#some of them befell tragedy before they could

[psychiatricwarfare]

im tired of everyone using screencaps of skins for mentally ill edits & never seeing any for recovery (despite that being about Half of each gen's story) so imma have to start making skins recovery edits my damn self

[toomanyideasandfandoms]

Can you do kaeya for death seeking creator please?

Oh I absolutely can! I apologize if how I characterize him is inaccurate. But I hope you enjoy it either way!!

Typical death warnings here, plus some possible psychological horror from Kaeya's perspective? Idk

News of imposters had been sprouting up frequently within the confines of the bar, it seems that's what most talk about lately. Kaeya never paid much mind to it as he felt the topic of such gruesome punishments that befell them were inappropriate to drink to. Though with a more hazy mind he would call himself a hypocrite, as he also would be in agreement for those who defiled the Primordial Mother's image to receive such punishments.

But as of now he had a clear mind, obversing everything he can as he looked down at the dirty individual before him. They're eyes were wide in fear, hands clutching onto the grass below as if ready to run any second. It was clear they were terrified, thinking their life was about to end. And while he would happily will it, he has a more...humane method in ridding the world of such heretics.

"My, you look a bit worn-out. Do you need any help?" He asked, pitching his voice to give off the false concern he wished to show. He reaches out his hand in help, his smile just barely there. He can see them hesitate, very much in disbelief at his 'kindness'. He couldn't blame them, no one would be kind to someone as disgusting as them. "Let's find some shelter you can use. I have some preserved slabs of meat to cook up, as I'm sure you're hungry."

A growl from their stomach answers him, causing him to laugh from the sheer predictability of these people. He gently guides them towards a safer area, ignoring the shine in their eyes as they followed. He sets up a tent and a cooking fire easily, refusing to let them help him.

As the meal cooks he asks the imposter before him what their situation was, only half listening as they prattled on about them not being at fault and they were just born that way. Something he has heard before from the recountings of others who have come across such vial people as this one. He responds with feigned sympathy, telling them how sorry he was for the tragedies they faced.

Once the food was finished he gave them a large helping, saying they needed all the food they could get if they wished to find another safe place somewhere else. He was able to hold in his expression when the dirty individual gave their thanks, looking at him as if he was some savior. In some way he was, he would delude to himself sometimes, for he would give then this false hope before they were to close their eyes for the final time.

As the sun was setting over the horizon, Kaeya grinned as the imposter yawned loudly. Their eyes drooped as a hazy look settled over, before falling over to snooze against the dirt below. The sleep potion had worked wonders, as he knew it would. Carefully picking them up, he gently placed them a few meters away from the campsite, as to not get blood on his equipment.

Taking his sword in hand, he presses it against their throat, watching them shiver in their sleep as the cool metal touched their skin. He studies their face, fascinated in how it was a one to one recreation of the god who not only gave him and everyone life, but that also guided him guided throughout his years.

"Apologies my friend." He says in a whisper, with only the wind to hear. "At least you got to go in peace."

And with a quick and precise movement, he turns away as to not watch their disgusting blood seep into the grass. He walked back over to his camp, not bothering to bury the dead creature. As he looked up at the stars twinkling in the sky, he couldn't help but wonder if the Primordial Mother above was watching.

-

News of the Primordial Mother's return spread faster than any other imposter rumor had ever done. It was all anyone could talk about these days, no matter the conversation their god was always brought up. The church was bustling as many patrons were quick to pray and give offerings for when the creator would appear in Mondstadt.

Even Kaeya himself was cheerier as he watched the people around him buzz in excitement. Though it seemed to be growing a bit too much for him, as he decides to patrol outside the city for the sake of some quietness.

As he strolled towards Windrise he could feel the strong breeze, as if even Barbatos himself was celebrating. Arriving at the tree that symbolizes the old hero of Mondstadt, he looks around to take in the sights. A bit further away he could see a small patch of flowers that bloomed brighter than any other he's seen, he recalls that area was familiar but decided to held no importance.

His thoughts are quick to stop as he hears the snap of a twig, alerting him to something nearby. He quickly materializes his sword and points it in the direction of where he heard the sound, surprised to find a dirty and unkempt individual. Their hair was overgrown and matted, covering their face fully from his view. Their clothes were ripped, barely covering their form and making their golden scars apparent.

His eyes narrowed as he takes in their form, dissecting them with his gaze. He doesn't feel anything threatening from them, but a knight must always be cautious. Keeping his sword at his side, he addresses them. "My, you look a bit worn-out. Need any help?"

The person doesn't respond, they only stood there. They swayed side to side a bit, causing him to worry to them being injured. He takes a step forward, still cautious as to what movement they could use. "Are you alright?"

They still don't respond, a sense of dread enters Kaeya as he slowly moves forward. Just as he reaches out to brush their hair out of their face, they jump forward. Surprised he quickly swings his sword, causing them to scream as they fall to the ground in pain. Every nerve in his body was on high alert, his instincts telling him something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

He attempts to calm himself down, not fully believing what just happened. But the person lunges at him again, making him swing his weapon once more to slice against them. They scream in agony, drops of shining gold landing onto the grass below.

This wasn't right, nothing in this situation was right. This person, this...thing, it couldn't be bleeding the blood of the Primordial Mother. They were supposed to be graceful, elegant, clean, purity itself. Yet the figure in front of them was screaming like a beast wishing for death, it was horrifying.

"Just do it?" He hears them mumble, confusing him even more.

"Wha-"

"Just do it! Kill me again like you've done before!" They raged, their fierce gaze keeping him frozen in place. "I know your methods! The one time I thought someone was on my side, you killed me in my sleep!"

He killed them? He killed the Primordial Mother before? Nothing they said made sense. He would never have killed them. Never!

That imposter he ended ages ago, that wasn't them! There's no way! No one should have the ability to kill a god! Less of all the one who created everything!

This can't be!

It just can't be!

They lunge once more, every thought in his body screamed at him to move. If they get him they'll hurt him! So with the scream of confusion, rage, sorrow, any emotion he couldn't decipher, he swings his blade down for the final time that day.

As he watches them writhe in pain, he realizes he wasn't breathing. He grips at his chest, feeling his heart try to burst out. He drops to the ground on his knees, watching as their body withers into ash and flies off into the wind.

What had he done?

[what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me]

Some headcanons I have about King Dedede, Captain Vul, and their species!

Many, many millions of years before the tragedy that befell the dinosaurs, alien researchers tried to study them, and did not plan for their escape from the research facility, and eventual takeover of the planet! Through many years of adaptation to the new planet, you see the feathers and bird-like feathers we know and love in King Dedede and others!

This is related to my OC Sir Meteor, who you can vote for here ! 💫🦖☄️

Transcript + More below the cut below

Vestigial tail + spikes

A far cry from the reptile tails of old, the tails of current day are stubby with little movement, and in a few generations will likely be completely gone.

These guys are descendants of dinosaurs! The tails had been used for mobility, balance, but especially fighting. This connotation created ripples in the culture of what the vestigial tail means for avians, no matter how stubby and useless it is in present day! Since hollow bones had started to emerge in the species, anything that could possibly crush them is considered taboo, including showing off tails freely. A lot of them pretend they don’t exist!

Prehensile feathers

The feathers at the tip of the wings are modified fingers that can grab! If you were to push back the feathers, you would even see vestigial talons that are either too small to be any threat, or kept trip for proper appearance. All of the avians have thumb-like digits as well, but their grip is not a precise as our own.

Avians of high social standing often commission and wear enchanted gloves to aid with their weak grip, and it is why Dedede isn’t seen with his feathers and can use his hammer!

Spines + tail usually covered up

For this study, I focused on just the bodies themselves, but i wanna delve deeper into the culture they have! In particular clothing is important. They usually keep their tail and spines covered up for modesty and cultural norms—the spines are seen as weapons and only shown when living a life of battle! Even Dedede who gets into fights often doesn’t want to show them, but there is exceptions. The gray star warrior having their tail out is due to the position they have in the army. They dedicate their life to a battle. Other factors include needing high mobility! Some avians in gymnastics or on rescue teams, and other professions where mobility is essential are exempt from this rule, but they often have a robe or cover-up when not performing the task.

For Dedede: adapted to be a water-type bird, has flippers and webbed feet, and is unable to fly. His eyes are bigger than normal for the purpose of being able to see in dark waters with barely any light, although the trade off is his long distance vision leaves much to be lacking. His choice of hammer as a weapon is barely any thought to us, but a taboo one in avian society. His distance from any others of his kind is in part due to his refusal to put it down.

For Vul: he is a an avian capable of flight!! This is a rarer trait. He feels at home in the sky, and his eyes even in his old age are unparalleled to anyone else in his crew. Vul, like dedede, normally covers his tail, especially because even though he lives a life of battle, he is rather old fashioned and does not want to admit it, despite being captain to a crew of knights.

For the Star Warrior: a unnamed individual who would turn heads if they walked on their home planet looking like that. Metal armor in of itself is unusual because most avians hate to weight themselves down too much to fly, even if they aren’t a flying type. Under the helmet they have a bright red crest, and for the long legs I based them off of a Sandhill Crane. Their long legs are the best example of another trait I didn’t get to touch on yet: these guys have feathers covering the legs! Where in real life birds usually have scales, these guys have a gene which gives them feathers everywhere but the feet. Similar to silkie chickens or pigeons with muffs!

Most of these guys have some kind of feathered crest above their eyes! It helps keep sun and water out of their face, similar to eyebrows.

Page 2: a doodle comic with the story of how avians were created, along with a visual of them being somewhere between a dinosaur and bird

I have more but MAN this is getting too long

[morverenmaybewrites]

Imagine Wayne Manor as a Haunted House (Bruce Wayne x Reader)

Been thinking about Wayne Manor.

What it would be like as a haunted house, and Bruce Wayne cursed as its last living heir.

Imagine Wayne Manor as a haunted house, its great stone walls overgrown by twisting kudzu vines, its hallways creaking with the weight of all the tragedy that had befallen the Wayne family tree.

