#theomachys

[tactax-art]

Theo showing off his smile! First time animating in color iirc, wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be!

[thecruxarm]

Nothing too fancy, just started doodling to test out different brushes and ended up making it into a full thing lol

I suppose this can serve as a messy introduction, but an introduction nonetheless, to one of the many sophont aliens in Ruminaaan Theomachy. These guys are known as the Tuiouli, hydrogen-breathing worms with two faces, one on each end of their body (like that oictured above). Theyre the smallest of all my other intelligent aliens, only ever reaching between 35 and 85 centimeters at the longest

Theres much more to these guys but ill leave all of it to future posts once i have more important parts and context for my setting established lol, but i will accept asks if you have any! Aside from that, i just wanted to post this because i like how it came out :)

[arabella-strange]

wait you know what we haven't even started talking about?

The Divine Gate

[a-mimsy-borogove]

Theomachy - Chapter 2

Dr. Alex McKenzie sighed as they walked up to their office. "We'll find a third option." How in Goddess' name--an expression they pondered giving up after The Message--anyone was going to manage that was beyond them. It didn't take a theologian to know that opposing Yahweh didn't tend to end well. Still, they had never been much of a believer--their interest had been purely academic. And to think, my dissertation was about interpreting the metaphors in Revelation, they mentally grumbled. They could hope to be wrong again.

They were so caught up in their reverie that they didn't notice the suited woman waiting at their office until they almost walked into her.

"Ah!" They stepped back on reflex. The new guest--a woman with fair skin and light brown hair in a bun--cocked her head at them. "Hello, Dr. McKenzie."

They regained their composure quickly enough to smile. "Hi? What can I do for you? I'm afraid I'm busy restarting from scratch on a paper I'm working on."

The woman gave a polite smile. "Dr. McKenzie, I'm here on behalf of the US government, needing to speak with you."

That made Alex straighten themself, not quite narrowing her eyes. "Really? Which department?"

The woman's smiled turned more genuine. "Officially, the Central Intelligence Agency. Unofficially, almost half of them, including the White House."

Dr. McKenzie's suspicion did not abate, but it mixed with curiosity. Not that they thought she was lying--they believed her, which was the problem. They had strong feelings on such agencies. But with an introduction like that, they had to know why she was here. "That's quite the interest in one theologian."

"I think you'll find your research has just become of great interest to many people," she replied, and put out her hand. "Clara Walker."

They considered her for a moment, and took it. "Alex McKenzie. Come, have a seat."

"That won't be necessary. We need you elsewhere--down in Langley."

After arriving at the CIA headquarters, Clara led Alex past security, through a network of bustling hallways, and into a large conference room.

The sight was not what they expected. Rather than stone-faced CIA workers, there was a gathering of harried-looking people, some of whom they recognized after a moment as past colleagues and others in their field. They swallowed as their mind ran through the implications of this gathering. This should be interesting.

Clara's shoes clicked on the solid floor as she walked over to a podium to address the assembly. "Welcome, all. I assume you have an idea why you're here, but let me clarify.

"People have been terrified ever since The Message, in part due to imaginations running rampant. The Message gave no specifics of what would happen to the world, only broad strokes speaking of destruction. But given who sent it, it seems reasonable to seek further details in the Bible. That's where you all come in.

"You all are experts on Christian theology, but you each have different interpretations thereof. For hundreds of years people have been arguing about how to interpret the words and prophecies in the Bible. We need you all to put an end to that; if we're going to survive this, we must properly know what's coming."

That got everyone's attention, even Alex's, who was amazed that she had posed a more absurd suggestion than resolving theology. The sudden clamor was a mix of strained laughter and vague expressions of disbelief. When it had quieted enough to hear, one man--Dr. Young, they recognized from past conferences--spoke up. "Survive this? Survive what? Forget all of eschatology, The Message was clear: this world's time is up. The Almighty is coming to establish His… kingdom," faltering at the last word as he recalled The Message's implications for what that kingdom would entail.

Clara smiled. "I'm not suggesting we're preventing that. What I am saying is that we need time to think. People are panicking, and that never leads to good decisions. We need to know how long the world has, and what to expect. Then, we can decide what to do next.

"If you want to convert, feel free. But I imagine not everyone will be so keen, with what we know of what's coming. The Heaven He spoke of clearly unnerves people, to say nothing of Hell." She looked over to Alex. "I believe we need to find a third option."

Alex blushed. Their interview had apparently been popular. But they considered Clara's words carefully--"what to do next" could mean many things, and they had never been generous towards her agency. On the other hand, they shuddered to imagine either eternity Yahweh had forecasted. If there was the slightest chance even of staving off that fate, they were inclined to take it.

There was one thing they wanted to know first, though.

"I'm surprised you feel that way, Ms. Walker. The President, and much of Congress, is Christian--shouldn't your people accept what's coming?"

It was a facet of one question that was on everybody's minds in one form or another--which people had been taken up?

Clara's face turned somber. "That's part of why you're here. The Message made it clear that, one way or another, there are gaps in our understanding. Many of our people are Christian, yes--and yet for the most part, here they are, with comparatively few of them having been taken up. The question of why is on all of our minds. We need answers, and right now you all are the best people to provide them.

"Welcome to the Applied Theology team, everyone. We all are counting on you."

[arabella-strange]

Okay, thinking about some of these recurring threads... is this anything? [initiate Red String protocol] -- spoilers for C2 and C3 thru e92:

Ruidus-born Exandrians seem to be able to appear -- semi-materially, and certainly psychically -- on the red moon in dreams. The more advanced a Ruisdus-born person is in their sorcery journey, the more powerful their agency and material interaction during those dreams seem to get.

Ruidians, likewise, appear in a dreamy state when aiding a Ruidus-born person on Exandria (e.g., whenever Imogen summons a Reiloran and they show up sorta blank and helpful), and then to disappear upon dropping below a certain HP -- which we could infer means that this is what certain Ruidians experience when they take part in certain Exandrians' dreams???

