't show it. He didn't talk about what happened during the night, behaving as if everything was perfectly fine, and going to work like every day. He would come home, he would kiss her, and he would do it again. The difference was only that he went out less often.

According to him, the season was not good for hunting. And with the problem at his office, he needed a little time, to rest, to repair the place.

This excuse could have worked forever. Of course, Y/N could have called the museum and they would have confirmed that there had never been any serious incidents, but she didn't want to. She continued to lie next to her husband, letting him embrace her tenderly.

Then there was the man's visit. He seemed surprised to see Y/N, as he placed a large red trunk in the kitchen. Almost sad too. He was holding a gun.

"I imagine you don't know anything about it. I can let you go, if you promise not to warn him, and to let me do what I have to do."

"… I don't understand what to talk to you about."

"Your dear husband. The man who kidnapped and tortured me for weeks. You're lucky you didn't see his little collection. He's a monster. He needs to die."

No doubt the man was right. There had always been something strange about Asa, everyone had always known it and Y/N had been the only one to refuse to see it. She had built her life with him, her home. They had to share everything.

So even if he was right, she without thinking grabbed a knife when he turned, convinced that she had understood and she stuck it in his back, at the level of his heart.

When she realized what she had just done, it was too late. The man was lying in his blood in the middle of the room, his gun fallen next to him. Y/N touched nothing, unable to do anything but cry while trying to remember how to breathe.

Asa found her like this, sitting against a wall, when he returned from the office. He looked at his wife, then at the scene in the kitchen, before putting his things down to crouch down next to her.

Like every times, he held her face so that she could look at him and he could kiss her on the forehead. Then with one hand he wiped the blood from her cheek, massaging her neck with the other to calm her down.

"Tell me what happened. Are you hurt, my firefly ?"

"No… He… He wanted to kill you. He said… Oh, my god. He had a gun, I… I was scared… He said you… Asa …"

"Shh. I'll take care of everything. Come on."

Holding her close, he took her to the bathroom where he helped her undress and get into the shower, which he adjusted so that the water was perfect. Taking a bath would have done her good, but he had to leave her alone to clean up, and he didn't want her to fall asleep.

"I'll be back, my firefly. Just sit here, it's okay."

Y/N didn't know how long she stayed under the water, shaking and crying. Not as long as she thought. Her husband quickly returned to help her get up, dry off and put on pajamas.

Although she was not hungry, he insisted that she have tea and biscuits, as it was not good to keep an empty stomach after such a shock, before putting her to bed. He certainly put something in the tea for her to sleep.

The kitchen was immaculate the next morning, as if nothing had happened. The man, the weapon, the red trunk, everything had disappeared.

Unusually, Asa had prepared breakfast. He was always up before her, but he only had coffee, and he often left for work while she was still asleep, coming to place a kiss on her forehead to warn her.

His dark eyes didn't leave her for a second as Y/N chewed her pancakes with difficulty, one hand on the glass of orange juice that she couldn't drink. She looked everywhere except her husband.

Before the intruder spoke, she had already started to have doubts. Questions. Now everything was quite clear, and all that remained was to decide what she was going to do. Asa was also obviously waiting, sitting near her.

The options were vast. Run away, call the police, risk getting killed… Y/N finally managed to lift the glass of orange juice, while thinking of their meeting.

"… Aren't you going to be late for work ?"

"No. I took some time off to stay with you."

“But your collection… I understood that it would take a long time to rebuild everything.”

"It's not as important as you, my firefly. My mantis religiosa. My black widow." he purred, running a hand through her hair, his lips on her neck.

Asa loved spiders. It was a nice compliment, even if she received it because she had killed a man and agreed not to report him to the authorities. He didn't seem to notice her fear, one of the reasons she remained silent.

Only the other reason mattered. And by giving her all these names, like a transformation, he was telling her that he would not harm her, that he did not see her as prey, and that even if she decided to do so, she could devour him.

[highly-important]

Little Art things I'm obsessed with pt 1

Portraits of absent figures:

David Hockney - A Bigger Splash, 1967

Hockney originally visited California in 1963 and was won over by the sunlight and laid-back lifestyle, especially the luxury and ubiquity of the swimming pool. He described it as his "promised land" The splash is about freezing a moment in time, but it is also empty of human presence but implying a human. The male figure is present in some of David's other works from this time period, especially his muse and then-partner Peter Schlesinger. These paintings are about a hedonistic gay lifestyle, and the swimmers, the divers, are often the subject of voyeurism and desire. But in this painting, we just missed the diver, which makes the object of desire more private and personal. Who was the painter looking at, lusting after, etc. I like the contrast of the incredibly sharp and graphic suburban neighborhood, and the chaotic, organic splash. So again, if the divers represent this homosexual desire, we have this contrast of an orderly heterosexual world, and the queerness that joyfully disrupts it.

And then of course, with the absent figure, there is this massive sense of loss and loneliness. And so much of loneliness is about concealment, hiding in shame. This is a private space, but its also an exposed space, enhancing the loneliness. The figure is isolated, alone, invisible. Its a sadness that contrasts with the setting, the activity, and saturated lighting.

Felix Gonzalez-Torres - Untitled (billboard of an empty bed), 1991

These billboards were exhibited in the streets of Manhattan during the AIDS crisis. This piece was created the same year Felix Gonzalez-Torres's boyfriend Ross died. This portrait is a celebration of love and a memorization of loss and the emotions between intimacy and publicity. In the artist's own words:

“What I’m trying to say is that we cannot give the powers that be what they want, what they are expecting from us. Some homophobic senator is going to have a very hard time trying to explain to his constituency that my work is homoerotic or pornographic, but if I were to do a performance with HIV blood — that’s what he wants, that’s what the rags expect because they can sensationalize that, and that’s what’s disappointing. Some of the work I make is more effective because it’s more dangerous. We both make work that looks like something else but it’s not that. We’re infiltrating that look.“

The work intentionally uses the matching, identical depressions to imply a same-sex couple. The image itself is extremely intimate, but its being displayed in public spaces.

Felix Gonzales-Torres became known for his absent bodies.

And then, a little different, this painting by Jacques Guillaume Lucien Amans (1837) commissioned by Frederick and and Coralie Frey, depicts the three Frey children, with the faint shadow of a figure. There was a legend that there was a fourth figure in this painting. In 2005 a private collector, Jeremy K Simien, purchased the painting and it underwent conservation.

The painting revealed Bélizaire, a fifteen year-old enslaved domestic owned by the children's father. The picture captures the complex relationship between the boy and the children, the family that was keeping him captive. For one thing, the way he is set back from the others. There is this sort of intimacy between them along side the psychological trauma of forced bondage.

Here is a great Tiktok about the painting, to quote "What I'm struck by is what a sensitive portrait this is of this young man who was living in an inhumane society where he, despite being a human being, was bought and sold."

A few years after this painting was created, the three Frey children died, and Bélizaire was the only one who survived into adulthood.

The painting stayed in the Frey family. At some point, likely in the late 19th or 20th century, Bélizaire was intentionally painted over. In 1972, the great-granddaughter of Coralie Frey donated the painting to a Louisiana museum, informing them that a figure was painted over. During the course of the painting's life at the museum, no effort was put into restoring the figure.

Jeremy Simien's, who bought and restored this painting, said on his instagram "Bélizaire, they know your name now. Tell the ancestors to let me sleep for a minute."

And shout out to the picture that make me want to write this, Hyde Park Flowers, London by Tumblr user @kimironside I won't re-post it so check out the link.

[dalekofchaos]

Fixing the Geth-Quarian War in ME3

I've was admired how fleshed out were the Geth in ME2, with Legion being a "diplomatic platform" for the Geth Consensus, showing us that the Geth were not all evil.

They didn't want to be like humans, they were happy just being all together, with building a dyson sphere where every geth would be uploaded into, so no Geth would be alone.