In an upstairs bathroom, a leaky faucet drips water like tears. A strange stain darkens the bottom of the tub, where one of Bruce's ancestors had drowned herself after the loss of her lover.

No one ever uses that bathroom, yet there are days when Bruce can hear running water. And he would feel a grief so profound that it would leech all of the color out of the sky.

And he would remind himself, with renewed determination, of all the terrible fates that befell anyone who has loved a Wayne.

Imagine Wayne Manor as a haunted house, older perhaps, than Gotham itself. Where the walls are overrun by kudzu vines, the fat purple clusters of their flowers all but hiding the weathered stone.

Except, perhaps, in the East Wing, where even the vines do not grow. The walls remain blackened, the windows cracked and warped. Here, there once lived an heir who thought that he could outlast the curse. Or perhaps he believed that there was no curse at all.

He had held the wedding on the grounds itself—ignoring the way the grass twisted around his bride's ankles like starving rats—and moved her into the East Wing that very night.

One would hope that they were happy in the week before the fire. Where the heat was so intense that it blackened the Manor's stone walls and the smoke that rose from it blotted out the sky.

One would hope they died instantly, suffocated in their sleep before they even knew what would happen.

And yet, Bruce knows they did not. Perhaps it is only his own pessimism. Or perhaps, the Manor wanted him to know.

It was she who died first. Her smooth skin turning cracked and leathery, blisters forming on her skin and bursting like the fat of a pig on a spit.

It was she who died first, and the heir had enough time to run away. To live with the knowledge of what he had done to her.

But he did not.

Instead, he lay down next to his bride and let the fire claim them both.

And Bruce Wayne, heir to Wayne Manor's wealth and tragedy memories, would wake up some nights with the taste of ash in his mouth.

Imagine Wayne Manor as a haunted house, a cursed house. A house that has claimed everyone its heirs have ever loved.

But oh, it is hungry. Its once-thriving grounds have become dry and barren. The grass that had once twined around a doomed bride's ankles have grown yellowed and shriveled.

For while its previous owners have kept it fed with its share of tragedies, Bruce Wayne had starved it.

Bruce Wayne, who as a child would wake up with the taste of ash in his mouth, who once used an upstairs bathroom where the faucet drips water like tears.

Bruce Wayne, who promised himself that he would be the last heir Wayne Manor would ever have.

Now, imagine you. You who have lived in Gotham City, your whole life.

You who would pass by the Wayne Manor on the way to classes or to work, and you would look at its barren gardens and its cracked windows.

And you would feel...something.

A pull perhaps or an ache, one that could only settled by approaching this house, this cursed lot, placing your hands against the wrought iron gate so that you can get a better look.

And you would see its blackened walls and its barren gardens, the grass yellowed and withered and dead.

And you would feel a strange sort of tenderness for a place that looks so unloved.

You feel the cold of iron against your palms, a flash of heat.

And then—

"Ouch."

Somehow, you had cut yourself against the gate. A wide cut, a deep cut, straight against the meat of your palm.

You don't quite know how it happened. And perhaps, it did not matter, because the only thing you can focus on is the pain that throbbed against your skin like a heart.

You curse, try to staunch the flow, and in doing so, you catch a glimpse of a figure.

Perhaps it was the mansion's old butler or perhaps one of its many ghosts. But as he approached, you knew that this could only be one person.

The heir to Wayne Manor was said to be a glib playboy, one who would spend rather spend his family's vast amount of wealth on drugs and women and sex than actually fixing his broken-down home.

And yet, when you meet him on that fateful day, he did not look like the blindingly beautiful man you had seen in the newspapers.

He didn't have a fixed smile that could have meant anything from loathing to adoration, he didn't wear a suit that cost more than your yearly salary.

That day, he looked human. He looked reachable.

Perhaps that was what made you accept the handkerchief he so graciously handed to you. Perhaps that is what makes you smile—a little clumsy, a little lopsided, but a smile all the same—as you say,

"Thanks a ton. See you around, Bruce Wayne."

And when you walk away, you do not look back.

You do not see what Bruce Wayne saw.

You do not see how your blood dries preternaturally fast on the surface of the black gate, as if something was drinking it in.

You do not see the way the grass along the driveway twists around your ankles like a starving rat.

And you definitely do not see the expression on Bruce Wayne's face when he realizes what it all meant.

Imagine Wayne Manor as a haunted house, its great stone walls overgrown by twisting kudzu vines, its once-barren gardens now blooming with life. Galica roses with buds so heavy that their stems drooped, as if begging one to cut them and place them in a bouquet.

Imagine Wayne Manor, which has fed well on centuries' worth of tragedies, as a house starved.

For its latest heir, Bruce Wayne, had vowed never to fall in love.

Had vowed that whatever curse lingered in his family tree like the rot in an oak would die with him.

Imagine your blood drying on a wrought iron gate. And a leaky faucet that drips water like tears for a story that already has an ending.

Imagine a blackened wall, and the story of a man who lay down next to dead bride, to be consumed alive in a fire.

Imagine Wayne Manor, its hallways creaking with the weight of all the tragedy that had befallen the Wayne family tree.

And now imagine: its hunger.

[destinationtrekk]

watch out this is angsty

reader at work with Wesker (any)

they get a call from a hospital saying they need to come identify a body. reader is confused for a minute before they're told one of their most beloved family members have sadly been pronounced deceased. the call ends and reader stands there for a moment before breaking down entirely. unable to do work, think, stand, sit, eat.

Wesker ends up finding them curled up in a corner of their office fucking red eyed, bawling, still crying. the only way they'll be able to stop is if they're sedated because otherwise it won't quit.

everyone saw reader step away for their call, stand frozen for a few minutes, and immediately wander off down the hallway like they were in a trance.

wesker was watching carefully, trying not to make it obvious, but he can tell immediately that something is terribly, terribly wrong. he casually leaves to follow you, making some excuse to everyone else watching him in confusion as well. he's surprised at just how far you went to hide from everyone, tucked in some abandoned, forgotten office a few floors down, until he hears how hard you're crying

it worries him, and makes him very uncomfortable, to hear the depth of emotion in your cries. it doesn't seem like you're trying to muffle them - you're outright sobbing in this cold empty office, alone, after what he imagines was the worst news of your life. that's what it has to be, right? what else could possibly make his best employee breakdown in such a manner

he has no choice but to talk to you, being the caring (tragically in love) boss that he is. he stands by the door and says your name, tries to get you to calm down, but it's apparent you aren't even in the room. you're completely checked out, whiteknuckling the floor like if you don't you'll fly away

he sits next to you, risking touching your shoulder to comfort you - but. oh. you're practically catatonic except for the heaving sobs, eyes locked on some nonexistent point in the room. he's worried you're going to black out, choking yourself on your own cries, so he gets right in your face to try and knock you out of it.

he has no idea what's wrong, he's kind of freaking out, actually, because even stars couldn't prepare him for this kind of trauma response. he thought he'd seen it all - bleeding children and grieving widows and psychotic killers, but no, you're actually scaring the shit out of him

after a few more minutes you're getting blue in the face, and he has no choice but to call for assistance. he radios someone he trusts, chris (stars) or excella (re5), to bring him a sedative, pain killers, anything, damnit, just get here now!

he stays with you the entire time, speaking gently in your ear while he tries to comfot you to no avail, your sobs quieting down but you're still barely sucking in air. when the sedative finally arrives, he realizes he's never injected something so sloppily. he just needs you to sleep, to calm yourself, to fucking breathe

after you finally slip into some dizzy and black world, he lifts you in his arms and gives the other person a grave look. this is bad. very bad. he knows for a fact it's going to stay bad when you wake, and likely for a long while until you can get over whatever tragedy befell you. for now, though, he takes you somewhere quiet and safe and waits for you to wake up, hand tightly squeezing your own

[meli-meliai]

Something something Seth proclaiming himself as the “Avatar of Woe“- which basically means that he is calling himself the demonic Embodiment of it. Now, the word “woe“ can mean two things: great troubles that cause distress OR feelings of misery, sadness, and sorrow.

Now, knowing Seth and his whole “Infernal Demonic Prince of Darkness” schtick, it’s easy to believe that he likely meant the “troubles” definition. After all, isn’t the whole POINT of a soul-stealing demon is to cause woes on humanity? It’s SO obvious… but then again, what if it wasn’t?

He is the self-proclaimed Avatar of Woe, and he takes sinful pride in the fact that he steals souls and causes difficulties, troubles for humanity. But being the Avatar of Woe means that he must repersent ALL parts of it; and that includes the misery and sorrowful aspect of Woe. And really, if he IS a fallen angel and the son of the First Man, isn’t Woe the entire reasn why he was born? After the very first murder that befell upon Abel, and the tragedy of the betrayal of Cain, Seth was born to mend the family’s broken heart. I wonder if that fact weighed heavily on him, as despite the misery and sorrow inflicted on his family that he needed to fix, he also wouldn’t have been BORN if it weren’t for that sorrow. For the Woes that affected his family, the Creator of Mankind commanded that he be born to alleviate that pain. If not for the death- or rather SACRIFICE- of his older brother, Seth would have never been created in the first place.

There’s also the matter of his OTHER self-proclaimed title: Demon of the Abyss. This could simply be a reference to the Hell that he lives in, or perhaps a specific circle. But then again… that would make MANY, if not the entire infernal populaton of Hell, a “Demon of the Abyss”. So why would such a powerful Infernal Prince use such a common title?

The word “Abyss”, of course, repersents the pitch-black pits of Hell. In the Bible (I’m not sure which passage but I think that it’s rom 2 Peter 2) it’s said that any angel who sins will be swiftly cast down to the Abyss (or, in Greek, Tartarus, which means the same thing) where they wil be “bound by chains of gloomy darkness” which can be interpreted to mean that they have become demons, unable to ever see the light of day (unless they accumulate enough power to break out or figure out another way) or the Gates of Heaven ever again.

According to the 3rd chapter of the Book of Enoch, it is reported that several angels who had committed the holy crime of lusting after humanity were punished by God who commanded that they be “bound hand and foot, nd cast them into the darkness. Make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast them therein. And place on them rough and jagged rocks, and cover them in darkness and let them remain there for ever, and covr their faces so that they may not see light.”