The Prime Deities regularly appear to mortals through dreams. Across CR, this has been a constant mode of divine visitation since the imposition of the Divine Gate -- a post-Calamity (i.e., Divergence) construction. (Above table: Matt *explicitly* called attention to how important dreams were to C2, and esp. to Fjord, Yasha, Caduceus when receiving a message from their respective gods/patrons.)

Also at the Divergence, Ruidus itself was constructed as part of the same lattice-work separation of the Material Plane from the divine planes/realms as the Divine Gate.

The Prime Deities -- and not just the good or nice ones -- are all afraid of what Predathos is up to. They've sent visions (and in Opal's case, rewritten dreams!!!) to say so.

In C2, the culminating arc led the party through Aeor in search of the Somnovem, the cabal of batty mageocrats who had departed for the Astral Sea in the hopes of completing their project to make a new "proto-realm" wherein dream-creation could construct new realities.

(Also in that arc, of course, Caleb and Beau received their eyes/marks of the Somnovem when visited in dreams.)

As of c3e92, we heard that Ludinus is back to dumpter-diving in Aeor.

Most obviously of all -- to the tune of EXU: Calamity [my beloved]-- we have known for a long time that the Age of Arcanum was incredibly hostile to the Gods. Aeorians invented the Factorum Malleus in order to smash the Gods and supplant them with the total power of mortals (above all, wizards). That went well.

In fact, let's remember that Asmodeus -- Lord of the Hells, King of Lies, Betrayer God extraordinaire -- opened the entirety of EXU: Calamity by appearing to Zerxus in a dream... a dream which primed Zerxus to view the signs of the coming Calamity in a certain light and, from there, to become an instrumental accelerant to the theomachy [god-war] that was coming. As in, because of the kind of dream-lie that Asmodeus planted in Zerxus's mind, the Calamity came sooner, harder, and more surely than if that dream had not occurred.

... Could we then call Zerxus a "VESSEL" for that dream-lie?

Predathos is an unknown entity, but allegedly is older than the Primes, older than the Titans, old as balls.

Predathos is, apparently, looking for a Vessel.

Exaltant Ruidus-borns are, apparently, all potential the/a Vessel.

What I'm dancing around here is a fuzzy theory I'm trying to nail down. It's got something to do with the fact that the Calamity was, in part, an enormous trick played by the Betrayer Gods upon mortals, a trick in which those Gods who desire destruction, chaos, pain, misery, or total annihilation got to plant seeds in dreams which became the fruits of mortal chaos. There's also something here about the causal order: did Ludinus learn from the Somnovem? From Aeor? When? Did Predathos (or Asmodeus or Tharizdun) actually bequeath the insights of the Somnovem to them as part of that sowing of discord? Or did the brilliant nightmares of the mortals inspire the evil Gods (and potentially proto-gods like Predathos) to focus on dreams as *the* key tool for unleashing collective mortal power—unharnessed by the morals or the material confines of waking life, let loose in dreams and then useful for divine machinations?

In short: Which came first, Predathos or the dreams? Or is Predathos the dream-as-god, a manifestation of dreams that became -- or always was -- so powerful that it threatened the Gods themselves?

[I'm not sure I'd put money on this, but I wonder if there really is a Predathos. If this is just another avatar or front for Asmodeus, or Tharizdun. Because if it's a(nother) trick, that would make a certain kind of sense... especially if the goal is to re-open the Divine Gate via the backdoor on Ruidus. Dreams were essential to the first Calamity. When at first you only kinda succeed, try, try again. But equally if there is no Predathos, except as the accumulated, re-activated energy from a millennium of dreams of dissatisfaction (dreams which could consume the very Gods rather than the flip-side of that same coin, dreams/thought/belief/imagination as the energy which powers and even creates them)... then that's really important because it explains how the Gods came to be! And it's also important to understanding how to stop this catastrophe -- or second Calamity -- from happening.]

Each option is described briefly under the cut.

Boon from gods: basically when part of Exandria was scooped to form Predathos prison and a bunch of people got yeeted into space some gods decided it's not cool and created this link so that those trapped on Ruidus could still experience wonders of their home.

Predathos connection: when Predathos came from Outer Realms and consumed Vordo and Ethodok (two gods that are no more) it gained some power over their domains. If one of those was dreams-related, people of Ruidus could potentially get some of this ability from long exposure, proximity and whatever the fuck Weave Mind has been doing to them

Innate ability: people of Ruidus are just aliens who can do that and connection with Exandria just happens to be strong enough (because of proximity or connection between two celestial bodies that used to be one planet)

Murder Seaweed: remember that one undead plant that grows next to the lake portal? It does mindfuckery. Some of it got sucked into Ruidus. Was left for thousands of years. Slowly changed the ecosystem.

[thecreaturecodex]

Demon Lord, Orcus

Image © TSR Inc, by Todd Lockwood.

[Sponsored by @tar-baphon. Orcus is one of the iconic D&D villains, and through the SRD and plausible deniability (he's a Roman god!), he's in Pathfinder as well. In Pathfinder, he is deliberately not a power player, and my flavor text takes that already metatextual decision and runs hog wild with it.

A note on the art: I feel like Orcus is emblematic of when D&D was seen as dangerous, and this piece absolutely feels like it should be the cover of a Black Sabbath album. It's no surprise that I was fascinated with the anti-D&D strain of the Satanic Panic when I was a kid. Also, although there has been some course correction in the 5e era, there's a trend with Orcus in a lot of art, including his official Pathfinder depiction, of making Orcus buff. Let Orcus be fat!]

Demon Lord, Orcus CR 28 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This humanoid is a corpulent giant with skin mottled like a decaying corpse. He has great black bat-wings growing from his shoulders, hooves for feet, and the head of a goat. He clutches a short staff, tipped with an oversized human skull.

