#meanwhile in a better universe

[inumbrapugnabimus-maybe]

Great explanation 👍

Redraw of this

[4thwallbreakerdraws2]

SHOWSTARS

Working on the asks again, but have this colored piece of SMG16 and RTV!Puzzles for now. Their duo name is SHOWSTARS (or BLUESCREEN if we take the angst path).

Please note that SMG16 belongs to @birdy-four and that these two are meant to be seen as STRICTLY PLATONICAL!

Anyway enough yapping!

[mydarlingmylifeandmybride]

When jennifer asked ben what made his past few years difficult, i fully expected him to say that all six of his siblings died and not that he was in jail because of money crimes

[x-i-l-verify]

Linked Universe Daemon AU Headcanons

WORLDBUILDING NOTE 1: The concept of daemons is borrowed from the His Dark Materials series. A daemon is a person’s soul manifested outside of their body in a tangible, physical form, which permanently settles into the form of the animal that most resembles them in character as the individual matures. Person and daemon are not separate beings, but two halves of one mental coin, which means that they each know everything the other does, thinks, and senses. Daemons are almost always the opposite gender of their person and have a distinct personality than the person to a certain degree, as person and daemon represent different aspects of the same whole. Touching someone’s daemon without their permission is taboo, considered a violation tantamount to rape in most cultures.

WORLDBUILDING NOTE 2: All Links have the same name for their daemon: Ellanharai (composed of the Old German elements ellan “courage” and heri “army”). However, because all the Links are their own person, their daemon’s form settles on something different with each incarnation. Just as the Links in the Chain go by different titles to differentiate them all, so, too, do their daemons. Links tend to settle early (12-13 years), as they generally know who they are and what they want from a young age.

WORLDBUILDING NOTE 3: The Dark World/Twili crystal magic combines someone and their daemon into one physical body. This new body has the form of the daemon but the gender of the person with size alterations or different markings/coloration and is controlled by the person, with the daemon part of their mind taking a backseat. For example, Legend is larger as a rabbit than his daemon usually is, and of course, her natural color is not bright pink. The lingering effects of this transformation only physically affect the person side of the person/daemon pair once they are returned to normal. 

---

SKY + PSALM (RED-CROWNED CRANE)

Red-crowned cranes are renowned for their lasting and affectionate pair bonds, having come to represent longevity and devotion in many cultures; they are cooperative and low-aggression birds, quite tolerant and relaxed around other animals, and only really become territorial and protective over their nesting sites and chicks.

Psalm is impatient, mischievous, and fierce. Sky is more easygoing, considerate, and gentle.

Sky and Psalm are very outwardly affectionate with each other, and both can often be found napping together in a patch of sunlight, Psalm resting her head in Sky’s lap or draping a wing over him. As the physically tallest daemon of the bunch, Psalm delights in teasing fawning over her smaller daemon sisters, especially the younger ones. She will often sit on someone and happily brood, and while some may outwardly protest, everyone secretly enjoys it.

---

FOUR + RHYME (ITALIAN HEBRAN HONEYBEE)

Four's daemon is an industrious, adaptable, cooperative, sociable species of honeybee, known for being assertive but not aggressive insects; they have a high threshold for what they consider threats, and will communicate using pheromones, body language, and vocalizations to make themselves as clearly understood as possible, but they will not hesitate to defend themselves if something is deemed a threat.

Four is empathetic, observant, passionate, and composed. Rhyme is the emotional, pragmatic, impulsive, competitive part of his personality.

Rhyme is usually kept in a protective case Four wears around his neck to prevent any harm from coming to her either in battle or out of it, due to her diminutive size, but he will happily let her out to stretch her wings when around people he trusts. While she is too small to outright cuddle with her sisters, Rhyme loves perching on their heads or burrowing into feathers or fur when it’s chilly, and she’s surprisingly expressive with her body language, though one might have to squint to see it.

