#work: divine interventions

[twinstxrs]

the scene of fabian and gorgug seeing the reflections of yolanda & lucy as kristen lays them to rest… the look on lou’s face. the kindness of the act. kristen applebees, one of the most gifted clerics the world has ever seen.

[pratchettquotes]

"But since you raise the subject, Moist, what were you doing with your life before the citizens of Ankh-Morpork greeted you with open palms?"

"Surviving," said Moist. "In Uberwald the old empire was breaking up. It was not unusual for a government to change twice over lunch. I worked at anything I could to make a living. By the way, I think you meant 'arms' back there."

"And when you got here you impressed the gods so much that they led you to a treasure trove so that you could rebuild our post office."

"I'm very humble about that," said Moist, trying to look it.

Terry Pratchett, Making Money

[a2zillustration]

You weren't going to talk your way out of this one, Croissant.

| First | | Previous | | Next |

[[ All Croissant Adventures (chronological, desktop) ]]

[[ All Croissant Adventures (app) ]]

[luxrayz64]

do u ever in your mind have a vision so beautiful you mourn that it doesnt exist and then remember that u can draw. anyway heres the glass coffin scene if they were pikmin

[anarchypumpkincowboy]

Saint Kristen Applebees, former chosen one of Helio, who died in service to Helio her first day of freshman year fighting side by side with her party, who met her god and decided he was a douchebag, who eventually went on to aid and revive her new god Cassandra, the goddess of doubt, who lost Cassandra but is still holding on to the pieces of her left because doubt saved Kristen’s life so she’ll save Cassandra

Buddy Dawn, current cleric of Helio, who does not die from fighting with his party, who dies because of his party, because of a trap his party set, who seems to want to do right but who is so deeply held in his convictions, so deeply indoctrinated that Doubt cannot touch him

[patchworksoul808]

Okay I’ve been holding onto this dang thing for long enough, I’m releasing it into the world at large

[workingwhileidream]

I am not a religious person but blimey, if I don't believe in Dice Christ after that.

[anemicjellyfish]

See how Striker holds his wine glass? Very mindful, very demure.

Not leaving his legs wide open like the other girls:

Not very demure, Blitzø

[kipperlillyforpresident]

kipperlilly otome isekai au?? 👁️👁️👁️

Thank you so much for enabling me to talk about this more, anon!! I've briefly talked about this AU before, but a Lot has developed in the AU since then.

(art by @godza & s7dn37 on artfight. . I will be interspersing this post with my art of her for enrichment. WHEN I WAS EDITING THIS POST IN MY DRAFTS i had all of the images like. placed alongside one another and the formatting was so nice. but tumblr has fucked it up and for that i apologize.)

For those who aren't familiar with the genre, an otome isekai is a story where the protagonist is transported into the world of a romance novel/otome game. This setting is almost always a vague medieval fantasy with nobility, political intrigue, and a poorly explained magic system. And romance, of course.

Elevator pitch on why I think this sort of story is good for Kipperlilly: I fundamentally don't think she can 'win' in the world of Spyre. She has correctly identified that the world has protagonists and that she is not one of them, and I can't really imagine a 'happy ending' for her where the Goddess who infected her with rage is now being worshipped as a uwu sapphic icon and where all of the systems that failed her remains in place.

Getting isekai'd into another world lets her play by a new set of rules - and this time it's not the 'rule of funny'. She can strategize and politically outmaneuver her opponents in this world.

I also think this would force her to do some self-reflection on her previous life in Spyre, and make her realize the things she took for granted.

(art by eimmii & kryspykreme on artfight)

Also, I made up a love interest for her. I'm trying to unlearn my deep bashfulness about introducing OC x canon stuff but I like him a lot. Her name is Jae-shin and she's the number one wifeguy.

More details on the specific circumstances of her isekai life + more art under the cut...!

After Dying As A Background Villain, I Woke Up As The Main Character!

When Kipperlilly Copperkettle dies in a rage ritual, she expects she'll be sent straight to Hell. Instead, she wakes up in the body of Lilliana Argent - the main character of a romance fantasy novel! A romance fantasy novel… which she never read. With only her wits and the vague memories of what Oisin told her about the plot, will she be able to survive in this new world?

This post is already long enough, so I'll only elaborate on this if there's interest in the topic - but for those familiar with the genre, my use of the world "villain" over "villainess" was intentional here! The villainess is an archetype pretty central to OI, but I think Kipperlilly didn't meet the qualifications for that in FHJY.