Also they rejected the Reapers (Old Machines) help to achieve their goal, believing that they would be blinded to other paths if they accepted the Reaper's offer.

A part of them accepted the Reapers' help due of "mathematic variable", they allowed their own people to leave them to serve the Reapers, and were not expecting that the "Heretics" were planning to unleash a virus on them to make them worship the Reapers too.

Then in ME3, Legion accepts the Reaper code "upgrade" that makes the Geth individual AI, but that's not what they were after, suddenly wanting to become like organics, when Legion told us that the Geth hated the concept of organic individuality.

Legion's quote when I destroyed the Collector Base cemented my respect for the True Geth.

"An interesting choice, Shepard-Commander. Your species was offered everything the Geth aspire to, true unity and understanding in transcendence. You rejected it, you even refused the possibility of using the Old Machines' to achieve on your species' own terms. You are more like us than we thought".

I am aware that the real reason for this change is due of change of writers, when Chris L'Etoile wrote Legion and the Geth in ME1-ME2 and was no longer in Bioware in ME3. For me, Legion is the Geth in ME2, in ME3 is not Legion.

This coincidentally with the Quarians de-humanized and portrayed like complete monsters with the Geth as innocent, with the favourable points for the Quarians reduced drastically if not removed. For example: Han' Gerrel: In ME2 he was very friendly with Tali and Shepard, and didn't even want to put Tali on trial, he was sympathetic with them, but disliked the Geth. Suddenly in ME3 he's portrayed like a dumb warmongering idiot that shoots the Geth dreadnought where Shepard and Tali are on, risking their lives "for a perfect target". Also we are given the option to punch him, but no option to confront Legion about the Reaper code BS.

Kal'Reegar: A badass quarian marine that isn't afraid to defend Tali in front of the Admiral board if it means to save her. In ME3, he was conveniently killed off in a mail.

"Damn straight! Tali's done more for this fleet than you assholes ever will! You're pissing on everything I fought for! Everything Tali fought for! So, if you decide to exile her... you may as well do the same to me."

Originally he was supposed to be appearing on the mission on Rannoch, instead of the Geth conseus, leading a Quarian specialist team known as "Fire Time Taurash", happy to see Shepard again. Replaced by a mission that sympathizes for the Geth.

The only Quarians that are left and are likeable are Tali and Raan, where Koris the admiral that in ME2 costantly pissed on Tali and her father, is now portrayed like a savior and the only good guy.

The Quarians were de-humanized to make the player see the Geth as good and Quarians as bad.

How I would have done Rannoch arc

Legion: He appears asking help to Commander Shepard, isolated from the Consensus to free his people from Reaper control, that would use them as slaves to wipe out the Quarians.

Tali:If was pardoned, she appears as one of the Admirals trying to advocate for peace, if exiled, she appears alongside Legion to ask Shepard to help them to prevent the Geth from killing the Quarians.

Geth: Under reaper control the Geth are forced to amass an army that the Reapers want to use to help them exterminate the Quarians and the rest of life after, to ensure compliance, the reapers used a virus that has an effect similar to indoctrination for synthetics, but can be reversed and use a research on that Virus to make the Geth immune to Reaper hacking.

Quarians: The quarians are now looking for a planet to host their refugees and non combatants, as the Reapers attack, they need a planet closest to their physiology to minimize risk for them, Rannoch.

Quarian admiralty: Han Gerrel wants to push for war and claim their homeworld with brute force, but understands that attacking a Reaper and a full Geth army will tear apart. Zaal' Koris asks for a way to free the Geth from the Reapers to turn them in allies. Daro' Xen instead suggests exploiting the Reapers' hold on the Geth and reprogram the Virus to make them their slaves.

The mission arc would be trying to be helping Legion and the Quarians research the Reaper Virus, that would have three possible choices:

Neutralize the Virus, to prevent the Reapers from taking control of the Geth Consensus, Geth and Quarians join as war assets, requires Tali and Legion alive, Legion and Tali join as permanent squadmates.

2)Use the Virus to shut down the Geth, all Geth shutdown, and all their servers destroyed, the Geth are wiped out, and the Quarians join as war assets.

3)Exploit the Virus, Admiral Xen's plan with help from Rael's research and potentially from Project Overlord's data to make the Geth slaves to the Quarians again, both join as war assets, but Legion shuts down.

In any case, the Geth follow their old philosophy

Something else I would add. Kal'Reegar as a squad member.

part of me wishes Reegar could've been recruitable. Maybe it's like a KOTOR 2 situation where if we chose a male exile, then we get the Handmaiden. If we chose female exile, then we get the Disciple. If we chose Male Shepard, then Reeger is just a war asset. If we chose femshep, then Tali stays with the Admiralty board and becomes a war asset while Tali recommends Reegar to join the Normandy.

I'd also like to add possible romances after the direction of the war.

If you romance Tali in ME2, Tali is yours.

If you didn't romance Tali and Legion lives, then you can point them in the right direction like you do with Gabby and Ken

If you didn't romance Tali and Reegar lived, then Tali and Reeger get together

If you didn't romance Tali and Reegar and Legion are dead, then Tali and Garrus get together

If you're a Femshep and you can romance Reegar.

[evolutionsvoid]

What the Academy of Veritas Mundus seeks is no single thing. There is no simple goal, no one answer that will bring their journey to an end. For what they want is the truth about everything, the knowledge and power to understand all of creation. For every mystery solved, there are a dozen more that sprout up, because their quest is never ending. While their task may seem futile, it seems no more different than those who follow the Church, whose pilgrimage is equally endless. And like them, breakthroughs do occur along the road, great epiphanies that grant answers and wonders to the world. While it makes one feel validated for the work they have done before, it also drives them to continue forth, eager for new discoveries. For the Alchemists of the Academy, one of these wondrous moments was when they created the first Homunculi.

Among their many experiments and theories was the creation of life, and how we all came to be from a sea of fluid. If we are truly born from the humors, and thus in turn brought into this world by Ichor, how was it done? While the golden fluid is truly divine and powerful, there is still a great difference between that liquid and a fully formed human being. Not to mention that ever since man and all the other life emerged from it, nothing new has come from these golden pools. So what triggers such birth? Where does the spark of life come from? If all one needs is humors or Ichor, than surely man could pull off such a feat with these fluids at hand!

Thus, the Alchemists set to figure out the formula to life itself, to see if it was possible for mortals to partake in creation. Countless experiments were done, an endless amount of recipes attempted and discarded. One had to figure out what fluids to use, and how much, when to mix it, do you heat it? Cool it? Is it done in a single batch or over the course of days? All these questions and variations, and the Alchemists were determined to test them all. But one day, their persistence paid off, and the Academy bore witness to the miracle of life. Well, a small one...

The beings that were born from these flasks were tiny and hardly formed, but there was life within them regardless. While they were far from perfect, they were proof that the Academy was on the right track, and that creation was indeed possible. They have continued their efforts, hoping to refine the formula and figure out how to improve these creations. While there have been other successes, they have yet to achieve perfection. And though the beings known as Homunculi are the first draft of their design, they have stuck around for all these years.

Small in stature and gooey in form, a Homunculus is an odd little critter. They appear to be partially formed, lacking bones and even fully formed organs. You could hold them in one hand, like a congealed lump of fat. Yet, they are alive and quite eager. They scurry about like little rodents, and have an almost childlike nature to them. They are fascinated by new things, get attached to certain objects or people, and are known to be little collectors of odd things. Yet, they seem very loyal to the Alchemist who created them, always following their orders and eager to please. Their ties to their masters and ability to perform simple tasks is a reason these early creations have stuck around for so long, as the Academy has found uses for tiny hands that can be replicated.