When Four splits into his Colors, Rhyme also splits. Which means instead of one being in two bodies, they’re now one being in eight bodies. As in LU canon, none of the Colors is their own individual in this AU, merely a fraction of a larger whole. In turn, each iteration of Rhyme is an alternate part of each of the Colors, with Four’s soul fragmenting into smaller and smaller individual pieces the deeper you go down.

---

TIME + MELODY (SPANISH FARON MASTIFF)

While menacing in appearance due to their sheer size and bulk, Spanish mastiffs are actually known for being protective, affectionate, quiet dogs, with a long history of guarding livestock; they are patient, easygoing, and surprisingly playful, good with children and tolerant of other animals, though their strong wills and stubbornness make them a challenge to handle for first-time dog owners.

Time is authoritative, jaded, and stoic, while Melody embodies his nurturing, hopeful, mischievous side.

Melody can often be found at Time’s side with one of his hands resting on her head or back. As the largest daemon in the group paired with the tallest person, they make for quite the intimidating pair and are downright deadly in battle together. Outside of battle, though, Melody becomes a big teddy bear, utterly content to let her daughters sisters use her as a pillow or mode of transportation, quietly communicating all the warm care and tenderness Time is sometimes too awkward to openly express. She is the one who introduced the musical motif the other Ellanharais also adopted when coming up with nicknames for themselves.

---

TWILIGHT + ARIA (GRAY WOLF)

Twilight’s daemon is a social, cooperative, dedicated apex predator, who routinely work together to raise their young, defend their territories, and chase down their prey over vast distances; they are not overly aggressive and prefer to avoid conflict whenever they can, using body language, sent marking, and howling to diffuse tense situations and prevent costly fights between packs or individuals.

Twilight is focused, cautious, and opinionated. Aria is his easygoing, empathetic, people-pleasing side.

Aria instantly adopts most of the younger daemons in the group and dotes on them as much as they’ll allow. However, she turns into a big, besotted puppy whenever Time and Melody come into the picture and becomes adorably bashful around Malon’s pigeon daemon Rosamu. She is often found at Twilights right side, guarding his flank and watching his back while he focuses his attention on what’s in front of him. She also loves scritches and belly rubs and has nearly smothered Twilight more than once by sprawling on top of him too heavily while they sleep. While their initial transformation into Wolfie was traumatic and scarring at first, they have both grown to enjoy the occasional opportunity to truly travel, fight, and exist as one.

---

WILD + TRILL (WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE)

Wild’s daemon is a loyal, resourceful, resilient species of raptor that is often found alone or in monogamous pairs, but will freely cooperate together with groups of up to 15 other eagles to take down larger prey; they are straightforward and communicative with their vocalizations and displays and also surprisingly playful, wrestling or playing food games with each other.

Trill is Wild’s dutiful, reserved, focused side, while Wild is the impulsive, playful, lackadaisical side.

Trill is rather choosy with and to whom she shows open affection. She can be very standoffish, preferring to let Wild do the talking for both of them, but once she trusts someone, she will often become very chatty and physically affectionate. It is common to see her riding around or napping on Aria's back, but she has begun opening up more to the others as well.

Because Wild lost all his memories in the Shrine of Resurrection, Trill had become unsettled when they finally woke up, taking the most basic shape a daemon can take, normally only seen with very young children: a small, floating, glowing ball of golden Dust. As they regained their memories during Wild’s quest and discovered more about themselves, Trill began taking on some of their old favored forms before eventually resettling for good as her original settled form, the wedge-tailed eagle. Despite physically being the same, though, there’s still that distance between who they are now and who they used to be, most evident in how their personalities have seemed to switch; Wild used to be more serious, focused, and responsible, and Trill used to embody the impulsivity, rowdiness, and wanderlust he kept tightly tamped down for the sake of duty and appearances. Both of them are still coming to terms with how much they have changed.

