#oh but like imagine being some kinda knight and there's something MYSTICAL going on at your order or something

[tarotwithavi]

Hello to my favourite reader. I hope i didn't burden you too much with my bulk orders :)

Okay so first I'll go with the subliminal. When i listened to the subliminal for the first time i got tingling sensation all over my body. And when i affirmed and focused on my eyes they were BURNING. It was very powerful. I still can't listen to it whole day. I guess changing my eye colour would take some time but i noticed my hair are becoming more softer and fuller than before. It's definately powerful and affective.

Starshine reading was very resonating. It's like someone who notice me everyday is telling me stuffs about myself that i didn't notice 🥹. The humble, grounded and taking both genders perspective is something I've learned after being through some painful lessons. It's wonderful how pain transform us into a better person. How we learn so much after losing things and people that are dearest to us. I love my independence and love to share. I also love to make people safe and remind them to chase their dreams. It was a wonderful reading. I guess my negative self talk make me lose sight of who i am but thanks to you i can see myself clearly now.

My moon reading was ✨ interesting ✨. I mean yeah i get ruthless when i actually get angry. Though it takes alot for me to get that angry (or i guess when my ego gets bruised). But yes i do become intimidating when I'm angry. My fs would teach me to be more selfish and cunning and to be honest I can't wait to be like that 😩. I'm tired of being such a pure and selfless person that it's draining me at this point. The letter from ny fs was hilarious, hopeful, sweet and a tiny bit sad ( because we haven't met each other yet it feels like we won't be able to stay away from each other once we do which is kinda good but yet it's sad for me cause I'm such an emotional crybaby) ahem so my fs is very bratty and he's such a tease which is similar to how you said we'll be pulling each other's leg in the previous fs reading. Sometimes i think it's all in my head or like I'm just ignoring my pain through these readings but then you reveal such sweet and tender moments that I can't help but be hopeful for my future and i can do anything i want. So thank you alot for giving me this strength. Thank you for making me hopeful again.

Raven was the reading i was looking forward to the most because i didn't know my psychic abilities until you said so. My dreams are usually intense, vivid and weird but they also come true in 3d to some certain aspects. Like when i look into hindsight some incidents were very similar to my dreams. My dreams also carry crazy but true messages that's why I don't ignore them. Astral travelling is something I'm very interested in. But i do need practice. Healing other people's inner child is something i take pride in doing so. I feel very good after giving people emotional advice. And I'd love to be a guiding light to other people.

Mystical reading was truly mystical. I can't believe i was a female knight like omg i was so cool! And a little secret i wanna share with you is that whenever i was in emotional turmoil i used to daydream myself as a female knight saving a world that was falling apart. I used to daydream like this as a coping mechanism but girl i never imagined that i was an actual FEMALE KNIGHT MYSELF IN MY PAST LIFE 😭. The place i was born in was and is know for romance and people are obsessed going there is pretty much screaming france to me. Everything else was also very interesting. You also told me that my past life reading and saint joan of arc are very similar. I read the whole article after your reading and your testimony that you yourself read the article after doing my reading. There are way too many similarities to even deny anything you've told me in my reading. My honest reaction was crying after reading that article. Like I don't know why but i was crying. Like oh she did so much for the country and at the end she got executed by the enemy and the people she trusted did nothing to help her. It was sad. And I don't know but even if i was such a great and famous person i didn't live a life that could be called happy? Or great? But to be honest everything you said was right there in the article. Like i could see visions by archangel micheal's and people used to call me demonic and my past life's timeline was around 11th to 14th century. These all things are there in history of joan de arc. She died at the age of 19 and I'm reading this at 19. Coincidence, I THINK NOT. To be honest I'm trying my best to deny this but i cannot. It's all so true and factual and the history itself is the evidence that I can't deny this. My past life was pretty much predetermined but I'm grateful that now I'm born in an era where i can do whatever i want and be whoever i choose to become. It was great to know about my heroic past life. Pretty much still can't believe it but I'm trying to 🥹. And thanks to you that i can get to know about past life because without you i wouldn't have even known jeon de arc.

Sending you a warm hug and blessings for the wonderful service you provide with so much care and enthusiasm. I never regret buying any thing from you. I hope you're having a good rest after doing so many readings. Take care as always. Bye

Thank you so much for this detailed feedback. I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. You know it's strange because after I finished your reading. I only looked up "female knight" on Google and the article about Saint Joan of Arc came up. Coincidence? I think not.

I already told ya my subliminals are really powerful haha 😆

ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

[ljungfrun]

One day I will have enough money to hire people to make my dream horse game

[bunnyywritings]

true love’s kiss

tenya iida x gn!reader

word count: 1.5k

requested by @coleluuviida : So may I request a iida tenya x gn! reader? The plot I want is where reader likes reading a lot of books and comics, they will read romance, action, horror, etc. So then one day reader and the dekusquad are eating lunch together, reader was quick eating their lunch so that they can continue reading their book but then iida ask about what their reading and reader go on and on how, and why they like the story with passion iida was listen with joy even the dekusquad are listening in. After that reader let iida borrow their book the rest is up to your imagination!

[a/n: thank you so much for trusting me with your request sweetheart!! i’m sorry it took so long but here it is, i hope you enjoy! I kinda got carried away...it’s been a while since i’ve properly written so i apologize if it’s not very good :/ without further adieu, here’s some adorable iida content cause he’s the best and deserves the world - yours truly, bunnyy -`ღ´-]

It was never strange to see you with your nose buried in between the pages of a book. Your friends found it endearing.Some people, literally just Bakugou, found it a bit ridiculous. 

Denki and Kirishima made a game out of it. They would bet on the genre you were reading purely based on your reactions alone. If your cheeks ever got flushed and your eyes wide, 10/10 it was probably a cheesy romance manga. If your brows were furrowed and your bottom lip was caught between your teeth, it was a mystery novel. A forlorn look in your eyes ment it was some type of magical book with Knights, Wizards, and Dragons (oh my!)

But somebody in particular, albeit enamored by your love of literature, was also concerned.

Iida was in your group of friends and so he had witnessed first hand your obsession with finishing a book. Sometimes you wouldn't eat during lunch because you were so enthralled and when he did get you to eat something, you raced to finish your food so you could grab your book once more and pick up where you left off. You weren't much of a talker and no one at the table really minded your lack of conversation and let you be.

However, this time around, it was different. Iida noticed the bags under your eyes and knew that you hadn't been sleeping. You had been engaging in class and you were keeping up with your studies but the second you guys were allowed a break or you all were let out for lunch, you picked up your book and resumed reading.

Even as you walked with them to the cafeteria, your eyes hadn't left the page. You had your book in one hand and your other was gripping the end of Shoto's blazer, leading you to where you needed to go.

 "It must be a really good one this time." Kirishima muttered to Denki, both watching in amusement as you were being led around by a nonchalant Shoto.

So as you sat at the lunch table, Iida watched in concern. Even with your favorite food in front of you, you still hadn't put the book down. As much as he hated what he was about to do, he just couldn't do nothing.

"(Y/n), as much as I hate to disrupt your reading...I must know, is a book really more important than sleep? Or more important than eating a healthy meal?"

All conversation came to a screeching halt. No one had ever really disrupted your reading before...so no one knew what to expect when Iida spoke up. The seconds were tense as they ticked by and as you moved your hand, they all held their breath, but instead of bookmarking your page, your finger deftly slipped under the corner of the page and turned to the next one.

 "Huh...they didn't even hear you." Ochako giggled.

