#wiki is based on me roughly

[wis-art]

i hope you all understand that i love drawing these 2 lesbians more than anything else.

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The "Luffy's fruit is a Zoan" reveal/retcon was extremely controversial when 1044 was first released; do you think Oda did a good job foreshadowing it?

yes!! it addresses a lot of idle questions i had about luffy's powers for quite some time (while also raising a ton more, of course, but that's the nature of one piece).

(all of my thoughts here and on gear 5 in general owe some credit to @grainjew, who has been my main discussion partner on this topic)

luffy's fruit has always been, from what we've seen, kind of weird for a paramecia? obviously since the categorization of 'paramecia' is sort of a grab bag and a lot less well-defined than logias or zoans, that's kind of a hard claim to make, but generally speaking, most of the paramecia users we see throughout the series do not have their powers always on. (the strongest counter-example i could think of to this trend is brook, and even that is one i think you can argue.) luffy's power is way more passive, in the sense that he doesn't have to activate it- it's just there, always. even seastone and seawater do not make luffy not rubber, they just sap his energy and stop him from stretching himself, as we see as early as arlong park.

that is weird! what we see of most other paramecias is that they have to use their powers intentionally, even when those powers do involve transforming their body in some way, like with mr. 1 or alvida. there's a whole plot in dressrosa about knocking a specific paramecia user unconscious so she'll lose her grip on her power and it'll disappear. luffy will stretch when he is asleep, when he is underwater, and without knowing he's doing it. he's always rubber.

so luffy is weird for a paramecia, though not completely unprecedented. his power has always seemed to me to be... almost logia adjacent, in the sense that he's made from a specific material and all his powers are based on being that material, but that doesn't quite track either. aside from the fact that the thing he's composed of is tangible and, again, he can't turn it off, he clearly has access to a greater level of complexity in his transformations than logias do (whose devil fruit powers seem to be basically a binary system).

which actually leads me to compare him to chopper, who is the zoan we know the best, and who, conveniently, also ate a version of the hito hito no mi.

i think the way luffy and chopper interact with their powers is actually very similar. much like luffy, chopper was fundamentally altered by his consumption of a devil fruit in a way he cannot return from. he can still look like a normal reindeer, but he can never actually be one, because the most important trait his devil fruit gave him was human sentience. and he would still have that if you put him in seastone, he just wouldn't be able to transform. similarly, luffy had his body fundamentally altered by his fruit in a manner he does not seem to be capable of even temporarily reversing. he can't make himself not rubber any more than chopper can return himself to being a normal reindeer.

like chopper, luffy's power progression has been based around finding new ways to transform his body and force it into new and more powerful forms. his gears are roughly comparable to chopper's points. that is zoan stuff! chopper is the main other person we see interact with his fruit in that specific way. so, yeah, i actually do think it does make sense for luffy's power to have actually always been a zoan. at the very least, it makes more sense than him being a paramecia, to me.

however, having said that, i also don't think it's as straightforward as luffy just being a zoan instead of a paramecia. we see that the awakening of his fruit definitely has both paramecia and zoan qualities, since he's transforming both himself and the environment around him, as well as other people. (the wiki puts this down to him being a mythical zoan but i just don't think that's true. kaidou is also a mythical zoan and he is completely baffled by what he's seeing.)

i made a bunch of jokes in discord about luffy being devil fruit nonbinary while i was reading this chapter- there's three genders and you have to pick one, and you can't just go switching it up, etc- and i do think that what luffy's fruit indicates is that the sorting system of devil fruits itself is imperfect. outliers do exist that don't fit cleanly between the lines- which we already knew! just look at katakuri.

[lookforsomeoneelse]

sahsrau and the ways in which the game’s story changes pt. 1: Sigonia-IV

aventurine’s story made me sad. maybe this is my way of coping. got aventurine’s sister’s name from someone who talked about her on this app. also i’m making a lot of assumptions about how it went down, but there were roughly 10,000 avgins that were involved. also apparently the avgins are based on romani culture and I have no idea about that either soooooooooo cw for blood and severed limbs. and maybe gore. and definitely mentions of death. and probably my ignorance too.

Ecclesiastes 4:1-3

Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed-- and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors-- and they have no comforter. And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

Kezia knew she was going to die. It wasn’t the greatest way to go down at the hands of the bloodthirsty Katicans, but what was honorable about it was that she would meet her end in the rain.

“Kakavasha must have escaped by now,” she thought to herself, “and he will survive.” Kezia held faith in her brother and in the Mother Goddess, Gaiathra Triclops, the one whom she served.

It was now time for the festival- and so she tossed her Knot into the bonfire as a sort of goodbye to this cruel life she had lived in, and lamented on her brother’s fate- he will go through many hardships and sufferings, but she knows that the blessing of Fenge Biyos will remain with him all throughout his journey.

It was a shame she’ll never get to see him again.

She regrets not saying more before their departure.

She had heard that some of the other bastard clans had made a deal with the Interastral Peace Corporation- the people who had promised to protect them on this very day- to make sure that they were all wiped out.

She held her makeshift club in her shaky hands. She didn’t want to die. Not like this. She had wanted to get married and have a family of her own.

And, for the first time in her life, her faith cracked like a shattered mirror.

The Mother Goddess had always let her down-

When Dad fell into the quicksand,

When Mother was caught and slaughtered like an animal,

And now, while she was facing down death.

She remembers one of the workers that came during that first day- praising the Aeon of Guidance and all their works-

And so, under her breath, unsure of how to do it, she prayed for her safety, she prayed for her survival, and most of all, she prayed for the opportunity to see her dearest brother once again.

As the sky wept for the fate of her people, the Katicans arrived, howling laughter emerging from within the storm.

do not worry child

Finding the sudden strength within her, she let out a roar.

i shall be forever with you

Her club slammed into the skull of a Katican, pulverizing it into a bloody mess.

i shall give you strength

Another near her tried to avenge his fallen comrade, and she cratered their face, producing a sickening squelch.

and when you are trapped in the darkness

She didn’t count. How many had fallen at her hands? 100? 500? 1,000? 5,000? All she knew was that the sky wept blood.

i shall bring you into the light

All around her there were the corpses of Katicans, Not a drop of her blood was shed, and nothing to threaten her in her vicinity. She looked down at her hands. Red. Her hands were red, stained with the crimson of those who had tried to end her life.

Kezia wept tears of joy.

“The Avgin always return back their blood debts,” she had remembered saying to her little brother.

It looks like they had a new debt to pay.

(A/N: I have no idea what the hell I just made. I have no beta reader, so there’s that I guess. I don’t have a structure either. I just made stuff up and used the wiki for reference.)

[natileroxs]

I barely even know if the khr Fandom is even around anymore but I do want to raise an interesting point that I've been thinking over a hell of a lot.

So the wiki doesn't say anything about the actual ages of the Arcobaleno, only that they are physically about 2 years old (but Lambo and Ipin are both around 5/6 and the choice to have them look the same is a bizarre one at best but I digress). We can assume, based on looks and status, that the Arcobaleno were, at the time when they got the pacifiers, all roughly around the same age and at least older than 25 but probably edging closer toward 30-35. Reborn especially comes off as older than 30, with more life experience.

We do have a rough idea about how long they have been Arcobaleno's though. Luce was pregnant when she got her pacifier and then she had Aria, who then grew up to have Uni. In the future, Uni looks to be about the same age or maybe a little younger than the guardians at around 12 or 13, which would make her around 2 or 3 in current time. Aria was said to have died young, but after Uni was born. To give a decent guess, Aria might have been around 25 when she died. Since she had to have died less than 3 years prior, my current assumption now is that the Arcobaleno have had their pacifiers for nearly thirty years.

Now where am I going with this? Well, I'm going straight to Fon and Hibari. I am just as much of a perpetrator in the whole Uncle Fon thing despite the fact that, according to my calculations, Fon would actually be closer to 65 while Hibari is only around 16. And yes, Hibari's parent (usual hc I see is his mom but either works) could have a giant age gap or have had Hibari late, but most women cannot have children past the age of 50 due to menopause. 15 years or more is a large age gap for siblings.