Orcus, Prince of Undeath CE male demon lord of death, necromancy and wrath Domains  Chaos, Death, Evil, Magic Subdomains Demon, Divine, Murder, Undead Favored Weapon heavy mace Unholy Symbol a goat’s head with curving horns Worshipers liches, necromancers, sapient undead Minions boneclaws, deathdrinkers, demons, other undead For information on his Obedience and boons for his worshipers, see Book of the Damned

Orcus is one of the most powerful demon lords in the Universe. But not on Golarion. On that world, his is one of a number of undead cults, and not nearly the most popular. Orcus has a clear hierarchy to what undead he considers truly worthy, with those created from contagion seen as inferior to accident, and those inferior to those who intentionally seek out undeath. His most dedicated worshippers on Golarion are liches, some of whom have learned the secret of crafting a phylactery by teasing apart the Prince of Undeath’s wisdom from his threats. The followers of many other undead-focused religions, particularly vampires and ghouls, see Orcus as pretentious and unworthy of dedication, although few are foolish enough to directly oppose him.

Orcus himself knows that his star has fallen. In his extensive research into planar lore, Orcus has learned that he was once the most feared being in another universe, who went on a killing spree that left several gods dead and an entire race of lawful outsiders duped into being his pawns. That Orcus cannot accomplish this level of power in this version of reality vexes and frustrates him, and he takes his rage out on his minions as much as he does his foes.

Orcus is a genius tactician, although his temper sometimes gets the better of him. He enjoys combat as a distraction from his cosmic-level sulk, and as a way of expressing his power over others. He typically opens combat with a time stop to summon allies and cast defensive spells on himself, and then unleashes a potent death effect as soon as the duration expires. Against creatures that can resist his negative energy and poison, he uses dispelling magic. On more than one occasion, Orcus has beaten a cocky archmage to a pulp by centering an antimagic field on himself and wading into combat.

Orcus in the Great Game Orcus’ response to the brewing theomachy between Mormo and Lamashtu is cautious optimism. He desires more power in the Abyss, and Lamashtu could open the door for him to seize it. Kabriri and Zura are at the top of Orcus’ hit list, but views a direct assault on them as currently too risky to be worth the effort. If one of them were to make a move against Lamashtu and be punished for it, or if they were struck down in the scramble for power following Lamashtu’s (theoretical) demotion or demise, Orcus would happily swoop in to finish them off.  And if Mormo is capable of legitimately slaying a god, Orcus will be very keen to study her techniques.

Wand of Orcus (major artifact) The Wand of Orcus is the Prince of Undeath’s scepter of office, and it never leaves his side. Lesser versions have appeared in the Material Plane, often created by Orcus or one of his high-level clerics. The real Wand of Orcus is a Huge +5 anarchic, unholy heavy mace. In the hands of a demon, it grants a +4 profane bonus to Armor Class. The first time the Wand of Orcus strikes a living creature in a round, that creature is subject to a slay living spell (DC 30). Weight 24 lbs.; CL 25th

Demon Lord, Orcus        CR 28 XP 4,915,200 CE Huge outsider (chaos, demon, evil, extraplanar) Init +11; Senses arcane sight, darkvision 120 ft., detect good, detect law, Perception +48, true seeing Aura frightful presence (120 ft., DC 36), undead obedience (120 ft., Will DC 36), unholy (DC 28)

Defense AC 47, touch 23, flat-footed 40(-2 size, +7 Dex, +4 deflection, +4 profane, +24 natural) hp 709(33d10+528); regeneration 30 (deific or mythic) Fort +31, Ref +29, Will +34 DR 20/cold iron, epic and good; Immune ability damage, ability drain, charm, compulsion, death effects, electricity, energy drain, petrification and poison; Resist acid 30, cold 30, fire 30; SR 39 Defensive Abilities Abyssal resurrection, freedom of movement, negative energy affinity

Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (average) Melee Wand of Orcus +51/+46/+41/+36 (3d6+20 plus 2d6 chaos and 2d6 evil/19-20), claw +44 (1d8+7), sting (2d4+7 plus poison), gore (2d6+7) or 2 claws +46 (1d8+15), sting +46 (2d4+15 plus poison), gore +46 (2d6+15) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks epic spellcasting, powerful charge (gore, 4d6+22) Spell-like Abilities CL 28th, concentration +38 (+42 casting defensively) Constant—arcane sight, detect good, detect law, freedom of movement, true seeing, unholy aura (DC 28, self only) At will—animate dead*, astral projection, blasphemy* (DC 27), circle of death* (DC 28), create undead, enervation*, greater dispel magic, greater teleport, plane shift* (DC 25), telekinesis* (DC 25), unholy blight* (DC 24) 3/day—control undead (DC 29), create greater undead, energy drain (DC 31), finger of death* (DC 29), quickened greater dispel magic, quickened harm*, summon demons or undead, symbol of death (DC 30) 1/day—power word kill*, time stop*, true resurrection, wail of the banshee (DC 31) * Orcus can use the mythic version of this spell-like ability in his domain Spells Prepared CL 20th, concentration +32 (+36 casting defensively) 9th—energy drain (DC 33), etherealness, mage’s disjunction* (D, DC 31), overwhelming presence (DC 31), soul bind (DC 33), wail of the banshee (DC 33) 8th —cloak of chaos (DC 30), fire storm* (DC 30), greater spell immunity, horrid wilting (DC 32), orb of the void* (DC 32), protection from spells (D), unholy aura (DC 30) 7th —control weather, destruction (DC 31), greater scrying (DC 29, x2), repulsion, spell turning (D), waves of exhaustion 6th —antilife shell, antimagic field (D), banshee blast (DC 30), blade barrier* (DC 28), geas/quest, harm* (DC 30), mass bull’s strength 5th —dispel good (DC 27), flame strike (DC 27), greater command (DC 27), mass ghostbane dirge (DC 27), righteous might, suffocation (D, DC 29), vampiric shadow shield 4th —contagion (DC 28), death ward (D), divine power (x2), rest eternal, sending (x2)*, tongues 3rd —bestow curse (x2, DC 27), prayer*, protection from energy, rage (D, DC 25), ray of exhaustion, vampiric touch*, water breathing 2nd —bear’s endurance (x2), death knell (D, DC 26), desecrate, owl’s wisdom (x2), resist energy, spiritual weapon* 1st —bane (DC 25), divine favor (x2), entropic shield, identify (D), ray of enfeeblement* (DC 25), sanctuary (DC 23), shield of faith* 0th—bleed (DC 24), detect magic, light, read magic *—Orcus may use the mythic version of this spell in his Abyssal domain

