#so we must carry on

[quicktimeeventfull]

great news tumblr did that thing again where it stole one of my posts so i fully expect that in two weeks time you’ll all randomly get a half finished and poorly thought out 1AM vent post on your dash. please anticipate.

[s4ndg3m]

hear me out on scag x split guys. they both start with "s" it's practically canon.

[blasphemousclaw]

a deep dive into Rykard’s belief system

We all know that Rykard wants nothing more than to devour the very gods… but Rykard had despised the gods long before he ever became the serpent of blasphemy. Within dialogue and item descriptions, you’ll notice many details that indicate Rykard had quite specific grievances against the gods during the Shattering war and before. It was his audacious campaign against the gods that won him the loyalty and admiration of his soldiers: we meet the spirit of a Gelmir knight in Volcano Manor who tells us, “Praetor Rykard's ambitions, though blasphemous, marked him a worthy sovereign.” Though he was despised by many as a traitor and a blasphemer, Rykard’s beliefs before his devouring were seen by his followers as heroic and worth following. Let’s go through what those specific beliefs were according to the text, and why he might have believed those things…

When we officially join the Volcano Manor, Tanith gives us this speech about Rykard’s beliefs: 

“Now, perhaps the time has come to tell you. Of the true ruler of this manor, Lord Rykard. The Erdtree blessed the Tarnished with grace. But it was all too meagre, in the fate of the enormity of their task. The Tarnished were forced to scavenge, squabbling for crumbs. Like the shardbearers, vying for power in the wake of the Shattering. Our Lord, indignant, had refused. To scurry about, fighting over what miserly scraps they allow us. If the Erdtree, and indeed the very gods, would debase us so, then we are willing to raise the banner of resistance, even if it means heresy. We at the Volcano Manor, under Lord Rykard, have sworn no rest until it is done.”

Essentially, Tanith recounts to us Rykard’s view of the Shattering war: the demigods are compelled to struggle against each other for the ultimate seat of power. However, this struggle exists at the behest of the gods, and is for the power that they see fit to grant. The war is fundamentally under their terms. To “win” the conflict is still to serve the whims of the Greater Will. This is what Rykard finds so deeply insulting… the gods treat them like dogs fighting over scraps of meat from their high table that they can never reach. So why should Rykard engage in petty conflicts for the gods’ miserly scraps of power, when he can raise his banner against the very gods themselves? 

Displayed on the walls of Volcano Manor are these paintings depicting the Erdtree aflame, visualizing Rykard’s intentions to destroy the gods in a very literal and direct way: he has declared war on all that is holy. He has accepted the fact that in order to achieve his goals, he must carry out such grievous acts of violence: “The road of blasphemy is long and perilous. One cannot walk it unprepared to sin.” (Remembrance of the Blasphemous)

From the Taker’s Cameo, we learn that,

“When lord Rykard turned to heresy, taking by force became the rule. The gods were no different, after all.”

This description tells us a few things. Essentially, under Rykard’s worldview, “might makes right.” This philosophy is continued by the recusants of Volcano Manor as well: Bernahl tells us, “The strong take. Such is our code.” If one is strong enough to take what they wish, then they are entitled to it. Rykard believes that this is how the gods have always operated (and with good reason… more on this later). From Tanith’s speech, we know that Rykard resents the gods’ absolute authority… so essentially, Rykard making a point of imitating the gods’ displays of power is asserting that the gods have no special right to do these things – he is challenging their monopoly on power and violence. He also imitates the gods’ own practices to expose their hypocrisy: though the gods present themselves as virtuous, in reality, they have always taken what they pleased through violent conquest. 

We know that Rykard was allied with his sister Ranni (herself on a quest against the gods) through the Blasphemous Claw item description. It reads,

“On the night of the dire plot, Ranni rewarded Praetor Rykard with these traces. Should the coming trespass one day transpire, they would serve as a last-resort foil, allowing Rykard to challenge Maliketh the Black Blade, the black beast of Destined Death.”