Sighing, Iida reached over and placed his hand flat on the pages, successfully obstructing your view of the letter on the pages.  

"(Y/n)..."

Normally, you'd be a slight bit annoyed that someone had interrupted you but it was Iida. Sweet, sweet Iida.

"Oh. Sorry." Your cheeks burned in embarrassment, "I must've not heard you. What's wrong?"

Iida sighs.

“I'm just concerned, is all. What's got you so interested?"

 "You really want to know?" He noticed how your eyes twinkled with excitement.

 "Yes, I really want to know."

And with that, you went off on a whole tangent.

Explaining the story from the very beginning. Giving character description with wild and elaborate hand gestures. Even going as far as adding sound effects to fight scenes. This was nothing new for Shoto or Midoriya. They had often asked about the stories you read and quite enjoyed hearing you re-tell them. Shoto never had anyone tell him bedtime stories but he assumes

this is what they would've been like.

Iida was stunned. Absolutely stunned. He's never seen you speak about something so passionately, other than the time he had asked you why you wanted to be a hero.

So as you went on and explained what you've been reading, he felt himself fall even more. He was intently listening.

You had been reading a rom-com style, action book about two knights going on a quest to slay a dragon to break an evil curse. There were wizards and mystical forest creatures. Once you finished, you had asked if he wanted to read it once you were done.

Now...this wasn't really Iida's cup of tea. Don't get him wrong, he loves sitting and enjoying a book but fantasy books

aren't really his style.

  "So..? Would you want to read it? Ya' know, see for yourself?" The look in your eyes was absolutely adorable, he couldn't possibly say no.

    "S-Sure, I'd love to borrow it."

He wasn't too worried though, you still had a few chapters to go and surely you'd forget about it.

Boy was he wrong.

As he was getting ready for bed, the knock on his door confused him. Upon opening the door, there you stood in your pajamas

with the book tightly clutched in your hands.

    "Sorry I took so long but here you go. Let me know what you think." You had an excited smile playing on your lips.

    "Oh...thank you." He reached out and took the book from your outstretched grasp.

He read through the first chapter before going to bed, slightly intrigued.

It took him about a month to read, maybe a little longer since he definitely took breaks and focused more on school than anything...but eventually, he finished. 

You had been hanging out in the common room when Iida had walked in, book in hand. It took you a while to notice since  you had been buried in another . 

    “Oh, hey Iida!” Ochako grinned. 

You turned and took notice of what was in his possession and your smile grew.

    “You finished! What’d you think?” 

    “Uhm well, it was quite...quite interesting-” He was fumbling with his words, something that’s a bit unusual for him. 

    “Oh...you didn’t like it?” your face fell and his heart dropped a little.

    “No, no! What I mean is that-!”

    “It’s okay, you can be honest. It’s not for everyone.” 

    “I did like it but there’s something that I didn’t quite understand. Why would they risk leaving the magma gem? From my understanding, it would’ve given them the abilities needed to slay the dragon.” The complete and utter confusion on his face was adorable. 

    “Come on, Ingenium!” You chuckled quietly. “If they had gotten the gem, they wouldn’t have been able to save their partner. Remember, sometimes the best strategy is to run and get help instead of fighting a fight that you can’t win.” 

    “But they didn’t even slay the dragon!”

    “They didn’t because that wasn’t needed to break the curse. The only way to break the curse was with true love’s kiss.” 

    “That’s not very logical. How would that break a deadly curse?” 

    “Don’t underestimate the power of love, Iida. It’s quite strong.” 

Upon hearing those words he looked up from the book and into your eyes...had they always been that mesmerizing? His heart hammered in his chest as he parted his lips to speak once more. 

    “W-would you show me?” This was a big leap of faith for him. He had confided in Midoriya a while ago when he realized his feelings for you, and ever the observant one, Midoriya had a feeling that you felt the same way. There had been multiple times where he had caught you gazing longingly at the class rep. 

Now you...you were stunned. Your cheeks had flushed red and your mouth was agape. Taking your silence as a rejection, he swallowed the lump in his throat and shook his head. 

    “I apologize, that was quite forward of me. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” He placed the book down on the couch and got up. Once he turned away from you, you had realized that the words in your head never left your mouth so you reached out and grabbed his wrist. 

        “Wait…” your voice was barely above a whisper but he heard you and turned back around. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable, I’m just surprised that you feel the same way I do.” 

There was a small silence that followed but your body seemed to move on its own. You held his face in your hands, the feeling of your thumbs gently caressing his cheekbones sent the butterflies into a frenzy. 

    “Can I still kiss you?” Your voice was hesitant, quiet, and it made him smile, gazing into your eyes with such a fondness that it made your stomach do flips. 

    “Yes...please.” 

That was all you needed before leaning in, his eyes and yours fluttered shut as your lips met. Both of you were unsure but he trusted you and you trusted him. The feeling of his lips moving languidly with yours was absolutely euphoric. He tasted like mint and black tea, and his lips were soft. Gaining confidence, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer. 

After finally pulling away, he rested his forehead against yours. 

    “Believe it’s strong enough now?” 

    “Hmm…” His chest vibrated as he hummed in feign thoughtfulness. “I may need more convincing.”

[offspring-of-calliope]

Peculiar (Newsies Fanfiction) - Chapter 1

Description: Jack Kelly is having a strange encounter on the street.

words: 1696

A/N: This AU was kinda inspired by Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, so it's basically that some of the Newsies, the Peculiars, have powers and all the Manhattan Newsies live with Medda in the Theatre. Then, there are also those who chase after Peculiars, the Collectors. I'm not quite sure where I want to go with this story bc initially, I only wanted to practice my 'English skills' (she said, sitting in front of her computer like: 'How to English?') and suddenly I had a whole AU in my head. So if you wish for certain scenes or something, you can put your wishes in the comments and I might comply. One thing I'm certain of, however, is my choice of main pairings: Javid and Sprace. But I might include other pairings as well.

I hope you enjoy.

Sincerely, me

Lélodie

-----

The sky was still being shadowed by dark clouds, even though the rain had stopped approximately three hours ago. Puddles decorated the streets which were filled with busy people, running back and forth while being indifferent to the world around them. And right among these apathetic businessmen, there was a vivid, excited boy, no older than seventeen – Jack Kelly.

The newspapers in his hand felt kind of damp to him but that didn't keep him from advertising news after news, praising the papers as if they were the most precious things on earth.

“Extra! Extra!” Jack cried, followed by made-up headlines nobody bothered to check when buying the paper. It was already late in the evening and most of the papers were sold by now. A little more time passed and eventually, there was only one paper left.

Jack, who did not seem to be quite satisfied with his day's pay, looked around the street until he suddenly caught sight of a well-dressed man who was heading towards his carriage. 'Well, that looks promising,' Jack thought, straightening his collar and making his way over to the man.

“Extra! Extra, good man! A whole factory going up in flames and -”, he began but the man interrupted him with a dismissive gesture of his hand.

“Move, boy. I do not have time for this nonsense.”

“Surely, you're a very important fella, dear sir, but if ya'd just buy a pape -”

The man looked at him in disgust. “I have no intention on doing business with a dirty little boy from the street.” With these words, he entered his carriage, leaving Jack standing like a fool on the street.

“Whatever ya say, good fella, but I's by no means little, nor dirty! And I'd never do business with such an arrogant sucker either!” Jack didn't know why the words of the man had bothered him this much but it was probably because he was tired, exhausted and just wanted to return to the theatre to get a good night's sleep. He was going to continue his quest to sell the last paper when suddenly the carriage was set in motion, purposefully driving through a puddle on the ground so that a bunch of muddy water was being splashed all over him.