Statistics Str 40, Dex 25, Con 42, Int 30, Wis 35, Cha 31 Base Atk +33; CMB +50; CMD 71 Feats Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Rod, Craft Wondrous Item, Flyby Attack, Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Greater Spell Penetration, Improved Critical (heavy mace), Improved Initiative, Hover, Multiattack, Mythic Spell Lore (B), Power Attack, Quicken SLA (greater dispel magic, harm), Spell Focus (necromancy), Spell Penetration Skills Bluff +46, Craft (alchemy, weaponsmithing) +46, Fly +36, Intimidate +43, Knowledge (arcana, planes, religion) +46, Knowledge (dungeoneering, history) +43, Perception +48, Sense Motive +48, Spellcraft +46, Stealth +35, Survival +45, Use Magic Device +46 Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Necril, telepathy 300 ft. SQ demon lord traits, master of death

Ecology Environment any land or underground (Abyss) Organization unique Treasure triple standard (Wand of Orcus, other treasure)

Special Abilities Aura of Undead Obedience (Su) Any undead creature within 120 feet that attempts to make a hostile action against Orcus must succeed a DC 36 Will save or be unable to take that action, wasting it. The save DC is Charisma based. Epic Spellcasting (Ex) Orcus gains Mythic Spell Lore as a bonus feat. Once per day, he can use one of his spell-like abilities or spells as if it was a mythic spell without spending a use of mythic power. This allows him to use a mythic spell or spell-like ability outside of his Abyssal domain, but he cannot augment that spell or spell-like ability by spending additional uses of mythic power. Master of Death (Ex) Orcus applies his Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus (necromancy) feats to his spell-like abilities. Death effects created by Orcus, including the Wand of Orcus in his hands, ignore immunity to death effects except for those granted by creature type, or from deific or mythic sources. Poison (Ex) Sting—injury; save Fort DC 42; duration 1/round for 4 rounds; damage 1d6 Str and 1d6 Con; cure 2 consecutive saves. A creature reduced to 0 Str by Orcus’ poison cannot breathe and begins to suffocate. The save DC is Constitution based. Spells Orcus can cast spells as a 20th level cleric, and can prepare necromancy spells from the sorcerer/wizard list as if they were cleric spells. He gets access to domain slots, and can fill them with spells from any of his domains or subdomains. He can also spontaneously cast inflict spells as an evil cleric can. Summon Demons and Undead (Sp) When Orcus summons demons, he can also summon undead creatures.

[my-name-is-apollo]

so we all know during the trojan war, Hermes sided with the Greeks and Apollo sided with the trojans, so did the war affect their friendship or they were still friends after the war and gossipped like they always do

I don't think it affected them, really. Hermes actually doesn't participate in the war actively even though he took the side of the Greeks during the theomachy. He is ultimately the messenger of Zeus in the war. He took Priam to Achilles safely so that the old man could ask for the body of Hector. After the Trojan war, Hermes even personally escorted Orestes to Athens upon Apollo's request.

Like, even Athena who took a more active role in bringing the demise of Trojans, helped Apollo with Orestes.

[haveyouplayedthisttrpg]

Have you played RUNEQUEST ?

By Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson, and Warren James

The grand daddy of d% based RPGs, RuneQuest is a fantasy role-playing set in Greg Stafford's original fantasy setting of Glorantha and the game that would serve as the basis for Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying system that powers games such as Call of Cthulhu and King Arthur Pendragon.

Glorantha is a bronze age setting that operates on mythic logic: the world is still young, since time only began relatively recently as a result of a cataclysmic theomachy, and many of the founding myths that shape the world are not just myths but the literal truth. The Hero Wars time period of at least the first and second editions of the game was centered largely on the region of Dragon Pass, which also appeared in the cool as hell video game King of Dragon Pass.

As a game RuneQuest is clearly a reaction to early Dungeons & Dragons in many ways: characters advance organically by training or learning skills through use, magic isn't arbitrarily restricted by "class," and combat is notably less abstract and more blow-by-blow than in D&D. There is also an attempt to integrate the setting very strongly with the mechanics, aptly demonstrated by the various organizations and cults characters can join to unlock new avenues of advancement.

[nitewrighter]

If you had to write a Spider-Man x DC crossover fic, how would you do it? Plop Peter in the middle of one of the iconic DC cities because of multiversal shenanigans, or would you blend things together so that Spidey would feel like a natural part of the DC setting?

Would Spidey remain a NYC-bound hero, or would he be slinging webs elsewhere?

Well to preface my answer, I need to reiterate that the primary advantage Marvel has had over DC from the start is being able to position itself as a response/deconstruction to whatever DC's putting out. DC started back in the 1930's and Marvel really only emerged as something recognizably similar to the Marvel we know today in the 1960's when Stan Lee joined the team. DC was shaped by WW2 and Baby Boom/Cold War Era patriotism, while Marvel emerged at the beginning of multiple massive counterculture movements and a superhero genre on the decline. Basically compare the Justice Society of America being conscripted to fight a domestic fascist threat during WW2, happily hooking arms and shaking hands and congratulating each other all the while, with the Fantastic Four, a loving but squabbling family who get their powers by pure cosmic accident and are now juggling their newfound powers with their still-flawed relationships and now supervillain threats.

This is also why Spider-Man, who in my eyes is very much the heart and soul of the Marvel universe is, in himself, a deconstruction of Superman. He's vulnerable where Superman is invulnerable, he can swing a web but he's very much subject to gravity, he's lean and scrappy rather than musclebound, he has to continually contort himself in the air and to his environment to get around rather than just smashing through it, and his characterization is very much based in the inherent instability of adolescence whereas Superman is positioned as this very stable, moral presence. Right off the bat Spider-Man is defined by a mistake, by his selfishness resulting in the death of his Uncle Ben, and he's later further defined by the death of Gwen Stacy, which is also Marvel saying to DC, "Hey it's not just monster of the week over here, our characters can grow and change and DIE." So like... even though I definitely put myself in the DC camp more than the Marvel camp, I can absolutely see Marvel's appeal.