The main takeaway from this description is that, since the description implies that Rykard had some involvement (or at the very least, knowledge of) the Night of the Black Knives, Rykard and Ranni closely shared their beliefs on the gods with each other. The phrase “Should the coming trespass one day transpire” even seems to imply that the two had hoped they might openly “trespass” against the gods, culminating in Rykard challenging Maliketh.  

Furthermore, Rogier gives us some pertinent details on the timeline of the Night of the Black Knives:

“It happened during the Golden Age of the Erdtree, long before the shattering of the Elden Ring. Someone stole a fragment of the Rune of Death from Maliketh, the Black Blade. And on a bitter night, murdered Godwyn the Golden. That was the first recorded Death of a demigod in all history. And it became the catalyst. Soon, the Elden Ring was smashed, and thus sprang forth the war known as the Shattering.”

Since Rogier’s dialogue places Ranni’s collaboration with Rykard before the Shattering, this means that there must be more to the story that Tanith tells us in her speech – Rykard’s resentment of the gods and his blasphemous intentions go back long before the Shattering war. 

This line from Rykard’s unused dialogue lines may give some context to the source of his beliefs… take this with a grain of salt because it is technically not canon, but I believe it is worth mentioning: he says,

“Oh shapers of gods, meddlers in fortune, I do not abide by your suffocating order.”

With the phrases “shapers of gods” and “meddlers in fortune,” he must be speaking directly to the Two Fingers (the envoys of the Greater Will) here, because this is precisely what the Two Fingers do. According to Ranni, they are responsible for choosing empyreans to become potential new gods of the coming age, and because they do this, it can also be said that they “meddle” with fortune and fate. This was the source of Ranni’s entire feud with the Two Fingers — they controlled her fate through her “empyrean flesh.” For these reasons, as well as the reasons listed in the previous paragraphs, it makes sense why Rykard might consider the current order to be oppressive and “suffocating.” 

I also believe it is implied that, when Rykard refers to “the gods,” he specifically means the Greater Will and its vassals. Indeed, Bernahl calls out the Greater Will directly by name:

“O Greater Will, hear my voice. I am the recusant Bernahl, inheritor of my brother's will, and you will fall to my blade. We refuse to become your pawns. Consider this fair warning.”

Bernahl’s words interestingly echo Ranni’s experience with the Greater Will as a force that controls fate — it is a fair assumption to make that Bernahl came to hold these beliefs about the Greater Will because Rykard passed them onto his followers after learning them from Ranni. And lo and behold, Bernahl turns up in Farum Azula near Maliketh, carrying the Blasphemous Claw, which Ranni gave to Rykard for him to use “should the coming trespass one day transpire.” Before leaving, Bernahl tells us,

“the Volcano Manor is no more. Though we may yet fulfil an old promise. We hunted our own kind, and took what was theirs. And with everything in hand, the time has come to rise, against the Erdtree.”

Perhaps this “old promise” could have been a promise Rykard made to Ranni, to challenge Maliketh, release the Rune of Death, and destroy the Erdtree once and for all?

If we accept the idea that Ranni’s struggle against the Two Fingers caused Rykard to resent the gods on her behalf, then there are plenty of other instances of the gods causing Rykard’s family misery that might have also shaped his beliefs. Rykard cared enough about his mother to place two of his abductor virgins at Raya Lucaria to guard her, and the descriptions for some of his magma sorceries imply that she was an inspiration to him in the ways of sorcery. It is a fair assumption that Rennala’s suffering would have upset him, and the cause of her suffering was Radagon’s departure… who immediately wed the god-queen Marika, and founded Golden Order Fundamentalism. Rykard could have interpreted this as Radagon choosing the gods over them. It is also stated by the telescope item description that the Golden Order was the direct cause of Caria’s decline: “During the age of the Erdtree, Carian astrology withered on the vine. The fate once writ in the night skies had been fettered by the Golden Order.” Though the Erdtree made peace with Caria, it still ended up eroding its strength anyway. Radagon’s departure would have also reopened old wounds from when he originally came to conquer Liurnia: his bond with Rennala that once made peace between the Erdtree and the moon has now been broken, calling into question the Erdtree’s true intentions. 