Some of the most prevalent mentions of the Abyss regards fallen angels. Take Paradise Lost by John Milton, for example; the fallen angel Lucifer is cast into Hell and, according to Wikipedia, “braves the dangers of the Abyss alone, in a matter reminisenct of Odysseus or Aeneas.” So this might be a stretch, but many of the time when Hell is referred to as an “Abyss” is when an angel is cast down from Heaven and falls into the pitch-black depths. Playing up on Seth’s hubris and his love for double-meaning wordplay, it’s not unreasonable to assume that he chose this title as slight nod to his status as a fallen angel.

In the Bible, Seth is known to be compassionate and virtuous; he was the ancestor of Noah and the forefather of Mankind, and had many wives and children. But was he ever happy, knowing that his family was wrecked far before he came? For all his knowledge, did he know that mankind would blame his mother- and later all women- for eating the Fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and bringing sin upon humanity? Was his heart ever empty, as no matter the amount of love he recieved from his family, it would never be enough to fill the gaping void that his older brothers- whom he had never met- left behind in a pool of blood?

If it weren’t for all the Woes that befell upon his family many years earlier, would he have ever been born?

Seth in the Bible had died at age 912, while BB Seth is stated to be 918 years old. Assuming that he stopped aging and/or stopped counting the passing years after he fell (and assuming, of course, that the “Hell’s Hottest Boy for 900 years running” was just a jest… which I HOPE so, since it would mean that his biological age is 18..) it would be likely that there was a 6-year-gap that he spent in Heaven before he fell, in which he would’ve had plenty enough time to sin and reel.

Moreover, Seth in the Bible was known to be an ideal son and a worthy heir to Adam’s linage. His bloodline,in contrast with Cain’s, was closer to God and thus survived the Great Flood while Cain’s bloodline did not. Despite this, however, he recieve very little recognition in contrast with his older brother rarely being mentioned or adknowledged at all. Even his descendant, Noah, recieved more fame than him. I wonder if this began to grate on him after a while? Perhaps that was his first sin: Envy.

And perhaps, long after he died and laid purposeless in Heaven, perhaps he spread his wings and looked upon humanity, thinking. Everyone he knew treated Eve’s consumption of the Apple of Knowledge as a huge, unforgivable sin, but when Seth looked at humanity all he could see was..

Excitement. Entertainment.

After all, what is happiness without sorrow? What is the greatest joy without the worst misery? He wouldn’t have existed without that misery, after all. And look at all the good he did for humankind! Look at all of the wonderful people that he raised! His heart swelled with Pride, which was quickly tempered by a thought:

“And no one even adknowledges it.”

No one paid him any mind at all, in Heaven. After all, his purpose was fulfilled and now he got to live in eternal Paradise forever! What more could he possibly want?

But Seth was bored. What was there to do now? He finally met his brother Abel, the Golden Child of his family and the favorite of his Grandfather… but he couldn’t even talk to him without Abel being swarmed by his own mother and father- not to mention all of the adoring angels who crooned after him in admiration. Seth felt the bitter taste of Envy in his throat as he looked at his shining brother. All he did was DIE, and yet people loved him so! Meanwhile, no one even bothered to spare a second glance at Seth. Abel seemed nice enough, but…

Seth was begininng to understand why Cain killed him.

And in the years that passed, he grew more resentful. Envious, because of the lack of adknowledgement or attention that no one bothered to give to him. Wrathful, for the way he was treated amd the burden that he had carried ever since he was a child. Prideful, as he looked at the Earth and witnessed all of his descendants, all of humanity, progressing despite the sins that plagued them. Would it be like this if they just stayed, eating fruit and wearing leaves in the Garden? Of course not? Sin pushed humanity to progress and provided an endless source of entertainment for him, the only kind he had in Heaven.

The Great Flood didn’t happen when he was still in Heaven.

He began sympathizing with the OTHER brother he had never met: Abel. He was beginning to understand him now. How the sins he committed were not his falt, how harsh the rules of the Lord can be. Seth wanted, more than ANYTHING, to talk to him, just once. For him to have a confidant, a way to satiate his everending boredom. He wanted answers, the full story from both of the brothers. Maybe finally understanding his purpose, why he was born, what he was made for.

He still wasn’t completely gone during this time. If someone noticed, maybe he could have still been saved.

But no one noticed Seth.

And so, on December 11th, he devised a plan to bring Cain to Heaven.

He enlisted the help of Abel, thinking that he was a key factor to carrying out this plan.

His heart pounded in excitement, and he couldn’t stop grinning.

He hadn’t felt this exhilerated in eternity.

What he didn’t know… was this.

As Abel’s was the first murder, and Cain the first betrayal, the summoning for this demon was…unique.

Different.

Unexpected.

Yet so obvious.

“A soul… for a soul.”

After the ritual, they were caught.

The Creator of Humanity quickly fixed everything, so there was no lasting damage at all.

But Abel was the beloved, so someone must be blamed.

Eve sobbed and hugged her child tighter, looking at Seth with teary eyes stung with betrayal.

Adam stood there, shocked but full of fury, glaring daggers at his thirdborn son.

“Why would you do this. To US? To your BROTHER?!”

Seth glared right back, tears streaming down his face as he yelled out at his father in sorrow.

“Like it or not, Cain is my brother too! I was born to fix a unfixable family, racked with betrayal and sorrow. No matter what I did, I’ve never even come close to suceeding! The least I could do is find out WHY!”

Cain and Abel were at a loss, not because of Seth’s words, but because of the fact that they were boh staing at each other. Cain a demon. Abel an angel. Brothers.

Even when he was yelling nd screaming out loud, no one heard him.

And neither did the Father of Humanity.

The sky shook in fury.

“ENOUGH!”

Everyone stared up a the sky in shock.

“SOMEONE MUST BE PUNISHED FOR THIS.”

All eyes turned to Seth for the very first time. And for a moment, he felt a sickining mix of euphoria and the sudden wish that he was invisible.

He was being adknowleged for the first time, and at what cost?

There was a sudden surge of excruitating pain from behind, and he watched in horror as his magnificent, pure white wings faded and began to motlt, scattering ink-black feathers everywhere. All of the spectating Angels hurriedly stepped back to avoid them.

His halo cracked and fell at his feet. Seth, dumbfounded, bent over to pick it up..

Only to cry out and double over in pain, as a terriying pair of red devil horns forced and ripped its way out of his head, and he watched in horror as blood started dripping out of his forehead. The surrounding Angels let out a horrifed gaspin unison, looking in fright as Seth’s previously warm brown eyes-filled with tears, started gradually turning red the more he cried. As if all of the life was being sucked out of him.

The feathers were still molting, revealing thin bones. He would no longer be able to fly.

He tried for words. Looking at his parents, he tried to beg, plead with his eyes for someone-anyone!-To help him.

But nobody came.

Even Cain looked horrifed.

“Mom…? Dad….?” Seth whispered weakly, fear seeping into his heart. Please. They were his parents, they loved him…

Didn’t they?

The Lord responded instead.

“YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOME IN HEAVEN.”

And with that, (and with Abel), he fell.

And yes. If the scars were any indication…

It did hurt, when he fell from Heaven.

[meekmedea]

Corpse Bride x TBOSAS AU

Thanks @headcavedin for helping and letting me bounce ideas off of them

Note: We’re playing fast and loose with age. Yes, the mentors should be the same age, but here we’re ignoring that. So Coriolanus, Clemensia and Felix are around the same age. (think mid 30-40s provided that they are alive, early 20s if dead.) Sejanus and Lysistrata are younger. (early twenties).

Roles:

Most of the mentors and those from the Capitol take on the role of those in the world of the living. Everything is pretty drab and rule-following up here. Meanwhile, most of the dead are tributes and some of the Districts with the vibrancy. 

THE LIVING:

Plinths - Van Dorts 

New money, merchants in the town who’re looking to establish themselves with the old money families

Sejanus gets the role of Victor - the groom. No piano skills for him though. He and Lyssie can bond over medicine, maybe? 

Swapping the role of the parents because I think Strabo fits better with Nell, the mother, since he wants to integrate a lot more into society, while Ma Plinth and William seem to have more similar personalities. Not as obsessed with getting into high society as their spouse. 

Vickers - Everglots 

Why are they broke? Well…Felix is dead in this AU and because the Vickers couldn’t save him, Max dismisses them from his employ. Of course, it’s phrased a lot more politely, but the sentiment remains. 

Lysistrata as Victoria Everglot - the human bride 

Nobody else knows of the family’s dire fortunes but the family. 

Coriolanus - Lord Barkis Bittern 

Currently broke, although this isn’t public knowledge. But has a title and is well-respected in town. 

Almost married quite some years ago, but some sort of tragedy befell her before they could marry. 

Looking to marry Lysistrata for her family’s fortune. Now if only he could get rid of the fiance…

Volumnia Gaul - Pastor Galswell. You thought her being the obstetrician was freaky in TBOSAS? Well, in this one, she’s officiating all the marriages in this town. Hope you don’t mind~

Androcles Anderson - Town Crier. Dedicated man who reports news across town. 

THE DEAD:

Clemensia - Emily or the Corpse Bride

Fell in love with a young aristocrat and decided to elope, only to be left in the woods to die. 

Not very nice to call someone the Corpse Bride (even if it’s true) - Reaper, probably at one point. 

Pianist!

Rumour has it that the Dovecotes left town when their silly daughter ran off to elope, taking with her, her mother’s wedding gown and jewels. They were determined to find her, alas… they would never come to know of her fate.

Marcus as Mayhew - the carriage driver for the Plinths. Dies from his cough, and finds Sejanus.

Cyrus - Elder Gutknecht. Considered the wisest amongst the dead and has magical knowledge. Able to grant Clemmie and Sejanus temporary access to the land of the living. He’s got Boa Bell #1 in this AU. Boa Bell #2 is alive but with Pluribus on the surface of the living. 