But an age gap larger than that would actually make it fit better if Fon is actually Hibari's grandfather. Which is funny, I know. But hear me out. Fon has a daughter before he becomes an Arcobaleno, then he gets his pacifier when she is a child/teen. And then she grows up and has Kyoya. (Don't even get me started on how I would fit Ipin into this family tree because it's just so weird that Fon is helping out this random child)

Anyway, if any of you guys still exist, please give me your thoughts.

[markerofthemidnight]

The Smiling Snatcher (Clyde) - Dreams of an Insomniac x Dead by Daylight

My very first DBD killer concept! This one’s a DOAI crossover, as well as kind of an early Halloween special?

Few things I want to make clear though. Firstly, I have not only never played DBD, but I didn’t even know anything about it until like 2 months ago. All the info here is taken from my limited understanding of the game based off of YouTube videos and the official (I think?) DBD wiki. So give me some constructive criticism if anything to do with the below concept seems unfair, too weak, or unfitting for the character.

Secondly, some of the quotes I came up with for the Perks and Power Add-ons are just random bullshit made to sound vaguely in character, and not actual lines in DoaI. Most are official, but two in particular were made by me. The Power Add-ons are a similar story, with some being references to canon events and others being random stuff I thought would fit, but that’s not as important.

Anyways, go ahead and read!

The Smiling Snatcher resembles a 7-foot tall monster in an orange costume, with a long striped tail, slit pupils and a wide grin on its face.

Basic Information

Attack Type: Basic Attack

Weapon: Claws

Default Movement Speed: 4.8m/s

Terror Radius:

While its complete Terror Radius defaults to 40 meters, it has a Lullaby spanning 15 metres, wherein nearby Survivors hear children whispering while it is close. When a Survivor in the 15-meter radius is hooked, injured, or being chased by The Smiling Snatcher, the children can be heard laughing instead.

As well as this, The Smiling Snatcher’s Red Stain is replaced by a much larger Yellow Stain, a powerful glow that paints everything within roughly 6 meters of it a sickening yellow colour.

Power - Samhainophobia

“It soon found the perfect opportunity to hunt. Within several weeks, the humans were to hold a night of tricks and treats, and roam the streets while donning the skin of monsters. What better hiding spot than in plain sight?”

Special Ability: Remember The Curfew

The Smiling Snatcher uses its powers to create a hallucinatory Missing Poster on a wall. Only 3 Missing Posters can be on the map at any given time, and cannot be created within 50 meters of one another. This ability has a cooldown of 60 seconds.

Seconds after a missing poster is created, a Bedsheet Ghost is summoned next to it. These hallucinatory entities will walk around randomly within 30 metres of their associated Missing Poster, in turn creating faked versions of The Smiling Snatcher’s Terror Radius within 18 metres of them, and its Lullaby within 10 metres.

The Smiling Snatcher can see the aura of both the Missing Posters and their Bedsheet Ghosts in yellow within 50 metres, and can destroy both at will by approaching the Missing Poster and dispelling it.

Survivors can also dispel Missing Posters should they find one, however this takes time. Survivors scream upon successfully dispelling a Missing Poster, creating a Loud Noise Notification for the Killer and highlighting them with Killer Instinct for 5 seconds.

Special Ability: Guising

When at least one Missing Poster is present on the map, The Smiling Snatcher can activate Guising.

While Guising is active, The Smiling Snatcher takes the form of a Bedsheet Ghost to Survivors, and both its Terror Radius and Lullaby range shrink to 18 metres to accommodate this. Its Yellow Stain is also dispelled temporarily, so that the only way to tell the difference is a regular Bedsheet Ghost’s slightly slower walk speed.

If The Smiling Snatcher enters the 30-metre radius of a Missing Poster while Guising, its Bedsheet Ghost is temporarily dispelled either until it leaves, or until Guising ends.

Guising lasts 45 seconds and has a 75-second cooldown once deactivated. It is immediately deactivated when The Smiling Snatcher attacks a Survivor.

Special Ability: Warping Presence

When The Smiling Snatcher breaks a Generator or snuffs out a Boon Token, a copy of its Yellow Stain spreads out from 6 metres of it.

It is dispelled once a Survivor performs a successful Skill Check on it (or when The Smiling Snatcher breaks another generator or snuffs out another Boon Token).

Perks

The Smiling Snatcher comes with three unique Killer perks:

Scourge Hook: Veldigun’s Touch

Haunting a whole town since the start of your days has taught you precisely how to make your victims really afraid.

At the start of the Trial, four random hooks are transformed into Scourge Hooks. The Auras of Scourge Hooks are revealed to you in white.

Each time a Survivor is Unhooked from a Scourge Hook, the following effects apply:

• They suffer from the Oblivious and Exposed status effects for 30/45/60 seconds, after which they scream and reveal their Aura to the Killer for 10 seconds

• The two nearest upright Pallets and Windows are blocked by the Entity for 30 seconds

“I’ll never let you out of my sight.” - The Eastridge Demon

Trick or Treat

Lure in your prey with a savoury scent, and catch them stuck in a web of their own doing.

When you injure a Survivor by any means, and 10 seconds pass without them reaching the Dying State, their Aura is revealed in yellow to all other Survivors.

Survivors within 20 feet of them suffer the Oblivious status effect for 20/30/40 seconds and have their Auras revealed to the Killer for 10 seconds. You gain 5% Haste for the same duration.

“I’m behind you.” - The Eastridge Demon

Family Reunion

Anyone who escapes your grasp once won’t find themselves escaping again, wether that be literally or mentally.

The first Survivor to come within 5 feet of you without being injured becomes the Obsession.

As long as the Obsession is alive, the following effects apply:

• Their Repair Speed is reduced by 30/40/50%.

• The Rotation Speed of any Repairing Skill Checks they make is increased by 50%.

• Should they fail a Repair check, their Aura is revealed to you for 5 seconds.

When the Obsession is hooked, these effects no longer apply to them, and the next Survivor to fulfil the aforementioned criteria becomes the new Obsession.

You can only be Obsessed with one Survivor at a time.

“Come to me, and you will never be alone again.” - The Eastridge Demon

Add-Ons for Samhainophobia

Common

• Haunted Halloween Poster - A poster that reads ��Beware the Smiling Snatcher!” Warping Presence’s radius is expanded to 10 metres.

• Half-Eaten Chocolate Bar - How is it still intact after so long, exactly? Survivors who successfully expel a Missing Poster are highlighted by Killer Instinct for 15 seconds.

• Rotten Egg - Before you came along, children treated Halloween like it was one big game. The Bedsheet Ghosts’ Terror Radius expands to 24 metres.

• Empty Bucket - A handy way to dispose of smaller body parts. There’s a reason why none of your victims’ bodies were ever found. Survivors become Exposed for 10 seconds after Dispelling a Missing Poster.

Uncommon

• Jack ‘o Lantern - It was snuffed out a long time ago. Warping Presence can affect two Generators/Boon Tokens, however its radius shrinks to 4 metres.

• Creepy Music Box - You used to know someone who liked music. Your Terror Radius expands by 10 feet, and your Lullaby expands by 15 feet.

• Witch Hat - Not quite your style, but good enough for a costume. All Bedsheet Ghosts, your Guise included, come with a smaller Yellow Stain of 3 metres.

• Yellow Mask - The old man’s caretakers used to wear ones just like it. You gain 5% Haste when you Attack a Survivor after Guising.

• Old Shoe - The only thing they could find of any of your victims. All Bedsheet Ghosts now match your movement speed and seem to chase after any Survivors 10 feet away from them, before stopping and patrolling elsewhere once they get too close.

Rare

• Sewing Kit - Good for repairing damaged Halloween costumes. Guising now has a 25-second cooldown once deactivated.

• Family Photo - Their faces look off. The Bedsheet Ghosts’ patrol range is increased to 50 metres.