Indeed, the intentions of the realm of the Erdtree have always been characterized by violent conquest; the desire to expand and the elimination of potential threats to its rule. Rykard would have known of his father’s attempts to conquer Liurnia, as well as Queen Marika’s extermination of the fire giants, who were Rykard’s astrologer ancestors’ neighbors (a bond enshrined within the Carian royals’ Sword of Night and Flame). To return to Rykard’s “might makes right” mindset, I believe his time as the head of the inquisition and an enforcer of Erdtree law taught him the true nature of the gods’ power: he would have brutally enforced the laws of the Golden Order and punished those who did not follow its creeds, and would thus have become intimately familiar with the harsh nature of carrying out the order of the Erdtree. Rykard learns that the gods must protect their rule through terror and violence, so the idea of the gods’ benevolence and divine right to rule is in truth, a farce. The one truth in the world is that the strong command the weak, and in order to avoid being commanded, one must become strong. By any means necessary. 

To summarize, Rykard’s beliefs are essentially that the gods position themselves as virtuous and holy beings, but in reality, they administer their absolute authority through force and violent conquest, undermining the free will of their subjects. They are the worst kind of hypocrites, and the only way to end their tyranny is to rise in rebellion, using their own ways against them, no matter how high the price may be. Through a deeper examination of the narrative, I believe it is heavily implied that Rykard came to hold these beliefs because of his experiences serving the gods himself, and feeling the gods’ injustice firsthand through how the ones he loved had been treated.

[herefortheships]

I recently saw a gifset of Delores stapling herself together, and while that ofc was a very hot scene...

... am I being weird for thinking that alive!Betel having the strength to cleave her head through to the collarbone - and her torso from her hips, and cut through both thighs etc, all while dying of poison - is also pretty, uh, impressive? Shows some serious upper body strength. I guess lifting dead bodies every night to search them for valuables is a great workout.

Not weird at all. That does require some impressive strength, now that you mention it! He was definitely strong while alive. Rage is also known to boost strength and so is adrenaline, and our poor Betel had both surging through his body at that moment, too.

Great natural strength plus all that rage and the boost of adrenaline, as the realization of his own imminent death set in, allowed him to exact revenge as his final act in the most gruesome way: hacking his murderer into pieces. Hopefully it gave him some satisfaction to slice her, too; she deserved it after using him only to kill him and steal his soul! She didn't get to complete her ritual; stopping her from taking his soul and completing her ritual added to Betelgeuse's motivation there, as well.

Great observation, btw. 🖤

[active-mind-15]

Went on a super deep dive through old reblogs and found this post that had a picture of an official cutout of Bokushi on Murasakibara's shoulders that I totally forgot about until today 🧎🏿‍♀️🧎🏿‍♀️🧎🏿‍♀️

[rileys-battlecats]

my problem is that i love my ocs and want them to be happy. but. i am a tragedy enjoyer at heart

[yeah-thats-probably-it]

Oh shit, a new Jeeves exclamation mark to add to my Jeeves exclamation mark collection! I only had three! I completely forgot about this one, or more likely never saw it because I listened to the audiobook.

So that’s four exclamation marks I know of so far, three of which occur in the context of Jeeves trying to get a potential fiancée away from Bertie. Much to think about

[worstloki]

people just ignore Thor was a feral child, huh? like his life goal was probably to demolish another race at age 12 and he was probably begging to go to war and attempted to murder their father for not letting him via telepathy that he didn't have.

[thenegoteator]

👀!!

more colour/lighting practice!

[volivolition]

any updates about your fics?? :0

(pls don’t feel pressured to respond to this if you’re busy!!)