These Homunculi have become the gofers of the Academy, little errand boys that scurry about the labs to fetch items, deliver messages or watch experiments as they cook. While their small size means they can't carry heavy objects or things too big, it allows them to slip through places not even a human hand could reach. Thus, the Academy has designed many of their buildings and halls to have a tiny network of tunnels throughout, where the Homunculi can travel without worry of being stepped on. They can run messages with ease, keep watch over areas and sound the alarm if intruders arrive. It is believed that the Academy's impressive defenses and guard mechanisms are actually activated or controlled by Homunculi, which allows for such speedy response times and complexity.

While the Homunculi are little workers, the Alchemists of the Academy show great care and pride in these tiny critters. In truth, they seem to show more compassion for them than they do for other people. Some claim it is because of the long tedious process to make one, which would be incentive to keep your current ones alive. Though true, the Alchemists still treat them like their children, praising them for good jobs, giving them treats and even letting them have time off for themselves. Some say that within the walls of larger research halls is an entire community of these critters, living hidden lives far from sight.

Though the Alchemists are smitten with their tiny creations, the Church of Divine Wealth is not so pleased. The Homunculi are deemed abominations in the eye of the Church, an artificial life that is blasphemous to all. Ichor is the one true creator, and to reach into its domain is heresy. While the Church does have living constructs and essences brought back from the dead, they claim that these are different. Bone-bile constructs are mere machines, not truly living or thinking. Things like Catacomb Saints and Wax Effigies are born from currently existing essence, reshaping life that was already alive. The Homunculus is a creature created in a void, with no essence or ties into the great cycle. Their birth is artificial, unholy. Thus they are to be destroyed on sight. Perhaps that is why the Homunculi are so loyal to the Academy, as they are the few people who would ever accept them...

[justabrowncoatedwench]

Alternative gods that aren't Shar to turn to in times of sadness & mourning:

Kelemvor, Lord of the Dead

Jergal, the Final Scribe, servant of Kelemvor (Withers, maybe)

The Raven Queen, Goddess of Death/Dying (collector of memories & strong emotion, esp dealing with loss & sadness) - lesser known deity, largely worshipped by shadar-kai

Loviatar, the Maiden of Pain (a way to externalize internal pain)

Talona, Lady of Poison (worshiped by survivors of pestilence)

Myrkul, quasi-deity re power level, serves Kelemvor (oversees old age, among other pieces of his portfolio)

And that's just deities who also have Death as a cleric domain. This is just talking about broad Faerunian deities, most races also have their own pantheons, with their own deities they'd turn to in different situations. The majority of people in Faerun aren't solely worshiping a single deity, they worship deities within the situations & circumstances that that deity has jurisdiction over.

Deities of human/broad pantheon(s) who aren't Shar that you might turn to in a time of grief, sadness, or loss:

Chauntea, the Great Mother (OG nature goddess, these days goddess of agriculture & how civilization interacts w nature)

Selûne, the Moonmaiden (viwed as cyclical, & esp worshipped by human women during their menstrual cycles for example)

Ilmater, the Crying God (portfolio is endurance, suffering, martyrdom, perseverance)

Lathander, Morninglord, Lord of Birth & Renewal (the death rites are actually pretty neat imo)

Umberlee, Goddess of Oceans (for deaths at sea)

Etc etc etc

Basically, if a person has a deity they favor, every church/organization is going to have death & mourning rites. The majority of people aren't going to be turning from their other deities to seek succor at Shar's door just because they're mourning or sad; the kind of loss, and the solution Sharrans offer, is the way you'd rather forget what made you happy so you don't have to feel the pain of having lost it. That's what comfort Shar & her clerics offer.

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 2 replay, Arrival:

Aratoht

-The moon in the skybox is gorgeous.

-Why does Shepard assume that the presence of varren mean that prisoners are sent there to die?

They could be feral varren, or there to chase down escaped prisoners.

-As you go through the mission, you overhear guards speaking about humans planning to destroy the relay. You probably assume it’s propaganda. The twist is that it’s true.

-The guards are correct. Dr. Kenson is a terrorist. One with very good reasons, but still a terrorist.

-Logs say that interrogation only produced frenzied rambling. Probably because they’re indoctrinated.

-This isn’t all that different from what the Alliance would do if they learned a batarian cell planned to destroy a Mass Relay in a human system. Capture them, imprison them, interrogate them.

Hopefully not as severely as the batarians are doing, but they’d definitely be questioned.

-As many have pointed out, the Reaper drawing in a deceased prisoner’s cell is a clue they’re indoctrinated.

-Dr. Kenson doesn’t even ask about the others captured with her. Does she assume or know they’re already dead?

-The conversation in the shuttle with Dr. Kenson is a reversal of the normal scenario. Dr. Kenson in the one insisting on a fantastical scenario, and Shepard is the skeptic.

-Shepard raises that mass effect relays are supposed to be indestructible. Dr. Kenson replies that it’s more that no one’s wanted to find out what would happen if one was destroyed.

At least Bioware addresses the change. I’m still skeptical a large asteroid can destroy one – the Reapers want to reset organic life, not destroy it completely. If mass relays can destroy a system when they’re hit with an asteroid, that’s a rather large oversight. Surely they could be shielded or the like?

-Dr. Kenson: Even a Reaper thousand of years dead contains power. Their artifacts are worthy of study, regardless of their purpose.

How does Dr. Kenson know that dead Reapers contain power?

(She’s indoctrinated. That’s the Reaper speaking. They like to praise themselves.)

-Shepard asks how they avoided indoctrination. Dr. Kenson insists they were careful.

Later we see Object Rho out in the open. Was it always so, or did they move it after the indoctrination kicked in?

-When Shepard sees the countdown, they immediately say that the Reapers could be at Earth in two days.

So the whole “save Earth” angle of ME3 had already started in this DLC. Never mind that Shepard may have no connection to it; it’s good marketing, damn it.

Just saying, they could have said the Reapers will start their harvest in two days.

-I repeatedly reloaded the fight in the Object Rho room and again and again ran into an issue where I couldn’t target anyone. How the hell can a vanguard charge if they can’t target?

-Why do the Reapers want Shepard alive?

They stopped the plan to turn the Citadel into a relay. The player is expected to play this DLC after they’ve destroyed (or collected) the Collectors base.

The Reapers should want Shepard dead. They’re too dangerous to live. There’s no gain to keeping them alive, except maybe to indoctrinate them and use them as an agent against the galaxy.

Which would have been a fantastic twist in ME3, but ME3 prefers to pretend ME2 doesn’t exist so nothing came of that. In fact, ME3 drops the “take Shepard alive” angle entirely for no known in-universe reason.

Maybe the other Reapers held a vote and told Harbinger to shut up.

-Hmm. I’ve wondered why Kenson tells Shepard about the Project and takes them back to the base – that seems counter intuitive since Shepard will of course try to finish the job and Kenson doesn’t actually want that.

I had mostly settled on Kenson telling Shepard as an attempt to fight off the indoctrination, but once in the room with Object Rho the indoctrination took over.

However, it makes more sense as an attempt to lure Shepard into a trap and capture them. Everyone knows that Shepard will go anywhere if the word “Reaper” is mentioned. That’s how Hackett convinced Shepard to go after Kenson in the first place.

And if Shepard hadn’t been able to shake of the drugs it would have worked. The Reapers would have arrived, picked up Shepard for whatever purpose, and carried on with the harvest.

-Why was Shepard able to shake off the drugs, anyway? Side effect of the cybernetics? Built up tolerance after being kept under for two years?

-The worst part of this mission is that it puts me back in the Cerberus uniform. My Shepard burned that the moment they got their hands on other clothes.

-Shitty security returns! The door out of the med bay only has three locks.

-I loathe pyros. Once they hit you with fire you’re dead, and Shepard can’t move in ME2 so good luck avoiding them.

-How is Harbringer communicating with Shepard? They’re not even in the galaxy yet. What, did they hack the comms tower from dark space?

Just saying, you could interpret this as Shepard hallucinating Harbringer as an early sign of indoctrination. They did just spend two days sleeping next to a Reaper artifact.

