#Distant Realms

[dailycharacteroption]

Mnemostiller (Alchemist Archetype)

(art by nightserpent on DeviantArt)

One thing I’ve always appreciated about the 1st edition alchemist is that its archetypes get up to some delightfully weird science. Reanimation, psychic delving, chemically-induced extradimensional spaces… There’s truly something for everyone.

It only makes sense then that there would be those that bottle liquid memories.

These mnemostillers use esoteric sciences to extract memories in the form of a whispy ectoplasm, removing said memories from the subject and allowing others to partake of them.

This fusion of arcane science and occult secrets is naturally plenty controversial. After all, a person’s memories are their identity. Taking too much could rob someone of their sense of self. And partaking of someone else’s memories can do the same while also deluding the user into believing they are something other than what they are.

In this way, mnemostillers can end up being esoteric drug dealers, extracting memories (potentially by force) and selling them to junkies craving novel experiences. Heck, it’s actually a problem in Spire’s Edge, a community for wayward souls in the plane of the Boneyard, where souls desperate to find the will and drive to be worthy of passing on to another plane might try and use such implanted memories as a shortcut. Meanwhile, others may seek to eliminate unpleasant experiences that they’d rather not recall.

Whether they are illicit peddlers or legitimately interested in exploring the mysteries of mind and memory, these alchemists boast many special techniques and formulae unique to their discipline.

With their focus on the mind and identity, these alchemists partially use their force of personality for their alchemy, though their knowledge of individual extracts is still determined by intellect. Additionally, their experiments help them develop mild telepathic aptitude at reading thoughts.

They also develop a special form of mutagen that temporarily puts them in a blissful, nearly mindless state. In this state, they become extremely resistant to pain and to all manner of effects, but their wits are dulled and complex tasks are beyond them.

Additionally, their bombs are not truly explosive at all, but rather, are distilled from their own memories of pain, trauma, and anguish. As such, they deal nonlethal damage, are useless against those without complex living minds, and are especially potent if the brewer has recently experienced pain.

They also learn various unique alchemical versions of occult spells, such as providing mental relief to physical harm, implanting false surface thoughts to ward off mind reading, transmitting lots of thought quickly, altering auras, detecting and entering mindscapes, sensing thoughts, and even draining memories from a target through touch per perhaps flavored as injections.

Naturally, they also learn the basics of infusing their extracts for others to use.

Additionally, they learn occult magic to probe the deeper thoughts of others.

If you like the idea of combining various useful occult spells with the mad science of the alchemist, this archetype may be for you. The bombs can be limited against certain foes, but the rasugen’s save bonus and temp hp can make for a surprisingly tanky build, so I’d build with tanking in mind in addition to information utility.

Certainly, this archetype would see a lot of use with villainous and amoral characters that peddle memories or a lack thereof by selling the mnemostil item as well as extracting it. However, consider the relationship that these alchemists might have with their own memories. Perhaps they too have regrets they wish to forget, but also the liability of forgetting important things.

Promising a community of peace and joy, Dr. Beldas teaches his followers that negative emotions and memories only cause heartache and problems, and so the community happily gives away the trauma of their pasts to him. However, the fact that all negative interactions and anyone learning the secrets of his work to maintain this commune are also pruned is cause for worry.

Utterly amoral and monstrous, the White Noise Laboratory specializes in studying how memory affects behavior in the most monstrous way possible, extracting and introducing memories to alter the minds of others, including strangely docile adaro and vicious bloodthirsty elves with the minds of tortured animals, among other such things.

Legend has it that deep in elemental earth lies the Mnemonic Geodes, caverns of crystallized memory reflecting the literal geological history of the plane itself. A mnemostiller hires the party to find and take samples for their research, but the xorn guardians are fiercely protected of these geodes, which are a rare exception in their hunger for gems.

[rhythmicreverie]

In distant realms, a heart did beat, A talent concealed, by time's decree, Yet fate conspired, a twist to meet, The present and the past, their secrets fleet. With every breath, a paradox unfolded, Time's whispers echoed, in the future bolded, A talent revealed, a destiny foretold, To change the course, of life's uncharted scroll.

[bet-on-me-13]

Dark Secret

So! Danny was discovered pretty quickly after his first battle against the Lunch Lady. His hair turned white, and his body shape was a little different, but he largely looked very similar to his Human Form, so it was only a matter of time really.

Thankfully he was assumed to be a Metahuman.

He didn't look like any other Ghost, the closest resemblance was his hair and eye color, but even that could be explained away. Also his parents were adamant that he couldn't be a Ghost because he was still Sentient and not Evil, so he must just have powers that just looked similar to Ghost Powers esthetically. Probably as a result of the Portal Accident, which he used as an explanation for how his powers awakened.

