#this is weirdly not at all how BB usually dresses

[topios]

Meet BB: fey, memory manipulator, deeply devoted to that one snarky little mess of a human they ran into by accident and very very much in love with him. Which translate to BB respecting his wishes as long as they’re not self destructive. In short: a pet monster who somehow has one of the best takes on love of all my characters.

[slocumjoe]

What do the companions do/wear on their days off?

omg this is such a good prompt...

Companions' off-day

Cait;

What she does; Relax as much as Cait can relax. She might clean her gear, or practice her aim at the shooting range, but Cait takes her quiet moments where she can get them. Though, her idea of quiet isn't actually...quiet. She likes the bar scene, telling stories of her and Sole's exploits. Cuts back on booze after the Vault, but still takes a soda to toast to her own badassery.

What she wears; Tank tops, baggy pants. Soft shorts, sweats, lounge wear. Assuming she feels totally safe, of course. You can tell her comfort level by her pants of choice. Her normal leathers? Uncomfortable. Jeans? Open to relaxing, but unsure. Cotton or fabric? It's lounging time, baby.

Curie;

What she does; All sorts of things. Curie dips her fingers in everything she can. She bakes, she runs tests and experiments, she works at the clinic, she tends to animals, she gardens, she does this and that and that and that and...a very busy bee. Curie is never not doing anything. Berry-picking, trying her hand at weapon crafting, kickball; Curie's days off are full of activities and learning.

What she wears; Colorful clothing, fun patterns. Floral button-up blouses with high-waisted pants and sneakers, flannel overshirts with comic graphic tees, long dresses and skirts. She really likes dresses. So swishy! All her clothes are dirt-stained at the knees.

Danse;

What he does; Train, tuneup his gear, patrol, repeat. Danse doesn't have much outside of his military life. There isn't a buffer for him. He doesn't have an off switch like that. After BB, this worsens. Doesn’t eat, sleep, or stop doing. The other companions intervene and force him to take a break, but it's uncomfortable for him. Eventually they take turns keeping Danse busy for his own wellbeing. Cait spars with him, MacCready takes him shooting at the range, Preston has him gardening, et cetera.

What he wears; Work clothing. Overalls, jeans, tighter shirts that won't snag on little bits of machinery.. His boots are forever caked in mud. Used to like Tacky Old Man Patterns and brighter colors, but After BB, wears dark, form-hiding clothing, like thick sweaters and coats. Gets a lot of body image issues. Starts wearing hats to hide/shadow his face.

Deacon;

What he does; If really relaxing, Deacon is most himself. He reads, tailors his clothing, listens to music and radio shows. When Deacon relaxes, he isn't doing anything but enjoying media. It's not often he gets to relax. He'll also play with makeup and his wigs, trying out new potential looks. It is genuinely fun, even if for work purposes. Likes helping Curie and Piper with their makeup.

What he wears; Hoodie, sweats, crocs. Comfy, nondescript. If he's relaxing, he isn't being Deacon, Railroad Spy for a bit. He's just Deacon. And Deacon wears crocs and a hoodie with a weird graphic on it.

Gage;

What he does; Depends. Is he still a Nuka World raider, or domesticated by a Minuteman Sole? If former, uses the off time to run his own little investigations into everyone else, keep tabs. Works, basically. If domesticated, sits on a porch with a smoke, watches the sheep (settlers) go baa (tend the fields, run their shops, guard the settlement, etc). Whittles as a hobby, makes intricate wooden animals. Teaches Shaun how to do it. Kids take to him, weirdly enough. Also plays harmonica, but only in private.

What he wears; Tank tops, dark jeans, and his usual shit-kicker boots. Raider gear is messy, but its every-day practical. Has a furlined jacket he dons if cold, but he avoids it because something about a furry coat collar makes woman irresistibly attracted to you, and he prefers to lay low.

Hancock;

What he does; practices knife tricks, reads, writes, fiddles with his gun (never happy with the recoil), plays video games on terminals or Sole's pipboy. Babysits Duncan, plays video games with him. MacCready doesn't need to know Uncle John has a higher score in Zeta Invaders than him. Often goes 'campaigning', asks people about their thoughts on leadership and community.

What he wears; Pants, boots, no shirt or a very loose shirt. Has cut the bottom off of dresses to make the top a shirt. Gives the bottom to Curie to make into skirts.

MacCready;

What he does; Shooting practice, video games, comic books, puts models together, and most curiously, draws. Rather good at it. Draws his own comics, but most his impressive work is his diagrams of wasteland critters. He does it to help his head remember weakpoints, point out openings in the middle of chaos. Plays toys with Duncan shamelessly.

What he wears; Warm clothing, mostly, no matter the weather. Thick sweaters, soft slacks, jeans...practical, but comfy. Dislikes silky fabrics, loves thick socks. Wears his hat everywhere.

Nick;

What he does; Loves activity books, especially number-based puzzles. They're kind of hard to come by, and he feels bad filling them out since they're not in production. Piper and Nat make new ones for him. He's also good at the piano, and when he can find a functioning one, likes to just sit and enjoy the music. Tries to teach Danse piano, but good God, that man couldn't carry a tune if he glued it to his hands.

Wears; Nick is an old man. He's always in the slacks, the suspenders, the button-up dress shirt.

Piper;

What she does; Makes Nick's puzzle books, for one. She likes racking her brain to find a challenge, look for little details to catch him up. Enjoys reading, obviously, but writing tends to be a work thing. Piper likes writing, but when you do it for work, doing it to relax feels like making a paradox.

What she wears; Jean shorts, graphic tees, and baggy tank tops. Wears flip flops and crocs. Puts her hair in low pigtails since its a bit too short to go all the back in one tail.

Preston;

What he does; Tries his damndest to relax, but he just can't. He's always all nerves and waiting for the other shoe to drop. He's cooking a new recipe, or patching up his coat, or making maps. Really likes cartography, scary accurate. It takes a lot to really get him to let his guard down. After Blind Betrayal, takes Danse under his wing since they're in similar boats. They talk a lot of history.

What he wears; Sweatpants, soft shirts and flannels, warm clothing. He's easily cold, especially his hands and feet. Wears gloves and thicker socks often.

X6-88;

What he does; Trains. If forced to take up a standard method of 'relaxation', will take up art, weapon crafting, or try his hand at Nick's and Piper's puzzle books. Sometimes he blows through them with a scoff, other times he gives up and asks the solution. Fascinated by those trick, brain teaser puzzle toys.

What he wears; Dark shirts, dark pants, dark boots. He's never not dressed nicely, cleanly, and formally. Even his sleepwear (once Sole demands he treat himself to his very own wardrobe) is elegant in a way. The sunglasses stay on, always.

[def-initely-soul]

Can I get the 'arm doesn't bend that way' and the 'cannibalism' thing with mark (got7) ? ^-^

of course bb ^_^

a/n: inspired by that one Halloween episode of Community so please show understanding. warnings, mild spoilers for the series!

pairing: mark from got7 x reader (f.)

prompt(s): “I don’t think your arm is supposed to bend that way.” & “Oh yeah, I’m totally into cannibalism.”

genre: humour; crack; zombie au; angst

warnings: mature language; gore; minor character deaths; mentions of drug use; mentions of alchohol use

words: 3.5k

“Mm, weird,” you state once the first bite of those weird tacos hits your oesophagus. It’s Halloween, in what could be the first Halloween party ever thrown by the Dean himself as a way to bring the spirit of the holiday over the campus. Or more precisely cause he didn’t have anything better to do on Halloween night.

Mark cocks an eyebrow at you as he drags away his hand with the freshly bitten taco. Tonight requires Mark’s unwilling assistance, seeing as you’re dressed as Edward Scissorhands and your hands are, well... scissors.

Safety scissors to be precise! Which, of course, had prompted a series of laughs to emit from your friends as the attempt to dress as Edward Scissorhands has left you with poorly dyed-black safety scissors.

Your friend in the James Bond costume takes a bite from your bitten taco. Oh, he’s gonna pay for this. “Your tendency to dress up in things that limit the use of your hands? I’d say alarming, though definitely weird,” Mark says in midst of chewing your taco and gloats when you try to take it back and fail spectacularly.

Damn your scissor-hands.

“Ha-ha, and what are you supposed to be, some hot guy with money that has sex with girls and never calls them back?” you throw the sarcastic jab while trying to cross your hands on your chest. Not with very much luck.