“Alright, you sucker, ya totally owe me a new shirt, this one's brand new!” He called after the disappearing carriage. “There goes a four month's pay,” he eventually mumbled, eyeing his body. The dirt felt familiar yet unpleasant on his skin. He hesitated. Next thing he knew, he was making his way towards the nearest dark alley he could find.

A considering look down the alley. Then, he let his powers do the work. A stream of clear water crawled along his arms, his neck, his face and was softly cleaning his body. Jack smiled as he navigated the cool stream, letting it embrace him like a safe blanket or the arms of a person that felt like home. For a short moment, he closed his eyes. Forgetting the world around him that only wanted to harm him and pushed him from one danger towards the next. Forgetting that he had to work under inhuman conditions, day after day. Forgetting everything. And for a short moment, he imagined being in Santa Fe, where everything would be okay.

Then, there came the self-satisfied laughter.

Startled, Jack opened his eyes and found himself faced with a big, bulky guy with crooked teeth and large ears. “Well, well, look what we have here. A Peculiar and a very precious one at that.” The guy held a club in his hands that he'd probably stolen from one of the policemen at some point. The self-satisfied laughter turned into a sinister smirk.

Abruptly, Jack stopped the flowing water and looked around him, searching for an escape route. But he was stuck in a cul-de-sac and the way back to the main street was blocked by Bulky Guy. “Yeah, well, what's it to you, man? You's gonna mind ya own business?” Trying to hide the nervousness that was burning him up from within, Jack settled for a daring grin.

“Oh, so you're a bigmouth, too, huh? This is gonna be so much fun.”

Jack saw the first blow coming. He lifted his arm to block it and stretched out his leg to kick Bulky Guy in the knee. The rest of the fight was kind of a blur to him. Every time it occurred to him that the opportunity to flee had come – Bulky Guy definitely had the upper hand -, his opponent seemed to be reading his mind and was once again blocking his path. Jack wasn't a fool. He knew that he was too tired to keep on for much longer and a little voice in his head was constantly persuading him into using his powers. But he did not dare.

Too clear was the memory of the last time he has used his powers against an actual person. The feeling of flooding another's lungs, more and more and more and more until they were drowning from within. Jack groaned. What in the world did he have to do to just be able to forget the Incident?

“Ready to give up yet, boy?” Bulky Guy asked, clearly enjoying himself.

“You wish,” Jack replied, ducking under yet another blow. His hands were sweaty, his ribs felt broken and the poor boy's head was spinning.

Then, a different voice pierced though the alley. “You there! Leave the boy in peace and get away from here as fast as you can.” Jack was aware of the fact that the newcomer was talking to Bulky Guy but his voice, this delicate, melodic voice was so inviting that his urge to escape from this alley was getting stronger as well.

Jack looked up, wanting to know how Bulky Guy would react, partly expecting him to just turn around and knock out the news guy. To his surprise, Bulky Guy nearly bowed down before the owner of the mystical voice, as if he wanted to apologize for being such a dick, and retreated without another word. Completely bewildered, Jack squinted at his saviour for the first time.

He was only an ordinary boy, as far as he could see. Black hair, worry in his eyes and overall a quite cute appearance. He seemed to be a bit perplexed as well because he solely stood there, at the entrance of the alley, his hands balled into fists, his gaze fixed on Jack.

Jack, who now had found his own voice again. “I guess a 'Thank You' might be appropriate in this situation. Free paper?” He nearly had forgotten the now not only damp but also slightly crumpled newspaper he had stuffed safely into his pocket at the beginning of the fight. He also didn't really care any more. He was too relieved. So he held the paper out to the guy who spared it not even a single glance. Jack was slightly offended.

“Oh my God,” the guy said, his voice softer and more down-to-earth than before. A friendly tone, yet no less beautiful. “I'm going to be in so much trouble now. What if he comes back and what if somebody tells Mama and Papa and why would I even – Oh no, and he is a stranger as well, why did I have to help a complete -”

“In my defence, I am quite a catch and I don't mind playin' damsel in distress, as long as a guy like you's gonna be my knight in shining armour,” Jack interrupted him, slowly getting bored because the guy was talking non-stop to himself instead of reacting to Jack's presence.

Cute Guy looked at him like he was crazy. “What are you talking about? I barely even did anything, to be honest, I was just passing by and saw how this guy attacked you and couldn't keep on walking as if nothing was going on. But it's not exactly my fault the guy went away, he was probably afraid I'd call the cops on him,” and there he was, rambling again.

“Sorry ta interrupt ya, pal, but we both know that he'd have knocked ya out in seconds. And for the record, we also both knows that what ya did there wasn't quite normal.” At least, that was Jack's assumption. It might have been a really big coincidence but his intuition told him that the boy in front of him might be a Peculiar as well. With a grand gesture, he took the guy's hand and put his last paper in it. “Like I said, thank ya. It's nice that our kind looks out for each other. Ya know that there's also others with powers, don't ya? You's not alone in this -”

“Again, I have no idea what you're talking about!” The voice of the boy was getting more tempting this time. He withdrew the hand that Jack still had clasped in his own, stuffed the paper in his bag and looked Jack straight in the eyes.

“Of course,” Jack mumbled, his mind suddenly clouded by something he could not comprehend. “I's sorry I's made such an accusation.”

“Thanks for the apology,” Cute Guy said, looking still a little panicked but in a strange way also satisfied. “It was nice to meet you.” He smiled a bit, then hurried off into what seemed to be a randomly picked direction.

“Wait!” Jack called out. The other guy stopped and glanced back at him in confusion. “The name's Jack Kelly. An' who are you?”

“Wouldn't you like to know?”, was the only answer he got before his saviour disappeared into the crowd.

Jack just stood there, dumbfounded. Then, after what seemed like half an eternity, he came back to himself. “Of course he has powers, that sucker,” he mumbled and swore to himself that he'd never fall for that persuading voice again. But to see if he could keep his promise, he had to find the mystery boy once more.

[reversemoon255]

Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise

So, if you’ve been here a while, you’ll know I’m a big fan of the Build Series. I even like Try, which has actually offended people. No joke. And Re:Rise is no exception, having the best story and characters in the lineup, not to mention some of the more innovative Gunpla. It’s pretty obvious it’s the most beloved of the Build Series by the general public as well as hard-core Gundam fans, and I feel that’s because it leaned more heavily into the Gundam side of things than the Build side, for both its ups and downs.

The Good: The story is very strong, and is able to get away with things that hampered GBF slightly and GBD a lot. It presents it mystical elements forefront and prominently.

In almost every collectibles based series, there is almost always some form of mystical element (a trend made prominent by Yu-Gi-Oh!), and both GBF and GBD lean into this to different degrees. (Actually, one of the reasons I like GBFT is because it’s the only series like this I’ve ever seen that doesn’t have a mystical element.) GBF’s was pretty subtle, being presented early on and only really being used as a motivator for the Chairman and a sad goodbye. GBD leans into it a little harder with Sarah being the main focus of the entire final arc.

GBDR is able to get around this by having the entire focus of the show be about the mystical element, so there’s no conflict between the grounded story and the abnormal additions. Also, it was just, like, really good? And I think part of that is the naivety of the characters. I was able to pick up almost immediately that everything was real, but I read a lot of the YouTube comments after each episode, and a lot of people were convinced it was just a story mission at first, with more and more people catching on as the series progressed. (For me what sealed the deal was Maiya being able to describe Kazami’s character. A supposed NPC being able to nail the personality of a player.) Since they thought it was a game, the stakes seemed low even though we as the audience knew otherwise. And when everything came to light, not only did the stakes immediately skyrocket, but they did so believably. And wanting to help people is always a good motivation.