So. Kipperlilly thinks she's in Hell at first. Duh. Where else would she be? It's not what she thought Hell would look like, but... this is just some sort of test. They're calling her 'Lilliana', but... that's just humans making fun of her name like they always do. Certainly not the worst thing she's been called recently.

(art by @ladybugboots )

But then they start talking about 'Duke Argent' coming by, and she realizes with horror what's happening. It's that damn romance novel Oisin had been reading.

The one he read because it reminded him of Adaine Abernant. Fuck her entire life.

Copy-pasting from her artfight bio, here's the basic rundown:

Lilliana Argent was the main character in a novel called "For My Uncertain Future."

This novel was read by Oisin Hakinvar - a friend of Kipperlilly Copperkettle - exclusively because the character of Lilliana reminded him of his crush. Because of this, he talked to her about the novel and the parallels between the two women. Kipperlilly, who fucking hated Oisin's crush, did not pay very close attention to these rambles. Oops...!

The second daughter of the Argent family. Her parents were cold and cruel aristocrats and her older sister much the same - leading to her having a rather unloving and turbulent childhood.

Despite this, she grew up to be a very self-possessed young woman. The kind of girl who would choose kindness, even when it was hard. She was also a bit sassy, but in that Disney princess sort of way where it's kind of toothless.

Her family was about to confirm her engagement to Marquess Benjamin Shimmerstream, who she had been informally promised to since her childhood. However, right before this engagement was to be finalized, she had a very public Revelation from the Goddess at her 16th birthday party. Due to this vision, she was whisked away to study as an oracle at a magic school in the capitol, and she was never officially engaged.

Don't worry too much about the magic and religion and worldbuilding of all this - it's all very undefined and vague, in classic Otome Isekai fashion.

While studying at this magic school, she has an academic rivalry with Earl Oliver Varhall.

Shortly after she turns 18, she graduates from the magic school, and must now figure out what she'll be be doing with her life.

This is the point in the story in which one Kipperlilly Copperkettle gets transmigrated into her body!

(art by febblepebble and pantacatt on artfight)

In the original novel, Lilliana is involved in a love triangle with Benjamin and Oliver, as well as having to deal with prophecies and other magical nonsense. But in this version of events...

Once she's isekai'd into this nonsense, she very quickly decides to go by the nickname of Lilly. It luckily fits with the name of Lilliana, and it allows her to keep some connection to her original identity.

Lilly - despite being in Lilliana's body - does not have magic oracle powers. Her soul is doomed not to be special, after all. So she has to steal information from government officials and do some dramatic cold-reading BS in order to keep up the illusion of having oracle powers. It's fun! It leads to Antics.

In her original life, she was a halfling - meaning she was 3'4". She's now 5'3". It takes her a while to get used to this new body, and leads to many scenes where she's clumsy in a way that seems to be very romance-coded. Like, she's stumbling into the Original Love Interests arms. And she has to stop herself from yelling about how angry this makes her that she can't move like she used to in this stupid tall body. She does not care about this romance. She cares that she looks like an IDIOT.

Eventually, she gets used to the new body, but she's never quite as dexterous as she used to be. She'll never fully be at peace with this, but she's moved on the best she can.

She feels... complicated about this whole situation. She's lost her chance at ever having revenge against her enemies: her death has lead to their vindication. She won't ever get to humiliate them. She won't ever show them that - just for once - the world doesn't always have to revolve around them and what they think is right. She won't ever make them pay

those familiar with FHJY and what this means in less vague terms: views expressed by lilly are not always in line with views of the creator. we do not endorse everything she says. her worldview is twisted and limited and that's what makes her interesting. she was literally right about some things tho.

On the other hand... this is a world where she can actually win. In her previous life, she was trying to run a political intrigue campaign in a world which operated on rule of funny. She literally could never win, because the narrative wouldn't have any space for that. But here...? Things operate on a logic which she can exploit. Things actually make sense.

So, over time, she manages to find enjoyment in this world. She'll never be happy about the way things ended in her original life... but she can't change that. So she's making the most of this life she has. She is going to tea parties and banquets and balls and she is absolutely WINNING at the information game. She becomes a force to be reckoned with in the political sphere, and is able to rely less upon her ""oracle visions"" and more upon her mere reputation.

Also, I mentioned a love interest...! Enter Jae-shin Kim.

(art by meee)

Third child of a minor Baron. Even at a young age, he was exceptionally bright and studious.