• Broken Camcorder - You made sure its owner didn’t keep it for too long. Your Yellow Stain’s radius reduces to 2 metres.

• Hidden Camera - The Lankmann Foundation thought they could spy on you and not get caught. The cooldown of placing Missing Posters is reduced to 20 seconds, and their placement range shrinks to 40 metres.

• Glowing Flashlight - A glow-in-the-dark flashlight for ambience when telling ghost stories. All Survivors within 15 feet of you when you lift Guising become blinded for 1.5 seconds.

Very Rare

• Discarded Goggles - The initials “A.W.” are written on their strap. The Auras of Missing Posters and Bedsheet Ghosts can be seen from anywhere in the map, and anyone within 10 feet of a Bedsheet Ghost has their Aura revealed.

• Haunted Tape - The words “Haunted Halloween Collection” are written on it. Two Bedsheet Ghosts are made for the current oldest Missing Poster you create, and their patrol range is increased to 40 metres.

• Candy Bowl - You have no use for something like this. The Aura of Missing Posters are highlighted to Survivors within 8 metres. Once they Dispel one, they are Exposed for 15 seconds and you gain a 5% Haste.

• Home “Security” System - The Lankmann Foundation told all the lies they could to make the residents of Eastridge County believe they were safe. All Pallets within range of a Missing Poster are blocked by the Entity.

���Sorry. This is our town now.” - The Eastridge Demon

Ultra Rare

• Old Bedsheet - An old, dirty bedsheet with two holes for eyes. There’s a small bloodstain inside. Guising lasts indefinitely until you attack and has no cooldown before it can be activated again.

• Foundation Files - Old documents detailing all your victims, secured by you the day the Lankmann Foundation fell. Two extra Missing Posters can be created, and their placement range shrinks to 30 metres.

“Do not trust anyone you see wearing this costume.” - Lankmann Foundation spokesperson

Mori

The Smiling Snatcher walks up to its prey as they attempt to crawl away from it, grabbing their back and effortlessly turning them around to face it.

Its tail wraps around their torso and legs, and then its pupils roll back, and its mouth opens to reveal a bright glow coming from it. The Survivor’s eyes also roll back for a second, before being dropped to the ground, catatonic.

For just a second, The Smiling Snatcher can be seen standing there lifelessly, before its eyes roll forward and it continues its hunt.

Story

Eastridge County was an unremarkable town.

A quiet town, in the middle of nowhere, with its only noteworthy feature being an old asylum for treating the mentally unwell, and the Foundation that was still busy at work making sure sure all its residents were safe and happy.

Halloween was an interesting time of year, but about as interesting as the town could get. Urban legends of striped apes, living scarecrows and six-eyed monsters plauged the town for as long as anyone could remember.

The years would come and go, and aside from the occasional poorly-faked monster sighting or bizzare break-in, nothing would change, and Eastridge County was perfectly happy.

Until October 31st, 1986.

It happened suddenly. One Halloween night, six children vanished without a trace, nothing but a stolen costume and a few witness accounts giving any clues to the perpetrator.

And the disappearances kept coming, month after month, year after year, at their worst during the month of October. The more traces of evidence were left behind, the more apparent it became that the thing the town was hunting- despite some townsfolks’ suspicion- was not human.

They called it the Eastridge Demon, or the Smiling Snatcher as some younger residents knew it as.

As time passed, rumours started spreading that perhaps the Eastridge Demon was just the latest and most reckless of a long line of monsters that had been haunting Eastridge County its whole life. “Veldigun”, the creatures were eventually named.

Some lucky people who came into contact with one and survived began to change, physically and mentally. They would hallucinate monsters where there weren’t any, lose weight rapidly, and most frighteningly of all, their bones and flesh would shift and fuse with one another.

The Eastridge Demon itself showed remarkable intelligence and no remorse for the damage it had done. In fact, it had often claimed to its unlucky victims that their families, who were still on its mind even after so many hunts, had never been happier.

Eventually, the people of Eastridge got tired of these monsters. The Lankmann Foundation renovated its old Asylum, repurposing it so it was now fit to take care of those who had been affected by the Veldigun.

The news would stop reporting any Veldigun-related disappearances, and the police force would stop being sent out to investigate any supposed monsters.

Still, the disappearances weren’t stopped.

The Foundation set up a curfew on Halloween and rules for the season, while appointing special jobs to the friends and families of those who were victims of the Veldigun’s sickness.

Still, the disappearances weren’t stopped.

Wild rumours began to spread about the Foundation, discussing everything from mere unethical business practices to even hiding a Veldigun inside its walls, and yet they wouldn’t stop working to keep the Veldigun at bay. It was almost impressive.

Still, the disappearances weren’t stopped.

Lankmann’s Asylum fell, a beast with striped flesh, curved horns and a bloody jaw rumoured to have stepped out from it, and Doctor Lankmann himself was never heard from again.

Still, the disappearances weren’t stopped.

Six months after the Asylum’s fall, when the people of Eastridge County couldn’t take any more torture at the twisted hands of these demons, there was a long, foggy day.

Then, the disappearances stopped.

And the Eastridge Demon never felt bored again.

—

So, yeah! Did you like it?

In case any of you are wondering, I did consider incorperating the Madness status effect into this, but decided against it, since: 1. That’s The Doctor’s personal power, and incorporating it here would require changing how it works a fair bit, and 2. While I’m not awfully well-versed with how Doc’s power works, I do know that it’s a very important part of it, and to take that away from him would seem kind of… unfair? If that makes sense?

Anyways if you have anything to say, please, tell me! I’ve got a few more, significantly more unfinished concepts sitting in my notes right now!

[skyeslittlecorner]

Time passage on Earth and in Hell

Hello!

Today I come to you with a little thought experiment and I don't know yet what will come of it, but I wanted to share it with you anyway. These are not serious calculations, just a curiosity based on the information we have. (Also, one insignificant spoiler for ch5).

Let's see what the difference is between time in Hell and time on Earth!

Here are those bits of information:

1. The last time we know Solomon was seen was 311 hellish years ago.

2. Solomon lived in Hell for over a century (in hellish years, also). If he lived for two centuries or more, it would probably be reffered differently, so let's assume that he lived between 100 (the least) and 150 (the most, because 151 will be rounded to less than two centuries) years in hell itself.

3. The game was released in 2023, we don't know what the current year is in the game, so let's assume the release year is the year we, a Descendant of Solomon, are yeeted to hell.

4. It is assumed that King Solomon ruled Israel around 970-931 BCE.

Source: Wikipedia

Now that we have the numbers, it's time for math. Gusion, close your eyes, heresy will happen. For us, the best solution is the smallest time difference, so we are taking the most convenient numbers.

Let's assume that the last time Solomon was seen was just before his disappearance (this will extend the time of his stay in hell and reduce the difference between hellish and earthly years). Then these 311 years, when we add his 150 years of life, will give us a total of 461 years.

This means that Solomon appeared in Hell 461 years ago.

Now we count Earth years. Solomon had already been king for some time when he summoned Satan. He doesn't look old enough to be taken at the end of his reign, so (also very generously, we want to reduce this number as much as possible) let's assume it was midway through his reign. This gives us ~951 BCE. Add this to the current years, and voila!

2,974 years passed between Solomon's disappearance and our coming to Hell.

This roughly matches the information about Solomon on wikia.

Source: WHB Wiki

Now we just need to calculate the ratio.

2974 / 461 = 6,451, we can round it up to ~6,5 years.

One (1) year in Hell would be 6 years and 6 months on Earth.

Considering how often the symbolism of 6 appears, it wouldn't surprise me. Especially since some time difference is likely, because during all events the devils react like "ah, yes, humans should celebrate something now", as if these holiday dates were not so obvious to them.

Do I believe this difference is the real one? No. Although I would like to. That would add flavor.

It is possible that there will not even be any time difference, or it will be so slight that we will barely notice it. Reason? Minhyeok.

Even if MC returns to him after a year spent in Hell (which is not much, considering how much have to be done there), it will be a long time for him. If the MC's goal is to come back to him at the end, he can't be an old grandpa.