The animation was very good. It dove at a few points, as is not uncommon, but the overall quality stayed high. There was almost no stock footage apart from the Core Changes. And the number of cameos throughout this season, especially in the last three episodes, were staggering, but were just balanced enough to not overshadow the main cast.

Except for Kyoya’s Cardass Finisher. Like, ok, reference, but it was, like, three minutes long.

All the characters were very good, and I feel part of that was both establishing a detailed past for everyone to help with their motivation and character growth as people, rather than fighters, and not having the main character be the newbie. Reiji, Sekai, and Riku were all new players and had to have plenty of things explained to them, whereas here all of BUILD DiVERS were either experienced fighters or builders, and Freddie, the non-combatant would only require an occasional explanation while he, in turn, explained his world to the players (a very important give-and-take). I also liked how they didn’t need to spell out every detail of Par and Kazami’s pasts. Par never has to explain how he became disabled to the rest of the team, and Kazami never vocalizes about the death of his dad. Sometimes that’s the better way to handle things.

And finally, the Gunpla are FANTASTIC! Look, I know I complain, but there’s a reason I’ve bought 12 Core Gundams, and will probably buy more. Each design in this series is so lovingly crafted. There’s a good balance of series, motif, and gimmick. And Re:Rising Gundam is such a cherry on all of it. Like, I pointed out all those oddities in my Wodom Pod review, but never did I even consider it was part of a combination. And it so encapsulates the themes of coming together this series oozes. I love it.

The Bad: But, of course, nothing is perfect. While I do enjoy the story, what sets the Build Series apart from other Gundams is its levity and light-heartedness, and that’s something that was lacking from this season. It’s not absent. The Space-Crossing Festival, for instance, was a great example of this, but those moments were few and far between. I think Jed dying was the moment I realized I’d have to look at this as a Gundam series and not a Build one. Being afraid for the show’s characters isn’t something I’ve had to worry about with Build. Even when Sarah’s life was on the line at the end of GBD, I knew everything was going to turn out alright. Here, though? Up until the training mission I was worried someone was going to sacrifice themselves. And it’s good that didn’t happen, but that one moment put me on edge for the entire rest of the series.

And it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something I expect from 00 or Thunderbolt. Not Build.

Already mentioned the animation had its dips. I think I watched the entire show in 720p. Would have preferred 1080. Moving on.

While I don’t have any real issues with the main cast of characters, I do have a few issues with Eve. I’m not the biggest fan of how she retcons a lot of the events of the first season, having this apparent noble sacrifice that completely doesn’t affect the story of GBD at all. And while I don’t mind May being constructed from some of Eve’s data, I wish it was built up at least a bit? I can think of some moments in retrospect where I can suss out that maybe that’s what they were going for, but it still felt very sudden. That could have been handled better.

And while I love this season’s Gunpla, there are simultaneously a lot and not a lot compared to other seasons. Like there’s a lot of releases, but a ton of them are remolds. Twelve Cores, remember? Almost every suit got a remold. The Justice Knight and Infinite Justice, all the Eldoran and non-Eldoran counterpart units, the Valkylander and Ex are the same mold, and all the Core Armors. That’s probably because they used a lot of suits that are more original and are just homages rather than straight remolds, like the Build Strike or 00 Diver, but it’s definitely noticeable.

Where do we go from here: We have an official announcement of a Divers Battlogue, just like with Fighters, and we may get OVAs like the previous seasons did, too, eventually, but I’m talking about beyond that.

After Fighters Battlogue ended, Fighters did, too. We moved on to Build Divers, and from what I can tell it’s been successful, especially this season. My worry is that with the announcement of a Battlogue, we’re also announcing the end of Divers.

Now, I don’t think Build is going away, because it has its own fanbase, and it’s just good from a marketing perspective. Take some old kits, make a few new parts for them, and resell them. What I’m worried is we’re heading to a new subtitle and a new continuity, which would be our FIFTH (Builders, Fighters, Divers, and GBGW). It made sense to end Fighters because they created a seven year time skip to explain how we got to the point of using original Gunpla, they didn’t go over well, and from a writing perspective it put them in a corner. Divers was a good reboot, returning to modified kits, and giving us a protagonist who actually pilots a Gunpla he built himself (three season in). Divers also has a very large mythos at this point, with AIs, and multiple confirmed species of aliens. If you jumped ahead just one more year, you could write a great story where it’s just exploring this inter-species cultural hub that is GBN. That’s what I’d like to see, anyway. If you skipped ahead just a little farther, you could have Asha, Towana, or Hulun return as our Yuma or Par for that season to connect it to the past one. There’s a lot of potential still there. Like, even the ending suggests they might have some more ideas for Eldora yet (whether that will be tackled in a new season, the Battlogue, or an OVA, I don’t know).

You could also return to Build Fighters. Make it take place in that seven-year gap, which would allow you to have Gunpla more on the level of what we saw in GBD (more advanced than GBF, but not at original yet). Or show us the pro circuit at the same time as GBFT and how insane that’s become. (What we see in GBFT is just the Japan’s U-19, and they apparently can’t hold a candle to actual pro players. Can you imagine what Worlds would be like O_O)

There’s just so many new stories they could tell with what already exists. I don’t want them to reboot the series again needlessly.

Also, we’re running out of headliner Gundams. The only obvious choices I don’t think we’ve touched yet are Barbatos, Unicorn, Victory, and Zeta.

As for my hopes for the Battlogue, I’d like to see Maiya and Kazami go on a date, because that would be adorable. I’d like to see Freddie pilot his first Gunpla, because that would be adorable. And I’d like to see the gang teach the village kids how to build Gunpla, because that would be adorable. What can I say? This series got kinda dark; I’d like some cute to balance it out.

Overall, this series was great. Favorite of the Build Series, even if it is a little more Gundam than Build. There’s a lot of potential still left in this universe, so I hope they’ll continue to explore it, rather than reboot the series again.

[magicjesuscup]

How would the KoTR react to Gray from Lord El-Melloi Case Files(don’t answer if you haven’t heard or watched)

I got two of these, so I’m going to delete the other one. I'm also going to say this is after they learn about her past and not them reacting to how she looks. I'm doing it this way because there are so many saber faces I don't think they'd have much of a reaction to a girl who just looks like their king anymore.

I also want to note that I think Gray only ever referred to Waver as "Sir" in the subbed version, so I'll be sticking to that in my response.

Another thing to note: I wrote Arthur/Artoria, Lancer Artoria, and Mordred’s reactions a few days before everyone else’s. So, theirs are kinda in the form of mini fanfiction while the rest are headcanons.

SFW and spoilers for the Lord El-Melloi Case Files.

Arthur/Artoria

Oh. Oh god do they feel guilty about this. The whole reason Gray looked the way she did was because her village was trying to resurrect them!? This poor girl never had a life of her own because she was expected to live as someone else. (No, they don't see this as anything similar to what they experienced when they were alive. They chose to be king; Gray was born into this madness.) They fought so hard so people could live their lives; this isn't what they intended.

"I never would have imagined anyone would rob someone of their life to resurrect me. Forgive me."

Gray shook her head and stared at the ground. "It wasn't all bad. I was able to meet Sir, and because I had Add, I could protect him. And I met a lot of people through him too. Some were strange. Some were kind. But they're all important memories for me, and I wouldn't have them if my childhood had been different."