Normandy

-Back on the Normandy and in Cerberus clothing again. While meeting an Alliance admiral. Who thought this was appropriate?

-Hackett about Cerberus: I don’t like Cerberus or the way they do things, but they brought you back to life and they’re actually doing something about the state of the galaxy.

Ah, the renegade to Anderson’s paragon. Let’s not forget that “actually doing something about the state of the galaxy” does not necessarily mean good things. Cerberus is doing plenty – shame it’s all evil.

-Batarians have wanted war with the Alliance for a long time.

The batarian leadership have also been indoctrinated since shortly after they discovered the Leviathan of Dis in 2163 CE. ME1 start in 2183 CE.

Do the batarians want war with the Alliance, or do the Reapers want the organics fighting each other so they don’t team up and make the harvest harder?

-Hackett should have kept Shepard’s report. Sure, it’s a grand gesture of trust to say it’s not necessary. It’s also idiotic. Hackett needs to prepare for the Reapers and Shepard’s report is the most up to date intel on their movements and plans.

Also, it might make defending Shepard easier if he knows what the hell happened.

Codex

-The Alpha Relay can be “powered by an unprecedented amount of dark energy” to connect to multiple other relays or the Citadel.

Once again, an allusion to the dark energy plot that ME3 will abandon.

-The Hegemony knows about the relay’s abilities but keeps quiet about it to avoid hostility from other species that would be concerned about it.

Unusual for the Hegemony. They normally try to provoke everyone over everything.

-Object Rho is believed to be powered by dark matter.

If Bioware had put half as much effort into foreshadowing synthesis in ME3 as they did dark energy in ME2…

And with that, I’m finally finished ME2! On to ME3!

[surveillance-0011]

Master and Crazy Handcanons

Both:

Both are collectors, hobby-wise. They also enjoy sparring and partaking in games + competitive activities.

Born from the same source, twin brothers. Perhaps even the same person. Regardless, two halves of a whole.

It did take Crazy Hand some time to make his presence known to the smashers but Master Hand always knew him.

MH used to be rather ashamed of CH because of his role as a destructive other half, but learned to accept his presence. On the other hand, once upon a time CH was very envious of MH's ability and drive to create but learned to appreciate his own abilities.

Both are charismatic. While they present as more antagonistic, in the end it's all kayfabe and they care a lot about the smashers.

Oversee everything, basically. Doing a lot of behind the scenes work with the help of spirits, miis and other powerful beings throughout the worlds. MH does the more general stuff, and CH the dirtier work

kind of aware of the meta of everything being a video game, kind of not. Schrodingers 4th wall awareness. when it's quirky.

Both go by he/him.

rest is under the cut for length

Master Hand:

The Creator. The Ringleader. Voice of reason.

Used to play up the evil ambiguity more, but now he's more into presenting as the ultimate foe in a more benign way. Like Max Brass or some sort of top dog boxer.

Also the announcer.

Early bird, and early to go to bed. cannot stay up late to save his life. I mean he will to battle for many a kid playing under the covers

Very organized in routine and actual cleanliness. Loves his lists and itineraries and sorting cabinets. Yes, he is creative and never super-uptight, but he needs some semblance of routine.

While he tries to keep Crazy in check, he is still up for some mayhem every now and then and is totally game for dishing out beatdowns together whenever!

Very hush-hush about Master Core, hates its presence within him.

Still very guilty about not being able to prevent or do much during WOL. Subspace? Okay. That was a mess but he did what he could. With Galeem and Dharkon? He feels he should've been able to fight back and see the warning signs.

Very stern and distrusting towards Tabuu, Galeem and Dharkon. Not fond of them but is keeping them around to keep an eye on them.

Doesn't like to show weakness. He knows a lot of people rely on him and would rather die than see them feel helpless.

Great at cooking! Everything he makes is great, the smashers cannot get enough. Though a lot of the smashers can cook and do so for each other, on special occasions he will treat.

Needs more hobbies, a vacation and some therapy. please.

Crazy Hand:

A destroyer. Source of chaos. Chronically silly.

It's just... his nature. He has a lot of energy but he hasn't ever been able to make and retain something. He has, however, been able to break things down and mess them up. As mentioned above, once upon a time this was disheartening to him, but he was learned to work with it and take joy in it. That, and by being a part of Smash he has helped cultivate something beautiful in his own way. Very proud of himself!

Really plays up the supervillain sort of vibe, esp in comparison to his brother. He's like a scare actor. He tones everything down if he sees someone is actually scared.

Huge prankster

Night Owl. Keeps an eye out after dark, making sure curfews are met (for the kids mainly, gotta get their sleep) and that mischief is kept to a minimum. But he will also be a boogeyman of sorts and cause a bit of mischief, as he loves to spook those who decide to stay up late.

Gives more leeway. If you know Master Hand will say no, consider asking Crazy for what you want! He's like the cool uncle if Master Hand is more like a team dad. Gotta make up for brutality on the battlefield somehow!

Likes to collect quirky, kitschy stuff. Lots of weird collections. Rocks shaped like presidents. Beanie babies stitched together like the human centipede. WMDs. Garfield Fish Tank Owner.

Oh I bet he does keep fish also. He'd be good at it. Another thing where he can actually take care of something and not destroy it.

Don't trust him with gardening though. Or cooking.

Into horror and weirder stuff, but prefers campier stuff. Can't stomach super horrific and dramatic stuff or gory stuff.

Easily moved by movies.

If he's quiet. Assume something is wrong. He's either doing something in secrecy or really upset. Hopefully the former and he's just about to pull off some crazy prank.

Got over Subspace and WOL relatively easily compared to others but is worried about how they affected others, especially MH.

He was also still shaken up from being controlled by Dharkon

Dislikes Galeem and Tabuu, sees them as stuck-up pricks. Feels sympathy towards Dharkon as the guy is Chronically Miserable and he sees that it was acting out of misplaced rage and dispair. Doesn't make it right but CH knows what it's like to be full of the need to destroy and raise hell. This has lead to him being more forgiving and trying to befriend his former adversary

[fatehbaz]

A Dreamtime story from the Nuenonne First Nation of Bruny Island off the Southeast Coast of Tasmania (lutruwita) narrates how [...] a young pup [...] of the “Tasmanian tiger” (thylacine) [...] transformed [...] into corinna [...]. When lutruwita -- Tasmania, also known as Van Dieman’s Land -- was opened for British colonization in 1803, a medley of settlers -- from [...] fortune-seekers to species hunters -- made it to the island in the course of a few years. Travel guides and memoirs published at the time soon dubbed Tasmania the “sanatorium of India,” drawing many British colonists to the island who hoped to recuperate their health debilitated by prolonged stay in the tropics.

More significantly, it wasn’t only materials and bodies that circulated between the colonies [India and Tasmania]. But also ideas, impressions, and experiences gained in one colony made their way to the other. [...]

Settler farmers identified the thylacine as a “blood sucking vampire” [...]. [P]olitician John Lyne -- a representative of the Tasmanian rural lobby -- proclaimed, quite preposterously, that “30000 or 40000 sheep” were taken each year by the thylacine [...]. By 1830, the Van Diemen’s Land Company was already offering a reward for the killing of [...] the “hyena” i.e. the thylacine. Likewise, Mercury reported in 1882 in a piece headlined “Tiger Extermination” that landowners declared “a reward of £5 to be paid for each full-grown tiger [...] and £2 10s, for all cubs [...]." As a result, the animal [...] was extirpated by 1936. Comparison between the thylacine and the Indian tiger abounded in settler discourses [...]. This was in spite of the fact that the thylacine and the Indian tiger were two entirely different species, morphologically and ecologically. [...] Yet early settlers in Tasmania, many of whom had first landed on or had connections in British India carried the idea of the tiger as a ferocious predator [...]. [T]hese representations of the thylacine’s “nature” were based on faulty understanding of the animal perpetuated by myopic colonial science that privileged imperial economic interests above all. [...]