Danny also avoided using the more obvious Ghost Powers like Intangiblity and Invisiblity, sticking mostly to the most basic Flight and Energy based Powers he got to be as generic as possible. If anybody saw otherwise, it was a trick of the light or a trick of the Ghosts.

Danny became the Hero of Amity Park, always pretending to be something else. It was his darkest secret.

Unfortunately because the public never saw a Ghost like Phantom on a positive light, their perception of Ghosts never changed. Nobody believed that Ghosts could be anything aside from Evil, and as the knowledge of Ghosts and the Ghost Zone began to spread around the world that perception became more and more commonplace.

If Danny had been revealed in the early days, it could have been salvageable, but nowadays if his secret was revealed he would have to convince the entire world that everything they knew about Ghosts was wrong. It would practically be impossible.

Even when he joined the Justice League when he became an Adult, he still had to hide his secret. Years of hiding made sure he could conceal his true Nature from the magic users on the team, but he still had to be distant from the team just to be sure.

While all this was going on in the Living Realm, his adventures in the Ghost Zone still happened as normal. He saved Pandora and the Acropolis, dethroned the Tyrant King Aragon, managed to defeat Pariah Dark in Single combat, and even became recognized as a Great Warrior by the Far Frozen.

After years of hiding, he actually felt more at home in the Ghost Zone than in the Human Realm. There he could be his true self without having to hide a huge part of his identity, and people accepted him for who he was. Sure he had enemies there, but he also had more real friends outside of Tucker and Sam.

He was content with his double life, acting as a Hero to the Public while hiding his true self, and secretly going to the Ghost Zone to be himself among his friends and even his enemies.

Of course it all came crashing down when he Anti Ecto Acts finally passed.

Now there was a Legal Path for Humans to enter and profit off of the Ghost Zone. Beyond just being able to legally kill and experiment on Ghosts, the Acts also allowed Humans to claim parts of the Ghost Zone as their own Property, enslaving the Ghosts residing there, and destroying the Ecosystem of the Zone because there were no laws preventing it.

And now Danny had a choice.

He could either side with the Humans to which he was a Hero, allowing them to destroy the Ghost Zone and Enslave the denizens living there with the full support of the Government, or he could side with the Ghost Zone, betraying Humanity and the people he had been protecting for years, but trying to save those who had accepted him for his true self years ago.

To him the answer was obvious.

[bigmoon-is-bigwife]

TR!Sneeg is such a fascinating character to me because he feels like a mess of contradictions and he's so different than people's first impressions of him.

Sneeg is the goofy and loud guy who makes fart jokes and can never take anything seriously. He's also incredibly smart and perceptive and can immediately tell when someone is trying to be manipulative. Sneeg knows all the techniques that people use to lie and manipulate and he can smell bullshit from a mile away. He also knows how to use those techniques himself but rarely chooses to. Sneeg is so good at controlling a conversation when he wants to that you don't even realize that he's doing it until after the fact. He often hides behind his jokes and sometimes you don't even realize that there is intent in how he goes about things. I still remember when Tubbo was bothering Ros and Sneeg casually got Tubbo to come to his mushroom island to look at his machines. He lead Tubbo through that conversation so naturally that I didn't even realize that it was intentional to get his focus off of Ros until afterwards. Tubbo never realized it either. It's not something Sneeg does often as he prefers the simplicity of honesty but he is very capable of manipulation and outsmarting people. He just also happens to be so outwardly goofy you forget and I think he prefers things that way.

Sneeg is also stubborn and quick to complain. You would think this would mean he would want things handed to him but Sneeg is an insanely dedicated worker. Sneeg is fueled by spite and and a drive to better himself that bleeds into obsession. He wants to earn things and by god he will. He'll spend hours and hours grinding levels and building his machines and he'll always be looking for new ways to improve things. You usually would equate stubbornness with an unwillingness to change but Sneeg is stubborn in the way that he simply doesn't give up. If there is a problem that needs to be solved he'll keep working at it until he figures it out, trying out different angles if he needs to. It'll drive him crazy until he figures it out. He complains a lot yes, but that is because when he sees flaws he has this compulsion to try and fix things and improve them.