---

LEGEND + LYRIC (EUROPEAN HYLIAN RABBIT)

Legend's daemon settled as a hardy, wary, sociable, territorial species of rabbit, able to survive and thrive in almost any environment; they are a keystone prey species, a vital part of almost any ecosystem they find themselves in, who must stay ever vigilant and rely on their speed, wits, and determination to stay alive.

Legend is blunt, private, and practical, while Lyric is the sensitive, sociable, sentimental side of him.

Legend has… a complicated relationship with his daemon’s form. He initially hides her away from the rest of the Chain out of paranoia and insecurity, keeping her in his pack at all times. What would Hyrule they think of the renowned Hero of Legend having a defenseless, soft little rabbit as a daemon? They would lose all respect for him, or worse, be disappointed. It isn’t until after the Twili crystal incident, and Twilight and Sky find out about Lyric’s form, that he starts to come out of his shell.

After the ice has been broken, Lyric leaps at the chance to interact with the other deamons more. She goads Aria or even Melody into games of chase, can finally properly pounce on Warriors’ daemon the next time she teases her, curls up into a little fuzzy ball with Hyrule’s daemon to nap, leaps up on Trill or Psalm or Wind’s daemon’s backs and coax them into giving her a ride, and holds Rhyme in her little paws to gloat that she finally knows a daemon smaller than her (Rhyme is not amused). She is the one who came up with the name for their group of daemons, which is a chorus, just like a group of Links is a chain.

---

HYRULE + CADENCE (YELLOW-BELLIED GLIDER)

Hyrule’s daemon is a small, nocturnal glider species that is selectively social, close-bonding, and expressive, utilizing a number of chirps, whirrs, whistles, and growls to keep away intruders and keep tabs on each other; yellow-bellied gliders are incredibly active, hard-working creatures, spending up to 90% of their time awake foraging, and they can travel up to 2 kilometers in just 4 hours through a combination of climbing and gliding.

Hyrule is independent, wary, and agreeable. Cadence represents his dependent, connected, feisty side.

Cadence is generally quite a skittish daemon, who can normally be found clinging wide-eyed to Hyrule’s back, shoulders, chest, or arms, or hidden inside his tunic or pack. She has not interacted closely with many other daemons in her time (fairies do not have daemons), so she is still getting used to the physical affection the others offer. She does not dislike it; it is simply a lot. But she is gradually learning to love being nuzzled, cuddled, and carried, and she greatly enjoys riding around on the other larger daemons.

---

WIND + SHANTY (MILITARY MACAW)

Wind settled just a couple months before the events of Linked Universe as a resourceful, gregarious, deeply loyal species of macaw; like all macaws, they can be quite loud, communicative, and expressive, and they have generally been described as having friendly, confident, playful dispositions, albeit with the occasional temperamental mood swing.

Shanty is Wind's meticulous, perceptive, down-to-earth side, while Wind is reckless, curious, and carefree.

As is befitting for a parrot daemon, Shanty spends much of her time perched on Wind’s shoulders or arms, though she does love being held and cuddled, too. She is still getting used to her settled form, and sometimes forgets she cannot shift like she once did, leading to some hilarious mishaps when she faceplanted on the ground trying to turn into a hermit crab, or one memorable instance where she nearly drowned while trying to become a yellowtail snapper. She gets very starry-eyed over the other demons and thinks all of them are the coolest for different reasons. She desperately wants to impress them and prove she’s just as badass as they are, so she can sometimes chafe under their well-meaning coddling.

---

WARRIORS + BALLAD (RED FOX)

Warriors’ daemon settled as the confident, dependable, independent red fox, the most widespread and successful carnivore in the world, found in just about every available habitat, from jungle to tundra; despite being mainly solitary, these animals have a complex social hierarchy and can be seen in a wide variety of group settings, with vixens sometimes coming together during the breeding season to help raise each other’s cubs, and their mates bringing them food and also helping parent the new cubs.

Warriors is shrewd, charming, and diplomatic, while Ballad is more brash, cheeky, and candid.