Hearing that made them feel better. If she wasn't sad over things, why should they be? Still, they were a bit worried about what would happen if her village ever caught up to her.

Lancer Artoria

Artoria looked at Gray with all the confidence and dignity befitting a king. "There are several versions of me running around Chaldea. You are not one of them. The things I left undone and have yet to do are my burden to bear, not yours."

Listening to that calm tone and noting her body language, Gray looked at the floor. She was so shy and timid. "I'm really not like you at all."

"No. You are a failed King Arthur." Artoria put her hand under Gray's chin and tiled her head upward. The look in Artoria's eyes was soft and there was a hint of a smile on her face, "But, you are an exemplary Gray." Artoria dropped her hand. "You need but tend to your own affairs, whatever they may be; I shall handle the rest."

"Pft." A voice under Gray's cloak spoke. "Once and future king my foot!" Gray moved her cloak aside revealing the mystic code, who continued, "Two world wars, Brexit, a handful of pandemics-"

"Rhongomyniad." Artoria's voice was full of authority and her tone carried a warning.

The mystic code fell silent. Gray looked in shock from Add to Artoria. Sheepishly she requested, "I know you'd like me to live for myself, but I'd really like to learn how you did that."

Artoria stifled a chuckle. "I'd be honored to teach you."

"H-Hey!" Add protested. "Don't I get a say in this!?"

Artoria's voice immediately slipped back into its normal deadpan. "No."

Bedivere

Good boy Bedivere is kind, but also acts like the butler she never asked for. She doesn't want to make him feel bad by declining his offers to help her, but it's very strange for her to have someone offering to do things for her. She's kinda used to being the one to run errands and do little tasks. So, instead of accepting his offers, she suggests they do the tasks together instead. They get along well. Bedivere is a people person and conversations come easy to him, which is good since that's not one of Gray's strong suits.

Gawain

Word gets to Gawain that Gray is somehow related to King Arthur. He's kind of excited by this because that means she's his kin too. He's very curious how they're related, but is fairly certain he'll never find out. Documents detailing her family tree either probably don't exist or have been long destroyed. He basically appoints himself her big brother. Of course, he realizes very quickly he can't be rough with her like he was with his brothers/sisters raised to be boys (no wrestling and what not). Luckily, he doesn't have much trouble adapting. He tries to be kind and gentle, but it kinda comes off as weird and creepy?

Gawain: If you ever need a hug, Big Brother Gawain is here. *holds out his arms for emphasis, like he's ready for a hug right now.*

Gray: Oh. Thank you. *is 100% not going to hug him, but appreciates the gesture.*

Lancelot

Okay, so Lancelot had has a body guard crush on Artoria, and this girl is not helping. Sure, he's used to seeing other girls that look like his king running around and acting differently but none of them are this cute(!?). Like, every time Gray's around, he pictures Artoria acting like Gray and then starts smiling like a doofus.

Gray: Sir Tristan, is Sir Lancelot alright? He's had that look on his face for five minutes and he doesn't seem to be aware of anything happening around him.

Tristan: Oh, that's just the face he makes when he's thinking about a pretty girl.

Gray: Are you sure?

Tristan: Yes, he does it a lot; you'll get used to it.

Merlin

Merlin is super torn. Gray is the type that gets flustered pretty easily. People like that are super fun for him to tease, but she also looks too much like Artoria. Every time he looks at her, he's reminded of raising the tiny king until she was five and then popping back in her life to train and advise her. Also, what if he says something lewd to her, she deems him a pervert, and then never speaks to him again!? That would be awful. For now, he'll just treat her the same way he does Saber Lily.

Mordred

Mordred put his hands on his hips. "I don't get why you're bothering with that hood. Do you have any idea how many people here look like father? Nero. Joan of Arc. Okita. Bitch, you ain't special." He noticed Gray turning away from him and decided to switch tactics a bit. "I look just like father too; you think I should hide my face?"

Gray stammered out a, "Well, no-"

"Damn straight I shouldn't." He jerked his thumb towards his face. "This mug is mine. I'm not hiding it anymore, and neither should you."

Gray thought about what Mordred said and slowly removed her hood.

Mordred grinned and slapped her hard on the back a few times. "Look who's balls dropped; good job, kid!"

Tristan

Gray follows Tristan around sometimes, but he doesn't mind. Gawain and Lancelot are acting like complete weirdos, so he's guessing she's just grateful to have found a knight that can act like a normal human being. He's also 100% wrong. Gray is fascinated by Tristan's ability to somehow see with his eyes shut. Her working theory is that he has mystic eyes that let him see through his eyelids and they take such a toll on him they cause him to randomly fall asleep throughout the day. She tags along with him waiting to see some evidence (her experiences with Waver have taught her to always look for proof). Also, Gawain and Lancelot know this, but they're not telling him. Can you blame them? He called them weirdos; they're going to enjoy watching him be wrong!

[housebeleren]

Throne of Eldraine New Commanders

Throne of Eldraine Standard is in full swing, and I know people are already brewing with the new Commanders, but it’s never too late to take a spin and evaluate all the goodies this set brought for the best format.

For this set, most of the Legendary Creatures are monocolor, which isn’t really my thing, but we did get the four Brawl deck Commanders as well, plus the Buy-a-Box, so there are options. Also, since Brawl is now a thing, I’ll mention my thoughts of them for both formats, and touch on the Planeswalkers at the end. Let’s start there:

Might as well start here, right? Normally I don’t love five color commanders, but this one is flavorful enough I’ll give it a pass. There’s a lot you can do here, and it should be trivial to set up some pretty absurd combos with abilities like these. I like that all the abilities can target any player, so you can play this super politically, which is how I would build it if I were to. He works for group hug, and works for combo. The versatility here makes him something very interesting, and I suspect lots of people will try variants.

For Brawl, I think if you’re not building him to be a Happily Ever After deck, what are you even doing?

Moving on to the Brawl commanders, Chulane is the most obviously busted of all of them. There’s just so much you can do with this. He draws you cards, he ramps, he allows you to reuse ETBs. In short, he does it all, and it will be absolutely trivial to create a pretty obscene Simic-based combo deck out of this. It practically screams creature storm, so... that’s a thing. If I were to build him, I’d go hard on Adventures and the “storyteller” theme, which would be jankier, but probably more fun.

In Brawl, he’s really not any less broken, given how powerful Green/Blue is in Standard right now. It’s possible in a year, after the Hydroid Krasis and Frilled Mystic rotate out this won’t be so dumb, but I’m not holding my breath.

Alela seems slightly less broken than Chulane, but that’s not saying much. There are a few ways to go about building this. The first, most obvious, and most annoying, would be to build Esper Stax, which Alela will helpfully help you break parity on by constantly churning out extra tokens. Another direction I’ve heard is Alela Anthems, which probably isn’t that good, but will certainly be funny if it works. There are a lot of good ways to build around her, and that flexibility is good. I will say, however, both Alela and Chulane come across as huge and obvious threats, so do plan for getting hated on with either of these.

The nice thing is that for Brawl, she’s way less insane, but is still really solid. She strikes me as really well balanced for the more restricted format, while still being lots of fun.

Korvold is my favorite of the four Brawl commanders (which is bizarre, given that he doens’t have Blue). What I like about him is that, while he is a clear threat, I actually think people will underestimate him a little bit more, since on the surface he looks just like a big beater. But the real power is in his card draw, and if you can get a steady stream of tokens or sac fodder out, you can draw deep into your deck really quickly. 