Sneeg is also a distant and intimidating figure towards most of the server these days. He spends most of his time in solitude and getting stronger. What people don't realize is that Sneeg cares for others so deeply. He was the first one to sign the F.A.C.T.I.O.N. pact, the reason he hated Pili1 was because he couldn't stand a bully and he even helped other factions with their quests this week. Sneeg is one of the biggest advocates for peace on the server. He almost always tries to help people whenever he can and wants to be included so he can help more. All people need to do is ask and he will be there. He has such a guilt complex whenever he feels like he failed someone. When Ros was killed by Pili1 it haunted him. He was so upset with himself for not being there in time that it lead to him inventing the castle alarm system. When Aimsey died to a warden in front of him he felt partially responsible even when they insisted it wasn't his fault. Sneeg doesn't have many people he's close with on the server but the few he has he holds dearly. You can see it in the way he latched onto L.O.S.A. and declared them more important than even their shared faction. You can also see it in how quickly he and Aimsey have become friends and how he was ready to defend them against Tubbo without hesitation. Sneeg can come across as intimidating with his sarcasm and flat tone but he genuinely cares about people so much. He is kind and he wants others to be kind too. And he has an understanding that sometimes you need a gun to enforce that kindness.

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts 3 - Olympus

[sincerelywhistler]

🕯️ KANE 🕯️

[itissadbutitsmy-artblog]

do you ever wonder why pep's life candle is all burnt out and used up i dont

[gabelew]

I don't have anything new, but I remembered i never posted this Exceptionally Tired Bazz here. So here he is! Being tired. Under the main boardwalks of the Domain for a change.

[fallstaticexit]

Previously on COTF Chapter Four Edin - Previous // Next // Beginning

Leaving this here

[ccaptain]

what kind of cannibalism are you?

autocannibalism.

the practise of eating parts of ones own body. you consider yourself an introvert. private and reserved. you don't like asking for help, even when you need it. secretly your biggest fear is being abandoned, which is why you abandon others first. in the end you will be your own destroyer. you stay in a dark room, curled up like a worm, eating yourself.

tagged by: like FIVE PEOPLE tagged me in this i love yall tagging: @predvestnik, @acr3ss-the-cosmos (CHENNIE), @swirldmg (spawkle :3), @batoushoujo everyone else has done it NO TAGS

[enbyboiwonder]

Of course I don’t think about writing a fic involving freeing the imps until the next day. I’m not sure I have a save from before then. I might have a quick save. Might. I don’t remember when/where I last quicksaved. Though that’s moot if my dad decides to play NWN2 today instead of sticking to NWN1 and/or BG3 as he has been these past few days.

I’m trying to convince myself not to start over just for that if I don’t, but trying to find a let’s play where they talk to the imp both times and also have Casavir in their party seems. incredibly daunting. It’s not like there’s only one opportunity to talk to him either, or any guarantee that everyone will—I didn’t the first time; I didn’t get around to it and forgot. This time, I talked to him the first time I was back there but didn’t realise you could find him and talk to him again after he flies off until after the trial.

[neverlearnedtoread]

Spinning Silver

⭐⭐⭐⭐; the staryk king and mirnatius with the word 'wife' on the board: there's only one thing more horrible than a wife.... *rips off paper* MY wife

Oh?? 👌😉😏

women are fucking amazing and wonderful and terrifying and unequivocal badasses. especially to their husbands. it's about the fantasy of a marriage you have no control over being perfectly suited to you in ways you didn't even know it could

inhuman fae creatures that actually have a separate culture and set of rules they are governed by. they're much more powerful than humans, of course, but they are bound to their laws, and if you're smart you can work with that

fairytale-esque magic system that relies heavily on (1) trickery (2) Having Audacity and (3) the rule of threes 😉. we love a soft magic system that rewards big swings and BDE!

not one, but TWO separate arranged marriages engaged in HEATED pvp AKA two people bound in hostile matrimony trying to kill each other while having 'wait, are they hot? fuck!' moments

you can be cold and practical and still be a good person. you can be strong enough to protect yourself without sacrificing others. with a good enough grasp of contracts you can force a demon to leave your kingdom AND husband unharmed in a 2-for-1 deal

No.. ❌🤢🤮

multiple POVs with no names for chapter titles so you have to figure out who it is from context clues - if you're like me and love a little puzzle to go with your reading time, you'll really enjoy it (Novik does it VERY well) but if you get confused easily or don't wanna put in the brainpower its annoying and overly complicated

if you don't like enemies-to-lovers where they actually argue and are ideologically opposed, you're not gonna enjoy the romance subplots. this is not a 'forbidden-lovers' kinda enemies-to-lovers. this is firmly in the 'my husband misses me a lot - but his aim is getting better!' zone

really quick wrap up - it gets tied up a little too fast after the final confrontation with the Big Bad. i wouldve liked at least to have irina POV at the end because her side of things just. gets left hanging

Summary: Miryem is a daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, and though her father doesn't have the hardheartedness to be a good one, she'd rather be despised for what she's owed than starve. Her knack for the trade, coupled with her sharp tongue, draws the ire of her village, and even more alarmingly, the Staryk's attentions; faerie creatures who only covet gold, they take her offhanded boast that she can turn silver into gold quite literally, and show up at her door to hold her true to her careless words - which, honestly, kind of backfires on them when she rises to the challenge and upends their realm into complete disarray, so maybe there's a lesson there for the next group of nonhumans to learn: don't bet the house against a human girl whose Had Enough Of All This Bullshit. She might win.