As far as putting Spider-Man into the DC universe goes, honestly that would depend on what my overall goals for the fic would be. If it's just a silly "ooh what if Spidey met ________?" then Pete's probably getting isekai'd, but--and okay this might be cheating because it's Jack Kirby, haha--I'd be interested in seeing NYC-based Spidey basically getting hit with the Fourth World saga. He's just a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and he did not ask for a fucking SPACE THEOMACHY dropped into his lap! So it would be less of dropping Spider-Man into the DC universe and more of taking a massive chunk of the DC universe and making it Spidey's problem. And then he and Mister Miracle can be fwiends and Orion can pick him by the neck so he makes a squeaky toy noise and Barda can hold him in her big strong arms and he can dangle behind Lightray by a web going "Wheeeeee." Also I think him interacting with the Forever People would be hilarious as well. Spider-Man is not equipped to deal with invading Apokoliptian forces but then a bunch of Space Hippies show up and just fucking Voltron together into a Huge Guy and Spidey's just like, "I've met some polycules in my life, but this is ridiculous!" but probably something more clever and Spidey-ish.

Mostly I'd be interested in seeing this because of the aforementioned argument of Spider-Man as a deconstruction of Superman. While Kirby initially wrote the Fourth World saga as its own almost standalone/spin-offy thing within the DC universe, Darkseid quickly became recognized as a part of Superman's Rogue's gallery in the greater pop culture eye--largely thanks to Superman: TAS. Like, yeah, a lot of the time Darkseid is positioned as the big cosmic threat to the Justice League as a whole, but it's Superman who usually ends up in the solo rounds with the guy.

I feel like this way Spider-Man would basically be positioned as the guy who ultimately has to help the New Gods acclimate to earth and this way the whole massive Apokolips/New Genesis cast Kirby set up in the Fourth World saga wouldn't end up scooted off to the side in favor of the Justice League, which is basically what happened to them in the overall popular reception of DC. Spider-Man would need Mister Miracle, Big Barda, Lightray, Orion, and the Forever People's help in defending New York from Darkseid and his goons, and they, in turn, would need Spider-Man's help in understanding life on Earth.

Spider-Man: Behold! The Bacon Egg and Cheese!

The Forever People: *awed* Ooooohhhh

I feel like it also works because The Fourth World Saga was Jack Kirby's way of incorporating a shit-ton of counter-culture into mainline DC really really quickly, so you already kind of have this meshing of DC and Marvel vibes.

[littlesparklight]

Apollo can honestly be extremely patient and tolerant, actually. And possibly loves Troy/the Trojan royal family just that much but it's not just about them.

Apparently doesn't hold any sort of grudge against Troy/the royal family like Poseidon does over Laomedon's treatment of them ;

(You could maybe count his only mild defense/deflection against Poseidon in the Theomachy, since regardless how you read his argument, Artemis mocks him and that gives us a clear indication that this is still Apollo losing face and he just accepts that.) ;

The way he allows himself to be disrespected, three times each, by Diomedes and Patroklos, before he puts his foot down. Neither of them should have come at him at all, never mind a second time when they realize they're up against a god, THREE TIMES is just hubris, honestly.

[tactax-art]

say hi to Theo

[thecruxarm]

Introductory Post

Hello, and welcome to my blog! Above is an infographic I've made detailing the Milky Way as well as the commonality of life and intelligence itself across the galaxy, which will serve as an important base of reference for all else I plan to post on this blog. I won't say much in reference to this image that isn't already included in the infographic, so I'll go on to explain what my project is about, which I will elaborate on with future posts:

In short, the primary focus of my speculative biology sci-fi project takes place around the mid-Centaurus arm, as indicated on the infographic, in a region of the galaxy locally known as "Ruminaaan Space", which is the single largest interstellar community in the history of the Milky Way! Although the majority of these Ruminaaan residents have only began their joint interstellar societies within the past 3,000 years, an ongoing battle has been waging for the past billion years and counting between a species known as the Yn and an entity known as Xii, and while I'll leave more detailed elaborations for future posts, this is a story of a single species divided and disfigured by their own conflicts and the long-term consequences it holds on their stellar neighbours, even one billion years later.

Onto the blog itself, to help with organisation, I will use the following tags on my posts:

#Alien Person Asks (for when I answer asks in my inbox (feel free to send any if you want to know more about my world!)), #Ruminaaan Theomachy (for posts relating to the central aliens of my project and the communities they've built), #Alien Person Spec Bio (for posts relating to the more biological aspects of my worldbuilding) and #Alien Person Worldbuilding (for other posts about miscellaneous or more general features of my worldbuilding process)

Besides transcripts for the featured image, that's all for my introductory post, so stay tuned for more!

{Main text-wall transcript}:

The Milky Way The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy about 100,000 light years across, which happens to be the galaxy in which Humans are located, as well as over a couple hundred other intelligent species. The galaxy is estimated to be about 13.6 billion years of age and has thus far been identified with two major arms (the Perseus and Scutum-Centaurus Arms) which branch off into many smaller minor arms.

The galaxy is estimated to contain anywhere between 100 to 400 billion stars, most of which host a minimum of one orbiting planet. Although on Earth many may consider the possibility of extraterrestrial life to be a rarity, it is more common than one may think, with there being roughly 14.33 billion planets and moons combined which host native life. However, only about 8.59 million of these worlds host multicellular life (around 0.06% out of the total life-bearing celestial bodies), which is due to eukaryotic multicellularity being a very challenging hurdle to get over for life everywhere for a variety of reasons.