Of course, the “intended” direction here is to build him as the Food commander, and that is definitely a thing you can do. But there are tons of other ways to build this, with Red Goblins and Green Saprolings being two of the first ones that spring to mind. Sadly he doesn’t directly synergize with Food Chain, because that would be amazing. 

In Brawl, Food is definitely where you want to be with Korvold.

I’ve gotta say, I really do like how they built these four commanders around four set themes. One of them had to be Knights, and it was bound to be a bit of the odd one out. Honestly, the main thing they needed to do for Syr Gwyn would be to make her a tiny bit smaller and chop off a mana or two. Then she’d be phenomenal. As it is, 6 mana is a huge lift, particularly without Green, though the card draw is very welcome for these colors. 

She strikes me as totally reasonable in Brawl, but will be a little more niche for people who really want to build Knights in regular Commander.

It’s interesting that the only other multicolored general in the set is an Uncommon, but that’s the way it is now that Uncommon Legends are a consistent thing and we’re in a monocolor-focused set. Grumgully has some decent options in commander, but it’s unfortunate you can’t put Murderous Redcap in it for the combo win. My guess is there are better Red/Green commanders, and better +1/+1 commanders but he’s a fun option for a more offbeat deck.

In Brawl, there’s some fun synergy with Gruul Riot creatures from Ravnica Allegiance, but again, I think Grumgully would be better in the 59 rather than at the helm in those builds. Especially since you can run Domri at the helm.

Questing Beast doesn’t feel like most Legendary creatures, but sure enough he is. The likely key if you want to build him in Commander is to try to exploit his “Damage can’t be prevented” ability by making this a turbo Fog deck, since the damage your creatures do will still occur. It’s janky, but people won’t expect it the first time and could lead to some blowouts. Otherwise, he’s just Green stompy. 

For Brawl, he belongs in the deck, not in charge. You have better options for mono Green, and he will be in the deck for all of them.

Rankle isn’t the best mono Black commander out there, but he has some interesting deckbuilding options. The challenge is that he has to connect to be worth anything, but once he does you get a fair amount of utility out of him. I also imagine there will be plenty of EDH decks built around other generals who would be interested in him in the 99.

In Brawl, he’s about as good as any mono Black option, though Ayara is probably a touch better. He’s phenomenal in the deck of my Lazav deck, though.

Ayara is fantastic. She has some stiff competition for the leader of mono Black decks, but I can see her being a reasonable choice. After all, she’s got a win condition and draw power built in, and that’s pretty phenomenal. I’ll certainly be running her in the deck of basically any mono Black deck as well, so I expect to see her a lot.

In Brawl, mono Colors struggle a bit against 2 or 3 color builds, but Ayara is a reasonable choice if you really want to go mono Black. She plays really well with Gutterbones and similar self-reanimators, so there definitely is potential here.

Torbran actually has some potential across the board. In Commander, you have access to Purphoros, which is disgusting when combined with Torbran and any sort of token maker. Kinda no matter what, Torbran will be great either at the helm of or in the 99 of mono Red decks.

In 1v1 Brawl, Torbran is disgusting, and plays out basically just like the Standard Red deck does. He’s probably worse in multiplayer, but is anyone playing multiplayer Brawl? (I’m just playing 1v1 on Arena, so... yeah Torbran is annoying.)

For 100 card Commander, there are way better mono Green options out there. Yorvo is just “go big”, and that doesn’t quite cut it when Elfball and things are possible in the color. I don’t expect him to see much play.

In Brawl, he’s one of the better mono Green creature commanders out there, but there aren’t that many to speak of. Gargos is probably better, but neither are going to be anywhere near as good as Nissa, Who Breaks Formats.

Linden seems like a solid NOPE for Commander. As I’ve mentioned, Righteous Cause isn’t that great of a card, even when you get it in your Command Zone. There might be niche applications for her, but I’m not guessing any major play is likely.

She’s not that much better in Brawl, but she is fun with Ajani’s Pridemate. Problem is, you really want to be in W/B if you’re going to go for lifegain in the current Standard.

Lots of people are hyped about Gadwick, but I’m not guessing he’ll make too many waves. I’d run him in Wizard decks like Azami, and probably pass on him the rest of the time.

Mono Blue is probably the worst mono color in Brawl right now, and having card draw and a creature that can tap things isn’t going to make up for it much. He belongs in several brawl decks, but not leading them.

Emry is pretty much busted in half. Mono Blue Artifact decks already have tons of overpowered options in Commander, and adding Emry to the pile just adds to the insanity. Urza is still probably your best bet, but Emry could be a more fun and more budget way to do something similar.

In Brawl, I’ve seen people attempting Emry decks, but I don’t think they have enough way to close out the game, at least with the current card pool. A few animated artifacts just aren’t going to cut it with the amount of removal and big creatures in the format.

Oh right, we got a cycle of Uncommon Legendary Knights as well. Um... Syr Elinora is probably the worst of the bunch, for both Brawl and Commander. I just don’t see her making a splash in either format.

Syr Alin... has the same problem. He’s really meant for Limited play, and this ability just doesn’t do enough to be interesting in either Commander or Brawl. He’s probably slightly better than Syr Elinora in Brawl, but that’s not saying much.

Honestly, Syr Faren is probably better than Yorvo as a mono Green general, though it still bugs me tremendously that he didn’t follow the 5 CMC cost of the rest of the cycle. Oh, and this is for Brawl. He’s pretty useless in Commander.

Syr Carah provides repeatable impulse draw in a color that doesn’t often get it, so she’s worth looking at. In Commander, there are maybe a few decks where she’d fit in the 99, but 5 mana and without Haste is a lot to ask. In Brawl, I’d run her in most mono Red decks unless I was going super-weenie. But Torbran is your better bet as a general.

And that leaves us with Syr Konrad, and it’s honestly shocking just how much better he is than every other card in the cycle, and many of the Rare Legends as well. Seriously, this ability is so freaking good, even if it is hard to parse. He’s got potential in Commander as a General of some sort of gross mill/Living Death deck, and honestly with enough creatures on the board and in your graveyard, that could win on the spot. I don’t think he’s the best mono Black Legend ever printed, but he builds an interesting deck that’s a little different from a lot of the others, so I like that a lot. And he belongs in the 99 of so many other builds.

In Brawl, I love him in the deck of basically anything that runs Black, and you can get some of the same fun as Commander by casting a massive Finale of Eternity. In Brawl, I might actually run Ayara as the commander more, but Syr Konrad belongs in every Black deck in the format. Period.

Alright, now we move on to the Planeswalkers, since they are technically legal as Brawl commanders. And just like in Standard, Oko is pretty much busted as a Brawl general. In 1v1, you might as well scoop if your opponent lands a turn 1 Gilded Goose to land Oko on turn 2. He’ll be less obscene in multiplayer, where his +1 ability won’t just completely nullify everything you lay down. But he’ll still be great. So, you have a choice. You can build an Oko Brawl deck and understand that literally nobody will enjoy playing against you. Or you can build something else and let other people have fun. Your choice.

Garruk is pretty fantastic. I don’t know if he’s better than Vraska if you’re looking for a Golgari Planeswalker to lead your team, but he will be good. He’s got removal and threats built in, and he’s bound to be great, either as a commander or in the deck of another build.

The Royal Scions are great. Unlike Oko, who is just good and it doesn’t matter what you build, the twins here have a specific deck they work in, so it has to be a little narrower. Which is a good thing. This deck will be a lot of fun, and I think it can flex anywhere from casual to surprisingly powerful. Which is a great place to be for Brawl.