Mark smiles at your comment. “That’s exactly it! How’d you know?” he says with a cocky grin and you groan at loud. Sometimes he’s just insufferable.

“Ugh, gross, I swear you’re more tolerable once the sun is up, like some kind of asshole vampire that craves sex instead of blood,” you comment, eyes searching the crowd for either Yugyeom or Bambam (as they usually go together and are the most fun ones in the group) or even Jinyoung.

“That... sounds awesome actually. Anyway, you said weird. Weird as in?” Mark redirects the conversation back to where it began before you let it go off the rails.

 “Oh, right. Weird as in “Weird, this taco doesn’t taste like a real taco”,” you say as you lean in for one more bite. Mark gives you a judging look you choose to ignore, nevertheless, he brings the taco closer letting you have one more bite.

You chew slowly, letting the taste infiltrate your taste buds as you struggle to understand what kind of meat this is.

At that moment, the overly cheery collection of songs coming through the speakers stops to give way to another usually overly cheery voice that now sounds entirely too panicked.

“EVERYONE STOP EATING THE TACOS! PUT THE TACOS DOWN NOW! THIS IS A STATE OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY!” comes the shaky voice of the Dean and everyone turns around to look at each other weirdly.

Your eyes find Mark’s. “Okay, there’s definitely something weird with the tacos.”

Mark scoffs dismissively. “Yeah, but it’s not like we’re gonna die or something, right?”

Pause.

The Dean’s voice comes back on.

“WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!”

And it’s pandemonium.

.

.

It’s been two hours, thirteen minutes and...

And...

Fuck, you messed up the counting again.

“Y/N, stop counting the seconds since the outbreak took place!” Mark hisses as he, you, Yugyeom and Jinyoung try to barricade one of the study rooms, currently the only one empty and therefore safe.

You ignore Mark, as you put up more chairs on top of the couch in front of the doors to keep them from opening. To be fair you’re not counting the time since the outbreak took place. 

Only the time since you took the first bite of that taco. 

When the Dean made that announcement (although it sounded more like a cry for help), you started realizing things you hadn’t before. That girls dressed as Harley Quinn and Poisson Ivy that seemed to be making out weren’t actually making out; the Poisson Ivy girl was biting into Harley Quinn’s neck. That guy that looked like he was making a pretty good impression of Tommy Wiseau wasn’t actually high; he was zombified.

And all because of that questionable taco meat that both you and Mark had eaten. Symptoms included: itching all over the body and particularly on your palms, absence of pain, sleepiness and more importantly a sudden, violent desire for human flesh. And it takes about four to three hours for the symptoms to take action since consuming the probably mutant meat.

Which means you and Mark don’t have much time.

“Okay, I think this will do,” Jinyoung exclaims once he’s certain there’s no way the door will open. Yugyeom looks around with fear in his eyes, as he tries to look for any possible way someone may break in.

You can see though he’s still weighed down from losing Bambam in the crowd. Amidst the mayhem of everyone trying to escape (or barf the recently eaten meat) Yugyeom and Bambam got separated and you haven’t heard from him since. You just hope he’s okay.

“So what do we do now?” you ask, crossing your hands on your chest freely now that you got rid of the safety scissors. How can you fight a zombie pandemic with safety scissors for god’s sake?!

Mark settles down on the floor, grabbing a beer. “Have a nice cold pint and wait for this all to blow over?”

You resist the urge to scoff as Jinyoung steps forward. “Wait for this all to blow over? Do we even know what this is?”

“It’s a zombie outbreak,” Yugyeom murmurs somehow detached.

Jinyoung rolls his eyes. “Okay, I know you have a thing for movies but this thing out there is real, people we know are getting ill, or worse, dead! We can’t just sit back and wait for this all to blow over!” he claims, mocking Mark’s suggestion and you and him exchange a wary look.

Mark takes a swig of his beer. “And what do you suggest we do?”

Jinyoung levels his gaze. “Get out there.”

At that, your eyes almost bulge out of their sockets. “Are you mad? That instantly means getting bitten! Plus if we go out now, they’ll know where we’re hiding!”

Mark scoffs, taking another sip. “That seems like a great idea, because, oh yeah, I’m totally into cannibalism,” he sneers almost to himself.

Jinyoung doesn’t seem deterred as he takes a step closer with a confident look on his eyes. “Not if we don’t use the front gate.”

There’s a silence as you struggle to follow his train of thought, when Yugyeom looks upwards and gasps. 

“The vents.”

Jinyoung smiles. “Precisely!”

.

.

The weight of getting through the vents fell to you and Yugyeom so now you find yourself with the other boy, trying to fit through the vents to scout the rest of the library building to find any survivors or any means for escape.

So far you’ve passed by three study rooms which were all full of the infected, not one survivor on sight. Things aren’t looking good.

And your palms are starting to itch. Definitely not good.

“Do you think Bambam is somewhere out there?” Yugyeom whispers from behind you as you crawl through the vents. You bite your lip, not having much hope for your friend but not cruel enough to diminish Yugyeom’s hope too.

“Yeah... Probably hiding. You know how good he’s at hiding...” you say in a terrible attempt to comfort him. If he sees through your bullshit, he doesn’t say it.

Fuck, goddamnit there’s another itch on your palm. How much longer till Yugyeom sniffs out what’s going on? Fuck you gotta tell him and Jinyoung at some point.

You soothe the itch by shaping your hands into fists, letting your nails softly scratch against the irritated skin.

You pass all the study rooms which are currently swarmed with the infected, your only hope lying on the abandoned library cafeteria. The cafeteria had been closed off for “renovations” for the last couple of years, so you can only hope no one managed to break through to it.

And lo and behold, as you reach the open vent above it and look down, you find in joy the abandoned area to remain as such. Completely empty, chains locking the doors next to the entrance to the basement where the boiling room is.

You make a little cheering sound at your discovery as you and Yugyeom decide the place is perfect and make your way back to inform Jinyoung and Mark.

But on your way back as you pass by the second study room, the itch returns and for one second you forget yourself and scratch the open palm with one hand, an almost moaning sound breaking free from your lips.

When you realize what you’ve done it’s too late.

Yugyeom stops behind you with alarm in his eyes as he looks at your palm. “Y/N, what are you-?”

A loud groan interrupts him and you both look down the vent into the second study room to see an overly familiar face looking for something to eat. Or someone.

Your eyes widen as you watch Bambam walk around aimlessly with bloodlust in his eyes. Yugyeom sucks in a breath and leans in further to get a better look.

“Yug, be careful! We don’t know what they can do yet!” you warn him, a part of you sad for seeing your friend become one of them yet another part relieved for Yugyeom’s distraction.

Yugyeom doesn’t listen though. His eyes find his best friend and murmurs softly his name. 

Bambam, or what used to be Bambam, turns his head upwards at Yugyeom’s voice and for a moment you’re afraid he’ll alert the others and that will be your doom.

But he only looks at Yugyeom with a tilted head and bloody eyes before-.

“Must. Prank. Jinyoung.”

Yugyeom almost cries with relief. “He’s still in there! He’s still in there! Maybe there’s hope for them!”

You stare at zombie Bambam for a moment too long, entirely taken aback from the revelation. That means that maybe this situation is reversible. That, maybe, both you and Mark have a chance.

You drag Yugyeom away after that, still needing to inform the others of the empty cafeteria. You finally reach the study room, Yugyeom going down first and waiting to catch you but when you move to go down, your costume gets caught in the vents, resulting in you falling down the vents in a weird angle.

Yugyeom doesn’t catch you right away, resulting in you falling on top of one of the chairs barricading the door before falling on Yugyeom and dragging him down in the process.

Yugyeom groans from underneath you as Mark gives out his hand to help you up and with terror, you realize you feel no pain from the fall. Even if your arm seems broken, to say the least.

Mark’s worried eyes find yours, cause if you’re in that stage that means there’s not much time for him either.

“Ugh... Y/N? You okay?” Jinyoung asks cautiously as he leans back to look your over. 

“AHahahha, YEah! Why?” you say entirely guilty, trying to hide your broken arm with not much success.

“Because I don’t think your arm is supposed to bend that way,” he comments, all seriousness and Yugyeom’s eyes widen. 

“You’re infected! She kept scratching her arms on the way here!” he observes out loud and Jinyoung’s eyes widen as well.