Ballad, while generally friendly and warm with the other daemons (especially the younger ones), is also strangely skittish around them. She is fine initiating touch or curling up for a nice nap around or with someone else, but if touched unexpectedly, she tends to either bristle, growl, and retreat behind Warriors, or go very still and quiet. She shies away from any human hands except Warriors' (and even then there are days he doesn't touch her directly). They bring to mind other hands. Slim, small, elegant, painted hands that hurt, that took, that tainted- ...It’s fine. She’s fine. They’re fine. Everything’s fine.

---

Resources:

Red-crowned crane analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24990

Italian honeybee analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23882

Tibetan mastiff analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24552

Spanish mastiff information: https://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/spanish-mastiff

Gray wolf analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23828

Wedge tailed eagle analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=26686

European rabbit analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23718

Yellow bellied glider analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24968

Military macaw analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=26591

Red fox analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24946

Art belongs to @/linkeduniverse

[ddarker-dreams]

kazuha letting you win is so true. he might even pretend to be hurt or say that wow you're so strong! gahhh i want to bite his cheeks so bad.

YOU'RE RIGHT.................................................. kazuha is the yan i'd give into the fastest honestly. his strategy should have the others taking notes.

his adoration for you comes off in tangible waves. you can practically see the lil hearts floating around his head whenever you do... well, anything, really. you could stretch your arms over your head and he'd stare at you as if you were the magnum opus of a genius artist. if you want to playfully wrestle him, who is he to stop you? it's probably a good way for you to get some pent-up frustrations out.

he'll softly smile and enjoy every second, even if you have malicious intentions. he's a go-with-the-flow type of guy. his eyes are sparkling when you 'successfully' pin him to the ground. he'll praise your dedication. the lack of condescension is almost worse than if he was being sarcastic. he's so sweet that it's stupefying to make sense of the rest of what he does.

[itsuchu]

has this been done to death yet

[summertimemusician]

*downs coffee like a shot* Before we go back to our regularly scheduled Linktober/Linktober Shadow (because I don't leave things unfinished if I can help it), I gotta get the idea of Revenant First out of my system and y'all get to suffer with me until it eventually ceases being an idea and it turns into an actual story. For some reason we talk a lot about First already being alive or already a ghost by the time the Chain meets him, but I don't think I've ever heard someone talk about him actually coming back to life and so y'all get to suffer with my insane ramblings like I'm an 1800's psychic ward patient who believes themselves to be a witch.

Can be x Reader or not idk just an idea that won't leave my mind.

Might expand on this later so Part out of I/?

Revenant First, who died for his people and in the name of his Goddess. All alone on the surface, fighting, fighting, fighting, always fighting. Just to make the land a little safer before the next hero arrives, just to contain the Imprisoned for a little while longer with likely nothing than a ordinary, common sword to his name and a slowly rusting armor.

Always giving so so so much for his people, always doing his best to protect them, though they scorned him, loathed him, didn't believe or support him, rejected him.

With a spirit so strong and lovely that a Goddess fell for him, hated herself for having to manipulate and put him through such horrid experiences just to save the many, just to turn the diamond of his soul into an unbreakable lonsdaleite blade agaisnt a mad deity.

Someone whose will would be enough to keep him going, just one more fight right? Just one more kill right? Forward, forward, ever onward, it doesn't matter if the flesh decays, if the blood drips drips drips until he is dry of it, if the liver doesn't process nutrients, if the lungs don't draw air, if the nerves feel nothing but the cold cold numbness of the winter of his final years, if the heart doesn't beat. If the armor rusts or the sword breaks. He must keep going, he must keep fighting.

To keep them safe he must have faith, faith that he can keep going, to grasp onto that one.single.thread of purpose until the day that fiery, indomitable, determined will finally burns out. Even if his Goddess may have forsaken him knowingly or unknowingly, even if his people have rejected him to the point he isn't even human anymore, even though they reviled him, even if that rejection should by all intents and purposes chained his spirit to the land or ground the jewel of his unbreakable soul into dust, he still loves them, still adores them, still wants to protect them.

