#meridian writes

[themeridian]

headcannon that healing magic effects works like anesthesia

so after ppl wake up they feel loopy

[cityzenshark]

Another thing Earthspark (S1 at least) ignores is "what one does as an individual will represent their group". That Group can mean one's family, race, neighbourhood, country, ethnicity, whoever shares their gender identity/sexuality, etc.

The show kept focusing on "don't judge an entire group based on the actions of certain individuals from that group" and ignores the other side of this coin. While yes, it's wrong to judge a whole group just because of one or a few of them, but you have to understand what one does will affect how their group will be seen and regarded by others.

The show kept emphasizing how all of humanity is evil when only Croft and Mandroid are working separately and alone. Croft uses androids for helpers instead of fellow GHOST agents. Mandroid has his spider bots. But apparently, because of these two, the Malto family cannot trust any other human outside of themselves.

"Anyone who isn't family is evil" is the exact wording of this entire show.

Then when Decepticons keep proving their evil stereotypes true, they deserve a second chance even if they have destructive intentions towards Earth and want to hurt humans without reason because to the Malto (Terrans) "people have no reason to hate Transformers" as if their seniors continuing their civil war for 40 - 55 long years on a planet that didn't know they existed before is totally forgivable.

"Humans don't want us around," Decepticons complained.

Okay, maybe -- just maybe -- humanity might consider welcoming you if you stop your genoc1dal thoughts on the planet and its natives FOR ONCE!

[atane-is-here]

snake appreciation month

Headcanon

Infinite City

I´m going to give you my headcanon about the creation of the veil and how I think it is connected to the Infinite City below the planet’s surface.

Disclaimer: I´m going to ignore the canon timeline because it doesn´t make sense to me. Like, the veil is supposed to be this ancient thing but also everything happened 13 years ago? This is my hc timeline:

In the beginning of the universe the mystic energy of celestial bodies resided within them. The creatures that would evolve on these worlds would inherit some of that power in their own hearts. This was the source of their magic. Civilizations like the ancients of Metamoor extracted the celestial powers and channeled them into objects or people. Like this, the heart of Meridian was born. The people of the elder days became incredibly powerful and sought to expand their influence. Many conflicts raged across the universe. To restore the balance between worlds the council of Kandrakar was created.

To stop the conquest of hostile aliens Kandrakar cuts these worlds off from the rest of the universe by the creation of the veil, sealing them away in these pocket dimensions. Confined to their own planet the ancient civilization of Metamoor destroys itself and leaves their monuments for the other species of the planet to inherit. All that is left are its ruins. Ruined portal frames and the never ending catacombs of the Infinite City are the only traces of an empire which had once spanned across the stars. So begins the long dark age of Metamoor in which the different factions fight over control of the planet, its magical heart and what is left of the old empires destructive tech.

In these conditions the Escanors arrive to the planet and gain control of the heart. Their dynasty manages to mostly unite and stabilize the situation. At this point most of the ancient technology is destroyed and the heart of the planet restabilized. The Council of Kandrakar considers lifting the veil which has gone frail over the millennia and free the planet from its quarantine. Their hopes are crushed by Phobos, a tyrant who seeks to rekindle the planets legacy of conquest by gaining control of its heart and using the portal magic native to the planet to invade other worlds.

Phobos is eventually defeated. Though the underlying weakness of these worlds remains. The hearts of the planets are controlled by individuals who can be corrupted or removed from the worlds. The power of the hearts gives great opportunity to these civilizations, but also brings great risks.

[erial-c]

REDACTED THEORY POST !!!

possible spoilers for the balance, sovereign state, carpe deus, and hush's audios . bare with me because this is horrifically long

tagging @mokozroach hi :3

an amalgamation of theories i have regarding the plot heavy series in the redacted verse :3

so i'm gonna try to discuss 3 different things here :

1. the timeline and how i see it

2. how blake is probably hush's brother

3. what the fuck is hush

1. the timeline (specifically when the fuck hush's audios are set)

we know that when avior and starlight get back to the overworld, + when elliott escapes, the inversion just happened . with that, i think i've found a few things that can set the events in the timeline

- in "deferred judgement" and "reforming a sadism demon", hush says that closeknit's headquarters in dahlia are empty, and that the dept. "came and scared them away" or raided the building.

i assume that what happened in the newest balance audio was also a raid (blake saying the department cut the power in the building) and iirc we're still in dahlia, so this is the same building that hush says is abandoned in his recent audios.