This being said, approximately 91.67% of these worlds do host sapient life forms, as high intelligence is almost an inevitability with multicellular organisms given sufficient time, though an extremely lower fraction of these planets and moons are actually home to sophont, technological civilisations comparable to anything humanity has accomplished throughout the past 200,000 years, with there being only 237 star systems with native sophont life (as indicated by the bright white dots shown to the right), and 268 sophont species overall, accounting for only 0.000028% of worlds with multicellular lifeforms. Among these 268 civilisations, very few actually aspire to be spacefaring, with there being less than 40 such civilisations, such as the Jodomii or Sirt, who even have space programs to begin with. Most either do not have the desire to explore outer space, as is the case with the Shreau, Uut, Samrinians or Aniin, do not even have the means to discover that outer-space exists in the first place, such as the Fline or Udrae, who have limited or nonexistent vision, or the Katudit, who live in the subglacial oceans of a rogue planet, or may never leave their home planets for any other multitude of reasons.

While the abundance of technological, cultured civilisations across the Milky Way is fortunately higher than most may be led to believe, it’s important to keep in mind the fact that the space which separates the majority of these civilisations is tremendous, with even the closest being hundreds of light years apart. Despite this, only four interspecies interstellar communities have managed to spring up across the interstellar medium (not counting the Yuruuc, who have yet to encounter any other intelligent species despite how far they have dispersed throughout their corner of the Outer Arm), which is simply due to the fact that interstellar travel is nigh-impossible without the use of warp technology, though only one of these such communities has managed to grow to such an extensive size which incorporates over a dozen unique civilisations; Ruminaaan Space. Ruminaaan Space (the blue area marked along the mid-Centaurus Arm) is the single largest community of interstellar civilisations with the widest reach in interstellar space in the entire history of the Milky Way thus far, with the Boueue and Scerere only having came into contact nearly 3,000 years ago. This region of the Milky Way will be the main focus of my ongoing project, titled ‘Ruminaaan Theomachy’, as you’ll all get to see more of as time goes on, so stay tuned, and welcome to the Ruminaaan Theomachy project!

{Milky Way Labels Transcript}:

Norma Arm, Sagittarius Arm, Perseus Arm, Orion Spur, Scutum-Centaurus Arm, Outer Arm

{Sophont Labels Transcript}:

Scerere, Boueue, Udrae, Samrinians & Aniin, Shreau, Jodomii, Humanity, Sirt, Yuruuc, Fline, Katudit, Uut

[maddyaddy]

Gesith, the personal retinues of a Greymanes Aetheling, fill a number of roles in the Chapter's organization. One such role is to carry the Fyrd's banner - a symbol of the warrior-brotherhood that binds the members of the Fyrd. This Gesith is from the 1st Fyrd, the Wighthounds. An august but ill-starred formation roughly equivalent to the 1st Company in Codex-compliant Chapters, the Wighthounds are personally led by the Cyning. While such an arrangement of personal leadership by the supreme Chapter officer is not unusual amongst even (cf. Chapter XVIII "Salamanders") Codex-compliant chapters, it is notable.  Upon the escutcheon of the banner borne by the Gesith is the device of the Burhghest. In New Albian lore, the Burhghest is an omen of death, one of the hounds of 'Arawn'. This bears some explanation on this chronicler's part. It should be noted that New Albians are monolatrists. That is to say, they acknowledge gods besides the Emperor, or in their parlance, Al-fodr. As such, the New Albians, and by extension, the Greymanes cannot be said to be strict monotheists. No doubt, this vexes the Ecclesiarchy, though they allow this because of the extreme isolation of the Eastern Fringe and ever-necessary Imperial syncretism. The New Albians, however, do not worship these other gods. They know better than that. Rather, they are mostly objects of terror, and if more benign, respect. Arawn, 'Black Lord of the Underverse' (cf. Morkai, Erlking), is not respected. He is feared.

Of Arawn, we have a number of both oral and written accounts. There is the "Russ and Arawn" cycle of scopic literature, centering on a theomachy between the Wolf King and this figure, ending in the 'Death-King' bending the knee to Russ and losing his black sword, the so-called "Iron of Death". These are the oldest written texts about the subject, with manuscripts for the written versions dating to at least the Age of Apostasy. The Russ and Arawn stories are without a doubt far older in oral form. Of whether Russ actually ever visited New Albia and whether this battle actually ever happened, the chronicler cannot say. What has passed to us in the wider Imperium from the Space Wolves - never a people to write things down, the infamous Omega Codex and other such exceptions not withstanding - tells us he disappeared two hundred and eleven years into the 31st Millennium. The Space Wolves notably, to this day, have not found a trace of him on their famous Great Hunts. Yet, here is an oral tradition of him visiting a world on the utmost edge of the known galaxy, battling an autochthonous death-god into submission. It might be myth. It might be truth. It might be a half-remembered, older theomachy.  

Nobody knows the truth of this.  Moving forwards from this disquieting revelation, Arawn is widely held to be a malicious figure. His emblems are manifold - the aforementioned black sword (which by some accounts persists in the hands of the Cynings under the name of Caladbolg, literally meaning "cut steel"), a great axe which he replaced it with, the skull of a human being, and the Wighthound or black-furred Burhghest. These are omens of death. Violent and horrific death, but not necessarily heedless, reckless, unending murder. Rather than the Blood God's rage, Arawn is said to have a "cold disdain" for mankind at large.  I have written more than enough for your edification, students. But something compels me, a foolish old man whose faith and health is failing, to reveal something. 

Through all my time studying the Greymanes, both in the field and from afar, I have never seen or heard of anything resembling the 'foul mutants' the Space Wolves are held to harbor.

The so-called 'Curse of Wulfen' does not exist amongst them, or so it seems. Perhaps it is one of Magos Cawl's miracles, perfecting even the Emperor's divine work, or something unknowable, that has kept them from that particular malediction.  Another has taken its place. I leave you these scopic verses, a set of lines the Greymanes have tried to extirpate. This dates from the immediate aftermath of the so-called Winter of Woes. I, The scop who wrote this was expelled from the Greymanes' protection, to never return to New Albia - on pain of death. They do not want this to be remembered.  The Death-King's wycca dreams gave them spoor of the Cu Poor souls who became hounds, they now see only that which seems! All of them, victim of the Death-King. He who patiently waits. They serve not Al-fodr, but the Guardian of the Mounds.