I wonder if I have missed any information, if so, please let me know! I tried to pick up what I could, but it's not easy to fly through the story when what you're looking for are so small bits and pieces of information. Again, just think of it as a little curiosity. Hope you had fun!

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Choglaem

First, it seems that Tumblr's search function is flawed in such a way that just searching the tag doesn't actually get all of the results. So if you drew something for this round and it's not in this post, let me know and I'll put it in a reblog. Same applies to previous (and future) rounds.

Anyway, it's now time to look at the results for the Choglaem! Anyone who doesn't know what that means is encouraged to look at previous posts in this series, collected at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting .

And here's the link to the entry people are working from:

Now, let's get into it. As before, these are presented roughly in the order that people posted them. (I'm going to go through the tag on Tumblr's regular search, then again on the alternate search method someone suggested, so any that only show up on the alternate source are going to be at the end.)

@embervoices (link to post here) decided to show that the Choglaem is bigger than all living things on the earth by... having it fight Godzilla. Perfect. Inspired. Love it. No notes.

@mobileleprechaun (link to post) has helpfully labelled their drawing for us, which I enjoy. Also the interpretation that the tongue through the blowhole is a lure used by an underwater predator is a good one -- honestly, putting something this large in the water just feels more plausible, you know? In their tags, mobileleprechaun describes this as "sort of a dinosaur snake tsuchinoko", and I had to Google that last one, so let me show you the best result from that ...

(If anyone else needed that word defined, it's a creature from Japanese folklore that does actually look a lot like a fat snake, but I'm pretty sure it's not just a fat snake. There's a (disappointingly brief) Wikipedia article about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuchinoko)

Anyway, the drawing is great! I have no idea why Saddam Hussein is there; you'll have to ask mobileleprechaun.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has given her Choglaem wings to aid in causing the air to become turbulent. The medieval stylization is pretty dead-on, I have to say; I swear I've seen those trees before. And I think this Choglaem may actually be the closest to the drawing in the Aberdeen Bestiary out of all the submissions we got, so coolest-capybara is clearly quite good at thinking like a medieval artist. The post linked above contains a brief explanation of her design choices and also a link to the medieval illustration that elephant is based on.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has once more done a very realistic-looking depiction of this week's beaſt. According to their post, part of their inspiration was an oarfish -- and I have to say this is pretty believable as a terrestrial version of an oarfish, so well done. I'm impressed by this one, which manages to look cool and dangerous but also kinda cute -- I think the tongue-through-the-blowhole part of the description makes all of them look a bit goofy in an endearing sort of way. The post linked above describes their design decisions, including a brief diversion over round pupils vs. slit pupils in snakes.

Silverhart also mentions that the nonsense-names I'm using sound like the names of mythical animals in a fantasy novel, so I feel I should confess what my process for randomly generating these names was. I've got a Goblin conlang that's been sitting in my pile of works-in-progress for years; I just fed the phonology from that into Zompist's gen program (link here), then picked out several dozen of my favorite results. So that's why they sound like kinda-plausible words.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) has drawn us a Choglaem who is having problems. Or, I don't know, maybe it meant to knot itself up like that; who am I to judge? Either way I think it's cute. Just look at that face. A brief overview of her design decisions is included in the linked post; I think the chicken crest is a pretty sensible call given the source material.

@pomrania (link to post here) has made some creative choices with their version. I like how they've decided that if the Choglaem kills with its tail, the tail should have something at the end rather than just... you know. A tail. That tracks. "The tail ends in a fist", specifically, however, was not something I saw coming. The crest looking like an emo hairstyle is funny, I think, and the angry elephant is great. The expression on the Choglaem's face is suspect to me; it looks like it's having too much fun with this. The linked post above includes an early draft, and itself links to a post with a detailed account of the artist's thought process and some additional sketches.

@miapcain (link to post here) has... wait, hold on, look at that border. That's gorgeous. Had to acknowledge that before moving to the inside of the frame. Anyway, Mia has given her Choglaem legs, which might seem odd for something described as a "snake", but actually isn't out of the ordinary for a medieval bestiary -- the authors tended to play a bit more fast and loose with their categorization of animals than we do today, and there are indeed examples of animals with legs being called "serpents" or "snakes". (I assume the artist knows this, I just want to share that with the rest of the audience.) Anyway, the drawing style is great; I like the stylized landscape and the muted colors. That elephant is definitely modeled after a medieval elephant -- I swear I've seen it before -- but I couldn't tell you which one offhand. Anyway. Love the vibes here. Not sure why the tongue is a vine, but it's a cool design feature.

@rautavaara (link to post here) has gone an entirely different direction with this one, and I can kind of see the steps. Snakelike creature, kills with its tail... what if the tail it kills with is a snake. As a result, we have this chimeric "bovid-lion-snake beast", as the artist describes. It definitely stands out from the crowd, and looks menacing as hell. Rautavaara continues with the cool frames and stylization, and I continue to appreciate them. Kind of an art-deco feel on this one.

@karthara (link to post here) gives us a big snake with a somewhat aquatic-looking fin-crest, grappling with an elephant in a very believable manner. That is a quality depiction of a snake fighting an elephant, no mistake. And like I said before, a kind of aquatic look feels right for something this big. The linked post contains a short description of the design decisions.

@gradling (link to post here) apparently also had the thought of "if it kills with its tail there should be something dangerous on the tail", and made the excellent decision to give the Choglaem a thagomizer. That's amazing and I love it. The crest also looks quite good. I don't have anything else to add here. Thagomizer. Brilliant.

@moustawott (link to post here) has done this very cool, kind of celestial-looking Choglaem. I like that its pose is evoking an infinity symbol. And, of course, it is in its natural habitat:

the skies

A brief explanation of design choices can be found in the post linked above.

@treesurface (link to post here) has managed to really evoke the size of this thing even though it's the only thing on the page, which I think is quite good. Also, the brief discussion of their design choices in the post linked is pretty interesting, and honestly that's what I want to highlight for this piece, so go check that out.

@scarlettbookworm (link to post here) has given us an elephant apparently in the moment when it realizes it's about to be attacked by a Choglaem. In order to allow their Choglaem to lurk despite its size, they've given it camo-pattern scales, which I think is clever. There's a pretty good explanation of their design choices in the linked post, which I think is worth reading.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) apparently did this with a fountain pen, which I think is very cool. I like the oarfish-inspired crest, and the very menacing face, and the elephant being ambushed. However -- and I realize I've said this like three times in a row now -- you should check out the linked post to read the artist's explanation of their design decisions. They describe it pretty thoroughly and I think it's more worthwhile to read their account of what they've drawn than it is to read mine.

@strixcattus (link to post here) posted this while I was typing this round-up, so this will be the last result from Normal Tumblr Search. They've given us another "there should be something dangerous on the end of its tail" interpretation and drawn their Choglaem with an ankylosaur-style club, which I think is excellent. As per usual, their post includes an amazingly detailed modern-naturalist-style description of the animal in question, which I always enjoy. It's exactly my jam. (That bit about where the largest Choglaem lives... is that a reference to something? It feels familiar.)

All right, I'm now looking through "#choglaem" on @findtags's search system, and it is a bit different, oddly. There are fewer results than in the regular Tumblr search -- only six of the above images show up -- but it also has one that doesn't show up on the normal search! Dammit tumblr.

@hairycarrot ... whom Tumblr will not let me tag? what the hell? [edit: the tag works now that i’ve posted this, but the editor seemed to think this blog wasn’t real] um... (link to post here). Anyway, they've done this neat stylized thing that kind of looks like pastels? I don't know art, that's just what it looks like to me and I like it. I also enjoy the Choglaem being coiled up like a spring -- I know it's because it's a constrictor and showing it in coils is a good way to communicate that, but I still like the look. Very pleasant-looking depiction of an elephant being ambushed by a giant snake.