!! hello anon :3!! <333

ive been writing a specific part for Unstoppable Force, where volition and harry talking to each other. and oh holy shit this fucking conversation is like!!! YEAH it's in character and i know what to write, but it hurts so fucking bad to actually write it, help me hgkjg

while the volition and electrochemistry thing is the main plot, on the side there's also kim who just transferred precincts, and harry who has a crush on him. and the kim/harry parallels to volition/echem... "i'm putting up a front of reserved responsibility and i have to repress any emotion that could compromise my commitment to my duties." immovable object and "i feel like the worst kind of mess and i want to get better but i don't know if i deserve to be helped or loved because im a mess." unstoppable force :']

but VOLITION IS STILL A SKILL, SO HE'S ADVISING HARRY WITH THIS PERSPECTIVE. so when harry says "kim shouldn't like me, huh?" then volition (who is projecting himself and echem onto kim and harry's relationship) swallows and says, "you're right. kim shouldn't like you, and if he does, he feels like he's making a mistake. he probably wants - more than anything in the world - to stop feeling that way, and for you to stop feeling that way about him."

and harry (who is taking this literally because he doesn't know what's happening between voli and echem) sadly agrees "yeah. liking me will probably get in the way of his work. he shouldn't want to love me, that just... wouldn't make sense for him. im only making him worse."

BOYS. ITS A FEEDBACK LOOP. ITS AN ECHO CHAMBER. YOU'RE ONLY FUELING EACH OTHER'S ISSUES. STOP STOP STOP HGJKG

[thatfanfictionchick]

You're supposed to panic at the disco

╔═══°∴,*⋅✲══〖✰〗══✲⋅*,∴°═══╗

Epel and Leona

Rating: Everyone

Warnings: Panic attack;

Word count: 734

Notes: So yeah @insertsomthinawesome had yet again clobbered me with feels with a Whumptober piece that has languished in my drafts. Enjoy!

╚═══°∴,*⋅✲══〖✰〗══✲⋅*,∴°═══╝

They had a joint lesson with the upperclassmen and Epel just wanted it to be over. Everyone else in his class always got so nervous, especially if it was a day Leona bothered to show up, and it had a way of getting on Epel’s nerves. Maybe it was because he was in the Spelldrive club and knew firsthand that Leona was way more bark, er, roar, than bite, but he got secondhand embarrassment watching the other freshman fall over themselves trying not to do anything that might be considered even slightly offensive.

The delicate melody of breaking glass drew his attention. Michael, another freshman, was clutching his hands to his chest and backing away from Leona with fear etched in every line of his face. It was pitiful, and Epel waited for Leona to say as much, but the words never came. In fact Leona was oddly still and quiet, his unfocused eyes staring at his hands. Epel shoved his lab supplies onto the closest table and moved closer, his concern quickly mounting. “Leona?” he said softly. Leona flinched, a low growl erupting sharply from his throat that made several students nearby scurry away. Epel paused and stared. Leona was trembling from head to foot, his ears pinned back and sweat beading on his forehead. He was still staring, confused and unresponsive, at his shaking hands. “Leona,” Epel took a slow step forward, holding his own hands out palms up. “Look at me?”

Finally he got the housewarden’s attention. Epel gently took one of Leona’s shaking hands in his own. “Can ya come with me?” He led Leona out of the classroom, away from the murmuring crowd, and into the hallway. Fortunately it was easy enough to get Leona to sit on a bench. He was still shaking, his body painfully tense and his breathing rapid. “It’s okay,” Epel said quietly. He kept hold of Leona’s hand. “Ah’ll stay with ya until ya feel better.”

What was the matter with him? Leona didn’t know, and that made him feel all the worse. His heart was pounding so hard. You never really think about your heart beating. You don’t feel it. Except he was feeling it. And he could feel how hard he was clenching his teeth. His back hurt from how tense his muscles were and as the seconds ticked by he realized he was probably holding onto Epel’s hand way too tight but Epel wasn’t complaining.

It seemed to take ages until he was calm enough to take a deep breath, until the roaring in his ears that distorted all the other sounds abated. Suddenly instead of feeling stiff his whole body felt too limp and he tried to shake the fog out of his head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he muttered. He’d never wanted a nap more in his life than at that moment.

Epel chewed on his bottom lip and responded slowly. “Ah think yer havin’ a panic attack.”

“I’m inclined to agree.” Epel jumped. Leona was one thing, but how he didn’t notice Professor Crewel standing next to them was downright shameful. With a flick of his magic pen Crewel had their labwear replaced with their uniforms before fixing Epel with a sharp look. “Felmier, escort Kingscholar to the nurse’s office.” His gaze slid to Leona and though his eyes may have softened the tiniest bit his voice remained firm. “It is not a request.”