- in "reforming a sadism demon", hush mentions he's only been alive/sentient for "a few weeks"

this wouldn't have given me anything, but if we recall in sovereign state, avior keeps hearing the same sound effect that we hear when hush tries to explain what he is to doc.

since the closest given timeline is "facing a disaster with your demon lover" (40 minutes post-inversion), and the audios after that are probably, at most, a few days after (since avior has to explain the inversion to starlight) we can probably assume that hush has been created at this point.

this would have hush's audios + the 2 most recent carpe deus audios be set a few weeks post inversion at the least.

2. blake is probably hush's brother

so we know hush has mentioned having a "brother" twice now ('there's a stranger in your apartment' and 'deferred judgement')

we can assume hush probably means that they're brothers in the sense that they were made the same way? because obviously they wouldn't actually be blood related ("i have a brother, in a manner of speaking")

- both are also instruments/tools used by the sovereigns. hush having referred to himself as an "instrumental force" many times, and blake being called an instrument by d'deridahn ('a deal with the fallen gods').

- both also "teleport" the same way (parentheses because its technically not that?). normae mentions that hush can "be anywhere" but isn't rifting, and hasn't seen anything like it before ('getting to know your mysterious stranger'). d'deridahn also says that blake can "be anywhere". both also have the same sound effect when " teleporting".

we also know that hush and his "brother" not exactly on good terms. hush's "brother" knows that hush is different, and that scares him. this person has been hunting hush down ever since he was given form, but since hush is stronger and faster, he hasn't been caught.

- blake is an empowered human being used as a vessel by a sovereign. and with hush, all we know is that there's an "echo" of the ones who created him that remain in him (e & m possibly), but he's also neither demon nor human, and has killed several demons. because of this, we can probably assume hush is more powerful than blake.

3. what the fuck is hush

hush is called an egregore by vega, and while there are many different definitions of this, i think he leans more on the concept of an independent entity created by collective thought, because he always refers to himself as an instrumental force with a linear goal.

with this, i think hush is some sort of entity created by e'laetum and min'ara's thoughts and goals becoming sentient. i also think he's going to be the entity to strengthen the meridian.

hush is actively trying to contact avior, hence why i think he's connected to e'laetum and min'ara. he could've been created by them, on purpose or not. maybe the meridian sovereigns realized a demon and a human couldn't possibly help on their own, and created hush. or were so hellbent on their goal that they accidentally gave form to hush, since he is "the silence between the notes" and has technically existed before, but was only given form recently.

hush's focus is likely to strengthen the meridian, but in order to do that he needs another sovereign. he specifically refers to freeing sovereigns trapped in their prison ('getting to know your mysterious stranger') and that applies to the drove (d'deridahn and others, excluding e & m) because they were trapped there as punishment. but i doubt the drove would want to help after being trapped for millennia, so what now?

well, in "getting to know your mysterious stranger", normae talks to doc about hush, and tries to tell them that hush is trying to take the sovereigns' powers for himself. it's possible that e'laetum and min'ara are aware that the drove won't want to help them strengthen the meridian, so they might have tasked hush to making contact with the drove to take their powers for himself, and to aid the meridian himself.

all that or hush is just a little guy wanting to fuck shit up on elegy LMAO

[katerinaaqu]

I feel like I lost quite a few of my dear readers and commenters ever since I started openly not being a fan of Epic the Musical here. Although it saddens me to depart ways with many good people I understand that our lack of this common interest played its part.

I still encourage people to come and comment on my work or write their reblogs at them or my posts dedicated to my collaboration with my amazing friend @artsofmetamoor expressing their opinions, sending me their questions or sharing their disagreements so we can have a conversation

But bear in mind that when my mythology work is concerned it is based exclusively on ancient sources particularly the homeric poems and not the musical or any other modern adaptation unless I mention that to my afternotes.