He who threads men's fates. Cullain led them onwards to ruddy war, and kinslayer Hildebrand too. The unfastening of their chains, an omen of sorcerers' doom

[a-mimsy-borogove]

Theomachy - Chapter 1

Daniela watched the news interview with another theologian, the latest of many that had run since The Message. The interviewee, Dr. Alex McKenzie, was explaining what was likely to happen next. Hope’s eyes were dull, her initial panic at The Message having faded into the grey fog she knew well.

Outside her house, what was left of the town did the same, the wreck-filled streets practically deserted as the residents listened for updates. Mostly, they were in shock as well. Many were grieved, others betrayed, but everybody was stunned. Countless people gone—and according to The Message, they might well be the lucky ones.

Daniela's parents had been some of those taken up. For the first time in her life, she was away from them. She was, however, in no state to be relieved by that.

The attack that had followed The Message had been the worst she had ever experienced, and there had been no one to help her through it—not that the latter was unusual for her. After the initial paralyzing shock, she had sat hyperventilating as every threat of fire and every caustic rebuke her parents had given her ran through her mind. But never in their most vitriolic moments had they said what else The Message told her.

A sharp sound startled Daniela out of her focus for a moment. She looked out the window to see a young girl, no more than 10 years old, crying in the street.

A child, she thought. Even her? How could He?

Imagining what might have led the girl to that reaction would trigger another breakdown, she knew. So she turned back to the news, and did her best to ignore the girl’s hiccuping sobs.

Finally, the interviewer asked the question that had been on everybody’s mind since The Message. “Dr. McKenzie, what do you think our response should be to The Message? We have been given concrete proof of God’s existence, yet at the same time we have learned that much of our interpretation of Him was wrong. What should we be doing as a result?”

Daniela shuddered. Her parents would have gladly accepted the terms of The Message, and made her do the same. Most of the people that had been taken up would have responded so as well. There was no concrete information on exactly which people were taken up and why, but theories were developing.

Dr. McKenzie took a deep breath before answering. "I can't say for certain what we should do next. For all my research, I never expected to live through these events. Keep our eyes open is the best I've got there—we've got a lot ahead of us.

“With that said: I'm sure everyone listening is confused, uncertain, and terrified. I know, because I am too. So I do have some words for you all.

“Based on what the speaker said, I am confident in saying neither Heaven nor Hell will be as we imagined them. Whatever happens next, what we now know has upended our understanding of the world—this one and the next. The God of The Message is not the benevolent one He has been understood as. This is a God of vengeance, of wrath—He means to destroy our world, to wipe out our humanity, and to damn anybody who doesn’t accept that fate.

"I know that seems bleak. I know many of you may think the Heaven that He offers, such as it is, is still the best option available. And I can't blame you for thinking so.

"But I urge you all to hang on. The world still has time—you still have time. And we need to use that time for all it's worth. Giving up and giving in only guarantees we lose ourselves. I don’t have answers yet, and I doubt anyone else does. But we’ll find a third option. We’ve seen one impossibility, we can see one more.

"So I encourage all of you to hold on to hope, hold on to each other, and hold on to your self. It seems that those might be all we’ve got.”

The news anchor nodded, thanked Dr. McKenzie for coming, and the stream ended as she went into another report.

Daniela sighed, stood up from her laptop, and walked over to the kitchen, feet treading lightly over the creaking floorboards on now-obsolete instincts. As she prepared herself lunch, she glanced out the window at the emptied streets. The girl was gone. She didn't want to think about where she had run off to.

She thought about the interview. “He means to wipe out our humanity,” they had said.

She knew what they meant. The Message had not spelled a preferable fate for those taken up. But for a quick, shameful second, a part of her—the part that had been built up from years of pain and hurt—wondered whether that would be so bad. The rest of her craved to believe that it was.

Her parents were gone, for better or worse. She was free, whatever that meant in this new world.

What do I do with myself now?

===

AN: It's finally ready! I've had this story baking in the back of my head for months now, and the first batch is finally done!

Telling this story is important to me, and I hope you enjoy it! This is my first Big story, so please let me know what you think.

[pionoplayer]

Ten thousand, a hundred thousand, millions, maybe more. How long had they watched this world as it slowly, but oh so painfully certainly, spiraled towards destruction.

In the young days it had seemed so wonderful. The world teemed with life and magic. New races rose from both the living things and the powerful magic of the world. Gods awoke to guide them, to help and save them, push them to what surely must have been a bright future.

First came the villages and worshippers. Then came cities and temples. Then empires and mighty religious gatherings. And then came war and heresy. Then came hatred and persecution. Came the first theomachy. Came genocide and the first extinctions.

The peoples of the world perhaps had an excuse for not learning from that event, for the mortals lived such short lives that the lessons of ages long past were hard to hold. The gods had no such excuses. And yet it still became the cycle. The survivors would rise, come to hate each other for their prosperity, and tear it all down for petty spite and cruelty.

Again and again, the people and gods slaughtered each other, deeply wounding the earth each time so that every time the empires rose they rose all the more fragile and rotten. Never given thought was peace and restoration, never given effort was harmony and recovery. Just greed, malice, and pride.

Until one day, all that remained was the humans.

The humans were crafty, not so crafty as the lizardfolk or dwarves, but crafty nonetheless. They were adaptable, though not so fluid as the shapechangers or elves. They were strong, but hardly enough to contest the ogres or giants. What they had, that no other race did, was a willingness to claim the gods of dying races for their own. If one died in theomachy they had others, their own race long dead but thrown the uncomprehending lifeline of humans who held no deific loyalty but to those who would answer their prayers.

That was how she, forgotten nameless goddess of a race that fell in the first war of extinction, was still alive when the humans turned on themselves, and their gods scoured the last surviving pillars of earth's stability to frayed cinders.

The soil died, the forests died, the beasts and fowl and fish died. And even as the world turned to ash around them the humans and their gods fought and fought and fought.