Lucy Gray & the Covey - Bonejangles and his skeleton band crew! Got the best tunes, even if they're singing about how Clemmie ended up down here. (highly recommend listening to remains of the day!)

Felix and Lamina - the spider and the maggot - except in this AU they’re both skeletons. Supportive of Clemmie’s marriage!! Felix and Clemmie moved in the same circles while living. Piece of advice, don't mention the blond aristocrat in his hearing. It's a touchy subject for both him and Clemmie.

Reaper - no specific character he’s based on, but he’s amongst the dead and is sort of in between how Felix & Lamina act vs Bobbin & Tanner act around Clemmie. Willing to speak the truth even if it’s harsh, but a lot kinder in how he words things. 

~~~~

Plot:

When practicing his wedding vows after his disaster of a wedding rehearsal, Sejanus unknowingly proposes to Clemensia, who rises from her grave to joyfully accept.

Once he’s brought down in the land of the dead, he’s freaked out. Clemmie, unfortunately, is highly oblivious and is enamoured with her husband. Or more so, the idea of finally being married. 

Some of the dead are supportive, yes. Others… not so much. (No names or anything, Bobbin and Tanner)

Follows most of the movie’s plot. Sejanus attempts to go back to the land of the living, tricking Clemensia into finding a way so that they can meet his parents. This plan fails spectacularly when she catches on and realizes she's been duped.

A little bit of a - "Who are you?" / "I’m his wife. Who are you?" Between Clemmie and Lyssie while Sejanus is just standing there nervously.

The jig is up, and Clemmie brings them back to the land of the dead

Sejanus, technically married to Clemensia: Don’t you see, you’re the other woman! Clemensia: No, she’s the other woman. You’re married to me!

They do eventually reconcile.

Around this time, he learns from Marcus (recently dead) that Lysistrata is now going to be married to Coriolanus as the rest of the town thinks he ran off to marry Clemensia. 

Meanwhile we get Cyrus, Clemensia, Felix and Reaper learning that Clemmie’s marriage isn’t valid since wedding vows are ‘death till us part’ and well, she’s dead. 

Felix is a ride-or-die friend. Reaper is a little concerned. 

Felix: Do you want me to fix that? (talking about killing Sejanus) Clemensia: Reaper: Clem, you’re not seriously considering that, are you? He’s–

Clemensia refuses Felix’s request at the same time Sejanus says that he’s willing to properly marry her. (ie. die)

Back on the surface:

Coriolanus & Lysistrata’s wedding dinner interrupted by the dead who’ve come to the surface to hold a proper wedding for Clemmie and Sejanus

Chaos.

Cyrus finds Pluribus and despite being a skeleton, Pluribus recognizes him and they share a smooch. The Boa Bells also meet each other. 

While freaked out, the living do recognize some of the dead and for some, it’s a happy reunion. Others…not so much. (Mizzen + Wovey are doing it for fun. Coral is here with a vengeance. Bobbin too.)

And although Sejanus is willing to marry her, upon seeing Lysistrata in the shadows, Clemensia frees him from said promise.

This quote from the movie: “I was a bride once. My dreams were taken from. But now – now I’ve stolen them from someone else. I love you, Victor, but you are not mine.” Clemmie to Sejanus. 

Some more chaos when Coriolanus interrupts the wedding, wanting his wife back.

Confronation between Clemmie and Coriolanus. "You." / "You?" Very dramatic for most people when they realize he's the one who left her for dead.

Slight fight between Coriolanus and Sejanus with Clemensia stepping in to take the injury for Sejanus.

This scene!! Where Clemmie pulls the sword out to point at Coriolanus (I've seen theories saying that this is where Emily was originally stabbed by Barkis, and I'm here for it!)

Following the same ending as the movie:

At an impasse, Coriolanus plans to leave when he foolishly drinks the wine meant for the ceremony, not knowing it’s poison, killing him and freeing Lyssie from her marriage vows. 

Some of the dead may have thought Clemmie naive/foolish with her dream of waiting all those years to be married, but they all have a soft spot for their corpse bride. Now that they know she was killed off by Coriolanus… well “New Arrival~” and he gets dragged off to the land of the dead. 

And having found her peace Clemmie gets to move on. 

[bestworstcase]

what do you make of ozma’s motivations given that he initially rejects the god of light’s offer and only takes it once he knows it’s the only way he can see salem again, but then once they’re actually reunited he places the mission from the god of light above being with her? did he aways have that much faith? is it just that salem’s faith was broken so completely that she’s the only one who can see the gods clearly?

ozma's like. fundamental dilemma in TLF is whether or not to trust salem. as much as he dearly wants to be with her… "salem lives, but the woman you hold dear in your memories is gone. heed this warning: where you seek comfort, you will only find pain."

think about what must have run through his mind when he heard the god of light say that to him. he's just learnt that the god of darkness did something so bad that all of humankind was wiped out, and that the brothers have chosen to depart. but light also tells him that humanity will return, diminished, and that he wants to send ozma back into the world to prepare for a day of judgment. "if your kind is unchanged, if you demand our blessings while still fighting among yourselves, then man will be found irredeemable and your world will be wiped from existence."

light doesn't say it in so many words, but the implication that Humans Fucked Up is crystal clear. if your kind is unchanged, you will be found irredeemable and destroyed.

then he tells ozma that salem is still alive, but unrecognizable as the woman he once loved, and that she will hurt him if he seeks her out.

what light's implying here in essence is that salem provoked the god of darkness, causing the "tragedy" that led to the brothers' departure. (and that is what happened, as far as he's concerned.) ozma picks up on that implication, but what he hears is "the woman you love is damned, but there is still a chance for redemption."

after all, why else would the god of light ask him to do this? at this point ozma has no reason to doubt what light tells him, and light presents himself as a benevolent authority hopeful that humanity can redeem itself.

"i'll do it!"—he wants to save her.

notably, ozma does in fact heed the warning for quite some time; he travels for years, hearing whispers of a dangerous witch wherever he goes, before deciding he "need[s] to see what she had become."

but then he sees her again, and… she's herself. physically she has changed, sure, but he recognizes her; she recognizes him. she still loves him. she's overjoyed to see him again—she even still remembers what he said to her on the day they met, and echoes it back to him with tears in her eyes.

so like ???

is it over? has whatever curse or madness befell her broken now they’re together again? or… was the god of light wrong…?

she tells him her story, but there are pieces missing. the gods are to blame for ending the world, she says. it is impossible to miss how much she hates the brothers.

what did she do?

"though time passed and all seemed well, ozma's conversation with the god of light still lingered in his mind. he had found happiness, but humanity seemed more divided than ever before." <- he begins to worry that maybe it's not that salem will hurt him; maybe by choosing to stay with her now, he's jeopardizing the chance for redemption.

but he isn't willing to leave her because, of course, he wants to save her. so he cautiously tests the waters by commenting on how divided humanity is.

and her answer seems really promising! "are you surprised? this world is quite literally godless. these humans have no one to guide them. perhaps that's all they need."

that… actually sounds very much like she thinks the brothers' absence is the source of the strife and suffering, just as the god of light told him it would be. and it catches ozma off guard, because he didn't expect that from her. so he asks what she means.

"we could become the gods of this world; our powers surpass all others. our souls transcend death. we could mold these lands into whatever we want…" <- okay, that's more in line with what he might have expected based on her opinion of the brothers, and it's not great. but then she warms to the idea:

"what you want! create the paradise—" watch how ozma's face changes as she says this. his expression softens. he smiles. he's hearing that—blasphemy notwithstanding—salem really wants to support him in this. that's the part she's enthused about. what you want.

and then she finishes the thought: "–the old gods could not."

it isn't just that she hates the brothers; salem envisions a paradise without them. she doesn’t think this world is damned at all; as far as she's concerned, the brothers' absence is a cause for hope.

(and what does that mean for her?)

this:

is not a "you convinced me" face. this is an "i can fix her" face.

the problem of course is that he can't. salem hates the brothers because when she prayed to them they forced her to watch her lover burn to death in her arms twice over and then sentenced her to eternal suffering to punish her for lashing out. she hates them because she is the sole survivor of their genocide. no matter how long ozma goes along with her, no matter how long he lets her believe that this is what he wants, he's never going to be able to coax her out of that hatred.

which doesn't stop him from trying.

he's able to keep the deception going as long as they're building a following, and establishing a prosperous new kingdom, and having children together. but he told her he wanted to unite the world—end all division and bring everyone together under one creed. salem is, er, right to point out that the only way to do that is by conquest.

and that's the point where ozma has to admit to his ulterior motives, because salem was not kidding when she said she would do this for him. so he pumps the brakes and tells her everything, still hoping to somehow do the impossible and save her.

"don't you see? none of that matters anymore! why spend our lives trying to redeem these humans when we could replace them with what they could never be?"

[obligatory note: i think she means "replace the gods" here, as a reiteration of her extremely longstanding ambition of doing exactly that; the goal of her rebellion was for humans to "destroy their old masters" and "claim the powers of their creators for themselves," she tells ozma "we could be the gods of this world" and that they can "create the paradise the old gods could not" like this has always been what she's about.]

cue ozma:

he really does think about it.

i think this is the point where he faced the reality that he had to choose between joining salem in rebellion or sacrificing her for the world's sake. and… he wants to take her hand, he wants to stay with her, but the consequence of hiding this from her for so long is he's never actually thought about her utter rejection of the gods in a substantive way; he's warped their whole relationship through the lens of that hatred being a problem he needs to solve. it's not that he had faith in the god of light so much as it is he never had faith in her.

if it were ten or fifteen years ago and she was asking him to forget the mandate and stay with her in their cottage, it would still be frightening to take the hand she offered him, to trust that she is right to blame the gods and say these humans do not need redemption.

but now? when he's sunk so much time inching down the road to war in the name of saving her from those ideas, and he has to not only trust that she's right about the brothers but also that she'll be willing to turn away from the tyrannical path they've walked down together? he's done nothing but play along all these years in the ever-fainter hope that one day she'll be more amenable to the mandate; he has no idea how she'll react if he pushes back, and he thinks of her as damned.