Thanks for the understanding 🙏

[monocle-teacup]

On Writing Mandroid

So an actual in depth explanation about this meme I made summing up my feelings when looking at most fanfics Mandroid is in. When I read fanfics for any piece of media, I want the characters to be IN CHARACTER. Yes, I understand the concept of headcanons, but it's another thing to blatantly ignore the character's actual behavior/mindset unless there's an AU involved where you specifically want it to be a different take. "Just don't read it then!" some of you may say. Trust me, as soon as Mandroid starts acting OOC, I immediately abandon the fic. I just want to address common misconceptions about his character.

The main things I see pop up in fics that make no damn sense for Mandroid are:

-Him acting like a pervert just because he uses mind control and the tentacle draining device

-Him attacking/targeting random humans

-His speech patterns

There's NOTHING in the show that indicates he'd act like #1. He's a scientist specializing in robotics that wants to rid the world of Transformers aka machines that run on fuel. If anything, he'd find the idea that TFs are capable of sex interesting in a "I just discovered the beings I'm studying have this attribute" kind of way. He views them as monsters and machine parts so the idea of him having his way with one makes no damn sense not even with the intent of torturing/dominating. He prefers making them suffer in other ways like taking them apart while they're still functioning.

As for #2: Mandroid only targets humans that interfere with his plans or treat him like shit (which Croft found out the hard way). He didn't have a problem with Dot until she fucked with the laser while he was removing Megatron's arm. He also ignored the Maltos in Prime Time until Mo got up in his face. Yet, I see the same thing multiple times where a fanfic author has him kidnap/target a random person that didn't do anything. His mindset/viewpoint on how he interacts with other humans is summed up in this line in Age of Evolution:

"If you Maltos side with my Cybertronian enemies, then I'll destroy you like my enemies."

So he's not an asshole 24/7.

As for #3, this is a huge one. Mandroid has a sophisticated way of speaking with the occasional pun thrown in when he's doing something villainous. I could post multiple examples from fics I've read where if I didn't know it was Mandroid speaking I'd have no idea it was him. This man isn't going to talk like a thug or casually swear. The most I can see him swearing is using 'hell' or 'damn'. That obviously falls into headcanon territory, but it's in line with what the show has given us.

Just listen to the way Mandroid speaks in this scene from the very 1st episode of the series:

Look at his mannerisms as well. For the most part, he's calm and reserved until the Mandroid bit. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that he's the kuudere personality type.

Thankfully, I've also read fics where the author nails his characterization but those seem to be few and far in between.

[mysteriesgalplusdamianthings]

Maps Mizguchi has finally made it yall!! I'm so freaking happy!!!

[Birds of Prey (2023) Vol. #1 - Kelly Thompson]

I didn't think I'd be this stoke about the issue Birds of Prey this badly until today. A friend had told me about this, and my jaw dropped once I read this page. My girl has finally made it into the superhero league. Although I thought she'd be ingrained into the Batfamily but it looks like she's doing her own thing.

She goes by Meridian. I'm liking the custom design as well its super mysterious.

I don't know what they have in store for "future" Maps but I'm invested.

[mysticstarlightduck]

Writing Share Tag!!!

Thanks for the tag, @cowboybrunch (here)! <3

"What are you doing out here?" Cassiopeia stood by the metal staircase leading to the glass-domed hangar of the ship, at the center of which Meridian was sitting, staring through it at the starry cosmos above and around them in wonder.

The robot replied, dejected, but not tearing their eyes away from the sight before them, "Couldn't sleep."

Cassie began walking down the stairs, her fluffy slippers squeaking on the smooth floor, and cocked an eyebrow at the robot's peculiar answer, "... Do sentient robots sleep?" She asked, hesitantly, as if afraid to come across as rude or ignorant, "I didn't know that."

Meridian hummed, a whirring, metallic sound that somewhat sounded like a kitten's purr, "Not really. A robot can turn itself - uh" The robot stopped himself at the slip up, looking at their hands for a moment, shaking their head, before correcting the mistake "-themself off like a computer or a machine. But its not really like human sleeping. Lately I've been trying because, maybe, with some practice, I can learn to sleep the human way. I'd like that."

From where she was standing, coming ever closer to her friend, she noticed the robot's sheepish, slightly hopeless smile as they declared the forlorn, guileless plan they intended to put into practice. The sheer sadness of what this meant took her off guard, so much so that, for a moment, Cassie didn't know what to say.