All right, time for the reveal. Here's the Aberdeen Bestiary drawing:

Yep. That snake has legs and wings. So everyone who added limbs was in an appropriately medieval mindset. It doesn't seem to have a crest, though, and I don't see any blowholes. And it's attacking with its bite more than with its tail. Honestly, I think y'all read the entry much more closely than this artist did.

But maybe they were also working with more preconceptions.

Because you see.

This is the entry for the Dragon.

Yeah, that's not what I was expecting from a bestiary description of a dragon either.

The interesting thing about it to me is that it's absolutely not what you generally see in fictional depictions of dragons in medieval literature. The bestiary entry is very firm on the idea that it's not venomous, it's a constrictor, it kills with its tail -- and most medieval dragons I've read about are highly venomous. Some of them aren't even that large; they're dangerous for their venom rather than their size. So maybe this is a bit of medieval mythbusting -- "no, guys, real dragons actually don't have venom at all".

And yes, this means there's historical precedent for the green & black dragons in D&D; dragons being so venomous they spit, breathe, or blow out poison instead of having to inject it with a bite is a pretty common motif in medieval dragon stories. I think a lot of people think of those as just variants on the classic fire-breathing version depicted by the red dragon, but actually there aren't that many fire-breathing dragons in medieval stories as far as I remember. (I would do some research on this, but I wanted to have this posted like two hours ago, so you're just getting what I remember off the top of my head instead of proper sources, sorry.) To my understanding, the classic fantasy dragon breathes fire because Smaug breathed fire. And Smaug breathed fire because the dragon in Beowulf breathed fire. But the Beowulf dragon isn't actually representative in that regard; the venom-spitting dragon is more common as far as I've seen. (No word on lightning or cold, sorry blue and white dragons.)

Anyway, there's probably room to reintroduce the constrictor dragon that kills with its tail. What colors haven't already been used up in the various monster manuals, splatbooks, &c.?

I'm rambling. End of post.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Rant Time

Dead Man Tell No Tales really messes with the continuity of the other Pirates movies so much that it boggles me sometimes. The messed up compass lore aside, let's talk about the Barbossa thing.

So, based on what this movie tells me: Jack and Barbossa both knew Barbossa's lover Margaret. If we go off what we know from the movie timeline, they would have to have met Margaret pre-CotBP. Fast forward over a decade later and presumably sometime after AWE, Barbossa rekindles his old flame and they have Carina. Now, assuming that the time between AWE and DMTNT is roughly 20ish years (based off what we know from Henry's age), then it would make sense to me Carina was born sometime around then.

But, Barbossa was looking for the fountain of youth after AWE but ran into some trouble pre-OST. So, in conclusion: he had a kid pre-OST but a few years after AWE.

Also, the official Pirates wiki says that DMTNT takes place roughly a year after OST.

Whose idea was this for a subplot??? Look, I'm all for Barbossa being the emotional focal point of the movie because he's my favorite character aside from DJ, but man did the fifth movie make the lore and timeline so freaking convoluted.

[cat-shouty-13]

chat what do we think ?

(Yes the image is blurry, but walk with me. I shall put the roles written out under the image. For those unaware this refers to the cards of the major arcana in a tarot deck)

(I have watched Max Heart, Splash Star, Yes 5 Gogo (and power of hope) , Kirakira, Delicious Party, Hirogaru Sky, Wonderful, All Stars F, Dream Stars, roughly half of Fresh and a bit of Mahouskai so everything else is only based on vibes and what I've read in the wiki)

PLEASE DO ADD IN THE TAGS/REBLOGS IF YOU THINK SOME THINGS SHOULD BE DIFFERENT :)

Roles I am content with are Green

Roles I am not content with are Orange

Roles I assigned because there was no one that really worked are Red

The Fool: Cure Echo

The Magician: Cure Miracle

The High Priestess: Cure Grace

The Empress: Cure Heart

The Emperor: Cure Flora

The Hierophant: Cure Top

The Lovers: Cure Peach

The Chariot: Cure Lovely

Strength: Cure Sky

The Hermit: Cure Blossom

The Wheel of Fortune: Cure Yell

Justice: Cure Melody

The hanged man: Cure Happy

Death: Cure Wonderful

Temperance: Cure Whip

The Devil: Cure Black

The Tower: Cure Precious

The Star: Cure Star

The Moon: Cure Bloom (Cure Bright)

The Sun: Cure Summer

Judgement: Cure Dream

The World: Cure Supreme

Green names ! Magician, Strength, Star, Moon and Sun are just pure image/name association. The World is the end of cycles and brings everything together so Supreme fits. Echo is involved but separate to the rest of the cures, much like The Fool. Death represents transformation and Komugi undergoes the most transformation of all the leaders. Precious is the tower and her old values of parroting her grandmothers sayings are broken down by Godatz (Do not get me started on delipre I love this mess of a show so much and will tell you about how this should have been put together)

Orange names ! Empress = Heart bc Heart is reminiscent of the actual Cure Empress. Emperor = Flora bc royals. Lovers = Peach bc get your happiness and what not. Chariot = Lovely bc representing travel is kinda like what Happiness Charge was doing with the international cures. Wheel of Fortune = Yell bc time travel ????? Justice = Melody bc the wiki says she has a strong sense of justice. Devil = Black bc the Devil represents unbreakable bonds and Black and White got that unbreakable bond rizz (THIS ONE IS TRICKY BECAUSE OF THE OTHER THINGS THE DEVIL CAN REPRESENT ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS ARE MINORS DO NOT APPLY THOSE MEANINGS TO THEM)

Red names ! I ran out of things that really fit nicely so. Cure Grace and Blossom give me smart vibes so give them the cards that represent wisdom. Cure Top is a guy, The Hierophant can represent a man, bada bing bada boom. Cure Whip as Temperance, power of imagination = a flash of inspa~kira~tion ehhhhhh????? Cure Dream and Cure Happy got the short end of the stick as they were the only ones left so just got whatever was left.

[goldenchocobo]

Kingdom Hearts Tamagotchi Adventures

So, I got the Kingdom Hearts Tamagotchi for my birthday this year. and it was only in September that I decided to activate it (I was hesitant because I know Tamagotchi can be needy and can't be turned off). So here's my so-far roughly one month journey!

Here he is- Base Sora on day 1. I took care of him, played games, and generally fiddled about with what I could do. This was my first ever Tamagotchi, so it was a new experience to me. You fight Shadow Heartless, Dusk Nobodies and Flood Unversed occasionally with the tap of the 'A' button. They didn't happen super frequently so I was fine fending them off.

Unfortunately things didn't go well. I became ill with stomach flu the night after. The manual says it takes roughly 49 hours for Sora to change/evolve. and well...

When I was able to move again... I woke up to... uh... Heartless Sora. Everything remained the same, except the food and treat (Paopu and Icecream) turned into Heart and !. Heart being that you well- fed him hearts, and ! meaning he attacked you (I think... he vanished then appeared closer and waved his arms about). I felt really bad that my first Tamagotchi basically 'died' because of things I couldn't control. But I enjoyed my time with Heartless Sora; and after a few days, Kairi found him and saved him! Very cute 2 bit scene. Back to Normal Sora. I found an issue. You see... I'm more nocturnal; and this Tamagotchi... wasn't. He woke up at 9AM and slept at 10PM; meaning he didn't get the right care from me.. but I figured I could change the time to suit me- and did. Now he wakes up at 12PM and sleeps at 2AM- same as me. Next evo was a surprise! Sora introduced me to (and trusted me to care?) Riku!

This was when I found out each character/evo has different sleeping schedules. Riku would sleep late and wake late (I'm thankful it wasn't early due to the whole Dawn motif because I didn't want to change the clock too much again). They also have their own unique cutscenes, with Riku primarily featuring Mickey. Not much happened, and I showed Riku to Riku(My Riku... the cockatiel- named after... Riku). But He left and Sora returned. At this point I wanted to aim for Roxas- or Ventus (I'm sad there's no Vanitas). So I miiight have looked up a quick wiki to see how to get the characters. "Wow that's cheating" you might say.. and yeah- probably... the issue is that I didn't get Roxas.