So why then. Why at this pointless desolation at the end of the world, was she still alive? The coward who fled the fighting and left her people to die. The failure who never once managed to convince the other divinities to set their swords aside. The whispering lost remnants of a people so long gone she barely remembered what they looked like. A mother who abandoned her children. A teacher that passed nothing on to her pupils.

She almost resented the last enclave of humans, that hid away before the final wars. That tucked themselves into a warren and let the others kill each other and everything else. But in her heart, she could not. They were like her in a way. As the goddess of life, she was a survivor, everything she was bent towards continuing to live. And if they pursued her domains even when she could not bear to pass it on any longer she had no right to begrudge them of it.

So when in the distance she felt them too begin to wink out one by one. Taken by illness and misfortune at first, then by old age, then creeping towards starvation and desperation, she prepared herself as best she could for the end. For finally being able to rest, for what worth that rest might still carry.

---

Why was she still alive. Only one soul remained. A single lingering human, hanging on by the barest thread. But it had been years, so very long. They should have died. SHE should have died. She should be done, left to become so much sullen dust on a molten ball of death that was once a world.

And even worse, she had started to feel a tug. A feeling she had not felt in centuries, but which she could never forget. The sensation all gods were forged from and fed on.

This human, three hundred years after her last adherent had been sundered by the sun god's vengeful inquisition, was praying to her.

If only they would let her be. Let her die with everything else. But there was nothing to do. A devotee, the LAST devotee, called upon her.

She could do nothing but answer that call.

With a feeling like pulling herself from the depths of a boiling tarpit into the hateful ash choked air, she gathered what was left of her essence, and awoke.

---

When she manifested, the room before her was not what she expected. It was not a cramped tunnel, or the ruined hall of an ancient shelter. Darkness swallowed all of it, but the tiny puddle of light before her revealed the edges of grand pillars and the corners of mighty shelves lined by row upon row of scrolls, tablets, and books.

And before her, clutching a tiny glowing stone, casting a shadow across the floor far greater than his thin and withered form, was her supplicant. He had not noticed her yet, doubled over in prayer before a meticulously crafted altar. Her voice caught in her throat as she saw what was engraved upon it.

She gingerly reached down, careful not to disturb the man yet, and picked up the tiny statuette. It was smooth and flowing, easily mistaken for little more than a mishapen blob. Distant memories stirred in the back of her mind.

She spoke, and almost winced and the gravelly cracks in her tone, three centuries of silence and isolation coating her voice in dust and decay. "you have called me mortal, and so I answer."

The man jolted upright with a worrying crack. He was pale, gaunt, barely more than skin and bones. His skin was littered with a thousand tiny scars that should have healed on a living man. He was barely more than a corpse, but the undead could not worship. Somehow, he lived.

"Oh! Thank you goddess. Thank you for hearing my humble prayer." He bowed again. She looked at the altar, at the quiet glints of gold and silver and ebony and she was not even sure what else in the dim light. And yet he called it humble, in an age where even prayer itself was all but extinct.

She answered him "do not fret. there were none others who are left to ask. humble or not, your call would be answered until such time as i finally am left to rest."

He jolted upwards, worry in his face. He staggered, hitting his leg on a stray pile of books and immediately freezing up. No bruise formed but she watched his face scrunch up as if to cry. No tears welled up, but he sniffled, and straightened up. "Ah, your grace, you don't mean... Are there..." His voice dropped low, "Does that mean... I am the last?"

She nodded her head. He knew. She knew. All that was left was him. "there are none left who walk the once green earth but you."

"And. And of the gods?" There was a spark of hope in his face. She felt hers darken further.

But it was a question she couldn't answer as easily. "i cannot say for certain child. But when their fighting was done... none came for me, and none came for you. perhaps they slumber, waiting for oblivion to finally relieve them of their watch like i do, but... i do not find that likely of them."

The man let out a soft breath. He nodded. "As expected, I suppose. I am lucky that you answered my call at all, your grace. That you were still there to."

She nodded, "that there was anyone to. what do you ask of me, in this final hour?"

The man looked up at her, looking her in the eyes. It was a strange feeling for her, mortals never did such things in ages past. But here and now... What was left of her life dangled off what was left of his. If she were to strike him for insolence she risked killing him, and therefore herself. And while she wished so much for it all to finally be over, a part of her held back the quiet indignity and black nihilism. Just one more prayer. One last boon. She could do her duty this time.

The man averted his gaze abruptly. "Ah, I'm so sorry your grace. I have... I have not ever... Done this. I apologize for my impertinence."

She sighed, "there is no harm done. at this time, there is no point in wrath towards you. please just say what you require."

He nodded, then coughed as the motion caught something in his throat. A small cloud of dust billowed out, but he finally spoke again, raspy and stilted. "I apologize my lady. I... I know the hour is late. You have implied you simply wish to... Follow the others." He paused, she nodded in affirmation. "I know it is a selfish thing of one like me to ask, and without much to give of what you normally demand. But... I do not want to go into the dark alone. I don't know how much longer I will last, I should have died years ago. With the others. But however long I have left... If you could stay with me. Please?" He looked up at her again, hollow eyes shining with desperation and little else.

How much pain was he in? How lonely must it be? No. She knew the answers to both those questions. She did not want to spend her last days alone either. After his question and three centuries of solitude the thought of sinking back into the aether to die isolated and unknown was suffocating.

"it is a small thing, you may have your request"

(Having tumblr trouble and also it's late. This story will be continued and finished over the next couple of days/reblogs)

A deity has had enough and is ready to die, however one tiny human still calls their name in prayer, forcing this deity to exist. The deity now attempts to help the tiny human in order to finally fade away.

[biblically-accurate-garfield]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: My Little Pony Generation 4: Friendship Is Magic (Cartoon 2010) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Characters: Twilight Sparkle (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Rarity (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Applejack (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Pinkie Pie (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Fluttershy (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Spike (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) Additional Tags: G4 au, Kinda Apocalypse, i guess?, idk what to call it, but yeah, Violence, War, Au where everypony is evil n shit Summary:

The war has begun. The mane six have deserted each other. Equestria has fallen. It’s everypony for themselves…