Concept: 💭💭💭 I don't know Rumpelstiltskin's story very well, and Ice Kingdom aesthetics aren't my favourite (you can blame it on my residual dislike of Frozen), but I DID read Uprooted before this. I wasn't as into the book blurb as I was with Uprooted, but I'm an experienced (and opinionated) enough reader to know when to trust my gut - if I find an author's writing style easy to read, and I enjoy how they handle their themes, I'm not afraid of diving into deep waters. If it's that bad, I can always DNF

Execution: 💥💥💥💥 As I've come to expect with Novik's writing, a wonderfully easy read; the storytelling voice flows smoothly and makes me want to keep on reading. No slogging through difficult to understand passages and too slow pacing for me! I instantly wanted to collect every POV character like puppies in a basket, no matter how brief their sections were. I will say the ending does forget what it wants to say and simply ends on a happy note, instead of a complete thought. It doesn't tie in the POV characters together strongly enough - I would've loved to see an epilogue scenes with the 3 main female characters supporting each other, or at least being three distinct Bad Bitches!

Personal Enjoyment: ❤❤❤❤❤ Mostly because of Irina and Miryem (and Wanda)'s absolute BDE. They truly brought their stories to life and felt very dynamic, constantly driving the story forward through their actions, especially because their personalities and characteristics were so well-suited to the challenges they faced (Miryem rules-lawyering the Staryk, Irina taking to politics, Wanda keeping faith despite all the shit she's been through). Honorary shoutout to the complete hilarity of Mirnatius's POV (though ultimately it IS more indulgence than necessity, I respect Novik for it) - may he spend the rest of his life desperately drawing his wife in vain search of her bad angles!

Favourite Moment: the running gag of mirnatius losing his fucking mind trying to prove irina isn't hot. you know that post that's like 'find a blorbo to draw and your art skills will start improving so much faster'? irina is his blorbo. special mention of the scene he gets jealous realizing a random guard has a crush on his behated wife and immediately jumps to the conclusion that irina would want to fuck the guard for the sake of the kingdom. babygirl the hoops you are jumping........where is this gymnastics routine even going 😭 this man is not beating the meow meow allegations..

Favourite Character: It's really a tie between Miryem and Irina, who are both so similar yet different at the same time. Miryem's BDE was enjoyably explosive - she throws it in everyone's face, which is perfect to play off of the Staryk's otherworldly impassiveness. Irina's BDE was a lot more...steely. Quietly coming into her own as she realized how adept she was at politics, and how perfectly well-suited that made her to being tsarina - and when they finally met each other? it was so funny when were like 'hey...why dont we kill our husbands via pokemon battle??'

[l0stn3v3rf0und]

I don’t know who that ‘coolest art’ anon is but I agree wholeheartedly. Love your Kirby AUs and I literally double taked when I saw you follwed me, like WAIT THAT GREAT COMIC ARTIST FOLLOWED ME WHAT WHY

Keep on keeping on! =)

HNNNGH

OUGH

OW

YOU'RE KILLING ME WITH YOUR NICENESS

AAAUGHH

[cosmicraven117]

Some quiet time at the beach. 💜

Uldren told Raven to meet him at the beach below Wyrm’s Crossing. Said something about wanting a day off from adventuring and share his journal with her. Perhaps if they ever get back to the Reef, they can recount their tales akin to the fantasy books Uldren would recite to children.

[journey-to-the-attic]

Holy shit that chronodae lore drop just made God so much more sinister. Why is he pretending to be an overseer? What did he do to the proto-angels? Is he FEEDING on the angels somehow?? What's his plan here?!?!?

hahaha.... well who knows :)

[itissadbutitsmy-artblog]

harping on this

1 blaine: how come youre in the wizard eyes realm? is-- it’s you, right? can you hear me? ...can i.. help you?

spader, backing away: ah-- blaine: oh- shh, shhh, i won’t-- i won’t.

2 blaine: oh, yeah, i lost my shoe, huh?

blaine: are you not talking because you’re overwhelmed, or because being in the wizard eyes dimension prevents it? spader: (holds up one finger) blaine: the first one? spader: (nods)