She sat down beside them, shaking her mind back to the present and gave them a kind smile in return, "Well... trying is a good start!" The girl began, looking up at the stars as well as she wrung her hands anxiously. A thought crossed her mind, and she voiced it out loud, "Hm. Maybe I could research some ways to rewire your systems, safely, so we can figure out together a way to help you do human stuff like sleeping." She chewed on her lip, "If you'd like my help."

At that, Meridian gasped, finally looking at her, eyes practically glowing with happiness, "Oh. For real? You... you really think it could work?" Their voice, albeit synthetic and mechanic, was filled with the most hope and wonder she'd ever heard in her life.

She couldn't help but feel the same as she answered, "Well, only one way to find out!" The young inventor said with a bright, optimistic smile. If she was being completely honest, she didn't actually know if it could be done - but she was certainly going to try.

Tagging (gently): @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab, @winterandwords, @eccaiia,

@the-letterbox-archives, @illarian-rambling @agirlandherquill, @anoelleart,

@ray-writes-n-shit @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @topazadine

@forthesanityofstorytellers, @finickyfelix

@cauliflowermaterial @thepeculiarbird,

@clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes,

@starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

Taglist for Supernova Initiative below the cut! 🌠

Supernova Initiative Taglist (-/+): @ray-writes-n-shit, @sarandipitywrites, @lassiesandiego, @smol-feralgremlin, @kaylinalexanderbooks,

@diabolical-blue @oh-no-another-idea

@cakeinthevoid, @clairelsonao3,

@thepeculiarbird

@the-golden-comet, @urnumber1star, @ominous-feychild, @anyablackwood, @amaiguri, @lyutenw @finickyfelix

@elshells, @thecomfywriter

[petitwrites]

HORIZON, the musical: "RETURN TO MERIDIAN" –or a feeble attempt at fanfiction.

A journey back to the heart of Horizon world, both literal and emotional.

[CONTEXT: Post-HFW] A new threat looms over Meridian. Aloy heads back to Carja territory, determined to avert disaster.

“She made out below her the flaming silhouette of characteristic rocky mountains, bathed in the sun’s last rays. The glow of the sunset reflected off the water in a million sparkling stars she saw dancing before her eyes, like so many shards of fire and metal.”

This 'gamified fic' is an experimental concept, designed as an immersive interactive reading in sync with the Horizon games' OST—kind of like a 'reversed-soundtrack'.

Instead of writing music to illustrate a story, as is usually done, I thought it would be fun to try it the other way around. Because, why not? ^^

The layout will [guide you to] follow the flow, with the text becoming a mere subtitle to the music... which is ultimately the true hero of the story here.

[Teb’s voice]  In any case… be ready to scroll!

🎵 On your marks...

' Headset...

' GO!!

>> 🎧 MUSICAL version (special layout)

>> 📖 TEXT ONLY version (traditional layout)

SPECIAL THANKS

This fic is a first for me in every way possible: first time I’ve ever written a story (let alone a fanfiction), first time I’m publishing any of my work online… and it’s pretty terrifying!

Faithful Ao3 reader for years, I absolutely want to express my immense gratitude and admiration to all the amazing people who write for this beautiful fandom—and especially to @portabelloroad and @pikapeppa, whose work has brought me so much joy, greatly inspired me, and gave me the courage to step out of the shadows and start writing myself.

Who knows… maybe just one person might enjoy my story? Huge THANKS to these wonderful authors who will always hold a special place in my humble fan heart.

****

[drifloonz]

Haiiii, can you write a little one-shot or smth about Steven meeting someone online while playing video games and he maybe just starts to get attached to this online persona and then he finds out they're going to his town for vacation and he just

loses his mind

hi guys im actually replying to age old asks for once Can YOU BELIEVE IT !?!? [ i cant either ]

i got inspiration to write although probably temporary so YAYYY

anyways remember that one persona 3 social link . What if it was good and also not weird and groom-y and also Steven Was There. thats basically the gist of it

steven x reader ( meeting via online games )

_____

♡ steven wasn't one to go outside much. especially nowadays. this is something he knew intimately- mostly because he lives in his own body, as much as he wished he didn't on most days.

♡ so, when he isn't rotting in bed, and on the rare days he has energy to actually do anything, an old tucked away hobby slowly emerges in his long self-isolation.