Mark turns to look at you before he sighs and takes a step forward. “Actually guys, it’s my fault. I was eating a taco and made her take a bite because it tasted weird,” he claims, taking more than half the blame when both of you know it’s not quite like that. You’re left staring at him in shock as Jinyoung gasps. 

“You’re infected too?! Why didn’t you tell us? Or were you waiting until the last minute to get us infected as well?!” he asks full of anger as he takes a step further away from you.

Yugyeom takes his turn to talk. “I think they were just afraid.”

“Well, they’re stupid too!” Jinyoung snaps back and you shrink into yourself.

“We found a safe place. The abandoned cafeteria. No one made it in yet,” you share with the rest, out of guilt. Mark turns to look at you with shocked as Jinyoung’s anger fades away little by little.

Yugyeom confirms your statement. “It’s true! It’s after the rest of the study rooms but it’s there! Not a single soul inside!”

Jinyoung looks between the three of you, anger, sadness, disappointment in his features. “Then I have no choice. Yugyeom and I will go to the cafeteria, see if there’s any way out. You two stay here. I’m sorry guys but we might as well be the last two non infected in the entirety of the campus.”

You feel your throat closing up and yet you nod to show you understand. Mark’s jaw is clenched as he looks at you, his nostrils flaring up with anger before he turns to Jinyoung. “So what, you’re just gonna leave us here for dead?!”

“Maybe if you weren’t so stupidly selfish, thinks would be different!” Jinyoung yells back but then he regains his composure. He takes a deep breath, looking at you and Mark with sorrow in his eyes. “I’m really sorry but there’s no other way. Come on, Yugyeom, we’re leaving,” he states with finality in his voice as he climbs into the vent.

Yugyeom takes one last look at the two of you before he follows Jinyoung out the vents.

Leaving you and Mark alone.

.

.

Time passes by and the itch grows, spreading to your whole body as Mark begins experiencing the side effects as well.

“Okay. So. We’re screwed,” you comment, voice too panicky for your liking as you scratch behind your neck.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say screwed. More like doomed to spend the rest of our human lives in complete agony before we turn into violence-craving monsters that feed on the flesh of humans,” Mark casually comments as he scratches his left thigh.

You groan at him, throwing one of the couch’s pillows at his face. “Is everything a joke to you?”

He groans back at you. “What else am I supposed to do, huh? Cry over my pitiful fate on the last few hours of my existence? No thanks, I call that a normal Tuesday night, I’d rather get drunk and not think,” he shoots back at you, going for his beer but he already took the last sip. He shakes his bottle on top of his tongue for any last drop of liquid but with an annoyed sound, he throws the bottle at the other side of the room.

You stay quiet at that, instead scratching your arm as you avoid his gaze. Who would’ve thought you’d spend the last minutes of your life alongside Mark?

Which reminds you of how he covered for you earlier in a completely uncharacteristic behaviour of him.

You clear your throat to get his attention once more. “Um, thanks... for before... You didn’t have to cover for me like that.”

Your words have him take a wary glance at you before he shrugs nonchalantly. “It’s no big deal.”

You cock an eyebrow at his blatant display of macho-ness.  “Really? Cause the Mark Tuan I know would never have done that.”

He sighs tiredly, eyes avoiding yours. “It was the safest way to admit I was infected as well, I was saving my own ass...” he says, eyes still away from yours as he crosses his arms on his chest.

Your eyebrows furrow. “That-” doesn’t make any sense. But judging by Mark’s look on his face you know that bringing up that now will one give you the opposite result of what you want. So you say nothing.

A second passes before-. “We saw Bambam,” Mark’s eyes turn to you in interest, “Yugyeom and I. He’s...” you take a breath, “He’s one of them, but he seemed to show aspects of his human side while being a zombie,” you ponder scratching your jaw as if you’re thinking over it.

But really the itch just spread to your jaw as well.

Mark seems interested in that. “What did he do?”

You swallow a snort. “He kept saying he must prank Jinyoung.”

Mark blinks as your words, too taken aback for a second before he proceeds to laugh his ass off. His genuine laughter brings out your own and in a manner of seconds, you’re both laughing like lunatics all over the floor. 

Once your giggles die down, Mark wipes a hypothetical tear from his eyes. “Ah, classic Bambam. I hate to say it but I’m bummed I won’t get to see what kind of pranks zombie Bambam might pull on Jinyoung,” he whispers as he shuffles closer to you to bump your shoulder with his. 

You bite your lip to hide your smile at his attempt to make you feel better though you’re not very successful. Though your smile is quick to fall when the itch reappears, along with the first signs of sleepiness, ultimately reminding you of what’s coming in less than an hour. 

“Mark...” you whisper quietly, waiting for him to acknowledge you before you continue. He hums softly, showing he’s there and you take a deep breath.

“I’m scared,” you finally admit, letting an exhale leave your lungs, feeling somehow relieved the words are finally out and an incredulous chuckle escapes you. “I mean Jinyoung was right; we don’t really know what this thing is or what’s gonna happen to us after it happens, or if we really can survive this...” you mumble, the exhaustion and sleepiness slowly taking over you as you rest your head on Mark’s shoulder.

You feel his shoulders rising and falling, indicating the intake of breath. Then his hand slips into your own, fingers interlacing and squeeze your palm softly as if to say “you’re not alone in this” without saying it out loud, as if to comfort you.

Strangely enough, it does.

“I’ll be honest, even though we both know honesty isn’t my strongest suit,” he chuckles at his inside joke and you do as well, “I don’t really think we will survive this,” he admits, his voice grave as he runs soothing circles with his thumb at the back of your palm and you suck in an accepting breath.

“But amidst of all this despair at least I’m glad I get to spend my final moments with you...” he admits quietly, almost in a whisper. You feel your heartbeat increasing at his words, refusing to read too much into them just yet and you move your head slightly to look at him.

Only to find him already looking at you.

Both of you remain silent, staring into each other eyes, not daring to break the comfortable silence just yet.

A shaky exhale escapes you before-. “Me too.”

Mark takes another breath. His other hand travels to rest on your cheek, to bring your face closer as he leans in.

His lips are soft on top of yours, caressing them tenderly as you kiss him back as well. The kiss is gentle, comforting and contrarily sweet among the chaos around you. It’s a chaste yet passionate kiss, warm and long enough to distract you from the reality you’re going through, and yet you can’t get enough.

He leans back, interrupting the kiss and resting his forehead against yours, both of your breathing heavily against each other, his hand still on your cheek, your hands still intertwined.

And as your eyelids grow heavy, you rest your head once more at his shoulder.

“Thank you...” you whisper softly as you feel sleep taking over you.

The last thing you can feel is Mark’s soft lips pressing against your palm.

.

.

The whole campus is swarmed by paramedics, checking people’s temperatures, taking care of open wounds and giving the necessary shots for people that need them. The Dean looks at the whole debacle from outside the library building, relieved the whole situation came to an end without many casualties yet still traumatised from the night’s events to get close to any student.

Jinyoung sees Youngjae from across the lawn, walking confusedly towards him, still trying to gather his surroundings. The two friends look completely out of it. They ask each other what happened. None of them knows. None remembers.

On the other side, near the paramedics’ tent, Yugyeom is finally reunited with his best friend as Bambam sits next to him while getting treated for some weird scratches in his arms. They don’t remember either.

Across from them, near the cafeteria’s entrance is Y/N and Mark, bickering as usual with no recollection whatsoever of tonight’s events, forced to hide the truth from each other for a little while longer.

Everyone shares the same mark on the inside of their elbow, like a puncture wound no one remembers getting, which means it was successful.

And among the students, walks around the older Jinyoung, known also as JYP, campus’s resident grandpa. He asks when the music is gonna come back on. Everyone tells him to shut up, they all know his internet history.

[kinetic-elaboration]

June 2: 2x21 Patterns of Force

Took a nap after work today!! Perhaps a bad idea.

Anyway, some thoughts on the... awkward Patterns of Force.

Another story about Jim looking for his hero, I see. That never (always) ends badly.

Definitely getting an image of little Spock (teenage Spock? young adult Spock? all little Spocks) reading about Earth history.

Oh no, an armed drone. That does not bode well. Why do Kirk’s heroes always betray him?

A subcutaneous transponder. That seems like a useful device to introduce into the narrative. (Slash remember for future purposes...)

Also it reminds of me “He’s a...a... a transponster!”

Spock in a hat. I guess the Ekosians and/or Zeons don’t have pointed ears, then.