Oh yeah, there’s another Oko. Fortunately, this one is pretty much awful. There’s some potential here for a Simic Ascendancy type of build, which makes this better than it might be. The weird thing, however, is that Oko’s middle ability doesn’t synergize particularly well with his +1, since he’ll be a copy with no counters. It would be way better if he has a -1 that created a token copy of a creature you control, because at least then you could get ETB effects out of them. In any case, I doubt there will be many Oko, the Trickster builds, especially when Thief of Crowns is so ridiculous.

And finally, there’s Rowan on her own. I like that her +1 mimics the second ability on The Royal Scions. Honestly, Torbran is still  the mono Red general of choice, but Rowan isn’t the worst I’ve ever seen. Getting to an Insurrection on her ultimate is game ending, and if you can keep her alive long enough, she generates solid value. Honestly, I’d be curious to see what people do with a Rowan build, but more likely she’d just end up in the deck of some of the mono Red Superfriends decks I’ve seen running around.

So that’s it. All the new Legendary Creatures and Planeswalkers from Throne of Eldraine (and it’s related products). What deck are you going to build?

[balioc]

Talkin’ About Outsiders

Riffing on my recent post:

If you wanted to keep something like the traditional D&D Great Wheel cosmology, and you wanted all the planes on the Wheel and all the various alignment-oriented races of outsiders to be cool and thematic and not-shoehorned-in, what would it look like?  Let’s give it a shot.  Maybe this will be useful someday, if I ever run a planar-savvy D&D campaign.  Or if you do.

Guiding Principles:

* All groups of outsiders should feel narratively resonant.  Players should have an intuitive sense of what they’re about, what role they would play in heroic fantasy stories, etc.  We want to avoid “oh yeah, those guys over in that corner, because of course there have to be some guys over in that corner.”

* Outsiders should feel otherworldly and mystical, like the spirits they are, not like Another Race of Monsters that’s been jammed into a planar role by fiat. 

* Outsiders should strongly reflect their associated alignment, but, like, in a cool way. 

I’m also going to be working with my own personal gut-level sense of how the alignment grid “should” work on a cosmic scale, which suggests that the “corner planes” -- LG, CG, LE, and CE -- are going to be the strongest, most magical, most populated, etc.  In a metaphysical sense, a strong good/evil commitment and a strong law/chaos commitment reinforce each other rather than diluting each other.  In a demographic sense, while in fact the plurality of mortals are TN due to vacillation or apathy, most noteworthy mortals with plane-defining levels of soul power have corner alignments.  In a pragmatic storycrafting sense, three of those four corners are way cooler and better-developed than anything else on the Wheel, so we should probably run with that.  The upshot is that the NG, NE, LN, and CN outsiders can and should be constructed such that they just have less impact on the universe overall.  The in-betweeny planes...well, they’re afterthoughts, we’ll get to them (briefly) but can ignore them for now.

OK.  Diving in:

Chaotic evil demons from the Abyss and lawful evil devils from Hell are being kept, more or less intact.  They’ve gotten more attention than any other planar races, by like an order of magnitude; they’ve got lots of existing lore and monster-design that people know and love; it would be a crime to throw that stuff away.  Fluff should probably try to present them with a somewhat more-philosophical, less-Flanderizing spin than they usually get.  The conceptual heart of demon-ness isn’t “graaaargh kill smash consume defile” (even if that is a popular instantiation), it’s something like “literally nothing matters except my desire and my vision.”  Similarly, devils would benefit from a little less “we’re all legalistic treacherous assholes” (even if many of them are) and a little more “the order of the universe is legitimate, the infernal hierarchy is legitimate, we follow the rules but we play to win.”  But fundamentally these are the creatures you know and love, don’t fix what ain’t broke. 

Neutral evil yugoloths can stay, too, more or less.  They’ve gotten a fair amount of good monster design too, and they’re popular, although I confess that I have no idea why.  A race of fiendish mercenaries who manipulate and prolong the Blood War?  Sure, why not?  I do want to give them a bit more character, though, and not the inexplicable apocalypse-obsessed death-spirit thing from Pathfinder.  Rather: as I understand it, neutral evil as an alignment is mostly about pure selfishness.  It’s not hard to capture the idea of “selfishness” in spiritual cosmic form -- that’s the gaki, the hungry ghost.  Yugoloths should be driven by intense insatiable cravings, presumably with each kind having a different general category of craving.  This will do a lot to define their politics internal and external, the means of treating with them, etc.  (Also, to be clear, “daemon” as an importantly-separate thing from “demon” is very silly and I have no truck with it.)

The collective term for demons, devils, and yugoloths is of course “fiends.”

The lawful neutral outsider race has already been covered in my previous post: that’s the fae.  Inhumanly perfect spirits obsessed with rules, oaths, codes-of-honor, etc.  Dangerous, and certainly not benevolent, but also not inimical to the flourishing of mortals in the way that fiends are.  Hard to understand, as all outsiders must on some level be, but probably easier to deal with than any other spirits if you know the right codes and protocols.  Probably we play down the “capricious nature spirit” thing and play up the bit where they have courts, monarchs, diplomatic ties to Heaven and Hell, etc.

The chaotic neutral race should be...well, something better than the slaadi, that’s for sure.  “They’re infinitely variable and unpredictable, except that they’re all magic frogs who speak in word salad.”  Gee.  Useful for storytelling, that.  I don’t have any super-brilliant ideas here (and am open to suggestions), but I have what I believe to be a good-enough idea: genies.  Proud, wild, tempestuous spirits who treasure their own freedom and dignity above all else.  Binding them can be a road to great power, since they’ll do pretty much anything to escape, but it’s also unbelievably risky.  You can make up some cute lore about their anarchic ad-hoc anything-goes society. 

I’d like to use “angels” as the collective term for good-aligned outsiders, the equivalent of “fiends.”  We could go with “celestials,” I guess, but it’s awkward that the LG plane specifically is (sometimes) called Celestia, and really “angels” has a connotative punch like nothing else. 

Lawful good gets archons.  Yay archons.  Tiered choirs, divine armies, holy holy holy, the whole shebang.  The fluff for these guys could stand to be fleshed out some -- as far as I know it hasn’t been touched since the 3.5e Book of Exalted Deeds, and that version was kinda lame -- but there’s like infinite amounts of Christian angelology lore on which to draw, so I’m not worried.

Neutral good needs something better than guardinals, since “benevolent animal dudes” really had no spiritual resonance at all.  Fortunately we can do some conceptual repurposing here. I think we can just grab the beings that D&D currently calls “angels,” start calling them all “devas” -- even the planetars and solars, which I guess become “planetary devas” and “solar devas” -- and stick them all in NG.  No one really uses them as all-purpose divine servants anyway, as far as I can tell.  They are beings of pure benevolence, protectors and guardians and healers, etc. etc.  Possibly we call the NG plane “Celestia,” to fit with the celestial-objects theme of the devas, and just go with “Heaven” for the LG plane.

And then we come to chaotic good, which is definitely the hardest row to hoe.  CG has a very important spot on the Great Wheel, the CG outsiders need to have something akin to the narrative power of the demons and devils and archons, and...I just don’t think there’s any pre-existing thing that fits the bill.  “Chaotic good” is not the kind of idea that has been traditionally associated with mighty spiritual mysteries, which is probably why all the existing CG outsider races suck so much.  (Seriously, as far as I can tell, it’s always either “we’re elf knights who fight for freedom! but, like, planar!” or “uh, we’re spirits of art and beauty, I guess, sorta?”) We’re going to have to develop these guys from scratch. 