so… he can't, in the end. when she confronts him with the choice he falls down the path of least resistance to conclude that he can't save her and that he'll bring the world to ruin if he keeps trying. so he leaves.

and then he's locked into that choice because they murdered each other and killed their kids and destroyed their kingdom about it and even if he could admit the desire to himself how can he possibly make amends for doing that to her? any apology or gesture of reconciliation he made, she has no reason to trust and every reason to see another attempt to deceive her again. the mandate is really all he has left, so he clings to it even as he gradually distorts it more and more into this existential struggle between himself and her.

[beevean]

"SXSG is meant to draw in new fans before they go into the third movie fully knowing Shadow's backstory!" Um, from what I've been hearing, the game still kinda requires you to already know the events of SA2 and Shadow's game, in order to understand SXSG's plot. A new fan won't know why Shadow is so adamant about Black Doom returning, or why Shadow is more in disbelief and not happy to see both Maria and Gerald alive. Ironically, both the manga and Dark Beginnings were meant to fulfill that purpose before SXSG's release, but whoops, apparently neither are canon because they each had continuity snarls that didn't match up. And that's not even getting into how the movie *clearly* made changes to fit that different continuity. Thus potentially confusing more new fans about Shadow than his backstory did back then. SXSG was just shallow synergy with the movie from the get-go and because ST had extra money to spend to make side-content for a 10+ year-old game. The fact that there had to be a 'Year of Shadow' for a movie that already was going to sell itself because the movies have done well so far, is bizarre to me.

Yeah, I heard this argument too. The intro kind of speedruns through the key events of Shadow's life, which is not the best way to fully understand his character - the very summary of Shadow's trauma, "a series of tragedy befell the ARK, GUN took the lives of Gerald and Maria", is incredibly vague and misses key details like Gerald's manipulation of Shadow to turn him into a tool of destruction.

You know what this reminds me of? The way Ace Attorney summarizes past events. For example, in the second game, Phoenix says that Manfred von Karma is no longer in this world, but he doesn't tell us that he was accused of murder and probably sentenced to death. Why? Because it expects newcomers to pick up the first game, so it won't spoil the big twists.

This is why I say that SXSG is meant for newcomers. It gives them the quickest recap of Shadow's character, without spoilers, so that in theory they can still find the older games and experience them... except for Black Doom and his genetic ties to Shadow, which if you think about it it's weird. Why is Black Doom treated like a late-arrival spoiler, but Gerald's descent into evil isn't? Even though SA2 is wayyyy more infamous than ShTH?

But yeah. If SXSG isn't for newcomers, then I don't know the point of the game.

Let me put it this way. The original Gens was a love letter to Sonic's history as a whole until then. You kinda have to know it to fully appreciate it. The plot is paper-thin, because it doesn't matter: what matters is going through the levels with new gameplay styles. Sure, new fans can still find it fun because it's a good game, but they're gonna miss all the references, or the significance of redesigning Crisis City. Gens and Mania are not entry-games: they're games specifically for old-time fans who have stuck with Sonic for years.

SXSG isn't the same. Sure, the game itself is a good homage to Shadow's story, with all the levels that represent key moments in his arc (except for Chaos Island which is just there). But this game has a story. And what does this story say? ... well, nothing that hasn't been established already. If you have played SA2, ShTH and '06 (especially ShTH), then the plot of "BD wants to awaken Shadow's alien biology to suit his needs, Shadow thinks it's a load of crap because he's his own person" can only be stretched so thin to be interesting. His relationship with Maria is hardly more fleshed out than it already was in ShTH: she gets some nice personal details in her NPC dialogue, but she is still the kind selfless girl who wants Shadow to be happy, and Shadow wants to make her happy, and we know this. He barely talks with Gerald, even though he too is supposed to be important, and in fact Shadow could have been torn between the kind professor he remembers, and the knowledge of what he'll do to him in the future. Shadow's character doesn't move in any direction: he's still in the same place he has been since '06, except that this game hasn't erased itself from the timeline.

This is why I compared it with Frontiers: it just all feels like a recap and a "re-railment" at the same time. It's for people who want to know Shadow, and this is the entry point before redirecting them to previous games, or even the movie. And older fans... well, they get to say "WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK", right? Because we are in the "WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK" era, I suppose :)

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hi, Clan! I had this Steven (Strangled Red) one-shot idea a few days ago, but I held back on asking mostly because it felt too stupidly self-indulgent. I still feel a bit like it is, so… I hope you don't mind it too badly! ^^' Essentially, Y/N, who has Gardevoir and Scrafty, hears rumors about a supposedly haunted house in Pallet Town, Kanto, and gives a shot at trying to explore it… only to eventually come across a fallen Champion, with Y/N and their Pokémon having to fight back. (admittedly inspired by one of the Strangled Red chronological sequels)

"Oh? The house in the field? Yeah, there's rumors that a previous Champion's ghost is haunting it, but...you didn't hear that from me."

"Okay. You hear that, guys? We didn't hear that from them." You smiled at Gardevoir and Scrafty--your two most loyal Pokémon, who nodded along as you talked to one of the locals.

Rumor has it there was a "haunted house" in Pallet Town, located on the west side beyond a field of unusually tall grass. A stone barrier had been put up about a decade ago to deter anyone from venturing further, leaving many to speculate what was inside that decrepit house.

The oldest residents would tell you that it used to be the home of a Kanto champion until tragedy befell him and he became "cursed", but they claim it's totally abandoned now.

They didn't sound so sure, though, so you wanted to find out for yourself if it's true. You also had a knack for exploring mysterious places--especially if it involved Pokémon who dwelled in ancient ruins and such.

You wouldn't call a former champion's house "ancient", but maybe some powerful ghost or dark types made their home there!

In any case, Gardevoir and Scrafty could counter their attacks easily should you get into any danger.

So you decided to journey over to the west side, where the barrier lied. It was a stone wall covered in moss and cracks. Nothing too remarkable. It was high, but not too high that you couldn't fly over it on a Pokémon, so it made you wonder why people were afraid to see what's beyond it...

There was no one around guarding it, except for a lone wild Gastly whose trill alerted you to its presence.

As it hovered in front of you, your Pokémon took protective stances...and yet it seemed quite passive. Not looking for a fight at all.

"Um, hi?" You tilted your head in confusion, before you saw it float over the wall and disappear on the other side. "....okay, that's just showing off."

Huffing, you turned around in preparation to call out one of your flying-types. But then you felt Scrafty tug on your sleeve, pointing to the wall. "Scraf! Raf!!"

"What's up? Is the Gastly.....huh?"

Upon facing the barrier once more, you were astonished to see that...it was gone.

As if there was nothing there to begin with.

In between the tall patches of grass was the Gastly grinning at you, amused by your baffled expression.

When you stepped closer, there was indeed no barrier blocking the way anymore. Yet nobody in town seemed to notice such an oddity.

'Huh..maybe someone brought a Zoroark to cast this illusion.' You mused. 'But then again...how could they keep it up for so long? And why did they think it was necessary?'

Regardless, you were finally in the "forbidden zone" of Pallet Town, and the Gastly seemed to know exactly where you wanted to go. And thus, the three of you followed it, excited yet nervous as to what you'll discover.

There were no wild Pokémon lurking in the grass, strangely enough. It was completely deserted, but you paid no mind to that.

Soon enough you were in front of the old house. It looked just like all the other ones in town--a simple two story home. Considering it was unlocked, maybe the rumors of it being abandoned were true, though you knocked out of courtesy.

Nobody answered, so you headed inside, although you jumped as the door suddenly slammed shut behind you and left you in nearly total darkness.

'Goddamnit..stupid wind..' You huffed in annoyance, deciding to blame mother nature for that scare.

With Gardevoir generating a small sphere of light to guide the path, you were well on your way to investigating the old home of this "champion". You didn't even think there was one before Red or Blue--just the Elite Four.

Then again, you didn't know the whole story..so maybe this place will give you some clues. You wanted to know more about this forgotten trainer's legacy and what happened to him.

Together you searched high and low, while also trying not to move too many things around out of respect for the original owner. But you did learn some interesting and..concerning things:

For one, the upstairs bedroom held a portrait of two brothers above one of the beds: one kid who looked like Red, except he had hair that was much longer and he wore a proud smile, and a brunette with short and spiky hair donning a violet cap beside him.

You took it off the wall, looking at the picture before turning it over to see it was taken in 19....something, considering the last two digits were smudged. But the tagline on it was clearer:

Steven and Mike: The First Champions of Kanto

'So this was their home, huh? But..the locals never told me about a brother-'

Suddenly there was a rather loud creak, and Gardevoir swiftly turned her light source towards the open doorway, tensing up. Scrafty looked equally as suspicious, glaring at the darkness with raised fists.

But nothing was there at all.

"It's okay, guys." You calmly reassured them, smiling as you hung the picture back up on the wall. "Probably just a ghost-type playing tricks on us."

"Hrg..Scraf...." The dark/fighting type grumbled, but otherwise listened to you as they both calmed down.

Resuming your search, you noticed that another smaller picture sat on the nightstand, so you picked it up to examine it.

This one featured a Charizard proudly holding up a ribbon, and in the corner of the photo was a simple caption: "My Beautiful Miki" -Steven

'So this must be his ace..' you smiled fondly, seeing that Steven must've had a special connection with this Charizard to give her a name.

However, as you set the photo down, you felt an overwhelming chill run down your spine. Not one that made you feel cold, but rather the kind that told you..

"You're not alone."

Then you all heard a raspy male voice groaning from the shadows. It didn't sound like any sort of Pokémon.

But human.

Confused, Gardevoir pushed the glowing orb further out of the room. But it didn't reveal anybody in sight. Even Scrafty peeked out into the hallway, yet they didn't see anyone lingering out there. You checked the closet, only to find it completely empty.

With an annoyed huff, you closed it, deciding to leave the room and search the upper floor for the source--to no avail.