“It’s our old enemy...fascism.”

Well this guy literally was not subtle in his references to Nazi Germany. (I’m referring in universe to what’s-his-face but this also applies to the episode writer.)

“The evidence is clear... someone did interfere.”

“You look quite well for a man who’s been utterly destroyed, Mr. Spock.” This man canNOT stop flirting for one second.

Lol, using Spock to distract the Nazi.

“It’s logical to pretend to be a Nazi? Okay, I’m convinced. You said the magic word.”

“Look! I captured him!” So proud.

Kirk’s face when Spock says he would make a convincing Nazi. Bb, you’re not doing the compliment thing right. (I’ll actually be quite honest... I find the humor in that moment but it also makes me uncomfortable given both these actors are Jewish.)

That said, Kirk is canonically better at blending into undercover scenarios than Spock is. He thinks better on his feet, creatively.

How do these people NOT recognize two whole-ass aliens.

...Maybe they do.

I do like when Kirk is being interrogated and still tries to be charming..

That Nazi really lost a lot of authority after being dressed down by his superior in front of the captives.

I like this Zeon. 

“The flaw in the plan is this locked door.” Thanks Spock. It’s this subtle humor that I think people often miss in him. Like where you can’t tell if it’s intentional or not.

Kirk is so smart!!! He never gets credit for being this smart.

Hmm, taking out the transponders is such a weirdly intimate scene.

The Zeon wants to be included in this adventure so much but they’re obsessed with each other, like “What Zeon?”

“I’ll be your platform, Mr. Spock.”

This is such a weirdly humorous interlude for a story about Nazis. Kind of reminds me in a way of that conversation with the police man on City on the Edge of Forever. I mean that ep was much better but just like the sudden switch in tone.

Spock’s like “Oh, that was cool. Made a laser.”

I heard Kirk say, “You, over there,” as in directing Spock to stand over there, but the subtitles say “Beautiful. Over there.” As in, “we did a beautiful job getting out, now Spock, stand over there.” But combine them...?

Not gonna get a disguise for Spock huh? Just gonna let him be shirtless a little more for no apparent reason.

Poor Zeon. These aliens are inscrutable and not letting him in on anything.

“Alien pistols.”

“Who would win? the entire military force of this planet or two phaser-less space husbands?"

I probably shouldn’t laugh every time Kirk impersonates a Nazi but I do. "Don't mind me... completely believable Nazi here..."

The unsubtle of the Hebrew names. And of course.. .Zeon.

“We’ll be just as bad as the Nazis.” No, actually, you’re not and never will be that’s not how it works. BUT you definitely should help the aliens. Like, that phrase grates because it’s usually used to refer to, like, use of violence, use of “censorship” but here’s it more about turning away people who are different or minority and so then it does make sense but....the connotations.

Spock’s like, “May I... get away from this emotion? Has enough time passed for me to ask that?”

More Nazis! Following them everywhere!

Oh, psych. Not Nazis after all.

Spock’s like “Betraying your own father, you say? I have never thought about that.”

“The Fuhrer... is an alien?” Actual real line AND a correct summation of the situation.

This ep does not paint the Federation in a great light. Although to be fair... John Gill was breaking the rules so.

Documentary corps... I love it. Great disguise. Flash lights in people’s eyes, have an excuse to stay in a group, no on looks at you. Genius.

Spock is honestly so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed about EVERYTHING. He cannot be tamed. Again, really an aspect of him I miss in the reboots.

Kirk really is the captain of everyone in his vicinity.

“Think positively, Spock.”

Uhura is unflappable. “A Nazi Colonel’s uniform? Of course, Captain.”

Send him down naked if you have to!! Yes, please, send him down naked.

Spock giving McCoy detailed instructions on how to put on boots... Why was dialogue like this not in the reboots?

McCoy is so polite. Polite first, confused later. “Nice to meet you, Nazi--wait, Nazi???”

I love how McCoy immediately put on his drunk face and Spock was like, "An opportunity to insult McCoy?? Awesome.”

So I assumed the Chairman was either dumb or didn’t recognize them with their shirts on but apparently he was yet another mole, so. At least it’s not a plot hole.

“The speech has no discernible pattern or logic.” Hmmm, I wonder what it feels like to have a leader who speaks with no discernible pattern or logic?

Guys. Pals. Awful people. Did he really give orders, or did he just say random shit? People will flock to anything. I'll be honest, I actually think this is one of the subtler and better parts of this episode: how chilling it is to contemplate how people will rally around any non-speech that has the right tone and a few key words. This is garbage language. But it incites people to kill.

McCoy and his stimulants again.

Spock and his mind probing again.

Wow Spock really messed with his mind there. “He can answer questions but not otherwise speak?” What kind of crazy shit is that?

They are being so mean to Spock. “Malformed ears.” “Low forehead.” That’s not a low forehead, that’s bangs.

Nice triumivirate scene at the end. Feels good, feels organic. Kirk likes to hear his two BFFs bickering because it feels like all is right with the universe, and I agree. Nature is healing.

This episode has a very weird (and very hard to swallow imo) backstory. Like, who primarily associates the Nazis with efficiency? And even if you do, if you think there’s something to the way they put together the country so fast post-WWI, all of this “efficiency” is directly tied to hatred and violence. Like Isak said, the Ekosians have nothing to hold them together BUT hating Zeons. That's at the center of the design. It's not like Gill’s plan backfired it was just... a horrible plan?? It doesn’t even make sense to me that his “effective regime” was co-opted by one hateful person because what was at the center of the “Nazi” regime before the hatred of Zeons? What could it have been? There are no other alternatives provided. Also, even if it could have been somehow accomplished without the use of a scapegoat.. is fascism really an ideal? Like the story never reckoned with that concept at all, which I find disturbing.

Here’s the thing about Gill. He is a certain real type and I appreciate his inclusion up to a point. He’s the Naive, Hubristic Intellectual. He thinks because he’s studied something, academically, he knows more about it even than people who experienced it, and he can fix all of its problems. “I can do this, but better. I am so smart, I am so well-informed, I have no flaws.” I can even see this sort of person being someone a young Kirk would admire because there’s an optimism and idealism to this naivete. I don’t think Kirk is arrogant but he is very idealistic, and when he was a young man, still in the market for heroes, or at least idols or mentors? Yeah, someone with that kind of attitude toward life--that we can deeply understand and then improve upon history--would have appealed to him. It’s possible that Gill even was the “compassionate, gentle” person that Kirk thought, or that he had that side to him.

Where I think the episode erred is in absolving Gill of most of his guilt for this state of affairs. He does die and he does admit he was wrong, but his biggest sin is allegedly in introducing a regime that could be co-opted for evil rather than one that was inherently bad. He is literally drugged (tortured in a way), to emphasize just how non-culpable the narrative thinks he is. Also, while he does apologize for interfering at all, even this is fairly brief and not expanded upon in the rest of the narrative. The truth is he shouldn’t have interfered in general, because that’s not his place or his right, and he shouldn’t have interfered in this way specifically. Even if Malakon hadn’t risen and taken over, the ideal Gil was imposing was one of unthinking uniformity, lack of autonomy, worship of a leader over the rule law--these are not the values of the Federation, the show Star Trek, or me. But he’s used more as a device to explain why the show is so unsubtly Nazi, rather than a real villain or object lesson. Even though Gill is a much better object lesson than Malakon.

And what about Malakon? The ending presents him, literally and in so many words, as the “one evil man” responsible for all of this. I think we know both from studying history and, unfortunately, from our own times, that this is untrue because impossible. One evil person is just a lunatic ranting on the street corner. One evil leader became leader because others agreed and gave him power, or agreed in part, or made a deal with the devil, or disagreed but said nothing, or spoke but were overwhelmed. It’s a disservice to the subject matter to say that dictatorships or authoritarian regimes are that simple. I get that the episode is only 50 minutes and it needs to wrap up, and it’s simpler to say “Okay, killed the Villain, now we can go back to being Not Evil, all the Ekosians will be as happy as the Zeons because we never really wanted this.” But Hitler and his henchmen weren’t the only Nazis. Regular people--and in this context, regular Ekosians--weren’t Nazis too.