No matter how long he must keep going for it. He wishes to see those he holds dear happy, though they cursed and imprisoned him once.

The Chain getting dropped into a completely empty, desolated and undeniably dead version of Sky's Hyrule, only to find the only living thing besides monster is a single man, with rusted gold armor and an old sword, a faded tunic of green with a long, crimson scarf like a bloody banner. With hair and eyes like theirs, undeniably a Link. But so very frigid, so very silent they almost didn't notice him, that they can't help but wonder just how many years he has spent there, eroding away, ruined but still kind, kind, so very gentle. A shadow of his former self, yes, but still himself, still so so so good, doing all he can until Sky's Era comes and maybe, just maybe, he can finally rest.

Or maybe not, after all, someone has to keep the land safe until the Hero after Sky comes around, no?

Just Revenant First in general.

Or maybe we give him the House in Fata Morgana treatment, the House in Fata Hylia Au if you will- *collapses from sleep deprivation*

[thewhizzyhead]

but like really the very fact that pma's new "never better" musical seems to be like a lot more mature and emotionally heavy given its subject matter is what intrigues me the most about it because like I do genuinely believe that out of all the indie mt writers out there, pma has built the most solid foundation in making emotionally evocative songs. like, I genuinely believe that is his superpower-

[r0achlezbian]

i will forgive all of larian's sins both past and present if we get a quest to kill mizora btw

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

How would anti Tails react to nine?

You know, in general I'd say it heavily depends upon the situation. However, no matter what, I think they'd both meet each other and immediately not trust each other. They could end up working together, but it would take a lot to get them to trust each other.

Honestly I think if Anti-Tails got to know Nine a little, though...he'd think Nine is wasting his potential in some ways, and he'd be jealous of Nine in others. Maybe Anti-Tails had people around and didn't grow up alone, but just as Nine was bullied and tortured and had to learn to defend himself, Miles's only "support group" were people who took advantage of him or used him or didn't seem to really care about him. But while Nine built inventions and protected himself only to isolate himself, Miles uses words to his advantage. He doesn't act out too much (especially wary of Scourge), but it’s kind of clear that once Scourge left Moebius Miles manipulated his way to the top, the secret mastermind masquerading as the lackey or number two. Even Anti-Sally admits that she's the figurehead, leader only in name. Miles is the one with real power and influence.

Perhaps to Miles, Nine had all the power in his hands (both when he had 2 shards and when he had the nearly complete paradox prism). Wouldn't that have been the perfect time to exert his control over the city he'd been born in (if not the entire shatterverse)? Would it not have been his chance to make sure no one could hurt him again, or to mold that world into his vision? Using absolute power to isolate oneself in an empty world is coward's talk, right? To Miles, why spend all your time trying to get away when you can make sure you're on top this time, ensure you can never be victimized again (not from strangers, your own "friends", anyone)? I can see Miles thinking that Nine limits himself, that he has so much potential he refuses to take, and I can see him jealous that Nine had such ability, meanwhile he was stuck trying to manipulate his way up, play the feelings balancing game, and essentially placate people (and scourge) while trying to rise to the top while trying to limit the amount of hurt he experiences.

But in a way...I can also see him jealous and annoyed regarding Sonic. Just like with Archie Tails, I think Miles would catch onto Nine's attachment to Sonic pretty fast. And I think he would think "Why are they all attached to Sonic?" (given his experiences with Scourge), chastize or tease Nine for being weak or limiting himself because he fixates on Sonic, and I think he would be jealous deep down (even if that idea of a Sonic who is a completely selfless hero is a lie) that Nine could know a version Sonic who cherishes him (or, at least, Nine believes he does).