Either this person was a prankster or a legit ghost...but regardless, you didn't like the way this was heading.

This was how horror movies usually started.

"Alright." You called out. "Whoever you are, please stop. We'll leave quietly."

The voice made an unexpected demand, although he spoke slowly as if to stress the importance of each word:

"Give...her...back..."

He sounded further away this time, coming from downstairs. So that's exactly where the three of you headed, with Gardevoir bravely leading the way and Scrafty sticking behind you.

But even as you entered the living room area, you still didn't see a single soul.

This was weird.

Very, very weird..

"I want her back.."

"We didn't take anyone from you, I promise!" You tried to reason with the mysterious voice as you approached the front door. "Gardevoir, turn the brightness up to maximum, please."

Nodding, she illuminated the entire room with an even stronger glow, bathing it in light.

Yet it revealed nothing.

But Scrafty swore they saw a black mass retreating into the shadows. Their heart began racing as they stuck closer to you.

"Listen, if you mean Gardevoir..she's mine-"

"No. Not her...but my Miki."

"...I'm sorry?"

"GIVE ME BACK MY MIKI!"

Freezing, you blinked in bewilderment as the voice screamed that name, your eyes widening with great alarm. 'That's..Steven's Charizard, isn't it?'

"L-Listen, there's been a misunderstanding. So we're just gonna...!" But when you tried leaving this place for good..

The door suddenly refused to open.

"Huh?" Taking your hand off the knob, you wondered why it wasn't turning. It seemed stuck, almost. Scrafty tried their hand at it, even using Brick Break in an attempt to punch through the old door.

Surely it would've knocked it down or at least put a hole in it...

Yet it remained sturdy.

"What the hell?!" You whispered in disbelief, although you tensed upon hearing footsteps and turned around..

And he emerged from the darkness.

The fallen champion..Steven himself.

But he looked a lot worse than he did in those photos, with his black hair now being a long, wild and untangled mess; a dark shadow was cast over his sorrowful face, yet it held such rage and anguish. All you could see were his seemingly glowing red eyes, and a single pokeball in his shaking hand.

'Was he...living here this whole time? All alone?'

"Steven..?"

For a moment, he blinked and lifted his head to stare at you, as if he recognized that name. But then his expression shifted into a malicious grin, pearly-white teeth spreading from ear to ear. "My Miki...I want her back. GIVE HER BACK!!" He snarled, throwing his pokeball out in front of him.

And while it did struggle for a moment, eventually the Pokémon encased inside revealed itself to be something....quite horrific and tragic:

A Charizard who looked very much undead, with a wound resembling a noose or cable around her neck. The muscles were still visible, bleeding as though it never healed at all.

Her roar was strained, showing that she was in a great deal of agony, especially as she coughed blood all over the floor. But she seemed ready to attack you if her trainer commanded her to, so you gulped nervously and stood your ground.

There's nowhere for you to run, but surely...two Pokémon against one shouldn't be a problem, right?

Unfortunately, you'll come to find out how wrong you were...

"Gardevoir, use Fairy Wind!" You ordered.

"......."

"...Gardevoir?" Worried, you looked to the Embrace Pokémon, your heart breaking upon seeing the tears in her eyes as she stared at Miki. Her hands shook in a feeble attempt to generate some Fairy Wind.

But it failed. She gave up completely, appearing far too distraught at the sight as she refused to fight or even move.

Even Scrafty, who usually had nerves of steel, seemed extremely uncomfortable with fighting Miki at all. They opted to stay closer to you for safety.

What could you do, though?

There had to be some way to protect yourself-

'Wait..that's it!' You suddenly remembered, looking down at Scrafty. "Scraft, try shielding us with Protect!"

However, they seemed just as paralyzed with fear, though after you insisted once again..they mustered up the courage to use Protect. It formed a magic barrier in front of all three of you.

Now it was Steven's turn to make his move.

And he pointed a single finger at Gardevoir, his demonic grin never wavering for a moment as he whispered a single command:

"Strangle."

Immediately, Miki lunged forth with a horrific shriek, tearing through Protect with no issues before she tackled Gardevoir to the ground. With her pinned down, the grotesque Charizard wrapped her clawed hands around her throat and squeezed.

You stood there in horror, unable to believe what you were seeing. 'What is THAT move?! I've heard of Constrict but...nothing like this!!"

Gardevoir gasped, trying to free herself, but she could feel the rotten claws of the undead fire-type digging into her neck, blood oozing down as she was rapidly losing air. She struggled to pry them off of her, though to no avail..

It's like all of her psychic energy was sapped away.

Likewise, Miki seemed to be struggling for oxygen herself, seeing as her wheezing grew more persistent. You noticed the exposed muscles in her throat contracting and gushing blood with every breath.

'I gotta hit her where it hurts the most.' You looked at Scrafty, who continued to stare at the scene in fear.

"Scrafty, help Gardevoir and use Throat Chop on that Charizard!"

"...s-scraf..." Tears filled their eyes as they shook their head, forcing themselves to look away from the two. They felt so helpless, yet so scared as to what to do.

How could you trust them to use Throat Chop if Protect proved to be a failure?

"Please." You begged them, your voice trembling with anxiety. "I-I know you're scared, but...but Gar's gonna die if we don't do something!! We can overcome this together. We can't let him win! Please...at least try Throat Chop! If she looks at you, just close your eyes."

Finally, Scrafty looked up at you, and then at their struggling partner as she stared back at them with pleading eyes. She was quickly losing her will to fight back.

You were right.

No matter how scared either of them are, it can't end like this.

Huffing, they pulled their skin up. "Scraf..! SCRAFTY!!" With a shout, they charged at Miki, their fist glowing with dark energy. She made the mistake of turning her head and leaving her wounded neck completely exposed.

As commanded, they squeezed their eyes shut and swung blindly--

Successfully landing a Throat Chop on her.

She tried to shriek in pain, but no sound came out. Instead, she was forced to let Gardevoir go, staggering backwards as she wheezed and gagged. Her own claws became stained with her blood as she eventually collapsed to the ground, gagging and sputtering .

Immediately Steven ran past you, while Gardevoir teleported to your side, struggling to catch her breath. As she kneeled to the floor and Scrafty comforted her, you looked on to see the fallen champion's evil expression change to one of anguish.

He fell to his knees, holding Miki's head. "N-No..Miki. It's okay, girl..it's okay..."

For once, he was acting like a completely normal trainer who was worried for his precious Pokémon.

But now you knew the truth:

This guy was a champion whose ace, this Charizard, died tragically...only to brought back as a monster. Something she didn't ask to become. And it drove him mad enough to attempt actual murder on your Pokémon, hoping to give them a death similar to hers.

You didn't know how he did it, but you didn't care anymore.

You considered this battle won and refused to stick around long enough for a rematch. So you recalled your Pokémon and sprinted out of the room, finding a backdoor in the kitchen area.

Thankfully, you were able to escape that house of horrors. But even as you ran all the way out into the tall grass and hid behind the nearest tree...Steven never chased after you; nor did you hear the haunting cries of Miki.

The Gastly who guided you here eventually found you, and you could only stare at it in distraught, still trying to make sense of what happened in that place.

"D-Did...Did you know about him?" You stammered. "Was that really Steven...?"

It didn't have any answers for you, instead quietly taking you back into town, where the stone wall suddenly remanifested itself. You paid no mind to that and just rushed to the Pokémon Center, desperate to heal your companions.

Minutes later, the nurse called you back and informed you that while they were both okay...

They couldn't help but notice the bruises wrung around your Gardevoir's neck.

[quicksilverlightning]

A Theory on Cogita

Some Discord dialogue left me theory crafting about Cogita, so let's jump in shall we? Thanks to @praazlwurm for help with the conclusion!

It's been common speculation that Cogita is long-lived/ immortal, and that she may have written the Ancient Verses. This round of conjecture relies upon the evidence of two things:

That Cogita has been around a While

That Cogita did indeed write the Old Verses

I will spend an eternity… until the one with the mission appears Old Verse, Number 11

It seems I'll be able to fulfill my duty at long last, thanks to you Cogita, during the first meeting

Alongside a claim that we have no evidence of:

That the Old Verses are true.

This is not to say that the Verses are wholesale falsehoods - much of them are certainly accurate, or as accurate as one can be when dealing with gods and events before recorded history. However, from the very beginning, Cogita has a... let's say ambivalent relationship with the truth. Even as the end of the world looms above, the truth has to be finessed out of her. At no point in our journey did she seek us out, not when people were being hurt, Pokemon were suffering in their frenzy, the various groups were on the edge of a peace that could break at any moment - why?

(I've heard any number of theories, but lets set them aside for now - the point is, Cogita had the ability to help at several points, and chose not to.)

Looking at the Old Verses, a number of them are concerned with either the existence of various beings of legend (1, 6, 7, 8, 16, 17), the Ancient Hero and his retinue (3, 4, 10, 11), or the writer (2, 9, 14). Cogita clearly knows quite a lot - yet, there are only two verses about the Celestica people (5, 20). Why does she seem to know more about ancient events than more recent ones? Or, at least, why are the ancient events written down, but not whatever tragedy befell the Celestica?

Which brings us to the only other known descendant of the Celestica, Volo.

The very first thing we hear from Cogita is not directed towards us, but to Volo:

Shirking your work to come pester me again? Even beneath a bleeding sky, you never change.

Cogita has no reason to distrust Volo pre-reveal, yet consistently treats him dismissively at best, numerous times over:

"Kindly spare me your doubts, young man. I know the old words and what they bid us do. How true they are isn't mine to know

How nonchalant you sound. How confident of successes to which you contribute nothing

"Watch"? Is that all you really do?

So what's her deal? Why is she so callous towards the only other member of her lost people? I believe the answer is in her very first line - she believes Volo has come once again to ask questions that she doesn't want to answer. Which of course leaves us with a different question: why doesn't she want to answer? Why is not only so accepting of the Celestica being forgotten, but actively hiding any information about them? Especially from someone with who she shares that culture?

And now, we leave hard-evidence-based hypothesizing and jump into the craziest thing I could come up with:

Cogita is responsible for the downfall of the Celestica.

Let's take a look at a Verse that I find very puzzling, Number 16:

"Heaven's crown, nearest to almighty Sinnoh… "Power of almighty Sinnoh, gather as stone at heaven's mount. "Stone, let your power flow— distort and bend the world around you."