Overall, the episode was okay. Very awkward though. Very blunt. I think it would have been better off not using the Nazi symbology so literally. Like the idea that a human would come into a society and purposefully create something from our history is interesting (and “what if Earth but alien?” is certainly something TOS likes doing and finds various ways to do--like the gangsters in A Piece of the Action or Neo-Rome in Bread and Circuses or even literal Greek Gods in Who Mourns for Adonais?) but not worth it given which society was being emulated. It seemed to be too much an excuse to dig out the old WWII movie costumes (and put Jewish actors in Nazi regalia which... is very... distressing) and not so much an excuse for some kind of commentary along the lines of what I said above re: the hubris of historians, the hubris of time. That aspect leaves a bad taste. It had some good ideas but I think, again, it was hindered rather than helped by how literal it insisted (for some reason) on being. Compare it to A Private Little War, which was just about as obvious a Vietnam allegory as you can get, and yet still didn’t literally transport anyone to Vietnam, and this ep looks all the more clunky. I’m probably judging it more harshly than I have on previous viewings, but I really feel like... you can use sci fi to make a commentary on the rise of authoritarianism, but the delicacy of the subject matter requires you to be particularly thoughtful in the way you do it and the actual statements you’re making.

Anyway, the Enterprise Defeats Nazis is a good episode summary at least.

I think in my last attempt at a whole rewatch I stopped at around this point. I seem to have watched the next two episodes, according to Amazon, but I have a weird feeling I only watched one, the next one, By Any Other Name, and then stopped. I don’t remember either of them so we’ll see how that goes! Will they seem familiar or not?

[elouiseok-blog]

GATHER AROUND CUTIES, PSA TIME

hi my little gumdrops. consider this an intro 2.0 ?? i have no freaking idea but i mean i needed to revamp my sugarplum, Elouise, so this is my revamp. yay!

below the cut you’ll find i changed most aspects of the original posting, but kept some main story lines from my last post. i added to her bio && gave her some more depth.

my little cinnamon roll can be sassy to those she doesn’t know extremely well, but overall she’s peachy---she just wants someone to love her like cmon pls. && i threw on some connects at the end so if u wanna get some juices going send ALL the connects my way bcos my bb loves people and i love angst plots, sad plots, and fluffy ones are v cute too.

srry im trasH BUT YEAH ENJOY BABES.

tw: abortion, drug abuse, death

Elouise “Ella” Madden was born and raised in Louisiana; New Orleans to be exact. Her birthday is November 23rd, 1995–which makes her 21 years old with her zodiac sign of Sagittarius. Elouise was adopted by her parents, Georgia and Oliver Madden, at age 16

Elouise still doesn’t know her birth parents and doesn’t want to find out. Apparently when her parents gave birth, they flew off the radar--distancing themselves from even their own families. Regardless, Elouise loves her adoptive parents as if they were the ones who gave birth to her. Elouise will soon to come find out that her parents were victims of drug abuse, and succumbed to their addictions--leaving everyone and everything else behind in it’s destruction.

Now one may ask why Elouise was adopted at such a “late” age. Elouise was under the care of her aunt Anabelle, on her mothers side, for many years--until her aunt passed away suddenly due to a heart attack when Ella was only eight years old. Since then, Elouise was placed in and out of foster care, seeing as Elouise didn’t have any other close relatives nearby that could tend to her care and needs.

Elouise never felt at home in foster care--being placed with families that were not a right “match”. Elouise always felt as if she was an item to be auctioned off, never really felt as if she had any real value as a human being--no purpose. Elouise had a rough start in middle school, making friends wasn’t always the easiest--but Elouise always had a calming, healing property about herself, which naturally attracted others. Her easy-going demeanor and attitude gave Elouise an opportunity to take time for her own desires; often reading or listening to music. Elouise would also love to hike, bike ride, and star gaze.

At age 14, Elouise got involved with the wrong crowd; kids took advantage of how nice and easy-going she truly was. Elouise wanted to fit in, so she caved and began partying with said friends-- drinking, drug abuse, going out, breaking curfew--getting in trouble with the cops. Elouise didn’t care about the consequences, but for once she finally belonged. That was what was most important to the young girl.

Elouise was linked up with her current family the summer before she turned 15, and at first she hated them. Defiant for so long with drinking and parties--her new foster parents weren’t so fond. Although, this was El’s first time having older sibling around her. Elouise wasn’t the oldest in the house anymore, and she also had a younger sister in the house as well. This sudden influence of an older brother impacted Elouise in a positive light, prompting Elouise to manifest the desire to achieve average grades in school, helping her make sensible choices, and ultimately cleaning up her act in the process. Don’t let the “act” fool you though, Elouise still has that little wild streak in her.

At 17, Elouise got pregnant by her then boyfriend, and her parents were supportive of keeping the baby–but it was Ella’s decision to get an abortion, something that still haunts her till this day–but she wanted to go to college and get a job so that she can provide for her children better than when she was 17 years old.

Elouise loves animals, traveling, and exploring the world; especially when she was younger. The blonde did develop a sense of independence, which she continues to struggle with when it comes to depending on others. Elouise also enjoys the simple pleasures in life and living in the moment.  Elouise was always a free spirit; interested in the arts and all of that jazz. She loved movies because it took away from her reality.

When Elouise came to Crawford and heard about Zeta Pi Beta, her heart was bursting. The blonde finally had a choice of who she wanted to belong with--for once she could choose her “sisterhood.” She was drawn to Zeta’s carefree personality, and partially because that “bad babe” streak still ran deep within her veins--she needed to get out and party, something these girls knew how to do and did it very well.

The sorority is like a family for Elouise–one she’s never truly had. As much as she loves her parents, Elouise didn’t allways feel like she belonged–black sheep of the family sort of thing. Elouise still loves to drink, and growing up in New Orleans (think: Mardi Gras) helped prep her for college. Elouise loved films growing up, seeing as she could create whichever reality she wanted to see play out on the screen--which is why she is studying screenwriting.

Since becoming recruitment officer for the Zeta’s, Elouise has been a tad bit reserved when it comes to getting herself in trouble—but it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t know how to have fun anymore, she’s just better at getting past the rules under the radar. Elouise loves her sisters, and would do anything for them. She’s extremely generous and loyal, but can be a tad bit dramatic.

Elouise can be hard to love when it comes to romantic interests, never really seeing past the relationship other than for sexual purposes. Until she met Roman, but he burned her in the end so she’s back to her old self. 

She can be extremely flirtatious and runs away from romantic feelinGS LIKE THE PLAGUE thanks to roman.

sarcasm is her second language, along with french–but she rarely speaks that.

usually dresses very grunge/hipster style with winged liner and mascara. think urban outfitters aesthetic.

she has two tattoos–a small heart behind her right ear & a tattoo on the back of her neck of a compass but half the time her hair covers it unless her blonde hair is up in a bun or high pony tail. she’s planning on adding to her collection v soon.

likes: parties, sarcasm, impromptu road trips, summer nights, ice cream, tattoos, piercings, movie nights, wine, puppies, kittens, star gazing, late night talks, pizza, chicken nuggets, tequila, dancing, sex, drugs, makeup

dislikes: liars, sushi, backstabbers, cold days, rainy days, commitment, wallowing, working out, school work, snakes

below are the very start of connects, any and all are up for discussion nothing’s set in stone !!

// && connects:

cousins who hate/don’t speak to one another:

siblings who just found out they’re related:

inseperable best friends

childhood friends:

 unlikely to become friends, but did: 

used-to-be strangers who bonded over a mutual enemy

ex enemies who are now bffs attached at the hip

best friends who are practically siblings and are close to each other’s families

character b pretended to be character a’s significant other to get creeps to leave them alone and now they’re best friends

character b was always ‘the troubled one’ while character a was ‘the angel who could do no wrong’

friends who always seem to find trouble and danger together: 

character a is always pushing character b to do/be better

character b is the only person who can talk character a through their panic episodes

best friends who have a lot of chemistry, to the point where people think they’re together

unfaithful friends who are always talking shit / backstabbing

very protective friends, to the point where it can cause problems: 

friends who bring out the worst in each other (or the best)

character b is the ‘parent friend’ of character a; character a is character b’s ‘corrupting’ friend

// && more connects:

significant others who are keeping their relationship serious

territorial exes who don’t want to be together but still believe/act like the other belongs to them

exes who are weirdly close

exes who can’t be in the same room without fighting

jealous, possessive exes who fight all of the time

best friends who dated but were unable to salvage the friendship after the break up

character a broke up with character b because they wouldn’t come out

character b got violent with character a so they broke up with them for their own safety

[cibokilley]

Cross-post from Pillowfort.io

So, the following Blanket Box is for worldbuilding. The world I'll be exploring with this BB is from Cosmosis, a story/graphic novel/whatever I've been developing in the past few months.