---

One of the major thylacine traders in Tasmania was James Harrison. Known as the “West Coast naturalist,” Harrison purchased and sold about twenty-five live animals and twenty dead specimens of thylacine. He was born in the Nowgong district of Assam in northeast India to a family of speculators en route from England. It is noteworthy that James Harrison spent his childhood in a region in India that was known for its [...] wildlife. Game hunting [...] was [...] [a] common pursuit among the Europeans in Assam [...]. Moreover, the period saw a spike in the visit of professional hunters and species collectors to the region as vast [habitat] was being stripped off to make way for tea plantations. [...]

---

William Thomas Dennison, who served as governors of Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) and Madras in India, described in Varieties of Vice Regal Life (1870) the tiger hunts he had organized in India. Dennison’s book reinforced the idea that the tiger is a pest, an impediment to human progress, which echoed his policies towards the thylacine during his stint as the governor of Tasmania (1847-1854). [...]

---

Likewise, Sainthill Eardley Wilmot -- the grandson of Sir John Eardley Wilmot, the lieutenant-governor of Van Diemen’s Land from 1843 to 1846 -- served as a forestry officer in British India. Sainthill was born in Hobart in 1852 and spent his early life there. In My Home In Tasmania (1852), Louisa Ann Meredith mentions the presence of an “untamed” wild thylacine in Sainthill’s grandfather Sir John Eardley Wilmot’s private menagerie in Hobart. Later Sainthill Eardley Wilmot would take a particularly hostile attitude towards the tiger and other big cat species while working as the Inspector General of Forests in British India. [...] He also wrote an it-narrative about the Indian tiger, The Life of a Tiger (1911), that predicted the tiger’s impending extinction. On multiple occasions, he has alluded to the thylacine “wreaking havoc” on flocks of sheep in Tasmania. [...]

The material circulation of the living thylacine in India is little known apart from an exhibition of two live members of the species at Madras Zoo in 1886 [...]. The narrative circulation of the animal, however, has been relatively plentiful.

---

Text by: Bikash Kumar Bhattacharya. "Constellation Spirit, Vicious Vermin, and Icon of Environmental Guilt: Affective Entanglements of the Thylacine in Tasmania and India". The Otter, Network in Canadian History and Environment (NiCHE). Emotional Ecologies series (edited Jessica M. DeWitt and Sarah E. York-Bertram). 20 July 2023. Published at: niche-canada DOT org/2023/07/20/constellation-spirit-vicious-vermin-and-icon-of-environmental-guilt-affective-entanglements-of-the-thylacine-in-tasmania-and-india/ [Image and caption are shown unaltered as they originally appear included in Bhattacharya's article. Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism purposes.]

[ghoulsbian]

Do you have some general Mayu hcs? Our girl doesn't get the rep she deserves :3

yesss!! i sure do!!

• mayu is a collector of oddities (bones, preserved animals, etc.)... i think she goes to a specifically ghoul-owned oddity shop that sells human-centered oddities... like preserved organs/body parts and human bones and whatnot. they decorate her apartment.

• i personally headcanon her to be a transfem enby who uses she/it pronouns. she's also a lesbian and has known she's a lesbian for a long time. she takes particular pleasure in men's suffering bc she hates them lmaooo.

• she has a very unique sense of style. it's certainly alternative but i feel like it's a big mixture of all sorts of alternative subcultures. her favorite kind of clothing items are shoes and she has a sizable shoe collection. the majority are heeled or platformed. she does have a few pairs of flat sneakers i think, though.

• we know most of her victims are her dominatrix clients... i think she steals their watches, wedding rings and whatever's valuable off of them when she's done with them. she makes pretty decent money nowadays but it's a habit she picked up from when she first started out to make more money buy pawning them off. i think nowadays she keeps them more as trophies though, or she keeps them around in case she ends up poor again and needs to pawn them off to get some money to remain housed and whatnot lol. definitely steals their wallets and money still too.

• her nails are always neatly manicured and painted but she never gets acrylics for.... lesbian purposes.

• i think she is afraid of dogs because i feel like it's pretty implied that she was impoverished and/or homeless as a child, and i headcanon she had a nasty run in with dogs chasing her as a child that really traumatized her.

• she really enjoys metal, hardcore and punk music. she's a frequenter of local shows at her favorite venues. aside from when harvesting men's testicles, in the mosh pit is one of the times she feels the most alive.

• i think she is very artistic. art is her favorite way to express her emotions. i feel like painting is her preferred medium, but she also really likes collaging. she collects old magazines a lot to cut things out of them for her collages.

• she got rid all photos from her childhood. she hates that part of her life and wants any evidence of it ever happening destroyed. never opens up to anyone about it... until getting close with rize.

• her kagune bloomed pretty late!! i can't remember what age it's typical for ghouls' kagunes to present but hers happened after than typical time.

hope these will be good :3

[fairylandblog]

Faerie Jewelers

Jewelers from the fae are well known for their excellent workmanship and unmatched attention to detail. Often believed to possess magical powers, these artists create works that are not only visually stunning but also evoke a sense of magic. Usually imbued with natural energies and originating from magical realms, faerie jewelers work with rare and precious materials. Gems such as moonstone, star sapphire, and enchanted emerald, chosen for their unique qualities and ethereal beauty, frequently feature in their creations. Fairy craftspeople have passed down the mysterious art of making faerie jewelry over the centuries. Fairies make each piece under precise starlight or during specific lunar phases to capture the desired magical powers. The fairies have a strong bond with nature, as evidenced by the designs' frequent use of natural features like leaves, vines, and flowers. Faerie jewelry is characterized by minute, detailed embellishments, and each piece has a unique significance or narrative to impart. Faeries, with their dexterous hands and acute vision, can work with minute details that human jewelers would find impossible, creating works of art that seem straight out of a dream.

People frequently use faerie jewelry for purposes other than decoration; it is not just ornamental. Many items are believed to offer protection, bring good fortune, or enhance the wearer's skills. A ring, for example, could enhance the wearer's creativity or intuition, while a delicate necklace might provide protection from evil spirits. People who believe in the magical qualities of these objects greatly desire them due to the delicate yet powerful enchantments they possess. According to certain traditions, wearing specific faerie jewelry may even enable the wearer to view the fae's invisible world and cross over into the magical world. Faerie jewelry is appealing for reasons other than its magical qualities. They are valued heirlooms and collector's goods because of the exquisite beauty and individuality of each piece. The vivid gemstones, organic designs, and fine filigree work combine to produce a timeless elegance that goes beyond regular jewelry. People view owning a piece of faerie jewelry as a unique opportunity that showcases their appreciation for both the supernatural and artistic talent. It is possible for collectors and aficionados to spend years looking for these unique treasures, frequently traveling long distances to secret faerie gatherings or clandestine markets. Many human artists have been influenced by faerie jewelers, attempting to emulate their enchanted aesthetic. These man-made pieces nevertheless have the whimsical and otherworldly quality that characterizes faerie jewelry, even though they might not have the magical touch of genuine fairy creations. Faerie jewelers continue to captivate and inspire with their complex workmanship, unique jewels, and nature-inspired designs. In an effort to evoke the same sense of wonder and magic in their creations, human jewelers frequently research the ancient fairy tale lore and skills. If they are lucky enough to earn the trust of well-known faerie communities, some even work together, picking up knowledge straight from the source. Literature and other media also demonstrate the faerie jewelers' cultural influence. Numerous fairy tales and fantasy books contain tales of enchanted jewels, which frequently represent love, power, or destiny. These stories instill a massive obsession with faerie jewelry in the public consciousness, feeding off of it. The elaborate and enchanted creations of faerie jewelers serve as a source of inspiration for numerous writers, filmmakers, and artists who create imaginative worlds in which these gems play a major role in the story. Furthermore, rituals and significant life events are often associated with faerie jewelry. In faerie culture, people can present a piece of jewelry as a sign of commitment, a gesture of love, or a milestone for entering maturity. Family heirlooms often inherit these extremely sentimental items over time. Various human societies wear faerie-inspired jewelry at weddings, christenings, and other events, believing it bestows blessings and protection on the participants.