“Sure.” Leona was beyond tired. He was completely drained, an unshakable exhaustion settling into his body. He didn’t have it in him to put up a fight right now, even if he’d wanted to. He got to his feet feeling unsteady but shrugged it off; tails were useful like that. He shoved his hands into his pockets and waited for Epel to stand and lead the way.

“Leona.” As he went to walk by Crewel stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “The mind is just as important as the body. There’s no shame in taking care of yourself.”

“Right.” Leona mumbled. He knew it was true, but that didn’t disperse the uncomfortable knot in his chest. From up ahead Epel offered him a small smile.

“We’ll get you through this, Leona.” Suddenly Epel’s face split into a wide grin, his eyes bearing a certain country-wild glare. “And ah’ll punch the snot outta anybody who gives ya a hard time!”

[mylowmilo]

It always baffles me when I play a round of Salmon Run and we lose and one player has like, only 2 golden eggs and only a hundred or couple hundred regular eggs, while the rest of us are at like 12-15 and 400-500. Like. What were you DOING that whole time? Clearly not crowd control and not earning us any points! Were you just dead the whole time? Were you running away from everything instead of splatting them as they spawned? How the heck did you make it up to Eggsecutive VP?

[homehauntsyou]

what did you most recently celebrate and how has it impacted you?

ooh uh in a small way my half birthday was yesterday !!! kind of silly but it meant a lot that I made it there & was able to take a moment and recognize it for what it was (these past six months have been a bit rough) :) in a bigger way ! tonight two friends and i watched sonic 3 (absolutely awful but also somewhat entertaining) and then sat a mcdonald’s parking lot to watch the ball drop and though it sounds kind of anticlimactic it was a really great way to bring in the new year <3 it means a lot that i was able to celebrate it with them because they are really like my brothers and there was really no pressure to have to feel a certain way or anything and yeah. new years usually makes me so anxious but it wasn’t so bad ! i think i am just feeling so much love rn !!! and feeling a bit hopeful too :)

[moe-broey]

HEARTBREAKING

Worst Dad You Know Has an Extremely Endearing (Now) Reoccurring Character Trait

For further context: this whole FB involved Sharena and Henriette seeking out lockpickers in the Order of Heroes to open this VERY SECURELY locked box from Gustav's room that took Tina's special staff to finally crack open (or rather -- "steal" the contents out of. No one could actually break the lock!)

And the first instance of this!

It makes me wonder if he saved anything related to Sharena..........

[goldenjuniper]

my acid reflux and my anxiety are teaming up to see how much they can upset my stomach im gonna aggghhh

[princeanon]

As a treat, here’s an excerpt from a WIP Bencutio fanfic that’s been in my notes app for a few months

It was a well known fact that Benvolio Montague did not enjoy parties. The noise, crowds, and thick scent of perfume and wine buzzed under his skin and made his head swim more than alcohol ever could.

Of course, being an unofficial heir to the Montague family (second only to Romeo) meant that his presence at party after party was not just welcome, but required.

So he would smile through the noise, the crowds, and the adults who were supposed to be securing a future for their families, but instead stumbled about with alcohol on their breaths. However, that didn’t mean he would enjoy it.

Which brought Benvolio to his current situation; he had somehow found himself at yet another party. The only difference? This was a party he was certainly NOT welcome at.

On any other day, level-headed Benvolio prided himself on his rational thinking, and would not have even considered sneaking into a Capulet masquerade without proper disguises, or at all.

That being said, Romeo had cranked his moping level to a new extreme recently, and had spent the entire morning walking aimlessly around town with a storm cloud above his head. He desperately needed a distraction, Benvolio desperately needed him to stop complaining, and well, maybe Benvolio could use the distraction too.

“Figured I’d find you here.”

Is it just a retelling of I.v but gayer? Yes. Anyway I’m like, 2/3rds done with it so maybe it’ll go on ao3 eventually