♡ the computer still works. it's honestly a surprise, he hasn't checked the thing probably... since then. he was on it just before it happened. arceus. it was so long ago now.

♡ either way, with a bit of frustration he gets it set back up again. he played more on consoles, but... pcs have less limits. he could at least distract himself from his endless self-induced misery.

♡ and for some reason, his internets still running. he doesn't pay the bill - that was usually what [̸̻̂ ̸̻̿Ṁ̶̢̈ Į̵̼͊͒ Ḳ̸̛̀ È̶̖̋ ̸̡͊ͅ]̷͍̠͊̔ did. he doesn't pay much attention to why though- just assumes nobody ever wants to even slightly touch anything related to him. some part of him takes a pride in being feared by most of kanto. an old part of him, seated deep in his mind feels awful about it. absolutely awful.

♡ anyways, these are headcanons about steven and you meeting eachother through some online games remember when it was about that. yea . anyways.

♡ it's all he does nowaday if he ever has energy to do literally anything. his computer - a clunky desktop - is a real outdated model. but how would he even get a new one? so, he sticks to what he has. one day if he ever finds a way to, having a much more modern sort of laptop would be nice. a good distraction.

♡ whatever he's playing is probably outdated, old, for lack of a better term archaic. he honestly prefers it that way- leaves him room to breath, able to be not overwhelmed by swarms of people who could possibly find him, talk to him - talking to people scares him. he'd have to process... a lot of things if he did. smaller communities to deal with. more homey. he can interact whenever he wishes. people aren't in his face unless he wants them to be. it's nice.

♡ plus, it's a little nostalgic. he used to mess around lightly with these sorts of games. internet isnt a common thing to have, especially not in pallet of all places- but, as time passed, the tech improved. not that he has any of it other than an outdated pc model. hell, he might still have to use some AOL type of thing.

♡ it's nice. he misses playing them, so he tries to make it a thing he does on some sort of schedule, when he doesn't feel miserable. when he wants to award himself for not giving up entirely on his life yet. despite basically already doing that given the isolation, but ... it's a slow step forward either way.

♡ he only talks in the chat to ask questions. mostly because the internet is serviceable, but slow and inconsistent- googling things is not a learned skill of his. asking help isnt something he likes to do ( hell, look at him after he lost miki - although it's a bit different when everyone looks at you like a miserable stray animal ), especially given he doesnt like talking ever, but its kind of his only option that makes sense. plus, people don't actually know him... that's a plus.

♡ and, there's a specific player that talks to him a lot. helps him through things. is overly helpful. it's almost annoying. ... well, moreso overwhelming. it's hard to know what he properly feels when he hasn't been socialized in a while- everythings like that, especially with this person.

♡ he warms up to it slowly though. they are pretty helpful. it's nice. sometimes they'll give him free weapons or armor too. not extraordinarily overpowered, but enough to let him drift by the earlier game, which he appreciates. he says he'll find a way to pay them back someday.

♡ weeks into months into more months of keeping up a schedule. part of him barely cares about the game anymore. he's gotten a lot of progress, not much to do other than grind in these old games at this point.

♡ he knows a lot of things about you at this point. favorite color, your pokemon, what you like to do, your hobbies... he didn't offer much in ways of conversation, but he's always been a very good listener, according to people who he used to know back then.

♡ you're a very passionate person. it kind of draws him in. he tries to be more open with himself in turn, although still being very closed off and secretive due to just the nature of. well. everything about his situation. he doesn't lie about basically only sleeping and doing this all day though.

♡ they said that it sounded sad, but they knew how it felt, being in a similar ( although not nearly as extreme ) situation. he simply agreed.

♡ part of him knows he comes back not for the game, but just to see you. this part of him will never be willingly acknowledged by him.

♡ ... that is until during one of their talks about real life ( more often once steven had stopped being able to really engage with the game in any interesting way, usually he'd just lend an ear and maybe reply a few times in between... small, but short conversations. they had heart to them, able to talk about their life, interests, and struggles passionately. he admired that. ) they mentioned going to kanto.

♡ this makes him go insane even though he knows it really, really shouldn't. they would never even see him. nobody even knows he exists, practically. nobody even remembers he exists either. but.. part of him wants to see someone. someone he kind of knows, even if not all too deeply, it's still some form of personal connection. more than he's had in ages, and genuine, too.