But yeah basically my answer in the end is that Miles would see Nine as someone wasting his potential, someone who could or could have become him, and be jealous of certain things that Nine has or had

Although, as a final note, if Miles' only reference for other versions of himself is Prime!Tails from the archie comics, I can see his immediate reaction to Nine being "I wonder if he's like me?"

[studiousandrogynousfox-blog]

last semester ever?

the semester started a couple of weeks ago, but because i'm doing the research portion of my degree, this normally wouldn't mean anything (research doesn't stop during summer), but i bailed on my resit in the summer so i actually have one final lecture course to do.

i just hope i somehow make it through this semester, pass the exam, and can finish the research project, because then i'm finally done with this degree

[unproduciblesmackdown]

"winston quant billions: like anyone else, an entire universe" or "the good news is it's just that everyone's been terrible to you, the bad news is it's just that everyone's been terrible to you"

[charliethemanticore]

Hi btw being trans does not automatically grant you supernatural understanding of all esoteric trans knowledge. You actually need to put effort into learning or put effort into keeping quiet about things that don't pertain to your specific experience

[vaugarde]

fionna and cake is definitely giving me good ideas on how to handle asha btw…

[thedragonemperess]

Episode 22 of the Vampire Diaries and I'm looking for a filler episode. Where is the filler episode. This is episode 22 of Season 1 and I am in dire need of a filler episode. These characters are great, I love seeing them interact, I want a little bit less of the rapid fire plot progression in which nothing gets the time to sit in itself or grow. How high is the bidding for a filler episode. I am desperately searching for a filler episode. Can someone please get me a filler episo-

.....What's that?

............There is no filler episode?

............................................

Well, fuck me.

[true-blue-sonic]

Can i just say I love your takes on Silver and his treatment on idw. I need to rant.

His wholesome friendship with Blaze aside, the latest issue annoyed me so much. Especially those dirty looks Lanolin and Jewel were giving him like he’s scum, as if several issues ago it wasn’t SILVER who went super, wiped out the metal virus from the world and saved their ungrateful hides.

"I expected better from you, Silver" like excuse me??? No. Uh-uh. SHUT it. He has traveled through time and saved the world so many times, you do NOT get to talk down to him like he’s an untrained puppy that just soiled the living room carpet.

And Silver just stood there and took a verbal lashing from these self righteous jerks?! Ughhh like boy you’ve fought and defeated literal gods! These sheeplings have nothing on you (pun intended) okay rant over. Sorry I’m just so annoyed I needed to get that out. I think I need to watch a Rivals 2 playthrough for catharsis.

It's exactly this. Silver is both getting mocked by the narrative anyway, and then he's also written so highly OOC he doesn't even stand up for himself. Say what you want about his characterisation in the Rivals games: that Silver would never, haha. And in no other game has Silver ever let other people walk over him like this despite being far more mellow in the 2010s. I've said it before: thank god he's out of IDW for now, as he cannot be written so badly if he's not around. Lanolin is not going to apologise or even acknowledge he was right after all anyway, I feel confident in saying. And the "I expected better from you" is rich coming from the leader of whom most members of her team, including herself, got captured and one got ALMOST SHOT THROUGH HER HEAD during her very first mission in the field. Lanolin's credentials for being a leader are in the negatives whereas Silver's heroics are endless, and that is what makes it so annoying she's calling him out like a disappointed kindergarten teacher. With Silver written as hella OOC on top who listens and immediately folds, something he would never do IC, it's even worse.

Adding to that: the whole idea that everybody seems to think Silver is unreliable, an idiot, irresponsible with his powers, and whatever other negative trait you can ascribe to him comes undone immediately when you realise Silver simply has far too many powerful feats under his belt. Feats that the other characters know of, no less! So yes, I agree it truly just makes them all ungrateful in a way. And then if the narrative puts in a million should have but did not's that ensure Silver is painted as stupidly as possible while the dramatic irony plot keeps trudging on towards the end unchallenged, it certainly does not help.