General concept: LA PLEROMA is an abstract, enclosed internal world with no borders. There is no 'outside' -- everything in this world is an interior, just an entire plane made up of building interiors. Exiting one interior just brings you into another one, and so on. These repeat-borders cannot be mapped, however, as the interior continually and gradually builds itself larger and larger based on human observation. Some say the world is a living thing, eating and growing at a glacial pace. While it is believed that the interior runs on forever, there are some who believe there is an end to all of it. However, this is countered by another school of thought that declares that La Pleroma merely loops in on itself, but no one knows exactly at what point does it begin to repeat. Other angles suggest that La Pleroma exists in a spiral, and goes on further to suggest that it's not just a spiral but a tesseract in a Fibonacci spiral, in which both time and space do repeat themselves.

Most of La Pleroma is unchecked and feral. Pockets of civilization exist here and there, and sometimes they even interact, for better or for worse. Everywhere else is a liminal space. Monsters abound, hidden and insidious.

I’m going for more conceptual than realistic. It’s been a fun thought exercise so far.

Warning: LONG ASS. So very long. Like ten pages long. Prepare thine asses, assholders. That paragraph two lines above IS the tl;dr version.

1. What was the original inspiration for your world? Why are you making it?

Echo for the PS4 (now on PC and GoG) was the initial inspiration for the world of COSMOSIS. I super loved the concept of a never-ending palace structure full of weird shit, which I then paired up with an Escheresque flair to flip this palace dimension off its predictable axes. Ideally the place is still structured with occasional recognizable patterns, and only in very messed-up sections of the COSMOSIS world is there true chao -- a teratoma-esque mishmash of elements that aren't supposed to be crashing or clipping into each other, etc.

The other huge influencer is the cybergoth-industrial world of BLAME! by Tsutomu Nihei. This is one of the first manga I really invested in from start to finish due to Nihei's use of scale to show just how huge and expansive his insular, interior world can be. That and I adored the concept of the Network superstructure just... slowly, constantly expanding itself despite the lack of humanity to give context to these lonely, unused spaces. Areas are so vast that time and space operate differently in parts of the maze, as well as weather, species, species of human, as well as technology and specific atmospheric phenomenon.

2. Does your world have any kind of 'aesthetic,' or a predominant genre (other than fantasy/sci fi/etc)?

Definitely high fantasy. No elves or DnD races, though, just humans.

For overall flavour, I want it to feel like a whimsical fantasy, not to be taken too seriously. Most events will be entertainingly cartoonish, but with some serious moments as well. I also want to maintain a sense of wonder and open exploration, to inspire readers to stay on so they can explore the world along with the characters. It feels like a post-apoc setting, but in a world where people didn’t live in. The eerie liminal spaces suggest a mysterious past, a story half-told and forgotten, where in the inhabitants are bereft of a cultural history to explain how and why they exist in a setting where 'outside' has an ominous meaning.

On the conceptual side, much of the gnosis presented here is supposed to be a bit technical in nature, almost like a proper science, but is really just a lot of comparable analogues and metaphors and borrowed terms. I wanted to create a sense of deep lore and dogma while leaving enough room for interpretation.

3. Introduce us to your continents and major cities/countries.

Oh here we go. The primary reason why I'm answering this questionnaire is to force me to come up with distinct cultures and locations for the narrative to explore. The places visited by the main narrative are as follows:

THE ROYAL PALACE

At the center of the story is a castle-like juggernaut of vertical space occupied only by the Royal Family. The Palace maintains a sense of baroque opulence, cold and sophisticated, utilized but never truly lived-in. It is believed that the ancestors of the Royal Family not only built the Palace, but created the Capital. Thus, the royal descendants are not only divine, but are gods or demi-gods themselves. This is somewhat true: Castelin, the first of the royal family, had some involvement in the creation of La Pleroma in full. The details remain a secret known only to the Royals.

THE CAPITAL

Outside of the Palace is the Capital, a series of concentric rings of humanity living in close proximity. These rings form a massive city that radiates outward from the Palace. Each level is larger than the one before it, and it is spread out so vastly that entire generations are born and die in their home rings without having ever exited the city, and not for lack of trying to get out. The Capital tends to have housing and buildings that make relative sense, but further along the outward radiation the structures begin to clip into one another, creating the bizarre hodgepodge that defines La Pleroma.

A feudal system keeps the Capital running. Not all rings are urban — some rings are dedicated to farmland and primary resource cultivation.

THE WILDERNESS

Outside of the Capital is pure wilderness. Structures make less sense, with stairways leading to nowhere and exits with no meaning. Though no one has been able to ascertain, it is believed that even the wilderness is contained within a ring-like structure as the Capital. Cartographers have tried, and died.

Greenery and foliage occur randomly where water can be found, but not all parts of the wilderness are forest. Most of the wilderness is made of stone buildings, sterile and dry. Other places do not have water, but other creatures and organisms may inhabit nonetheless. Not all living things have been documented or discovered. Plants grow where they can, structures decay under the weight of encroaching nature, and some places are subterranean, filthy and murky. Some places are completely alien, and usually super unpleasant.

The style of the terrain varies per region. Some places suggest medieval European with vaulted arches, stained glass windows, ornate outcroppings and arrow slits spiralling for miles up along massive towers, while others might look like parts of the Palace, richly trimmed, furnished, but empty. Domiciles appear transplanted or teleported straight into existing structures. Some places are utterly ruined, as though devastated by quake or ballistics or fire. Occasionally, bits and pieces of robots can be found lying about. Sometimes, humans can be found out here. Different types of human…

AEONIC GENERATORS #1-30

Still working on these. Will update when I get to it, narratively.

HISTORY

As mentioned before, La Pleroma is beset with a vague sense of history. There was a time when La Pleroma was actually coherent, a finite space serving an organized purpose, but for some reason modern civilization has forgotten how this came to be. Why would a television set occur out in the wilderness? Did someone make it and abandon it? Did it just appear one day? Why are the power grids so random? Why do some stairs climb sideways, why do some ceilings have doorways, why is the world built to the shape and size of humans? Who discovered chirality, or discovered how to harness the magical powers of the Kenoma? How do human beings even know of the Other Place?

Nobody knows. But someone is set to find out.

AND ONE MORE THING

Also, while there does appear to be some form of gravity, the endless chambers of La Pleroma are not all built along the same plane or axis. Doorways that do not open and aimless stairs may appear upside down or sideways, since the artificial nature of this world seems human-built, but gravity usually falls only one way.

4. What cool species does your world have? This can be people races, aliens, neat wildlife, monsters, whatever.

Humans exist as the dominant species, but they also share ground with animal people. They're not furries, per se, they're just humans with animal heads or animal features. The story doesn't really explore this concept too deeply, as they're merely window dressing and flavour for the setting.

Humans exist in full racial ambiguity. Like cats or dogs, human beings in this world don't segregate by race or colour, though they may separate on religion or ideals. Also, curiously -- all humans are considered and assumed bisexual until proven otherwise. For some reason cleaving to your own sex is seen as ‘developing a habit’, while being strictly hetero is considered a bit limiting albeit necessary for procreational reasons. Marriage is less about nuclear family and more about gaining resources via declared relationships. In this way, even homogeneous couples can secure formal married status with a lack of children. Adoption is common.

Wildlife varies. The usual normal animals exist, albeit it slightly altered to their weirdly unnatural surroundings -- for example, wolves that know how to use the urban jungle for hunting and ambush tactics, parkour deer, tigers that know how to use doors, creatures with urban camo, etc. Also insects, lots of flying creatures, and fish. And weird shit that is unidentifiable; vegetable, mineral? Misc?? What is that?

Monsters -- there are lots of these. Anything that is distinctly oversized, or is clearly expressing gigantism, is considered monstrous.  Also, anything with more teeth than usual is also seen as monstrous. To be considered a true monster, however, is for creatures to have mystical abilities such as teleportation, illusory talents, shape-changing, anything magical or that cannot be explained by biology alone. And also, anything that can’t be easily identified is probably a monster.