Rather than trying to come up with an “archetypically CG outlook” or something, I think it would make sense to start with an image of their world and society.  This is a good, lovely, beneficent version of the Abyss.  This is a place of tremendous diversity, where outsider lords carve out their own domains according to their own idiosyncratic specifications.  Which means you have, like, a million conflicting little paradises each defined by its own vision.  (But not, like, at war, the way demon lords always are, we’re all very Good here.  Just...different from each other.)  It probably adds up to a sort of hipster’s-vision-of-the-big-city vibe.  You imagine a race of cosmic Manic Pixie Dream Girls, essentially, always flowing into and out of each other’s circles, descending to the Prime Material Plane in order to experience delights / inspire greatness / find adoring mortal fans who will validate their coolness. 

I think it would be a mistake to give these guys a single strong visual theme, the way that the guardinals are “animal people” and the eladrin are “pretty elves.”  They’re a menagerie of weird-but-beautiful monsters, the way that demons are a menagerie of weird-but-ugly monsters.  The race needs a name, but right now I don’t have a good one.

For true neutral outsiders, I think we can just go with elementals and call it a day.  They’re mindless!  They do as they’re commanded, unless they don’t, in which case they have incredibly simplistic urges like “burn” or “flow!” 

The in-between planes -- y’know, Gehenna, the Beastlands, Acheron, etc. -- are cool, in some vague theoretical sense, and I don’t think we should scrap them entirely.  But I also think it’s a mistake to try and give them their own full-fledged native outsider races, to pretend that they’re going to have the same depth of inherent character as the main eight outer planes, etc.  Instead, I suspect it’s best to use them as divine domains.  Because they don’t have powerful native outsider races, they’ve all been taken over by gods.  Exactly which gods live on which ones is a matter of your particular setting’s theology, but it makes a lot of intuitive sense to say “these are the places where you’d expect to find gods by default, a god who lives on one of the main eight planes is doing something kinda weird and probably has a close relationship with the local outsiders.”

[shining-dawn]

Tag game ask meme, oh boy!

@spacemelodies tagged me with these questions, thank you so much!

Here we go:

1) cat’s or dogs? A very hard question, since I like both and am allergic to both. I don’t think I’m active enough for a dog, though. 

2) Favorite inside joke? I haven’t really had a lot of close friends in my life to share jokes with, so not a lot to choose from. Maybe the joke that my current friend group has of using “vore” to mean we are going out to eat together. Or any of various memes. 

3) How tall are you and how tall do you want to be? I’m around 5′6″ -ish, but for much of my childhood and adolescence I was short, so I still can’t get used to being rather average height. Sometimes I’d like to be really tall, and sometimes it feels weird to not be short and I want to be smol again. 

4) Do you want kids? If so, how many? This is also really hard, as I don’t think I would be a good parent, I’m not good at commitment, and I can’t really imagine devoting that much of my life to another person, but I also think I could be a very good influence on children, I am fairly emotionally healthy, and sometimes I think I could teach and raise children well. I really like the idea of having that sort of lasting impact, of being important to another person and contributing to something that will outlive me, but I also don’t get along with some age ranges. So, it’s hard to say. 

5) Dream Vacation? I’m sort of dull when it comes to vacations. Most of my life is online or in my head, but I kinda like sight-seeing. There are lot’s of places I’ve heard about that have made me think “I want to go there,” and I’ve always liked the idea of going to Paris, and of traveling in general, but if I don’t have anything to do, I’d probably just sit in my hotel room doing exactly what I do at home. It would have to be a vacation that gives me something to do. Maybe a cruise? Those have lots of things to do, right? 

6) Favorite movie? God, I have such a hard time picking favorites! I like a lot of things, and ranking my adoration is so hard. I like Doctor Strange, I like Stardust, I like Frozen and Moana, I like Song of the Sea and Harry Potter. How can I quantify my admiration of Black Panther over The Princess and the Frog? How can I compare The Departed to The Dark Knight or The Martian? I laughed at both Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Guardians of the Galaxy. I almost cried at both Wall-E, Wonder Woman, and some of the newer Star Wars. The Star Trek and Lord of the Rings movies sent my heart racing and Stranger than Fiction sent my heart fluttering. I even liked the new Death Note movie. And don’t even get me started on Musicals! 

If you want a recommendation for something you probably haven’t seen, I suggest Stranger than Fiction. 

7) What’s your aesthetic? I have to pick just one? Uuuummmmm does cyber-druid count? Arson in a Coffee Shop AU? How about Azorious? Minimalist Cathedral? I like baroque-esque filligree swirls, but I don’t like visual overstimulation. I like things mystical and otherworldly, but I also like having a clear thing to pay attention to. I like things sleek and stylish, but also visually interesting. I like things that flow gently, and I like the spontaneous strike of a lightning bolt. Sometimes I’m in the mood for shadows crawling up the wall, sometimes I want something that make you feel safe and peaceful just by looking at it. 

If you’re looking for how I actually dress and decorate, my aesthetic is gremlin/starving artist. I literally pick out my clothes in the dark. 

8) If you could instantly be fluent in any language, which one would you pick? For practicality, I would like to say Spanish or Chinese, or even English, lol. For less logical reasons, I would have to choose between French, Japanese, German, Swedish, Italian, Greek, or Welsh. 

9) Favorite Pokemon? The, uh, the cute one. Zoidburg. 

In all seriousness, most of what I know of pokemon comes from Cultural osmosis and Pokemon GO. I wasn’t able to play a lot of video games as a kid, so sue me. That being said, I’ve always had a thing for Ampharos, and I really like Dratini/Dragonair and Milotic. 

10) What’s your best childhood memory? Damn, this is hard, I have a really bad memory, I don’t remember much of anything unless something reminds me of it. And, I also have no idea where to draw the line for “childhood.” I don’t know if I should still call myself a child, to be honest. I remember some Holidays, and I remember staying up late watching a meteor shower. I remember a few times when I realized particular people were my friend, and I remember the moments when I realized I had drifted apart from them. As I type this, it feels like tons of little bits of memory are swimming about, just out of reach of my mind, constantly in danger of drifting too far away and being lost forever, but maybe, just maybe, if I had a little push in one direction or another, I might reach one and start to be able to piece something together, but they’re all just a bit to far, I’m a bit to slow. I don’t remember. 

11) If you could have any super power, what would you have? What counts as a superpower? Not omnipotence, right? 

It’s a very tough call, but I think I would like the ability to be in multiple place at the same time. There are lot’s of things I might want more, but those would all be to OP or too vague/multifaceted to be called super powers. 

Well, it got a little deep there for a moment, but we’ve made it through! that was fun. We should do this again some time. Always remember, you can always send me an ask about anything. Anyway, now it’s time for me to tag 11 more people with 11 more questions. @gaypurplecat @anxya,@bisexual-beleren @somonymous @arianaisdead @flamestoember @huskywarian @fangirl39 @wlwsheratdp @sleepyowlet @prodigy-of-vryn and anyone else who wants to join in, you all are up. Your questions are: 

1. Does arguing make you upset? 

2. Do you tend to make or follow decisions in your friend group? 

3. Do you have any serious regrets that you would change if you could? 

4. Pancakes or waffles? 

5. Do you get over fights easily? 

6. Do you subscribe to any superstitions? 

7. What genre of music do you listen to most often right now? 

8. What generation would you describe yourself as belonging to? 

9. What’s the nerdiest thing you’ve done that you can remember. 

10. Do you notice yourself forming judgement about people when you do? 

11. Do you know the technical definition of introvert and extrovert? 

Feel free to ignore and/or omit any questions you aren’t comfortable with. Cheers!