Instead, Sora 'grew up' into KHII Sora. I was interested to see what kind of outfit or character I could get to show up, so I continued with normal care.

On the 28th of September... Sora.. ever the festive fellow...

Donned his Santa outfit.

I found it kinda funny, but kept him up with Normal care. I was starting to forget him (I got a little drawer handle I put him on during the evening on my right hand ride next to my monitor, and during the day he's on the couch arm- I don't take him out because I'm scared I'll lose the Tamagotchi somewhere). So He was getting upset/hungry; but if he beeped I knew he needed something. He Unlocked/locked the Keyhole to Halloween/Christmas Town, then flew off in the Gummiship, returning as Normal Sora. After 49 hours, he once again reintroduced me to Riku. having forbidden knowledge, I knew I could turn Riku into Dark Riku. and tried.

I. Felt. Awful.

I know they're just 2bit pixelart on the screen... but Riku has a special place in my heart (I named my grumpy, gay cockatiel after him!) so me... just basically neglecting Riku? it hurt :(

After this. He did not turn into Dark Riku. He left. just straight-up.

Sora flew back in on the Gummiship and my quest to get Roxas/Ventus continued.

But I was surprised when I came back after an outing to find... Sora turned into a fish

Wiki says he's from 'Bad care', but I don't remember giving him subpar treatment, and catering to what he wanted- so I'm baffled. He did come with an Aerial/Sebastian scene, though- so that was cute. He didn't stay for long and locked Atlantica's Keyhole, returning as Basic Sora.

Again- I tried to get Roxas, but instead got KHII Sora again; so I thought I could maybe get Axel or Xion; since they're included in the KHII evo list.

Nope. Christmas Sora again. Oh well- He does love Christmas.

I'll update this if I get anything interesting. I know you can get Xehanort- I recognised his Silhouette on the manual, so maybe I'll get him one day.

I'm still waiting on Roxas..

[ohsayit]

Zevlor's age, new oath, and future

Zevlor is not main enough of a character in the game for him to have specific lore about his age. FR wiki says average life span for tieflings is 90-150 years and they age roughly the same rate as humans. Zevlor looks like human in their late 40s to mid 50s to me so based on my pure guesswork, I like to think he is 60-70 years old and has at least 40 years left.

He is old enough to have some serious and/or long term relationship before Avernus. If he was in a relationship, I don't think Zevlor's partner will survive both Hell and exile. He is conveniently single for us.

After all the Brain business and regained his paladin power from an unknown oath (my personal guess is Devotion. Or Vengeance at least), he is capable of doing things again.

The Flaming Fist is no friend to Hellriders, even the exiled ones. So he shouldn't be settling in Baudler's Gate. He may take a few of his closest associates with him and settle somewhere nearby.

That opens up two routes for me, originally.

One of them being he settles down to be a regular civilian. Maybe he joins the local force to protect the settlement.

But this man loves having a purpose. Glory is second to Honour for him. Honour comes from Duty and Purpose. I think this man is all about having a purpose. He takes pride in having one and his commitment for it. So even he said his soldiering days is over, the power that came to him from the new oath, will nudge him back to the road again. Protecting the settlement he lives in feels too small of a purpose for him (unless it's a big city which doesn't make much sense for me). This man used to be a commander among "elite cavalris" and sserved in "one of the most renowned and well-regarded military forces in the Realms". He needs to protect something big or important enough for him.

So this is the other and my preferred route. For my Tav in particular, maybe some bits will suit yours.

Zevlor grouped with his close associates and base somewhere near Baldur's Gate. One, they can get in touch with other people from Elturel who settled in Baldur's gate. Two, Tav knows where to find him. They travel around to put their power to good use, bit similar to mercenary. Tav saunters over from time to time just to mess with our old man and fuck him senseless.

Desire to live a life reignites when Zevlor has one again.

He knows Tav is no parent material. On top of that, they are not even in a relationship. He wonders when she will stop visiting. Every time she shows up is a delight. The better it feels every time she visits, the more his mind wonders to ridiculous places. He wants a relationship and possibly a kid with her. Although he knows that will not happen in this eternity, he still fantasies about it sometimes.

FR wiki I look at this time: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Hellriders

---------------------------------------------------------------

End note

Uggghhhh sorry for the long post loll It is super unintended. All I wanted to say was just "dude looks like having 40-50 years left, he wants a kid once he has a life, a kid with Tav in specific, not just a rando woman" See where this one sentence takes me (facepalm)

I am working on a one shot Zevlor/Tav fic, inspired by my own post -,- It was supposed to be an easy, fun, simple, one shot, quick smut. I didn't plan to give Zevlor this much mind for the fic but here I am -,- writing a long ass post for our precious old man.

I blame Larian for all of this.

[qsmpbutwithsignlanguage]

GUYS.

HEAR ME OUT.

The eggs are sorted into groups roughly based on when they arrived, right? The first batch of eggs in group one, Pomme and Tallulah in group two, Sunny, Empanada, and Pepito in group three, and Richarlyson as the outlier?

I'm willing to bet my money Group Two's [redacted egg] is the Unknown Egg whose journal Cellbit found on Day 161. It fits with the grouping (the Unknown Egg was lost just like Tallulah and Pomme, around the same time), and nothing has been heard from them since, so they could easily be dead.

Group Two is also called the Department of Subsistence Monitoring. As in, having the bare minimum to survive. And for a forgotten egg, lost to months alone, wouldn't that fit perfectly?

Also, the egg's final journal entry was the definition of foreboding if I ever heard it.

"I accepted my fate. But I'm scared of being forgotten."

This seems to heavily imply the Unknown Egg is now dead, fitting with Group Two's [deceased redacted], right? And the timing fits, the (few) details we have seem to match up.

Just, like, think about it.

(journal entry below cut, courtesy of the QSMP wiki)

[menheramar]

Otogi No Uta Masterlist

This series has like 3 fans so I figured I'd make it easier for people to get into it. The story is told through a series of "movements," CD dramas, and a manga. It also has cute comics, posted on the official Mute Twitter. This list will focus on collecting sources for English speaking fans.

If you don't know anything about the series, you should start by reading this twitter thread by nemuruoogarasu! Feel free to look through the unofficial wiki as well, you can learn a little more about each band and character there. The series is mostly based on the bands and the characters, so pick your favorites :)

After that, listen to some of the songs. I have a playlist compiling them from the official channel here, and I have listed them below as well. There is no specific order you have to listen to them in. Be aware that some of the songs are not uploaded in their entirety, as some have to be purchased through the official drama CDs. The full mp3 files can accessed through amazon.jp.

Story

The story is a bit confusing to follow, and as of writing, not everything has been translated. I will be updating this as often as possible.

Basically, Otogi no Uta is about several bands fighting with special music powers in "Live Battles" against each other. This is in order to obtain "The End," a thing which can grant any wish. Those who posess music powers are called "Utaibito," which could roughly translate to "Melody User," "Musician," or "Music Person" in english (though I left it as is in the manga).

Comics

As of now, most of the comics are untranslated. They don't follow the main plot, and mainly consist of cute and silly interactions with the characters in their mute forms.

Some mute comics have been translated on the wiki, and most of them can be found on the official Mute Twitter. (I ran out of hyperlinks in this post but they are both linked above.) A few have also been translated by me and are at the end of each manga chapter.

There is also a series of short comics from the official website explaining some of the concepts in Otogi no Uta. I've translated them here.

Manga

The manga serves as a backstory for each band and character. You should probably get to know the characters a little through the wiki first so you are not completely lost. Each two chapters go over the backstory of how one of the bands formed and what their goal is and set the group dynamics and personalities.

Also to note, each chapter title corresponds to a song by that band! All chapters have been translated by me.