Animal people are weirdly common. They are not as numerous or recognizable as humans are, but relations usually tend to be friendly. They do not interfere with human affairs, preferring to keep to themselves. But on the occasion where rival communities wage war on each other, the animal people think and behave exactly the same as humans do, so the only real discrimination among them is cosmetic at best. Usually they appear as normal humans, except with animal heads.

There are also strange instances of humans becoming animals, and animals becoming human. No one knows how or why this happens.

And then there’s the Royal Family. With a lineage that dates back to the beginning of time, members of the Imperial Royal Family are distinct in that they are semi-human. Though outwardly they appear normal, they are known sorcerers who can cast magic spells without components or incantation, and need only one voice to cast: their own. They are also said to be clairvoyant, can walk through walls, and appear in two or three places at once. Otherwise, they too behave like ordinary humans. What services they provide to the Capital include organized defense of borders, city planning, disaster relief, and actual governmental social services.

And last but not least, the kosmikoi are ghosts and phenomena that originate in the Kenoma, but are somehow able to express themselves in La Pleroma. They are highly dangerous in that anything coming into contact with the kosmikoi can and will implode, violently. Small instances tend to burn themselves out in tiny flashes when they immediately come into contact with positively-charged particles constantly present in the air space of La Pleroma, but large instances appear surrounded by a hazy fog of matter and antimatter particles cancelling each other out in the presence of air. Also, looking directly at them at close range causes madness.

5. Tell us a fable or myth from your world.

Bonus round! I’ve got not one but TWO myths to expound upon…!

THE WELL AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD

There is a story about the Well at the Bottom of the World. They say it is the only place in La Pleroma that opens up on the opposite side of the world, tunnelling right through. Some say it exits straight out into the Kenoma, and that the presence of the sea is the only thing keeping La Pleroma from being sucked out like water down a drain. And some say the well does have a bottom, and if you manage to get there, your greatest wish comes true. However, the few tales that trickle down to the Capital never end well.

CREATION MYTH

The creation myth of La Pleroma is not well-known. There are spinoff legends and localized versions of the origin of the world, but here is the myth as it is known by scholars:

In the Beginning, there was Nothing. Then, Nothing contracted from itself and became Something and Nothing. This separation was called tzimtzum (borrowing heavily from Lurianic Kabbalism). The space contained within itself was called La Pleroma (innenwelt), and the negative space surrounding it was called the Kenoma (umwelt). Or: the universe was a wave before it became a particle.

Vague interpretations of  this story created a unique collective memory of a time before Nothing, a previous cycle of existence that was either the same or slightly changed from the present. Whatever it was, the first cycle has definitely informed the present — as though the world suddenly begat amnesia, and is now struggling to remember who they were and why they’re here.

Application and Imago

Scholars have attempted to prove the validity of this myth mathematically (to put it lightly). The end result is a bizarre non-euclidean geometry proving the shape of the world: that there is no edge, but the interior of the model goes on forever.

The scholars theorize that the world is a Schroedinger's box: that the world is actually a cloud of possibilities that do not resolve until a sentient being observes it. They theorize that this is the reason why no one can find the edge of the world -- because it merely expands when someone is there to observe, and then contracts when no one is around. In short, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, it does not in fact make a sound. But then the problem arises that if everyone were to suddenly fall asleep simultaneously, or a sudden die-off erased all living creatures in existence, would the world end?

The philosophers have an answer for this issue. La Pleroma  is actually a living thing in and of itself, and does not sleep. The world-entity remains stable because it is aware of itself -- it observes itself, therefore it exists.

6. How do magic (if you have it) and technology work in your world? What tech level are you at? How does magic influence technology, and vice versa?

The study of 'magic' is called psycho-science (borrowing heavily from Masamune Shirow's Orion), and is a property possessed by those with an advanced parietal third eye. This eye is located inside the brain, and acts as a portal to the Kenoma through which miracles may be drawn. La Pleroma is opposite to the Kenoma in concept -- if La Pleroma is mostly mass, then the Kenoma is mostly energy. This energy can be traded via the parietal third eye and then used to grant miracles, such as walking on water, healing, raising people from the dead, and assorted elemental powers. The exact mechanism that enables human flesh and the brain to activate this phenomenon is still unknown, though the concept of conscious will being the key driver in directing Kenomic energy into agency has already been proven. Practitioners of this ability are called mages, or sorcerers.

Those who do not possess a well-developed parietal third eye can still use mechanical means of channelling Kenomic power into agency, as follows:

SPELL COMPONENTS

Through the use of certain materials, such as metal, wood, stone, etc., Kenomic energy can be exchanged using the material itself. The 'exchange' occurs when matter is swapped out for energy, so all spells must rely on mostly transient components. Metal and stone take the longest to wear away from use, while wood and paper tend to be used up in one or two charges at most. Dense mediums like platinum or diamond have a near-infinite capacity for use. These materials are fashioned into convenient apparatus such as rings, jewellery, talismans, etc. Technically a good wizard or witch can use anything in their immediate surroundings, but purity of elements will result in a cleaner, smoother spell effect whereas a less homogeneous conductor may interrupt the flow. That said, the mass to energy conversion is never 1:1, as there must be some energy from the caster to initiate the exchange.

Sorcerers typically do not require components to cast, but they may do so in an effort to conserve personal stamina. In this setting, sorcerers are extremely rare.

CHANT and INCANTATION

The amperage of a channelling event is determined by the power of incantation, using voice as the unit of measure. (Eight voices is a chord, twelve voices is a chroma, etc.) The purpose of the chant is to invoke the vibration of the material to be sacrificed, to initiate the matter-energy exchange. The more voices, or embodiments of conscious will, are added to a chant, the greater the flow of Kenomic energy. One voice will have a small effect, but many voices can increase the strength, duration, and distance of effect.

The incantation, also called the chant (the term is interchangeable), must be cycled repeatedly to create a psychic/aetheric vibration that weakens the morphic field of any given physical component. This weakening allows the matter to lose its shape and convert into pure energy, which is then redirected to perform work dependent on the will of the caster. The general rule is the Law of Conservation of Energy, in which energy cannot be created or destroyed within an isolated environment. Something must be exchanged.

The preferred chants come from a set of scripture called the Heavenly Tenets, which contain different chants and hundreds of lines to be memorized. The chant used most often for spellcasting is called The Oscillatory, which is the first chant in the series and is usually studied the most. In this manner, individual casters can use custom chants for similar spells so long as the pitch is correct. Also, to prevent confusion between dialect and spell voice, the chant is usually performed in the ancient tongue. (For the use of this story, Latin.) Because of this, the Heavenly Tenets are considered holy words with the power to create miracles when uttered.

There is a theory that the specific emanation created by voicing the Oscillatory actually performs an anthropomorphic role in using components to activate. Recitation ‘reminds’ objects of their origins and coaxes them to return to their natural state, ie. pure energy, or zero-point vacuum energy potential. The psycho-scientific community cannot prove or disprove this theory as of yet.

AETHER

Aether is the transmutation of Kenomic energy into mass. Raw Kenomic energy behaves like light, which can be trapped inside photonic crystal. A secret method is then used to compress the light into a plasmatic state, resulting in a gel-like substance that evaporates when exposed to air. Small amounts of aether can be stored for use in talismans, but large amounts cause greater instability, and must be stored separately. Linking Aether jars together with electrical connections is standard procedure.

AMPLIFIERS, TALISMANS, MAGIC/ENCHANTED ITEMS

Advancements in modern magical technology have allowed users to control the chant using talismanic resonators, or amps. Artificial voices can be added to a chant to enhance its strength. The core element of an amplifier is Kenomic aether condensed into a semi-liquid called copy-gel inside an airtight vessel. Stored in this aether is a brain. Originally, only real human brains were effective. Animal brains did not react as predicted, though dog brains could occasionally be substituted. But modern science has been able to develop artificial vat-grown brains, embedded with a personality impression, for the use in amps. Echoes of a voice or many voices can be recorded into the brain, and using copy-gel as a medium, the brain acts as a surrogate for a conscious will, or ‘voice’. These brains can occasionally remember certain patterns of incantation if used repeatedly for the same cast. Also, brains with a suitable personality embedded on the psyche can perform better than brains that have been impressed by old personality code that has eroded or been duplicated too often. Personality can also affect the ‘tone’ or ‘texture’ of a cast. For example: a chaotic personality may result in an unpredictable spell effect, or a ferret’s personality will give the spell effect a whimsical, playful aesthetic. However, brains do have an expiry date, so they must be replaced every now and then.