This is not a verse describing something that already happened. This is written in present tense. This sounds like a summoning ritual.

And who is being summoned? Is the word "distort" not ample clue?

Now tell me, if this Giratina desires more than anything else to challenge almighty Arceus... where do you think it might appear?.. Exactly! Where one is closer to the heavens than any other place in Hisui! ...And where the space-time rift first opened!"

I propose that Cogita lost someone, as we read in Verse 2:

My own beloved is now gone from me, departed to a place I cannot reach.

And in her grief, she did something Unwise in an attempt to reclaim them. The Giratina statue in the Celestica Ruins was destroyed because, when they tried to stop her, Cogita turned its power upon her own people.

Still to my breast I clutch this hopeless dream, a futile wish for us once more to meet

And thus:

Once it shone upon us all, with all the warmth of welcome sun. "But now we weep, to grief we fall, starved of light now it has gone. Old Verse, Number 20

Further, I propose that is was Cogita who, however unintentionally, set Volo upon his path. She kept him distant from the only person from whom he could learn about his culture - herself - leaving exploring the ruins as his only option. One of these ruins, the Sacred Plaza, is where Verse 16 is found by the main character; Volo found that Verse at some point, and managed to infer enough to take the first step. Giratina once again manifests itself at the behest of a Celestican.

Enter the Player.

[ghooostbaby]

~fisherman yin yu au~ 2/? previous part

“And mine is Cao Gen. I’ve grown up in this area and I can tell you all about it - but I have to warn you, it’s a sad story. But not one that you can afford to miss if you're travelling this river.”

Yin Yu nodded resignedly.

“We used to farm on all this land around us, but we couldn’t grow anything anymore. Well - really, it’s that we couldn’t eat anything we grew or caught here anymore. It was the same problem with the fish of the river as well as the crops of the land. Anything we ate made us sick. It was a curse.”

One of the younger ones mumbled something. Another one said, “Cursed by villains.”

Yin Yu looked at Cao Gen.

“It took a long time to realize the cause of the illness. It’s a slow process, years of eating and drinking the food and water before there are signs of anything. A few decades ago some sort of ... smelting works set up a little upstream from us. At first it seemed like a good opportunity for all of us. But slowly the land began to change, and so did we. Of course, thirty years later it all seems so obvious. Just to look at the water you'd know never to drink it.” 

“I’ve seen fish with two heads in the river here,” said one of the others, poking the fire.

“Why stay?” asked Yin Yu. “Why live in poisoned waters?”

“This is our land! Why should we leave?” said the young man.

Yin Yu’s mouth tightened but then he just shrugged and said, “I suppose.”

Cao Gen said, “Many have left. But some of us don’t want to admit defeat yet.”

The others mumbled various things and one of them spoke out loud a prayer, “Pray Lord Scholar He watch over us and kill all the villains.”

“Our local god,” explained Cao Gen to Yin Yu.

Yin Yu looked at Cao Gen inquisitively.

“Oh,” smiled Cao Gen. “His is one my favourite stories. We all heard about him growing up. One of us, a hundred years ago or so. Another person in our town. As a mortal youth, he had had great promise as a scholar but tragedy after tragedy befell him. Still, he persevered. Finally, when he was older he found his footing in business. But all the corrupt business people of the town conspired against him again and again so he could never rise to his potential.” 

Cao Gen smiled at Yin Yu, pausing before he went on, “And then at last, he went into a rage and  murdered them all! He freed the town of these corrupt men that had plagued us. During the slaughter, his back was full of protruding weapons, but still he kept going until he had killed every last one of those parasites. And then he died of exhaustion.”

Yin Yu stared at him, speechless for a moment. “That’s quite a story.”

“If anyone can avenge us, he can,” said Cao Gen.

“And… how do you know he didn’t pass on?”

“When we began to realize that people were slowly dying from the poisoned animals and crops, we were very angry, and hopeless. But we always remembered Scholar He’s story and it meant even more to us because of what we suffered. We began to pray to him, make offerings, we even built a temple. We begged him to avenge us. And then he started to help us. Things at the works go wrong … unexplained damages. We know it is him.”

Yin Yu looked thoughtful. Finally he said, "I know you don't want to hear this, but chances are ... your only hope is to leave."

“Hm. Master Yin, you said you have no place you call home? Maybe you can’t understand.”

“Maybe,” agreed Yin Yu.

“Either way, your fish will be welcome at the market tomorrow, before you move on,” Cao Gen said.

“But what about your warning to not travel at night...?”

“Oh yes. That's when Scholar He emerges and goes to the works, calling every demonic thing to him. And to go there now you’d be heading right into it. This is far enough downriver we can have a campfire by the water here … but I wouldn’t want to see what goes on up there at night.”

“You’ve never seen it?” asked Yin Yu. “How do you know what happens?”

Cao Gen tutted and shook his head laughing. “Just trust me, Master Yin. If you stay tomorrow night at the village, rent a room.”

-

btw this idea came from a combination of being obsessed with he xuan, watching princess mononoke that reminded me of a combination of environmental/human rights atrocities in eastern canada... (sydney tar ponds and boat harbour) ... and then because i wanted to live out my fantasy of bringing yin yu and he xuan in to fuck with the people who do that kind of thing (and fix the ending of princess mononoke waaaaah) i've done some reasearch on chinese ecosystems to try and somewhat make that fit a xianxia world. so this is some kind of fantasy china-canada universe i guess. i'm no ecologist/geographer but i'm doing my best...

[alltimefail-sims]

LORE TIDBIT TIME WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Did you know Vlad was apart of the settler colony who mysterious disappeared? This is obviously a nod to the Roanoke colony which I think is sooo cool. What do you think happened to Vlad's colony? I like to think Vlad was turned or became a vampire and whipped them out.

HELL YEAH LORE TIDBIT ABOUT VLADDY DADDY!!! 😏

I'm going to treat this as a "deep dive" into Vlad and Forgotten Hollow, so I'll be adding it to my Deep Dive Series tag. Unsurprising to literally everyone, but this is gonna be a long one.

So… let’s get into it! ↓

Going into this I will admit that I actually did know this about Vlad!! I've been wanting to talk about it for forever but have never gotten around to it haha. 🤭 I'm a bit of a history nerd and I love a good spooky story/conspiracy, so naturally the Roanoke Colony was one of my obsessions when I was around 11 or 12 years old.

I think it's an interesting tie in from the sims team, I'd even say it's a bit meta because I feel like the game normally sticks to making references toward itself and its own canon characters/events while generally staying away from anything that would be too direct of a reference to "our world." Personally though I wish they broke the fourth wall more! I like easter eggs or hidden details that make it easier to imagine the characters existing not in their isolated, imaginary worlds, but in ours instead.

It's interesting to think about why the sims team might have made this connection - was it just a cheeky, unserious little wink to a well-known unsolved mystery, or was it done for the purposes of creating implications and expanded lore regarding Vlad and Forgotten Hollow (a case of them showing us instead of telling us). There are so many theories archaeologists and historians alike have had about the lost colony of Roanoke over the years: some believe the Roanoke colonists could have all died by disease or famine, some believe they could have been victims of a deadly storm, some believe they were attacked by neighboring tribes or by Spanish soldiers. Nowadays there are scholars who will argue that no tragedy befell the settlers at all and that they simply relocated (that would be why they left "Croatoan" behind - there was a nearby location referred to as Croatoan Island, now modern-day Hatters Island).

With that in mind, along with Vlad's own refusal to recall the details of this event, it's safe to assume that the sims team isn't referring to the happier Roanoke theories...the 25 colonists of Forgotten Hollow likely faced an unfortunate end.

Your theory of Vlad being turned and thus wiping out the colony (I'm guessing due to new-turn bloodlust) is sooooo compelling, the implications of that scenario are delicious and I personally never thought of it from that angle! My theory is only a little different: I agree that Vlad was turned on the day that the colonists "disappeared" (whatever that implies), but I have always played Vlad's story not as if he was turned and then killed everyone after, but rather that the thing that turned him successfully killed the other colonists but accidentally turned Vlad. It's a really long story that I play around with for fun in my brain but the short-ish version is: Vlad awoke outside - cold, alert, sweaty, dirty and covered in his own blood - but somehow alive, which he was thankful for. His new immortal condition is still unbeknownst to him at this point, but he felt an ache like never before, so deep in his bones it was excruciatingly painful, but his senses were heightened tenfold. He didn't remember much, just that the colony had been under attack the night before. His relief to be alive rapidly melted into abject horror as he found everyone else (friends, neighbors, family, children) dead. He realized soon enough what had happened to him and stayed in Forgotten Hollow where he would be memorialized as its "founder." He spent his days hellbent on retaliation and retribution, but was also steadfast in continuing the work that was began there before the attack. Eventually he does get to face off with the vampire who attacked him and his people, killing it and rising to power in the vampire world. He keeps the events close to his chest because they were traumatizing and cause him sadness, and he's worked diligently to remove himself from his humanity/human memories and from emotions in general (thus how he has become the person we see today). I always thought if he killed the colonists himself the other vampires in his circle - at least his closest confidantes - would know (as he's got quite the massive ego), but they don't seem to have knowledge of this event and they never mention it. I've thought that it could be possible that sharing the memories of this event would make Vlad feel weak, and he's not one to boast in his weakness. He'd much rather rewrite history in a way that is beneficial to his image; dragging up emotions about dead people would not bring them back to life, and by burying this history of a massacre in Forgotten Hollow he is also creating some mystery around himself and making it easier to play the role of a great-great-great-great grandson (or whatever he's pretending to be, relationship-wise) to the original founder.

But that's just how I play with Vlad! 🤷 I could be way off-base lmao!

Regardless of what happened, we know Vlad is the sole survivor of this event and he is scarred by it, impacted so deeply that he only ever vaguely alludes to it with no clear explanation. Whether he killed the colonists himself or just witnessed their death, the sims team will probably never give us concrete answers (and frankly, that's probably for the best considering their track record). But the clever connection of the LOST colony and FORGOTTEN Hollow are clear as day and I just think that is freaking cool! The occult lore in TS4, especially regarding Vlad and Forgotten Hollow, make interesting framework for storytellers and lore-lovers alike! Vlad is one of those characters who has sooooo many interpretations, and I eat up each and every one!