Ch 0 - Prologue (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 1 - Ensa no Roubitsu Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 2 - Ensa no Roubitsu Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 3 - HelLO wOnder WorLd♣ Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 4 - HelLO wOnder WorLd♣ Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 5 - Kazoe Uta Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 6 - Kazoe Uta Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 7 - Weltreise Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 8 - Weltreise Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 9 - Reine Seele Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 10 - Reine Seele Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 11 - Jyuroku Yaman Hana Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 12 - Jyuroku Yaman Hana Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 13 - Rinnegyo Kei Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 14 - Rinnegyo Kei Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 15 - LOUDBRAVE Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 16 - LOUDBRAVE Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 17 - Epilogue (tumblr) (mangadex)

Movements

There are 45 "movements" (and 2 overtures and 1 prelude), starting here. Make sure you don't miss the tabs on the top of the page to read all of them! I believe it goes over all the bands meeting up to participate in the live battles.

Songs + Drama Tracks

From my understanding, the drama tracks that aren't part of a "vs" CD go over mostly the same as the manga but more in depth.

Note: The wiki has auto translated lyrics for untranslated songs! A lot is still untranslated, but I'll do my best to gather everything here. If you find any links to translations, please send them my way, I'll be sure to add them!

Shuan no Gokumon - Setsudan Club (translated lyrics) Togabito no Shirabe - Setsudan Club (translated lyrics) Ensa no Roubitsu - Setsudan Club (translated lyrics) Setsudan Club DRAMA TRACK 01 Setsudan Club DRAMA TRACK 02

Hitoribōshi - Issun-Bōshi Komo Yūgi - Issun-Bōshi Kazoe Uta - Issun-Bōshi Issun-Bōshi DRAMA TRACK 01 Issun-Bōshi DRAMA TRACK 02

Blinzen Parade - Bremüsik Gutes Fest! - Bremüsik Weltreise - Bremüsik Bremüsik DRAMA TRACK 01 Bremüsik DRAMA TRACK 02

Rosen Melodie - BLASSKAIZ Ritus - BLASSKAIZ Reine Seele - BLASSKAIZ BLASSKAIZ DRAMA TRACK 01 BLASSKAIZ DRAMA TRACK 02

HaPpY uNBirThDAy♠ - AlicexToxic (translated lyrics) HaVE A NicE tRIP♧ - AlicexToxic HelLO wOnder WorLd♣ - AlicexToxic Alice×Toxic DRAMA TRACK 01 Alice×Toxic DRAMA TRACK 02

Liberty - Momotroop Imperfect - Momotroop LOUDBRAVE - Momotroop Momotroop DRAMA TRACK 01 Momotroop DRAMA TRACK 02

Note: I will be shortening "Mushoku no Sora to Warau Ito" to "MSWI" Ochiyuku Hasu No Hanabira Rinne Wo Mitsumete - MSWI Nehan Jakujo - MSWI Rinnegyo Kei - MSWI MSWI DRAMA TRACK 01 MSWI DRAMA TRACK 02

Jyuroku Yaman Hana - Kashin no Okina SPECIAL VOICE DRAMA

Fantasie Nacht - Bremüsik VS Setsudan Club Kaimei no Doukoku - Bremüsik VS Setsudan Club (translated lyrics) Bremüsik VS Setsudan Club DRAMA TRACK 01 (translation) Bremüsik VS Setsudan Club DRAMA TRACK 02

Hitorigoto - Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI Keep on… - Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI Rinne no Kubiki - Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI DRAMA TRACK 01 Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI DRAMA TRACK 02 Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI DRAMA TRACK 03

Möbius - BLASSKAIZ VS Alice×Toxic ♢WoNdeR PaRTy♦ - BLASSKAIZ VS Alice×Toxic BLASSKAIZ VS Alice×Toxic DRAMA TRACK 01 BLASSKAIZ VS Alice×Toxic DRAMA TRACK 02

Oshimai wo Kono Te Ni - all (translated lyrics) Medorē (DJ Remix) feat. Issun-Bōshi - connected the songs of 7 units from the 1st series by Issun-Bōshi Otogi no Uta 〜CHRONICLE〜 ALL STARS - DRAMA TRACK 01 Otogi no Uta 〜CHRONICLE〜 ALL STARS -DRAMA TRACK 02 Otogi no Uta 〜CHRONICLE〜 ALL STARS -DRAMA TRACK 03

[dailydemonspotlight]

Hua Po - Day 79

Race: Jirae

Arcana: Magician

Alignment: Neutral

July 25th, 2024

The ghosts of the recently deceased are a common topic in many world religions, and something that grows increasingly curious with time as we still fail to understand the world beyond. Sometimes, though, there are multiple different spirits for different methods of death, ghosts to represent different places or methods of passing on. Sometimes, though, a spirit may form from the result of several people dying at once as well, so what if several people die of the same method? Three similar people, each a young girl, each hanging from a tree... that is what forms today's Demon of the Day, and a personal favorite demon of mine, Hua Po, the Floral Spirit.

Today's subject is rather dark, as it touches on concepts of suicide, and it also comes from a very strange source- a set of ghost stories known as "What the Master Would Not Discuss," specifically from Volume 24, under a story titled, well, Hua Po. Now, this book is incredibly hard to track down in my experience, given that it typically goes for, at cheapest, around 370 dollars, but I eventually, finally got the story after about an hour of searching around, all through google translating an obscure wiki page from Chinese. I'm as disappointed as you are, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

While the story has been mangled by the translation, in effect, the story of Hua Po has to do with a scholar from Wuyuan named Xie who wakes up one day to hear some unusually loud chirping of birds coming from the forest. Groggily, the man pulled himself up from his bed and wandered to investigate the noise, but at its source wasn't a congregation of parrots- instead, it was a young, pale woman who was only 5 inches tall, unable to speak and instead chirping much like a bird. Confused, the man picked her up and took her back to his place, where he put her in a bird cage, keeping her fed while likely being incredibly confused.

His explanation would come, however, as a person named Hong Xiaolian would hear about the situation and arrived at Xie's place of residence, bearing unfortunate news. To quote the text, (which, bear with me, is in chinese,)

「此名花魄，凡樹經三次人縊死者，其冤苦之氣結成此物，沃以水，猶可活也。」

And, to roughly paraphrase and translate what Hong Xiaolian is saying,

"This is Hua Po. [A nearby] tree has been used to hang three times by people, and the lingering resentment and bitterness formed this thing. If [the tree] is fertilized with water, you can save it."

Confounded, the man would try to water the tree, and lo and behold, it'd work- as he'd fertilize the tree, Hua Po would suddenly disappear, and as crowds of people would watch, a great bird would swoop down and carry away the small spirit god knows where. A relatively short and sweet story, though one that leads to a lot of questions- why did so many people take their own lives through that one tree, per instance, and why could she only speak in chirps? Explanations are scarce, given that the book this story originates from is primarily one based upon the supernatural, but what we do know for certain is this.

Hua Po is a small tree spirit that forms after three people take their own lives by hanging off of the same tree, and their souls may be released by watering said tree. While still somewhat confusing, this explanation is as good as any, really. Even though Hua Po originates from a ghost story, it's still a very interesting creature- and, well, I have to ask, why did they pick it of all the ghosts in the book?

Past that, its design in SMT is weird, given the knowledge we have about the spirit. Her butterfly wings and affinity for fire are completely different from the floral tree spirit described, to the point I have to wonder if there was some sort of translation mistake much like what happened with Porewit. I might be overthinking things, of course, but that's just what comes to mind. Overall, though, her design is incredibly charming, even if it doesn't fit like a glove- at least I find her design to be cute, and she's one of my favorite demons in the series for good reason.