There are mixed reactions among the casting community on the use of amplifiers. Some argue that even artificial brains that can be added as voices are actually conscious and capable of developing unique personality, and thusly, can also suffer emotional and psychic pain. While studies indicate that these vat-grown brains do not register ECG when idle, the more spiritual and empathetic argument still chooses to abstain from using amps, for fear of karmic retribution.

In this vein, extra voices can also be acquired simply by employing a choir of singers to activate seals and spells, since individual humans are the main providers of conscious will. Chants by choirs of novices were the only way to enhance rituals, back in the old days, as they say.

Amps come in different shapes and sizes depending on use. Mega-amps can convey the will of up to ten chords or more for larger, more complex rituals, while single-use amps can boost spellcasting for up to one or two voices. Amp effects stack as well, enabling modern casters (with sufficient availability and budget) to cast spells with enormous potential, utilizing hundreds of voices (also called tone clusters) provided by multiple amps connected together and plugged into an electrical generator or electric power supply.

Also, copygel is a non-Newtonian fluid.

CAUTION and CONSEQUENCES

The consequences of the misuse of Kenomic exchange, or magic, are usually fatal. Like the implosions that occurred during the formation of the universe, casters and surrounding matter can be sucked straight into the Kenoma. There is no surviving this event, as all and any physical objects passing through go through traumatic spaghettification. In short: soft squishy structure being sucked through a tiny hole. The implosion radius differs depending on the caster’s individual control.

TECHNOLOGY

In addition to aetheric tech, electricity has existed for a very long time as well. Some parts of the La Pleroma actually contain foundries and devices designed for use with electricity. Power is provided via land cable, but finding these connections is difficult, as the grids are usually embedded right in the structure itself, bricked up behind walls and trap doors, hanging from windows, etc. Random power sockets may or may not be connected to anything at all. It takes an entire guild of electricians to keep a city running, provided they can find a power supply, or if the city has ways of generating their own.

Techwise, the level is all over the place. Certain civilizations have up to a 1920’s level of sophistication while others have already harnessed nuclear fission/fusion. Some are still scraping about in the stone age. The vast distances between groups in La Pleroma are mind boggling.

7. What are the major religions of your world? How have they affected the rest of society and history? How are they organised?

CELESTIAL LAW aka the Laws of Heaven aka the Heavenly Tents

Above all things, even gods, is Celestial Law. Rather than governing the lives and behaviours of human beings, the Law focuses more on karmic cause and effect, the rule of threes, and the expectation that you reap what you sow. Also, Celestial Law includes the expectations of gods, demigods, spirits, saints, and other spectral forces. Only through ritual may these beings pass into the living world, and that only by exorcism will they be allowed back out. Celestial Law also dictates how Nature should preside, ideally keeping ice cold, fire hot, water wet, etc.

Usually people don’t want kosmikoi, lost souls or spirits, wandering around in La Pleroma, but the Kenoma does house a myriad of special forces that can be called upon to act within mortal bounds. It is expected that the soul migrates to the Kenoma as pure energy, having left its body behind on the mortal plane.

Celestial Law is not a direct analogue of Buddhist dharma, but it’s similar.

GODS

Religion in La Pleroma operates on a dualist cosmology with a single Creator god, flanked by a broad array of saints and some ancestor worship. The Creator God is assumed to be omniscient with a dark twin, a Demiurge, mirroring his/her/its existence in the Kenoma. Here, the Demiurge exists as a mindless force that governs Heaven and Earth. While even God must adhere to the laws of Heaven, he/she/it is not subservient to them; instead, God has the ability to take shortcuts, but never does he/she/it break celestial law. In this fashion, God and the Demiurge cooperate to keep Creation running. This principle has given rise to a gnostic religion called Chirality.

In La Pleroma, religion is more of a cultural product, a way of life, rather than a strict adherence to a code of virtues.

Orders and Denominations

Chiralism is organized by a brief hierarchy of novices, deacons, ministers, priests, priestesses, and a High Priest. While rural Chiralism makes due with ministers, only in the capital does this advanced hierarchy serve any purpose.

The Royal Church of Chirality is divided into two schools of thought on the shape of the world:

The Helexites believe that La Pleroma turns in a spiral in which both time and space repeat themselves, with slight differences per revolution. They posit that the world has both a beginning and an end, and that with each iteration the world advances upward towards some ascendant tier.

The Möbii believe that La Pleroma is much simpler, and that it exists in a loop. They are still working out the exact point where the world begins to repeat, as no one has found a way to head west and inevitably end up returning to the same point from the east.

Both denominations recognize that La Pleroma exists in chirality to the Kenoma, though exactly to what degree is yet unknown. (Chirality means mirror-image flipped only on one plane, ie. looking in a mirror.)

While the two denominations will disagree with each other on this detail, it must be noted that they do not war with one another — both acknowledge that potentially, both ideas are correct simultaneously according to the Laws of Heaven. These Laws are more like fundamental physical laws rather than laws in the bureaucratic sense, in which consequence is preceded by cause.

That said, there are offshoots and cults formed around extremist interpretations of dogma of both denominations, with with one side denouncing the other with lethal intent. These heretic orders can and will pit God versus Demiurge, in which the spiritual is seen as morally good, while the material life is seen as evil. Opposing factions reverse the order: God is seen as a dark, masculine oppressor, while the Demiurge is considered soft and feminine and imbued with the powers of procreation and rebirth of living things.The Church of Chirality openly rejects these splinter factions, but the abuse continues.

Worship

Chiralist worship has no liturgal ritual or need for mass gathering. Rather, the style is more eastern, in that people engage in casual ancestor worship at home or pay homage to shrines. Chiralism is Shinto-esque in that it focuses more on establishing a connection between the present and the past, and that there are rituals to be performed in order to do so. Chirality has no leader, authority, or political influence. There is only the sacred scripture called the Heavenly Tenets, aka Celestial Law.

8. Tell us about a cool geological or magical feature of your world.

Lol to be honest, La Pleroma is a cool geological AND magical feature in itself.

9. Introduce us to the major 'civilisations' or societies of your world, if you haven't already. How do they interact? What do trade routes look like? What did 'ancient' civilisations look like-- or are the current ones the first?

THE HUMAN SPECIES

Civilization exists in remote pockets throughout La Pleroma. Because of the massive distances involved, subspecies of humans have evolved differently per region. Some humans are extremely small — not short, but miniaturized. Other species of human are very large. Humans in more isolated communities that have existed for a very long time tend to develop specific sets of shared features (ie. townies who’ve been intermarrying for generations), certain resistances and vulnerabilities, etc. Other species of human have only retained the chiral symmetry and silhouette of the human body but nothing else.

Another subset of humans are the animal folk. Like humans, animal folk differ per region. Imports include: food, water, assorted primary resources, tertiary services. The Capital exports: manufactured goods, clothing, weapons, secondary services.

The heroes of the narrative set in this world are regular humans. However, they may not be considered ‘normal’ by other species of human.Some communities have been documented, but La Pleroma is otherwise a kind of wild expanse full of danger and surprises. There are vast stretches of uninhabited space, so trade between entirely different species of human is difficult.

The story starts off with just one nation of humans, who call themselves Chiralists. This group has never made contact with other human subspecies, though they trade regularly with animal people.

10. Tell us an important story in your world. This could be the planned story arc for a campaign, the story you're writing set in this world, or just the story of an underdog prince and how he changed a kingdom.

So here we go, the summary for COSMOSIS:

Prince Anton Kovec, a high-ranking member of the Royal Family, is a caster, Holy Interpreter, and edgelord who, after the Capital is attacked by a hole in the sky, sets out to repair the damage. Accompanying him is his lesbian sidekick Sister Gladys Degunais, a cheeky yet resourceful priestess and Anton’s childhood friend. Together they must find ten Grand Sacrifices (a buncha mystic macguffins) with which to repair ten of the thirty Aeonic Generators, sacred towers at the edges of the world that supposedly keep the world together.

In this adventure, Anton and Gladys come upon interesting people to add to their party, including the vigilante royal treasury accountant Brigga Irene, Officer Damien Acanthus Holley of the Royal Army, and Kuno, a frog.

The cast will encounter strange beasts and terrifying enemies on their quest to find the relics to use as Grand Sacrifices, and they will also encounter other Interpreters on the same mission.

But there's one thing Anton wants to understand: Hasn't this happened before...?