Okay, I think that's all I've got for now! Sorry about my word vomit! Somewhat related: here's an article I recently read on Roanoke that talks about the archaeological finds which have changed some of the discussions surrounding whether the colonists survived or not! I found it pretty interesting and you might as well!

[return-to-twisted-wonderland]

🔆anon

Random idea I had that anyone is free to mess with or use

Book 7 spoilers, stuff out on EN also based on the Maleanor/Lilia/Raverne ship

—

Malleus wasn’t the only child to be born to Maleanor. She had one child born earlier. The only issue was the father was Lilia, and not Raverne.

It wasn’t an issue to the three of them. Not in the slightest. They all cared for the child deeply. But the hearts of the court was not so easily swayed.

First there was outrage. Demands Lilia left his post or even be blamed for treason or some similar crime. By the sounds of their scrambling, not even those old idiots knew what they wanted to accuse their famous general of. But luckily they retracted their statements, even if that was likely just to save from public embarrassment of the Royal Guard’s top general hand siring a child instead of the King.

Their next demand was a more reasonable. The three of them weren’t happy about it, specifically Maleanor, but it was reasonable. The child was not to be considered an heir to the throne as they were not descended of the Queen and King.

Though, once the court was allowed that demand, they got greedier. They tried to hide knowledge of the child. They tried separating the child from all three parents, leaving them to a select few castle staff sworn to secrecy.

Of course, they couldn’t outright keep any of them away from the child, but they definitely made it hard to visit.

But, that seemed to change when it came clear that Maleanor was due for another child, and this time it was Raverne’s. Finally they seemed to relax. Though, that likely wasn’t because they grew a conscious, more of they moved to spend their focus on spreading news about the new baby.

The baby who the court sneakily tried to convince the public was the first.

It wasn’t hard, considering they had already hidden the first child well. All they had to do was manipulate their words so ‘first in line’ could be twisted to ‘first born’ in the citizen’s mind without them having to actually lie.

But, that’s when the three parents got fed up.

To be truthful, Maleanor, the everburning firecracker, had been fed up long ago. Lilia and Raverne just were done with holding her back.

She viciously confronted them, saying that the first child is just as much a Draconia as the newborn. In line for the throne, or not. So long as that child is still among them, no word of insult should befall them.

The intent was to scare them straight. To get them to stop. But it only gave them a loophole.

Their twisted minds caught onto “so long as the child is still among them”. Something to them meant, if they could make the kid disappear, they would be free to make the situation disappear too.

So they played nice for a small while, spending their time plotting. And just before the younger child was due to hatch, they struck. They used their combined magic to make the child disappear.

They succeeded.

They were even able to cover their tracks well enough that it was impossible to get more than anything circumstantial evidence against them.

The oldest child was gone.

Sadly, with their disappearance, more tragedies befell the nation. Leaving the newly hatched Malleus with only Lilia, the one who was scorned for being a parent.

Yet, little did anyone know, the older child was not dead. They were sent somewhere else. A world without magic, where they were found as an orphan and raised with a new life and a new culture.

In that world, they grew up. In that world, they became their own person.

Until one day, they woke up in their home world yet again. In the campus of Night Raven College.

—

Sorry if the lack of name was confusing. I just knew that if I named them, I would get attached. I am specifically trying not to come up with any more characters to call mine.

Anyone who wants to use this character/idea can. Hope people like it.

Lilia the Bi king, pulling both the king and the Queen.

But also getting hurt twice as hard.

Also fuck the console.

Would be a shame if lilia or malleus found out...

[shard-clan]

ShardClan Info & Lore

✨️◇◇Genemod!Clangen Challenge◇◇Moon 1◇◇✨️

Hi I'm Libra ⭐

This space is for my favorite Genemod!Clangen file, ShardClan. It is based on an existing Warrior Cats setting I've developed over time. Overall, the cat's way of life and Code is very similar to canon - the major difference is it takes place in a national park in the American northwest, a few years after a great tragedy befell the four clans there.

Only the first three cats in ShardClan were changed in some way to start the story. The rest is all ClanGen - the only changes I make are slightly adjustments to relationships or minor events to help the story flow. It primarily follows the day-to-day harshness of the mountain, the relationships between the cats as their little clan grows, and the dark past the Trio left behind.

I've played ahead on the file, so there's lots happening! I'm going to try to update twice a week with art and writing, with character questions and sketches between that. I'm generally busy and my health isn't great (plus I do interactive fiction) but I'll do my best ☆

Future Content Warnings To Be Aware of: Typical Warrior Cats canon [violence, wars, disease, kit endangerment, kit death, pregnancy, character death, animal death, survival, hunger, blood], mild swearing, religious fanaticism, toxic relationships

🌌Allegiances🌌

🌌Start Here🌌

🗻The Past🗻

In a place known to its animal denizens as The Great Valleys, there were four feline Clans: HeatherClan, RapidClan, SnowClan and StoneClan. To the Twolegs, and their kittypets, this was Galevalley Park, a beautiful nature preserve just a few hours from Yellowstone.

For moons, the Clans had been receiving frightening omens and nightmares, their ancestors screaming at them to leave. They couldn't put exactly what would happen into words, other than: For too long, only one will remain.

These signs were sporadic, and some were misinterpreted. HeatherClan was struck first by sickness spread from their prey, and traps laid out by odd-pelted Twolegs that used to leave them alone. Bodies were left behind to rot while the few survivors took refuge with Rapidclan. Meanwhile, closer to the Mountains, Snowclan's leader Chillstar became convinced that only one clan would survive, and to ensure that, the rest should be eliminated. She brought her many warriors down upon Stoneclan, killing many and scattering the rest.

Some say she terrorized what was left of RapidClan, some say she led a pack of Coyotes to them. Some say she scarified her warriors to Twolegs, and fled back to the mountains before the snow became too deep. The following Leafbare came sooner than expected, and was harsher than any living cat could remember.

Gradually, cats who remained in the valley were gathered up and taken away by the Twolegs. Some fled deeper into the park, higher up the mountains, surviving as lonely rogues.

Three of these rogues were once proud Stoneclan apprentices. They fought in the final stand against Chillstar and her madness, the battle that destroyed their clan.

It's been many seasons since that terrible day. The siblings Shardstripe, Grackleface and Shadestep have not lived. They have survived. They abandoned hope of finding Rapidclan and its survivors, or finding and killing Chillstar. All they could think about was if they'd make it to the next season.

And one night, the spirit of their mother Fernstar, and all their former clanmates, appeared in the glowing dance of Starpelt ...

[eld-red]

more of my characterization of vixy. i need to like definitely do some work on interweaving it with the other character im bringing into the fic im writing. but vixy is a telepath like krystal is. both of them have cerinian ancestry. my like working lore with cerinia right now

basically. lylatian historians are unsure how ancient cerinians managed to like travel to other planets. but they did. native cerinians found their way to corneria and fortuna and papetoon and katina. and then tragedy befell the planet (still unsure WHAT happened), and all of a sudden it was just. gone. lylatian historians are still trying to piece together if cerinians on different planets even knew their homeplanet was gone but. its just a complete mystery

a complete mystery that corneria (also side tangent the way i am viewing lylat’s government is that each planet has their own government system, and they are all vaguely connected together with corneria who is kind of like the Federal government. space washington dc i guess lmao anyways)

a complete mystery that cornerian government officials DO NOT want the public to know. because a lot of cerinians are some sort of psychic. be it telepaths or telekinesis, or some sort of other ability. the cornerian government thinks the whole planetary system would just freak out if they knew that these people with “inhuman” abilities lived among them.

so corneria pulled a, um, CIA-Like Action.

so before project MKULTRA (and if you don’t know anything about MKULTRA it is a rabbithole i recommend falling down) was declassified to the general public, it was just like. speculated that this might have happened

corneria’s MKULTRA is called Project IRIS. they essentially dragged random people off the streets they “suspected” to have cerinian ancestry and grilled them on if they were psychic or not. if they were, they had to be registered with the government, have a special ID they had to carry, and they couldn’t tell non-immediate family members that they were psychic or that. the government was doing this.

another thing that the cornerian government did with this registered psychics, was that they could essentially experience the worst possible version of jury duty. which is randomly being called and being required to part of “studies” at risk of being arrested.

to make matters even worse, if a registered psychic ever has a kid. that kid also has to be brought in for testing to see if they were psychic or not—but either way non-psychic or actual psychic, they had to go through extensive bloodtesting so that they could see the genealogy of it all.

registered child psychics could also go through the same things as adults. also be asked to be experimented on—but they wouldn’t completely penalize parents who didn’t want their kids to be lab rats

and this was all done through a legitimate part of a government funded science program. corneria has the “CDAS” or the “Cornerian Department for the Advancements of Science”. there’s different branches that specialize in different fields—think of CDAS as the “parent”

there’s CDAS-FB (CDAS-field of biology), CDAS-FE (field of engineering. fun fact! eventually space dynamics merges with CDAS-FE), CDAS-FP (field of physics), etc. etc.

during this time when they wanted to get a lockdown on psychics, a special branch was created. CDAS-FLB (CDAS-field of living biology). but by pepper’s time, this specific branch has long since been dissolved.

anyways CDAS-FLB did some heinous shit that is a lot like MKULTRA. drugging people without telling them and all. poor vixy was a victim of their actions.

but despite it all, she still had a love for science. it gave her a really skewed view of justice too—a black and white good or bad—but she wanted to go into CDAS to truly make the world a better place. make things better from the inside out. she had a kind of…romanticized view of making things better. andross was the one who helped bring her back down to earth. and even after she did come back down from the stratosphere—she still wanted to make things right. somehow.