♡ but the idea of seeing someone he met on the internet scares him far more than it has any right to. and also saying that he also lives there and wants to see them would be weird. extraordinarily weird. stranger danger.

♡ still, he has to mention it right ... ?

♡ blankly, he just replies something along the lines of "oh. i live there."

♡ the conversation coasts by pretty quickly from there, steven just kind of dissociating the way through as the person on the other side of the screen says they didnt know he was kantonian, getting excited themselves seemingly about the prospect of 'maybe seeing him in passing at the shop' as a joke. that sentence terrifies him and also makes him feel other things he doesn't want to process.

♡ he does not have the heart to tell them he would never be seen dead in public nowadays. outside of a few... rare, specific instances. when he was younger after everything, mostly. everything he did back then was for her. it isn't now because he gave up. he knows she isn't really there, won't really be back properly ever.

♡ good fucking god this is depressing just thinking about it. why does this person like him so much? he's just... sad.

♡ in his dissociative haze, he blinks 3 times. looks back at the screen. something along the lines of "well, if you wanted to see me you could've just said so ;P" . it's very cute. and also terrifying to his very unsocialized mind.

♡ oh my god. he scrolls up the messagelog just a bit. did he reply "that'd be nice" to the shop thing???? what the fuck is wrong with him. he must've been on autopilot. it's. .. not a lie, but, this is a lot for him.

♡ still he answers truthfully.

♡ and here he is. a week or so later awkwardly lying in bed, knowing this- stranger feels both right AND wrong to call them. he does like them, but, he doesn't... know them. not in real life. he knows what goes on in their real life, but is that enough?

♡ they did tell him pretty personal things. he listened to them when no one else seemingly would. fuck. he doesn't want to let them down. but also maybe it'd be better if they didn't meet? he's not a good rolemodel. not anymore. very unkempt as a person too. he did at least try to clean himself up a bit before this. he looks the same as usual, just a bit .. more organized.

♡ is it clear he barely has any experience with talking to other people online because he was raised in a very small town and had a lot of people around him, because. Yea.

♡ what if he ruins everything. what if he ruins another thing he had because of how he is. what if they immediately get scared and run off? he is abnormally tall, and, last he checked most normal people get scared of him immediately.

♡ this anxiety is not helping him. it's... one person. he doesn't want to ruin it. but if he keeps his cool, maybe it'll be fine? he's trying really really hard to be composed about all of it on the surface.

♡ they agreed to meet. not at his house. although it's where he lives ( or moreso rots away ) and does anything, forcing himself to go outside to at least meet them at a route or a street or on some... bench, would probably be preferable. plus, not that many people. ( 'never seen dead in public', huh steven? it's funny now. this person does things to him. it's... honestly nice. to want to see someone so badly. even if it doesn't go well, it's more of an experience then the mindnumbing isolation. )

♡ he gets on his usual attire, despite the odd looks from others he might get for it,

♡ and so, he goes.

____

thank you for requesting ^_^ enjoy the cliffhanger and Imagine whatever u want in ur hearts desire . the rare inspo to write hit me ig lol - wispy

[bigbrownboots]

okay, wow. so much to think about!

looong Project Meridian ramble - most specifically about Marcus and what he did - with spoilers below (obviously)

for clarity’s sake: i’m mostly just going to call them “the listener” instead of “love” or “the asset” - for now, at least until we get a better nickname for them. also, i’m choosing to believe that James calling Marcus “Marc” is similar to David calling Asher “Ash”. it’s just a shortened version to make it easier for the listener to differentiate between the concepts of ‘dream’ Marcus and ‘real’ Marcus - even though technically they’re the same person. so i’m personally going to keep calling him Marcus (unless we get any confirmation as to otherwise).

anyways. the idea that Marcus put the listener through the concept of the obsession code feels somehow even worse to me now - because they went to Marcus for help. they thought - from what he described - that they would be going through a classic storyline of ‘android gains human emotions’, and he took that concept, proceeded to surpress all their memories, and then forced them into the role of being his obedient, obsessive yandere robot that only wants him.

he literally stripped them of their humanity, and their agency.