Of special importance are the materials used to make faerie jewelry. In addition to the well-known gemstones, faerie jewelers use materials such as spider silk, dew drops, and even caught moonbeams. The faeries weave these components into the jewelry in ways that appear inconceivable by human standards, endowing the items with a shimmering inner light and a magical quality. The amazing artistry required to handle such fragile materials demonstrates the faeries' unmatched talent and connection to nature. In summary, faerie jewelers have a special place in both the human and magical realms. Their enigmatic and enchanting designs never cease to enthrall and inspire. Whether due to its elaborate designs, the magical qualities it is believed to possess, or its cultural significance, faerie jewelry continues to represent beauty, wonder, and the timeless appeal of the mystical.

[mixterglacia]

TDC/SU AU: The Skeksis and Gelfling

(Note, this is not hyper accurate to SU lore. Just vibe with it y’all.)

Thra is a planet under the rule of Algodonite, the Empress of the Metamorphic Court. 

A result of failed experimentation by Homeworld. The original goal was to split a group of lesser Diamonds to clone them. However, this resulted in the loss of 18 natural Diamonds. They each split into two distinct Gems, none of which mirrored their former glory. Fusion is required to return to their previous state, but the Metamorphic Gems stubbornly refuse. They believe they are the stronger half, fooling themselves into thinking they can become Diamonds without Fusion.

Their counterparts are the Prism Gems. Lead by Shell Agate the Mistress.

While most are still withdrawn, a few of the Prism Gems have reached out to work with the humans that have broken away from the rule of the Metamorphic Court. While they cannot change what their species has done, they feel they need to help save the planet they had a hand in destroying.

Currently, three humans are also considered honorary Prisms.

Rian was born into a long line of guards that served the Metamorphic Court. He accidentally witnessed the Court he protected as they carried out an experiment on his beloved Mira. They were trying to see if a human soul could fill the void left by the Division. While it seems to work temporarily, it doesn’t last forever and kills the human in the process. While this fact doesn’t deter the Court, it sets Rian on his quest to save his planet.

Brea is from a royal bloodline, appointed by the Court to govern the other humans in their stead. She’s deeply curious by nature, and has a thirst for knowledge. This is what leads her to question the Court’s intentions. After seeing a horrible event where members of her people were forced to hand over family heirlooms, she sought the truth. What use are human artifacts to a Gem? These thoughts lead her to a strange, semi-sentient creature by the name of Dolerite. With their help, she joins the Prism’s in their quest to save Thra.

Deethra, also known as Deet, is from a small group of humans that live in a former Kindergarten. She’s deeply in tune with the natural world, often tasked with feeding the farm animals that sustain her remote village. After being attacked by a rampaging bull, Deet woke at the base of the Sanctuary Tree. A living database of Homeworld history, with full sentience. It’s unclear why the Great Trees are aiding the Prism Rebellion. Some think the Trees know they will die along with Thra if the Court is allowed to continue. The Sanctuary Tree gifts Deet with a vision of the future, and sets her on her path to join the Rebellion. Along the way, she befriends a Pebble that goes by Hup. While technically a Gem, Pebbles are treated like slaves. Hup escaped, and she intends to do whatever it takes to help save Thra.

A being by the name of Aughra is now organizing the Rebellion…in her own strange way. She seems to be a physical representation of Thra itself.

The Metamorphic Court:

-Algodonite the Empress

-Crocoite the Gourmand

-Lepidolite the Ornamentalist

-Howlite the Heretic (Banished)

-Yellow Goldstone the ??? (Shattered)

-Prehnite the Collector

-Mookite the Satirist (Banished)

-Bloodstone the Huntress

-Hematite the Slave Mistress

-Ulexite the Scroll Keeper

-Pectolite the Mariner

-Sonora Sunrise Cuprite the Treasurer

-Cinnabar the Chamberlain

-Jadite the Scientist

-Magnesite the Garthim Mistress/General/Empress

-Rutilated Quartz the General

-Scheelite the ??? (Shattered)

-Sunstone the Ritual Mistress

The Prism Gems:

-Shell Agate the Mistress

-Andalusite the Cook

-Coral the Weaver

-Linarite the Wanderer (Sort of Banished)

-Blue Goldstone the ??? (Shattered)

-Milarite the Nun

-Septarian the Storyteller (Self-Exile)

-Tigers Eye the Archer

-Plume Agate the Herbalist

-Sanskrit Jasper the Scribe

-Variscite the Swimmer

-Tektite the Numerologist

-Serandite the Chanter

-Realgar the Alchemist

-Moldavite the Healer

-Iolite the Peacemaker

-Feldspar the ??? (Shattered)

-Boulder Opal the Ritual Guardian

The Fractured Diamonds:

-Radiant Diamond

-Sun Diamond

-Peach Diamond

-Indigo Diamond

-Green Diamond (Shattered)

-Teal Diamond

-Fawn Diamond

-Red Diamond

-Black Diamond

-Umber Diamond

-Aqua Diamond

-Gold Diamond

-Maroon Diamond

-Peacock Diamond

-Gray Diamond

-Sage Diamond

-Fallow Diamond (Shattered)

-Scarlet Diamond

The future is…uncertain for our band of rebels. The outlook is bleak, but you never know. Stranger things have happened.

(Inspired by @sifanjewel / far.dreaming.maudra on tiktok)

[mdhwrites]

Are there any characters in toh that you felt they should have never been created?

Or characters that you think would had better the plot, or move the plot forward if they had more focus?

Personally, I think Vee is just there and her existence didn't serve much, her screen time could've been used for smth else.

So the first part of this is… interesting to me. It's incredibly hard to ever say a character should never have been created unless A: them simply existence causes problems with the rest of the canon and the story itself or B: you know their inclusion was doomed from the start. This second one is really hard to be able to clarify though unless you have behind the scenes information and the like because unless they were made to be fridged or be offensive, etc. like that, there are few concepts that are bad from the get go.

With that said, The Collector easily should not have been in the show. There just wasn't time for him or the human realm and S3 has been very clearly struggling with those facts. Since he was also introduced in S2B, it's known that he was made after the shortening was very clear to the crew and they should have cut him and focused on Belos, especially since Belos is the big bad anyways.

The second question just gets responded to with: Raine. Raine and Darius. Honestly, just the coven head rebels in general should have probably gotten an entire episode actually dedicated to them that could have helped sell the threat, give them more personality as an organization rather than feeling like they exist to get around tropes or/and Raeda angst, etc. like that. Then again, quite frankly, with how little they've actually done with Raine outside of "ISN'T IT TRAGIC HOW EDA CAN'T BE WITH HER LONG LOST, TRUE LOVE!?", Raine as a character and their plotline probably could have been cut but it was something Dana wanted from the start of the show and S2A would have mostly not been affected by the shortening so they could have possibly had more of a role. Then again, they were also made to be Eda's long lost love so…

And finally Vee. Vee is… complicated. Honestly, it's hard to talk about Vee without talking about her episode, Yesterday's Lie. After all, maybe there were plans to do more properly with her (and she easily would have had the most interesting part of a season on Earth because of having to give up the identity that made her friends and have a place in the world back to Luz, if that was actually discussed of course) but as is… She's mostly just the one episode and looking cute. Worse yet, almost all the narrative goals are tied to Vee so their triumphs and successes are also tied to her.