At 8 years old, he was sent to serve as an advisor for Marquess Benjamin Shimmerstream, a boy around his own age.

At this point in his life, his role as an advisor was basically just him being a Legally Mandated Friend to the well-meaning but idiotic Benjamin. As he grows older, his role involves more clerical work, political maneuvering, and general strategic advice.

Benjamin is wildly in love with Duchess Lilliana Argent - a girl who he is informally engaged to. Lilliana, for her part, doesn't really care for him romantically, but does consider him to be a dear friend. She doesn't get to go out much, so she treasures any interaction she's allowed to have with the outside world.

As Benjamin's advisor, it's up to Jae-shin to... well... actually remember shit about Lilliana. Benjamin is in love with her, yes, but he's also an idiot and a bit self-absorbed, and can fail to take into account other people's desires. So it's up to Jae-shin to remind him that the Duchess despises lemon tarts and she enjoys fantasy novels and so on and so forth.

In the original novel, the fact that Jae-shin has to handle all of this stuff is played up for comedy. Standard hypercompetent secretary/maid/butler/etc trope. Benjamin abandons his duties to go on a date with Lilliana and Jae-shin has to redo his entire schedule. He's a fan favorite background character, but he's never going to be anything more then that.

When she's 14 she has the "I'm probably genderfluid but I have a job so idrc about that rn" realization.  She just... never really thinks it's something she could explore or pursue any further. So she decides to leave it at "somedays I'm a girl, but I don't really need to tell anybody that".

When Lilliana - now going by the nickname of "Lilly" - returns from her schooling, there's... a lot different about her. And most people don't seem bothered by that. She spent 2 years away from home! She's gotten oracle powers now! Of course she's changed!

Jae-shin... is not so convinced. Because sure, a lot of her changes can be explained away as a natural progression of personality. But there are so many little inconsistencies. She happily eats lemon tarts and she reads mystery novels and she's clumsier and she's tougher and she's -

She's just not Lilliana Argent.

He doesn't hate her. In fact, he finds Lilly to be a far more interesting person then Lilliana. But it is odd.

Lilly offers him a position as an advisor to the Argent Duchy, seeing that his talents are wasted in his current position. And Jae-shin decides to accept the position. But not without first asking who, exactly, his employer is.

She scoffs. "Myself, of course."

"My lady, I fear you misunderstand. I am asking who you are. For I am certain that you are not Lilliana Argent."

Reluctantly, she explains her situation to him. He promises complete discretion in this matter, and happily joins her as an advisor.

she was a faithful advisor to benjamin for all these years and made the one selfish decision to follow lilly, knowing how much it'd hurt him. augh.

He's also a huge asset in her 'scamming people into thinking she has oracle powers' schemes.

He falls in love with her extremely quickly. His entire character was constructed to be a Wifeguy (and occasional wifegirl), after all. He keeps this matter to himself, feeling that the best thing he can do with this love is devote himself to her without any expectations of reciprocation.

He loves a great deal of things about her, but her ruthlessness is his favorite trait ^-^ he can be a bit ruthless himself, and adores that efficiency and clarity of purpose.

In one of the occasions in which Lilly confides to Jae-shin about her past life, she mentions that she was deeply in love with her best friend Lucy. "she's bisexual i didn't know that dot jpeg", and they talk a bit about how gender and sexuality were viewed in her home world.

After this conversation, Jae-shin decides to tell Lilly about her being genderfluid. Lilly responds to this with support and by ordering numerous fancy dresses for Jae-shin. Jae-shin isn't actually a huge fan of dresses, but it's the thought that counts...!

After 3 years of working together, Lilly starts to fall head over heels for him. It's a he fell first, she fell harder sort of deal.

now he happily supports his cool and sometimes unethical wife ^_^

(art by rhymes, Glacıer and vivizsect on artfight).

if you made it this far: wow! thank you for listening to me yap.

Anyway this is what it's been like inside of my brain for the past few months. So whenever I see a bad post about KLCK or I'm reminded of the fact she was sentenced to eternal damnation because "she asked for it", I'm like wow that's wild. Thank goodness Lilly and Jae-shin and chilling happily tho.

[i-cast-zone-of-truth]

ok so i Did Say that Lois does not get queers because of Bel Thorne. But she DID ALSO make a five-god pantheon in which one of the gods presides over disasters, the overlooked, the unchampioned, and the gays. this god is called the Bastard. could not possibly be better

[theic-manic]

Divine timing in 2024

I've been reflecting on 2024, and so far, all I can feel is gratitude for what didn't work out & what was delayed because I couldn't deal with my father's passing otherwise.