the listener wasn’t just a robot who had never known anything else in some sci-fi story, they were an actual person, with a life, and he took that away from them in order to fulfill his fantasies of being ‘loved’. and the idea that he’s ‘helped’ other latents in the past is also sickening, because it’s very easy to imagine that his goal in doing so is to be their ‘saviour’, or even their ‘maker’ in the same way that he stepped into the role of being one of ‘the asset’s’ main technicians.

and i know someone’s going to say that “it was all so their powers would manifest, he wasn’t doing it for personal gain” but?? how the fuck were they ever even meant to have some sort of ‘emotional breakthrough’ in that situation?

look back at it now with this new information, look at the episode in which Marcus realises that they aren’t even them anymore, and the two of them are just “riding the loop” as the listener’s emotional capacity literally begins to deteriorate into nothing other than thinking of Marcus. hell, even ‘dream James’ points out that Marcus could have stopped the obsession code at any time. they could have tried another method, another plotline, another dream sequence, but Marcus was too invested in someone ‘loving’ him to stop what he was doing to, again, this real, human person, who desperately asked him for help with their magic manifestation, something we know is so personal.

just, wow.

[themeridian]

comment or reblog this if u wanna be tagged in my other oc stuff that ill be posting soon :3

[violetispersephone]

I feel personally victimized while writing this chapter. It is attempting to kill me. Send help.

[optiwashere]

Weird day of reading today:

Stared at Locked Tomb for a few minutes as I thought about rereads, but at this point I'm just gonna wait for Alecto to go through the series again. I don't think I'm emotionally strong enough atm to endure the memes again anyways.

Reread an old manuscript for a novel that I never finished. 48k and it's just immensely harrowing with a really brutal ending per the outline that I don't think would ever make it past editing lmao. Looking at when I wrote it, that makes a lot of sense. One of the only first-person POV things I've ever written, and it was surprisingly all right. I'd probably rewrite this as third-person close if I were to revisit it. Cool world that I didn't really utilize as well.

Picked through some highlights of Gormenghast and buried myself in indulgent, decadent prose for a while. There's singular clauses with more creativity than entire stories I've written. Just means there's more to aspire to, I suppose!

Wanted to reread some passages from a few Robin Hobb books, but I cannot remember which book is which within a series because all of her novels have just the worst titles. Just meant that I waded through beautiful moment after beautiful moment in search of what I was after. Then wound up reading the ending of Elderlings all over again, much to my heart's deep sorrow.

[antisolararc]

Very rarely, some powerful mages lose their senescence, instead growing larger and larger until injury or illness eventually takes them. Like an alligator! As these ageless mages continue to outlive their peers, they are prone to apathy, boredom, and mental instability. It often seems that they eventually begin to see the people around them more like toys. Inevitably, they will become increasingly dangerous. On one hand, this makes them obvious targets. On the other, they've likely attained not just great magical power by this point, but societal power as well.

Celantrians usually succumb to old age after about a century, but Anata is just over 200. The oldest magician, Archmage Solanace of the Council for Magic Regulation, is over 500 years old. They have not been seen publicly for quite a long time.

[katerinaaqu]

I am not crying you are! 😢 😭😭😭 Orestes and Pylades in Eurypedes are literally the best example if you wanna see how it feels to work with Caleb and Diego, our babies with my friend @artsofmetamoor 🥹🥹🥹🥹 I mean look at them!

Orestes: There is just one more problem

Pylades: A new objection?

Orestes: What if the gods strike me again with madness?

Pylades: Then I will take care of you

Orestes: It will be terribly hard to handle a sick man

Pylades: Not to me if it's you!

Orestes: Beware! You will be dragged down to my madness!

Pylades: Let it go!

Orestes: You wouldn't hesitate?

Pylades: No! Hesitation is a great evil between friends!

(Translation by me)

MY BABIES!! They are off to do evil things sure but DUDE!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

So you get an idea of the characters you can see in my friend's profile. Caleb is being the one trying to stabilize a very traumatized and very mentally unstable Diego who is often like a ticking bomb ready to explode (which he does!)

Gosh now I wanna write for BOTH these moments! Pylades handling poor Orestes as his madness comes and goes and our babies with @artsofmetamoor as Caleb is there for Diego when he has a mental breakdown! 😢