Now let me get this out of the way: I like Vee. I think she's incredibly likable, cute, etc. like that. She (and the ClarVee ship) was probably the only reason I wrote anything immediately after Yesterday's Lie's ending left a bad taste in my mouth because it rubbed me the wrong way even on first watch. Her backstory is compelling, explains how she can be shy but also have a backbone when the chips are down and her limited interactions with her friends is incredibly charming, even before the MashVee ship existed.

And I'm not going to argue she shouldn't have existed. Character built for a single episode are fine. TOH actually has a paradox going on that while some characters desperately needed more exploration, like Amity, others very clearly should have been cut sooner rather than later. I mean, what could have been done had they just not spent two episodes of S2 on Gus when Gus isn't important to the narrative in any way and Hexide stopped being relevant to the show after S1? How much did we have to have Huntlow if it meant that Luz, who is one there for Hunter's biggest character moments, literally never speaks to him between Hunting Palisman and Hollow Mind?

But Vee was built for specific narrative purposes and does them well. Quite frankly… Too well. To the point where it creates problems. But that has to do with the narrative goals of Yesterday's Lie rather than Vee herself. The two just interlinked because when you make a character for a single episode, you know their narrative goals and how organically and well they function with those goals is part of evaluating the character.

And the narrative goals of Yesterday's Lie seems to be to have:

A: Given an answer to why no one was freaking out about a child going missing for MONTHS and it does this one quite well just by Vee being a shapeshifter.

B: Criticize Luz and whether or not she actually had any reason to leave which is the one Vee interacts with the most and is also the biggest problem to.

C: To build Camila's character, establish her unending well of understanding since she never judges Vee for even a second, nor Luz's story about the Isles, and then end on a mid-season cliffhanger I have SEVERE issues with but is outside the scope of this blog.

Vee's goals thus are to be able to fill Luz's shoes, which she does naturally, be able to scold Luz about her life and to be able to contrast hard enough against the norm as to make Camila's sympathy shine through. Her slug form and her ability to shapeshift honestly fit two of these three really well by themselves. It was a genuinely elegant and clever concept/implementation that was good for what they wanted.

But then there's Vee's actual character and actions that play into B. And B is… A lot.

Because this is the episode that caused me to turn on Luz in my heart.

It wasn't immediate but there's one line from Luz that really sums up the fact that you have to trust Luz in order to not entirely agree with Vee in this episode. That you have to go off of only Luz's words and not her actions for what her backstory was like. To be able to believe Gus and Willow were the first chances at having friends. That no one ever understood her. That school was always a nightmare for her.

And that line is "Oh no, highschoolers," because that is the second time Luz quite literally ever has that response to ANYONE. In the ENTIRE show. She didn't have any worries about meeting kids in Hexide. She never had worries about trying to hang out with Amity despite Amity clearly hating her. She didn't worry about Amity's siblings, the various villains she met, Eda, King, etc. In general, Luz shows NO signs of social anxiety or any sort of manifestation of trauma in regards to bullying, rejection, etc. like that.

Worse yet is who these people are. They are quickly characterized as atypical people with nerdy interests and chill personalities. They'd be in the anime club or the role playing club or the video game club at school. They are by all intents and purposes, people like Luz. Nerds. Outcasts. Etc. like that. People Luz could have easily befriended. I mean, Vee did and she knows nothing about human society.

Yes, the two also have drastically different personalities but also Masha likes giving tarot readings to her friends. I feel like Luz's passion would just mix and amplify Masha's own passion and the two would literally go hunt monsters together while Vee makes sure they don't do anything stupid. Luz could go on a rant about her philosophies on magic and the faux stoner dude would be enraptured by how wild and imaginative Luz could be.

And this all begs the question of WHY didn't Luz have friends?

Well… Her opening montage, the first real introduction to the character, kind of explains it but not kindle. After all, two of the three events we're shown, and VERY much so her presentations and projects, are about getting attention. About making sure she does something big enough that people consider her contribution the best, regardless of those around her. So she can't match a cheerleader physically? Call that nothing and show a weird trick you know. Wants to make sure people talk about her performance in the play? Opening night, do something that you didn't clear with your director and catches everyone off guard, even if it means going off script and possibly ruining the play.

Even worse is the clubs she IS joining there. After all, why isn't Luz a part of the anime club or something? Or a part of a book club back home? Well… Cheerleaders and actors are more popular. They get more attention. They're special. Nerds, outcasts, etc. I mean… Who wants to interact with those when it means people might look down on you?

And the final nail is that she does finally accept outcasts… So long as they have magic. And the closer she gets to Amity, the less she interacts with Willow or Gus, to the point where they spend close to zero time in Season 2. And why wouldn't Luz want to be with the popular witch instead of people who were only special by having magic in general?

Do I think this interpretation is intentional? No. Vee's friendships were merely to try and add a bit of gray into what was black and white. However, how Luz was introduced wasn't given enough thought to make such pointed questions work. Not when you're forcing the audience to ask these questions with Vee shouting "YOU HAD IT GOOD!"

So how good did Luz have it? Well, there were fellow outcasts in her own town, which appears to be pretty small, so she could have had friends and her mom is a literal saint. S3 would only reinforce this. And she still abandoned it all for three months so she could become a witch.

So… Sorry, but the statement of "If everyone you meet is an asshole, the asshole might be you," does fit sometimes. And it fits for Luz here.

And it's also the worst part of Vee because if Vee didn't exist… I might not have considered these problems. Not so quickly. But Vee being able to contrast Luz, to be successful in the human realm simply because she's willing to actually accept those around her and bend a little, not entirely, to what will make them like her, was one of her narrative goals. One of the reasons she is as she is.

And another time where TOH thinks it's being clever when it's really just shooting itself in the foot because it has never been smart enough to ask the questions it proposes. And it sucks that that's tied to a character who is so wonderfully likable otherwise.

[val-of-the-north]

Hemwick and the Hintertombs: An observation/headcanon

Hello guys, here’s something I noticed that I thought was pretty cool! The Bloodborne Wiki helped a lot with this observation, so I’ll be posting screenshots from it. Check it out here -> [x]

The Eye Collectors are very rare enemies in Bloodborne, appearing only in Yahar’gul (during the Evening) and the Hunter’s Nightmare. However, many have correctly pointed out that they are identical to the two Witches of Hemwick that we fight as an optional boss, only, they are not covered head to toes in eyes and don’t hold a strange cluster of eyes in one of their hands. Maybe, that’s why they are still just collectors and not witches?

Either way, it’s clear from their locations that these hags and the countryside of Hemwick itself have a deep connection with all that is dead and cursed... but how deep does this connection goes?

The Eye Collectors are also found in two other places: the preset Hintertomb Chalices. The Hintertombs are a place of death and stagnation, endless ever-growing graveyards where filth and dregs deposit. These women are attracted to what lurks there for its usefulness in rituals. For example, we can find several Bloodshot Eyeballs down there, as well as Inflicted Organs.

But it’s not over yet. Bloodshot Eyeballs are actually NEEDED to access the Hintertombs, its the primary ingredient in fact! And it’s exactly what the Witches of Hemwick drop upon defeat.

It seems like Hemwick and the Hintertombs are more connected than one would first realize... but it’s not surprising. Hemwick too is turning into a massive ever-expanding graveyard. I doubt the place was called “Charnel Lane” before the plague ravaged the adjacent city of Yharnam. Perhaps then, it’s all just a thematic connection? Maybe, but maybe there’s more to it than that.

The specialty of Hemwick, the Bone Marrow Ash, is found in great quantities in the Hintertombs. How strange that something the Charnel Lane is known for would to be this plentiful underground. (Retranslation on the right by Last Protagonist, found here ->[x])

Perhaps then, this is nothing but a long-standing tradition originated from the Pthumerians who reside here, the Hintertomb Tribe, as I like to call them. It wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary for the people of Hemwick to have descended from them somehow. After all, we know the blood of Pthumerian royalty survived at least in part within the Cainhurst nobles. Perhaps the common folk of Pthumeru would still be under their rule even on the surface, mingling with humans just as their rulers were...