[fructidors]

HI so i'm thinking about burning a CD with live versions of mountain goats songs, however i am not well-versed in the world of the mountain goats so. what would you recommend? (the CD can be up to 80 minutes long :))

YEAHHHH so as you're probably aware the world of mountain goats live recordings is unimaginably expansive and i am by most standards an amateur at traversing it BUT i do have lots of advice :D

there really is no such thing as a bad mountain goats show. even the ones with awful crowds or where the band isn't doing so great are bound to have some very very bright spots. at the same time, the mountain goats have a 30+ year touring history, with lineups varying from john alone, to the full four-piece current permanent ensemble, to the five-piece current touring ensemble, to on one remarkable occasion john with a medieval a cappella quartet, to absolutely everywhere in between, so everyone is bound to have their own tastes.

as such, a really good way to find tmg shows is to just look through the mountain goats wiki! they have over 1500 shows listed, the general majority of which have archive.org recordings. they also have every live show any particular song was played at listed-- most of my favorite shows i've found through looking through all the various performances of my favorite songs. there are also a lot of great recs over on r/themountaingoats. but here are some of my personal favorites:

the bottom of the hill shows!! the bottom of the hill is a small venue in san francisco that the mountain goats have played at quite a few times over the years, and for some combination of reasons the shows there always turn out ridiculously special. any mountain goats fan will point a new tmg live listener to the bottom of the hill. the rather infamous recording of no children sung entirely by the crowd took place there in 2006. the recording of california song i sent you was from a show there in 2014-- which by the way contains the entirety of transmissions from horace (an early tape that was later released as part of the compilation ghana), which is why there might be a lot of songs you don't recognize, and also why they played so many fan favorites to close it out (as compensation)(denton AND you were cool. WHAT A NIGHT). everything from no children on in that recording is pure gold. the show there from the next night is roughly the same in content but the rendition of the best ever death metal band in denton they close with is one of my favorite live tracks of all time. and finally a show there from 2008 was videoed in full by paste magazine!! (here is the archive.org version for audio files) this is SUCH a good show oh my god. the two really standout numbers in my opinion are not actually by the mountain goats-- one is ace of base's defining europop number the sign, which has been. drastically reimagined by the mountain goats. the bottom of the hill performance is punctuated with stories about john's own personal history with the song (which, if that appeals, check out this version too), and is just generally iconic. and also intense. SPEAKING OF INTENSE the other is houseguest-- which is a song by franklin bruno (who john was/is in a band called the extra glens/glenns/lens with) that john has played live quite a bit. this particular performance is really just my favorite because you get to watch john stalk around and lean out over the crowd like a vulture or perhaps some kind of crow. for the audio alone honestly i would recommend the version from this 2008 show. (fun fact about me personally the first time my mom ever left baby me alone with my dad overnight was to go to this exact show!! i am still mad at her for not taking me)

the fall 2005 tour!! the really cool thing about this tour is that at the time, the mountain goats were still comprised of just john darnielle and peter hughes (bassist), so typically live shows were very stripped down and a far cry from the aforementioned five-person full band they tour as now. but on this tour, their opener, the prayers and tears of arthur digby sellers, joined them for a few songs each set, which meant they had much fuller band (DRUMS!! MORE GUITAR!!) while also still being very much sunset tree-era mountain goats and BOY is it special. highlights include: the version of tollund man from toronto which doesn't feature the larger band, but john does incorporate a mangled paraphrase of the final couplet of shakespeare's sonnet 73 (this thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong / to love that well which thou must leave ere long) into the song; the performance of palmcorder yajna from the same night where john replaces the "send somebody out for soda" line with "send somebody out for ATIVAN;" and of course, against pollution knitting factory halloween 2005 (audio). you probably noticed me posting the youtube video of this every day of october. it's my second favorite tmg live recording of all time (after bottom of the hill california song). john is in a priest costume which adds the most je ne sais quoi ever to the song (which is about going to church and shooting a guy. amongst other things). the video and audio are not clear at all but you must understand that is what makes this performance SO. it's SOOOO. in conclusion:

(do christians have high holidays. i'm so jewish i'm sorry)

the webster hall 2009 show!! this show's from the life of the world to come tour which is why there are so many songs named after bible verses (unsure how familiar you are with the life of the world to come but i feel like it has some you vibes). they were touring with violinist owen pallet at the time which means we get going to bristol & hebrews 11:14 with string accompaniment!!!! this show literally never fails but the absolute highlights for me are deuteronomy 2:10 (although deuteronomy 2:10 is one of my favorite songs in the entire mountain goats canon so it's rare to come across a version i dislike), enoch 18:14 (which is actually an unreleased outtake from lotwtc-- the version you see online the most is from the lotwtc film but this one is full-band and prefaced by a long john story about video games)(if the latter appeals, i'd check out thank you mario), quito (which is probably best appreciated as part of the larger we shall all be healed album but the full-band version here SHINES), and of course full band going to georgia!!! i understand solo going to georgia purists so so well and there really is nothing like shouting the words back to just john and his guitar but there is SOMETHING in full band going to georgia that i suspect is rather close to real actual apotheosis. if the former appeals more though i am emotionally attached to the version from last august because i was there (one of only 7 times he's played it since 2012!) and it was the best day of my life but objectively this 2007 version is probably better.

also!! i've done something very similar with a tape! it's probably the most care i've ever put into a tracklist and remains one of my favorite tapes i've ever made-- finding tracks for it is how i found most of what i just recommended :) here's the setlist:

ignore the blank spot i tried to put in abandoned flesh from the aforementioned august show i went to but it turned out really bad for some reason so i wanted to put in shower from the show two days before john got married but then i forgot. anyways YEAH THAT'S ABOUT IT! lmk if you want more specific reqs or about any mountain goats thoughts ever anytime :DDD

[valleyfthdolls]

Ryoko and Sumire doodle

Rambling under the cut

I keep going back and forth on what I want the characters' names to be. Specifically, in terms of the Aishi family, the only source I've found suggesting Aishi to be a real last name says it only exists in Bangladesh, but it is a first name both in India and more importantly Japan, and its meaning is symbolically relevant enough that I kind of want to keep it. The name I'd been using as a replacement just means "white rock" which isn't really interesting. I also have gone back and forth about the whole "they keep the women's last name" thing. Right now, I'm thinking that instead of the Aishi family's condition being localized entirely within one bloodline, it's more like real-life mental illnesses (specifically modeling it after ones I have experience with like BPD which caused me to initially relate so heavily to Ayano) and is based on growing up in unhealthy environments and suffering other traumatic occurrences like abuse and abandonment. I do like that the family, according to the wiki, canonically runs a textiles company which is the in-universe explanation for the Aishi family taking Ayano's mom's maiden name, and I do plan on keeping that because I like Ayano as a seamstress, but I think I want to have the Aishi surname come from her father.

Re: Ryoko, Ryoba is just a word, it just means a double-edged blade, and it was chosen as a "feminine" version of Ryobo, which is also just a word. Ryoko on the other hand is actually a name, and one whose notable meanings include "cool (also used for "unsympathetic") child", "enduring (also used for "invading") child", or "wise child". For her specifically, I imagine it being spelled 凌子, which would make it "enduring child". Mitarai refers to washing or "purifying" yourself before entering a shrine, and is sometimes translated roughly to "please wash your hands", which was one that made me laugh for quite a while. Regardless, I chose this because I like the idea of washing as purification for someone like Ryoko who is literally washing blood off her hands.

Ryoko has a perm because those were popular in the 80s, including in Japan. I didn't draw it great but eh.

Sumire's school uniform was swapped out for a from-memory doodle of a ripped-up kimono. It turned out frankly abysmal, but that's where the "ghost girl in a white dress" trope originally began. Also tying to old depictions of onryo, Sumire's body fades out the closer to her hands and feet it gets, except for the one ring finger.

The "string of fate" between them mostly represents that Ryoko was the one to kill Sumire. It turning black as it approaches her is of course representative of Sumire's death. The way it's tangled around her is kinda like. She was wrapped up and caught by it, and unable to free herself kinda deal.

I imagine Sumire is kinda like. barely there, just enough that her presence can kinda be felt. She's hardly conscious or aware, but she's confused and angry, and that bitterness can be felt through the whole school. It's the feeling that someone is always persecuting you, always looking down on you, always waiting with bated breath to see you suffer. If she were more aware, present or powerful, she may attempt to seek revenge on Ryoko by killing Ayano in a very gruesome way, so that Ryoko feels the most pain and trauma she is capable of feeling from her daughter's death.