I'm grateful that my new job fell through and that I was able to return to my original employer of 11 years because there's no way that I can deal with this while at the other place.

I'm glad that 9 months of training for a promotion that meant to commence in July was pushed back to October. The extra money can wait.

I'm even grateful for the stressful events at work that had me undertaking unwitting acts of devotion for Apollo, Ares & Hermes because that allowed me to compartmentalise until yesterday.

Now I'll be taking a week off as bereavement & compassionate leave the week before 4 weeks annual leave, back at work October 8th.

I'm grateful for Apollo making me speed run years worth of growth & lessons over the past 2 months to make room for the shadow work and deep healing to come.

I'm grateful to have reconnected with an ex lover from high school just over a week ago after I underwent some shadow work on my childhood trauma because they've just been so incredibly loving and supportive.

I'm grateful for all the delays and cancellations in life because I've always been exactly where I need to be when I need to be there my entire life.

So whenever things are paused or pushed back I breathe, preparing myself for what's coming.

That said, this Neptune + Saturn + Mercury Retrograde August has been a fucking brutal growth catalyst.

[ilynpilled]

i know people mostly take note of jaime being associated with the warrior & the maiden because of the whole huge gender extravaganza that is going on with j/c/b but i love how he also seems to be strongly connected to the stranger throughout the text. other than all this, he has the death motif (death of the boy, scythe sword chops hand/rebirth, aerys, ilyn the executioner, the bear, stoneheart, cersei, hooded figures in his dreams, the ghosts etc) along with the dance with death thing. when he refers to himself as “a stranger in my own house,” in the next few chapters he gifts oathkeeper to brienne and aids her in working against his family’s interests, the major color symbolism shift starts: crimson/gold vs white, and frees tyrion which leads to the death of his father and the head of his house (he told the corpse. “The blood on his hands as much as… Tyrion’s.” The blood on his hands as much as mine, he meant to say.) and i think we can all guess what else is coming when it concerns jaime embodying the stranger in the future. i like that cersei “all the time was the stranger” to jaime, and he comes to that epiphany and continues diverging from her, and he “has become” it for cersei, but she is not aware of it, like she doesn’t think he means her death. and i am sure it is meant to be loaded that the character who is the primary deconstruction of knighthood/the kingsguard in the series also embodies the stranger (he certainly fulfills the role of executioner & judgement in some form, and i do like these layers when it comes to the medieval narrative of “it is ‘god’ who shall judge tyrants, not anyone else” which can also serve as a tool for class stratification, and avoiding the precedent of sovereignty being challenged. it is touched on in different ways in the text) but i dont have my thoughts together enough about this lol. we do know george is an agnostic:

"I suppose l'm a lapsed Catholic. You would consider me an atheist or agnostic. I find religion and spirituality fascinating. I would like to believe this isn't the end and there's something more, but I can't convince the rational part of me that that makes any sense whatsoever. [...] And as for the gods, l've never been satisfied by any of the answers that are given. If there really is a benevolent loving god, why is the world full of rape and torture? Why do we even have pain?”

his view is verbatim jaime’s argument: “If there are gods, why is the world so full of pain and injustice?” and the whole conversation parallels brienne’s statement: “Jaime Lannister murdered the rightful king […] Where were the gods then? The gods don’t care about men…”

but george is absolutely not a nihilist in any way, so i think much of it is about placing human agency at the center of all this, and it is some kind of discussion when it comes to karmic or divine intervention. he is half a corpse too. a man is a man, not god. and a man is “whatever he chose.” it is man who acts, not gods.

[sebastianmercier]

Fun game: read the first two chapters of The Picture of Dorian Gray while dissecting Dorian, Basil, and Lord Henry’s characters and sorting them into two columns marked ‘Garak’ and ‘Bashir’.

[a2zillustration]

I carried this thing for MONTHS with the EXPRESS PURPOSE of putting Raphael in it (knowing full well Larian wouldn't let me do that, mechanically) and I had one major miscalculation.

| First | | Previous | | Next |

[[ All Croissant Adventures (chronological, desktop) ]]

[[ All Croissant Adventures (app) ]]

[megastrikeback]

Normal lesbian couple with nothing suspiscious about their fathers <3

[1tsjusty0u]

actually wait how does being the chieftain for kakariko in botw work