And yes, the Hintertomb Tribe was once from Pthumeru, as Bone Marrow Ash is also found in the lower parts of that set of dungeons, such as the Ihyll and the Cursed Pthumerian Defilment. In fact, both the Lower Hintertomb and the cursed Chalice of Pthumeru are some of the only places where we can find Inflicted Organs. And what do we need those for? For the rotted offerings, most notably the Lower Hintertomb and the Cursed Chalice.

Rotted offerings are known to spawn new enemies, Rite Keepers and Tomb Prospectors, but most interesting are the Eye Collectors. This variant unique to the Rotted Offering have the power of summoning Mad Ones to disrupt dungeon crawling. And unlike the other two enemies, their spawn rates are higher in the Hintertomb Chalices, almost as if these crones were drawn to them.

[pespillo]

Proposition - [TOH] Bill/Belos fic

1.025 words , horrid old people make hand holding weird, doomed toxic yaoi

Bill invites Belos to the shrine at night to talk, Bill´s full name is Vasilis, they are unmasked. v

"Follow me" He said to the emperor and walked over behind a curtain, Belos followed through with his royal mask left on the other elder´s makeshift throne .

Down an illuminated elevated hall there stood an altar, idolatry to a sun shaped face decorated in blue and yellow hues, and surrounded by almost endless piles of skulls, different from the usual witch or demon he's come to known, not strewn across but meticulously piled onto each other to maintain integrity, candles lit up sporadically but mostly around the table by the altar, and in front of it some steps leading towards it.

Bill stood still on the middle of the steps, gloved claws held around his back.

"I must say, you have an eye for presence."

 Belos spoke, eyeing at the organization, wondering if he could make something out of the discarded pieces of failed guards at the Titan´s head, would it do anything? would it mean anything, they were not supposed to mean anything, once it dies the soul turns back from its vessel, that's the purpose. But Vasilis personal shrine seemed to emanate something to him, he couldn't help to inquire what was this feeling,

"Im proud of what i have built, it's a monument to us all as much as it is to the Grand Huntsman" there he went, the Huntsman, a god-like figure that would grant wishes and fortune to all who give it proof of the slaying of the Titans.

"Did the huntsman grant you all life?" a question escaped his lips, upon trusting himself with the trappers, he finally felt somewhat at ease in a house of hunters to talk of faith, it had been decades since he last spoke of faith, the Collector was no use of it, they were entirely too childish and seemed to feel above the thoughts of the mortals, or well, only seemed to be interested in the feats of Bible men and miracles, the only sort of thing "similar" enough to magic to the creatures of the demon realm

"The titans... tie us to this wretched world, they give us the land that we walk on so that they clutch us with their horrendous claws, forcing us to become part of them," Bill rambled on tightening his fist and looking down towards him with that piercing single blue eye, grinding his teeth

"The Huntsman grants something greater, infinite like the skies, powers beyond any low demon sucking the marrow out of the bones of this world" he had a tongue for prose, his expression softened with fondness as he turned around.

"He doesn't need to give us life when he offers something more beautiful beyond it, right?" His smile was earnest but the look in his eyes was wide and crazed, blue eye reflect with his own blues, human spirit in an ugly witch shell, he thinks, even if it's at the wrong side, at the wrong heaven, the ambition is there.

"Do you wish for salvation?" Belos found himself saying, maybe it's the moon, the influences of lunacy, to be alone and find someone who speaks a prayer you have not heard in centuries, he longs for a church, a true one,

"What a - You're not trying to sell me anything right? I already said im not

going to join the Titan´s dogma!" the short man accused while going over a step, Belos walking forward -ugh, the idiot- he thought , almost scrambling to explain himself before Bill talked his head off 

"No-" Belos reached out and Bill stepped away from touch, keeping his false claws to himself, the tall man took a look at his own hand and then, digit to digit, carefully took off his armored glove, Bill looked down at that arm and hand, not so scarred, Belos always made sure to not show off the carved markings over his flesh in his other arm.

Vasilis just stared at that naked hand, "Is there glory in salvation too?"

his posture relaxing, an examination that Philip may have not been aware of, the moon peeks over the clearing of the roof, he's distracted by the glow of the man's eyes, his glances back at his own hand again and back at him, when did a dead heart decide to drum?

Bill reaches over carefully, just with the slightest touch, and Belos grabs onto the clawed digit, pulling it off the witch's hand, the man letting him undress it to reveal that smaller palm, he examines it himself; not a single sunspot and smoothed over as if time didn't touch it, fervor jealousy and fascination bubbles up, how? his mind starts wandering off to figure out, is it what The Huntsman promises them?

he speaks with careful method, to sway the witch lower to him back again, he has answers if he hears them out,

"There is always glory in what lies beyond, i know it, that's the promise He makes for all of us" He in this case his own god, the Holy Father of humanity, but Vasilis doesn't have to know, he doesn't have to know anything more than the coldness of his roughed hand,the prickling against the skin of his naked hand, there's nothing there, its beyond what's natural, it reminds the witch of a feeling almost forgotten but something that fills him with vigor to continue on this mission. The celestial touch living in the dusty corners of his mind.

"We could light a beacon with this world, don't we?" the elder smiles meeting Philip´s face, was he willing to smile back?

"It'll shine and burn so bright He is bound to find us and take us to the heavens." The emperor gripped that man's hand, almost with the will to scratch it, taint it, bring it down to his level, but he wanted him to believe he was a messenger of the stars, so not yet. 

In a way it was a half-truth, would he hate him if he told him the truth, that he's keeping the Huntsman away from him and gaining their favors?

He doesn't have to know. It's more beautiful when he doesn't know.

[omgpurplefattie]

AKA The Star Trek AU

Star Trek fusion for Mysterious Lotus Casebook -- you don't need to know about Star Trek to understand this! I will follow the planet-of-the-week format for the different cases, with a work for each case. Each case is broken into several chapters where the commercial breaks would be, for the more authentic Star Trek feel.

Fang Duobing is a human from Earth itself, not a colonial brat; Di Feisheng is a very unconventional Klingon, and Li Lianhua is a self-proclaimed space bastard of undisclosed provenience. His companion animal Fox Spirit is probably not just a dog.

The sects are ships from different species; at this era in Star Trek, we mostly have the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans. The Lotus Lodge is a small research vessel, RV Lianhua Lou which conducts 'research' only by virtue of her owner, Li Lianhua, being a doctor. Or maybe solving cases with Fang Duobing counts as research, too?

Episode 5 -- Thicker Than Water pt. 1

When the crew take the RV Lianhua Lou to a remote mining planet to meet up with the Klingon doctor from Di Feisheng's ship, Xiangyi and Xiaobao find themselves tasked with the recovery of a ritual Klingon artifact from a human Collector.

Yao Mo, the doctor from the Golden Drake, offers a potential (if painful) cure for Li Lianhua -- but for a steep price.

I have researched Klingon medicine, finding one especially interesting conversation about it on Reddit, but have to conclude that nothing certain can be known. Warriors are expected to show off their injuries and missing limbs as long as they are still left functional; if they end up unable to fight again, it is expected that they ask a male relative to kill them, as that is tantamount to a glorious death in battle. Klingon medicine will probably have ways of dealing with contagious diseases and contamination, as a strong population makes for a strong empire. What we have seen of Klingon culture in general, not all Klingons are warriors, but they do like a nice dramatic ceremony, just like Vulcans would like a scientific presentation with slides, and Humans like a rousing motivational approach. Klingon ceremonies all share the the generic description of initiations as 'it has to be scary and hurt a little, and afterwards you belong with the in-group', so I went out on a limb about hidebound and ceremonial Klingon medicine here. The approach is definitely 'what doesn't kill me will make me stronger', like my stepdad killing his annual winter flu with a whole liter of mulled wine. So this is where I come from.